Passing Thoughts on Some “N” Topics

Natural - We seem to recognize that nature is inherently good - to a point. Once the point is reached, we want to improve on nature. But location of the point is often a matter of opinion, as is whether some of our improvements are really for the better.

Negotiation - Latin for carrying on business. Working out a mutually agreeable deal. This higher level capability of human beings is too often abandoned in favor of the lower level use of violence. As Herb Cohen wrote in “You Can Negotiate Anything”, negotiation is the use of information and power to affect behavior within a web of tension. Yes, you can and should negotiate with terrorists.

Neon - This gas is ubiquitously used in glass tubes for advertising displays and occasionally used for exciting art.

Netflix - A great way to catch up on old movies missed or to be re-visited, sleeper movies discovered and obscure movies to explore. This company is way ahead of people who say it is behind the times. When the Netflix style snail mailing of movies does finally get replaced in like quantity by Internet downloading, I expect Netflix will be a huge player in the new approach.

New York Times - All the news that’s fit to print. A gold standard of American journalism. A favorite negative target of false conservatives. Remember when George W. Bush, not realizing the mike was on, pointed out to Dick Cheney a NYT reporter in a campaign crowd and referred to him as an “a**hole”?

News - It used to be the who, what, when, where, why and how from the NorthEastWestSouth. Now it is lots of ads, self-promos and soft features, mixed with repeating other sources and sporadic investigative work. On 24/7 cable news it is often the most recent sex crime ad nauseam, and on local TV news it is usually the most recent crime of any kind, however minor. The “where” seems of most interest to the news recipient, a possum road kill on the corner generating more attention than a suicide bombing in the middle east.

No Child Left Behind - It sounded good and brought Teddy Kennedy and GW Bush into the same photo op, but the genesis seems muddled. The actual impacts seem to include: major Federal intervention into local school control; directing teaching efforts away from traditional subjects to focus on passing standard tests; and threatening the viability of general public education. Maybe those are three strikes that should rule NCLB out.

No - A small but powerful word said too often by those who shouldn’t and too seldom by those who should.

Nobel Prize - The zenith of prestige for the fields included, topped by the Peace Prize. The list of Peace Laureates since 1901 includes 15 years with Americans named, but only one in the last 33 years - Jimmy Carter in 2002.

Noble - Guys who could not quite rise to King, but who were able to rise above the peons. In England the nobles got pissed at the King and made him sign the Magna Carta, an admission that he wasn’t the boss of everything. In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths are: 1. Life is suffering; 2. The origin of suffering is attachment; 3. The cessation of suffering is attainable; and 4. There is a path to the end of suffering. The rational approach of Buddhism has much appeal, but most people in the West are attuned the mythology and faith apart from reason of Christianity.

NPR - National Public Radio continues to deliver exceptionally worthwhile programming freely accessible from your FM tuner at home, work or in your car, and also over the Internet live and by archives.

Nuclear - Or as George says, “Nukaler”. George’s idol, Ronald Reagan, speaking of nuclear weapons, said, “This kind of weapon can’t help but have an effect on the population as a whole”.
Some capabilities are so awesome, and the consequences of misuse so catastrophic, that they should not be developed.

Numbers - Did the cave man talk first or count first. Babies seem to babble before they keep score, but when they are hungry, they multi-task.

Numerology - The non-science of using numerical facts and calculations to explain and predict a person’s life. Mathematicians and numerologists are probably mutually exclusive groups.

Nylon - A synthetic replacement for silk. A technological improvement, continuing to evolve in some areas such as stockings for women, though many men do not consider no nonsense pantyhose an improvement over seamed hosiery fastened with garters.