Ponderings and Musings

If I could go back in time and have a conversation with my younger self, it would be to reiterate, “Never lose hold of your dreams”. Drawing out computer and cash register keyboards to pretend typing? In 2024 I can’t get away from computers. Focusing on getting the second hand on every clock in the house in perfect sync? As an adult you have a system at home that does that. Flying airplanes? Yep, even a gay man like you can do that with relative ease.

And your love of Star Trek, including imaging being in full uniform with friends and “talking Trek”? You’ll even do that once in a while.

What worked for the generation before us may not apply to us Gen Xers. We were often left to figure out things on our own and we did. Holding onto a playfulness seems lost in today’s world.

As I try to move a little further away from social media, I find my mind wandering a bit while I’m work. Traditionally I’d grab my phone and look at Mastodon or something, but I find social media being a bit cantankerous these days. Watching a YouTube video might be a good diversion, but then YouTube starts recommending “Bewitched” episodes and then people throwing chairs at a wedding or something and I end up going down a rabbit hole with those shenanigans, so I try to stay away from the videos as well.

What to do, what to do.

I’ve been doing quite a bit with ChatGPT lately, mainly in the space of feeding it some code I’ve written and asking it to “make it better”. The results are surprisingly a strong learning tool for me, because some of the time it breaks the code completely and I have to figure out how to fix it, but most of the time it shows me a coding technique I had not tried before. That’s rather nifty.

When I get an impulse to start playing around with social media, I now try asking ChatGPT some questions. For example, instead of jumping on Mastodon after lunch, I did this:

I’m finding having a brief conversation with ChatGPT around a productive topic is helping me stay on point today. And so far I have an impressive Accomplishments list going for a Monday afternoon.

Yay AI!

I’ve been enjoying the Regional Park adjacent to our friends’ property here in the greater Durham, North Carolina area. I had a nice hike amongst the evergreens today. It was easy to find my center amongst this greatness.

I love evergreen trees. I love their resiliency, the strength, and the song they sing when the wind passes by.

Here in the woods they stand above the maple and other trees that have not yet reached the heights of the evergreens.

I’m currently at our friends’ house in North Carolina. I’m traveling solo this weekend, as evidenced by my flight photos from Thursday evening. The opportunity to travel like this, and keep working at my day job simultaneously, is something I enjoy about the New Economy. I have always wanted to live a “digital nomad” lifestyle. This weekend’s trip approaches that concept. I head back to the desert on Tuesday evening.

Jeff and Mark live in the Raleigh-Durham area. Their home is surrounded by woods. It’s peaceful. It also has one scrap of copper DSL line feeding Internet to their home and home offices. Cable TV is not an option for them, it’s Frontier DSL or nothing.

This type of DSL isn’t know for its blazing speeds. I’ve discovered I’ve been spoiled by excellent Internet access in our last three homes. In the desert we get nearly “gigabit speeds” over our connection with Cox Communications. This Frontier DSL connection here in North Carolina is reminiscent of the connection we had back when we first moved into our home in Upstate New York back in late 2003.

Editing video and sharing content here over their Internet connection is reminding me of some of the challenges I may have with connectivity while on my Storm Hiking Trip next month.

I guess I’ll just spend some time enjoying the Zen like atmosphere in these parts.*

(It took 4 minutes to upload that photo).

I am off to the Raleigh-Durham area for a couple of days. I’m currently sitting in Tucson International Airport waiting for the first flight of two; I’m connecting through Denver this evening.

The gate agents keep asking folks to remain seated until their group number is called and she is basically being ignored. A woman in a wheelchair is making loud noises asking people to move out the way as her companion pushes her to the gate, as the gate agent called for “folks that may need some extra assistance”. I would say her wheelchair qualifies her for this category.

The budget airlines, with their herding-cattle-through-chutes-by-number shtick, have really destroyed any remaining semblance of class and intelligence when it comes to airline passenger comfort. It’s bad enough that everyone has a carry on the size of a small Subaru, which of course must either be hoisted by a man, because chivalry when it’s convenient and all that or shoved under a seat the size of table side coaster. Now we have to endure people fighting like it’s Black Friday at the Walmart to get to the seat they already paid for and no one else will occupy. Because as I understand it, on the budget airlines you just get a ticket to get on an airplane and then you scratch, bite, and claw your way to a window seat with no window or a seat closest to the self service beverage machine in the back. Buy yourself some M&Ms.

Capitalism really does suck in this regard and it’s just going to suck more and more because no one will do anything to change it. A selected few count their billions and the rest of us are treated like cattle. It’s that simple.

For some reason, the American mindset is endless growth. Everything must get bigger, everything must get better, and more, more, more, how do you like it, how do you like it. But the truth of the matter is, nothing natural undergoes infinite growth, other than some cancers. Even our sun, the one thing we all need to live, will only grow for so long before it collapses upon itself and becomes a mere speck of its former self, destroying all life around it in the process.

Wait your turn until your number is called.

I noticed an owl stationed in a nearby tree during my evening walk. They were just hanging out looking over one of the many washes in our neighborhood. Every once in a while they’d make an owl “whoo whoo whoo” noise and I found it fascinating. So calm and confident. I like that.

I couldn’t get a great photo, as I did not want to disturb the owl while they were looking over the wash. I suppose their demeanor made disturbing them something outside of their concern, but nonetheless, they seemed like they deserved a good deal of respect.

Here are some hiking photos from my hiking adventures in Saguaro National Park this past weekend.

As I understand it, before the days of the Interstate, US Route 80 was the main east-west route through Tucson. US 80 was primarily replaced by Interstate 10 back in the day, a now there are “Historic US 80” signs guiding folks along the path of the former main route. East of downtown Historic US 80 follows Benson Highway, aptly named because it used to go to Benson.

In parts of Tucson Interstate 10 was built right on top of US 80. There are service roads on either side of the Interstate to accommodate the businesses that have been here for decades, and that includes the Silver Saddle Steakhouse. Earl and I have been wanting to go to this seemingly historic restaurant (or at the very least, vintage restaurant) and we finally took the opportunity to do so last night.

It was exactly what I expected to be, and that’s a great thing.

Earl and I are fortunate to have traveled through all 50 states of the U.S. at least once. We tend to focus on locally owned establishments when traveling and are usually delighted. The Silver Saddle fits this vibe perfectly. Though it was busy on a Saturday night there was no wait for a table of two, the service was quick and efficient, the menu had plenty for the carnivores (I didn’t notice if there were vegetarian choices, but I’m doubting it) and there’s a full bar in the back which is celebrated by a “Cocktails” sign in script reminiscent of Lucy and Desi.

Earl and I had an excellent prime rib dinner with enough to bring home for lunch (which he served Aunt Meg from “Twister” style for brunch today). I mentioned during supper last night that this is the type of place I look for on my storm chasing trips. There were folks from all walks of life enjoying each others’ company and that was a good thing.

I look forward to going back again.