Thursday, February 13, 2025

Heather Cox Richardson and Ray Kurzweil

 I imagine these two people to be as different as two people could be BUT what they offer is a voice of the future which turns out to not be so far in the future. 

Heather speaks from a political point of view that differs from the present administration in ways that can't be qualified in mere words.  You must subscribe to her and read or listen on a regular basis to understand the vast differences.

Ray on the other hand speaks from a sociological viewpoint that probably can't be understood by 90 percent of the human population.  Maybe 1 percent is more likely.  He's the guy that wrote a book 30 years ago about The Singularity that would take place when Artificial Intelligence would merge with Human Intelligence.

He has a new book called The Singularity is Nearer.

Mainly due to the Quantum Computer advances (especially by Google) Mr. Kurzweil has altered his date to 2029 and possibly sooner.

What this means for the human race is.... ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

In the book he attempts to explain (not an easy read) both the positive and negative results of human intelligence and machine intelligence merging together.  Obviously medical advances are the biggest positive and machines deciding financial allocation is a negative (I think)

Our current political situation definably leans toward those with power having more power and those with money having more money and if you don't think that's true then you have your head up your ass so far that your smile looks like poop.

The Singularity that Mr. Kurzweil predicts has a slightly different outlook on the future of financial equality throughout the entire planet......(I think)

Like I said it's a complicated read and his theories are elaborate and are entirely based on computing power advances in the last 50 years.  

Life extension is one of his big ideas.  In 1924 life expectancy in the United States was 58.5 years.

Today that number is 77.5

AND THAT'S WITH MINIMAL HELP FROM MACHINES.

So it's not hard to imagine that technological advances (especially nanotechnological advances) will result in somebody being born today possibly living well into their hundreds.

THE MAIN PROBLEM WITH THAT IS IF MACHINES ARE REPLACING HUMAN WORKERS THEN WHAT WILL THOSE HUMANS DO TO GENERATE REVENUE FOR THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES.

I keep remembering that James Cameron introduced the concept rather bleakly in his Terminator movie which was released in 1984.

The idea of time traveling back and forth to fix the issues aren't really an option.....and if you think it is an option than the UFO reports are some of your favorite stories.

Getting back to Heather Cox Richardson for a sec.

Her summaries of what is currently taking place in Washington DC are probably banned in the White House and I guarantee Elon Musk will try his best to have her voice reduced to a whisper.

I hope you subscribe to her site so that you have a wider range of information.  Her post on Abraham Lincoln is really really good.

Heather

In the realm of important issues Spring Training started on Tuesday (my birthday) and The Dodgers are favored to repeat their Championship season.....BUT it's baseball and there is no predicting in baseball because human beings have arms and legs and elbows and calf muscles and numerous other things that can go POP or SNAP at anytime. 

 Machines will not be participating in any baseball season in the near future......

Hopefully

Play Ball!



Thursday, February 6, 2025

She usually has it exactly right.....or left....or perfect

https://mail.yahoo.com/b/folders/1/messages/AJPoyA4QbmuYZ6RXgAEFuIHGSmU?.src=ym&reason=myc&folderType=INBOX&offset=25&unblockNow=false

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Whatever you think......

 The LACK OF COMPASSION that now resides inside the White House is legendary.....and all the people who voted to put IT there will learn soon enough.

WHAT'S AMAZING IS THAT THEY DIDN'T SEE IT BEFORE.

or

even worse.........

They saw IT 

but didn't care 

because they possess the same type of personality disorder.



Thursday, January 23, 2025

Well...it's official

THE MOST CELEBRATED POLITICAL A*****E THAT HAS EVER GRACED THE BEAUTIFUL SHORES OF THE UNITED STATES

IS

BACK IN THE SADDLE

AND THAT SUMS UP EXACTLY HOW I FEEL

I remember a line from a James Lee Burke novel that seems to apply if I was ever speaking to Mr. Trump

"You sure know how to put a blister on a man's conscience."


Michael Timothy McAlevey

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

MLK and DJT

 If, in the history of recorded information, there are two more different famous human beings than Martin Luther King and Donald J Trump....I would like to know who those candidates might be.  Maybe Jesus and Hitler but one of them might be a fictional character so that's not conclusive.

Today is MLK birthday and five days from now The Donald will take the oath for President of the United States.

We can examine the archives and find MULTIPLE quotes from Dr. King that offer high level inspiration.

Please show me one quote from Mr. Trump that offers anything resembling high level inspiration.

I'm open to learning so go ahead and fill me in.

I would write something about the fires in LA but as of this moment it's not over.....but suffice to say we have never seen anything like this.....

All we can do is help in anyway possible.

ANYWAY possible........



Monday, January 6, 2025

Tuesday, December 31, 2024

2024

 Today is the last day of 2024 and whereas so many things have changed it appears that tomorrow we simply enter another year on the Gregorian calendar'

In 21 days there will be a planetary alignment according to one source.  According to another source the alignment will happen on Jan 25. 

The stars are aligning—literally! On January 25, 2025, the cosmos will orchestrate a rare planetary alignment, setting the stage for a year brimming with transformation, success, and productivity. This celestial event isn’t just about jaw-dropping views; it’s about cosmic energy turbocharging ambitions and aspirations.....



There seems to be a few dates that vary for this rare alignment....starting with the 5 and extending to the 25.


I referred to NASA simply because that makes sense but other sources claim other dates and I guess it's up to you to keep your eyes looking up during the month of January.   Also keep your eyes on January 20 2025 when the United States of America will go backwards.


Going backwards can be rather dangerous and often results in stumbling and falling down.

In case you weren't paying attention the final vote count was
 

DJT  77,303,573

Kamala Harris  75,019.257

IF THAT FEELS LIKE A LANDSLIDE TO YOU THEN YOU ARE PROABLEY IN YOUR EARLY TWENTIES OR THIRTIES.

In 1972 Nixon won 520 Electoral votes to 17 for George McGovern

In 1964 LBJ won 486 and Barry Goldwater won 52


TRUMP GOT 312

Harris 226



It's pretty obvious that our country is equally divided. 


We have been here before......1960, 2000 (which is the closes election in history when GW Jr. got 271 electoral votes) and 2016.



WE CAN WITHSTAND EVERY TWIST AND TURN THAT TAKES PLACE ON A NATIONAL LEVEL.


BUT CAN WE HANDLE THE TWISTS AND TURNS THAT TAKE PLACE ON A PERSONAL LEVEL?


SOCIAL MEDIA AND INSTANT NEWS HAVE CHANGED THE PLAYGROUND AND THE ATMOSPHERE AND INTRODUCTION OF AI INTO OUR DAILY LIVES WILL PROVE TO BE EXTREMELY CHALLANGING



ESPECIALLY TO THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAVE A TENDENCY TO IGNORE RESEARCH AND SIMPLY LISTEN TO ONE OR TWO SOURCES.


2025 MUST BE A YEAR WHERE RESEARCH AND FACT CHECKING BECOMES STANDARD BEHAVIOR.

HOW ONE DECIDES WHAT IS TRUTH

AND WHAT IS BULLSHIT

IS

THE

CHALLANGE

OF

THE 

NEXT

FOUR

YEARS



GOOD LUCK!


HAPPY NEW YEAR













































Wednesday, December 4, 2024

Metals and more Metals

Gallium

Germanium

Antimony

Technology metals are cobalt, lithium, tantalum, indium, niobium, selenium and zirconium. 

And of course there are these.....

  • Cerium is used in light bulbs, TVs and ovens.
  • Dysprosium is mixed within alloys used in wind turbines, electric vehicles and nuclear reactors.
  • Erbium is used in lasers and fiber optic cables.
  • Europium is used in light bulbs, nuclear reactors and lasers.
  • Gadolinium is used in magnets, nuclear reactors and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
  • Holmium is used in magnets and nuclear reactors.
  • Lanthanum is mixed within alloys that are used in batteries and hydrogen vehicles.
  • Lutetium is used as a catalyst in refineries.
  • Neodymium is used in magnets and lasers.
  • Praseodymium is used in aircraft engines, fiber optic cables and magnets.
  • Promethium is used in pacemakers and guided missiles.
  • Samarium is used in microwave devices and magnets.
  • Terbium is used in light bulbs, memory devices and x-rays. 
  • Thulium is used in lasers.
  • Ytterbium is used in displays, x-ray machines and fiber-optic cables.
  • Yttrium is used in radars and as an additive within alloys used in high tech devices.
  • Scandium is used for fuel cells and alloys used in jet planes.
  • Cobalt is used in super-alloys, jet turbines and rechargeable batteries.
  • Lithium is commonly used in batteries.
  • Tantalum is used in capacitors, resistors and other electronic equipment.
  • Indium is often used in LCD screens.
  • Gallium is used in integrated circuits, LEDs and semiconductors.
  • Niobium is used in steel alloys that are a part of jet engines and rockets.
  • Selenium is used in photocells and rectifiers.
  • Zirconium is used in nuclear power stations.
And it's kind of amazing when you consider that just a few short years ago (in human history) there was just gold, silver and copper, tin, brass, aluminum, nickel, potassium, calcium, iron, lead and of course titanium....

I know I've left a few original darlings off the list but my point is......where are they all coming from?   Of course the answer is....

THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE

The current dilemma for the United States is that we rely on China for a big percentage of some very important HI-TECH minerals.  It turns out that Africa has a large NOT YET MINED cache of these minerals and in truth so do WE.

Perhaps a bi-partisan Mineral Department needs to be created.....which means more government and not part of the GOP 2025 Program.

Oh well.....or is it Orwellian?