As we continue to evolve as a civilization, individuals do as well. With that comes a decrease in attention spans for humans, which in 2013 was less than that of a goldfish.

At just eight seconds, that is the average attention span according to a study done by Microsoft in partnership with Jampp back in 2013. So what is the deal? And why do we hate waiting?

A podcast called Wait Wait… Tell Me! by the 99% Invisible discuss just that. The problem of waiting falls back on the age where computers were new to the era. In 1981, Xerox came out with its latest, quickest, top of the line machine — an office computer called the Xerox Star (99% Invisible).

“Overwhelmingly, people felt that it was a slow machine… overwhelmingly, the sentiment was that it took forever. It took forever to load. It took forever to exchange files (99% Invisible).”

So what was the solution to calm people’s frustration? Well, it was loading icons! On the Star, the mouse cursor would turn into a static hourglass icon, while Macintoshes from the same time had a wristwatch icon. The problem with the watch icon was it gave you no sense of how long you would be waiting for. It could be seconds, minutes, hours, or might not even finish at all (99% Invisible).

No matter, these still did not help you understand how long you had to wait. Which induced the feeling of powerlessness of waiting for something you have no control over (99% Invisible). This lead to the next improvement, the loading bar.

This formed expectations within the user and suggested an educated complete time. But, it lied until the early 2000s. Now it was a loading bar that had nothing to do with how much work the computer had done. Instead, it was designed just to make the wait feel better. It would always start off slow, to set your expectations for a fairly long wait, and then speed up at the end, so that you end up feeling pleasantly surprised (99% Invisible).

In the early 2000s, that idea of trying to manipulate the users’ experience of time really took off, especially with big online retail companies whose profits depended on keeping customers on their website (99% Invisible). And now you see this done in everything.

Now this is what advertisers need to be educated on, how to manipulate the users’ experience. We don’t like waiting and our attention spans are decreasing annually, so how do we keep consumers active and attentive?

Transparency. Transparency among you, your product, business and the consumers is a trend that is evolving the way humans think and interact in our busy world. And here’s how to give it to them:

• Create a culture of honesty
• Make information easily accessible
• Respond quickly
• Be active
• Admit to mistakes and rectify them

And on top of it all, show consumers what you do when you’re doing it. Whether that is a Facebook live video, a window in between workers and consumers or inviting them in for a field trip type event.

This reduces the anger we develop when we’re having to wait. When you see what is actually going on your anxiety reduces and you are able to truly understand what is going on and why the need to wait is necessary.

I thank computer scientist who shifted the way humans think and react. Because of their mere advancements with loading icons and bars, we are now spearheading ingenuity. Giving companies the power to adapt transparency, better equip and understand how humans react to waiting.

Imagine if, what a great way to begin an editorial. This type of context gives the reader a sense of imagination, which helps place them exactly where the writer wants. Mark Mahoney does an exceptional job doing this in his editorial, Boards should be invited in, not locked out.

I actually just listened to a podcast covering transparency and how important it is! Mahoney is begging for that same transparency within school districts.

For some reason elected members of the school board are either banned from going into classrooms and observing the educational process in action, or they have to get specific permission from the employees’ union to do so.

These are the people who are responsible for how the multimillion-dollar budget is positioned, yet they can’t see for themselves what their budget is doing. Mahoney states that, “School board members, as elected representatives, and are the eyes and ears of the general public into the school system.”

He’s correct, considering their individual impact when deciding how to distribute the budget. The reason being, as to why they can’t is to not overwhelm their teachers. But, Mahoney believes people standing in the back of a classroom shouldn’t unnerve any competent teacher.

It’s stated that principals and superintendents regularly observe teachers so why can’t elected officials? A possibility for their reasoning maybe so those “anti-tax advocates on the school board, during one of these visits, get some ammunition to propose cuts or eliminate wasteful spending?”

But Mahoney says that’s exactly what they need. Bringing these types of issues up isn’t a bad things for taxpayers. Because school board members aren’t the only ones who have a stake in the operation of schools, parents do too.

Transparency shines a light into our schools and that should be the top priority, considering for example, general concern as to what they’re doing in gym class these days and wanting to observe.

Providing an educational day for those on the school board and parents to come in an observe their children would give parents and the board the transparency they need.

Another editorial I read was Keeping the school board zipped up, which follows the first reading flawlessly. The problem for keeping the board away from the school has to do with the board members speaking out of term.

Meaning, they tend to attract unwelcome media coverage and stir up rowdies crowds who disrupt meetings complaining about their tax bills. And the reason behind this is because school board members are elected government officials. They establish local policy for the education of your children and administer the largest portion of our property tax bill, which Mahoney says is more than 60 percent.

A great point of Mahoney’s is keeping the school board zipped is restricting their First Amendment rights. And furthermore there is not law prohibiting school board members from commenting on sensitive materials involving students and staff.

We need school board members who are willing to break the rules. In order to continue and evolve public education we must break the boundaries for our youth.

As Mahoney says, “board members don’t leave their First Amendment rights at the school board’s door. So this rule is completely unenforceable.”

I agree that this suppresses good school board members and it is not good for overall democracy of these elements within public education.

Unfortunately, this issue has been set aside since summer of last year. Researching and trying to find an up-to-date editorial regarding CBD regulations in Nebraska is nearly impossible. The latest video editorial was published by KETV out of Omaha in August of 2019.

Watch here.

Ariel Roblin explains the struggle of miscommunication among Nebraska legislature.

Although the federal government clearly stated that hemp and CBD oil is not considered a controlled substance if the THC level is below .3 threshold.

This is unfortunate considering our own Governor Pete Ricketts, stated that possession of CBD and prosecution may still depend on where you live in NE.

Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson agrees to disagree informing state law enforcement that CBD oil remains illegal under state law. But, when asked to comment on the current situation Peterson declined to comment.

Policy Claim:

This leaves Nebraskans without guidance to properly sell, purchase or consume CBD. The people just want to know what is legal. Roblin explains in her editorial that, “prosecutors, law enforcement, farmers and residences deserve these answers.“

Continually, Roblin ends the editorial with another statement of accusing our state representatives of “being unaware of the nuances of hemp, which is dangerous and a disservice.” And I couldn’t agree more.

Finally, in Roblins words “Nebraskans deserve better.”

The legislative bill LB 657 removed hemp and its products from the list of controlled substances in Nebraska to conform with federal laws but Lincoln Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister said it also placed regulations on CBD products (KETV).

The product has to come from a hemp plant, contain less than .3 percent THC, and there are strict manufacturing, testing and delivery requirements (KETV).

Cannabidiol derives from the hemp plant, which is in the same family as the marijuana plant, the difference being industrial hemp contains higher levels of CBD oil and extremely low levels of THC, the chemical that produces a high. Most products sold in NE contain roughly 0.3 percent THC often found in CBD oil (1011NOW).

Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson informed state law enforcement that CBD oil remains illegal under state law stating, “with the exception of Epidiolex oral solution, cannabidiol or any product containing cannabidiol, obtained by any means other than the authorized UNMC study, remains illegal to possess, manufacture, distribute, dispense, or possess with the intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense” (1011NOW).

What that means is no one but UNMC can obtain CBD oil in Nebraska.

Main Policy Claim:

Although, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2015 amends the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of “marihuana.” Defines “industrial hemp” to mean the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of such plant, whether growing or not, with a delta-nine tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis (Congress).

However, Sean Pickett, attorney for American Shaman, based in Kansas City, said levels below those exceptions are undefined. “Products underneath those levels are legal under the state of Nebraska,” Pickett said (1011NOW).

CBD contains many more cannabinoids and organic compounds such as terpenes. These other compounds are non-psychoactive, and they are helpful to the body (American Marijuana).

One of the biggest points of confusion regarding CBD oil is whether or not it is marijuana at all. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-401, marijuana is defined in a very broad manner — including virtually all parts of the cannabis plant (Criminal Defense NE).

However, the Nebraska statutes do not list CBD oil as a controlled substance. What does that mean? It means the question of whether or not CBD oil is actually legal in Nebraska depends, in large part, on what is actually in the specific CBD oil that you have (Criminal Defense NE).

To be clear, possession of hash oil is strictly illegal. But, hash oil has large amounts of THC. In contrast, CBD oil often does not have THC. Of course, for the average consumer, it can be difficult to know what exactly is in these largely unregulated products (Criminal Defense NE).

If you didn’t see it already trending on Twitter, then you are unaware that today February 20 would have been Kurt Cobain’s’ 53rd birthday.

To the man and band who showed me the heart of grunge, I write this with tears in my eye.

To the man who unrailed the music industry and helped underrepresented youth understand the hardships of life, we thank you. There is just something about the way Nirvana rolls off the tongue and sticks in our minds.

No matter your age, you have probably heard at least one song from Nirvana and it is probably Smells Like Teen Spirit. Released in 1991 as their lead single from their album Nevermind, would be Nirvana’s breakthrough moment shattering the entire music industry.

Their groundbreaking rif starts the song with exhilarating energy enticing anyone to bang their heads and jump up and down.

To the man who wrote, “here we are now, entertain us,” you showed the world who you were and in fact entertained them.

And now “I’ve been locked inside your heart-shaped box for” years. How could an artist who died before we were born be so influential? Since now I am “forever in debt to your priceless advice.”

Kurt Cobain has inspired millions to pick up a guitar and start jamming out, just as he did 30 years ago. The bands ability to establish an entirely new genre solely by creating music they were passionate about will continue to resonate with me for years to come.

The rise of the Seattle grunge movement was influenced heavily by known bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.

To the men who have continued to shape our conception of “good” music, we thank you. If it wasn’t for these influential 90s bands, we would be unaware of the power of Nirvana and how the iconic smiley was embedded in our brains.

Although the smiley is now 30 years old, if we were to survey individuals on their knowledge of the iconic smiley I would imagine more than half would have a recognition as to who it belonged to.

Thank you to the band who embedded the iconic Nirvana smiley into our brains. Thank you for singing what we were all too afraid to scream about. And thank you for leaving us with a legacy to cherish forever and ever.

We are forever in your debt Kurt and someday we’ll hear you perform live in another life.

Art has a way with words, but most who have won a Pulitzer prize can prove that. In his editorial Unveiling the hidden truth, Cullen describes the misfortune of inaccessibility to the release of public records from Buena Vista, Calhoun and Sac counties.

This would tell the public how the counties are financing their defense of a lawsuit filed by the Des Moines Water Works over nitrate pollution of the Raccoon River. Cullen describes how BuenaVista County Auditor Sue Lloyd is one of the most honest people they know, and how she has not yet seen a bill from either law firms who are fighting the bad war on the Clean Water Act.

All the people want is to know, “how much is the bill and who is paying it?”

Cullens does a phenomenal job describing four points as to how Buena Vista, Calhoun and Sac counties would tell us how the counties are financing their defense of a lawsuit filed by the Des Moines Water Works.

He states, “we did not elect the Farm Bureau or any other interest group to set our course.”

So why are they in charge?

Because they are paying the bill. Giving “whoever” financial control and overall power on this issue at this time. Those public officials involved should consult the law and their own political consciences and release the information for the people.

Cullen describes how Iowa law requires disclosure of this information. It is illegal to hide it as the supervisors are. And the real question is why?

Because this could be hazardous information once figured out. This includes lobbies who are more inclined to destroy their Earth and water supply rather than release this public information so that maybe an organization may fight to stop it.

Finally, Cullen states, “the public deserves to know all it can about how this defense is shaped since we believe the county, and its drainage districts, could be on the hook for more than $100 million in damages or, at least, could be subject to violations under the Clean Water Act.”

Water is life. I will never understand how billion dollar corporations can forget that concept. We are organisms who require water in order to live. Remember that and never forget, no matter how many dollar-signs appear.

Factual Claim – Since Nebraska Medicine and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) took care of the treatment of three patients with Ebola in 2014, they have driven the world in treatment, preparing and isolate techniques for exceptionally irresistible viruses (Nebraska Medicine).

Value Claim -There is no better spot for our kindred Americans to be, according to Nebraska Medicine. Although, specialists are concerned in light of the fact that they don’t have total data on how the coronavirus virus acts and the full range of ailments (Nebraska Medicine).

Benefit Claim – UNMC is spearheading their medical advancements, evolving at a rapid speed. Because of their movement in urging to bring Americans back home shows Nebraska hospitality. Nebraska is the home of helping your neighbor and the Nebraska National Guard and Nebraska Medicine/UNMC represented that when they stepped up to provide for their fellow Americans (Nebraska Medicine).

In any home, some cleaning-related tasks sparkle fear in certain individuals from the family, while others don’t worry about them. For instance, one individual may despise exhausting activities such as picking up their trash, or putting objects back where they belong. But for others it is dire to follow those guidelines and create a clean habitat for themselves.

What if you live a life of clutter? Allowing the never ending cycle of trash to encompass your living environment. Nevertheless, it is important to keep a clean house and here’s why.

Kipple is useless objects, like junk mail or match folders after you use the last match or gum wrappers of yesterday’s homeopape. When nobody’s around, kipple reproduces itself. For instance, if you go to bed leaving any kipple around your apartment, when you wake up the next morning there’s twice as much of it. It always gets more and more. – Phillip K. Dick

(Smart Vacuums)

Instituted by the sci-fi creator Phillip K. Dick, the expression “kipple” alludes to the stuff that is gathering dust in your home, all the assets you have however may never utilize again. We are for the most part blameworthy of it somewhat on the grounds that it is a natural characteristic.

We have been wired to keep things that are valuable or satisfying to us, and have accomplished this for a number of years – even as far back as ancient times.

Mess and chaos influence every one of us, in spite of the fact that studies have demonstrated that men are normally less pestered by it than women. So how does a chaotic house influence us? Is the deep rooted expression “tidy home, tidy mind” one to live by?

The thing is, a perfect and sorted out home can really prompt improved psychological wellness and a superior outlook. According to Smart Vacuums’ blog covering “Clean House Clean Mind,” there is a six part system that helps you understand and put into place these simple characteristics.

The condition of our homes doesn’t simply affect our psyches and psychological well-being; it likewise influences us in a physical sense. Our whole bodies are made of up exceptionally sorted out structures, therefore, association and neatness are established inside our hereditary codes. Additionally, chaos and messiness can affect our general well being and prosperity, something this area sets aside the effort to take attention to detail (Smart Vacuums).

Messes really prevents us from resting just as we could be, and this is on the grounds that the brain considers it to be incomplete work, assignments that should be finished. Because of the anxiety that it can cause your psyche, your nature of rest is diminished.

According to the National Sleep Foundation in 2011, 75% of those met found that they encountered better rest when their zone was clean, and well-refreshed personality prompts you feeling more joyful, roused, and progressively profitable generally speaking (Smart Vacuums).

A chaotic room or home can be an indication that you are experiencing depression, just as a side effect. Simply getting up each morning is hard enough, let alone cleaning. A lack of focus is regular with regards to cleaning, and the way that the messiness and chaos remains can lead you to feel much more dreadful about yourself and the circumstance (Smart Vacuums).

Tidiness is a sense of pride, and in the event that you keep your home clean, you are giving yourself justification, despite all the trouble. Completing it won’t generally be simple, however the outcomes will leave you feeling increasingly better in regards to self-esteem, and furthermore give you an understanding of deserving and living in a pleasant environment.

After some time, and as you keep on keeping your home clean, you will see an improvement in your disposition and viewpoint and begin to feel somewhat more joyful inside. This is on the grounds that you have clear and commendable environment.

Since Nebraska Medicine and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) took care of the treatment of three patients with Ebola in 2014, they have driven the world in treatment, preparing and isolating techniques for unexpectedly irreversible viruses (Nebraska Medicine).

UNMC is spearheading their medical advancements, evolving at a rapid speed. Because of their movement in urging to bring Americans back home shows Nebraska hospitality. Nebraska is the home of helping your neighbor and the Nebraska National Guard and Nebraska Medicine/UNMC represented that when they stepped up to provide for their fellow Americans.

Nebraska Medicine/UNMC have addressed the worldwide illnesses previously. Over recent years, they have been training other experts around the globe, growing new ways to deal with care, leading examination, and unveiling what we would never realized (Nebraska Medicine).

Nebraska Medicine/UNMC hosted a press conference featuring the CDC, Nebraska National Guard, Nebraska Medicine/UNMC infectious diseases specialists and other federal, state and local officials to talk about the effort of bringing rescued Americans to Nebraska because of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak (Nebraska Medicine Facebook).

There is no better spot for our kindred Americans to be, according to Nebraska Medicine. Although, specialists are concerned in light of the fact that they don’t have total data on how the coronavirus virus acts and the full range of ailments. According to the Nebraska Medicine, this data will become more clear after some time as researchers explore further.

So what is the risk to Nebraskans?

Presently, UNMC gauges the coronavirus virus to be generally safe to individuals living in Nebraska right now. They don’t know about any dynamic cases in Nebraska or of continued human-to-human transmissions in the United States (Nebraska Medicine).

Nebraska Medicine Health Centers, Immediate Care Clinics, crisis rooms, and the UNL and UNO grounds health facilities are screening patients for coronavirus virus to expeditiously recognize and assess any speculated cases. (Nebraska Medicine).

Nebraska Medicine has planned and prepared for an event such as an outbreak. By reviewing their organizational pandemic plan and addressed preparedness issues, they can determine how much supplies and space will be needed if an outbreak occurs in Nebraska (Nebraska Medicine).

UNMC has addressed worldwide illnesses previously. Over the most recent five years, they have trained other human service experts around the globe, growing new ways to deal with care and leading in examination.

There is evidence of the need and promise of a massive $2.6 billion NExT Project. NExT would consists of training health care professionals and other responders nationwide for large-scale emergencies. Most importantly, playing a lead role in the direct response to world-wide emerging viral crisises.

“This is taking on a global challenge,” said Bryan Slone, CEO of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “This facility makes Omaha and Nebraska a health care center of the world (Omaha World Herald).”

Furthermore UMCS is part of a worldwide reaction to this possible pandemic. UNMC will help screen these Americans securely and successfully. There is no better spot for them to be. This quarantine will ideally be a short and remain in our general vicinity before these Americans can return home.

Philip J. Fry is a twenty-five-year-old pizza delivery boy who accidentally freezes himself on December 31, 1999. When he wakes up one thousand years in the future he goes to work for the Planet Express Corporation, a futuristic delivery service that transports packages to all of the universe. His companions include the delivery ship’s Captain, Leela, a one-eyed female alien who kicks serious ass, and Bender, a robot with human tendencies.

In one of the episode of Futurama, the world is expecting a huge trash asteroid from the year 1999 to return from space and destroy Earth. No one can figure out how to destroy the asteroid, but Fry does. He wants to fight trash with trash, unfortunately the year 3000 everything is recycled and biodegradable, therefore there is no more trash on Earth!

Fry explains how easy it is to create trash and encourages New New York, yes New New York to liter and form another trash asteroid. They call it New New York, because the original New York is now the the sewer system where mutans live.

I would love to hope that in year 3000 we are sustaining the human population in a way that benefits our world. It truly gave me hope when watching this episode of the possibility of a recyclable and biodegradable solution to our ever growing one plastic use problem. On top of endless amounts of other problems concerning how we use and treat our Earth.

I wish I knew what it would be like to live in 3000 and watch Futurama. This show is a time capsule for how 1,000 years earlier we depicted our future. It is a great comedy and cartoon that shows us the possibilities of the future and I hope if you haven’t watched it before, you find time to do so.