Category Archives: General

General

Why Shopping Will Never Be The Same…

Absolutely fascinating article from USA Today exploring what may become of the whole shopping experience not too many years in the future:

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2012-08-05/future-retail-tech/56880626/1

Some of what Jon Swartz, the author of that piece, notes has been on my mind for a while.

I’m not a huge mall rat, though there was a time I enjoyed heading to the mall and looking in on the bookstores and record/music stores.  When MP3s appeared, the record/music stores effectively were done.  I still love to purchase music, but I do so over the internet and find this the most effective way of getting my hands on what I want.

Bookstores, similarly, appear to be going the way of music stores.  Nowadays, you can purchase almost any book you want (including mine!) via Amazon or Barnes and Noble online.  Movies and TV shows, likewise, are appearing more and more online as well, either through pay per view services or instant viewing via Netflix or (again) Amazon.

Purchasing books, music, or movies/TV shows via the internet is incredibly convenient.  You don’t have to physically go anywhere and risk not finding what you’re looking for.  You also know right away whether something you’re seeking is available and can be purchased.  Downloading the material is almost instantaneous.  But purchasing a physical copy of said material (ie a CD or an actual book or a DVD/BluRay), isn’t all that hard either.  While you have to wait for it to be mailed to you, to me this wait is not a huge inconvenience.  In a matter of a couple of days or, at most, a week I have the material in hand.

Which brings us to what else is sold out there.  Most electronics are available online and I’m certain many people try them out in stores and may search online for the best price for items (there’s even a term for that: showrooming).  Clothing, I suspect, will take a little bit longer to enter the internet purchasing sphere.  You can buy items, but part of purchasing clothing is seeing how it looks on you.  And how can you sample clothing via the internet?  The article does provide a glimpse into that process, and chances are that this too will soon be something people search for on the internet.  The same goes with jewelry, although in that case and because of the cost one often wants to see the actual piece they intend to buy.

Food stores I suspect will survive the digital age.  We all make our trips to supermarkets for the week’s food, and while online services will offer this for some, I suspect many shoppers want to see the food they eventually pay for.  Bruised bananas are not an option!  As for restaurants, there will be more and more online ordering, especially for chains that specialize in “to go” foods like pizza.  However, I suspect people will never lose the urge to go out of the house now and again and spend a couple of hours in a restaurant eating a good meal.

Another store that will probably continue to exist is the hardware store.  Not only will people always head to such stores for home improvement products, but there will continue to exist moments when such products have to be bought right away and cannot wait for the mail to deliver them (from emergencies involving plumbing, electrical, or roofing problems to simple things like needing new lightbulbs or air conditioner filters).

What all this means, in the end, is what the above article notes.  The days of the shopping malls and strips malls may be coming to an end.  There may come a time when small “satellite” stores are the norm, where people go into those shops to see the individual items they want to purchase and examine them but do the actual purchasing over the net and get the items delivered to their house.

The world is indeed changing.

General

About the coming Presidential election…

Fascinating article by Michael Tomansky at The Daily Beast concerning the upcoming Presidential election…and the possibility it might be an Obama landslide:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/08/04/michael-tomasky-on-the-possible-coming-obama-landslide.html

I tend to agree with Mr. Tomansky, though I would hardly consider myself a political junkie (my wife might argue otherwise).

Having watched the political shows here and there, I’ve been struck by how incredibly weak a candidate Mitt Romney is.  He may be a nice guy, he may be an intelligent man, but as a candidate he’s stiff and prone to saying silly things.  And when not saying such silly things, he has been caught contradicting or denouncing what should be his core beliefs.  This is a man, after all, who was once pro-choice and valued Planned Parenthood.  Now he’s anti-abortion and threatens to “defund” Planned Parenthood.  In the past he was a proponent of gun control but now he’s a 2nd amendment purist.  And then there’s what’s perhaps the biggest inconsistency:  As Governor of Massachusetts he pushed through the state’s health care act, which was essentially copied with “Obamacare”.  Now, as a Republican candidate, he can’t say enough bad things about this system.

And I haven’t even gotten into issues of what taxes he paid and his stubborn belief that he should not release his IRS records.  Finally, there’s one more little thing:  One gets the feeling that hard core Republicans simply don’t trust him.

Yes, President Obama has issues to deal with, primary of which is the still fragile economy.  Having said that, unless President Obama stumbles really badly and does something colossally dumb, I just can’t see him losing to Mitt Romney.

Then again, we’re still a ways from the election and there’s plenty of time for things to change.  I doubt it, but we’ll see…

General

Five atheists who ruin if for everyone else…

Fascinating article by Ian Murphy and found on Salon.com regarding the above, five famous atheists who, according to the author, make all atheists look bad:

http://www.salon.com/2012/08/04/five_most_awful_atheists_salpart/

The author’s choices are fascinating, but the one that I found myself most agreeing with is the last of the five, S. E. Cupp.  I have watched a couple of episodes of MSNBCs’ The Cycle, a show that features a grouping of four different hosts including Ms. Cupp, and one of the episodes I saw featured a guest (I forget who) who was promoting a book about his philosophy of being.  Anyway, the hosts of the show and the author eventually ventured into the subject of religion and Ms. Cupp mentioned she was an atheist.  As an atheist myself, I thought this was a refreshing thing to hear.  While I do not share Ms. Cupp’s conservative philosophies (of the four hosts, she represents the “right”), I was curious to hear what she had to say about her atheism.

What followed was rather depressing and goes right in line with what Mr. Murphy wrote about Ms. Cupp.  Her statements on her atheism were bizarre and bordered on self-loathing.  When the segment was done, I couldn’t help but wonder how someone goes through life apparently hating a part of oneself.

Or does she?

Afterwards, I wondered if Ms. Cupp’s atheism was real or simply a tool for some other goal.  Was admitting to being an atheist her “clever” way of denigrating atheism?  A couple of times she noted how she envied people with religious convictions and wished she could experience that element in her life.  Pity us poor atheists, she appeared to say.  For we live a life of wandering, without having a God to look up!

As I said before, I’m an atheist.  Unlike Ms. Cupp, I’m comfortable in my skin.  I neither envy or miss religion.  However, neither do “look down” upon those who are religious.  I’ve lived in enough places and experienced enough cultures through my life to know that what works for me may not work for others.  Thus, if there is any one abiding philosophy I abide by, it is that one should strive to do what makes one happy inside, provided that doing so doesn’t hurt or annoy others.  (If there’s one thing I can’t stand is someone who thrusts one’s own philosophy, religious or not, onto others).

But to live your life as a self-described anything and talk as if that particular aspect of your being is a burden to you seems like such a colossal waste of time and energy.  If you aren’t comfortable being an atheist, then by all means stop being one.  There are many philosophies and religions out there.  Instead of going on about how much being an atheist brings you down, why not instead use that energy to look for something that will instead lift your spirits?

As the saying goes, life is too short.

General, Uncategorized

So I went to a 7-Eleven yesterday…

…and as I walk to the counter and get in line behind the person the cashier is currently attended to, he asks for and receives two packs of Camel cigarettes.  As the attendant rings him up, she notices a can of cold beer on the counter beside him and asks if that’s his as well.

The man grips his two packs of cigarettes, shakes his head, and replies in one of those how-could-you-possibly-think tone of voices: “No, dear, I don’t drink.”

Reminded me of that scene in Airplane! where one of the passengers takes a swig of liquor while an old lady sitting next to him watches.  He realizes she’s staring at him and offers her a drink.  The old woman appears horrified by the man’s attempt at politeness and frostily replies “Certainly not!”.

She then proceeds to put a straw in her nose and snort a couple of lines of what looks an awfully lot like cocaine…

General

Were ancient Greek athletes tougher than today’s Olympians?

Fascinating article from Slate Magazine that compares some Olympic scores from ancient Greek athletes to those of modern Olympians.  The results are alternately predictable and fascinating:

http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/explainer/2012/07/london_olympics_would_ancient_greek_athletes.html

One of the great “What ifs” of the sporting world is the idea of taking a famous (older) team in its prime and theoretically putting it up against another (modern) formidable team.  Kobe Bryant cracked that window a bit when he made reference to this current Olympic Basketball team being able to beat the “Dream Team” of 1992.  The critics instantly scoffed at Bryant’s statements.  Many of them felt there was absolutely no way that this current Olympic basketball team could win even one game against the 1992 team.

But I wonder.

A few years before he passed away, Jim Mandich, the plainspoken and very entertaining ex-Miami Dolphin tight end and radio announcer noted that while he prided himself for having been a part of the “Undefeated” Dolphin team of 1972 as well as what many consider the even better Superbowl winning team of 1973 (though they did not replicate their undefeated record of the year before), he felt that as legendary as those teams were, they wouldn’t put up much of a fight against modern football teams.

The fact is that with each passing year, modern athletics become more and more of a science.  And thanks to larger financial rewards, many athletes today can spend virtually the entire year conditioning themselves into peak physical shape.  Back in the early 1970’s, it was not uncommon for football players to spent the off season working at other jobs to sustain themselves.  A friend of mine, for example, recalled meeting Larry Csonka, perhaps one of the most famous of those Miami Dolphins, working at a car dealership during his off season.

So, who would win…today’s athletes or those of yesteryear?  In the end, its all theory.

But if someone one day comes up with a time machine and brings athletes from the past in their prime to play against athletes of the present (or more recent past)…Even though I’d love to think that some of my favorite athletes and teams from the past are and will always be the best, I think I’d put my money on more the modern athletes over them.

General

Texas man finds his car 42 years after it was stolen…

Absolutely fascinating article that proves -at least in this instance!- that persistence can certainly pay off:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/16/us/california-stolen-car/index.html

One of those stories that is both incredible and encouraging.  Sometimes, a wrong can indeed be righted.  Hope the gentleman’s recovered 1967 Austin-Healey is in good working order!

General

First Spacecraft to Reach Interstellar Space…?

Fascinating article from Time Magazine concerning Voyager 1, a spacecraft sent from Earth way back in 1977 which may now be reaching the edge of the Solar System…and entering into Interstellar space, making it the first such craft to do so:

http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/06/15/voyager-i-may-soon-become-the-first-spacecraft-to-reach-interstellar-space/

What is depressing to consider is the fact that this spacecraft was launched some 35 years ago and is only now reaching the edge of the Solar System, having traveled an incredible 11 BILLION miles.

General

Civil War Photo Mystery…

Absolutely fascinating article I found on The Huffington Post regarding Civil War era photographs found on the corpses of soldiers and the belated attempt to identify the people who were on the photographs.  This would obviously help identify both the victim and the family around them.  It is an admitted long shot given the length of time that has passed since the Civil War, yet one hopes that perhaps some name can be placed with some of the photographs:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/11/civil-war-photos-solve-mystery_n_1585750.html

General

Can Cops use Google to prevent murder?

Fascinating article by Will Oremus and posted on Slate Magazine regarding the possibility of the police using “real time” Google searches to possibly prevent crimes:

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2012/06_could_cops_use_google_to_prevent_murder_.single.html

The first thing I thought about when I started reading this article was the Steven Spielberg directed movie Minority Report.  While not a big fan of the film (I thought the movie’s entire second act was really silly), the concept of crime prevention before the fact was fascinating and quite thought provoking.  The author of this article does mention that film, as well, but notes that while the movie’s science fictional psychics do not exist, it is possible to look in on suspicious Google searches while they occur to then get some idea of the possibility of a future crime.

People may Google all kinds of things, including how to commit various crimes, and it is that which the police, legally, could search for.

The big problem, however, is the same one that Minority Report alludes to: How do you know the person Googling suspicious/criminal things isn’t just curious and would never actually pursue anything illegal?  Further, if searching through real time Google queries becomes common place among law enforcement, there will inevitably be “jokers” out there who make criminal-sounding Google searches just to provoke a reaction.  Of that I have little doubt.

Still, fascinating article and food for thought.