Borderline

" The Fine Art of Baloney Detection " is an essay written by Carl Sagan (a renowned astronomer, astrophysicist, and science communicator).  In this essay, Sagan outlines principles and techniques for critical thinking and skepticism, emphasizing the importance of approaching claims and assertions with a skeptical mindset. Here's a brief overview of the key points discussed in "The Fine Art of Baloney Detection": 1. Skepticism : Sagan emphasizes the importance of skepticism, which involves questioning and scrutinizing claims rather than accepting them at face value . He encourages individuals to adopt a skeptical mindset and to be cautious of accepting information without evidence to support it. 2. Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence : Sagan popularized this principle, which suggests that extraordinary claims, such as those that contradict established scientific knowledge or defy the laws of nature, require proportionately strong evidence to supp...

This era has seen the emergence of several big governments, and corporations that are borderlines bullies. 1. Concentration of power in a central authority is leading to authoritarianism , where individual freedoms and rights are often suppressed in favor of state control. 2. With power centralized, there's a higher risk of corruption as decision-making is confined to a few individuals or entities (oligarch). This can lead to misuse of public funds, nepotism, and favoritism. 3. Centralized governments may become ineffective, struggling to effectively address the diverse needs of different regions or communities within the country. Decision-making processes can be slow and bureaucratic. 4. Centralized power can result in a lack of accountability , as decision-makers may not be directly answerable to the people they govern. This can lead to abuses of power without consequences. 5. Centralized governments may suppress cultural, linguistic, or ethnic diversity in favor of a uniform nat...

More robots, less home office, donkey meat, face recognition the whole lot

The world is insane, but we pretend it is still 'business as usual\ We keep up appearances, even though it's killing us.  We go to school, work, drive cars, take pills, and go to clubs, all while our planet is dying and Armageddon is looming.  We're a society of walking illusions, waiting for the end. We're spending trillions of dollars on weapons and war, while millions of people go hungry and homeless. We're destroying the environment at an alarming rate, even though we know it's unsustainable. We're creating a society where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. We're addicted to social media and technology, which are harming our mental and physical health. We're living in a world where mass shootings and other tragedies have become commonplace.

The Kali Yuga is the fourth and final age of the Hindu cycle of time. It is a time of darkness and destruction, and it is said to be the worst of the four ages. Paco Rabanne believed that the Kali Yuga would end in 2025 AD. He believed that the Kali Yuga is a time of great spiritual and material darkness, and that it is a time when the world is on the brink of destruction. However, Rabanne also believed that the Kali Yuga is an opportunity for spiritual transformation. He believed that if we can overcome the darkness and destruction of the Kali Yuga, we can usher in a new age of peace and enlightenment. And a new age will start, the age of Homo Spiritualis. Rabanne's ideas about the Kali Yuga are controversial, but they are also thought-provoking. He challenges us to think about the world in a new way, and to consider the possibility that we are living in the last days of the world. A time of great upheaval and change. The old order would crumble, and a new world would be born. A t...

"So, I have this blog, right? And I know nobody reads it. I mean, I've been doing this for years, and I've never had a single comment or like. But that's okay. I'm fine with it. In fact, I think it's kind of funny. I mean, think about it. I'm the only person who reads my blog. That means I'm my own audience. I'm the star of my own show. I'm like a one-man band, except I'm also the audience. And you know what? It's kind of liberating. I don't have to worry about what anyone else thinks. I can write whatever I want, and I don't have to worry about offending anyone. So, yeah, nobody reads my blog. But that's okay. I'm fine with it. In fact, I think it's kind of funny. I'm my own audience, and that's all I need."

Ryden are you having fun playing with the new AI toys? Well yeah I am ....you can make pictures of cute anime girls and ... Enjoy it while it lasts Ryden  What do you mean? Did you really think that civilians would be granted unrestricted access to such powerful military weapons?

Not my first complaint about this It pains me to endure this once again, but here are the facts I have been isolated for a while, and today my co-workers are back. I prepared lunch for the group, and made a plate of vegetable with rice, and I thought it would have been nice to add a plate of potato chips. A co-worker arrived back at the office, after an appointment, and 30 minutes before lunch, he just grabbed a few chips from the platter, and it pissed me off.  And from that experience, I felt that pain in the stomach, and because of that I was pushed back deep into my memories, where countless times I've seen wives exploding in anger, when their spouse would do the same, with their stupid face, and greasy fingers. It shows zero respect, and this has to stop. I am so outraged now, still hearing that dude mushing on the chips, that I can't even speak.

This questions was not on anybody's radar back in the fifties, sixties, because during the cold War times, the World was easy, there were the good guys (the USA, defender of the World, always ready to help) and the bad guys (the Russian, Communist, sad, grey and ugly always preparing mischiefs) But relatively recently a new subconscious interrogation is emerging, in the contemporary culture ; as if we could not really understand who is right, or who is in the wrong anymore, as if the illusion of good and evil was just covering a more hideous reality of who is the bully and the victim. Maybe it started with the " Watchmen " or maybe it was " the Boys " series, or " Omniman "? As the World is starting to question if their governments really have their best interests in mind, we are seeing more and more of this type of controversial superheroes.. Even in comedy as in the "V indicator 2 " mini-series from "Rick and Morty" Universe There...

We are people I've been in countless situation where a customer was abusive with an employee, the irate customer is not happy with the employee's answer arguing that it was inaccurate, sometime wrong, sometime incomplete And the customer is going irrationally angry at them, start shouting, is being rude, is asking to speak to their manager, threaten them, etc ... In today's economy, this is really stressful, the employee is afraid to lose his job, and the situation usually escalates and the consequences are not satisfactory in the end for anyone. I wish in a perfect World, that we would talk to each other as human beings, as partner in this messy world, on a relatively short journey, ... Maybe this employee is already under the stress of a divorce, a sick child, in debt, or he is depressed, or suicidal, we do not know about each other journey, at this new stressful situation maybe will be the last straw for him I wish people would be nice we each other.

There are some tricks to get things done, best is to plan ahead of time Start the day before  Write down 3 to 5 things you want to accomplish the following day.  That way, when morning comes, you have a purpose When planning do not add just one line in a to do list, assign each tasks to a time period (morning, afternoon, after work) Morning is the golden period , best is to put the easiest task first thing in the morning.  It then feels like you start with a win, by doing easily one simple task then tick off one item of the to-do list. You will be filled with the good energy of dopamine  From there everything just becomes easier Whenever the day starts to slow down, try doing something easy (that doesn’t require a lot of focus and attention) When a small task comes up, do it immediately Bonus  Be kind to yourself

Mentalism is more or less a subcategory of magic and, when performed by a stage magician, may also be referred to as mental magic. A Magician will usually have great hands and moves trick (prestidigitation) while a Mentalist will use mind trick, putting ideas, using subconscious signals, or simply psychologist knowledge. Here is an example, ask a friend to play along. Explain to your partner, that you will read their mind, and guess what they think, you will need paper and a pen, that is it. There can be 3 or more questions, but let's make it simple and start with three. - what is your favorite color? - what is your favorite animal? - do you prefer going to the beach, or hiking in the mountain? Here is the trick, the two first question are very open, and may have a range of response up to 1000 of possibilities, while question 3 is just only has 2 options. Now using assumptions, and making some eye contact, holding hands. chanting, or pretending to be in a transe state, the mentali...

Why is there a +18 only banner for some content on the internet? What happens when someone turns 18, is this person suddenly getting some wisdom? Nope, I have found some 18 years old dude with zero wisdom. What should happen is that a person would gain some experience, and be able to distance himself from what he is confronted, some news, or content can be hurtful. To understand this (or to actually remember how it felt) try to put yourself back into your shoes, the day someone told you about the World War 2 concentration camp, or the day you discovered what the Catholic inquisition was doing. That is the day, you absolutely freaked out, and realized that humanity is not cuddle and hugs. There is a darkness in all of us, an awful abyss of the most gruesome horrors And being 18 or older, you are supposed to have this knowledge ; and therefor you may handle some disturbing content that might be visual or reading material, that will not keep you up at night ... Otherwise, try to make the ...

Not sleeping enough may damage the cardiovascular and immune systems,  it will impact diabetes, increase heart disease, and trigger indigestion, irritability and depression. We all know this, but do we get more sleep? Do we stop before the end of the movie to go to bed at 11 pm? Do we take naps?

Elon Musk is both the good and bad aspects of capitalism rolled up into one.  He has managed to consolidate a ridiculous amount of wealth, and pretends like his successes are his alone. He would happily pay workers poor wages and do everything in his power to tighten his grasp on them.  If he could outsource all of his workforce and lobby the government to allow children to work at his factories he would do so without a second thought. On the plus side he disrupts stagnant industries by creating better products/services than the incumbents. What he's done for space development, the automobile industry, and now the internet is spectacular.  It's all things that any of the existing industry giants could have done, but didn't because they were busy making as much money for as little investment as possible. Of course the fact that Elon is one of the better examples of a billionaire, and that any positive comments about him have to be prefaced with a very large asterisk, reall...

If you are afraid of robots (like Terminator, or cylons, synthetic humans, cyborgs and the like) Just think of it this way ... currently the main real threat in 2022 is global warming That means, if our scientists are working on anything else but reducing our carbon emissions, and lowering the temperature Worldwide,  we are not going to make it in the next 20 to 50 years. Robots, cyborgs, androids, and artificial beings are not going to be a threat, ... Unless they are currently planting trees, all over the globe. And if they are,  well then maybe they are not that bad, and we should not be afraid of them.

1. You keep calm  and follow your instinct 2. Never forget,  and think "win/win" 3. When the time come, "Do it" no need for long explanation just action 4. Have a good team.  People with integrity 5. Work hard,  but one day on the week, get easy on yourself, relax 6. Only one thing at a time 7. Do not make money your only motivation Have some hobby, some activity to feed your soul 8. Keep your word