A.I. Is Solving the Wrong Problem

 Medium

This gal is super-smart, and she can write!

You will learn something from reading this. 

My Brother and the Church

The Church is the RLDS church. the second-largest Mormon church. The largest being the LDS church.

He is retired now and was delighted when the church gave him something to do: manage one of its Historical properties in Lamoni. Iowa.

Bur when he took a look at these properties, he became less enthusiastic - they weren't much to look at, and he did nothing with them. The church was satisfied with this situation, but never said so, and its properties in Lamoni remain undeveloped.

Mreanwhile, the church itself is in trouble. I don't know the details, but it is now called the Community of Christ, and has a new president that is not decended from Joseoh Smith, in any way. 

Am I getting Better at Relating to Other People?

 No.

And I don't think that can be changed.

The Bad is Stronger than the Good

 In many situations. 

The trick is in identifying those situations. One of them, it seems to me, is modern Afghanistan. 

I think this approach is more productive than assuming a compromise will work. This is exactly what the Bad Guys want, and they will quickly take advantage of this situation. 

An additional thing needs to be acknowledged: being weak (or stupid) will help the Bad. And a lot of people like being stupid. 

Nobody talks about

 What happened to the RLDS church? 

This has affected lots of people,- my entire family, in facr. But if I raise this question I get shut down in a hurry. 

One thing typical of the church was the Prayer Meeting, every Wednesday night. Was this just typical of the Nauvoo branch?

Children were always expected to attend, and participate. 

My father was part of this change in Nauvoo, but he wpild never talk about it.

CardioAspirina

This is a low-strength Asprin pill with a coating to protect your stomach. 

Hormones cannot be Faked

Hormones are created by the brain,, but a  part of the brain, that cannot be faked. 

It can create hormones rapidly, but can only alter them slowly.

I remember a play I attended in England, a theater in the round production. After the audience was comfortably seated, the lights were dimmed. When they went up, two naked actors were seen, a man and a woman. 

The play was on. And they were acting. But, as one critic observed, the Man's penis was flaccid, not erect.

Being Nothing is Good

 Wrong. 

If you are nothing you cannot do anything.  Abd your Blog will show this.

They are theirJobs

 This is what bothered me most about Americans. And what I noticed most when I last visited them

My cousin had moved from Ohio, where he was a failure and had become a success in Northern Virginia, where he learned a new profession. Naturally, he was proud of this. 

But this pride went to his head, and he became conservative and identified with his job. I could spend lots of time describing this process, which has happened to most Americans. 

There is nothing wrong with being 'proud of your job because you do good work. But identifying with it is going too far. 

PepsI in Costa Rica

Pepsi is popular down here because it is cheaper than Coke, and is practically the sane thing. 

Turrialba was once a Railroad town, aad many oy the railriad buildings srjjj rermain.

You cab warnder aroud looking at the women, many of which ere also prositutes. You can get laid down here for much kess. 

Chicago was not RLDS

I was raised RLDS, halfway down the state of Illinois. close to the intersection of Iowa and Missouri. About as Midwestern as you could get, but not part of Chicago, which was another world entirely. 

Chicago was the name of a poem by Carl Sandburg. which begins "Hog butcher for the world" 

The RLDS church moved from Nauvoo, Illinois, to Plano, Illinois (close to Chicago). to Lamoni. Iowa. to Independence, Missouri

Social Awareness

Most people in today's society have little of this and don't want more, because it would cost them money. 

How is this? Because they live in a society where they make more than other people, and they want to keep it this way. 

I was an Electronic Engineer. and made good money, which was fine with my wife, who helped me spend it. We didn't feel guilty because lived in NYC. and we were surrounded by people who made more. 

This happy state of affairs did not last, because our marriage did not last. 

Trade Beads

When Europeans started trading with Africans, they had a problem: the natives were not interested in their money!

So the Venetian glassworkers created a currency for them: colorful trade beads. Wikipedia has an excellent article on these.

Who can You have Sex with?

Mry Mother was clear about this: you can have sex with any servant of God. And there were quie a  few of those arpind, male and female. 

For her, of course, the male variety applied, and she took abundant advantage of this exception. 

Many Americans cannot Think very Well

 And this does not bother them. Better thinking, they feel, is unnecessary and dangerous.

This is especially true when thinking of Science, which they do not do very often, because it is so dangerous.

American English in India

 I was watching a TED presentation, made in India. The speaker, a high-class woman, was speaking perfect American English, but wearing Indian clothing. 

Most English, as it is spoken in India, cannot be understood in America.

When the camera moved to her back. I was shocked to see her lower back was fully exposed! 

She did not realize that TED is viewed mainly in the US, where dress standards are different. 

Old Age is not for Sissies

And more and more of us are getting that way. We are not useless, but getting that way. 

I wish I could say we are getting wiser as we get older, but the world is moving too fast for that. 

We want to say "Stop the world, we want to get off!" 

Is there a solution? Yes, and they keep crowding into my inbox. Learn this software, or this, or this! Any one would bring you up to date. 

But most people do not waanr to be brought up to date. They prefer staying where they are, or even where they were. 

Virus on the National Geographic

This is the issue for February 2021.

It has a long article (with many illustrations) about them. If you do not subscribe to his yourself, you can probably get it at a library.

Its subtitle is: They kill us by the millions, But without them, life is impossible.

Security on the Computer

 I am stuck in the middle of this mess. 

I have been using Chromebook laptops because they are cheaper. But am trying to add a Windows 10 laptop to the mix sitting on the computer desk in my bedroom. 

But Microsoft's and Google's security solutions do not work together very well. They both use passwords, but they use them differently. 

This is a problem we cannot fix, even if we wanted to. I am trying to do this right now, and I cannot do it. 

Being Important

I first started to write about Being a Prophet, because of my family's religion: Mormonism, which always has a Prophet or two around. But I decided to write about a more general subject: self-importance. 

My father was a good example of this. And this was the reason for his success, religiously. And was the reason for the conflict with his wife, who was determined to be more important herself. 

This was also a generational conflict, as women were getting more important all the time in the 20th Century. 

Mother's family was more important than Dad's family, and this could never be overcome. 

Dad made a strong move to Saltillo, Mexico, but Mom made sure this did not last, and he died just before he was 60. 

Hometown Security

This is a TED talk you can watch at ted.com/talks/majora_carter_3_stories_of_local_eco-entrepreeneurship.

The subtitle is: Solving big problems with local solutions.

I was born and raised in Ft. Madison, Iowa - which is now part of the Rust Belt. The people there need to know where they are.

Los Angeles in Costa Rica

Los Angeles is so important there should be a college course on the subject. And a course on how every country has its own version of one. 

What can we say bout LA? Nearly everything, from good to bad and everything in between. It's hard to believe anything else can equal it. 

But something is - Silicon Valley, which is setting new records for greed and growth. Ethics is a big word here. Everybody wants it, but nobody has it.

They do not need to Understand

 In today's technical world (the Modern world)

The Engineer of a Steam Locomotive needs to know nothing about what Is under the hood. Thre sane thing Is true for an automobile. Or even a Computer.

You don't need to know how it is made up.