Will machines make our lives easier and more comfortable in the future? Maybe it depends on who you are. In today’s Thursday Thought, Stephen Hawking takes a look into the future.
Archive for October 15, 2015
Debatable Entertainment
I watched the whole Democratic debate! I wasn’t able to get through any more than an hour of the Republican debate. What was the difference for me? With the Republicans, I lost patience with rudeness, name-calling, ethnic/sexist comments, and basic back-alley fghting. I was learning the candidates’ personalities but not their stands, plans, and views (except, of course, that all democrats–especially Hillary Clinton–are unintelligent, evil demons).
The Democrats were far different. They showed respect for one another, even when they had a direct-confrontation disagreement. They attempted to stay on-topic most of the time. They showed a friendly rivalry. Actually, to me, they seemed like people who wanted to win us over with what they felt are their strengths, not entertain us with an episode of “Political Tuesday-Night Fights.”
The elections are far enough away to allow time to win the minds and hearts of voters. But unless the Republican candidates stop acting like spoiled, unruly children, this voter won’t bother trying to listen to them any longer.
Even The Donald is no longer entertaining.
A Powerful, Sunny White House
Solar panels on the White House roof 35+ years ago? Yes, they were there. President Jimmy Carter installed them in June of 1979 at a cost of a mere $28,000 (a very small amount in the governmental budget). In addition to saving on utility bills, it was a symbol of our government’s attempt at getting our country away from depending so much on foreign oil.
President Ronald Reagan had the panels removed. He wanted to get rid of solar tax credits. Later, when it was suggested that they be put back up again, his press secretary Dale Petroskey said it would cost too much.
At least, though, in 2006 one panel found an appropriate home–at the Carter Library in Atlanta.
Happily, in 2013 President Obama had solar panels reinstalled.
No commentary from me…just a bit of sometimes-sunny American history.
Protection for Smokers’ Rights
I’ve come up with a way to reestablish the currently trampled-on rights of smokers. I’ve invented the NoSmoke Hood. I don’t have a prototype for it yet, so let me describe it.
Its basic design is very similar to the picture below. It fits loosly around the head and snugly down on the shoulders. Mine has a clear plastic front, with a triangular protrusion to allow space for the cigarette or cigar. The smoker carries a small air purifying pack (can fit into backpack or purse). A set of tubes runs to and from that pack to the hood to carry the smoky air to the unit and clean air back into the hood. The unit will also have a small air-cooling device, to keep the smoker cool and comfy.
By using my invention, people can smoke away, anywhere and any time they wish and not face those ridiculous health regulations in public places or hear those annoying complaints from stupid, overly health-conscious bystanders.
I think I have a winner here. What do you think?
Work for Free?
Work for free! It will be fun! It’s a chance to learn how the business operates while you pack and ship orders! You’ll get a free lunch!
URBN (they own Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie) was hoping for a good response when they sent an email to their salaried employees asking just that.
Would you give up your time to volunteer to help so your (large) company can meet the demands of a busy month? Many people did, and even salaried employees volunteered, although they were denied the opportunity because that’s against labor rules.
Okay, so volunteering (assuming there was no corporate pressure) to help your company may be a sign of loyalty. If so, why doesn’t such loyalty go both ways? If they need more people to work, even for only a month, and if they can’t find enough part-timers, why not reward the faithful with a monetary bonus? A business that large with the “problem” of having too many orders to fill should have enough in their budget to show respect for their workers.
Mann Understands Man
This quote gave me pause for reflection, so I pass it on to you as today’s Thursday Thought.
“DOING NOTHING FOR OTHERS IS THE UNDOING OF OURSELVES.”
– HORACE MANN
A Glorious Day to Walk or Bike
Maybe you didn’t know that today is “International Walk or Bike to School Day.” 40 countries are encouraging kids and their parents to walk or bike to school. How often do 40 countries agree on anything?
If you didn’t know or forgot, how about tomorrow (and the next day and the next…)? Get out of your car, put a little neighborhood group together, and get the kids to school and home under their own foot-power. You may get to know a neighbor better, maker some play-dates, decide that J.J. Smythe is a kid you definitely want to keep away from your family–all sorts of things. You and the kids get a little fresh air and exercise. You save gas and wear-and-tear on your car (those stop/starts/jerks of both kinds involved in the drop-off are hard on your car).
Overall, it’s healthy–for you AND for the earth.
How to Fight for Right: Kim Davis and Planned Parenthood
If you have a righteous cause, why jeopardize it by (let’s be kind) “stretching the truth”? Publicity that isn’t based on actual fact can fire up current followers and garner a few more–until the truth comes out. At that point, the black cloud of suspicion gathers over your cause and you. Take two recent cases in point.
First, Kim Davis and her encounter with the Pope. Yes, her position would be strengthened if the Pope granted her an audience and offered her support for her stance against issuing marriage licences to gay couples. IF that had actually happened. Instead, she was among dozens of people who had a brief casual conversation with Pope Francis, not an audience or deep discussion, let alone encouragement and support.
Next, the Planned Parenthood video with the horrendous talk about an aborted fetus. This is powerful ammunition against Planned Parenthood–if the video is true. Many people still choose to believe the validity of that video, although reputable sources question it because the jumpy motions indicate that the camera was stopped and started again and again (lots of editing), because there is no sound (e.g., discussion about harvesting the brain), and because the maker of the video admits he made it elsewhere to depict a story he had heard. It doesn’t create an air of truthfulness, either, when the mother of the fetus says publicly that her child was a miscarriage, not an abortion.
I believe that we need to act on our consciences. To do so effectively, though, we need to use the truth as our weapon of strength, not emotion-grabbing falsehoods.
A Disturbing but Must-See Film
How quickly do we turn on each other? What does power bring out in us? These are two of the questions startlingly answered in the newest movie version of the book that reported the real-life Stanford Prison Experiment. The actual question the study sought to answer was what are the psychological effects on captives and their overseers. This 1971 experiment lasted only 6 of its planned 14 days, for reasons that become obvious when you see the film.
Here’s a trailer to give you a flavor of what to expect. Be prepared to be shocked and disturbed.
Profitable Prisons
Who has contributed in excess of $10 million in the last 16 years to politicians and spent almost $25 million to lobby for their interests? You may be surprised. They are GEO and Corrections Corporation of America, the two major for-profit prison companies in our country. Combined, private prison companies bring in $3.3 billion a year, all while the number of people in our prisons doubled in only ten years (2000-1010).
Contracts with such companies require that the government keep their prisons at least 90% full…some have a 100% provision. If not, taxpayers must pay for any empty beds. They own 9 out of the 10 immigrant detention centers and profit greatly from a Congressional mandate (that they lobbied for) that a minimum of 34,000 immigrants be detained daily (and the number is rising, even as the number of undocumented aliens has leveled off).
For more details, view this PBS video: http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/419/video.html
