As someone with no power except my voice, I am aware that our human society must change and change radically if we are to survive. It is from this perspective that I ask, what can be done? (01/02/02)
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I believe we have the instinct that disordering things in many cases is good, we have it mixed up that we have actually ordered things, when a more rigorous inspection reveals disorder. We tend to see a tangled thicket of bushes and vines as disordered, for example, and a smooth surfaced area where we can walk freely and see easily, as ordered. Yet to cut down the bushes, trees, and vines, kill them and let them decay without replacement, is actually a huge disordering. (01/02/02)
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Britain’s railways are on brink of catastrophic breakdown with senior executives warning that much of the network is worn out and that even the most basic maintenance work is not being carried out. … Up to 10 per cent of the national network’s track, sleepers, stone ballast beds and signals were ‘at or beyond the end of their physical life’ and should have been replaced years ago. (01/02/02)
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You can’t really be on the Web, and respect your readers, without being generous. So you might as well make the words that go with the links generous too. My teacher on this is a very wise man named Daniel Berlinger. I always get a cheerful word and link from Daniel. Is there anything wrong with this? No, in fact, it’s a lesson. Link with a negative vibe if you have to, but why not find something positive, and let the irritation be, and not necessarily share it? That’s something I can do better in 2002. (01/02/02)
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Even with 2001 projected to be the worst year on record for venture capital, most Venture Capitalists (VCs) remain more than comfortable financially. Only a tiny percentage of VC firms have shut their doors, although the number is sure to grow in the next few years. … Why the high survival rate? VCs, which control the most exclusive and profitable asset class in the United States, have written their own rules of engagement — with the acquiescence of their investors. As a result, these uber-capitalists are largely insulated from market forces that could hurt them. … The way startup financing works, VCs are guaranteed cushy six- or seven- figure annual salaries for each fund they manage, even if their portfolios don’t make a penny of profit. (01/02/02)
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