Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Winston

If there is hope... it lies in the proles.

A happy quote from 1984. Before we get to the usual business, I want to talk about it. As alot of you know, 1984 is a crazy book about a totalitarian government that runs everything. It's not really a fun book. I mean, really, the good guys lose.

Anyways, thoughout the book, the character is exploring ways to get out of this cycle of ownage by the government. They seem stuck there forever, impossible to defeat. However, he finds a little hope.

If there is hope... it lies in the proles.

The proles are the proletarians. The working class. In the book, they're the uneducated folk, the ones living in the slums. They don't work for the party, they don't care much about the politics.

What Winston is saying here, is that if the government is ever to be taken down, it must be taken down by the proles. Bit by bit, they'd have to rise up.

Now, we shall have to draw an analogy. The proles are the common people. Not the leaders, not the educated. The common man, the man living under normal conditions. If there's hope for the future, it's coming from him, not from anybody else.

And that's the way that I'm seeing life right now. Change and progress does not come from the top of the pyramid down. It builds up from the bottom. We cannot expect the world to change until we become the change that we wish to see in the world. We can air as many public service announcements about litter as we'd like, but until I stop littering, I haven't made the world a better place. I can speak and talk until my legs fall off. I can preach until I'm drooling. The world will not change until I change.

I am trying to resist beating the dead horse into a very fine paste. But just remember. You only have power over yourself. If you wish to make the world a better place, you must make yourself better. It has been proved time and time again that the more good people there are in one place, the better that place does. Economically, socially, educationally, aesthetically, pneumatically.

How will YOU make the world a better place? Sure, send the aid to africa. Sure, teach blind kids how to write. But first, make sure YOU make the most out of your education. Make sure YOU stop littering, stop promoting global warming. Make sure YOU are a good person, make sure you can read, you can work. As you make yourself a better person, the world will be a better place because of you.

So, that's my philosophical idea for the day. It's up for debate. But that's what I've been thinking about today. Hope lies with the proles. We're all proles these days. We're the only ones that can make a difference. Al Gore can say all he wants, but until I really change the way I do things, nothing happens. Lets me and you fix this planet up.

In other news: school is going well. I'm so excited for my AP classes. From the looks of things, they are going to teach me alot, and I love that. I'm hungry to learn here. If those classes are going to challenge me and teach me, excellent. I think there's great potential here. I really really hope that it comes through.

It's weird, there hasn't been too much chance to socialize. Maybe it's just because I don't socialize unless I'm forced to. Either way, no "get to know you" activities. No group work. Just been chilling so far. Sure, it's only been two days. But we'll see how it goes.

Frisbee club is still on. I'm really trying to figure out the logo thing. I really like my original design, but apparently nobody else does. So we're trying to figure that out. It's going to be good. I love frisbee.

Ok, this post isna going anywhere. So it's time for some more ideas. These aren't dreams like last time. These are just ideas. I think it's fun to get them down and out. Here we go.

Idea #1. The Carbonated French Fry.

For a really long time now, I've wanted to submerge a chunk of dry ice in a deep fat fryer. I am very curious as to what would happen. Would the hot grease make all the dry ice go to gas? Or would the dry ice be cold enough to make the grease around it solidify? If it did solidify, wouldn't it just make a dry ice bomb since it encased it? What happens when it explodes?

See, it's a scientific question that I've been curious for more than a year to try. Trouble is, I don't have access to a deep fat fryer. If I was willing to go work at wendy's, maybe. But nah, not yet.

Anyways, I was pondering that idea for a bit today, I don't quite remember why. But then I thought to myself, "Why stop there? Why not keep dreaming?" So I did, I kept on dreaming. I took the dream one step further.

Have any of you guys ever made home made rootbeer? Remember how you carbonate it? You throw a bunch of dry ice in there, let it do its thing. It gets all those CO2 bubbles stuck in there. It's carbonated.

So, what happens when all the dry ice goes away into the grease? In theory, you would have carbonated grease. When you cook your fries in it, couldn't you carbonate your fries?

Now, this is all theoretical here, but I might just be on to the greatest scientific discovery of our time. Not only would I be making french fries just that much more deadly, I could be making them exponentially more delicious. This could be a million dollar industry.

Trouble is, it's possibly one of the most dangerous things I'll ever do. When I asked Hansen what would happen if I tried it, he said that the dry ice and grease would react violently, that I might just have a greasefire on my hands.

Now, I don't know about chemical reactions, but that dry ice would be sublimating pretty dang fast. With that much gas going crazy, you're bound to have flying grease. Flying hot grease is not a pleasant thing to be around. I've got a big scar on my shoulder from flying grease when I was 3 or 4. I know the dangers. When happens if I do manage to make a dry ice bomb out of a frozen grease tomb? What happens when it explodes? Even more flying grease.

This thing would require more safety measures than Fox's "Man vs. Beast" special. I'd have to wear a welding mask while attempting it. I'd need splash guards. Everything would have to be done with giant rubber gloves on. I'd have to have fire extinguishers ready. An ambulance waiting on hand, the fire department, and the CEO of Wendy's, just in case I succeed.

Is it possible to carbonate my fries? I believe it is. Is it possible that it'd be amazingly delicious? Just maybe.

We'll never know unless I take a crazy chance. It's coming, one day. When you least expect it. It's going to be delicious.

Idea #2. The Tree Factory.

I've long been fascinated by trees. I love trees. I love how huge they are, how long they take to grow. You can look at them and think of all the years that they've seen. Think of all the storms they've weathered, all the current events that are now history. Trees are a huge investment in the future. Trees can live forever if you'd let them. Trees are powerful, I love em.

Personally, I'd like more trees. I want to just run around and plant trees everywhere I go. I want a big tree in my backyard, I want a little tree too. I want some more fruit trees. I want trees all over the place.

The trouble with planting trees all over the place though, is that you tend to build up quite the bill. Trees aren't free. That apple tree in back, still not grown, was about 30 bucks if I remember right. That's not alot of money, considering what it might produce given enough time. But really, 30 bucks, that's hard for me. I don't have an income. How am I to sporadically plant trees if I can't afford it?

I imagine that others have this problem as well. I can't be the only one with that desire to run around with a shovel.

And so, to solve this problem, I want to create the tree factory. When I'm older and fairly wealthy, I shall invest in a couple of acres of property. Using state of the art cheap labor, I shall construct a giant greenhouse, the likes of which haven't been seen since the last guy with a dream constructed a giant greenhouse using cheap labor. The greenhouse isn't the point though, what goes on inside the greenhouse is.

Don't pee your pants. I'm going to tell you what goes on inside the greenhouse in the next paragraph. Too bad it's still this paragraph, eh? Yeah, you're like "dude, tell us." But I won't. Yet. Cause it's too cool for this paragraph.

.....and for this one too.

Ok, so anywhom. It's going to be a tree factory. I will offer about a quarter of the space to universities, mad scientists, whoever. Anybody with research they want to do on young trees, come do it. Come do all sorts of breeding, splicing, whatever. You get to play around with these young trees at no cost to you. I'll plant the tiny little seeds, and you get to play with the seedlings.

But, once they get a certain age, they're mine again. You still get to come look at them, study them, but they're officially mine. At least half of them are, I'm not sure if you weirdo's in lab coats get the rest or not yet. So, after you're done with them, they get moved to another part of the greenhouse, where they are nourished and let grow. As they mature, they keep getting moved. It's not going to be easy to move so many trees, but I'll find a way.

After they're old enough, (still relatively young) they get moved to the exit house. Here, anybody can come and pick up a tree. As long as you sign the papers that say you're going to plant it, and mail us a picture back of the planted tree, we're happy, and you can keep coming back.

Free trees. Free genetically altered trees. Free normal trees. Free trees for everybody. You back your pickup truck in, and we give you a tree.

Why? Because the world needs more trees. Because landscapers need more stuff to play with. Because scientists need a place to experiment with trees and then give them to the public. Because I want a place where I can get good trees free. Fruit trees, free. Poplars, free. Globe willows, free.

Trees for all. And they all come from the tree factory. It's a money hole, yeah. We lose money. But we get trees out to the people. We make the world a better place. Because the more trees there are, the better place the world is. Go go go tree factory.

3 comments:

Courtney said...

Hey Thatcher. Good post. I really liked it, it was fun to read. So what are you gonna do to change to world?

Let me know when you attempt the carbonated french fry. i wanna be there.

the tree factory sounds pretty cool. i would probably want a cherry tree. i love cherry trees. my grandma has one. yumm.

Jaron Frost said...

That carbonated fry thing sounds interesting... I can imagine the fry just puffing up to extreme proportions, with a consistency somewhat resemblant of cotton candy, only fry-flavored. Actually... that sounds kinda gross :S But it's still worth a shot, it MUST be done!

Anonymous said...

chris.. i just read your whole tree factory thing and ... im thinking you need more sleep.. like waaaaaaaaaaay more sleep lol.