I thought something yesterday that had me thinking about it and the implications throughout the day.  Believe it or not it was about theft.
I thought that little or big theft is still theft.  For example, if I take an item from work that I fail to return that is theft.  It may be seemingly little and of little consequence.  Yet someone else may rob others of their life savings.  That is theft.  Same thing but bigger.
I guess the reason my thinking was going along those lines was concerning the current AI war.  I actually love AI.  I have used it a few times and been blown away by the results.
Yet at the moment there is an issue with intellectual rights.  AI developers are rushing to be the first on the market by stealing intellectual property to teach AI.
The way I think probably has a lot to do with how I see music.  I think that if someone writes a song and another wants to use it, the writer deserves to be paid for it.  Yet in AI intellectual property is being used as a means for individuals or companies ends, without though to the originator of the piece.
I personally have no problem with something being used as long as the originator gets what I think they rightfully deserve.
But I do think that sort of thing is counter productive to haste.  It would be perhaps costly and cause delays.  Delay is not what is being pursued.  I live at a time when being the first to market with a good idea is all that matters.
Bib Dylan sang, “steal a little and they throw you in jail. Steal a lot and they make you king.”  I happen to think that winning a race is not about winning at any costs but winning despite the costs.  The cost in any race is obeying the rules.
Maybe this is a little personal thing.  But I think of the consequences for me.  As someone said to me decades ago, “it is not how close to danger you can go, but how far you can keep from it.”

Drive
Here it is dictionary day again and I half expected a doozy of a word.  Something I would need to really think about and study.
Turned out different though.  The word my finger fell on was “drive.”
I do not drive as much since my stroke and particularly not distances.  But when my brother had his stroke (he has since passed) I drove him to the shops.
It was funny but while in rehab I was told I would need to pay around $500 to employ someone on the Sunshine Coast to get my licence back again.  When my bro had his stoke I went straight to my doctor.  He did a few tests and gave it back to me.  He said something I thought was real good.  After a “squeeze” test where he determines the strength in my hands, he said his biggest test is asking the question of himself, “would I want this person on the road knowing my kids are on the road too.”   He determined the answer in my case was yes, so my bro and I would go shopping and get a takeaway breaky together.  Getting my license back cost me nothing back then.
I have always loved driving and have never forgotten the time a mate in another vehicle, and I were trying to lose each other on the Atherton Table Lands.  I thoughts I would duck in behind a tennis court.  Unbeknown to me there was a golf tee off area there.  I will never forget the fella about to tee off.  He had second thoughts when he saw me coming and abandoned briefly what he was going to do.
I learned to drive in a large car park.  My mum would take me down for lessons.  I think it was way easier to get a licence in a country town then.  I will never forget going for my motor-cycle licence.  There were about five of us.  I really did not know my stuff and was last to finish the written test.  The policeman looked at it and screwed it up and said “looks alright to me.”  Only one person failed the driving test.  He ran out of petrol during it.
Apart from going short distances most driving is a memory now.  Thankfully mostly a good memory.

Today is our wedding anniversary.  We have been married 13 years.
From the above it could be concluded we are big on anniversaries.  But we really are not.   Last year Merril was on the phone and the person said, “happy anniversary.”  Merril said “Is it?” and when she established it was, she called out to me “Peter today is our wedding anniversary.”
This year though it was remembered.  We sat down at a place and had breaky together.
There was something though I thought was amazing.  I have been reading a chapter of proverbs a day.  Today was the last day.  Chapter 31.  That chapter is all about finding a virtuous wife.  I admit I read it thinking I have hit the jackpot.
Ok I did have trouble relating to “she finds wool and flax and spins it.”  Flax is not something I can relate to really.  I had to look it up.  “ Flax, also known as common flax or linseed (Linum usitatissimum), is a flowering plant cultivated for its fiber, which is used to make linen, and for its nutritious seeds, known as flaxseed or linseed, from which linseed oil is derived. It is grown in temperate regions and is one of the oldest cultivated plants, with evidence of its use dating back to ancient times. Flaxseed is considered a superfood due to its health benefits, including lowering cholesterol and providing essential fatty acids.”
I am yet to see Merril eating her sewing, so I guess it is something else we use these days.  But she is a good sewer and makes stuff that definitely improve the outlook.”
It did say “she goes to a field and buys it.”  In our case maybe not a field but we have invested in property wisely I reckon.  She sees things for sale and tells me and sometimes I act.  In a number of cases I am glad I did.
(Though in Melbourne I did something that has become legendary to us.  I saw a limo with the rear-view mirrors compressed.  I know now this is a common feature of cars but hey I didn’t know then.  Merril suggested I should tell the driver.  I did, and he thanked me (which was very polite of him given the circumstances).  When he drove off the rear-view mirrors came out automatically when he turned the engine on.   I felt like a hillbilly who should have been in a large straw hat and overalls and chewing on a piece of grass.  We laugh about that all the time.)
Another thing said which I think is Merrril was, “She extends a helping hand to the poor, and opens her arms to the needy.”  I really appreciate that about her.  She cares.
The last thing highlighted to me was “When she speaks, her words are wise.” 
Offering praise comes easy when it is warranted.