Finished reading: The Divine Dance by Richard Rohr 📚 Trinity matters to the extent that our understand of God matters, which does matter because we become the God that we worship.

What we are seeing played out between Israel and Iran and between Israel and Hammas is retribution. Violence begetting more violence. Empire convinces us this is the norm of civilization and there is no hope for change. Empire is also an idol.

Today I start lap 59 around the sun. Unlike the last two years, there is no snow. Morning sunshine gave way to clouds in the afternoon. My bride and I had a late lunch at Ford Garage.

Duck in a creek with branches in the fore ground.

From Buildings To Floors

Yesterday GM announced that it is moving its headquarters from the Renaissance Center to the new Hudson building next year. The announcement has me feeling sad. I moved to the Detroit area in 1989 to start my career with Electronic Data Systems (EDS), which then was a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors. I could have worked at any one of dozens of offices in the Detroit area that EDS or GM occupied, but my job was located at the General Motors Building, now known as Cadillac Place, a beautiful building designed by architect Albert Kahn and constructed in the early 1920s.

Read More

I’ve added a blogroll to my Daynotes blog to checkout how it works. I think I prefer the blogroll to be a tab on that site rather than a block on the right of the page because it looks out of place and doesn’t render well on the iPad Mini.

The weather today felt more like mid July rather than mid April, with temperature approaching 80 degrees. I very much enjoyed my walk tonight.

Finished reading: The Trouble with Resurrection by Bernard Brandon Scott 📚

First flowering tree to bloom this year, as always.

I watched an introduction to AI video yesterday in which the presenter went to great lengths to try and convince me that AI is really ok and we really don’t have anything to worry about. The problem I have with AI is that I have lived through the birth and growth of the Internet and through that I’ve learned that software is just an amplification of humanity. As long as there are humans who see other humans as nothing more than a means to the ends of their wealth we have much to fear about any software that amplifies human failings.

This is what 99% of a solar eclipse looks like. Still plenty of light.

Right now it is a normal, sunny Monday morning.

Sun shining on grass with shadows of trees

Good morning Cubs fans! Welcome to Eclipse day. Our Cubbies have played three series and won two of them. We could have won all three of them if you consider how well Justin Steele was pitching before his injury in Texas. So far the lineup as produced runs and the starting pitching has been pretty good. My only disappointment yesterday is that the rain disrupted Imanga’s start against the Dodgers, which I was looking forward to seeing. Hopefully they continue to play well during the road trip this week along the west coast.

The flowering tree in our neighborhood that always blooms first has blossoms.

Pink blossoms on a tree

I just checked and discovered that circle to search is on my Pixel 7A. I don’t know why I didn’t get some form of a notification from Google that this software is on my phone given that it’s a new Pixel feature. Not sure how much I’m going to use it, but it’s nice to see current features being updated on my phone.

We Need An Emoluments Amendment

I don’t think it controversial to say that much of what ills the government of the United States is caused by money. What may be controversial is that I do not think giving money is an expression of free speech, rather I think the act of giving money is an emolument. Limiting the amount of money a corporation, committee, or individual gives to an elected official is not an infringement on free speech.

Read More

How much of the lack of trust in Biden and Trump is due to money? What about politicians in general? Of news organizations? Of the medical industry? Of regulators? What is the consequence of this lack of trust?

Today is the Chicago Cub’s home opener after they completed the first series of the season with one again and two loses against the Texas Rangers. Texas is the defending World Series champion and therefore is one of best teams, so not getting swept is a bonus. In fact, the Cubs came within inches of maybe winning the first game in the tenth inning when a foul ball hit by Christopher Morel just missed being a grand slam. Steele was keeping the Rangers lineup in check before he pulled a hamstring fielding a swinging bunt. Despite this, my reaction after one series is that the current Cubs lineup seems no better than last year’s, with the same unreliable hitting, amplified by bad fielding.

Pugnosticating The 2024 Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs have completed the 2024 Cactus League spring training “season” and will start the 2024 MLB season tomorrow at the Texas Rangers. As many questions exist about the 2024 team as did for the 2023 team, so it is hard for me to expect them to be too much better than last year. Will Greg Counsell as the new manager make a difference? Perhaps that is the main question going in to this season.

Read More

If you are watching the NCAA men’s or women’s basketball tournament and think to yourself, “that’s a nice basketball court,” know that what you are seeing was manufactured in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which is my homeland!

Finished reading: FAITH IN THE FACE OF EMPIRE by RAHEB 📚 Can a people enslaved in empire not realize that they are enslaved?