What else is out there?

Will we ever travel outside of our solar system? It doesn't seem very likely. No matter how fast our technology advances, one thing seems to remain the same. Travelling at the speed of light does not seem possible. It’s a frustrating feeling to think that were stuck here, gazing out at what's beyond, left only to wonder of what else exists. In such an enormous universe, it would be nice to find out our role in the scheme of things. Perhaps one day, they will invent a way to freeze and preserve people, allowing them to travel for thousands of years. It seems to be the only plausible answer for visiting those other places and finally satisfying our undying curiosity.

Stem Cell Research?

Why don't we support stem cell research? With all the possibilities it holds medically, how do we justify not supporting it? Some of the arguments I've heard were almost completely absurd. What if it advances so far that humans will live forever? Though I doubt that will ever happen, even if that is an incredibly long term result, don't you think curing the incurable today is worth that slight risk? Its like playing god, so its wrong. Don't we play god every time we have a baby and create a life? Don't doctors play god, saving people who would otherwise die? Its in our nature to survive. Our average life span has greatly increased over the years and it would only make sense that it would continue to do so. We have to support the things that aren't frowned upon in order to advance. Not to long ago, heart surgery did not exist. It was not even studied. Think of all the lives saved because of the risk of the doctors who oppossed the common consensus. It would be foolish to not explore every possibility in order to help the sick. Foolish and unethical.

Why is it so hard to Diet?

Even if you're eating healthy there is still a ton of rules and guidelines to follow. Who's to say we even have it right this time anyway? The original food pyramid was completely unhealthy. The Atkins diet removed all carbs, but vegetables are full of carbs. We keep changing what's healthy and what a good diet consists of, no wonder so many people struggle. Not to mention the impossible task of limiting sodium. I read that the body only needs about 500mg of sodium a day and the maximum recommended amount is 1500mg. Have you ever read the labels of food and condiments? Everything is so full of sodium its almost mind boggling. It would just be nice if all these so called experts could come together and agree on exactly what we should be eating each day so people could have a straight forward guideline to follow.

God Bless America or God Save America?

It nearly seems like people as a whole are completely blind to the world. I mean how on earth did we end up like this? We have allowed ourselves to become fully dependent on oil. Oil, a natural resource, which we as Americans must import. We are dependent on a time sensitive, highly profitable, foreign country run product. We fear terrorism? True terrorism would be the destruction of our access to fuel. Our country would shut down. Our whole world would stop short. So who do we blame for this? Ourselves. We have let ourselves be led by a government that has not mass produced any of the many, many alternatives to this fuel crisis. So far the most mainstream answer is overpriced hybrid cars which has forty mpg instead of twenty. That's the best we can do? At a time like this, when we have factories being run on methane gas from garbage dumps, green houses being fed the co2 waste from factories, this is the best answer we have? A car that uses slightly less gas? And to really get this solution out to the public were going to charge more money for the hybrid model then its gas hungrier counterpart. What a joke. God bless America, or as it will soon read, god save America.

So Little Time

Why is so little time allowed for what people actually want to do? For about a third of your life you are unconscious, hardly living life at all. For about another third you're working a job to be able to support yourself and the things you actually want to do. Which presents the problem, without working you have the time to live but not the money, work and you shall have the money but lack the time. So not taking into account the time we spend eating, keeping up with hygeine, traveling and all the other mundane aspects of life we are left with a measly one third of our existance to pursue what actually interests us. Sure it can be argued that if we choose a career that's passionate to us that that's time spent for ourselves. But I ask, how many people love their jobs? My guess is not many. I want to hit the lotto, not to be rich or drive fancy cars while living in a big house. I want to win the lotto so I can spend nearly all of the precious little time I have to live on living. Living the way I want. That's my ideal life.

Where do I belong?

Lately I've been thinking a lot about why things are the way they are. I live in new york because this is where I was born, but does that mean I belong here? I see most people just accept their situation, never questioning it, and I sort of envy them. I yearn for that blissful ignorance that they so easily possess. Instead I'm full of this desire to continually travel, searching for that vague feeling of home. Surprisingly, nearly every place has felt much more right then here. I admit this could be contributed to the whole, the grass is always greener saying, but I don't think so. Yet, no matter how at home any of these foreign places feel, I fear I will never be brave enough to take the risk and leave the comfort I have here. I guess only time will tell.

A Micro Compact Home

This box-like figure is to my surprise, a home. It is 76 square feet designed by the Technical University of Munich in Germany. This home costs $96,000 and is complete with a flat screen TV and a dining room table that seats five people. It includes a fire alarm, smoke detectors, sliding dining room table, two 7.5 feet double beds, shelves and doors, a control panel, a bathroom, and a kitchen. The kitchen includes a sink with an extending tap, microwave, refrigerator and freezer, three slot garbage, storage, and shelves. How does such a small space include all the essentials of a home? I have no idea, but they made it work. This home is made for temporary stay and includes delivery and installment anywhere in Europe. This past summer, a model of this home was placed in The Museum of Modern Art in New York City.