Monthly Archives: February 2003

VOLUNTEER, STOP THE WAR

From the days of the Vietnam War (and perhaps even before that), there has been a tacit link between opposition to war and volunteerism. Opponents of war signed up for the Peace Corps and other non-profit organizations, showing they were … Continue reading

Posted in Collapse Watch, How the World Really Works | Comments Off on VOLUNTEER, STOP THE WAR

ONCE AROUND THE HORN: READINGS INTELLIGENT AND EDUCATIONAL

Alternet interviews Bill Maher today. Love his comment on how Bush missed the opportunity to do a “Nixon-to-China kind of thing.” (Despite Tiananmen, Nixon’s opening diplomatic relations with the unrepentant Communist Chinese struck me as extraordinary, almost redeeming). Maher’s HBO … Continue reading

Posted in How the World Really Works, Our Culture / Ourselves | Comments Off on ONCE AROUND THE HORN: READINGS INTELLIGENT AND EDUCATIONAL

BLOGGING FOR VISUALLY-IMPAIRED READERS?

A couple of people have e-mailed me to say they like my blog, but find reading anything on-screen very difficult and prefer to print things out and read them in hard-copy form. They say that most blogs run slightly off … Continue reading

Posted in Using Weblogs and Technology | 5 Comments

EXURBAN TALE #1: LESSONS FROM CHELSEA

We live in something called an exurb: neither rural nor urban, nor suburban. It’s a hilly subdivision with 24 houses, each on roughly 2-acre lots abutting an 1100 acre semi-wilderness “conservation area”, with mostly farmland and forest on the other … Continue reading

Posted in Collapse Watch, Creative Works | 2 Comments

THE COST OF RENEWABLE ENERGY

The WorldWatch Institute, publishers of the annual State of the World report, holds weekly conferences on various environmental and ‘sustainable development’ topics. This week the topic was Renewable Energy, and the transcript is available here . One of the questions … Continue reading

Posted in Collapse Watch | 1 Comment

BEAM ME UP, SCOTTIE. WELL, MY QUANTUM STATES ANYWAY.

MIT reports this week that Danish and Swiss researchers have successfully teleported photons a distance of 55 meters, and expect commercial applications within a few years.

Comments Off on BEAM ME UP, SCOTTIE. WELL, MY QUANTUM STATES ANYWAY.

WHAT INNOVATION? THIS INNOVATION

Author Robert Tucker this week describes the five steps necessary to make a business innovative. I took a swipe at most business’ real interest in innovation recently, but I try to keep an open mind. The five steps: Innovation must … Continue reading

Posted in Working Smarter | Comments Off on WHAT INNOVATION? THIS INNOVATION

NO COMMENT

More silliness. A neighbour of mine passed this along, with five other even tackier examples. It’s not a see-through skirt, but actually a clever print on the back of the skirt to make it look like see-through. UK Daily Mail … Continue reading

Posted in _ Uncategorized | Comments Off on NO COMMENT

CANADIAN BUDGET OFFERS SURPLUS, HELP FOR NEEDY, DEBT PAYDOWN, NO TAX CUTS

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien introduced his final budget today (he’s retiring after a seeming eternity as P.M., and if an election were held today polls show he would win by a landslide). Contrast the following highlights with Bush’s recent … Continue reading

Posted in How the World Really Works | Comments Off on CANADIAN BUDGET OFFERS SURPLUS, HELP FOR NEEDY, DEBT PAYDOWN, NO TAX CUTS

REVISIONIST HISTORY OF THE FALL OF COMMUNISM, BUSH STYLE

From the CBC, reporting that “weekend protests won’t sway Bush”: “Evidently some in the world don’t view Saddam as a risk to peace. I respectfully disagree,” Bush said. “War is my last choice, but the risk of doing nothing is … Continue reading

Posted in How the World Really Works | Comments Off on REVISIONIST HISTORY OF THE FALL OF COMMUNISM, BUSH STYLE