My prediction on what will happen when Trump dies

I’m writing a story each month on my website.  Back in March, I had an idea for a “story” that would be a list of what the biggest headline in the US were on a certain day for the next 100 years.  I knew I’d need some time to write it, so the day I picked was June 20th.  The 2025 headline was “Trump assassinated at Anti-Woke rally in Raleigh; gunman killed by Secret Service.” Having an anti-woke rally right after Juneteenth seemed like a thing he would do.  The 2026 headline was “One year later, questions still remain about Trump assassination.” And the 2035 headline was “Ten years after his assassination, the continuing need to eradicate Trumpism.” And those were the only time Trump would be mentioned.  Because, the point of the story was to show that despite all the damage he has done, once he dies he’ll be forgotten.  It’s like how after decades, the deaths of people like Robin Williams and Steve Irwin still hit hard.  Whereas people like Rush Limbaugh and David Koch are quickly and rightfully forgotten.  The same will be with Trump.

But how quickly will the world move on from him?  I predict even before he’s in the ground.  In large part because of the various MAGA factions that will start backstabbing to gain dominance.  What I predict will be some Faction X that will say, “We just learned, and had no prior knowledge, that Trump was a pedophile.  Not only did Faction Y know, they did nothing about it.” Meanwhile, Faction Y will go, “We just learned, and had no prior knowledge, that Trump was embezzling funds.  Not only did Faction X know, they did nothing about it.” We can only hope that these factions will destroy one another, leaving good, decent people that actually care about America to clean up their colossal mess. 

***

In case you’re wondering what happened to my story, well, coming up with headlines ninety years from now turned out to be harder than I thought.  Also, I’ve been a bit under the weather for the last few weeks and haven’t written much.  So about a week ago, I decided I wouldn’t get around to the story.  At least, not this year.  But I also had been thinking about how magats will end up backstabbing each other, so I decided to write this post and release it today instead of the story.

Some of the headlines I’d come up with dealt with wild fires, mass shootings, beloved actors dying in accidents, but I also had some hopeful headlines.  Since those are so rare these days, I figured I’d share some of the ones I came up with. 

2043

German doctors “cure” first patient of Alzheimer’s with MZT treatment.

2048

Mohawk #3, the last coal fired power plant in America, has finally shut down.

2050

First child born on the moon.

2055

President Piña announces she’s pregnant … with twins!

2060

After decades of controversy, Bitcoin finally shuts down.

209X

Scientist report that atmospheric CO2 concentration likely peaked in 209X at X ppm.  (I never got around to finalizing this one.)

Random Story – Bottle cap battles

This is just an odd little story from my life.

When I was in high school in the early 90’s, the bus would pick up one group of kids that lived in town and take them home, and then come back and pick up us kids who lived out in the boonies.  And given that our bus driver was old and drove very slowly, it was usually half and hour or more after school ended that we finally got on the bus to go home.  So we had time to kill.  Sometimes, I’d hang out in the computer room for another ten minutes or so until the teacher finally kicked me out, or I’d take the time to clean my locker, or whatever.  Sometimes, some friends and I would walk a couple blocks into town to buy candy or cards and then get back for the bus.  But most afternoons we just stood around and goofed off. 

One way we goofed off began by accident.  I think what happened is one of us had a bottle of pop (I’m from that part of the country) and dropped the lid.  Someone else “pretended” to stomp on it, for some reason, but they just missed and they caught the edge of the bottle cap with the edge of their shoe.  The result was the cap went flying five or so feet.  Which we found pretty funny, so we started doing it on purpose.  You put the cap open side up, and just put the edge of your shoe on it, and then do a quick press down.  Sometimes, the cap would just fly up and hit our nuts, but usually it would fly off across the hallway.  So we started having bottle cap battles trying to hit each other.  If they connected, it was just a little thump.  At worst, if they hit your arm, you might have a bit of a red mark for five minutes. 

After a dozen or so flights, the caps would start to deform, meaning they didn’t fly as far or as well.  So we would save caps from the week or dig in the trash for some to have one big battle with five or six caps whizzing around.  We did this, off and on for a couple of years.

It was probably a decade ago, I remembered this, so I got a cap to relive my youth.  But I don’t know if they’re using softer material in caps, or shoes, or what, because I could only get a cap to fly a foot or two.  Either that or there’s some basic step I’ve forgotten.

Where does Trump rank in terms of America’s enemies?

Anyone with more than a few brain cells knows that Trump has caused considerable harm to America.  I was thinking about this the other day, and I wondered where he stood in terms of damage done by our historical enemies.

With his botched handling of Covid, I’d say it’s certain Trump killed more Americans than al-Qaeda.  But he probably hasn’t killed as many as Nazi Germany or the Empire of Japan did.  Yet. 

I have no idea how many – adjusted for inflation – billions of dollars’ worth of ships and aircraft and other equipment our WWII enemies destroyed, or how that compares to the billions of dollars America has lost from his idiotic tariffs and other failed economic ideas.  Of course, all those ships and whatnot were already built and paid for, whereas who knows how much money we’ll lose as people around the world stop buying American.  How many small businesses will go under, and how many millions will lose their jobs. 

While Trump hasn’t killed as many Americans as some of our bigger historical enemies – yet – I’d say the material damage he’s caused is probably comparable to them.  But the one thing he excels at is the damage he has done to America itself.  Hitler or bin Laden could only dream of hurting America as much as Trump has.  If America falls, it won’t be because of a Nazi (classic Nazi, that is) or a suicide bomber, but some dumbass loser playing a King. 

So I’d say that Trump is the worst enemy America has ever faced.  In which case, we need to ask ourselves, What am I doing to defeat Trump and all his minions?

Random Story – What happened to the pill guy?

This is just an odd little story from my life.

As a nerdy kid growing up in 80’s and early 90’s, I watched a lot of PBS.  There was Nova and Scientific American Frontiers and several other science shows.  If the topic was about space, I almost certainly watched it, but I watched most of them regardless of their topic.  Having been over thirty years, I’m sure I’ve forgotten most of what I watched, or whatever I’ve learned has just become part of the mass of “Things I know, but I don’t know how I know them.” But there are a few random fragments that, for some reason, I remember.  For example.

I don’t know what show it was, or if it was late 80’s or early 90’s, but there was one episode on longevity.  I think overall it dealt with the various ways people were trying to live longer.  I don’t remember, but it’s likely there was a section on people eating a particular diet, or people doing things like tai chi, or whatever.  But the one I remember was this guy taking vitamins.

I can’t remember if this guy (I’m 99% certain it was a guy) was a doctor or just some health enthusiast, but somehow he came to the conclusion that more vitamins somehow made you live longer.  I’m not talking about just taking two multivitamins a day, or whatever.  He was taking like 50X the daily recommended amounts.  And not just of Vitamin C, but like, all of them.  He had ones he took in the morning, ones in the afternoon, and ones in the evening.  I think there was a scene where he had a garbage bag of the vitamin bottles he emptied each week.  But the scene I do remember is him sitting on his couch reading a book, and on an end table there’s a little candy dish with the evening mix.  And every few minutes, he’d just grab one and swallow it, without water or anything. 

For some reason, that image has stuck with me for … over three decades.  And I have to wonder what happened to him?  He was … fifty, or whatever, so it’s possible he’s still alive.  Or, he could have died shortly after that show from a … Vitamin A overdose.  Or, he might have some role in the current regime’s Department of Health and Human Services.

Short story – “A Sealed Fate”

 

“A Sealed Fate”

A bored young man wearing only a T-shirt reading “Bank robber” stood in a space just big enough for two people.  The ceiling – while not so low as to make him stoop – was uncomfortably low and the walls were painted in the blandest beige imaginable.  The only other thing currently in the room was a counter high on the wall he faced quickly approaching zero.

When the counter hit 0:00, several things happened at once.  A folded T-shirt appeared in the man’s right hand, a door appeared below the counter, and the counter reset to 5:00 and began counting down.  But the main thing that happened was a bright flash of reddish light deposited a naked, older woman in the space.

In a monotone, the man began, “You died and were-”

The woman screamed and slapped him.  “What have you done to me?  Where am I?” She turned around, and realized she was naked.  She tried to cover herself while screaming and punching the man.

After about a minute of silently taking her punches, he suddenly yelled, “Shut up!”

This stunned the woman and she backed up, as far as she could.

The man then explained, “I did nothing to you.  You died and were sent to Hell.”

The woman started to argue, but stopped herself.  Shaking her head, she said, “No, no.  I don’t belong in Hell.  I should be in Heaven.”

“Sure.  Anyway,” handing her the shirt, the man continued, “everyone gets a shirt that explains why they are here in Hell.  It’s not the main reason, but a big one.  For example, I hated the idea of a 9 to 5, so I decided I’d rob a bank to make easy money.  Only I got shot and ended up here where I’ll spend the next few thousand years welcoming people to Hell and giving them a shirt.  So take your shirt Miss,” here he unfolded her shirt and read “‘Trump supporter, even after he went full fascist,’ and go through that door to your eternal damnation.  And hurry up, because,” here he pointed at the counter reading 3:13, “when that hits zero, another person will be transported in, even if you’re still here.  And that sucks.”

The woman reluctantly took the shirt.  Shaking her head, she said, “No.  It shouldn’t be like this.  These aren’t Pearly Gates, and you’re no Saint Peter.”

The man sighed.  “Having died in 1973, I don’t know who this Trump is, but apparently, he’s a fascist.  And if you supported him, then you are to.  And you wonder why you ended up in Hell?  Why would Saint Peter waste his time on someone who’s fate is already sealed?”

The woman thought for a moment, then said, “No.  I refuse-”

“Just go through the fucking door you bitch,” the man yelled.  “Find out what Hell has in store for a fascist, and give me a minute’s peace.”

Why I don’t have issues with trans people

I’m not an asshole.

Another reason – that will take longer to explain – is that I do believe that many of our current problems will be solved by technology.  Setting up newer problems that will then need to be solved by newer technology, and so on.  And when I say solved by technology, I mean actual problems actually solved.  None of this, bitcoin powered AI pills to give you a bigger dick, or whatever the latest snake oil the techbros are selling.  The technology I’m talking about is once a year you go to the doctor who gives you a shot that is guaranteed to wipe out 99% of any cancers you were developing.

What I picture would be in such an anti-cancer shot would be thousands of nano machines that would be programmed to hunt down any cancerous cells.  If they find one, they either destroy it themselves, or set off some signal so your immune system comes in and destroys it.  Once we figure out how to do such a thing, it will take a few decades for all the clinical trials to show that it’s safe, during which time the technology would only improve, probably by many factors. 

Another possible use for medical nano machines would be building bones.  They might start for people with weak bones as the nano machines slowly build up the bones, but eventually they’d be used to fix breaks.  At first, these would be slow, maybe only shaving a few days off the time needed to wear a cast, but after a decade or so, it could be you could break a leg, go to the hospital, and walk out the next day as good as new. 

Of course, medical nano machines wouldn’t be used just for life saving stuff, they’d eventually be used for cosmetic procedures.  If they can fix leg bones, they can also make changes to the bone structure of one’s face.  Again, at first such procedures would be expensive and take a lot of time and need to be carried out in a doctor’s office, but over the decades as the technology improves, it will get to the point such stuff can be done at home.

To bring back the point of this post on why I don’t have issues with trans people, is that I firmly believe that, not a hundred years from now but almost certainly two hundred years from now, the technology – of nano machines as well as genetic alterations – will exist for people to basically be shapeshifters.  Not becoming six different people as you walk down the sidewalk, or turning into a giraffe, but more like punching in tomorrow’s body in your Chango-Tron before going to bed and waking up in an altered body.  A lot of people would feel no need to use such technology.  Some will do it occasionally, for a laugh or for sex.  Some will experiment with a dozen bodies until they discover the real them.  And some will discover the real them is one of constant change. 

So if I think the future of humanity is one where everyone will be able to change their body in any way they see fit, why would I have an issue with people doing that now with our limited technology?  Not to mention my general view that people are people, and only assholes should be treated like assholes. 

A true statement

The other night at work, I found something interesting on a shelf.

Not the dime, the message taped to it.

Even thought I’m one to pick up any change I see, I put this back on the shelf in the hope its true target would find it.  I live in a very red part of the state, so the odds of a Trump voter finding it are pretty high.  And I wonder what they will do.  Will they not even bother to read it, will they get super angry, or will they dismiss it only to be reminded of it months from now when they’re paying $20 a gallon for gas while dumbass claims the way out of the recession is another tax cut for billionaires.

A couple weeks ago, there was a customer in a Trump hat complaining about how expensive stuff was.  He then looked at me and stated, “It’s only going to get worse.” All I could do was clench my jaw and nod to keep from saying, “No shit Sherlock!” Of course, it’s possible the guy didn’t feel any remorse, and is one of those that is happy to crash the economy because “It will hurt the woke/trans/Mexicans – or whoever their boogeyman/scapegoat is this week – more.  Somehow.”

I don’t know if putting out such a message will make a difference, but I might try it.  Although, I may have to only use pennies.

Fake dreams

I know people don’t care to hear about someone’s dreams, but I recently had an interesting experience I wish to share.  And a dream is a central point of it.

Anyway, I recently had a dream where some of my siblings found some badminton equipment.  My mom suggested having some sort of family tournament, but my brother pointed out that the last time we played tennis, Tim beat us 26-1.

A couple things about this.  First off, it has probably been forty some years since I’ve played badminton, and I don’t believe I’ve ever played tennis.  Secondly, I had the feeling that this was a cousin Tim and this happened at a family reunion, but I don’t think I have any cousins named Tim.  I went to school with a Tim, but I barely spoke with him then and haven’t spoken to him in thirty years.  The only other Tim I can think of, is a few years ago the manager at work was out for a few weeks for a medical issue, so the corporation sent in this other manager to cover.  This was a Tim, who was a bit of an asshole.  And lastly, in regards to the dream, I couldn’t care less about tennis, but 26-1 doesn’t seem like a tennis score.  Which leads me to think that “cousin” Tim was also a bit of an asshole and just kept playing until someone managed to score a point.

Now that that is all out of the way, the interesting thing I noticed was when I was groggily half-awake after this dream.  Because I had the overwhelming feeling that the whole “cousin” Tim story came from another dream I had like a month ago.  A dream I have no memory of, except as this vague reference.

This leads to two possibilities.  One, there is a part of our brains that remembers our dreams better than our awake brains does.  This doesn’t seem likely, because what would be the point.  So the more likely second possibility, is that when we dream of real events, our brain can pull from our real memories of them, but whenever a dream comes up with a “cousin Tim beat us at tennis at a family reunion” type event, the brain sort of panics when it can’t find the memory of that, so it just goes, “Oh, that was just a dream.”

I was really interested in this, because it seems once a month or so, I’ll wake up with the feeling that the dream I just had is a sequel of sorts to some other, forgotten dream.  I never looked too far into it before, because I think it always happened when I’m half-awake and things are always a blur.  But this time, for whatever reason, I was just awake enough to notice something was weird. 

I’ve spent the last five minutes trying to work “It was all a dream” into the ending of this in a satisfactory manner, but “It was all a dream” is rarely satisfactory.

Short story – “Someday”

“Someday”

David and Rob sat on their couch, each on their phone.  Occasionally, one would sigh or mutter something under their breath.  Then the doorbell rang.

David looked at Rob.  “Were you expecting something.”

“No.”

David started to get up, but Rob stopped him.  Setting his phone on the arm of the couch, he said, “I need a break from doomscrolling.”

Rob walked from the room, but a few seconds later, David heard a muttered, “Fuck.”

“What is it?”

“It’s John, from across the street.”

David jumped up and started towards the door, but stopped.  He quickly started recording a video, and then held his phone by his side, ready to bring it up if he needed to document the encounter.  At the front door, they nodded to each other and then Rob opened it.

John stood a foot or so back from the door.  He didn’t seem to know what to do with his hands which clasped and unclasped multiple times.  “I’m sorry to disturb you,” he said.  “I just wanted to tell you that I am sorry.  This was never my vision for America.  I was conned.  I-”

John stopped and took a breath.  “I know we’ll never agree on … a lot of things, but I hope you’ll believe me when I say that I no longer support Trump.  He … he needs to be removed from office.  I know that won’t immediately fix all the damage he has done, but it’s a start.”

For a moment, the three men just stood, looking at one another.

John coughed.  “Anyway, I wanted to say I’m sorry I ever supported him, and hopefully someday, years from now I’m sure, we could all just have beers.  As neighbors.

“That’s all I wanted to say.” John gave a brief smile, then turned and walked away.

Random Story – Infinite coupons

This is just an odd little story from my life.

It was probably fifteen or so years ago, I got a coupon for these trail mix type things.  It probably came in one of those envelopes of coupons – 99% of which I had no interest in – that places sent out.  I don’t know if they still do that or not.  Anyway, there were five or six pouches of trail mix that came in a cardboard box.  I was on the lookout for something new, so I tried them and enjoyed them.  What was nice was I could have a few pouches at my desk at work, and if I got a little hungry, I could just eat one.

I can’t remember if it was with that first box, but very soon after I started buying them that they started putting coupons on the inside of the box.  I think it was a save a $1 when you buy two boxes type.  Since I enjoyed them, that’s what I started doing.  I’d use one coupon to buy two boxes and get two coupons.  Use one of them, and get two more.  At first, I figured it was a short run promotion, and eventually they’d stop putting the coupons in the box.  But it kept going.  The first coupons were good until the end of June, or whatever, but then they became the end of September, and then December.  And they just kept going.

I had a little table by the door where I kept my keys, and I kept a pile of these coupons.  And every time I went to get groceries, I’d take one and buy two more boxes.  For I don’t know how long these pouches just became my generic snack.  When the coupons were getting old, I’d take a handful of them and leave them on the shelf at the store to maybe start someone else down this road of madness. 

Eventually, I stopped buying them because, well, I got tired of them.  But a year or so later, I was nostalgic for them, but I couldn’t find them in the store.  I can’t remember what their name was, so I don’t know if they went out of business or what.

What I hope happens to Musk and Trump

To try to post more blogs, I made a schedule I try to keep to.  Like, on the first Tuesday of the month I try to post a “Whatever I want to talk about” blog.  When I saw that the first Tuesday of April was on the first, I wondered if I should do a themed post.  But our country is currently being destroyed by fools, so I wasn’t in the mood.  But it did lead me to this post.

In the last few months, I’ve written a few stories about Musk and Trump.  (I even made a page that lists all of them.)  A few of them are actually about one or the other being assassinated.  Given how things are going, in a few months they will probably be grounds for me being sent to a gulag.  I was thinking I should do a post about why I don’t want either of those assholes assassinated, just to make my position clear.  And figured this was as good a day as any to post it.

What I hope happens to Musk

I do not want Musk to be assassinated.  Ideally, he should be investigated and if – as is a near certainty – he’s committed any crimes, he should be tried.  And if convicted – as he probably would be in a fair trial – he should rot in prison.  But since that is unlikely, my hope is that whichever of his kids is stuck with him, just puts him in a rundown retirement home.  Hopefully, most of the staff are black, and his neighbor incessantly talks about their favorite granddaughter, who used to be their favorite grandson.

What I hope happens to Trump

Trump belongs in prison.  Period.  The fact that he isn’t, let alone that he is destroying the country from the Oval Office is an utter failure of our justice system.  The only way to repair the system would be to remove him and all his cult assholes from the government, hold the Mar-a-Largo Trials (like the Nuremberg Trials) and throw most of them in prison.  But since that is unlikely ….

Ten years ago, if you had asked me if assassinations should play any part in a functioning democracy, I would have said, “Absolutely not!” But I think it was 2018, or 2019, when I caught myself thinking that, “Assassinations shouldn’t play any part in a functioning democracy, but I’m starting to see the appeal.” Just to be clear, I am not planning the assassination of anyone, let alone Trump.  I also have no knowledge of any assassination plans.  I don’t want to know of any assassination plans.

But the system has failed.  Repeatedly and horribly.  Which raises the question, do we need to go outside the system?  I don’t want Trump assassinated, but I feel that is his likely fate.  If he is assassinated, I’d say there’s a one-third chance it’s by someone on the left for a multitude of reasons.  There’s probably another one-third chance it’s by someone on the right whose kid was needlessly killed in some pointless, bullshit invasion of Panama, or Greenland, or wherever.  And there’s a one-third chance he’s assassinated by the dark powers tired of putting up with his shit.  And then Vance – who they can handle better – can blame transgender, immigrant, Tesla-haters or whoever so they can forge their Crap World Order. 

The only real negative of Trump being assassinated is the damage his cult will do to avenge their Dear Martyred Leader.  Picture sports hooligans when their team loses the big game times a thousand because it would be across the country instead of limited to one city.  It’s possible they might actually do more damage than a living Trump would. 

The fact that his actions have made me more concerned about what his cult would do if he was assassinated than the horror of a politician being assassinated, is one of the reasons I absolutely hate Trump.  When he dies – however – I will not shed a tear.  But I will not cheer, because I fear it will just be the start of a new battle to save America.

I really am a gardener

I grew up on a farm and we’ve always had a garden.  The only time I didn’t have a garden was when I moved away for ten years.  For the first four of those years, I did have some house plants.  For the other six years, my apartment had a little balcony and I – pretty unsuccessfully – grew some plants, like potatoes and zucchini.  But about fifteen years ago I moved back to the farm to help my parents out and to have time to write.  And to have a garden.

Despite all my years gardening, it wasn’t until this week that I truly felt like a gardener.  I was at work thinking about all the things I had to do on my days off, and I realized, that even though it is barely spring and we still freeze a couple nights a week and I think there is snow in the forecast, I already feel like I’m behind in my gardening.  There are these … weed trees I’ve been trying to get rid of for the last few years, there’s some plants I want to move, there’s stuff left in the garden from last year I didn’t get around to cleaning up before the snow fell, I have raised beds I’m trying to fill, I want to move my compost bins, I need to get some seeds started, I want to get some cuttings off some apple trees ….  And it seems like every day I plan to focus on one of these things and be done with it, it rains.  Or I sprain my wrist and don’t feel like making it worse doing a bunch of heavy work.  I just need like two solid weeks of good weather, were I’m not injured, and I don’t have a hundred other things I need to be doing. 

Being a gardener is very tough.  I have no plans on quitting.

Random thought about Tesla

 I live in a pretty rural area.  The kind of place where electric cars would be called Woke, or worse.  I'm sure somebody within a hundred miles of me has an electric car, but I've never noticed one.  And given how poorly cybertrucks are as trucks, that they apparently can't handle a bit of rain let alone the snow and stuff we have here, and that they get recalled every other day, it's unlikely I'll ever see one of those monstrosities.

But I was thinking and wondered what I would do if I came out of a store and saw someone spray-painting a swastika or something on a cybertruck.  I figured I would look around to see if there were any cops or some pissed off dudebro running towards us.  If I saw any, I would announce it, loudly.  If I didn't see any, I'd wait until the person finished and stepped out of frame, then I'd take a picture of it.  And then I'd go about my day.

Random Story – Was that a Christmas tree?

This is just an odd little story from my life.

I have two routes I can take going to work.  Route A – my preferred way – is about two-thirds on back roads and one-third on a main road.  Route B is about one-third backroads and two-thirds main roads.  There are a couple of reasons I prefer Route A.  For one, I don’t have to drive through the town.  Also, the main road for Route B seems to have more trucks as well as people who apparently need to be somewhere.  But the main reason is that I like driving, but not when there are other cars around.  When I’m driving home – I work 2-10 – there’s usually some traffic on the main roads, but once I turn onto the backroads, I only have to watch for deer.  But Route B is important whenever it snows because I’d rather have two-thirds of my drive be on roads that are plowed and salted than on roads that might not be. 

Anyway, one-time last summer, I drove to work on my normal Route A, but a couple hours later a big thunderstorm rolled in.  Our power blinked a few times, but stayed on.  Once the storm passed, we started getting customers saying that the other side of town had lost power.  Apparently, it’s a different grid section, or whatever.  People also came in saying power was out along the Route B main road. 

When it came time to go home, I decided to go Route B because with every storm there are branches knocked down and there’s a heavily wooded area on Route A.  There are wooded areas on Route B, but not as much and those roads are more trafficked.  I didn’t feel like having to stop to clear branches from the road.  I also wanted to see how far out the power was out, and wondered if it would be out at home.

So I started home and got to the blackout area of town, which was a bit weird.  But then going out Route B was even weirder.  It’s not heavily populated, but there’s usually at least one house in view at any one time, and about half have a light of some kind on, but this night it was all darkness. 

And then, about half-a-mile from the turn on to the backroads to get home, there was a house with lights on.  I don’t think we lost power at home, so I think I just crossed into a different grid section. 

This house is situated a bit off the road, but it was the first lights I’d seen in miles, so I looked at it closer than normal.  I’ll admit, there is a part of me that is curious about how other people live.  Like, I’d love to go into my old apartments to see how people furnished them.  Oh, they put the couch there?  Interesting.  I’ll admit to having some curiosity, but I’m not a voyeur who looks through people’s windows.  But for this house, I could see into what I guess would be their living room, and I thought I saw a Christmas tree.  I forget exactly when this was, but it had to have been May or June.  And I only had a split second of looking through a window of a house set back from the road, so it is possible I saw some random shapes that my brain just interpreted as a Christmas tree.  But it left me wondering about it for the rest of the night.

Maybe a week or so later, I was running some errands one afternoon and going home the same way.  So I had to look.  Just to see if it was a Christmas tree or what.  Unfortunately, they had the blinds down and I didn’t see anything. 

There were several nights this winter I took Route B home, but I don’t think I ever looked to see if they had a Christmas tree in that room.  Not because I forgot about it – I still think of it as The Christmas Tree(?) House – but because most of the nights I drove home that way it was snowing, and I had more important things to do than to see where these people I’ve never met put their tree.  Or why they’d keep it up year-round.

New and … worsened

We recently got a new computer system at work.  After a couple of weeks, I’d say there are five or six things the new system does better than the old.  For example, in the old system if a certain situation came up, there was no way to fix it.  You basically had to void everything and start over.  But in the new system, there’s a button that will fix it.  Well, I think it would fix it.  This situation only happens every three or four months, and hasn’t happened yet with the new system.  But one night when I was fixing a related issue, this drop-down menu showed up, and as I read through the options, I realized that the solution they had for the related issue should also fix the problem that comes up every three or four months. 

Other situations are only “technically” better.  Like, this other issue that comes up four or five times a shift, in the old system we basically just had to go back a step and start over.  Easy to understand, but it took maybe an extra fifteen seconds.  In the new system, the problem can be fixed in like five seconds.  But the way to do it is … odd.  Basically, this one problem is a screw, while there is this other, related problem that is a nail.  There is a hammer subroutine that takes care of the nail problem, but instead of making a screwdriver subroutine for the screw problem, they just used the hammer.  Technically it works, but every time it happens, I can’t help but wonder if the system could have been designed better. 

It’s been a couple decades since I’ve done any programming, but I bet if I sat down with someone who knows how to code, we could come up with a very user-friendly system in like a day.  When I say user-friendly, I mean whenever an issue came up, there would be a clear, logical way to solve it.  Like, options would show up on the screen and you could pick which one best suited the situation.  Instead of having to remember that whenever Problem X happens, you follow Steps 9-12 in Appendix Q.  Admittedly, there were issues like that with the old system, but it was probably designed 20+ years ago when computers were far less capable.  You’d think better computers with more memory should make things run smoother.

All this got me wondering, Why do so many businesses find it difficult making good user interfaces?  Like, I remember years ago, there was an email service that made a big deal for their new layout.  And I looked around it, and was like, That’s nice you have a hundred bells and whistles I’ll never use, can I just check my email?  And after I checked my email, I went to sign out, but the Sign Out button was gone.  It used to be right at the top of the screen, but now, there was nothing.  It was almost by accident I discovered that when you clicked on the, I don’t know, Settings button, there was a drop-down menu with Sign Out as one option.  Why did they hide something so important?  I don’t know.  Maybe having this big button right out in the open threw off the aesthetics. 

The real problem, is I’m pretty sure the people who designed this system at work never used it.  Or if they did, it was for five minutes showing off the various capabilities to some corporate schmuck who also never had to use the system for a shift.  They’ve never had to use it in a real setting.  For example, in one of the ways the new system is worse, is selecting an operation.  Basically, about 49% of all interactions in a shift involve Operation A, 49% are Operation B, and the other 2% are for Operations C, D, E, F, etc.  The old system defaulted to A, but you only had to hit one button to get to B, C, D, etc.  In the new system, you have to hit a button for A, and two buttons for B because the first button calls up a drop-down menu that also has Operations C and D.  I know that doesn’t sound like much, but when you do hundreds of operations a shift it adds up.  Especially since for the old system the buttons were on a keyboard that was at a comfortable height and angle, whereas the new system is a higher, vertical touchscreen that has other stuff around it so it can’t be adjusted.  I’m wondering if lifting my arms to hit the screen so much is bothering my shoulders.  (I’ve also been splitting firewood, so it’s hard to say what’s causing issues.)

I know corporations are all about making short term profit, but surely somebody, somewhere up the corporate ladder has to understand that going with the lowest bidder can save you money upfront, but you may end up paying more in the long run.  Of course, such thinking is probably only for the people on the bottom who actually have to work for a living.

Voter Registration Drive Book Sale!

The other day I saw something about the deadline to register to vote for some special elections is like, next week.  I don’t live anywhere these special elections are happening, so I haven’t paid much attention to them.  But every election is important, especially now.  If you want to vote, you need to be registered.  And who knows what new hoops will be added to the registration process in the coming years.  So if you are an American citizen over eighteen, now’s the time to register.  The information to do so should be on your state’s website, but you can also check out Vote411.  And if you’re already registered, these sites should also let you check your voter status, because while voter lists need to be updated as people move or die, some go overboard.  Any “mistake” found now can be fixed long before the next election, making the election run smoother.

To draw a bit of attention to this, and to give some slight encouragement to register, I’m running a book sale from Monday February 24th, through Friday February 28th.  For that week, four of my ebooks will be free to download on Kindle.  I think it is against the law for someone to offer you something to register to vote, but it’s not like I’m offering you a million dollars to vote.  And it’s only four ebooks from an unknown author just to register.  If I was rich and famous, I’d be doing other things to pull democracy from the jaws of authoritarianism. 

If you’re not an American, you can still grab my ebooks.  I just ask you to participate in your government however you can.  Since America is no longer the leader of the free world, someone else will need to step up.

***

Political Pies

Everybody complains about politics, but does anyone do anything about it? My attempt to do something about it is to collect forty of my short stories with a political element into my Political Pies anthology. The stories are either politically neutral or equally condemning of the national parties. Instead of trying to sway you to one ideology or another, my goal is to just get people thinking about politics in the hopes a rose might grow out of all the political manure.

Useless Cogs

Useless Cogs is a collection of forty, of my science fiction stories. They range from only a few dozen words to a few thousand and are filled with time travelers, AIs, clones, aliens, even sexbots, although not often as you would imagine. As example, there’s a time traveler that’s always a step behind, an AI that’s late on rent, and a sexbot with bad software. Some of the stories are humorous, some horrifying, and some … depend on your point of view.

The Only Certainty

On The Day, for reasons unknown, people began changing. They went to sleep as their old selves and woke in their beds in different bodies: bodies that had belonged to other people. And each time they fall asleep, they wake in a new body. Set months later, “The Only Certainty” follows Derrick Gorton on an average day in this new world as he deals with food shortages, the semi-collapse of society, and how to finish his latest novel.

The Moon Before Mars: Why returning to the moon makes more sense than rushing off to Mars

Over the last few years a lot of people have caught Mars fever. It seems a week doesn’t go by without a report of some new group wanting to send people to Mars, or some big name in the industry talking about why we have to go to Mars, or articles talking about the glorious future humanity will have on Mars. All of this worries me. In my opinion, a Mars base is currently not sustainable because there’s no way for it to make money. A few missions may fly doing extraordinary science, but if it’s then cancelled for cost the whole Mars Project may just be seen as an expensive stunt.

Fortunately, there are other places in the solar system besides Mars. While bases on the moon and amongst the asteroids won’t be as inspirational as one on Mars, they will have opportunities for businesses to make goods and services as well as profits, meaning less chance of them being outright cancelled. This will make life better on Earth and secure a firm foothold in space for humanity. The essays in The Moon Before Mars: Why returning to the moon makes more sense than rushing off to Mars allow me to describe my ideas on what can be accomplished on the moon and with the asteroids, and why Mars isn’t the destiny of humanity its cheerleaders make it out to be. 

Short story – “The Unerring Word”

“The Unerring Word”

“Ria, how’s eternity treating you?”

“Hey Oaoex.  Same old, same old.  I managed to appear in a vision to a human last week, but then he was put in a mental institution.”

“That sucks.”

“I know.  I mean, what’s the point of being a god if you can’t get people to believe in you.  Anyway, what are you up to?  Appear in any visions?”

“No.  I’m trying a different approach.”

“Really?  What?”

“I started a blog.”

“A what?”

“It’s a way for humans to read my message as I intend, without anyone botching the translation.”

“Hey, what’s done is done.  Let it go.”

“A pox upon middle men.”

***

Image from Pixabay.

Random Story – We no longer know each other

This is just an odd little story from my life.

When I was in college back in the mid to late 90’s, I had a summer job for a natural gas company.  There were six or so of us college kids who mowed yards, painted water tanks, and did other odds and ends.  One of these fellow Summerhelp was this woman who did not get along with me.  Mainly because I was always picking on her, because it was fun. 

Looking back older, wiser, and less of an asshole, I would say that my picking on her wasn’t bullying.  It was more along the lines of an older brother being annoying.  As an example, one of the few things I remember is at one point she needed some minor surgery and one of the things she was worried about was paying for it.  So I, standing six or so feet from her, took out my pocket knife and – not using it in a threatening manner – said I would do it much cheaper.  I don’t remember her exact response, but it was probably something akin to rolling her eyes.

Anyway, this Summerhelp program was only open to kids in college, and I think we were both graduating so it was our final summer there.  And her last day was a week or so before my last day.  For some time I wondered what I should do as a “going away” present, and I finally decided to go up to her just before she left and say, “In ten years, we’ll be glad we no longer know each other.” I thought I was pretty smart for thinking up such a perfect way to sum our relationship up.

For a week or so, I patiently bided my time.  And then her last day came.  And I waited, and I think I went to do something and figured to tell her when I came back, but when I came back I learned that she left an hour early. 

Over the twenty-plus years since, I’ll randomly remember this and feel slightly disappointed I didn’t get to say my brilliant line.  But I also wonder, if I had gotten to say it, would I eventually forget about it?  After ten years or so, would I have forgotten all about her and do I still remember her just because she, accidentally, out tricked me? 

I know people who know people who could look her up.  But what would be the point?  It’s almost certainly a safe bet that she doesn’t remember me.  Twenty some years later, I still have the occasional regret about her, and she’s oblivious to ever knowing me.

An Emergency Time Travel Kit

 

Whenever I read a book or watch a movie or show set in some historical period – the US Civil War, the Crusades, Ancient Rome, whatever – I often wonder how I would react if a time portal opened up before me and I ended up in that time. (Hey, I’m sure your random thoughts make sense.) As I think through options on ways to keep from being killed when stumbling into, say, a Viking village, I figure it would be good to have a kit with a few modern items to help me survive. So here’s a few ideas for anyone who wants to put together an emergency time travel kit. A downside would be having to carry this kit with you all the time since you never know when a random time portal will open up.

1. A first aid kit. Just in general having aspirin and anti-diarrhea medicine would make spending time in the past more livable. Included in this would naturally be any medicine you’re taking, as well as other odd items like toilet paper and condoms.

2. A pistol. If the time portal drops you off in a time before gun powder, being able to make a loud noise – not to mention kill people at a distance – will probably get you labeled as a wizard. While it may not be ethical to allow this deception to continue, it may keep you alive. Of course, if movies have taught us anything, there will probably be a bad guy who will try to take your “power” so that they can rule. A way around that would be to have a smart gun. These are guns that can only be fired by a person who wears a special watch, has a chip implanted in their hand, or who has the right fingerprints. Such guns are not common, or are still being developed, but would be perfect for the accidental time traveler.

3. Some gifts and other trinkets. Depending on how far back you go, the people you run into – if you run into people – will probably be led by some form of chief. It may be useful to have some trinkets to show your good will. For example, a folding knife with a six-inch blade or longer. The folding ability may intrigue them, and the quality of the blade will probably be better than anything they have. Something else that may interest them is a bottle of vodka. If nothing else, it can be a disinfectant part of your first aid kit. Other simple trinkets that may amaze the people of the time could be things like a mirror, or a slinky.

4. A phone or tablet. Most things today have a built-in camera, which would be amazing even up to a few decades ago. There could be other useful features, but one issue is that there would be no access to the internet. So everything would have to be stored on the device itself. Maybe some music videos (Van Halen, perhaps?) to further amaze the people. One thing to keep in mind as you select your music are the lyrics. A large chunk of today’s music would probably be considered scandalous a century ago. Not to mention what phrases you might introduce into the language if you went back to when your language was first evolving. 

5. A recharger. Your electronic gadget – and possibly your smart gun – is good only as long as it has power. So having a way to recharge it with solar cells or a hand crank – preferably both – would be necessary.

So there are a few ideas for your emergency time travel kit. One note on this, I am a male, so in general I’m probably “safe” traveling through time. Women, I’m sure, would have a much harder time of it, but I think in general such a kit would still work for them. Maybe. If not, let me know what items would improve it.

***

Image from Pixabay.

Short story – “Not Worth It”

“Not Worth It”

“Next question.”

“Prime Minister, do you have any comment on Elon Musk’s suggestion that the island of Kartil, despite having no history with the US and being over 700 kilometers from any US territory, should be American?”

The Prime Minister frowned ever so slightly.  “When was this?”

“Last night, in a post on X.”

“Ah, that’s why I didn’t see it,” she said.  “I didn’t know anyone still posted on that dead site.”

This was met with a few chuckles.

“Next question.”

“So you have no comment?”

“If I spent time giving well thought out replies to the ravings of every idiot on the internet,” here she smiled, “I wouldn’t have time to give well thought out replies to the ravings of the idiots in Parliament.”

This was met with laughter.

“Next question.”