Instant Bullets Blog Oct 12, 2024

*The following can kill someone accidentally: a dental infection spreads to the brain; hit the head becoming unconscious due to head trauma; go to sleep drunk and choking on vomit; mixing bleach and ammonia creates chloramine gas; mixing vinegar and bleach creates chlorine gas.

If you see somebody on the ground in a vehicular accident, then don't move the person because he or she may have a spinal injury. However, if there is an immediate threat, then move the person to safety.

Keep all body parts in a vehicle. Nobody knows when an accident happens. Limbs can be injured or lost. Herman from The Simpsons - Bart gets war advice from Herman, "Well, let me put it this way, next time your teacher tells you to keep your arm inside the bus window, you do it!"

A non-life threating advice. Replace cracked toilets. If the toilet breaks, the cracks slice your leg and butt.

*Don't drive on standing water. The vehicle can lose control and stall at six inches of deep water. The vehicle can float at 12 inches or one foot of deep water. The vehicle floats and can drift at 24 inches or two feet of deep water.

*inure: to accustom to accept something undesirable. Frequent exposure to something bad; accustomed. Get used to something difficult or unpleasant. Pronounced in-nor.

*wistful: having or showing a feeling of vague or regretful longing. Melancholy. Sad longing. Sad appearance. Thinking sadly about something. Full of yearning.

*inimitable: so good or unusual as to be impossible to copy; unique. Can't be imitated. Can't be copied.

*blithe: 1 happy, cheerful, carefree. 2 casually indifferent.

*inept: lacking the competence or skill for a particular task

*Random Deep Thinking Thoughts:

*Death is the loss of information. Death is the loss of memory. If we can store memory, we achieve immortality.
*What matters more? The racing car or the driver? They both matter. If the racing car is half of the horsepower of the competitors, the best driver loses the race. If the racing car is twice the horsepower of the competitors, then the average driver can win.
*We have a 2024 Presidential Election between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris who seem more like reality show stars than serious thinkers.
*A media creates a narrative. Other media outlets copy each other. The narrative is repeated. Information value is lost.

*Kinzang Lhamo. The 2024 Paris Olympics marathon runner from Bhutan finished last with a time of 3 hours, 52 minutes, and 59 seconds. She walked part way due to exhaustion and heat. Last-place finisher in Olympic marathon delivers a first-class Olympic moment | Paris Olympics. Close up video of the crowd supporting her.

*Think Simple With A 3X3 Magic Square. A student completed a three row, three column, and two diagonal sums of zero.

*Zombo Com. If you never visited Zombo, then click link Welcome To Zombo Com. Wiki Zombo information.

*Fishy Local Story. A local news station reported a fire destroyed a house. The house was looted afterwards. Cash and jewelry stolen. I questioned the story.

*Movie Quote From The Bad News Bears (1976):

Timmy Lupus: Mr. Buttermarker, I don't know about you, but I want to win, so don't send me in.
Morris Buttermaker: Listen, Lupus, you didn't come into this life just to sit around on a dugout bench, did ya? Now get your ass out there and do the best you can.

*The spelling for cockamamie and the pronunciation cock-a-may-mie. The definition is ridiculous; implausible; pointless; stupid or silly.

*The English language reading is top to bottom or left to right. The reading is big first and small second in terms of marketing techniques. Read from biggest to smallest.

*A Strong Relationship Sign. The other person gets along with the family members at a family event. For instance, the partner or spouse socializes with the siblings. The talking with the parents is default. The communication with the non-parents is the sign.

*Movie Quote From Office Space (1999):

Stan: Joanna.
Joanna: Yeah?
Stan: We need to talk. Do you know what this is about?
Joanna: My, uh . . . flair?
Stan: Yeah. Oh, uh, your lack of flair. Because, uh, I'm counting and I only see 15 pieces. Let me ask you a question, Joanna. What do you think of a person who only does the bare minimum?
Joanna: Huh. What do I thi--. Uh, you know what, Stan? If you want me to wear 37 pieces of flair, like your pretty boy over there, Brian, why don't you just make the minimum 37 pieces of flair?
Stan: Well, I thought I remembered you saying that you wanted to express yourself.
Joanna: Yeah. You know what? Yeah, I do. I do want to express myself, okay. And I don't need 37 pieces of flair to do it.
[flips off Stan]
Joanna: All right? There's my flair, okay. And this is me expressing myself. Okay? There it is. I hate this job. I hate this goddamn job, and I don't need it!

*Electrical Engineer. I have been learning basic electricity to continue learning life skills. I should have majored in electrical engineering.

*Movie Quote From Waiting (2005):

Monty: Amy! Serena! Calvin needs our help.
Calvin: No. No, I don't need help.
Monty: Shh, shh.
Monty: Women like assholes, am I right?
Serena: Well, I agree that you're an asshole.
Monty: Okay. "A," fuck you. "B," just answer the question.
Serena: Well, okay. Girls like assholes, not women. What women are attracted to is self-confidence.
Amy: Yes, and we absolutely fucking hate insecurity.
Serena: Yes! The more insecure you are, the more you ask, Is something wrong?
Amy: Is everything okay?
Serena: What are you thinking about?
Amy: What's wrong? And the more you do that, Calvin, the more it becomes this self-fulfilling prophecy.
Serena: You just need to relax and not worry so much. Okay? Calvin?
Calvin: Yeah. That makes a lot of sense.

*Former President Jimmy Carter turned 100 years old on Oct 1, 2024. Carter is the first former US President to reach 100. Carter replied to a question what's a secret to a long life. "I think the best explanation for that is to marry the best spouse: someone who will take care of you and engage and do things to challenge you and keep you alive and interested in life," said Carter.

*Parents Help Or Bail Out Your Unemployed Children. Parents tell his or her child they're bailing him or her out by living at home rent free. The child responds saying bail me out by helping me find a job--a real job. Help me get a referral or an interview.

Any half-ass parents can give money, find their child a job in retail, and lecture.

*Oscar Bait. Oscar bait describes movies produced to earn Academy Award nominations and wins. Wiki on oscar bait. Oscar bait has been mentioned since 1942.

Half Ass Doesn't Work Anymore

I was a high school senior when a classmate told the entire classroom any high school student graduates with a 2.0 grade point average. Students could earn C grades applying 10% of their brain. I don't know if the 10% applies today because high school graduation requirements changed. Expectations are higher. There is more to know. Requirements for college are tougher for college bound students.

Moreover, I'm confident applying up to 50% of the brain doesn't work to be an average success outside school and college. More jobs require more responsibilities. More jobs require more skills. Tell me what jobs Excel are not required. More jobs requiring technical skills require Python programming. Hardware engineers know software engineering, and vice versa. A rising tide raises all boats. Competition is fierce. Retail, janitors, and waiting tables jobs are exempt from the higher expectations and requirements. There is no evolution in cleaning toilets and serving plates with meals.

On The Other Hand, Better Than Nothing

A common sense statement is better to do something compared to do nothing. I agree. Doing something better than nothing is a judgement call depending on the situation, seriousness, timing, and stakes. Half ass doesn't apply to changing a motor vehicle's breaks.

Prove Me Wrong

There were plenty of opportunities decades ago. There were plenty of success pie slices generations ago. Fewer requirements and fewer knowledge required to complete responsibilities. Expectations were easier.

There are fewer opportunities today. The size of the success pie is the same. More people are not going to get a slice. There is more to know. More jobs require getting more done with less time. There is still 24 hours a day. There is still seven days a week. I guarantee them. There is no evolution in time. Humans must sleep.

Update On A Past Blog

I uploaded a better picture for the article My Lunch With 2 Fraudsters: Food For Thought For Investors written by Herb Greenberg for MarketWatch. The article can be viewed at the blog Meet Fraudster Barry Minkow posted on May 5, 2011. "Do not trust--verify," said Minkow.

Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog September 2024

California issued shelter in-place orders on Tue Mar 17, 2020. I have been logging the highlights and lowlights. COVID-19 coverage has been decreasing. One reason was the same news including new vaccines, new variants, and high viral wastewater levels. September slowed down after a fast first week.

Mon Sep 2. Jogged to and from Safeway for a quick grocery shopping.

Thur Sep 5. Watched Baltimore Ravens at Kansas City Chiefs for the first NFL game of the 2024 NFL season. I watched the first half and the fourth quarter starting at the 5:00 mark.

Fri Sep 6. CA Secretary Of Health And Human Services Dr. Mark Ghaly is leaving on Sep 30, 2024. Governor Gavin Newsome appointed Department Of Social Services Director Kim Johnson to replace Ghaly. Ghaly has been the secretary since Mar 2019. He led CA in the COVID-19 response. Johnson's appointment must be confirmed by the state Senate.

Mon Sep 9. Shopped at Lucky first thing in the morning. Watched New York Jets at San Francisco 49ers for the first 49ers game of the 2024 NFL season.

Wed Sep 11. The latest data collected by the Center For Disease Control reported 23 states wastewater viral activity at very high levels. 22 states reported high levels. Four states reported moderate levels. Three states reported no data.

The KP.3.1.1 variant accounted for 42.2% of infections. The KP.2.3 variant accounted for 14.6% of infections.

Fri Sep 13. FL Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo questioned mRNA COVID-19 vaccines safety and effectiveness. The state suggested people aged 65 or over or underlying health conditions choose non-mRNA vaccines.

Wed Sep 18. The newest COVID-19 variant XEC was identified in half of the US. The XEC variant was first reported in Europe last month which spread fast. Scientists said the newest COVID-19 vaccine protects against XEC.

Fri Sep 20. Scientists identified which animals at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China tested positive for the virus which caused COVID-19. The animals included the raccoon dog, hoary bamboo rat, European rabbit, Amur hedgehog, Malayan porcupine, Reeves's muntjac, Himalayan marmot, and masked palm civet. The evidence was circumstantial the SARS-CoV-2 virus transmitted from the infected animals to humans. The scientists used metagenomic sequencing which analyzed genetic material searching for the virus.

Sat Sep 21. Shopped for used books at the West Valley Library.

Thur Sep 26. Free COVID-19 tests available for free from the federal government. Each household receives four home test kits at COVIDTests.gov. The USPS ships the tests starting Mon Sep 30. It's the seventh time the government provided free test kits. 900 million free tests were mailed since Winter 2021.

Went to Santa Cruz, CA with my dad for an errand.

Worried Or Not Worried

I share current events concerns and personal concerns. The concerns are in alphabetical order. Am I worried or am I not worried?

*2024 Presidential election: not worried. The US people speaks on Tue Nov 5. We vote for the correct president.

*Children and teens: worried. Small sample size. I read stories the children of Generation Alpha and teens of Generation Z intelligence are underdeveloped. They're learning few life skills. They're social skills are poor for which it's hard to interact with other people.

*Climate change: worried. The temperatures are increasing. I include the demand for natural resources and demand for utilities increasing. I also include droughts causing lower water supply.

*COVID-19: worried. The unvaccinated must listen to the experts. Get vaccinated. Stop the spread. The virus is smart. The virus mutates. I continue to wear my mask.

*Economy: worried. The economy has been in a recession during COVID-19 and after the COVID-19 inflation. The US can't sustain the record debt. The economy can't kick the can down the road forever. The road must end.

*Food supply: not worried. The experts say there's plenty of food. The problem is the food distribution. However, it seems more people are malnourished.

*Garbage: worried. There is too much trash. The municipal recycling system is confusing. I include too much consumption.

*Guns: not worried. A gun itself doesn't kill. A gun on a person's hand kills.

*Health care: worried. There are too many people. There are not enough resources to satisfy the demand. I include the justice system and the education system.

*Homelessness: worried. The local government homelessness programs can work. The homelessness is reduced significantly by eliminating the drug addiction by 20%. Mental illness is more challenging than drug addiction; although, drug addition and mental illness overlap for some homeless people.

*Jobs for everyone: worried. The job market has been tough before COVID-19, during COVID-19, and today. There are not enough jobs for the growing number of people looking for work. Artificial intelligence is a factor.

*Loneliness: worried. People must never give up being strong. Strong people attract other people. Unfortunately, more people are giving up their lives repelling potential friends.

*My life long term: worried. Living a life with minimal income is unsustainable. See Jobs for everyone.

*My life short term: not worried. My current life is stable. I read books, exercise, self job train, and take care of the household. No complaints.

*My physical health: not worried. I workout four days a week to minimize health problems. I minimize eating processed foods. I'm the healthiest I've ever been.

*My money: not worried. Keep the discretionary spending in check. Make the best of what I can afford. Stay busy with what I own.

*Nuclear missiles: not worried. No country takes the initiative to launch nuclear missiles. Watch the movie War Games.

*Population decline: not worried. There are plenty of people on planet Earth.

*Population physical health: worried. Too much time on non-physical activities. Too little time on physical activities.

*Racism: worried. Racism and discrimination existed yesterday. Racism and discrimination exist today. Racism and discrimination exist tomorrow. Today's youth can change my mind.

*Sleep: worried. Too many people are sleep deprived. If the busy people spend 20% more time sleeping, then the world is less stressed.

*Smart phones: worried. Self-explanatory. There is too much time spent on smart phones.

*Sports betting: worried. The games are rigged. Otherwise, Las Vegas and the sports betting industry are out of business.

*Stock market: not worried. I admit I'm ironic. I worry about the economy. I don't worry about the stock market. Stocks only go up. Stocks go down when the otherwise happens.

*Successful people and unsuccessful people: worried. There are more people unsuccessful through no fault of their own. There are not enough opportunities for the people working on success. See Jobs for everyone.

*Taxes: worried. I'm 100% pro people pay their fair taxes. People must pay for the government to run the country. The government doesn't run for free.

*Television: worried. There is too much TV to watch. There's no logical reason to watch all the shows.

*Video game addiction: worried. There's nothing wrong with playing video games. I'm worried about the player's life outside the keyboard and/or controller.

*World War III: worried. I don't follow international politics closely. A country or countries lose in the Middle East war. Another answer to the question is another terrorist attack succeeds on the US soil.