May 1998 Notebook Entries

May 1998 Notebook Entries

Notebook entry, May 30, 1998

In the May 23, 98 issue of The Economist, they ran a story on the upheaval in Indonesia and quoted a woman as saying: "Everything is so expensive now; only human life is cheap." News reports out of Jakarta indicated that pressure is building to expose how the Crony Capitalism of Suharto build up vast fortunes and passed them into the hands of family and close personal friends. The Resource Differential Tolerance Ratio Theory is in full swing. The anger shown the well off by the poor was most likely set off my the tripling in price of rice, the staple food item in Indonesia.

Notebook entry, May 29, 1998

It's been a busy, behind-the-scene week at Evolution's Voyage. This week we switched from a ISP to a host company to park this very precious cargo of information, theories, speculations, observations and musings. In other words, we moved the entire contents of the web site to another location. Whew!! Boy, do I hate to move!! Well, it's a little different when done electronically -- no boxes to pack and unpack; not to mention lugging things from here to there. But guess what? You still have the case of the angst!!....I mean, what would happen if you pushed the wrong button!? Oh, well. Things went smoother than a hot knife through butter, and everything came out ok on the other end. The only thing different is that we lost the use of my old ISP's cgi script for the counter, so I had to start from 0 with the host company. I place the old count below the new count. It not size that matters guys, its how many.

Notebook entry, May 25, 1998

Today is Memorial observation day in the USA. It is time to remember all those who paid the ultimate price for our salvation as a country. Altruism is deep within our genes and these people are the empirical evidence of that fact. I want to also personally thank all Americans who are altruistically giving of themselves in the defense of our country at this moment by serving in the armed services so that we can sleep safely at night. It does make a difference. My prays go with you.

Notebook entry, May 23, 1998

Began work on my observations on the evolutionary origins of criminality and the creation of moralities reflecting various socioeconomic levels. I am borrowing heavily from Lee Ellis' work in the journal Criminology, Vol. 35, #2 97. Have no title for the work yet, but work includes rape, homophobia, crime at different levels of our society, antisocial behavior, and child abuse and neglect. Completion should be by the end of summer 98 It will be the first essay that I will charge for as an attempt to close the gap between expenses and income at the web site. Events are progressing pretty much as planned -- in other words-- not fast enough, but progressing forward.

Notebook entry, May 24, 1998

Went to go see the movie Bulworth starring Warren Beatty. Was it a political satire with a powerful liberal message to the spirit of the 60s movement, or just another excuse for 60 year-old Warren to be seen getting the another young female like Halle Berry to show off his prowess? But despite my harsh sting, go see the movie and see one of the best movies in a decade or so concerning what our life is all about. Warren's got himself a winner. It may even have an effect on the fall elections.

Notebook entry, May 22, 1998

The Washington Post National Weekly Edition, May 18, 98, is running an in-depth report on how immigration has changed the racial climate of South Central Los Angeles. The report by Michael A. Fletcher focuses on the Latino population of Compton California, which is now in the majority there, struggling with blacks for jobs. "Here, black and Latino civil servants square off over public jobs. Black activists and Asian store owners fight over control of local businesses. And Latino and Asian gangs battle for control of their turf." Once again people, you must go back into our primal history to understand racial disharmony. Bigotry and prejudice are not about skin color nor ethnic origin, but the control of resources by the dominance of one culture over the submissiveness of another. The skin color and ethnic origins are there, but they are merely "markers" (like in DNA) to identify territory and similarities that would be to the advantage of both cultures, but primarily to the dominates.

The in-depth report adds strength to my theory and I update my essay: Evolutionary Psychology and the Origin of Bigotry and Prejudice. You may go directly to the essay at: http://www.evoayge.com/bigotry.html

Notebook entry, May 20, 1998

Business Week Information Technology report from the May 25, 98 issue. Report title: Back to the Future at Apple. Steve Jobs unveils the new low end PC called the iMac which is being hailed as the computer for the rest of us. The new iMac has a neat, cool-blue casing sans floppy drive. Bold move. The new device is well suited for access to the Internet and the article states that Apple will form an alliance with AOL to help with that access to the internet. Everything is geared to help the newbie enter the world of the PC and the Internet. The article did mention a note of caution: the lack of software being manufactured for the Apple line. The real test will be this holiday season. My suggestion is to buy Apple stock. But what do I know. Article continues with a interview with Jobs who basically said that the culture has changed at Apple from people thinking that they were losers, to those that know they can win. He also says that Apple is back to where it was in the beginning: a company that innovates. I agree.

I update my Apple essay: Evolutionary Psychology and the Apple. You can go directly to the essay at: http://www.evoyage.com/Apple.html

Notebook entry, May 19, 1998

Time Magazine, May 18, 98 p. 100? issue feature story: Generation Link. Covers older Americans over 50 years old and their new found love of the Internet. A study by Media Metrix Found that the 18-24 year olds spent an average 1,377 minutes a month online; the 55 plus generation was timed at an amazing 2,299 minutes. The article stresses the importance of social networking among our elders as they still crave human contact -- especially at a time when it's more difficult to achieve due to immobility and limited resources. The article states that the Internet widens the ability to establish human contact by being the great equalizer, making appearance, age, and gender unimportant.

Get ready for the new renaissance that is approaching.

Notebook entry, May 19, 1998

Tonight, it appears that the Suharto's government in Indonesia is due for a showdown with the poor people and students of Jakarta. The events that have led up to the riots add strength with my Resource Differential Tolerance Ratio Theory of resource stress. Suharto's Crony Capitalism, in which he appointed his family and close friends, seemed to have been untouched by the economic turmoil that has befallen the country in the wake of the economic crisis . When you are hungry and poor, the perceived distance between you and the wealthy seems unbreachable and the group mob mentality takes over as to the direction that events will take. To read about my Resource theory, you may go to my essay: Evolutionary Psychology, Capitalism, and communism: An Introduction to the Resource Differential Tolerance Ratio Theory http://www.evoyage.com/Capitalism.htm

Update: May 21, 1998 Shuharto resigns, and selects a hand-picked crony to stand in for him. The military seems to be attempting to restore order. Critics want immediate elections

Notebook entry, May 14, 1998

Return from a week's vacation attending my parent's 60th wedding anniversary in New Jersey. The folks look well for their ages, both 87....dad has slowed down somewhat as he no longer climbs up onto the roof to clean the gutters, and mom needs to have closed caption on the telly. So, if genes and good common sense thinking help in the aging process, it looks like I will be around for a good forty or more years in which to frustrate my esteemed colleagues with the truth.

Notebook entry, May 3, 1998

Cover story in the May 11th, 98 issue of Business Week: "Viagra: The new era of lifestyle drugs." The report tells of the technological advances in medical testing that have allowed drug makers to shave years off of incubation research. While also reporting on drugs in the pipeline for memory loss, anxiety, incontinence, and obesity, the report focused on the medical and cultural impact of Viagra on the aging male baby-boomers. The drug's introduction has caused an immediate cultural buzz. It is the topic of the moment that all humans wish to share and transcends over inclusive selective bounties. Cultural transmissions that we call buzz are the messages that we all share with our friends, family, and closely follow when discussed in the media. Buzz is the cultural information that one should know and acquire so that one is not left behind, and hence, be at a disadvantage in gene transference with others in our various clan groupings.

As for my own personal, slightly humorous view: the buzz is so powerful and its influence is so wide- spread that I predicate that Viagra will replace crack as the street drug of choice. Which lead us to the knowledge that all of us males share: that all projects -- great and small -- must be delayed until the male's penis becomes disengorged of blood. The joke that God designed the male reproductive organ to get its blood specifically from the brain rings very true. Women of mating age ( in particular the high-ranking types -- read Victoria Secret types) know that men are easily led around by their engorged penises. While in this brain, blood-drained state, it represents a major cultural opportunity for women to affect policy on the planet with their receptive capabilities to relieve the male's pointed focus. I, for one, welcome the possibilities. Make love, not war.