After the opening hour of #edchatMENA “Nature vs Artificial Intelligence” on Saturday 24 March 2018 I went outside to my other “office”. A large branch from a cedar tree had fallen during recent snow and wind. We had cleared much of it in the past few days, but, because it was now looking a bit …
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Author:astraea
Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Psychometrics and You
It has been reassuring to see the news headlines about investigations in to the illegal use of personal data by leading people and organisations. However, it is unlikely that this kind of behaviour will stop. Curtailing the activities of a company or two will simply result in others adopting the same unethical behaviour, but hiding …
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How to Invest in Stocks
It has long been known by investment analysts that optimising risk and return (which is their job) is achieved by tracking the market. Experienced managers, analysts and data all consistently say that, if you want to invest in the stock market buy the index. And hold it. Young bucks, and old, would like to beat …
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Bounce, Wobble, Smile – Ballin Temple notes at solstice
Bounce, wobble, spin – the solstice is here. And so the cycle continues. Today is the day we’ve been looking forward to for a couple of months now. In the northern hemisphere, it’s the shortest day of the year and within a few days we’ll begin to notice the days lengthening again. Solstice is the …
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Bitcoin: the World’s first decentralised Ponzi scheme by David Webb
This article by David Webb is insightful and brief. You may have no interest in Bitcoin, however, his observations are relevant to banking and the financial system. For me, one conclusion is that it is immoral to support (buy) bitcoin, on the level of gambling, and, if you understand it as a pyramid scheme, morally …
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My excuse for being lazy …
My excuse for being lazy is thinking up new ideas. So why would I admit to laziness? Guilt. It’s increasingly clear that people are amazing. Not just celebrities on TV, also regular people. People who make our lives better,. People who work hard for family and friends and good causes. Shop owners, tradespeople, “employees”, and …
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The Cloud Problem
When people started referring to the internet as the cloud, it was more confusing than helpful. Well, it helped some tech companies market themselves by creating a kind of insiders’ cachet of people who knew what the cloud was, but it created the delusion that the cloud was something different than the world wide web, …
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The Blue Economy
Here’s a nice 6 minute video that puts us in the picture. The big picture. It’s not the whole story, but its brief and is a super introduction and a refresher for old hands.. We are past the point of stopping disruption. It was 15 oC this evening. (Ireland, December) 13 oC would be OK, …
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Cooking Earth
Drawdown – a comprehensive plan to reverse global warming
Paul Hawken has edited Drawdown, a comprehensive review and analysis of tangible actions that can mitigate the destruction of the natural environment which is now being precipitated by anthropogenic pollution and is most visible in global warming. Drawdown is the work of many professionals collaborating to synthesise practical mitigation actions. Yesterday he collaborated with The …
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