Hey, Kai, consider THIS possibility.

[Doktor Howl]

Having read your post on the ill-health of the biosphere, and it's inevitable impact on the human species (among others), I started thinking, and did some reading.  Remember Thomas Malthus, and his dire predictions?  He may have been right in principle, but in practice he failed to consider possible improvements in agricultural technology.

The world's population is estimated at 6,827,900,000, as of this day.  The rate of growth has halved since 1963 (1.1% from 2.2%) and is trending lower.  Agricultural methods are improving, though over-harvesting of the ocean continues.

It is just possible that we can carry on at least another hundred years.

Problem is, given our cultural trends, I am not certain that this is a good thing.  We no longer think in terms of leaving the planet.  We make toys, we're starting to seriously talk about modifying humans via RFID tags and implanted gizmos, our art is becoming baroque, we have all the signs of a culture in decline, even as our gadgets become more and more a part of our lives.

If I am correct, and we have time to get to the future in the first place, I can tell you the basics of what it's going to look like.  Look around.  This is the future.  Commercialism, religious whackjobbery, short-sighted greed, a need for newer and faster toys, the almighty dollar (or Euro, or Yen, or whatever currency leads at the time).

Forget vacations on the moon, forget flying cars, forget a cure for cancer, forget life extension technology (and all the horrors that would accompany it).  Look around.  Just look around.  You're in the future, minus whatever fun and exciting new body mods/electronics that become available to a population less and less able to deal with today, let alone tomorrow.  

In fact, I predict that mood altering drugs will be the single most important product on the market.  People can't deal with the complexities of today without Lexapro, just think about how they'll feel when they come home and find that their kid has changed his species to fit in with his friends.

No, whichever way this century goes, it isn't going to be a time for anyone who isn't serious about having a good time.  This century will be for those with finely tuned senses of horrormirth, and strong stomachs.  And drugs.  Lots and lots of drugs.  It's going to be non-stop future shock, starting right here, right now.  It began in 1994, and it's going to accelerate at an unbounded rate.

Strap yourself in, Kai, it's going to be a hell of a ride.  It won't always be pleasant, but I'm pretty sure it won't be boring, at least for those able to pry themselves away from their Tri-V sets long enough to watch the world mutate around them.

Okay for now,
Dok

[Eater of Clowns]

Leaving the earth sounds like an adventure, Dok.  People don't want adventure.  They think they do, they wish they could be on that fucking Lost island and deal with smoke monster and the attractive fellow stranded.  But they balk at the work it takes to really embrace that sense.  Adventure doesn't look for us; space isn't going to come knocking on our door.  It'll stand over us laughing silently at the short span of our existence.

The explorers are dead.  There is no fountain of youth to drive them on, no legends.  It's a money thing as well.  Looking forever outward is an expensive hobby, and one that takes funds away from us looking forever shiftily left and right at our brethren.

We're past thriving, which is the reward gained for risking our necks in an uncertain endeavor.  It's about survival now, and just barely is better even than the possibility of none at all.  When told we can't, we accept, rather than yell back "fuck you - watch me!"

[Doktor Howl]

Leaving the earth sounds like an adventure, Dok.  People don't want adventure.  They think they do, they wish they could be on that fucking Lost island and deal with smoke monster and the attractive fellow stranded.  But they balk at the work it takes to really embrace that sense.  Adventure doesn't look for us; space isn't going to come knocking on our door.  It'll stand over us laughing silently at the short span of our existence.

The explorers are dead.  There is no fountain of youth to drive them on, no legends.  It's a money thing as well.  Looking forever outward is an expensive hobby, and one that takes funds away from us looking forever shiftily left and right at our brethren.

We're past thriving, which is the reward gained for risking our necks in an uncertain endeavor.  It's about survival now, and just barely is better even than the possibility of none at all.  When told we can't, we accept, rather than yell back "fuck you - watch me!"

There never were many explorers, EoC.  The difference is that we no longer wish to fund the ones that exist, because Hollywood can make more exciting movies that seem more REAL than some compressed tin can strapped to a rocket.  There are no Aliens, no Predators, no Empire.  Just empty space and boring, endless resources.  People don't even understand where their sandwich meat comes from, so don't expect them to care about the trace metals, etc, in their I-pods.

[Kai]

Having read your post on the ill-health of the biosphere, and it's inevitable impact on the human species (among others), I started thinking, and did some reading.  Remember Thomas Malthus, and his dire predictions?  He may have been right in principle, but in practice he failed to consider possible improvements in agricultural technology.

The world's population is estimated at 6,827,900,000, as of this day.  The rate of growth has halved since 1963 (1.1% from 2.2%) and is trending lower.  Agricultural methods are improving, though over-harvesting of the ocean continues.

It is just possible that we can carry on at least another hundred years.

Problem is, given our cultural trends, I am not certain that this is a good thing.  We no longer think in terms of leaving the planet.  We make toys, we're starting to seriously talk about modifying humans via RFID tags and implanted gizmos, our art is becoming baroque, we have all the signs of a culture in decline, even as our gadgets become more and more a part of our lives.

If I am correct, and we have time to get to the future in the first place, I can tell you the basics of what it's going to look like.  Look around.  This is the future.  Commercialism, religious whackjobbery, short-sighted greed, a need for newer and faster toys, the almighty dollar (or Euro, or Yen, or whatever currency leads at the time).

Forget vacations on the moon, forget flying cars, forget a cure for cancer, forget life extension technology (and all the horrors that would accompany it).  Look around.  Just look around.  You're in the future, minus whatever fun and exciting new body mods/electronics that become available to a population less and less able to deal with today, let alone tomorrow.  

In fact, I predict that mood altering drugs will be the single most important product on the market.  People can't deal with the complexities of today without Lexapro, just think about how they'll feel when they come home and find that their kid has changed his species to fit in with his friends.

No, whichever way this century goes, it isn't going to be a time for anyone who isn't serious about having a good time.  This century will be for those with finely tuned senses of horrormirth, and strong stomachs.  And drugs.  Lots and lots of drugs.  It's going to be non-stop future shock, starting right here, right now.  It began in 1994, and it's going to accelerate at an unbounded rate.

Strap yourself in, Kai, it's going to be a hell of a ride.  It won't always be pleasant, but I'm pretty sure it won't be boring, at least for those able to pry themselves away from their Tri-V sets long enough to watch the world mutate around them.

Okay for now,
Dok

Drugs, a strong stomach, and a strong stomach for drugs. I just took some drugs, Dok. The ones that I had been on for nearly half a year. I went off them because, among other things, the sex was better. But my moods, dok, they were all OVER the fucking place. And I just haven't been fun to be around. So I just started taking it again this morning, and now I feel weird as fuck. Like I'm slightly shifted to the up and right. And my head has this excited ache. But the nice thing is, whenever I start trying to think about the biodiversity crisis, it just sorta runs away from me, and I'm too lazy to get up to catch it.

Drugs and toys. That's all anyone thinks about these days. Toys to keep themselves entertained, and drugs to keep them complacent. And vice versa. EO Wilson said that humans care about sex, family, entertainment, spiritual fulfillment and safety in no particular order. I dissagree. The order is sex, entertainment, safety, and then family and spiritual fulfillment down at less than 1%. That's humans for you. The most happily complacent humans are the ones given constant sex and entertainment in a safe environment. They'll do practically anything to stay there.

Gotta go Dok, I've got this warm buzzing feeling in my chest, and the camping trip starts in an hour.

~Kai

[Doktor Howl]

Drugs, a strong stomach, and a strong stomach for drugs. I just took some drugs, Dok. The ones that I had been on for nearly half a year. I went off them because, among other things, the sex was better. But my moods, dok, they were all OVER the fucking place. And I just haven't been fun to be around. So I just started taking it again this morning, and now I feel weird as fuck. Like I'm slightly shifted to the up and right. And my head has this excited ache. But the nice thing is, whenever I start trying to think about the biodiversity crisis, it just sorta runs away from me, and I'm too lazy to get up to catch it.

Bear in mind that Lexapro fucks you up for 2 weeks before it helps.  But you already know this.

And also bear in mind that the angel of apathy - aka emotional fatigue - is a survival tool, not callousness or complacency.  Worrying about things all the time is no way to go through life.

Drugs and toys. That's all anyone thinks about these days. Toys to keep themselves entertained, and drugs to keep them complacent. And vice versa. EO Wilson said that humans care about sex, family, entertainment, spiritual fulfillment and safety in no particular order. I dissagree. The order is sex, entertainment, safety, and then family and spiritual fulfillment down at less than 1%. That's humans for you. The most happily complacent humans are the ones given constant sex and entertainment in a safe environment. They'll do practically anything to stay there.

Gotta go Dok, I've got this warm buzzing feeling in my chest, and the camping trip starts in an hour.

~Kai

Yep.  That's why I gave up on the Holy Man™ thing, and took up mad science.  It's taken me a while to figure out who Doktor Howl is, it's been a gradual change from TGRR, not a clean break, but I have it now.  I am a Doktor of Horror™, which is something that is going to require serious study over the next decade or so.  It's really a neglected field, and I think we'd better get hopping.

Enjoy your trip, Kai.  We'll talk more when you return.  If the pills get all over you, give me a call.  My phone is on 24/7.

[P3nT4gR4m]

Why the surprised expressions? It's simple - the things you own start to own you. Some fat oriental fuck told us as much a million years or so ago. So either you missed the memo or you've had your head in the sand all this time. Ever since we learned to walk on two legs and go outside the cave to shit, ever since Ogg got himself a sharp bone and suddenly realised he had a sharp bone he somehow had to keep a hold of, ever since our opposable thumbs enabled us to pick shit up and our opposable brains enabled us to find knew and improved methods of keeping it safe, we've become obsessed with building huge fucking tombs around ourselves, out of meaningless shit we somehow managed to convince ourselves we needed to take to the afterlife.

We're all fucking Pharaohs now, buried alive under a mound of lifestyle accessories and must have chemicals and the higher our monuments rise, the harder it is for us to remember what it's like outside. We chain ourselves to these huge anchors of garbage, the dishwasher, the refrigerator, the house in the burbs with a manicured lawn and a monoblocked section for the SUV to park on and we think we own it. But when our shiny little digital egg timer goes "beep fucking BEEP!" every morning, we go out and do shit we don't want to just to pay for all the shit we think we own. Truth is our possessions whore us out to the highest bidder. We go out and take it up the ass so our shiny shit can enjoy the comfort of our shiny house and, if we're really good it might just allow us to spend some time in it's company, evenings and weekends.

I've listened to these whores, Doc and it's no fucking different from the way a rock-ho talks about her daily wrap. It's obsessive, "I got one of these and it's great, I swallowed an extra belly full of diseased cum so I could afford the optional attachment cos that makes it twice as wonderful. And they could be talking about a fucking vacuum cleaner or a new watch or some spanky little electronic piece of shit with twice the resolution and ten times the memory but the glazed look is the same as they rabbit on and on until all I can hear is what's between the lines - "this is my i-Pimp. I am it's bitch"

And less and less, Doc, do they talk to me about what they did. It's all what they own. I tell them about where I went and what I did and they look at me like I'm retarded. "Did you take a picture?", "No I didn't have a camera", "but doesn't your phone take pictures? Mine has a billion and a half megapixels and can tell me how much of a fucking retard I am in twelve different languages", "I don't own a mobile phone you fucking cretin. Why do you think you can never get a hold of me to tell me about how much cock you got stuck in you for the new CD Player with matching Speakers?" But I've lost them by then. An advert got sent to their Blackberry. Their pimp ordered them to drop their pants again. I'm past fucking caring. I just saw something that looks like it'd be really fun to get wasted and climb. Bet there's a view from the top. I'm going to make this mountain my bitch...

[Doktor Howl]

You, sir, are a man of the future.  Check PMs, please.

[Triple Zero]

Having read your post on the ill-health of the biosphere, and it's inevitable impact on the human species (among others), I started thinking, and did some reading.  Remember Thomas Malthus, and his dire predictions?  He may have been right in principle, but in practice he failed to consider possible improvements in agricultural technology.

The world's population is estimated at 6,827,900,000, as of this day.  The rate of growth has halved since 1963 (1.1% from 2.2%) and is trending lower.  Agricultural methods are improving, though over-harvesting of the ocean continues.

It is just possible that we can carry on at least another hundred years.

Problem is, given our cultural trends, I am not certain that this is a good thing.  We no longer think in terms of leaving the planet.  We make toys, we're starting to seriously talk about modifying humans via RFID tags and implanted gizmos, our art is becoming baroque, we have all the signs of a culture in decline, even as our gadgets become more and more a part of our lives.

If I am correct, and we have time to get to the future in the first place, I can tell you the basics of what it's going to look like.  Look around.  This is the future.  Commercialism, religious whackjobbery, short-sighted greed, a need for newer and faster toys, the almighty dollar (or Euro, or Yen, or whatever currency leads at the time).

Forget vacations on the moon, forget flying cars, forget a cure for cancer, forget life extension technology (and all the horrors that would accompany it).  Look around.  Just look around.  You're in the future, minus whatever fun and exciting new body mods/electronics that become available to a population less and less able to deal with today, let alone tomorrow.  

In fact, I predict that mood altering drugs will be the single most important product on the market.  People can't deal with the complexities of today without Lexapro, just think about how they'll feel when they come home and find that their kid has changed his species to fit in with his friends.

No, whichever way this century goes, it isn't going to be a time for anyone who isn't serious about having a good time.  This century will be for those with finely tuned senses of horrormirth, and strong stomachs.  And drugs.  Lots and lots of drugs.  It's going to be non-stop future shock, starting right here, right now.  It began in 1994, and it's going to accelerate at an unbounded rate.

Strap yourself in, Kai, it's going to be a hell of a ride.  It won't always be pleasant, but I'm pretty sure it won't be boring, at least for those able to pry themselves away from their Tri-V sets long enough to watch the world mutate around them.

Okay for now,
Dok

So, basically like Transmetropolitan, then?

That's probably a bad thing when you're actually living it, but ... also sort of awesome.

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

Why the surprised expressions? It's simple - the things you own start to own you. Some fat oriental fuck told us as much a million years or so ago. So either you missed the memo or you've had your head in the sand all this time. Ever since we learned to walk on two legs and go outside the cave to shit, ever since Ogg got himself a sharp bone and suddenly realised he had a sharp bone he somehow had to keep a hold of, ever since our opposable thumbs enabled us to pick shit up and our opposable brains enabled us to find knew and improved methods of keeping it safe, we've become obsessed with building huge fucking tombs around ourselves, out of meaningless shit we somehow managed to convince ourselves we needed to take to the afterlife.

We're all fucking Pharaohs now, buried alive under a mound of lifestyle accessories and must have chemicals and the higher our monuments rise, the harder it is for us to remember what it's like outside. We chain ourselves to these huge anchors of garbage, the dishwasher, the refrigerator, the house in the burbs with a manicured lawn and a monoblocked section for the SUV to park on and we think we own it. But when our shiny little digital egg timer goes "beep fucking BEEP!" every morning, we go out and do shit we don't want to just to pay for all the shit we think we own. Truth is our possessions whore us out to the highest bidder. We go out and take it up the ass so our shiny shit can enjoy the comfort of our shiny house and, if we're really good it might just allow us to spend some time in it's company, evenings and weekends.

I've listened to these whores, Doc and it's no fucking different from the way a rock-ho talks about her daily wrap. It's obsessive, "I got one of these and it's great, I swallowed an extra belly full of diseased cum so I could afford the optional attachment cos that makes it twice as wonderful. And they could be talking about a fucking vacuum cleaner or a new watch or some spanky little electronic piece of shit with twice the resolution and ten times the memory but the glazed look is the same as they rabbit on and on until all I can hear is what's between the lines - "this is my i-Pimp. I am it's bitch"

And less and less, Doc, do they talk to me about what they did. It's all what they own. I tell them about where I went and what I did and they look at me like I'm retarded. "Did you take a picture?", "No I didn't have a camera", "but doesn't your phone take pictures? Mine has a billion and a half megapixels and can tell me how much of a fucking retard I am in twelve different languages", "I don't own a mobile phone you fucking cretin. Why do you think you can never get a hold of me to tell me about how much cock you got stuck in you for the new CD Player with matching Speakers?" But I've lost them by then. An advert got sent to their Blackberry. Their pimp ordered them to drop their pants again. I'm past fucking caring. I just saw something that looks like it'd be really fun to get wasted and climb. Bet there's a view from the top. I'm going to make this mountain my bitch...

[Kai]

Drugs, a strong stomach, and a strong stomach for drugs. I just took some drugs, Dok. The ones that I had been on for nearly half a year. I went off them because, among other things, the sex was better. But my moods, dok, they were all OVER the fucking place. And I just haven't been fun to be around. So I just started taking it again this morning, and now I feel weird as fuck. Like I'm slightly shifted to the up and right. And my head has this excited ache. But the nice thing is, whenever I start trying to think about the biodiversity crisis, it just sorta runs away from me, and I'm too lazy to get up to catch it.

Bear in mind that Lexapro fucks you up for 2 weeks before it helps.  But you already know this.

Yes. It's been a fucking ride today, and yesterday. You should have seen how much water I had in my tent when I went out to salvage it this morning; good thing I didn't actually try to sleep in it. The hangover was totally not worth it, but hey, a few beers can't hurt right? No more drinking, at least till I forget about this time.

And also bear in mind that the angel of apathy - aka emotional fatigue - is a survival tool, not callousness or complacency.  Worrying about things all the time is no way to go through life.

So, I can not care about things sometimes and not be a worthless monkey? Cause I've been operating under the believe that to actually be worthy to myself, I have to give a shit all the time, at least about the important things. Otherwise I'm fucking it up.

Drugs and toys. That's all anyone thinks about these days. Toys to keep themselves entertained, and drugs to keep them complacent. And vice versa. EO Wilson said that humans care about sex, family, entertainment, spiritual fulfillment and safety in no particular order. I dissagree. The order is sex, entertainment, safety, and then family and spiritual fulfillment down at less than 1%. That's humans for you. The most happily complacent humans are the ones given constant sex and entertainment in a safe environment. They'll do practically anything to stay there.

Gotta go Dok, I've got this warm buzzing feeling in my chest, and the camping trip starts in an hour.

~Kai

Yep.  That's why I gave up on the Holy Man™ thing, and took up mad science.  It's taken me a while to figure out who Doktor Howl is, it's been a gradual change from TGRR, not a clean break, but I have it now.  I am a Doktor of Horror™, which is something that is going to require serious study over the next decade or so.  It's really a neglected field, and I think we'd better get hopping.

Enjoy your trip, Kai.  We'll talk more when you return.  If the pills get all over you, give me a call.  My phone is on 24/7.

Frikiology, the study of horror. From the Greek. Make a good study of it. I'm interested.

The pills are getting to me, but its more of a tired ache right now. Need some water.

[Adios]

Leaving the earth sounds like an adventure, Dok.  People don't want adventure.  They think they do, they wish they could be on that fucking Lost island and deal with smoke monster and the attractive fellow stranded.  But they balk at the work it takes to really embrace that sense.  Adventure doesn't look for us; space isn't going to come knocking on our door.  It'll stand over us laughing silently at the short span of our existence.

The explorers are dead.  There is no fountain of youth to drive them on, no legends.  It's a money thing as well.  Looking forever outward is an expensive hobby, and one that takes funds away from us looking forever shiftily left and right at our brethren.

We're past thriving, which is the reward gained for risking our necks in an uncertain endeavor.  It's about survival now, and just barely is better even than the possibility of none at all.  When told we can't, we accept, rather than yell back "fuck you - watch me!"

There never were many explorers, EoC.  The difference is that we no longer wish to fund the ones that exist, because Hollywood can make more exciting movies that seem more REAL than some compressed tin can strapped to a rocket.  There are no Aliens, no Predators, no Empire.  Just empty space and boring, endless resources.  People don't even understand where their sandwich meat comes from, so don't expect them to care about the trace metals, etc, in their I-pods.

I was having a conversation a while back about this. I made the statement if I wanted to write a book about China I would go there. Taste the tastes, smell the smells, rub shoulders with the people. The comment back to me was that we didn't have to do that anymore. We could research it on the net and just use that.

I can't make sense of that. All research is flawed or written from a personal bias. Why wouldn't you just experience it for yourself?

Hawk,
Soooo last century.

[Doktor Howl]

Leaving the earth sounds like an adventure, Dok.  People don't want adventure.  They think they do, they wish they could be on that fucking Lost island and deal with smoke monster and the attractive fellow stranded.  But they balk at the work it takes to really embrace that sense.  Adventure doesn't look for us; space isn't going to come knocking on our door.  It'll stand over us laughing silently at the short span of our existence.

The explorers are dead.  There is no fountain of youth to drive them on, no legends.  It's a money thing as well.  Looking forever outward is an expensive hobby, and one that takes funds away from us looking forever shiftily left and right at our brethren.

We're past thriving, which is the reward gained for risking our necks in an uncertain endeavor.  It's about survival now, and just barely is better even than the possibility of none at all.  When told we can't, we accept, rather than yell back "fuck you - watch me!"

There never were many explorers, EoC.  The difference is that we no longer wish to fund the ones that exist, because Hollywood can make more exciting movies that seem more REAL than some compressed tin can strapped to a rocket.  There are no Aliens, no Predators, no Empire.  Just empty space and boring, endless resources.  People don't even understand where their sandwich meat comes from, so don't expect them to care about the trace metals, etc, in their I-pods.

I was having a conversation a while back about this. I made the statement if I wanted to write a book about China I would go there. Taste the tastes, smell the smells, rub shoulders with the people. The comment back to me was that we didn't have to do that anymore. We could research it on the net and just use that.

I can't make sense of that. All research is flawed or written from a personal bias. Why wouldn't you just experience it for yourself?

Hawk,
Soooo last century.

We have the Food Network for that. 

[Adios]

Leaving the earth sounds like an adventure, Dok.  People don't want adventure.  They think they do, they wish they could be on that fucking Lost island and deal with smoke monster and the attractive fellow stranded.  But they balk at the work it takes to really embrace that sense.  Adventure doesn't look for us; space isn't going to come knocking on our door.  It'll stand over us laughing silently at the short span of our existence.

The explorers are dead.  There is no fountain of youth to drive them on, no legends.  It's a money thing as well.  Looking forever outward is an expensive hobby, and one that takes funds away from us looking forever shiftily left and right at our brethren.

We're past thriving, which is the reward gained for risking our necks in an uncertain endeavor.  It's about survival now, and just barely is better even than the possibility of none at all.  When told we can't, we accept, rather than yell back "fuck you - watch me!"

There never were many explorers, EoC.  The difference is that we no longer wish to fund the ones that exist, because Hollywood can make more exciting movies that seem more REAL than some compressed tin can strapped to a rocket.  There are no Aliens, no Predators, no Empire.  Just empty space and boring, endless resources.  People don't even understand where their sandwich meat comes from, so don't expect them to care about the trace metals, etc, in their I-pods.

I was having a conversation a while back about this. I made the statement if I wanted to write a book about China I would go there. Taste the tastes, smell the smells, rub shoulders with the people. The comment back to me was that we didn't have to do that anymore. We could research it on the net and just use that.

I can't make sense of that. All research is flawed or written from a personal bias. Why wouldn't you just experience it for yourself?

Hawk,
Soooo last century.

We have the Food Network for that. 

Well, The Machine™ has succeeded in marketing that people need to be dependent on technology. Now, don't get me wrong, I think technology can be good as long as we remember it is just a tool and not the end game. Today it has become the end game. IMO television was the beginning of the end of true human involvement in our surroundings.

[Doktor Howl]

Leaving the earth sounds like an adventure, Dok.  People don't want adventure.  They think they do, they wish they could be on that fucking Lost island and deal with smoke monster and the attractive fellow stranded.  But they balk at the work it takes to really embrace that sense.  Adventure doesn't look for us; space isn't going to come knocking on our door.  It'll stand over us laughing silently at the short span of our existence.

The explorers are dead.  There is no fountain of youth to drive them on, no legends.  It's a money thing as well.  Looking forever outward is an expensive hobby, and one that takes funds away from us looking forever shiftily left and right at our brethren.

We're past thriving, which is the reward gained for risking our necks in an uncertain endeavor.  It's about survival now, and just barely is better even than the possibility of none at all.  When told we can't, we accept, rather than yell back "fuck you - watch me!"

There never were many explorers, EoC.  The difference is that we no longer wish to fund the ones that exist, because Hollywood can make more exciting movies that seem more REAL than some compressed tin can strapped to a rocket.  There are no Aliens, no Predators, no Empire.  Just empty space and boring, endless resources.  People don't even understand where their sandwich meat comes from, so don't expect them to care about the trace metals, etc, in their I-pods.

I was having a conversation a while back about this. I made the statement if I wanted to write a book about China I would go there. Taste the tastes, smell the smells, rub shoulders with the people. The comment back to me was that we didn't have to do that anymore. We could research it on the net and just use that.

I can't make sense of that. All research is flawed or written from a personal bias. Why wouldn't you just experience it for yourself?

Hawk,
Soooo last century.

We have the Food Network for that. 

Well, The Machine™ has succeeded in marketing that people need to be dependent on technology. Now, don't get me wrong, I think technology can be good as long as we remember it is just a tool and not the end game. Today it has become the end game. IMO television was the beginning of the end of true human involvement in our surroundings.

Sure.  Now people watch the Food Channel for their information on other cultures, which is at least an improvement over learning about these other cultures from the horrible redneck swine at the local bowling alley.

So there America sits, idly stuffing their faces with Ho Hos and Nachos, watching Iron Chefs make Bhuna Chicken.  Perhaps one person in ten thousand will be motivated to try cooking some real food.  Maybe.

[Adios]

Yesterday we went for a picnic. Less that one mile out of my town there is a 310 acre park set aside for motorcycles and atv's. We drove by and there was not one person there. It was a beautiful Saturday around mid day. We decided to picnic since the place was empty. We stayed for almost 2 hours. We walked the paths a while and there wasn't even any recent tire tracks.

I don't know where the people were or what they were doing. I guess they simply weren't doing.