Global Voting

Democracy is a fine idea, and it should apply to everyone. Everyone should have a vote, and every vote should be equal. But should everyone vote on everything?

Probably not, only on things that apply to them. And the Internet should be used as much as possible. 

There must be some way for the voter to identify himself or herself. And the equivalent of an account or database, where personal data can be accessed. The pattern of the Iris of the eye was used successfully in the Iraq War. 

Everyone must have access to a voting machine, such as a laptop. that will allow him to perform these actions easily. 

This is my second try at this.

There should be a list containing everyone in the world - an ID number for everyone.

There should be a list containing every country in the world, and each state in every country.

And a list showing what state each person is in, 

Every voter will be loaned a headset containing headphones and microphone.

Each question is voted on by every person in evey state. Each question can have many answers, but only one can be selected. Each answer can be (Yes, or No)

The final answer for each question will provided as an audible reaponse at end of each question. 

My Strong Antisocial Feelings

I believe in therapy because I know I have problems, but it was a long time before they noticed this, the most troublesome part of my personality.

This is probably because most people (therapists and their clients) don't want to know it exists, and they should do something about it. 

I had moved from Silicon Valley to Costa Rica. And as was my custom, I had a therapist, an American psychologist. It didn't take long for me to realize he wasn't much good, but he was cheap. I was depressed and was raking Nytol for this, but it was not working. He sent me to a local psychiatrist since I would need a prescription for different antidepressant medicine.

This guy was competent (he spoke several languages, and charged a lot) and he diagnosed my condition as antisocial, and increased my dosage of Nytol. Eventually, they realized Nytol was useless and stopped using it. but that was later. Meanwhile, I suffered.

Smooching, bur Nothing More

Girls were a problem for me when I was in college. 

I was supposed to have a girlfriend, with whom I was publically affectionate in public. So everyone could see what a normal person I was. 

But I did not feel this way. How did I feel? Not heterosexual or homosexual but asexual, like my father, who wrote love letters (in French) to his Haitian girlfriend.

I had a motorboat that pulled a plank that my friends could ride on. One young woman made it obvious to me that she was open to more (a lot more). But I had to go back to college and get my engineering degree. 

We had a serious problem, that no one could help us with. 

When Technology is the Devil

Picture me as a small boy, standing on a box my father has given me, running Prints through the Hypo, He has already exposed them, and developed them in his favorite place, the Darkroom in his Studio, in Ft. Madison Iowa.

We had no idea this would soon end, as the rest of our world, did in the Fifties. We had worked hard to get get where we were, and could not imagine it ending. Bur it did, with the election of Trump, quite a while latter. How did this happen?

I will use my own life as an example. I did the right thing: I went to college and became an Electronic Engineer. 

This meant I knew a lot about Vacuum Tubes. the dominant technology of the time. You cannot imagine how useful they were. If you had a Radio in your cat, it had tubes in it. If it quite working, as it often did, you took your screwdriver out and removed it from your car, and took it to a drugstore, An ordinary drugstore, because it had a Tube Checker. You used it to check the tubes in your radio, one by one. If you found a defective tube, you bought a replacement for it, right there. You were back in business.

The first TVs also used tubes, especially the output display: a large tube with a flat face.  As TVs got larger, these tubes got larger. I remember when our town Marshall (the force of law in our little town) fired his gun through the TV and through the front window of a local bar. There was still glass on the sidewalk when I walked to school Monday morning. 

In 1980, vacuum tubes were replaced by transistors, tiny things that could perform many functions. A Phone, with a few chips in it could do everything. I was out of a job. 

This was a crisis, bur I solved it by changing jobs. I became a Technical Writer, and then a Programmer, 

My father was not so lucky, he lost his Photography Studio, and every business he developed to replace it. He got a lucky break, he sold his property in Nauvoo, Illinois, And was able to retire in Mexico, in poor health. 

Flat on my Back on the Sidewalk

Yesterday, being the day before Xmas was not a good day to go shopping. But there I was, with all the young folks, with their young bodies and minds, scanning all the goodies in a Walmart store. Too much stuff!

But I was just getting started, I was there mainly to get a new laptop, that Amazon shipped to Miami, and was then flown to Cartago, the nearest large town. You can see it here.

I got on the bus home with too much stuff. On the sidewalk to my apartment, splat! down I went, and there I stayed. 

"This is not normal!" Ray said, (as if I needed reminding.)

You don't have to be Smart to be Good

 I'm not smart, and this does not bother people too much. 

Lots of times I am not good either, and this does bother people. 

There are companies that help you to be good, mainly Microsoft and Google. Right now Google feels better to me, altho Facebook probably feels better to you. Check out Google Workspace and Microsoft Teams. 

It's important to push being good to the top of your list of priorities, and these companies can help you do that. 

I know this is all about Business, instead of People, but we have to use what we got. 

Things have gotten Too Complicated

 I'm not the first one to say this, everyone has, in all kinds of ways. Most commonly by saying nothing at all.

What can I use as an example? Benedict's Newsletter. It's free, and it's enough to scramble anyone's brain. So far, it's up to No. 367. 

"But this is about Computers!" You will say. And Computers are not real. What they are we do not know, but we do know that. 

They are something, we can agree on that, and this something is important. And this guy Benedict is writing about it (at great length). And all we can say is "duh".

Or, if you live close to me, you can visit Cafe Christina, just up the road. Where the wife will give you a tour of the place, a sample of their coffee, and explain their philosophy. (They are very Organic). 

Except they have gone out of business. 

The Rise of the RLDS Church

It arose when Joseph Smith learned how to commit miracles using a stone (a seer stone). But he already had a far more important talent: the ability: to make other people believe in him, no matter what he did. 

This also made other people hate him and resulted in his untimely death in 1844. 

When he died, there was no more church until Brigham Young took over, and led the LDS over the Rocky Mountains to the Great Salt Lake, where it still remains strong. 

Joseph's wife Emma remained in Nauvoo, Illinois with her four sons, children of Joseph. 

Nauvoo was a ghost town, but she stayed anyway. And did not inform her sons of Joseph's transgressions, which included polygamy. Her sons grew up and married local women, but had no money.

Meanwhile, another Mormon group formed in Northern Illinois (nearly as far North as Chicago). They called it the RLDS (Reorganized LDS). They needed a religious leader and selected Joseph Smith's oldest son Joseph Smith III (who was in Nauvoo) for this. He moved North, with his family.

THE RLDS bought land in Southern Iowa, and built a town on it they called Lamoni. JS III moved there with them, and took over leadership of the Church, and made it grow in membership and income. 

But this growth did not continue for long when it moved to Independence, Mo. It remained a small church, and for this reason, I dropped out in 1960. It now calls itself the Community of Christ church. 

Deliberately Stupid People

 Stupid People may be that way for many reasons, and they are not usually aware of it. 

I worked as a Technical Writer from 1980-2000. and was well-paid for it (as much as for a Programmer), because users have to be told how to use the apps they are buying. And they are not usually too smart. 

I was making money out of other people's stupidity. First, the Programmer (or Developer) would explain his program (or app) to me, and I would then explain it to the User. Everyone got happy. Except those who were deliberately stupid.

Instead of getting smart, they got stupid and were satisfied with this state of affairs, that was made especially for them. 

This has forced Tech Writing itself to get better because the Seller wants the Buyer to see how easy it is, using a friendly video. The User becomes Smarter, without his knowing it.

Inequality

Is Dominant in our time. And people can see nothing wrong with this. Some people are better than others and should get paid more, they think. 

Bur how much more? And for what skills? Is being up the corporate ladder good enough? Or does it take more than that?

There have always been skills that have hard to obtain and worth more. And some that are easy to obtain (big tits, for example) and also worth more. 

Computer programming skills get a plus from me. I have been there and done that. And know how hard it is.

Some people feel a faster gun deserves the same respect. Or a dishonest gun. 

My Father, the Photographer

He ended his life in failure, as many of his generations did. 

I should describe his transition from a rich photographer in Ft. Madison, Iowa to a poor baker of ehole-wheat bread, in Nauvoo, Illinois. 

Late in his life, he had a lucky break and sold his property for a lot of money. and was able to retire in Mexico, in poor health. 

He was an ardent believer in the RLDS church, which also failed. This was typical of America in general. Failure was so pervasive, Americans elected Trump to save them. 

The Washington Post gives his successor, Biden, slight chances of success

The Church in Lamoni

The church is the RLDS church, which spent a lot of time in Lamoni, Iowa, before moving to Independence, Missouri. 

The time in Lamoni has not been documented, which I intend to do here. Why wasn't it documented?

Because the church leader was Joseph Smith III, was averse to that sort of thing. 

We have to start there, late in the 19th Century. With leftovers from the original LDS church in Northern Illinois. They formed their own church and called it the RLDS (Reorganized LDS). 

They needed a religious leader, and after some negotiation, selected Joseph Smith's oldest son, Joseph Smith III, as their leader. These people have since disappeared because they were mainly interested in farming. 

They bought land in Southern Iowa, and built a town there called Lamoni, which still exists. 

JS III, who had moved with them, assumed leadership of the church, and it gained in membership and income. 

 

Faith in the Church

The Church for my family was the RLDS church. Looking back at it, it was remarkable how much faith we had in it. 

This lasted me until I graduated from the U of Illinois, where I was surrounded by nonbelievers. It was obvious to me, that Church was not important, so I dropped out. 

I was the only one in my extended family that did this, except for a cousin's wife who joined the Catholic church. 

The rest still believe, even if they never go there. Every church has this problem: many inactive church members. 

In my family, my brother Steve is still a true believer, and still has faith in the Church. 

He has informed me that he belongs to an informal group inside the church that is involved with its Historical Properties (such as the building in Lamoni). But this building is mostly filled with junk. 

I have suggested he build an online tour of the place, but he is not interested. 

My Father and his Father

Were entirely different people. 

We don't know much about Grandfather and Grandmother Smith's early life except they were poor. When  they heard the Santa Fe Railroad had jobs in Ft. Madison, Iowa, they moved there.

Grandfather jot a job as a Safety Inspector.. When a train came into the yards, he was waiting for it for it with a long-handled hammer. He walked down both sides of the train, tapping on each wheel to hear if it was cracked.

Defective cars were repaired there in a place called Shopton. This employed many people, but the work was so dangerous the Railroad had it's own hospital. 

Then the Railroad Strike of 1922 happened. We cannot imagine now how important this was. It was a War between the Railroads and the Unions where people both sides were killed. 

My father's sister Zera married Walter Sanford, and he moved in with them, while he went to High School. The rest of family moved a farm in Illinois, where Grandfather had a stroke that crippled him.

They moved back to ft. Madison, where Grandmother went to work for the Railroad again. She was always a hard worker, and had a good head for money, something her husband never had.

Dad went the U of Iowa, but dropped out because of the Depression. He joined the Marine Core and was assigned to Haiti, where he learned French, and his French teacher had a daughter his age.

They wrote love letters to each other (in French).

Dad went on to be a small businessman, which made him a higher-class socially. while the rest of his family remained working-class. 

All this was very important at the time, but of no importance now. 

For the World to Work

We have to want it to work, and really want it to work for all of us. 

Is this possible? Probably not. 

Can we do better? Yes. How much better? 

That depends on us.

Can the Computer help us with this? Yes. The right kind of smartwatch, if we all wore it, would do the job. 

 What are the chances of this? 

Zero. 

Our Lack of Understanding

Once again, I am trying to understand what is wrong with our world, and I am coming back to the same word: understanding. 

This is the attitude of our times "I don't know, and I don't wanna know!"

Know what? Anything. 

Just as the floodgates of our knowledge are opening up, something is slamming them down! Telling us "You don't want to go there!"

Being Good to Myself and Good to the Computer

This is my project for today. And I want to show you it is possible. 

That is the new development in the world today - making programming easy, I can't make it perfectly easy but I can come close. 

First it's an attitude, you got to treat your computer right! It's trying help you, you got to help it. 

Congress Was Afraid of The President

The last time this will ever happen, 

Why? Because he knew every one of them personally, 

And they were scared of him. I don't have to tell you who that president was.

How did you guess?

Why are we in Afghanistan?

What do we hope to accomplish there? 

There has been a lot said recently about nearly everything, but little about this. 

"And there is not going to be much said, either," You can say. "Most wars are stupid, and this war is no exception." 

Google Photos

Google Photos stores photos up to 16 megapixels and videos up to 1080p resolution. The service will be free and unlimited until June 1, 2021. The service automatically analyzes photos, identifying various visual features and subjects. Users can search for anything in photos, with the service returning results from three major categories: People, Places, and Things. The computer vision of Google Photos recognizes faces (not only those of humans, but pets as well), grouping similar ones together (this feature is only available in certain countries due to privacy laws); geographic landmarks (such as the Eiffel Tower); and subject matter, including birthdays, buildings, animals, food, and more.

I just found this today, by accident. Most people publish their photos on Facebook because it is so easy. But this lets you computerize them!

The Computer has Made us Stupid

It should not have done this, but it has. and I will explain how it has, using my mother as an example. 

Why my mother? Because she was stupid but domineering. and could easily control my technical father. 

The Computer is the same way, it is stupid but can easily control us. 

I used this combination when I became a Technical Writer, which paid me very well. 

Dogs use this also, they are stupid, but can easily control us. 

This is also used in religious settings: stupid people easily rise to the top and dominate everyone else. 

One of my ancestors was a member of the Royal Family of England

An illegitimate member, of course.

This was hardly surprising since illegitimate children (of all kinds) were common for most of history. If the mother and father had been living together for some time exclusively, parentage was assumed. 

This was the case with Julius Ceasar and Cleopatra, whose children were well known. 

Who was this person in my case? 

Some distant relatives of mine (the Fishers) have researched this and come up with a probable answer. But my closest relatives have kept this information for themselves. 

Love of the Latest

 Not everyone has this passion, but for some it is overwhelming, and they will do anything to get it. 

This what caused the Computer boom of the Nineties. People did not know what the Internet was, but they knew it was the Latest Thring and it would make a more profitable world. They were right. but not for the reasons they anticipated. 

The Internet created a new world they could not understand in the least and would drive them nuts. 

Those that could understand it (such as Google) became very rich. What about the rest. (90 percent of the population?) 

Tuf shit, that's what. 

Poverty of Personality

People can be developed in two ways: economically and morally, And there is a big difference between the two. You agree I am sure. And you put yourself in the second category. 

I disagree. 

I have made serious mistakes most of my life. Other people have made worse mistakes, but that does not excuse mine. 

To err is to be human, and you and I make them frequently. 

Making Globalization Work

This has been sitting on my bookshelf for a while, and I finally took it down to read it. And I now urge you to do the same. 

Joseph E. Stiglitz, the author, knows what he is talking about. Hee has been to every conference on the global economy for quite a while. And has a large Wikipedia article. 

For a shorter introduction, just pick up his book and start reading it, with a marker pen in your hand. 

People could do Wonderful Things

If they want to. But that is a pretty big IF.

Let's give that some thought. And talk of what is, instead of what could be.

What are people really like? Damned if I know. 

But I am certain of one thing: they are not very nice, as a general rule.

They can be nice sometimes, but not consistently. 

People and Change

This is a complicated subject, because people are so complicated. 

Language is an example. It can be simple (as most computer languages are) or it can be so complicated (the Navaho language, for example), that only young children can learn it. 

I am trying to learn the Angular Web Framework, which has its own languages. Each language is simple, but the way they are put together, is very complicated, believe me. 

People are like languages, some of them change frequently (the liberals), but some of them very seldom (the conservatives). 

What I ate today

I did two things today: I ate and I read, and I want to write about those. 

The public food in Orosi is cheap and is tasty. So I take it home and eat it here, where I don't have to wear a face mask.

The first thing I bought was some pastry at a bakery, It was sweet with a layer of ham. They went down easily, with some espresso coffee. 

I next read from the Kindle novel, Finding Dorothy, about the wife of Frank Baum, who was long dead. He was the author of the OZ books. She was on the set where Hollywood was making a movie based on his books.

It's an easy read. 

Was Nauvoo an Improvement over Ft. Madison?

Yes and No. 

It was beautiful compared to Madison. And in that way, it saved my life. And it had 25 cycle electricity. in some places, that we quickly being converted to 60 cycles. A fine concrete highway ran thru the middle of town. 

There were many small businesses, including Mayor Horton's garage. that employed several of the town's alcoholics. There were 3 small grocery stores, and a bank, that knew everyone in town (in 1950) so cashing a check was easy. 

It was a small town with few jobs, where Madison was a big town (15,000) with plenty of jobs. Madison was integrated (I went to grade school with black kids). But Blacks in Nauvo had leave town at sundown. 

The teachers were not much good, but they were kind. If you wanted a good education (as a teacher or a student) you went to Ft, Madison.

Debating has Changed

You should start by reading the article on the Lincoln-Douglas debates on Wikipedia. 

Each debate lasted 3 hours and was published in numerous newspaper articles. The main interest was in slavery. And was soon followed by the Civil War, the worst War ever, up to then. 

Software is Hard

Especially for us old folks, and everyone else. We are not machines, but they are. Which gives them a huge advantage, in some ways, but a disadvantage in other ways. 

We need to know the difference. 

A TV is not a person, but lots of people think it is, and want to be like one themselves: completely artificial. 

My Balance Disorder

I can no longer ride a bicycle. The last time I tried, I fell down, broke my arm, and had to go to the hospital. 

A balance disorder is a disturbance that causes an individual to feel unsteady, for example when standing or walking. It may be accompanied by feelings of giddiness, or wooziness, or having a sensation of movement, spinning, or floating. Balance is the result of several body systems working together: the visual system (eyes), vestibular system (ears), and proprioception (the body's sense of where it is in space). Degeneration or loss of function in any of these systems can lead to balance deficits.

Two days ago, I went shopping, putting my groceries in a two-wheel shopping cart. While I was putting the groceries in the refrigerator, I fell down and could not get up. I did not panic, just laid there on that cold tile floor, for a while. No perment damage was done. 

Ray bought me a folding cane, a clever thing that helps me keep my balance. 

I might buy a Trike, a three-wheel bicycle, but they cost $400., and will have to be assembled. 

Mostly Mental

This is what the Pandemic has done to us. It has messed up our minds. 

It has messed up our bodies also, but it seems to me, our minds are worse off.

At least mine is. 

I have been desperately trying to act normal, or at least find out what the New Normal is. 

I buy a lot online and many of my orders are messed up too. 

Even Amazon has lost its mind, and the harder they try, the worse they get.

The Ambiguous Life

 What is the best life? 

At one time, we used to give some serious thought to this, and then acted on what was thought best. 

This is no longer our strategy, and I am not sure what our strategy is. But is more short-range in time and distance. And amounts to many strategies in many places. 

The Importance of Intelligence

This was brought home to me when my brother lost consciousness and his wife did not know what was wrong with him - and didn't want to know, because thinking was too hard for her. 

When We compare Ourselves to Computers

We cannot help feeling inferior. They can do so much, and do it so well! 

Ourselves, being living beings, are plagued with parasites who want everything we have. We have to scramble to stay alive. 

In fact, this what makes us valuable: we are alive, something unusual in the Universe! And we need to appreciate that. 

All too often, we do not. And consider it a handicap instead. 

Experts at Explaining Nothing

My brother has something wrong with him, but my family cannot tell me what it is. The last I heard, they were going to drill two holes in his head, one on each side to relieve the pressure buildup, because he could not talk. 

The next day, when I was eagerly waiting for the latest news, they had changed the subject, without being aware of this. 

Meanwhile, I am watching a free programming course, where everything is being carefully explained. 

Two kinds of people are at work here, one can explain, and one cannot. 

My Balance Disorder

When this acts up, I end up on the ground. Or, as in the case yesterday, on the tile floor of my kitchen. Unable to get up. 

So I just laid there until I could get up. Realizing I would have to see my neurologist again. 

Old age (84) is no fun.