Some one just said the most marvelous thing to me, apropos of what doesn’t matter. It stands by itself. When people say the glass is half empty or the glass is half full, they forget: it’s a glass; you can refill it! Wow. [30]
There’s a weirdness in our society(1): the subject of IQ. I just got hit by a(nother) stream of emails and posts on the internet about the ranking of US Presidents by IQ. This happens about this time each election cycle — about 4 months in to the new president’s term Read more…
Ok… one more on climate change then I’ll leave it alone… for now. 🙂 I’ve been watching the climate change debate for many years… longer than most people would believe it’s even been going on. So what? I’ve done my part to reduce my personal waste energy, and some Read more…
On the subject of climate change, I get a little irritated (to put it mildly) at folks who still insist it doesn’t exist or that it’s a “liberal conspiracy” or some other silliness. I’ve been watching it happen all my life. Any one who looks out the window now and Read more…
Given the Universal negative reaction to telemarketing, why isn’t it Illegal? Someone comes into my home uninvited (over the phone, that’s still My Space, My Time, My Home) and then gets all entitled about doing so. Wow. This really should be illegal. In fact, for a while it was, *if* Read more…
I was helping a friend with her computer the other day and she went into Microsoft Word to show me something. Across the top of the screen was a message in dark red on light red background saying (more or less) “your version of Word is no longer supported. You Read more…
I just (really, just now) read a new scientific study suggesting that sodas might be bad for your health. Gosh, what an idea. [That’s sarcasm…] Let me see: Carbonation leaches calcium from your body, leading to osteoporosis and various other conditions. The grotesque amount of sugar in them is damaging to Read more…
Advertisers: stop it. You talk yourselves out of a sale, every time you try to coerce instead of convince. I never yield to emotional-based, irritation-based(1), slogan-based or razzle-dazzle-based advertising. If you can’t convince them with logic, baffle them with bull-shit. I became (mostly) immune to such stuff shortly after 8 Read more…
Dear Microsoft: On what planet does it possibly make sense to devolve your error messages and error handling from vague, cryptic but partially useful text to Something went wrong? That was not how to “fix” your systems. The way to fix them was to hire high-level computer folks with excellent Read more…
Hey Y’all CEO’s of the Computer Industry… I know (or it says so, at least, in the advertising) that you believe you have made all your toys and gadgets easy and “user friendly,” but some one needs to point out to you. They are not easy to use. I’ve been Read more…
I want to propose a word that almost perfectly describes the actions of government bureaus and most government officials and an increasing percentage of so-called professionals: Specious Apparently good or right though lacking any real merit. Superficially pleasing only; no true content. A marvelous word, really, though a shame that Read more…
Why is there no psychological screening for folks hired, appointed (self, or otherwise) or elected to public or celebrity offices? From the DMV counter clerk, all the way up to the President of a nation or the hottest radio personality (who may have more actual power(1), over all, than any Read more…
Mostly in Star Trek, but in other Hollywood-style sci-fi as well, there is a very common, very persistent, extremely ignorant error that crops up. Out in deep space, away from any star, our intrepid heroes encounter a “rogue comet” and that comet, out in deep space away from any star, Read more…
Just a quick question: When (the heck!) did “family movies” become PG rated? To put it another way: when did violence and “questionable” content become “family” material? Try to find a “G” rated movie these days. G-rating seems to have gone the way of 8-tracks and floppy disks(1). Personally, I Read more…
There are a lot of things in this website that I complain about (point out, think over, mumble around, hope some of you will get enthused over helping to change and improve…), but here’s the fundamental question: How did all that happen? How could any thinking, rational, emotionally mature(1) person Read more…
You want to put an end of SPAM phone calls and emails? It’s simple. Never, ever buy anything, take any action, or even volunteer the time of day (literally) to anyone who called you out of the blue. Buy NOTHING from an unsolicited phone call. Even if (especially if!) it Read more…
There’s a thing emerging, called “Long CoVid,” the symptoms of which sounds awfully familiar to me. Admittedly, there’s not much known about the condition yet, though, in truth not much is really known yet about CoVid or the many vaccines that have been simultaneously produced and released under conditions of Read more…
An utterly fabulous quote from Colonel Sherman Potter (MASH, 4077th): “There’s a Right Way and a Wrong Way to do everything, and the Wrong Way is to keep trying to make everybody else do it the Right Way.” You know what? It just doesn’t get any clearer than that. [30] Read more…
Considering that it takes 15, 18, even as much as 30 years to reach our physical peak, why do we think that a few weeks of exercise should restore the “damage” done by lounging on the sofa for a decade or two? You know what I mean? [30]
I just came across the term “deep tech.” Apparently It’s meant to describe really, really great tech application / engineering. Such as why the new Space Programs are working so well. I find the term misleading. It’s saying that “the heavy, conscientious, thorough application of technology” is unusual. (Unfortunately, it Read more…