Heading to a cashless society.

Since last year, it has become ever easier not to use cash. As time goes by, its becoming easier to pay via credit, or debit, cards, or just make a transfer via your bank's app. Even digital wallets are making it easier to pay without even having your usual cards on you when making a purchase.

To be honest, having to depend on cash as much was something I never thought I would see on my lifetime. Though we are still a long way from becoming a cashless society, big strides are made every day that are bringing it closer every day. The amount of cash I need to have on me has been steadily decreasing with time, and with the pandemic the pace seems to have being picking up.

The things I actually need cash for have been decreasing as time goes by, so much so that I find myself surprised when there is at least no an option for electronic option to pay for something. The only thing I have to use cash that I usually pay for, is adding founds for my prepaid mass transit card. Every thing else, I use electronic payments options.

From the places I eat to payments of services, paying with plastic or electronically is quite easy. Even paying back to friends and family, or helping them out with some money, can be easily via a direct transfer with the mobile app of my back.

As time goes by, I expect to use cash even less. To be honest, it is far more practical for me. Though using the ATM is not really all that hard, I prefer no having to go and find one to be able to get cash. I rather pay everything electronically.

Being able to manage all my finances electronically, has made making all my payments electronically all that easier. As time goes on, I expect to become even easier to manage my finances electonically even more convenient.

Make forums a real place of exchange of information and knowledge.

One thing that I recently has starting irking me on Internet forums, is that someone ask some basic question the just google it answers begin to pour in. For me, they are starting to feel like people lack a certain empathy for others that ask a question in a forum looking for an answer from a person that could help them.

Not only that, some who ask don't want to use a search engine either because they don't know how to phrase the question, or the amount of information that they get back is just to much for them to process. And when you add into that the amount of trash you get with it, the things get a lot harder to figure out for people who don't really know much of the issue they are asking about to begin with.

Sometimes, you just want or need the kind of answer you get from another person. One thing are the answer you get from the results you get from a search engine, and quite another the answers you get from someone who knows about the subject matter you asked about.

Not only that, in most cases is a lot easier to interact with those who answer to your question on a forum in order to a better answer than it is to do so in a page. If you add that the information in the pages shown by the search engines might be behind paywalls, complete trash, or out of date, things only get worse from that.

So, be kind to people who ask beginner questions on forums. Try to figure out who are the trolls, so you can help the people who are asking the honest questions. It's one of the easiest, and most with the most impact, you can help make the world a better place. Doing so, you are helping to make the Internet a better place, and a step closer to the place where ideas and information can be freely exchanged.

Freedom of speech is a two way street.

It seems that the people that complain about that now nothing can be said without offending someone, are those who get called out for being racist, misogynistic, or just plain offensive. They can't deal with the consequences of what they say, believing that freedom of speech means they don't have to deal with those consequences.

They seem to want to return to a time when they didn't have to face the push back for their actions the way do with the advent of the Internet, and smartphones, which gives voices to those who have an issue with what they say or do. Sure, the push back is not always correct, or proportionate, but that doesn't mean that there is push back that has substance to it.

There is an expectation that people should not raise their voices to change things. The people who express their disdain for those who point out that that certain things no longer have place in our society going forward, are the ones who just are unable to evolve and understand that society has changed and more people are able to express themselves as they do.

More people, specially minorities, are nor able to raise they voice and do something when someone does, or says, things that wrong them. No longer they have to just lay down, and take whatever others want them to take. Now the consequences of what is said and done, will be felt almost immediately. Not only that, they will have to face them personally.

It needs to be understood, that freedom of expression will not free the person of the consequences of expressing themselves. Besides, others are also free to express their anger, displeasure, and hurt when they feel that way. Is time for those who are angry because people can express themselves against them to man up and accept that they'll have to face the consequences of their expressions.

Freedom of speech is a two way street, so be prepared when someone fires back.

Remmina has proven to be a useful piece of software for me.

One of the main things that worried me if I had to work from home because of the the pandemic, was the fact that on my personal computers at home I use Linux Mint, while at work we use Windows based systems. As such, I was worried about not being able to work from home due to compatibility issues.

While I wasn't keen on trying out Wine, because some people who had used it for work have had some stability issues with. As such, I had to look for alternatives to be able to use the remote desktop I use for work. Worst part was that I just had a short notice to set it up to, and start using it in less than an hour.

So, after looking for options I ended up opting for Remmina, and it actually is a really good option to do work on remote Windows desktops. So much so, that now is routine for me to bring work home to catch up if I need to do so and I don't want to stay extra time at the office.

I have found Remmina to quite stable, and easy to use. It lets me to actually concentrate on what I've to do, and not having to worry about losing the connection. And the fact that I can connect from where ever I'm at the moment there is something I need to get done, makes Remmina quite a valuable asset for me.

What is more important for me at a personal level, is that Remmina has given me the option to be able to keep using Linux Mint on my personal hardware while given me the chance to do work on Microsoft Windows systems when the need arises. That means a lot for me, specially because I prefer to use open source software as much as I can.

I do recommend Remmina, it really is a great tool for those people who need to work on remote Windows desktops from Linux operating systems.

The normalization of violence against women.

After Dr. Seuss announced that they won't reprint 6 Dr. Seuss' books due racist images they contain; the New York Times ran an opinion piece by Charles M. Blow rising a point against Pepé Le Pew, who normalized rape culture; Speedy Gonzales, whose friends helped popularize the corrosive stereotype of the drunk and lethargic Mexicans; and Mammy Two Shoes, a heavyset Black maid who spoke in a heavy accent.

To be honest, I do agree with him about the issues he raised. Yet, the backlash about the possibility of Pepé Le Pew being cancelled got me worried. It really shows that violence against women is so normalized in our society that even the possibility of a cartoon where it is portrayed offends people more than the violence itself.

It mind blowing that people haven't have problem against the kind of behavior Pepé Le Pew displays just because it is shown in a funny way. Some even go as far as justifying it, saying that it is just a cartoon or it shows perseverance by Pepé Le Pew. Truth be told, such behavior should never be condoned by anyone. Besides, it has no place in a show directed to children, who have no way to knowing that what they seeing its wrong.

While it has to be understood in the context of the time the show was released, it doesn't mean that it still has a place today. At least not being shown to children, at a time when we are trying to eliminate all kind of violence against women. It is not about people being offended about everything, is about creating a safer society for everyone.

Home office saved many jobs and businesses.

How much telecommunication technologies have helped many people to keep their jobs, by allowing them to work from home is what one of the things that have impressed me the most of what has changed because of the pandemic. If it wasn't because of people being able to do home office, the level of unemployment might have been a lot higher. Also a lot more businesses could have faced bankruptcy if they have given their employees that option.

On the other hand, it shows that the capability to make use of home office has been there for quite a while. Seems that many businesses have been reticent to make use of this option because they were afraid that employees would not perform as they they do on site. Yet, the results may give more businesses the data they need to make home office something more of their employees use more often.

To be honest, it would be something that I'd like to make use at least once a week, and several of my coworkers would have the option to use with some regularity too. Sometimes just being able to work outside the office just helps reduce the stress levels, while being able not fall behind your work by taking vacations.

While most of my job can be done at home, there are still somethings I can do from home. Like being able to print orders, and invoices, at the printer at the office. That is something I need able to do, since the order pages are what the people who fill the others use to do so. And the invoices need to be given to the delivery drivers, or the sale agents, so out clients sign that they received they products when done so locally. Also the credit notes need to have a hard copy to prove that they were authorized.

To be honest, some of this could be done electronically. But there is some push back by some people to do the transition in fear our costumers would not approve of making the move. I personally that the change was made, since it would make my job at lot easier. Most of what is needed is in place, now is just a matter to make the move.

A case for multilateralism.

One of the mayor lessons that the COVID-19 pandemic, is that no country can truly and effectively, face such big challenges by itself. Multilateralism has become the best way to face not only problems like COVID-19, but to tackle other challenges like global warming and to bring more people out of extreme poverty.

Isolationism is not a long term solution. In many ways, it would only compound the problems each country has by not being able to access solutions other countries have, or make it viable to get outside help without being at a weak negotiating position since there isn't much to bargain with that other countries can't get else where.

Most importantly, multilateralism doesn't mean that a country has to give their identity away. It means that there is willingness to engage the rest of the world in a way that is beneficial to all parties involved, with a set of rules that have to be followed by all of those who want to participate in any given activity.

It doesn't have to be a zero-sum game. For multilateralism can work in a way where all can gain what they are looking for, without having to make everyone else lose.

Multilateralism means being willing to work together in way that benefits those involved. The idea is making it a win-win situation by negotiating within a set of rules agreed by those involved, accepting that something will have to be given in order to get what is wanted from the situation.

With countries, as with people, the way forward is working together.