QUOTESSAYS

 This week's computer generated wisdom from AI. I am thinking that is a pretty good bet if what I am seeing around me is any indication. I always wonder what people are thinking who wear masks alone in their cars or cross the road when approaching you outside on a huge sidewalk. The odds are higher they will get hit by a car than catching the virus. I have a feeling there will be a percentage of people who will be wearing masks from here on out, no matter how the virus plays out. One of my morbid hobbies is checking out the local police 'Inmates Online' website every evening to see who was arrested and for what. The gun crime and domestic violence has skyrocketed during this pandemic. The last few generations in the USA have lived through relatively benign times and do not handle stress well. It is beginning to remind me of the movie 'The Crazies'. I can detect an atmosphere of mass psychosis brewing along with a well deserved distrust of the media and political ins

 My continued observations on turning 70...... It took me well over 50 years, but I am finally a hip 'minimalist'. I went from "You live like a hippie bum." in my early 20's, to my last wife's lament "You just don't appreciate having nice things." in my late 50's.  I am sure I was influenced by having a brother who was a horrible hoarder, and parents that weren't too far behind. Plus I lived such a bohemian lifestyle that I never was in a place long enough to collect much debris. Traveling light just became a way of life. I tried to hunt down a more humorous and satirical meme for this post but couldn't find any I liked. I fear this cliched quote about 'experience vs. things' will have to do. The irony is the majority of the illustrations about minimalism feature million dollar property in hip urban neighborhoods all painted white with a couple of pieces of designer furniture and abstract art that probably cost more than my ye

 Maybe these days it is more the difference between the right emoticon and the almost right emoticon. The written word probably peaked as an art form about the same time Twain did as a writer. They pretty much had the stage all to themselves back then. Technology always changes the landscape of expression. Even the written word didn't have much sway until the printing press came along.  I remember my Apache wife's grandparents were very concerned about the oral traditions of the tribe being lost. Written language meant very little to them. That was a European concept to their eyes, and ears. Change is never good or bad. We make that part up. It just is....

 It is also the origin of a lot of silly political memes and links on Facebook. I have often brought up the very best class I ever had in college, in fact possibly the only good class I had in college. It was a debate class where the professor made you argue a political position you were diametrically opposed to. It forced one to analyze and research information independently with no internal bias coming into play. You were just playing a role. It could actually be psychologically painful to realize the validity of conflicting political positions. That one class changed my thinking process forever and has served me well in life. I forever saw the world in shades of gray, not a bad habit to acquire......

This Sunday's computer generated wisdom from AI. And the trailers are always better than the movie..... 

Another realization upon turning 70 has been I have thrived in the 'Borderlands' my entire life, both physically and metaphorically. Ironically, the people I feel the least connected to and comfortable around are my own tribe, middle class suburban whites. I have been running to the fringes ever since I escaped high school. I prefer living in places where ethnic cultures bump together. It provides a more vivid and interesting palette to paint one's life with. That's where the juice is. From an American Indian wife, if you called her a Native American she would have slapped you, to immersing myself South of 8 Mile in Detroit, to working and becoming close friends with Haitians in Florida, and many more examples of fleeing my roots. This pattern just occurred to me lately in my life review. I am in the sweet spot now in New Mexico and feel it deep in my bones. This is home.....

My real estate broker in Detroit was a master practitioner of this art. He originally wanted to be a Lutheran minister but ended up on the Ford assembly line out of high school, as he had come from a long line of auto worker factory rats. That wasn't cutting it for him so he got his real estate license and never looked back. He became the top producing real estate agent in Michigan for several years, which was no easy task. By the time we crossed paths he was a semi retired broker who enjoyed mentoring new agents. He used to have weekly sales meetings for those interested in sales techniques. Hardly anyone ever attended them, but I was at every one and found them fascinating. It was like a master's program in pragmatic human psychology. It paid off too. A classic technique was to always be asking the client innocuous questions where the answer would no doubt be 'yes'. That set them up in a more positive space where saying 'yes' became more automatic. I remember

 Closely related to: "Looks good on paper." "The devil is in the details." "Beware of unintended consequences." The reason macro solutions usually lead to horrible fuck-ups, speeches from politicians are empty rhetoric, and political memes are just hot air blowing across a virtual desert. The majority of things you can have a positive effect on are usually with a 6 ft. radius of wherever you are and will be the result a very specific action. The opposite of that would be virtue signaling on Facebook, explaining to everyone how good you are. The best that might produce is a 'hugging heart' emoticon, the virtual version of a reach around from another virtually virtuous soul...

 I was actually inflicted with a similar syndrome. From the time I started school in Kindergarten until I graduated from high school I suffered from mysterious hay fever symptoms. Once I was out of high school they disappeared forever. I can only assume I had an allergy to state indoctrination, commonly known as public education. Now don't get me wrong, state indoctrination is a very important part of any society that has any hope of running efficiently. The job of state education is to produce those cogs that fit into the machine. I am a parasite and a useless member of society, but I do need a strong state so I can survive on the edges. I am the cockroach that runs under the fridge when the lights get turned on..... 

 Sunday's computer generated wisdom from AI. A gentle reminder from AI that original content is so yesterday, unhip, and no longer necessary. AI has worked long and hard to provide us with memes for every occasion to save us the labor of original thought and expression. Not to mention a treasure trove of personality quizzes, pictures of cute animals doing wacky things, and countless other entertaining photos to delight and amaze all your Facebook Friends! 

Blathering on about things one knows little about is the mother's milk of Facebook, and I would include myself in that equation at times. I pretty much stay clear of commenting on political posts anymore. The most ignorant commenters will always have the advantage without the moderation of a formal debate. Once a thread is dragged down to their level it will never recover. Ideologues see everything in black and white in a world painted in grays. I don't need the grief and frustration. A woman down the street from me has her whole car covered in political bumper stickers. She is always ready for a fight when one walks by. She will bait you with a biased politically charged statement to see if you are friend or foe. I always reply with my standard, "Yeah, you're probably right." That works both verbally and as a written statement. If you can express your political position with a bumper sticker or in a meme, perhaps it is time to pause and reflect.....