Stormy Daydreaming

6 iron or 7 iron.  He was unsure.  At 150 yards, the 7 iron might be a little short and the 6 iron a little long.  The pin was in the back left, so the 7 iron seemed like the best idea.

Thwick!

There it went.  The ball landed softly on the green twenty feet from the hole.  Ryan was pleased.  He pick up his bag and started the short stroll to the green.  As soon as this happened, the sirens went off.  There was severe weather in the area.  Ryan was not going to get caught out in the storm.  Upon arriving at the green, he picked up his ball and got out his umbrella.  He started the long trek back to the clubhouse where his car was located.

“Great.  It will take like a good twenty minutes from here,” he said.

The truth was the thirteen was the furthest hole from the course and would be a mile or so walk back.  The rain was falling at this point.  Not a strong splattering of rain, but enough that warrented the need for the umbrella.  The little pitter-patter kept Ryan’s mind at ease.  His mind drifted away as we walked the path that he had walked so many times during countless practice rounds.  He looked at the course as the rain was falling harder and thought about all the wildlife and waht had existed here before it was used as a recreational ground for him and other fellow golfers.

In fact, he knew exactly what it was.  It was the mysterious forrest that had enchanted him as a child.  Everyone in school knew that it was haunted and that was why nothing was built on that ground.  In Lewiston, the town was named after its founder Fredrick Lewis, but history shows that the town was actually founded by both Fredrick and his best friend Harold Morris.  Both wanted the town named after them.  The story goes that they both went into the woods looking to solve the dispute, but only Lewis returned.  Lewis said Morris left to find a new town and could not handle what happened, but everyone knew the truth.  Ever since then, legend has it that Harold has come out to visit those who are alone in the woods.

The golf course was built as a way to preserve the serenity that allows Harold to continue his trolling and the town to use the land for good.  The course was named Morris Creek Links to give Morris an offering for allowing them to use his land.

“Ouch.  Goddammit!” Ryan said as he hit a rock.  He turned down towards the eleventh fairway.  He remember his trip to the woods.  He came at the age of seven when he ran away from home.  He, like everyone else his age, came to the woods as a symbol of protesting the power structure of home.  He stayed in a little hut that has been the home of numerous runaways over the years.  While there he thought about his life and why his parents never allowed him to do what he wanted.

He remembers vividly sitting there when he saw a little cub.  He watched as the mother directed the cub away from the hut and towards the food she had prepare for it.  The cub seemed so upset that it was unable to explore the hut.  The mother knew, however, that only bad could come from such an endeavour and that the thing the cub needed was food.  This made Ryan think that was all his parents wanted for him.  They were looking after him even when he didn’t realize it.

As a father now, he now understood that better than anything.  However, recently he struggled with trying to understand the best way to give his children everything they needed in order to live a happy life.  He wanted them to be happy, healthy, and smart.  He gave them all the things he needed to do that.  He tried.  Although his children thought they were not being given everything they needed or in the way they should get it, he was truly doing what was best.

“I just wish they could have seen that moment that I did.  Realize what I realized.  It was helped me realize how the world works.”

At this point, he arrived safely to his car and put his clubs and umbrella in the trunk getting his clothes wet getting into his car.  On the drove home, he was the only one on the road.  He tried to see through the windshield with the rain beating down and the lightning going off around him.  It is a short trip home and he made home in five minutes.  He arrived home to an empty house, as always.

He did have a voicemail though.

“Governor, this is Tim.  The power is out in Tom’s River.  The utilities are trying to solve the problem.  I will keep you posted on any new news as it breaks.  This is a really bad storm.  Okay thanks and be safe!”

They are safe.  I have given them everything they need to be happy, healthy, and smart he thought.

“I wonder why I never had my own kids,” Ryan said.  “Well for now these are just fine.”

Tom Watson, Roy Hobbs Comparision: This Is Why Golf Is Great

Watching the British Open final round today was incredible.  Tom Watson played extremely well for a 59 year old man.  The whole time all I could think about was The Nature (the book) and Roy Hobbs.  A man who had great success only to disappear for awhile (for various reasons) and to return for one special time.  Both were on the top of their game and excelling only to fail at the last point, unable to reach the pinnacle.  Both were very compelling stories that gripped audiences.  The only difference is that The Natural is fiction and Tom Watson this week was very real.  However, some people believe that this week is an example of why golf is not a real sport.

I find it concerning that people are saying that this shows how golf is not a sport if a 59 year old man can compete and maybe win against younger guys.  This is ridiculous.  This stuff happens in other sports.  Kirk Gibson could barely walk, yet hit a home run in the world series.  There are several athletes that suffer concussions and are able to continue their sport at a high level.  Does this mean that an animal could do it because it requires little thinking?  No.  In every sport there are certain things that are remarkable that happen and you are in awe when they happen. You don’t question the authenticity of the sport.  Watson’s play this week was simply a memorable moment that will go be the most remarkable I have ever seen.

I play golf in college, but have played many other ports throughout my lifetime.  I have played baseball and ran track.  I can tell you that trying to play golf is no easier athletically than hitting a 90mph fastball (the fastest I faced) or running a 400m dash.  The problem with golf is the class structure that is associated with it.  People view golf as an elitist sport.  For many years it was only played by rich white people because of the expense it takes to play.  However, in recent years golf is much less expensive to play and has exploded in popularity.  As a result, this class astigmatism that haunts golf is no longer true.  However, people still need to find a way to show how it is inferior so they claim it takes less skill to play.  So, instead of saying it is just a rich man’s game, golf has become the game of unathletic small guys.

This is far from the truth.  Anyone who has played the golf will agree with me.  People who have never played before I often find are the biggest critic of the game.  It is a wonderful game that combines athleticism and intense logic.  This is why it is such a fun game to play.  It tests the whole man body and brain.  What I am saying is try it and then see what your opinion is.

So, in conclusion of that little rant.  Just because Roy Hobbs was able to play great baseball at age 43 didn’t mean that baseball was ruined, in fact it made it better and more excited.  The same is true with Tom Watson.  This week should excite more people about the game and about the wonder of amazing things that can happen.  I enjoyed watching every minute of it and hope you did too.  My only regret is that Tom Watson should have employed the Robert Redford version of Roy Hobbs and knocked out that light for the world series, but somethings are just not meant to be.

P.S.- Anyone thing that Stewart Cink was going to win at ANY point all week.  He was always in the hunt, but he always seemed to be the forgotten one until Watson was playing the last.  It still seems amazing that Cink was the one that caught Watson.

It Is Only Natural

Today I was riding my bike in a park in St. Paul and enjoying nature and the lakes that surrounded me.  While I was doing this, I realized that this is why I work on environmental things.  Too often we think about technology, but don’t realize that we still have a connection with nature.  Living in a city surrounded by concrete is unnatural.  When you are exploring a city for the first time are you more intrigued by the streets or the trees and flowers that surround it.  As humans we are attracted to nature.

I fear that sometimes we are going to eliminate it completely.  I am not saying to stop using technology, but we need to keep in mind the importance of nature.  It is what revitalizes us when we are off work and amazes us with its beauty and supports us with food and water.  Most importantly it makes us feel good.  While I was in the park today everyone was moving in slow motion.  Usually in a city people are rushing to catch meetings and trying to speed up time (I am guilty of this too), however, in nature time slows and we appreciate it more.  We focus on enjoyment more.

I am sitting here writing this on a computer in a building, but there is no joy here.  However, sitting beside a lake I feel the sand in my feet and hands.  I listen to the Minnesota river rush passed and the birds chirp with the insects buzzing too.  As you sit there, you realize that this is the way it is supposed to be.  The romanticism of nature has occurred in books and movies for what seems like forever.  However, as a culture we view it as more of a fictitious place than a reality.

This is a problem.  The more we separate ourselves from nature, the more we will not care about it.  More pollution and development will cover it up until it is all gone.  This will be bad for many reasons.  First, it will make it harder for us to get food.  Our food comes from nature and without it how will we feed ourselves.  Second, it will computerize us.  It is like the feeling you get when you have been on the computer too long and your eyes start getting strained and head dizzy.  That will not happen anymore and staring at a screen all day will be normal.  This is bad because it separates us from our animal features.

We will become weak pale people that walk like zombies who have bad health.  Being outdoors and playing adds to our creativity and physical health.  Creativity is integral to the continuation of the human race as far as development is concerned.  If everything is automated, then everything will be planned out without much thinking for the future which doesn’t force us to be creative.   The heath comes from uses your limbs and improves strength and endurance in simple things like knees from walking.  The more movement you have the more you are working out your muscles.

We cannot allow our culture to get away from enjoying the environment.  Environmentalists are not all crazy people crying about trees.  We are people who enjoy being outdoors and enjoy the little things in life.  Next time you stop by a park notice the mood and compare that to the office or school.  If you don’t go to a park, GO!  You will really enjoy it, it allows to appreciate nature and think, simply think.  That is why I work on environmental issues.  I think the environment would be a sad thing to lose.  Just some things I thought about while in a park.

Smart Grid Conundrum

I work for an organization that is working on creating a smart grid with the guiding force being the opinion of the consumer.  We are trying to figure why great strides have not developed regarding further development of the smart grid.  The answer is the energy companies are unwilling. The problem is that they need to finance it.  Utilities are in a unique position because they have a monopoly over you.  They are able to chose whatever price they want in order to make profit.  This is because the utilities are the only ones that produce the power.

The way they charge you is twofold.  First is the amount of energy you use.  This is a flat rate they charge per kW/hr you use during the month.  The second is they charge for the investment they do.  For example, if a utility builds a new transmission line, they change the price of the investment plus a little extra for profit.  This doesn’t get out of control because they are all public and regulated by the government to ensure it is fair to the consumer.  However, this structure works directly against how the Smart Grid will work.

A smart grid is setup to have several different ways to put power on the grid, therefore ending the power monopoly the utilities have.  This would happen by people having solar panels on homeowners’ roofs or farmers having windmills on their farms.  As a result, the utilities would have a hard time making any profit.  We need the utilities companies because of the second way they make profit.  They are able to make the investment into the grid and get a guaranteed return on their investment.  As a result, they can make the upgrades need to the grid in order to make the smart grid a reality without the fear of losing a ton of money.

The problem is that the energy companies are afraid of doing this because they fear that they will lose their source of profit.  It has been introduced that the utilities start selling energy as a service.  Meaning that they are selling the energy they  provide you, like that the lights turn on when you flip the switch rather than selling you electrons specifically.   This is a problem for them because they lose the monopoly they had.  Any company that has a transformer or transmission line can be that provider rather than just one company.  This will increase the competition against the companies and lower costs for the consumer.  Good for the consumer, but the utilities refuse to give up their monopoly.

So, the conclusion is how do we change this.  Smart Grid is a necessary upgrade to an aging grid that needs repair and an answer to the climate crisis.  Everyone is on board with this solution except the utilities and they are the ones they need to start it.  So, now we are at a standstill until something happens.  The answer is that this will probably have to start with legislation defining the way utilities are run.  Since they are a public company regulated by the government, this is totally possible and the only way (as I see it) to accomplish this goal.  The utilities may claim they are working in this direction, but they are simply stalling and wasting time.  change needs to happen, but the utilities refuse to yield.  It is all the economy stupid!

For more information about Smart Grids look at my previous post Efficiency, Carbon, and Smart Grids Oh My! on 7/08.

Nostalgia: Good or Bad?

As a man who has moved seven times, I wonder whether or not nostalgia is good.  I was born and grew up in the Mid-Atlantic/Mid-West, but went to high school in Texas.  For college, I always wanted to get back to what I viewed as my home in the North.  I went to a college in Minnesota and it was the best decision I made.  I also see people who did things in the opposite order(born in Texas, then live up north only to go to college in Texas).  I wonder why that happens.

I think it is because we always remember the good things without realizing all things have there good things and bad things.  Texas for me was actually a very bad fit and I will never move down there again.  However, I wondered if I liked the North because that is what was my happier time.  I mean high school (when I was in Texas) is a weird time for everyone.  I think that nostalgia can make us believe things that aren’t always true.

This is very dangerous.  I feel like people use this false sense of happiness in their past as a scale to how their doing now.  A a result, people often feel like they should be in a better place in life when in actuality this is how their life has always been.  This occurs because we all wish to live a life that does not include any negatives, but always is bright and positive.  Any negative thing that happens makes us upset, so we don’t like to think about it and erase it from our memories.  The further removed from those negatives, the more they view those experiences as positive even though they weren’t.

Then, the question becomes what is the point of memories if all they do is to conform to what we want them to be.  Considering the fact that we all use past experience to make future decisions, how trustworthy is they information?  Maybe we are simply using faulty logic in our decision making and not being fair to ourselves.  However, the honest truth is that there is no way around the way decision making and memories work.  It is a subconscious effect that we have no control over.  We simply need to embrace that which we easily do because it makes us feel good about the ‘good old days. ‘

Personally, I feel like my decision are not that clouded.  For me, I had a really bad experience in Texas.  It often made me feel like no one cared about me because of the stupid system they had there. I met some really awesome friends which made the place bearable, but other than that Texas really changed my life direction in a way that I was comfortable with at the time.  My past had all been in line with what I felt like was the way I wanted to go, if my memory serves me correct.  However, I am not sure if that is correct now.  It makes me wonder if those places were just as bad and my memory just didn’t remember the bad and only took in the good.

Efficiency, Carbon, and Smart Grids Oh My!

Today I had the awesome opportunity to sit in on the University of Minnesota’s forum regarding Smart Grids and the future in this field.  The University of Minnesota is a real leader of this front and have some of the world’s top professors and researchers from this field.  Also, participating were engineering firms and energy companies.  From the engineering companies, Honeywell and Lockeed-Martin among others and the energies companies had representation from Xcel (based in the Twin cities and Colorado) and the Great River Coop (based in the Midwest) and Connex energy (a local company).  The most exciting part was several politicians were there.  They included state senator Ellen Anderson, the State government and national security people.  This great group of people shed light on a number of issues in the Smart Grid field.

The presenter Moussed Amin was the inventor of the idea of Smart Grids themselves with his work for the government looking at securing the power grid.  Now as a University of Minnesota professor, he wanted to continue that work in the stage of implementation.  His goal for a Smart grid was for it to be flexible if outages were to occur and for it to be: a)self-healing and b)able to prevent problems by anticipating them.  The 2003 blackout that disurpted the whole Eastern Seaboard in America was caused when one segment of outage occurred in Ohio.  With a Smart Grid this should never happen.  Amin understood that not all the technology was in place for this to take place, but we need to start working in that direction.

The other engineers from the university talked about having a Smart meter that tells you when the best time to use your power is with the benefit of saving money.  Energy is more expensive during peak-hour (time when power is used the most) in a simple supply and demand way.  As a result, this Smart meter allows consumers to use their energy at a different time to save money.  Also, having devices that are smart devices that have these programs set in them so you can simply program when you want them to go on (for items like dishwasher, clotheswasher, or dryer).

The corporate engineers from IBM, Honeywell, and Lockeed-Martin were discussing the possibilities surrounding plug-in cars with this system (aka no more gas) and also the communications aspect of sharing all this data between people.  In this front they were really excited as was everyone else that had spoken.  However, not so excited were the energy companies.  It looked like the representative from Xcel (Judy Poferl) was struggled not to scream I HATE THIS THEORY!  They feared that they would lose their sources of revenue and as a result by endorsing this would drive their company to bankruptcy.

The most shocking information I took out of the forum was that of the energy created, only 42.5% of it is used by our products and 57.5% is lost to heat.  That was shocking and more than half of that 57.5% came from home efficiency. Meaning that more power is being used that needs to be in order to do what you want the energy to do (aka turn on the light).  Some of it are things that can be fixed with using more green products like CFLs (if you want to do this yourself send me an email and I can get you the information, I do this for a living), but some of the things are simple design flaws in the products themselves.  There was an experiment where an engineer took a ceiling fan from a store and tested its efficiency which was 20%.  We played with adding some more cooper to the wires for like 20 minutes and changed the efficiency to 60%.  That is a drastic change.

This shows that a lot of what we need are in place, but the focus is just not there.  The Smart Grid movement is a movement that will revolutionize going green and be the integral part to stopping global warming.  Not only that, but it will save corporations millions of dollars in energy savings.  This is still a long way off, but should be starting soon giving the right political pressure and consumer pressure.  I have a lot more to talk about this subject, but this is a solid introduction to it.  After today the only thing I can think about is: Holy cow Smart Grids are awesome!

Guilded Island

Ryan was on a journey.  He was always on a journey.  This time he was on the trek to find the magic treasure of The Two-eyed Pirate.  Rumor had said that the treasure had such a great loot that even Bill Gates was looking for it.  Ryan went down to the lake near his house and was determined to go to the island where he was convinced the treasure was located.

The island is a place that is spooky looking because it always seems to be shrouded in darkness and has constant crow caws coming from its mysterious area.  No one has gone to the island in years.  The last visitor, Mr. Cooper went to fish there because he felt like there would be a lot of fish there.  For the whole day the only thing he caught were old shoes.  Seven in an hour, fully spooked he left abruptly.  Once the town had heard of Mr. Cooper’s story, no one even considered going.

Ryan, however, was someone who was afraid of nothing.  He was viewed as a strange kid in the town though.  He always talked to himself and traveled alone and did not like being in the company of others.  His parents were worried that he was going to grow up and never be able to adjust to life on his own.  Ryan did this on purpose.  He did not like the citizens of the town and wanted to get away.  He felt like the best way to do this was to find the treasure.  So one day he decided that he had to visit the island in order to look for it.

Ryan woke up at 7 that mourning and put on his bathing suit.  Grabbed an apple on his way out of the door and left to go to the lake.  The fisherman had just left the dock and the water was still choppy from all the boat traffic.  Ryan ate his apple and then dove into the cool lake water.  It was only a 30 minute swim until he arrived at the island.   He stepped on land and breathed a sign of relief.

Much to his amazement, there was what looked like a path carved into the jungle.  So, he naturally followed it.  At this point his natural self-talk started.  “I wonder where you would put a treasure chest on an island like this…”  Suddenly, he came upon the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.  A lovely valley with a stream going through the middle.  There was no one there, but there were tons of animals resting and eating.

Ryan walked into the valley and looked around in amazement.  The animals didn’t even move when he was around them.  They were not afraid of him at all.  It was the most beautiful place he had ever seen.  Not even a painter could create such a scene.  At his moment, he realized, he found the treasure.  The treasure had nothing to do with money.  The beauty of this place was worthy way more than anything money could buy.  He smiled to himself and walked away.

Once, he returned home the whole town asked him of his experience at the island (they all watched him swim back).  Ryan smiled and said “Oh, it was awful.  The whole place is so much different than here.  I just had to leave.”  When he was alone he wondered if anyone else could even understand.  The world at the island was perfect.  Once you look past the ominous outside,  you can find a beautiful inside that makes you feel like a million dollars.  Which is so much better than having a million dollars.

Live Like Carl From Up!

Today I was with a friend and we wanted to go down to the river, but there were all sorts of brush in the way.  So rather than giving up, I decided that we should just try a path and get down there.  We found like what looked like a trail and it eventually ended, but we did it the hard way and eventually reached the bottom.  It was a really fun journey.  It made me realize how fun the little things are.

We usually think that the fun part of that trip would be to be by the river and enjoy the water and boats on it, however, the uncomfortable trek down the hill to the river was more fun.  It was enjoyable because it was the journey.  A lot of time we hear the importance of understanding of enjoying the process and the results will come and satisfying.  It is true because the journey is what gives you joy.  Often times, the journey brings you such joy that the result is pleasant regardless of what it is.  This is what makes exploring exciting.

In exploring we understand that there is nothing at the end to look for because we are not trying to look for something.  Rather we are enjoying that which surrounds us and we experience.  I love exploring for this reason.  There are times when you think it is boring, until you stumble about something amazing and a great challenge that you conqueror.  At that point you feel satisfied and want to continue the journey.  Each neat and exciting part of it makes you want to do more.  Often times, you are disappointed when you are done and reach the time when you must stop.  I have been known to explore for hours without stopping until the real world needs me.

The movie Up detailed this very well I think.  The theme of that movie is that journeys often have destinations, but the destination is not what matters.  It is the experiences along the way that make it fun.  Carl meets Ellie as they are looking to go exploring at International Falls.  They fall in love and have a life filled with joy and love together.  They never make it to the falls together,yet their lives are filled with happiness because they have each other.  After Elie’s death, Carl feels the need to go to International Falls for Ellie.  While there Carl meets his idle Explorer Charles Muntz (the reason he and Elie wanted to go in the first place) because he is trying to prove an animal exists to preserve his legacy.

Carl on is enjoyable stroll runs into and befriends the animal.  Charles on the other hand is unable to capture the bird.  Carl enjoys his time there because it is a journey.  For Charles it is a destination which makes the process grueling and a task, not an enjoyable existence.  Charles lives a life of misery in isolation because he is always looking for a destination.  This is in stark contrast to Carl who lives his life on the journey.  Carl finds joy in the little things whereas Charles’s only focus in on catching the bird and loses his ability to have fun.

I think that people act like Charles too much.  Although both of them are extremes, the best way to live is closer to Carl.  This is the side that gives you joy and love.  The other side may give you accomplishment, but what is accomplishment when there is no joy?  Try to focus your life on taking pointless journeys because they are fun and give you joy.  On a side not, if you have not seen Up go see it.  I don’t care what your age is, that movie is excellent for anyone and gives great life lessons.  Happy exploring!

What is Politics Really?

What is politics?  I mean really.  I am a political science major and often I hear people talking about ‘politics’ and people ask me why I haven’t said anything because they are talking about my expertise.  The honest answer is that no one talks about politics in America.  We talk about the silly side stories, but never address the issues that are in this country.  In any election, never does the vote come down to deep divisions on issues, but rather people voting on a conservative or liberal level.  Or if not that then they vote based on silly things like the way they dress or the how clean their personal record is.

There are many stories coming out about politicians that are engaged in sex scandals or other scandals that are all over the headlines.  The honest truth is whether or not a politician lied does not affect their ability as a politician.  Imagine people were going through your life with a fine-tooth comb checking for every little thing that you possible did wrong.  We are human and we all make mistakes.  The only time when I find this to be a problem is when it affects their ability to govern, by this I mean they use tax dollars or disappear and are unable to be reached when they are needed.

What I would like to see in this county is the ability for people to talk about politics without buzz words.  Try it yourself.  Try to have a conversation with someone without using the terms liberal, republican, conservative, or democrat.  Talk about why certain things will work better in PRACTICE.  Theories are great, but they don’t guide the world.  This is where history comes in.  Listen to it, it knows more than we do.  I find it frustrating when talking to someone and they simply view a position of liberal or conservative and as a result determine whether or not they agree with it.   We need to move past the words that define our politics and understand politics is about how to govern.

As a result, I, myself, have always been interested in politics, but will not work on domestic (America) politics because the voters don’t know how to vote.  The funniest thing I find is that whenever you talk to someone who majored in say English in college you assume they are a better writer than you or that an economics major knows more about the stock market than you.  However, as a political science major EVERYONE, I mean everyone thinks they know more about politics than me.  Not only that, but their goal is to prove it.  The state their views and why they are superior.  Often times I think to myself that these are the people who know the least about politics.  The use the typical fodder that is on the news.  I want to scream at them that this are not the key issues facing this country.  Those issues are settled out of the spotlight becasue they are too hard to discuss.  On a day like the 4th of July, we need to realize the hard work and effort that all Americans put into this country and we need to put the same effort into caring about it.  As a result, we need to pay more attention to REAL issues about America and that does not include anything about Sarah Palin and everything to do with the reason we are giving free money to companies that failed.  Think about that next time you are talking about “American Politics.”

Speech Trumps Script

I am writing in english. Yo escribo en ingles.   The question is what is language and what does it mean?  I thought about this because today I was learning some Dutch and thinking about words in general.  It weird to think that the language you use determines how you can communicate your feelings.  Some languages have words that better describe certain things.   Also, in recent times of globalization the combination of languages that have words that are awkward in other languages, yet have no other name.   How many times have you been writing and thinking of an exactly emotion or idea you want to communicate, yet had no ability to do that because you couldn’t find a word to fit it.  I feel like that is the frustration of language.  People who are excellent writers are good writers because they are always able to find that word that forces you to understand EXACTLY what they mean.

Personally, I find that language is really much more effective in person-to-person contact because only in this situation can communication be perfect.  In person, you can alter the delivery of your speech which tells the listener your meaning.  For example, think about all the times you are chatting with someone online or via text message and you know what you are saying makes no sense they can hear how you say it, but it is the way you want to tell them that statement.  This is exactly what I am talking about.

So, for the purpose of writing this.  I feel often that our technology has extended us too far sometimes.  By this I mean that we have the technology to communicate in several different mediums, however, that does not mean it is better.  Although the internet and written words can help in relaying information quickly and broadly, the true purpose of language was for human interaction to take place it.  This is why I believe we as humans are more drawn to movies than to books.  It is not because movies are “easier to watch” than books are to read, rather because it feels like we are having human interactions.  The language and visuals come through much more easily when there is that human contact.  Books often seem to unpersonalized that it sometimes hard to be interested in them, but movies force you to feel what the characters feel because they are just like humans.

My conclusion is that I find it ironic that people claim that writing is the most important form of communication to be good at.  Since human interaction is the main point to language, shouldn’t speech be the most integral part of language.  If you think about it, all the great orators have captivated audiences far and wide, and while good books do the same it is not to the same extent.  Writing is a tool that is important to learn now, but I believe is a poor form of communication because language was not created for it.  We have no way to communicate some feelings we have other than by change the delivery of them, which is impossible in writing.  As a result, in order for writing to be better, we need to add words to language in order to convey those feelings without resorting to human interaction.  I am not sure if that can even happen, but would like to see it happen.  Hope this made sense even though I could not deliver this message face-to-face.