Things are relatively quiet at work, but I have stuff to do, so I don't think this will be one of those crazy posts from the last few days, but I'll see where it goes.
Apparently it's Australian Citizenship day next week. I guess it's a chance to reflect on what it means to be a citizen? Why is that? From after September 11, 2001, there has been a vile need of the Australian public to try and define what it means to be Australian. Politicians have seized the opportunity to try and define it as being white, mainly British extract, larrakin-like, relatively uneducated, beer guzzling, and pretty much ignorant about the world. Australians don't seem to care. They want to fit in to this stereotype out of fear of being outcast. You can't define Australian, that's the beauty of it. It means so many things to different people, there is no shared view about it except that it's highly subjective. This mass-media campaign of trying to narrowly define it has created horrible divisions, and has lead to a society that implicitly accepts exclusion at its core, which inherently leads to things like discrimination and racism. These sorts of things are now so by the by, that it's just seen as normal. If you ask me, Australians have nothing to be proud of. We are an intolerant society that refuses to look inwards as to who we are and why. A society that refuses to accept others, and basks in its own glory while refusing to share any of it with the less fortunate. These are not ideals to be promoted or celebrated.
I also read that apparently IQ levels are generally on the decline. Since last century, IQs were found to be generally on the rise, due to better access to nutrition and education. The world as a whole changed to a multi-facted, multi-layered one where some understanding was required in order just to live in it, let alone react to it. But lately, IQ levels have been dropping on average of 1 point. That may not seem like a lot, but on the grander scale, it's a worrying trend. We have greater access to education and nutrition than ever before, but on the whole, those effects are not trickling down to people who require it the most. Nobody wants to help them, and it's going to wind up destroying us when they have nothing to do, and nobody left to turn to. The question is, have we reached peak IQ? Is it all downhill for everybody from here? I'm sure the political parties will be all too happy to jump on board that one.
First world problem of the day, now that the iPhone 6 is out, I'm tossing up between whether to get that or the Samsung Galaxy S5. Tough decision!
I think people in most Western countries don't want to know about humanitarian crises happening around the world. There's so many of them! But the simple fact is this: all Western nations have the capacity to fix problems like poverty, homelessness, world hunger, and disease. They just don't want to. Why? Because there's no profit to be made in it. If you could commercialise it, these problems would end tomorrow, I'd bet my life on it. But they haven't won over the hearts and minds of the people to just do it for altruistic reasons. Why? Because people just turn inwards. They refuse to look to the outside world and realise that we are all connected. This middle eastern conflict will eventually hurt the world's food supply, so then what do we do for food security? What about global climate change? So to that I say I hope horrible things all happen to you. May an ebola patient slip through the net. You can't wilfully turn a blind eye to what's going on in the world in such a way.
Are there any lost opportunities? I want to keep writing until I have to do some work. It seems like from out of nowhere the world has gone dark. I really hope Scotland votes for Independence from the UK. It gives hope to the rest of us still living under outdated notions of monarchy rule and implicit conservatism and racism inherent in such a scheme. Scotland has suffered so much at their hands, they deserve to put that past behind them.
Are things still awkward? Damn, I had something good to blog about when I went out to lunch, but I've completely forgotten now. Oh well. But on the brightside, it's only 2 and a half hours until I get to go home! Not like the previous 11-11:30am hangups. It's been busy, so that's also good.
Damn these posts from the last month or so have been fantastic. Good content, good length. A lot better than some of the other efforts from the past few years. This day is almost going by too quickly! Maybe my mood has lifted. But all my work is done now, and I shudder as I notice it's still 90 minutes until I'm done. Ok, not good! At least tomorrow is pay day.
For those of you who have been around since the mid 80's, do you recall when you first noticed those anti-theft beepers at stores? You know, those things that beep if you attempt to take something out of the store that you didn't pay for? I recall that in the early 90's I started to see them crop up in stores. They were massive and ugly looking things, but now technology has caught up and they are now clear glass and you can space them further apart to make them less intimidating. But the question remains, why did they become so big that they're now in every store? Prior to that, it was just assumed that you wouldn't steal anything. Were thefts on the rise in the late 80's to early 90s? Has the introduction of the scanner/beeper things reduced thefts overall? They'd be interesting statistics to look at. Here's a freakonomics theory for you - I think shops that don't have those beepers will experience comparatively less theft than those with the beepers. Why? Because seeing one of those instantly puts the thought of theft in your mind. Otherwise you are there on account of trust, and the general social contract will stop you from doing something wrong. That applies to a lot of people, but not everyone. But there's some food for thought. Can someone look into that?
Alright, just an hour and a bit to go! I can do this! I'm floating around Europa here.
Anyway, I think this day is done.
Joaquin out.
