WORKSHEET: La Moda del Hombres
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Done With Down-Time: Connected
As an externality of an increased standard of living, children spend fewer hours with the family. The television, once a shared activity centered upon the household set in the living room, has become a solo act, relegated to the bedroom. More fortunate children, when the thrill of television programming has been quelled, now have personal computers, and gaming systems at their immediate disposal, without having the need to changes rooms.
Cellular phones and this new “age of the text message” keep people; especially children, more adept at assimilating the changing winds of technology, “connected”, more so than at any time in the history of human civilization. Before the I-Pod and wireless connectivity, man, woman, and child were resigned to being within earshot of a radio or television. Phones were sought out, if one needed to place a call from outside of the home. Knowledge was learned from the pages of books or from parenting and educational instruction.
This learning method forced absorption, with no flash drives to enable a bookmarked link following quick scan of a Wikipedia entry at any random Wi-Fi hotspot. Computers were connected to walls, and its only use for the young student was as an easier alternative to the typewriter. Before these technological innovations, many hours of the day were spent on other activities; Play, reading, studying, and even chores. A walk at one point in time was only just a walk, without an accompanying soundtrack.
These new items occupy the “down time” in most peoples’ lives; an area once reserved for conscious thought and introspection, curiosity and imagination. While they sometimes serve to benefit intellectual interests, more often than not, they commandeer this time; decreasing attention spans and swallowing one up in a consumer lifestyle that demands new and exciting toys to replace the predecessors that have fallen out of style and appeal.
Image & Counter POV: Get Yourself Connected
POETRY: “A High Aspiration”
A high aspiration,
But short on time
Due dates, deadlines
Always something assigned
Countdown, time clock
Clock “talk,” tick-tock:
Progress demands
A turn of the page.
Reviewed, critiqued
And graded.
Hurried, harried
Tossed together,
Done on time.
Enough to get by.
Phew! Finally finished!
Hope for any –ed ending.
Hope for past tense.
But “next on the list”
Must move on.
Foremost, whatever sells:
Mainstream, mass appeal
Conjured vs. created, dumbed-down
Sold-out, soulless.
Condensed or fluffed
Compromised by deadline
Now just an aspiration.
Polished, but not exactly
The original idea.
What If All Dogs Were Clones?
HYPOTHETICAL
Firstly, there would be less genetic diversity among dogs. The dogs that had the most desirable traits would dominate the population, while those with less desirable (more aptly put, “less popular”) traits would be fewer in number or no longer exist; perhaps, except for their genetic code in a database or genetic material to sample in case future demand necessitates its reintroduction. If all dogs were clones, the population would be easier to manage, because it would theoretically be possible to know how many are on the market, and of what kind.
Animal overpopulation could also be solved, but that in turn, becomes an economics issue: instead, for the issue of surplus, envisage a warehouse of over-produced puppies, put to sleep in a “down” market to recoup losses from the over-speculative production that brought them into existence. This may be solved with the cloning of pets “to order,” keeping maintenance costs low by providing direct service from the lab to the consumer.
Dogs would turn into a commodity, much like toys, rather than the slightly independent life form they are now. Value of each “style” will be determined in this new market, and some people will be priced-out from having their desired breed to a greater extent than which exists currently. Sadly, pet abandonment could increase as owners begin to see the animal more as a commodity than a living being. Popularity of a particular breed may rise, whereas others will fall; if animals are regarded more as commodities, instances such “Paris Hilton syndrome” may occur with greater frequency.
The Chihuahua; popularized by Hollywood, Television, and commercials; fell out style. The animals started turning up in shelters in San Francisco, where officials say “If the trend continues…the (city) shelter would become 50 per cent Chihuahua within months. People who purchase an animal like it was a toy, treat it as such. In that respect, “designer dogs” are dangerous idea in a consumer culture such as ours. Life (although it already is in some respects) shouldn’t be treated as something to, in one instance, desire; in another, throw away.
The question remains: How far do we go in our attempt to perfect life? And, what if the knowledge of the scientific community is still too naïve to understand the consequences of it’s’ actions? What of all the unpredictable externalities that may occur with pet (and eventually, human) trait selection? That is not to say that we should abandon attempts at bettering the world in which we live; genetic manipulation is a tool that can help us do that.
In a perfect world, there would no longer be vicious animals (or humans). Pets (and, again, humans) could perhaps live longer, having the best possible genetic combinations. It should be consciously realized that the “mutt” (again, humans as well), could disappear, for better or for worse. Genetic manipulation should be a tool for species to better themselves or be bettered; however, it should be an ‘equalizer.’ There must be careful considerations not to drive a larger wedge between socioeconomic classes, be it from selecting the best human traits, or having access to the best designer animal.
Image and a story, here:
http://www.zmescience.com/research/cloned-canine-drug-sniffers-are-an-amazing-success-in-south-korea-big-leap-for-animal-cloning-in-the-future/
Tech Praise: Less Physical Clutter
a retro post, circa 2008
Do you need to own that 20 dollar dvd? Or has the industry bilked you for something that will sit on a shelf?
I really like the idea of being able to buy movies/songs online. I bought an mp3 album off of amazon the other day. It cost me 8 dollars as opposed to the 12 dollars for the physical cd (which sits on the shelf) or the 17-18 dollars it would cost at a retail location (if I could find it, which I wasn’t able to do). By getting the mp3 album, I was able to have it immediately, for cheaper, without the extras that I used to think I needed, but which just turned out to be “more stuff.”
I still think I wasted my money in some way…I would almost rather pay a penny or five cents every time I listened to a song. I might get a better value that way, rather than possessing something I don’t really need to possess.
Image found via another article which concurs.
Turkey Is Not Part of Europe
I think it is a mistake to consider the admittance of Turkey to the EU.
First, it is silly, considering the geographic location of the country. Second, the admittance of Turkey to the EU would completely upset the religious balance of the organization; the admittance of such a large Muslim country to a vast majority Christian organization is only likely to upset the people of the current member states. You could almost say that Turkey has no business joining the EU.
Now, if Istanbul were to break away to form its own independent city state, that would be another issue entirely. You can’t beat the opportunity that such a location presents; and I would admit the city in a heartbeat. I feel, however, that there are more cons than pros in admitting an Muslim state to a largely Christian organization.
Vatican: The Ear of One Billion
There are over billion Catholics in the world and crowds still flock to see the Pope every where he goes. To have the ear of a billion people is a great feat. Even though the worth of the Papacy and its message are questioned in the media, it’s followers keep the Vatican around. Though considered conservative, the Pope’s messages are respected. To summarize: if it wasn’t relevant (as it is) in so many people’s lives, it would have disappeared long ago.
A Family Talk: Saving For Retirement
I had a short conversation with my father and grandmother on how they are saving/saved for retirement. My grandmother retired from 2 companies after 20 years, one being a military contract job. She receives a double pension from both companies. She didn’t put any money into a 401k (she said that it didn’t exist yet), but she and my grandfather invested a little in “stock and all that.” They also invested in a nice house, the resale of which brought them good returns. More recently, she was a victim of a confidence scheme which took all of her savings. She has applied for social security, and is now living with my father. I asked her if her she considers her retirement plan successful, and she thinks that despite the current situation, she was able to enjoy a good retirement from years of dedicated work. I mentioned that I believe the double pension to be a relic of the past, and that it would not be an option for very many people in the future, and she agreed. She thinks “it’s all catching up with us.” I mentioned a ‘bubble’, and she said “yes, a bubble.”
My father has never saved for retirement, but does receive a small pension from General Dynamics after a workplace injury. He is often heard saying that he’ll have to “work until he is dead.” He says it’s a good idea to “own stuff,” like vehicles and property, which you can sell in a pinch. He is not hopeful for a retirement in any sense. Understanding the economic situation our planet is in, I am inclined to agree with my father, but I’m not willing to submit myself to a lifetime of work. My future appears to be odd jobs, or self-entrepreneurship. In that case, I won’t be signing up for a 401k, or be matched by any company any time soon. In all seriousness, I find that my only hope is to get rich from my ideas. I told my father that, and he nodded, “Your generation is stuck until you fix it.” My plan is a hybrid of my fathers: invest in local, tangible things of value; and mine: get rich because you have to. I will never feel comfortable with investments or savings plans held electronically, because I believe that system ready to implode.
image found here:
http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1249993/thumbs/o-RETIREMENT-SAVINGS-facebook.jpg
Guarantee Healthcare Access
For several years I went without healthcare because I couldn’t afford to use it. Between the combination of high insurance premiums, near minimum wage jobs and costly deductibles, health care that that I paid into was still out of reach. I remember vividly from my childhood the same financial strain my mother had in using her insurance. If someone can’t afford to use your insurance, what good is it? When I had the opportunity to review the SustiNet heath plan passed by the state House and Senate, H.B. No. 6600, I was a somewhat disappointed. Seeing as this proposal comes from the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, I had been expecting something more resembling a “single-payer” system; more specifically, a healthcare plan that could be accessed by all and afforded by all.
A “guarantee of access” to high quality coverage is important. Cost control to manage a sustainable program is as well. But what does SustiNet do for the people who will still become permanently indebted just to live? The status quo of someone living vs. someone dying because universal coverage is still out of reach will still exist. “Cheap” is, after all, relative. Is SustiNet “Healthcare we can count on?” Not if every single person can’t afford to buy into it. The health plan proposed in SustiNet will undoubtedly help many people acquire health insurance. However, it still leaves many people effectively without it. If scores of individuals still can’t afford coverage, has a universal right-to-affordable-healthcare standard been fulfilled?