I hope you’ve all been well. After almost two weeks away I’ve definitely missed interacting here with all my friends. Curiously, I find myself taking more breaks from Hive these days. For the first time these breaks feel natural and I think the time away has been healthy. For nearly a decade I’ve been posting here on this blockchain almost every single day.
A large part of my absence has been due to the fact that life has just been more hectic than usual. I'm also sensing a shift that might materialize into a least a partial retirement from writing. After thirty+ years of focusing so much of my time and energy on the written word I'm finding my curiosity and interests are being pulled in different directions. We’re also a few months deep into a very extensive and taxing home renovation and I’ve been getting back into traveling again.
Speaking of travel—
Last Wednesday I boarded a ridiculously early flight to Ohio to spend Thanksgiving with my family. Mother nature threw a snowstorm into the mix but, after a lengthy bit of de-icing my plane finally made it off the ground.
Trips back home are always special but this one especially so. None of us are getting any younger and any time we can make new memories together as a family is a great thing. As soon as I deplaned I drove my Mom three hours north to the town of Canfield, where my brother and his family live. This was the first Thanksgiving we’ve all been together in about thirty years, that’s kind of insane to think about. Here are some pictures from that trip.
The village of New Albany, near where my Mom lives was feeling Christmasy and all decorated for the holidays.
I also got to drive my brother’s new Corvette the first day we arrived.
Man ‘o man, what a car! After experiencing this car firsthand I would say Chevy has made something extra special with the new mid-engine Corvette C8. Chevy’s designers and engineers benchmarked Ferraris in the creation of this car and it’s apparent. They managed to make pure magic with this car. 0-60 in around 3.2 seconds and all of the mannerisms of the Italian supercar, only at 1/5th the price and without the need for $10,000 brake jobs.
The driver settings on the C8 can adjust things like steering, throttle response, and exhaust note to everything from a sophisticated tourer to rip-roaring demon from hell. The car actually measures and displays active g-force and, I can tell you first-hand, it can firmly plant you into the seat on take off.
Will I be getting one? Probably not. I’ve found my brand (Tesla) but I’m thrilled that I got to drive this car and experience what it can do. I’m also happy for my brother because owning a Corvette is something neither one of us would have dreamed we could do when we were younger.
Meet The Newest Member of Our Family
Meet R2-D2, the newest member of the Walton family.
I’ve been researching robotic vacuums for the better part of the last three months and finally pulled the trigger on the Matic Robotic Vacuum. For the price, the Matic was the best I could find—by a longshot. I am especially impressed by the Matic from a data privacy perspective. With this robot your data stays on the vacuum itself and pictures of your home aren't transmitted elsewhere like every other brand does. I’ll be writing a more extensive post on this in a few weeks but, so far, I’ve been beyond impressed.
I lifted the lid on the box, turned it on, and it greeted me by name. The set-up process was easy, the robot maps the entire floor on its own and then you can fine-tune anything on the app that it’s missed—things like floor types, no-go zones, and such. I had the Matic map our upper and lower level floorplans and it got busy vacuuming and mopping the entire house. It was so cool to be able to knock additional tasks off of my chore list while the robot took care of the floors. As you can see it did a wonderful job.
This Matic will do until the Optimus robot is ready. : ) Here’s my Matic referral link if you’d like to get one for yourself and receive some bonus accessories in the process.
Much More Than Matic Can Handle
This is our kitchen right now, or more aptly, what's left of it. We're currently staying in a hotel until the work crew has our kitchen put back together. We peeked our heads in the door today to snap that photo. I'd be lying if I said I didn't cringe at the sight of it. With any luck it will be the end of the day on Friday but I just don't see how they'll meet the deadline.
Above is the before photo for reference.
Hopefully by the end of the day on Friday our floor will be covered with this new tile and there won't be any unforeseen mishaps or damage.
One Last Thing
Age of Disclosure. If you're even mildly interesting in the UFO/UAP/ET phenomena be sure to check this doc out on Amazon Prime. As someone who's been following this topic for most of my adult life it feels like we've never been closer to true disclosure. At this point it's very apparent we aren't alone in the universe.
All for now. Thanks so much for reading.
Good to see you again Eric, and glad that you had a great time with your family. We don't have those vacuum robots in South Africa yet. Maybe in a few years time, or if one of the local entrepreneurs can bring them in sooner.
Be well my friend.
Thank you! I sometimes forget this tech isn’t available worldwide yet. They have something special with this product. You could probably arrange someone from the US to ship you one. I hope you’ve been well!
Yeah, we are always behind the times in the third world. It will cost way too much to bring it in, unless one can open a franchise, in order to bring a container load in :)
Struggling along my friend, but no complaints, and thank you for the care.
!BEER
We have a friend on the island of St. Thomas in the Caribbean and she has the same problems there. I wish you and the family a wonderful Christmas.
View or trade
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Ohio got a bit of snow earlier this week. I think they had a snow day on Tuesday over on the west side of the city. That's cool that you are finding other interests. Optimism is pretty hard to find on HIVE right now. The price is hammering a lot of people into despair. It's pretty crazy the number of companies that are making vacuums like that now. For a while I feel like it was just iRobot.
Yes, I think the storm that hit MN a week ago came across Ohio. We drove through a few areas on our way back to Columbus from NE Ohio that were near-white out conditions. It was pretty crazy.
Slumps in sentiment during price dips are fairly normal for Hive. There's no doubt Hive has changed, in some ways not for the better. I'm seeing more and more people using AI for post creation and even comments. Putting significant time into a post then getting random AI-generated comments that basically just summarize what you've written can just be pretty disheartening. I think the genuine interaction is what keeps the really interesting people engaged and writing and online communities thriving. I hope this aspect of the platform doesn't fade away. If it does we'd all be losing such a valuable thing.
Yeah, there are so many competitors in this robotic vacuum space. It literally took me months and untold hours of watching video reviews to finally make my mind up on this one. This Matic is beyond impressive. It uses the same pure vision tech that Tesla uses and has pretty advance AI built-in. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!
It was a good time thanks! The inlaws came up from Ohio like they usually do. I grilled some turkey breasts and we ate way too much! I know what you mean about the content on HIVE. It's getting kind of sad. I guess some would argue it has always been that way, but I still have a lot of faith in the tech and overall workings of HIVE. It's a great blockchain.
I'm glad to hear it was a good one! How do you keep the turkey breast from drying out on the grill? In some ways the AI-generated comments bother me more than the posts. There's one comment on this post right now that is probably AI generated. People have always tried to "game the system" and AI is just the latest tool to try to accomplish that I think. Hive is a great blockchain and I think there enough people left who actually care about it to make sure it survives this wave of challenges.
I hope that is the case with HIVE. I wish there was a way to more easily identify those comments, but I think it is only going to get more difficult. We buy the butterball marinated breasts. They make a savor herb one and a cajun one. If you cook it hot and fast the outside gets a nice crust so the inside stays super juicy.
If you look at that photo you can actually see all the juice that came out of it when I cut it.
I wonder why someone couldn’t create a plug-in utilizing one of the already established AI-detectors that would score each post and comment? That might be too laborious or not even possible. That turkey looks delicious! I’ll have to try one on the Ninja Woodfire grill. That picture makes me want a sandwich. 😊
I think it is just going to get harder and harder and the return on the time invested would be pointless. Thanks, we finished the last of the leftovers tonight!
You hadn't posted for 11 days! I was wondering what had happened to you. But how nice that you were on a family trip. Did you give the flannel to your mother? I wish I could have a vacuum cleaner like that, my housework wouldn't be so tedious. And I hope they manage to remodel everything on schedule. In the meantime, enjoy the hotel and the snow. Hugs.
Thank you Nancy! This is the longest break I can remember! It was a great time away. I bought her the black jacket she has on in the picture. The workers got the floor done today in the kitchen, appliances are being moved back on Monday and we'll have our kitchen back. I hope you've had a good week! Hugs to you.
The last time I had a floor vacuuming device Rumba was something like ten years ago, this looks like a much more advanced device in comparison :) I have a whole house vacuum cleaner in our new place, but at some point it might warrant something like this, especially if we go short term rental with that house...
I always forget they've been around that long. My friend, the tattooist, said he had one for his shop twenty years ago. This one benefits from AI. It determines what function it needs to use based on the cameras. It's pretty impressive.
Heeey! Look who's back. While you've certainly been missed, I'm glad the break did you well. We all need one from time to time. And it sounds like you've had your hands full. I'm curious to read about these new directions you're pulled toward (and of course, there's nothing stopping you from saying hey, I wanna write something new next year, or in ten years, so) :) R2-D2 is cute as hell and sounds quite a good purchase - I've had mixed feelings about these robotic vacuums. Definitely see their use, and I'm guessing the higher-end ones like Matic do a proper cleaning job (had various cheaper versions at the yoga studios I worked/practiced at, and they always seemed to create more hassle than help).
Sounds like things are going well. Thanks for the viewing suggestion. While I'm generally skeptical about public disclosures of any kind, it's definitely interesting to keep up with the news in the field :)
Yes! Thanks, it's good to know I've been missed. I think I really needed the time away, it always helps to reframe things. I've had my hands full, for sure. I don't think I've ever been so busy. I'd never want to do this extensive of a renovation ever again. Keeping the contractors on track has proven to be like herding cats. I'm so impressed by this little robot! I'll keep it until my Tesla Optimus is ready. : ) Things are going fairly well. You're welcome. These documentaries usually end up disappointing in some way but this one, not so much. I don't trust disclosures either! It's usually a smoke screen/distraction or only the partial truth. I think it's a good policy to never trust the government. I hope you've been well!
Hello dear @ericvancewalton
I'm so glad you were all able to be together for Thanksgiving because family is life's greatest treasure.
I'm so happy you're spending time with your mom.
I lost mine when she was 71, and every day I wish I could have the miracle of spending just one day with her. So, my friend, enjoy her as much as you can.
As for being away from @hive, I think it gets exhausting writing every day for so long, and these days writing is becoming very laborious. I'm going through the same thing, and I've only been in the ecosystem for three years.
In any case, we're going to miss you a lot. In fact, we've missed you these past few days.
Have a wonderful day.
Cheers and best wishes.
Thank you my friend! As we get older it becomes more and more apparent how important these family visits are. I'm sorry you lost your Mom so soon. We were lucky to have my Dad with us until he was 80, but even that didn't feel like it was long enough.
As for writing, I'm just noticing less and less interaction and interest from readers in general. I think this is the way society is heading, mainly due to technology. I was so lucky and blessed to have over three decades in the business. I'm going to keep writing here on Hive but maybe not just posting as often. My last book, published in May of this year, will likely be my final one. Thanks and cheers to you!
I like how you ended this. Oh. Before I forget. Aliens are here. See ya.
Lol. This doc is a banger. The topic freaks so many people out I didn't want to lead with it. : )
It's on my list of things to watch someday. The actual sky can be fun to watch as well but like most of these shows, you're left with more questions than answers at the end.
Cool. We've seen some mind-blowing stuff in the skies in Northern MN and Sedona, AZ. I also grew up about a hundred miles away from Wright-Patterson AFB in the 70's and 80's. We experience some very weird things back then. That's the frustrating thing about a lot of these documentaries. They sometimes feel click-baity. It's rare that one has actual substance.
Still, they've come a long way since Wednesday night Unsolved Mysteries.
For sure. Did you ever listen to Art Bell? I used to love that show.
I have, yes. Listened to countless hours and it's strange; nothing rings a bell at this moment aside from Mike Marcum. I think I told you about him, once. According to a bit of searching, that interview turned out to be one of the final shows. Time travel. And of course, left with more questions than answers. Still fun to think about.
Welcome back!
Thank you! It felt good to write here again.
A partial retirement from writing is not bad considering that you devoted a great deal of your life to the written word. Pursuing other interesting ventures will serve to spice up your life, now you're approaching your golden years.
But I suppose it will be partial, the retirement I mean, because writing has been hardwired into you and you're wont to try it again now and then, even after you've dropped the pen. I wish you luck whichever direction you decide to move your life.
Thanks, I could never give it up entirely. Over the past few years it feels like the public is, in a large sense, moving away from long-form writing. This will probably just get worse as AI becomes more prevalent.
It’s nice to hear about your Thanksgiving reunion after so many years. The new Corvette and R2-D2 vacuum sound exciting too.
Thanks!
Great post!
Thanks!
Your journey back home must have been really special, especially after being away from your family for such a long time 😉
It was nice. We see each other several times a year but this is the first Thanksgiving holiday we've spent together in about three decades.
There’s nothing like spending time with family. Hearing about the Corvette and R2-D2 combo just made me smile 😄, I think it’s important to enjoy the little moments in life.
#hive #posh