LET'S SHOP FOR ROBOTS WITH THOMAS FREY In a very short time in the future you may need to shop for a robot. How will you choose the right one? He wrote an essay about it that I made a guest blog so I could share it and you can see it by clicking here. This entire idea fascinates me but I can already tell it may be like shopping for a car for me and I won't enjoy it. Have Thomas come speak to your group or find his podcast here!
A BOOK DESIGNED TO MAKE YOU REFLECT Scott Davis dropped everything and sailed the Caribbean for six years searching for clarity and the meaning of life. And he found it. He distills the epiphanies he had during his explorations at sea through engaging stories that resonate with universal truths, the basic principles of human nature and refreshing insights that strip away false assumptions in his new book, Surf the Seesaw: Unconventional Essays on Balance, Beauty, and Meaning in Life. It's a different sort of book, one that literally asks you NOT to read it too fast and I have been enjoying it immensely as I make my way through it. It's very thought provoking and will make you re assess some of your beliefs, which is always a good thing. Note I said re assess, not change, because in some of my reflection I have reaffirmed things that I believe in the process. highly recommend the book, which you can buy here. He joins me at 2 today.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, COLORADO! Our beloved state turns 147 today and there are a bunch of ways to celebrate in this article. Since we have some many transplants I think this is a great day to learn a bit more about the state we all love. Here's Colorado's Wikipedia page to get started.
WHAT DO WE DO WITH TROUBLED STUDENTS? In the now released video of the illegal Denver Public School Board meeting you can see the board members talking about what to do with troubled kids at school. Tay Anderson is right *GASP* when he says we can't just throw those kids away, but (and this is me) we also can't let them put other kids in danger at the same time. During a time like this when juvenile crime is skyrocketing we need to make some tough choices and that may include building a school just for troubled kids that is more jail like than not. Completely secure, metal detectors at every entrance and a robust police presence may be what is needed to not only keep those kids safe, but to do the best you can to prevent them from hurting anyone else. We do need to give them a chance to learn, but they need to put on notice that any sort of thuggery or violence will not be accepted. Right now, we are trying to serve the tiny portion of students who are truly troubled while ignoring the danger they may post to classmates.
IS IT A DEATH THREAT OR FREE SPEECH? This is an interesting case of an angry man leaving two threatening messages on the front desk line of Governor Jared Polis. In the messages, he threatens to shoot Polis's home and Polis himself. Was he serious threatening the Governor? The State Patrol thought so and have charged him with a felony. Now this guy has to prove he was just spouting off and not a real threat. I'm going to watch this one closely.
NOW DENVER IS PROVIDING FREE TRASH SERVICE FOR HOMELESS CAMPS How much do you pay for trash pickup now in Denver? If you live in an open air drug market/homeless encampment the number is ZERO. Denver will now be dropping off trash bags and picking up trash from homeless encampments weekly. How kind of them. Maybe they will start meal delivery services too, and housekeeping services for tents. Maybe have some massage therapists pop by. I can't wait to see how this goes.
X DOES NOT MARK THE SPOT ANYMORE Elon Musk caved quickly when people hated his giant glowing X sign. He took it down yesterday.
DEVON ARCHER PROVES JOE BIDEN LIED And he lied over 20 times about not knowing ANYTHING about Hunter's business dealings. He was on the phone with oligarchs, some of whom he left off the Russian sanctions list after they gave Hunter's business millions. This family is as corrupt as any family in history. Too bad the media can't be bothered to dig in. The Wall Street Journal writes about it here.
THIS STUDY IGNORES CULTURAL ISSUES IN SCHOOLS The way this story and report are written is designed to make you think that Latino students are being legally segregated from other students by the district, when in reality, they are segregated because they are concentrated in areas that are full of students of similar backgrounds, which are mostly poor and Latino. To say that teachers " don't feel the need to challenge them enough because they underestimate their abilities." ignores the role of the students and parents in this situation. Very often students from low income backgrounds don't aspire to do well in school because their parents are not well educated themselves and can be intimidated by the school system or uninterested. This isn't the fault of schools and it's very difficult to overcome. I've got friends who teach in schools like this and often NO ONE will show up for parent teacher conferences or meet the teacher nights. They go to the homes of their students and parents can't be bothered to even speak with them. This is a really hard situation but to blame the teachers puts the blame in the wrong place. Though Latinos have made HUGE progress in recent years in terms of how many are graduating from high school and attending college, many students forgo college because they need to help support their families. This is not a school issue.
HAVE YOU TURNED OFF THE NEWS? Hats off you to you if you have, and you're among a solid number of people who have done so. Why? Because the news seems to exist to terrify people at this point. I found this part about what news which people avoid interesting:
Which subjects are U.S. news consumers most eager to tune out? The Reuters Institute’s research found that 32 percent of U.S. news avoiders steer clear of stories about the war in Ukraine, while 43 percent avoid news about national politics; 41 percent pass up stories on social justice; and 40 percent ignore celebrity or entertainment news. Americans who self-identify as conservative are five times more likely to avoid news about climate change than self-identified liberals, and three times more likely to avoid stories about gender and race, according to the Reuters study. Liberals are more likely than conservatives to avoid news about crime and business.
This is why I carefully select what I put on this blog. I try to avoid the annoying and terrifying stories that saturate the day.
NOW YOU CAN HAVE A D LIST CELEBRITY DELIVER BAD NEWS I am fascinated by Cameo, the app that lets you pay a usually low ranking celebrity to record a message to someone. Now I'm even more fascinated to know that people are using it to do things like ask for a divorce from their spouses or apologize for an awkward moment. Read more here.
WHEN LONELINESS MEETS PHONE SEX This column was NOT what I was expecting at all and it's really really sad when you get down to it. A woman who became a phone sex operator to learn more about it for a book lays bare just how bad the epidemic of loneliness is in this country.
THE TALLEST DOMINO TOWER EVER Watch below or click here, but I have to say this is less satisfying than a really long domino string.
HOW TO DO VALENTINE'S CARD RIGHT This couple gets it. Watch below or click here.
HEIGH HUMPS A stellar mash up. Watch below or click here.
THE SUICIDE SIGN YOU MIGHT NOT RECOGNIZE Boy is this accurate. When my friend Dave was leading up to his suicide this is what made me suspicious. I even asked him if he was thinking of killing himself because of it. He lied. He's dead now. Read this.
NO, THOSE AREN'T PEOPLE IN BEAR COSTUMES This story is hilarious. A Chinese zoo is being forced to issue official denials that their sun bears are NOT just people in bear costumes. Read more here.
COFFEE ON AN EMPTY STOMACH: GOOD OR BAD? The short answer is for some people yes, for some people no. Read this to figure out which camp you're in.
I NEED THIS PRODUCT And this family used it at Disney with great success. Watch below or click here. I already found it on Amazon for you.
WHY YOU DON'T LEAVE A MIRROR IN YOUR CAR ON A SUNNY DAY How did they not see this coming? Watch below or click here.
YOU CAN'T BUY WATER AT LAX ANYMORE So if you think you're going to whip through security and buy a bottle of water for your flight, think again. The nanny airport has done away with single use plastic water bottles.
THIS STORY DOES NOT WANT TO MAKE ME BUY AN ELECTRIC CAR In following our conversation yesterday about why many people don't want to buy electric vehicles, a climate activist posted a blog about the creative ways she had to charge her all electric vehicle while traveling to remote parts of the country. She's damn lucky there was an abandoned gas station that still had power. She viewed it as a victory that the gas station was defunct, but I hate to point out that once again fossil fuels, even defunct ones, saved her bacon.
NO, PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO PAY FOR TRUMP'S LEGAL EXPENSES That seems to be the message as the once mighty Super PAC Save America, which just last year boasted 103.5 million in the bank, is down to just $3.7 million in the bank on reduced donations and increased spending. Read more here.
THE STUDY SAYING MORE REPUBLICANS DIED OF COVID IS GARBAGE And this Substack dismantles it a bunch of different ways.