Have a safe, zombie free holiday!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UqEhUm2B_8&feature=player_embedded

If anyone out there can tell me how to embed YouTube videos on this blog, I'd be greatful. 

From Grasping Reality With Both Hands

   Fifty years ago we thought that technology and innovation would result in shorter work hours and a higher standard of living.  Instead everyone is working longer hours, two incomes are required to maintain high standards in most households and this is all in spite of higher productivity.  What happened?? 

   This graph points to at least one strong factor in this irony.  Look at bank profits compared to other corporate profits. And don't forget that the wages of the average bank workers, such as the tellar, have not increased beyond any normal expectation.  The extra profits are clearly going to the top.  The higher level financial moguls are siphoning off the benefits of everyone's increased work and production.  That really would be less of a slap in the face if they really deserved it, however based on the recession of the past few years and the fact that this same financial aristocracy is largely responsible for it, I for one don't think it is deserved.

   When you look at this graph, don't miss the dip at the recession, -and the immediate recovery.  Compare it to the more moderate dip in the non-commercial profits (and the lack of recovery), indicating that the crisis was very much caused and perpetuated by financial institutions.  Unemployment in the non-commercial sector was fallout from financial sector failures, -not the other way around.

   I came across an interesting experiment described in Science and the Akashic Field - An Integral Theory of Everything, by Ervin Laszlo (-my current light reading).  The study will be of particular interest to those students of mine who have engaged in group meditation instruction. 

   The study was conducted at the National University of Mexico by Jacobo Grinberg-Zylberbaum.  He worked with an experimental group who were connected by having meditated together, and a control group of random people.  When separated, he found that those with the common connection of meditation were able to "sense' the sensations of the others.  This wasn't done with mind reading or anything like that.  It was done by measuring brain wave EEG responses and Galvanic skin responses, -in other words, purely with sub-conscious responses.  When one "sender" was stimulated with loud noises, bright lights or mild electric shocks, the receivers with the common connection consistently showed a common response 25% of the time, while those without the connection showed only random results.  Strong synchronized responses were also shown between couples that were closely connected in other ways, such as being lovers or twins. 

   Russell Targ and Harold Puthoff showed similar results back in the 1970s, but unfortunately have damaged their credibility with studies of Uri Geller and involvement in Scientology.  Their earlier studies may or amy not have any merritt.

   I find this interesting because we've had many groups of people who have shared common meditations for prolonged periods of times.  Some of my groups have meditated together for as long as four years.  During those periods there always seemed to be a closeness and bonding that was exhibited by the members, some of which are still very close. 

   The implications here are very interesting.  Could common experiences such as group meditation work as an entry gate to empathy?  It also brings up many questions about the potential for non-local, quantum entanglement and how it may create an inhearent connection between people and perhaps all living things. 

   It is a good thing that TRON is full of good CGI stuff and was in 3D, because that's all it really had going for it.  It was a really cool looking film, -not great or beautiful, just cool.  3D suits a film which is a glorified computer game quite well.  As for the plot, -I really did have trouble staying awake at some points, -especially during the long explanitory dialogues.  The acting was passable, but the story was predictable and shallow.

This movie gets a B- (and that's giving it the benefit ofthe doubt.)

   I guess it is time for my top movie list.  I reserve the right to add a few later on as there are some promising ones I haven't gotten around to seeing yet, -specifically "Black Swan", "Life During Wartime" and "The King's Speech".

   So far, though, I'd list it like this:

1. Inception -  Undoubtedly the most complex and intelligent movie I've ever seen.

2. The Social Network - Like I said before, there's only so much you can do with narcissism, but a movie that can use sharp dialogue to keep you engaged has got my attention.

3.  Kick Ass - Just because it was so audacious.

4. Winter's Bone - A powerful look at the dry rot in the heart of the American Dream.

5. 127 Hours - A movie that just had a lot of reference points for me, allowing me to enjoy it that much more.

6. Iron Man 2 - Stuff blows up!

7. Submarine - The movie I saw at TIFF that never got released.  Too bad.

8. Let Me In - I go against the critics.  I thought it was as good as, and perhaps even a bit better than the original. 

Conspicuously missing from the list is "Youth In Revolt", which was the biggest disappointment of the year, and the new Harry Potter film, which comes across as a very long trailer for the next one. 

Did I miss any?

   Here's an interesting list.  Backpacker Magazine lists its 10 most dangerous hikes.  More interesting is that I've done three of them, some several times.

#1 Abrams Falls, Smoky Mountains : It's not really the hike that's dangerous; it is about 2 miles of paved and graded trail.  It's what you do when you get there.  Swimming at the bottom of the falls is a blast, and relatively safe.  Climbing up the falls and hiking at the top, on the other hand, is where you encounter risk.  There are warning signs.  There was also a time that we had to ford the river just after a hurricane had grazed us.  Our campsite had been flooded and what was an ankle deep wade going in became a waist deep ford on the way out.  When checking in at the end of the hike, the rangers asked why we hadn't waited for the helicopter that they'd sent in for us.  Oh well...

#2 Bright Angel Trail, Grand Canyon : This is a deceptive statistic because of the number of people who use this trail every year.  My hike on this trail usually spans three to four days, and I've never done it without hearing of at least one fatality either while we're there or within a week of it.  Last time I hiked it, we overheard a call over a ranger's walkie about a man who had slipped over the edge while walking and fallen down a cliff.  But that day, we were among at least a thousand people hiking up or down the canyon.  The heat and strain on this hike is definately a killer.  You have to know what you're doing, but it shouldn't scare anybody away.

#3 The Maze, Canyonlands, Utah : This is perhaps the hike where I've come closest to being in trouble.  It's called "The Maze" for a reason, but we didn't get lost as we were very conservative in sticking to the trail.  It was a blistering hot day, with little shade in these canyons.  The hike took a lot longer than we'd estimated, and by the end of the day we were hiking straight up a huge switchback in the afternoon sun with no water.  Running to the car, we opened up the cooler for liquid relief.  One of the guys in our party had been collecting unusual beer cans along our trip, and we hadn't gotten around to emptying them yet.  We made very short work of them before driving out, -perhaps not the best move when dehydrated, but it all worked out for the best.  American beer, you know...  pretty close to water.

   I wimped out on Half Dome.  ...Mmm, what's Buckskin Gulch?  Better look it up and plan a trip.

   One of the 100 top scientific stories in this month's "Discover Magazine" is about an experimental city being built outside Abu Dhabi, which is in the United Arab Emirates.  This is a $20 billion city being constructed for about 40 000 residents.  The intention is to make it an ultra-green city using alternative power and even electric cars.  That's a lot of money, but it will provide a place to experiment with alternative technologies which may pave the way of the future. 

   OK, so somebody tell me why this is happening in the UAE!  Sure, they have the money to do it, but that money, ironically, is coming from good old oil.  Western countries want to liberate themselves from oil, -yes.  But they also want to end dependence on the Middle East.  Why are we not seeing an investment like this in the U.S., or in Germany, or even in Japan?  The logical outcome of this would be that Middle East investments in new technologies will ensure that they keep a stranglehold on the energy consumption of the rest of the world.  Smart business on their part, but not really smart for the rest of us. 

   The U.S.A. used to be the innovators of the world, but are so busy confusing science and religion that they're slipping out of the game.  Canada has the opportunity to step in and make some major things happen, but I think we're still too small minded.  Watch China and India.  I'm sure they'll see the opportunities and jump on it before too long.

   I don't know about the other countries, but one thing that UAE and China have that is going to be a huge advantage for them is that their governments have no qualms about concentrating resources at the top.  Advancements have always been easier when rulers aren't afraid to concentrate resources.  During the Middle Ages or the Renaissance, wealth was concentrated in the aristocracy.  If it hadn't been, the advances made in this period of history never would have happened.  If the rulers had been concerned with spreading the wealth evenly and uplifting the masses, we'd probably still be throwing our human waste out the window into the street.  We like to think that human history has been a progression away from aristocracy, towards a more liberal equality, but that only really works if we have a society that is enlightened and advanced enough to make it work.  We may be getting there, but we're not there yet, and competition from those that aren't afraid to designate resources (even at the cost of their populations) will have the upper hand.

   I'm not really sure what that means.  It's just food for thought. 

Well, as far as it goes, I really like this.  It's from Pharyngula, a science oriented blog.

The problem is that it is stacked for the fundamentalist rationalist, because he/she gets to define what constitutes "evidence" and insists on arguing in a straight line while many discussions, even scientific ones, require a more holographic approach.  Perhaps I'll design a flow chart for arguing with rabid rationalists. 

It's a bit chopped off on the right.  I'm seriously thinking of switching blog platforms. 

   Looking back on the year seems to be the obligatory entry for Dec. 31. 

   Undoubtedly the most significant event of the last year was my retirement in June.  Not only was it a life changing move, but the celebrations and outpourings of friendship that accompanied it were all truly joyful.  I've managed to make good on some of my goals for retirement, but like most resolutions, I clearly need some rededication.  A few trips, focussing on my photography and getting a lot of reading done have been major accomplishments.

   This Blog is something that I'm proud of.  Finally I've had time to do the writing that I've always wanted to do.  Blogs are a great place to hone writing skills, and I'm slowly moving towards some more serious writing.  A lot of people are encouraging me to write a book, but I'm not quite sure what it would be about yet.  The fact that this Blog has reached over 6 000 hits in the 5 moths it has been active is really rewarding, -and if anything it seems to be heating up.  I am considering moving the Blog to WordPress in the new year as that platform seems to have more options and looks a lot nicer.  We'll see.

   The second major event of the year was the initiation of the Phoenix 3 group.  After several years without a group, I finally pulled some great guys together and we've made a good start at forging an new group.  It feels good.  Past groups have yielded a lot of satisfaction and many lifelong friends, so I trust this new incarnation will be as successful.  Since recruiting will be a little harder after retirement, this may well be the last group.  Who knows?  With the extra time I now have, I've been able to focus al little more on prep for meetings and camps.  It's good to keep my hand in the pot.

    So that's 2010.  Not earth shattering.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!