The Curmudgeon Speaks

I have purchased and am listening to Walter Isaacson’s book about Elon Musk. The book traces Musk’s journey from his childhood in South Africa to his emergence as a Silicon Valley innovator.

Podcasts I listen to have criticized the book claiming Isaacson was too protective of Musk in light of various criticisms of Musk’s behavior. Isaacson is accused of using his own celebrity status to get access to individuals such as Musk (and Steve Jobs) and then going easy on them to encourage future high-profile individuals to allow him to tell their story.

Aside from Musk’s recent Twitter (X) debacle, Musk has been accused of meddling in the Ukraine/Russia war by manipulating Ukraine’s access to the satellites Musk has launched and controls (Ronan Farrow). Musk has been described as being so wealthy he is making decisions that should be reserved for national leaders.

Critics have discouraged the purchase of his book and have directed interested parties to the account of an interview with Isaacson by Kara Swisher in support of this position. I found the interview to be quite informative and decided my purchase was an appropriate decision for the background it provided on Musk’s work, character, and influence.

Freedom is one of those positive ambiguous words political parties attempt to appropriate as a descriptor for their particular parties. This seems an impossibility as an outsider looking at such claims when applied to some situations.

The book club I which I spend a couple of hours each Saturday morning has been reading The Big Myth. Freedom plays a central role in this book which seeks to challenge the “magic of the marketplace” compared to government guidelines and regulations. Freedom ends up as a justification for market forces. Employees and workers both just want to be free.

The resistance of employees who worked from home during the pandemic to return to the workplace is an interesting challenge to the assumption that the market knows best (McKinsey study). Evidence seems to indicate that workers are more productive from home and save time commuting they are not compensated for. There does appear to be some loss in mentoring and creativity. The freedom argument is being tested. Whose freedom?

I have participated in an online book study group led by Dr. Dan Allosso for a year or so. Dan is a history prof at Bemidji State University located in Northern Minnesota. He is a second-career academic coming to the college scene after initially working in the tech industry. History and tech do seem an unusual combination. I happened across Dan’s group because at that time the group was focused on several sources considering PKM (personal knowledge management) and the writing process. PKM was something I had not spent a lot of time exploring, but the idea of collecting and organizing ideas long-term is what many of us do.

Higher ed is under great stress and Dr. Allosso has been caught up in the troubles. He was approaching the tenure decision but BSU has been experiencing financial problems and has decided to retrench many faculty members in response. Dan was caught in this process and is now in his last year at this institution.

What does a tech-oriented person do in this situation? You write about the experience. The series has been quite interesting and covers both personal experiences and comments about the present state of higher education. I include the following video as an example. This item discusses the options for high school students to take college courses and the value of attracting students who might not be considering college through such opportunities.

Everyone needs to consider what this defense implies. It proposes that if you are convinced what you speak as lies and related actions you take are believed to be true and justified, your actions reflect free speech and acceptable behavior. Psychologists would describe this behavior as delusional and lawyers might describe the behaviors associated as caused by temporary insanity. Perhaps. Trump is sufficiently egotistical he might not be capable of differentiating his thoughts from reality.

Some Trump supporters dismiss his behaviors as the typical lies of politicians. I would not argue politicians do not stretch the truth or engage in spreading misinformation, but to think in this way to defend Trump is to fall prey to the bias of false equivalency. All lies do not have equal consequences and putting our democracy at risk of an insurrection or suggesting an election decision does not truly represent the will of the people is exceptionally egregious in a country’s leader. Whether you believe Trump acted out of misguided understanding or more maliciously to knowingly in an attempt to circumvent our method of governance, it is simply inappropriate to support him for a leadership position. You are willing to overlook very dangerous behavior.

[From the Times story. Already, Mr. Trump’s lawyers and allies are setting out the early stages of a legal strategy to counter the accusations, saying that Mr. Trump’s First Amendment rights are under attack. They say Mr. Trump had every right to express views about election fraud that they say he believed, and still believes, to be true, and that the actions he took or proposed after the election were based on legal advice.]

I learned a new word for a concept that had occurred to me, but I did not know had a formal label. The word is “greedflation” and it describes circumstances under which companies raise prices beyond what would be necessary to cover the cost of production and provide a reasonable profit margin. With the present concern, mostly fanned by political rhetoric, over inflation, it was puzzling to me why corporate profits in some cases were at record levels. This is greedflation.

There is obviously actual inflation, but the conditions for inflation also provide the opportunity for greedflation. Most people do not recognize greedflation when they are aware legitimate inflation is afoot. Greedflation is also more likely in industries with less competition allowing one or a small number of participants in that sector of the economy not to be undercut by competitors.

The first story covered in this On the Media podcast describes greedflation.

NPR story

I bought a new iMac when I retired. That was eight years ago. It was finally time to retire that machine and invest in something new. I bought a Mac mini and a 30-inch Samsung monitor and now am trying to recreate my collection of tools from scratch. The iMac will reside at our lake place for a while.

I got to the point where a few of the apps I wanted to run required the newest Mac OS. I am also discovering that some of the apps I used to run will not work on the newer machine. I am caught in between and this is the reality of progress. I will have to have to find new options.

I met John this morning at Starbucks. I was surprised to see him at a table with all of his equipment playing during the hour+ I was there. I spent some time talking with him after I asked to take his picture. He spoke a polished English that was not from here. Perhaps England. Interesting fellow. He stood and introduced himself and shook hands before talking with me.

I asked about his decision to play in a coffee shop. He said he can move his equipment in with two trips to the car and the wifi was better than he had at home. I asked about the setting. He said it reminded him of spending time in internet cafes. I had flashbacks to spending time elsewhere and visiting such cafes a few times myself.

I should write something sometime about my coffee shop experiences.

I find it difficult to ignore the issue of climate change. I believe the scientist who claim the climate of the earth hospitable to humans is on a downward trajectory and we are approaching a point at which without some miraculous new technology the future becomes very bleak. 

If you are of such a mind, it is easy to see signs around you. Some regard events such as a cold winter, mighty storms bringing torrential rains as contrary indicators. However, the examples they bring forward are misinterpreted. Everything is not about warming, but rather intensity displayed in extremes that are coming with increasing frequency. We had a record snowfall in Minnesota this winter. Sure, snow melts into water, but the amount does not offset the dry and even drought-level summers we are experiencing. It is the frequency of such records that is concerning. The number of records exceeds what one would expect statistically by a substantial margin.

We are presently in a very dry period. The same thing happened last summer. I gave up on my lawn last summer and focused the watering on my garden. This summer has already been very similar, but starting earlier. Record temps and a dry May and June. I still water the grass trying to salvage an investment in a new seeing required because of grub damage last year. 

I noticed today walking through the park just how dry everything that is not irrigated has become. Sobering signs I cannot ignore.

It is strawberry season in the upper midwest and our go-to location is Lindy’s Berries. We pick our own and also purchase when the farm sells in communities near where we live.

If you pick your own, there is a substantial price break. It is hard and hot work, but the difference between $13 and $22 (Facebook page) is substantial and picking your own is enjoyable. There is no extra charge for sampling as you work.

If you looked at my post from last year, you will notice that the cost has gone up from $20 to $22. A couple of years ago when we first started purchasing these berries the price was $16. You might call this inflation.

Here is the thing about inflation in berry farming. There is a lot of hand labor involved in the process. Hence the difference between pick your own and purchasing picked. BTW – Lindy’s like so many businesses is having trouble finding enough workers and the cost per bucket for pickers has gone up. The Facebook page contains an application if you need summer work. Here is the segment regarding pay.

Pay: How much could I make picking strawberries? Because we hire pickers as young as 12 and all the way up to adults in their 50’s and 60’s the pay varies greatly. If you are dedicated, come to work as many days as possible, and work hard, the pay is great! In 2022, Lindy’s Berries hired over 75 pickers. Several pickers made well over $1,200 in the 22 days we picked, and several made over $2,000. The average total for pickers that worked 75% of the days we picked was about $850. This year we will be paying $4.50 for every bucket you pick. Payment is by check every Monday for buckets picked the prior Sunday-Saturday. We withhold 7.65% for your portion of FICA and Social Security taxes. You will be sent a W2 in January for your earnings and withholding information.

Aside from the cost of production, there are salaries involved in picking and in transportation and labor at the multiple locations selling the berries. The costs for the product take these increasing costs into consideration. So, you can fight inflation by driving to a berry field and picking your own or you can pay a little more, be thankful some poor kids who are out in the fields are making a little more money, and complain about inflation to those willing to take pay cuts to bring down prices.