Nine Shift

Kids losing the human touch

 It happens all the time. It happened again in my NineShift speech in Miami this month.

A faculty member worried about the kids losing the human touch. If you google the headline of this post, you'll find lots of people saying the same thing in the media.  Here's one of the newest quotes I found when I googled the phrase.

"When we take the human element out, we're losing a God-given or natural kind of need to interface with people," said Daniels in a story in the South Bend Tribune recently.

Gen Y does realize it has some F2F skills to develop. But the bigger truth is: there's nothing to it. The kids embrace both physical or F2F reality, and virtual reality. And they interact in both, sometimes at the same time.  For more on this story, see posts for March 20 and March 22.

Photo: Two Miami high school girls returning home on the train from school, sharing a song on an iPod.  They also were talking with a girlfriend across the aisle. Julie took this wonderful picture.

Intellectual Property - The Answer

So here's the answer to the question of intellectual property in the 21st century.

Anyone can use or share any information (words, music, patents, etc.) as long as the person credits the creator of that information. 

Yes, you can print and sell my book, without giving me any royalties. But you have to say it is my book.

The reason this will work is economics. For 99% of all authors, singers, and inventors, this is better economically for them. If you copy and share my song, I get more concert gigs.  If you print and sell my book, I get more speaking engagements.  If you copy my patent, someone else will pay me even more to create another invention. 

The economic rule functioning here is the "long tail."  In the last century, a producer came out with a few products, and sold lots of them.  In this century, producers come out with thousands or millions of products, and only a few people buy each.  Because niches are so small, and there are so many segments, 99% of authors/singers/inventors benefit from the increased exposure.  And 99% of the public benefits from the information.  To paraphrase Abbie Hoffman, go ahead, "Print my book!"  OK, your turn. Tell me your thoughts.

City Living: It feels like home

Well, this last week we experienced how people in the 21st century will live.
It felt good. It already feels like home.

As you may know, Shift Five is dense neighborhoods replace suburbs. Julie and I were in Miami, and stayed a block away from a light rail station, surrounded by high rise apartments, with restaurants and stores on the street level.  It felt so good, just sitting there. There was only one thing missing, Julie said, and that was segways. Then bang - - a man on a segway rolled by!

Photo. Light rail station on left, high rise apartment on right. Please Note: the number of palm trees by your light rail station may vary.

Is Central Heating obsolete?

My house is entirely worthless in the 21st century.

That's my conclusion reading the article on home energy conservation in Japan. In the second of three posts on the subject, I cannot imagine a 21st century home dweller interested or even able to pay for all these excesses:
- Lawn.
- Too much space.  A dining room, a living room - - who needs it?
- A two car garage.  We're already thinking of only one car, when minicars come, I can park in a closet.

But here's the biggie:  central heating. 
Will the cost of oil and tax policies allow this extravagant earth-killing excess we call "central heating" and used to consider a modern necessity?
Especially when computer controlled utilities will wam up rooms on demand.
What do you think? Is central heating obsolete?

Environment: Going Nowhere a Start

Well, maybe going nowhere is a start. I hope so.

Going somewhere is the European Union, which earlier this month approved an historic effort to reduce Europe's carbon and greenhouse emissions by 20% by 2020.  The reduction is 20% from 1990 levels, so really a meaningful reduction. 

Going nowhere is the U.S. Examples:
* Ethanol production plants in Minnesota will create more pollution producing ethanol than is saved by using the ethanol in your car. Unbelievably, the plants will use coal to make ethanol, thus producing more pollution than the ethanol saves.
* Daylight savings time, which one expert says actually uses more energy than standard time. Why? Because people use the extra hour of daylight to shop, and get there in the car, thus causing more pollution and using more energy than the daylight supposed saves.
* Attacking Al Gore. In classic "kill the messenger" fashion, people are now attacking Al Gore for everything from limo rides to his electric bill.  Like the rest of us are carbonless. 
  Hopefully this stupid worse-than-the-problem American phase is just the necessary precursor to actually trying real solutions, like the Europeans are doing now. Hopefully.....

Greatest Generation disappointed in Boomers

Joining their Gen Y grandchildren, the Greatest Generation has officially announced it is disappointed with its Baby Boomer children for losing human touch.

Greatest Generation spokeswoman  Mrs. Wxllxxm A.  Dxavex (name changed for security reasons) notes just a few Boomer behavior unacceptable to her generation:
* No cocktail parties with the neighbors. Mrs. Dxavex recently had a party for her neighbors only, a common event for the Greatest Generation.  Her son, for example, had one (one) 20 years ago...
* Don't write letters anymore.  Boomers do not write letters like they used to, she says.
* Don't sit on the front porch.  Few Boomers sit on the front porch.  Some don't even have sidewalks, she states.  You can't talk with the neighbors without a porch and sidewalk.
* Talk longer than 3 minutes on the phone.  The phone technology is no replacement for human contact, yet Boomers spend far longer than the Greatest Generation's limited 3 minute phone call time, prompting some to call for a 3 minute limit on Boomer phone calls.
* No dinner table.  Everyone in the Greatest Generation had a dining room table, and used it almost nightly, according to GG spokeswoman Mrs. Dxavex.  Boomers have forgotten how to dine together.

Mrs. Dxavex, along with millions of other GGers, plan on speaking about this issue with their children during Easter dinner, provided their Boomer children even show up.

Happy spring equinox

Same hours of daylight today all over the northern hemisphere. After today, there will be more daylight the further north you go. Thus us northern Wisconsites have reason to celebrate today. The sun is back!

Adults losing the human touch

Adults are losing the human touch, according to shocking new information.

The good news is that Gen Y is doing something about it (modelling good behavior). Not previously published all together, here's our exclusive inside story on the facts behind adults removal from reality. Adults:
* Spend more time in cars, and 80% of the time it is all by themselves. Some Gen Y kids are reportedly trying to limit their parents' time in cars, but the parents are resisting.
* Continue to watch lots of television, while TV watching is down among web-connected kids. Our attempts to question adults on this were denied.
* Actually believe in being out of touch with other humans. They believe one should study alone, and even work alone.  Gen Y has had to reinstate collaborative learning, and collaborative work, under heavy criticism from grown ups.
* Work in individual offices or cubicles, refusing to share common work space with others.
* Talk on their cell phones as soon as the plane touches down, often more loudly, prompting airlines to keep the cell-phone-ban in place.
   Are adults losing it by losing the human touch? The shocking news has many a kid worried. 

Education: Transparency in the classroom

Here's a biggie: transparency in the classroom.

The idea that not only are students accountable in the classroom, but so are teachers and administrators.  And the kids will video tape you to keep you honest.  You see, in this century, everyone can and should be able to know what goes on.

So 16 year old Matthew LaClair videotaped his teacher saying crazy things, like all non-Christians are going to hell; there were dinosaurs on Noah's Ark, and there's no basis to the Big Bang theory. The reaction of the Kearny, NJ, School system? To punish Matthew and protect the teacher.  (Photo: Robert Mooney, Superintendent of Schools, if you email him at rmooney@kearnyschools.com do not expect a reply, I got nothing)

Just the first round in the battle over transparency in the classroom.  Here's another. The state of Florida will make disciplinary action against teachers public at MyFloridaTeacher.com.  It's not a big deal, but it's a start.  Matthew's actions are a big, and positive, deal.  Nice job, Matthew - - you get an A+

Do computer problems make you grumpy?

When your computer or Internet connections are down, does that make you feel grumpy?

Willie called a few weeks ago. He was grumpy (5 on a scale of 1-5). His computer died. I wasn't much help. My computer was being fixed and I was grumpy (4ish).  Same week Julie couldn't get her work done as her computer failed on her. 

Photo: I delivered a new computer to Willie, making him quite happy.

On a scale of 1 - 5, do computer/Internet problems make you grumpy?