Loosely Speaking

By Ciel - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in Everything Else

Friday, December 27, 2013

Not saying what I think about it all...

But I do wonder how many of those in high dudgeon about the surveillance of their calls by the NSA are the same ones who habitually have loud cell-phone conversations in public places. Remember when we either made calls at home, or in a phone-booth? And when we really did dial a number? We kept our calls private and personal, and besides not being overheard, we didn't inflict our personal soap operas on the world around us. Convenience trumps consideration. On Christmas Eve, around 11:30 pm, a... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, December 22, 2013

If you believe all the messages flying through the airwaves

then Christmas becomes a terrible, anxiety-increasing time of year: you must buy and buy and buy the most perfect gift, which must be expensive and flashy, or your family and friends will be so disappointed, you will have ruined Christmas! If you are the Mom, you must produce feasts and festive between-feasts goodies that probably won't really be very good for anyone, anyway. If you are the Dad, it is on you to assemble. Bikes, doll-houses, furniture... whatever. You'd think it would be easier,... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Why being poor makes me irritable

...one explanation for bad decisions is scarcity — not of money, but of what the authors call bandwidth: the portion of our mental capacity that we can employ to make decisions. Worrying about money when it is tight captures our brains. It reduces our cognitive capacity — especially our abstract intelligence, which we use for problem-solving. It also reduces our executive control, which governs planning, impulses and willpower. The bad decisions of the poor, say the authors, are not a product of... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

micro-loans

Some folks just can't get a loan. Not from a bank because they are too small, too young, too old... or there just aren't banks within reach; not from rich relatives, because they don't have any; not from their government or other 'official' sources. But what about you? Would you lend $25 to someone trying to finish their house, or fix their pedal-cab, or buy materials for crafting, or supplies for planting or raising livestock? KIVA is a crowd-sourcing means of providing people worldwide with... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, November 8, 2013

a warning, if you don't already know about this one

This is the first I've heard of this one. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=ransom-malware&WT.mc_id=SA_WR_20131107 Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Australia burning...

The news is of hundreds of homes lost, fears of weather and winds bringing three separate fires into one, a pall of orange smoke over Sydney, smokey haze over the Opera House on Sydney Harbour... The blaze is in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. On my first trip to Sydney, we drove up that way, a little ways into those mountains and looked out from a high place into them. It is a terrible thing to happen anywhere, but it hits home hard and personal when you've been there. My heart aches for... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, October 18, 2013

REIGN

The disclaimer at the end pretty much sums it up: Any resemblence to actual people or events is unintentional. Why do they call it history, then? Why don't they create the story they want to tell, and give original names to the characters, instead of giving the impression that we can learn something from what is essentially only entertainment? Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Ratcoons

https://www.facebook.com/WashHumane The handwritten letter... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, October 11, 2013

A happy Thanksgiving weekend to all my Canadian friends!

May it be a masterpiece of contentment nurtured with good food and wonderful company! Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

I am ready to see some government shut-down...

I'd like to see the Congress and President not get paid until they sort this out. Will they have the guts and integrity to go that route? Doubt it... I am glad to see that Speaker Boehner has been delivered the message that he does not in fact, run this country. He has clearly delivered the message to anyone paying attention that his Party ideology is more important to him than the good of the nation. This bill could have been passed clean, and the argument about mandatory health coverage... Sign in to see full entry.

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