Issue 389 ASAP-P vs. As long as it takes Prayer July 29, 2014

"As soon as possible prayer" versus "As long as it takes prayer."  This is the two forms of prayer we as human beings who have religion do in times of trouble, when we are week, and when we wish to help others.  But which is the correct way?  Let's discuss.

As soon as possible prayer: As soon as possible prayer (ASAP-P) is the prayer we say when we want something done immediately.  It is all about seeing it done right away because we demand that God exercises his power on our behalf.  But, it is selfish for this to occur.  Or at least I think it is selfish.  God works when the time is right, not when we wish him too.  So no, God will not get you a girlfriend, or a new car or any of the like.  Then in times of hardship we ask God to save us or others, but God only helps those who help themselves.  So if you just want God to solve all your problems, then it probably will not happen.  This is at least how I see it.

As long as it takes prayer:  For the "as long as it takes prayer", it seems to me that this is the correct way to pray.  It essentially is asking God for guidance to achieve the goals you wish.  God does want us to be happy, but his job is not providing the happiness to us.  Instead he whispers in our ear and our heart to make the right choices to make ourselves happy through our own effort and strength.  Sure God is helping in this scenario, but he is not doing the task for you.  Then there are those emergency situations like a loved one’s life is in danger.  This is where things get hairy.  Yes God probably can simply mend all the wounds, broken bones, and the trauma, but why doesn't he?  My guess is that it becomes a test.  A test on one’s faith, hope and love.  That the people injured need time to heal for a reason, and thus cannot be healed right away, while at the same time you the person praying is healing in a different way.  This is my guess as to why this form of prayer is the right way.

Conclusion:  Truth is, I do not know which form of prayer is right or wrong.  I just have a feeling that between these two, the "As long as it takes prayer" makes the most sense and fits with what I have learned in my own faith.  So what do you think?  Do you do the ASAP-P type?  Do you think you are being selfish if you do?  Or are there situations that justify selfishness (if it is selfish in the first place)?  I cannot answer these questions for you.  I personally think I would be selfish if I did the ASAP-P type and thus violate all I believe with respect to my faith.  So I will learn to be patient and continue to be patient for the goals I myself have in mind.  I believe God is within us all, whispering to us to go down the right path.  Being patient and earning everything is just some of those whispers.  It just takes some effort for us to listen.  

Issue 388 Health and Nano-machines July 28, 2014

Here I will go over the potential problems with injecting microscopic machines into the human body.  Here we go.

Dependency: In the future our bodies may become dependent on these machines to actively fight diseases.  As such, our immune systems may actually become weaker and make us more susceptible to disease. 

Kidneys:  What is to say that as our kidneys remove the nano-machines from our bodies that they do not scrape and scratch them from the inside of our bodies.  This could result in irreparable damage to the kidneys and force us on dialysis.  

Further damage:  What is also to say that these machines will cause other damage to the rest of the body as well?  These machines can accidentally damage the heart, liver, lungs and other organs.  Imagine the bacteria they are meant to fight is in our lungs.  Now imagine a horde of small robots converging on our lungs to kill the bacteria.  We still do not know how that will affect our lungs as a whole.  The same goes for our heart.  The plaque that builds up in our bodies has pockets of bacteria in them.  If the nano-machines burrow through the plaque, that plaque will flake off and cause a blood clot.  So you can see that there are many problems here.

Differentiating:  As mentioned in the previous article, the machines cannot distinguish between good bacteria or bad.  This also means they cannot tell a bacteria from a regular human cell yet.  So this could be as bad as getting chemo therapy or worse.  As such, we can end up injecting the nano-machines just for them to rip apart our own bodies if we are not careful.  

White blood cells:  Now there is also the issue of white blood cells attacking these machines.  Will these machines defend themselves and thus weaken our immune systems by killing the white blood cells too.  Also, will these machines distract the body’s immune system from the real problem, such as bacteria or a virus?  Again another question to be asked, and hopefully answered.

Conclusion:  These possibilities are not the end to the research that needs to be done.  We must ask these questions so that our miracle cure does not become a curse.  However, if we can solve these issues, we potentially can create a superior fighter against a whole host of diseases.  Good luck scientists, and God's speed.

Issue 387 Solution to super-bugs July 25, 2014

We talked already about bacteria immune to antibiotics, but there is a possible solution.  This solution is microscopic robots called nano-machines.

How they work:  Nano-machines are microscopic robots built in factories or born from various biological methods (as in the case of DNA robots).  These robots can be programmed to hunt down and kill the bacteria.  All it needs is the right programming.  Basically, you build it, give it a task, and then inject it so it carries out that task.

Benefits:  Super-bugs as far as we know cannot fight them.  Robots are not something bacteria can get immune too (we think).  So the robots can doggedly carry out their task to rid the body of all enemy bacteria.

To make it work:  The only issue is to program the machines to go after bacteria that causes the human body harm, not the beneficial bacteria.  Also, if one of the good bacteria overwhelms the body and becomes detrimental, what instructions are we to give to these robots.  So we will have to figure this out and categorize each bacteria into categories and have a way to monitor their populations in the body.

Conclusion:  Nano-machines are a step in the right direction, but in no way mean that we cannot be vigilant.  Truth is, we have never actually pitted a machine against bacteria (to my knowledge), so more research needs to be done.  Also, we still do not know the potential side effects of these microscopic machines will have on our bodies.  We have much to learn, but little time to do it.

Issue 386 The antibiotic problem July 24, 2014

Antibiotics are a tool to fight off bacterial infections.  However, through our own negligence, and insecurities have caused mutated bacteria to thrive and be almost entirely resistant to modern medicines such as antibiotics.  Let's discuss.

We caused the problem:  The problem is caused by overuse of antibiotics.  There are cases when doctors prescribe antibiotics to a patient despite the patient not having a bacterial infection in the first place.  Also, doctors will give antibiotics to patients that are disproportionately stronger than needed to fight the infection.  The result is that bacteria immune to that antibiotic surviving and without competition living on to become a problem for the human host.  But this is only a small portion of this problem.  

The biggest problem:  What is hurting us the most in the battle against bacterial diseases is not doctors, but farmers.  Farmers use about 80% of all antibiotics on the market on their livestock to keep them from getting sick.  However, this has the same issue as it does on people, leaving behind immune bacterial stains.  On top of this, those antibiotics end up in our food, which in turn we take in and compound the problem further.  

Solution:  Less antibiotics is the only real way to solve this problem.  Doctors have to prescribe only the weakest antibiotics that are equal to the job, leaving the more powerful ones for later if and only if needed.  They also cannot just prescribe drugs to patients when it has no bearing on their condition.  

We also have to get farmers to stop using all these antibiotics on their livestock, the food we eat.  It is becoming detrimental to the health of all of us if we create a bacteria that cannot be cured.  Simply by not giving these animals antibiotics unless they are sick is the only real method to stopping the super bug problem.

Conclusion:  Antibiotics already do harm to the body in the form of killing good bacteria and ruining the small intestines.  But to top it off we can be creating the next black plague.  So can we be responsible and fix this problem before it is too late.

Issue 385 Driver-less cars July 23, 2014

It has been announced by some experts that highways will be allowed to have driver-less vehicles within the next two to three years.  And you know what, I have one of my usual predictions.

Prediction:  I believe that this will spark a new industry.  While it will not happen right away, I think that highways will eventually be restricted to driver-less vehicles.  However, between that time and when we get driver-less cars an industry similar to the railroad will develop.  This industry will be comprised of rent-able driver-less cars that will take you to your destination.

How it works:  Basically, you will drive or walk to a driver-less car station.  From there you get into your driver-less car and type in your destination.  At this point the driver-less car takes you to the next closest driver-less car station.  At this point you can walk, bike or rent a regular car to finish your trip.  Basically, it is like a train on wheels that is restricted to highways.  

Evolution:  This industry will however be affected by changes in law and technology.  As such once the driver-less cars become legal to ride on the back streets, the industry will be able to deliver people door to door.  So you will be able to call a driver-less car to be at your home by a specified time and even give it the option to carpool which could give you a discount on you payment price.  While some people would still prefer to own their own driver-less cars (hence the auto industry not disappearing any time in the future) people will not need cars in general.  From there a new status quo will develop as taxi services are replaced entirely by these driver-less pickup vehicles and personally owned driver-less cars.

Conclusion:  Can you imagine a world where your car gasses up its own fuel tank when it knows its running low.  Or how cars can drive you from place to place via the highway in the same manner as a train would, which eventually would evolve to get you to your destination like a cab.  Of course the only annoyance will be paying by the meter for the amount of fuel to get to your destination.  We have an interesting future ahead.

Issue 384 Underground Diners July 22, 2014

Our final alternative is about underground diners and dining.  This elite group of chiefs escape the usual rules, regulations and taxes in their own way.  Here is how they work.

The underground diner:  The concept is simple.  The chief accomplishes their task in one of two ways.  They either go to the home of the individual who has hired them, or they have the clients come to the comfort of their own home.  In some cases, the chiefs will procure their own ingredients, and in others the clients will have to get the ingredients for the meal.  The amount of ingredients is of course based on the number of guests that will be attending what looks on the outside to be a basic dinner party.  From here, the chiefs cook their clients the meal.  Of course the chiefs are paid off the books so as to avoid the taxation by Federal, State and local officials.  In addition, the chief need not worry about typical health code violations due to all the cooking being done in the comfort of home.  Thus, he/she escapes the typical burdens of over regulation.  The government tries to crack down on this citing possible health issues, but in reality, they just want to tax the chief and his/her underground business.  

Conclusion:  This is yet another fun and creative way to bypass the system to embrace your chosen profession.  Yes, there are potential problems, but those same health problems exist in regular restaurants as well.  Also, you know the risks of cooking in your own kitchen, and as far as I know, these underground chiefs take precautions as well for their reputation and business is staked to their cooking.  So I say cook on underground chief, Cook on!!!

Issue 383 House Sharing (alternate to Hotels) July 21, 2014

Continuing with alternatives to over-regulated businesses from last week we have house sharing.  So how does that work?

House Sharing:  The way it works is similar to ride sharing.  The person makes a suggested donation which takes the place of a fee for service.  This is where the similarities end as far as I know. The methods of operation however vary and I see two models based on my knowledge of the subject.  

The first method is the house sitting model.  Basically, you rent your home to a person or persons for a specified period of time.  They live in your home for that period of time fending for themselves in the same manner they would if they were at home.  

The other method is the bed and breakfast model.  In this case, the homeowner is home, but is renting out extra rooms to clients to stay for a limited period of time.  The homeowner takes care of the traditional role of housekeeping and even providing breakfast.  Simple right?

As to the vetting process.  There are those who advertise on social media or other websites like Craigslist.  How they are vetting their potential customers for being respective clients is something that I do not know.  Thus I can only speculate that it works in a similar method to the ride sharing model where they use Facebook to identify their clients and gather information if they are a worthy client that will not be a home wrecker.  

Conclusion:  Again we have a method of bypassing traditional federal or even local regulations that allows businesses to operate untaxed and unhindered.  Sure, these people escape taxes, but I could care less.  The businesses who run their businesses in the normal way simply pass the taxes on to us, their clients anyway.  So why care as these people will be taxed in other ways in the first place.  We are bogged down by so many mandates by government, so I celebrate the entrepreneurs who have found a way to bypass the government’s red tape.