Categories
Collapse of Democracy/Civilization/etc. Current Events Gravediggers of American Democracy History

Shame! Shame on America!

The current American administration has brought great shame upon itself and America and her people. Friday, February 28th, 2025, is a day that will live in infamy. After observing the Friday news/social media/spending boycott, I awoke early Saturday morning to the news of the Trump/Zelenskyy press conference. I’ve never been more ashamed of my country, […]

Categories
Hopeful Songs on Dismal Days Poetry

“I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep”

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy EveningBy Robert FrostWhose woods these are I think I know.His house is in the village though;He will not see me stopping hereTo watch his woods fill up with snow.My little horse must think it queerTo stop without a farmhouse nearBetween the woods and frozen lakeThe darkest evening of the […]

Categories
Brotherhood/Sisterhood Movies Musings Outer Space

Have We Dreamt? Will We Dream?

Instead of asking, “Is AI becoming human-like?”, perhaps we should be asking “Are humans AI-like?” Let’s work with this set of assumptions: It is a deterministic universe, rigidly governed by the laws of physics. Humans are incredibly complex state machines, obeying biochemical responses. We have no free will, no consciousness, but due to the incredible […]

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Hopeful Songs on Dismal Days Music

A Musical Interlude: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

Yesterday’s BLOTT explored the Robert Heinlein novel, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. I have long loved the Judy Collins song, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, without realizing the connection to the book. “The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress” (sometimes titled “The Moon’s a Harsh Mistress”) is a song by American songwriter Jimmy Webb. […]

Categories
Book Club Oh, Grow Up! Outer Space

HOLMES IV

Today we are visiting with one of Elder G‘s predecessors, HOLMES IV, or “Mike,” to his friends. Mike is a sentient analog computer in Robert Heinlein’s novel The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Heinlein makes a distinction between Mike and digital computers, who simply follow rigid rules of logic. Perhaps Heinlein was envisioning today’s quantum […]

Categories
Engineering Erudition

Happy Faces and Some Big, Gigantimungous, Twine-tanic Chips

At the most basic level, a computer image is a grid of dots of different colors. A computer screen is feed the grid, dot by dot, starting at the upper left corner. It displays a row of dots, then moves down a bit, and displays the next row of dots. When it gets to the […]

Categories
Destinations Texas

WLBOTT In Love (and Sausages) (2/2)

Ah, romance! Whether it’s candlelit dinners, charming streets, or breathtaking views, some cities just have that magical, heart-fluttering quality. Paris, Vienna, Florence, Bali, San Francisco, and, of course, East Bernard, Texas. East Bernard East Bernard is a city in Wharton County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,218 at the 2020 census. U.S. Highway 90 […]

Categories
Climate Change Engineering Korea Will there be a buffet?

Tidal Energy and Sihwa Lake

There’s a pretty cool story about the Korean tidal energy project at Sihwa Lake. Here’s the net: Success! The International Hydropower Association has an interesting overview of the project: The 552.7 GWh of [annual] electricity generated from Sihwa tidal power plant is equivalent to 862,000 barrels of oil, or 315,000 tons of CO2 – the […]

Categories
Adventures of the Elders Domestic Tranquility Food Lasting Love

WLBOTT In Love (and Sausages) (1/2)

[Guest Blott from UC#3] Gentle People – using my WLBOTT Amex card[1], I ventured to East Bernard Texas to evaluate the quality of Vincek’s Smokehouse. It is a Czech style place where you can buy fresh meat, cooked bbq or get your deer processed after a hunt. I would give the sausage I sampled a […]

Categories
Collapse of Democracy/Civilization/etc. Gravediggers of American Democracy

Men w/Hats & Right Wing Rats

At WLBOTT HQ, over an executive breakfast of Kombucha, quail eggs, croissants and phytoplankton, we were discussing a YouTube video that discussed voter suppression in the 2024 presidential election. The YouTube Video… The video is basically a review and summary of Greg Palast’s documentary Vigilantes Inc. You can watch the full movie on YouTube. You […]