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Abolish internet shopping in Belgium

February 13, 2022 by sergneri 1 Comment

In the Guardian: Abolish internet shopping in Belgium, says leader of party in coalition Paul Magnette, the Socialist party leader, describes e-commerce as ‘social and ecological degradation’ There are no options for commenting on this idea on the Guardian itself, so after you read it, come back here and let us know what you think.

Posted in: Climate Change, Environment, Ethical and green living, Faits Divers, Finanace, Future of Work, IT Failures, Pandemic, Politics, Thinking about Tagged: Belgium, COVID, e-commerce, pandemic, shopping, Socialist

Jason Epstein Is Dead at 93

February 4, 2022 by sergneri Leave a Comment

Jason Epstein, Editor and Publishing Innovator, Is Dead at 93 His literary and marketing instincts brought quality paperbacks to American readers and led to the creation of The New York Review of Books. New York Times Christopher Lehmann-Haupt Feb. 4, 2022

Posted in: Ethical and green living, Faits Divers, Feminism, Obituaries, Politics, Thinking about Tagged: Barbara Epstein, Barnes & Noble, Doubleday & Company, editor, Edmund Wilson, Elizabeth Hardwick, Jason Epstein, Random House, Robert Lowell, The New York Review of Books

Letter to the Editor: ‘Doing our part’

January 17, 2022 by sergneri Leave a Comment

01/16/2022 – Santa Rosa Press-Democrat ‘Doing our part’ EDITOR: Dave Stein reduced home-based solar generation to costs (“Solar power costs,” Letters, Wednesday). He misses one of the basic reasons many of us did invest in solar: to reduce greenhouse emissions. It is the same reason we invested in insulating the attic, installed energy-efficient windows and … [Read more…]

Posted in: Climate Change, Environment, Ethical and green living, Faits Divers, Politics, the Anthropocene Tagged: carbon emissions, cogenerate, emissions, energy star, energy-efficient, green energy, greenhouse gases, heat pump, PG&E, solar

Hospitals Are in Serious Trouble

January 7, 2022 by sergneri 3 Comments

In the Atlantic, Ed Yong writes about the impact of the current COVID variants and the state of the health care system. There is a lot to take in here and his summary is most telling: “Some experts are hopeful that Omicron will peak quickly, which would help alleviate the pressure on hospitals. But what … [Read more…]

Posted in: Faits Divers, IT Failures, Pandemic, Politics, Thinking about Tagged: burnout, COVID, exploitative working conditions, health care, hospitals, just-in-time supply chains, Long-COVID, Omicron, shortages, the health-care system, trauma

The Ethiopian entrepreneur Sara Menker founded Gro Intelligence

January 7, 2022 by sergneri Leave a Comment

In the NYT, an interview with Ms. Menker: The Ethiopian entrepreneur Sara Menker founded Gro Intelligence, which uses artificial intelligence to forecast global agricultural trends and battle food insecurity. When toilet paper shortages happened during Covid and everybody was running to stock up, I was like, “I don’t know why you’re stocking up. I have … [Read more…]

Posted in: Climate Change, Environment, Ethical and green living, Faits Divers, Finanace, Pandemic, Politics, Racism, Science, the Anthropocene, Thinking about Tagged: Africa, agriculture, entrepreneur, Ethiopian, famine, food, food systems, Gro Intelligence, inflation, markets, poverty, Sara Menker, toilet paper

Judith Davidoff, Master of Long-Dormant Instruments, Dies at 94

January 7, 2022 by sergneri Leave a Comment

A NYT obituary on Judith Davidoff, Master of Long-Dormant Instruments. A master of the viola da gamba and other stringed instruments, she was a central part of the early-music scene. By Neil Genzlinger Jan. 6, 2022 “She toured all over the world looking for instruments to play,” Ms. Terry, a past president of the Viola … [Read more…]

Posted in: Faits Divers, Modern Music, Obituaries Tagged: Baroque, Boston Camerata, Consort of Viols, early-music, Judith Davidoff, Pro Musica, the Chinese erhu, the rebec, the vielle, Viol, Viola da Gamba

Justo Gallego, Who Built a Cathedral, Brick by Brick, Dies at 96

December 8, 2021 by sergneri Leave a Comment

From the New York Times obituaries; Justo Gallego, Who Built a Cathedral, Brick by Brick, Dies at 96 A former monk, he spent decades constructing a grand edifice as an act of faith and devotion, and did so almost single-handedly.

Posted in: Ethical and green living, Faits Divers, Obituaries, Thinking about Tagged: Antoni Gaudí, architectural, Cathedral, construction, determination, faith, Justo Gallego, Mejorada del Campo, Romanesque

how the first piece of AI music was born in 1956

December 7, 2021 by sergneri Leave a Comment

‘He touched a nerve’: how the first piece of AI music was born in 1956 Long before Auto-Tune and deepfake compositions, university professor Lejaren Hiller premiered a concert recital composed by a computer and became an overnight celebrity The Guardian Electronic music Jeff Gage Tue 7 Dec 2021 Illiac Suite

Posted in: Faits Divers, Modern Music, Science, Sea Stories, Thinking about Tagged: AI, artificial intelligence, classical, classical music, computer, Computing, David Rosenboom, electronic brain, Electronic music, experimental, Experimental music, George Andrix, Iannis Xenakis, Illiac, Illiac Suite, John Cage, Lejaren Hiller, Leonard M Isaacson, Sanford Reuning, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Dr. Sherif R. Zaki, Acclaimed Disease Detective, Dies at 65

December 4, 2021 by sergneri Leave a Comment

Dr. Sherif R. Zaki, Acclaimed Disease Detective, Dies at 65 He helped identify numerous viruses, including Covid-19, as well as the bioterrorism attack that spread anthrax in 2001. By Sam Roberts Dec. 4, 2021 Dr. Sherif R. Zaki in 2006. He was, a colleague said, considered to be “among the most influential infectious disease pathologists … [Read more…]

Posted in: Faits Divers, Obituaries, Pandemic, Science Tagged: anthrax, bacteria, C.D.C., Coronavirus, COVID-19, Ebola, foreign pathogen, immunohistochemistry, infectious disease, pathologist, SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome, Sherif R. Zaki, unexplained illness, viruses, West Nile, Zika, Zoonotic

A Life of Terror

December 3, 2021 by sergneri Leave a Comment

Humboldt Times, 13 October 1883 A Life of Terror. Rochester Herald. The Ford brothers have been starring through the country as murderers, but just at the present they are not happy. The acquittal of Frank James, brother of Jesse, whom one of the boys treach- erously shot from behind his back, as well as the … [Read more…]

Posted in: California Newspaper Archive, Faits Divers, Obituaries, Sea Stories Tagged: 1883, Bob Ford, fire-arms, Ford Brothers, Frank James, James Brothers, Jesse James, six-shooters
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