Update: Flight 370 most likely hijacked

Pointlessness

It shows the pointlessness of following certain news. There is actually almost nothing at all to gain from following MH370, except to understand the problems/limitations of the systems we depend on and live in.
As a common man on the street, you are the last to know. Now, if you were the head of the Malaysian Air Force or better yet, the USAF, you would be far more likely to know the truth.

Conspiracies

Actual conspiracy theories exist solely to "explain" what we may never know, but would really love to know.
JFK? The damning evidence is probably missing, the people who really know are fast taking the answers to their graves and as Galadriel says "History became legend. Legend became myth. And for two and a half thousand years, the ring passed out of all knowledge."
The story of MH370 will probably live on like those Bermuda Triangle stories we've all heard as children. You know what I got from that? There is mystery and wonder in the world waiting to be found. This is one of the coolest things a child could learn.

The Anti-Conspiracy Crowd

Some people hate conspiracies with a passion. They accept everything they hear, and like calling anyone who speaks of such things as conspiracy theorists.

Isn't it obvious what's wrong here? It's a label with negative connotations. If one falls for this, they will not even try to understand the competing theories, because then you would be a 'conspiracy theorist'.

Of course, others use the label 'establishment shill' to the same effect.

So how do you tease the truth out of the mess?

Pooled Forecasting

Have discussions with different, opposing viewpoints, while everyone is on the same page, moving in the same direction, trusting each other.

Does it really matter?

To the rational mind, it's like asking "Did Snowden really tell us something we couldn't have guessed, reasoned, saw on the internet/books/media?" Not really.
Did we know we should use open-source software, encrypt everything we want to keep secret and keep an air gap for anything that cannot afford to get hacked? Of course we did.

The emotional part needed the shocker. We all know somewhere, how much we don't, cannot know about this world. We just needed an example.

Remembrance

Some people have this need to be followed by others. It's scary for them to just be whisked off suddenly. Hence, they have a need to be found.

Ironically, they are probably going to be remembered for much longer for this.

Flight 370: A Comment

This story has such an impact on people, because we have become
domesticated through technology. We believe that technology can do
absolutely everything, and nothing can go off-the-grid. We rely on
technology to be perfectly functioning. This is what most people have
become accustomed to.

Tech is getting better faster all the time. But
somewhere in the middle, while in front of our screens, with all our
apps and webpages, some have forgotten what human spirit brought art
and technology into existence - it is the spirit of hard work, in
pursuit of happiness, meaning and hence, freedom.

But art and technology can lead to lock-in. When people are locked in
and don't see other choices,
there is a tendency to "Stockholm Syndrome". When some feel that they
are trapped long enough (for good or bad), they will grow within the
system and begin to love it. When something happens which crashes into
this worldview, it is as if one has been shocked out of a beautiful
dream. Like when a person is furiously playing an app game and the app
suddenly crashes - that person will quickly give your app a rating of
1 out of 5. Or if you are happily making money off the stock market
bubble and it crashes overnight. This is chaos.

What I'm trying to say is that we have to accept these things, in the
same spirit as they were made. Realize that nothing is perfect,
Murphy's Law is right, though we are always improving. Only then can
we start thinking rationally - if I let myself throw tantrums
everytime my apps crash or a bug is spotted, I would become frustrated
and get nothing done.

Now, assuming this is a socio-psychological experiment...

This whole incident serves two purposes. For those of us who are not 

political-socio-economic powers, it is a wake-up call - there is a reality beyond
the digital world, beyond the screens. We must find the human spirit
to make art, tech and all the other human achievements work for us.
The technocratic overlords work for us, not the other way around.

For the political powers-that-be, it has been a valuable test
result. On one hand, people become scared and feel helpless when
nothing turns up. They need an international force 40 ships from at
least 12 governments to seal the rift in their reality, that big
government and tech may fail. And God forbid, if it were a hijacking,
people may find themselves supporting more intrusive surveillance,
security.

On the other hand, there are many interesting/plausible "theories"
being considered. The inability for the many governments to address
the issue properly is making people impatient. We also find it difficult
to believe that all the military radars and equipment cannot track a single
airliner. For the first time, people are openly doubting if they are being told
the truth. To the backdrop of Wikileaks, NSA revelations, TSA violations and
mistrust, it's only appropriate that we hit this nail with the same hammer.

Besides the theories, suppose someone/something was able to take a
plane off the grid - that would be a great concern to a controlling elite.

Anyway, it's not impossible that a plane could disappear entirely and never be
found in a lifetime, at least for most people. Why not? The world is
an enormous place.

Me, well, I always thought it was a hijacking. 

At the moment of writing, I think we're just not sure if they succeeded 

or not.

Whatever the story is, the whole incident is an exercise in humility -
we can't know everything. 

Flight 370 has shown us how big the world really is.

In Soviet Amerika...

In America, you sue criminals.
In Fascist Amerika, criminals sue you!

In America, you own information.
In Amerika, information owns you!

In America, you share facebook.
In NSA Amerika, facebook shares you!

In America, you google Google.
In NSA Amerika, Google googles you!

Improv Cookie Recipe

Makes 20-30 Spoonful Cookies

Approximate Recipe

3 Large Eggs (About 3-4 small ones.)
1 1/2 Cup Wholemeal Flour
1 Cup Whole Oatmeal
1 Cup Instant Oatmeal
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Butter
3 Carrots
2 Stalk Celery 
1 1/2 Cup "Ensure" Milk Powder
1/2 Milk
1 Cup Cashew Nuts

Making the Dough

Sift the powders
Adding 1/2 Cup Milk, blend Celery &Carrots
Mix everything in a bowl
Stir well
To check for correct consistency, 
If mixture has not become dough, continue to add instant oatmeal.

Baking 

The goal of baking was to cook the ingredients and dry out the cookie. (Vegetables retain water content and olive oil makes cookie wet)

130 Deg Celcius for 14 minutes. I tried to use as low a temperature as possible so as to minimize the changes in taste that occur when olive oil is heated.

100 Deg Celcius for 3 minutes. Cool Down in oven. This is so that the cookies do not become soft by cooling too quickly.

 

Next Steps

Nutritionally Complete Cookies!