I was IM’ing with a colleague over lunch today and we were discussing two somewhat related links:
1.) The Big Here and Long Now by Brian Eno
2.) A benchmark investigation of industrial chemicals, pollutants and pesticides in umbilical cord blood
These both fit in as interesting sidebars to my post earlier this morning about Jared Diamond’s new book. I’d really welcome any input here on how it is possible to reconcile supporting our current administration while taking the view of “the long now.” Or perhaps some missive on the unimportance of The Long Now. Either one, if sufficiently believable and supported would be a source of great comfort to any parents concerned about the world their children are inheriting.
O’Reilly (the smart O’Reilly, not the dumbfuck from Fox) Radar is running some notes from a talk by Jared Diamond, the following section pretty much sums up the failures of not thinking long-term:
He elaborated a bit on his book’s account of the Easter Island collapse, where a society that could build 80-ton statues 33 feet high and drag them 12 miles, and who could navigate the Pacific Ocean to and from the most remote islands in the world, could also cut down their rich rain forest and doom themselves utterly. With no trees left for fishing canoes, the Easter Islanders turned to devouring each other. The appropriate insult to madden a member of a rival clan was, “The flesh of your mother sticks between my teeth!” The population fell by 90% in a few years, and neither the society nor the island ecology have recovered in the 300 years since.
Diamond reported that his students at UCLA tried to imagine how the guy who cut down the LAST tree in 1680 justified his actions. What did he say? Their candidate quotes: “Fear not. Our advancing technology will solve this problem.” “This is MY tree, MY property! I can do what I want with it.” “Your environmentalist concerns are exaggerated. We need more research.” “Just have faith. God will provide.”
Also, Diamond’s Guns, Germs and Steel is airing on PBS this week. We caught the first episode the other night. Interesting as hell. Did you know there are only 14 species of animals that have ever been domesticated?
Just posted a few snaps from heather’s wedding (need to be on my Fam/Friend list to view them, hit me with an email if you can’t see them). Now–since i was too busy chasing the dude around to take many pics–if I could just get the pics that Jer, Beedge and Barb took, I’d be all set.
Technorati Tags: bros, family, Friends
Published by
chris on 7/14/2005 in Uncategorized
So after work on Thursdays I try and go down to the beach and do some fishing. Usually I spend about two hours. Much of that time I spend watching my rod and waiting for the strike but often times I will walk away and check out what’s lying on the beach. I am not talking about babes. I wish they were there but where I fish in the late afternoons there are very few, if any, people. To the north is sandy hook, a large national park attracting thousands of carloads mostly from low income areas of NY and NJ. To the south is a favorite stop for those who can’t get out to sandy hook once the lots are full. Beach gets packed with what appears to be a largely Hispanic crowd. Just south of that are several upscale beach clubs.
The most sickening thing I see weekly is the tremendous amount of garbage lying on the beach, blowing in the wind. Why do people throw their juice boxes on the sand and not in a receptacle? F’ing tampons!!! Plastic bags!! Wrappers!! Who the f is douching on the beach?
Why don’t people understand that littering the beach is not cool?
What people are doing this? Why? I want to kill them. So help me god if I catch someone throwing their crap down and leaving it on the beach I am going to walk straight up them and shove it right up their ass!
Published by
nav on 7/13/2005 in Uncategorized
Push-ups are a constant in the paramilitary FDNY fire academy. As a drill instructor once screamed, “Push-ups are not punitive! Push-ups are for fun!” Then we dropped and gave him thirty. I can remember my hands in freezing puddles on the cold, rocky asphalt, rain falling on my back, holding the “down” of a torturously slow push-up, waiting for the drill instructor’s shout of, “Up!”, arms shaking but mind repeating, “Hold it, hold it, hold it. Don’t be the first to fall.” Inevitably other probies would put their ass in the air to ease the pressure on their arms, or let their knees drop to take the weight, and the drill instructor would bark his disgust until finally deciding we’d had enough, then, “On your feet!” Continue reading ‘More Push-Ups!’
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