Dear Readers,

Thanks for subscribing and sharing with friends. In two weeks, we’ve gone from zero, to 300 subscribers. If it stopped right there I’d be fine with it.

Oops just called “Bullshit” on myself. Now you can too.

About once a week or so, you guys will be the topic, as we have a Textcast of us talking to each other.

Bob Rivers

 

WHERE DO WE GO WHEN WE SLEEP

Bob,

That (Downtown Joe) has to be the funniest quote of all time, thank you. My comments about faith based beliefs are rooted as a child of a Baptist Preacher family. I left home at 16 due to the possible brain control and have never looked back. I still have a belief of some sort, and I call mine a higher power, or even a conscience. That subtle belief that someone/something is watching has, for the most part, kept me on the straight and narrow throughout my life. As my life has evolved, after a failed marriage, I am married to a wonderful woman, who in a previous part of her life was of all thing a Minister, go figure, She has lost faith in the Organized Church, much like me, as a money grabbing machine, but she still has a strong belief in God. We have some very fun, and heated debates at our home.

We miss you in the morning in Seattle!

Ed

Thanks Ed. If faith is defined as believing in something intangible, I think we all have it. Where we decide to put it is up to us.

“You can choose a ready guide
In some celestial voice
If you choose not to decide
You still have made a choice
You can choose from phantom fears
And kindness that can kill
I will choose a path that’s clear
I will choose free will.”

Rush, Freewill. Lyrics by Neil Peart.

I miss Seattle too, though New England is where all of my roots are. Podcast soon, on Air maybe later this year I can promise you I do my best to make it available in Seattle.

-B

Thanks Bob for your daily words of, well, wisdom! I do enjoy them much more than the crap I find on …Facebook ?

Janet Roy

You are so sweet, thank you!

My gut tells me Zuckerberg is a good guy, who’s just realizing he’s created a monster. He’s in a pickle, and Facebook will be regulated. I’ll write about that in a future column.

-B

 

WAG THE DOG

From: James Zuetell

Yes -I believe that there is only one place to lay the blame for all of this. Now, I know some people are going to think I am going to say, “Donald Trump”, or “Congress”, or something equally in the public eye at current. But I am not going to go there. No, the blame for all this falls squarely on the shoulders of the American Public….ALL of it! We allowed all this to happen by not paying attention to who we elected and what they are doing; for believing all the hype and reacting twice as strong as needed about things that we (as a whole) know nothing about and/or were too lazy to properly investigate. Now we have gotten ourselves into a pickle, and if we don’t watch what we are doing now, we are going to be tagged out between 2nd and 3rd base. It is time to start paying attention to what is going on in our Government, to question EVERYTHING that they do, and demand transparency. They have lost our trust, and in order to get it back, they need to start doing the correct things. We need to start by not following party lines down a rabbit hole, and start electing people that can and are willing to take the public’s sentiments to heart on debates and issues.
The current youth movement that didn’t start with is the starting point in all this. The kids have spurred on a tsunami of actions that will not just effect our current status as a country, but will tell the tale well into the future. They have been WOKE, and have a voice that will influence the nation for now and years to come….Voter registration for 17 y/o’s for the coming election starts very soon, and there is an initiative to inform and educate kids on their rights concerning voting and elections. A whole new world is on the horizon, and it shouldn’t and won’t concern those of us (collectively!) that have messed it up! Indeed…Maybe the Dog can start Wagging its tail again!

James Zuetell

James,

I like where you’re going with this. But I would stay choose different words. Blame, by it’s very nature, causes just about every human alive to dig in their heels and attack back.

The definition of blame is: To assign guilt.

What we really mean is that we all share a responsibility to improve. Look forward, not back. For that we need the opposite of blame. For that we need Empathy.

Antonyms (Opposites) for blame are:

Currently, our lowbrow media is focused on blame. You pick a side. Then you blame the other side. Let’s take Trump for example. If you blame him, you are in essence blaming 40% of the country. I don’t buy it. Calling them deplorable was a huge blunder.

At least half my friends voted for Trump. I endorse and applaud some of their reasons. They wanted to free us from what is perceived as a crooked system. They were hopeful when Trump flattered them, hard working people who should be commended for playing by the rules.

You see what I’m doing here. I would acquit and exonerate anyone of blame. With that emotional debris out of the way…

We can work together on the things we all agree need to be improved.

-B

 

PODCASTING

Hi Bob,

Roger here broadcasting from cold and rainy Montauk, Long Island. My son Dylan is getting married tomorrow. Pretty major deal!. Anyway I think you know how much reverence I have for the broadcast world. I’ve always wanted to take part in a radio show. Bro Mike and I have rented a barn that we are remodeling into a rehearsal/recording/live performance place.

We are considering doing a regular live streaming from there that, with the help of certain friends, could have legs. I was wondering about the possibility of you and I doing a somewhat regular collaboration streaming from both our sites at the same time.

Thoughts?

Roger Fisher
Guiatarist
Founding Member of HEART

Roger,

Would love to participate. You’re on my short list of famous and interesting people I’d like to interview as well.

-B

 

SELF DRIVING CARS

Bob,

I am in complete agreement that Self-driving cars should never be a “thing”. The only way this would work is if ALL land locked vehicles were autonomous track or course dependent. When you put the erratically thinking, reactionary minds of the human and the algorithmic automaton electronic brains of the robots on the same playing field, someone’s gonna get hurt! And most likely it will be the human’s fault…after all, we programmed them too.
Plus there is the infrastructure costs involved in setting up all the self-driving car systems. Who’s gonna pay for all that, The Mexicans? Our current administration wants to cut funding to upgrading our infrastructure as it is…..But that’s a discussion for another time.

Good stuff, Bob! Keep it coming!

James

James,

I wonder if there was a lot of opposition to the indoor toilet too? I’m sure it seemed like a bad idea at first.

-B

Bob,

I love being able to hear (o.k. read) your voice again in the morning! One of the things I really missed over these past two years of craziness is the discussion that would have happened between yourself and the gang, expanding my perspective on the news that’s surrounding us 24/7. Mornings around here haven’t been the same since.

Welcome back!

Wendy Fanello

Wendy…

Hopefully this column serves as a warm up for the use of vocal chords again! Thanks.

-B

 

KIOSKS

Your email, Bob, reminds me of so many analogies in , uh, entertainment, about consuming.

Two quick ones…
There’s the company in WALL-E selling everything to floating easy chair riding blobs.

There’s an episode of ST:TNG where the crew become addicted to playing a slightly VR game and being rewarded with essentially dopamine shots

What is it like to have Amazon and any smart phone already here?

And then there’s Black Mirror, Electric Dreams, Mr Robot…

Glad you’re back!

Steve