Brave New World, part 2

 So if we're heading out into a brave new world, and we don't like the looks of it, what can we do? 

Q1) Johnny has three apples.  Billy has eight apples.  Jenny doesn't have any apples. How many more apples does Johnny have than Billy?

a) 5

b) Jenny did not have a fair chance.

c) None of the above

d) All the apples should be redistributed to all to make everything equal.

Q2) Name one individual who lead a blameless, sinless life.

a) Elvis Prestley

b) George Washington

c) George Washington Carver

d) None of the above

Q3) If an individual is incapable of living a blameless, sinless life in which they never did anything wrong, then would a collective of individuals be able to live a blameless, sinless life?

a) Yes

b) No

c) Inconclusive

d) None of the above

Answers:

A1) C - None of the above.  Johnny has less apples than Billy, not more.

A2) D - None of the above.

A3) B - No.  If an  individual is incapable of being blameless, then a society is incapable of being blameless.  Socrates' "perfect city" has a good explanation of macro to micro and micro to macro conversion.  

So, based on what we have deduced from questions 2 and 3, we know that every society screws up because every individual screws up.  

There is more to that, but I'll let this bit sink in until next time.

Disintermediation

Wow.  Just had one of those wow moments coming to the office to study for a bit.  I was listening to Dave Ramsey's Final Peace University CDs on debt myths.  Anyway, Dave starts talking about the savings and loan failures in the 1980s.  That's when the adjustable rate mortgage appeared. 

To explain the story: most of the bank failures occurred because interest rates dropped significantly.  So banks had a lot of old loans that were sitting at 6, 7, or 8 percent.  During the Carter years, the interest rates skyrocketed.  And suddenly, in order to attract new business savings deposits had to pay out 10 or 12 percent.  Now the bank is to having to pay out more money than they are taking in.  This caused quite a few bank failures.

Now, here we are in 2012, almost 2013.  Looking at Market Watch for today, it looks like a 30 year fixed mortgage is running at 3.45%, and the 15 year fixed is at 2.86%.   Everyone and their dog that can refinance in this market will refinance.   So now banks are tied to receiving between 3 and 4 percent interest for a long time and a lot of money.

What happens if the interest rates jump up again?  Once again, banks have to pay out more than they are taking in, and we have another banking crisis.  Now you see my WOW moment.  Fun things, fun things. Let's hope there are a lot of adjustable rate mortgages out there so the banks survive this crisis.

I wish people would have taken out fixed rate mortgages, but what can you do?  Not everyone has any degree of financial intelligence.

Now the question is: how do I position myself to profit off this happening again? 

Brave New World

So...  black Friday has come along.  What a wonderful day.  A day of people spending money they don't have, buying things for people they don't like, and 70% or so buying themselves something just in case.  Seems like a good plan to me, right?

What about grayish Thursday (the day before Thanksgiving), and Cyber Monday, and all of the other rather ridiculous shopping holidays that exist?  Still a giant waste of time?  Yep.  People getting beat up for the privilege of saving a few dollars?  Yep. 

Crazy, isn't it.  But that is how part of society operates.  And well, they can have it.  During my lunch break, my next door neighbor and her kid were over, glued to Netflix watching some popular TV show or another.  Both could tell you everything about what was going on in a collection of a dozen different TV shows.  They could tell you the actors, the plots, and everything else about what was going on.  In someone else's fake life. 

Really?   Soma, anyone?

Problem is no matter where I go, you find the same complete disregard for what is happening in our lives.  It's almost like people hate their lives so much they would rather think and talk about anything else than their own life.  And that's rather depressing.  Is this the great new world we were promised?  We don't need some heavy narcotic or the legalization of drugs.  We just need a collection of people that have been raised by a system that tells them failure is OK, and success is a waste of time. 

Mass indoctrination is a simple process if you start early enough.  That, and you have to push it just right so as not to overwrite the sensibilities of the current power generation.  Everything has to be just slightly off to make people think "well, that's different but I guess it's okay".  Go too far, and people will stop you.  But if the indoctrination is close enough...  large scale deviations from specific plans generally start as small variations, not large ones.  Large variations are eradicated.  Small variations become large variations over enough cycles. 

Maybe science has got something right.

The new face of capitalism/Chasing unicorns

I haven't written anything in a while.  Probably a week.  Maybe more.  I started something that's still sitting in drafts on modern day slavery.  And before you get all ethnic on me, look into the ideas of "debtors prison" and "being sold as a slave to pay your debts".  I'm not interested in those things at the moment, but what I am thinking about more and more is capitalism.  

Ahh capitalism...  the heavily maligned and oft-hated target of everyone because it doesn't provide guaranteed outcomes.  But it does provide the best opportunity of any known system.  And despite all its problems, it's still the best solution to all problems. 

http://www.theblaze.com/contributions/how-short-sighted-leadership-has-sabotaged-conservative-pop-culture/

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/capitalism-doesnt-work-for-everyone-this-is-the-limbaugh-monologue-gop-consultants-will-hate/

And perhaps we're looking at the next best set of capitalism.  I am still convinced that capitalism is the solution to all problems.  There is nothing hard work, honesty, integrity, and a bit of recklessness can't overcome.  It's just a matter of teaching people that. 

Maybe we've become so incredibly complacent with our 8 to 5 lifestyle.  While I was initially looking for a job out of college, I called it chasing unicorns.  A unicorn, in the fantasy world, is a horse with a horn in the middle of its head/nose area.  They are generally regarded as elusive, fantastic creatures that can solve almost any problem.   Well, the job I was looking for was an 8 to 5 job with decent pay.  I've still never found it, though I'm still looking.

I don't think I'm looking for the unicorn as much anymore.  I think I've come up with a better solution.  It's one I've always admired, I just haven't jumped into the realm of.  Now, it's just a matter of learning the necessary skills to start on my ideas.   So many ideas, so little time.

In our defeat....

In our defeat, the opposition says that we should give up our way of thinking because it is old and antiquated. Despite their slight victory, they say our ideas are dead and gone and the world should give them up. But that has been told of us for two thousand years. And we still haven't given it up. 

When Jesus died, they expected his followers to disperse and go away. And they might have if Jesus hadn't risen. But he did rise. And the disciples wouldn't go away. The disciples converted many through the power of God. And the leaders decided to repress this change of belief. And God converted one of the best repressors. The story of Saul who became Paul is where the belief expands beyond all reason. Previously, it was just the Jews who believed in the works of Jesus Christ. But the best persecutor and destroyer of the followers of Jesus Christ became the man that preached to the gentile, and converted thousands. And the thousands converted even more thousands.

Throughout the history of Christianity, we have been told to give up our beliefs and to quit. We have not and we will not. Our ideas are 2,000 years old and they will not change. We are not out to be respected or liked by the masses. Our goal is to convert the sinner and to save them from their life of sin, just like we have been saved by Jesus. Jesus's teachings are the same today, yesterday, and forever. We will continue to follow the teachings of Jesus, regardless of what the rest of the world does.

Matthew 22:15-22 NKJV

Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.  Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money.”

So they brought Him a denarius.

And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”

 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”

And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.

Render unto Caesar what is Caesars. Render unto God what is Gods. What is Caesars? What is Gods?

Psalm 24:1 NKJV

The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein.

I have no desire to give up my beliefs and ideas, for they come from God. It's not my law or the law of the government. It's God's law and new covenant. Your ideas and beliefs are passing thoughts, whims that will flow in and out of the world life winds. The winds blow and those who follow the winds live restless lives. The beliefs of the rock are solid and do not change. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever.

The few days after

1 Corinthians 1:18-25 NKJV

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”

Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

So I was wrong.   That's okay.  What it does make me realize that relying on politicians and the government for anything is a sure way to be disappointed.  Put your faith in God.  

Interviews

I've been rethinking a lot of things recently.  I've had two different job interviews in the last week yet I'm still employed by my current company.  They have no idea I'm even looking for a job.  The simple answer of why I am doing this is because my current company does not have a way for me to achieve my goals.  If the company you work for does not provide a way to achieve your goals, then it is time to move on and find a different company.  So that's what I'm looking for a new job.  One option was for help desk manager, and the other was for a database programmer position.

I've spent the last two or three years working towards the help desk manager position because that is where my current job leads me.  But do I really want to do that?  I'm not sure.  My studying has been in that direction and so has much of my education.  During both interviews I was asked about being leading.  Except one time I was asked about how I would lead, and the other time I was asked how I would defer.  In the leadership question, it was hard because although I've spent time leading, I can't really explain how I do it.  Leadership is taught, and half of leadership is taking initiative and taking responsibility.  But it is more than that.  I just don't know how to describe the "more" yet.