Category: Society

New Year’s Resolutions – Two Simple Steps to Make Them Work

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Making Resolutions? – Make Them Work and Make Them Fun.

Tis the time of year people get fixated on resolutions for the new year. We all know how this usually goes. Big plans. High goals. Failure. It need not be so.

I mentioned in an earlier blog that I like the idea of personal resolutions on your birthday, rather than for the new year. This seems to me a more personal way to focus on such aspirations. But the tradition of doing this in January seems a strong pull for many of us;

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YOU are in Cybersecurity Danger – Part II – Time for a Manhattan Project

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It’s Going to Take Everybody to Fix This. It is Past time to get started.

 

In part I of this post, we reviewed the overarching, completely integrated nature of the cyberworld we now live in. We are increasingly interconnected, often in ways that are not apparent to us. We are exceptionally vulnerable individually and collectively.

So, what to do? As one might expect, there is no silver bullet solution, but a number of things are doable that could correct the imbalances. None will be fast, cheap, or easy, but they are essential – and doable.

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YOU are in Cybersecurity Danger – From FOUR Directions – Part I

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The Risks are Far Worse Than Most of Us Think. But There is Hope

This is the first part of a two-part post. Today’s blog lays out the primary dangers we face individually and as a country. Part II looks at ways out of this mess.

We are all aware that a lot seems to be amiss in the world of cybersecurity. What may have gotten lost for some of us is how deep and wide the threats run. There is an overarching framework that makes this all exceptionally dangerous. The attacks come from four different threats,

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Let’s Exchange Gifts!

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I Have Something for You for the New Year. I ask for TWO gifts from you.

Well, we are deep in the holiday season, so perhaps a couple of gift exchanges might be in order. It is also the end of the year (and the end of the first six months of this blog’s existence), and so a good time to reflect a bit on what we are doing with Agents of Reason.

A Gift of Time

I very much appreciate the feedback many of you have shared over the past few months.

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A Holiday Smorgasbord of Choice

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The past few days have provided us a fascinating mixed bag of news, studies, and oddities. Let’s go surfing among the stories. These are fun.

 

It’s Friday, folks. How about some lighter reading for a change of pace? I have found several stories that satisfied my soul, piqued my curiosity, and/or tickled my funny bone. As we move into a prime holiday week, have some fun. I hope you enjoy these as much as I have.

Criminal Justice Reform Bill 

One serious news item to lead us off. The long delayed Criminal Justice Reform Bill is about to become the law of the land.

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BIDEN – BETO OCASIO-CORTEZ – TESTER

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Will the Connective Text be “&”or “Vs.”?

I am watching for the installation of the incoming 116th US Congress with great anticipation. Also, with a mix of great hopes and no small amount of trepidation. The potential for the country going forward is great. The risks are not miniscule.

As one looks at the roster of incoming new members, there is much to celebrate. The diversity, motivations, and life-experiences coming on line are impressive to say the least. We are gaining more of just about everything we need. More women, more veterans,

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Happy Birthday! Who Says So?!

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Are We Commemorating These Things Correctly? Perhaps Not.

 

Like a great number of people, I am marking a birthday this month. (Time now for the obligatory What? Again? Already? comment). As such passages do, this one has caused me to reflect a bit on birthdays; what they mean, and what we do with them. Let’s take a brief look.

About Birthdays

First of all, it is a bit odd when you think about it that most such events congratulate the person who was born. While our day of birth is important to us each and all,

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Make a Decision! Bill’s Guide to Better Decisions

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Sometimes We Make Decisions More Difficult Than They Need Be

I am always interested in how people make decisions. Not so much the decisions themselves, but how they prepare themselves mentally. What processes they use to come to a decision. It is often a tortuous and cumbersome thing to behold. This is unfortunate. Life is full of decision points. We would do well to give some thought about how we make decisions.

Over a lifetime of decisions large and small, I have come to use a “template” for decision making. It eliminates much of the angst and gnashing of teeth associated with decision making.

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I Would Like to Have Your Eulogy Now, Please

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Let’s Stop Saying “I never knew that!” About Someone We Just Lost

I do not wish to dampen anyone’s holiday spirits today but know that we are about to reflect on the loss of those close to us. But take heart! This is actually an upbeat discussion. You will like where we are at the end of this posting.

We recently had the bitter-sweet experience in a memorial service for an old friend. Bitter, of course, because of the loss. Sweet for all the wonderful, funny recollections brought forth. This was typical of such Unitarian Universalists gatherings.

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Tipping Points: Science, Surprise, and Power

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There is a phenomenon in both the physical sciences and in human interaction known as the tipping point. In common language, such a thing may be referred to as “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” a “point of no return,” or “the last straw.”

That such things exist, in nature and in human society, is widely recognized. It is often easy to see exactly where that point was in post event analysis. Ah, but seeing it as it comes over the horizon – that is much harder. Discerning the tipping point is a fascinating process.

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