Scott Adams died Tuesday morning. Besides being a well known satirist of the office and workplace (in the cartoon Dilbert), he was in recent years also a popular commentator. His ‘Coffee with Scott Adams’ live stream had a wide audience.
Scott announced he had prostate cancer in 2025 and proceeded to document his progress, giving listeners a look at the struggles he faced as he neared death.
I watched ‘Coffee with Scott Adams’ many times and learned a lot from him about how to view the events that I often found quite inexplicable. When his Dilbert Cartoon was abruptly dropped from syndication in 2023, for what were deemed racist remarks, he took it in stride and reframed it in way that helped his audience understand why he said what he did (in the midst of an epidemic of Cancel Culture.)
It would be interesting to hear his take on the media today when the headline about his death from a number of publications was similar to this one from Canada’s CBC:
Dilbert creator Scott Adams, whose comic strip was cancelled over racist remarks, dead at 68. Comic creator abruptly dropped from syndication in 2023.
Over 30 years of cartoons and that is the way they choose to frame his life!
Scott wrote his final message just days before he died:
This post, and my other two posts about Scott Adams are my way of ‘Paying it Forward’.
Charlie Kirk was an American political activist and the co-founder of Turning Point USA. He was well known for his on-campus debates where he challenged people to counter his conservative/religious viewpoints.
He was assassinated on September 10, 2025, during a public debate event in Utah.
In the last few days I have had discussions with two people who, though they did not celebrate Charlie’s death like some people have, cited a number of instances of ‘vile things’ they thought Charlie had said. One example they both used was that Charlie had said that gays should be stoned.
It did not take much research for me to find what Charlie actually said (and no he did not say gays should be stoned). Someone lied (or misinterpreted) what Charlie said and that was passed along to others who wanted to believe that Charlie was a hateful person… and those who believed Charlie had created a hateful, intolerant, violent environment became the ones creating a hateful, intolerant, violent environment.
It isn’t hard for me to imagine what Charlie would say about all this… but since he can no longer speak, I think it is up to some (or all) of us to politely speak up when we come face to face (or screen to screen) with people who denigrate others. Calmly move the conversation to verifying actual sources, then try to discover some common ground about the issues.
On this, the day of Charlie Kirk’s Memorial in Arizona, I found this music, which seemed so perfect: Fanfare for the Common Man. Thanks for this link, Ray.
The lowest of the low on the internet showed up on my radar last week. A good friend’s husband passed away recently and within days of the Funeral Home posting his obituary, a slimy second website had copied the obit, altered it somewhat and posted it on their site. Then they invited unsuspecting site visitors to buy ‘Sympathy Gifts’ such as flowers (hand delivered by a trusted local florist!) or planting tribute trees.
The company is called Echovita. BAO (the Bereavement Authority of Ontario) says companies such as this, “… sell items in memory of a deceased person. But the families of the deceased do not receive anything. They aren’t even contacted.”
Another company, Afterlife, was doing the same thing until 2019, when a Canadian federal court judge ordered it to pay $20 million in damages in a class-action lawsuit.
Afterlife violated the copyrighted work of grieving families in order to make a profit, a judge in Ottawa ruled … Whether any of the plaintiffs will see any money remains to be seen… Afterlife now directs people to another website, Everhere, which the judge said is also run by Leclerc (the man who ran Afterlife).
– Source CBC –
Echovita is apparently the most recent site formed by Pascal Leclerc after he shut down the other two sites. It is doing the same financial soliciting. Its AI algorithm alters the wording somewhat (including omitting the families requests to not send flowers, etc) and the site does not use the photos that are posted with the original obituary. That is how the company avoids copyright issues.
It seems there is little the public or the law can do to stop someone like Leclerc. The sale of Memorial Products, including personalized gifts, is a growing business and will continue to do so as the baby boomer generation exits this world.
The law does not pretend to punish everything that is dishonest. That would seriously interfere with business.
– Clarence Darrow –
It seems to me, though, that internet search engines should not give companies like Echovita a higher internet search ranking than the Funeral homes or news sources that post original obits.
What we all CAN do… I used Googles ‘Report spammy, deceptive, or low quality webpage’ tool, as well as several other Google reporting pages to report this site. I will do the same with other search engines. Last, but certainly not least, I encourage everyone to let their friends and families know about scam sites like this!
R.I.P. – G. J. – Thinking of you, wishing you hope in the midst of sorrow, comfort in the midst of pain.
This holds true for the time frame of measurements. Compare a heat graph for the past 10 or 20 years to a heat graph for the last 100 years.
It is summer in the Northern Hemisphere and with the warm weather comes the news that Climate Change is making the earth ‘boil’ (World is entering ‘era of global boiling’, UN warns.) If you live someplace where the summer heat seems worse than ever before, you may agree with the UN’s assessment – though boiling is a bit of a farcical stretch…
The problem, as I see it, is that what we are being told to fear is usually data that is a subset of a larger set of data that can be measured, or deduced from a longer time frame (and if we can accept the future forecasting of the climate for the next 100 years, why can we not accept the intrinsic value of data from the last 100 or more years? (That is a rhetorical question – even expert climate scientists were never supposed to challenge the ‘settled’ science of climate change.)
Here are some examples of graphs made from a long enough time frame that they probably change the narrative we hear in the news.
Twenty years of Wildfire data show a general downward trend. In North America it seems like we are seeing nature realign after years of ‘Smokey the Bear’ forest fire suppression.Droughts: Positive values are wetter than average. Negatives are drier than average. Severe drought is -3 to -4. Extreme drought is -4 or below.
In Canada, no long-term trends of drought are discernible in any portion of the country. The worst and most prolonged Prairie-wide droughts occurred in the early part of the 20th century (1920s and 1930s). Paleo studies using tree ring chronologies dating back to 1597 show the most prolonged droughts were in the 18th and 19th Centuries.
Far more people die from cold than heat – globally, at a ratio of around nine to one.Wheat, maize, and rice are major crops contributing to global food security.Good luck finding heat wave information over the long term from anywhere other than the United States.This Hot Weather chart gives more detail on actual temperature ranges.
I would give you more similar data from my country, Canada, but the Canadian website is not at all user friendly. I can, however, refer you to a post by Andrew Roman where he suggests Climate Change needs Less Fear and More Facts.
Unlike me, of no particular fame or expertise, Andrew’s credentials are very impressive. They include being an expert witness before committees of the Canadian Senate and House of Commons.
The proper way to fix the world isn’t to fix the world. There’s no reason to assume that you’re even up to such a task. But you can fix yourself. You’ll do no one any harm by doing so, and in that manner at least, you will make the world a better place.
– Jordan Peterson –
Last but never least, Measurements as seen on the net of all things:
How do you measure a snake? In inches, because they don’t have feet.
What is the best way to measure a lawn?
With a yardstick
My kids fought for a long time over a device to measure angles.
It was a protracted battle.
How do elves measure their height?
In Santa-meters!
The Pope decided on new measures to keep Cardinals on their toes.
He raised the Vatican urinals by 4 inches.
Dewey’s doctor was keeping track of all of his moles – the location and size of them. The Doctor was so thorough that he measured them all the way down to tenths.
He called it the Dewey deci-mole system.
Why are bakers such accurate measurers?
They understand the gravity of the situation.
Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
– Hanlon’s Razor –
In the recent Canadian election, The ‘Longest Ballot’ committee targeted the Carleton riding that had been held by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. The committee contributed 85 of the 91 candidates on the ballot (none of these candidates wanted to be elected, nor did they live in that riding). The ballot was 97 centimetres (38 inches) long. Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault had previously told a House of Commons committee that extremely long ballots delay the count and pose problems for some people with disabilities, especially if the printing has to be in smaller font sizes.
The Longest Ballot committee say they want electoral reform. It would be ironic if the only reform they saw was restrictions that put an end to long ballots. It would be fitting if that happened before the Battle River-Crowfoot by-election that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will run in. The Longest Ballot committee hopes to put 200 names on that ballot.
As they say during election season in Transylvania…
Every Count Votes.
Don’t let this election distract you…
from the fact that Slytherin lost a 472 to 312 point lead over Gryffindor (for the House Cup) because during the trophy presentation ceremony at Hogwarts, Dumbledore awarded points to Gryffindor for such things as clear-headed logic, bravery and courage..
How do pigeons elect their leaders?
They don’t. A pigeon can only gain power through a coo d’état.
In Afghanistan, they’ve made it illegal to count the votes cast in any election. It’s the Tally Ban.
Karl Marx is a historically famous philosopher and political theorist, but very few people know about his sister, Onya, the inventor of the starter pistol.
Local bees are voting. They’re all heading to the pollen station.
The secret to making Congress more efficient is to replace all the people with horses. Sure, every vote would end in “neighs,” but hay, at least the housing market would be stable.
Economic instability often leads to political instability too, but having a common enemy in the United States has led to a rise in pro-Canada sentiment.
– Newsweek-
After almost nine years of dubious fiscal policy AND leftist ideological drama, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau’s ‘modern socialist’ governance has resulted in a country of wasted potential. (see Canada’s decline in the resource links at the end of this post),
If that isn’t unsettling enough, then Trump did what he said he was going to do, which I guess Canada’s PM didn’t really believe would happen…
Trump imposed trade tariffs – 25% on all imports except energy which will be taxed at 10%.
Trudeau, the ‘proud feminist’ (who expelled three female cabinet ministers when they dared to challenge him); the champion of “shifting the dynamics of privilege, marginalization, white identity, settler colonialism, climate change crisis, etc, etc’) charged onto the battle field to challenge Chaos Creating Trump who is steadfastly executing his America First Trade Policy. (Forbes – Explaining Trump’s Tariffs)
Trudeau’s response to the tariffs was to call American tariffs “very dumb”, saying that U.S. President Donald Trump is appeasing Russia while launching a trade war against Canada. Trudeau continued: “Canadians are hurt. Canadians are angry. We are going to choose to not go on vacation in Florida. We are going to choose to try and buy Canadian products … and yeah we’re probably going to keep booing the American anthem.”
Then Trudeau countered the very dumb tariffs with his own very dumb tariffs. It has been suggested that Trudeau’s response was akin to bringing a knife to a gunfight because Trump simply responded by saying “Please explain to Governor Trudeau, of Canada, that when he puts on a Retaliatory Tariff on the U.S., our Reciprocal Tariff will immediately increase by a like amount!” It will be interesting to see what happens next.
Throwing Alberta Under the Bus
Rah Rah Canada! Meanwhile back in Canada, there has been a sudden pro-Canadian spirit of camaraderie. Quite ironic because the Canadian Government (aided and abetted by several provinces) has been anti Albertan (my home province) for some time. Trudeau and his cronies have been trying to strangle Alberta’s oil and gas industry. Alberta’s Premier Danielle Smith, (who met with Trump and advocated for diplomacy and crafting a measured and constructive response to Trump’s Tariff) was labelled by the Trudeau Liberal party as being a greater threat to the country’s economy than Trump. (This was before Trump had demonstrated what a real threat looks like…) Smith’s strategy of meeting with Trump and many US Congress, State and energy industry leaders was partially successful. Trump’s tariff on energy was only 10%. (Alberta has never been more alone. Trudeau scapegoats the province.).
Diplomacy: Alberta Premier Danielle Smith meets with president-elect Donald Trump and businessman Kevin O’Leary in Florida. CREDIT: Danielle Smith / X
So, Let’s Just Buy Canadian and things won’t be so bad
But it is sometimes hard to actually buy Canadian in Canada. University of Calgary economics professor Trevor Tombe, in a recent article for BNN Bloomberg, explained that the trade barriers between Canadian provinces result in just one-third of Canadian trade occurring between provinces. It is simply easier for businesses to sell goods to foreign countries and what could be easier and more convenient than selling to the U.S.!?
So, What Happens Next?
Hard to say, but one way or another, Canada should take fiscally prudent steps to minimize the self inflicted and Trump inflicted damage. I think this will only happen if Canada moves back to the middle, politically. I hope an election will be sooner than the next scheduled one (no later than October 20, 2025). (I would get in line to be tased if that would trigger an earlier election:)
I’m reiterating my plan for a constitutional amendment wherein a general election is instantly triggered if at least one million Canadians agree to get tased. It’s a high bar, but I think we’d meet it. (Tristin Hopper, Reporter, National Post)
Canada in Decline: Links
… It’s remarkable how much our international reputation has faded over the past 10 years, both diplomatically and economically… the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) last year downgraded Canada’s prospects (from now to 2060) to dead last out of 38 nations.
– Financial Post: Canada’s decline into irrelevance –
In international comparisons with its peers (Healthcare), Canada ranks ninth out of 10 countries, performing below the international average in access to care, administrative efficiency and equity – and ranking last in timeliness.
– C.D Howe Institute: Troubling Diagnosis: Comparing Canada’s Healthcare with International Peers
…from 2014 to 2024, Canada’s general government gross debt—which measures the total amount of debt held by all levels of government—has risen from 85.5 per cent to 106.1 per cent of the total size of the economy… the persistence of uncompetitively high personal and business tax rates makes it harder for Canada to attract and retain high-skilled workers (such as doctors and engineers), entrepreneurs, businesses and investment—all of which help grow the economy and improve the standard of living.
– Fraser Institute: New data show how far Canadian living standards have fallen –
I hope I’ve been clear about the pressing need for Canada to increase productivity. I’m saying that it’s an emergency—it’s time to break the glass… But the urgency comes not only from the fate that awaits us if we don’t act. It also comes from the payoff if we do.
– Bank of Canada Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers, Time to break the glass: Fixing Canada’s productivity problem
Trudeau’s Liberals came to power in November 2015.
With the recent news that a relative had just been diagnosed with a terminal illness, The Car Guy observed that this kind of news was more frequent now that we are of a certain age. His sister agreed and said, “Yes, more and more of our peers are starting to Circle The Drain.”
Circling the Drain (My Photo of Cactus Buds with a Swirl Filter)
As we near the end of life, we will all Circle the Drain. For how long and under what conditions is the big question. It causes considerable distress for people when they reach the final or intolerable stages of an advanced, irreversible disease or disability that cannot be relieved to the person’s satisfaction.
In Canada, such a person may express their belief that ‘My Life, My Body’ includes the right to end their pain and suffering. Now they have the option of applying for Medical assistance in dying (MAID). The program has broad public support, especially among seniors. (The average age of a MAID user is 77 years – life expectancy in Canada is 83 years.)
There are detractors. Some have well thought out objections, some show a remarkable ignorance as to how MAID actually works and some make unsubstantiated claims – such as the people who claim they received a letter from the Canadian Government offering them the chance to use the MAID program. My research says this claim is a hoax.
Other Countries that offer a similar program are Australia, Belgium, Columbia, Ecuador, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. In the United States, it is offered in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Maine, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia. (People from outside Oregon may travel to the state to utilize the service.)
Stop Reading now if you do not wish to possibly be offended by the Lighter Side of Pulling the Plug.
I’ve often thought the whole Funeral/Celebration of Life thing is backwards. The person who is being celebrated misses the whole thing by a week or so. Why shouldn’t it happen before the person dies so that they get to hear all the good things being said about them? This is where the MAID program could make scheduling much easier…
My husband asked me how long I want to be on life support if the need should arise.
I said, “If two days pass during which I have not asked for a Manhattan, a glass of Chardonnay or chocolate, go ahead and pull the plug.
If I’m ever on life support, I want you to pull the plug… Then wait 10 seconds and plug it back in, maybe that’ll work.
A politician was visiting a mental asylum, and asked “How do you decide whether someone should be admitted here?”
“Well,” said the director, “We fill up a bath with water, then give the patient a teaspoon, a mug, and a bucket, and ask them to empty the bath as quickly as possible.”
“I see,” said the politician, “and if he’s got any sense he’ll choose the bucket.”
“No,” said the director, “If he’s got any sense he’ll pull the plug.”
I have to say that DonaldTrump winning the Presidency (and Republicans taking the Senate and probably the House) was just about the most interesting political outcome I have seen in four years. If Canada’s Conservative Party, under Leader Pierre Poilievre, can do the same thing in our next federal election, I will be quite happy.
Why? I think of forward progress (whether it be personal or that of a country) as a wavy line that shifts from one side to the other side of a straight line that goes from now to the future. Our recent past, in both Canada and the United States, has been left of the straight line. Eventually it moved uncomfortably far left (for me, anyway) and now it is going to course correct towards the right again.
There are many reasons the voting public decided to move right. These include (in no particular order:
– Mass media that were biased sources of disinformation and misinformation.
– Attempts to limit free speech (in educational institutions and by the government)
– Increasingly poor health outcomes – obesity, diabetes, opioid epidemic; ‘gender affirming’ sex changes for minors without parental input
– Insisting Climate Change is an existential threat – silencing critics
– Political intolerance
– Damage done by Defund the Police
– Immigration without regard for consequences
– Damage done in the name of social justice including cancelling
– Distrust in public medical bodies after Covid-19 vaccine mandates and masking
– Ever increasing taxation and unbridled government spending
– Vilifying fossil fuels; unrealistic expectations for renewable energy
– Wokeism in terms of intolerance and proving one’s own superiority by denouncing others.
– Recent attacks on Jewish people
– Men competing in Women’s sports
That is the way I see it – and I am confident that the opinions I have expressed here will not cause anyone in my family to disinvite me from the ‘turkey table’ this Christmas. I believe none of my readers will strike me from their reading list. If anyone wants to object to what I have said, I am confident their words will be polite and will leave room for us to both explore a middle ground.
The biggest scam in life: Paying taxes on money you make, taxes on money you spend and taxes on things you own that you already paid taxes on with already taxed money.
Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.
– George Bernard Shaw –
Aliens are going to be super confused when they show up threatening to overthrow our leaders and we were all stoked and offered to help.
– womenafter50.com –
If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.
– Lao Tzu –
A New York lawyer submitted a brief citing six non-existent judicial decisions produced by ChatGPT.
– Reuters, May 30, 2023 –
The lawyer used the artificial intelligence chatbot to help him prepare a brief for a client’s personal injury case against Avianca Airlines. ChatGPT ‘created’ six fake court decisions. The lawyer did not realize he should check the validity of the information. OOPS!
How about a bot that generates quotes?
Last year the Website Bored Panda posted images that were generated by the AI bot InspiroBot. They were supposed to be inspirational quotes, but they sort of missed the mark:
Be the reason why somebody feels regret. Don’t be dull. Be outstandingly dull. Be negative. How would things be if your whole neighborhood started consulting spiders?
I consult the WordPress AI Assistant (which I have abbreviated to AIAss)
The question about consulting spiders inspired me to ask AIAss “Should I consult spiders?” Here is what it said:
“…As an AI assistant, I can suggest seeking advice from trusted sources such as friends, family, or professionals in the field related to the decision you’re about to make. Depending on the decision, seeking support from other sources such as books, online resources, or workshops can also be helpful…”
I then asked AIAss about consulting dogs, something I do when gHosT the Dog visits us (for example, gHosT – do you want to have a biscuit?) AI’s answer was similar to the one about spiders, though it added “It’s always important to make a well-informed decision rather than relying on superstitions around animals.”
I have to give credit where credit is due. AIAss gave good advice about consulting spiders and dogs, right?
So I asked it something a bit harder and fact based: Status of Covid in Alberta, Canada. AIAss said:
“As of my last update, the COVID-19 situation in Alberta, Canada is as follows:
Total confirmed cases: Over 56,000… Deaths: Over 600”
In actual fact, recent stats say Alberta has had over 633,000 cases and over 5,700 deaths. Clearly AIAss has not been updated for several years on this subject.
I think there is a moral in all this
Do your own research, or Fac tua investigationis (according to Google Translate) Facite vestigationem vestram (‘do your research’ according to AIAss)
Google and WordPress must use different AI bots…
The Future of WordPress AIAss
I was having fun testing AIAss. The WordPress announcement about the AI Assistant said it is free for an undefined limited time. I thought they were talking about, well, time. I was wrong. It is free for up to 20 requests after which you have to upgrade your plan. The cost appears to be C$14 per month for the upgrade. I think I pretty much used up my 20 freebies…
Watching WordPress muck about with their platform is like watching a class of kindergarten students on the playground. Lots of enthusiasm, a certain amount of aptitude, but mostly unconcerned about the impacts their actions are having on the kids around them.
Charlie Kirk was an American political activist and the co-founder of Turning Point USA. He was well known for his on-campus debates where he challenged people to counter his conservative/religious viewpoints.
Another company, Afterlife, was doing the same thing until 2019, when a Canadian federal court judge ordered it to pay $20 million in damages in a class-action lawsuit.
If that isn’t unsettling enough, then Trump did what he said he was going to do, which I guess Canada’s PM didn’t really believe would happen…
Currents 