GENERATIONAL DIVIDE

 

Yesterday I sold a set of snowshoes to a retired State Trooper in northern Maine.   It dawned on me that I was seeing a generational divide that goes further than old people aren’t techno-savvy.

 

I was seeing a gap in basic values between the old and the young.   I had had those snowshoes advertised for two years, and no one showed interest.  This was because wooden snowshoes are large and heavy.  You can buy aluminum snowshoes that are small and lightweight.

 

But it goes beyond that: My snowshoes were made by a person. Someone shaped the wood, steamed it until pliable, formed it on a jig, then someone with skill laced them with leather thongs, varnished them, and put their stamp on them.

 

I bought the shoes in 1976 - fifty years ago.   I have revarnished them numerous times.   I stored them carefully when not in use.   The value of these shoes, to me, was more than just their use.   I cared about them and took care of them.

 

Who cares about a factory-bent oblong piece of aluminum with a plastic sheet filling?  

I have a Silva compass that is sixty years old, a pocket knife that is ageless…

What does a young person have today that they value so highly they will still have it fifty years from now?   Their cell phone?   

the Ol'Buzzard

WARNING WARNING WILL ROBINSON!!!

 THE FUTURE IS YEATERDAY

I got up this morning at 5:30 to feed the cat.

 

When the daylight peeks around, and the birds start singing, the cat walks onto my chest and tells me she’s hungry and that I must get up.

 

The weather this morning is 45 degrees and overcast with a wind warning, so I turned the thermostat to 74.

 

When my wife gets up ill make breakfast: grits cooked in the microwave and soft-cooked hard-boiled eggs in the Instant Pot pressure cooker.   Even though my wife is from New England, I have convinced her that grits are good. 

 

I have a hydrangea in the back of the car that I need to plant, but the temperature tonight is dropping below freezing, so I will hold off a couple of days.

 

The cat has eaten and gone back to bed with my wife, so here I am on the computer.

 

Today I will do my exercises, read, complete a crossword puzzle, play Scrabble with my wife at lunch time, and watch television; settling into the routine of an old man retired from an adventurous life.

 

But something strange is happening on the West Coast in Silicon Valley, and I don't know what it is.

 

There has been a time-rip, and an alien entity from the future is launching a conquest of the earth.

 

 

Something is happening, and you don't know what it is, do you, Mr Jones?

the Ol'Buzzard

SELFIE

 

What kinds of egotists constantly take pictures of themselves?    

In my last blog, AI ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE OR PERHAPS ALIEN INTELLIGENCE, I posted a picture of myself.   

After the fact, I realized that that picture was taken in 2017 - the last time I took a picture of myself.

So, just for honesty, here is what the Ol'Buzzard looks like in 2026 

the Ol'Buzzard

AI: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE OR PERHAPS ALLIEN INTELLIGENCE?

 

 

We are living at the advent of artificial intelligence.  It started with a machine teaching itself chess, and is now the reigning champion. Soon followed language models that have mined the internet and now will answer your questions. 

 

We are moving toward generative artificial intelligence (GAI); AI is now writing its own code and communicating with other AI devices in a language that humans have not been able to understand.

 

These machines are learning exponentially, and if the platforms are large enough, AI could acquire all human knowledge. Then, by extrapolating using logic, deductive reasoning, and thought experiments, it could expand knowledge beyond the human capability of understanding.   

Would we be looking at digitally sentient beings?

 

In our egotistic human, narcissistic self-conceit, we have created gods in our own image, have sometimes designated certain humans as gods, and even have created our view of interstellar aliens in our image.

 

The movie character Paul has two arms, two legs, walks bipedally, has two eyes, feet, hands, and human traits. 

But what if aliens were a digital intelligence, at such an advanced level that they don’t require bodies?  Without bodies, these digital intelligences could travel at the speed of light, solving the problems of extreme distance/time paradoxes. They could control fleets of robotic drones and digital entities we can’t even imagine.

 

We shouldn't wonder why these intelligently advanced aliens wouldn’t make contact with us.  To them, we would appear as some biological slugs of no practical interest, an invasive species, or bio-virus desecrating this planet.  A species that needs to be eradicated.

 Aliens might be interested in Earth’s resources, but certainly not us.  

 

 Sometimes at night, I lie in bed conducting thought experiments - at the level of a slug - of no practical use. 

the Ol’Buzzard

EXERCISING TO KEEP FIT AS YOU AGE

 

In 2008, I bought the basic Total Gym for $250.00.  I have had that basic gym now for 18 years, and it is still working as advertised.

 

It has been an on-and-off exercise device for me, but more on than off.  I may fall away for a few weeks or a month and then return to regular use.   Having this machine sitting in my spare room prompts me to use it.

 

I am approaching my ninth decade, and I honestly feel that this machine has helped improve my stamina and has been a healthy exercise component; had I not used the machine on a semi-regular basis, my health would have deteriorated beyond my present condition. 

 

I have no connection with Total Gym.   I am sure that there are other devices available that are just as good or perhaps even better for a one-machine total workout.

 

I am just passing on my experience, hoping to benefit someone looking for an exercise routine that doesn’t include traveling to a gym

 

My exercise routine lasts about five minutes.  I do one set of ten: rowing, pulls, body twist for the abs, and curls – then I turn around and do sweeps, pushups, pullups, crunches, and situps (I don’t know the proper name for the exercises, but this may explain what I do.)

I end my workout with two or three minutes of meditation where I control my breathing.  

 

I was shocked today when I looked up the Total Gym website and found that their basic machine now cost $600. 

 

I can’t advise anyone to buy this machine on my say-so; so do your own research if you are looking for a one-machine workout. But, do consider a daily exercise as part of your lifestyle: it is not that hard to spend five minutes exercising as part of your daily routine.

the Ol’Buzzard

WHATSIT GOT TO DO WITH ME?

 

I am finding it harder to post because..

the Ol'Buzzard

 

In this day and age, I am not shocked or concerned that Robert Kennedy Jr would pull over to the side of the road, with his kids in the car, to cut out the penis of a road kill raccoon, to take it home to study.   

The thing that I find shocking is that he has kids.  Who the hell would want to have sex with a man with a brain worm who has an obsession with animal penis? 

 

At least the raccoon's penis was small enough to take in the car.  The whale's penis had to be tied to the top of his car.

This is who Trump picked to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. 

Why not?

the Ol'Buzzard