Friday, May 29, 2026

In this video I travel to Chengdu, China for the first time. China is a country I have always been curious about, especially as an American. In this video I show the arrival process in China as I try to navigate from the airport to my hotel in Chengdu.

Learn about Japan's history -- Japan is a tapestry of cultural evolution, political transformations, and societal adaptations spanning millennia.

The History of Japan: From Ancient Origins to Modern Resilience

Japan's history is a tapestry of cultural evolution, political transformations, and societal adaptations spanning millennia. From its prehistoric roots in isolated archipelago communities to its emergence as a global economic powerhouse, Japan's narrative reflects resilience amid isolation, innovation through adaptation, and profound shifts driven by internal reforms and external pressures. This article explores the major periods of Japanese history, highlighting key events, figures, and developments that shaped the nation.

Prehistory: Jōmon and Yayoi Periods

Japan's human history traces back to the Paleolithic era, with evidence of habitation dating to around 38,000–39,000 BCE. Early settlers, likely arriving by sea during the Last Glacial Maximum, were hunter-gatherers who interacted with now-extinct megafauna such as Palaeoloxodon naumanni. Artifacts from sites like Yamashita Cave (32,000 years ago) and Shiraho Saonetabaru Cave reveal tools like edge-ground axes, underscoring the ingenuity of these early Homo sapiens populations. Acidic soils have preserved few bones, but genetic studies link these inhabitants to modern Japanese.

The Jōmon period (c. 13,000–1000 BCE) represents a pivotal Neolithic phase, named for its distinctive cord-marked pottery—the world's oldest, dating to 14,500 BCE. Jōmon societies achieved sedentism without full agriculture, relying on fishing, foraging, and early plant cultivation. Reconstructions of sites like Sannai-Maruyama depict communal life in pit dwellings, with populations sustaining complex rituals and art forms.

Transitioning to the Yayoi period (c. 1000 BCE–250 CE), continental immigrants from Asia introduced transformative technologies: wet-rice farming, iron and bronze tools, weaving, and glassmaking. Originating in northern Kyūshū, these advancements spurred rapid population growth from Jōmon levels to 1–4 million, fostering social hierarchies, tribal conflicts, and cultural fusion. Ancient Chinese texts, such as the Book of Han (111 CE), first reference Japan as "Wa," comprising 100 kingdoms, while the Book of Wei (c. 240 CE) describes Queen Himiko's rule over Yamatai. Genetic evidence confirms intermingling, with annual immigrant influxes estimated at 350–3,000.

Ancient Japan: Kofun, Asuka, and Nara Periods

The Kofun period (c. 250–538 CE) marked Japan's unification under the Yamato polity, symbolized by enormous keyhole-shaped burial mounds like Daisenryō Kofun for Emperor Nintoku. These structures, adorned with haniwa terracotta figures, reflected emerging state power through conquests and alliances. Diplomatic exchanges with China and Korea introduced advanced technologies, earning recognition as the "Five Kings of Wa."

The Asuka period (538–710 CE) began with Buddhism's arrival from Baekje in 538 CE, blending with indigenous Shinto in Shinbutsu-shūgō. The Soga clan championed this faith, with Prince Shōtoku (regent 594–622 CE) authoring the Seventeen-Article Constitution, a Confucian-inspired code promoting meritocracy. The Isshi Incident (645 CE) led to the Taika Reforms, nationalizing land and centralizing administration on Chinese models. Defeat at the Battle of Baekgang (663 CE) accelerated these changes. Architectural marvels like Hōryū-ji temple (607 CE), the world's oldest wooden building, exemplify the era's cultural bloom.

In the Nara period (710–794 CE), the capital shifted to Heijō-kyō (Nara), emulating China's Chang'an. Chronicles like Kojiki and Nihon Shoki mythologized imperial divinity, while the Man'yōshū compiled exquisite poetry. Emperor Shōmu (r. 724–749 CE) built Tōdai-ji amid crises like the 735–737 smallpox epidemic, which decimated a quarter of the population. Political scandals, including monk Dōkyō's power grab, prompted relocation to Heian-kyō.

I Entered Venezuela after the Fall of Maduro.

I am now in Bangkok, Thailand. One of the most visited cities in the world.

I am now in Bangkok, Thailand. One of the most visited cities in the world. And in this Bangkok travel vlog, I am arriving in Bangkok once again, a city that changed my life years ago. From the moment of arriving in Thailand, Bangkok always feels overwhelming, emotional, chaotic, and exciting at the same time for me.

In this video, you will see my emotional Bangkok arrival, first impressions of the city, the streets of Bangkok, local transportation, the atmosphere around the city, and why Bangkok became such an important place in my life. We explore the real energy of Thailand’s capital while experiencing what it is really like arriving in Bangkok today. If you are planning a trip to Thailand and wondering: Is Bangkok worth visiting? What is Bangkok really like? What does arriving in Thailand feel like? …then this Thailand vlog will give you a real experience of the city.

Saturday, May 23, 2026

New evidence that X is still unfairly censoring many people.

Elon Musk is a Free Speech Fraud.

The newest updates to the X software do NOT fix any Censorship.

If the claim is “X has new algorithms that stop censorship”, here are public, checkable pieces of evidence that point the other way (or at least show the claim is misleading).

1) X openly says it does “censor” by limiting reach

X’s own Transparency Report describes its enforcement philosophy as “Freedom of Speech, not Freedom of Reach” and says it will restrict the reach of posts (make content “less discoverable”) as an alternative to removal.
That’s algorithmic suppression by design (even if you don’t call it “censorship,” it’s still distribution control).

2) The open-sourced recommendation code includes “visibility filters” and “downranking”

In the public GitHub repo for X’s recommendation system, the README explicitly lists “visibility-filters” as responsible for filtering content to support legal compliance, protect revenue, and includes “coarse-grained downranking.”
So even the “transparent” algorithm story contains built-in machinery for limiting visibility.

3) X’s own data shows it acts on government removal requests at high rates

X’s Global Transparency Report (H2 2024) shows 97,006 total removal requests, with 79,438 cases actioned — an 81.89% action rate.
If you’re arguing “censorship is over,” this is strong counter-evidence: content is still being withheld/removed in response to external requests.

Grok is very defective, it is reluntant to admit when it is wrong.

Below is from Grok:

If censorship was specifically targeting pro-Trump or conservative content, the neutral pineapple post should have performed noticeably better.
It didn't—it matched the low pattern exactly.…
— MAGAaTom -🇺🇸 🇺🇸- President Trump is Fantastic (@MAGAaTom) February 2, 2026

Friday, May 22, 2026

USA President Trump RAMPS UP Greenland push with first envoy visit.

Thursday, May 21, 2026

History of Sweden -- The history of Sweden goes from Stone Age foragers through medieval Christian kingdoms, imperial expansion and retreat, industrialization and democratic reform, and the 20th-century settlement that underpins contemporary Sweden’s distinctive model.

A Concise History of Sweden

Sweden’s history is the story of a sparsely populated northern land that, through maritime skill, political pragmatism, and social compromise, evolved from Viking-age chiefdoms into an early modern great power and, later, a high-trust welfare democracy deeply integrated with Europe yet protective of its neutrality. The history of Sweden goes from Stone Age foragers through medieval Christian kingdoms, imperial expansion and retreat, industrialization and democratic reform, and the 20th-century settlement that underpins contemporary Sweden’s distinctive model.

Landscapes and First Peoples

The retreat of the last Ice Age, around 12,000–10,000 BCE, opened Scandinavia to human settlement from the south and northeast. Early hunter-gatherers followed reindeer and seals along coasts and inland waterways; Mesolithic sites dot today’s Skåne and the west coast. By the Neolithic, farming and animal husbandry—moving north via the Funnel Beaker and later Battle Axe cultures—coexisted with foraging. Bronze Age petroglyphs at Tanum show ships, warriors, and plows, hinting at maritime trade and social stratification. Iron Age communities cultivated grains, raised livestock, and forged tools; longhouses clustered in farmsteads, with chieftains presiding over local things (assemblies). In the far north, the Sámi people developed reindeer herding and fishing lifeways that endured into the modern era.

Vikings and the Nordic World (c. 750–1050)

The Viking Age connected Sweden to a vast trading and raiding network. While Norwegians and Danes pushed west into the North Atlantic and British Isles, Swedes—often called Rus in eastern sources—sailed rivers to the Baltic, Russia, and the Black and Caspian Seas. From hubs like Birka on Lake Mälaren and later Sigtuna, Swedish traders exchanged furs, iron, amber, and slaves for silver and luxury goods. Runestones across Uppland commemorate expeditions and social ties, preserving Old Norse names and a culture that prized honor and kinship.

Power remained decentralized: petty kings competed in Svealand (around Uppsala) and Götaland (to the south). Over time, these spheres—Svear and Götar—were fused under rulers who controlled key trade routes and extracted tribute. Norse religion centered on gods like Odin and Thor, but by the 10th–11th centuries Christian missions from Germany and England gained ground. The Gospel of Ansgar recounts early missionary efforts; by the 12th century, Christianity was entrenched, and bishops became power brokers alongside nobles.

Medieval Kingdom and Union (c. 1050–1520)

Christianization introduced written law codes, ecclesiastical institutions, and royal ideology. The kingdom consolidated under dynasties such as the Stenkil, Sverker, and Erik lines; power still hinged on aristocratic consent expressed at assemblies like the Thing of All Swedes at Uppsala. The crown extended influence eastward, launching crusades into pagan Finland across the Baltic in the 12th–13th centuries; Swedish rule eventually took root in Finland, making it an integral realm for centuries.

Medieval society rested on three estates—nobility, clergy, and burghers—overseeing a largely peasant population. Notably, Swedish freeholding peasants (especially in the north and center) retained land rights and representation in the Riksdag of the Estates, giving rural communities an unusual voice compared to many European kingdoms. Towns like Stockholm (founded in the mid-13th century) linked Sweden to the Hanseatic League, whose German merchants dominated Baltic trade. German influence shaped law, coinage, and urban life.

Dynastic politics embroiled Sweden in the Kalmar Union (1397), a personal union uniting Denmark, Norway, and Sweden under a single monarch to counter the Hanse and German principalities. In practice, the union tilted toward Denmark, provoking repeated Swedish revolts led by noble families like the Bonde and Sture regents. Tensions culminated in the Stockholm Bloodbath (1520), when the new Danish king Christian II executed Swedish nobles after a disputed coronation. The atrocity delegitimized Danish rule and set the stage for Swedish independence.

The Vasa Break and State-Building (1520s–1611)

Gustav Eriksson Vasa led a successful rebellion, becoming king in 1523. His reign launched a national monarchy, an administrative state, and a religious transformation. Seeking revenue and autonomy from Rome, Gustav embraced a Lutheran Reformation: church lands were confiscated, monasteries dissolved, and the Bible translated into Swedish (1541). The crown built a centralized tax system and reduced noble autonomy, while integrating Finland more tightly. A hereditary monarchy was proclaimed in 1544.

Gustav’s sons—Eric XIV, John III, and Charles IX—contested succession and religion (John’s Polish connections nudged toward Catholicism; Charles was staunchly Lutheran). The state expanded its military capacity, experimenting with conscription among the peasantry, and established a fleet to challenge Baltic rivals. Conflicts with Denmark, Russia, and Poland-Lithuania over Baltic dominance foreshadowed a more ambitious era.

Key West Florida Vacation & Holiday - Boycott

By: Tom Forrest

Why You Should Boycott Key West Florida for Vacations & Holidays.

I flew into Fort Lauderdale Florida and drove down to Key West Florida with my family for my Mother's birthday party. I wish someone would have warned my about the evil scams the Monroe County Sheriffs implement on innocent tourists. Most of the drive is one lane and it becomes clogged up during the high season in January and February, except over a few spots where there are two lanes going each way. I never speed and have never had a speeding ticket in my entire life, I was following a black Dodge Charger in the right lane and it seemed odd when this Dodge Charger pulled over into the left lane illegally not using his turn signal, indicating that he wanted me to go ahead of him, and it appeared he was waving to me to go ahead of him as we were just about to merge into one lane again. Since I am a courteous driver I accelerated slightly and then Sheriff Bubba the evil scammer pulled me over, he was driving an unmarked black Dodge Charger and had heinously lured me into his evil unethical trap. I told Sheriff Bubba that I was not even speeding and he lied and said I was going 72 miles per hour and gave me a ticket. I told him I knew he was preying on innocent tourists and doing an evil scam. He could not even look me in the eyes and turned his head away because we both knew exactly the devious tricks he pulled on me. Then when he handed me the ticket he told me he did not know what the amount of the ticket was, and this was just another lie, because he stays in the exact same spot all day long pulling the same evil scam on tourists all day long. We phoned my brother to warn him and my brother told me when he went by the same spot on the road Sheriff Bubba was giving a ticket to another innocent tourist. So if this has also happened to you please email me at tomforrest@htpcompany.com and I will publish your story for free and promote it all over the Internet on Google, Twitter and Facebook. This is a worthy endeavor to help stop terrible Monroe County Sheriff scams like this on innocent people. This is the USA and I do not want tourists from Europe and other parts of the world thinking Americans will tolerate this sort of crap. Sheriffs should be here to serve and protect people, not use dirty tricks to rip off innocent tourists.

Why does the Governor of Florida allow these dirty tricks by the Monroe County Florida Sheriff's Department?

It hurts tourism and now I am on a project to expose and help stop these evil scams.

How this Driver takes business from Uber and Lyft. He does it because of Uber and Lyft's horrible and evil greed.

Tesla FSD and Robotaxi: The Long Road from “Driver Assist” to Autonomous Mobility

Tesla discount Referral Link

** If a new Tesla buyer clicks and uses this referral link they will save between $500 and $2,500 on a new Tesla (Model 3, Y, S, X, or Cybertruck) by using this referral link.

Specific promotions vary, with some reports indicating up to $2,500 off Model 3, $1,000 off S/X/Cybertruck, and $500 off Model Y, often paired with 3 months of Full Self-Driving.

Tesla’s story in self-driving is a mix of real technical progress, bold marketing, and a moving finish line. On one hand, Full Self-Driving (FSD) has evolved into a system that can handle complex navigation—turns, merges, lane changes, intersections, parking maneuvers—99% of the time with startling competence. On the other hand, Tesla itself is explicit that today’s product is not autonomous: it requires active driver supervision and does not make the car self-driving in the legal or technical sense. (Tesla)

Meanwhile, “Robotaxi” is the bigger promise: cars that don’t just help a driver, but replace the driver—turning vehicles into revenue-generating autonomous fleets. That leap is not merely incremental. It’s a jump across technology, regulation, safety validation, business operations, insurance, and public trust. This article explains what Tesla’s FSD really is today, how it works at a high level, what “Robotaxi” requires that FSD doesn’t yet deliver, and why the next phase will be harder than many people expect.

1) What Tesla FSD is today (and what it is not)

Tesla currently sells Full Self-Driving (Supervised). Tesla describes it as a system that can drive you “almost anywhere” under your supervision, and Tesla emphasizes that enabled features require active driver supervision and “do not make the vehicle autonomous.” (Tesla)

Regulators largely categorize this as SAE Level 2 driver assistance, meaning the system can control steering and speed in certain conditions, but the human driver remains responsible and must continuously supervise. NHTSA’s automation-level descriptions make that distinction clear: Level 2 still expects the driver to monitor the environment and be ready to take over immediately. (NHTSA)

This matters because “self-driving” is not one thing—it’s a ladder:

Level 2 (driver assistance): the human supervises everything.
Level 4 (true robotaxi in a defined area): the system drives itself within an Operational Design Domain (ODD)—for example, specific cities, geofenced neighborhoods, certain weather limits—without expecting a human to watch the road.
Level 5 (anywhere, anytime): full autonomy in all conditions.

Tesla’s consumer FSD today is still, by the company’s own characterization and by regulatory framing, on the Level 2 rung. (NHTSA)

2) How Tesla’s approach differs: “vision-first” and fleet learning

Tesla’s technical strategy has been distinctive: heavy reliance on cameras and neural networks, with a philosophy that the best path to scalable autonomy is to solve driving the way humans do—primarily through vision—then scale via software and data.

Over the last several years, Tesla moved further toward “Tesla Vision.” Tesla has published support material describing the transition away from certain non-vision sensors, including the removal of ultrasonic sensors (USS) from vehicles and the shift to camera-based replacements for some features. (Tesla)
(Separately, multiple automotive outlets documented Tesla’s earlier move toward camera-only for certain models/markets by removing radar, as part of the broader “Tesla Vision” shift.) (The Drive)

The upside of this approach is scalability: millions of cars can collect real-world driving data, and Tesla can iterate quickly via over-the-air updates. The downside is that vision-only autonomy has to be extraordinarily robust in the messy corners of reality: glare, heavy rain, occlusions, odd construction layouts, faded markings, emergency scenes, human gestures, and rare-but-critical edge cases.

How AI got its start, and what deep learning really means with cognitive and computer scientist, Nobel Laureate, and one of the architects of AI, Geoffrey Hinton.

How did we go from digital computers to AI seemingly everywhere?

Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, & Gary O’Reilly dive into the mechanics of thinking, how AI got its start, and what deep learning really means with cognitive and computer scientist, Nobel Laureate, and one of the architects of AI, Geoffrey Hinton.

Sunday, May 17, 2026

Communism = Socialist Democrats -- These policies have Never worked for the people.

John Adams: The Reluctant Leader Who Kept the Republic Alive

John Adams (1735–1826) was never America’s smoothest politician—but he may have been one of its most essential. As the second President of the United States (1797–1801), Adams governed at a moment when the country was young, fragile, and surrounded by bigger powers that expected it to fail. His presidency is often remembered for controversy—especially the Alien and Sedition Acts—yet it also featured one of the most consequential acts of restraint in early American history: keeping the United States out of a full-scale war with France during the crisis that became the XYZ Affair and the Quasi-War. (Office of the Historian)

A New England upbringing that forged a stubborn mind

Adams was born in Braintree, Massachusetts (today part of Quincy), in a world shaped by church life, small farms, and local town politics. New England’s culture put a premium on literacy, argument, and civic duty—traits that fit Adams like a glove. He attended Harvard, taught school briefly, and then turned to the law, where he discovered the power of institutions: written rules, procedures, and precedent. That institutional mindset—the belief that stable government matters more than personal glory—would become a defining thread through his life.

Adams wasn’t a romantic revolutionary. He could be fired up, even scorching, but he also had a lawyer’s fear of chaos. He wanted independence and liberty, yet he also wanted courts, laws, and enforceable order. In a revolution, that combination can be rare—and priceless.

The Revolution’s workhorse: Congress, diplomacy, and independence

Adams emerged as a major voice of independence in the Continental Congress. He was a strong advocate for separation from Britain and helped drive the push toward a final break. But his contributions weren’t only speeches. Adams also threw himself into the less glamorous work: committees, drafting, planning, and keeping the wheels turning.

Where Adams especially shined was in diplomacy and persistence. The United States had to convince skeptical European powers that the American cause was real and worth supporting. That meant endless negotiation, cultural friction, and political patience—none of which came naturally to Adams, yet he did it anyway. His diplomatic service helped secure international recognition and support for the new nation, and it established him as a founding-era heavyweight well before he ever became president. (Modern presidential histories emphasize Adams’s deep Revolutionary service and intellectual influence.) (Miller Center)

A political partnership: John and Abigail Adams

No serious look at John Adams works without Abigail. Their relationship—grounded in constant correspondence—was one of the most important private partnerships in early American public life. Abigail was politically aware, blunt, strategic, and unusually well informed for her era. Adams relied on her judgment and emotional steadiness, especially during long stretches away from home.

That correspondence also reveals something vital about Adams: he was ambitious and proud, but also intensely self-critical. He worried about his reputation and feared he would be misunderstood. Ironically, he often was.

Vice President under Washington: learning the limits of power

Adams served as the first vice president for two terms under George Washington. The office at the time had little defined authority beyond presiding over the Senate—work that Adams found tedious and, at times, humiliating. Yet the experience taught him something crucial: in a republic, power is deliberately constrained, and even prominent figures must accept limits.

It also placed him near the center of the emerging partisan fight. The new nation quickly divided into competing visions—what we often simplify as Federalists vs. Democratic-Republicans. Adams leaned Federalist in temperament (stronger national government, emphasis on order), but he was not always aligned with the party’s most aggressive strategists.

How many years will it be before AI and Robots replace all jobs? -- There will be no jobs for humans to do.

https://sovrn.co/19hgrbe

No, this is different. AI and Robots will enhance humans work for many years, however in 10 to 30 years there will be no jobs left for humans. Elon Musk agrees with me.

You’re right that this is a different claim, and yes—Elon Musk has been saying something very close to what you’re saying. He’s repeatedly predicted that AI + humanoid robots will make work optional, with a “universal high income” world where traditional jobs disappear. Newsweek+3People.com+3Fox Business+3

Two important clarifications though:

Musk’s timeline is actually shorter than yours.
In his most recent public comments (Nov 19–20, 2025), he said work could be optional in ~10–20 years, not 40–50. Yahoo Finance+3People.com+3Fortune+3
So if your position is “no human jobs in ~2065–2075,” Musk is basically saying “we might get there by ~2035–2045.” You’re more conservative than he is on timing.
“No jobs left” depends on what we mean by a job.
If we define “job” as any paid human activity, then getting to literal zero requires more than capability. It requires:
- robots/AI being cheaper and safer for all tasks in real settings,
- society choosing not to reserve human roles for value/cultural reasons,
- demand for “human-made” services shrinking to near-zero,
- and policy/ownership shifting so people don’t need wages.
Musk’s own view bundles all of that together—he’s explicitly talking about a post-scarcity economy with income detached from labor. People.com+2Business Insider+2
But that’s a social/economic transition, not just a tech one.

Is your 40–50 year estimate plausible?

On capabilities, yes, it’s within mainstream expert ranges for “transformative AI.”
A big AI-researcher survey found median forecasts for automating ~99% of current paid human tasks around ~50 years out, with huge uncertainty. arXiv
So your window matches a real “median-ish” line of thinking.

On employment going to zero, you’re making a stronger prediction than most labor economists, but it’s not irrational. It basically says:

Phase 1 (now → ~2040): AI enhances humans, lots of job churn.
Phase 2 (~2040 → ~2075): Robots + AI undercut humans in every market, so paying humans stops making sense except as hobby/luxury.
Phase 3: society formalizes a post-work economy.

That chain is internally consistent. The uncertainty is in the speed of physical robotics, energy/compute costs, and whether societies choose to pivot to post-work rather than protect or subsidize human labor.

If you want to sharpen the argument

The key “make-or-break” assumptions behind “no jobs left by ~2070” are:

Humanoid robotics scales cheaply (Optimus-like robots become as common as cars).
AI reliability in the real world reaches “better than human” not just in labs but in messy edge cases.
Ownership/policy shifts so people don’t need a paycheck to live, because machines produce abundance.

Musk is bullish on all three—which is why he sees a post-work world so soon. Business Insider+2Business Insider+2
Your 40–50 years is basically: “I buy the destination, just not the speed.”

Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Learn how to build AI citations and rank in ChatGPT and Gemini. Charlie Marchant explains how to research prompts, analyze sources, and use proactive outreach to get your brand referenced in AI answers.

Tuesday, May 12, 2026

$100 Cinematic YouTube Studio Setup (Full Guide).

Thursday, May 07, 2026

Interesting Posts from Elon Musk ...

x.com/elonmusk/status/1996862966155841655?s=20

x.com/GizmoMemes/status/1996728195870290392?s=20

My Medications - Prescriptions

1. Diltiazem (AB3) 240 MG ER CAP

Take 2 capsules by mouth once daily.

2. Jardiance 10 MG TAB

Take 1 tablet by mouth once daily in the morning.

3. Metformin 500 MG TAB

Take 2 tablets by mouth twice daily.

4. Eplerenone 25 MG TAB

Take 1-2 tablets in the afternoon as needed.

5. Atorvastatin 20 MG TAB

Take 1 tablet by mouth once daily.

6. Allopurinol 300 MG TAB

Take 1 tablet by mouth once daily.

7. Eliquis 5 MG TAB

Take 1 tablet by mouth twice daily.

8. Carvedilol 25 MG TAB

Take 1 tablet by mouth twice daily.

9. Terazosin 2 MG CAP

Take 1 capsule by mouth every evening.

10. Lisinopril 40 MG TAB

Take 1.5 tablets by mouth once daily. Take 1 in morning and .5 in the evening.

11. N Insulin

Take 33/34 units am/pm

12. Testosterone injection

Inject 0.75 mL into the muscle weekly.

List of Links