5/29/2026 Friday
On James Talarico - Look we all know of the heretical liberal theology he employs, but it serves as a good reminder that bad theology doesn't completely destroy the goodness God places in that person; good theology doesn't completely remove the wickedness in a person's heart. The solution is a Gospel centered life and character:
Finally, after all these years, I found a good way to sync my notes between phone and computer. I can finally uninstall Samsung Notes now, which was great for quick note taking on the phone, but it was a pain with syncing (i.e. complicated connection with intermediary like Microsoft's OneNote). OneNote is also complicated to use: too many clicks just for one note and complicated way to delete or sync the notes. The best app that I like so far, is Google Keep, which was launched already since 2013. Free, part of anyone's google account. Works on both my android phone as well as on the desktop, laptop, or anywhere with online access. And it seems to work offline as well. Synchronization is seamlessly elegant! I can't believe I never heard of it until now.
5/28/2026 Thursday
The title of this article "Judgment is the skill that matters most in the AI era" gave me a hint to another pondering about God's business in A.I. which usually provokes those who tend to fear new things. I can list a few already: rebuking boring priestly services, lack of fellowship, lack of originality, lack of creativity, lack of analytical ability, etc. And now, thanks to this article. The lesson for the coming of AI: Rebuking those who loves to say "Judge Not. Period."
I think soon we'll see individual owned Optimus robots walking everywhere, thanks to Tesla. Google AI summary of what this robot is about:
Tesla's Optimus (or Tesla Bot) is an autonomous, humanoid robot designed to perform repetitive, dangerous, or tedious tasks. Powered by the same AI as Tesla's autonomous vehicles, it can navigate environments, recognize objects, and mimic human dexterity to assist in everyday life. [1, 2, 3]
Key Capabilities
- Household Chores: Optimus can handle daily domestic duties like folding laundry, watering plants, sorting recycling, washing dishes, and retrieving or putting away groceries.
- Delicate Manipulation: Thanks to advanced hand designs (featuring 11 degrees of freedom), the robot can handle fragile items like eggs or thread a needle.
- Self-Training: The robot learns by observing human actions. It can watch a tutorial—such as how to prepare a meal—and translate that into real-world physical movements.
- Industrial & Retail Assistance: Designed to be a general-purpose worker, it can lift heavy items (up to 45 pounds), sort objects, and assist in factory assembly or retail setups.
- Social Interaction: Advanced neural networks allow it to hold basic conversations, wave, play games like rock-paper-scissors, and interact safely in human environments. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Development & Future Goals
While continuing to improve its autonomous navigation and movement, Tesla is developing Optimus to eventually serve as an all-purpose home assistant. The company targets a long-term production cost between ($20,000) and ($30,000) per unit. [1, 2]
This article reminds me of my school's boss: J.
"Many tech executives are reportedly suffering from "AI psychosis," a delusional overestimation of AI's current capabilities due to their detachment from ground-level work. This misguided optimism has led to massive layoffs and aggressive automation shifts, despite data showing AI has yet to produce enough productivity gains or match human labor quality."
He's been asking me to do just about anything with AI without realizing the cost behind it. But perhaps I should be the one selling this AI stuff it to my boss for profit, Brian would certainly agree, rather than deflecting. Keyword being "SELLING", not gifting.
So someone renovated his porfolio using Claude AI. This got me thinking, perhaps I would place a link in my LinkedIn profile linking to my website where I would be able to track visitors, and has more freedom than any restriction placed on LinkedIn, to monitor and showcase my resume and portfolio (works). This is a project.
Came across this article on how to protect your work from your employer (or any company whether it's fake prospective or not), because I believe I had been fooled once once upon a time working as freelance which I was asked to do a task (backup/restore) for a company from craigslist ads and never heard from the boss again. I had thought long and hard about that, fashioning ways to go around crooks like that, such as deleting my works or showing the process but not letting the "fake" interviewer get to keep the result of my work. This article is from a Creative designer's perspective but it's relevant: password protect your portfolio, anonymize some parts of your work, etc.
Some fun survey statistics on ranking USA cities for being the best place to raise a family in 2026, based on 45 key metrics (i.e. fun, socio-economics, safety, affordability, education - I bolded the 3 metrics because I think they matter more than the other metrics), with Freemont (CA) being first, Irvine (CA) being 3rd, Plano (TX) being 4th, Charleston (SC) 8th, Jersey City (NJ) #45, Orlando (FL) #49, New York (NY) #73.:
Came across Yahoo News ads in my email that relates to funeral cost being $10,000 in America on average. So I asked Google AI, I think I would probably prefer Direct Cremation, only $2.5k but formal service and viewing would not be included:
A traditional funeral in New Jersey averages between $8,500 and $10,500. For a full-service burial with a viewing, ceremony, and vault, prices frequently land right around $10,000 or higher depending on your location and the selected casket. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Average costs can vary significantly based on the type of service selected:
- Traditional Burial: Ranges from $9,400 to $10,500+, which includes a casket, viewing, and hearse transportation.
- Full-Service Cremation: Averages $6,200 to $6,800, covering a ceremony and cremation fees.
- Direct Cremation: Costs roughly $2,500 as it does not include formal services or viewing. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
These totals generally cover the funeral home’s basic service fees, embalming, facility rentals, and the casket. They do not typically include cemetery plot fees, headstones, or obituaries. [1, 2]
5/27/2026 Wednesday
"Pastors should be required to have significant work experience apart from ministry". This resonate to me to some level because I've also recently heard a comment from one of the Crossroads church elder who basically shares similar view with Skye in this video:
My response to this would be it looks good on a resume. So I cannot disagree there. But it also doesn't mean that this is a requirement for all pastors because experience is not a requirement to do a job. However, since many pastors would fail to do their job, it's not too bad to have this as a safe guard.
5/26/2026 Tuesday
Enhanced Games swimmer breaks world record (non-Enhanced games): Men's 50m Freestyle in 20.81s. Won $1.25 Million. Las Vegas would do just about anything, I suppose. It's also fun to see the traditionalists provoked by this. Would people care more about the spectacle or the safety of drug use? Obviously, now we need to indicate if the Olympics is enhanced or not. Or any sports for that matter.
5/24/2026 Sunday
The neighbor (384) had a guest (2024 BMW I4 New York License plate - LZN 2425). I think, who parked in front of our driveway, blocking me entering it from my LA Fitness Gym workout. I had to park in front of him and come out to look for the driver. Good thing the neighbors were outside and saw me. So getting out of the car was the quicker solution. Waiting in the car...wasn't great, as nobody would care, even if I double parked. Was a little agitated so I took this photo. Since they were being apologetic, I was going to tell him to park at the same spot right after I went in, but he left so soon I didn't get a chance. Perhaps I should tune down my anger (due to earlier wait) and be kinder nex time.
At Crossroads church, Pastor Joe Fischer delivered the sermon on Psalm 46. First time I was able to sort of catch up with Perplexity AI app by asking the AI theological issues related to the message of Psa 46: Particularly about relying on ourselves too much vs. being lazy. It seems to me that churches these days attacks only one extreme side but not the other (i.e. Fischer, Basile on the "don't rely on ourselves too much side). We should ask, particularly folks at Crossroads (as Nadia rightly observed that Crossroads lack faith while GCC lacks work), that what is your refuge, if you lost all these worldly stuff? Your family? Your spouses? Your jobs?