Oh, how my fuse is about to blow about this "finance crisis".
First of all, I'd like to know if it's a crisis, a blip or a total melt down of the world as we've known it? I had always thought that money was meaningless, a man made concept, which didn't have any value of its own. However, if I am made to play by certain rules, i.e. have enough of the stuff to buy what I want or to pay for it later for sure, then why did other people get away with not living this way? Who thought it a good idea just lend out money randomly? And who thought it was good to take it and spend it without being able to pay it back? Money does NOT grow on trees.
So, now they've messed up, we're all paying for it having seen none of the benefits. Where did all that money go? In big bosses' pockets? Then make them lend money to the banks or give back their larger-than-life bonuses for goodness' sake. Why should I bail out AIG, RBS, Bayerische Landsbank et al. ?? Those guys were the experts after all.
I want my government(s) to spend my tax money on good things - education, health, environment, social services to name but a few NOT on banks. So, now that they have and I can't change it, I don't want them to brag about capitalism and democracy they way they run it.
The chap in Die Zeit was right. We're now expecting China (and Russia even) to save capitalism. Oh, George Orwell, you were so right. Four legs started to look like two legs, but now two legs are coming off the high and starting to walk on four again!!!
Okay, feel a bit a better now I've vented off.
-
Strangely, babies do not sleep "like a baby". I.e. they do not sleep deeply and for long as long as they're tiny babies. They also do not just fall asleep randomly, they need help to sleep.
At least my baby does. So, I thought I'd try to get her to sleep earlier in the evenings, as her natural sleep time is 9.30 pm. Boy, was I wrong to do this? She can fall asleep earlier, but then wakes up only to cry for an hour or sulk, or wakes up in the middle of the night. At least I've learnt one thing these weeks: Dont' force people to do what you want, let them do what they want. Especially babies, as this is the only time they can have any random time to do anything...0Add a comment
-
So, there's attachment pareting to try. But my baby cries in carriers. We've waited around & now at 4 months she can sit a bit forward, hurrah. Happier baby? Well, yes if she could sleep. She's so excited and hungry these days that she sleeps little. Even in her pram she wakes up! She used to always sleep in there!
Today I felt helpless after hours of lying next to her on the bed to keep her calm (doesn't like being alone of course!) I put her face forward in the babybjoern so I could at least walk around at home. After a couple of minutes of moaning, which I realised was because I put her leg in the wrong slot in my panic, I sit at the PC to look up how to get her to sleep and guess what? She's deep asleep right now...0Add a comment
-
So, living in a new country is always very INTERESTING. Not only due to new culture, views, people, etc. The language is highly important in this integration. Now, I learn a few new words everyday and can communicate more comfortably as a result each day.
However, yesterday walking in the park, I realised how vocabulary is formed by my lifestyle/stage. I was walking with my baby's pram, and wanted to avoid the big slugs who had come out after the rain. Two words I hadn't yet really used, AVOID SLUG, would not come to mind.
This lead me to remember the sort of vocabulary I have learnt since I live here, much about pregnancy, medical questions/history, hospital, babies, baby things to buy, furniture, food everywhere (supermarket, market, restaurant, bakery, etc.), hairdresser, etc. That is indeed varied I'd say, topped up with serious stuff with the Neue Zuecher Zeitung.
Language is amazing.0Add a comment
-
So, Bush wants to drill Alaskan wilderness to get oil out. But, hey at the same time, he psuedo-threatens Iran with attacks, so the price of oil goes up. What's he going to do with Nigeria where oil infrastructure is constantly under threat? For example read this.
Maybe he should stop waving his gun about and put a thinking cap on. It is so frustrating this one man (or his successors) will essentially fully rule our lives. The price of my petrol, food and living, also my home security are all under threat, because he's an idiot. I want to be able to vote for a US president, too. I could then NOT elect him...0Add a comment
-
So, life has been very hectic now for the past 7 weeks. My baby's just that old, and I am learning so much from her. I have already learnt much patience and spontaneity. I have also learned to be much less selfish, more organised and how to read someone else. With her honest behaviour, there are no games to play, and I play no games with her. It is just totally wonderful.
She is beautiful even when she cries. That's her only way of communicating, so I just try to help her through it. When she's happy, her smiles are so honest that make me very happy. She does bring out the best in me, but not really the worst. Even when I'm tired and she doesn't stop crying, it's not forever. I will miss these days of hers when she grows up. I'll always remember them though, how she adores being in my arms.
This brings me to think that I'm now responsible for someone else living on this planet, and boy there's so much that needs fixing on it. I should be more active on that front.0Add a comment
-
Tax them or let them fight it out amongst themselves
Environmental or Carbon taxes are never popular as people cannot see CO2, nor the environment, a bit like the wood for the trees on this one, and no tax is ever popular anyhow. So, governments shy away from this type where they can. Britain in the rich world has been particularly shy, reducing its percentage of tax income from environmental taxes by 1.68% 1996-20071. This has been despite a labour (new) government who sings the environment song fairly often these days.
The best the new budget of the year could do was to talk about plastic/carrier bags and how they must be reduced, and the government might want to tax them. This is somewhat lame, but even if they did come down and put a proper tax on this, the government must ring fence such a tax for use in tackling climate change. It cannot simply add it to a pool of tax it collects, and then spend it on say a war or nuclear power stations (esp. when it ignored its own white paper on renewable energy).
Most people will not care about this when (if) they vote in the next election, as the downturn in the economy will be far hotter a topic then. But, climate change is not going to go away and is far more serious. People need to think about these matters and demand the right course of action from governments.
In fact, it is down to people to also request it from the private sector. If consumers exercise their choice and pay their hard-earned cash only for green products and think about their use of energy and contribution to climate change, we would be in a different world.
1The Economist - 8th March 2008 – Hot air
0Add a comment
-
Good old water
Old ideas sometimes are very good: get your running water to turn the turbine you use to make electricity/flour, etc. Of course, not everywhere is this possible, but we can build up the water and then use its and gravity's force. Not bad, let us do more where we can and it does NOT ruin existing environment. Let us do this and not flood people's villages and farms or disturb local ecosystems.
Free standing turbines could then be the answer. There is at least one recently mentioned as built by OpenHydro, let us look at this more and more. Use the rivers, seas and oceans, why not, as long as they are not blocked up or the wildlife or ecosystem inhibited by the engineering.
The answer to climate change is of course not this alone, but it is convenient in helping on the way to tackling it properly.
(This topic will definitely be revisited.)
0Add a comment
-
Free energy anyone?
Whoever heard of anything for free? Well, let us see. As hunter gatherers, we had everything for free, it was all just there and we either hunted or gathered it. As for housing, well, there were caves or trees to provide shelter, in the worst case scenario, we could make tools to cut the wood from the trees to make things. Simple, was it not? When man invented the concept of money, then things changed. “Ah, yes, let me dig up this black liquid from the ground and sell it to you so you can burn it. No, don't worry, the free source of energy doesn't exist.”
We fell for this, and thought burning oil (gas, coal or of course wood before that) was the best thing man ever could do, we forgot all about the most obvious, the big yellow dot staring down at us, yes the sun's energy.
Yes, silicon's efficiency at turning the sun's rays into electricity is not so high, but the sun shines freely all day long! Perhaps, the key is to make politicians see this, just as once Winston Churchill saw the advantage of oil over coal and therefore his ships ran faster than the German ones, we should open the eyes of the next American president. Hey, Mr/Ms Mc ClinOba, did you know you could make a difference to the world, but in a good way this time? How is about you stop supporting your oil companies at any cost? There is plenty of energy for everyone, let us use that, and you can support other businesses in your country. Let us face it, your economy could hardly get worse than it is today.
In a more serious and calmer tone, one must insist on the sun's energy becoming a serious player. One knows of climate change, the damage digging up oil/gas/coal does to our landscapes, not to mention the problems this causes politically the world over. There are other resources we cannot replace, such as water, iron or aluminium, then why not try to make our own lives easier and use energy, which is there for everyone all the time? We have the technology to do this, be it using silicone or carbon panel, or simply by heating water or air directly by the sun.
Recently, an article in the Economist magazine (March 8th 2008 – Technology quarterly) caught my eye: “A bag full of sunshine”. Attach solar cells to LED, and voila, you capture light in the day to release at night, and a couple of nifty companies have managed to incorporate these into all kinds of soft materials. Could it be easier? How does this not capture the imagination?
How can one make a difference? Simple, when opportunity arises, switch to solar – through choosing the right electricity company on the grid, adding panels to the roof of one's house/block of flats, and spreading the word.
0Add a comment
-
Carbon capture and storage (CCS), an answer?
So, the UK is running out of oil AND gas. It has seen decline in its production since 1999. A country that hugely benefited from this (but I must add did nothing like Norway to save its heritage for its future generations – at least something for the Scots whose seas were being dug up) in the way of coming out of its post-war depression and poverty is now facing choices about its energy future.
To make it a little more fun climate change has to be a focus when considering this topic, so here comes an idea to kill several trees with an axe! Capture your CO2 and store it in empty gas and oil holes. Wait, no, nobody said, let's reduce or totally stop our CO2 production, no indeed that's the right impression, the suggestion is to sweep the dust under the carpet. Maybe the carpet will never move – or it will be somebody else's problem, and one earns merit and money for having cleaned it all up...
I will agree that yes, if there is a power station running on coal still today (many are still being built), then its pollution should be cleaned up. However, in no way is CCS an answer to stopping climate change's catastrophic effects. It goes back to the potato pan, putting an oven hood to take the chips fumes away does not yield more potatoes.
An article in The Economist (Filling all back up again) on 8th March 2008 points out that the UK government could support this initiative better as a way of reducing climate change. The article points out that other countries such as Germany have already won the race to develop renewable energy technologies ahead of Britain. The author argues CCS could be worth green energy handouts.
I do wish to point out that while CCS could be part of a temporary solution (not an infallible one) to climate change, it is NOT a green energy source. Its fallibilities may yet come to surface. Who know how porous the rocks around the old gas fields are? Is there any guarantee that the CO2 will not simply find its way into the sea water? Or will the author then propose fizzy water production in the British north sea. Perrier is far more expensive than oil after all.
0Add a comment
View comments