Fox Family :)

July28
posted under Family & Marriage | Comments Off on Fox Family :)

Trying to learn from history and apply it to the NOW.

July21

I’ve been watching ‘WW2 in Color’ while I do my rehab and I realized how much we tend to construct narratives of x happened and then y happened and that had this huge effect on this part of the war. It made me really wonder if those events really did have that effect or if the human in us just picked them out to build that narrative… maybe there were other events that would serve that narrative as well and another historian would use instead.

It made me think about what is going on today and how everyone is so ready to say oh x event is similar to this in history and thus y. I can’t remember where I heard it, but it really stuck with me when someone told me that nothing will look the same when it repeats, but it will be a new version of the same thing. That made a lot of sense to me. Everyone is so afraid about the rise of fascism or a repeat of Hitler but it is not going to look the same when it happens. That is the danger, that we think it is going to look like x when instead it is going to look like x version 2.0 and it will be very hard to recognize. Sure it might have similar symptoms or attempt similar outcomes, but it will not look the same and it will look different enough that people will not be able to see it clearly. In fact, it seems like one aspect is that people who would swear they would do anything to prevent the evil of the holocaust would fall into supporting the very power that would recreate that same evil because they can’t identify it in its new form.

I’ve been thinking a lot about Unions lately with some of the work I’ve been doing. Labor has less and less power and the death of unions in the USA has influenced that. So, if you had to reimagine unions and returning some of the power to labor what might that look like if you did it now? It is so hard to break out of the ruts of history but I think that is where the past can teach us so much if we break it down into pieces. How would you recreate some of the outcomes unions created and do it in a new way?

I think this is starting to come up as we talk about what monopolies are now versus are textbook history version based on Standard Oil. We need new techniques to identify monopolies that hurt the public good and we need new ways to combat them that isn’t just about breaking them up. But, if you are stuck in a history rut you might be blind to the huge power these companies have and unable to identify or address the issues.

Anyway, just some rambles I’ve been thinking on.

Great read here on imagining massive changes to financial institutions and systems…

posted under Dangers To World | Comments Off on Trying to learn from history and apply it to the NOW.

Port!

July19

I don’t drink much anymore, but I am really liking Port if I do have a treat. I really like this 20-year-old Tawney Taylor Fladgate Port I got last year. I got some other bottles for Christmas that I am slowly trying too.

posted under My Thoughts | Comments Off on Port!

Trump is a racist piece of shit.

July15

Sure this is a big DUH given everything he says and stands for, but to see him say that 4 Americans should go back to their countries because of the color of their skin is so repulsive and so disgusting it sets a new low… and then to see him double down just utterly disgusts me. How can anyone support this piece of shit?

Even worse… to watch Republicans “leaders” not speak up and call him out on this blatant racism and the un-American remark is maddening. We are a nation of immigrants. My family are immigrants…. just subtract a few generations and who isn’t. I can’t wait for the 2020 elections to arrive. I am optimistic that this is a dark period in our history can be made right. And, I hope we can make some real progress on the problems we have failed to address over the last 35 years that induced a group of people so economically and mentally insecure they voted for this piece of shit human being.

posted under Politics | Comments Off on Trump is a racist piece of shit.

Democratic Candidates For 2020…

July8

I really like Mayor Pete, Kamala Harris, and Elizabeth Warren. I’d love to see a Kamala / Pete ticket with Kamala as Pres and Pete as VP and Warren a senior position. I’ve donated a few times to Pete and just chipped in $25 to Kamala and Warren. I was a bit surprised Kamala hasn’t raised more.

I am not sure I can bring myself to vote for Biden… He is way too old to be president and his policies are way out of touch, and most of them are so centrist they are meaningless and just more of the same that caused us to end up in this situation. We need new ideas that many in the party have been talking about. I’d rather see 4 more years of Trump and more people to realize how stupid the GOP is and their war on the poor, science, and governance through data.

I HATE that money is the way we really vote in this country, but no other choice right now.

posted under Politics | Comments Off on Democratic Candidates For 2020…

My digital nomad review of Project FI.

July7

As a digital nomad, the first thing I would do when I got off the plane was to find a SIM card so I could get my phone working, and my little 3g/4g modem as well (the modem was harder as you had to be able to find specific tech settings for the gateway etc). This was always a bit of a pain, especially with language differences. That is why I was really excited about trying Project FI as it is a Google-driven cell phone plan that promises your SIM works around the world the minute you land and with a low rate on data of $10 dollars per 1GB (plus if you are over a certain amount it freezes).

Why is this awesome?

I can land somewhere and not have to worry about it knowing that my iPhone works fine with fast 4G. And, for free Google will give you a data SIM for your modem that will also work. So it is super easy to get my laptop connected even if the place I am staying has internet problems.

I have been very happy with the results. I did a trip to Spain/Portugal with my wife and our phones worked flawlessly as we drove through both locations. We even got a quick stomach bug, and with internet broken at our AirBNB, I watched about 8 hours of Amazon Prime while in bed and it worked fantastically. Back home in Colorado, the service has been great too. Usually, we have problems in our house with our old AT&T plan and a bad signal, but no problems so far and wifi calling works great inside our house.

I REALLY hope to see them drive down the cost per GB soon, as that price per GB has been stuck for some time. Oh, and their iPhone support doesn’t allow you to pair with your laptop, but I just grabbed a cheapish 4G modem and their free data SIM as that is faster anyway. Otherwise, I am very happy with the service :)

If you decide to sign up for Project FI please use this link as I get a little off my monthly bill if you sign up :).

posted under Digital Nomadism | Comments Off on My digital nomad review of Project FI.

This is bwb’s personal blog, so he can share his thoughts with the world, however scary or silly they might be. Plus family and friends can track what I am up to, and where I am in the world.

I am pretty simple. I love Mangos. I love the ocean (although mostly at sunset, as I’m a ginger). I love to travel, eat exotic food, do long bike rides, read, and use my imagination. At some point, I decided it was better to be a pirate captain than an admiral. I am a globalist and see the entire world as my responsibility and playground. And I am married to an amazing woman who makes life even more fun :)! And we are now the proud parents of Calico Jack :).


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