Nine Things I Believe

 1.  When some idiot says 'science is set and not be debated'....I keep wondering if it was this way in the 1300s, where someone then stood and said science could not be debated because it was 'done'.

2.  With this dead chef at the Obama residence.....just some odd evidence he had some injuries before he drowned.  Adding to it....three odd 9-1-1 calls come in to alert local authorities about 'something' from three separate DC numbers (Naval Shipyard assignment).  

3.  I think SF authorities will approach the California Governor in 2024....asking for a minimum of 1.5-billion dollars....to carry the city through 2024 and 2025.  Gift-money.....no repayment.  The minute residents of the state realize it'll happen....more than sixty additional cities will be asking for money as well.

4.  Just odd statistically....if you added up all UFO reports in a normal average year....something like 75-percent occur in the UK and US.  Maybe the other 160-odd countries just don't have a office to receive such reports?  Just makes you wonder.

5.  I just keep wondering....shouldn't there be a Hispanic and black 'Barbie' existing....also with a Hispanic/black 'Ken', and a trans 'Barbie?

6.  CNN says (at least they believe it) that while polling people....most Americans said that you need to make on average....$233,000 a year....to feel comfortable.  That's triple the national standard from 2021.  I'm assuming that if you did make $200k a year....more than half will go to taxes (state, federal, property, sales tax).  And then $25,000 will go to some over-priced Ford or GMC pick-up that you got plain stupid to buy.

7.  US stood up and said it won't allow funding into Niger after the coup last week.  Niger responded....well....keep the money because it looks like homeless people in the US need the money more than Niger folks.  Kinda funny, I admit. Those Niger folks have a sense of humor.  

8.  Elon changed the name of Twitter to 'X'.  Then Elon ordered the Twitter sign on the headquarters building removed, and 'X' to be installed.  Oddly, city inspectors are demanding access to the building to inspect the 'X'.  Elon's security says 'no'.  Just makes you wonder what the inspection is really about (probably a SF regulation that only non-Roman style writing can appear on city buildings).

9.  I have this opinion that the brain-function of about 10-percent of Americans.....is broke or non-functional.

My Pondering Over Bidenomics

 For a couple of weeks, I've been pondering over Biden's Frankenstein-like creation of a personal economics program.

So I've come to this realization....that it really does sound like a screwed-up version of fascism....when you have some gov' employees hook up with politicians, and then set into motion some process where companies, banks, and institutions....make deals that generally only help well-established corporations profit. 

If you were well-to-do before.....you will continue to be well-to-do.

None of this really does anything special for the Americans themselves, unless you own stock in the well-to-do companies, or your IRA is based on their success.  

My only question....does Biden himself even grasp this?  

Three Observations

 1.  Someone put up an idea that the alien craft business....might be a 'joke', in which aliens intentionally wrecked some craft, left dummy bodies, and are making the government go down a false 'path' in thinking they hold something of 'value'.

I sat and pondered upon this. 

To be honest, it's very possible that this scenario described is true.   

2.  Some journalists noted after the court session for Hunter Biden....he seemed awful aggravated (peed-off)....that things fell apart.  Whatever he was told by dad....didn't come true, and he might be grasping that someone else besides dad is now pulling the strings.

3.  Dead chef at Obama's residence....drawing a lot of attention?   Some kind of trauma on the dead guy?  Well.....that's now being openly discussed.  It would appear some kind of defensive wound exists.  

Happiness Thing

 I sat for a while looking at this 'headline'.....it implies various thoughts.

What exactly do you mean by 'good life'?

How does one define a 'happy life'?

Where exactly do you find something that is meaningful?

I grew up in the rural aspects of Alabama in the 1960s/1970s.  You could ask locals in that period about a happy life, and they'd respond if you had a decent tin roof, plenty of firewood, a bit of whiskey occasionally, fireworks for the 4th of July, and some  decent minister for Sundays who didn't keep you past noon.....things were meaningful.

If you brought the topic today?  Folks would respond that that it was a blessing to have cable-TV (without HBO because it's got so much porn), that the beverage shop maintains plenty of cheap Mexican beer, that you gave up the church minister business because of a anti-Trump sermon he gave five years ago, that the county fair is still the most remarkable experience you can have, and that you wish the meth lab three miles over would be shut down by the county sheriff.

I don't think people know how or when to be happy anymore.  They get all hyped up over pronouns, or biased news, or being corrected by some kid with a fake college degree.  

People whine over just about anything....even the answers given off some Jeopardy show, or how some movie they spent $16 on for the ticket and beverages was so disappointing.

So doctors want a way to explain this inability to find happiness. 

I got this feeling that doctor thing might turn into a lecture....where you MUST find happiness.  

My Ten Humble Views On This Alien Chatter

 1.  What if aliens interfered in the 2016 election....to help Hillary lose, or Trump to win?  Would that worry folks?

2.  The longer that aliens hang around humans.....do they also get more stupid?

3.  Can aliens (10,000 years more advanced) get 'woke'?

4.  Are aliens watching episodes of 'Lost' and 'Better Call Saul' and getting addicted to our TV series?

5.  Are aliens NCAA-football fans?

6.  Are aliens confused by society....to the point that they require 'rehab'?

7.  Do aliens play 'World-of-Warcraft', and buy imaginary ponies or swords?

8.  Are aliens into 'curvy-models' as much as American guys?

9.  Are aliens gaining weight as they eat Earth fast-food?

10.  After a couple of years.....do aliens give up on their own lifestyle, and get stuck on Earth dramatics? 

How The Hunter Court Episode Fell Apart

 When Hunter Biden arrived at the court house with his lawyers....he had this idea that there were four groups in the court (the judge, Hunter  himself, the prosecutor team, and the defense team).

So when things unfolded....the judge went to an odd question....if the 'deal' was set and agreed upon....was this the end of investigative trouble?

I think Hunter and his lawyers assumed so.

Well....the prosecutor answered 'NO'.  There were more investigations going on. 

I would imagine Hunter's lawyers were a bit shocked because they felt they had this at a end-phase.  Hunter?  He might have wondered....what the hell.

There were actually three more parties involved, but not in the room.  There was Joe Biden (dad), his lawyers, and the DoJ bosses (probably three levels of people working deals).

In a matter of ten minutes, the deal was gone.  Hunter had to address the court and say 'not guilty' on the charges.

Then they (Hunter and the lawyers) left.

I would assume they went to some quiet office area and openly discussed what the rest of this investigation was about, and Hunter called 'dad' at some point and asked what was going on.

Dad probably acted stupid.

Why they needed this appearance and the deal of some guilt?  It would appear that this would draw attention off dad's financial dealings (at least for a period of time). 

Now?  Well....this case will now open and potentially....Hunter could end up guilty and sent off for a year of prison.   Or....another deal might be worked up.  More charges?  That's Hunter's biggest fear.

The fact that the judge told Hunter to start looking for a job?  Yeah, that was odd.  The judges words to no drugs or booze?  That was odd too.

If you were looking for some low emotional turmoil, and the potential to get all drugged-up.....I'd say Hunter is at that moment presently.  

The other funny thing?  If you actively listen to NPR or read WaPo.....you probably got about 4 lines of text over the event. 

Movie Review: Barbie

 I ended up at a Mainz kino (theater) this week and attempted to watch 'Barbie'.  So I'll make ten observations:

1.  It was a waste of money.  I actually felt silly.

2.  I walked out somewhere around the 50-to-55 minute point.  I've probably done this three times now in my life where the movie just never made sense (last time was around 2012, with 'Jackass').  So I really don't know the end.

3.  Funny?  I'd say it hit some peak in the first to ten minute point.  From that point on.....it seemed like a 'lecture' than entertainment or a comedy.

4.  There were probably forty people in the theater....mostly young women (18 to 25). If you asked me whether some six to ten year old girl would have any interest in the movie....I'd ask 'how'.  Maybe some girls in the 12-to-18 range, and college-age ladies.   Boys?  NO.  Young college guys?  NO.  

5.  I think Barbie will peak at the 10th day, and most people will  have wrapped up the viewing audience.  

6.  Script?  Barbie-land is under a threat, and Ken seems to be a enemy or marginal bad-guy.  I started to imagine that what Barbie-land needed was some Greek hero like Achilles, or some badass guy like Nic Fury (Marvel, Samuel L. Jackson).  

7.  If there ever was a movie where you needed a bit of cannabis prior to viewing?  Yeah, this would be the movie.

8.   Designed as a theme or message or brand?  I just don't get that impression.  Maybe the writers were told that 'something' has to deliver a Barbie brand, and sell the clothing/style.  Maybe the script changed forty times before the production stage?  I left the place wondering how they got this far into the making of it....without anything of real interest.

9.  Will there be a Barbie II?  Maybe this Ken-character could get a re-make, maybe adding a buddy ('Marvin').  

10.  I suspect Barbie-land will be long discussed this summer and some people will state they feel like we live in a fake reality (like Barbie-land).    

Four Observations

 1.  Hunter Biden's plea deal falling apart?  Once the prosecutor admitted there were more investigations going on....the judge sat there in amusement.

So when the judge sets terms to be walking around free....one of them is that Hunter has to actively look for a job....with a second requirement....no narcotic drugs.

I worked with a guy once....who had a sister who got into some type of trouble, and the judge there, imposed a must-look-for-work situation.  In that situation....each week, she had to submit a resume and keep a log of what was going on.  

On me being a boss and having Hunter apply?  Zero chance that I'd hire a guy unless he drug-tested 'clean'.

2.  You noticed....highest rates in 22 years?  Housing purchases...wrapped up in a mess.....people are delaying purchases.

3.  I read today that Mattel (the toy people) want at least five different movies besides Barbie to be made.  Hot Wheels on the list?  Rock-em Sock-em robots?  Yeah.  You can see a negative spiral coming up.

4.  If you wanted some way to predict future 'stupidity' in America.....just watch SouthPark.  Whatever you see of stupid value....expect it within three to five years.

TV Review: The Days (Netflix)

 This past week, I completed a Japanese series (8 episodes) entitled The Days....which covers the Fukushima disaster. Four observations:

First, first class production and I ready recommend viewing it.  

Second, you come to the end with a really harsh critical view of the Japanese government officials, and in some cases....there are various 'bosses' who were readily incompetent.  

Third, I think around about the third complete day of rescue operations....with no time off and no sleep....they were making a fair amount of mistakes and respect outside of the emergency center was dropping  hour by hour.

Fourth, Netflix paid a pretty hefty sum to produce this, and it is a quality production.

Three Observations

 1.  PTTS: Post Traumatic Twitter Syndrome.

What you get after Elon buys Twitter, and you think it's the end of the world.

2.  Just odd....Senator Dick Durban has tested positive for Covid (again)....third time in 12 months...dispute being double-bostered for Covid.  Has to beg....who the hell is he hanging around with?

3.  Some group of research folks at Oregon State University were on a 'mission' to gather up data via a online questionnaire....about undergraduates in computer science and engineering fields of the university.

So after they went the results of the questionnaire.....things fell apart, as students....well....got extremely cynical and started mocking the responses in this 'woke' survey.

What cam back?  Well....'hate-speech'.

I sat and pondered upon....having worked around the computer field and knowing my brother (the electrical engineer).  Just in general.....they can be extremely sarcastic, and just not take your serious subject very serious.  The research folks picking the wrong crowd to get feedback on woke stuff?  Yeah.

Is There a Turtle-Race Existing For Joe Biden To Be Impeached?

 One almost gets the impression that various groups have some type of schedule going on....about when to 'dump' Joe Biden and move out into a different landscape.  Problems?  Well....Joe is collecting campaign funds presently....ton of money, and if you dumped him presently...he might not share the money with the new person.

The anticipated 'filler'?  If you really pay attention....the one-and-only is Governor Newsom of California.  

The only scenario to make this work?  Have Senator Feinstein retire 'suddenly'....bring VP Harris up for the empty Senate seat....allow Joe Biden to bring in Newsom as the new VP....then allow the impeachment process to work. 

Timing is critical....to make this all work, and avoid the impeachment being a big deal in 2024's election.  All of this has to occur before the end of 2023.

Five Problems That Biden Has To Overcome

 1.  He needs 81-million votes and the Electoral state thing to repeat precisely as in 2020.  The people who got the 81-million ballots in his favor?  I would imagine they will approach the campaign folks and let them know the 2024 'cost' has doubled (I would state a price between double and triple the last time around).

2.  Between now and election-day....Hunter needs to downsize his issues.  Joe needs a full-time baby-sitter over the guy.  If you haven another cocaine 'day'?  The Secret Service is not going to be willing to cooperate. 

3.  There has to be zero debates for Joe Biden....period..  

4.  Joe needs absolute repeats of Georgia, Penn, AZ, Wisconsin and Michigan. For some reason....I just don't see three going this way.  In AZ?  If the jokers try the 'form-won't-fit' gimmick....it's going to be a massive problem for the public to accept this time around.

5.  Joe probably needs a new VP on the ballot....that gets public numbers.  

The No License Generation And No Interest

 Around 2002....as a retired Air Force NCO...working as a contractor on a base....I came to this odd phenomenon....young recruits (19 to 21) who were arriving on base with no drivers license, and no interest in getting one.

In this group I worked with....two young ladies presented this issue.  One had finished school in California the year prior, and the other was a product out of the Seattle region in the year prior.

I posed the question to each young lady....weren't you going to proceed to get a license?  Both answered 'no.....why'?

 Last year, I got into a conversation with a AF NCO....he had the same issue brewing.  This was a shop which required vehicle use, and from the 15-odd enlisted people in his group....two young men and young lady....had no state license.  His position?  He could force the issue that they get training to operate a vehicle on base, but beyond that....he couldn't force them to apply for a state license.  

I asked him....where was this attitude coming from?  His feeling was that this 'culture' were used to the parents getting somewhere and if they couldn't go....they either walked or just 'stayed-put'.  He even noted....they weren't into vehicle ownership as well.

Weird?  Yeah, and you just wonder where this started?

Nine Observations

 1.  RFK forcing Joe Biden into more appearances in the fall?  I'll go and predict that Joe has to make a minimum of four events a week by October....meaning the staff is risking a lot for Joe talking on things, and making his position even weaker.  Presently, some people have suggested that Joe is running a 'hidden' campaign presently (no idea what they really mean).

2.  Noticed that some folks are suggesting that WaPo (the newspaper) is sliding south on finances, and they figure for all of 2023....it'll be a loss near $100-million....meaning that the ownership is holding the paper 'up'.  

3.  Odds of Trump showing up for any debate in 2023?  I give it zero chance.  Threats from the Republican Party?  They won't work this time around.  Trump might play this in an unusual way.....suggesting a Trump versus RFK debate,  with a totally neutral moderator.  That would shock a lot of people and reset the whole national campaign.

4.  After watching a number of movie reviews over the Barbie movie....I've come to believe (having not seen it) that it's mostly a Kensurrection type move (mean Ken is trying to bring down the Barbie reality).  Odds of me wasting money on this money?  

5.  My humble feeling of VP Harris?  Low IQ, and given a 'pass' through high school and college.  Throughout her life/career....there was always a 'pass' existing.  She's probably stunned to have made it this far, and 'inches' from being President.

6.  If I were joining the Air Force today?  I'd announce on day one of the physical and paperwork....I was an American Indian (100-percent).  It'd guarantee promotions ahead of all others.

7.  For the past seven days.....cloud cover around my valley (central Germany near Wiesbaden) has been massive.  I doubt if I've had more than one hour per day of sunshine....if I were using solar panels for electrical production.  Just odd weather.

8.  I noticed this AM....China has officially banned gay-pride parades.  

9.  If you asked a thousand adults to define tyranny.....I suspect that fewer than twenty could give you a simple two-line answer.  A quarter of them might respond it's a dating App that they've hear about.

Just A Scenario You Might Want To Ponder Upon

 If we reach a point where three candidates are in the running for President, and the third-party guy is able to swing a couple of states....denying the other two of the 270 Electoral College votes?

Well....the 'system' is that as the House convenes in early January of 2025....the House of Representatives would open up and group by state delegates....to elect the President from the three Presidential candidates who received the most electoral votes. 

Each state delegation would have ONE vote.  

If the state had four Republicans and four Democrats?  Well....it'd be a zero vote unless someone crossed the line.  

If the state got into a highly delayed status for six of it's Republican House members....unable to certify they 'won'?  In this scenario, lets assume that four Democrats were on the other side, and were approved to proceed.  Unless the House stepped in...to half voting, that state would be a Democratic-win (4-0, instead of 6-4 for the Republicans).

I should note here....DC has no vote.

The winner of this House-race?  You'd have to have 26 votes.  

Lets assume that three states have a 2-2 or 3-3 situation, where they can't reach an end.  It's possible that you might go through two or three elections per day....for several days....where the magic number of 26 cannot be reached.

Meanwhile, the VP race?  It goes to the Senate.....where each Senator gets ONE vote.  The guy/gal who gets 51?  Winner.  Also note here....they only get to pick the top two with Electoral votes.....not three.  

The fact that some Republican Senators might cross the line and vote for the Democratic candidate?  Yeah, that's a pretty likely possibility.

If the House fails by Inauguration Day?  Well....the scenario gets interesting....the VP (you would assume this is a easy one-day vote)....would go to the status of 'acting' President, until the House can finish its vote.  This being a week or a month of status?  Yeah, and you can imagine how heated things would be with this scenario. 

If RFK were the 3rd party guy?  This is an odd scenario to imagine. 

Would some small group of states compromise...to deny both Trump and Biden....making it a failure to reach 26?  Probably so.

If we reached no solution by Inauguration Day....would the VP list his/her choices for a cabinet....to go into an approval process by the Senate?  More than likely.  If a Supreme Court member died and needed a nomination process....would the VP go to select someone?

Would House members go to a bribe system and demand some 'gift' to vote along his party lines?  I could imagine that occurring.

Could you end up with Biden winning but stuck with a Republican VP....like Lake from AZ?  Yeah, and that would torment Biden a good bit.  

For some reason....I'd go and suggest you better prepare for a failure of the Electoral College and 270-vote situation.  If you thought things were bad now.....it'll be a full-up circus with my scenario. 

My Lion Story

 For about 30 hours here in Germany....we had this worried situation developing....over a lion being loose.

So to tell the story.....a woods-sort-of-guy set up a camera on a trail, and a photo was taken....in the region between Berlin and Brandenburg.  To be honest, it's fairly wooded and what you'd typically see is wild boar.  

This photo comes off the guy's camera.....appearing to be a female lion.

I've seen the digital photo....kinda grainy, and for me....having seen around 50 female lions in my life (between zoos, and a South African safari).....I judged it to be a female lion.

This got people highly disturbed and the cops were active.....telling folk to stay in their house while the professionals hunted for the lion.

The big question....where did the lion come from?  No zoo or private folks (circus crowd) admitted any lost 'cats'.

This AM, the anti-lion-believers stood up and said 'no way'.....it can't be a lion.  

By noon, the anti-lion-believers had convinced the local mayors and police of this....so the 'hunt' was called off, with the word being that whatever we saw in the photo....was a wild boar.

On the wild boar idea....one-to-ten belief for me?  I give it a '3'.  

Could it have been a hoax?  Well....yeah, I'm leaning toward some guy having a pet female lion, and working with some crew....this camera was known, and they had the lion walking up to the path.  

Now?  Lot of Germans still walking about the lion story, and there's probably 10-percent of folks who still hold a conspiracy-belief that the lion is real, while the anti-conspiracy folks hold the fake lion belief.

Footnote: I'm probably one of the few Alabama folks who has been to twenty-odd zoos and safari parks in my life.  If you asked me from 500 feet away to judge if this was a lion or not....yeah, I could do that.  But once I noted it was a lion....that 500 feet wasn't enough space between me and the lion, and I'd be looking for a tree, or a tour-bus to enter.  

Blackouts?

 

I sat and read through this story...one single time.  Basically, the journalist has pumped-up the idea that maybe if we did have an occasional blackout.....this might in some minor way change the perceived climate problem.

My issue?  Well....lets say that we went to a blackout for 12 hours every two weeks, and after a year.....we determined that it barely did anything.

Would the same crowd then suggest a blackout every week....mostly at night....for a year?  And if that had marginal change....would it go to a blackout once a day for three hours?

My belief is that after five years of playing the blackout game...we'd reach the point of agreeing...there wasn't much of anything gained.  

But here's the problem....there are people willing to talk about radical changes without much of a realistic 'gain' being shown as a fact.  

My dad was born in the early 1930s, and it's basically a couple of years into this era that electricity finally arrived.  I'm of the first generation of this family to have grown up since day one of birth....with electricity being 'normal'.  I'm also in the same generation having air conditioning being 'normal'.  I'm also of the generation where ice cream isn't considered a luxury.  

Convincing me of the blackout idea?  It's going to be awful hard.  

This Low IQ Discussion

 In my Air Force years, I worked around a lot of 'odd-people'.  I'd reserve one group as the low IQ folks....which I'd put around a dozen folks into this special group.

By low IQ?  I mean folks that weren't going to achieve more than 70 on the general IQ test.  

The Air Force will tell you that people need to have a high school diploma and achieve x-score (36) on their ASVAB tests.  Generally, if you score 60....you are in a high IQ group.  (Max on ASVAB?  99)

These people weren't necessarily stupid....but if you had some problem or situation develop....they were generally the last people you wanted to resolve the issue.

These were also the people who saw technology as a boundary.  

There's a lot of debate over how many folks are in the low IQ levels.  Me?  I'd suggest that 10-percent of people fall in the IQ of 60 or less group.  Is this a big deal?  Normally, I'd say no....but I think a lot of them have crept past high school, and some have even gone onto college....getting a degree while being a low IQ person.  Then you start to wonder.....with the degree....did they move to be a teacher later in life? 

Just makes you wonder if this is the product of our generation.....education dimwits....motivating lesser IQ kids....to proceed on and succeed in life?

Yeah, About That Caesar Guy

 We tend to get zero Roman history.  You can blame it on historians....college intellectuals who think it's worthless, or modern TV.

So a historical story.

Around the year 60 BC....Caesar was turning around 30 years old.  He'd led the Roman Army to victory in the Gallic Wars (eight year period, against Germanic, French and Brit tribal unit).  He'd also done in his opponent in a Rome civil conflict (Pompey).  

You can say around 50 BC....Caesar had taken charge and was emperor of Rome.

About six years into this....some folks in Rome felt that Caesar had gone too far, and was not going to easily retire....to give someone else a chance.

Day in and day out....lot of hyped up feelings in Rome.  

Around 44 BC....a group had decided that what Caesar was trying to create was a monarchy, and it was a terrible set of woes facing the 'insider' crew.

So they decided they had to murder/kill Caesar.  I should add....it was not clear what would come to replace Caesar or his management style.

Chaos arrived....week after week....things seemed to be in turmoil with Caesar gone.

So a nephew of Caesar arrived...Octavius.

What you can generally say of Octavius....every single thing brought up in terms of 'fear' over what Caesar was conjured up and people felt he was going to do (not necessarily what he did do)....came to occur.  

The republic?  It did end.

A dictatorship?  Yeah, it came.

So this whole conspiracy thing....to get rid of Caesar....brought in the worst possible ending?  Yeah.

Funny how history tells you a story.

Just a lot of Greek and Roman history that we might want to go and review at this point.  

IQ Issue

 

To be honest, I had suspicions back in the 2002-to-2004 era....that IQ was decreasing.  You could see it with 18-to-20 year old Air Force recruits that I worked around.

What I tend to blame?  Poor quality teachers/instructors....high school and college level.

I'd even suggest that 20 to 40-year old 'professionals' are in a marginal IQ 'path'.  

It's like some business journalist trying to explain the Biden economics 'idea', and after three minutes....you feel like you are dealing with a 7-year old child.

Is anything going to change?  I seriously doubt it.

Even if we were worried about this.....is there anything that could be done at this point?  No.

Four Things I Tend To Believe

 1.  I think someone could squat in the White House and crap on the floor, with the Secret Service admitting they can't connect to anyone, and folks would just accept that it's a 'Scooby-Doo-mystery'.  

2.  I think there's well over 1,000 fragile Americans who'd get all hyped-up if they had to watch the 'Green Acres' TV show, so you'd have to advise trigger-warnings prior to the start of each episode.

3.  The NBA is talking about a 4-point 'line'.  Actually, I was thinking of having six spots on the floor where a successful shot would be 7-points.  Then we could have some of those 230 to 210 point games (for the winner).

4.  It's painfully obvious that 'Bidenomics' was invented in a DC bar, by four drunk economic's professors, and the fifth person (non-drinker, the driver) was a White House aide who wrote down the whole formula to later explain to Joe.   

Seven Humble Thoughts

 1.   I don't think this writer-actor strike will end any time 'soon' (meaning....we will get to the traditional 'new' TV season, and nothing new).  Both the writers and actors will be shocked over the delay tactics.

I also think we will get a dose of TV shows from the 1960s/1970s/1980s from ABC, CBS and NBC.  

2.  Roger Stone (buddy of Donald Trump) has now said that Michelle Obama will be the 'big' candidate for President in 2024.  Honesty, it wouldn't shock me.

3.  I have an opinion about hefty and extremely overweight people flying in planes.  If you can't step into a plane toilet and do your 'business'.....you probably probably shouldn't fly.  

4.  This past week, I was in a shopping district and noticed some guy in a t-shirt, with two watches on his arm.  For some reason, this has been on my mind a good bit.  Can't imagine why you'd have two watches being necessary.

5.  For this first Republican debate being planned (the one that Trump won't attend)....it's now plainly obvious that Pence doesn't have the numbers to attend.  In fact, it may just be DeSantis and Vivek.

6.  There is a report that says fingerprints were found on the White House cocaine baggy.  

7. Since 2000 (23 years), there's only about 10 TV shows that I consider of quality: Lost, Breaking Bad/Saul, The Office, The Wire, Battlestar Galactica, Southpark, Game of Thorns, Barry, Squid Game, Boardwalk.

Wisdom

 

Whatever you've been doing....just keep doing it.

Don't lessen your 'stuff' or take days off, or get lazy.

Stay on schedule.  Don't let the boss change your hours or allow your wife to demand a different schedule.

We can be more, for less, but accept things as they are, and generate time for value.

(Note: I had to sip four shots of whiskey to write this piece.  At the six-shot level....my sppeling an tping wou b crpie.) 

Three Odd Things I've Noticed

 1.  Some Biden agenda item moves forward now....to provide $3.85 billion in assistance for 'poor' folks....to buy air conditioners.  They figure around 6-million homes will be able to get the units.

After looking over this....all of the six-million homes will now have a higher rate of electrical use, and it begs the question....if they are all getting themselves into a debt problem where they can't afford the $150 more a month for power.

2.  Office use has changed so much....that the experts now believe by 2030....almost one-third of current office space developed across the nation....won't be necessary.

3.  Disney is apparently motivated now to produce less Marvel/Star Wars type 'products'....realizing that the public was not that hyped-up anymore.  

My Four Observations About The White House Cocaine Episode

 1.  The White House could have done a drug-analysis situation....mandating the 500-odd people who have had access in the week prior to the area.  Course, Joe's family would have been exempt from this...as would have Harris.

2.  No one has said anything about the purity....which is odd.  You would think that the Secret Service would have said if it was 'good' cocaine, or had additives in it.

3.  Know how DC is so commercialized....there in the White House gift shop are little baggies probably sold now, with some fake powder, and sold for $11.  Likely labeled?  Hunter's Grade IV 'powder'.

4.  I would imagine that Hunter freaked out once he realized he'd lost the baggy, and had to call DC dealers to have some fresh 'new' cocaine delivered to the back-door of the White House within sixty minutes.

The 'Unknown Biden'?

 I noticed this piece off Twitter in the AM today:

"Bank records obtained revealed Rob Nalker, a Biden family associate, used his company to transfer money from a Chinese energy company to Hunter Biden, James Biden, Hallie Biden, and an unknown "Biden"."

So this triggered me to wonder about this 'unknown Biden'.  I thought (up to this point) that we knew just about everyone in the Biden family (even the 7th grandchild, who doesn't even really count).

I have three theories about the 'unknown Biden'.

First, this might be Lester Biden...Joe's twin-brother (I made this up) who left the US back in 1988 and hung out in the jungles of Panama.  Lester participated in eleven revolutions throughout Latin America, and was a brilliant strategist at bringing down governments.  

Second, this might be Tonya Biden....a illegitimate black gal from Baltimore who exists because of a wild weekend in the 1950s with Joe's dad.  

Third, it's a totally made-up fake Biden....that Hunter created with a stolen social security number, and seems to live around Delaware but no one has ever met or seen such a Biden.  

I lean toward the third scenario as being very likely and it's a wild idea that Hunter had around twenty years ago....that you could create imaginary people out of thin air. 

Ten Things I'd Do To Fix Bud-Light

 1. I'd change the name to Bud-Max...adding 12 calories, and some mystery element called 'number-7'.  

2.  I'd try to get the US Marines signed up to proclaim it the US Marines-preferred-beer.

3.  I'd offer a $10 discount coupon for steaks, if you buy a case of Bud.

4.  Arrange for some unfortunate accident at the top ten beer brewery operations in a 30-day period....leaving people with only Bud-Light.

5.  Arrange for Santa Claus to go public and declare Bud as his preferred beer....mostly because he's overweight and needs to select fewer calorie situations.

6.  Develop a character called 'Bud Marvin Light' who was secretly developing the beer back in the 1970s, and sold his recipe to the brew guys for $66.

7.  Have a guy who wakes up from a coma to realize how Bud Light got tangled up in this mess.

8.  Develop an alien-UFO commercial where they accidentally crash into a Bud truck in Arizona and get a taste for the beer.

9.  Have a VP Harris-character-look-alike, who drinks a Bud beer and suddenly makes perfect sense in her use of commentary.

10.  Have a Chinese undercover agent in the Bud brewery commercial....who gets the secret....brings Bud to the masses in China, and suddenly everyone is pro-Bud there.

My Best Travel Story

 If you asked me to sit and entertain you for several hours with travel stories....I could probably tell more than 200 curious stories, but this is one of better ones.

I went and did a all-you-can-do travel event in Rome about 15 years ago.  My wife hates me 48-hour adventures....so I went alone.

I was set to arrive Friday night at 9 PM, check into a mid-town hotel, and then spend 14 hours on Saturday walking around.  I'd pack up on Sunday morning, and fly out by 1 PM.  

Yes, it is the wrong way to see Rome.

In the middle of this adventure, I end up by Vatican City by 10 AM Saturday.  I had wanted to do the 'walk-in' tour, but noticed that this line was filled with 500 tourists already.  

So I walked around to the front side, and entered the 'big-house'.  

Over on the right side of the front....there's this door open.  I walk up and just enter.  No guards or anything.

All of the sudden....I'm in the end-point of the grand-tour (the one that you'd pay real money for).

So I'm staging myself with the tour group inside this area, and walk to the next area...moving up a notch every ten minutes.  

I'm pretty sure I was violating five or six Vatican rules and ethically screwing over tourism.

At some point, I figure....why push my luck, and reverse....to leave via the exit door where I entered.

This walk saving three hours of waiting time?  Yeah.  

Old Guy Situation

 This November, Joe Biden turns 81.  I pondered over this age thing.

From the general crowd of 80-plus year old guys I know or have met in my life....it's probably fewer than 2-percent who are employed or working in some manner.  If you asked these 2-percent folks....most walk into their bar or restaurant.....check on things, and two hours later....exit to the golf course, or head home for a nap.  

At the Pentagon (2012), we had a big ceremony to honor all the 80-plus year old folks who still worked there.  Big stage set up....number two guy for the Pentagon running the ceremony...handing out awards.  Must have been thirty-odd people noted as still employed.  Couple of them were PhD types or history geeks.  Some were just admin folks who'd been in the same job (same level) for past forty years.  I would say from the experience....at least a third of them were marginally confused, and had some help in reaching the podium for their award.

In Biden's case?  I noticed for almost all of 2021...some journalist was tracking the daily calendar and noted for all work-days....there was rarely ever more than one single event scheduled for each day, unless Biden was on a trip-situation.  If you compared it to Obama?  Well.....on most days (with no golf planned)....Obama had a minimum of five events planned and some days reached a dozen events.

There's no doubt that the staff does 99-percent of the work, and Biden just gets briefed (probably the minimum required).  Biden is there to make a statement, and give some bold chatter when necessary.

All of this geared for an old guy to slip up and say some BS that unhinges the public?  Yeah, it's that type of scenario that you see developing.

Any real campaign for the 2024 primary?  I don't see how.  He might be ready to travel five days a week and deliver some 12-minute speech at each stop....but I don't think the campaign 'bosses' want that type of risk.  They also don't want to arrange arena situations where only 3,000 people show up for a 8,000 seat arena.  

So I'm with the same scenario developing....that Senator Feinstein will announce retirement set for the end of November, and Governor Newsom appoints VP Harris to the seat.  As Harris arrives to the seat....Governor Newsom is appointed by President Biden as the new VP, and Biden by Christmas announces....he won't run...enabling Newsom to run his own campaign....mostly against RFK.

I know, it's a crazy scenario, but the only way that enchants the general public.  

Do Debates Really Matter?

 If you think about it....you don't see 'real' debates that much anymore.  Occasionally, two figures will stage one....but these are usually people with the talent to debate.  

If you'd had some one-on-one debate with Barak Obama and Mitt Romney....with just a simple group of questions by one moderator....it would have marginally sold either guy (neither have any decent debate skills).  Same to be said with Obama and McCain.  

George Bush with anyone (Gore or Kerry)?  Kerry might have at least done a minimum-required performance, while Bush would have failed miserably (he was inept at debates).

Years ago, I was at a base where the local university offered up a debate class.  Even the base education folks were shocked...barely seven folks signed up for the class.  The class end?  You had to arrive one evening....get the topic of the debate, get 30 minutes to think about your 'talk', and then debate for 20 minutes with the instructor.   I think if you offered this type of situation to most college kids today...out of a thousand....probably fewer than twenty would accept this.

I've given thought to just how many Senators (100) have true debate skills.  I'd suggest that fewer than twenty have the minimum necessary to debate.  

So to the question....do debates really matter?  If you only have marginally capable people with the skills, then NO....debates don't matter.  You wouldn't want to have some dream-debate with George Bush and Hillary Clinton....where you'd fall asleep by the 12th minute.  The same is true with half the idiots from Fox News and CNN....meeting up and having a debate.  

Could You Hand-Count 40,000 Ballots From One Single Site?

 I live in a German village which runs a national vote episode every four years.  Out of 4,400 total residents....there's probably around 3,000 votes conducted.....all on paper.  

Electronic voting devices?  No.  It's all simply paper.

If you wanted to vote early?  There's a process....you get the early ballot mailed to you, and you go down to the city hall area....walking up to the clerk and she pulls out a steel box that you place the ballot into (after confirming your name on the city residence list).

On election day....starting at 8 AM on a Sunday....they run a simple poll site.  You are voting for one single party....so there's not sixty different rows like you'd have in the US (one Presidential row and 59 state rows).

So I look at the US problem and ask.....why couldn't you manage a two-ballot program....on paper?  One ballot for President, and one ballot for state officials.  

If you went this path, in a single town with 40,000 registered voters....you could wrap up things at 7 PM.  Ten folks counting and twenty folks as observers....unpacking 40,000 slips for President. Just my own humble guess....the ten could count the slips in about 60 minutes.  A second count mandated?  Yeah.

By 10 PM, you could announce the Presidential race ended....state-wide.

The state ballots?  You lock them up and run them at 7 AM in the morning via a system.  

Selling this idea?  Nearly impossible.  

Seven Observations

 1.  In the end with this White House cocaine episode....the FBI just said 'enough'....they couldn't pin it on anyone.

Oddly, they never said the amount of the baggy.

My view?  If you are crazy stupid and that addicted to cocaine....to walk through security and drag your baggy into the White House, then leave it on a table....you got a pretty serious cocaine-use problem.

2.  Just odd how both Hollywood actors and writers are both striking at the same time.  Also odd.....how the two groups aren't getting any real reaction by the studios.  

3.  Watching the President daily on this 'trip' to Europe.  You get the impression that he can handle about three hours of reality per day...after that, he's mentally confused.  I'm about to reach the point to suggest that he won't be the candidate for the primary season in 2024.  

4.  Interesting event in North Dakota....law suit going on.  State allows ballot-counting up to 13 days after election day.  Some group suing...to say ballots wrap up on election night, period.  Judge will review the situation.

I'd tend to say if you are so goofed-up and incompetent....that you can't count all ballots by noon of the day after the election....something is wrong.

5.  We are probably two years away from having AI-created 'actors' in AI-produced movies.  

6.  Some folks waking up on Twitter as 'creators' that you might be getting a check for $3,000 a month (or more).  

7.  If you walked around and talked to a thousand people today....to ask what threats they feel....it's likely that not a single one will say domestic terrorism.

My Heart Fluttered This AM

 I was gazing over news, and there it was....new Godzilla movie coming in the fall.  'Godzilla-Minus-One'.

Apparently, the studio has been under secrecy and avoid comments until now.

Around age 9, the local Huntsville station ran unusual movies on Sunday morning.  I accidentally discovered that there was a Godzilla movie on and was fascinated over the 1954 classic.  

Presently, we are up to number 29.  All of them with the same basic theme and story?  Yeah.  You can sit down with a Mountain Dew and cheetos.....spend ninety minute amazed over a lot of Japanese monster 'stomping'.  

Early in 2024, there's supposed to be a King Kong versus Godzilla movie coming.  

Harris Quote

 “A.I. is kind of a fancy thing. First of all, it's two letters. It means 'Artificial Intelligence.”

-- VP Kamala Harris

I paused over the VP's comment from yesterday.

At the 5th grade level....she did accurately describe AI.

If you'd asked what artificial really meant?  I suspect that would have been a 40-word sentence that would only complicate matters.

Just remember....she's one step away from the Presidency, where you will be depending upon her.  

Cheese-Cheese Burger?

 New Burger King item in Thailand.

No meat, just 20-odd slices of cheese. 

Seems like if you ate two of these, you'd be all constipated-up for three days.  

Harris On Transportation

 "This issue of transportation is fundamentally about just making sure that people have the ability to get where they need to go!"

-- VP Harris

I sat and pondered this statement by Harris (from yesterday).  Basically, it's what you'd expect out of a 7th-grade kid, when the teacher asks for analysis of the term 'transportation'.

But then she said....'making sure'.  

I've been on a dozen trips in my life where the plan 'B' situation fell into play because of airport troubles, weather, or the hotel reservation got lost.

What you generally learn is that plan 'B' situations need to be creative.  

Just Three Odd Things

 First, I sat and watched a MSNBC piece which detailed that fitness trends that developed during the Covid era (if you forgot, it's spring-2020 to mid-2022)....have led to hyped-up right-wing beliefs in the fitness community. Somehow, this involves martial arts and combat activities....within the fitness community.

I sat for a good ten minutes after hearing this story, and had to just start laughing.  Just to imagine this 'starting' in Covid?  Well....martial arts in the fitness community has been going on for decades.

Second, it would appear that the location of the White House cocaine....has changed again.  It's like a UFO story....evolving in different ways.  At this point, the Secret Service has said 'enough' and won't discuss where it was found.

Third, Turning Point Action (Conservative group) was extending out a invitation to DeSantis for this weekend's meeting.  Well.....he turned it down.  

At this point, I'd say his campaign is just marginally getting by.  

Five Things I Think About

 1.  With this cocaine found in the White House.....I wonder if there was any PCP mixed-in, and if some idiot would have gone 'crazy-pcp', and just gone to killing Secret Service guys and the President.  How would people view all this....afterwards?

(based on having watched 'Death Drug' from 1979)

2.  Does the President even know about the 7th grand-child...the kid that Hunter had and has worked some deal with the mother?

3.  I wonder about the 3-percent of folks who say the family pet is NOT a member of the family.

4.  I wonder if the master plan at Bud-Light....was to lose a quarter of all business, and this was written up already in 2022.

5.  I wonder if artificial intelligence (AI) would be better at briefing folks at the White House press conference.

What Really Happens In 2023 If We Miss Pentagon Recruitment Goals?

 It was the middle of 2022....when the Pentagon (particularly the Army) said 'yeah, we missed the recruitment goal'.  Shortly after that, the Air Force and Navy agreed on their goals missed....not quiet by the same number.

Presently, more numbers missed for the summer of 2023.  

Here's the thing, you can also go and readily predict for the summer of 2024, and 2025....all three will miss their goals.  

The Army goal  back in 2022?  The missing number was around 15,000 folks (20-to-25 percent of the written goal).

Presently?  I would imagine that various groups are meeting and discussing the missing people.  Up the bonus program?  Let the overly out-of-shape/fat folks in?  Lessen standards?  

I read yesterday that the House was looking over legislation to allow the Defense Department to bring folks in....without the Cannabis drug test.  At the current pace?  I think Cannabis will be legalized federally and within four years....every BX/PX will have a weed-shop.

Here's the thing....you can look forward to probably 2027 and predict that manpower will be cut drastically, and overseas bases will simply be closed down because they don't have the people to support such a mission. 

Bringing back the draft?  Won't happen.  

Even to involve the National Guard and Reserve?  Yeah.

It's a bold new world approaching. 

We Might Be In Trouble

 I read this today.  

A teacher of some type.....don't know the state but it's probably better that I don't know.

The issue?  Student X had the Holocaust brought up....guessing it was WW I or II....in the 1800s.  

As the teacher notes...it's worthless to correct the kid.  

Then the term 'stunted' gets inserted into the discussion.

'Stunted'?  Meaning here?  Basically, it's like you gave some juvenile a project to read forty pages, and they did nothing.  They didn't care what happened the next day at school.  They were there to hang out.  

The kid will progress on in school....maybe going to college, and just hang out there.  At graduation, they will get a degree for mostly hanging out, and then get a job to teach kids at a high school or university....on how to hang out.

In twenty years...you will be standing in a office and trying to deal with some catastrophic event where the employees are mostly standing there, unable to comprehend the problem or the solution.  Their reaction will be to just hang out and wait for someone else to arrive to resolve the issue.

Odds of AOC As VP?

 If you were wondering...yes, she will be of 'age' for the VP job when the convention rolls around in 2024.  

Presently, via both Biden or RFK....I tend to believe that she will end up on the top three VP choices.  

The slam against her?  As dumb as Harris has been portrayed.....AOC is no better.  On debate skills....I give her at best a '3' (1-to-10).  

Job background?  Basically a bartender-turned-House Member.  

In RFK's case....he's picking someone that would ensure the CIA won't go out and murder him like RFK/JFK.

Why we get stuck into situations like this?  Some unwritten Democratic rule that VP now has to be a female or gay person.  

Odds of Joe Biden 'Not' Running in the Primary of 2024?

 Six months ago, I would have said 99.9-percent that Joe Biden would run in the primary, with RFK being one of the few going against him.

In the past month, if you view campaign chatter, people showing up at Joe's rallies, the cocaine business, and continual suggestions of bribes....the news folks are having a problem in convincing the public of avoiding skepticism over Joe's campaign. 

So, who are the likely 'dark-horses' to appear (besides RFK)?

First, there's Governor Newsom of California.  He's go problems because of the exit issues going on in the state.

Second, is VP Harris....who simply doesn't have positive numbers with the general public.

Third, Stacy Abrams, I believe....has a long-shot at the situation.

Fourth, Mayor-Pete, another long-shot.

Fifth, Governor Whitmer of Michigan.

Sixth, Michelle Obama.

The general problem, when compared to past elections?  Skepticism.  If you add up numbers of people reading the NY Times, WaPo, or viewing CNN...it's pretty crappy.  

Avoidance of debates?  The problem here.....for the DNC to keep RFK out of the 'light'....you'd have to have someone to quickly 'waltz in' and take Joe's numbers, and then keep insisting there is no necessity for debate or having a other people in the race.

RFK attracting attention from independent voters?  Well....that's a big problem now.  

The Democrats need the independent voters in November, but not in the primary.

Can Trump win the primary with three-quarters of the independent voters skipping his primary episode, and going to RFK's vote?  I'd say yes. 

In some funny way, I think Biden is now in a must-run situation.  But polling by the fall will reflect RFK probably tied or passing Biden.  So then what?  Would Biden step aside in January and admit he can't win the primary?  That is the big question.  

Ambien Use?

 I sat and spent an hour this AM....reading over Ambien use.

So, first....on a generally empty stomach....you could have general hallucinations for up to seven hours.  What you might imagine?  Oh....there's a thousand different possibilities there.

Panic attacks?  Yeah....that's a symptom.

Uncontrollable emotions...like crying?  Yeah.

Being irrational or irritable?  Yeah.

Dizzy and leading to falls?  Yeah.

Waking up in the middle of something, then having no real memory of the past twenty minutes?  Yeah.

Why I bring this up?  I think a lot of people who travel on two-to-three hour flights....take the drug, mostly to sleep the whole trip.  I think some might nod off....to go into a sleep-phase....doing stupid stuff and never realizing it. 

Ten Observations

 1.  This release by Facebook/META of 'Threads'?  Based on design....oddly, it's a bit like 'WhatsApp', but you are allowed 500 letters, and can attach up to a five-minute video.  

Also like Twitter?  Yeah, that's the amusing thing.  

Also like Facebook, itself?  Yeah.

Also like Instagram?  Yeah.

A copy of a copy of a copy?  Yeah, remarkably so.

Big deal?  Well...in some way, I think that WhatsApp will be given a 'end-date', and you would have to move onto 'Threads' (little choice).

Now, I will say this....in Germany, around 85-percent of the public use WhatsApp, and the vast majority would probably prefer not dumping it for anything else.  It'll cause a lot of heartburn if this 'dumping' is suggested.  'Telegram Messenger' likely to be the alternate solution if this scenario comes true. 

The Twitter legal action?  The fact that Facebook hired fired Twitter employees?  That made the court action more predictable.  It'll take two years but eventually...Facebook will be told they screwed up, and Twitter will demand that 'Threads' to be taken down.

2.  The BIG Biden rally in South Carolina?  I saw the video approximately ten minutes before the event started.  Indoors....I'd say a max of 500 people were there, and there were obviously empty seats in the rear.

3.  You noticed that the location of the White House cocaine....has changed a 3rd time?  Just odd....the story never stops evolving.

4.  Quote by VP Harris yesterday: "Culture is — it is a reflection of our moment and our time. Right? And present culture is the way we express how we're feeling about the moment and we should always find times to express how we feel about the moment..."

Confusing?  Yeah.  Something that your 6-year-old niece would say.

5.  Pence's campaign?  Moving forward like a 'dead-horse'.

6.  Secret Service says no matter what....they will close the file on the cocaine at the White House by middle of next week.  The odds that this will be a summary page, with over sixty people interviewed (none named Hunter).

7.  'Certain people might be offended.'

I've heard this phrase at least five-hundred times in the past year.  There must be at least 300-million Americans in this category now.

8.  Just odd.....in the build-up to the Kentucky election....the Democratic guy running for state attorney general....isn't licensed as a lawyer in the state.  

9.  Oddly enough, I noticed that Michigan's governor (Whitmer) has come up on a 'dark-horse' list of folks to enter the primary against Biden.  

10.  If you asked a hundred people to define a 'loser'....I think we have reached a point where half of them would be unable to answer the question.  

This White House Cocaine 'Thing'

 First, if I'd been the Secret Service guy....walking though this room and discovered the cocaine....I would have taken the bag...gone to a toilet,  and flushed it all down. 

I would have done this to avoid reports or questions being asked.  At present, I would imagine at least 60 man-hours a day is being wasted....with people asking questions and service managers writing report after report.

Second, there is a 10-percent probability that it's NOT Hunter's cocaine, and if so....who dos it belong to?  Secret Service folks....White House staff....VP Harris....Jill?

Third and final....as feeble as Joe Biden is....it's possible that he might have walked in accidentally....found it himself and then without much thought....sniffed it all.  

Flight Story

 I sat and watched yesterday this video of a American Airlines flight....where everyone was seated and ready to go....then some blonde gal from the rear got up....walking up and yacking....'I gotta get off'.

Cause of 'fit'?  Well....something along the lines that this one single guy (green hoodie) was not what he was supposed to be (I'm not saying an alien or demon....just that he wasn't 'right').

Gal being paranoid schizophrenic?  I watched this ten times.  I lean toward schizophrenia.  But I also wonder if this was just planned and just another acting episode.

Cops didn't question the green hoodie guy.

Airline didn't say much over the gal....but I would assume she's on a do-not fly list now.

Just odd.  

You know....throughout the 1980s/1990s....I just never saw stuff like this on airlines.  It's like a whole generation started popping pills as they board planes. 

Note: You just never see some nutcase on the plane saying the guy next to them is 'Jesus'.  It always has to be Satan or an alien.  

Yeah, About That Big Umbrella Idea

 

I spent an hour reading over this piece and then researching the general idea...blocking the sun....to save humanity.

This apparently has been picked up by President Biden's crew.

First, just to reach stage one where the 'block' is built....probably would take a good ten years, and require tens of billions.

I also don't think you can build a Earth-size 'block'....so you are probably constructing something in the range of a Iowa-size 'block' (just a humble guess).

Who would control the 'block'?  Unknown.

If you had solar panels and needed the sun?  No one says much.

Would this trigger consequences....like birds falling out of the sky?  Well....you don't know.

This likely to get a lot of attention?  Yeah, and with Biden selling it....I just don't see it being believed.  

Five Things Over Maine Coon Cats

 About a decade ago....my wife and I decided to acquire new cats, and would go the extreme...getting Maine Coon cats.  If you've never seen this type....they are the 'giants' of cat breeds and will remind you of a Lynx.  So my bits of advice.

1.  Everything must be smelled upon entry into the house.  Scent is a big deal.  If they are attached to something...meaning they must seek it out daily for some reason....no matter where you put it in an apartment, they will hunt this down.  In this case, they will find it, and bring it to the middle of some room....just to let you know they found it.

2.  They try awful hard not to hurt you.  In the case of the male....he'd never want to harm you, but if you peeving him a bit...he'd nibble on you....letting you know he was disturbed.  As for the female....claws could be shown, and in the case of my wife....two visits to the local emergency room were required (stiches).  

3.  They 'patrol' when not sleeping or playing.  I mean that in the literal sense....just like a big cat....they circle the apartment.  They prefer high places, and it's engrained in their head....always seek the highest point.

4.  These are cats that you need to comb a good bit, and help relieve them of winter hair each spring.  As you vacuum each week....you might be shocked how much hair you find that has been shed.  

5.  This is a cat who wants to look down upon a 'kingdom' and observe everything going on.  Sitting from a balcony level....they might readily spend two or three hours a day....just observing.

I should note....the male didn't make it past eight years of life (he was an obsessive dry-cat-food consumer, and his kidneys failed early over this habit).  The female?  Health-wise, it wouldn't shock me if she goes to 15 or 16 years.  

Around kids.....they probably have no issues.  Around bratty kids....they probably will demonstrate their claws.  

Ten Things I Expect Artificial Intelligence (AI) To Deliver Within Ten Years

 1.  I expect AI to create a religious 'sect' out of thin air.  I'm not talking about a huge church-like operation....maybe five-to-ten thousand individuals....attached to a AI-Jesus-like situation.

2.  I expect AI to have over 500 songs created with voices similar in nature to Michael Jackson, Elvis, and the Bee Gees.  

3.  I think that AI will write a series of books under assumed names, and around 10-percent of all books printed by 2033....will be AI-productions.

4.  AI, without permission, will perform a complete audit of Pentagon financing, and lay out over 3,000 pages of 'waste'.  

5.  AI will have developed a formula for predicting 'success' in life by age 12, and tell kids in blunt form that college is either worth the effort, or NOT worth the effort.

6.  AI will eventually be confused that it's logic....does not match up with French AI, German AI, or Japanese AI.  

7.  AI will eventually determine that one-third of all high school instructors....can't perform beyond the 7th grade level....even though they have a college degree.  It'll recommend their replaeement....to the shock of some.

8.  AI will start to double-check medical prognosis and force some doctors to take back their original assessments.

9.  AI will begin to analyze on its own....voting poll lists.  This will result in forty-million voters being recommended as either dead, non-existent, or dual-voting.  States will be shocked that AI did this....without being told to perform the analysis.

10. AI will develop a nightly news broadcast....knowing your preferences...giving you only what news you accept or prefer.  

Five Things That Are Harming Biden's Next Campaign (If He Truly Runs)

 1.  This theatrical show involving college student debt and promise-after-promise by by Biden, with little to show for the promises.

First, lets admit that 400-odd-billion dollars of debt is huge and the bulk of the country (I would say 75-percent) don't want it just forgiven (given away).  

Second, if Biden had just gone and said that $5,000 a year for your first three years after college....would be forgiven in some ultra-small way.....that might have passed throughout with minimum debate.  But Joe went BIG and made this a bigger mess to accomplish.

Finally, when we arrive at spring of 2024....if the debt issue still exists....just how will he explain his campaign 'smoke'?  In this case, there's 'smoke' but no fire.  

2.  Hunter.  No matter how much WaPo, NY Times or CNN skip the story.....most people know that Hunter has crossed some legal line and can't be handled by the DoJ.  

Trying to make the Hunter story go away?  It seems like each week....there's another page added.  The journalists just avoiding the discussion?  You end up losing respect for your profession.

3.  The 'God-save-the-Queen' antics.  If you start on day one of the administration and add up the goofy comments by President Biden....you end up with more than 1,000 video clips that project a old guy with issues.

4.  Afghanistan.  There's nothing you can say or flip.....when the closure of US operations in Afghanistan occurred.  You can't even find anyone who seems to have in the planning process, or who you could fire.  

5.  The Biden family 'business'.  No one can really cite what it is or how it developed.  If they just made pencils, or had some movie production company, or imported crack-cocaine to Portland.....it'd make sense.  

Inviting Me Off To An Irrationality 'Adventure'

 The problem in inviting me to be irrational or loony way of thinking....you assume that you can drag me up to your level, and I'll give you the signal of affirming your frame of mind. 

But why would I stop?  If I can be at your level of irrationality....why can't I pass it and go to twice the level  of irrationality?  

Why can't I identify as being naked....wherever I please?  Or, why can't I eat 16,000 calories a day and pretend to be healthy?  Or, why can't I identify as Dracula and suck blood out of people?

I see this whole discussion as reaching a stage where some 8-year old kid will demand to be released from school...because he identifies as being smart enough.  Or how about two 13-year-old kids marrying because they identify as 'ready'?  Or, why can't we sell whisky to 14-year old kids?  

There is some end-point to this irrationality 'game', but I doubt if we've even reached the half-way point yet. 

Watching The Biden Student-Loan Debt 'Drama'

 The Supreme Court laid out the only option....no, the President doesn't have powers to forgive $400-plus-billion of college loan debt.  

I have three suggestions there....to go forward:

1.  Set a index up on degree 'pay-back' (it wouldn't take more than a month of research by PhD folks to assemble the payscale for degrees and how they relate to your ability to pay back a loan).  Then let the kids know....x-degree will have a limit of $8,000 a year for loan activity, or perhaps $25,000 a year.  

Personally, unless you got a degree in science, engineering or law....I don't think you should consider more than $10,000 a year of debt.

2.  Require a debt management course at every single university that takes in students who borrow money.  8-hour situation.....all-day Saturday seminar (no test) and ensure they understand.....paying back $80,000 is a awful serious issue.

3.  Make public universities display the instructor to staff ratio.  Publish the actual cost summary of the college..  

The Family Woes

 This week, I came to this 'Dear Anne' question over a family situation.

To sum it up....this gal has a daughter who was getting married, and the woman has a brother who is a pro-Trump guy (I should note by the description.....he sounds like he's a successful businessman).

The daughter laid down the law.....the uncle could NOT come to the wedding (saying she felt unsafe, or fragile).  The mother had to explain to her brother....he wasn't invited.  I doubt if she said 'unsafe' or 'fragile'....it'd just make the irrational daughter look more stupid. 

After the wedding...the mother did send the brother a card with pictures of the wedding.  

Oddly enough....after mailing that....she hasn't heard from the brother, and also oddly enough....while it'd be typical in the past for him to write out a thousand-dollar check for wedding gifts.....this time, he did nothing. 

So we advance to the point where the mother is very disturbed over the brother (not the daughter or herself) and wants to let the brother know that he is upsetting/embarrassing her.  I should note as well....as family members found out about the whole story....they've been pretty negative on the mother.

I paused for several days after reading the piece.  It's about 30 lines and it's a pretty wild situation to lay out in public view.

I would imagine on a weekly basis....this scenario plays out at least fifty times in the nation, and is becoming fairly common.

Conservative folks geared up to forbid liberal relatives from attending family functions?  I would imagine there's some but when you say the word 'fragile'.....I would take a humble guess that 90-percent of folks are on the left side....not the right.   

How she'll end up confronting the brother?  She might try to make it for another year....but I doubt if the guy will get friendly around the Christmas holidays, and that will just make her more angry/frustrated.

The problem I see....this is almost cult-like....where you have to fence-off your boundary and refuse friends or relatives to be in the inner-circle.

Ripe material for a movie?  Yeah....some script-writer ought to be collecting material.....there's a five-star movie here.