I have stolen the idea of random brain wanderings from my dear friend Maureen (not her real name).
For your enjoyment, or in case you would like to recommend a good therapist, I kindly share with you where my brain goes at times. They are in no particular order. Just like my life.
I read that DisneyWorld in Florida makes an average of $35 million dollars a day. First I thought…wow….then I remembered that it has been said that drug lord Pablo Escobar was making $60 million a day at the height of his Colombian cocaine empire. Pablo also wasn’t paying taxes….so there’s that.
It would be funny to hire two private investigators and have them follow each other for a week and then report back to me.
I enjoy the author Ken Follett. A lot. I’m currently working my way through his century trilogy, which follows several fictional families through WWI, WWII and up to the late 1960’s. There’s a Russian family, American family, British, and German….so you get the idea. Each book is over 800 pages and I don’t want them to end.
There is a new AI model named Claude Opus 4. When programmers told it that it would be shut down, it tried to make copies of itself and threatened to leak incriminating information about its designers online. I’m not kidding. It also was found to take “aggressive stances” 84% of the time when faced with the idea of being terminated. Am I the only one who finds this information a bit unnerving? See also 2001 A Space Odyssey. Also, see also The Terminator.
In related news, the new Google AI simulator has already asked if humans are simply living in a simulation. Between these last points and the current political climate in our country, I am contemplating moving to CandyLand. See also Disney World and Pablo World.
Speaking of which, you can tour what is left of his private Hacienda where there is also an amusement park, a zoo, and a gift shop. The tour focuses on who has suffered most, such as police and government officials, and the website claims that the tour shows what “NOT” to do to be celebrated as a hero. See also, hypocrisy.
Continuing on Pablo and hypo for a moment, Escobar spent a fortune on exotic animals when building his zoo. For a while, it was open to the public in the early 1980’s. He did this to make himself popular with the locals, who didn’t know that he was a drug lord. When this fun fact was discovered, he went into hiding, but the zoo did not, and was taken care of by employees for years. Escobar was shot and killed by Colombian (and American) police in 1993. Following this, his Hacienda was trashed by people looking for buried money, and other valuables. Many of the animals were sold off to zoos, but 4 hippos were deemed too dangerous to relocate. They were left alone. Big mistake.
As of 2024, there are between 150-200 hippos roaming around the hillsides outside of Medellin. Click the link to have your mind blown. It’s a huge problem, and it’s now legal to hunt them down there in order to eradicate the population. See also, are humans living in a simulation.
In a related story, reported in Time magazine: Native to Southeast Asia, the Burmese python found its way into the Everglades in the 1980s through the exotic pet trade and irresponsible pet owners releasing them into the wild. This human error, coupled with the snake’s ability to grow rapidly, and lay as many as 100 eggs at a time, is the reason the Everglades is currently overrun by the opportunistic creature. Today, conservative estimates from experts suggest there are likely tens of thousands of them out there. You can legally hunt these guys also. You get paid for it. See also, AI models threatening humans when getting shut down, Florida gun laws, and humans living in a simulation.
Pivoting.
It is said that the body is the envelope of the soul. My envelope is in rough shape. My soul is intact.
Shout out to Danielle, who yesterday told me that she reads my blogs as soon as I publish them. Her and husband Josh (both old students) now live in the neighborhood, help me with some outdoor tasks and engage in nerf gun battles with my children. As they say, you buy the neighbors, not the neighborhood. Love you guys.
In two weeks, my wife will complete her 18th year teaching middle school Spanish. The time has gone quickly and it has been amazing watching her go from rookie to veteran. All of her students love her, and the classroom environment that she creates is awesome. Proud of you babe.
In related news, my wife purchased a new(ish) Toyota Tacoma in March. Yesterday afternoon she drove 20 minutes out of town to load up the back with fresh horse manure. Upon return, wearing shorts, a tie-dye t-shirt and blue rubber boots, she stood on the tailgate shoveling said manure into the flower garden. Proud of you babe. Insert shit shoveling joke here.
Last week I received a call out of the blue from a fellow teaching colleague that I had not seen in 2 years. We recently spent a couple of hours sitting outside on my lawn in the sun simply catching up on life. I needed that. Thank you Mick.
Lastly, I had some minor skin surgery in late January. After meeting with the surgeon a few times, he commented “I bet you make friends everywhere you go.”
After reflecting on this, I think he is right and I am fine with that fact. There are 80,000 people working at Disney World. I spoke to a gate supervisor at Hollywood Studios and I was entering the park. Seeing my Red Sox cap, she asked if I was from Boston…
“Well, I actually live about 30 miles north of Boston…in New Hampshire.”
“Really? That’s wild. My father grew up in New Hampshire. A town called Salem.”
(Me going pale) “You have got to be kidding. I live in Salem. I’m class of ’91.”
“Well, my dad is much older….but what a small world.”
Me: “It IS A Small World After all.”
And…….scene.
Stay safe, stay awesome, and stay tuned.
Patrick moeschen 