Saturday, December 5, 2009

“Syracuse Univeristy emeritus philosophy professor identified as ... - Syracuse Post-Standard” plus 4 more

“Syracuse Univeristy emeritus philosophy professor identified as ... - Syracuse Post-Standard” plus 4 more

Syracuse Univeristy emeritus philosophy professor identified as ... - Syracuse Post-Standard

Posted: 05 Dec 2009 01:00 PM PST

By Charley Hannagan / The Post-Standard

December 05, 2009, 3:57PM

DeWitt, NY--A professor emeritus in the philosophy department at Syracuse University was killed Friday night when he was hit by a pickup truck as he attempted to cross Erie Boulevard.

Joel H. Kidder, 73, of Syracuse was crossing the boulevard heading eastbound in the rightmost traffic lane near the Barnes and Noble bookstore when he was struck by a red truck driven by David N. Jetty, 40 of Auburn. The accident occurred at 6:45 p.m.

Kidder was taken to Upstate University hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Kidder joined the philosophy department in the 1960s and taught ethics and the history of ethics until he retired in the 1990s, Mark A. Brown, chairman of the department, said Saturday.

He never married and had no children, said Brown, who was listed as the victim's emergency contact and identified him for police from a picture.

Kidder has a brother in Indiana and a sister in Brooklyn, he said.

Brown described his colleague as an able teacher, who was a quiet person with a dry sense of humor.

It doesn't surprise him that the accident occurred near a bookstore, Brown said. Kidder was a great book lover whose tastes ranged widely from ethics and economics to biology and mathematics, he said.

Brown said he and Kidder were among the first at the university to play Go, a board game of strategy played by the Chinese and Japanese that has become very popular in recent years.

The DeWitt police are continuing to investigate the accident.

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Honda’s design philosophy stresses function - KTVZ.com

Posted: 05 Dec 2009 11:34 AM PST

Honda isn't typically singled out for its design expertise. Instead, it is the fun-to-drive and rock-solid aspects of Honda vehicles that usually get top billing. But quietly, Honda has been capturing more and more international kudos for its leading-edge design work, and we were pleased to have the opportunity to meet with Nobuki Ebisawa, the corporate managing director and general manager of styling and design development, to talk about it.

Ebisawa stressed two simple and overarching themes for Honda design: dynamism and functionality. He said the company's designers still draw inspiration from the functional designs of the first-generation Civic and first-generation Accord that were drawn in the same nondescript design studio in which Ebisawa and his crew work today. And at the same time, they look back all the way to the 1963 S500 sports car to channel the dynamism that helps set the brand apart. 

Ebisawa is proud of what he calls "an unbroken chain of dynamism and functionality" that stretches from those earliest models through the legendary Acura NSX sports coupe of the '90s to the Honda Odyssey minivan that transformed its segment. He expects that the upcoming hybrid Honda CR-Z, which was shown in concept form at the recent Tokyo Motor Show, will draw on both aspects of the Honda personality. Functionality will be characterized by the fuel-efficient hybrid drivetrain, and dynamism will be expressed by the car's style and fun-to-drive nature.

While the exterior design of Honda vehicles has not always been highly praised, the interior of its vehicles -- and especially their instruments and controls -- have routinely been lauded around the globe. Ebisawa cites his group's intense study of the "man-machine interface" for this, noting that Honda has long relied on the philosophy "Man maximum, machine minimum" in its designs. This means that Honda's controls are intended to be intuitive, not intrusive: to help the driver, not to challenge the driver or to make a design statement for design's sake.

An example of this effort is the bi-level instrument panel seen on the current Honda Civic. Intuitive operation and instant recognition were keys in the design, and Ebisawa said that in the "layered construction," perceived space is enhanced and line of sight movement minimized to prioritize information. Special effort goes into achieving natural hand position and create buttons that are easily understood. Ebisawa believes that voice support is the next frontier in making things simpler and more functional.

Since 2000, said Ebisawa, Honda design execs made the conscious decision to add emotional appeal to the company's vehicles without compromising functionality. In keeping with the "man maximum, machine minimum" philosophy, space has been intentionally reduced for mechanical components, and interior space with long rooflines has been increased to maximize usable roominess.

The Honda CR-Z, which will be launched next year, will encapsulate all these ideas in a vehicle that is functional and emotional, dynamic yet pragmatic. It draws on Honda's long heritage while at the same time presenting a new face and a new heart. The CR-Z will also be the harbinger of even more fascinating products from the carmaker that was once best known for its motorcycles.

Tom Ripley Driving Today Contributing Editor Tom Ripley writes frequently about the auto industry and the human condition from his home in Villeperce, France. He is a big fan of the art world. 

Copyright (c) 2009 Studio One Networks. All rights reserved.

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It’s snowing! (2009 edition) - Philadelphia Citypaper

Posted: 05 Dec 2009 12:03 PM PST

How times flies â€" watching the snow coming down, I'm reminded of last year's first snowfall. It was November 18th, and I posted a poem on the Clog to commemorate the occasion.

And traditions, after all, are nice.

Last year's poem was a gloomy meditation on a snow storm by Robert Frost. This year, I thought I'd take a different tack: haiku.

Originally a kind of aristocratic parlor game, haiku was developed into a serious art form by Matsuo Basho, who lived in the 17th century. Basho concieved of haiku as a whole philosophy of poetry - and really a philosophy of aesthetics, life, the universe, and everything. He stipulated that a haiku should do no more nor less than convey one single moment with total honesty â€" a task which requires the author to kind of remove himself from the moment in order to see it.

He also stipulated that every haiku must take place within a specific season. For Basho, there was no such thing as a moment without the season it was taking place in.

Interestingly, the whole 5-7-5 thing was really part of haiku's origins as a game. Basho himself was happy to dispense with the syllable requirements.

A devotee of Zen Buddhism, Basho's haiku are known for conveying moments that carry a Zen-like detachment from time and self. So here's a couple of winter haiku:

Even that old horse
is something to see this
snow-covered morning

and

Winter solitude--
in a world of one color
the sound of wind.

Many of my own favorite haiku come from Kobayashi Issa, another great haiku master and student of Basho's poetry. Issa, unlike Basho, was a big softy - and many of his haiku are about children, people, insects, and his own lifestyle as a crusty old man.

Here are two winter haiku by Issa:

snowshoes

children show me how

to put them on

and

"First snowfall, snowfall!"
he says
without teeth


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FOCUS: - Focus Infomation

Posted: 05 Dec 2009 12:03 PM PST

Muravey Radev: The peak of the crisis in Bulgaria is comingMuravey Radev, minister of finance in Ivan Kostov's government, in an interview with FOCUS News Agency.


FOCUS: When a budget is drafted, what is the most difficult thing – to satisfy the demands of all systems?
Muravey Radev: That has always been difficult, but not the most difficult. I think the most difficult thing is to estimate carefully the abilities of the budget in a perspective of a few years. That's why a budget for the next year and a three-year forecast are worked out. Thus the processes that will develop not only within a year, but also in three or four years will be objectively taken into account and it would be easier to draft the next budgets. What is most important is to envisage policies in the budget, because on its own the budget is a series of columns and digits, but behind them there is a policy, philosophy of the budget and those set of instruments that the government will use in the years to come. The government should compare them to the state's abilities to generate the respective GDP and to the need of development of the budgetary systems so that there is a comparatively acceptable balance between abilities and needs. This is the most difficult – to satisfy the needs through what you have and by fulfilling the policy and philosophy you as a government have.

FOCUS: If you look at the 2010 budget, can you outline the policies you have been talking about? Or these are the state's abilities in a time of a crisis?
Muravey Radev: This budget is very special because it is different from all budgets we have had since 1990. It is worked out in a time when the revenues are going down. In addition, the crisis is so sweeping and strong that there is hardly anyone who can forecast with certainty its length and burden. I have recently heard very optimistic statements that the peak of the crisis in the U.S. and Europe was surmounted and thus Bulgaria had much more optimistic outlook. Unfortunately, my forecast is not that rosy and it is, I would say, pessimistic. I think more negative effects from the crisis will yet develop in Bulgaria, such as massive bankruptcies of companies in the real sector. Many companies are vegetating now as they have reduced their production to very small amounts. Formally speaking, they have not gone bankrupt, but they do not produce, do not operate; on paper the people are working, but actually they are not. The peak of the crisis in Bulgaria will come this month and at the beginning of next year, in the first months. Instead of going upwards, I think we will continue going downwards. After March-April probably we will reach rock bottom, but it is hard to forecast how long we will stay there. Probably in the autumn of 2010 we would be able to see green shoots – slowly and rather painfully, because unemployment rate will soar and I think it will go beyond 14%, which is twice as big as the recent rate. This means a large number of households with lower incomes and reduced purchasing power. The crisis is yet to worsen and we should be ready to face its more severe effects.

FOCUS: Some people say the 2% economic decline projected in the budget is not adequate, that there will be no drop, but zero or minimum growth. From what you say does not that decline of 2% seem optimistic?
Muravey Radev: I do not share the optimism coming mainly from the members of the three-party coalition that governed Bulgaria until recently. Last year they were saying there was no crisis in Bulgaria and if there was, it was in the heads of the opposition. I am sure the opposite will happen. But what will happen if the effects of the crisis in Bulgaria are more severe than those envisaged in the next year's budget, more than a decline of 2%?

FOCUS: Perhaps the answer to that question lies in the controversial article 17, which was adopted and reads that the Council of Ministers will reduce the transfers if the situation worsens.
Muravey Radev: This is not an answer to the question, because this is not a mechanism.

FOCUS: But did not we witness exactly this – there is no money and the expenditure is slashed?
Muravey Radev: Yes, and I do not understand why the opposition is criticizing the article so fiercely, because the article actually existed even before. The three-party coalition had some shock absorbers in the budget, which are so ridiculous that I do not want to comment on them. The incumbent budget envisages that the expenses will shrink as much as it is necessary when the abilities of these shock absorbers are exhausted. The national budget structure act reads that the budget covers the expenses to the amount of the incomes collected, which closes the conversation on this topic. This is to say you cut your coat according to your cloth.
Veselina YORDANOVA

The interview has been abridged.

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Great Things Hippies Have Wrecked: - Salon

Posted: 05 Dec 2009 01:14 PM PST

 

(A Condensed List by Colin Whyte & Friends)

 

 

bare feet; circles; travel guides; travel mugs; tight rope walkers; city parks; pagans; protesting; Thai food; split-window bugs; the yellow school bus; Frisbee in all its forms; facial hair; The Grateful Dead's "Morning Dew"; actual morning dew; backpacking around Europe; bread; back-lit spider webs at dawn; Thoreau; squinting your eyes and smiling while nodding slowly; stretching; didgeridoos; dancing; Drum; acid; guitar cases; youth hostels; yellow nylon rope; hiking boots with red laces; hitch-hiking; home brew; hot springs; Burlington; beater bikes; predictable house plants; painting something large outside with your shirt off; longboards; rock piles; Tibet; philosophy degrees; peace; potluck dinners; five or six large dog breeds; bandannas; bartering; "being mellow"; anarchism; floppy hats; carabiners; circus arts; denim overalls; blankets; mint tea; most tea; massage therapy; hula-hoops; yoga; asking if anyone has weed; parents who smoke weed; Hawaiian names; stained glass; blowing glass; Salinger; sunflowers; choosing not to get married to the person you love; caring about stuff; sitar, bongo or djembe (no matter how good); smooth stones; stir-fries; rusty woks; red, green and gold; river swimming; nudity; being super skinny; sun dresses; chickens in the city; Capoeira; Colorado; most Hindu gods and minor deities; the Beats (the ones that didn't suck already); big, meaty park ranger calves; midwifery; Maui; Mt. Everest; Amnesty International; autumn root vegetables; organic farming; Oregon; being lazy; unprotected sex; sisal rugs; Santa Cruz; Southeast Asia; scarves; recycling; Bob Marley's Legend; Buddhism; Guatemala; weather; sunsets; Africa.

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