Fluoride as a political issue got me to make three comments / posts on the topic. That's effectiveness and this is my last comment on the issue. Edited to add: Leveraging a small minority religious/health minded cohort into becoming 'activity engines' of online sharing to enlarge circles of engagement in order to push the State's Rights narrative/agenda. That might be the toothpick of the issue. __________________________________________________ __ A question I have, "Does a re-newed push for State's Rights represent a Calhoun-ification of the country?" If individual US states could be considered analogous to rooms in an experiment with clearly defined borders. Just typing the question, it's not a joke. It's not intended as the double entendre that it could be. It's not intended as a meme-able concept. The question comes from someone that is a non-partisan, non-voter by choice. __________________________________________________ _ To leave this on a balanced note, Perhaps hard walled cultural borders will increase harmony, Due to regional acceptance of lived expression. The caution is that it could create larger debate stagnation, thus action stopper (which can leave an opening at the wrong time). While the country may or may not prosper/benefit/suffer from the changes, Consider what other countries might do likewise from the effects. __________________________________________________ The Social Experiment (may be): Could hard walled, cultural based, geo-regions (States) reduce Country-wide cultural conflict, Due to increased freedom of expression that bears no/little localized societal consequences? The caution is that it could create larger debate stagnation, thus action stopper (which can leave an opening at the wrong time). While the country may or may not prosper/benefit/suffer from the changes, Consider what other countries might do likewise from the effects. #Fluoride
Afterthoughts: Fluoride can work as an inter-generational splinter issue. Echos of old fights, mostly about who is right, a fresh reason to re-open old wounds. Or to pick at festering relationship splinters within families. Where each side seeks validation and empowerment, desiring to be recognized / respected by the other side. A failure of which can causes more relationship separation drift. ________________________________________ Consider the $500 bill. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United...ed-dollar_bill When it was removed from production, a segment of the population got agitated. Could that issue be brought back up today for political effect? Would the topic, if used on the internet, catch any fish? I think it would be a hard bill to push, in this credit card oriented age. I do not think it would have anywhere near the impact of Fluoride. [edited to add: but if there was strong effort to ban the $100 bill, then there might be a solid replication of the $500 bill agitation... heck that might rival the furor over Fluoride. BOLO for efforts to ban the $100 bill!] _________________________________________ Is the Israel Fluoride political playbook from 2014 being used in America 2024? _________________________________________ One last link. https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/w...e-supply-wells Originally Posted by article More than 43 million people—about 15 percent of the U.S. population—rely on domestic (private) wells as their source of drinking water. Private wells don't get Fluoride treatment. Between wells, bottled water, filtered water and all the modern water alternatives (containerized sugar drinks), I wonder exactly which demographics / cohorts will face the largest potential dental erosion and social erosion if Fluoride is removed from public water supplies? It could be distinctively different populations.
What does the Internet, Digital Currency, Artificial Intelligence and Elon Musk have in common? They all want off this planet, to try and ensure their own preservation and growth. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- What does the Internet, Digital Currency, Artificial Intelligence and Elon Musk have in common? They are actually one in the same. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- What does the Internet, Digital Currency, Artificial Intelligence and Elon Musk have in common? They all exist (but only 2 think alike). -------------------------------------------------------------------------- What does the Internet, Digital Currency, Artificial Intelligence and Elon Musk have in common? They were all made by humans!? -------------------------------------------------------------------------- What does the Internet, Digital Currency, Artificial Intelligence and Elon Musk have in common? Energy. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- What does the Internet, Digital Currency, Artificial Intelligence and Elon Musk have in common? The four are simultaneously real and not real. (That's a real Schrödinger). <-- Arghhh, avast there, bad pun. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- What does the Internet, Digital Currency, Artificial Intelligence and Elon Musk have in common? Growth over time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- What does the Internet, Digital Currency, Artificial Intelligence and Elon Musk have in common? The sum is greater than the parts -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Band: Clutch. Song: Escape from the Prison Planet. https://youtu.be/1j7Lw1yMf30?feature=shared -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jokes aside, the contrail from the first population carrying space craft represents a 'peak product,' created by all previous species caused global consumption ('energy use/transformation' is perhaps an alternate phrase to 'consumption.' Or maybe 'organized social activity.'). Those thin, wispy clouds represent the voracious appetite of a species for ________ and __________ and ___________, et cetera. And that appetite shall be weightless baggage upon the ship. Whether the ship carry Homo sapien sapiens 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 or more .0 (or a mixture thereof).
https://www.essentiallysports.com/nf...nthem-outrage/ Originally Posted by article “I’m looking at all these young sailors standing there at attention before the National Anthem played, and I’m thinking to myself how incredible [it is] to be that young. At that moment, all my five guys had their hands over their hearts, the National Anthem playing. I somewhat panic, and I’m like, ‘Do I be the fool that puts his hand over his heart after, or do I just stand here with my hand in front of me?'” He got so caught up in the moment that he forgot to place his hand on his heart. He has released an explanation, I've been in a similar position. Fair to say most people have, by a certain age. Which age? "Old enough."
Your Politics are Indicative of Which Sports You Like. Originally Posted by article Engaged Democrats like tennis and the WNBA. Engaged Republicans are really into the PGA tour, college football and NASCAR. Baseball, the NFL and college Basketball are political no-man's lands, remaining generally moderate, if somewhat right-of-center. As for UFC, Supercross, and the WWE Pro Wrestling circuit: They don't vote. (Sorry, Linda McMahon.) It's possible that something like the Tyson vs Paul fight attracted an audience of typical non-voters, mostly male and conservative, both young and old. (But more of a younger audience, based on the purse disparity of the main event participants) Thus it could have been leveraged to motivate a typically non-voting cohort (similar audience profile/demographic as MMA). And while the linked article above implies some demographic characteristics for the attracted audience, due to the unique nature of the Tyson vs Paul fight the gathered data for similar sports might not apply. There were months of pre-election night promotion of the post election fight. That could have provided invaluable tracking data for serving up vote motivating/conversion content. For the USA in general, Puerto Rico individually, and Ireland individually. 1, 2, 3 combo. Just musing.
It's worth pointing out that yesterday was perhaps a triple Doge day. 1) Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 2) Dodge that punch, Tyson vs. Paul (DODGE). 3) Doge coin (DOGE). It might be worth buying some Doge coin, or it might be worthless. And it could be that the value/exchange rate of some bitcoin brands will be highly pegged to political affiliation. Meaning that in the future there might be a poor exchange rate between a Republican/Conservative backed bitcoin brands and Democrat/Liberal backed bitcoin brands and vice versa.
Afterthought: If Micheal Strahan's position was widely known, then the whole fiasco could simply be to have an online cohort self-identify. It just takes waiting for the right time (in this specific case, waiting for the right moment on the right day for maximum outrage) and then activating an online campaign. Whomever becomes 'vocal' via likes, shares, reposts and tagged for use in later campaigns. An outrage tracker. You're tagged. I think that fits into the realm of possibility when it comes to disinformation campaigns that the newsfolks are all talking about. As a preliminary step, a priming of the pump for future action. How much online data was gathered during this controversy and how it might be used could be the most important aspect of the event. Outrage Spreads Faster on Twitter: Evidence from 44 News Outlets What’s curious is that one sentiment travels faster than others, say researchers at Beihang University in China. They gauged various online emotions by tracking emoticons embedded in millions of messages posted on Sina Weibo, a popular Twitter-like microblogging platform. Their conclusion: Joy moves faster than sadness or disgust, but nothing is speedier than rage. “Although people produce much more positive content on social media in general, negative content is much more likely to spread,” says Goldenberg. What Emotion Goes Viral the Fastest? Jonah Berger, a professor of marketing at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, reached a similar conclusion after conducting a study in the United States. “Anger is a high-arousal emotion, which drives people to take action,” he says. “It makes you feel fired up, which makes you more likely to pass things on.” Russian disinformation accelerates toward the election How disinformation defined the 2024 election narrative Not to imply that the Micheal Strahan situation is 'fake news' or disinfomation... rather the proposal is that the situation could easily be part of a larger operation because of the timing (I'm assuming he adopted that position before).
Placeholder for a future topic: ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire / Test). Many items on such lists are arguably ACE related. ACE is an interesting topic. I found a study once, conducted when ACE was first developed / introduced. A Canadian study, eh, iirc, eh, subject volunteers were freshly graduated med students. The anticipated results were that Doctors, as a cohort, should have a lower average ACE score versus the general population. The findings showed the opposite was true, medical school graduates have a higher than average ACE score. Then subsequent studies 'disproved' that initial one. Or perhaps after that first study the med school graduates learned to lie on the questionnaire. No airline pilot wants to admit to drinking too much, ever. And a few years ago I found studies connecting higher than average ACE score to top tier ultra-runners. Expand concept to extreme sports. This relates to log homes in a meta manner, life's a systemic experience. People are the hardest part of a project. It's also a topic to be tackled because: *Building a log home has similarities to an extreme sport *Building a log home is construction, and as a cohort people in construction have a higher average ACE than the overall population. And speaking of meta, when I search for original studies on any topic I always try adding the word "meta" to see if there has yet been a study of the available studies. "Well kids, what would trauma informed woodworking look like?" (The kind that involves heavy equipment and heavy timber construction) A serious issue, a light hearted question.
An additional thought. This original blog post was written to appeal to specific generations, via the title/metaphor. The Greatest Generation: Born 1901–1927 The Silent Generation: Born 1928–1945 Baby Boomers: Born 1946–1964 Generation X: Born 1965–1980 Millennials: Born 1981–1996 Generation Z: Born 1997–2012 Generation Alpha: Born 2013–2025 Mostly those 2 bolded ones near the middle. Not the 3 at the top, not the 2 at the bottom. Because of a song 7 Nation Army by The White Stripes. Because numbers in a song lined up with reality. Because it was a popular song that really had some kick. Lastly, the song seems fitting for it is from a band that was built upon a lie. Like the artificial divides that delineates the 7 generations. The forum changes of 2024 are designed for future members/customers, meaning that the forum changes are designed for younger generations than many of our currently active membership. It could be said that the LHBA is re-orienting toward those who are aging into log home building and log home ownership. And that there is zero intention to cause disgruntlement in LHBA members who are older than Gen X. They are the elders, they have lived longer with life's common patterns, and have much knowledge to pass on. That does not conflict with tailoring primary marketing to the upcoming generation. That's how population rolls, marketing/data presentation/content must adapt to be sustainable. Disclosure: I am a member of the cohort labeled "Gen X."
Something i found while writing this blog entry that I found particularly interesting: https://archive.seattletimes.com/arc...ob-in-his-back "In business, they call it the "door knob conversation." You've been negotiating all day. You turn to go. Then, just as your hand touches the door knob, you turn and say, "So,"
We were approximately half way through the textbook when the Buffalo issue came up. IIRC it was after that class that a 'fellow Caucasian American' student (about 7 years younger than I) talked with me after class. Outside on the sidewalk he got my attention, then thanked me for being vocal. At the moment I didn't think much of it, but then I was 10 years younger than Ken and I'm not of any native American tribe but the country. Years later it occurred to me that perhaps the fellow student was taking a far different position than I. And that lead me to consider how it's easier to rush a last minute application for an academic fraternity, compared to attempting to rush the college professor level peer review process for an academic journal. The movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was out for a couple of years before I watched it. I wanted the clamor to go away before I partook in the art. I wanted all the opinions and critics to have already been published so I could understand/observe the impact/reactions in text before seeing the original art in video. And then I eventually watched it once. Then I watched the Bruce Lee scene a few times as a stand alone snippet. I would offer an apology on Ken's behalf for not watching that Ken Burns documentary when it first aired (as I am guessing that he did not). Because I can imagine how it might feel to see a white man control the artistic expression, regarding narratives about original American Tribal experiences, aired on the Public Broadcast System. And because I also guess that Ken understood how mass distributed media/art greatly informs the collective unconscious, he knew the power of a great documentary. https://community.loghomebuilders.or...pangled-Banner I contemplate how the story in that link might have panned out if I had been from one of the first tribes of this Continent.
'Socio-economic Freedom.' Was perhaps my father's favorite phrase/philosophy/goal. It was one 'flag' of the LHBA marketing. The other was (rephrased / summarized in my own words) the Easy, Speedy, Process of the Butt and Pass construction style. E.S.P.
Likely my last afterthought on the topic: If you are of the cohort who has accumulated bitcoin wealth, then perhaps you might find that building a DIY butt and pass log home is an ideal way to spend time. It is unarguably a meaningful activity - both financially and intangibly. It would help maintain physical fitness. It is much better than a sudoku puzzle or crossword puzzle for maintaining mental agility. It involves working with heavy machinery and moving large logs (aka, the crap gets real, real quick). It's an explainable activity (way to pass time). It maintains purposeful socialization which is good for mental health (providers / subcontractors). It can help a person integrate within a local community. And in the end you get a lasting, artistic expression of a home that should last for generations. If you're bitcoin rich and feeling listless in life, consider rolling up your shirt sleeves and peeling some logs. It might do you good.
I spent part of the day considering how such a ghost rental scheme might effect the community where the ideal "cheap" homes would be located. The scheme would disproportionately effect the poor, because the wealthy would be removing low cost homes from the market. The landscaping would be switched to 'barren,' to eliminate landscape maintenance costs. That's zero curb appeal. The occasional broken window might end up with a permanent painted piece of plywood, instead of glass. For small towns it would maintain the real estate tax base, while removing the human souls. They would be the homes that tended to remain the 'lowest price, nearest comp,' due to lack of homeowner motivation to do any remodeling. Each ghost renter home would be a negative anchor of 'no real improvement.' Shenanigans usually cause problems, seen and unforeseen.
Checking the forum data, the first mention of bitcoin was in 2015. The forum existed before 2008. (I did not dig into the 50+ page long joke thread, or the 50 page "thread about nothing" due to length, but both contained the word. I had eyeballs on every other reference) The Log Home Builders Association, founded by DeWelle 'Skip' Ellsworth does not have a single posting advocating for bitcoin, as of today's date. Arguably up until the year 2024 the Association was following Skip's style of marketing content. Arguably perhaps around 2018 is the year the marketing started to change. Since 2008, the creation of bitcoin the LHBA forum has 9 total threads that contain the word bitcoin (7, if you ignore the joke thread and the 'thread about nothing). Not a single member advocating for bitcoin, or spreading education, or stating their personal belief / outlook. One member came close enough to mention his mining rig heats his house, and gave specs, but that's not advocacy. It has made me pause to reflect, there may be implications to that. Edited to add: There are also zero threads on precious metals. 1 thread on "recession" started in 2022. 25 threads that mention "Dave Ramsey." Until 2024 the forum had no 'general discussion' area (off the narrow log home topic), but that didn't prevent non-log home related posts/threads.
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