The Official Blog of the Grateful Web

Russell Roberts on Cafe Hayek: Backing up the talk

I am a creature of emotional impulse. A left leaning poh boy growing up who often shot first and did not get around to asking questions, even later.

I age. Another white hair pops out of my chinny chin chin and other areas.  I hunger more and more for thoughtful argument instead of cheer leading. My beliefs have been just that. Emotional landmarks, not based on facts, an oozy sense the 'man' was out to get us all.

If we are lucky enough to get a bit leathered in this short life, we can become either more set in our ways or more reflective not everything or anything is what it seems. A writer I've found and enjoy is Russell Roberts, on the Cafe Hayek Blog he contributes to. Many of the Post headlines are exactly the opposite of my held beliefs. But read Roberts, and you find he simply presents facts to back up the post title. The point is consider facts in forming opinions.  Reading Roberts, I find my assumptions are not correct. I like that. Here is a recent post by Russel Roberts on Cafe Hayek reflecting on the Minimum Wage, something I've always supported raising:

The point about minimum wages

Russell Roberts

Some people seem to have misunderstood the point about this post on minimum wages. The point was simple. A lot of people I speak to, not just "regular" students, but legislators and journalists who I sometimes teach, think that only regulations or unions keep businesses from exploiting workers. They are shocked to discover that less than 10% of the private work force is unionized and that somehow, most workers, something over 96%, maybe closer to 99%, manage to make more than the minimum. Usually half of these groups when I survey them think that at least (at least!) 20% of the work force earns the minimum wage or less and that only legislation keeps it from being lower. But legislation turns out to be relatively unimportant compared to supply and demand—that is, competition. if you try to pay less than the going rate for the skills you want to hire, you can't attract workers.

Meanwhile, Tim Worstall points out something I missed:

Unfortunately, on the page he’s taken his information from he’s missed one thing which makes his case even stronger.

Nearly three in four workers earning $5.15 or less in 2006 were employed in service occupations, mostly in food preparation and service jobs.

That’s your waitron units and barkeeps folks. And what do we know about people who do these sorts of jobs? Well, perhaps you have to have actually done them (as I have, everything from the graveyard shift in a Denny’s to tending bar around the corner from this guy’s place): they all make tips. In fact, so much so that there is (or at least used to be when that BLS report was prepared) a special minimum wage for those in such jobs, one lower than the official Federal minimum wage.

For example, way back when, the min. wage was $3.35 an hour. Waiters got $2.01. You didn’t really care because even serving pancakes at 5 am you made another $25-$30 a shift ($50-$150 in a decent place). Barkeeps got $3.35 plus tips.

The BLS numbers are reporting what employers paid employees, not what people are actually earning. So we might in fact say that while the number being paid the minimum wage or less is 2.2% of the workforce, the number actually earning that figure is more like 0.5%.

-- Posted by Permission from Cafe Hayek
http://www.cafehayek.typepad.com/

Instructables: Make acoustic panels for your recording studio or home theater

Instructables is one of the best blogs for learning ways to make things yourself for 'grate' fun, AND never hurts to save $$$ in the process. Another site I wish I had when I was in 8th grade. We all dreamed of making our bedroom or basement a recording studio, remember? Now you can.

From Instructables:
 

"Acoustic treatments are often used to help improve the acoustics of a room by taming "flutter echoes," "room modes," and other problems which arise from a room's dimensions and construction.

Although a variety of treatments are available for commercial use, they tend to be quite expensive. After some research both online and in print, we came across several sources for DIY acoustic treatments using rigid fiberglass panels and simple frames. These are often referred to as "bass traps," although the ones that we're focusing on have a fairly wide range of absorption. While commercial versions are available for almost $100, we were able to make these panels for about $24 each."

Read the simple way to do it in step by step pictures and instructions at Instructables:

The Good Egg Gazette

Pinch me I love this blog!

I read blogs all day for Lijit. Get paid too. Think its fun? When I land on rare and special ones like The Good Egg Gazette, it sure is.

Look, I don't have any idea who's right about the fight last night at Ruby's. I don't know Steve, or the service at Lincoln's, or how hard Missy has to work there.

What I do know is The Good Egg is as much the future of blogging as any blog you can show me. Local talk with locals commenting is the new paradigm. Good Egg is the example of the future. Incidents and talk of the community previously scuttled around only in living rooms, or with the local cop stopped at the light, or at the grocery cash register, is now online. What tells us how very special Good Egg truly is, are the comments from others in the community of Stuart, Iowa.

Author Nate Westre is leveraging something newspapers, even online ones, can't. Personal perspective on people and behavior. And because Nate can and does, it strikes a nerve and community responds.

Meanwhile both the community itself, and the entire world, are in Stuart, Iowa. Viva Stuart, Iowa!

http://goodegggazette.com/

Barney Moran
Grateful Word

Soka Gakkai reminds New Years Day is a day to pray for peace

"I have received a hundred slabs of steamed rice cake and a basket of fruit. New Year's Day marks the first day, the first month, the beginning of the year, and the start of spring. A person who celebrates this day will accumulate virtue and be loved by all, just as the moon becomes full gradually, moving from west to east, and as the sun shines more brightly, traveling from east to west."
--New Year's Gosho                     

 

Soka Gakkai International (SGI-USA) is an American Buddhist association that promotes world peace and individual happiness based on the teachings of the Nichiren school of Mahayana Buddhism. Our members reflect a cross section of our diverse American society representing a broad range of ethnic and social backgrounds.

http://www.sgi-usa.org/

Lucid Dimensions

Lucid Dimensions is a start up company out of Boulder with a innovative approach to detecting and tracking signal sources in three dimensions.

I am excited about Lucid, but not because of their primary applications, Navigation & Guidance, Battlefield Reconnaissance, even life saving Search and Rescue and Fire Monitoring.

What personally excites me is the visual allure of representing data in 3 dimensions, and Lucid does this with a unique artistry. I see applications in art, print & movies for Lucid visuals, and am keeping Lucid on my 3D radar.

http://www.luciddimensions.com/index.php

Barney Moran
Grateful Word

Thomas Robey on the Dennis Lindberg Death

The Atheist and Religious communities are on fire in the Blog World.

Any topic from last century verboten for family get together’s to prevent fights is now on fire in the blog world. For in blogging, we don’t get spit on our faces as we yell at each other.

As a supporter for Lijit’s network search wijit for blogs, I work with many religious and atheist publishers. Some from both sides are virulent and angry. The exchanges between these two worlds are often heated and break down into angry stilettos instead of discourse. There is a lot of catching up to do, remember we could not talk about this stuff over stuffing and turkey last century. Now the walls are down and we are in one big buffet people.

When I come across Publishers who make sense, even if I personally do not agree with every perspective they have, I consider them gems. The more vitriolic the topic, the more valuable Publishers who moderate with reason and persuasive logic.

Thomas Robey, on his Hope for Pandora Blog, tackles the Dennis Lindberg story, 'Witnessing Evil?'. Fourteen year old Dennis,  child of Jehovah Witnesses and himself a proclaimed believer, died after he refused treatment for leukemia. Specifically, a blood transfusion. The Atheist Blog world is having a field day with this true story. Robey takes their points head on and delivers the best argument I have found for Dennis's decision. Read past Robey's post and the comments from Atheists and you see the value of Robey's writing. There is a coming  together and some finding of middle ground at Hope for Pandora.

I do not agree with Robey on all points. But it is possible we can ‘demand science’ too far, and in our demand become as fundamental as the fundamentalism we seek to end. We all live here together. Publishers like Robey make it all the more  possible to do it  in peace.

 

Barney Moran

Grateful Word

Image : AP

UPDATE: I got some emails from people who don't want to wade into the debate itself, but a common theme was "Where are these arguments?" Here is a good example running on Middle Aged Vampiress Atheist:

http://middle-aged-atheist.blogspot.com/2007/11/pope-benedict-and-crusade-against.html

 

Girl Of His Dreams

by Charlie Gower

This is a great little story.
How many times have you seen someone on public transport that shook you to your core. I think I maybe have this once a month, tops. Someone who you fancy everything about them, the way they sit / stand, look, dress, everything.
This happened to Patrick Moberg, and he decided to do something about it. He made a little website with drawings of him and this girl of his dreams he saw.

Sure enough, people saw the site who knew the girl and now they are in touch. It's good to see things through. If only everything in life went as smoothly.

Lessons to learn:
If you don't build websites or work for an internet video company then you'd better talk to the girl / boy when you see them.

-- Charlie Gower

Read More Charlie Gower on his Tantramar Blog

Renaissance People: David Hall

Grateful Web Renaissance People: David Hall

As we stumble about Blogs on the internet, we occasionally bump against 'uber' folk, Renaissance people; folks who seem to do well at anything they set their mind to. More fascinating, are those whose interests vary widely. The artist/mathematician, the eco industrialist/tri-athlete, the ballet dancer/poet. Blogs showcase these often hidden personalities in a new light, and allow individual personalities to craft their collection of skills in unique personal frames, without last centuries “agent.”

One way to find Renaissance people is the Lijit "Explore" feature, with its visualization of who reads a personality, who this personality reads, and who they consider peers. Lijit's explore lets us move from person to person in a continuous organic flow via their chosen connections, and in this way Grateful Web found David Hall.

From David’s sketches and painting of the Red Deer Ptarmigan, to his writings about Scotland, to his ability as a programmer (click on one of his prints and see how his site delivers a display of it) and beyond including photography, conservation and more, David uses the blog format to provide an impressive and delightful journey into his imagination and logical prowess.

Remember last century and home life even 1,000 years ago? Mum and Dad wanted us to find a trade and become good at it, no side projects. How lucky many of us are today, to pursue wherever our minds take us, and how lucky we as spectators are in this age to follow along the paths of other's worlds.

To read about other Renaissance People posted on Grateful Web, try searching “Renaissance” in our Lijit search silly.

Images © David Hall, used by permission

http://david-hall.biz/

 

Wasega Valley Farm: Country Life on a small Georgia Farm

April, Host of Wahsega Valley Farm blog, recounts the pleasures of making soaps, glazes, beans , farmlife dreams and more.

She passed on this Halloween Pic for Grateful Web, but it came in a circulated internet email, we don't know the photographer, or this cool cats name.

Hope you had a Great Halloween!

Prison Trained K9 Training Program

PTKCP is Colorado Based. If you know of this program in your state, please let us know and we will add it here!

The Prison Trained K-9 Companion Program (PTKCP) provides the outside community with pre-trained dogs. Dogs graduating from this program fill many roles: everything from a wonderfully trained basic family pet, a nursing home dog to very sophisticated assistance dogs which perform a variety of tasks for their masters. These dogs are perfect pets for the youngest child to an elderly parent.

PTKCP saves dogs, both pure bred and mixed breed, from humane shelters and other animal rescues all over Colorado and surrounding states. PTKCP is inspected by the Colorado State Veterinarian's office and licensed as an animal rescue. Our program has received dogs from Lamar, Salida, Canon City, Colorado Springs, Cortez, Denver, Pueblo, New Mexico and many more. Each dog is hand selected and temperament tested. This program has been the last chance for many of the dogs which have come into our program.

The PTKCP is not tax supported. We are supported by the adoption fees we charge for each dog. The standard adoption fee we charge for each dog is $450. This includes everything, shots, spayed or neutered, etc. I would like to say we found this site for purely goodwill purposes, but my family had a horror story with an adopted dog from a humane society, and PTKCP provides a great alternative for working families with children or older people who don' t have the time to train puppies correctly, or make sure the puppy has the correct tempermant for the family adopters. I will update this article with our experience with PTKCP.

PTKCP is a part of Colorado Correctional Industries. This program allows offenders to learn new skills, improve self-esteem, and earn a salary that is based on his work performance. Inmates from the PTKCP are eligible to earn vocational certification in Canine Behavior Modification.

Barney Moran
Grateful Web

http://www.cijvp.com/serviceproviders/puppy/index.html?intro