From The Strobist

Nothing like stating the obvious.

There is no faster, easier fix for America’s energy crisis than to simply begin living within rational limits

via The Harsh Realities of Energy SEEDMAGAZINE.COM

I’m trying to post something original at least once each day. A picture is worth a thousand words. This one is from earlier this year in Kuwait on the beach at the Hilton.

Our house is somewhere down there in Fintas, Kuwait. Click on the image for a larger version.

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all.

He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. But It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound will still be there.”

The little boy then understood how powerful his words were. He looked up at his father and said “I hope you can forgive me father for the holes I put in you.”

“Of course I can,” said the father.

Stay tuned for the reason for this statement by Sumati.

Starbucks is continuing to close stores. Will they recover. I think so, only because they already own the best locations. Location is everything. I saw last week even in Kuwait that Starbucks is closing some stores in Kuwait. The one in Salmiya by the International Clinic is closed down.

I found these sites via The Strobist.

Kiva and here’s a documentory.

Wikipedia says:

Kiva allows microfinance institutions around the world, called “Field Partners”, to post profiles of qualified local entrepreneurs on its website. Lenders browse and choose an entrepreneur they wish to fund. Kiva aggregates loan capital from individual lenders and transfers it to the appropriate Field Partners to disburse to the entrepreneur chosen by the lender. As the entrepreneurs repay their loans, the Field Partners remit funds back to Kiva. As the loan is repaid, the Kiva lenders can withdraw their principal or re-loan it to another entrepreneur.

World Builder from Bruce Branit on Vimeo.

Best to view at full screen.

Via John Nack at Adobe