hi there.
Since it has been forever since I've posted my last entries, here is something to say.. hey this blog has not been abandoned.
Some one liners i've written in the previous months, travelling.
"You can always blame your parents for everything wrong about yourself, including the lack of respect for one's parents" - in Seoul, May 2010.
"I often wish that the cute guy I meet in an off occassion is gay.... This is how much I love my husband" - after meeting the ultra cute steward on an AirFrance flight to Nantes, June, 2010
"There is no perfect man... there is just that normal guy that comes long in your life, after a series of terrible men, who make him seem perfect in comparison" - thoughts I had right before getting married....
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Starved for Attention
"An estimated 195 million children worldwide suffer from the effects of malnutrition, with 90 percent living in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. In fact, malnutrition contributes to at least one-third of the eight million annual deaths of children under five years of age.Many families simply cannot afford to provide nutritious food—particularly animal source foods such as milk, meat, and eggs—that their young children need to grow and thrive. Instead, they struggle to survive—far from the media spotlight—on a diet of little more than cereal porridges of maize or rice, amounting to the equivalent of bread and water."
This video shows how much of this problem is to be accounted for by the food aid systems currently in place, which is linked to the goal of sustaining the american corn industry. (see also last entry - from Food Inc, concerning how the american corn farming has changed the way people eat, and how it is one cause of obesity and malnourishment of Americans)
Just to answer some of the questions listed in the last part - the reasons why the US is providing corn meals to malnourished African children as food, when it simply does not provide the necessary vitamins and nourishment are simple.
No world aid is given without political and economical reasons from the provider. in this case, the US government provide aid to indirectly supply government support to their (massive) corn-farm industry and other industries surrounding it. In addition, it also acts as a pacifiers to third worlds which encourages dependence on aid/foreign(us-owned) products, and provides obstacles in developing a self-sustaining economy. Overall, the foremost purpose of the aid is NOT in providing nutritious food to children in the third world, thus the double standard and the bad quality of food provided.
Join the petition
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
hours of the week
I haven't been writing much... because I have been busy with several different things.
I will write more about what exactly they were later, but for today, I want to share this idea of how exactly our time is spent.
Okay now let's calculate 24*7=148 hours a week. everyone has that much hours.
Let's take the big chunks out first.
8*7=56 hours of sleep a week
5*8=40 (officially) hours of work a week
=======
which totals up to .. = 96
that only leaves us about 52 hours
on top of that I need approximately 10 hours a week to commute time each week (half of which also can be considered my new paper reading time)
and average 1 hour each day to clean myself, and get dressed, and defecate etc. that is 7
and on average 2.5 hours a day to prepare, cook, eat food and clean up afterwards. that is 17.5 hours.. let's round it up to 18.
and I will do approximately 7 hours a week of household errands ( that is shopping for food, etc., cleaning the house, laundry and other household tasks).
that is total = 42 hours
that leaves 10 hours.
that is all the free time I have (officially) to spend to do whatever I want.
If I need to keep in shape I should to atleast 2 hours of exercise each week but 1 hour to prepare etc. thus that leaves 7.
in those 7 hours, I need to get leisure, relax and fulfil my inner self.
how does anyone manage to do this????
(this post was initially written on the 2nd of June, 2010)
I will write more about what exactly they were later, but for today, I want to share this idea of how exactly our time is spent.
Okay now let's calculate 24*7=148 hours a week. everyone has that much hours.
Let's take the big chunks out first.
8*7=56 hours of sleep a week
5*8=40 (officially) hours of work a week
=======
which totals up to .. = 96
that only leaves us about 52 hours
on top of that I need approximately 10 hours a week to commute time each week (half of which also can be considered my new paper reading time)
and average 1 hour each day to clean myself, and get dressed, and defecate etc. that is 7
and on average 2.5 hours a day to prepare, cook, eat food and clean up afterwards. that is 17.5 hours.. let's round it up to 18.
and I will do approximately 7 hours a week of household errands ( that is shopping for food, etc., cleaning the house, laundry and other household tasks).
that is total = 42 hours
that leaves 10 hours.
that is all the free time I have (officially) to spend to do whatever I want.
If I need to keep in shape I should to atleast 2 hours of exercise each week but 1 hour to prepare etc. thus that leaves 7.
in those 7 hours, I need to get leisure, relax and fulfil my inner self.
how does anyone manage to do this????
(this post was initially written on the 2nd of June, 2010)
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Food Inc
This is a must see movie, which is a investigative documentary concerning the food industry. What I really like about this movie is that it doesn't stop at showing the viewers how food is produced, and how it is consumed but why this is the case. How the various national policies, and corporate lobbyist has changed what people eat, how it is made etc.
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Gordon Brown and Labour Party goes for the offense.
and other posters
An article in today's Guardian reports that the British labour party is now going for the offense strategy for their election campaign, putting Gordon Brown as the alpha male character.
" Labour was "going all in", staking the election on the hope that voters will be drawn to an alpha-male personality who "is prepared to pummel, punch or even headbutt the British economy into a new era of jobs and prosperity"."
" Labour further hopes to "harness the power of internet folksourcing", the aide explained, encouraging supporters to design their own posters, which could then be showcased online. The "design your own poster" initiative has caught the imagination of Downing Street strategists, the aide said, because it is cheap, fosters engagement among voters and, above all, nothing could possibly go wrong with it."
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Capitalism and greed
I know many point to morality failures as one of the key reasons for the financial crisis that was felt across the world. Some were so convinced that they argue that financial stock brokers/bankers should take an oath before starting trading, just as they do in the medical field (hippocratic oath). However, I believe as many others do, that this is not a moral issue. This is/was not something that could've been solved by moralities. Rather it is a structural issue, where the system drives individuals to act a certain way. Capitalism, by definition puts market values and accumulation of capital as it's foremost important value.
This documentary/tv show puts it also in a very clear view.
However, let me iterate my views further.
Free market economist also believe that if you let market loose, than everything will find equilibrium. In these cases, morality does not have a place. A bit simpler, banks accumulated and made money due to that that is something they could do in the current system. Although some criticize for it being immoral due to that there were very high risks involved and much of the money was made was done where it was not due, let's think about it again. In the financial sector, much like other sectors but more so, the biggest goal is to achieve financial gains. The more you gain, the better. Although some may be in the boundaries of being illegal, if that is still within the rules of the game, you do it. As noted in the documentary, others are doing it, the pressures to follow would be large, especially when born/raised in a country where competition is thought to provide the best results, and falling back is only a characteristics of a looser- in all aspects of the words.
I even see this in academia, where our drug of preference is academic publications. No longer is it that development and spread of knowledge our goal. No, our goal is to write publications, regardless of any moral misdeed this may contain, and I've seen one too many academics even throw their health away to be on top of the game. But, again, can we blame this on morals? No.. I also believe it goes way beyond that. It has more to do with the high of competition. I think many of the bankers who have done " immoral" banking had enough? money in their hands. But to be perceived as the best, they needed the extra. Although the money didn't hurt.
and this all comes about, due to that we loose conscious of what we are doing, exactly what the consequences of our choices made and why we are behaving a certain way. Which leads me to this book Momo: on which I want to write another entry. Although I must say, to be conscious of everything, would be painful in many ways, or would lead us to believing the best we can do is to go rot in some dirt. I mean there is a golden middle, and many of us, not through our own choices, have been lead/ are in a position where we are actually asleep.
This documentary/tv show puts it also in a very clear view.
However, let me iterate my views further.
Free market economist also believe that if you let market loose, than everything will find equilibrium. In these cases, morality does not have a place. A bit simpler, banks accumulated and made money due to that that is something they could do in the current system. Although some criticize for it being immoral due to that there were very high risks involved and much of the money was made was done where it was not due, let's think about it again. In the financial sector, much like other sectors but more so, the biggest goal is to achieve financial gains. The more you gain, the better. Although some may be in the boundaries of being illegal, if that is still within the rules of the game, you do it. As noted in the documentary, others are doing it, the pressures to follow would be large, especially when born/raised in a country where competition is thought to provide the best results, and falling back is only a characteristics of a looser- in all aspects of the words.
I even see this in academia, where our drug of preference is academic publications. No longer is it that development and spread of knowledge our goal. No, our goal is to write publications, regardless of any moral misdeed this may contain, and I've seen one too many academics even throw their health away to be on top of the game. But, again, can we blame this on morals? No.. I also believe it goes way beyond that. It has more to do with the high of competition. I think many of the bankers who have done " immoral" banking had enough? money in their hands. But to be perceived as the best, they needed the extra. Although the money didn't hurt.
and this all comes about, due to that we loose conscious of what we are doing, exactly what the consequences of our choices made and why we are behaving a certain way. Which leads me to this book Momo: on which I want to write another entry. Although I must say, to be conscious of everything, would be painful in many ways, or would lead us to believing the best we can do is to go rot in some dirt. I mean there is a golden middle, and many of us, not through our own choices, have been lead/ are in a position where we are actually asleep.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Ridiculous biblical quote concerning love&sex
The bible condemns much more than same sex couples.
Here are some examples
Divorce is strictly forbidden in both Testaments, as is remarriage of anyone who has been divorced.* MARK 10:1-12
The Bible forbids a married couple from having sexual intercourse during a woman's period. If they disobey, both shall be executed.
If a man dies childless, his widow is ordered by biblical law to have intercourse with each of his brothers in turn until she bears her deceased husband a male heir.
... and you still want to ban same sex marriage? why not trying to ban law allowing divorces and try to make a law trying to ban sex during menstruation????
Here are some examples
"A marriage shall be considered valid only if the wife is a virgin. If the wife is not a virgin, she shall be executed."-* DEUTERONOMY 22:13-21
"If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman."* DEUTERONOMY 22:22
Divorce is strictly forbidden in both Testaments, as is remarriage of anyone who has been divorced.* MARK 10:1-12
The Bible forbids a married couple from having sexual intercourse during a woman's period. If they disobey, both shall be executed.
"Never have sexual intercourse with a woman while she is unclean during her monthly period."* LEVITICUS 18:19
If a man dies childless, his widow is ordered by biblical law to have intercourse with each of his brothers in turn until she bears her deceased husband a male heir.
"Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have children for his brother."* MARK 12:18-27
"If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts, you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity."* DEUTERONOMY 25:11-12
... and you still want to ban same sex marriage? why not trying to ban law allowing divorces and try to make a law trying to ban sex during menstruation????
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
my life's worth in numbers
So, the university is now setting up a new way of quantifying one's output research wise. The formula is
weight of publication*length/number of authors
although it is not as simple.
anyhow so yours truly calculated my own number
and during the past 7 years or so of publications(from 2003-), my number is 7.4 ... so like 1 point per year. this number has no relevance until you compare it to what the university is expecting their researchers to produce per year == 12 points.
which means... I have to do 12 times better than what I've done before...
shijsh! - as my Croatian friend would say
weight of publication*length/number of authors
although it is not as simple.
anyhow so yours truly calculated my own number
and during the past 7 years or so of publications(from 2003-), my number is 7.4 ... so like 1 point per year. this number has no relevance until you compare it to what the university is expecting their researchers to produce per year == 12 points.
which means... I have to do 12 times better than what I've done before...
shijsh! - as my Croatian friend would say
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