February 5, 2023

Yesteryear
One year ago today: February 5, 2022, Trudeau steals $9 million.
Five years ago today: February 5, 2018, too sappy.
Nine years ago today: February 5, 2014, the ad vs. reality.
Random years ago today: February 5, 2009, no ordinary guitar.

           Another chilly morn. That’s why the Turks invented coffee. Tampa says it will take three hours to warm up, so I’m crawling back in the sack. Do people still say that anymore? Where’s my book? Yep, Biden is claiming he ordered the balloon shot down last Wednesday. ChatGPT passes the Google coder exam. I read today’s Guardian article on dating and I’m generally in agreement. Except time bombs like having a decent relationship with one’s ex. Forget that, it’s either over or it is not. And never date anyone who has been in prison.

           This broaches a topic interesting to me. You see, I know my own reputation. For inference, I’ll tell what I am not, in some broad categories. Because I play bass, I am not a fantastic guitar player. I am not religious, nor was I raised on a farm (our house was the last one out of town). My audiences can get big, but my circle of friends is intentionally small. I’m bad at math and read most things very slowly. And that is how I like it. By the way, some people think I’m a terrible bass player because I don’t play “Hotel California”.
           This odd picture shows some yard changes. The plastic perches on the feeder have been replaced with larger branches to accommodate the larger birds which have taken up residence. They are the dominant downey woodpeckers who share nothing, then the latest pair of northern cardinals, and there is a pair of robins that appear to have stayed on. None are tamed and no effort has been put to doing so. Strikingly well-fed and energetic is the female woodpecker, who was first to figure out when the feeder was moved closer to the window, that reflections were non-threatening, but she is a very rare sight.

           There is another grey bird I’m trying to photograph which is not identified yet. Each bird that alights seems to consume eight seeds before departing. Here’s still of the grey bird. I thought it might be a female robin, but they are not dimorphous.

           One thing I forgot to stress about on-line money transfers: never have more than one outstanding at any institution. Wait until each transaction clears before initiating another. If you find that difficult, you are guilty of not planning far enough ahead. In this arena, that is both stupid and dangerous. While I was across the room, a Seinfeld re-run started playing. It ran almost a half-hour before I walked over and closed the link. Sorry, it is just not that funny, folks. The more so if one has not had twenty years wasted being conditioned to think this stuff is funny.
           Without explaining the formula I use, I know the minimum parameters for a successful investment, which is sending me warning signals again. My original study was based on units of $100, but today it makes more sense to use $1,000. Every $1,000 you invest for a month, must, in the long run, make you $8 per month before taxes. Less, and you are still getting ahead, but too slowly, more and you are taking risks. I mention this because Caltier is right on the borderline.
           As for Google, it sucks. I searched “River Deep Mountain High” and got a site for hiking trails in Florida. Thailand just handed Pfizer its ass, kicking them out of the country and potentially seeking financial compensation for the evil done by the injections. The Biden administration, having bungled the balloon incident, is putting about that there was another balloon incident during the Trump years. But Biden has lost all credibility, even if the balloon was a college prank, he still handled it all wrong. The Democrats have proved they are unable to adapt to the existence of media they cannot control. Thailand has termed Pfizer management as cockroaches and is supporting seizing of Pfizer assets worldwide. Eight years of very precise satellite weather data shows no detectable climate change.

Picture of the day.
Richest African, Aliko Dangote
(Nigerian, cement.)
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           By 2:30PM I’ve put in my three hours plus a little. Cleanup was more efficient as I can work near the burn barrel with smaller loads. I removed the experimental solar water heater, the one designed for the wrong angle in the Florida sun, but I learned plenty. It was stick framed, so I had to destroy it to move it. The burn cavity of the barrel is taller than the incinerator, so there is less need to watch for sparks. One of the rodents has bit through my mist hose, a perfect pattern. Two incisors, two canines. This caused a jet spray to the delight of bird-folk.

           I raked around 20% of the yard for combustible debris, all into the barrel. Then hid five YeungLings in the shop fridge to surprise myself another time. I’ve earned today’s siesta but I should report I’m back on statins and this always gives me side-effects, one of which will, sooner or later, be weight gain. There’s good cloud cover today but the humidity was like 75%. That’s semi-sauna conditions, here is Mr. Red (this year) enjoying the moment, the background tells you it is a perfect 80°F and overcast.
           Should I rig up NPR radio out there to remind myself there are worse things than working for a living? The latest kick is recent widows who get the house and property but don’t have a friggen clue how to pay the taxes and such. Didn’t I just say stupid should hurt. It’s not right when they get conned, but don’t be totally blaming the market. And them raccoons, they are slowly getting the idea there is no food sources for them any more, move on. Here is one of the coffee pods they nibbled and decided in its natural form it isn’t much of a treat. Which reminds me, it is about time for a mug.

           I took four pounds of cooked chicken out of the freezer and made some goodies up for the week. You should do the same. The latest round of food factory attacks are still focused on egg production. Am I alone not seeking the link between eggs and COVID? It seems to be in the news a lot. Have you seem the latest Pfizer commercial? The one with Pink holding the giant red virus ball? I did but only because I was so surprised to see white people in a commercial.
           Updates, huh? That’s what MicroSoft insists on calling its spyware and KB5021751 is no exception. Disguised as a fix, it’s purpose is to install itself on your computer and report back to MicroSoft if your Windows version is “valid”, which is their way of saying “paid for”. Like I’ve often told them, fix Windows so it works right, and I’ll buy it. All versions of Windows get continually worse with usage. This computer still uses Win XP, has never had an update, and has been on-line pretty much daily with never a problem. Folks, if you let them access your operating system, they can access your data. Wake the hell up.
           In other news, NewScientist magazine has an article that sheep benefit from installing solar panels in their fields. They mean fields where no other shade is available, and what do you know, the sheep go lie in the shade. Talk about self-serving editorial. And despite record layoffs in 2022, tech workers insist demand is high. Sounds a bit like real estate.

ADDENDUM
           According to BusinessInsider, the jobs most likely to be replaced by A.I. are:

1. Media & advertising copy
2. Techies – coders, engineers, analysts
3. Paralegals, legal assistants
4. Teachers
5. Finance advisors & analysts
6. Market researchers
7. Stock traders
8. Graphics designers
9. Accountants
10. Customer service

           This should come as no surprise. The standards for most of those jobs have sunk so low in our lifetimes that it’s amazing they’ve been employed this long. The one I knew was on the brink was my old field, accounting. Why? Because the tax department was ever changing tax laws to match what computers could do rather than allowing the natural progression. The first time I tried TurboTax, I knew it was not accounting software, it was written to comply with tax law. At first glance, the uneducated would not see a problem with that. I shit-canned the app immediately.
           Proponents of the software (bad as it is) make a valid argument that it forces the people in this occupations to “upskill” or get shunted out. It means hardships and pain for those who have made a career out of slacking off, I’d love to see the impact this has on the phone company. It’s a sad day for the proles when a machine can do a job better than they can. Let the millennials, who made A.I. necessary, vote their way out of this one.

           Next is the Japanese Morse code alphabet. Notice how most Japanese words are made up from these five basic vowel sounds, and roughly ten consonants. Common words like “Maru” associated with Japanese ship names don’t appear. The textbook says the word means “circle” but I say it is a corruption of the western word “marine”. Japanese is easier to read than to speak.

Last Laugh