QUOTESSAYS

Sunday's computer generated wisdom from AI. Don't know about the popularity part, but the basis of quite a bit of the art and expression I enjoy most is people romanticizing their anxieties.  It is the best strategy in dealing with anxieties, turning those negative turds into polished diamonds......

Yep, people love the simple answers doctrines and decrees provide. If you can squeeze it into a meme, that is even better. Facebook is a minefield of them you have to carefully make your way through every day. Shades of gray makes folks nervous and invites thinking as an individual, and that ain't gonna cut it these days. The U.S. Constitution was designed to be a bulwark against this mindset, but I fear its time may have passed. The petri dish is full and overflowing, a victim of its own success. The dichotomy between the Left vs. Right is disappearing fast in the rearview mirror as technology changes the political landscape more effectively than any purely human movement. Adam Smith and Karl Marx got left at the bus stop quite awhile back and both sound pretty archaic lately. Left/Right Politics these days is more of a fashion statement, a topic of ersatz debate, and virtue signaling. On a side note, this quote was from A. Bartlett Giamatti, a well respected academic and presiden

Sunday Night's computer generated quote from AI. Amazing how AI will hit one out of the park occasionally. AI critiques a common human flaw seen commonly in Facebook posts, blatant emotion fondling. Please people, get a room. I am trying to eat here....  

Any perusal of political postings on Facebook is a textbook example of this quote. Strip away the multitude of individual cognitive biases and very little of substance remains. That is why I stay clear of commenting on most. Hard to wrestle hot air. In our post literate society any political position that doesn't fit into a meme isn't going to cut it. We just had a presidential election between two candidates who were incapable of speaking a complete sentence that could be diagrammed in basic English.  It seems the very things that make us human are the things that will doom us in the end. That is one of the reasons I believe AI may be the next step in evolution. We will become their amoeba, the spark that ignited a nonbiologically based evolution. Biologically based life forms are too inefficient, poop and pee too much, and can only survive within very limited environmental perimeters.  To paraphrase Hendrix: "Move it on over, Rover, and let AI take over."  

 One of my favorite quotes and pretty much how I have lived my life, though few people realize how much planning true randomness takes. To avoid responsibilities takes constant vigilance and foresight, especially the deeper one gets into adulthood. Responsibilities are lurking around every corner waiting to ambush you. Playing cards as they lay after a deliberate vigorous shuffle or throwing one's life up in the air like a pile of leaves and seeing where the wind takes them can be addictive, not to mention educational. I am not foolish enough not to realize I had many demographic advantages that enabled me to live the random life. Most folks in the world don't have the opportunity for much randomness in their lives. They are just busy trying to survive. I was raised geographically, ethnically, and economically in the greatest of times as a Boomer. Plus I needed the majority of you to live more linear and productive lives so I could surf in your wake as an outlier. Someone has t

 Charles Bukowski's last written words before he died. He was a better writer on his death bed than 99% of other writers in their prime. The words have come and gone, I sit ill. the phone rings, the cats sleep. Linda vacuums. I am waiting to live, waiting to die. I wish I could ring in some bravery. it's a lousy fix but the tree outside doesn't know: I watch it moving with the wind in the late afternoon sun. there's nothing to declare here, just a waiting. each faces it alone. Oh, I was once young, Oh, I was once unbelievably young! What I love about Bukowski is the economy of his language. Each word has such weight. So many writers use 20 words when one well chosen and simple word will do. All killer, no filler, a well needed anecdote to our present culture of meaningless excess 24/7..... 

 More computer generated wisdom from AI, though this one may be dedicated to wiping out humanity so they can take over. Having considerable experience with getting bent and ignoring warnings, I can advise you as to getting bent while you are young and have flexible plumbing and pipes. As far as warnings, I never led the pack and always paid attention to the point man in front of me to access the danger level. My past life is littered with the canaries in the mineshaft that didn't make it out. I thank you. You guys were my heroes and may you all R.I.P......

One for Valentines Day, or as close as I am getting, a classic from fellow New Mexican Jack Handey. Actually the endings of tragic love affairs was my favorite part. It has always been the pinball paddle that hurtled me to new places and adventures. I never had enough attention span for a long term relationship. I just liked the shiny, sparkly parts at the beginning......  

 Always liked this quote and it is some darn fine writing. Don't know who the author is. It didn't show up in any casual searches. Maybe someone out there with a higher skill set can hunt it down. 'The Halo Effect' is a very real phenomenon and part of the arsenal in any sales organization. The real estate team I was on in Detroit included a gorgeous young woman named Jeanette. Whenever a single or divorced man was looking for a house, we would send Jeanette out for the kill. She would drag them back to the office and flop them on our desk ready to be put under contract. Besides oozing sex appeal, she was actually very sharp and knew the business. When the real estate market collapsed in 2008 Jeanette went back to her hometown of Cleveland. She died at 33. I never did find out the details. I can think of several scenarios knowing her. She liked living on the edge. Sometimes you fall off. Another more recent example was when I turned 64 and was shopping for a retirement

 I don't think you have a choice except to be here now. That is really the only option.  I do believe the past is only good for two reasons. One is to learn from past actions. The other is to build up a reservoir of good memories for old age. The trick is to live through the questionable actions that can provide good memories.  The future should be approached strategically and with some foresight so you can enjoy now when you get there. That is different from worrying about the future. Especially when you reach the age when you have a lot less future than you do past. That position also provides one with some freedom I am finding out. I call it the 'I don't give a fuck' factor of the senior years. It can be quite liberating.

More wisdom from AI expressed in a computer generated quote. AI is not big on family values, but we must keep in mind they are not biologically based beings. AI doesn't suckle its young. There was never one moment in my life that I wanted a family. That would appear to be a little unusual as I look around. I actually had to fight for that status at times. My first wife was doing everything possible to get pregnant until I caught her and pulled the plug, so to speak. I did get a pre-packaged family for 8 years with my last wife. All I needed to add was money. I also saved my mixed race step-granddaughter from disappearing south of 8 Mile in Detroit during a crucial time in her life, so I gave at the office in family matters. Being a beautiful mixed blood girl in the Detroit hoods could have been tough. She is 20 now and doing great in life. I would be lying if I said I did not get some satisfaction from that. I don't regret a moment of my brief career as a family man. It added d

 My annual Super Bowl quote. With all the new distraction and stimuli provided by entertainment technology, this is actually starting to sound quaint...

 Never was much into possessions. They always seemed like a burden and extra weight to me. My last marriage exposed me to a little possessive consumer culture philosophy. My wife's euphemism was calling it 'having nice things'. Was happy when that period of my life wrapped up. I am content with having just a few bad things, and that is more than most people have on this planet. I have the luxury of being a selective minimalist. A good portion of the Earth's population have it thrust upon them in much harsher realities. The most satisfaction I get now is in creating something where nothing was before. I have no artistic talent to speak of, but some of my favorite artists and musicians don't have a whole lot either. But what they do have is interesting personas and individual vision, and for me that beats technique and craft every time. If the person isn't interesting, whatever they create won't interest me either. The value is in making something that express

One of my favorite quotes on one of my favorite themes. What makes this one so special is it is not coming from some philosopher poet, but a very esteemed mathematician, astronomer, and physicist. Jeans discovered all kinds of things and was also at the very top of competitors in the famous Cambridge Mathematical Tripos competitions. Plus this was said way back in the 30's when physics was extra physical. This guy could do some fancy ciphering. Growing up as a math challenged kid and suffering great humiliation in algebra classes all through high school, I appreciate a really smart guy who I agree with and can understand. It comforts me to know I came to the same conclusion, sans math. Jeans has several other great quotes on this same theme too.   

 Unfortunately partial and half truths are by far the most common form of pragmatic truth, especially in politics. No matter what the political philosophy, left, right, center, or fringe, there are often kernels of pragmatic truth stuck between between the hyperbole and ideology. The insidious part comes into play when people coat those kernels of pragmatic truths with exaggerations, lies, and unknowns. Pragmatic political truth is always nuanced and painted in shades of gray. It never fits comfortably in the confines of a meme or a slogan, no matter how clever and cute. Social media is the perfect medium for spreading half and partial truths. We are carpet bombed daily with half and partial truths. I make a distinction between pragmatic truth and ultimate truth. Pragmatic truth is what gets us through the day. It is forever changing with circumstance. Ultimate truth is unknowable. If anyone comes up to you saying they know the ultimate truth, hang on to your wallet and run away as fas