Germaphobia

I watched a documentary some time back about some Indonesian Islands. Among the wildlife there were these Komodo Dragons, freaking big Lizards, six to ten feet in length.

The image I can remember is of a pair of these animals feasting on the carcass of a large Tortoise. The Tortoise had decomposed to the point where its innards had converted to a gooey black slime.

Probably a teaspoon of this stuff would be enough to make a person extremely sick, if not dead.

But these Komodos were slurping it up like it was chocolate syrup. All species have adapted their immune systems to meet their needs.

My point is that Bacteria is not a bad thing. Our levels of immunity determine which bacteria is benign and what is harmful.

If you took minute amounts of this black slime and gradually increased the amounts over time, I am pretty sure even a human being would be able to digest it.

Your immune system is like your muscles, you have to use them to make use of them. Yet their are housekeepers at war with germs in their kitchens and bathrooms and doorknobs, trying to kill them where ever we are told they might reside.

There is a lot of fear mongering about germs lately, we are told we have to wash our hands many, many times a day, there have been recently many recalls of meats and vegetable due to isolated outbreaks of nasty Germs.

All this paranoia about Germs is going to kill us! Most people know that if you try to but don't kill all the germs or viruses in an outbreak that only the strongest germs will survive. And that's a bad scenario.

So what I am saying is, let's not try and kill the germs, let's learn to live with them. Exposing ourselves to germs and viruses regularly will keep our immune systems running at peak efficiency.

We'll never kill all the pathogens, so why even try? The frequency of immune system related diseases is growing at a remarkable rate. One reason may be that we are trying to be too darn clean.

Studies Have Shown....

From a previous post (I am sure you've read them all) you know that I watch the Vancouver Global News team at 6 PM every day.

Most of my news and information I acquire from the Internet, I don't watch this TV News Show for the news. I watch it to observe how they present the news.

How many times will Tony Parsons stutter? How many clever quips will Squire Barns produce? How HOT is Robin Stickley today? How arrogant will Chris Gailus be? How (unintentionally) goofy Mark Madryga? How satiric Barry Delay? And then there is "the New Girl", Krista something or other.

A popular phrase used by newscasters is : "Studies Have Shown" and they then proceed to provide a lot of unsubstantiated information to enhance the chosen story.

What studies? Can they not provide a brief screen shot of the actual reference? They can't because I think that often there isn't one.

I am convinced that in weekly meetings they decide what topic they are going to pound to death for the next week. It might be Street Racing, Underfunded Hospitals, Youth Gangs, Immigration, Local Heroes, whatever.

Then the producer calls out: "Who wants to make up the stories for this one?" and "Don't forget to include the imaginary studies!"

Cynical? Maybe so. But Studies Have Shown that at least 20% of all news stories are totally fabricated.

It's the good old 80/20 Rule.

Why Am I Blogging?

Some people like to hear themselves speak. You know the one's. They can't stop talking and seem unable to read body language.

Surely, you think, they can see your eyes glazing over with boredom. You check your watch, you look around but still they talk.

It wouldn't be so bad if there was a shred of anything interesting coming out of their mouths, no you are trapped until some event breaks up the tedium.

You know I am not much of a talker but I do like to see myself write. Luckily for you dear reader, with a click of a mouse you can bid me goodbye!

If a person is going to speak at least let them start with a topic that might lead to some interesting discussion.

I don't pretend to have all the answers, ok, well maybe I do. Anyway most of the topics I introduce here on this Blog are at least worthy of discussion.

I like to get a point across as briefly and concisely as possible, that's what I'm trying to do here.

If anyone wants to know where I stand on an issue I can always say "read my Blog", it's probably there. I can think of a lot more topics I want to raise and eventually I will, there is no shortage of interesting topics.

These Blogging programs make it so easy to have some kind of presence in cyberspace. If I drop dead tomorrow at least there is some record of me being here.

As of this date I don't think anyone has read anything I have written, but one day someone might and get to thinking about what I have written no matter how simple a thought it was.

My Near Death Experience

I think everyone has had one or if not, they should.

Mine occurred in the spring of 1976 while driving south on the "Sea to Sky" Highway north of Vancouver, B.C. where I lived at the time. The road leads from Whistler Mountain Resort down to Squamish.

At that time I wasn't familiar with the road. Also at the time I was young and stupid. I was at the time, 22.

I remember travelling up the road toward Whistler, the tires on my recently purchased 1969 Fiat 124 Coupe squealing as I took curves much too aggressively. Of course I was a young male and felt immortal. I was having a blast.

I remember it all like it was last week. The road was not well travelled, Whistler was not near the destination resort it is today and it was the off season.

So the road was empty and there was a nice downhill stretch of maybe a half mile. I depressed the accelerator and I remember seeing the speedometer hit 97 mph before a curve ahead told me that I needed to slow down.

It was a gentle high speed curve to the right and I remember entering it at about 70 mph, I was still on a gentle downhill slope.

As I rounded the curve, now heading west I looked ahead down the road only to see a T Junction not 200 yards or so down the road where a vehicle was stopped at the stop sign. My instincts told me that if I did not start braking right way there was no way I was going to stop in time.

That's when the trouble began. I'm not sure if my brakes were improperly adjusted or the fact that I STILL HAD SNOW TIRES ON MY REAR WHEELS but from the moment I touched the brakes I lost control of the vehicle.

Most people know what it is like to drive on ice and lose traction, you feel helpless. This is how it was. My steering inputs were of no use, I tried to shift down and control the wheel at the same time, but the car had a mind of its own.

On my right was the rock wall of a slope, on my left was a 4 to 6 foot drop to pasture land. The car meandered from one edge of the asphalt to the other, all over both lanes. I was helpless to control it and I was getting ever so near to the car still parked at the stop sign.

For the last 50 ft or so the car slid sideways and came to rest 3 to 5 feet from the back bumper of that car at that stop sign. The whole episode might have taken 10 seconds.

I still remember seeing the old couple inside looking left and right, no doubt wondering where the screech of rubber had come from. They looked everywhere but behind them. They had no awareness of what had happened to me.

You know if you have read my previous posts that I am not a religious man. But every time I proclaim my atheism I can't help but think of this experience.

Something kept me on that road. Maybe it was just physics, but honestly it was like a Guardian Angel put his hand out whenever I was just about to go off the road and kept me on the pavement. If I had gone off at that speed, I would no doubt have died or at the very least had very serious injuries. I can't remember if I had a seat belt on.

I don't think it really sunk in at the time how close I came to death. I continued to act and drive pretty stupid for several years to follow.

I've replayed this over in my mind several times and the only real feeling I get is not one of fear, or thrill or relief. It's the feeling that someone or something intervened and kept me on that road.

What Was Going On 20 Billion Years Ago?

I was just reading that the current age of the Universe is 13.7 Billion Years.

My question is: What was going on before that?

The 80/20 Rule

Most people know this one.

Like 20% of the people own 80% of the world's wealth.
Like 20% of the workforce does 80% of the work.
Like 80% of your sales come from 20% of your products.
Like 80% of of the scoring comes from 20% of the players.

Let's take a look at the first theory.

If you flattened out the Bell Curve of the world's wealth would everyone in the world be Netting about US$60,000 per year? I bet it would be close to that figure.

I'll offer my services as a money manager to anyone who thinks they can't live comfortably on that.

Communism you say? Maybe. But it would solve a lot of the world's problems if the wealth was distributed evenly.

Do you think a corporate lawyer works harder than a Vietnamese rice paddy worker?
I don't.

Yet the lawyer makes $500,000 per year and the Rice Paddy farmer get $1000?

Not only that but the Rich are getting Richer and the Poor are getting Hopeless.

Ok let's talk about incentive. I agree, because we are a disgustingly greedy bunch, that money can be a great incentive. In the other hand I believe people will eventually do what they like to do.

So a doctor will be a doctor, not because he can make several hundreds of thousands of dollars but rather because he is interested in physiology and healing the sick.

A lawyer will become a lawyer because he is interested in interpreting the law, whether he makes $60,000 or $600,000.

If someone offered me $50/hr to be one of those traffic controllers on road construction sites, I still wouldn't do it. It's an awful job, no amount of money would make me want it.

You do what you want to do. I am in retail not because I am too stupid to do other higher paying work, it's because I enjoy retail.

Of course it's a naive Utopian pipe dream. If I had a million dollars I wouldn't want to give it up either.

Do I expect things to change? Hell no! I expect the gap between the wealthy and the poor to expand beyond this already unacceptable level.

My Favorite Song List

Music has been an important part of my life since I got my first Transistor Radio back in 1963.

Growing up in the 60's gave me exposure to some of the most amazing and creative sounds and melodies ever composed. Classic Rock at its finest.

I'm pretty mainstream as far as music goes and I like a lot of different music. Hard Rock, Pop, Folk, Electronic although I've never been a big fan of Country Music or Classical Music or the Lawrence Welk stuff.

Well take a look at The List

Frustration

Is having 10 of your 11 players in your hockey pool, all playing on a Saturday night, and totalling 1 lousy point.
Un freakiing believable!

Clever Link

This is one of the cleverest search sites ever: Ms. Dewey

If you have a reasonably fast computer its scary how real she seems to be. It's amusing, especially if you ask her lurid questions but more importantly it's a sign of a virtual reality sure to come on the Internet.

Self Help Books

Self Help Books are a huge industry, everyone it seems wants to improve themselves somehow. It seems no one is totally satisfied and is looking for answers from outside sources.

I tend to avoid them. But about seven years ago I did read Dr. Wayne Dyer's Book: "Your Erroneous Zones". I felt it not only insightful but entertaining as well.

Basically I got two things out of it.

FIRST, live in the NOW. Too many of us are regretting things we did or did not do in the past or worrying about what might happen in the future.

This is not to abandon lessons learned in the past nor to ignore planning for the future.

SECOND is that I am not responsible for how someone else feels, nor are they responsible for how I feel. In other words we alone are responsible for our own emotions. It's a matter of choice. If you choose to feel sad or hurt, then that's your choice. If you choose to feel happy and upbeat, that's also something you can control.

I tried to read one or two of his other books. But really this is all I felt I had to know.

I think the same kind of people that are attracted to self help books and films or cd's are the same people that are attracted to cults and religions. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. But they don't have faith in their own inner judgements and gut feelings. For some reason they need other's to guide them through life.

I think a major problem with self help is that its too general. Everyone is a unique individual with unique history and "baggage". You can't preach to the masses and have your "answers" apply universally unless its a simple, obvious truth. Like Dr. Dyer's teachings.

Basically Self Help Gurus are out for one thing, to help their Bank Accounts. Much like Evangelical Preachers are.

I think it's all a scam.

Some people feel the need to search for "answers". Maybe it's the search that is attractive for them, getting there is most of the fun I suppose. But you know they will never be satisfied no matter how many self help sources they explore.

And I think that is the crux of the problem, they are never satisfied. And so they feel unhappy.

It's like Dr. Dyer says, if you choose to be unsatisfied or unhappy, then you will be.

Keith's Auto History

Well I am big car nut and before I forget all the loved and hated cars I've owned I have put them down on record. Starting with the most recent vehicle down to my first car purchased in 1973. Here they are: Keith's Cars

"Wit" and Cancer

I saw this excellent 2001 movie last night, Wit, featuring the very talented Emma Thompson.

Ms. Thompson plays the role of a recently diagnosed victim of terminal ovarian Cancer. She is convinced by doctors to take an experimental and very aggressive treatment of chemotherapy.

Extremely well done and highly recommended!

The politics of Cancer is murky. Some of us are convinced that no one is really looking for a cure. Cancer is big business, worth billions to the economy. Most research money is dedicated to expensive treatments and not a cure.

As a researcher, you never really want to find an answer. Finding an answer will end the research and funds will cease. And it's all about the acquisition of funds.

Too Good To Be True?

I came across the Tesla Web Site and the car sounds awesome! Totally electric, 0-100 km/hr in 4 seconds, up to 250 miles per charge.

No where on the site did it mention a price, which is an ominous sign.

I found out elsewhere that it is in excess of $100,000 USD. Bummer.

Asked one critic, posting at Autoblog.com: "Why not just buy a Lotus Elise and use some of the US$40,000+ you save to buy some gas?"

Just A Cool Graphic

I Love this stuff !

Good Shit

This is an interesting web site I came upon today: Good Shit

Lot's of interesting triva and links to other sites.

I have to warn the female viewers and non-red-blooded males that there is a good deal of nudity in the form of pinup style pictures. Nothing distastful in my opinion.

I guess its to keep the male readers interested. It sure worked for me!

Retail Pricing

I just got back from visiting the new wing in Orchard Park Mall, here in Kelowna where I live. Among the new stores was Tommy Hilfiger. It's the kind of store whose threshold I would never cross but from a distance I could see they had sections of clothing displayed by price point.

There was a section of $29.99, another of $39.99, another of $49.99 and so on. And, even though the true value of these goods was probably closer to $9.99, I liked the concept. Clarity is bliss.

They should have gone one step further in pricing the sections at $30, $40 and $50. I've been in the retail business since 1979 and have often wondered what the effect would be of rounding out the prices.

Do retailers really think they are fooling the shopping public with this .99 stuff?

My guess is that people would welcome the change and frequent the rebel retailer just for their brass kahunas.

Speaking of Kahunas, when is some heroic lawyer (are there any?) going to take the policy of Senior Discounts to litigation?

It doesn't take a law professor to understand that SENIOR DISCOUNTS SHOULD BE ILLEGAL under the Charter of Rights. It's a clear example of age discrimination.

Why should I pay 5 or 10 or 15% more for the same item than the person who just went through the checkout before me. Just because he was older than I? There is no reason.

There may have been a time when Seniors were at an economic disadvantage (still no excuse), but that has changed. In the city where I live the Seniors represent the wealthiest demographic (and no I don't have proof, I just know it).

They have had all their lives to build up a sound financial foundation for their retirement years. If they haven't they have only themselves to blame.

Let's stop price/age discrimination NOW!

Surveillance and Privacy

I'm a big proponent of Privacy and yet at the same time I am posting all kinds of information about myself on the web. I have a few web pages on the go and I have this blog.

On the Internet there are a ton of pictures of me and of the things I have, people know where I live and what my interests are. And yet I am still concerned about privacy.

It's a paradox that a lot of us should be concerned with, given the growth of Identity Theft in recent years.

I disagree with the installation of surveillance cameras on every city block and intersection. And yet I agree that it tends to curtail crime, or at least move it away from the camera's view.

How much privacy are we going to give up for the sake of security? Already in the US and in Great Britain, Civil Rights have been compromised in the so called "Fight Against Terrorism". Is "Terrorism" a government plot to gain control of our private lives?

There is the age old argument that "if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear". I would say, if you have nothing to hide that you are a very dull and boring individual.

We all have something to hide. Our bank accounts, our lifestyle habits, and what we choose do do with our bodies. We hide them because they are ours, they belong to us and if you want to know about it, you should ask permission.

The Lawmakers and the Corporations, if we let them, will circumvent this permission if they can. Information is knowledge and knowledge is the key to control and ultimately that is what "they" are after.

Maybe it doesn't matter if our privacy is exposed. Maybe we will learn a lot more about each other if there are less secrets and a more Open Society.

Still, a person should have a choice in the matter.

I'm in favour of having voluntary memory chips implanted under our skin, somewhere on our bodies. This chip would have all the information we would choose to store on it.
And we would choose what information we would allow be accessed. It would have credit card numbers, license numbers, passport numbers, our birth certificate, etc. It would have everything that we would need to establish our identity, that we are who we say we are.

Technology can steal our privacy but it can also insure it.

Related Article

Response Time

What do my Core 2 Duo iMac, my Mustang GT and a really good employee have in common? You guessed it, a super fast Response Time.

Thats the the time differential between the input of an instruction and the time of response. The less the time, the more satisfying the experience.

Sometimes I just click away at my iMac just to be amazed at how fast it responds. Much like I just go aimlessly driving in my 5 Litre Mustang just so I can feel the immediate torque as soon as I depress the accelerator. An FI Ferrari would be something to wet dream about!

If you ever find a good employee, it's fun just to give them instructions and watch them go at it.

Think of the increased satifaction you would have if everything responded the way these examples do.

Technology: Many Are Being Left Behind

I think most Bloggers are seriously into technology, some may be called technophiles.

I try to do my best to keep up with the latest gadgetry. But its growth is exponential, every day new advances in technology make what was "state of the art" last month obsolete.

About a year ago, I read a "letter to the editor" written by an elderly lady who was very dissapointed that the CBC had shifted her favorite TV show "Coronation Street" from 11:00 PM to 1:00 AM.

Now, she said, she could never watch it.

Apparantly this lady had not heard of the VCR, a technology that has been around since the mid 80's. I go to bed at 10 each night and have been watching Jay Leno for the last 10 years.

I have a co-worker that would like to watch DottoTech TV that comes on every Saturday. But she is always doing something and doesn't know how to program the VCR!

It's really sad that people will not spend 5 minutes to make the effort to learn a technology that will enhance their lifestyle.

I don't think these instances are isolated. The VCR is now ancient technology, what hope do they have to understand the new technologies of today and tomorrow?

I have a lot of "stuff". My list of current computers is here. I also have 3 PVR's. Those are Personal Video Recorders. And of all the good cool stuff I have, they would rank right up there with the computers for value.

Two of them have hard drives on them. I seldom, if ever, watch live TV. I can't stand the intelligence insulting advertisements. Everything is recorded for a time when I want to watch it. I can watch a full hockey game, normally 2 1/2 to 3 hours in lenghth, in 80-90 minutes. And I can watch it when I want.

There is new stuff I read about and try and understand, but it's a challange. The kids are growing up with it, they at least have a chance to keep pace.

Everyone is busy and learning technolgies and especially new software takes time, a commodity few people have.

Video games are at the cutting edge of software technology, they are the closet thing we have to "virtual reality". Learning the games takes hours and hours of practise and trial and error, and that's just for one game!

I play only two games, NHL2007 and Colin McRae Rally 2005. I'd like to play more, but I don't have time to learn them, let alone get good at them.

Technology is like your waistline. You either have to keep up with it or let it go completely.

Soldiers, Cops, Firemen and Loggers

I've never experienced war, thank god for that. Nor have I arrested anyone or came to the aid of a burning building. But I understand that these are very stressful deeds that deserve our respect.

Still they are occupations that are chosen by each individual and for which they are well trained to do.

When I was a young man and to an extent still today, I was quite the student of military history. I found learning about the incredible human struggles at the Somme,Ypres, Dunkirk, Stalingrad to name a few, and even into the Vietnam era, fascinating. And I often wonder at the kinds of intense stress that these soldiers must have endured.

I would not be a policeman for any amount of money. The heartache and evil they see on a daily basis would be too much for me.

And what happens when a Canadian Soldier, Policeman or Firefighter is killed during the course of his duties? It makes front page news, the lead story on the News Hour and parades are held in honour.

That's all very fine and good. But what about the rest of us who might lose their life while on the job? What happens then? Nothing outside of the family funeral. Why is that?

Did you know that 41 Loggers lost their life on the job in 2005? And that is just in British Columbia. That's about the same number of Canadian Soldiers who have died in Afghanistan as of the date of this writing.

Why are the lives of soldiers, policemen and firemen so much more missed than some father of 3 who happens to have been the target of a falling tree? Why don't the loggers get the parade, or for that matter the factory workers and construction guys?

What makes some occupations more worthy of honour than others?

Please, please spare me the "they were serving our country and community" speech. A soldier decides to be a soldier for his own reasons, same for a policeman or fireman.

There may be issues of control, of power, maybe one likes the heavily structured atmosphere of military life, maybe another wants to feed his macho inadequacies by being a fireman. Who knows, but its for their personal reasons.

A logger has just as noble a cause, to feed his kids and see that they get a good education. Is that not just as worthy an occupation?

Let's quit worshipping these over glorified professionals as amazing heroes and treat them with the same respect as any working man deserves. No more, no less.