When I last visited southern Africa, nineteen long years ago, apartheid reigned in South Africa and the U.S. was involved in a pitched battle with the Soviet Union. On my latest trip, which I’m just getting around to reporting, South Africa was in its second decade of black democratic leadership and the only remnant of […]
Meanwhile, the township of Soweto definitely has its share of middle class homes. But it also has a wide swath of shanties, areas in which the biggest technological breakthrough in recent years has been the arrival of the portable toilets you see in the bottom left corner of this photo.
David Kolaba just hipped me to the site Where the Hell is Matt?. Check it out. First read Matt’s bio. Then go back to the home page and the click the video image of a person atop (what looks like) a sand dune.
Science News reports on a study that says an aging brain may be a more emotionally astute brain. “Advancing age heralds a growth in emotional stability accompanied by a neural transition to increased control over negative emotions and greater accessibility of positive emotions,” the story says. By contrast, people under 50 can access negative emotions
Sara Horowitz has a good op-ed criticizing New York City’s ridiculous tax on free agents. If you’re in New York, be sure to check out the Freelancers Union and Working Today.
— “Steve Babcock, a creative director in Salt Lake City, US, is auctioning off his right brain on eBay,” according to this China Daily story. — Bill Gates’s departure from Microsoft augurs a rightward turn. As USA Today reports, “Last year, [Gates] signaled a desire to further reduce his role by recruiting Ozzie, a renowned
Check out America’s newest college major, the creation of Chris Britt at Northwestern University (of course!)
Pollster John Zogby delivered what sounds like a fascinating speech in Detroit last week. I can’t seem to find the text anywhere, but this Detroit Free Press story offers a recap. Zogby’s three most provocative points: 1. Seventy percent (!) of America thinks the country is heading in the wrong direction — even though the
Deepmarket.com, a stock market analysis blog, will offset (through Carbonfund.org) one ton of carbon dioxide emissions for every blog that links to it. There I did it. Three times. (HT: Treehugger)
