The News
I sometimes sit down at my desk, ready to find out what’s happening in the world and wonder where I can actually see the news. In today’s world2 of 24 hour coverage, the news has become less of an informative tool (in my opinion) and more of an entertainment industry where stories must sell and [...]
Speed of Technology
Before I begin, I feel it is important to comment on our own recent trend – although Ignorant Mouth seems to suddenly be knocking technology, I assure you that this Luddite-ish event is an unusual coincidence of similar ideas more than anything else. That said, I am today discussing the rate of technological change and [...]
The Facebook Fanatics
Facebook is starting to scare me. I rarely log in anymore, myself, as the constant bombardment of applications and advertisements in the new layout are distasteful in my view. Despite that, I still don’t like Facebook. People – why do you want complete strangers, or even friends of your friends that you don’t know, to [...]
Culture of Mediocrity
Let’s talk about mediocrity. We are a society of followers (ever hear the phrase ‘Monkey see, monkey do’?) We are trained to do what the leader does and to act like the cool kids. We want flash, style, appeal, and success. There are phases we go through – when we follow, when we adapt, and [...]
Caffeine Withdrawal and the Working World
Almost everyone is familiar with caffeine in one form or another, whether through the cup of coffee in the morning, lunch, afternoon and evening, or be it a can of coke, it is rare to fiond someone who hasn’t felt the charge of caffeine in the morning or during a late-night study period. Bonus points [...]
2008 in Photographs
The Boston Globe has posted a series of over 100 amazing photographs detailing 2008 around the world. 2008 in Photographs – Part 1 2008 in Photographs – Part 2 2008 in Photographs – Part 3 Some of the content is violent and graphic, however the editors have blocked these by default. The squeamish types can [...]
New York City Switching to LED Street Lights
In a move sure to please the team of president-elect Obama, New York City is taking steps to promote its own green economy by switching to LED streetlamps. The program will provide the city with a few key benefits: Cheaper maintenance: LED lamps work twice as long as the currently used high pressure sodium bulbs. [...]
Legislating Good Behaviour
The city of Preston (35 miles or so north of Manchester) on December 9, 2008 launched their “Respect our City” campaign aimed at preventing people from such anti-social behaviour as swearing, vomiting on the sidewalk, and peeing in alleys. The goal is to promote good citizenship by empowering the police to hand out fines of [...]
Why China Can’t Meet Expectations
The Kyoto protocol is coming to the end of its life in 2012 and the world has come far behind in meeting its ambitious emission targets. Not unexpectedly, the United States and China are the worst offenders on record ignoring the fact that they are both large landmasses with huge populations. China got by an [...]
The Evils of Consumerism
Today I speak in a purely non-academic manner of speaking and will instead try to appeal the logic of the public in understanding modern human behaviour. Everyone knows by now of how a Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death by customers eager to buy Christmas presents – specifically a discounted XBox. Perhaps this author simply [...]
