17. Questions 67 and 68
“Because of technological limits, there is a certain amount of food that we can produce per acre. If we were to have intensive greenhouse agriculture, we could have much higher production.” – Ralph Merkle
With the Industrial Revolution, all of us were caught up in technology. When I began my studies in Binghamton at the School of Advanced Technology, I became more involved with it. I mentioned my difficult times with undergraduate work and graduate work in pursuit of a Masters’ degree a few years before. That changed when I attended Harpur College, another name for Binghamton University. That name is connected to The Grateful Dead in conjunction with a concert there on May 2, 1970, just a few months before I arrived on the scene. Another tech connection is the bootleg cassette of that day, which was of high quality. If you’re a DeadHead, you probably have a CD titled, Dick’s Picks Volume 8 Of May 2 at the college. I don’t own it but my sister might have it.
My classmates were few in number, but I knew them all. The instructors were real teachers who cared for the students. They may not have been liberal, but I know they were progressive. To be accepted into the curriculum, one had to show proficiency in six foundations’ courses, but you had a few months to do that, either successfully completing a test or having passed a related course at some other university. Besides fulfilling the basic requirement, in my short time there, I was given one test – a mid term exam. Throughout our days at Harpur College, we worked in teams and the grading system was simply pass or it was as if you never registered for the course. Since those in attendance probably paid their own way, the latter result was not an option. This is a great model for education and over forty years ahead of time. By the way, I received my degree in 1972.
I can’t leave this discussion on education without further comments. It’s obvious that I really hate tests but was happy with the setup at the School of Advanced Technology at Binghamton. My earlier college days weren’t that joyful. I despised open book tests, of which we had a few, but even worse were the take home tests. For those fiascos, you were given an assignment that would require you three or more days to complete, but you only had a weekend to do it. You can do the math, which was actually the subject of the test. In the twenty-first century, technology has only made matters worse – and you thought those take home debacles were bad. Now there’s the online test as well as tests that last eight hours. The education system needs the flamethrower approach.
We’re not in the classroom, but I have a few questions and they’re all rhetorical with no answer needed and each related to technology. I’ll answer them later.
Are the members of the 114th congress dinosaurs since they’re beholden to fossil fuels?
Why don’t conservatives care about conservation since it affects our children and grandchildren?
Is it possible that those who create worms and viruses have friends or relatives that are on the anti-virus squad?
“How can I be overdrawn? I still have checks.” – Gallagher
If someone uses Internet Explorer, resulting in cookies, is it a problem if they have diabetes?
If another of my accounts has smart email, why do I still receive spam?
Why do we have collateral damage along with smart bombs?
Can I buy a PC with a mouse if my home has two cats?
Do prisoners have cell phones?
Should I use Cloud to save files if I have acrophobia?
How do I change the wallpaper on my PC screen so I can have paneling?
If my boss tells me to place the project on which I’m working onto the back burner, can I do that if I don’t own a stove?
If someone works for a vertical corporation, how do they handle the bottom line?
Can I bring a laptop if my friend takes me to one of those places that has dancing?
If my friends fix me up, the two of us go out and she dies, is that an expiration date?
Do sick ponies go to a hosspital?
What do you call a workaround that doesn’t work?
The answers to the questions posed earlier are:
Don’t insult those animals just because of their age.
“Although it is not true that all conservatives are xxxxxx people, it is true that most xxxxxx people are conservative.” – John Stuart Mill
If they’re not from the same family, these people are friends and they all have jobs.
If you use online checking, you won’t have to worry about checks that much.
There won’t be a problem if the cookies are gluten free. – ugh.
You can solve the problem by forwarding them to Uncle Bubba.
The expression military intelligence might be a clue.
You can, but warn the mouse and arm him.
How else can they handle drug deals?
Just don’t look down.
Check with the hardware store on that one.
Buy a two-burner appliance and bring it to work.
That one I can’t answer since I have no idea what a vertical company is.
You may be able to carry in an Android.
I doubt that this would happen if they met on the Internet.
The only place that would admit the animals is the Cartwright Memorial Hospital.
Heaven only knows.
In trying to answer the question, If I want to log off my computer, why do I have to press start? many people are baffled. When you go to the left bottom of the screen and bring the cursor onto the button Start, it says Press here to begin. However, I want to end the session. The next screen you see gives you many options, including a chance to end by pressing Turn Off Computer. Maybe we’re getting somewhere. On the next screen you now have four choices. Are we ordering takeout? The choices are: Stand By, Turn Off, Restart and Cancel. How can we press the first choice if we’re sitting down? You press Restart if your PC needs a new transmission. Pressing Cancel seems redundant. I don’t have to tell you the option you want. Many are turned off at this point, but it may get worse. After pressing Turn Off, I sometimes see a screen giving me the option of doing updates before exiting. Unfortunately I don’t know what those updates are. Someplace on my PC there could be a clue to the answer to what’s being changed, but I don’t have time to check. The updates could mess up my machine and also take some time. There’s an easier way to log off: turn off the power bar. I think this won’t mess anything up but don’t blame me if you have to call the help desk, which should be avoided at all costs.
The title of this chapter is the name of a song on the only record of the jazz-fusion group, Chicago Transit Authority. The title of the April 1969 release is also the name of the group. I bought the double disc and when hearing the beginning, was captured by the great sound. That tune was appropriated called, “Introduction” and another song there was “Beginnings”. Other hits on the disc include “I’m a Man”, “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is” besides “Questions 67 and 68”. By the end of the next year, the album sold over a million copies. Since the name of the group was also that of the transit system in that great city, the group changed its name to Chicago. You know the rest of the story.