All posts by David Obelcz

Editorial, Think About It

Theology in the 21st century – the robots are coming

May and June is a time of commencement at primary and secondary education institutions across the United States. From high school diplomas to newly minted doctors, this is a time of transition. At a recent graduation ceremony, one of the schools was honoring their theology graduates. Who would study theology in 2019? Beyond the obvious answer of priests and poets, there is a significant demand for theologians in the modern workplace. You see, the robots are coming.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is moving at a fast pace, and Moore’s Law provides some insight into how fast it will improve – double the performance every 18 months. The idea of AI achieving singularity and becoming self-aware is moving from the pages of science fiction and into the realm of science fact. Not this year, not next, likely not even the next decade, but in our lifetime it seems an almost certainty.

Today, AI touches us in many ways and goes far beyond sales and marketing algorithms that display ads of items on webpages you visit 30 seconds after you browsed for a said item on Amazon (or eBay, or clicked a Facebook ad, or…). Some AI is simply the computerization of long created formulas such as credit evaluation, your CLUE report for insurance quotes, or actuary tables. But as computing power doubles every 18 months, and our ability to process the mountains of data collected over the last three decades get better, AI is moving to replace a lot of human decisions.

AI is already being used by IBM to determine who will likely quit their job with 95% accuracy. Yes, a whole 95%! That means one out of twenty people are misidentified by the AI, and they are either pushed out the door without real due cause or given an incentive to stay when there was no reason to provide one. So if you end up on the AI, “this person is on a quit job trajectory,” list, you have a 5% chance of your career being ruined or enhanced depending on the decision of an AI. Just let that sink in for a little bit.

There are billions of dollars, if not tens-of-billions, being invested in developing Level V autonomy for cars and trucks – a fully autonomous four-season any road any condition self-driving vehicle. Contrary to what some cheerleaders are declaring, we are still years away from this goal. Tesla has already missed preannounced goals for self-driving cars, self-driving test vehicles have killed people, and Tesla vehicles still struggle to identify potential risks like 18-wheelers in the road. There isn’t’ a single autonomous system that exists today that can drive on a snow-covered highway, as we had in February in the Puget Sound region. Without the ability to see the lane markers, a self-driving car can’t pick a course on a multilane road. However, that is only the beginning of the challenges.

As an example, let’s say I’m sitting in my fully autonomous car, and it is taking my future elderly self to a doctor’s appointment. So far, this is pure goodness as I still have my independence. Now let us introduce little Jane. Jane is playing with a ball. Jane rolls the ball to Dick. Dick misses the ball. Run Dick, run! Little Dick runs right in front of my autonomous car, which is traveling at 40 MPH, the posted speed limit on this road that goes by a park. In the oncoming lane is an 18 wheeler, also autonomous and driving at the 40 MPH posted speed limit. Now the AI has to make a choice. It calculates the distance faster than a human ever could from the front bumper to little Dick using cameras and sensors better than the human eye. It runs a formula that is only as good as the lowest paid programmer that worked on that particular code, that considers road conditions, angle, lighting, vehicle condition, and concludes there is no way it can stop in time without running over Dick at a speed of 21 MPH.

A Waymo self-driving test car – Wikimedia Creative Commons – these little pods use to ply the streets of Kirkland and had issues with stop signs

Now the AI runs another subroutine to determine which is the best outcome. Does the car swerve right into the park, brake and hold and hit little Dick anyway, or dive left and crash head-on into the 18-wheeler. As part of that subroutine, it looks at my old age versus Dick being seven years old, calculates the risk of injury to Dick versus me, and then calculates the severity of the potential injury and quality of remaining life. The AI concludes Dick is about a seven-year-old male child based on what it sees in its sensors and running it through a comparative database. Based on those calculations, the autonomous car makes a choice and commits suicide into the 18-wheeler traveling at 40 MPH.

It calculated I had an 82% chance of surviving the accident, while Dick had only a 3% chance of being hit by flying debris if it swerves into the truck. It calculated it could slow down to 21 MPH before hitting the 18-wheeler, for an equivalent impact of 61 MPH. It calculated there was a 13% chance my injuries would be fatal, short or long term, but that Dick would be more severely injured and with a greater disability if it elected to run him, and the ball over. It also took this as the safe bet because Dick, being a pedestrian and a flawed human, had a 38% chance of doing something not considered by the subroutine.

The auto industry that builds these cars got protection from Congress years earlier, making it impossible for me to sue them for the AI decision. The self-driving car was owned by a car-sharing service; private vehicle ownership became an anachronism years ago. File this under shit happens. Unfortunately, due to prior abdominal surgeries when I was younger, I suffered uncalculated internal injuries and died from complications eight months later. The AI decided that little Dick’s life was worth more than mine.

If you think this is the stuff of fantasy and fear, spend some time talking to people working on autonomous cars. We can reach a place where all cars are autonomous (that will take decades), but you still can’t account for pedestrians, cyclists, and animals. The AI for a self-driving car has to consider all these options because drivers around the world are faced with the snap decision to run over little Dick, crash head-on into oncoming traffic to save little Dick, or swerve off the road and hope not to kill anyone else. To develop a truly autonomous car, it has to make these decisions. Do you want an AI to decide whether you live or die? Can you say you would never run over little Dick in front of Jane? You can’t because you’ll never know how you’ll react until you’re in the crisis – but you have free will to respond. Some will argue that the AI can make a cold, emotionless calculation faster, which makes it better than human.

There is why we need theologians and why there is a demand for them in the development of AI. As our technology defeats, “God,” we are programming computers to play God. AIs are determining the potential of human beings today, not just financially – educationally, work achievement potential, but those cold, perfect instant decisions calculated using thousands of known and proven data points, are only as accurate as the worst computer programmer who worked on the project and the quality of the data used.

We see a world turn its back on religion, and a significant minority screaming louder out of fear as we become more, godless. I am not arguing whether this is good, bad, or indifferent. The profoundly religious are wringing their hands on abortion, gay marriage, gender fluidity, and other wedge issues that have no real intrinsic value beyond dividing us more deeply along political lines. There is a growing belief in corporate America and among technologists that computers can replace humans when it comes to making decisions, and the religious are almost silent on this matter. We can use AI because computers and artificial intelligence can do it faster, without emotion, and consider more data points than a human could ever accomplish. All at the performance level of the worst programmer to work on the code.

So if we abdicate human decisions to AI, do we extinguish the essence of what makes us human – free will. Do we risk labeling humans the second they are born based on thousands of data points on their potential? In this future world, where no one takes a risk, does a different AI decide that because Dick suffered trauma at 7-years old seeing a fatal motor vehicle accident, there is a 23% chance he has PTSD that could impact his work product so that the Schmectel Corporation won’t hire him? Because Schmectel won’t hire him, he can’t get into Super Amazing University, but Amazing University will take him? If you think that is so far fetched one only has to look to China, and their social scores they are rolling out. Because yet another AI could decide that if Dick complains about not getting into Super Amazing University, he shouldn’t even get into Amazing University because the AI predicts there is an 8% chance he will be disruptive at the University.

Wikimedia Creative Commons – Boston Dynamics “robot dogs” are the stuff of your science fiction fantasies pulling Santa’s slay, or your science fiction nightmares if they are out to slay

We need theologians more than ever. Some amazing minds that exist today consider AI to be the biggest threat to humanity as we know it. Where does the human race go when the singularity is achieved? If those subroutines and algorithms are flawed, an AI could start doing a personal assessment on the threats humanity represents and begin making…decisions to protect itself. Never forget another critical part of being self-aware is a need for self-preservation. Oh pish-posh, the Three Laws of Robotics written by Issac Asimov, would prevent that from happening. One can look to the books I, Robot or 2001 as an example of what happens when an AI receives conflicting instructions. At least the Matrix will almost certainly not happen; in reality, we would make terrible batteries to power the machines.

Think about it.

Malcontent, out.

Terra Firma, Weather

Another round of record-setting heat is coming this week

The headline says it all. We have a classic thermal trough setting up on Tuesday, we cook on Wednesday, and the heat falls apart on Thursday. We started June slightly warmer than normal (two outlier days that were very below normal) and with a typical, June Gloom, pattern. There is almost no chance for rain in the next 10 days (anything past 5 days is throwing darts). There is a tiny chance of some drizzle on Friday right now, but even that is too far off to predict with confidence.

Let’s start with Tuesday. Winds will pick up and be out of the north but then die out around midday. Kirkland is looking at a high of 80 to 83, depending on your location. High hills and right along the water, think 80 degrees, Totem Lake, our hot spot, 83. Tuesday night we will only get down to 60 degrees with a blanket of clouds moving in.

Wednesday is a little complicated. The models are calling for clouds to hold for most of the day and little wind, so this is a weak thermal trough. We’re looking at record-setting temperatures of 86 to 90 degrees in Kirkland. At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (KSEA) the official weather forecast is a high of 89 degrees. This would break the previous record of 85. As I’ve written in the past, the computer models don’t do a good job of capturing the impact of thermal troughs in the forecast and usually predict 2 degrees lower than actual, so right now, I’m pretty confident we will see our first “official” 90-degree day on Wednesday. If we get a little more east wind, or the clouds break up sooner, we’ll be hotter. If the cloud blanket is thicker than the models indicate, we’ll be cooler. Stay tuned.

Thursday the thermal trough moves east, but Kirkland will still hit 80 to 83 degrees with a near copy of Tuesday. Friday the winds shift to the west, northwest again and the marine air pushes back in. That gives us our very slight chance for some morning drizzle on Friday, but nothing that will move the needle on our growing rainfall deficit.

Please remember for the heat:

  • You can still get sunburned on a cloudy day. Wear your damn sunscreen because Seattle is practically the skin cancer capital of the United States.
  • Don’t leave your pets in your car. No having the window open isn’t enough. No, I just went in for five minutes doesn’t cut it. On a 90 degree day, the inside of your car can soar to 130 or 140 degrees in minutes. That is death, a horrible, awful death.
  • I shouldn’t have to say don’t leave your kids in the car — I really shouldn’t have to.
  • I shouldn’t have to say don’t throw your cigarette butts out the window when you drive because they can start a fire when the air is dry and warm, but it needs repeating.
  • Area lakes and rivers are still dangerously cold. Please have a talk with your teens if they have swimming, river floats, or boating plans. Jumping into water under 50 degrees can cause a gasp reflex you can’t control, inhale a big mouthful of water, and that’s it. It happens every year, and it has already happened in 2019. These are senseless, preventable deaths.

Stay cool eastside!

Health and Lifestyle

I wanted to love you Stroopwafel McFlurry

I have to admit that McDonald’s international menu promotion ongoing in the United States intrigued me. As part of my fitness journey I’ve done some menu hacking at McDonald’s when on road trips or squeezed for time. You can cobble together some delicious and nutritious options.

The technically five items that McDonald’s brought to the United States include the above mentioned Stroopwafel McFlurry from the Netherlands, a Grand McExtreme Bacon Burger from Spain, a Tomato Mozzarella Chicken Sandwich from Canada (both grilled and fried) and Cheesy Bacon Fries from Australia.

The buzz has been around the Stroopwafel McFlurry, which multiple reports put head and shoulders above the other offerings. I’ve been in maintenance for four months now, holding a steady 173 to 179 pounds depending on the day (my basement is 172 and my oh shit is 180, so doing a good job of keeping it between the lines). Surely a a Stroopwafel McFlurry could be made to fit in as a treat on a day accented by heavy salad consumption.

Then I visited the McDonald’s site for nutritional information – what was I signing myself up for? Yikes! First, 650 calories. That isn’t awful with a target calorie burn of 3,000 a day, I can make 650 calories fit. But what kind of calories are they? Eighteen grams of fat, not surprising but 11 grams of saturated fat and a half-gram of trans fat. Any trans fat is bad, and that McFlurry has 85% of the recommended saturated fat for the day. One-hundred-and-eight grams of carbs and 78 grams of that is sugar. That is 28 more grams than the recommended maximum for added sugar for the day. Five different sugars, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, glucose syrup, molasses, and “sugar,” are in the list of ingredients. The 310 milligrams of sodium is just enough to light up the tastebuds. This is a pleasure bomb for the brain targeting fat, sugar, and salt receptors.

Just…say…no. I’m not anti-McDonalds (as mentioned above) and I will on occasion visit for breakfast, I also think their drip coffee is downright – passable. When on a highway road trip or squeeze for time, my go to is a large coffee with an extra espresso shot and a single shot of cream. I like my bitter flavors. If you must have a Stroopwafel McFlurry, then at least make a point to have no other added sugar (good luck with that) for the rest of the day. Better yet, find someone to half that with. At least at 39 grams of sugar and 313 calories, it is a bit more acceptable.

Non-Fiction

Green grass, red houses, blue cars, little buddies

2 Comments

My parents were both previously married and had families of their own before they met. The tale is rather sordid. My mother was divorced, leaving by all reports a lousy excuse of a husband. My father was still married at the time and left his wife and three kids behind. To add to the scandal of all of it, I was born out of wedlock, a bastard child born in the same year as the Summer of Love. To amplify the tale of woe, my father’s ex-wife died of cancer shortly after his departure, and the three children were left to fend for themselves.

Through a happier filter, I like to explain that I come from a family similar to Eight is Enough. The 1970s sitcom featured a blended family of seven children from prior marriages, and an eighth child, Nicolas, born from the new union and much younger than his half-brothers and sisters. As a child, I had three half-brothers old enough to be my father without raising any eyebrows.

EIGHT IS ENOUGH, Laurie Walters, Susan Richardson, Willie Aames, Dick Van Patten, Grant Goodeve, Adam Rich, Betty Buckley, Dianne Kay, Lani O’Grady, Connie Newton, 1977-1981

I don’t remember much about Jay, which is likely a good thing. When I was 4 or 5 years old, he came and visited us with a mission, apparently, of trying to destroy my father’s new family. Jay has remained bitter about dad leaving (rightly so) but his actions during that time remain unforgivable, and through a 2019 filter, criminal. My half-brother Phillip doesn’t have issues but instead has a lifetime subscription. I will leave it at that, but I do wish he would find his happiness. Finally, there is my half-brother Danny, the oldest of the three.

When I was born, Danny was in Vietnam with the Marine Corps in Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD). He was a volunteer, not a draftee, and spent seven months in-country. He was in Da Nang during the Tet Offensive, a lousy time and place to be in Vietnam, unless your happiest with people throwing hand grenades at you daily. He was sent home with medals, including a purple heart, PTSD, and a lifetime of seizures from his injuries.

I don’t remember much about Danny but what I do remember are very vivid little clips or snapshots in my mind. The most striking thing I remember is he had red hair and a lot of it. Learning more about genealogy and genetics through the years, I suspect the red hair came from the Jewish genes on my mother’s side. I have this crisp memory of me asking Danny why his hair was red, and him telling me it was because his hair caught on fire, and it turned it red when it grew back in.

Another memory I have is we had a painting on a piece of wood, with the bark of the tree acting as the frame. The oval piece of art was of Jesus, a lamb in one hand, and appearing to be making the sign of the cross with the other. I look back now at my very non-religious family, and I am puzzled on why we had it in the first place. As I type these words, I also find myself asking, “whatever happened to it?”  In the classic European vision of the Messiah, Jesus was, tall, lean, very white, with a mane of reddish blonde hair. As a child, I can remember asking why was Danny in that picture and why was he holding a sheep. In my little mind, he looked like Jesus.

I also remember his car. My father was an engineer, a tool and die draftsman who eventually ascended to vice president aligned with the automotive industry, so the love of automobiles is in my blood. Danny had a 1968 Mercury Cougar, blue, with the Ford 289 V8. There is a crystal clear memory of him at our house on Bailey Road. A little, walk out basement ranch on the edge of the forest, across from horse pastures. The long driveway had an offshoot to the left about midway up, and it was a bright, perfect, summer day. Danny was working on his Cougar, music playing, and the colors, in particular, are a strong part of the memory. The red house, the deep green grass, the dark blue car, and his red hair.

A 1968 Mercury Cougar, not my brother’s, but you get the idea

Danny was letting me, ehem, help, and he would always call me, “little buddy.” The scope of my assistance was passing tools, almost certainly the wrong tools, and being under the car with him. I was so happy to have this time with my big brother, and I know I looked forward to his visits from Philadelphia or our visits to the city of my parent’s origin.

I was seven years old when the news came. Danny had been in a motor vehicle accident. Hit by a drunk driver that had run a stop sign, Danny was on his motorcycle riding tandem with a friend. The driver dragged his body almost a quarter-mile is what I seem to remember hearing in the talks and whispers. Danny had been wearing a helmet and head-to-toe leather, so although externally he showed almost no injuries, internally he was, “a dropped watermelon.” The person riding with Danny suffered a broken leg.

We deal with death and children differently today. During this time, death was something to be obscured from young eyes. I didn’t see Danny at the hospital, didn’t go to the wake or the funeral. I barely understood anything going on beyond my mother was inconsolable, my father was focused, and the rest of the family was tense.

Danny and his brother Phillip got into a huge argument just hours before his death, and the last words Phillip said were, “I wish you were dead.” If there is ever a parable to watch what you say, I can think of no better example.

The echoes of his death carried far and wide. Danny was in a motorcycle gang called the Dirty Neckers. I guess he found the camaraderie he must have missed from his military days. As I write these words, I giggle to myself, taking the child to wake bad, exposing the child to a motorcycle gang, acceptable. I remember one gang member in particular; his name was moose. Moose used to play football for the Philadelphia Eagles and was a linebacker. What I remember about Moose is he was a giant. Forget being a giant to a young child; Moose would be a giant for anyone. I remember him filling up an entire door frame, height, and width when he would walk into a room. I also remember he was gentle, at least in my presence.

Family lore says that the motorcycle gang came as a whole to call upon my parents, they jammed a wad of money into my mother’s hand, asking that Danny be buried in something nice. The funeral was being prepared in a hurry, and my family didn’t have a lot of money, so the gift was accepted.

My brother Danny’s high school graduation picture, taken when times were simpler

The friend riding with Danny on that day suffered a broken leg. Twenty years later, to the day, he died at the same intersection.

In this era, there was no Mother’s Against Drunk Driving or social outrage for being impaired behind the wheel of the car. The man that killed my brother faced no real consequences legally. On the other hand, he was a target of the wrath of the Dirty Neckers, and family lore says he left Philadelphia out of fear for his safety.

My mother has never been the same since. The natural order of things dictates that a parent should never bury a child, and she has had to bury two. I will never know, but I speculate that Phillip still carries regret for the angry words said the day of Danny’s death. Still, my mind drifts to a warm summer day, fresh cut green grass, a red house, a blue car, and helping my brother.

Weather

Weekend forecast for June 7, 2019

Ahhh, the weekend, a time of relaxation and for Puget Sound residents, of supreme importance during the summer months. This weekend forecast is a combination of bad news/good news.

First, the bad news, Friday is going to be a total washout and it is going to be, dare I say it, cold for June. We won’t see 60 degrees on Friday, heck the highest, coldest spots in Kirkland may struggle to get to 55 tomorrow. We’ll see rain showers that will be heavy at times, and it isn’t too far out of the realm of possibilities for Kirkland to hear thunder and see some hail. To add to the fun, we’ll likely see the heaviest precipitation in the hours leading up to the evening commute, so pack your patience in the morning for your drive home.

Now, the good news, after a washout on Friday the rest of the weekend is looking very nice. Saturday and Sunday will both be completely average early June days. Saturday will be the cooler, but temperatures will be near normal in the high 60s. The day will likely start cloudy but get better toward the afternoon.

Sunday will be a few degrees warmer, getting into the low 70s. The day will be mostly cloudy, but it will be a marine layer in the morning that slowly dries out, and the clouds will rise through the day.

For outdoor activity, either Saturday or Sunday is the best bet, but forget Friday – that is going to be a total loss. Me personally, I’m hoping for some booms and flashes tomorrow!

Terra Firma, Weather

Rain of the scarecrow

United States farmers are facing the worst crisis since the 1980s Soviet grain embargo. Although weather played a factor in the 1980s, the weather is a leading role in 2019. After years of drought impacting much of the country, the nation is now awash in water. Historical amounts of rain have created historic flooding, both in duration and ferocity, devastating farm operations across the United States.

In the first quarter of 2019, 160 farms filed for Chapter 12 bankruptcy, which would put 2019 for 600 plus filings, a 29% increase from last year. The total number of farms in the United States has been in steady decline since 2007, dropping about 10% in 11 years (statistics go to 2018). Total land use for farming in the United States has also declined during the same period, dropping about 5%.

Crop failures in the United States are at the worst levels in 30 years, and in many cases, it is because arable land is underwater, or too soaked to plant. Generally, at this time of the year, 79% of the cropland dedicated to soybean production would be planted – today it stands at 39%. For corn, the average would be 96% – today it is less than 65%. Farmers are facing a now or never choice this week across the nation. File crop insurance claims for, “prevented to plant,” and accept about 50 cents on the dollar on what would already be meager profits for doing nothing, or roll the dice and plant anyway. If they plant and the crops don’t provide a yield, they could file for federal aid or insurance. That assumes that the farmer has coverage in the first place.

Soil moisture levels were already at saturation for much of the eastern US by February, 2019

This crisis has been years in the making through a combination of climate change, market conditions, and the political landscape. In the 2000s, ethanol became mandated in US gasoline. Small ethanol producers were bought up by large corporations, and farmers shifted to corn to sell to the ethanol industry. The shifting of corn to ethanol production reduced the overall supply of other grains and raised the cost of feedstock for farm animals. The demand for beef and pork dropped due to rising prices. At the same time, rBST was sending milk production through the roof, creating an oversupply. Dairy farmers sent their herds to slaughter and gave up, while pork and beef producers sent their animals to market at a younger age.

Flooding in Nebraska impacted military operations at Offutt AFB in March, 2019

Fast forward a few years later, and with smaller dairy and livestock herds, demand for grains for feedstock plummeted creating a vast oversupply. The price of corn, soy, and wheat collapsed, gutting the profits reaped earlier this decade. The Obama Administration block the planned E15 ethanol mandate for all US gasoline, and the Trump Administration continues to block the rule. The expected increase in ethanol production never happened, adding to more oversupply and further depressing prices.

Add in a buying embargo by China for US soybeans, tariffs, a global oversupply of milk and milk products, US farmers were already reeling. Congress playing a game of chicken for disaster aid didn’t help matters, and the heartland of the United States will inevitably need more support going forward.

The weather patterns producing this historical rain event have eased, but there is still a tremendous amount of water that needs to flow through these river basins for weeks to come. All of this spells bad news for Louisiana, where the increased freshwater flow will accelerate land loss in the Mississippi Delta, and hurt oyster farms and harvesters. The decrease in salinity in the gulf lowers oyster yields.

Coming up next on the list of impacted agriculture from 2019 flooding, Gulf of Mexico oyster producers and harvesters

As for the ongoing flooding, in some cases, entire farms and communities have likely been lost forever. The tangle of levees in many of these regions is managed by independent cooperatives and local governments, which don’t have the money or resources to update or maintain them. The Army Corps of Engineers has already channeled and tamed the Arkansas, Missouri, and Mississippi Rivers, so there is little left they can do beyond build dams and levees they manage higher. Once a levee is overtopped, the flow of the water eats away it, requiring major repair, if not a full replacement. If a levee blows out at a middle point, the rushing water chews away at both sides. In many cases, the strategy is to wait for the rain to stop and wait for the water to recede – that could still be months away in some places.

As for the average American, in the short term, you can expect lower prices at your grocery store for some commodities that aren’t Heche en Mexico. Later this year as the full impact of the crop failures are felt, prices will likely go up. Corn plays a huge role in the American food chain, as a feedstock for farm animals that impacts meat, egg and dairy prices, as a grain for cereals, and for corn syrup production as a sweetener. It also will likely increase costs at the pump (more likely it will blunt the slow decline we start to see after the Fourth of July holiday weekend), with the gasoline you put in your car requiring 10% Ethanol content per federal law.

Copyrights 2008 Mario R. Duran (mariordo@aol.com).Release under Creative Commons Attribution – Wikipedia Creative Commons

The impact of climate change continues to play out as predicted in models that go back to the 1980s. The weather is not climate, and the climate is not the weather. Single weather events don’t serve as proof a change to this planet, but when taken together in aggregate, it is evident something is wrong.

Think about it.

Malcontent, out.

Health and Lifestyle

Satisfying summer salad just 421 calories

Fruit plays more than a supporting role in this easy creation

We’ve entered that time of year when fresh local produce is plentiful. If you’re dealing with Weighty Matters, it is an excellent time to explore new options for a quick dinner. If you think salad requires lettuce, think again!

I’ve always loved putting fruit in a salad during the summer months. Berries and salad go hand-in-hand, along with apple and pear in the fall and winter. Tonight fruit played more than a supporting role and was almost on parity with the vegetables.

I hate the term superfood as I think the idea that food has superpowers is BS, but to make the Google SEO gods happy, this salad contains the power of healing superfoods! I prepared this summer salad using items that we already had in the fridge – so there was a degree of, “use this up or else,” in deciding the ingredients. Although we have a mountain of fresh lettuce growing in our garden right now, to make this work, I had to go sans greens. A combination of fruits, vegetables, and proteins provides a man-sized amount of food that can satisfy even a large appetite. At an estimated 421 calories per serving, with dressing, this satisfies, provides many nutrients, and is a caloric bargain.

Oh, and if you want to go vegetarian, swap out the chicken for some firm tofu.

Malcontented Summer Salad

Salad

3 pearl tomatoes or other sweet/small tomatoes, quartered

2 Persian cucumbers, sliced

3 Sweet mini bell peppers, sliced

2 apricots, pitted and diced

6 strawberries, hulled and sliced

½ cup blueberries

1 ounce Greek feta cheese (I used Athenos fat-free), crumbled or diced

4 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast, grilled or sous vide cooked, diced

Dressing

4 tablespoons non-fat Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons fig infused balsamic vinegar

Salt to taste

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, combine the first 8 ingredients and gently toss together.
  2. In a separate bowl, combine the non-fat Greek yogurt and fig infused balsamic vinegar and salt to taste.
  3. Pour the dressing over the mixed salad and toss lightly to coat ingredients.

Serve with bread or crackers (I used Finn Crisp Rye Crackers – 4 – for another 80 calories).

Salad: 361 calories

Dressing: 60 calories

Servings: 1

BIPOC, Editorial, National, Think About It

Doubling down on a failed policy

How the United States continues to fail to force a change in Cuba

Consider this interesting fact. Fidel Castro was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008 and died in 2016. He outlived Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Reagan. The CIA attempted to assassinate Castro no less than seven times during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations, with Castro claiming there were 25 failed attempts on his life. That doesn’t even count the numerous times during Castro’s youth he needed to flee Cuba because someone wanted him dead.

Fidel Castro

During this long road, the United States first backed the Fulgencio Batista government, growing further dissatisfied with his heavy-handed, dictatorial style. Batista was a monster that employed military action, extrajudicial execution, torture, and wholesale slaughter of villages to maintain power. As his grip on Cuba loosened, the CIA felt they could win favor with Castro, who they viewed as a socialist they could easily control, versus other potential Marxist leaders.

If you’re not familiar with the story, Castro was a Marxist to the core and hid his intentions well to the Cuban people, his CIA handlers, and his contemporaries. In 1959, sensing that Batista could no longer hold power and fearful it would fall into pro-Soviet hands, the United States government informed Batista they were cutting off military support to his government. Castro marched from Santiago to Havana, and later that year formed a provisional government. Castro then ruled as a bloody dictator exporting Marxist rebellion and guerilla warfare across Latin America, South American, and Africa.

With the rise of Castro to power, he aligned the island nation with the Soviet Union, which built ICBM missile installations just 90 miles from the US mainland. The Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world to the utter brink, with only Russian Commander Vasily Arkhipov refusing to agree with his political officer and the commander of Russian sub B-59  to fire a nuclear warhead armed torpedo at the US naval forces on the surface. The sub, under depth charge attack, was not aware that only training depth charges were used as an attempt to force the ship to surface. As luck would have it for future generations, B-59 was the only Russian submarine in the theater that required three officers to agree to release nuclear weapons – all other subs just needed two.

The Cuban people have suffered under Castro in many ways. With the 1991 Soviet Union collapse, the belief was that the Castro problem would solve itself. Instead, Cuba continued largely alone in the world, isolated just a little less than North Korea. The two key metrics where Castro’s legacy can have any bright lights shone, beyond his amazing ability to survive a world who wanted him dead, is literacy and healthcare. Cuba enjoys one of the most literate populations on the planet, and despite being cut off from most equipment and pharmaceuticals from the United States, has one of the better healthcare systems on the earth. However, the legacy of the healthcare system belongs more to Che Guevera, who didn’t survive the CIA’s desire to see him dead.

Havana, Cuba – land of cigars

It’s easy to lay all this blame at the feet of Castro, Marxism-Leninism, and his bloody regime. Castro was a dictator that committed atrocities against his people and other peoples around the world. You should also never forget that the CIA also trained him, armed him, backed him, and characters such as Frank Sturgis were heavily involved with his movement before his rise to power in 1959. The United States modern meddling in Latin American and South American affairs goes back to the 19th century. From the false flag Spanish-American war of 1898, the formation of Banana Republics in Guatemala and Honduras at the start of the 20th century, the Cold War machinations from Dominica to Peru to Nicaragua, the war on drugs in Columbia, the backing of Jean-Claude Duvalier in Haiti, and more.

If there is anything, we could learn from the Cold War, which the United States won without turning the planet into a radioactive cinder, the easiest way to collapse a Marxist-Leninist government is to export United States decadence to those nations. During the collapse of the Iron Curtain, Romania was the last hold out under the monstrous hand of Nicolae Ceausescu. The Romanian people were permitted the guilty pleasure of watching, “Hotel Dallas,” on TV. Ceausescu believed that the people would scoff at the decadent lives within the United States and galvanize his power. His plan backfired, horribly. Instead, the Romanian people went, “holy mother fucking ass crackers, that is how people live in the west? I want that for me too!” The people revolted, Ceausescu was eventually arrested and executed.

The cracks within Soviet power were sped along by western music, Levi jeans, McDonald’s burgers, and many other consumer-oriented products that made the Soviet population go, “I want that too!” From Bush legs to foreign aid, the United States worked carefully to move Russia to a more open form of government – until Bush (43) and Pooty-poot, but that’s another story.

When it comes to Cuba, the United States continues to follow a policy that has failed to make a meaningful regime change in 60 years. Isolation does not cause regime change; instead, it hardens the resolve of both leadership and the people. We’ve seen this over and over again. It came as no surprise after the Trump Administration came into power that the start of normalizing relations with Cuba took a U-turn. Today the Trump Administration announced that effective immediately, no more cruise ships or group tours will be allowed to Cuba. The policy is stunningly short-sighted and only serves to appease a single county in South Florida, which is becoming decidedly bluer with each passing year anyway.

The Carnival Paradise will have to find new ports of call now that Cuba is off the list

The US border is seeing an overwhelming number of asylum seekers moving through Mexico to get to the United States. This spike has happened hand-in-hand with the United States cutting off aid to Latin America and Nicaragua falling into a state of near Civil War. Hammer meet nail, nail meet hammer. The black and gray markets in Cuba have operated for decades, many in plain sight, enabling the Cuban people to scrape together a slightly better life. Hotels and sit-down restaurants are scant for travelers, with Cuba instead enjoying their version of Airbnb. A bustling economy, off the books but in plain sight. Naturally reducing the ability of the Cuban people to enjoy the rewards of capitalism will surely help them see the benefits of capitalism.

Donald Trump turns 73 years old this month. It seems likely he will live into his 90s unless his penchant for fast food finally catches up with him. I suspect that without another u-turn in US foreign policy, Cuba will still be an isolated semi-Communist island 90 miles from the United States. Or, it will enjoy the benefits of normalized trade, tourism, and resources with a powerful Chinese-Russian alliance, where once again we’ll be looking at hostile military installations just a short hop from the lower-48. The best way to end the stain of Castro’s grip on Cuba, is to normalize relations and trade.

Think about it.

Malcontent, out.

National

Man drives to Arby’s and orders food – with a .483 BAC

This guy is a total moron but I also have to stand up and salute you, sir! You have taken alcoholism and the horror of addiction to a whole new level.

We’ve all had it, whether it be in college, or in our 20 somethings, maybe even into our 30s. You drink, you get drunk, you get the munchies, you eat food, you throw up.

A blood alcohol level of .08 is legally drunk in all 50 states (and Washington D.C. – technically it is .05 in Utah but I digress). By .15 you’re seriously impaired. For most humans, .30 is pass out drunk and nearing a medical crisis. How about .483? Your blood is just under 1/2 percent alcohol! You are a walking talking Bartles and James wine cooler from 1986 – vampire flavor.

Not only did Michael Kennett of Poseyville, Indiana, DRIVE to Arby’s with a BAC of .483, but he also walked in, ordered food, and ate some of it before passing out at the table. Additionally, the only thing he apparently hit while driving there was the curb.

.483 would kill most people, but if you drink enough, you become a functioning drunk at this level.

This story has it all, moronic, amazing, and sad. What Mr. Kennett needs is clinical help, to have his car keys taken away, and an Arby’s beef and cheddar with a large order of potato cakes.

Malcontent, out.

BIPOC, National, Stupid Human Tricks

About that drink last night

In the era of #metoo it is a sad state of affairs where some men need to be reminded that committing sexual assault, battery and rape isn’t acceptable. I realize it falls into the category of, “things that should go without saying,” but this is the world we live in. I hope that we can advance into a better society for the sake of my daughter and the generation she will bring, but I digress.

It appears that in the United Kingdom, not everyone has gotten the memo. Case in point, Danny, met a lovely young 20-year old lass in a British bar and bought her a drink (or two – that part isn’t clear). Chlo felt comfortable enough to share her phone number, but alas, Danny didn’t get to put his bangers into the mashed.

https://twitter.com/chlojmatthews8/status/1134772635173314560

The next day Chlo got a text from dear Danny. Oh no, not a, “oh it was so nice to meet you and I’d like to go out on a date,” text (how old fashioned of me). No, it seems Danny was upset that Chlo didn’t pay him back with her body, so he demanded payment in an online transfer for the drinks – because they didn’t smash.

Well, Chlo did what any other Millenial would do in this situation – shared the text exchange on Twitter for all of us to enjoy. Oh Danny, you stupid sod, you clearly haven’t gotten the memo.

Danny, you’re a moron. Chlo? Watch who you give your number out to and don’t be deterred, not every man is a tool.