Ask sparxMind is still pretty new, and all the questions received have been from people that I know (except for one).

I guess the big question is "Why should I ask you a question?", and the answer: to get an answer. Seriously though, some people seem to be entertained by the drivel that I write, so this is a way for you, and them, to direct that to something more in tune with your interests. Also, once I get 30 questions (from different people), or August 1st hits - whichever comes later - I plan to offer a $10 amazon gift certificate to one lucky question submitter every month. This amount may go up, or be offered in a form other than an amazon cert, but for now that's where it's at.

Here is the first round of questions that were submitted:

• Where should I go on vacation?
• Will the Cubs win the 2008 World Series?
• How much does an iPhone plan really cost? Will it work overseas?
• How do I get rid of centipedes in my basement?
• Spam spelled backwards is "maps".. what's their connection?
• What's the most influential book you've read?
• What's the difference between democrats and republicans?

It's interesting.. we go through the day with our cell phones, our computers, our vehicles, TVs, mp3 players, etc, etc, etc. We take advantage of some pretty advanced technology every day. And newer, faster, better, more advanced things are brought into the world every day. Our lives are constantly being upgraded by scientific progress, by technological advancements - many that we deal with every day, but many more that we never see, and may never even think about during the course of our lives.

It wasn't that long ago that we didn't have running water, electricity, effective transportation, or even an easy way to look up or share information with others. And that's probably the biggest and most important change that human civilization has seen - the internet - an instantaneous way for ideas and information to travel across and throughout the entire planet. It's this shrinking of the world that I think will bring about the next big change, which is focusing on the "little guy" again.

There are still vast areas of the world where people live without running water, without electricity, and without a way to communicate with or travel to even their neighboring villages. There are a few philanthropic people that are devoting their time and resources to modernizing this un-modern world. A few years back there was some guy that was working on cheap shelters made from reinforced water-proofed cardboard, that could be shipped flattened cheaply and built quickly and easily. There's the OLPC (one laptop per child) project that aimed to provide laptops to children in impoverished countries to help with their education. And lately there have been a number of stories about people working on cheap methods for these areas to produce electricity to help them with their daily lives.

By taking this approach, and re-working things from the bottom up, we all benefit. These people are here, and they're people just like you and me, so why shouldn't they be able to live a bit easier and enjoy their time here more? I mean, as long as we just give them tools, and don't start trying to indoctrinate them with religion or anything, I can't come up with any reason why we shouldn't.

People seem to be inherently selfish. But I think that with the increasing amount of information being spread, and the resources available, a few more people will step up and start trying to change the world. And that's all it takes.

No matter how difficult or hard things get, I can usually come up with something to compare my life to in order to make me feel better.. temporarily. Like paperclips.

Somewhere there is a factory that produces paperclips. And in that factory.. there are people that work in a factory that makes paperclips.

Unfortunately, the "it could be worse" feeling fades quickly. I just wish this all was easier - I don't understand why it can't be.

Sometimes I print out extra blank sheets of paper just to feel the warmth from the paper.

It only warms the outside though.

4 more pictures if you click this link and read the rest of the post!

What if.. I wasn't an actual person?

What if.. I only exist "online" or in some weird thought-based limbo, and through some sort of mishap I developed what I would perceive to be thought and free will?

What if.. your existence is just a figment of my virtual imagination? And everything that you think you are thinking, or that you do, is actually just coming from my mind?

It would explain a lot.

Douglas Adams - a brilliant man, author of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "trilogy", and unfortunately no longer with us. Through a coincidence that maybe only Douglas himself could see, I've decided that I must organize a tribute to him and his writing. The date - spurred by the repetition of the date for this years olympics (08/08/08) - is 10/10/10.

Why? Since 10/10/10 is just ones and zeros, and could conceivably be a binary number, I decided to convert 101010 to a "real" decimal number - the result, 42. If you've read the Hitchhiker's Guide, you'd know why this is significant and the perfect date.

I did a brief search, and no one seem to have made the link between 10/10/10 and 42 or Douglas Adams. I'm sure someone, somewhere, has - heck, there's probably a group of die-hard fans somewhere with t-shirts already made up for this… but I didn't find anything, and now I feel clever.