Lucid Dreaming

Lucid Dreaming:

How Can You Control Your Dreams?

PermaBurn Directions

If you're not familiar with PermaBurn, here is a link to posts from the first two year's camp-outs...

AfterBurn, Reheat, Stone Soup and First Ashes

Thanks to CyberBiker for providing this Google Map link..

PermaBurn Location on Google Map

If you haven't been out, there is 5 miles of gravel road, some of it has dips that would challenge anything with a flat exit angle, such as a long over-hang RV.   But there have been trailers as long as 24 feet, a full-sized Greyhound bus and one fully loaded Geo Metro, so any normal car will make it if you dodge a few rocks.  High clearance or trucks, no problem at all.

(click to expand)

How to get to PermaBurn...

Take 395 60 miles north of Susanville to Madeline, California

(the 395 junction is just east of Susanville).

Go 6 miles north of Madeline on 395 to the 134.92 mile marker at 41 7'43" 120 30'0".

Watch for the orange or pink or mylar tape from this point on.  If you go to Google map you won't find any names on any of these roads, but the mile marker is past Sage Hen and before South Fork Mountain Road.  On the ground, the key is the mile marker and tape at each junction.

You have five miles of gravel road to go.

Take a left onto the shortcut to a gravel road.

Take another left to go south on this gravel road.

Go 0.1 miles till you reach the green gate.  Open the gate and go through.  Please remember to close it back.

Go 0.4 miles until you see a second green Gate on the right with orange tape.

Turn right through the green gate, opening if you need to.  Leave the green gate open or closed as you found it.

Cross the yellow cattle guard about 30 feet beyond the gate.

Go 2.4 miles up some hills and across a flat.

You will see a sign for the reservoir to the right - stay to the left.

You will also see another yellow cattle guard and orange tape.

You are at 41 6'45" 120 32' 6".

Go just BEYOND the cattle guard, and take an immediate LEFT turn on the dirt road on the other side of the fence.  Turn left just AFTER the cattle guard, not before!

Climb 2.2 miles south on the dirt road.

At some points the road tilts pretty bad, and there are a few rocks protruding but a normal car can make it with care.

You will reach a small hill with a couple of trees and then come down into the PermaBurn site.  The last hundred yards which was so bad last year has been newly worked and is in much better condition.

The best camping is in this first valley.

Welcome to Permaburn!

Welcome to Stone Soup!

Where to Camp

There are two ponds on the hill with some trees around them.  Unfortunately, this is also where some free range cattle come to drink and find shade,  AND leave their droppings.  There were only a few mosquitoes last year - not really a problem.  But to minimize all of these factors, we will be setting up Center Camp along main street a quarter mile back in the lower valley.  You can of course camp where ever you choose but we'd like the significant performance camps along main street if possible.

See ya at PermaBurn!

Stone Soup 2010 Set for the 18th, 19th and 20th of June!

FINALLY!  Summer is here and the weather looks great for Stone Soup.  Here's the latest :

NNPS is providing a center camp shelter, Greg Glover a music venue where Darkemeth will be playing house and psytrance.  Help Me BDSM camp will be giving demos.  The Poly camp will have an intro presentation and pot-luck on Saturday after noon. Diva Den will provide chill space.  Hib will be presenting Liquid Chess as well as a balloon with a mile of line. After Saturday will be Cari's birthday party!

There will be an update and PermaBurn meeting Sunday morning at 10:00 AM at center camp.  Be there if you're a PermaBurner or interested.

The RSVP list is growing.  Add your name with camp plans and head count by emailing :

sudden.net@gmail.com

What : Stone Soup Encore - 2010 - Burner Camp-out at PermaBurn

When : June 18th, 19th & 20th (early and late camping is fine)

Where : Madeline, California - 60 miles north of Susanville

Entrance Fee : $0.00, nada, FREE!

If you've never been to Stone Soup, here's a little background.  The Reno area has Burner events all year long.  Most are to raise money for theme camps or other causes.  Often they are limited by cost, small venues or city constraints.

Stone Soup is different.  It's not about raising money.  It's not held on public lands.  It's not limited in size.  There are few restrictions.  You can bring your dogs.  You can bring your kids.  You can bring your dirt bikes or ATVs.

Stone Soup is about whatever you wish to express, in the purest way possible.  It's the closest thing you'll find to an old-school Burner camp-out; or the early days on the playa.

So why's it called Stone Soup?

You may have heard of the Grimm Brother tale about three Napoleonic soldiers returning to a war-torn and starving village in hopes of a free meal.  As the villagers are at first unwilling to share any of their meager food supplies, these soldiers decide to get creative.   They set up a pot full of water and begin to boil a large stone, announcing a dinner of "stone soup" will be available for all, just as soon as it's cooked.

Then one of the villagers offers to add some salt - just to give it a little flavor.  Next, pepper is offered up by another.  Soon other villagers begin bring forth their modest vegetables and other contributions to create a wonderful soup.

In no time, they all eat well in spite of first intentions.  The point is, you won't need to bring much to PermaBurn, just what you need to survive, and what you wish to add to the experience.

For those who didn't join us last year (or didn't make it up the hill), PermaBurn is 640 acres of northern California now officially organized as The PermaBurn Collective.  In the spirit of Burning Man, PermaBurn has gifted this volcanic terrain for the weekend, with virtually no restrictions on how you wish to express yourself.

We'll use the PermaBurn site as our soup pot.  Greg Glover (founder) has thrown in port-a-potties as the stone for the soup.  (Am I pushing this metaphor too far?)  In any case, because of this wonderful gift, we don't need to charge an entrance fee.  So come on out and join us.  Express yourself!  Be free!  For free!

Just like on the playa, and as in the story Stone Soup, WE get to add all the rest.  What would you like to add to the soup?


Link back to this site for on-going updates.  More importantly, email me with YOUR plans so I can help you hook up with others and coordinate similar activities.  Let me know if I can post your name, email and or phone number here along with your camp plans.  Plus I'll need a head count for the potties, so...

RSVP your camp plans and head count to...

sudden.net@gmail.com

NNPS Hosting Center Camp - The center camp shade structure will be hosted this year by the Northern Nevada Polyamory Support group, who will also be presenting, "Introduction to Polyamory", on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 followed by a pot-luck for everyone at 6:00 PM followed by a birthday party for Cari.

Tunes - Greg Glover will be providing a music venue where Darkemeth will be playing house and psytrance.

Liquid Chess - BadAss (Hib) will be presenting his full-scale chess art project.

Helium - Hib will also be deploying a balloon with a mile of line.

Camp Quadzilla will provide transportation options.

Camp Help Me - A BSDM camp with be set up by Camp Help Me.  Stop by for a whack.

Diva Den Chill Space presented by Cari.

PermaBurn - There will be an update and PermaBurn meeting Sunday morning at 10:00 at center camp.  If you're a PermaBurner, or are interested, please join us.

What will YOU add to the flavor?

What : Stone Soup 2010 - Burner Camp-out at PermaBurn

When : June 18th, 19th & 20th (early and late camping is fine)

Where : Madeline, California - 60 miles north of Susanville

Entrance Fee : $0.00, nada, FREE!

RSVP your camp, art plans and head count to...

sudden.net@gmail.com

If you're not familiar with PermaBurn, here is a link to posts from the first two year's camp-outs...

AfterBurn, Reheat, Stone Soup and First Ashes


Thanks to CyberBiker for providing this Google Map link..

Stone Soup - PermaBurn Location on Google Map


If you haven't been out, there is 5 miles of gravel road, some of it has dips that would challenge anything with a flat exit angle, such as a long over-hang RV.   But there have been trailers as long as 24 feet, a full-sized Greyhound bus and one fully loaded Geo Metro, so any normal car will make it if you dodge a few rocks.  High clearance or trucks, no problem at all.



(click to expand)

How to get to PermaBurn...

Take 395 60 miles north of Susanville to Madeline, California
(the 395 junction is just east of Susanville).

Go 6 miles north of Madeline on 395 to the 134.92 mile marker at 41 7'43" 120 30'0".



Watch for the orange or pink or mylar tape from this point on.  If you go to Google map you won't find any names on any of these roads, but the mile marker is past Sage Hen and before South Fork Mountain Road.  On the ground, the key is the mile marker and tape at each junction.

You have five miles of gravel road to go.

Take a left onto the shortcut to a gravel road.

Take another left to go south on this gravel road.

Go 0.1 miles till you reach the green gate.  Open the gate and go through.  Please remember to close it back.

Go 0.4 miles until you see a second green Gate on the right with orange tape.

Open the green gate and take a right.  AND close it back.

Cross the yellow cattle guard about 30 feet beyond the gate.

Go 2.4 miles up some hills and across a flat.

You will see another yellow cattle guard and orange tape.

To the right, will be a sign for the reservoir.

You are at 41 6'45" 120 32' 6".




Go just BEYOND the cattle guard, and then take an immediate LEFT turn on the dirt road on the other side of the fence.  Turn left just AFTER the cattle guard, not before!

Climb 2.2 miles south on the dirt road.

At some points the road tilts pretty bad, and there are a few rocks protruding but a normal car can make it with care.



You will reach a small hill and then come down into the PermaBurn site.  The last hundred yards which was so bad last year has been newly worked and is in much better condition.

The best camping is in this first valley.

Welcome to Permaburn!

Welcome to Stone Soup!




Where to Camp

There are two ponds on the hill with some trees around them.  Unfortunately, this is also where some free range cattle come to drink and find shade,  AND leave their droppings.  There were only a few mosquitoes last year - not really a problem.  But to minimize all of these factors, we will be setting up Center Camp along main street a quarter mile back in the lower valley.  You can of course camp where ever you choose but we'd like the significant performance camps along main street if possible.

That's all I can think of right now.  Email  me your questions, camp, art plans and head count to...

sudden.net@gmail.com

Or just click on "Comments" below.  Either will work.  I will post the updates here from time to time.

What : Stone Soup 2010 Burner Camp-out at PermaBurn
When : June 18th, 19th & 20th (early and late camping is fine)

Where : Madeline, California - 60 miles north of Susanville
Entrance Fee : $0.00, nada, FREE!

See ya at Stone Soup 2010.

See ya at PermaBurn!

Favorite Droid Apps

RealCalc

Here's my favorite Droid app so far.  It's an RPN calculator from Brain Overspill.  Though not an HP emulation, they've taken the best of calculator UI / PDA design and combined it with an RPN option.

Though I'm not a fan of long press, in this case it's faster than using shift.  For instance in conversion, enter a number (or result of calculation) then hold down the EXP key (not show in outdated photo). A dialog pops up. Select units and it displays all the other forms - very quick and easy.

As noted above, the picture is outdated and also in Algebraic mode - they also have %, Rotate and Swap XY.  When they get around to financial and stat functions, it'll be perfect.  Nice work guys.

Ron Paul Reduces 2400 Page Health Care Bill to One Page

This has got to be the greatest example of an alternative reduction to essential need in the history of our country.  Even when written up a a law, it will be far smaller, and more importantly, FAR more effective.

Ron Paul is to be congratulated.

Here's the link...

And here's the text...

Statement of Congressman Ron Paul

United States House of Representatives

Statement Introducing the Private Option Health Care Act

May 27, 2010 

Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce the Private Option Health Care Act. This bill places individuals back in control of health care by replacing the recently passed tax-spend-and-regulate health care law with reforms designed to restore a free market health care system.

The major problems with American health care are rooted in government policies that encourage excessive reliance on third-party payers. The excessive reliance on third-party payers removes incentives for individual patients to concern themselves with health care costs. Laws and policies promoting Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) resulted from a desperate attempt to control spiraling costs. However, instead of promoting an efficient health care system, HMOs further took control over health care away from patients and physicians. Furthermore, the third-party payer system creates a two-tier health care system where people whose employers can afford to offer "Cadillac" plans have access to top quality health care, while people unable to obtain health insurance from their employers face obstacles in obtaining quality health care.

The Private Option Health Care Act gives control of health care back into the hands of individuals through tax credits and tax deductions, improving Health Savings Accounts and Flexible Savings Accounts. Specifically, the bill:

A. Provides all Americans with a tax credit for 100% of health care expenses. The tax credit is fully refundable against both income and payroll taxes;

B. Allows individuals to roll over unused amounts in cafeteria plans and Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA);

C. Provides a tax credit for premiums for high-deductible insurance policies connected with a Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and allows seniors to use funds in HSAs to pay for medigap policies;

D. Repeals the 7.5% threshold for the deduction of medical expenses, thus making all medical expenses tax deductible.

This bill also creates a competitive market in heath insurance. It achieves this goal by exercising Congress's authority under the Commerce Clause to allow individuals to purchase health insurance across state lines. The near-monopoly position many health insurers have in many states and the high prices and inefficiencies that result, is a direct result of state laws limiting people's ability to buy health insurance that meets their needs, instead of a health insurance plan that meets what state legislators, special interests, and health insurance lobbyists think they should have. Ending this ban will create a truly competitive marketplace in health insurance and give insurance companies more incentive to offer quality insurance at affordable prices.

The Private Option Health Care Act also provides an effective means of ensuring that people harmed during medical treatment receive fair compensation while reducing the burden of costly malpractice litigation on the health care system. The bill achieves this goal by providing a tax credit for negative outcomes insurance purchased before medical treatment. The insurance will provide compensation for any negative outcomes of the medical treatment. Patients can receive this insurance without having to go through lengthy litigation and without having to give away a large portion of their awards to trial lawyers.

Finally, the Private Option Health Care Act also lowers the prices of prescription drugs by reducing barriers to the importation of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved pharmaceuticals. Under my bill, anyone wishing to import a drug simply submits an application to the FDA, which then must approve the drug unless the FDA finds the drug is either not approved for use in the United States or is adulterated or misbranded. This process will make safe and available imported medicines affordable to millions of Americans. Letting the free market work is the best means of lowering the cost of prescription drugs.

Madam Speaker, the Private Option Health Care Act allows Congress to correct the mistake it made last month by replacing the new health care law with health care measures that give control to health care to individuals, instead of the federal government and politically-influential corporations. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

The Great American Bubble Machine

First posted on 07-08-09...

04-16-10 Update - Goldman Sachs charged with fraud by SEC - The first domino?

05-13-11 Update - More Taibbi after Goldman 

It isn't often that I pass on a link I get in email, but if you haven't seen this video of Matt Taibbi, or read his Rolling Stones article about Goldman Sachs, by all means click the link.

You may have heard me admit that while I saw the housing bubble, I didn't call or even understand the oil and credit bubbles - now I do.

I'm not normally open to conspiracy theories, but this one rings true...

The Great American Bubble Machine

OK. I just got a copy of the actual article which goes into a lot more depth and detail. Who says hard-copy publishing is dead? If you saw the video, you might think potty-mouthed bluster. And if you read the Rolling Stone web summary, you may begin to wonder. But if you read the detail, you'll wonder why congressional hearing haven't started yet.

Matt Taibbi delivers on his bluster.

It's worth buying an actual copy of Rolling Stone.

So if you have ANY interest in our current economic situation...


This is a MUST read.

Pull to the side, Segway. YikeBike Coming Through

Remember all the hype just before Segway was introduced? It was suppose to change forever the way people traveled. Except for a few mall cops and airport security, the future hasn't turned out quite the way they planned.

While not very good for standing around, the YikeBike may actually live up to Segway's hope of useful personal transportation...

YikeBike in Action 09-22-09

YikeBike Review 04-08-10


Engadget YikeBike Review 01-19-11

Xetum

Xetum is a new collection of California designed, Swiss made timepieces. Each piece walks the line between functionality and style. Check them out here http://www.xetum.com/

The Rocky Mountain Plan - Water Enough for All

OK.  I admit it.  I have a weakness for grand solutions to grand problems.  I first heard about this back in the 80s and out of curiosity thought I'd Google to see how progress was coming along.

Considering the state of environmental politics not to mention international boundaries, I'm sad but not surprised to report, not much has happened since I first read about it.  Here's the only reference I could find...

The Rocky Mountain Plan


So what IS the Rocky Mountain Plan?  It's nothing less than diverting water all the way from the Arctic Circle, and spreading it across the mid-western United States and even into California, Texas and Mexico.  Here's a summary.  I'm posting it here because grand ideas shouldn't die just because they are grand (note the 2200 foot drop for energy production).


"The Rocky Mountain Plan, conceived by William G. Dunn, Consulting Engineer, is a potential massive, international water and power development project that would distribute water and power throughout the West from Canada to the Mexican border.

Principal sources of water are the Peace, Athabasca, and Smoky rivers in northern Alberta (Canada), and upper tributaries of the Mackenzie River in northern British Columbia, which flows into the Arctic Ocean. Additional sources of water are the Kootenai and Flathead rivers and Clark Fork in western Montana, which are upper tributaries of the Columbia River. Water would be diverted for use within the Yellowstone, Missouri, and the Snake rivers in the northwestern United States, and upper tributaries of the North and South Saskatchewan rivers in Alberta.

The water distribution system would include several large reservoirs with a total storage capacity of nearly 100 million acre-feet. Project yield would range from 12 to 25 million acrefeet per year, depending on aqueduct and reservoir sizing. This water would be distributed through more than 5,850 miles of aqueduct for use in southern Alberta, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, all of the western states on both sides of the Rocky Mountains including west Texas and California, and northern New Mexico in the Colorado River and Rio Grande valleys.

New energy developed under the Rocky Mountain Plan would come from a huge hydroelectric project called the Whitehorse-Skagway Division, collecting water from the upper tributaries of the Yukon River and releasing it through a 2,200-foot power drop into an interior inlet of the Pacific Ocean near Skagway, Alaska. The 33 billion kilowatt hours of power produced by this system would be conveyed in a 2,000-mile transmission line to Alberta, British Columbia, and the Pacific Northwest for general use in the power market, and for project purposes. Three large storage reservoirs with a total storage potential of 60 million acre-feet are proposed within the Columbia River Basin. These reservoirs would include large pumped storage facilities that would reregulate the power developed in the Columbia River plants and in the project power plants, and that also would produce some new power.

The entire Rocky Mountain Plan, including power facilities, was estimated to cost between $40 and $50 billion in 1977 dollars. One of the significant advantages of the Rocky Mountain Plan is that it could be staged to provide significant water and power benefits during early development."

Keep Your Laws Off My Body by John Stossel

I've always been impressed with John Stossel.  When he was on ABC, you could see working around the edges of issues now and then.  Looks like Fox is giving him the opportunity to open up both barrels!

Sex, drugs or kidneys, he's get my vote!

Keep Your Laws Off My Body

Burning Man Panomatics

Burning Man is a target-rich  environment for photographers.  And you see them everywhere you go.  They are using everything from camera-phones, to Nikons, even full video.  But here's one camera I didn't noticed while it was happening.

These images appear to be from some kind of spherical 360 degree camera of some sort, with some very careful reconstruction.  However it's done, the result is amazing.  If you aren't careful, you'll make yourself sick dragging the mouse around.  Almost like waking up Sunday morning after the Burn.  But what a powerful viewing tool!

Plus, this one tour covers a LOT of Burning Man 2009.  Imagine how many photos you'd have to click through to gain this perspective.  And the night scenes are great - almost like being there!

So if YOU want to control the camera at Burning Man, click through...

Burning Man Panomatics

Don't forget to use your scoll-wheel for zooming.

Comment from Dave Cline -  - Welllll... This is what I THINK made the pictures:

0-360.com

World's Smallest Political Quiz

“The best government is that which governs least” John L. O’Sullivan 1837

Many of you have heard my political positions - government is about twice the size it needs to be and should be limited to no more than 25% of our production. Further, government shouldn't do anything we can do better as individuals. Finally, there should be no crime without a victim other than the perpetrator.

Zoe first sent me this test a couple of years ago. I just rediscovered it. These ten questions will reveal a lot about who you are politically. And personally. Though obviously biased, it's impressive in how it simplifies such a complexity. But after all, how much government do we really need?

FYI, I got a perfect 10 out of 10.

Please post YOUR results in the comments below. I'd like to know how my friends think.

World's Smallest Political Quiz

How to live to be 100+

TED once again delivers. This time it's on lifestyle and h0w to extend it. Dan Buettner presents a nice summary of lessons learned from "Blue Zones", suggesting the following advice...

1. Move naturally and consistently, but moderately - walk and garden

2. Find regular downtime - meditation or prayer

3. Have a word for purpose and use it - Eekyguy

4. Drink a little every day - wine is best

5. More plant-based diet - less meat

6. Only eat to 80% of fullness - Hada hatchi moodi - Confucius

7. Keep loved ones close - build groups

8. Be part of a group - trust and trust worthy

9. Right tribe - find friends who live these ideas

Give it a click.

How to live to be 100+

Movie Mashup - Netflix Rental by Zip

Here is a tool where you can use the internet to look into the soul of a zip code.

It takes a few minutes to realize what is being measured here, but when you do, you'll discover an amazingly powerful tool. It provides information not only about what kind of people live where (which we've had for a long time). More importantly, it provides information about how they THINK about any given topic - by ZIP code. Or at least topics which can be associated with movies. Next it may gain a dynamic dimension as new films are released. Wait until Avatar is release and we see where it is NOT rented!

Netflix Rental by Zip

Click on a city and then scroll the most rented bar from left to right - fascinating! Don't get caught up in relative popularity of movies. The less popular films provide more specific data. Then watch how they vary by zip code. It says so much about how people pick their homes and end up living near the like-minded.

Sure, there's no drill down into each skull, but politician work district by district anyway. And yes, politicians have been tailoring content for years. But can you imagine the next election cycle where local speeches will be given with different subtle movie references by zip code? Good thing they will be captured on video and brought together on the internet to keep them somewhat "honest".

Giving THIS sword has AT LEAST two edges.

Just imagine what the next mash-up will be. Porn rentals anyone?

Beauty is as Ugly Does

It may not be pretty, but what it does is beautiful.

Tata strikes again with it's new Magic Iris 5 seat picovan. Its 11 hp, 611cc water-cooled diesel pushes it to 34 mph (need more specs here). At $2000, how can you go wrong?

Seriously, this may be the most efficient way to move people down a road while keeping the rain off. So far I'm amazed. When we get all the specs in, I expect to still be impressed.

OPOC Engine

I have to agree, this IS a radically new type of engine. Click through to watch it run. It will be fun to see how it develops. Set your Google to alert.

A radically new type of engine - OPOC

Rice Paddy Art

Stunning crop art has sprung up across rice fields in Japan.

But this is no alien creation - the designs have been cleverly planted.

Farmers creating the huge displays use no ink or dye. Instead, different colours of rice plants have been precisely and strategically arranged and grown in the paddy fields.

As summer progresses and the plants shoot up, the detailed artwork begins to emerge.



A Sengoku warrior on horseback has been created from hundreds of thousands of rice plants, the colours created by using different varieties, in Inakadate in Japan.

The largest and finest work is grown in the Aomori village of Inakadate, 600 miles north of Toyko, where the tradition began in 1993.

The village has now earned a reputation for its agricultural artistry and this year the enormous pictures of Napoleon and a Sengoku-period warrior, both on horseback, are visible in a pair of fields adjacent to the town hall.

More than 150,000 vistors come to Inakadate, where just 8,700 people live, every summer to see the extraordinary murals.

Each year hundreds of volunteers and villagers plant four different varieties of rice in late May across huge swathes of paddy fields.



Napoleon on horseback can be seen from the skies, created by precision planting and months of planning between villagers and farmers in Inkadate



Fictional warrior Naoe Kanetsugu and his wife Osen appear in fields in the town of Yonezawa, Japan

And over the past few years, other villages have joined in with the plant designs.

Another famous rice paddy art venue is in the town of Yonezawa in the Yamagata prefecture.

This year's design shows the fictional 16th-century samurai warrior Naoe Kanetsugu and his wife, Osen, whose lives feature in television series Tenchijin.

Various artwork has popped up in other rice-farming areas of Japan this year, including designs of deer dancers.



Smaller works of crop art can be seen in other rice-farming areas of Japan such as this image of Doraemon and deer dancers

The farmers create the murals by planting little purple and yellow-leafed kodaimai rice along with their local green-leafed tsugaru roman variety to create the coloured patterns between planting and harvesting in September.

The murals in Inakadate cover 15,000 square metres of paddy fields.

From ground level, the designs are invisible, and viewers have to climb the mock castle tower of the village office to get a glimpse of the work.

Rice-paddy art was started there in 1993 as a local revitalization project, an idea that grew out of meetings of the village committee.



Closer to the image, the careful placement of thousands of rice plants in the paddy fields can be seen



The different varieties of rice plant grow alongside each other to create the masterpieces

In the first nine years, the village office workers and local farmers grew a simple design of Mount Iwaki every year.

But their ideas grew more complicated and attracted more attention.

In 2005 agreements between landowners allowed the creation of enormous rice paddy art.

A year later, organisers used computers to precisely plot planting of the four differently colored rice varieties that bring the images to life.

Whole Foods Health Care

As an employer, health care is an issue I've had to deal with for years, with increasing frustration.

The single biggest problem with health care is the de-coupling of payment from the patient in medical purchases. This started with government price and wage controls during World War II. In order to attract and keep talent without increasing pay, employers began providing health insurance. This created a layer of insulation between the need for health care and it's purchase decision. HMOs, co-ops and other government programs have all added more layers which just made things worse.

Many of you have heard me say, "Only insure risk you CAN'T afford to take". The natural exception would be if you are a worse than average risk, but we all at least TRY to live a healthy life, right?

The positive inverse of this rule is, "SELF-insure as much risk as you can". This allows YOU to keep the profit of the insurance company. It makes no sense to "insure" minor medical care such as eye or dental visits, unless you are a group of blind people with bad teeth - but then the insurance company would reject you anyway. The point is, stay connected with your purchase of health care as much as possible. Shop your doctors. YOU are the most likely person to control health costs.

John Mackey has reached the same conclusion at Whole Foods. And he's found an effective solution. He has not solved ALL of health care's problems. There is still litigation, end of life triage and defensive medicine to deal with. But he's made a start. THIS is the model we should be studying. Health care is NOT something with which the government should be involved.

Whole Foods Puts Its Mouth Where the Money Is - 02-01-10

Reason.tv on John Mackey's Health Care Solution

Wall Street Article

Let me know what YOU think!

Your body wasn’t built to last: a lesson from human mortality rates

02-17-12 Update - While Average Lifespans Increase, 114 Remains A Stubborn And Mysterious Upper Bound. Why?

Here's an interesting post on the topic on Gompertz Law of human mortality, dealing with predicted aging and the mathematics of telomeres.

It also links to a cute death calculator based on if you were born today, but it's missing the function most people would be interested in. The question to answer is, if you've ALREADY lived to a certain age, what are the odds you'll HOW much longer? The data's all there. We just need someone to code it up. Let me know if you find it somewhere in cyberspace.

GapMinder Data Visualization

Gompertz Law of human mortality

Thanks to Roamer, here's the link I was looking for...

Predicting Death

Plus the parent site is an excellent source for risk analysis of stories in the media...

Understand Uncertainty

The Life Lessons of Burning Man

It's been said, words can not do justice to the experience that is Burning Man. And it's true. I've tried, over and over. But here's a a guy who has at the very least framed it nicely - and I suspect hit it square on the head - at least for himself, Mark Morford. Not only is he an excellent word-smith, he GETS it! But your mileage may vary.

Now I'll get out of the way so you can read HIS take on Burning Man - EXCELLENT stuff...

The Life Lessons of Burning Man

Another good column on the topic - Thanks Mark.

The Truth About Burning Man