06 Mar 2009
Recently (though I don’t know why recently) we’ve discovered that high fructose corn syrup is bad for you. Well duh. Do any number of internet searches to find out the details, but basically it contains mercury. “Mercury is toxic in all its forms. Given how much high-fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered …”
We’ve become a people that prefers a lower cost to higher health. While organic foods are becoming more prevalent, they are still a bit more expensive. Rather than spending the extra few cents to a dollar for the higher quality food, we’ll cause long-term damage and health effects to our bodies, choices that are most likely taking away from how long we live.
And this might sound far-fetched, but consider what we’re doing to our DNA. Our bodies react to things we put in it much like a virus adapts to antivirals. It becomes more tolerant. After suffering initially it learns to accept the opposition. When we catch a cold, we fight it off and eventually become immune to that particular strand of rhinovirus. We are forever immune to it.
Darwin’s theory of “survival of the fittest” is clearly shown when we fight a cold. We suffer initially and, if we’re strong and able, fight it off. Viruses are living things just as we are and we adapt and evolve just as they do. So imagine what consuming copious amounts of mercury does to your body. And then, once we’ve adapted to it, think about what it does to our offspring.
We are cheap now but we are paying for it with our health and the health of future generations. Isn’t another 5-10 years of life worth the extra $.50 – $1.00 now?
Check out this pretty cool break-down of the ingredients in Mountain Dew:
http://nerdparadise.com/science/chemistry/didyouknow/mountaindew
02 Feb 2009
With increasing economic problems, increasing stress, and decreasing job stability I felt compelled to finally verbalize my opinion on our economy. I don’t have a deep understanding of the problem, but I do have theories based on what I do know.
Plato said…
The living being had no need of eyes when there was nothing remaining outside him to be seen; nor of ears when there was nothing to be heard; and there was no surrounding atmosphere to be breathed; nor would there have been any use of organs by the help of which he might receive his food or get rid of what he had already digested, since there was nothing which went from him or came into him: for there was nothing beside him. Of design he was created thus, his own waste providing his own food, and all that he did or suffered taking place in and by himself. For the Creator conceived that a being which was self-sufficient would be far more excellent than one which lacked anything; and, as he had no need to take anything or defend himself against any one, the Creator did not think it necessary to bestow upon him hands: nor had he any need of feet, nor of the whole apparatus of walking; but the movement suited to his spherical form was assigned to him, being of all the seven that which is most appropriate to mind and intelligence; and he was made to move in the same manner and on the same spot, within his own limits revolving in a circle. All the other six motions were taken away from him, and he was made not to partake of their deviations. And as this circular movement required no feet, the universe was created without legs and without feet.
I had a thought today, when thinking of the Ouroboros – the tail-devouring snake. The things that are so great about our economy are also the things that are killing it. An example: The cost of distribution for goods and services has gone up, especially with the fuel price fluctuations of last year. The cost of bread has gone up because the cost of shipping bread went up and the cost to import the grains and supplies needed to make the bread went up. This is necessary to maintain profits.
However, DirecTV sent me a letter in the mail saying they were raising prices due to the economy. Really? Because I don’t see what they’re doing that costs so much more. They flip a switch to turn on or off satellite. Sure, they’ve got trucks that install cable and equipment, but charging at least $50 a month for millions of customers for a bloody electrical signal should be more than enough to cover the costs for these trucks.
I was kinda ticked when I got this letter. And I thought, “They keep it up and I’ll get rid of satellite. I don’t need it anyway; it’s a luxury and all the shows that I normally watch, I could watch online.” They’d lose a customer paying $50 a month, which by itself is no big deal. But what if that happened to 15% or even 5% of their customer base? They’d lose a considerable amount of money. And for what, exactly? Greed?
It’s because of greedy companies like DirecTV that our economy keeps getting worse.
01 Dec 2008
The United States of America represents growth, opportunity, and progress. Yet our government web sites reflect quite the opposite. Take usa.gov for example. This is our face to the world yet it’s something brought to life from the 90s. Compare this to Denmark’s web site and you see obvious differences. The Denmark site looks and feels of the times and the content is easily perused. It’s consistent, smooth, and delicious. Contrarily, our web site is all but hideous. It’s inconsistent, clunky, and not very usable.
What follows is a listing of the most obvious (and most sad) faults with our federal web sites.
Usability
The Internet, as I’ve said before, is a tool. It’s a library of information that we search with specific goals in mind. Nobody wants to spend loads of time sifting through web sites that have absolutely no logical pathways. Just try to find statistics on the federal statistics web site. No luck? I’ll bet. Or how about America’s Library, another .gov site?
Functionality
Yes, I know the Internet is cool, and I know there are many nifty things one can do with these new technologies. But do we really have to use every little cool moving, flashing, switching, fading, sliding, popping thing at the same time? Functionality goes hand in hand with usability. If it’s not functional, it’s not usable.
Consistency
Another part of usability is consistency and the familiar. There’s a reason web designs still follow a few basic layouts and there’s a reason navigation and header elements are typically in the same place – because we’re used to them. When designers try and get all innovative, they usually seriously hinder usability.
A few things I’ve noticed:
- Government web sites have absolutely no consistency. They don’t look, work, act, or feel at all the same.
- Even within the Federal Government, each web site seems as if it came from a different designer, and I say designer lightly.
- We are not setting good examples…
Even our very own Section 508 (web accessibility guidelines) web site is tough to digest. And what’s up with the stuff in the top right corner? Do we really need to change the web site’s font? Size maybe, but font? Perfect example of too much functionality.
I’m complaining, I know. But I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately and I think something needs to be done. One job I’d like to have in the future is possibly working for the federal government to better these – rather inoperable and embarrassing web sites. We’ll see how it goes.
Listen, tools have specific purposes and goals. They’re not all frills and they’re not always shiny. The Internet is a tool and by complicating it with an overabundance of functionality, we are taking away from the usefulness of the tool. Less is more. Less is always more.
17 Sep 2008
Someone told me we’re in a recession. Then someone else told me the same thing. People keep telling me we’re in a recession. Really?
So what explains the increase in sales for flat screen televisions this year? And why are we standing in lines that wrap a NY block not for soup but for iPhones? And why is overall spending on electronics increasing every year?
Okay, maybe it’s because prices are falling. Maybe we just saw that deal we can’t pass up. And maybe, just maybe we’re getting our groceries at Wal-Mart so we can spend the extra money on “fun” stuff.
Well, either way if we’re in a recession it certainly doesn’t feel like one. Sure, gas is up to around $4 a gallon (that’s what it is here) – but statistics show that we’re driving even more! Come on people. We all claim to be in some huge recession, blaming Bush for destroying our economy, then here we are spending more on gas, spending more on electronics, and spending more on food, but everyone is still at home at night with the lights on.
It ain’t that bad folks.