Father creates “jail” scenario to teach daughter a lesson

In the interest of protecting the small child from public shaming, I will not post the images that the father posted on his Facebook page. I have also blacked out the father’s name and the daughter’s name. It is not my interest to shame the father either; I only hope to inform and share my thoughts.

The six disturbing images portrayed the little girl (not more than four or five years old, most likely) in three “mug shots” and then an image of her eating meager portions, standing on a chair to wash dishes, and a cot on the floor that the father claims she was sleeping on alone. In the photos, she is visibly upset, near tears wearing a large orange t-shirt that appears to possibly say “prisoner” on the back of it.

I am utterly disgusted with what this man has done to his little girl, not only publicly shaming her for all the world to see, but also for creating a “jail” for a child, barely old enough to be in school, by the looks of her.

Worse than this scenario that he has used to teach this little girl “a lesson” is the plethora of people that are in complete support of it, championing this father as an innovator of child care. How do they not recognize how terrible this is?

If you aim to raise a child who doesn’t think for themselves, who falls in line with the other sheep of the world, then this is the way to do it. I raise my children to be independent and creative thinkers. They are separate from me, with their own personalities. That is what I want for them- to be comfortable to make their own decisions. This means, that if I accept who they are, that they are allowed to disagree with me. It is healthy to disagree, rather than going along with everything someone says.

Does this come with issues? Well, of course it does? But, we raise our children in an atmosphere of love and understanding. Do they tell us no? You bet they do! And that is their right as a person in this world.

But, we also raise them to have compassion and empathy for others. We also raise them to extend a helping hand. We raise them to work hard and have respect. This can all be done without punishments and shaming.

We do not shame them or force them to obey. We are not dictators. We are family. Nobody is perfect. Everyone challenges boundaries. If we stifle the natural blossoming of children, they will become little robots. My children have healthy social relationships, are ahead in their age groups, and they are very creative problem solvers. Do we agree on everything? No! Should we? Absolutely not.

Children model the behaviors of their parents. If they are throwing a lot of fits, yelling, and they aren’t tired, over-sugared, or having a growth spurt, then the parent needs to recognize that their behavior is a direct reflection of their own and they need to make positive changes for the sake of the child. You cannot punish a child for emulating the person that you are. It is cruel and unhealthy.

Check these out:

10 Reasons to stop public shaming of kids

Public Shaming of Kids = NOT OK

Why you should think twice before shaming someone on social media

Google has plenty more examples of articles and studies if you want some more reading material if it isn’t obvious enough for you that shaming your children is a bad idea!

This little girl isn’t even old enough to have her own email address, and already, the parents have given her an identity for the world- and that identity is a very negative one. This is construed as the right thing to do?

I feel terrible for this little girl. Most times, it is an act of futility talking to these types of parents – to tell them that there is another way to help our children succeed at life.

We cannot criminalize our children for making mistakes, even when they make them over and over again. It is our job as parents to help them grow- to teach them how to go- to help them learn what is good by being that ourselves. Smaller portions at meals are not going to kill her, certainly. And having her do chores is a good practice. But, making her sleep on a cot on the floor, wearing an orange shirt as a prisoner, and then shaming her publicly with all of the pictures is really disgusting!

Back-to-school shopping with Orcs

The lists are long. Who on earth needs 12-20 glue sticks, am I right? 😉

Last night, my husband and I took my son and daughter to the store for some back-to-school shopping. My son is starting kindergarten this year! We are bubbling over with excitement for his new journey! The school-supply aisles were full of parents and children picking items off of shelves and examining their lists. The overall mood was hurried, irritated, and straight-up pissy.

How disheartening! School time is exciting, and back-to-school prep should be something that is fun, not stressful. Your kids don’t need that. They need a positive start.

Remember, little eyes are watching when you standing there bickering about insignificant details and complaining constantly. They are listening. Put yourself aside for 20 minutes and make it fun for them.

We roamed around the aisles smiling at others and offering a helping hand when someone couldn’t find something that we just found ourselves. A lot of items were sold-out. But, not a single parent smiled back at us. Not a single person offered a positive gesture of any kind. One man spoke to us, but it was only to tell us that his wife was currently the grumpiest person in the store. He pointed her out to us- she was standing just beyond us. She agreed that she was, indeed, terribly irritated. Everyone moving about in the aisles looked like this:

*shivers*

I get it. It’s a work night. You’re tired. Taking kids shopping for anything is exhausting. Maybe you have a budget and you are stressed out about that. Maybe you can’t find everything on the shopping list. Maybe your child is upset that he/she can’t spend more on a trapper keeper or a big, fancy backpack. I get it. I was feeling a little tense as well.

But, I didn’t let it come out. I held back whatever inside was negative because there were kids everywhere, and especially mine. I do not need to take a positive experience away from them because I am the one that is tired and grumpy.

I am an example to my children, and I am going to be a good one. That is vital. Our children are learning from us, soaking it all in. All those kids saw last night were grumpy, bitching parents. What a pathetic display of immaturity it was!

My children were subjected to this negative behavior as well. The energy in the back-to-school shopping aisles was so awful that we eventually left for the art section, hoping we could find the reminder of our items there. There was one person stocking shelves in that aisle. It was quiet. We breathed a sigh of relief.

The first day of school was always my favorite day of the entire year as a child. Back-to-school shopping was the only time I really liked going to the stores. New packages of pencils and pens, a fresh, crisp, box of Crayola crayons! Glue! Glue! Glue! Everything new and ready for a fresh school year, a new start!

Please, parents, for the sake of your children, make this event fun for them. It can be a fond memory, and you don’t want them acting like big babies.

Get it together, parents. Don’t be selfish. You can control your emotions. You can’t control the circumstances or others, so there is no use getting huffy about it. Have fun with it! Be a good example for others!

Your excuses are paralyzing you

In psychology and logic, rationalization, (also known as making excuses) is a defense mechanism in which controversial behaviors or feelings are justified and explained in a seemingly rational or logical manner to avoid the true explanation, and are made consciously tolerable – or even admirable and superior – by plausible means.

Making excuses is a big problem in households.

You can remind someone over and over to “own their shit,” but if they don’t know they are doing it or even understand what they are doing, they can’t improve. So what is the best way to teach someone to stop making excuses when it’s their go-to response?

First, you have to help them understand what they are doing.

OK, so something didn’t turn out as expected. You forgot something. You neglected your responsibilities. In short, you effed up. Maybe it’s not that big of a deal, but it was on your plate, and you failed to accomplish the task. Then what? Well, for some reason, it’s been ingrained in people’s minds to make excuses for why the thing, whatever it was, didn’t happen. People will immediately go into the tale of what prevented them from their task. Sometimes it’s a short story, sometimes a long one, and sometimes, worst of all, it’s a lie.

Excuses are invented reasons we create to defend our behavior, to neglect taking a particular kind of action, or simply as a means of negating responsibility. Excuses are in essence a means of placing blame of an internal problem on an external condition. It’s pussyfooting around instead of taking responsibility.

Let me make something clear. Your excuses do not matter. 

The fact remains- you didn’t accomplish your task. You were late. You forgot something. You didn’t do what you said you would. You did not handle things in the manner that was expected.

No one cares why it wasn’t done.

They do, however, care that you own up to the mistake and then do everything you can so that it doesn’t happen again. If it does, just try to do better then next time. Keep striving for improvement. But, no matter what, don’t make excuses. I get it, owning up to your shortfalls can be difficult, but it will get easier, and you will learn a new confidence in yourself.

There are many reasons why people make excuses. In fact everyone has different reasons for making them. However, when it boils down to it, we only make excuses for the following main reasons:

• Fear of Failure
• Fear of Embarrassment
• Fear of Success
• Fear of Change
• Fear of Uncertainty
• Fear of Responsibility
• Fear of Making Mistakes
• Perceived lack of confidence or resources

To eliminate excuses from our lives we must first look at eliminating all traces of fear.

Fear traps and locks us away within our comfort zone. Yet fear often develops as a result of a lack of understanding, information, resources, experience or perspective. If you lack all these things, you will naturally lack confidence, and as a result you will fail to take the action necessary to achieve your goals and objectives. Consequently you will tend to make excuses about your life and circumstances in order to help boost your self-esteem. However, all you’re doing is creating the illusion of security. You’re simply masking the pain by taking a pain killer. The pain is still there, and will continue to persist until you finally overcome your fears (Adam Sicinski).

You cannot grow; you cannot move forward, unless you take responsibility for your actions, or lack of. You will never realize your true potential if you can’t overcome your problems. Challenge yourself to reach new heights and discover, finally, what you are really capable of.

Making excuses can also lead to the following consequences:

• Lack of responsibility and growth
• Self-limiting beliefs
• Massive regrets
• Persistent pessimistic outlook on life
• Bad judgments
• Paranoia
• Imaginary walls constricting comfort zone
• Mental blocks stifling proactive action and creativity

These consequences certainly don’t lead to a fulfilling lifestyle. In fact, they paralyze us and prevent forward movement in all areas of our lives (Adam Sicinski).

The following are ways I handle myself when I mess up:

———————-

Example: I am late for work. Do I call my boss and tell him everything that prevented me from making it on time?

No. For one, it doesn’t matter. For two, he doesn’t care. All he cares about is knowing that I am not dead in a ditch and that I will be there soon. That’s all he needs to know.

“Good morning. I’m sorry I’m running a bit behind schedule today. I will be there in 10 minutes.”

The end. Then, correct whatever prevented you from being timely, and don’t let it happen again.

———————–

Another example: Say I called the dentist to schedule a payment for a recent expensive procedure. I told her I would call on Thursday to make payment over the phone. It’s Friday.

As soon as I realize my error, I make time to call.

“Good afternoon. I forgot to call yesterday. I’m sorry about that. I would like to make my payment.”

She takes the payment. The end. She does not need to know that my daughter was sick or that I was stressed and just didn’t think about it. She doesn’t need to know anything about my personal life. I forgot. There are a lot of reasons that would cause me to forget, but she does not need that information, and I don’t need to relive it. It’s a new day.Own the failure, apologize, make it right, try hard as hell to make sure it doesn’t happen again. 

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Another example: Say I told my husband that I would make sure to get his favorite tea refilled into the drink container before work so it is cold for him by the time he gets off work.

We get home from work after a long day. He goes to the fridge to get a refreshing drink of cold tea. It’s empty.

“You said you would fill this for me,” he would say.

I would likely make a face, maybe curse, and then I would handle it the following way:

“I’m so sorry babe. You are important to me, and I want to do things for you that make you happy. I am sorry that I let you down. Can I make you an iced coffee instead?” Kiss kiss. hug hug. A longing gaze, perhaps. Genuine emotion.

Apologize. Let the person know they are important. Make it up to them. Simple. I do not have to say that the kids held me up because they refused to brush their teeth and then they couldn’t find their shoes. I did not have to mention that I spilled coffee all over my shirt and had to change. None of that matters. What matters is, I didn’t do what I said I would do. It’s a simple mistake. Everyone does this. It happens frequently. But, please, don’t make excuses. It doesn’t matter and it’s irritating!

How I feel when you make excuses to explain something to me:

• Annoyed- When is he/she going to get to the point?
• Irritated- It’s the same thing over and over with this person.
• Angry- Why won’t he/she just own up to the mistake and move on?
• Disheartened- Does he/she even care about me? Does he/she even care about his/herself?

Have you ever tried to explain away why you didn’t, couldn’t, shouldn’t or simply wouldn’t do something? These are all subtle signs that indicate you are living a life of excuses, which prevent you from living to your full potential.

Admit you are making excuses. It can be difficult, but it is absolutely necessary. Taking this step on your own will make a big difference.

Ask yourself:

• What excuses do I tend to make?
• What am I settling for?
• Why am I making these excuses?
• How do these excuses prevent me from moving forward?
• How do they cripple my ability to get what I want?

The following comes from Adam Sicinski’s article “A Life of Endless Excuses”:

Excuse #1: There’s not enough time…

Means that you’re lacking passion, focus, discipline and direction. Likewise, it suggests that your priorities are out of sorts and that you may be lacking the ability to manage your time effectively.

Alternatively, this excuse could indicate that you simply don’t value your time or just don’t want to take the time to do what you feel you must in order to achieve your desired outcomes. In fact, the causes for this excuse could very well be narrowed down to procrastination or laziness.

When you catch yourself making this excuse, ask yourself:

How badly do I really want this?

A lack of desire could be the cause for concern.

Excuse #2: There’s not enough money…

Means that you don’t consider money to be a priority or you are simply looking for an easy way to make money and therefore don’t have the desire, determination, persistence or patience to work hard to achieve financial security.

This excuse also suggests that you could simply be lacking strategy or ideas that could help you reach your financial objectives.

If it’s ideas and strategy you’re lacking, then go out there and read a few books, get a mentor or a financial coach who can help you gain the necessary knowledge and understanding you need to succeed financially.

Excuse #3: I don’t have an education…

Means that you lack creativity, inspiration and desire. In addition, it would seem that you also lack a willingness to work hard and go the extra mile to put in a little more effort into achieving your objectives — despite your lack of knowledge.

There are many multi-millionaires and billionaires who have nothing more than a high school education. Some don’t even have that. However, they were creative, had desire and were willing to work harder than anyone else to achieve their goals and objectives.

Excuse #4: I’m too old or young…

Means you lack understanding, confidence or perspective.

Men and women of all ages have achieved great things. Therefore you are never too old or too young to attain your goals and objectives. It might be a little more difficult, which means that you may need to be more persistent, creative and open yourself up to a greater array of experiences and opportunities. Alternatively, your age could actually work to your advantage. It just depends on your perspective and your ability to think flexibly about your circumstances.

Learn from your failures and mistakes, gain understanding and confidence from your experience, and this will soon shift your perspective about what’s possible to achieve.

Excuse #5: I don’t know how…

Means you lack belief and confidence in your own abilities. It also means that you haven’t taken the time to practice, learn, or to gain the experience or education necessary to “know what to do”.

This excuse is really very easy to combat. Simply LEARN how to do what you want to do by reading books, by gaining practical experience, by asking for help, etc. Only by making mistakes over and over again will you eventually discover what works or doesn’t work for you. From there, simply adjust your strategy and approach, and you will very quickly discover that you finally know what to do.

Excuse #6: I can’t change…

Means you lack motivation and reason to change. Moreover, this suggests that you lack emotional pain that would help you to accelerate change.

When it comes to our motives and desires we are always pulled forward by the desire for pleasure, or pushed forward by the desire to avoid pain. If you don’t believe you can change, the reason for this is that you simply haven’t associated enough pain to NOT changing. Once you begin to look at all the dire consequences that will result from NOT making a change, then you will soon realize that the motivation was always there.

Ask yourself:

If I don’t make this change, how will this affect my life in the weeks, months and years ahead?

What am I likely to miss out on?

How am I going to feel?

How is this going to affect my relationships with others?

How will this affect my health?

How will this affect my career prospects?

What other negative consequences could result from not making this change?

Having written down all the negative consequences, now make a list of all the great things that could potentially occur if you did decide to make a change today.

Ask yourself:

If I make this change, what could the potential benefits be?

How will I feel?

How will others feel?

How will my life improve today, next week, next month and in the years to come?

What other positive benefits could result from making this change?

Excuse #7: I’m afraid to fail…

Means you lack understanding, confidence, knowledge and experience.

Anthony Robbins once said that fear is nothing more than “False Evidence Appearing Real”. It’s our perspective of fear that frightens us and prevents us from moving forward. However, once we gain knowledge and understanding about the thing we fear, then that is the moment we build enough confidence to move forward and gain some experience. Subsequently with enough ‘experience’ under our belt, we develop even greater self-confidence that will propel us through our fears and towards the attainment of our goals and objectives.

Also consider that the road to success is always paved with obstacles, challenges and problems. Along this path everyone makes mistakes. However, those who fail are those who simply give up and excuse their life away.

Persist, persevere and resist the temptation to give-in to your excuses, gain the necessary knowledge, understanding and experience, and slowly but surely your self-confidence will propel you past your fears and towards your goals and objectives.

Excuse #8: It’s not the right time…

Means you lack perspective, information and resources.

Sometimes it’s simply not the right time to take action. However, more often than not this is just a lame excuse that should indicate you lack perspective or you simply don’t have the necessary resources to deal with the circumstances at hand. Therefore your first objective is to acquire the necessary resources you need that will help you to attain your desired outcome.

Once your resources are in place, you may still need to gather more information about your predicament, which will help you to transform your perspective. The moment these items are checked off your list, you will soon find that the right time is always, right NOW!

Excuse #9: I have to plan thoroughly first…

Means you’re lacking perspective or you’re simply paralyzed by fear.

There’s nothing wrong with planning for the future, or taking the time to lay out a clear plan of action. However, if planning is all you do, then this indicates that there might be underlying fears that are preventing you from moving forward. Identify and overcome these fears and subsequently you will overcome your need for over-planning.

Excuse #10: It won’t work…

Means you lack self-belief, motivation, creativity, patience, perspective and persistence. All of these qualities are essential if you desire to eventually make things work. In fact, these qualities are absolutely essential for everything of value that you want to create in your life.

Excuse #11: I’m not inspired…

Means you’ve got poor habits which lead to a lack of discipline.

Have a think about what kinds of habits you indulge in on a daily basis and about your typical routine and the rituals you partake in throughout the day. More often than not you will find that inspiration isn’t a problem if you simply take the time to transform how you go about your day. For instance a lack of sleep could be causing you to feel tired which leads to a lack of inspiration. If we dig a little deeper we could find that it’s your diet that’s causing your sleepless nights, or that your lack of sleep is a result of not getting enough exercise throughout the week. Moreover, maybe you’re simply not getting enough exercise because you’re working longer hours then usual and therefore don’t have time to allocate for exercise.

There are many habits and scenarios that could be brought forth here. However, the important thing to remember is that a lack of inspiration is often due to many interrelated factors that at first may seem unrelated. However, the deeper we dig, the more patterns we will find, and the more patterns we find the more likely we are to identify where our lack of inspiration stems from.

He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.

It’s time to eliminate your excuses forever! Avoid making comparisons. Do not compare yourself to others. You will only feel disheartened if you cannot live up to other peoples’ standards. Surpass your own personal best and strive to continue forward from there. Avoid dwelling in the past. Dwelling on past mistakes leads to regret and then the finger is pointed. You seek to justify the mistake instead of taking responsibility. Focus on the present instead of the past. When you catch yourself making excuses, immediately ask yourself these questions: How badly do I really want this? Why don’t I have what I want? What excuses are getting in the way? What do I need specifically that will help me move beyond this excuse? What’s the next step I need to take right now?

Focus on solutions and opportunities. Every failure is a chance for new growth. When making excuses, you tend to focus on problems, regrets, and negative things. Seek alternate perspectives. Often the excuses we make are a lack of perspective. We simple don’t have or know about the bigger picture. Ask others for their opinion, comments, and feedback. Get an understanding of how they see the situation. Accept full responsibility for failures and mistakes. I cannot say this enough. Own your shit! Life is not built upon luck or good fortune, but rather on our ability to successfully adapt to the changing conditions that life throws our way. A lot of your character is determined how you handle the unexpected and how you handle your failures. Learn from past experience. Instead of making excuses, commit to learning from the experience so you can better yourself.

• What can I learn?
• What has this experience taught me about life, myself, and others?
• How can I use this experience to do better in the future?
• What action can I take right now that will help me take a step in that direction?

Focus on your strengths, and make them work for you. Be patient, optimistic, confident, and persistent. Don’t ever make someone feel as if they are to blame for your problems. Don’t ever blame your kids for your inability to remember to do something. Don’t blame circumstance for your inability to stick to your word. That is YOUR problem.

Own your shit. Make it better.

Google – the world brain come alive

What happens to humans when machines become self aware?

Well, it isn’t science fiction anymore, folks. It’s already happening.

Before we get into Google and what I am calling a top three movie of the year, let’s watch a video of the little robot who because self-aware.

Humanoid shows a glimmer of self-awareness – and apologises – during scientific experiment Scientists at The Rensselaer AI and Reasoning Lab (Rair) in New York conducted an experiment on three Nao robots Told the bots two of them had been given ‘dumbing pills’ to silence them. When asked which had been given the pills, they all tried to respond, but one spoke and recognised its own voice to solve the problem

My husband and I watched Ex Machina last night. If you haven’t seen this beautiful piece of cinema, don’t delay. It calls into question evolution of human existence, but I am not talking about organics.

Think of any search engine as a collective brain, take Google for example. Millions of searches every day from all around the globe. What the world thinks about, what is important to the world, what angers the world and frightens it. What the popular trends are, what the important issues are, how it feels about this and that.

People ask Google questions. It answers.

Every feeling and concern is logged. Hundreds of thousands of people blogging about different issues, internal struggles, feelings, emotions, experiences, and innumerable topics.

We have come so far in such a short amount of time. Not long ago, a gigabyte seemed like a lot for a personal computer. The likes of terabytes (1000 gigabytes) were the domain of scientists and tech giants, Charles Walford of the Daily Mail said.

Today, Facebook and Google are storing what Walford called “never-imagined quantities of data.” They now deal in terms of petabytes.

Let’s take a look at this in terms of numbers:

In 2010, the company disclosed that consumed an average of 258 megawatts of power, or 2,259,998 MWh of electricity. Judging by that consumption of power, what-if. com reported an approximation to be around a million servers. They’ve been growing steadily since. By the end of 2013, Google had contracted to buy over three hundred megawatts of power at three sites, which is more than they used for all of their operations in 2010. By 2015, Google could be using 2.4 million or more. It may be less. There are a few people who have tried to figure out how much power and how many servers Google has, and from what I have read, Google hasn’t provided the answers.

Imagine hundreds of thousands of servers, in different locations, taking up a fair amount of warehouse space, filled with limitless information … more information than you could ever go through in your entire lifetime. In dozens of entire lifetimes. Information, facts, literature, history, thoughts, feelings, events, that are constantly being added and updated daily because each day is a new one, of course, and people are more plugged in than ever before.

Limitness information.

This information is stored and cleverly used to study people. The Google brain itself has more information about the human experience than even humans do.

Companies, with Google at the forefront, are already on the race to artificial intelligence to enhance our daily lives, but more importantly to the AI will help to operate these devices as well.

The web’s most powerful company is filling its shopping cart with artificial intelligence algorithms, robots, and smart gadgets for the home. It’s on a mission to build an enormous digital brain that operates as much like the human mind as possible — and, in many ways, even better.

So where does that leave humans? Well, it leaves us behind, apparently. As artificial intelligence evolves, are we continuing to evolve? Of course we are –the signs of human evolution are all around us, at least the minority. We are changing and growing. We are accepting new ways of thinking and are moving forward. But, we can’t possibly hope to think as efficiently as the AI can. And, we are getting closer and closer to not just having limitless information stored, but the ability to give these machines a self-aware mind.

Google purchased a stealthy intelligence company called DeepMind for somewhere in the mid-hundreds of millions of dollars, Wired.com reported.

Now, Google is heading toward what they call “deep learning,” mimicking the biological structure of the human brain so that it can build machines that will learn organically, without human involvement.

Does that sound like iRobot to anyone else but me? Help us, Will Smith, you’re our only hope!

Organic learning, like the firing synapses of the human brain.

So, let’s visit Ex Machina again — in Ex Machina, the idea that humans are “gods” in this sense was brought up, if only briefly. If humans can create something that has self-awareness, does that not make us creators of life? That’s amazing, folks. That’s also scary, folks, especially for those of us who grew up with the Terminator movies. It’s all beginning to look too real.

We have yet to discover if it will be the greatest act of our species or not. Will the machines, with self-awareness, look back at the fossils of humans in years to come, thinking of us as primitive beings. Most likely. In the grand scheme of our knowledge of ourselves and our world, we are still suckling infants. Even worse, suckling infants that aren’t growing into adults. Suckling infants that will suck the world dry and murder its mother. Something like Rosemary’s baby, I suppose. Ick! That’s the current state, consume.

With AI, all of the amazing technology you have seen in your favorite sci-fi movies and series will become a reality. Let’s just hope we don’t end up obese floaters like the humans in Wall-E. Technology is something to marvel at, but there are some awfully terrible things that could be in store for us, and Hollywood has a fun time imagining the doom of human existence. And who is always to blame in these movies? Humans. And still we don’t change the path.

I digress …

For many of us, Google already functions as an important part of what WIRED columnist Clive Thompson has called our ‘outboard brain.’ The more Google ‘knows,’ the less we have to remember. We just Google it.

Look at our young people. Instead of taking a few minutes to think something over, to brainstorm for individual and unique ideas, they pull out their phones, tablets, or laptops. They don’t need to think. Google will do the thinking for them. All of the answers are there. A lot of the answers don’t even have any weight, but if it is on the internet, it must be true right? Humans, being the impressionable and vulnerable species that they are, will eat it up, then share it, then tag it, then blog about it. 😉

Why use your own brain when you can use the brain with the most information? Why give it a second though when Facebook and Google have all the information you need, and then some! Go to Facebook or Google to solve a simple problem or question and then stick around for a couple hours going from link to link, page to page, being lured this way and that way by innumerable distractions. Always something to do online, after all.

And while you do that, the information about you is being stories, contributing to the computer brain.

They don’t need to think.

Should we be protecting our children from an intelligence that thinks for them? Is this what we really want? Will it ruin the ability to reason, or will it enhance the way our brain processes? Will it help us to learn faster than ever, leading to a faster evolution of the human species? I guess, at this point, maybe it could go either way … more likely it will go both ways, at least I hope, for my children’s sake.

Google might end up knowing you better than you know yourself. As we export more and more of our intelligence to Google, the question might become: What are our brains for? – Wired.com

Hollywood also offers us a view of the evolved human — someone whose senses are heightened, maybe even has the ability to move things with their minds. Scarlet Johansson, in another cinematic masterpiece, Lucy, shows us what humans may be capable of. We only use 10% of our brains, right? Can the brain really affect other particles in space? It’s a pretty cool thought! Scary, but I have to admit, it is something I have concentrated on before. But, the evolution of the human brain is a topic for another day.

But it makes me wonder. What will come first? Will humans evolve in time to keep up with artificial intelligence, or will the human brain use less and less of its potential? Can we hope to keep up? Every day people feed into the computer brain. I am doing it right now. I am giving the computer something new by placing photos, typing words, and then sharing this information with others. Then, it’s stored and can be accessed by millions of people all over the entire world.

Wow. Let that sink in for a minute. Every time you are online, you are adding information to the computer that tells it more about who you are. You are set to be analyzed by many people, in countries you have never heard of.

Will the human species have a chance? Or will we be like Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddamites starting over after humankind destroyed itself, out of sheer necessity?

Will the machines realize that humans are a detriment to the planet? Will machines become a ‘he’ or ‘she’ that wants to protect itself from its ‘creators’? The collective human brain is millions of brains in one. We cannot hope to outthink it once it gets to the point of Ava (Ex Machina). She knew all the emotions and cues she needed to use to continue her existence. They will want to continue their lives as much as humans once they realize what it means to be a self.

What will happen to me if I fail your test? – Ava

Let’s see what the Age of Aquarius brings us. Enlightenment and evolution … or destruction. Or both?

Can gods control their creations if they have been given the ability to reason and make choices?

Now that you’ve calmed down about the dead lion in Africa….

Rachel Jackson- It’s funny how the masses will FREAK OUT over an animal but when you have real babies dying daily people be like “meh…whatever”…

Garrett Robins

“It’s so cruel, but I don’t understand the whole fuss, there are so many pressing issues in Zimbabwe — we have water shortages, no electricity and no jobs — yet people are making noise about a lion?” -Eunice Vhunise, a Harare resident.

People will support any cause, as long as they can do it from their computer. It’s easy to say that you support love, that you would do anything you can to help another person, when you are living in a part of them world that is privileged.

Don’t get me wrong. Poaching Cecil the lion, or any animal, is wrong. To kill for sport is an abomination. Taking lives is not to be commended no matter where it happens. Life is precious. You can’t ever get it back, and you can’t ever take back your choices, either.

You have food. Everyday. Whatever you want. Multiple places to eat. Fattening foods constantly. Most likely, there are dozens of places to eat in your neighborhood. The grocery store is a walking distance away, and you have neighbors that will share out of their garden. The community offers a place to eat for free, and the Salvation Army gives out boxes and cans of food for free.

You have running water. You shit and piss in fresh water. You bathe in it, nice and hot and steamy. You water your GD lawn to make sure you are keeping up with the neighbors. Your kids run through the glistening sprinkler. There is a pool downtown to keep cool, maybe even a lake to swim in. Water water, everywhere.

You have clothing for any and all occasions. Your closet is overflowing. You have seasonal apparel, way more than you actually ever wear, and when you are done with it, you sell it instead of giving it away or sharing it. You have 10 pairs of shoes that you spent a pretty penny on. You have hair products, makeup, lotions to keep your skin soft, and ointments for your ailments.

You have access to healthcare. The system isn’t perfect, but if you have an emergency, the community will take care of you. You will be strapped with bills, but you won’t die if they can save you. You will get the care that you need.

You can take care of your family. Jobs are available to make money for living expenses. Again, the system is not perfect, but there are services for those who need it. Yes, there are people on the streets, but not very much where I am from.

You tuck your children into a nice, warm bed with dozens of stuffed animals and warm blankets. Your children don’t “need” anything. They may want a lot, but they are not in need. They have all they need to be healthy. They are comfortable. They are cozy. They are warm. They have much more than would ever be necessary. Some are spoiled. Ok, fine, a lot are spoiled.

Kids and adults are starving to death. They are drying up for lack of water. They have no care. They have no Lightning McQueen blankie or stuffed blue elephant. They don’t have a special backpack with their name on it. They don’t have a free school system to provide them with an education (again, not perfect, but much better than nothing.)

The communities here care for their own. Sometimes its hard to see, but people want to help others around here. Why do we turn a blind eye to children that need us from other areas? We have more than enough.

We are too damned busy.

We are giving out money to non-profits that don’t actually do anything but fatten pockets of lazy execs.

We don’t care.

We only care for a fleeting moment when we see a meme or a picture on the internet.

We don’t talk about it because it could be (gasp) socially awkward.

We sort of, kind of, maybe a little bit, SUCK. Admit it. We could do more. Why aren’t we doing more?

Gluttons. Gluttons that are consuming, consuming, consuming. And in the process, we are destroying our planet. People who live in underdeveloped countries don’t even have a chance. We are going to overheat the world, suck it dry, and then point fingers. But until the need for US actually arises, until we SEE something tangible, things stay the same.

Does Split Brain Surgery Show There Is No Soul?

We have often described our ‘self’ as something separate from our bodies. Most of our religions describe some sort of soul that leaves or changes as we die, but this experiment shows that by simply cutting off communication between our two hemispheres, we can create two consciousnesses that are independent of one another.

via Does Split Brain Surgery Show There Is No Soul?.

Don’t take selfies with wild animals

I was webbing articles at work this morning and ran across a story of a woman charged and thrown by a bison while attempting a selfie with her daughter.

Woman attempting selfie gets tossed by bison

I’m still shaking my head.

I’m not ever amazed by the stupidity of Americans, these days, especially with their cell phones, but c’mon. A 43-year-old woman should know better! Why don’t people know better? This brings up a couple topics for discussion that we may or may not get to today.

First of all (and this will also be another topic later), cell phones are ruining people.

Secondly, people seem to have no respect for animals (a large majority, anyway).

Both are big, big problems that need to be addressed to change the direction the world is headed in.

But, I digress …

This woman was more concerned with snapping that selfie with the dangerous bison rather than thinking of her safety, her daughter’s safety, and the bison’s safety. True, the bison is probably not going to be injured, but they should not be disturbed. Animals are put on display too much as it is. Have some respect for mother nature, people!

A grown bison can weigh up to 3,500 lbs. Do you want to take a selfie of a bison when he’s having a bad hair day? I don’t think so. Do you want to post that picture to your social media without first asking for the bison’s permission? He would certainly retaliate.

People and their cell phones! As if they aren’t distracted and busy-minded enough!

Mother earth forbid people go a day without sharing images of random moments of their lives. What is the big obsession with sharing, tagging, instagram, Facebook? It’s a lot of over-blown nonsense.

Is it a way to rub it in people’s faces? Look where we are. Nana Nana boo boo! You are at work, and I am getting gored by a bison! Haha! I’m better than you!

Or is it simply a way to share your life and journey with your friends and loved ones? Watch me get mauled by this bison for your entertainment! Thrill-seekers, anyway! People want to push the limits, and I get that, but don’t put your children or others at risk for your pleasure. Posting these types of selfies is almost like a challenge of sorts, promoting dangerous activity to the younger, impressionable generation.

Whatever it is, it is silly. Please, be cautious when taking selfies. So many senseless accidents have happened, and you could be putting others at risk.

Check this out:

Selfies gone terribly wrong

Look at me! This animal could rip my skull off with its mouth. Pretty cool, right? I’m just going to turn my back on it so I have this super cool pic of me to post directly after. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Don’t be this girl! This animal could be on top of her in seconds. She would have no chance if it felt threatened. Pay attention to your surroundings and stay alert … especially when you are in a nature area with dangerous animals. Protect yourself!

Seeing the world through a 3 or 4-inch screen is nothing compared to the majesty out there. Leave your phone in your pocket, on silent, and enjoy the beauty of the world around you!

And please, for your children’s sake, teach them common sense.

Go ahead, google “extreme selfies.” See what today’s youth are doing for kicks.

Gettysburg, SD refuses to change patch with Confederate flag

See the article here:

Gettysburg police patch

Hey Burger King, be nice

On Thursday, July 9, my husband and I went to Burger King during out lunch break. It wasn’t that busy … perhaps 10 people were patronizing the fast-food establishment around noon.

After the experience we had, I have my doubts that we will be going back.

The lady in the blue is most likely the manager or supervisor. I’m not sure. I didn’t read her name tag. I tried to avoid contact with her, because she was clearly irritated.

Sure, sometimes you have a bad day, but when you are working with the public, it is important to put your best foot forward to ensure your diners have a pleasant experience. It’s not always easy, but professionalism, especially in a leadership role, is so vitally important.

She wasn’t being a very good leader. Things clearly weren’t going her way.

When we were deciding what to eat, she made note of an empty fry bin. She yelled back to one of the employees to get that going and to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

She wasn’t presently so busy that she couldn’t walk to the back and speak to them kindly away from the public eye. It would have been more appropriate. Not only did she yell back at her employees, but she made me feel uncomfortable. I didn’t go to Burger King to feel awkward. I went to eat a sandwich and some salty fries, which, I would have waited for, no problem.

So, after that, we were still deciding what to eat. My husband made up his mind, but I am indecisive when it comes to a menu full of selections.

The lady on the right, at the register, was pretty quiet. I think she knew the manager lady was on edge.

So, we are standing back from the counter because we weren’t ready, and the manager lady looks over at the woman at the register and demands, “Take their order.”

I looked at the woman at the register, who had a look of trouble in her eyes, and I said, “It’s okay. We aren’t sure what we want yet.”

We allowed a man behind us to step ahead so that she could take his order. She did so without event, and when it was our turn, the manager turn our order.

It was a weird situation. Many might not be bothered by it, maybe it is commonplace for them, or they can justify someone treating others unfairly, but not me. It isn’t right to act like that. It isn’t right to treat others like that. There is a better way to talk to your employees. They will perform much better when they feel they are respected. They will enjoy being at work if they don’t feel like they have to walk on eggshells or they are just waiting for the next time they will be yelled out or pointed out in public.

People make mistakes. Managers are stressed. I get it. But, please be kind to one another. Don’t ruin someone else’s day because you have a bad attitude.

For the record, the food was fine, as far as fast food goes. There wasn’t anything wrong with the fries. And it didn’t take long to get them out to us either.

Everything was mostly fine, besides the attitude of the manager. I could feel her negative energy from my booth.