Vision

What will the future bring? Man has been trying to peer into the great wide open since the dawn of time. Mythology is filled with seers and prophets who have warned of dire consequences or foretold of great victories. Man has been writing fiction about their visions of the future and when cinema became the visual media of choice, we had movies that showed their path to tomorrow. But what will the future bring?

If you look at the advances since the beginning of the 20th century, it becomes apparent that technology is a driving factor in the view of the future. We started out with the gasoline engine and the automobile. The Wright brothers launched aviation into the forefront. We have computers, lasers, Velcro, cell phones and digital everything and we are driven ever forward by the desire to stay on top of the next best thing. Are we chasing technology to make our lives easier or is technology chasing us to narrow our ability to adapt to a changing world?

My brother-in-law has some wonderful insights into the world of technology. His view is that the only truly original ideas in the last 40 years are the string trimmer and the microchip. The microchip revolutionized how we manage our lives. Entertainment, work, and leisure are all driven by the little chips that reside inside almost every device currently made. The string trimmer revolutionized that tedious chore of grooming the lawn. For the yard Nazis that run around my neighborhood, it must have been akin to changing from banging two stones together to make fire to using disposable butane lighters.

What will the future bring? I am not the Oracle of Delphi but I know that we are heading for a major change in the way we use resources. Whether it is a non-renewable one like petroleum, a recyclable one like metal, or a renewable one like timber, we have got to change our attitude toward replacing with the next best thing. There has to be a way to effectively utilize the current infrastructure of our lives and upgrade instead of replace. I am not visionary enough to see how that can be done but as the push to use a diminishing pool of raw material, we will do what man does best; innovate. The 20th century is a testament to that.

Icool

Cobb

Real Deep Sea Fishing

In an amazing story from earlier in the week, an Indonesian fisherman caught a coelacanth, which is a rare fish that has survived from the time of the dinosaurs. They were known only through fossil records until 1938 when one was caught off the coast of Madagascar. Since they live in deep water, they do not live long near the surface so they are rarely seen although the number of sightings since 1938 was significantly more than the previous 65 million years.

Now this find has prompted my interest in what does a coelacanth taste like? I know that there are wild game dinners where they serve exotic meats but what would a coelacanth steak cost per pound? What wine would you serve with coelacanth? Would it make great sushi? I can see the Japanese fishing fleet setting sail for the Indian Ocean in search of the great coelacanth fishing grounds. We can slow down on our shark fin harvesting and concentrate on the truly rare and exotic species.

Another sea life articles recently trumpeted that a large find of previously unknown marine creatures were discovered in the waters around Antarctica. This seems to run counter to every article I read about man’s unbridled destruction of the planet. We have a fish that has survived phenomenal Earthly disasters that included bouts of global cooling during the ice ages and global warming caused by the reversal of ice ages. If a fish can survive such dramatic climate changes over a 65 million year period, how do we keep getting headlines like European mammals face extinction or climate change may imperil plants. The love of doom and gloom is a bad place to spend your life.

Icool

Cobb

Short Term Thinking

I am beginning to think that I should have started a blog just to harpoon the gas bags of greenhouse gas hysteria. How arrogant can one group of people be to assume that man has such a big impact on the Earth. Sure we cause pollution. But so does Mother Nature. Every time we have a wild fire that burn out of control, destroying millions of acres of virgin, protected forest, we get smoke, ash, and the newly Supreme Court defined pollutant carbon dioxide. When a volcano erupts, destroying the pristine forested slopes beneath the spewing cone, you get, ash, smoke and oh yea, that newly Supreme Court defined pollutant, carbon dioxide.

The latest focus on the next minute in history comes from the world of oceanography. Our oceans “may” be losing their ability to absorb carbon dioxide. Great headline. There is that implication that man has destroyed the oceans and that they can no longer perform the carbon dioxide to oxygen conversion that sustains life on our planet. We are doomed. The article states “… researchers reporting in the journal Science say at least one large ocean area — the Southern Ocean that surrounds Antarctica — seems to be losing its ability to take up the gas. Their four-year study concluded that an increase in winds over the Southern Ocean is preventing it from absorbing more carbon and is causing the sea to release some of the gas that it had stored.” I would say that it appears that the article is supposition and largely without substance. See, I can talk that way too.

It is the same kind of logic that leads them to say that cow farts are contributing to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Yes, cows fart. But before the white man came to rape and pillage the natural beauty of these United States, the plains were covered with millions of buffalo. Each of those animals was also a gas factory. For their insinuation to hold the slightest hint of validity there would have been a significant rise in temperature due to the immense buffalo herds. Oh wait. I forgot. That is what caused the end of the last ice age. Between the mammoths and the buffalo, any open flame would have meant disaster. Mystery solved.

Icool

Cobb

Summer Time Blues

Welcome to the time of warm breezes, blue skies, and loading up the jalopy with everything you need for a week of fun and relaxation. Yes, with the end of the school year rapidly approaching, many families are planning how they will spend their summer vacation. If you are too poor to go on one of those winter ski retreats or to spend your Easter break near the Tropic of Cancer (cancer in this case is Latin for crab), you may be loading up the vehicle to a week at the local camp ground. Any time away from the race of rodents is time better spent.

But there is bad news concerning Americans and vacations. A Yahoo article today provides the startling news that Americans are not guaranteed paid vacations. Yes, that’s right. This alarming fact comes to you from Reuters news service. To quote the article, which is the only way I can find to ridicule it further, "The United States is the only advanced economy in the world that does not guarantee its workers paid vacation days and paid holidays," said economist John Schmitt. "Relying on businesses to voluntarily provide paid leave just hasn't worked," he added. "It's a national embarrassment that 28 million Americans don't get any paid vacation or paid holidays." Yes that right. In America, land of the free and home of the brave, our government does not guarantee you the right to take a vacation. I guess our Founding Fathers did not see fit to guarentee such an important right into the Constitution. Maybe free speech and freedom of worship were slightly more important.

The article goes on to say that the enlightened countries of Europe, (enlightened means socialist, highly taxed, high unemployment, wanna bees) provide guaranteed vacations for their citizens. The author of the article brags the Finland mandates 30 days paid leave and 9 paid holidays. And what is Finland known for? Whale hunting and Finlandia Vodka.

One of the wonderful things about America is that we have low unemployment. If you don’t like the benefits you are getting, find a new job. Jobs are plentiful right now and unless you work at a fast food place (these are high school jobs) or mowing lawns and raking leaves for the neighbors (these are tax free jobs), why do you need paid vacations. We do not need more government interference into how we manage our countries industries. There are enough regulations to manage without throwing the failed policies of Europe into the mix. We will never be good enough for the elite snobs from the old countries, so let’s not try to act like them. We are Americans. We kicked their asses in two world wars and have bailed them out of the financial problems caused by their own foolishness. Out ingenuity and ability to think for ourselves has made us the lone super power. Let Europe give drain their resources on controlling their population. Let Yankee know how and the free market dictate how America acts.

Icool

Cobb

Creatures of Habit Part 2

Now comes the confusing part of being a creature of habit. What happens when you have a great routine going, with schedule pretty well set? What happens when you become accustomed to things happening and you get thrown into a completely different loop? Let me tell you, it creates havoc in your day.

The first thing you do is try to make your current habits fit into your current situation. At that point you realize that, Houston, we have a problem. Things that you do at a certain time during the day are not pushed back or much abbreviated. You start to slip on the goals you have set for yourself. Take keeping up posting in a daily blog. I was very faithful to my blogging routine up until recently when I received a change in my daily direction. The next thing I tried to do was put some habit back into my day. It was difficult because the days were never the same. You cannot restore order from chaos if there is no base to restore from. This also creates dark moods as you become upset about missing personal deadlines.

What helps during these times is ensuring that you are eating right and getting plenty of sleep. Sleep is the great mind organizer. It allows your brain to recognize the daily patterns and start to organize them. A long drive to work is another great benefit for categorizing information and just plain meditating. Prayer is a great tool for talking through the issues without sounding like a moron. God knows what you are going through and talking with Him about the details helps to focus on what is truly important and what is just a detail.

I am still in the “no definite routine period” of this change. I have, however, found that I can start putting some of the things I stopped back into my day. Major change makes the day go faster but also adds a heaping helping of stress into the day. Not that you don’t need to change what you are doing every once in a while. It helps to recognize what is happening and know that what you are going through is part of the process for dealing with it. Sometimes people fall into old habits that provided an escape during an earlier period of their lives. Many of these habits can be self destructive and once on that path, it is tough to get off. I have seen that happen too many times to people I know and realize that it is not the way. That is why prayer is such an important ingredient.

Icool

Cobb

Creatures of Habit Part 1

We all like to think that we are unpredictable and spontaneous but most of the time we travel a well worn path through our day. We create routines to simplify our lives so that we can accomplish more but by creating those routines, we relinquish our spontaneity. I would love to think that people are not able to predict what I am going to do from one day to the next but I realize that I am a creature of extreme habit. I have created that boring person that I dreaded becoming while growing up. What I truly hate about that level of predictability is that my children have learned to use it against me.

I promised myself that I would work out. We bought an elliptical trainer for my daughter for Christmas. At the same time, I received an IPOD. I have amassed a collection of more than 300 hours of music from classical, to classic rock, up through the 80’s, 90’s and into this wasteland of listening opportunity we call today. For those who know actual country and western (not the country rock are subjected to today), I even have Marty Robbins. One of the things that I do is listen to music while I work out. Now an IPOD is basically a miniature hard drive and a set of headphones. Both of them have to present for the IPOD to be operational. I would find my IPOD, without headphones setting on the computer table. The children use my headphones while on the computer. When I want to work out, I do not want to look for everything I need to accomplish the task. I, the creature of habit, put my IPOD in the same place every time. I know where it is and do not have to hunt for it. When I want it, I do not want to spend time searching for all of the parts. I have taken care of my stuff.
My children on the other hand seem to think that since it is in front of them, it can be used in any manner they see fit. And since they have no vested interest in maintaining my routine, they place the headphones in places I would not normally look, like under cushions, in the kitchen, in a drawer. Since I have taken the time to ensure my routine allows me quick and easy access to my IPOD, I expect it to be there and functional when I want it. On several occasions, it has disrupted my workout routine. I must say that the way I behaved toward my children was embarrassing. After all, I am just the predictable parent yelling at them for no good reason. I on the other hand see them as irresponsible children that disrespect my things.

Now, after the last episode of shouting at the devil, I sat down and worked through what I needed to do to solve the problem. The first solution was to change my routine. I moved my IPOD from in front of the computer and moved it to my bedroom. I figured that since I had to change clothes to work out, I could pick up my music at the same time. That eliminated the temptation. Out of sight, out of mind. But this left the computer without headphones. So, I bought a cheap pair of headphones and told the children that they were $99. If I had to replace them, it would come out of their pockets. So now I can listen to music at the computer and not have to look for my IPOD headphones. So the routine changed and turned into a new one. What a creature of habit.

Icool

Cobb

Apollo 13

My wife is taking a class that requires her to watch movies that reflect differing types of leaders. She has watched November Sky, Radio, The Miracle, and lastly, Apollo 13. It is interesting to observe the qualities that make a great leader. Some lead with an iron grip like the hockey coach in The Miracle. Some are enthusiastic leaders who bring people along with a strong vision and persistence. Apollo 13 had several people demonstrating differing leadership qualities that resulted in bringing a damaged lunar module safely back to Earth. It was an uplifting movie about how American know how overcame a tragic accident. A great movie with stunning visual effects and an unfortunate Oscar snub for Tom Hanks. It would have been three in a row for him.

The thing that caught my ear in the movie was how Ron Howard, you know the boy from Mayberry RFD, directed how the media handled the event into the movie. They all but ignored the launch and when things went wrong, wanted to be in the spotlight instead of the astronauts. As I listened to the TV coverage, it was endless speculation on how the latest speculated tragedy would alter their chances of making it back successfully. The great Walter Cronkite waxed on about how this potential tragedy would alter the American perspective on space. Reporter after reporter marched through various parts of the movie all speculating about different aspects of the success or failure of the mission. It was not news. It was shock jock audio candy that was designed to boost ratings instead of inform and educate. It was not the reporting of a recent event. That would have been the launch and the damaging of the capsule. This was a team of verminous vampires, designed to suck every last drop out of other people’s feelings and emotions.

The highlight of the movie was when the wife of the mission’s leader, told the NASA media official that the news people could not set up an antenna on her lawn. If they did not care enough about the event before it occurred, they would have to wait until the crew came home before she had anything to say to them. I applaud her strong stance on telling reporters to get stuffed. The movie depicts the reporters are little better than the paparazzi that hound the Hollywood set to get a picture of someone in a compromising situation. They did not care who they upset, trampled over, or speculated on. It was anything to keep the viewer watching. I almost turned off the movie. Once again, technology has come through with fast forward and the off switch.

Icool

Cobb

Bad Outlook

I spent some quality time surfing the internet last night. It has been a long time since I have had the chance to just look at things that interest me. Somehow I got on the FM 104, WIOT website. It is not some place that I would have normally gone but I was looking for the name of a particular song that is getting some air play (Pain byThree Days Grace) and just started watching their video on demand feature.

After watching three or four videos, I realized that the rock and roll today is one giant protest. Gone are the days of the cute, scantily dressed girls, parading across the screen while the lead guitarist glides up and down the frets. One video was scene after scene of war violence from Vietnam to Iraq. It did not center on just Americans but implied that we were the cause of all the unrest in the world. Another was a remake of the Genesis song Land of Confusion. It was a cartoon that started with jet planes with swastikas on each wing dropping bombs on London, Paris and New York. The armies all had gas masks on and they were marching in unison down a major boulevard. The scene flashed to a lone man, with a black face and big white teeth who was chained to a wall. He broke his chains and ravaged those in the room. You cannot tell he is a good guy until he leads a rag tag group against the approaching army. I guess the Iraq conflict has has heavily saturated the music concepts that are being presented to our youth.

It is an extension of the 60's protest with the ability to mass market protest instead of staging large events. It is easier to flash it on the TV. The internet and cell phones have provided a platform for protest that enables people to all get the same ideas without having to interact with anyone else. Just put up a myspace page and add a few friends and you have an instant audience. Since you can put your music and pictures on the net, you can identify yourself with whatever you are interested in and push whatever agenda you want, hidden or not.

I keep trying to find some way to link America's current situation with the fall of Rome. We have a corrupt, entrenched government that has gone Hollywood. We are developing political dynasties where the entire family goes into politics. Laws are being passed not for the benefit of the country but to attract defined classes of voters. The only redeeming position is that the ability to communicate has improved and be are able to be better informed. Based on the videos I saw yesterday, that is not always a good thing.

Icool

Cobb