Email versus cell phone

I realized today how annoying cell phones are for contacting a bunch of people. Usually I use my phone to schedule and figure out things with my mom, or to set up an appointment with caterer for my wedding, or the ward clerk calls me to schedule a meeting. It's not that much, when I'm just being contacted, or when a lot of my phone call is mother-daughter conversation, and I call her all the time, and know her schedule.

I had to call three people to schedule things among us. Normally, I send out an email, or a bunch of emails. Does it take the same amount of time as a phone call? No. Why? Because in an email, you send out the message, and they get it and respond whenever they check their email. With a phone, either you reach them in that moment, or you have to leave a message, call them back, etc. All told, it can be twice or three times the amount of time you could have spent just shooting them an email. I used to call my friends from our home phones all the time to see if they could play. I remember always calling when my friend was in the shower, or eating dinner, or something else; I typically have bad timing with those things. But I usually didn't get the answering machine; one of her numerous little siblings would answer the phone--and proceed to tell me too much information as to why she could not come to the phone.

It is utterly disheartening to get answering machine after answering machine. I feel bad for telemarketers in that way; but I feel even worse for them, because I, like most other people, do not welcome their calls, and therefore do not pick up, or if I do pick up, I do not want to buy what they're selling, and therefore their call is fruitless, even if I'm polite about it.

Bottom line: email is the new contacting device. Not only is it more time efficient, it is also more organized. You don't have to go through "missed calls," "made calls," "text messages," and "voicemail" to get all of your messages and who called who. You have an inbox and an outbox, and it's easy.

What are the downfalls of email? It's not as personal. You don't hear his or her voice. The very fact that it is faster means that it is not as valuable. In other words, it doesn't mean as much as if you took the pains to call and call again.

In this changing technological world, the protocols of polite communication change inherently. I think people will understand if it's a business email, as opposed to a wedding gift thank you note. I could go on, but I think my message is clear. I much prefer emails, when they are the polite thing to do.

America the Empire

By accident, I searched for a bunch of random letters in a Yahoo search engine just now, and the results reminded me of an earlier discussion. A bean bag falling on my keyboard typed in "lk huy." The first result was a site for Pizza Hut in Sri Lanka (www.pizzahut.lk).
My fiance and I were recently talking about American Imperialism, a topic of discussion in the World Civ(ilization) class he TA's for. In a way, Pizza Hut, and other American brands that have been established in foreign countries, are a form of imperialism.
With this in mind, I wonder how much connotations of words play into such philosophical discussions. Is the conversation fair? What is the underlying message? For instance, when asked the question "Is America an empire?" a lot of people may infer that to be an empire is a negative thing, and that since they don't view their country as an evil, or a menace to world society, they automatically respond with a "No." The question is, does the asker imply that? If so, or if not, does the word "empire" really have the denotation of a land-grabbing menace? I'd argue that it does not, but I'm willing to hear your reasoning for why it is.
I can understand that "empire" may have a negative connotation in many minds. After all, history has shown us some very negative effects of empires. Some are manifest in trends such as the persecution of the Jews in Rome, or the extravagant tributes that other countries offered Egypt to bribe the pharaoh into not attacking. A lot of blood is spilled in wars that lead to the growth of an empire. And don't forget taxes, the physical sign of being subject to an emperor.
I guess I'm arguing for American imperialism, given all the things I've just said. But what I'm really arguing for is a free market. If Pizza Hut has the potential to be popular in Sri Lanka, why not open a store there? Globalizing is a good thing, in the sense that it brings valuable things to a wider audience. Globalization has its dangers, but so does everything.

Climate Change and Respect for the Earth

Ever notice how no two years are the same, weather-wise? This year, we've had the wettest summer of recorded history. The first snow also hit at the end of September up in Brighton, whereas last year it waited at least another month. I think we're due for another ice age. It's been about ten thousand years since the last one, and they come at intervals of roughly ten thousand years.
If asked whether I believe in global warming or, as it is now called, climate change, I usually answer no. I became very disenchanted with the whole idea after Al Gore. And try as I might, it is just difficult for me not to be skeptical of anyone who flies the colors of climate change. Such is the human mind.
I guess Al Gore got a lot of us with that. He professed that the world was ending, showed what I later found to be skewed evidence, and promoted all these energy-saving schemes. A lot of it I chalk up to exploitation. It doesn't help that further research found that he has a large "carbon footprint."
Understand, I have always felt that taking care of my environment was a valuable thing to do. I grew up aspiring to be a Native American from the so-called glory days of the nations. My favorite book was probably Indian in the Cupboard, and me and my best friend pretended to be Indians all the time. I also wanted to be Pocahontas sometimes, although I wanted to be an Indian Brave more. I was oblivious to the fact that in order to be a Brave one had to be a man. But I digress. One of the key factors in being an Indian, as they were then called, was respect and gratitude to the land that gave them life. I embraced that concept fully.
No matter what we do, the climate is always going to change in cycles, with or without humans' pollution and mistreatment. Still, it's negligent of people to strip the land, to fill the water and the air and the soil with foreign things. I am not a save-the-whales person, but I wish there were a better, efficient way of moving in the water, without filling the oceans with sound pollution, or filling the air with smog from our cars. We don't know how much of an effect we have, or how little. In fact, if I were to judge from how things have been in the past, there is always going to be evidence that points in both directions. What should we do, then?
Live moderately. No matter what people say, we should take just what we need, and give back to the environment that supports us.

Human Pheromones

I always thought that my fiance smelled uncommonly good (particularly at the end of the day) and now I have more solid evidence as to why; he'd always said there was a study done on human pheromones. Check out this link (I couldn't find a Share button). http://howlifeworks.com/health_beauty/sex_peromones/?cid=8088ib_dfinance

My kind of debate

I like fair debate. It's fun. Sometimes I argue a point just to pursue it, just to think it through fully. I wonder what people think about me, as far as what my views are. And then I remember that if I have any viewpoint whatsoever, there's always going to be someone who disagrees.
I guess you could say that what someone chooses to argue is something that the person thinks, to a certain degree.
As for me, I'm experimenting with my own views, and probably will for as long as new issues come to the surface. I hope no one takes offense at what I view as a necessary part of life. It's easier for me to debate freely with people I have some sort of relationship with, because they know I still care about them as individuals, and vice versa. And there's that added benefit of being able to explain what I mean better after I've thought things out more, or being able to show them I'm actually multi-dimensional.
I'm rather disenchanted with politics these days--not that I liked them in the first place. But to know that everything is about winning people's opinions and support at the expense of propriety is discouraging. How am I supposed to react to people saying stuff like, "So-and-so should apologize for saying something, because Joe Wilson had to." It's devolved into two-year-old tattling and getting back at each other. I idly wonder if we need another Reagan to make fun of all the mud-slinging that's going on.