• “WHEN THERE IS A MISMATCH BETWEEN A PERSON’S PSYCHOLOGICAL STYLE AND TACTICS, their decision process relating to effort, energy and compliance is impacted by flexibility of their moral compass. “What is moral is what you feel good after; what is immoral is what you feel bad after.” [ERNEST HEMINGWAY]  But a psychological factor known as Regulatory Fit is what “determines behavior, more or less ethically, in sticky situations; ‘promotion-focused’ style defines people who are driven to achieve hopes & aspirations, as opposed to ‘prevention-focused’ being those just fulfilling duties & obligations…  Researchers at Northwestern University believe that: (1) Motivation which emphasizes aspiration and thinking about positive outcomes is not an inclination ‘set in stone’; (2) and that people who view morality as flexible tend to dissociate transgressive behaviors at their convenience, and in general are more likely to lie or cheat.  This suggests that understanding where people are coming from (including the emotionally moral style of employees), in order to give instructions which fit that orientation, will get them to better respond since they think it’s the right thing.”   [KELLOGG INSIGHT – 5/23/22] 
  • CRYPTOCURRENCY REMAINS A RISKY PARKING LOT FOR LIQUID ASSETS. But this month’s nosedive for countless billions of dollars – and some $1.7 trillion over the past six months – on so many platforms are not likely to collapse the sector. In fact, “just as the dot.com world survived the brutal Y2K implosion of 2000, this crypto implosion could become the launching pad forward… Because crypto represents the privatization of currency but without safety nets, FDIC or Federal Reserve to plug the leaks, even ‘Stablecoin’ networks (purportedly holding liquid asset collateral) will continue to struggle competing with traditional government-backed monies used in everyday kinds of commerce… So, in transitioning a nation’s economy from a national currency to a cryptocurrency, a few hiccups along the way should naturally be expected. However, those which maintain their own reliable networks (known as Mainnets), incorporating more tools, precision & scalability with published code, are the logical next stage of development for currency and mediums of exchange around the world.”  [ECONOMIST and THOMAS FREY – 5/21 and 5/18/22]
  • “TOO MUCH POWER CONCENTRATED IN TOO FEW HANDS IS ALWAYS CORRUPTING, especially when this power is unaccountable. The federal intelligence agencies, and specifically FBI, have long become power to themselves, a perversion of the whole point of America’s founding documents… FBI involvement has been documented in one of every three ‘terrorism sting’ operations, led by paid informants and having provided necessary weapons/ money/ transportation. Also, by routine deployment of intelligence assets against select political opponents, as well as using counter-terrorism resources to ‘investigate’ parents for expressing concerns at local school board meetings… It’s long past time for Congress to exert the control it is charged with.” [FEDERALIST – 5/23/22]
  • TV & FILM AUDIENCES CONTINUE TO DECLINE, mostly from viewers’ boredom with the most popular shows maintaining a consistent and standard plot script: A younger protagonist, alone/ uncertain/ unprepared, is somehow pitched against confused or evil others, surrounded by evil people or culture, challenging destiny, managing stress, and performing what’s needed to save the relationship/ day/ or humanity. Meanwhile, names/ faces/ venues/ costumes/ format get modified, but all follow pretty much the same pattern: The hero/heroine with last-minute timing will solve the problem/ secret, then catch the bad guys/ find the bomb/etc., rescue a team member/ victim, and/or save the patient/ wrongly-accused, to successful outcome. Scripts are straightforward & repetitive, full of code words/ secrets/ propaganda, while programming is supported by advertisers (both overtly & subliminally) to track & target age-based sectors of viewers which, combined with “Online data obtained by advertisers & AdTech middlemen 747 times a day  for each American viewer [GIZMODO – 5/16/22], has resulted in screentime becoming more shopping-oriented than entertaining.
  • THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK: For appreciators of ‘magic’: https://biggeekdad.com/2022/05/choreographed-magic/

       The negative and positive risk levels of anything are generally mis-perceived by people. Example is that annual fatality odds for licensed drivers in the US is actually only 1 in 6,000 which translates to lifetime odds of about 1 in 75. Interesting perspective:   https://biggeekdad.com/2020/05/the-five-rules-of-risk/

       In connection with the pending sale of Twitter, Newsweek conducted an audit of over 44,000 randomly selected ‘public profile’ accounts (from a set of more than 130 million), active during the preceding 90 days, and reported “about 22.2 million – nearly 20% – are fake accounts, including nearly half of all Biden followers.