Computer programmers become computerized when they EXPECT PEOPLE TO OBEY LIKE A COMPUTER OBEYS. This is more common with men, probably because women have a monthly reminder that the body does not obey orders.
The Google guys in San Francisco can not understand why small businesses are not happy that they are spending money in San Francisco. Small businesses know that spending money does not help if the rents go up so high that the business can not afford to stay in business.
Now San Francisco is repeating the Republican LIE that affordable housing will help with the crises. AFFORDABLE HOUSING ISN'T. What used to help in this type of crises was SUBSIDIZED housing.
With affordable housing, the rent is set by the developer and you MUST make an income of twice the rent or you cannot move in. And the rents are discounted, but NOT by enough so that a minimum wage worker can move in. SUBSIDIZED housing is when you get the size of apartment that you need, the landlord gets market rent, you pay a percentage of your income as rent, and the government picks up the difference.
Unfortunately, computerized people believe that the entire world can make money doing what they think is easy, because it is easy for them. So the computerized consider the rest of us to be lazy. And why should they pay taxes to help lazy people?
The cure for being computerized is to GET OUT INTO THE REAL WORLD. Meet people who are artists, cooks, dancers, writers, lawyers, doctors, professors. Many of these people CONSIDER THEIR COMPUTERS TO BE ADVERSARIES, NOT FRIENDS.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Thursday, February 20, 2014
'LET MY PEOPLE GO'
The story of Moses teaches that YOU CAN NOT EVEN GOVERN SLAVES WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED.
Too many new democracies incorrectly believe that the majority rules, therefore the majority can do anything it wants. Then these misguided leaders are surprised when there are protests in the streets.
DEMOCRACY IS A DANCE BETWEEN THE MAJORITY AND THE LOYAL OPPOSITIONS. It is not possible to peacefully govern a country without treating all citizens with equal respect. (Often this respect is taught in terms of civil rights, but it really means that ALL citizens should get a fair hearing and be treated equally.)
Putin seems to treat the citizens of the Ukraine and Syria as chess pawns. I believe these 'pawns' have history on their side. People try to say that the US also treats people badly. However, 90% of US poor have hot water, electricity, and flush toilets.
But we should at least assuage Putin's real fear that Russia will lose its cold water ports.
THIS IS NOT A GAME OF CHESS, THESE ARE VERY REAL DEMANDS TO BE TREATED EQUALLY.
RUSSIA NEEDS TO LEARN THE LESSONS OF FREEDOM THAT MOSES TAUGHT. And those demanding freedom need to remember the years of wandering in the desert that came with freedom.
Too many new democracies incorrectly believe that the majority rules, therefore the majority can do anything it wants. Then these misguided leaders are surprised when there are protests in the streets.
DEMOCRACY IS A DANCE BETWEEN THE MAJORITY AND THE LOYAL OPPOSITIONS. It is not possible to peacefully govern a country without treating all citizens with equal respect. (Often this respect is taught in terms of civil rights, but it really means that ALL citizens should get a fair hearing and be treated equally.)
Putin seems to treat the citizens of the Ukraine and Syria as chess pawns. I believe these 'pawns' have history on their side. People try to say that the US also treats people badly. However, 90% of US poor have hot water, electricity, and flush toilets.
But we should at least assuage Putin's real fear that Russia will lose its cold water ports.
THIS IS NOT A GAME OF CHESS, THESE ARE VERY REAL DEMANDS TO BE TREATED EQUALLY.
RUSSIA NEEDS TO LEARN THE LESSONS OF FREEDOM THAT MOSES TAUGHT. And those demanding freedom need to remember the years of wandering in the desert that came with freedom.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
WIDOWS AND ORPHANS CAN STARVE
CalPERS takes up to three months to pay death benefits after their paperwork is approved. This means that CalPERS is taking FIVE TO SIX MONTHS TO PAY WIDOWS AND ORPHANS.
WHY? Because CalPERS kept its head during the recession and did NOT lose money. Also, CalPERS tried to help the counties by keeping their administrative costs down as low as possible. This professionalism means that CalPERS is growing faster than CalPERS can handle the growth.
Now CalPERS needs to increase the percentage they charge for administrative costs. CalPERS also NEEDS A WAIVER so they can HIRE EXPERIENCED RETIRED EMPLOYEES to get them though the backlog and to help them train new workers.
It is not possible to hire an untrained person and expect them to be able to make decisions in the complex area of retirement benefits.
I once asked a friend why he sold life insurance, but did not sell health insurance. He replied, "It is easy to prove that someone is dead."
TAKING 5 TO 6 MONThS TO PAY DEATH BENEFITS IS UNCONSCIONABLE! A widow may not starve, but she can certainly lose the family home.
WHY? Because CalPERS kept its head during the recession and did NOT lose money. Also, CalPERS tried to help the counties by keeping their administrative costs down as low as possible. This professionalism means that CalPERS is growing faster than CalPERS can handle the growth.
Now CalPERS needs to increase the percentage they charge for administrative costs. CalPERS also NEEDS A WAIVER so they can HIRE EXPERIENCED RETIRED EMPLOYEES to get them though the backlog and to help them train new workers.
It is not possible to hire an untrained person and expect them to be able to make decisions in the complex area of retirement benefits.
I once asked a friend why he sold life insurance, but did not sell health insurance. He replied, "It is easy to prove that someone is dead."
TAKING 5 TO 6 MONThS TO PAY DEATH BENEFITS IS UNCONSCIONABLE! A widow may not starve, but she can certainly lose the family home.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
LIVING FOREVER
"I want to see more of the black and white little girl," requested my four year old, back when we all rented old movies. So we rented another Shirley Temple movie.
If you have not yet showed the Shirley Temple movies to your children, you should watch one tonight. I do not remember wincing even once during these old movies. The movies are very Downton Abbey meets Little Orphan Annie. And the dance numbers! Sometimes it is not necessary to talk in order to teach one of the most important lessons of all.
Now the woman the child became is dead. But the child star will live on forever in the imaginations of every succeeding generation of children.
If you have not yet showed the Shirley Temple movies to your children, you should watch one tonight. I do not remember wincing even once during these old movies. The movies are very Downton Abbey meets Little Orphan Annie. And the dance numbers! Sometimes it is not necessary to talk in order to teach one of the most important lessons of all.
Now the woman the child became is dead. But the child star will live on forever in the imaginations of every succeeding generation of children.
Monday, February 10, 2014
GARBAGE WARS, PART DUEX
One of my new roommates has decreed that I can not have ANY garbage in the kitchen and I can NOT soak my dishes, even if she is not using the kitchen. This means that I can no longer cook.
I AM DISABLED. Like a blind man who has memorized where everything is, I do not look disabled as I have carefully arranged my life so that I get optimal use out of the short periods of time that I can be standing up.
I think this new roommate is from one of those cultures who believe that older women should be a slave or thrown into the street to starve. Maybe she is from India, where men throw their mothers out of the house when their father dies.
Americans do not harrass the old and the disabled. We have passed laws protecting the elderly.
These protective laws do not work when people use petty harassment to try to force the elderly into obedience. However, my roommate could not do this to me if the landlord and the other people in the house told her to stop harassing me.
HELP ME by helping others. If you see a disabled person, offer to help. (Forcing help is a bad idea. Let the disabled person tell you if you can help and how.)
For me, it would be nice if the garbage cans were returned to the kitchen EVERY time the crazy one puts them out into the wind and rain.
I do not know what to do about soaking my dishes. For a year and a half, soaking my dishes has gotten in the way of someone about four times. If asked, I ALWAYS quickly rinse my dishes.
FAIR WARNING! SUFFERING IN SILENCE IS NOT MY STYLE,
I AM DISABLED. Like a blind man who has memorized where everything is, I do not look disabled as I have carefully arranged my life so that I get optimal use out of the short periods of time that I can be standing up.
I think this new roommate is from one of those cultures who believe that older women should be a slave or thrown into the street to starve. Maybe she is from India, where men throw their mothers out of the house when their father dies.
Americans do not harrass the old and the disabled. We have passed laws protecting the elderly.
These protective laws do not work when people use petty harassment to try to force the elderly into obedience. However, my roommate could not do this to me if the landlord and the other people in the house told her to stop harassing me.
HELP ME by helping others. If you see a disabled person, offer to help. (Forcing help is a bad idea. Let the disabled person tell you if you can help and how.)
For me, it would be nice if the garbage cans were returned to the kitchen EVERY time the crazy one puts them out into the wind and rain.
I do not know what to do about soaking my dishes. For a year and a half, soaking my dishes has gotten in the way of someone about four times. If asked, I ALWAYS quickly rinse my dishes.
FAIR WARNING! SUFFERING IN SILENCE IS NOT MY STYLE,
Friday, February 7, 2014
HOW SPOILED WE ARE!
In the US, there are almost no homes without hot and cold running water, flush toilets, electricity ALL THE TIME. Most of the rest of the world is not so lucky.
I was SHOCKED when I visited Europe 47 years ago. Youth hostels scheduled the hot water, which was available for about two hours. Hotels had bathrooms down the hall. Some of the places were "out in the country" and did not have electricity.
I focused on the fact that I got to stay in a former palace, rather than the fact that I shared a bathroom. Putting plumbing and electricity in a 400 year old stone building is not as easy as putting plumbing in a new building.
But LOTS of money has to be spent on invisible things like gas lines, water supply, drains, and sewage treatment plants, in order for me to have hot water any time I want it.
My advice to those who are in Sochi. Focus on what the Russians do almost better than anyone else. The Russians really know how to THROW A GOOD PARTY. After several vodka shots, your cold shower will not be nearly as cold.
I am looking forward to seeing the Opening Ceremonies tonight. I hear they are really special.
HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY OLYMPICS!
I was SHOCKED when I visited Europe 47 years ago. Youth hostels scheduled the hot water, which was available for about two hours. Hotels had bathrooms down the hall. Some of the places were "out in the country" and did not have electricity.
I focused on the fact that I got to stay in a former palace, rather than the fact that I shared a bathroom. Putting plumbing and electricity in a 400 year old stone building is not as easy as putting plumbing in a new building.
But LOTS of money has to be spent on invisible things like gas lines, water supply, drains, and sewage treatment plants, in order for me to have hot water any time I want it.
My advice to those who are in Sochi. Focus on what the Russians do almost better than anyone else. The Russians really know how to THROW A GOOD PARTY. After several vodka shots, your cold shower will not be nearly as cold.
I am looking forward to seeing the Opening Ceremonies tonight. I hear they are really special.
HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY OLYMPICS!
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
BETTER OFF DEAD THAN ADDICTED?
The DEA seems to believe that YOU ARE BETTER OFF DEAD THAN IN PAIN. The DEA threatened doctors to make them stop prescribing Oxycontin. So people in pain turned to heroin. Now 100 people are dead because they were sold fentanyl instead of heroin.
REMEMBER THAT LESS THAN 5% of the population are ADDICTS. The 5% includes addicts to alcohol, heroin, prescription medication, and marijuana. (Yes, I know marijuana is NOT addictive. I do not keep these statistics, which are probably WAY skewed to make addiction rates as high as possible.)
In the 1800s, morphine was used to cure opium addiction. Then, when that was a complete failure, heroin was discovered and used to treat morphine addiction. We would probably be better off returning to opium, which is a 5000 year old pain medication.
The main thing in favor of addiction to prescription medication is that an accidental overdose is much less likely. (Except for medication which contain acetaminophen, which damages the liver.)
I have no intention of using heroin. But there have been many days, when I counted the few pain pills I had left, that I REALLY UNDERSTOOD how one could just purchase street drugs to dull the overwhelming physical pain.
Those countries that have chosen to treat addiction, rather than imprison addicts, have had amazing success.
And I strongly believe that I SHOULD BE ABLE TO LIVE AS PAIN FREE AS POSSIBLE. I should not have to fear going to a movie, because it might cause me so much pain that I can not sleep.
ONE MORE TIME, just because you tell someone to stop doing something, does not mean that they will actually stop doing that something. If the only person that I might hurt is me, than I get to make the choice for me.
REMEMBER THAT LESS THAN 5% of the population are ADDICTS. The 5% includes addicts to alcohol, heroin, prescription medication, and marijuana. (Yes, I know marijuana is NOT addictive. I do not keep these statistics, which are probably WAY skewed to make addiction rates as high as possible.)
In the 1800s, morphine was used to cure opium addiction. Then, when that was a complete failure, heroin was discovered and used to treat morphine addiction. We would probably be better off returning to opium, which is a 5000 year old pain medication.
The main thing in favor of addiction to prescription medication is that an accidental overdose is much less likely. (Except for medication which contain acetaminophen, which damages the liver.)
I have no intention of using heroin. But there have been many days, when I counted the few pain pills I had left, that I REALLY UNDERSTOOD how one could just purchase street drugs to dull the overwhelming physical pain.
Those countries that have chosen to treat addiction, rather than imprison addicts, have had amazing success.
And I strongly believe that I SHOULD BE ABLE TO LIVE AS PAIN FREE AS POSSIBLE. I should not have to fear going to a movie, because it might cause me so much pain that I can not sleep.
ONE MORE TIME, just because you tell someone to stop doing something, does not mean that they will actually stop doing that something. If the only person that I might hurt is me, than I get to make the choice for me.
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