The Male Brain at Work now has its own Domain Name: MaleBrainatWork.com
CANCELLED - See update further below.
Previously the site was hosted on http://malebrainatwork.blogspot.com, but with the popularity of the website I have decided it deserves its own domain name. Hence the change.
Just how popular is the Male Brain at Work? Well, we recently surpassed 771,000 hits. I figured it was long past due the website had its own domain name.
Please help promote/advertise the Male Brain at Work by linking to the new domain name, posting the link on Twitter, Facebook and other sites! :)
UPDATE: I eventually dropped the Domain Name. It wasn't worth it. Maybe someday it will be worth it again, but right now there isn't enough advertising revenue to justify the domain name.
ENVIRONMENT - Ever had an argument with a stupid person?
You know, the kind of people who ignore the laws of physics?
For this example I am referring to people who ignore the laws of thermodynamics... and in particular greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases trap heat inside the earth's atmosphere. Its a proven fact.
Its a bit like ignoring other laws of physics... like gravity! Laws of motion, acceleration, relativity, quantum laws, electromagnetic laws, etc.
Thus when arguing with a stupid person who refuses to acknowledge the laws of thermodynamics and how greenhouse gases can be a frustrating task. The stupid person you are arguing with lacks the basic knowledge to make a coherent argument. Instead they use half logic, make up numbers, use information that is besides the point.
I recently had an argument with a deranged man named Willie McDonald from Houston, Texas. He kept fussing and claiming sun irradiation was the cause of global warming. He used made up numbers and links to conspiracy theory websites.
Sun irradiation (heat) has gone up 0.05% per decade since 1980 during quiet sunspot activity. So approximately 0.15%. The heat from the sun does fluctuate from time to time, but 0.15% is not enough to explain the temperature increases and global warming on Earth. Its too small a number. (Note, this increase is only a measurement during quiet sunspot activity... and thus is besides the point and further made irrelevant when you consider that the Earth's atmosphere both deflects and traps heat.)
Especially when you ignore how greenhouse gases work.
The Earth absorbs heat from the sun, yes, but the Earth also gives off heat back into space. The amount of heat given off into space depends on the percentage of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere.
The Earth's atmosphere also reflects heat. Thus the Earth's contained heat remains a relative constant, and the Earth's atmosphere is the single biggest contributor to global warming.
Greenhouse gases work like insulation. Once the heat gets inside the Earth's atmosphere it becomes more difficult for heat to escape. If you fill a box with greenhouse gases and provide a heat source, the box will heat up easily. If you fill it up with regular air, the box will still heat up, but it will give off heat more.
The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. How well these trap heat are even measurable. See the IPCC list of greenhouse gases for more details.
And so forth...
Try explaining all this to a stupid person (especially a conspiracy theorist) who refuses to admit that the Laws of Physics are called LAWS for a reason.
I blame the education system in North America. In this particular case, the man Willie McDonald from Texas has been failed by whatever passes for "science" in Texas high schools.
Worse, these uneducated morons cloud up poorly researched journalism and TV programs with their theories about the 'real cause of global warming', or worse, they deny that global warming and climate change are even happening.
It makes me wonder if and when the worst effects of climate change comes to pass what society will do with these morons. I think they will likely either learn to shut their mouths and follow sheepishly along, or somebody else will shut it for them...
Why? Because if the worst does come to pass we're talking about rising sea levels, flooded coastal cities, droughts, desertification of the wheat belt, shortages of food and clean water, wars over food and resources. By that time the patience of people will be worn thin. Naysayer politicians will be beaten bloody in the streets by angry hordes and the non-famous naysayers will suddenly lose their tongues.
I think there will come a time when the effects of climate change become so dire that people will have lost their patience with leaders, oil executives and the coal industry. There will be no more room for arguments about the effects of climate change and what is causing it. The effects will be violent and bloody.
Why will it be bloody? Because stupid people don't have the patience to learn from their mistakes. They answer with action.
The social effects of climate change in the USA will be like watching a Jerry Springer episode. Stupid people killing other stupid people.
The smart people, like Noah and his Ark, will have foreseen what is coming and all moved further inland and found arable land unaffected by climate change or rising sea levels.
TECHNOLOGY - When was the last time you used a portable toilet? If you're lucky, the answer is never.
It should be noted there has been a lot of advancement in portable toilets... True, the basic plastic "porta potties" still exist, but there has been significant improvement in both the cleanliness and the technology used by companies that do portable toilets rentals.
#1. Running Water, Hot and Cold.
#2. Electricity, a Fan, Air Conditioning & Lights.
#3. A toilet that actually flushes (as opposed to the kind where is loud plop and possibly a splash upwards).
#4. More roomy.
#5. A folding table for changing baby diapers.
#6. Trash receptacles.
If you're familiar with the old plastic El Cheapo portable toilets you will know such things are luxuries.
After all, lets say you're having an outdoor wedding with a giant wedding tent. You don't really want your guests (or the bride!) having to use an El Cheapo plastic portable toilet. The same idea goes with any other kind of big event where the number of available toilets becomes an issue.
Men (and I know this for a fact) are not so worried about toilets as women are. If necessary a man will piss in the bushes when he needs to 'drain the snake'. For women however this is hardly acceptable.
And anyone with a sense of decency would likely refrain from doing so as well, unless absolutely DESPERATE to release their bowels.
If you're over 50 or part of the Baby Boomer generation you might remember having to use a traditional "Out House"... you know, a tiny room made of wood outside of the main house, built above a large hole in the ground. Drafty in the winter to say the least.
In the 21st century indoor plumbing is something we now take for granted, but there was a time approx. 50 years ago when Out Houses were still pretty popular. (Both of my parents can attest to this, having both been raised on farms which had Out Houses during the 1950s and 1960s.)
These days we have a lot more options with indoor toilets too. Heated seats for example. Auto-Flushing. Low Flow Toilets (bad idea in my opinion). "Smart Toilets" that can measure your body-fat ratio or measures the amount of sugar in your urine. A lid that automatically lifts when it senses a person is near. Musical toilets with 6 different soundtracks, including the sound of rushing water, birds chirping or Japanese harp music.
Blame the Japanese. They won't be happy until they've invented a Robotic Toilet which can get up and walk.
Luxury toilets (marble, leather, other exotic materials) is big business. Especially in Asia where many people still use "squat toilets" (which having tried them, are just plain disgusting). The squat toilets are relics now as the booming Asian economy leaps forward...
How about a scented toilet which releases a soothing smell whenever it is sat upon? I'd buy that. I know other people who would buy it too.
So obviously there is a lot of room to grow in terms of the technology available.
Toronto recently unveiled its new public 'pay' toilets... self cleaning and contain a whole list of amenities. They cost a mere 25 cents to use and the city plans to eventually have 20 such high-tech public toilets spread around the city in places which need them.
For your 25 cents you get:
1. 20 minutes, which is counted down with 3 audible warnings and a blinking light. 2. Wheelchair accessible and climate control. 3. A shower (this varies depending on the model). 4. Hot and cold water. 5. A nice clean toilet.
When the person exits, the unit seals itself and begins a cleaning cycle. A security system calls the authorities if people fail to exit after their 20 minutes is up.
The units are regularly maintained and service people check them 3 times / day.
Seattle, which has similar public toilets ran into problems because the free-of-charge units were being used by prostitutes and drug addicts, causing them to pull the plug on the program.
That isn't expected to happen here in Toronto... although couples using it for impromptu booty calls is certainly a possibility.
Now here's a funny thing... What kind of person decides "Hey, I'm going to design luxury toilets for a living!"...?
Most people would prefer a nice clean deskjob, one with a computer right? In terms of website design and web development Toronto has hundreds (if not thousands) of people designing websites, doing SEO work, online advertising, building databases, etc.
But I can bet there's less than a dozen Torontonians in the business of designing toilets. Or any other kind of bathroom utility item, like sinks, showers or bathtubs. We can guess why so few people are attracted to the field of designing toilets. Its just not as fun or as exciting as designing cars, motorcycles or even something simpler like a website.
Because for all your hard work its a thing people will sit their posterior on and do a #1 or a #2. Or both. Maybe they've had a case of diarrhea and it will be something even worse.
I could talk about the issue of potty training children, but I think that is all we have time for today. I shall leave that for another day. Toodles!
ENTERTAINMENT - Please pardon my amusing choice of words for the title and the fact part of this post will sound like a movie and book review.
The movie is the 2008 film "Gran Torino" starring Clint Eastwood. I watched it earlier today and give it 5 stars out of 5 (and I'm a HARSH critic!).
The book is "Girls on the Edge: The four factors driving the new crisis for girls" by Dr. Leonard Sax, author, physician and psychologist. I haven't actually read the book, I am just going on a summary and some quotes provided by Toronto Star reporter Antonia Zerbisias in her article: Is Facebook behind today's girl crisis?
Now the reason why I use the words "stuck up little bitches" is for good reason. I am describing a particular kind of young woman, often a teenager, who is so naive about the world and stuck in their own little "cyberbubble" (Dr. Sax's words) that they are rude to other people and their end behaviour is that of a stuck up little bitch.
Lets start with the granddaughter in the film Gran Torino. In the clips below you will see how she is more worried about her cellphone than she is about hurting her grandfather's feelings. Then she takes it a step farther and starts coveting his car, the Gran Torino. You can practically see the grandfather's thoughts when he glares at her. His wife has just died and already the granddaughter is scheming what will happen when she loots the remains of his death.
Greedy relatives isn't really a modern concept. Its been around for as long as ownership laws and you could argue rude teenagers is pretty normal too.
Of course not all teenagers are rude, just like not all granddaughters are rude. I would hope the stereotypical "stuck up little bitch" is a rarity more than the norm.
They are certainly out there however and I am sure we all have memories of encountering a few. Arrogance is a factor, but its more than that. A person can be arrogant but still polite to people. This is a dreadful combination of arrogance, rudeness, a feeling of entitlement, a lack of empathy, greed and a lack of respect for everyone around them. They are spoiled rotten.
And I would argue there is a difference between young women who are spoiled rotten and young men who receive similar treatment from their parents. Females develop a sort of "Princess ego" as "Daddy's Little Girl" who can do no wrong, has been ridiculously sheltered and now expects the world to wait on them. (And gets upset when people don't go to extremes to please their fragile sense of entitlement.)
I believe people have to EARN respect by treating others with respect. If you're rude to someone the chances of other people being rude back greatly increases.
In our era of Girls Gone Wild however young women seem to have fallen prey to society's woes, rather than actually trying to do something different and better themselves, they are going along merrily with it.
A sad but unmeasurable number of young women these days are too focused on superficial qualities, beauty and their ability to attract a male. They spend more time taking photos and updating their Facebook photos than actually studying, doing homework, getting a part-time job and trying to make something of themselves. They're so self-indulged they ignore the chance to accomplish something.
According to Dr. Leonard Sax and his book (mentioned at the top) a proportion of 21st century teenagers are stuck in their own little "cyberbubble" where they ignore homework, text and chat 24/7, where t-shirts that say "SLUT"
That's skewing their self-image and their world view, believes.
“Most parents have no clue how kids are using Facebook,” says Dr. Sax. “The majority of boys are going on to look for photographs of girls they know and girls they don't know."
"Meanwhile, girls are intent on making the best possible photographs for their profile, presenting their brand, tweaking their photos to make themselves cuter than they are.”
Dr. Sax has written other books, including 2006's "Boys Adrift: The five factors driving the growing epidemic of unmotivated boys and underachieving young men".
So its not just young women who are at fault here. A lot of young men are so distracted sexually that they're ignoring their potential.
According to Dr. Sax: “The gender war is the ongoing and generally unproductive debate between people who tend to be politically conservative who think there's a boy crisis and people on the left who think there's a girl crisis. In fact, both boys and girls are disadvantaged, in different ways.”
Dr. Sax's advice in the book is the following: No private computer in their bedroom, no cellphones at the dinner table, no cellphones during family events (funeral, birthday parties, etc.) and encourage real-life networking with friends.
“It's not possible, it's not practical to say to parents don't let your kids have computers or cellphones. That's not going to happen. So the question is, how do you be a parent? I find that parents are unsure, uncertain and insecure about their authority.”
In other words stop spoiling your kids with techie crap. In fact stop spoiling them altogether.
When a child is spoiled they begin to feel they are entitled to things. They stop trying to earn things and the end result is a lack of motivation. They want other people to do their work for them.
But will parents just stop pandering to their kids? Doubtful. This is something that parents have to do early on, before the age of 4. Suddenly ceasing to spoil your kids will result in an emotional backlash.
So good luck with that.
The mass media isn't helping either. Everyday our kids, especially girls, are bombarded with advertisements which cause them to worry about their body image, their social status with friends and their sex life (often before they're emotionally ready for sex).
For the spoiled teen girl the temptation of sex comes with the perks of increased social status amongst other girls and the ability to gain the attention of boys. (Because teenage boys like sluts.) These naive young women aren't having sex because they're burning up with lust or feelings of love, they're doing it because they've recognized a desire to be accepted socially (although who can say when they have so many confusing hormones in their system).
Not all these hormone crazed teens are jumping off the deep end however. According to Dr. Sax many young women have learned to tune out the media assaults, to read between the lines and have become jaded against corporations trying to sell to teenagers. Dr. Sax's term for this is “corporatized.”
He also says boys have reacted slightly differently to the corporate media.
“More and more boys are developing an epicurean ability to enjoy themselves – to enjoy video games, pornography, food and sleep – but they often don't have the drive and motivation to succeed in the real world outside their bedroom,” writes Sax. “More and more of their sisters have that drive and motivation in abundance – but they don't know how to relax, how to have fun and enjoy life. For many of these girls, each accomplishment is only a stepping stone to the next goal.”
That is until reality gets in the way and Miss Smartest or Miss Prettiest at the High School finds herself Miss Nobody at university, says Dr. Sax.
“These girls are having a great time as long as everything goes their way,” he says. “But when they don't get what they want, because things don't turn out the way they expect, because they are not as smart as they think they are. They need to have an inner spirit so that they can get through that dark night of the soul. More and more girls don't have that – and they don't see the problem.”
The girls who are so spoiled they can't handle the stress of the real world become depressed – and may struggle with depression for the rest of their lives according to Dr. Sax.
Dr. Sax is also worried because girls “are getting older younger.” They are dressing slutty at a younger age, they are having sex too soon and they're growing up too fast during a time period in their lives where they are very impressionable.
There are no facts and statistics to back much of these observations, Dr. Sax admits, because nobody was keeping statistics 50 years ago on these things. Its very much a new field of study.
Dr. Sax blames various other modern societal woes that are hurting young women, but he also admits its still better than the "good old days".
“There are no good old days for girls,” he acknowledges. “It is a sad fact of western civilization that every era has been sexist. They have valued the achievements of boys and men above the achievements of girls and women.”
So there is hope for the future. These "stuck up little bitches" are nothing new to society, only the technology is new. In the 1980s or earlier they would have been tying up the phone line gossiping or talking to boys, now they've moved the gossip to cellphone texting and Facebook. Parents would be well advised to stop coddling and spoiling their children and focus more on getting their kids to become high achievers.
Because if they earn it then they will deserve it.
TECHNOLOGY - I haven't bought a new computer in fives years. I haven't needed to buy one because in 2005 I bought a really sweet computer in South Korea with 2.4 Ghz, 80 GB hard drive, 512 RAM, etc, etc... and Windows XP.
OPERATING SYSTEMS
There are three main operating systems out there:
Windows : Produced by Microsoft, comes in various versions including XP, Vista, Windows7. The program is bloated and huge, new versions often have tonnes of glitches that haven't been removed yet and its waaaaay overpriced to buy a copy.
Apple OS : All Apple (Macintoshes or "Macs") come with the Apple Operating System. The most recent version is OS X. Macs have their own brand of glitches, even though fans of Apple will swear up and down that they don't get glitches I know from 9 years of experience using Macs in highschool and university that they DO get glitches, lag and have just as many problems as Windows.
Linux : I've never tried Linux but would like to try it sometime. The problem with Linux is what programs it can be used with... the advantage of Linux is that its very customizable (open source) and its designed to be more basic, faster and less glitchy. Simpler is better.
I opted for Windows7 because new computers are no longer compatible with Windows XP (waaaaaah!)... Vista is too bloated, Apple OS is overpriced and I want to learn more about Linux before I think about installing it...
What I wish there was is a "Windows Lite" platform which has all the basic functions a person could possibly want, none of the glitches large bloated programming has, is super fast and only installs what you need.
Google is still designing its own operating system known as Chrome OS and will be publicly available sometime later in 2010. The idea is to create an operating system which has the primary function of accessing the internet, playing music/videos, word processing, etc... no gaming. Its being specifically designed for netbooks.
Chrome OS is essentially a version of Linux, but unfortunately will only run on hardware that supports Chrome and is being specifically designed for netbooks. The idea is to create a laptop which anybody can use anywhere which requires less memory and hard drive space because its no where near as bloated as Windows or Apple OS.
Well the plan is for Google to come out with its own line up netbooks that run on Chrome OS for people who like to check their email, surf, play on Facebook, YouTube, etc. while on the go... all for super cheap... like $199.99 or so. (Google has yet to give precise prices.)
But that doesn't help me because I like to play games occassionally... and I need all my extra programs for my website design business.
HARDWARE
If you know anything about computers you know RAM stands for Random Access Memory, a hard drive is where you store things and computing speed is measured in Gigahertz (Ghz). Essentially you want a computer which is fast enough to support your needs. Companies vary in quality, but generally speaking you want something with a warranty so you know you can return if something isn't working the way it should.
If you're smart and capable you could build your own computer by buying the necessary parts (which is what I plan to do with my old computer tower)... but you'd better know exactly what you are doing because not all computer parts are compatible with each other.
Thats it. Make a budget, try to stick to it, consider all your needs, shop around and compare prices and don't forget to find a way to save all your old files so they can be backed up and saved on your new computer.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEN & WOMEN
Men are stereotyped to be quite cheap, but they also want speed and power... but ultimately I think it depends both on the person and their individual needs. Some men are just plain braggarts who spend thousands of $$$ per year on the latest and best hardware, software, games and gadgets. Others are much more frugal and only buy what they need. Some women might be really into violent video games (this statistic is going up faster than you might think) and want a computer with a fabulous graphics card, memory and everything they need for their favourite game. Its all about balancing practicality, budget and your expectations.
TECHNOLOGY - There's nothing men love more (with the exception of their love of women) than a great piece of engineering.
Between fast cars, airplanes, ships, rockets, architecture, computers, bicycles, motorcycles or anything else we can build with our hands there is a lot to admire. I think it comes down to a male drive to build and create. We can't make babies like women can, so we satisfy our creative urges with something else.
And our desire to build and create isn't limited to just what we can build ourselves, we also recognize and respect the things other people build and say "Hey, thats a really big engine you got there! How many horsepower does it have?"
Typical men, we love things that are bigger, stronger, more powerful.
This fascination also extends to gadgets for some men, whom have an obsession with their BlackBerries, their iPhones and whatever other gizmos they can afford and brag about.
Its a bit like having a supermodel trophy wife. Men love to brag in general.
But how do we fuel all of this technology? Electricity usually. With the exception of automotives that run on gasoline, diesel/bio-diesel or hydrogen power, everything else with so much as an electric switch needs an ample supply of electrical power... but how we produce that electricity is limited...
COAL POWER - About 40% of the electricity produced in North America comes from burning coal. It is the cheapest source of energy, but accounts for 35% of the greenhouse gas emissions.
NUCLEAR POWER - The cleaner alternative to coal, but the price of building nuclear power plants is always way more than originally predicted and ends up costing significantly more than anticipated (so much so that nuclear power has NEVER even been profitable and has always resulted in local governments being burdened with the financial cost). Nuclear also has waste left over which has to be dumped somewhere, regularly in war-torn and piracy-infected Somalia, resulting in skyrocketing cancer rates in that country.
SOLAR POWER - Suffers from a reputation of low reliability, but is technically cheaper than nuclear power. See Solar Power becoming Profitable.
HYDROGEN POWER - If there were more rivers that we could build dams on we would, but the ecological effects on the fish limits the number of dams that can be built. Dam construction has reached a plateau.
WIND POWER - More reliable and more efficient than solar power, wind power is old technology that has been upgraded with new lightweight materials and more efficient designs. So much so that wind turbines have become the darling of the energy industry...
In January 2010 Samsung announced a $7 billion deal to build wind turbines in Ontario. See: 16,000 new Samsung jobs in Ontario for more details.
Now the Danish company Vestas, the world's largest maker of wind turbines, is also thinking of setting up shop in Ontario. Officials from Vestas are currently in Ontario looking for land in Hamilton, Niagara, Kingston and Belleville to purchase, both for manufacturing and also to house the wind turbines they plan to build. Toronto-based Trillium Power Co. is currently bidding to become the exclusive supplier from the 740 wind turbines Vestas currently plans to build, and hopefully gives them the inside track to hundreds of more turbines in the future.
"Without a doubt the future of electricity in Ontario will be wind power," says one industry insider.
The Ontario government is also pushing hard to attract more green jobs to the province, and has become a mecca for wind power companies in North America. One third of Canadians live in the province, one sixth in the Toronto region alone. That is a lot of consumers who need electricity and Ontarians have made it clear they want to get rid of the old coal plants, but without building any nuclear plants which always go billions of dollars over budget.
But here's the thing... despite what naysayers say about wind power, I actually admire wind turbines for their technological achievement. I think its a brilliant piece of engineering. True, it may not have the zing and radioactive kewlness that nuclear power has...
If I was a finance or business consultant in Toronto I'd be really tempted to tell my customers to invest in Vestas, Samsung and any other wind turbine company. I think there's unlimited money to be made in the wind power industry.
Are men cheaper than women? Or are we just more practical sometimes?
I think it varies from person to person. True, men do tend hunt more often whereas women tend to be gatherers (insofar as shopping is concerned), which thus begs the question... do men hunt for bargains?
I'll give you an example.
Yesterday I went downtown to the Eaton's Centre, shopped around and eventually found a backpack i liked for $49.95 + tax. In theory I could have kept looking and maybe found a cheaper one for say $30, but I didn't bother. The backpack I found was pretty good quality and I figured it would last a long time (considering I take pretty good care of such things, this is very true of all my previous backpacks, satchels and whatnot).
HOWEVER, I utterly refused to spend a penny more than $60 on a backpack. There were quite a few backpacks are saw in the $80 to $100 range and it was a struggle to find one large enough that I liked in the $30 - $50 price range.
Thus in essence I was hunting for something very specific. ("Oh no, I can't shoot that deer. Its too big. Lets shoot a smaller one!")
I've noticed in the past there is also the time element. I don't want to waste too much time looking for one thing, especially if it will only save me $10 or so. Spending 2-4 hours looking for something and buying roughly the same thing for slightly less isn't my style. If I find what I like and its in the right price range I will probably take it.
Does this make me cheap? No, I think it makes me discerning and practical.
Lets pretend I was looking for car insurance quotes... Now if I was driving a cheap old Ford I probably wouldn't look very hard and I might take the first car insurance company I find without really shopping around because: A. Its a cheap car and the insurance isn't going to be a lot. B. Its not really worth the time and effort shopping around for what is likely roughly the same quote anyway. C. When it comes to car insurance YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. This means some companies have better reputations and are less likely to rip you off when it comes time to actually use it.
Lets pretend I have the option between two pairs of shoes:
1. $120 Nikes: They will last a really long time, they're super comfortable, easy to clean, look good and we're probably made using child labour in India or China for all I know.
2. $20 Crappy Shoes: I have no idea how long they will last, and they were also made in India or China (and again probably using child labour).
Obviously I want to choose the Nikes, because in theory the cheap shoes are more likely to be made using child labour, but also because its a significantly better product. Furthermore if something happens to the shoes in the first week or so and I complain to Nike about it they will REPLACE THE SHOES. When you buy a brand name product, even though it doesn't come with a warranty, the company is committed to quality and will replace it.
Chances are likely the answer will be B. Because in this scenario $5,000 just seems unreasonably expensive and I would much rather ADD muscle weight and tone up the natural way instead. (See also Protein Supplements & Creatine at Work.)
Sometimes cheapness is directly connected to LAZINESS (either in conjunction or in opposition, because both are possible). For our next example lets say I am entering Lenzr's photo contest (they hold regular photo contests online). Do I:
A. Pick out a photo already on my computer, fill out the online form and send it in?
B. Go outside, take a couple hundred new photographs, waste a whole day (or several days) taking lots of photographs and send in the best ones? With no guarantee I will win.
You can pretty much bet it will be option A. Not because I am lazy, but because there's no guarantee I'd win anything anyway and its too freaking cold outside to be taking photographs anyway. I wanna stay inside where its warm!
Next lets pretend I want to do something expensive... like make a new application for my iPhone (I don't actually own an iPhone, this is just an example)... I get this really kewl idea for an app, but nobody else has thought of it yet so there's nothing remotely similar to it on the market (or maybe there is, but its too freaking expensive)... do I:
1. Hire some techie guy who may or may not know what he is doing?
In this situation I think its better to hire the professional. After all would you really want to hire an amateur to work on your Lamborghini, your house's plumbing or (egad!) open heart surgery on your mother? No, you're going to hire someone with training, experience and they're guaranteed to know what they're doing.
Its not going to be cheap, but the situation demands a person be practical.
Of course then there are some idiot men out there who think they can fix a car, do their own plumbing and you can guess what happens. They make a mess of it and end up having to spend even more on a professional to fix it. Thank god they draw the line at open heart surgery.
In conclusion are men cheap? No. But some of them are really stupid and arrogant.
The following discussion applies equally to men and women:
When I was in high school I had a membership in a website in which, if you forgot your password, you could have your password resent to your email address.
Additionally, if you couldn't remember your login you could have that resent too.
I was discussing this marvel (such a new concept when the internet was young) with a friend in the library who couldn't remember his password when a passing moron (who apparently didn't have anything better to do and decided to listen in on our conversation). The moron had this to say:
"But that doesn't mean someone could break into your account if they just resent your login and your password?"
"No, it doesn't work that way."
"Yes it does. You just said you can get the login and password by resending them."
"But then how do you get into the person's email to retrieve them both?"
"Oh."
Hours later I got two emails, one containing my login and a second containing my password. The moron had apparently gone home, remembered my email address from listening to the discussion. He was apparently trying to get into my account but was too dumb as bricks to remember he also needed access to my email.
Days later I smacked him over the back of the head and told him off.
"Hey, don't do that. I'll tell the principal!"
"You mean the vice-principal. The principal doesn't deal with troublemakers. I am sure the VP would be interested to hear you've been trying to break into other people's personal stuff and that you're too dumb to figure out its not possible. At least not possible using the method you did."
"A hacker could do it!"
"Are you a hacker? No. Stop hanging around me loser."
Not the exact words of the conversation, but the general jist of it. Him and his friends tended to follow myself and my friends around. We were the seniors, they the juniors and apparently they had nothing better to do than emulate us older students.
I remembered he bugged me to play cards with him once, in an earlier incident, and he kept cheating because he didn't know the rules. Finally I decided to leave and go to class and swore I would never play cards (or anything else) with him ever again. So if you're wondering why I was rude to the moron its because he kept following us around.
Thinking back about that idiot I have to wonder if that he ever got into college or university. If he did it would be proof that entrance standards are shockingly low and that any moron can get in.
Judging from my two degrees and 6 years in university, yes, quite a few morons do get in.
I remember I was dating a girl in 3rd year of university and her roommate was a fashionista. She went to a fashion show and came back yapping on about how the models would strike a pose at the end of the catwalk and how "it was so avant-garde!"
What she actually meant to say was that it was a cliché, but she didn't know the difference between avant-garde and cliché.
cliché = its been done before so many times its considered lame. avant-garde = its never been done before.
And neither I nor my girlfriend at the time bothered to explain the difference to her. We had both dealt with our share of morons before and trying to explain things to them was about as effective as banging your head against a wall.
You'd think someone would come up with some kind of test similar to SATs or an IQ test that would allow universities to screen out the rejects more thoroughly. Oh well, I guess some people just get in on money alone and some kind of semblance of good grades.
I think some teachers take pity on students and artificially raise their grades. It creates a series of lowered standards and eventually those students end up in universities where they are much more likely to drop out when they run into professors who DO NOT take pity on them.
Like the morons who hire other people to write their essays for them while they go out and party, smoke pot and snort cocaine. Its sad because these are the type of people who manage to weasel their way into powerful high paying jobs somehow. ie. George W. Bush or the executives that worked at Enron.
What is also sad is that Canada and the United States need to be training more scientists (engineers, physicists, chemists, biologists, doctors, the works!) in order to keep up with other countries internationally. Technology wise we are slipping in our ability to stay competitive.
That problem is two-fold:
#1. We seem to be letting too many morons study whatever they feel like.
#2. We have too many programs/fields that are interesting to the more nerdy people and cause them to enter a different field of expertise which is ultimately useless (ie. studying Klingon in university). Seriously, what is someone going to accomplish in life with a degree in Klingon? Impress Worf? Not bloody likely.
Would it be so hard to increase university standards so we make sure we're not wasting teaching time on people who frequently drop out anyway? Or cut funding to some of the programs which are draining our more technologically inclined?
And why does it cost extra to study engineering? That is a highly valuable skill and we always need more engineers. We should be lowering tuition costs to engineering programs to make it more affordable for the people who are faced with a dilemna: Klingon (or some equally useless degree) or Engineering? Well... Klingon is cheaper so I guess that will have to do...
Maybe there's something in the water that makes so many people in North America brain dead? Are we not testing the water for lead poisoning any more? Or is there just way too many people smoking pot and snorting coke (and then having kids) that our society is just going downhill quickly due to a combination of drugs and lack of education?
We need more discipline and vigilance when it comes to educating the leaders of tomorrow.
