The changing face of Human Interaction

Social Media

Social media has reduced human interaction significantly in the past few years. So many of us boast to have friends numbering in the hundreds and thousands, some even in the millions. It can be exciting to claim to have all these so called friends but it has not made us any more friendly or compassionate towards each other. As a child I spent so much time outdoors playing with my friends, it seemed like the best of times. These days children play with there friends who live next door by logging on to a web based multi-player game. While this may demonstrate humanity's intelligence and creativity, it also gives you some insight into what the future is likely to become, where we no longer have any real conclusive idea what the person we call friend looks like, or even if that friend is even human.

Interactive Games and Movies

We are limited only by our imagination. I no longer watch movies for just the entertainment value it offers. I now use them as a window into the minds of people. If the mind can conceive it, you can achieve it. No where else is this more evident than in the movies. Hollywood seems to be the trend setter and architect for many of the technology we use and enjoy today. Star Trek gives us a look at what may be possible at some point in the future. Creating games and movies, so interactive, that you become a part of the cast. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The Matrix is one of my all-time favourite movies. The idea of us being in a dream world from which we may not awake, living oblivious to the nature of our actual existence was bordering on the ridiculous at the time, that concept however, doesn't seem so far fetched anymore. AI seems a very real prospect for replacing humans as social beings. While I don't think our fate would be as dyer as for those in The Matrix, I do believe that it will only serve to further erode the already thin fabric that still holds us together.

Technology has made it possible to do things that we never thought possible. The breakthroughs will continue to take place. We will continue to push the boundaries of science, we will continue to learn, some good lessons, some bad ones too. But in all of this race to the stars and beyond, we must never forget our humanity, people will always need people. There is just no substitute. 

www.orbit3systems.com

Doing Business in Jamaica

It is interesting that the Government insists the way froward for this country is through the creation and development of small businesses. However, I have experienced the frustrations of setting up and trying to get my business up and running. The first hurdle to clear after registering your business is to become compliant to prevent the "Tax Man" from taking all your possessions and your freedom later. At this stage you encounter the true nature of operating a small business in Jamaica. With the plethora of technologies available to the state and the overabundance of expertise, you would expect that all the Government agencies would be some how linked to each other making information available to all the different bodies concerned. But even in this so called "information age", we are lagging behind. So all the bodies have to be visited in turn, to submit the same information.

The second problem arises when you now start the process of becoming compliant. You have to visit all the different agencies to get the necessary tax clearances (you still have to do this even when you are an existing business). The tax offices are rarely free flowing, and many of the attendants and clerks are not properly trained and many times give totally different information when explaining how to achieve the same outcome. The process is so tedious and time consuming that many persons resign themselves to paying the late penalty fees just to avoid the crowded halls and hours waiting on your feet in line.

Thirdly, and probably the most discouraging is that, you have to go through the entire process all over again, Every month. This, to me, is not a climate that is conducive to helping a country move forward on a small business platform.

However, I am still motivated to go all the way to establish my business and becoming a success at what I do, even if it means I have to endure the frustrations, discomfort and distractions created by an ancient and backward system and a Government that regardless of who may form the administration still maintains the status quo and  continue to function with nepotism towards party rather than country.

In the meantime, you may visit my website at www.orbit3systems.com

Changing of the Guard - New day in Jamaican politics

As was the case with the former governing party, the  Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is now faced with the stepping down of the officially elected leader of the Government and the JLP. This move has cleared the way for the ambitious few to make there voices heard. But wait, not so fast, the members have decided to throw their support behind the heir apparent Mr Holness, Minister of Education. If this move stands he could become the youngest person the be the leader of Jamaica in her short history.

Athletics Greatness

Once again, the Jamaican athletes have shown that they are the best in the world. The playing field has been levelled. For years we have been competing against artificially enhanced human beings without success. But now, the rules have changed. Initiated by one of the architects of the superhuman, Victor Conte. The new drug testing methods have caused fear among the worlds athletes who have been or were considering performance enhancing drugs. Now the real stars are shining. The former so called super powers of sports are now being brought down to size, by some of the smallest countries in the world, namely Jamaica and others. 

We have always done well, always against the odds, never complaining, just toiling and toiling. We have a great system in place which builds our stars of today and tomorrow, not artificially, but through the natural, careful and guided development of minds and bodies. 

Without question, this little island of 2.5 million plus, was blessed with greatness in all forms. Ever since we were brought to the Caribbean from Africa, we have shown that. Never far behind in anything and always seen, whether for good or ill, Jamaica makes her voice heard.

Lets use these lessons to push us to even higher heights of greatness, realizing that anyone of us doing anything can become a shining light among the worlds greatest.

False sense of security

My parents speak of a time when sleeping with the front door to the house open was a common thing. No one gave much thought to a burglar visiting in the middle of the night, worse the thought of being killed in the process. 

Those it seems are the good old days as they say. So how did we get to this stage? There is no limit to which criminals wont go these days. No one or thing is out of range. An evil cloud has descended upon us like a silent thief in the night. But am sure there were signs. Just as there are signs now of even more impending dangers. Can anyone remember when a day passed without a single murder being reported in the news? I can't, so i don't listen and I don't watch anymore. Where did it begin? More of the young are leaving school functionally illiterate. We bread a culture of violence through our politics, our music and movies and our everyday socialization even from our parents. We tend to be a nation of angry people. 

We need to spend more time talking to each other. We have become social misfits. No longer willing to listen and so, we don't understand. We all say, "its not going to happen to me", if we sit behind our closed doors and our 20 feet fences, then we are safe. Its the case of, if I cant see you, you can't see me. The head in the sand syndrome. Not all of us can run away, some of us have to stay and fight, America can't and won't take all of us. If we don't handle this crisis, a time will come when we really won't be able to leave our homes without a security escort.

A false sense of security is a sure way of biulding a society of insecurity.

On the brink

Its summer again and its hot. I have problems sleeping at night because of this heat. This year, it seems as if it has never been hotter. I would take a shower but wait, the taps a dry, only the gasps of pipes that have nothing to offer like the last breath of the dying. The reservoirs are running at their lowest levels in years, so says the water management authorities. This is the beginnings of a serious drought. But as Jamaicans, have we become use to this all too familiar scenario? No accommodations are being made by the guardians of our fate, those whom we have entrusted with our security and economic well being. Build another water storage facility we plea. But it falls on ears that cannot relate. What has been the perennial excuse? We have no provisions in the budget to undertake such large scale projects. And so, it gets worse. Not only does it get worse but the costs increase exponentially too, at what stage are we going to realize that this is an absolutely essential life giving and life saving commodity. Something has to give. What will it be? Jamaica use to be called the land of wood and water. It was once a favourite tag line when promoting our island. Its ironic that the Land of Wood and Water is hardly able to harness that most precious liquid, even for its inhabitants. Rivers empty there volumes into the sea every day. Why dont we channel them into our homes? Not literelly of course, thats another issue all together which also needs addressing. It is said that people reform or change when they are On The Brink. When are we going to realize that we are there now? On The Brink!