So i was thinking back to my younger self, and i recall that my first ever video game i played was Super Mario 64 when i was about seven. The Italian plumber stole my heart and from then on, i have enjoyed video games and the playing thereof. But I've noticed a recent trend in the accessibility of video games, and in technology in general. yesterday I was visiting the gamestop at kahala mall, and i noticed a couple of what looked to be first graders looking at the games that were on the shelves. Games that were rated M. This took me buy surprise, not only because of the fact that they couldn't take their eyes off of Grand Theft Auto IV, but also because the way they were talking, they sounded more like 15 year olds.
"hey, so did you get Grand Theft Auto IV?" one of them asked him friend
"nah man, my mom won't let me buy it." he responded as he put it back on the shelf.
I don't know about you, but i was disturbed that these two seven year olds were acting a good eight years older than their actual age. I mean, when i was their age i was still going on about Power Rangers and playing pretend with my friends. Remember in Wall-E how all the humans were morbidly obese slobs who shut themselves off from the rest of the world? well, at the rate technology's going, i wouldn't be surprised if that's how we begin to look in the future.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Wal-Mart
I have already written an article on this in class, but i feel that it is of great importance, so I am writing it again in the hopes that it will reach more than just a few people. I am writing about Wal-Mart, and the effect it has on the American economy and society.
As we all know, Wal-Mart is the large and powerful retailer, dedicated to bringing to us our everyday (and not-so-everyday) needs at low, low prices. In fact, one of Wal-Marts trademark icons is the yellow smiley-face Robin Hood, slashing prices to lower and lower numbers in an effort to save the poor and downtrodden a few extra coins.
Here's something to consider about Wal-Mart. The company is so powerful that it saved thousands of trees from being cut down by deciding to get rid of the boxes that deoderant used to be packed in. Yes, deoderant used to come in tiny, cardboard boxes, but ever since Wal-Mart decided not to use the boxes, thousands of trees have not been cut down, and the American consumers have been able to save millions of dollars because of it. Sit back and think for a moment, it costs money to hire people to cut down the tree's, ship them to factories to be remade into the boxes, design them, and have them shipped to the retailer. By eliminating these steps, the consumer has saved about five to ten cents each time they purchase deoderant. Sure, this doesn't sound like a whole lot, but when you take other factors into account (for instance, there are about two hundred million adults in the United States, almost all of whom buy deoderant, that's about $10 million dollars they save altogether (and this is assuming that we only save five cents per box). That's $10 million that the consumer economy gets to keep. And this happens recurrently, people replace deoderant once a year, and for those who sweat a lot, twice a year so that's even more money we're saving.
But don't go running to your car thinking that Wal-Mart always does good. Because for all the hype about it's low prices, Wal-Mart is steadily decreasing the amount of jobs in the United States. I'm going to ask you again to sit back and think. Wal-Mart is totally dedicated to giving us low prices, and the number one way to bring down prices while still turning a profit is to decrease the quality, meaning less reliable products, meaning that we have to go out of our houses to buy the same coffee maker because the last three broke. Also, with the restrictions and quality standards that must be met in today's society, there's only so low you can go for quality. meaning that eventually, more and more jobs are going to be moves outside of the US, to places like, say China, where they have little to no quality control. This will lead to not only a decrease in jobs, but also more dangerous products. Do you remember hearing about how Chinese products can sometimes be poisonous, or incredibly unreliable? Well, imagine those products being distributed by the most powerful retailer in America.
As we all know, Wal-Mart is the large and powerful retailer, dedicated to bringing to us our everyday (and not-so-everyday) needs at low, low prices. In fact, one of Wal-Marts trademark icons is the yellow smiley-face Robin Hood, slashing prices to lower and lower numbers in an effort to save the poor and downtrodden a few extra coins.
Here's something to consider about Wal-Mart. The company is so powerful that it saved thousands of trees from being cut down by deciding to get rid of the boxes that deoderant used to be packed in. Yes, deoderant used to come in tiny, cardboard boxes, but ever since Wal-Mart decided not to use the boxes, thousands of trees have not been cut down, and the American consumers have been able to save millions of dollars because of it. Sit back and think for a moment, it costs money to hire people to cut down the tree's, ship them to factories to be remade into the boxes, design them, and have them shipped to the retailer. By eliminating these steps, the consumer has saved about five to ten cents each time they purchase deoderant. Sure, this doesn't sound like a whole lot, but when you take other factors into account (for instance, there are about two hundred million adults in the United States, almost all of whom buy deoderant, that's about $10 million dollars they save altogether (and this is assuming that we only save five cents per box). That's $10 million that the consumer economy gets to keep. And this happens recurrently, people replace deoderant once a year, and for those who sweat a lot, twice a year so that's even more money we're saving.
But don't go running to your car thinking that Wal-Mart always does good. Because for all the hype about it's low prices, Wal-Mart is steadily decreasing the amount of jobs in the United States. I'm going to ask you again to sit back and think. Wal-Mart is totally dedicated to giving us low prices, and the number one way to bring down prices while still turning a profit is to decrease the quality, meaning less reliable products, meaning that we have to go out of our houses to buy the same coffee maker because the last three broke. Also, with the restrictions and quality standards that must be met in today's society, there's only so low you can go for quality. meaning that eventually, more and more jobs are going to be moves outside of the US, to places like, say China, where they have little to no quality control. This will lead to not only a decrease in jobs, but also more dangerous products. Do you remember hearing about how Chinese products can sometimes be poisonous, or incredibly unreliable? Well, imagine those products being distributed by the most powerful retailer in America.
Virtual Murders?
Last week, a forty-three year old Japanese woman was arrested on suspicion of "murdering" her virtual "husband" by hacking into his account. Apparently, she logged into her account and found herself suddenly divorced, which upset her greatly. Although she has not plotted any revenge in the real world, if convicted, she could face up to five years in prison or a $5,000 fine. The woman used the account information she obtained when she was still "married" and used it to log into the virtual world and murder her "husband".
Maybe I'm crazy, but i find it ridiculous that anyone would become so upset by a virtual "divorce" that they would go waste their time to kill a virtual character. If computers and programs are causing people to go about reaping revenge because of virtual "divorces". I use the quotes because refuse to believe that people can actually be "married" through the internet. Marriage is defined as a man and woman agreeing to live as husband and wife through legal agreements. The keywords here are man and woman, not virtual "man" and "woman".
And for the love of God, if we're going to have people being "married" and "divorced" over the internet, then what's the point in social interaction anymore? I might as well lock myself up in my house, cease any and all real life interaction, and get "married" to some woman halfway across the world, then divorce her when i get tired of her constant whining for me to take out the trash.
My point is that sure this woman should be penalized for breaking into someone's account, but for five years? That seems a bit much. Not the mention the pretentiousness of online marriage and divorce.
Maybe I'm crazy, but i find it ridiculous that anyone would become so upset by a virtual "divorce" that they would go waste their time to kill a virtual character. If computers and programs are causing people to go about reaping revenge because of virtual "divorces". I use the quotes because refuse to believe that people can actually be "married" through the internet. Marriage is defined as a man and woman agreeing to live as husband and wife through legal agreements. The keywords here are man and woman, not virtual "man" and "woman".
And for the love of God, if we're going to have people being "married" and "divorced" over the internet, then what's the point in social interaction anymore? I might as well lock myself up in my house, cease any and all real life interaction, and get "married" to some woman halfway across the world, then divorce her when i get tired of her constant whining for me to take out the trash.
My point is that sure this woman should be penalized for breaking into someone's account, but for five years? That seems a bit much. Not the mention the pretentiousness of online marriage and divorce.
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