News

Time on my hands

I've been sick for a few days now, and do indeed have some time on my hands.  No need to call in to work.  No need to find a babysitter to help out.  Just can't go whitewater rafting, or have a couple beers and watch the sun go down.  Well, even if I was healthy we still can't do either of those last two things -->  $$

But it does give me time to think, and I read the news, A LOT.  It has to be a good exercise though, right?  Be well rounded, see what's happening with world markets, find out which places Breanne and I actually shouldn't go to next (Myanmar - Gov. accused of ethnic cleansing on the Muslim western side bordering Bangladesh).

Trump is everywhere.  
What a bizarre phenomenon for the media and for us to consume.  He's amazing! (while shaking my head).  Never before could there be a more all over the map President, ever. 

Science is striking.  (Nice transition)

How can you ignore the science articles that are proving life exists in places we never knew, potential life in other areas of the galaxy, the living fossil that is the Gingko biloba (my favorite tree btw), Trump exiting global warming talks/Trump has an open mind over climate change, Drought affecting Bolivia so badly they cancelled the rest of the school year, species on isolated tropical islands won't be able to survive climate change at the pace it's going, a German Univeristy found a solution for reusing to-go coffee cups to help alleviate stress on landfills, and it turns out we may be able to get to Mars in 70 days in a process that goes against the 2nd law of thermodynamics. 

I mean come on.  

Alright, I get (sort of) how the spider web of intricacies of probability and risk play with some people's minds over watching what the bond yields may or may not do the next few days.  Gold's back up!  Energy production is inflating, but Trump coming in may be the hammer on the nail for the keystone pipeline finally.  Energy stocks on the rise!

Can I just get on a pedestal real quick (why else do I have this blog/or use parenthesis this much??).  Any energy production involving fossil fuels, coal, oil, is dirty energy.  Oh do they bring the jobs, and continue making old money for the people digging their heels into the ground.  People, if it spills, if it's burned off, it directly affects the climate.  Shift the f'ing money away from old, slow, dangerously dirty energy, and start a new initiative.  Maybe using the huge star above us, that doesn't plan to run out any time soon.  Also, the rare earth minerals that run these ion batteries are mined somewhere in China, and yep, the energy used to get out those minerals, do not equate to a net positive for the Earth.  Let's just start thinking of ways to help out the planet you were f'ing born on.  

Tom Brady is still winning! (Transitions getting better)

Ah sports.  Always there for ya.  Games to be won, and games to be lost.  Sports stories are just so happy minded.  98%.  God's gift to whichever sport they're playing, they're such a spectacle, they propel their teams to win, which in turn sells more tickets, merchandise, which brings in more fans, which employs more people, which sells huge tv contracts and people sit in suites and eat hot dogs.  Fun Minded.  I can always go to this to help my mind ease off the seriousness of the world.  

World Views

There's a crazy President in the Philippines.  Brazil ouster their President for corruption charges, but only because she's the minority party, and corruption has always been an issue with Brazilian politics.  Putin is Putin.  Theresa May, may get England what they want.  Sarkozy won't repeat as President.  Modi is suffocating India right now that's 90% cash driven, and repealed all 500, 1000 notes.  Trump is Trump.  Prince Harry may have his honeymoon in Antigua.  Central America is getting ready for a tropical storm, the furthest south at this time of year ever.  No more Arctic drilling says Obama.  Syria is in horrendous shape, but the Gov asked the rebels in the east for a friendly game of soccer.  The only neighboring nuclear powers that hate each other have traded blows, India and Pakistan.  I just think it's good to know these things off the top of my head, which leads to a better understanding of how specific countries are feeling at the current moment.  

Local

Be a good citizen.  Be engaged!  Fight for what you want.  Go to town meetings!  Go to public hearings!  The best way to get change, will begin with your immediate surroundings!...

Technology

Technology weaves in and out of a few sections, but is always intriguing whenever it does pop up.  Is it moving too fast for us to keep up?  Yep!  For the people that believe their jobs will come back because Trump is President, he'll take down TPP, I hope they also know that driver less trucks are on the way...

I once heard a nurse say, "I can only keep people alive because of the machines."
Like it or not, once computers begin to recognize self, it's all over.  They'll be able to connect so quickly to gather more information about everything, with the storage we've created for them, and all they need to do is figure out another source of power before we can shut them off.  Imagine trying to shut down the World Wide Web in a matter of minutes.  

Are any of these topics what really matters to us though?  

Money - makes the world go round. Travel - nice to dream.  Sports - everyone needs a break. Comedy - for a laugh.  Local - Be a good citizen.  World - Be globally inspired.
 
What about the stories not told because there's no market for them?  No one likes to hear about human trafficking but there could be a story everyday on the topic.  World hunger.  Homelessness.  Are these political points or just facets of our human race we should be embracing head on?

All mainstream news we receive just seems to go round and round.  

We need to start seeking out the stories that have no voice.  The hard ones.