Zeitgeist Heist!

Zeitgeist means the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time. I don't know about you, but I am having a difficult time figuring out the essence of the times we are living in. Maybe it's hard to see the forest when you are in the trees. Typically this process is determined through the arts/culture (literature, movies, and television), but I am still finding it difficult to find a unifying theme.  In the 1920s, it was the jazz age and the roaring twenties;  in the 1960s, it was free love and progressive thinking; in the 1980s it was mass consumption and Wall Street greed. Without question, this is an over-simplistic approach to a large swatch of time where collective experiences vary to a high degree. If I had to say, I would say the 2010s zeitgeist is an end of decency and the ascendancy of outrage, the domination and subsequent fall of social media, and the rise of the tech economy. So, what do you think? As we approach the end of the year, whatever our beliefs, I know it is a good time to slow down, simplify, and take stock in what's important in this week's Loupe!

Canon Ivy Rec
Technology

To gain perspective, it helps to step away from the noise and distraction; yes, I mean your phone! I recognize that even if you put your phone away, one may still want to get pictures or videos that capture the here and now. Furthermore, on a practical level, it may be too cold, too wet, or too cumbersome (iPhone 11 is huge!) to pull out your phone, and thus, there is the new Canon Ivy Rec. It is a small, lightweight camera/video recorder that easily clips onto anything (bag, belt) and is ready to roll when you are. It is high def and can get to your phone via Bluetooth. You can still inspect the quality of the shot if desired with the app. I suspect this will be a great holiday gift, as they are new and deliverable now. 

DoNotPay
Services

There is no question that we live in litigious times.  Do you need a lawyer or legal representative to represent you in small matters? Why waste resources, especially time, money, and your limited reserve of patience. The DoNotPay app is your lawyer, really a Robot (with emphasis on the Bot) Lawyer! This app catapulted to fame for creating a bot to efficiently and successfully challenge parking tickets. The founders realized that there is an inherent inefficiency in dealing with government entities and other bureaucracies that place unnecessarily demands on your time for simple tasks. This bot walks you through many common problems and lets you initiate and complete a task without pulling out your hair. This app has been expanded to deal with government paperwork (DMV for road tests and the TSA for Pre-Check), traffic disputes (parking, speeding, and even the dreaded red light camera), and much, much more.  I recently used it to begin a small claims legal process with that bastard who hasn’t paid me the $100 he owes me from last year's Super Bowl! I know this sounds crazy, but please try out this app as it will save you time, money, and potentially your sanity ... allowing you to think about matters of substance!

Drawdown
Book, Website

There are many opposing views on the state of the environment and where it is headed. As a layperson, I find it challenging to know what is true and what we can do about it.  However, I know there is very little I value more than clean air and water; all you have to do to prove this is visit Beijing sometime. There is a consensus that there is something larger at work here, and it is impacting everything --- Greenhouse gases. Drawdown by Paul Hawken is a living, breathing (eh, eh) document (rather than a book) that ambitiously looks at this very issue. It has been compiled by a broad spectrum of researchers using strict scientific methods and sensible financial modeling. The data compiled is open source, and therefore available to anyone to criticize the assumptions and potential solutions. What is clear is that we can't just stay neutral; it is imcumbant upon society to reduce Greenhouse gases, hence the Drawdown! This book is quite reasonable in its approach and makes the economic case for changing now, rather than merely the emotional one. Hopefully, we will look back at this time as one of the opportunities seized where we reversed the adverse effects of Greenhouse gases on our environment and made the world a better place for the children. I'd say that would be a zeitgeist we would be proud to call ours. 

Maybe we have to wait a little longer to see the collective wider view or spirit of this time, but, until then, let's consider Canon Ivy Rec, DoNotPay App, and Drawdown Found!