Life On A B-I7

Day #309

Temperance, or as I like to think of it, living smartly, involves many personal commitments. Chief among them is moderation in the consumption of alcohol. One drink before dinner and one drink after dinner is my limit. I can be convinced to break this rule (I’m weak) but when I do it makes me angry with myself. When people around me break this rule, it makes me sad. To sum this up simply, if you are drinking for effect and not for taste, you are drinking for the wrong reason.

Day #308

Joe Biden’s policies and accomplishments have succeeded spectacularly. His downfall is his utter inability to educate the American voting public about those successes and thereby gain their support. Stepping in to that void is a man with the innate ability to rally the disaffected. This is the precursor to a collapse that will lead to the rich getting richer and the disaffected seeing their opportunities shrink even further.

Day #307

As Alexis de Tocqueville noted 150 years ago, it is relative deprivation, not absolute deprivation, that is the initiator of revolt.

Disaffection is the direct result of deprivation. Once disaffected, it is easy to convince someone that “others” are to blame. That is the final step to controlling over the disaffected.

Day #306

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday. I love you. Thank you for being a part of my life. I once got a ride from an Uber driver, and when I told him what a wonderful family I had, he told me he wanted to join my family. You are a big part of that.

Day #305

“The thing is not to try harder, but to resist less.” This quote is attributed to a Priest somewhere, not sure where, but I like it.

To try harder can lead to pushing on a string, to resist less allows the universe to unfold on your behalf.

Day #304

I went to a 4th of July Parade in Central Oregon. It was a small town. The “Queen” of the Parade was female, which I’m sure is just the way the town prefers it.

Day #303

I’m going to do the Democratic Party a solid; I’m going to call around and find a space at an assisted living/memory care facility so that President Biden has somewhere to go after January 20, 2025.

I’m also looking for a facility that can take him right away if he decides to bow out of the race.

Day #302

I’m sitting in my favorite brew pub watching Top Gun Maverick and the Kansas City Cleveland game. I can’t bring myself to watch the clown show called the presidential debate.

Day #301

Nobody writes HOA Meeting Minutes as well as I do. Of course, that’s not saying very much… Nobody reads HOA minutes and nobody in this bar cares about my note taking skills.

Day #300

I’m not sure I understand what’s going on with the Mariners’ scouting staff. I’m a liberal (which means I’m a liar and I suck… more on that to come) but I don’t get it. Why do the players look like thugs? Maybe they would play better if they put a bit more effort into their game and a bit less effort into looking cool.

If you don’t have the skill to kick ass, don’t compensate by trying to look like someone that can.

Day #299

I went into a bar in a less desirable part of Seattle (the “Five Star Dive Bar”) and the bartender told me, “you don’t look like a runner.” I suppose that’s a compliment… I told her it’s not likely I’d be running anywhere anyway. She laughed and said neither would she, something about bad knees. I’m fortunate, my knees only prevent me from running at the end of the ski season. I didn’t get into that with her. I didn’t mention that my goal for ‘24/‘25 is one million vertical. I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t know what I was talking about…

Day #298

Donald Trump wants his MAMA.

He wants to “Make America Mine Again.”

Day #297

There is a segment of society that hates Barack 0’Bama. Why? Because he was a black man that had the temerity to celebrate the lives of great black Americans, like Willie Mays.

Why should that celebration matter? A great American is a great American. Do we want to live in a society where only white people have the authority to decide who is great and who should be recognized for greatness?

Day #296

Today is E. B. White’s birthday. It’s time to read Charlotte’s Web again…

…The story is about a little pig, the runt of the litter, that is saved at birth by the love a young girl Fern. She gives him the name Wilbur. He grows up to be strong and healthy but when it is time to procure a Christmas Ham, it becomes clear that Wilbur’s days are numbered. Charlotte the spider saves Wilbur by making him a celebrity with her creative web spinning. Sadly, Charlotte is aging and spins her last egg sack before passing away. Wilbur tends to the sack and makes sure all the hatchling are cared for until they are old enough to leave the nest. Three of the hatchlings choose to stay behind and become Wilbur’s companions.

This Newberry award winning children’s book teaches us several important lessons, among them; Fern learns that by her caring she can make a difference in the world. The friendship between Charlotte and Wilbur teaches us tolerance for those that are not the same as we are. Valuable lessons that can be learned and shared by any generation, our’s included.

This is a book that belongs on every bookshelf.

Day #295

Waiting On The World To Change

We see everything that’s going wrong
With the world and those who lead it
We feel like we don’t have the means
To rise above and beat it

When you trust your television
What you get is what you got
‘Cause when they own the information
They can bend it all they want

It’s not that we don’t care
We just know the fight ain’t fair
So we keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change

That’s a John Mayer song, but Keb’ Mo’ and Taj Mahal do it better.

What will “make the fight fair?” This probably sounds “Magish,” That said, the grievance felt by the misguided right is not without some substance even though it stinks of credulity.

Day #294

The number 74 is kind of special to me. That’s the number I wore in High School as an offensive tackle and defensive end. What I lacked in size I attempted to make up for with speed. It only worked when the other guy didn’t see me coming, which was often enough to be named all conference honorable mention, but not often enough to help the “Kangaroos” win the conference. It’s probably the fault of the team’s name…

Day #293

If I gave $1 for every request I receive for campaign contributions solicited by text message or email, I would not be able to pay my taxes.

While the government has a Consumer Protection Agency, that agency literally does NOTHING to protect me from over solicitation for political contributions by the government itself.

It’s time the government funded election campaigns. Relying on donors that give too much, and donors that can’t afford to give is no way to run a country.

Day #292

You don’t get good at something doing it just once. In fact, you have to be prepared to do the task over and over to perfect your technique. This doesn’t often work well for someone with a wide range of interests (or someone that is OCD). So the first step in getting good at something is making a commitment.

Day #291

AI could do a better job of deciding Supreme Court Cases than the current panel of justices could.

Of course, that means that AI would have to use as guidelines, such values as case law, moral philosophy, and ethics, all highly speculative AI abilities, at least as far as AI technology has advanced to date.

Please notice what is not needed in this skill set is political bias…

Day #290

One thing Grammarly has taught me is that I’m a horrible writer. I started a bit late and I really didn’t pay attention to grammar that closely in school. Perhaps next year I’ll try and write mo’ betta…

Day #289

ChatGPT Advises

To make a Black Manhattan, you’ll need:

Ingredients:

• 2 oz bourbon
• 1 oz Averna Amaro
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• Maraschino cherry for garnish

Instructions:

• Fill a mixing glass with ice.
• Add bourbon, Averna Amaro, and Angostura bitters.
• Stir well until chilled, about 30 seconds.
• Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
• Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Enjoy your Black Manhattan!

I prefer a dash of Orange Bitters along with the Angostura, but you have to admit ChatGPT would likely make a decent bartender.

Day #288

We are entering a period in our history where the societal vision of who we are and what we represent is no longer broadly shared. The struggle thus created is not being imposed by an external enemy but by an internal enemy. The internal enemy is not using force of arms, but instead is intentionally using lies and misinformation, both human and artificially generated, for the purpose of empowering a few without regard for the will of the many.

Day #287

Social Media is NOT reality. Too few people realize that.

It’s not the job of government to ensure we are not influenced by deep fakes (although some legislation on that issue is not a bad idea) it’s our job to be smart.

Day #286

The story of Donald Trump is the story of Oedipus. It is the story of a man brought low by his vanity, a man stripped of wealth, power and reputation, made to wallow in a bed of his own making.

Now that I have seen the results of the recent presidential debate, I could be wrong about all of this.

Day #285

If you have been convicted of a felony, blaming other people for your mistake does not excuse you. Convicted by a jury of ordinary citizens is proof of guilt. Blaming the judge or the prosecution is a vane and cowardly act.