HOT BUZZ WORD

Warning -- beware of  DELIGHT!

Yes, delight.

We are heading into delight -- yes -- we are going to be told, over and over, in catchy, interesting, seductive ways, to buy clothes, music, trips, foods, all kinds of drinks -- just about anything you buy -- will delight you.

And of course, DELIGHT will be echoed in our social media relationships.

I learned this from New York Magazine. The magazine is a prognosticator. They see where we are heading. Dealing with ad agencies, advertisers, and subscribers, they grab onto a possible trend, and feed it, fan it. With more ads, they turn a flicker into a spark that ignites, illuminates, and creates a tepid sort of excitement; a tepid curiosity that attracts people, products, and their promoters, and promulgates a full-blooming trend.

Why am I complaining? Why does any of this matter?

Because it makes me intensely aware that moneymakers are turning me into an angry, complaining, non-conformist, who dislikes hundreds of normal things that other people have learned to like or love.

Am I a misanthrope? No. I am just NOT delighted when I notice delight moving in on me.

I don't want anybody in the TV or media or business world selling me, telling me what to think and feel.

ZUCK'S LATEST BIG PLAN

Mark (Facebook) Zuckerberg's latest plans are a very big deal. He wants to put everyone in the world on the Internet.

EVERYONE ?

Yes.

Philosopher, philanthropist, Zuckerberg is putting his mind, money, staff, and seer-like focus on getting the Internet to every place in the world that doesn't have it yet.

That it is a gigantic task has been thoroughly examined by a major Time Magazine critic, who has a not sweet attitude toward Zuckerberg as a brilliant, super-powerful, money-making guy. "Look out, everyone" warns Lev Grossman, who has published books and essays that establish him as an authority on technology as well as American culture.

Zuckerberg has been helicoptering in and out of Third World towns, meeting local VIP's, enchanting them with online goodies -- films, games, tech help, cell phones, computers, and financial support for the ignorant poor folks who are going to flock into the classroom spaces that Zuckerberg has been buying, borrowing, renting -- he's creating schools that will be connecting to communication sources that he's digging up, creating, investing in.

Why do I cringe? It's what the author Grossman describes -- Zuckerberg has broken down the needy poor into categories, and is prepared to help them in many various ways, with his newly created organization -- Internet.org --  a global partnership of big name technology leaders, nonprofits, and local communities.

Name-dropping money sources, and social studies statistics, Mark Z. sells his conviction -- that communication connectivity makes people's lives better, improves health, creates jobs, reduces extreme poverty -- even reduces infant mortality. The bottom line, according to M.Z, isn't about money -- it's about creating wealth and saving lives.

Hey, Facebook already has more than a billion users. The population of the earth is currently about 7.2 billion. There are about 2.9 billion people on the Internet. That leaves roughly 4.3 billion people who are offline and will be put online. Internet.org  states that it can bring the Internet to the two-thirds of the world’s population that doesn’t have it.

Here's the link -- browse the Time Magazine cover story --
praise it, hate it, love it, applaud him, cheer or boo him -- whatever. I find myself thinking that sooner or later Mark Zuckerberg will be nominated for a Pulitzer or a Nobel prize for gifting the world with his farseeing vision of what people think, do, want to do, and be.

Yii!!  ...media connectivity? friends, followers, quick comments, photos, adorable pets, birthday greetings, instagramed sunsets, sunrises, the latest poop on celebs ...likes?

Oh dear, more, MORE, M  O R E of what Mark Zuckerberg loves and believes in IS NOT what I love and believe in.  But I'm a facebooker -- eek, oy vey, $%#@\# --  I live in his world.

.

(VIDEO) MAKING MONEY

Emily opens the subject of money, expecting John to explain that what he chooses to do has very little to do with making money.

John grabs the subject, and reports on the very small sums he was paid, when he started working in New York City, and his career progressed from one play to another, on much less than minimum wages..

"If money is your goal," both the Cullums say, "Don't be an actor."

BEST INVENTIONS OF 2014

Time magazine has photos and a list of the 25 best inventions of 2014. The list includes new things that have been evolving for more than year, and could significantly affect our future.

WITRICITY: has created a plug-in coil -- it can provide wireless electricity at a central charging base that will someday power all appliances, such as lamps, TV's, and stereo music equipment.

HOVER BOARD: It looks like a skateboard but it  levitates, flies an inch or so above ground that contains some copper or aluminum; costing $10,000, it is  part of a plan to develop  "hovering" tech that will stabilize buildings during earthquakes.  (Sounds very important, and rather fantastic.)

THE MANGALYAAN: $74 million -- the super smart space craft that India created, has recently been launched into space; it's being promoted by Jeff Bezos' (Amazon guy), as a way other countries can launch spacecrafts.

HIGH DENSITY BETA REACTOR:

Big big deal!
This is a reactor that can produce energy from the fusion of hydrogen nuclei -- it could change the world! Lockheed is working on a reactor that could be carried in a truck.

3D BUILD EVERYTHING  PRINTER : this is a WOW that's been evolving since 2012. It works from digital blueprints, layering on plastics or any other material -- for instance, the printer created chic plastic shoes that sell for $265, a $18,000 Stari model car, a prosthesis hand for $1000, and a 3D Sugar Candy $5,000 device that enables a Chef to print confections.


APPLE 
SMART WATCHES:  $349, various styles, that can send messages, give directions, track fitness.
BLACKPHONE: it's a $629 smartphone that puts privacy first, with software that encrypts calls, text, and browsing history.

SURFACE PRO 3: a $799 tablet with a 12 inch screen; it runs Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and has a detachable keyboard.

THE CAR: a $41,35 BMW that gets 70 to 110 miles on a three-hour charge; it has a single pedal to both accelerate and brake; you can add a backup gas motor that can recharge itself if you're on a longer trip.

RINGLY RING: $195.00, that glows, alerting you when you get email, text, or other communications.

COPENHAGEN WHEEL: $799, that has a rechargeable battery powered motor; it attaches to the rear of a bike; it has sensors that track road conditions, airtemp, and pot holes.

Seamless Sign-Language Translator: a $198 tablet that  translates, language into words, eventually words into text.
Coaching Basket ball: $200, with sensors, and a coach's voice advising you.
Selfie Stick: $33, (plus $20 with hairbrush,) so can look your best in a selfie.
Air Conditioner: $279, that lowers your energy bills.
Digital Art Screens: $399, with lights that dim in sunlight.
Tablet Toy: $79, for kids, that gets them participating physically.
Edible Wrappers: $4, for a pack of two.
Female Action Figures: $65 (pack of 7), like Barbie, but these empower girls.
Coolest Cooler: $299, for food and drinks, with a blender, led light, USB charger, blue tooth speaker for iTunes.
Lumo Lift: $100, to keep you from slouching; you clip on thumb-size gadget that analyzes spinal positions, vibrates when they’re less than ideal.

Other new things that are being worked on:
Hemopurifier: a filter cartridge for dialysis  machine that sucks viruses out of the blood; a possible cure for Ebola.
Molecular X-Rays: that can find cancers.
Immersive Virtual Realty: that can put you into the Titanic, or anywhere in history.
Prison Blue Room: an exercise space with projector that plays videos of outdoor scenes.

It seems as if enormous progress is being made in technology. Hey, we might be wearing watches soon, that will change the look of everyone who is focused on a smartphone. The Lumo Lift sounds like a must for phone or computer users, for tweeters and facebookers, who want to keep a reasonably youthful look.

I think inventors are struggling nowadays, as many of us are, with gadgets that keep requiring more tech knowledge, and extra equipment to keep you doing what you've been doing last year and the year before. The newest new stuff doesn't thrill me, except maybe that 3 D printer. Wow -- take a look at this video -- what a thing to have and LEARN to use.