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RICHARD'S THOUGHTS (a work in progress):

"These should be called "Richard's Rants". I hear each of these recited at least once a week." -- Katie Ballantyne

Electric Bikes - Why you should use one of these for your commute
Encryption - Why you should use strong (at least 256-bit AES) encryption for all your data and digital communications. How to make encryption unbreakable even when people have physical access to your machine. Why encryption is a powerful double-edged sword that can enables people to organize and rise up against oppressive regimes.
Nuclear Power - Why we needed more of it 20 years ago, why we need it even more today, and why we shouldn't need it in the long term.
Algae & Airplanes - Why airplanes should use fuel made from algae.
Patent system - We should eliminate not just software patents and patents on life saving technologies (like pharmeceutical drugs and medical device technologies), but all patents. Here is an excellent software patent wiki. Businesses don't need patents since it is still possible to turn a profit (much smaller profit though due to competition on a leveled corporate playing field) manufacturing and selling products that aren't covered by patents. One example of this is your local bakery. Does your local bakery patent their recipes? I doubt it. No, the economy won't collapse without patents. Too often, the people who get rich off patents are the people who did not make the invention. They are the people who least deserve your money and who keep the costs of goods artificially high. These people are "intellectual property" LAWYERS, CEOs, BOD members, and senior management. Patent litigation takes money away from producers (companies and individuals that actually make things) and gives it to non-producers (lawyers). Eliminate the patent system, and all the "IP" lawyers will have to get new jobs, hopefully doing something that actually improves this world. Eliminating patents will also reward scientists and engineers who develop technologies to manufacture goods at lower cost and who develop technologies to keep trade secrets, secret.
Copyright - Why and how this should get revamped. Here is a good video on this topic.
Out with the old - A list of philosophies, ideas, and traditions that just have to go! Just because a large group of people does something doesn't mean you should do it too. It amazes me how many adults actually determine the permissibility of a particular action based on the number of individuals who perform that action.
Free Software - Free software (free as in speech) is very good since it empowers the user with freedom rather than restricting the user. The GPL is a type of free software license that effectively increases the quality of software because it preserves the following four essential freedoms for the users:
1. The freedom to run the software as you wish.
2. The freedom to study and change the source code as you wish.
3. The freedom to help your neighbor by distributing exact copies of the software.
4. The freedom to contribute to your community (possibly making the world a better place) by distributing your modified version(s) of the software. The source code must be made available to the user for this freedom to exist.
Free software reduces waste in software development efforts by allowing developers to reuse other free software routines and algorithms in their code. This can eliminate the need to reinvent the wheel and vastly reduce the cost of developing software. Publicly funded institutions (like the government or government funded) should all be required to use and create only free software, and not proprietary software. As voters, we must demand this of our elected officials. The software which drives voting machines and health care systems (if Obama's public option gets approved) should all be free software.

Software patents, on the other hand, create waste in society by forcing developers to spend time and effort researching patented "wheels" and then reinventing slightly different "wheels" (such as one with 10000 sides, rather than a perfectly circular one that might already be patented) in order to create software that does not infringe upong some mega corporation's "intellectual property". Patents cause huge sums of money to get taken from corporations and individuals which then go directly into the hands of lawyers who are like parasites -- they leech from society and often give nothing of value back. If they do give something valuable back to society, it usually ends up costing more money than it is worth. That is why the best course of action in the software development world is to eliminate the need for lawyers by imposing a ban on all software patents. If I as a developer use my own brain power to create an independent software invention, then why on earth should I not be entitled to use and distribute my invention in any way I choose? If some other person somewhere on the planet independantly create the same software invention I made, then he too should be entitled to use it in any way he pleases. The reality is that this happens all the time in software development because...

Software is a special product with characteristics that tangeable products do not have. In order to create software, all you need is a computer (which you can get at no cost at your local recycling center if they allow scavenging) and an operating system (which you can also get at no cost if you run GNU/Linux). If you can read, and know how to operate a web browser, then you can also teach yourself how to develop software. Math skills are also necessary, but learning math by developing software makes math really very fun. Unlike other industries, where millions of dollars need to be invested in order to build a factory to mass produce a particular good, the only materials (computer, operating system, compiler, and connection to the Internet) needed to manufacture and mass-distribute software can all be obtained without any monetary cost. A single individual can easily mass-distribute his software using a free Internet connection (obtained in places like restaurants or public libraries) and free distribution software like bittorrent.

It is not fair to prevent an inventor from using his invention or giving it away for free so the world can benefit. If you're a skilled developer, you can prove it by releasing your code under the GPL. That way other people can see and possibly benefit from and improve upon your work. If you're a developer who writes poor quality code, or code that restricts or spies on the user, then probably no one will use or trust your code (except other developers who do not recognize the problems with your code).

Web based software - Why companies like Google create it, and how it threatens to break Microsoft's grasp on desktop computers that run Windows.
Lawyers - Why we just don't need most of them, and policy changes that will make many lawyers redundant.
Judges - Why judges should never be allowed to legislate on any issue they do not and never will understand. Many issues can only be understood fully by engineers and scientists, and most judges are not also scientists or engineers.
PHBs - These guys just have to go. How to minimize the need for middle management in your company. Why the blind should not be permitted to lead those who can see.
Environment - How to change your lifestyle (and still live comfortably) so that it really is environmentally friendly. A top down analysis of the things you do that pollute mother earth the most.
Walkable Communities - Why city planners should consider these. I lived in Cape Verde, Africa for 9 months. There were only about 20 cars on the entire island of 30000 people. I didn't see anyone who was obese, and I saw almost every resident of the island. People got around using their two feet, not using cars or bikes.

Health care - Reasons why it is too expensive

Our democracy is unwell. Politicians are still able to accept bribes from mega-corporations like pharmeceutical companies. There is no system in place that tracks all money/gifts/favors going to politicians. Such a system is necessary to prevent under-the-table bribery transactions.
Pharmeceutical companies have no incentive for developing cures or preventative medicines to diseases. They only have an incentive to make more money, and that means more treatments, fewer cures.
The food industry is a powerful lobby that prevents laws from being enacted to encourage people to eat healthier foods. Example: The use of large quantities of high fructose corn syrup, unhealthy oils (hydrogenated oil for example), and preservatives should be restricted. Bottom line: crappy diet -> crappy health -> higher healthcare costs.
People are exercizing less, so they're getting fatter.
Malpractice lawyers and ambulance chasers are parasites on the healthcare industry.
Patents on drugs and medical devices keep costs high, and prevent people from getting healthcare. These patents kill people. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something.
Doctors must cover-their-asses by practicing defensive medicine in order to stay employed. Defensive medicine is practiced because of lawyers.
There are too many expensive humans working in healthcare that should be replaced with machines.
People with genetic defects that cause or increase susceptibility to diseases are surviving and passing on: 1) Their genes to their offspring 2) Their healthcare bill to everyone who pays into the healthcare system
Some people choose to abuse harmful substances like tobacco and alchohol.
People who are unqualified or impared are still permitted in some cases to operate automobiles, boats, motorcycles, planes, trains, trucks, or other machines that create and release (in a destructive fashion) large quantities of potential energy. This includes people like the President of the United States who controls who gets blown to bits and who doesn't. Think how much money is spent to provide healthcare for people wounded in wars. If the war wasn't necessary, then much, if not all, of that money and suffering is spent in vain.

Health Care - Ways to reduce costs

Create computer systems for tracking all money and gifts that go to/from any elected official.
Do something to stop the lobbying and bribery in Washington.
Create clever incentives for people and companies to develop cures and preventative medicines for diseases like diabetes. Health insurance companies I would think would have an incentive to find cures for costly diseases, since a cure would lower the number of claims they receive.
Create incentives for people to eat healthier foods. Example: Tax junk food, and use the money to subsidize fresh fruits and vegetables.
Create incentives for people to exercize more. Create walkable communities not superhighways. Promote (subsidize) the use of electric bikes instead of cars. The more people who cycle the more complains people will have about poor air quality. When I lived in a walkable community in Africa, we had fresh food every day because we walked (exercized) to the market every day to get what we would eat for that day. The food had no preservatives and was delicious. We got to see people and talk with people, rather than being alone inside a vehicle. Walkable communities are a great way for people to make and spend time with friends.
Impose caps on malpractice lawsuits. The money you spend on healthcare should not go to lawyers or to pay the malpractice insurance bill for doctors!
Abolish all existing patents on drugs and medical devices. This will bring the cost of drugs way down to reasonable levels like they are in some other countries.
Stop forcing doctors to practice Defensive Medicine. Imposing caps on malpractice lawsuits will help to achieve this.
Fund development of machines that can do the task of humans. Why do we still have pharmacists? Can't machines count pills, fill bottles, and dispense medications better, faster, and at lower cost than humans? Why do we need optomotrists to measure eyeglass prescriptions? That can ALL be done better and at lower cost with a machine.
This is a very controversial long term Gattaca solution, but I support it. I believe we need to fund research into reducing the cost of sequencing DNA. A person should be able to get his or her DNA fully sequenced for under $1000. Then we need to fund research to identify and study genetic disorders that are very costly to treat. The good thing about modern medicine is that it permits more and more people who would normally die to live. The bad thing is that those people then pass on their genetic defects to their offspring. This is one reason why the cost of healthcare is increasing at a rate faster than the rate of population growth. We need to create incentives for people with genetic disorders to reproduce in such a way that they do not pass on their genetic defects to their offspring. This could include invitro fertilization, gene therapy, adoption, or even contraception in some cases.
Increase sin taxes on products that are harmful to people's health. Then use the money raised to pay for the healthcare of the people who abuse those harmful substances. Make the price of tobacco and alchohol specific to each person. We can do that easily in this day an age -- its called a database. If the cost of a harmful substance were set based on the amount of substance a particular individual consumes, then people who don't abuse those substances won't be penalized, and people who do abuse them will have a financial incentive to reduce their consumption. Another benefit to this system is that people who use those substances will have a financial incentive to NOT buy them for other people, because by buying them for others, they raise their own price for harmful substances. This has the added benefit of curbing underage drinking. People already have to show their ID to buy alchohol, so why not just swipe it through a card reader to lookup their identity, their individual harmful substance consumption rate, and their individual "sin tax" rate?
Put devices and sensors in automobiles to track whether or not the drivers have committed a moving violation. This will force people to slow down and/or stop driving when required (like a stop sign, if they're intoxicated, too sleepy, etc). The technology to use this exists, but people (myself included) are still against implementing it because we cannot trust our government to do it in a way that protects our privacy.
Make the cost of a moving violation ticket be proportional to the violator's income, or proportional to the blue-book value of their car, whichever one of those is higher. Traffic tickets are like a regressive tax on the poor. Everyone (both rich and poor) should feel the same amount of emotional pain when receiving a traffic ticket.
Require elderly people (or people with health problems that could interfere with driving), to periodically take driver competancy exams. These exams should be required more frequently the older people get. If an exam is failed, then the drivers should have restrictions put on his license or it should be revoked. If a drivers license is revoked due to old age or health problems, then the person should be permitted to use public transport for free.
Deploy technologies to better catch, punish, and/or rehabilitate criminals who commit violent crimes that put people in hospitals. Do the same for criminals who steal (or borrow and don't repay) money from people who could have used that money to pay for their health care. Some people who effectively steal money from people are only going to civil not criminal court, and are not punished for their crimes at all.
Create incentives to discourage people from engaging in dangeous recreational activities like motorcycle riding, skydiving, hang gliding, mountain climbing, bungee jumping, deep diving -- you know, all those activities that are listed in your life insurance policy that make you ineligable for getting a life insurance payout. Example incentive: If you engage in dangerous recrational activity X and get seriously injured, you'll have to foot the bill for 75% of your healthcare costs, and the insurance company would only have to pay 25%.

Doctors - Why many healthcare professionals should be replaced with SQL databases, robots, imaging systems, sensors, and smart software. However, AFIK there is still no machine substitute for the TLC that so far only a real human can provide.

Obsolete Professions - List of professions that should be replaced with software.

Corruption - How corruption in government and business can be greatly reduced with computer systems that enforce accountability and provide traceability and visibility.

Cash - The benefits and drawbacks. Why we still need this in the digital age.

Declare it upon the housetops - How the Internet makes it difficult for all people to hide their works of evil. Why no libel lawsuit should be allowed to go to court. The truth is never libelous.

Things you should have learned in kindergarden - These are obvious to some, but not obvious to all.

Uncommon sense - If you don't know what this is, you probably don't have it. But that is OK -- you might acquire it someday. You'll know it when you have it. There are exceptions though, like some children who have it and don't recognize it as such. Some children are more intelligent than many adults.

My email address is: richardballantyne [at] gmail.com