The Dark Web is Darker Than You Might Think

I recently poked around on the Dark Web. I wanted to see what the fuss is about. In case you don’t know what Dark Web is, think of it this way. The normal internet is what is called the Clear Web. That’s like the first floor of a house. In the basement is the Deep Web, which is a network of sites that don’t appear in searches of the Clear Web, but which consist mainly of databases, often maintained by governments. Below the basement is a tunnel through which flows sewage. It’s the Dark Web. 

Here you can find invitations to the slimiest commerce. You can search out hitmen. Don’t want to kill anyone, but just want to ruin their lives? Well, you can find someone who will for a fee, payable in bitcoin of course, frame them to look like pederasts. Yes, they will be discovered to be harboring illegal child porn on their computers. Or maybe you want to watch someone being tortured. That gives you the idea. Hacks, hits, and heists can be arranged via the Dark Web. 

My tour of the Dark Web was very brief. There is only so much shock (but not awe) to which I want to be subjected. I realized, through the experience, that I have overlooked the ugliness of this world. I used to note the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” that parallel Jesus’ prediction of miseducation, war, famine, and plagues (Luke 21:8-11) were seen around the world, and I thought no wonder the guy who wrote about those conditions ended his book with a prayer to his Lord to come back to earth. What else could possibly fix the problems? 

Then, I slowly began to notice that such conditions were improving. I briefly summarized my observations at http://gordonfeil.blogspot.com/2019/08/pros-and-cons-of-multi-national-business.html. War is waning. Famine is fleeing. Pestilences are perishing. The world is getting better. Life is what we make of it. It doesn’t need to be bad. 

My foray into the online sewer reminded me that life isn’t good for many people. It’s terror. It’s bleak. It’s hopeless. I was reminded that it is unlikely man is going to fix this world so that it is a place of peace for everyone. There is evil here, preying on the innocent, and in some cases growing evil from the innocence. I am reminded of the words attributed to the apostle Peter, exclaiming “what manner of people” we ought to be “hastening the day of God.” I am reminded of Jesus instructing his students to pray “Your kingdom come.” Yeah, my excursion into the Dark Web was sad and disgusting.

What's Going On With SR&ED Administration?

Garron Helman of Venbridge recently posted an article full of interesting SR&ED stats. Garron has kindly allowed me to post it, but I'll paste the link to it instead.  Easy enough to click and be transferred to it. His post is found at https://venbridge.com/sred/venbridge-insights-innovation-on-the-rise-in-canada-sred-statistics-tell-a-different-story/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Nov. 

I did not need to see the stats to know that the SRED landscape has changed. I do think that we may see the pendulum begin swinging the other way as both the courts and the economic policy-makers in government start realizing that the law is being applied rather narrowly and that the SRED program is not having the efficacy that it could have. We'll see....

 

Greeks and the Four States of Matter

Recently I commented on Thales of Miletus and his notion that water is the substance of the universe. He seems to have been a brilliant man. He also is said to have said “Nothing is more active than thought, for it flies over the whole universe.” The statement reminds me of Genesis 1:2 which says that the spirit of God was moving over the waters (which then covered the whole earth). Not an exact parallelism, but close enough to trigger the connection.

The ancient Greeks more generally saw there as being four elements. Maybe you remember those from grade school: earth, water, air, and fire. I think even Thales recognized the multiplicity of elements but thought that water was the one that gave rise to the others. I long thought the whole 4 element view rather inobservant, but lately I realize that earth, water, air, and fire correspond to what we see as the four states of matter: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma. I feel a bit dull to have not made that connection until recently. What has my brain been doing? I need it to wave a bit more vigorously.