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Theory - The New Chronology
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Ideas & Questions
- Hits: 1328
I love a good theory. A good theory - however misguided - will always tell you something, if only about the author. It doesn't have to be right, even when theories are right they are only right until the next one comes along. But it might make you think in ways you hadn't thought before, question things you otherwise took for granted. With that in mind I thought I'd post a few links to some of the more interesting theories out there.
The first is one you probably haven't heard of - devised by a Russian of the name of Nikolai Morozov and expounded by Anatoly Fomenko it argues that we have measured the duration of history all wrong. In essence, it's only been roughly a thousand years since the time of Christ, and many of the antiquities and monuments of Classical Architecture are only a few hundreds of years old. Various devices are used to explain this, one of the more compelling of which is argument that "single events from other time periods that have been recorded multiple times from different perspectives, and thus mistaken for different events occurring at different times."
Note that the theories principal adherents tend to be mathematicians, or people somehow involved in the mathematical sciences. Garry Kasparov, the Russian chess champion, is one such adherent.
Link: The New Chronology
Mice in my walls
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 1946
They're still here. In the rubbish, they don't even quiet themselves when I'm near. I'm just one of the gang. I think of picking up the trash bag and just taking it out, there would be one less to deal with, but then I think of the widowed mouse-spouse weeping somewhere in the cupboards and a litter of mouse orphans wondering when, why mommy or daddy isn't coming home . ...
I can't do it.
And it's too cold outside.
There's one in the wall beside my computer, behind an old printing tray I use as a curio box. It rustles and chews incessantly. And in my bedroom, somewhere, I can hear it, but I can't see it or find it, somewhere down in the vents.
But they all come through the kitchen. To the rubbish. I need an aquarium so I can begin the round-up, start the big mouse collection.
The XP Police
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Technology
- Hits: 1492
Morning and I've opened 20 pages of news related links. I open them first, then close the tabs as I read them.
Windows XP with Internet Explorer 7. "New and Improved". The first legitimate edition of Windows I've ever owned, it came with the computer. It just updated itself 2 days ago, downloading all the security patches and upgrades it needed to make for a better and safer browsing experience.
And as I'm reading the news of the day, news of the world, my browser begins to behave oddly, tabs open and close of their own accord, too late I minimize them to see in the background a warning from the "XP Police" that my computer may be riddled with spyware and trojans.
Now this is funny in a way, because I know this warning, it's proof positive that my computer is now riddled with spyware and trojans, and I futiley attempt to turn off the PC and reboot, hoping to interrupt it's installation. One of the tabs I opened was a bad tab, and I want very badly to know which one, to know which site is hosting this shit, and funny as it I'm not laughing, the "XP Police", as they call themselves, are warning me that I'm using an unregistered version of their malware, I should pay a fee to unlock the full version, and furious I try to bring up the task manager to end the process only to see that they've reserved this function for the "Administrator", and, goddamnit, I am the administrator and it's pissing me off something fierce!
Vicious and sadistic fantasies fill my head as I look at the litter of pop-ups and "Urgent Attention" dialogues, "Virus Scan Interrupted" warnings, that now cover my screen. Imagining finding where these ass-holes have their office and gouging out their eyeballs, electrocuting their fucking balls with wires ripped from the wall with my bare fingers, tearing their fucking faces from their skulls and stuffing them down their choking throats....
The rest are unmentionable.
It's hard to believe the perpetrators of this are in any sort of business, that a class action lawsuit hasn't shut them down, that someone, somewhere in the world hasn't found them and executed a Guantanamo Bay on their asses. But they're in Russia which is about as lawful for hackers as Mexico is for drug dealers, or the US for bankers. Meaning they can damned well do as they please without any fear of repercussions.
So I begin the long task of malwarebytes scans and deleting files from the registry, more scans, cleaning the PC. All in all about 2 hours to get my computer back. And when I break from the violent revenge fantasies I thank God and Allah above that I have Microsoft, the IE experience, patched and updated, otherwise, well, things could have been much worse....
Or probably not. I've never gotten a virus with Firefox, Chrome or Safari. So maybe things don't get worse. Maybe Microsoft is as bad as it gets.
Later in the day, surfing my now clean pc, IE ups and closes. "An unexpected error has occurred that requires Internet Explorer to close". I diligently send in the error report, my windows is legit, the solution is that is a "Recognized Problem" with Windows, no solution at this time, please ensure my software is up to date...
This happens probably every other day. Sometimes more often than others. "We know there's a problem and can't fix it..."
I need Windows, a PC, while I love the idea of a trouble free Mac or a Linux environment I put myself through this to feel my client's pain - they too use Windows (or they wouldn't need assistance), and perhaps I should be grateful for their contribution to the economy, the millions of people, not just here but worldwide, who make their living supporting a product that doesn't really work, and certainly not as advertised.
Spending our way out of a recession
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Rants
- Hits: 2339
As of late there has been a great deal of talk of spending our way out of the recession. Principally it's politicians and fringe economists who advise this. Realizing that the average household doesn't have money to spend (the current debtload of the average American household, not including mortgage, is somewhere around $20, 000) the US government provided a bailout package to the banks, $350 Billion dollars (already issued) with another $350 Billion to follow - a sort of economic stimulis. In theory the banks lend this money, consumers borrow it to spend, the recession is over...
Canada has implimented a similar strategy, shoring up the banks and lowering interest rates. Odd that the lowering of the interest rate is not yet reflected anywhere in the commercial banks lending rates, but that's a different posting.
In theory, while enormously short-sighted, this will in some small measure work. More people spending money means more jobs. So far, so good. But there are some deeply flawed inherit propositions in this.
The first flaw is placing the onus on consumers to free themselves from the recession by spending borrowed money.
Bear in mind that the current recession was, at least symbolically, caused by the collapse of Lehmans, AIG and others in the US. Now had these banks been allowed to simply collapse - go under - most Americans would have lost absolutely nothing. A few Americans might have each lost a few hundred to a few thousand dollars or so - bearing in mind that most Americans have debt, not savings. And a very few - very very few - would have lost fortunes that totalled the vast bulk of the losses.
Now I would argue that an "Average Joe" - your thrify saver, retired pensioner, etc - who loses say $5, 000 in savings is far worse off than you're multi millionaire/billionaire who loses a few million. The difference is one of basic needs. The "Average Joe" is now possibly without the means to feed him or herself, the millionaire/billionaire is now short a few digit on his investment statement. In terms of lifestyle, the "Average Joe" is hit hard, the millionaire not at all.
Note that millionaires/billionaires aren't big spenders. Their basic needs - food, shelter, healthcare - are the same as everone elses. And the fact that they have built up these monumental reserves of investment capital within banks is proof that their money isn't contributing to the economy in the same manner as everyone elses.
There is an old rule - the 90% - 10% rule - that states that, in the US, North America, 10% of the people control (own) 90% of the resources. The other 90% percent of the people control (own) the remaining 10%. Give or take a few percent (the ratio is actually growing more dramatic, not less) this is true. Now then, with this in mind, why would you charge the 90% of the population that only has 10% of the resources with the enormous task of "saving" the economy?
Herin lies the irony. If 90% of the population increased spending by 100% - doubled - over the course of a year, the economy would be robust and booming. Why then is it not charged to the wealthy? The 10% of the population who were rich would only have to spend 10% of their reserves to achieve the same effect. And no one has suggested that consumer spending needs to double, in fact the rate would be far, far lower.
The second flaw is allowing these Monumental reserves of cash to be built up and held in private hands
The Wall Street bailout was entirely done to protect the assets of the very, very rich. As stated earlier, few Americans would have noticed anything. The bailout - $700 Billion dollars of taxpayer's money - ensured that every American felt something (700 Billion divided by 350 Million people = $2000 per man, woman and child in the US - not counting governmental service and administrative fees. And if the money was borrowed interest.).
Money held in banks is dead. Money not in circulation, simply "Garnering Interest" or other returns, in no way contributes to an economy. Banks of course would disagree, money held in reserve allows them to create further money, but this is imaginary wealth without any real-world correlation. Imaginary Wealth works very well in an Imaginary Economy, but sooner or later this will have to end. You can only play this game for so long, as the economic downturn has shown.
Money that is real and spent, however, drives the economy. By real money I refer to that cash earned by the tangible exchange of good and services. Addressing the issue of keeping it in circulation, however, is a big one, and requires a complete rewrite of the current economic system.
Finally
Despite the dire economic forecasts in North America we're in the enviable position of producing all the food - locally - that we need to survive. If you live in the US you're even luckier, you have California and Florida, where a hospitable climate will grow almost anything you could want to eat. The "recession" should by no means imply that we will be going hungry or missing the necessities of life. Yes, that imported car or HD TV might have to wait until foreign nations feel we can be trusted. But that's a good thing. It teaches independance.
Meanwhile we should be looking at sustainable economic alternatives. We should realize we are wealthy - wealthy beyond our wildest dreams - and look at implementing processes to recover some of that wealth. How can we do this?
- Work ourselves out of a job. Build quality products that are meant to last - ensuring we consume only when necessary
- Consume less. Less gas for our cars, less processed foods, by investing in energy efficient housing and public transport.
- Recycle. Reclaim lands lost to industrialization. Invest in technology that will help us to recover toxic soils and waterways. In this alone there is an economic boom that should busy us for the next 50 years.
- Educate ourselves. We don't need more junk. We need to make junk that lasts. We need to realize that a new working economy will be one primarily based on services, not consumption and manufacture.
- Implement processes to ensure wealth doesn't pool or remain stagnant (as in Banks or Private Hands). Do not confuse this with communism. Rather, think of it as an appreciation that we are only holding our resources "In Trust" for future generations.
Practical Ideas:
- Locally printed currency: http://calgarydollars.ca/ - Money that can't be banked or used to create interest is real money. Real money drives the economy. Local money stays local.
To Conclude:
In every crisis there's opportunity. In this economic downturn perhaps we can reappraise our values and take steps to ensure it doesn't happen again. The first step is not to shore up the banks and insulate them against their imagined losses. They may have been a good idea once, but their time has come and gone. We need to get real.
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