Thursday, November 7, 2013
If you prefer to buy American-made products, read the linked article.
Especially if you prefer Apple products, read the linked article.
http://mashable.com/2013/11/07/trapped-in-apple-supply-chain/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss
Don't stop reading before you get to the story of Dhong.
And yes it's possibly, maybe even probably, true of every other "American manufacturer" to some degree.
It's not so much the simple taking advantage of that gets me. It's the taking of enormous profits on the ruined lives of others. How much of the price of that iPhone is manufacturing cost? How much is sheer profit? At what cost?
There "outta be a law" !
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Thursday, November 07, 2013
Wednesday, November 06, 2013
3792 What happened to Bill?
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
I saw this picture of Bill Gates the other day:
(From http://mashable.com/2013/11/04/bill-gates-interview-human-health/)
The photo confused me. He's younger than I am, a lot younger, but he looks ten years older. His skin looks like he's spent every waking moment out in the sun, without sunblock, and we know that's highly unlikely. There's something wrong.
So I asked Google.
Nothing definitive or verifiable, nothing from reliable sites, just unverified rumors of Parkinson's Disease. Whatever. But I'm sure there's something going on with him. Can it be just stress?
Wandering around what turned up for "Parkinson" with various other search arguments, I am surprised at how many people in public life have Parkinson's.
Ten years ago it was brain tumors.
Almost like ... a fashion, or something. Strange.
.
I saw this picture of Bill Gates the other day:
The photo confused me. He's younger than I am, a lot younger, but he looks ten years older. His skin looks like he's spent every waking moment out in the sun, without sunblock, and we know that's highly unlikely. There's something wrong.
So I asked Google.
Nothing definitive or verifiable, nothing from reliable sites, just unverified rumors of Parkinson's Disease. Whatever. But I'm sure there's something going on with him. Can it be just stress?
Wandering around what turned up for "Parkinson" with various other search arguments, I am surprised at how many people in public life have Parkinson's.
Ten years ago it was brain tumors.
Almost like ... a fashion, or something. Strange.
.
Monday, November 04, 2013
3791 Beware of strangling sheets
Monday, November 4, 2013
We are doomed. Last night on "60 Minutes", Leslie Stahl (I think that's who is was) actually said in reference to the Guantanamo trials, "one obstacle after the next". I was horrified.
-----------------------------------
If you ever see an ad for "1800 thread count microfiber sheet sets", usually mentioning Egyptian comfort in the text, DON'T BUY THEM!
I bought two sets maybe five years ago, when they first came out, at a booth at a county fair, for just about $49 a set. The product name was "1800 Thread Count Egyptian Comfort Sheet Sets". The label said, "Enjoy the softness of Egyptian cotton", in large type. In smaller type it said "microfiber". I stupidly thought that meant they were Egyptian cotton. Egyptian cotton has exceptionally long fibers, so it is possible to spin it into finer threads, and I thought that's what the "microfiber" meant - very fine cotton thread - and that's how 1800 count was possible. (Remember, this was before microfiber dusting cloths were so common.)
Not true. Nowhere near cotton. They're a synthetic fiber.
The damn sheets don't really fit any mattress. Technically, they fit, the corners meet, but they don't stay taut. The bottom sheet gets baggy in the middle of the bed because the sides won't stay tucked under the mattress, making folds and slippery patches, badly enough that when you move your legs, the sheets can, like, wrap your legs. When you turn, the top sheet wants to tangle around you, too. Unlike real cotton, they don't have enough body to behave.
The only good part is the pillow cases. They can be good for your hair style, but they won't stay on the pillows. You have to pin the opening closed or the pillow escapes.
The people selling this crap imply that you'd pay up to $300 for sheets of this quality in a major department store. Bull poopy. No legitimate store will sell them, and nobody anywhere sells them for more than $39, usually between $20 and $30. Perhaps they figure nobody will sue as long as the price is ridiculously, embarrassingly, low.
See this online retailer: http://www.egyptianbedsheetsets.com/bed-sheets.asp
Note that NOWHERE do they say anything about synthetic fibers. These folks don't even mention the word "microfiber". You are purposely led to expect cotton, even though they don't actually say what they're made of.
BEWARE!
.
We are doomed. Last night on "60 Minutes", Leslie Stahl (I think that's who is was) actually said in reference to the Guantanamo trials, "one obstacle after the next". I was horrified.
-----------------------------------
If you ever see an ad for "1800 thread count microfiber sheet sets", usually mentioning Egyptian comfort in the text, DON'T BUY THEM!
I bought two sets maybe five years ago, when they first came out, at a booth at a county fair, for just about $49 a set. The product name was "1800 Thread Count Egyptian Comfort Sheet Sets". The label said, "Enjoy the softness of Egyptian cotton", in large type. In smaller type it said "microfiber". I stupidly thought that meant they were Egyptian cotton. Egyptian cotton has exceptionally long fibers, so it is possible to spin it into finer threads, and I thought that's what the "microfiber" meant - very fine cotton thread - and that's how 1800 count was possible. (Remember, this was before microfiber dusting cloths were so common.)
Not true. Nowhere near cotton. They're a synthetic fiber.
The damn sheets don't really fit any mattress. Technically, they fit, the corners meet, but they don't stay taut. The bottom sheet gets baggy in the middle of the bed because the sides won't stay tucked under the mattress, making folds and slippery patches, badly enough that when you move your legs, the sheets can, like, wrap your legs. When you turn, the top sheet wants to tangle around you, too. Unlike real cotton, they don't have enough body to behave.
The only good part is the pillow cases. They can be good for your hair style, but they won't stay on the pillows. You have to pin the opening closed or the pillow escapes.
The people selling this crap imply that you'd pay up to $300 for sheets of this quality in a major department store. Bull poopy. No legitimate store will sell them, and nobody anywhere sells them for more than $39, usually between $20 and $30. Perhaps they figure nobody will sue as long as the price is ridiculously, embarrassingly, low.
See this online retailer: http://www.egyptianbedsheetsets.com/bed-sheets.asp
Note that NOWHERE do they say anything about synthetic fibers. These folks don't even mention the word "microfiber". You are purposely led to expect cotton, even though they don't actually say what they're made of.
BEWARE!
.
Sunday, November 03, 2013
3790 Three kinds of sleeping men
Sunday, November 3, 2013
I was lying in bed this morning, snuggled under the blankets with Jasper curled against the back of my knees, and I was thinking about which side of the bed I choose to sleep on. I start on the left**, often roll over to the right during the night, then back to the left by morning. I guess it's because the table with the clock and my eyeglasses is on the left. At the country house, I sleep on the right, and pretty much stay there.
In my experience with sleeping with men (and I have a lot more experience than you'd even guess), I've found they seem to fall into three groups.
The first two groups don't consistently prefer one side over another. Their choice is based on the layout of the room, and in that they are consistent.
1. Some insist on sleeping on the side of the bed nearest the door. If you ask, that's what they say, that they want to be nearest the door. Even if you're sleeping in a strange place, like a hotel, they want to be nearest the door. Which side they sleep on changes with the room. I think of them as "The Protectors". These men also tend to walk toward the outside on sidewalks, and insist on opening doors for ladies.
2. Some want the side of the bed nearest the bathroom, and if you ask, that's what they say. The bathroom. I think of them as "The Piddlers". These guys tend to be a little bit self-absorbed and stingy.
3. Then there's the guys who always sleep on one particular side. If you ask, they say that they always sleep on the left (or right), with raised eyebrows, like "Duh? Is there any other possibility?" Mostly you don't have to ask. They simply state it as fact, no discussion allowed. I think it probably has to do with which side of their body they sleep on, and want to be facing out, or in, and know exactly where the edge is. These are "The Rigids". They like things a certain way, seldom break routine.
Of course this is just my experience, and some men are combinations or exceptions. The Man, for example, always sleeps on "his side" of the bed and is pretty Rigid in his habits (well, very rigid) and often his thinking, but in all else he is a Protector.
Do you prefer a particular side? Why?
--------------------------------------
**I'm never quite sure what people mean when they say "right" or "left" in reference to a bed. Is it as when you lie on your back on the bed? Or when you stand at the foot facing the head?
Seems to me that since the bed has a head and a foot, it would have a right hand and a left, so it would be like lying on the bed on your back. But The Man uses the opposite, and we all know he's never wrong.
It doesn't much matter what's correct, since the person speaking is not necessarily using it that way.
Later - We don't seem to have this problem with chairs. "Put the table to the right of the chair" means to your right, not the chair's right, and most people understand that. Oh, Good Grief! Does that mean The Man is right again!?
.
.
I was lying in bed this morning, snuggled under the blankets with Jasper curled against the back of my knees, and I was thinking about which side of the bed I choose to sleep on. I start on the left**, often roll over to the right during the night, then back to the left by morning. I guess it's because the table with the clock and my eyeglasses is on the left. At the country house, I sleep on the right, and pretty much stay there.
In my experience with sleeping with men (and I have a lot more experience than you'd even guess), I've found they seem to fall into three groups.
The first two groups don't consistently prefer one side over another. Their choice is based on the layout of the room, and in that they are consistent.
1. Some insist on sleeping on the side of the bed nearest the door. If you ask, that's what they say, that they want to be nearest the door. Even if you're sleeping in a strange place, like a hotel, they want to be nearest the door. Which side they sleep on changes with the room. I think of them as "The Protectors". These men also tend to walk toward the outside on sidewalks, and insist on opening doors for ladies.
2. Some want the side of the bed nearest the bathroom, and if you ask, that's what they say. The bathroom. I think of them as "The Piddlers". These guys tend to be a little bit self-absorbed and stingy.
3. Then there's the guys who always sleep on one particular side. If you ask, they say that they always sleep on the left (or right), with raised eyebrows, like "Duh? Is there any other possibility?" Mostly you don't have to ask. They simply state it as fact, no discussion allowed. I think it probably has to do with which side of their body they sleep on, and want to be facing out, or in, and know exactly where the edge is. These are "The Rigids". They like things a certain way, seldom break routine.
Of course this is just my experience, and some men are combinations or exceptions. The Man, for example, always sleeps on "his side" of the bed and is pretty Rigid in his habits (well, very rigid) and often his thinking, but in all else he is a Protector.
Do you prefer a particular side? Why?
--------------------------------------
**I'm never quite sure what people mean when they say "right" or "left" in reference to a bed. Is it as when you lie on your back on the bed? Or when you stand at the foot facing the head?
Seems to me that since the bed has a head and a foot, it would have a right hand and a left, so it would be like lying on the bed on your back. But The Man uses the opposite, and we all know he's never wrong.
It doesn't much matter what's correct, since the person speaking is not necessarily using it that way.
Later - We don't seem to have this problem with chairs. "Put the table to the right of the chair" means to your right, not the chair's right, and most people understand that. Oh, Good Grief! Does that mean The Man is right again!?
.
.
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