The 16:8 Diet Works for Me

In fact, 16:8 appears to have been extremely effective for me, though I need more experience to know for sure.

The 16:18 diet, really a regimen rather than a diet, stipulates that one fasts for 16 hours straight and then can eat only within the remaining 8-hour window.

Trade, Electronics, and the Imminent Demise of Apple, et al

America’s trade wars are creating a major disruption in the electronics market. Even if Trump backs down while declaring victory – a habit of his – most of the damage is done.

American electronics manufacturers generally expressed support when Trump started attacking China. There was strong agreement that China cheated on various aspects of trade, especially theft of intellectual property (IP) and the kind of market manipulation that uses artificially low prices to create a dominant share. And there was pretty much a consensus that Huawei was the most flagrant violator of all.

Bad Fiscal Habits- Coin Version

Bad habits have bad outcomes, especially where money is involved. In my case, the punishment was a result of a long-time habit of hoarding coins – well, actually just dumping them when I get home and then leaving them in a jar. Or two or three or…

The day came when enough was enough. The jars seemed to be breeding in dark corners. Some looked like they were going to be impossible to lift. What to do?

Killing Justice

Supreme Court judge Antonin Scalia's sudden and unexpected death raises the inevitable concerns about conspiracy.

The role of the Court is more important than ever in America, and its close ideological division means that the death of one member can have a profound, long-term impact on the nation.

Garrison Walters' political thriller, Killing Justice, explores a situation eerily similar to the one the US now faces. The sudden and surprising death of a Republican justice while a Democrat is President raises an array of challenging issues -- especially when many believe the judge was murdered.

Installing Amazon Echo Auto

This went reasonably well in my 2014 BMW X3.

Connecting was fairly straightforward. In the spirit of “Keep It Stupidly Simple,” the documentation doesn’t describe how the connections work.

By Gove! We’ve Had Enough of You!

Britain’s Michael Gove has thrown his dunce hat into the ring for Prime Minister.

Gove, despite many years in government, is famous for only one thing: a public statement that 

“We’ve had enough of experts!”

Facebook, Privacy, and AI

The current crisis with Facebook isn’t rooted in its management or even in its original design. Rather, the sources of its problems go back to its IPO, which occurred in 2012 when the company was valued at $104 billion. Specifically, Facebook’s stock was priced by Wall Street on the assumption that it was 1) the antithesis of privacy; and 2) able to grow revenues more or less forever at a rate substantially faster than expenses. A corollary of this second point was that the company would remain largely free of the inherently unpredictable costs of human employment (Wall Street hates people costs and rewards companies that keep them as low as possible).

The First Europeans

White Nationalists, together with related varieties of Modern Wacko usually self-styled as Aryans, put much faith in the racial integrity of the great white homeland, Europe.

Today’s Europeans are, in fact, the product of a series of invasions over many thousands of years. First there were the Western Hunter-Gatherers (WHG) who came from somewhere in Asia, likely way out on the borderlands with China. Next were the Early European Farmers (EEF), who arrived from what is now the Middle East. The names of these groups describe their respective lifestyles.

The last invaders were the Indo Europeans, from the steppe lands on the border of Europe and Asia. These people were herders, who had domesticated the horse, probably invented the wheel, and whose language became the basis for nearly all of the tongues of modern Europe.

Ode to Brexit

The UK’s Poet Laureate is appointed with "an expectation that the holder will write verse for significant national occasions."

If Brexit isn’t a “significant national occasion,” I don’t know what is, so let’s order up an ode. Hey, Carol Ann Duffy – you can’t hide any longer -- step up and versify.