Let's Get Real About Replacing Biden

I talked to someone who is strongly anti-Trump the other day and he was also adamant about replacing Biden as the Democratic candidate.  

My gut says this is exactly what the Trump camp (including Putin and other foreign disrupters, Federalist Society, Heritage Society, etc.) would like to see.  

By focusing on one speck in Biden's career and presidency, Trump's team has gotten the attention off Trump's conviction, looming court cases, damning mentions in the newly released Epstein court documents, history of fraud and bankruptcies) and is moving the spotlight back to Biden's age and competence.  Really?!!!  And causing infighting among Democrats.  

But I want to emphasize that all this is happening - not in isolation - but in a dynamic system of vested interests, laws, organizations, individuals, agencies, money.  And this is not limited to the US. Players from around the world are involved.  

To capture some of that I've created a grossly simplified graphic of some of the factors that are in play.  

Replacing Biden would set up the Democrats for a series new crises down the line.  Once it happened, they'd then have to choose a replacement.  The natural candidate is Vice President Kamala Harris.  But people will say that a Black, South Asian/American, woman would destroy Democratic chances.  Others will say, not picking her would cause the most consistent supporters of Democrats - Black Americans - to sit out the election. One of the most articulate people in Biden's cabinet is Pete Buttigieg, but the naysayers will say a gay candidate would lose the Independents.  [None of these alarms is necessarily true.]

Meanwhile, the Heritage Foundation is already planning court challenges to putting any replacement on state ballots.  If successful in a couple of blue and purple states, Trump would win.  

There will be new scrutiny on the new candidate (and eventually vice presidential candidate).  It used to be the opposition would need to find some past scandal, but nowadays they just make it up.  Biden's worst scandals - his age, his son - have already been disclosed.

Are Putin bots and FSB (the main successor of the KGB) agents working hard to elect Trump by throwing Democrats into disarray?  You better believe it.  They played a role in various European elections   including Brexit.   

No one should be surprised at attempts to impact foreign elections.  This is standard operating procedure for the big powers intelligence agencies.   The CIA did (probably still is) that regularly.  

Putin's original career was in the KGB.  He's fully aware of this and how to do it.  And he's been playing this game a long time.  

It's true, though.  Biden looked and sounded terrible.  I've seen a Spout that said the CNN lighting and sound technicians did Biden no favors, but I haven't seen any evidence.  

And at 81 he has to be slowing down somewhat.  The presidency has aged every president faster.  But Biden has half a century of experience in Washington - as Senator, as Vice President, and as President.  He has relationships with many, many members of Congress and world leaders and his experience has led to wisdom about how to get things done, as shown by his astounding record of accomplishments.  with a slim margin of votes in Congress.

What if he works just four hours a day?  He would still be putting in more work than Trump apparently did while president.  

While the president is the figure head of the administration, we are actually electing a team.  Biden has put together a powerful team.  

The Brookings Institute created a graph to represent the turnovers in the Trump's "A Team" and cabinet" compared to past presidents.  They did the same for the Biden administration.  

This election is about Democracy versus Fascism.  A slowing Biden would still be a better president than a vigorous Trump.  And we have one debate - a speck in time - that raises questions about whether Biden is getting too old, versus 3+ years of competent performance and post debate appearances that show a man with his full mental capabilities.  This man, who has overcome a stutter as a kid, has never been a great public speaker.  But he knows the issues and his claims are based on facts.  

It's a terrible indictment of - I'm not sure what, probably a little of everything - US education, capitalist values of greed, including corporate news media, political manipulation (gerrymandering, voter suppression), racism, sexism, religion, that Trump is even a contender.  That the media and Republicans are calling for him to step down.  

Biden has an array of great debaters in his party who can get out there and campaign for him if he needs to shorten his daily schedule.  

My friend who told me the other day that Biden should resign, said that if Biden runs and wins, he'll come and tell me he was wrong.  

But he didn't say what he'd do if Biden steps down and his replacement loses.  Because I think losing in that scenario that is the more likely outcome.  Because changing candidates mid campaign will lead to lots of dissension, disruption, and lost momentum. 

Of course I could be wrong.  Biden could quickly slide into dementia.  Or a dynamic Kamala Harris could ride to victory.  Anything could happen in the months ahead.  But right now, as I see it, keeping Biden is the wisest path to not only stopping Trump, but to turning this country around and reversing much of the damage the first Trump administration has cause. 

This is going to be one of the nastiest elections ever, with misinformation drowning out truth, and devious schemes to disenfranchise voters and throw elections.  Double and triple check any claims made by anybody.  The LIE machine has been put on high.

What Do Octopuses Feel?

I started this post a week or so ago.  And I previously posted about David Scheel's book, Many Things Under a Rock.  But our book club met this past week and David Scheel, an Alaska Pacific University (APU) professor, attended the meeting.  I would like to spend more time on the book, but it's due at the library and I have many things on a list to do. So this is pretty quick and dirty.  [He would have much preferred, he said only half jokingly, that we bought our copies rather than borrowed from the library."]

Scheel at our meeting comparing the
anatomy of a stuffed octopus 
to a real octopuses parts

In his book about his study of octopuses* one of the questions David Scheel, asks is, "Do animals share some feelings, like hunger and fear?"

Prior to this question he described observing an octopus leave the protection of its den, to search for food.  There's the conflict between fear (and the safety of the octopuses den) and wandering out in search of food, where it's more vulnerable to predators.  

Scheel writes:

"Do animals share some feelings, like hunger and fear?  These feelings are imperative and evolutionarily ancient.  There are perhaps no more basic feelings than the urges to eat and to avoid being eaten.  Australian physiologist Derek Denton named these ancient and demanding urges the primordial emotions." (p. 191)

We learn from Scheel that Denton identified other primordial emotions:  

"thirst, breathlessness (air hunger), food hunger, pain, salt hunger, muscle fatigue, sleepiness, the urge to pass urine, the urge to defecate. sexual orgasm, and the urge to regulate body temperature." (p. 192)

I guess I can accept the notion that these are 'feelings.'  We 'feel' hungry, thirsty, horny, like we need to pee, or need air.  But are these emotions?  We don't need to quibble about words if we agree to define them, for the purpose of the discussion.  But going a step further, Scheel asks whether octopuses are self-aware.  

He discusses octopus activity when different predators are nearby and tells us they act differently depending on the type of predator.  They are extremely cautious and tend to stay in their dens when a lurking, lunging predator lies waiting.  

"Octopuses do not react in the same way to every predator.  An octopus may freeze briefly or adopt a more camouflaged body pattern when a fast moving predator looms into view, but once the predator has passed normal activity returns. Swarming predators, such as he sometimes aggressive Ocean Leatherjakets, are usually ignored if near the den despite the fact that they can mob and kill an octopus that finds itself without shelter. . . Only the presence of a particular kind of predator shut down octopuses for the entire day - a sit-and-wait predator that lurked motionless nearby, awaiting a careless move." (pp. 207-208)

I'm comfortable accepting that this shows an ability to categorize, in this case, different categories of predators.  But whether this is a sign of self awareness is a different issue for me.  It could be an inherited ability passed on from octopuses with it, because it enabled them to survive better.  

Scheel also describes an encounter with an octopus.  He's following an octopus from a distance.  At some point the octopus is aware that Scheel is there.  He has his eye on Scheel as he hides the rest of his body by flattening it and changing its colors.  Scheel tells us that being able to hide itself from a predator shows that the octopus understands what the predator can see.  I realized that I had never thought about that particular skill - the ability to understand how and what another creature can see.

In another example, he tells us about having eye contact with another octopus.  Scheel looked away for a second and the octopus noticed that distraction and took advantage of it to disappear.  

I'm not sure why this surprised me.  I have assumed without thinking, that most animals can do this.  Again, is 'other awareness' a sign of consciousness?  Of self-awareness?

I don't know.  And Scheel, both in the book and at our book club, emphasized that our knowledge of octopus behavior is in its infancy.  Observing wild octopus is challenging,  and biologists aren't sure what captured octopus behavior reflects wild octopus behavior. Knowing what an octopus is thinking and even if it is thinking is a real challenge. At this point much of what we know is speculation based on limited observation and for further research to confirm or reject.  

I do recommend the book.  I said at the meeting that I found it very readable.  The chapters were clearly written mixing octopus encounters and observations with thoughts about octopus behavior and even inclusions of other animal behavior (Scheel studied lions in Tanzania for example.)  But that I found one chapter, maybe two, enough for one sitting. The end of one chapter didn't demand I read the next one.  Scheel said that made sense, since many of the chapters were written as stand alone articles.  

*I asked before the meeting formally began why 'octopuses' instead of 'octopi.'  He said it was a long story and then we got distracted and the meeting began.  I asked because in the book it was always octopuses, not octopi.  

Mike from Iowa - How Are You Doing With All That Water?

The title is pretty much the post.  Mike's been a frequent commenter here.  He's warned me about the danger of bears, but his state's been pounded with tornadoes and now flooding from rising rivers.  Hope you're doing ok.  

Why Biden Is Still By Far The Best Candidate For President [Updated]

 He looked and sounded older than he did four years ago.  

So what?  

He's a decent man.  He's had a good life with some terrible tragedies, so he understands and empathizes with others.

He's been in the Senate for 36 years and was Vice President for eight years.  He's made solid relationships with many, many important players in our government, among business leaders, labor leaders, and leaders of other nations. He knows how Washington works.  He knows how the world works.  And as President with a slim majority in the Senate, and for two years in the House, then a minority for two years, he's still accomplished an enormous amount, starting with the Infrastructure bill that is transforming the backbone of the US - the roads, the bridges, ports, airports and much more.  

His opponents are a felon facing lots more charges.  A misogynist, racist, adulterer, narcissist, would be dictator, who lauds our worst enemies and can't say two sentences without lying three or four times.  [UPDATE 6/29/24:  Some of you may have noted that this paragraph began "His opponents" plural, but I only wrote about one.  I meant to add that he was also fighting against the millionaires and billionaires who managed to stack the Supreme Court, and also the media who are asking Biden to drop out of the race, but aren't asking Trump to do that.  Below I've added a video that Anonymous linked to in the comments which shows a debate moderator who takes no prisoners when candidates don't answer his questions.]

It's an easy choice.

Is Biden old?  

He's certainly among the oldest US citizens.  Old age, if you have your marbles in tact, and he does, means you have the wisdom that accrues to those who have lived a long life with a curious mind.  

His opponent is almost as old, but his mind is diseased with narcissism and a massive inferiority complex that he masks with outrageous false boasts about his greatness.  The only skills he gained through life involved blaming others, avoiding legal consequences,  and generally being a despicable person.  

I'm not worried about Biden's age, 

because he cares about the US, all its citizens and non-citizens, and al the people around the world, rich and poor alike. 

And because he's not president in order to gain power and wealth.

And because he's got a vice president who would make a spectacular president.  

And because he knows that, and if he gets to the point where he can't perform his duties, he'll gracefully set down and let Kamala Harris take over.  

In the meantime, he's captain of a ship that is sailing well, despite the stormy seas the climate denying Republicans have roiled up.

You want to get a glimpse of what things would be like under a second Trump presidency?  

Read the Project 2025 - the blueprint for the next Trump presidency that dismantles the US democracy

Watch Hitler and the Nazis: Evil on Trial - on Netflix

[UPDATED 6/29/2024:  And here's the video Anonymous (first comment below) linked to.  This makes it easier to see and is a great lesson for the rest of the media when interviewing candidates.  Thanks, Anon.

Can someone tell me why Kyle Clark is not the moderator in the President Biden and Trump debate?? #trumpisunfitforoffice #Debate2024 pic.twitter.com/mNCxHcnb4D

— Sunsun Girly (@sunsungirly) June 25, 2024

Jury Duty Week

 I was assigned the number 150.  

Last Friday after I 5pm and the called up numbers 1-75

Monday evening no additional jurors were needed.

Tuesday evening no additional jurors were needed.

Wednesday evening no additional jurors were needed.

Thursday evening no additional jurors were needed.

So Alaska State court in Anchorage this week only needed 75 jurors.  I remember in the past when a couple of hundred people (or so it seemed) gathered in the large jury room awaiting someone calling them to serve.  

Either there are a to fewer cases now, or at least this week, or they got smarter and just called the number they thought they'd need for Monday and let the rest of us stay home.  And that first 75 was all they needed.  That saves money for the court system (for one, they pay parking for jurors who bring their parking tickets from one particular lot.)  And with way fewer people to track at court, they can use the court personnel for other purposes.  

Being on a jury is an interesting experience and defendants deserve thoughtful attentive jurors.  But if I wasn't going to be in a courtroom, it's better to be told the night before not to come in at all.  

Two Related Short Videos -

The first has excerpts of James Baldwin speaking at Cambridge University in 1965 about growing up in a country that has no place for him.  

The second is about an essay called the Theory of Stupidity [Theorie der Dummheit] written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer from a German prison 20 years earlier.  

They both seem closely related.  They're both short and I strongly recommend you take the time.  And then think about what they mean to you and what, if anything, you might do in response to their words.  

Baldwin is articulate, logical, and the truths he speaks are damning.

Bonhöffer's essay comes from his experiences as Hitler gained power in Germany.  I don't like the word 'stupidity' because in English it tends to have the meaning of not smart, incapable of clear thinking.  We say it about trivial mistakes a lot.  

Bonhöffer's word in German was Dummheit.  which he defined as a moral failing rather than a lack of intelligence.  

I'd note he wrote this in prison, so I'm not sure what access he had to others' thoughts - certainly no library or google - but possibly he had access to other thinkers in prison.  

As I look at Trump's cult, I think the word ignorant is better than stupid.  I'd define ignorant as unaware of key facts and ways of thinking.  Some have been brainwashed by people who claim to be Christians, but clearly are not following the spirit of Christ.  

But overall, I suspect most cult members recognize the lies of their leader, but value the power of their white skin over everything else and see Trump for the fellow racist he is.  And that's why they support him.  And others who might not be such racists fear being ostracized from their Trumpist families, churches, and friends if they openly disagree.  But they can disagree in the voting booth with nobody knowing.  

[Steve, how do you explain the Blacks who are for him?  They get a special reception from powerful white men for stepping up and being 'proof' that the movement isn't racist. This is a recognition they don't get from other Blacks and probably for good reason.  And then there's Stephen Miller, Trump's super anti-immigrant advisor who is the grandson of Jews who fled Russian pogroms and Hitler.]

Focus on Baldwin and Bonhöffer.  Here's Bonhöffer's complete essay.

Klezmer At The Writer's Block

 There was a mention in the Anchorage Daily News that there would be a klezmer concert in Anchorage.  That doesn't happen often.  The last real klezmer concert we went to was in San Francisco in 2012.  To learn more about klezmer music, go to that link.  

The bookstore is pretty small.  I estimate there were about 30 folks in the small room where the concert was centered and a few more in the main room.  So this was cozy.  

What we got in Anchorage was two of the members of the San Francisco Yiddish Combo - husband and wife, Jason Eckle and Rebecca Roudman.  [I'm sure about Rebecca.  Jason's name comes from The Dirty Cello website.]

The combination of klezmer music (and klezmer adjacent music) and the cheeky but informative banter between songs made this a fast moving and rousing hour or so of music.  

I made the video on my phone and I'm experimenting just uploading it directly to Youtube.  Usually I've used Movies on my Mac.  What I saw of the video quality was pretty awful and I may redo it. [The video on the blog actually looks ok, so I'll leave it.]  The music is the key, but also the infectious smile and enthusiasm  of cellist  Rebecca Roudman were also important.  It's a short clip, just to give you a sense of the energy.

You can see more video on the Combo's website.

The guitarist, Jason, did most of the explanations between pieces.  But Rebecca was clearly the master musician.  Her fingers flew effortless from note to note.  She's truly a gifted and passionate cellist.  

So here's a little more about her from Oakland Symphony website.

"Rebecca Roudman

Cello

Equally at home as a renowned classical cello player or on the cutting edge of pop music, Rebecca Roudman is one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s most exciting crossover cellists.

As a member of both the Oakland East-Bay Symphony and the Santa Rosa Symphony, Rebecca is an experienced orchestral musician who has toured with orchestras to Brazil and throughout Europe. While developing her classical skills, Rebecca studied with both Larry Granger of the San Francisco Symphony and Gretchen Elliot, one of Janos Starker’s students. Rebecca has premiered numerous classical and contemporary works, many of 

which were written for her."

Because she played so effortlessly, the cello seemed to be an extension of her fingers.  I asked her afterward whether she took to the cello from the beginning.  She shook her head with an emphatic no.  I think she said she started at six and struggled.  It was ten years before she felt completely comfortable with the instrument.  

That's it.  Short and sweet.   

Biking Stories This Week - Moose, Innocence, Post Cards, Bike Lanes, Big Leaves

 The moose are out this week.  Tuesday, walking toward Goose Lake we ran into a cow and calf.  Two bikers and a runner had already alerted us, as they were looking for alternate routes.  We got close enough to see them through the trees and walked back.  

Thursday, biking to up Campbell Airstrip Road, I passed a young bull with a nice growing rack.  It was the part of the trail that separates from the road.  Where I'd been warned by a driver a couple of years ago that they'd seen a bear on the trail.  So when I get to this part, I ring my bell a bunch to no one is surprised I'm there.  And down below the trail was the moose.  On the way back, I looked for him down below and there was nothing there.  Then there he was right next to the trail.  Turned back and took the road down.  Where I was able to get this picture.   You can see he's almost on the bike trail.

Then I stopped in the Botanical Garden.  They have a great plant sale.  Well, they sell plants all summer.  There's a good selection of interesting plants - local and not - that do well in Anchorage.  The plant sale is right at the front so I think you can buy plants without paying admission.  But the whole garden is worth some exploration.  And things change in there every week as different flowers start to show.

Here's some Shieldleaf Rogersia at the Garden.   These are very large leaves - the sign says China, Korea.  

They grow in the shade and my yard has lots of shade so I bought one about three years ago.  Bugs have been eating at it each year before it gets real big.  But this year it's looking better.  

Friday I had a couple of stops to make downtown.  First I dropped in at the Alaska Innocence Project.  They help prisoners who claim they were wrongly convicted and have evidence to back their cases.  They helped get the Fairbanks Four freed several years ago.  

I took an Óle course  several years ago, taught by Bill Oberly the (now retired) director and was highly impressed with their work.  

Prisoners don't get a lot of sympathy from the public, and innocent people behind bars is one of the biggest injustices in our society.  Since

Since it was a beautiful day we met in their conference room on the roof.

That's Francisco on the left and Jory on the right.  Here's a short video - under 2 minutes - that I recommend.  It talks about why people are wrongly convicted and how many there are.  

On the way to their office I found the new protected downtown bike lane.  I'd read about it in the Anchorage Daily News, but forgot about it until I came across it.  What an improvement.  No dodging pedestrians on the sidewalk or cars in the street. I could relax and just ride.  But there's not much of it - less than 1/2 mile I'd guess.  And then to get to the office I had to go back to the streets.  It even has its own street light with red and green bikes.  

Next stop was at Tim's to pick up some postcards to mail to voters.  This is probably the least painful way for introverts to be actively working to save Democracy.  [If you think I'm being alarmist, let's talk.  The mainstream media are treating the election as if Trump were a normal candidate.  He's not. Mainstream media only look reasonable in comparison with Fox.  With the Far Right capture of the Supreme Court, a Trump presidency would be the end of democracy in the US.] In this case the Environmental Voters Project combined with the Citizens Climate Lobby.  Tim's in a log cabin downtown, but this one has been modernized a bit.  It even has a touchpad to unlock the door.  

I have some work to do.  

Today was a spectacular day.  I picked up a book that was on hold at the library for me.  I think I requested it six or more months ago - The Sympathizer by Viet Thang Nguyen.  It won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for fiction and the first 15 pages pulled me right in.                                           I'm still working on Many Things Under a Rock - a book about octopuses.                                                           From the library to the post office to get post card stamps and to mail a letter to my grandson who is away at camp.  The post office was closed, but I could mail the letter.                                                        Finally I could bike on.  As I said, it was a beautiful day - our warmest of the year I'm sure.

                                                                                      I doubt  the official temperature,
which is measured at the airport, was 77˚F (26˚C), but it was a nice, nice day.  

I went up Arctic to the Campbell Creek bike trail near Dimond and then back down the  trail past Taku Lake and eventually home.  I've gone, as of today, 475 kilometers, this summer.  (That means since the trails were clear enough of snow to ride.)

We had salmon on the deck this evening - with loud rumbles of thunder in the background.  That's not something we get often in Anchorage - sometimes none in a year or three.  

So keeping it fairly light today.  Happy Fathers' Day to all of you lucky enough to have this awesome responsibility. 

A Good Day At The Renaissance Faire

We went to the Three Barons Renaissance Faire Sunday at Russian Jack.  For us Russian Jack is the southern section with the Chalet, golf, and the greenhouse.  But there were only a couple of golfers there.  

Things were happening behind a playground  at Pine an 8th.  It was a cloudy/sunny day with the possibility of sun, rain, both, but it turned out just perfect for going to the Faire.  Lots of people were in costumes.  

I sent this picture to a much younger friend who tends to know lots of anime characters. 

He immediately texted back:  Lucifer, Hazbin Hotel.

So I looked Lucifer up and got this picture.  (Apparently his wings aren't always visible.)

From Aminoapps

So I sent him so more pictures to see if he could ID them too.  

The sorcerer's hat from Fantasia.  Well he said Mickey's hat, but this one is my generation and I knew that Mickey used the sorcerer's hat when the sorcerer was away to make his chores easier.  It didn't work out the way he intended.    

From Reactormag

This one he couldn't identify. They're own selves maybe.

He wasn't sure.  Hazarded it might be the Valkyrie Gunnr

Maybe she's another Valkyrie.

From Creator

And Gandalf.

From USAToday

Lots and lots of people.  Some long lines at the food booths especially.  We got to see Fractured Fairy Tales - a production of Hansel and Gretel with a narrator  (to the right), 

The woodcutter and his wife (she also played the wicked step mother in the same outfit) and Hansel and Gretel.

And a bunch of other characters, some, like the Big Bad Wolf, from other fairy tales - had to be shooed off the stage by the narrator for being in the wrong play.   It wasn't high drama, but it was cute and we enjoyed it a lot.  Sitting out in the warm sunshine didn't hurt.  (For people in parts of the country where the temperatures are above the 90s, warm sunshine here means high 60s, maybe low 70s.)

This, as I understood it, was a slippery fish, who kept interrupting the play and had to be chased off the stage.  

And this (woman on the left) was the witch, who insisted she was being maligned.  Not a witch, a widow.  And the children were destroying and eating her house that she spent so long to bake and build.  

As I said, a lot of people dressed special (very special) for the occasion.  

We bought a turkey leg.  More like an ostrich leg, it was so big (and delicious.)  

We sat out on the grass and watched jousters take each other on with big foam clubs.  

And the turkey made me sleepy so I lay back an watched the clouds roll by.  

A good day.  

AI Scraping My Blog?

My Stat-Counter account has been showing this frequent Hong Kong visitor:

Total Sessions usually records how many times the computer has visited, but it says only 1, even though there are five total hits on this one page (of 20 hits) on the Stat Counter report.  It's been showing up frequently for weeks now.

I know, I said five, but they are scattered.  The one on top is one.  Here are three more and there was one more.  

I've had this sort of thing before, but it's been awhile.  In the past, the assumption was they were scraping content.  Now, I'm wondering if it isn't an AI bot gathering stuff for training.  If so, what should I do and how?  From Duda.

"How to Block AI Crawlers from Crawling your Site

Some site owners are choosing to block AI crawlers, such as ChatGPT and Bard from crawling their site in order to prevent it from learning from or using their website content. You can block these AI user-agents in a similar manner as you would block Google crawlers; by replacing the default robots.txt file with a new file that specifies disallow rules for specific AI user-agents."

When I first started blogging, I spent a lot of time learning about (and blogging about) technical aspects of blogging - how to:find out if anyone is reading the blog; to embed photos and videos; how to change the format; how to add an email address; etc.  

Now AI is raising other issues.  Such as how to block AI crawlers from using your site to train its bots.  

This is not what I want to spend my time on.  First the internet is telling me I have to block each crawler separately by adding code to the robot.txt file.  

Should You Block AI Tools From Accessing Your Website?

Unfortunately, there’s no simple way to block all AI bots from accessing your website, and manually blocking each individual bot is almost impossible. Even if you keep up with the latest AI bots roaming the web, there’s no guarantee they’ll all adhere to the commands in your robots.txt file. 

 From Google Search Central:

"You can control which files crawlers may access on your site with a robots.txt file.

A robots.txt file lives at the root of your site. So, for site www.example.com, the robots.txt file lives at www.example.com/robots.txt. robots.txt is a plain text file that follows the Robots Exclusion Standard. A robots.txt file consists of one or more rules. Each rule blocks or allows access for all or a specific crawler to a specified file path on the domain or subdomain where the robots.txt file is hosted. Unless you specify otherwise in your robots.txt file, all files are implicitly allowed for crawling."

That means I have to find the robots.text file and add stuff and hope I do it just right so I don't screw something else up.  But this site also warns:

"If you use a site hosting service, such as Wix or Blogger [That's me], you might not need to (or be able to) edit your robots.txt file directly. Instead, your provider might expose a search settings page or some other mechanism to tell search engines whether or not to crawl your page."

Of course I don't want to block search engines for browsers or only subscribers will ever see my posts.  

So I'm asking myself, is this worth the time it's going to take to figure this out.  Well, someone else asked that too.

"The real question here is whether the results are worth the effort, and the short answer is (almost certainly) no."

Here's another one saying the same thing:

"At the end of the day blocking ChatGPT and other generative AI crawlers is really a matter of choice. Depending on your website’s purpose and/or your business model it may make sense to. But in my opinion the vast majority of sites have nothing to fear from allowing AI crawlers to crawl their site."

For now, I want to agree with this advice.  But then I start thinking that this was written by an AI firm that wants to steal your content.   

And I don't even know if that Hong Kong visitor is scraping material for some AI enterprise.  Maybe it's just stealing content.  

Like your car, your house, your garden, your teeth, everything needs some maintenance to keep it functioning.  Clearly my phone and computer do, and this blog does as well, though I've avoided that for some time on the blog.  

I'm now officially putting myself on notice to pay more attention to AI.