chuck kottke

Torshavn

Gleetings! :sunny: Welcome to you Castor from here. The Faroe Islands - that's quite an exotic location to be in!

Happy Birthday to You Ellen !!! :):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Capitalism: A Love Story | Watch Free Documentary Online Capitalism Hits the Fan A Marxian View Something broadly dysfunctional about our capitalistic economic system perhaps, which leads to concentrated power and wealth in the hands of the few, which delays progress on the ecological and social problems we face. But maybe I'm just cynical or paranoid about things, I dunno. Just because GM invested over a billion dollars to develop the electric car a few years ago, then promptly recalled them all and had them crushed into little bitty cubes, well hey, nothing could possibly be amiss there!:laugh3:

Why this is important: CO2 Now | CO2 Home It's really not about giving up the comforts and perks we all enjoy in life, but rather a matter of using smart technologies and better layouts to get the "hot pizza and cold beverage" we all want, but with much greater efficiency and with energy sources that do much much less harm to the environment. After all, Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion was a huge car, and it achieved 30 MPG (today's better efficiency) in 1932! A car built to maximize efficiency today could well achieve over 100 MPG, be build stronger and lighter, better able to withstand impacts, and made of more earth-friendly materials. Or be electric with lithium-iron batteries, perhaps with just a backup engine for the long hauls. I was watching a special on PBS about Origami, and began to wonder if crumple zones could be improved with a meshing of Origami design and reinforced bio-polymer materials..

Unfortunately, when things go sour, people often look to some iconic figure from the past when economic times were relatively better, and the main city was not flattened, people's lives were not in such disarray. Unemployment. hunger, and frustration can lead people to make decisions for leaders which in the end may only do them more harm, simply because they are searching for change, and a "savior" to come help them. Jean Claude Duvalier AKA "Baby Doc", perhaps the notorious murder of many political enemies, and in the lineage of a virtual dictatorship, is probably not the answer. I need to do some more research - where are the U.N. elections monitors? What would it take to get an honest answer or an honest election there and soon? Seems like a place desperately in need of election monitors, and I hope for everyone's sake, Duvalier is tried for the alleged crimes, which at this point sound more like an academic matter, but for the sake of justice, he certainly deserves a fair trial. Either way, the trend of elected presidents declaring themselves "president for life" isn't the answer; and putting too much power in the hands of the president seems to be a big problem in Haiti's government - legislative branches are there to check and balance Presidential powers, not rubber stamp all decisions! But as far as the aid agencies goes, why the money isn't being spent remains a mystery to me as well - perhaps the level of corruption in both contractors and government posts hinders the release of much needed funds to rebuild, or perhaps it's what the police there seem to be saying - a combination of a lack or the rule of law, plus nobody seems to have a plan - is this the case? Even so, can't the aid agencies simply go ahead and rebuild, or provide truly durable temporary shelters with Haitian's providing their own labor to reconstruct their nation? The holdup is mind-boggling.:inquisitive: Lacking a stable government or a governing coalition, and the disaster disarray may be two factors, but it has been a year, and usually government bureaucracies run themselves regardless of who's in office, as long as there is funding - perhaps corruption then is the main culprit. I can't help but wonder if it has more to do with outside forces (corporate interests) trying their most to influence outcomes for their bottom lines - disaster profiting is one definite problem of corruption pioneered by certain American reconstruction firms, it makes me wonder if this is miring the political scene in quicksand? I know one problem is the battle over control of land - apparently overlapping titles, so some of the supposed government land where tent cities are built is contested, and those who lay claim return to remove tents people put up. One would think that in an emergency situation, civility would allow people a place to stay for the time being at least - so it seems to me logical to put land claims on hold for the time, while people are adequately housed. >If simple, wind-resistant, cool shelter that can handle the hurricanes, never fail in earthquakes, and reflect the intense tropical sun is required, there are a multitude of options, from Yurts to Steel Buildings to Quick-Build Pre-fab Homes.. I thought the Yurt design would be particularly suitable for Haiti because it's simple and quick to construct yet very sturdy, highly wind resistant (works well in windy Mongolia), portable, inexpensive, and quite comfortable. If one were to simply dig 3 foot (one Meter) holes and sink down some concrete tubes which project above the ground a ways, pour concrete in, and set some anchor bolts as simple bases for the platforms to build the Yurts, the costs would be minimal, the structures safe from floods and moisture, and then if needed to be moved, the amount of material losses would be minimal. Haitians skilled in sewing and working with fabrics could then construct the kits from basic materials (fabrics, heavy threads, wood slats or bamboo sections, etc.), and construct the platforms, make the doors, etc. The fancy versions available here in the U.S. are quite nice (example: Pacific Yurts-Yurt FAQs ) But the basic structure needn't be so fancy, as long as it were safe, solid, dry, cool, and reliable in case of torrential rains or suddenly shaking ground. Given the slow rate of change in Haiti, having durable portable structures like these might be the answer for many, since it could be years before quality homes are built in sufficient quantity for the bulk of Haiti's citizens. Plus, they're inexpensive, especially if built right there in Haiti = affordable to the average Haitian, and would allow the aid agencies to spread their effective help much further. What would it take to get things going there??

West Samoa

That's an interesting choice!:rolleyes: Hound Dog by Elvis Presley

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoHECVnQC7A]YouTube - William Tell Overture[/ame] Variety is the spice of life!!:smug:

Electric Light Orchestra:cool:

Cranberries! (best served with Coldplay)..

2011 - light rain, a little fog, a rather bizarre beginning for January 2011~~!! Windy and stormy sounds cool though :cool:

Current local time in U.S.A. – Illinois – Chicago time!

Wish I could have said Ziggy Stardust! .. ok then - ABBA! (you decipher their real names..) :P

? what??!!

Daylight soon in Denmark, here it's like 10:48! Ball Drop Soon in NYC!

:laugh3:Oh god, that is funny! Here, it's like 32 and raining, and it would be nice to have a spa to jump into!! Happy New Year!!:)

Happy Nieuw Year Nancy & Company!! :sunny::hug:

Yanny

Happy New Year to all who are Here!:hat::sunny::sunny::sunny::sunny::sunny::hat: 10....9....8....7....6....5....4.....3..........2.........1............WhaHooo!!!! :vuvuzela:

Weavers The Weavers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gweneth will outlive even the durable bronze statue of Admiral Horatio Nelson in Trafalgar Square.. Long Live the Queen!:) But nature is a never ending cycle of life, for we are all timeless as the matter and energy of the universe, as perpetual as our DNA strands which go on for as long as there are humans, and for life as a whole as long as it is among the stars. Today is the dawning of the rebirth of the days, the beginning of a new start, and death is but an illusion, a minor happening in the passing on of knowledge, tradition, awareness, and the connections we all share. For each life which is lost, so the life of humanity & the life of this planet pulses on, the quest we are on continues, and Zeus and Athena reign in the heavens above.:sunny:

Hakuna Matata - sounds Hawaiian or Polynesian to me! Ah, yes, the easy life.. wait! Yikes! Grubs!! - maybe they're edible, perhaps they do taste like chicken, and if they're deep-fried, perhaps even edible - but there's other things which satisfy and require not too much extra effort in life, like beans, peanuts, even chicken is pretty easy to raise! Oh give me a home, where the warthog's roam, and the days are not drizzly all day..

I'll have to give it a look then on YouTube. ;)

B. B. King :crown: