Have you used any AI interfaces yet? It’s pretty amazing. AI platforms use data from all over the internet as their “learning,” their “brains” are the words and videos and summaries and books we give it. I use it in my work a lot to summarize technical discussions or procedural references and try to get on the same level as the presenters. It’s doing pretty well, I’ve learned probably 3 months of information in 90minutes. But you have to know what to ask it. So if you’re interested in AI feedback, for everything from a summary of the Iron Chef America series to the security cameras used in theatres showing the Beetlejuice musical, Ya Just Gotta Know What To Ask!

It’s not that different with people, is it? You have to know what to ask to get something going. The apples, where are they? Have you seen that new movie with the guy who was in that movie about the people with the magic? What would you do if your dad had been indicted on almost 100 counts for trying to defraud banks and/or destroy democracy and you thought you’d go to jail, too? Very useful. As my life changes with family and work and hobbies, I’m trying to reduce complexity. I’m trying to find the simplest ways to get from point A to point D if I know that points B & C are more trouble than they’re worth. Tools, apps, intermittent fasting, creatine, what can I do to hack life to a simpler existence?

And there’s my paradox. Trying to create simplicity by adding more steps, tools, reminders, etc. For example, I have a small electrical impulse unit designed to alleviate if not cure symptoms of hyperhidrosis. Hyperhidrosis is a condition where certain parts of your body produce more sweat than anybody should have to live with. For me it’s sometimes my arm’s pits or my hands. It can be a caffeine reaction, it can be a heat thing, it can be nerves. It’s always annoying. I hate it. So this #Dermadry unit, $350, I thought would be the way to go to help me. It acts on the sweat glands to keep them from doing what they do too much of.

Hasn’t worked. Here’s thecomplexity now, a lesson I learned. For about $2000 I could go to dermatology or aesthetics office and get Botox injections to… well heck, here’s the AI response to the prompt “Botox for hyperhidrosis:”

“Botox is a brand name for botulinum toxin, which is a neurotoxin that can be used to treat excessive sweating, also known as hyperhidrosis. The toxin works by blocking the release of a chemical called acetylcholine, which is responsible for activating the sweat glands. By blocking this chemical, Botox can reduce the amount of sweat produced by the glands .

Botox injections are typically administered in the affected area, such as the underarms, palms, or soles of the feet. The treatment is usually quick and relatively painless, and the effects can last for several months.”

So in the three aspects of Product Delivery – Speed, Cost, and Quality – you can have 2 of 3, but sacrifice the 3rd. You can have it Fast and Cheap, but low Quality. You can have it Fast and Good, but it’s going to cost a lot. You have high quality at a high price, but it won’t be quick. And that’s pretty much life at this point. This unit stopped working for no particular reason about 4 months ago. Sporadically it will decide it wants to work. Next day, nope. After at least 10 emails back and forth with Dermadry they gave me a 20% credit to my account? with Dermadry’s whatever… online store? Who cares….

So by introducing a cheap, fast solution (that didn’t work) I cut cost. But it didn’t work, so I didn’t get any benefit of any of it. This is America. Everything is cheaper and worse. So now I can maybe sell this thing and get a home Botox kit off Temu.

When you’re at home more than not, and not “at work,” the way many a person is in the past year, a lot of stuff happens you have to navigate through in order to keep that slice of your world going, while not having an emotional meeting of “Fan & Poop.” What am I talking about?

For 99% of the mornings for the better part of the last 10 months I have been the first one awake. Coffee’s made, Gratitude list is written, light mobility work to wake my older joints up, argue with my cat as if I don’t know she needs to be fed, etc. Then the kids are up, wife’s up, and the day gets going. I make breakfast 98% of the time, because I saw first-hand what a shit morning the kids have if they make breakfast for themselves (either toaster waffles or heaping bowls of cereal). They’re growing and should have a quality fueling before sitting in Living Room Elementary for the day.

Then… about 30min after they start their school day… their first portion of on-line school ends. And I hear the feet moving around… and almost immediately there’s a pit in my stomach because they’re about to approach me about one of these things:

• News about a video game feature they want to purchase. Fortnite, if you’re unfamiliar, has dominated their past calendar year for videogaming. It’s a free download that they have spent, easily, over $500 on. The minimum wage is still $7.25 and they have yet to get a job, so… I instituted a rule that we don’t talk about any videogames before 12:30pm or else screen time is cut in half for the day. Worked like clicking on a Facebook ad for washable, flattering face coverings that one time and now it’s Always On.
• News about a video they saw on YouTube. “This guy was on his bike on this street and, guess what? (the answer is never “Chicken Butt” and you’ve grossly overestimated my desire to play this game) He was doing this thing (white noise swells in my brain) right into a garbage can.” This might be the equivalent of my childhood trying to tell a story of what happened at school or at Ricky Brady’s house when he found some cigarettes. Sorry kids, I checked out. You might see this some day, but I wasn’t listening.
• They’re gonna just stand there waiting for something. It’s a lingering that I sense and it takes me out of whatever I was doing. I’m also the de facto Activity Coordinator, PE Instructor, Math T.A., and Lunch Lad in this school. Now I have to remind them of all the extra stuff they can be doing. And when they’re “bored” or “finished with school” at 10:13am, there’s always the f*cking vacuum cleaner, fellas. OH LOOK WHO HAS EXTRA SPELLING TO PRACTICE…
• Can I Come There For a Minute? This means my wife’s new computer is reacting to something she did or didn’t do and I didn’t see it and it’s freaking out and she needs my help on it. This is where all of my encouragement and directives to use search engines were reiterated to Empower The User, and have gone unheeded. OR this means there’s a box of stuff that I guess we have to sort out Now, and my schedule or plans are moot. So you have to protect your time, as kindly as possible, when this happens in any form. If you can go from activity to activity w/out issue or loss of momentum, Bless Your Heart. I can’t, and if I do, there’s a gremelin in my

So on top of all these things, is the overlay and dichotomous appreciation of the time I’ve spent with my family since being let go from my job last April. It was sad to be let go due to how much I appreciated that job and that company, but in the big picture, a lot of people are far worse off than we are because of the COVID-19 fallout in America and around the world. I have been lucky to have much of our financial and family stability already in place before the crisis hit. I have had some of the most creative – and most emotionally severe – periods of my adult life. And I applied to over 130 jobs in the past year. But that saga is for another entry.

Always being around everyone’s Everything as well as one’s own is probably not healthy. There are days that the voices in this house, and even the sound of someone’s breathing, resulted in my forthcoming statement of “I am leaving, unless you need me here, then I need you to leave, because I need a buffer today, or I’ll be locking myself in the bedroom for two days. Flip ya for it?”

My friend told me that my presence and involvement in my kid’s days and activity, while reupping some professional certifications and networking and applying for jobs, has helped show my kids that being resilient is as important as being consistent. That was kind but also f*cking annoying. Pity Parties are only fun when it’s a “for one.” But after doing it all, I’m ready to as much Nothing as I can for a few days. I better put that on the family calendar.

When you’re at home more than not, and not “at work,” the way many a person is in the past year, a lot of stuff happens you have to navigate through in order to keep that slice of your world going, while not having an emotional meeting of “Fan & Poop.” What am I talking about?

For 99% of the mornings for the better part of the last 10 months I have been the first one awake. Coffee’s made, Gratitude list is written, light mobility work to wake my older joints up, argue with my cat as if I don’t know she needs to be fed, etc. Then the kids are up, wife’s up, and the day gets going. I make breakfast 98% of the time, because I saw first-hand what a shit morning the kids have if they make breakfast for themselves (either toaster waffles or heaping bowls of cereal). They’re growing and should have a quality fueling before sitting in Living Room Elementary for the day.

Then… about 30min after they start their school day… their first portion of on-line school ends. And I hear the feet moving around… and almost immediately there’s a pit in my stomach because they’re about to approach me about one of these things:

• News about a video game feature they want to purchase. Fortnite, if you’re unfamiliar, has dominated their past calendar year for videogaming. It’s a free download that they have spent, easily, over $500 on. The minimum wage is still $7.25 and they have yet to get a job, so… I instituted a rule that we don’t talk about any videogames before 12:30pm or else screen time is cut in half for the day. Worked like clicking on a Facebook ad for washable, flattering face coverings that one time and now it’s Always On.
• News about a video they saw on YouTube. “This guy was on his bike on this street and, guess what? (the answer is never “Chicken Butt” and you’ve grossly overestimated my desire to play this game) He was doing this thing (white noise swells in my brain) right into a garbage can.” This might be the equivalent of my childhood trying to tell a story of what happened at school or at Ricky Brady’s house when he found some cigarettes. Sorry kids, I checked out. You might see this some day, but I wasn’t listening.
• They’re gonna just stand there waiting for something. It’s a lingering that I sense and it takes me out of whatever I was doing. I’m also the de facto Activity Coordinator, PE Instructor, Math T.A., and Lunch Lad in this school. Now I have to remind them of all the extra stuff they can be doing. And when they’re “bored” or “finished with school” at 10:13am, there’s always the f*cking vacuum cleaner, fellas. OH LOOK WHO HAS EXTRA SPELLING TO PRACTICE…
• Can I Come There For a Minute? This means my wife’s new computer is reacting to something she did or didn’t do and I didn’t see it and it’s freaking out and she needs my help on it. This is where all of my encouragement and directives to use search engines were reiterated to Empower The User, and have gone unheeded. OR this means there’s a box of stuff that I guess we have to sort out Now, and my schedule or plans are moot. So you have to protect your time, as kindly as possible, when this happens in any form. If you can go from activity to activity w/out issue or loss of momentum, Bless Your Heart. I can’t, and if I do, there’s a gremelin in my

So on top of all these things, is the overlay and dichotomous appreciation of the time I’ve spent with my family since being let go from my job last April. It was sad to be let go due to how much I appreciated that job and that company, but in the big picture, a lot of people are far worse off than we are because of the COVID-19 fallout in America and around the world. I have been lucky to have much of our financial and family stability already in place before the crisis hit. I have had some of the most creative – and most emotionally severe – periods of my adult life. And I applied to over 130 jobs in the past year. But that saga is for another entry.

Always being around everyone’s Everything as well as one’s own is probably not healthy. There are days that the voices in this house, and even the sound of someone’s breathing, resulted in my forthcoming statement of “I am leaving, unless you need me here, then I need you to leave, because I need a buffer today, or I’ll be locking myself in the bedroom for two days. Flip ya for it?”

My friend told me that my presence and involvement in my kid’s days and activity, while reupping some professional certifications and networking and applying for jobs, has helped show my kids that being resilient is as important as being consistent. That was kind but also f*cking annoying. Pity Parties are only fun when it’s a “for one.” But after doing it all, I’m ready to as much Nothing as I can for a few days. I better put that on the family calendar.