The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity (by Carlo M. Cipolla)

This paper is not to be missed!

           

               The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity 
    by Carlo M. Cipolla  
    illustrations by James Donnelly
        (PDF document)

If the above fails, then try this link.

Why wealthier people are more likely to survive melanoma

Can’t really say that I’m surprised by this:

“We already know that poverty is a risk factor for poor health and premature mortality, according to a 2004 meta-analysis of income inequality and health in the journal Epidemiologic Reviews. But a new skin cancer study finds that wealthier people actually have a higher chance of being diagnosed with melanoma—as well as a higher chance of surviving it.”

See …    http://qz.com/675149/the-surprising-reasons-why-wealthier-people-are-more-likely-to-survive-melanoma/

Computers and their peripherals, old and even older

I just read the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) 2015 report: Improving the Management of IT Acquisitions and Operations about "federal IT investments too frequently fail or incur cost overruns and schedule slippages while contributing little to mission-related outcomes" which is an outcome not unique to the U.S. government by any means!

It got me thinking yet again about old computers and old software, and the reliability of these today and in the past. See my earlier post: If it’s safe enough for NASA, then it’s good enough for me (software coding rules)

The other day I stumbled upon another fascinating tale about hardware, software and user interfaces between the two, that I strongly recommend. Be sure to read  Apollo Guidance Computer: A Users View (PDF) by astronaut David Scott.

Just think about it. Jet-setting to and vacationing on the Moon, back in the 1960s, with your life relying on computing equipment about as powerful as a $5 wristwatch these days.

But most of us were unaware of all this as we gathered boggle-eyed around out TV sets to watch grainy live broadcasts of the various Apollo landings – not to forget the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission.

This will goad (or goat) you into laughter

Watch this amusing video:

Men's essential reference manual now available in paperback edition

 

Just letting you know that the popular men’s handbook "Understanding Women" is now out as a paperback …

Food for thought–Your guts, eating greens, and well-being

Why eating greens is so good for you
Did you see this in The Age (Australian newspaper) several weeks ago?
Another reason to eat your greens: sugar

Queen Garnet plums – new superfood?
Wthe latest info on Queen Garnet plums in today's episode of Landline (the segment near the end of the episode):
http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/landline/RA1601Q006S00 

If you’re don’t have an Australian IP address then you might be blocked from watching this ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) video, I’m sorry to say. (Plus, it may be withdrawn within a few weeks.)

It certainly looks like this is another "superfood" that we should all consider consuming (and, if you're a farmer, well worth setting up in your plantation).

Does your gut have control over you?
and I think that I sent a note about the following a while ago:
Stomach and mood disorders: how your gut may be playing with your mind

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Putting these all together, there seems to be plenty of food for thought about how eating the "right" things should have a distinctly beneficial affect on improving your well-being and enjoyment of life.

Why Australia is better than the USA, melanoma-wise

I had a melanoma excised from my scalp at the start of 2013, it was probably sitting there baking away for years. Out of sight, out of mind. Too many decades in the plentiful Australian sun, while surfing and elsewhere.

I visited a dermatologist for examination of a spot on my left thumb (which turned out to be benign), and he gave me a full skin examination. I asked about the lump on my scalp, for which the dermatologist took a biopsy. He rang me a few days later with the bad news that it was a dangerous well-developed melanoma that needed excision as soon as possible.

A week or so later I was on the operating table at Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital, under light anaesthetic, where I could feel the scalpel catting out a 5-centimetre wide circle of flesh from the top left side of my noggin. Then I felt some sort of sharp, whirring surgical gadget sliced off a thin patch of skin from the upper inside portion of my right arm, and this donor graft was stitched onto my scalp.

Life’s full of surprises: a few weeks earlier I hadn’t the slightest inkling that I would be experiencing this novel event!

So for a few years I’ve been living with a pale circle on pink hairless skin that really stands out against my greying but still mainly mousy-brown hair.

I tell people that I have a SETI antenna built into my scalp, and am aiding in the search fro intelligent life in far places. .. Perhaps I could claim that it’s a tiny tonsure, but I wouldn’t have the gall to claim so since I’m neither devout or humble, unlike my patron saint pictured to the right. (Click the image to find out more.)

As you might expect, over the last few years I’ve been attending regular skin checks, and have had a couple of less aggressive skin cancer sports excised too. As you might expect, I’m now extremely aware of skin cancer in all its manifestations.

Anyway, on to the topic of this blog post. Australia has now in all states banned commercial tanning beds (solariums), which we found to have been responsible for too many deaths -- though anything more than zero deaths is of course too many. There is some concern that non-commercial (private) solariums are increasing in number, buts that’s a different problem needing to be solved and at least the commercial ones are illegal here Down Under.

But sadly the US seems to be way behind Australia in the way that solariums are regarded, see US melanoma rates are rising faster for women than for men — indoor tanning may explain why and take heed (in the USA or any other country where solariums are used, at home or in parlours).

Please help this user to install IBM Notes 9.0.1

RJ Kelly has asked for assistance in installing IBM Notes 9.0.1 and I hope that somebody in the Notes community is able to help him.

To assist, see my earlier blog post:
    IBM Notes 9 Client install fails with “RCP Base plug-in not found”

Please scan the post and read his comment right at at the bottom -- and help him out, so that he doesn’t have to go back to Notes R5!

How to check “short URLs” before opening them

I just stumbled upon this useful security too that everybody should use:
   CheckShortURL
Be safer online. Use this tool to help determine if a cryptic shortened URL – such as bit.ly/AbcDef1245 -- might be dangerous to open (by leading to a malware site).

Let's Bring Learning to Life at Home and in the Classroom

During the 1960s I did some industrial (analytical) chemistry work, then spent six years teaching chemistry, general science and mathematics in high schools. … Then gave up teaching to join IBM in 1970 and spend the rest of my professional life in the IT industry (finally retiring at the end of 2013).


I just received an e-mail from one Stacy Maxton, requesting that I add some links to this page on my website but that page (and most of the others on the site) have now been moved to archive status, so I couldn’t fulfill Stacy’s request.


Instead, since it looks worthwhile, as one who believes strongly in encouraging education (for people of all ages), I’ve taken the liberty of posting Stacy’s request below, where it will probably get more attention:

Hello fellow educator! I’ve been a cheerleader for math (and, really, education as a whole) for as long as I can remember (in fact – that’s ultimately why I started my own site!). Over the last several years, I’ve tutored 100s of students to make math more attainable and fun. Teaching becomes increasingly difficult during the holiday season when thoughts of sugar-plums are dancing in our students’ heads! :) That’s why I decided to put together a list of resources to help educators keep a classroom full of excited children focused and (hopefully!) ensure that learning still happens during this somewhat chaotic time! :) Please enjoy! And feel free to share with others (on your site: http://notestracker.net/Links/WebResources.htm, and any other medium you prefer)! Different Learning Styles in Education Eight Key Strategies for Deepening Your Effectiveness in the Classroom A Guide to Classroom Technologies that Increase Learning: An Educator's Resource 12 Easy Ways to Use Technology in the Classroom, Even for Technophobic Teachers Embracing Technology in Education and Government (Video) Lesson Plan Library from DiscoveryEducation.com Lesson Plans on Finances & Real Estate Science & Technology Lesson Plans Engineering the Future: The Educator's Guide to Building and Construction Lesson Plans for Teachers from the Humane Society A Hands-on Curriculum with Lessons and Activities on Swimming and Pools Serve Up Classroom Nutrition Activities I hope these resources ease this somewhat chaotic time for learning! Keep Calm and Teach On! :) Stacy

I hope that the above resource links assist educators around the globe, including visiting Stacy’s site MathCamps of course.


UPDATE (07 November 2019):
I have allowed several comments below from organisations that provide help for students' assignments.

As an ex-teacher, my stance on all such organisations is that they must not provide more than guidance and assistance to students.

Most definitely they must not completely take over assignments on the behalf of students, because doing so is a perversion of the educational process. Students must do the bulk of all assignments themselves.