Friday, September 25, 2015

VW Fraud

Clean diesel is not as clean as we thought. It is still cleaner than it was, and those are nice engines, smooth, quick to respond to the throttle. Industrial diesel is not so quick, and not so clean.  Get the temperature up and you get more nitrogen oxide. Too much has a different smell, it is choking.

Next, does clean matter? We humans add a bit to the green house gasses, and a bit to the partials. The effect of green house gasses counteracts the particles. Particles cool, that is block sunlight, and gasses keep the heat in. Either one, without the other would be a quick change in climate. In the geological record, on average for the last 200,000 years, we have had a cold climate changing event about ever 20,000 years. We are about due again. The events typically have been volcanic eruptions or meteor strikes. OH well, it is just nature doing here thing, the sum of the randoms. The earth will survive, but humans, I am not so sure. We are so dependent on infrastructure. That makes humans vulnerable. Oh well.

So the German capitalist cheat the US requirements. And Canada, Europe, German requirements. Fraudulent capitalists. Act surprised. I worked much of my life in and around the testing industry, and have seen my share of fraud, deceit, and the like. The statement "we only have problems when our concrete is tested" comes to mind. 

Now the question becomes, will all this fraud kill VW. I doubt it. Fraud is a way of life in the auto industry, credit card industry, manufacturing, construction, government, finical industry, etc. It is illegal, immoral, unethical, unvirtuous, etc. What are we going to do about it? Or more to to the point, what can we do about it? When caught, call out the perpetrators. When it slips by, who is going to spend the effort and resources to investigate, demonstrate, and attempt to prosecute. It is easier and often more satisfying to try them in the press.

Enough. What do I know. 

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Local Over Population

Have we ever stopped to consider how the world, as we know it, will end? Our population is now doubling every 25 years more or less. We have finite resources. So what will the end, aka, a major change look like? It will not end well for the human animal.

Overpopulation occurs when an area cannot support it's population. This could be a food shortage, water, energy, physical disaster, or similar issue, where the area cannot or will not support it's population. This can be political, where the people will not support the political or religious,  environment, civil war and religious terrorism, such as Syria. What can the people do but try to leave.

Ultimately, it becomes a case of local overpopulation. The first response is to flood outward, looking for a different area to settle in. We see this in the fossil record, the extinction of the less social Neanderthal population, while the more social homo sapiens survived an abrupt climate change. We see this with natural disasters like even Katerina. These are accompanied with a population die off of some degree. Tragic, yes, but predictable. This is what we are seeing in Syria, along with irrational religion.

The new world order should control population and eliminate religion and ignorance through more and better education. Separation of opinion, marketing bullshit, cerements and facts is also necessary. One child policy may be the way to start. The governments do not yet see the need nor have the political will to do anything, even to start discussion on such subjects. It is unwilling to address the obesity issues we have today, caused mainly by the Canada Good Food guide, chemical cocktail we live in, and the population not understanding the problem of hormone controlled appetite. We are overeating because our hormones are out of balance, caused by our foods.

But then, what do I know?

       

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Attitude change

My attitude is changing; I live in a world of idiots; It is up to me to keep from letting the idiot "dirt" from rubbing off on to me. At least half the population I will term idiots, for the lack of a better word.

Much of my life, I was one of those idiots. Oh, well. The brain is the only organ that is not complete and functioning at birth. It is like a new computer, no programs, no data, just empty. As we go along, we learn. It is apparent to me that we do a good job of teaching in schools, but the subject matter is a bit short. There should be a core subject on philosophy/psychology/life planning/life skills for those who are being brain washed at home, to give these people a chance.

It is apparent to that some people grow up with a very warped view of humanity, of life and how the world really works. There are the corrupt, the violent, the aggressive, and the thieves, fraudsters, the control freaks, and the like. As Marcus Aurelieus said (2.1) When you wake up in the morning tell yourself: The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly, They are like this because they cannot tell good from evil..... In summary, I will just call them idiot.

Marcus goes on to define what the purpose of life is for him; cooperation of humans... to create a flourishing population may be suggested. The ultimate purpose is not to sell the world your belief system. All I need do is keep myself on the 'straight and narrow path to happy destiny' and ignore the idiots that populate the earth. That group must make up at least half of the population.    

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Solution to ISIL

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/09/10/world/middleeast/ap-ml-russia-in-the-middle-east-glance.html?_r=0

http://columbiadailyherald.com/news/local-news/james-bennett-column-understanding-islam-s-key-dealing-extremists

The solution to ISIL problem is obvious: communism. This will get rid of the radical god believing death denying Islams. They think the world has learned nothing since Mohammad. Communism will make then toe the company line, just a Pol Pot did in Cambodia.

After hearing about the kid who claims to understand Islam better than his father, it is apparent that extreme arrogance to the point of stupidly is how radicalization occurs. We will not bow to anyone but Allah. OK, that is your attitude, not fact.

What does a bow indicate? Well that depends on the one doing the bowing. It could be respect. It could be acknowledgement, nothing more. It could be a sign of subservience which is likely what Mohammad was thinking. It could be a be a sarcastic acknowledgement to the enormous ego of person being bowed to or it could be a simple physical movement meaning nothing. It is what the bower wants it to mean. There will be some who say that it is what the cultural meaning is, and if you think that, whatever! To those I will give the sign of having a bad day, made famous by Trudeau in Salmon Arm, B.C. And believing the meaning makes it so.

As Epictetus, there is nothing as discussing as arrogance in the young. 

But then what do I know.  

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Urban Standards v. Homelessness

In the City of Edmonton implementation of Urban Standards bylaw, there was a great many poor houses (cheap rent) condemned and closed, demolished, or otherwise converted to not for rent. Did that have an significant impact on the working poor and poor becoming homeless? As I was asked for an opinion on foundation of a considerable number of these, I was not an insider, but only exposed to a small portion of the situations. My experience says that the city used there Urban Standards to condemn a considerable number of marginal structures that we poor, but better than homeless.

House with foundation movement are obviously a problem, but not necessary unsafe to the residences. Many older houses have this problem, due to failure to allow for the desiccation of high plastic clay or frost effects on the foundation. Stick built buildings can withstand considerable movement before becoming structurally unsound. These are quite livable for the residences, but do not look good.

The big problem is we can feel the slope. When a firefighter feels a floor slope, the assumption is the floor has failed, so an exit is in order. No further effort will be made to enter the building, even if people are know to be inside. This is what the City Of Edmonton termed unsafe. The frost will kill you, and fire might; which is the bigger risk?

So the City of Edmonton contributed to their own homeless problem. What can we say about that? The City's stance is the houses were unsafe, and in the event of fire they were less safe than flat floors. Now what about all those other places south of the U of A, Lendrum, to Southgate, area with high plastic clay, private homes with uneven floors? Many in this area are far worse than those which were condemned in the inner city area.

But what do I know?