Your cab has arrived she said
autonomous and all
The Science of a healthy life
The silence and awe of the un manned car arriving was as striking now as it had been the first time just a couple of months ago, as it pulled up on the sandy drive way, coming to a stop a few feet from where we were sitting. No horns or fumes blurring out it´s arrival, and thankfully, neither was there a stressed out and agitated driver inside, eager for their passengers to get onboard. It was just a car, accompanied by the silence of the electrical engine and the fluttering song of the birds high up in the lush crown of trees that surrounded us. It was a beautiful Sunday and we had just finished up a wonderful, romantic picnic. I kissed your lips and thanked you for an amazing day out here in the countryside, 'See you tomorrow'. The car doors opened as it picked up on the phone used to order it here coming in close enough proximity and I sat down next to the other three passengers the car had already picked up.
Photography by Mike Koontz
music of the day while you are reading our article
Pride in Prejudice by Slayer
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Self driving, autonomous public transit is already a reality in Northern Europe
That paragraph which you just read might still sound like something out of a science fiction movie to you, but this is present day reality already happening in Northern Europe. Not only that, but it has already shuttled close to 20 000 people in Scandinavia. Driverless, autonomous and with it´s passengers simply ordering their 'own' public transit autonomous cabs to pick them up via their computers, tablets and smartphones.
This November this rapidly evolving, and beautiful, present day reality is set to spread to the Netherlands where people will be able to travel back and forth between the two cities Wageningen and Ede in Gelderland. Traversing down the public roads in self driving electrical public transit. Public transit cars that will carry five people per ride which will be picked up individually on location and let off, on their own designated location. You order the car via your "smart" gadget, and you also tell it where to drop you off the same easy to use way.
These cars will not be travelling down sheltered test roads where they could have been kept far away from the roads and cars of ordinary people. No, they will instead be travelling out in the open on the public roads where the endangered stone age manual cars and busses are currently roaming the streets, polluting everybodys day and wrecking havoc thanks to their unreliable human drivers (and sadly, harming peoples health far more than anyone ever thought thanks to cheating ass old school car manufacturers like VW).
Of course, we are still talking about a small scale operation. But matter of fact, this reality is already here, and for anyone that felt that Uber was a disruptive juggernaut that slowly moved across the world, you have seen nothing yet. But make no mistake about it, this is a wonderful thing, not a dystopian future thing at all. A wonderful life improving disruptive change and one can only hope that every northern European city and nation is jumping on making this change and opportunity happen as soon as possible. Today, not tomorrow, and not in 20 years from now, but today.
Because that is what this is, a monumental change happening right now, par for the coarse when society moved from horses to cars and burning street lights to electrical light. Unlike the previous industrial revolution however this soon to be global change will not only make peoples lives far more convinient, but it will also save countless (read millions) of peoples lives and health every year, on top of helping us clean up far too polluted roads and cities.
But for the sceptical amongst you, for the ones thinking right now that this will still just be small scale stuff going on between two cities for the next 20 years just so a select few can clap their chest. Well, you are allowed to think such, but you are dead wrong if that thought is already sprinting around inside your grey matter.
Come Spring 2016, and what you will get to experience is this program branching out to far more roads and cities.
Personally, I applaud this of course, but I would like to see this happening even faster and on an even bigger scale. There is just no reason why a city such as Amsterdam should waste time and public resources trying to protect the dying industry of cab drivers. Forget about raiding uber offices, forget about handing a crutch to the fossil fuel industry and the endangered cab drivers and instead embrace something far better in the here and now. People can always find plenty of reasons not to embrace evolution and progress, but as anyone that has ever tried to delay an obvious change for something better, safer and healthier, they will as always just waste their own and others breath by doing so.
So instead, let´s all get involved and make this amazing change for the better happen in all of Europe (and the world) in the next decade. Let us all make Paris, Stockholm, London, Berlin and other rapidly growing big city places like it entirely free from fossil fuel driven cars and manually driven public transit cars. Hard to do in less than 10 years for sure, but also, very much doable and with zero reasons not to jump on making it happen. Just as how the renewable energy is here to take over, and needs to take over for all our best, so is the autonomous electric cars.
Obama
[A President becoming a real man]
It is of course, on a completely different, and much smaller scale to hear Obama speak up about religious freedom and put it in it´s proper context. But a much smaller scale does not keep it from being a wonderful thing to officially say. Not only that, it is simple reality, and one I have said many times myself. On top of that, it is simply what it means to actually be a good and kind human being. Religious freedom, needs to be just that, the freedom, globally, to believe in whatever god(s) and fairy tales you feel like. But as such that is all it is. Like Obama said, it is your individual freedom to believe whatever, just as anyone and everyone needs to be free to prefer to listen to Bleeding Through instead of Bieber, or to prefer Apples over Oranges. Basic and obvious to all things. And religion is of course no different. Religious freedom is a good and healthy thing to have, like all personal choices and percieved needs in life.
But it never, ever gives you the right to abuse someone elses well being, their legal rights, their health, joy and pleasures in life just because of your preferred flavor of adult fairy tales (Please remember that I am just pointing out the obvious, but me calling religion for what it is, does not mean that you are not 100% allowed and supported by me to believe in it, so put away the pitch forks crazy people, no need to stake me and burn me :P).
This is of course zero news for anyone with half a brain. It is basic reality, it is sane and healthy, democratic and wonderful, and as it should be. It is what real equality and a healthy society looks like. It is however sad that it even needs to be said. Yet, reality is what it is, and a striking many religious people (extremists, not normal and sane religious people) still does not seem to understand that they can not be running around murdering, abusing and diminishing other peoples actual needs and joy and human rights in life because of their own religious views.
Yes, I admit, it is pretty funny seeing some of the obnoxious hypocrits that have spent so much of their life pretending inside their own mind that they are decent and holy people, destined for heavens of all sorts of things, now feeling butt hurt over a sitting president pointing out the obvious, that religios freedom is just that, you being allowed to believe in whatever fantasies you feel like. God, santa, fairies, or whatever saints and demons you fear or enjoy believing in, but not to use those very beliefs as a thinly veiled excuse to abuse other human beings health and lives and legal rights based on your religious views.
Some are funny like that :).
And of course, Obama was talking about Americans, and most likely the Obnoxious Kim Davis case where she felt that her own religious rights should allow her to deny same sex marriages from happening at her "holy, kind and wonderful, encompassing place". But what Obama said applies worldwide and to all aspects of life. Not just religion and same sex marriages.
Like Kim, if you are working in a holy place, or the health care industry for instance. Your personal religion does not give you any right whatsoever to refuse doing your job just because a girl might need an abortion or believe in another god. And if you can not cope with that, you are the one that needs to find a new job
Basic 101 in being an actually good, kind, caring and compassionate human being, that would have ended up in a Heaven somewhere, if there was something like a heaven that is. And if there was (which it isnt) the Kim Davis and ISIL members of the world, they are the ones never, ever ending up there.
Ready, Set go!.
And finally. On my left hand Shell has been defeated. One of the worst fossil fuel bastions of the world was made to cave when it came to exploating and harming Alaska in it´s search for ever dwindling oil dwells.
Citing to much cost, to much legislation, to much global protests, to much hurdles to overcome and to little oil Shell gave up it´s Alaskan oil adventures. Now world, let us take the opportunity and make all of the Arctic a permanently shielded place and shut out all of the worthless fossil fuel companies, permanently. After all, it is not like anyone have missed the dire need to phase out fossil fuel asap all around the world. And no one have missed how fragile and important the Arctic is. Or how utterly incompetent Shell and it´s ilks can be. Nor have anyone missed how devastating every accident is in sensitive ecosystems like the Arctic.
"Shell has found indications of oil and gas in the Burger J well, but these are not sufficient to warrant further exploration in the Burger prospect,"
"The well will be sealed and abandoned in accordance with US regulations," Shells statement said, adding: "Shell will now cease further exploration activity in offshore Alaska for the foreseeable future."
Photography by Nasa, Surface view of Pluto, showcasing both the Sputnik Planum and 11 000 feet high mountain Norgay Montes. Reminding us that life is without borders and singular horizons. Instead, what you see in the now, is all about your point of view, right now.
And on my right hand, I cant help but notice several good feel things happening for all our global health. Yes I know, I seem to sometimes end up talking about health in my daily life, as well as my work. Well, I am a health freak, simple as that =). And I love the life enhancing side of living a healthy and active life. So let me finish off this article of mine with giving praise to the English primary school St Ninians where all students walk or run one mile every single day, not off school, but during school time. And as a result, after 3.5 years of doing this, every single student is happier, healthier, less obese and or overweight, calmer, more focused and gets better grades.
Like so many other things this is of course a no brainer.
This is simply how every human being is designed to react to an active and healthy(ier) life versus a sedentary and unhealthy, crap eating life. No one should be surprised by the huge health and life benefit for all those happy little kids just by having them exercise during school hours 5 days a week. But for some reason, I am sure some will continue to rant on Facebook about how they cant improve their own health no matter what they do when it comes to working out and eating properly. Or how unfair it is that their poor kids now wont have to suffer from poor health and obesity anymore (Ok, I am of course 100% hopeful that there is not a single parent anywhere in the world that would be that stupid, but there seems to be Facebook groups for pretty much any craziness).
Well, the proof is in the pudding, if you want your kids (or your own little cute ass) to be happier and healthier and perform better in school. Promote daily physical activity, every single day. It simply is a wonderful way, and easy to do thing to make sure your kids does not suffer from poor health issues that they could easilly have avoided. And the same applies to all of us adults of course.
Reality is, no matter your genetic markup. No one. Not a single human being on this planet ends up obese unless they eat too much for the amount of daily physical activity that they are doing.
To much food makes people more fat over time, and unhealthy food makes for poor health no matter how much or little you end up eating or exercising. Simple reality people.
Anyway, the best part of what that English school is doing, is that they are already influencing other English schools to get back on track when it comes to promoting healthy, active students. Life is beautiful people, and it is yours to live and enjoy to it´s fullest. Now go on out there little padawans and celebrate your Wednesday by doing it your way, the best way you can do it today.
Writer and photography
Michael A Koontz
Space photo by NASA
To the daisy that is my sun and inspiration
Author page, Michael A Koontz
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