Wheels and AI

"Round and round it goes, and where it stops nobody knows"  -- an interesting phrase sometimes used to describe the uncertainties of life or the seemingly cyclical nature of things.  It is also used within the context of gambling -- more specifically in roulette. Spin that wheel... 

Was working on an acrostic puzzle the other day when I encountered the clue: "The 'wheel of death' may be part of this act (2 wds., hyph.)"  The title of the puzzle is "Lions and Tigers and Bears. Oh my!" So, for some reason, I immediately thought about a circus  when, perhaps, I should have been thinking of the Wizard of OZ.  Anyway ... this led me to remembering knife-throwing. It fit the puzzle.  Now the thing is, I cannot for the life of me wonder why I never thought about how stupid this particular entertainment is.  Really.  Think about it!  Now I am wondering if this is still done in circuses or magic shows anymore.  Does a circus still exist anywhere in the world?  Hmmm.... Be right back....  Just looked it up.  It does -- but with an emphasis shift away from animals to a focus more on humans doing things like acrobatics and aerial acts.  Interesting.  Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey still exist.  Nice. Wonder where is the world they are right now?

Back to the knife-throwing wheel of death.  As I remember it, some woman who was unfortunate enough to have landed this job, was tied (splayed actually) to a wheel (wrists and ankles).  Then ... potential victim securely attached, the wheel was then set in a spinning motion, while a man, most likely blindfolded, threw knives at her.  Yikes.  Anyway -- it got me to thinking about the stupid and dangerous things that people do, so I asked AI to give me a list. AI found no results.  Yes, you read that correctly.  No results in a search for stupid and dangerous things that people do. I mean I can think of a dozen things off the top of my head. All this being said...

I don't think I am ready to trust my safety and health to AI yet.  Perhaps AI is still too young to have good judgement.  Or ... perhaps I didn't ask it correctly.  Either way ... I sometimes think I have dealt with enough huge changes in my 3/4 of a century.  I am tired of all the adjusting.  Changes, like AI -- "round and round it goes, and where it stops nobody knows."  It's exhausting to think about and ... perhaps more than a bit of a gamble. Not sure I want to play this game. Too late now. I told the AI on my phone to go away and not come back.  It appeared one day --  uninvited. It's still there.  It doesn't seem to follow instructions well. 

Think I will go water my flowers.

Fortune Cookies

Fortune cookies are way more than just sugary goodness.  There is a lot to know about them.  Come to find out, much to my surprise, they are not even Chinese in origin...  but rather are thought to have come to the west coast of the United States in the late 19th or early 20th century - from Japan.  Surprise, Surprise. Learn something new every day -- whether you want to or not.  

I have always liked fortune cookies -- a nice little surprise to open at the end of a delicious Chinese take-out meal.  Sometimes they are philosophical in nature, or contain a fortune of some sort.  In other cases they have a list of lucky numbers for those who play a lottery or something witty and/or funny. Nice variety.

One of my favorite "fortunes" was mentioned in one of my all time favorite movies, The Big Chill.  "You will never amount to anything."  It still makes me laugh. That message seemed so unexpected somehow.  It caught me off guard.

Recently I encountered a few more "fortunes" while playing Guru Mahjong which, by the way, I had to delete from my phone because I was spending way too much time playing.  These are my faves from that source:

• You have the heart of a lion -- and the attention span of a squirrel.
• Life's a Journey.  Take a snack.

I think everyone would like to be reassured by a message like "Your spiritual path is unfolding exactly as it should." However... that is often not the case. More likely -- you would encounter an aphorism -- something like "If it seems fates are against you today, they probably are."

If I were going to write a fortune for a cookie, it might have something to do with a phrase I encountered recently that has been stuck in my brain.  It involves trying to avoid having your ass nailed to a high pole. It's such a catchy phrase really ... and such a clear image.  I sort of love it.

One last Fortune cookie fact.  Fortune cookies were made by hand until the late 1960's when a fortune cookie machine was invented by Edward Louie.  If you didn't already know that, you learned something from my blog today.  My work for today is done.  Am off to order some take-out.

Phone Gap

There is a definite difference in the way generations think of phones. I think of it as a Phone Gap. For example, some of the older generation function better with both a landline and a cellphone, but ... having both doesn't always simplify things.  A case in point is the situation that a writer friend of mine described recently in an email. It was about two recent calls from her daughter. I can picture the whole thing and admit that I find it very funny. 

She called the house phone. I was on the deck, so by the time I got my feet off the chair that I pull close and use as a stool, moved it out of my way so I wouldn't trip over it and face-plant on the deck, got my sandals on (the deck floor was hot ) and into the house, she'd left me a message........but she was calling me now on my cell, which was out on the deck. 

Tell me, that you haven't had a "been there" kind of "phone" experience. In another situation ... just this week I accidentally hit something on my cellphone that made it start to record the conversation I was having with my son, and I couldn't get it to stop even though I tried hanging up on him twice.  He later texted me instructions on how to handle the record feature on an android and, once again, patiently suggested I get an iPhone. I find that very funny too. Poor guy -- he must be just shaking his head. I am a fan of Android.

Back to the phone gap for a minute -- there is the tendency of the younger generation(s) to think of the cellphone as a permanent addition to their body... perhaps attachment is a better word.  Have you seen anyone lately without a phone in their hand?  Is it true that more and more people are tripping and bumping into things?  I gave up smoking because I didn't like that something stupid was controlling my life.  I leave my phone sitting places on purpose now for the same reason. I will see that you called. I will get back to you... probably shortly, because, I, too, am a bit too attached.

One more thing -- I think I still have a pretty good reason for keeping my landline even though I rarely answer it as it seems to have morphed into the recipient of all things SPAM. Here's the reason. The last time I checked, my county was still unable to track the location of an emergency if the call comes in to the 911 Call Center from a cellphone and the person calling is unable to speak for some reason.  A landline they can track.  That seems like a good reason to me. I probably should check again to see if that situation still exists.  I know they were working on being able to track a cellphone the last time I called. 

There are some disadvantages to living in rural NW Pennsylvania.  However, I still think the advantages outweigh them. I do have excellent cell service, so there is that.

 

Talk to Me

 There are many things in today's world that I simply do not understand.

The whole pronoun issue is just one of those things.  Seemingly this trend is going away now -- possibly because people are just sick of it ... I mean  ...  who thinks up this stuff?  Do they have a real job?  Too much time on their hands?  It ranks right up there with self-righteously complaining about everything, but doing absolutely nothing to work toward making change for the better. It's stupid.

Case in point...  I was recently invited to a "donor portal" which, I guess is the way some charities ask you for money now.  A most pleasant letter was signed in bold print ... the signature followed by (she, her, hers) -- also in bold.  Talk about shouting at me.  Here's the thing.  I don't care what pronouns of choice this person prefers, nor do I care whether (she, her, hers) is a woman, a man or any variation thereof. I cannot keep track of all of them anyway. My world is not about you and your pronoun preferences or about your gender concerns.  In my opinion this person's pronouns should be (Me, Me, Me).  (She, Her, Hers) certainly wants to be the center of attention. To think that Boomers are thought of as the Me Generation by some. Hmm....

Perhaps it is time for those so inclined to broadcast their pronouns, etc. to look at the world more outside of just themselves and their friends.  There is a whole world out there.  Am I wrong?  Talk to me.

Needless to say I will be giving my donations to agencies that are more other oriented.  

Leaving 75 In The Dust

It suddenly dawned on me the other day that I am 75 years old and soon to turn the big 76.  Yikes!  How did that happen so quickly?

This is how I look at it.  There are perks. 

For one thing, I no longer need an excuse to stay off a ladder or not to carry heavy stuff.  And... I can love my new walking stick for rough terrain or even walking around the house if I feel like it. 

Further...  I can go to bed any time I want and not have to explain myself to anyone.   I could pretend not to hear things sometimes and get away with it.  Would I really do that?  I know that some people do. 

I love that I fit in with the white-haired crowd easily and therefore readily find people who laugh at the same things I do. Kindred spirits. These people also "get" my references to things.  They know, for example who Liberace was and understand that the sometimes glamourized hippies smelled bad. They remember things like Keds and when a sheet of bubble gum came with a baseball card. The women remember what it was like, as little girls,, to tuck their dresses into snow pants before walking to school.  Oh -- so many things to think about.

Another huge bonus in my case are adult children and close to adult grandchildren. They are totally capable of living their own lives and of making their own decisions.  The pressure is off.  I am in the relax mode.  Perfect.  If either do come to me describing a complicated situation that necessitates serious decision making, I am now where I can listen with care and ask them to let me know how it all turns out. Heaven!

I also like that I don't have to drive at night if I don't feel like it. I like that decisions to not do things are now socially acceptable. It takes the pressure off. Like I said ... perks.

So ... I suppose I should mention ... there are the aches and pains of aging as well as other assorted limitations. We all have our own bag of rocks (as my mom used to say).  I guess we find our way through somehow -- one way or the other... the best way we can.  Hopefully there is not a lot of complaining going on.  Personally, I have little tolerance for excessive "woe is me"... in myself or in others.  It takes up too much time.  I try not to do the woe thing and I only listen to it for what I consider enough time to be polite.  Dwelling on woe is a Big Bummer and subversive really. It's not good for anyone.

They way I look at it ...  we all know that not everyone makes it this far.  I personally feel that I should take advantage of the gift and try not to waste it or to take it for granted.  I will soon be over half way through the septuagenarian years.  Three quarters of a century has come and gone. Oh my....  

Wish I could remember how to nap. I so want to stay awake for 4th of July fireworks.  Happy Independence Day!  We are almost there.