opinion &mdash; Mitchell Report https://michaelmitchell.blog/tag:opinion A personal blog for Michael Mitchell Sun, 24 May 2026 23:52:48 +0000 Who's the Real Loser? https://michaelmitchell.blog/whos-the-real-loser?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[ Why Gen X is the real loser generation Don’t cry for millennials or Gen Z. Save your pity for those in their 50s Why Gen X is the real loser generation https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/05/08/why-gen-x-is-the-real-loser-generation?utmsource=flipboard&utmmedium=activitypub Posted into Daily Reads @daily-reads-TheEconomist — The Economist (@TheEconomist@flipboard.com) on mastodon (source) div style="border-left:4px solid #4CAF50;background:#E8F5E9;border-radius:4px;padding:12px 16px;margin:1.5em 0;" div style="font-weight:700;margin-bottom:6px;"💡 Tip/div pA nonpaywall archive link that works to the a href="https://archive.ph/CZqdN"whole article/a./p /div I am a Gen Xer, and I do not consider myself part of a loser generation. I do think my generation came up during a time when the family was under assault from companies, the economy, and a culture that made it harder and harder for one parent to stay home. I know my mother and father resisted that pressure for as long as they could. !--more-- My mother was a stay-at-home mother for most of my childhood, and I am grateful for that. I also get to spend time with her now in her 70s, and I appreciate every bit of that time. My father worked and was the primary breadwinner for our household. But after I graduated, my parents took on two more mouths to feed. My aunt on my mom’s side died young, and her two kids, my cousins, were being raised by my maternal grandmother. When my grandmother died, my parents took over raising them. That, along with other factors, eventually led to my mom entering the workforce. So no, I do not think of Gen X as a loser generation. We saw the birth of some amazing things, and we helped bring some great inventions into the world that today’s generations benefit from. I guess every generation can claim that in some way, but we were there for the rise of the personal computer, mobile phones, the internet, and so much more. The things I do think Gen X lost out on were more serious. We saw the rise of latchkey kids. We saw families stretched thinner. And now, many of us are facing a retirement system that is much less secure than the one our parents expected. We will probably have to work longer. We have less retirement security because corporate pensions largely disappeared and were replaced by 401(k) plans that many employers under-fund. The responsibility shifted from companies to workers, and a lot of people were not prepared for that. Social Security in a death spiraled only expected to pay full benefits until 2033 right when I will be drawing on it. The article argues that Gen X has had slower income growth than other generations at similar ages, and I believe that. Even now, I am making the most money I have ever made, yet it still does not feel like enough. My spending is not up. In fact, it is down. But the cost of everything keeps climbing, and it feels like we are always trying to catch up. So while I do not think my generation, or my siblings’ generation, are losers, I do think we have been more disadvantaged than people realize. Gen X is not the loser generation. We are a disadvantaged generation that has not been given the respect it deserves. And there is a big difference. #family #opinion #retirement p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.95em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #0c5c35; line-height: 1.8;" span class="tinylytics_kudos"/span 💬 a href="https://remark.as/p/michaelmitchell.blog/whos-the-real-loser"Discuss.../a a href="mailto:michaelm2@michaelmitchell.blog" style="color:#0c5c35;text-decoration:none"✉️ Email/a 🦣 a href="https://writing.exchange/@michaelm2" rel="me" style="color: #0c5c35; text-decoration: none;"Reply on Mastodon/a /p !--emailsub--]]>

Why Gen X is the real loser generation Don’t cry for millennials or Gen Z. Save your pity for those in their 50s

Why Gen X is the real loser generation https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/05/08/why-gen-x-is-the-real-loser-generation?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub Posted into Daily Reads @daily-reads-TheEconomist

— The Economist (@TheEconomist@flipboard.com) on mastodon (source)

💡 Tip

A nonpaywall archive link that works to the whole article.

I am a Gen Xer, and I do not consider myself part of a loser generation.

I do think my generation came up during a time when the family was under assault from companies, the economy, and a culture that made it harder and harder for one parent to stay home. I know my mother and father resisted that pressure for as long as they could.

My mother was a stay-at-home mother for most of my childhood, and I am grateful for that. I also get to spend time with her now in her 70s, and I appreciate every bit of that time. My father worked and was the primary breadwinner for our household.

But after I graduated, my parents took on two more mouths to feed. My aunt on my mom’s side died young, and her two kids, my cousins, were being raised by my maternal grandmother. When my grandmother died, my parents took over raising them. That, along with other factors, eventually led to my mom entering the workforce.

So no, I do not think of Gen X as a loser generation.

We saw the birth of some amazing things, and we helped bring some great inventions into the world that today’s generations benefit from. I guess every generation can claim that in some way, but we were there for the rise of the personal computer, mobile phones, the internet, and so much more.

The things I do think Gen X lost out on were more serious. We saw the rise of latchkey kids. We saw families stretched thinner. And now, many of us are facing a retirement system that is much less secure than the one our parents expected.

We will probably have to work longer. We have less retirement security because corporate pensions largely disappeared and were replaced by 401(k) plans that many employers under-fund. The responsibility shifted from companies to workers, and a lot of people were not prepared for that. Social Security in a death spiraled only expected to pay full benefits until 2033 right when I will be drawing on it.

The article argues that Gen X has had slower income growth than other generations at similar ages, and I believe that. Even now, I am making the most money I have ever made, yet it still does not feel like enough. My spending is not up. In fact, it is down. But the cost of everything keeps climbing, and it feels like we are always trying to catch up.

So while I do not think my generation, or my siblings’ generation, are losers, I do think we have been more disadvantaged than people realize.

Gen X is not the loser generation.

We are a disadvantaged generation that has not been given the respect it deserves.

And there is a big difference.

#family #opinion #retirement

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]]> https://michaelmitchell.blog/whos-the-real-loser Sat, 23 May 2026 22:30:26 +0000 AI Isn't Black and White https://michaelmitchell.blog/ai-isnt-black-and-white?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[A colorful illustration of seven diverse people outdoors in a lush green meadow near a calm lake with mountains and trees in the background under a bright blue sky with scattered white clouds. The group includes an elderly man with gray hair wearing a flat cap, beige vest, and white shirt, crouching and holding a tablet; a young boy in an orange shirt and blue shorts sitting cross-legged with a laptop; a girl in a green shirt and blue shorts kneeling beside him, also using a laptop; a standing young man in a white shirt and blue pants pointing upward while holding a tablet; a standing woman with dark skin, wearing an orange shirt, blue jeans, and a yellow headscarf, pointing upward with a tablet in her other hand; a young girl with blonde hair wearing headphones, a pink jacket, blue pants, and red sneakers sitting on the grass with a tablet; and a man in a suit and glasses crouching with a tablet. Above them, glowing interconnected dots form the shape of a large light bulb in the sky, smallPeople of all ages and backgrounds come together outdoors, connecting ideas and technology to illuminate the diverse and collaborative nature of AI innovation./small Okay, this will probably sound controversial, but that's not my intent. I'm just sharing my thoughts because AI is everywhere right now, especially on social media and in blog posts. These views range from fairly neutral:a id="footnote-1-ref" href="#footnote-1" title="I am using “views” broadly here. Some examples come from specific blog posts, while others come from podcasts, videos, comments, or general public statements I have seen or heard."[1]/a Manton Reece Tom Casavant Paul Thurrott Richard Campbell To fairly positive, with the idea that you need to learn or use AI because... Jim Mitchell Numeric Citizen Leo Laporte Hey Loura Ricardo Mendes To more negative views, often focused on whether AI's value proposition can actually justify the money being spent: - Ed Zitron !--more-- People tend to frame the debate as two opposing camps: camp 1 wants nothing to do with AI, and camp 2 wants to hand it control over everything. I live in a quieter third camp. Most people are actually somewhere in the middle, but we don't shout as loudly. I see both the risks and the benefits. AI has let me try things I never would have had the courage to try, and it's helped me grow and learn about technology in ways I likely wouldn't have otherwise. The loudest voices are camps 1 and 2, yet it's usually the middle camp that makes the real decisions when it counts. So maybe camps 1 and 2 should learn a little from us: camp 1 could be a little less rigid, and camp 2 could be more realistic and grounded. AI is not going away. It may become less democratized. We are already seeing token, credit, and time limits, but those feel like temporary bumps. Many limits are at least partly artificial, and they may ease as the tech and business models evolve. Given current politics here and abroad, tearing people down doesn't help. If AI isn't being used to create false narratives or spread "fake news," people should be free to use it or not. I don't support blanket punishments for anyone who used AI to edit, help, or build something. That kind of hard-line stance, and labeling anything non-factual as "slop," isn't productive. The larger economic issue is real and has been building for decades. Automation started with the paperless office and industrial robotics. Robots and AI will continue to displace jobs, and that's a societal and political problem we need to solve now, not shrug off with "it's not my problem." It's not necessarily tomorrow's crisis, but it's coming in the not-so-distant future. Job losses mean less tax revenue, and corporations and wealthy individuals are skilled at finding legal ways to reduce taxes, wages, and benefits. We should rethink corporate structures and the single-minded focus on shareholder value. A shift toward an employee-and-business-first model would make more sense. After all, without a functioning business, you don't have shareholder value, and without employees, you don't really have a business unless you fully automate. If companies replace workers with machines and still expect high shareholder returns, they may under-invest in the equipment and long-term stability that would make that strategy sustainable. That's my two cents. I don't think we should be tearing people down for using technology that helps them, that they pay for themselves, and that helps them communicate and complete their vision. For full transparency, this post contains my thoughts and my opinions, and it was edited and proofread with AI. I made, directed, and approved the changes. AI helped organize my wording and corrected my spelling and grammar. It did not write this post, create the ideas behind it, or shape my feelings or thoughts. That, to me, is responsible AI usage. I could not afford to hire an editor or an artist for this post, or every other post, to make a feature image. I told the AI what I wanted for a feature image, and it made it. I think it did an amazing job bringing my prompt alive. ol li id="footnote-1"I am using “views” broadly here. Some examples come from specific blog posts, while others come from podcasts, videos, comments, or general public statements I have seen or heard. a href="#footnote-1-ref"&#8617;/a/li /ol #ai #opinion #technology p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.95em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #0c5c35; line-height: 1.8;" span class="tinylytics_kudos"/span 💬 a href="https://remark.as/p/michaelmitchell.blog/ai-isnt-black-and-white"Discuss.../a a href="mailto:michaelm2@michaelmitchell.blog" style="color:#0c5c35;text-decoration:none"✉️ Email/a 🦣 a href="https://writing.exchange/@michaelm2" rel="me" style="color: #0c5c35; text-decoration: none;"Reply on Mastodon/a /p !--emailsub--]]> A colorful illustration of seven diverse people outdoors in a lush green meadow near a calm lake with mountains and trees in the background under a bright blue sky with scattered white clouds. The group includes an elderly man with gray hair wearing a flat cap, beige vest, and white shirt, crouching and holding a tablet; a young boy in an orange shirt and blue shorts sitting cross-legged with a laptop; a girl in a green shirt and blue shorts kneeling beside him, also using a laptop; a standing young man in a white shirt and blue pants pointing upward while holding a tablet; a standing woman with dark skin, wearing an orange shirt, blue jeans, and a yellow headscarf, pointing upward with a tablet in her other hand; a young girl with blonde hair wearing headphones, a pink jacket, blue pants, and red sneakers sitting on the grass with a tablet; and a man in a suit and glasses crouching with a tablet. Above them, glowing interconnected dots form the shape of a large light bulb in the sky,

People of all ages and backgrounds come together outdoors, connecting ideas and technology to illuminate the diverse and collaborative nature of AI innovation.

Okay, this will probably sound controversial, but that's not my intent. I'm just sharing my thoughts because AI is everywhere right now, especially on social media and in blog posts.

These views range from fairly neutral:[1] – Manton Reece – Tom Casavant – Paul Thurrott – Richard Campbell

To fairly positive, with the idea that you need to learn or use AI because... – Jim Mitchell – Numeric Citizen – Leo Laporte – Hey Loura – Ricardo Mendes

To more negative views, often focused on whether AI's value proposition can actually justify the money being spent: - Ed Zitron

People tend to frame the debate as two opposing camps: camp 1 wants nothing to do with AI, and camp 2 wants to hand it control over everything. I live in a quieter third camp. Most people are actually somewhere in the middle, but we don't shout as loudly. I see both the risks and the benefits. AI has let me try things I never would have had the courage to try, and it's helped me grow and learn about technology in ways I likely wouldn't have otherwise.

The loudest voices are camps 1 and 2, yet it's usually the middle camp that makes the real decisions when it counts. So maybe camps 1 and 2 should learn a little from us: camp 1 could be a little less rigid, and camp 2 could be more realistic and grounded.

AI is not going away. It may become less democratized. We are already seeing token, credit, and time limits, but those feel like temporary bumps. Many limits are at least partly artificial, and they may ease as the tech and business models evolve.

Given current politics here and abroad, tearing people down doesn't help. If AI isn't being used to create false narratives or spread “fake news,” people should be free to use it or not. I don't support blanket punishments for anyone who used AI to edit, help, or build something. That kind of hard-line stance, and labeling anything non-factual as “slop,” isn't productive.

The larger economic issue is real and has been building for decades. Automation started with the paperless office and industrial robotics. Robots and AI will continue to displace jobs, and that's a societal and political problem we need to solve now, not shrug off with “it's not my problem.” It's not necessarily tomorrow's crisis, but it's coming in the not-so-distant future.

Job losses mean less tax revenue, and corporations and wealthy individuals are skilled at finding legal ways to reduce taxes, wages, and benefits. We should rethink corporate structures and the single-minded focus on shareholder value. A shift toward an employee-and-business-first model would make more sense. After all, without a functioning business, you don't have shareholder value, and without employees, you don't really have a business unless you fully automate. If companies replace workers with machines and still expect high shareholder returns, they may under-invest in the equipment and long-term stability that would make that strategy sustainable.

That's my two cents. I don't think we should be tearing people down for using technology that helps them, that they pay for themselves, and that helps them communicate and complete their vision.

For full transparency, this post contains my thoughts and my opinions, and it was edited and proofread with AI. I made, directed, and approved the changes. AI helped organize my wording and corrected my spelling and grammar. It did not write this post, create the ideas behind it, or shape my feelings or thoughts. That, to me, is responsible AI usage.

I could not afford to hire an editor or an artist for this post, or every other post, to make a feature image. I told the AI what I wanted for a feature image, and it made it. I think it did an amazing job bringing my prompt alive.

  1. I am using “views” broadly here. Some examples come from specific blog posts, while others come from podcasts, videos, comments, or general public statements I have seen or heard. ↩

#ai #opinion #technology

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]]> https://michaelmitchell.blog/ai-isnt-black-and-white Sun, 17 May 2026 23:00:18 +0000 Loura's Website Magic https://michaelmitchell.blog/louras-website-magic?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[If you ever want to see a master craftswoman at website design and theming, then you must stop over at Hey Loura! She is also in my BlogRoll. Her latest creation is spectacular and pirate-themed. She keeps outdoing herself each time she updates. I love her work and wish I could do, or get an AI to do, what she does. I have tried. I am still working on a 4th of July theme, but I can't get it to see my vision. Anyways, great job, Loura! I can't wait to see what you come up with next. #opinion #webdevelopment p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.95em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #0c5c35; line-height: 1.8;" span class="tinylytics_kudos"/span 💬 a href="https://remark.as/p/michaelmitchell.blog/louras-website-magic"Discuss.../a a href="mailto:michaelm2@michaelmitchell.blog" style="color:#0c5c35;text-decoration:none"✉️ Email/a 🦣 a href="https://writing.exchange/@michaelm2" rel="me" style="color: #0c5c35; text-decoration: none;"Reply on Mastodon/a /p !--emailsub--]]> If you ever want to see a master craftswoman at website design and theming, then you must stop over at Hey Loura! She is also in my BlogRoll. Her latest creation is spectacular and pirate-themed. She keeps outdoing herself each time she updates.

I love her work and wish I could do, or get an AI to do, what she does. I have tried. I am still working on a 4th of July theme, but I can't get it to see my vision.

Anyways, great job, Loura! I can't wait to see what you come up with next.

#opinion #webdevelopment

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]]> https://michaelmitchell.blog/louras-website-magic Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:08:49 +0000 Moon Views, Earth Love https://michaelmitchell.blog/moon-views-earth-love?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[I have been watching the Artemis II mission off and on. I saw these pictures on the NASA website, and here are a few that I really like. They definitely got me thinking. 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? div style="margin:24px 0;" table style="width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;" trtd style="width:50%;padding:6px;vertical-align:top;"img src="https://media.mitchelltribe.xyz/b6c80270e9a0.jpg" alt="A detailed image of Earth taken from space, showing the planet against a black background dotted with small stars. The view focuses on the Eastern Hemisphere, prominently featuring Australia with its reddish-brown landmass on the left side of the globe. Surrounding Australia are vast expanses of deep blue ocean with swirling white cloud formations scattered across the atmosphere. The curvature of the Earth is clearly visible, with a thin, bright blue atmospheric glow outlining the planet’s edge. Near the bottom right of the image, a bright white star or planet is visible in space. The overall scene captures the beauty and fragility of Earth from a distant vantage point in space." style="width:100%;height:auto;display:block;border-radius:4px;" /div style="font-size:12px;color:#666;margin:4px 0 0;font-style:italic;line-height:1.5;"spanHello, World NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman took this picture of Earth from the Orion spacecraft&#x27;s window on April 2, 2026, after completing the translunar injection burn./span/div/tdtd style="width:50%;padding:6px;vertical-align:top;"img src="https://media.mitchelltribe.xyz/2571ed099196.jpg" alt="A detailed, high-resolution photograph of the full moon centered against a completely black night sky. The moon appears bright white with various shades of gray, showing its textured surface clearly. Visible are numerous craters, darker lunar maria (large, flat basaltic plains), and lighter highland areas. The moon’s round shape is well-defined, and the contrast between the illuminated surface and the dark sky highlights the moon’s detailed topography. No other objects, stars, or light sources are visible in the image. The overall composition focuses solely on the moon, emphasizing its natural features and surface details." style="width:100%;height:auto;display:block;border-radius:4px;" /div style="font-size:12px;color:#666;margin:4px 0 0;font-style:italic;line-height:1.5;"spanThe 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/span/div/td/tr trtd style="width:50%;padding:6px;vertical-align:top;"img src="https://media.mitchelltribe.xyz/fde4612f9dc7.jpg" alt="A detailed view of the Moon&#x27;s surface dominates the foreground, showing a vast expanse covered with numerous craters of varying sizes and depths. The surface appears gray and textured, with shadows accentuating the rugged terrain and crater rims. In the background, partially visible above the Moon&#x27;s horizon, is the Earth, appearing as a bright, blue and white sphere. The Earth’s surface shows cloud formations and oceanic areas, illuminated by sunlight, contrasting sharply against the blackness of space. The image captures the stark contrast between the barren, cratered lunar surface and the vibrant, life-supporting Earth rising behind it. The overall scene conveys a sense of vastness and isolation in space." style="width:100%;height:auto;display:block;border-radius:4px;" /div style="font-size:12px;color:#666;margin:4px 0 0;font-style:italic;line-height:1.5;"spanA 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/span/div/tdtd style="width:50%;padding:6px;vertical-align:top;"img src="https://media.mitchelltribe.xyz/bf3f8eaa3fb1.jpg" alt="A view from the surface of the Moon showing its gray, cratered terrain in the foreground. The lunar surface is covered with numerous small and medium-sized impact craters, giving it a rough and pockmarked appearance. Beyond the Moon&#x27;s horizon, the Earth is visible partially illuminated against the blackness of space. The Earth appears as a blue and white crescent with visible cloud formations and oceanic areas, with the shadowed portion blending into the dark background. The image captures the stark contrast between the barren, cratered lunar surface and the vibrant, cloud-covered Earth rising above it. The overall scene conveys a sense of vastness and isolation in space." style="width:100%;height:auto;display:block;border-radius:4px;" /div style="font-size:12px;color:#666;margin:4px 0 0;font-style:italic;line-height:1.5;"spanEarthset 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./span/div/td/tr /table div style="font-size:12px;color:#888;margin:10px 0 0;font-style:italic;line-height:1.5;"spanSource: a href="https://www.nasa.gov/gallery/lunar-flyby/" target="blank" rel="noopener"NASA/a — April 2026/span/div /div 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. #currentevents #inspiration #opinion p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.95em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #0c5c35; line-height: 1.8;" span class="tinylyticskudos"/span 💬 a href="https://remark.as/p/michaelmitchell.blog/moon-views-earth-love"Discuss.../a a href="mailto:michaelm2@michaelmitchell.blog" style="color:#0c5c35;text-decoration:none"✉️ Email/a 🦣 a href="https://writing.exchange/@michaelm2" rel="me" style="color: #0c5c35; text-decoration: none;"Reply on Mastodon/a /p !--emailsub--]]> I have been watching the Artemis II mission off and on. I saw these pictures on the NASA website, and here are a few that I really like. They definitely got me thinking.

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?

A detailed image of Earth taken from space, showing the planet against a black background dotted with small stars. The view focuses on the Eastern Hemisphere, prominently featuring Australia with its reddish-brown landmass on the left side of the globe. Surrounding Australia are vast expanses of deep blue ocean with swirling white cloud formations scattered across the atmosphere. The curvature of the Earth is clearly visible, with a thin, bright blue atmospheric glow outlining the planet’s edge. Near the bottom right of the image, a bright white star or planet is visible in space. The overall scene captures the beauty and fragility of Earth from a distant vantage point in space.
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.
A detailed, high-resolution photograph of the full moon centered against a completely black night sky. The moon appears bright white with various shades of gray, showing its textured surface clearly. Visible are numerous craters, darker lunar maria (large, flat basaltic plains), and lighter highland areas. The moon’s round shape is well-defined, and the contrast between the illuminated surface and the dark sky highlights the moon’s detailed topography. No other objects, stars, or light sources are visible in the image. The overall composition focuses solely on the moon, emphasizing its natural features and surface details.
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 detailed view of the Moon's surface dominates the foreground, showing a vast expanse covered with numerous craters of varying sizes and depths. The surface appears gray and textured, with shadows accentuating the rugged terrain and crater rims. In the background, partially visible above the Moon's horizon, is the Earth, appearing as a bright, blue and white sphere. The Earth’s surface shows cloud formations and oceanic areas, illuminated by sunlight, contrasting sharply against the blackness of space. The image captures the stark contrast between the barren, cratered lunar surface and the vibrant, life-supporting Earth rising behind it. The overall scene conveys a sense of vastness and isolation in space.
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
A view from the surface of the Moon showing its gray, cratered terrain in the foreground. The lunar surface is covered with numerous small and medium-sized impact craters, giving it a rough and pockmarked appearance. Beyond the Moon's horizon, the Earth is visible partially illuminated against the blackness of space. The Earth appears as a blue and white crescent with visible cloud formations and oceanic areas, with the shadowed portion blending into the dark background. The image captures the stark contrast between the barren, cratered lunar surface and the vibrant, cloud-covered Earth rising above it. The overall scene conveys a sense of vastness and isolation in space.
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.

#currentevents #inspiration #opinion

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]]> https://michaelmitchell.blog/moon-views-earth-love Wed, 08 Apr 2026 03:39:05 +0000 🍿Watched Civil War (2024) https://michaelmitchell.blog/watched-civil-war-2024?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: FULL SPOILERS A close-up image of the torch held by the Statue of Liberty against a cloudy, dramatic sky. The torch's flame is golden and stylized, glowing with a warm light. Surrounding the base of the flame are sandbags and two soldiers in combat gear, positioned as if in a battle, aiming rifles in opposite directions. The soldiers and sandbags create a wartime scene atop the torch. Bold, bright green text reading "CIVIL WAR" is prominently displayed across the middle of the image, partially covering the torch and soldiers. The overall tone is intense and somber, suggesting conflict and struggle. smallIn "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./small 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. div style="text-align: center; padding: 10px; margin: 20px 0 0; border-top: 1px solid #ddd; font-size: 0.85em; color: #666;"div style="margin-bottom: 8px;"img src="https://www.themoviedb.org/assets/2/v4/logos/v2/blueshort-8e7b30f73a4020692ccca9c88bafe5dcb6f8a62a4c6bc55cd9ba82bb2cd95f6c.svg" alt="TMDb" style="height: 16px; display: inline-block;"/divdivThis product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by a href="https://www.themoviedb.org" target="blank" style="color: #01b4e4; text-decoration: none;"TMDb/a./div/div #movies #opinion #review p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.95em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #0c5c35; line-height: 1.8;" span class="tinylytics_kudos"/span 💬 a href="https://remark.as/p/michaelmitchell.blog/watched-civil-war-2024"Discuss.../a a href="mailto:michaelm2@michaelmitchell.blog" style="color:#0c5c35;text-decoration:none"✉️ Email/a 🦣 a href="https://writing.exchange/@michaelm2" rel="me" style="color: #0c5c35; text-decoration: none;"Reply on Mastodon/a /p !--emailsub--]]> ⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: FULL SPOILERS

A close-up image of the torch held by the Statue of Liberty against a cloudy, dramatic sky. The torch's flame is golden and stylized, glowing with a warm light. Surrounding the base of the flame are sandbags and two soldiers in combat gear, positioned as if in a battle, aiming rifles in opposite directions. The soldiers and sandbags create a wartime scene atop the torch. Bold, bright green text reading "CIVIL WAR" is prominently displayed across the middle of the image, partially covering the torch and soldiers. The overall tone is intense and somber, suggesting conflict and struggle.

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.

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

#movies #opinion #review

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]]> https://michaelmitchell.blog/watched-civil-war-2024 Sun, 05 Apr 2026 18:27:13 +0000 Mike Elgan Nails It https://michaelmitchell.blog/mike-elgan-nails-it?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[ 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 p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.95em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #0c5c35; line-height: 1.8;" span class="tinylytics_kudos"/span 💬 a href="https://remark.as/p/michaelmitchell.blog/mike-elgan-nails-it"Discuss.../a a href="mailto:michaelm2@michaelmitchell.blog" style="color:#0c5c35;text-decoration:none"✉️ Email/a 🦣 a href="https://writing.exchange/@michaelm2" rel="me" style="color: #0c5c35; text-decoration: none;"Reply on Mastodon/a /p !--emailsub--]]>

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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]]> https://michaelmitchell.blog/mike-elgan-nails-it Tue, 10 Mar 2026 18:51:54 +0000 My Blogging Platform Odyssey https://michaelmitchell.blog/my-blogging-platform-odyssey-b8j3?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[A digital painting of a person walking down a sunlit path through a vibrant, colorful valley filled with flowers and trees. The trees have large, floating app icons instead of leaves, including icons resembling Twitter and other social media or tech platforms. The scene is bathed in warm, golden light with a dreamy, painterly texture, and butterflies flutter in the sky near the glowing sun. smallA 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./small 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. !--more-- 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. --- Links may be shortened via mtribe.link for cleaner formatting. All links redirect to their original destinations. #review #opinion p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.95em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #0c5c35; line-height: 1.8;" span class="tinylytics_kudos"/span 💬 a href="https://remark.as/p/michaelmitchell.blog/my-blogging-platform-odyssey-b8j3"Discuss.../a a href="mailto:michaelm2@michaelmitchell.blog" style="color:#0c5c35;text-decoration:none"✉️ Email/a 🦣 a href="https://writing.exchange/@michaelm2" rel="me" style="color: #0c5c35; text-decoration: none;"Reply on Mastodon/a /p !--emailsub--]]> A digital painting of a person walking down a sunlit path through a vibrant, colorful valley filled with flowers and trees. The trees have large, floating app icons instead of leaves, including icons resembling Twitter and other social media or tech platforms. The scene is bathed in warm, golden light with a dreamy, painterly texture, and butterflies flutter in the sky near the glowing sun.

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.

Links may be shortened via mtribe.link for cleaner formatting. All links redirect to their original destinations.

#review #opinion

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]]> https://michaelmitchell.blog/my-blogging-platform-odyssey-b8j3 Mon, 09 Mar 2026 02:18:33 +0000 Political Disillusionment https://michaelmitchell.blog/okay-this-is-one-of-a-few-political-related-posts-i-post-onl?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[ ⚠️ 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. !--more-- 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 p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.95em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #0c5c35; line-height: 1.8;" span class="tinylytics_kudos"/span 💬 a href="https://remark.as/p/michaelmitchell.blog/okay-this-is-one-of-a-few-political-related-posts-i-post-onl"Discuss.../a a href="mailto:michaelm2@michaelmitchell.blog" style="color:#0c5c35;text-decoration:none"✉️ Email/a 🦣 a href="https://writing.exchange/@michaelm2" rel="me" style="color: #0c5c35; text-decoration: none;"Reply on Mastodon/a /p !--emailsub--]]>

⚠️ 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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]]> https://michaelmitchell.blog/okay-this-is-one-of-a-few-political-related-posts-i-post-onl Tue, 03 Mar 2026 03:26:55 +0000 Article I Was First for a Reason https://michaelmitchell.blog/article-i-was-first-for-a-reason?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[This is your Content Warning: this is going to be a Political Rant Alt text: "Illustrative poster featuring a stylized muscular arm wielding a gavel labeled 'Article I' and another arm wielding a similar gavel, both extending from the central image of the U.S. Capitol building. The background is divided into two sections, with the left showing a star and a plane flying over a map labeled 'Greenland', and the right depicting a dark throne with a crown, a tank, and pirate ships over a map labeled 'Venezuela'. The overall theme suggests geopolitical themes or influences." smallFlexing the power of Article I, this bold graphic underscores the enduring strength and influence of legislative authority across diverse global arenas./small Where is Congress while Trump talks like a king? I am going to let everyone in on a little secret. Congress, the Article I institution, is supposed to be the most powerful branch because it is closest to the people. Article I comes first in the Constitution and is the longest. The Founders had just fought a war against a king and were deeply wary of executive power. Alexander Hamilton called the judiciary the "least dangerous branch" in Federalist 78. Think about it: the Judicial Branch is unelected and can be constrained by Congress. Both Article II (the President) and Article III (federal judges) can be impeached and removed by Congress. The only way to get rid of a member of Congress is expulsion by their own chamber or being voted out by the people. And "high crimes and misdemeanors"? That's whatever Congress decides it is. Gerald Ford said it best: an impeachable offense is whatever the House considers it to be. Congress holds the power to remove, and that is not an accident. !--more-- Congress is the only branch allowed to impeach, override vetoes, make laws, tax and spend, declare war, and issue letters of marque (government licenses authorizing private ships to attack enemy vessels, essentially legalized piracy. Famous examples include Sir Francis Drake, who raided Spanish ships for Queen Elizabeth I, and Jean Lafitte, whose privateers helped Andrew Jackson defend New Orleans in the War of 1812). But when I see and hear Trump say that the only thing that can stop him is his "own morality" and his "own mind," that makes me so mad. That is the talk of a king, not a president. He is going to take on this country and that country. The military is not his personal henchmen. At what point is he going to get us involved in something that Congress and We the People are going to regret for generations? Russia thought they could roll into Ukraine in a matter of days. They were the number two military in the world. Look what that got them: a meat grinder with no end in sight. And now Trump wants to play empire? And by what authority is he running Venezuela? I don't remember them surrendering. I don't remember them electing him. There is nothing in the Constitution or any law that lets a president run another country. He can call himself whatever he wants, but proclaiming yourself the virtual president of a sovereign nation is not how any of this is supposed to work. And I don't care what he says about drugs or criminals or national security. This was about oil and money. It was always about oil and money. The same Congress that tells us we can't afford healthcare or infrastructure suddenly has money for buying islands and invading countries? Why is he going after a fellow country that has done nothing but support the US throughout history? Leave Greenland alone. If we need to defend it, we will as part of NATO; otherwise, we don't need it. If he wants to buy it, where is that money coming from? Kings buy territories. Presidents serve the people. I am more interested in spending money on this country. If we have money to buy Greenland, we have money to properly fund health insurance and do needed infrastructure. At what point do we run out of ammunition, ships, planes, and troops to take on all these things he wants to do? I read an article the other day that military recruiters were having trouble getting younger men and women to join the military, and frankly, with this president who acts more like a mafioso than a president, I wouldn't join right now. It is one thing to protect our nation; it is a whole other thing to help a bully. I can't wait to hear the excuses for what Republicans are going to say other than "Trump wasn't on the ballot." A lot of his supporters are turning on him, and they should. Most of this economic mess is self-inflicted by the stable genius. #opinion #politics p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.95em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #0c5c35; line-height: 1.8;" span class="tinylytics_kudos"/span 💬 a href="https://remark.as/p/michaelmitchell.blog/article-i-was-first-for-a-reason"Discuss.../a a href="mailto:michaelm2@michaelmitchell.blog" style="color:#0c5c35;text-decoration:none"✉️ Email/a 🦣 a href="https://writing.exchange/@michaelm2" rel="me" style="color: #0c5c35; text-decoration: none;"Reply on Mastodon/a /p !--emailsub--]]> This is your Content Warning: this is going to be a Political Rant

Alt text: "Illustrative poster featuring a stylized muscular arm wielding a gavel labeled 'Article I' and another arm wielding a similar gavel, both extending from the central image of the U.S. Capitol building. The background is divided into two sections, with the left showing a star and a plane flying over a map labeled 'Greenland', and the right depicting a dark throne with a crown, a tank, and pirate ships over a map labeled 'Venezuela'. The overall theme suggests geopolitical themes or influences."

Flexing the power of Article I, this bold graphic underscores the enduring strength and influence of legislative authority across diverse global arenas.

Where is Congress while Trump talks like a king? I am going to let everyone in on a little secret. Congress, the Article I institution, is supposed to be the most powerful branch because it is closest to the people. Article I comes first in the Constitution and is the longest. The Founders had just fought a war against a king and were deeply wary of executive power. Alexander Hamilton called the judiciary the “least dangerous branch” in Federalist 78.

Think about it: the Judicial Branch is unelected and can be constrained by Congress. Both Article II (the President) and Article III (federal judges) can be impeached and removed by Congress. The only way to get rid of a member of Congress is expulsion by their own chamber or being voted out by the people. And “high crimes and misdemeanors”? That's whatever Congress decides it is. Gerald Ford said it best: an impeachable offense is whatever the House considers it to be. Congress holds the power to remove, and that is not an accident.

Congress is the only branch allowed to impeach, override vetoes, make laws, tax and spend, declare war, and issue letters of marque (government licenses authorizing private ships to attack enemy vessels, essentially legalized piracy. Famous examples include Sir Francis Drake, who raided Spanish ships for Queen Elizabeth I, and Jean Lafitte, whose privateers helped Andrew Jackson defend New Orleans in the War of 1812). But when I see and hear Trump say that the only thing that can stop him is his “own morality” and his “own mind,” that makes me so mad. That is the talk of a king, not a president. He is going to take on this country and that country. The military is not his personal henchmen.

At what point is he going to get us involved in something that Congress and We the People are going to regret for generations? Russia thought they could roll into Ukraine in a matter of days. They were the number two military in the world. Look what that got them: a meat grinder with no end in sight. And now Trump wants to play empire?

And by what authority is he running Venezuela? I don't remember them surrendering. I don't remember them electing him. There is nothing in the Constitution or any law that lets a president run another country. He can call himself whatever he wants, but proclaiming yourself the virtual president of a sovereign nation is not how any of this is supposed to work. And I don't care what he says about drugs or criminals or national security. This was about oil and money. It was always about oil and money.

The same Congress that tells us we can't afford healthcare or infrastructure suddenly has money for buying islands and invading countries? Why is he going after a fellow country that has done nothing but support the US throughout history? Leave Greenland alone. If we need to defend it, we will as part of NATO; otherwise, we don't need it. If he wants to buy it, where is that money coming from? Kings buy territories. Presidents serve the people. I am more interested in spending money on this country. If we have money to buy Greenland, we have money to properly fund health insurance and do needed infrastructure.

At what point do we run out of ammunition, ships, planes, and troops to take on all these things he wants to do? I read an article the other day that military recruiters were having trouble getting younger men and women to join the military, and frankly, with this president who acts more like a mafioso than a president, I wouldn't join right now. It is one thing to protect our nation; it is a whole other thing to help a bully.

I can't wait to hear the excuses for what Republicans are going to say other than “Trump wasn't on the ballot.” A lot of his supporters are turning on him, and they should. Most of this economic mess is self-inflicted by the stable genius.

#opinion #politics

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]]> https://michaelmitchell.blog/article-i-was-first-for-a-reason Fri, 16 Jan 2026 00:49:52 +0000 Divorce maybe in the Future with Microsoft and Windows https://michaelmitchell.blog/divorce-maybe-in-the-future-with-microsoft-and-windows?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[Illustration of a person standing in a stylized landscape with mountains, roads, and various technology icons connected by lines, symbolizing a network. The scene includes elements like clouds, sun, and small houses, depicting a blend of nature and digital technology. smallA visionary stands at the crossroads of innovation, contemplating the expansive network that may redefine the future of technology./small I have been a loyal Microsoft Windows customer since I've owned a PC and MS-DOS was a thing. I went to the events they had for major OS releases with my Dad. We both went to see the exciting things that happened when they used to stream them at movie theaters. I was there for the launch of Windows 95. But it is my opinion that Microsoft has totally lost its way with regards to the consumer and Windows. Yes, this is a rant, and I believe it may be too late for Microsoft and Windows with consumers. I know I am not a very techie person, but I believe that Windows is getting too messy in a lot of areas like advertisements everywhere, sloppy code, updates that seem like beta versions, telemetry, privacy concerns, and just all around not caring. !--more-- I follow Paul Thurrotta id="footnote-1-ref" href="#footnote-1" title="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuH0BiWeG3U&t=2176s"1]/a and Dave Plummer from [Dave's Garage YouTube channela id="footnote-2-ref" href="#footnote-2" title="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTpA5jt1g60"[2]/a, and they both have different takes on what should happen to get Windows back on top. I can see both points and agree with both points. But I also agree with Paul Thurrott that Microsoft will not bend unless there is a clear reason to. So what is keeping me on Windows? If it weren't for the games I have, and I do mean lots of games, I would probably be on a different platform. Other than that, I do use it for work and I like the easy installation of programs and it looks good. This is where it gets interesting. I am getting more and more into Linux and have been thinking about MacOS lately (yikes, I know. I have an iPad and don't really care for the OS on that or for Apple). Thanks to Windows' missteps and bad practices and taking advantage of the consumer (though Apple excels in this area), Linux is catching up and there may be a solution for my gaming. Google could step in here, but they are making a lot of bone-headed moves too and are getting where they only want to chase Enterprise/Business. Everyone always underestimates the consumer, and the consumer is already leery of Google because they kill off most of their products just as consumers are right in the middle of falling in love with them and have major privacy concerns. Google is the Hoover vacuum cleaner of the internet. Their old motto of "Don't be evil" is being replaced. They are like the opposite of the character from the Despicable Me movies, going from good to evil instead of evil to good. This brings us back to Microsoft. Microsoft kills off a lot too, not to the frequency of Google, but still a lot. I'll give Apple some credit: they generally support their products longer, even if they're not massive successes. Microsoft may derive most of their revenue from the Enterprise/business side, but consumers will always keep you in the black if you have a good product. You just might not be a trillion dollar company in the process, but you'll be profitable. So I'm learning Linux and waiting for it to become even more consumer friendly through distributions like ZorinOS and CasaOS, or maybe going the direction like Omarchy. I'm continuing to self-host and use AI to build custom applications via Python. I'm hoping SteamOS gets that missing piece so developers support it and we consumers can finally break free from these trillion dollar companies. My goal is to be down to one cloud service provider in five years. The only reason I have multiple now is family obligations, since my parents are in their 70s and I manage everything for them digitally. But whenever I can, I'm moving off these platforms. That's where I'm heading. I don't know if Microsoft will ever earn my loyalty back. Google won't either. Apple has never had my trust and I still distrust their whole ecosystem, though I'm a realist and do use some of their services. ol li id="footnote-1"a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuH0BiWeG3U&t=2176s"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuH0BiWeG3U&t=2176s/a a href="#footnote-1-ref"&#8617;/a/li li id="footnote-2"a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTpA5jt1g60"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTpA5jt1g60/a a href="#footnote-2-ref"&#8617;/a/li /ol #technology #opinion #personal p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.95em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #0c5c35; line-height: 1.8;" span class="tinylytics_kudos"/span 💬 a href="https://remark.as/p/michaelmitchell.blog/divorce-maybe-in-the-future-with-microsoft-and-windows"Discuss.../a a href="mailto:michaelm2@michaelmitchell.blog" style="color:#0c5c35;text-decoration:none"✉️ Email/a 🦣 a href="https://writing.exchange/@michaelm2" rel="me" style="color: #0c5c35; text-decoration: none;"Reply on Mastodon/a /p !--emailsub--]]> Illustration of a person standing in a stylized landscape with mountains, roads, and various technology icons connected by lines, symbolizing a network. The scene includes elements like clouds, sun, and small houses, depicting a blend of nature and digital technology.

A visionary stands at the crossroads of innovation, contemplating the expansive network that may redefine the future of technology.

I have been a loyal Microsoft Windows customer since I've owned a PC and MS-DOS was a thing. I went to the events they had for major OS releases with my Dad. We both went to see the exciting things that happened when they used to stream them at movie theaters. I was there for the launch of Windows 95.

But it is my opinion that Microsoft has totally lost its way with regards to the consumer and Windows.

Yes, this is a rant, and I believe it may be too late for Microsoft and Windows with consumers. I know I am not a very techie person, but I believe that Windows is getting too messy in a lot of areas like advertisements everywhere, sloppy code, updates that seem like beta versions, telemetry, privacy concerns, and just all around not caring.

I follow Paul Thurrott[1] and Dave Plummer from Dave's Garage YouTube channel[2], and they both have different takes on what should happen to get Windows back on top. I can see both points and agree with both points. But I also agree with Paul Thurrott that Microsoft will not bend unless there is a clear reason to.

So what is keeping me on Windows? If it weren't for the games I have, and I do mean lots of games, I would probably be on a different platform. Other than that, I do use it for work and I like the easy installation of programs and it looks good.

This is where it gets interesting. I am getting more and more into Linux and have been thinking about MacOS lately (yikes, I know. I have an iPad and don't really care for the OS on that or for Apple). Thanks to Windows' missteps and bad practices and taking advantage of the consumer (though Apple excels in this area), Linux is catching up and there may be a solution for my gaming.

Google could step in here, but they are making a lot of bone-headed moves too and are getting where they only want to chase Enterprise/Business. Everyone always underestimates the consumer, and the consumer is already leery of Google because they kill off most of their products just as consumers are right in the middle of falling in love with them and have major privacy concerns. Google is the Hoover vacuum cleaner of the internet. Their old motto of “Don't be evil” is being replaced. They are like the opposite of the character from the Despicable Me movies, going from good to evil instead of evil to good.

This brings us back to Microsoft. Microsoft kills off a lot too, not to the frequency of Google, but still a lot. I'll give Apple some credit: they generally support their products longer, even if they're not massive successes.

Microsoft may derive most of their revenue from the Enterprise/business side, but consumers will always keep you in the black if you have a good product. You just might not be a trillion dollar company in the process, but you'll be profitable.

So I'm learning Linux and waiting for it to become even more consumer friendly through distributions like ZorinOS and CasaOS, or maybe going the direction like Omarchy. I'm continuing to self-host and use AI to build custom applications via Python. I'm hoping SteamOS gets that missing piece so developers support it and we consumers can finally break free from these trillion dollar companies. My goal is to be down to one cloud service provider in five years. The only reason I have multiple now is family obligations, since my parents are in their 70s and I manage everything for them digitally. But whenever I can, I'm moving off these platforms.

That's where I'm heading. I don't know if Microsoft will ever earn my loyalty back. Google won't either. Apple has never had my trust and I still distrust their whole ecosystem, though I'm a realist and do use some of their services.

  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuH0BiWeG3U&t=2176s ↩
  2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTpA5jt1g60 ↩

#technology #opinion #personal

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]]> https://michaelmitchell.blog/divorce-maybe-in-the-future-with-microsoft-and-windows Tue, 25 Nov 2025 22:42:07 +0000