The Four Idols

I’m not sure that there’s a better podcast than Triggernometry, and this episode is one of the best.

  • Power
  • Money
  • Fame
  • Pleasure

Which two could you live without, or would actually push away?  Watch the episode, and see how it works.  (And unlike most things I talk about here, don’t feel you have to share your findings in Comments, because it’s intensely personal;  I’m not going to share mine, for that reason.)

And by the way, the expression “performative activism” explains just about everything I find irritating about today’s world.

Ditto? And A Chewsday Challenge

Well, here we are:

A bizarre new AI-powered dating service is sweeping across California college campuses by replacing endless swiping with computer-generated matchmaking that promises to find students more compatible dates.

Ditto, a startup founded in 2024 by former UC Berkeley students, is expanding rapidly after ditching the Tinder-style model in favor of an AI-driven system that pairs users based on their interests.

“For the past 20 years, we’ve connected in primitive ways,” Ditto says on its website. “But now … AI brings your ‘profiles’ to life as agents.”

Silly me, I thought that was the way Tinder paired people off, but I’ve been told that in fact it was other dating (“looking for a shag / partner”) websites (e.g. match.com, OKCupid, etc. ) which did that.

On a tangential note, I constantly thank goodness that I’m not part of the dating pool — never was, unless we’re talking about my teens and twenties, which are so far in the past that genealogists shudder.

Here’s a thought:  in Comments, imagine what my profile would read like in Ditto.  Be as graphic or insulting as you wish.

Mixed Feelings

I don’t know what to think about the news of Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sudden death over the past weekend.

I know that there were times when I agreed with him, and other times when I found his attitude or actions completely bewildering  — not to say enraging.

I’ll let my Readers who knew him better help guide my thoughts.  It’s a little sobering for me, however, to realize that Graham was my age, and now he’s gone:  just like that.

And of course, the Left are exhibiting their usual behavior at his death, but that was to be expected.

More important, however, is who will replace him in the Senate.