Drugs are not about a high, they are about control.

Life is chaotic. It is impossible to control. For some, for those who want to control it and who feel out of control, they find control in drugs. They are the one thing in life that have a direct relation in life. You take a drug and feel good, bad, lazy or whatever effect you want. People who feel no control over life or emotions or themselves still have a need for control and when they cannot find it, they go to drugs to get it.

This is why those who don't have a community, with ridiculous expectations, with a lot of stress or depression do it. Because they are those who need control but don't have it and they often find it in drugs. 

Germany, You're Funny - Greek Crisis

Is it hard to understand what's up with Greece? Well let me explain it in analogy made by my friend Anton.

Imagine that China, decides to ask for the debt US owes it, all at once and now. To help America pay that debt, it decides how America will pay it. That's right, not our Congress decides, China decides. 

China decides who we lay off, who we tax and how and when we pay even if their plan will crumble our economy and ensure 0% chance of every paying off the actual debt. We have no choice but to take that or face complete insolvency. Now imagine that it is not just China that we owe money to but a whole bunch of countries. And even though, many countries are owed the money,  it is China alone that fore some reason gets to dictate the entire deal. 

Even though other countries want to ease the burden and feel it is unfair and actively reproach China, China for some reason continues to insist on this terrible, crumbling, pointless deal, for no clear reason.

Seems pretty undemocratic right? Seems absurd. We'd never go for it and we wouldn't even like the idea of it. 

Well.. are you still surprised why Greeks riot and hate the Germans?

For fellow travelers: a mobile spill-proof cup-holder Kickstarter

This is a plug for a fellow co-worker but really this is an awesome tool for any business traveler.

A mobile spill-proof cup-holder to latch on to your suitcase or plane seat.  

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gyrocaddy/gyro-caddy-the-cup-holder-for-your-carry-on-luggag

White People Go To The Hood.

When I moved into Rolando, a multi-ethnic neighborhood of San Diego, many people said that I moved to the ghetto. I moved into a place where there were many people who were not white but the crime rate was no worse than North Park. The stores were the same, there was no more trash, there was nothing wrong. Some of my neighbors were waiters and some lawyers and some teachers, just like in other areas of San Diego. Schools were of course not great but not terrible and in general things were great, just one thing was there: segregation. My friends were buying into the racist idea that area with non-blacks is bad for no other reason than, there was no white people.

I thought of that as I listened to a This American Life story about segregation. It’s interesting because it is told from such a white perspective. They talk about Americans living in America as if they are aliens or from some other country and they are integrated with white people like some great thing when it should be normal. Encouraging on one side and depressing at the same time.

Encouraging because I’ve had friends ask me how to “call black people” because they’ve never met black people before and sad because this is still a fact of life. But better to face it and work on it than not work on it and ignore it.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/563/the-problem-we-all-live-with-part-two#play