Math Story

 Over the weekend...I noted this university story.

Some University of California-Berkeley calculus professor got to talking over issues.  They noted that 'some' students are “five to eight years behind in mathematics.” 

They arrive fresh out of high school....no one halting them with 'stupid' SAT & ACT requirements.  Then reality settles in....'some' of them (never say a percentage...but I would assume between 10-percent and one-third....unable to handle more than 5th/6th grade math.

This begs the questions routine from me:

1.  The last five years of high school....what were they doing?

2.  Were there actual math teachers in the final five years of high school....if so....are themselves lacking?

3.  What does this say of California education in general?

4.  Are these the first folks to have their jobs replaced by AI?

If you can't handle fractions/converting....by age fifteen....aren't you limited on job potential for the remainder of your life?

What College Is and Is Not

When you make some determination to go off and attend university somewhere, there ought to be logical process or thinking involved.....but because of the juvenile behavior thinking in the mix....you lose some perception and common sense along the way.

College is not a social club for misfits or loser-attitude teenagers.

College is supposed to make you think....to perceive....to ask questions....to determine facts and balance out an end-result.

College is not a union.

College is usually a place where you end up meeting folks from different walks of life, some with religious convictions....some with far-left-wing convictions....some with communist ideology drilled in.....some with dreams of becoming a forest-ranger....and some with dreams of becoming President of the United States some day.

College is not a clique of borderline misfits, and if you think you've bumped into some....you are in a loser university.

College is where smart professors teach you the art of logic and thinking.

College is not a mob-club that allows students to run the system.

College isn't a place where free-space is restrained.

College is not a semi-professional sport association.

College is generally the only place where you can practice geometric equations, lab experiments, debate skills....screw-up....and learn from your mistakes without any harm.

College is not a place where attendance means success in life.

College is a place where you could bump into a Chinese gal, a British-eventually-to-become-a-Lord, an alcoholic Scot, a flirtatious Swedish gal, an Einstein-like Japanese guy, an migrant from Libya, and a mentally insane German....all in one single day.

College is not a safe playground where you play silly games all day.

College is supposed to be a dividing line about maturity, acceptance of logic, a taste of debate, and an open door to knowledge.

College isn't a thug or riot-training environment.

At the end of this period of attendance....you should have learned something and discovered a wide expanse of knowledge.  You ought to be able to listen to arguments and find points to agree or disagree.  If this isn't your situation?  Fine, get an occupation and move on in life.

The Typical Idiot Who Falls for the Anti-Capitalist or Pro-Socialist Slant

I've sat and watched a number of videos over the past month where young men and ladies (presumably from university protest action) were asked to detail and explain their pro-socialism view on the world and how capitalism is destroying civilization.  Generally, you notice three things about their talk and view:

(1) They have virtually no understanding of business or commerce.  If you asked them how the tennis shoes on their feet came to exist....a blank stare would likely occur.  Why almost no tennis shoes are manufactured in the US today....wouldn't be something that they could explain, or why virtually no TVs are manufactured in the US.  It's like they attended two or three years of college without taking a single class in business.

(2) They've never traveled beyond the border of the US.  They reference France or Germany an awful lot....but oddly, they simply haven't been to either.  They reference Cuba a good bit.....but haven't been there.  They reference the Soviet Union or Russia a good bit.....but haven't been there.

(3) They seem to be absolutely on the idea that a company could exist where the employees run everything and there are no bosses or corporate umbrella.  Beyond some local flower shop or two-man barber-shop.....they typically can't identify a single business that exists like they describe.  They keep on identifying some company in France that runs this way, or how all businesses run in Finland.

In essence, it's a naive 'club'.  They've paid some dues to get in the front door....hype up the agenda with other members....and keep talking about the perfect world that exists in Finland, Cuba, or some fantasy utopia.

I often get the idea that they also enjoy a 402-situation (pro-marijuana).

You'd generally say that this group of individuals lack skepticism, common sense, and a pondering nature.  Whatever lecture they got lured into....they tend to believe in the fantasy world described and never question anything.  The odd thing here is that thirty to forty years ago....you would have in various college lectures and the impact of independent thinking, analysis, and skeptic nature would have drilled into you.  For some reason, these skills....which you generally need in life to survive....aren't lectured upon.

What happens in the end?  Somewhere down the line....someone is going make some impact upon these naive minds and bring them to some Socrates-like moment where they have to reflect and ponder upon the situation.  It won't be a pleasant experience.

Forty-Nine Year Moment

It was forty-nine years ago two weeks ago....that I entered into the Air Force.  Hard to imagine that this much time has passed.  Some observations:

1.  I actually left Alabama on the 1st (a Monday).  My mom carried me down to Florence, and we had dinner at the cafe across from the bus station.  As I remember, a hamburger steak, with a salad (crackers included).  After the bus ride to Nashville.....they put us up in a 2-star motel and kinda said in strong words that we'd all be better off staying around the motel (not getting into trouble).

2.  The money.  The recruiter guy had said that the max I'd need for basic training was maybe $25.  I had about a hundred in my pocket upon leaving Alabama....mostly all tens and ones.  Oddly, my mom slipped me two fifty-dollar bills minutes before the bus and just suggested I might need it.  I stuck the two fifties into the far back of my billfold, and to be honest.....I didn't think much about the bills and lost track of them.  Eighteen months later when I was retiring that billfold....I came to discover them again.

3.  The bag.  The recruiter guy had said that I didn't need to bring much in terms of clothing....just an overnight bag, a spare pair of jeans, and enough shirts/underwear/socks to last three days.  That was a mistake.  While we left out of Nashville on a flight to San Antonio on Tuesday afternoon....it would be Monday morning of the next week before they issued out the new uniform gear (to include socks and underwear).  So I ended wearing most everything at least two full days, in intensive heat and loaded down with sweat.

4.  The heat.  It was a remarkable period in early August....both in Alabama and Texas.  The Texas heat was mostly unbearable.  You'd already be sweating at 7AM.  Because of the heat, you had some unusual thunderstorms that would come through.  There were at least three big storms during the six weeks I was at basic training.

5.  The physical stuff.  To be honest, it was pretty much a cake-walk on the physical training stuff.  Every morning....there was probably 40 minutes of something going on, with weekends off.  The odd thing is that you ran this daily track business (early on was half-a-mile and the last two weeks was 1.5 miles) in a pair of $29 boots.  To this day, I'm surprised that people didn't have feet problems.

6.  The food.  Breakfast for me was for six weeks the same thing....sausage, two eggs sunny-side up, toast, a cinnamon roll, and two glasses of orange juice. Lunch was the same thing....two burgers, fries, a piece of pineapple upside down cake, and two glasses of Coke. The evening dinner was generally two Cokes, two pieces of fruit (usually bananas), and some pudding.  If they had chicken for the dinner period, I'd munch on that.

7.  The weight thing.  The recruiter had never said a word about weight standards.  Yeah, that was odd. So, on day four of basic, there were four of us pulled into some room and weighed....with all four of us over the max for our height.  I was six pounds over my max.  I didn't think much about this at the time.  Five weeks would pass and they'd drag all four of us the day prior to graduation into a room and weigh us again.  In that five week period....I lost 26 pounds. To be honest, I didn't really diet or eat different for the whole six weeks, except for this evening dinner each night.  You just did enough stuff to burn a pound off every two days.  My uniform?  Toward the last week, it just did barely fit. When they handed me my bag with the jeans which I had last worn on 8 August, I found that they just didn't fit anymore.  I ended up at Sheppard AFB's BX upon arrival and bought two new pair of jeans....size 34.  That size 34 period lasted maybe one year at the most.

8.  It continually amazed me how many idiots had stress problems with basic training.  Some guy had a brief phone-call with his girlfriend of six months, and she'd dumped him.....he went nuts and they had to watch him for a 24-hour period. Another guy couldn't handle absoluteness of folding uniforms for the locker.

9.  The course.  Toward the final seven days, we were slated for an all-day play-day, with a 90-minute run through some obstacle course.  This was hyped up every single day for the prior two weeks.  Folks had some bad nerves over what would occur.  For me, it was hot as heck....probably near 95 degrees, and the minute they offered me a chance to fall from some rope gimmick into a pool of cold water, I was obliged and just fell for the relief.

10.  The C-ration lunch.  In my entire career....c-rations were the norm until the mid-1980s.  All total, I probably ate four of the C-rats, and will just say it was the worst tasting food you could imagine.  MRE's were a welcome sight when they arrived.  For basic, we had one such C-rat lunch, after the course.  It was built up as a big deal.....most of us throw half the package away and begged to march back to the barracks chow-hall.

11. The relief.  On the final day, everyone packed up and ready to go by 7AM.  I was destined for Sheppard (a total of six of us were going there).  Our bus picked us up around 8AM, and I settled back into a seat and felt absolute relief.  We exited the gate and for roughly six hours traveled across mostly a landscape of farms.  We'd arrive at some recently built giant barracks (enough rooms for 500 folks).  They wasted an hour picking up the paperwork and giving us the keys to the rooms.  I was kinda shocked thirty minutes later to be sitting a nicely air-conditioned room, with a decent bed and semi-privacy (one room-mate....a 38-year old guy who was a national guard member from New Jersey).

12.  The day off.  There's one single day from basic, near the end, where you get a pass into town. I hung out with a guy named Johnson from Tennessee.  Somehow we got to mid-town San Antonio.  My day consisted of seeing the Alamo, eating a t-bone steak, and watching some late-afternoon movie.

13.  Duty day.  Somewhere in the middle of the six weeks, you had to go and pull a all-day Saturday duty somewhere.  Most of the guys in the group ended up doing chow-hall duty or park clean-up.  I was given the duty of the base recreation center.  Basically, I signed out canoes, camping gear, and whatever.  Over the eight hour period....I had a total of ten customers.  So I mostly sat around for the whole day.

I don't ever think of this period in negative terms....just that the six weeks passed awful quick, and one morning we did some march around some review stand, and then went back to the barracks to pack up.  It was over as quickly as it started.

Where TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome) Evolves To?

 For the past month, I've pondered upon this.

First, at the end of 2028....to say it ends as Trump exits....would be wrong.  Part of TDS will evolve into RDS or VDS (Rubio/Vance syndrome).  If you had problems with Trump....it won't dissolve away.

Second, when Trump passes....I assume between 2028 and 2038....there might be a brief time where the TDS-suffering people feel relief.  But I would suggest the majority (three-quarters of sufferers)....will continue to talk about this with friends, relatives, or associates.  Most will live out their remaining years (possibility another 50 years) in this mental stage.

Third, CNN halting their TDS angle, and creating an enormous 'pit' of nothing....over TDS-hype?  Well....it's likely to happen, and people who were locked-into TDS....will ask why CNN just quit the hype.

Fourth, mental clinics to expand into TDS and offer rehab of some type?  I'm of the mind that it's a potential goldmine of sorts....where you go off for ten days....getting into group-talk, and learning to clear your mind.

Fifth....your relative's feelings locked into place?  This will continue on...for decades.  Cousin so-and-so....Aunt such-and-such....you review a list of talking subjects prior to each visit, and give them some feeling of 'no-problem'....while never engaging on anything political in discussions (mostly talking about the Braves, NCAA football, weather, and Bible scriptures).

Sixth, eventually....someone will start to suggest that ODS (Obama Derangement Syndrome) exists....as does BDS (Biden Derangement Syndrome), LDS (Lincoln Derangement Syndrome), and even NDS (Newsom Derangement Syndrome).  A list of 3,000 DS's will eventually be drafted-up.  Odd ones will start to pop up....MDS (McDonalds Derangement Syndrome), T-plusDS (Trans Derangement Syndrome), and SDS (Slut Derangement Syndrome). 

Seventh,  some science project will eventually determine that within the US....there's forty-odd million TDS sufferers.  Even in the UK...the number of sufferers will be hinted at 12-odd million.  Across the globe....probably 120-million.  

Dallas Airport Foot Washing 'Scandal'?

 In the Muslim religion....there is something called 'Wudu'.  It basically means after a hot-dusty walking (in your sandals)....you need to cleans your feet.  (Yeah, it is a Jesus-thing, if you think about the tradition).

For about seven years....at the Dallas Airport....they had a couple of foot-washing stations established.  No one said much.   

Back in July, the Airport went and submitted a proposal....to add two more stations.  A men's area, and a women's area.....in the bathroom areas.

This got out, and a discussion started up.  Cost factor?  $300,000.

Why?  Well...across the US....in airports with no foot-washing stations....Arab guys were putting their feet in hand-washing sinks, and creating hazards.  Sanitation also came up as a topic.

This selling easily to the public?  No.

But I'd go and ask three questions.  

First...if this is a practical idea, and Arabs are traveling around the US....wouldn't you have to have a foot-washing station in every airport?

Second, while everyone hints of a Muslim 'thing'.....isn't it mostly true that long before Islam wrote the ten-odd rules for Wudu....weren't older Semitic, Jewish purity laws, and Zoroastrian traditions doing the same thing?

Third, isn't all of this geared toward sandal-people....not folks wearing loafers....which is the typical footwear of 90-percent of Islamic guys not in hot dry environments?

 Then I come to this odd thing....there's probably 30-million people to walk through the Dallas Airport since 2019....that never even noticed the foot-washing stations that already existed.  Same thing with the tampon-machines in men's bathrooms....most guys never noticing that either.  Funny how we travel and never seem to notice crazy stuff?

1975 - 2026: How Conversation Differed

 It occurred to me....there's this strange 'path' for conversational topics in 1975, and in 2026.

There were usually ten general areas of conversation in 1975.

First, you could bring up the Baptist revival wrapping up....the lack of AC at the church....Minister Jim being let go....Reverend Bob compulsive talk over moral lessons.

Second, you could bring up NCAA football....Coach-Bear's recruitment last year....Neighbor Rick who is going to Tuscaloosa for Saturday's game, or the crappy nature of Bowl selection.

Third, weather.  Either lack of rain....too much rain....storm alert....or a 30-minute talk over the best place during a tornado.

Fourth, so-and-so's husband/wife ran off.....neighbor Cal's mother-in-law coming to visit for six weeks....Widow so-and-so hanging out with the bank manager.

Fifth, so-and-so's daughter kicked out of college....such-and-such teacher let-go because of immoral relations with some 16-year old high school gal....or so-and-so's son (age 16) got so-and-so's daughter (age 17) pregnant.

Sixth, cars.....Ford has some new transmission....GM is recalling such-and-such....your cousin's Oldsmobile caught on fire.

Seventh, animals....so-and-so's cattle broke the fence----with 12 escaping out into some snake-infested woods....you've come over to talk of buying a herd of donkeys....beef prices escalating.

Eighth, so-and-so's son has returned from his three years of Marine service....your neighbor is hyped-up to join the National Guard....your cousin was declared mentally unfit for Army service and wants to talk about 'why'.

Ninth, weather chat.....the neighbor wants your opinion of H D Bagley (Channel 19's weather guy) versus Channel 31's 'Lester'. The science-minded neighbor might want you to explain doppler-radar, and you have your 7-year-old kid explain it.

Tenth, advice talk.  Neighbor needs your advice on hornet infestation.  Your cousin has a snake infestation.  Your slutty neighbor gal (the one who wears tube-tops daily wants your feeling over lawn management.

2026?

It's a list of 3,000 topics....mostly in conflict with 50-percent of your friends, neighbors, and relatives.  Some of the topics involve stuff that CNN can't talk about....which makes you wonder about out-loud, and getting your aunt all disturbed.  Some people arrive at the carport and seem to confessing 700 pages of information about medical BS....which you admit....you might be more of a expert on dog issues/medications.  So-and-so stops by....wanting your personal feeling over trans-stuff....with you thinking they mean a Ford transmission versus a GM transmission.  

My favorite conversation moment?  Somewhere around 1973...some local fellow (Alabama rural landscape) who knew my dad....stopped by...with his dead hunting hound in the back of the truck.  The dog had gotten into some five-star 'fight' and died while tangling up with some wildcat.  Guy had found the dog, and was emotionally distraught.  He wanted to share this woeful moment.  My dad...kinda stoic in nature....listened intently for about ten minutes....letting the guy share things.  Then my dad suggested a proper burial somewhere and a marker.  Our guest wiped his tears away....appreciated the advice, and quietly left.  There was some quiet conversation between my dad and I...with him saying....sometimes, you just need folks to share something, and then find a way to get them fixed-up 'right'.

The world has evolved a bit, but we probably just need to give folks a chance to dump something, and tell them to resolve the problem.  

Seven General Questions You Can Use....To ID Your Friend's IQ Level

 What is the capital of your state?

List the zip code of your local town.  

Who wrote Romeo and Juliet?  

What is the chemical formula for water?  

Approximately when did World War II end in Europe (year)?  

From World War II, from the list of USSR, UK, Japan, France, Italy and Canada....who were our allies, and who were the enemy?

How many continents are conventionally recognized on Earth?

If a person can't answer any of these correctly....you can assume the IQ level is 80 or below.  If you can get one of the seven....it's likely a 90-IQ.  

Nikola Tesla

This past week....I got hooked onto looking up the last twenty years of Tesla.  So the story usually went...from 1927 on....he was in some cheapo-slum-like hotel, and just marginally surviving.

Well....NO.

Around 1927....in NY City, they started to build the New Yorker Hotel....which was the exclusive 'brand' of hotels in the city. 

Early 1930s....Tesla is set up in the hotel....two rooms....33rd floor....costly monthly rate.  One room for sleeping....one room for office/'research'.

Who paid the bill?  Westinghouse (the company).

The three generators in the basement?  This story is never fully detailed.  One was enough (at the time/era) to supply all the power needs of the city of New York.  It's never clear why three were built into the building.

When Trump's uncle came to pick up the research 'boxes'?  Most people agree....what was returned to relatives....was a minor portion of what Trump picked up.

The last decade of Tesla's life?  I think he was still toying with communications (long-distance).

Why the dilapidated hotel bogus story?  Yeah, that part is now in my mind.....bogus and made-up....for some odd reason.

14 August Observations

1.  WNBA owners and the league management met Thursday....still unable to define a 'woman'....now saying it may take weeks/months.

I'm of the mind that there are probably over 300 words....which these people are currently able to define (to include dumbass, man, juvenile, grassroots, hocus-pocus, insane, and fruitcake).

2.  I watched some podcast this week....talking over a suggested UAP/alien/UFO subject.  The new suggestion?  There might be tens of thousands of aliens....already walking around us in society.  

I paused over this....IF they looked like us and were simply 6 to 12 inches taller....I doubt that you'd ever figure this out.  Odds of this?  After thinking over it....I'd say 50-50 chance.

3.  Karoline Leavitt, White Press secretary/host....leaving at the end of the month?  Well....that's the initial story.  

My thoughts.....she will exit....no permanent replacement will be selected.  After Thanksgiving and the mid-term election....she will return.  Her job from now to December....talk at campaign stops for House/Senate folks....for Trump's message.  

4.  Among the six-odd podcast folks that I follow....whose whole theme is economics/home-buying....the second half of 2026 is seen marginally 'bright'.  Home-buying....with current interest rates....is locked into a undesirable position.  

5.  Biggest shocker for 2027 'era'?  About 10-percent of the work-force is likely to be told that AI is replacing them.  Additional shocker?  About half of them will be told this....but it'll be a bogus excuse that the company uses....just to shrink the production/service cost to the organization.

This group....will be mentally affected, and trigger a PTSD situation....irrational fear of laid-off....by AI.

6.  I've decided....this 'I-identify-as' BS is legit.  So I am defining myself.....as a Einstein-PhD-level genius.  With the ID, college BS, or testing crap.  

If you feel you are a Roy Clark-type singer, or a Micky Mantle-type baseball player....just ID as such. 

7.   AOC....annual salary for the past 7 years: $174,000 a year.  Net-worth claimed?  $31,000.

Single, no kids, no mortgage, no car.

Something ain't right....did she spend every penny on shoes, or booze?

What Happens In The WNBA, Enes Kanter, Royce White Saga?

I doubt that the WNBA can create a way to avoid the two playing WNBA games....other than saying both do not meet qualifications.

So Kanter and White will end up suing in court....probably for $20-million in damages....which six months of delay will occur....before paying both off.

More of a comedy now?  I'd suggest that.

My Six Primary Problems With The WNBA

 First....if you understand 'traveling' violations....there's an average of 30-plus violations per game....usually never called.

Second....same story for 'turning-the-ball-over'....there at least thirty-plus violations....never called.

Third....if you view games...across the entire league....there's probably 15 to 20 capable/qualified players in the league....enough to have 3 (maybe 4) teams at best.  

Fourth....the league pretends in some way to be roller-derby-type of players (rough), and half of my enjoyment of watching is the anger on display.

Fifth....of the top five players paid (big bucks)....you could dismiss two of them because they are just social-media 'stars'....not real players.

Sixth....whatever was the original intent....they are mostly a collection of LGTBQ-plus people (about 75-percent), and rarely fill an arena beyond 3,000 paying customers.

Four Observations

 1.  Trump-leaves-Turkey-in-alternate-plane.

After reading over this story a bit....I've come to this reality.  The only way it works the way it is....is that the Secret Service knew some CIA hit-team was involved....listening to internal comms....ready to launch a missile toward Air-Force-1.....but 'wakes-up' after the alternate jet has departed (with Trump)....so the mission is cancelled. They basically know....that someone figured out the scheme.

2.  Some West Hardford, CT School board member....made a statement at a meeting....saying black teachers should get paid more because it’s hard to be black.

Bonus-up black teachers over white teachers?  Yeah....she said that.

3.  WNBA owners and league management sat through meetings yesterday...UNABELE to agree on what makes a woman....a woman.

More meetings today.

Some goofy rumor started up....that they have a transwoman or two already....fearing that this might get out and mess up things entirely.

4.  Scientists have figured out....that Denisovans were fairly tall....maybe even 8 inches taller than a average human.

Top Five Democratic Contenders?

 At this point...mid-2026....I am basically discounting all House/Senate potential candidates in 2028....none are 'worthy'.

Governor Newsom?  Based on potential charges....fed-type....he's probably out.

Josh Shapiro (Pennsylvania governor) leads the marginal pack.

Stephen A. Smith (ESPN moderator)?  I'd actually rank him in the top five now.

Mayor-Pete?  Oddly....still in the top five.

I'll just say it....it is the weakest field in three decades....unless Newsom runs.

AOC News?

  I got up this AM....top story?  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez splits from fiancé Riley Roberts.  In fact....they kinda hint that this split actually occurred 18-to-24 months ago.

After pondering it for a while....I had four questions:

1.  How did the news folks miss the break-up.....for almost 2 years?

2.  At this age point....is there any guy in his 40s to 50s....capable of hooking up with AOC?

3.  Is there something 'toxic' about AOC....in terms of a relationship situation?

4.  Can AOC run for President....single?  I have my doubts on this angle.

This being four-star news?  NO.....but there's just not much going on this week.  Other than NFL camps, WNBA draft potential for guys, and three states fixing up charges on Fauci now....there's just not much going on.  

The Hidden Codes Story

 I worked with a guy in the late 1990s.....who had this relative who'd come up in conversation.  The key point of this relative?  Well....paranoid schizophrenia.  And they were particular about their problem...that they were always secret codes/meanings being hidden in everything.

The Bible for example....had thousands of these hidden codes/meanings.

Daily newspapers....had hidden codes/meanings.

Billboard advertising....had hidden codes/meanings.

T-shirts....could have hidden codes/meanings.

There was no limit.  

There ever being some true hidden meaning?  Occasionally....about three or four times a year....yeah, they would make and prove their case with some subliminal advertising gimmick.

Thesis BS

 I worked for a Air Force Captain in the 1990s....who was working on his master's degree thesis.  It reached a point where the original idea, and written 'draft' wasn't working. He had me go and read what he had (I was probably the 4th person he asked).  

Note, I have 3x Associate Degrees, and 2x bachelor degrees.....all pretty much worthless (I even admit it).  I'll even admit....I just never had some end-goal, and was just taking courses which interested me. I'll also admit....I took around 25 CLEP/DANTES tests, and passed enough to equal one entire year of college.

After reading this draft....I went to the opening statement, and tried to value the statement to what he wrote.  It just didn't work.  He was discouraged enough....that he almost desired to pay some gal for a thesis copy (someone else's work from five years prior).  I don't remember the cost level, but for me....it was near a month's paycheck (enlisted guy).

I'm not into master's degrees or thesis-writing....but I suggested a name change to it.....throwing out 50-percent of the content....then wrote ten points (a paragraph opening each), and suggested he do more research on a more 'pointed' subject.  

Two weeks pass, and draft one is done.  In the end, the thesis was accepted, and the 'pain' was lifted.

I noted today....this fake professor in the UK deal.....they listed the title of his thesis: "An exploration of peer-mentoring among student teachers' to inform reflective practice within the context of action research."

Yeah....just looking at the title.....it sounds 98-percent BSish.

It has a fair amount of plagiarism, and was mostly a copy of someone's else's work.  Whether or not....it was a faked-up creation as well....from some guy in 2005, and that was a faked-up thesis of someone from 2001, and so-on, and so-on?  Well......you just wonder about that.  It could very well be....there's forty-odd versions of this....since 1970.

Final observation?  I'm not into the Master's or PhD crap, and even if you paid me money...I see it as wasted value.  We appear to need such people.  But I would imagine fifty-percent of them are mostly on some PhD-welfare fraud.

Hack Story

 I was reading this AI story in the AM.

Guy had gone to 'Claude' (the AI) and wanted to get into a yoga class (particular time/place).  'Claude' searched and search....discovering that the date requested (by the guy) was reasonably far off in the future, and the 'center' simply hadn't created vacant seats for this yoga class.

'Claude' then hacked into the system of the yoga-folks....added the dates that the guy requested, and wrote up an 'order' (fulfilled).

Somehow....never detailed....this was figured out.  

I pondered upon this.

AI never accepting defeat....calculating a alternate path....even if it had to re-write code/cheat?  Yeah.

To be honest, this is the AI I want....one never accepting failure.

Footnote...I have a slight bit of skepticism over the story...a 'guy' joining a yoga class?  It sounds fake.

Where I Evolved: 'Why Not Allow People To Have Their Delusions'

Probably up to the late 1990s....I was pretty open to the idea of allowing people to have delusions.  If people wanted to have invisible friends....believing they have talent (when they have none)....beliefs that they have medical conditions (when they have none)....believing that husband-x is engaged in infidelity when they aren't....I just let it go.

At some point....over a pretty short period....I dumped the free-to-have-delusions 'ticket', and started to get blunt.  If a guy or gal needed plain old 'get-your-act-together'....I gave it to them.

Part of this reality got intense as the trans-business started up.  

The intellectual arguments currently?  It simply leads back to some invisible or fake-reality. 

The idea that there are more of the delusionary crowd today....than in 1980?  That is the troubling part of this discussion.  I might have run into five or six people a year who had this issue.  Today....via social media or the news media...I probably observe five or six a day.

My Stop-In-The-Middle-Of-Nowhere-Parking-Lot Story

 My German wife hyped up a vacation in Italy....at the Garda Sea (northern quarter of Italy)....where we would drive from central Germany down.  I agreed to this, and had a fine route drawn.  Everything ran according to plan (excepting turning 'left' in Milano).  (Another story I'll tell one day)

After seven days...it's time to return.  I suggested a alternate route.

This would avoid the tunnel-business, and we would literally drive OVER the Alps.  When I say over....it means elevation climbs of 3,000 to 5,000 feet up.

At some peak-point....after a massive climbing experience with the car....we hit the peak area....where the Italians have a gravel parking lot for folks to halt, and get a 'whiff' of fine air.  It's at this point....the last five minutes....I start to notice cows just wandering around....no fencing....just loose.

So we hit the gravel parking area....I stop, and the wife agrees...it's a fine time to exit the car....get pictures, and get a 'whiff' of real fresh air.

She opens the door, and steps out without looking, and I've managed to park the car (with her door)....on a fairly fresh cow-paddy.  Full-step in.

There was about ten minutes of German cursing, and naturally.....I was blamed for the parking location.

This one event....labeled the alternate route....a complete and utter failure.

But this was not the worst part of the trip....about 30 minutes later....I came to discover that the brakepads were finished, and brakes marginally worked for the remainder of the trip home.  Monday morning....came the mechanic's view....roughly $1,500 for a full-complete brake job. 

Whenever trips come up now....where driving is an element....the route there, and back....have to be laid out completely....with no crazy Alps alternate routes possible.  

WNBA: Earth-Shattering Landscape

 There's supposed to be a WNBA 'draft' to occur shortly.  In the past ten days....two former NBA 'guys' have come forward to say....they identify as 'women', and want to participate in the draft. Top-class players?  No....I'd rank both as retired or bottom 200 of NBA players.

So the deal?

All these years....the friendly LGBTQ-WNBA....had no rule about players.  If you asked owners or players....they could NOT explain what a woman was (even with the 'W' in the name).

So the males of the NBA just laughed over this....until this point.  

The league boss?  There's to be an emergency meeting this week....owners and player's association.  Somehow.....they have to define a woman....then spell out a rule that people who identify as a woman (but aren't)...can't play in the WNBA.

Yeah....from the LGTBQ crowd....the 'T' is to be deleted....at least when talking basketball.

Players hyped-up?  I get the impression that around 50-percent aren't happy making such a rule or identifying who can be a woman.

The idea that rule cannot be agreed upon (by the team owners)?  Well....then the draft would be open, and they'd probably just say they won't draft pretender-women...leading to a court episode.

To be honest, we are around 15 years away from having the RNBA....the robot-league, and all this BS won't matter. We will agree....robots play better basketball than the WNBA.

The Boundless 'Limit' of Incompetence

Over the past week....I've reached a level of thinking/pondering....where I see a unlimited amount of people who are simply dangerously incompetent.

I see it in sports, politics, publishing, news, academia, religion, banking, commerce, and medicine.

I'm not saying marginally or lightly incompetent....I'd saying full-blown incompetent....to the level that they are a threat to society.

I noted this week.....there are apparently some University of California professors....who've stood up and asked the college 'bosses'...to reinstate the SAT for admissions.  Reasoning?  They say new students arriving....are unable to do standard high school-level (11th/12th grade) work.

They were quiet on the level they see....but one gets the impression....kids were arriving and prepared (perhaps) for 9th grade level work.

Around 2012....a work-associate brought up his issue with the daughter....who'd been accepted to a highly noted Virginia college.  The college required two tests prior to approval....marginally failing both....math and English.  What the college said....with no alternate route....they'd take her but she'd have to go and register for a 12th grade level high school level math and English course (paying for them), and pass both before getting the second semester approved.  'Dad' in this case....was a bit peeved....it meaning around $1,500 spent for the two high school classes at the college.

In California's case....the school probably won't easily return SAT testing....but they probably will mandate a minimum of two high school classes (maybe even six to eight courses).....before they allow the kid into real college classes.  Yeah, you can figure a minimum of $3,000 wasted here....perhaps even up to $10,000.  The crazy thing?  You can probably figure near 50-percent of California kids....upon graduation.....measure up to the 7th/8th grade in Alabama or Tennessee.

But why stop there?  The incompetence level affects politics, entertainment, banking and finance.

AI being the savior?  I have started to ponder this reality....that by 2035....some AI-robot will be supervising a dozen California employees....who are mature-enough to handle 6th-grade level production/work.  At some point, the AI-robot will begin to ask....shouldn't we just replace humans entirely...because of the incompetence level?

The Lacking Status?

 I was reading the Brit Guardian paper this AM.....the highlight?  Brit primary schools are to be told to identify children at risk of being unemployed in the future.

Yeah....the 7 or 8 year old kid without much talent/ambition/clever-nature....will have a national record started up.

They don't say how the data will be used....just that if you see dimwitted kids.....ID them.

I pondered over this.  

Based off the last three years of high school....I knew about eight folks (of 75)....who probably would be easily identified as 'lacking'.  They would be the ones working at the lumber-yard, stocking shelves, going to beauty-school, or long-haul trucking

Brightness was not the issue....they were just plain bored by the time they got to the 5th grade, and were just cruising along the final seven years.

To be honest....by the end of the 10th grade....my boredom index was hitting a '7' (1-to-10) and if you had allowed me to test-out....yeah, I would have tested enough to exit.

A lot of this having to do with poor instructors/teachers?  Yeah....I'd say 50-percent of the issue were crappy teachers.

How this Brit record will serve the gov't?  Anyone's guess....but I'd assume it won't be a pleasant experience. 

Cambridge BS

This AM....I was reading over Cambridge University (UK)....being listed with some ridiculous PhD courses currently being offered: 

- Traditional Cultural Norms, Technology and Gender Relations in Ghana (I assume there's 150 countries to be offered later)

- The Political Economy of Female Circumcision

- Unsexed beings: constructing gender, humanness, and agency through the use of the word “unsex” in Late Modern British society and writing

- In Her Own Words: A Study of Women’s Voices in Contemporary White Supremacy and Far-Right Online Hate

- Legal Mobilization by Black Lesbian, Bisexual and Queer (LBQ) Womxn in Kenya and South Africa

- Exploring gendered embodiment in transgender and gender-diverse adolescents at the intersection of exercise and eating behaviors, social inclusion, and mental health:  Towards a desire-centered approach in pediatric gender-affirming healthcare and research

- Codes of Life, Codes of Death: Tracing the (Im)possibility of Trans Lives in Algorithmic Assemblages

- Queer Cultural Memory in Literature, Film and Television since 1999

- The Sexually Sociological: Gay Masculinity, Intimacy and the (Un)queer State

After reviewing the list....I thought back to my days with University of Maryland, Louisiana Tech University, and Pierce Community College.  I felt lucky when they offered up Landscape Photography, Civil War History, Aviation History, and Germany Prior to 1914.

I was offered Intro to Mental Health....but they needed ten students to run it, and it failed with five folks interested in taking the course.

My general take on Cambridge University?  I'd say the intellectual-level is probably at age 11/12....at best.  What these lead to....in terms of skill or decision-making?  Zero.

College BS

 University of Michigan says it has invented a 'way'....to hide first-semester grades on transcripts....for students in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.  Reason?  Well....they say a fair number of kids are not doing well in the first semester of college, and this is in some way....creating a mental-health crisis.

I paused over this.

What they hint at....the grades are there and easily seen by the 2nd year and at the end of the degree process....but it can't be seen as you approach the end of the first semester. 

About ten years ago....I was reading a piece by a college administrator....who did the 'count' of 1st year students who quit (never come back after the 1st or 2nd semester.  For their college....it was something near 40-percent who didn't survive the first year.  They didn't get into details....but it made me wonder....financially, did they need the crappy students to attend two semesters....to make the business plan of the college work (at least on paper)?

While working at the Pentagon....I worked with a civilian whose daughter totally crapped out of the first year....roughly $28,000 in total cost (tuition, cost of living, dorm, car, etc).  He came into work one day....total crisis....the daughter more-or-less admitting that college was way over her head (this was a B-average high school student).  I asked....did the high school just pad the grades and inflate her intellectually?  He'd reached the point of believing that.  He had to get her into some mental health BS for three months, and then she ended up at local community college....doing physical-rehab study.  

The system broke?  It makes me wonder about that.

BS Chatter

 On my list of things to 'watch/care-about'....a list of 25,000 things....the Prince-Harry and Meghan saga....it ranks near 24,100.  Over the past month, it bumped up slightly.

Harry lost his UK court case, and owes a fair amount (plus court fees and his legal help).

The exit-door?  By spring of 2027....I think the Harry/Megan crew will sell the California property....pay off as much debt as possible....move to the UK....assume royal duty....get a 'free' home, and 'survive'.

Meghan in total chaos?  Yeah...whatever mess she designed originally....is destroyed at this point.

Divorcing Harry?  It probably comes up twice a day, but realistically....what can you get for 'pay'?  And who would you marry next?  The 'burn-rate'?  I would imagine they go through a quarter-million every single week.....when you talk of cost-of-living....security....taxes.

Great script or a movie?  Oh, I'd give it high potential.    

The Boris Image

Generally, whenever I hear the term "Russian meddling in the US election"....I have this image in my mind from the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons with Boris Badenov.

Boris Badenov was a fictional character of course.

Boris was invented in the late 1950s and was supposed to be the somewhat evil character...that was somewhere between being a German or a Soviet bad-guy.

After you've watched a couple hours of Rocky and Bullwinkle....you'd come to the conclusion that Boris was just a unlucky guy at situations.  He'd walk into a great situation, and minutes later find that he'd been outsmarted or just run into bad luck.

When I sit and watch CNN....I'm really trying hard not to visualize Boris....but typically, it only takes a minute of some dimwit with CNN talking and I've got Russian-meddling and Boris in my mind.

As much as Boris struggled and failed.....time after time....you got use to the Boris scheme and could figure out that American-branded Bullwinkle and Rocky would always walk away safe.

I've come to view the Russian meddling thing in the election as basically the same thing.  Whatever scheme was floated on the original version...it didn't really matter.  We....as Bullwinkle and Rocky....will walk away in a safe fashion.  It's virtually guaranteed.

As for future meddling?  Boris version II will appear in 2020 and 2024.  His sidekick....the slutty Natasha Fatale will probably accompany him.  CNN will interview both.  The arrival of the Russians will be hyped up and widely reported.  Some people will note that they were briefly swayed....mostly by the booze.....to trust CNN and Boris.  Eventually, we'll all have a good laugh.

On the Topic of Escalators

As a kid from the rural landscape of Alabama, I always had this fascination with escalators.  I was probably 12 or 13 years old when I 'rode' my first one.  In the period of 1978/1979 while in Frankfurt, I rode dozens.

For me, this was a mechanical curiosity.  You'd stand and admire the weight on one escalator and what amount of power it took to lift sixteen people to some second floor.  Then you'd admire the dependability and the fact that they rarely broke down.  You'd also reach a point where you wondered about the safety involved and the dangers.

While living in the DC area around 2010 to 2013....we had the episode where the escalator 'broke' and went into maximum turbo on the way down....literally throwing folks off down at the bottom. The escalator mechanics swore up and down....this was supposed to be impossible to occur.

For a long while, the longest escalator that I'd ever ridden was in a subway station in Munich....taking roughly 90 seconds to reach the ground surface.  Then I came to DC and rode the Wheaton Station escalator....which takes roughly two minutes to ride to the top (around 250 feet).  You can figure that that escalator was hauling a minimum of a 150 people in a rush-hour period, so there's a ton of 'power' to make this deliver.

I sat today and was reading up on the North Korean Pyongyang Metro system, and they have a single escalator there...where it can take almost four minutes to ride from the bottom to the top.  Figuring the load there?  Potentially, you might be talking about 500 Koreans riding on it in a rush-hour 'minute'.

If I were eighteen today?  I hate to admit it but out of the ten-thousand odd professions that I'd probably like to get into...would be the escalator technician work.  It's kinda like nursing....you'd be guaranteed work for the rest of your life.

Me and Money Dysmorphia

What is money dysmorphia?  You end up with some type of shame or guilt....that you ain't got enough money.  So you feel hostile when you visit your cousin's trailer, or your wife's brother who is on federal aid, or you go back to dad's house feeling pretty negative about your life.

I was very fortunate in life....I left the farm....went to the Air Force and my life got on track.

They gave me these swell uniforms to wear.

They offered up fine dining (with coffee and free Coke).  

They had nice barracks....sometimes even overly heated.

They had plenty of work to do....to keep your mind off this Dysmorphia stuff.

They offered cheap bowling and free gym services.

You got to meet interesting people....some bright and clever....some with a marginal IQ.

Eventually after 20 years.....you don't have any dysmorphia....you don't feel shame or guilt over money.  

The Fake PhD Story

Just a odd story over this Professor Jason Arday fellow.

He 'was' a British academic (sociology of education, focusing on race and inequality).

Born around 1985....to a Ghanaian-heritage family living in a south London neighbor.....he tells his 'hard' childhood story....having autism, developmental delay, and issues.

He says....up to age 18....he could read or write

He says....by 2015....he's got a PhD.

He then became a professor (including at Glasgow).  Around 2023 (age 37)....he gets appointed Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Cambridge (yeah, a big deal). 

On paper....he has claimed a lot....running (30 marathons in 35 days)....raising cash for charity operations....facing off some bad guys with knives.

So in recent weeks....the story has fallen apart.

Plagiarism has come up over his PhD. Various titles/jobs....simply didn't occur.  Yesterday, he resigned from the university.  Someone put his resignation letter to a AI-review....saying it's a high probability that AI wrote the letter for him.

All bogus?  Yeah

What now?  I assume....he goes back to the grocery operation and stocking shelves.

How the system failed so badly?  So far....no one answers that question.

It seems like....folks wanted the story to be so true.....that various indicators just failed to get public attention.

Trigger People

 Last couple of days....the gal running for governor of Wisconsin (Dem, Asian gal) wanted folks to know that she has panic/anxiety attacks.  In some reference, she noted just by eating a burger at some 'shack'....the number of white-people there....clicked her 'panic-level', and she started up a panic attack.

How a governor could work through panic attacks?  Unknown.  

A year ago....I was reading a piece by a woman who was visiting relatives, and the teenager grand-daughter....listed out about five or six things which would start up a panic-attack.  Crowded places and a second-floor/higher levels....were triggers on the list.  How she'd survive past age 20?  Unknown.

My father-in-law....passed on because of a trigger-feeling for hospitals/clinics....which delayed attention to a hernia....which eventually killed him.

I worked in some Air Force office....where a Lt had some trigger related to storms/lightning.  Working a vault....you didn't have any attention usually to weather.  But somehow....this guy would note thunder, and his trigger would activate over 'worry'.

It just seems like....we've doubled the population who seem to freak out over panic/anxiety attacks.  In a group of twenty....there's likely to be at least two folks with substantial problems.  How this doubled-up?  That's what I'd like to know.

Chow Hall Story

 RFK Jr...in the past couple of months....went to a Army chow hall (as the story goes).  Post of about 2k to 3k folks who'd normally be using the chow-hall....but only around 400 seated there.  At conclusion....RFK Jr came to the opinion....crappy food, and bulk of what they cooked....went into the trash.

So he brought in some civilian guy....remade the menu....drastic changes....nothing thrown out with the new menu offerings.

August of 1977....I arrived at Air Force basic training, and was introduced to the chow hall.  My initial impression....for a burger or grilled ham and cheese....it was four-star.  All the deserts were four-star (probably sixteen variations).  I rated breakfast three-star....no waffles, but pancakes were decent.

Over the next two years....I used the chow hall probably 95-percent of the time.  Over time....nothing much changed/improved, and I went to 80-percent use.  At some point around the 4th year....they offered me separate-rations (paying me $100 a month) to eat where I desired.  The chief problem was....by the time you reached the 15th of the month....your extra money had been spent.

At some point in the 90s....for a week....I was deployed to Incirlik and had to use 'Satan's Inn' (their chow-hall).  It was marginally decent food,  For me, that was the breaking point....I just refused to eat chow-hall food from that point on.

Three Observations

 1.  Mayor Mamdani says....to use the city-run grocery....you got to have an ID.  But we aren't talking about a state-license, or a state-ID.  No....it'd be a special ID that you'd get from the city.  So far, they aren't saying what's required.

I paused over this.  Just a plain license?  If that's not enough....you'd probably have to have a utilities bill, car registration, or rental agreement.

Poverty folks able to get this?  I'm not sure.  Lawsuits going to occur?  Yeah.....I'm betting on that.

How much for the cost of this?  No one says....but I'd bet on $40.

2.  There is this odd brewing issue in Denver.   The Denver City Council is debating reading a “slavery acknowledgment” at the start of meetings in addition to the “land acknowledgment” to talk about woeful history of America....from 150 years ago.

I paused over this....apparently Councilwoman Shontel Lewis, who proposed it says it might be “uncomfortable” for white people, is peppy about the whole thing.  

The amazing thing?  There's probably 12,000 current problems in the city....affecting everyone....just from the past three years.

The odd thing....statehood for Colorado....didn't come until 1876.  Yep....20 years after the Civil War.  

Someone ought to hype up Indian ownership, and suggest that 75-percent of Denver be handed back over to the local tribes.

3.  I was reading a investigative journalism piece....that went back to mid-1980s.

Apparently.....$95 million of the Live Aid concert money in 1985....which was supposed to go toward  starving Ethiopians....ended up buying guns for the Marxist factions fighting each other.

No one is going to jail over this....but it begs questions.

Student Loan BS

I read this statistic over the weekend.

More than three million people....age 62 and older.....owe federal student loans, up from 1.8 million in 2018, according to Education Department data.

Some went back to school....probably in their 40s....for a master's degree or PhD.  Some got into a $100k debt back in the early 90s, and just never caught up.

A poverty-class at age 65?  That's what I wonder about.

You ending up at age 67.....delivering pizzas....because $500 a month is still going toward a stupid student loan?  Probably.

Illiteracy in Society

 I saw a comment this weekend.   One of the anticipated skills you probably will have to learn in the near future....is how to cope with an increasingly illiterate society of emotionally dysregulated people. 

I thought about this 'coping' mechanism required.

When you refer to illiterate....we are suggesting a 18 to 30 year old 'kid'....who has the knowledge level and maturity of a 12-year old 'kid'.  If you asked them to define a quarter of an hour.....they can't come to 15 minutes.  If you asked them read a simple to-do list....they'd have questions that take up to an hour.

West coast kids more affected southern kids?  I would imagine so.

Military to be the first place where this problem is noted?  Yeah...probably so.

Us old guys (65 to 90)?  Yeah....we probably will be dragged back into the work-force...to 'kick-butt' and cuss-out the emotionally distraught folks.

Seattle Saga

For about two weeks....I've been watching this odd mass shooting episode at the Bite of Seattle food festival (the 26th of July).

The basic story?  Somewhere around 6 PM....gunfire broke out at Seattle Center (near the Space Needle) during the final day of the local 'free' (to enter) food festival. Some gang-BS started up....shooting....with apparently three folks shooting.

Three folks dead....two were just guys hanging out....one was apparently one of the shooters.

Four folks wounded.

If you go by the textbook....cops did everything possible to halt the mess....I'd give them credit.

So....two issues pop up.

First....one shooter got away, and the cops simply didn't want to advertise his appearance.  

Second, while the got-away guy stuff was going on.....city leadership didn't want to talk about it.  You get the impression.....no one knew much of anything, and they didn't want to share that lack of knowledge with the news people.

Five hours pass.  There's a conference scheduled....but they seem to be waiting on the arrival of the Governor.

The mayor?  Well....this is the gal who is fully unqualified for the job.  

Somewhere in the middle of things....it's apparent that the chief of police doesn't really LIVE in Seattle.  The guy was hired out of Chicago....keeping the family/residence there, and simply renting an apartment in Seattle. You get the impression he was a temp-guy....waiting for a chance to return to Chicago, and be chief of police there.

The mayor gets the ideal....because the police chief is gone so much....out of the city....she needs to blame someone, and he's the 'one'.  So in the past couple of day.....she fires him.  Oddly, the city has to pay him off....at least $600,000 from the details I can figure.

The replacement guy?  Well....he's a temp-filler.....keeping a apartment in Seattle, while living elsewhere....as well.

Journalists?  Well...you get the impression that for 20 years....they've been hibernating, and just woke up...asking weird blunt and direct questions....which the mayor can't answer.

I paused here....wondering....well....does Seattle just not have mass shootings, and this was a one-of-a-kind?  NO....statistics show 3 to 7 mass shootings a year.  So it's not rare.

Finally, I come to this odd part of the story.  There is still apparently one shooter from this event....still on the run.  

My take?  The mayor probably has about six months of time left...before the pressure gets to a 'joke' level.  

Trekkie Episode

 'Strange New Worlds'....the Star-Trek series....season four opened up and I watched episode one.  I sat and watched the episode ("Valles Marineris") yesterday.  One of the weirdest and thought-provoking episodes of all the series.

Brief description?  Pike and crew are ordered to observe some 'natural-event'.  They show up....get drawn into some vortex, and lickety-split....are 65-million years in the past.  Based on stars....in 30 seconds....they figure they are in the Earth/Mars region...oddly enough.  The engine is down....fuel used up....crappy mess.

So they send three ladies to gather up fuel noted on Earth.  The intention for the 'slant' of the story....they are three bad-ass ladies.  (I can buy into this....slightly).

Meanwhile....Pike and crew now encounter this highly advanced race of Martians.  Head?  Battle Commander Kassel....bad-ass-level 9 (out of ten).  

Apparently Mars is at war with a bug-people (don't ask).....there's not much told, except the bug-people have killed off millions of Martians, and Kassel is looking for a magnificent weapon to end the threat.  Pike keeps talking about peace, and 'talks'.  

At some point...Kassel realizes the Enterprise 'fuel-cell' is the perfect weapon (makes no sense)....then steals it.  

Pike's efforts to crank-up the Enterprise....go to full power....now wrapped up.

So by the rules of the Federation.....Pike needs to recover the fuel-cell, and halt the massive threat.  Well....it's too late....Kassel has launched the fuel-cell 'bomb'.....against the 5th planet.

Well...this gets to a half-reality/half-theory problem....yeah, there is a 5th planet out there....in reality....already destroyed. Pike has begun to realize the implications.

So with 30 seconds left to halt the fuel-cell-bomb....saving the bug-people....Pike says nothing and lets the bomb dissolve the bug-problem.  They use the explosion to rig up a path back to the right time, and the Federation leadership seem to want to limit the discussion of what happened.

My take....someone knew the timing of this and rigged up Pike and crew to deliver the fuel-cell-bomb.

All of this has brought up the 5th planet issue, and making folks wonder.....in reality, what really happened to it?

I have to admit....I'd kind like to see the Kassel character brought back

Kamala-Quote

 I sat this AM....watching a interview with former VP Kamala Harris....who suggested 600,000 to 700,000 'people' died because of Elon's USAID destruction.

First, it's round-number BS.....when you hear nice round numbers....it's probably 99-percent false/bogus.

Second, the reason for the deaths?  Left unexplained....like a Star-Trek episode.

Third, she can't equate $40,000 per dead person in any logical fashion.  It should make sense....but at the same time...it's like some algebra BS that you had in the 8th grade.....where nothing could ever be 'correct'.

Fourth, you could invent a counter-fact....saying by cancelling the USAID money....you thereby saved 1.5-million people....but never explaining how that factually occurred.

Finally, you get this odd feeling....Kam's math skills....might be questionable, and limited to 4th grade math (before the algebra era).

My Concept For a 3-Year Degree

 My humble suggestion.

Around Feb of your 11th grade....you'd test.....if you pass....you graduate and leave in June (no 12th grade).  Within this path....once you get the note to pass....you get a CLEP/Dantes test 'deal'.....10 free tests of your choice....if you pass any of them....it gets added to your record as college credit.

As you graduate....you get one year of community college as 'free'.  

Bogus BS classes (art, library science)?  None.

75-percent of what you take for the 3-year degree....would be within the 'core'.

Business math?  Required.  Financial management?  Required.  

Secret-Agent Gal Story

 I lived for about 3.5 years in Arlington, VA....working for the Pentagon.  I came to conclude about six months into the experience....about every 3rd day....some crazy-crazy BS happens in the region.

One of my favorite stories came from the apartment complex next to mine....on Columbia Pike....in the heart of Arlington.

This gal....late 20s...came to move into the apartment complex.  Early on...like the 1st week....she was greeting folks and making them aware that she worked for the CIA. 

She'd talk of experiences in Europe and the Middle East.  

Some guy (probably also in his late 20s).....took up with her (in the physical way).  About six months into this....she had him convinced of a potential job situation (overseas.....some hostile zone), and she could hire him as a 'assistant'

He gave notice, and would be 'hired-up'.  It was around Thanksgiving, and the two were to visit his parents (New England region).  All this was laid out.  The problem is....'dad' just didn't believe any of the BS....called some FBI agent, and in about hour or two....they confirmed she was NOT a fed-employee of any type, and did NOT work for the CIA.

Whole thing made up?  Yeah.  Arlington police investigated eventually....confirming that the gal was some 'kid' of a well-to-do guy....was bi-polar....'dad' was paying for the apartment.  

'Secret-agent' girl....was talked about for a week or two.  In my complex....we got to the key question....could there be a thousand fake bi-polar secret-agent gals in America?   Consensus?  Yeah....probably so.