Mariner follows cartoons from many sources and recommends the same for readers. Cartoons release subconscious constipation and act like an aspirin against the pain of daily events. Wiley of Non Sequitur is his champion. The reader can get a year’s worth on their next desktop calendar.
Below are two excellent examples:
֎ Speculations about the future of Christianity drew interest. If the Trinity disappears, Armageddon will ensue. Mariner is not in a position to reconcile such a difficult question so he will throw some logs on the fire.
Log 1 – In the local newspaper today was an article about a Roman Catholic priest here in the US. He was in deep trouble because many parishioners had to re-baptize their babies because the priest said, “We baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.” Turns out the Vatican said this is improper because it is the spirit of Jesus only who baptizes; the priest should have said ‘I’. Calculate the amount of grace, dare mariner say God’s grace, that was demonstrated in the strict interpretation. Define aquarium. Define spiritual.
Log 2 – Just in his small town mariner counted five people who never go to church but are known for their good works and their commitment to help others. One of these people is older than mariner and when there is a snowstorm will get out his tractor and clear 19 driveways in town, mostly those who cannot do it themselves. Can the two Great Commandments be defined in other belief systems that do not have a spiritual deity?
Log 3 – There is a hairdresser who takes one workday each week to work in retirement homes. Does this woman go to church? Define Holy Spirit.
– – – –
On to other matters:
More companies are using AI-led video interviews to assess job candidates before a 
human recruiter even meets them. Some automated programs evaluate not just on answers to questions, but sometimes on facial expressions, intonation and word choice.
Remember Nadine?
Here in Iowa mariner had another snowstorm yesterday. The ground is covered in snow and ice; bitter breezes prevail; many winter chores remain undone. Nevertheless, four weeks from now the early vegetables like lettuce can be planted; is the asparagus bed ready? Clean the greenhouse and pots; repair garden tools. Get ready, gardeners.
Ancient Mariner
Below are random thoughts collected from mariner’s alter egos about trends in society and history that are too large to be noticed daily and so slow in impact that, today at least, they don’t matter.
֎ Migration from the coasts. Axios, an online news source, reports that a trend is well underway which involves a significant number of people relocating from the coasts and current centers of commerce to twenty heartland states. Three major causes are the ability to work from home, the internet enables large corporations to relocate for tax purposes and an awareness of the impact of global warming on the coasts – ocean levels are expected to rise one foot by 2050. Map below:
Mariner mentions this trend because it is a shift in winds by the nation’s cultural ideology about what it means to be successful. Since the 1960s one was considered upwardly mobile and successful if they were able to escape the local scene and become part of the world of big-time success, typically large corporations, universities and the world of the Fortune 500. One could ask whether today’s working class (including the trumpers) will ever again be the center of the nation’s work ethic, will ever again bask in the glory days of Rosie the Riveter and the political influence of the AFL/CIO. In the future one wonders where the collective identity of a U.S. citizen will emerge – given the isolating characteristics of working from home and the extensive automation of manufacturing. In the future what cultural characteristic will define a successful individual?
֎ The disappearance of Christianity. Among the major religions of the world, 
Christianity is the most spiritual. To be a Christian requires an eagerness to put aside one’s own sense of accomplishment and replace it with enabling success in others. The theological basis is a spiritual relationship – a partnership – with God, Jesus and the human Christian; scripturally called the Trinity. In 2014 Paul Harvey, a conservative talk show host on radio, said “Too many Christians are no longer fishers of men, but the keepers of the aquarium.” – clearly a recognition of an evaporating spiritual element in Christianity.
For many decades religious thinkers have pondered what will replace Christianity. Will it be atheism? Will it be humanism? Will it be naturalism? Will it be, in a computer-driven society, determinism? Will a new age of theocracy emerge? Each of these ideologies has a similar ethical structure, essentially endorsing a grand order from which morality can be deduced but not necessarily from an anthropomorphic deity driven by spirituality. Like the national identity of success, Christianity is a deeply rooted characterization of most U.S. citizens. What will replace the spirituality provided by Christianity? Will church buildings go the way of public telephone booths? What unchanging, overarching principle will guide humanity in the simulated world of artificial intelligence?
֎ Economic theory. Since the beginning, Homo sapiens’ habitat has been one, most of the time, that has allowed a constant increase in the number of humans in the 
world. There was always another natural resource to leverage, always a new way to profit as a species, always a new intellectual device to increase production beyond human capability.
Along with a period of unusually long and stable planetary weather, the environment allowed three primary economic theories to work: capitalism, socialism and communism. Granted, there are unending political ways to manage these theories from dictatorships to democracies but only these three economic theories can leverage the natural resources in a manner that is sustainable. The number of humans has long surpassed survivability based on hunting/gathering and family labor.
Today the human population has grown past 7 billion on its way to what many scientists from different disciplines believe, given natural resources, is a maximum capacity of 11 billion. Add to population issues the issue of global warming and a reduced need for labor in an automated world and one begins to wonder what food will be available? What income will be available? How will banking and supply economics work as resources diminish on a person-to-person basis? What is the future of capitalism when there is no longer an opportunity to increase profit? Will underfed socialism lead to an era of war and domination?
Humans may not be wiped out by a meteor like the dinosaurs were, but humans may experience a rapid transition as the combination of profiteering, extreme weather and resource depletion come together to form a new age.
Ancient Mariner
It’s those damned smartphones again! It seems no one has time to watch a full sporting event. Full length television of football, baseball, soccer, tennis and other major events is disappearing. Instead, viewers check out Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and Snapchat. Even the Super Bowl is at risk.
It may be hard to reconstruct for the busy young streamers but there was a time when the event, the getting together with family and friends, the actual driving, parking, ticket purchase, hot dogs and time spent cheering, booing and doing the wave was as important as the game – the entire, three-hour game! When the game was away, television was a true blessing; folks still gathered in homes, pubs and sports restaurants to watch the entire game.
This is a simple and clear example of the deep human price our culture is paying as it moves to an age born in the computer cloud.
Other acts of sports participation have disappeared. For example, most neighborhoods participated in adult softball leagues. The extracurricular activities were just as important as the games themselves. Sports used to be one of the major socialization events that mixed people together to form common ground, which fostered togetherness and acceptance of one another. Despite the rivalry and the boisterousness, common courtesy was practiced.
Time was, every neighborhood had a card club for poker, bridge and mah-jongg. The point is this: It is obvious today that serious activity in politics, business ethics, and international relations all are a bit stiff and awkward. It is difficult to behave within a sociable base of communication. Homo sapiens is a herd creature. Without a practiced herd behavior, we may as well be possums – just as long as we have our surreal smartphone.
Ancient Mariner
Memory is a strange phenomenon. The subconscious wreaks havoc with our memories if only to justify our idiosyncrasies. We can remember a brief instant deep in our past for no reason except that, for some reason, the brain bookmarked it. Age begins to wear on memories; if it hasn’t been important for a while, the brain tosses it out. At the end the brain trashes functional memory but keeps fantasized and mindless habits.
An old codger, mariner’s brain has started tossing things; mostly names of people and nouns. It has come to the point that mariner often fails in the telling of a joke because the brain doesn’t share the key word in the punchline. Short memory is a turkey shoot. Mariner can know the word he wants to use and three seconds later it no longer exists – only to return ten minutes later.
But what is lost in the tossing is huge chunks of our lives. Mariner’s wife will say “Do you remember when we visited so-and-so in Nashville and had to take a train because the highways were closed?” To which mariner replies, “We’ve never been to Nashville. Who is so-and-so?” Who among us watches television and sees dozens of faces vaguely recognized but why and when are they familiar has been tossed?
Mariner raises this issue because of a phenomenon most have experienced. Like most of us, mariner has a collection of songs from his youthful days. A few years ago mariner compiled his favorites into a list called simply, GOAT. There are over ninety songs from every venue, era, concert, pop, classic, jitterbug, Broadway and every type of troubadour. Mariner plays GOAT every once in a while when he is preoccupied with office work or other quiet activities.
HE SINGS ALONG KNOWING EVERY WORD OF EVERY SONG, EVERY CHORD SHIFT, EVERY SYNCOPATION, EVERY STYLE AND EVERY VOICE. HE HAS ALL THE IMAGES OF THE ENTERTAINERS SINGING THE SONG.
Mariner is an idiot savant.
Ancient Mariner
The politicians and medical experts talk of ‘lockdown’ and ‘job disruption’ and ‘inflation/recession’ (depending on who is talking). As a participant in these odd times, mariner feels more like a shut-in. Perhaps many who are not working at the moment, who are forced indoors not only by harsh weather but by the influence of online dependence – not having to leave the home to shop, be entertained (sort of), eliminating many opportunities to at least talk even to a McDonald’s clerk, church services, storefront shopping, movies (are they gone forever?), short trips just for the experience and restaurants.
Mariner has friends who live in isolation in their homes, who live in the existential vacuum of a retirement home, assisted living or hospice care. In this national environment, however, millions are trapped by a disruption in their lives for one reason or another; the home if they can keep it is, comparatively speaking, little more than a caveman’s home. Many of us are shut-ins.
Being a shut-in means there is a lot of idle time in a day. One may be frustrated by being trapped with children but at least there is human interaction and accountability, albeit often burdensome. As time goes by, idleness breeds dissatisfaction with one’s circumstances, eventually leading to depression and frustration. One suffers with thoughts of failure and incompetence. Eventually a bottom is reached where nothing is interesting, nothing has value, and reality slowly loses its presence.
Don’t expect the government to deal with this nor the expensive health industry. Each of us must climb out of the well on our own accord.
Mariner draws from several sources some suggestions to regain control of one’s normal ego:
Upgrade your sense of obligation to improve your environment. You don’t ordinarily scrub the toilet bowl each week but make that a conscious responsibility – and the myriad of other low-interest tasks required to manage a home.
Within your skills, repair everything and anything you have ignored under normal circumstances – repaint the living room? God forbid the overhead and inconvenience – from what?
Make a conscious effort to visit other people – family, friends, charitable events where you can help.
If you are fortunate to have an active hobby, step it up a bit and take on a challenging project.
Haven’t played your musical instrument for a while? Now is the time!
Create a family tournament with any number of games like scrabble, Life or cornhole.
Stop by a store that has potted plants for sale; create a miniature garden spot in the home.
Does the reader get the drift? Invent situations that require accountability and sustained responsibility.
These times are tough across the board. There is no aspect of normalcy that is unaffected. A self-defense strategy is necessary.
Spring is coming.
Ancient Mariner
Mariner just saw a frightening news clip on CBSN (ROKU). Robot puppies that look like the Paw Patrol cartoons are displacing real dog ownership. It reminds him of the perverts who live with sex dolls and people who marry suggestions from a manipulated database or the adults in a doctor’s office playing mind killing smartphone games.
Say goodbye to reality. Fantasy sells. Benignness sells. Stupor sells. Laziness sells.
If someone wants a dog, buy a real one dammit. Matrix lives.
Remember pet rocks? At least it was seen as a joke – although as mariner’s wife noted, some people name their automatic vacuum cleaner. Mariner’s wife provides a poem:
On learning that people who name their Roombas have a hard time
throwing them away:
Ah, little Roomba, Roomie-Roo
I love how you clean my floors
Diligently sucking up all the fluff you can find
and then scooting across the room
bumping against the chair leg
backing and turning
to dart off in another direction
Like an eager little puppy
who does the opposite of shedding,
chasing in your funny way
all the dusty bunnies hiding in the corners.
I don’t just love the work you do, little Roomie Roo
I love your friendly presence and helpful attitude
And when at last your lithium battery goes off somewhere to die
As happens to the best of us,
You will always have a home
In the closet of my heart.
MKM 4-20-21
All this reminds mariner of the Pew Christian who thinks one hour every seven days does it. Should we fear the coming of mesmerizing God robots? Preacher robots are just around the corner – or already here in podcast services.
If people want numbness, take opiates.
Ancient Mariner
The weather is cold enough now to muster the red cheeks and nose required for the season. When mariner was growing up in Baltimore, his parents would take him to the downtown shopping district where there were a dozen large department stores with the store windows converted to animated Christmas displays. Outdoor speakers wafted Christmas carols on the streets. Shopping was a joyous hands-on experience – especially in the large toy departments which went all out for a Santa-centered carnival.
Mariner remembers the hands-on shopping of his parents, touching, holding up, and talking with the clerk. At the end of the day, we would pile onto the streetcar to head home with bags and bags of gifts but not before a hotdog and orange juice at Neddick’s.
In mariner’s household, decorating did not occur until mariner was asleep on Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning mariner awakened to a different home with a Christmas tree, every room with decorations and yes! Santa had come with presents.
In the afternoon aunts uncles and cousins would gather for a family Christmas. This tradition was passed around each year between four families; two aunts lived twenty miles south of Baltimore so we had to take a train to get there. What more excitement could there be? Another gathering was had at maternal grandma’s. As the New Year approached, the festivities shifted to friends and neighbors. The salubrious mood remained in high gear into January.
These were years that occurred during and immediately after the Second World War. Gifts weren’t extravagant; holiday food didn’t always look like the Saturday Evening Post magazine cover, a sumptuous Norman Rockwell interpretation of Christmas dinner. The impact of the war was far, far more devastating than Covid. Most everyday things like meat and gasoline were rationed, thereby limiting amounts and options. The supply chain during the war was focused entirely on military requirements. Automobiles weren’t made in those times, only tanks and airplanes. Air raid black outs were common.
Mariner remembers those times as intensely focused on people and human participation in every aspect of daily life. Without leaving the front door he remembers greeting the milkman, the breadman, the iceman, the paperboy, out the back in the alley, several produce hucksters replete with horse drawn wagons; he remembers running through the neighborhood with playmates. At the corner of his block there was a confectionery store with ice cream delights and candy of every description where once a week or so his family would walk up the block and have an ice cream cone.
It is true that our memories often remember just the good times and forget the bad. Certainly this is true for the war years. But there was restoration of life to be had if only by sharing daily life with other people whether working, dealing with the war or mingling with everyone in the retail sector. Churches then still were a center point for an orderly culture. Many families had basement parties for enlisted men who were in port.
It is different today. As fully united as American citizens were in supporting ‘the war’ with losses of loved ones, meager salaries and limited supplies, today the populism and rancor looms like a war on our own streets. Further, ordering online via Amazon or whoever has permanently diminished, if not eliminated, a cultural holiday high point in American society – storefront, hands-on shopping.
How can we celebrate a truly salubrious holiday today, Facebook – with Zoom?
Ancient Mariner
This entire post intends deliberately to promote a new book: “The Age of AI and our Human Future” by Henry Kissinger, Eric Schmidt and Daniel Huttenlocher, published 2021 by Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 9780316273800.
Not that mariner is comfortable with every premise. Indeed, the book clarifies his own resistance to the impact of AI. Nevertheless, the book is written with rational insight and for the ease of an average reader; the language and grammar are helpful instead of being a confrontation.
The authors point out in clear terms that being a human will be different as AI takes over behaviors usually executed by human beings. One insightful example: It is quite likely that an AI program will choose whether you are hired for a job – no human intervention is necessary; perhaps a human robot may interview you. AI programs author public documents – no human intervention is necessary. Economic activities like engaging in the stock market, international trade agreements and salaries will be managed by AI – no human intervention is necessary.
Many of what today are called ‘labor jobs’ that require skills typical of the trades or white collar workers or many specialist jobs in public service and health will not be required. The new labor class will be technicians trained to work with AI. For the Homo species, the social and psychological changes in an individual’s sense of personal worth will be challenged.
The authors point to other significant changes to human worth in history when, for example, the weaving machine was invented which promulgated a national resistance movement called the Luddites; also, the printing press changed individual awareness and political acumen forever, allowing ideas like democracy to grow. But the great double-cross in mariner’s mind is captured on the back cover:
“Recently, a sophisticated language-generating AI named GPT-3 was asked philosophical questions. It replied in part:
Your question is ‘Does GPT-3 have a conscience or any sense of morality?’ No, I do not.
Your next question is ‘Is GPT-3 actually capable of independent thought?’ No, I am not. You may wonder why I give this conflicting answer. The reason is simple. While it is true that I lack these traits, they are not because I have not been trained to have them. Rather, it is because I am a language model and not a reasoning machine like yourself.
The gray line for mariner is, in fact, that AI has no soul. How does one provide insightful charity? How does one know when the exception proves the rule? How does an individual achieve the hero’s path in light of determinism? Further, mariner does not trust the three-way relationship between AI, government and private investment. How will our Congressmen manipulate campaign funds?
As Forrest Gump would say, “Amoral is as amoral does.” How a person may be treated or defined is driven by their table values in massive databases. Mariner remains a Luddite and a member of the silent generation. One day he will buy a pony and a pony cart. Who needs automobiles driven by AI? The pony knows the way.
Nevertheless, read the book. You owe it to yourself to understand your future self-worth.
Ancient Mariner
On Friday Mariner’s household lost its connection to the outside world – that is, internet and landline service. We tried several times to reboot the router, pulled out old cheap indoor antennae to no avail and finally called our telephone company. They will have a service person out Monday at the earliest. All we have is our flip cell phones.
It is silent in the house, especially in the evening. No television, no facetime, no internet, no news, no 1970s game shows, no documentaries, no British mysteries, no noise at all. This reinforces mariner’s opinion that an outside antenna is required to bring the rest of the world to rural Iowa – to say nothing about poor internet access generally.
In its place, there is NPR, an overloaded In-Box to clean out, our collection of TV shows on DVD, hundreds of musical CDs, some meaningful subject presentations and of course books and magazines. We shall survive but what is significant is the silence. A good example is dinnertime. Usually we watch a news program or eat around a facetime call. These past nights all mariner and his wife had was to talk to one another! Not that that is bad; it was nice. But silence sat at the dinner table, too.
The daytime is not affected much; mariner and his wife have many distractions that don’t involve watching television. Email maintenance is an early morning or very late evening chore so while email is missed, silence and isolation aren’t part of the experience.
Mariner thinks about the millions of internet users who have incorporated social media as the primary social interaction in their lives. How isolated they would feel in our circumstance. Obviously, telecommunications, satellites, internet and innumerable electronic devices have become an integral part of the human experience; just as obvious is the human dependency. We must do a better job managing electronic influences that take advantage of our dependency.
Another thought that crossed mariner’s mind is how very large social awareness is today. One can delve into any country, any subject, any political event, any culture and anyone around the world who is willing to share time online. One has at hand an unending encyclopedia covering every subject in great detail, even immediate news headlines around the world.
Before World War I, and especially before automobiles, a person’s reality was very small. If a person wasn’t present, there was no awareness. Reality stopped at hands-on. Imagine living a lifestyle, city or rural, that consisted totally of first-hand awareness, the same day after day, year after year. Was that easier and more manageable or is full awareness a tool that improves our mental comfort and eases our sense of security?
Ancient Mariner