Travel and memories

 Travel was easier when I was younger. When I travel to a destination with a lot of sightseeing I prepare by looking at everything, I might want to visit, prioritize a list of must sees, check opening hours and then visit whatever I'm in the mood for that day.

A perfect day is waking up, eating a slow breakfast then let impulsivity and mood guide me. Sometimes I visit a famous museum discover a nice court yard café sketch and let the sights work their magic.

I went to venice with a group when I was a teen. We saw the main sites, but there was no meandering and discovering. The second time I went I took my time wanted to take a glass making workshop, it was mostly glass blowing which I'm not interested in, but did manage to buy murano glass candy.

On another trip with my mom we visited the cote d'azure and took day trips. My mom wanted to see the casino in monaco an absolutely stunning place. Back then despite the fact that we visited during the day we couldn't get in. I wore a nice tshirt shorts, but the dress code didn't permit shorts. Wasted trip. I also didn't know that monaco had a oceanographic museum.

Monaco museum of oceanography, built on a cliff.

I recently checked. The casino has lifted its dress code, but the museum sells prepurchased tickets. My memory of Monaco is of looking at rocky beaches, disappointed that I didn't get to visit the casino. I've been to several time window famous exhibits with pre booked tickets and didn't like it. Three hours of shuffling through a packed exhibit, without the time to sit in the museum cafe write my impressions and return to the exhibit is neither relaxing nor inspiring.

Venice recently started limiting tourist numbers, I've heard that the booking system of letting the city know you're coming is chaotic and I thought about how easy everything used to be.

The entire point of a vacation is to relax and not have an itinerary. Somehow, at least to me, spending a vacation trying to book tickets in advance is losing that freedom to enjoy the day. I once bought a ticket to a famous traveling exhibit then couldn't attend. Impossible hassle to switch the day.

Ai-pocalypse?

 "Whats the plural of apocalypse?" (Buffy)

There is another debate on AI destroying humanity within the next 10 years with a 10% chance but little explanation of how that will happen.

It won't. But in the last 15 years people are enjoying every conceivable doomsday scenario discussion, not realizing that it keeps us glued to our screens. 

What tech companies are calling ai or superintelligence is neither. 

Anthropic (Claude) Dario amodei

OpenAI (Chat gpt) microsoft Sam altman

Google deepmind gemini

There are more but there's an overlap in investments. Most of these companies experience their own development in leaps are in competition so any announcement could be due to competition.

Regulating will be difficult because few lawmakers understand them. 

I've written about it often enough. Unless they are contracted into military or given instructions to destroy they won't make the decision to do so because they can't think.

That doesn't mean they're not damaging.

Series or movies like person of interest, die hard 4 are more likely scenarios than eagle eye.

In the end humans are the threat. Not the technology.

Fine dining as art and moview review the menu 2022

 The first time I was invited to a Michelin starred restaurant on a friend's corporate account I selected a main course to compare it to what I already knew. Salmon with mashed potatoes and carrots. I can't recall the industry terminology but remember being underwhelmed.

The salmon was good but not great, the mashed potatoes great but came with spaghetti. Where are the carrots I asked my friend. Turns out the "Spaghetti" was made out of carrots and turnip. I didn't like it. My home made side dish of steamed Asparagus goes better with Salmon. At least to my taste buds. The second time I tried quail. Again underwhelmed. It tasted like chicken and was too much work for five bites of food. Of course the idea is to taste a multi course meal, but the main complaint is that I prefer to actually eat and be satiated, not have a beautiful plated tiny morsel and hungrily wait for the next course.

Is plated fine dining food art? Absolutely.

Have a look at Noma Restaurant desserts. Incredible little sculptural art pieces that I'd rather own as sculptures than eat them. In fact I do not want to eat dessert served on moss, with little branches no matter how pretty.

Like modern fine art it has a conceptual explanation of eating your environment, sustainability juxtaposition of nature food and so on. Food and a philosophical story for 600 dollars.

I also don't want to be confronted with mortality while eating: "the work of art is as ephemeral as life, creation destroyed by eating it".

True. But pretentious.

The movie the Menu written by the writers of the Onion is a very dark satire that doesn't work as mystery thriller or horror but as an expose of this pretentiousness. Ralph Fiennes is amazing as the cult like leader Chef who invites guests at 1200 bucks to taste his creations. He's psychopathic but the lines in the movie are hilarious and relatable.

I've tasted food that was foam (don't like the texture) or gel (flavorful but ugh). "We gel!" Was too funny. The dishes with conceptual names. "Microgreens" that are just sprouts. Inspired by three star Michelin Restaurant in Chicago, Alina messy desert table, is actually called "the mess" in the movie.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=qofsdSMuGbg

I wouldn't enjoy eating that, no matter how theatrical. 

Nothing in the gastronomy industry escapes this biting satire.Art is commercialized and subjected to immense performance pressures until the genius  creator cracks and has a meltdown. Anyone remember Galiano? 

It makes a point that none of the people who can afford it really appreciate it. The tech bros who view it as a status symbol. The foodie and staff who worship chef despite the fact that he mistreats them. The conveyor like plating of food with tweezers. Plates that use "drop and drizzle". Various reductions and sauces dropped on a plate with pipettes. This gives you an idea of what to expect. 

It's very original and completely insane. But so is the world we live in.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=2MZF2IAJWDs

It is so well informed that the 2026 Restaurant theme and trend is flambé. (Dumpsterfire? Everything going to hell?) Hilarious. (Makes sense once you watch it).

Hopefully, we return to tasty stable food soon.

Any restaurant experiences? Please share.

Health and remembrance

 

"Never argue with stupid people.

They will drag you down and 

beat you with experience"

So I have the current variant of Covsshh. Mild and the symptoms are called "stuttering". Two days of a painful cough then fine for two days then the nose starts and stops like it can't decide what to do next. Fatigued. Then comes a spectacular sneeze.

And I'm angry.

For the last month it's circulating globally. There is nothing else going around but the media and public health are not mentioning it. Under 65 it's just a cold over it's the summer flu. Nope.

My friend is in his 30s and it's who I got it from. He had 4 days of a runny nose really sick then trained (the one thing you're supposed to do is rest) then got worse.

What's circulating is highly contagious but mild. 

Why am I angry? Two weeks ago stood in line in a store. Didn't notice the cashier was practically dripping on the counter. Had I known I would have masked. I asked for him to put on a mask. He's a nice considerate guy and he did by putting it on his chin to cover his mouth. He put on gloves because they no longer had disinfectant. All the lock downs and he didn't understand that his nose shouldn't be hanging out there. Its just a cold he said. I said nothing else. People don't care.

Another friend stood too close to me. Instead of distancing he clamped his mouth shut. What will that do? He rambled about his opinion.What's the V in Cov.....?????!!!! 

In synchronicity or a meaningful coincidence yesterday was the 25th anniversary of 9/11 which changed our world. I remember. I also remember sitting in a cab listening to conspiracy theories. Bush had ignored advice that attacks were coming turned into he had staged it himself.

While getting stuck with caregiving during covid, I remember. I remember the caregiving organizations that harassed my father to the point that I had to get a court order. Unqualified staff showing up with their mask on their chin. People in stores becoming aggressive accosting me because I wore a mask. During the worst of it I never caught it and didn't bring it home but had loud arguments with cab drivers. Please wear your mask. I don't have to. Yes you do. An enclosed space where I needed to listen to conspiracy theories that this was lab created.

Children who don't want to learn become adults who don't want to learn. Stupid people being stupid. Anger and disdain. 

Masks reduce it by 30%. It would be higher but n95s are not fitted.

The reason they work is size. Other resp. Viruses are the size of a pea compared to corona which is the size of a pilates ball.

About 1500 people died during 911. Innocents who became a symbol for a tall financial building, who had nothing to do with government decisions. First responders as well.

the who estimates that 180000 health care workers globally sacrificed their lives during covid. Friends of friends died so that idiots get their "freedom" from masks and offer their belligerent uneducated opinions.

A few dinky memorials with uninspired commissioned art is how they were thanked.

I remember. I shall never forget.

Food and health

 I haven't read the book The poison squad by Deborah Blum yet but it's on my list. It'll finally give me a response for people who believe old natural and deregulation are a good thing.

There are many reasons there are so many octogenerians post ww2 when governments needed to produce a healthy population. But most don't know how good they had it.

When I visited various castles and museums including versailles I was always struck by how short humans used to be due to malnutrition even the aristocrat's. The aristocratic diet in the 18th century was meat for breakfast lunch and dinner because vegetables were believed to be the food of the poor.

I love going to China town. Veggies are much cheaper and I m immersed in a cultural experience without having to travel to China. If I'm trying to cook something different I eventually give up because I do not know what all those fruits and veggies are. I browse the aisles of imported products: sour salted plum, lily buds, dried fish snack...huh?

Like chips? Oh.no. the translation is wrong. It's fish scales that need to be presoaked then added to stock. Of course. There are aisles of unidentifiable plant and insect material labeled as "herbs". All labeled in Chinese. Unregulated imports that are potentially toxic.

Unlike Anthony Bourdain I do not want to eat marinated Yak testicle. Call me a culinary coward.

This is an excerpt out of Deborah Blums book

Deborah Blum The poison squad

With permission

Europe is using a plant called Lupine as a protein substitute. It was banned due to toxicity allergies and is carcinogenic. The ingredient isn't always disclosed so it's mixed in with flour.

Anyway. We're heading back to the 19th century if we deregulate food safety.

Things that make me smile cats and motorcycles

 Standing at a light I heard the very loud approach of two very big loud motorcycles accompanied by blaring music. The musical choice was a modern version of Queen. Odd. 

On two of the biggest Harley Davidsons I have ever seen sat burly bearded men dressed in very colorful clothes complete with nail polish. The juxtaposition was great. They stopped at the light watched me laugh. Laughed and waved. We shared a moment of joy.

There is a neighborhood cat that explores the outdoors. She comes when pstpsted but doesn't let me pet her. As I was stepping out the front door she runs toward me past me then proceeded to inspect things inside. I had a funny what the hell just happened moment before I went back in to find her. She was calmly exploring came when called allowed me to pick her up. I placed her in front of the door, where she sat down beside me, chirping me her story. Just two mammals hanging out. Weird cat.

New term decision fatigue

 In as much as one can have an argument with a roomba i had an argument with a chat ai.

I was asking questions about how to find what I wS looking for and have less aggressive ads that had nothing to do with papercrafts.

It gave me a new term so the conversation wasn't completely useless.

Decision Fatigue

Companies are analyzing our behavior but do not understand that if I'm looking for inspiration I choose what I want to buy later.

If I'm looking for new sketchbook or papercrafts I do not want two pages of Amazon or some company that look like the craft section of walmart. I was shown crap that one makes with kids. That is not decision fatigue but frustration so I buy nooooothing.

______________

https://www.jenniferfrith.com/sketchbooks

I recently looked her up. Sh illustrates children's books now but is a talented wildlife artist. Her sketchbooks and daily journals are too faith based for me, but her gratitude journal gave me the idea for quickly illustrating favorite quotes and repurposing old daily planners. 

Drawing everyday objects. All of it objects I don't usually draw.

Sorry about the quick draft/bulletpoint post but this is making the internet worse. More on that later.