Jim Houston and Donald Trump's Policies

draft

At the end of March, Jim Houston died in the hospital after what was apparently several days of severe respiratory distress. We had to break into his house to find him, he lasted a few hours at the hospital. They were not sure if it was respiratory, a stroke, a heart attack, or something else. Jim was in good health, although he was overweight. He was 62 years old. He was a member of various Academy and ASC committees and so would every week be at some social event, such as the ASC clubhouse where there would be perhaps 50-100 people in close quarters.

At the time, COVID-19 tests were not readily available, nor were his doctors particularly sensitive to the fact that COVID-19 mortality was not just respiratory (like the flu) but could indeed show such effects as what Jim died of (ie stroke, heart failure, neurological). So we do not have formal tests that prove that Jim died of COVID-19, but we all think he did. I am told that the state of CA may indeed go back and check to see, how they do that I do not know, but I presume that they have blood samples in the freezer.

Jim was one of my best friends.

There are some things I think are reasonable to conclude from this.

First, that the official numbers are low. I know at least two people who died of the coronavirus who are not on the official death statistics. Jim was not tested and the second person tested negative which makes his friends scratch their heads because if he did not die of the coronavirus we dont know what he died of (heart attack the day before he was going to be hospitalized for severe respiratory symptoms).

Second, Trump was warned by the CIA and others of the danger of a pandemic in January at the very latest, if I understand the situation. Had he warned the American people, and had people known not to congregate in the March time frame, and were told to wear a mask, I am sure that Jim Houston would not have died at that time. Maybe he would have gotten the virus later, maybe we all will, maybe we will die of it eventually, but not at that time.

Therefore, I blame Trump and his policies for my friends death and I do not take kindly to those who push theories that you dont have to wear a mask. I dont know what is going on in Sweden, but I sure as hell know what is going on in the USA and I dont think this is funny or subtle.

Thank you.

 

3D and Learning Things on Spec

 draft

A friend wanted me to learn a variety of technologies involving 3D on spec (i.e. for free) because he thinks it will be good for me and it will help me to make money.  I am sure he is sincere.  I promised to write a blog post which will attempt to explain the situation.

1. I am not sure the exact numbers, but I would guess that I spend at least half my time (as integrated over some period of time) learning new things on spec.  I learn them because they will help me do projects I want to do and because I think they are important to know about.  Examples are machine learning, so-called physically based rendering, Tensorflow, Arnold, Python, Javascript.  Therefore, if there is something new to add to the list of things I learn on spec, then it needs to get in line, there is a lot in the queue ahead of it.

2. I have no particular hope or interest in making money with 3D.  I dont think it is very likely so telling me "learn this and you will make a lot of money" means nothing to me.  I do hope, however, to do good work, possibly but not necessarily with 3D, in some sense of the term "good work".  That may mean research, or an art project, or perhaps a public service project of some sort.  However this is not for you to say, nor is it for you to say what skills I will need to do that.    

 3. I sincerely doubt I will be permitted to make a living going forward, and even if I am permitted, I doubt it will be with computer graphics.  You dont agree with that?  Fine!  Offer me a job.  Be specific.  Put it in writing.

4. I spent a great deal of time in Hollywood.  Every asshole is trying to get work for free.  Just do this and you will make a lot of money.  How do you say "fuck you" in Hollywood?  "Trust me".

5. I have had non-subtle experiences with things that are universal formats, or which are designed for the production flow of a large corporation.  The individual need not apply.  It isnt designed for the individual nor is it useful to him/her outside of the context of the large corporation.

6. Therefore, if you want me to do something for free, I suggest you make your best case and then leave it alone.  If I can, I will.  If I dont think it is worth my while, then I wont, at least not at that time.  Very often, in things like this, it may be that I do get to it, but in my own time.

I have no doubt my friend means well.

Blocked from FB for being Pro Biden

draft

I guess Facebook is banning people who support Biden.  If you donate to a Democrat and somehow that gets posted on Facebook, then someone on Facebook says such a post is offensive, then you are blocked.

There is no way to protest.

Time to nationalize Facebook.

Still Time to Prepare REDACTED for Revolution

 draft

 

I realize you are too important to have a conversation with me, but I still think it is a mistake that you are not arming REDACTED for the coming revolution, even if I am uncertain what side you will be on. Better safe than sorry, I always say. A dozen or so anti armor weapons, some RPGs and of course a few SAMs as bought on the ever helpful darkweb. I could see you maintaining a covert communications channel based on the plumbing and infrastructure of underground NY, or maybe laser/microwave line of sight over the park to the East Side or perhaps over the river to NJ. A stockpile of a couple of hundred AR 15s and several 10s of thousands rounds of ammunition, whats the harm? Not to mention a first aid station. Lets not be stupid here, which ever side you are on, the indications of approaching violence are clear and present. I am ready to come by and help out! You only need to call!

 

No Tax Returns? No Constitution

 draft

 

Even after the NY Times report and another ruling by an appeals court, there are still no released tax returns.  The reason is obvious: we have a completely corrupt justice system in this country that needs to be entirely removed and replaced, probably by violent revolution.  What else would work?   Oh yes, and that Supreme Court nominee who was (is?) a member of an extreme Christian group, nominated by a traitor and criminal, and jammed into the court by the right wing minority party.  Legitimate?  Of course not.  Too bad the US Constitution utterly failed.

 

 

On Courtesy

draft

I am not a member of their clubs and I will not dine with traitors and murderers. I dont know about Scalia, but I sure know about Trump and McConnell and Kavanaugh and Barr. I may not live in a democracy, I may live in a right wing and corrupt dictatorship but sadly, I will not be silent. Those of us who are disenfranchised are, by definition, not respected or listened to, we are not treated with the least courtesy but with contempt. We may be the despised lower orders but perhaps we can ruin their indigestion for at least one meal. You really dont need to lecture me about courtesy, Seth, because you know me well enough that you know I grew up in Virginia and if there is one thing a Virginian knows it is courtesy. But I was also taught that there are times when you do not throw your pearls before swine. I am not their humble and obedient servant and I know whose family estate they buried all the bodies on. They violated their oath, let them know the people hate them. In this situation, let them show courtesy to the American people by respecting and abiding by their oaths of office. That would be real courtesy.

 

Your Independent Affiliation Will Not Save You

draft

My right wing friend told me how frightened he was by "The Squad" and he was concerned that Biden would appoint people to his administration that would be radicals.  "No one knows!" he said.  Then he proudly said that he was not a Republican but planned to reregister as an Independent as soon as he could figure out how to use the California online registration system.

My response is as follows:

1. The so-called squad are just four junior congressmen who were legally elected. There is nothing to fear from them except perhaps as a bellweather that the people of the US have woken up to the gross and unacceptable failures of capitalism and neo-liberalism. They cant do anything if Americans dont elect a majority who agree with them to the house and the senate and then have a president who agrees enough to sign a bill.

2. The fear of Biden is also stupid. Biden has spent 50 years in government as a committed centrist. The people he appoints will in general abide by his beliefs. The problem you have is that American beliefs have changed because of the failures of the right wing policies that have been in place since Bill Clinton. It is those policies that have failed and people demand a change.

3. The corruption of the judiciary, the huge deficit, the children in cages, the destruction of decades of bipartisan foreign policy, the treason of the government, all of these things are going to be laid at the feet of the right wing. It doesnt matter their so-called party affiliation, all of you are guilty for humiliating this country and destroying our government. If I am wrong, tell me about when you contacted your congressman to demand that Trump be impeached for treason, tell me about the donations you made to people running against the republican swine/traitors, tell me that you voted against Trump in 2016 and plan to do so again in 2020. Tell me that you hate Mitch McConnell.

4. The electoral college is over. Justices nominated by a traitor are illegitimate. If our constitution cant be fixed it is time for a new constitution. This right wing abomination has gone on way too long.

Will The Police Murder You if You Protest Peacefully

draft

My friend, Richard Thompson, esq, suggests that as a white person I am unlikely to be murdered outright if I protest injustice.  Just teargassed and beaten.  Accordingly this suggests that by teaming up with people of color one may be able to prevent them being killed by our right wing police forces.

Moral Improvement and the Redemption of Sin Through Good Works

draft

I have always believed in the possibility of moral improvement through the process of higher education.  For a large part of my life this did not seem possible due to other responsibilities and a regrettable lack of resources.  

But miraculously some of those resource constraints have been lifted and my need for moral improvement has never been greater.  But people seem to be confused about why I would want an advanced degree so this note is an attempt to quantify some of what I might hope to achieve.

1. First, to be around and work with smart people on a variety of projects.  Whenever I am around smart people I seem to get smarter and I am always inspired and challenged by their work and their ideas.  Sometimes what makes a group interesting is where it is located. Some places are just naturally more interesting than others. Sometimes it is the group that makes a place interesting.

2. Bring my technical skills up to date, presumably by taking courses possibly on a tutorial (Oxford/Cambridge) basis.  

3. Be in an environment where I am exposed to people doing new work, including lectures by interesting people who have come to visit.  

4. Similar to the above, but slightly different, be in an environment where people are interested in doing new work, where that is their raison d'etre, and where they are aware of what the current work in an area is.  

5. Have access to a lab or facility where new things can be tried.  

6. And of course, a credential would be nice.  There are various types of credentials that are possible here and some flexibility because the normal requirements for a career are not present.  In other words, a PhD would be desirable from certain institutions, but since I am not going to have a normal career as a professor at a research university or an art institution, the need for a credential(s) and what type are more ... open ended?  ambiguous? 

7. Of course the ultimate goal is to do new work, work that is better for the exposure to new ideas and new people, possibly get this work published.  This work would speak for who I am and would hopefully lead to new opportunities in a world changing at great speed and going to hell in a handbasket as we watch.

If it is not possible to do all of these, then having some of these would be useful.

To the best of my knowledge the best way to achieve this is to be affiliated with one of the major industrial research labs or one of the graduate programs in the appropriate field.  

This was not so clear to me earlier in my "career", it makes me wonder if things might have changed.  It seems to me that 30 years ago it was a lot easier to hang around a research group or graduate program even though one was not affiliated. It seemed to me that those in "industry" were closer to those in "research".  Maybe that was an artifact of the time and the fields of interest.  Whatever. Not any more.

In a perfect world, one might imagine that I got a PhD in Computer Science and an MFA in Art or Design and be acknowledged and loved in my various fields.  That would be rewarding and demonstrate what I think of as the redemption of sin through good works.

It is not impossible that this could be inspirational to others who have fallen into despair and hopelessness. 

Thank you for listening.

Statute of Limitations to Add To the List

draft

1. Remove the electoral college, 2. Find a way to invalidate and rehold elections that have been compromised, 3. End voter suppression, 4. End the Supreme Courts ability to throw an election as in 2000, and 5. Increase the Statute of Limitations ot make it possible to bring the criminals to justice.

Republicans Who Are Independents

draft

Discussions with a former friend convince me it is possible to have extreme right wingers who are "Independent" even though they toe the Republican / Trump line perfectly.  They dont see it that way and nothing on this planet could convince them otherwise.

Receding Media Technology

draft

Emerging technology media is so boring.  Lets embrace receding technology media.

At the Arlington theatre in Santa Barbara during SBIFF.

Setting Doctor / Patient Expectations

draft

If we have healthcare by the free market system in this country, which I am told is the case, then it should be possible for one to have a contract with one's doctor in order to set expectations and obligations clearly.  In my experience, this is not done, and all the obligations are on the part of the patient, with the doctor being able to do whatever they damn please.

Although you will hear about such things as a "Patient's Bill of Rights" to the best of my knowledge no such thing exists in any serious form, at least not that it would have protected me in any of the dozens of cases where I might very well wish to be protected.

Having made this mistake many times in the past, here is a short list of things I would like known and agreed to up front.

1. The doctor will not release information about the patient without the patient's written consent.  This happens all the time when a doctor sells his practice to someone else.

2. The doctor understands that he is responsible for delivering proper prescriptions on a schedule and that failure to do so will cause the patient damage.

3. The doctor understands that he/she is responsible for advocating for patient in any dispute or misunderstanding with the pharmacy and any failure to do so will cause the patient damage.

4. The doctor understands that when he/she goes out of town or is unavailable for any reason, that another doctor is made available to cover and will know enough and be comfortable with prescribing the appropriate medication in his or her absence.

5. In the event that the doctor and patient must discontinue their relationship for any reason, that the doctor will still provide prescriptions and interaction with the pharmacy for at least six months (and this term may have to be more).

6. The doctor will understand that this responsibility is serious and he/she can not just say "oh thats not important".

I am tired of having to deal with these irresponsible scum in order to get the medication I need to live my life.

History of Voter Suppression

draft

Peace. I think the following are worth mentioning. First, voter suppression has been going on in this country since before I was born. It was a natural result of giving black people (and poor white people and Latinos/Latinas, and orientals and women ...) the right to vote. Therefore, when you hear about voter suppression you should not think that there is anything new about it (although there are interesting minor innovations and mutations) in broad strokes it is more or less the same: poll taxes, gerry mandering, removing polling places, hanging chads. You should think to yourself, "this is really tiresome".

Second, the courts are perfectly capable of stopping this behavior whenever they want.  I slightly exaggerate, but they have broad powers here. Often, they choose not to. Therefore, it is a mistake to put your faith in the courts to "fix things". The Supreme Court coup d'etat in 2000, its support of Citizens United and its destruction of the Voting Rights Act are three good examples. The courts permit the states to set voting procedures based on by-county tax rates, hence worse voting machines in poor/black districts which is a form of voter suppression (see hanging chads). The courts may help or they may not. Their record is inconsistant.

Third, if you read some of the comments and forums and editorials, then you know there are phrases used by racists and Trump supporters to justify their racism. If you use those phrases (e.g. "we must condemn violence on all sides...") then you should expect people to conclude that you subscribe to the full racist agenda. That may not be true, but you should be aware of this.

Finally, local police forces have been using intimidation and violence to keep minority groups in place since at least the War Between the States (Civil War to you Northerners). If by this time, we have not plausibly dealt with this issue, why do you think the so-called minority groups should have any faith in the system self-correcting? Why shouldnt they defend themselves? Its not as if the problem is going to go away and they live here too. As a Jew in Virginia, growing up, how many times was I asked why the Jews of Germany did not defend themselves? (*)

All of these issues have come up in the last few weeks as people criticise me for being opposed to institutional racism, as I understand it, in this country. Everyone here is on the side of righteousness but we come from different backgrounds so maybe it is good to state assumptions. I will probably need to edit this post. I apologize for making this post so short, obviously it could and maybe should be much longer. Peace!

__________________

(*) Of course, the answer to that is that they would have been slaughtered, I think.  
 

This is the Fate of All Traitors

draft

Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death.

Death to Traders?

draft

Voice to text keeps translating my "Death to Traitors" to "Death to Traders".

Chinese Manufacturing and Refunds

draft

I meant to say increased above.  You can figure it out.

Meierding and Oil

draft

A Professional Blog is Required

draft

A good friend reviewed my blog which he says is entertaining and interesting but not a presentation of my work.  And of course he is right, my professional (if we can call it that) work is all mixed in with the rest and is maybe 10 percent of the whole.  

So the thing to do is to create a professional blog, possibly one not based on blogspot.  Maintaining two blogs is not something to look forward to but they both would serve a useful and different purpose.

The professional blog may also solve the question of where to "publish" my work.  None of this is new or unique.  Lots of people have these issues.

Many Lessons Have Been Learned

draft

There are many interesting lessons learned from the ongoing political crisis in America.  Some were not at all a surprise but some were.  Donald Trump has impressed by being a highly effective psychotic with solid insights into how to destroy his country to maintain power.  This was not a complete surprise, what was a surprise was the impotence of the rest of the government which chooses to either violate their oaths of office or to pretend that the system "as normal" will self-correct these abominations.  But they wont, and they cant.  

I did not realize that Congress was completely powerless to stop an insane and traitorous president. There is very little point in contacting your congressperson, they dont care and there is nothing they can do anyway.  I did not realize how easy it was to avoid congressional oversight.  I did not realize that the Supreme Court conservative faction was completely corrupt.  I did not realize that all Republicans at both the national and at the state level were always disingenuous.  

The Constitution as written did not allow for the possibility of a major party that does not believe in democracy and is happy to seize power by any means available.  Either the Constitution has to be rewritten which is impossible, or  the Republicans must be removed from all positions of importance in our state and federal government which is impossible.  

Even so, we should muddle forward and do what we can.  Biden is better than people think he is and I am looking forward to see what he can do.  All I can do about the current situation is to complain a lot and occasionally send a huge donation of $25 or so to a promising candidate.

Its a mess, and our elites made this mess, but I dont think they can fix it.  
 

Its Always Sad to Lose a Friend (or Two)

draft

Secrets from months ago are revealed and the end result is that I have lost not one but two old friends.  I guess the point is that if people act like that (and yes I am being vague) then maybe they were not friends.  Its still painful though.  I dont think that either of these two people read my blog (at least not regularly) but if they did I would take this opportunity to remind them "to judge not lest they be judged".

Constitutional Amendments? Ha!

draft

The government of the USA is obviously illegitimate and should just be replaced in its entirety.  Some would say, lets do a constitutional amendment! What a joke that is. Here is a partial and incomplete list of the amendments which would be required and I would be surprised if you could get even one of them through.

1. Remove the electoral college.

2. Prohibit the Supreme Court from changing the results of an election for political purposes (see November 2000).

3. Remove Citizens United.

4. Enforce the voting rights act.

5. Require the POTUS to have some political experience (for example having served one term at least in the House or Senate).

6. Make it illegal for the Senate to not consider a legitimate president's nomination for the supreme court. 

7. Remove the right wing nutty boys from the supreme court and the federal courts. 

8. End gerrymandering.  (I know this is hard, do it anyway).

9. Change the DOJ so that we can get some real justice done even when you have an obvious right wing criminal like Trump.

There is No Going Back

draft

There is no going back. You cant just "fix it". The dead people are dead and the alliances are damaged and we look like fools to the world because we are. And never again do we get to brag about democracy or the american constitution. It failed utterly, publically and completely. The Electoral College, the failure of the Republicans to do their constitutional duty, the institutional racism, the trillion dollar tax cut money giveaway to the rich, the Russian active measures against democracy with Republican support, the packing of our judiciary with right wing nuts. Its a disgrace, its a train wreck, we may be something different, maybe even better, but this is a transformative clusterf*ck and there is no going back although lots of people will stick their head in the sand and say "hey its all fixed now! See! Joe Biden!"

What Do These Pictures Have in Common?

draft

What do the following three pictures have in common?

My favorite comment so far has been from Craig Reynolds who points out that all of these pictures have a hammer in there somewhere.  I had to think about it, but yes, he is right.

Return to Your Roots, America!

draft


Back when America was a great country and not a failed parody of itself, we believed in Science. We believed in it. Turn your back on idolatry and false prophets! America! Return to your roots!

From Our Mr. Sun (1956)

Matter.Js Is Crazy Worthless

draft

I feel so bad for my fellow americans.  That we have fallen into decay and incompetence.  Matter.js is a cool package for physical simulation in a browser.  The problem is, it acts differently in each different browser.  Which makes it essentially useless.

Ooops.

Graduate School Application Craziness

draft

UCLA has one set of rules.  Stanford another.  And Cal Arts still another.  I love these people.  No!  Wait!  I dont.  I am one person, will you please get your shit together.  Thank you.

Slaves

draft

It turns out that all my friends are afraid that if we have a conversation about any of a number of issues in our society, issues involving the 2nd amendment or freedom of speech and so forth, that the Gestapo will come and take them away and kill them. How far down we have come from a free society. Or maybe it was always this way and I was permitted to have such discussions at the RAND Corporation but did not realize that outside that priviledged zone the slaves, I mean the citizens, were not permitted the privilege.

My Friends Are Paranoid

draft

They are afraid that if I make a joke about surface-to-air missiles on the dark web that they are going to be arrested or shot in their sleep.

Right About Everything

draft

Dear [REDACTED]

I think that there is no doubt that I have been correct about everything. Failure to remove Trump has demonstrated to the world the failure of our system of government because, frankly, it did fail. The murder of American citizens by the way his administration handled the Coronavirus. The right wing senate protecting Trump proving that impeachment as a useful tool is a joke. The destruction of the judiciary which is ongoing. The institutional racism. And now the genocide of the Uyghurs in which we are complicit. Of course I will vote for Biden, one would have to be a real hitler youth not to, but America's position in the world has been permanently damaged. The Russians (who trump protects) won. The supreme court was able to hide the evidence (see tax returns). 

I wish my friends would take me seriously. I wish I had a life and did not live in such fucking misery, a misery that no doubt I am complicit in creating. Hope you are well. I am very impressed that you are able to maintain your cardiovascular health and trim figure. I have failed at that. I am very impressed your kids seem to be doing well although I have lost track of who has graduated from where. I wish I was taken seriously. 

Have a wonderful day!

Correspondence on China

draft

Dear [REDACTED]

Sometimes it takes me time to read the various things I get, but I try to, and I appreciate what you send me. And I am very ignorant of the details of China. I know more about the Tarim Basin or prehistoric Italy than I do about China. Some of this is intentional because it is a vast topic.

I do know about the vast amount of money we dumped on China to help them fight in WW 2 (very little of which went to the Communists as far as I know). I do know about Stillwell and the Flying Tigers. I do know about the time when the numbered air force that Curtis Le May was running in China against the Japanese sent three C-47s filled with medical supplies to Mao but I dont recall what the occasion was. I do know about when Doolittle and his flight of B 25s landed in China and the number of Chinese murdered by the Japanese in retribution. We were not always complete enemies, or maybe we were, but not on the surface of things.

Before I care to hear too much about the other side of the story, I need to know that the Chinese cyberattacks have stopped. I need to know what exactly we are doing educating people who are going to fight a war with us to kill as many Americans as possible since I think that is the most likely scenario in the next 20 years. I need to know that the Americans who deliberately lied to steal the money by sending industry to China without doing anything for the Americans whose lives were destroyed receive justice, which is to say civil asset forfeiture and years of important therapy in an institution run by our federal government. You know, the way a black man would if he stole food to feed his family.  And I need to know that whatever is going on with the Uyghurs in China has stopped and people given real help to recover.

I dont think we are blameless in our relationship with China, far from it.  But I also dont much care.  The above issues are happening now, they need to stop now.  After that I am very interested in some of the details.

I Have Grown Weary

draft

I am growing weary of this collapse of democracy, fear of death from unknown viruses, insane conspiracy theories with souvenir hats, presidents compromised by $400 M loans that we can't find out anything about, sort of thing. I want to return to happier days when political corruption meant breaking into an office, not intentionally murdering 100s of thousands (or more) people. We didnt have smartphones, but we were happy.