The Pixel Watch

With a food and resources shortage crisis imminent for the future I thought I would bring to the table the significance of such an event, and some related and intertwined issues that we as consumers, and our government of the day must deal with. The importance of this is unquestionable and will be the pinnacle in the standard of living for our kids and future generations.

It is obvious given our current and historical economical status that we have and are experiencing a mining and resources boom. Massive amounts of coal, gas and minerals robbed from mother earth. Beating her up, draining from her core things that have taken billions of years to develop to accommodate our need for a growing energy supply. Prime agricultural land is being bought up all over Australia by foreign companies to mine for these resources. So not only is the money generated by these mining companies going over seas, the ability for us to feed ourselves in the future is diminishing. At some stage in the next 100 years these resources will start to dry up and become harder to find, so where does that leave Australia? One scary thought is millions of hectares of chewed up, good for nothing land, raped by big machinery and drained of all it’s natural minerals, where it would be hard to grow a weed let alone a vege patch.

A little while ago I did a piece on climate change and the targets of carbon emission reductions that government has set for our nation. The biggest contradiction of all comes with population growth and a sustainable future. How can we reach a target of 5% reductions if we keep allowing so many people to enter our country? It is only common sense to see that the more people that come here, the more energy we use which means a higher carbon footprint, Making our target unreachable. It also means a smaller piece of the pie when it comes to living standards. The more the demand for energy and the dwindling supply of it will push prices up which will mean for most of us pushing our standard of living down.
I am going to put something out there. What if the whole climate change fiasco is a cover for something more obvious. The reason for a carbon tax is to influence the big polluters into cleaner energy projects and reduce our addiction to coal fired power. We know that coal will eventually run out and we will be forced to find renewable energy sources. So what if climate change is just the vehicle to get us there. It is not really causing the distress to the planet as what we are led to believe, it’s just the best method to get the people on board to redirect our energy sources, oh, aswell as make some heavy revenue..
The climate change debate will roll on into the future as will the need to address the issue of dwindling resources. Humans are very intelligent and I am sure that we can deliver other options at the 11th hour, but what can be done now?
We live in a society of consumerism. You probably are consuming much more energy everyday than what you should. But don’t worry, this is not your fault. There are really clever marketing companies out there designing campaigns as we speak to make you believe you need to buy a certain product or service. The use of all different kinds of media and advertising puts it in your face all the time. You can’t even get away from it in your own home with telemarketers and door knocking sales people prevalent at anytime of the day. The only thing that I can suggest is a change of attitude and the notion of “need” overpowering “want”. Let’s face it, previous generations got by without half the stuff that we have and in the end it is only draining our bank accounts and our resources.. Everything we use, buy and eat, as we will find out if the carbon tax gets in, has an energy footprint. The thing that will effect your pocket the most is how much of it you use up.
I hope there is some food for thought there for everyone..

Your comments are welcome to jibatron@hotmail.com

As I sit here staring into my computer screen, my mind wonders into a world where they didnt exist.  I am thinking that more time would be spent in the real world rather than the virtual one.  I might go to my friends house instead of talking to them on Facebook.  Kids might possibly be more active and energetic and we may not face the obesity epidemic of the century. 

Well, back to reality..   We are staring down the barrel of the most sophisticated technological advance since the four slice toaster, or on the other hand, a monumental money sucking white elephant.  Regardless of your opinion on the $60 billion National Broardband Network, this is happening and you are paying for this, not only to build it but to use it as well, probably at exorbitant prices.

That colossal amount of money is for an  even wider gateway to the endless abyss that is cyberspace.  So I ask you this..  Are you satisfied with the data speeds you are currently receiving now?  The current speeds are quite capable of servicing online communications,  movie downloads and gaming at present, although you always want to be faster, im sure the Holden Commodore of download speeds is quite sufficient as opposed to the Lambourghini .(I wish I could afford a Lambourghini)  Can you imagine what half of that NBN money could do for our hospitals or schools or helping the homeless..

Considering there has been no cost benefit analysis for this project, tax payers are questioning weather there is value for money. After all, if this was a good business idea, private enterprise would surely be in it.
The timeframe for completion leaves the NBN open for scrutiny. If it does take a minimum of seven years as announced, will it be out dated with new technology superseding it?  You only have to look at other technology and electronic devices to see the advancement companies are making annually.  Then there is the issue of hard wiring.  Optic fibre cable wired directly into your house. Looking around at all the new gadgets, such as the iPhone and iPad etc, I would have thought mobile technology was the way of the future.

Only time will tell if this is as great as they say it is.  Lets hope we dont have to pay too much for it.

Comments are welcome at jibatron@hotmail.com

I am heading down “the strip” planning my strategy on how to get the best price for my new TV.
I walk into the first shop and negotiate to the best of my ability a rock bottom price. With the TV in mind that I want,  I then walk out and head down to the next store in line and bargain with the next sales assistant hoping to reduce my price by a creditable amount.
To my amazement, the third store has advertised sales up to 40% off TV’s, as I am negotiating  I  find that their bottom price is higher than the previous two.

As I chuckle to myself in disbelief, I have to question the sales assistant on the definition of the so called “sale”, in which he replies that he is just a sales assistant.. fair enough I thought.

I then start to wonder why this happens.. And why false advertising is freely exploited and excepted..

If I can get a brand new TV from a store cheaper than a store with advertised sales, what is the point of having a sale..?

I come to the conclusion after my TV purchase that I,  and probably many of you have been taken for a ride. I have been caught up in then impulsiveness and the hype of what I thought was an opportunity to receive a good deal.
I am sure that this is common practice in the retail industry, however the monopoly on electrical goods along “the strip” makes it more prevalent here.

Despite the marathon of verbal exchanges in different stores, I got the best deal possible and a MAD TV!

Comments are welcome at jibatron@hotmail.com

As the war on terror continues it’s momentum in the middle east, here at home in the bubble of normality we mourn the death of another Australian digger. A pawn in the battle of power and supremacy but more importantly, a father, a son, a husband, a brother, a valuable person that has paid the ultimate price. But for what?
Are we involved in the fight because we need to continue our support for the ailing domination of the USA. Our need to hold hands with this super power as they divulge a plan to secure future assets. Or is it something else?

I do make one point though. While Australians are in Afghanistan, fighting and dying to rebuild and create a democratic nation for the Afghan people, there are Afghan people running scared, arriving illegally by the boat load, fleeing the very thing that we are fighting for.
Young, fit, able bodied men that are very capable of being prepared and trained to fight for their homeland.

It is the idea of the century. Straight from the boat to Duntroon. They still get free accommodation, they still get to eat 3 nutritious meals a day, which i might add, is three meals more than some of our own homeless people, and they are also still in receipt of valuable tax payer dollars while making a difference to very place to which they are escaping.
It is an idea of magnificent proportions!

Our border control can get back to protecting our nation at sea instead of being a ferry service for refugees and the afghan people can stand tall and proud, side by side with the Aussie digger in the fight against terror..