Category: the cloister
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Only the problems that matter
The way I see it, survival of humanity has, since the middle of the 20th century, been reduced to three tiers of problems to solve. Tier 1 problem: how to harness solar, lunar, and geologic energy sources and convert them to electricity. Tier 2 problem: how to distribute electricity and use it for transportation. Tier…
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The grid, the box, and the meter
Information utility is all about ubiquitous access to data, which is all about the network, which is all about the balance of what is in the network versus what is on the network, and more explicitly, how that balance is managed – or operationalized, in the lingo of those who deal with such things. Network…
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four sins
There are four sins against God, each equal in consequence and potency, and into which all sin falls.
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Blue Laws
I’m not sure what is more absurd – that Massachusetts has laws that prohibit stores from opening on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s or that the Massachusetts Attorney General is enforcing them. The AP story: Mass. investigates defiance of Blue Laws1 The absurdity of these laws, aside from their age (c. 1600s), is further emphasized…
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fatwa issued against bin Laden
A Spanish clerical council issued a religious decree today, the anniversary of the Madrid train bombings, saying Osama bin Laden has forsaken Islam. Neither it, nor the anniversary of the bombings, made the top stories on NBC News. Will this free other moderate clerics to doing the same? Will this open the door for Iraqi…