The end of cheap oil?

Rising fuel prices are starting to hurt our economy. Qantas, one of Australia’s common airliner is effectively grounding the equivalent of 6 aircraft carriers, by reducing amount of passengers on these aircraft, cancelling production and by a reduction in the amount of routes available. At the current time oil is trading at about $US133 and this is the impact we are starting to see. However we are also experiencing higher food prices, higher consumer goods, and an increase in just about everything from the rising cost of oil.

While a strong Australian dollar and weak US dollar is having a cushioning effect, it won’t be long before more dramatic measures need to be taken for businesses to maintain profits while still providing a high level of service to its customers.

A growing number of people, professors, analysts and critics are voicing concerns about peak oil. This is where supply equals demand, and henceforth every day after this the demand will still continue to grow, while oil supplies dwindle. Don’t be fooled into believing that we will just “run out” of oil one day, it won’t happen, for the reason of peak oil. It will be a gradual process, a gradual process of economic failure.

Armed with this information, governments may reduce or relinquish barriers that will cause oil companies to mine oil in protected areas such as the Artic, where an estimated 25% of the worlds undiscovered oil supplies may be found.

But what does this all mean, well in 5 years time we may dream of the time when oil prices were only a measly $133 a barrel. For now a reduction in our spending on petrol, a critical review on whether we need the two 4WD in our garage and a smarter approach to transport. These are the only things we can do for now, but maybe investing more in renewable energy may be the way to go.

A quick riddle

I am quite busy at the moment, so here is one quick riddle for you to solve.

leave your answers as a comment, and the correct answer will be published once more than one person has an attempt.

Greater than God,
More evil than the devil.
The poor have it,
The rich don't need it.
If you eat it, you'll die.
What is it?

Enjoy!

Mobile phones (an article in a recent magazine)

In relation to my earlier posts, here is an article from a magazine discussing mobile phones.

Mobile phones are one of the most heavily used consumer products in society and now they're being marketed at children as young as six years old.

Increasingly, products that were aimed at adults and teenagers are being marketed at children between the ages of six and 13, or “tweens”. Mobile phones are the latest consumer product to be pushed at this impressionable age group and this raises warranted concerns from parents.

According to a study conducted by The Australia Institute in 2007, entitled Mobile phones and the consumer kids, most children in Australia want a mobile phone and around a quarter of them already have one. In recent years, mobile phone manufacturers have honed their marketing tactics on tweens, but in their attempts to engage these young children in adult-style consumerism, have they put children under unnecessary pressure to consume?

The research paper found that, while these manufacturers’ marketing strategies are aimed at parents, on the basis of using mobile phones as a security measure for their children, most kids who own mobiles are "motivated by status and aesthetics in their purchasing decision". According to the study, young children exhibit signs of “competitive consumption” as they try to keep up with their peers. Fifty-three per cent of tweens regard the brand of their phone as important, with 61 per cent wanting the latest technology and features, and more than half of tweens who own mobile phones planned to upgrade their current models.

With the use of mobile phones to download games, videos and the latest ringtones, manufacturers and advertisers appear to be placing more financial pressure on the tween market. The study showed that one in five children who own mobiles say they spend too much on their phones - and a higher percentage of their parents agreed.

With the UK launch of a new mobile phone branded with the popular children's character Hello Kitty planned for July, phones worth upwards of $600 are being targeted at tweens as a fashion accessory. This type of high-pressure consumerism felt by children who were involved in The Australian Institute's study clearly risks the commercialisation of their childhood and could, among other issues, potentially negatively impact their development by having to take on adult financial responsibilities at a very young age.

Light hearted humour

Here are some programming jokes. I have included these to get a bit of light humour on the site. Some are actually quite funny.

There are only 10 kinds of people in this world: those who know binary and those who don't.

WINDOWS: Will Install Needless Data On Whole System

CD-ROM: Consumer Device, Rendered Obsolete in Months

MICROSOFT: Most Intelligent Customers Realize Our Software Only Fools Teenagers

Why computers are like men:

1. In order to get their attention, you have to turn them on.
2. They have a lot of data, but are still clueless.
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they are the problem.
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have had a better model.

Why computers are like women:

1. No one but the Creator understands their internal logic.
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else.
3. Even your smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for later retrieval.
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

Last but not least:

What's the difference between drug dealers and computer programmers?

Drug Dealers	Computer Programmers
Refer to their clients as "users".	Refer to their clients as "users".
"The first one's free!"	"Download a free trial version…"
Have important South-East Asian connections (to help move the stuff).	Have important South-East Asian connections (to help debug the code).
Strange jargon: "Stick," "Rock," "Dime bag," "E".	Strange jargon: "SCSI," "RTFM," "Java," "ISDN".
Realize that there's tons of cash in the 14- to 25-year-old market.	Realize that there's tons of cash in the 14- to 25-year-old market.
Job is assisted by the industry's producing newer, more potent mixes.	Job is assisted by industry's producing newer, faster machines.
Often seen in the company of pimps and hustlers.	Often seen in the company of marketing people and venture capitalists.
Their product causes unhealthy addictions.	DOOM. Quake. SimCity. WOW. Everquest. 'Nuff said.
Do your job well, and you can sleep with sexy movie stars who depend on you.	Damn! Damn! DAMN!!!

Artificial Intelligence

Perhaps a little out of context, but an interesting read nonetheless.

Opportunists believe the mindset that was established over 50 years ago. Hollywood made movies showing the destruction of the human race from self conscious robots. This mindset was under the belief that making a smart intelligent robot would be easy. Predictions were made that talking to robots would be just around the corner. Herbert Simon an American political scientist said in 1956, “Machines will be capable, within twenty years, of doing any work that a man can do.” It still hasn’t occurred. Igor Aleksander who is the head of intelligence and interactive systems says that “Even if the artificial system could be said to conscious. It will be conscious of being a machine with a defined purpose. It is an act of considerable sensationalism to suggest that such a system will confuse itself with humans and their purposes and then attempt to compete with humans.” We as humans will not allow artificial intelligence to evolve up to a point, where we have lost control with what we have created. Evolving artificial intelligence comprises of many small steps towards a goal. We won’t be able to create robots that will take over the world overnight. The book titled “Robot” says that we would have to deliberately build robots without any fail safes or we build robots to deliberately outsmart us. It also presents the following case “We will know when we are close to building machines over which we will have no control, as before that we will have machines over which we have little control, and before that we will have machines over which we occasionally lose control. It will take many tens of thousands of people working together to get from, where we are today with our robots to one that we could not control” The future of artificial intelligence as viewed by most of the population is that robots will be able to help us to mundane or dangerous tasks. This interaction between us and them will be strong, but we will always have the upper hand.

I am interested in your comments about this article, so please feel free to discuss.

8 Things I Hate About Everyone

1. People who point at their wrist while asking for the time.... I know where my watch is pal, where the hell is yours? Do I point at my crotch when I ask where the toilet is?

2 People who are willing to get off their ass to search the entire room for the T.V. remote because they refuse to walk to the T.V. and change the channel manually.

3 When people say 'Oh you just want to have your cake and eat it too'. Damn right! What good is cake if you can't eat it?

4 When people say 'it's always the last place you look'. Of course it is. Why the hell would you keep looking after you've found it? Do people do this? Who and where are they? Gonna Kick their asses!

5 When people say while watching a film 'did you see that?'. No Loser, I paid $12 to come to the cinema and stare at the damn floor.

6 People who ask 'Can I ask you a question?'.... Didn't really give me a choice there, did ya sunshine?

7. When something is 'new and improved!' Which is it? If it's new, then there has never been anything before it. If it's an improvement, then there must have been something before it, couldn't be new.

8 When people say 'life is short'. What the hell?? Life is the longest damn thing anyone ever does!! What can you do that's longer?

Advertising

In today’s world, media rules. They bombard us with advertisements everywhere, from magazines, to TV, to movies. However, females aren’t the only ones affected. Males can also be conditioned and sculpted by the media. There’s no stopping them, or is there?

The media industry creates advertisements to influence our decision to go out and use their products. Advertising has a serious impact on our cultural beliefs. They are changing the way we think, consciously and subliminally. Men, now more then ever, are being influenced by the media to look like body builders, to be rich and successful, or to never lose control over their emotions. Not all men fit this representation, and some may even be disaffected by it.

Whenever you look at an advertisement, television program or movie, the male in them will fit stereotypes developed, promoted and enhanced by the media. Some of these views include: Males who are muscular, healthy, socially successful, or chick magnet. These positive images accentuate the main stereotypical role of a male, to provide, protect and procreate.

But we don’t have to let the media control our culture. We can fight back! By being aware of what the advertisement is really telling us, we can develop our own opinion and resist the media’s interpretation. As Lawana Blackwell, (best selling author of “Tales of London”) once said, “Patterning your life around other's opinions is nothing more than slavery.”

Internet privacy ("The Net")

In the 21^st century nothing is more pervasive than the internet. (“Of the 70% of Australians that use the computer 60% use the internet”) (http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/lookupMF/ACC2D18CC958BC7BCA2568A9001393AE). However as the internet grows so does the personal information stored on the net; a wealth of data for hackers to access. Is our personal info at risk? “The Net,” a movie made 12 years ago, thought so.

The Internet has become and will continue to be a driving force in our lives. It will be seamless interwoven into our work and play. Privacy of personal information is a critical responsibility of businesses and organisations. They must keep this data secure using the latest encryption and security technologies otherwise our information will be just a vulnerable as that shown on the movie “The Net.”

For those concerned with internet privacy, this is one of the movies you need to watch.

Mobile phones: how young is too young?

I was recently asked by my cousin (age 7 years) at what age did I own my mobile phone. I answered her truthfully and said, when I was 15. The reason behind this question was that some of her friends in her year already had mobile phones, which begs the question, How young is too young to own a mobile phone?

The general routine for a seven year old kid is: wake up, go to school and return home. Where is the time for using a mobile phone? The simple answer is, there is none. However parents give in to their child’s consistent pleads with a common chant being, “everyone else has one, why can’t I?” This is a scary thought, are we depriving our kids from the opportunity in just being kids? We want them to grow up to be responsible adults but this doesn’t mean we need to immerse them so heavily in this environment at their age.

Additionally by giving kids their own mobile phone, they will not understand the finances involved in paying for these pieces of equipment let alone the monthly bills. We may make our child more popular at school, but we are teaching our kids the wrong ideals. We need to teach them to value money and not just accept that it comes out of thin air.

I close, by saying that I believe that when a child can pay in full for their mobile phone and the additional costs that accompany it, then they may own this piece of technology.

As a side note ~ in Australia the number of mobiles exceeds population. There is a total of 21.26 mobile phones in operation around this country. This is surely a scary figure.