Wild Ideas

[craesz]

December 11, 2006

When did it become this hectic? Why do we allow it?

December 6, 2006

Who's dream are you working to live?

December 5, 2006

Wow. Been a while.

Thought today as to why we seem, as a nation, to seek retirement. Despite someone's age, have they become useless? Why do we seek to stop working? Yes, I know it is a goal....but why? Is this really for the best? A long time ago, people respected their elders. They actually had what some call experience. They used to be the ones that guided us. What are we doing to ourselves?

August 3, 2006

We presently are under the control of a president that espouses his religious beliefs and/or uses those beliefs as the basis for apparently all his decisions. Is this because he can't/won't take the blame for his actions and, therefore, seeks to hide behind the shield of 'God told me to do it'? I find it odd that, in a country where the founding fathers made it a point to incorporate into our system the separation of church and state, we are seeing this conduct. Do you?

July 27, 2006

Get a load of this crap. If a person files suit for medical malpractice, a group will put their name on a blacklist. Read about it here (http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1153744532499).

July 26, 2006

Art. What is this? Why does this exist? Obviously it has merit or there would be no money to be made in the music industry, dance industry, opera, museums, etc. What is it about this thing we call art that satisfies some need we have as humans? Of course, I presume we have this need only because people are willing to pay money to experience the art. You can't eat a painting. You can't wear a song. An opera can't cure your child of an illness. Books, viable methods of communication, don't drive you to work. Yet these things exist. There must be some inate need satisfied by these things. Music and light were used as a method of communication in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Music is said to be mathematical in nature. I have no idea. I've never studied any form of music. Like to listen to it though. Different types for different moods. Movies are another form of entertainment. TV is yet another. We all want to be entertained. Is art the method to alleviate a human from the mundane? Is that its true purpose? Taking us away, temporarily, from our own lives. Escapism?? Perhaps.

July 12, 2006

If you would like to see a non-lawyer's crusade regarding the lies about tort reform, check this (http://www.corpreform.com/) out. Mr. Lane cites in his article published in July 2006 Trial magazine (found at the foregoing link) a case where DaimlerChrysler spent somewhere around $250,000.00 defending a case and then stated the attorney's fees for the plaintiff of $150,000.00 were too high. You can find this article here (http://www.law.com/jsp/ihc/PubArticleIHC.jsp?id=1135677909856).

May 28, 2006

Ages ago I had a friend that constantly said 'Talk is cheap. Whiskey costs money.' I believe this is some form of quote from some book or movie, but I have no idea which one. The interesting part of this quote is the part about talk being cheap. Yes, I believe this. Each of us live our lives with certain beliefs. These beliefs are instilled through some process (parents, church, friends.....). Each religion has a set of beliefs. Each society has a set of beliefs. Each country has a set of beliefs.

I reached a point in my life not too long ago where I decided that the world needs people that actually live their beliefs. Lately, I've been under some degree of pressure due to this decision. Convenience. Yes, it would be easier, more convenient to be politically correct. The problem this creates is when political correctness butts heads with my beliefs. It is far easier to be silent and do nothing to rock the boat than to stand for something. Unfortunately, I believe that the majority of the ills we face as a society are created by this apathetic attitude.

If you believe that what those in power are doing is wrong yet remain silent because of what might happen if you become vocal, are you part of the problem or part of the solution? Imagine if Jesus had not thrown out the money-changers (establishment) because something bad might happen to him if he did. What about Jesus standing up for a whore? Was this politically correct? Was Jesus part of the establishment or did he evoke change by questioning authority? What about Ghandi? Ghandi, being an attorney, was well aware of the harm that would befall him if he spoke out. Should he have kept quiet to avoid that harm? What would our world be like without people like him? Of course, both of these individuals (and more) suffered as a direct result of their actions. Death, imprisonment, violence.... They knew this would happen and continued. Why? Because it was the right thing to do.

What kind of person are you? Do you live your beliefs or are they something you put on and take off a shelf when it's convenient? If we all avoid doing things due to what 'might' happen, how does anything ever change? If we all sit back afraid, who wins?

Should I take the easy way out? Should I stop standing up for what I believe?

Guess my stubborn streak wins. Screw them all. Someone has to do it. Might as well be me.

May 19, 2006

How is it that theory and reality don't mix?

May 11, 2006

Ultimately, how is a society judged?

The manner it treats its criminals?
The manner it treats its infirm?
The manner it treats its elderly?
The manner it treats the poor?
The manner it treats the rich?
The manner it treats the downtrodden?
The technology/inventions of the society?
The spiritual development of its masses?
The tenets by which the individuals live?

If you were an alien, how would you view humanity?

May 9, 2006

Technology, again. My copier died for the last time. I spent some time looking for an adequate replacement. Finally, I took the leap to a "new" technological marvel. Copier plus network scanning plus network printing. Wow. Of course, it was all supposed to be plug and play. No real interaction to set it up. Then someone please tell me why I've lost four days to trying to implement the network scanning properly. I ended up working until midnight last night to try to catch up, thanks to this copier/scanner situation.

Oh yeah. Almost forgot. I upgraded my computer due to its antiquity. Allegedly, you can install Windows using a repair function when you upgrade the contents of the actual box. This took all weekend. I'm so impressed with Microsoft's quality. Try and guess how many errors I get now when I try to run programs that ran perfectly before and were not supposed to be affected by this "repair" install. Love it. Bill Gates is on my list. (Of course, he has been for some time, but with this little episode he's staying near the top)

May 1, 2006

Technology. The be all end all of the twentieth century. The industrial age of man leading through the twentieth century to this the twenty-first century. How many of you are better off than those that founded this country? Think about that life. Simple. Less hurried. Hard. Difficult. Primarily in the line of the basic necessities (food, clothing, shelter). People died unexpectedly. Women died in childbirth. Darwin would say this was proper. Medicine has improved (doctors have moved from using leaches to bleed one dry to overprescribing antibiotics and thereby creating mutant strains that are antibiotic resistant, but hey, at least you don't bleed to death). We can now replace faces, knees, hips, shoulders and organs. We can separate siamese twins joined at the head. We can keep a premature infant alive. Just wait for the cloning issue to raise its ugly head. Seems a little like playing God, doesn't it?

The electronics world has exploded. The internet alone is amazing. I can view the weather on the other side of the globe with live feeds from geostationary satellites. I can talk to someone on the other side of the globe instantaneously. Now people expect for you to have an e-mail address. Cell phones are rampant. U.S. teenagers each have one. They are a fashion statement. The use them for all sorts of things, not just talking to one another. Televisions are rapidly changing. Everything is going digital. You must have HD TV or nothing at all. When I grew up (at least until I was a teenager) we actually had a black and white television that you had to get off your lazy ass to change the channel or adjust the volume that was not connected to cable, but used an antenna instead. Our cars now have more electronic power than most of the NASA space missions. Next we each get chips in our heads for God knows what use.

As a direct result of the increase in technology, the population of this country has increased its expectations on each of us. If you are not computer literate, you better be prepared for the worst. Copiers have mutated into devices designed to capture the world digitally. You can now print to a copier from your desk, scan from the copier to a network computer, fax directly from your copier. You almost need a degree to operate one of these new copiers. You can program coffee makers, ovens, fax machines, water sprinklers, not to mention the bane of my existence...Tivo.

I say all this to ask this one question - Is all this technology really helping us? Think about it. How much can you do in a day even with all this technology? How much is expected of you as a result of this technology? How fast can we go? Is this really better? What are we giving up as a result of this technology? Is your quality (and I mean REAL quality) of life better than all those that have gone before us? Step back and take a good look. Where are our families? Who takes care of your children? Are our school teachers spending more time with our children than we are? What future are we building through our children? Do you know your neighbors? Do you actually spend time relaxing (I mean REAL relaxation)? When you take a vacation where are you (on vacation, or still back at work by using your laptop, cell phone, fax, etc.)? Do you really know what you are eating? Do you have any idea what technological marvels you are consuming on a daily basis? Is fast food the answer to our ancestors' problems? Do you think that the people that founded this country really lived in worse conditions (e.g. did their fish have mecury, did their air contain pollution, did their food contain additives, chemicals or steroids)? What have we done to our air, water, oceans, planet? Do you think man alone could have done that or did it take technology to get us and our world in this shape?

Now, step back again. What is the reason we must acquire all this technology? Greed? Power? Quality of life? What altar allows this?

Who is really in control of our world?

April 20, 2006

Located this website (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/justice/) late last night, which I believe is quite ironic given they specifically target the Texas system. At least it appears I'm not the only one wondering about the manner our legal system works and pointing out some of its flaws.

April 15, 2006

What is the meaning of life? What is your purpose on this planet?

Look at everyone around you. What are they adding to the equation? What are you adding to the equation?