“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity” Truer words were never spoken, it seems to me as of late. Indeed it seems to me that we live in a world of nothing but hatred and negativity, where no one believes in anything greater than “what has gone before” and that we are on a continuing Archimedian spiral into the deepest alcoves of desperation. And from my point of view, ultimately, to utter destruction.
Maybe this will sound farcical or ridiculous, but it is true, and I feel it with my entire being and soul, nevertheless here it is: I love humanity to no end, and wish I could somehow do whatever was necessary to make the world the great place I was told in my childhood that it eventually could become. I love the world so bad it hurts, and as it is said, there is a fine line between both love and hate, and genius and insanity. The first two I’ve known well. The genius part, well, I don’t know, but I have to wonder if I am losing my mind slowly because of all this happening around me. Someone once said that if you believe you are going crazy, you aren’t. I don’t know if that is true. So here’s a few things to think about; call them a few of “my personal demons.” 1. Oil Crash. I don’t know if this is real or not. There is so much lying and deception out there, so many people with their own motives that who knows if this is a real problem or not. This includes global warming. If global warming is indeed real, and a threat, then we should do something about it now. And if some put-upon rich people and business moguls get hurt in the process, well, that as they say is life. Development of alternative energy sources which actually WORK needs to be done immediately. If it be cold fusion, space-based solar energy, thermonuclear fusion, or whatever, then let it begin now. Not tomorrow, not when it is affordable and good for the economy, but NOW! If this is NOT real, if the peak oil problem is a fiction, and there is no catastrophe in sight, then of course we should still pursue alternatives with vigor. It would give the nation, and indeed, the world something to due rather than sit around in relative boredom. I believe boredom breeds warfare and unrest. People need obstacles to tackle and things to do, otherwise we wither and become depressed, and ultimately begin to hate each other. If it turns out that global warming is not anywhere near the severity as is proclaimed, then we need to have a serious look at the EPA and its various machinations. And make it a harsh look while we are at it. If it turns out that the oil crisis (real or not) is an engineered method for those in government set to profit from it to increase profits, and for the businessmen behind it to get richer while the rest of us suffer for it, then I am at a loss to suggest a solution. This is a crime that surpasses individual, state or even national level. It is a crime against the human race. For that crime, the punishment, whatever it be, should be fierce and indeed so terribly frightening that no one will ever dare to repeat it again. Maybe that sounds harsh, but how else can it ever be prevented again? 2. Cars. I don’t drive an SUV, in fact I don’t like them at all, because they have a nice tendency to lose control here in Buffalo, NY, during the snowy season, and careen all over the road. I drive a 1990 Buick Regal, which gets about 20mpg. Not great, but I can’t afford a Prius, nor do I want one. They are grotesquely ugly things, made of plastic which is sure not going to win a collision with a larger vehicle, and are extremely expensive to purchase and maintain. No, hybrids are no option for us ‘little guys’. And a European car? Forget it, I will never own one. If a ball joint goes out in my car, I can get one for ~$15. In a Mercedes-Benz? ~$250-300 apiece. I kid you not, I am a mechanic who works on European cars all day long. I have seen it, and it is outrageous. Jed, $4000 for a valve job on a Volvo is pretty cheap. Try frying the motor in a late-model Audi. Easy to do, as well: you just don’t change the timing belt every 50,000 miles, and the belt will snap, ramming the valves into the tops of the pistons, shredding the motor. Many kilobucks later, you are back on the road. Oh, and how much does it cost to replace the timing belt every 50k? Upwards of $1,200 where I work, which is cheap as I understand it. You have to remove the entire front bumper and clip assembly, radiator, discharge the AC condenser, etc., to get to the timing cover. You literally have to disassemble the entire front end of the car!!! All because some bespectacled idiot who probably never got his hands greasy in his life decided to design a “modern engine”. I rebuilt the 305 small block in my 1986 Chevrolet Monte Carlo for less than $1,000, and that includes the NEW carburetor, NEW headers, NEW intake manifold, NEW HEI distributor, wires, cap, rotor, plugs, oil, motor mounts, frame pads, chrome air cleaner, chrome valve covers, camshaft, lifters, piston rings (I got the good ones, too), main/rod bearings, cam bearings. Everything. Initially I got about 10-12mpg. By adjusting my driving habits, modifying the timing profile, screwing around with the plug electrodes, and doing a few tricks to the carburetor, I was able to get 25mpg on the interstate. In a 5.0L, non-emission controlled, carbureted, no-nonsense motor. The emissions levels as measured from the tailpipe(s) were not bad, in fact they passed the federal standards. If I were to put catalytic converters back on it, I would probably be able to breathe the exhaust. I loved that car, and it was cheap to work on and maintain. Regardless of its mileage and low emissions levels, it is illegal for me to drive it, since it will not pass inspection. Why? The motor is 8 cylinders, as opposed to the original 6 cylinder which was in it when I got it. This tells me something: whoever is behind the emissions program, at least where I live, doesn’t give a damn about the environment. They have their own reasons. And I realize that 25mpg and just-below-federal emissions are not the solution….but it sure is a step in the right direction. And the thing has a steel body and frame. If a Prius was on a collision course with me, I can step on the gas and I will MOVE out of harm’s way. And if the collision is unavoidable, well, let’s see how Joe EPA’s Prius survives a close encounter with 3700+ pounds of steel. 3. Religion. I don’t know how many of you, my fellow Vortexians, are religious. I would hazard to guess several of you are atheists or agnostics. That is ok by me. It is your choice. I, personally, do believe in a higher power, the nature of which is probably completely beyond conventional human understanding. Yes, I call this power “God”. Not G-d. (Isn’t G-d short for a “G**d***”?) If there are those out there who are offended by my not abbreviating the term “God”, then I am sorry, please get the hell (h-ll?) over it. The same antigods who scream unendingly about being offended by hearing religious remarks offend quite a few people themselves with their endless ranting. These babies need to grow up. Notice I said “antigods” as opposed to atheists/agnostics. Most atheists and agnostics I know do NOT take a harsh exception to religious people at all. They just don’t believe it, but are tolerate and accepting of another person’s rights to believe what they want. I have many friends who are atheist/agnostic. If they ask me specifically what I believe, I tell them. Otherwise I don’t try to cram it down their throat TV-evangelical style. It is a sad and terrible thing that the benevolent teachings of Jesus Christ are perverted by modern people calling themselves “Christians.” It is used to justify hate and malice. Why? In my understanding, what Jesus Christ was teaching was peace, love and to work together. Regardless of whether or not you are a Christian, Muslim, Jew, atheist, whatever, the message is a good one. As a few last notes on this point: I do believe in evolution of some kind, whether or not it is Darwinian remains to be seen, in my opinion. I also believe the Earth is about 4.6 billion years old, not 6,000. I get this crammed down my throat by overly-fanatical religious people all the time, they seem to think it is somehow anti-Christian to believe in modern science. I find that religion and science complement one another quite well. So there is bad on both sides, and here I am stuck in the middle. Hmmm…interesting thought: in a previous post, it was argued that animals might see what humans do to them as evil, and that an extraterrestrial observer (the example used was a Martian) might wonder whether or not what humans do to one another is just natural or is evil. Can not this be applied to the same antigod argument that a just God would not allow death and pain? Think about this. Maybe there are some animals who do not believe in humans, because why would a higher power allow such evil to happen to them? 4. Women. Every time I go to the store, what do I see plastered all over the checkout aisles? No, not the candy. Magazines. Do I ever see anything scientific? Nope, its all “shrink your belly in 12.8 milliseconds” or “lose 400 pounds in 8 hours!”. All these showing women triumphantly holding out the elastic waistbands of pants that are now too big for them. And the magazines that do not show this invariably show an emaciated-looking woman posing provocatively with very little clothing. What does this say about our society’s view of females? I try not to look at these magazines, because I hate them. The message they are sending is absolutely terrible and destructive to the happiness and well-being of women, particularly young teenage girls who become ingrained with the idea that they have to look like that to make it in this world. This should be a crime with a very harsh punishment. I am a rather young man, young enough to still encounter younger members of the opposite sex, particularly those who are friends and acquaintances of my wife-to-be. This is very real, and a real problem. These girls and women truly believe that unless they are absolutely the thinnest possible and still able to be alive, that they are ugly. Why are we doing this to the female members of our human race!?! Why are we allowing these people to cause such mental pain and misery in the minds of these women? No, I don’t believe the fight for women’s rights won. From where I am sitting, some battles may have been won, but it lost overall. So many beautiful people, hurt by something so unnatural and unrealistic. The fields in which women work is also a sad thing. So few women scientists. In my experience, women think differently than men do. Would not science be better off if we had a greater varieties of different-working minds looking at the problems? It is getting better, yes. But there is still a long way to go. This doesn’t need government-aid or affirmative action either. It needs something deeper. 5. Cold Fusion. I don’t know much about it, truthfully, but from my limited understand, something is going on which merits serious investigation. There should be funding for this and active support for it from university and governmental levels. The quasi-evangelical hatred of this field by most of mainstream science is deplorable. I hope I live to see the day that it becomes known that there really was something happening in those electrolysis cells of glass and plastic. I hope that those who stood in its way for so long are eventually forced to recant and face the consequences of their actions. Indeed, I feel that those in high-standing positions should be forced resign and forever be reminded of their actions against humankind as a whole. I hope that the effect, whatever it is, can be quickly made into something which will help people everywhere, not just here but throughout the world. I hope……… 6. The Dead. There is not much for me to say here….so many great people dying. Why do so many wonderful people die, and yet the worst elements of humanity live on? How many brilliant minds have had their Promethian flames extinguished by so little of things as mere want of a piece of bread in Africa, or Indochina? And yet here, in pampered comfort and standing in the way of any hope or dream humanity comes up with, forever cursing the dreams of those who believe in reaching out to the stars for ALL mankind, forever attacking those honest men and women struggling with a potential energy source of untold magnitude, here lives on the great Dr. Robert Park. Apologies for the length and controversial nature. God bless you all, --Kyle __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new resources site! http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/resources/