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I predict a major social change because of the war

How do you pay for an expensive overseas war and bring value back to a falling dollar? Simple. You reduce your countries infrastructures costs, add workers to the populace to increase gross national product, create a livable wage for those same workers for taxable income, and create a high demand product to encourage the citizenry to purchase taxable goods. Personally I would add impeach a president to the list.

These things are coming! (well…maybe not the impeachment) And your politicians have already begun the game of wag the dog to get you to accept the reduced infrastructure costs, new workers, different tax structure, and focus on purchasing a highly taxable product. The spin war is on because it is going to be a vicious one and a very hard sell because the government has been selling you a different bill of goods for almost 50 years. See, the reduced infrastructures cost will come by releasing roughly 800,000 inmates from prison.

…would save taxpayers an estimated $20 billion per year…[Source, Unlocking America: Why and How to Reduce America’s Prison Population, page 7]

It is these same 800,000 inmates who will be the new workers adding to the GNP which means these 800,000 people would be producing taxable income.

What of the product? The product must be inexpensive to produce otherwise the savings from releasing the prisoners is negated. Ideally the product should already exist and be high demand with the general populace. The United States has just such a product. It is a product that no one uses yet you cannot swing a stick in a crowd without hitting someone who does use it. The product is marijuana. No one admits to using it yet it seems like everyone around you uses it socially or medicinally from time to time. Even our presidents use it! They just don’t inhale.

My prediction is that in the next decade we will see significant pressure by politicians to encourage legalization of marijuana for all the reasons stated above plus more. By encouraging the use of hemp for cloth, paper, ropes, and so many other uses, we will make better use of the land with higgher quality products (see 200 year old hemp nightgown looks like new). Watch the news. California will lead followed by Colorado and Nevada. Tennessee will follow closely since TN produces quite a lot of crops. Mark my word. As soon as the government can deprogram society from the believe that marijuana is bad (remember, marijuana was lobbied into illegality by the paper companies – apparently it is supposed to do less harm to the body than drinking alcohol), you will see marijuana sold either over the drug store counters or beside the cigarettes in the grocery stores.

See also: Decriminalizing Pot Will Reduce Prison Population, Have No Adverse Impact On Public Safety, Study Says

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That Feeling of Disbelief

Sometimes you get a project that goes wrong. This happens more frequently if your specification is loosely defined or non-existent. I have just finished a project that threatened to drive me from consulting back to the corporate world. It is a wonderful project! A real showcase piece! (that coincidentally I cannot show anyone) One feature was very technically challenging and at one point I, the believer that anything is possible, was thinking that maybe this could not be done. Well it is done! I anticipate some cleanup but I’m through the rough waters. Time to regroup and do damage control. Now where is my desk? Anyone got a shovel?

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Coder Motivation

One method for programmers to stay focused, keep it simple, and get the job done is to set micro-goals or micro-milestones. "When I get this query returning the correct results, I can take 10 minutes to read/write blogs." These rewards may come in the form of snacks, naps, leisure time, or anything that the coder made find rewarding and a rest from the project. I have found one reward that absolutely does not work! Never set your reward as "when I get ____ finished, I may go to the bathroom." One way or another, you are going to fail!