Andrew Yang

I don’t think that someone like Andrew Yang would get enough traction in a near-future Presidential election, but I do think we need to start grappling with the challenges and solutions that he discusses. I’ve been hearing about massive manufacturing job losses in China (yes, China) due to automation, and though we attribute offshoring as a major contributing factor in the loss manufacturing jobs here in the US, which it has been, even if we reversed this tide, we would still be facing major job losses to automation, and, now, with AI, the displacement of workers is going to occur in more areas - Call Centers, Retail, Transportation (autonomous, self-driving trucks). But first, we will need to disabuse ourselves of the labels that drive our thinking into Capitalism vs Socialism, Rich vs Poor and Politically Elite vs Politically Disenfranchised, so that we can consider ideas for a better future, without getting mired in the past. Andrew’s big ideas: Universal Basic Income, Universal Healthcare and a redefinition of GDP that more accurately reflects the health of the nation, especially as it relates to the difference in well being between Wall Street and Main Street. These are, indeed, big ideas, but, for anyone who has looked at our evolving world and doubted that things are just going to work themselves out, perhaps the process of embracing big ideas should be initiated with all deliberate speed?

REF https://youtu.be/qkH0xGUgR0c

The Single Event

I am always very aware of my interactions with Nicholas, mainly because I know that events averaged over my lifetime to date are much smaller than the same events averaged over his lifetime to date. I think this is the fundamental calculus that so many parents neglect. In some respects, it is quite unfair to parents that a single, negative event might get burned in to a child’s memory and hold sway over their recollection more than the aggregate of all the parental sacrifices and positive events. It is of little use to complain about this fact of life, because it is, after all, a fact of life. Taken out of the parental domain, this same phenomenon applies to other events in a child’s life - getting bullied, being ridiculed, being ignored, etc. This is, perhaps, why so many parents instinctively know that over caution is warranted when comes to their child’s experiences in the world, even as they forget that the same over caution needs to be applied to their child’s experiences with them. Of course, parents do the best they can under the circumstances they find themselves in, and sometimes these circumstances can be overwhelming, so, as children, we have to evaluate the single events that we hold on to as defining characteristics of the parenthood we were subjected to. This all boils down to awareness on both sides of the parent-child high-wire. We need to teach ourselves to be aware of what we do, and we need to teach our children to be aware of why we do.

Intermittent Differences, Enduring Similarities

I’ve seen a few comments expressing sadness about our divisions and foretelling the end of our great nation. I am not so sure, and here is why: Fake news may cause those on the polar extremes to outsource the determination of what is real to their polarized leaders, but for those of us in the middle, it should make us more independent minded and better fact checkers. Social Media may short circuit to personal attacks for those whose extreme views cannot tolerate questioning, but for those of us in the middle, it should improve our debating skills and help us to maintain our perspective on our intermittent differences and enduring similarities. Volatile issues might seem to further divide us, but such issues also divide the divided, and, like water molecules, we become more fluid. There are times when I wholeheartedly agree with and assessment from one friend that a different friend would find the patently offensive, and vice versa. In short, throughout all of these polar extremes, the middle gains momentum. We have less strife than we did during the Civil War, or the Civil Rights Movement, or the Vietnam War. We are just flexing the margins and improving ourselves to move forward with a more unified understanding of each other and the world. We should not feel grateful for this particular process, because there are better ways to achieve the same objective. We should not feel fearful either, because it is the same objective after all.

Presidential

In my opinion, Michael Avenatti has ridden Stormy Daniels further than most of her co-stars ;-) Now he is running for President, and, aside from having a platform based on 'The Truth', one of his tenants is that "we have to fight fire with fire". That might be okay, so long as the adherance to 'The Truth' does not give way to firefightning, but, again, in my opinion, I think we really need a leader who can offer love over hate, inclusiveness over identity, understanding over ignorance, policies over politics and, ultimately, inspiration over instigation.

Climate Change

It occurs to me that we may potentially cure cancer, an immense and complex endeavor, before we halt or reverse climate change, which is an immense and complex endeavor as well, but only because too many of us refuse to embrace the evidence, or refuse to ‘see’ what is happening around us, or lack the moral imperative to conserve the world we live in, even if the evidence is disputable. I am going to take a good hard look at myself in this regard, because it seems to me that if we do leave a livable world to our children and grandchildren, it will start with personal choices that live outside of regulation and incentives, as a leading indicator for a collective awakening. 

Immigration Rallies

I can see how the average Trump supporter would view today's rallies as the product of uninformed liberals calling for open borders and lawlessness that will eventually lead to the demise of our country as we are overrun by people fleeing dysfunctional countries south of the border who will eventually deplete our financial and social reserves. I can see how the average anti-Trump supporter would view the events leading up to today's rallies as the product of uninformed conservatives forgetting what makes this country great, up to and including how the struggle to make it in America contributes to our very fabric, GDP and overall wealth and well being. To me, both points of view are correct and incorrect. We can't be completely open and we can't be completely closed. That being said, I think the more essential leit motif of today's rallies is that, either way, we cannot afford to lose our humanity as we implement the policy at hand. Whether we are open or closed, we have to remain uniquely 'American' in our ways.

Suburban Shrimp Scampi

I think I’ve stumbled on to a near perfect Shrimp Scampi recipe for the average suburbanite, who, additionally, likes to avoid garlic and onions. 

Here are the ingredients:

2 pounds of peeled and deveined medium shrimp. Of course, if you are a big fan of manual labor, you can peel and devein them yourself, but I would encourage you to research both comparative advantage and opportunity cost first. 

2 cups of Pinot Grigio. There is no need for presumption here. Just buy any brand that comes from the Venice, Italy area in a large, 1.5L bottle for less than $10. 

4 table spoons of salted butter

1/2 large (6g) Knorr chicken bouillon cube. Of course, you can use any brand. 

1 cup of Italian parsley. This would be just the tops. When I say 1 cup, I mean if you lightly pat the leaves down. If you insist on pushing the leaves down with your foot, I am sure you could compress an entire bushel in a cup, but this is not my intent. 

The juice from 1/2 lemon

In a large, wide bottomed pot over low to medium heat, combine the Pinot Grigio, lemon juice, butter, parsley and bouillon cube, and then let simmer until the very nearly all of the liquid has evaporated. Imagine you have an untreated urinary tract infection that has been festering for a few weeks, and then you take the darkest, thickest piss you’ve ever seen. When the ingredients in question here approximate that color and consistency, you are ready to move to the next step (and go to the ER). 

Most recipes counsel you to cook shrimp over medium to high heat for 6 minutes, but, unless you have a centrifuge that you can use to drain the water from your shrimp, I find that it is better to simmer the shrimp, uncovered, for a longer period of time. 

Thus, add the shrimp to the reduction and simmer over low-to-medium heat (i.e. the same level you used to create the reduction) uncovered for about 20 minutes or until the shrimp scampi has a reasonable amount of liquid, but not too much. 

Enjoy :-)