I'm not sure what has gotten into people, but "kerfuffle" has made an appearance. I've been watching a lot of coverage of politics on CNN, PBS, and other stations, and it seems like everyone is slipping in a kerfuffle or two here and there.
I guess it's sooooo cute.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/kerfuffle
Friday, July 18, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Holding it all together...
Everything Falling Apart, Reports Institute For Somehow Managing To Hold It All Together
href="http://www.theonion.com/content/node/79424?
Though we're working to fix things, the situation has become OH FOR CHRIST'S SAKE;I just spilled coffee on myself," said the institute's chairman
href="http://www.theonion.com/content/node/79424?
Though we're working to fix things, the situation has become OH FOR CHRIST'S SAKE;I just spilled coffee on myself," said the institute's chairman
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Voting Against Genocide - Mutual Funds
Like many people, you probably receive the prospectus and proxy statement for your mutual funds in the mail or over the Internet, but how many times do you actually read them? This year, I opted for the electronic voting over the the Internet, and I have been receiving my notices via email. Almost by accident, I discovered that one of the choices in the voting was the following:
[The board recommends against...] oversight procedures to screen out investments in companies that substantially contribute to genocide.
Are they really asking us support genocide? Are they asking us to "avoid the cost and burden of trying to implement this policy"?
This is a complicated proposition to be sure, but it's a choice you have to make.
[The board recommends against...] oversight procedures to screen out investments in companies that substantially contribute to genocide.
Are they really asking us support genocide? Are they asking us to "avoid the cost and burden of trying to implement this policy"?
This is a complicated proposition to be sure, but it's a choice you have to make.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Today's Quote
"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened." -- Sir Winston Churchill
Friday, February 8, 2008
Pretty Sarah
Towels and wash cloths
Blue and white, mostly -
Easy laundry
In crept new colors
Red, blonde, red again
Pretty Sarah
Orange and white Pasha
and black cat Jasper
Fur everywhere
Rufus and Lucy
Black, loved dearly
Pretty Sarah
Asheville, Montreal
White dress and flowers
All so perfect
Some colors in life
Fade too quickly
Pretty Sarah
Blue and white, mostly -
Easy laundry
In crept new colors
Red, blonde, red again
Pretty Sarah
Orange and white Pasha
and black cat Jasper
Fur everywhere
Rufus and Lucy
Black, loved dearly
Pretty Sarah
Asheville, Montreal
White dress and flowers
All so perfect
Some colors in life
Fade too quickly
Pretty Sarah
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Accelerating the Recycle Cycle
On Friday I received the annual copy of the Yellow Pages. It was deposited on or perhaps ejected on my driveway in a yellow plastic bag. So, just like I have done for the past three years, I removed the plastic bag and deposited the Yellow Pages directly into my recycling bin. I like the idea of putting the resources back into the system as soon as possible.
It is an interesting cycle in many different ways. First, isn't the Yellow Pages in physical form effectively obsolete at this stage? Second, there is the aspect of all of the energy and resources required to produce, print, and distribute the book. Third, there is the energy required to pick up the recycling each week, sort the contents, ship the paper to a place that no doubt sells paper pulp to the printing company. How long it will be until this practice is finally ended. It certainly can't be doing much for the environment, economy, or much of anything else. Of course, like many things, it is hard to let go of "tradition" even when it doesn't make rational sense.
It is an interesting cycle in many different ways. First, isn't the Yellow Pages in physical form effectively obsolete at this stage? Second, there is the aspect of all of the energy and resources required to produce, print, and distribute the book. Third, there is the energy required to pick up the recycling each week, sort the contents, ship the paper to a place that no doubt sells paper pulp to the printing company. How long it will be until this practice is finally ended. It certainly can't be doing much for the environment, economy, or much of anything else. Of course, like many things, it is hard to let go of "tradition" even when it doesn't make rational sense.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Bad News About Understanding the Economy
I was watching parts of the Republican and Democratic debates last night, and found it quite interesting at one point. At one point, the question was, "If we can afford a trillion dollar war, why can't we provide healthcare...?" After going around the candidates hearing their points about healthcare and why it costs so much, etc. McCain made a point about healthcare inflation being about 10%. Ron Paul took up that point and explained how our monetary policy is creating the inflation in the economy. He tried to explain how the printing of more and more money by the Fed is debasing the value of the dollar, which then leads to price inflation for the assets we own, the food we eat, and the services we purchase. He stated that we need to "stop printing money..." which was laughed at by the other Republicans, especially Fred Thompson. Although it was probably missed by many watching, his comments, which were intended to make Ron Paul look bad, showed that he really didn't understand the concept. There was an amusing side-exchange between the two where Thompson said something like "let me get this straight, we stop printing money and inflation will go down..." and Ron Paul answered "... keep trying, you'll get it."
Amazing... Can't we expect a little more? Or do we really have to accept that anyone who has more than surface knowledge or talking points on a subject should be cut out of the debate? They really ought to do some reading - such as any week's issue of The Economist, or The Daily Reckoning.
Perhaps most interesting in all of the debate was the way in which all of the candidates twisted each question they were given into something quite different. Even when asking a "yes or no" question, they simply can't give a straight answer. Ms. Clinton, is the sky blue? "Well, based on my 35 years of experience and my ability to get things to change and in view of my plan on healthcare, I'd like to be able to have the children whose eyesight was saved by the program I will implement answer that question." Mr. Romney? "I'd just like to say that being governor of Massachusetts has shown me that there are days with blue skies and days with clouds and days with rain. We knew that, and we created a universal sky plan that let the citizens choose for themselves what kind of sky they wanted to see each day."
Overall, this simply shows how difficult it is to get people to change. Only one candidate that I heard talked at all about "sacrifice". Energy use is one area where everyone has the ability to make better choices, and if we don't the $100 barrels of oil will only go higher and higher. Or water use... living in Georgia where there is currently a drought of historic proportions, I wonder what it will take to establish the sense of urgency required to make people change their behavior. Even though it is widely reported that we could run out of water in Atlanta sometime next year, I wonder how many people have done anything at all to change the amount of water they use? Shorter showers, wash only full loads of dishes or laundry, not cheating and watering the lawn, fixing leaking faucets, etc. I whatever kind of deficit we have, we'll only deal with it when the crisis is staring us in the face.
Amazing... Can't we expect a little more? Or do we really have to accept that anyone who has more than surface knowledge or talking points on a subject should be cut out of the debate? They really ought to do some reading - such as any week's issue of The Economist, or The Daily Reckoning.
Perhaps most interesting in all of the debate was the way in which all of the candidates twisted each question they were given into something quite different. Even when asking a "yes or no" question, they simply can't give a straight answer. Ms. Clinton, is the sky blue? "Well, based on my 35 years of experience and my ability to get things to change and in view of my plan on healthcare, I'd like to be able to have the children whose eyesight was saved by the program I will implement answer that question." Mr. Romney? "I'd just like to say that being governor of Massachusetts has shown me that there are days with blue skies and days with clouds and days with rain. We knew that, and we created a universal sky plan that let the citizens choose for themselves what kind of sky they wanted to see each day."
Overall, this simply shows how difficult it is to get people to change. Only one candidate that I heard talked at all about "sacrifice". Energy use is one area where everyone has the ability to make better choices, and if we don't the $100 barrels of oil will only go higher and higher. Or water use... living in Georgia where there is currently a drought of historic proportions, I wonder what it will take to establish the sense of urgency required to make people change their behavior. Even though it is widely reported that we could run out of water in Atlanta sometime next year, I wonder how many people have done anything at all to change the amount of water they use? Shorter showers, wash only full loads of dishes or laundry, not cheating and watering the lawn, fixing leaking faucets, etc. I whatever kind of deficit we have, we'll only deal with it when the crisis is staring us in the face.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Good News About Injustice
One book I have been reading is Good News About Injustice by Gary Haugen. It contains some first person accounts of his work in things like investigating genocide in Rwanda and other work with the Justice Department. In addition, it is also a book that I would call "religious philosophy". He goes to great extent to answer questions like "why would a kind God allow ...?" and to also inspire you if you are like many who question whether one person can make a difference in this world.
In looking at the news each week, whether it is Iraq, Pakistan, Kenya, or an article about the homeless in your hometown paper, you might find safety in your distance from these issues. This book will bring those things closer to you in some ways, and make you think about what it means to live a moral life.
In looking at the news each week, whether it is Iraq, Pakistan, Kenya, or an article about the homeless in your hometown paper, you might find safety in your distance from these issues. This book will bring those things closer to you in some ways, and make you think about what it means to live a moral life.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
First post - what this is about.
This is a blog about the architecture of things - physical, logical, and spiritual - and how they are all connected. Some of it is technical (from things I do at work), but the inspiration for this is my wife - who showed me how there is a whole world outside that matters much more. So, there are a number of things about life in general, and also some pictures of our four furry friends, Pasha, Jasper, Rufus & Lucy. I guess I should also mention it is a tribute to my wife, who passed away in November 2007. She wanted to be a writer and encouraged me and so many others to think about what their dreams truly are and question why we don't try to follow them.
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