Stone Press

Nuclear energy is a clean fuel and a great way to curb air pollution, yet nuclear energy does come with radioactive waste, which must be dealt with. One way to get rid of nuclear waste would be to shoot it into the Sun, which would not even notice it. Yet if your rocket misfires you have just created a horrific dirty bomb on a missile head full of nuclear waste.

Another way which we have been dealing with our nuclear waste is to put it underground for storage of course in doing so we have buried a problem which will take tens of thousands of years to decay into a material which is benign. Currently in the United States we have nuclear waste storage underground where it will be safe and it is stored in containers, which will decay much faster than the material inside of them. Some ideas have been to find uranium-eating bacteria to eat the radioactive waste, which works out well for the bacteria and for us too.

We need to go one step further, as we need to figure out how to take radioactive material and make it into lead. That is to say a way to cause the decaying of 1000 years in a matter of minutes or 10,000 years in 10 minutes or 100,000 years in just over an hour and a half. We must spend money to accomplish this scientific breakthrough in the next decade in order to use more nuclear energy, safer, as it is a clean way to make our energy and curtail air-pollution. Think on this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

We were all born with a sense of awe and curiosity. As children we can all remember ourselves asking our parents why the sky was blue, what that four-legged creature that makes such a loud noise was called. Questions on top of questions was what we had. Everything fascinated us. However, a day came when all that stopped because we started to believe that we knew. It is my assumption that the sense of awe disappears sometime during our teenage years or maybe even before that. We are curious, but we have stopped asking questions because by then we have developed masks of knowing. It is better to not ask questions and look smart, rather than ask questions and seem stupid. I want you to realize now that “smart” and “stupid” are not real in the world that we live in. They are words, that have come to be associated with the mental workings of an individual. However, smart and stupid are agreements. Smart people are those who can do the things that people have agreed are important, and stupid people are those who have not yet understood the agreement as to why those things are important? Is then the teacher’s duty to teach them the agreement or to ridicule them since they cannot see the connection of the agreement?

I don’t want to continue to ramble on, but I have to say a thing or two about education in our times. Maybe the teacher has forgotten an essential fact: kids were not born knowing the agreements of the world. When a child is born, they don’t even know that they exist. They are just there. It’s the people who are in the delivery room that see a separate being they call a child or a baby. However, the baby herself/himself does not know what’s going on. It does not have an understanding of separateness. As this baby grows, it is experiencing life for the very first time. The things that we are now bored of and have taken for granted are brand new to this creature that is now experiencing life for the very first time. The fact is, it will also be the only lifetime that this creature is experiencing this. Some of the agreements in our world are made so that the world can function.

It’s not about the child and the education, but about how the child can serve the world after it has learned all that it has learned in school. Schools are nothing more than AGREEMENT CENTERS, where every school teaches the basic agreements to the students who are there. It’s the quickest way to have an efficient economy because once all of the students have finished with their 12 grades of school, they are now ready for the world. The funny thing is that no one ever looks at the randomness of it all. Why does the school have 12 grades or 13 grades according to the U.K system? Why 12 or 13? Why do people need 12 - 13 years of education for school? Why not 8 or 9 or even 5? No one questions these things because it’s already an agreement that schools have 12 grades. Who actually controls the world? Agreements were meant to serve us, but now it seems like people are born in order to serve the agreements and perpetuate these agreements. These agreements have now become “facts” or “the truth” and people are servants of these agreements. A child is born, has to be educated, so that they can work for a great company, earn huge amounts of money (fiat money, money totally based on faith) and then live comfortably until they are old, and then they die. Wow, we got a whole system working here. Anyone seeing the Matrix yet? The one thing that the Matrix didn’t show us was that it is actually our agreement that forms the whole world that we are living. Let me give you one more scary fact before we get deeper into this area: We are not living in the real world, we are only living in a world of words! Want me to prove it? Okay, here it goes. Who are you? Can you describe it to me without using any words? Man, are we in trouble now! From the moment of birth, to the end of our lives, we are using words that describe certain things and we agree to what those things mean, and there we have our reality!

There is no reality without words. What are you thinking in the whole time? Words! What’s going on in your mind? Words! Do you see any words in the real world? No! What do you see? You just see! You have labeled everything until all you see are words! Pass a four-legged creature that makes a loud noise and we call it a dog. We say “dog” in our heads! Label and classify, label and classify we are all taxonomists. That’s what the human species have become: taxonomists. We are not just classifying things, we are classifying our reality! It’s amazing how much we’ve taken for granted about the world. Do you know why people get bored of the world? They get bored when they think they know everything. Well, everything that they think they know are just agreements that they have learned! Want things to be interesting again? Look at what you agreed to that’s making your life boring!

Sukhbir Singh is the founder of LifeApps! Personal Development International. The article you have just read is an excerpt from this forthcoming book The World is An Agreement:How Human Beings Have Conned Themselves into Leading Inauthentic Lives. “There are only 2 outcomes for those who read this book,” says Sukhbir. 1) Going Insane or 2) Getting Enlightened.

For more information on when the book will be made available and other information regarding the seminars and products offered by LifeApps! Personal Development International send an email to info@lifeapps.com

Notwithstanding PropertyIndex.com is only a new kid on the block enterprise, (they were founded only in March 2007), they were swift to prove their expertise. They are actually a pretty unostentatious enterprise entirely focused on offering their expert guidance to everyone who is striving to sell, buy, rent or let property across the globe. What they pledge to do is to help you out find precisely what you crave very quickly plus, of course, in a trouble-free manner.

Property can be located all over the place presently, one of the really elite areas being properties on the market in France. It’s no effort to write a list of the fantastic realty available for sale in France, one motive for selecting real estate here being a combination of the houses and apartments available and the possibility to live amid this eager and spirited population. This is one of the most favored regions presently, and with the scenic beauty and sunshine surrounding you, how could you say no. Property in France is steeped in history, this region has always been home to a number of cultures.

Property Index is an online platform that gives buyers access to thousands of properties www.propertyindex.com. Property in France is currently booming so browse the range on offer at Property Index.

About 30 years ago there’d be merely a dribble of British people keen on realty in France. Just ask about anyone who has emigrated to France and they will be certain to confirm this. There’s many people who would will insist on viewing it as a fairly insignificant trend and others will insist on viewing it as a almost an obsession! Buyers actually moving to this region may range from young yuppie couples who are looking for an exciting new perspective to retired people looking to enjoy themselves and take it easy. Note that there could be setbacks when purchasing realty in a foreign country - expectably there are a million actions whether working out a plan, inspecting or signing the documents. Even if one single minor procedure is missed it is liable to provoke great setbacks not to forget, preeminently, financial damage.

As you will presume with this sought after area, realty might be quite high-priced in this region and this, of course, is basically caused by the broad buyer demand. In spite of this real estate buyers are truly spoilt in a region so rich in fantastic vista. Presently it’s got all just about anyone might desire, etc.

Net telephone service providers are facing a huge problem. A court has upheld FCC regulations requiring the voice over internet protocol providers to provide 911 services.

911 Rules

As you know, traditional telephone companies provide 911 call services to customers. Under long established laws, the traditional telephone companies are required to automatically route such calls to a geographically appropriate area and deliver the originating phone number and address of the call. Net telephone services haven’t done this in the past as the technical reading of the regulations didn’t require them to. Now the regulations do and it is causing problems.

VOIP net telephone services are having severe difficulty complying with the FCC regulations. The calls are not routed through a traditional telephone line structure, which makes it very hard to determine the original calling number and address. On top of this, it is extraordinarily difficult to route the calls to the appropriate geographic emergency phone call center. Throw in politics and you have a boondoggle in the making.

911 In A Digital Age

In many cases, government agencies fail to appreciate the complexities of the Internet and digital technology. They have a habit of issuing rules and regulations that are either antiquated or impossible to implement. The FCC and FTC are famous for doing so, particularly since the agencies seem to have the technical sophistication of dinosaur. On the issue of 911 rules for net telephone services, however, the FCC has acted appropriately.

911 is a critical service that must be made available to the public. It performs a service that is both needed and necessary. As the net telephone services seek bigger shares of the commercial market, they must also assume larger responsibility for the services they provide. This is particularly true for 911 services.

911 emergency call centers help save lives. In health risk situations, time is almost always a critical component in the outcome. Given as much, the FCC has acted appropriately in requiring net telephone services to provide 911 services to customers.

Richard A. Chapo is a San Diego business lawyer with http://www.sandiegobusinesslawfirm.com - a San Diego business law firm in San Diego, California.

Your home page needs to grab your visitors by the collar–persuade and engage them.

You have the power to gain your visitors loyalty, to book mark your site, and eventually, to buy your products if you write irresistible, streamlined copy that engrosses them all the way to your sales message and order pages.

Here’s a rough draft for a new home page:

Part One. Start with an intriguing headline that is benefit-oriented that will lead your visitor to your products.

Sample: “Want a Quick and Simple Way to Quadruple your Web Sales within Four Months?” This headline link takes my potential buyer straight to my sales letter for the book “Ten Non-techie Ways to Market Your Book Online.”

Sample: For book coaching services, my home page headline and link, “Let the Book Coach Make your Book Dream a Reality.” Takes my visitors directly to my coaching services information and why I may be the right coach for them.

Sample Testimonial and Link: “Save yourself from headaches, disappointments and money down the drain. Read, “Write Your eBook or Other Short Book–Fast!” before you write another word. Judy puts you on the fastest track to publishing success.”
-Marcia Reynolds, www.covisioning.com.

This link takes my visitors directly to my eBook sales letter.

Part Two. Add who you are and what you can do for your visitors, but make it short. Nothing turns a visitor off more than long bio copy. They don’t care about you; they care about what problems you can solve for them. They especially love free information.

Sample: The Book Coach can answer your questions, and make your book dream a reality. Judy Cullins, M.A. offers her 20 years as an author, publisher and marketer of over 40 books and special reports on book writing, publishing, and online marketing
–all in short, easy-to-read, formats, with lively teleclasses and phone coaching.

Part Three. Add some specific benefits with a personal approach:

Sample: I can help you answer questions about your book.

- What are the first steps to writing a great selling book?
- Will my book attract my desired audience?
- Do my potential buyers know they need my book and it’s worth the money?
- Will my books sell enough copies for my satisfaction?
- How should I publish my book?
- Now that it’s written, how can I best promote my book?

Part Four. Use a testimonial and benefit statement from a pro for your ezine.

Your visitors will also say, “Who cares?” For you to convince them they must have your ezine, add a testimonial from a well-known expert in your field.

Sample: Dan Poynter’s testimonial below:

“Chock full of nuts and bolts on book writing, publishing, and marketing. Definitely worth your time.”

Offer a free report when people subscribe to your ezine.

Sample: To subscribe on my home page, my Web master has provided these links: www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml and www.bookcoaching.com/opt-out.shtml.

Put some passion into your web home page and others. The biggest mistake writers make is they write weak sales copy. Always give your web site visitor a reason to buy.

Just think–the more pizzazz, the more visitors will return to your site to surf, get free information, and buy your services and products.

Judy Cullins, 20-year book and Internet Marketing Coach, Author of 10 eBooks including “Write your eBook Fast,” and “How to Market your Business on the Internet,” she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, The Book Coach Says…and Business Tip of the Month at http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml and over 140 free articles. Email her at mailto:Judy@bookcoaching.com

With summer in the air Matches is the best shop to get those amazing a hot summer tops. Of which there are lots of fantastic clothing items this season as there are every other season. The greatest things about obtaining from this beautiful boutique store is that the organisation presently have the incredible a humid summer sale on. 100s of cost reduced items that are just really begging you to purchase as part of this seasons best items and will probably give you the want to buy with the company time again.

The fashion store is still regarded as a small chain but this doesn’t mean anything. The company have enjoyed over fifteen years of achievement and now has a number of lots of different retail shops which are placed in popular areas such as Notting Hill. Along with this they recently experienced the launch of the designer clothing site. Now you don’t even need to be in gorgeous London to try on the most fashionable shirts.

In fact it has been seen that since the launch of the designer company’s website the retailer has allowed more and more shoppers to become aware of Matches and the beautiful items the designer shop stock from brands such as Azzedine Alaia and Lips along with lots of others.

The organisation philosophy has always been to dress ladies and lads in trends and great fashion that suit their individual look, to always give you the desire to wear something more beautiful but still allow you to wear the clothes, not for the designer clothes to wear you. Check out the latest Chloe fashions at Matches Fashion.

Each and every season the highly fashionable buyers at Matches advise what they believe are going to visit and be the key shirts of each season, this is a talent that various fashion buyers lack but year after year the designer organisation keep coming up with best tops. Just like every other great year, we know 2008 Winter at the firm is going to be something to look out for.

The 6 Inch Crystal is a really good selling glass dildo for Nasstoys. The success of the 6 Inch Crystal is due to it’s versatility. The 6 Inch Crystal is ideal for stimulation of all female erogenous zones. The ideal sex toy for those lonely nights home alone. This marital aid is the perfect new addition to any ones collection. This sex aid would also be a fantastic first sex toy for an individual who does not already own a dildo.

The soft material of the 6 Inch Crystal makes penetration possible at angles that are almost impossible through normal intercourse, meaning it is possible to discover wonderful new pleasures and previously un-found parts of your body. The 6 Inch Crystal can be found in a good range of widths, lengths and colours. The 6 Inch Crystal has specially crafted gnarly bobbles, which will help you take your after hours fun to dizzying heights. The 6 Inch Crystal comes with a free additional vibrator pack, make no mistake, this is as sex aid of the highest quality. In addition to being great fun, the 6 Inch Crystal is made out of non-harmful acrylic, to make sure it is genuinely safe to use.

The producer responsible for the 6 Inch Crystal, Nasstoys are the most widely recognised and loved brands in the distribution of vibrators. They are producers of a huge selection of other top-range dildos for instance the Pleasureskin Cock and of course the American Super Dong. Nasstoys are probably the most cost competitive, so you can be safe in the knowledge that you are not likely to see a better offer from another producer.

I don’t know much about technology. It’s just not my field of expertise; I’m a creative writer. However, as I work for an Internet company I have come to realize the powerful ideas that my fellow office-mates/nerds (cool nerds: E.g. Napoleon Dynamite) come up with, and how these ideas are changing our world for the better. The latest idea that has come to fruition, to me, seems like an amazing accomplishment for all of humanity to partake in, even writers. Mobile, wireless, broadband Internet means we can now go on the Internet when we are on the move, or away from our homes and offices.

If you want to know more about the technology behind wireless Internet, check out http://www.theunwired.net/, or http://www.iburst.com.au. This is really cool stuff. Picture a few of these scenarios…

You are a creative person, writer/graphic artist who doesn’t like to work indoors. You need the fresh air blowing in your face, sun warming your skin, to get the imagination flowing. You feel like sitting in the park but would also like to have access to the Internet to do research, as well as add to your blog or website portfolio. Stick one of these magic laptop modems with its own antenna into your computer and as long as there’s coverage you’re on your way to creating your life’s work.

What if you’re into big business, a company executive, or need to communicate with your colleagues regularly? Now you’re on the road, in a taxi, going very quickly down the highway. There’s no need for this to be ‘down time’ for you anymore. You can email, send files, and if you’re especially techno-savvy, you can hook up a webcam and voice-over IP and have meetings ‘face to face’ while on the go. Moving from office to office, and staying in hotel rooms far from home makes no difference, as you are always able to connect. Talk about limiting loss of production due to time and space constraints!

Imagine you are a university student who has to move house a lot due to short leases and sometimes-unfriendly relations with roommates. You no longer will need to be concerned with disconnection and reconnection hassles, especially the added fees. As this technology also caters for individuals, you won’t have to worry about your buddies downloading heaps of your cash with the usual wireless network setups in houses by telling you that you have to pay an ‘equal’ share of their activity. However, there are no limits to how many connections are in one house, so all your friends or family can have their own.

There are also desktop versions if you are in an area that doesn’t have access to ADSL, or you don’t want to use a phone line to access the Web. The mobile version of iBurst is just like a normal wireless system except it uses a system of base stations that transmit the network to the wireless modems. So, if you’re at school, work, the library, airport, business meeting, or even the beach (if it is under coverage) you can surf the web (after the waves) and send important emails. There are a few issues with places like parking lots and subways where the radio frequency may sometimes be unable to pierce through deep layers of concrete, or where towers are too far apart so the connection drops in and out. I expect my nerd friends will solve these problems and any others that arise as the technology develops further. The nerds can do it all. Check out Napoleon Dynamite’s dance moves: www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/napoleon. Now all we have to do is wait for them to expand from their tunnel-vision focus on technology, to developing the means to creating a utopian society. I don’t know, maybe that’s where us creative folk come into play?

This article has an accompanying image that can be viewed at http://m6.net/articles/images/wireless.jpg

Jesse S. Somer
M6.Net Web Hosting
http://www.m6.net
Jesse S. Somer is a humanoid that sees the possibility of a society achieving incredible technical evolution, but which is still at one and integrated within a healthy natural world.

As I continue to venture into unknown world of internet, I come across some entrepreneurs to be….just like my humble self. Often, I asked them the very same question: “What’s the main motivation of them wanting to be Entrepreneur?”, or “What’s your aim for venturing into business, be it online business or brick and mortal traditional business model?”

As usual, and predictably, most of the answers are almost always the same: “Money!” (Which happen to be same as mine too…when I was just starting out to venture; Of course, I’m not earning big money at this moment yet;) Some even more specific:- Big House, Big Car, Private Club, Golf Membership, First Class….etc.

After wondering around for quite some time, and failed a few times, I believe that most entrepreneur wannabe didn’t make it thru because they’re not “Entrepreneur” in the very first instance. After gone thru the process, and still humbling around, I believed that “Entrepreneurs” are very special breed. The gate to their “kingdom” is well-guarded against the “Greedy” and “Get Rich Quick” schemes like those flooding the internet nowadays.

It’s very true that everyone want to be entrepreneur. From the south of the globe to the north, all are declaring to themselves: “I want to be Entrepreneur! I want to get whatever I aim for!” But, claiming so doesn’t make us an Entrepreneur. So, be extra careful and cautions before your quit your job and jump into this “Entrepreneur’s Pool” just because you want to get rich and get it quick.

• The Primary Goal
Do hear me now…money is not the primary goal of entrepreneur is all about. It’s neither “Power” nor “Influence” too. Those are more on “measure of Success”. Those are of material scorecards. Yup, as you and I are well aware, this world is full of scorecards! Every time when you go for work, you have this scorecard, that scorecard….all kind of scorecards isn’t it?

At current moment, sometimes we’ll have the feeling that our whole business universe resolves around scorecards. Every single of those “Powerful” chairman, president, CEO, GM are having scorecards riding on their back isn’t it? Compare this to “Back Then” time where scorecards were a byproduct of wanting to get something done, and done it well.

Allow me to share one core point of what entrepreneur is about. It’s just a simple and most forgotten, a simple word: Freedom! Freedom to be your own self; get your head above the crowd; to own an idea and turn it into business; to seek excellence in your own definition. Yes! Isn’t that truly great?

• Money or Freedom?
Of course, if you finally succeed in making it happen, some other more powerful and muscular party may be taking over your business and start passing out scorecards. Even worse, you may start to forget that true fact that you are an Entrepreneur and now just become yet another “Scorecard Keeper”!

Think about that for a true moment. Isn’t that scenario exactly what has been happening to almost every single “Super” successful entrepreneurial business entity nowadays? If the answer is yes for you, and for me is yes, there is the much disturbing question of “Why is it end up that way?”

To what I believed (which may be and could be wrong), the answer is pretty clear: Money, and lots of money. Those become scorecard keeper were forced to forsake all things and belief that they hold on strong to. They were forced to exchange their freedom for piece of gold; forced to start spinning their head for short term profit instead of the original belief of what should be right for the products, service, customers, and their people.

• Are we Doomed?
But what does it means to you and I? Are we doomed to follow the same trap? I truly hope not. You see, I also have a dream. A wishful dream that someday somehow where there will be a Wise Person with less greedy business mindset will begin to understand that a business’s value can’t simple be reflected in any financial statement. A wishful dream where company will start to be evaluated based on their products, innovations, services, and above all their employees. Where every employee could feel free to contribute ideas and to be an integrated part of the company’s initial entrepreneurial spirit originated from the founder. Oh well, what a dream of mine.

Is there a point to give a deep thought of here? I think there is: Never, never sell or swap your freedom for money. Never let those financial wizards con you into letting go your beliefs. If that means that end up you got to grow a little bit slower, so let it be. If that means that you just a little bit longer to “OWN” the world, then please hold on first!

So, my dear reader, is there a point and important note for you?

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There’s a book written by Stephen King called The Running Man He wrote the book in 1982, and in 1987 it was made into a rather good film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. I remember the first time I watched that film I thought it was an interesting piece of science fiction. The thought of people being hunted down and eliminated/killed for national TV was very unique, and a bit far fetched.

But that was then and this is now. And what was entertaining fantasy is almost a reality today.

The fantasy that was The Running Man was followed by the reality show Big Brother. I remember watching South Africa’s first ever Big Brother show. It was a unique, albeit voyeuristic concept. Nobody I knew would admit to watching it, but we knew the names of all the housemates, and we would discuss the previous day’s antics every morning at work. It was a novel concept - watching the behaviour of a crowd of 12 strangers in a house. I remember the shower being turned on at 9.00 am and 9 pm - and the age restriction being raised to 16 at those times so youngsters couldn’t watch the housemates showering!

There have been more Big Brother series in South Africa, but the interest has not been as intense as it was with the first one. I think the same is true for the other Big Brother series all over the world. At first it’s a big issue - almost like spying on someone without their consent! It’s like being a legal voyeur. Eventually the novelty wears off, and the initial attraction is boring. How long does it take before the average viewer gets tired of watching people eating, drinking and sleeping? So the producers have to do something to improve ratings/viewership/advertising. So now we have extra cameras in the bedrooms and bathrooms. And the producers punish the housemates by withholding food if they cannot complete a task successfully. So they get uptight and pick fights with each other. That makes things interesting, for a few weeks at least.

Big Brother was the start of the dreadful phenomenon that is Reality Television. Idols, Survival, Meet My Folks, I’m A Celebrity… take your pick. Almost all of these shows are notable for the one unpleasant thread that winds its way through each one - ridicule. In Idols people who believe they have a singing talent are humiliated by opinionated, rude judges. Viewers can watch the hopeful contestants burst into tears of anger or humiliation at Simon Cowell’s caustic comments. Their dreams are shattered in the most unpleasant way, and many viewers sadistically watch each show, enjoying the sight of lifelong hopes and dreams being shattered in a really ugly way. In Meet My Folks prospective dates for a couple’s child are subjected to intrusive, personal questions; in the one episode I watched a girl forced to face up an ex-boyfriend she’d dumped under terrible circumstances two years prior to the show! Is there anyone out there who hasn’t had a horrible break up with someone from years gone by? I’m A Celebrity takes many washed up “stars” and forces them to eat bugs and other do unmentionable things in a jungle. The audience apparently votes off the most useless celebrity… well I guess these people ask for it! They apparently take part in the show hoping to revive their flagging careers.

I admit - I’ve watched some episodes of these shows. But these are nothing compared to Ultimate Makeover.

Viewers can now watch a person - woman or man, but usually the former - having plastic surgery and professional advice of how to make the most of him/herself. I’ve watched one or two episodes of Ultimate Makeover, and none of The Swan. It saddens me that some of these girls think the only way they can be great, successful women is if they change their faces and their body shape.

Then they go through what looks like absolute hell. A facelift… I almost passed out watching the surgeon using a metal rod to free the flesh and skin from a woman’s forehead so he could LIFT the skin up and stitch it into her hairline. The probe went down as far as her eyebrow, its outline visible as the skin was freed from the bone. All in the name of beauty.

Liposuction… shoving a thick pipe in and out of her stomach as her “fat” (combined with rather copious amounts of blood) is sucked down a tube into a beaker.

Breast enhancement… shoving a silicon bag underneath someone’s breast with the force of a Mike Tyson punch???

Would we have watched these procedures on television 17 years ago? The answer is no. It was consider invasive and intrusive. In those days Dallas was considered raunchy!

I’m not condemning those who chose to undergo surgical procedures. Discovery Channel shows documentaries about people who desperately need plastic surgery. I recall one show featuring a policeman whose face was burned off when her car caught fire following an accident while on duty. Anothr case told of a woman who lost her entire eye socket to cancer. She wept after the plastic surgeon replaced the missing bone so she could wear an artificial eye. But is reality TV taking the world’s obsession with beauty and youth a little too far? Or is it the media again - taking our tolerance levels to the max? After all, viewer figures and show ratings mean greater advertising and hefty profits! Perhaps they want to see how much we can take before it becomes boring and we start flipping channels. Are they preying on insecure, desperate people in the hope that ratings will jump?

It started in a house. We observed people like laboratory rats, watching them in a controlled environment. We held the key to whether they stayed or whether they left. It evolved into a talent show, where again we had the power to vote for the winner, and vote out the losers.

Today we can sit with an insecure young woman while she has her appearance changed to meet what she believes is society’s criteria. We watch every pain filled moment - whether she weeps with physical pain from her nose job, or cries because she realises she will never look the same again. We suffer with her, but don’t have to endure the reality she’s experiencing. Many times one of the “victim’s” friends or a family member has contacted the programme because he/she feels this person needs plastic surgery. Sometimes the person’s partner has contacted the show! Yes, I know that often the “victim” herself wants the makeover, but the thought that someone who is supposed to care about this person just the way he or she is puts a partner’s name forward is sad. To me anyway… what happened to loving someone for him or herself, despite a few extra pounds or some wrinkles?

So where does reality TV go from here? And how close are we to shows like The Running Man?

I think we’re almost there.

The writer was born in Africa, and lived there for the first 38 years of her life. She worked in the world of public relations for over five years, running her own PR company and dealing extensively with the world of journalism and the print media. She is an author on http://www.Writing.Com, a site for Writers. Her blog can be visited at: http://www.writing.com/authors/zwisis/blog