Author: cmshannon2002

I am a freelance writer of research articles and fiction short stories, along with doing freelance copywriting (with a SEO focus) for a computer website design company. Drawing on my years of working at a commercial airport, I have also penned a revealing collection of short stories called "The Airport Chronicles."

Seeing Life from Another Side

Starting a new year always causes me to become introspective. This past year in particular was heavy- marked with deepening political divisions, and repeated acts of violence. There was a massacre at the Annunciation Catholic School church attack in Minneapolis, the killings of 2 young Israeli staff members at a DC museum, the fatalities of MN State Rep Melissa Hortman and her husband in a home ambush, or the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a UT university during a speech.

These ugly events challenge my idealistic view that if people could experience one another’s lives somehow, it would soften the divisions between their political, religious or cultural identities. Could a simple exchange of someone from a rural setting spending time in an iconic urban setting- and vice versa- begin to negate current divisions? Maybe it would work just like travel educator Rick Steves’ international travel outreach does- broadening a person’s horizon when they briefly immerse into another culture or country. 

With this idealism in mind, I envision nothing more iconically urban than a visit to NYC’s Broadway Theatre District. Broadway- America’s first fully electrically lighted street from 1880- became the heart of the Broadway Theatre District. Over the years, its theaters, restaurants, hotels, TV studios, record labels and theatrical agencies have cycled through a flow of boom, decline, and current revival.

“A play should make you understand something new. If it tells you what you already know, you leave it as ignorant as when you went in…” (Our Country’s Good, Act II, Scene 7) 

So then, cultural immersion for a small town American would be attending their first ever NYC Broadway play. They’d have to start in Times Square on their way to the theatre, and that initial introduction would likely be quite a jolt. A first time visitor who’d only seen Times Square on TV at the annual New Year’s Eve ball drop would not be prepared for the place’s actual reality. There’s traffic, overwhelming noise and energy, and swarms of pedestrians- plus those multiple street performers such as Elmo or Naked Cowboy. Electronic billboards bring their visual assault to viewers with Coca Cola ads, movie promos, NASDAQ stock numbers, and BMW car spots. There’s nothing at all small town about this place called Times Square.

The next portion of Small Towner’s urban experience would be a pre-theatre stop at continental Sardi’s Restaurant. Begun in 1927, this restaurant and nightspot is where actors and playwrights historically gathered to await their reviews or celebrate play openings with cast and crew. Its dark maroon walls are lined with caricature portraits of Broadway stars- sketched since 1921. Small Towner would start to realize the long-time institution that theatre has been in NYC over the years. He might even appreciate an artist’s struggle, when he learns that Sardi’s original caricature artist, Alex Gard, began doing his drawings of famous theater folk in exchange for one free meal a day for many years. Despite the sticker shock of the menu prices, Small Towner wouldn’t just devour his tasty filet mignon medallions with cabernet sauvignon beef jus reduction, asparagus, whipped potatoes, and New York cheesecake- he’d absorb its theatre culture (and maybe spot a Broadway star dining at Sardi’s too). 

But our Small Towner’s highlight urban dining would lead into the main theatre performance itself. What notable show could he choose? Let’s say that our Small Towner opts to see Hamilton as his first theatre experience. It would be an immersive experience into the intrigues of America’s beginnings- with scrappy immigrant Alexander Hamilton, competitive nemesis Aaron Burr, haughty King George III, and beleaguered beloved George Washington. The ornate trappings of the physical theater building where Small Towner sits would morph into the American Revolution’s vibrant costumes and long-ago bars and parties where alliances, friendships, and marriages were formed.

Good theater is always a time machine to other worlds- like Hamilton’s battles of the Continental Army, the shaky birth of America, and her infant struggles to survive. But experiencing such theater would also give our Small Towner an awesome glimpse into the amazing complexity of background teamwork and talents creating their entertainment magic. Those workers may contend with much different realities than Small Towner, with lives lived out in a competitive crowded urban setting. But such urban realities can actually be seen as comparable to a rural coping with weather impacts, the coordinated efforts needed to accomplish successful farming, or the practical economics of any agrarian-based small town.

“Be nice. (The world is a small town).” writer Austin Kleon

So now I imagine my Urbanite experiencing their first quintessential small town rural experience. Any such experience would have to involve a local basketball game. After all, basketball is integral to multiple small towns and reservations. Basketball is a frugal sport, not requiring lots of costly equipment. It is practical- can be played outdoors, or indoors when the weather is bad. And basketball is realistic- needing a fairly small number of players for a team- perfect for little towns with limited youth populations. Any Urbanite could gain insight into the back story of those small town values from their basketball culture.  

Our Urbanite attending a small-town high school basketball game would see small town life up close. During that Friday night sport ritual, there’s kids selling popcorn to raise money for their band trips, families, farmers, and teachers cheering for each other’s kids, neighbors catching up with other neighbors. Everyone attends, and everyone knows each other. Such an event showcases those values and rhythms of a slower paced small town world, where weather, land, community, and seasons are central to a residents’ daily life and decisions. Time doesn’t rush so much as unfold. A person and their entire family being known by a community is a fact of life- both a blessing and a curse- a safe supportive network with accountability, or maybe a stifling force against privacy, reinvention, or anonymity.

But before any sports, there’d have to be a stop at the main town square. No Times Square lights and noise here- Urbanite would find an unassuming small square patch of grass with a solitary white gazebo, circled by the road, off an interstate highway. Along the roadside there’d probably be the post office, tiny library building, and the Courthouse/City Hall combination building. Of course City Hall is in imposing red brick with a donated brass plaque from the  founding Miller family. The all-important Dairy Queen/kids’ hangout would be set slightly to one side of the hardware store. The diner, barbershop, and salon would be found a block further down the main highway, near the sheriffs and fire departments. There’d be two church options- the smaller Catholic one differentiated from the Protestant church by their “Thursday Bingo” sign out front. The movie theatre and bowling alley are two towns over, as is the Walmart. 

“You don’t need a silver fork to eat good food.” chef Paul Prudhomme

Eating at a local diner would be the Urbanite’s introductory food experience to small town life. Breakfast is served all day at the diner- eggs, pancakes, hash browns and bottomless coffee. Unlike urban eateries that cater to vegetarians or offer various ethnic foods, small town eateries mostly specialize in basic comfort food-chicken-fried steak, open faced roast beef or hot turkey sandwiches, meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy. The nearby Dairy Queen is only an option for dessert in the unlikely event that the vast array of the diner’s pie offerings (pecan, apple, key lime, or berry cobblers) are somehow not enough. 

There could be regional specialties in any small town diner though- Minnesota’s tater tot hot dishes, cheese curds in Wisconsin, Hatch Chile cheeseburgers in New Mexico, grits or biscuits and gravy throughout the South. Small town diners do not apologize for carbs, and everyone is likely to call the waitress and the cook at the grill by name. Our Urbanite would eat well in his first small town diner, and be well-fortified for an iconic basketball game experience.  

This is how I idealistically imagined my Urbanite and Small Towner experiencing each other’s worlds. I wanted to believe that such a trade-off might collapse stereotypes, soften judgments, and narrow divisions. I hoped that each person would come away changed for the better – able to clearly see the benefits and downsides of both Urban and Small Town life. Maybe they’d conclude that no one person is better, just different, that no one way of living is better, just different. Maybe they’d listen more, disagree and hate less, respect other’s opinions more. Maybe.

But America, whatever its reasons, began this new year with renewed conflict- an invasion of another country- with other countries apparently in expansionist sights as well. Citizens are once again deeply divided- over the pros and cons, the implications, the legality or illegality of actions, the costs, the morality and human fallout. Against this backdrop, my imagined idealistic grand experiment for improved relationships among Americans seems very imaginary indeed. 

Maybe one day such a “trading places” experiment could really happen- and perhaps help with healing America. Maybe. For now, my imagined urban-rural switch experiment towards understanding is just a naive idealistic exercise- out of step for now.

“We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years.” comic George Carlin

War Without Rules? Why ROE & the Geneva Conventions Still Matter

Photo by Terrance Barksdale

There are recent reports of the US military’s follow-on military strikes against boats in the Caribbean that are alleged to be involved in narcotics trafficking. These operations have sparked fierce debate. What rules should govern the use of force in any military operations? What are the international laws, rules of engagement (ROE), and military conduct (within or outside of declared war) that should be followed? And do these rules of engagement hinder, or strengthen national security?                          

Are Military Rules Arbitrary?         

Current US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth appears to believe that America’s warriors are being constrained by “arbitrary” rules and international expectations that he argues cost lives and hinder victory. In an excerpt from his book The Laws of War, For Winners (from Chapter 10 entitled “More Lethality, Less Lawyers”) he says:

      “If our warriors are forced to follow rules arbitrarily and asked to sacrifice more lives so that international tribunals feel better about themselves, aren’t we just better off winning our wars according to our own rules?! Who cares what other countries think. The question we have to ask ourselves is, if we are forced to fight, are we going to fight to win? Or will we fight to make leftists feel good- which means not winning and fighting forever.”

This passage illustrates Hegseth’s apparent sentiments that rules of engagement (ROE), the Geneva Conventions,  and other long-held pillars of international humanitarian law are bureaucratic political hinderances- apparently imposed by outsiders that have no real battlefield experiences. But he does not seem to acknowledge that rules of engagement were not arbitrarily dreamed up by ivory tower academics. They were begun with WWII participants from across the world- senior military officers, strategists, and combat-experienced practitioners. They brought their firsthand knowledge in industrial warfare, battlefield medicine, POW handling, civilian protection issues, etc.- gritty empirical battlefield realities of war. Additionally, these contributors to ROE were well-acquainted in the realities of winning wars.  

The Framework Behind the Rules

So with this current debate rekindled, it’s worth briefly reviewing what these wartime rules actually are, what they’re intended to do, and why professional international militaries rely on them- not as obstacles, but tools that support lawful, effective, and legitimate operations. 

Wartime rules fall under the framework of what is called international humanitarian law (IHL). IHL applies universally to all parties in any armed conflicts, with the GenevaConventions at its core.  Since 1949, The Geneva Conventions established the common standards for the protection of civilians, wounded soldiers, prisoners of war, and other noncombatants, with additional interpretations and applications added over the years. 

The core rules of engagement (ROE) for wartime are based upon three principals: military necessity, military proportionality, and the distinction between combatants and civilians. 

Military necessity: The use of force should only achieve a legitimate military objective. It must be proportionate to the threat, and expended at the minimal force that accomplishes the mission. 

Example– During the 1968 My Lai Massacre during the Vietnam War, military necessity was not followed. Excessive force was used when there was no direct threat, no hostile fire from unarmed civilians, with a lack of clear mission achieved. Hundreds of noncombatant men, women, children, and infant villagers were killed. The US was technically held accountable later, though it was considered inconsistent with the severity of the massacre.

Military proportionality: Force must not be excessive to the military advantage gained. 

Example– This rule of military proportionality was broken by Russia during the Chechen War in 1999. Their military objective to neutralize a small number of Chechen fighters- possibly located in the city of Grozny- was disproportionate to their heavy unguided rocket and artillery bombardments. Vast portions of Grozny were flattened or damaged, and thousands of civilians who were unable to flee, were killed or injured. The scale of destruction clearly outweighed military objectives, and Russia was condemned by the UN and other human-rights organizations, though Russia is not part of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and was never held accountable. 

Distinguishing combatants: There are lawful targets for military attack. Protected persons are civilian noncombatants (particularly medical and religious personnel). Protected objects are civilian areas, especially infrastructure such as hospitals or schools. 

Example– After some heavy-handed military missteps (e.g. Bloody Sunday in 1972), the British forces in Northern Ireland in 1969-1998 successfully distinguished combatants by implementing “minimum force” protocols against IRA militants. The British strategically used intelligence-driven policing and arrests, non-lethal or limited force tools, containment, etc. The strategy eventually led to the IRA entering a peace process.

What Do Rules of Engagement Achieve?

To summarize, following ROE and the Geneva Conventions gives any military public legitimacy, both at home and abroad. It builds trust with partners, allows intelligence-sharing, and reassures coalitions that a military force is committed to lawful conduct and professionalism. 

Any military that follows universal protocols undermines the enemy propaganda that insurgents and terrorists use to recruit fighters and gain local support. Conversely, it has been historically shown that abuse of protocols strengthens the enemy, not the war effort- e.g. the Iraq War’s Abu Ghraib Prison Scandal or Vietnam’s Phoenix Program Detentions. Both abusive strategies caused major damages to US legitimacy locally and back home. 

Rules of engagement also improve operational performance- because distinguishing targets correctly reduces friendly-fire incidents, prevents wasted firepower, and keeps forces disciplined and effective.

Finally, following rules of engagement and conventions does not just protect civilians but safeguards our own forces. By reinforcing norms of lawful treatment, humane reciprocal behaviors increase the odds of protecting our own forces during warfare. While some may argue that not all adversaries respect these norms, the majority of state militaries do- so the odds of protecting our own forces increase. Especially when it comes to captured prisoners, the atrocities like mass executions, starvation, forced labor and medical experiments of earlier wars drove soldiers to demand the universal conventions that now protect future POWs.  

Real-World Guidance  

Rules of engagement and Geneva Conventions were written by warfighters, not armchair theorists. They knew warfare, and how to win at it- and understood the use of both short and long-term strategies. The US military should not abandon the effective lessons of ROE and international humanitarian law, learned through blood and experience.  

Taking A Wizz in Germany

I just read an article about two determined passengers at the Cologne/Bonn Airport in Germany who’d missed the boarding of their flight to Romania. Not to be dissuaded by their plane now readying for takeoff on the runway, they breached an emergency exit door by breaking the glass covering of an emergency switch. They then proceeded to run across the tarmac to the almost-taxiing Airbus 321. Needless to say, airport security stopped them.

Beyond wondering how two rational adults could think such a boneheaded move would actually gain them access to a flight, I noticed that their airline of choice in this weird scenario was Wizz Air. Wizz Air? Such an oddly named airline seems straight out of an SNL skit. This company name loses some credibility in the US- though apparently the American slang “taking a wizz” does not mean the same as in Hungary, where this airline is founded. And despite its moniker, the low-cost Wizz Air has actually been successful since its founding in 2004. 

Product Management, R&D, and Marketing Personnel- Beware!

But product success like this has not always been the case for other products with marketing campaigns that lose something in translation or implementation. All those folk working in Product Management, Research and Development, and Marketing need to pay close attention to just a few examples where the road to marketing success was littered with preventable failures. Here’s just a few.

Take this famous example of a 1960’s campaign for Pepsi in China- “Come alive! You’re in the Pepsi generation!” Its translation actually meant “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave”– not quite the lively youthful connotation the marketing people were intending, plus an unintended clash with cultural views on ancestors. At least Coca-Cola executives enjoyed the gaffe during the years the campaign ran and Pepsi sales in China struggled- until the problem was recognized. 

“¿Que Pasa?”

Even the famous American dairy association tag line “Got Milk?” has had its problems. The initial Latino market was not fond of the line at all, since the Spanish translates into the nosy question “Are You Lactating?”  And Molson Coors Beverage Company’s in-country marketing team for Coors beer in Spain dropped the ball when they okayed the slogan “Turn it loose.”  The translation of that slogan was literally telling Coors drinkers that they would “Suffer from diarrhea.”  This is where good translation companies (e.g. TransPerfect, Lionbridge, or RWS)  offering specialized localization for global brand campaigns are worth their price-tag. 

Sometimes it’s not mistranslation, but misunderstanding of their customers that sinks a product. The Beatles’ 1966 album “The Beatles Yesterday and Today” was Capitol Records’ worst selling Beatles album of the group’s whole career. The hugely popular group’s brand image at the time did not square with fans expecting something non-controversial and more family friendly. The twisted album cover photo (known as the “Butcher” album cover)- had the Fab Four wearing white lab coats, and holding dismembered baby dolls and bloody cuts of meat. This marketing miss with a target audience happened due to lack of test marketing, plus Capitol’s big misjudgment of general public reactions and that of the parents, who were often the purchasers of Beatles music for their children. Surrealism and anti-war satire were not the UX anticipated by such customers. Capitol was forced to recall 750,000 copies of the album from distributors, or do paste overs with another photo to recoup cost. (By the way, if there’s anyone today who does have one of the rare original album covers- they could make $30,000 or more now). 

The Bot Made Me Buy It

There’s more recent marketing backlashes stemming from the steady move of companies to use AI to hawk products and services. Major brands like Balmain, Prada, Pacsun and Calvin Klein are partnering with their own customized digital virtual influencers. Such digital characters offer marketers PROS like cost-effectiveness, 24/7 availability, flexibility to be placed in any scenario, full company control of the “brand” to avoid messy human scandals, and the appeal of virtual influencer technology to younger audiences.

But the CONS abound as well. CGI (computer generated imagery) requires a substantial investment, it is resource-intensive, and it raises in audiences big questions about authenticity and transparency. Human influencers produce real connections with followers, creating impactful marketing campaigns built on trust and loyalty. Human influencers also speak to diverse communities, and can be master storytellers that weave persuasive brand messages into their personal narratives. Digital influencers appeal to novelty, not authenticity- and not all marketing strategies want that association for their brand. Shoppers don’t tend to like fake.

In the end, whether it is bad translations or unreal AI influencers, companies will do best when they listen to their potential markets, and build their best marketing messages and campaigns with authenticity and cultural relevance. Without that, many brands might be “taking a wizz” in more places than Germany.  

Benefits & Risks of My AI Digital Double- “Me” Without the Humanity

Photo by Tara Windstead

According to the experts, soon we will all have an AI twin. 

More than an avatar that simply mimics your appearance, an AI digital double is built on the digital trail you have created- e.g. in social media, health data, or biometrics. Your AI digital double will replicate your face, mannerisms, voice, personality, behaviors, and decision making. Your twin will be able to make decisions on your behalf with a large degree of accuracy and confidence. 

There are both advantages and risks in this futuristic technology.

Your digital twin can attend those boring virtual meetings while you go to the beach. Your AI digital double can do routine tasks and conversations on your behalf, or manage your digital life and business. A digital twin could create ongoing social media content for you (freeing up more of that beach time).Your AI double could become a movie star- appearing in movies on your behalf (but think of those SAG-AFTRA complications!) 

Doctors could use your digital “self” to personalize your medical treatments to proactively predict and treat health issues, current and future. (Wouldn’t it also be great if your digital clone could do that nasty colonoscopy for you?) 

An AI digital double can even serve as a “griefbot” to help your bereaved family members after you pass away. (Beyond an inherent creep factor of possible exploitation of grieving relatives, posthumous rights raise another concern- could family members misuse a deceased person’s data?) 

Your future AI twin is already in demand. 

Companies want to use “you” and other digital doubles to test consumer reactions to new products and marketing. Scientists want to speed up all that pesky research- for instance, in human brains studies, they could run thousands of experiments on AI twins in no time. 

Doctor’s digital twins are being developed to replicate a doctor’s medical expertise, knowledge and decision making. Even more than passing on medical knowledge, Delphi company has created “legend” avatars of historical figures so people can hear AI generated responses from Albert Einstein, George Washington, Genghis Khan, or Mahatma Gandhi. (Such technology can be clearly problematic and is called deepfake when used to mimic a real living person without permission).

Creators are also available for anyone to set up their digital selves, for all the many advantages previously mentioned. Downsides have arisen however, as with Snapchat influencer Caryn Marjorie in 2023 with her CarynAI. She hoped her online clone would offer emotional support to her followers- but shut it down completely when fans got sexually explicit. AI-generated images and videos have been reshaping the adult industry with AI-generated porn and user-created fantasies for years- which may be why CarynAI’s offer of simple emotional support for some fans was misused.

Online dating sites imagine your AI clone dating other “dating concierges” to help match you for a “real” human date, by using your AI twin to eliminate the other choices. Taking this a step further though, developing video twins (or even physical robots) ultimately raise worries that people can instead choose digital relationships over human ones (ie. choosing the illusion of companionship without the human demands). One-sided relationships with AI or robots could become addictive or unhealthy, not the beneficial tools they were designed to be.

H&M and Nike are already using created digital twins for storytelling in marketing campaigns to cut costs. Tech companies of course are leading the way by already using avatars of their executives for public communications. But the infamous 2024 Hong Kong video conference scam took advantage of this technology, to create a video call attended by the deepfaked company’s CFO and some colleagues. The “attendees” induced a finance worker at their multinational company to transfer $25 million to various bank accounts.

 A digital double is technology’s answer to a human- but without the humanity.  

A current joke goes that if AI is taught emotions, it will cry in ones and zeroes. It’s that “humanity” part of humans that a digital double cannot replicate. However this raises some uncomfortable questions about any future digital double of “me.” 

Even if my digital double exactly mimics my speech, style and decisions, will it always make the choices that I would- or could it be made to act independently or distort my personality? Who owns my digital clone and its data- me, my heirs, the company that created it? More troubling, what happens if my digital double is updated, sold, or changed without my permission? Who is accountable if my digital double does or says harmful things, is used criminally, or for profit, or endorses products or politics not of my choosing? 

Developing AI digital doubles to be human is like the previous building of the atomic bomb. 

Both are breakthrough technologies capable of enormous good and enormous harm. Ethics, safety, and accountability issues inevitably arise, even as creators race along anyway, experimenting with the explosively-growing technology of AI digital doubles. 

In the meantime, any digital double of mine would do all its tasks flawlessly, keep files tidy, and save me time and energy. But my AI digital double would not lose its phone or glasses, burn the toast, laugh, dance with two left feet, thoroughly savor time with my family and friends, or cry over those heart-breaking dog commercials. 

Digital doubles may outthink me, but no algorithm can match the human spirit that forgets, fumbles and feels. Code can’t replace life. That gloriously imperfect, emotional, unpredictable spark of humanity still remains mine.  

The Internet Promised Me Knowledge- AI Lost It In Translation

Doing any type of research has been greatly transformed in our brave new world. Fact-finding used to take a researcher on multiple trips to a library- those quaint tree-based data repositories of books (the original tablets but with no charger required). For those too young to remember them, encyclopedias were specialized books that contained a wealth of useful data- sort of like an analog Google, but alphabetized and way heavier. And those flat papery things called newspapers were the original news feeds- but news feeds that involved no WiFi or likes- maybe just some ink on your fingers. Plus (though it’s hard for some to imagine), newspapers were knowledge sources that you couldn’t scroll through. Also they only s-l-o-w-l-y, boringly updated every 24 hours.

Today’s research usually involves online research- which can be risky, since misinformation (not only the evil deliberate kind) is definitely out there in internet land. You truly cannot believe everything you read- AI, search engines, and translators– or all three combined- can get data horribly wrong.

Lost in Translation: The Bot Version

AI (chatbots, helpers, content generators) can hallucinate facts and invent studies, because they are trained with huge data sets that do not necessarily distinguish good from bad. (AI is the student that didn’t read the book but still wrote a 1,000 word essay).

Search engines simply rank and amplify information, and reward popularity- not accuracy. The junk can rise above the genuine information, with algorithms personalizing my “truth” from your “truth” by the results they feed us. (And the nonsense with the most clicks wins!)

Translators (both human and AI) can turn accurate knowledge into gibberish, due to literal mistranslation of idioms, slang, context, humor, puns, or tone. AI famously mistranslated a French joke “Why do fish hate computers? Because they’re afraid of the net” into “Why do fish dislike computers? Because they fear the Internet”-technically correct but entirely missing the pun. Another classic meme example was “Knowledge is power” which reemerged from the computer mind as “Cheese is strength.” (In other words, machines can spit out words but don’t get the full meaning- only humans do that).

Chatbots Have Confidence (Just Not Always Facts)

A recently reported internet fiasco was the Chicago Sun-Times/The Philadelphia Inquirer article about their 2025 recommended summer reading list (“Heat Index: Your Guide to the Best of Summer”).  Of the 15 book titles recommended, 10 were totally made up, down to the detailed plot descriptions. The authors were all real authors, but the books were apparently figments of fevered digital imaginations. The writer of the news article had used AI for his research, but had not double-checked its accuracy enough. The freelance writer who wrote the article was “completely embarrassed” and was terminated by the King Features syndication that hired him for the Sun-Times story. (Ironically AI kept its job).

So Much Data, So Little Understanding

Not long ago I experienced some confusing computer misinformation of my own. After getting a Ring security doorbell, I attempted some online research about what Ring is and how it’s used. The article I found immediately went “off the rails” (there’s an idiom that AI might have trouble with!) First it defined Ring as a circular band worn on the finger as an ornament or symbol. Then it confidently continued on to describe Ring as a Japanese horror movie, highly influential in its genre, with numerous sequels, remakes, and adaptations that solidified its status as a cinematic horror classic. Finally, Ring’s pro side was bulleted as easy to install, affordable, with good video quality, its con side being privacy concerns. Something had quite obviously been lost in AI translation somewhere for this computer research. In spite of this confusing internet fail, I still managed to install the Ring doorbell.

When Your Search Engine Goes Full Hannibal Lecter

By the way, be careful how you phrase your questions to AI- it can make a big difference in the answers you receive. While everyone has occasionally experienced some inaccurate AI responses due to badly worded inquiries, some terribly phrased questions gone wrong deserve a gold medal. A person once asked AI for dog food recipes “using human ingredients” rather than more correctly specifying “human-grade ingredients.” The resulting menu from AI could have been taken straight from my aforementioned Ring horror movie. And early AI bots inaccurately took a Reddit joke (about how to make homemade napalm) as pure fact. Bots proceeded to bizarrely tell questioners to make napalm by mixing gasoline and tomato paste. Nothing says homemade like explosive marinara sauce…

The Internet Promises Wisdom, Not Just Ads, Emojis, & Spellchecks

I remain hopeful for the future of humanity’s relationship with AI though. While Artificial Intelligence is growing incredibly quickly, with many possibly disturbing repercussions, humans are indispensable to shape AI growth. Humans are the ones with conscience, empathy, common sense, context, oversight, and moral judgment- not AI. Humans must set the ethical boundaries and regulations, institute the best accurate AI training data, and establish accountability and recourse if AI systems do wrong.

The key concept is that machine wisdom is to serve humanity- NOT replace or mislead it.

Anyway, I must stop my research and writing now- my smartwatch is telling me to take a moment to breathe. 

Fighting Crime Or Fighting Weeds?

I’m so very glad that our tax dollars are being put to such noble use— especially in beautifying our nation.  A perfect recent example of this totally cost-effective use of time and resources is the deployment of over 2,200 National Guard troops to D.C. After they heroically battled the legendary massive crime wave emergency in Washington D.C., idle troops were then reassigned to the truly urgent task of trash removal and groundskeeping in parks around the city. 

Support For NPS in Survival Mode

The National Parks Service is likely happy about military troops briefly taking over their DC beautification duties. While it is their job to beautify DC-NPS has had their city work force decimated during recent DOGE personnel cuts- dropping their 200 city employees down to 20. So the National Guard’s arrival is quite timely for them. After all, the Guard service members are indeed specially trained for sanitation and groundskeeping- they are most often deployed for disaster response to help communities recover from wildfires, floods, or storm damages. Let’s hope that the National Guard will be available when the next hurricane devastates some coastal state- assuming they won’t be too busy with their critical mission of combatting weeds, sorry, crime…in DC.  

A Million a Day- Worth Every Mulch

Estimates for the cost of President Trump’s recent emergency military deployment to DC are around 1 million a day in taxpayer revenue, to go for at least 30 days (unless renewed by Congress). This means there’s some pretty pricey “landscaping” going on. National Guard troops are prohibited from performing domestic law enforcement, and are primarily in a deterrence role- yet much of their activity has apparently been groundskeeping rather than crime fighting. Civilian employees doing the same groundskeeping work would be much less costly. Plus consider that the $30 million spent on a 30 day deployment could instead fund 200-300 actual police officers for a whole year in DC- a far wiser longer-term investment in the DC community’s public security.

Spread That Mulch

US tax dollars should be spent on sensible crime reduction strategies that actually work— not flashy $30 million photo ops of uniformed National Guard troops on DC streets. Imagine what 30 million dollars could do if it was spent on actual crime prevention- more officers, better equipment, targeted strategies-  with real results towards reducing crime, and not just spectacle. In the meantime, until priorities shift, the National Guard will soldier on, combatting weeds, and spreading mulch around DC’s cherry trees- all thanks to President Trump. 

A Random Gravity Check

Photo by Nima Akoy

For many seniors, having a “senior moment” is about losing things. Some of my friends will admit that a significant part of their day is spent looking for misplaced phones, glasses, or TV remotes. I, however, refuse to confess that I lose things- preferring instead to think about my multiple searches as complex scavenger hunts that just happen to me several times a day. It sounds more fun, less exasperating and time-consuming, and less…senior citizen.

But I went well beyond my scavenger hunt moments the other day. Apparently it was my time in life to once again test out the concept that dignity is overrated. To achieve this revelation I actually accomplished what I will generously refer to as a random gravity check. Of course it was in public. And of course it was in the front aisle of a busy home goods store. (Banana peel slapstick, move over). 

I was wandering about the store, checking out all the brightly-colored must-have purchases, and waiting for my friend, who was inching through a long checkout line. She should know better by now than to take me anywhere- and especially leave me unattended too long- but such is the innocent trust of friendship. There was an overstuffed lounge chair by the front door that looked inviting. Since I am considering options for the eventual replacement of my saggy living room sofa, I went over for a closer look. 

“Why not test it out?” I thought to myself. Never mind that I didn’t notice that the chair was slightly raised, up on a little roller platform of some kind- perhaps the store had been moving it around. A little warning tape across the seat would have been a nice notice of its out-of-commission status- except the store was certainly not anticipating someone to make an imbecilic move like mine. You’ve heard of proceeding with caution? Me too, I just didn’t do that here.

So I went and plunked down in that beckoning lounge chair, to give it a little “comfort test” for a future possible purchase. However the test did not proceed as it should have. The whole chair just unexpectedly tilted forward when I sat down, and the foot rest helpfully extended out. Unable to stop the momentum, I slowly slid down the chair like on a slide, ending up on the floor on my butt!!! My baffled friend arrived from making her purchase to find me sitting in the middle of the main aisle, with a worried shopper rushing over to help me up. Though unhurt- and definitely undignified- I am proud to report that my long-ago childhood playground skills kicked in. I slid down that lounge chair like a true champion, and landed the slide perfectly. And contrary to the desired body images of popular culture, there are certain times when it is a very good thing to have a well-padded derriere. This was definitely one of those times. 

So ends my tale of a shopping trip gone awry. Not only did I drop by the home goods store, I just dropped there as well. After performing my unintentional floor routine, I ended up on the linoleum floor in the main aisle like a shopping queen-gone-tipsy. If my lounge chair slide was captured on store video, I hope it gives someone a laugh, like one of those funniest home videos. After all, grace and dignity are lovely, but laughter is better. 

Maybe there is a moral to this tale of my random gravity check. Perhaps it’s that dignity is indeed highly overrated, especially after 65. Or maybe it is just proof of the adage that thankfully God does watch over children, fools, third baseman, sailors, drunks… or clueless seniors.

The Top 10 Best Ways to Master the New American Culture

In 1963 Bob Dylan famously sang,”The times, they are a-changing…” Today, our times are a-changing too. If you need some help to swim and not sink like the lyrical stone in Dylan’s song, here’s some practical guidance for navigating our new cultural floodwaters. These are the top 10 useful strategies to implement and use to master an evolving American culture:

If you have an outdated map on the wall with the “Gulf of Mexico” on it- immediately replace it (even framed antique maps don’t count). Don’t make the mistake that the laggards at AP News did, resulting in them being locked out of press conferences. Your new map should prominently and proudly feature the Gulf of America, now that its new name has been decreed. Plus if you happen to have an old decorative world globe amongst your current home decor as well, now’s the time to ditch that. To remain cutting edge, quickly order the new Gulf of America globe too. The especially colorful Patriotic Limited Edition globe is eye-catching and a steal for $249.99. It is also complete with the corrected title for Mt. McKinley. (Hopefully no one mentions that Alaska’s Athabaskan people’s original title for their tallest peak in North America roughly translated as “The Great One”- it could trigger ideas for a Mt. Rushmore-like makeover).    

Ditch the old family heirloom Bible that graces your den. Replace it with another Bible– you know the one, that leather-bound large print King James edition- with the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and the Pledge of Allegiance in it. Some of these Bibles come in formats that can additionally provide some extra visual punch, so any visiting guest will be sure to spot it in your house. For just a few extra bucks, get one of the colorful special editions- you can choose between The Golden Age, Platinum, Pink & Gold, or the Camo edition. Those special editions really make an obvious cultural statement- not merely a boring statement of faith.

Cultivate a taste for poutine- that dish of French fries and cheese curds topped with brown gravy that’s so popular with our neighbors to the north. In case they become the newest US state, you’ll be able to immediately “foodie focus” on the best poutine spots. Learning a smattering of French for the Quebecois residents won’t hurt either- especially if you like to RV throughout the US during your summer vacay. It’s always broadening to visit America’s many different environments, habitats and ecosystems (especially with a visit to a newly acquired annexation). Who needs to go overseas?  

There’s more literal taste changes to make- Diet Coke should now be your favorite drink of choice- all the best people drink Diet Coke now. Obviously cultivate this bubbly power drink of today- there’s additional Coke merchandise like tumblers or can coolers that can emphasize your loyalty for the drink. (Though you won’t go so far as to install a button at your desk to have it brought to you…will you?)

Purge your music library. Get rid of any collections by Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, Neil Young, Rihanna, Jon Baptiste- any musicians that are too woke, are associated with the old Kennedy Center, supported Kamala, or who issued cease and desist orders over their songs’ use at rallies. Don’t despair over depleting your music library though, you’d be surprised at someone’s key tracks that are played for Mar-A-Lago guests. These chosen songs include classics like Elvis Presley (“Suspicious Minds”), Frank Sinatra (“My Way”), Johnny Cash (“Ring of Fire”), and songs from Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Metallica (“Enter Sandman”), R.E.M. (“Losing My Religion”), and Guns N’ Roses (“November Rain”) have the imprimatur too. Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” makes the cut as well, though you can probably also hear her rolling over in her grave when her music is playing. Any of Lee Greenwood’s CDs or vinyl (e.g. his “God Bless the USA” that features at every rally) should be prominent amongst your musical collection.

Speaking of libraries, your literary tastes have got to adjust. Investigative journalists such as Bob Woodward and David Cay Johnston are OUT (i.e. quickly donate those books “Fear: Trump in the White House” or “It’s Even Worse than You Think: What the Trump Administration is Doing to America” to the thrift store). Ditto for any books by Liz Cheney, or ex-lawyer Michael Cohen. Works by former national security adviser John Bolton, former FBI director James Comey, along with family tell-alls like Mary Trump’s “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man” should definitely be taken off your bookshelves. But authors Jerome R. Corsi (“Killing the Deep State: The Fight to Save President Trump”), Andrew Puzder (“The Capitalist Comeback: The Trump Boom and the Left’s Plot to Stop it”) and David Brody/Scott Lamb’s “The Faith of Donald J. Trump” should be prominently displayed, near your Bible if possible. Or at the very least they should be on the shelf next to “Ship of Fools” by Tucker Carlson. 

Your children’s books should be culled as well. Put those Seuss books back on your kids’ bookshelves- Dr. Seuss books are not considered bad anymore. There’s no insensitive racist imagery to see here!- even though six Dr. Seuss books are no longer published anymore according to the business that preserves Seuss’s legacy. But history-based kids’ books with topics about slavery, refugee camps, or school segregation of black or Mexican children are off limits- everyone knows some subjects are never appropriate for the grade levels for which they were supposedly designed. And kids’ books with references to atheism or the occult, or subjects like gay parents, or Islamic themes are definitely anathema for any age. Bathroom humor and gross topics in children’s books are definitely out now-(bye-bye toany book in the Captain Underpants series for sure, Kid’s Awards not-withstanding!) 

As a sure sign of fealty, you may quickly want to trade in your old car and make sure your next new car will be a Tesla. Get a regular Tesla car- or maybe one of those ugly, er… innovative-looking Tesla Cybertrucks. Never mind those rust spots popping up on your new truck’s stainless steel surface, or those pesky problems with the self-driving system…  Such problems are over-exaggerated- everyone knows that Elon Musk is a genius, and so are his electric vehicles. Plus, to customize your car, there are certain bumper stickers that are considered de rigueur for accessorizing. MAGA bumper stickers in red, white, and blue of course are always a fine choice, or perhaps any variation of “Make America Great Again” or “God ,Guns and Trump.” (And “Trump Punisher Skull” decals are a must for any worthwhile pickup). Finally, for extra emphasis against incorrect ideologies, use the patriotic “This Is My Pride Flag” bumper sticker of the US flag- no rainbows in sight. 

Change your TV viewing habits immediately (your smart TV can track your shows- and who knows who knows?) FOX News, NewsMax, and OAN are now your sole sources of news. Mainstream media news shows on NBC, ABC, and CBS are questionable, while CNN is dead to you. And there will be absolutely no more watching comedy shows like “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” or “Saturday Night Live.” If you need laughs, stick to safe laughs (as in “American’s Funniest Home Videos”). Dutton family drama show “Yellowstone” should be at the top of your viewing list. “Shark Tank” is another perfect choice (especially for all you entrepreneurial  dreamers), along with insightful reality TV “Dirty Jobs” or fave police drama “Blue Bloods.” Popular realty shows like “Survivor” or “Deal Or NO Deal” are acceptable, “Deal Or No Deal Island” is a newer twist to the genre. “Jeopardy” gameshow is out however- too much lately with those woke pronoun/neopronoun answers. Finally, when all else fails, you can never go wrong with tried-and-true favorites like reruns of “Duck Dynasty,” “Walker Texas Ranger,” “COPS,” “J.A.G.,” and “24.”

Your home decor needs to be updated too. American flags used in any decorative way are a big thumbs up- it goes without saying that there should be a flag out front of your home too. But US flag-heavy decor sometimes leads to farmhouse or Lone Star Western looks, which may not be your home design style. Don’t despair if down-home decor simply doesn’t express that dream essence for your home. Gold curtains, gilt frames, and Rococo accessories- just like the new WH updates– might nicely reflect your new inner ruler vibe. Prominent groupings of gold-framed family photos are a nice touch, and don’t forget portraits of President Andrew Jackson or George Washington. Similar to the recent White House refresh, you can never go wrong with cream colored carpeting or Frederic Remington sculptures anywhere in your own updated home decor. 

So that wraps up a brief overview of key steps that you can take to successfully assimilate into this latest evolution of American culture. These 10 simple steps will be central to your smooth transition to today’s latest social norms and customs. 

Because “the times, they are a-changing…” 

ONLY THE WEAK WILL FAIL

That was the all-caps message from our US President’s Truth Social platform on April 4- ONLY THE WEAK WILL FAIL. It was President Trump’s message of “hope” to an America reeling from the negative effects of his big tariff implementations. No recognitions or options for those being damaged, no interim supports being put in place, no reassurances. The weak will fail- (Boom. Mic drop).  

I truly want to believe the best about our President and our elected officials. But the majority of continued actions by Trump and his chosen team only seem to be ruthless dispositions toward anyone that is not strong, powerful, big business, or above all, wealthy. Our government appears to no longer express even nominal concern for the interests of ALL of its citizens- rich or poor, weak or strong. Is this truly the direction we want our country to take? 

This is not a belief on which America was founded. At its core, our nation promoted the ideal that both opportunity and help would be available to all her people. Granted, Americans have always valued hard work- seen as a key way that people improve their circumstances. But early American beliefs in the merits of hard work were tempered by its religiosity- with emphasis on charity and shared responsibility. It was recognized that people sometimes need additional aids or tools. This approach became integrated into our government’s basic tenets of providing social order, public services, and national protections and economic order for all of its citizens.

Religious thought promoted a push for literacy, the founding of many schools, and establishment of free public libraries and public schools. Founding father Benjamin Franklin gave America its first successful lending library, with the goal that working class people could access knowledge for a stronger smarter society. Franklin’s modernized federal postal service was another of his ways to unify the nation, spread news, and strengthen business and democracy. Historically, America established outreaches for the sick, poor, orphans, and injured- in the form of soup kitchens, almshouses, vocational training centers, settlement houses, and orphanages. Programs such as Medicaid, children’s health insurance and school lunch programs, public housing help, and homeless outreach programs are today’s reflections of these early core American values. America’s honorable legacy of deliberate care and service for all of its residents- including the weak and disadvantaged members of our society- is under attack.

There’s always been disagreement by various political parties and groups about ways to implement our government’s resources- (finding the correct balance for services, how to finance them, etc.) But never has the concept of worldly power reigning supreme with the weak ultimately failing- been even off-handedly suggested. And certainly, it has never been coldly declared by the highest elected leader of this country.   

How can America have reached this place? Our storied history has been anchored on democratic ideals that have been a magnet that attracted the disaffected and dreamers, those looking for better circumstances, and yes, even the poor and weak to our shores. People currently living in the US- except for our Native American populations who were here already, or those who are new arrivals- all trace back to an ancestor who came from somewhere else. Undoubtedly, many of our ancestor immigrants were poor- and would have been considered those “weak” that our president is dismissing. 

There is a mighty “woman with a torch, whose flame is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles…” that has beckoned in our New York City harbor for many years. The Statue of Liberty’s poem was originally written by poet Emma Lazarus to promote aid for Jewish refugees fleeing 19th century antisemitic pogroms in eastern Europe. Many people know the familiar lines written by the Statue: 

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” Cries she

With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,  

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

America’s golden door was never meant just for the strong and the rich. But if today’s rewriting of our country continues, it’s becoming clear. Only the elite will thrive here- and the weak will be left to fail. 

I hope you are not among the weak. I think that I am. 

What is the Cost of Forgetting?

One of the perks of getting older is having lived when times were very different, and attesting first hand to those changes. Great strides have been made in the area of public health in our lifetimes. We cannot lose sight of those advances- there’s a cost to forgetting them.

One good perk of getting older is having lived when times were very different, and experiencing the improvements of change. A good example is our phones. Most people do not want to go back to having a single wall phone per household. When I was young and dinosaurs roamed the earth, there was actually no such thing as every single person having their own personal portable phone.  Each home only had a single wall-mounted phone, usually in the kitchen.Very early on, multiple households even shared the same line. Try to imagine the horrors of party lines– they meant “parties” like you had to wait your turn to make a call- and neighbors could listen in on your conversations- or vice versa. We have certainly learned that today’s cell phones do have their downsides, but they’re still lovely little mini-computers that can be used appropriately. Most do not want to lose these advances- especially those who remember the days without them. I truly appreciate the miracle of cell phones, despite being tech-challenged. (I recently accidentally Face-timed a friend and still can’t figure out how that happened).

There are other improvements that I remember too. Vaccine use wasn’t as controversial as it is today- vaccines were hailed as life-savers. During my childhood, one of my fellow toddler cousins had the dubious distinction of being the last reported case of polio in our state of Illinois. He survived the polio but never walked again. My cousin Tommy’s wheelchair was our family’s sad reminder of the very real devastation of polio- the Salk vaccine rollout that began in 1955 was too late for him. 

No Re-litigation of Proven Cures

This came to my mind recently when Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell was the solo Republican vote against vaccine opponent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. becoming head of US Health and Human Services. McConnell survived childhood polio himself, and explained, “I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles.” 

In the mid-1950’s, the polio vaccine was ardently welcomed, embraced by families determined to protect themselves and their children from a disease that started small but rose to 52,000 polio cases by 1952. Polio is a viral infection of the intestinal tract, that can travel to the brain stem, halt lung function, cause paralysis and death- and usually affects children.

So I truly hope that some today will reconsider their vaccine skepticism. No one should have to revisit leg braces, wheelchairs, iron lungs- or fatalities- when there is a reliable proven prevention available. Americans during my growing-up years thankfully gained trust in medical breakthroughs, and experienced greatly improved public health from medical miracles such as penicillin and childhood vaccines. In 1979, the World Health Organization declared polio cases eradicated in the US. Rubella, measles, and mumps vaccinations began in the 1960’s, and reduced those deadly child-killing diseases as well. 

Rising Vaccine Hesitancy

But now vaccine hesitancy is on the rise, impacting medical achievements made against diseases. Texas is currently experiencing an outbreak of measles– up to 90 confirmed cases, with more likely, most of them in unvaccinated individuals. New Mexico and Georgia have also reported recent measles cases. Measles is an airborne disease that is highly contagious, and can cause complications or even be fatal. Measles is also vaccine-preventable and was thought to have been eliminated from the US in 2000. 

Certainly asking questions is a valid thing to do-vaccines, like any widely used medical treatment, can have side effects or problems. Instances of contaminated vaccines (e.g. the Cutter Incident) happened, prompting stricter regulations and oversights to be put in place or increased, with additional studies done to improve safety. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) still continuously monitor vaccine safety through multiple safety systems. Despite issues, there is overwhelming medical and scientific evidence that the benefits of vaccines greatly outweigh the risks. It’s understandable that a parent whose child experienced a vaccine-related illness would feel very differently. Yet history still shows that diseases, left totally unchecked, cause more extensive damage and death than any rare complications arising from vaccine use.  

The Horrors of Preventable Diseases Must Not Fade

Dissenters may cynically believe that organizations like the drug companies (or big Pharma) are only perpetrating a vaccine system solely for profit. However this belief ignores that too many people are alive today that can personally attest to the life-saving effectiveness of vaccines- which brings us to our current situation. National health could suffer greatly if the valid history of vaccine successes are ignored or forgotten, under the helm of a health leader that discounts vaccine use for our country’s population. Older adults and their first-hand remembrances are crucial, to bring experiential witness to our collective national memory. The horrors of preventable diseases must not fade. 

Now I that I’m older, I have a compromised immune system from past cancer treatment- which makes me much more vulnerable to diseases. Many others like me depend on a US population that vigorously defends its public health. Therefore, everyone needs to recognize someone like my cousin- who never walked again because a vaccine arrived too late for him. Or read Mia Farrow’s story of polio’s impact on her son Thaddeus. Francis Ford Coppola has his polio story, along with actors Alan Alda and Donald Sutherland, or outdoor entrepreneur Richard Cabela too. These survivors’ debilitating battles with polio should be influences in vaccine policies. 

As elders, we must commit to sharing our experiences of history’s lessons, so they remain clear in collective memory- our sharing can guide educated decisions for today. There is a great cost to forgetting.