Carl Honore: Slowing down in a world built for speed

Finally,somebody else who feels like I do! By this, I mean that life does not need be a rat race. Carl Honore is a journalist who wrote a book on slowing down in life, and the benefits that it can provide to not only your health but also your diet, work, and relationships. He has found that "everyone wants to know how to slow down, but wants to know how to do it quickly." There seems to be something wrong with that.
We are a society that is obsessed with speed. The faster the better. We have speed-dialing, speed-dating, speed-walking, speed-reading, and even speed-yoga. Honore says we are a society of "road runner living" and are "hurrying through our lives instead of living them." I could not agree more. In our society, time is money, whereas in other societies, time is based more on the cycles of living. For instance, in Europe people work much less than here in the West (6 week vacations are the norm). The outcome-productivity goes up. The Nordic countries are a prime example of this.
This is a topic I have thought about quite often. It seems everybody has to be on 24/7. Cell-phones are attached to ones body almost as if they have grown another appendage. We have to constantly be on the go. Family dinners around the dinner table are practically non-existant. I worry about children the most. It is like they are on overdrive all the time with homework, extra-curricular activities, camps, jobs, cell-phones, text-messaging, or video games. Nobody knows how to just sit and daydream anymore. Even the idea of just sitting and reading a book seems to make people nervous. It is like they cannot physically slow down enough to just sit. Even people who go on vacations seem to take the first 2-3 days just to unwind enough to relax. I think there is alot to be learned from the Europeans and the way they live life.
As mentioned previously, they all take six weeks of vacation. The shops in most countries shut down in the afternoons for 2-3 hours, and people go home and take naps or just rest. This is a fact in Italy. Around 5, the shops reopen.Europeans take time to shop the markets for their foods, cook them themselves, sit down to family meals, and just enjoy what they are eating and eath others company. Rushing through fast food is not their normal way. They just seem to savor the simple ways of living and you can tell just by looking at them that they they seem more relaxed. Americans on the other hand, always seem to have a nervous energy about them. Maybe it is time for us all to remember that we are all going to die one day, and that life is not so much about the race, but enjoying the journey. Take the time to just look up at the sky on a sunny day, or really look at a flower that is blooming in a garden. Notice the birds singing, and pay attention to that piece of cake or slice of pizza you are eating.You might be pleasantly surprised.

William Kamkwamba:How I built my family a windmill

Everyone should listen to this TED talk and learn from this humble, gentle now 19 year old about how the most simple basic thing that we all take for granted-electrical power, can bring such joy. We live in such a fast paced world where everyone wants the latest gadget, technology, or wants things instantly. We all forget that there is a whole world out there that doesn't even have the basics such as a simple light bulb, running water, or the luxury of hearing a radio much less downloading their latest ITunes or movies.
William was simply a 14 year old who wanted to provide power to his mud hut for his family. He comes from a small village in Tanzania. He decided to read a book called "Using Energy", and from there he built a windmill using a bicycle frame, pulley, plastic pipe, and wooden poles.He basically used scraps that he found. It provided enough wattage for 4 light bulbs and a radio. When questioned about the windmill, he replied simply " I tried, and I made it."
How many other average 14 year olds would even think about taking on this project? In our society,they are all too busy text messaging, playing their latest video games, or worrying about their MySpace.The idea of not even having power probably never even crosses their minds. It is a given. I think our society today is too wrapped up in themselves. This boy now wants to build a bigger windmill that will pump water and irrigate crops for his entire village.His focus is on "What can I do for others?" Only by watching the TED video can you see the joy on his face in having been able to build this first windmill,and you can tell that he realizes what the second windmill could mean to the life of the village. Our modern world here could do well to learn lessons from this young man. It is not always about having the latest and wanting more.Sometimes, we need to stop, and be grateful for all that we do have and maybe start focusing more on how to help those who are just looking for the basics. There should not be such disparity in the world.

Group 3 Project

Phishing/Internet Scams

Although many people have run into problems with both Phishing and Internet scams on their computers, I have been very fortunate to not have had experiences with either.I don't know if that is because I do not use the internet alot or if I don't email alot (most of my family and friends live right in Tappahannock with me). Maybe,I have just been lucky. I do know that it has been a real problem for many people esp. the elderly who fall for the internet scams offering them money if they send in a certain amount of money first or forward a bank account number. You read about it in the paper all the time. It is heartbreaking and infuriating to see people lose what money they have to these scams and to the phishing that goes on with people falling victim, and giving out their personal information. I do get surprised by the number of times that this does seem to happen. It seems that enough information is posted in newspapers, magazines, and on the TV warning people about these problems. Nevertheless, people still fall for them. Hopefully, if people can keep reading about it, be warned by family members, or see it on TV enough,these incidences will lessen.