FE-DIY: Windows 10 Start Menu Not Working - Six Solutions

Anyone who has upgraded their older computer to Windows 10, may be experiencing problems with Cortana, Start, or the Notifications Icons becoming unresponsive. Here's the link to my article, Windows 10 Start Menu Not Working - Six Solutions. My personal favorite (and the method that I have currently turned to) is #2, but give'em all a try if you want or feel the need.

FE-DIY: Windows 10 Missing Desktop Icon Recovery - 12 Solutions

If you've experienced the desktop icons error with Windows 10, then this is the article for you:

Windows 10 Missing Desktop Icon Recovery - 12 Solutions.

From Blogger Buzz: Google Will No Longer Support non-Google Acccounts for Blogger Followers

I received this email, thought you all should know that Google is taking away Google Friend Connect for Blogger. I'm not sure how many of you use this, but in the future - "week of January 11th" - this feature will no longer be functional.

Blogger Buzz

---

An update on Google Friend Connect Posted: 21 Dec 2015 03:02 AM PST In 2011, we announced the retirement of Google Friend Connect for all non-Blogger sites. We made an exception for Blogger to give readers an easy way to follow blogs using a variety of accounts. Yet over time, we've seen that most people sign into Friend Connect with a Google Account. So, in an effort to streamline, in the next few weeks we'll be making some changes that will eventually require readers to have a Google Account to sign into Friend Connect and follow blogs. As part of this plan, starting the week of January 11, we'll remove the ability for people with Twitter, Yahoo, Orkut or other OpenId providers to sign in to Google Friend Connect and follow blogs. At the same time, we'll remove non-Google Account profiles so you may see a decrease in your blog follower count. We encourage you to tell affected readers (perhaps via a blog post), that if they use a non-Google Account to follow your blog, they need to sign up for a Google Account, and re-follow your blog. With a Google Account, they'll get blogs added to their Reading List, making it easier for them to see the latest posts and activity of the blogs they follow. We know how important followers are to all bloggers, but we believe this change will improve the experience for both you and your readers. Posted by Michael Goddard, Software Engineer

FE-DIY: Windows 10 Desktop System Icons Missing - 2 Solutions

Having problems with missing system icons, like the My Computer link? Here's the link to two solutions I've found for getting those System Icons back: Windows 10 Desktop System Icons.

FE-Poetry: It Doesn't Matter

If you didn't get a chance to read it, here's my Ides of December poem, "It Doesn't Matter."

FE-DIY: Methods for Adding New Users in Windows 10

If you've recently had issues with adding new users in Windows 10, perhaps the steps in my guide, Methods for Adding New Users in Windows 10, will help you out. One of the methods can even help if you've lost access to your start menu. 

FE-Poetry: Upon Seeing Our Stuff Gone

Here's my November Ides Poem: Upon Seeing Our Stuff Gone.

FE-DIY: Rent House Damage (2/2) Guide

Here's the second part to my Rent House Damage (2/2) guide. 

FE-DIY: Rent House Damage (1/2) Guide

I've lived in a lot of rent houses over the years. Some were far better than others. Each one has taught me valuable lessons. The first and foremost lesson: Take lots of pictures before you move in, while you live there, and when you vacate. For more things to look for follow my short guides: Rent House Damage (1/2).

FE-Poetry: A Little Q and A (2006)

Just added a poem from 2006 to FE-Poetry! Check out: A Little Q and A (2006).

If you're interested in more of my past poetry, check out my archives.

On Blogging

When I first started blogging, it was a way for me to network with other people interested in writing. In the early days of blogging, I'd search chatrooms for bloggers with strong voices. We'd support and promote each other's blogs. Soon after, what would become known as "content mills" popped up on the web. These content mills provided bloggers with easy to use platforms for creating content and sharing in the revenue received from advertisements plus much large audience reach. I loved these sites and never thought of them as content mills (a derogatory term created by mainstream media). These sites helped people whose voices would otherwise not be heard. They did not discriminate based on the user's English grammar abilities. Members left each other comments about grammar or content. Through the advice of the community, writers who started off with bad grammar skills often improved.

Some writers only cared to share information; the correctness of their grammar was of no account. Many of these writers had large followings that were more interested in the information than the potential grammar errors. Even these writers showed grammar improvements over time. The websites offered writers multiple copyright options as well as upfront payments and royalty / revenue share payments for each article. Think of it, people with valuable information and crap grammar skills had a place to share their knowledge and to reap the revenue generated from advertisements. In contrast, people with perfect grammar skills and shit to say were also able to share in revenue generated from the articles that they wrote, albeit not as much revenue.

That's not where we are at today. Instead, English grammar police have long since taken over the major content sites which then hired editors, closed the "any registered user as writer" features, and required writing samples in their registration applications. All this in an effort to eradicate bad grammar and to professionalize popular websites. What have they've really done? Bought out the sites where user-generated knowledge was topping search engines, kicked out any writers they deemed incapable, and redesigned the sites to fit the publication guidelines for professional writers. When redesign and transition were deemed impossible, the sites were shuttered.

So, the eponymous THEY took user-generated content sites and turned them into professional writing sites. What's the big fucking deal? The people who wrote for user-generated content sites weren't all professional writers. Many were professionals who also acted as user-writers that enjoyed sharing their knowledge with the world and were happy to receive nominal Pay-Per-View revenue for their works. Many of those user-writers spent years building followings, posting content, and networking across social media accounts. When they were pushed off the content sites, many lost years of work. Those that did not lose their writings, lost the years of effort they put into creating followings on those sites.

In some ways I am very lucky, I’ve always been a professional and written professionally. Meaning, I was easily able to get accepted to the sites that offered their original users an opportunity to reapply. I watched as very knowledgeable users were not invited back to the newly revamped and professionalized sites. This is a tragic loss to all who frequented these sites. Professionalizing user-generated content sites dramatically changes the dynamics of the sites, causes the loss of average user voices, and forces user-writers to kowtow to the whims of “content mill” editors who frequently do not understand the content they edit.

An editor’s understanding of English grammar is important to editing, so, too, is the editor’s capacity to understand the content that they are editing. If an editor doesn’t understand the professional jargon of a certain topic their ability to accurately edit the content is drastically reduced. Many revamped content sites hired editors based on their ability to correct errors in generic sample articles that somehow failed to take into account the topic specific jargon used by professionals who were also user-writers. In this manner, these sites changed their focus to grammar and the editors from genuine knowledge and the user-writers.

These websites were so intent on checking editors’ grammar abilities that they failed to match editors with knowledge of specific topics to writers with knowledge of specific professions. How can unknowledgeable editors be responsible for editing content they don’t understand? I wouldn’t expect an editor of parenting articles to accurately gage the correctness of content regarding the latest discoveries in physics. Nor would I expect an editor of auto articles to properly grasp the minutiae of casino jargon. Not to say that one couldn’t master multiple professional jargons, for instance, a grammar conscious physicist with children would be capable of editing parenting and physics articles, just as a car aficionado with a gambling problem would be capable of editing auto and casino articles.

I experienced this jargon ignorant editor issue first-hand when writing how-to articles for eHow (a user-generated how-to site bought out and revamped into an edited how-to site by Demand Media). At the time, I was a professional casino dealer writing articles on playing casino games that had various levels of difficulty. While eHow was a user-generated content site, I created successful low to moderate level how-to articles on playing Black Jack, Let It Ride, and Caribbean Stud. After eHow was taken over, I created a series of high difficulty articles on Craps, all of which were refused by editors who had no knowledge of the game and were incapable of understanding the jargon (even though I frequently explained the terms with pictures). The three random editors that I dealt with had probably only seen a Craps table in movies, in which case their ignorant responses to the pictures and explanations were completely appropriate for a novice with no real concept of the game.

Craps has lots of jargon regarding over 50 types of bets that can be made at any time during the game. Of course it’s difficult, that is indeed why I labeled them as highly difficult. Casino gaming articles must include the easy to understand superstitions, etiquette, and the moderately difficult odds as well as the harder game play jargon; in craps this involves things like the Pass and Don’t Pass Bars. There is no other way to talk about specific areas of the craps table than to call the areas by their proper names (Pass Bar, Don’t Pass Bar, Come Line, Don’t Come Line) and to include pictures. A craps novice cannot possibly edit a how-to article on Don’t Pass bets if they don’t understand Pass bets, likewise, they won’t understand the Don’t Come Line if they know nothing about the Come Line. These high-level of difficulty articles were being rejected by Craps virgin editors for being too difficult for a novice to understand. Are you fucking kidding me? The articles weren’t written for novices. I was writing a series of high-level difficulty articles for people who were already familiar with the game and who wanted to further their understanding.

Aside from suffering from a chronic lack of editorial subject knowledge, these revamped websites also had a systemic rejection problem that was built into their editing feedback mechanisms. Editors and writers were frequently limited in the number of times they could respond to each other regarding any single article. This systemic problem was created to increase the number of articles that an individual editor could address. The thinking went: the more articles an editor can get through, the more money the editor makes, the more money the website makes, and therefore, the more money the writers will make. In actuality, the systemic feedback and rejection problems caused the websites to lose out on articles and writers which in turn led to a loss of revenue which then led to insolvency and, ultimately, the shuttering of the websites.

After the major writing sites were revamped, bought out, or otherwise became untenable, some users sought new platforms, others were so discouraged they quit completely, and still others returned to their own blogs. Like many of those writers, I’m not interested in putting forth a bunch of effort to drive traffic to some website that has no interest in honoring the long-term efforts of its users. I much prefer revenue sharing platforms that are open to all users regardless of grammar abilities. I’m a free-market capitalist. I know why those revamped content mills shuttered their sites. Average readers don’t care one lick about grammar; they care about content relevance and accuracy. 

FE-DIY: Retevis 2-Way Radios Assembly Guide

Follow the link to my guide on assembling Retevis 2-Way Radios.

Finley Experience International Views Contest - Update

I began this contest 5 years and 4 months ago (May of 2010). The first, second, and third year winners were Russia. The fourth year winner was Ukraine. And, the fifth year winner was Israel.

Each year, the country with the most views, receives poetry written by me and about the winner, us, or whatever Inspiration chooses. Since I haven't been to any of these countries, I am limited to information available via the internet, libraries, and friends who have been there. I do a great deal of research before I ever venture into writing poetry about what are, to me, foreign places. More importantly, I attempt to highlight those areas of contention that our countries each struggle with. 

Today (September 12th, 2015), I saw a post with information about The Teardrop Monument which was a memorial gift from Russia to America meant as a sign of solidarity in the struggle against terrorism and to commemorate the five year anniversary of the lives lost on September 11th, 2001. Because this information was unavailable to me when Russia won the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd contests, I will write a new poem for Russia.

Stay tuned. 

BTW: The 6th Annual International Views Contest is currently underway. You have until May 31st, 2016 to get those views in.

P.S. Israel, more poetry is coming your way.

Special Announcement Regarding My First Novel: Terra Damnata

The next adventure? It starts 31 October 2015!

After years of work, my first novel is nearly ready. Terra Damnata will be blogged weekly, beginning 31 October 2015, in honor of all the bloggers around the world who have died speaking out against injustices.

*** *** ***

Terra Damnata follows the struggle of Archel, a servant to the Antigone Courts, who is thrust into the political maelstrom of a changing kingdom. Summoned personally by Kaiser Rudolfo Imler, Archel finds his life is about to become more interesting than ever before imagined. With werecats, teleporters, and genetically mutating Gryphon Kings this post-apocalyptic fantasy series delves into civilization centuries after the nuclear fallout settles.

Terra Damnata is Book 1 of The Pu'Shing Bhu'Tons Series. 

FE-DIY: How to Change Boot Drive in BIOS of an ASUS 1005HA EEE PC

Here's a quick guide to change boot drive in BIOS of an ASUS 1005HA EEE PC.

FE-DIY: Windows Movie Maker Missing - FIX

Here's a guide I wrote for recovering the Windows Movie Maker desktop shortcut: Windows Movie Maker missing.

FE-Poetry: On an Insomniac's Napping

Check out my Ides of August poem, On an Insomniac's Napping.

FE-Poetry: With No One to Blame (2010)

Here's a second poem dusted off, slapped into a post, and ready for you to view it. This is also an unpublished poem from 2010.

FE-Poetry: With No One to Blame (2010).

FE-Poetry: In Gales, Brutal Gales (2010)

Here's the link to one of the new additions to the FE-Poetry Archives: In Gales, Brutal Gales.

This is a previously unpublished poem written in 2010. In the poetry archives, I am back dating my poem posts to the date they were originally written (when available). 

FE-DIY: Celebrates International Cat Day

In celebration of international cat day, head over to: FE-DIY's 1st cat video.

FE-DIY: Open Sony BluRay/DVD Player BDP-S186

Here's the link to my newest YouTube tutorial:
Sony BluRay/DVD Player BDP-S186 (Open & Quick Eject Button Fix)

FE-Poetry: LATIN: Sed, Tempus Fugit

Check out my Ides of July poem, Sed, Tempus Fugit, it is in Latin and English.

FE-IVC: 1st Poem for Israel, 5th Annual Winners

Here's the link: O' Israel, Know Thou Not Palestine?

FE-DIY: Dell WL-128G V2 Teardown

Hi! Here's a link to Finley Experience - DIY, where you'll find my guide for Dell WL-128G V2 Teardown.

Dear Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgenders Living in Fear of Death

Be strong.

If it is not safe for you, please do what you have to do to survive. The tide of opinion does not turn over night. And, as you know, there is no arguing with psychopathic and homophobic murderers like ISIS. My heart is with those of you who've lost loved ones to the menace that is homophobia.

Vale,

Monique

SCOTUS Rules on Gay Marriage

http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-556_3204.pdf

Congrats to all the people who are now able to legally marry and whose marriages will have to be recognized across the 50 states. In case you're wondering what part of the Constitution came into play: Amendment XIV, section 1. 

14th Amendment

AMENDMENT XIV
Passed by Congress June 13, 1866. Ratified July 9, 1868.
Note: Article I, section 2, of the Constitution was modified by section 2 of the 14th amendment.
Section 1.
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Section 2.
Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age,* and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
Section 3.
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Section 4.
The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
Section 5.
The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
*Changed by section 1 of the 26th amendment.

Bonus:

Supreme Shake to the DOMA Debate - Poem written in celebration of SCOTUS ruling on DOMA in June of 2013. Looks like I'll be writing another SCOTUS poem. :D

FE-Poetry: Not the Keeper's Plight

Check out my Ides of June poem, Not the Keeper's Plight (or, Ballad of the Bees).

6th Annual Finley Experience "International Views" Contest

Hi All!

The 6th Annual Finley Experience "International Views" Contest is underway!
It started June 1st, 2015 and ends May 31st, 2016.

Check out the rankings for previous winners:

5th Annual Winner: Israel
4th Annual Winner: Ukraine
3rd Annual Winner: Russia
2nd Annual Winner: Russia
1st Annual Winner: Russia

Pax et Poema

Winners of the 5th Annual Finley Experience "International Views" Contest

After a year of bated breath, the results are in for the 5th Annual Finley Experience "International Views" Contest.

The final scores for the top nine countries are:

Israel	7118
Ukraine	3968
Russia	3946
China	2339
Germany	2282
France	2102
United Kingdom	891
Poland	755
Netherlands	336

This year's winner is not from the Eastern Bloc, but from the Middle East. 

With 7118 views, Israel is the 5th Annual Finley Experience "International Views" winner! Israel pulled ahead in December and maintained a solid lead for the win. Congrats, Israel!

This year it was a very close run for second place. While Ukraine and Russia are both prior winners, Ukraine's second place win, places Russia at third place for the first time in the history of the contest. 

For the second year in a row China fell in the rankings, this time, to 4th place. No worries, China. There's always the 6th Annual Finley Experience "International Views" Contest. :D

Germany, France, and the United Kingdom maintained 5th, 6th, and 7th places, respectively.  

Poland hung on at 8th place. This year, Canada fell off the leaderboard to be replaced by Netherlands.

This year, I'll be writing poetry about Israel.

Who will win next year's contest? It is anybody's game. And, the game is on!

FE-Tools: Watch Documentaries

Click here to see sites with free documentaries.

FE-Poetry: Products of the Mind (iii)

Part three of my three part poem, Products of the Mind (iii).

Click here for Products of the Mind (i).

Click here for Products of the Mind (ii).

FE-Poetry: Products of the Mind (ii)

Part two of my three part poem, Products of the Mind (ii)

Click here for Products of the Mind (i)

Come back April 25th, for Products of the Mind (iii)

FE-Tools: Online Cyber Security Training

Click here for more information about Online Cyber Security Training with Cybrary.IT

FE-Poetry: Products of the Mind (i)

Part one of my three part poem, Products of the Mind (i). 

Come back April 20th, for Products of the Mind (ii) and April 25th, for Products of the Mind (iii).

FE-Tools: NASA's Open Source Software

Here's a link to more information about NASA's Open Source Software!

FE-Tools: Code to Add Cookie Consent to Your Website

Click here to get the code to add cookie consent to your website.

Nate5: Nate the Nerd's 5 Series

Here's the link to Five Ways to Make Future You Happy. I wrote this for Nate the Nerd's 5 Series.

Be on the look out for more.

FE-Tools: RSS Search Engine

Check out this free RSS Search Engine.

FE-DIY: Creating AdSense Ads in Blogger RSS Feeds (3/3)

Click here for Creating AdSense Ads in Blogger RSS Feeds (3/3).

FE-Tools: Google DoubleClick for Publishers

For information on selling ads on your website, click Setting Up Google DoubleClick for Publishers.

FE-DIY: Connecting Google Analytics to Blogger Posts (2/3)

Click the link, if you need to know how to connect your Google Analytics account to your Blogger posts.

FE-Tools: Want Longer Tweets?

Click here to find out how to get Tweets longer than 140 characters.

FE-Poetry: Unto Caesar? Eh, Brute?

Here's Finley's poem for the Ides of March: Unto Caesar? Eh, Brute?

Not sure what the Ides of March are? Click this Ides link.

FE-DIY: Connecting Google AdSense to Blogger Pages (1/3)

Click here for connecting Google AdSense to Blogger Pages (1/3).

FE-Tools: Free AdSense Sandbox for Verifying Site Ads

Click here for an AdSense Sandbox for Verifying Site Ads.

Global Conflict Discussion (Part 9): Wars on [X, Y, & Z]

X Discussion Points

0 - introduction

1 - wars/disasters destroy

2 - disaster/future prep

3 - scientific process

4 - trickle down hoarders

5 - austerity and great recession

6 - 21st century class system

7 - greedy kids = greedy adults

8 - no justice, just retribution

9 - pointless abstract war

9.) Wars on [X,Y, and Z]: Pointlessness of waging war against abstract concepts.

Starting a "war on bullying" is as riduculous as every other "war against [enter abstract concept here]" has proven to be over time. Stop the waste of money, time, and resources on misnomered advertising campaigns.

Below are the Merriam-Webster definitions for some words used in discussing the Wars on [X, Y, & Z]. Read them, then we'll pick up where we left off.

Definitions
WAR
(from Merriam-Webster online 2014)
Full Definition of WAR
1 a (1) : a state of usually open and declared armed hostile conflict between states or nations
(2) : a period of such armed conflict (3): state of war
b : the art or science of warfare
(1) obsolete : weapons and equipment for war (2) archaic : soldiers armed and equipped for war
2 a : a state of hostility, conflict, or antagonism
b : a struggle or competition between opposing forces or for a particular end
c : variance, odds

POVERTY
(from Merriam-Webster online 2014)
Full Definition of POVERTY
1 a : the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions b : renunciation as a member of a religious order of the right as an individual to own property
2 : scarcity, dearth
3 a : debility due to malnutrition
b : lack of fertility

DRUGS
(from Merriam-Webster online 2014)
Full Definition of DRUG
1 : a obsolete : a substance used in dyeing or chemical operations
b : a substance used as a medication or in the preparation of medication
c : according to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act:    (1) a substance recognized in an official pharmacopoeia or formulary
(2) a substance intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease
(3) a substance other than food intended to affect the structure or function of the body
(4) a substance intended for use as a component of a medicine but not a device or a component, part, or accessory of a device
2 : a commodity that is not salable or for which there is no demand — used in the phrase drug on the market
3 : something and often an illegal substance that causes addiction, habituation, or a marked change in consciousness

TERRORISM
(from Merriam-Webster online 2014)
Full Definition of TERRORISM
: the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion

BULLY
(from Merriam-Webster online 2014)
Definition of BULLY
1 a : archaic : sweetheart
b : a fine chap
2 a : a blustering browbeating person, especially : one habitually cruel to others who are weaker
b :pimp
3 : a hired ruffian

Now that we've got some common definitions to work from, let us examine these misnomered Wars
...on Bullying
...on Poverty
...on Drugs
...on Terrorism

The War on Bullying, etc.
Definition 2a under BULLY is the common meaning of the word "bully" used during anti-bullying dialogues, campaigns, etc. The last part of the definition is: "one habitually cruel to others who are weaker." This is important, we will come back to it. According to the definition of war there are three basic ingredients: 1. a declaration of war, 2. multiple sides, and 3. armed hostility. So, part of being at war with something is to pick (declare) a side, get armed, then fight for the chosen side.

Today's attempts to reduce bullying include announcing opposition to bullying by declaring war on bullies everywhere. In essence, this declaration says: I choose to fight bullies, to "make war"against those who are "habitually cruel to others who are weaker." Wait, the answer to bullying is going to war? In that, the answer to poverty, drugs, and terrorism becomes war. But, that can't be right because we know that war displaces (makes homeless, impoverished), increases drug use (among citizens and soldiers), and incites terror (in the populace). How do we rectify the inherent misnomer in making war against abstract concepts? How about we start with limiting the theater of war to actual wars and not metaphoric wars?

How many misnomered wars against [...] can you name?

Pax et Poema.
Vale,
Monique

FE-Tools: Redirect Blogger RSS Feeds

Here's an article I wrote on redirecting Blogger RSS feeds. 

FE-DIY: Google Developer Page Insights

Click here to get Google Developer Page Insights.

Global Conflict Discussion (Part 8): No Justice, Just Retribution

X Discussion Points

0 - introduction

1 - wars/disasters destroy

2 - disaster/future prep

3 - scientific process

4 - trickle down hoarders

5 - austerity & great recession

6 - 21st century class system

7 - greedy kids = greedy adults

8 - no justice, just retribution

9 - pointless abstract war

8.) There is no justice on the playground, though there is often retribution.

Some bullied children commit suicide. Recent deaths have acted as catalysts for bullied children who grew up (i.e., did not commit suicide) to take a stand against bullying in the schoolyard and by proxy bullying everywhere else. It is a noble sentiment, in some ways foolish, nonetheless noble. I'm glad they're finally taking a stand against something so important. I wish them luck, but fear they're misdirecting their energies. The schoolyard is and always has been a direct reflection of parent and teacher prejudices mixed with young humans in the process of developing their own prejudices. That makes the schoolyard a swarming mass of confused and ignorant beings experiencing uncontrollable physical and chemical changes while attempting to conform with parent, teacher, and fellow student expectations.

Bullying is a unique byproduct of learned behavior, self-correction, peer review, hypersensitivity / overt cruelty, and ignorance of "rules" (sometimes arbitrary) manifested by individuals seething with (often unaddressed) inner anger. The causes of this inner anger differ; they can be the manifestation of turmoils in the home, schoolyard, classroom, extracurriculars, or the self. Bullying is an outlet for this unaddressed turmoil: a percieved weakness in a fellow, makes that fellow a sure target. The bullied child becomes the outlet for the bully who is often times reenacting incidents of bullying within their own lives.

If bullying is a learned behavior, then "teaching the bully out" ought to be sufficient to end bullying. After all, bullying was taught in. Education is important for changing minds and subsequently behaviors, but everyone must make their own choices including potential bullies who choose to ignore the teachings of anti-bullying campaigns. That said, education, itself, tends towards the tyrannical and as such typically enables (or encourages) bullies. Can a bully really teach the bully out? That's awfully hypocritical, don't you think? Education is a beginning, not a solution. So, how do we stop bullying?

Perhaps, the best idea is to add "maintaining an acceptable outlet" to the teaching efforts. With regular access to acceptable outlets for releasing pent up inner anger, it may be possible to reduce instances of bullying but, I doubt it. Right now, we have more acceptable outlets than any other period of known history. We still have bullies.

Bullying is as much a part of our history as of our future. It will not end. It cannot end. Bullying is a fact of life. Deal with it and teach your kids to deal with it. Protect them by arming their minds with creative ways to seek retribution...teach the bully in. Protect them by arming their bodies with basic self-defense techniques...judo chop. Protect them by arming their souls with sympathy and empathy for all beings...hippie love. Protect children from bullies by desensitizing them to the effects of bullies...Pav-laugh-it-off. I don't pretend to know the best avenue for defending against bullies, perhaps a mix is best. All I know for sure, bullying is a form of human selfishness. And, there ain't no way in hell, people are going to suddenly stop being selfish.

Pax et Poema,
Vale,
Monique

FE-DIY: Create ISO Images

Click here for more information on creating ISO images.

Global Conflict Discussion (Part 7): Greedy Kids Equal Greedy Adults

X Discussion Points

0 - introduction

1 - wars/disasters destroy

2 - disaster/future prep

3 - scientific process

4 - trickle down hoarders

5 - austerity and great recession

6 - 21st century class system

7 - greedy kids = greedy adults

8 - no justice, just retribution

9 - pointless abstract war

7.) The cycle of growing up, then forgetting everything you knew about growing up.

   

Although children lack the sophisticated language required to communicate on par with jargonistic scientists, kids can regularly be observed carrying out the scientific process with each new thing they discover. Think of the school yard where children discover the attractive properties of magnets by rubbing them in dirt to pick up iron slivers, before proceeding to run around the playground showing the other kids. They show others because they have discovered something and they want to share, they want others to discover with them. The joy of sharing knowledge, making discoveries, is the great reward that tends to benefit humankind both at the time and over time. 

Some people are adverse to human progress through sharing. Ever notice how there's always one kid that will not share the magnet. One kid that gathers the tiny slivers aside ever increasing the size of their own iron holdings, all the while never letting other kids use the magnet. Greedy little fuck. What happens when it is time to go inside? The little greedster kicks the iron pile to the wind and pockets the magnet. How is it that everyone seems to forget greedy little kids grow into greedy adults?

Pax et Poema, 
Vale,
Monique

FE-Poetry: On Napping Along Side an Ancient Roman Road in Brittania

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FE-Tools: Volunteer Your Computer to Solving the Big Questions

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FE-DIY: Mounting ISOs

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Global Conflict Discussion (Part 6): 21st Century Class System

X Discussion Points

0 - introduction

1 - wars/disasters destroy

2 - disaster/future prep

3 - scientific process

4 - trickle down hoarders

5 - austerity & great recession

6 - 21st century class system

7 - greedy kids = greedy adults

8 - no justice, just retribution

9 - pointless abstract war

6.) You are hereby bequeathed a shitty class system for the 21st Century - Courtesy of the 20th Century

In the Age of Technology there exist three hierarchical classes of global citizen: 1.) rich w/ internet; 2.) not rich w/internet; and, 3.) w/o internet. The "rich with internet" (RwI) have ready access to the internet and the finances to act on their desires. The "not rich with internet" (nRwI) have ready access to the internet without the finances to act. The "without internet" (w/oI) have no access (or minimal access) to the internet and are without the finances to act even if they had access. 

Ability to access the internet is now a prerequisite for most jobs as many employers have moved to online application processes and email notifications. This means that those w/oI are ineligible for job access based on the prejudice of modern employment application methods: no internet = no job. The nRwI have job access because of their internet access and vice versa. The RwI have pushed these methods forward in the name of increasing their ROI by lowering hiring costs and developing databases of potential future hires (i.e. talent pools). 

These three classes (RwI, nRwI, and w/oI) are based within four main systems of control (governance): 1.) government, 2.) business, 3.) religion, and 4.) education. The stratification inherent in the class system is amplified by the same structural stratifications found in each of the four systems mentioned above. The RwI set the pace in all four systems, the nRwI move accordingly while encouraging the w/oI to pick up the pace or die. As long as the four systems stay stratified we will continue to live in a segregated society. If we don't want a segregated society and we don't want a stratified system, then we must ask a number of important questions, like: What kind of social system do we want? What other kinds of social systems are available? What kind of social system will provide the most stability for the future? How will we transition to the new social system? 

In order to learn what we want it is best to examine what we already have and to recognize what we don't like about it. If we can identify definitive aspects of the system that no longer work, we can purposefully trim them out of the future system, after all, we're redesigning it right now. We currently have four stratified social systems of control and three hierarchical social classes. The systems clash and the classes clash. Is it possible to integrate systems and classes to smooth out the clashes? It is doubtful, the idyllic world of Star Trek is but an utopian fantasy. Would that we could?! Ah, such a dream.

Pax et Poema,
Vale,
Monique

FE-Tools: Free Word Mapping Tool

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FE-Tools: ISO Image Mounting Freeware

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Global Conflict Discussion (Part 5): Austerity & Great Recession

X Discussion Points

0 - introduction

1 - wars/disasters destroy

2 - disaster/future prep

3 - scientific process

4 - trickle down hoarders

5 - austerity and great recession

6 - 21st century class system

7 - greedy kids = greedy adults

8 - no justice, just retribution

9 - pointless abstract war

5.) The austerity solution for the Great Recession?

What are we told is the solution to the global financial crisis caused by financial megaliths deemed "too big to fail"? Austerity: the seemingly innocent code-word for ginormous piles of trickle-down feces. Austerity generally comes in two forms: cuts to public services and increased tax rates. In 2008, a third austerity method was utilized, governments called it: bailouts. All three methods of austerity translate into giving the banksters more money. Are you fucking kidding me? Give banksters money, when they readily show their incompetence, rather, their greed, corruption, lack of conscience, and unabashed arrogance. 

The Founding Fathers were right when they warned us of the dangers of giving the banks too much power. During the Great Recession  (i.e., The Great Depression, pt. II) the international financial cartels effectively crippled all the nations by demanding tribute in between harvests - as if a field can be reaped before it is sown. And, the whole situation stinks of fertilizer. Austerity is in essence, a poor tax for being fucked over by the rich. 

So, how does bailout austerity work: the concerned government takes over debts that financial institutions fraudulently entered into with citizens (ignorant of the fraud). Financial institutions take money from citizens, then if unable to receive payment, they take the collateral and charge the debt off on their income taxes. The unwary citizen risks owing debt for an object (house, car, etc.) that has been repossessed ("taken back"). In addition to taking back items, the financial institutions most likely also sold off the original bad loan in batches called derivatives. 

"Nasty little buggers," these derivatives, they're like an international game of 3-Card Monty dealt by Cardini. Often when an item is repossessed, the bank resells it by making a new loan with some other unsuspecting citizen. In these instances, the bank makes money from writing the item off (tax credit), from selling the debt (derivative), from the original debt-holder who pays the bank to save their credit score, and from the new debt-holder who purchased the repossessed item. What a scam! Four payouts on one bad bet, er hm, I mean loan.

Pax et Poema.
Vale,
Monique

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Global Conflict Discussion (Part 4): Trickle Down Hoarders

X Discussion Points

0 - introduction

1 - wars/disasters destroy

2 - disaster/future prep

3 - scientific process

4 - trickle down hoarders

5 - austerity & great recession

6 - 21st century class system

7 - greedy kids = greedy adults

8 - no justice, just retribution

9 - pointless abstract war

4.) "Trickle-down economics" is a flawed system; hoarders don't share; these concepts are diametric. 

Trickle-down economics (TDE) evolved from centuries of political, religious, and scientific power-grabbing that hindered real progress by way of controlling the people's education and wages while reserving the largest bits of profitable knowledge for those deciding release dates (kings, robber barons, etc.). Modern TDE cannot long compete with rapid developments made by today's backyard scientists who have access to the internet and a healthy desire to experiment. 

The Information Age arrived years ago and with it came P2P sharing and open sourcing. Instant knowledge and tools in the hands of the people (with internet access) effectively enabled internet-connected classes to learn whatever they choose, if they so choose. Unfettered free access learning effects backyard scientists by allowing every interested mind the opportunity to puzzle out the greatest quandaries of science. Think of the progress NASA has made with citizen scientists helping to crunch astronomical data.

The internet has also enabled nearly instant intercontinental communications whereby any two can work together irrespective of the distances between them. It turns out, we choose to share the silly and arbitrary as well as the serious and academic with our international internet peers. Through the 'net, we've also learned the sad truth of the worldwide phenomena of devastating affairs: the elite rarely trickle-down anything that doesn't involve a tangible (and significant) return on investment (ROI). 

Trickle down has always been economic warfare against the impoverished masses. As we've seen dictators hoard food and financial aid while their malnourished people die of disease and starvation; governments murder their own citizens in the name of religion, science, injustice, security; corporations pay upper management ridiculous sums and pay workers a pittance then leach off taxpayers all while stuffing away billions; industrial waterworks destroy their own workers' drinking water; protesters barricade city streets where once tires, now fires. All the destruction, the loss of life makes us angry. Very angry. The righteous anger of our betrayal seethes under our collective skins. And, what do we do? Not a fucking thing, unless its a violent fucking thing.

I'm not naive. It comes down to violence because people are willing to defend themselves against attackers; they're willing to attack others over resources, posturing, or perceived insults; they're willing to provoke another into violent action; they're willing to stage atrocities to blame the "evil" other; and, they're willing to kill for X (money, power, religion, politics, love, hate). So, how do we balance the scales of wealth equality? 

Some say, "force redistribution of wealth" while those with wealth hire bodyguards who scream, "just try it." Some say, "legislate the wealthy" meanwhile wealthy legislators vote "aye" for their own pay raises. Some say, "the markets will right themselves" all the while governments around the world tinker with the markets to maintain the status quo of rising inflation.

I don't care what some say: forced redistribution results in wealth fleeing the country; wealthy legislators have proven incapable of legislating themselves; it is impossible to know if a market will right itself as all markets have been tampered with by the governments that acknowledge them. 

Here's a really simple truth: a company or person worth millions is a professional hoarder, those worth billions are master hoarders. The severity of their hoarding proves the unequal distributions of profits; if employees were paid more, profits would go down and the hoard would shrink. When the goal is to hoard profits, sharing is antithetical. 

Pax et Poema.
O' Dracones, ubi sunt thesauri tui?
Vale, 
Monique