“By the interbreeding criterion every individual is a member of the same species as its parents… In the Devonian Period our direct ancestors were fish. Yet, although we couldn’t interbreed with them, we are linked by an unbroken chain of ancestral generations, every one of which could have interbred with their immediate predecessors and immediate successors in the chain.”
This is a fact that always fascinated me.
As for evolution or creation, we cannot establish which is right or which is wrong.
My theory which would explain what something which evolved from is not able to interbreeding with: What if we admit both theories?
That once millions or billions there was an evolution somewhere else we do not know, then the human species evolved so much as to be able to "clone" itself, reproducing what they were and giving to ANY species a certain DNA code which the species would transmit to the new born and would riel borate making millions of similar, but not identical individuals.
This would fit with the theory of the creation.
God made man just like himself and sent him on the earth with all other animals and living creatures to work and evolve.
Our mission will be finished when we will reach and achieve the goals we were made for.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tell me where you come from and I will tell you who you are
You are what you are because the place were you were born made you so.
Of course you still have slightly differences between two individuals, but if you understand a Nation you understand his people and of course understanding the one is understanding the whole.
Till now they have (successfully)used psychology for marketing uses, but if the same science would be applied for diplomacy and even worse for the strategy of a war?
I guess the results would be what one wouldn’t expect.
There is a movie I saw recently, may be two, that perfectly caught the meaning of what the director wanted to show: how certain things happened, happen and will happen.
Independently form ideologies.
Same patterns, valid for Communism and Capitalism.
What is really inside of an ideology and why any ideology, good or bad is none of the two, because when it becomes men is reality and reality is ALWAYS the same soup.
That is why elections are like a mathematical additions, you can change the order, but the result is always the same.
In this case (The life of the others) you have the perfect in personification of the German school product.
He has to do what he is ordered to do and in the best way.
He doesn’t forget anything and does all in twenty minutes.
Because that is the time requested.
He is the perfect Personal Computer.
Precision like a machine, with the touch of the human mind, which goes further and far beyond that simple mathematic.
That is the final touch.
What could have been and what is not, because man’s brain is definitely NOT a computer.
This is also the ideals destiny.
When ideals become human, they loose the followers.
That is what happened for both: Communism and Capitalism.
In the beginning they had followers among people who really believed and people who believed for convenience.
But when both follow the reality patterns, where what counts is the "members" of the party or the "monopolists" in the system, people open their eyes and it is a slow procedure, but it gets more powerful with time, till becoming an avalanche that destroys all, save slowly building a new ideology that will involve the wrong humans and things will go on and on in the same way.
That is what History is...
Of course you still have slightly differences between two individuals, but if you understand a Nation you understand his people and of course understanding the one is understanding the whole.
Till now they have (successfully)used psychology for marketing uses, but if the same science would be applied for diplomacy and even worse for the strategy of a war?
I guess the results would be what one wouldn’t expect.
There is a movie I saw recently, may be two, that perfectly caught the meaning of what the director wanted to show: how certain things happened, happen and will happen.
Independently form ideologies.
Same patterns, valid for Communism and Capitalism.
What is really inside of an ideology and why any ideology, good or bad is none of the two, because when it becomes men is reality and reality is ALWAYS the same soup.
That is why elections are like a mathematical additions, you can change the order, but the result is always the same.
In this case (The life of the others) you have the perfect in personification of the German school product.
He has to do what he is ordered to do and in the best way.
He doesn’t forget anything and does all in twenty minutes.
Because that is the time requested.
He is the perfect Personal Computer.
Precision like a machine, with the touch of the human mind, which goes further and far beyond that simple mathematic.
That is the final touch.
What could have been and what is not, because man’s brain is definitely NOT a computer.
This is also the ideals destiny.
When ideals become human, they loose the followers.
That is what happened for both: Communism and Capitalism.
In the beginning they had followers among people who really believed and people who believed for convenience.
But when both follow the reality patterns, where what counts is the "members" of the party or the "monopolists" in the system, people open their eyes and it is a slow procedure, but it gets more powerful with time, till becoming an avalanche that destroys all, save slowly building a new ideology that will involve the wrong humans and things will go on and on in the same way.
That is what History is...
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
What is the best web hosting?
Ask ten people which is the best web hosting and you will have ten different answers.
And all ten are sure to be right and probably are All right.
Because as it is not beautiful what is beautiful but what you like, so it is not good what looks good, but what suits your needs.
So, if you need a cheap web hosting with limited services because your website doesn’t have millions of visitors you can be happy with certain providers, while if you have a virtual shop with lots of visitors you probably need more bandwidth, full service and a very reliable host.
Whatever is your size, you need the right "tailor" which in this case is an independent website where you can find the complete list of all what the Market has to offer in web hosting.
So, after carefully reading all the offers, you can decide for the ones that look the best.
And if it is not?
Some even offer money back, and in this case they do so, because they are almost sure you will be 100% satisfied...
And all ten are sure to be right and probably are All right.
Because as it is not beautiful what is beautiful but what you like, so it is not good what looks good, but what suits your needs.
So, if you need a cheap web hosting with limited services because your website doesn’t have millions of visitors you can be happy with certain providers, while if you have a virtual shop with lots of visitors you probably need more bandwidth, full service and a very reliable host.
Whatever is your size, you need the right "tailor" which in this case is an independent website where you can find the complete list of all what the Market has to offer in web hosting.
So, after carefully reading all the offers, you can decide for the ones that look the best.
And if it is not?
Some even offer money back, and in this case they do so, because they are almost sure you will be 100% satisfied...
The life of the others
I cannot say it is one of the best movies I recently saw, but I can say it is one of the movies I liked best (recently).
May be because I feel personally involved in it, living in the ex DDR (GDR) Republic.
I like to read History, not the one written in books, the one told by ordinary people, living an ordinary life, happening to be more or less in places where history is made.
And I saw that whatever is the frame, the life is similar.
Good or bad, better, sometimes good and sometimes bad.
It is the ordinary life made by ordinary people.
Good people and bad people.
I liked this movie, because it is a fair mirror of unfair events.
Not just one sided right and one sided wrong.
Mostly both sided feelings, including the ones we mostly despise which are oppression, injustice and arrogance.
From a diamond nothing grows, from manure flowers do.
May be because I feel personally involved in it, living in the ex DDR (GDR) Republic.
I like to read History, not the one written in books, the one told by ordinary people, living an ordinary life, happening to be more or less in places where history is made.
And I saw that whatever is the frame, the life is similar.
Good or bad, better, sometimes good and sometimes bad.
It is the ordinary life made by ordinary people.
Good people and bad people.
I liked this movie, because it is a fair mirror of unfair events.
Not just one sided right and one sided wrong.
Mostly both sided feelings, including the ones we mostly despise which are oppression, injustice and arrogance.
From a diamond nothing grows, from manure flowers do.
Light is life
Since light is life and life is getting expensive, a good way to save and have the same is choosing lamps and lights that do not consume and give you what you need.
This is one field where technology really can make a difference, in saving and in effects.
I like to play with interior design.
I like to have a comfortable house because I live in it most of my day and I also like to have a nice environment where to work and spend my free time.
I think that the most important when you decorate a room is choosing the right light.
My house is surprisingly much better in the evenings than with daylight.
The reason is that while you can choose the lamps you usually cannot choose the sun light, unless you are lucky to be able to plan a house and build it.
So...if your furniture and your house are very modern and you want to give them a designer’s touch, why not playing with colors?
Have you ever saw how different the same room can look in one colored light instead of a plain white?
A fluorescent light could be the right choice for this purpose.
And it is quite cheap, of course if you know where to buy it at a bargain price.
If for a home it is wise to use energy saving lights, for Shop Work Lights or any working place lights it becomes a must.
There you need very often light also during the day and you can really reduce enormously your electricity bill just choosing the right lamps.
I personally prefer LED Lights and do not dislike Halogen Flood Lights.
They are practical, ready to use and energy saving, besides giving the right amount of light you need.
This is one field where technology really can make a difference, in saving and in effects.
I like to play with interior design.
I like to have a comfortable house because I live in it most of my day and I also like to have a nice environment where to work and spend my free time.
I think that the most important when you decorate a room is choosing the right light.
My house is surprisingly much better in the evenings than with daylight.
The reason is that while you can choose the lamps you usually cannot choose the sun light, unless you are lucky to be able to plan a house and build it.
So...if your furniture and your house are very modern and you want to give them a designer’s touch, why not playing with colors?
Have you ever saw how different the same room can look in one colored light instead of a plain white?
A fluorescent light could be the right choice for this purpose.
And it is quite cheap, of course if you know where to buy it at a bargain price.
If for a home it is wise to use energy saving lights, for Shop Work Lights or any working place lights it becomes a must.
There you need very often light also during the day and you can really reduce enormously your electricity bill just choosing the right lamps.
I personally prefer LED Lights and do not dislike Halogen Flood Lights.
They are practical, ready to use and energy saving, besides giving the right amount of light you need.
Media is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one's living at it
"It is different virus, but the tactics being pushed is the same. The offical over-reaction to the swine flu back then caused way more damage than the flu itself (any person familiar with history of public health initiatives won't fail to see that it fits with the overall pattern).
To put the swine flu in perspective, the garden-variety influenza on average causes about 40000 deaths in US anually. For some reason I don't see people permanently runing scared with faces covered by masks and barricading themselves in their homes."
Every year in the US only 3.500.000 people die for a car accident.
I wonder why people still use their cars...
To put the swine flu in perspective, the garden-variety influenza on average causes about 40000 deaths in US anually. For some reason I don't see people permanently runing scared with faces covered by masks and barricading themselves in their homes."
Every year in the US only 3.500.000 people die for a car accident.
I wonder why people still use their cars...
Monday, April 27, 2009
In the back of any President’s or politician’s stupidity there is always an intelligent dishonesty.
"This analysis is low on the paranoia and high on the Machiavellian maneuvering insight.
The basic idea is that Mr. Obama has gone along with all the TARPing and PPIPing because it was tactically the only way that he could give the Wall Street plutocrats enough rope to hang themselves -- and that this was the only reality-based strategy that could get public opinion in the mood for real change.
It explains a lot, if it's true." JK
I am always surprised to see how hope is really the last to die.
Even in terminally cancer ill people any small word or looking like improvement creates a little bit of hope to survive.
In one opinion though I agree: in the back of any President’s or politician’s stupidity there is always an intelligent dishonesty.
They all prefer to look dumb than corrupted.
I really do not see the strategy of printing billions to do the opposite.
Or to play the part of the naive to cheat the bankers.
Those are smart enough to see the back face of the coin.
If you want to hang somebody you get old expecting he does the job himself.
Or waiting for the people to explode, you can die and sleep in peace.
People are moved by hunger and inflaming words.
I do not see the next future as a situation of generalized bankruptcy.
At least it will be kept on a reasonable level, in which the unemployed will be a good part, but not an alarming number and in the safe conviction that a Revolution wouldn’t change anything, just making worse an already bad situation.
Also people have hopes and if they have proved naive enough to believe in all the crap in which they were convinced to believe, it is quite clear that very little will change.
And if Mr. Obama´s goal was to lower the Nation´s life style he will be successful any way.
One thing is sure: things very often change if you do something, but they change the same if you do nothing, for the simple reason that there is a law in Nature which mathematically balances everything, so that nothing is created and nothing is destroyed, but everything changes...
The basic idea is that Mr. Obama has gone along with all the TARPing and PPIPing because it was tactically the only way that he could give the Wall Street plutocrats enough rope to hang themselves -- and that this was the only reality-based strategy that could get public opinion in the mood for real change.
It explains a lot, if it's true." JK
I am always surprised to see how hope is really the last to die.
Even in terminally cancer ill people any small word or looking like improvement creates a little bit of hope to survive.
In one opinion though I agree: in the back of any President’s or politician’s stupidity there is always an intelligent dishonesty.
They all prefer to look dumb than corrupted.
I really do not see the strategy of printing billions to do the opposite.
Or to play the part of the naive to cheat the bankers.
Those are smart enough to see the back face of the coin.
If you want to hang somebody you get old expecting he does the job himself.
Or waiting for the people to explode, you can die and sleep in peace.
People are moved by hunger and inflaming words.
I do not see the next future as a situation of generalized bankruptcy.
At least it will be kept on a reasonable level, in which the unemployed will be a good part, but not an alarming number and in the safe conviction that a Revolution wouldn’t change anything, just making worse an already bad situation.
Also people have hopes and if they have proved naive enough to believe in all the crap in which they were convinced to believe, it is quite clear that very little will change.
And if Mr. Obama´s goal was to lower the Nation´s life style he will be successful any way.
One thing is sure: things very often change if you do something, but they change the same if you do nothing, for the simple reason that there is a law in Nature which mathematically balances everything, so that nothing is created and nothing is destroyed, but everything changes...
Deep packet inspection
It can be used (by ISPs) to detect and prevent spam and malware, and protect subscribers against invasions of their home computers. It can identify packets that contain viruses or worms that will trigger denial of service attacks; and it can proactively prevent so-called Trojan horse 5 infections from opening a user’s PC to hackers and surreptitiously transmitting identity information to the sender of the virus.
But it also can show viewers different ads based on information the cable systems have about them. "These would be based on information about groups — say, dog owners — not individual people".
But how can we be sure?
Deep packet inspection can be used also for "selling" informations about customers.
I personally prefer to pay an antivirus and protect myself than selling my privacy for a "free" detection of spam and malware.
But it also can show viewers different ads based on information the cable systems have about them. "These would be based on information about groups — say, dog owners — not individual people".
But how can we be sure?
Deep packet inspection can be used also for "selling" informations about customers.
I personally prefer to pay an antivirus and protect myself than selling my privacy for a "free" detection of spam and malware.
Baby´s brain: the power of a "tabula rasa"
A baby’s brain is missing most of the capabilities that define the human mind, such as language and the ability to reason.
By using new research techniques and tools, scientists have revealed that the baby brain is abuzz with activity, capable of learning astonishing amounts of information in a relatively short time.
Unlike the adult mind, which restricts itself to a narrow slice of reality, babies can take in a much wider spectrum of sensation - they are, in an important sense, more aware of the world than we are.
"The baby brain is perfectly designed for what it needs to do, which is learn about the world. There are times when having a fully developed brain can almost seem like an impediment."
Babies can walk ( as most animals) in the first days of their life, but they lose fast this knowledge.
I guess this is a part of the unconscious knowledge’s transmitted through our DNA.
They are a series of knowledge’s that allow survival before the world’s around conscious knowledge.
"New research techniques have uncovered several surprising findings. It turns out that the baby brain actually contains more brain cells, or neurons, than the adult brain: The instant we open our eyes, our neurons start the "pruning process," which involves the elimination of seemingly unnecessary neural connections. Furthermore, the distinct parts of the baby cortex - the center of sensation and higher thought - are better connected than the adult cortex, with more links between disparate regions. These anatomical differences aren't simply a sign of immaturity: They're an important tool that provides babies with the ability to assimilate vast amounts of information with ease."
Animals´ development is faster than human’s, but it stops very soon, while human’s can be a life long learning.
"This new understanding of baby cognition, and the peculiar ways in which babies pay attention, is also giving scientists insights into improving the mental functioning of adults. The ability to direct attention, it turns out, doesn't merely inhibit irrelevant facts and perceptions - it can also stifle the imagination. Sometimes, the mind performs best when we don't try to control it."
While we grow we also learn to control our knowledge and the brain works sometimes like a software program that autonomously decides what has to be discharged and what doesn’t.
This is done in a mathematical, but empirical way.
Discharging the knowledge which was not used very often and for some time.
That is why "repetita iuvant" and we are going to lose the knowledge for example of a language if we do not practice it.
Many functions of our brain are independent from our unconscious will.
As children our unconscious part is much bigger, as adults, the need to order information and keep it brings us to concentrate on a part and discharge what our brain and our unconscious decides it is not worth to.
May be this is kept in a Limbo from here dreams and Hypnosis can find it.
The human mind is not only the most interesting subject you can approach, but the way to progress and evolution.
By using new research techniques and tools, scientists have revealed that the baby brain is abuzz with activity, capable of learning astonishing amounts of information in a relatively short time.
Unlike the adult mind, which restricts itself to a narrow slice of reality, babies can take in a much wider spectrum of sensation - they are, in an important sense, more aware of the world than we are.
"The baby brain is perfectly designed for what it needs to do, which is learn about the world. There are times when having a fully developed brain can almost seem like an impediment."
Babies can walk ( as most animals) in the first days of their life, but they lose fast this knowledge.
I guess this is a part of the unconscious knowledge’s transmitted through our DNA.
They are a series of knowledge’s that allow survival before the world’s around conscious knowledge.
"New research techniques have uncovered several surprising findings. It turns out that the baby brain actually contains more brain cells, or neurons, than the adult brain: The instant we open our eyes, our neurons start the "pruning process," which involves the elimination of seemingly unnecessary neural connections. Furthermore, the distinct parts of the baby cortex - the center of sensation and higher thought - are better connected than the adult cortex, with more links between disparate regions. These anatomical differences aren't simply a sign of immaturity: They're an important tool that provides babies with the ability to assimilate vast amounts of information with ease."
Animals´ development is faster than human’s, but it stops very soon, while human’s can be a life long learning.
"This new understanding of baby cognition, and the peculiar ways in which babies pay attention, is also giving scientists insights into improving the mental functioning of adults. The ability to direct attention, it turns out, doesn't merely inhibit irrelevant facts and perceptions - it can also stifle the imagination. Sometimes, the mind performs best when we don't try to control it."
While we grow we also learn to control our knowledge and the brain works sometimes like a software program that autonomously decides what has to be discharged and what doesn’t.
This is done in a mathematical, but empirical way.
Discharging the knowledge which was not used very often and for some time.
That is why "repetita iuvant" and we are going to lose the knowledge for example of a language if we do not practice it.
Many functions of our brain are independent from our unconscious will.
As children our unconscious part is much bigger, as adults, the need to order information and keep it brings us to concentrate on a part and discharge what our brain and our unconscious decides it is not worth to.
May be this is kept in a Limbo from here dreams and Hypnosis can find it.
The human mind is not only the most interesting subject you can approach, but the way to progress and evolution.
Nothing lasts forever
"In addition to slumping PC sales, Microsoft faces a challenge from netbooks, the inexpensive laptop computers that are the only segment of the PC business enjoying growth. Microsoft hasn't been able to charge as much for the versions of Windows that are generally bundled with netbooks as it can for software included with other types of PCs."
"Microsoft reported a 32% revenue decline". They still do well, I presume.
Nevertheless this crisis has nothing to do with economics and a lot to do with alternative PCs which of course do not need Microsoft.
It is the slow beginning of the end.
Which didn’t come from a competitor ( being them smart enough to prevent)but from the market.
This is the proof that no matter how (forced) faithful your customers are nothing lasts forever in a world were everything has a beginning and, of course, an end.
Google is still blooming and that is due, on one side, to the fact that they follow and anticipate market’s trends and, on the other, that they have a different business model regarding revenues.
The customers pays in a hidden (and much less painful) way.
The customer pays consuming what he is brought to consume, in this way with a feeling of freedom of choice.
It is hard to compete with a giant that came in the right moment and offers services for free.
You cannot compete with quality and you cannot compete with price.
And you can use ANY hardware to access Google’s services.
Everywhere, in every way and free.
This really looks like a winning combination...
"Microsoft reported a 32% revenue decline". They still do well, I presume.
Nevertheless this crisis has nothing to do with economics and a lot to do with alternative PCs which of course do not need Microsoft.
It is the slow beginning of the end.
Which didn’t come from a competitor ( being them smart enough to prevent)but from the market.
This is the proof that no matter how (forced) faithful your customers are nothing lasts forever in a world were everything has a beginning and, of course, an end.
Google is still blooming and that is due, on one side, to the fact that they follow and anticipate market’s trends and, on the other, that they have a different business model regarding revenues.
The customers pays in a hidden (and much less painful) way.
The customer pays consuming what he is brought to consume, in this way with a feeling of freedom of choice.
It is hard to compete with a giant that came in the right moment and offers services for free.
You cannot compete with quality and you cannot compete with price.
And you can use ANY hardware to access Google’s services.
Everywhere, in every way and free.
This really looks like a winning combination...
Google map of H1N1 Swine Flu
Swine flu Google Map
Pink markers are suspect
Purple markers are confirmed
Deaths lack a dot in marker
Pink markers are suspect
Purple markers are confirmed
Deaths lack a dot in marker
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Value and price
What is cheap not necessarily is the best sold.
If you offer an iPod for 50$ and an unknown identical product for 10$, you will sell the first.
Now a days people confuse value with price.
Price used to be a useful discriminating way, and it lasted as long as the "marketing guys" realized it.
So that a successful product cannot be cheap and a cheap product cannot be successful.
A successful "marketeer" is the one who has a wife and children.
He is not dummy, but understands what being one means.
He is not blind and deaf, but understands what being one means.
He is not stupid, but understands what being one means.
He is not God, but understands what human nature is made of.
If you offer an iPod for 50$ and an unknown identical product for 10$, you will sell the first.
Now a days people confuse value with price.
Price used to be a useful discriminating way, and it lasted as long as the "marketing guys" realized it.
So that a successful product cannot be cheap and a cheap product cannot be successful.
A successful "marketeer" is the one who has a wife and children.
He is not dummy, but understands what being one means.
He is not blind and deaf, but understands what being one means.
He is not stupid, but understands what being one means.
He is not God, but understands what human nature is made of.
The Broghammers´Sundays
What do the Broghammers do on Sundays?
The alarm rings at 5.
Because they have to catch the train that goes to Magdeburg and leaves at 6.33
It takes 30 minutes to arrive by foot to the Station and around 10 to make a ticket.
It should take much less, especially at that hour when you do not even have to queue.
But Mr. Broghammer has to be sure to get the best offer and that takes what it takes.
The tickets machine is like his home computer and just putting starting from and arriving to would be WHAT an Italian would do.
Being a German he HAS to make things a little bit more complicated.
What is the use of a German sophisticated machine if you do not use it at its maximum potential?
That is also the natural consequence of being in a country where it is a must to complicate matters.
In Italy the machine calculates the Kilometers and multiply them for the price of the unitary Kilometer.
What you get (plus of course some extras to feed the Railroad’s managers, the politicians who hire them and so on...) is the ticket price.
Here the ticket price depends more on how many people will be on the train, so that at 5 and on Weekends you get one price and on working days a totally different one.
Then you have the variable of the type of train, the seat, the whatsoever and FINALLY you get the price.
That price is further discounted if you are a "railroad fan" which you prove subscribing with 50 Euros per year.
Well, going back to the Broghammers, in order to be able to be on that train they have to leave home at ten to six, so that leaves fifty minutes for breakfast and getting ready.
Mr. Broghammer has the duty to prepare "frustück", while Mrs. Broghammer has to care for her hair ( in order to look "respectable" and rightly shabby, what they call "shabby chic" which is the maximum she can achieve with it).
The Sundays "Frustück" is particularly rich.
Instead of two slices of toasted bread (black bread which is healthier) they have three.
With Margarine and marmalade.
Since the day will be particularly busy, there won’t be time for a "complete lunch" and so that slice more will keep the stomach busy (and it will further be cheated with a few additional "sneaks").
This is an unhealty practice for your stomach, but a particularly healty one for your wallet.
And that is a must in a day in which the Broghammers in spite of saving on the tickets, already endanger their budget with a three and a half hours trip on the German Railroad...
But Berlin is well worth a Weekend ticket...
The alarm rings at 5.
Because they have to catch the train that goes to Magdeburg and leaves at 6.33
It takes 30 minutes to arrive by foot to the Station and around 10 to make a ticket.
It should take much less, especially at that hour when you do not even have to queue.
But Mr. Broghammer has to be sure to get the best offer and that takes what it takes.
The tickets machine is like his home computer and just putting starting from and arriving to would be WHAT an Italian would do.
Being a German he HAS to make things a little bit more complicated.
What is the use of a German sophisticated machine if you do not use it at its maximum potential?
That is also the natural consequence of being in a country where it is a must to complicate matters.
In Italy the machine calculates the Kilometers and multiply them for the price of the unitary Kilometer.
What you get (plus of course some extras to feed the Railroad’s managers, the politicians who hire them and so on...) is the ticket price.
Here the ticket price depends more on how many people will be on the train, so that at 5 and on Weekends you get one price and on working days a totally different one.
Then you have the variable of the type of train, the seat, the whatsoever and FINALLY you get the price.
That price is further discounted if you are a "railroad fan" which you prove subscribing with 50 Euros per year.
Well, going back to the Broghammers, in order to be able to be on that train they have to leave home at ten to six, so that leaves fifty minutes for breakfast and getting ready.
Mr. Broghammer has the duty to prepare "frustück", while Mrs. Broghammer has to care for her hair ( in order to look "respectable" and rightly shabby, what they call "shabby chic" which is the maximum she can achieve with it).
The Sundays "Frustück" is particularly rich.
Instead of two slices of toasted bread (black bread which is healthier) they have three.
With Margarine and marmalade.
Since the day will be particularly busy, there won’t be time for a "complete lunch" and so that slice more will keep the stomach busy (and it will further be cheated with a few additional "sneaks").
This is an unhealty practice for your stomach, but a particularly healty one for your wallet.
And that is a must in a day in which the Broghammers in spite of saving on the tickets, already endanger their budget with a three and a half hours trip on the German Railroad...
But Berlin is well worth a Weekend ticket...
Here I say it and here I deny it...
Category: Tools
"I have a very long and hard post digger available for rent.
It will meet all of your gardening needs. I can rent it out
by the day or the hour. Looking forward to discussing with
you in more detail."
This is a clear example how to say X and mean Y and be sure that everybody understands that it is Y.
"I have a very long and hard post digger available for rent.
It will meet all of your gardening needs. I can rent it out
by the day or the hour. Looking forward to discussing with
you in more detail."
This is a clear example how to say X and mean Y and be sure that everybody understands that it is Y.
The "oldest profession"
"I've seen absolutely no statistics to suggest that there have been measurable changes in its incidence with the arrival of Craigslist in a city. The world's "oldest profession" has managed to flourish -- with all of its attendant risks -- since the dawn of civilization, it is not a creation of the Internet. It will continue even if our technological civilization collapses, so long as humans exist."
Man has two main needs: to eat (for surviving) and sex (for reproducing himself).
Both are (on purpose) quite strong, so that man lives his life in a struggle to satisfy them.
This is ultimately the only answer we are able to give to the question: Why are we here?
On the dawn of humanity, man produced his own food, and had sex in the same way.
Like the other animals, doing all what they can to attract the right, chosen mate.
Then man (who has a brain that works better than animals) found that there was another way to eat: to buy food.
I guess the same mechanism was applied to sex.
That is why it is the oldest profession.
All what came later, the demonization of sex as "unethical" practice was an invention to justify the existence of "bad" in human’s needs.
Man has two main needs: to eat (for surviving) and sex (for reproducing himself).
Both are (on purpose) quite strong, so that man lives his life in a struggle to satisfy them.
This is ultimately the only answer we are able to give to the question: Why are we here?
On the dawn of humanity, man produced his own food, and had sex in the same way.
Like the other animals, doing all what they can to attract the right, chosen mate.
Then man (who has a brain that works better than animals) found that there was another way to eat: to buy food.
I guess the same mechanism was applied to sex.
That is why it is the oldest profession.
All what came later, the demonization of sex as "unethical" practice was an invention to justify the existence of "bad" in human’s needs.
In Nature you also find (rarely) exceptions...
"Rather than studying ethical behavior in a moral contexts we should be less naïve about the role of people in these systems. Perhaps behavioral economics is more on-topic in that sense. I see native trust in markets as a form of intelligent design. I see prediction (as in portfolio evaluation) as more art than science – it’s like playing poker to see what price you can get."
May be it would be more profitable and "illuminating" studying the unethical behavior.
Nothing is more alien to human nature and world’s evolution than ethics.
When you take the part of the weaks (which is highly commendable) you go against nature.
Nature is about survival and survival in a world that is getting too small means discrimination.
As hard as it can look a world based on what we call "justice" is not following the nature’s rules.
I personally believe in ethics as the way for the human beings to master nature and I see no bad in it.
Unless you want a world following nature and following ethics.
It is also true that when you preach a world where man finds his happiness in the things he has you go against progress.
Progress was made by men who were not happy with what they had, men who wanted something more.
You could eventually work for progress and still live an ethical life.
But the ultimate goal for most men is NOT working for universal progress, but for their personal progress.
Being it mostly a more comfortable life.
Men work for filling their bowels and, when these are filled, to fill their brains.
Who works for working?
Well in Nature you also find (rarely) exceptions...
May be it would be more profitable and "illuminating" studying the unethical behavior.
Nothing is more alien to human nature and world’s evolution than ethics.
When you take the part of the weaks (which is highly commendable) you go against nature.
Nature is about survival and survival in a world that is getting too small means discrimination.
As hard as it can look a world based on what we call "justice" is not following the nature’s rules.
I personally believe in ethics as the way for the human beings to master nature and I see no bad in it.
Unless you want a world following nature and following ethics.
It is also true that when you preach a world where man finds his happiness in the things he has you go against progress.
Progress was made by men who were not happy with what they had, men who wanted something more.
You could eventually work for progress and still live an ethical life.
But the ultimate goal for most men is NOT working for universal progress, but for their personal progress.
Being it mostly a more comfortable life.
Men work for filling their bowels and, when these are filled, to fill their brains.
Who works for working?
Well in Nature you also find (rarely) exceptions...
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Caffeine protects your brain
Growing evidence suggests a caffeine habit may protect the brain.
According to large longitudinal studies, two to four perk-me-ups a day may stave off normal cognitive decline and decrease the incidence of Alzheimer's by 30 to 60 percent.
It is unclear whether the benefits come from caffeine or the antioxidants found in coffee and tea, but that latte may improve cognition this afternoon and several decades from now.
If you do not like coffee you can try with fish.
Essential fatty acids, such as Omega 3s, are critical to brain function and are proving beneficial for treating such brain-sapping ailments as depression.
According to large longitudinal studies, two to four perk-me-ups a day may stave off normal cognitive decline and decrease the incidence of Alzheimer's by 30 to 60 percent.
It is unclear whether the benefits come from caffeine or the antioxidants found in coffee and tea, but that latte may improve cognition this afternoon and several decades from now.
If you do not like coffee you can try with fish.
Essential fatty acids, such as Omega 3s, are critical to brain function and are proving beneficial for treating such brain-sapping ailments as depression.
No more blinds, thanks to stem cells
A simple 45-minute operation being developed by British scientists could cure blindness in millions of people around the world.
The revolutionary procedures could take place in six years and could be as commonplace as cataract surgery in less than a decade.
The improvement is likely to be great enough to transform lives, allowing the blind to regain the ability to carry out everyday tasks such as reading or driving.
The pioneering stem cell surgery, being spearheaded by researchers at the world-famous Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, tackles age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of blindness in the elderly.
more...
The revolutionary procedures could take place in six years and could be as commonplace as cataract surgery in less than a decade.
The improvement is likely to be great enough to transform lives, allowing the blind to regain the ability to carry out everyday tasks such as reading or driving.
The pioneering stem cell surgery, being spearheaded by researchers at the world-famous Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, tackles age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of blindness in the elderly.
more...
Printing on demand
I guess this is a great invention, a printer that prints anything from a virtual database.
No need for books or newspapers or magazines storage.
You just print what the customers want (to buy)
"It promises to bring the world of literature to the ordinary book-buyer at the touch of a button.
In the time it takes to brew a cappuccino, this machine can print off any book that is not in stock from a vast computer database.
The innovation, launched by book chain Blackwell yesterday, removes the need to order a hard-to-find novel, or the wait to buy one that has sold out.
Even out-of-print works can be printed off in minutes.
The Espresso Book Machine will also benefit aspiring novelists who can walk in to a shop with a CD of their work and have their book professionally printed in minutes.
The cost of buying a book will be generally the same as if it were in stock.
Currently there are 400,000 books ready to be be downloaded. Blackwell hopes that by summer, one million will be available.
It has bought one of the machines for its store on Charing Cross Road in Central London, but if it is a success then more could appear at shops across the country."
more...
No need for books or newspapers or magazines storage.
You just print what the customers want (to buy)
"It promises to bring the world of literature to the ordinary book-buyer at the touch of a button.
In the time it takes to brew a cappuccino, this machine can print off any book that is not in stock from a vast computer database.
The innovation, launched by book chain Blackwell yesterday, removes the need to order a hard-to-find novel, or the wait to buy one that has sold out.
Even out-of-print works can be printed off in minutes.
The Espresso Book Machine will also benefit aspiring novelists who can walk in to a shop with a CD of their work and have their book professionally printed in minutes.
The cost of buying a book will be generally the same as if it were in stock.
Currently there are 400,000 books ready to be be downloaded. Blackwell hopes that by summer, one million will be available.
It has bought one of the machines for its store on Charing Cross Road in Central London, but if it is a success then more could appear at shops across the country."
more...
One of the many good features of the Internet
It is the fact that you can contact millions everywhere and do not even risk to get swine flu.
Friday, April 24, 2009
There is a clear example of how world would look without energy, without fertilizers, without electricity, without technology
"Well, like I said, there’s a whole menu of them that we have to pay attention to. We’re going to have to inhabit the landscape differently because whether we like it or not, suburbia is going to fail.
Unfortunately, one of the main ideological arguments over the past 20 years has been that suburbia is OK because people like it. That’s the argument of David Brooks at the New York Times and Peter Huber at Forbes magazine.
But what we’re going to find is that it doesn’t matter what people like or not, it’s a matter of what kind of reality the universe presents to them and then they’re going to have to respond.
We’re probably going to have to return to living in towns, villages, cities that are going to be scaled differently. We’re going to have to organize an agricultural landscape that’s inhabited differently because growing food will require more human attention..."
First: I do not think that is WHAT people like.
May be THAT is what they are brainwashed to like.
When you see on TV, on your Computer screen, on big advertising panels all over, that what you should like is this or that, THEN you like it.
And you like what is convenient for them to sell.
Second: In my grandfather´s times ALL was organic agriculture.
They ate meat once a week and they were lucky, because many didn´t even once a week.
Yes they were thinner and didn´t have problems with "uricemia" (I do not know the English word for it)but the average age was 50, while now is 84.
Some would say that it is not the problem.
Because they are 20.
There is a clear example of how world would look without energy, without fertilizers, without electricity, without technology: Africa.
There Nature is still uncontaminated.
Would you like to live there?
Unfortunately, one of the main ideological arguments over the past 20 years has been that suburbia is OK because people like it. That’s the argument of David Brooks at the New York Times and Peter Huber at Forbes magazine.
But what we’re going to find is that it doesn’t matter what people like or not, it’s a matter of what kind of reality the universe presents to them and then they’re going to have to respond.
We’re probably going to have to return to living in towns, villages, cities that are going to be scaled differently. We’re going to have to organize an agricultural landscape that’s inhabited differently because growing food will require more human attention..."
First: I do not think that is WHAT people like.
May be THAT is what they are brainwashed to like.
When you see on TV, on your Computer screen, on big advertising panels all over, that what you should like is this or that, THEN you like it.
And you like what is convenient for them to sell.
Second: In my grandfather´s times ALL was organic agriculture.
They ate meat once a week and they were lucky, because many didn´t even once a week.
Yes they were thinner and didn´t have problems with "uricemia" (I do not know the English word for it)but the average age was 50, while now is 84.
Some would say that it is not the problem.
Because they are 20.
There is a clear example of how world would look without energy, without fertilizers, without electricity, without technology: Africa.
There Nature is still uncontaminated.
Would you like to live there?
The best frame for the best moment
If you plan to get married, you just have the burden to find the husband/bride, for ALL the rest there is somebody who will provide.
Have you ever dreamed of caribbean weddings?
It is true, the place and the time shouldn’t be relevant, but, believe me they are.
And they are even more if you plan your honeymoon there.
What could be a better start than a place like Heaven, where the weather is always nice and the sky always blue?
And what if you could have all inclusive travel deals, all paperwork included, even music and witnesses, may be candlelit dinner for bride and groom, continental breakfast in bed, morning after wedding?
And may be discount vacation packages?
You can even register your honeymoon online for free and if you think necessary (I think it is not a bad idea) you can list anything you want your friends and family to contribute to on your honeymoon bridal registry...
And, all considered, if you make a mistake in the only part that is up to you...do not worry...you always have a second chance...and besides, you already know where to have the best wedding of all...
Have you ever dreamed of caribbean weddings?
It is true, the place and the time shouldn’t be relevant, but, believe me they are.
And they are even more if you plan your honeymoon there.
What could be a better start than a place like Heaven, where the weather is always nice and the sky always blue?
And what if you could have all inclusive travel deals, all paperwork included, even music and witnesses, may be candlelit dinner for bride and groom, continental breakfast in bed, morning after wedding?
And may be discount vacation packages?
You can even register your honeymoon online for free and if you think necessary (I think it is not a bad idea) you can list anything you want your friends and family to contribute to on your honeymoon bridal registry...
And, all considered, if you make a mistake in the only part that is up to you...do not worry...you always have a second chance...and besides, you already know where to have the best wedding of all...
Why people do not buy organic food
"Although I don’t understand why some people buy some food that’s organic, and some that’s not. What’s the point of that? Because it’s less toxified or something?"
Normal carrots= Euro 0.50
Organic Carrots= Euro 1.20
Normal carrots= Euro 0.50
Organic Carrots= Euro 1.20
Profit is what rules our World
"The main symptom of where our heads are at collectively and the failure of collective imagination in this country can be seen in the fact that the only conversation that’s going on about this all over the country is: how are we going to run the cars on some other kind of fuel. That’s all anyone wants to talk about. "
I like imagining this society as the product of people who live in it.
Like their aspirations, their dreams, their WILL.
But that is said and believed because the responsible do not want the blame.
Which politicians would ever admit that this exasperated "happy motoring" IS NOT what people want or wanted or will want?
This "happy motoring" which is not so happy for many of us, is the CONSEQUENCE of the fact that Public Transportation has been deliberately ignored, left to inexorable decline, in favor of "private transportation".
And that was NOT for people’s sake or people’s will.
It was for the well being of a few who controlled and still control the economy.
Why the State is so eager to help the car factories?
To help the workers somebody would answer.
No, believe me.
It is for the sake of their own profit.
Behind the cars there is such a big market: manufactory, oil, taxes.
In Europe the car has become the best milking cow for the State and the State IS NOT the people.
The State is the few who get huge profits from it.
The State is the people when it comes to Election Day.
The State is the number of votes and the power of the few.
Cars are here to stay, not because we want or we decide or we would like.
The cars are here to stay because they are Profit.
And Profit IS what rules our world...
I like imagining this society as the product of people who live in it.
Like their aspirations, their dreams, their WILL.
But that is said and believed because the responsible do not want the blame.
Which politicians would ever admit that this exasperated "happy motoring" IS NOT what people want or wanted or will want?
This "happy motoring" which is not so happy for many of us, is the CONSEQUENCE of the fact that Public Transportation has been deliberately ignored, left to inexorable decline, in favor of "private transportation".
And that was NOT for people’s sake or people’s will.
It was for the well being of a few who controlled and still control the economy.
Why the State is so eager to help the car factories?
To help the workers somebody would answer.
No, believe me.
It is for the sake of their own profit.
Behind the cars there is such a big market: manufactory, oil, taxes.
In Europe the car has become the best milking cow for the State and the State IS NOT the people.
The State is the few who get huge profits from it.
The State is the people when it comes to Election Day.
The State is the number of votes and the power of the few.
Cars are here to stay, not because we want or we decide or we would like.
The cars are here to stay because they are Profit.
And Profit IS what rules our world...
The silent world
"The feeling of what it would be like to live in a world where you weren’t tyrannized by automobiles, where you weren’t bombarded incessantly by television advertising or radio advertising or visual clutter..."
I doubt there are so many right now IN REALITY who would like to have the feeling of nature.
The big problem is that when we believe in something we tend to see it as it is not.
Going back to nature IS NOT what most think it would be.
Because they are the ones who go to camping and have to bring the portable phone with them.
They have to be where the Internet is reachable, just in case...
Just in case they would miss their life so much...and they would.
For most people going back to nature is just the bright side of it.
Who needs cars or electricity, or a portable phone or an Internet connection?
Most people do and ironically most people who want to go back to nature...
Would any American live without a washing machine, or without ICE?
Would any American live without his car?
Certain things have become so normal that they are an elongation of the human body.
Like a portable phone.
I always wonder if some people in bed use their fingers to grab the sheet and to push imaginary buttons.
Even in their wildest dreams the portable phone has its space.
Does really anyone of them know what the words "going back to nature" mean?
They certainly mean going back to 100 years ago and even more.
Imagine a period without electricity that lasts more than a few hours.
Without computers, without anything we are used to.
The singing birds wouldn’t certainly replace it.
A world where you weren’t tyrannized by automobiles, where you weren’t bombarded incessantly by television advertising or radio advertising or visual clutter...it is not only difficult to imagine, it is practically impossible...
I doubt there are so many right now IN REALITY who would like to have the feeling of nature.
The big problem is that when we believe in something we tend to see it as it is not.
Going back to nature IS NOT what most think it would be.
Because they are the ones who go to camping and have to bring the portable phone with them.
They have to be where the Internet is reachable, just in case...
Just in case they would miss their life so much...and they would.
For most people going back to nature is just the bright side of it.
Who needs cars or electricity, or a portable phone or an Internet connection?
Most people do and ironically most people who want to go back to nature...
Would any American live without a washing machine, or without ICE?
Would any American live without his car?
Certain things have become so normal that they are an elongation of the human body.
Like a portable phone.
I always wonder if some people in bed use their fingers to grab the sheet and to push imaginary buttons.
Even in their wildest dreams the portable phone has its space.
Does really anyone of them know what the words "going back to nature" mean?
They certainly mean going back to 100 years ago and even more.
Imagine a period without electricity that lasts more than a few hours.
Without computers, without anything we are used to.
The singing birds wouldn’t certainly replace it.
A world where you weren’t tyrannized by automobiles, where you weren’t bombarded incessantly by television advertising or radio advertising or visual clutter...it is not only difficult to imagine, it is practically impossible...
Then with what?
"We’re not going to run Walt Disney World, Wal-Mart, and the interstate highway system on any combination of wind, solar, nuclear, bio-diesel, ethanol, or used French-fried potato oil. Or dark matter."
Then with what?
Then with what?
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Europe votes for Piracy
"The European citizens will remember this courageous stand. Members of the European parliament honored their mandates by standing courageously for citizens' rights and freedoms. This is one more blow to Nicolas Sarkozy's 'three strikes' or 'HADOPI' law in France, and a strong sign that nobody in Europe will want to pass such a stupid legislation going against progress, citizens' rights and common sense."
I would add: any intelligent fool would understand that a behavior such the one of the French President would have disastrous consequences on the Economy.
The fortune of PCs, of Software and mostly of Bill Gates was the adoption of computers as private entertainment and the Internet played a major role.
The Internet itself wouldn’t have had the success it had, had its use merely been for business use.
Illegal downloading of Music first and Movies later were the main need for broadband high speed.
Who needs 6 MB for web surfing?
Or emailing?
There is a huge market behind the illegal downloading, behind copyright infringement, being it for Music, or Movies or Software.
Nevertheless the big singers already understood that the revenues are not in the sale of CDs, but in the live concerts.
The Music industry as well as the Movie industry HAS to rewrite the rules, the revenues and the way to make profits.
If they adopted a law like the one forecasted in France, would be enough that the millions illegal downloader would say: I do and I am ready.
Would Sarkozy ban them from the Internet ALL?
99% of the connections would have to be shut down.
Is HE ready for the consequences?
I would add: any intelligent fool would understand that a behavior such the one of the French President would have disastrous consequences on the Economy.
The fortune of PCs, of Software and mostly of Bill Gates was the adoption of computers as private entertainment and the Internet played a major role.
The Internet itself wouldn’t have had the success it had, had its use merely been for business use.
Illegal downloading of Music first and Movies later were the main need for broadband high speed.
Who needs 6 MB for web surfing?
Or emailing?
There is a huge market behind the illegal downloading, behind copyright infringement, being it for Music, or Movies or Software.
Nevertheless the big singers already understood that the revenues are not in the sale of CDs, but in the live concerts.
The Music industry as well as the Movie industry HAS to rewrite the rules, the revenues and the way to make profits.
If they adopted a law like the one forecasted in France, would be enough that the millions illegal downloader would say: I do and I am ready.
Would Sarkozy ban them from the Internet ALL?
99% of the connections would have to be shut down.
Is HE ready for the consequences?
I would pity them, if they were not so predictable...
"Well, turns out the 47,000 residents of Wilson, NC got tired of paying for slow broadband, so the city government launched its own fiber ISP called Greenlight that offers some pretty solid packages ranging from $99 for 81 cable channels, unlimited phone service, and 10Mbps (down and up) internet to $170 for every single channel including premiums and 20Mbps up/down internet.
(There's even a "secret" 100Mbps up/down internet plan.) Of course, these prices blow TWC and Embarq out of the water -- the comparable basic Time Warner plan has fewer channels and less bandwidth for an "introductory rate" of $137 -- and rather than compete, the two giants decided to lobby the North Carolina legislature into proposing bills that outlaw community services like Greenlight.
The argument is that the big companies can't turn a profit and compete against a community-owned enterprise that essentially sells service for cost...Endgadget.
I think there is not so much to add, other than this is an isolated island where the word democracy still has some meaning.
I wish TW will in the future have more places to go against...
(There's even a "secret" 100Mbps up/down internet plan.) Of course, these prices blow TWC and Embarq out of the water -- the comparable basic Time Warner plan has fewer channels and less bandwidth for an "introductory rate" of $137 -- and rather than compete, the two giants decided to lobby the North Carolina legislature into proposing bills that outlaw community services like Greenlight.
The argument is that the big companies can't turn a profit and compete against a community-owned enterprise that essentially sells service for cost...Endgadget.
I think there is not so much to add, other than this is an isolated island where the word democracy still has some meaning.
I wish TW will in the future have more places to go against...
A new Justice for a new World
"In the aftermath of the Pirate Bay trial, many Swedish law experts say they consider Friday's high-profile guilty verdict severe but fair."
What happens in Court is sometimes what happens in the Vatican.
And doesn’t reflect reality at all.
One world is the old, almost obsolete world of LAW and the world of the CHURCH and another one is the world outside the REAL world.
What is right for one, very often is wrong for the other.
The Pope said condoms were illegal and forbidden, ALSO for preventing AIDS.
In Africa millions died, die and will die for AIDS and shouldn’t care for what the Pope says, because the LAW of God wants them to live and not to die and the LAW of GOD looks forward and is not simply written on books centuries of years old.
On one end the verdict looks fair, but it is not.
When a crime is committed by a restricted number of people is a CRIME, when it is committed by the majority becomes a habit.
The role of today’s justice should be understanding why and preventing with effective and NEW laws, which consider BOTH parties, the offended and the OFFENDER.
Justice cannot be an isolated island where laws are written and must be executed.
If you think this is the case, a computer could do the job better than a Judge or a Jury.
A computer can store data much more than a brain of a person and can apply data and write sentences in a more rational way.
What a computer lacks is what makes justice: a continuous view of the society, a judgment that goes beyond the mere mathematics, a moral obligation to the offended as well as to the offender.
A Judge cannot ignore that the "illegal downloading" crime is perpetrated daily by millions and it is punished in a sporadic number of cases.
A Judge cannot ignore that behind the Music and Movie industry hides a lobby of monopolists, whose revenues are enormous and enormously restricted to a few.
A Judge cannot ignore that the ones who pay have to pay too much.
A Judge cannot ignore that Justice IS NOT Justice when an actor or a football player earns billions, when the one who pays them struggles to arrive to the end of the month.
Culture and entertainment are not an option in the 21st century, they are part of our lives and as such they have to be accessible to ALL.
What happens in Court is sometimes what happens in the Vatican.
And doesn’t reflect reality at all.
One world is the old, almost obsolete world of LAW and the world of the CHURCH and another one is the world outside the REAL world.
What is right for one, very often is wrong for the other.
The Pope said condoms were illegal and forbidden, ALSO for preventing AIDS.
In Africa millions died, die and will die for AIDS and shouldn’t care for what the Pope says, because the LAW of God wants them to live and not to die and the LAW of GOD looks forward and is not simply written on books centuries of years old.
On one end the verdict looks fair, but it is not.
When a crime is committed by a restricted number of people is a CRIME, when it is committed by the majority becomes a habit.
The role of today’s justice should be understanding why and preventing with effective and NEW laws, which consider BOTH parties, the offended and the OFFENDER.
Justice cannot be an isolated island where laws are written and must be executed.
If you think this is the case, a computer could do the job better than a Judge or a Jury.
A computer can store data much more than a brain of a person and can apply data and write sentences in a more rational way.
What a computer lacks is what makes justice: a continuous view of the society, a judgment that goes beyond the mere mathematics, a moral obligation to the offended as well as to the offender.
A Judge cannot ignore that the "illegal downloading" crime is perpetrated daily by millions and it is punished in a sporadic number of cases.
A Judge cannot ignore that behind the Music and Movie industry hides a lobby of monopolists, whose revenues are enormous and enormously restricted to a few.
A Judge cannot ignore that the ones who pay have to pay too much.
A Judge cannot ignore that Justice IS NOT Justice when an actor or a football player earns billions, when the one who pays them struggles to arrive to the end of the month.
Culture and entertainment are not an option in the 21st century, they are part of our lives and as such they have to be accessible to ALL.
The war between blind and deaf
"Today the record labels war on illegal downloads of music took a new low. The Norwegian student Even (18) shared his frustration with his Twitter followers about iTunes not letting him download the newest album from Dave Matthews Band saying something like: “I’m pissed! iTunes is only allowing downloads of the new Dave Matthews Band album if you live in the US! And they complain about pirating”.
Not many minutes after Even’s tweet, Terje Pedersen from Warner Music Norway replied with something like: “Then I suggest you steal it and write about the process in your stupid brat blog. We don’t want you to get upset.”.
This shows the record companies lack of understanding for social media and the lack of respect for the costumers."
This, in my humble opinion, shows the lack of understanding for record companies and the lack of respect for the status quo.
Do not misunderstand me, I am not against "piracy".
I think that when a crime is committed by one it is against the law, when it is committed by millions becomes a habit.
Record companies should begin from this to rewrite their rules.
Insulting, while it can be a good and healthy reaction, doesn’t usually bring much far...and certainly not good results...
Not many minutes after Even’s tweet, Terje Pedersen from Warner Music Norway replied with something like: “Then I suggest you steal it and write about the process in your stupid brat blog. We don’t want you to get upset.”.
This shows the record companies lack of understanding for social media and the lack of respect for the costumers."
This, in my humble opinion, shows the lack of understanding for record companies and the lack of respect for the status quo.
Do not misunderstand me, I am not against "piracy".
I think that when a crime is committed by one it is against the law, when it is committed by millions becomes a habit.
Record companies should begin from this to rewrite their rules.
Insulting, while it can be a good and healthy reaction, doesn’t usually bring much far...and certainly not good results...
Democracy
Democracy comes in many flavors, you can choose the one you like best.
Of course if you are ONE who can there "where you can what you like".
The flavors are usually the goals you want to achieve.
Then you can turn and twist, color and lighten, desaturate, replace color, mix channels.
You can use the best words, but what we have now is far away from it...
Of course if you are ONE who can there "where you can what you like".
The flavors are usually the goals you want to achieve.
Then you can turn and twist, color and lighten, desaturate, replace color, mix channels.
You can use the best words, but what we have now is far away from it...
The Brain DNA
The exciting in our life is not what we achieved, but what we still have to.
The more you learn, the more you acknowledge the immensity of what you don’t know.
The best school is the one who teaches you how to learn.
Learning is not restricted to a few years, but it must be a life long experience.
How great it would be if we could code our knowledge and transmit it to future generations.
Something like a Brain DNA.
May be it won’t be impossible in a near future, to understand how our brains stores our knowledge and just transfer it.
We wouldn’t start from almost zero and we could speed up our progress.
The more you learn, the more you acknowledge the immensity of what you don’t know.
The best school is the one who teaches you how to learn.
Learning is not restricted to a few years, but it must be a life long experience.
How great it would be if we could code our knowledge and transmit it to future generations.
Something like a Brain DNA.
May be it won’t be impossible in a near future, to understand how our brains stores our knowledge and just transfer it.
We wouldn’t start from almost zero and we could speed up our progress.
Challenge me, I´ll surprise you
There is nothing more stimulating than having to do the impossible...that brings usually out the best of you.
First: it is far from boring.
Which I guess is the most important virtue of everything I do or think or dream.
Second: it needs creativity.
I eat creativity every seconds of my day. Even when I wash my windows.
I am always trying new ways and new products.
I am still far from the results I would like to have, but close enough to satisfaction.
Third: it needs work.
And working is the nicest way to spend your time.
The secret is doing your work the best way. Even washing dishes.
One example? Trying to clean your normal glass glasses, so that they look like crystal...
First: it is far from boring.
Which I guess is the most important virtue of everything I do or think or dream.
Second: it needs creativity.
I eat creativity every seconds of my day. Even when I wash my windows.
I am always trying new ways and new products.
I am still far from the results I would like to have, but close enough to satisfaction.
Third: it needs work.
And working is the nicest way to spend your time.
The secret is doing your work the best way. Even washing dishes.
One example? Trying to clean your normal glass glasses, so that they look like crystal...
Tell me what you wear and I´ll tell you who you are
As weird as it can sound, that is the truth.
If you say: I do not care a bit about clothes...well that is exactly who you are, by the way you look...
I personally care...because I perfectly know that in a world where at first sight you are what you look, it is very important not to look shabby.
You do not necessarily need to look like a model or like an actress.
You need your style and the more personal the better.
So that, when they look at you, they see something different and possibly pleasant...
In order to accomplish that, I always choose simple, nice looking, easy to wear clothes.
That is my style and that is what I look.
Because, if I wanted to wear things that do not fit me, I would simply look like somebody who wants to be what she is not.
My favorite place is (the name says it all) Simply be.
They have the best selection, from top to bottom, from Tops to Footwear and being all the same style, you can mix and match...
They also have a great selection of Large Ladies Clothing.
Just in case you are Large and you want to look thin...or at least pleasurably large...which is even better...
If you say: I do not care a bit about clothes...well that is exactly who you are, by the way you look...
I personally care...because I perfectly know that in a world where at first sight you are what you look, it is very important not to look shabby.
You do not necessarily need to look like a model or like an actress.
You need your style and the more personal the better.
So that, when they look at you, they see something different and possibly pleasant...
In order to accomplish that, I always choose simple, nice looking, easy to wear clothes.
That is my style and that is what I look.
Because, if I wanted to wear things that do not fit me, I would simply look like somebody who wants to be what she is not.
My favorite place is (the name says it all) Simply be.
They have the best selection, from top to bottom, from Tops to Footwear and being all the same style, you can mix and match...
They also have a great selection of Large Ladies Clothing.
Just in case you are Large and you want to look thin...or at least pleasurably large...which is even better...
I live in East Germany, in a real "DDR" house, in a real "DDR" town
I, daughter of Capitalism, have deliberately chosen an EX DDR town to live.
OK, we are talking about EX, and what is better than something that provides you with the best of BOTH ideologies?
Even though my personal view is still that Capitalism and Liberalism are definitely the best ideologies, at least they bring the best results to societies, I must say that, especially in periods when Capitalism has shown its real face, the Communist way of living had its advantages.
In DDR times ALL were poor (with the exception of course of the few who ruled), but ALL had a job and ALL had a house.
I am talking about East Germany (Russia was and certainly still is much worse).
And, as the wall fell, there were the many who took advantage of it and a few who are definitely much worse off than before.
I guess one shouldn’t under evaluate the feeling that tomorrow doesn’t look brighter, but doesn’t look darker too, and this is something the millions unemployed understand.
Their home was nothing fancy and nothing comfortable and nothing close to what one could dream, but it was a good roof, and more than anything it was a "guaranteed" roof.
Working was nothing like we are used to, especially the ones who work for a private.
The salary was far from what one could dream, but you had no stress.
What you couldn’t do today, you could finish tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
Since nothing really worked, why bother to do more?
I talked to somebody some time ago.
He has a good job now, a very well paid job, and I guess he wouldn’t go back, but he has his memories of a time in which girls loved you for what you were, not what you had.
Also this is a great part of life.
When you have nothing you ARE and not HAVE.
You are important for what you are.
In a system one would think individualism doesn’t exist, individuals count.
They were numbers for the system, but people for the people.
As for me.
I love this town, because I am a nostalgic at heart.
And if you like old towns, there is nothing older than a town which is exactly how it was, roads, parks included.
My house is a 16th century house, still(mostly) as it was when it was built.
They just did the necessary to keep it standing and that makes it unique.
Well, they of course knew how to build houses at that time. It lasted 500 years and still has a lot more than a newly built one.
It needs some painting and some new pipes. But that is all.
Where getting wet IS fun
The amazing of America is that everywhere you can find a little piece of Europe, American style of course.
Do you miss Venice?
There it is.
In a few square meters you have the Rialto bridge, Piazza San Marco and you can even go on a real Gondola.
Do you miss Paris?
There it is.
Cafes, shops and the Tour Eiffel.
Do you miss Neuschwanstein?
You do not need to go to Germany and climb mountains to see it.
Just go to Disneyland and you’ll see the best version of it, fairies included…
But they didn’t stop at that.
America fulfills every dream.
We have an idea in Europe of the people living there as very often some sort of childish dreamers, people not fully grown up.
That idea was mostly related to the Fairy Tale world created by Walt Disney.
Deep in our hearts we always had some sort of envy for somebody who, in spite of being the most advanced technologically speaking country, was still able to laugh and have fun with a Fairy Tale world.
Very hardly someone in Europe would admit that children water games are fun also for adults, at least nobody of my generation.
Even if they are.
No wonder so many Europeans (millions) plan very often a visit to Orlando, Florida.
The official excuse is bringing the children there, the unofficial is becoming children once again.
So, wherever you come from, if you want to let the child who is in you have fun and laugh again, why not trying the Disney Waterparks?
And if you decide to join the millions there, why not taking advantage of discounted tickets?
The Internet provides you the best choice at the best price.
And if you still have to decide the date, you could book on your birthday and get a further discount.
Well, it is nice thinking the older you get, the younger you behave...
Do you miss Venice?
There it is.
In a few square meters you have the Rialto bridge, Piazza San Marco and you can even go on a real Gondola.
Do you miss Paris?
There it is.
Cafes, shops and the Tour Eiffel.
Do you miss Neuschwanstein?
You do not need to go to Germany and climb mountains to see it.
Just go to Disneyland and you’ll see the best version of it, fairies included…
But they didn’t stop at that.
America fulfills every dream.
We have an idea in Europe of the people living there as very often some sort of childish dreamers, people not fully grown up.
That idea was mostly related to the Fairy Tale world created by Walt Disney.
Deep in our hearts we always had some sort of envy for somebody who, in spite of being the most advanced technologically speaking country, was still able to laugh and have fun with a Fairy Tale world.
Very hardly someone in Europe would admit that children water games are fun also for adults, at least nobody of my generation.
Even if they are.
No wonder so many Europeans (millions) plan very often a visit to Orlando, Florida.
The official excuse is bringing the children there, the unofficial is becoming children once again.
So, wherever you come from, if you want to let the child who is in you have fun and laugh again, why not trying the Disney Waterparks?
And if you decide to join the millions there, why not taking advantage of discounted tickets?
The Internet provides you the best choice at the best price.
And if you still have to decide the date, you could book on your birthday and get a further discount.
Well, it is nice thinking the older you get, the younger you behave...
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
The wonderful Era in which we live
We are getting or we already are in the Era of Writers.
It is not true that journalism is dead, on the contrary, we never had so many journalists as now.
What we lack is readers, or we think we lack readers.
I guess that also the readers´ number has increased exponentially, the real and objective fact is that if every writer has a restricted number of readers it LOOKS LIKE we have few readers, while we got an enormous number of readers.
What has changed is the length of the articles, the type of articles and the content of them.
It is a more variegated multitude of short stories, a collection of sentences and MOSTLY an infinite series of images.
Ours is a visual society, the reader wants all in the shortest time and in the easiest way.
We are literally bombed with information’s, news and images.
I like it, I like it so much that I would have liked to be born later, so that I wouldn’t have missed so many years of my life in the dark, in a Limbo place, where I had connection with the world in an imperfect, sporadic way.
Now it is enough to switch on your computer and the world is there, in a few seconds you meet a huge numbers of ideas, opinions, images.
Even too much sometimes, if too much is something good.
I envy the ones who are born today and even more the ones that will be born tomorrow because the World is getting such an interesting place to live that Heaven, the wonderful garden of Eden, looks so shabby and so boring.
As "Paris is well worth a mass" so may be "Globalization is well worth some economical distress"
It is not true that journalism is dead, on the contrary, we never had so many journalists as now.
What we lack is readers, or we think we lack readers.
I guess that also the readers´ number has increased exponentially, the real and objective fact is that if every writer has a restricted number of readers it LOOKS LIKE we have few readers, while we got an enormous number of readers.
What has changed is the length of the articles, the type of articles and the content of them.
It is a more variegated multitude of short stories, a collection of sentences and MOSTLY an infinite series of images.
Ours is a visual society, the reader wants all in the shortest time and in the easiest way.
We are literally bombed with information’s, news and images.
I like it, I like it so much that I would have liked to be born later, so that I wouldn’t have missed so many years of my life in the dark, in a Limbo place, where I had connection with the world in an imperfect, sporadic way.
Now it is enough to switch on your computer and the world is there, in a few seconds you meet a huge numbers of ideas, opinions, images.
Even too much sometimes, if too much is something good.
I envy the ones who are born today and even more the ones that will be born tomorrow because the World is getting such an interesting place to live that Heaven, the wonderful garden of Eden, looks so shabby and so boring.
As "Paris is well worth a mass" so may be "Globalization is well worth some economical distress"
The many faces of illegal downloading
"Sure at 30 Mbps you can download DVD quality The Bourne Identity in 11 minutes, but its still going to take you 2 hours to watch it."
But it needs just few minutes to decide if you want to watch it or not...
Considering the enormous quantity of rubbish on the Market, being able to decide if you are going to watch a movie or just decide to discharge it IS one of the best aspect of illegal (and free) downloading...
But it needs just few minutes to decide if you want to watch it or not...
Considering the enormous quantity of rubbish on the Market, being able to decide if you are going to watch a movie or just decide to discharge it IS one of the best aspect of illegal (and free) downloading...
Easy way to save electricity
"Moving right along- here is a fantasy I have had. Many of our little toys and some useful devices run on low voltage, provided by myriad transformers, which are always on, always drawing power, if my high school physics is correct. A house of the future could be wired for a single standardized (by decree) low voltage power circuitry, plugs in every room. supplied from a single transformer.All toys would plug into it. Probably these little corkscrew lights could be made to work just as well on low voltage. There could still be some 120 or 220 outlets for motors and heaters, I guess .Do you know of a flagpole to run that up?"
John Bosley
Baltimore
I guess this is an interesting proposal.
After reading it, I looked around and found several decvices in my home which run at 4 or 5 volt, but in reality consume 220.
We have one problem besides, which is getting a universal standard for low voltage devices.
It would really make sense to have at least one plug for them...
John Bosley
Baltimore
I guess this is an interesting proposal.
After reading it, I looked around and found several decvices in my home which run at 4 or 5 volt, but in reality consume 220.
We have one problem besides, which is getting a universal standard for low voltage devices.
It would really make sense to have at least one plug for them...
Where imagination is more important than knowledge
What is a Hacker?
Besides being good in Computer skills, he is one for whom imagination is more important than knowledge.
He is one who loves to do what normal people think as a job.
And he so much loves it that he is willing to work and work hard just for the pleasure of doing it.
It doesn’t matter the revenue, his revenue is in the joy to win a challenge, the challenge to undo what the others did.
These are qualities worth a lot, especially for the people who DO and do not want their job undone.
If you cannot win your enemies the best strategy is changing them into friends.
If one of the strongest motives that lead you to computing is escape from everyday computing and its hopeless dreariness, you will certainly find very interesting to attend courses how to become and get better as a Hacker in IT Security.
If what matters IS NOT what you do, but the way you do it and the accomplishment of something great, why not doing it and making money?
Why not being paid to do the things you like?
They so much need Hackers that they even make courses how to become one.
They call it "Ethical Hacker".
If you are good, you have a very good career in front of you.
These courses offer the most sought after information security certification and technical training classes, besides the possibility to enhance your technical skills.
They offer the knowledge many are willing to pay for, and many means opportunities, and opportunities mean a well paid job.
Besides being good in Computer skills, he is one for whom imagination is more important than knowledge.
He is one who loves to do what normal people think as a job.
And he so much loves it that he is willing to work and work hard just for the pleasure of doing it.
It doesn’t matter the revenue, his revenue is in the joy to win a challenge, the challenge to undo what the others did.
These are qualities worth a lot, especially for the people who DO and do not want their job undone.
If you cannot win your enemies the best strategy is changing them into friends.
If one of the strongest motives that lead you to computing is escape from everyday computing and its hopeless dreariness, you will certainly find very interesting to attend courses how to become and get better as a Hacker in IT Security.
If what matters IS NOT what you do, but the way you do it and the accomplishment of something great, why not doing it and making money?
Why not being paid to do the things you like?
They so much need Hackers that they even make courses how to become one.
They call it "Ethical Hacker".
If you are good, you have a very good career in front of you.
These courses offer the most sought after information security certification and technical training classes, besides the possibility to enhance your technical skills.
They offer the knowledge many are willing to pay for, and many means opportunities, and opportunities mean a well paid job.
Those two important clicks
There are three definitive (and painful) events: birth, death and the loss of your hard drive.
Recently I lost two hard drives.
Once, when you lost one you cried mostly for the value of it.
Now you cry for the data you had on it.
I still remember my first 500 MB hard drive.
And it was not even full!( but it cost more than 1 Terrabytes of today.)
That cost me much more than the $4.95 I would have spent to have an IDrive Online Backup.
And I do not even have the excuse that it is a burden, because it is so simple and fast to use and save, JUST TWO CLICKS.
Those two clicks would have saved my work, my data, gone to the moon.
I always say: it is better to carefully think before than regretting later...
Too bad I never do...
Recently I lost two hard drives.
Once, when you lost one you cried mostly for the value of it.
Now you cry for the data you had on it.
I still remember my first 500 MB hard drive.
And it was not even full!( but it cost more than 1 Terrabytes of today.)
That cost me much more than the $4.95 I would have spent to have an IDrive Online Backup.
And I do not even have the excuse that it is a burden, because it is so simple and fast to use and save, JUST TWO CLICKS.
Those two clicks would have saved my work, my data, gone to the moon.
I always say: it is better to carefully think before than regretting later...
Too bad I never do...
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
"Les enfant de la Patrie" won´t be able to infringe copyrights
"Despite public protests the French Parliament has passed a controversial new law that will see alleged copyright infringers disconnected from the Internet. In addition, France’s Minister of Culture Christine Albanel has stated that under the new law, ISPs may be ordered to block The Pirate Bay.
In order to clamp down on piracy the French have passed a new law requiring Internet service providers to cut off Internet access for persistent offenders. Under the new legislation ISPs have to warn alleged copyright infringers twice, and if they they ignore these warnings their Internet access is terminated for up to a year.
One of the biggest problems with the new law is that copyright infringers will be identified only by an IP-address, which will undoubtedly lead to many false accusations. Those who want to prove their innocence have only one option, namely, to install a spyware application that will monitor their every move on the Internet and report it back to the authorities. Hardly practical.
The law goes much further than disconnecting alleged file-sharers though. In addition it is now possible to take “any action” in order to put a halt to copyright infringement. Minister of Culture, Christine Albanel, explicitly named The Pirate Bay as one of the sites that could be easily blocked under the new law.
Thus, without having to provide evidence that a website is engaging in illegal activities, it can still be blocked. Potentially this could mean that access to BitTorrent sites is disallowed in France, as well as access to sites like YouTube or perhaps even Google.
In summary, the new law introduces unlimited options for the copyright holders to go after sites and people that may or may not infringe copyright, without having to actually proove that the accused are guilty. To date, this is by far the most aggressive and unbalanced piece of copyright legislation that we’ve seen."
In order to clamp down on piracy the French have passed a new law requiring Internet service providers to cut off Internet access for persistent offenders. Under the new legislation ISPs have to warn alleged copyright infringers twice, and if they they ignore these warnings their Internet access is terminated for up to a year.
One of the biggest problems with the new law is that copyright infringers will be identified only by an IP-address, which will undoubtedly lead to many false accusations. Those who want to prove their innocence have only one option, namely, to install a spyware application that will monitor their every move on the Internet and report it back to the authorities. Hardly practical.
The law goes much further than disconnecting alleged file-sharers though. In addition it is now possible to take “any action” in order to put a halt to copyright infringement. Minister of Culture, Christine Albanel, explicitly named The Pirate Bay as one of the sites that could be easily blocked under the new law.
Thus, without having to provide evidence that a website is engaging in illegal activities, it can still be blocked. Potentially this could mean that access to BitTorrent sites is disallowed in France, as well as access to sites like YouTube or perhaps even Google.
In summary, the new law introduces unlimited options for the copyright holders to go after sites and people that may or may not infringe copyright, without having to actually proove that the accused are guilty. To date, this is by far the most aggressive and unbalanced piece of copyright legislation that we’ve seen."
The perfect Journalist
Montanelli was a great journalist, one of the ones who are not boring, that teach because the others read, and they read because they enjoy reading.
But his fault was in believing in what he wrote, in what he believed was right and in believing that only what he believed was right.
And the biggest mistake was believing so much that profit didn’t count and when profit doesn’t count the only thing you can do is packing your stuff and go.
That is exactly what happened to him.
To be able to say what you think needs to be able to think what the people who pay you think, that is the "conditio sine qua non" to write and to be proud to say the truth.
Because the truth is never an objective fact, it is what you believe and what you see.
The important is training yourself to see what you have to.
That belongs to the survival instinct and to the love for your job.
If you love to write more than what you write, then you can believe everything and write about what you believe.
Because there is always another way to see any situations.
I guess that is also what makes a lawyer a good lawyer.
To be successful you need to do what you believe right and you have to believe right what you have to do.
The only fact we still have to establish is what is being a "good journalist" or being a "good lawyer".
For the actual mentality you are good if you make a lot of money, while for the ideologists you are good if you do not conform.
I think that being good means writing well and being able to write also about things you do not believe in.
A good actor is good if he plays well also the parts he doesn’t like.
He has to play the bad guy, and he gives you the perfect performance of the bad guy.
He even makes you hating him, because he actually IS the perfect portrait of the BAD.
So the good lawyer is the one who defends you in spite of...
And the good journalist?
The good journalist is the one who is able to write what he doesn’t believe in, may be giving both the sides of the coin.
In a perfectly impartial way.
What if you read something and in the end you were not able to say if it good or it is bad?
You would have just met the perfect journalist.
But his fault was in believing in what he wrote, in what he believed was right and in believing that only what he believed was right.
And the biggest mistake was believing so much that profit didn’t count and when profit doesn’t count the only thing you can do is packing your stuff and go.
That is exactly what happened to him.
To be able to say what you think needs to be able to think what the people who pay you think, that is the "conditio sine qua non" to write and to be proud to say the truth.
Because the truth is never an objective fact, it is what you believe and what you see.
The important is training yourself to see what you have to.
That belongs to the survival instinct and to the love for your job.
If you love to write more than what you write, then you can believe everything and write about what you believe.
Because there is always another way to see any situations.
I guess that is also what makes a lawyer a good lawyer.
To be successful you need to do what you believe right and you have to believe right what you have to do.
The only fact we still have to establish is what is being a "good journalist" or being a "good lawyer".
For the actual mentality you are good if you make a lot of money, while for the ideologists you are good if you do not conform.
I think that being good means writing well and being able to write also about things you do not believe in.
A good actor is good if he plays well also the parts he doesn’t like.
He has to play the bad guy, and he gives you the perfect performance of the bad guy.
He even makes you hating him, because he actually IS the perfect portrait of the BAD.
So the good lawyer is the one who defends you in spite of...
And the good journalist?
The good journalist is the one who is able to write what he doesn’t believe in, may be giving both the sides of the coin.
In a perfectly impartial way.
What if you read something and in the end you were not able to say if it good or it is bad?
You would have just met the perfect journalist.
Wernigerode
The Broghammers love to wander around. It is their favorite sport.
Not too heavy, not too light.
They walk a lot and look and see and enjoy.
At least it has one of their favorite features: it is cheap and brings a lot for the money you spend.
Besides there is always the opportunity to find eventual bargains.
Enjoy and save...
Wernigerode is a real jewel, a gem few know and it is a real pity.
Because it is such a nice place to visit in an early Spring day.
At least if you like old towns.
They (the Germans) have a lot of original buildings also in the West, but the beauty of the East is that they are still as they were, roads and environment included.
In the DDR they just abandoned the old and built new ugly towns somewhere else.
That is why entering something like Wernigerode you feel like jumping in the past.
What brings you to the present is the huge mass of tourists sitting in the beautiful Cafes, eating ice creams (Italian) and enjoying the sun.
We walked and walked. We went to the Castle and coming back we finished in a "Gross" and beautiful Park.
After the Winter we had, it looked like Nature had died, the sun had gone away and the cold was our friend forever.
But suddenly Spring exploded and everything is so green that I guess a painter would have problems to copy it.
There were a lot of young people playing, small children running and mothers chatting.
The sky was blue and there was a very sweet smell in the air: the smell of flowers.
We finally sat in a fancy Cafe, had a coffee with the Schwarzwald cake, a huge slice, and we were, if not happy, at least very pleased.
If you plan to go to Germany this is a place to be.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Creativity is very often the ability to hide your sources
"The Internet makes possible the efficient spread of content. Peer-to-peer (p2p) file sharing is among the most efficient of the efficient technologies the Internet enables. Using distributed intelligence, p2p systems facilitate the easy spread of content in a way unimagined a generation ago."
Piracy always existed, but it never harmed so much, better it never "scared so much".
Because of what it could "do" much more than what it already "does".
I guess the Music and Movies industry is still blooming, probably much more then ever.
"As the Internet has been integrated into ordinary life, it has changed things. Some of these changes are technical—the Internet has made communication faster, it has lowered the cost of gathering data, and so on."
The globalization of content has made the huge profits of the Music and Movies industry even huger.
The profits of successful singers and actors even bigger than they already were.
The globalization has unleashed an extraordinary possibility for many to upgrade revenues for products that reach far beyond local boundaries.
I am a believer in property, and in “creative property.”
I believe that “piracy” is wrong, and that the law, properly tuned, should punish “piracy,” whether on or off the Internet.
In order to achieve this both "property" and "piracy" should be given the right value and certain "boundaries".
It is an old saying that "who asks too much in the end gets nothing".
That is what the "copyright holders are doing today, and very certainly they will pay for it tomorrow.
Because the "wall" of Justice will be too weak to resist the wave of the "million pirates" that will go on downloading and sharing in spite of.
If the Market of the "copyrighted stuff" is huge, the one of the "uncopyrighted" is huger, and since the first cannot exist without consumers it will always have the need of the Market to make its profits.
That is, if you sell a product, the moment it is sold, and especially the moment it is sold to millions, you risk that it is copied by millions of millions.
The solution?
Abandon the fight of "right" against "wrong".
Give to the copyright the right value and of course the right price and just then you will have arguments to fight against piracy.
Or better, rewrite the way it is paid and you’ll have a few chances to make profits, the right profits, not the illusory and unrealistic "revenue estimations" based on over evaluated products...
Piracy always existed, but it never harmed so much, better it never "scared so much".
Because of what it could "do" much more than what it already "does".
I guess the Music and Movies industry is still blooming, probably much more then ever.
"As the Internet has been integrated into ordinary life, it has changed things. Some of these changes are technical—the Internet has made communication faster, it has lowered the cost of gathering data, and so on."
The globalization of content has made the huge profits of the Music and Movies industry even huger.
The profits of successful singers and actors even bigger than they already were.
The globalization has unleashed an extraordinary possibility for many to upgrade revenues for products that reach far beyond local boundaries.
I am a believer in property, and in “creative property.”
I believe that “piracy” is wrong, and that the law, properly tuned, should punish “piracy,” whether on or off the Internet.
In order to achieve this both "property" and "piracy" should be given the right value and certain "boundaries".
It is an old saying that "who asks too much in the end gets nothing".
That is what the "copyright holders are doing today, and very certainly they will pay for it tomorrow.
Because the "wall" of Justice will be too weak to resist the wave of the "million pirates" that will go on downloading and sharing in spite of.
If the Market of the "copyrighted stuff" is huge, the one of the "uncopyrighted" is huger, and since the first cannot exist without consumers it will always have the need of the Market to make its profits.
That is, if you sell a product, the moment it is sold, and especially the moment it is sold to millions, you risk that it is copied by millions of millions.
The solution?
Abandon the fight of "right" against "wrong".
Give to the copyright the right value and of course the right price and just then you will have arguments to fight against piracy.
Or better, rewrite the way it is paid and you’ll have a few chances to make profits, the right profits, not the illusory and unrealistic "revenue estimations" based on over evaluated products...
Tomorrow´s Job
Rising prices, stagnant wages: welcome to tomorrow’s world.
How to survive in a future that doesn’t promise much, and looks greyer than today?
What you need to know about America’s future is that it will probably stop to be the "promised land", the country where it was enough to have hopes, to get a better future.
Now the future is still in your hands, providing you are smart enough to see it.
That includes seeing where the world is going and where the available jobs will be.
It is not important to do the job you like, it is essential to like the job you do.
And the job that is needed.
Probably a University graduate will not have the same chances as before, and in certain jobs he will even face unemployment.
Automation, computerization and off shoring are reducing the number of middle-wage, skilled occupations -- stock clerks, inspectors, telemarketers, payroll workers, sales agents and software programmers. These jobs are particularly vulnerable to automation because their core tasks follow well-understood routines that can increasingly be codified in software and executed by machinery.
Ironically, many jobs that require less formal education are more difficult to automate than these white-collar positions because they demand physical flexibility and rapid adaptation to unpredictable circumstances.
Demand will still be high for job requiring expertise and particularly skilled individuals like the ones in the culinary and hospitality management.
That is the reason why choosing the right culinary school can play a major role in your future.
At allculinaryschools.com you can find all the careers in those arts.
I think it is very important to choose AFTER having evaluated ALL features of the job you choose.
Whatever you decide to become, it pays to be informed and in the right way.
Carefully examine your options before you jump to any decision.
It is better to know before than regretting later.
How to survive in a future that doesn’t promise much, and looks greyer than today?
What you need to know about America’s future is that it will probably stop to be the "promised land", the country where it was enough to have hopes, to get a better future.
Now the future is still in your hands, providing you are smart enough to see it.
That includes seeing where the world is going and where the available jobs will be.
It is not important to do the job you like, it is essential to like the job you do.
And the job that is needed.
Probably a University graduate will not have the same chances as before, and in certain jobs he will even face unemployment.
Automation, computerization and off shoring are reducing the number of middle-wage, skilled occupations -- stock clerks, inspectors, telemarketers, payroll workers, sales agents and software programmers. These jobs are particularly vulnerable to automation because their core tasks follow well-understood routines that can increasingly be codified in software and executed by machinery.
Ironically, many jobs that require less formal education are more difficult to automate than these white-collar positions because they demand physical flexibility and rapid adaptation to unpredictable circumstances.
Demand will still be high for job requiring expertise and particularly skilled individuals like the ones in the culinary and hospitality management.
That is the reason why choosing the right culinary school can play a major role in your future.
At allculinaryschools.com you can find all the careers in those arts.
I think it is very important to choose AFTER having evaluated ALL features of the job you choose.
Whatever you decide to become, it pays to be informed and in the right way.
Carefully examine your options before you jump to any decision.
It is better to know before than regretting later.
Hopes of the future
Ours is the "Baby Boomers Generation" and ours is the world the "Baby Boomers generation" created long ago.
We were the "Hopes" of a bright future, the one built on the ashes of Two Major wars.
Many of us are old, but young looking.
Once grandmas had white hair and wore old style glasses.
Now a day grandmas look better than the latest generation, because they have the money and all the surgeon’s help that money can buy...
Once grandpas were old and active in mind and dreams.
Today grandpas have Viagra and a still good heart, so they can stay "young" in body and desires much longer.
Once grandparents couldn’t eat everything, because of false teeth.
Now they could, but do not, because of "keeping young" with lifestyle.
Which prescribes vegetables and good exercise.
Once the world belonged to the young generations, now the young generations belong to the world of the old generation.
They have money and power.
They think that the present is still future, that the past is something "Before".
They were born to be the "hopes of the future" and that is still what they want to be.
They will never be able to get rid of the complex of being the "post war generation".
They will try to rebuild also when there is nothing more to rebuild.
They are keeping the world on a "Standing still" position, because they are too old to understand that "everything has to change in order to stay the same".
And the same means that the world "must go on" with or without them.
We were the "Hopes" of a bright future, the one built on the ashes of Two Major wars.
Many of us are old, but young looking.
Once grandmas had white hair and wore old style glasses.
Now a day grandmas look better than the latest generation, because they have the money and all the surgeon’s help that money can buy...
Once grandpas were old and active in mind and dreams.
Today grandpas have Viagra and a still good heart, so they can stay "young" in body and desires much longer.
Once grandparents couldn’t eat everything, because of false teeth.
Now they could, but do not, because of "keeping young" with lifestyle.
Which prescribes vegetables and good exercise.
Once the world belonged to the young generations, now the young generations belong to the world of the old generation.
They have money and power.
They think that the present is still future, that the past is something "Before".
They were born to be the "hopes of the future" and that is still what they want to be.
They will never be able to get rid of the complex of being the "post war generation".
They will try to rebuild also when there is nothing more to rebuild.
They are keeping the world on a "Standing still" position, because they are too old to understand that "everything has to change in order to stay the same".
And the same means that the world "must go on" with or without them.
About cloning
Sometimes I like to amuse myself dreaming we are on the dawn of the real Democracy.
That lasts a few seconds, the necessary time to remember that humanity is not made for democracy, it just cannot be.
We have a goal for our existence, a reason why we are here and that reason seems not to fit with democracy, unless somebody really great would find the way to mix the need of making the World going on and the need of flattening the human nature, creating clones of good people with entrepreneurial spirit and a "moral" nature.
I am afraid we are not ready yet for cloning.
The product would be a mixture of Marilyn Monroe and Leonardo da Vinci, which simply wouldn’t work.
The moment the whole world would be entirely made by handsome men and women, both beautiful and genius, being beautiful and intelligent would just be normal and humanity would chase ugliness and stupidity.
As much as finally producing a world where everybody is just exactly as good as the other would be such a boring and unsatisfactory world that we would desperately look for something "different".
May be that "something different" could be eating a forbidden fruit from a forbidden tree, so that History could begin all over again...
That lasts a few seconds, the necessary time to remember that humanity is not made for democracy, it just cannot be.
We have a goal for our existence, a reason why we are here and that reason seems not to fit with democracy, unless somebody really great would find the way to mix the need of making the World going on and the need of flattening the human nature, creating clones of good people with entrepreneurial spirit and a "moral" nature.
I am afraid we are not ready yet for cloning.
The product would be a mixture of Marilyn Monroe and Leonardo da Vinci, which simply wouldn’t work.
The moment the whole world would be entirely made by handsome men and women, both beautiful and genius, being beautiful and intelligent would just be normal and humanity would chase ugliness and stupidity.
As much as finally producing a world where everybody is just exactly as good as the other would be such a boring and unsatisfactory world that we would desperately look for something "different".
May be that "something different" could be eating a forbidden fruit from a forbidden tree, so that History could begin all over again...
About Obama
"Obama is the best president we have had in the 21st century. Thanks for reminding me. "
He is also the living proof that a President nothing can, if the Nation doesn´t want or doesn´t understand, or doesn´t want to understand...
He is also the living proof that a President nothing can, if the Nation doesn´t want or doesn´t understand, or doesn´t want to understand...
About change
"Change is, of course, subjective."
As anyone who has raised teenagers knows.Asoka
I do not know you, Mr. Asoka, but I can assure you that this is terribly wrong.
There is nothing more objective than an empty stomach...
As anyone who has raised teenagers knows.Asoka
I do not know you, Mr. Asoka, but I can assure you that this is terribly wrong.
There is nothing more objective than an empty stomach...
About Recovery
"Recovery to what? To Wall Street booking stupendous profits by laundering "risk" out of bad loans with new issues of tranche-o-matic securitized paper? This I doubt, since there isn't a pension fund left from San Jose to Bratislava that would touch this stuff with a stick, even if it could be turned out in collector's editions of boxed sets."JK
You are, as usual, simply great, Mr. Kunstler.
You are like a great painter that with a few strokes and few colors gives the idea of the Universe.
Because in spite of all the big words that politicians and economists wash their mouth with, the situation could be so easily understood that a stupid fool student of the Grammar school could, just being able to count 1+1 minus 4.
That is what happened.
You can presume that the -2 will soon become a 0 adding 2.
But when the 2 doesn´t appear in your paper and you are not able to borrow from somewhere else, that -2 will easily become much worse, if you go on subtracting.
The painter is great too, being Peter Bruegel-the-elder's one of my favorite.
Germans tend to be quite rational and that makes them a great economical power.
Italians tend to be great dreamers and that tends to make them a failure as economic power.
You just have to decide if you prefer to eat or just lay in the sun waiting for the "Provvidenza"...
Americans many years ago were a good mixture of both, and it lasted as long as they were not too busy to amuse themselves and enjoy life (and bombing around).
That didn´t work for the greatest Empire which ever existed: Rome.
And there is no reason why what happened to Rome cannot happen to Washington...
In Italy we have a saying: the sun rises for all, not just for one, may be this is the time to leave somebody else to enjoy life.
You are, as usual, simply great, Mr. Kunstler.
You are like a great painter that with a few strokes and few colors gives the idea of the Universe.
Because in spite of all the big words that politicians and economists wash their mouth with, the situation could be so easily understood that a stupid fool student of the Grammar school could, just being able to count 1+1 minus 4.
That is what happened.
You can presume that the -2 will soon become a 0 adding 2.
But when the 2 doesn´t appear in your paper and you are not able to borrow from somewhere else, that -2 will easily become much worse, if you go on subtracting.
The painter is great too, being Peter Bruegel-the-elder's one of my favorite.
Germans tend to be quite rational and that makes them a great economical power.
Italians tend to be great dreamers and that tends to make them a failure as economic power.
You just have to decide if you prefer to eat or just lay in the sun waiting for the "Provvidenza"...
Americans many years ago were a good mixture of both, and it lasted as long as they were not too busy to amuse themselves and enjoy life (and bombing around).
That didn´t work for the greatest Empire which ever existed: Rome.
And there is no reason why what happened to Rome cannot happen to Washington...
In Italy we have a saying: the sun rises for all, not just for one, may be this is the time to leave somebody else to enjoy life.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
About Abruzzo´s earthquake...
Since the dawn of humanity Religion has been a good business.
And as such many are the ones who invite the Mass to their "Monopoly" taking advantage of people’s fear of death and selling heaven and a better life.
But one of the good principle should be the effort to keep alive their followers.
What does a customer count if he is dead?
It is what happened on the earthquake’s event in Italy.
In Abruzzo, the Jehovah's Witnesses were saved while the Catholics went to Heaven. Before the earthquake struck, the Jehovah’s Witnesses warned the members of their community about the danger.
They were advised to sleep in their cars and to make sure they had suitcases with them, containing the necessary items. They all survived.
Were none of the Bishops, Deans or Parish Priests not fully in the picture regarding what was about to happen?
Didn’t they see any need to warn anyone about the danger? May be, may be not. The church bells were deathly silent.
The voice of the Church failed to make even the slightest sound prior to the earthquake.
If Bertolaso had been a Jehovah’s Witness, the people of Abruzzo wouldn´t now be mourning the death of hundreds of people.
As for Radio Maria, in their opinion the earthquake was simply God’s will and perhaps He wanted the people of Abruzzo to share the pain of his Passion...
It happened JUST before Easter, didn’t it?
And as such many are the ones who invite the Mass to their "Monopoly" taking advantage of people’s fear of death and selling heaven and a better life.
But one of the good principle should be the effort to keep alive their followers.
What does a customer count if he is dead?
It is what happened on the earthquake’s event in Italy.
In Abruzzo, the Jehovah's Witnesses were saved while the Catholics went to Heaven. Before the earthquake struck, the Jehovah’s Witnesses warned the members of their community about the danger.
They were advised to sleep in their cars and to make sure they had suitcases with them, containing the necessary items. They all survived.
Were none of the Bishops, Deans or Parish Priests not fully in the picture regarding what was about to happen?
Didn’t they see any need to warn anyone about the danger? May be, may be not. The church bells were deathly silent.
The voice of the Church failed to make even the slightest sound prior to the earthquake.
If Bertolaso had been a Jehovah’s Witness, the people of Abruzzo wouldn´t now be mourning the death of hundreds of people.
As for Radio Maria, in their opinion the earthquake was simply God’s will and perhaps He wanted the people of Abruzzo to share the pain of his Passion...
It happened JUST before Easter, didn’t it?
If copyrights infringement is right the offended are the wrong ones
The calculation of lost revenues is made on the false assumption that people who illegally download would buy what they download and pay the right fees.
That is the same that happens in the calculation of lost revenues of the sale of copyrighted fashion "labeled" merchandise.
They assume that the one who pays 5 Euro for a "copied Armani bag" would pay 500 Euros if he or she couldn’t´ t find the copy on the illegal market.
Which is totally wrong.
The same person when not available the copy would buy the "non copied" version which costs 5 Euros.
The really damaged in this case are the producers of 5 Euros bags not "copyrights violating".
The real damage probably is on the shoulders of the ones who would sell their product because cheaper and do not because available on the market is the "expensive" at a cheap price.
All this wouldn’t happen if things had the price they deserve...
That is the same that happens in the calculation of lost revenues of the sale of copyrighted fashion "labeled" merchandise.
They assume that the one who pays 5 Euro for a "copied Armani bag" would pay 500 Euros if he or she couldn’t´ t find the copy on the illegal market.
Which is totally wrong.
The same person when not available the copy would buy the "non copied" version which costs 5 Euros.
The really damaged in this case are the producers of 5 Euros bags not "copyrights violating".
The real damage probably is on the shoulders of the ones who would sell their product because cheaper and do not because available on the market is the "expensive" at a cheap price.
All this wouldn’t happen if things had the price they deserve...
We ALL should have the same rights
"I do believe that massive unauthorized sharing of copyrighted material is a crime. But we drug runners murdering people in the streets, thousands of workers being cheated out of wages by scufflaw employers, and all kinds of serious crimes that really threaten lives. It's not in the public interest to turn copyright infringement from a civil offense to a criminal one. And it leads to violations of privacy and civil liberties in ever-more desperate attempts to enforce laws."
What we all know is that the people murdered on the Streets, the workers abused, the serious crimes offended, are very often just numbers in a statistic survey, unless they are "somebody who counts".
While the copyright holders are the Power that rules our society.
Because they have the money and they surely want to keep their enormous revenues.
As sad as it can look, History was and still is made not by the people on the road, but by the "ones who can what they want".
I do believe that there is just one type of crime, as there should be just one type of Justice.
When you are a criminal you are a criminal.
But one thing is Justice and a totally different one is what happens in Courts.
This is what produced in the past the big revolutions and all their consequences.
The knowledge which anyone of us has that we ALL should have the same rights.
What we all know is that the people murdered on the Streets, the workers abused, the serious crimes offended, are very often just numbers in a statistic survey, unless they are "somebody who counts".
While the copyright holders are the Power that rules our society.
Because they have the money and they surely want to keep their enormous revenues.
As sad as it can look, History was and still is made not by the people on the road, but by the "ones who can what they want".
I do believe that there is just one type of crime, as there should be just one type of Justice.
When you are a criminal you are a criminal.
But one thing is Justice and a totally different one is what happens in Courts.
This is what produced in the past the big revolutions and all their consequences.
The knowledge which anyone of us has that we ALL should have the same rights.
The Telecoms way to impose new Monopolies
"Cocomms: Finnet Starts a Major Paradigm Shift in Computing – Involving Largest Local and Global System Suppliers HELSINKI, Finland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Finnet Association announced a project being prepared in collaboration with Finnish and international information industry players on 17 April 2009. The project involves the largest local and global system suppliers. Investments in the project are estimated to EUR 1 billion over the next ten years only for Finnet Group. The model is expected to spread globally.
The project aims at bringing 100-megabits and faster connections to homes and desktops, making personal computers obsolete. This is the world's first project where the operator aims to virtualise users’ computers and will provide the whole desktop as a service. The project has been named Supermatrix."
I guess the only nice thing is the name.
Which of course has nothing to do whith intentions and project.
Who would be that stupid in a time in which PCs are relatively cheap to give up his privacy to get back may be a good monthly fee (somebody has to pay) to store his personal life in a computer owned by something like a Telecom?
I know that there are a lot of stupids, but not THAT stupid...
The project aims at bringing 100-megabits and faster connections to homes and desktops, making personal computers obsolete. This is the world's first project where the operator aims to virtualise users’ computers and will provide the whole desktop as a service. The project has been named Supermatrix."
I guess the only nice thing is the name.
Which of course has nothing to do whith intentions and project.
Who would be that stupid in a time in which PCs are relatively cheap to give up his privacy to get back may be a good monthly fee (somebody has to pay) to store his personal life in a computer owned by something like a Telecom?
I know that there are a lot of stupids, but not THAT stupid...
The verdict against the men connected to The Pirate Bay makes new 21st century martyrs
What looks like a defeat is nothing of that kind.
It will give a Halo of martyrdom to the convicted.
All Europe has new heroes since the hard and unjustified sentence against four men connected to The Pirate Bay, the world's most notorious file sharing site.
The answer is in one sentence:
"The verdict is our ticket to the EU Parliament"
They can be sure that the millions who were defeated with them will vote for the new ideals of freedom.
Because the fight against Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Bros, EMI and Columbia Pictures is nothing else than the fight against the monopoly of the few who put the rules and use Justice to justify their enormous revenues made mostly cheating the audience.
It is not the fight against copyrights infringement, it is much more.
Nobody would ever deny that the ones who produce have the right to revenues; everybody would agree that the revenues MUST follow the real value of what is produced.
Every Judge should see that taking advantage of a monopoly imposing prices that have nothing to do with real value is against the law.
This is the beginning of the new Revolution: why people like Nicole Kidman should earn $20 millions for a movie, or a football player a salary of billions when the man on the road, who is the one who pays, should struggle to pay his bills?
This and nothing else is the point, and the young generation, when asked to decide, will certainly vote for the "new society" where at least in theory, every individual has the same rights to a better life....
It will give a Halo of martyrdom to the convicted.
All Europe has new heroes since the hard and unjustified sentence against four men connected to The Pirate Bay, the world's most notorious file sharing site.
The answer is in one sentence:
"The verdict is our ticket to the EU Parliament"
They can be sure that the millions who were defeated with them will vote for the new ideals of freedom.
Because the fight against Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Bros, EMI and Columbia Pictures is nothing else than the fight against the monopoly of the few who put the rules and use Justice to justify their enormous revenues made mostly cheating the audience.
It is not the fight against copyrights infringement, it is much more.
Nobody would ever deny that the ones who produce have the right to revenues; everybody would agree that the revenues MUST follow the real value of what is produced.
Every Judge should see that taking advantage of a monopoly imposing prices that have nothing to do with real value is against the law.
This is the beginning of the new Revolution: why people like Nicole Kidman should earn $20 millions for a movie, or a football player a salary of billions when the man on the road, who is the one who pays, should struggle to pay his bills?
This and nothing else is the point, and the young generation, when asked to decide, will certainly vote for the "new society" where at least in theory, every individual has the same rights to a better life....
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Males are not necessary anymore....
At least not for a species of tropical ant which is exclusively female.
They reproduce themselves by cloning, and the babies are always girls.
The phenomenon takes the stress out of finding a mate and may help keep the peace , what about doing the same in our world?
The lack of males appears to have little impact on the ants' lives, the absence of males does not generate extra work for the female worker ants.
Besides, if all women look exactly the same there is no competition or whatsoever.
Peter Barnard, of the Royal Entomological Society, said: 'The disadvantages probably outweigh the advantages.' Of course he is a male...
They reproduce themselves by cloning, and the babies are always girls.
The phenomenon takes the stress out of finding a mate and may help keep the peace , what about doing the same in our world?
The lack of males appears to have little impact on the ants' lives, the absence of males does not generate extra work for the female worker ants.
Besides, if all women look exactly the same there is no competition or whatsoever.
Peter Barnard, of the Royal Entomological Society, said: 'The disadvantages probably outweigh the advantages.' Of course he is a male...
About Monsanto
"Germany has banned the cultivation of GM corn, claiming that MON 810 is dangerous for the environment. But that argument might not stand up in court and Berlin could face fines totalling millions of euros if American multinational Monsanto decides to challenge the prohibition on its seed."
I guess every nation has not only the right, but the DUTY to use what they think right.
I personally am not against GM corn, because I believe it could be a good answer and solution for those countries in which IT IS A MUST to produce more to feed the population.
It is a risk worth to be taken.
Is it better to die for lack of food or risking a non defined damage?
That is totally unnecessary in Germany.
They have so much land, so much water that not all is even cultivated.
Why should they use something to produce more when what is produced is enough?
Why should they risk an unnecessary eventual contamination?
Just to feed the producer of GM corn?
I guess every nation has not only the right, but the DUTY to use what they think right.
I personally am not against GM corn, because I believe it could be a good answer and solution for those countries in which IT IS A MUST to produce more to feed the population.
It is a risk worth to be taken.
Is it better to die for lack of food or risking a non defined damage?
That is totally unnecessary in Germany.
They have so much land, so much water that not all is even cultivated.
Why should they use something to produce more when what is produced is enough?
Why should they risk an unnecessary eventual contamination?
Just to feed the producer of GM corn?
If you need Xray...
Good news, you do not even have to pay for them!
Just book the first flight to US and you have a good chance to have a full check on your way there.
And all for free!
Isn´t that a good side effect of the fight to terrorism?
Just book the first flight to US and you have a good chance to have a full check on your way there.
And all for free!
Isn´t that a good side effect of the fight to terrorism?
Commenting a comment
On The Independent today:
"Over 1,500 farmers in an Indian state committed suicide after being driven to debt by crop failure, it was reported today."
The first comment:
"They wanted Independance, and they got it.
By now, if Britain was still there, apart from running it into the ground if our current lot of shysters were in place. [They are for now, and don't we know it!]
Assuming we actually had a decent government in Britain for once, then so would India."
Of course...the price for independence is dying...
It serves them right...they didn´t like anymore to be deprived from everything by the English, to work for them for nothing, to be slaves, to serve such a glorious nation, even to be honored to speak English...
I am simply speachless, especially in a moment in which England and America have so little to teach the others, just showing their real face...
"Over 1,500 farmers in an Indian state committed suicide after being driven to debt by crop failure, it was reported today."
The first comment:
"They wanted Independance, and they got it.
By now, if Britain was still there, apart from running it into the ground if our current lot of shysters were in place. [They are for now, and don't we know it!]
Assuming we actually had a decent government in Britain for once, then so would India."
Of course...the price for independence is dying...
It serves them right...they didn´t like anymore to be deprived from everything by the English, to work for them for nothing, to be slaves, to serve such a glorious nation, even to be honored to speak English...
I am simply speachless, especially in a moment in which England and America have so little to teach the others, just showing their real face...
Friday, April 10, 2009
The slow decline of the Middle Class
The French Revolution can be seen as nothing else than the battle of the emerging Middle Class against the oligarchic monopoly of the nobility.
As the Marxist Revolution as the fight of the lower classes to impose their place in a new society.
We can see one as the precursor of Capitalism and the other as the precursor of Socialism.
Both in my opinion were good causes to be fought, as there is always a good cause when there is discrimination and lack of justice.
Both were efforts to fight and destroy the hierarchical shape of the society.
But destroy one hierarchy and slowly another one will grow.
Both ideologies proved unsuccessful, not because they were wrong on the ideological aspect, but because the world, the society, the human nature won’t allow any kind of artificial moldering of men’s world.
The strong and arrogant will be always strong and arrogant, the weak will always be weak.
And the strong will always try and eventually succeed in prevailing over the weak.
In this century the fight is not with traditional weapons, the battle is won with more sophisticated means.
Psychologically destroying the will and conscience of individuals, reducing men to consumers, creating goals that are fake, they created a herd whose only goal is to work more, to earn more, to own more.
It begins with the new labeled suit, the meals in the fancy restaurant, the house with pool and sauna, the house on the beach and so on.
And part of the game is feeding Banks and Insurances and all what needed to drive in the "success" road.
The "American Dream" is nothing else than this: the dream to earn more to own more.
And the peculiar thing in the whole matter is that it failed not because people realized that owning more won’t make them happier, but because working more and borrowing more doesn’t allow them anymore to fulfill the dream.
An excess of greediness has brought the artefix of the mechanism to destroy it.
Too many taxes, too much cheating have on one side brought more richness where the big slice of the cake is usually enjoyed and little more than nothing to the "working class".
It is not enough going to college, studying, overworking.
The "American dream" has too many followers and not enough richness for all.
As the Socialism failed, because the working class was squeezed to the point of no return to give more and more revenue to the artefix of the "socialistic society", so failed in the same way the Capitalism.
But, as the lion dies if there are no gazelles anymore to eat, so will the apex of hierarchy die, for lack of food.
Well, there is justice in the end...
As the Marxist Revolution as the fight of the lower classes to impose their place in a new society.
We can see one as the precursor of Capitalism and the other as the precursor of Socialism.
Both in my opinion were good causes to be fought, as there is always a good cause when there is discrimination and lack of justice.
Both were efforts to fight and destroy the hierarchical shape of the society.
But destroy one hierarchy and slowly another one will grow.
Both ideologies proved unsuccessful, not because they were wrong on the ideological aspect, but because the world, the society, the human nature won’t allow any kind of artificial moldering of men’s world.
The strong and arrogant will be always strong and arrogant, the weak will always be weak.
And the strong will always try and eventually succeed in prevailing over the weak.
In this century the fight is not with traditional weapons, the battle is won with more sophisticated means.
Psychologically destroying the will and conscience of individuals, reducing men to consumers, creating goals that are fake, they created a herd whose only goal is to work more, to earn more, to own more.
It begins with the new labeled suit, the meals in the fancy restaurant, the house with pool and sauna, the house on the beach and so on.
And part of the game is feeding Banks and Insurances and all what needed to drive in the "success" road.
The "American Dream" is nothing else than this: the dream to earn more to own more.
And the peculiar thing in the whole matter is that it failed not because people realized that owning more won’t make them happier, but because working more and borrowing more doesn’t allow them anymore to fulfill the dream.
An excess of greediness has brought the artefix of the mechanism to destroy it.
Too many taxes, too much cheating have on one side brought more richness where the big slice of the cake is usually enjoyed and little more than nothing to the "working class".
It is not enough going to college, studying, overworking.
The "American dream" has too many followers and not enough richness for all.
As the Socialism failed, because the working class was squeezed to the point of no return to give more and more revenue to the artefix of the "socialistic society", so failed in the same way the Capitalism.
But, as the lion dies if there are no gazelles anymore to eat, so will the apex of hierarchy die, for lack of food.
Well, there is justice in the end...
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
The dark side of the Internet
The Internet has come a long way.
From an elitarian network linking four computers at four research centers to the biggest network linking the whole world.
And the dark side of it is also the side that made it feasible and alluring: the illegal downloading of copyrighted material.
It was the earthquake for intellectual property, the weak ring in the chain.
What has to be rewritten are not the rules, because any rule would find a wall in the dynamic IP behind which "thieves" can hide themselves.
What has to be found is the new way to monetarize the "intellectual" work that has no revenue anymore.
And also the right price for the right value.
On one side the illegal downloading has brought an end to the wild earning of a restricted group of "middle men" that using the job of artists created huge revenues not justifiable since the audience moved from "regional" or "national" to international.
If fifty cents profit on a record which sold 5000 copies was the right earning, it is not valid anymore if the copies become one million.
Thus the way and the amount have to be rewritten, if we want to stimulate new "works” of intellect.
From an elitarian network linking four computers at four research centers to the biggest network linking the whole world.
And the dark side of it is also the side that made it feasible and alluring: the illegal downloading of copyrighted material.
It was the earthquake for intellectual property, the weak ring in the chain.
What has to be rewritten are not the rules, because any rule would find a wall in the dynamic IP behind which "thieves" can hide themselves.
What has to be found is the new way to monetarize the "intellectual" work that has no revenue anymore.
And also the right price for the right value.
On one side the illegal downloading has brought an end to the wild earning of a restricted group of "middle men" that using the job of artists created huge revenues not justifiable since the audience moved from "regional" or "national" to international.
If fifty cents profit on a record which sold 5000 copies was the right earning, it is not valid anymore if the copies become one million.
Thus the way and the amount have to be rewritten, if we want to stimulate new "works” of intellect.
A global currency?
"Cutting future borrowing costs means raising productivity — either through layoffs or wage cuts or both. None of those choices is likely to win much support on Election Day."
That is the answer.
The decision is made "there where they can what they want".
Talking about it is just talking a lot for saying nothing.
Would it be a good thing?
I think it would, at least it would be an answer to the request of a serious and trustable global commitment, to build a strongly based economy.
How can you sell "I owe you" in a currency that in a very near future could lower the value of the lending something like 50%.
It takes an intelligent fool to understand that an investment is worth when it has a fixed value and fixed revenues.
All the rest is just speculation.
But we have a lot of just fool fools...
That is the answer.
The decision is made "there where they can what they want".
Talking about it is just talking a lot for saying nothing.
Would it be a good thing?
I think it would, at least it would be an answer to the request of a serious and trustable global commitment, to build a strongly based economy.
How can you sell "I owe you" in a currency that in a very near future could lower the value of the lending something like 50%.
It takes an intelligent fool to understand that an investment is worth when it has a fixed value and fixed revenues.
All the rest is just speculation.
But we have a lot of just fool fools...
Our economy like an axe in the hands of pathological criminals
"We'll soon find out whether an organism the size of the United States can run an economy based on one family selling the contents of its garage to the family next door." JK
This is a very clear and faithful description of the world economy, where the US represents the family who has the garage sale and the rest of the World the family who buys junk.
It worked as long as the one who bought junk could pretend it was antiques.
When buyers saw the value of what bought the Whole economical ground fell, like houses in an earthquake.
You see the afterward destruction and you cannot believe that so "strong looking" buildings could in reality be so weak.
We bought houses "earthquake proof" and we got rubbish that fell at the first shock.
But the biggest cheating is in pretending and believing that we can go on this road.
The only thing to do is collecting the rubbish in the garage, dispose of it and learn our lesson.
If that involves less Macholidays or less portable phones or less Macwhatever I guess we should welcome it.
Less stupidity and a little bit more education would just mean a better world.
This is a very clear and faithful description of the world economy, where the US represents the family who has the garage sale and the rest of the World the family who buys junk.
It worked as long as the one who bought junk could pretend it was antiques.
When buyers saw the value of what bought the Whole economical ground fell, like houses in an earthquake.
You see the afterward destruction and you cannot believe that so "strong looking" buildings could in reality be so weak.
We bought houses "earthquake proof" and we got rubbish that fell at the first shock.
But the biggest cheating is in pretending and believing that we can go on this road.
The only thing to do is collecting the rubbish in the garage, dispose of it and learn our lesson.
If that involves less Macholidays or less portable phones or less Macwhatever I guess we should welcome it.
Less stupidity and a little bit more education would just mean a better world.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious
Today I came to the conclusion that I have a mathematical mind.
That is why I do not like mathematics and prefer literature.
You need a mathematical mind to understand life and a poetic mind to love mathematics.
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.
That is why I do not like mathematics and prefer literature.
You need a mathematical mind to understand life and a poetic mind to love mathematics.
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.
What you need is usually priceless, unless you cannot afford it
"Today it is nearly impossible to be an informed consumer of medical services. With decent standardized cost estimating and billing systems a consumer would at least be able to make informed cost/ benefit decisions and chose between providers and procedures."
I guess that when it comes to health nothing is too expensive, it is more a matter of "Can I afford?" than "How much does it cost?"
That is why drugs and medical care are so expensive.
Today the price depends more on "how much do I need it" than "how much does it cost to produce and deliver".
I guess that when it comes to health nothing is too expensive, it is more a matter of "Can I afford?" than "How much does it cost?"
That is why drugs and medical care are so expensive.
Today the price depends more on "how much do I need it" than "how much does it cost to produce and deliver".
Life without music is lame. Music without life is even worse.
That is why websites like Kerchoonz have a special place in my life.
If I was an artist and I would be able to play or sing or do something artistic I think I would sign up to be a part of the history of it.
I can anyway be a part of the exclusive "invite only" audience.
At least this is one of the advantages to be there among the first.
They promise lots and lot of new features in the next days.
When you go into their website you automatically download the player which will follow you everywhere on the website playing the music you like.
It sounds a little bit complicated, but it works like this: when you find sounds you like on an artist profile with a simple click you can add them in your player
But this is not all.
You can also make some money (which is not bad at all) just posting songs, pics, videos, with a direct link to your profile, so that if an artist signs up through your kwidgets, you can earn out of it...
As I said, it is a music website for musicians, but also for people who want to download LEGALLY music (of course for free).
It is a new kind of social network, where the artist is paid every time somebody downloads or listen to his music.
Where is the catch?
Or better: where does the money come from?
"Kerchoonz shares advertising revenues generated on artists profiles and their download page so that you can access music freely and also support your favorite artists."
And if you refer bands or artists to the site you can instantly make Pounds 2.50.
The important is that they reach 5000 plays.
Well, registering and signing in, you have nothing to lose and may be a lot to win!
If I was an artist and I would be able to play or sing or do something artistic I think I would sign up to be a part of the history of it.
I can anyway be a part of the exclusive "invite only" audience.
At least this is one of the advantages to be there among the first.
They promise lots and lot of new features in the next days.
When you go into their website you automatically download the player which will follow you everywhere on the website playing the music you like.
It sounds a little bit complicated, but it works like this: when you find sounds you like on an artist profile with a simple click you can add them in your player
But this is not all.
You can also make some money (which is not bad at all) just posting songs, pics, videos, with a direct link to your profile, so that if an artist signs up through your kwidgets, you can earn out of it...
As I said, it is a music website for musicians, but also for people who want to download LEGALLY music (of course for free).
It is a new kind of social network, where the artist is paid every time somebody downloads or listen to his music.
Where is the catch?
Or better: where does the money come from?
"Kerchoonz shares advertising revenues generated on artists profiles and their download page so that you can access music freely and also support your favorite artists."
And if you refer bands or artists to the site you can instantly make Pounds 2.50.
The important is that they reach 5000 plays.
Well, registering and signing in, you have nothing to lose and may be a lot to win!
Turkey: the 51st State of US
That is the best proposal for today.
At least it helps you to understand that what you propose for the others should be good also for you.
I really doubt the US would welcome Turkey, why should Europe?
At least it helps you to understand that what you propose for the others should be good also for you.
I really doubt the US would welcome Turkey, why should Europe?
Not everything that is fashion can be nice, and not everything that can be nice is fashion.
I have reached the age when comfort comes before fashion, and I still remember the time in which nice looking came before everything, even before wear ability.
What about those stiletto shoes so impossible and so uncomfortable that the best moment of your day was the one you could take them off?
The good thing of today’s fashion is that everything is fashionable and you can look nice and still be able to walk.
My favorite shoes are boots.
And my favorite boots are the ones below the knees.
In Winter something like the Ugg ultra tall .
They are very warm because made with genuine sheepskin from Australia, very comfortable because easy, on-off fit, ultra molded rubber and they look even very nice on me!
In Spring I prefer something rubber, like the hunter type.
They are unbeatable with rain and very comfortable.
And in Summer?
Heat allowing, I love the Frye Carson pull on.
I love the antiqued soft full-grain leather and of course the cushioned leather insoles.
Besides, I love to walk and what is better for walking than a nice and comfortable pair of boots?
What about those stiletto shoes so impossible and so uncomfortable that the best moment of your day was the one you could take them off?
The good thing of today’s fashion is that everything is fashionable and you can look nice and still be able to walk.
My favorite shoes are boots.
And my favorite boots are the ones below the knees.
In Winter something like the Ugg ultra tall .
They are very warm because made with genuine sheepskin from Australia, very comfortable because easy, on-off fit, ultra molded rubber and they look even very nice on me!
In Spring I prefer something rubber, like the hunter type.
They are unbeatable with rain and very comfortable.
And in Summer?
Heat allowing, I love the Frye Carson pull on.
I love the antiqued soft full-grain leather and of course the cushioned leather insoles.
Besides, I love to walk and what is better for walking than a nice and comfortable pair of boots?
Monday, April 06, 2009
End of story
"What they're missing is real simple: peak oil means no more ability to service debt at all levels, personal, corporate, and government. End of story. " JK
It doesn´t take more than an intelligent fool to understand that you cannot make new debts to pay the old ones.
I mean, you can, but the result will be an even worse situation than the current one.
You cannot make the economy going better using the same ways you used to make it worse.
It simply doesn´t work.
That is what any reasonable and wise president should see.
But we do not have such men anymore.
We have people whose only concern is how to get and keep votes.
All the rest is just governing.
It doesn´t take more than an intelligent fool to understand that you cannot make new debts to pay the old ones.
I mean, you can, but the result will be an even worse situation than the current one.
You cannot make the economy going better using the same ways you used to make it worse.
It simply doesn´t work.
That is what any reasonable and wise president should see.
But we do not have such men anymore.
We have people whose only concern is how to get and keep votes.
All the rest is just governing.
What comes now?
"Mr. Obama heads to Europe now where official hostility is rising against the Anglo-American method of pounding monetary sand down the rat-holes of “non-performing” debt, bankrupt enterprise, and bubble-levitated bonds." JK
Mr. Obama came and went back, leaving behind nothing that was not there before.
During the times of the plague in Italy there was an obsessive effort to find the guilty ones and many died for it.
Of course innocent people, found guilty of spreading the disease painting on walls an indefinable substance that would lead to the Plague.
That usually happens when things go wrong.
When they go well we are ready to assume that it is our doing, while when things go wrong it is always somebody else’s fault.
Just like the syphilis, called in Italy the "Mal Franzese" and in France "the Napoli´s illness".
I guess that the exchange of weak credits and bankruptcy bonds did nothing else than accelerate an end that would have come sooner or later.
Because you cannot live on somebody else’s job and think it will last forever.
You cannot live forever on debts thinking you will never be asked to pay back and if you are asked it cannot last forever that you make new debts to pay the old ones.
Sooner or later you will have to face the sad reality that after you borrowed your present, your future and what comes after your future, you can´t go on living on borrowing.
That is what the new present Messiahs promise: we will make it.
We still have to see a credible way to make it.
Making new debts is really the last thing a reasonable and intelligent president should avoid.
But we do not have any more reasonable and intelligent presidents.
We have people who are good in counting votes and have understood that it doesn´t pay off to tell the truth.
My question is: are they ready for the inevitable consequences?
I mean, when everybody, even the stupidest will understand that nothing changes if you do not leave the wrong road.
Any intelligent fool can spend more making bigger debts. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction.
Mr. Obama came and went back, leaving behind nothing that was not there before.
During the times of the plague in Italy there was an obsessive effort to find the guilty ones and many died for it.
Of course innocent people, found guilty of spreading the disease painting on walls an indefinable substance that would lead to the Plague.
That usually happens when things go wrong.
When they go well we are ready to assume that it is our doing, while when things go wrong it is always somebody else’s fault.
Just like the syphilis, called in Italy the "Mal Franzese" and in France "the Napoli´s illness".
I guess that the exchange of weak credits and bankruptcy bonds did nothing else than accelerate an end that would have come sooner or later.
Because you cannot live on somebody else’s job and think it will last forever.
You cannot live forever on debts thinking you will never be asked to pay back and if you are asked it cannot last forever that you make new debts to pay the old ones.
Sooner or later you will have to face the sad reality that after you borrowed your present, your future and what comes after your future, you can´t go on living on borrowing.
That is what the new present Messiahs promise: we will make it.
We still have to see a credible way to make it.
Making new debts is really the last thing a reasonable and intelligent president should avoid.
But we do not have any more reasonable and intelligent presidents.
We have people who are good in counting votes and have understood that it doesn´t pay off to tell the truth.
My question is: are they ready for the inevitable consequences?
I mean, when everybody, even the stupidest will understand that nothing changes if you do not leave the wrong road.
Any intelligent fool can spend more making bigger debts. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction.
Friday, April 03, 2009
It always rains on the wet...
Dennis Kucinich sent out a round of letters to top Treasury officials Monday morning, questioning how much they knew about bonuses paid to Merrill Lynch executives that totaled $3.62 billion, nearly 22 times the total bonuses paid to AIG executives. The payouts made up more that 36 percent of the TARP funds the financial institution received from the Federal government.
Kucinich points out that unlike AIG, the bonuses were not locked in by preexisting contracts and were performance bonuses, as opposed to retention bonuses.
The Merrill bonuses were 22 times larger than those paid by AIG ($3,620 million versus $165 million). They were also very large relative to the TARP monies allocated to Merrill. The Merrill bonuses were the equivalent of 36.2% of TARP monies Treasury allocated to Merrill and awarded to BOA after their merger. The bonuses, awarded mostly as cash, were made only to top management at Merrill. To be eligible for the bonuses, Merrill employees had to have a salary of at least $300,000 and attained the title of Vice President or higher.
The Merrill bonuses were determined by Merrill's Compensation Committee at its meeting of December 8, 2008, shortly after BOA shareholders approved the merger but before financial results for the Fourth Quarter had been determined. This appears to be a departure from normal company practice, since the type of bonus Merrill awarded was a performance bonus that, according to company policy, was supposed to reflect all four quarters of performance and was paid in January or later. In this case, however, the bonuses were awarded in December before Fourth Quarter performance had been determined.
In his letter, Kucinich questions how much information about these bonuses was made available to shareholders, as well as the government.
By Megan Slack, Huffington Post
Kucinich points out that unlike AIG, the bonuses were not locked in by preexisting contracts and were performance bonuses, as opposed to retention bonuses.
The Merrill bonuses were 22 times larger than those paid by AIG ($3,620 million versus $165 million). They were also very large relative to the TARP monies allocated to Merrill. The Merrill bonuses were the equivalent of 36.2% of TARP monies Treasury allocated to Merrill and awarded to BOA after their merger. The bonuses, awarded mostly as cash, were made only to top management at Merrill. To be eligible for the bonuses, Merrill employees had to have a salary of at least $300,000 and attained the title of Vice President or higher.
The Merrill bonuses were determined by Merrill's Compensation Committee at its meeting of December 8, 2008, shortly after BOA shareholders approved the merger but before financial results for the Fourth Quarter had been determined. This appears to be a departure from normal company practice, since the type of bonus Merrill awarded was a performance bonus that, according to company policy, was supposed to reflect all four quarters of performance and was paid in January or later. In this case, however, the bonuses were awarded in December before Fourth Quarter performance had been determined.
In his letter, Kucinich questions how much information about these bonuses was made available to shareholders, as well as the government.
By Megan Slack, Huffington Post
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