Major Changes Come from Small Contributions

All the big bucks of Wall Street and Washington aren’t scary to me, well maybe a little.  The short answer is that this doesn’t scare me because I believe in Hashem, and in Gd’s providence.

The longer answer is that money is more than just symbolic.  I do think there is some sort of “invisible hand” guiding the world of finances, as Adam Smith thought.  I don’t wish to say that without money, there is death.  That is not true at all.  However, I argue that in politics we should consider money, not just big money, but the money of the simplest poor person to the corporate giants as a symbol for both beliefs and that that money we may donate produces a representative response based on how hard we have worked to own money as our property.

This puts the rich folk and the street pauper on the same plain.  Each has certainly come across a dollar in their time.  Some have worked harder than others for their green backs than others have and thus it is such that when we give money to a campaign it is as if the campaign is soup, and money is as the campaign soup’s spice.  Thus, if we are interested in change, we should make our voice known.  Through campaign contributions, we may make our voice known proportionately to our way that we acquired our money, spicing the soup according to our flavor.  Thus, Adam Smith’s hand is also according to both justice and mercy, because not all have had the same start in life.  If all you have to give is $1 or $3, don't fret.  Have faith that parting ways with something important to your livelihood may bring great change, and make an investment in your favorite politician's campaign.

It is also true of many other ways to spice a campaign.  Don't got a quarter?  There are other ways to make our voice known are many such as through things like campaign rallies, holding signs, knocking on doors, peaceful demonstrations, and other grassroots movements.  However, this is a blog about money, and those ways to make our voice known on this blog primarily center on finances.

Personally, I haven’t given much money to campaigns – it is more important to give to charity, but I want to see my will done in government.  Already I have donated to former Secretary Hillary Clinton because she closely stands for my most important political beliefs, especially in environmentalism, and renewable energy.  However, I also like Senator Bernie Sanders.  Senator Sanders also represents many, but not all my beliefs.  Therefore, as I tried to spice Hillary’s campaign with a few bucks, I will also try to spice Sander’s campaign via a donation.

My donation won’t be a lot of money, but I don’t have a lot of money, and thus it is such that I believe that proportionately, my spice is more powerful than the spice of those on Wall Street of whom we can barely consider that they have done hardly anything to gain their wealth or riches.  Not all spices are equal!

USA politics is currently the story of David and Goliath: that of a very young man and a horrible giant.  I hope that my small campaign contributions I can barely afford will help slay the corporate Goliath.

Pandora.com: How to Unlock New Music & Rarities

Many times I have found that Pandora.com does not have the latest releases, or rarities of several of my favorite bands.  I recognize that this is probably to do with money, and not to do with Pandora wishing to keep the available music to a minimum.  In fact, I think Pandora does a great job of carrying a wide selection of music.  However, for music loving people like myself, more is never enough!  If a band can make more off of album sales than with Pandora.com, then especially for new releases that band or their record company is likely to restrict Pandora’s rights to boost album sales.

So what could be a solution?

I suggest that Pandora could allow their listeners the right to put money toward allowing new albums and rarities, such that the Pandora community could have the right to listen to more music.  For instance, I have long wanted more Dream Theater releases to be available, and if I could be allowed to contribute $2 or so toward the pot, a collective pool of user funds designated for the purpose of gaining the rights to specific unavailable releases in a band’s discography, I might just do that.

Club Intimacy: DJ Heart Synchrony Invention

This invention uses wireless technology, such as WiFi, wristbands (disposable) that take the pulse of their bearer, and computer DJ technology which will one day hopefully be invented that can combine pulse data in various ways to music at a dance club.

Upon entering the club, folks would get a wristband heart pulse monitor that would transfer pulse data especially when folks are dancing in order to better synchronize it with other folks pulses and the beats of the club. The computer would be constantly collecting pulse date, specifically via the wrist, which would then transmit that data to a computer for analysis with room for DJ input.

The idea is based upon one of the theories as to why people hold hands, etc, and that is that folks feel connected when holding hands because it causes their pulses to synchronize. At the club one could both turn the pulses of the folks in the club into music, and/or adjust music selected by the DJ to the pulse rates of folks in order to cause pulse synchrony, bringing about an intimate romantic feeling to the people at the club.

Also, pulses could be used in multiples. For instance if one person had a pulse of roughly 100 beats per minute, another person had a roughly of 80, and still another person had a pulse of 120 (maybe they were dancing up a storm), because these numbers are all divisible by 20, 10, 5, etc, aspects of the music could incorporate pulse multiples into beats per minute multiples.

A part of the idea is that the beat of the music is already going to be playing at rhythms relative to the heart (because it is loud music), but instead of relying completely on the DJ, the computer could adjust the music, in order to help a tech savvy DJ, making for what would hopefully be a better party.

This invention was essentially blogged back in 6/3/2012 – The basic ideas were there, but it was psychotic, and needed a redo.

The Future of Car Radio (2nd Update)

My suggestion is to give listeners free individually tailored radio, paid for via advertising.  No longer should one have to change the station if they aren’t getting the radio they specifically want, just to change the station for another station that wasn’t what they specifically wanted either.

The future of radio in cars will be when listeners are allowed to create mixes especially tailed to their taste.  One would be able to say to a voice detection instrument in a car computer radio things like, “That song is good,” “That song is not good,” “I like that artist,” “I like that song, but I am tired of it,” or say “Give me the news headlines at the top of the hour.”  The news comes in many flavors, so one's favorite(s) news company such as FOX, BBC, or NPR could give top of the hour news updates.  News could also be made to interrupt music given the finding of certain alerts.  For example, new news could interrupt your radio with "terrorism" updates, and/or elections updates.  The possibilities are essentially unlimited.  Eventually through artificial intelligence a radio transmission broadcasting unit would play exactly the user’s preferences [or users’ preferences].

Of course there could be preset stations, as is the case already, but for those who desire more; there would be user defined stations, or mixes of different styles from various stations – everything voice activated unless otherwise user specified [What if people are talking in the car?].

Both Sirius XM satellite radio and Pandora don’t maximize their user’s experience.  These businesses are now primitive when we think of what can be done with radio technology.  They do not maximize our radio experience to what I would call ideal.  They are improvements over regular FM reception in car or at home radios.

We are all unique people and many of us have unique tastes.  That is something internet radio stations have capitalized on.  I like internet radio, specifically Pandora, and yet even Pandora is limited.  For example, at this time, none can select to listen to the news on Pandora.  In cars, many of us like to listen to spoken word programs.

Plants can do that? GMOs and Plant Innovation (updated)

DNA is something that both plants and animals have in common, and that if given the proper machinery can make almost anything relative to life. The idea is to make plant DNA code in an orderly way for what we need. Could we develop plants that make shirts? and by that I mean genetically modifying plants (either through breeding or in the laboratory) such as hemp of cannabis or cotton in order to literally make clothes grow on trees – Absolutely we could do that, and especially in a controlled environment. The key would be to manipulate select plants spatially in their growth, such as the logistics of size and placement, and then also genetically alter their flower designs to get the right stuff. The way to start would be to grow easier less complex weaves, and then progress to smaller and tighter fit weaves.

Shabbat 30b of the Talmud discusses how in the World to Come “trees will also sprout ready-made cakes and even clothing”

Porcupine Tree and The Mozart Effect

Was chatting with my wife today, and I mentioned that it is getting to be longer, and longer for bands to be successful. She set me straight. In my words, “In pop music they can’t be young enough.” However differently, I look for more than fluff, so that is what I see. What I am talking about may be called (in my own words), “The Mozart Affect.” Specifically, what I mean is that Mozart in all his grandeur was not a success in his lifetime. This affliction is not new. For many artists, take for instance the painter Vincent van Gogh who may have never even sold a painting in his lifetime, this is true, meaning that his works upon passing became priceless.
Below I use the Porcupine Tree discography to illustrate my idea.
Including, all releases (no promotional stuff), the following is a discography up to the first charting selection by year, which with Porcupine Tree it happened to be a single, though they eventually came to have charting albums. It was 20 releases later, and it barely charted.

1. Tarquin's Seaweed Farm 1989
2. Love, Death & Mussolini 1990
3. The Nostalgia Factory 1991
4. On the Sunday of Life 1992
5. "Voyage 34" 1992
6. “Voyage 34: Remixes” 1993
7. Up the Downstair 1993
8. Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape 1994
9. Moonloop EP 1994
10. Staircase Infinities EP 1994
11. The Sky Moves Sideways 1995
12. Signify 1996
13. "Waiting" 1996
14. Insignificance 1997
15. Coma Divine 1997
16. Metanoia 1998
17. Coma Divine II 1999
18. Stars Die - Rare and Unreleased 1999
19. Stupid Dream 1999
20. "Piano Lessons" 1999. Was Porcupine first charting single. It peaked at 164 in the United Kingdom.

Prohibiting Soda Consumption to those Under 18yrs Old

All ye teens, before you shake your fists in angst against me, have you actually met a middle aged adult that wouldn’t like to drop a few more pounds?  Soda consumption rates are a crisis in the USA.  Diabetes is an epidemic, even among the youth, unlike any previous generation has ever known.  It is my opinion that consumption of soda is probably worse for a body in the long term than consumption of alcohol, or marijuana, which is not to advocate for binge drinking, or smoking pot.  Therefore, it would be prudent to prohibit the age for soda consumption to be 18yrs old and above.

For some, I imagine this will be unpopular, especially those looking for his or her first chance to throw a riot in some city while taunting police officers.

There has been a long history of humans restricting stuff, especially for young adults, but even for adults.  There once was a time when there was no drinking age for alcohol.  Later, that age rose from 18yrs old to 21yrs old.  Thus, for young adults the restricted list has come to include lottery tickets, cigarettes, and booze among others.  Even adults are restricted when it comes to the consumption of prescription drugs.

Although I stand for it, I don’t claim that my argument is not without some problems.  I know some of the rebuttals.  The most important is the importance of learning responsibility.  That sounds good, as some may be able to link the raising of the drinking age from 18 to 21 as delaying young adults from reaching maturity, such that they are less responsible when they get to age 21 in college through lack of exposure.

Another argument is that any of those that are pro-legalization of substances use both the Bible and freedom as stepping stones to argue against this idea.  I have to laugh at those who say the right smoke is freedom.  IMHO, as a former smoker, there is no freedom in smoking because for the vast majority of smokers, their addiction would better be likened to slavery than freedom.