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Background noise

  The day is bright gray with the sun lightly shining through the clouds, breaking through enough that I have to squint to look out. I wish I had my sunglasses, but if I had them, I probably wouldn't be using them. The mildly piercing warmth causes me to unzip my jacket as I walk along the brownish orange sandy cliffs. The waves match the gray sky, but with a turquoise tint. The long period swell leaves the ocean glassy until four waves arrive in the distance every fifteen minutes, rolling in to break right where the crowd of surfers is ready. I want to go out there. The surf is so good right now! Clean lines, no wind. Wow. But I do not go. I am stuck in a limbo. The cliffs are a challenging descent and a more challenge ascent when you are returning tired with a board strapped to your leg. I watch an older man leaving the water, he finally reaches the plateau on the cascading rocks after paddling in place and then finding his footing on the slipper surface. He is almost to the dry ...
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Hey Asshole...

  Note to self, stop parking like an asshole. It started one crowded holiday weekend morning, the parking lots were near full by 8:30am and people were panicking in a slow roll past filled spots, unsure how to start their beachday if they couldn't put their large piece of metal somewhere nearby. Or did it start when I got the home from the crowded beach morning, proud to have parallel parked in a tight spot right in front of my apartment? I atually wasn't sure how it started. On the next leg of my day, a section where I was driving to a nice peaceful paddleboard location,  I saw a small note facing me on my windshield. Hey Asshole... I couldn't make out the rest of the note because I was driving and it was tucked into the wiper blades, but made out the words "asshole" and "parking" fairly clearly. At first I was offended, who had time and motivation to hand write a note for me on a Saturday morning? Not only did they call me out for my parking, but they ...
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Not Optimistic

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The following reflects my argument and conclusions at this time, knowing that the internet is forever, I caveat that with additional information or changes, my view may change. I hope it does. I am not optimistic that the US is going to come out of this pandemic with much strength because of the division among the population that has been solidified by a lack of respect for expertise and because disinformation has made its way into mainstream beliefs. As an example of our inability to unify, I believe that if there was another 9/11-like attack we would have two widely different reactions from our divided populus.  Culturally, there is a lack of respect for experts, which has lead to conspiracy theorists being your nextdoor neighbor rather than the guy deep in the woods with a doomsday surplus. Additionally, the various false premises that were initially spread by US adversaries over social media ( government citation , also DoD ) have become rooted as truth in many people's mi...
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