This corona virus, CoVid-19, originally from Wuhan, China, has decimated parts of China, and especially Wuhan. China’s control strategies were brutal. Here in the West we cannot implement the rough measures that China took. Instead we have opted for rigorous contact tracing investigations, blocking borders and social distancing. I don’t know if this will be sufficient to control the virus. We can only wait and see. For certain, our regular way of life must change, We’re not going back to normal, and for many months.
It is always difficult to see someone die after they did the right thing and told the truth. Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist in Wuhan, China, did just that. For telling is circle of 8 doctor friends about a new virus spreading through his hospital, he was called to the police station and made to sign a confession for speaking out without authorization from the higher authorities. His friend circle were fellow doctors. He would later die from the very disease, CoVid-19, that he talked about.
These 16 basic desires, by Professor Steven Reiss are interesting. He says that each of us is an individual, driven by different motivations. No one is “wrong”, just different.
Reiss has found that 16 basic desires guide nearly all meaningful behavior. The desires are power, independence, curiosity, acceptance, order, saving, honor, idealism, social contact, family, status, vengeance, romance, eating, physical exercise, and tranquility.
“These desires are what drive our everyday actions and make us who we are,” Reiss said. “What makes individuals unique is the combination and ranking of these desires.”
Flippant, I was, when I was younger, when I said the way to reduce your weight is to simply eat less. In a way I was right, but in my naivety I did not know the complexity of the problem. Age has a way of providing more wisdom to the problem. It turns out that I am not alone, as the percentage of obese people in the Western world is now alarming and rising. This is a big problem that needs to be solved.
I have heard about wabi-sabi before but have not grasped the meaning. This article grasps the concepts.
Originating in Taoism during China’s Song dynasty (960-1279) before being passed onto Zen Buddhism, wabi-sabi was originally seen as an austere, restrained form of appreciation. Today it encapsulates a more relaxed acceptance of transience, nature and melancholy, favouring the imperfect and incomplete in everything, from architecture to pottery to flower arranging.
Wabi, which roughly means ‘the elegant beauty of humble simplicity’, and sabi, which means ‘the passing of time and subsequent deterioration’, were combined to form a sense unique to Japan and pivotal to Japanese culture. But just as Buddhist monks believed that words were the enemy of understanding, this description can only scratch the surface of the topic.
I do love this thing and would love to see it live. We should all accept the imperfect and obviously different. This has hot air balloon ten large breasts that act like wings! Brilliant! Designed in Australia, made in Britain.
Skywhale balloon, designed by artist Patricia Piccinini , Australia. Controversial but strikingly beautiful.
Philips System One HT Humid CPAP machine. Photo 11 by Don Tai
I enjoy taking apart machines, especially well engineered and built machines. How do you know if a piece of engineering is well built? You take it apart and see for yourself. This is a friend’s Philips System One Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine that, after 6 years of daily use, was replaced by a better model. Here’s how to take it apart.
Overall the machine is made of thick ABS. The air intake has both a foam and paper filter. Surrounding the motor is a silicone liner that was very clean, even after 6 years. There are air gaskets that seal in the air.
This New York Times editorial is gutsy and calls out Donald Trump. It is well overdue. The lack of truth, the fabricated truth, no truth, all adds up to either you disregard reality and go Trump, or you question how this administration can come to pass.
All ages have their tyrants. They are psychopaths that can be charismatic and draw followers into his fold. I worked for one but they quickly removed me. You either believe or they chew you up and spit you out. This is where you find out if you have the backbone to stand up for who you believe you are and how you were brought up, or fold into the morass.
