Bureaucracy can be amusing. At least in the hands of these creative people who’ve provided a site to allow one to funnel those messy events like, er, liking someone, onto the proper form. No word if triplicates allowed.

Such a small thing — helps. I still don’t know the significance of the phrase “three cups of tea”; I supposed I’d need to read the book (which, happily, is at my local library). But it’s lovely to have found this group (which I did via Nicholas Kristof) which provides education in an area where it’s hard to get (Afghanistan, N. Pakistan) to a population who’s least likely to receive it (girls).

Ah, Ireland. goddammit. Oops! Would that land me in prison? A great write up on Ireland and — yes — a blasphemy law. It’s more interesting than you’d think. The convolutions, the weaving of threads …

American perceptions of European-style social welfare are seriously skewed. The system in which I have embedded myself has its faults, some of them lampoonable. But does the cartoon image of it — encapsulated in the dread slur “socialism,” which is being lobbed in American political circles like a bomb — match reality? Is there, maybe, a significant upside that is worth exploring?

LET’S FOCUS FIRST ON the slur. I spent my initial months in Amsterdam under the impression that I was living in a quasi-socialistic system, built upon ideas that originated in the brains of Marx and Engels. This was one of the puzzling features of the Netherlands. It is and has long been a highly capitalistic country — the Dutch pioneered the multinational corporation and advanced the concept of shares of stock, and last year the country was the third-largest investor in U.S. businesses — and yet it has what I had been led to believe was a vast, socialistic welfare state. How can these polar-opposite value systems coexist?

So that’s why I love this cardboard oven that uses solar power to bake, boil – reducing the need to scavenge for depleted fuel. Cheers to you, Jon Bohmer. To read more, just google Kyoto Box.

And on the topic of “solutions” — here are about 10 tips (“low tech solutions for high tech problems”): cellphone batteries, remote car key, printer ink cartridge, cellphone in toilet, extend wi-fi, clean CDs and DVDs, camera flash, and crashed hard drives.

First was a list of 10 disposable things you never have to buy again. To wit: bottled water {duh}, diapers, air filters, paper towels, wrapping paper, individually wrapped foods (ie: per-portion foods), take-out and lunch food, feminine products, furniture, takeout chopsticks {huh. hadn’t thought about that. will do}

The next was China’s top 10 music singles from 2008. I get a kick out of this stuff. I especially liked the “screw the corporate life, it’s messing with your mind, get back to the family and basics” riff from Jay Chou (”The Rice Aroma”) and I thought for a moment I recognized Zhang Liangying “Painted Heart” as it’s was from the movie “Painted Skin” but I’d confused that with the quite different movie, The Pillow Book (Peter Greenaway).

The article is pretty comprehensive. Things you don’t think about. Like how did this whole thing with illegal drugs (because there are plenty of legal ones still around; let’s not kid ourselves) evolve? The article focuses mostly on marijuana. Turns out the reasons are mostly in the familiar strains (let’s hum that tune): race issues, corporate profit, manipulating average citizen’s fears.

Here’s my take. I think the whole drug war thing is a huge rip-off. It solves nothing. It’s going nowhere. It pads the pockets of a lot of people in a lot of places who have no interest in it ending because their paychecks would be gone then, too. It has precious little to do with angst over human misery.

Do I think illegal drugs are blanket, across the board okee dokee? Nope. But neither do I think that legally prescribable drugs bring no problems in their wake. And, hello!: alcohol and cigarettes? They’re legal. Why? I’ve had friends who’ve gone awry from getting out of whack with all three classes of drugs (illegal, legal, and the “non-drugs”, alcohol/cigs.)

I don’t have several hours to articulate my thoughts on this topic, and no rare visitor to these pages is going to take the time to read it in any case.

If I had to put it all in a nutshell, this would be it. What’s being done isn’t working and never will. There should be a measured move toward legalizing “illegal” drugs (and start with marijuana), and tax the hell out of it. And take those funds, a dedicated minimum amount, a generous dedicated minimum amount, and set up rehabs all over. There sure as hell aren’t enough resources now for people with problems that do want to quit.

People have been getting high since before Adam and Eve and aren’t going to stop any time soon. Some people don’t let it ruin their lives. Some people do. What idiocy and waste and arrogance to think that’s going to change.

Find what works. Do that. Repeat.

Playpumps is the use of merry-go-rounds to power water pumps. Water-borne diseases are pandemic where clean drinking water is not available. Playpumps has the goal of installing 4000 playpumps in sub-Saharan Africa by 2010. Donations are accepted. Follow Playpumps on Twitter.

30 unforgettable opening movie title sequences (videos)
A reference to Fairytale Of New York in Andy Ihnatko’s blog. That’s a fave song. Especially poignant as Kirsty died a few years later (while Shane is still trooping along; go figure)
A site about the art of foley. Y’know, making noise in movies.
Bartleby.com looks to be a huge reference for book lovers, readers. I can actually search for a section of text in a lot of classic books.
A video bicycle tutorial site. Bike repair. Cool.
Learn a lot of obscure stuff about your birthday. What happened on date, various esoteric bits of info.
The ever popular BMI site has a BMR calculator (basal metabolic rate).
Four links about braceros.
The bubble calendar. You love to pop them. Do it every day.
Louis Wain was an 19C. artist who drew/painted cats. He developed schizophrenia and his art changed. (video)
If you want to buy your cat entertaining DVDs, here’s the place.
Change.org – ideas for change in America
If you always forget what Chinese New Year it’s going to be, check here.
One of the best cartoons I’ve seen in a while on my profession. (How to kill a web designer in 6 steps)
This post on shower power was tweeted and I replied that I’d long (2004, 2006) had an idea for a whiteboard in the shower. Someone already patented it.
The scientific angle on exercise and health. Note to self: remember this.
A lot of cool hemp products. Hemp is a terrifically sturdy fabric/thread and it’s ignorance and bias that keeps American farmers from a useful crop.
Why Google is the best way to download MP3s. (video)
Self-chosen top “most Canadian” songs.
Because I can’t put this on my business site: 20 signs you don’t want that web design project (real examples) from Zeldman
A recent sideways turn in an iChat brought me a-cappella.com and the Kings Singers with lots of madrigals I used to sing.
WSJ (!) editorial by Ethan A Nadelmann: Let’s end drug prohibition. Too commonsensical for the ideologues.
A fantastic compendium of millions of historic photos from 1860s forward through the decades, from Life magazine, hosted by Google
A list of unusual words beginning with B. I’d been looking for a good alliterative mate.
A most unusual artist, Ashleigh Talbot: Madame Talbot’s Gothic Lowbrow
Movie-O examines the historic truth of “based upon” movies
Mukhtar Mai is a brave and admirable Pakistani woman. Read this to get some perspective. I wish I had the dough to send her school tons of my books.
Don’t look now. Non responsive tuberculosis could be sitting nearby.
A few very interesting thoughts on what’s “fair”.(context: the bailouts) Note to Detroit: You’re history.
Paul Krugman’s depression economics – how it works (Salon)
Because I always want to know where to find that photo of soldiers returning from World War I to Prohibition, bearing the sign “We want beer”
Retro-food.com could be the source of a lot of great recipes
The Right to Quiet Society.
The way to save (native) squirrels in England may be to consume the invaders.

The way to mulitply numbers in your head. Pretty cool. (video)
Spirals. More spirals. If it’s spiral and it’s not here, it’s not really spiral. Gallery of photos.
Learn Lord of the Rings elven languages.
An interesting idea that didn’t work out. Sort of a lottery. The Eleven Dollar House.
Change is come today. The country’s new robots.txt file
Steampunk Workshop. I just find this stuff fascinating.
Love it. Hate it. Pick it apart. Feel renewed by it. Barack Obama’s inauguration speech.
WSJ on Walmart and the shopping death. I have my opinion.
The Beguiling is Canada’s finest purveyor of comics, graphic novels, etc.
What do women want (sexually). It’s not simple.

(*They’re actually in alpha order by web page title, but that’s pretty meaningless in this context.)

My program’s the graphic. You can scan for more background. All I can say briefly is I’m really rethinking everything. And though I’ve not done so yet, I am looking forward to reading his article “Farmer In Chief,” published in early October and directed at the next US president. I’ve heard that Obama has read it; he mentioned it in passing during an interview.

Food is one of those things wherein you don’t often see the core issues forest for the faddish talking-head trees. It bears thinking about.