Trust and Faith
Posted 7:59 PM

Understanding the distinction between trust and faith brings clarity and simplicity into thinking.

Trust:

1. "a rational expectation of a particular result or behavior based on prior experience" as in "he can be trusted to arrive on time"

2. "a reasoned expectation of honesty and overall good behavior, based on prior interaction" as in "I trust him like a brother"

Trust, in other words, is earned. Trust without a basis in experience, logic or reason is not trust, it is Faith.

A person might be cautious not to confuse these two terms and remain available to the clarity that is obtained.

Faith:

1. "an expectation of an outcome based on expedience or necessity, rather than experience" as in "I had no time to test the program, so I had to run it on faith"

2. "an unreasonable or illogical expectation of an outcome intended to inspire others in that outcome and produce results" as in, "Ghandi had faith in a free India"

A person who has understanding of these definitions of trust and faith can employ them as tools in appropriate situations and as a means of understanding complex social issues.

These memetic distinctions are crafted so as to empower the person who uses them. They are not intended as "truth" or to be "dictionary correct" definitions.

[View/Post Comments] [Digg] [Del.icio.us] [Stumble]

The Right to Vote, by Jesse Jackson Jr.
Posted 9:55 PM

When I went to the CVD conference in Washington, I witnessed one of the most inspiring political speeches I have ever heard. I recorded this speech,and entitled it The Right to Vote by Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.

The room was literally held in thrall to Jackson's charisma, spontaneity and wit. And remember, this was a room full of cynical political activists... used to hearing "yet another inspiring speech". Whatever magic you need to make politics exciting, Jackson's got it, and he's using it for a cause I support.
[View/Post Comments] [Digg] [Del.icio.us] [Stumble]

Miami Herald is Jeb Bush propaganda machine
Posted 10:20 AM

I failed to mention one thing I noticed. The Miami Herald is a pro-Bush propaganda machine masquerading as a newspaper.

When they reported on George Bush's Haliburton sweetheart deal, they say "it's OK to for Haliburton to buy gas at $2.50/gallon and sell it at 5 cents per gallon in Iraq, even though you can buy it directly from other Kuwaiti suppliers at $1.05/gallon, because it's expensive to ship gas in Iraq" Sure, but why is it more expensive for some Kuwaiti suppliers, namely Zapata oil, a Bush-family enterprise, and not others?

The paper spends its time making excuses for Republican pork while attacking Democrats on every issue.

Their new tactic is to attack Howard Dean every day in nearly every article about him. Fortunately most people I talked to down there seem to think Dean's good for Florida. "We need someone who's not a Washington insider", said the Puerto-Rican restaurant owner I spoke to. "I haven't listened to Dean speak, but I'd vote for anyone besides Bush", was the response from the doorman.

In fact, I couldn't find someone who would actually come out and endorse Bush, or say anything good about him at all. The best I got was "I haven't made my mind up yet" from a few people. Maybe it's the people I hang out with.... but still.

Labels: politics

[View/Post Comments] [Digg] [Del.icio.us] [Stumble]

Who's the Miserable Failure?
Posted 11:04 PM

If you go to Google and search for "miserable failure", the first link is to the biography of George Bush. This is not because of Google's political opinion. It's because of the democratic nature of the Google ranking system. A lot of people, apparently have mentioned "miserable failure" and linked to George Bush's bio in the same sentence. Like that one. Google doesn't make decisions.... it merely reinforces the decisions the web has already made. It probably wouldn't have been so easy to do, if it weren't for Gephardt's publicly and repeatedly calling Bush a miserable failure in the media.

Labels: politics

[View/Post Comments] [Digg] [Del.icio.us] [Stumble]

Trip to Miami Beach
Posted 10:34 PM

Rented a convertible to make up for the fact that I had free lodging. The back bar at the Shore Club is beautiful. My advice: have a drink and hang out there even if you aren't staying at the hotel. Bed is pretty, but is, ultimately, just another place for young people to primp themselves up and spend too much on drinks. Which is not what I was doing there. Really. Highlight dinner was at Thai Toni where the food is creative and delicious. Plus I learned what bamboo fish traps look like!

Got my dad to try Bikram Yoga. The report is in: he didn't snore last night for the first time in years. New marketing angle for Bikram?

I nicked the car while cornering and used Wite Out (sic) to cover it up. If nobody notices, it's not bad is it?

My flight back on Spirit airlines was delayed for three hours. I rounded up a small gang of 8 people to get drunk while waiting. We are the "Legendary Spirit Flight 196". There was an extra half hour delay as 5 indecisive people got on, got off and got on and then got off again. Not sure what that was about. I asked the flight person to make sure they hadn't left any bags behind and, sure enough, they had.

When we finally arrived, there was a 45 minute queue for a taxi, but I walked to the head of the line and split a cab with a money manager from Banco de Brasil. We talked about older women. Typical Brazilian banker.
[View/Post Comments] [Digg] [Del.icio.us] [Stumble]

New York Public Internet Foundation
Posted 4:01 PM

I'm helping to set up Public Internet connections all around New York. And we've got a nice project management system to help guide the installations, track donations and expenses, and coordinate meetings and training. Not bad.

Our first install went smoothly. It took a couple tries... one of the monitors was green. But overall it went well.

If anyone wants some advice or help setting up a couple "PIF" centers in their community, email the board at NYPIF. We have been working for month or so now, and have the scoop on how to get free/cheap/donated internet connections, free equipment, and great locations for public internet stations.

If anyone wants to help out, do training, or donate some used machines that have been gathering dust, or if you're an ISP that wants to make a difference for others, meet great people and make a difference.... contact us!
[View/Post Comments] [Digg] [Del.icio.us] [Stumble]