I have always been fascinated by space and the Heavens. I would like to go to space, but not like we do today. If I went, I would want it to be on a Star Trek type shuttle or ship. Our spacecraft, much like our planes, are little more than thin tin cans.

Looking at these pictures really affected me. The Moon is very dead and very unwelcoming, and space is the same way. Then, seeing our planet “Earth” from that vantage point just shows the miracle God made for us and the love Jesus purchased for us. Why would you want to go anywhere else?

Hello, World NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman took this picture of Earth from the Orion spacecraft's window on April 2, 2026, after completing the translunar injection burn.	The Nearside of the Moon (April 4, 2026) - A view of the nearside of the Moon, the side we always see from Earth. Some of the far side is visible, as well, on the left edge, just beyond the black patch that is Orientale basin, a nearly 600-mile-wide crater that straddles the Moon’s ne
A Setting Earth (April 6, 2026) – The lunar surface fills the frame in sharp detail, as seen during the Artemis II lunar flyby, while a distant Earth sets in the background. This image was captured at 6:41 p.m. EDT, on April 6, 2026, just three minutes before the Orion spacecraft and	Earthset Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon.

Source: NASA — April 2026

I don't know how people can look at these incredible images and not think there is a grand designer. I am staying where we should. Think about it, in the oceans or in space, you will always need a suit that could puncture, rupture, or run out of life-saving air or water. But God made our Earth its own spacesuit that self-replicates the air and water we need.

These pictures are just beautiful. Space, the Moon, and Mars are places to visit for a day or two, but not places to live. It would be very isolating, even with other people. Look at that multicolored marble. It is home, and it is just beautiful.

#opinion #currentevents #inspiration

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At a pivotal crossroads, a nation contemplates its future between the pursuit of wealth and industry or the call to civic duty and democratic engagement.

I turn 57 this month, and with everything going on in the world, it almost feels like an afterthought. This year feels worse, more doom and gloom than others. I am not entirely sure why, but it is not just politics. The economy has been rough too, with gas prices staying high, in my case over $4.25 a gallon, along with rising costs across the board and ongoing tech hardware shortages. It all adds to the sense that things are off.

I have never seen as much upheaval as I have this past year. I have also never witnessed in my adult life companies and wealthy individuals fawn over a President to this extent, while much of the media seems complicit. Then they wonder why their trustworthiness is at an all-time low. I believe in a neutral, fact-based media, but in reality we have never truly had one in this country except when it suited particular interests.

What do I mean by that? Yellow journalism is a term that emerged in the late 1800s, around the time of the Spanish-American War. It was fueled in part by sensationalized reporting about the explosion of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor in 1898. At the time, many blamed Spain, though the exact cause of the explosion has never been definitively determined. That kind of reporting helped push the country toward war. Personally, I think we probably should have kept control of Cuba at that time and eventually made it a state or states.

I also know corruption has existed across parties. The Watergate scandal during the Nixon presidency is one clear example. At the same time, leaders from other parties have had their own issues. Franklin D. Roosevelt had people around him who benefited from proximity and influence, a kind of cronyism that shows up in different forms across administrations, including more recent ones.

The real root of the problem, in my view, is something I do not think the Founders fully anticipated or addressed well, and that is political parties. They formed quickly after the Constitution was ratified, but there were early warnings. George Washington, in his Farewell Address, warned about the dangers of political factions and how they could divide the country and put party loyalty above the public good. That warning feels more relevant now than ever.

Now it feels like everything is driven by one party trying to outdo the other. In the United States, this seems more ingrained and entrenched than in many other countries.

I foresee, and I could be wrong, a large Democratic wave coming if elections are conducted fairly. But if that happens, Democrats need to be cautious. People are tired of endless investigations and political theater. They want action. They want real solutions, not lip service.

That means actually addressing things like immigration reform in a lasting way and strengthening Social Security. Some issues may even require constitutional amendments to address structural weaknesses that recent events have brought into focus.

At the same time, do not spend all the energy trying to impeach Trump again. Focus on limiting his power through legislation, oversight, and where possible, overriding vetoes. Hold members of his administration accountable where appropriate, using every lawful tool available, and where warranted, pursue impeachment in cases where it clearly applies. There should be real consequences, including barring individuals from future federal service when justified. That kind of accountability would act as a genuine deterrent. If people know the long-term consequences outweigh any short-term gain, they are less likely to go along with wrongdoing, regardless of pressure or job security.

The broader goal, to me, is making Trump politically irrelevant by not allowing him to dominate every moment or control every outcome. That would likely be more effective than impeachment, because it removes the attention and influence he relies on.

I am hoping this year ends better than it has started. I am usually upbeat during my birth month, but so far this year I am just not feeling it. Here is hoping things turn around.

Luckily, I do not rely on politics or economics for my ultimate happiness. We are just sojourners on this planet, and Easter reminds me of that. Time to shake off the doom and gloom and focus on what actually matters.

#personal #politics #currentevents

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In “Civil War” (2024), the iconic torch of liberty becomes a battleground as soldiers clash atop its flame, symbolizing the fierce struggle for freedom amid chaos.

My Rating: ½ (0.5/5 stars)

The movie stunk, and it stunk so bad I kept watching only for the action at the end. It made no sense to me. Why were we in a civil war? Seems more like a feel-good piece for the press. There were undertones of innuendo but no reason was given, nothing clear was given. It was basically like the viewer came in the middle of a tale and only got none of the backstory. Totally stupid movie. If you were supposed to guess about the relationship to today's politics, this movie will be bad in 25 years' time since there is no context at all, and I mean at all. Every good movie has some backstory, either through flashbacks or other ways. My big takeaway: no context, skip it. Don't waste 2 hours like I did. Yes, there were some good action and thrilling one-off action moments, but that was it.

This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDb.

#movies #opinion #review

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Here is what I get to see from my house on the other side of the coast of Florida. Not as amazing as being there, but still awesome.

No Fools today on this 1st of April. Pretty surreal to watch it from here.

#news #photos #history

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My Rating: ⭐⭐½ (2.5/5 stars)

The cast has done good work in other films, but not here. They were probably paid, but the story was terrible. Calling it a 2.5 felt generous. In my view, there was nothing redeeming about this movie.

This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDb.

#review #movies

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A man joyfully adjusts settings on a futuristic interface labeled “Analyzing,” exploring the possibilities of Stardock's Clairvoyance technology in a cozy, modern workspace.

I have been trying out a new app from Stardock called Clairvoyance. It is a nice AI interface that is very powerful and lets you use API keys to interact with large language models and do all kinds of things. It also takes a privacy-first approach and is a bit more user friendly than some other tools I have tried. I will say this has been very compelling and interesting to use. I honestly cannot believe it is free, and I hope it stays free. That said, there are still some bugs and rough edges. For example, it does not always make it clear whether it is actively working or if something has hung. When subagents get stuck there does not seem to be an obvious way to stop or cancel the task, at least that I have found so far. I have also seen cases where the interface says it is finished but still reports that it is working. On occasion I have asked it what it is doing or what is going on, and the response mentions something running in the background but does not really answer the question directly. It almost feels like it is ignoring the question and returning a vague or nonsense response instead of explaining what is happening. So there are definitely some areas that still need to be fleshed out. To be fair, the software is clearly marked as being in alpha. When it is on target and working, especially when it is helping with coding, it actually works quite well.

What makes it interesting is that it is not just another chatbot interface. The goal is giving people a way to orchestrate multiple AI models and agents from one place. From what I can tell, Clairvoyance makes working with AI tools easier by putting everything into a single desktop interface.

Some of the things Clairvoyance focuses on include:

• Connecting to multiple AI providers using your own API keys
• Supporting different large language models instead of locking you into one system
• Creating agents and subagents that can perform tasks and report results
• Allowing tasks to be broken down and delegated between agents
• Providing a desktop interface instead of relying on multiple browser tabs
• Taking a privacy-first approach so users can control which models and services they connect to

I find it funny that the best way for LLMs, and for people working with them, mirrors a corporate structure. AI tools have really embraced the organizational chart. Think about it. I have seen several people I follow who build or use coding tools do this, including projects around Nostr such as work shared by William Casarin, also known as jb55 (jb55.com). The Nostr community is embracing and experimenting with tools like this. The idea is that you recreate a functioning workplace. You are the boss. Then you have supervisors or agents. Those agents can have their own subagents or employees. They assign tasks, check the work, and then present the results back to you. It is basically the corporate structure recreated in software. Isn't it hilarious that even AI ends up with a corporate structure.

I do wonder how long it will be before we see the slacker AI agent or the eager beaver employee agent. Say what you will, but in my lifetime I have often felt like machines sometimes have a life of their own. Even when they are manufactured the same way, certain machines develop little quirks. If you treat them right, or simply let them do what they were designed to do, they tend to work the way they should.

This whole AI scene is exploding. I am reading more and more posts from people who are using them, people who refuse to use them, people who hate them for what they represent, and people who say they are making the climate crisis worse. My view is that the situation is more complicated than that. Unprovoked war dwarfs AI's perceived climate effects more than datacenters. Why worry about climate effects from datacenters when we have real, visible climate disasters that are more human-purposefully destructive? But I digress.

I recently read a compelling blog post by Tom Casavant called Musings on AI. If you do not follow him in your RSS reader or on social media, you probably should. He has views on AI that are similar to mine, which is neutral. He recently dove into Meshtastic with “Mastastic,” a cool offline Mastodon client over mesh networks (1-mile range in tests). I have been eyeing Meshtastic and Meshcore myself for a hobby project. He also appears to be doing the internet a service by responsibly reporting issues he discovers on websites so they can be fixed in an ethical way.

I like different views and takes about AI. I read and listen to people who fawn over AI like Leo Laporte, William Casarin, and Vitor Pamplona, more neutral views like Tom Casavant and Paul Thurrott and Robert Campbell, to the “AI is not a great business and an implosion is coming” Ed Zitron. This gives me a full round view of AI and shapes what I do and how I use it. AI is not human; it is a tool, a very useful and democratizing one with real limitations. While this post seems to have chased rabbits and probably did. I just wanted to let you know about Clairvoyance, my thoughts on it and AI in general using this tool and how other people's thoughts on AI in general shape my views and usage. AI is history in the making. We are getting closer to my vision of how we can get a Star Trek Style computer. With tools like Clairvoyance paving the way with the front end and taking the technicality out of AI we will be there in the not too distant future. Then who knows what, replicators or a holodeck or maybe both.

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#technology #ai #innovation

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https://elgan.com/why-you-should-love-blogs-now-more-than-ever

Why you should love blogs now more than ever

, Mike Elgan (@MikeElgan@mastodon.social) on sharkey (source)

I saw Mike's post in my timeline, and it's referenced above. While I know some people hate AI with a passion, I agree that AI content has, for the most part, made the internet harder to enjoy. I agree with his post wholeheartedly, and maybe it will bring blogs – and hearing from people on blogs – back into the spotlight.

There was a time when most blogs looked quaint and personal, reflecting the owner's personality not only in their words but in the site's visuals. I also agree with Dave Winer's views on blogs, though not the idea of leaving everything completely unedited. If by “unedited” he means honest, uncensored feelings, I'm fine with that. But I do think having an AI or another human proofread your work is usually a good idea.

When I read some of my earlier posts from my youth – about 35 years ago when I was in my mid-twenties – I often think, what did I even mean there? It may make no sense now, and when I see something like that I cringe and immediately do some blog gardening and fix it. I don't want an AI to turn everything into perfect polish, but I do want my writing to make sense. Sometimes I ramble and chase rabbits the way I do in conversation, and that can lose readers' attention. I hate walking away from someone and thinking, what were we even talking about? That was all over the place.

So yes blogs look like they are coming back and that is a good thing in my opinion, and Google if you are listening, Blogger will be 30 years old in a few years. How about doing some updates to it, but keep it conservative and non-AI related and keep the spirit of it alive and just bring it forward into the modern age.

#blogging #opinion

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A lone traveler embarks on a journey through a vibrant valley of blogging platforms, seeking the perfect path to share their voice and stories with the world.

Okay, it has been one year since I joined Micro.blog and Scribbles.page, and just over a year since I joined Write.as. I thought I would review all three services with a clear winner, a hard “can't wait for my subscription to end and won't be renewing,” and a dark horse.

I joined all three within months of each other looking to get rid of my InMotionHosting web host and get away from WordPress. I didn't like the direction that Matt Mullenweg was heading and didn't want to get burned like I did with Elon Musk and Twitter. Twitter was a special place for me as I refused to use any Zuckerberg product, especially since he ruined Instagram.

Now with the history out of the way, here we go.

Write.as — I joined the free tier in October/November 2024 and was initially impressed by its simplicity compared to WordPress. I like paying for services ahead of time, so I bought the five-year plan. That was buyer's regret.

Customization is where Write.as falls apart. Anything beyond typing and publishing requires contorting CSS and JavaScript, and even then there are limits. The rich editor is buggy and loses formatting if you switch between rich and plain text modes.

The platform feels stagnant. Post preview was first requested in October 2018. Over seven years later, it finally got shipped but within the plain text editor only and does not account for any custom CSS. Users are asking for more than a simple text preview. They want to actually see how the post is going to look live. Support has historically been slow, though the owner has recently brought on some help.

The sole owner has been transparent about his shifting priorities. He took a sabbatical from development in 2022 and has written about moving toward other creative pursuits. In recent blog comments, Matt acknowledged taking mental health breaks “at different points over the years” and has even considered succession planning. While his transparency is commendable, paying customers are left wondering when development will resume in earnest.

Photo integration through Snap.as is frustrating. If you want picture galleries, you have to pay extra, but you can't even embed them in Write.as posts. In September 2025, the owner asked users what they'd want galleries to look like, saying “the design is the biggest thing holding us back.” After years as a paid feature, basic functionality is still missing.

The price has increased from $7 to $9 a month, though the proprietor regularly runs promotions and you can pick up 5 years for $180. For comparison, Micro.blog's $5 plan includes blog hosting, custom domain, cross-posting, native apps, and photo sharing. Their $10 Premium plan offers even more. You get dramatically more features and active development for less money.

Pros:

• Excellent Fediverse integration. Posting, editing, and deleting all sync reliably. Any instance can follow Write.as blogs, including Mastodon, Sharkey, and Misskey.
• Sole owner operated, appealing to those who prefer independent services.
• Simple and minimalist if all you need is to type and publish.
• If you get hosting on sale it is a passable deal as long as you know the limitations.

Cons:

• No proper post preview after seven years of requests.
• Rich editor is buggy and limited.
• Customization requires CSS/JavaScript expertise.
• Features disjointed across separate services with extra charges.
• Development has stagnated.
• Price increased to $9/month while offering less than competitors.
• Owner's priorities have shifted away from the platform.

Micro.blog is almost the opposite of Write.as in all ways, and 90 percent of those differences are positive.

I've already reviewed Micro.blog extensively in this blog post here, so I won't rehash everything here. The premium plan is only $1 more than Write.as ($10 vs $9), but you get dramatically more value. Micro.blog is constantly evolving, and the owner maintains development pace while keeping the platform stable and minimally disrupted. Also, keep in mind every tier has different features.

Pros:

• Active weekly development with new features, bug fixes, and improvements shipped constantly
• Extensive feature set: podcasts, newsletters, photo galleries, image hosting, video hosting, multiple blogs, and audio transcription
• Cross-posting to 10+ platforms (Mastodon, Bluesky, Medium, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Flickr, Nostr, Pixelfed, Threads, PeerTube)
• Better customization: themes, custom CSS/JavaScript, Hugo-based with plug-ins
• Import from WordPress, Medium, Ghost, Substack, Write.as, Instagram, Twitter archives, and more
• Responsive support with dedicated Community Manager
• Multiple pricing tiers ($5 basic, $10 premium, $20 Studio) offering more features than Write.as at comparable or lower prices
• Strong community guidelines with human-curated “Discover” section

Cons:

• Awkward Fediverse implementation not fully compatible with non-Mastodon instances
• Features not easily discoverable
• Android apps lagging behind Mac/iOS apps

I would easily recommend this service. It is probably the most well-rounded and actively maintained platform out there if you need these features.

Scribbles.page is my dark horse. This is a managed blog hosting service with excellent design. Vincent Ritter, the owner and designer, has been on a tear lately modernizing the platform and adding features.

The only drawback for me is the lack of Fediverse integration and POSSE. But it makes up for it in every other respect and serves as a nice companion to Micro.blog with built-in cross-posting support.

Vincent is developing a robust API based on JSON and Micropub standards. The only thing I see missing is media uploading, which he is still working on. The pace of changes on Scribbles has been steady and everything is polished.

A social feature unique to the platform is something Vincent calls “Scribbles,” which lets readers send short private messages to blog owners about their posts. It's more casual than email and completely privacy-friendly since scribbles are private notes between the sender and recipient, not publicly shared. The platform also features a nice explorer page where you can discover other blogs, and it's available via RSS feed. Vincent regularly announces software updates there, keeping users informed about new features and improvements. If I had found this before Write.as or Micro.blog, this might have been my only purchase, and the Fediverse could have been implemented via n8n, IFTTT, or a custom solution.

I also appreciate that he plans to offer self-hosting for Lifetime members, and there is a Lifetime membership option instead of subscriptions, which addresses my subscription fatigue. One last detail that might matter to some: it is hosted and based in Europe.

The Verdict

After one year on all three platforms, here's my decision:

Write.as is the “won't be renewing.” Unless it drastically changes course in the next five years, it is too limited and stagnant. While the Fediverse integration is excellent, that alone doesn't justify the price when competitors offer more features and active development. Only consider it if you get a significant promotional discount and need nothing beyond basic blogging with ActivityPub.

Micro.blog is the clear winner. It delivers exceptional value with constant development, extensive features, and strong community management. The platform continues to evolve while remaining stable. Despite everything increasing in price lately, I am surprised Micro.blog hasn't raised its rates. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Scribbles.page is the dark horse. If you don't need federation features and value gorgeous design with modern blogging standards, this is a compelling choice. The lifetime membership option and Vincent's impressive development momentum make it worth serious consideration.

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#review #opinion

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⚠️ Warning: Political Rant

Okay, this is one of the few politically related posts I make each year because politics are so divisive. So here’s your warning: if you’d rather not read political commentary, feel free to stop here.

The recent armed action against Iran has me conflicted. I believe it's more of a distraction and a pretext than a genuine strategic necessity. While the issues we face in America come from the neglect of both parties, Trump seems to be using these problems to his advantage. This situation should have been addressed years ago when Iran first began developing its nuclear program. The United States is skilled at acting as a global police force and solving immediate problems but not at handling long-term challenges such as nation building. We have never successfully created a functioning foreign democracy.

Historically, outside powers that try to build nations in their own image often fail in the long run. They either cannot fully erase local culture, or they create deep resentment in the process. The British Empire tried to project its institutions and values onto places like India and large parts of the Middle East, disrupting older political and cultural systems. When the British Empire withdrew, it left behind borders and governments that did not always match local realities, which helped fuel instability that continues today.

While I don't completely disagree with action against Iran, it should have happened years ago, just like with Cuba. The situation in Cuba also should have been resolved long ago. I believe the United States should help guide Cuba until it becomes a stable modern democracy, intervening firmly if it begins to stray.

What concerns me most now are the costs in lives, money, and timing. I fear this situation might serve as a pretext to interfere with the upcoming elections or to distract from other issues such as the release of the Epstein files and broader corruption. If this administration were honest, I might believe the urgency. But after so much misdirection, self-dealing, and falsehoods, I can't give this president the benefit of the doubt anymore. That ended with January 6th.

On top of that, he hasn't delivered on most of his campaign promises. My bills keep rising, and while a few prices have gone down, those savings are offset elsewhere. Every time it seems the economy might recover, he makes comments that hurt it further. Tariffs are taxes, and the public ultimately pays them. If any other president behaved this way, there would be outrage in Congress. Yet for some reason, this one is treated differently from any president I've seen in my lifetime.

I only hope Congress learns from this experience. And I don't want to hear any Republican complain if a future Democratic president takes similar actions. Our political system has several deep problems. One of the largest is the lack of adequate representation. I've said it for years: 435 Representatives and 100 Senators for over 330 million people isn't right. We should have at least one representative for every 50,000 citizens. There are certainly aspects of our own Constitution that could be improved, and Trump has exploited some of its weaknesses.

We also need new constitutional amendments; term limits, stronger limits on presidential power, and real consequences for any president who forgets that they are a steward of the people, not a monarch. Congress itself must also move away from party dominance. Partisan politics are destroying this country. I'm glad I left both parties and now consider myself a proud independent.

End of rant.

#opinion #politics

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A cluttered desk overflowing with DVDs, game controllers, and a computer setup highlights the challenge of balancing a busy to-do list with the pursuit of better health and productivity.

I haven't blogged lately for several reasons. I have been feeling much better from my Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (I have blogged extensively about it in several past posts). I will just say my Camzyos and Metoprolol 200 mg ER twice daily seems to be working. I am sleeping at night and I hardly feel my heart symptoms anymore. The only lingering negative is a high heart rate most of the time, even when sleeping. But I have more energy, and that is actually why I haven't been blogging as much.

I know what you are thinking: if you are feeling better, why aren't you blogging? Well, it is because I am catching up on backlogged personal projects I have wanted to get done, and spending too much money in the process. Ever since AI came on the scene, I have been getting up to speed and, with its help, doing things I have wanted to do but didn't have the knowledge or know where to look. For instance, I have over 2,000 discs (DVDs, CDs, and Blu-rays) from over 30 years of accumulation that I am finally archiving and getting into my Plex server for my home. I had no one to ask and couldn't find resources, so I just had the discs sitting around, many never opened, as I relied on streaming services. But I have been on a purge of subscription services since early last year. I am also finding approximately 100 DVDs that have either disc rot or are scratched. That last one really hurts, as most of the disc-rotted and scratched discs have never been opened. So there has been a renewed sense of urgency on my part to get these things archivally backed up.

All the while, I have been using Windsurf AI IDE and other tools to make software that I want to use and customize for myself, like a Personal Poster that posts to all my social media platforms and a separate blog poster program to post to all my different sites without having to worry about cutting and pasting.

Then there is continuing to build out my homelab and home server setup, and again, thanks to AI. I ask and it helps and puts it in a way I can understand. It is a resource I have never had before. I have also been trying to stay ahead of the negative side of AI causing prices to spike on computer hardware so that I will not have to have a computer subscription like the one recently introduced by HP (windowscentral.com). I refuse to rent a PC. I have never leased a car and will not lease a PC. At what point do companies take subscriptions too far? Personally, I think we are there.

So with all of this, plus working so I can afford to buy and pay for everything, I have been rather busy. The only things I want to write about and express my feelings on lately are my other health conditions (which I may do) and politics/economics, which are driving me crazy and I am trying to stay away from because I don't think anyone cares about my opinions on these matters.

All that said, I am still here and I have not gone anywhere. I just have a lot on my plate right now. Hopefully I will be back to writing more regularly soon, and I will have plenty to share about what I have been working on.

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#personal #productivity

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