I spent some time talking recently with bright business types, including some who work as consultants. They pointed out that hard times for the rest of the economy can be good for consultants, who can be brought in to say things that management either cannot or will not. One of the hardest things fo...

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Richard Dawkins and Rupert Sheldrake in one blog post, brought together by PZ Myers. Now whatever you may think of their respective grasps on truth (and I know where I stand) one thing about both people is their very fine ability to communicate to their respective audiences. Sheldrakians definite...

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I’ve been meaning to say something about this for a while, but there’s frustratingly little to say.

The women of the Nabweru III 2030(c) Group, to whom I loaned some money via Kiva, have made their second repayment, on schedule.

But that’s all I can say. Presumably they’re too busy running their...

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It had been a long, besuited day. I escaped and, being downtown already, wandered off in search of amusement. And then, as I was walking down towards the Piazza di Sant’Ignazio, I heard music. Not standard street-busker fare, but something nostalgic, something essentially English. A brass band. P...

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After three days of almost incessant rain, I got up one morning to find that one of my cacti had gone berserk.

And just as suddenly, a couple of days later, all those flowers were limp and dessicated. That set me to wondering about the synchrony of flowering in cacti. Many are pollinated by bird...

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