What a Concept

Okay, Val - but that's something different.
I was talking about having machines controlled by a remote location that do work here in the States.
Like having a group of Mexicans picking oranges while controlling these machines from T.J..

This seems to be working with some surgical applications.

A guy can be in one city while the machine is doing the work in another.

What if we could get all the Mexican labor we needed without having to deal with the Mexicans themselves?

The recent movie Sleep Dealers deals with the concept of drones operated by foreign workers which do the jobs Americans don't want to do.

With our current fixation with drones in war, maybe this idea is not that far from reality.

Public Works Program (Socialism?)

In a down economy - jobs matter.
With our current level of employment within the military being about 1.4 million people on active duty and another 670,000 civilians - would a large reduction in our war activities create an even worse problem with unemployment?
Added to this, there are another two million civilians receiving benefits for their past active duty.
Being the world's largest exporter of weaponry - how big of an impact would peace have on one of the few American industries which still actually makes anything?
Aren't many of the weapons made by us also being used against us?

How much wealth is spent to maintain all of our military bases worldwide?
How much do we waste by ensuring that parts for weapons are made in many states in the Union and then assembled on sight instead of in only one or two plants?
How many contractors rely on government funding to ensure their profits?
Maybe the naysayers were correct in saying that this is not a war for oil.
Maybe what this actually is is a war to ensure employment for a country that seems to produce little more than conflict.

They're Taking All Our Jobs!

Maybe Arizona is right.
Maybe we need to protect or land, our jobs and our families.
As California's economy teeters on the edge of collapse - one of it's main revenue generating industries seems to be overrun with foreign workers.
Time Magazine states that "20% of Hollywood is Canadian.".
Okay, this may not seem like a big deal but the 12% drop in entertainment industry employment is 60% of the total amount of jobs lost in Los Angeles County.
Sure, Pam Anderson has some tig-ole-(silicon)-bitties but so do many native born American women.
Is Pam taking a job away from some other well endowed American worker?


The Entertainment Industry generates roughly $27bn annually for the state.
Aren't there American women who can sing Country Music as well as Shania Twain?

While the International Boundary is the longest in the world at 5525 miles - one seems to be able to cross from one country to the other with little problem or effort.
Is it fair that Nelly Furtado can make money in the United States but then spend that money in Canada?

Sure, Titanic made a lot of money for James Cameron and Hollywood - but did we really need Celine Dion to scream for, what seemed like, two hours of the film?
Don't we have any qualified screamers here in America?

Yeah, I'm a fan of the Matrix movies - but did Carrie Anne Moss and Keanu Reaves take jobs away from American born actors?

Why do we put up with over a billion dollars annually being injected into our neighbor's economy?

Isn't this just outsourcing American jobs to Vancouver?

Should we really have Alex Trebeck hosting the American game show Jeopardy?

Should Brendan Frasier keep taking roles away from native actors?

Shouldn't we have kicked Corey Haim out of the country before he died of a drug overdose?

Why does Howie Mandel get to give away money on Deal or No Deal instead of a native born American host?

Evangeline Lilly acts on the show Lost, and judging by her country of origin maybe she really is.

11011 (27)

Some would argue that in order for a group to make progress that they should ignore all that any other group has to say.
Many would argue that in order to gain any real measure of success - each group must rely solely upon it's own initiative.

George Boole was an Irish math whiz who lacked a complete formal education.
But George was also isolated from those with whom he could interact and learn.
Because of George's isolation, Mr. Boole was always making "discoveries" which had already been discovered.

Raja Rammohun Roy founded the Bramo Samaj movement in India in 1829.
The intent of Mr. Roy was for India to learn from those who had occupied his country and learn their ways in the context of his own culture.
Mr. Roy justified the acquisition of "foreign" knowledge without assuming any form of inferiority because he could cite the myth of the original speakers of the Indo-European languages - the "Aryan race - as his own.
It is because of Mr. Roy's philosophy that India has been able to enjoy the benefits of selective Westernization without having to give up it's own culture.

In 1861, Wei Mu-ting laid out the plans to incorporate Western thinking - thought to have originally been stolen from China with the West's interactions with the Mongols - in a manner that would return "original knowledge" to it's rightful home.
Today, much of China's success began with foreword thinking men who understood that 'knowledge' and 'power' knew no owners except those who used them best to further their own cause.

Some say to ignore all that anyone other than ones own group has to say.
But historically, the best method seems to be to take what can be learned and to incorporate that within ones own culture to further the needs and desires of any given culture.
Of course this is just my understanding of the problem...
Kind of like reading "11011" as "27" instead of "one thousand and eleven".
(Oh yeah, George Boole is often cited as the first to offer insight into binary notation.)

Mother Nature

Maybe many of our original ways are the best ways.
As scientific innovation attempts to solve problems within our society - many of these solutions become even bigger problems.
Many women complain about the pain or inconvenience of breastfeeding.
But what are a woman's options?
Is formula as good as mother's milk?
Are bottles better than boobs?
But these are largely seen as "women's problems".
Well... until recently.
When Bisphenol A or Phthalates start messing with the size of a man's penis, the EPA will stand and take notice.
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/features/online/3418/demasculinisation

Optimal Conditions

Icarus was warned of flying too high (lest the Sun melt the wax used to construct his wings) or too low (lest the waves catch him) - but this could be an allegory about Man's place in the Cosmos.

Maybe this is the problem with CERN.

Maybe we have not evolved to the point of being able to handle the results of such a reaction.
Maybe there is a limit to what we are supposed to know or what can do.

Our current understanding of bacteriophages may enable us to infect viruses. A similar theory could aid in the creation of prions made to replicate harmful or beneficial proteins.

But maybe this is going too small.

Maybe colloidal silver, copper or gold is on a scale too small for our control.

Maybe the ability to change humans on the genetic level is not a problem we'd like to solve.

Maybe it's the scale of the molecules and not the substances themselves which are the causes of the problem.

Even when we push our limits only slightly past our natural habitations - we have a need to create entirely new environments to sustain us.

High Speed flight requires special suits and breathing apparatus to enable us to function.

Climbs to heights higher than that one is used to can cause elevation sickness.

Deep sea exploration requires man made environments.

I'm all for knowledge - but only on a scale which we are evolved to handle.

Born of Clay?

Many Holy scriptures state that man was created from dust, water or even clay.
But then many scholars imagine that we were born of a chemical reaction from the primordial ooze.
That we are just the result of an inevitable variation of a pattern of cells splitting in two.
But which assumption is correct?

Maybe both are.

The Biblical retelling of creation stories state that two (Adam and Eve) were made from one (Adam).

Couldn't this also be a metaphor for the bifurcation of cells?

But then why does the Bible state that man was made in the image of God?

Was God originally a mere cell?

Well... no - initially He was much less and much more.

But as He became more aware of Himself, He began to create creatures which reflected this newly found (albeit always existent) consciousness.

Some stories even include a precursor to the Eve character in the form of Lilith.

But Lilith didn't act as she was supposed to and rebelled.

Maybe Lilith and her progeny from the archangel Samael are those from esoteric religious texts mentioning different types of man.

Maybe Lilith was one of God's failed attempts at creating humanity and the Adam and Eve model is what we are resultant from.

In any case - maybe the Adam and Eve story related in Genesis is really a metaphor for the creation of Man.

Just In Case

Earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes - oh my.
As hurricane season is fast coming upon is down here on the Gulf - one should always be prepared.
Many people have canned foods, batteries, bottled water and candles set aside - but there is a better way.
Above is a hand-cranked flashlight, radio and cell phone charger.
In the case of an emergency access to information and lighting are two basic but required luxuries.
Sure, you could go solar - but this little tool is cheaper, more portable and more reliable.
Also - gather all the solar lawn lights you can find.
The light given off will not light an entire home but you will be able to see better in environments with no source of electricity.

Don't forget the funk.
Rotting food, spilled sewage and dead animals (or humans) stink.
This HEPA mask is better than those ineffective little paper masks given out by the Red Cross after a disaster.
Just don't forget to load up on filters.
Why a pry-bar?
Just in case you need to create a way out of or in to a building.

Jars of peanut butter and cans of tuna do come in handy (just don't forget to pack a can opener) but these MREs are loaded with calories (mostly carbs) and many can last up to ten years if frozen.

Staying healthy is the best tool for survival.

A bottle of multivitamins can supplement many deficiencies in ones diet.

Water is your most important requirement but bottled water "spoils".

If kept for too long, the chemicals from the plastic bottles leach into the water.

A filtration system works to turn rain water into potable water.

Keep all of these things (having two kits in different areas of the home is a better practice) in a five gallon bucket.

The bucket can also be used as a means to catch rainwater.

Yeah, there are more necessities but those listed above and below are the ones people forget.
Keeping current on tetanus shots will reduce the chance of getting tinnitus from a stray nail or dirty board...

Being in good health will lower the need for medications...

Knowing ones neighbors will broaden your pool of resources...

While there is no fool proof system for survival, it's just better if you increase your odds.

Who Needs An Oscar ?

I jacked this photo from Tracy over at Blackgivesback (over there -->).

Leona. Alicia and Halle?

I'm not really a big fan of Jamie Foxx - but on that day I wish I was he.

What If ?

If the eruption of an isolated volcano in Iceland can cause this mush havoc in Europe and America's Northeast -

Imagine the effect an eruption in Yellowstone would have on the world's environment, economies and populations.
I guess if the movie 2012 is to be believed - at least Africa comes out alright.

Hip Hop Is Dead

Most Negroes don't know anything about Muslims except Bow Ties and Bean Pies - that is, until they've been to prison.
Maybe this is why only Islam (or some form of it) has resonated within the Hip Hop community and, by extension, much of the Black community.
Maybe this is why the death of former Gangstarr member "Guru" hits home for many who no longer listen to rap.
Gangstarr's track on the Mo' Better Blues soundtrack is what introduced me to Jazz.
Before that track, I thought of Jazz as something only listened to by ones parents while they were getting drunk and reminiscing about past accomplishments with their friends.
After that track, I bought the tapes (yeah.... it was that long ago) of the artists mentioned by Guru.

Gangstarr was part of a wave of self-aware Negroes who thought of themselves as more than what society had deemed them to be.
During this time HBCUs, Spike Lee, The Cosby Show (and A Different World), and these Five Percent influenced groups (Afrika Baambataa, Public Enemy, Eric B and Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Gangstarr, Wu Tang Clan, ... the list goes on) were the end result of the Black Power movement from the Sixties and Seventies.
A new generation of Blacks no longer felt limited to the common stereotypes put forth by the popular media.

Odd that only Islam had such power in a country whose media dominated by Christians and Jews.

Sure, Matisyahu is the man - but he is more Rastafarian than Rap.
Asher Roth or The Beasties?
These still can't measure up to the Muslim influence on Hip Hop.

Christian Rap?
Isn't that an oxymoron?

So yes, today another part of Hip Hop died.
R.I.P. Guru.

Natural Healthy Living

Old growth wood is naturally dense, stronger and longer lasting than the forced growth products most in use today.

Newer products attempt to mimic in a short time what it may have taken nature centuries to produce.

This is similar to our current food processing practices.

Natural food is nutrient rich and limited in it's reliance on artificial ingredients.

But ones body knows what it needs.

If a chicken from the Forties was rich in protein - one or two pieces was all that may have been needed to reach our nutritional goals.

If today's chickens are lacking in the same density of nutrients - one may have to eat three or four pieces to get the same intake of protein.

Why are many of us fat?
Because many of us don't eat real foods.

Natural Healthy Living

Sure this loaf looks bad - but at one point it was actually better for you than the mass produced overly processed product sold at most grocery chains.
Hint: If food does not spoil, it is not a real food.
Ingredients:
Flour
Water
Yeast
Oil
Salt

Sure, this bread look as though it would be better for you but let's take a look.
Ingredients:
Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate
Calcium Iodate
Datem
Calcium Sulfate
Vinegar
Ammonium Sulfate
Extracts of Malted barley and Corn
Dicalcium Phosphate
Diammonium Phosphate
Calcium Propionate
Whole Wheat Flour
Water
Wheat Gluten
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Soybean Oil
Salt
Molasses
Yeast
Mono and Diglycerides
Exthoxylated Mono and DIglycerides
Hint: If the shelf life of a product is longer than the real life of it's ingredients, it's not real food.

Natural Healthy Living

Ingredients:
Oestradiol
Progesterone
Testosterone
Zeranol
Trenbolone
Melengestrol
rBGH (Prosalic)
Antibiotics
Bovine Meat Product
Ingredients:
Cow

The Secret Lives of Bees

In bee communities none is as important as the queen.
Sure, bees seem to live in harmony with each other with every member of a colony knowing his place and purpose.

In the face of danger - the most expendable members sacrifice themselves in defence of the colony.

Maybe this is where our rulers get their concept of governance.