A New Beginning for Manking

In Star Trek, we're shown a side of humanity where we've conquered ourselves which allowed us to reach the stars. In that world, we have Holodecks, Food Replicators, Transporters... (and other technologies) that very few seems to be using for selfish ends. Someone could, for example, spend their entire lives in a Holodeck but it seems to be understood that these technologies are to be used in moderation.

I like the idea of leaving the worse of ourselves behind as we reach for the stars. A new beginning with all of the good and as little as the bad as possible. The closest mankind got to a new beginning was when Christopher Columbus invaded the Americas but I don't consider this a good new beginning as there was no thinking behind it. 

That event eventually lead to the formation of the United States of America which is mankind's best attempt at creating the perfect form of Government yet. It's not perfect because we're not perfect but it still revolutionized the world. Sadly, this form of Government can only be maintained for as long as the people within it are educated, and engaged, enough to keep it from collapsing and it does look, at least to me, like cracks are starting to show... but that's outside of the scope of this post.

It's not to say that everything is wrong with the world today or that we would get it right simply by starting over again but if we were to start a new civilization somewhere else it would force us to sit down and think about the type of society that we want to build. Having this moment to ponder about our new beginning would, hopefully, be as beneficial as it was in the creation of the United States of America.

The Joys of Online Dating

My initial thought about this new online conquest is that she was beautiful and we were a match. Obviously, I wanted to know more before setting a date so we decided to add each other on Facebook which revealed that she was pretty active in the anti-vaccine/conspiracy community.

When I confronted her about this, shall I say, blatant disregard of science she proceeded to call me a sheep and we decided to part ways soon after.

Look, it's pretty simple to me, anti-vaxxers falls in the same category as people that believe the Earth is flat or that Trump election was stolen. What I mean by this is that in order to believe these things we have to either look facts straight in the eyes and say "I don't believe you" or bend our sense of logic in order to accommodate those beliefs.

My hope for these people, at least as far as Covid-19 is concerned, is that they don't get complications from this disease.

"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."

-Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Yes, I shared the above quote in a previous post but it's worth mentioning again. We may not like the idea of vaccines but we can't disregard its benefits. For many, the vaccine is the only thing that can give them a fighting chance against the virus.

My initial impression of that person was very good but I can't see myself dating someone that can turn a blind eye to the events that's been dominating our lives for the past 2 years. I can't date someone that can look at the millions of death and say "it's not worse than the flue" or "it's a conspiracy" and shut off any information coming from experts in the field.

Oh the Joys of Online Dating!

Gaming Companies Need a Positive Work Environment

Whether it be Blizzard/Activision, Ubisoft, EA or others... buying a game today feels like supporting some sort of corporate monster that overwork employees or that foster a culture of sexual harassment. Sure, the games those companies produce might be fun to play but the cost of playing them goes beyond the dollar as we're directly supporting the negative environment that created these games. 

I play games because it's fun but the negative work experience many employees went through to created these games tarnishes the overall fun factor for me. I can't help but wonder how many women had to endure unwanted sexual advances in order to work on these games? How many crazy hours did these employees have to work to create these games?

A recent McDonalds ad showed that the coffee they sell are from 100% ethically sourced beans. When you buy a McDonalds' coffee, according to their ad campaign, you're supporting an ethical system which is something that may not be the case with competitors. 

McDonalds is attempting to sell peace of mind along with their coffee and this is something those big gaming companies need to start doing because we live in a world where any, angry, employee can reach millions of people by sharing details of a negative work environment on social media and this is bound to have a negative impact on the overall image of the company.

*Note: This post was taken from my https://www.geekectual.com/ blog.

Fear - The Long, or Short, Battle

Have you ever been afraid of speaking infront of a crowd? Talking to a potential mate? The easiest thing to do in the moment is often to run away of the things that we're afraid of but when ever we do then the fight becomes trying to be at peace with the regret that ensues. 

If we don't face these fears then the work becomes trying to be a peace with the regret felt whenever that event pops up in a memory.

Face these fears and the fear disappears but run away from them and they will stick for a long time afterwards.

Talk to that person... speak infront of that crowd ... make the career change... You'll regret not doing it and you may not a chance at these things later on. It's now or never!

The Priorities - 2021 Edition!

Every once in a while, I write about priorities trying to figure out a universal order for it something that most can agree upon as being the correct order of things and something to thrive towards. The following is my updated list:

1. Health: If your Mental/Physical Health isn't on track then everything else on this list becomes more difficult. Regardless of how many time I review these priorities, this always comes at the top.
2. Self-Improvement: Self-Improvement goes beyond official schooling - it's a lifelong process. We're all students in the school of life and we should learn until the day we die. Education doesn't guarantee success but it does help in all areas of life.
3. Freedom: Learn about the governmental system of your country and get involved if only to give your opinion. Freedom is important and it's our responsibility to insure that it's not needlessly taken away by those in power. Without freedom, the everything on this list becomes more difficult. This comes after self-improvement because you need a knowledgeable opinion.
4. Relationship: Being successful means little if you don't have anyone to share it with.
5. Finance: It's not about being a millionaire as much as being financially stable. The financial system is all around us and it's important for all of us to know how to swim in it.
6. Fun - Why is this here? Well it's here because we seem to forget that we also need to find some enjoyment in life. While the other items on this list may also be enjoyable, this one is to set some time aside for the activities that you enjoy most.

The above are the priorities in the order I feel they should be... but if you were to look at my life today, you would probably see the priorities as follow:

1. Finance: I've been fortunate enough to be able to save and invest money during these toughs times. Budget is more important to me than ever as we never know what tomorrow will bring especially when Covid is around.
2. Fun: During Covid, I've tried to find many escape and "fun" seem to have been the focus.
3. Health: Nutritious meals, or a good workout, is a bit more difficult to come by again because of Covid. I'm one that seeks the comfort of junk food during difficult times and it's a bit difficult to control these urges.
4. Freedom: The focus of most Governments right now is on Covid and the Canadian Government has been, for the most part, an example for other Countries to follow. As I'm writing these words, a few provinces are about to go back to "Green" (normal).
5. Self-Improvement: My reading/learning time has been spent on new boardgames I'm trying to learn (Fun). While this is still "learning", it's not really learning anything useful hence why I haven't put this high on my current list.
6. Relationship: I've never been that good at keeping in touch with friends. This has become even more of a problem during Covid. 

Do you agree with my list? Comment below!