Anti-Consumers Dig Through Trash For Food
This is awesome. Who wants to start fasting for the holidays?
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Saturday, December 10, 2005
TomPaine.com - The GOP's Roe Gamble
TomPaine.com - The GOP's Roe Gamble
Two things I thought really interesting in this article:
1) Political affiliation is usually determined by neighborhood. (Like land economics, where property value is determined by adjacent property value.) Here in the city, we have the progressive Mission and the conservative Marina (both urban). But this article posits that political affiliation can be predicted by land use type: progressive inner suburbs (low density) and conservative exurbs (very low density).
2) Every family wants their children to do better and not be bogged down with a teenage pregnancy. Position on abortion can be predicted by religion not political affiliation. So, the article says that formerly Republican families in the exurbs are going Democratic in order to protect their daughters' right to succeed. I have also noticed this issue divides my otherwise Republican cousins in exurban Cincinnati. While, at the same time, many of them ARE having babies very young; I think because of that, they see the appeal of choice.
Two things I thought really interesting in this article:
1) Political affiliation is usually determined by neighborhood. (Like land economics, where property value is determined by adjacent property value.) Here in the city, we have the progressive Mission and the conservative Marina (both urban). But this article posits that political affiliation can be predicted by land use type: progressive inner suburbs (low density) and conservative exurbs (very low density).
2) Every family wants their children to do better and not be bogged down with a teenage pregnancy. Position on abortion can be predicted by religion not political affiliation. So, the article says that formerly Republican families in the exurbs are going Democratic in order to protect their daughters' right to succeed. I have also noticed this issue divides my otherwise Republican cousins in exurban Cincinnati. While, at the same time, many of them ARE having babies very young; I think because of that, they see the appeal of choice.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
EPA Socio-Economic Causes and Consequences...
November 16 was a big day for me. I got up early and went downtown to see what was going on at an EPA conference called “Socio-economic Causes and Consequences of Future Environmental Changes Workshop”. It was supposed to be about transportation and land use, but I couldn’t actually find any information on it online. If the title isn’t bad enough, I also couldn’t find information about the individual subjects to be discussed or how to register. The registration lady was no help either “just click the link,” she said, but the link only led to a page to register to be an virtual particpant. (It turned out the real purpose of the conference was for projects that received EPA funding to report back on their findings/progress.) Anyway…
The first session was on “Trends in Housing, Land Use, and Land Coverage Change”, which is code for Landis-style development models. One was of the southern Cumberland Plateau and the other Sonoma County. The speakers gave some context (or at least the first one did) and then led us step by step thru their modeling process. Wouldn’t it have been nice to see some pretty photos of these beautiful natural landscapes that may not exist for much longer? Here’s what I thought was interesting about what they said:
Gottfried, Cumberland Plateau
· Land moves over time to the most highly valued use.
· Locals don’t like pine trees – only outsiders are likely to choose a plot with pine trees on it – it’s naturally a hardwood area.
· 20% of areas managed for hardwoods have moved to other uses.
· People used to prefer to build their homes in grassy areas. Now, it turns out, they have a preference for treed areas.
· … and a preference against paved roads.
· The timber companies have been selling to local people, mostly for farm extensions.
Merenlender, Sonoma County
· In-stream salmon were the measure of water quality.
· Sonoma county is a landscape of estates.
· Low and very low density doesn’t require sewer systems; therefore cities can’t control it with their urban growth boundaries (UGB).
At this point, I snuck out to go home for a while and take care of some pesky business waiting for me there (health insurance, my email, etc.). The mid-morning sessions lacked titles and the early afternoon sessions were about aquaculture, I am sure a very interesting topic, but no one that I know anything about or will help me to know about. The session starting at 2:45 was about Land Use, Transportation and Air Quality. Sounds promising, right?
Steve Raney (Cities21) began with his report on transforming office parks into transit villages:
· The goal is to create a less auto-dominated suburb and reduce SOV trips to less than 50%
· Energy consumed by a typical suburb: 280; energy consumed by a typical urban apartment-dweller: 97 (not sure what the unit is here)
· Energy efficiency is not the issue, lifestyle change is.
· With 50 units per acre, 50% of trips are made without a car, instead people are peds, not public transit riders.
· Suburban office parks are the main cause of sprawl and congestion over the last 30 years.
· Shoup: parking lots are land banks.
· 70% of tech workers want to work in a vital, urban area.
· Change culture to make it cool to be green.
· Personal Rapid Transit (or is it Private) in the form of a pod monorail, electric, no waiting, no stops, runs 24/7, no drivers
o Made in Korea and Sweden
o Similar systems in MN, TX, and Dubai (which is easy bc they have no public review process)
o Propose Silicon Valley style product development
· If workers use transit, then employers need provide fewer parking spaces providing room worker housing on site and a source of real estate revenues
· Access
o First mile: between home and transit station
o Last mile: between destination station and office
· Carpooling is difficult socially to ask people to spend that much time with someone
· So, provide condos on-site for tech workers.
o Discounts to people who work nearby
o Low-income upward mobility – comes with job/job training
o Include grocery carts
Then a gentleman named Hobbs talked about power sector emissions, and I went for a cookie and to call my mom. I bought 2 cookies; I have no self control.
Waddell is studying how to integrate transportation, land use and air quality modeling, because of course they are inter-related. (On the other hand, I sometimes thing we need a whole other planet, a model, in order to assess the results of various scenarios.) Here’s what I wrote down: integrate lifestyle choices with modeling, and urban sim. Hey, I don’t know what it means, but I am sure that I’m a genius.
Back in Cervero’s Transportation and Land Use class at Berkeley, we all read the views of Susan Handy and how they differed from those of our professor. As usual, I figured it all out after the final (on which it was the essay component), but I believe the main point was the she is pro-unconstrained land use (ie, auto-subsidy) and our Lafayette-dwelling professor is pro-constrained, European-style, transit-node land use. Well, her research (on which she was not the lead researcher) was the least complete and is called “Regional Development, Population, Trend, and Technology Change Impacts on Future Air Pollution Emissions in the San Joaquin Valley.” (Someone has got to give these planning academics a lesson in titling.) Here are my notes:
· They did not take into account changes in mode split/choice and found that the “controlled” scenario (where sprawl is controlled and development is focused on the urban core) does not reduce vehicle miles traveled from the baseline much…
· “Uncontrolled congestion is more spread out.”
· I found her agenda clear and her science sloppy (as described earlier). However, the lack of real mode choice consideration is the problem with most transportation models.
I hung out downtown for a while longer and then headed to the TALC regional meeting. But I’ll tell you about that in a different post. That is, assuming I find the time.
The first session was on “Trends in Housing, Land Use, and Land Coverage Change”, which is code for Landis-style development models. One was of the southern Cumberland Plateau and the other Sonoma County. The speakers gave some context (or at least the first one did) and then led us step by step thru their modeling process. Wouldn’t it have been nice to see some pretty photos of these beautiful natural landscapes that may not exist for much longer? Here’s what I thought was interesting about what they said:
Gottfried, Cumberland Plateau
· Land moves over time to the most highly valued use.
· Locals don’t like pine trees – only outsiders are likely to choose a plot with pine trees on it – it’s naturally a hardwood area.
· 20% of areas managed for hardwoods have moved to other uses.
· People used to prefer to build their homes in grassy areas. Now, it turns out, they have a preference for treed areas.
· … and a preference against paved roads.
· The timber companies have been selling to local people, mostly for farm extensions.
Merenlender, Sonoma County
· In-stream salmon were the measure of water quality.
· Sonoma county is a landscape of estates.
· Low and very low density doesn’t require sewer systems; therefore cities can’t control it with their urban growth boundaries (UGB).
At this point, I snuck out to go home for a while and take care of some pesky business waiting for me there (health insurance, my email, etc.). The mid-morning sessions lacked titles and the early afternoon sessions were about aquaculture, I am sure a very interesting topic, but no one that I know anything about or will help me to know about. The session starting at 2:45 was about Land Use, Transportation and Air Quality. Sounds promising, right?
Steve Raney (Cities21) began with his report on transforming office parks into transit villages:
· The goal is to create a less auto-dominated suburb and reduce SOV trips to less than 50%
· Energy consumed by a typical suburb: 280; energy consumed by a typical urban apartment-dweller: 97 (not sure what the unit is here)
· Energy efficiency is not the issue, lifestyle change is.
· With 50 units per acre, 50% of trips are made without a car, instead people are peds, not public transit riders.
· Suburban office parks are the main cause of sprawl and congestion over the last 30 years.
· Shoup: parking lots are land banks.
· 70% of tech workers want to work in a vital, urban area.
· Change culture to make it cool to be green.
· Personal Rapid Transit (or is it Private) in the form of a pod monorail, electric, no waiting, no stops, runs 24/7, no drivers
o Made in Korea and Sweden
o Similar systems in MN, TX, and Dubai (which is easy bc they have no public review process)
o Propose Silicon Valley style product development
· If workers use transit, then employers need provide fewer parking spaces providing room worker housing on site and a source of real estate revenues
· Access
o First mile: between home and transit station
o Last mile: between destination station and office
· Carpooling is difficult socially to ask people to spend that much time with someone
· So, provide condos on-site for tech workers.
o Discounts to people who work nearby
o Low-income upward mobility – comes with job/job training
o Include grocery carts
Then a gentleman named Hobbs talked about power sector emissions, and I went for a cookie and to call my mom. I bought 2 cookies; I have no self control.
Waddell is studying how to integrate transportation, land use and air quality modeling, because of course they are inter-related. (On the other hand, I sometimes thing we need a whole other planet, a model, in order to assess the results of various scenarios.) Here’s what I wrote down: integrate lifestyle choices with modeling, and urban sim. Hey, I don’t know what it means, but I am sure that I’m a genius.
Back in Cervero’s Transportation and Land Use class at Berkeley, we all read the views of Susan Handy and how they differed from those of our professor. As usual, I figured it all out after the final (on which it was the essay component), but I believe the main point was the she is pro-unconstrained land use (ie, auto-subsidy) and our Lafayette-dwelling professor is pro-constrained, European-style, transit-node land use. Well, her research (on which she was not the lead researcher) was the least complete and is called “Regional Development, Population, Trend, and Technology Change Impacts on Future Air Pollution Emissions in the San Joaquin Valley.” (Someone has got to give these planning academics a lesson in titling.) Here are my notes:
· They did not take into account changes in mode split/choice and found that the “controlled” scenario (where sprawl is controlled and development is focused on the urban core) does not reduce vehicle miles traveled from the baseline much…
· “Uncontrolled congestion is more spread out.”
· I found her agenda clear and her science sloppy (as described earlier). However, the lack of real mode choice consideration is the problem with most transportation models.
I hung out downtown for a while longer and then headed to the TALC regional meeting. But I’ll tell you about that in a different post. That is, assuming I find the time.
Grace says:
http://melgibsonforgovernor.com/
I don't think it's fair game to note for political gain that the
Governator's father was a Nazi. For the same reason, I'd avoid
mentioning that Mel's own father's denies that the Holocaust
happened. But that Mel himself is a Holocaust denier, I think that
that's entirely appropriate to consider in a political context.
I don't think it's fair game to note for political gain that the
Governator's father was a Nazi. For the same reason, I'd avoid
mentioning that Mel's own father's denies that the Holocaust
happened. But that Mel himself is a Holocaust denier, I think that
that's entirely appropriate to consider in a political context.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Word meanings
A few weeks back I heard a program on NPR about the origins of English words and how we can learn from them for every day life. I jotted down a few that I liked with the idea of doing a post on it, but then it got lost in the piles and never happened. I’m trying to clean up my desk (improve its feng shui and the like) as my life gears up. (It seems to take about 3 months to get back in the center of things, and I’m half way thru that.) So, here are the words, their meanings and some commentary:
Disappointed – literally means not chose. When you feel not chosen, ask yourself, are you choosing?
Adore – a gift, where you place your energy, speaking (what you speak of?)
Listen – to list or lean forward, a whole body experience
Patience – to suffer, the same root as passion; so, it means passionate expectation, trust in the universe that it will all work out.
Nice – ignorant, not investing
Disappointed – literally means not chose. When you feel not chosen, ask yourself, are you choosing?
Adore – a gift, where you place your energy, speaking (what you speak of?)
Listen – to list or lean forward, a whole body experience
Patience – to suffer, the same root as passion; so, it means passionate expectation, trust in the universe that it will all work out.
Nice – ignorant, not investing
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Boring laundry-list post about last weekend
I’ve been accused a lot lately of being… gasp… an Extrovert. This weekend, and my response to it, proves that I am not. Wednesday night I had a lovely reunion with my old housemates from Fairview Street. Thanksgiving, I was at Grampa Lizzie’s at noon, where my mother arrived 4 hours late because her husband was waiting for her at SFO and she was at Oakland (from Granny’s funeral), and he hadn’t call anyone of her friends or family within the last few days of being in the Bay Area. She had asked everyone to warn him. Or maybe it was just the last 36 hours. So, that was kind of upsetting. At dinner, I was thankful for life, the weather in California, and that we all have so many options. Yeah, I’m less thankful now (that it’s pouring rain).
Thus, I was 2 hours late to Laura’s, where there was a luscious, family-style Thanksgiving. I got there just after everyone had sat down anyway. They set up a table in the porch room where Charlie reminded me had once been a piñata on another infamous night celebrating Laura’s birthday. The laundry machines were covered with a tablecloth and used as a sideboard and the candlelight reflected off the glass. I bet we looked really cool from outside. Instead of giving thankful, each person drew someone’s name and we said what we liked about them. I drew Niki and said she was a good dancer, had a great sense of humor and a vibrant way of living her life. Elizabeth (Laura’s mom) said that I was smart and when things don’t go my way, I am always confident it’ll come out right in the end and then it does. I also made the best pecan pie ever in the universe.
Eric and I had a lovely, low-key day on Friday of eating leftovers, a leisurely walk around the neighborhood, and, as always, good conversation. Friday night, Eric was singing the Messiah in Cupertino, and I went to Sam and Jess’s for a mellow party.
Saturday, Alison and I went hiking in Marin County – some park in Ross, I forgot the name. Alison wanted to go there because, unlike the other parks in Marin, they allow dogs. Traffic was terrible (in Al and Jo’s Prius), and when we got to the park, we had to wait about 45 minutes for a parking place to open up. The people waiting in front of us were meeting a friend who arrived by herself and had already parked (why they couldn’t carpool even from nearby on-street parking meant, well, everyone had to wait that much longer), told us there was parking “like a mile” down the road. (When we checked, it was much further than a mile. The on-street parking is all marked “no parking Saturday, Sunday and holidays” because, of course, the people who live in the neighborhood don’t want to be inconvenienced by people who can’t afford to live there coming to enjoy it. The other thing I thought was interesting was the use of “like a mile”, which meant to them “too far to walk” but to us “very close”, but ultimately was “too far to walk”. Marinners are annoying.)
Anyway, it was beautiful. I took some nice pictures. And finally, it completely wore me out.
Sunday morning, I met DeAnne and Ryan at the Exploratorium. We had a coffee at the café and (Ryan) did the spiral color thingy. We asked him to show me his favorite displays, but he wasn’t interested. Instead, we took a walk along the beach at Crissy Field. Ryan played on the rocks and in the sand, and DeAnne and I talked.
The impetus for this visit was those Monterey Bay Aquarium tickets I ended up with. I sent out an email to a bunch of people I thought might want them. I was surprised by the number of replies. Alison pointed out that I expressed my politics with my choice of who to give them to; I chose the single, freelancing mom. And yeah, I bribe people to be friends with me.
I went home for 30 minutes between engagements, ate some delicious thanksgiving leftovers from Laura’s, and headed back out to meet Mitja (a friend from HS), Elysia, and Citrus at the Asian Art Musuem. I was collecting museum stickers that day. There was this really cute little guy there who carved Chinese character names into stone stamps (I have one, but I am not sure what it says exactly), and they got really excited about having one made for them. It takes about an hour to carve; so, we looked at the exhibition in the meantime. I was surprised at how small it was for the $10 entry fee. But I particularly like the Shivas with all those arms and, of course, the ones involving images of sex.
It was their last day in California, and Mitja needed a burrito. I was concerned about taking a 4 month old to an unsavory place like Cancun at 6th and Market, but they didn’t have a problem with it. Citrus is a perfect little angel. She’s also been sick. (They were at Children’s Hospital in Oakland for 5 hours the other day.) We had burritos, which a homeless lady helped us finish off, scooping the wet leftovers into a brown paper bag. I got to hold Citrus as we walked to their car. She drooled and wiped her runny nose in the cold onto my black scarf.
My friends here are all obsessed with “attachment parenting” where you keep the baby touching you as much as possible, breast feed, have the baby sleep in bed with you, etc.. I was surprised to learn that both these guys and my friend Kalyani in NYC don’t seem to be doing it. It doesn’t seem to be on their radar. I mean, it’s none of my business how other people raise their children. I am just a casual observer noticing that my east coast friends and my west coast friends parent in completely different ways.
I got home to realize that, while my phone was on silent, Tam had called wondering about our plans for the night. I called back to say that I needed some time, which ended up being longer than planned bc I fell asleep accidentally. Tam was going to India on Tuesday for a month and a wedding. But ultimately, we had a low-key visit involving hot water (bc it has gotten really cold). She sent me home with a grocery bag of leftovers (most of which I ate today; I was hungry! She, like me, hates to waste food).
I don’t regret a minute of it, but I slept for like a million years every night since then, and still didn’t have energy to do anything at all. I bought some things at the local stores, and partly bc of the rain and partly bc I am lazy, didn’t even make it to yoga. I did mop my kitchen and make some turkey soup from the carcass Laura kindly let me have. You know how I feel about making soup.
Thus, I was 2 hours late to Laura’s, where there was a luscious, family-style Thanksgiving. I got there just after everyone had sat down anyway. They set up a table in the porch room where Charlie reminded me had once been a piñata on another infamous night celebrating Laura’s birthday. The laundry machines were covered with a tablecloth and used as a sideboard and the candlelight reflected off the glass. I bet we looked really cool from outside. Instead of giving thankful, each person drew someone’s name and we said what we liked about them. I drew Niki and said she was a good dancer, had a great sense of humor and a vibrant way of living her life. Elizabeth (Laura’s mom) said that I was smart and when things don’t go my way, I am always confident it’ll come out right in the end and then it does. I also made the best pecan pie ever in the universe.
Eric and I had a lovely, low-key day on Friday of eating leftovers, a leisurely walk around the neighborhood, and, as always, good conversation. Friday night, Eric was singing the Messiah in Cupertino, and I went to Sam and Jess’s for a mellow party.
Saturday, Alison and I went hiking in Marin County – some park in Ross, I forgot the name. Alison wanted to go there because, unlike the other parks in Marin, they allow dogs. Traffic was terrible (in Al and Jo’s Prius), and when we got to the park, we had to wait about 45 minutes for a parking place to open up. The people waiting in front of us were meeting a friend who arrived by herself and had already parked (why they couldn’t carpool even from nearby on-street parking meant, well, everyone had to wait that much longer), told us there was parking “like a mile” down the road. (When we checked, it was much further than a mile. The on-street parking is all marked “no parking Saturday, Sunday and holidays” because, of course, the people who live in the neighborhood don’t want to be inconvenienced by people who can’t afford to live there coming to enjoy it. The other thing I thought was interesting was the use of “like a mile”, which meant to them “too far to walk” but to us “very close”, but ultimately was “too far to walk”. Marinners are annoying.)
Anyway, it was beautiful. I took some nice pictures. And finally, it completely wore me out.
Sunday morning, I met DeAnne and Ryan at the Exploratorium. We had a coffee at the café and (Ryan) did the spiral color thingy. We asked him to show me his favorite displays, but he wasn’t interested. Instead, we took a walk along the beach at Crissy Field. Ryan played on the rocks and in the sand, and DeAnne and I talked.
The impetus for this visit was those Monterey Bay Aquarium tickets I ended up with. I sent out an email to a bunch of people I thought might want them. I was surprised by the number of replies. Alison pointed out that I expressed my politics with my choice of who to give them to; I chose the single, freelancing mom. And yeah, I bribe people to be friends with me.
I went home for 30 minutes between engagements, ate some delicious thanksgiving leftovers from Laura’s, and headed back out to meet Mitja (a friend from HS), Elysia, and Citrus at the Asian Art Musuem. I was collecting museum stickers that day. There was this really cute little guy there who carved Chinese character names into stone stamps (I have one, but I am not sure what it says exactly), and they got really excited about having one made for them. It takes about an hour to carve; so, we looked at the exhibition in the meantime. I was surprised at how small it was for the $10 entry fee. But I particularly like the Shivas with all those arms and, of course, the ones involving images of sex.
It was their last day in California, and Mitja needed a burrito. I was concerned about taking a 4 month old to an unsavory place like Cancun at 6th and Market, but they didn’t have a problem with it. Citrus is a perfect little angel. She’s also been sick. (They were at Children’s Hospital in Oakland for 5 hours the other day.) We had burritos, which a homeless lady helped us finish off, scooping the wet leftovers into a brown paper bag. I got to hold Citrus as we walked to their car. She drooled and wiped her runny nose in the cold onto my black scarf.
My friends here are all obsessed with “attachment parenting” where you keep the baby touching you as much as possible, breast feed, have the baby sleep in bed with you, etc.. I was surprised to learn that both these guys and my friend Kalyani in NYC don’t seem to be doing it. It doesn’t seem to be on their radar. I mean, it’s none of my business how other people raise their children. I am just a casual observer noticing that my east coast friends and my west coast friends parent in completely different ways.
I got home to realize that, while my phone was on silent, Tam had called wondering about our plans for the night. I called back to say that I needed some time, which ended up being longer than planned bc I fell asleep accidentally. Tam was going to India on Tuesday for a month and a wedding. But ultimately, we had a low-key visit involving hot water (bc it has gotten really cold). She sent me home with a grocery bag of leftovers (most of which I ate today; I was hungry! She, like me, hates to waste food).
I don’t regret a minute of it, but I slept for like a million years every night since then, and still didn’t have energy to do anything at all. I bought some things at the local stores, and partly bc of the rain and partly bc I am lazy, didn’t even make it to yoga. I did mop my kitchen and make some turkey soup from the carcass Laura kindly let me have. You know how I feel about making soup.
Go Ahead, Call In Sick -- It Prevents 'Presenteeism' - Los Angeles Times
Go Ahead, Call In Sick -- It Prevents 'Presenteeism' - Los Angeles Times
I used to go to work sick bc if you are going to feel crappy, you might as well be paid for it. They're saying that this article provides a good argument for having a functional telework program. The other thing that freaked me out about this article is the idea that everyone lives in fear that they're lose their job. So much so that they don't feel like they can even take care of themselves. I think everyone should be required to take their sick time even if they never get sick. People need time to themselves. I also think people should work when- and where-ever they want.
I used to go to work sick bc if you are going to feel crappy, you might as well be paid for it. They're saying that this article provides a good argument for having a functional telework program. The other thing that freaked me out about this article is the idea that everyone lives in fear that they're lose their job. So much so that they don't feel like they can even take care of themselves. I think everyone should be required to take their sick time even if they never get sick. People need time to themselves. I also think people should work when- and where-ever they want.
Monday, November 28, 2005
Heating of rental units
It seems like I tell people all the time what the laws are regarding the heat of rental units. Here's the quote:
"If the owner controls the heat source ( a central boiler, for example), then the owner must provide 13 hours of heat at a minimum of 68 degrees Fahrenheit from 5 AM to 11 AM and also from 3 PM to 10 PM each day in all habitable rooms (not bathrooms or halls for example). If the tenant controls the heat source (a space heater, for example), then the appliance must be capable of maintaining a temperature of least 68 degrees Fahrenheit in all habitable rooms. If it is 68 degrees or higher in the unit, heat does not have to be provided."
http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/site/rentboard_page.asp?id=4060
"If the owner controls the heat source ( a central boiler, for example), then the owner must provide 13 hours of heat at a minimum of 68 degrees Fahrenheit from 5 AM to 11 AM and also from 3 PM to 10 PM each day in all habitable rooms (not bathrooms or halls for example). If the tenant controls the heat source (a space heater, for example), then the appliance must be capable of maintaining a temperature of least 68 degrees Fahrenheit in all habitable rooms. If it is 68 degrees or higher in the unit, heat does not have to be provided."
http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/site/rentboard_page.asp?id=4060
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Monday, November 21, 2005
The remaining photos from my trip
Here's a link to the rest of the photos from my trip:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=ksr0nbj.bhpdtx9b&x=1&y=r5d4nd
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=ksr0nbj.bhpdtx9b&x=1&y=r5d4nd
IBND Index -Interntional Buy Nothing Day -
IBND Index -Interntional Buy Nothing Day -
Of course, when you're unwaged or just don't make enough to support yourself and your family you try to make every day a buy nothing day. Think about that.
Of course, when you're unwaged or just don't make enough to support yourself and your family you try to make every day a buy nothing day. Think about that.
Pesticide testing on orphans and children with disabilities
Organic Consumers Association - Educating for Health, Justice, and Sustainability
I didn't think this could be possible, but I checked with a reliable source who said it was....
I didn't think this could be possible, but I checked with a reliable source who said it was....
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Granny dies
My last remaining grandparent and namesake, Lillian Smith, died early this morning.
I'll think of some really moving things to say about later.
I'll think of some really moving things to say about later.
Friday, November 18, 2005
"Desperate" for a novel
You know that I watch 3 TV shows. Well, I watch other show some of the time, but there are 3 that I tape to make sure that I get to see them. They are: Alias, Desperate Housewives, and Veronica Mars. (...OK, you caught me. I also tape Friends reruns, but I only watch the episodes if I haven't before, which almost never happens.)
So, I was on the BART today after lunch with my friend Brian and a visit to Creative Growth (http://www.creativegrowth.org, where I am going to start volunteering). (I was originally supposed to go to a talk at Berkeley on Housing and the Bay, but I just couldn't take another talk this week, and it turned out Carolyn wouldn't be available until 7 PM, and I didn't want to wait that long....) On the BART, there was a Datebook section of the Chronicle. I read the article on have Desperate Housewives is... not what it once was.
But, to make a short story long, the punchline, to me, was this line: "At times the series has played out as a less-than-intricate collection of short stories, rather than a novel that everyone seems to crave." (Goodman) In the 90s, my writing group talked about how the short story was en vogue along with short shorts. We thought this was great news, and now I think that's because short stories and short shorts are just easier. We didn't have to work so hard.
Of course, the irony here is that I don't like short stories all that much and I love novels. I can't take the emotional rollercoaster. If I am going to get all involved with a bunch of characters and their story, I want it to last at least a week. However, with my current system, I have managed to make one novel last like 6 months. Argh.
So, I was on the BART today after lunch with my friend Brian and a visit to Creative Growth (http://www.creativegrowth.org, where I am going to start volunteering). (I was originally supposed to go to a talk at Berkeley on Housing and the Bay, but I just couldn't take another talk this week, and it turned out Carolyn wouldn't be available until 7 PM, and I didn't want to wait that long....) On the BART, there was a Datebook section of the Chronicle. I read the article on have Desperate Housewives is... not what it once was.
But, to make a short story long, the punchline, to me, was this line: "At times the series has played out as a less-than-intricate collection of short stories, rather than a novel that everyone seems to crave." (Goodman) In the 90s, my writing group talked about how the short story was en vogue along with short shorts. We thought this was great news, and now I think that's because short stories and short shorts are just easier. We didn't have to work so hard.
Of course, the irony here is that I don't like short stories all that much and I love novels. I can't take the emotional rollercoaster. If I am going to get all involved with a bunch of characters and their story, I want it to last at least a week. However, with my current system, I have managed to make one novel last like 6 months. Argh.
Crossing Guard Runs Down Crossing Guard
NEW JERSEY
Crossing Guard Runs Down Crossing Guard
A crossing guard was killed in front of a high school by another crossing
guard on his way to work, Park Ridge police said.
Estelle Reynolds, 81, died after being struck in a crosswalk by a vehicle
driven by Marvin Hodgdon, 70. He was on his way to his crossing guard job
in nearby Hillsdale.
Hodgdon said he didn't see Reynolds, who was wearing high-visibility safety
gear, police Chief Richard Oppenheimer said.
No criminal charges were filed.
TJB
Source: [carfree_cities]
Crossing Guard Runs Down Crossing Guard
A crossing guard was killed in front of a high school by another crossing
guard on his way to work, Park Ridge police said.
Estelle Reynolds, 81, died after being struck in a crosswalk by a vehicle
driven by Marvin Hodgdon, 70. He was on his way to his crossing guard job
in nearby Hillsdale.
Hodgdon said he didn't see Reynolds, who was wearing high-visibility safety
gear, police Chief Richard Oppenheimer said.
No criminal charges were filed.
TJB
Source: [carfree_cities]
news
My grandmother is back in the hospital again. She got very weak from the radiation and not eating and had a fall. My mother flew out to be with her, which appears to have been a really good thing bc the doctors didn't think she would live thru last night. Except that she did.
In the meantime, Jane's mother has pancreatic cancer and Carolyn Helmke breast cancer. I don't have any updates on those. I am really worried about my mother if she loses bother her mommy and her twin sister in one year. She's never been good at taking care of herself. It seems like now would be a good time to start, but sometimes people can't change.
I asked my friend Tina about the uprisings in France (she lives in Paris), and here's what she said:
> yeah, i think things were kinda crazy up in saint
> dennis, etc. but not in central paris. and i do think
> the media kind of had a field day with it, bc i have a
> friend who lives there and another who works there and
> they both said they didn't really see anything and
> weren't affected. they live right in "93" the
> supposedly really bad part. i did see 2 burned cars
> in paris near pack villette in the 19th...not far from
> that bar where we tried to hear reggae on nuit
> blanche...the 2 cars did kinda freak me out. but
> that's about it!
I asked Bertrand for news of Strasbourg, but I haven't heard anything back yet.
Gabe and I hungout last night and had lots of interesting conversation as always. We went to this workshop on what the guy calls "practical wisardry" which was basically a motivational class. The bottom line is pay attention to how your body feels to know what you want and then think positively about getting it. He used a lot of self-help, science, and motivational jargon, but that was his main message.
He also spent a very long time talking about his life story. He worked in television bc he liked to watch it. Then he joined an internet startup where he wasn't paid enough. Then he became a web developer where he was happy for a few years. Having known my share of techies, I would just love to hear someone have a more interesting story to tell. Like how you farmed in Africa or meditated for 3 years in northern India or sold jewelry at Dead shows. Anything!
I took a lot of notes from the class and maybe I will type them up for you anyway. I do admire his wanting to be a motivational teacher, but it might not be the best medium for him. I could listen to Garrison Keiller read his shopping list out loud, but there are lots of other people who just shouldn't talk. Or maybe they just need coaching.
That said, I do think the class helped me. And more than that, talking with Gabe helped. I'm ready to conquer.
In the meantime, Jane's mother has pancreatic cancer and Carolyn Helmke breast cancer. I don't have any updates on those. I am really worried about my mother if she loses bother her mommy and her twin sister in one year. She's never been good at taking care of herself. It seems like now would be a good time to start, but sometimes people can't change.
I asked my friend Tina about the uprisings in France (she lives in Paris), and here's what she said:
> yeah, i think things were kinda crazy up in saint
> dennis, etc. but not in central paris. and i do think
> the media kind of had a field day with it, bc i have a
> friend who lives there and another who works there and
> they both said they didn't really see anything and
> weren't affected. they live right in "93" the
> supposedly really bad part. i did see 2 burned cars
> in paris near pack villette in the 19th...not far from
> that bar where we tried to hear reggae on nuit
> blanche...the 2 cars did kinda freak me out. but
> that's about it!
I asked Bertrand for news of Strasbourg, but I haven't heard anything back yet.
Gabe and I hungout last night and had lots of interesting conversation as always. We went to this workshop on what the guy calls "practical wisardry" which was basically a motivational class. The bottom line is pay attention to how your body feels to know what you want and then think positively about getting it. He used a lot of self-help, science, and motivational jargon, but that was his main message.
He also spent a very long time talking about his life story. He worked in television bc he liked to watch it. Then he joined an internet startup where he wasn't paid enough. Then he became a web developer where he was happy for a few years. Having known my share of techies, I would just love to hear someone have a more interesting story to tell. Like how you farmed in Africa or meditated for 3 years in northern India or sold jewelry at Dead shows. Anything!
I took a lot of notes from the class and maybe I will type them up for you anyway. I do admire his wanting to be a motivational teacher, but it might not be the best medium for him. I could listen to Garrison Keiller read his shopping list out loud, but there are lots of other people who just shouldn't talk. Or maybe they just need coaching.
That said, I do think the class helped me. And more than that, talking with Gabe helped. I'm ready to conquer.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Wal-Mart: the high cost of low prices (film review)
Tam and I went to see this film at the Roxy last night (an event sponsored by the Party Progressive and Buyblue.com (1)). It included the following accusations against Wal-Mart:
* WM puts locally-owned businesses out of business
* WM pays and promotes women and minorities significantly less, or should I say, never.
* Owners donate very little money to charity (while Bill Gates donates 58% of his income, by comparison, the Waltons donate about 2%). Also, employees may donate to help other employees in times of crisis; employees donated several million; the Waltons donated $6,000.
* WM provides security for inside the store, but not the parking lot. In many communities Wal-Mart parking lots have the highest incidence of crime in the county. (2)
* WM destroys downtown economies, keeps people away from downtown streets (making them unsafe, among other things).
* WM doesn't pay employees enough to live off.
* WM employs sweatshop labor practices in developing countries and fires US employees who attempt to make conditions comply with the law.
* WM encourages employees to use public assistance when they cannot make enough to live off of. Employees use an enormous amount of public subsidy in many forms (food stamps, Medicaid/care, etc.).
* WM Union-busts.
* WM maintains environmentally-damaging practices until shamed into changing them by the media (despite repeated requests from local gov't officials over many months)
* What did I forget?
We watched about 10 minutes of the rebuttal movie, but then I got tired (and it was boring). The arguments presented were:
* people love to work at Wal-Mart (example, 90-year-old woman who has worked there for 15 years, since retiring). (3)
* poor people need to buy things at low prices to get by. (4)
Overall, I wouldn't say it was a good movie. It attempted to be inflammatory. It tried to manipulate the viewers emotions. And worst of all, it wasn't pretty.
What do you do? Wal-Mart may be bad, but the reality is that most stuff is made in sweatshops and most businesses exploit their workers. Here's Tam's and my 2-pronged plan:
1) Shop at locally-owned businesses esp the owner-operated (co-op?).
2) Shop low on the... shop-chain. That is, buy used stuff. When you can't find it used, look for that "made in the USA" tag we used to covet so much in the late 70s.
Endnotes:
(1) Buyblue.com lists companies that donate money to the Democratic Party (as far as I can tell). Sure, this may help fight the Republicans, but isn't the point more to take back our country FOR OURSELVES? That means supporting locally-owned businesses so that someday we may have a strong middle class again. Without distribution of income, I don't see how we can have a successful democracy.
(2) The information about crime in the parking lots was the only new information to us.
(3) Why is it that she doesn't want to retire? Also, she surely doesn't need to work; so, how is it that this is a good argument in WM's favor? Some people who work their actually need the income to support their families.
(4) Why do you think that these people are poor? It's like the old song says "I owe my soul to the company store." Most WM employees just turn around and spend all their income in the store again bc they can't afford to shop anywhere else. In this way, WM is perpetuating its own economy.
* WM puts locally-owned businesses out of business
* WM pays and promotes women and minorities significantly less, or should I say, never.
* Owners donate very little money to charity (while Bill Gates donates 58% of his income, by comparison, the Waltons donate about 2%). Also, employees may donate to help other employees in times of crisis; employees donated several million; the Waltons donated $6,000.
* WM provides security for inside the store, but not the parking lot. In many communities Wal-Mart parking lots have the highest incidence of crime in the county. (2)
* WM destroys downtown economies, keeps people away from downtown streets (making them unsafe, among other things).
* WM doesn't pay employees enough to live off.
* WM employs sweatshop labor practices in developing countries and fires US employees who attempt to make conditions comply with the law.
* WM encourages employees to use public assistance when they cannot make enough to live off of. Employees use an enormous amount of public subsidy in many forms (food stamps, Medicaid/care, etc.).
* WM Union-busts.
* WM maintains environmentally-damaging practices until shamed into changing them by the media (despite repeated requests from local gov't officials over many months)
* What did I forget?
We watched about 10 minutes of the rebuttal movie, but then I got tired (and it was boring). The arguments presented were:
* people love to work at Wal-Mart (example, 90-year-old woman who has worked there for 15 years, since retiring). (3)
* poor people need to buy things at low prices to get by. (4)
Overall, I wouldn't say it was a good movie. It attempted to be inflammatory. It tried to manipulate the viewers emotions. And worst of all, it wasn't pretty.
What do you do? Wal-Mart may be bad, but the reality is that most stuff is made in sweatshops and most businesses exploit their workers. Here's Tam's and my 2-pronged plan:
1) Shop at locally-owned businesses esp the owner-operated (co-op?).
2) Shop low on the... shop-chain. That is, buy used stuff. When you can't find it used, look for that "made in the USA" tag we used to covet so much in the late 70s.
Endnotes:
(1) Buyblue.com lists companies that donate money to the Democratic Party (as far as I can tell). Sure, this may help fight the Republicans, but isn't the point more to take back our country FOR OURSELVES? That means supporting locally-owned businesses so that someday we may have a strong middle class again. Without distribution of income, I don't see how we can have a successful democracy.
(2) The information about crime in the parking lots was the only new information to us.
(3) Why is it that she doesn't want to retire? Also, she surely doesn't need to work; so, how is it that this is a good argument in WM's favor? Some people who work their actually need the income to support their families.
(4) Why do you think that these people are poor? It's like the old song says "I owe my soul to the company store." Most WM employees just turn around and spend all their income in the store again bc they can't afford to shop anywhere else. In this way, WM is perpetuating its own economy.
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