Older Folks and Vaping Back Porch-Part Six

[Kaezziel]

End up back in 1985!!!

LMAO! That might be alright... if I could go back there knowing what I know now! I would rule my little small town with an iron fist!

Ok, I gotta go nerd on you for that one.
Dilithium is a focusing medium for a matter/anti matter reaction which provides the power, so a warp mod would run off antimatter and deuterium, which at normal usage levels would need to be replenished once every 150000 years.

Sent from a dark, twisted corner of the back porch, covered in cobwebs and slightly damp.

150,000 years? I'd be good with that... probably gonna need a bigger tank, though.

That would be great!

I'll have to go dig up today's inspirational story...

 

[yiddleboge6]

From the "Morning Musing on a Rainy Wednesday in Flyover Country" File ::

I read an op-ed piece as I had my first cup this AM, who's premise was the Web is the most democratizing, field leveling invention since the printing press ..

The internet connects to many people from many cultures that are different than our own. The potential for sharing of ideas is tremendous .. then, I thought about it for a moment ..

In practice, it doesn't work that way at all. Social Networking and targeted content has removed any possibility of that by effectively ensuring we never have to communicate with anyone we disagree with or hear any contrary or dissenting voices. In effect, we've gone beyond the old AOL corporate walled garden and now have the ability to create our own personal walls.

We "friend" only people who we think like us, quickly "unfriending" any that might be questionable, we follow only voices that say the same things we do and have all our news and information pre-selected based on what Facebook, Google or Yahoo thinks we want. The more we feed the algorithm, the more targeted it becomes. Then we block those with differing ideas that we disagree with.

That doesn't even account for the fact that the Internet is now controlled by a very small number of large companies feeding us the content. Google and Facebook essentially control the flow of information to many people and many major sites allow you to sign in with one of those accounts in order to post comments.

This pushback of diversity has resulted in the same pushback in our real lives as we live more and more of our lives in front of screens and get used to that comfort level. We've never been more segregated and isolationist despite having the ability to connect and share more than ever before.

Very interesting topic for conversation....

There are a lot of pros and cons within our use of the internet. On the one hand.....exchanges over a period of time allow one to become friends with an individual they never would have met otherwise. On the other....it allows some to be very deceptive by creating a false persona while hidden behind the anonymity of a keyboard.

I've had a FB page for over 7 years. I've used it primarily to check once in awhile to see what's going on with friends and family that are at a distance, and to upload photos from my phone as my card reader for my camera has decided not to function.. I have never posted a rude or snide remark on anyone's timeline, nor have I ever unfriended anyone, though I will admit to blocking somebody who unfriended me . I doubt if I have posted 100 times to it in the entire time I've had it. While my number of friends there isn't large....they range from way out there wacky to conservative to the extreme....and yet we can agree to disagree and still remain friends. I have my page set for only family and friends to view. The number of "likes" and hits to the page are as irrelevant to me as post count is here.......meaningless for an individual, although important to a business.

And that brings me to the targeted info on the search engines.... There used to be many search engines, and much more diverse info out there. That number has shrunk to just a few, and the number of hits to a site or page keeps bringing the same ones up to the top of the page....over and over. A great deal of what used to be readily available is buried deep, or simply not even being picked up anymore.....

 

[Uncle Willie]

Very interesting topic for conversation....

There are a lot of pros and cons within our use of the internet. On the one hand.....exchanges over a period of time allow one to become friends with an individual they never would have met otherwise. On the other....it allows some to be very deceptive by creating a false persona while hidden behind the anonymity of a keyboard.

I've had a FB page for over 7 years. I've used it primarily to check once in awhile to see what's going on with friends and family that are at a distance, and to upload photos from my phone as my card reader for my camera has decided not to function.. I have never posted a rude or snide remark on anyone's timeline, nor have I ever unfriended anyone, though I will admit to blocking somebody who unfriended me . I doubt if I have posted 100 times to it in the entire time I've had it. While my number of friends there isn't large....they range from way out there wacky to conservative to the extreme....and yet we can agree to disagree and still remain friends. I have my page set for only family and friends to view. The number of "likes" and hits to the page are as irrelevant to me as post count is here.......meaningless for an individual, although important to a business.

And that brings me to the targeted info on the search engines.... There used to be many search engines, and much more diverse info out there. That number has shrunk to just a few, and the number of hits to a site or page keeps bringing the same ones up to the top of the page....over and over. A great deal of what used to be readily available is buried deep, or simply not even being picked up anymore.....

I know you and most others won't take my rant as a negative against the Web, since it's really not intended to be that .. after all, here we are, with a diverse group that get's along generally speaking .. as opposed to other venues that become out and out flame / unrelenting / troll territory .. .. to my knowledge, we've never really crossed into that border, and that's a good thing ..

However, without delving into the taboo of Political Discourse on the Thread (PDOTT) .. I will say that if anyone believes my theory, it just stands to reason that we are in the Political climate we are in .. AKA :: Blinders Firmly On in a Full Attempt to Persuade Ourselves that We are Right at any Cost .. .. may I say that the rhetoric surrounding a certain "Candidate" whose last name begins with a T some months ago was incredibly inflammatory, and coming from his own side .. yet now, many of those same folks have begun to support and side with said candidate .. Politicians have such iron will and strong spines .. .. apparently, standing up for what you believe in is a constantly moving target ..

 

[Diver9543]

I have a downer to post but I am pretty upset. My 93 yr old Mother-in-law, who has been living in an independent living apartment for 2 years, a real go getter, don't mess with me, kind of woman who I have admired since I first met her, fell a few weeks ago. She just had eye surgery and had "floaters", one of which she thought was a bug and in trying to stomp on it, fell. Xrays showed nothing, they said she had siatica and to rest. Well, it didn't get better and she is basically alone;she doesn't socialize with others in the facility. She does not like "old people" (they die on her) and being the only Jew in the place, it was hard (DH and I were not involved in the decision to move her there, long story and this is long enough already).

Not getting better, the brother who lives near by took her back to the Dr. They did an MRI, found fractures in her pelvis. She got a rehab nurse, but being diabetic, was not eating or drinking. She was hospitalized yesterday to get her back in shape, then to rehab and then assisted living.

I am sure you all know where this will go. I have never heard of a person this age bouncing back to health from something like this. So how long? Who knows. From the vibrant, outgoing, strong woman I love, to a withering sad woman I still dearly love. We will spend as much time as we can with her, but with work and travel it is hard.

Sorry for a long downer post, but I needed to vent and I don't know of a better place than with my compassionate, loving friends.

On a good note, Geordi's breeder is a nurse at the hospital she is in, so she will check on MIL and keep us posted on any details we may miss. Chris is an ER nurse so not privy to everything, but she knows people who are.

I has a sad

So very sorry to hear about the health of your MIL. Prayers are being said for her and your family.

 

[Uncle Willie]

Ok, I gotta go nerd on you for that one.
Dilithium is a focusing medium for a matter/anti matter reaction which provides the power, so a warp mod would run off antimatter and deuterium, which at normal usage levels would need to be replenished once every 150000 years.

Eureka .. this could be the ultimate answer to the Deeming Issue ..

 

[Diver9543]

I am like a few others on here when it comes to FB. I use it to stay in touch with my family and extended family and close friends. Well, today I was pleasantly surprised when one of those post that is loaded to my FB page based on my history. It was a post from E Cigarette Forum about a BBC documentary on vaping. I had no idea that E Cigarette Forum had an FB account. Needless to say, I am now following the FB page to keep up with more information about vaping.

 

[Debadoo]

LMAO! That might be alright... if I could go back there knowing what I know now! I would rule my little small town with an iron fist!

That's the trick......knowing what we know now!! Jup I'd do it if I could do it knowing what I know now........but I'd wanna go back to 1981 instead!

 

[oldbroad]

OK, I'll send ya a PM wid da pic and ya decide...

POST IT!!!!

 

[oldbroad]

bless you, Kay. you've always been my secret crush



and... yiddle

after yet another day of taking 8 hours to freakin get out of bed, i think i may have actually gotten smart enough to take the gift you sent me months ago into my bed instead of leaving it on my desk.

bless you for...





ETA: just to be clear, yiddle sent me some glucose pills, sometime after she and Kay saved my life, a while back...

Actually, to my way of seeing it, Yiddle saved your life...I just happened to have your address and phone no. at the time..( hint hint)

"sides, I was well rewarded with some nice eye candy

 

[yiddleboge6]

I know you and most others won't take my rant as a negative against the Web, since it's really not intended to be that .. after all, here we are, with a diverse group that get's along generally speaking .. as opposed to other venues that become out and out flame / unrelenting / troll territory .. .. to my knowledge, we've never really crossed into that border, and that's a good thing ..

However, without delving into the taboo of Political Discourse on the Thread (PDOTT) .. I will say that if anyone believes my theory, it just stands to reason that we are in the Political climate we are in .. AKA :: Blinders Firmly On in a Full Attempt to Persuade Ourselves that We are Right at any Cost .. .. may I say that the rhetoric surrounding a certain "Candidate" whose last name begins with a T some months ago was incredibly inflammatory, and coming from his own side .. yet now, many of those same folks have begun to support and side with said candidate .. Politicians have such iron will and strong spines .. .. apparently, standing up for what you believe in is a constantly moving target ..

LOL....nope....didn't take it as a rant.The internet, like everything else is Yin and Yang...

As to the PDOTT.....too many gubernatorial and congressional seats coming up for election the party is afraid of losing, so..... However....I do believe we are force fed what the powers that be want us to read and hear... much like a goose is, to make pâté de foie gras.

 

[Kaezziel]

Today's "Can I Get An Amen" story: Toughest Hurdler Completes Course After Rupturing Achilles. I gotta give it to her... she's got heart!

 

[Uncle Willie]

So true. And you are right, the targeting of content makes it easy for people to reinforce what they already believe about any given topic. We all need to be constantly faced with information and points of view that challenge our beliefs in order to grow. When only presented with information that matches our beliefs, those beliefs become someone else's rather than our own.

I'm probably not saying what I want to say very clearly, so I'll leave it at that and simply say thank you for posting this particular "Morning Musing"

Oh, I think your clarity is fine .. I will add ::

The key to becoming a dictator is to take people that have been beaten down enough, then offer them a few small token gifts to make them happy. It could be trains that run on time, the hope of jobs, plenty of food and toilet paper in the shops or a big wall at the border ..

Combine that with a few rallies that tell everyone that this group or that ethnicity of people is to blame for their troubles. That allows you to remove their rights while they aren't paying attention after those that might object are gone from sight (see Patriot Act) .. "If you are not with us, you are against us .."

That said, it's the targeted news content that, to me anyway, is most worrisome .. material like that has the potential to shape views and if you never get or care about the other side of it, you can easily be brainwashed into some very ignorant or dangerous ideals .. If all you hear is messages that re-enforce your beliefs, you have no reason to consider any others ..

The truth is, whether we want to admit it or not, Social Networking has become an excellent way to employ Social Engineering and, in fact, some totalitarian countries are masters at molding national views with it. As our government leaders become more savvy with it, we have the potential to fall down that same rabbit hole ..

"Make America Great Again .." .. well, we never stopped being great, the greatest, in fact .. but if we are convinced that we are no longer great, we'll want to do whatever we think we can do in order to regain a greatness we never really lost .. and at that point, we will cease to be great .. because diversity is the core of the greatness we've always had ..

 

[Kaezziel]

I know you and most others won't take my rant as a negative against the Web, since it's really not intended to be that .. after all, here we are, with a diverse group that get's along generally speaking .. as opposed to other venues that become out and out flame / unrelenting / troll territory .. .. to my knowledge, we've never really crossed into that border, and that's a good thing ..

However, without delving into the taboo of Political Discourse on the Thread (PDOTT) .. I will say that if anyone believes my theory, it just stands to reason that we are in the Political climate we are in .. AKA :: Blinders Firmly On in a Full Attempt to Persuade Ourselves that We are Right at any Cost .. .. may I say that the rhetoric surrounding a certain "Candidate" whose last name begins with a T some months ago was incredibly inflammatory, and coming from his own side .. yet now, many of those same folks have begun to support and side with said candidate .. Politicians have such iron will and strong spines .. .. apparently, standing up for what you believe in is a constantly moving target ..

I didn't take it as a rant, either. It is a rather interesting topic, and not at all "off the mark". We see people walking (and driving) like zombies because they can't pry themselves away from "the almighty connection" long enough to LIVE their lives. I don't understand it. I still make it a point to engage a random stranger in conversation at least once a day. Standing in line at the grocery store, pumping gas at the gas station, or any other opportunity that presents itself. ECF is the only social media connection that I am a part of. I don't do facebook, twitter, instagram, or any of the other myriad applications. If I want to talk to my family, I call them (rarely even text... it lacks personality). I'm not opposed to having discussions with another person who has differing views from my own. I have always tried to be open-minded. I've not always been successful on that point, but I do try. I firmly believe that the only way to learn and grow as a human being is to learn something new. The easiest way to do that is to listen to the opinions and experiences of others. After that, it is up to us as individuals to decide whether or not to accept another's viewpoint as something we believe for ourselves.

As to today's Political climate... I won't go into that. I'm not happy with any of the potential candidates in any of the positions in which I am eligible to vote. For me, this is going to be a difficult election year. I think I'll just stick with the standard "Hope for the best; Plan for the worst" attitude.

That's the trick......knowing what we know now!! Jup I'd do it if I could do it knowing what I know now........but I'd wanna go back to 1981 instead!

Hahahaha! Well, at my current age (I.E. time travel) the 80's would be fine. If it were more of a case of being the age I was at the time, then I'd probably prefer the 90's.

 

[Uncle Willie]

I didn't take it as a rant, either. It is a rather interesting topic, and not at all "off the mark". We see people walking (and driving) like zombies because they can't pry themselves away from "the almighty connection" long enough to LIVE their lives. I don't understand it. I still make it a point to engage a random stranger in conversation at least once a day. Standing in line at the grocery store, pumping gas at the gas station, or any other opportunity that presents itself. ECF is the only social media connection that I am a part of. I don't do facebook, twitter, instagram, or any of the other myriad applications. If I want to talk to my family, I call them (rarely even text... it lacks personality). I'm not opposed to having discussions with another person who has differing views from my own. I have always tried to be open-minded. I've not always been successful on that point, but I do try. I firmly believe that the only way to learn and grow as a human being is to learn something new. The easiest way to do that is to listen to the opinions and experiences of others. After that, it is up to us as individuals to decide whether or not to accept another's viewpoint as something we believe for ourselves.

I have pretty well shunned the mentioned platforms as well .. today, due to circumstances within my own Life that came to light, I am in a particularly reflective mood ..

 

[MikeE3]

From the "Morning Musing on a Rainy Wednesday in Flyover Country" File ::

I read an op-ed piece as I had my first cup this AM, who's premise was the Web is the most democratizing, field leveling invention since the printing press ..

The internet connects to many people from many cultures that are different than our own. The potential for sharing of ideas is tremendous .. then, I thought about it for a moment ..

In practice, it doesn't work that way at all. Social Networking and targeted content has removed any possibility of that by effectively ensuring we never have to communicate with anyone we disagree with or hear any contrary or dissenting voices. In effect, we've gone beyond the old AOL corporate walled garden and now have the ability to create our own personal walls.

We "friend" only people who we think like us, quickly "unfriending" any that might be questionable, we follow only voices that say the same things we do and have all our news and information pre-selected based on what Facebook, Google or Yahoo thinks we want. The more we feed the algorithm, the more targeted it becomes. Then we block those with differing ideas that we disagree with.

That doesn't even account for the fact that the Internet is now controlled by a very small number of large companies feeding us the content. Google and Facebook essentially control the flow of information to many people and many major sites allow you to sign in with one of those accounts in order to post comments.

This pushback of diversity has resulted in the same pushback in our real lives as we live more and more of our lives in front of screens and get used to that comfort level. We've never been more segregated and isolationist despite having the ability to connect and share more than ever before.

hmmm ... your musing brought to mind the only thing I miss from my working years ... lunchtime! Not because it was a break from endless meetings but because around the table sat people from the USA, England, Australia, India, Pakistan, Bulgaria, France, and Mexico. Get into a social or political discussion and there really was a diverse set of views and opinions for sure. Yes, that's the only thing I miss.

I don't see the Web as any different from the TV news media ... rarely do any of them report the news without a bias. The Web just makes it easier to target an individual as well as a mass audience.

 

[Debadoo]

Today's "Can I Get An Amen" story: Toughest Hurdler Completes Course After Rupturing Achilles. I gotta give it to her... she's got heart!

Wow! It said the surgeries were successful and she achieved her dream of scoring a point for them. Don't think I woulda done that, but who knows. Would have been afraid of more seriously injuring it. Hope she didn't. then again when I was young and could move, I probably wouldn't have even thought about that. I did a lotta foolish things then that made me worse off now, but they had to be done and no one else there to do em, so ya just do em.

 

[Uncle Willie]

hmmm ... your musing brought to mind the only thing I miss from my working years ... lunchtime! Not because it was a break from endless meetings but because around the table sat people from the USA, England, Australia, India, Pakistan, Bulgaria, France, and Mexico. Get into a social or political discussion and there really was a diverse set of views and opinions for sure. Yes, that's the only thing I miss.

I don't see the Web as any different from the TV news media ... rarely do any of them report the news without a bias. The Web just makes it easier to target an individual as well as a mass audience.

"We got the bubble headed
Bleached blonde
Comes on at five
She can tell you 'bout the plane crash
With a gleam in her eye
It's interesting when people die
Give us dirty laundry"

I love that snide, insidious organ intro ..

 

[Iffy]

POST IT!!!!

First a lil' background... a while ago, pre-Odyssey, I promised Roto dat I'd sit on her lap and lick her face, AKA 'lap lap' (ol' earlier feline reference) when she got to da Tiki House. Well, unfortunately Debra couldn't make da PO.

Therefore, Kay, being da grand sport she is, volunteered to take her place...

Ummm, now dat I think 'bout it, maybe dat's why Debra didn't show...

 

[Debadoo]

First a lil' background... a while ago, pre-Odyssey, I promised Roto dat I'd sit on her lap and lick her face, AKA 'lap lap' (ol' earlier feline reference) when she got to da Tiki House. Well, unfortunately Debra couldn't make da PO.

Therefore, Kay, being da grand sport she is, volunteered to take her place...

Ummm, now dat I think 'bout it, maybe dat's why Debra didn't show...

Love this!!!!!

 

[Sir Kadly]

That said, it's the targeted news content that, to me anyway, is most worrisome .. material like that has the potential to shape views and if you never get or care about the other side of it, you can easily be brainwashed into some very ignorant or dangerous ideals .. If all you hear is messages that re-enforce your beliefs, you have no reason to consider any others ..

Yes indeed. Kind of the direction I was going with my thoughts, but you expressed it so much better.