The Curmudgeon Speaks

Maybe you have seen someone with a “Birds aren’t real” sweatshirt or a billboard with the same message. Maybe you have viewed this message on Twitter and wondered exactly what this claim was supposed to mean. Surely, the claim is false and those making such claims realize these are being foolish to gain attention.

Take a look at the official website and you may come away even more confused. There you will find “birds aren’t real” merchandise (truther gear) just like I said. There are links to media coverage for “the cause” and an explanation of the origin of the group. Evidently, the CIA is responsible, but the rest of the government is complicit in the cover-up. What you think are birds are really drones. These drones recharge themselves on power lines.

You can even try Snopes to check out this organization. Snopes seems to think the whole thing is satire with Gen Zers (those born 1997 to 2012) in on the joke. The leader, Peter McIndoe, initially seemed to suggest it was satire, but now with the success of the movement and money for merch coming in he is committed. Mr. McIndoe seems “the birds” version of Q.

This can’t back away from an obvious fabrication seems a thing at this point. The world is not flat. Trump did not win the election. Gates is not promoting vaccines to get you to voluntarily submit to having a sensor implanted in your body.

Maybe others would not notice this kind of thing, but I saw this image and immediately found it amusing.

We are up north with family for the holiday. I decided to walk on the lake. I have boots called “ice bugs” that have very short spikes in the soles that keep me from slipping on the ice. The view of the shoreline with the snow is great.

I use my iWatch to track distance and steps. The health app on my phone automatically stores these data and adds some embellishments. The iPhone is pretty impressive and uses geolocation data to draw the route of a walk on a map.

Just in case you are unfamiliar with northern Wisconsin, walking on water is what we do in winter.

Various hypotheses have surfaced regarding what seems an inability to personal filter our flawed information from the daily diet of many citizens. One explanation is that too many rely on news sources that offer more commentary and speculation than actual news. Another is that too many rely on what they “learn” from Facebook and other social media sources. Here is a possible remdy

I have been watching more news from Reuters on my phone after a friend recommended as a great news source without the commentary. Recently, I also learned that I could access this same feed using our Amazon Show.

You may have an Amazon Show sitting in your living room and may go days with calling out – Alexa! This article from Android Authority includes some suggestions new to you. One discovery I made from this piece was the opportunity to play the video version of the news offered by Reuters.

The command “Alexa, play Reuters” should work.

People have started sending us Christmas cards and letters and making me feel guilty. I don’t have any photos on paper or cards so I will offer a holiday response as a blog post.

Merry Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrate near this time of year. I hope this note finds you and yours in good health. Cindy and I are doing well. For a few months after we had our third COVID shots, we were almost feeling normal, but it is difficult to remember just what normal should be. This year was a bit of an improvement. We were able to spend time in the same room with vaccinated family and friends and I even spent a little time in local coffee shops. The reading and writing must go on. We traveled a bit in our trusty rPod, but there were no trips across an ocean. We hope to make it to Hawaii in a month or so and host our immediate family and an assortment of our friends. Maybe. In comparison to others who have had to struggle with work and school, we have had it relatively easy. No worries over constant testing and quarantines. No worries over who can skip work and watch the kids. Our immediate family despite the exposure in schools, medical settings, and work settings have all evaded COVID. Still, there is that feeling that we have lost time and experiences we cannot ever get back.

So, here is a toast to better days ahead and to appreciating the opportunities and experiences of the past. Perhaps we will see you face to face in the new year.

I first posted these thoughts in 2017. Facebook reminds you of old posts from the past and I thought it worthwhile to remind myself and others of this topic. After the past few years, I think we are all now more aware and I hope more appreciative. Empathy is such a valuable characteristic and being honest with yourself about the uneven nature of life should be an initial step in shaping the attitudes that guide our behavior. I am adding a contribution from Frankie our youngest grandchild because I thought her art had a great Thanksgiving message.

I did not grow into adulthood wealthy, but I was privileged.

– I was born white and male

– My parents were not wealthy when I was young, but they were committed to each other. They were college educated and encouraged their children in whatever personal interests we had. I followed a career path they did not understand. Rather than object, they found money to expand my undergrad training so they were comfortable that I had a backup plan. My own goals worked out and the breadth of my preparation ended up being a benefit throughout my career.

– I found a lifelong partner who supported me and who shared professional interests that magnified whatever personal talents I had.

So many struggle because they do not benefit from such privileges. They deal with discrimination because of irrelevant personal characteristics that are of no consequence. They mature in an environment of turmoil or hardship that was not of their making. They miss out on a break here or there that may have eventually resulted in great opportunities. They are unable to connect with someone who allows them to achieve far more than they would have on their own.

I take some credit for the successes of my life. I also realize that pretty much every possible break went my way.

This time of Thanksgiving should be a time of reflection. We seem to be in a time of great turmoil and a willingness by many to ignore life’s privileges. I hope the inequities generated by privileges are not magnified through the decisions politicians make.

I filled my gas tank this morning at the small town station I use when spending time at our lake place. When I selected regular, I noticed this very professional looking decal with a picture of President Biden with one arm pointing at the price and the caption – “I did that”. Another decal was positioned next to the total cost of my fill. The price per gallon was $3.19 and it was a dime higher than I remember from my last visit. I should have taken a picture before I peeled the decals off. I checked the other pumps to get a photo, but it was only the pump on the end out of the visual field of the folks working at the station that had been selected for comment.

I know little about macroeconomics, but there are some things I believe just because these arguments seem logical. First, I don’t think the government officials pocket any money when citizen costs increase. They might benefit from the gifts of lobbyists, but they don’t get a cut when the cost of gas increases. I also don’t think the government burns money. It has to go somewhere.

I happen to be reading my local paper – the Minneapolis Star Tribune and I found this story about the increased oil revenue going to the North Dakota oil fields. This was the case even though less oil was being extracted. The value of a barrel oil has gone up, the oil companies have benefited, and the state has received more tax revenue as a consequence. Of course, the increased cost at the pump has also benefited other countries and regions of this country. My point – money goes somewhere and benefits someone. So rather than blaming Biden or Pelosi, you could more accurately blame the people of North Dakota for benefitting from the increase in what you pay.

My take on macroeconomics is that we should be more worried about income inequities. The world has faced great challenges as the result of the COVID pandemic. In this time, folks are out of work possibly because they cannot find child care or their employer needed to cut back. Price increases are tough for these folks. At the same time, stock market is at a record level and the ultra-rich and even the rest of us with money in the market are getting richer. So, when you try to blame politicians consider where the money you feel you are losing goes. Get upset over why it is not going to the folks who need really need it.

I started what I call my living room garden in November of 2020 as a project to work on during the COVID pandemic. I have been interested in school gardens for years and was exploring what I saw as an option classes could use during the school year. Too often, school gardens are left with out a gardner during the summer months.

I just planted a crop I hope will be the last in my continuous streak of having the garden in operation. We hope to spend time in Hawaii in a few months to avoid the worst of the Minnesota winters. I would have to shut the garden down when no one would be around to keep it going.

The garden in the house ended up being useful even when my outside garden was available. I could grow lettuce during the heat of the summer and tomatoes during the winter and into the spring before plants in the garden would produce.

The following images may offer a perspective useful if you wonder just what this looks like. The first image shows the garden, a mature lettuce crop, and a younger lettuce planting. The lighting can be adjusted as plants grow and to accommodate plants that need more room (e.g., tomatoes). The second image shows what the newest planting (herbs) looks like. The plastic jugs to either side of the garden hold water that is siphoned into the gardens when we are not around. Plants use a lot more water than you might guess.

Worried your Twitter feed is dominated by those with political beliefs similar to your own? The Polarization Lab has set up bots that will relay tweets from politicians and journalists with opposing beliefs that are supposed to balance out your own biases.

This is an interesting approach based on research from the Lab that claims becoming aware of the position of others can moderate your own. I think there is an important difference between understanding the positions taken by those whom I find to think very differently from the way I do. I have studied work on argumentation and I know that those arguing different positions tend to write/speak more in substantiating their own positions than addressing the positions and supporting evidence taken by others. Tbere are so many issues on which my values leave me wondering just what could justify positions taken the oppose these values and I have been identifying the tweets forwarded by the bot just to see if justifications are included. So far, I have not found what I am looking for, but I will continue to try. I also have taken the proactive step of asking for justifications, but my requests are usually ignored.

This approach should interest others who care about social media and wonder whether there is hope for meaningful discussion of issues.

I can understand why a candidate for Governor might want to make public education a central issue. Teachers are drastically underpaid in many states, schools are underfunded, the gap in achievement between kids coming from poor and wealthy families is increasing, etc. However, when a candidate focuses on a vague and pretty much made-up issue such as critical race theory, even a very pro-public education person like me must just shake his head. A perspective has been falsely translated from the training in law schools because it has a scary sound to many white Republicans to issues such as the topics of history class and the selection of literature in English. At least, forget CRT and decide if you are against denying slavery and want to ban books by recognized scholars. Such topics are less important than the discussion of the Common Core and Modern Math and I am guessing voters have little clue what these topics involve either.