It doesn’t seem to apply as consistently as our financial credit score. The disgruntled gas station attendant and Jeff Bezos or many of his pals could all score and 850 on the jerk was credit rating. Society on the whole cares less about how nice you are and more about how useful you are to them.

There are technical challenges having to do with things like batter life and the generated charge etc. which have tended to make this technology less versatile than a more traditional system such as mechanically driven or combustion powered small generators. Service life, use, lots of factors. It’s a neat idea with potential. Water has been explored as a means to provide the vibrations where said water source lacks suitability for turning a mechanical flywheel or turbine, or thermal energy generation, or kinetic through wave capture etc.

Not hating on them. I’m sure there is some novel thing in their design- but we can already convert sound to electricity, not in the “microphone” way- but an actual power source. Many ships use a similar technology to communicate on board without power. The receiver generates enough power to both provide audio signal and carry the signal. The technology here is likely some form of vibration powered generator. Commonly using a resonator and transducer to produce power. It’s not a new idea, although until fairly recently the technology to make such a device which could provide meaningful use has been largely lacking.

If they find royal jewels stolen by the axis in the war in 2019, should those stay with the great great great grandkid of the guy that stole them- or go back to the family or country they belonged to before being stolen? Does the dependent of the Axis thief lose their jewels? NO. they were never theirs. They were taken from someone else no? You don’t own something if it’s stollen even if you didn’t steal it.

On the subject of taking what we can learn and moving on... that doesn’t work so well on the “wronged” end. Taiwan isn’t about to move on and accept the communists overthrew the previous leadership. Should Hong Kong move on and concede to China? Or perhaps the British shouldn’t have returned Hong Kong to China since that was such an old deal? If the UK didn’t return HK- should China have just shrugged and learned a future lesson not to trust the Brits? What about post WW2 treaties with Axis countries- if they violate those treaties that are SOOO old should we just say it’s a lesson not to trust them but nothing else needs done? If Germany or Japan refused to give back the territory they took- it’s all even and we just learn for the future?

@strongsad- I string post the complete post before coming back to read. I wasn’t trying to talk over you.

So to recap: when it is a point of pride, distinction, in our heritage- we mustn’t forget. Our military victories, our technological and cultural advances, those good things we did- we can’t forget those even if WE had nothing to do with them or weren’t even alive. BUT- if it shames is, if it is inconvenient- and it has been long enough- we need to let it go. I believe that is the point you are making?

We still like to point out what WE did in World War Two. Why- WE helped beat back the Nazis! WE were the first to put a man on the moon! It’s getting hard to find people of age to have taken part in an event from 1969, not to mention those of us who were alive- a small percentage had anything to do with it.

Do we end the reservations and any other aid or concessions to native Americans because it’s time they get over it? It’s odd to me that people are quick to say that the shame of slavery doesn’t touch them- it happened before they were born. They didn’t have anything to do with it. Yet... we immortalize our founding fathers and their exploits. We are proud of our military tradition, of the feats of engineering by past Americans.

The civil war ended before slavery was over and Black Americans were truly free. We reenact the battles don’t we? Have statues? Name ships and buildings and parks after those on both sides? Some still fly the flag of their side, and aren’t so many people proud to say that their relative fought that war so long ago?

But.... don’t we still celebrate our Independence Day? Don’t we still celebrate thanks giving day? On Memorial Day- are we only honoring those who served their country RECENTLY, are those who fought Korea, WW1 and 2, the revolution- are they NOT included in Memorial Day because it was so long ago? We should move on?

The Nazis stole art and money and other things from across the globe. The rulers and elites brought them home to provide them riches and allow them to provide for their children. A child who did nothing wrong, took nothing and hurt no one but was born to a Nazi parent- is found with wealth and treasure stollen from a French family. Does that wealth not go back to France? Should the people of Poland not have their cultural and historical artifacts returned to them because “it happened a long time ago and this kid didn’t take it. His great grandpa did. By the law of finders keepers it is now his.” Is that the rule? You can benefit from misdeeds as long as you didn’t partake and it was long enough ago?

Can most any discussion of modern geo politics or Hewish culture not in some way call on that history? Israel, without the Nazi treatment of Jews would not exist, who’s policies are shaped in large part by a desire to never face that again. Israel who’s very existence has had a profound impact on the Middle East and global politics. When we forget is when we allow it to happen again.

It was almost 100 years ago that the government of Nazi Germany surrendered. Most Germans today had nothing to do with the Nazis or what they did. I’d like to think and do think that most Germans today would not join the Nazis if they tried to take the country again. Seeing that few if anyone alive today was part of that, or say in another 20 years when they’re all effectively dead- and that it happened so long ago- shall we forget about the Nazis, forget about what they did to the Jewish people?

You know how you make THAT happen? Not in a forest in the far reaches of the world. You talk to the people in power. You pressure them. You get in the media. You make people care. A man on his own can plant a forest of trees. One man in a suit can destroy 20 years of work in a day. Stop the suits from destroying trees. Get them to plant trees- and the guys in suits can each make 100 peoples lifetimes of tree planting happen in years. So don’t discount one or the other. Each has its place.

In closing- one guy plants a forest. It grows. In 30,50 whatever years he is dead. He ain’t planting trees. No one is there to protect the trees. A government could take the land as eminent domain, a large company could find a way to buy it wether he wants to sell or not (look up dole produce and others to see I’m not lying.) All that work could be destroyed in a blink- and unless YOU and lots of people like you are gonna go plant trees... it’s helpful but not going to end things. Hell- SHOULD A PERSON NEED TO PLANT BAZILLIONS OF TREES anyway? Or should governments be doing that, regulating that, creating a world where people don’t NEED to take it on themselves to keep us all alive?

If I ask you to remember climate change when you’re already at the polls voting anyway- you might cast your votes to support things that fight it. If I ask you to fly to the far off lands and start planting trees most people will pass. Know how I know? Whenever someone does it it is a big deal. If you were out planting trees it wouldn’t be so big would it?

Why do we need to compare heroes? They can all be heroes. But would you watch? Would you watch a channel that was a guy planting trees 24/7? How long would you read it? Would you click each day to see the new developments? “Today he planted 4 more. Today he planted 3 less...” You wouldn’t. But when someone speaks and advocates- there are developments you can follow. An investment beyond “wow! That’s cool.” And you late more likely able to do what Greta dis than you are to travel somewhere and plant trees no? If I ask you to clean my house you’ll probably my say no. If I ask you to please throw out a burger wrapper in the can next to you- you likely will. The net effect of asking more than you’ll do is nothing gets done versus at least something gets done if I ask for what you CAN do.

So think before you act. A bad deed ripples, even if done in the name of good. It doesn’t end in that parking lot. And someday someone will do something bad to you: and if you don’t want to have to just shrug and say “I deserve this...” if you ever think “why are people such dicks... what did I do?” Know that sometime in your life you’ve certainly done something that someone else thought was rude or cruel or wrong. That maybe it wasn’t and if they had the details they’d understand. But... did you get all the details before you did this? Are you sure? If not- well. It’s your life.

When your lap top gets stollen, you lose something and it isn’t returned, some kids smash your windows etc. what did you do to deserve it? What silent vigilante saw you do something that bothered them and decided they would be the deliverer of Karma unto you? And if you do shit like this- that guy is justified. You fucked with someone else and in doing became just as bad. Now someone else comes along and they pay it forward to you. A little karmic balance care of the universe or your fellow man if you prefer.