Today’s spotlight is on the Paleo Future blog. If you’re interested in topics like the Jetsons, science fiction, robots, rocket ships, monorail, in home technology, world’s fairs of the past and more then you should subscribe to the Paleo Future blog. Clearly I’m interested in those kinds of topics The monorail, retro robot and rocket ship photos in this blog post are mine.

Currently in it’s 3rd iteration, Paleo Future blog was initially on Blogspot, then all the content was moved to paleofuture.com. This is where it continued until late 2011 when the Smithsonian employed it’s curator Matt Novak to blog for them at blogs.smithsonianmag.com/paleofuture. The previous 5 years writing remains at paleofuture.com.

Matt said he started the Paleofuture blog in 2007 as part of a writing class he was taking at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Little did he realise that writing about the history of the future would become such a huge part of his life. This is how he described what prompted him to collect and share a history of the future that never was:

‘I first came across the word “Paleo-Future” in a Flickr group of the same name. However, the topic first sparked my interest when I visited Walt Disney World’s EPCOT Center, (now Epcot), and realized that Disney’s version of the future was based upon what they thought the future would look like in the 1980s. As is important when depicting the future, your opinions must change with the times, unless you happen to be omnipotent, which means you have no need to revise your vision of the future and have probably used your powers for such noble endeavors as guessing my weight at the local carnival or writing horoscopes that tell me, “you should find time for yourself tonight.”‘

‘While I might poke fun at the outlandish ideas of 1950s America, corporate puffery, or Jules Verne I do it with an admiration for the idealism we seem to be losing in our post-modern society. The belief that technology has the potential to improve the lives of everyone on Earth seems rare. Just remember that an optimism for the future and the attempt to better the world for all humanity is hidden somewhere within each sarcastic comment about flying cars and space farms. In that same vein, I will always remember that the dystopian societies depicted by George Orwell or Alan Moore are just as plausible if we surrender freedom in the name of security. Here’s to a “great big beautiful tomorrow.”‘
- Paleo Future blog curator Matt Novak

The Internet is like panning for gold in a stream, you’ll find a lot more dross (worthless, commonplace, or trivial matter) than gold nuggets. That’s why I’m asking for your help – please suggest quality sites for me to spotlight in the future, in the comments area of this article, via social media or by emailing me.

Rambling Thoughts Blog - Paleo Future: Spotlight on Quality Blogs

Recently the water supply to my suburb failed for 5 hours. A few days later while watching the cult classic zombie apocalypse movie Shaun of the Dead I realised that being prepared for that is similar to what’s required for dealing with more likely disasters.

Photo Credit: JJ Halans

The rise of zombies in pop culture has given credence to the idea that a zombie apocalypse could happen. In such a scenario zombies would take over entire countries, roaming city streets eating anything living that got in their way. The proliferation of this idea has led many people to wonder “How do I prepare for a zombie apocalypse?” or other disasters.

Whether you live in a flood prone area, near a fault line where earthquakes are more likely or in an area which is at risk from bushfires during hot dry weather there are things that you can do which don’t take much time or expense but can make responding to natural disasters, emergencies and essential utility outages much easier.

The absolute minimum useful things to keep in a handy place for any disaster are:

• Torch with spare batteries (or preferably one that can recharge via handcrank)
• AM/FM Radio with spare batteries (or preferably one that can recharge via handcrank)
• Power adaptor cable so you can recharge your mobile phones via your car.
• Keep at least a litre bottle of water in the fridge. Preferably 2-3L.
• First aid kit
• Essential regularly taken medication

In Australia two of the most common natural disasters we suffer from on a regular basis are fires and floods.

Photo Credit: Bertknot

While there are elements of bushfire that you cannot control, like the weather, there are a wide range of planning and preparation activities that you can undertake which will dramatically increase the chances of you, your family and your home surviving in the event of a bushfire., including the maintenance of adequate levels of insurance.

It’s well worth checking out the Fire & Rescue NSW advice regarding how to make a Bushfire Survival Plan for your family.

Photo Credit: Jono Haysom

The people of Queensland have had to deal with a lot of floods in the last few years including flash flooding which can result from relatively short, intense bursts of rainfall and is the most dangerous in terms of potential threat to loss of life.

There’s a great page with advice about how to prepare for floods on the Emergency Management Queensland website.

Photo Credit: Neerav Bhatt

Although they are a small nation, New Zealanders are especially good at being prepared for disasters such as earthquakes. The NZ Civil Defence “Get Thru” website has excellent advice for dealing with earthquakes, storms, floods, tsunamis, volcanos and landslides.

Back to the topic of Zombies.

The US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) has an excellent graphic novel “Preparedness 101: Zombie Pandemic” which demonstrates the importance of being prepared in an entertaining way that readers of all ages will enjoy.

Readers follow Todd, Julie, and their dog Max as a strange new disease begins spreading, turning ordinary people into zombies. Stick around to the end for a surprising twist that will drive home the importance of being prepared for any emergency. Included in the novel is a Preparedness Check list so that you can get your family, workplace, or school ready before disaster strikes.

Rambling Thoughts Blog - Zombie Apocalypse Can Teach Us About Disaster Preparedness

Today’s spotlight is on the XKCD Web Comic.

The blogs I spotlight are selected because they deserve more exposure and have a common attribute of owners who “Tell it like it is”. Like me they have strong opinions and are not afraid to publicise them even if they’re challenging the status quo.

XKCD’s creator Randall Munroe started the site in late 2005. According to his blog archives, a year later in October 2006 Randall’s contract with NASA wasn’t renewed at the same time that XKCD tshirt sales had grown to a level were they provided him with enough income to live, so he decided to become a full-time webcomic artist/t-shirt designer.

I like XKCD comics because they’re all about science, imagination, logic and emotion. It’s fair to say that the mixture of romance, sarcasm, math, and sometime strong language will not appeal to everyone which is why unusually for a comic there’s a disclaimer on each page:

“Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors).”

As with previously spotlighted cartoon blog Gaping Void, understanding each and every XKCD comic is unlikely, however when you do get them they are brilliant.

The internet being what it is, this has given rise to a site dedicated to explaining every XKCD comic called www.explainxkcd.com.

Some of my favourites cartoons by XKCD are displayed below:

We live in a world where there are actual fleets of robot assassins patrolling the skies. At some point there, we left the present and entered the future

I ecourage you to subscribe to XKCD Cartoons.

The Internet is like panning for gold in a stream, you’ll find a lot more dross (worthless, commonplace, or trivial matter) than gold nuggets. That’s why I’m asking for your help – please suggest quality sites for me to spotlight in the future, in the comments area of this article

Rambling Thoughts Blog - Spotlight on Quality Blogs: XKCD Web Comic

Cameras are fast becoming commonplace fixtures on our streets, our public transport and even in our workplaces. Some argue that these cameras are a necessary and effective crime reduction tool. But are they actually as effective as people claim? Or do they infringe on our privacy with no real gain for society?

Debaters gathered at an IQ2 public debate to argue for and against the proposition “Better more cameras than crime”. The third speaker for the negative was renowned barrister and human rights activist Julian Burnside and you can watch his excellent argument below.

Crime and CCTV in Australia: Understanding the Relationship

The most indepth Australian academic study of CCTV camera effectiveness was done a few years ago in Queensland. You can download the whole PDF report “Crime and CCTV in Australia: Understanding the Relationship”. An excerpt follows:

Over the past two decades, there has been a proliferation of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) schemes in most states throughout Australia (Wilson and Sutton, 2003). Unfortunately, CCTV has frequently been implemented without a clear understanding of the goals that may be accomplished through its use or indeed the circumstances under which CCTV is most effective.

The issue of security in public places and on public transport raises wide-ranging concerns within a broad spectrum of organisations responsible for crime prevention strategies. The enormous growth in the use of CCTV both nationally and internationally reflects these concerns. These are compounded by the fact that risks associated with assault, sexual assault and property crime in all Australian States and Territories remains considerable (Weatherburn, 2004), despite significant investment in crime deterrent technologies such as CCTV.
…
The increased use of CCTV has raised a series of associated socio-legal concerns. These include the overall financial burden of CCTV, whether CCTV assists with crime detection, the impact of CCTV on marginalised sections of the community, whether CCTV invades the privacy of individuals in public spaces and on public transport and its effectiveness as a crime prevention deterrent.

The perceived success of CCTV in relation to controlling crime in Australia is almost totally anecdotal (Goodwin, 2002; Sutherland Shire Council, 2001, 2003; Welsh and Farrington, 2002). While further CCTV implementation continues to occur and state and federal agencies consider additional crime detection and minimisation strategies (Wilson, 2003), there is a critical need to undertake a comprehensive review and research the impact of CCTV on security of public spaces and public transport.
…
This research questions the general assumption “that surveillance cameras are not only controlled and monitored constantly, but also operated effectively and efficiently” (Smith, 2004, p. 376). It is unrealistic to suggest the installation of cameras will have a major impact on crime rates unless “used as part of a strategy to tackle specific offences” (Gill and Hemming, 2006, p. 36). From our research it appears CCTV is effective at detecting violent crime and/or may result in increased reporting as opposed to preventing any type of crime.

ABC TV Foreign Correspondent – UK Surveillance State

In 2007 ABC TV’s then European Correspondent Rafael Epstein reported on his daily bike ride from his home in North London to the ABC office near Regents Park. His 10 kilometre journey was captured by dozens of cameras, as were millions of other Londoners.

Epstein wanted to find out why Britons have become the most watched people in the world, with over four million surveillance cameras, one for every 12 people. By one estimate the average Londoner is caught on camera 300 times a day. The United Kingdom has become a society obsessed with security.

Yet even having 20 per cent of the world’s CCTV (Closed Circuit Television) cameras doesn’t seem to be enough. Authorities are now installing cameras that not only issue orders, but attempt to predict criminal behaviour.

Epstein tests out some of them, with surprising results.

Transcript begins:

“Hello and welcome to Foreign Correspondent. I’m Rafael Epstein. I’m standing outside my home in North London. Now this city is a remarkable place … but one of the first things I noticed when I came here was the vast number of security cameras”

“Most people here seem to think that closed circuit television cameras (CCTV) are a fantastic idea .. but are they? My daily ride to work has left me wondering why is it that Britain has become the most watched nation on Earth”

“My ride to work begins with a camera I can see from right outside our kitchen window ……..”

Watch the story for yourself (16min 39 sec in length) below by clicking on the play button:

If you can’t see the video player than you should open this URL in Windows Media Player: http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2007/surveillance_state_200k.asx

What do you think about CCTV cameras recording everything the public does?

Do they make you feel safe or watched by big brother?

Are they a waste of money going into the pockets of security camera makers or a way of making people feel safer?

Rambling Thoughts Blog - Surveillance Society: CCTV Cameras Everywhere Dont Make Us Safe