Yea, I've had a list of things to do, and have been roundly ignoring them. Say, have I mentioned CT classes start this Saturday? I did have a vacation, right. It's hard to remember. Actually, that's worrying me a little at the moment. Anyway, I need to get off my ass and start writing and being alive.
Jason Sanford on not cliche-ing yourself into a hack. Mostly about writing advice. Not all advice works for everybody. Established writers often "violate" the rules new writers are expected to abide by, and there are reasons for that.
Birds burst into flames over solar plant. Yea, I've never liked the idea of solar concentrators (either for water or liquid salt).
I know a lot of people don't understand when I tell them that taking a vacation, especially planning a vacation, is a skill I just don't have. "Research shows that one out of seven workers entitled to paid vacation time didn’t use it this past year." Unfortunately you'll have to listen to that story, as it seems Marketplace doesn't want to do a full transcript. But, yea, vacations are hard for some of us, and then we see people who don't take vacations get promoted, and it sends all the wrong signals (unless you're a corporate bean counter, and then it sends all the right signals). And, as the article says, according to all empirical evidence, taking breaks makes one more productive (and happier). But then facts never work on bean counters (yes, experiencing this right now with day jobbery, why do you ask). I'm working hard on that skill of taking a vacation. It ain't easy.
"There's no 'law of capitalism' that says that companies have to pay their employees as little as possible. There's no law of capitalism that says companies have to 'maximize short-term profits.' That's just a story that America's owners made up to justify taking as much of the company's wealth as possible for themselves." And that, Virginia, is why there is no Santa Claus. Or, actually, why the economy is stalled. You don't need to take it from me or any of my dirty, lefty hippie friends, that's Business Insider saying that. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
There's too many articles to link to here, but I just want you all to notice the new meme that if the Congress votes on Impeachment, it's only because Obama dared them to/brought it on himself. If the right hadn't been talking about impeachment before he even took the oath of office, they might have a better case. It's like they're making the argument of, "Please, Briar Rabbit, don't make us throw you into that briar patch."
Ferguson. Ferguson. Ferguson. Many people not involved keep asking when it will get back to normal in Ferguson, so let me make this one statement. Only one side is interested in "getting back to normal", and that's the side with the tear gas. For the other side, "normal" isn't much less worse than the current situation. The perceived pain of change must be less than the perceived pain of the status quo for any organizational change to be successful. What you're seeing is the one side for whom the pain of the status quo has been too great trying to increase the pain of the status quo of the other side until the pain of change is perceived to be less. Are there other actors in there? Sure, there always are. But so far they haven't been able to gain much traction (thanks to the people of Ferguson, not the law enforcement side). The Tear Gas Brigades haven't realized that they need to change, they see no reason or point in changing. What they haven't come to grips with is the people of Ferguson won't let it go back to the old status quo. And each week this progresses, the more change they will demand. No justice, no peace. Know justice, know peace. At the beginning of this there was very little asked. We (all of us on both sides, and even people who don't think this affects them) will need to pay a larger price now because a bunch of yokels didn't know how to act properly in the post 1865/1942/1964 world. And even after the streets are quiet, the change will occur. The Tear Gas Brigades haven't learned that yet.
History may not repeat, but it often rhymes. I wonder if sticking your fingers in your ears and singing "lalalalalala" rhymes enough?
And this is why you need to vet candidates.
The problem with the argument of "just send them back where they came from." Have I mentioned before how much of the drug violence problem in Central America is directly related to the US? Not only through our drug addiction/interception problems, but because many of the gang leaders once served time in US jails before being deported. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)
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