The newest iPhone looks quite interesting, but I am still not going to get it. Anyways, the reasoning for this post is a commercial I saw for this incarnation of the iPhone. The advertisement was dedicated to showing off the phone’s “copy and paste” feature, which I suppose was not available on the previous iPhone. It says, “You can copy and paste an article in to an email… you can even copy a map…” and some other things. My question is why dedicate a commercial to a feature that has been available on the oldest of computers for decades? I don’t think I have seen any ad devoted to just one feature, and out of all the things they could have chosen, they choose copy and paste? Pretty unthoughtful if you ask me.
In this economy, all the non-profits are struggling for cash. I recently saw an ad by the UNCF (United Negro College Fund) that said, “William Purvis Invented the Fountain Pen. A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Support the UNCF.” This comes from their long line of “Inventions from African-Americans”, many of which are featured here. The ad there includes Purvis and his fountain pen, but the one I saw was somewhat different, and used the word “invent” as opposed to “develop”, but they mean the same thing.
The point is, William Purvis did not invent the fountain pen, although he did make improvements to it. However, on the Wikipedia page for Fountain Pen, in the History portion, Purvis’ name is not even mentioned; therefore, his role could not have been that great. The UNCF is apparently stretching the truth for some cash. Well, what can you expect from a bunch of… no, that’s just in bad taste, ha. But I do understand where they are coming from. They need money for their mission, it is just a fact of life. If you have to rob a few grandmothers to achieve that goal, that’s what you have to do, but the ends justifying the means is a whole other topic.
Some of my posts and many of my dreams have to do with cannabis, as I am a cannabis consumer. Just a mere few years ago, I thought cannabis was a bad thing, and now I am ashamed for ever having thought such a thing. First of all, as a recreational device, cannabis is harmless and occasional use is good for you, no doubt about it. How is this possible? Well, all humans have endocannabinoid systems, which were integral in our evolution and regulate literally all other systems in our body; respiratory, circulatory, muscular-skeletal, digestive, endocrine, nervous, etc. Cannabis strengthens this system and thus everything else, so it truly is a good thing.
But that is not important. When the essential oils of cannabis are extracted and concentrated, a substance called hemp oil is formed. A man named Rick Simpson discovered modern hemp oil, and has used it to cure a multitude of diseases, including terminal cancer, diabetes, MS, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disorders, pain disorders, mental disorders, and even physical wounds and burns. This medicine is incredible, and it can truly revolutionize the medical system and world.
As if that weren’t enough, industrial hemp can save the planet by stopping deforestation (as hemp can be used to make paper and building materials), reversing global warming (by taking massive amounts of CO2 out of the atmosphere during growth), providing us with an alternative biofuel, creating a very nutritious staple food (hemp seeds have all the essential fatty acids and amino acids), and is the source material for literally thousands of products. Cannabis, the one plant that can do the most for this world, is one of the few plants that is illegal. What injustice this is, and it is injustice on a genocidal level.
Life on Earth is pretty amazing. Absolutely all forms of life, even viruses, have DNA, which enables them to live and pass on their traits. DNA is the code that makes an organism what it is; specifically, it sets the rules for what proteins are made and where they go. All life shares the characteristic of having DNA, from humans to trees.
DNA also seems to prove the common origin of all life. Listen to some of these DNA similarities, retrieved from here. A mouse has 92% matching genes, a fly has 44%, certain single celled organisms has 26%, and even a weed is 17%. All life is extremely similar.
Also, could this mean that life cannot exist without DNA? Does this mean that all life throughout the Universe is similar as well, and aliens really wouldn’t look much different from us? It’s possible.
I think the most arduous part of any writing assignment is the Works Cited segment (aka bibliography), complete with citations and its own dedicated page. I can write easily and fluidly, but because of citations, you have to constantly stop and check the source, put it in the right places, and use it a certain amount of times (depending on the specific assignment). And nobody can ever remember the proper format for the Works Cited page, so you have to always keep flipping between resources to do it right.
However, this is all necessary. If not for citations, plagiarism would be rampant, and intellectual property would be rendered defenseless. Sure, it takes a little more work, but it is the price we pay for living in a just (or pseudo-just) society.
I like to watch Adult Swim, which is a programming block on Cartoon Network that has interesting and humorous animated shows. They often pick up shows from other networks, as they’ve done with Family Guy, Futurama, and King of the Hill. The latter is the most recent show they have adapted, and they keep saying, “New episode of King of the Hill” or, as I just saw, “Three New episodes of King of the Hill Premiere Tonight.”
I find this somewhat misleading, as these episodes are far from new. In fact, the ones they are referring to came out between eight and ten years ago. Perhaps these episodes are new for the network, but they are not new to the general population, and that is what matters.
Divine Philosophies is a portal for my philosophical thoughts, dreams, and observations. I hope my postings will be useful to some readers, although this website’s existence is primarily for myself.
Observations | Light | 
June 30, 2009 6:29 pm | 
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