It's been a week or so since I've posted anything, mostly because life has simultaneously been busy and boring. I'm not sure how that works either, but trust me on this. So I thought that I'd simply post whatever the heck I've got bouncing through my head at the moment. I was going to call it "Deep Thoughts with Stilton" but then realized that none of my thoughts are particularly deep.
By the way, the AI self-portrait above is in no way representative of how I really look. I certainly weigh too much but don't think I'm quite as inflated as this guy. I asked the computer for "portly" and was instead given "rotund."
AI is a funny thing, which is perhaps why Elon Musk and other high-tech types are currently warning the world to put further development on immediate hold before it destroys us all. Which is a real possibility, albeit probably not in the way that most of us would have expected. Social media and the (ahem) "news" are all guided by algorithms now. Algorithms designed to ramp up our fears and anger against others and addict us to getting more and more upsetting information. Which is why our country is so divided and angry.
But AI puts those algorithms on steroids (currently growing in what has been called a double-exponential curve) and will be able to tell each and every one of us exactly the most convincing arguments to embrace full-fledged paranoia and enmity of others while developing a heroin-level dependence on whatever the computers (or whoever's running the computers) wants to tell us. Bonus: any information - audio, video, photo, document, or text - that can be transmitted electronically can be faked easily, instantly, and (quite soon) perfectly.
So slowing things down on AI development is probably a very good idea...and also the definition of the genie already being out of the cybernetic bottle.
On what can't exactly be called the bright side, Artificial Intelligence could be brought to its imaginary knees by Nonexistent Intelligence if our national power grid fails owing to a natural solar flare (we just recently missed a huge one that would have done the job) or an EMP attack from anyone who can explode a nuke in the stratosphere above our country. We would instantly be thrown back into 1880's technology - no electricity, no gas for cars, no computers, no water systems, no food delivery, no communication, etc. Our nation would go "Lord of the Flies" in about two weeks.
Happily, our grid can be "hardened" for what amounts to flyspeck money in Washington...only no one is making it happen. As a case in point, here's a cartoon and editorial I did about this very subject some 12 years ago.
Actor Dennis Quaid has just made a documentary about all of this that you can sign up to watch at the website for "Grid Down, Power Up." Do it now before the story can only be told around campfires!
----------
In actual good news, I've recently been reading about the poor biologically-female athletes who keep getting crushed in competition against biologically-male "female" athletes and aren't happy about it. Competing against their hormonally-augmented opponents gives them a tremendous handicap. Which is what inspired me to create a perfect solution for the problem: allow all biological females to compete in the Special Olympics so they can finally start winning medals again.
Granted, this would pretty much be taking a dump on special needs kids, but isn't it still the same reasoning that the Left is already making about biological females? You're welcome, America!
-----------
And say, how about that indictment of Donald Trump? How much of a pisser is that? He's accused of commiting a misdemeanor (falsifying a business record) that has already expired under the statute of limitations. Only the rogue District Attorney has bumped up the charge by claiming that Trump's payment of $130k in hush money to Stormy "Slutzilla" Daniels became an illegal campaign donation, and categorizing it as a "legal expense" therefore becomes (egad!) a criminal act and felony.
Unlike Hillary Clinton, who in the same election paid over one million dollars for the creation of the Steele Dossier, which was definitely a contribution to her campaign, and which was reported (in her falsified records) as "legal expenses."
So however you look at this mess, Hillary is at least eight times more guilty than Trump and she's not being charged with diddly-squat. Probably because DA Alvin Bragg doesn't want to commit Arkancide.
---------
I've been working on my taxes and, as is the case almost every year, I'm gaining new insights into why some people end up in bell towers with sniper rifles. I'm a smart-ish guy, college education, successful businessman, and I have a pricey computer program to help me compute my relatively simple taxes. So why is it still frigging impossible?!
One reason is that the tax forms aren't written by Earthlings, or at least not by any with even a rudimentary understanding of English. A recent breaking point of mine came when reading this question from the IRS (which I'm paraphrasing):
Are you an American or someone who lived outside of the country for more than half of 2022?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
Well, I'm an American so I should answer "yes," right? Because if I answer "no" I'll probably lose my citizenship and be deported. Seriously, how am I supposed to answer this?! Would it have killed them to replace "or" with "and/or" so I didn't have to play guessing games in which the prize for getting the answer wrong is a federal fine?! Bastards.
 |
| ---------- |
Speaking of pain, he segued deftly, I've been in less of it recently. Something changed on the one-year anniversary of losing Kathy. I'm certainly not missing her any less, but the grief has become more bearable. I'm not entirely sure why, in part because I don't want to burst the bubble with too much introspection.
I still haven't made much progress in re-engaging with the world, though on Tuesday I'm going to attend a meeting of our local gardening club. This will hopefully provide a bit of social interaction while gathering advice on how to take care of Kathy's landscaping.
When she was very ill indeed, she still told me that she thought we needed some Bloomstruck Hydrangea and made me write that down. And this week I found a couple of them at Home Depot! So on Tuesday, I'll give someone at garden club a wonderful straight line when I ask where I should stick them.
55 comments:
Recall in school, "Do not use a double negative in a sentence." In the late 1980's, in the instructions for Schedule A, Itemized Deductions, the IRS had a sentence with a triple negative. (I had some fun pointing it out to my students in an H&R Block "Basic" class.)
Stilt: Glad the pain is in remission, though, with the IRS, pain is their primary mission!
Stilton, I am SO GLAD to hear your "personal pain" update.
I'm partial to hydrangeas, myself. We used to have 'em outside our summer place in Ventnor, NJ.
What's the next step down from "rotund" to "portly" to... what? I think that's where I am and I want the word for it.
The whole point of the IRS' wording is to make it so EVERYONE is guilty of some error (which they'll call a "crime") so EVERYONE can be charged--at any time-- if they cross the elitist overlords. Lavrentiy Beria would be so proud.
Good to hear your spirits are a bit on the up side.
As far as taxes go, I did mine a while back. Used turbotax. What I found painfully amusing was my 1099 and turbotax didn't phrase things quite the same. My 1099 said "in block 7x4, the color of the sky is blue" and turbotax said "from block 7x4 was the next turn to the right or the left."
I used to be a tax examiner at the IRS service center in Austin waaaaay back the early-mid 70s. You'd think I'd've retained some ability to solve the jargon word problems, but naaaaah.
I've an elderly sister-in-law who had a long career working for the IRS. She didn't talk about it much and we didn't either. In fact about the ONLY thing I ever heard her say about it (after retirement) was "The IRS can really screw things up." And we have proof of that; more than once.
Aw,the poor women athletes,they got what they were told they wanted,now with crocodile tears they don't seem to want what they were told was a good thing.I can't wait for the next good thing.
Can anyone explain to me how the new series Frozen Planet 2 was made.According to all the experts the ice and snow should no longer be here.Maybe historical (histerical) footage perhaps.
I don't fear AI as much as some because GIGO.
"Or someone living outside of the united states for more than six months" could be ninety five percent of the people on the planet.
That’s “Garbage in, GOSPEL out” as in “But the computer says your water bill this month is $999,999,999.99 so you have send us a check …”
I won't believe that's an AI portrait until I see the six fingers on the hand. And it looks like there are no hands there at all.
Glad to hear you're getting number to the pain, it's the saving grace of the whole experience.
My first thought on seeing the picture was "Santa!!"
Glad to hear that you're healing. Stay sane.
RayK
Stilts,
Good to read that you're in a happier place. They say time heals (though it isn't run by a stopwatch), I'm sure the chance to carry on Kathy's great work has something to do with it, now that the dark winter nights have gone.
As for the 'ladies' joining in women's sport. I'd take your special Olympics idea and run four events; men's, women's, men who think they're women and women who think they're men. Problem solved and like can compete with like.
Will
Thanks for the update, Stilton. It's good to hear that your pain has relented a bit. As for the tax time, I've used an accountant for years. For $300 I can save more than he charges. If you think TurboTax will give you the same result as the mega-thousand dollar software that accountants use, then just enjoy the IRS water-boarding every year. Even if he can't save me anything he at least saves me the fear that one day a swat team of IRS agents will show up at my front door, not to mention the hassles of just doing it!
For the Hydrangeas, consider doing the split fertilizer treatment to make one side pink and the other side blue. That way you can have an inclusive flower!
What Shrillary did is called an "in-kind donation" and should be be reported to the IRS as such, just like EVERY FRIGGIN' MINUTE of "reporting" positively about her and negatively about Donald Trump by CBS NBS, ABS, MSNBS, CNBS, PBS, CNN-BS and every late night talk show host and scripters of intros to every radio "news" report! I mean, has ANYONE ever heard a spoiler about an upcoming "news" report about Donald Trump's allegations of voting irregularities that didn't start with "unfounded" or "unproven"?
JJG, years ago somebody told me I needed to "get in shape", and I brusquely retorted, "Hey... round IS a 'shape'!"
Rod, your sister-in-law does the same thing as WWII veterans... they don't like to talk about atrocities either.
Anonymous (above), what a great idea because then they can expand the categories to include "Competitive Bitching", "Competitive Whining", "Competitive Complaining", "Competitive Accusing of Cheating", "Competitive Moping Around Because You Aren't Being Taken Seriously Enough" et al!
A comment on politics, if I may. Today, the Dems will "officially" seal their doom for 2024. When that semi-artificial intelligent "click" is heard from whatever camera Nu Yawk uses for mug shots, the Trump campaign will have the absolute BEST campaign poster of all time.
Trump's mug shot.
In big bold letters across the top: WANTED! Across the bottom in the same print: FOR PRESIDENT. Print those up by the tens of millions and post them everywhere. Hang tens of thousands of billboards across the country, especially near every Biden campaign office and all through Manhattan.
I offer my idea free of charge and without reservation. My payment for this brainstorm will come when I see Donald Trump re-elected President of these United States.
@Stilton,
Maybe you shoulda said something besides portly. Was it multiple choice? Could you have maybe said "well fed" or maybe "not skinny?" At any rate, glad some of the pain of losing Kathy has subsided. My folks have been gone for decades now, but I still miss them, just without near as much sadness.
How many quadzillions has our beloved gubmint spent on "infrastructure?" Not a dime went to strengthening our electric grid, as far as I know. Many politicians have promised to work on this, but all have failed. Our electric utilities are mostly above ground and rife for attack. Some rednecks (or terrorists?) recently walked up to a transfer station here in NC, and disabled it by shooting at it. In the big picture, this was a relatively small incident, but caused millions in damage and thousands were without power for many days. Joe Biteme's "infrastructure" money all went to "fight global climate change." Translation: windmills, solar farms, Al Gore, Greta Thunberg, and John Kerry.
AI is scary, and I can't help but think of the Terminator movies, or HAL in 2001 A Space Odyssey. Wozniac and Musk are 100% correct in their warnings, and these obviously are not stupid men. Besides, if you wanna see AI operating up close, just go to a session of Congress.
Infernal Revenue Service... For as long as I can remember, the aforementioned politicians have hinted at a simplified tax code, even Trump. "You can do your taxes on a postcard!"
Many have proposed a flat tax or a consumption tax. As long as the IRS has the, dare I say unconstitutional, power that they possess, simple and fair taxes will never happen.
DA Bragg... We still haven't heard what the charges are in the Trump indictment, but I strongly suspect Bragg is going to end up with a pterodactyl egg on his face. We are also already seeing that this is only going to boost Trump's run. His campaign has already raked in a cool $5 million since the indictment.
Sorry to blather so long!
Really insightful stuff today. I thoroughly enjoyed your AI created artwork as well. Very entertaining.
My take on your AI news creation is spot on. Thanks for that. I shared your thoughts (verbatim, with credit) to some of my friends and relatives. It was so good.
Good luck on your plant placement...
This time of year reminds of a contribution from "Mad Magazine" a few eons ago - lyric variations on Christmas carols. This one sung to the tune of "They Came Upon A Midnight Clear":
"They come on April 15th dear, to take away our gold:
Tax Men unmoved by plea or tear, it makes your heart run cold!
Oh income tax, it breaks our backs, the government takes it all!
No other government agency would ever have such gaul!"
Of course, now ALL the gubbermint agencies are trying to outdo each other!
Yeasss, pink lemonade!
The following question should be part of check all boxes ti prove you are not a robot.
Are you an American or someone who lived outside of the country for more than half of 2022?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
Bones--
Remember when we used to regularly test East German and Russian women Olympic athletes?
Good times...
Regarding the indictment of Donald Trump, I have two questions:
(1) Did this crime against humanity take place in Manhattan? If not, then Al Bragg can eff right off.
(2) Did Stormy Daniels pay income tax on the $130K?
Colby Muenster: re "you can do your taxes on a postcard" -- no problema! Endorse postcard as follows: "Certified check amounting to 125% of my total income to follow forthwith."
So very glad that the garden is calling you. Maybe put a few veggie plants out there in case the grid goes south. And then think about a water system from the rain runoff from the roof--not that a person could drink it with nuclear fallout. Nevermind. Just enjoy each day and remember the love you have been given. May you and Daughter J have God's peace of mind.
Love you, Stilton!
Stilt, the answer to that question is No. IRS doesn't care what your citizenship is; they just want to know if you lived outside the US so they can go after that money, too.
Turbotax and I have a long, occasionally hostile relationship, but it's been much easier than pencil and calculator. Being the paranoid type, I keep all receipts for everything, and meticulously write stuff down. It's still a pain when Turbotax changes the wording from one year to the next... But it's looking very good for a small refund this year.
Glad you're starting to engage with the world again. Happy gardening.
Stil, concerning EMP I worked in both the semiconductor industry and defense before I retired.
Semiconductor devices (i.e. 'chips') that are everywhere and in all equipment are inherently susceptible to alpha particles. Memory chips are particularly susceptible to what are called "soft errors".
In military systems, radiation-hardened semiconductors can be used to make a missile or computer system tolerant to EMP. The issue is they have to be specifically manufactured in very different processes, and generally use a completely different type of wafer. Instead of a silicon wafer, they use silicon on insulator. Then the software would need to be retested.
Designing (or redesigning) each chip would take millions of dollars in engineering costs, plus millions to manufacture and then millions to prequalify the chips. There's hundreds of thousands if not a million different chips. There are only a couple semiconductor manufactures (foundries) in the world capable to build radiation hardened chips. SGS Thomson in France, and the former IBM Semiconductor Division (now Global Foundreis) are 2. I managed the alliance program with both a decade ago.
In short, we're screwed if the "ballon goes up" or the Chinese detonate a few high altitude nukes over the US. No power, no gasoline, no internet.
Wayyy too deep for me, Stilt
You covered your subjects better than this ol' Boomer could,
so I'm gonna go surf some memes while I still can
Life is short, surf the comics first
"...but then realized that none of my thoughts are particularly deep."
If only our President was that self-aware.
AI: Although I do have a Twitter account, I don't really use it. I do get an email a couple times a day with posts that Twitter thinks I would be interested in and I will occasionally read those. On purpose, I follow as many people on the far-left as I do on the right because I am more interested in what the far-left says. I already know what the right thinks on most issues.
Interestingly, the Twitter algorithms know that I am not a Progressive, so it almost exclusively tries to deliver far-right material no matter how many far-left figures I try to follow. For example, I follow AOC, and yet I haven't seen anything from her for the last year or so even though I'm sure she's tweeting on a daily basis. But I constantly get fed tweets from people on the far-right that I don't even follow.
So yes, @Stilton, I think you are right. Social media is being deliberately engineered to divide us more instead of bringing us together like the tech evangelists of 25 years ago expected that it would.
So I expect AI to make it worse. For years now we've already been introduced into a world where people are now living separate perceived realities with their own "facts". If you watch BSNBC and then Faux, there is no middle ground on anything. AI has the capability of blurring what little reality is left even further.
I have only one hope against this: Capitalism.
Capitalism doesn't care. If a provider of any good or service does not deliver, the customer does not pay and the provider fails. THAT is a reality that cannot be corrupted. AI can't mask that. This is why the left wants to destroy capitalism, because capitalism holds people responsible. If and when the state fails to provide what it has promised, there is no such accountability.
That is my bright side.
The Grid: Unfortunately, the Progressive "net-zero" agenda is doing in slow-motion what a good EMP could do in seconds. For a very small percentage of what we're wasting on net-zero to solve an imaginary problem, we could mitigate the effects of a very real and inevitable one. Either way, ultimately net-zero or an EMP hit will send us back to the 17th century.
Good News: At what point do we declare victory in this "War on Women" I've been told we are conducting?
The Trump Indictment: The Rubicon has been crossed. I trust that there are countless local prosecutors in red states who are now doing research on all sorts of criminal cases that can now be brought against the Biden family, the Clinton family, the Obama family, etc. using "novel legal theories"
Tax Question: Considering the treatment that non-citizens (especially those who break certain and various laws) get treated over the rest of us, that question might be easier to answer than you think.
Good news on grief, and re-inserting yourself into life. Kathy doesn't want you miserable. I don't either. God bless.
@Bruce Bleu, I'm not "round"--yet--so maybe the term I need is "well-fed"...or "not hungry"...
"Don't you call me pudgy, portly, or stout - let me tell you once again, who's fat" !!
Weird Al, - Fat
Excellent points on the threat of an EMP strike. If you're interested in reading a truly scary yet accurate work of fiction on the topic, get ahold of "One Second After" by William R. Forstchen. It's a page turner you'll be unable to put down.
@Igor- being a geologist, I always liked this lyric from 𝘍𝘢𝘵:
When I walk out
To get ma' mail
It measures on
The Richter scale
@Stilton- Spring is a season of rebirth, and the gardening is a big part of that. I am sure Kathy is smiling.
My grandfather had no use for hydrangea. He recommended not planting them, but if you did, not near the house. He said they had hollow stems, which gave termites a highway to your wall studs. I don't know if that's true, but it sure makes me suspicious of the plants.
@TrickyTicky - "The next few lines:
"The pavement cracks
when I fall down,
I've got more Chins
than China town!"
I don't know that I would worry much about Señor Trump.
For one thing, he is smarter than the Deep State. Trump uses to his advantage actions that would have crushed ordinary citizens. In this case, he is using the publicity surrounding his prosecution to advance his candidacy. If anyone on the Deep State side had a lick of sense they would have shut up about Trump.
Trump is showing the weakness of our two tiered justice system where anyone who can hire battalions of lawyers is pretty much free to do whatever they want.
Worse yet, political decorum has reached the point where professional politicians will no longer hold each other to account. Blatant thievery & corruption has been simply ignored so long as everyone got their cut. Now that the Democrats violated this decorum to pursue Trump, they've set the precedent for their own investigation and prosecution.
Trump will come through fine. Frankly he has to be the most investigated man in U.S. history. If this is all they can find, the Deep State in trouble and they know it.
The Deep State is terrified of Trump because Trump knows how to run large, disparate organizations where most professional politicians flounder. He's too rich to be easily bought. He avoided the Epstein Kompromat. It's even possible that Stormy Daniels was part of that operation. The Deep State is absolutely terrified that Trump will do with the Deep State as Elon Musk did at Twitter.
Dear Stilton.....
Happy gardening and Happy Easter! Pray for America!
Wayne In Indiana
Ha the broomstick thought.. extraordinaire..
Saw on the Townhall website today that a judge has ordered Stormy to pay an additional $121k in legal fees to Trump. I wonder how many BJ's it'll take to cover that! (oops... did I type that out loud?). And I don't think she has yet paid off any of the $500k that she was already ordered to pay. Apparently uncle Soros is shying away from helping her.
@Tricky and Igor,
Love me some Weird Al!
...and while the media fixates on the awfulness of Trump instead of the bananafication of our republic, there's this:
Joe Biden visited Ukraine as VP to push for fracking and greater energy production, president's current national security advisor briefed reporters in 2014 - just THREE DAYS after son Hunter joined gas firm Burisma's board
The Biden family is everything the Democrats framed the Trump family as being. Worse, actually.
Enjoy your $5-gallon gas this summer.
@John the Econ,
Yes, but Trump forgot to return a Blockbuster VHS back in 2014! Let's get our crimes in perspective here!
I guess I better just go out and buy that $60,000 Tesla now. I've heard they run on electricity that comes out of a magic rock made of fairy dust and hippogriff tears. But I digress. Now OPEC can join Xi's and Putin's "go to sleep every night giggling about Slo-Joe's incompetence" club.
I dunno - definitely has that Santa Clause vibe to it.
Speaking of aliens, I would guess that the up and coming ChatGTP5 would be a perfect match for your taxes... since the current version nearly aced the bar exam, this one will entirely eliminate tax preparers.
Sorry for my apparent absenteeism, Cousin, but your closing news is great news. I hope it continues softening until you always remember Kathy with a smile rather than a tear.
@Readers- I don't mean to be a bad host by not showing up at my own party! I've read and enjoyed all of the comments but somehow just haven't found time to sit down and respond to everyone. So I'll throw out a few random replies...
@Dan- How hard could it be for the IRS to get together with Turbotax (and the banks and investment firms that send forms) to make sure that everyone is on the same flipping page?!
@Anonymous- I get asked about having a Santa suit a lot. I choose to take it as a compliment.
@Will- I love the Special Olympics and have a good friend who has won some medals. So it's purely tongue-in-cheek, but I wonder what WILL prevent athletes from "identifying" as developmentally disabled so they can whip the kids with real challenges? It's exactly the same dynamic as the chicks-with-dicks winning all the gold medals recently.
@Murphy(AZ)- I like the "WANTED...For President" poster idea. I've never been a huge fan of Trump, but once again I'll vote for him if given the chance.
@Colby Muenster- I really think the existential threat from AI will be more subtle than nukes or Terminator-style robots. Rather, AI will be able to convince of anything and we'll end up as something other than autonomous humans. And will quite likely become so paranoid and polarized that our baser instincts will turn to violence. In other words, we'll kill each other - but it's AI that will make it seem like the only logical choice.
@Maoz- I'd like to send the IRS my taxes on a postcard from a country with a non-extradition policy.
@Kathleen Houston- Right back at you!
@Unknown- Good information on EMP stuff. It's terrifying, so I try not to think about it too much.
@Jonesy- I just got "One Second After." And I got it as an ebook, so I should hurry up and read it while I can...
@Jess- Kathy wanted Bloomstruck Hydrangea so I'm giving it a go. But I did find a planting location well away from the house.
@John the Econ- If only we could see some of the obviously guilty (like Hillary and the Bidens) locked up for their crimes. But for now, that's in my "it'll never happen" file drawer of beliefs.
@Mike Porter- One of the good things I've tried with ChatGPT and its variants (like PDFchat) is to feed in something complex and then say "explain all of that to me like I'm a five year old." It's helpful!
@Patrick- There are still tears, but they're beginning to be outnumbered by gentle smiles. It's a process but I'm glad to report incremental progress.
@Stilt, I don't want to cause a problem, but "One Second After" is the first of a trilogy. "One Year After" and "The Final Day" are the others. They are good books, but a bit of a commitment is required. That need for a commitment is why I never started reading the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
@Mike aka Proof, the third book has the perpetrators of the whole thing getting their comeuppance. While it's not a "happy" ending, having the evil-doers get theirs is kinda satisfying.
Stilton, couldn't find your email but wanted to say thank you for sharing your journey about loosing your wife. We lost my daughter a few weeks ago. Your comment about the year helps.
The Quaid family is a mite weird.
@JustaJeepGuy- Thanks for the warning!
@Mike aka Proof- Appreciate your input!
@Xoph- I am so very sorry about your daughter. Grief is horrible and living with it seems insurmountable at times. That being said, something changed for me on the exact one year anniversary. Not forgetting Kathy or having her grow more distant in memory, but instead somehow becoming more adjusted to my changed-but-still-strong relationship. It's hard to understand and harder still to put into words. And it wasn't a conscious choice on my part, though I think the grief work that I've done for a year (and continue to do) has helped. Try to take things a day at a time, lean on others when you can, and let healing - however much there may be - take the time it takes. I feel for you and your family (and yeah, I'm pretty misty just now).
@Good ol' Bob- You make a fine point, though Dennis is on pretty solid ground on this point at least.
Are you an American or someone who lived outside of the country for more than half of 2022?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
I'd like to see that laid on a few English teachers desk with no explanation of where it came from, just to see what they had to say about it. I've spent some time looking it over and it looks a lot like
Have you stopped beating your wife?
So, what Is the answer?
Fwiw, I did well in English and read quite a bit, but that Was a buncha years ago.
National Public Radio. The public is in the name.
That is all.
@John the Econ:
National Pinko Radio.
'Nuff said.
"Never underestimate the power of human stupidity." Robert Heinlein
Post a Comment