Taking 2 weeks off

So I got some friends who went out of town.  And now I have the privilege of dog sitting three big puppies (well one's a tiny puppy and the other two are big kahunas).  So I'll be preoccupied and thus have little time to write or post.  As such, I'll see you all in two weeks.  Feel free to catch up on posts you may have missed :)

Flexible Figures

Another Economist article with a subtitle of "Dynamic Pricing" it discusses applying electronic price displays and constant price updates to retail stores and its impact.  Here is what it entails.

So basically, stores would use electronic displays to show the prices of their goods.  This obviously eliminates the need for people to run around replacing price displays and obviously saves time and paper.  However this is not all it does.  It allows stores to adjust their prices every few hours or even every few minutes.  Apparently prices are affected by things like the time of day, weather, competitor’s sales and any other condition imaginable.  As such a store can pinpoint when a discount is most needed to push the sales of certain goods, and as such some sales can last hours as opposed to days.  In effect the electronic pricing displays smooth demand by adjusting prices based on want and need.  This allows the rich to pay more as they may come in during specific times of the day, or buy certain goods more regularly during certain events while the poor will save money as they require cheaper prices thus prices will adjust to move sales to accommodate them.  However this is still expensive for stores to do in the short term and thus will, once it becomes more affordable switch over. 

In the meantime other businesses have embraced the model.  Sports events, concerts, zoos and similar that all sell tickets can and have used this technology of constant price adjustment to exploit demand for high value tickets while stimulating people to buy unwanted tickets by making those ones cheaper.  Thus demand is stimulated in one event or part of a concert hall while the other is curbed thus ensuring more seats are filled and maximizing profit.   Toll booths too can and have used this technology to adjust their prices every five minutes to get drivers to keep moving so as to avoid a higher price.  Airlines already use this too by charging more for frequent flyers due to thinking that trips are job related.  (Even Amazon adjusts their prices every hour).

There is a risk however as Uber found out the hard way.  Their reputation was damaged when their prices shot up 8 fold during and post hurricane event.  People saw it as price gauging even though it was merely them adjusting for all the variables that affect supply and demand for their services.  As such they have capped their cost increases to 3.5% maximum during such events.  

People also learn to play this price game as some people will go to internet cafes or areas which are considered poor and buy an item thus fooling the algorithms put in place.  Truth be told. I have no problem with this as it means people will go and do business in less affluent areas and thus stimulate that area’s economy buy also buying local goods.

Final Thought:  This is a great idea as people can save more money and businesses maximize profits thus keeping them in business in the first place.  Sure there are people who may not like being charged more which is why balance is needed, but the advantages in savings for businesses and people as a whole is too much to pass up.  

Gender and Politics/Society

When I was growing up, gender meant something very different than what it does today.  Today it means sexual orientation, a person’s attraction to others and how that all manifests.  But what I learned back in school is that it was a description of people’s masculine and feminine roles in society.  That these roles were defined by society itself from generation to generation.  However the term is often used in place of describing a person’s physical sex as well as orientation.  Is this a good development?  What impact does it have?  Here is my opinion.

Between people of various genders and orientations wanting to be treated equal, to write the wrongs of the past and people lacking knowledge of people with other sexual orientations due to their suppression by religious and other majority communities we have created the modern version for the definition of gender.  It now is all encompassing for all people of all forms of sexual attraction with the word sex, simply meaning sex as opposed to defining if a part of a species is male or female.  To me this has resulted in a political class of individuals who have been repressed in the past that have joined together to make a society where it is acceptable to be a particular gender without the dirty or confused looks.  Basically, they reclassify gender to its current definition so that they could have a say in politics and use our politicians want for power and need to use victims against them (good show LGBT community, put the screws to them).  At the same time, references to gender that segment society are slowly being eliminated.  For instance, the "Founding Fathers" are now in text books called the "Founders" or Founders of America, eliminating the term Father and its traditional gender role.  The result of this is a society that does not see gender at all, and potentially will go the ways of the Ancient Greeks and Romans with respect to having sexual relations (basically have fun with whoever you like).  

Is this a bad thing?  Not really.  For one we eliminate a form of prejudice and stigmas that have been in place for thousands of years that have led to the persecution of individuals.  Also, eliminating some (perhaps not all) gender identity references can lead to a society where jobs, family roles, and more are not defined by societal standards, and instead fit the family unit no matter what form it may take (the Supreme Court Ruling on Gay marriage helped this along).  I think terms that define what people prefer will develop further as scientists, and the communities that embrace their gender identities seek to define who they are in the same way people try to classify their ideologies.  But are they going to fast?  I think so.  The issue over public bathrooms, showers and changing rooms is a big example and has caused a great deal of trouble.  Not because men, women and others get changed or release themselves in the same location, but because there are people who will abuse this.  People like Voyeurs, Rapists, or idiot collage kids have used this to attack people at worst or to take advantage of the situation at best.  Sure desensitizing people to other people’s bodies in the same way that violent video games desensitize youth to violence can be a benefit, but when people abuse the privilege of a public setting, then steps must be taken. 

As such where can we take safer steps to make a change that all of society will be ready to take? So maybe elementary to middle school bathrooms, and sports teams should be the first on the list for bathroom/changing room changes and even desegregating sports teams based on girls and boys teams to make them all-inclusive and ensure that children of all sexual orientations get to play (and I mean all people who want to play, not just the team’s top players).  Children should be focused on first because they learn their behavior from adults and Middle Schools/middle grades are when sexual differences begin to be noticed more.  Stores can help by eliminating male and female sections/marketing and re-branding items based on simply style or want (kind of like what Target Stores did).  Desensitizing students by having a sex education course talk about everything, and I mean everything, that has to do with people of various genders having sex, paying for sex and of course reproduction and safe practices to prevent diseases/pregnancy may become a must if this continues (some European countries start their children in these courses in fourth grade).  Other areas of gender elimination or redefinition may continue to occur as well (but I think that steps should be taken in this so as not to mistakenly alter history as has been accidentally done in the past when revisions to terminology have been made in history books as this can cause problems in the future).

Final Thought:  Basically I am OK with the way society is heading with respect to gender despite my personally being religious and my being a straight male.  I do believe we may be going too fast with respect to bathrooms, public showers and changing rooms, but typically liberals want to rush things along while conservative minded people like myself favor slow progress where people accept things over time.  I personally think the sex education courses should do the aforementioned but also include health and wellness type classes so that all aspects of the body are learned including how exercise, food, drugs and diseases affect the body and how to basically protect, diagnose and cure yourself.  But hell, that is just me. Also, what is done is done.  The bathroom changes cannot be taken back and society will adjust with time to the point where we may have public baths like old school Japan (yea, the hot springs and such were mixed bathing).  So at this point it is a waiting game to see what is in store for us and our society.

Can Organizations Become independent like Countries?

So can they?  Can an organization like a business or a charity become independent like a country?  In the past this was not the case, but now given the resources and power people have it is.  Allow me to explain.

So in the past sovereignty and power were concentrated in physical property and thus, whoever controlled that physical wealth controlled all who lived on it.  However with time and technology this changed.  Property and wealth stopped being 100% physical and thus a king’s army or a countries military could no longer enforce their control via force.  The internet was the final death toll for countries consolidation of power.  Now disparate people can use the internet to generate wealth and power without need for permissions from a government.  The reason for this is that with the internet we merely have to pay for access and the rest comes free.  So a business need not need a store front, or a license to sell anymore.  Basically the internet created intangible property that is almost impossible to control or govern.  From their it was only a matter of time before things shifted and people began banding together via businesses, ideas, ideologies and religions into cohesive groups via this boarder less world created via IT.  But even then it was not complete until terrorists actually showed us the way, the Internet’s darker half.  They used the net to recruit, plan and act all in accordance to their own will and identity.  Now while we try to shut them down, people looked at how they organized and began to mimic it, but instead for the betterment of man.  As such, peaceful people can organize peaceful religions into online communities that span boarders.  The people who govern the internet itself are not governments anymore either, but instead various groups who meet and discuss how to maintain, enhance and preserve the internet and what it gives us.  Governments cannot readily control all these private groups because they are IT developers, businesses, entrepreneurs and more that span across multiple countries.  As such a single country cannot control all these groups to exert their influence.  They cannot go in and arrest them all if literally thousands of groups the world over based in over 50 plus different countries are all working together to overcome a single country that seeks to become a tyrant.  Not only that, there will always be a replacement.  As such, if a country is a Dragon hording treasure, the people who live, work and protect the internet are snakes who can never be slayed all at once and will always breed another to take their place.

Final Thought:  Essentially the internet created so many communities of people that they can amass equal or greater resources than that of a single country or even multiple countries as they can collect all the information and wealth they have in a single or multiple places making them practicably invincible.  These groups can function in any way they choose by mimicking a government itself or just dedicating themselves to a single task all the while coordinating themselves almost seamlessly.  They are a future where boarders do not exist and everyone can be a king of their own country.

Bernie Sanders: Betrayal or Honor?

Did Bernie Sanders betray his supporters?  Is he a hypocrite now for supporting Hillary Clinton, a proven dishonest politician?  Here are my thoughts.

While I did not support Bernie Sanders, I did find his honesty refreshing.  He told you exactly what he was and what he was about.  That is why so many people found it easy to support him.  But is he a hypocrite?  No, I thought he was at first for supporting Hillary, but he gave his word to support Hillary Clinton if she was to get the nomination.  He was true to his word.  But he knew he was forced out.  Sanders knew he was being pushed out by the corrupt forces in his own party, but he kept his word to maintain his integrity and his honor.  As such he fall on his sword.

Final Thought:  I feel bad for Bernie Sanders.  He did not deserve this, and I cannot imagine how much pain mentally he had to go through to support Clinton.  However he did it and what's done is done.  Hillary is the nominee and aspects of his promises will be done in Hillary's presidency assuming she manages to win with yet another scandal hanging over her head.  I may not agree with what Bernie Sanders thinks politically, but at the end of the day you have no choice but to respect him. (Note: He did get a private jet from the DNC though).

Political Debate Scheduling issues

There is a problem with the upcoming presidential debates.  They are all scheduled on the same day as major sporting events.  So why is this a problem?

The problem is that it reduces viewership of the debates and thus can swing the election from one side to the other.  Discounting the fact that people are going to purposefully miss such an important debate, let alone three due to a sporting event, this could very well mean that either Trump or Hillary would win depending on whose numbers are higher at the time.  Trump even went as far as claiming that it was electioneering based on how the Democratic Presidential debates were held on Saturdays when viewership would be lowest so as to sabotage Bernie Sanders.  Needless to say this has both political campaigns arguing on if and when to change the dates.

Final Thought:  Well I think the debate dates should be changed and be as close as possible to Election Day as possible.  Basically keep it all fresh in the minds of everyone of what each candidate represents.  I think the debate days will be changed and both candidates’ campaigns will have a hell of a time doing so.  And I think these debates will be very fun to watch.

The Khan family VS. Trump

Khizr and Ghazala Khan are the proud parents of a United States soldier who sadly was killed over in Iraq.  They were invited to speak at the DNC as one of many guest speakers.  There speech however included criticism of Trump saying that he probably has not read the United States Constitution, and that under a President Trump their son would not have been allowed to serve citing Trumps idea for a ban on the visitation rights of Muslims and travel into the United States.  Trump fired back targeting Mrs. Khan saying how she kept quiet during the speech potentially due to her being a Muslim Woman and not being allowed to speak.  This was a mistake as Mrs. Khan was quoted soon after that she did not speak because she was filled with emotion as a picture of her son was being displayed and upon seeing her sons’ picture she could not speak without letting all her grief flow out.  Trump screwed up as he basically attacked a Gold Star Mom (the mother of a member of our military) which has many veterans and other groups condemning his comments as stupid and pathetic.  Mr. Trump has so far not taken back any of his statements and has buckled down.

Final Thought:  As we all know, Donald Trump is abrasive, difficult to deal with, and of course 100% politically incorrect.  Should he have reacted?  Yes, but in a way that respected the family of our armed forces.  He has been quoted however saying that he respects Captain Khan who was killed and his service to the country.  If Trump really wanted to answer in a good way, he should have thanked the family for raising a good son and an honorable soldier, and then left it alone.  This never should have gotten this far and potentially sets a precedent that everyone is fair game to be attacked or counter attacked in this election cycle.

DNC and Russian Hackers

As mentioned in yesterday's article, Russian Hackers got into emails passed between the Democratic Party leadership and the Hillary Clinton campaign.  In these emails it revealed a scheme to remove Bernie Sanders from the race.  Obviously this pissed off a lot of voters in the Democratic Party and has a lot of voters either switching sides, to other candidates like Trump or just not voting at all.  But this is not the biggest issue that comes from this.

These Russian hackers potentially work for the Russian Government.  As such Russia is supporting Donald Trump in the election.  This is all left to theory, but it is my guess that they may find Donald Trump to be a deal maker and thus more likely to end the current proxy war between the United States and Russia going on in Syria with respect to ISIS/ISIL.  But why does Russia want this to end?  Simple, ISIS/ISIL are Sunni Muslim while Russia's allies are Shiite Muslim (Syria and Iran) and Russia can finally build their oil pipeline through the upper part of the Middle East and then reap the economic benefits.  Economic benefits they need as their economy is still not exactly stable.  Additionally Trump does not mind this outside manipulation and influence as it benefits him directly with him even jokingly calling for Russia to release more emails that would make Hillary look bad (something that Trump has taken flack for saying).  And WikiLeaks is going to apparently release more emails as well which may further hurt the Clinton campaign.  

Final Thought:  Do you find it as disturbing as I do that a foreign country is manipulating our elections?  Well if you do not, then you should think again as this means our government will stop being our own.  We could potentially get a puppet President in office and we would stupidly vote them in (Cough think Syria's President Cough Cough).  This is a dangerous situation and we must tread carefully with our want to know what else Hillary Clinton has lied about and the potential of a President Trump.

DNC Reaction

OK we all had a weekend to digest the Democratic national convention and while the presentation was good via excellent speakers, Hillary was overshadowed according to the pundits (Hers was one of the few speeches I missed).  But here is my analysis with some pundits analysis mixed in to make up for what I was missing.

So every speaker at the convention that I saw was great and that includes Michelle Obama and of course President Obama and former President Bill Clinton.  The crowd got swept up in the speeches and it humanized Hillary Clinton.  This was a necessary component as she is often seen as simply a cut throat politician.  Bernie Sanders though was booed by the crowed as he threw his support behind Hillary.  I think this is in part due to the honesty that Bernie represents in politics even if you do not agree with his politics, while Hillary is viewed as a liar and a cheat.  Even worse Russian Hackers released emails that showed that Hillary and the rest of the DNC conspired to remove Bernie from the race.  This is a black mark on Hillary and her campaign let alone the DNC.  This will make the DNC look like it is subverting the Democratic process even though political parties are technically not officially part of the election.  Selections of candidates have always been decided by the party heads and it is only recent that political parties allow any sort of Democratic control by its members.  

Final Thought:  Overall it was all about clinching Hillary as the nominee as the first woman candidate for President in a major political party.  It was all about making her look less like a scheming politician and more of a human being with family values and a family (dysfunctional though they may be).  However hard liners in her party criticize her choice for Vice President saying he is too far to the middle, but this is a calculated move to appeal to the right in the general election especially voters who are disenfranchised by Donald Trump.  However, despite the success of the convention, the DNC and Hillary's campaign is bleeding money, while Trump is spending modest sums.  This may come down to who can out last who in with respect to funding so as to avoid fizzling out.