Day: October 3, 2014

Ten Things That Will Disappear In Our Lifetime

This Off The Internet is courtesy of Cathy Martin

 

Ten Things That Will Disappear In Our Lifetime

This is USA oriented, but Canada and the rest will not be far behind. Whether these changes are good or bad depends in part on how we adapt to them. But, ready or not, here they come.

1. The Post Office

Get ready to imagine a world without the post office. They are so deeply in financial trouble that there is probably no way to sustain it long term. Email, Fed Ex, and UPS have just about wiped out the minimum revenue needed to keep the post office alive. Most of your mail every day is junk mail and bills.

2. The Check

Britain is already laying the groundwork to do away with check by 2018. It costs the financial system billions of dollars a year to process checks. Plastic cards and online transactions will lead to the eventual demise of the check. This plays right into the death of the post office. If you never paid your bills by mail and never received them by mail, the post office would absolutely go out of business.

3. The Newspaper

The younger generation simply doesn’t read the newspaper. They certainly don’t subscribe to a daily delivered print edition. That may go the way of the milkman and the laundry man. As for reading the paper online, get ready to pay for it. The rise in mobile Internet devices and e-readers has caused all the newspaper and magazine publishers to form an alliance. They have met with Apple, Amazon, and the major cell  phone companies to develop a model for paid subscription services.

4. The Book

You say you will never give up the physical book that you hold in your hand and turn the literal pages I said the same thing about downloading music from iTunes. I wanted my hard copy CD. But I quickly changed my mind when I discovered that I could get albums for half the price without ever leaving home to get the latest music. The same thing will happen with books. You can browse a bookstore online and even read a preview chapter before you buy. And the price is less than half that of a real book. And think of the convenience! Once you start flicking your fingers on the screen instead of the book, you find that you are lost in the story, can’t wait to see what happens next, and you forget that you’re holding a gadget instead of a book.

5. The Land Line Telephone

Unless you have a large family and make a lot of local calls, you don’t need it anymore. Most people keep it simply because they’ve always had it. But you are paying double charges for that extra service. All the cell phone companies will let you call customers using the same cell provider for no charge against your minutes.

6. Music

This is one of the saddest parts of the change story. The music industry is dying a slow death. Not just because of illegal downloading. It’s the lack of innovative new music being given a chance to get to the people who would like to hear it. Greed and corruption is the problem. The record labels and the radio conglomerates are simply self-destructing. Over 40% of the music purchased today is “catalogue items,” meaning traditional music that the public is familiar with. Older established artists. This is also true on the live concert circuit. To explore this fascinating and disturbing topic further, check out the book, “Appetite for Self-Destruction” by Steve Knopper, and the video documentary, “Before the Music Dies.”

7. Television Revenues

To the networks are down dramatically. Not just because of the economy. People are watching TV and movies streamed from their computers. And they’re playing games and doing lots of other things that take up the time that used to be spent watching TV. Prime time shows have degenerated down to lower than the lowest common denominator. Cable rates are skyrocketing and commercials run about every 4 minutes and 30 seconds. I say good riddance to most of it. It’s time for the cable companies to be put out of our misery. Let the people choose what they want to watch  online and through Netflix.

8. The “Things” That You Own

Many of the very possessions that we used to own are still in our lives, but we may not actually own them in the future. They may simply reside in “the cloud.” Today your computer has a hard drive and you store your pictures, music, movies, and documents. Your software is on a CD or DVD, and you can always re-install it if need be. But all of that is changing. Apple, Microsoft, and Google are all finishing up their latest “cloud services.” That means that when you turn on a computer, the Internet will be built into the operating system. So, Windows, Google, and the Mac OS will be tied straight into the Internet. If you click an icon, it will open something in the Internet cloud. If you save something, it will be saved to the cloud. And you may pay a monthly subscription fee to the cloud provider. In this virtual world, you can access your music or your books, or your whatever from any laptop or handheld device. That’s the good news. But, will you actually own any of this “stuff” or will it all be able to disappear at any moment in a big “Poof?” Will most of the things in our lives be disposable and whimsical? It makes you want to run to the closet and pull out that  photo album, grab a book from the shelf, or open up a CD case and pull out the insert.

9. Joined Handwriting (Cursive Writing)

Already gone in some schools who no longer teach “joined handwriting” because nearly everything is done now on computers or keyboards of some type (pun not intended)

10. Privacy

If there ever was a concept that we can look back on nostalgically, it would be privacy. That’s gone. It’s been gone for a long time anyway.. There are cameras on the street, in most of the buildings, and even built into your computer and cell phone. But you can be sure that 24/7, “They” know who you are and where you are, right down to the GPS coordinates, and the Google Street View. If you buy something, your habit is put into a zillion profiles, and your ads will change to reflect those habits.. “They” will try to get you to buy something else. Again and again and again.

All we will have left that which can’t be changed…….are our “Memories”.

 

Ten Things That Will Disappear In Our Lifetime

Ten Things That Will Disappear In Our Lifetime

Philadelphia Dope Decriminalization Defended

Philadelphia Dope Decriminalization Defended
By Chris Freind

I was delirious with fever.

At first, I was certain it was Ebola. But turns out, it was much worse.

I found myself agreeing with Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.

For a columnist espousing common sense and responsible government, any consensus with Nutter could make a career go to pot. But fair is fair, and in turning over a new leaf, I must congratulate the mayor for his recent action — which is sure to make the grass greener in Philadelphia. For a half-baked administration that’s been in the weeds for seven years, much more smoke than substance, better late than never.

In what will clearly be a high for the city, Mayor Nutter signed a law decriminalizing marijuana.

Maybe now Philadelphia can end its doobie-ous distinction of always being a backwards town as the mayor tries to get the joint back on track.

Adherents of misguided, draconian drug laws stand opposed to decriminalization, but they are living in a fog, using arguments better suited for the Stone Age.

The decriminalization of marijuana is a smart move for Philadelphia, and hopefully other municipalities will follow its lead.

To be clear, there is a distinction between legalization and decriminalization. Washington and Colorado have legalized marijuana, meaning people can grow and smoke a limited amount of pot without penalty; consumption laws are similar to those governing alcohol.

Decriminalization doesn’t make pot legal, but, as is the case with Philadelphia’s law, police will no longer arrest low-level offenders possessing small amounts of pot. Instead, those caught with 30 grams or less will receive a citation and a $25 fine; smoking it in public will result in either a $100 fine or up to nine hours of community service. Selling or distributing marijuana, as well as possessing more than 30 grams, are still crimes carrying significant penalties.

Nutter also is launching a public awareness campaign to explain the new law. That is commendable, since the average person thinks decriminalization and legalization are the same thing. There is a fine line between government decriminalizing pot and not appearing as though it is encouraging marijuana use.

Here’s the straight dope on why decriminalization is a good idea:

1. Why not decriminalize? At the most basic level, what’s the difference between smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol? Virtually none. Both alter the mind with excessive use, which is where that almost forgotten commodity called personal responsibility comes into play. If you drive or work while intoxicated, there is a price to be paid. The same types of regulations should apply to pot, as Washington and Colorado have done.

And let’s be honest: some of the biggest lobbies against decriminalization and legalization are the alcohol companies, but not because they’re worried about our health and well-being. Their opposition is rooted in financial self-interest, as they justifiably fear a loss of revenue as consumers emerge from the shadows to spend their “recreational” dollars elsewhere.

Bottom line: Since most people don’t view recreational marijuana use as harmful, and studies show pot is not a springboard to other drugs, what’s the big deal?

Ironically, it took action by died-in-the-wool big government Democrats like Nutter to start dismantling Philadelphia’s nanny state. Who would have ever believed that — without being high?

2. Logjams in law enforcement, backlogs in courts, and overcrowding in prisons will be somewhat relieved due to thousands fewer being arrested and processed in the judicial system. Granted, there are many other reforms needed, but this no-brainer is a good place to begin.

3. Police have better things to do than chase recreational pot users. Last time we checked, Philly still had extremely high rates of violence and murder; in fact, the Mayor is still being blatantly disingenuous in how he reports murders. Rather than comparing murders year to year, which is the common sense way to measure progress, he compares them to murders in 2007, the high-water mark for killings. So while the claim is made that the murder rate is “down,” there have actually been seven more murders year-to-date than at the same point in 2013.

There’s a lot of work to be done to make Philadelphia safer for residents, workers and tourists; finding solutions should be the Mayor’s first priority, and this new law will help him focus on that.

4. In a larger context, Nutter has much bigger fish to fry. Philadelphia is one of the most heavily taxed cities in the nation, its schools are dismal and manufacturing plants (and the good jobs they generate) are a distant memory. This has created a vicious cycle: Because of these problems, few companies want to relocate to Philadelphia and many others leave. As businesses and jobs disappear, so do billions in tax revenue; those remaining pay ever-higher taxes despite a vastly decreased customer base. The result is a rapidly-shrinking middle class and continued residential flight.

Any initiative not centered on reversing those monumental problems — such as expending resources to apprehend low-level pot smokers — should be immediately jettisoned.

The decriminalization of marijuana is not waving the white flag of defeat in the “war on drugs,” nor a gift to “druggies” born out of a desperate “they’re going to do it anyway, so why not make it legal” mentality.

It is a smart, reasonable approach to dealing with cannabis and its storied history (George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp) while not wavering on the fight against the real drugs that threaten society. Hopefully, decriminalization and legalization will also lead to more accepted medicinal marijuana for its undeniably positive attributes.

So kudos, Mr. Mayor. Moving forward, just don’t forget to exhale.

 

Philadelphia Dope Decriminalization Defended