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 22 Mar 2006 @ 03:36, by jmarc. Medicine, Healthcare
Well, the milestone has been reached.
100 now dead from bird flu. More >
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 21 Mar 2006 @ 19:19, by raypows. Farming
Imported Organic vs Local Conventional at Whole Foods
Slate Magazine points out in a recent article on Whole Foods that "Let's say you live in New York City and want to buy a pound of tomatoes in season. Say you can choose between conventionally grown New Jersey tomatoes or organic ones grown in Chile. Of course, the New Jersey tomatoes will be cheaper. They will also almost certainly be fresher, having traveled a fraction of the distance. But which is the more eco-conscious choice? In terms of energy savings, there's no contest: Just think of the fossil fuels expended getting those organic tomatoes from Chile. Which brings us to the question: [given the variables of] freshness, price, and energy conservation, should a New Yorker just instinctively choose organic, even if the produce comes from Chile?"
So pretend you live in the Big Apple. What would your choice be? More >
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 21 Mar 2006 @ 07:49, by jazzolog. Children, Parenting
Father and daughter at the mighty Allegheny River last summer.
Please subdue the anguish of your soul. Nobody is destined only to happiness or to pain. The wheel of life takes me up and down by turn.
---Kalidasa
Eliminate something superfluous from your life.
Break a habit.
Do something that makes you feel insecure.
Carry out an action with complete attention and intensity, as if it were your last.
---Piero Ferrucci
To the mind that is still
the whole universe surrenders.
---Lao Tzu
The century is soft and the year yet new in my daughter. Her 14th year half over, Air France flight 8701 begins descent at this dawning hour over Paris. For the next 80 days part of me will be here in the Ohio River Valley and part will be reaching out 6 hours ahead to Ilona living and studying in France. A few hours ago, after weeks of preparation, her mother and I entrusted her to the care of the family who invited her to go with them. There have been agonizing moments of uncertainty, but finally we committed and several hours ago wished her bon voyage. Just before we left Athens Ilona sent out this email message~~~
"Before I depart, I wanted to share with all of you my love and graciousness
for your love, support, prayers and comfort as I leave for France. It has
been so wonderful for me to know that I have so many people to love me.
Thank you all!
"Thank you all for your support, it's helped me to take a deep breath in
order to embark on this life changing and beautiful experience.
"GROS BISOUS! (=
(Big Kiss)" More >
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 21 Mar 2006 @ 00:17, by quinty. Politics
And what about the true believers?
I was in the mood to listen to the Chorus of the Right a few night’s ago (there's really not much choice if you want to listen to talk radio here in Providence in the evening: it's all Hannity and Savage and the like.) So I settled down with Laura Ingraham. More >
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20 Mar 2006 @ 21:09, by b. Systems Thinking
Since outlining a plan for a New Civ community funded by an operating gold mine I have observed that not many have visions for a new civilization. Or at least visions that they are willing to share. More >
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20 Mar 2006 @ 11:31, by vector8. Spirituality
There are two types of mentality: one that is dependent on someone changing in order for you to have happiness, joy etc; and one where you choose to experience whatever change you want to experience within yourself. More >
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20 Mar 2006 @ 02:27, by jmarc. Ideas, Creativity
How the Trickster killed a Giant and made some Friends.
A play adapted from a Dine / Navaho story.
Cast of characters:
Trickster: Dressed as a coyote.
Giant: Just a deep voice(never seen)
Old woman: Grey haired and in native dress .
Woman: In native dress
Group of Animals: 5 to 10 people dressed as different local animals. One is dressed as a Tick. More >
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 20 Mar 2006 @ 01:56, by uncleremus. Philosophy
In an essay titled, Thinking Outside the Box: Considering Transparency, Anonymity, and Pseudonymity as Overall Solutions to the Problems of Information Privacy in the Internet Society [pdf file], Tal Z. Zarsky* analyzes various aspects of transparency, anonymity, and pseudonymity and envisions societies where our personal information is, respectively, out in the open, hidden in its entirety, or somewhat blurred due to the use of multiple identities. More >
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 20 Mar 2006 @ 00:28, by ming. Systems Thinking
Andrius reminded me of a conversation we had on Key Concepts. The idea being that if one is clear on what one's key concept in life is, it is easier to align one's activities and stay focused. What we had arrived at at that time was that my key concept, what I'm seeking, is:Creative Intelligence Through Synergetic Diversity Along with that went an investigatory question, i.e. a major project, a major question one is seeking to answer. Mine became: What are the generative patterns that would allow the global brain to wire itself? That's a great reminder. So, first, about that key concept there... Most things I'm interested in have something to do with getting something useful out of diversity. Finding a mix of things that is synergetic, i.e. where the sum becomes more than the parts. An eco-system kind of thing, where different diverse parts somehow work together to make a bigger system work. Something generative happens. Smaller holons make a bigger holon. And this is in contrast to the kind of diversity where one mixes different things together and they just become a mix, or a confused mess. There are ways of mixing things together where something great happens that wouldn't be possible by the ingredients alone. And what is interesting to seek to create or discover is an intelligence. A smart system. If we're talking a group of people, it is collective intelligence. A group of people that together is smarter than the individuals in it. But it doesn't have to be a group, which is why I just termed it creative intelligence. Putting things together so that something new, better, creative and intelligent happens. Negative entropy. Creating life, rather than submitting to decay. Looking for signs of life.
And the investigatory question there... Looking for patterns, ways of arranging things, which foster self-organization. Preferably, ideally, hopefully patterns that make wonderfully positive things happen "by themselves", i.e. naturally, with little friction. Memes, contagion of ideas. Bucky Fuller's "Design Science Revolution". Design stuff that is compelling to use, without need for persuasion, which just happens to inspire more sustainable and harmonious patterns of behavior.
The global brain, well, we seem to really need it. As it is right now, humankind is a schizophrenic moron. Or manic-depressive, maybe. Sometimes brilliant and productive, mostly lethargic, largely criminally destructive. Despite that many members of the human race are well-meaning, knowledgeable and resourceful. We desperately need to be connected in a manner that is constructively complex, so as to awaken our collective intelligence. Maybe that is something we can do on the internet, maybe it is a different way of doing a few key things. It appears that none of us are smart enough to solve the puzzle. But we might be smart enough to discover patterns that allow something bigger to emerge. We might not be clever enough to know exactly how to do it, but we might know how to start something that triggers the emergence of a bigger level of intelligence. Patterns that promote self-organization and collective intelligence, even small scale, are a very likely leverage point. One ingredient is to know when to get out of the way, and let useful things happen.
Does any of that give me a title to put on my business card? Maybe not directly, but it is possible. Of course, any kind of organization could use some of that. The knowledge to arrange things a little differently so that good things happen more by themselves. And of course it would be ideal if I could say I have the answers to exactly how that is done. But we're talking about a quest, rather than an accomplished feat. A bit of knowledge might go a long way, though. More >
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19 Mar 2006 @ 18:54, by raypows. Business
“Theres no business to be done on a dead planet” - David Brower
1% For The Planet is an alliance of businesses committed to leveraging their resources to create a healthier planet. Members recognize their responsibility to and dependence on a healthy environment and donate at least 1% of their annual net revenues to environmental organizations worldwide. The alliance aims to prove that taking environmental responsibility is good for business. More >
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