I imagine that almost all of you are much better connected with what’s going on in the world that I am. And most of you have different interests than I do. But I recently saw a headline about the electric airplane, “Solar Impulse”.
You can Google around and find out up-to-date information about it, but it recently flew from San Francisco to New York, and the next plan is to fly an improved plane around the world. Personally, I think this is very exciting technology. At our present ability to utilize all of the various technologies that are necessary to make an aircraft of this type, it is still clearly a stunt. No disrespect intended. But, how will it ever be practical, unless we do this sort of research?
I liken it to the Wright brothers early airplanes. I applaud the companies and people that are putting the money and time and brainpower into developing it.
And, I may have mentioned that some dear friends, received a brand-new, plug-in, Toyota Prius, as a birthday present. Yes, they have some very rich friends.
It happened shortly before I left the US, and they were having a ball learning its new tricks. From what I’ve seen of these new cars, there is a lot to learn before you can drive one. But, that seems to be the way of things nowadays. The cost of getting a new toys. You have to learn a whole new way of thinking.
Also on the electric front, I am very pleased to see several electric motor scooters here in Finike. The ones that I have noticed, look like a regular motorscooter, but they are pure electric. You plug them in to charge them. They are, as you would expect, almost silent. And, I’m always quick to give the owners, “At a boys”. (So far, all the ones that I’ve seen have been driven by men.)
Not to worry ladies. I am perhaps the most egalitarian person that you know. It is my understanding that in Turkey, women and men who are not close relatives, or otherwise authorized, do not fraternize. Or sit next to each other on a bus.
I may have this totally wrong, but, it is my understanding that it is not polite for me to make eye contact, smile, or otherwise acknowledge a Turkish woman’s presence, unless I know them in some authorized way. Otherwise, the implication is that they are loose women.
That is a little difficult for me, as I kind of like women. Not in the lecherous way. Not in the ‘hitting on them’ way, but I enjoy their company and think that in the American culture they got the short end of the stick for hundreds of years. And things are still far from equal. But, I think all will agree that they’ve come a tremendous distance in my lifetime. But, men and women, in most of the world, are still certainly not equal. Which is kind of misleading. The women were certainly not the main problem all that while. It was the men with their tiny little brains and the resulting attitudes.
Personally, I by no means think that men and women are just the same. That seems kind of obvious to me, although perhaps not for the same reasons you might separate the two groups.
It is always seemed odd to me how American society, in my lifetime, preconceived a separation between the sexes. As I say, in my opinion, men and women are absolutely NOT the same. To generalize that all men are ‘blah blah’, seems crazy to me. Each of us is an individual. We each have our strengths and weaknesses. To say that ALL examples of whatever kind of living thing have whatever kind of characteristic, seems fraught with danger and often is a kind of bigotry. At least that’s how I see it.
Whenever I hear someone making a broad generalization, I always ask ‘Why?’ That little three letter word can be pretty dangerous. It really get some people whipped into a frenzy. Many people really don’t like their beliefs questioned. So, I often just ask it inside my own head and don’t say anything. But, I feel that if someone can do a job well, then what do I care which gender they are.
We had the good fortune to be in Tahiti for their Bastille Day celebration, which went on for about a week or more. They had canoe races, that as I recall, race from Papeete around Morea and back to Papeete. If that’s correct, then this was about an 80km or 50 mile race. So, I may be mistaken. But it was a long race and the open ocean in canoes. They had a men’s race, with a zillion canoes. And, they had a women’s race, with a zillion canoes.
It seemed to me obvious why they separated the two. Because, I timed the racers, and if it all raced in one group, first of all the group would’ve been uncontrollably gigantic, and second, the fastest women would’ve arrived well up in the middle of the men’s pack or better. Since most of the men would’ve been slower than some of the women, that might’ve been a little hard for them to handle.
It also gets a little more complicated, because it appeared that one of the art forms, was to tip over your opponents. That tends to slow them down and give you an advantage. These are dugout canoes within an outrigger on one side, so it must be a little tricky to tip them over. But, I saw quite a few examples. It was important that they be good swimmers.
I believe, and certainly hope, that this was all in the nature of fun. More like teasing than viciousness.
I was also told that when South Pacific canoes raced in Hawaii, that both sides thought that the Hawaiians were very serious and prayed to their canoes and made a major, big deal out of it. But, the South Pacific canoeists, were out for a good time AND to win the race. They were forever teasing the Hawaiians about how they needed to lighten up and enjoy it.
But, I see that I have drifted a long way away from the subject of electricity.
Must be time to get back to work,
Dave
Alegria1976's Blog 