Shift Happens (and it boggles my mind)

Below is a YouTube video, 'Shift Happens'. I urge everyone to take a few moments and watch this. Take this information in, to really understand the speed of planetary change we are living with, and how much faster the changes will be coming in the near future. The original video was created by Karl Fisch, and this updated version was modified by Scott McLeod. Visit Karl Fisch's site for more on the background of the original video. To join in the conversation about all this, please go HERE:




And here is another version, with cooler graphics, that was put out after I originally posted this- you click your way through it at your own pace:




I am boggled by this information. What does it mean for a human living on planet Earth?? Well, to some extent that depends WHERE that human is living, although that seems to be less and less important, as humans EVERYWHERE start getting connected. And to a much larger extent, it depends on WHEN that human is living. We are seeing the first stages of this global transformation... what will our children and grandchildren live to see, and how will those changes effect the quality of their lives???

In a related matter, I took a 'speed test', to compare my internet connection speeds to other areas. The results were disappointing. My download speeds were 2,090 kilobytes per second. The US average download speed is a measly 1,280 kbps. Compare that to average download speeds in Japan, a whopping 51,200 kbps. Wow! Results for the upload times do not show as large a difference: Mine = 599 kbps, average US = 230 kbps, and Japan = 1,275 kbps. Why are Japan's citizens provided with connection speeds SO much faster than in the US and elsewhere? What speeds are YOU connecting with? Take the quick test for yourself, by going HERE.

I tested my speeds again August 20, 2007, four times within a period of about ten minutes, and got these varying results results: