I have a good nonsense of direction...

A lot of people have an excellent sense of direction.

Then there are those who just need to visit a place once, and will forever be able to find their way back.

I am in neither of these categories.

I do not not have a sense of direction, I have something... it just doesn't seem to work correctly.

I used to date a girl who successfully navigated us around unfamiliar areas by asking me which way I thought we should go, and then going the other way.

With this in mind, it seems like it would be logical for me to simply make a decision about which way I should go and then do the opposite.

But I've tried that, and it doesn't work.

I'll be sitting at a critical intersection, trying to decide. I'll feel like I should go right, so I go left, which feels wrong, so I know I'm going the right way.... but I'm not.

I should have gone the other way.

I always should have gone the other way.

I guess I need another human as a buffer or something, to take my direction (or misdirection) and interpret it. Because, apparently, my subconscious predicts any attempts to do so myself, and makes the (un)necessary adjustments.

Remember the Holodeck...

The prospect of the Holodeck in Star Trek always excited me. I don't really even consider myself all that avid of a fan (especially not after meeting some genuine Star Trek fans (I'm not going to attempt to identify (or differentiate between) them as trekkie/trekker)).

But I remember thinking, How cool would it be to just go into a room... and do whatever you want?

In one of those great holodeck adventure episodes I remember one of the characters going into some detail about how it works. About how it was actually items created (with their handy energy-to-matter technology) by the computer and then it used tractor-beams to move everything around like puppets.

Good idea, very neat.

But what about smells and tastes? How does the computer know?

This was also brought up in the movie Matrix (Great movie, I hope they don't make a sequel (oh yeah... (well, crap!)). How did they know what anything tasted like?

Well, Sony just patented the answer.

We are the culprits. We tell the computers with what things taste and smell like. And all for the sake of entertainment.

According to the press release, a computer will be able to use ultrasound to stimulate our brains to simulate sensory experiences.

Experts are concerned about the long term affects on people...

... as in, maybe they'll be mostly wiped out when the machines decide to take over the world by inciting nuclear holocaust?

Financial Theory

Do people really love money?

The only reason I've ever wanted money is so that I wouldn't have to think about it anymore.

I don't hate money. Though I know there are people who do. I think money is a pretty handy and efficient way of going about the whole barter system thing. Certainly easier than trying to trade what I have for what I want, and the inevitably frustrating interpretations of value.

But what do people hope money will get them? Surely a dream of wealth isn't just a dream of having a lot of money.

Ultimately, the only thing you could hope to buy with your money, is freedom.

Freedom to live (food, shelter, clothing...), freedom to go (cars, bicycles, plane tickets...), freedom to play (toys, furniture, tv, dvd...), freedom to create (music, literature, film, paintings, buildings, furniture, babies), freedom to give (any of the above) to others.

Monetary values and expenses can be put on anything listed here. Even the creative ones require the tools and materials or instruments to succeed. And they mostly all overlap in some way or another. So, it isn't difficult to see how money gets confused as the most important element.



This is getting too long.

I'll leave you with this today:

The Declaration of Independence defines freedom as "the pursuit of happiness."

I love that.

Is money what it would take for you to pursue your dreams? ...your happiness?



To be continued... (maybe)...