• A REMINDER ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING AN UPDATED ‘LIVING’ TRUST’ for purposes including: (1) Avoiding Probate, a Court process where assets can be frozen during an expensive and lengthy process while a judge Administers the Will (or, if no Will, by ‘intestate succession’ laws); (2) Avoiding a Public Record and access to your assets & distribution plan; (3) Controlling timing of distributions to minors, and protecting certain assets from creditors of beneficiaries; (4) Protecting how beneficiaries will spend their inheritance to reduce risk they may blow it. DCG provides courtesy consult in these and other potentially critical impacts of failure to execute Wills & Trusts.
  • ‘WHERE DID THIS DAY GO?’ The answer, quite often, is that many hours typically get hijacked by responding to the immediacy of others’ ‘urgencies’ (in texts/ emails/ social media/ gossip) which pre-empt handling personally ‘important’ matters, even with awareness that deferring can often turn those matters into later emergencies.  Easy Time Management steps involve: (1) Identifying the important goals & priorities; (2) Setting realistic timelines & start-point steps – what/ when/ how; (3) Starting & moving forward, avoiding the urge to overthink; (4) Measuring activity rather than progress; (5) Not getting caught in daily routine of responding to ‘urgencies’ of others. DCG presents courtesy Lunch & Learn classes in Time Management strategies & controls.
  •  A PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION FOR THESE TIMES: “One of the peculiarities of our age is the ferocity with which intellectuals & politicians defend propositions that they do not – because they cannot – believe to be true… How to explain societies that pride themselves on having overthrown superstition and base themselves upon scientific enquiry nevertheless believing in the grossest absurdities – like changing sex being strictly a matter of ‘identifying’ as such? …From the view of a future social historian, perhaps the answer is that pity and compassion (formerly Christian virtues) run wild in the modern Social Liberal’s mind, giving meaning and purpose to his/her life – ever on the lookout for new worlds to pity which, along with compassion, requires adopting without demur the point of view of the person pitied, who otherwise might be upset. Therefore, if need be, the social liberal must lie, and frequently ends up deceiving him/herself as well as others – which, if with power, will turn lies into policy.” [LAW & LIBERTY – 2/15/23]
  •  ODDS & ENDS:  — Mobile Phones carry ten times more bacteria than most toilet seats, and are a breeding ground for pathogenic bacteria & viruses including strep/ E.coli/ salmonella/ mold/ norovirus which attach to phone surfaces when flushing. London School of Health researchers found 92% of phones and 82% of participants’ hands contained bacteria even after washing. — The BLM pressure campaigns, harassment, & moral blackmail collected some $83 billion – “possibly the most lucrative shakedown of corporate America in its history.” A Claremont Institute study found companies succumbing to the pressure of BLM and related causes focusing on ‘racial justice’ funded mega-mega-millions of dollars from companies including: Blackrock $810, Mastercard $500, Prudential $450, Wells Fargo $210, Amazon $170, Walmart & Apple $100, and Silicon Valley Bank $74 million (yes, the same SVB which just caused last weeks chaos for the entire banking industry!).   —Washington D.C. District now allows non-citizen voting in local elections by anyone establishing residency within 30 days of the vote, including illegals and foreign nationals who work in embassies.
  •  ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS RAPIDLY OVERTAKING HUMAN INTERACTION. It’s now difficult to imagine “whether AI systems can be developed with certain guidelines & principles which allow it to co-exist with Humanity, with ethical guidelines & principles that can be accurately interpreted and applied in complex real-world situations among widely varying moral values & standards of different cultures and societies… Beyond the determination of what constitutes ‘morally acceptable’ content, are factors including: (1) ‘Dark Web’ illegal activities – like drug & weapons sales/ cybercrime’ money laundering/ human trafficking/ terrorist activities/ counterfeiting/ blackmail/ etc.; (2) Differing countries laws & regulations, legal frameworks, cultural norms, political contexts, and social values – like individual freedoms/ respect for privacy/ intellectual property/ security/ transparency & accountability… Allowing for innovation and free exchange of ideas, while protecting potential harms to individuals and society from weaponized & dangerous AI systems via government intervention (censorship & regulation)” has now become a global paradox in both business and personal interaction.  [THOMAS FREY – 3/16/23]
  •  THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK:

      Astounding!  Landing a plane on an 89-foot runway, 56 stories high: https://biggeekdad.com/2023/03/landing-a-plane-on-a-hotel/

      Note to March Madness Bracket gamblers: “Technically, it’s possible, but odds of a perfect matching are 1 in 120 billion even if you know a little something about basketball.”  [NCAA.COM]