The Swiss Army Asset

A theory that's gained traction in recent decades is that of the diversified holding of assets. In a purely financial sense, even a balanced portfolio (perhaps including a variety of stocks and bonds) becomes more of a liability. As such, any would be investors or clients may start holding non-conventional assets, such as precious metals and even crypto-currencies. While crypto-currencies may be volatile and metal prices rigged, there is more than simply the financial gain in some cases.

In an unstable economy, the assets which sell are those that can be used to cut costs and allow people to become further self sufficient, or at least find alternative economies. It also brings to mind Gibson's concept that "The street finds its own uses for things." While the price of an individual Bitcoin can vary, the greatest asset for it may in fact be as a transfer system as opposed to a new currency.

Despite a few valiant attempts, the political machinery has largely become an incoherent mess. Can it be repaired, will something better arise, will it fail horribly, or perhaps all three? These answers are sure to be interesting as the robots advance. Perhaps the greatest asset in an unstable economy is a machine that allows one to produce almost all of what they'd need or want at once, including another such machine.

Supervillain Style

Sometimes, supervillains need more style than just financial lawsuits. In the meantime, new materials open possibilities for everything from machinery to buildings to clothes to medicine. Perhaps more importantly, they can be 3D printed.

Otherwise, there's tricks more like cartoon and comic book villains. We're also seeing the beginning of automating security. I wonder what happens when police and soldiers who once enforced the law find themselves employed?

End of the Show

While news worldwide is constantly depressing, careers in supervillainy are poised to rise. For as systems fail, there will always be those who benefit from the chaos. From politicians advocating martial law to terrorists to criminal masterminds, there's always those who seek power. The problem is, in their rush to control the world, they may have destroyed that which they sought to preserve.

Positive Disruption

What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.
Read more at http://quotes.dictionary.com/What_is_done_out_of_love_always_takes#sYyik86eErBgMeYV.99

 "What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil." -Friedrich Nietzsche

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Sometimes, systems can be disrupted or exploited in ways that may not be apparent at first, but may actually be refinements of its original purposes. Manipulating data mining algorithms may increase traffic to certain sites, or spread news stories that help/hinder business interests and advertising. Other times, a new technology or paradigm may threaten an old and corrupt order. Or perhaps simplest of all, it can be used to find love. Consider this a preemptive Valentine's Day post.

Gates of Tomorrow, Problems of Yesterday

"Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule." -Friedrich Nietzsche

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Sometimes, stupidity is a non-survival trait. From Darwin Awards to idiotic politicians to would be neofeudal overlords, stupidity and incompetence seem to rule the roost. This is not due to the individuals necessarily being stupid, not at all. There are very good professionals and clever people employed by governments, universities, and corporations. The problem is, the institutions they work for either ignore, misinterpret, or perform the wrong responses.

For example, climate change is reported to pose a grave threat to human civilization. The "brilliant" response? Send intelligence agencies and cops after environmental protestors, despite the fact it would make more long term strategic, economic, and political sense to encourage a shift to relocalized food, utility, and power sources. Now, such a movement would cost money, but given the titanic costs of maintaining a failing infrastructure, tax loopholes for fossil fuel exploitation, and accounting tricks to rig the stock market, it pails in comparison. Politicians expertly cater themselves to short term interests at almost a  complete and total ignorance of the long term.

This may be the tragic result of human awareness, which focuses mainly on immediate gratification. As the Boomer generation used to living beyond its means shuffles off this mortal coil, they're leaving a political, legal, economic, and environmental trainwreck behind them.

Each generation likes blaming their own youth for their own problems, but also uses every dirty trick to maintain their dominance. If immortality were made practical and cheap for the masses, one wonders if a gerontocracy run by Boomers would be a fusion of 1984's surveillance state and Brave New World's mindless hedonism. Tomorrow's problems have their roots today, all because of lacking the urge to be a good ancestor.*

*=Not necessarily an ancestor in the sense of having a family, but being an ancestor in the sense of leaving a positive contribution to the world for the future.

Crowdfunding Utilities

As existing utility companies and monopolies try to offer higher prices for worse service, there is the possibility of nonprofit organizations raising money through crowdfunding. Traditionally, taxation served this role, but due to privatization and abuse of eminent domain, today's utilities are tomorrow's failing infrastructure. (This is not solely an American issue, as Europe, the UK, and other nations are largely following the same pattern.)

As the cost of local wireless and utilities continues to drop, and existing infrastructure becomes difficult to maintain, the demand will rise for local alternatives. Crowdfunding may not raise the money that taxation does, but even larger companies may find advantage in making donations (as well as the modern equivalent of charities and philanthropy). Now, an impressive task would be to crowdfund the principle needed for a minimum income program. Of course minor updates would be needed to keep up with population growth and inflation/deflation, but overall, some things may be better in the hands of nonprofits.

Merry Christmas from Supervillainy

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Finance and geopolitics offer plenty of supervillainy potential this year. It'll be a wild ride.