U.S. Senate Hearing On China Spy Balloon

This Senate hearing is going to be interesting. It would be helpful to think about how to intercept balloons as they enter our airspace. We should add the options to take them down or send back misleading information. Since they don't know which one is going to happen (actual, false, scrambled, hacked, mechanical failure, shot down, etc) it leaves them will less usable information. They may be thinking, "Is that good information or bad information?" 

Lots of discussion on what is considered threat. The military and politicians are likely to see this differently. The military has a narrower scope of what is seen as a threat and politicians are trained to think broader to wider application. It is sort of the way its designed. On one side, if you shoot it down without understanding and it ends up being something else it could turn into an egg on face issue. On the other side, if we don't shoot it down and it continues to transmit important data that also causes a risk.

That is why we need flexible options because each situation is likely different and each actions have different kinds of possible outcomes. We are going to miss some balloons so some might need to be shot down, some we want to false feed information (assuming we can) and some we want to let go if they are not sensitive and are unlikely to gain critical info. Watching can sometimes let you know what the balloon is doing (i.e. sending false/unimportant information and see if there are patterns between them all). That could work if you want evidence and want to study the balloon. 

 The political and legal side are different sort of cases. An issue comes forward, there is a cautious response, there is concern, broader discussion, and eventually some type of consensus on how to deal with it. This is a discussion on greater awareness and preferred expectations of dealing with such situations. As we calibrate our systems we might find more of these balloons so having some rules of engagement are helpful.

Escanaba City Council Meeting: Should we have a moratorium on the moratorium? (Feb 2, 2023)

No doubt these are exciting times in Escanaba as people navigate a new orientation in town development. As with all adjustments there are things that need to be fixed, considered, consulted, and resolved. There has been some growth in the area and some significant outside investment that is positioning Escanaba as a possible hot spot destination for future investment, lifestyle and recreation.

There are some social issues we will need to deal with like marijuana. As long as people agree to listen to each other, just about anything can be resolved. This is not a make or break it issue but its a contributing factor to a level of community buy in. How we handle disagreement is even more important than the issue itself.

Tonight people will be at the Planning Meeting to ask for barriers around certain religious and civic institutions. What I believe is below......stay tune folks.....this is a town in the process "of becoming"! Its exciting to watch as an American town finds new life and legs (i.e. Billerud and other. Welcome to the Esky family.) After being relatively disconnected from the global economy for the past number of decades when local manufacturing closed down from its peak employment of 1700 in 1982. Harnischfeger Company, (P.& H.), Escanaba (40+ years ago) . DC Historical Society UPI Post, Harvard Analysis of Harnischfeger.

(Keep in the back of your mind that this is the time that much of the U.S. started switching overseas and backing away from domestic production. Save a penny on shares I guess.🤷 For some lack of orders or rising expenses did their companies in. That trend is changing and Escanaba is part of that bigger picture as an ideally situated Great Lakes town with certain hard infrastructure and potential for cluster development to meet innovative needs. In theory! 🙊🙏 )

What Escanaba is becoming is dependent on choices of internal and external stakeholders (Getting everyone in alignment around some shared vision or purpose is helpful.). The most important thing to keep in mind is that as long as the best interest of the residents, the state, and the country are kept primary....its going to be a really good thing (Incorrect choices will pull us in unknown directions.) 

Sometimes one might consider a Political Economic Analysis (PEA) to just get a feel of the importance of moral and ethical concerns as a new town changes. This isn't about only economic development there are other things things we can learn from local changes. Pay attention to how close knit communities can find a way around such thorny issues.

There is room to accommodate the needs of the majority of the town while allowing limited, but well monitored, dispensaries that improve the landscape (Be mindful of other businesses as well). Government is there to solve problems through comprisable solutions. That is one option. There are many others so let us see what they come up with. 🤔

Compromise is like the middle of the road; always safer to walk on than the edges. Dwight D. Eisenhower 

See the Esky City Agenda 02/02/2023

Source: Richmond Fed

Permits and Broadband: You will notice that there is some broadband improvement going on through the discussion on permitting. To create a smart city that is connected to the global world you will need the ability to transfer data. That comes with your digital infrastructure. As the town picks up in terms of connectivity within itself and with the outside world it could become one selling point that attracts digital nomads and higher tech type businesses that rely on such infrastructure. It would be something I would consider listing on my webpage, any city advertising, etc. to help attract a growing demographic that can bring money into the area. Permits are one way to look at what is coming up in the near future and what type of development that is occurring. See DC Broad, Connect UP, Full Bloom Esky, Info Cross, Broadband Rural America

Recreation: Tennis Courts were repaved. Ok Tennis awesome and the courts needed a little work. The backboard should be straight as well. I didn't spend much time there last summer but even as I kid I remember the practice backboard sort of being warped a little. As of a couple years ago it was fine but definitely could get some TLC. Nice to hear tennis players are still valued members of the recreational community. :) Spring is coming and I'm digging out my rackets just to try out the redone courts. 

Tokem and Smokem (Ord. 1273): The moratorium is not an essential issue. It is a delay. There are 6 applicants and no matter if they are approved or denied everything should be done in a way that builds as much community consensus as possible. Yet I wouldn't overload the city with dispensaries or you might find other problems (Be strategic in thinking!). Everything should be done within reason. That might require such dispensaries to be built in a classy way and improve the image and appeal of their business neighbors. Likewise, I would agree with the priest {or any other spiritual leader} and say a barrier around places of worship and other civic institutions would be helpful to make sure we are meeting multiple stakeholder needs. 

In good conscious you don't want bars and/or legal drugs anywhere near places where people have a right to practice, learn, and develop without these temptations. Its important to remember that people go to religious services for many different reasons some of that is self soothing so its just not a good mix to have that within arms length. People want to feel good when they go to and from their church, mosque, synagogue, temple, drum circle, or whatever. They probably would not appreciate a cannabis neighbor (making an exception for the type of drum circle you are in.). That being said, I'm not opposed to such dispensaries (actually in the middle on them) but they must be done in a way that is in the best interest of the community and its overall economic, physical, and mental health. 

So dispensaries should some parameters to ensure they do not step on the rights of others. Moratorium or no moratorium is not really the issue, what is the issue is considering various local concerns and find ways to address the big one's so as to have a workable path forward. This is relatively easy to solve and most people could probably accept some workable form of compromise that is livable for almost everyone.

Turkey Earthquake 12K+ Missing/Killed Prayers and Hope for Survivors

Nature is an unforgiving force when catastrophes like the earthquake in Turkey yank us back off our heels. No matter where you are from, what you believe, the money you have, or the thousands of friends surrounding we have to count the blessings of each day. My heart goes out to my Turkish friends I have met over the years, the Turkish people in general, and I hope very much more lives can be found. The search-n-rescue support the U.S. sent provides some help and relief but its a much bigger issue. When it comes to life, we are all in this together. Turkey today, somewhere else tomorrow, but its the international community of good will that eases the burden of tragedies.

You can read about how earthquakes occur in USGS's article Earthquake Magnitude, Energy Release, and Shaking Intensity

You may consider donation to an international organization that seeks to help victims of disasters (Please do your own homework) International Red Cross and Red Crescent

Rowing Motivation: Getting the Times Down

Rowing is one of the higher endurance sports I have seen. While I do it for fitness and am generally not concerned about competitive reasons (Ok I actually am but I don't say that. I just more or less do it for myself but check out where I am with others as a good benchmark.). Running, boxing, etc. are up there as well but if I was to build a triad or a quad of sports you should play I believe rowing would be at the top of the list. It is a lot like a squat and a dumbbells row you might find in a gym.

My time in the masters pack was on the low end but over a few months of off and on practice is near the middle. With a little luck I will be closer to the upper middle by spring. In rowing you don't get to fake it. If you don't row with the same intensity and spirt as everyone else on your team then they know it. If you don't pick up the pace you might get booted. So practice helps you not embarrass yourself. I took a few classes in the past but started rowing more so it takes a little time to get there. 

As with business, health, life, love and all the other things we might find important. Having a goal to reach for helps in helping you make good decisions. 

Research Questions: Start with a problem and turn that into a question. (Economic Clusters)

The Hall of Bulls
Man (i.e. mankind) continuously seeks to understand
his/her environment and creates theories.
First theories were often rudimentary and magical based.
 Modern theories are highly analytical. Research
questions help us define the parameters
to focus on creating a level of supportable
 validity. To understand our environment accurately
we need creative and analytical processes to work together
to explore and define. 
 c. 16,000–14,000 B.C.E.  Lascaux, France

Research questions are the primary way in which we answer important questions about the world in which we live. A research question is drawn from everyday problems we face in life. It is beneficial from an organizational/societal perspective to ask fundamental questions that lead to advancement of a nation and its people.  

For example, in business we might have a question as it relates to a problem such as raising capital or perhaps in government where we may want to accomplish some objective but are unaware of how to proceed. Because we don't know how this happens we are unable to pass this industry-innovation challenge so we are stuck in older methods. Seminal research often creates branches of new knowledge (I'm not saying these questions but sometimes they end up doing just that.).

Thinking of examples that might apply to a nation that seeks to development in alignment with the needs of an increasingly digital oriented digital era advanced manufacturing nation (in theory)......

Let us say that we want more innovation in a number of industry sectors but have little idea on how to repeat a successful process that produces tangible measurable outcomes (Sorry, I'm working on something so its important to my work and it might be important to yours as well. Using "yours" as a general term with non-specific intent.). We might need to study the problem to develop an understanding and see how that leads to a possible resolution of that research problem.

Article Principle 1: Research questions are based on problems we experience in industry, government, or our lives.

In this example, we may start with some general problems that we can further narrow down over time as we conduct a literature search.

If one was conducting a relatively narrow study on one company, location, cluster, etc. they might consider a question like the one below (One can actually go down to smaller than a pin drop in focus.):

R1: How do we improve innovation in XYZ? (Not formatted correctly R1, R2, etc. nor is it fully developed as a question. Its a general idea to be written in the future specifically into a scientifically useful question. See further below.)

If one was conducting a wider arching study it might include some relatively broad questions like,

R2: How do we export the innovation discovered in XYZ into the supply chains of multiple participating industries/companies so as to maximize manufacturing and economic benefits of industry-government collaboration? (Researchers will rewrite these many times until they get it "right". This is very long and isn't enough to the point. If I wrote it 10X more times it would get better. The more you read the better, you can support your question.  )

At present we have two basic undeveloped research questions that would likely require two different interrelated studies (They could be one but it would have to be organized into multi sections. Sometimes they could run concurrently as data comes into one it will impact the other. A little risky but certainly if you had to get a preliminary study done in short order you could do it. A limitation would be the time frame and cataloging of the adjustments in the study to ensure practical knowledge within a truncated time frame. It would provide keen insight but would not be as well supported as follow up studies that seeks to justify or disprove the strength of validity of the study. You just have to state up front what those risks are and that it is designed to spark other studies as a somewhat mixed method design approach. In other words, the design is intended to give on accuracy to obtain practical utility. Specific aspects of the study may reach confidence levels but many aspects won't nor were they necessarily intended to. The goal was to explore in a relatively structured way the concept and then allow other studies and management techniques to follow up.  A type of quick sizing and framing of the problem and its most apparent broad solution. The experts are the one's who slice and dice, while the entrepreneurs think of ways to capitalize on such knowledge, investors think of ways to capitalize on entrepreneurial activities, while government seeks to maximize the benefit to society and its tax base. spark spark putter putter spark. Regional Economic Lightning Strike). 

Article Principle 2: Research questions start broad and then get more specific with literature search and rewrites.

The first being how to improve innovation (including metrics and catalyst factor isolation). In the second question we are thinking of wider supply chain functionality (manufacturing, production, economic benefit, etc.). One is considered how to do something and the other one is scalability of those findings through applied research and strategic implementation. We historically are good at creating knowledge but not necessarily good at applying it as quickly as we should. It involves risks and good old fashion business sense mixed with science to get over the hump. Risk and reward pendulum can be shifted by slowing aspects of the study when the structure isn't defined well.

Article Principle 3: The design of the study is based on the research question and the best way to solve that. 

I'm using economic clusters because I'm thinking of ways to improve American/National innovation in a way in which it can be pinpointed around specific targeted objectives. Yet to really be cutting edge, when compared to our competitors, we have to incorporate different ideas and concepts from multiple industries into specific achievement of research directives and then expand on it in ways that our competitors cannot conceive or easily copy without insight knowledge and broader environmental support (An element stamp that is unique to that cluster.). Its a type of pushing the process to obtain a result that has maximum butterfly effects in participating companies/industries (Yes, I'm skipping stuff because I can't write a 300 page report on it for just conversation sake. If it makes sense, then let us just go with it!! If you don't like it, post a better way with some detail that I didn't provide, or click off and just enjoy your day. Its reasonable in the way I see it at this moment. Ask me tomorrow, and if something changes, I might give you a different answer.)

Here are a few other related readings.

How to Write a Research Question

Examples of Research Questions

Formulating a Research Question

Russia Brings up 500,000 Troops: Size Isn't Everything!

In life, size is not always the biggest determiner of strength and power. There are many different types of power and knowing which ones to use and when is important. 500,000 is a lot of troops. However, its also a lot of untrained troops that are more or less resource drawing cannon fodder for the movement of more trained Russian special forces. Ukraine, being a smaller country has some disadvantages but also has a few advantages in terms of have higher morale, sense of communal self defense, support by other countries and much more. 

We have known Russia was pushing for a bravado comeback. While the news started hitting the airwaves a few weeks ago it could be expected and there were other signs of movements (weapons purchases, shifting of generals, switching of strategy, outreach efforts, etc...). There are always signs when strategies adjust based on the goals, objectives, and deeper psychological mechanics of those making the decisions (All conflicts should help us learn and adapt. Russian Fatigue.) 

Size or Skill?

Read this article on post Georgian Conflict and mixed Russian Military Reform. What we are likely to find in such situations is that when large amounts of untrained troops arrive in a partially reformed/confused military state (i.e. why there is a disconnect and disharmony) that struggles with real moral purpose there is bound to be confusion. There is a good chance this elephant has a limp and not be able to carry as much weight as one might initially might think (Always be open to the possibility that one could be wrong. To avoid that risk one might hedge strategies by going through all the possible outcomes and their probabilities. The unlikely one's are where we must have some creative skill to envision). 

(I suspect one could find a few key elements{cultural assumptions and strategies embedded in culture and personality.} that would create most likely positive outcomes that run like an assumption through all of their choices. This is why words are important but actions are more important. They each go back to a perspective. You need to step back and pay attention to some of the dynamics. You won't always be right, and I'm not always right, so it is necessary to read broadly. If one disagrees then they should feel free to click off and enjoy the rest of your day or post a comment and say why. Its a process of understanding. 

If you understand the root methodology  of cultural assumptions and then you would have a fairly strong understanding of most of the opponent's scope of moves because their choices utilize similar pathways but with different tactical options based on their individual differences. Level K thinkers are the hardest because they think of alternatives that only a small sliver of society will likely be able to understand and even if they had that ability to understand they wouldn't necessarily have awareness of that specific knowledge that comes with each person's unique experiences and backgrounds. This is just blah, blah, blah, stuff one can learn when they study military history or read applied psychology research.) 

Mobility, commitment, home turf, UN supply chain (there are some difficulties here but through coordination one can set the stage that impacts other ways of approaching problems historically in other arenas like civics, business/economics, pollution, etc.), coordination, speed, tactics, etc. is where Ukrainians can excel and successfully defend their homeland. The skilled hand of a seasoned artist of war is much more useful in these affairs of finesse where the tact of a Neanderthal with a club will no longer give you the same results as it once did during the previous Cold War. 

It won't be easy and one must make every man/woman worth 20-30 of their enemy (One could run some projections here. The method and formulas already exist.). That requires a level of preplanning and fast multi terrain movements. Consider a Few Ukrainian Options among the many different advantages they have that can hedge against greater numbers.

Putin has made a choice to move toward conflict versus accepting the right of nations to chart their own course. One choice, leads to an outcome, to another choice, to an outcome, etc. down a chain of choices and outcomes. Where that chain ultimately goes is often hard to see but it is possible to see the beginning and follow that path for a while. What can be said, is that he seems to be staking the last few years of his life as a free man on what happens in Ukraine (btw I don't think he would ever allow himself to be taken alive unless he felt he had negotiation power.). I would be stunned if he looses and he comes back from this. Even if he wins, he ultimately looses, or at a minimum loses a lot. Almost seems as though there is some intent by Russia to move intentionally away from the West and instead put his lot in with the growth in Asia. 

*The intent of this blog is to get people to start thinking. This is very important for the U.S. to plot a course with its strengths, and hedging its weaknesses with its allies, to ensure that we move to a higher performance level that reflects the bright light from democracy's torch in a way that resonates to the rest of the world. Its a national development argument but there are many paths that can take. 

Why I Think Hate Laws Should Change?

When it comes to hate there are many Americans that are suffering for a lack of full protections because local clans and good old boy's pervert the law to bank in their and their friends/members benefit. We have now seen this in multiple places and situations. While we know this is immoral and won't work on a national level, there are many people who are taking care "of their own" through racial and religious affiliations that lead to two different systems of justice. 

(The official may function some of the time but the unofficial functions much less most of the time. None of it is all the time either way! Roll your dice.) 

Even when behaviors are clearly against the law, such individuals are given protracted rights to commit certain behaviors even when they are beyond a reasonable doubt intended to cause harm. Not to mention the bigots, racists and blind hate supporters within their networks that pushed, encourage, and supported such behaviors as long as the right targets were selected (While they may or may not be a small fraction of the group, some took the liberty and free hand offered to them.).

(Lets not to sugar coat bad behaviors because parts of the local system don't feel its a concern and has shown more than once willing to shield these poor behaviors. In the long run, there will be a level of accountability, but that comes from the wider system understanding the dangers such hidden networks present. Its not 100% fact because nothing ever is. Its just more likely to be true than the opposite perspectives because there is support for these beliefs.) 

Of course there is nothing wrong with group targeting as long as you accept the hate narrative that "those people" are the problem and feel a sense of kinship with the individuals causing the issues (or have rewarded themselves through illegal/false behaviors already. Embarrassment that they have to be in the same community people they deem of less value then themselves, enrichment from past behaviors, and financial incentives for current behaviors.). When a department, It looks like some members, not to detract from the other members, accept that narrative because they want to support their clan and friend network in a way that makes the local system less trustworthy (Its important to maintain trust in institutions. I honestly cannot say I 100% trust that department and only partially trust the other ones because they are more community based in focus and did eventually correct. Time will build that trust through personal relationships and interaction. That being said, that is the same process of engagement needed throughout the nation. Another opportunity to find solutions.). One might argue such networks can be dangerous under the right circumstances! (You don't need to have a political agenda to know when something is untrustworthy. What is helpful is to encourage positive change. Yes, way way too many free passes, deaf ears, and misuse of authority but at the end of the day we cannot have two entities functioning parallel just because we put the wrong people in positions in which they didn't have the developmental level to handle in the first place.)  

That creates a moral hazard. Free passes are not free they are "proof in pudding" arguments that there are certain characteristics of certain networks and their willingness to misuse local institutions as personal extensions of clan enforcement and rules (The values of the country or good moral conscious doesn't touch those who did, those who promote, and those who look in the other direction to hate. One of the best case scenarios includes strengthening internal controls and fixing the department so it functions properly without the influence of the "super cool"). 

While people lie, while local systems can be compromised, while a lack of remorse is often forthcoming we should push to turn corruption and poor values into an opportunity to fix the system in a way that makes it safe for everyone (I say that as a conservative. The values of human life is a deeper conservative value higher when compared to all the blind buttons one's fingers can press to get a promotion and develop their political careers. It moves beyond the "first to throw" stones argument. Something many people seem to forget when claiming their moral superiority unchained from external rewards. Its that mustard seed of integrity thing that haunts their words!) 

It makes little difference if I'm right or wrong, in some ways the targets will always be the targets, and those closest to the perpetrators will cling to a wrong assumption, and a distorted soul, just because they are "expected to.". At least until we have made a commitment to a universal democracy where all people's are valued, promotion is based on merit contribution and not some subjective, misused, overplayed, and inherently defunct ideology of racial, religious or clan rules.

Should the laws change? I think they should always focus on the higher order thinking that is often associated with the bigger picture approach (over the horizon). Do I think our leaders will change? "That depends on whether they view the simple majority of Americans as having value and ensuring they have protections under the Constitution as well. " Most of them do believe in fair treatment but have dragged their feet for a few hundred years now and I think they need to pass something that enforces the essential laws of the land when fundamental root values are intentionally violated. 

What I'm advocating for is people to stand boldly against hate and stand for higher moral principles in their decision making. It is about pushing the system upward. The system is starting to change in positive ways and this is a good time for police and the public to think about how they are going to rectify and go forward as a single entity. While much darkness and injustice has occurred through the sheer misuse of legitimate authority we do have an opportunity to develop as a nation through brutal honesty and clarity of purpose. My concern is more about fixing then punishing the ignorance of the past (Yet it is what it is and they own the outcomes regardless of whether they can see flaws in themselves or not. Me, I have so many flaws I stopped counting them. Yet....I try.).  

For me, I will be polite, engaging, visible, help my community, support my values, and ensure my Black kids can go anywhere they want regardless of what this hate network and supporters believe (My moral justifications for standing against hate supersede the moral justifications of clan support. I should note that not everyone in that group is a hate supporter. Most just want to be liked so they are afraid to stand up to their leadership. Even when they know they are wrong, they don't have the maturity or integrity to stand for a higher principle beyond themselves. I can accept mental health issues as the root of the perpetrators behavior and their need to get help Other then that, it looks like solid indication of a good old boy network corruption that has become "normalized" among those associated. btw...they are already forgiven but that isn't the full answer for the victims to forgive the perpetrators. I have every right not to forget what I saw and the inability of some members of local institutions to uphold wider values beyond their network. The ultimate goal for me since the beginning is to help them help themselves before they lash out to damage other's in society. If they get themselves in trouble, that is not my issue, that is theirs of which they own. The ability to ensure this group never acts that way to me, my kids, other minorities or anyone else in the community no matter how entitled they feel is important for long term health.) What I won't do is sugar coat bad behaviors because that creates a danger for everyone. Not something many of our leadership have been concerned about in the past. It is starting to look like the only "reasonable" path forward is to cure the disease.

Do you know why some people become crooked and corrupt? In high social pressure to be "better than" and close association between some officials and clan members is distorting their values and encouraging behaviors that are not prosocial in orientation (not the hang out together prosocial behaviors. 💁). We all must adapt whether we like it or not. Consider an article on Culture and Corruption.

Let us wait and see what happens. Are they going to require reform or just "get rid of the problem"? While I'm an optimist my suspicion is on the later because that is often how such entities function (Whether misusing legitimate authority or working in the shadow market works to enforce unwritten rules. People might wonder if I'm afraid? While I always hedge my bets when it comes to immoral and corrupt behavior I will say that I accept that risks as part of leaving something behind for the next generation. Something many of our leaders are struggling to understand. button press, button press, argue, argue, fail to resolve even when the option to ignore is coming to a national close. I hate to be bold, and general don't like it, but its their duty to resolve these issue to keep the republic healthy.....beyond the party affiliations.). Laws are often universally written but subjectively applied. The next generation will have the ability to tell the difference. No matter what, at the end of the day we must make a choice between hate (lies, dishonesty, distortion, corruption, etc..) and freedom (truth, light, honest, justice, fairness, respect for life, etc.)? Its that simple.....or is it? 

Let us recognize there is a lot to this story but in the end there are differences between right and wrong. All systems must be able to understand that on a very fundamental level and adjust to maintain trust of their population. Its just part of the process of first world governance (unless we swear loyalties to third world racial, religious, and clan identities.). I have faith while I will likely continue to be targeted, that things will eventually change and they will do so for the best of everyone involved. 

P.S. even those who should not be involved I'm not upset that much with. I'm more concerned that they tried, that they violated lots of rules, and they maintain the risk even though they are well aware they were wrong. Reforming that department will help improve it so that it can catch more bad guys/gals but know the difference between a criminal and someone with a different race, lifestyle, or religion that feel jealous about or don't like in "their community" "Our Community".