Weekend Thoughts - 5.21.16

Image by Joel Ormsby, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Happy Saturday y'all! Below, I have rounded up some things for you to think about this weekend:

1. As someone who occasionally uses a vaporizer, this story about a vaporizer exploding, knocking out a man's teeth, ripping a hole in his tongue, and leaving his hands covered in burns scares the shit out of me, to say the least. In this case, the vaporizer battery exploded, and it isn't just an isolated incident—other vaporizer malfunctions have occurred recently as well. It seems that the issue is not with the vaporizer itself. Instead, it's normally a problem with the batteries, so the best advice is to only use the batteries and charging accessories that come with or are made for the vaporizer. Be safe out there!

2. If you are a health-conscious person, be on the lookout for an upcoming changes, because after 20 years, nutritional labels will be getting an update. The changes coming include increasing the font size for calories, updating serving sizes to be in line with modern expectations, some changes in the nutrients required to be included, and a clear differentiation between naturally-occurring sugars and added sugars.

3. I am by no means an expert on hip hop or rap music, but I did really enjoy this thorough deconstruction of rapping styles, which spans from the 1980s to modern day. The video analyzes various aspects of rap, including beat and bar placement, rhyming schemes, storytelling abilities, and more. I learned a good amount about the genre from this video, and it encouraged me to check out some artists that I hadn't heard before. This one comes highly recommended, even if you don't consider yourself a rap fan!

That's all for this week's edition of Weekend Thoughts. Until next week, keep thinking wilder.

Weekend Thoughts - 5.14.16

Image by Akuppa John Wigham, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Happy Saturday y'all! Below, I have rounded up some things for you to think about this weekend:

1. Let's face it—everybody poops. However, the facilities used around the world can be quite different. Here is a collection of photos of toilets from around the world. Compared to some of the countries, I am very grateful to have the levels of sanitation that I enjoy in the U.S. However, Finland's concept of requiring users to text the word "OPEN" to gain entrance to the bathroom seems like it could encourage an elevated level of responsibility. And for the countries that offer squatting toilets, I find that intriguing as well. It's also reminiscent of the Squatty Potty, which, by the way, has one of the best commercials I've ever seen.

2. Speaking of pooping, a report was released this week showing that poultry plant workers have been denied bathroom breaks and required to wear diapers so they don't lose their jobs. Yet another reason not to support the meat industry—companies like Tyson Foods mistreat their employees as well as they treat their "products".

3. I'm a huge Hunter S. Thompson fan, so I was excited to see that a short documentary this week that focused the collaboration with him and artist Ralph Steadman that covered the 1970 Kentucky Derby, which resulted in the jaw-dropping book The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved. I'd highly suggest reading the book, but at the very least you can get a sufficient teaser by watching the documentary.

That's all for this week's edition of Weekend Thoughts. Until next week, keep thinking wilder.

Weekend Thoughts - 5.7.16

Image from Francis Chung, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Happy Saturday y'all! Below, I have rounded up some things for you to think about this weekend:

1. Although it is the safest it has been to be a U.S. police officer since alcohol prohibition, cops and firefighters have been pushing to make themselves a protected class under the federal hate crimes statute. Dubbed the "Blue Lives Matter" bill, cops are attempting to appeal to lawmakers emotionally to receive additional protections related to their occupations, rather than the set of currently-approved protected class guidelines. Right now, a hate crime is defined by Congress as a "criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, ethnic origin or sexual orientation." The proposed change would add the following: "...because of actual or perceived membership or service in, or employment with, an organization, or because of actual or perceived employment as a law enforcement officer or firefighter." Any perceived crime against police officers would be classified as an act of hate and add another five years to a person's sentence. Considering both the record-high numbers of civilians being murdered by cops and the record-low numbers of police officers being murdered by civilians, this initiative seems a bit unnecessary to say the least, and perhaps even entirely blind to the actual situation at hand.

2. Trees are pretty awesome. They contribute a lot of positive things to an ecosystem, are amazing to look at, and have a special superpower—an incessant appetite for human-made objects. Here is a collection of photos of trees growing to eat things attached or next to them.

3. Learning to navigate around a city can be difficult, but a recent article from the excellent blog Zen Habits gives some advice for learning how to create a mental map of any location. There are plenty of tips and tricks that will help you map both new and familiar locations! The most helpful advice that I picked up from the article was to continually be aware of which direction I am facing—something that I have not developed in the past. This article would be helpful for those planning to travel to lands far away or become more in tune with their current cities.

That's all for this week's edition of Weekend Thoughts. Until next week, keep thinking wilder.

Weekend Thoughts - 4.30.16

Image by Timothy Neesam, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Happy Saturday y'all! Below, I have rounded up some things for you to think about this weekend:

1. It looks like police departments around the world are gearing up (literally) to prepare for widespread rioting on a national scale. Read the following quote and just let it sink in:

Law enforcement agencies around the world are the biggest market for riot control systems. This market is expected to generate revenues of over USD 3.5 billion by the end of 2020. Countries such as the U.S., Iran, Egypt, Russia, China, and Thailand have started procuring riot control equipment and are investing heavily in [non-lethal weapons]. Moreover, special vehicles that are equipped with water cannon and reservoirs have been designed for security personnel, for use in areas of conflict to handle large crowds and demonstration. Demand for such equipment is expected to rise during the next few years.

In North America, the prominent markets are Canada and the U.S. and law enforcement agencies in these nations are best equipped with the upgraded weapons. The militarization of the police department and other law enforcement agencies in the Americas has encouraged the use of advanced riot control equipment.

2. One of the most successful sharing economy apps, taxi-competitor Uber, may be changing it's tipping policy in the near future. This change highlights a somewhat-hidden issue with the sharing economy. If you find yourself thinking "Wow, that's super cheap, how can the [employee] afford that?", then you should assume that the company isn't paying for the price subsidy—the worker is. This allows companies to rake in the profits by undercutting the cost that they charge for their products and services, compared to their competitors, which is great for the company and consumer, but not for the employees. So next time you are about to get out of an Uber, consider tipping the driver. And if the "employees deserve a fair wage" argument doesn't persuade you, you should know that it sounds like moving forward, riders who opt-out of tipping may be penalized when rated by the driver, anyway. Along with the tipping policy change may be changes to waiting time and cancellation time charges for passengers, so keep your eyes out for that as well.

That's all for this week's edition of Weekend Thoughts. Until next week, keep thinking wilder.

Weekend Thoughts - 4.23.16

Image by miheco, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.

Happy Saturday y'all! Below, I have rounded up some things for you to think about this weekend:

1. To get your synapses firing, check out this article about the concept of creating sustainable societies modeled from sacred geometry. (For more information on what sacred geometry is, check out the Wikipedia article.) The piece could certainly be fleshed out a bit more, but it's a good thought exercise to start with, discussing ideas like building torus-shaped houses that look like a donut and generating nuclear energy with devices like the tokamak.

2. This is simultaneously awesome and incredibly freaky—swimming mechanical snakes have been invented with the intention of performing underwater service work for sea-based operations like oil rigs and wind farms. This is basically the stuff of my nightmares. Autonomous robot snakes? Yeah, that's going to be interesting.

3. Step into a time machine with this collection of photographs from 1986, which is both 30 years ago and the year of my birth. This glance at the people, events, fashion, and city landscapes from that year will either have you reminiscing (if you are old enough to remember) or envisioning what things were like back then (if you were yet to be).

4. Would you consider dropping your home Internet connection for mobile-only service? If so, it seems like you aren't alone. Since 2013, there has been a 7% reduction in homes that use DSL, cable or fiber connection to access the web at home, while there has been a 10% increase in the amount of homes that are solely using a mobile Internet connection. Here is a link to the source study conducted by the National Telecommunications & Information Administration. I for one am not at a point where I could consider switching to mobile-only, but if mobile Internet speeds and reliability continue to improve, I could definitely see that as a possibility.

That's all for this week's edition of Weekend Thoughts. Until next week, keep thinking wilder.