Issue 565 The Block Chain April 8, 2015

The Block Chain is a form of encryption used by Bitcoin.  It basically acts as a ledger for the electronic currency (five billion dollars or equivalent if hacked).  However, this form of encryption is impossible to shut down as you would have to shut the internet itself down to do it.  And I am going to attempt to explain why and its other potential uses.

My understanding: So this software is shared between all the people who use and operate with bitcoins.  As such, it uses a near endless number of computers to operate the system.  So to actually hack the Block Chain, which is already encrypted in the first place, you would need to hack every computer associated with Bitcoin.  The principle behind it is that this decentralized approach protects the Bitcoin system and thus makes it impossible to hack as you would need an almost equal amount of hackers to hack in.  So all that data is essentially safe.  

Potential uses:  The Block Chain works on the understanding that encryption equals freedom.  And the network of computers that use it can actually send information in an untraceable and untraceable way.  This is because the decentralized network bounces the information and shares it amongst all the users at once.  As such, a person in the most hostile dictatorship with the strictest form of censorship can upload data on to the Block Chain and be safe from reprisals.  All of this is due to its decentralized nature.  So China, North Korea, the United States and others can no longer censor their people and the world can have whistleblowers and activists speak without fear.

Conclusion:  The Block Chains potential is amazing.  It can protect not just Bitcoins financial data, but all data and make it impossible to steal.  So I look forward to what impact this technology will have on the future of the internet.

Issue 564 Real Authenticity 2 April 7, 2015

Now, we have talked about being authentic on the radio, blogs and similar so that your audience grows.  By de facto, money will be your byproduct from the people you are serving.  But some people think it is hard to work in this field.  They think that they cannot get into it due to perceived obstacles in their path.  Well this is wrong and I am going to explain why.

Why you can compete:  As of this moment, I am competing against every person in the world with this blog.  You my readers (even though I appeal to a small audience) are the select few who find my words interesting enough to read.  My problem is that I lack a convenient way of having a dialogue with you and potential new readers (which I am looking into rectifying).  I however, am not the only game in town and some of you may have your own blogs as well.  But for those who want to join in and speak without fear in an honest tone, I say here and now you can.  Online blogging, radio and even television are now one of the easiest modes of entertainment that anyone can do.  In the past, you needed to be licensed just to host your own radio program, or make deals with a television company to have your show broadcast, with some never giving you a shot.  However, we now have the internet with Podcasts, free radio and free television online via YouTube, and more.  You do not have to pay a single person to do anything.  You just need to invest time into having an internet connection and time spent writing or speaking and sometimes researching what your blog or show will be on that particular day.  You can blog about your favorite card game, about myths and legends or come up with any theme in between.  The sky's the limit so long as there is an audience for it.

Conclusion:  We live in a world where the internet can make every form of content free or will soon be so.  And you know what?  You can participate and possibly make money doing so.  So find the things you want to write or talk about, and then get started.

Issue 563 Fear of the watched April 6, 2015

We have discussed Panopticons before, but never the reaction our society may have to it.  So let us discuss this in today's issue.

What is a Panopticon:  Let us redefine what a panopticon is before we look into societies reactions.  It comes from the concept for the perfect prison where a guard can see and hear everything each and every prisoner does, but the prisoners never see that guard.  As such, the inmates never knew who was being watched and when.  Thus they had to behave as if they were being watched at all times. This was designed to negate the need to have a guard interact with any prisoner let alone have to restrain them as the inmate’s fear of being watched made them behave.  However, it was deemed cruel and unusual punishment due to the paranoia it could cause.  And now our society has developed into a pseudo-panopticon.

Our societal Panopticon:  As the number of cameras increase, our privacy decreases.  Also, our internet, TV, radio and other technology aid the cameras in knowing our every move.  And once people begin to realize that there is no privacy, they fear if they are being watched.  They end up with the same fear and anxiety that mad the panopticon prison "cruel and unusual".  In short, people will become more and more paranoid of what, and whom may be watching.  Things like petty theft, various lawsuits, and other crimes go away as people know they can no longer get away with a crime or that they cannot sue on false pretenses.  So the only freedom you will gain is by living with the fear of being watched.  But there may be an escape.   

Internet safety:  Ironically, technology may be the one place you are safe from being watched.  The sole place you can act out and speak freely.  The reason is because the internet allows for encryption of your data.  You can put up a barrier on the internet which prevents people from knowing who and what you are online.  As such, pseudo-names become our official names, and our emails become our official addresses in this society we have developed.  And to pay for the items we want, electronic currency that is also encrypted to such a degree that it becomes untraceable.  So we are safe in the technology that took our personal privacy away in the first place.

Conclusion:  America's and the worlds future children will grow up in a world where all is recorded and can be pieced together to find out anything and everything about us. And I am not talking about governments, but anyone and everyone who simply wants to watch the lives of others.  We will face a level of oppression from each other like we have never experienced, with the sole place we can escape being an encrypted online identity.  Welcome to a dystopian future where we are seen even when we do not want to be.

Issue 562 GMO Types April 3, 2015

Well, there are several types of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and I thought it would be nice if I outlined them for you my readers.  So let's get started.

Artificial Selection:  This is the most commonly used GMO type.  In fact, we have been using this type for thousands of years.  Basically, we choose a plant and grow several looking for a specific trait.  Then we continually grow that plant with the desired trait in order to strengthen it and make it more robust.  For example, the selective breeding of corn is how we got those big yellow corn stalks we eat today as opposed to the original that never grew bigger than the size of baby corn.  Artificial selection is also the end step for the remaining three types of genetic modifications as well.  So artificial selection is very important (note, this processes was not only used in food but in animals like cows, dogs and cats which allowed them to develop into the domestic animals we own today).

Crossbred:  In this case, pollen of different plants with a desired trait such as fungus resistance, or pest resistance is sprinkled onto the flowers of the primary plant you wish to have gain that trait.  For instance, watermelon pollen was sprinkled on tomato plants and artificially selected to get even larger tomatoes (they even had a green hue, and stripes like a watermelon along with a sweeter flavor).  This is more natural to a degree as it is merely putting pollen onto the other plants flowers to see what plants grow out of it.  They even created a tomato tree!  So while it seems odd, there is the possibility that at some point these particular plants may possibly have existed in the future.

DNA genetic modification:  More controversial than the first two, this one literally inserts one set of DNA into another set.  So you may place a gene from a pig into that of a carrots to see the results and possibly get a desired result. Weird, yes, but also interesting.

Mutagenesis:  This final one exposes plant DNA to chemicals or radiation in order to mutate it to get a desired result.  This one is more controversial as it is completely unnatural and the idea of altering DNA via radiation and chemicals makes us think of things like cancers.

Conclusion:  These are the types of genetic modification with the top one being the main one, and the rest being used more in modern day.  It is important to note that while GMO's are not required to be tested, all are tested voluntarily because the FDA can pull them from the market at any time.  Also, if the GMO is considered pest resistant, it is tested like a pesticide and goes through further testing as opposed to the others which are modified for color, size, and other attributes.  Also, it is important to remember that it is the traits of the GMO's that can potentially harm us, not the making of GMO's as we do not want to create super viruses or weeds, or cause cancers.  Overall, I think we may have to distinguish each GMO from each other like we do with fortified and unfortified foods.  This allows the market to decide which ones they feel safer consuming and thus more money will be poured into that variety of GMO rather than us condemning all of them as bad.  So what say you my readers, know that I have armed you with some basic knowledge?  Should we distinguish each type, or should we endeavor to explore further into the mystery of science and life with respect to our food.

Issue 561 Smell and Space!!! April 2, 2015

I seriously should have saved this one for April 1st, but whatever, I am doing it the day after.  I wanted to get away from the serious stuff of the week for a day and discuss an interesting segment on the Science channel show Worlds Strangest: Jobs.  And one of those jobs was a smell tester for NASA.  Allow me to explain what the documentary explained.

Why does NASA have a smell tester?:  Well the reason is simple, in an enclosed space, smells can actually cause a person harm. Some of the typical side effects are nausea, discomfort and possibly even blistering.  Here on earth, those smells dissipate due to air currents and thus can't harm us, but when smells can't extinguish, or dilute like in a space station, then there is a problem.  In fact, a soviet space mission was cancelled one month early do to a terrible smell on board.  So that costs money and shows how important smell really is.  

How they test smells:  They actually have professional smell testers.  These people literally smell each object to measure their toxicity and these men and women are routinely tested every few months to insure their noses are in peak condition (yea, I am being serious).  To test an object they bake it for three days and then a panel of smell testers smell the baked object and measure that smell on a scale of zero to four.  If the smell is rated two and a half or higher, then the object cannot go into space.  For example, an astronaut wanted to bring his CD collection into space, but could not because the chemical smell given off was deemed too toxic to bring up (it potentially could have caused blistering in the nose).  

Conclusion:  It was a very cool segment (at least for me) because who really thought that smells could be so harmful.  I sure as heck did not.  But smell on a space station or in space is extremely important as a neutral smell environment means that astronauts can literally sniff out problems that occur (such as the smell of burning wires and the like).  So when we begin to colonize space, this job will become all that much more important.  Thus my readers with really good senses of smell, you may want to start applying. 

Issue 560 Gay's VS. Religious Businesses April 1, 2015

Let us revisit this topic again.  Reason being that it is a serious issue with respect to how we can respect each other.  And you know what, an interview with Mark Cuban via Glenn Beck provided the best answer to doing this respectfully.  Allow me to tell you what that respectful way is.

A respectful declining:  First and foremost, any business can turn down a customer for any reason they see fit.  But, the business owner should explain to the customer why they are turning down their business if it is based on something like religious views.  So a business owner of a florist turns down a job by a gay couple getting married, he should explain that while he respects them as people, he cannot go against his faith and partake in such an event in any way, shape, or form.   But Mark Cuban said that if he were in their shoes (the businesses owners) he would also recommend a different flower shop that will cater to their wedding.  Essentially, give the business away to someone who is willing to do it, as opposed to forcing the business owner to go against their beliefs.  Very simple is it not.  Simply say why and recommend someone else.

Conclusion:  Now the gay couple has to respect the business owner as well for this to work.  If they don't, current laws allow them to sue for money because this is apparently deemed discrimination.  While yes it is a form of discrimination, it is not the type that causes a lynch mob, but the owner of a business exercising their own judgment based on faith, or other factors we may not know of.  Whatever the reasoning, the fact is that if the business owner is giving the business of the gay couple away to another, then they have a legitimate reason and then that should be that, with gay couples knowing not to buy from that florist and people who object to the owners reasoning not shopping there either.  From there it is up to the florist to overcome any repercussions from their objection.  That’s how it ought to work, but people are weird and lawsuit happy.  So let us just respect that some people don't want to do certain things, and move on.  

Issue 559 Internet kill switch March 31, 2015

The government has sought an internet kill switch since the internet has become so integral to commerce, communication and of course the exchanging of both good and bad ideas.  But what could potentially happen if they turned off the internet.  Here are some of the terrible things that could go wrong.

Medicine:  As someone who works in a pharmacy, I know for a fact that nearly 100% of all medical billing is internet based.  Also, when the internet has gone down in the stores that I have worked in, we were unable to fill any prescriptions via peoples insurance.  That is how dependent we are.  As such, we had to have people come back later when the internet was up, to either get re-billed via their insurance after they had paid the out of pocket cost, or pick up their prescription once it could finally be filled through the insurance.  Needless to say it was a hassle.  But if the internet was dead, how long would these people have to wait for potentially lifesaving medication to be covered?  Some of these drugs are thousands of dollars and people are already on a tight budget.  You get the idea.

Financial transactions:  Credit and debit card payments are all done through the internet as well.  So, you couldn't pay for your groceries (let alone medicine) via your bank cards.  Essentially, you could not access your money and would be left only with whatever paper and coin money you have in your pocket.  Thus, you may starve simply because you could not pay for food assuming the internet is down for an extended length of time.

Communications:  Text messaging, telephone calls, radio, television, and all other forms of media and communications all use the internet now.  As such, only analog technology (assuming you still have it) will be the only way to communicate (basic two way radio).  No communication means no getting in contact with grandma who has a heart condition.  It also means no calling for 911 in an emergency.  

Conclusion:  I provide these three broad topics as to what would be unusable if the internet kill switch were to not only exist, but to be used.  It is the ultimate terror weapon to a society built around computer and internet technology.  So stay aware everyone and if they announce their intention to make a kill switch, or use it, fight them with everything you got.