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Obama's press conference
I was listening to the President make a well-reasoned case that legislators should take action to create jobs, with the alternative being political suicide. I have to agree with the general tactic, but I think a more concrete and literal approach would avoid unnecessary delays. That takes some explaining though.
One journalist asked if Mr. Obama was ( Read more... ) -
Three assumptions with economic effects, part I
A discussion on Reddit recently prompted me to comment about a trio of assumptions that have had a lot of effect on the economy, which I'd like to explore in a little more depth.
The first is an assumption that technology is good for business. In general, this is a good assumption, because technology is slow and expensive to develop. For a long time ( Read more... ) -
Nixtaguettes
I've had a few occasions, recently, to kill time in a bookstore. A lot of stores near here carry Tartine Bread, and so I've read much of that book.
It includes good recipes, lessons in how to build skills and to improvise, and some amazing anecdotes of recipe development and the journeys (figurative, but also often literal) that bread has sent the ( Read more... ) -
Almost homegrown: drought preparadness edition
I improvised this to waste as little water as possible, and to rely on things that either I have grown without irrigation in my own backyard, or grow well in this climate. I just improvised the seasonings, but it ended up surprisingly tasty.- 1 t. oil
- 1 medium onion
- 1 c water
- 1/2 c. grains (I used a mix of cracked wheat berries and buckwheat groats)
- 1/4 ( Read more... )
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What is mind? No matter. What is matter? Never mind.
Although I disagree with him on many fundamentals, I really enjoy reading the blog of Ran Prieur. He recently published a long quote from a comment I made years ago, as part of a discussion on consciousness. I'm gratified that he calls the comment "amazing," and also a little embarrassed. It's odd to read what I wrote at that point in my carreer: I ( Read more... ) -
Where There is No Master
Where There is No Doctor is said to be the best reference manual for those who need medical attention, but whose economic or geographical situation doesn't offer access to health care professionals. I think it's also part of a movement to foster agency in consumers (not to say mere patients) who currently do have access to mainstream health care, ( Read more... ) -
A rare breath of capitalism
I just bought, and used, a "Slice" brand safety cutter. I'm really happy with my purchase.
If what you want to cut is thinner than stiff cardboard, this is among the best tools for that job that I've ever used. Very expensive for a safety cutter (~$6, verses the $0.00 I paid for the other one I own), but more useful than any metal-edged tool for ( Read more... ) -
An Open Letter to Ursula K. Le Guin
Ms. Le Guin:
I just saw the film adaptation of your The Word for World is Forest. I have long recommended that work to friends who are not familiar with your writing, because I feel it is overlooked compared to The Disposessed and especially The Left Hand of Darkness. It is a very compelling and entertaining film, and I hope its success calls some ( Read more... ) -
Becoming my business
Most mornings, I drive through a parking lot to meet my carpool. There are three lanes through a neck in this parking lot, each labelled with one-way arrows and with diagonal parking on either side. Two of these run north by northwest, and in the mornings I drive here I need the single lane that allows traffic south by southeast ( Read more... ) -
sour decision tree
I'm feeling anomic.
Everything hurts a little. Everything is a decision. While each snip that prunes the branching possibilities in my daily life doesn't feel like major surgery, I do feel it.
Masanobu Fukuoka, a major thinker in organic farming, famously opposed pruning trees. Reading him, I get the sense he was OK with using a thumbnail to nip ( Read more... )