entropy

ENTROPY


When you lead off most of your articles, “I’m not sure if I covered this before, but…”, that is bad enough. At best it points to a lack of any organization ( I’m the cluttered desk kind of guy ). But when you are writing about entropy and make the same statement, that sadly transcends irony. Entropy is simplified ( you can sound all knowledgeable and go to great lengths describing it, as the Druid Dude does very well, but we all know I go to great lengths to simplify things mostly for my own understanding rather than yours ) as Things Fall Apart. Okay, things fall apart without effort being put into arresting that process, but you get the point. Entropy is about states of energy degrading or some such, but I like my definition better ( its probably not mine but I’ll use it like that ). Everyone both instinctively knows/learns about entropy but at the same time takes great pains to either sidestep the consequences, hide it or bribe off the process. When you buy a house, there is a constant state of repair that must take place or the state of the house reaches a lesser quality than what you started at. A car, having a limited number of miles to go before it takes more energy to keep it running than it is worth, is the first lesson in entropy most of us experience. It starts to decay/get worn from day one. Inflation is a great example of entropy. Without adding real tangible goods to back each printed batch, each dollar becomes worth less. Every new batch of bills added makes every other bill in existence worth less.
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My blog is an example of entropy. As time goes on, the relatively fixed number of ideas in my head is worth less and less. If that goes on long enough you really start sounding retarded as many ideas are topical and have a limited shelf life ( a simple example would be expecting the federal government to still stock public shelter with food. There are few if any shelters left, and they aren’t stockpiled ). I feel I must continually consume more and more information to stay ahead of this obsolescence ( I know most of you think I’ve failed ). Just as most people today know they must learn upgraded skills for their job ( each additional skill of course returns less and less in the way of compensation. You are learning to keep your employment ). Our countries infrastructure is a poster boy to the consequences of allowing entropy to run its course. Gum, glue, baling wire and duct tape are not suitable repair materials. Because our entire industrial infrastructure was built to such high quality using the best material and world class engineering, all this crumbling around us is still working, after a fashion, with said half assed repairs, but since we don’t have replacements for the original materials it won’t last forever. Our empire ( well, anyone’s empire throughout time ) is victim to entropy. We built it up with a world class military ( it might still be world class, but it simply ain’t big enough now to do the job ), the worlds leader in oil production, the worlds king of steel, etc. None of this is available to us now, so we aren’t inputting enough material to freeze entropy. We are just band-aiding the giant as it slowly dissolves.

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See? Entropy is familiar to all of us. Obvious examples. Yet because we used the last century denying entropy ( more oil was found and used as a way to put wrapping paper and a bow over entropy ), it isn’t the lens we choose to view our world anymore. I’d even like to guess that our throw away society was a prop we used to deny entropy. It takes continued effort to maintain a marriage. Too much work. Throw the bitch away and start over with a new one ( that’s right, on marriage number four and unhappy as ever. I’ve just stopped thinking the next one will be much of an improvement so I keep this one around ). Rather than sharpen and oil a razor, we just use disposable ones ( not the greatest example, since safety blades are a heck of a lot safer than the straight edge of death, but you get my point ). Rather than clean or fill or sharpen a writing pen, use disposables. Who wants to clean dookie? Use disposable diapers. God knows our bloated corpses are too precious to journey down to a recycling center, so throw away that beverage bottle. There is nothing much to maintain and take care of and mix your labor with if everything is easily replaceable ( I’m just as guilty and have only started turning over a new leaf as the old types of disposables have dipped past the point they make economic sense. The new frugal is quality for more and more items ).

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The thing to take away here is that if you start asking a simple question, you can get a much clearer view of the future of our organizations and institutions. Is the level of energy or material needed to maintain its original configuration being applied? If not, entropy already has or soon will start to cripple it. And you plan accordingly.

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Okay, on to a short subject. The make-your-own water filters using the Berky replacement ceramic elements. I had been worried that the squishy washer used to obtain a water tight barrier would grow brittle with age. I opened up my five year old element ( I have a second one that’s newer ) and the washer is just like new. And that is with it wrapped in the original bubble wrap surrounded by newspaper and in a cardboard box and subjected to weather fluctuations. While I was in there, I measured the washer. It is the same size as your standard outdoor garden hose rubber washers ( the Berky washer is much thicker and looks to be of higher quality though ). I had bought a pack for my five gallon water dispenser ( spout at the bottom edge ) and so they were handy for comparison. I threw the package into the filter box thinking it might make a decent cheap patch if something happened to the original washer. Use that as you see fit.

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My e-mail is jimd303@netzero.com
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