Author: simplebender

William C. Barron is a published author of Joy in Alzheimer's, Lap Around the Sun, numerous technical articles and a regular guest columnist in regional news outlets. This blog (simplebender.com) has garnered an international readership across the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Graduating from The University of Texas and now a retired petroleum engineer, William brings decades of global experience, having worked professionally on three continents—above the Arctic Circle and below the Equator. His career has spanned roles from offshore roustabout to engineer, operations manager, and senior corporate executive. He also served as Director of the Oil and Gas Division for the State of Alaska. Currently, he is the Principal of Trispectrum Consulting. He is a co-holder of several patents and has provided expert testimony before state legislatures and at numerous public forums. Outside of his professional achievements, William is a seasoned endurance athlete. He has represented Team USA at multiple ITU Duathlon World Championships, completed the Boston Marathon, and finished numerous half-Ironman and Ironman events. ....always seeking... always learning.... Be Bold.....Never Fear the Dream.....Stand for Truth
Posted in NeverFeartheDream

Never Fear The Dream…

Posted on by simplebender

You give a little part of yourself to everyone you meet and everything you do. What you offer is your choice—what others take is theirs. You never know if what they see matches what you think you’re projecting. Odds are it will be quite different as their experiences shape their perception. But your actions are on display for everyone to witness. They will know when you haven’t given your best. They will see through you. They will know, and you will know they know. This will reveal more about you than any other facade you try to portray. This will be the little part you leave with them. 25.02

#NeverFearTheDream simplebender.com

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Posted in NeverFeartheDream

Never Fear the Dream……

Posted on by simplebender

25.01

People are like moments in time; each one is special and unique. We should be celebrating our uniqueness rather than negatively highlighting our differences. These days of stress, conflict, divisiveness, and the addiction to immediate gratification have pushed us away from simple acceptance and toward skepticism, finding fault, and casting blame. Maybe we should reflect upon the idea that if we are judging others, they, too, are judging us. And then, just for another moment, ask why we are judging anyone at all. Like moments in time, none of us will ever be created again. There will never be anyone like any of us ever again. Start fresh each year, each day, each morning, each moment to build your future. A future built with those around you, whether you like them or not. They must do the same, even if they don’t like you.

Happy New Year

#NeverFearTheDream

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Posted in Communication

This Christmas, Safe refuge at the kid’s table

Posted on by simplebender

This Christmas, I took a break from the drama and posturing at the adult table and found refuge at the kid’s table.

Yearning for the casual banter of innocence, the insight of young wisdom, and the opportunity to hear the thoughts and words of our future, I decided to sit at the kid’s table. Sitting in smaller chairs, closer to the ground, we may be better grounded than in taller, oversized adult chairs, which these days seem a little too tipsy.

The easy game of Connect the Dots yields winks and laughs as we dabble and play with our food. We chatted and giggled about the presents we had opened and those gifts we still hoped to get. I chuckle at the confused looks as we taste the cranberry sauce and smile as the dressing and mashed potatoes are swirled into a tasty mush.

Overhearing the adults discuss their ‘big people’s topics as I watch the kids. The toast for ‘world peace’ quickly regressed to biting analogies of the Middle East and Ukraine. The younger ones seem more confused as the voices rise. The ‘older ones’ frown and turn away from the tension, showing some disgust at the hypocrisy and arguments. Turning up my hearing aids just a little, I hear one mumble…’ giving aid to one for genocide and taking it away from another fighting for self-defense.’ As their heads shook a little, the simple game of hangman took on new meaning. The table returned to the whispers and giggles of youth as a game or two of tic-tac-toe started. I pondered their insight and perspective and lost the hangman game.

The lighthearted snickers and under-the-table poking were interrupted as another bottle of wine was opened for the adults. A hearty toast at their table as we lifted our glasses of water and mimicked them with our silly smiles and googly eyes. The topics at the big people’s table ebbed and flowed about current events, sports, business, and then back to politics. I shook my head and wished they could listen to us at the kid’s table. We were having fun, laughing, and smiling. Their table got louder as abortion and women’s rights became the main topic. Then the epiphany. One of the girls whispers to another…’ great, the convicted sex predator wants to protect us whether we like it or not…cringe…’ I turned my hearing aids back down, hoping to give them the space they needed and not become the adult at the table.

I thought about what I’d heard at both tables. I wanted to avoid the stress and conflict at the adult table, but I only saw and heard the stress that wafted across the room to the kid’s table. Their young minds are open to so much. Soaking in everything and forming opinions that will drive our world’s future. Too much stress. Too much tension. The heat spilling out of the kitchen to the tables filled with the cornucopia of abundance. We sat there wondering about those with so much less and how fortunate we were. This privileged family has the luxury of having discussions and not worrying about where their next meal is coming from. And yet, these adults don’t realize they may be forming irreversible opinions and generational hate through their terse and tense words.

We, the adults, can impart hope or hate. We can show how to listen and try to understand. It is our choice, and they, the kids, are watching and listening to everything.

My distracted thoughts were interrupted when the youngest leaned over, tapped me, and said, ‘Knock, knock.’ I smiled and thought, ‘Maybe, just maybe, things will be alright’…’ Who’s there?’

NeverFearTheDream     simplebender.com

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This article was first published in the Bend Bulletin 12/26/24

Posted in Communication

Better Not to Hear than Not be Heard

Posted on by simplebender

In our zeal to appear to listen to everyone, we are not hearing anyone. This unfortunate reality has turned the tables in politics, neighborhoods, and even families. We almost seem to be ‘play listening, ‘ nodding our heads in agreement all the while formulating our response without really hearing. We are treating people like we scroll headlines—no real interest, just browsing.

We all want to be heard. We all want our expressed thoughts and opinions to, at least, be heard. The failure to be heard has brought us to where we are and will take us where we will go. The facade of hearing and the misdirection of understanding have been the tools of the deceivers forever.

The examples of perceived lack of hearing pepper our history. Women felt oppressed, disenfranchised, and weren’t being heard, which led to suffrage. African Americans cried out about racial injustice and oppression, leading to civil rights reforms. LGBTQs faced the same lack of understanding and have pressed for social change. And now, rural Americans of all races and genders are screaming to be heard about the loss of rights and freedoms. It isn’t that they weren’t speaking, but they weren’t being heard. The voices were muffled and muted and, in some cases, literally covered and gagged to prevent their speech. If we don’t pay attention, we will cycle through these and other issues infinitely more times.

Without being heard in civil discord, those affected lash out, resorting to yelling and physical actions to get attention. Their plight is real to them. We will only perpetuate a cycle of misunderstanding, disregard, mistrust, and violent upheaval until we are ready to hear and absorb what they say and mean.

This cycle will continue until a champion comes forward who, at least, appears to hear their plight. It doesn’t matter if they really care or not. They are someone who has stature and who takes up the cause. They become bigger than life, regardless of their own life story. They become the voice of the unheard. Their past transgressions are irrelevant to the yelling mob. They are giving the mob a voice, a charismatic champion, someone willing to take up the cause and press forward. Like the snake oil salesman, acknowledging your ailment and offering you a dubious elixir to cure your pains. Unfortunately, the hangover from the cure might be worse.

Being hearing impaired, I understand the frustration of not hearing. I understand the isolation in a crowded room. I’ve watched people become frustrated with repeating what they have said because I have difficulty hearing them. However, their frustration is even more profound when their message falls not on deaf ears but on ears unwilling to hear or listen. It is far better not to hear than not to be heard. Stop formulating a response and hear what others are saying. Hear what others are asking and pleading for. Their needs are real to them, just as yours are to you. People are much more than the scrolling headlines at the bottom of the TV. People matter. Don’t just stop and listen, but stop and really hear and try to understand, even if you disagree.

NeverFearTheDream……..simplebender.com

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Posted in Political

The Intoxicating Mirage of American Greatness

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We are no better than Don Quixote as he chased the demons he saw in windmills as we become drunk on the hysteria and mirage of American greatness. While he blamed magicians for his confusion and failure, we blame minorities and immigrants. We are no different; only our delusion is different.

Neither the Constitution nor the Preamble ever professes any illusion of aspiring to greatness. The Founding Fathers’ writings in the Federalist Papers are silent on any desire for national greatness. These men, willing to risk everything openly professed a desire for an independent nation. A nation recognized and respected as an equal by all the world’s other nations. They weren’t so egotistical to wave the vain flag of greatness or superiority.

Yet today, we insanely strive to regain something we never had, were, or will be. We are drunk on our delusions and egos. Being ‘great’ is a fixation of one’s ego. It isn’t real. It is your fantasized view of yourself. Something which, when unachieved or perceived to be lost, we blame everyone, anyone, but ourselves. Like Don Quixote blaming mystics and magicians, we lash out at everyone but ourselves. Ironically, we blame them for something that never was and can never be.

We are a country with many admirable traits and traditions and rich in resources and intellect. We are like almost every other country in the world. We all have our national pride, but our national ego is more of a liability than an asset. When working internationally, the first and biggest hurdle to overcome is not being the ‘arrogant, ugly American’ as we are known worldwide.

How do you determine ‘greatness?’ Is our historic and persistent racism a measure of greatness? As a country of immigrants, whose foundational economy was built on the backs of slaves, should our measure of greatness be the number of immigrant families we disjoined and caged or how we showed compassion? Is our historic and persistent racism a criterion of greatness? Is the denigration of minorities and the perpetuation of our domestic caste system our yardstick? Is the benchmark the number of citizens in the wealthiest Causation country suffering in poverty? Is it the number of books and ideas we can ban or sequester? Is the measure the need for a nanny state because we don’t trust half of the population to make their own decisions on healthcare? Or maybe it is our growing affinity to authoritarians and dictators rather than democracies? Democracy isn’t dead but authoritarianism a growing plague. Democracy conquered communism and now seems focused on conquering itself. A country boasting about greatness should have addressed and resolved these inequities decades ago. However, what we have shown incredible greatness in is our ability to deflect, ignore, and our propensity to find a scapegoat for our failures.

While we are a blessed nation, no country is great at everything. They all have strengths, weaknesses, and blind spots. The pragmatic salient question might be, ‘Should America strive to be average or average at all things?’ If we are average, we acknowledge there are those better than us in some things, and we are better in others. By being average at all things, we surrender those areas in which we can be superior.

Our desire and aspiration to be Great should not cloud the realization that we are just one among many in this world. Our founders knew this, and they promoted internationalism, not isolation, to gain acceptance and influence. They didn’t strive for dominance but for mutually beneficial relationships. In our drunken, intoxicated state of euphoria, touting our Greatness, let’s hope we ultimately don’t drive ourselves to Mediocrity.

Maybe our Greatness is our ability to cast an eye over our shoulder to see how far we’ve come, accept where we are, and then turn to look forward and have a vision of where we should be. Sober love of country over drunken delusions. NeverFearTheDream……simplebender.com

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This was first published in the Bend Bulletin 11/20/24

Posted in Communication

No Comprehension, Just Digital Skimmers and Clickbait

Posted on by simplebender
A-Digit:gettyimages

In our rapidly evolving digital age, we face a critical challenge: a widespread decline in reading comprehension. This isn’t merely about reading less; it’s about how we process and understand information in ways that threaten the foundations of an informed society. Like crossing a pond, hopping from rock to rock, one headline to another, never pondering the depth of the pond.

The modern media landscape has transformed how we consume information. We are now digital skimmers racing through headlines and social media posts without pausing for deeper understanding. Our attention spans have dramatically shortened, trained by endless streams of bite-sized content and algorithmic feeds designed to keep us scrolling. While technology has democratized access to information, it has simultaneously fragmented our ability to process it meaningfully.

When we lose the capacity for deep reading, we sacrifice more than comprehension. We lose the essential tools for critical thinking and reasoned decision-making. Without these, we become vulnerable to misinformation and make snap judgments based on emotional triggers rather than careful analysis. We share articles without reading beyond headlines, allowing confirmation bias to override intellectual curiosity.

The problem extends beyond individual habits. Modern digital platforms, while offering unprecedented access to diverse perspectives, prioritize engagement over substance. Their interfaces exploit psychological vulnerabilities, training our brains to crave constant stimulation. Pressured by collapsing revenue models, traditional media outlets often choose clickbait over quality journalism and editing. The 24-hour news cycle demands speed over accuracy and gore over substance, making it increasingly difficult for nuanced, well-researched stories to find their audience.

Educational systems compound these challenges. Schools focused on standardized testing often prioritize rote memorization over critical thinking skills. Socioeconomic factors are crucial, as reading proficiency strongly correlates with economic status. Cultural stereotypes dismissing reading as uncool or elitist create additional barriers, particularly among young people—the very people we need to have open, inquisitive minds.

The consequences of this decline ripple through every aspect of society. In politics, discourse devolves into sloganeering and tribalism, while voters make decisions based on emotional appeals rather than policy analysis. Business leaders make snap judgments instead of studying data and long-term implications. In healthcare, the inability to comprehend medical literature leaves people vulnerable to pseudoscience, misguided health choices, and misinformation on diagnosis and treatment.

This crisis demands a multifaceted response. While individual efforts to read more deeply and verify information are important, they alone cannot address systemic issues. We need educational reforms that emphasize critical thinking and analysis. Media platforms should reconsider algorithms that prioritize engagement over understanding. News organizations need sustainable models that reward quality journalism. Authors must be succinct and reach their point without much fluff and dithering. Readers need to be able to read above a fifth-grade level.

Reading comprehension isn’t just about processing words. It’s about developing the cognitive tools to understand an increasingly complex world. Losing these capabilities will lessen our ability to engage in reasoned debate, empathize across differences, and make informed decisions about our collective future.

The decline in reading comprehension represents more than an educational challenge; it’s an existential threat to informed democracy and societal progress. While artificial intelligence and other technological advances pose their challenges, the erosion of human capacity for deep understanding and critical analysis may be our most pressing crisis.  #NeverFearTheDream   simplebender.com

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Posted in Political

It is Election Season: Time to Sharpen Your Occam’s Razor

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It is time to sharpen your personal Occam’s Razor. It is time for you to be able to thinly slice and dissect the information you see and hear and decide reality from fantasy. Your ability to differentiate between these two will determine your level of sensibility versus gullibility. All this as we prepare to cast our ballots.

Assessing the spin when listening to stories and news headlines is increasingly difficult. These are written by highly skilled and well-paid scriptwriters whose role is to take a little truth and to create a tale for the most significant impact. It is a tale with just enough truth to shield the whole story from excessive scrutiny. They play with words to spin the facts to twist your mind. This is why you need to sharpen your Occam’s Razor. This requires us to accept that the one solution to a problem is the one with the smallest possible complexities or has the fewest assumptions. While deciphering the spin of misinformation it is a method which allows you to ask: ‘Does that really make sense?’ and/or ‘If there is underlying truth, what is it and how much?’ Another way to understand is ‘The simplest explanation is usually the best.’

During this election cycle, like the last, there is a plethora of bogus stories being created to try and make a point or generate fanatical reactions. When candidates purposely espouse unverifiable comments, look behind their intent. They aren’t trying to set or defend policy. They are shifting the discussion and casting it in such a light to cause anxiety and social division. They want to avoid the rare moment of candor when admitting it is acceptable to create stories for a campaign or candidate’s benefit. Simply put, they want you to believe it is all right for candidates to tell lies and continue to tell them in an unadulterated attempt to energize support. In our elections, dabbling in fantastical make-believe shouldn’t be acceptable to garnish support. It shows weakness of position and is insulting to the voters. Does it really make sense to claim one political party can control the weather and the other not? Is it really likely one political party would sponsor attempted assassinations and recruit inexperienced snipers? Is it really likely one candidate wants to be dictator for only one day? Do you really believe a vice-presidential candidate is plotting an Article 25 coup after inauguration? Did you really believe foreign corporations will pay tariffs or domestic consumers? Do you really believe any individual candidate can reduce inflation? And, do you really think those military personnel who have died, injured, or were captured are losers and suckers; really?

Sharpen your Occam’s Razor. Guard yourself against the frauds, lies, and spin. Question everything and everyone. Think critically. Ask yourself if something said makes basic common sense or if it is just too fantastical or complicated to be real and true. Is it simply a cooked-up story, a lie with a smidgen of truth, or a repeated lie which now seems true because it has been told so many times? The problem is these concocted fantasies seduce millions. It seems America’s standard of greatness is now based on lies, deception, and disparaging others while pandering to the gullible. There is value in credibility and believability, or at least there used to be.

The one thing salacious, rancorous, weak candidates do not want is a thinking, analytical voter. Candidates want the easily swayed and unsuspecting. They play with their fears and not their common sense. They weaponize fear, anxiety, disinformation, and hate fueled by lies to seduce you and secure your vote. This year, every year, disappoint them. Think for yourself and break away from the clutches of someone else’s twisted reality, which holds you captive. Listen, study, ask critical questions, and don’t be a single-issue voter. Exercise your Occam’s Razor and then vote accordingly, country before party.  #NeverFearTheDream    simplebender.com

A version of this article was first published in the Bend Bulletin 10/18/24

Posted in Joy In Alzheimer's

Joy In Alzheimer’s*: Episode 57: Eulogy

Posted on by simplebender

Joy was an amazing woman, friend, wife, and mother. Her ninety-one years were filled with love for everyone she met, adventure, and a caring spirit right to the end. Joy passed on September 22, 2024. Some of her final words were, ‘I’m the most blessed person in the world.’ We didn’t have the heart to tell her it was us, all of us, whom she made the most blessed just by being her and being part of our lives.

Joy was born in far west Texas in 1933 as the depression was slowing ending. She grew up on a farm/ranch learning to keep everything, ‘just in case,’ and more importantly, acceptance. Her playmates and friends on the ranch and the small school were of mixed races and religions. She imparted her conviction of acceptance to her sons, their friends, and hers.

Joy didn’t just study the Bible; she lived its teachings. She brought her love of people, all people, to the Presbyterian Session and helped guide her church to be inclusive and welcoming, to teach lessons of life, and to be better neighbors. Joy often said she prayed twice because she was so engaged in the church choir.

Joy would often say the only thing she ever wanted to be was a wife and mother. She was terrific at both. She was a dedicated, loving wife. She traveled the backroads of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Wyoming, living and starting a family in a trailer with her life partner as he worked the mining fields and mineral exploration projects. These were her ‘nomad’ years, which were at times lonely and hard but mostly filled with adventure and broadening experiences.

To us, she was the best mom and mom to our friends. To her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, she was the best Momo ever. She was always there. She always had a hand to hold when ours were scared and trembling. She always had kind, loving, supporting words, teaching us the lessons she felt she needed to impart. She took all our friends under her wing and gave them the same love and attention she gave us. She opened our home and welcomed anyone who needed a place to stay. She didn’t care about gender, race, or religion; they were our friends, and therefore, they were her extra children, whom she loved.

Joy was an accomplished lady when women weren’t necessarily supposed to be. She earned a teaching degree and worked as a substitute teacher. Then, she returned to college fifteen years later, earning a Bachelor of Science in Library Science. Joy was a fantastic Cub Scout Den Mother. She was instrumental in converting the high school from a PTA to a PTSA because she believed the student’s opinions should be heard. Joy was a religious leader and was one of the first women Deacons and Elders in the local Presbyterian church. Joy strenuously advocated for a new neighborhood hospital and gave testimony before the Texas State Legislature. But Joy was most proud to be on the Board of Directors of the Lee Moor Children’s Home in El Paso. She was a tireless advocate for the children and their future. And Joy was always one who never turned down a glass of wine or a piece of Dove dark chocolate. Cheers, Joy….

Joy knew time with people was more special than any task. She spent time making a friend with everyone and helping whenever she could. Ironically, that helping hand became her downfall. She would be all right with that if she could remember. Joy lived with the idea that if you want to go fast, you go alone; if you want to go far, take someone with you. She took many of us by the hand and took us along on an incredible journey. A person’s reach should be longer than their grasp. Joy’s reach has touched so many far, far, beyond her grasp, and we are all much, so much better because of her. She will never be gone as long as we remember her and tell her stories.

Next up….Epilogue

NeverFearTheDream    #JoyInAlzheimer’s    simplebender.com

Joy In Alzheimer’s Articles-The Beginnings:

More on Alzheimer’s
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The Full story of Joy in Alzheimer’s can be found at:

Joy in Alzheimer’s: My Mom’s Brave walk into dymentia’s abyss

*This is Joy’s and our journey….what affects her may not be what is, or will, affect you or your loved one. These are our observations and obstacles, if by talking about them helps you; great. Stay well….

Posted in Communication

Bravado In Anonimity

Posted on by simplebender

Why are we so much braver, louder, and opinionated when we are anonymous? When no one knows who we are we yell, and scream protected by the fog of obscurity. Is the bravado of anonymity a sign of general cowardice? History has many examples showing those who cover their faces with masks and hoods are more aggressive. Anonymity is used as a shield and a foil. A shield to protect those brave enough to risk blowing the whistle on corruption, poor safety, and other malicious acts otherwise wanting to be kept secret. A foil as a weapon to perpetuate misinformation, rumors, and lies to injure someone’s life or reputation. We are in a technology-driven world, able to easily conceal our true identity. In fact, today we don’t have to use hoods and masks, while still some choose to. Today, we can assume many identities on many platforms to further expand our efforts to discredit and perpetuate conspiracy theories.

Not so long ago, individuals took immense pride in expressing their thoughts and opinions openly, willingly attaching their names to their words and actions. People valued the recognition and accountability that came with sharing their ideas publicly. There was a sense of personal responsibility and integrity in communication. Unfortunately, those days seem to have faded into the past, replaced by a culture of hiding, concealing, and distancing from one’s statements.

In our current digital landscape, we face significant challenges in identifying and confirming the sources of information. The ease with which individuals can hide behind pseudonyms or fabricated identities has made it increasingly difficult to trace the origins of statements, claims, or accusations. This shift has profound implications for the quality and reliability of public discourse.

If we aspire to have a culture of accountability, it is imperative we support individuals willing to stand firmly behind their words. This means creating and supporting an environment where people are not only comfortable but proud to associate their identities with their expressions. We can create a more transparent, responsible, and trustworthy communication landscape by re-enforcing this connection between individuals and their statements. Personal accountability is essential for rebuilding trust in our interactions and information exchanges, both online and offline.

Protocols can be put in place to truncate the use of anonymity as a false shield and sharp foil. Social media outlets can require a publicly accessible, verifiable name associated with each account. There can be a limit on the number of times any tweet and/or post of any article can be blindly or mindlessly forwarded. Algorithms can be written to require human interaction to verify accounts and terminate those that cannot be verified. Imagine the impact on bot propagation if ten percent of every social media account was randomly verified every day. If social media companies can write and employ algorithms to target content, contacts, and advertising, they can create this algorithm. The local newspapers could refuse to publish and reject electronic comments by contributors using unique usernames and not their real names. Most papers require Guest Column and Letter to the Editor contributors to give their full name and verifiable contact information before publication. The same could be required for all. This isn’t censorship, this is requiring everyone to dissolve themselves.

For those who have anonymously sent snarky physical letters and online comments, your fake bravado is acknowledged. While I appreciate your concern for my well-being, I would more welcome an opportunity to have a civil dialogue. We don’t have to agree to be respectful and listen to each other. So, who am I? Like every contributing author, I am your neighbor willing to express a thought or opinion, sign my name, and stand by my words.

#NeverFearTheDream  simplebender.com

This was first published in the Bend Bulletin 9/11/24 Patriot’s Day