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Month: August 2014

Monday links

Remember when “making a federal case” out of something meant it was a super-serious matter? Well, not so much now. (H/T G) Did development of modern human beings require diminished testosterone? Did it also require … but wait, let a neuroscientist tell you her brilliant ideas. The TED talk. The transcript. (Good one, LA!) Funny. Don’t recall Jesus ever saying that you’d be able to recognize his disciples by their works multi-million dollar residences. Eleven things humans do that dogs hate. (But wait just a minute. My pups love to get hugs from the right person.) I was going to…

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Poverty vs poverty

I once briefly dated a guy who lived from hand to mouth. He got by on about $600 a month, mostly donated by friends who thought he was a starving genius. Literally he never knew at the beginning of the month whether he’d have enough to make it to the end without going hungry.

He was also a mega-slob. But he always said that if he someday had enough money to live in a nice place he was sure his “naturally clean self” would keep it impressively neat and spotless.

At the time, I lived in a house that was tiny but a gem. I’d bought it from a young architect who’d remodeled it for himself and his family and it was a work of love. Mr. Naturally Clean Self would come over and after an hour it would look … well, just like his place. Grime on the counters. Cabinet doors left open. Jackets and shoes discarded in the middle of the floor, furniture askew.

Now I realize some people just aren’t into keeping a tidy house, and that’s dandy. But I laughed at his self-delusion.

He also believed that someday he’d be famous and fabulously wealthy as an author. But of course, he never put a word down on paper — while at the same time he wouldn’t think of holding an actual job or doing freelance work because that would disrupt his spiritual and creative flow.

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Friday links

Okay, I get why Americans abroad with a deadly disease (and their families) would want to be cared for in the U.S. I understand that the fedgov has some obligation to protect U.S. citizens in other countries (though that’s often more theory than practice). What I don’t get is why the CDC would go out of its way to bring an incurable infectious disease to these shores. I don’t care how many “precautions” you take. We’ve seen how well “precautions” often work. “The app I used to break into my neighbor’s home.” Covert key copying goes high tech. The criminalization…

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