I am so sick of having to double check everything I read online these days. After I have read an article making some fantastic claim or a product that I might be interested in, I have to scour the internet to find out if what I have been led to believe is actually true.
Fist of all, the reason I do this fact checking is that when I am discussing a topic with someone, I want to be knowledgeable on the subject we are discussing, and that means knowing the facts on the subject and not the rumors. If I write a blog, I don't want to put a bunch of false information out there, I want my opinion to be based on factual information or events.
For the life of me, I cannot figure out why there are so many lies out there to begin with. Why would you advertise a product that doesn't work at all, and it and of itself a lie? To make a few bucks? Would the producer not benefit from making a product that at least worked to a small degree, becoming reputable enough to make future products that people would trust?
The problem with these types of companies is that their lies affect the new startup businesses that may have a product that is revolutionary, but is overlooked because most new products are complete nonsense and people tend to stay away from them. If most companies made factual products and statements, we would lean towards believing new startups when they came out.
Then we have all the stories that are lies, and we have to triple and quadruple check them to make sure that what has been claimed is an actual event that has happened, but so many of us do not check to see if the facts are correct, and after a first time reading of the material they take it in as a truthful statement and repeat it to others. This makes the reader an unreliable source of information and not credible in the eyes of their peers. If you have ever met someone who lies all the time, you will find they are quite annoying and then you steer clear of them if you can.
I wonder if these lies are a conspiracy plot to force us to suspect any important information that gets leaked from the web. It would be easy to cover it up by claiming it was a lie to begin with. With all the lies out there that statement would be a lie that would be easy to believe.
Scott Goerz
Monday, December 31, 2018
Sunday, December 30, 2018
What To Do? Kids Sexting
What do you do when your preteen has figured out the secret world of internet sexting? What do you do when you find out they are potentially putting themselves in danger but will not listen to anything you say?
First off, you can't come down on them like they are the worst people in the world, as soon as you freak out on them they will automatically tune you out and anything you say afterwards on the subject, will go in one ear and out the other. It's terrifying as a parent in this situation, but jumping to conclusions and freaking out makes you look like a child yourself and garners no respect from anyone let alone your children.
You are going to have to come up with a way to talk to your children so they are interested in what you have say and want to listen.
Start the conversation with your sexting teen by talking about sex and sexual desire. Talk to them about the natural urge to act on their sexual feelings. Talk to them about how natural it is to be curious about whether others find them sexy and desirable. Talk about how tempting it is to try to pique the interest of someone they are attracted to by using sexuality. There are many ways to show sexuality that do not include nudity, make-up for example, revealing clothing, cleavage, perfumes, colognes.
Talk about how strong the feeling can be to share something intimate and personal with someone you are attracted to and care about. Talk about how casually everyone takes sex and nudity these days. Talk about how easy it is to get attention from others (wanted or unwanted) by being sexual, especially by exposing your body. Talk to them about the importance of sharing this powerful, fun and very personal part of themselves with someone under the right circumstances. Talk to them about the consequences of rash, impulsive actions in the internet age. Talk to them about how nudity is a very private and personal thing, only to be shown to the most loved and trusted people in their lives and should not be given out freely for all to see.
Be sex positive, Sex is a good thing. It is a glorious, wonderful, scary, exciting, enjoyable, powerful, delicious and sometimes overwhelming human experience. It is something to anticipate, savor and treasure. It has the ability to create a profound sense of intimacy. Don’t skip this step. If all you do is talk about how horrible sexting (and sex) is and how bad they are for doing this, you will lose a crucial opportunity to help your kid start to figure out how to handle this sexualized culture that surrounds them.
If you present sex as a bad, sinful, evil thing you will handicap your kids in an important area of their life and your kid will be unlikely to come to you for advice; and they need your advice about this. You can’t afford to have your kid tune you out.
Show them the results of a person their own age that put nude pictures of themselves online, sexted strangers and how it spiraled out of control, show how it stared out innocently enough at first but got worse and worse as it went on. Let them know that you are worried that this could happen to them. Tell them that you love them and if they want to ask you anything, you will do your best to listen and answer as honestly as you can.
Some of this advice was taken from multiple online articles and combined in this one. I used the ones I thought to be the most valuable, I am not a doctor or psychologist, My goal is to help anyone who may need some simple advice.
Scott Goerz
First off, you can't come down on them like they are the worst people in the world, as soon as you freak out on them they will automatically tune you out and anything you say afterwards on the subject, will go in one ear and out the other. It's terrifying as a parent in this situation, but jumping to conclusions and freaking out makes you look like a child yourself and garners no respect from anyone let alone your children.
You are going to have to come up with a way to talk to your children so they are interested in what you have say and want to listen.
Start the conversation with your sexting teen by talking about sex and sexual desire. Talk to them about the natural urge to act on their sexual feelings. Talk to them about how natural it is to be curious about whether others find them sexy and desirable. Talk about how tempting it is to try to pique the interest of someone they are attracted to by using sexuality. There are many ways to show sexuality that do not include nudity, make-up for example, revealing clothing, cleavage, perfumes, colognes.
Talk about how strong the feeling can be to share something intimate and personal with someone you are attracted to and care about. Talk about how casually everyone takes sex and nudity these days. Talk about how easy it is to get attention from others (wanted or unwanted) by being sexual, especially by exposing your body. Talk to them about the importance of sharing this powerful, fun and very personal part of themselves with someone under the right circumstances. Talk to them about the consequences of rash, impulsive actions in the internet age. Talk to them about how nudity is a very private and personal thing, only to be shown to the most loved and trusted people in their lives and should not be given out freely for all to see.
Be sex positive, Sex is a good thing. It is a glorious, wonderful, scary, exciting, enjoyable, powerful, delicious and sometimes overwhelming human experience. It is something to anticipate, savor and treasure. It has the ability to create a profound sense of intimacy. Don’t skip this step. If all you do is talk about how horrible sexting (and sex) is and how bad they are for doing this, you will lose a crucial opportunity to help your kid start to figure out how to handle this sexualized culture that surrounds them.
If you present sex as a bad, sinful, evil thing you will handicap your kids in an important area of their life and your kid will be unlikely to come to you for advice; and they need your advice about this. You can’t afford to have your kid tune you out.
Show them the results of a person their own age that put nude pictures of themselves online, sexted strangers and how it spiraled out of control, show how it stared out innocently enough at first but got worse and worse as it went on. Let them know that you are worried that this could happen to them. Tell them that you love them and if they want to ask you anything, you will do your best to listen and answer as honestly as you can.
Some of this advice was taken from multiple online articles and combined in this one. I used the ones I thought to be the most valuable, I am not a doctor or psychologist, My goal is to help anyone who may need some simple advice.
Scott Goerz
Saturday, December 29, 2018
Download Your Brain
100 trillion connections, that's all we would need to download our brains and live infinitely on a computer, it does sound like a lot but with the way technology is moving that could soon be a reality and an alternative to a coffin.
I'm not sure I'm on board with this idea though, while I normally love the perks and ideas that technology brings forth, this idea has me less than enthused. I do think it would be nice to be able to talk with a loved one after their body has left this world, but the thought of them trapped inside a machine does not put my mind at ease.
Let's say this is a total possibility, and somehow we could capture the soul of another person, leaving out all pain from disease and old age. Then when we kick the bucket, we get to join them in their electronic limbo and the cycle repeats itself. I find myself wondering if it would be like living in the matrix and using Skype to video chat with someone in the living world.
This sounds like a movie and not a possibility for our future. I'm not sure I like the idea of my mother inside one of these things, alone and waiting for us to contact her one day. After her transference to the digital realm I'm sure she would have someone to talk to everyday for a few months until the novelty wore off, then people would only chat with her occasionally. That and the fact that she would never be able to hug a grandchild or one of her children bothers me as well.
We could speculate that by downloading Albert Einstein's brain that he could still help us with the mathematically challenging unanswered questions of the universe. What if he didn't want to? What if he or any other famous genius decided that they didn't want to help anymore?
The important thing to remember about your brain is that it is yours, and only you know how to work it. Einstein's brain didn't just pop out equations, he had to sit and ponder these things, sometimes for years, so just because you download his complete psyche into a machine does not mean that you or anyone else will be able to use it. It's a complex machine that only he knew how to use.
Obviously this has serious religious ramifications as well, I'm sure the churches around the globe will have something to say about this and it will not be good. Going to heaven will take on a whole different meaning.
Yay or Nay, What do you think?
Scott Goerz
I'm not sure I'm on board with this idea though, while I normally love the perks and ideas that technology brings forth, this idea has me less than enthused. I do think it would be nice to be able to talk with a loved one after their body has left this world, but the thought of them trapped inside a machine does not put my mind at ease.
Let's say this is a total possibility, and somehow we could capture the soul of another person, leaving out all pain from disease and old age. Then when we kick the bucket, we get to join them in their electronic limbo and the cycle repeats itself. I find myself wondering if it would be like living in the matrix and using Skype to video chat with someone in the living world.
This sounds like a movie and not a possibility for our future. I'm not sure I like the idea of my mother inside one of these things, alone and waiting for us to contact her one day. After her transference to the digital realm I'm sure she would have someone to talk to everyday for a few months until the novelty wore off, then people would only chat with her occasionally. That and the fact that she would never be able to hug a grandchild or one of her children bothers me as well.
We could speculate that by downloading Albert Einstein's brain that he could still help us with the mathematically challenging unanswered questions of the universe. What if he didn't want to? What if he or any other famous genius decided that they didn't want to help anymore?
The important thing to remember about your brain is that it is yours, and only you know how to work it. Einstein's brain didn't just pop out equations, he had to sit and ponder these things, sometimes for years, so just because you download his complete psyche into a machine does not mean that you or anyone else will be able to use it. It's a complex machine that only he knew how to use.
Obviously this has serious religious ramifications as well, I'm sure the churches around the globe will have something to say about this and it will not be good. Going to heaven will take on a whole different meaning.
Yay or Nay, What do you think?
Scott Goerz
Friday, December 28, 2018
Smoking Vs Vaping
I am a smoker, I have been since I was about 14. I know smoking is harmful, causes cancer, lung disease, and other problems with the human body. It stinks, and is addictive. But the one thing that smoking has over vapor is long term studies, Smoking has been around for over a hundred years. I know what the adverse effects of smoking are, but I don't know much about vaping.
There has been research in the long term effects of smoking and because of that, anyone who smokes knows the risks involved with it. The fact that it is addictive makes it harder to quit but it's not so addictive that it is impossible, as I have quit a few times over the years but decided to start again.
The Vaping movement has begun, and it seems that everyone on the vaping band wagon thinks that it is healthier than smoking. When cigarettes became mainstream, they used to advertise it as a healthy activity that would increase lung capacity and give you more energy. There were no long term studies to prove otherwise.
That's where we are with vaping, the same sort of statements are being made without any evidence to dispute the claim. Haven't the scientist learned from their mistakes from the past? With these sorts of claims it is no wonder people are switching from cigarettes to vapor, and by saying that is "healthier" than smoking. Using the word "Healthy" in this way is harmful, because that's what people hear, and then you hear them say that vaping is healthy, it's not.
I just watched an experiment where they sucked in the equivalent of a months worth of smoking and vaping, into a glass cylinder filled with cotton balls. The cigarette cylinder was of course brown with tar and was a sticky mess, but the vapor cylinder was clear, the interesting thing I found was the scientist said that the cotton balls in the vapor cylinder were wet with vapor, and even though there was no color, they could still smear this clear substance on a white piece of paper. Then they claimed that because of this, the vapor was clearly more healthy than the cigarette. This test did not prove that in my opinion.
Smoking or vaping? For now I will stick with what has been proven and stay away from what has not. But really, I shouldn't be doing either, and just quit all together.
Scott Goerz
There has been research in the long term effects of smoking and because of that, anyone who smokes knows the risks involved with it. The fact that it is addictive makes it harder to quit but it's not so addictive that it is impossible, as I have quit a few times over the years but decided to start again.
The Vaping movement has begun, and it seems that everyone on the vaping band wagon thinks that it is healthier than smoking. When cigarettes became mainstream, they used to advertise it as a healthy activity that would increase lung capacity and give you more energy. There were no long term studies to prove otherwise.
That's where we are with vaping, the same sort of statements are being made without any evidence to dispute the claim. Haven't the scientist learned from their mistakes from the past? With these sorts of claims it is no wonder people are switching from cigarettes to vapor, and by saying that is "healthier" than smoking. Using the word "Healthy" in this way is harmful, because that's what people hear, and then you hear them say that vaping is healthy, it's not.
I just watched an experiment where they sucked in the equivalent of a months worth of smoking and vaping, into a glass cylinder filled with cotton balls. The cigarette cylinder was of course brown with tar and was a sticky mess, but the vapor cylinder was clear, the interesting thing I found was the scientist said that the cotton balls in the vapor cylinder were wet with vapor, and even though there was no color, they could still smear this clear substance on a white piece of paper. Then they claimed that because of this, the vapor was clearly more healthy than the cigarette. This test did not prove that in my opinion.
Smoking or vaping? For now I will stick with what has been proven and stay away from what has not. But really, I shouldn't be doing either, and just quit all together.
Scott Goerz
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Too Good To Be True
We should all take heed to that phrase "Too good to be true" as it is one of the most truthful statements you are likely to ever hear. I have seen things that I have wished were true but because they fit into the category of too good to be true, I instantly know that it is a scam.
This is not to say that I haven't fallen victim to it, like many of us has, but I did learn from my mistake and I am much more weary when it comes to miracle drugs, or machines that do the impossible.
When I ended a long term relationship, I turned to internet dating as a resource to find a compatible mate. While I was on there a "Too good to be true" woman messaged me out of the blue, and because I was heartbroken and weak I believed her lies. She (or he) had a profile up that was of supermodel status, and because it was also presented in such a smart way, I was fooled, not at first, I had a of of questions and I was very skeptical, but the answers they gave me, all were very believable, and we chatted on and off for around two months on a private messaging service. Everything was good until she started saying she was in trouble and needed money.
That's when I started to research online dating scams, and found out everything that was said to me was said to someone else, and I ended it, mad at myself for being a fool the whole time.
Nowadays I am seeing a lot of too good to be true ads on social media sites, Facebook for instance is littered with completely bogus gadgets and health products that prey on the self conscious person, Lose 200 hundred pounds by drinking this miracle juice, The dragons den approves it! Or the Remove bags under your eyes, with this remarkable skin tightening rod, and The remove blemishes and even old tattoo's with this amazing laser pen.
Completely too good to be true items, and even though we desperately want these things to be real they just aren't. This is the advertising premise that draws you in, by focusing on our weaknesses, our insecurities, and saying they can fix them for you without long term dieting or exercise, or invasive surgeries so they can easily prey on anyone's weakness.
Soon there will be an anti-aging solution that will take years off your life, you could be an 80 year old woman that now looks and feels like she's 40. While this actually may be a reality one day, it definitely won't be advertised on social media sites, and if it is then you already know, It's Too Good To Be True.
Scott Goerz
This is not to say that I haven't fallen victim to it, like many of us has, but I did learn from my mistake and I am much more weary when it comes to miracle drugs, or machines that do the impossible.
When I ended a long term relationship, I turned to internet dating as a resource to find a compatible mate. While I was on there a "Too good to be true" woman messaged me out of the blue, and because I was heartbroken and weak I believed her lies. She (or he) had a profile up that was of supermodel status, and because it was also presented in such a smart way, I was fooled, not at first, I had a of of questions and I was very skeptical, but the answers they gave me, all were very believable, and we chatted on and off for around two months on a private messaging service. Everything was good until she started saying she was in trouble and needed money.
That's when I started to research online dating scams, and found out everything that was said to me was said to someone else, and I ended it, mad at myself for being a fool the whole time.
Nowadays I am seeing a lot of too good to be true ads on social media sites, Facebook for instance is littered with completely bogus gadgets and health products that prey on the self conscious person, Lose 200 hundred pounds by drinking this miracle juice, The dragons den approves it! Or the Remove bags under your eyes, with this remarkable skin tightening rod, and The remove blemishes and even old tattoo's with this amazing laser pen.
Completely too good to be true items, and even though we desperately want these things to be real they just aren't. This is the advertising premise that draws you in, by focusing on our weaknesses, our insecurities, and saying they can fix them for you without long term dieting or exercise, or invasive surgeries so they can easily prey on anyone's weakness.
Soon there will be an anti-aging solution that will take years off your life, you could be an 80 year old woman that now looks and feels like she's 40. While this actually may be a reality one day, it definitely won't be advertised on social media sites, and if it is then you already know, It's Too Good To Be True.
Scott Goerz
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Wouldn't It Be Nice...
Wouldn't it be nice, if we could take someone else's place, and take
the burden off of them for a while. If there were a way to swap minds
into different bodies, as a married couple the sexual implications would
be interesting to say the least.
But this is not what my main topic today is to be about, what I had in mind was that my wife in particular, has an interesting job where she has to work shift work, and such was the case this Christmas. It pains me to see her run down and tired, her work schedule slowly chipping away her good mood and sanity.
Wouldn't it be nice if I could go to work for her, she could stay home and relax, do some quilting, cuddle with her puppies, and soak in the tub. It's obvious that the mind swapping technology does not exist in this day and age, but what if there was another more reasonable way?
My wife is a level 2 power engineer, and has all the schooling and training to operate a sophisticated gas and power plant, if I had the same training as her, wouldn't it be nice if we could share the same job. She could work a week and I could work two, or a one and one, or I could work all year and she could have a wonderful vacation.
She loves her job, but like anybody who does the same thing day after day, it gets monotonous, stressful, and boring. I would gladly go to work for her until she decided to get back to it herself.
If there was a system in place where this could happen for any relationship, even children and adults, boyfriend and girlfriend, if you could go to work in their stead especially if one of you wasn't working it would be nice to share the same job.
It would even be better if you could finally let the other person know what you do all day, instead of coming home after a long day and telling someone about their crappy day, they could go out and experience it themselves, and see first hand what it's like to walk a mile in another person's shoes. By the same token, the worker could stay home and see what it's like to raise children and take care of the house.
This alone would create a real appreciation for what the other person has to go through on a daily basis, and I think it would form a stronger bond between couples.
That's my blog for the day.
Scott Goerz
But this is not what my main topic today is to be about, what I had in mind was that my wife in particular, has an interesting job where she has to work shift work, and such was the case this Christmas. It pains me to see her run down and tired, her work schedule slowly chipping away her good mood and sanity.
Wouldn't it be nice if I could go to work for her, she could stay home and relax, do some quilting, cuddle with her puppies, and soak in the tub. It's obvious that the mind swapping technology does not exist in this day and age, but what if there was another more reasonable way?
My wife is a level 2 power engineer, and has all the schooling and training to operate a sophisticated gas and power plant, if I had the same training as her, wouldn't it be nice if we could share the same job. She could work a week and I could work two, or a one and one, or I could work all year and she could have a wonderful vacation.
She loves her job, but like anybody who does the same thing day after day, it gets monotonous, stressful, and boring. I would gladly go to work for her until she decided to get back to it herself.
If there was a system in place where this could happen for any relationship, even children and adults, boyfriend and girlfriend, if you could go to work in their stead especially if one of you wasn't working it would be nice to share the same job.
It would even be better if you could finally let the other person know what you do all day, instead of coming home after a long day and telling someone about their crappy day, they could go out and experience it themselves, and see first hand what it's like to walk a mile in another person's shoes. By the same token, the worker could stay home and see what it's like to raise children and take care of the house.
This alone would create a real appreciation for what the other person has to go through on a daily basis, and I think it would form a stronger bond between couples.
That's my blog for the day.
Scott Goerz
Tuesday, December 25, 2018
D-Day
This is it! The day has finally come to spend time with friends and family, to laugh and have fun, enjoy excellent food with each other, and create some great new memories. Let's not forget the presents, because like most people we have spent a lot of time trying to find those gifts that generate the "Ooooh and Ahhhh" that we hear when our loved ones open them.
The amount of time and energy we spend on organizing Christmas is staggering, if you happen to be in a store the day after Halloween you will see that the Christmas stuff is out and already for sale. That gives us two months to prepare, decorate, plan parties, social gatherings, shopping, design menu's and so much more.
Some of us can't get it done in that time whether it's due to laziness (Like myself) or the fact that most of us still have to work during this cycle, and by the end of our two month preparation table, we are scrambling to find something for someone or scrambling to finish up everything we need to do.
One year I actually went out and completed all my shopping that I had to get done way before the due date of Dec.25. It was awesome, but for some reason, I haven't done that since and I haven't the slightest clue as to why. It was so much easier and I was completely stress free. I must subconsciously love the anarchy.
If you are like me, or are more organized, it doesn't matter anymore because the due date has arrived, and whether you finished all your tasks or not is something you can pre plan for next year. As for today you should relax, enjoy the time you have with your loved ones, look around and see the joy and happiness you have brought to every one else's lives.
Christmas isn't about just about presents, it's about how you treat others and how they treat you, it's about compassion and gratitude for what you have, and it's about making other people's lives a little bit better. Giving someone a gift shows them that you are grateful to them and is a small sign of those feelings.
We give ourselves all year long and Christmas is the day where we all get some appreciation for it.
Scott Goerz
The amount of time and energy we spend on organizing Christmas is staggering, if you happen to be in a store the day after Halloween you will see that the Christmas stuff is out and already for sale. That gives us two months to prepare, decorate, plan parties, social gatherings, shopping, design menu's and so much more.
Some of us can't get it done in that time whether it's due to laziness (Like myself) or the fact that most of us still have to work during this cycle, and by the end of our two month preparation table, we are scrambling to find something for someone or scrambling to finish up everything we need to do.
One year I actually went out and completed all my shopping that I had to get done way before the due date of Dec.25. It was awesome, but for some reason, I haven't done that since and I haven't the slightest clue as to why. It was so much easier and I was completely stress free. I must subconsciously love the anarchy.
If you are like me, or are more organized, it doesn't matter anymore because the due date has arrived, and whether you finished all your tasks or not is something you can pre plan for next year. As for today you should relax, enjoy the time you have with your loved ones, look around and see the joy and happiness you have brought to every one else's lives.
Christmas isn't about just about presents, it's about how you treat others and how they treat you, it's about compassion and gratitude for what you have, and it's about making other people's lives a little bit better. Giving someone a gift shows them that you are grateful to them and is a small sign of those feelings.
We give ourselves all year long and Christmas is the day where we all get some appreciation for it.
Scott Goerz
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