David Carr’s recent article on Evan Williams’ Medium, A Platform and Blogging Tool, Medium Charms Writers (New York Times, 5/25/2014) is well-written, informative, and worth reading if you’re interested in such things. Here’s an excerpt: Mr. Williams is putting good…
Retreating Glaciers
The photos below of Muir Glacier (in the foreground of the first picture) and Riggs Glacier (the tributary glacier in the upper right) were taken in August 1941 and August 2004 from the same spot on White Thunder Ridge in…
Hungary’s Commissioner for Future Generations
Hungary may be unique in having a government official explicitly charged with promoting the well being of future generations. The duties of this Parliamentary Commissioner for Future Generations, who serves in the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, are…
Machiavelli on Obstacles to Change
“And it ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.…
Aging and Rejuvenation
The aging of modern world populations is a recognized problem. For instance, the growing ratio of retirees to workers challenges the economic viability of Social Security and Medicare. Of course, aging itself is highly problematic regardless of its economic implications;…
World Health Organization Update on Drug Resistance
According to an April, 2014 report by the World Health Organization on growing drug resistance, “Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens the effective prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections… a problem so serious that it threatens the achievements of…
Researching Airfare Deals with Hopper and Google
Hopper provides tools powerful tools for finding excellent flight deals. For instance, suppose on May 1, 2014 you’re researching fares from San Francisco to Paris, leaving June 1 and returning June 15. The lowest fare shown by Orbitz is $1723.…
Introduction to Tips
Tips is a collection of useful information.
Underappreciated Antibiotic Risks
Though development of organisms resistant to antibiotics is a widely recognized problem, its seriousness seems insufficiently recognized by the general public. In her review of Martin Blaser’s Missing Microbes, Dr. Abigail Zuger describes this threat as follows: “Imprudent antibiotic use…
Charles Hill on Decline of the Established Order
Here’s how Charles Hill, former Foreign Service officer, now Diplomat-in-Residence and leader of the Grand Strategy seminar at Yale, describes the tendency for those in power to fail to recognize the decline of the established order: “…when an established international…