This and That

11:27 Friday, 20 March 2026
Current Wx: Temp: 41.29°F Pressure: 1011hPa Humidity: 83% Wind: 13.82mph
Words: 494

This new house effort is a distraction from a lot of other things, like politics and blogging and so on. I run into things online that I might wish to comment on, but most of my time is spent learning about houses and running down the rabbit holes that inevitably appear.

Dave Winer pointed to a video clip of an interview with Marc Andreessen. I thought Dave's comments were worthwhile, but I really liked what Joan Westenberg wrote about it. It's the lack of introspection, particularly among the very successful, very wealthy and very powerful that is the source of many of what you might call "policy problems," from a political point of view; but a larger problem with regard to the dominant social narrative, what once might have been called "the American dream," or whatever Wall Street is selling us as "the good life."

I know in my own case that "success" was never a cause for introspection. If things were going "well" (Compared to what? Well, that "dominant social narrative" I suppose.) there was no reason to interrogate my interior experience.

Along with that introspection and self-reflection comes an understanding of what the interior lives of others might be. And that helps develop empathy and humility, two features of character that are markedly absent among the rich and powerful.

So, yeah, Dave and Joan were much more erudite in their comments, so I point to them. As for me, I'd just say, "Bullshit. Bullshit. Bullshit."

And we don't need to go back to Plato or Socrates either, Heraclitus was there first.

Applicants for wisdom, do what I have done: Inquire within.

Moving on...

I thought this video from Bernie Sanders, chatting with Claude, was clever. I am enjoying my use of Claude, albeit perhaps skeptically, or cautiously. It is very helpful.

I'm definitely not looking forward to Apple's enhanced Siri AI, "powered by Google." I don't keep any Google apps on my phone, and I hate to think of Google being embedded in Apple software. I hope there's an "off" switch. It's surprising and disappointing to me that Apple, which supposedly differentiates itself by prioritizing user privacy, is partnering with the corporation that did the most to destroy user privacy. But then, they're giving shiny participation trophies to the Mad Orange King, so what should I expect?

Spent 90 minutes in the gym yesterday, 25 on the elliptical and the remainder pushing or pulling weights. I'm sore today, but I'm glad I got in there. I had planned to get to the gym on Tuesday, but I was up so late on Monday night waiting on Mitzi's flight, Tuesday was kind of an "off" day, waiting for her new flight to get in. Wednesday we focused on talking about the new house, which is exhausting in and of itself.

All of which is to say, I'm glad I made the effort to get down there yesterday.

Anyway, the beat goes on...

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