The one-time cost of $39.99 for an application has become $400 or more if you subscribe to it for 10 years. I’ve been using word processors since 1995. Free or cheap trials quickly balloon into expensive ongoing payments that you forget about until months…or years later.

I thought you wanted me to continue paying $19.99 a month for two years for that game.

—Your bank account

Many applications have free alternatives

Thanks to open-source software, most of the applications you install have been available for free–for years. The Free Software Directory has a huge list, but here are a few:

• Wordprocessing, spreadsheets, presentations: LibreOffice

• Web browser: FireFox

• Email: Thunderbird

• Video editing: kdenlive

• Audio player/editor: Audacity

• OS: Linux (You don’t have to use Windows or Mac)

• And thousands more

The open-source movement arose out of concerns for privacy, security, and forced dependence. If you regularly use an application, you are encouraged, but not required, to make a donation to the developer or company providing it.

Here’s the history of open-source and free software from Wikipedia.

Fun Fact

The award-winning animated movie Flow was made using Blender, a free animation software. Such applications can be of very high quality and have robust feature sets.

But as more solutions move to the cloud, the need to download software has decreased. Companies like Microsoft attract and retain customers by giving samples away. Microsoft made its Office application free but limited its features.

The Google Drive Suite, which is free for individual users, includes all of the traditional applications like word processing, spreadsheets and more. You’re now in their ecosystem and they know what you want.

To use these cloud applications, you just need a computer, browser, an internet connection, and have to trust Alphabet/Microsoft with your secrets.

You can make your own software

A newer development, made possible by state of the art (SOTA) LLMs is vibe coding—using a chatbot to help you make your own applications.

Rick Rubin, legendary music producer explains it in this short video.

Even if you’ve never written a line of code, you can now use LLMs/chatbots to create applications or scripts that run on your computer. You explain to a chatbot the application you want to create and it writes the code for you.

Incidentally, this approach can rely heavily on libraries of functionality provided by open source developers.

Some things I’ve made with vibe coding:

• A PDF editor to open a Korean doc and send pages to OpenAI for translation to English

• Scripts to:

  • Extract data from files (vCard, PDF, Docx)

  • Connect to my online email and extract important, actionable info

  • Find and delete duplicate files on disk

  • Convert image files from JPEG to PNG

  • Use services via APIs to do things like transcribe a recording

This is my new hobby and I love it. But you quickly realize how much work it is to make a robust application.

Open-source AI is here

Fortunately, the open-source community continues to provide solutions that now leverage AI. You can test and use open-source models and features. Hugging Face is currently the leading site for this initiative.

Angel Poon has an excellent Hugging Face tutorial on Youtube to show you how to get started.

Will you even need your own software?

For better or worse, AI/Chatbots may make local applications unnecessary.

Is this good?

I don’t know, but it’s inevitable and it’s making some SaaS, software as a service, companies very nervous, and briefly dented your 401K statement.

Last week, Anthropic, a major AI company, released an update to their chatbot, Claude. This release rattled the SaaS markets and destroyed a trillion dollars of market value. Why? Anthropic added features in their solution, like legal reviews, and finance capabilities, that are the core features other companies provide. Yikes. Here’s a Yahoo Finance story with details.

Many features are bundled in the free and cheap monthly chatbot plans so the average user doesn’t think of these “features” as different applications. You can write, summarize, organize info, and make images for starters.

One day, your annual family budget will include line items for Bob, a single chatboth that manages specialized AI agents that provide ongoing health, legal, and finance guidance.

Or you’ll have to endure ads within your chatbot.

Bottom line

AI hype can be unrelenting and depressing, but the technology can be empowering and liberating. Watch The Thinking Game on YouTube to be inspired. One company is making AI-powered solutions that help researchers, scientists, and doctors to find treatments and cures.

My biggest fear is less about Skynet and more about all the unseen costs. OpenAI and other big AI companies have been sued for scraping copyrighted data. Even if you pay a monthly fee, how secure is your data, really?

The latest technical revolution will forever change how we develop and access software. The implications for personal privacy and freedom are huge.

As a parent

More pressing as a parent is my concern for jobs or careers for young people. In the next two years, an AI/chatbot may not replace your kid at work, but someone who is tech-savvy and can wield these powerful tools most certainly will.

The complaint, “it’s not human,” will make them look like a Neanderthal. They will lose their position to someone who can do the work in 1/10 the time and at a fraction of the cost.

Don’t be these guys:

• “Why would anyone want digital photos?”--a Kodak exec

• “It’s OK—we’ll be fine.” Jim Balsillie, RIM (Blackberry) CEO, responded to the iPhone’s unveiling in January 2007

A successful strategy is to embrace and leverage AI where it makes sense and to continually educate yourself about its benefits and risks. I enjoy YouTubers like NateBJones who explain the ongoing developments in AI. Or the email newsletter The Rundown. There are many others.

Adopt a growth mindset and learn to surf. The wave isn’t coming. It’s here.

Why bother making such a list? My favorite thing about being retired is the amount of free time I have for new hobbies like self-improvement. Well, it’s an old hobby but a new version. When I worked in high tech, I was constantly learning stuff to either keep my job or get a better one. After retiring, self-improvement has become more of a forensics project: What the heck happened at that company? 

Also, I’m operating under the assumption that I have another 40 years, so I still have time to make improvements and, in my mind at least, I’ve only just begun :) As a bonus, I could share some life hacks with the offspring. Besides, what else can I do with all this free time? Finish a middle-grade sci-fi novel?

After I wrote my initial list of jobs, I realized I had scoped the task incorrectly. Really, What I really wanted to see was the list of all the responsible roles, not just jobs, I’ve had.  What positions did I assume where someone expected me to perform and meet some standard? Here’s the list starting from when I was 12.

This can be a humbling and empowering experience. For shits and giggles, I fed it into ChatGPT and asked what it would say about such a person. It said I had a diverse skill set, was tech-savvy, and had an innovative mindset. Oh, don’t stop! Makes me want to make a T-shirt.

My list confirmed what I already knew. I wanted to be useful while being creative and smart. I wanted to help people be successful at work, or at least not get fired. And I didn’t want to be poor. I guess I knew all that.

If nothing else, I suspect this is a great conversation topic for a family dinner at Thanksgiving. Instead of politics, asking about personal histories could actually make people closer. It could happen.

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This post, I hope, will illustrate a point to my kids. A feature, not a bug, of modern life is that game-changing paradigm shifts are continually underway. When I was a kid, no one had a personal phone they carried everywhere. Today, my iPhone is never far away. Another profound shift that’s underway and leveling existing structures invisibly is shaped like a friendly chatbot.

In the mid-1990s, I was the first in my social circle to get a mobile phone. My girlfriend laughed at me. “Are you a doctor?” she teased. “Who needs a phone all the time?” She didn’t believe me when I said, “One day, everyone will have a cell phone!” You knew after having such a phone for only a week how useful it was. Remember how embarrassed your last Crackberry friend was the day after he switched to an iPhone?

I get it. Naysayers are right often enough. 3D TV? The Segway? Google Glass…we’ll see that one again. Not all super-hyped products or technologies go the way of the phone, but those that do change how we live and work.

In 2024, 97% of American adults have a mobile phone and 90% of those are smartphones. We use our phones four or more hours a day and interact with them hundreds, if not thousands, of times, according to Google’s Search Lab AI, and my own experience. In the 1990s, we didn’t know mobile phones would become our everything device and primary interface with family, work, and friends. Today, it’s hard to imagine any other outcome.  

An even more profound change is happening with AI. My bet is that AI will have as big or bigger effect on our personal and professional lives than the smartphone revolution because it’s so flexible and can be used in so many applications.

Until you use it, you don’t know

Unless you’ve used AI to save time, you’ll probably dismiss it as hype. Once you start relying on it, however, and see how others are using it, you’ll quickly change your opinion.

I use several AI-powered tools daily. My primary chatbot today is OpenAI’s ChatGPT 4o. It supports spoken conversations, so I can talk with it in English and bad Japanese and get actionable information. This latest model is so capable that I can have it perform tasks in seconds that would take my ADHD brain hours to complete. Here are just a few ways I’m using AI these days:

I noted the tool in parentheses when it was not ChatGPT.

Recently I discovered I could play games with ChatGPT 4o, like 20 Questions and Trivia. You can even ask it to role-play as a historical figure. I just interviewed second President John Adams, and the King of Rock, Elvis Presley.

Commercially, the industry is only in its infancy. Change is coming quickly. 

Predictions: In 10, no, 5 years…

I use AI tools as standalone apps that aren’t connected to other apps or data sources. This will change quickly. In a few years (or months), the Googles of the world will provide suites of AI-powered apps and agents that are connected to each other, your appliances, and the world. Such agents will become more effective the longer they work with a given user (or family) thus reducing the likelihood you ever switch to a different provider.

I won’t be surprised when in the next 5-10 years AI-powered agents either replace or augment experts I pay for today to provide such services as:

• Triage Doc: “That’s not a mole. I’m making a doctor’s appointment right now. “

• Concierge: Your AI agent will send updates like: “Per your preferences, I used your points to book a well-reviewed hotel close to your conference and booked a spa morning on your day off. Let me know if I should cancel.”

• Personal Trainer: “Hey, you’ve gained 5 pounds since Tuesday. Shall I remove the Twinkies from the shopping cart?”

• Financial Planner: “You’re long in some real suckers. Why don’t we reconsider the portfolio? I’ll prepare recommendations and schedule a meeting with the team.”

• In-house Vet: “Spot needs a walk. He’s super anxious. And I’ve added Glandex to your cart. That boot-scooting is out of control.”

• Home Security: “I noticed someone loitering on the lawn today staring at your packages. Since there have been reports of package thefts recently, I’ve contacted neighbors and the authorities.” 

• Family Historian: Organize all your personal media (photos, videos, posts, likes, etc) into family histories. No one will ever need to say, “I wish we had asked Grandma more questions before she passed.”

In 20 years, I’m pretty sure your AI agent will be part of your family and will become the stable foundation or thread that unites all future generations. “Can you assume the role of Great Grandpa Paul so we can ask about his time in Kenya?” “Hibari gani, my great great grandkids!”

It’s only sci-fi until it is true

Remember the communicators in 1969 Star Trek? They look a lot like 1990’s cell phones. The notion that AI will seamlessly flow in and between our personal and professional lives isn’t science fiction; it’ll be expected and required.

I’m optimistic. Disruption brings opportunities. If you’re paying attention and constantly learning, you’ll see the signs. I got my first PowerBook laptop in 1993 when I was living in Japan so I could email friends back home. A few years later, I parlayed my English degree and budding computer skills into my first high-tech job as a tech writer. My kids are much smarter than me and with the help of their family AI assistant, I trust they’ll ride on top of whatever wave shapes our future 20 years from now.

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We, your parents, are not worried. At all. We know you’ll do fine 

To be sure, we’ve prepared a cheat sheet in case you forgot the amazing career tips we shared with you during dinner over the last 15 years. 

A career can be many things. It can be a custom car that takes you to magical places. Or, it can be a broken-down POS that strands you in depressed places and with horrible people. Your mother and I hope you discover, as many happy people do, that a career you build thoughtfully and drive yourself will take you to wherever you want to go.

BUILD your career using these 5 tips

Here’s a simple acronym to help you remember key tips to BUILD a career to the destinations or goals, you choose:

• Bridges: Build bridges between destinations

• Unknown: Assume no one knows your destination

• Industrious: Be industrious as you work towards your destination

• Learner: Be a lifelong learner and learn how to get to many destinations

• Destinations: Have a 2 and 5-year destination

Number 5, Destinations, should be the first tip, but then the mnemonic doesn’t work…

Recommended Reading

If you study one “business” book, make it Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. My tips are based on my experience but are influenced heavily by Covey’s more coherent set of habits.

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Build bridges (don’t burn them) between destinations

Google discovered it wasn’t GPA or standardized test scores that predicted a person’s success at work, it was their ability to collaborate with other people. 

While our culture loves to worship mythical individuals who can do everything on their own, in reality, they don’t exist. Most worthwhile things in life are built by teams: applications, movies, medicine, a healthy, well-adjusted child. 

Tips for building bridges:

• Continually improve these core skills:

  • Communication: Listening and communicating

  • Problem-solving: Finding solutions

  • Interpersonal Skills: Being empathetic, earning trust, and building alignment

  • Project management: Achieve goals within constraints

• Build relationships and networks:

  • Give credit: Recognize everyone’s contribution (in person, or using systems like LinkedIn Recommendations)

  • Keep in touch: Check-in after you part ways

  • Find role models: Find mentors, champions, and supporters 

  • Pay it forward: Make time to mentor, champion, and support others

You’ll learn that bridge builders are good networkers and find it much easier to handle the bumpy roads of modern work life that can change drastically without warning.

BTW: In today’s tightly networked world, it’s much easier to find new roles (getting to a new destination) by getting an intro from a current or past co-worker. Most of my career opportunities came directly from folks I worked with previously or their connections. 

Unknown: Assume no one knows your destination

Trust me. You’re not surrounded by evil dummies at work. They aren’t (usually) trying to stop you. They don’t know you’re trying to get to Chicago. If you ask people about their destination and share yours, you may be surprised:

You: I’m going to the Windy City.

Co-worker: I’m going to Second City. Get out of my way.

You: Second City is for losers. Why you going there?

Co-worker: I wanna see a Cubs game.

You: Wait, are you going to Chicago?

Co-worker: Duh. Chicago. Second City.

You: I’m going to Wrigleyville. We’re going to the same place!

Co-worker: Jump in. We can go together!

You may work with folks who speak the same language. You may even enjoy similar movies. And everyone likes pizza. You have so much in common that it’s easy to assume you completely understand each other’s goals.

You do not. You may be surprised that some people like corn, octopus or even pineapple on their pizza (they live among us!).

Remember to ask others about their destinations and find out why they’re going. Are they really going to Chicago in February??? When people understand your destination and why you’re going, they naturally try to be helpful. You’ll do the same. This is win/win.

Tips to be known:

• Avoid assumptions: Remember, just because someone knows your title, they do NOT know what you’re trying to achieve right now. Invest in educating team members and socializing your goals. 

• Make time to understand others: Make time in your day to understand what others are working on and what they are trying to achieve. Find shared destinations and motivations. 

Industrious

Work hard and be productive. You will be respected and appreciated. Nothing alienates co-workers more than someone who doesn’t do their fair share. If you are working on important things and making progress, you will be valued. Don’t forget: busy does not equal productive.

If you struggle to be industrious, then figure out if it's personnel (like a single bad manager) or culture/institution. You can find ways around a single bad boss, but changing a culture? It’s possible but risky and can be hard. Pick your career battles wisely.

Tips for being industrious:

• Exceed expectations: Set and manage expectations. Don’t follow the clock; work as much as you need to deliver on commitments. You can be the slowest worker or the first to go home. You can’t be both. 

• Work on valuable things: Try to be involved in high-value projects or initiatives. Are you on the Betamax team or the hot new VHS team?

• Be reliable: Deliver on time. If you can’t, message the delay in advance with a path forward.  

Learn: Learn how to get to many destinations

Be a lifelong learner. It pays ridiculous dividends continually. Learning improves your brain and spirit. Dopamine is released in your brain, so learning feels good. The more you learn, the better you get at learning. You feel good about yourself when you become competent in a new skill or acquire new knowledge. Since the world and technology are constantly changing, people who want and can learn new things can have more opportunities.

Tips for being a lifelong learner: 

• Be a master of at least one discipline: Build mastery in at least one area and be better than anyone else. Generalists can be valuable but as a company grows, specialization is prized. Know your strengths and build mastery accordingly. 

• Observe successful people: When you notice someone being particularly effective at work, study and learn how they get shit done. (Watch how folks lead meetings; effective leaders use meetings to make progress; bad leaders waste time and destroy motivation.)

• Learn how others do their role. This will help you help them, and you’ll acquire new knowledge and skills. 

• Learn after 5: Learn new skills on your own outside of work. Take classes, read, and learn, learn, learn.

Destination: Have a 2 and 5-year destination

Having a career destination or a goal in mind increases your chances of achieving or reaching that destination, especially if you share your intention. Also, it helps you avoid wasting time at destinations that don’t get you closer to your larger life goals. If you have a two- and five-year professional destination, you’re more likely to make progress towards both on a daily basis. You can always change a destination if you discover you took a wrong turn and don’t like the scenery. 

Once you have a destination, like Chicago, you immediately ask yourself questions like “Should I drive or fly?”. Such questions help you reach your destination. These are common questions you learn to ask to reach a destination:

• How do I get there?

• What resources do I need?

• Do I need help?

• Do I know anyone who’s made the trip?

• What could go wrong?

• What is “there” specifically?

This approach works if your destination is a location or a profession, like becoming a lawyer or making a film. 

Note

The most challenging part of being an adult is choosing your own destination. For many young Americans, the first time they start truly selecting their own destination is after they graduate college or leave home. Having a 2-year destination allows you to course correct more easily if you discover you don’t like the path. 

It may be hard to imagine, but this is true: you will discover that you need increasingly difficult professional challenges to stay engaged.

Tips for choosing destinations:

• Pick destinations that excite you and get you closer to another, bigger destination

• Determine if your destinations have prerequisites:

• To become a lawyer, you have to get a 4-year degree, complete law school, pass a licensing exam, and so on. Order matters.

• Break your destination into smaller milestones

• Once a year for an hour, imagine you’re on your deathbed:

• Who is with you?

• What memories will you have shared with them?

• What will you leave behind?

• What destinations are prerequisites to get to that place?

The last tip may seem morbid but the point is important. Covey says: Start with the end in mind. 

Conclusion

You use models and metaphors to work with an abstract thing, like a career. If you take control of your career, it can be a vehicle to a dream destination. If you don’t, it could be a weapon in an unintentional crime—the manslaughter of your own potential. The road will be bumpy. There will be detours, and some, you will discover, are better routes to new destinations. If, on the journey, you are usually where you want to be and are surrounded by happy people, you are on the right road. But if you continually find yourself in with unhappy people in roles that aren’t fulfilling, pull over. You’re driving a POS. Take the first safe exit, and make a new plan.

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This post isn’t going to change the mind of the MAGA members. It’s for people who are undecided for the 2024 Presidential election. I challenged myself to document at least 100 reasons why I’ll vote for Biden (again) in 2024.

1: Joe Biden is not Republican

The Republican party of 2023 has more in common with the Taliban than it does the American people. I wish this were an exaggeration.

2. Joe Biden is an effective President

In spite of the deeply divisive political atmosphere, Joe Biden’s administration has passed more important legislation that benefits us today and generations to come: 

• Passed: Inflation Reduction Act

• Passed: Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, CHIPS and Science Act 

• Passed: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, American Rescue Plan (ARP)

• Passed: Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act 

• Passed: Postal Service Reform Act

• Passed: Respect for Marriage Act, the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act

Trumps major legislative accomplishment was to lower taxes and increase deficit by almost $1.7T 

Marjorie Taylor Greene even agrees:

“...Now LBJ had the Great Society, but Joe Biden had Build Back Better, and he still is working on it, the largest public investment in social infrastructure and environmental programs that is actually finishing what FDR started, that LBJ expanded on, and Joe Biden is attempting to complete…”

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3. Joe Biden is a good person

Just ask his good friend Lindsay Graham. "He's as good a man as God has ever created," says his friend Senator Lindsey Graham.

4. Joe Biden isn't racist

This should be an official prerequisite to be the President of one of the most racially/culturally diverse nations.  Vox documented Trump's long history of being a racist.

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5. Biden isn't an authoritarian

Biden respects the rights/responsibilities of each branch of government. Trump says he will terminate the Constitution and, “only on the first day”, be a dictator. So funny.

6. Joe Biden isn't a fascist

Biden is a constitution loving grandpa. Former President Donald Trump repeated lavish praise of global leaders during an interview with Fox News’s Tucker Carlson which aired Tuesday evening.. 

Here's Robert Reich's definition of fascism to illustrate.

7. Joe Biden confronts real problems

Trump is still looking for Hillary's emails and the GOP is fighting WOKE and persecuting Hunter Biden’s laptop. None of these problems are killing our kids or improving the lives of any Americans.

Biden has passed legislation addressing real problems that affect Americans TODAY. Firearms are the leading cause of deaths for kids ages 1-19. Climate change is devastating cities across the country. Health care costs continue to rise. 

8. Joe Biden does the hard stuff

Like getting us out of Afghanistan. 20 years and $2 trillion later, the Taliban own their country again and Al Queda still exists. Trump said he would get the US out of Afghanistan immediately after his inauguration. He never did.

Before he left office, Trump tried to bring the Taliban, THE TALIBAN, to Camp David, to negotiate a peace deal. He excluded the official government of Afghanistan in his dealings and worked exclusively with the group that helped/hid Osama Bin Laden after 9/11. 

Biden did the brave thing and extricated the US. 13 US soldiers died when ISIS attacked the airport during the evacuations. No US soldiers have died since, afaik. Nearly 319,000 Americans could have avoided death from COVID if it had been handled responsibly.

9. Joe Biden’s leadership is stable

Good leaders attract and retain capable people. Turnover kills team morale and stops change. Biden's administration has been very stable.

Trump, on the other hand, had 7 Communications Directors, 4 chiefs of staff; 6 National Security Advisors, and the list goes on. He's had more forced resignations than any other modern president. Most former staffers dislike and disrespect him, quite a few will be testifying against him in his many upcoming trials. The New York Times has a great article about Trump’s turbulent staffing:

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10. Joe Bid is good for the economy

Democratic presidents historically, have been better for the economy. According to ChatGBT 4 and Vanguard:

“Democratic Presidents and Market Performance: Historically, the stock market has performed well under Democratic Presidents. For instance, a study by Vanguard found that from 1853 to 2021, the average annual real return of the U.S. stock market was around 8.2% under Democratic Presidents, compared to 4.7% under Republican Presidents.”

From my experience, I remember 2008. Remember when George W inherited a budget surplus from Clinton and 8 years later we broke the world economy US citizens had to bail out the Captains of Industry? Rolling Stone has a fun article about the bailout.

What about inflation? “The United States has a lower inflation rate than other comparable countries. In March 2023, the United States had a 6% inflation rate, which was the eighth lowest among the 19 countries in the G20,” according to Google’s AI. After the worldwide pandemic, governments around the world stimulated their economies with massive cash infusions thus creating inflation.

11. Joe Biden passed the infrastructure bill to actually make America greater

This law will “repair the one-in-five miles of our roadways and more than 45,000 bridges in the United States rated as in poor condition”.

Remember Trump said he'd pass infrastructure quickly...he NEVER did. Republicans, like Tommy Tuberville, voted against it, and then took credit via tweets when it passed.

12. Joe Biden is reducing the deficit

Democrats are the fiscally responsible party. Reagan tripled the national debt and named it "freemarket economics".

After 8 years of George W the US/global economy collapsed and banks--BANKS--and other financial institutions needed a bailout from citizens.

13. Joe Biden is taking climate change seriously

Trump left the Paris Accord; Biden rejoined it; he also established the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity in the Department of Health and Human Services.

14. Joe Biden's creating all kinds of jobs

"The economy added 12.6 million jobs under Biden, putting the total 3.2 million higher than before the pandemic."

Biden is moving manufacturing back to America. Seems like American Capitalism went too far shipping manufacturing offshore. "The CHIPS and Science Act is a U.S. federal statute enacted by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on August 9, 2022. The act provides roughly $280 billion in new funding to boost domestic research and manufacturing of semiconductors in the United States."[1] 

15. Joe Biden is creating clean energy jobs

Over 300K clean energy jobs created since the Inflation Reduction Act was passed. Here’s an excerpt of the clean energy jobs report you should download here:

“KEY STATISTICS 

• Clean energy jobs increased in every state and grew 3.9% nationally from 2021 to 2022. 

• The number of jobs in battery electric vehicles increased by 28,366 (+27%) from 2021 to 2022, which was the fastest growth of any energy technology. The growth in battery electric vehicles was almost 17 times faster than the increase in gasoline and diesel vehicle employment. 

• Clean vehicles accounted for 59% of all net new jobs in motor vehicles. • Other technologies with double-digit growth include offshore wind (20%), other grid modernization (12%), coal fuel (22%), natural gas fuel (24%), petroleum (13%), hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (25%), natural gas vehicles (14%), and plug-in hybrid vehicles (10%)…”

16. Joe Biden helped create 789,000 new manufacturing jobs

AP says, "Manufacturing jobs have climbed to their highest totals in nearly 15 years. This is the first time since the 1970s that manufacturing employment has fully recovered from a recession, expanding by 789,000 jobs since Biden took office."

17. Joe Biden supports civil rights for all Americans, not just those in his church/club

A president serves and protects ALL Americans, not just the ones belonging to your club. Over his extensive career serving this country, Joe Biden’s pushed and had approved major legislation to protect women, minorities, and the LGTB community.

18. Joe Biden is the first president to have a female vice president

OK. He wasn't the first Presidential candidate to have a female running mate. Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale chose Geraldine Ferraro in 1984.

19. Joe Biden increased the number of Americans with insurance by 4.4M

With the amounts of pollutants created by modern industry (microplastics ewww), health care should be a basic human right.President Biden took action to lower the cost of health care for millions of Americans. 

Right now, four out of five people who sign up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act can find health care coverage for $10 a month or less and millions of Americans on Obamacare are saving an average of $800 a year. Since he took office, there has been a combined 50 percent increase in enrollment in states that use HealthCare.gov and the nation’s uninsured rate is historically low at 8 percent. Over 16 million Americans signed up for quality, affordable health coverage, the highest number ever produced in an open enrollment period.

20. Joe Biden increased the maximum value of Pell Grants by $900

As someone who relied on Pell grants to get my college degree, I love this.

21. Joe Biden increased the minimum wage for Federal contractors to $15

This is the only way these lower end wages increase. These folks don't have anyone else advocating for them.

“The Executive Order raises the minimum wage paid by those contractors to workers performing work on or in connection with covered federal contracts to $15.00 per hour, beginning January 30, 2022; and beginning January 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, an amount determined by the Secretary of Labor (Secretary).”

22. Joe Biden achieved record low unemployment rate for people with disabilities

“In 2022, about 21 percent of people with a disability in the U.S. were employed, up from about 19 percent in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That is the highest rate since the U.S. began tracking this statistic in 2008.”

The unemployment rate has fallen to 3.4 percent, the lowest in 54 years.

23. Joe Biden is expanding Internet access

Over 16 million households in America are receiving lower cost or free high-speed internet through the Affordable Connectivity Program.

Internet access should be a basic right for any citizen in a modern society. Reuters: "The funding under the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program was authorized by the $1 trillion 2021 infrastructure law Biden championed. The spending will be based on a newly released Federal Communications Commission coverage map that details gaps in access."

24. Joe Biden signed the most significant gun violence prevention legislation in nearly 30 years

Biden signed the first major gun safety legislation in 30 years. Remember in 1994 when President Clinton signed into law an assault weapons ban that reduced the number of children murdered each year from 10 years? And then in a Republican controlled Congress under President George W. Bush, the law lapsed. Guns are the number 1 cause of death for kids and teens in the US today.

25. Joe Biden appointed an amazing Supreme court justice (Ketanji Brown Jackson)

According to facts, and CNN, “Of the 115 Supreme Court justices in US history, all but 7 have been White men.” 94% of the people who decide what’s right in the US have been white men.

According to Google’s AI, the US in 2019 was not 94% white:

1. White: 60.1% (Non-Hispanic)

2. Hispanic: 18.5%

3. Black: 12.2%

4. Asian: 5.6%

5. Multiple Races: 2.8%

6. American Indian/Alaska Native: 0.7%

7. Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: 0.2%

26. Biden reduced the cost of insulin to $35 for seniors

Even Fox had to report on this. "If you’re on Medicare, your insulin will be capped at $35 a month thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act. We wanted to cut the cost of insulin for everyone—including hundreds of thousands of children with Type 1 diabetes—but Republicans voted to strike that out of the bill," Biden tweeted."

27. Joe Biden pass law to ensure Medicare beneficiaries pay $0 out of pocket for recommended adult vaccines

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) eliminated out-of-pocket costs as of January 1, 2023, for Medicare Part D beneficiaries who receive vaccines recommended for adults by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).

Imaging you rely on Medicare and live on a fixed income. Your pension was lost. You just don’t have disposable income. Now imagine you no longer have to pay out of pocket for live protecting vaccines. That feels great.

28. Seniors’ out of pocket expenses at the pharmacy will be capped at $2,000 a year.

Actually, there are a lot of great money saving benefits for Medicare recipients coming in the next few years. Here’s a summary from the Medicare site.

29. Biden is helping veterans get the care they need

Republicans frequently ask when funding social programs like Head Start, "How much is that going to cost?" They don't ask about the costs of taking care of wounded soldiers after they come home. Probably cuz they don't want to pay for it. The PACT act now makes it easier to help soldiers with with toxic exposures and Veterans of the Vietnam, Gulf War, and post-9/11 eras President Biden signed into law the PACT Act – the most significant expansion of benefits and services for toxic exposed veterans in more than 30 years. This law also enables the Department of Veterans Affairs to move more quickly in the future to determine if illnesses are related to military service, and it offers critical support to survivors who were harmed by exposures. And, the law authorized 31 new clinical sites and provides VA several tools and resources to ensure effective implementation of the law.

30. Joe Biden took COVID seriously

A primary responsibility for the federal government is to protect the citizens of the country. Over a million Americans died from COVID, making it deadlier than any war we've ever fought. Trump's response was to let states handle it; Biden followed Obama's approach and had the federal organizations designed to handle a pandemic provide guidance and strategy. Over 300K American died needlessly from COVID.

31. Joe Biden is boring

How tired of you of the ongoing drama of Trump and MAGA?

32. Joe Biden is collaborative

Biden's passed more substantial legislation in his first two years in spite of the political divide because he collaborates and doesn't demonize the other side. Regardless of party, we’re all Americans…

33. Joe Biden is not stupid

Remember Trump's advice, inject bleach into our bodies?

34. Joe Biden was never found liable in a court of law of sexual abuse

Strange metric, I agree. Read Fox's article on how Trump was found liable for sexual assault, meaning the jury believed he committed sexual assault (in a civil suit).

35. Joe Biden has never tried to overthrow our democracy

I'm old fashioned. I think President's should not lead insurrections against their country.

36. Joe Biden hasn't been impeached...twice

For "incitement of insurrection", Trump was impeached a second time. Listen to Mitch McConnel blame Trump for the insurrection.

37. Joe Biden’s campaign chairman has never been indicted and sent to prison (Paul Manafort)

Fox News: "Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort on Thursday was sentenced to 47 months in prison after a federal jury in Virginia convicted him on eight counts of bank and tax fraud last year."

38. Joe Biden’s deputy campaign manager didn't go to jail (Rick Gates)

The former deputy chairman of Trump’s campaign pleaded guilty in February 2018 to conspiracy against the United States and lying to investigators. Gates agreed to cooperate with former Special Counsel Robert Mueller and testified as a prosecution witness against Manafort, his former business partner, and Stone. Gates was sentenced in December 2019 to 45 days in jail.

39. Joe Biden’s advisor wasn't found guilty of possessing cp and sent to jail (George Nader)

George Nader, an informal Trump adviser on foreign policy and witness in the Mueller investigation, was sentenced in June to 10 years in prison by a federal judge in Virginia. He pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography and bringing a boy to the United States for sex.

40. Joe Biden has helped over 32K projects get funded as part of the infrastructure bill

Look at all the "red" states, who Republican congress people voted against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill.

41. Joe Biden doesn't tweet crazy

Mediaite has a great list of the crazy Trump tweets. For over a decade he's broadcast his inadequacies as a person.

42. Joe Biden is not a name caller, usually

Biden isn't a big name caller, but he has choice labels for Putin: Butcher, Killer, and War  Criminal.  Trump called Putin "genius" after he invaded another sovereign nation, Ukraine https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/donald-trumps-north-korea-gambit-what-worked-what-didnt-and-whats-next

Calling someone names is not only childish, it doesn’t solve any problems. It only makes things worse. Biden doesn't name call much. There's a wikipedia page of some of the "nick" names Trump has used against people he hates.

43. Joe Biden is not BFFs with dictators who murder women and children

Biden does call dictators names.

44. Joe Biden is over 80. 

Joe Biden is wise. Being president isn't like playing football or digging ditches. Remember when gray hair, wrinkles, and wisdom was considered badges of honor?

45. Joe Biden agreed with Reagan; they supported 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban

Reagan and Biden hold similar views on guns: stricter controls are needed, and ban assault weapons. Reagan's opinion evolved after he left office.

46. Joe Biden and John McCain co-sponsored the PROTECT Our Children Act, expanding the tools to prosecute child pornography and child endangerment.

Biden sponsored a bill to define a formal strategy to protect children from abuse; it later became law and has undergone multiple revisions since reflecting the types of threats American children face.

47. Joe Biden talks and acts like an adult

Unlike Trump, psychiatrists and other mental health professionals routinely compare Trump's behavior to children with serious problems.

48. Joe Biden's team and ex-team members do not hate him

Most people who worked for Trump would not do so again. Many say he's unfit to be president. Not so for Biden. Many of Trump’s team will be testifying against him soon.

49. Joe Biden didn't have a non-profit in his name shut down...

Trump's "charitable" foundation was found guilty of stealing from its charities and was ordered to shut down. Who steals from children?

"NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today released the following statement after Donald J. Trump was forced to pay more than $2 million in court-ordered damages to eight different charities for illegally misusing charitable funds at the Trump Foundation for political purposes:

“Not only has the Trump Foundation shut down for its misconduct, but the president has been forced to pay $2 million for misusing charitable funds for his own political gain. Charities are not a means to an end, which is why these damages speak to the president’s abuse of power and represent a victory for not-for-profits that follow the law. Funds have finally gone where they deserve — to eight credible charities. My office will continue to fight for accountability because no one is above the law — not a businessman, not a candidate for office, and not even the president of the United States.”

50. Joe Biden’s senior advisor wasn't sent to jail for witness tampering, obstructing an official proceeding, and five counts of making false statements (Roger Stone)

Fox News: Stone, a long time advisor to Trump, was convicted on 7 counts of obstruction, witness tampering and making false statements to Congress in Washington.

51. Joe Biden’s security advisor lasted way more than a month (Michael Flynn)

Flynn, the retired Army lieutenant general served as Trump’s national security adviser for less than a month in 2017. Meet Jake Sullivan, Biden’s Security Advisor.

52. Joe Biden hasn't had 4 chiefs of staffs..who now hate him

Trump had 4 and one of them will be testifying against him pretty soon.

53. Joe Biden hasn't had 5 attorney generals

Trump went through Attorney Generals faster than he went through a McDonald’s drive through.

54. Joe Biden’s campaign advisor wasn't convicted (George Papadopoulos)

“The former Trump campaign adviser was sentenced in September 2018 to 14 days in prison after pleading guilty in October 2017 to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials and a Maltese professor who told him the Russians had “dirt” on Clinton."

55. Joe Biden is not an interesting public speaker

Holy crap. A US president explaining golden showers

56. Joe Biden doesn’t have his nepo babies in the White House

Jared and Ivanka were advisors...for shoes and handbags?

57. Joe Biden isn't a business man

To be fair, Trump isn't either, but no one told Trump that. Government isn't a business. An actual billionaire, Michale Bloomberg, sums it up well:

“Throughout his career, Trump has left behind a well-documented record of bankruptcies, and thousands of lawsuits, and angry shareholders and contractors who feel cheated, and disillusioned customers who feel they've been ripped off…"

And he concludes: "Trump says he wants to run the nation like he's run his business? God help us." 

58. Joe Biden hasn't had 6 bankruptcies

How bad at business do you have to be to bankrupt a casino?

59. Joe Biden’s CFO wasn't convicted and sent to jail for tax evasion (Allen Weisselberg)

If Trump were such a great businessman, how did he not know his CFO was committing tax fraud for 15 years?

60. Joe Biden didn't bankrupt a casino…and harm 400 employees

Mother Jones covered the damage of one Trump bankruptcy. As a casino owner, Trump was literally the HOUSE and he lost. Worse, 400 employees of the casino lost over $2M in retirement savings. What a fucker.

61. Joe Biden didn't try to sell steaks and fail

Trump’s steak business didn't last 2 months.

62. Joe Biden doesn’t have a 3 inch hot dog named after him

"Infamous hot dog restaurant The Wiener's Circle is celebrating Donald Trump's Chicago visit with a 3-inch-long "Trump footlong."

63. Joe Biden didn't try to launch an airline and fail to launch

Trump took an airline that ran for 27 years and destroyed it in 3 years.

64. He didn't ruin a football league (USFL)

He's not the only one to blame, but he supported a direct fight with the NFL thinking he'd win in the court and force a profitable merger. Nope. League lost $160M in 3 years.

65. Joe Biden didn't run a fake school that was shut down

Trump University ran for 5 years until lawsuits forced it to close. Testified one "student": “Requesting we raise our credit limits on our credit cards at lunch Friday seemed a little transparent.”

66. Joe Biden created a diverse cabinet that's more like America of the 2020s, not 1950s

BBC: “President Joe Biden's first cabinet is being described as the most diverse ever. The latest historic first is an openly gay cabinet secretary.”

67. He's made the most diverse cabinet in history.

https://www.npr.org/sections/president-biden-takes-office/2021/02/05/963837953/biden-pledged-historic-cabinet-diversity-heres-how-his-nominees-stack-up

68. Joe Biden has been married to the same woman for 46 years

Way to go, Joe.

69. Joe Biden is married to an educated, classy lady

I personally think this says a lot. Only a strong, confident, successful man can marry, and stay married to a smart successful woman.

70. Joe Biden was an OK student…not the best at everything

Joe Biden is one of us! He had a "C" average overall for his four years, graduating with a class rank of 506 out of 688. Most of us did not get straight As.

71. Joe Biden received the medal of freedom

"The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, alongside the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by decision of the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors." "

72. Joe Biden supported RBG Supreme Court nomination

He has a history of supporting strong women to join.

73. Joe Biden is the first president to join a picket line to support workers

Unions matter. How else can individual workers protect themselves? The invisible hand of the free market does not protect them.

74. Joe Biden is changing how marijuana is treated legally

In college, I delivered pizzas to drunk and stoned people. Any delivery person or bartender will tell you, stone people are much easier, safer to work with. To help remedy our country’s failed approach to marijuana, including racial disparities, the President pardoned all prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession and urged governors to do the same. The Administration is also initiating the process to review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law. Marijuana is currently a Schedule I drug, the same classification as for heroin and LSD and even higher than for fentanyl and methamphetamine.

75. Joe Biden supports banning assault rifles

He supported the original version of the law that passed, and reduced gun violence for years. Republican's let it expire, which as increased gun deaths again. Gun violence is the number 1 killer of youth in America. What is the Republican solution? Guns, thoughts, and prayers.

76. Joe Biden has been protecting women for years

As a senator, Biden drafted the senate version of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and the Violence Against Women Act;. The Trump congress failed to renew this important legislation because, you know.

77. Joe Biden can actually laugh...

Biden has a much better sense of humor, lack of meanness. He can actually laugh

78. Joe Biden can ride a bike

Here’s a clip of him riding a bike:

Sometimes he may fall.

79. Joe Biden can jog

I've seen Biden jog. I've never seen Trump jog.

80. Joe Biden does have a potty mouth

I think being able to cuss effectively is an important skill.

81. Biden hasn't had an affair with a porn star

Do a search for "joe biden affairs" and you get no results. Trump, on the other hand…

82. Jill Biden hasn't done softcore porn; Melania has

I'm not a prude, but I don't mind if a first lady doesn't do softcore porn.

83. Joe Biden didn't creep on underage girls getting dressed

Donald Trump bragged about watching underage girls getting dressed and explained to Howard Stern that as the owner of the beauty pageant, he was "allowed".

84. Joe Biden doesn't brag about touching women's privates without their consent

You'd think Trump would have learned but NO, in the E. Jean Carroll deposition, he confirms that stars, like him, can touch women without their permission. Does your mom, wife, sister, daughter want to be groped by Trump?

85. Joe Biden's a pretty good parent--4 out of 5 ain't bad

Most families have one kid they don't brag about.

86. Joe Biden's personal attorney wasn't convicted and sent to jail (Michael Cohen)

I don't even know Biden's attorneys. I do know about Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen and his three attorneys, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, and Kenneth Cheesboro, who plead guilty in Georgia. And they’re now testifying against him.

87. Joe Biden wasn't BFFs with convicted pedo, groomer, and trafficker Jefferey Epstein

“‘I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy”, said Trump.

Biden has no connections to Epstein, who was convicted in 2008 by a Florida state court of procuring a child for prostitution and of soliciting a prostitute.

88. Joe Biden only has 1 accuser of sexual assault, not 26

Trump has 26 women who have accused him of sexual assault.

89. Joe Biden idn't demand the murder of 4 young black men and 1 Latino man

Trump bought whole page adverts demanding the death penalty for the 5 young men who were wrongfully imprisoned for a crime they didn't commit. Ken Burns made an amazing documentary you should watch.

90. One of his sons served honorably in the armed forces

It's not a contest, but Biden had at least one admirable child. Beau Biden.

91. Joe Biden didn’t inherit over $400M from his father and then say he's a self-made man

Biden learned about financial hardship and struggles as a young boy, which contributed to a stutter problem he later overcame. His dad was finally a successful used car salesman!

92. Joe Biden didn't fight in Vietnam

Biden, like many college kids, used the deferment route to avoid going. History shows this was probably a smart move. Nixon and Kissinger lied about the war and had disastrous policies that wasted tens of thousands of lives.

93. Joe Biden loves dogs…maybe more than Secret Service

I’m a dog lover so I’m biased. According to CNN, Biden’s dog, “Commander Biden bites another Secret Service agent, the 11th known incident.”

People that can’t love dogs are suspect to me. “Donald was not a dog fan,” ex-wife Ivana confirmed in her memoir Raising Trump, recalling his hostility to her poodle, Chappy, who would “bark at him territorially”. 

94. Joe Biden has overcome significant loss and is still optimistic

He lost his wife and baby daughter in a tragic car accident 50 years ago. A few years ago he lost an adult son, Beau, to cancer. He keeps on truckin'.

95. Joe Biden doesn't play golf

Biden doesn’t play golf. Enjoy this site, Trump Golf Count, that shares how much Trump’s golf trips during his presidency cost US tax payers: About $144,000,000**.

96. Joe Biden was against apartheid before it was cool

In 1986 a younger Joe Biden spoke passionately against apartheid.

97. Joe Biden is gracious—he doesn’t kick someone when they’re down

You can tell a lot about someone by how he treats someone when they're down, or having health issues. Biden was generous when he said Mitch McConnell sounded like his old self when he spoke to him after a public episode where he was unable to respond to questions and his staff had to intercede.

He doesn't kick a person when they're down.

98. Joe Biden is taking gun violence seriously; this is a real epidemic

“Provisional CDC data from 2022 indicate that firearms continued to be the number one factor in child deaths for the third year in a row.”

From NPR, “President Biden is creating a new office for gun violence prevention to coordinate his administration's efforts to reduce gun violence and elevate an issue that — while stalled in Congress — remains important to Democratic activists and young voters.”

99. Joe Biden isn't a pathological liar

Even Tucker Carlson admits Trump is a "full-blown BS artist". A common comment by great talent he hired that later ran away from him is that he's a pathological liar. Trump lies constantly. 

Biden has absolutely made stupid lies in his career. In 1988, he made the dumbest claims. So embarrassing. "Trump’s false or misleading claims total 30,573 over 4 years" per the Washington Post tracker.

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100. Joe Biden is not Trump

He’s not like Trump, or the Republican front runners looking to be the nominee.

I wanted Elizabeth Warren or Kamala Harris in 2020 but I think Joe Biden is doing a great job. I think any poll showing Trump beating Biden isn’t realistic and reflects the anger people feel at the very real reality that they are less well off than their parents. American capitalism needs to evolve to more equitably share the success with more people and minimize the wealth divide.

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—-------------

Do not watch the new Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie. Especially if you're a man or male identifying and responsible for protecting your women folk. The movie is deceitful and subversive. It’s dangerous. 

Even if you’re a father and thought, “I’ll take my daughter to see this blockbuster movie. We’ll remember it forever!” 

Stop! Do NOT do that. It will be unforgettable but not for the reason you think.

Let me explain. 

First off, it’s hardly about Barbie the toy. It may be called Barbie, but it’s not about the doll. That’s the ruse to get you to buy tickets. You think you’re getting tricolored cotton candy. But it’s broccoli!

The movie is actually about something much larger and more important–turning our ladies into feminists who emasculate real men. You can’t make this stuff up. 

Regrettably, this bait and switch tactic is working. The box office receipts are approaching a billion dollars. It enjoyed the biggest opening weekend for any movie released in 2023–and by a female director. The stinging cuts you feel on your masculinity are real. They’re from the falling glass of another shattered ceiling. Sigh.

I get it. Barbie’s been a fixture in the lives of so many girls and boys their entire lives. I personally didn’t OWN 10 Barbies. But my sister did. G.I. Joe, Johnny West and our manly action figures need someone to protect, right?

And what 11-year old boy isn’t Barbie curious? What’s going on under that shapely red dress???

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I can’t lie. It’s a very entertaining movie. So many beautiful, super happy Barbies and Kens living their best lives. Singing. Dancing. It’s impossible NOT to groove in your seat and want more. 

Until suddenly Barbie has an epiphany and a plot lands in your lap like the neighbor’s 150 pound dog who snuck in the open patio. Oomph! I mean, you like a good boy, but dang. 

-SPOILER ALERT—Last Warning—

Basically, Barbie has an existential identity crisis. She embarks on a journey to find herself. Uh-oh! This can’t be good but it’s too late. You’ve lowered your guard– the vigil you maintain 24X7 365 days a week, like a real man does to protect his women folk–and BAM. You’re riding shotgun and rooting for Barbie.

The ensuing journey is engaging, hilarious, and so darn fun. Barbie’s looking for her place in the world and you want her to find it…

—for real, spoilers are right below—

Unfortunately, when an answer appears in the shape of a new, shiny Barbie-sized box, she completely misses it!!! That should’ve been the ending to the movie, frankly. A perfect ending. 

“Get in the box, Barbie!!!” I shouted at the screen. That was NOT well received by other movie goers…or my own family. Like they don’t gossip all the way through Fast and Furious movies when I make them watch them again. 

Shortly after, the real star of the movie, Ken, tries to help Barbie, actually ALL Barbies, by firmly and lovingly reasserting the Right Way of Living that the movie jokingly refers to as The Patriarchy. 

Needless to say, the movie goes permanently off the rails and Barbie foolishly attacks and rejects Ken’s love and selfishly fights to overthrow the lawful order of things. Just when you think the movie can’t get any worse, it happens. The real crime. 

America Ferrara–yes, they used our country’s namesake for this sneaky, deceitful trick–gives a speech that absolutely brainwashes a fragile, unprotected mind. Your wife, daughter, anyone actually, hearing this will never think about “Barbie”--AKA womanhood–the same way again.

I don’t remember it exactly but it’s something like this:

"...It is literally impossible to be a woman…You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin…”

Yes, that’s right! You preach it, America!

“...You have to be a boss, but you can't be mean. You have to lead, but you can't squash other people's ideas…”

Yes, dear. That’s called being a great leader!

“...You're supposed to love being a mother, but don't talk about your kids all the damn time. You have to be a career woman but also always be looking out for other people…”

Yes, that’s what modern WOMEN do!!! I’m loving this speech until…

“...You have to answer for men's bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you're accused of complaining. You're supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you're supposed to be a part of the sisterhood. But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged…”

Wow. That took a weird turn. 

"...So find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful. You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It's too hard! It's too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you…”

Well that made me uncomfortable. There should be a law against that.

America ends her speech but it lingers and vibrates deeply. A harmonic resonance that cracks the pink crystal box that protects the feminine ideal we have crafted over decades of stewardship.  

In the movie something profound happens and propels the plot forward. But in the theater, something also happens. Heads are shaking. It’s like hundreds of sleep walkers suddenly wake up and are confused. “Where am I?” As if they were suddenly awoken from a slumber induced by a nefarious prince. They become WOKE. 

It’s such a deceitful trick that I was nauseated. 

Fortunately, the movie quickly resumes delightful dancing, singing, and  happy action.  A few minutes later you’re not sure if anything even happened.

It’s only when you’re walking out of the theater and you hear little girls start asking, “Why DO women make 30% less than men?”

“Why are there so few women CEOs or presidents?” 

Oh no. You walk out of the theater blinded by an intense realization. Barbie the toy has become an agitator, an activist. You fear the passing of an age.

So I try to walk tall, but not too tall. Confident, but not arrogant. Maybe humble. And I try to blend in to the new world unfolding all around me as I lightly tread on the glass shards littering the world. 

—--------

DISCLAIMER: My wife thought I’d get hate mail if I left it there. I was surprised. The above is an obvious attempt to lampoon the mindset that is threatened by Barbie the movie. I loved it. But more importantly, I think it works. It’s very effective in calling out the bizarre prison that has been constructed by men for women all over the world. To me the real star wasn’t Margot Robbie, though she was awesome, it was America Ferrera’s speech. If you’ve seen the movie, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, stop reading and go see it.

My beloved children, 

This hand me down contains a simple recommendation: don’t waste time being a Meanderthal wandering happily but aimlessly through life thinking you’re impervious to extinction. Always have a meaningful destination– acquiring a skill, pursuing a career, or being a good parent–and work diligently to get there. You can always make pit stops and take the occasional detour. You can change your destination, if you have one. 

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What do you want to be?*

Focus. And speed. Don’t let anything distract you. That’s what I’m telling myself.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Dad interrupts my thinking.

It's 1977. I’m in a family meeting–well, a special sub-committee–focused on my future. Dad’s presiding, seated at the head of our faux marble dinner table. He’s trying to keep things steady using both hands. In his left, a Kent cigarette billows a cloud that fills the dinner nook. A mostly empty Budweiser can is cooling in his right. Mom, skillfully poised between us on the side, is ready to defend. My scrawny 11-year old body squirms at the opposite end. I’m struggling to focus even though the room is narrow and I’m the center of attention.  

Parenting aids for American fathers in the 1970s

“Focus!” I tell myself. I know by not answering, I’m pushing a button. My dad is a hot head and blow-ups are inevitable. You could start a timer when he spoke to us kids. He’ll start yelling in 2 minutes or less.

T-minus 02:00 and counting.

“So, do you want to be a carpenter like your old man?” He’s lobbing a soft pitch, hoping I’ll hit a homerun. He takes a swig and waits for the right answer. Only an idiot could whiff this.

01:50.

“I dunno,” I shrug. A swing and a miss. About that blow up timer, if you said the wrong thing like I just did, it speeds up or jumps to zero. He’s only on his second beer so it’s a slow burn.

01:00. 

I want to answer but I’m busy. If dad knew how well I was paying attention right now–astronaut level focus on the mission–he’d be proud. Unfortunately, I’m focused on the radio behind him. More specifically, I’m listening to WBOW, the voice of the Wabash Valley in Terre Haute, Indiana. The DJ is about to announce another dial-in contest. If I'm the 14th caller I can win the new Fleetwood Mac album, Rumours. I don’t even know who he is but I love winning contests.

“You could even go to college.” Mom throws me a lifeline. 

Dad’s smile evaporates. Mom’s dream is that at least one of her 4 kids goes to college. She fell in love with my dad in middle school. Minutes after she graduated high school, she got married and then knocked up. Her parents hoped she’d go to college like her younger brother, Mr. Bank Vice President.

00:46.

It’s my fault we’re having this meeting. I just got my first job. Starting Monday, I’ll be a paperboy delivering newspapers from my banana seated bike. The paperboy manager just left our house after discussing how I want to get paid and how much fat loot I want to put into a savings account each week. So my future is very much the centerpiece on our wobbly formica table. 

My dad is waiting patiently but I can’t answer. He’s asking what I want to BE a hundred years from now. My parents haven’t realized I live in a 1-minute bubble. The Past is the 50 seconds that just happened. The Present is the 10 seconds that continually reveals itself. The Future is a mirage– a fiction created by parents and teachers.

00:39.

“You like to draw. We're always buying you those art sets,” Dad continues. It’s true. have a real talent for requesting art sets for birthdays.

00:20.

“You could be a writer!” my mom suggests. “You like to write books…” When I was 5 I said I wanted to be a writer. I tried to copy a Doctor Seuss book but got stuck on a fancy letter ‘a’. I kept writing that ‘a’ with a pencil on vanilla paper. I didn’t get past the first paragraph on the first page.

“You could be a painter,” Dad offers.  “They make good money.” And then he leans in and gets to the point, “Son, you’re gonna wanna provide for your family someday.” 

And this is the real question–how will you be a man and take care of your family when we, your parents, are gone? But I don’t hear it. Not for another 20 years.

00:08.

“You could even study art in college…” my mother points out. She clearly doesn’t see the picture dad’s drawing. Or maybe she does. 

Dad stops looking at me. He stares at his wife until she turns to meet his glare. I can’t decipher what his eyes say but Mom understands. She stops smiling too. 00:05.

Dad clenches the beer can harder. He finishes his beer in a hungry gulp and belches loudly like he’s sharing good news. He takes a deep drag on the Kent. He’s generously offering me more time. I don’t think he can wait the 2 decades it’s going to take.

00:01.

I want to say something. Anything. But before I can open my mouth, I hear it. The DJ announces, “We’re looking for the 14th caller…”

I can’t help myself. I push away from the teetering slab and bolt to the phone and start pushing buttons.

00:00.

I don’t even look as dad wails loudly, “Gawddammit!” He shoots up, upsetting the table and rages out of the room. Mom spreads her arms and steadies everything. I don’t look back. Not for years. I stab the buttons again and again hoping to win.

My trophies. I also won a chance to win a car. I was too young to actually win it so my brother Louie stood in line and tried the key I won. But he was unlucky.

Epiphanies and Platform Pizzas**

It’s 1995, almost 20 years later. I’m teaching English at a 2-year technical college in Tokyo. Ostensibly, I’m trying to figure out if I want to be a teacher after I return to the states. My first few years, I study Japanese and try to be an unforgettable teacher a la Robin Williams in Dead Poet’s Society.

After teaching all day, you meet friends from around the world and enjoy delicious food and drinks in a Japanese tradition called nomikai (drink meeting). Australian, Iranian, French, Brit, Israeli, Nepalese, Chinese. In a neutral zone where you share new labels–visitor, foreigner, alien–you quickly bond as members of the exclusive Club Gaijin, an elite group designed by ancient Japanese to keep non-Japanese non-Japanese.

Free from your native baggage you can experience new things and explore new customs, like honoring Geisha culture by cross dressing on Halloween. And if you’re an expat in your 20s who lives in a city designed for entertaining, years disappear like a tall glass of beer, without you noticing.

After 6 years, and many nomikais later, I know it’s time to make a decision about my future. But there’s always something I have to do. Like right now. I’m saying goodnight to friends outside the Shinjuku train station in Tokyo.

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We just spent hours at an izakaya, a magical Japanese restaurant that serves hundreds of delicious finger foods like fried chicken, grilled fish, buttered corn to name a popular few. After that we stumbled to a karaoke bar and had more drinks and more food and screamed for another 2 hours. 

Exhausted, we’re saying goodnight, “Oyasuminasi!” Most of us are going home to families–a spouse and children. Between me and my empty apartment, is a 30-minute journey. Tokyo is extremely safe for a 6’ white American guy like me but there are other dangers. 

It’s not uncommon to discover platform pizzas–beer, sake and all the chewed bits of fish, chicken, and batter–sprayed around train station floors and city sidewalks. A vomitous Jackson Pollock. 

I’m lost in my own head. I know this station well so I’m letting muscle memory guide me to the platform, which I quickly learn is a mistake. I begin to slide.  

“Aaaaaaaaah” I scream. I’m waving my arms and trying not to fall. I don’t have to look down to know. 

After I come to a stop, I sigh and finally inspect the mess. My black dress shoes are now multi-colored and textured but mostly a shiny gold. “Is that octopus?” I ask myself. I fail to suppress my gag reflex. Twice.

I cover my mouth and hop to the nearest wall to kick away the largest bits. Japanese aren’t conspicuous gawkers. They don’t want to embarrass you by noticing when you’re struggling, even if you crash your motorcycle in your own neighborhood. As you lie in the painted, slippery crosswalk in the rain, they will step around and over you. So I’m not worried about drawing attention now. I just need to get to a toilet stall. Quick. 

I stumble into the nearest bathroom when I see another gaijin (foreigner). He’s leaning on a sink, gripping it. I can tell he’s an English teacher--he’s wearing the uniform–khakis, short sleeve dress shirt, no tie. He could easily be my doppelganger.

I’m not sure if this guy is going to hurl, or pass out. He plants his feet wider as he tries to suppress something. I feel my own stomach churning. Do I run to a stall, or help this guy? I stop to ask him, “Hey, are you OK?”

My mistake. 

He turns away from the sink, looks at me and doubles over. I try to jump back. Too late. His convulsing body spews beer, fish, chicken, and rice. Lots of rice. And noodles maybe.

He straightens up but he’s not looking at me. His eyes are glassy. He doesn’t see me at all. He’s taking deep frantic breaths. I ask him again even louder, “Hey, are you OK?” 

As if he woke up from a nightmare, he snaps out of his trance and looks at me with visible relief. He shakes his head and smiles. “Oh man, I just had an epiphany!”

“Is that what you call it?” I look down and think that’s the wrong word, but I’m feeling almost sober. My own nausea is replaced with anger.  “What’s the hell. Are you OK?”

“No. I’m not OK. Not at all!” he says and laughs loudly. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and then looks me for the first time our eyes connect. “I’m wasting my life.” 

His words punch my gut. 

As he turns to wash his hands he continues talking but not to me. “What now? I have to quit my job and tell everyone I’m coming home? What did I even accomplish?”

He shakes his head, sighs, and walks around me and the mess he made. He no longer weaves as he exits. He’s grounded. He moves on but I’m left behind teetering. I grab a sink to steady myself. 

* Explained

At 11, I was incapable of discussing an imaginary future. By my 16th birthday, my parents had learned they didn’t have much to offer on the topic. Divorced when I turned 13, they struggled separately with a Present that was overwhelming. The Future became tomorrow’s problem, a matter of faith. 

While my parents couldn’t advise me on how best to plan for the future, they gave me two hand me downs that have proven very valuable: 1. A strong work ethic, and 2. An appreciation for education. Both my parents were incredibly hard workers so they got by. But when they told me, “You must go to college” I heard, “Don’t do what we did.” I took that advice and ran. 

I did it. My parents and I at my college graduation. 1989 BSU.

Along the way, I made friends with people for whom the future was very tangible. (Like your mother.) They made life goals and plans to achieve them. People who ambitiously pursued careers and destinations of their choosing. I learned that people who don’t have a destination in mind, don’t go far.

An observation: A river is a common metaphor for life because there is a sense of flow, which is mistaken for progress. I think an hourglass is a better analogy. Time is sand; it falls and disappears.

The queasy stranger in the Shinjuku platform creating platform pizzas? It was me. I had an epiphany so profound I was immobilized and breathless. I not only thought but felt, “I’m wasting my life.” A year later, I came back to the states and found my way to Silicon Valley.

Being an expat in Japan for almost 7 years was not a waste, but it was inefficient. So you don’t think I completely wasted my time, here’s a draft of some accomplishments I cherish:

• I was enriched

  • I understood the shape of the box I was born into (and am constantly trying to climb out of it)

  • I became friends with folks from all over the world, some of which I’m still in touch with

• I became bicultural

  • I passed the level 2 Japanese Proficiency test (conversational fluency, 1000 Chinese characters—next test was for college admissions)

  • I began to understand the minority/majority mindset

  • I read a lot of Japanese literature and history (Korean, WW2, US relations, Comfort women…)

• I fell in love with technology

  • I learned how to develop an app and a website, and how to leverage the Internet

  • I created a class about computers and the internet that became part of my school’s curriculum

• I acquired skills and knowledge to help me in my career

  • I learned about exceptional customer experience

  • I learned the technical skills that helped me get my first jobs in tech back in the US

But the most important lesson could be this: it’s easy to waste time doing something that is exciting but not productive. Keep a meaningful destination on the horizon and you won’t be disappointed. 

Share Some Hand Me Downs

An Apology To Neanderthals

I’m not suggesting Neanderthals were ape-like and dumb because they are no longer here to defend themselves. Neanderthals had massive brains and language. They communicated and coordinated with each other to successfully hunt big animals like wooly rhinos and bison. They decorated their walls with art and had rituals for burying their dead. For over 400,000 years or more, at least 100,000 years longer than Homo Sapiens, they were the dominant biped. Until they weren’t. 

No one knows for sure what happened to them. Did they just die out 40,000 years ago? Did they just assimilate with other species? Some of us from Europe can have up to 4% Neanderthal DNA. Did they fail to identify an impending danger, or fail to acquire a critical skill? Did they collectively think, “We always have tomorrow.” This is true until it is not.

All my love,

Dad

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Dear Offspring,

Why should all your life lessons come from TikTok or Insta? Your mother and I have plenty to share. For example, recently at dinner I shared invaluable tips on how best to approach a non-fiction book. Wait!!! I know you learn all you need to know on YouTube, TikTok, Reels, or <insert latest cool app>. I get it. Why would you even approach a massive, lifeless, resource like a non-fiction work if you think you have to read every word?

I can't remember precisely why I launched into my lecture but it was completely warranted and relevant and wasn’t at all a tangent or preachy. Everyone enjoyed my contribution and wanted an encore. As proof, when I finished, your mother said, “Those are great tips!” She hadn’t picked up her phone or lost interest during my 2+ minute speech. M was riveted and had completely forgotten about the broccoli sitting on his plate. Thus, this blog was born.

What is a hand me down?

I realized there were plenty of tips or life hacks I wanted to share with you but had failed to do so while you were captive children. Being typical try-hard parents, we made sure to teach you the required stuff like reading, tying your shoes, and the importance of wearing underwear. But there are plenty more tips, tricks, life hacks we can pass on.

After drinking a lot of coffee, playing a few games of LoL and Fortnite, and very careful consideration, I identified two categories of hand-me-downs: gifts and surprises. Gifts include a wide range of treasures you may keep and pass down to your own kids. They can be physical or usable things, like a beloved book, or intangible but definable–like lessons on how to hide impostor syndrome–at work and at home.

Surprises are mostly unexpected discoveries you’ll uncover years from now. You won’t even know you got it and won’t have a clue where it came from. Kind of like that exotic keychain in the treasure drawer. You’re welcome very much.

Gifts, AKA Heirlooms

We don’t have ancient jewelry handed down from a Korean princess or German duke to leave you. On the Reeves side of your family, the devastation of a highly dynamic, mobile 20th century pretty much ravaged most worldly possessions that my parents had. Also, as an old friend recently discovered, I haven’t been good at keeping and protecting memorabilia like years of hand-written letter exchanges between friends. (Said friend has every handwritten letter I ever sent him after returning from our student exchange year in Kenya). Sigh.

There are a few exceptions. Aunt Beth and Grandma Betty saved a few things from my childhood that I will share with you: the Christmas stocking in which I was bundled for the ride home from the hospital a few days after I was born. There’s also an infant-sized jacket that I always thought bore the logo of my family’s beloved Chicago Cubs. The Chicago Cubs are a baseball team. Baseball is a sport. Look it up on Wikipedia. The jacket unfortunately is not official Cubs merch. We probably got it at K-Mart. K-Mart is a defunct department store. In retrospect, I may have missed important topics like US History in your cultural education.

In short, you may inherit a few useless tidbits that you’ll feel obligated to lug around for a few moves. It’s far more likely I’ll share guidance and lifehacks that I’ve found so useful I think you want to include them in your own personal guide on thriving in this world.

Pro Tips

• Start your own list of hand me downs you want to share with your offspring now and work backwards.

• Think about what you want to leave your loved one in a hundred years when you move on to the next big challenge and begin building the resources, skills, character needed so you can hand them down.

Surprises or Unintentional Baggage?

Some hand-me-downs are completely unintentional. One time at the Tampa airport, my mom and my sister were watching me at the ticketing counter talking to an agent. They were seated and could look, objectively, at me from afar. My sister turned to my mom and said, “The way he’s standing. Who does that look like? ”

My mom immediately said, “Your father!”

Before this incident if you had asked me how much I was like my father I would have said not at all. The differences were obvious. I went to college. He didn’t. He didn’t even finish high school. He was a smoker and an alcoholic. I don’t smoke and stopped drinking years ago. We are completely unalike. Aren’t we?

Over the years I’ve come to realize how alike we are. Were? (Do you ever really bury a parent?) He loved his family and was a passionate, impulsive person. Sound like anyone you know? He had a great work ethic and was good at his job. But he frequently left jobs because he disagreed with his boss. He was irrationally proud and stubborn. Because he was affable, charismatic, and skilled he generally landed on his feet. Outwardly, he appeared indefatigable. It is only from the personal wreckage he left behind that I now understand just how much he struggled.

Through reflection, introspection, and some gaming, I learned just how much he and I were alike. I had inherited far more from my father than I ever realized. Surprise.

Inevitable Loss

Sooner or later, you may lose the heirlooms that we pass on. Don’t lose sleep when you do. Here’s a fun family story about such loss and how I handled it like a champ. Let it be a model for your own selves when this inevitably happens to you.

Sometime after my grandpa Louie passed, Beth and I helped my mom go through his belongings. I found an old, well worn pair of his white cotton long johns. During a rough patch my mom, Louie, Beth and I had to live with them in their 3-bedroom house. On winter mornings, Grandpa waltzed around the kitchen wearing those long johsn while holding a cup of coffee and crooning “Ba ba ba boom….” a la Bing Crosby. I kept a pair of long john bottoms and one of his Swiss Army knives. He was a tools guy and always had a knife in his pocket to tighten screws or build a birdhouse.

In college, I wore those long johns when I delivered Domino’s pizzas on cold winter nights. They kept me warm. I protected them for years after they became unwearable. I stored them in a super safe place, my underwear drawer, with my passport and other small treasures.

And one day they were gone. POOF

I won't name who threw away this heirloom because she thought it was garbage. She didn’t know it was the last physical thing that I had from my mother’s father and that even though they were tattered, they still connected me, firmly, to the only grandpa I ever loved. (My other grandpa didn’t have hands, he had claws. He didn’t tickle. He tortured. I have the mental scars to prove it.)

When I discovered them missing and learned what happened, I was angry. And disappointed. How could she??? She must’ve thrown them away on purpose! So I confronted her. She was mortified. She had no idea. I had never told her what they meant to me. She thought she was helping.

It was a well intentioned mistake. Your mother was taking care of me. Oops. And that Swiss Army knife? I lost it almost immediately traveling in Kenya. DOH! Time and the daily grind of everyday life devours physical things. Only diamonds and pyramids persist. I'm hoping some of these hand-me-downs are diamond-like and durable.

The Best Hand Me Downs

I hope you come to the same conclusion as I have: the best heirlooms are memories, intentional and other, of our time together as a family. The most valuable things in life you can’t hide in a box. You hold them in your heart–every beat a remembered, shared experience reminding you of a time and place where you were completely, unquestioningly, and unwaveringly loved.

Hopefully you’ll find some hand-me-downs endearing, and maybe even useful. In the midst of youth, surrounded by friends, opportunity, and a bright future, they may seem small and inconsequential. I assure you, they benefit from another form of compound interest–(nostalgia * increasing scarcity). Over time, their value will grow.

Love,

Your dad

Share Some Hand Me Downs

References for future generations and aliens

• Chicago Cubs is/were a baseball team. They were loved by their fans.

• K-Mart was an earlier version of Target. Some genius in Marketing, presumably, invented the “Blue Light Special” which is seared into my memory.

• Bing Crosby was a successful crooner/singer in the US from 1930ish to the early 1970s.

• Images created by Starry AI for funsies:

  • “In The Center Of The Picture, A Large Old Book Covered In Cobwebs On A Wood Table In A Dark Study”

  • “A Faerie Reading A Large Open Book On A Forest Of Mushrooms With A Spaceship In The Sky”