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Comments for Sunday,
October 1, 2023, thru Sat., Oct. 7, 2023:
October
2, 2023
- Hmm. The
Donald Trump trial that
started today seems long
overdue. As I understand it,
he's being tried for doing things
he's been doing for decades.
He overstates his net worth by
billions of dollars when asking
for a bank loan, and he
understates his net worth by
millions when it comes time to pay
his taxes.
The trial is taking place in Civil
Court, and it is only about him overstating
his net worth, so there is no
chance that Trump might end up in
jail. We'll have to wait for
his stolen government documents
trial for that.
Meanwhile, I've got my DVR set to
record The
Late Show with Stephen
Colbert, Late
Night with Seth Meyers,
The
Tonight Show staring Jimmy
Fallon, and Jimmy
Kimmel Live
tonight. I'm really
looking forward to watching
them all tomorrow
evening. It should be
a much better way to learn
about the Trump trial than
just watching the
news. And they should
all have a lot of other
things to talk about, too.
October 1, 2023
- While eating lunch yesterday, I
finished reading another book on my
Kindle. The book was "Blowback:
A Warning to Save Democracy from the
Next Trump" by Miles Taylor.
As it says at the top of the cover
above, Miles
Taylor was also the author of "A
Warning," which I reviewed
on August
20. That book, however, was
published anonymously. Taylor
served under President Donald Trump in
various roles, mainly as Trump's Chief
of Staff of the Department of Homeland
Security. Previously, Taylor had
served in similar roles under President
George W. Bush. While working for
Trump, Taylor was witness to countless
security violations by Trump, including
Trump's mishandling of Top Secret
documents. Most of Trump's actions
were documented in other books I've read
about Trump. This book, however,
gives some NEW insights. I'd never
before read about Trump's attempts to dismantle
the Veterans Administration.
Trump "wanted to push veterans into the
private healthcare marketplace, a move
that would potentially have left
millions of vets out in the cold or
abandoned amid a monumental bureaucratic
transition. The White House ignored the
warnings of medical personnel and agency
leaders." Another quote from the
book:
"He [Trump] held off
on 'gutting' the VA until he could win
reelection. 'Trump talked about
veterans, veterans, veterans,' one
former VA leader commented. 'But at
the end of the day, he thinks they are
lazy malingerers.' In a second term,
the former official speculated, a MAGA
White House 'wouldn’t care about
flipping them out on the street."”
I think this
will be the last book I'll ever read about
Trump (unless someone someday writes a book
about Trump's years in prison).
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Comments for Sunday,
September 24, 2023, thru Sat., Sept. 30,
2023:
September
29, 2023 -
I've come to realize
that I haven't been
listening to
podcasts in the
proper way.
This partial comment
from Monday about
watching TV shows on
DVDs may have helped
me understand the
issue:
Watching 5 or 6
episodes of "Bones"
or "The
Closer" each evening
can be an interesting way to
pass the time, but, because I
have to make a record of which
shows I've watched, I always
feel that the objective is to finish
watching the series. If I
enjoy watching some
episode, that is just a
bonus. Also, while I have
some comedy TV series on DVDs,
there's nothing like watching new
comedy shows about current
topics.
Every morning I download
all the interesting new podcast episodes
I see on the Internet. There could
be 10 or 15 of them. I download
them onto a hard drive. But I only
transfer them to my MP3 player when my
MP3 player is empty. That may be
every two or three weeks, when I may
have a hundred or two hundred podcasts
in the batch. The problem is: many
or most of the interesting shows I
noticed and downloaded no longer seem as
interesting three weeks later.
This morning I did things a bit
differently. I made a note of the
interesting episodes while downloading
about 15 of them onto my hard
drive, and then I immediately
transferred the 3
episodes that seemed particularly "interesting"
into my MP3 player. And I listened
to them.
Two of them were from the
"What Next" podcast. The one
that seemed most interesting is from
September 20 and is titled "How
Wisconsin is a 'Laboratory for
Destroying Democracy'.”
Wow! I live in Wisconsin,
but I've never had Wisconsin's political
situation spelled out so clearly
before. Here's the blurb for the
episode:
Wisconsin has been
something of a model for Republicans
looking to entrench themselves in the
state legislature, and one key move
has always been to draw the electoral
map as favorably as possible. But now,
the state Supreme Court has swung to
the left – for the first time in 15
years. The GOP is scrambling to keep
this battleground state deeply
gerrymandered — and keep power in
their own hands.
Republicans are in power
because of gerrymandering,
i.e., they created voting districts that
are guaranteed to put more
Republicans in power than
Democrats. In spite of that, a
liberal judge was recently elected to
the state supreme court, Janet
Protasiewicz. So, what the
Republicans are now trying to do is "impeach"
Judge Protaziewicz before she even has a
chance to judge anything.
The
second podcast episode I downloaded
is from September 26, three days ago,
and is about the writer's strike being
over. It also contains a lot of
interesting information I didn't really
know about before. The 3rd
podcast I downloaded is on the
same subject, but from a
different show.
September 25, 2023 - Numerous on-line
sources indicate that
the writers strike is over or
will be over shortly. It
may take weeks or months for
TV drama shows to start airing
new episodes, but late night
talk shows could start airing
new shows as early as sometime
this week. These are the
shows that I routinely record
on my DVR and then watch the
next evening:
The
Daily Show
The
Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Late
Night with Seth Meyers
The
Tonight Show staring Jimmy Fallon
Jimmy
Kimmel Live
I might start recording them
again as early as Wednesday. Watching 5 or 6
episodes of "Bones"
or "The
Closer" each evening
can be an interesting way to pass
the time, but, because I have to
make a record of which shows I've
watched, I always feel that the
objective is to finish
watching the series. If I enjoy
watching some episode, that is
just a bonus. Also, while I
have some comedy TV series on
DVDs, there's nothing like
watching new comedy
shows about current
topics.
September 24, 2023 - This morning is
another one of those Sundays when I have
absolutely nothing prepared for my
Sunday comment. Even worse, I've
been sitting at my computer for over an
hour trying to think of something to
write about, and I've come up with next
to nothing.
Right now, in the evenings, I'm watching
Season 2 of "Bones."
It's a TV show about solving crimes via
forensics. Coincidentally, while
driving around during the day, I'm
listening to an
audio book about the invention of
crime solving forensics.
I suppose it is no coincidence that I
also listen to a lot of podcasts about
collecting evidence to solve science
mysteries.
And that's all I can think of to write
about this morning.
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Comments for Sunday,
September 17, 2023, thru Sat., Sept. 23,
2023:
September
22, 2023 - Yesterday, I listened to a really interesting podcast
from RadioLab.
The episode,
which was from
May 12, was
titled "The
War on Our
Shore."
The first half
of the episode
is about 9,000
balloons that
Japan released
during WWII to
float over
America.
The large,
paper balloons
were made by
Japanese
school
children, they
were released
from Japan
from November
1944 to April
1945 after the
Japanese
military added
multiple small
bombs to hang
from them, and
about 10% made
to to
America.
Since the
balloons had
no guidance
systems, they
mostly ended
up falling
into fields
and forests
around the
West
Coast.
The bombs
would explode
if anyone
tried to move
the balloons.
It was against
the law in
America to
write any news
stories about
them, since
that would
have the
effect of
telling the
Japanese where
the balloons
landed and
help them
refine their
targeting.
The news
stories about
a
Chinese spy
balloon
floating over
America
earlier this
year made the
podcast more
interesting.
The second
part of the
podcast was
about German
prisoners of
war in the
United States
during
WWII. I
think I may
have written
about that
before.
Hundreds of
thousands of
German
prisoners,
mostly
captured
during the
battles in
North Africa,
ended up in
prison camps
in the
US. And
since there
was a severe
labor
shortage,
volunteers
were
allowed to
work in farm
fields for a
small salary
(about 80
cents per
day).
This caused a
lot of anger
from
conservatives
who felt the
prisoners
should be
treated the
same way
European and
American
prisoners were
treated by the
Germans.
It's an
interesting
point of view,
since the
conservatives
were arguing
that we should
have been as
evil as our
enemies.
September 21, 2023 - The
writers strike may end
as early as today, according
to CNBC. I'm
really really
looking forward to the
return of late-night
talk shows.
Meanwhile, I have a
different kind of
problem that may need
solving soon. My car has
a CD player, which is
now generally considered
to be obsolete. As
I've mentioned many
times, I use the CD
player to listen to
audio books I downloaded
from my local library
years ago. Four
days ago I finished
another audio book and
wrote a comment about
it. The next book
I started listening to
turned out to be terrible.
It's the first time that
has happened with an
non-fiction audio book.
So, I had to quickly
burn 12 CDs for another
book. That left me
with just 7 blank
CDs. I visited
some local stores, but
all they had was packs
of 10 CDs for
$7.99.
I'm not going to spend $9.60 to burn a book onto 12
CDs! The
stack of 100
blank CDs I
bought some
time ago cost
just $25, or
25 cents per
CD. So,
it costs $3 to
burn a book
onto 12
CDs. And
I've got
several
pending audio
books that
consist of 23
CDs.
So, yesterday I did an
on-line search to see if
there was anywhere I
could still buy a stack
of 100 blank CDs for
about $25. Walmart
had 1 stack left.
I bought it, but when I
drove over to Walmart to
pick it up, they said
they couldn't find the
one they were supposed
to still have in
stock. So, they're
going to mail it to me
-- if they still
have one somewhere.
There's at least one other on-line
company that also stocks them. So,
I should be able to listen to CD
versions all the remaining audio books I
have.
The "normal" way to listen to audio
books these days is to listen to them on
a "smartphone" or an MP3 player. I
don't have a "smartphone", and using my
MP3 player while driving would require
me to leave it and the speaker in my car
when I park the car in some parking lot.
Who cares? Probably no one.
But it's something to write a comment
about.
September 18, 2023 - The writers
strike is showing no signs of
ending any time soon. The
problems seem unsolvable.
Fortunately, I collect DVD
versions of most of my favorite TV
shows, so there's no real problem
in finding something worthwhile to
watch each evening. Here's a
photo I took of part of my
collection years ago:
I also keep computerized record of
when I last watched a TV series
(or a movie I have on DVD), and I
have a printed listing in order by
the last date watched. Back
on Sept. 1, 2018, I bought copies
of Seasons 1 through 6 of "The
Good Wife" for $4.99
each at Best Buy. I watched
Season #1, finishing on October
14, and I thought it was pretty
good, but evidently not good
enough to cause me to watch the
other seasons. Here's how
the IMDB describes the show:
Alicia Florrick has
been a good wife to her husband, a
former state's attorney. After a very
humiliating sex and corruption
scandal, he is behind bars. She must
now provide for her family and returns
to work as a litigator in a law firm.
So, I watched other
things. This was long before the
writer's strike, so just watching the
nightly talk shows occupied my time 4
nights per week. Then the writer's
strike began in May, and suddenly my DVD
collection became my main source of
entertainment. On August 27, 2023,
I finished watching Season #2 of "The
Good Wife," on September 1, I
finished Season #3, on September 5, I
finished Season #4, on September 10, I
finished Season #5, and on September 14,
I finished Season #6. Wow!
It's really an interesting look at
courtroom battles and the lives of
lawyers.
I don't have Season #7 (the final
season), and it costs $42.92 on Amazon,
so I moved on to watching "The
Closer". I've got
Seasons 1 - 4 of the 7
seasons. I'm still on Season
1. If it doesn't keep me
interested, I might move on to "Mad
Men." I have the first
3 seasons of that one, and I've never
watched them.
Of course, there are also a lot of shows
on cable that I could watch. I guess I'm
just too lazy to go hunting for things
to watch when I can see row after row of
interesting shows (and movies) right in
front of me.
September 17, 2023 - I'm still suffering a
very bad case of "writers block."
But fortunately, I'm still reading a
lot, while also listening to audio books
while driving. So, I have
something to write about this morning.
Yesterday, I finished listening to CD #7
of the 7-CD audio book version of "The
Age Of Living Machines: How Biology
Will Build the Next Technology
Revolution."
It's an audio book I "borrowed" from my
local library years ago, when you
could download a copy of a book
into your computer (or into your
Kindle), and then "return" a copy
of that book the next day, while
retaining a copy to read when
time permits - in this case, 3 or 4
years later.
I didn't particularly enjoy the
book. While I enjoy reading about
science and technology, biology isn't
one of my interests. This book is
about how biology is becoming part of
technology: Virus-built batteries.
Protein-based water filters.
Cancer-detecting nanoparticles.
Mind-reading bionic limbs.
Computer-engineered crops.
And it seems clear that bio-engineered
machines will become even more important
in the future. Computer engineered
crops already allow us to grow 177
bushels of corn per acre of land.
A hundred years ago, it was difficult to
get 17 bushels per acre. We're
going to need a lot more corn and other
foods as our population continues to
increase.
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Comments for Sunday,
September 10, 2023, thru Sat., Sept. 16,
2023:
September 10, 2023 - Going through the on-line list
I recently
found of
the Top 50
podcasts I
didn't find any
that seemed
worth adding
to my
list of
favorite
podcasts.
My
on-line list
contains less
than 50
podcasts.
My
work
list contains
54 podcasts,
and I have a
supplementary
list of another
116 podcasts
that sometimes
have something
I consider
worthwhile.
Only 12
podcasts are
on both the
"Top 50" list
and on my
lists.
"Crime Junkie" is #2 on the
Top 50
list. I
checked it
out, and it's
just a show
about the
latest crime
news.
Every evening
I listen to
the NBC
Evening News
on TV, and
that's about
all the
general news I
need. "This
American Life"
is #4 on the
Top 50 list,
but to me it
is a podcast
about nothing
in particular.
The
explanation
can probably
be found in
how I look for
podcasts.
I look for
science
podcasts,
podcasts about
history and
technology,
astronomy,
space
exploration,
psychology
podcasts.
And I've
occasionally
looked for
podcasts about
politics,
particularly
if they had a
recent show
about Donald
Trump.
The Top 50
list contains
lots of crime
shows.
Crime is
clearly a more
popular
subject than
science.
Shows where 3
or 4 people
just sit
around talking
and joking
with one
another are
also very
popular.
I download
episodes that
look like they
might be
interesting.
Generally
speaking, I do
not listen to
most podcast
episodes in
their
entirety.
The episode
has to keep me
interested,
otherwise I'll
just delete it
and move on to
the next
episode in the
queue.
For every 20
episodes I
download,
there is
probably no
more than 1 or
2 that I
listen to all
the way
through.
Yesterday I listened to just 1 show all
the way through. It was an episode
of the
"99% Invisible" podcast. The
42 minute episode was about
sand. I suppose I listened
because I couldn't imagine how anyone
could talk about sand for 42
minutes. But it was absolutely
fascinating! Do
you know we're
running out of sand?
Yes, there is a nearly endless
supply of sand in the Sahara desert, but
that sand cannot be used to make
concrete. Those sand particles are
round, like tiny marbles.
Winds created them. In order to
make concrete you need irregular shaped
particles, like those created by moving
water, like rivers and waves.
And when we remove sand from rivers and
lakes, we create all kinds of new
problems. Listen to the
episode. It's fascinating!
And now I'm done with today's
comment. So, it's time to listen
to some more podcasts.
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Comments for Friday,
September 1, 2023, thru Sun., Sept. 9,
2023:
September
7, 2023 - I
sometimes think I
may be the last
person on earth who
does not own a smart
phone. It also
seems that I am the
only person I know
who listens to
podcasts. And,
yet it appears that
podcasts are created
for people to listen
to on a smart
phone. When I
see people listening
to their smartphones
without talking,
they are almost
always listening to
music.
This morning I researched
the subject
and found this
graph:
So, I don't see
people listening to
podcasts because
they mostly listen
while driving and
while doing chores
around the
house. Some
also listen to
podcasts while just
sitting around and
doing nothing
else. I fall
into that category.
I also found the
graph above, which
confirms that I do
not do things in any
"normal" way.
It appears that
listening to
podcasts on an MP3
player falls into
the last category,
"In-home audio
systems," which is
the method used by
just 5% of people
who listen to
podcasts.
I also found that the
#1 favorite
podcast is the
"Joe Rogan
Podcast." That
was my favorite,
too, when you could
listen to it for
free. I
stopped listening
when it changed so
that you had to pay
to listen.
This morning, I
found a list of
the Top 50
podcasts.
I've only checked
out about 15 of
them, so I now have
35 additional
podcasts to check
out that I never
heard of
before. Hmm.
I've already got
more podcasts to
listen to than I
have time to
listen. So,
I'm falling farther
and farther
behind. And
now I've got 35 new
podcasts to check
out. Some may
belong at or near
the top of my list
of favorites, so I
won't be able to
just ignore them.
Sigh.
So much to do, so
little time in which
to do them.
September 3, 2023 - I'm not
only suffering a case of
"writers block" when I try to
work on my book, I also seem
to suffer another case of
"writers block" whenever I try
to write a comment for this
web site. I'll sit for
an hour or more just staring
at the computer screen, unable
to decide what to write about,
and then I'll give up, turn
off my computer, and go into
the other room to listen to
podcasts. That's what I
did yesterday, but, while
listening to podcasts, I felt
I should write a comment about
what I was hearing.
I began by listening to some
episodes of the "Something
You Should Know"
podcast, which has been moving
upward on my list of favorite
podcasts. Then, on one
of the episodes, they
discussed the "Into
the Impossible"
podcast. So, I moved on
to listen to the episode of
that podcast that they had
discussed, "Why
Professor Dave Thinks Our
Scientific Integrity Is at
Jeopardy." Professor
Dave? His full
name is Professor Dave Farina,
and he has a podcast called "Professor
Dave Explains."
He also has one
of the largest YouTube
channels. I
checked out the
YouTube channel and
found that it has a whole
bunch of episodes that I
definitely want to
watch. It appears he has
10 YouTube videos in which he
debunks Flat
Earthers, another 5
videos in which he exposes "The
Discovery Institute,"
and another 12 videos in which
he debunks someone named James
Tour. So, for
awhile, instead of (or in
addition to) listening to
podcasts, I'm going to be
watching YouTube episodes.
Or maybe not. Just
browsing through the YouTube
video lists for "The Discovery
Institute" and "James Tour"
tells me that watching just
part of one episode could tell
me all I want to know about
what is in the other
episodes. The general
topic is Religion versus
Science.
They might be interesting, but odds are
that they will also be repetitious.
September 1, 2023 - While I was eating
breakfast this morning, CNN News on TV
was talking about the writers
strike. There appears to be
absolutely no sign of any
resolution. I really really
miss watching Stephen Colbert, Seth
Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon
each evening. As I've mentioned
many times, I would record all four
shows and watch them the next
evening. It really really
helped me understand what was going on
in the world.
These days, I can get some of that
understanding from listening to
podcasts, but podcasts usually do not
provide the humor that came with
the late night talk shows. It
would be interesting to see how any
humor could be found in recent
news. Two Trump supporters who
were arrested for attacking the Capital
and attempting to overthrow the
government were
just sentenced to 15 and 17 years in
prison. And election workers
who were falsely accused by Trump of
changing election results have just been
awarded damages. It also appears
that Rudy Giuliani won't be able
to pay his legal bills or the damage
claims filed against him. It would
be interesting to see all that discussed
on late night talk shows.
On the positive side, it certainly looks
like Trump will be facing some very
serious charges, and he won't be able to
delay things forever as was his practice
so many times in the past. Plus,
he's finding it more and more difficult
to find any lawyers who will help defend
him. Meanwhile, lawyers who are
willing to work pro bono, are seeking
out people who have good legal cases to
sue Trump.
We definitely live in interesting times.
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