Convenience or Inconvenience
Today, thinking of both definitions of convenience and inconvenience, I paused to really think what each meant to me. Sometimes they can both be viewed to be a bad thing. Convenience took us away from the hum drum of everyday toil raising our own crops to the modern day grocery store where after 50 years or so, people have no idea how to grow their own food and be self sufficient. Convenience brought us the remote control so now we must no longer get off the couch to turn off the television. Convenience took us away from the dinner table with conversation amongst family to fast food on the way home so we can spend more time with our family. Convenience has made us overweight and unprepared. Our love affair with gadgets from cell phones to Ipods, to computers all with Wifi and 24/7 access to global events is more than we need. This leads me to my next thought about who controls the flow of information?
I would have said a few years ago that governments control the flow of information however today I think it is Google who is now in charge. I believe Google is fighting for control of what information we will receive and they are fighting for that title globally. Their name is on my Verizon Droidx phone. In order to make comments on my Youtube account now, I must link to Google and use a password. My thoughts are that Google will be in control of the distribution of information and will share our information with anyone of their choice. Of course these ate my own beliefs.
Lastly, the word inconvenience is one I have been pondering for the past couple of days. Is a new baby, or a pet an inconvenience, an interruption to our old lives? Taking care of an elderly parent, could possibly be regarded as an inconvenience. Perhaps one day, we will take a moment to pause and think, perhaps these inconveniences or interruptions are somehow meant to humble us for a bit. Caregiving is about putting someone’s needs before your own sometimes, however still trying to take care of yourself in the meantime. I was going to be in a road race this past weekend and was not sure I would make it because my young adult son was sick. Rather than get myself all stressed about it, I focused on what he needed. We got him well enough to take to my parents for a few hours so I could participate in the race. Afterwards, I drove immediately back there and avoided all the free food and accolades. These are the type of concessions we must sometimes make. I have no complaints as I just try to make the most of all we have. It all depends on how we perceive things whether or not something is viewed as an inconvenience or not. Our attitudes have a lot to do with how we view it.
Some may think it is an inconvenience to care for an adult son who is completely dependent on me for his daily activities, such as getting dressed, toileting, feeding, grooming. However, I am devoted to care for him because that is my duty and a big part of who I have become. Divine Intervention? I think that Divine Intervention has occurred quite often in my life. It has saved me from being killed in accidents, avoiding accidents, given me closure when my feelings of a relative at death’s door called me one last time, just in time to say goodbye. These things have happened often. Lastly, I used to feel we were victims of this illness my son has, however now I feel that it was no mistake that life hands us these challenges. I am grateful for both of my sons and they are whom they were meant to be ,even if it may not conveniently fit the norm. For this, I am grateful.
Suzan, I love you and your blogs. Funny thing, I was just trying to explain just that to Tony the other day!
Now, I will just have him read your blog! Thank you and give all my love!
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Fearing Google is good instinct. There is far more to them than most realize. Google has had serious investment from government agencies and other curious financiers. Links to the CIA as well. Google gathers much interesting info on satellite imagery and drive by pictures from street view. It gathers and keeps an searches we do. Through these it can discern much about us which would almost certainly be available to government or key businesses.
Google has warehouses all over the world that house vast networks of computers, most are hidden or unidentified. One in remote Oregon near Washington State line is one such highly secret complex. 2 football fields in size and cooling towers 4 stories high, known as Project02. Much of their power usage comes just from cooling the computers. No one knows how big their enterprise is. There are at least 24 hubs in the USA alone.
Google has a 40-90 year lease for a 1.2 million square foot collaborative facility on 42.2 acres with NASA’s Ames Research Center.in silicon valley. Google’s 2 main heads of the company have their own private runways at this facility and customized Boeing 767 jumbo jets and 2 other Gulf Stream jets.
“The former head of NASA's ARC Intelligent Systems Division, Peter Norvig, became Google's director of research in 2007.”
>“The CIA and Google jointly back Recorded Future, a company that monitors the web in real time to use that information to predict the future." Visible Technologies (VT), a software firm that specializes in monitoring social media, is another cog in this complex system. It "monitors" (spies on)You-Tube, Twitter, blogs, posts, conversations, online forums, Amazon book reviews, etc. Google also supplies the technology for "Intellipedia," a secret online system, so that tens of thousands of spies can keep tabs on Americans and others.”<
Actions have been taken by foreign countries against Google and its invasive practices. Indeed, Google can and does control what you get for search results. They establish the search criteria that give you your results. They can censor or hide as they choose. We live in a very interesting day and age where many companies and even industries are really just pubic fronts for government branches of control.
Microsoft has long controlled the Computer industry and before them, IBM. The computer industry has always been regulated by “bullies” and “predators.” IBM had a huge antitrust suit against them which was dropped in 1982 for who knows why. Microsoft also had a huge antitrust suit but was let off and possible secret concessions to the major companies that brought the suit. Much we will never know about it all. Anti-trust laws are of no effect if there is no enforcement and indeed, there is not.
We have been lulled into a sense and feeling of false freedom and security.
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APOLLO-thanks for the thoughtful comment. You raise some good issues. I think most people do not even think about the big picture. Hope all is well with you. Thanks for reading and sharing.
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