Global Warming is Here–that was in 2009!

In 2009 BBC did a 2 part documentary series presented by Sir David Attenborough on climate change. The need to make a difference has come. If the next generation is to prosper and enjoy our beautiful planet the way previous generations have the current and following generations need to know how important simple habits such as recycling, reducing energy and food wastage are. These two documentaries available in full on Youtube will do the trick if you are still wondering if your seemingly tiny contribution makes a difference.

The Truth About Climate Change, Parts One and Two

How to Overcome Shyness?

Social media is making the world smaller which I like, but seeing people with their faces constantly buried in LCD screens, even preferring to communicate with others through it rather than face to face communication is promoting shyness. With youth getting deft in writing their opinion rather than voicing them, it is making millennials less adept with facing each other real time and more crude in their non-verbal expressions.

If you are a millennial facing this problem, tanking in your own personal opinion about the impression you are creating about yourself to others, wishing you had better people skills–I mean no matter what laughing together in a group is way more fun than laughing at a screen–fear not, you will find 151 Quick Ideas to Improve Your People Skills a remedy.

Here is are some quick advice from the book on how to overcome shyness:

􏰀 Work on your listening and communications skills.
􏰀 Learn more about reading nonverbal communication, such as body language and facial expressions.
􏰀 Let others take the lead in conversations, then jump in after the discussion has begun.
􏰀 Observe others in environments that elicit shyness in you.
􏰀 Learn to smile. It’s an ice-breaker.

􏰀 Learn to ask questions. That starts conversations.

As an assignment the book directs you to overcoming-shyness.com continues the exploration of shyness and how to overcome it.

A Page Excerpt from 151 Quick Ideas to Improve Your People Skills

Among the 151 chapters there is People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care, Believe that all people start with good intentions, Always look toward solutions, have reasonable expectations of yourself, Choose words carefully, Don't kill relationships with your behaviour, Wage peace in your relationships, Know your style and lots more. This 200 page book written by Robert E. Dittmer a faculty member with the Indiana University School of Journalism and Stephanie McFarland who is and adjunct professor in the same school of journalism is a gem that can come in handy in many different situations in life. Husband and wife, parents and children, teacher and student, boss and employer, boyfriend and girlfriend. It may be simply presented as just text but it can be a lifesaver. The books is available on Amazon. Click here or on the pictures above.

Tough Job Application Question

You are driving down the road in your car on a wild, stormy night, when you pass by a bus stop and you see three people waiting for the bus:

1. An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.
2. An old friend who once saved your life.
3. The perfect partner you have been dreaming about and haven't seen for years.

Which one would you choose to offer a ride to, knowing that there could only be one passenger in your car?

This is a moral / ethical dilemma that was once actually used as part of a job application.. You could pick up the old lady, because she is going to die, and thus you should save her first. Or you could take the old friend because he once saved your life, and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back. However, you may never be able to find your perfect mate again.

The candidate who was hired (out of 200 applicants) had no trouble coming up with his answer. He simply answered: 'I would give the car keys to my old friend and let him take the lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the partner of my dreams.

Galapagos, The Enchanted Isles, Travel there vicariously

I have always been mystified by the Galapagos Islands. Ever since I watched the documentary Life on Earth presented by Sir David Attenborough, where he traces the footsteps of Charles Darwin to introduce to his viewers to how Darwin could have formulated the Origin of the Species by observing the differences between the animals on the Galapagos and their relatives in South America. That first episode of Life On Earth got me hooked to the amazing wonder of how life came to be. Ever since then I've had a desire to go to the Galapagos, to see those marine iguanas, the blood thirsty mocking birds and flightless cormorants but have not done that pilgrimage yet.

It's not easy to get to the isolated Galapagos Islands, they are part of Ecuador, so to get there one has to get to Ecuador first, then get on a chartered yacht to cruise the 1000km to reach the islands. So its also expensive. Nevertheless thanks again to Sir David there is a documentary series the he wrote and presented on the Galapagos on 2013. I was surprised to find the series recently uploaded on Youtube. There is also another documentary The Magic of The Big Blue that shows off the Galapagos Islands splendidly, but David Attenborough's documentary is a class of its own. Shot in 3D, so the Youtube video is not so great with a dark shade, most likely because it is a 3D rip. Better to get the video on Amazon.

The Magic of the Big Blue - Galapagos

Galapagos 3D with David Attenborough

Even if the Galapagos videos are not clear on Youtube, Sir David's narration is as usual interesting and articulate. It makes you want to see all three parts. If you are like me, the pondering type who loves to introspect of the wonders of life, these videos are fodders for the imagination. The info is as what you would expect from a David Attenborough documentary–A Class. 

Art Lab for Kids is Not Only for Kids

Art, working with colours and media is an inherent magnet for kids of all ages, even adults. With all the distractions offered by electronic gadgets we may not realise that we may end up competing for time to socialise with family and friends. It's hard to ignore the positive side-effects that the internet and computers offer, such as accelerated learning, interactive media and a wealth of information at ones fingertips; but getting addicted to it to the extent we rather be at our computers instead of talking or enjoying actual interactions is definitely not healthy behaviour. 

Making art together is one productive and fun way to entice children, even youth to get their hand dirty and enjoy making stuff. Parents can bond with children, teacher with students and friends can show off to each other. 

The problem for us non-artist types are ideas on how to make art. Without some kind of a guide it can be a daunting task. But to go for art class just to learn fun art may be time consuming. Enter ART lab FOR KIDS. 

This book teaches 50 different styles of doing art which gives plenty of choices as far as ideas with activities for children. 

With techniques like scribble drawings, crayon scratchboard, drawing with an eraser, dream animals, reverse colour landscape painting, watercolour and plastic painting, finger painting on wood, string painting, polystyrene plate printing, paper masks, text as texture. You will be spoilt with creative choices.

With simple techniques, simple instructions, household materials and art supply list, this book is very handy for whipping up ideas that can get parents and children working together. Then after all that fun the memory can be scanned into a cloud and shared around in social media.

This 500 odd page book is simply presented in a manner that is inviting for anyone who just want to have fun with art to try their hand. 

Click Here to get Art lab For Kids on Amazon.

Thank God China is not anywhere near the Great Barrier Reef

Want to understand why we are addicted to cheap China made stuff, 

click to check out this book.

China has a big stick, now with its sparkly new aircraft carrier and its own blue ocean strategy it feels it can simply grab the Spratly Islands for its own without negotiations with other deserving countries that claim them. While the world is focused on the political ramifications of China’s newest annexation very little is being reported on the environmental damage that the Chinese have caused so far with their super massive reclamation work.

On the 19th of June the Chinese News Media NDTV reported that the Chinese government had destroyed no reefs, more over they are using some new dredging technology that protects coral reefs. It seems “impact on coral reefs is localised, temporary, controllable and restorable,”–so much for not destroying coral reefs, first saying everything is protected and then going on to say…well…the damage is not permanent!

China making new land on the Spratlys, they say this intensely fast, furious and massive operation is eco-friendly. China is not known for ecological finesse. 

The report was a rebuttal to claims from the Philippine government that the Chinese government has destroyed more than 300 acres of pristine coral reefs. China of course will not allow any independent audit on this matter, and really as if the the Chinese gives a hoot what the international community thinks. China is also very bullish in claiming they have no prison labour camps making cheap goods, have wonderful clear skies all over their country and are bastions for the protection of intellectual property rights. As far as the Chinese Communist government is concerned they are very honest and their word is as good as gold. All I can think of is bye-bye beautiful reefs of the Spratlys, once untouched, now untouchable. Its such a pity, with more than 50 % of coral reefs gone from their natural coverage on our beautiful planet I don’t think we can afford to lose even 1 % with the pressure of rising sea temperatures and pollution threatening all coral reefs. The reefs around uninhabited islands are now even more precious to our planet than ever, much more than the national interest of a particular nation can dictate.

The Spratlys are known for their pristine beauty

The Communist Chinese have always been belligerent in their claims and they take what they want as they wish. Like how they simply walked in to the Sovereign Nation of Tibet. If not for India’s military they would have gone ahead and swallowed much of North Eastern India, Nepal and Bhutan. It’s just China’s way of doing things. In most cases (like Tibet and the Spratlys) I think they know that their claim is thin, so the only way they can justify their right is to act like a bully. A bully doesn’t think very much and is far from being considerate, also you can throw away diplomacy from their vocabulary. Nobody likes a bully (except perhaps a fellow bully), so goes China’s national image.

Too bad I am not the Premier of China or his advisor. If I was calling the shots over there I would tell him, no need to spend billions on unpopular land reclamations. Simply create Nansha National Park, say we are protecting the coral reefs from damage and exploitation and open some parts of it to dive tours. Create off-shore tourist friendly naval installations and claim the area as one of China’s National Treasures and a World Heritage Site. Send naval vessels to protect the area and even Greenpeace will applaud you. Unfortunately the Communists are just too full of themselves and too thick headed to think creatively or diplomatically. What a waste of a Great Nation.

World Economy–The Fun Way to Learn

I am not a medical student!

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Antibody - against everyone 

Artery - The study of the paintings. 

Bacteria - back door to a cafeteria. 

Caesarean section - a district in Rome. 

Cardiology - advance study of poker playing. 

Cat scan - searching for lost kitty. 

Chronic - neck of a crow. 

Coma - punctuation mark. 

Cortisone - area around local court. 

Cyst - short for sister. 

Diagnosis - person with slanted nose. 

Dilate - the late British Princess Diana. 

Dislocation - in this place. 

Duodenum - couple in blue jeans. 

Enema - not a friend. 

Fake labour - pretending to work. 

Genes - blue denim. 

Hernia - she is close by. 

Impotent - distinguished/ well known. 

Labour pain - hurt at work. 

Lactose - people without toes. 

Lymph - walk unsteadily. 

Microbes - small dressing gown. 

Obesity - city of Obe. 

Pacemaker - winner of Nobel peace prize. 

Proteins - in favour of teens. 

Pulse - grain. 

Pus - small cat. 

Red blood count - Dracula. 

Secretion - hiding anything. 

Tablet - small table. 

Ultrasound - radical noise. 

Urine - opposite of you're out. 

Varicose - very close.

How many teaspoons of sugar is in a can of Coke?

Energy is all around us but of course not always in the form that we can use. When it comes to our body, bio-energy that our cells generate when sugars such as glucose are broken down to CO2 and water in the Krebs cycle is all important to health. However consuming too much sugar is very bad for our health. Most of us know this with all the national campaigns to create awareness about the dangers of diabetes. Still not very many people know that high fructose corn syrup or dextrose that can be found in candies and soda pop are sugars that we must consume with caution. Learning to understand what the ingredient content on food packages mean is one of 150 advices that can be found in 150 Most Effective Ways to Boost Your Energy.

Written by Dr. Johnny Bowden a certified nutrition specialist he warns that food manufacturers are “sneaky devils” when it comes to spiking food creatively with anything that does not even closely sound like the word sugar but is nothing but sugar. Maltose, sucrose, fruit juice concentrate are simply sugar, sugar, sugar.

This 300 page book is filled with bite sized advice that is practical and informative. You will surely find a lot of tips that you can include in your diet and lifestyle to live a healthier and more robust life.

100 Ways to Boost Your Self-Confidence

It takes a lot of courage to take chances and risk in life. Now and then we are confronted with situations or opportunities that require us to step into the uncertain or unknown which we believe can lead us to greener pastures. Do we have the courage, is the courage we have enough? Uncertainty is a powerful force, it is very palpable, making us feel nervous and afraid, mysteriously sucking out energy and motivation. Fortunately the courage we need to overcome uncertainty can be developed from confidence. Courage by itself is raw, it is built on successes, failure deflates courage very quickly. Confidence on the on the other hand is developed from learning, it is in fact built on failures. Thus the currency of courage is confidence. Confidence is the real counter force to uncertainty. Courage alone can sometimes be misplaced because it can be pumped in to us by false pretences. Confidence that is born of learning is intelligent and takes into account the the only failure is quitting.

We can develop confidence easily with simple habits and working on the perspectives with which we view our life. If you need a professional guide to help with confidence building or just to realise how easily it can be done 100 Ways to Boost Your Self-Confidence is the book for you.

Here are some excerpts from the book:

“When the unexpected happens, we usually get a little anxious; sometimes we totally freak out. Again, this is pretty human stuff, but the problem is that whenever most people get derailed, their confidence is shaken, and they can change direction (or just get lost) and have difficulty getting back on track. Here’s an alternate way to keep your focus and move forward in the process: Instead of putting your project aside to deal with the problem that’s trying to get your attention, take the time to do what you were going to do in the first place. By not allowing yourself to be thrown off course, you are keeping control. If you can sit down and complete your goal, despite your current (and most likely momentary) circumstances, you will build your self-confidence and won’t lose any ground.”

“Self-confidence doesn’t come from sitting on your hands and waiting for something to happen. It is about throwing everything you have against the wall and waiting (patiently) for something to stick. Then you have to take your time to refine your projects. For many, that is the hardest part of the process. Great innovators can be very impatient when it comes to the implementation of their ideas. Remember that when you are being impatient with yourself, there is no one who can defend you.”

It’s 100 chapters that run about 2 pages a piece has titles like Push Through the Upset; Be Prepared; Be Patient with Yourself; Embrace your Fears, Find a Mentor, Maintain the Machine; Real Courage; Sheepskin Confidence; People Improve; Procrastination; The World is Your Ally; Celebrate Small Victories; Plan B and so on.

What I like about the book is that it is not long winded and doesn't have patronising cliche stories of miracles. Simple and straight forward techniques that build confidence. It is also a good parenting book even a teachers guide to help develop student’s confidence. A small book that packs a big punch of confidence. You will surely find it an useful, enjoyable and enlightening read.

100 Ideas Supporting Pupils with Dyslexia: Ebook

Dyslexia is difficult to understand. Its basically some minor or major disability to learn even if the student has normal intelligence like difficulty in spelling, doing math, reading, pronouncing words or understanding content. Its not a medical problem and fixing it has to do with finding a method of learning that works for the student. With such a broad scope in defining dyslexia I would think any student who needs special attention can be dyslexic. If you are looking for help coping with dyslexia here is a book that is effective.

100 Ideas Supporting Pupils with Dyslexia provides a creative technique for each page which are divided into 10 sections: 1. Teaching strategies, 2. Reading and comprehension, 3. Spelling, 4. Creative writing, 5. Learning strategies, 6. Planning and learning, 7. Memory, 8. Getting the teaching right, 9. Number work and mathematics, 10. Dyslexia across the curriculum.

Here is an excerpt from the intro: Dyslexia can be a confusing condition. There are plenty of theories on its nature, from the phonological deficit hypothesis, visual deficit and dietary imbalance theories, to speculation on movement and coordination
difficulties. So often the busy classroom teacher does not have the time to read all the latest literature and develop new teaching practices. This book aims to provide classroom approaches which have all been tried and tested with dyslexic pupils of all ages. The ideas are presented in a manner that allows them to be modified by teachers for their own particular classroom and school context and are therefore relevant to teachers from all sectors, primary and secondary.

If you are a teacher or a student trying to cope with dyslexia you might just find a cure in the pages of this book.

53 Interesting Ways of Helping Your Students to Study

How to study? Whether you are a student, parent or teacher, this is a question that comes up now and again. Mostly studying is a combination of understanding and memorising stuff. In the linear world of conformity where all students gets tested against a rigid standard, there ends up students who do well and otherwise. There are also students who study fervently but don’t do well and students who seem to just breeze through exams with little prep. When it comes to answering the question “How to study?”, the best we can do is share our experience of what worked and didn’t work for us. Otherwise we resort to stumpers like study smart don’t study hard, study effectively, just concentrate on what you are doing. If instead you would like to learn about study techniques here is a book I found useful.

53 Interesting Ways of Helping Your Students to Study was written by experienced teachers. It is not some PLR hash of generic advice but consists of specific methods that student can employ. Its 9 chapters take you through each stage that any academic study entails: 1. Beginning, 2. Planning, 3. Reading, 4. Taking Notes, 5. Writing, 6. Learning with Others, 7. Using Resources, 8. Revising right, revising wrong, 9. Exams.

Here are some excerpts lifted from the book.

Intro: Effective learning has more to do with awareness and understanding of the purpose and process of learning than with techniques or mechanical skills…..Students do not casually abandon their existing learning methods, which are often deep-rooted habits. Development consists of a gradual evolution of methods based on an understanding of past and present experience…..In these exercises, therefore, there is no attempt to tell students how to study and very little direct advice of any kind. Decision- making is left to students. The purpose of the exercises is to help students to become more reflective, more autonomous and thus more effective learners.

1. Beginning: If you ask students to identify the problems which they are meet- ing or expect to meet on their course, you will find that only some of these difficulties can be solved by the acquisition of study skills: other problems, such as lack of confidence, divided attention or family hostility, require different treatment.

2. Planning: The organisation of study time is a key skill for students to ac- quire: there is plenty of evidence that organised students do better than disorganised students. This exercise increases students’ awareness of how they are spending their time at present and provides them with a rational basis for planning changes in how they set their priorities and allocate their time.

4. Taking Notes: A common mistake which students make when taking notes from books is that they attempt to write down everything, if not in full at least in summary form. This exercise encourages them to be selective in their note-taking in the hope that they will have the confidence to leave out irrelevancies in the future.

8. Revising Right, Revising Wrong: There is no one correct way to revise; different methods suit different individuals. You can help your students not by telling them how to revise but by encouraging them to make their own selection from a range of suggestions. And the more these suggestions are based on hard won experience rather than theory, the more likely students are to want to try them out.

9. Exams: When acting in their role as examiners, tutors have a special language which students need to learn in order to be able to under- stand the questions on their exam papers. For example, the instruction to discuss is asking students to do something quite different from the instruction to describe. If students don’t appreciate this difference, they will answer the question inappropriately.

How to find a missing watch-analogue

There once was a farmer who discovered that he had lost his watch in the barn. It was no ordinary watch because it had sentimental value for him. After searching high and low among the hay for a long while; he gave up and enlisted the help of a group of children playing outside the barn.

He promised them that the person who found it would be rewarded.

Hearing this, the children hurried inside the barn, went through and around the entire stack of hay but still could not find the watch. Just when the farmer was about to give up looking for his watch, a little boy went up to him and asked to be given another chance.

The farmer looked at him and thought, "Why not? After all, this kid looks sincere enough."

So the farmer sent the little boy back in the barn. After a while the little boy came out with the watch in his hand! The farmer was both happy and surprised and so he asked the boy how he succeeded where the rest had failed.

The boy replied, "I did nothing but sit on the ground and listen. In the silence, I heard the ticking of the watch and just looked for it in that direction."

Moral:

A peaceful mind can think better than a worked up mind. Allow a few minutes of silence to your mind every day, and see, how sharply it helps you to set your life the way you expect it to be...!

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I hope Elon Musk makes lots of money

There are only a few billionaires out there whom I believe is a blessing to this world. Among them is Elon Musk. I have followed news on this relatively young self-made billionaire since 2004 when he ploughed the millions he made from pioneering credit card use on the internet through Paypal into making an electric sports car–the Tesla Roadster. His goal with the Roadster was to prove to people that electric cars can be comparable if not better in performance with any gas powered super cars. This came from his vision of a greener planet that he believes can only be achieved by weaning the world from fossil fuels. GO ELECTRIC! I've been following in Elon's progress with much anticipation as his company that many of the giant car manufacturers simply scoffed at since then.

The very fact that Teslamotors continues till this day despite its financial challenges is because of Elon's commitment to promote fully electric cars. Now we have the Tesla Model S sedans. It still is out of the reach to the masses, expensive, but I think Elon's persistence is going to pay-off. He is now looking to make the most expensive component of electric cars, their battery, cheaper–how? By supplying the electric grid with Tesla's patented battery technology so optimum energy production from solar and wind generators can be achieved.

When it comes to unpredictable energy supply from solar and wind the missing link is storage. If excess energy that is produced during optimum weather conditions can be stored effectively–like a long sunny day or very windy days–this can make up for days when the weather bums out. The more companies subscribe to these batteries, the more their production and the cheaper the cost per unit. If this theory takes off, which is plausible since Tesla has the best battery efficiency technology thanks to its pioneering foray from its heyday making the Roadster, Tesla cars will get cheaper.

Check out Tesla Model S design and specs - 10min video by Open Throttle

We could be on the brink of a green revolution–a revolution we desperately need since the last energy revolution, the industrial revolution. Elon Musk has proven his persistence in all the endeavours he has touched, he is a billionaire and most importantly he is NOT a politician, nor beholden to mega businesses spun off from the industrial revolution. If there is a prayer for the future of our planet that is worthwhile it would be that Elon Musk succeeds in his plans and continues to generate billions more for his company, even if he is smug and enjoys the spotlight. We need more super rich and farsighted visionaries like Elon Musk to secure a sustainable future for generations to come.

This post was inspired by Elon's latest announcement on the plans for Teslamotor's Gigafactory. Read the post on Bloomberg here. Check out the Gigafactory here. Check out Teslamotors.

On course for a watery world?–A scientist speaks

Dr. K. Pannirselvam, a NASA scholarship awardee, is a Ph.D. holder in electrical engineering from the University of Kansas, USA. His research interest has been in the area of radar remote sensing of polar ice in support of global climate studies. Consequently was employed as a research professor at the Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets at the University of Kansas in 2002. In 2003 he received the University of Kansas Graduate School’s prize for the most outstanding dissertation in 2003. He returned to Malaysia in September 2006 under the Malaysia Government’s Brain Gain Malaysia (BGM) programme. He is currently a Senior Staff Researcher at MIMOS Bhd where he develops wireless telecommunication products in support of the Malaysian Government’s initiative to bridge the digital divide between rural and urban areas by bringing internet connectivity to the whole of Malaysia. Dr. Pannir, is one of only a handful of Malaysians who have seen Antartica, let alone live and work there. Since his return to Malaysia he has been sharing the environmental research work that he had done while in Antartica to Malaysians to create environmental awarness on this side of the planet. The video below is the presentation thad Dr. Pannirselvam gave on April 11, 2011 during the Life Positive Forum titled the Rejuvenating Power of Nature. 

What to do with a billion bucks?–This is not a game show application!

A page excerpt from Economix–If you are want to understand the global economy in a nutshell, this is the book.

If I had a billion dollars I wouldn’t have a clue what to do with all of it for myself. Buy a big house with a swimming pool and amazing gardens, like those rich and famous houses? That doesn’t make sense to me, perhaps buy big pieces of land in different parts of the world and grow endangered plants. If an inventor is out there who has a device or process where we can conveniently create our own electricity for household use, that would be great promote with the weight of a few hundred millions. I would love to invest with Elon Musk and have his company make more affordable Teslas even if sold at a loss initially, bet on volume you see. Then reinvest in better performance and tech, like using less rare-earth material for the electrical components.

The institute would be run by teachers and artisans not by a profit hungry board. Hire a few huge ships to sweep the oceans off of plastic, these ships would have to use sail and solar power, bio-diesel (from like modified used cooking oil) only when really necessary. Recycle the plastics of course spend some money to speed up research on biodegradable plant based plastics and promote the heck out of that. If I could give giant fossil fuel companies a run for their money–Yes! It would be great use of a billion dollars. Set up technical institutes that teach students actual work place or entrepreneurial skills.

Wishful thinking–I guess. Then again a billionaire out there with a conscience might read these two paragraphs and who knows–get inspired to do something really good for the planet after say like keeping aside like 200 million for himself/herself; with a billion, I think about 25 mil for me and my underlings is more than enough.

1 billion bucks–ain’t got’em. There is no way I can earn that much in a year, even 10 years. Hypothetically to make 100 mil a year after taxes per year, even if I worked really hard for those 10 years, no leave, no vacations to burn the doe, 25 days a month, 10 hours a day; 3000 hours a year (crazy hours!), to keep it simple lets forget taxes, I would have to ask boss to pay me at least $33,330 PER HOUR! Who in their right mind would pay that much and what in the world would I HAVE TO DO to command so much money per hour?

Earning the money in a business would require a huge startup capital and lots of trust from creditors or I have to stumble upon some invention or product that everyone simply must have. Luck and timing play for business to rake in profits, leave alone making 1billion bucks. Certainly no business is a sure thing and the bigger the business goal the greater the risk, not my forte. Lottery?I don’t know of any single lottery that has a billion dollar payout and to hope for striking a hundred 10 mil payouts is more nuts then wishful thinking. Inheriting the wealth would be by far the easiest but I missed that boat long ago! Even if I wished it for my next life so much inherited wealth will probably turn me into a selfish brat.

Anyway wealth is just like food. Just because there are starving people doesn’t mean there isn’t enough food, likewise poor people don’t indicate there is not enough wealth to go around. Just because I don’t have that kind of money to spend doesn’t mean someone else doesn’t have that opportunity. Malnourished masses and paralysing poverty are simply the world vision that the rich without a heart accept as facts of life (just not theirs).

I am not jealous of rich people nor do I think that all rich are greedy–people like Bill and Melinda Gates with their Gates Foundation, Elon Musk with his visionary greener and grander world future are a few people who are worth their wealth. I am sure there are more of them out there who understand that with great wealth comes a great opportunity– even if it is to make a name for oneself–to leave a mark that I tried to make this beautiful world l live in more beautiful.

Expand your economic knowledge of our amazing world, comic style like the pix above check out this book–well worth your time!

Towards a Generous Future: Two steps forward, one step back is progress none the less.

Our modern life took a lot of effort to get to where we are. We are not done yet in creating an equitable and fair world. An excerpt from the book Economix that inspired a series of post on Future of Futures.

By the turn of the 20th century, the clamour of an exponentially growing population in nations increased to such decibels that generations-old monarchies the world over had to give way to commoner centric governments. If not divesting their monarchs and royalty completely a few countries chose to become constitutional monarchies; essentially maintaining their royalty as national legacy with their political and governing powers transferred to the man on the street. This global shift in style of governance sprung as the ideals of equality and equitability filled the hearts and minds of people striving for a more just world.

For many centuries the working contract between the ruler and his subjects was that the ruler provided protection and community belonging (citizenship) while the ruled produced sustenance and wealth for the Kingdom. The king, his warriors, land owners and the clergy formed the aristocrats; the merchants and peasants formed the productive commoner population of the Kingdom. Of course this ‘mutually beneficial’ contract was feudal and wealth flowed from the hands of the work and toil of merchants and peasants to the aristocrats. Aristocrats had their work in maintaining order and security which is as important but they had the opportunity to exploit and they took it and how they gloated in flaunting their opulence and distinguishing themselves as a privileged class–thus the inevitable consequence of too much wealth, a decadent society living off exploitation of labour. How long could such a Kingdom last? History has proven only as long as the most disenfranchised allow it. Consequently a critical mass of discontent is reached and governments have to reform or fall–often brutally; thus the checks and balances of economy follow a natural ecology.

Some Kingdoms transitioned quite smoothly because of savvy and considerate Kings like the Japanese, Thai and West European Kingdoms; while others like in Russia, the Eastern Europeans and China very violently. The geography of the world during the early 1900's was also filled with Western colonial powers in Asia, Africa and South America. The Western colonisers generally exploited the Kingdoms and aboriginals they conquered unfairly and behaved as arrogant monarchies. By the 1950's reeling from the expenses of World War 2 in cost and lives the global movement to break the hegemony of power and governance from monarchies trained their efforts on relenting Western colonisers. Eventually the colonised nations gained independence and set up governments by the people. Every new nation born at this time had a choice of democratic-capitalist, democratic-socialist or socialist-communist governments. In less than two centuries the era of feudal monarchies faded into the halls of history; likely never to return to replace progressive societies that cherished equality and meritocracy–well.. at least that’s how they started.

With the monopoly of power now securely in the hands of common folk the next daunting task was to reform feudal mindedness to the new consciousness of meritocracy where the productive effort of individuals meant more to their nation than lineage. Anyone could partake off the economic activity of their nation in which protection and citizenship are their right instead of a privilege provided by governments established by their peers. Governments were set up as the servants of the people and strived with the moral initiative to create equitable, just and contented societies. Thus a heady new world order was born in the midst of many new hopeful nations of the mid 20th Century; one where governments sought not to dominate but to work for the betterment of their own citizens while maintaining their unique identity.

50 plus years from the beckoning birth of a bright future of equitability and equality, we can certainly celebrate the success thus far of maintaining commoner centric governments save a handful of ugly dictatorships and pseudo democracies the likes of North Korea and Zimbabwe. Decade after decade the man on the street has flexed his muscle and changed his government when he was unhappy with it; and with the huge leaps technology has made in ease and speed of global communications his grip on his government has become a stranglehold. The last round of revolutions in the Middle East (the Arab Spring) conclusively proved the potency of the freedom of information and communication by shuddering the very foundation of the few remaining absolute monarchies and dictators.

But the people's work is far from over. While the march for equality has been making strides in the past century, better distribution of resources and wealth hasn’t worked as we had wished. Open exploitation of people based on race, creed and gender is very much in the wane; even if you were to disagree with this statement at least we can come to a compromise that it is further along the path of extermination compared to economic disparity. Economic exploitation is still rife and it is hard to make any confident claim of progress in tackling poverty in the last century. India for instance is the largest democracy in the world and it is exemplary in maintaining a democratic society by protecting the sanctity of a free and independent judiciary and press; the ruling political parties are also at the mercy of the people who have not allowed hegemony of power to settle with any particular political party; yet India despite being a relatively resource rich country is still struggling to lift its many from abject poverty. The Indian government claims it has been making progress in the last couple of decades by opening up its economy but the economic parity progress is imperceptible as one travels the streets of India; not that there are no super wealthy Indians here and there.

India is an obvious example of the economic frustrations that exists in communities the world over; basically as purchasing power plummets year on year the worker who pulls $25,000 a year has way more subsistence headaches than someone who rakes in $1,000,000. Certainly the prevalence of governments by the governed has created greater distribution of wealth among its peoples. There are good examples of governments where arguably equitable distribution of wealth has been accomplished like in Norway, Denmark and Finland. I would also wager that most citizens are very proud of their respective countries; however it is also obvious that exploitation has not waned in the global economy. Instead a new form of aristocracy has emerged who are neither Presidents nor Dictators, they are the heads of giant multinational corporations. I am not jealous of the super wealthy or think that the people should steal the wealth from the rich and give it to the poor, but we should clamour for change if someone becomes wealthy by knowingly exploiting labour under them for themselves, where the rich are rich because they steal from the hard workers and poor. I don’t think everyone has to be living in mansions and driving Lambos, or that everyone should be living in prefab homes and driving stock cars, variety is wonderful in the world, wealth is also nice. Just earn your keep fairly– common sense. Looking at the world around there is still plenty of room for improvement.

I would say that I have benefitted greatly from the struggles of my commoner forefathers. If not for the the hard fought liberties that they gained for us I would not have the level of education that I have or the opportunities open to me as they are. The hard fought revolutions of the past 300 years has made a difference that I deeply appreciate. Certainly if a person from the 19th century was able to see our modern cities and technology; the way people of different races and religions interact in relative harmony; the equal level of education available to boys and girls, she should be wonderstruck by the progress even if there are still places in just about any country where we can send her to prompt her to say 'same-old, same-old'. She might also offer us this wisdom–we have come thus far, it is not that far away before every single human being born can be guaranteed social and wealth equitability so continue on with the revolutions. The same fuel for change of the past still exists–exponential growth of discontent.

I stumbled upon this simple but informative and entertaining website while looking for a historical timeline based on social change–couldn't find anything worth a second look until this website The Great Idea Finder organizes important innovations in technology chronologically; goes all the way back to ancient times. Did you know that the ancestor of the fax machine existed as far back as 1843?!

Click Here to Go To The Great Idea Finder's Innovation Timeline

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Towards a Generous Future: Play-pretend generosity isn't going to cut it.

According to Adam Smith (Author of Wealth of Nations) my thoughts are common sense. A page excerpt from Economix.

A content heart is a generous heart. It beams in peacefulness, richness in the enjoyment of living, harmony in relationships and basks in dignified self-respect for oneself and others. Generosity is giving for a greater a good that encompasses universal ideals. People who are addicted to charity enjoy giving itself as a reward. Rich, poor, junior, senior, sick or healthy; anyone is capable of generosity of some kind. If businesses adopted generosity they will flourish from employee loyalty, trusted and respected branding, respect and protection from society. They will have to sacrifice some of the bottom-line and plough it back to their stake holders, but what goes around, comes around. Indirectly generosity is about optimising business by investing in goodwill as a means to flourish and prosper. Generosity is not about depriving oneself of luxuries if that is what one desires, it is about caring for the society one is in; about not ignoring their needs and interests. It is about working out real win-win situations. This is what generosity in commerce and business can potentially create. It may mean not becoming super-wealthy, but wealthy enough.

Anyone who starts a business has a choice; either they maintain the principle of generosity or the principle of greed. In todays business environment, unfortunately, experts scoff at win-win situations. They say it is impractical. They say the business world is a brutal one, one of fierce competition and cold-hearted uncompromising profit taking and profit keeping–where the more profit the better. The big greedy multinational corporations have even taken greed to a new level. They too acknowledge the benefits of being generous and they don't want to lose out on these benefits. However with greed firmly planted in their organizations the idea of giving up profits is a super taboo. A solution for the greedy appeared when they realized that to get the reciprocal benefits of generosity they don't have to be really generous, they just have to make a show of generosity–enter CSR. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the big buzzword along with Environmental Responsibility.

CSR as an extra-business venture is not required for businesses and commerce with a heart. Community welfare concerns are as important to them as their business, in fact they go hand in hand as part and parcel of business. There is no need to make a big show of doing charity to the community because businesses, commerce and community form important supporting chains within social ecologies that are curcial for balanced and prosperous living as a whole. Giving generously off profits as social responsibility and for goodwill in the form of government taxes, employee benefits and donations are accepted responsibilities of persons or groups getting rich off their community. Compare this to the big corporations that earn profits in the hundreds of millions, even billions but give out paltry sums back to the community. Greedy corporations insist that their sole fiduciary responsibility is to their share holders who are only happy when profits are on the up and up. The stake holder's (read the larger community) welfare from whom they depend on for business is the concern of the governments, not theirs. When they have to make contributions to their stake holders, usually out of compulsion rather than generosity they like to make a big deal out of their contributions and command recognition for their feigned magnanimity by insisting that their CSR is a selfless favour to their community. They also milk as much publicity as they can out of their CSR by paying for media coverage (that is if they can't get if for free!) to turn it to a brand marketing exercise on top of the tax breaks that they can claim from governments. How can CSR be goodwill if companies are simply fulfilling a need begrudgingly. To add icing to the cake of greed, in an effort to safeguard the bottom-line even very rich corporations will insist that their lowly paid employees contribute their personal funds, time and effort for 'the good cause' to reduce company funding. Thus in adapting with times greed has become more sophisticated as feigned generosity.

The very fact that there is such a thing called CSR shows just how removed commerce and business are from societal welfare. It used to be natural for the rich business community to be magnanimous in charity without need for recognition because they understood that the if the giving stops the getting will eventually grind to a halt and bad blood will result between the business people and community at large. Today large corporations can get away with lots more greed through their multinational operations where the can hide their greed by exploiting corrupt governments in other countries where human rights are negligible. When you live in a Third World or Developing Country you can see this very clearly. Since there is no such thing as minimum wage, apart from super-well-paid top administrative executives, other white and blue collar employees are squeezed for effort with as little pay as the corporations can get away with.

Greed of course is not a sustainable mechanism in any ecology. Collection and hoarding of resources concentrated in a small elite group who disassociate themselves from the greater community will eventually become detrimental to the elites themselves. When a tipping point is reached in exploitation, uprisings occur in communities that are unfortunately brutal and anarchist against the elites. This scenario plays out now and then–the Arab Spring Revolts is an example.

It is without a doubt that greed will eventually strangle itself, especially now with the cry of the exploited becoming deafeningly loud as populations increase and resources become more and more limited. In the end the greedy will have to ask themselves, how else and where else can they hide all their excesses. To date we still haven't discovered another habitable planet that one can escape to, instead our world is getting smaller with larger populations and connectivity created by technology. Eventually even the greedy will have to acknowledge that they are part of a social ecology that can only thrive if equitable balance is achieved. No matter how much wealth the greedy have at their disposable they cannot, try as they may, stay apart very long from this ecology.

The bigger question is what to replace the current systems that encourages greed with? Current economic models in place are easily exploited by greed. It is useless to have painful revolutions only to replace one set of greedy elites with another who can get corrupted by money and power under the same system. Granted that the current economic models available to us, when used according to their ideals can be the solutions, so instead of 'reinventing the wheel' we simply use the current models with some modifications so elements that represent generosity are factored in place with their ideals better guarded and implemented. The solution must also be global and not given to choice by National governments. A global solution will require some sacrifices in the convenience of business and commerce. However if we are committed to a utopian future we will realize that sacrificing for the greater good of community which is a cornerstone of generosity, are sacrifices worth the effort and price. If we can accept this, then the battle is already half won and a brighter and more equitable future is on the horizon for our kind.

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Should we just go back to living in the jungles?

Our global economic history is as interesting and revealing as political history. Both in fact go hand in hand. A page excerpt from Economix.

In a previous posting of Wealth of Nature vs. Wealth of Nations–A choice of paradigms I described the two paradigms of living. The aboriginal lifestyle where money is not an essential, the other, communities living in cities and nations where money is an essential. My conclusion in that article which is reinforced by current global economic climate and Malaysia's pro-big-business climate skews positively towards the paradigm of the aboriginals. However despite this conclusion I know that it is impractical to draw a solution to give up life in the cities for the simplicity of life in nature. In fact with human population now in excess of seven billion it may be impossible for nature to sustain 100's of millions of little colonies. It is obviously much more practical and efficient to bring resources to people in concentrated locations then to have so many little colonies compete for ever shrinking natural resources. Thus living in modern communities as we are today is not a choice and whatever solution that is discovered to create a more just and equitable society must be found in the context of nations and lifestyle choices.

As a side thought, it is interesting to ponder that for the most part of human history which is estimated to have began 200,000 years ago, we lived as nomads and in small communities living off the land. It was not until between 6,000 to 5,000 years ago that the first human townships formed in Sumeria (Iraq) and the Indus Valley. The advent of agriculture brought about the development of these first townships in the world. Invariably where the ruins of the first towns were uncovered (in Sumeria and Mohenjodaro-Harappa), currency in the form of metal seals and coins were discovered. These early currencies made barter more efficient. At that time there would have been more aboriginal societies then towns. I can conceive that these first towns may have been experimental and obviously the experiment was a success with more and more people living in towns that became cities and ultimately Nations. In line with the innovation of cities and nations money evolved to its status as a measure of wealth.

Money would have started as a more efficient form of barter and perhaps without intending so money created the idea of wealth. Money can be accumulated whereas in barter trade, accumulation made no much sense. Accumulation of wealth by saving and storing money made quantifying an individual's wealth easy. Therefore the evolution of the classes rich and poor. Entire industries that have nothing to do with necessity but everything to do with luxury have spawned to further define the broad spectrum within these two classes.

Coming back to the thought of creating a more just and equitable society which is still the inherent goal of human societies, only to be held back by the addiction called greed, I don't think money is of itself evil. Money happens to be a very efficient way to satiate greed, self-interest and to plain show off. Resource exploitation, exploitation of labour, crime, degradation of the environment, inflation–all these can be traced to us in the upper echelons of power and wealth, and even the lower rungs of society. In general the trend of contemporary society pays only passing tribute to the humble, virtuous and generous whereas we are totally enamored by the glitzy high life of the wealthy and powerful. Case in point; most people admire Mahatma Gandhi–his thoughts and philosophy are often quoted–but how many of us aspire or are encouraged to live like Gandhi? Compare this with the desire to be the next Justin Bieber or Richard Branson and it becomes clear that the idea of reaching for the stars and success has been arbitrated to monetary gain.

No, I am not a communist, I never liked the idea of not being able to travel freely in the world. Communism is a failed social experiment that took the adage–power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely–and proved it absolutely. Many of the countries in the world that turned to communism in the early and mid 20th century espousing its ideal of equal distribution of wealth among the population ended up creating some of the most corrupt tyrant leaders in modern history. They scoffed at human rights, ruled with iron fists, enjoyed unaccountability and murdered dissidents. When greed infects communism its effects are far more disastrous compared to what it going on now in the name of capitalism. Though I am a socialist I am not averse to capitalism in its ideals of allowing people to accumulate as much money as they wish honestly as long as there are safeguards against exploitation capitalism.

Exploitation capitalism is greed for as much profit as possible with no regard for social responsibility. In modern corporations this exploitation is about getting away with paying as little wage as possible for employees, using the cheapest possible processes for making products even if it is dangerous and proven detrimental to the long term health of employees and the environment; and dumping polluting wastes from industry indiscriminately to eliminate the cost of treating pollutants to make them safe before dumping. Basically greedy capitalism cares only for bottom line profit margins no matter the cost is to the social and environmental fabric. In fact the problems caused by exploitation creates further capitalistic opportunities to fix these problems; unhealthy fast food–healthcare opportunities; over logging–very expensive flood mitigation solutions; too much fossil fuels–expensive carbon trapping solutions and carbon taxation or expensive electric cars. Business without social responsibility and allowing them to profit without social accountability is a big burden to the less wealthy society that supports for them. It is true the social responsibility cuts into the bottom line of profit, but the long term take away is sustainability and stability–the draw back nobody gets insanely wealthy.

Utopia is born of the notion that we are civilised and intelligent beings who are considerate and caring. It is the inspiration behind the formation of governments. Governments of Nations are usually formed on a base of positive ideals, and invariably one of these ideals is the eradication of poverty. Poverty is the universal devil that most all politicians whack to drum up support. However eradicating poverty is a much harder dream (some politicians will secretly say impossible) to accomplish compared to building a multibillion dollar defense system. This makes sense if we understand that in a society infected by greed, the fear of loss is a major concern, thus spending on defense, even excessively, makes good sense. Governments with military are strong on many fronts but seem hapless in implementing policies to make profiteers of society to have a heart. So while politicians continue to make poverty the heart of their stand their hearts seem more steadfast with the green of greed.

My thoughts on economy are inspired by economix–well worth your time and money!