New Tech in Old Hands -- Look Out!

I'm getting an upgrade!
I'm not really much of a tech guy so it has never been necessary for me to have the latest or greatest in cellular technology. Typically, I go with the free phone or the cheapest one available. Back when Samsung's Galaxy S10 was something, I had one because it was a part of the deal when we switched our cell service. My new phones since then have been pretty inexpensive Android options.
Now we are switching again and I will be getting a Samsung Galaxy S26+.  I'm sure it is way more technology than I need and I hope that the bells and whistles won't distract me from living life away from the virtual connection that it provides.

I think I'd much rather be relaxing in our pool (above ground, arrives next week) with a book than chasing fake (or even real) news stories on my phone. 

I am enjoying my coffee on the front porch this morning. 
One of the downsides to living in a rural neighborhood is the lack of good internet service. Our electric co-op is now providing high-speed fiber internet and is laying the cable on our street this week. Although I measured the easement and placed the front flowerbed and fence to be out of the easement, my idea of where that is and where it actually seems to be may be a little off. One of their little flags is inside of the flowerbed. I am hopeful that it will be okay.

We have been using T-Mobile's 5G internet service and it is sufficient for our low-tech needs. To switch to the more advanced high speed fiber would more than double our internet cost. T-Mobile has a pretty good deal to switch our cell service right now and that's what we are doing with our phones. By switching now, our actual cell service will go up $10 per month, but our internet will go down $25 dollars per month. Plus we get two $1,100 phones for the low, low price of paying the sales tax.

I have to admit, the available tech is both convenient and concerning to me. I can understand the savings to businesses as their apps help to efficiently automate many things, but I also wonder about the alienation of many older people that don't use cell technology at all or only to call or text. 
Many restaurants have online menus, online pay, or just assume that everyone has a smart phone. Other businesses are trending that way, as well. Most of the time I am okay with less human contact and am willing to adapt. Sometimes I'm not.  I'm sure that advancement in AI technology will soon make human interaction less necessary when it comes to customer service and problem solving.

The ability to connect my phone to my truck is nice for navigation and listening to music, NPR, or something on Substack. I haven't been much of a follower of any podcasts, but that may change. It's also nice for incoming calls and texts. 
The amount of tech you can carry in your purse or pocket is truly amazing! We can be connected to people on the other side of the world almost instantly. It's too bad that so much energy goes into spreading fear and nonsense rather than making the most of the global community. 
Haters gotta hate.
smh

Just let me know when somebody develops a robotic gardener. I'm pretty sure I would be a better supervisor than I am as a laborer.

John

Thursday Theme -- no alliteration necessary.

I think it is time to move away from the Thursday Theology posts. 
Do I come up with a new theme for Thursdays, skip posting on Thursdays, or just post whatever and whenever?
Hmmm...

For today I am enjoying the many posts from visitors to the US during the North American World Cup. It is nice to be reminded of the vastness of our country and its diverse landscapes, cities, and cultures. One European visitor commented that back home Americans are criticized for never traveling outside of the country. He said we don't have to. We have so much to see and do in the USA that we really don't need to travel abroad to experience diversity.

While we do have so much here at home and even have cultural differences within the US, I think there is still a great benefit to be had from traveling abroad. And though there is much to experience from a visit to the US, there are still many things that are unseen as we deal with the realities of a capitalistic society that has gotten a bit out of control.

I think the posts that compare the food here to what is available in their home countries are the best. One post compared the college Freshman 15 to the World Cup 15 and complained that they would have to buy new clothes for the trip home as they are putting on so much weight that they won't have anything that fits them.
One British influencer has commented that Great Britain conquered many lands around the world for spices, but doesn't use any of them in their food! The flavorful varieties of food were a bit of sensory overload. 
It is true that there is such an abundance of food and portion sizes are extreme, but food insecurity is unfortunately very real for millions of Americans. Affordable food, affordable housing, affordable healthcare are all things that are challenging for many of our citizens.

I am happy that people can come and experience the beauty and diversity of the United States. We are truly blessed with an incredible country. We have bustling cities and pastoral farmlands, majestic mountains and beautiful beaches. There are lakes, rivers, canyons, forests, small towns and villages, country roads, and endless highways. We have crowded apartment buildings and rural homes on acreage.
And we have the foods of many cultures and the fusion of flavors as people add their own flair to the recipes of others.

Yeah, I love my country.
I am not really happy with our leadership right now. Frankly, I am embarrassed by it. And although I didn't vote for what we currently have, I'll accept my responsibility and own it -- this is who we have become. 
It's time we change that. 
We can be better than we are.

If you have an idea for a Thursday theme to replace the faux theology, please feel free to share it. Otherwise I may just leave this space blank for a time.

John

Wednesday Wisdom

Sometimes wisdom is simply a matter of awareness -- you know, being woke.
The world we live in is a marvelous place; full of wonder everywhere you look.
It is both simple and complex.
It can be minuscule and infinite.
It is brilliant and it is invisible.
It can be calm and peaceful or violent and destructive. 
Unfortunately, it is often ignored or taken for granted.

Pay attention to the world around us.
Be aware.
Be woke.

John

June 13, 2026: Just another day in the life of John

24,106 days
3,443 weeks and 5 days
792 months
66 years

However you choose to measure it, that's how long I've been living out my existence in this gig called life.

Although I believe I have learned a thing or two over the past 66 years, I doubt that I have left any kind of indelible impression in the vast timeline of humanity. Fortunately, that has never really been a goal.
Nor have I accumulated great wealth, nor achieved great power.
By any standard of comparative measurement, I have led an insignificant life. 

But here's the thing -- 
I am content.
We have a nice home and a quiet life.
Our kids are grown and doing well.
We have enough.

I really don't know what we should be striving for in life other than to survive.
I don't know if we should be conquering other people (whether that is locally or globally) or helping them to survive, as well. 
Should life be a competition to see who can accumulate the most things? live better experiences? control the most people? 
Should we dismiss the present in view of achieving some future reward in an afterlife?

At 66 years old, I have few of the things that would indicate I have had a successful life when judged by our US standards for success. 
I have no education.
I never worked beyond a small facility in my career as an air traffic controller.
I never owned a successful business, nor achieved any kind of celebrity status.
Outside of a very small circle of people, nobody knows nor cares about the existence of John Hill.
And that is okay by me!

Day #24,106 marks a new personal record for me. Completing it successfully will mean that I get to see Day #24, 107 tomorrow.
Success!
Hopefully, I'll see you then.

John

Thursday Theology

I often think that Thursday Theology is a poor label for these posts because it is obvious that I am no theologian, nor do these posts in any way fit into a framework that could be considered as theological.

Unless...

Unless you think of theology as something other than a study of God and the religion that a majority of the theologians analyze and break down.
And that would be me.

I see theology as a seeking to understand The Divine and the relationship between humankind and The Divine. I truly have more questions than I have answers as I seek this understanding. The answers I receive only seem to give evidence that no (or few) theologians have a great understanding of God and how God relates to us. It seems to me that their idea of God is far too small to actually be God.

And so I continue to seek and to understand with my own weak brand of what qualifies as real theology.

John

What does your idea of God say about you?

More for me and less for thee is a lousy way to live

I have noticed that being more contemplative leads to some unexpected sadness.
I truly feel sad for humanity as it seems that so many people are unhappy with their lives. 

Why do we feel the need to compete with each other?
Why do we think it is acceptable to tear someone down to get ahead of them?

I understand the survival instincts that are primitive and an innate part of our being, but we are able to reason beyond our most primitive instincts. Getting more for me doesn't always have to mean less for others. Communities build together to make more or better situations for everyone. 
We (in the US) have become so capitalistic that we would prosper by taking away from those in need and celebrating our success while ignoring the great suffering that we have caused.
What is wrong with us?

It is ironic that people use the word "woke" to put down a segment of the population that is aware of suffering and injustice.
Indeed, we are "woke."
We see the things that they do not. To see and be aware of such things is not a bad thing. To call out evil and injustice is a good thing. I think their anger comes from knowing that there are people that are aware of the evil deeds that they are doing or supporting through political actions. They are the ones that need to wake up!

This morning I am happily sitting on the deck. Groucho the cat is dozing on a sunny spot on the deck rug. I have finished my coffee and a small sparrow is chirping loudly from the top of the post that holds its bird house full of babies. I think he is waiting for mama to exit the nest so he can feed the little ones what he has gathered for them. 
Life is pretty good here. The only stress I have comes from the weeds that need to be pulled or needing to mow (again), or deciding if I'm going to brave the exposure to people at the baseball game on any given home stand evening.

Competing for more has never really been my thing. That's why I ended my career at a small level airport at the lower end of the ATC pay scale. I have enough. 
Ours is a simple life. We have a nice home in a semi-rural area. We can afford to travel to visit the kids. We don't worry about having food to eat.

I'm going to run some errands this morning, meet someone for lunch, mow this afternoon, smoke a cigar and sip bourbon this evening. The most stressful thing I have to do today is leave the house and encounter people that are in competition with each other. 
I will end the day in the same way I begin the day -- sitting on the deck enjoying the sounds of nature.

Just another day in the life of...

John

It's not really about politics

I really don't think of this as being a political post even though it is about a politician -- namely, President Trump. 
The thing is -- it has nothing to do with politics, but has everything to do with a person that is just a narcissistic asshole. 

Last night's stunt of going to the NBA game at MSG was all about Trump. It took away from the game and from New Yorkers being able to celebrate their team in the championship series. He made access to the venue inconvenient for everyone that spent hundreds (even thousands) of dollars to be there and cancelled all of the street celebrations and watch parties anywhere near MSG.
Not only did he not care, but he condescendingly said they can go home and watch it on TV. 

He's never shown any interest in basketball. This was just another hate-filled stunt to generate attention.
Frankly, I am tired of it.
I can endure political differences and people with opposing political views. 
He has no political views nor policies. 
He inspires hatred, causes division, and only does what benefits him personally.
He is like a mob boss in the highest office of the land.
He does not care about the US nor its citizens.
He does not care about our allies.
He does not care about humanity.
And he does not care about the states nor the individuals that have supported him beyond getting their money and their votes. 

He is ruining our democracy and our global reputation and the entire GOP is complicit.

I have no answers.
Just needed to vent.

John

Competing or Overlapping Social Media Accounts

Between Facebook, Instagram, Substack, e-mail subscriptions, and the few blogs I follow I am finding many duplicate posts from good writers and sources. I sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed by all of the noise and think I need to consolidate most reads to just one source so I can spend less time sorting through what I have read and haven't read.

I think I am going to follow most accounts on Substack and save Facebook and Instagram for the more personal accounts from family and friends. I need to drop a bunch of e-mail subscriptions.
Honestly, there are many days that I feel like I should dump it all. 
I mean, how much real benefit is there from the time I spend on social media? 

How do you use the various social media platforms?
Do you use one for everything and stay off of the others?
Do you use one for personal stuff, another for pics or videos, another for news and information, etc., etc.?

I'm just wondering how others deal with the media's constant need for our attention and money.

John

Thursday Theology

 There are far too many "Christians" with a political mindset and far too few with a Jesus mindset.

John

Morning Rethink

This getting started earlier in the day idea is only going to work if I get up earlier. For some reason I have slept later than usual these past couple of mornings. I don't know if I am going to need to adjust my bedtime to something earlier than midnight to 1 AM or set an alarm (not likely), but sleeping until 8:30 and having enough time to enjoy my coffee is always going to give me a later starting time when it comes to working in the yard/gardens. 
I am going to have to play around with this for a little while and see how I can adjust.

In the meantime, I am enjoying my iced cold brew this morning and listening to the local avian population, already busy with their day's work of finding food and feeding their babies.

As for me, I will get busy without the usual internet/social media scrolling. Perhaps I will make a Wednesday Wisdom post later this evening. 

Have a lovely day!

John