#artificial grass services santa cruz | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

siliconevalleyelectricgate · 5 years ago

Text

Opening the Gate

The other day it struck me that my mind is like a gated community in a land that no longer remembers how it feels to live without bars. Tucked in safely behind the ornate steel and sliding mechanisms, my mind knows that it is safe from the ravages of the outside world. It gated itself in to keep out the riffraff, but in practice it is not so much about keeping undesirable elements out as it is about keeping a certain desirable element in. For a while, it was a cozy arrangement and I felt that from my fortified position within the gates, like the neighbors who make up this tiny self-enclosed community, I would be free to extend outward in easy and predictable ways in order to engage the larger world out there. I was content behind the gate of this community for quite a long time. Work and other necessities of life required various physical moves to other places, both exotic and homely, but whether I was living on a tropical island or in a blazing desert, I kept the gated community within my skull close like a hidden oasis that was always with me. I never once had the gate jam on my way out. I never once failed to gain access on my way in after punching in the key code. The gate on my community functioned flawlessly every time. Others occasionally attempted to bluster their way into my tidy little community but somehow, the gate always held them back - or most of them anyway. Rather than leaving me with a sense of isolation, however, I relished in the insular coziness and self-contained perspectives of mind, secure in the knowledge that nothing and no one could force its way past the gate without my permission. Then it happened. One day my gate stuck open and stayed that way long enough for me to realize that the world was far more magical than I had given it credit for in the past. I was enchanted by the visitors from the outside who now poked around my flowerbeds and shared jokes with the neighbors in an endless procession of colorful eccentricities that only later I came to understand as normal for the outside. I wondered if the sprinklers would somehow turn on and wash them all away. I couldn't decide to invite them in for tea or chase them away with a stick. In the end I did neither. It seemed like days had passed and the outsiders were still hanging around. Had no one repaired that gate yet? Despite myself, I began to think of them as familiar friends in an odd sort of way. They sometimes even seemed to be related to me somehow. The easy smile of that one as he relaxed in a patch of sun on my front lawn, the mysterious look of mischief in the eye of another as she related a recent exploit, the arm-waving excitement of another when illustrating a point in a story - I came to think of these strangers as welcome diversions to my otherwise routine and uneventful life. One day I was watching their antics and was suddenly struck with an overwhelming sense of sadness. What if they left? What if the gate slammed shut and that somehow cut them off from the source of their existence from the outside world? I fell into a troubled sleep that night and woke up determined to make sure that these visitors - once strangers and now friends - would remain free to come and go as they pleased. To hell with the neighbors! Not that any of them had seriously objected anyway. Early that morning I found a length of rope in the garage, got in my car, and after reaching the gate, attached it firmly to my car and pulled it down with a loud crash. There was no turning back. I was liberated now! I felt invincible and feisty at the same time; nothing could keep me behind bars any longer, not even by my own hand. Stifling the impulse to drag the gate through the community behind my car, I detached the rope and shoved it off to the side, mute testimony to a momentary act of madness - or was it sanity? - of a dangerously free spirit. As I came back home, the visitors seemed to sense my new-found re-engagement with life and they greeted me warmly. I knew now that they were every much a part of my internal community as I was. In fact, there seemed to be no real difference between myself and them. We were all part of this amazing internal structure I had been carrying around in my heart and head, this gated community safely locked away from the outside and grown predictable and complacent over the years. I was amazed at how this artificial construct colored my life in so many ways, as if I had tried to freeze the vastly ever-changing world itself into a convenient and impermeable idea to hold onto forever. No more gates. Time for the joy of discovery and for taking delight in the mind's unexpected twists and turns on a path that led who knows where. Surrounded by my new friends, I sat down on the grass and felt the warm sunshine of a bright and healing day on my skin. Life is good. I am good. They are good. It is all good. The day held the golden promise of my mind's liberation and I was content at last. The gate was open.

Find Automatic Gate repair Services:

Automatic Gate installation alameda

Automatic Gate installation berkeley

Automatic Gate installation brentwood

Automatic Gate installation campbell

Automatic Gate installation concord

Automatic Gate installation cupertino

Automatic Gate installation daly city

Automatic Gate installation dublin

Automatic Gate installation emeryville

Automatic Gate installation fremont

Automatic Gate installation gilroy

Automatic Gate installation greenbrae

Automatic Gate installation half moon bay

Automatic Gate installation hayward

Automatic Gate installation hillsborough

Automatic Gate installation lafayette

Automatic Gate installation livermore

Automatic Gate installation los altos

Automatic Gate installation martinez

Automatic Gate installation menlo park

Automatic Gate installation millbrae

Automatic Gate installation milpitas

Automatic Gate installation monte sereno

Automatic Gate installation morgan hill

Automatic Gate installation mountain view

Automatic Gate installation pacifica

Automatic Gate installation redwood city

Automatic Gate installation san ramon

Automatic Gate installation santa clara

Automatic Gate installation santa cruz

Automatic Gate installation saratoga

Automatic Gate installation tiburon

Automatic Gate installation union city

Automatic Gate installation walnut creek

Automatic Gate installation atherton

Automatic Gate installation burlingame

Automatic Gate installation danville

Automatic Gate installation los altos hills

Automatic Gate installation los gatos

Automatic Gate installation oakland

Automatic Gate installation orinda

Automatic Gate installation palo alto

Automatic Gate installation san francisco

Automatic Gate installation san jose

Automatic Gate installation san mateo

Find Gate Installation Services:

gate installation company alameda

gate installation company berkeley

gate installation company concord

gate installation company fremont

gate installation company gilroy

gate installation company hillsborough

gate installation company livermore

gate installation company morgan hill

gate installation company san ramon

gate installation company walnut creek

gate installation company brentwood

gate installation company campbell

gate installation company cupertino

gate installation company daly city

gate installation company dublin

gate installation company emeryville

gate installation company half moon bay

gate installation company hayward

gate installation company lafayette

gate installation company los altos

gate installation company martinez

gate installation company menlo park

gate installation company millbrae

gate installation company milpitas

gate installation company mountain view

gate installation company pacifica

gate installation company redwood city

gate installation company santa clara

gate installation company santa cruz

gate installation company saratoga

gate installation company tiburon

gate installation company union city

gate installation company atherton

gate installation company burlingame

gate installation company danville

gate installation company los altos hills

gate installation company los gatos

gate installation company oakland

gate installation company orinda

gate installation company palo alto

gate installation company san francisco

gate installation company san jose

gate installation company san mateo

Find Gate Repair Services:

Gate Repair alameda

Gate Repair berkeley

Gate Repair brentwood

Gate Repair campbell

Gate Repair concord

Gate Repair cupertino

Gate Repair daly city

Gate Repair dublin

Gate Repair emeryville

Gate Repair fremont

Gate Repair gilroy

Gate Repair greenbrae

Gate Repair half moon bay

Gate Repair hayward

Gate Repair hillsborough

Gate Repair lafayette

Gate Repair los altos

Gate Repair martinez

Gate Repair menlo park

Gate Repair millbrae

Gate Repair milpitas

Gate Repair monte sereno

Gate Repair morgan hill

Gate Repair mountain view

Gate Repair pacifica

Gate Repair redwood city

Gate Repair san ramon

Gate Repair santa clara

Gate Repair santa cruz

Gate Repair saratoga

Gate Repair tiburon

Gate Repair union city

Gate Repair walnut creek

Gate Repair atherton

Gate Repair burlingame

Gate Repair danville

Gate Repair los altos hills

Gate Repair los gatos

Gate Repair oakland

Gate Repair orinda

Gate Repair palo alto

Gate Repair san francisco

Gate Repair san jose

Gate Repair san mateo

Find Automatic Gate Repair Services:

Automatic Gate Repair antioch ca

Automatic Gate Repair gilroy ca

Automatic Gate Repair greenbrae ca

Automatic Gate Repair half moon bay ca

Automatic Gate Repair hillsborough ca

Automatic Gate Repair livermore ca

Automatic Gate Repair los altos ca

Automatic Gate Repair martinez ca

Automatic Gate Repair menlo park ca

Automatic Gate Repair monte sereno ca

Automatic Gate Repair morgan hill ca

Automatic Gate Repair mountain view ca

Automatic Gate Repair saratoga ca

Automatic Gate Repair sunnyvale ca

Automatic Gate Repair walnut creek ca

Automatic Gate Repair berkeley ca

Automatic Gate Repair campbell ca

Automatic Gate Repair concord ca

Automatic Gate Repair cupertino ca

Automatic Gate Repair daly city ca

Automatic Gate Repair emeryville ca

Automatic Gate Repair fremont ca

Automatic Gate Repair hayward ca

Automatic Gate Repair millbrae ca

Automatic Gate Repair milpitas ca

Automatic Gate Repair redwood city ca

Automatic Gate Repair san rafael ca

Automatic Gate Repair san ramon ca

Automatic Gate Repair santa clara ca

Automatic Gate Repair santa cruz ca

Automatic Gate Repair tiburon ca

Automatic Gate Repair union city ca

Automatic Gate Repair alameda ca

Automatic Gate Repair lafayette ca

Automatic Gate Repair brentwood ca

Automatic Gate Repair burlingame ca

Automatic Gate Repair orinda ca

Automatic Gate Repair palo alto ca

Automatic Gate Repair san francisco ca

Automatic Gate Repair san jose ca

Automatic Gate Repair san mateo ca

Automatic Gate Repair danville ca

Automatic Gate Repair los altos hills ca

Automatic Gate Repair los gatos ca

Automatic Gate Repair oakland ca

Automatic Gate Repair atherton ca

San Jose Gate Repair Services

Find Electric Gate Repair Services:

Electric Gate Repair alameda ca

Electric Gate Repair berkeley ca

Electric Gate Repair concord ca

Electric Gate Repair fremont ca

Electric Gate Repair gilroy ca

Electric Gate Repair greenbrae ca

Electric Gate Repair hillsborough ca

Electric Gate Repair livermore ca

Electric Gate Repair monte sereno ca

Electric Gate Repair morgan hill ca

Electric Gate Repair san ramon ca

Electric Gate Repair walnut creek ca

Electric Gate Repair antioch ca

Electric Gate Repair cupertino ca

Electric Gate Repair daly city ca

Electric Gate Repair emeryville ca

Electric Gate Repair half moon bay ca

Electric Gate Repair hayward ca

Electric Gate Repair lafayette ca

Electric Gate Repair los altos ca

Electric Gate Repair martinez ca

Electric Gate Repair menlo park ca

Electric Gate Repair millbrae ca

Electric Gate Repair milpitas ca

Electric Gate Repair pacifica ca

Electric Gate Repair redwood city ca

Electric Gate Repair san rafael ca

Electric Gate Repair santa clara ca

Electric Gate Repair santa cruz ca

Electric Gate Repair saratoga ca

Electric Gate Repair sunnyvale ca

Electric Gate Repair tiburon ca

Electric Gate Repair union city ca

Electric Gate Repair brentwood ca

Electric Gate Repair campbell ca

Electric Gate Repair mountain view ca

Electric Gate Repair dublin ca

Electric Gate Repair atherton ca

Electric Gate Repair burlingame ca

Electric Gate Repair danville ca

Electric Gate Repair los altos hills ca

Electric Gate Repair los gatos ca

Electric Gate Repair oakland ca

Electric Gate Repair orinda ca

Electric Gate Repair palo alto ca

Electric Gate Repair san francisco ca

Electric Gate Repair san jose ca

Electric Gate Repair san mateo ca

San Jose Electric Gate Repair

#garagedoorrepair #garagedoorrepairservices #garagedoorcompany

0 notes

foodtechhacker-blog · 7 years ago

Text

Concluding a Carniverous Conondrum

The question of the ethics of eating meat has dogged me at some level since I was young. I’ve raised, killed, butchered and eaten all sorts of animals, and living that experience did not feel wrong, yet I never felt like the picture was complete. Now I do. Here’s my story.

The Case for (My) Human Carnivorousness

I have raised all sorts of animals for their products, including meat. I’ve fished, I’ve hunted, I even killed a deer with 4 broken legs with a tire iron out of mercy. I’ve done the entire process of aging and butchering myself, even with animals that weigh more than I do. The process always felt intuitively right, like I was doing what I was meant to do as a being. (Not to say that doing the right thing is necessarily easy… it’s definitely a messy, intense experience.)

In the spring of 2017, I moved to Santa Cruz for several months. Some combination of that place and where I was in life at the time caused my biofeedback to go through the roof. It was the biochemical equivalent of being able to hear a pin drop. I became aware that I was sensitive to all grains. Complete grain removal had the profound effect of reducing my shoe size from 13 to 12 (US shoe size) in just a matter of weeks.

At the same time, I increased my consumption of animal products, focusing on grass-fed, antibiotic-free choices. I better than I had ever in my whole life. Muscle mass increased without any changes to my daily regimen. New cognitive capabilities began to emerge. It was so clear that my biology does the best when provided an animal rich diet. Comprehending Superintelligence

After Santa Cruz proved not to be a viable place to live over the long term, I moved back to Silicon Valley and my mind shifted more from the biological to the technological. I’ve been closely following the semiconductor industry for a long time because I see nearly every “hard” problem in our world as something that is bound by computing power. As a simple example, we can already “print” viruses and peptides; with enough computing power we could print just the right peptide or virus to cure any cancer or infectious disease with essentially zero side effects.

Something profound came across my radar recently. The cost of originating chip designs has been rising exponentially as process complexity rises with shrinking feature sizes. The whole industry has been seeing fewer and fewer players in the new chip design market and projecting that the latest 7/10 nm processes would have only a handful of customers. Instead, it looks to be into the dozens of customers. Why? Artificial intelligence. Moreover, 7 nm is hitting just a year after 10 nm, 5 nm is already being built and 3 nm is already in the pipeline. This acceleration is bucking all the blunted progress trends the industry had been projecting for years.

Then it hit me. This is the beginning of the technological singularity! AI is literally driving up the rate of technological advancement for the first time in human history. It’s not hard to see how this is going to progress towards creating a superintelligences within my lifetime. My mind quickly turned to the question of how a superintelligence would relate to humans as we know them today. (If the concept of superintelligence is foreign to you, start here.)

The next wave of revelation. Superintelligences will probably relate to us the way we relate to animals. More on why this matters in a moment.

Responsible Humanism In the Face of Transhumanism and Superintelligence

As a secular humanist, I believe it is very much reasonable to promote and responsibly pursue the consumption of a diet that is aligned with one’s biology and evolutionary history which provides one with more optimal health. For many, that means an animal-rich diet.

But there is a key phrase here - “responsibly pursue”

Over time, it’s going to become possible to eat what is equivalent to an animal-rich diet, without causing harm to animals. It’s going to take several generations of cultured meat and a nutritionally fortified food supply, but I can see us getting there very easily within my the coming decades. The meaning of “responsibly pursue” will change quickly as this happens.

Thus while I am an enthusiastic carnivore myself today, and I believe it to be ethically acceptable today, I recognize it won’t always be appropriate as it becomes possible to “responsibly pursue” the kind of diet that allows me to thrive without causing harm to animals. Moreover, as a food innovator, I have a special duty here. I see it as my role to help move the needle and help make it possible for us to eat an optimal diet without imposing cruelty or death on animals.

We need to have acceptance and compassion for humanity as it exists today, while enthusiastically pursuing progress and realizing that our sense of compassion will need to transcend towards lower beings as much as reasonably possible. The arbitrary line between us and animals will begin to look blurry and probably vanish as we build greater intelligences and/or extend our own intelligences and pursue our transhuman future. As I said, humanity as we know it today is going to look to superintelligence the way animals look to humanity today.

Moreover, if superintelligences are going to emerge from our own society, culture and values - remember that AI is all about learning, and perhaps it would even be explicitly modeled from the human brain or be created as a result of extending our own brains - we must change the way we relate to animals, lest we end up creating a superintelligence that views humanity as something that can be raised and harvested like factory farmed chickens.

Adam Lindemamnn @adlin had a fantastic post on Twitter recently. “I believe that as far as possible intelligence and power in all its forms must be used in the service of love of life.”

If we ourselves as a society cannot achieve resonance with what Adam said, how can we expect to create greater intelligences that will respect our own existence as we know it today?

#veganism #vegetarianism #lowcarb #paleofood #superintelligence #meat #grassfed

0 notes