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The Numbers

Be very wary of any numbers given out without the data behind them…

73% of Americans believe…

One in three people support…

This affects one in every ten…

How did they arrive at that figure? How many people did they survey? What was the actual question asked? Was there A/B testing across a variety of different groups? Where were those people from? Was there a mix of rural and urban? Was it diverse racially and income wise? Unless you and all of your neighbors were polled, be wary; the numbers are a guess in the best light or pure propaganda in the worst.

Numbers are often used to sway and influence opinion and it is especially true when the data behind them, the math, is purposefully opaque. The news media, politicians, professionals, companies, and even fellow citizens do this all the time. They know that people, in general, like our beliefs validated and like being with the "winners". Therefore, if I say a high ratio of some such thing want some other such thing, people will be swayed to include themselves in that "winning" number.

Worse, even if the math behind the numbers is included freely, we the people often don’t bother checking it. We accept it at face value. This is dangerous and foolish and as good as not having the data at all.

Stop this. Always question the numbers. Ask for the data. Get the facts. Check the math.

Lived In and Loved

This site, along with several others I manage, was recently the victim of an attack that injected redirection code throughout my WordPress installation. Thus resulting in visitors to the site being redirected to all manner of scammy/scummy websites. A mess I’m still trying to clean up on most of my sites (for instance, patrickrhone-dot-com is still not fixed).

I believe one of the reasons these sites were an attractive target was due to the fact that so many of them had not been posted to in several months. Thanks to my nonline sabbatical I’d let them go fallow. Thus, it likely looked like no one cared.

But, I do care… A lot! Especially about this place. Of all the places I stopped publishing on, this is the one I missed the most. And, strangely enough to me at least, of all of the sites I wrote and maintained, this one was the newest of the bunch.

But, I liked what I started to build here before taking my break. A microblog before I’d even heard the term. POSSE (Publish (on your) Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere) before I knew that was a “thing”. But, most of all, a place where I could feel comfortable posting an idea or essay of any length and not let the wholly self-imposed guilt of something only a few words long being a “real” blog post get in the way of pressing publish.

I’ll be honest; things are really kind of rough for me these days. I’ll be spending all day, every day, in a courtroom for at least the next couple of weeks. I don’t want to get into the details too deeply right now but my eldest child is on trial for a serious charge. I have to be there to support that. Then my evenings are packed with all I can’t currently get through during the days.

That is to say that I’m working as best I can to get everything cleaned up and my sites back functioning again but it is very slow going. At least this one seems OK (The Cramped does as well).

This is also to say that I’m weighing ending my sabbatical and posting here more frequently so this place looks the way it should — lived in and loved.

On Sabbatical

As of March 4, 2017 I’ve stopped all online publishing. This includes my websites and social media accounts. No blog posts, no tweets, no status updates. I’m nonline. I expect this to last at least a year. In that time, I’ll be writing. My goal for that writing is to become a book.

My newsletter, being email, will be my primary means of communication with folks “out there” (that’s you). I will continue to share occasional and infrequent updates, thoughts, and missives there along with information about the project and how you can pre-order the book when done.

The Begging Bowl

The Begging Bowl (or sometimes referred to as a Alms Bowl or Monk’s Bowl) is one of the few possessions a Buddhist Monk has. It is a practical object, used as a bowl in which to collect alms (either money or food) from lay supporters. Many monks rely solely on the kindness and generosity of others to survive.

This is my bowl…

As of March 4, 2017 I’ve stopped all online publishing. In my own way, I’ve gone into solitude and trusting my continued sustenance into the hands of those that wish to support my efforts. Here are ways to fill my bowl:

Other ways to fill my bowl…

Extending one’s bowl takes a tremendous amount of trust in both directions. The monastic trusts that there are those that wish to make a small donation to support their practice and the giver trusts they’ll have something of value to give back to the world upon return — this is the basis of karma.

On Sabbatical

As of March 4, 2017 I’ve stopped all online publishing. This includes my websites and social media accounts. No blog posts, no tweets, no status updates. I’m nonline. I expect this to last at least a year. In that time, I’ll be writing. My goal for that writing is to become a book.
My newsletter, being email, will be my primary means of communication with folks “out there” (that’s you). I will continue to share occasional and infrequent updates, thoughts, and missives there along with information about the project and how you can pre-order the book when done.

The Begging Bowl

The Begging Bowl (or sometimes referred to as a Alms Bowl or Monk’s Bowl) is one of the few possessions a Buddhist Monk has. It is a practical object, used as a bowl in which to collect alms (either money or food) from lay supporters. Many monks rely solely on the kindness and generosity of others to survive.
This is my bowl…
As of March 4, 2017 I’ve stopped all online publishing. In my own way, I’ve gone into solitude and trusting my continued sustenance into the hands of those that wish to support my efforts. Here are ways to fill my bowl:

Other ways to fill my bowl…

Extending one’s bowl takes a tremendous amount of trust in both directions. The monastic trusts that there are those that wish to make a small donation to support their practice and the giver trusts they’ll have something of value to give back to the world upon return — this is the basis of karma.

Review — A Modern Way To Cook by Anna Jones

On a recent trip to the mall with my wife, Bethany, we decided to pop into the Anthropology store there. I saw this book, A Modern Way To Cook by Anna Jones, sitting on a shelf and it immediately caught my eye. I picked it up, flipped through, and waved Bethany over to discuss. “This looks like a really nice vegetarian cookbook!”, I said. Explaining further, “Fairly simple recipes organized by time to prepare, snappy writing, and beautiful pictures.”

“We have that one, I reviewed it on my site months ago. It’s on the shelf in the kitchen.”, she returned. I put the book down, somewhat sheepishly, now having revealed I’d never noticed it and did not remember her post.

When we got back home, I found it and spent a few minutes digging in. In my goal to eat more healthily with more vegetables and low carb, I found several easy and delicious looking recipes I’ll likely try right away. The very first recipe in the book, a one pot kale, tomato, and pasta dish, is one I plan to make as soon as possible (I’ll use whole wheat pasta for mine).

My wife’s review is longer and arrives at some different takes than mine here. That said, I find it not only compelling and useful but a beautifully executed cookbook that I’ll likely use frequently.