What Is A Good Life?

To many, a good life seems to mean to be rich, powerful, free to do as they will, have fun, and such.

To some, it seems to be a feeling of contentedness and satisfaction with life in general.

For some undecided, a good life is a mixture of the above.

How can people be contented or satisfied, when they envy wealth, power and such? They can be for, like, a few minutes, but not in general about their life. 

I know many ridiculously rich people, but most of them compare themselves to people who are even more wealthy, or more powerful. Always looking for fun things to do, like golf...

Do a lot of rich people enjoy showing off their wealth and resent people who do not envy them? Are they really living a good life? I wonder... 

If you take the whole meaning of "good" into consideration, then obviously not.

Compared to all the technological advances, progress towards a more equitable and fair society appears to have stalled. 

A long time ago, kings and royalty used to control wealth and power. Then came the rise of the middle class during the industrial revolution, which helped to somewhat lessen inequalities between the rich and the poor. What comes next? 

Should making the world better and "good" be the highest priority? We have enough money and resources to feed, house and educate everyone, but most people seem to not care, nor want to. 

Some people ask why they should give away their "hard earned" wealth to others. Most of the wealthy people I know, probably over 96%, inherited the base of their wealth. Most inherited land, buildings, money, art, jewelry, and the like.

I know one who married into a wealthy family. Another who got rich from an interior design business.

Does Trump seem like the kind of guy to care about the poor? Or is he more likely to call the poor or unfortunate losers, or suckers? 

Stocks could be one solution to help resolve inequities. In my world, poor people would be given first rights to promising IPOs or other lucrative offerings, and people or firms worth over tens of millions of dollars would be excluded (let the rich buy from the poor). 

Black Holes Are Wormholes?

That would assume that the mass entering the black hole is exiting somewhere. That would probably mean that the black hole cannot indefinitely grow in mass and would lose mass eventually. 

Maybe the wormhole is created only after the black hole has reached a certain mass, or the rate that mass is ejected out is slow enough to make detection almost impossible. Could be both.

Might take generations, or close to forever, to observe any loss of mass in black holes, while black holes gaining mass have already been observed. 

Maybe the mass inside black holes are slowly being turned into something else that can escape gravity, some thing other than "Hawking radiation".

Does it take energy to create "space" or "time"? Maybe space-time and energy are inseparable... 

Photons have no mass, yet cannot escape the gravity of black holes. Why? Photons have zero rest mass (when they are not moving relative to the observer). But by definition, they are moving very fast, so they have mass. 

So, if photons are stuck inside a black hole, they achieve zero rest mass and cease to exist? What happens to their energy? Maybe they continue to zip around inside the black hole?

Does thought have mass? If thought is only the total of chemical and electrical processes, then indirectly, yes.

Also, what is God? Some thing mostly beyond our comprehension as many religions state?

Many people avoid deep thought? In many cases, yes. But why? Cognitive dissonance? 

Religions say that God is, is the source of, or gives knowledge. Could be all of those...

Ever notice how "bad" people avoid deep or serious thought and tend to contradict themselves? Cognitive dissonance can do that. 

Is it evidence of a God, or a natural law?

Right not to wear masks?

Many cognitively dissonant ones are very outspoken about their right not to wear a mask.

Do they have the right to to kill people, albeit indirectly, by not wearing a mask?

If everyone wore masks and socially distanced, then there is no way that COVID-19 will spread. The rate of transmission will be so low, it is statistically and realistically impossible for it to become widespread.

Rights? People have the right to smoke cigarettes, but not everywhere. Why, it causes cancer even through second hand smoke. 

Self inflicted miracle: I have had three bladder cancer surgeries in six years due to smoking, a couple of decades ago. Used to sneak in a cigarette or two every day, but still got cancer. A cigarette once in a while, still got cancer. Finally quit and no more cancer.

I thought I was a goner. Did all the things I wanted to do before I died, met old friends, contemplated in death, but failed to die. 

Made and makes life seem and feel very different. 

COVID-19 pandemic and closing of businesses versus everyone wearing masks, socially distancing, washing hands, avoiding crowded places. What is the logical choice?

In Korea, most people, I estimate over 95%, wear masks outside. However, there are some cognitively dissonant people who message over one million people for a mass protest (pro-conservative right wing), as well as churches that hold crowded services and lie to health authorities to hinder contact tracing, people who break quarantine, go to coffee shops, restaurants, bars and infect other people. 

That is why we still have coronavirus in Korea. 

In China, I read that everyone has an app that is used to enter places. If you are not infected and have had no contact or been in close proximity of an infected person, you can enter. If not, no. And I think they still wear masks. 

If someone is infected in China, they close down and isolate the neighborhood for a few weeks. No chance of spreading the infection. 

People seem to have too many rights that are essentially very wrong.

Right of free speech? Right to outright lie for questionable purposes?

Don't people have the right and obligation to speak in a constructive and polite manner to each other?

Separate God From Religion?

Good idea? Sure would be nice.

Think about it. Would a God approve of religions? Did God write the Bible? Did God edit, translate or assemble separate writings into the Bible?

I am certain that I know way more than the total of what I have learned, experienced, observed, contemplated and so on.

Why? Some sort of God driven or bestowed enlightenment? That is what I have concluded.

Read an article in Science Daily: Unconscious learning underlies belief in God, study suggests

For me, knowing ridiculously far more than I should, as well as too many coincidences and synchronicities underlie my belief in a God that is mostly unrelated to religions.

Cosmic Inflation, Beginning of Time?

A couple of concepts that I have doubted. And now many physicists doubt them also.

BBC: Future: What if the Universe has no end?

In this article is a part on Roger Penrose, who predicts that almost all matter in the Universe will be be absorbed by huge massive black holes, which will evaporate and disappear through Hawking Radiation. Then the universe will basically be made of photons and become a singularity (which is what the universe was at the time of the Big Bang). 

Something to think about - Photons, or light, do not experience time (current theories of physics state so), and thus, are not affected by distance. 

I wrote a related post. Maybe a decade ago? Seems Roger Penrose theory is gaining recognition.

May be God needs help?

There seem to be many conscientious, good people who are concerned by climate change, wars, inequality, hunger and other things.

There also seem to be at least as many who appear concerned, yet waste money, waste food, waste resources, while millions go hungry and have little hope.

Been eating salads, fruit, beans, tofu, nuts, cheese for two months in order to lose weight. Exercise also. My strength improved every three days (I repeat exercises every three days). Lost around 15 pounds, but still have to lose a couple more.

Made me realize that humans are killing a lot of animals just to gorge themselves and doing it out of habit.

When I refer to God, I am talking about something that enlightens me, shows me the mistakes I have made and pushes me to try to be good, probably you also. Mostly unrelated to the Bible and religion.

I am sure that God is concerned (not that God has human characteristics, but no other way to explain at the moment), but why does good change seem to happen so slowly?

In an ideal world, humans would be vegetarians. Maybe also drink milk, eat cheese, no sugar (maybe one teaspoon a day, at most). Rich people would give all they could to charity and work towards providing everyone a place to live, along with basic needs. Expensive private cars, yachts and such taxed at over several hundred percent, or more until they fade out.

I give monthly to UNHRC, also sometimes to destitute people I happen to meet on the streets. Yet, I definitely spend more time, somewhat selfishly, being more concerned about the well being of my family than people in unfortunate situations.

I am sad sometimes, but also sometimes it seems that God rewards me and I feel happy, smile. 

Used to think I was poor and actually, I was very poor compared to the rich. Then my apartment's value went up, became a journalist, started receiving a small pension, children got jobs, wife gets pension and suddenly, I am well off. 

Been sort of lucky all my life, in some ways. 

Is banning restaurants, meat, alcohol, things with too much sugar and fat, and the like too radical?

What a wonderful world it would be...

Why Did Trump Commute Stone's Sentence?

Maybe to keep Stone from spilling the beans on him, or writing a book?

Stone doesn't seem like a person who would go to jail willingly. 

Rich Koreans keep on buying up all the real estate and residential properties in Korea as they have been great investments in the past. The problem is they keep jacking up rents and prices. 

So, the government is raising residential property taxes to 6% for people who own 3 residences or more in certain neighborhoods where property prices have skyrocketed and worth over around $80 million, if I remember correctly.

Since the progressive party has a majority in the National Assembly, the bill to raise property taxes will definitely pass without any watering down from the conservative party. :)

I think most Koreans are in favor of the tax increase. I definitely am. Tax the hell out of speculators driving up prices and not paying a fair share of taxes.

I would be in favor of increasing property taxes on people with only one residential property, which includes me. 

$600,000 apartment, and I only pay about $400 a year in property tax, lucky me and maybe around ten million other Koreans. The appraisal value used by the government for tax purposes is about 40-50% lower than the market price.

I keep telling other Koreans that we, including filthy rich landowners, pay almost nothing in property taxes and that we should pay more. My rich acquaintances' aversion to such ideas, I understand, but even my middle class friends disagree with me. 

Hope, they start raising taxes on commercial property too, but that might cause rent increases, even though around 10% of commercial properties are vacant in downtown Seoul (estimated from all the "for rent" signs I see on buildings.).