Everything old is new again, even on the Internet. Blogrolls are making a come back. One can think of them like the news feeds/timelines one sees on social networks, but in this case just web site or person’s name. Not sure I want to host such a think on my own blog, and I think my RSS feeds page provides the same function in a more useful manner.
Today I am starting my next virtual walk of the Camino de Santiago. I think I should be able to complete the 577 miles later this year.
It took 582 days for me to walk the equivalent of the 2024 miles of the Appalachian Trail. Goal achieved!
I’ve written down some of my thoughts about the pending iPad announcements. I am curious about what Apple will announcement but not anticipating being a buyer.
I will make the case that March is one of the better, if not the best, months of the year. March 1 begins meteorological spring, temperatures get warmer and flowers begin to bloom. March includes 312 (Chicago), 313 (Detroit), 314 (Pi) days, and St. Patrick’s day. Spring training of professional baseball starts, and college hockey and basketball have their conference and national tournaments. The NHL and NBA seasons are approaching the end of their seasons during which teams are competing for playoff positions.
I am down to the last five miles of my virtual walk on the Appalachian Trail that I started on July 24, 2022. I should complete the walk some time tomorrow!
A problem that I see about reporting on inflation is there is little understanding nor explanation for why inflation is occuring, only assumptions. Gas prices are clearly rising, but why? It seems that gas prices always rise in the spring and summer and most assume that is due to demand. A related and important question, what can be done about it, and what could a President of the United States even do about it? My personal suspicion is that contrary to popular opinion, there is little that a Preside can do about most economic factors like inflation because they are driven mostly by the private sector.
What is Realtime? “Our automated engine continuously tracks public data feeds, detects key changes in real-time, and uses AI to distill them into bite-size stories to keep you informed.” I learned about Realtime by reading Zach Seward’s presentation on journalism and AI at SXSW.
I did some reminiscing about the smartphones that I have owned since I first started using Android in 2008. Looking back at that those phones the ones that stand out are the T-Mobile G1, the Nexus One, and the Nexus 6P. Besides the T-Mobile G1 being the first ever Android phone, it was the only one with a physical and slide out keyboard. The Nexus One had a roller ball for moving through menu items. After the Nexus One smartphones seem to all have the same physical features, which is a shame. The Nexus 6P stands out only because it is the largest phone I’ve owned and reinforced my personal preference for smaller phones.
The first day of Daylight Savings Time is never as bad as the second day, which is a work day. Need more coffee!
“Global village is not created by the motor car or even by the airplane. It’s created by instant electronic information movement. The global village is at once as wide as the planet and as small as a little town where everybody is maliciously engaged and poking his nose into everybody else’s business. The global village is a world in which you don’t necessarily have harmony. You have extreme concern with everybody else’s business. And much involvement in everybody else’s life.” – Marshall McLuhan
We know that Trump and Netanyahu share similar ideological goals, so re-electing Trump makes it almost certain that the United States will not exert any influence on Israel in its handling of Gaza or the Palestinians. I get the idea of “protest votes,” but ask that people consider what is the actual outcome one desires and consider which of the likely winning candidates are more probable to produce that outcome.
As I read and learn about the history of Israel and Palestine, and reflecting on the history of the United States, I think that part of why there are strong feelings on both sides of the issues is the challenge of what do about the wrongs that occurred in the past. A vocal group of people want to correct mistakes of the past, while others want status quo. It appears to me neither group wants to learn from the past to move forward.
Spotted the neighborhood hawk last night.
Assuming that Mitch McConnell sees himself as fighting a war for a better America by his definition for what that means, at some point he will realize that while he may have won some battles he lost the war. A large part of why that is happening is because, he along with many others in the United States have determined that the ends justify the means. Such thinking does away with principles because it leads to tunnel vision. The thing is, due to its multi-ethnic and multi-cultural founding, the United States has been unique in reliance on principals/values for existence. Freedom, liberty, or democracy, however you want to think of them are values that are de-valued when the ends justify the means. Consequently, the United States no longer strives for the ideals upon which it was founded and therefore will revert to the state to which it began.
It’s leap day! I feel like this day needs to be properly observed.
I think this article by The Atlantic titled “The New American Nihilism” that describes the concept for the “need for chaos” fits my views of part of what is going on and I wonder how much of this thinking is driven by Gen X? The article describes a group of people who simply want chaos, and these seem to be people think all institutions are corrupt and ought to be destroyed. I think one of the reasons it’s hard to deal with these people is that they have valid points but they aren’t interested in any solutions to the problems they raise.
Just took a walk, the thermometer says the temperature is 44 degrees but there are 19 mph winds from the northwest making it feel like 30 degrees, which is a 40 degree drop from yesterday. News report indicate at least two possible tornadoes around southeast Michigan over night.
The thermometer shows that the outside temperature is 73⁰, but I had to convince myself to just wear the hoodie when I went for my walk. I took a pair of gloves just in case, but half way through I took off the hoodie. Average temperature at this time of the year is 37⁰, we have easily blew past the record high for the second time this winter. This is not normal.
I saw a text message from my buddy first thing yesterday morning, telling me that the Cubs had signed Cody Bellinger. It’s a three year for $80m deal that gives Bellinger opt outs after each year, so it is basically another one year contract. In other words, we will likely see this drama play out next off season. Regardless, the Cubs now have the appearance of a complete line up, it is a matter of whether they meet expectations.