President Obama recently announced a new rule to raise the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards to require vehicles to reach 54.5 mpg by 2025. Currently, new vehicles model year 2011 get an average of 28.6 mpg. This amounts to a 90.6% increase in fuel efficiency in 14 years. Continue reading “Higher Standards for Vehicle Fuel Efficiency”
Author: chrismtwo
Every day I try to learn and experience new things. The infinite wonder of the universe provides endless opportunity for adventures. My favorite thing is to enjoy these adventures with friends, and to share my stories with others.
At the very core, all people are storytellers. Whether it is a full length motion picture or a chat over a cup of coffee, most of what makes up the human experience is the communication of ideas. For this reason, I am always looking for opportunities to write. I would like to share what I've seen with as many people as possible.
Production and Consumption: A Perpetual Motion Machine
There is a subtle art to doing nothing. To sit and stare at the clouds, to listen to the rain, to block out the constant stimulus of our technological world is becoming increasingly difficult. Many have revised their definition of doing nothing to watching television; however consuming information still involves some mental activity, even when the information is spoon fed. As a result of our perpetual consumption of stimuli, we are giving ourselves less time to absorb and analyze information. There simply isn’t time to turn off, and cognitive function is the casualty of our busyness. Continue reading “Production and Consumption: A Perpetual Motion Machine”
Every Day We’re Hustling
Americans are busy. Longer work weeks don’t begin to cover it; according to a 2006 Lexamark International study, 92% of respondents said they make or take work related communications outside of the office, including during vacations. Email and electronic communication keeps us at work at all hours, with 62% of at-work email users checking work email over the weekend, according to an AOL 2009 survey. Over 50% also check their emails on vacation. On top of that, only 38% of U.S. employees are taking all of their earned vacation days, with the average utilization being 14 out of 18 days. Continue reading “Every Day We’re Hustling”
Big Brother Is Watching
“It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen. The smallest thing could give you away. A nervous tic, an unconscious look of anxiety, a habit of muttering to yourself–anything that carried with it the suggestion of abnormality, of having something to hide. In any case, to wear an improper expression on your face…; was itself a punishable offense. There was even a word for it in Newspeak: facecrime…”
– George Orwell, 1984 Continue reading “Big Brother Is Watching”
Attachment Parenting: Are we strengthening or weakening our children?
The practice of attachment parenting has made a large impact in the 20 years since its founding text, The Baby Book, was published. Dr. Bill Sears, the book’s author, champions close relationships with parents, especially mom, and their children. Continue reading “Attachment Parenting: Are we strengthening or weakening our children?”
U.F.O Sightings
Are they illusions, swap gas, weather balloons, experimental aircrafts or proof of intelligent extraterrestrial life? In 2011, Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) reported averaging 500 UFO sightings per month. In the past year sightings have been reported all around Georgia, including one which was videotaped in Cumming. But are they really indications of advanced intelligent life from beyond the moon? Continue reading “U.F.O Sightings”
Aliens
In the vast blanket of space there is a tiny beacon of light. This is earth, the sole known planet containing life. Is this the only light in a vast ocean of darkness? Or are there others, extraterrestrials, living somewhere out in the void? Continue reading “Aliens”
How Toxic Can A Workplace Be?
No one wants to be put down for trying to do their job. When you are trying the best you can, the last thing you want to hear is that this report is “garbage.” Continue reading “How Toxic Can A Workplace Be?”
Are We Safer 11 years After September 11?
The short answer is yes, but not in the way most people would think. It isn’t because tightened airline security and body scanners are foiling terrorists at the gate. The fundamental change is in the way airline passengers view a hostage situation. Continue reading “Are We Safer 11 years After September 11?”
An International Counter Terrorism Strategy
September 11, 2001 changed the way the U.S. views the world. It has fundamentally altered the way the government views threats from abroad. From the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, our sphere of intelligence gathering and counter-terrorism has expanded exponentially. Continue reading “An International Counter Terrorism Strategy”
Ronin Pen 