Renewable Energy

As I drove down the highway yesterday, I would catch occasional glances of the Yellowstone river and I started to think about the windmills that have been sprouting up on the western half of the state. It occurred to me that windmills generate energy by spinning in the wind, and once upon a time ago, wood mills used river power in much the same way, a wheel rotated in the current of the river or stream.

Why is it then, that a watermill could not be created to harness energy? By creating underwater wheels that constantly turn in the swift flowing current of rivers much energy could be produced. The wheels could even be attached to existing bridge structures to lessen the cost of engineering and manufacturing these energy producing wheels. Just a thought...

A thought on homosexuality...

I stumbled across this article while researching a project for my business communication class. I wholeheartedly agree with this person's stance, and certainly couldn't have said it better myself. I leave it to you to read this wonderful blog "Of Gods and Gays" and feel free to weigh in!

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ruebarbpie/entry/of-gods-and-gays

No child left behind?

Today I will post my thoughts on today's education system in America... What is up with it? First we have this ridiculous method of holding all students in a classroom back to the level of the slowest student in the class. Ok, so we bore the students who are bright and ready to advance out of their minds so that by the time they reach middle school they are ready to quit and are always getting in trouble.

I say this from experience mind you, as my son is a prime example. He entered the 2nd grade last year only to find he had to repeat everything he learned in the first grade. In 2 months time he hated school, didn't want to go anymore, didn't want to do the repetitive and boring homework, and stagnated. My son is very bright, and I'm not just bragging, his IQ level at 5 with only 1/2 testing was at 131. Asperger's does that to a kid. But try to get the school to cater to his 7th grade reading level, quick absorption of material, etc. and you are told that these are 'cadilac services'. Well, that serves some sort of purpose for someone I suppose, but what about these kids who could be the innovators of the next generation? Will they reach their potential if they are disgusted with school by the 2nd grade? It is sure to only get worse as the grade levels increase. I hope Obama has a plan to fix this retarded system... there MUST be a better way to make sure that no child is left behind than holding back the children who are doing just fine!

Michael Jackson

Okay, I know there are those of you that shun him, there are those of you who could care less about him. I'm not one of you. He was a wonderful entertainer and person who was able to do amazing things even through slander and hatred when anyone else would have stopped, given up.

I watch the rehearsal video clip they are showing on the news, and a deep thought occurs to me. Remember Sonny Bono? He had an unfortunate 'accident' at a time when he was politically vocal in ways that weren't 'mainstream' politics. Michael's song he is performing in that rehearsal clip was politically charged, capable of bringing the world to its feet and raising awareness in a way that other artists could never achieve. Is it possible that this 'accidental' heart attack wasn't so accidental? I certainly hope not. I hope that his newest music is released soon, I want to hear what he had to say before his untimely passing. I want to know what message he had for the world.

A new trend?

Lately I have been turning the idea of body dye around in my head. We have all seen Star Trek and the colorful people that populated the old series. What if we could dye our skin temporarily in bright colors? This new fad would open doors for fashion designers... Or what if you only dyed on tatoos, kind of like henna but much more bright and colorful?

Kids have been known to dye their hair with Kool-aid, so I am going to run an experiment on myself using Kool-aid as my dye. I will make a 'tatoo' out of sight on myself and determine how well it works, how long it lasts, and if it is a plausible medium come halloween to be the only non-greasy, messy, and runny colorful character.

I'll get back to you with the results....

Global Warming?

Today I want to share my views on the issue of global warming. Now, its all well and good to think that we are so special and powerful that we can destroy the world with our chemicals and emissions, but lets get real here.

Once upon a time ago this planet was tropical and lush, and dinosaurs were at the top of the food chain, not humans. Then something happened to cause that tropical climate to change into an ice age, with large glaciers all over the place. Okay so now for comparison, imagine a pound of hamburger is the world. I stick that pound of hamburger in the freezer and it comes out a ball of ice. Leaving the ball of ice on the counter results in what? The gradual thawing of the hamburger. It happens slowly at first, but as more and more of it thaws, it speads up.

Given this comparison, does it not stand to reason that eventually our planet would thaw out?? I know this isn't exactly scientific jargon, but it seems like common sense to me that our planet would not support all that ice as it naturally returns to its former warmer state.

Anyway ... that is my deep thought for the day.

Healthcare Reform

Okay, today I am going to spout an opinion that is not original, but not exactly trademarked either. The only reform our healthcare (and social security system for that matter) needs is to put an abrupt halt to the package that government officials (senators, congressmen, etc.) get. No longer will they be on a separate (and far from equal) medical and retirement plan, but rather be subject to the same crap the rest of America has to live with. I just don't understand how it is that these people ended up making the money they do, given the wages of these same officials 100 years ago, without the American people standing up and saying... "Oh, HELL no!" If the people who make these systems actually had to be on them there would not be any problems.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am tired of the government believing themselves to be the Dukes and Duchesses, Lords and Ladies, Princes and Princesses, Kings and Queens of America. Oh, sure, they don't come out and say that.... but actions speak louder than words. "Let them eat cake" is what I'm hearing.

Team America

This idea is for all you webheads out there.... the ones who know how to create great websites and keep them going.

As I was learning about being part of a team in college, I was also listening to our President giving speeches in town hall meetings and thinking deep thoughts. What developed was this:

What if I were to develop a website for my small town to become "Team Miles City"... Persons living in the town could sign up, create a team, post community service goals, recruit volunteers, and (in the immortal words of Larry the Cable Guy) "git er done". The purpose of this would be to encourage communities to become proactive in changing their environment.

Example: Sarah is driving down the street and ponders how awful the abandoned gas station looks with all of the weeds growing out of control. Sarah logs into Team Miles City and posts her goal. "I want to make Boxelder Street look better by going to the abandoned gas station and mowing down the weeds. I will undertake this community service at 11 am on Saturday, June 1st, anyone who wants to help is welcome to come."

Sarah does the job, takes before and after pictures, and posts them as a "Goal Accomplished!"

Example: John knows that Old Man Jones is having a hard time and isn't feeling very well these days. He goes to Team Miles City and posts his goal: "I want to help someone who isn't feeling well to feel better, so I am going to make my goal to go and visit him and see if he needs anything twice a week."

John follows through on his commitment and posts a "Goal Accomplished!" something like this: "My friend needed a ride to the store, and I helped him out. This made him feel better because his needs were met and he doesn't have to worry about how it will get done anymore."

Now... We have "Team Miles City", so what if there were a website for "Team Montana" where all the towns in Montana could be brought together? Take that a step further... "Team America" where the states are all brought together.... one more leap... "Team World" where each country has their version of "Team America". This is not a minor undertaking by any means, I know, but in the immortal words of the late Michael Jackson, change starts with the man (or woman) in the mirror.

That is my deep thought for the day....

This is a way for people in a community to step up and do something to improve their world in a way that is good for everyone. It is way overdue for communities to stop looking to the government to pay someone to do what we should be doing for ourselves.

Introduction

Hello and Welcome~

I have created this blog to enable me to share my deep thoughts with the world, as well as to hear the deep thoughts of those who chose to read them. Have you ever had a fantastic idea, but not have any clue how to make it work? Have you ever pondered some material you have seen and/or read but not had an outlet to put forth your viewpoints? I know I have, and now I am going to use this blog to link to things I have seen and give my thoughts, impressions, and opinions about them. I am also going to share some ideas that rattle around in my head that, being as I am a thinker and not a creator, are useless unless I share them.

This brings me to my first deep thought: If an idea is great but never shared because it can't generate a personal profit, meaning that it may profit someone else and not myself, is the idea really all that great? I would say not. It stands to reason that I am not the only one who has deep thoughts that are simply pondered and tossed because the person doing the thinking doesn't have the time, know-how, energy, motivation, or desire to see the seed of imagination take root and grow into something beautiful that the entire world can enjoy.

On that note I will end this introduction and finish customizing the page for the coming spelunking of my thought process.

Thanks for reading~