Gene Becker's Blog – May 2010 Archive (6)

Folks, I barely made it through the first season. It has been a ton of hard work to play this game, and it has dragged me kicking and screaming from my comfort zone on more than one occasion. I've spent countless hours in research, reading other agents' evidence, doing quests and missions, creating my own personal transformation, combating spam and trying not to feed the trolls. It has definitely been fun, but it's kind of a peculiar definition of fun. More at flow,… Continue

My town's Climate Change Action Plan includes a broad spectrum of strategies for reducing greenhouse gases. A 2005 audit estimated that the city and community collectively produced the equivalent of over 500,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Of this total, 46% were from cars and other vehicles, 30% from commerical and industrial activities, and 11% from residential sources. Out of concern for both the local… Continue

Early on in the game I highlighted the efforts of Ann Cotton, founder of CAMFED, whose mission is to provide young African girls with access to education as a route out of poverty and oppression. The EVOKE mission on empowering women gave me the impetus to circle back and take direct action by making a donation to support CAMFED's efforts in Africa. I wonder what the CAMFED team will make of a donation designated "in honor of Alchemy and the EVOKE Network"?

Reading through the Crisis Communication materials, I found the section on managing risk, hazard and outrage just fascinating. There is a very low correlation between how hazardous an outbreak is, and how emotionally concerned people are about it. However, there is a strong correlation between people's "outrage" level and their willingness to take action. This leads to… Continue

Children, many of you are third- and fourth-generation citizens of the Connected World, which we once called the Internet. You, your parents, your grandparents, and possibly even further back, have never known a life without the vast web of connections that infuse the world with digital energy and bind us together as a species. You are natives of an enspirited reality, where every person, place and thing can tell you its name, its story, its composite subsystems and its molecular provenance.… Continue

I just made a microloan to Um-e-Kalsoom Bashir Ahmad's group of Pakistani women carpet weavers, to support the growth of their business. I did this through kiva.org, which made the process incredibly simple even though I had never used it before. However, the current loan for this group is only 10% funded, so it is not certain the loan will be made. Continue