Thoughts: Is Life a Simulation?

(click on YouTube for video)

Would this series of simulations work its way back to God? 

If it did, wouldn't God just make it a series of realities instead of simulations?

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If every effect has a cause, how did everything begin? Thomas Aquinas argued that there couldn’t be an infinite regression of cause and effect without any fixed starting point. He posited that God was the First Mover, who was able to set the universe in motion without any prior cause.

But why can't there be an infinite series of cause and effect?

Caboose in Nearby Park

I took this photo of some clouds at sunset a few years ago, but not in the direction of the sunset itself. I'm looking forward to taking more photos when I get some strength back.

Here are some photos I took of a real caboose. I played around with editing the original photo.

Maybe the "C" in C207 is for caboose.

Notice the brake on the bottom left. The date is 1944 and it looks like the wheel was made in Pittsburgh.

Take care, John

Imaginary Robot Mind Time

Any room for feelings?

Take care,

John

 

I've Decided to Try Hand Controls on My Car

 

(from Amazon)

A few days ago an old friend called me. It was a great and pleasant surprise. We've sent Christmas cards to each other but nothing else.  This has been going on for about 30 years now! He invited me to come up to visit him. Maybe we can be better in touch now. 

The problem is that I can't drive the three hours to get there. It's not safe. My neurological condition is worse. Instead of CIDP I have involvement of the axon not just the nerve myelin cover of the nerves in my lower legs.

 I can't control my feet very well while driving. Sometimes moving my foot from the gas to the break pedal is difficult. It doesn't always happen but I can't predict it. Most recently I had to put the car in Park to stop it.  Luckily I was going very slowly.

I don't want to hurt anyone or myself so I have not been driving. Asking someone to take me places is difficult. Using Uber or Lyft taxi service is very expensive.  Doctor visits, going to the pharmacy, getting a haircut are frustratingly difficult tasks.

If using the hand control works I'll have a lot of my freedom back.

A Little Foggy Headed But Slowly Getting Back into Blogging

 

Not Yet (maybe someday?)

How to Make My Blog Better?

 

CIDP Coming After Me.

 I've been so tired the last two weeks. My autoimmune disease CIDP is acting up again. My Physical Therapist told me he's never seen me so tired and to speak with my doctor. I left a message at his office.

Maybe the problem will heal itself. I'll keep up with exercise and my blog. Sorry I skipped posting or reading your blogs last week.

The CIDP that's coming after me:

Could This Be Possible?

Simulated Reality

I came across this idea a short while ago and began to wonder if it actually can be true. Are we living in a simulated world? Is what we experience only a representation of reality and not the original thing?

Sometimes a person can find small errors in the simulation that are corrected or that are left as is. An example that I had many years ago: My daughter took a bus to visit us one day and I offered her some of my orange flavored Tic Tac candy. She told me a man on the bus she just left also offered her some orange flavored Tic Tacs. Was it only a coincidence?

Another example: At 911 I'm sure I saw on TV the terrorist planes as they crashed into the World Trade Center buildings. Later I learned the event was not shown on TV at the time I saw it. Was it only a video I was confused about?

The Monopoly game man is a common example experienced by many people. He never had a monocle.

Anyway here's a video that explains it much better:

Do you have any experiences or thoughts you'd like to share?

When I Get Low, I Get High

Does this song mean that when she gets "low" (sad, depressed), she gets the strength to pull herself up and get "high".

Or, does it mean she feels better by taking alcohol and drugs? 

Newer video: 

Try full screen.

"Original" version: 

Chick Webb & his Orchestra Ella Fitzgerald - When I Get Low I Get High 1936

Simulated Reality

 
What if the simulated reality went back in a series until it reached the primary creator? Would it be God?

Here's an interesting video:

What Does #17 Have to do with a Pig?

I found this article while looking through The National Holiday List. I still don't see what they have to do with each other.

"National Yellow Pig Day on July 17th honors the unique attributes of the number 17 and its significance to mathematics. 

If you don’t think the number 17 plays any role in our lives, consider these facts:

• The number 17 is a premium number in the arena of prime numbers. Add the first four prime numbers together, and 17 is their sum.
• The average school bus weighs 17 tons with passengers inside.
• Each of the following words has 17 letters:
  • interdisciplinary
  • telecommunication
  • misinterpretation
  • commercialization
  • electrophotometer
• The atomic number of chlorine is 17.
• Pebble Beach has a specific road known as the 17 Mile Drive along the Monterey Peninsula in California. However, the exact length of the road is 16.78 miles.
• The 17th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution gave the citizens of the United States the right to elect their senators by popular vote. Before the states ratified the amendment on April 8, 1913, each states’ legislatures would elect the senators to Congress.

Look for the not so random occurrence of the number 17.  Look!  Yellow pig!

HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalYellowPigDay

Brush up on your calculus and round up your yellow pigs. Look for the number 17. It’s everywhere!  While you’re celebrating, be sure to post on social media using #NationalYellowPigDay.

NATIONAL YELLOW PIG DAY HISTORY

Our research found National Pig Day originates sometime during the early 1960s. Two mathematicians by the name of Michael Spivak and David Kelly were analyzing the random properties of the number 17 and a mysterious yellow pig. It seems the process became excessive and professional. Kelly gave lectures and taught classes around Yellow Pig, and Spivak made publications in several mathematics texts. While not based upon it, Spivak does subtly reference the number 17 and Yellow Pig."

Is it me or does this make little sense? 

Trying to Get Organized

Why?

So I won't miss out on enjoyable activities.

So I'll be able to take care of myself (groceries, dump, exercise, etc)

How I avoid doing it:

-Spend too much time looking for the ideal to do list on paper and also computer application, instead of doing what I need to do.

-Being too vague about what I want and the steps I need to take.

I use Microsoft to do:

It's free and seems to be as good as any other.

And I use paper calendar, paper weekly schedule, Google email reminders, and an index card for what needs to be done right now today.

Here is an article I find very useful:   How to Make Your To-Do List Doable

I've been feeling very woozy and weak the past few days, It's my sickness CIDP. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDSWrMkvnn0&t=48s

Tomorrow I have an IVIG treatment, the last intravenous one before I restart doing subcutaneous treatments on my own at home.

Hopefully it will help. I keep typing in the wrong letters so I will stop for now after I correct my typing.

I have to pick up my groceries at Walmart now. I'll stop for pizza on the way and pick up some cereal I forgot to order. 

I hope improving my to do list will make things easier.

Is This Negative Thinking?

Never mind being half full or empty. 

Maybe it's the wrong glass to start with.

Remember the best seller from decades ago The Power of Positive Thinking?  I came across this video of some philosophical ideas that seem to go the other way, like "The Power of Negative Thinking".

I have a relative who always complains about how bad the world is.  After a short while with him my mood begins to drop. That's why I try to limit my time with him. He looks at you as if you are crazy if you try to say anything positive about life. Sometimes I can make him change for a few seconds before he returns to his old self.

I made my daughter laugh when I told her that he belongs to a society of negative thinkers. I raise my eyebrows to give her a sign about what is coming next when we get together and he begins his negative discussions.

Anyway, this video seems to go for what is a negative view of life. What do you think?

(Click on image to start the video.)

Perpetual Motion vs Thermodynamics

Now here is something to think about. Wouldn't it be great if someone could invent a way to make a perpetual motion machine? As a kid I used to wonder why things like skateboards or marbles would just stop moving after a while. Here's a video I came across.

Breaking Bad

This is a series I highly recommend.

This video may have a few spoilers in it,

but not enough to ruin the whole series.

Laundry Symbols

These symbols are not clear to me. 

I can guess at some but I'm not certain. 

How about you?

Here is a sort of "test" I set up:

It's not finished!

For me the written explanations are useful.  I can do without any symbols.  There is no way most of them can be interpreted, so why bother to print them? 

(Sorry the chart would not fit without being too difficult to see.)

I just realized the use for the symbols.  They are to save space on the clothing label.  
I usually just throw the clothes in and turn on the switch so that's why I never thought of it.

But then you'd still need a chart to interpret the symbols.

Print a copy for yourself if you think it might help.

Nice Commercial

I saw this commercial the other day which got me thinking about TV commercials in general.

Here's the nice quiet commercial that I saw.

I believe this is some kind of investment company.  Why can't there be more commercials like this instead of screaming? The screaming just makes me want to stay away from anything they'er trying to sell.  I put the volume on mute and wait for it to end.

Here's a cute commercial from the past:

I suppose some people don't mind. The commercials must work or they wouldn't keep putting them on.

Strandbeest

I just had to share this with you. It's fantastic. I wonder if this might evolve into a new form of transportation or more realistically a beach side fun ride. 

"Dutch engineer/artist Theo Jansen is known for his Strandbeests, giant kinetic sculptures  that move along the beach on their own, powered only by the wind. Over time, the Strandbeests have evolved to be bigger, lighter, and faster. They seem to be living beings, although they are made of PVC pipe, string, and zip ties."
From the blog:

Miss Cellania

Try full screen.

Wired for EEG

I'm scheduled to take another EEG exam for three days.  I'll have the electrodes put in tomorrow, wear them all weekend, then have them removed on Monday.  I will go home wearing the wires on my head. It's not painful, just annoying.

  

This weekend I'll keep learning how to use the new iPhone I just bought.  My flip-phone would not recharge. This is the second flip-phone I've had that did this.  Besides, it was time for me to finally get a "smart phone".  Kidding around I used to call my old phone a "dumb phone" because all it could do was to make and receive calls and text.  It was easy with almost nothing to learn about using it.

 The EEG will be checking all the areas of my brain. I must be in there somewhere. Maybe the combination of all the functioning areas make up a soul. Maybe the soul just goes for a ride in the body, like a person riding in a car. Who knows for sure. It would be great for me to have more faith in God and a meaningful existence.

The last EEG from a few years ago showed a spot something like the one in the image.

 I hope it did not get worse.

This video is about Sophia, an advanced human-like robot who seems to have feelings. Is Sophia real or just an advanced ventriloquist's puppet?  For now I think she is an independently thinking machine following programmed pathways something like an advanced chess playing robot.  Someday a robot will be created to be as real as a human, like in science fiction movies. There might even be robots with human parts.

Will such a robot have a soul? 

Finally Found Mind Map Software I Like

I've posted before about a few different mind maps that I thought were great.
So here I go again. I just like planning I guess. Sometimes I think that maybe that way I won't actually get around to doing it. But most of the time it does help clarify things.

Hopefully this will be the final mind map I'll regularly use.  It's free, which is important. It's fairly easy and fun, if you like planning.


This video explains its features better than I can,