Save Our Planet

Happy 4/20. More

 

New Zealand's South Island 1 of 4

 

Rear view from our first Airbnb near Manipuri.
As far south as we've ever stayed. 
As always, click any picture for larger.

Good evening

This is pathetic compared to what is to come later...

The river where many Lord of the Rings scenes were filmed

LOTR hike (right by where we stayed)

Most of Fiordland National Park is totally inaccessible. 
So: Seaplane!

Holy Chicken!

Our Own Private Idaho Island

Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman Endorses "Losing"

Switzerland

Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman died by assisted suicide in Switzerland in 2024 

Also: Peter Singer and Kasia de Lazari-Radek on what to learn from Danny's death

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From 2022's Losing My Religions:

Why oh why do we think we can tell anyone that they can’t end their life in as painless a way possible? Who do we think we are? We let “any butt-reaming asshole” bring any number of new lives into existence, regardless of circumstance, regardless of how much the child will suffer. Yet we deny those same people the right to end their own life? Crazy.

Not that there aren’t issues. But we should deal with how we treat the elderly rather than denying individuals the ability to control their own life.

Let’s hope Switzerland’s death pods become a thing.

More on killing and suffering.

AI and Friendship and Chemicals

The last selfie we took Down Under.

Angela Chen's latest at Vox's Future Perfect is The rise of chatbot “friends.”

Interestingly, sex therapist Marianne Brandon gets to the heart of the matter (emphasis added):

[R]elationships are “just neurotransmitters” inside our brains.

“I have those neurotransmitters with my cat,” she told the Times. “Some people have them with God. It’s going to be happening with a chatbot. We can say it’s not a real human relationship. It’s not reciprocal. But those neurotransmitters are really the only thing that matters, in my mind.”

At this stage of my life, I most appreciate hearing what's going on with friends; an extra bonus if I'm able to be helpful, even just as an understanding ear.

That is just me and my brain chemicals. What works for others' brain chemicals is good - no judgment. 

"Go Vegan!" can never fail, it can only be failed

I publish on Substack once a week, and the most recent was the reasoning behind One Step for Animals. 

Little did I realize that Kenny Torrella's latest at Vox would have the above graph showing up-to-date data on the failure of decades of "Go Vegan!" advocacy in the United States. (If the graph was the number of animals consumed, instead of pounds of meat, the graph would be even more depressing.)

I don't expect to change any "Vegan" mind, obviously. But I do hope that anyone who takes suffering seriously at least considers supporting One Step for Animals' work.

The Codependent Problem

Doesn't take his self-worth from anger.

This entire bit is worth reading, but this is really worth considering:

Do you actually want to solve your problem, or are you secretly depending on its continued existence? If you showed up to fight the dragon and found it already slain, would you be elated or disappointed?

After all, a righteous crusade gives you meaning and camaraderie, to the point where you can become addicted to the crusading itself. It is possible to form an entire identity around being mad at things, and to make those things grow by pouring your rage on them, which in turn gives you more things to be mad at. This is, in fact, the business model for approximately half the internet.

Breaking: Record $1,250 Offer on Top Card

Application link

The Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP) Visa card has a new record-high 100,000 points welcome offer / sign-up bonus (SUB). (All three of us here at Team Green-Ball have one.) You can only have one CSP at a time and can't get the bonus if you've gotten a SUB on a CSP in the past 48 months. More information from our friends at Travel Freely below.

Even if you don't want to figure out how to transfer points to partners like Hyatt or Air France, you can use those 100,000 points to book $1,250 in flights, hotels, or car rentals through Chase's Travel Portal. We have used Chase points to book stays at great non-chain hotels this way.  

Note: If your credit is frozen (e.g., Experian), schedule a thaw before applying. (More on applying below.)

It will help One Step for Animals if you use this link to apply:

Application link

From Travel Freely:
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It has been awhile since we saw an offer this big! Earn 100,000 Ultimate Rewards points for $5,000 spend in 3 months for our #1 best beginner travel credit card. That means the bonus is worth over $1,250 in free travel. Do not hesitate to go after this offer!

Two of you? Couples can double up on great cards if you apply separately. That’s over $2,500 in free travel if you are both eligible and can reach the spending requirements during this increased offer.

This card is great for those who want flexibility and value when they do not know what kind of free travel they need–domestic flights, international flights, hotels, rental cars, etc. Want to know more? Check out our Rewards Cards 101 mini webinar to get an overview on Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Learn How to Apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred  (100,000 points valued at over $1,250) or Read Zac’s review here.

Cilantro-haters are wrong and will burn in Hell

For the longest time, I never really understood the word "normative," even after reading definitions. In short, saying something is "right," "good," and "desirable" is declaring it should be the "norm" for everyone. 

If you spend any time on the internet, you'll find people making normative statements about everything. Everyone must be Vegan! Veganism is a lifestyle, not a diet. "Fake meat" is not Vegan. You can't drink (smoke, drive, have kids) if you are Vegan. 

That's just one example. The same applies to Effective Altruism, rationalism, "Progressive," Woke (anti-racism, allyship), etc. [And, of course, on the right as well, but no right-winger is reading this.] 

As you've seen, it goes beyond politics and philosophy. Everything is to be judged, urgently and with total certainty. Using Facebook. iPhone vs Pixel. Shopping at Walmart. Sweet vs savory. Recycling plastic. Cilantro. Are Kids These Days the Worst or What?

Everything from having children to if the Earth is round.

Luckily, someone did discover The Truth!

It was Keanu:

"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of arguments. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right. Have fun."

Seriously.

There is no reason to have a negative reaction to anyone's opinion on anything, no matter how "right" you are or how "wrong" they are. They couldn't think differently. You won't persuade them. (Example involving aliens.) 

Anger isn't necessary for change.

So why be upset? Seriously. Just consider it. 

But I won't be angry if you don't.   😀

Technology and the North Island

from yet another Matt: The value of technological progress (personal examples)

Pictures below from New Zealand's North Island. We didn't get a picture with NonZero James (DOH!) but were happy to meet him). 

On Valentine's Day, we were at a vegan restaurant, and next to us was a young couple on a first date. The guy went on and on and on about how he simply had to work on AI existential risk. We felt so bad for her. 

Our first sunset in magical New Zealand

Waiheke Island, off of Auckland,
was like Hawaii but better

Vineyard on the Island

Mount Taranaki - amazing!    :-0

Wellington (the capitol)

So many flowers on this trip OMG

Wētā Workshop, the visual effects studio for Lord of the Rings
(and many others)

We saw so many LOTR filming locations across New Zealand -
this one (sign above; below, Anne at the spot)
was just in a park in Wellington!

Government buildings in Wellington;
On the left is the Beehive.

Vegan bakery had a booth at the Wellington airport.

Also at the Wellington airport.
Next stop: South Island, where we rented a car.  :-0

The Self vs The Other (but pretty flower pictures!)

As a follow-up to the last post, here is yet another example of "Vegans" making veganism all about themselves, rather than a tool to help others who are truly suffering.

We are beyond caricature. 

And here is an example of worrying about personal purity over the big picture. (I love Sam's substack title: "Revolutionary Overthinking.")

We call these "chicken flowers"

I'm told this is nice for people who are not red-green color "blind"

So Very Tired

Star Trek XII: So Very Tired

Just a personal note / vent. This isn't judgment or a request for anything.

I recently started listening to a podcast where two long-time vegetarians were talking with a celebrity. This famous person has been a vegetarian and an activist for a few years longer than me (the late 80s). And when the celebrity's activism came up, they talked as if they'd never heard of vegetarianism or animal rights and had just read Diet for a New America. "Environment! [Blah blah blah] Health! [Blah blah blah] Animals! [Vlah blah blah.] [Various bogus claims/exaggerations*.]"  

Once they got maybe 30 seconds into this litany - one this person must have given thousands of times - I felt So Very Tired. I just couldn't stand it. How could this person just continue to say the same thing over and over and over for decades and expect a different result?

Not saying this celebrity is stupid or wrong. (And maybe later in the podcast they actually discuss the fact that after decades of activism, the situation is far worse than ever. I don't know; I just couldn't take it anymore.) 

We should always look at the results of what we do, rather than just worry about "being right." There are some alternatives we could at least give a fair shot.

* Speaking of exaggerations and lies, I saw a new version of "animal ag is the biggest driver of climate change" last week. (Old version)  <sigh>

Sydney Photos + You can't change a mind

Sydney's own Amit Tewari (above), who quit his medical residency to help animals by following the evidence, asked us why he couldn't convince his friends or family to stop eating chickens. 

That's easy!

Logic and argument have no impact on the human brain. We want what we want because of our nature and nurture (genetics and programming). Then we accumulate "evidence" to justify what we already want. 

There are no exceptions to this rule. 

So we should stop trying to "be right" or "win an argument." It doesn't work and it doesn't help.

To actually maybe make a difference, we must fully understand, accept, and appreciate what the other person wants. And that they have no free will. But our ego gets in the way.

What I want is to show you a few pictures from the Sydney area; as always, click for larger:

That's gonna hurt come winter.

Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo.
Can live to be 100!

Swamp wallaby!
Totally unexpected. No one else around.

Water dragon!