I am not normally a fan of reality tv shows, It brings out the worst in people, they scheme,lie, betray, and generally are the worst types of people that you wouldn't want to be associated with in your own personal life.
There are a few exceptions to the reality genre that I do enjoy, one tv series is called Forged in Fire, where four blacksmiths come to test their skills in steel weapon making, the contestants actually help each other, and while they are still very competitive, there is no back stabbing, or foul play involved. If a contestant fails in their task they respectfully leave the show claiming that they didn't expect it to be so challenging, but they were happy they got the opportunity. This is how grown adults should act and behave.
Another show, that was decent but started to go askew was a Netflix show called Instant Hotel, where the contestants rented out their homes for others to enjoy. It started out courteous, but turned dark when players started to scheme. One group of players really got my hackles up, as they didn't fit in with the show at all, and the property was not actually theirs, it was their parents and they were trying to rent it out. These people were from the rich and spoiled side of the upper class section of society, they didn't have to work, were lazy, selfish, and did not know the value of money or how to make it.
Which brings me to my idea of a reality show.
Silver Spoon, where the contestants are rich spoiled brats, that only care about themselves, they are put into a poverty type situation in which they have live for a month, they get 20 dollars a day, a fully furnished apartment with all the furniture bought from second hand stores, a tv with no cable channels, but they can choose to buy it if they can afford it, a job at a grocery store, a corded phone, no cell phones, they are only allowed to call certain numbers and the phone is used if they can't handle the pressure, to call and quit. They have to experience what it's like being broke for a month and have to complete tasks, like cooking their own food, cleaning their house, managing their money, and taking the bus to get groceries and to go to work. They would be put up in a poverty stricken area with other tenants who currently live there.
The prize would be a small part in a major movie, or an article about them in a prestigious magazine, something that would cater to their ego.
Silver Spoon would be a show I would watch, and I would hope that the contestants might even learn something that would make them better people.
Scott Goerz
Thursday, February 7, 2019
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
Clean Energy, Scary Tech
When you look out at the sky during the day, you see that bright glowing orb that gives us life, we call it the sun. It is constantly pouring energy out, giving life to our planet. It never goes out and it never needs to be restarted. If we could harness that power at it's core we would never need to worry about energy again.
We are starting to try to use the power of the sun via solar panels, but there is a technology on the horizon that will enable us to move past the simple method of catching the suns rays and instead move to using the entire suns power.
Enter nuclear fusion power, It's the same process that powers the sun, and it's clean and there are no emissions. Scientist have been painstaking trying to recreate a miniature sun in their labs for decades and now they are finally close to achieving their goal. By using a magnetic field to contain the fusion reaction and using multiple high powered lasers to focus on a single spot to create enough energy to start the engines, scientists say that the first working prototype could be up and running by 2020 and the energy would be harness and commercially available by 2030.
I love this idea, but I also worry that creating a miniature sun on the surface of this planet could be catastrophic, What if containment fails? What are the safeguards in place in case of an emergency. Chernobyl would look like a summer vacation compared to the devastation a miniature sun would do to our planet if it went rogue. But I'm not a scientist, I understand the idea of fusion power, but I have absolutely no idea on how I would even start to make one work or how to install safeguards.
I have to put my faith in the genius men and women out there that know what they are doing and hope that they have more precautions in place than they need. Having safe, clean, cheap energy on hand that could power the entire world seems like its almost worth the risk.
Scott Goerz
We are starting to try to use the power of the sun via solar panels, but there is a technology on the horizon that will enable us to move past the simple method of catching the suns rays and instead move to using the entire suns power.
Enter nuclear fusion power, It's the same process that powers the sun, and it's clean and there are no emissions. Scientist have been painstaking trying to recreate a miniature sun in their labs for decades and now they are finally close to achieving their goal. By using a magnetic field to contain the fusion reaction and using multiple high powered lasers to focus on a single spot to create enough energy to start the engines, scientists say that the first working prototype could be up and running by 2020 and the energy would be harness and commercially available by 2030.
I love this idea, but I also worry that creating a miniature sun on the surface of this planet could be catastrophic, What if containment fails? What are the safeguards in place in case of an emergency. Chernobyl would look like a summer vacation compared to the devastation a miniature sun would do to our planet if it went rogue. But I'm not a scientist, I understand the idea of fusion power, but I have absolutely no idea on how I would even start to make one work or how to install safeguards.
I have to put my faith in the genius men and women out there that know what they are doing and hope that they have more precautions in place than they need. Having safe, clean, cheap energy on hand that could power the entire world seems like its almost worth the risk.
Scott Goerz
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
The Fear Mongering World
Nobody likes change, when we get to that comfortable spot in our lives, and everything is moving along smoothly, why would anyone want to change it? Its at that point when the fear mongering rears it's ugly head, when you hear that something is coming that is going to ruin your comfort zone.
We fear what we don't know, and I think we should embrace the fear of the unknown, and then overcome it. We have to continue to grow, time waits for no one so if you fear what might be coming next it is going to come whether you want it to or not, you might as well try to embrace it.
A genetic scientist has figured out a way to change the genome of a baby before it is even born, that means the scientist can remove any inherited diseases, remove the possibility of having an autistic or handicapped child, the scientist could also enhance brain function, and muscle growth, and actually has performed the procedure on one human embryos. He is currently being charged with multiple fines and is having his research taken away. Here is a link:Gene Editing scientist
Now for the record, I don't think what he did was correct or moral, I think for science to really work and push forward, each new technology must proven first. We can't have an oops and half of the world turns into zombies, or all the plants die.
But to freak out and cry against new science and technologies, claim it to be against god, or it's immoral and simply wrong, is because these people fear that technology. This scientist is only one example, for every new device or technique that has been introduced in our world there has been people who have rallied against because they fear what is to come.
Most of these fear mongers don't have all the facts and go off of hearsay from others, they don't rationalize, research or try to look at the situation another way, because they are stuck in their comfort zone in life, and they don't want things to change.
Scott Goerz
We fear what we don't know, and I think we should embrace the fear of the unknown, and then overcome it. We have to continue to grow, time waits for no one so if you fear what might be coming next it is going to come whether you want it to or not, you might as well try to embrace it.
A genetic scientist has figured out a way to change the genome of a baby before it is even born, that means the scientist can remove any inherited diseases, remove the possibility of having an autistic or handicapped child, the scientist could also enhance brain function, and muscle growth, and actually has performed the procedure on one human embryos. He is currently being charged with multiple fines and is having his research taken away. Here is a link:Gene Editing scientist
Now for the record, I don't think what he did was correct or moral, I think for science to really work and push forward, each new technology must proven first. We can't have an oops and half of the world turns into zombies, or all the plants die.
But to freak out and cry against new science and technologies, claim it to be against god, or it's immoral and simply wrong, is because these people fear that technology. This scientist is only one example, for every new device or technique that has been introduced in our world there has been people who have rallied against because they fear what is to come.
Most of these fear mongers don't have all the facts and go off of hearsay from others, they don't rationalize, research or try to look at the situation another way, because they are stuck in their comfort zone in life, and they don't want things to change.
Scott Goerz
Monday, February 4, 2019
A Bigger Tractor
Alberta, what a wonderful province, gotta love the unreliable weather patterns that we have to deal with from day to day. One day it's plus five, and the next it's minus twenty five, then you have to factor in the wind, rain, sun, and snow issue. Last year I recall it barely snowing at all, with some mostly mild temperatures. This year, however, It has gone up and down over and over.
Right now we are in the midst of a cold spell, a balmy minus 30-35, with some epic snowfall mixed in. Along with this snow comes my eventual need to shovel and move snow from the driveway. I don't live in a cul-de-sac or near anyone, I love my acreage live but I hate pushing snow, and my driveway is a long circular tear drop shaped monster.
If you have owned an acreage and had to move snow before there is a rule of thumb that you always have to be aware of. When moving snow for the first time at the beginning of the season, you have to push it out further than you normally would need to. The reason for this is that the snow you have moved into piles will melt a bit and then harden afterwards, making them much more difficult to move in the future. When the snow flies for a second time you would push that snow against the first pile, losing some space in the process.
If you hadn't planned for a lot of snow and moved your first pile way out at the beginning of the year, you might be in some trouble if you have had a lot of snow. Which is what I am faced with currently. I use a quad with a snow blade to clear my driveway of snow, and I did follow the rule of thumb at the beginning of the year, but it seems that I did not account for the immense dump of snow we have been getting and my driveway is getting dangerously narrow.
I cannot push the snow any further out to make it wider because the snow underneath and behind it is frozen and won't budge. Get a tractor you say? Funny, I do have a tractor, with a bucket, but it is tiny, and not all that heavy. I decided one year that I was going to use the tractor to move the snow and all I got to do was spin my tires, it literally pushed snow until the bucket was full and then stopped moving, the weight of the snow in the bucket and the ice on the ground stopped me dead in my tracks and I sat there spinning (and cursing).
And then it dawned on me, there was something I was going to need if I were to get this done before I froze to death...A Bigger Tractor.
Scott Goerz
Right now we are in the midst of a cold spell, a balmy minus 30-35, with some epic snowfall mixed in. Along with this snow comes my eventual need to shovel and move snow from the driveway. I don't live in a cul-de-sac or near anyone, I love my acreage live but I hate pushing snow, and my driveway is a long circular tear drop shaped monster.
If you have owned an acreage and had to move snow before there is a rule of thumb that you always have to be aware of. When moving snow for the first time at the beginning of the season, you have to push it out further than you normally would need to. The reason for this is that the snow you have moved into piles will melt a bit and then harden afterwards, making them much more difficult to move in the future. When the snow flies for a second time you would push that snow against the first pile, losing some space in the process.
If you hadn't planned for a lot of snow and moved your first pile way out at the beginning of the year, you might be in some trouble if you have had a lot of snow. Which is what I am faced with currently. I use a quad with a snow blade to clear my driveway of snow, and I did follow the rule of thumb at the beginning of the year, but it seems that I did not account for the immense dump of snow we have been getting and my driveway is getting dangerously narrow.
I cannot push the snow any further out to make it wider because the snow underneath and behind it is frozen and won't budge. Get a tractor you say? Funny, I do have a tractor, with a bucket, but it is tiny, and not all that heavy. I decided one year that I was going to use the tractor to move the snow and all I got to do was spin my tires, it literally pushed snow until the bucket was full and then stopped moving, the weight of the snow in the bucket and the ice on the ground stopped me dead in my tracks and I sat there spinning (and cursing).
And then it dawned on me, there was something I was going to need if I were to get this done before I froze to death...A Bigger Tractor.
Scott Goerz
Sunday, February 3, 2019
Deepfake
Deepfake is an AI-based technology used to produce or alter video content so that it presents something that didn't, in fact, occur. Photo editing software, such as Photoshop, has long been used to falsify images, and the public is learning to apply common sense and critical thinking
when presented with a picture whose content seems unlikely. However,
until recently, video content has been more difficult to alter in any
substantial way. As such, video has often been considered proof that
something actually happened.
This could actually be used as them most dangerous weapon known to mankind. If somebody out there decided to make a video of trump declaring war on china, that he had already issued orders to nuke their country and that video went viral and china's government saw it before anyone could disclaim it, that would be a real problem for the whole world.
Let's say you wanted somebody else's boyfriend/girlfriend, you make a fake video of one of the couple making out with a different person. They fight and break up, leaving you to swoop in as a shoulder to cry on.
The problem here is not with the technology involved, it is humanity itself that is the issue. Guns do not shoot people, a person using the gun shoots another person, people shoot people. The gun is only a tool. The same goes with technology, which is not the problem, it's the user that is abusing the tech that is the problem.
Scott Goerz
This could actually be used as them most dangerous weapon known to mankind. If somebody out there decided to make a video of trump declaring war on china, that he had already issued orders to nuke their country and that video went viral and china's government saw it before anyone could disclaim it, that would be a real problem for the whole world.
Let's say you wanted somebody else's boyfriend/girlfriend, you make a fake video of one of the couple making out with a different person. They fight and break up, leaving you to swoop in as a shoulder to cry on.
The problem here is not with the technology involved, it is humanity itself that is the issue. Guns do not shoot people, a person using the gun shoots another person, people shoot people. The gun is only a tool. The same goes with technology, which is not the problem, it's the user that is abusing the tech that is the problem.
Scott Goerz
Saturday, February 2, 2019
Only Time Will Tell
Everyone seems to be worried about the job positions available, there seems to be less and less work available, and I'm not talking about fast food restaurants and minimum wage jobs. The jobs people are concerned about are the higher paying construction jobs in the oilfield and heavy equipment.
Most people are complaining that it's the immigrants we let into this country that are "stealing" our jobs. Nobody "steals" jobs, they are assessed and hired, and while it may be true that letting foreign people into the country is going to lessen the work available for our current residents, there is another factor we have to take into consideration.
Women are striving for equalization here as well, that means that jobs that were predominantly male oriented now have women working in those positions. This of course means that those positions are gone for men to work, hence less work for males.
With this change in our society does this mean that there will be more stay at home dads? Will men be able to stay home and take care of the house while their wives are out making the money for the household? Will men raise the children, clean the house, do laundry, and still fix and repair everything else?
Will women accept the fact that they now have to share their paycheck with their spouses, pay for repairs, clothes, food, bills, and mortgages. With the switch from males who are the main care provider to the women, both sexes will be able to see what it's like to walk a mile in the other sexes shoes. It may turn out for the best or it could change the way we live in the future, children will be raised differently ten they have been in the past, and future generations may become vastly different from what they are now.
Only Time Will Tell.
Scott Goerz
Most people are complaining that it's the immigrants we let into this country that are "stealing" our jobs. Nobody "steals" jobs, they are assessed and hired, and while it may be true that letting foreign people into the country is going to lessen the work available for our current residents, there is another factor we have to take into consideration.
Women are striving for equalization here as well, that means that jobs that were predominantly male oriented now have women working in those positions. This of course means that those positions are gone for men to work, hence less work for males.
With this change in our society does this mean that there will be more stay at home dads? Will men be able to stay home and take care of the house while their wives are out making the money for the household? Will men raise the children, clean the house, do laundry, and still fix and repair everything else?
Will women accept the fact that they now have to share their paycheck with their spouses, pay for repairs, clothes, food, bills, and mortgages. With the switch from males who are the main care provider to the women, both sexes will be able to see what it's like to walk a mile in the other sexes shoes. It may turn out for the best or it could change the way we live in the future, children will be raised differently ten they have been in the past, and future generations may become vastly different from what they are now.
Only Time Will Tell.
Scott Goerz
Friday, February 1, 2019
Tracking Us
In a world where technology rules our lives, we are all susceptible to the tracking aspect of it. Many of us rail against the idea that we are being monitored, our privacy in jeopardy as the powers that be monitor our location, it can tell where we have been, what we have watched, and what locations we constantly frequent.
There was a big scare a few years back that your smart tv could somehow invade your privacy, and people were concerned about it. Facebook was also targeted as a possible privacy breach, and actually has been proven to be true. Almost all social media traffic sites have an abundance of your personal information, with an agreement in place stating that they will not share your information, but I have personally haven't read it.
In fact, I really don't care one way or the other, track away, go ahead and share my information, I lead a basically normal boring life, and I'm not worried about it. The people who should be worried about it are those people doing something wrong, cheating on their spouse, selling stolen merchandise, pedophiles, bullies.
In a way, tracking people keeps us honest, knowing that your life can be invaded at any time, simply by anyone who has a legitimate reason to request it, or from a loophole in the privacy agreement on a site that you have agreed to. Any government official can also go into any of your accounts if they have noticed suspicious behavior from you.
There is only the illusion of anonymity for the average laymen like myself and most others out there on the world wide web, a few higher end users who know how to use multiple VPN locations and hack into another person's router can truly be hidden from prying eyes.
But if you are like me then you don't have anything to worry about, because you are also not doing anything wrong. Don't get caught up in other peoples worries, because in the long run they will come up with new and inventive ways to keep Tracking Us.
Scott Goerz
There was a big scare a few years back that your smart tv could somehow invade your privacy, and people were concerned about it. Facebook was also targeted as a possible privacy breach, and actually has been proven to be true. Almost all social media traffic sites have an abundance of your personal information, with an agreement in place stating that they will not share your information, but I have personally haven't read it.
In fact, I really don't care one way or the other, track away, go ahead and share my information, I lead a basically normal boring life, and I'm not worried about it. The people who should be worried about it are those people doing something wrong, cheating on their spouse, selling stolen merchandise, pedophiles, bullies.
In a way, tracking people keeps us honest, knowing that your life can be invaded at any time, simply by anyone who has a legitimate reason to request it, or from a loophole in the privacy agreement on a site that you have agreed to. Any government official can also go into any of your accounts if they have noticed suspicious behavior from you.
There is only the illusion of anonymity for the average laymen like myself and most others out there on the world wide web, a few higher end users who know how to use multiple VPN locations and hack into another person's router can truly be hidden from prying eyes.
But if you are like me then you don't have anything to worry about, because you are also not doing anything wrong. Don't get caught up in other peoples worries, because in the long run they will come up with new and inventive ways to keep Tracking Us.
Scott Goerz
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