Philosophy of Time

 Time | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (utm.edu)

Vietnam

 What a wonderful decade. The highs were higher, the lows lower, and the betweens frequent. I was in my twenties. Time crept, allowing for so much more living than any other period before or since. The songs of the time were more felt than heard and served as an encouraging backdrop to even the worst of situations. I was a soldier, eager and proud. One who lamented not having fought in the big one, World War II. Not a draftee, not a drugee. Not of that generation. No, I idealized those more experienced Green Beret soldiers who had been to war. 

Following two years or so of rigorous training that included Airborne, Ranger, Special Forces, and Rigger School I was assigned to the Special Warfare Centers High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) Committee. Six months later I was reassigned to a Special Forces A team and found myself on my way to Vietnam for the first of many deployments. 

Our missions were covertly combat-related while many other deployed teams were openly advisor-related. The advisors remained under the typical Army command structure, others, like us, as far as we could tell, were completely under the control of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). We were not performing "legally". We weren't there. The CIA during the early 60s operated out of what was officially named the Studies and Observation Group (SOG). The United States had not yet committed combat troops in support of the South Vietnamese. Our missions were of three types, recovery (mostly of downed pilots), reconnaissance, and assassination. Sometimes alone and sometimes in conjunction with South Vietnamese Special Forces or Montagnard tribesmen. We could be inserted into North Vietnam, Lao, Cambodia, Thailand, and, of course, South Vietnam. Plausible Deniability was 

Virtual Sex

 I just read an article about someone who claims to have been sexually groped in/on? virtual reality in the metaverse. This was a second case and the designers are "working out how to protect participants". The gropee's description does raise hackles:
“In between a wave of zombies and demons to shoot down, I was hanging out next to BigBro442, waiting for our next attack. Suddenly, BigBro442’s disembodied helmet faced me dead-on. His floating hand approached my body, and he started to virtually rub my chest. ‘Stop!’ I cried … This goaded him on, and even when I turned away from him, he chased me around, making grabbing and pinching motions near my chest. Emboldened, he even shoved his hand toward my virtual crotch and began rubbing. There I was, being virtually groped in a snowy fortress with my brother-in-law and husband watching.”

Now, I am not a prude yet the description did make me a bit uncomfortable. If such are thought to be objectionable by a majority and law-making bodies sympathetic, I can visualize a future wherein George Orwell's thought police are very busy tracking down thought gropers. I wonder if it will be a crime to visualize sex with an imaginary person. If a fleeting uncontrollable thought could get you one to ten.

Biological Teleology

 In biology, evolution has no evident purpose or goals. Philip Goff contends that the universe is conscious or is consciousness (?) and that its purpose is value (rational matter achieving a higher realization of its nature). Does then the universe evolve toward enhanced value? We know the universe is expanding which to my thinking means it is evolving. We, the human species, are part of that universe and are moving along with it achieving a higher realization of our nature. What the hell does that mean? That the universe is conscious and is acting toward the purpose of realizing the full potential of its consciousness?