Television Addiction Is Real

"Excessive cravings do not necessarily involve physical substances. Gambling can become compulsive; sex can become obsessive. One activity, however, stands out for its prominence and ubiquity--the world's most popular leisure pastime, television." On average "someone who lives to 75 would spend nine years in front of the tube" and "roughly 10 percent of adults call themselves TV addicts". Scientific American

Throw out your television now. It is waiting for your weak moment. Media corporations spend every minute of the day figuring out how to lure you to the remote and keep you in front of the screen. Your viewing will get out of control eventually and then you will be hooked forever. If your are in the creative class you "favor active, participatory recreation over passive spectator sports" anyway. Television has never done anything good for you. It has never made you smarter, made you make new friends, inspired you or entertained you in a memorable fashion. It has taken your time without consent and numbed your mind.

Join me in Anonymous TV Addicts.

Walkman Busting

In a radio program they do Walkman Busting. Wired: "In it, D'Arcangelo approaches people in public spaces who are listening to personal stereos. With their permission, he plugs in his minidisc recorder to record whatever music they are listening to, as well as their conversation about it. " Then he airs the results on the show. Talk about real street music.

A New Danish Think Tank

Inspired by the success of other think tanks in the US and UK, a new think tank for liberal economic analysis has been formed in Denmark: "The Market Center".

Citing from Wikipedia on Think tank: A think tank is a group of individuals in military laboratories, corporations, or other institutions dedicated to high-level synergistic research on a variety of subjects. Discoveries and activities which resulted from think tanks include: The atomic bomb, dolphin-human communication, the Internet and the World Wide Web, some early US? space programs, Remote viewing, Global Climatology and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. [...]

My Young Friend: Send More Money

Denmark, a country with one of the largest public sectors and highest taxes in the world, spend a lot of money on the elderly. Not just the poor elderly, but everybody who is old. Pension for everybody, special tax rebates on property, subsidies for the rent, lots of rebates on practically everything. In danish media old people as a group are routinely portrayed as the most pitiable, underprivileged, sick and abandoned people of all. Left behind by a cruel public administration. Denmark has a special interest organisation called "Ældre Sagen" (The Elder Cause, say) with 460k members out of a population of some 5.2m. They want the country to spend more money on the elderly and politicians are listening.
Consider this: Only 1,4% of the elderly belong to the poorest group of the population. 20% of the singles and 40% of the couples have a net worth of at least $160.000 (using 1 USD=6 DKK). [Weekendavisen #6]. It is time to start prioritizing the resources of society. Robin Hood would have said it: Stop giving to the old rich and give more to the poor, not just the old and poor.
I taught my neighbors 9 year old the 7 multiplication table. Teaching is a wonderful thing.