Article
"Canada's senior business leaders will urge the Harper government to
lift its "intrusive" visa on Mexican travellers ahead of the prime
minister's own visit there next week, The Canadian Press has learned.
A forthcoming report from the Canadian Council for Chief Executives
calls the visa, imposed in 2009 to curb bogus asylum claims, an
impediment to reinvigorating the Canada-Mexico relationship."
Dear prime minister , we the richest canadians in Canada , the Canadian Council for Cheif Executives , insist that you allow us to continue to hire people from Mexico , because it is a "dollar a day" country , and the workers will be happy to work practically for free , and we can then fire all those Canadian Workers who dare to demand the minimum wage.
PS: We'd love to kick some funding into your election war chest to convince you to help us , but you seem to have made that illegal.
Sincerely , Rich Fat Cats
=== ==== ==== ===
Dear Prime Minister,
We the Editers of the CBC , are continuing to persue our policy of publishing only articles that sling mud at you. The above article where someone , anyone (Fat Cat Rich Men) complain bitterly about your actions and no commenting is permitted for people to point out the obvious (Temporary Foreign Workers are stealing Canadian jobs !!!!) is all part of our decision to drown the Canadian public in news about how awful and evil you are , even when you get things right.
Please be advised we don't care if you get things right , we are a large corperation and we want to to partake of the Temporary Foreign Worker pie as well , and like any other corperation we don't give a hoot about the average Canadian. So you may expect that our "dirty tactics" will remain unchanged.
Sincerely , the Management of the CBC
Ps: April 13 ...CBC just got their budget cut again from the federal government. Gee ... I wonder why ?
Saturday, February 15, 2014
U.S. law firm ensnared in NSA surveillance: NYT report
Article
"(Reuters) - An unnamed U.S. law firm was caught up in the global surveillance of the National Security Agency (NSA) and its overseas partners in Australia, according to a newspaper report on Saturday.
A top secret document obtained by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden shows the firm was monitored while representing a foreign government in trade disputes with the United States, according to The New York Times."
Spying on the lawyers for someone involved in a trade dispute.
Have you ever heard of the phrase "Industrial Espionage" ? It doesn't just cover stealing commercial secrets. Peeking at your opponents hand during trade negotiations is also part of the package.
Apparently , as far as NSA is concerned , winning contracts for american corperations is all part of the fight against terrorism. Isn't that interesting ?
I wonder if anyone (Any non-US person or organization) will be willing to hire a US Law Firm for ... anything , after this ? Knowing that you might as well be turning over everything you say to whatever US firm or government branch you're dealing with so they can spy on you ?
Every action has a reaction. You use US Corperations as the minions of NSA , and you start using NSA and it's minions for Industrial Espionage , they're going to stop doing business with you. They're going to find some other place to cut a deal with, because of Plato.
Who's Plato ?
An ancient Philosopher reputed to be able to talk anyone into anything. Until people decided the solution to that problem was to simply not talk with him anymore, and not have any dealings with him anymore. If you can't get a fair deal , you'll settle for no deal , kind of thing. You'll just go somewhere else.
Friday, February 14, 2014
Is anyone listenning ?
NSA tells Congress: Snowden copied co-worker's password
WASHINGTON -- Former National Security Agency analyst Edward Snowden
gained access to at least some classified documents he later disclosed
by copying a password from a co-worker who has since resigned, the NSA
reported to Congress. Snowden has previously said he did not steal any
passwords.
Hello , is anyone listenning ?
These guys lied their butts off to congress , the general public , and pretty much every one else in the whole wide world , and you're still listenning to them ? Are you stupid or what ?
These guys purjured themselves right to congress itself. Who knows what they're really doing or what really happened ? The only thing we know for certain is they are prolific liars and they do not hesitate to pile on a few more.
Friday, February 07, 2014
Crystal Ball 2014
My Crystal Ball for 2014
Ingredients
So what am I basing my predictions on ? What is my list of ingredients ?
Predictions
1... My first prediction is that China , which is already spending billions on hacking , will toss in another billion dollars to try and hack this "vault " of information where all the spying records on everyone in the world NSA is gathering will be kept. A billion dollars ? Yeah , I'm basically going to assume they'll succeed. If you gather it , they will steal it , supena it , write laws to let themselves use and abuse it , and all that stuff.
2... I predict , that the chinese will make it standard proceedure to go through their stolen data about every american that they got from the NSA , and look for the weak links to convert and coopt. You know , the ones with the gambling problems, the three mistresses, the cocaine addiction , etc etc.
3... I predict sometime in the next few years this "Vault" of information will be used to try and assassinate the president. Not likely by China or Russia , they don't want a war , but if NSA can't keep it a secret , why would you think anyone else could. Some rich Shiek in the middle east will get ahold of it and use it to conscript the pizza boy down the street , and possibly one of the secret service agents . No prediction on whether or not it will work , just that they'll try it.
4...I'm going to stick with last years prediction that manufacturing is dying and 3D printing will rule the world, though at this point most people would count this as more of a sure thing than a psychic's prediction.
5... This current trend of hiring forien workers on a temporary work permit to replace regular canadian workers will be shut down. Might take a year or two ... but the current outrage by the canadian public , and leaked remarks by Prime Minister Harper indicating he's not in favor of it either , seem to indicate a lot of movement in this direction.
6... I predict our smart phones will become "multi devices" . They all have micro-usb jacks , they all have blue tooth (meaning newly invented devices can be plugged in via these ports) , and we're pretty much at the point where most everyone has a smart phone. Adding an app and possibly a piece of hardware to slip into your cell phone case is pretty much all you need. This nonsense about a special phone for the job just that. Infrared ports to turn it into "TV Remotes" Or any other remote control device , is next on the list. Along with radio controlling toys (like those toy helicopters that are popping up everywhere) . Yes , the blue tooth transmitter is a radio transmitter. Not to mention the whole dang cell phone is a radio transmitter.
7... The internet will be broken into national internets. There may be back bones connecting them, or not , but the USA /NSA abusing it's monopoly on the internet has pretty much guarenteed people don't want nsa listening on their every phone call . This one may take several years though , thats a lot of internet structure to re-wire.
8... New phones, computers , and other gadgets will burst upon the market. And by "new" I mean "Not Made In The USA" . Sorry Obama , but when you publically tell everyone you've coopted every single american company to serve your spy agencies and you have no intention of ever stopping , you did this to yourself. This trend may not be as catastrophic as some people would imagine , since a lot of people don't care that everyone in the world is watching them (yeesh ... hasn't the facebook generation burned their fingers enough ? ) but still , it will have an impact. Microsoft is still going to be king for a little while longer.
9... Google , Microsoft , Yahoo , and most any USA company is going to take a hit on forien sales in 2014 , as contracts begin to run out and security advisors point to recent news articles . Anything to do with security will be the first not to be renewed. Later on , this trend will increase to a massive anti-USA ban . US Companies are already parading to the presidants office to try and get him to assure forieners that their secrets are safe with him , but after his previous statements on the matter , it's a little bit late.
10... There is a prediction floating aorund out there , in a CNET article , that the internet desperately needs to expand capacity by eleven fold to deal with the coming flood of "wearable" devices. I say to this prediction "No Chance" Why ? Because people are already struggling with 100$ internet bills (if you're a bell or rogers subscriber , and being ripped off) , they're not going to pay eleven fold to increase their bandwidth eleven fold.
No , they're going to cut back .They're going to decide I have a smart phone that's connected to the internet. I don't need a smart watch as well. I don't need to pay for my blue jeans to go online and tell everyone where I am. My fridge doesn't need to go online and automatically order groceries on my credit card without my permission , etc etc.
Ingredients
So what am I basing my predictions on ? What is my list of ingredients ?
- President Obama basically giving the world his middle finger and telling them (us ! ) He has no intention of stopping his spying on the whole wide world
- President Obama publically stating he's going to "lock up" all that information his various spy agencies are gathering on every citizen of the world , in one big place to limit access
- "Two People Can Keep a Secret , but only if one of them is dead" , a saying that frequently occurs in Heinlien novels indicating the likelyhood of any secret you're keeping , actually being kept.
- The Usual MIx of 3D printers , Internet , and the fact that even a guy on disability like me now has a smart phone , probably everyone in the world will have one soon enough
- The notion that the internet needs to explode it's capacity by eleven fold in four years to handle all the "wearable" devices coming down the pipe.
Predictions
1... My first prediction is that China , which is already spending billions on hacking , will toss in another billion dollars to try and hack this "vault " of information where all the spying records on everyone in the world NSA is gathering will be kept. A billion dollars ? Yeah , I'm basically going to assume they'll succeed. If you gather it , they will steal it , supena it , write laws to let themselves use and abuse it , and all that stuff.
2... I predict , that the chinese will make it standard proceedure to go through their stolen data about every american that they got from the NSA , and look for the weak links to convert and coopt. You know , the ones with the gambling problems, the three mistresses, the cocaine addiction , etc etc.
3... I predict sometime in the next few years this "Vault" of information will be used to try and assassinate the president. Not likely by China or Russia , they don't want a war , but if NSA can't keep it a secret , why would you think anyone else could. Some rich Shiek in the middle east will get ahold of it and use it to conscript the pizza boy down the street , and possibly one of the secret service agents . No prediction on whether or not it will work , just that they'll try it.
4...I'm going to stick with last years prediction that manufacturing is dying and 3D printing will rule the world, though at this point most people would count this as more of a sure thing than a psychic's prediction.
5... This current trend of hiring forien workers on a temporary work permit to replace regular canadian workers will be shut down. Might take a year or two ... but the current outrage by the canadian public , and leaked remarks by Prime Minister Harper indicating he's not in favor of it either , seem to indicate a lot of movement in this direction.
6... I predict our smart phones will become "multi devices" . They all have micro-usb jacks , they all have blue tooth (meaning newly invented devices can be plugged in via these ports) , and we're pretty much at the point where most everyone has a smart phone. Adding an app and possibly a piece of hardware to slip into your cell phone case is pretty much all you need. This nonsense about a special phone for the job just that. Infrared ports to turn it into "TV Remotes" Or any other remote control device , is next on the list. Along with radio controlling toys (like those toy helicopters that are popping up everywhere) . Yes , the blue tooth transmitter is a radio transmitter. Not to mention the whole dang cell phone is a radio transmitter.
7... The internet will be broken into national internets. There may be back bones connecting them, or not , but the USA /NSA abusing it's monopoly on the internet has pretty much guarenteed people don't want nsa listening on their every phone call . This one may take several years though , thats a lot of internet structure to re-wire.
8... New phones, computers , and other gadgets will burst upon the market. And by "new" I mean "Not Made In The USA" . Sorry Obama , but when you publically tell everyone you've coopted every single american company to serve your spy agencies and you have no intention of ever stopping , you did this to yourself. This trend may not be as catastrophic as some people would imagine , since a lot of people don't care that everyone in the world is watching them (yeesh ... hasn't the facebook generation burned their fingers enough ? ) but still , it will have an impact. Microsoft is still going to be king for a little while longer.
9... Google , Microsoft , Yahoo , and most any USA company is going to take a hit on forien sales in 2014 , as contracts begin to run out and security advisors point to recent news articles . Anything to do with security will be the first not to be renewed. Later on , this trend will increase to a massive anti-USA ban . US Companies are already parading to the presidants office to try and get him to assure forieners that their secrets are safe with him , but after his previous statements on the matter , it's a little bit late.
10... There is a prediction floating aorund out there , in a CNET article , that the internet desperately needs to expand capacity by eleven fold to deal with the coming flood of "wearable" devices. I say to this prediction "No Chance" Why ? Because people are already struggling with 100$ internet bills (if you're a bell or rogers subscriber , and being ripped off) , they're not going to pay eleven fold to increase their bandwidth eleven fold.
No , they're going to cut back .They're going to decide I have a smart phone that's connected to the internet. I don't need a smart watch as well. I don't need to pay for my blue jeans to go online and tell everyone where I am. My fridge doesn't need to go online and automatically order groceries on my credit card without my permission , etc etc.
Creation Debate
I love this cartoon because it sums up the whole Creationism vs Science debate.
If you are a "believer" in science , the guy with the huge stack of documentation and supporting evidence is the winner of the debate.
If you are a "believer" in religion , the guy with his one holy book is the winner.
The interesting point here is that the battle for believers is not won or lost at these debates. It's won or lost in the schools. The only function these debates serve is as a poll to see what each sides standing is, because no one is going to change their mind on a debate.
Friday, January 24, 2014
Friday, January 17, 2014
Spy Panel : Fox News
Did you know there are still people out there that don't believe America is spying on the whole wide world , that think we who say this all wear tin foil hats and should be locked away as crazies ?
To you I say , where have you been hiding ? It's been headline news since the summer of 2013. In fact , here's a little clip of Fox News , a major american news station , talking about it.
http://youtu.be/ZCSBqYee5IQ
Interesting things .
1. The figure 200 000 000 (two hundred million) text messages a day ,from around the world , being captured by NSA , was mentioned.
2. The collection of phone data (they still refuse to state they're listening in on your calls , and it's still illegal for the phone company to tell anyone what information exactly they are giving over to the NSA) will now be held by a third party organization , and you'll have to go to an "american" judge to get it. Oh , if you're a foriener , because they listen in on the whole wide world , there's a council of (american) advocates that will decide if it's ok for americans to listen in on non-american information . (phone calls , email , text messages, anything they dig up )
3... The entire speach and discussion after words can be translated as "We're still doing it , we aint gonna stop"
4... Edward Snowden broke the law and should go to jail for it. Breaking Laws is not allowed.
Other than the usual shock at the whole sale violation of every human beings privacy on the entire planet , the following thoughts occured to me.
A council of americans deciding which phone calls / other internet traffic of a non-american can be listenned to is about as dubious and unreliable as it gets. I am not assured of anything by this move. But of course, not being an american , I don't get to vote against Obama , do I ?
The NSA is already a government agency full of "trustworthy non-criminals with security clearnances" . Creating another agency to do the same job , full of the same kind of people , is little more than shuffling chairs on the deck of the titanic. A cosmetic feel good change with no actual effect.
At least they mentioned american businesses are going to take a hit because no one trusts them anymore. I knew that was coming.
As for Edward Snowden breaking the law , so was every single escaped slave in American back when slave keeping was legal. Such statements are without meaning. We are not talking about how the americans decided to make their activities perfectly legal (by american law) . Such a discussion is meaningless in the context that their activities range far , far far outside their borders and deep into the privacy and rights of the citizens of other countries. Canadians really don't care that the americans think it's perfectly legal to spy on them.
Anyways ... this video pretty much recaps the whole nsa spying on the world situation , for those of you who have been asleep the last 10 months.
Monday, January 06, 2014
The Future of Intelligent Appliances
Dear Insured Party ,
We understand and sympathise with your recent automobile accident and your application for compensation for injuries and depression.
Unfortunately , as per your agreement , we have examined your facebook account and internet access patterns and have determined you do not meet our standards of disabled, dispite your inability to go back to work , and so your application , as you have already been informed, has been denied.
since you have decided to continue legal action in this matter , as per our written agreement , we have turned over all information from your internet , and your intelligent appliances , to various authorities. We have noticed more than a thousand illegally copied mp3 songs and amost two hundred movies on your external hard drive , and your television seems to be set exclusively to pornographic channels. As this may be a technical error , we have also sent your wife a copy of this report , along with pictures taken from your computer's camera while you were unclothed, watching those pornographic movies.
You can expect letters of copy write violation from the RSA shortly.
Also , we have informed your credit card corperation of your lack of employment and the decision to deny your application , thus resulting in you having no income. You have no doubt noticed they cancelled the cards already.
Since the appartment building you live in is one we have a financial interest in (ie: we've insured it) we have informed your land lord as well that you have no income and are unlikely to make next months rent.
Thank you for your business.
Your Insurance Company.
(They're already getting lawyers to get access to your face book account. This isn't as far a stretch as you think)
We understand and sympathise with your recent automobile accident and your application for compensation for injuries and depression.
Unfortunately , as per your agreement , we have examined your facebook account and internet access patterns and have determined you do not meet our standards of disabled, dispite your inability to go back to work , and so your application , as you have already been informed, has been denied.
since you have decided to continue legal action in this matter , as per our written agreement , we have turned over all information from your internet , and your intelligent appliances , to various authorities. We have noticed more than a thousand illegally copied mp3 songs and amost two hundred movies on your external hard drive , and your television seems to be set exclusively to pornographic channels. As this may be a technical error , we have also sent your wife a copy of this report , along with pictures taken from your computer's camera while you were unclothed, watching those pornographic movies.
You can expect letters of copy write violation from the RSA shortly.
Also , we have informed your credit card corperation of your lack of employment and the decision to deny your application , thus resulting in you having no income. You have no doubt noticed they cancelled the cards already.
Since the appartment building you live in is one we have a financial interest in (ie: we've insured it) we have informed your land lord as well that you have no income and are unlikely to make next months rent.
Thank you for your business.
Your Insurance Company.
(They're already getting lawyers to get access to your face book account. This isn't as far a stretch as you think)
Friday, December 20, 2013
The Evilness of CBC News
Article = none , personal opinion
I want to discuss NSA / PRISM and how the united states wants to spy on the whole wide world, and how , maybe , if they feel like , they might possible slow down , a little , on american citizens, possibly maybe make some token of apology that probably means nothing and does nothing , but the rest of the world is out of luck.
I want to discuss the new changes to the prostitution laws.
I have no interest in the Mike Duffy ex Newsie and the gang and his 90k in lawyer fee's that Harper decided he wasn't going to pay.
I want to discuss how Harper's foreign minister Baird thinks the americans are totally right about wanting to throw Edward Snowden in jail for his "crimes" and how this pretty much puts Harper in the same boat as Obama , selling out the canadian population to a foreign nation , since he's staying absolutely quiet on the matter and not promising anything.
I want to discuss why the heck are we trying to increase trade with China when they frequently violate human rights, and copy rights, and along with the USA are hacking away at the world to a fair thee well. And harpers staying quiet on that front as well.
But CBC doesn't want to discuss this.
They just want to talk about the "Duffy Scandle" and who said what , and what an evil person Harper is , and the rest gets scant , or no , treatment at all.
There are real stories, real issues out there, and no one care what the Canadian Public things. They're trying to tell the canadian public what to think, to dictate to us.
And I'm not too happy about that.
I want to discuss NSA / PRISM and how the united states wants to spy on the whole wide world, and how , maybe , if they feel like , they might possible slow down , a little , on american citizens, possibly maybe make some token of apology that probably means nothing and does nothing , but the rest of the world is out of luck.
I want to discuss the new changes to the prostitution laws.
I have no interest in the Mike Duffy ex Newsie and the gang and his 90k in lawyer fee's that Harper decided he wasn't going to pay.
I want to discuss how Harper's foreign minister Baird thinks the americans are totally right about wanting to throw Edward Snowden in jail for his "crimes" and how this pretty much puts Harper in the same boat as Obama , selling out the canadian population to a foreign nation , since he's staying absolutely quiet on the matter and not promising anything.
I want to discuss why the heck are we trying to increase trade with China when they frequently violate human rights, and copy rights, and along with the USA are hacking away at the world to a fair thee well. And harpers staying quiet on that front as well.
But CBC doesn't want to discuss this.
They just want to talk about the "Duffy Scandle" and who said what , and what an evil person Harper is , and the rest gets scant , or no , treatment at all.
There are real stories, real issues out there, and no one care what the Canadian Public things. They're trying to tell the canadian public what to think, to dictate to us.
And I'm not too happy about that.
Sunday, December 01, 2013
Store Bought Bread = Evilness
article = none , personal opinion.
Normally , I can eat a whole loaf of store bought bread in a day (with peanut butter or jam or whatever was on sale ) . And I'm still hungry ,and I will wolf down potatoe chips or whatever .
But now , with the bread making machine , two huge slices did me for the whole day.
Weird ... or is it?
There have been news articles of corperations doing research to make their food stuff more attractive , not just labelling but changing the ingredients (typically adding more sugar ) . Taste , texture , amount of lard or other ingredients ... all in search of making you almost addicted to their product , like it was a drug. I already know they're doing it to potatoe chips and I try to avoid the stuff , but I hadn't expected them to be doing it
to bread.
They're messing with the ingredients of store bought bread to make you eat it like a starving wolf ?
I'm sitting here trying to lose weight , going on long walks , the works, and these bozo's are sabataging everything I eat and making me gain weight just for a fast buck?
Yeah , I'm a little ticked at them.
I should have guessed when a plate of rice fills me right up but store bought meals (McDonalds) I'm hungry an hour later. The grocery stores are literally a battle ground, as several news articles have reported, with competing brands trying any dirty trick , and we are the casualties.
Am I going to have to home make everything from now on? Do they have machines for that ? Because I'm a computer techie, not a cook. Put the ingredients in the machine and press start is pretty much all the effort I want to spend on this kind of thing.
Wonder if there's a machine for making soda pop, I drink a lot of the stuff.
Normally , I can eat a whole loaf of store bought bread in a day (with peanut butter or jam or whatever was on sale ) . And I'm still hungry ,and I will wolf down potatoe chips or whatever .
But now , with the bread making machine , two huge slices did me for the whole day.
Weird ... or is it?
There have been news articles of corperations doing research to make their food stuff more attractive , not just labelling but changing the ingredients (typically adding more sugar ) . Taste , texture , amount of lard or other ingredients ... all in search of making you almost addicted to their product , like it was a drug. I already know they're doing it to potatoe chips and I try to avoid the stuff , but I hadn't expected them to be doing it
to bread.
They're messing with the ingredients of store bought bread to make you eat it like a starving wolf ?
I'm sitting here trying to lose weight , going on long walks , the works, and these bozo's are sabataging everything I eat and making me gain weight just for a fast buck?
Yeah , I'm a little ticked at them.
I should have guessed when a plate of rice fills me right up but store bought meals (McDonalds) I'm hungry an hour later. The grocery stores are literally a battle ground, as several news articles have reported, with competing brands trying any dirty trick , and we are the casualties.
Am I going to have to home make everything from now on? Do they have machines for that ? Because I'm a computer techie, not a cook. Put the ingredients in the machine and press start is pretty much all the effort I want to spend on this kind of thing.
Wonder if there's a machine for making soda pop, I drink a lot of the stuff.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Adventures in Bread Making
I watched a video on break making.
Cover a table with flower, kneed for 8 minutes, let sit for an hour , need again , sit again 40 min ... very messy , very long , looks like hard work too. Why would I possibly want that ?
I've had my eye on a Bread Maker for a while now, and I finally scraped together the cash to buy one. The fact that "Black Friday" , traditionally an american only sales event , has migrated north and this 80 $ bread maker only cost me 50$ was a big help as well.
Apparently , you just pour the ingredients in , push the button , and walk away. An hour later, you come back to a nice freshly baked loaf of bread.
And the current price of a loaf of bread is $2.50 Canadian. But baking it yourself is considerably cheaper. I estimate the 2.5kg of flour I bought will do me for at least 5 loaves of bread , and it cost $2.99 . The rest will last considerably longer than 5 loafs.
What the heck is that duck taped to the front of the bread maker you ask ? Funny thing about the recipie book that comes with this bread maker. It has 10 really complex recipies for really strange and bizarre loaves of bread. But it doesn't seem to have a "simple loaf of bread" recipie. I had to go find one on the internet and tape it to the front so I wouldn't lose it.
And because I eventually plan on moving into public housing , and I seriously don't trust neibours on public housing vis a vis cock roaches , I put all the ingredients in a nice sealed plastic container.
I love sealed containers. Especially air tight ones. If I could , I'd put all my worldly possessions in them.
Note to self : Blow 10$ and get another one, there's still room on my shelves. And even if there isn't , they stack ok.
So ..inventory all the ingredients, check the recipie ...
ouch. Forgot the yeast.
Back to the grocery store. Luckily it's only a block or so away. Wait in line ...buy my one single item ...
Put ingredients in the "bucket" inside. Heed the warning in the instruction manual that the yeast always goes last.
Interesting thing about the bucket. There's a paddle in it that goes round and round and round ... is that going to leave a hole in the back of the bread? Hmmm....
Plus ... there's a heating wire ....you know, you look in your oven and there's this big wire that when you apply power heats up and turns red and gives off heat like crazy , there's one of those circling the bucket that I put all the ingredients in. I guess it automagically kneeds and cooks. Cool.
Hmm...one hour and still not done. Note to self. Get a pic when it's done.
Cost Per Loaf
Total cost of start up ingredients (salt,surgar , vegetable oil , flour , yeast) was 15$ (yeah I cheaped out and bought only the smallest packages of each. Cost efficiency is terrible for the first experimental batch ).
But at 3 cups per loaf, Flour is the one controlling the cost , really. The rest of the stuff I just took a little tiny bit out of each , they'll obviously last 50 loaves or something ridiculous. So 10$ divide by 50 is 20 cents a loaf for all of that. And the flour is 3 dollars for 5 loaves (at a guess, I'll likely get six or seven , but we'll say five) is 60 cents , so the total is 80 cents a loaf.
80 cents a loaf , compared to 2.50$.
And thats using the most cost inefficent bag of flour (you get discounts for buying larger bags). If this works , I can see that 80 cents becoming 40 cents , and me carrying home 8kg bags of flour once a month...or larger. :)
Edit : Cost per loaf
The loaf this thing produces is freaking huge. Worth about two store bought loaves. So that 80 cents a loaf is really 40 cents for store bought sized loaf equiviliant.
One Loaf of Bread (3 hours later)
Yes , as you can see , the paddle does leave a little hole in the back of the loaf.
That is a standard sized dinner plate , to give you an example of how big a 1 1/2 pound loaf of bread is.
It tastes ... like a store bought loaf of bread. Nothing special , nothing terrible , nothing wonderful. Perfectly edible.
Note to self : Get a proper bread cutting knife. The pruning knife you see in the pic just mangles it , and trying to eat peanut butter of a huge thick slice of fresh bread , still warm , that would put a slice of texas toast to shame , is a messy business.
Also , stand it up and cut it horizontally , seperating top from bottom . The loaf is freaking huge and you'll never be able to hold on to a full slice unless you chop it down to size.
Cover a table with flower, kneed for 8 minutes, let sit for an hour , need again , sit again 40 min ... very messy , very long , looks like hard work too. Why would I possibly want that ?
I've had my eye on a Bread Maker for a while now, and I finally scraped together the cash to buy one. The fact that "Black Friday" , traditionally an american only sales event , has migrated north and this 80 $ bread maker only cost me 50$ was a big help as well.
Apparently , you just pour the ingredients in , push the button , and walk away. An hour later, you come back to a nice freshly baked loaf of bread.
And the current price of a loaf of bread is $2.50 Canadian. But baking it yourself is considerably cheaper. I estimate the 2.5kg of flour I bought will do me for at least 5 loaves of bread , and it cost $2.99 . The rest will last considerably longer than 5 loafs.
What the heck is that duck taped to the front of the bread maker you ask ? Funny thing about the recipie book that comes with this bread maker. It has 10 really complex recipies for really strange and bizarre loaves of bread. But it doesn't seem to have a "simple loaf of bread" recipie. I had to go find one on the internet and tape it to the front so I wouldn't lose it.
And because I eventually plan on moving into public housing , and I seriously don't trust neibours on public housing vis a vis cock roaches , I put all the ingredients in a nice sealed plastic container.
I love sealed containers. Especially air tight ones. If I could , I'd put all my worldly possessions in them.
Note to self : Blow 10$ and get another one, there's still room on my shelves. And even if there isn't , they stack ok.
So ..inventory all the ingredients, check the recipie ...
ouch. Forgot the yeast.
Back to the grocery store. Luckily it's only a block or so away. Wait in line ...buy my one single item ...
Put ingredients in the "bucket" inside. Heed the warning in the instruction manual that the yeast always goes last.
Interesting thing about the bucket. There's a paddle in it that goes round and round and round ... is that going to leave a hole in the back of the bread? Hmmm....
Plus ... there's a heating wire ....you know, you look in your oven and there's this big wire that when you apply power heats up and turns red and gives off heat like crazy , there's one of those circling the bucket that I put all the ingredients in. I guess it automagically kneeds and cooks. Cool.
Hmm...one hour and still not done. Note to self. Get a pic when it's done.
Cost Per Loaf
Total cost of start up ingredients (salt,surgar , vegetable oil , flour , yeast) was 15$ (yeah I cheaped out and bought only the smallest packages of each. Cost efficiency is terrible for the first experimental batch ).
But at 3 cups per loaf, Flour is the one controlling the cost , really. The rest of the stuff I just took a little tiny bit out of each , they'll obviously last 50 loaves or something ridiculous. So 10$ divide by 50 is 20 cents a loaf for all of that. And the flour is 3 dollars for 5 loaves (at a guess, I'll likely get six or seven , but we'll say five) is 60 cents , so the total is 80 cents a loaf.
80 cents a loaf , compared to 2.50$.
And thats using the most cost inefficent bag of flour (you get discounts for buying larger bags). If this works , I can see that 80 cents becoming 40 cents , and me carrying home 8kg bags of flour once a month...or larger. :)
Edit : Cost per loaf
The loaf this thing produces is freaking huge. Worth about two store bought loaves. So that 80 cents a loaf is really 40 cents for store bought sized loaf equiviliant.
One Loaf of Bread (3 hours later)
 |
| Back of Loaf |
 | |
| Side View |
 | ||||
| Top View |
That is a standard sized dinner plate , to give you an example of how big a 1 1/2 pound loaf of bread is.
It tastes ... like a store bought loaf of bread. Nothing special , nothing terrible , nothing wonderful. Perfectly edible.
Note to self : Get a proper bread cutting knife. The pruning knife you see in the pic just mangles it , and trying to eat peanut butter of a huge thick slice of fresh bread , still warm , that would put a slice of texas toast to shame , is a messy business.
Also , stand it up and cut it horizontally , seperating top from bottom . The loaf is freaking huge and you'll never be able to hold on to a full slice unless you chop it down to size.
Friday, November 22, 2013
A day for a retired techie
A stunning day of adventure in the life of a retired techie....
So I'm playing wow , and I get this quest to go rescue a goblin,
but when I open the flight point map , it's just blank ..for a bit,
and then it loads.
Girlfriend , are you running anything heavy ? No , how about the
room mates ?
Oh right , I can check that on my router. so I close the game,
go to the router's control page, and what do I see ? Seven
devices. Two named android (probably phones) , one named playbook
(Probably a black berry playbook) and a couple or three computers.
Do you know your room mates have hooked up two phones and a
black berry hooked up , and you're only charging them 15$ a
month ? I could ban the mac addresses.
No , don't do anything tonight. She doesn't feel like fighting with them.
Back to the game. I'm in Northrend , in that quest where
you get transformed into a female Vylkul giant, evil creatures
because THEY'RE FULLY CLOTHED ! I mean like , even a priest has
less clothing than they do ! What kind of game is this where
you can't stop and look down the shirt of your own charactar
and admire her breasts ?
Oh , and they enslaved all their males and have them working
in a mine, and I get a quest to go kill the rebels who don't
like being slaves to women. But thats just par for the course
in a video game.
*Sigh* Now girlfriend is pissed. What do you mean two phones
and a play book ? what the heck is a playbook (it's the
blackberry version of an iPad) . Ok ok , I'll ban the mac's
after midnight when they're all asleep. Sheesh .
Back to the game. Kill the male rebels , become best friends
with the cruel dominatrix who's running the mine , sent off
to kill a female Vylkul this time. I'm supposed to "do it
gently, she is a female after all " .
Playbook is 600$ - 1000$ . Android phones start at 200$ and go
up. And room mate complains at the 15$ / month she's supposed
to pay for her share of the internet. And she's using so much
that my game is lagging. Invasion of privacy knowing all this ?
Well...she's cheating us and interfering in our enjoyment of
our internet. She's lucky we don't just lock her out entirely.
We'll leave her lap top connected , that's all we agreed to.
Now where is that stupid goblin I'm supposed to rescue ?
The List of Evil Companies
I'm going to keep a list of Evil Companies. Companies that lie , or do nasty things that a large number of their customers would find offensive. In order to make the list , a company has to go above and beyond the call of profiteering. Screwing you over with cheap flimsy products isn't enough.
LG , a Division of Samsung
Why : News Reports , nov 2013 , of their Smart TV not only tracking the viewing habits of it's users (despite having internal controls that could be set to "off" , they tracked you anyways) , but they were also tracking anything else on the local network the TV was connected too (file names from USB sticks , from any disks put into the cd / blue ray players, etc)
Google , Microsoft , AOL , most USA Corperations
Why : Homeland Security in the United States Requires them not only to turn over all information they have on every user who uses their services, they are legally forbidden to tell anyone just how much information they're turning over. President Obama publically admitted to this in the summer of 2013 . In the face of their restriction of telling just how much they're reveiling to the NSA via the infamous PRISM program , declarations that they're not listening in on your phone calls , reading your emails , listening to your skype calls , etc (for anyone in the world) are non-credible.
Google Corperation (Again !)
Why : I have an android phone. Anytime I try to use anything from Google it demands I activate Google tracking and let them track my exact location all day long. I tried to download and use a program to learn french , and they want to know my exact location. I see no reason for this. Deleted the App.
Microsoft , re: XBox :
Why : The XBox has a camera on it (the kinect device to detect hand / arm motions) and Microsoft is legally requried , like all USA Corperations, to spy for the US Government. Ergo : Pictures of you in your home while many people are likely partially or completely unclad are being submitted to NSA whether you like it or not.
Microsoft , re: Windows Updates :
Why : The combination of automated Windows Updates and US Government requiresments for any US corperation to spy for them mean that they can include a trojen to spy on you at any time through an automated update. The fact that there wasn't one there yesterday doesn't mean there isn't one there today. Also , given the history of companies like LG for including opt out features that don't actually opt you out of anything , the fact that you've disabled updates doesn't mean a thing.
Apple iPhone re: Fingerprint scanner
Why : Because Apple is a USA Company , and is legally required to hand over all information it gathers to NSA . And it's getting the fingerprint of anyone who buys one of their fancy new finger print secured iPhones, and thus passing it on to the USGovernment. Yes, they totally deny it. Yes, they are forbidden to tell you just how much information they are giving to NSA by US Law , no their denials are not credible.
This list will continue to be updated as new evidence and news articles come to light.
LG , a Division of Samsung
Why : News Reports , nov 2013 , of their Smart TV not only tracking the viewing habits of it's users (despite having internal controls that could be set to "off" , they tracked you anyways) , but they were also tracking anything else on the local network the TV was connected too (file names from USB sticks , from any disks put into the cd / blue ray players, etc)
Google , Microsoft , AOL , most USA Corperations
Why : Homeland Security in the United States Requires them not only to turn over all information they have on every user who uses their services, they are legally forbidden to tell anyone just how much information they're turning over. President Obama publically admitted to this in the summer of 2013 . In the face of their restriction of telling just how much they're reveiling to the NSA via the infamous PRISM program , declarations that they're not listening in on your phone calls , reading your emails , listening to your skype calls , etc (for anyone in the world) are non-credible.
Google Corperation (Again !)
Why : I have an android phone. Anytime I try to use anything from Google it demands I activate Google tracking and let them track my exact location all day long. I tried to download and use a program to learn french , and they want to know my exact location. I see no reason for this. Deleted the App.
Microsoft , re: XBox :
Why : The XBox has a camera on it (the kinect device to detect hand / arm motions) and Microsoft is legally requried , like all USA Corperations, to spy for the US Government. Ergo : Pictures of you in your home while many people are likely partially or completely unclad are being submitted to NSA whether you like it or not.
Microsoft , re: Windows Updates :
Why : The combination of automated Windows Updates and US Government requiresments for any US corperation to spy for them mean that they can include a trojen to spy on you at any time through an automated update. The fact that there wasn't one there yesterday doesn't mean there isn't one there today. Also , given the history of companies like LG for including opt out features that don't actually opt you out of anything , the fact that you've disabled updates doesn't mean a thing.
Apple iPhone re: Fingerprint scanner
Why : Because Apple is a USA Company , and is legally required to hand over all information it gathers to NSA . And it's getting the fingerprint of anyone who buys one of their fancy new finger print secured iPhones, and thus passing it on to the USGovernment. Yes, they totally deny it. Yes, they are forbidden to tell you just how much information they are giving to NSA by US Law , no their denials are not credible.
This list will continue to be updated as new evidence and news articles come to light.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Spy TV
Yep. TV that spies on you.
UK-based IT consultant Jason Huntley, who raised the issue in a blog, welcomed the "positive step".
The point here is the TV was spying on you in the first place. Tracking your habits , and adjusting what commercials it shows you , in other words, targetted advertising.
The fact that it had controls hidden away somewhere to turn off spying is irrelevant because they usually hide them so well most users can't find them. The fact that those controls didn't work is just gravy on top of it all.
Why is targetted advertising evil ? Why is showing you stuff you might be interested in a bad thing ?
Because they tack a little extra onto the price if they know you're interested. Because you can't do research for a friend on something anymore because the prices they quote you will be different than the prices they would quote him.
And because you're no longer dealing with a reputable company. Providing controls that they know don't work is the same thing as lying. LG and Samsung are no longer reputable companies. And the problem is , everyone does this kind of thing , and demands the consumer accept being lied to on a regular basis.
Everyone wants you to join their social website , so they can spam you with targetted ads.
Everyone wants you to watch their internet TV , so they can spam you with targetted ads.
Everyone wants to track your computer across all sorts of web sites and see what you're interestd in , build a profile on you , so they can spam you.
They are predators , and you are the prey . And their intentions are hostile. (At least financially)
How would you like your boss to get a list of all the TV shows you've been watching , cheap , for just a few dollars ? Every post you made on face book , every news article you read . How about a lawyer ? Did you get into a car accident recdently ? Going through a nasty divorce and there's mud slinging all over the place ? How would you like to lose custody of the children because some lawyer supena'd your TV company and sold the judge on the notion that the TV you watch is innappropriate for children ? Or that you watch waaaay too many beer commercials you must be an alchoholic ?
Letting them build a profile on you , be it TV you watch , websits you visit , etc , screws you for hunting for jobs , screws you if you ever try and make an insurance claim , screws you in any divorce , just generally screws you whenever someone gets to go rooting through it looking for dirt and making no attempt at a fair assessment of your charactar. They'll point out the bad and totally ignore the good and thats all anyone will see.
Letting them make a profile of you will get you in a lot of trouble , and is to be fought at every turn.
Or you can just get a job at walmart for the minimum wage and give up on every winning a court case against any insurance company. Heck , don't bother with insurance they'll never pay out anyways , not with your profile.
LG promises update for 'spying' smart TV
LG has admitted it
continued collecting data on viewing habits even after users had
activated a privacy setting designed to prevent it.
The television maker has apologised to its customers and told the BBC it would issue an update to correct the problem.UK-based IT consultant Jason Huntley, who raised the issue in a blog, welcomed the "positive step".
The point here is the TV was spying on you in the first place. Tracking your habits , and adjusting what commercials it shows you , in other words, targetted advertising.
The fact that it had controls hidden away somewhere to turn off spying is irrelevant because they usually hide them so well most users can't find them. The fact that those controls didn't work is just gravy on top of it all.
Why is targetted advertising evil ? Why is showing you stuff you might be interested in a bad thing ?
Because they tack a little extra onto the price if they know you're interested. Because you can't do research for a friend on something anymore because the prices they quote you will be different than the prices they would quote him.
And because you're no longer dealing with a reputable company. Providing controls that they know don't work is the same thing as lying. LG and Samsung are no longer reputable companies. And the problem is , everyone does this kind of thing , and demands the consumer accept being lied to on a regular basis.
Everyone wants you to join their social website , so they can spam you with targetted ads.
Everyone wants you to watch their internet TV , so they can spam you with targetted ads.
Everyone wants to track your computer across all sorts of web sites and see what you're interestd in , build a profile on you , so they can spam you.
They are predators , and you are the prey . And their intentions are hostile. (At least financially)
How would you like your boss to get a list of all the TV shows you've been watching , cheap , for just a few dollars ? Every post you made on face book , every news article you read . How about a lawyer ? Did you get into a car accident recdently ? Going through a nasty divorce and there's mud slinging all over the place ? How would you like to lose custody of the children because some lawyer supena'd your TV company and sold the judge on the notion that the TV you watch is innappropriate for children ? Or that you watch waaaay too many beer commercials you must be an alchoholic ?
Letting them build a profile on you , be it TV you watch , websits you visit , etc , screws you for hunting for jobs , screws you if you ever try and make an insurance claim , screws you in any divorce , just generally screws you whenever someone gets to go rooting through it looking for dirt and making no attempt at a fair assessment of your charactar. They'll point out the bad and totally ignore the good and thats all anyone will see.
Letting them make a profile of you will get you in a lot of trouble , and is to be fought at every turn.
Or you can just get a job at walmart for the minimum wage and give up on every winning a court case against any insurance company. Heck , don't bother with insurance they'll never pay out anyways , not with your profile.
Monday, October 07, 2013
How Much Debt is Too Much ?
article = none, personal opinion.
I was online on some forums , discussing the american debt problem and how some people wanted to raise the debt and others didn't , and someone asked me , "how much debt is too much ?".
This is actually a valid question that comes up time and time again. So I thought I'd put it in my blog.
Modern nations do seem to live in a debt riddled condition. How much debt can they take ?
To fully understand this question , let us examine the price of coca cola over the history of it's existance .
Or more simply, in 1950 , coca cola was 5 cents a bottle
In 2013 it's $2.00 a bottle.
Over the course of 63 years, the price has increased 40 fold.
Interestingly , thats a lot of inflation , but it doesn't seem to have seriously harmed our society.
So , what are the mechanics of this inflation , and specifically , where does debt fit in to the picture ?
Debt is a slippery concept in a world where inflation exists. You see, debt is a set number of dollars, like , say , 100. But inflation is the "size" or "value" of that dollar shifting. When Inflation exists, the value of the dollar decreases. This , interestingly enough , has the side effect that the "Value" of your debt shrinks , even though the specific number of dollars of your debt does not.
So what is the primary source of inflation ?
It's where the government doesn't have enough money. So first , it borrows some from the bank. Specifically , the bank that it owns (if that doesn't strike you as wacky , nothing will) . Second , it will decide to print more money.
Oh for the ability to print more money. If I could print more money , I'd never go bankrupt.
Ok. For example , I have a currency , I'm going to call it Tokens. There are 1000 Tokens in exsitance.
They are worth my entire set worth , which doesn't change.
Bob has 100 Tokens in the bank. He's saving them for a rainy day.
After a while , I get into trouble I owe money. I owe Frank 100 tokens.
So I decide I will print more Tokens. I will print 100 more tokens.
There are now 1100 Tokens in existance. They are worth my entire wealth , which hasn't changed.
This means that tokens have shrunk , they are now worth only 1000 / 1100 of the previous tokens, or 91% of the original tokens. (90.909090..%)
Bob has 100 Tokens in the bank. But they have shrunk , they're only worth 91% of their previous value. by printing tokens, I have taken 9 tokens from Bob.
Frank is now paid 100 Tokens in the new currency , which means I have only paid him 91% of what I owed him.
If you are thinking we stole savings from Bob , and underpaid Frank , you are absolutely correct !
So how much debt is enough ?
That depends on Frank , doesn't it ?
First question. Who is Frank ? Frank is an accountant with a bizarre view point. Whats so bizarre about his point of view ?
He honestly believes the currency he's working in doesn't change in value.
And he's legally required, by the standards and practices of accounting in his country , act in this manner. He can't charge an extra 9 tokens on his debt because I printed more money. He has to pretend that he lives in a fantasy universe where that didn't happen.
And why does he believe that ?
Well ... because I told him to. You see , not only am I the one printing money. I'm the one making up laws to control the debtors. I'm the one collecting the taxes.
If you get the feeling that I'm just crudding people over every time they turn around ... yep. That would be me. Your standard western government.
So , how much debt is enough ?
Hmm... actually , if I take it slow , I can keep the "Tokens" growing smaller and smaller for pretty much forever , can't I ? I mean if a 40 to 1 decrease in value doesn't even upset people , because I spread it out over 60 years , I can keep going forever that way can't I ?
My total debt can be 33% of the tokens in circulation. If it gets higher ...
you got it.
Print more tokens.
I was online on some forums , discussing the american debt problem and how some people wanted to raise the debt and others didn't , and someone asked me , "how much debt is too much ?".
This is actually a valid question that comes up time and time again. So I thought I'd put it in my blog.
Modern nations do seem to live in a debt riddled condition. How much debt can they take ?
To fully understand this question , let us examine the price of coca cola over the history of it's existance .
Or more simply, in 1950 , coca cola was 5 cents a bottle
In 2013 it's $2.00 a bottle.
Over the course of 63 years, the price has increased 40 fold.
Interestingly , thats a lot of inflation , but it doesn't seem to have seriously harmed our society.
So , what are the mechanics of this inflation , and specifically , where does debt fit in to the picture ?
Debt is a slippery concept in a world where inflation exists. You see, debt is a set number of dollars, like , say , 100. But inflation is the "size" or "value" of that dollar shifting. When Inflation exists, the value of the dollar decreases. This , interestingly enough , has the side effect that the "Value" of your debt shrinks , even though the specific number of dollars of your debt does not.
So what is the primary source of inflation ?
It's where the government doesn't have enough money. So first , it borrows some from the bank. Specifically , the bank that it owns (if that doesn't strike you as wacky , nothing will) . Second , it will decide to print more money.
Oh for the ability to print more money. If I could print more money , I'd never go bankrupt.
Ok. For example , I have a currency , I'm going to call it Tokens. There are 1000 Tokens in exsitance.
They are worth my entire set worth , which doesn't change.
Bob has 100 Tokens in the bank. He's saving them for a rainy day.
After a while , I get into trouble I owe money. I owe Frank 100 tokens.
So I decide I will print more Tokens. I will print 100 more tokens.
There are now 1100 Tokens in existance. They are worth my entire wealth , which hasn't changed.
This means that tokens have shrunk , they are now worth only 1000 / 1100 of the previous tokens, or 91% of the original tokens. (90.909090..%)
Bob has 100 Tokens in the bank. But they have shrunk , they're only worth 91% of their previous value. by printing tokens, I have taken 9 tokens from Bob.
Frank is now paid 100 Tokens in the new currency , which means I have only paid him 91% of what I owed him.
If you are thinking we stole savings from Bob , and underpaid Frank , you are absolutely correct !
So how much debt is enough ?
That depends on Frank , doesn't it ?
First question. Who is Frank ? Frank is an accountant with a bizarre view point. Whats so bizarre about his point of view ?
He honestly believes the currency he's working in doesn't change in value.
And he's legally required, by the standards and practices of accounting in his country , act in this manner. He can't charge an extra 9 tokens on his debt because I printed more money. He has to pretend that he lives in a fantasy universe where that didn't happen.
And why does he believe that ?
Well ... because I told him to. You see , not only am I the one printing money. I'm the one making up laws to control the debtors. I'm the one collecting the taxes.
If you get the feeling that I'm just crudding people over every time they turn around ... yep. That would be me. Your standard western government.
So , how much debt is enough ?
Hmm... actually , if I take it slow , I can keep the "Tokens" growing smaller and smaller for pretty much forever , can't I ? I mean if a 40 to 1 decrease in value doesn't even upset people , because I spread it out over 60 years , I can keep going forever that way can't I ?
My total debt can be 33% of the tokens in circulation. If it gets higher ...
you got it.
Print more tokens.
Monday, September 23, 2013
The Banality of Systemic Evil
Article
This article , posted in the New York Times, pretty much sums up my opinion about Edward Snowden and other whistle blowers. Since I have noticed that articles like this tend to vanish at a time, I am not only hot linking to it , but copying it in full , for future reference.
I hate when my favorite articles just vanish. Feel free to hit the "article" link above and give them a few eye ball views for their advertising revenue.
So has the younger generation lost its moral compass?
No. In my view, just the opposite. Clearly, there is a moral principle at work in the actions of the leakers, whistle-blowers and hacktivists and those who support them. I would also argue that that moral principle has been clearly articulated, and it may just save us from a dystopian future.
In “Eichmann in Jerusalem,” one of the most poignant and important works of 20th-century philosophy, Hannah Arendt made an observation about what she called “the banality of evil.” One interpretation of this holds that it was not an observation about what a regular guy Adolf Eichmann seemed to be, but rather a statement about what happens when people play their “proper” roles within a system, following prescribed conduct with respect to that system, while remaining blind to the moral consequences of what the system was doing — or at least compartmentalizing and ignoring those consequences.
A good illustration of this phenomenon appears in “Moral Mazes,” a book by the sociologist Robert Jackall that explored the ethics of decision making within several corporate bureaucracies. In it, Jackall made several observations that dovetailed with those of Arendt. The mid-level managers that he spoke with were not “evil” people in their everyday lives, but in the context of their jobs, they had a separate moral code altogether, what Jackall calls the “fundamental rules of corporate life”:
Aaron Swartz counted “Moral Mazes” among his “very favorite books.” Swartz was the Internet wunderkind who was hounded by a government prosecution threatening him with 35 years in jail for illicitly downloading academic journals that were behind a pay wall. Swartz, who committed suicide in January at age 26 (many believe because of his prosecution), said that “Moral Mazes” did an excellent job of “explaining how so many well-intentioned people can end up committing so much evil.”
Swartz argued that it was sometimes necessary to break the rules that required obedience to the system in order to avoid systemic evil. In Swartz’s case the system was not a corporation but a system for the dissemination of bottled up knowledge that should have been available to all. Swartz engaged in an act of civil disobedience to liberate that knowledge, arguing that “there is no justice in following unjust laws. It’s time to come into the light and, in the grand tradition of civil disobedience, declare our opposition to this private theft of public culture.”
Chelsea Manning, the United States Army private incarcerated for leaking classified documents from the Departments of Defense and State, felt a similar pull to resist the internal rules of the bureaucracy. In a statement at her trial she described a case where she felt this was necessary. In February 2010, she received a report of an event in which the Iraqi Federal Police had detained 15 people for printing “anti-Iraqi” literature. Upon investigating the matter, Manning discovered that none of the 15 had previous ties to anti-Iraqi actions or suspected terrorist organizations. Manning had the allegedly anti-Iraqi literature translated and found that, contrary to what the federal police had said, the published literature in question “detailed corruption within the cabinet of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s government and the financial impact of his corruption on the Iraqi people.”
When Manning reported this discrepancy to the officer in charge (OIC), she was told to “drop it,” she recounted.
Manning could not play along. As she put it, she knew if she “continued to assist the Baghdad Federal Police in identifying the political opponents of Prime Minister al-Maliki, those people would be arrested and in the custody of the Special Unit of the Baghdad Federal Police and very likely tortured and not seen again for a very long time — if ever.” When her superiors would not address the problem, she was compelled to pass this information on to WikiLeaks.
Snowden too felt that, confronting what was clearly wrong, he could not play his proper role within the bureaucracy of the intelligence community. As he put it,
The bureaucracy was telling him to shut up and move on (in accord with the five rules in “Moral Mazes”), but Snowden felt that doing so was morally wrong.
In a June Op-Ed in The Times, David Brooks made a case for why he thought Snowden was wrong to leak information about the Prism surveillance program. His reasoning cleanly framed the alternative to the moral code endorsed by Swartz, Manning and Snowden. “For society to function well,” he wrote, “there have to be basic levels of trust and cooperation, a respect for institutions and deference to common procedures. By deciding to unilaterally leak secret N.S.A. documents, Snowden has betrayed all of these things.”
The complaint is eerily parallel to one from a case discussed in “Moral Mazes,” where an accountant was dismissed because he insisted on reporting “irregular payments, doctored invoices, and shuffling numbers.” The complaint against the accountant by the other managers of his company was that “by insisting on his own moral purity … he eroded the fundamental trust and understanding that makes cooperative managerial work possible.”
But wasn’t there arrogance or hubris in Snowden’s and Manning’s decisions to leak the documents? After all, weren’t there established procedures determining what was right further up the organizational chart? Weren’t these ethical decisions better left to someone with a higher pay grade? The former United States ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, argued that Snowden “thinks he’s smarter and has a higher morality than the rest of us … that he can see clearer than other 299, 999, 999 of us, and therefore he can do what he wants. I say that is the worst form of treason.”
For the leaker and whistleblower the answer to Bolton is that there can be no expectation that the system will act morally of its own accord. Systems are optimized for their own survival and preventing the system from doing evil may well require breaking with organizational niceties, protocols or laws. It requires stepping outside of one’s assigned organizational role. The chief executive is not in a better position to recognize systemic evil than is a middle level manager or, for that matter, an IT contractor. Recognizing systemic evil does not require rank or intelligence, just honesty of vision.
Persons of conscience who step outside their assigned organizational roles are not new. There are many famous earlier examples, including Daniel Ellsberg (the Pentagon Papers), John Kiriakou (of the Central Intelligence Agency) and several former N.S.A. employees, who blew the whistle on what they saw as an unconstitutional and immoral surveillance program (William Binney, Russ Tice and Thomas Drake, for example). But it seems that we are witnessing a new generation of whistleblowers and leakers, which we might call generation W (for the generation that came of age in the era WikiLeaks, and now the war on whistleblowing).
The media’s desire to psychoanalyze members of generation W is natural enough. They want to know why these people are acting in a way that they, members of the corporate media, would not. But sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander; if there are psychological motivations for whistleblowing, leaking and hacktivism, there are likewise psychological motivations for closing ranks with the power structure within a system — in this case a system in which corporate media plays an important role. Similarly it is possible that the system itself is sick, even though the actors within the organization are behaving in accord with organizational etiquette and respecting the internal bonds of trust.
Just as Hannah Arendt saw that the combined action of loyal managers can give rise to unspeakable systemic evil, so too generation W has seen that complicity within the surveillance state can give rise to evil as well — not the horrific evil that Eichmann’s bureaucratic efficiency brought us, but still an Orwellian future that must be avoided at all costs.
---- end article , begin my own ranting ----
"For the leaker and whistleblower the answer to Bolton is that there can be no expectation that the system will act morally of its own accord."
This statement dovetails into my primary complaint against the USA spying on the whole world. How can The System (the United States) act morally in a situation where they are openly abusing non-voters (non usa citizens) . They are unelected , they have no motivation to stop at all. They have USA Senators caught on camera lying to the american public , people who can get them booted out of office. And you think they're going to be truthful to people whom are powerless to stop them from abusing anything they feel like abusing ?
No taxation without representation is the american principle. Only your elected officials can tax you ,not the evil british forieners (thus the boston tea party) . It extends to far more than just a monetary tax. It extends to any kind of burden you put on any people that you don't represent.
So yes, as Obama said , the Germans probably are listening in on German calls. But they are elected by the people of germany , and they can be booted out of power if they abuse the priviledge. But Americans listening in on German calls , 600 000 a month , and they're doing everything they can to expand that to the whole world ? There's no representation. There's nothing the german people , the people of the world who are not USA citizens , can do to take these people to task for it when they mess up.
And these are their allies they are doing this to , not their mortal enemies that they are at war with.
this is not acceptable. I demand they stop.
And I know full well they won't.
This article , posted in the New York Times, pretty much sums up my opinion about Edward Snowden and other whistle blowers. Since I have noticed that articles like this tend to vanish at a time, I am not only hot linking to it , but copying it in full , for future reference.
I hate when my favorite articles just vanish. Feel free to hit the "article" link above and give them a few eye ball views for their advertising revenue.
The Banality of Systemic Evil
By PETER LUDLOW In recent months there has been a visible struggle in the media to come to grips with the leaking, whistle-blowing and hacktivism that has vexed the United States military and the private and government intelligence communities. This response has run the gamut. It has involved attempts to condemn, support, demonize, psychoanalyze and in some cases canonize figures like Aaron Swartz, Jeremy Hammond, Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden. In broad terms, commentators in the mainstream and corporate media have tended to assume that all of these actors needed to be brought to justice, while independent players on the Internet and elsewhere have been much more supportive. Tellingly, a recent Time magazine cover story has pointed out a marked generational difference in how people view these matters: 70 percent of those age 18 to 34 sampled in a poll said they believed that Snowden “did a good thing” in leaking the news of the National Security Agency’s surveillance program.So has the younger generation lost its moral compass?
No. In my view, just the opposite. Clearly, there is a moral principle at work in the actions of the leakers, whistle-blowers and hacktivists and those who support them. I would also argue that that moral principle has been clearly articulated, and it may just save us from a dystopian future.
In “Eichmann in Jerusalem,” one of the most poignant and important works of 20th-century philosophy, Hannah Arendt made an observation about what she called “the banality of evil.” One interpretation of this holds that it was not an observation about what a regular guy Adolf Eichmann seemed to be, but rather a statement about what happens when people play their “proper” roles within a system, following prescribed conduct with respect to that system, while remaining blind to the moral consequences of what the system was doing — or at least compartmentalizing and ignoring those consequences.
A good illustration of this phenomenon appears in “Moral Mazes,” a book by the sociologist Robert Jackall that explored the ethics of decision making within several corporate bureaucracies. In it, Jackall made several observations that dovetailed with those of Arendt. The mid-level managers that he spoke with were not “evil” people in their everyday lives, but in the context of their jobs, they had a separate moral code altogether, what Jackall calls the “fundamental rules of corporate life”:
(1) You never go around your boss. (2) You tell your boss what he wants to hear, even when your boss claims that he wants dissenting views. (3) If your boss wants something dropped, you drop it. (4) You are sensitive to your boss’s wishes so that you anticipate what he wants; you don’t force him, in other words, to act as a boss. (5) Your job is not to report something that your boss does not want reported, but rather to cover it up. You do your job and you keep your mouth shut.Jackall went through case after case in which managers violated this code and were drummed out of a business (for example, for reporting wrongdoing in the cleanup at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant).
Aaron Swartz counted “Moral Mazes” among his “very favorite books.” Swartz was the Internet wunderkind who was hounded by a government prosecution threatening him with 35 years in jail for illicitly downloading academic journals that were behind a pay wall. Swartz, who committed suicide in January at age 26 (many believe because of his prosecution), said that “Moral Mazes” did an excellent job of “explaining how so many well-intentioned people can end up committing so much evil.”
Swartz argued that it was sometimes necessary to break the rules that required obedience to the system in order to avoid systemic evil. In Swartz’s case the system was not a corporation but a system for the dissemination of bottled up knowledge that should have been available to all. Swartz engaged in an act of civil disobedience to liberate that knowledge, arguing that “there is no justice in following unjust laws. It’s time to come into the light and, in the grand tradition of civil disobedience, declare our opposition to this private theft of public culture.”
Chelsea Manning, the United States Army private incarcerated for leaking classified documents from the Departments of Defense and State, felt a similar pull to resist the internal rules of the bureaucracy. In a statement at her trial she described a case where she felt this was necessary. In February 2010, she received a report of an event in which the Iraqi Federal Police had detained 15 people for printing “anti-Iraqi” literature. Upon investigating the matter, Manning discovered that none of the 15 had previous ties to anti-Iraqi actions or suspected terrorist organizations. Manning had the allegedly anti-Iraqi literature translated and found that, contrary to what the federal police had said, the published literature in question “detailed corruption within the cabinet of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s government and the financial impact of his corruption on the Iraqi people.”
When Manning reported this discrepancy to the officer in charge (OIC), she was told to “drop it,” she recounted.
Manning could not play along. As she put it, she knew if she “continued to assist the Baghdad Federal Police in identifying the political opponents of Prime Minister al-Maliki, those people would be arrested and in the custody of the Special Unit of the Baghdad Federal Police and very likely tortured and not seen again for a very long time — if ever.” When her superiors would not address the problem, she was compelled to pass this information on to WikiLeaks.
Snowden too felt that, confronting what was clearly wrong, he could not play his proper role within the bureaucracy of the intelligence community. As he put it,
[W]hen you talk to people about [abuses] in a place like this where this is the normal state of business people tend not to take them very seriously and move on from them. But over time that awareness of wrongdoing sort of builds up and you feel compelled to talk about [them]. And the more you talk about [them] the more you’re ignored. The more you’re told it’s not a problem until eventually you realize that these things need to be determined by the public and not by somebody who was simply hired by the government.
The bureaucracy was telling him to shut up and move on (in accord with the five rules in “Moral Mazes”), but Snowden felt that doing so was morally wrong.
In a June Op-Ed in The Times, David Brooks made a case for why he thought Snowden was wrong to leak information about the Prism surveillance program. His reasoning cleanly framed the alternative to the moral code endorsed by Swartz, Manning and Snowden. “For society to function well,” he wrote, “there have to be basic levels of trust and cooperation, a respect for institutions and deference to common procedures. By deciding to unilaterally leak secret N.S.A. documents, Snowden has betrayed all of these things.”
The complaint is eerily parallel to one from a case discussed in “Moral Mazes,” where an accountant was dismissed because he insisted on reporting “irregular payments, doctored invoices, and shuffling numbers.” The complaint against the accountant by the other managers of his company was that “by insisting on his own moral purity … he eroded the fundamental trust and understanding that makes cooperative managerial work possible.”
But wasn’t there arrogance or hubris in Snowden’s and Manning’s decisions to leak the documents? After all, weren’t there established procedures determining what was right further up the organizational chart? Weren’t these ethical decisions better left to someone with a higher pay grade? The former United States ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, argued that Snowden “thinks he’s smarter and has a higher morality than the rest of us … that he can see clearer than other 299, 999, 999 of us, and therefore he can do what he wants. I say that is the worst form of treason.”
For the leaker and whistleblower the answer to Bolton is that there can be no expectation that the system will act morally of its own accord. Systems are optimized for their own survival and preventing the system from doing evil may well require breaking with organizational niceties, protocols or laws. It requires stepping outside of one’s assigned organizational role. The chief executive is not in a better position to recognize systemic evil than is a middle level manager or, for that matter, an IT contractor. Recognizing systemic evil does not require rank or intelligence, just honesty of vision.
Persons of conscience who step outside their assigned organizational roles are not new. There are many famous earlier examples, including Daniel Ellsberg (the Pentagon Papers), John Kiriakou (of the Central Intelligence Agency) and several former N.S.A. employees, who blew the whistle on what they saw as an unconstitutional and immoral surveillance program (William Binney, Russ Tice and Thomas Drake, for example). But it seems that we are witnessing a new generation of whistleblowers and leakers, which we might call generation W (for the generation that came of age in the era WikiLeaks, and now the war on whistleblowing).
The media’s desire to psychoanalyze members of generation W is natural enough. They want to know why these people are acting in a way that they, members of the corporate media, would not. But sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander; if there are psychological motivations for whistleblowing, leaking and hacktivism, there are likewise psychological motivations for closing ranks with the power structure within a system — in this case a system in which corporate media plays an important role. Similarly it is possible that the system itself is sick, even though the actors within the organization are behaving in accord with organizational etiquette and respecting the internal bonds of trust.
Just as Hannah Arendt saw that the combined action of loyal managers can give rise to unspeakable systemic evil, so too generation W has seen that complicity within the surveillance state can give rise to evil as well — not the horrific evil that Eichmann’s bureaucratic efficiency brought us, but still an Orwellian future that must be avoided at all costs.
---- end article , begin my own ranting ----
"For the leaker and whistleblower the answer to Bolton is that there can be no expectation that the system will act morally of its own accord."
This statement dovetails into my primary complaint against the USA spying on the whole world. How can The System (the United States) act morally in a situation where they are openly abusing non-voters (non usa citizens) . They are unelected , they have no motivation to stop at all. They have USA Senators caught on camera lying to the american public , people who can get them booted out of office. And you think they're going to be truthful to people whom are powerless to stop them from abusing anything they feel like abusing ?
No taxation without representation is the american principle. Only your elected officials can tax you ,not the evil british forieners (thus the boston tea party) . It extends to far more than just a monetary tax. It extends to any kind of burden you put on any people that you don't represent.
So yes, as Obama said , the Germans probably are listening in on German calls. But they are elected by the people of germany , and they can be booted out of power if they abuse the priviledge. But Americans listening in on German calls , 600 000 a month , and they're doing everything they can to expand that to the whole world ? There's no representation. There's nothing the german people , the people of the world who are not USA citizens , can do to take these people to task for it when they mess up.
And these are their allies they are doing this to , not their mortal enemies that they are at war with.
this is not acceptable. I demand they stop.
And I know full well they won't.
Saturday, September 14, 2013
New Apple iPhone pushes biometrics 'into the mainstream'
Article
What makes Apple’s "Touch ID" significant is that it makes the enhanced convenience and security of biometrics a standard feature on the world’s most recognized smartphone platform.
And smartphones are where people are increasingly doing most of their business, from email to shopping to banking, says Martin Drew, president of iView Systems, an internet security firm based in Oakville, Ont.
"People hold their entire lives on these devices these days. If someone had access to your smartphone for two hours, the damage they could do to your life would be phenomenal," says Drew.
He says the biggest benefit of biometrics is that it makes typing passwords obsolete.
So an american company like apple, which is requied by US Law to hand over every scrap of data it gets on every single user in the world , is now going to have your finger prints. Which is to say , NSA is now going to have finger prints of everyone in the whole wide world. The Same NSA that fabricated rape charges against Assage (the wikileaks guy) and is currently fabricating similar charges against another hacker taking refuge in canada with NSA documents in his possession ?
This is the same USA that likes to arrange "regime changes" in Mexico on a regular basis, and at least once in Iraq and Afghanistan ?
Oh ...you're going to point out that artical where it says Apple doesn't keep the entire finger print on file , it only keeps certain key points that distinguish one user from another ? it only keeps the parts that mean anything in other words ?
As if that makes a difference. How hard can it be to program a simple "connect the dots" program to regenerate a finger print from the important points that actually distinguish one person from another ?
Two people can keep a secret , but only if one is dead. My favorite quote from Robert Heinlien a science fiction author. What does it mean ? It means no secret stays secret forever. Sooner or later , it will come out. Just like PRISM came out . Mark my words, USA will be caught stealing copyright secrets from other nations (they currently deny doing so , but with PRISM it's well within their means) and they will be caught planting finger prints and trying to frame someone.
And they're going to look good with egg on their face, no one trusting them anymore , and no one wanting to do business with any USA company any more. Heck , I already don't want to do business with any USA company.
Don't take my word for it, you don't need to. These secrets always come out on their own. The only idiot is the one who thinks they wont.
And yes, I 'm looking straight at Obama , or whoever the next president of the NSA might be.
What makes Apple’s "Touch ID" significant is that it makes the enhanced convenience and security of biometrics a standard feature on the world’s most recognized smartphone platform.
And smartphones are where people are increasingly doing most of their business, from email to shopping to banking, says Martin Drew, president of iView Systems, an internet security firm based in Oakville, Ont.
"People hold their entire lives on these devices these days. If someone had access to your smartphone for two hours, the damage they could do to your life would be phenomenal," says Drew.
He says the biggest benefit of biometrics is that it makes typing passwords obsolete.
So an american company like apple, which is requied by US Law to hand over every scrap of data it gets on every single user in the world , is now going to have your finger prints. Which is to say , NSA is now going to have finger prints of everyone in the whole wide world. The Same NSA that fabricated rape charges against Assage (the wikileaks guy) and is currently fabricating similar charges against another hacker taking refuge in canada with NSA documents in his possession ?
This is the same USA that likes to arrange "regime changes" in Mexico on a regular basis, and at least once in Iraq and Afghanistan ?
Oh ...you're going to point out that artical where it says Apple doesn't keep the entire finger print on file , it only keeps certain key points that distinguish one user from another ? it only keeps the parts that mean anything in other words ?
As if that makes a difference. How hard can it be to program a simple "connect the dots" program to regenerate a finger print from the important points that actually distinguish one person from another ?
Two people can keep a secret , but only if one is dead. My favorite quote from Robert Heinlien a science fiction author. What does it mean ? It means no secret stays secret forever. Sooner or later , it will come out. Just like PRISM came out . Mark my words, USA will be caught stealing copyright secrets from other nations (they currently deny doing so , but with PRISM it's well within their means) and they will be caught planting finger prints and trying to frame someone.
And they're going to look good with egg on their face, no one trusting them anymore , and no one wanting to do business with any USA company any more. Heck , I already don't want to do business with any USA company.
Don't take my word for it, you don't need to. These secrets always come out on their own. The only idiot is the one who thinks they wont.
And yes, I 'm looking straight at Obama , or whoever the next president of the NSA might be.
Monday, September 09, 2013
USA Making spyware
Article
Way down deep on the first page.
(The TAO is a highly secret NSA unit that “specializes in surreptitiously installing spyware and tracking devices on targeted computers and mobile-phone networks” and that has played a role in the hunt for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, the Washington Post reported previously.)
Can I sue them for data tresspassing if I find any on my computer ?
I mean , I'm not an american , I didn't give them permission to do squat on my computer. And they can't retroactively write laws for me they can for their own citizens.
I would like to sue them, I think. I'd lose of course, I have no doubt they'd put pressure on the Canadian government and suddenly their actions are all perfectly legal and back dated 20 years or some such .. but still, it would be fun.
Way down deep on the first page.
(The TAO is a highly secret NSA unit that “specializes in surreptitiously installing spyware and tracking devices on targeted computers and mobile-phone networks” and that has played a role in the hunt for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, the Washington Post reported previously.)
Can I sue them for data tresspassing if I find any on my computer ?
I mean , I'm not an american , I didn't give them permission to do squat on my computer. And they can't retroactively write laws for me they can for their own citizens.
I would like to sue them, I think. I'd lose of course, I have no doubt they'd put pressure on the Canadian government and suddenly their actions are all perfectly legal and back dated 20 years or some such .. but still, it would be fun.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
My Crystal Ball 2013
Article = none , personal experience.
I suppose it is a hobby of everyone to try to tell the future and guess where the world is going. This is my latest shot at it.
First : What is the crystal ball made of.
Or , what technologies do I think will affect the world ?
So what do I see in the future with these four things ?
I see Star Wars.
I see Uncle Owens farm , a small family riding herd on their robots , cleaning and maintaining them while the robots go out and do all the farming. I see simple clothing , loose pants and tops , made by automated machines. I see spare parts for the robots being made by "3D Printers" which will likely be called something else by then.
I see very few formal "jobs". I see the return of the craftsman , making his goods via commanding robots to do it and just maintaining the robots. I see a small family getting work maintaining the electrical grid , or the internet grid , for a small city block. I see people processing farmed goods into goop of some kind for the 3D food printers. I see other people making and recycling plastics for the other 3D printers. I see 3D printers for metal parts.
I see people making the electronic guts of various devices. Some guy might specialize in the internal workings of a cell phone , for example , and sell that. People will buy it , and print out their own case for it. And just slip it inside.
I see work needs to be done (usually by robots) in electrical power, in internet infrastructure, in construction, in food growing and preperation, in transport, in elevators, in all the "essentials" that we cannot do without. (Hmm..don't forget robot maintenane in the list , dang things will be everywhere) I see people overseeing small companies with robots doing the work. And they just watch monitors and give the robots hints.
I see children coming of age, and as a going away birthday present they get a couple of robots of their own before being sent out on their own to make their way in the world. Much like today you give them a microwave or vacuum cleaner or some such.
I see all the cooking and cleaning being done by robots, I see most of our "manufactured goods" being made at home , with no need to buy things, just more and more plastic or metal goop for the 3D printers.
I see a lot of "Luxury" shops. Restaurants. Bars. Coffee shops. People don't need a restaurant they can cook for themselves, but still they will go out and congregate with other people. There will be small fancy clothing shops , but no big super stores for cloths (or foods) since the robots back at home will make the "cheap" stuff. Store bought cloths and food will be Luxuries, not neccessaties.
I see a world full of people who mostly just maintain and repair their own personal robots as a primary skill , and as a secondary one other thing (farming , electronics, making cell phones or computers, etc) . I see large corperations will vanish because the economies of scale theory is dead in the water with 3D printers. Well , most corperations. Oil Companies are here as long as the oil lasts, we need the electrical power. And after that the nuclear reactor plants and the hydro electric companies are probably with us forever.
And police. There will always be a-holes out there who need to be locked up. That's just human nature.
And thats , in general , my vision of the future. Other than adding a few more professions that will never go away , that's it. People running their own little companies, bossing around their robots who make stuff both for their own internal use, and to sell and bring in a little cash to pay the electric bills.
I suppose it is a hobby of everyone to try to tell the future and guess where the world is going. This is my latest shot at it.
First : What is the crystal ball made of.
Or , what technologies do I think will affect the world ?
- 3D Printers. They're down to 1300$ , and only getting cheaper
- Nasa's Pizza 3D Printer. Doesn't exist yet , but they have commisioned the creation of a 3D printer that makes pizza's for the astronaughts up in space.
- Artificial Intelligence : Emily is getting smarter. Who is Emily ? The voice system when you cal bell canada , that computer that answers , and can understand what your saying. If your accent isn't too heavy.
- The Internet. Pretty certain it's not going anywhere.
- Cheap Sewing machines. down to 88$ for an electric one. They can't go much farther down , all that can happen is more features
So what do I see in the future with these four things ?
I see Star Wars.
I see Uncle Owens farm , a small family riding herd on their robots , cleaning and maintaining them while the robots go out and do all the farming. I see simple clothing , loose pants and tops , made by automated machines. I see spare parts for the robots being made by "3D Printers" which will likely be called something else by then.
I see very few formal "jobs". I see the return of the craftsman , making his goods via commanding robots to do it and just maintaining the robots. I see a small family getting work maintaining the electrical grid , or the internet grid , for a small city block. I see people processing farmed goods into goop of some kind for the 3D food printers. I see other people making and recycling plastics for the other 3D printers. I see 3D printers for metal parts.
I see people making the electronic guts of various devices. Some guy might specialize in the internal workings of a cell phone , for example , and sell that. People will buy it , and print out their own case for it. And just slip it inside.
I see work needs to be done (usually by robots) in electrical power, in internet infrastructure, in construction, in food growing and preperation, in transport, in elevators, in all the "essentials" that we cannot do without. (Hmm..don't forget robot maintenane in the list , dang things will be everywhere) I see people overseeing small companies with robots doing the work. And they just watch monitors and give the robots hints.
I see children coming of age, and as a going away birthday present they get a couple of robots of their own before being sent out on their own to make their way in the world. Much like today you give them a microwave or vacuum cleaner or some such.
I see all the cooking and cleaning being done by robots, I see most of our "manufactured goods" being made at home , with no need to buy things, just more and more plastic or metal goop for the 3D printers.
I see a lot of "Luxury" shops. Restaurants. Bars. Coffee shops. People don't need a restaurant they can cook for themselves, but still they will go out and congregate with other people. There will be small fancy clothing shops , but no big super stores for cloths (or foods) since the robots back at home will make the "cheap" stuff. Store bought cloths and food will be Luxuries, not neccessaties.
I see a world full of people who mostly just maintain and repair their own personal robots as a primary skill , and as a secondary one other thing (farming , electronics, making cell phones or computers, etc) . I see large corperations will vanish because the economies of scale theory is dead in the water with 3D printers. Well , most corperations. Oil Companies are here as long as the oil lasts, we need the electrical power. And after that the nuclear reactor plants and the hydro electric companies are probably with us forever.
And police. There will always be a-holes out there who need to be locked up. That's just human nature.
And thats , in general , my vision of the future. Other than adding a few more professions that will never go away , that's it. People running their own little companies, bossing around their robots who make stuff both for their own internal use, and to sell and bring in a little cash to pay the electric bills.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Crazy Eskimo
Article = none, personal experience
Did I mention the crazy eskimo guy I have as a room mate ? (one of seven room mates actually , in that house).
My first encounter with him was when he accused me of catching a fly and putting it in his room. Not sure how you catch a fly with your bare hands , undamaged , but he's pretty sure i did it.
My second was when I lent him my phone and he called up the Land Lady and informed her he'd just called city of ottawa because living in a basement was against the rules, and there were three people living upstairs in the same room (it was a large room , and they were one family) also illegal.
Yep. He didn't let her wonder who called he city of ottawa. He phoned her up and told her himself.
This instigated the part where I help clean the room on the main floor (those guys were disgusting pigs ! ) and move half my stuff up there and live there for a while. And while I was helping the land lady clean my new digs, she mentioned him.
Oh yes, and how she mentioned him. Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks he's eight ball crazy. City of Ottawa says he can't live in the basement and she's saying he's got to be out by the first (so she told them). Not to mention that all sorts of other unspecified problems she's been having with him.
Then the real fun began. Crazy Eskimo caught me in the hall and asked if my welfare was being cancelled, and I said no. He insisted that everyone in the city of ottawa had their welfare cancelled, were they saving money by this ? I told him that was extremely unlikely , but he insisted they were. Apparently he likes to lead with a question , but he's not interested in the answer , he's already made up his mind before he opens his mouth. Told him I was on disability and I'd checked with my worker , no problems for me, maybe disability wasn't affected ?
This guy lives in his own little world , I swear. He doesn't want to hear what anyone else says.
There's no drinking allowed in our place , but I keep noticing these beer cans in the kitchen piling up along one shelf. And then I notice that at night Crazy Eskimo likes to sit at that table. And talk to people.
What does he say ? Well , that night , first he complained "McMasters University is Shit !" a few times, then asked one of the roomies what Universy he went to. "Ottawa University. " "Ottawa University is shit ! Every University in Canada is shit ! " repeat a few times. Needless to say we both walk away.
A little later I use the kitchen microwave to heat up some chicken broth (I'm on a no food day , they want to x-ray my belly the next day ) and he looks at me and says, slightly slurred "Too many fucking old men in this country. Fucking old men just don't die. "
"Wonders of Free Health Care I tell him. "
He just continues repeating that.
Half way down the hall and into my room it occurs to me. I have a head full of grey hair , and a grey beard too. This guy is deliberately looking for a fight it seems.
I decide upon a plan , a plan I call avoiding Unneccesary Drama. Basically ... it's only five days or so to the end of the month , and this guy is out of there by then. I'll just visit the girl friends for five days and skip over this whole melt down thing.
Interesting that he thinks welfare cut off everyone in the city though. He may use that as an excuse to try and stay longer , claiming he has no place to go. Maybe I'll give him until a little after the first.
I'll just drop by long enough on the first to pay the land lady and be gone again.
Did I mention the crazy eskimo guy I have as a room mate ? (one of seven room mates actually , in that house).
My first encounter with him was when he accused me of catching a fly and putting it in his room. Not sure how you catch a fly with your bare hands , undamaged , but he's pretty sure i did it.
My second was when I lent him my phone and he called up the Land Lady and informed her he'd just called city of ottawa because living in a basement was against the rules, and there were three people living upstairs in the same room (it was a large room , and they were one family) also illegal.
Yep. He didn't let her wonder who called he city of ottawa. He phoned her up and told her himself.
This instigated the part where I help clean the room on the main floor (those guys were disgusting pigs ! ) and move half my stuff up there and live there for a while. And while I was helping the land lady clean my new digs, she mentioned him.
Oh yes, and how she mentioned him. Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks he's eight ball crazy. City of Ottawa says he can't live in the basement and she's saying he's got to be out by the first (so she told them). Not to mention that all sorts of other unspecified problems she's been having with him.
Then the real fun began. Crazy Eskimo caught me in the hall and asked if my welfare was being cancelled, and I said no. He insisted that everyone in the city of ottawa had their welfare cancelled, were they saving money by this ? I told him that was extremely unlikely , but he insisted they were. Apparently he likes to lead with a question , but he's not interested in the answer , he's already made up his mind before he opens his mouth. Told him I was on disability and I'd checked with my worker , no problems for me, maybe disability wasn't affected ?
This guy lives in his own little world , I swear. He doesn't want to hear what anyone else says.
There's no drinking allowed in our place , but I keep noticing these beer cans in the kitchen piling up along one shelf. And then I notice that at night Crazy Eskimo likes to sit at that table. And talk to people.
What does he say ? Well , that night , first he complained "McMasters University is Shit !" a few times, then asked one of the roomies what Universy he went to. "Ottawa University. " "Ottawa University is shit ! Every University in Canada is shit ! " repeat a few times. Needless to say we both walk away.
A little later I use the kitchen microwave to heat up some chicken broth (I'm on a no food day , they want to x-ray my belly the next day ) and he looks at me and says, slightly slurred "Too many fucking old men in this country. Fucking old men just don't die. "
"Wonders of Free Health Care I tell him. "
He just continues repeating that.
Half way down the hall and into my room it occurs to me. I have a head full of grey hair , and a grey beard too. This guy is deliberately looking for a fight it seems.
I decide upon a plan , a plan I call avoiding Unneccesary Drama. Basically ... it's only five days or so to the end of the month , and this guy is out of there by then. I'll just visit the girl friends for five days and skip over this whole melt down thing.
Interesting that he thinks welfare cut off everyone in the city though. He may use that as an excuse to try and stay longer , claiming he has no place to go. Maybe I'll give him until a little after the first.
I'll just drop by long enough on the first to pay the land lady and be gone again.
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