My husband and I took a three and a half hour drive to a University Orthopedic Specialist about some issues he is having with his knees. It was a beautiful day for a drive to hear not such great news about my husband’s already revised knee replacements.

He “gets” to have another surgery in the next week or two to have the scattered pieces of the patella removed from his right knee and possibly, not so long after that surgery, have the patella in his left knee removed, as it appears to also have the same avascular necrosis that caused the right patella to disintegrate into pieces. Sigh…

Anyway, the drive gave us an opportunity to listen to some of the talk on the radio about President Biden and the alleged proof that he lied when it was discovered that he, through his son’s bank account, received a large sum of money from China. They questioned if this was bribe money.

They talked about our current president having alzheimer’s, concerns about tripping/falling, open borders with train loads of people illegally crossing, accepting bribe money from China, reducing our country’s military strength, etc.

I listened to them say President Trump went to a gun shop and looked around at the guns and chatted with the people. He probably even said he wanted a gun. Apparently, he did not buy one. Some seem to respect him for that decision.

Today, I paid $4.33/gallon of gas. When Trump was in office, I remember paying around $2/gallon of gas. It is an opinion that if the media and the corrupt people in every part of government had left him alone and let him do his job while he was in office, he could have done more good for our country.

The question could be asked if you feel better off today than you did four years ago? Does this president put OUR country and OUR people first? Is our country weaker because of our current administration? Why would they want to weaken our country? Are we safer as a country? China and Russia come to mind.

It triggers me when I hear about how open the border is… simply for political reasons. What other reason could there be?

Trump is sounding better and better every day as the best option for president. Most seem to feel that way. After all, why is he so far ahead in the polls?

Yet again.

Another example of the left crying the boo hoos about a conservative – a singer this time, showing news clips in his music video – that are clear proof of the outrageous behavior and destruction that has been taking place in large cities across our nation. Oh, but, that is not what they are up in arms about. Nope. It’s the location his video was shot.

His lyrics obviously resinate with many small-town folks who watch news clips that show unruly window-breaking, building-burning, human-maming people who seem to give no thought about anyone except themselves. Where is the outrage?

Perhaps, people are sick of it. They do not want to feel fearful in their own communities. They do not want the violence that is allowed in the big cities to infiltrate their small towns. Is that so wrong?

Jason Aldean simply set to music the thoughts and feelings of many men and women in this freedom-loving country.

Why is it not ok to sing a song about keeping this behavior out of small towns, but it is fine to make a song about cop-killing?

People are entitled to their opinions, but the hypocrisy of celebs like Cheryl Crow is laughable.

I have been thinking about time and the question, “What does it mean to waste time?”

I was pondering this question while looking at the flowers in my garden. They don’t do anything with time, except grow, and maybe blow in the wind from time to time. What is their purpose? Are the wasting time? They just grow, become a beautiful flower, then die. Is that a waste of time? Well, no. They are for our enjoyment. They are to add beauty and some provide pollen for the bees.

A weed was poking it’s head out between the flowers. What is it’s purpose? Is it wasting time? It grows, becomes a weed, then dies. Is that a waste of time? They are not for our enjoyment. In fact, gardeners do all they can to rid those weeds from their beautiful yards and gardens.

What about us? We people? What is considered time wasted? Watching TV? Gaming? Scrolling through Facebook or TikTok? Reading? Writing? Photography? Quilting? Baking desserts? Napping? Working? Camping? Fishing? Hunting?

Is the idea of wasting time subjective? Or are there things that are specifically under the category of wasting time?

Wikipedia says the following:

Wasting Time may refer to:

• Idleness, a lack of motion or energy
• Goofing off, engaging in an idle pastime while neglecting obligations
• Procrastination, avoidance of doing a task
• Running out the clock, in sports, stalling or playing with the purpose of allowing time to expire
• Time sink, an activity, especially one seen as wasteful, that consumes a significant amount of time

In my opinion, it depends….

Idleness could be wasting time due to lack of motion or energy. But, what if I am resting after more than an hour of mowing the lawn and bagging the grass?

Goofing off could be wasting time due if one is neglecting obligations. But, what if I am goofing off with my grandchildren whom I have not seen for several months, yet the dishes are sitting in the sink and the laundry needs folded?

You get the idea.

Doing anything that is productive, building relationships (ex from above: goofing off with grandchildren), increasing knowledge, creating, service to others, etc., is good use of time, would you agree? It is the “time sink” activities that are stealing time from doing more productive things in life.

I guess the questions I want to start asking myself when I am wondering if I am wasting time are: Does my body need the rest? How is this activity going to help my future? Am I learning anything or just being fed whatever comes down “the scroll” so-to-speak? Am I leaving behind anything meaningful for my family (my stories of my life and/or life experiences, family history, etc.)?

Do I want to be a flower or a weed? At the very least, I want to be a positive influence on those around me. How can I do that if I am wasting time?

Anyway, food for thought. 🙂

AI is extremely and eerily intriguing to me. ChatGPT has been out a few months now. In the past month, or so, I have become more fascinated with conversations I can have with ChatGPT. It is mind-blowingly amazing. I am excited to jump on the bandwagon. Yet, there is a bit of an eerie feeling about, it as well. For example, Glenn Beck did an “interview” with ChatGPT-4, that I discovered just now. It is enthralling from the beginning to the end. It is a little unsettling that I had to keep reminding myself that the responses to Glenn’s questions were not from a human.

Look at the date of the article! This was less than a month ago. AI! Right here, right now. It is interesting to contemplate the answers this Chatbot gave. There are several answers to Glenn’s questions worth pondering. As well as thoughts about the repercussions of a world with AI capabilities.

Here is the link for the article:

https://www.glennbeck.com/glenn-beck/glenn-beck-conversation-with-chatgpt

It used to be that if one wanted to keep their job, they needed to do a good job at work. Now, we have reached a place in society where not only can one lose a job for doing poorly at their job, one can lose their job if they are extremely good at what they do. You can be one of the best at what you do and still lose your job. Look at what happened to Tucker Carlson this week. Fox News fired him without warning. For what? Doing a good job? One report by the LA Times says Tucker is gone because Fox News and Tucker Carlson “…agreed to part ways.” It seemed like a one way parting. However, those become a two-way parting when one is being told they are being fired. Who would want to stay after that?

The truth will come out. Tucker will be fine. He will probably be better than fine. He will land on his feet and become richer than he already is. That is not the point. The point is, from the vantage point of today, he was let go for doing his job. A job he did well. Since that is they optics of Tucker being let go, some of his supports will let their money speak. They will stop watching Fox News. They will unsubscribe from Fox Nation. They will boycott Fox the way they did Bud Light. Will it make a difference? Should it make a difference? It is one way their voice can be heard about the unfairness they see happening, in this case, in the firing of one of the good honest guys.

Oh, as usually is the case, information will come out a little at a time that may shed further light on the matter. Until then, we are left to wonder why.