jlc

The rest of the article touches on WHO, UN, UNESCO...I only pasted the first part (to whet your curiosity).

What was most interesting to me is that he defined a 'class' of well-intentioned international organization and then used case after case to indicate 'did not work so well'.

The months worth of delay re Ebola, to not destabilize the political situation or interfere with pilgrimages to Mecca made me go "GRRRRRR".

Jan

OK. Thanks. I did not know about the Hutterites. (I was wondering if "Hutterite turkey" was something like "Welsh rabbit".

Jan

Ha. Yes. We can change it back when we have someone who actually respects the US.

Jan

This is incredibly cool. I did not understand why they had to use human stem cells as a substrate at one point...need to read more. This would indeed be the sort of thing that I could get involved in.

First stage: Give everyone back the limb that failed to grow or had to be amputated.

Second stage: Wings.

Jan

Quite nice. I could not tell it was not a pro. (I am not a musician nor a guitarist, but I listen to classical music all the time.)

Please pass regards and congrads on to Joshua.

Jan

Chuckle. Swallow coffee second time.

Jan

From Mystery Men:
PMS woman: "I only work 4 days a month. IS THAT A PROBLEM?"

Jan

Huterite? Please explain...

Jan

Anyone who only shops once a month.

Jan

I should see if there is a place I can submit my ideas...though from the success of their kick starter they may have a lot of input already!

Jan

In reference to some of the comments on this thread: This device would be good for making rayon garments, which begin as a chemical digest of cotton. Most of the fiber geeks I know (and I know a lot of them) consider cotton rayon to be a 'natural' fiber; I have heard them discuss rayon's 'drape' in comparison to that of hand-woven fabric (which they make).

The good thing about a 3D printer is that it should be no more difficult for it to turn out a rose path or broken twill or a jacquard than it would be for it to turn out a plain weave fabric. I am sure that they have already been told that the fabric must have 'color' but it needs to have 'spin' as well (or at least 'directionality'...does not need to literally be spun) so that the light reflects/refracts in different patterns.

This printer would be a godsend to me, since there is little that I like in modern fashion. I would go ape, recreating modern garments (that I actually like) with 7th century textile patterns on them. The ability to design the texture and colors of mine own fabric and then produce perfectly sized clothes in classic modern styles for me to wear....wonderful.

If other people feel the same way: Goodbye fashion industry. This invention does indeed have game-changing potential.

Jan, spins on a drop spindle

Yes.

Jan, the selfish

I notice that too. If I have excess eggs, I have no trouble trading them for veggies or fruit.

Jan

It has been hijacked by people we do not like. That is no reason we cannot reclaim it for proper use.

Jan

You are right insofar as chickens being a 'sustainable' source of backyard protein production, but keeping your own chickens for eggs is more expensive than buying them at the store. If you had a large area, free from predators, and you grew a lot of wild grains you could just free feed your chickens, but even with an acre of land and a horse (horse poop is a great place for chickens to snack on fly eggs and larvae) I had to buy food to supplement them. (Since the coyotes discovered my drive-through coyote fast food chicken restaurant I have had to keep the chickens in a smaller area and feed them store-bought food all of the time.)

In an urban neighborhood, possums and raccoons are more of a problem, so if you have a big yard you might break even. Point is: good for the delight of having your own really delicious eggs, but not so much for decreasing cost thereof.

Jan

Thank you, Ibecame.

Jan, I am

BOOOO!

Jan
(Actually good, but I had to Boo.)

I would love to read more about these organisms. If there are particular sites or papers you can direct me to, I would be obliged.

Jan

The article was somewhat stream of consciousness, and I had a bit of trouble following it, but I think that the choice is not binary: It is not a choice between whether we will have a world gov or balkanize into small city-states again. The size of a country has to do with its geography and when it was founded as much as anything else, and I think the era of the city-state is past, Hong Kong and Singapore notwithstanding.

I suspect that countries have life cycles, but that they are quite long. Although France and Britain are not empires any more, they are still countries and have not dissolved the way the Roman Empire did. In terms of life cycles, the US may have a few hundred years left.

Jan

I have had several of the varieties that are mentioned in the article, but my favorites so far are the black sex-linked and the amricanus. The former are good because the hens are calm and friendly...and because you can tell that they are hens.

Story: I went by a feed store (which is where you get your chicks if you do not want to order them) and I saw a crate full of little chicks with a little blond topnot on the top of each tiny head. The create was labeled "pullets" (female chicks) but the white topnot signified that they were all males. So, since one of the problems if you are buying chicks is to make sure you get all pullets, buy black sex-linked and make sure you get the ones with the all-black heads.

The other breed that I like are the americanus - because they have beautiful green or blue eggs. The hens are also nice colors of bronze and gold (though with an occasional albino). I just like the color of the eggs.

Jan, has 5 hens and one big rooster

Bravo. We live in a time of wonders.

Jan

Yay!

Jan

Yes, my opinion is this is pathological and not normal.

But, no, I do not think that it is anyone's business except that of the person handicapping themselves - as long as (as LetsShrug says) we do not have to pay for their self-mutilation hobby.

This is not just a modern phenomenon - self mutilation has been part of society for millennia (Ceres - self-castration). So perhaps there have always been outliers who felt this way about themselves.

The trouble with not-accepting these people's right to self-mutilate is that anything that regulates them may effect the ability of people to have trans-human changes made to themselves. For example, I have sometimes toyed with the idea of having a bodymod: a tiny magnet inserted into the tip of one of the fingers on my left hand. This allows you to 'feel' magnetic currents - you can, for example, tell if an electrical cord is live or not just by passing your hand over it.

So I would ignore these people and let them sort it out with their loved ones, shrinks, and consciences. But I would not pay them a cent or grant them any handicapped status.

Jan

To the best of my knowledge, pierced ears do not handicap a person...

Jan

Enjoy your vacation - and let me know if you liked the books.

Jan