I'm currently sitting in the library at my University people collecting data on peoples book carrying behavior (it's for an assignment for one of my psychology papers to see if there is a difference between people's and females on how they carry their books); it feels weird. I'm trying to be as stealthy as possible about it. In fact, I've got my net-book sitting over the data collection sheet to hide it; I think my quick glances up at people then noting something down gives me away however. At any rate, I feel like a stalker. Haha, some people just sat down next to me with what looks like a data sheet as well..Oh dear.
So my blog post explosion has been dramatically cut down due to my Uni break having started and my beginning of playing Rift - a mmorpg. I'm usually not so much of a fan of the games as the communities drive me a bit batty (immature kids spouting internet memes, severe nerd rage and just a lack of social skills in general) and grinding (doing repetitive in game activities over and over again to achieve a character upgrade) is very tedious. Rift seems to be a bit different though in that most of the players I've encountered and the people in the guild I've joined are quite a bit older (everyone I've played with so far has been over the age of twenty) which makes the gaming experience much nicer. People tend to be more relaxed (maybe due to the lower numbers; in WoW people getting pretty psycho over raid gear etc) and helpful.
Things I don't like about the game
- It's not as colorful as WoW which I actually find myself missing but over all the graphics are nicer. I haven't been a fan of the zones so far; I was hoping once I reached the 21-29 zone (depressingly named - Gloamwood) in would be an improvement on the first few zones, but no (I can't wait to get out of it, it's absolutely awful, all green, murky and horrible, but I guess it suits the story of the area).
- Another aspect of the game that has really irritated me is that any mobs you aggro you pretty much have to fight, even really low level mobs will knock you off your mount in about two hits (you wouldn't have enough of the games currency to purchase a better mount in the lower levels). I've remedied this by getting a feign death ability but I'm sure it'd drive other players mad that don't have an ability available that offers some sort of solution.
- Dull quests. I really hate too many of "go and collect x thing off x mob" quests especially if there isn't much variation in the mobs and you spend ages in the same area. But I guess that's one of the things that defines a mmorpg.
- One thing which for me is personally annoying is anything cave related. I've hated finding caves and once I get to the caves they've all looked like every other cave. I know they're just caves but a bit of variation would have been nice (I just groan a little inside when I have to go find a goddamn cave).
- I'll reserve this bullet point for when I actually get into the game mechanics. I'm sure I'll find something to complain about ;p
Things I like about the game
- The leveling so far seems to be going nicely. It doesn't feel nearly half as grindy as WoW was (it could just be my build however - DPS self healing and good mana regen.)
- I've enjoyed the ONE dungeon I've done and the players seemed to know what they were doing and were all polite.
- The war fronts (basically battlegrounds) are nicely balanced out for the level range so you don't get super pwnd.
- The rifts (which is the defining feature of the game) add an extra interesting element. Basically all over the map these giant rifts open up and you can join a public/raid group and you all work together to defeat the the monsters and close the rifts. The more players you have the more levels you go up in the rift as you can kill monsters faster (I think, I haven't read too much into it and haven't played for too long) and the better chance you have of obtaining greater rewards. It's a nice distraction if you get bored of level grinding and can get quite addictive if there is a large group of people running around in the area going from one rift to the next.
- The game has three skill trees/"souls" and you can mix and match each one instead of being delegated them depending on your class (like in WoW); although the game does make recommendations for which ones complement each other well and what calling you choose (mage, warrior, cleric or rouge) depends on which souls you'll have access to. I'm a warlock/necromancer/dominator which is pretty win although I've found I'm completely neglecting my third tree.
- The game also features a greater level of character customization which is important to me (once again, I'm comparing it to WoW here). Because I can spend hours on that shit (ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration but you get the idea) and I want what I'm looking at for hours to make me happy :P
That's just a basic summery of what I think of the game. I'm not a hardcore mmorpg player so I'm still learning but my experience so far has been mostly positive and look forward to reaching level cap :)
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Tips for surviving the internet
I thought this would be a fun thing to do (and remind myself to behave online). I've been on the internet for a long time now; ten years in fact (I'm getting old) and I think I've learnt a thing or two.
Tip 1: Don't post anything personal that is negative
I'm guilty of this and the result can be embarrassing if you come across it later (I had a bebo account from when I was high school that had a bunch of really negative self hating, typical teenage s*** written on it, forgot my password and had a hell of a time getting the account taken down). Also, yes it is tempting to pour your heart out to facebook, your blog or twitter etc to help you through but negative times pass, no one really cares, and stuff you put online tends to stay online; do you really want to be reminded of the event later (take Facebook's latest addition; memorable status updates as an example)? Keep your personal problems offline. Talk to a friend in real life; if you don't think it's important enough to discuss with someone else in person don't put it online either. Just deal with it. I see far too many people complaining about family and partner's that reflect poorly on those relationships and then the next day they're happy again; but the post remains there like a bad smell. It's really not a good look and is quite disrespectful to those involved. More people will see that stuff than you think.
Tip 2: Don't be an attention whore
Just don't. Because the attention you receive will not all be positive. Sometimes it can get way out of hand. Don't take pictures of yourself that you wouldn't want future employers or family members to see. Because they will get hold of them. Think about yourself in ten years time, do you want your future children to see that stuff? What about future partners? Like I mentioned in the above tip, what you put online will stay online. If you really want to take sexy pictures of yourself for someone go get a professional photo-shoot done or something. Make it classy. Make them something you will be proud of in the future that you'd be happy to show your kids. Also, no matter how beautiful you are, hundreds of pictures of your face will get boring. I think the less pictures a person has the more intriguing they seem to be.
Tip 3: Don't announce your gender
This one is mainly for females. Males don't do this, so why should you? It's like you want to be treated differently because you have a vagina. Don't start posts with "girl here, I'm female..." etc. Especially in a male dominated environment. You'll get more respect that way.
Tip 4: Don't use easy passwords; make them badass
My passwords tend to be over 12 characters long, contain numbers, uppercase and lower case letters, symbols and are difficult to remember. Yes it's extreme but it's important. Don't use the same password for everything. Especially if you've decided to be an attention whore ;P
Tip 5: Don't be a troll
Another thing I'm guilty of. If someone is overreacting to something no matter if I agree with them or not I'll post something to get a reaction. The truth is, it's petty and people may take you too seriously or not understand. I know in my head I don't mean anything by it but others won't and it can reflect very poorly on you. Just avoid it.
Tip 6: Don't hate on people
Don't be a "hater". It highlights your own insecurities and you're not going to change anyones opinion. For example, I'm a fan of UFC on Facebook and any time a moderately attractive female puts up a fan photo there are a heap of girls picking out her flaws. No one cares. If it offends you that much take no notice.
Tip 7: Don't take things so seriously; don't be troll bait.
This especially goes for sites like 4chan. People behave differently on the internet especially under the cloak of anonymity. I've said things I don't mean and I'm sure others do the same. A lot of people online treat it almost like a game and things that are truly serious will draw serious consequences; don't let it get to you.
Tip 8: Don't post a lot of personal information.
My facebook profile is pretty locked down and the rest of the sites I use I don't post too much personal information. If you do have a profile with personal information avoid adding people you don't know very well.
Tip 9: Don't be an online whore
It's not a good look. If you have a facebook profile with people you know personally (especially family members) and you're adding a lot of random people for the sole purpose of hitting on them; stop and think. What is this going to make you look like? It might be fun and games to you but it could hurt future relationships (you meet someone you like and add them on facebook and you'll get them wondering what's up with all the random guys/girls). Keep your dirty habits on the down low. Join a site (e.g. dating site) where people won't see what you're up to, or just avoid it all together. Also, trying to form relationships with online people isn't probably the best road to go down. People are very rarely like how they appear online. Try and save relationship activities for real life.
Tip 10: Don't argue online
No one wants to see personal arguments in their facebook feed and later on you probably won't either. It's more constructive to have those discussions in person. I'm guilty of bringing up arguments when the person I'm talking to may be at work where they need to concentrate (via MSN or email). Don't do that. It'll ruin their day and more often than not it's not constructive. Save it for real life/in person if it's really that important.
Tip 11: Don't fuck up your PC; do your research
Every now and then I'll see people falling for the most idiotic shit. For example, almost all of my family members on facebook had joined a group where it promised that upon joining, they'd see a message that made a girl commit suicide. It was a hoax/virus which resulted in them spamming the link for the page. Before letting your emotions and curiosity get the better of you; GOOGLE IT. The same goes for forward emails or visiting suspicious looking websites. Spreading that information is mis-informative, does a lot more harm than good, will give your PC aids and will annoy people who are educated about that sort of thing. If it looks dodge, don't join, click it or spread it and if you're tempted to, do your research first.
Tip 12: Don't make yourself look stupid by using awful spelling
If you're going to say anything, use a god damn spell checker. People will take what you have to say far more seriously because you will look like someone of moderate intelligence who has had some form of education. Try to use ok grammar as well. Capitalization at the beginning of sentences and using full stops is more than enough if you've got your spelling down. I'm surprised at how many people are too lazy or incapable of doing these things.
Tip 13: Do trust your instincts
If you're sitting there umming and ahhing about putting or doing certain things online don't do it. I try to think about how I'd view each of my posts/actions in the future and if I'm unsure about it, I don't post it.
Tip 1: Don't post anything personal that is negative
I'm guilty of this and the result can be embarrassing if you come across it later (I had a bebo account from when I was high school that had a bunch of really negative self hating, typical teenage s*** written on it, forgot my password and had a hell of a time getting the account taken down). Also, yes it is tempting to pour your heart out to facebook, your blog or twitter etc to help you through but negative times pass, no one really cares, and stuff you put online tends to stay online; do you really want to be reminded of the event later (take Facebook's latest addition; memorable status updates as an example)? Keep your personal problems offline. Talk to a friend in real life; if you don't think it's important enough to discuss with someone else in person don't put it online either. Just deal with it. I see far too many people complaining about family and partner's that reflect poorly on those relationships and then the next day they're happy again; but the post remains there like a bad smell. It's really not a good look and is quite disrespectful to those involved. More people will see that stuff than you think.
Tip 2: Don't be an attention whore
Just don't. Because the attention you receive will not all be positive. Sometimes it can get way out of hand. Don't take pictures of yourself that you wouldn't want future employers or family members to see. Because they will get hold of them. Think about yourself in ten years time, do you want your future children to see that stuff? What about future partners? Like I mentioned in the above tip, what you put online will stay online. If you really want to take sexy pictures of yourself for someone go get a professional photo-shoot done or something. Make it classy. Make them something you will be proud of in the future that you'd be happy to show your kids. Also, no matter how beautiful you are, hundreds of pictures of your face will get boring. I think the less pictures a person has the more intriguing they seem to be.
Tip 3: Don't announce your gender
This one is mainly for females. Males don't do this, so why should you? It's like you want to be treated differently because you have a vagina. Don't start posts with "girl here, I'm female..." etc. Especially in a male dominated environment. You'll get more respect that way.
Tip 4: Don't use easy passwords; make them badass
My passwords tend to be over 12 characters long, contain numbers, uppercase and lower case letters, symbols and are difficult to remember. Yes it's extreme but it's important. Don't use the same password for everything. Especially if you've decided to be an attention whore ;P
Tip 5: Don't be a troll
Another thing I'm guilty of. If someone is overreacting to something no matter if I agree with them or not I'll post something to get a reaction. The truth is, it's petty and people may take you too seriously or not understand. I know in my head I don't mean anything by it but others won't and it can reflect very poorly on you. Just avoid it.
Tip 6: Don't hate on people
Don't be a "hater". It highlights your own insecurities and you're not going to change anyones opinion. For example, I'm a fan of UFC on Facebook and any time a moderately attractive female puts up a fan photo there are a heap of girls picking out her flaws. No one cares. If it offends you that much take no notice.
Tip 7: Don't take things so seriously; don't be troll bait.
This especially goes for sites like 4chan. People behave differently on the internet especially under the cloak of anonymity. I've said things I don't mean and I'm sure others do the same. A lot of people online treat it almost like a game and things that are truly serious will draw serious consequences; don't let it get to you.
Tip 8: Don't post a lot of personal information.
My facebook profile is pretty locked down and the rest of the sites I use I don't post too much personal information. If you do have a profile with personal information avoid adding people you don't know very well.
Tip 9: Don't be an online whore
It's not a good look. If you have a facebook profile with people you know personally (especially family members) and you're adding a lot of random people for the sole purpose of hitting on them; stop and think. What is this going to make you look like? It might be fun and games to you but it could hurt future relationships (you meet someone you like and add them on facebook and you'll get them wondering what's up with all the random guys/girls). Keep your dirty habits on the down low. Join a site (e.g. dating site) where people won't see what you're up to, or just avoid it all together. Also, trying to form relationships with online people isn't probably the best road to go down. People are very rarely like how they appear online. Try and save relationship activities for real life.
Tip 10: Don't argue online
No one wants to see personal arguments in their facebook feed and later on you probably won't either. It's more constructive to have those discussions in person. I'm guilty of bringing up arguments when the person I'm talking to may be at work where they need to concentrate (via MSN or email). Don't do that. It'll ruin their day and more often than not it's not constructive. Save it for real life/in person if it's really that important.
Tip 11: Don't fuck up your PC; do your research
Every now and then I'll see people falling for the most idiotic shit. For example, almost all of my family members on facebook had joined a group where it promised that upon joining, they'd see a message that made a girl commit suicide. It was a hoax/virus which resulted in them spamming the link for the page. Before letting your emotions and curiosity get the better of you; GOOGLE IT. The same goes for forward emails or visiting suspicious looking websites. Spreading that information is mis-informative, does a lot more harm than good, will give your PC aids and will annoy people who are educated about that sort of thing. If it looks dodge, don't join, click it or spread it and if you're tempted to, do your research first.
Tip 12: Don't make yourself look stupid by using awful spelling
If you're going to say anything, use a god damn spell checker. People will take what you have to say far more seriously because you will look like someone of moderate intelligence who has had some form of education. Try to use ok grammar as well. Capitalization at the beginning of sentences and using full stops is more than enough if you've got your spelling down. I'm surprised at how many people are too lazy or incapable of doing these things.
Tip 13: Do trust your instincts
If you're sitting there umming and ahhing about putting or doing certain things online don't do it. I try to think about how I'd view each of my posts/actions in the future and if I'm unsure about it, I don't post it.
Nero Niggle
I am a huge fan of Nero's track Innocence. It's one of those tracks I can listen to and it still gives me a happy buzz (the vocals are soft and the rest of the track is powerful and sort of sad, I dunno, it's just awesome). The video for it is great too. It tells a story and I'm a sucker for an older style drawn anime (it's kind of like Ninja Scroll)
So I log onto YouTube this morning; and f*** yes, Nero has released an official music video for the track; Guilt. I wasn't a fan of the track. The vocals are too high (which makes it almost uncomfortable to listen to, much in the same way La Roux - Bullet Proof is) and the track doesn't really go anywhere. It's nothing like Innocence (which takes you up and down in a very good way - from soft to heavy - it's good dammit). Guilt isn't bad but it falls under meh, and I was hoping the video would be cool. I was disappointed. It started off with some intrigue but it just ended up being a pole dancer doing her thing and at the end she makes a "scary face" (it is done tastefully I will admit, but I'm not male so it doesn't really keep me enthralled; I skipped through most of it). It just doesn't really go anywhere, much like the track. So Nero went from a beautifully original and imaginative animated video that actually added something to a beautiful song, to a video which is meh. A meh video for a meh track. But that's just my opinion :)
So I log onto YouTube this morning; and f*** yes, Nero has released an official music video for the track; Guilt. I wasn't a fan of the track. The vocals are too high (which makes it almost uncomfortable to listen to, much in the same way La Roux - Bullet Proof is) and the track doesn't really go anywhere. It's nothing like Innocence (which takes you up and down in a very good way - from soft to heavy - it's good dammit). Guilt isn't bad but it falls under meh, and I was hoping the video would be cool. I was disappointed. It started off with some intrigue but it just ended up being a pole dancer doing her thing and at the end she makes a "scary face" (it is done tastefully I will admit, but I'm not male so it doesn't really keep me enthralled; I skipped through most of it). It just doesn't really go anywhere, much like the track. So Nero went from a beautifully original and imaginative animated video that actually added something to a beautiful song, to a video which is meh. A meh video for a meh track. But that's just my opinion :)
In other news; I had a dream Charlie Sheen was taking over the world. He needed the ultimate weapon. Which was a giant ocean going turtle that carried nukes on it's back. Yeah I dunno either.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
"MAKE THINGS FOR SMILE" ^_^
Scary Monsters
Nice Sprites
Speaking of dub-step, I'm going out for the first time in a while this weekend (mid-semester break, woo!). I prefer avoiding social situations (I'm convinced I have GAD; also being in a relationship sort of negates the point of clubbing; I mainly go out for music and to hang out with friends ) but I've made a promise to myself I won't worry about things and I'll try and relax, have fun and terrible things won't happen as a result of it. Fingers crossed it'll be good.
Also; more Android Jones pictures. Just because I <3 them THAT much.
Final thought - everyone should be forced to learn basic physics. It's a subject which teaches logical thinking, problem solving and makes maths applicable to everyday life. I also have a test for it on Friday. So I'm going to go and study.
MAKE THINGS FOR SMILE
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
YouTube/SoundCloud Music (and a cat)
Music Time!
The Organ Donors have been one of my "producers I take note of" for a while.
Glitchy, tech-y, hard-ish, techno-y dance goodness.
I found this a little while ago; Katy Perry's E.T. remixed by Noisia. It is very good. They gave the track the punch it needed ;P The music video for the original is quite interesting too (for a top forties MTV style video; I'm not saying it's good per se, just more interesting than your run of the mill pop music video). I liked the alien makeup.
While I'm linking dubstep here's a link to my favorite track from Phutureprimitive (linked in my previous post). Xotica.
Lastly for the music related things; Metric - Gimmie Sympathy is a nice hard house remix by my favorite hard house DJ/producer at the moment, Rodi Style. It's another track that once again has been given a bit more omph via a harder genre injection :P
Finally! The kitty! It's been viewed 4 million times but I only just saw it today (I had known about the famous Japanese kitty beforehand however ;P)
The Organ Donors have been one of my "producers I take note of" for a while.
Glitchy, tech-y, hard-ish, techno-y dance goodness.
I found this a little while ago; Katy Perry's E.T. remixed by Noisia. It is very good. They gave the track the punch it needed ;P The music video for the original is quite interesting too (for a top forties MTV style video; I'm not saying it's good per se, just more interesting than your run of the mill pop music video). I liked the alien makeup.
While I'm linking dubstep here's a link to my favorite track from Phutureprimitive (linked in my previous post). Xotica.
Lastly for the music related things; Metric - Gimmie Sympathy is a nice hard house remix by my favorite hard house DJ/producer at the moment, Rodi Style. It's another track that once again has been given a bit more omph via a harder genre injection :P
Finally! The kitty! It's been viewed 4 million times but I only just saw it today (I had known about the famous Japanese kitty beforehand however ;P)
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Art related post - Android Jones and Phutureprimitive
One of my favourite activities is trawling the Internet and finding new things. It all started yesterday when I went searching for a new wallpaper for my netbook. There's one image in particular I had a long time ago as a wallpaper (I lost the original when I formatted my old desk top) that I have always loved and so I headed off to that dark corner of the Internet populated by angsty teens and apparently hordes of basement dwellers; 4chan! An old default Internet location of mine (although no longer; I find it can get quite depressing and counter-productive.). /wg/ however has never failed to deliver on the wallpaper front. I read the sticky and discovered a site called tineye, (a reverse image search engine) chucked in the small image I had and ended up finding the artist of the image, Android Jones. He does very beautiful work. A nice mix of abstract and sci-fi fantasy which hits all my happy buttons. Below is from his website.
So anyway, I had to track him down and like him one Facebook and lo and behold there is a link to music on the pages wall! The description included the word electronica and the name; Phutureprimitive. Of course I'm intrigued (I have a near compulsive need to find new electronic music, I can't really describe it, new wonderful music is like finding a new best friend). I went through all of YouTube videos of their tracks I could find and I have say the music is lovely. It's atmospheric elements allow it to be reflective, inspiring and motivational while it's gritty, bass filled downtempo-ness lends it a steady, solid energy. Go listen :)
Friday, April 1, 2011
Chernobyl Recordings
...and from human disaster; thriving wildlife.
"Chernobyl Choruses"
"Since the nuclear catastrophe of April 26 1986, and in complete contrast to human life, nature at Chernobyl is thriving. The evacuation of people has created an undisturbed haven and wildlife has taken full advantage. Animals and birds absent for many decades – wolves, moose, black storks – have moved back and the Chernobyl exclusion zone is now one of Europe’s prime wildlife sites. Radiation seems to have had a negligible effect."
I really think the world will be fine once we wipe ourselves out via various nuclear means :P
"Chernobyl Choruses"
"Since the nuclear catastrophe of April 26 1986, and in complete contrast to human life, nature at Chernobyl is thriving. The evacuation of people has created an undisturbed haven and wildlife has taken full advantage. Animals and birds absent for many decades – wolves, moose, black storks – have moved back and the Chernobyl exclusion zone is now one of Europe’s prime wildlife sites. Radiation seems to have had a negligible effect."
I really think the world will be fine once we wipe ourselves out via various nuclear means :P
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Early Childhood & Brain Development: How Experience Shapes Child, Community & Culture - Dr Bruce Perry ( I discuss some of the ideas)
In this entry I have decided to write about something which I not only regard as being extremely important to society, but to also write about something which will help me to revise some of my course work material for one of my papers for this semester. It may be a bit dry to read but I'm going to try and stick to the things I found particularly interesting (and hopefully anyone reading this will find these ideas interesting also).
Today I watched a thought provoking video about early childhood brain development where Dr Bruce Perry (read more about him here) discussed not only how crucial it is that children are free from abuse (emotional and physical) in their first four years of life (where he explained their brains are most malleable and most affected by their environment) but also how society as a whole needs to change some fundamental social structural norms that we now have in place. Specific ideas that he discussed in the video that I found to be particularly interesting are as follows; Racism, sexism , violence and murder are all societal constructs, emotional violence is considered greater than physical and what emotional violence is defined by (and my thoughts on this), his ideas on compartmentalization of society which I found to be not only a new idea personally but one that seemed to be of great importance to understand the benefits of. Hopefully I will be able to reiterate and discuss these ideas (or any ideas that come from them) at length without it turning into a meltdown of confused rambling :P
I really liked his ideas on racism, sexism and violence being societal/social/cultural constructs as I am always sceptical of genetic claims for certain behaviours. "Having a gene for" or "being hard wired to do x thing" always strike me as being problematic claims as there is evidence against them in everyday life. If we were all coded to be violent sex fiends (a less extreme description is often seen as being stereotypically male) then how come we aren't ALL like that? If we were so hard wired to be a certain way then how come it's relatively easy (although some would argue otherwise) to overcome and control these things? Our species success and intelligence is not built upon violence and conflict but rather empathy and co-operation. We would not posses the intelligence we have today if language did not evolve. Language would not have evolved if we were a species that didn't require a tool to enable more effective co-operation. If we can rid society of ideas that we are inherently violent hateful beings and truly understand our evolutionary origins the world would be a much better place. Dr Perry explained that high competition for resources results in stress which results in violence. If we can work on reducing this competition and this stress for each individual ( a monumental task I know) then these negative thoughts, actions and emotions that we have constructed should drop significantly.
Emotional violence has a greater effect than physical violence is something that really hits home for me. I am sure that others in the world have had it far worse off than I have but from the time I entered the turbulent and quite honestly horrific world of high school until I left I honestly think that I endured a lot of emotional violence from my peers and certain family members and I felt that no one really took my seriously when I tried to voice my concerns. This to me highlighted people's lack of understanding of the damaging effects of emotional abuse (I do not blame anyone for what I endured, like me I'm sure they were victims of circumstance. I just hope they understand this and try to take corrective action).
Dr Perry described emotional abuse as being the following "humiliation, degradation, coercion and threat of abandonment" and that they " all create a pervasive sense of threat and instability. Children who feel emotionally unsafe feel at greater risk than physical risk." He did say he's not downplaying physical risk and that the two often go hand and hand but what I think really needs to be understood is the emotional abuse. Just because you cannot see the damage doesn't mean children will toughen up or get over it or forget about it or not understand what has happened to them. I think greater care should be taken. Society needs to work on being educated on how parents should be using the authoritative parenting style and ensure parents are in the right situation to do so. *rant* I am sick to death of the old fashioned mind set that children should do everything they are told without question and if they do anything wrong (e.g. question why something is happening) they are punished physically or emotionally. This to me is so wrong and I'd almost go as far to say it's a lazy way of parenting because the adult doesn't have to engage with the child so much. *rant end* Authoritative parenting with a focus on positive reinforcement is what we need to focus on as well as shielding children from emotionally and physically hostile environments.Children are our future. THIS IS IMPORTANT. Please refer to this article for further information on parenting styles.
Compartmentalization of society. Now this is interesting. Everyone is stuck in with others like them. Old people are stuck with old people. Young people are stuck into schools where they are stuck with others their age. Business people are all thrown together in one area (CBD) etc. Children and young people or even people in general are not benefiting from interactions with all sorts of people from different areas of society. I'm unsure how we would counteract this organisation of people into groups as to me it seems to be the most effective way of organising such a huge group of organisms and ensuring they have equal opportunities at different stages in their life. OR this is the best way to have their needs best met by society in different stages of their life. I do agree however that everyone would benefit and have a greater understanding of society in general if we were more exposed to other areas of society on a frequent basis. For example, my whole world view changed when I left high school. Things that mattered there didn't matter in the "real world" and I think if I had known that and been exposed to that area of society while in high school I would have been a more relaxed and well adjusted teen! I'm also sure that the younger you are when you gain this knowledge the more beneficial it would be. Decompartmentalization may be the answer but I don't think it'd be functional but we should keep in mind what affect it has on our children's social development and how we can counteract any negative effects.
Finally I highly recommend watching Dr Perry's video where he explains and discusses his ideas I've based this post on (and more) in a much more articulate and straight to the point manner :P
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Random Politicians, Earth Hour and the Nothern Lights.
Random Politicians
Why randomly selected politicians would improve democracy
I skim read over this article and found myself agreeing with it. Random allocation of people into governments I think would be an excellent way to ensure that the general population is being represented fairly after all is this not a principle on which good representative statistics lie? Governments suffer from misrepresentation on the basis of a severe self selection bias. The kind of people I would vote for would not be interested in politics. Of course I'm unsure how the idea would be put into practice because I'm sure people would oppose the idea of being made a member of a government and having to put their lives on hold for a while. But perhaps if the term was short and there was some great incentive it could work? I really don't know. But the idea to me seems to make a lot of sense.
Earth Hour
Why I won't be turning off any lights for Earth Hour
I really enjoy articles like this simply because I have a tendency to oppose popular ideas that seem a bit "bandwagonish" with no obvious long term effects. I have never bothered participating in Earth Hour and like the article points out it just seemed like a quick feel good fix. Instead of sitting for an hour in the dark perhaps people could spend an hour thinking of ways they could make permanent changes in their lifestyle, home or at work that would be of a greater benefit to the environment and then commit to implementing that change?
On the flip side of the argument here's an argument for Earth Hour
http://www.granvilleonline.ca/gr/blogs/home-economics/2010/03/26/why-participate-earth-hour
The reasons sound ok but a little weak.
"The dimmed lights also make it safer for birds."
Safer for birds? In an hour? I'm sure any birds in an area that's brightly lit most of the time would be accustomed to the level of lighting at night if that was their permanent home area. The sudden outage of lights then lights coming on an hour later once they've adjusted to it being really dark would most likely disturb them more than anything.
"It gives me an opportunity to see just how addicted I am to the Internet. I discovered an hour with no computer access felt much, much longer when I had no music or anything else to fill in the gaps. "
People should be able to tell if they spend too much time online...and of course the hour felt longer. It's indicative of being bored out of your mind (which leads me to conclude earth hour is a terribly dull activity:P)
"Cities reduce their power load quite significantly and save money, even if only for an hour."
I'll just quote the first article I posted for this one
"Second, the hour itself doesn't have any real impact. Utilities don't cut their power production for such a short and slight drop in demand, so no energy is really saved"
"Earth hour isn’t a hollow gesture; our participation sends a message to local and federal leaders that we care and are prepared to make sacrifices and cut back."
Or you could work on putting forward long term permanent ideas to these local and federal leaders?
"Dimmed city lights improve our view of the night sky, making it a great night for stargazing."
Once again....not really a reason I'd want to spend an hour in the dark for. Don't get me wrong. Stars are wonderful. Just not a good enough reason for Earth Hour in my opinion.
"It was a grass roots movement that came from the ground up, and it swept the world; how awesome are we? "
Hardly a solid reason to be doing something. It would make you feel good but that's about it.
All in all I am sure I could achieve much more in an hour with an electrically run item (Uni work etc) and then find a way to offset that usage in a more permanent way.
Finally
I'll finish by linking this which I think is beautiful and one of the things I'd love to see before I die
http://vimeo.com/21294655
Why randomly selected politicians would improve democracy
I skim read over this article and found myself agreeing with it. Random allocation of people into governments I think would be an excellent way to ensure that the general population is being represented fairly after all is this not a principle on which good representative statistics lie? Governments suffer from misrepresentation on the basis of a severe self selection bias. The kind of people I would vote for would not be interested in politics. Of course I'm unsure how the idea would be put into practice because I'm sure people would oppose the idea of being made a member of a government and having to put their lives on hold for a while. But perhaps if the term was short and there was some great incentive it could work? I really don't know. But the idea to me seems to make a lot of sense.
Earth Hour
Why I won't be turning off any lights for Earth Hour
I really enjoy articles like this simply because I have a tendency to oppose popular ideas that seem a bit "bandwagonish" with no obvious long term effects. I have never bothered participating in Earth Hour and like the article points out it just seemed like a quick feel good fix. Instead of sitting for an hour in the dark perhaps people could spend an hour thinking of ways they could make permanent changes in their lifestyle, home or at work that would be of a greater benefit to the environment and then commit to implementing that change?
On the flip side of the argument here's an argument for Earth Hour
http://www.granvilleonline.ca/gr/blogs/home-economics/2010/03/26/why-participate-earth-hour
The reasons sound ok but a little weak.
"The dimmed lights also make it safer for birds."
Safer for birds? In an hour? I'm sure any birds in an area that's brightly lit most of the time would be accustomed to the level of lighting at night if that was their permanent home area. The sudden outage of lights then lights coming on an hour later once they've adjusted to it being really dark would most likely disturb them more than anything.
"It gives me an opportunity to see just how addicted I am to the Internet. I discovered an hour with no computer access felt much, much longer when I had no music or anything else to fill in the gaps. "
People should be able to tell if they spend too much time online...and of course the hour felt longer. It's indicative of being bored out of your mind (which leads me to conclude earth hour is a terribly dull activity:P)
"Cities reduce their power load quite significantly and save money, even if only for an hour."
I'll just quote the first article I posted for this one
"Second, the hour itself doesn't have any real impact. Utilities don't cut their power production for such a short and slight drop in demand, so no energy is really saved"
"Earth hour isn’t a hollow gesture; our participation sends a message to local and federal leaders that we care and are prepared to make sacrifices and cut back."
Or you could work on putting forward long term permanent ideas to these local and federal leaders?
"Dimmed city lights improve our view of the night sky, making it a great night for stargazing."
Once again....not really a reason I'd want to spend an hour in the dark for. Don't get me wrong. Stars are wonderful. Just not a good enough reason for Earth Hour in my opinion.
"It was a grass roots movement that came from the ground up, and it swept the world; how awesome are we? "
Hardly a solid reason to be doing something. It would make you feel good but that's about it.
All in all I am sure I could achieve much more in an hour with an electrically run item (Uni work etc) and then find a way to offset that usage in a more permanent way.
Finally
I'll finish by linking this which I think is beautiful and one of the things I'd love to see before I die
http://vimeo.com/21294655
The beginning
Back info
So I've had this idea for a while. Where I make a blog and discuss interesting things I discover on the Internet or just things I find interesting in general. Also this seems like a good idea because not many people I know in person really have the time to discuss the things I want to talk about, and secondly it'll mean I'll be less likely to spam my facebook with random stories that no one really comments on. I'll endeavour to keep emotionally charged opinions out of it (something I'd like to get better at in general). I will also try to avoid rambling which is a major flaw with my writing and speaking.
I'd really also like to use this to try and tackle controversial issues and play Devil's advocate just for the sake of seeing an opposing argument to a popular idea. After all things should be constantly challenged and I will try to do so in a constructive manner.
tl;dr: This blog is for practising my writing, argumentative skills, conveying my ideas effectively and sharing things I find interesting :)
So I've had this idea for a while. Where I make a blog and discuss interesting things I discover on the Internet or just things I find interesting in general. Also this seems like a good idea because not many people I know in person really have the time to discuss the things I want to talk about, and secondly it'll mean I'll be less likely to spam my facebook with random stories that no one really comments on. I'll endeavour to keep emotionally charged opinions out of it (something I'd like to get better at in general). I will also try to avoid rambling which is a major flaw with my writing and speaking.
I'd really also like to use this to try and tackle controversial issues and play Devil's advocate just for the sake of seeing an opposing argument to a popular idea. After all things should be constantly challenged and I will try to do so in a constructive manner.
tl;dr: This blog is for practising my writing, argumentative skills, conveying my ideas effectively and sharing things I find interesting :)
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