Futurelawyer

#WhyIAmASolo - I Know What Is Going To Happen And I Don't Worry About It

Aaron Norton at Integrity Counseling reminds us today that all of this has happened before, and will happen again. The cast of characters may change; but, we should not be surprised when history repeats itself. We should not be surprised at man's inhumanity to man. We should not be surprised at large scale disease, nor by war and other catastrophes. Why, then, are we? 

What If Every Note You Took Was Saved In Evernote, OneNote, Google Drive Or Dropbox?

Send Handwritten Notes To Google Docs. One of the coolest uses for my LiveScribe Echo Pen is the ability to draw a couple of lines on a page of notes and write Google Drive. The next time I connect the pen to the desktop with a USB cable, the notes are automatically transferred into the cloud as a Google Drive file. So many cool things to do. So little time.

#ParrotSunday - Parrots Are Funnier Than People

Have A Real Conversation With Marcus Aurelius? Yes, Please.

New AI Project Captures Jane Austen's Thoughts On Social Media. Artificial Intelligence, the term we love to hate, has its benefits. While not true intelligence, machines capable of learning are becoming better and better at creating human like interactions by using complex algorithms to capture the essence of human reasoning. A new project takes the accumulated writings of historical figures and permits conversations based upon those writings. I would pay for the ability to converse with my Stoic mentors, Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca. Whom would you choose to converse with? May I live so long.

Microsoft Releases PowerToys For Windows 10

PowerToys For Windows 10. I will take a risk and say that putting the words "Power" and "Toys" in the name is a sure way of getting male geek blood going. I used PowerToys back when Windows 95 was the OS de jour, and it was fun to get under the hood and do cool things. So, this new version appeals both to the geek and the guy who loves playing with "toys". Anyone with me? Grunt.

When You Have So Many Smartphones You Use One As An FM Radio

Unihertz Smallest Smartphone. For $130, this JellyPro Smartphone is a bargain. It is 4G, has 3G of internal memory, accepts any micro SD card, and easily slips into a small pocket. When you don't want a big load, it is the phone to have. I use mine when I really want to travel light, such as walking around all day, and as a backup to my Galaxy Note 10+ 5G. But, if we ever get to watch a baseball or football game again (I'm betting on next year), I love to hear the radio announcers in real time. In days gone by, we had big ear covering headsets, and, later, good sized pocket radios with FM and AM channels. But, when I was able to use my Smartphone with earphones, what a difference. Many Smartphones don't even have a headphone jack anymore, and a wired headset it required as an antenna on phones with an FM chip. They are also overkill, if you have to carry one along with a phone. This little guy is perfect. It will take calls and do everything a Smartphone can, and serve as a tiny pocket accessory for watching football to a live broadcast. Are you ready for some football? TB12.

#StoicSaturday - Moral Purity Is A Mirage

As an apolitical observer of human nature, I am alarmed by the Cancel Culture, and the moralist view of history that permits the destruction of statues and the demands for name changes and limits on free speech. So much evil is being done in the name of moral purity and thought cleansing. Jesus Christ had it right when he said: "Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone". Moral purity is as changeable as humans are. Concepts of fair play and justice are as malleable as the human spirit. Stoicism counsels that we accept our brothers and sisters for who they are. It is not our job to condemn them, or to change them, or to regulate their speech. Today's Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday carries an interesting and instructive quote:

The actress and activist Jameela Jamil talked about this in a 2019 appearance on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. “The thing we are sometimes searching for in our society is moral purity, and you’re never going to find that, all you can find is progress and not perfection,” she said. “If we continually cut people down every time they show their ignorance, or they make a mistake, or they have a mistake from ten years ago, then people are going to feel like there’s no value in learning or progress, because you’re punished forever for the sins you no longer stand by.”

Casting stones, or tearing down stone statues. Is virtue signalling getting any results? Perhaps we should be concentrating on the morals of the only person on the planet we have control over, ourselves?

From The New Normal To The Sublime - Part Two

Tonight, we are visiting the new St. Pete Pier, the highlight of which is the Bending Arc sculpture by artist, Janet Echelman, whose wonderful sky sculptures, when lit, are an ethereal reminder of the spirits we hope to become. Check out her web page for a view of her many works.

From The New Normal To The Sublime

Morean Arts Center - Chihuly. We will be visiting the Chihuly Gallery tomorrow afternoon. It is an otherworldly experience to be in the presence of Dale Chihuly's glass sculptures, with the magic of interior lighting. As everyone despairs about visiting travel destinations like DisneyWorld and Cruise destinations outside the U.S., perhaps a change in focus is indicated. How often do you ignore the magic around you because of your lust for things far away? In St. Pete, we have the marvel of the Chihuly Gallery, the timelessness of the Dali Museum, one of the best zoological parks in the world at ZooTampa, a world class amusement park in Busch Gardens, the verdant beauty of Sunken Gardens (which, as our marriage venue, has a special place in our hearts), and the new St. Pete Pier, with its gorgeous night sculpture. Look around you. Beauty and edification are everywhere. You just have to open your eyes.

#ParrotSunday - Rescuing Parrots In The Time Of CoronaVirus

This Saturday edition of Parrot Sunday highlights Dave, a professional magician, bird trainer and wing pilot, actually made me cry. His Blue and Gold Macaw, Sunny, was rescued from a hoarding situation that is hard to watch. My Pinot was kept in a dark closet before rescue, and this video is a must see for anyone who deplores the cruelty sometimes visited upon innocent creatures. His rescue was made more difficult by the Coronavirus pandemic, as the rescue organization Sunny came from was locked down for a time. Dave has decided to take on project birds like Sunny, and the result is spectacular.