Is not good.
Yesterday, after making sure my Social Security payments had been received. I went to Cartago to get the cash I need to survive down here.
I got 300,000 Colonies (about $400), bought some low-calorie sandwiches at a place called the Juice House, took a taxi to a WalMart store, bought a few things (including some Spam Lite), picked up a National Geographic at Aeropost, went to the Post Office to see if I had a key for my post office box (I didn't).
I took a bus to Paraiso, got a chocolate shake, and tried to get my glasses repaired that I broke in my fall (unsuccessfully), and took a bus home.
I was exhausted. And am still recovering from that trip.
But I am recovering, slowly.
I am in a lot of pain, as my body and my mild (really the same thing) struggle to adapt to an independent existence.
Thursday, April 4, 2019
Addiction
Man is an animal that likes drugs. The only animal that does.
But the drugs he can get addicted to can be almost anything. He can take anything to excess. religion, for example. Or TV programs. Once they get hooked, they want more.
And a marketplace develops to satisfy those needs that didn't exist a year ago.
Time itself has changed, without our noticing it. And people are saying, with complete confidence "Nothing has changed!"
But the drugs he can get addicted to can be almost anything. He can take anything to excess. religion, for example. Or TV programs. Once they get hooked, they want more.
And a marketplace develops to satisfy those needs that didn't exist a year ago.
Time itself has changed, without our noticing it. And people are saying, with complete confidence "Nothing has changed!"
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Engagement
Bloomberg
The conundrum isn’t just that videos questioning the moon landing or the efficacy of vaccines are on YouTube. The massive “library,” generated by users with little editorial oversight, is bound to have untrue nonsense. Instead, YouTube’s problem is that it allows the nonsense to flourish. And, in some cases, through its powerful artificial intelligence system, it even provides the fuel that lets it spread.
The conundrum isn’t just that videos questioning the moon landing or the efficacy of vaccines are on YouTube. The massive “library,” generated by users with little editorial oversight, is bound to have untrue nonsense. Instead, YouTube’s problem is that it allows the nonsense to flourish. And, in some cases, through its powerful artificial intelligence system, it even provides the fuel that lets it spread.
The last point is important. It assumes people can be easily deceived by online media. And Computer computer companies are making this situation worse.
People have been seduced by the magic screen ever since the Movies became popular. And ever since TV took over from the Movies.
It takes an intelligent person to distinguish between fantasy and reality. And these are in short supply.
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
What Happened to Us?
This is what Americans should be asking themselves after they elected Trump.
But they are not.
Something important happened, but they do not want to know what it was.
All I can do is repeat that statement "Something important happened, but they do not want to know what it was."
Probably it was a combination of many things, happening over an extended period of time. Nothing overwhelming about this, but it felt that way to them. Too much was going on.
Their tipping point had been exceeded, and now they were in unknown territory.
I consulted Wikipedia and found an article on Catastrophe theory. This sounded right (it had a good mouthfeel) but as it said, it was very technical.
Perhaps I needed a more powerful writing environment to cope with this, so I launched a Jupyter Notebook.
Now I am trying to learn that.
But they are not.
Something important happened, but they do not want to know what it was.
All I can do is repeat that statement "Something important happened, but they do not want to know what it was."
Probably it was a combination of many things, happening over an extended period of time. Nothing overwhelming about this, but it felt that way to them. Too much was going on.
Their tipping point had been exceeded, and now they were in unknown territory.
I consulted Wikipedia and found an article on Catastrophe theory. This sounded right (it had a good mouthfeel) but as it said, it was very technical.
Perhaps I needed a more powerful writing environment to cope with this, so I launched a Jupyter Notebook.
Now I am trying to learn that.
Monday, April 1, 2019
The Prostitute who Cares for her Client
I am reading An American Tragedy.
Where a prostitute seduces the main character of the story. And where he benefits from the experience.
I could relate to this, because of an erotic experience I once had in Sri Lanka. Some young men I knew had paid the mother of a young woman so she could have sex with them. And they allowed me to have her also. She was eager to please me, and I felt much better afterward.
Where a prostitute seduces the main character of the story. And where he benefits from the experience.
I could relate to this, because of an erotic experience I once had in Sri Lanka. Some young men I knew had paid the mother of a young woman so she could have sex with them. And they allowed me to have her also. She was eager to please me, and I felt much better afterward.
Computer Science is Science
But there are plenty of people in the Computer Industry who do not believe this.
I was there for 20 years, 1980-2000, and I saw plenty of examples of people who were interested in making money, at the expense of everything else. Ethics were easily overlooked, and are still overlooked.
In Science, these are vital concerns and cannot be overlooked.
I was there for 20 years, 1980-2000, and I saw plenty of examples of people who were interested in making money, at the expense of everything else. Ethics were easily overlooked, and are still overlooked.
In Science, these are vital concerns and cannot be overlooked.
People Don't Like Science Anymore
Because Science describes how it is, not how they think it is.
For Isaac Newton, this problem did not exist. God had organized the world a certain way (using mathematical formulas) and all he had to do was discover what those formulas were.
His solutions always involved some simplification of the data to make the mathematics manageable (there was only planet revolving around the sun, the rest had to be ignored), but this was acceptable at the time. He explained almost everything, and that was good enough.
But as Science looked at the world more carefully (using Electro Magnetic theory and Quantum Mechanics) his solutions were seen to be inadequate.
They were inadequate to scientists, but not to most people. who had become rich because of the Industrial Revolution and the Steam Engine. That was all the theory they needed and wanted.
A huge gap appeared between most people and those who were knowledgeable. And this gap has persisted and even gotten worse.
They think growth can continue forever. But when Science says this is impossible, they attack Science viciously.
For Isaac Newton, this problem did not exist. God had organized the world a certain way (using mathematical formulas) and all he had to do was discover what those formulas were.
His solutions always involved some simplification of the data to make the mathematics manageable (there was only planet revolving around the sun, the rest had to be ignored), but this was acceptable at the time. He explained almost everything, and that was good enough.
But as Science looked at the world more carefully (using Electro Magnetic theory and Quantum Mechanics) his solutions were seen to be inadequate.
They were inadequate to scientists, but not to most people. who had become rich because of the Industrial Revolution and the Steam Engine. That was all the theory they needed and wanted.
A huge gap appeared between most people and those who were knowledgeable. And this gap has persisted and even gotten worse.
They think growth can continue forever. But when Science says this is impossible, they attack Science viciously.
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