Cedar Park Local

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Cedar Park Local E22

https://serve.podhome.fm/cedar-park-local

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(00:09) Introduction and Overview

(01:10) History Corner: Farm to Consumer Direct Marketing Act

(06:54) Community and Isolation: The Opioid Crisis

(18:15) Texas Ibogaine Initiative: A New Hope for Veterans

(22:55) International Affairs: The Armenian Corridor

(24:31) Conversation with Joseph: Stress and Career Change

(39:17) Travel Plans and Reflections on Life

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[00:00:10] Unknown:

Welcome to Cedar Park local episode number 22   for Wednesday, 08/13/2025.   I am Cash Normandy, and this is   the undisputed   number one local podcast in Cedar Park,   the best source for local news and views, a place for your voice to be heard.   I had a chance to,   talk to my neighbor, Joseph,   and he was recounting his recent   job leaving his job and and and, his experiences and thought process that led up to it.   And it was really interesting to me, and I asked him if he wouldn't mind,   me getting   a a mic and recording it for the podcast.   I thought it would be of interest.  

Later on in the program, I will have,   the discussion   I had with Joseph.   In the history corner, I came across   a   law,   the Farm to Consumer Direct Marketing Act of 1976.   And, apparently, the purpose of, this legislation,   which became public law,   was to allow farmers to directly sell   to people   and bypass   middlemen   and otherwise,   agricultural   and or food   regulations   that apply   for,   I think, mass production   and,   like, mass sale, I suppose, large retail operation. I don't know the,   specifics   the specifics of what   threshold is needed to be   subject   to food standards.  

And,   but this allowed for local people to buy from their local farms   and   for the consumer to   exercise due diligence on their own. So if you wanna buy raw milk, it's up to you. If you wanted to   buy,   your meat from   Joe the Rancher,   and y'all had good experience with him, your neighbors had good experience with him, you could. And if you didn't, you'd tell your neighbor and then nobody would buy it from Joe.   So this act is   I think it's been   largely subject to interpretation by the executive branch, which is why   there were,   some somewhat high   high profile cases that   involved,   ranchers trying to sell I think there was, an Amish farmer who's famous for this   and, some other,   ranchers and farmers that   that were brought to my attention by Thomas Massey, actually, who I think owns his own sort of regenerative   peach farm.  

But,   but it was interesting that,   that this was passed in 1976,   and we're still kind of   struggling with,   exactly what it means and what what can we buy and what is all the meat available to every American,   have to go through one of these large central meat packing places.   And it it's all interconnected with   an odd,   an odd   atomization   and   and breakup of American,   social fabric   where   we have lost connection with our food, which is very fundamental.   And we have lost connections with our neighbors,   which is also fundamental.   And our foods and our neighbors, it all used to be intertwined,   where we would share,   expertise   and experiences   and foods   and know how.  

And that was what,   made the framework for a community.   And that's all   that's all largely been, broken down   and replaced by a, a corporate   sort of mindset.   And I I gotta say, I think 76.   I think it was around the nineteen seventies   when the Supreme Court   made a one of their,   pivotal rulings with respect   to a corporation having personhood,   which I think   has, contributed to this, downfall where   we have we created these,   entities where we all agreed we'll follow the rules, and this is a corporation,   and they'll have this kind of shielding from liability and so on and so forth. And the purpose of it is to   promote enterprise risk taking and commerce.  

And somewhere   along the lines, it morphed into this   weird giant creature on its own where it got personhood and it got the right for free speech,   and it got all of these,   characteristics   and and inalienable   rights that we attribute to people.   But they're not people. It's not a person. It's it's it's an artificial construct.   In some ways, it's the original,   AI,   kinda out of control. It's a artificial construct out of control. This   actually came up in my conversation with Joseph, which is why I was reminded of   and   of it and how it connects to the direct to consumer   marketing. So it used to be,   understood that it's good to know where your food comes from and to know the people who make it, and they can sell directly to you without fear of of,   interference by the government. And it's probably   wholly beneficial,   for us   to move   towards that again.  

And   and it's also,   environmentally,   you you know, beneficial to   the the less your food travels, the less pollution it creates, the better it is for you.   And knowing the people who grow your food is good for the fabric of a a community.   On that note,   community fabrics and the and the breakdown   in general of   sort of cohesive societies   and the isolated and depressed   individuals that it leaves in its wake.   One of the listeners,   Alvin,   submitted to me a,   a subreddit feed regarding FeelFree, which is, I guess, a product   that is,   opioid   analog   product, apparently.  

And, it's become popular,   and   it's one of those cases where it looks like it's kind of a fringe   bad for you product   that is   ahead of the regulation and law enforcement, and they're trying to catch up. And by the time they do, it'll fizzle out and change his name and so on and so forth.   Forth. It   the product itself is not,   that interesting. I think the sort of   selling people   garbage   to make them feel different is,   is not new.   But it is,   because it is apparently an opioid   and,   analog,   it reminds me of the broader opioid   epidemic   that we are facing in this country and   and why   we have so many people   feeling the need to   artificially stimulate   their opioid receptors   as opposed to engage in activities that's wholesome   and   would give you a a natural high and a natural sense of fulfillment   as opposed to this, you know, the the the peep the people going towards these opioids   are clearly not making good decisions,   but but they're also making desperate decisions. They're making desperate decisions   out of   what they see as a very small menu of options.  

And they have   before them,   you know, these these bad choices as they see them, bad bad in options and worse options.   And they are making,   you know, some kind of calculation,   and they're choosing to   drown out or artificially stimulate or escape, whatever it may be, or some combination of,   using   these substances.   And the substances are a substitute   for actually living well, actually having a community.   Some of you,   may have   been familiar with an old experiment,   done with rats   when they were,   the the rats were in a cage with two bottles.   One,   these are the the   rodent feeding bottles that have the metal tube with the little ball bearing at the end.  

So when the rodent licks the ball bearing, it lets some of the liquid out, and they had two two bottles.   One had pure water, and the other one had cocaine water   and or heroin water or both. And   what the rats would do is they would,   keep getting the cocaine water. I think they did a similar experiment where they put a a needle in them, and they were able to press a button that   injected cocaine into their system or press a button that was next to it, which would release food and water.   And they chose to consistently   drug themselves,   typically to death because there was no limit on   how many times they could press the button.  

And it was,   and this was often,   cited. And I I was convinced of it as being an excellent example of the addictive nature of,   of,   hard drugs and why they should be prohibited   in society.   And   later on, I learned more about this. I think it was,   I forget the gentleman's name, but it it was, it was more than one person,   on, on Rogan's show discussing these experiments   and then also discussing some follow on experiments, which I found extremely enlightening.   Their hypothesis was that it may not simply be the substance that is attractive,   to the rats. It may also be their environment.  

So instead of sticking them in a cage, which is   as bad as it sounds,   what if we put them in an environment that's, more fulfilling?   So they built what they call rat park,   where it was a large enclosure as opposed to a small cage.   It wasn't just a cage. It was a large enough ex enclosure   to accommodate,   places where they could play, holes they could go through, hamster wheels,   things to climb,   food at, various points, but not too much food. So the food took a little bit of work.   It was a much more   balanced   and wholesome and fulfilling   environment, and the rats got to, be together and be social and kinda work through their social stuff that that's normal to them   as opposed to being,   isolated   in a single cage with a with a bottle of cocaine.  

And it turned out that,   in the rat park where everything was not miserable,   the rats did not cocaine themselves to death. In fact, they tried the cocaine water, and then they moved on to the regular water. They preferred   to have good food,   good water, and good companionship.   And And this demonstrated to me   that it's,   the gravitation towards these substances,   the hard drugs, the fentanyl, the opioids, and all this is   is a secondary effect. It's not the primary effect. The addiction is not the problem.   Something else is the problem, and then the addiction becomes   another problem.  

And I think the original problem is   lack of fulfillment, lack   of good food, lack of good water, lack of good companionship, lack of good community.   And   I suspect   when one looks at   the,   the places that have these high opioid   addiction   problems,   they'll find where things have gone bad well before   the opioid stuff happens.   So this is the rabbit hole I went down, which is why this episode is a little bit late coming on. Also, I did a little bit of research, and I wanted to share this with you because I found it to be interesting.   I came across the term   opiates   and opioids,   and they tended to be used interchangeably. So I did a little bit of research   so I can understand what the difference is, and there is a difference. An opiate   is a substance that is derived from the poppy plant, where,   poppy,   opium, morphine, heroin,   these are,   the brown tar substance that is basically   the sap that comes from the poppy plant if you scratch it, similar to   maple syrup or other saps and and and,   and plant resins, basically.  

So   those are opiates.   And opioids   are   any substance   that binds to or has an affinity for the,   what they call the MOR, which is the mu opioid receptor   that's in the brain and the spinal in the spinal column.   So opiates, which are   poppy plant derivatives, are a type of opioid.   There are also synthetic opioids   like   oxycodone,   methadone,   and fentanyl.   These are synthetic substances that we have found that bind to the MOR, the mu opioid receptors,   and act similarly   to OP eight, which are the plant,   derived   opium   plants.   So   that's OP eight from the plant and opioids, anything that acts on the receptor, including plant based and synthetics.  

So the MOR, the mu opioid receptor,   is the key part of the nervous system that receives these chemical compounds   and   and then   changes the nervous system accordingly.   This this is why it's used in medical procedures   for,   blocking pain   and,   and other reasons. And if and if used in excess, it suppresses the   breathing, and that's how people die.   That MOR, the mood opioid receptor, is the key,   physiological,   gateway,   and and and, what was it called?   The the pathway through which these chemicals work. And that's where naloxone comes in. Naloxone is the generic name for Narcan is the   is the brand name, but naloxone   is an opioid antagonist.  

It has a stronger affinity to the MOR,   than the opioids do. It is attracted to and binds to the MOR. However, it does not have any of   the harmful effects.   It basically   floods the zone and floods the receptor spaces with this and is more attractive   to those receptors than other opioids, which is why it's effective when someone ODs,   you hit them with naloxone,   and it rushes in there. It cuts in front of the line. It gets, it gets in the way of the fentanyl,   and then the person gets to,   not die.   And apparently doesn't have really any harmful effects.   And if, if you if you think somebody has, is OD ing, but instead they're having   some other   issues, some medical issue, and you administer   some naloxone   and spray it up their nose,   it's okay. It, really shouldn't do any harm.  

So it's,   it's,   mostly upside,   very little downside,   So they say. We never know. That's what they said about the other medical, and pharmaceutical products, and turned out they were not safe. So but as it stands right now, the best information I've received is that that is the case. So   there's your, primer on, opioids,   opiates,   and, naloxone.   So at the end of it, it's, it's your environment.   It is,   the the   breakdown   of   of society,   of communities   in, in this corporate effort to   just, you know, turn us into   just these consumption   units.  

Alright. Next topic,   state state issue.   The state of Texas   has a   program called the Texas Ibogaine Initiative.   Ibogaine is a   plant based,   psychedelic   substance,   and   it is one of a handful of   substances that have, demonstrated   an uncanny ability to   rewire   some part of the brain in some way, which allows people to   overcome   major PTSD   and and or addiction.   And and Ibogaine and,   Ayahuasca   and a couple other ones   that have become,   wild   widely   recognized   and appreciated for their effects largely   due to the use by   veterans,   especially Iraq and Afghanistan vets that were coming back in large numbers.   On a previous episode, I touched upon the suicide rate among those veterans, which is, extremely high while surpassing the   the casualty and death rates that occurred in combat.  

And   these guys and and mostly guys, but some girls too were coming back,   really traumatized and messed up, and the VA system is,   was was was not working well. Probably still isn't working very well. So they had to start looking for,   ways of I mean, most of them,   you know, or or I don't know. Not most, but   many ended up killing themselves. But some of some of them were   desperate enough to try different things. And eventually, some found that using these psychedelic   compounds,   they were able to break out of these,   suicidal mindsets and addictive mindsets.  

And   because they were,   illegal, I think most of them are schedule one in The US,   they couldn't pursue them in any meaningful way without just constantly,   breaking the law. So they went to Mexico,   and there's a a number of veteran groups that work out of Mexico   specializing   in therapeutic   help for fellow veterans.   And their success rate is apparently   phenomenal, enough where I've seen multiple,   multiple,   podcasts, The Brogan, other people talking about them, bringing on really distinguished veterans,   discussing the benefits of these things.   And I'm glad that they were able to circumvent   this broken recovery system   and,   you know, and and do what the VA couldn't do for them. So,   but   politics   is, often slow in catching up   with certain trends, and,   and this is where the Texas I begin initiative comes in. I'm I'm,   glad that,   that, this initiative is taking place. It's it's it's, headed by Rick Perry, former governor Texas governor Rick Perry and a gentleman named w Brian, Hubbard.  

And governor Perry was,   was was helping out some, veterans   and through that process   became familiar with Ibogaine   and   its therapeutic and recovery   effect. Apparently, Ibogaine, of all the ones I've mentioned, it is particularly,   effective   in helping reset the brain. It is particularly effective in that it's not habit forming and is particularly effective in that it's,   has no other   major side effects that I'm aware of at least. So,   so that's good to hear. That's good to hear that   we are,   we are taking   broader societal   and governmental,   approach to,   helping out the veterans   who,   who have earned and deserve this. This is a part of the agreement we have where we send people,   our young people, to kill and die on behalf of the nation.  

Regardless   of the political decisions that go into   sending them into combat,   they're not responsible   for for the for those political decisions. They do what they're asked to do as, as patriots,   and   they deserve   compassion   care and and innovation and courage   when they return broken.   On, international news   oh, the Armenian Corridor.   Yeah. This was   this was   an unpleasant development where   the president Trump   some some I don't even understand how this is happening, but   the president somehow has managed to interject The United States   into a Armenian Azerbaijan   dispute   right on on the northern border of Iran and the eastern border of Turkey and the southern border of Russia.  

We,   I'm not   I'm not sure,   how this is America first. This is a,   just a terrible idea. In every way, I don't think we belong there. I don't think we need to be sticking our nose in the business.   Let   Azerbaijan, Armenia,   Iran, Turkey, and Russia figure it out. It's their business. We shouldn't be there.   I am frankly shocked that the,   president Trump   got us involved in that. This is, this is how the deep state   perpetual war machine works.   It gets you in innocuously,   little by little, and pulls you in. And,   you know, fifty fifty chance that twenty years from now, there'll be Americans   in that corridor getting killed or killing people and coming back   needing   significant help. And then people ask, how do we get there? I mean, it's just this is how.  

This is,   preposterous,   and we shouldn't do it. It is it is   none of our business.   Well so without further ado, let me, move on to my, conversation with, my   neighbor, Joseph.   Quick, program note. My apologies for the audio quality. I had difficulty with the original,   raw audio file and,   had to go through a lot of hoops to get this thing out the door, but it's done. Thank you.   So you were telling me outside that,   your stress level at at your job we won't mention the tech company, but it's a it's a awesome tech company,   and it was stressing you out.  

And you decided to, pull the plug.  

[00:25:09] Unknown:

Yeah. Yeah. I was,   I worked, you know, in a very stressful, demanding,   tech job as a software engineer. And,   you know, at first, it was cool   and the most money I ever made in my career, so I was excited about it.   But as the years went on, it became more demanding, more stressful.   I had less and less time to myself, and   I started dealing with a lot of, burnout symptoms. How many years were you there?   A little over three years.  

[00:25:42] Unknown:

And it got tougher and tougher.   I was when when you mentioned that, the first thing came to my mind was the h one b program.   Yeah. And that's one of the things that's attractive about the foreign workers is that because they're getting the immigration benefit, they're not gonna complain. Right. Right. You just the work environment can get worse, worse, and worse, and they just keep the mouth shut. Yeah. I mean, I I working in software, you do end up working with a lot of, people from other countries who are, you know, they're immigrants and they're on work visas and  

[00:26:13] Unknown:

they are ready and willing to, you know,   bend over backwards and do whatever is necessary to keep their jobs, you know, if they lose their   job then they have to leave the country in like sixty days or I think it's even less now. Yeah. So   they are highly motivated to keep their job and,   yeah, you see them work twelve, thirteen, fourteen hours. I see them online at one, two in the morning, and then at 8AM, they're back on a call. So Mhmm. Mhmm. Yeah. That makes it that that was that's been my suspicion.  

[00:26:44] Unknown:

Yeah. I heard a, I think it was a professor   or an economist or both,   do a congressional testimony some years back, and he sort of   analyzed,   the difference between h one b's and and and domestic tech workers. And he said and and when you break it down with all the numbers, crunch it all down, they're 30% cheaper.   So and so any company is gonna take that 30% savings.   But in addition to that, I think and something that I can't quantify   is the the putting up with BS.   Because, like you said,   you wanna go back to India?   It's like, I'll work late. You know? Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, they  

[00:27:25] Unknown:

I I saw   a very high threshold for dealing with, excessive demands,   unreasonable expectations,   unreasonable   project schedules,   demands for immediate delivery of things that are not   ready to be delivered, but somehow you just have to get the job done. And,   it's you know, they they are willing to to do it because, I guess, they they have a lot more on the line. You know? They have a lot more to lose. When man so when you say unrealistic demands, like,  

[00:27:58] Unknown:

when management makes those demands, are they   are they, like   do they know?   They're, like when they give it to you, like,   they   they probably, at some point, need to understand that they're they're either they're they're saying you're gonna be working on this on your time.   You know? This is this is not an eight hour day. It's a fourteen hour day is what I'm expecting. And at some level, they understand that,   or they don't know what they're doing.  

[00:28:24] Unknown:

I I think there is, there are some disconnects in terms of what their expectations are and what the reality is on the ground. I think that's,   in in large corporations that is you know, there is gonna be some they won't have complete understanding   a lot of the time, and there's very often,   you know, they they see it one way, but it's actually a totally different way on the ground.   But, yeah, I mean, they they they   set their project schedules. I I mean,   disclaimer, I don't   I don't have access to the c suite. I don't I'm not talking to the CEOs and CFOs on a daily basis or ever at all. So it's just speculation on my part from what I see. But based on what I see   and   my,   general impression is that   they are   trying to compete and have a competitive offering and release projects, be the first to market. Whoever is first to market   captures the lion's share of the market. So   they set very, very aggressive   schedules for their projects because   I guess that's what they think they need to do from from a business perspective. Mhmm. But in terms of actually building it and you're the one building it and designing it, it's nowhere near enough time. So you get a lot of engineers that are just scrambling, throwing code together,   and praying that it works. And when you end up with something that's   shoddy, you know, not really   that reliable,   and not not well designed from the ground up. So you end up with a lot of other issues,   just because it's not designed, and well thought through. It's kind of done in a very rushed   period. The Elon model or or this is a little bit different? That's what you hear that that, he has definitely,   kind of set a precedent in the industry where, you know, the expectation is that you there's no more eight hour workdays.  

Those are long gone, so,   you have to work ten, twelve hours or more. And that, yeah, that that that that's what they did with Twitter. Right? They reduced I forgot what was it, like, 75% of the company. But it still works. And they and they proved that they could operate in this new model, and, it seems like a lot of other tech companies are following. Trying to do it. But he's got, like, a special sauce. He's there's something unique about him. And and it seems to me if you try that model, other people try, it just  

[00:30:47] Unknown:

he seems to, like,   cultivate this culture of unrealistic   expectations, really, just like fantastical stuff. Let's catch a rocket, you know, coming back. It's just this sounds ridiculous. But Yeah.   If but because of his proven track record,   you get people who are convinced enough to follow him. Yeah. Well, if somebody else tries it, you're like, I think you just drive me driving me to the dirt. You know? I don't think this is gonna lead to something spectacular.  

[00:31:15] Unknown:

Well, he's that I mean, he's definitely an innovator, no doubt, and he's proven that he can you know, he has   incredible ambitions and the ability to actually bring them to reality. So,   so that's undeniable.   And   I guess if you are gonna change the world and you're gonna come up with something breakthrough that's gonna revolutionize   an industry or   several industries then   you have to expect that there's gonna be a lot of blood blood, sweat, and tears put into that. I don't mind doing that for a period of time, but I don't think that's healthy or sustainable   Yeah. On a long term basis unless you're willing to sacrifice your health or your   family time or your social life or some other some other aspects of your life. You know, you just have to if that's the trade off you wanna make, then that's that's your decision. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I hear I hear about a lot of people who work there after a certain number of years. They burn out. Yeah. Yeah. I mean Like, that's their model. It's like, come here. You're gonna burn out with us? We'll we'll achieve greatness.  



[00:32:15] Unknown:

Yeah. And then you go out in a blaze of glory, you know, whatever.   Put on your resume.  

[00:32:20] Unknown:

Yeah. It's I mean, in in in some ways, it it is starting to feel like that as an engineer. Like,   I think engineers used to be   respected in a different way. Like, I think in the eighties, engineers used I mean, this was before I started working, but, you know,   engineers used to show up to work in a shirt and tie, and there was a certain professionalism and Yes. A certain, like, regard that, you know, they these were,   valued,   respected   professional people. Yes.   Nowadays,   it feels like we're kind of commoditized and so we're kind of these   replaceable   swappable parts in in the machine Yes. And you just crank out code and if you're not able to crank out that code, they'll just pull you out and swap somebody else in Mhmm.  

To to do that. And so   it definitely feels different now.   Yeah. I think that commoditization  

[00:33:17] Unknown:

observation   applies to   so many things.   Us as consumers,   just us as in the human beings.   And I I've been kinda thinking about this, and it seems to me like   it's,   it's sort of, an inevitable   outcome of an overly   corporatized   society   Mhmm. Where we set up these artificial,   organism artificial structures, and we call them corporations.   And then we start to treat them. It's like the original AI. Well, we start to pretend they're alive. We're like, well, you have, individual rights and you have the freedom,   freedom of speech. And he's like, it's a company. Right. It doesn't have any rights.   But we've attributed all of these things to them. And then these organisms just kinda took a life and then you go down thirty, forty, you know, years later,   and they're doing what they're designed to do, which is to commoditize   everything  

[00:34:17] Unknown:

towards whatever their profit motive is. Yeah. I mean, that's a keen observation. I hadn't,   thought of it from that perspective.   But, yeah, I mean, everything is being driven more and more from a profit,   centric point of view.   Inevitably,   yeah, you do start to feel like, you know, are we the consumer or are we actually the product here? You know, because we're being sold things and being Yeah.   Told that we need to consume more and more and more. And we're so basically   being put on this hamster wheel where we have   to work these crazy  

[00:34:52] Unknown:

jobs just to keep up with with everything we need to keep buying. Yeah. Yeah. And and and to keep trying to fill that that that void of of unhappiness with more stuff, you gotta work more on an unpleasant job to get more stuff to make you feel better about the terrible job. It's a hamster wheel. Yeah. I was just talking with with our other neighbors the other day about, you know,  

[00:35:14] Unknown:

people that   keep upgrading the bigger and bigger houses. They have a perfectly fine house, but they, oh, but they need to get the house with the, you know, that's, you know, 4,000 square feet instead of 3,000 square feet or however big and with the, you know, the view or   the marble floors or whatever. And so they end up locking themselves into   a really high   Yeah. House payment that Yeah. Where to where they they're not able to have that freedom and flexibility. They're tied down. Yep. Their their monthly paychecks are all being,   siphoned into, you know, their mortgage. Yeah. And so then they're stuck. Yeah. They have to work another thirty, forty years in this rat race to just to just to pay for what  

[00:35:56] Unknown:

they're told that they need. It's a yeah. They they get misdirected,   and they think that house is gonna make them happy. Yeah. And usually, as you're describing, by the time they realized it didn't,   now they're stuck. Yeah. Now they're trapped and, and we're really what they probably wanted   was just some time to relax.   It really is. And they they just they couldn't figure it out because all the forces around them are all the corporate forces, their incentive is not you relax, it doesn't make them any money.   You know? You being miserable and looking to consume something to get you out of that misery is what makes them money.  

So,   there's no, sort of healthy guidance around you. It's all   consumption guidance driven by corporations.  

[00:36:40] Unknown:

And, yeah, before you know it, you're stuck.   Yeah. I mean,   going camping, sleeping under the stars,   hiking on mountain. These the the some of the best things that I've experienced in life are 100% free Yes. To do. Yes.   So why are we constantly feeling that we need to get more stuff?  

[00:37:01] Unknown:

Speaking of which yeah. I I I happened.   And that was my motivation for starting this podcast was I found that,   it it it was one to to to speak to my neighbors and and get,   just get the neighbors talking to each other more because,   you know, I spent I don't spend a lot of time on social media. X is the only thing I use, but I will probably spend an hour a day if I add it all up on it.   I don't speak to my neighbors for an hour a day. Right. It's shocking.   You know, fifty years ago, that's all people did was talk to their neighbors and and and their extended communities. So there was a   a a substantial   amount of of,   you   know, brain and compute   interchanging   networking   and, you know, and these are supercomputers. They're, you know, whatever, 20 watt supercomputers, but they're supercomputers. You know? And you gotta put a   a a build a nuclear reactor to, to try and simulate it now with a with a warehouse of chips, but our brains do it, you know, with a banana.  

And,   so and so this network of supercomputers used to come up with stuff. Now we've been isolated. It's like taking a network   of of of these warehouses and separating all the chips and keeping them from talking to each other, and they're not as effective.  

[00:38:22] Unknown:

That's, yeah. I mean, it's a a harder reality of our modern society is we are more isolated, more fragmented, people are less   connected,   especially in their, you know, immediate communities   around them.   And you know I'm guilty of myself, you know, like sitting at home watching Netflix and when I could be outside and, you know, talking to my neighbors, like, I I do it we all do it at the end. It's easier. It's easier. It's yeah. It's easier. You know? It's easier.  

[00:38:48] Unknown:

And I don't know when it became easier, but it's easier. Yeah. So,  

[00:38:54] Unknown:

but I think I think there's   it's really important to to stay connected and we should make an effort to to stay in touch. And maybe it's not gonna be like nineteen fifty. No. But, you know,   we can have a lot less worse. Right. Little by little. We can we can stay more connected than than we have been and, you know, not,   allow those relationships to just wither   and and stay, you know, within our own four walls. So you're gonna be  

[00:39:20] Unknown:

so and I don't even know how we started the conversation. If on the recording, we mentioned the fact that you you quit your job because of those those those stress levels. So now your plan is to   do some vacationing.   You wanna talk about that a little bit? Sure. Yeah. I,  

[00:39:36] Unknown:

you know, I I really enjoy traveling. I've done trips to Peru, to Guatemala, to Spain,   Switzerland, and Italy a couple of years ago,   Brazil last year. And so I I just love, you know, travel. I mean, domestic as well,   but I do very often sometimes get the itch to take a trip abroad, you know, once a year or so. Yeah. And,   I I've had a desire to kinda take a longer trip. You know, when you take a short trip for,   ten days, which is usually the most you can take off from work Yeah. Usually,   you know, you can see a few things, you can explore a little bit, but it it's a it's a short trip. You know, it's a it's you got a few days here, a few days there, and then you gotta come back home.   I've kind of been wanting to experience what is it like to immerse myself in a different place, you know, just kind of feel that the the energy and the vibe that you get by   spending a lot of time in, like, France or Spain or Portugal   Mhmm.  

And and experienced that,   over the course of several weeks,   and if not months. So, yeah, I decided to take   a little over a month. It's gonna be about five weeks to just backpack around Europe and explore, see some different places and and kinda have, like,   a slower   pace of travel.   That way, I can experience, like, the culture, the food, the Yeah. People, and,  

[00:41:04] Unknown:

yes. That's my plan. Where are you hitting? What countries?  

[00:41:07] Unknown:

I'm going to Amsterdam,   Paris.   I'm thinking of roaming around France for a while just to kinda explore the countryside and Mhmm. Hopefully, learn a little bit of French along the way. I think that would be a cool thing to do. Mhmm.   Portugal is definitely high on my list, so I'm gonna make a stop in Lisbon and Porto,   And Spain as well, I'm flying out of Madrid. So,   I I did a study abroad in Spain,   many, many years ago and fell in love with the culture and the food. And I, you know, got to I I expanded my Spanish vocabulary tremendously there. So,   yeah, I I I love everything about   Spain. So, yeah, that's kind of my plan to hit up some of the those countries.  



[00:41:52] Unknown:

And if you do,   if you do a little recordings and send them to me, I'll, I'll I'll put them on the pod. Okay. That'll be fun Yeah. For people to, you know, to get a little, little taste of what you're experiencing   wherever you're at. Yeah. I can just, like, talk about observations and insights I have along the way. Yeah. Whatever, man. You know, I'm here on this rock, and this view is fantastic.   It it it really helps people. It it you know, it's like a small sampling of the same feeling you get when you're outside and look at the stars, you know? Right. It takes you away from the Netflix, takes you away from whatever's on the news, you know? Yeah. And reminds you of, of other things that that that matter. Exactly. Yeah. No. That'd be cool to do. Yeah. And Yeah. You have an iPhone? I do. We'll do yeah. Okay. Then it they should transmit to each other pretty soon. You can do a voice memo or whatever you want. We'll figure it out. But if, you know, whenever whenever you if you like it, whenever you can, and and if you don't, you don't. But,   but that'll be a   it's   a cool way of, having the neighborhood   kinda get a little little glimpse.  



[00:42:55] Unknown:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm, Yeah. I mean, it's I think it'll be a a great trip. I a great opportunity   to relax and decompress from the last three years of You booked everything booked and booked. You already did the flight and everything?   I booked the flight,   and I booked the first hotel, but, other than that, it's kind of open. And you quit Friday?   I quit Friday. Yes. Awesome.  

[00:43:18] Unknown:

That's it. That's the way you gotta do it. I figured now's the time because as soon as I start another job, like Yeah. I'm not gonna be able to do this. Right? The longer you wait, the the more the more likely you are to talk yourself out of it. Exactly. Let me save the money. Let me just, you know Totally. That's what you gotta do. That's what you gotta do. Your instincts are probably correct on this. Yeah. I mean, I have nothing holding me back, so,  

[00:43:39] Unknown:

now is really the best time for me to do it.  

[00:43:43] Unknown:

That was my conversation with neighbor Joseph.   Thank you to him for sitting down and talking to me.   It's, appreciated.   I hope you appreciate it too.   Make your voices heard. Contact me at [email protected].   Remember the 5% rule for civics. We need to spend five percent of our time paying attention to civics and governance.   If we don't pay attention, somebody will do it for us, resulting in fewer liberties and more taxes.   Podcasting two point o with Adam Curry and Dave Jones,   the Podfather and the Pod sage respectively,   they deserve our support.  

The opinions expressed on this show belong only to the speaker and do not represent any government,   NGO, not for profit, group, gaggle, mob, collective, gangs, secret society, or influencer.   All legal matters must be referred to the law firm of Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe.   You've done it again.   You've wasted a perfectly good hour listening to this nonsense.   Life is short. Do difficult things and take more risks.   Spend less,   work less,   play more. Till next time. Bye bye.   Kokoro Judo is the largest and best developed judo program in the Austin area.   You can check them out at k0k0r0judoatx.com.  

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