Volume 1 Number 0.4
With thanks to Slashdot, Homer the Greek, The Register, Cervantes, Bryson, Andrew Och, Dominus illuminatio mea and much sf.
Themes this week and next
Governance
Religion
Prison
Cures for sleep apnoea
Education
Networking
Transport
Morality
Celeb effects
Blame culture
Recycling energy
Nuclear politics
Triggers for good hysteria
Dreams of power
Pschological strictures
All is memory and process
Who shall be king?
Using less utility: water, energy, oxygen, space, community, ..
Why would I lie to you? Old tendencies. I lied, so I lived.
Why schools, like hospitals and courts and media, will fail.
Prisons a victim of success.
Piece structure
Paradox or puzzle. The two sides. Dichotomy resolved. A solution.
Governance
Democracy is not very good but it is the best weve got. This euphemism is a weak palliative to the myriad fears about the destructive effect of our current ruling forms. It leads on via You cant buck the market to helpless inertia. [Of course you can buck the market by changing it, by creating your own niche, by selling security. Or by moving.] So the young get toys to manipulate hormones and mental patterns, families get nappy changers and church communities, grandmas get influence, and oldsters get Floridas. One soundbite is about the time we give to choosing which party instead of inventing, contributing to, and driving our own. Trial idea: a public list of ideas worth working for. Such as this one.
Religion
Opium of masses or vessel of true culture or bringer of at-one-ment. The nature of god reflects the evolutionary stage of the creator of the religion, not just the numeracy of the priesthood of the day. As a joint effort, churches seek to be narrow to survive passage through the gates of their holy cities. Thus the western religions, where the med was surrounded ankle deep by settlements and stone strongholds. Dreams of unassailable temples and cathedra were offered to replace the malice of the invader with a benign and caring discipline. Hence the popularity of church and mosque as refuge from reality for the children of the book. And the Bo Tree for the East , where the elder religions have escaped the localised pastor and given those with freedom from feeding themselves the chance and desire for a re-make.
Trial idea: Would a cyber-centre for change backed or fronted by the physical version for initial group editing. A melding of wikis, perhaps.
Prison
The only purpose of prison is to protect society. True but a sad reflection of our inability to use prison to protect society. Some spend millions keeping millions behind wire, some find that too expensive, and some just execute by labour camp. Slavery is a similar problem or opportunity depending on your attitude to it. Most of us are happy to enslave and see enslavement as just, effective, and part of the natural order, which it always has been. Particularly when others are doing the slaving, and we can then evaluate both sets and come out doubly virtuous.
Trial idea: Open prison, with degrees of incarceration depending on the needs of society and the individual.
Cures for sleep apnoea, the bane of millions.
Contrary to the medical and lay press and phone-ins, there are cures for snoring and sleep disturbances that work and work well. Sadly they clash with western culture and its capitalist rules. The cures are cheap, effective and permanent. They need discipline, care and understanding. They involve posture, diet, positive attitude and patient input. Plus a little flexibility.
Those whose soft palettes fall into the airway when on their backs should sleep in the recovery position.
Those whose bulk makes the recovery position untenable should fix it.
Those with problems digesting lactose should cut out dairy, especially after midday.
Those with nasal passages that block or drain badly snufflers - should sleep as upright as is needed for automatic draining. An adjustable bolster under the mattress if need be.
Those with compacted throat tubes could stretch them with a rolled up pillow tucked under the side of the neck.
One couple we know use an adjustable bed with mutual flip up. Neither patient nor audio sufferer complain.
A massage at bedtime on feet or higher can help quick drop off.
Mental stimulation of the cacophonous sort like TV news after dusk is a no-no.
Dark is essential, quiet is beneficial.
Contrary and constructive opinions would be welcome while the medical world seeks consensus.
Trial idea: If these fail, write in to the Review of Sleep Research or similar publication.
TBC
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