Clear weather this morning, the wind machines in the orange groves are hard at work, and we have our first frost of the year. A light frost, but easily seen on the north side of the neighbors' roof across the street. Hard frosts have always been rare here.
Your attention didn’t collapse. It was stolen [Click] “Social media and many other facets of modern life are destroying our ability to concentrate. We need to reclaim our minds while we still can.”
At some point, manipulating people supplanted manipulating the natural environment to produce the necessities of life. I'm inclined to blame the commercial class and the authoritarians. But, the consumer economy was not an accident; it was a conscious strategy to move production overseas and extend the layers of middlemen. Now the so-called "supply chain problem," are just the logical result of "just-in-time" delivery and the failure to keep any reserves in stock. Is that the inevitable consequence of profit-seeking? I do not know. To may way of thinking, profit is the result of avoiding waste. But, that is not what the bean counters are about. In their model, waste is the impetus to more enterprise.
"Is ["just in time" and the resulting supply chain disruptions] the inevitable consequence of profit-seeking? I do not know." It is the foreseeable result of a focus on short-term profits while ignoring risks and long-term consequences. Other profit-seeking models are possible but tend to be ignored by the bean-counters.
I have a decent start at reading one of the books Santa Claus brought me: The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity [Click] This book is worth at least five stars. So far [part way through the second (very long) chapter] I haven’t encountered anything notably unfamiliar, but the way the authors synthesize and contextualize the material is extraordinary. Although it is available for free with an Audible.com trial subscription, and for a modest price through Kindle, I think it is best partaken of in hardback form so one can go back to re-read, and flip ahead to the (extensive) footnotes (not to mention the bibliography). If you have Charles C. Mann’s 1491 and 1493 in your bookcase (which I hope you do), this will very nicely slot in alongside them.
James Webb Space Telescope has raised the primary telescope reflector and deployed the sun shield; tensioning the sun shield is delayed by a day to check the associated motors.
Clear weather this morning, the wind machines in the orange groves are hard at work, and we have our first frost of the year. A light frost, but easily seen on the north side of the neighbors' roof across the street. Hard frosts have always been rare here.
ReplyDeleteNot Amazon: Canadian website takes on the online giant [Click] Article from December 2020; web site is still active.
ReplyDeleteYour attention didn’t collapse. It was stolen [Click] “Social media and many other facets of modern life are destroying our ability to concentrate. We need to reclaim our minds while we still can.”
ReplyDeleteAt some point, manipulating people supplanted manipulating the natural environment to produce the necessities of life. I'm inclined to blame the commercial class and the authoritarians. But, the consumer economy was not an accident; it was a conscious strategy to move production overseas and extend the layers of middlemen. Now the so-called "supply chain problem," are just the logical result of "just-in-time" delivery and the failure to keep any reserves in stock.
DeleteIs that the inevitable consequence of profit-seeking? I do not know.
To may way of thinking, profit is the result of avoiding waste. But, that is not what the bean counters are about. In their model, waste is the impetus to more enterprise.
"Is ["just in time" and the resulting supply chain disruptions] the inevitable consequence of profit-seeking? I do not know." It is the foreseeable result of a focus on short-term profits while ignoring risks and long-term consequences. Other profit-seeking models are possible but tend to be ignored by the bean-counters.
DeleteElon Musk must give myopic bean counters fits, which warms the cockles of my heart.
DeleteI have a decent start at reading one of the books Santa Claus brought me:
ReplyDeleteThe Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity [Click]
This book is worth at least five stars. So far [part way through the second (very long) chapter] I haven’t encountered anything notably unfamiliar, but the way the authors synthesize and contextualize the material is extraordinary. Although it is available for free with an Audible.com trial subscription, and for a modest price through Kindle, I think it is best partaken of in hardback form so one can go back to re-read, and flip ahead to the (extensive) footnotes (not to mention the bibliography). If you have Charles C. Mann’s 1491 and 1493 in your bookcase (which I hope you do), this will very nicely slot in alongside them.
An expert opinion: This book is rigorous and important [Click]
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DeleteNI peace architect accuses Boris Johnson of ‘casual political vandalism’ [Click] “Jonathan Powell says PM and Brexit ministers risking fragile peace in Northern Ireland and ‘don’t seem to care’”
ReplyDeleteRichard Leakey dies at 77 [Click]
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteJames Webb Space Telescope has raised the primary telescope reflector and deployed the sun shield; tensioning the sun shield is delayed by a day to check the associated motors.
👍👍
DeleteHere's what we know sex with Neanderthals was like [Click]
ReplyDeleteHeather Cox Richardson from tonight:
ReplyDeletehttps://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/january-2-2022?r=a0zry&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
That was good. Her last of 2021 was even better:
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/december-31-2021?r=a0zry&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email