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WELCOME TO WATCH-FIRE

Welcome to watch-fire! You are invited to visit my personal blog covering many different areas of interest. Just click on this link and browse as long as you like. There is always fresh content, so be sure to bookmark this link for future reference. Some of the topics include relationships, travel, robotics and AI, international affairs, war, religion, psychology, alien life and UAPs, nature, politics, history and just hanging out....

You can't ignore the border crisis.

YOU CAN’T IGNORE THE BORDER CRISIS

We’ve all seen the images of people trying to get into the U.S. via our southern border.  We’ve seen the “caravans” walking northward in Mexico from Guatemala, or hanging onto train cars, trucks, and so on. We shake our heads, change the channel, maybe whisper a silent prayer or explain to our children why this is wrong. We justify our birthright to this land, but piously deny others the same opportunities that we have. However you feel, though in the end,...

The Boat

THE BOAT

There once was a young boy who decided that he wanted to build a toy boat.  He very carefully drew his plans, found the best wood available, and cut, sanded and painted the boat.  He added a sail and when he was done, he was very happy with the boat he had made. He took it to the lake near his house the first chance he had, and carefully laid it in the water.  Soon, a breeze picked up and the boat started...

Time to mask up again?

TIME TO MASK UP AGAIN?

Because the COVID-19 severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus continues to circulate, but more importantly, because of an uptick in infections and hospitalizations, I’ve decided to start a new thread, since the old one is a pretty large file.  Let’s begin with a status check.  As of mid-August 2023 there were: U.S. Hospitalizations from COVID Deaths from COVID in U.S. Doses of vaccine given in U.S. 6,256,971 1,145,659 676,728,782[1] [1] As of May 2023. Variant Name R0 Value Comments XBB.1.5 Kraken TBD Emerged in Fall...

A DEADLY GAME?

Football has come under scrutiny over the past few years by a few well-intentioned people who are concerned about the potential risk to life and limb over this contact sport.  Most of it seems to focus on the high school level, and while high school football seems to be assured of its future, the concern percolates under the surface.  The question remains: Is a game worth a traumatic brain injury or a severe shock to a young person’s spinal cord?  Fortunately, the odds...

The Barbie Movie

Россияне любят <<Барби>>

Я – новичок в стране Барби. Все, кто вырос в Америке, слышали о Барби, которая, хорошо это или плохо, стала культурной иконой Запада. В прошлом месяце моя жена сходила на фильм о Барби, а через неделю – во второй раз, с двумя другими членами семьи. Во второй раз она, ее внучка и невестка оделись по этому случаю в розовое. Моя жена была в восторге от фильма и хотела, чтобы я его посмотрел. Мы договорились, что когда фильм появится на телевидении,...

Don't be duped by deepfakes

DON’T BE DUPED BY DEEPFAKES

This is a good place to start.  Watch this one minute video. Imagine if instead of a Morgan Freeman character, it was a famous politician. What if it was someone pretending to be Donald Trump talking about draconian measures in society during a second term as President. Or, suppose it was an image if Dr. Fauci admitting that he was secretly rtesponsible for COVID, or a President Biden ringer “confessing” he was involved in some world wide conspiracy. Would you believe...

Can we trust the robots?

CAN WE TRUST ROBOTS?

The notion of robots has captured the imaginations of our grandparents since the end of World War I when European researchers first applied the use of electricity to try to mechanize machines.  Soon, a menacing looking robot called Tobor appeared on television and in the movies (Tobor is the word “robot” spelled backwards.)  Before long, there was the clumsy machine that was introduced in the sixties in Lost in Space.  This robot was not capable of very much except to flail its arms around...

Enfants de Dieu

ENFANTS DE DIEU

Let me begin this essay by asking questions of the reader. Of the following groups in our society, which of the following would you think were most likely to be happy with their lives; happy with who they are; happy with their appearance; their love for family, siblings; and their ability to make new friends? Your choices of groups are lottery jackpot winners; teenagers; successful single adults 21-35; couples with one child only; church going couples with more than three...

Are we alone in the universe?

ARE WE ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE?

The Kepler space mission has produced data that suggests that “based upon the number of M-class stars in the galaxy, that alone represents about 10 billion potentially habitable, Earth-like worlds.”  Our sun is a G-class star.  M-class stars are fainter, cooler stars called “Red Dwarfs.”  To understand the conditions on a planet circling a Red Dwarf, refer to my post here.  Meanwhile, today’s question is “Are we alone in the universe?” Ten billion worlds.  That’s a lot.  Of course, that number is the top end.  Let’s dig into the...

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