Thursday, September 14, 2006

More Pay Option ARM and Hammered

Karen DeCoster has noted my earlier post on pay option ARMs (see “Pay Option ARM and Hammered” - link follows) wherein I offered a criticism to her for labeling ARMs “evil.”

Karen has posted a bit of a lengthy reply to my post, which begins by welcoming me back to the world of blogs (thank you, Karen), and then delves into why she thinks her usage of the word “evil,” to describe ARMs, is justified.  Karen’s rebuttal leans heavily on Austrian economics.

Further into the piece, Karen’s hackles are displayed, in response to a comment left by another fellow blog individual, which was left at my post Pay Option ARM and Hammered.

Unfortunately, I do not have sufficient time, at this particular moment, to reply more heartily to Karen.  But I will this weekend.

Karen’s current piece, titled “On ARMs, Bullish Know-Nothings, and Functional Retards,” can be read here.

Posted by John Venlet on 09/14 at 05:51 PM
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Electrical Stimulation of the Brain

How would you like to be wired for pleasure, at your command?  Imagine having the ability to simply push a pocket sized remote control to electrically shock your brain and receive a jolt of pleasure.  The more you would push the remote, the more pleasure you would receive.  Bliss, hey?

But what if there were a way to achieve the same “high” sensation as one can get from illegal drugs, anytime, anywhere, and without the chemical side effects and criminal motivation? Such a technology does exist, and has seen limited use in humans for several decades. The practice is known as evoking pleasure by Electrical Stimulation of the Brain (ESB), and despite its invention in 1954, few people have ever heard of it, and much fewer have ever experienced it. It sounds like the stuff of science-fiction, but it’s real technology.

I don’t think I would opt for it.  Legal or not.

Via Damn Interesting in a post titled Technology and the Pursuit of Happiness

Here’s a bit more scholarly treatment of the subject:  Pleasure Systems in the Brain

Posted by John Venlet on 09/14 at 05:32 PM
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You're Just A Guinea Pig, Citizen

Many individuals claim the state is their protector, savior if you will, from all the hobgoblins, shysters, and bad guys operating in the world.  In reality, though, the state is not so much their protector, but their Master.  Benevolent at times, the Master is, but the Master and his minions can quickly turn on their subjects, as the following illustrates,

Nonlethal weapons such as high-power microwave devices should be used on American citizens in crowd-control situations before they are used on the battlefield, the Air Force secretary said Tuesday.

And why would the Master and his minions desire to ill use their subjects in such a method as suggested above?  For this reason,

Domestic use would make it easier to avoid questions in the international community over any possible safety concerns, said Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne.

“If we’re not willing to use it here against our fellow citizens, then we should not be willing to use it in a wartime situation,” said Wynne.

I think the state is more than willing to use such a weapon against all the “fellow citizens” to avoid being ill used by the “international community.”

Test nonlethal weapons on U.S. citizens, official says

Posted by John Venlet on 09/14 at 03:34 AM
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