Category: personal AnGoL

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rePost::How Paul Krugman found politics : The New Yorker

Reading this I was hit by a desire to do something. We are in the midst of what probably is the few times we can do great and original work. It is as if FB and other distractions are the ways we are being controlled to not do useful stuff. sorry for the minor rant.  It’s just that we must able to look at each day in the context of a lifetime and the context of birth to that day is the lifetime.

But it’s been a long time—years now—since he did any serious research. Could he, still? “I’d like to get back to it,” he says. “I’m craving the chance to do some deep thinking, and I haven’t been doing a lot of that. I guess doing the really creative academic work does require a state of mind that’s hard to maintain throughout your whole life. Even Paul Samuelson—the bulk of the stuff you read from him is before he was fifty. There was an intensity of focus that I had when I was twenty-six that I won’t be able to recapture at fifty-six. You develop your habits of mind, and to a point that’s a good thing, because you learn ways to work, but it does mean that you’re less likely to come up with something really innovative. Even if I weren’t doing all this other stuff, I don’t think I’d be producing a lot of breakthrough papers. There’s crude stuff: if I do have some brilliant academic insight, what are they going to do, give me a Nobel Prize? . . . When I was younger, when I figured something out there was this sense of the heavens parting and the choirs singing that I don’t get now. And that’s life.”
For someone else, this loss might be a devastation, but even though for thirty years thinking deeply about economics was all Krugman really cared about, he has let it pass out of his life without regret. “I think he’s happy,” his friend Craig Murphy says. “A much happier person now than when we first met him. He feels like he’s done good things, and they’re greater than what he expected when he was young. If there is sadness in him at all, I think it is a tiny core of profound sadness of the kind that the Buddha understood—that we probably can’t use human rationality to make the world all better, and it would be really nice if we were able to.” ♦
via How Paul Krugman found politics : The New Yorker.

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rePost::Life With Food Stamps as Your Only Income : Casaubon's Book

This was a reaction to this article: Alternet, a good piece on what it really means to be one of the six million Americans with no income at all save food stamps:
Hope you can read both the linked sites.

We are teetering on a basic question, I think – what is government for? In the present situation, we don’t have the luxury of doing everything we’d like – of funding every project, of engaging in every kind of research or investing in every area of life that we’d like. We have to make choices. So we come to the question – as more and more citizens are impoverished and desperate, and we invest more and more money in propping up an economy that is still failing, still falling, what should governments do? What choices should we make? Is the mission of our society to preserve an economy at all costs? To preserve an imperialist enterprise? Or to preserve the people?via Life With Food Stamps as Your Only Income : Casaubon’s Book.

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rePost::Don't Call Us, We’ll Call … Well, No, Actually We Probably Won’t… | Psychology Today

My introvert side is really affected by phone calls. I really don’t like it most of the time. I especially don’t like how the phone intrudes when you least want it.

But I hate the phone. Hate it. Hate. It.
I can let the phone ring without picking up. I own a cell phone but don't give out the number. The only people I willingly talk with on the phone are far-flung friends, and only because I know it's necessary to keep those friendships healthy. Even so, as these friends can tell you, I can be difficult to reach, and return their phone calls in my own sweet time, when I feel up to the exertion the phone requires for me.
via Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call … Well, No, Actually We Probably Won’t… | Psychology Today.

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rePost::New law lets Coast Guard stop ships from sailing – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

This new law is washed from the blood of all those who have died to the GREED of ship operators and the carelessness/greed of officials. In some ways I have a feeling that laws are not enough for people can and will still be bribed. This is a small but important step for the transportation industry of an archipelago of 7100 islands.

New law lets Coast Guard stop ships from sailing

By Jerry E. Esplanada
Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 22:08:00 02/22/2010
MANILA, Philippines — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has signed a new law giving the Philippine Coast Guard increased law enforcement powers, including the authority to detain and prevent from sailing substandard passenger and cargo vessels plying the country’s waters.
Known as the “Philippine Coast Guard Act of 2009” or Republic Act 9993, the new law aims to further enhance maritime safety and prevent sea tragedies.
Investigations into some of the worst disasters in maritime history that occurred in Philippine waters showed there was need to pinpoint clearer responsibility for the enforcement of maritime safety regulations.
Eight years in the legislative mill, the new law strengthens the arm of the Coast Guard to issue and enforce rules and regulations covering the “promotion of safety of life and property at sea on all maritime-related activities,” as well as promote marine environmental protection.
Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza called the Philippine Coast Guard Act of 2009 a measure that “has long been awaited by the maritime industry and the riding public.”
via New law lets Coast Guard stop ships from sailing – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos.

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rePost::Writers describe the positive impact of D&D on their lives Boing Boing

I playd D&D when I was younger (note the younger not young part , we’re still young as bryan l. commented in facebook) and I can vote!!!  Read the D&D players coming to the defense of something I loved to do when I was younger (and still if only someone would organize a D&D weekend, the fun that would be!!!!).

Writers describe the positive impact of D&D on their lives

By Cory Doctorow at 11:29 PM February 19, 2010

via Writers describe the positive impact of D&D on their lives Boing Boing.

Matt sez, “With that rocks-for-brains reporter in Boston trying to link campus shooter Amy Bishop’s crimes to Dungeons & Dragons, I thought I’d take an opportunity to look at the good D&D has done for several writers I know. This is that article. By the way, I’ve been a D&D player for almost thirty years now, and have been a happier, more productive person for it.”
I haven’t played since my early 20s (late teens?) but D&D was an enormously positive influence on my life and imagination.

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rePost::Bitterness « Paulo Coelho’s Blog

I know I’m getting bitter on one facet of my life, I pray that other facets are saved from this bitterness. I’m pretty much sure they are.

The main target of Bitterness (or Vitriol, as the doctor of my book preferred) is desire. People attacked by this evil begin losing their desire for everything and in a few years are unable to go outside their world – because they have used up enormous energy reserves building high walls for the reality to be what they wanted it to be.
When avoiding outside attack, they also limit internal growth. They continue going to work, watching television, complaining about the traffic and having children, but all that happens automatically, without really understanding why they are behaving like that – after all, everything is under control.
The great problem of poisoning by Bitterness lies in the fact that passions – hate, love, despair, enthusiasm and curiosity – also don’t appear any more. After some time, the bitter person has no more desire. They had no more will even to live, or to die; that was the problem.
via Bitterness « Paulo Coelho’s Blog.

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rePost::RP, other Asian countries told: Protect seas – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

When you go to beautiful tourist places in the Philippines, beauty of the natural sort, if you keep your ears open you might just hear mutter the words “enjoy this while you can in a few years this would be gone”. I have nothing against people who have have seen decades of change, environmental degradation and similar things. What I rail about is this attitude that we cannot do anything about this. The sense of inevitability we ascribe to losing these natural wonders to the pictures or even the description of people. We cannot accept this, we must not accept this. We as a people have an implicit obligation to the future generations to keep these places intact , beautiful and functioning.

UN REPORT SAYS

RP, other Asian countries told: Protect seas


INQUIRER.net First Posted 12:03:00 02/22/2010 Filed Under: Environmental Issues, Poverty, Asia Australia – North Asia
MANILA, Philippines—East Asia’s economically viable coastal habitats and ecosystems, including those of the Philippines, are under threat from pollution, alien invasive species, and other factors which could impact the region’s poverty levels unless urgent action is taken, the United Nations Environment Program (Unep) said in a new report.
“With nearly three quarters of the region’s population depending directly or indirectly on coastal areas, and with 80 percent of the region’s GDP linked to the coastal natural resources, the time must be right for factoring the marine environment into the center of economic planning,” said Unep executive director Achim Steiner.
The East Asian Seas State of the Marine Environment report said economically important coastal habitats and ecosystems are under pressure as 40 percent of coral reefs and half of all mangroves have already been lost. Coral reefs generate an estimated $112.5 billion and mangroves $5.1 billion annually.
The East Asian Seas—which includes the region between China, the Republic of Korea, and Australia—have some of the world’s highest concentrations of shipping and fishing vessel activity. They account for 50 percent of global fisheries production and 80 percent of global aquaculture production.
via RP, other Asian countries told: Protect seas – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos.

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rePost::Why Most People are Happier Working than in Their Free Time « Scott H Young

Interesting read, and something I believe is applicable to a lot of my friends. This is because I don’t have free time. Poor Me.

Are you happier when you’re working, or when you have time off?
Easy answer right? We work in order to have free time. Everything from basic economics to our deepest intuitions tells us that we must be happiest during our free time.
Turns out we were wrong.
Flow, Flipped Intuitions and A Scientist’s Name You Can’t Pronounce
Mihály Csíkszentmihályi did careful research that discovered that some of our deepest intuitions about work, play and what makes us happy were completely backwards.
He discovered that most people were, in fact, happier at work than at rest. More, he found that people tended to think they were happier in their free time, and would choose to have more free time than work, even though it made them unhappier.
How did Csíkszentmihályi find this?
He did it by having study participants keep pagers (then a new technology) that would go off at random intervals of the day. During those intervals, study participants would not only record what they were doing, but also their emotional state in the current moment.
By adding up this data, he reached the surprising conclusion: people were happier at work, even though they didn’t realize it.

Why You’re Happier at Work
Csíkszentmihályi’s answer to this question was based on the concept of flow. In his research, this is the optimal state of human experience. It is attained when working towards a challenge that perfectly meets our skill level, engaging every mental faculty without overwhelming us.
This state of flow, because it requires both challenge and the application of skill, is more commonly attained at work than during relaxation. As a result, people report higher levels of well-being at work.
via Why Most People are Happier Working than in Their Free Time « Scott H Young.

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Better Class Of Politicians!!!!:Hope Is Back:Weekly Address: President Obama Says it is Time to Move Forward on Health Care Reform | The White House

People are judged not by what they wanted or intended to do but rather what they accomplish!
Hope is back!!! Welcome back Hope!!! Healthcare Reform Now!

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
February 20, 2010
The other week, men and women across California opened up their mailboxes to find a letter from Anthem Blue Cross. The news inside was jaw-dropping. Anthem was alerting almost a million of its customers that it would be raising premiums by an average of 25 percent, with about a quarter of folks likely to see their rates go up by anywhere from 35 to 39 percent.
Now, after their announcement stirred public outcry, Anthem agreed to delay their rate hike until May 1st while the situation is reviewed by the state of California. But it’s not just Californians who are being hit by rate hikes. In Kansas, one insurance company raised premiums by 10 to 20 percent only after asking to raise them by 20 to 30 percent. Last year, Michigan Blue Cross Blue Shield raised rates by 22 percent after asking to raise them by up to 56 percent. And in Maine, Anthem is asking to raise rates for some folks by about 23 percent.
The bottom line is that the status quo is good for the insurance industry and bad for America. Over the past year, as families and small business owners have struggled to pay soaring health care costs, and as millions of Americans lost their coverage, the five largest insurers made record profits of over $12 billion.
And as bad as things are today, they’ll only get worse if we fail to act. We’ll see more and more Americans go without the coverage they need. We’ll see exploding premiums and out-of-pocket costs burn through more and more family budgets. We’ll see more and more small businesses scale back benefits, drop coverage, or close down because they can’t keep up with rising rates. And in time, we’ll see these skyrocketing health care costs become the single largest driver of our federal deficits.
That’s what the future is on track to look like. But it’s not what the future has to look like. The question, then, is whether we will do what it takes, all of us – Democrats and Republicans – to build a better future for ourselves, our children, and our country.
That’s why, next week, I am inviting members of both parties to take part in a bipartisan health care meeting, and I hope they come in a spirit of good faith. I don’t want to see this meeting turn into political theater, with each side simply reciting talking points and trying to score political points. Instead, I ask members of both parties to seek common ground in an effort to solve a problem that’s been with us for generations.
It’s in that spirit that I have sought out and supported Republican ideas on reform from the very beginning. Some Republicans want to allow Americans to purchase insurance from a company in another state to give people more choices and bring down costs. Some Republicans have also suggested giving small businesses the power to pool together and offer health care at lower prices, just as big companies and labor unions do. I think both of these are good ideas – so long as we pursue them in a way that protects benefits, protects patients, and protects the American people. I hope Democrats and Republicans can come together next week around these and other ideas.
To members of Congress, I would simply say this. We know the American people want us to reform our health insurance system. We know where the broad areas of agreement are. And we know where the sources of disagreement lie. After debating this issue exhaustively for a year, let’s move forward together. Next week is our chance to finally reform our health insurance system so it works for families and small businesses. It’s our chance to finally give Americans the peace of mind of knowing that they’ll be able to have affordable coverage when they need it most.
What’s being tested here is not just our ability to solve this one problem, but our ability to solve any problem. Right now, Americans are understandably despairing about whether partisanship and the undue influence of special interests in Washington will make it impossible for us to deal with the big challenges that face our country. They want to see us focus not on scoring points, but on solving problems; not on the next election but on the next generation. That is what we can do, and that is what we must do when we come together for this bipartisan health care meeting next week. Thank you, and have a great weekend.
via Weekly Address: President Obama Says it is Time to Move Forward on Health Care Reform | The White House.

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rePost:: Three types of passion « Figuring Shit Out :: Nov 5th (day 23)

I tend to agree with him. The scary thing is what if I’m more of the passion for everything? no I need to be a one passion man!
Read the whole thing. I was nodding my head while reading this.

The world seems to be split into roughly three different types of people: Those who have a passion for nothing, those who have a passion for one thing and those who have a passion for everything. This way of categorizing is not to cast a value judgement onto any particular group. My informal observation is that aspects such as intelligence, courage, moral fibre and wisdom seem roughly evenly distributed across all three of these groups although it may initially not seem that way. It’s always difficult trying to describe a group with an insider’s perspective if you’re not an insider but I’m going to give it a try:
via Nov 5th (day 23): Three types of passion « Figuring Shit Out.