The "Plan"

The “plan” has been in plain sight from the beginning; it has 6 simple parts: After I have established absolute and total immunity for the presidency (codified by the Supreme Court): 1) I will run for president. 2) I will say I won. 3) When I’ve “won” I will do whatever I want. 4) Everything I want and everybody that helped me will be OK (Sorta…, "we'll see about that". I am, afterall, very flexible about everybody but me.). 5) Everybody that didn’t help me, I will take revenge on. 6) I will be a total dictator and above the law, much like being a billionaire has allowed me to be above the law my whole life. The only difference will be, now the LAWS are what I proclaim them to be.

It's not just the IVF people; it's everybody

A lot has been written about the Alabama “person-hood” declaration for in vitro fertilized embryos from the perspective of the couples attempting to become parents. So far, not much from the perspective of everybody else. There are lots of folks in Alabama that have nothing to do with IVF. Hypothetically, John and Jill Doe could spend almost all their money at the fertility clinic, have five viable blastocysts on ice there, and get T-boned by a drunk driver on their way home from the clinic. They are both killed. At a rate of several thousand dollars a year, each, the taxpayers of Alabama would get to maintain those frozen cells forever. I wonder how many Alabamian people signed on for this responsibility. As a taxpayer in Virginia, I know that I haven’t.

A letter to the Washington Post Didn't make it in:

Let us put AI into mobile humanoid robots (AP Washington Post Mar. 1, 2024). I expect the next step in this process will be to give them guns. What could go wrong? Our military is already doing this, I guess the logical next step is for industry to make this available to private citizens; just like Ar-15s, tactical gear, laser sights, and night vision goggles. Are the tech innovators trying to create the scenarios depicted in the Terminator movies? Is anyone thinking about putting humanoid ethics into robots? Asimov thought about it 75 years ago. That might be a good idea if "humanoid" ethics were to be better than they are right now. After all, “we” are killing each other’s children all over the world.

I've had an epiphany... I completely understand the Dunning Kreuger Effect!

The less you know, the more confident you are that you know all that you need to know. The Dunning Kreuger effect is a potent and damning tool to use when criticizing the people that you don’t agree with… those people that you want to give up on because “they will never” understand the fallacies in their beliefs. They are ignorant of their ignorance (often proud of it) and don’t know that ignorance actually does make you stupid (because you choose to learn no more). But D-K is also the ultimate Catch 22. Everybody is on the Dunning Kreuger spectrum and we can't all be at that righthand peak of enlightenment. Dunning Kreuger isn’t so comforting when you realize (admit) that YOU are on that curve somewhere. Everybody is. Oh shit; me too! P.S. The average person is right in the middle of the curve; the valley of ignorance (and meduim competence). This is another reason to believe in the "Peter Principle". You see if you (or I) think we know where we fall on the D-K curve... we are probably over estimating our knowledge, intelligence, and competence.

Hey! Weather guys!

At about 1,400 feet ASL, 38 degrees 37 minutes Latitude, our home is in the Appalachian foothills on the edge of George Washington National Forest. Throughout February, we have experienced one or two days of winter, then back to early spring. We use zero heat (heat-pump or wood stove) three out of seven days a week. With our southern exposure and "bank barn" construction, our house warms on a sunny day to the point that we have to open windows to keep from getting too hot. Sometimes we put the shades down to block the sun. In the 1980's, this house was built to minimize the need for heating; little did we know. Our local weather guys tell us that temperature "averages" are supposed to be: High 48, Low 30ish... which is bullshit because it includes records from the early 1900's when all the record lows of minus 10 to 20 degrees are factored in. We don't get a record low more than once or twice a decade now. We are setting record highs regularly. Some smart statistician needs to talk to weather people. "Averages" are meaningless amid a sharp trend to a much warmer climate.

One Day

I'm still one day short of 77 years old. I did some stuff diddling in my shop (pics to come later). I walked our 1.5 mile on property loop and we added a little side stroll, in an easy bush-wack we've done before. I did my semi yoga-shouldersurgery-golf exercises (Chris commented that I didn't groan as much as usual). I have to admit that I wonder how many other people my age could do them. I guess that I'll make it to 77. See you tomorrow.

Catch 22 or reality?

Catch 22 or reality? Catch 22? You can't see flies in your eyes if you have flies in your eyes. Dunning Kreuger Affect? The stupider and ignorant I am; the less I might consider the posibliity that I'm ignorant or stupid. “I’m not the problem… YOU are.” Are they all the same thing? I’m having mental health break down…. But maybe I’m the only one that doesn’t realize it… And I’M sure as shit not going to TELL anybody. Self fore-filling prophecy? AKA: all of the above. THIS is human nature. We are NOT rational Beings.