The word of the week is inexorable.
Sept 18 –
Other Thinking?
Why do people refuse to
believe some things, no matter what the evidence?
I'm a rational person, and while I
understand that not everyone can grasp every concept, it's difficult for me to
grasp that some people won't even try. Which is a problem, as some of
those same people are in positions where putting their beliefs over rational
evidence-based thought is a recipe for disaster.
They're called 'Confident Idiots'
in case you were wondering:
For the last few months, I've seen
more and more CI's chime in on a range of hot-button topics such as Climate
Change and Vaccines... and too often I can't help but step in to point out the
sheer magnitude of their misunderstandings. For some, the links I provide to
peer-reviewed hard scientific evidence are enough, but far too many more cling
to their long-held misconceptions, and that's interesting... as well as immensely
frustrating. In point of fact, some cling so hard to their beliefs that they
try hard to spread the misinformation, utterly convinced by half-truths
and doubt that everyone else is in the wrong, and they're doing the right thing.
Which, as you probably know, is
paranoia, coupled with cognitive dissonance.
To wit, I found out today that one
particularly vocal CI fellow on a few of the pages I frequent had dozens of
fake Facebook accounts which he used to spread his 'correct' agenda( about
climate change )against all evidence to the contrary. He was vocal enough
in telling me that someone else in a thread noticed, and flagged his
accounts... all of which promptly disappeared as FBook removed them, as having
more than one personal account is a violation of their TOS policy.
Oops.
Well, he won't be shouting into
the online wind anymore, at least. Too bad there's a dozen more where he came
from, and thousands more ill-informed folks who spend far too much time in
online echo chambers confirming their opinions( not facts )with similar
CI folks... it's a never-ending cycle of misinformation traded between people
who can't think objectively, or logically.
Isn't the internet great?
Sep 19 – Cholesterol? Say what?
Well, THAT came out of nowhere.
Last week, I went in for a free
public health sponsored blood test to check for several aging factors common to
men, and today I got the results back.
The good news: my prostate's fine.
The bad news: my cholesterol's borderline-high. Huh.... didn't see that one
coming.
It was a bit depressing getting that
news today; it seems that every time I think that I'm turning my health around,
something else rears its head for attention. So I spent a bit of the evening tonight
after work checking out cholesterol sources in the meals that I tend to have,
and I found one of the culprits: eggs.
Turns out that eggs have a LOT more
cholesterol than I knew - the amount of bad cholesterol is actually fairly low,
though the overall cholesterol level is high:
It's not all bad news. In the last few decades, medical science has determined that the majority of cholesterol in eggs is actually necessary for the proper functioning of the human body, and that only the levels of LDL-cholesterol need to be tightly watched.
Other parts the picture including
cutting back on saturated fats, dairy products, carbohydrates such as potatoes
and white bread, all of which I can do fairly easily. I'm looking at getting
myself tested again in early 2018 after effecting the diet changes, to see how
much my cholesterol levels will have dropped.
I'm not going to spending too much
time obsessing over it either, as I don't need the anxiety to come back in any
shape or form.
Moving onwards...
Sep 20 – Stealth Vans
Well, this is kind of neat!
It always amazes me that people find
creative ways to turn bad situations into good, and one such growing problem is
that of housing. For those who choose to live minimally in mobile tiny houses,
there's always the issue of where you can park them for the night if you're not
willing or able to do so in an RV park.
One excellent solution is to
'stealth' your vehicle, so that nobody knows that you're actually living in it
and so you can park it anywhere, moving around from place to place so that
you're not conspicuous about occupying spots overnight.
I think it's a great idea, though I
don't myself want to spend more than a year or two doing so in the service of
saving up for a more permanent residence. The savings can be substantial
however, to the tune of tens of thousands a year in rent not paid.
Something to think about.
Sept 21 – Son Of Zorn!
Barbarians and modern urban living
don't exactly mix.... or do they?
Zorn is an animated warrior from a faraway island
in the Pacific Ocean who returns to Orange County, CA, to win back his
live-action ex-wife and teenage son. It's a different show than you think it
might be, given the premise, for while it plays heavily on the differences
between the mythical land of Zehpyria and our modern world, it also strikes an
excellent balance of humor and the serious examination of how a modern mixed
family would try to function.
Unfortunately, like every good show that's been broadcast
by the Fox Network in the USA, it was canceled after the first season, which
sucks because I really would like to seeing where this story went, as I'm up to
the fourth episode already.
But, at least I can finish watching the first
season and enjoy it...
Sept 22 – Safety
Take a moment to read this and make
yourself safer online.
First, don't fall for 'Like Farming'
posts, which although I've seen far less of lately, they're still suckering in
my friends and family a regular basis.
Like-farming is simply the practice
of harvesting Likes from Facebook, to build a page's numbers that can then be
turned over for cash for other uses and will usually see the page renamed to
something completely different. People see the words 'Like and Share to Win'
then after they've done so, they completely forget about the page and never
follow up... because if they did, they'd realize that unlike a real contest,
Like-Farming pages do NOT have Official Rules, Disclaimers, Official Websites,
Contact Information, Contest Close dates, Winners Lists or anything remotely
resembling the sorts of things that you would see in a reputable contest run in
Canada or the USA. Don't be fooled!
Below is an example of a typical
Like-Farming post, which as you can see has netted a cool 196,000 people who
can then have their non-private information used for whatever purpose the new
page owners desire to make them( not you )money. It's a HUGE business,
suckering and millions of people every day to stockpile their information and
use it for commercial purposes without their knowledge or consent:
Second, secure your devices by
reading through this short article and ensuring that you've locked down your
information, which is one of the most easily accessed yet most valuable things
online right now. Device privacy is crucial in our modern connected world,
where a weak link in your connected devices means that hackers can tease out
more links to your personal and private information, culminating in access to
your financial or health details that can have lasting effects on your life. Lock
things down now, before anything bad happens!
Trust me, you'll thank me later.
Sept 23 – The Expanse
Spaceships! Explosions! Drama! Great
CGI!
I was aware of the series when it
premiered back in late 2015, but as I hadn't read the novels on which it's
based, I put it on the back burner and forgot about it.
My mistake: it's great! Set 200 years
in the future, The Expanse has physics-based space travel and combat, well-written
and interesting characters, and a plot that builds for long-term story payoffs
- yay!
Now, it's 2017 and The Expanse has
been renewed for a third season, to premiere in 2018... and I still haven't
read the books, though I did pick up the first one - Leviathan Wakes - a few
months ago to read a few chapters, and a few more this week now that I'm on the
ramp up in writing my second novel. I most likely won't be able to watch
through more than the first season by the time the third season comes out, but
that's okay; I'd rather catch up on the novels first and then dig into the TV
series for the visuals and see if they match what's in my head.
I will say it's no Babylon 5,
but then what these days is?
Sept 24 – Star Trek: Discovery
Tonight, the new Trek series
premiered, which is why my blog's a bit late as I wanted to add my thoughts on
the show.
Oddly enough, my girlfriend( who
is a dyed-in-the-wool Trekker )didn't want to watch Discovery tonight,
as she said "It's not real Star Trek" by which she meant Trek from
when Gene Roddenberry was around, like Next Generation. Which also holds
true for Voyager, Enterprise, I should add... but she has a point.
Discovery is set up as a prequel, prior to Kirk and Spock's era, but after
the timeline of Enterprise... which nobody really cared about anyway,
from the ratings.
So, what did I think?
Well, as sometimes happened I dropped the ball. While CTV premiered the show's first episode live on air, I missed that it was at 8:30pm Eastern... so while I was typing up my blog after getting home from visiting my parents, I should have been watching ST:D instead.
If I want to see more episodes, I'll have to subscribe to CBS All Access through a USA portal, or get a subscription to Space.ca here in Canada where it's streaming. Or, find another source online... though I'm loathe to do that, as I'd rather support the creation of new things in some tangible way; art isn't free, and I'm frankly tired of the same-old-crap we get for free these days that passes for story.
If I manage to watch it this week, I'll let you know what I think, after I re-check the broadcast times... *annoyed mutterings* I can't believe I muffed that tonight.
Looks like another full week ahead of me, with one evening earmarked for a writing group presentation and the rest spent working on my projects( novel / Glowforge ). It's all about making the best use of my time, and getting myself back to higher-energy levels of health. It's been a slow climbing battle in 2017, but I'm almost there, and feeling better every day, despite the silly health surprise this week. Onwards!
