Artificial Ignorance (AI)

 So much hype and hypothetical bullshit being spread as fertilizer to reap cash from the latest digital wunderkind, AI.  And handwringing as just another avenue of hype.  What am I more worried about? 

Consider two simple digital tools: 1) the clock and 2) the calendar.  Mere tools, and yet they rule, indisputably.  Consider how many billions of dollars have been wasted; megatons of CO2 poured into the atmosphere to accomodate adherence to the clock and calendar. There is a simple observation that can only be made near a major metropolitan area, but most can imagine... In the US or Australia, compare the traffic on an eight-lane freeway, say, 8:30 in the morning on a Tuesday, versus 6:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning.  Those eight lanes aren't enough on Tuesday morning.  And yet they sit, millions of tons of concrete and steel, nearly empty on a Sunday morning.  

A shift of only one hour, which in many places happens twice a year related to daylight savings time, will correspondingly shift the peak load on weekdays, but barely nudge the Sunday morning effect.  This amazing Sunday affect - social tradition; specifically tied to every seventh day on the calendar.  The lesser weekday shifts related to other social traditions; a business will open at 8 a.m., 8:30, or 9.  All employees with the exception of the boss are expected to be in their assigned locations.  Depending on the business, the boss may have worked late and been allowed compensation, or may simply have greater status, and be allowed the freedom.  

There is a notion that the COVID pandemic of 2019 might have changed this set-in-stone dynamic.  Businesses that could, allowed working from home.  Now that it's over, managers are pushing a return to pre-2019 customs, in spite of productivity evidence, because... they like to manage?  Much of the traffic has returned, and a lot of people want to "get back to normal" - even when that includes everyone getting on the freeway at a certain time; even when it has been been demonstrated to be unnecessary.  Will machines take over the human race?  Ahem.  Whom does the clock serve more; you or your boss?

Artificial ignorance - Chapter 2.

(US) States that want history to be properly sanitized, genders to stay in their lanes, and certain public discussions to remain taboo (yet ironically clamor about their free speech being taken away).  And so-called leaders who fail to see the parallel with the enforced cultures of Afghanistan, Iran, and China.

Sam Altman - Board Communications

 You read it here first:  Sam Altman accused of using ChatGPT to author his communications with the board of directors.  Yes, the whole drama was just a "hallucination".  Nothing to see here.

Baby fetish land

One of the pervasive cultural elements of Indiana that I find irritating, and I think has links to the anti-abortion issue, is the baby fetish culture.  The public sharing of ultrasounds and gender reveal parties were obvious extensions.  To be honest, on my recent visit this wasn't in my face as much as the past, since my siblings have aged out of that phase.  However, I inherited a digital photo frame from my mother, and the number of baby photos in rotation made me want to throw the thing out the window.  If my mother were considered the first generation, we're midway through the flowering of the third; generations run shorter in baby fetish land.  To be honest, around the age of forty-five I was ready to invest in a mini-me project but timing and collaborators were not in sync.

Of course everyone thinks their baby is a miracle, and children should be embraced with a positive attitude.  That part is perfectly fine, and important for creating healthy adults.  Maybe the second clause of the previous sentence is where I veer into the sacrilegious?  Healthy adults?  While Margaret Atwood explored well the aspect of women as recipients and incubators, she didn't much illuminate the specter of a culture where the only and greatest role to which any adult should aspire is be "fruitful and multiply"; to spend all free hours either working to support or directly nurturing children.  In baby fetish land, there is no adult world, other than in service of offspring. It's a great place to raise kids - if you want them to grow up thinking the only purpose in life is procreating (or worshiping a god who admonishes you to either do so or remain celibate). 

I'm not *deleting* photos, however, the frame gives the option of hiding photos, and my first task has been hiding all the relatively unidentifiable, generic newborns.  I'm sure the parents could identify these peanuts, or potatoes, depending on birth weight.  I'm sure in the moment, my mother was happy for whomever; "Oh look! It's here! It's got five fingers, two eyes, a nose, and mouth - thank heavens."  As far as whose eyes, hair, nose, etc - maybe give it a year or so?  "Barbara had...10 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; ... and several nieces and nephews"  We debated whether a few limbs on the tree, which were actually from neighboring trees, should be counted in this; and this doesn't include great nieces and nephews - enough to populate a small town. 

Believe me, I understand how much having children changes your life.  There are some aspects I'll never know, but my regrets are not massive.  My concerns are more about the warping of culture; where adults become slaves and childhood is the ideal; where expensive weddings are the fairy tale ending, and the mentality doesn't seem to grow much after high school.  My parents quickly pushed us into the realm of child labor; it was bible camp and flipping burgers - not space camp.  Because baby fetish land is all about keeping the working class hard at work.

Vaccine miscalcuations

 The vaccine situation in Australia is a mild clusterfuck.  But at least the spread of the delta variant has lit a fire under the seats of both the government and population.  As I write this, I am half-vaccinated, and scheduled for my second dose of AstraZenica.  However, projections are that Australia will not reach 70% vaccination rate until the end of the year or slightly later.

The initial problem was two-pronged - a strategy that made perfect sense, but didn't pan out.  The government decided to put all or most of its eggs in one basket - contracts for AstraZenica.  That is the vaccine that can be stored at refrigerated temperatures; it's a traditional vaccine; not the RNA technology. Arrangements were made for both importation and locally licensed production.  The easier storage and transportation of AstraZenica, combined with easily ramped-up local production made it a logical choice.  And then news came out of the rare possibility of a clotting disorder.  

The USA paused to make sure all doctors were aware of how to treat the condition, should it arise, and issued the data on who was most at risk.  Australia, which at that moment had virtually zero COVID cases, outside of quarantined incoming travelers, decided to declare AstraZenica only be used for people over 60 years old.  For people under 60, since there was little risk of catching COVID, and less risk of it being fatal, the Pfizer vaccine was recommended - as soon as supplies arrived.  And there was a contract for Pfizer from a supplier in Italy.  Which all seemed fine until the delta variant hit Italy and the EU decided it couldn't spare the supply.  

At that point, things were getting back to normal in Sydney.  There was a flare-up in Melbourne, but lockdown knocked it back.  And so there was no urgency among the population to get vaccinated, since there were virtually no cases on the loose.  At that point I was happy to be in Australia instead of the US.  We went to a theater to see Hamilton (wearing masks).  Then... delta variant.  One limousine driver - who happened to do a fair amount of shopping while contagious, and even brief contacts were coming up positive.  And two guys from a moving company, who drove a truck from Sydney to Melbourne, then Adelaide - not only carrying the virus to those cities and small towns along the route, but as news of their fine of a thousand dollars each hit the news, within a day or two, news also that their mother had just died from the delta variant.  Shortly after, I received a text from my physician's office saying their switchboard had gone from 80 calls a day to about 800; seems everyone was looking for vaccine.  The physician's office gave an email address for regular patients who couldn't get through their phone line.

The Prime Minister, feeling heat for having gone entirely with AstraZenica at the outset, announced, apparently without broader consultation with medical groups, that those under 60 should consider getting the AstraZenica vaccine - the risks from COVID were now higher than any risk from AstraZenica.  This caused backlash from one state premier, and another, who had requested Pfizer as a priority for areas with critical threat, complained about the lack of supply - the federal government's responsibility.  

As a direct result of this back-and-forth about the risks of AstraZenica, some of the public, even those over 60 with little risk, began to see Pfizer as the preferred alternative.  Except there wasn't enough supply.  An acquaintance who will remain unnamed said they registered a false birth date for their mother, in hopes that she could get Pfizer along with the family members under 60.  Considering you are required to present your Medicare card (everyone here has Medicare) - I doubt the fake birthday will go unnoticed; the question is whether it will cause a disturbance at the vaccination site.  It seems if they were smart, they'd have both vaccines on hand for just such situations.  

And so, as the delta variant is still spreading in the community: 105 people hospitalized; an additional 32 in ICU in Sydney; we have a fair number of younger people who are saying they'll take whatever vaccine they can get as soon as possible.   But we also have a significant chunk of all ages who want Pfizer, and are holding off, not getting AstraZenica in hopes of getting Pfizer before they catch COVID.  The Prime Minister has said he will not rush any shipments of Pfizer to critically affected areas; everyone will have to wait (some of this almost seems a retaliation for criticisms by state premiers).  As I mentioned; I already have my first shot, and an appointment in a couple of weeks for my second at my regular physician's office.  They moved the date forward by a few days because they're re-shuffling to have fewer people in the waiting area, due to increased virulence of the delta strain.  My wife was vaccinated with Pfizer as a priority, since she works in healthcare.  I could have gotten Pfizer as her spouse, but at that point, already had an appointment with my physician, and carried through that route.

Test workaround Facebook ban

Go crazy, thrill-seekers.

Jetski group criticised for 300km trip through croc-infested Far North Queensland waters

Misinformation now rules!

 Facebook's new policy in Australia is that links to known Australian and even established international news media outlets (via URL identification) will now be blocked.  Apparently, links to half-baked, non-professional "news" sites will not be blocked.  This means that established journalism is no longer allowed in Australian Facebook, but crackpots and amateurs will NOW RULE !!!

Make-up and face masks...

 From where I sit, while I have seen people of all genders ignore suggestions to wear masks, but the videos I've seen of people getting a bit crazy about the issue have been women.  Of course, this is not a scientific sample, but I did actually run into friend of a friend, woman who said "I just can't do masks".  I'm wondering how much of this is about make-up?  I have known women who would rather die than appear in public without make-up, and a face mask confounds the problem.  And so, literally, they may die or subject those around them to potential death because of this make-up issue.  When I Google, first page I see all sorts of tips on how to apply make-up that complements the face mask.  Aie.  Unfortunate that something like that has become an issue to the point of people losing it in public.  Thoughts??