The saying goes that there is no such thing as common sense and that if there was, it's not very common. But do we ever stop to think why that is? Is it fair to say that as a result of the earth being populated by almost 7 billion human beings, it will be near impossible for a majority of that 7 billion to share common reasoning(s)? Do we ever stop to think what common actually means or what sense is?
For the sake of this piece, I have chosen the definition of common that calls it anything that is found in large numbers, found often or something that is shared among a decent amount of people. I have also chosen the definition of sense that calls it an awareness or realisation of something. As a result of this two definitions, I choose to define common sense as an awareness and/or realisation that is shared or found often among a decent enough amount of people. And if you choose to define common sense this way, I don't think it will be difficult to say that common sense is not the myth it is often said to be
In years gone by, perhaps due to limited outside influence and years of doing things the same way, it was very easy to establish and maintain a status quo. But since the dawn of what many refer to as the global age, the intermingling of peoples has opened many eyes to the many other options that existed to the way they had previously operated. As a result, many methods and patterns that had previously been deemed infallible have been questioned and sometimes even shelved but that has signalled the end of common beliefs and ideologies. Many of the old beliefs and ideologies still hold common water e.g respect for elders, many common courtesies etc. And at the same timr, many new ideologies have been welcomed be the majority e.g Fair Trade, Liberalism etc
One thing that we often fail to realise or ignore to acknowledge is that what is often deemed common sense is not necessarily always the right option. For example, in the 19th century, it was common sense that blood-letting (the withdrawal of often considerable quantities of blood from a patient) was the best way to cure or prevent illness and disease but we know better today. In the same way, we believe today that by switching off our lights, driving less and living “greener” lives, we will in one way or another slow down global warming and save the earth from what seems like imminent destruction when historical evidence shows that the same thing we are trying to stop has happened in the past without any human help or assistance.
It is not difficult to see that if a good enough number of people of a sufficient amount of influence come out and speak for or against the existence or non-existence of a thought or a pattern among people, achieving a common sense will be less of a challenge it is proving to be at the moment.
By this reason, I humbly submit that common sense does exist and is not as impossible as often said. All that is needed is a reason plausible enough and a voice loud enough and it will only be a matter of time before a decent enough amount of people will be on the band wagon and a new common sense would have been created
If everyone comprehended at the same level, all sense will be common. - Pete Rock
Saturday, 5 December 2009
Monday, 23 November 2009
The Highest Point of Satisfaction is when Justice is Done
The highest point of satisfaction is when justice is done. But when I say justice, I dont mean justice in terms of a sentence, a verdict or a punishment. I mean justice in the sense of doing justice to that innate ability that lies in all humans to go beyond their mortal state and defy the boundaries of what had previously been defined as the limit to pursue, overtake and recover new territory. That ability to take hand and leg movements and turn them in to the most awesome and awe inspiring dance and dance moves. To take a few leaves, some oil and some other things that might have previously been deemed of very little use and turn it into the most mouth watering of delicacies. That ability to give life through mere words
It is in realising and understanding this ability/abilities that the champion is revealed. And it is that realisation and understanding or failure to realise and understand that does the proverbial sorting of men from boys. It is also very important to note that the champion is not the one who didn't get knocked down, but the one who didn't get knocked out. And the winner is not the one who never lost but the one who never knew when he had lost. And in similar fashion, a success is a situation where the protagonist failed to resign to a failure but understands that for as long as we occupy this mortal state, and bound to suffer some setbacks. It is in the knowledge of this and the acting out of the same that we find and fulfil our purpose in life. It is in realising that we might fall, we might fail and we might falter but we must dust ourselves down and keep on keeping on until we reach that goal we set out to achieve that we find that ultimate satisfaction
Saturday, 7 November 2009
Where is God at the LHC?
CERN's efforts to recreate the beginning of the big bang is not all about science. There are theological questions too
The simple theological answer is “Everywhere”, as the Creator of a world that contains particle physicists, CERN, and even Higgs bosons (if such there be). But what could persuade us that the Universe is indeed a divine creation? It is certainly not full of items stamped “Made by God”, for the Creator is more subtle than that. Yet science has some things to show us that encourage one to look deeper into the question of God’s existence.
First, however, we must dispose of an approach that would be mistaken, both scientifically and theologically. When the LHC was switched on in a blaze of glory, sadly only to be disabled temporarily a few days later by a different kind of blaze, there was much media hype that this new machine would enable us to look back to the big bang itself.
Scientifically, this was a foolish claim. Certainly the LHC will tell us things of great interest about physics at energies much higher than those hitherto explored, but they still fall far below the level of energies present immediately after the big bang.
Even if this had not been the case, the big bang is not all that interesting theologically. To believe in a Creator is not to answer the question of who lit the initial touch paper, but to address the much deeper question of why there is something rather than nothing. God is as much the Creator today as God was 13.7 billion years ago, for the Creator’s role is to ordain the order of this remarkable world and to continually maintain it in being.
To search for hints of a Creator, therefore, is to look to see if there might be signs of a divine Mind behind the order of the Universe. The best question to ask is: why is science possible at all, in the deep way that the LHC is seeking to exploit? Of course, we have to be able to make sense of the everyday world in order to survive in it, but why can we penetrate the secrets of the strange, counterintuitive quantum world of the LHC, with its possible Higgs bosons and supersymmetric particles? Why is the Universe so rationally transparent to our inquiry, and why is that abstract subject mathematics the key to unlocking its secrets?
Time and again physics has been found to be expressed in equations possessing the unmistakable character of mathematical beauty, so that pursuit of this beauty has been an actual technique in formulating the theories that the LHC will test. The Universe is rationally beautiful and rewards its explorers with the gift of wonder. Science exploits this fact but it does not explain it. Is it all just our luck, or is it a sign that a divine Mind does indeed lie behind cosmic order?
I believe that science is possible because the Universe is a creation and that we, to use an ancient phrase, are creatures made in the image of our Creator. That’s where God is at the LHC, as the producer of the show.
The Rev Canon John Polkinghorne, KBE, FRS, was Professor of Mathematical Physics at the University of Cambridge
The simple theological answer is “Everywhere”, as the Creator of a world that contains particle physicists, CERN, and even Higgs bosons (if such there be). But what could persuade us that the Universe is indeed a divine creation? It is certainly not full of items stamped “Made by God”, for the Creator is more subtle than that. Yet science has some things to show us that encourage one to look deeper into the question of God’s existence.
First, however, we must dispose of an approach that would be mistaken, both scientifically and theologically. When the LHC was switched on in a blaze of glory, sadly only to be disabled temporarily a few days later by a different kind of blaze, there was much media hype that this new machine would enable us to look back to the big bang itself.
Scientifically, this was a foolish claim. Certainly the LHC will tell us things of great interest about physics at energies much higher than those hitherto explored, but they still fall far below the level of energies present immediately after the big bang.
Even if this had not been the case, the big bang is not all that interesting theologically. To believe in a Creator is not to answer the question of who lit the initial touch paper, but to address the much deeper question of why there is something rather than nothing. God is as much the Creator today as God was 13.7 billion years ago, for the Creator’s role is to ordain the order of this remarkable world and to continually maintain it in being.
To search for hints of a Creator, therefore, is to look to see if there might be signs of a divine Mind behind the order of the Universe. The best question to ask is: why is science possible at all, in the deep way that the LHC is seeking to exploit? Of course, we have to be able to make sense of the everyday world in order to survive in it, but why can we penetrate the secrets of the strange, counterintuitive quantum world of the LHC, with its possible Higgs bosons and supersymmetric particles? Why is the Universe so rationally transparent to our inquiry, and why is that abstract subject mathematics the key to unlocking its secrets?
Time and again physics has been found to be expressed in equations possessing the unmistakable character of mathematical beauty, so that pursuit of this beauty has been an actual technique in formulating the theories that the LHC will test. The Universe is rationally beautiful and rewards its explorers with the gift of wonder. Science exploits this fact but it does not explain it. Is it all just our luck, or is it a sign that a divine Mind does indeed lie behind cosmic order?
I believe that science is possible because the Universe is a creation and that we, to use an ancient phrase, are creatures made in the image of our Creator. That’s where God is at the LHC, as the producer of the show.
The Rev Canon John Polkinghorne, KBE, FRS, was Professor of Mathematical Physics at the University of Cambridge
Monday, 12 October 2009
Friday, 2 October 2009
40 Reasons to date a Nigerian man!!!
1. He understands your accent. (Whichever one you speak in)
2. He knows that when you suffix every sentence with 'now', its not a command, e.g. "Come let's go now..."
3. When you guys go out, he pays and doesn't expect a refund of exactly half!
4. He understands why you have to send money home - probably doing the same himself!
5. He doesn't see your kid sister staying in your house as an inconvenience/ cramping his style.
6. He doesn't think you should put your parents in a home.
7. He eats 'Gbegiri and Amala' and doesn't think it's 'yucky' or 'spicy'. In a nutshell, loves your cooking
8. He gets your jokes.
9. The way he licks his ten fingers 'cos that Ogbono soup with Iyan hit da spot, Oh Yes!!!
10. He has got his education or he got something going on.
11. He may be a baby daddy but he loves his kid and takes care of them.
12. He can have a bus load of conversation without him saying much 'cos his momma taught him that.
13. He loves to see you shake that ass to Sir Shina Peters, the original "Back That Ass Up" master.
14. He will settle an argument and say sorry while maintaining his man status.
15. I am IN charge but he is THE charge, we understand that.
16. He knows where he is from. Living in NY does not mean you are from NY.
17. He thinks you're so pretty without makeup.
18. He calls you native endearing names like "Nne" or "Omo"
19. He has respect [not to be confused with obedience) for his elders(important).
20. The way he gets embarrased and says "I beg oh" when you compliment him.
21. The way he says "I love you baby" ? may be very fake yet sounds so TRUE!
22. The way he eats meat with his bare hands? for some reason is sexy.
23. The way he calls you his wife in front of all his friends.
24. The way he says "Shey you get am" when he thinks you are not paying attention, but you really are.
25. The way he knows that it is you calling and answers the phone "Hey Baby!" without looking at the caller ID.
26. The way Naija men look when they are all decked out in native? there is nothing sexier than a dark chocolate man in lace o!
27. Pronounces your name like say na im born you.
28. The way he flows from Ebonics to Pidgin English to Akata with ease.
29. He is just at home at your office picnic as he is at the Naija reunion.
30. The very satisfied look on his face after eating one of your meals and the way he glares at you while picking his teeth with the tooth pick,and you both know that you are his next "meal".
31. He appreciates the art of yanshrolling when he sees one!
32. Keeps you from doing wahala by buying a stickshift vehicle he knows U can't drive!
33. He saves you money on groceries a la "limited diet". Just cook the stew and he'll figure the rest? Eba, Amala, Fufu or even plain old White Bread!
34. No need for breast implants to impress am!
35. No need to go kill himself trying to maintain a six pack. He knows u know big belle is sexy inside Agbada!
36. He knows to allow you like three hours to get ready for a party!
37. He will not complain when you waka with headful of rollers inside house but quick to let you know that aint nothing sexy about that when you want to go outside.
38. Her singing while doing housework is a classic reminder of wetin you dey miss when you dey carry Akata woman!
39. He thinks the small gap between your front teeth are actually sexy!!!!
40. Finally,He's cool just 'cos He Is Just A Naija Man PERIOD!!!
2. He knows that when you suffix every sentence with 'now', its not a command, e.g. "Come let's go now..."
3. When you guys go out, he pays and doesn't expect a refund of exactly half!
4. He understands why you have to send money home - probably doing the same himself!
5. He doesn't see your kid sister staying in your house as an inconvenience/ cramping his style.
6. He doesn't think you should put your parents in a home.
7. He eats 'Gbegiri and Amala' and doesn't think it's 'yucky' or 'spicy'. In a nutshell, loves your cooking
8. He gets your jokes.
9. The way he licks his ten fingers 'cos that Ogbono soup with Iyan hit da spot, Oh Yes!!!
10. He has got his education or he got something going on.
11. He may be a baby daddy but he loves his kid and takes care of them.
12. He can have a bus load of conversation without him saying much 'cos his momma taught him that.
13. He loves to see you shake that ass to Sir Shina Peters, the original "Back That Ass Up" master.
14. He will settle an argument and say sorry while maintaining his man status.
15. I am IN charge but he is THE charge, we understand that.
16. He knows where he is from. Living in NY does not mean you are from NY.
17. He thinks you're so pretty without makeup.
18. He calls you native endearing names like "Nne" or "Omo"
19. He has respect [not to be confused with obedience) for his elders(important).
20. The way he gets embarrased and says "I beg oh" when you compliment him.
21. The way he says "I love you baby" ? may be very fake yet sounds so TRUE!
22. The way he eats meat with his bare hands? for some reason is sexy.
23. The way he calls you his wife in front of all his friends.
24. The way he says "Shey you get am" when he thinks you are not paying attention, but you really are.
25. The way he knows that it is you calling and answers the phone "Hey Baby!" without looking at the caller ID.
26. The way Naija men look when they are all decked out in native? there is nothing sexier than a dark chocolate man in lace o!
27. Pronounces your name like say na im born you.
28. The way he flows from Ebonics to Pidgin English to Akata with ease.
29. He is just at home at your office picnic as he is at the Naija reunion.
30. The very satisfied look on his face after eating one of your meals and the way he glares at you while picking his teeth with the tooth pick,and you both know that you are his next "meal".
31. He appreciates the art of yanshrolling when he sees one!
32. Keeps you from doing wahala by buying a stickshift vehicle he knows U can't drive!
33. He saves you money on groceries a la "limited diet". Just cook the stew and he'll figure the rest? Eba, Amala, Fufu or even plain old White Bread!
34. No need for breast implants to impress am!
35. No need to go kill himself trying to maintain a six pack. He knows u know big belle is sexy inside Agbada!
36. He knows to allow you like three hours to get ready for a party!
37. He will not complain when you waka with headful of rollers inside house but quick to let you know that aint nothing sexy about that when you want to go outside.
38. Her singing while doing housework is a classic reminder of wetin you dey miss when you dey carry Akata woman!
39. He thinks the small gap between your front teeth are actually sexy!!!!
40. Finally,He's cool just 'cos He Is Just A Naija Man PERIOD!!!
Friday, 25 September 2009
Keeper guilty of moving goalposts
IFK Gothenburg goalkeeper Kim Christensen could be in hot water after moving the posts during a Swedish first division game to make the goal smaller.
The Danish goalkeeper was caught by TV cameras pushing the posts toward each other before a match against Orebro.
Referee Stefan Johannesson spotted the posts had been moved a few centimetres about 20 minutes into the game and pushed them back into the right place.
Christensen later said he had done the same thing before several other games.
He was spotted using his feet to push the bottom of each post slightly inwards.
The Swedish Football Association is investigating the incident.
"I have never heard anything like this before," said Swedish FA's disciplinary chief Kheneth Tallinger. "It's unique."
IFK Gothenburg drew 0-0 with Orebro and top the table on goal difference with just a few weeks of the season to go.
The Danish goalkeeper was caught by TV cameras pushing the posts toward each other before a match against Orebro.
Referee Stefan Johannesson spotted the posts had been moved a few centimetres about 20 minutes into the game and pushed them back into the right place.
Christensen later said he had done the same thing before several other games.
He was spotted using his feet to push the bottom of each post slightly inwards.
The Swedish Football Association is investigating the incident.
"I have never heard anything like this before," said Swedish FA's disciplinary chief Kheneth Tallinger. "It's unique."
IFK Gothenburg drew 0-0 with Orebro and top the table on goal difference with just a few weeks of the season to go.
Thursday, 24 September 2009
ABOUT LOVE
To me, Love is an unconditional, and most times unearned weave of warmth that connects two people – man to man, woman to woman, man to woman. It is often generated not as a result of one specific action but as a result of a series of events. Its is also often expressed in ways that only the people in the relationship understand and to others outside the relationship, the expressions could seem like everything but love. Love can be found anywhere but the purity of it is what cannot always be guaranteed. It is easy to point the finger at people who claim to be unable to find love and blame the black hole inside them for their emptiness and inability to find the ultimate feeling. But if we look closely at ourselves, many of us who point the finger have a bigger hole inside us and this is, more often than not, the reason why we are quick to spot the same traits that we felt when the love juice in our lives started drying up.
One of the most asked questions amongst men and women is about when and how you know you are in love. The answer is simple. If you can put your hand on your earth and say of someone else that you have an unconditional, unearned feeling of warmth between you and the person, that is the beginning. You are not in love because you cannot stop thinking about someone, or you get butterflies in your stomach every time you are around someone. The fact that you have admired someone for all your life or spent all your life with a person doesn't mean you are in love either. Love does not happen overnight. It is a process that starts from one point and can take whatever route it is destined to.
Another question that is often asked is whether love at first sight is possible. In my humble opinion, love at first sight is a myth. The myth of love at first sight is created out of the impatience of people who do not want to think of or go through the process of falling in love. These are the people who do not want to endure the toil but want to reap the harvest. Love is an art, not a science and that means that the presence of the right components and the following of the right procedure does not guarantee the expected result.
People also asked whether it is possible to fall out of love. I think it is possible to fall out of love but a justifiable case will be hard to find. For the two parties to be able to say that at one point, after a period of time, they felt an unconditional, unearned feeling of warmth between themselves but due to circumstances beyond their controls, the tide had turned and there was no more warmth between them, it will take the coming together of many factors that are beyond my imagination.
So next time you guys meet a girl, and you girls meet a guy and you get all fuzzy inside and your brains start to paint pictures of what could be, just tell yourself “maybe love is not the way I'm feeling. Maybe all these feelings are just a conjecture of what might be or what I want.”
But maybe I am the least qualified to talk about love. Maybe I'm not. Maybe first timers and veterans are all just skinning the cat in their own different ways. Maybe we all have the same amount of love inside us but the level of our understanding of love is what determines how much love we show/give to people around us.
Sometimes it feels like everyone and no one is in love at the same time. Sometimes I ask myself what love is. Is it an emotion, an expression, a mood, a feeling, an infilling or just something else that words cannot describe. Maybe no one will ever know the fullness of love. Maybe at the end of the day, we will all find out that what we thought was love was just a mirage and the real thing is a million miles away. One thing I know for sure, regardless of all the maybes, is that love is real
One of the most asked questions amongst men and women is about when and how you know you are in love. The answer is simple. If you can put your hand on your earth and say of someone else that you have an unconditional, unearned feeling of warmth between you and the person, that is the beginning. You are not in love because you cannot stop thinking about someone, or you get butterflies in your stomach every time you are around someone. The fact that you have admired someone for all your life or spent all your life with a person doesn't mean you are in love either. Love does not happen overnight. It is a process that starts from one point and can take whatever route it is destined to.
Another question that is often asked is whether love at first sight is possible. In my humble opinion, love at first sight is a myth. The myth of love at first sight is created out of the impatience of people who do not want to think of or go through the process of falling in love. These are the people who do not want to endure the toil but want to reap the harvest. Love is an art, not a science and that means that the presence of the right components and the following of the right procedure does not guarantee the expected result.
People also asked whether it is possible to fall out of love. I think it is possible to fall out of love but a justifiable case will be hard to find. For the two parties to be able to say that at one point, after a period of time, they felt an unconditional, unearned feeling of warmth between themselves but due to circumstances beyond their controls, the tide had turned and there was no more warmth between them, it will take the coming together of many factors that are beyond my imagination.
So next time you guys meet a girl, and you girls meet a guy and you get all fuzzy inside and your brains start to paint pictures of what could be, just tell yourself “maybe love is not the way I'm feeling. Maybe all these feelings are just a conjecture of what might be or what I want.”
But maybe I am the least qualified to talk about love. Maybe I'm not. Maybe first timers and veterans are all just skinning the cat in their own different ways. Maybe we all have the same amount of love inside us but the level of our understanding of love is what determines how much love we show/give to people around us.
Sometimes it feels like everyone and no one is in love at the same time. Sometimes I ask myself what love is. Is it an emotion, an expression, a mood, a feeling, an infilling or just something else that words cannot describe. Maybe no one will ever know the fullness of love. Maybe at the end of the day, we will all find out that what we thought was love was just a mirage and the real thing is a million miles away. One thing I know for sure, regardless of all the maybes, is that love is real
Thursday, 17 September 2009
BRIXTON POUNDS
Can printing your own cash actually help revive a struggling economy? That's just what traders in one London shopping district are hoping for, as they begin accepting a new local currency.
Short on cash? Then why not make your own. There's no law against it, so long as you don't try to pass it off as sterling.
And you can use whatever you please to make your money, whether cigarettes, rabbit skins or paper notes.
That's what's happening in Brixton, a south London neighbourhood where shoppers, from Thursday, will be able to hand over 10 Brixton Pounds (B£s) in return for their groceries.
Proponents of local currencies say they boost the community's economy by keeping money in the area, but critics dismiss them as fashionable gimmicks, tantamount to protectionism.
Research suggests that when the wider economy slumps, communities turn to barter systems. In other words, when there's little money around, people think about making their own.
The Great Depression of the 1930s saw a wide take-up in the US and much later, the Global Barter Club was born after the Argentine economy hit rock-bottom in 2001. At its height, the system was supporting three million people.
And today's straitened times may well renew interest in complementary currencies but, as one unconvinced Brixton shopper, asks: "What's the point?"
"A local economy is like a leaky bucket. Wealth is generated then spent in chain stores and businesses. It disappears leaving an impoverished local economy," explains Ben Brangwyn, part of the team behind the Totnes Pound, launched in south Devon in 2007.
"Local money prevents that from happening and keeps the money bouncing around the bucket, building wealth and prosperity."
Currently, 6,000 Totnes pounds are in circulation from an estimated local economy of £60m.
It is, stresses Mr Brangwyn, a radical experiment, still in its very early stages, but he can see a day when England has 2,000 local currencies.
Other towns joining the experiment, started by environmental group Transition Network, are Lewes in East Sussex and Stroud in Gloucestershire which introduced the Stroud Pound this week.
Fake notes
Brixton, with its reputation for bustling streets, a lively nightlife and a notoriety for street crime, is the first urban area to have its own currency.
Volunteers behind the project say it has not been an easy sell.
Some shopkeepers are concerned about counterfeiting and the build-up of Brixton pounds in their till. Others see it as a novel advertising tool that could become gift vouchers, or even a collector's item.
So far, £10,000 has been pledged by businesses and local people to be converted into B£s, but on the streets there is still some convincing to be done.
Project manager Tim Nichols hopes people will be drawn by the notion of a kind of "secret club" for holders of the special notes and expects Brixton's antiestablishment spirit to work to its advantage.
"We are in London, the financial hub of the world, and are trying to do something that goes against the grain of the big banking system that we are living on the edge of."
He is also optimistic the recession can work in its favour.
That's the view of Susan Witts who co-founded the BerkShare, a local currency launched in 2006 in Berkshire, Massachusetts.
She puts the growth of BerkShares (from 1 million to 2.5 million in three years) down, in part, to the recession and a lot of hard work.
"Introducing a new currency means more work. You have to train staff to use it, adapt accounting processes. When things are going well, it seems an unnecessary extra step.
"But in difficult times, businesses are looking at ways to make their business work. It relies on people's sense of wanting to shape their own economic future."
But David Boyle, of the New Economics Foundation think-tank and a supporter of alternative currencies, believes efforts in Britain are hampered by its banking system.
Whereas the US has a major network of local banks willing to handle other kinds of money, banks in the UK are less willing to do that. He suggests the answer could lie with local authorities playing a more controlling role.
The vital factor though, says Mr Boyle, is belief.
"If you can maintain that belief in the community, it can work," he says.
Tax dodge
Other economists dismiss the whole concept as a gimmick.
"It might make people feel good, but it's not achieving anything meaningful," says Tim Leunig, of LSE.
"You're saying you can't buy goods from Hackney, Southwark or China, even if they are cheaper. It's giving Brixton shops monopoly power and in the long-run destroys incentives. Almost all collapse because they don't achieve anything."
The only use he can see for it is as a tax dodge, but the taxman says this is a red herring.
All businesses have to report all turnover and as every local currency is tacked to sterling, every sale, whether paid for in cream cakes, polar bears or carrots must be reported to its sterling value, the HM Revenue and Customs says.
And if you are not running a business, the HMRC has no interest because where there's no profit motive, there's no taxation consequence. The Treasury, meanwhile, views them as little more than gift vouchers.
So, with the government unperturbed, perhaps we could yet see Mr Brangwyn's vision of 2,000 separate local currencies realised. But would that be a brave leap into the future or a return to the Middle Ages?
HOW TO USE B£s
Exchange £20 for 20 Brixton Pounds (B£s) at Morleys department store or Opus Cafe
Spend this in any of the 70 or so shops, clubs, pubs, cafes which have signed up
On another shopping trip, accept change in B£s from the shopkeeper
Spend this change in another of the shops. And so on
B£s can be exchanged for legal tender at certain Brixton businesses
40,000 notes in 1, 5, 10 and 20 units, each featuring a revered local figure, are printed on watermarked paper with holograms and serial numbers
B£s cannot leave the area nor be banked to earn interest
They may sound experimental but have in fact been used since the Middle Ages when local currencies were all there was - it was not until the 1700s that every European country had its own currency, says Tim Leunig, an economist at the LSE.
Cortesy - BBC Magazine
Short on cash? Then why not make your own. There's no law against it, so long as you don't try to pass it off as sterling.
And you can use whatever you please to make your money, whether cigarettes, rabbit skins or paper notes.
That's what's happening in Brixton, a south London neighbourhood where shoppers, from Thursday, will be able to hand over 10 Brixton Pounds (B£s) in return for their groceries.
Proponents of local currencies say they boost the community's economy by keeping money in the area, but critics dismiss them as fashionable gimmicks, tantamount to protectionism.
Research suggests that when the wider economy slumps, communities turn to barter systems. In other words, when there's little money around, people think about making their own.
The Great Depression of the 1930s saw a wide take-up in the US and much later, the Global Barter Club was born after the Argentine economy hit rock-bottom in 2001. At its height, the system was supporting three million people.
And today's straitened times may well renew interest in complementary currencies but, as one unconvinced Brixton shopper, asks: "What's the point?"
"A local economy is like a leaky bucket. Wealth is generated then spent in chain stores and businesses. It disappears leaving an impoverished local economy," explains Ben Brangwyn, part of the team behind the Totnes Pound, launched in south Devon in 2007.
"Local money prevents that from happening and keeps the money bouncing around the bucket, building wealth and prosperity."
Currently, 6,000 Totnes pounds are in circulation from an estimated local economy of £60m.
It is, stresses Mr Brangwyn, a radical experiment, still in its very early stages, but he can see a day when England has 2,000 local currencies.
Other towns joining the experiment, started by environmental group Transition Network, are Lewes in East Sussex and Stroud in Gloucestershire which introduced the Stroud Pound this week.
Fake notes
Brixton, with its reputation for bustling streets, a lively nightlife and a notoriety for street crime, is the first urban area to have its own currency.
Volunteers behind the project say it has not been an easy sell.
Some shopkeepers are concerned about counterfeiting and the build-up of Brixton pounds in their till. Others see it as a novel advertising tool that could become gift vouchers, or even a collector's item.
So far, £10,000 has been pledged by businesses and local people to be converted into B£s, but on the streets there is still some convincing to be done.
Project manager Tim Nichols hopes people will be drawn by the notion of a kind of "secret club" for holders of the special notes and expects Brixton's antiestablishment spirit to work to its advantage.
"We are in London, the financial hub of the world, and are trying to do something that goes against the grain of the big banking system that we are living on the edge of."
He is also optimistic the recession can work in its favour.
That's the view of Susan Witts who co-founded the BerkShare, a local currency launched in 2006 in Berkshire, Massachusetts.
She puts the growth of BerkShares (from 1 million to 2.5 million in three years) down, in part, to the recession and a lot of hard work.
"Introducing a new currency means more work. You have to train staff to use it, adapt accounting processes. When things are going well, it seems an unnecessary extra step.
"But in difficult times, businesses are looking at ways to make their business work. It relies on people's sense of wanting to shape their own economic future."
But David Boyle, of the New Economics Foundation think-tank and a supporter of alternative currencies, believes efforts in Britain are hampered by its banking system.
Whereas the US has a major network of local banks willing to handle other kinds of money, banks in the UK are less willing to do that. He suggests the answer could lie with local authorities playing a more controlling role.
The vital factor though, says Mr Boyle, is belief.
"If you can maintain that belief in the community, it can work," he says.
Tax dodge
Other economists dismiss the whole concept as a gimmick.
"It might make people feel good, but it's not achieving anything meaningful," says Tim Leunig, of LSE.
"You're saying you can't buy goods from Hackney, Southwark or China, even if they are cheaper. It's giving Brixton shops monopoly power and in the long-run destroys incentives. Almost all collapse because they don't achieve anything."
The only use he can see for it is as a tax dodge, but the taxman says this is a red herring.
All businesses have to report all turnover and as every local currency is tacked to sterling, every sale, whether paid for in cream cakes, polar bears or carrots must be reported to its sterling value, the HM Revenue and Customs says.
And if you are not running a business, the HMRC has no interest because where there's no profit motive, there's no taxation consequence. The Treasury, meanwhile, views them as little more than gift vouchers.
So, with the government unperturbed, perhaps we could yet see Mr Brangwyn's vision of 2,000 separate local currencies realised. But would that be a brave leap into the future or a return to the Middle Ages?
HOW TO USE B£s
Exchange £20 for 20 Brixton Pounds (B£s) at Morleys department store or Opus Cafe
Spend this in any of the 70 or so shops, clubs, pubs, cafes which have signed up
On another shopping trip, accept change in B£s from the shopkeeper
Spend this change in another of the shops. And so on
B£s can be exchanged for legal tender at certain Brixton businesses
40,000 notes in 1, 5, 10 and 20 units, each featuring a revered local figure, are printed on watermarked paper with holograms and serial numbers
B£s cannot leave the area nor be banked to earn interest
They may sound experimental but have in fact been used since the Middle Ages when local currencies were all there was - it was not until the 1700s that every European country had its own currency, says Tim Leunig, an economist at the LSE.
Cortesy - BBC Magazine
Friday, 11 September 2009
To push or not to push?
In our bid to take new territory, we often need a push or a burst of energy. If not to get us going, it is often to get us over the finish line. The eternal conundrum thus is when to start pushing, when to stop and whether any pushing would be needed in the first place.
Take a student preparing for a test for example. Some students would have cleverly paced themselves over the course of the term and need minimal catching up to do when the test or exam is round the corner. Some other student would have been so clever and would need to catch up on things in order to make a success of the situation. In said situation, the well paced student wouldn’t need a push to get them over the line of success while the other student will need some sort of effort to either get them going or get them over the line, depending on how well they have positioned themselves over the course of the term
Another example is when a man is chasing a woman. Depending on the relationship before the chase, some men need overt gestures to get to show on the road while some others would have positioned themselves in a position where a gentle tap on the door will open it.
When it comes to pushing, like a good friend said, when all that is left in ruins, that’s always a good time to stop. Or maybe earlier if you’re a good judge of limits.
I also believe it has a lot to do with positioning. Strategic positioning makes movement and manoeuvring easier. It saves time, and, more often than not, reduces the energy consumed in getting a job done by a significant amount.
So, how do you strategically position yourself for a mission, task or adventure? First thing is to assess the task and decide how high on your list of priorities it is. After deciding this, you have to find out as much on the mission as possible. In doing these things, you will have a good idea of how possible your task is and how much effort will have to go into getting it done. You will then have to put yourself in a place where the mountain is scalable and the target is reachable. Regarding the examples mentioned, if you want to do well in a test, it would be advisable to position yourself in class as regularly as possible. And if you want to get a girl, let’s say a Christian girl, you will have to position yourself in a place where she will see you and be able to make a judgement of you as the sort of man she wants.
More than all, to be discerning enough to know when a push is needed and not needed is most important. Nothing feels worse than wasting time, effort and energy on something that needed very little effort
Take a student preparing for a test for example. Some students would have cleverly paced themselves over the course of the term and need minimal catching up to do when the test or exam is round the corner. Some other student would have been so clever and would need to catch up on things in order to make a success of the situation. In said situation, the well paced student wouldn’t need a push to get them over the line of success while the other student will need some sort of effort to either get them going or get them over the line, depending on how well they have positioned themselves over the course of the term
Another example is when a man is chasing a woman. Depending on the relationship before the chase, some men need overt gestures to get to show on the road while some others would have positioned themselves in a position where a gentle tap on the door will open it.
When it comes to pushing, like a good friend said, when all that is left in ruins, that’s always a good time to stop. Or maybe earlier if you’re a good judge of limits.
I also believe it has a lot to do with positioning. Strategic positioning makes movement and manoeuvring easier. It saves time, and, more often than not, reduces the energy consumed in getting a job done by a significant amount.
So, how do you strategically position yourself for a mission, task or adventure? First thing is to assess the task and decide how high on your list of priorities it is. After deciding this, you have to find out as much on the mission as possible. In doing these things, you will have a good idea of how possible your task is and how much effort will have to go into getting it done. You will then have to put yourself in a place where the mountain is scalable and the target is reachable. Regarding the examples mentioned, if you want to do well in a test, it would be advisable to position yourself in class as regularly as possible. And if you want to get a girl, let’s say a Christian girl, you will have to position yourself in a place where she will see you and be able to make a judgement of you as the sort of man she wants.
More than all, to be discerning enough to know when a push is needed and not needed is most important. Nothing feels worse than wasting time, effort and energy on something that needed very little effort
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
QUIET PLEASE, MEN AT WORK!!
Classic
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1211996/Do-disturb-Slumbering-engineer-grabs-40-winks-job.html
Friday, 4 September 2009
Big thighs could be key to beating heart disease
People with thighs less than 60cms in diameter are more likely to die prematurely, the study found
Big thighs might confer a health benefit according to a study showing that people with small thighs run a higher-than-average risk of developing heart disease and an early demise.
Scientists have found that men and women whose thighs are less than 60cm (23.6ins) in circumference are more likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease, and die prematurely, compared to people with thicker thighs.
They also found, however, that the apparent advantage of bigger thighs did not continue beyond the 60cm threshold. People with thighs much wider than 60cm did not fair any better than those whose thighs hovered just above the threshold.
The study, published in the British Medical Journal, is the first to link the size of the upper thigh to the risk of heart disease and premature death. The finding could lead to a medical test based on thigh size as an indicator of a person's risk of developing heart problems in later life, in much the same way that body mass index is seen as an indicator of cardiovascular risk.
Professor Berit Heitmann of Copenhagen University Hospital, who led the study, said that smaller thighs may be linked with heart disease because they indicate a lower-than-normal muscle mass in that region, which could be a factor in triggering the development of type-2 diabetes, when the hormone insulin does not work properly in controlling levels of sugar in the blood.
The study, based on monitoring 1,436 men and 1,380 women over a period of 12.5 years, found that thigh size as an indicator of heart disease risk was independent of other known risk factors, such as smoking, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. This is one of the reasons why it might be useful in doctors' surgeries, the scientists suggest.
"We found that having smaller thighs was associated with development of cardiovascular morbidity [illness] and early mortality.... General practitioners could use thigh circumference as an early marker to identify patients at later risk of cardiovascular disease and early mortality," they say.
They also suggest that exercising the legs and lower body to increase thigh size could be a useful way of decreasing the risk of heart disease. They say that it is "worrying" that half of the men and the women in the study aged between 35 and 65 have a thigh circumference that is lower than the 60cm threshold.
An editorial in the BMJ said that the study raises several questions, such as whether the link between thigh size and health risks is real or a spurious, chance finding. Although the statistical modelling used in the study was rigorous, studies on a much larger group of people will be needed to show that the association is real, it says. "Is this association biologically plausible? It would seem logical that having bigger thighs would be a reflection of greater adiposity [fatness], and that this would increase the risk of heart disease," the editorial says.
However, previous studies have also found that too little muscle or subcutaneous fat in the legs may be a risk factor in developing diabetes. "Interestingly, other studies have shown that larger hip circumference, which might be a proxy for thigh circumference, significantly reduces the risk of incident diabetes and coronary heart disease," the BMJ editorial says.
Telegraph.co.uk
Big thighs might confer a health benefit according to a study showing that people with small thighs run a higher-than-average risk of developing heart disease and an early demise.
Scientists have found that men and women whose thighs are less than 60cm (23.6ins) in circumference are more likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease, and die prematurely, compared to people with thicker thighs.
They also found, however, that the apparent advantage of bigger thighs did not continue beyond the 60cm threshold. People with thighs much wider than 60cm did not fair any better than those whose thighs hovered just above the threshold.
The study, published in the British Medical Journal, is the first to link the size of the upper thigh to the risk of heart disease and premature death. The finding could lead to a medical test based on thigh size as an indicator of a person's risk of developing heart problems in later life, in much the same way that body mass index is seen as an indicator of cardiovascular risk.
Professor Berit Heitmann of Copenhagen University Hospital, who led the study, said that smaller thighs may be linked with heart disease because they indicate a lower-than-normal muscle mass in that region, which could be a factor in triggering the development of type-2 diabetes, when the hormone insulin does not work properly in controlling levels of sugar in the blood.
The study, based on monitoring 1,436 men and 1,380 women over a period of 12.5 years, found that thigh size as an indicator of heart disease risk was independent of other known risk factors, such as smoking, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. This is one of the reasons why it might be useful in doctors' surgeries, the scientists suggest.
"We found that having smaller thighs was associated with development of cardiovascular morbidity [illness] and early mortality.... General practitioners could use thigh circumference as an early marker to identify patients at later risk of cardiovascular disease and early mortality," they say.
They also suggest that exercising the legs and lower body to increase thigh size could be a useful way of decreasing the risk of heart disease. They say that it is "worrying" that half of the men and the women in the study aged between 35 and 65 have a thigh circumference that is lower than the 60cm threshold.
An editorial in the BMJ said that the study raises several questions, such as whether the link between thigh size and health risks is real or a spurious, chance finding. Although the statistical modelling used in the study was rigorous, studies on a much larger group of people will be needed to show that the association is real, it says. "Is this association biologically plausible? It would seem logical that having bigger thighs would be a reflection of greater adiposity [fatness], and that this would increase the risk of heart disease," the editorial says.
However, previous studies have also found that too little muscle or subcutaneous fat in the legs may be a risk factor in developing diabetes. "Interestingly, other studies have shown that larger hip circumference, which might be a proxy for thigh circumference, significantly reduces the risk of incident diabetes and coronary heart disease," the BMJ editorial says.
Telegraph.co.uk
Monday, 31 August 2009
CHARLES DARWIN AND THE EYE
“To suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree.” CHARLES DARWIN 1872
Sunday, 30 August 2009
Do something you love for free or get paid for something you hate
On seeing the topic, I am sure many of you will jump to a conclusion but I implore to hold your horses for a few minutes while I tell you how I think it is.
The endless tales of people hating their jobs and others feeling underpaid and undervalued for the work they do can be found in most, if not all, offices across the world. The issue of the lucky one who puts in next to nothing and gets tonnes of returns and the one that puts their life and soul in and gets next to nothing in return is the mother of this question, raised to challenge you in more ways than one.
The major advantage of paid work is understanding that regardless of how long and tedious your week or months might have been, you are guaranteed a certain amount of increase in your bank account. This undoubtedly feels good and temporarily (at least) numbs the pain and stress of a tedious job. On the other hand, the fact that the money only temporarily numbs the pain raises more issues. Some will say a solution to a problem that comes with a very short expiry date might as well not come at all. If at the point of “solving” your problem, you can already see the same problem reoccurring, anyone in their right minds would stand back and ask some questions
Another thing that comes with doing something you love for free is that you develop a true love for it. For example, if a musician gets the chance to make their music without anyone or contract lording what they have to do over them or, they naturally reach a level of freedom that no pay rise will ever bring about. They also say money cannot buy the best things in life but, in this case, one look at what other people in a similar line of work are getting for similar or less effort could drain all the motivation out of anyone. Just imagine yourself happily putting your heart and soul into something and having to live on a shoe string while someone you know puts half your effort in and gets double your returns and then ask yourself if you still want to do something you love for free.
They say the love of money is the root of all evil and that most of the conflicts in world history have had at least a hint of monetary incentive or undertone involved. Money in itself is not evil but it is the endless pursuit and the length to which people go to get money that puts an evil taint on money. Whether one decides to works for free out of a love for the job or demands a shed load of money to do something they detest is up to them. But as for me, I’d rather get paid a shed load for doing something I love. To be assured of that increase without having to worry about the pains and tediousness as well as having the freedom to express myself and having my pocket replenished in the process is a thought that fills my heart with joy
The endless tales of people hating their jobs and others feeling underpaid and undervalued for the work they do can be found in most, if not all, offices across the world. The issue of the lucky one who puts in next to nothing and gets tonnes of returns and the one that puts their life and soul in and gets next to nothing in return is the mother of this question, raised to challenge you in more ways than one.
The major advantage of paid work is understanding that regardless of how long and tedious your week or months might have been, you are guaranteed a certain amount of increase in your bank account. This undoubtedly feels good and temporarily (at least) numbs the pain and stress of a tedious job. On the other hand, the fact that the money only temporarily numbs the pain raises more issues. Some will say a solution to a problem that comes with a very short expiry date might as well not come at all. If at the point of “solving” your problem, you can already see the same problem reoccurring, anyone in their right minds would stand back and ask some questions
Another thing that comes with doing something you love for free is that you develop a true love for it. For example, if a musician gets the chance to make their music without anyone or contract lording what they have to do over them or, they naturally reach a level of freedom that no pay rise will ever bring about. They also say money cannot buy the best things in life but, in this case, one look at what other people in a similar line of work are getting for similar or less effort could drain all the motivation out of anyone. Just imagine yourself happily putting your heart and soul into something and having to live on a shoe string while someone you know puts half your effort in and gets double your returns and then ask yourself if you still want to do something you love for free.
They say the love of money is the root of all evil and that most of the conflicts in world history have had at least a hint of monetary incentive or undertone involved. Money in itself is not evil but it is the endless pursuit and the length to which people go to get money that puts an evil taint on money. Whether one decides to works for free out of a love for the job or demands a shed load of money to do something they detest is up to them. But as for me, I’d rather get paid a shed load for doing something I love. To be assured of that increase without having to worry about the pains and tediousness as well as having the freedom to express myself and having my pocket replenished in the process is a thought that fills my heart with joy
Bring Back Shame
Broken Britain is what the politicians and media are tagging it but shameless Britain is what it should be. The nation has fallen from its greatness to a lowly estate where every one feels free to do whatever they please, whenever they please and without any remorse or regard for whatever consequence comes with it.
According to one definition, to "have shame" is to maintain a sense of restraint against offending others while to "have no shame" is to behave without such restraint. I think it is safe to say that, according to this definition, many people today have no shame.
When I was growing up (not too long ago!!), the case of a teenager coming to their parents saying “I am pregnant” or “I got a girl pregnant” was a rare happening. And even when it did happen, the family did their best to keep it under wraps. You couldn't bun a spliff or even smoke a cigarette with your parents’ knowledge. Girls couldn't leave the house dressed like hookers. No one came home with poor exam results and a smile because after a good dose of shaming (beating) they would have to repeat them until the results were satisfactory. These, and a lot of other things, were the normalities of my growing up but today, you hear of parents buying cigarettes and drugs for their children to indulge. You hear of parents buying “interesting” outfits for their daughters, encouraging their teenagers to get pregnant so that they can get government assisted accommodation and a whole load of other despicable things, all in the name of freedom of expression.
A trip on any London bus route during the rush to of from school will open you eyes to some the shamelessness that has become a part of everyday life today. From the way they talk to the way they are dressed to the things they talk about, it is clear to see that there is something wrong somewhere. Which raises the question – how do we bring shame back?
A well known technique of discouraging an ideology is to encourage the opposite. For example, to discourage laziness, you encourage hard work with rewards and perks. In the same way, to discourage shame, we as a society, have/need to encourage a sense of pride and self esteem. A knowledge of the fact that every human being is born with some dignity that they have a duty to protect and build on for as long as they live.
In my opinion, achieving this will not be too difficult if the government pump the same amount of money into programmes, advertising and public relations campaigns encouraging people to respect themselves and hold people around them in high regard as they do on obesity and other trivial issues like paying your TV license and car tax. I strongly believe that if these steps are taken, people will begin to see themselves in a different light.
People have deserted religion/faith, which used to be the number one avenue for propagating the message of self worth and self respect and have not bothered to replace it with something that performs at least a similar role. Instead, people have resorted to personal ideologies that are in favour of their current situation and completely ignore what is to come in the future. This has led to a whole heap of mistakes and misleading that many have resigned to accepting as the norm.
We need to bring back a sense of shame in our society. A sense of right and wrong that makes people think twice before doing whatever they choose to do. A sense of shared values and beliefs that binds us together so much that anything that tries to come against it will be opposed with all our hearts, souls and strength
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