Progress and Deterioration
Well, sure got some mileage out of deep thought dishwashing.
Some things popped out in the comments that led to, what else, deep thoughts!
First off, not washing anybody elses dishes, have a hard enough time finding motivation to do mine. Thanks anyway OWL. :)
I have a dishwasher, but don’t use it for washing dishes. It’s a storage bin for all of my tupperware, baking dishes, cookie and cake pans, stuff like that. I just don’t generate that much in the dirty dish department, plus I try to employ 'clean as you go' tactics when slinging stuff around the kitchen. Anal rententive clean freaks may disagree with that, um…say…like my sister, but I counter that with a good chef makes a little mess. It is artistry after all.
A comment that I found interesting:
“I'd swap the term "progressing" to "deteriorating". Change is not necessarily for the better, which is the stance of most conservatives.”
Whew. This one has a few implications.
The one thing that jumps out first is that progress is seen as deterioration. A positive is viewed as a negative.
I really have no way of knowing if this is the view of most conservatives, but for the sake of argument, let’s say that it is.
Change is not always necessarily for the better, that’s true. However, I would argue that the majority of change is for the better.
“While some changes have been for the betterment of mankind, I'd say that most have not benefitted mankind…”
Ok, right there we have a disagreement. That statement does support a view that change is considered a negative, or has a detrimental effect on society.
Well, I watched some of these changes and technological advances help keep newborns alive while the world is falling all apart around them, in the last hospital in New Orleans to remain open.
The only danger is if the hospital loses electricity, in which case they have a backup plan but it is precariously iffy. Let’s just hope they don’t run out of juice.
Electricity: a major discovery and has brought about massive change in all societies. Progress or deterioration? Discuss. (hint: I’m posting and you’re reading and responding…ooh, computers are a techo advance…the internets are a techno advance…)
I’ve been to New Orleans a few times, great place. Nawlin’s has totally influenced my taste in music and certainly my taste in food and methods of preparing meals.
Now, to get there I flew in an airplane.
Airplane: An engineering achievement credited to the Wright Brothers. They were bicycle mechanics by trade, which being a cyclist and mechanic myself, tickles me pink. The airplane has allowed people to visit places far away from where they live, places that they would most likely not go otherwise. Europe is in my sights for next summer or the one after, and the idea of pedaling a bike to the Atlantic and rowing a boat across the pond to get there is rather appealing, but I would just as soon get on the airplane and utilize my time in London aggravating Dane transplants as opposed to spend all my time just getting there.
Flight: Progress or deterioration? Discuss. (hints: think of medivac, think of search and rescue operations, traveling)
The bicycle, yet another timeless invention. I have (currently) five of them. Two mountain bike racers, a cross racer, a road racer, and a track racer. Spent several years racing and a year as a bike messenger and during that time I learned about ‘life on a bike’. I used a bicycle to go everywhere and do everything. To the grocery and back, to the post office and back, to the local drinking establishment and, well, not sure what happened after that.
Bicycle: Progress or deterioration? (hint: gas prices, health)
Last night I had statistics class. In the classroom we use lights to see what we are doing, and a TI-83 calculator to perform statisical calculations. The calculations can all be done by hand however, the calculator does have the ability to crunch numbers fairly quickly, thus shortening the time needed to analyze data. This particular calculator can creat various types of charts and graphs as well.
My major is Sociology, and I intend to use my training for research and teaching. Being able to lessen the amount of time, money and labour involved in studies of populations and behaviours is appealing in that the sooner we can analyze and understand data pertaining to collective behaviours, the sooner we can offer solutions to large scale problems encountered in various societies.
Light bulbs: Progress or deterioration? Discuss. (hint: fumbling around in the middle of the night trying to find the loo…where’s that goddam light switch?)
Calculators: Good or bad? Progress or deterioration? Discuss. (hint: the term ‘calculations’)
I have an SUV. Yep, I do. A 1995 plain jane jeep cherokee. I like to refer to it as the tractor. Best case mpg: 21. I use it sparingly. While I can ride my mountain bike damn near anywhere and hike the rest, I surely love my jeep when heading to the beach or camping in the mountains. On the rare occasion that it snows here, I can still get around. I've used it to ferry medical personnel to the hospital and we have a program here called Meals On Wheels. Basically you ferry food to elderly people that can’t get out in the snow. Actually anytime of the year, but I only volunteer during the snow days.
It hardly snows here, so nobody can handle it in any sense. Two inches of snow paralyzes my hometown which totally contrasts with Toronto, where kids scurry off to school in snow so freaking deep it is truly up to there knees.
Anyhow, the automobile is another of those invention and techno advance of man. It eats fuel and oil. Some, like mine, are not very efficient for simple travel. Some, like hybrids and smaller eco cars, are very efficient and environment friendly.
Automobile: Progress or deterioration? (hint: compare to bicycle)
How do you talk to your friends? Email has become quite the vehicle for communication, as well as the blogosphere.
When at home, I use the telephone. I do not have a cell phone. Nope. Putting that off as long as I can. Fighting that techno with all my might!
Plus, I'm just plain poor and can't see spending that kind of dough on a phone. There's a phone on my desk at the office, and a couple at home. Don't really need another one. Don't own a watch either.
Telephone: Progress or deterioration? (hint: call me up baby!)
Another statement that jumped out at me was this one:
“I also take issue with the just because we live longer we're better off.”
Uh, the only answer I can give to this is don’t try suicide, nobody gives a damn.
No wait, actually the real response is what is the alternative or the implied solution? Shorter life span? Death?
What fun is that?
If you are a religious person and believe in the afterlife, and/or think the afterlife will be all peaches and cream, well, off yourself and don’t take anybody with you. Send a postcard when you get there.
Regarding this particular religious tie-in, words from Peter Tosh: “Everyone wants to go up to heaven, but none of dem want to die.”
And finally, we have this:
“Why don't we use these "advances in society" to make our lives easier, so we don't have to work so hard, so that we can help out in our communities, and spend time with our families? The answer is......this doesn't benefit our government, our economy, or business owners.”
I would rewrite this question thus:
“Why don't more people use these "advances in society" to make our lives easier, so we don't have to work so hard, so that we can help out in our communities, and spend time with our families? The answer is......some people are selfish louts, greedy and heartless, OR, they're just plain too lazy and comfortable in their own world to sacrifice any of the advances made by mankind, in order to further mankind”
These attributes (greed, selfishness) thrive in a capitalist society, more so than in an oppressive society. Take Iraq during Saddam’s reign. One dictator, one gang in charge. Look at America during any time peroid. Gangs of all stripes flourish, make money and acquire power. Power that is abused on all levels. Gangs defined as anywhere from street level drug dealers to Enron. Same ideals, just a different method.
That's the difference between and open and free society, and one that is completely controlled. One society allows all life to flourish and grow, the other type wants to control it, keep it the same all the time, not allow it to flourish and grow unless the gang leader decides to, and only then under his/her definitions.
Which one is unnatural and which one is doomed to extinction?
Who are the “government, our economy, or business owners.” ?
To quote Pogo Possum: "We have seen the enemy and they are us".
These gangs do not define us as a nation or a people. They sure as hell don’t define me, nor will I let them define me or my homeland.
Precisely why I want to march on Washington in complete silence to honor those poor souls that have given their lives for our country under the false pretenses that our current gang leader Bush sold to the public, for his own ideology.
September 24th I’m joining in on this one. Come along if you have the courage to stand up to the system.
Let me wrap up this long-winded pontification with a suggestion of charity to the Red Cross for those in New Orleans who have lost everything and cling only to hope. Show those people in any way you can that life is worth living no matter what, you might just find a little light in yourself that you didn’t know was there. ,
Some things popped out in the comments that led to, what else, deep thoughts!
First off, not washing anybody elses dishes, have a hard enough time finding motivation to do mine. Thanks anyway OWL. :)
I have a dishwasher, but don’t use it for washing dishes. It’s a storage bin for all of my tupperware, baking dishes, cookie and cake pans, stuff like that. I just don’t generate that much in the dirty dish department, plus I try to employ 'clean as you go' tactics when slinging stuff around the kitchen. Anal rententive clean freaks may disagree with that, um…say…like my sister, but I counter that with a good chef makes a little mess. It is artistry after all.
A comment that I found interesting:
“I'd swap the term "progressing" to "deteriorating". Change is not necessarily for the better, which is the stance of most conservatives.”
Whew. This one has a few implications.
The one thing that jumps out first is that progress is seen as deterioration. A positive is viewed as a negative.
I really have no way of knowing if this is the view of most conservatives, but for the sake of argument, let’s say that it is.
Change is not always necessarily for the better, that’s true. However, I would argue that the majority of change is for the better.
“While some changes have been for the betterment of mankind, I'd say that most have not benefitted mankind…”
Ok, right there we have a disagreement. That statement does support a view that change is considered a negative, or has a detrimental effect on society.
Well, I watched some of these changes and technological advances help keep newborns alive while the world is falling all apart around them, in the last hospital in New Orleans to remain open.
The only danger is if the hospital loses electricity, in which case they have a backup plan but it is precariously iffy. Let’s just hope they don’t run out of juice.
Electricity: a major discovery and has brought about massive change in all societies. Progress or deterioration? Discuss. (hint: I’m posting and you’re reading and responding…ooh, computers are a techo advance…the internets are a techno advance…)
I’ve been to New Orleans a few times, great place. Nawlin’s has totally influenced my taste in music and certainly my taste in food and methods of preparing meals.
Now, to get there I flew in an airplane.
Airplane: An engineering achievement credited to the Wright Brothers. They were bicycle mechanics by trade, which being a cyclist and mechanic myself, tickles me pink. The airplane has allowed people to visit places far away from where they live, places that they would most likely not go otherwise. Europe is in my sights for next summer or the one after, and the idea of pedaling a bike to the Atlantic and rowing a boat across the pond to get there is rather appealing, but I would just as soon get on the airplane and utilize my time in London aggravating Dane transplants as opposed to spend all my time just getting there.
Flight: Progress or deterioration? Discuss. (hints: think of medivac, think of search and rescue operations, traveling)
The bicycle, yet another timeless invention. I have (currently) five of them. Two mountain bike racers, a cross racer, a road racer, and a track racer. Spent several years racing and a year as a bike messenger and during that time I learned about ‘life on a bike’. I used a bicycle to go everywhere and do everything. To the grocery and back, to the post office and back, to the local drinking establishment and, well, not sure what happened after that.
Bicycle: Progress or deterioration? (hint: gas prices, health)
Last night I had statistics class. In the classroom we use lights to see what we are doing, and a TI-83 calculator to perform statisical calculations. The calculations can all be done by hand however, the calculator does have the ability to crunch numbers fairly quickly, thus shortening the time needed to analyze data. This particular calculator can creat various types of charts and graphs as well.
My major is Sociology, and I intend to use my training for research and teaching. Being able to lessen the amount of time, money and labour involved in studies of populations and behaviours is appealing in that the sooner we can analyze and understand data pertaining to collective behaviours, the sooner we can offer solutions to large scale problems encountered in various societies.
Light bulbs: Progress or deterioration? Discuss. (hint: fumbling around in the middle of the night trying to find the loo…where’s that goddam light switch?)
Calculators: Good or bad? Progress or deterioration? Discuss. (hint: the term ‘calculations’)
I have an SUV. Yep, I do. A 1995 plain jane jeep cherokee. I like to refer to it as the tractor. Best case mpg: 21. I use it sparingly. While I can ride my mountain bike damn near anywhere and hike the rest, I surely love my jeep when heading to the beach or camping in the mountains. On the rare occasion that it snows here, I can still get around. I've used it to ferry medical personnel to the hospital and we have a program here called Meals On Wheels. Basically you ferry food to elderly people that can’t get out in the snow. Actually anytime of the year, but I only volunteer during the snow days.
It hardly snows here, so nobody can handle it in any sense. Two inches of snow paralyzes my hometown which totally contrasts with Toronto, where kids scurry off to school in snow so freaking deep it is truly up to there knees.
Anyhow, the automobile is another of those invention and techno advance of man. It eats fuel and oil. Some, like mine, are not very efficient for simple travel. Some, like hybrids and smaller eco cars, are very efficient and environment friendly.
Automobile: Progress or deterioration? (hint: compare to bicycle)
How do you talk to your friends? Email has become quite the vehicle for communication, as well as the blogosphere.
When at home, I use the telephone. I do not have a cell phone. Nope. Putting that off as long as I can. Fighting that techno with all my might!
Plus, I'm just plain poor and can't see spending that kind of dough on a phone. There's a phone on my desk at the office, and a couple at home. Don't really need another one. Don't own a watch either.
Telephone: Progress or deterioration? (hint: call me up baby!)
Another statement that jumped out at me was this one:
“I also take issue with the just because we live longer we're better off.”
Uh, the only answer I can give to this is don’t try suicide, nobody gives a damn.
No wait, actually the real response is what is the alternative or the implied solution? Shorter life span? Death?
What fun is that?
If you are a religious person and believe in the afterlife, and/or think the afterlife will be all peaches and cream, well, off yourself and don’t take anybody with you. Send a postcard when you get there.
Regarding this particular religious tie-in, words from Peter Tosh: “Everyone wants to go up to heaven, but none of dem want to die.”
And finally, we have this:
“Why don't we use these "advances in society" to make our lives easier, so we don't have to work so hard, so that we can help out in our communities, and spend time with our families? The answer is......this doesn't benefit our government, our economy, or business owners.”
I would rewrite this question thus:
“Why don't more people use these "advances in society" to make our lives easier, so we don't have to work so hard, so that we can help out in our communities, and spend time with our families? The answer is......some people are selfish louts, greedy and heartless, OR, they're just plain too lazy and comfortable in their own world to sacrifice any of the advances made by mankind, in order to further mankind”
These attributes (greed, selfishness) thrive in a capitalist society, more so than in an oppressive society. Take Iraq during Saddam’s reign. One dictator, one gang in charge. Look at America during any time peroid. Gangs of all stripes flourish, make money and acquire power. Power that is abused on all levels. Gangs defined as anywhere from street level drug dealers to Enron. Same ideals, just a different method.
That's the difference between and open and free society, and one that is completely controlled. One society allows all life to flourish and grow, the other type wants to control it, keep it the same all the time, not allow it to flourish and grow unless the gang leader decides to, and only then under his/her definitions.
Which one is unnatural and which one is doomed to extinction?
Who are the “government, our economy, or business owners.” ?
To quote Pogo Possum: "We have seen the enemy and they are us".
These gangs do not define us as a nation or a people. They sure as hell don’t define me, nor will I let them define me or my homeland.
Precisely why I want to march on Washington in complete silence to honor those poor souls that have given their lives for our country under the false pretenses that our current gang leader Bush sold to the public, for his own ideology.
September 24th I’m joining in on this one. Come along if you have the courage to stand up to the system.
Let me wrap up this long-winded pontification with a suggestion of charity to the Red Cross for those in New Orleans who have lost everything and cling only to hope. Show those people in any way you can that life is worth living no matter what, you might just find a little light in yourself that you didn’t know was there. ,
posted by Redjalapeno at Thursday, September 01, 2005
5 Opinions:
I shall say this just the once ....
I AM NOT F%&£$*G DUTCH !!!!
Dutch: Of the Netherlands / Holland
Dutch: The language of the Netherlands / Holland
Dutch: A form of contraceptive device
Famous Dutch people: No such bloody thing
Dane: Of Denmark
Danish: The language of Denmark
Danish: A sweet pastry known in Denmark as Vienna (or Austrian) pastry
Famous Danes: Hans Christian Anderson, me and Niels Bohr
As I told the Chemist: ”Different countries, different people, different languages and 90 million sauerkraut munchers between the two.”
The only thing the two have in common is a lack of any mountains, glottal stops in abundance and German occupation.
Why is the English speaking world so singularly incapable of distinguishing between the two?
There .. you got me aggravated without even leaving home!
;)
PS: Good post. You should wash more dishes :P
PPS: I was going to call you a 'Canadian', but then I realised that would be a compliment and would devalue my Canadian passport ;)
hehe
Hold up, a Danish [pasty] is really Austrian?
Indeed. You don't really think that we would lay claim to that filthy stodge do you ... any more than the Scots would lay claim to McDonald's, just because it has a Scottish name?
;)
Hey, the Dutch have CHEESE! And cows, and dikes (and dykes) and, well lots of painters, and canals and little boats on them and little houses on the boats and in the houses, well, don't go there....
Yes. Cottages. Perverts.
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