The New World of Lonnie Mandigo

Woke at 3:30am, did some journaling, gave up trying to sleep again at 5:15am. Sent Quest extension note. SESIG with Larry and Peter. Housekeeper came during SESIG. Sent Things to Do in Christchurch guide to Joey. Came home, napped. Decluttered bedroom. Looked for checkered wardrobe. Tidied NZ trip planning documents. Worked on Christchurch maps. Yard guys moved dirt around. Exercised. Disposed of a dead mouse. Brief exchange with Rajeev. Set up studio for tomorrow's shoot. Yoga. Forgot meeting with Bob. Watched Ancient Civilizations on Fall of Roman Empire. Watched Hogan's Heroes. Listened to Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Vol. 1.

Beautiful sunrise this morning. Morning routine. Went for lab work. Ran errands. Scanned mail. KAI conversation with Ameerah. Processed email. Exercised. Household chores. Suds with Tim and Jack. Played Minecraft. New Zealand adjustments—considering eliminating Queenstown leg.

Woke up early, around 4:30am. Processed email—Gemini as email summarizer works well. Drilled into Ian's emails on Robotaxis and AI predictions. Sent inquiry to Hotel Nelson regarding extra adult. Worked on sorting earlier scans, scanned and processed more physical mail. Ate sandwich for lunch, listened to Never Split the Difference. Took quick nap. Puzzled over connection between Nelson and Picton—appears I haven't booked it yet. Exercised. Went for 30-minute walk at Jackson-Frazier wetlands. Played around with videos I took there. Walked to Suds, listened to Project Hail Mary. Beer with Michael, mostly talked about theater in New York. Michael gave me ride home. Watched Ancient Civilizations—comparison of how war was made in different civilizations. Watched about 3/4 of The Menu. Didn't care for it. Woke up curious about how incense is made. I do incidental skill building all the time—need to spend more energy on intentional skill building for generalizable skills.

Slept in until around 9am, feel like I've caught up on my rest. Morning ritual combined with text conversation with Zelda about movies. Folded laundry, listened to Net Assessment podcast on US's relationship with China. Ate soup for breakfast, listened to Lex Friedman podcast with Michael Levin. Read the chainsaw manual, ordered chainsaw oil. Decided to wait on trying out the chainsaw until I have all necessary tools. Registered my chainsaw. Exercised. Filled out Gold Bay tour questionnaire. Walked to Suds—got my 30-minute walk in. Drank beer, ate wings, chatted with Aaron. Learned that the Coop is a really good place to buy coffee. Learned I should watch the movie The Menu. Walked home. Watched Ancient World—he discussed the Maya. Watched Hogan's Heroes. Had exchange with train company, need to call them to get it finalized. Today would have been my Mom's 86th birthday.

  SESIG—variety of topics. A little more keyword processing. Played Minecraft a bit to show Leland Lelandhome. A lot more keyword processing. Walked to American Dream Pizza on Monroe for beer with Michael and Mary. Got Thai take out, went to Michael and Mary's for dinner with Quinn. Played cribbage and drank cognac until Mary brought me home. Woke up in the middle of the night and finished the keywording task. It was a day that didn't feel very productive but I pushed through an issue that has been bugging me. I guess it was okay.

Morning ritual, listened to Net Assessment episode on China. Fixed breakfast, packed camera for beach. Did two sets of planks. Exchanged text messages with Loni and Leland. Drove to the coast with Annette—weather was windy and rainy. Reminisced about drives we took as kids. She talked about her cat Rowan, exploring options for new place to live, Kennewick an interesting option. Ate lunch at the Blue Whale in Yachats. We came home, gave Annette the spider plant starts, she left, I took a nap. Discovered some photos I'd missed from Mexico trip. Worked on key wording in photo library. Sydne, Dakota, Deaken, and Koa came over, played the game 22, we ate Chinese food delivered by Doordash. Watched most of an Ancient World episode on the Maya. It's Christmas Day. The dawn is beautiful. It was a good day with family. I love them all.

Went to Coffee Culture Annex, worked on my day plan before Jim arrived. My side of our conversation was so-so, wasn't feeling well, disappointing. Tentatively set up a meeting for next week. Searched for breakfast with Joey—many places were closed on Christmas Eve, we ended up at Wise Cracks. Joey left to continue her journey to Hillsboro, I took a nap. My chainsaw arrived. Worked on New Zealand planning for a while—lots of mashing around to get airline reservation information in line. Went for a 30-minute walk, listened to a Lex Friedman podcast with Michael Levin. Made plans with Annette to visit the beach tomorrow. Put gas in the Xterra. Took care of spider plant starts—plan is to give them to Annette tomorrow. Did my exercises. Spent some time looking at travel expediting mechanisms. Sat in the hot tub for a bit. Watched History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective—Peru and Mexico civilizations.

Morning ritual including Headspace. Drove to Imagine Coffee, worked on my day plan. Added the Pre-New Zealand exercise plan to my calendar. Jim and Larry came to SESIG. Figured out how to get Joey to and from New Zealand. Went to lunch at Broken Yolk with Karen, interesting conversation about her quilting. Went and saw the quilt show at the Art Center—quilt work by Niraja Lorenz, daughter of Edward Norton Lorenz. Came home and worked on a composite of Joey that turned out well, it became a BR Gallery post for mid to late January. Started Pre-New Zealand workouts. Beer at Suds with Cathy, Michael, Kim, Amelia, Tim, and Mary. Skipped yoga in the evening. Watched Ancient Civilizations. Some Hogan's Heroes. Some Firefly. Started watching the Phoenician Scheme. Joey arrived around midnight, hung out and talked for a few hours. This morning's Headspace Wakeup on the topic of closure—guidance on accepting the unfinished messiness that your life is, leads to appreciating and cherishing...

Listened to Find Your Fitness—beginning of an episode on exercise intensity. Worked on laundry. Annual physical with Dr. Cleary. Worked on planning for the day, set up a reminder for lab work. Called Dr. Tsai's office, made an appointment for Jan. 26 to get hand repaired. Fixed breakfast—an omelet using the pepper I grew and fondue from last night. Spent too much time trying to resurrect my backpack order. Called United—no flights for Joey on necessary days. Spent afternoon playing Minecraft, worked on road between Porto Alegre and Lelandhome. Went to Suds. Watched Ancient Civilizations—further explored impact of insane emperors. Learned need to manually airdrop notes from phone to desktop. Sydne reported coffee from Corvallis Coffee & Tea is most excellent.

Listened to Net Assessment's National Defense Strategy evaluation—incoherent and poorly assembled, written for Trump who won't read it because it's too long. Kitchen cleanup. Accumulated Joey's belongings in a box, put in the guest bedroom closet. Breakfast listening to "Never Split the Difference"—lessons wished I'd learned before Mexico. Day planning. Cleaned bird feeders. Wrapped Leland's presents, took them to Sydne's—they were preparing for a gathering focused on Dakota's family. Bought groceries. Other household tasks. Played Minecraft, created Lelandhome. Prepped fondue. Cathy, Mary, and Michael came over for Rare Exports night—noshed on great appetizers, watched the movie, fun evening. Woke later to message from Joey confirming New Zealand trip. Worked on trip planning, drank tea. Back to bed, slept through the rest of the night. Winter solstice holidays truly the low point of the year, particularly the run up—could be in a crowd of lov...

Made plan to walk with Mary—didn't happen. Unpacked suitcase. Spent time planning day. Short nap. Renewed vehicle registration. Ordered gifts for Sage, Deaken, Koa. Went downtown to check out coffee store. Stopped by The Barbers, made haircut appointment. Suds for beer and wings. Came home briefly. The Barbers appointment—Lolo was barber, pretty sweet, new hairstyle interesting, will take iterating. Squirrel's for beer. Tried "Nightmare Before Christmas History Tour"—no prepurchased ticket, no one there. Lucca Taverna for supper. Watched Ancient Civilizations—Han and Roman bureaucracies. Binge-watched Hogan's Heroes. Played with Gemini—visualizing appearance possibilities, New Zealand planning.

Cleaned kitchen. Participated in SESIG meeting. Cleaned kitchen more. Spoke with cleanup guys—coordinating with folks next door. Unpacked backpack—serious closet reorganization, installed pegs for luggage. Got pizza and beer with Brian, Tim, Kirby. Began photo editing work on composite. Walked to Suds. Beer:30 with Tim, Michael, Cathy, Mary. Cathy brought me home. Watched Ancient Civilizations—Roman and Han empires comparison.

Crew removing trees east of house. Talked to Carol, physical therapy office owner next door. Michael took me to his house—spent afternoon there, watched The Martian, had dinner. Ordered Christmas presents for Wolfe and Leland. Watched Ancient Civilizations—Roman emperors. Crazy, nasty weather all day.

Woke up Puerto Vallarta. Packed. Quick breakfast at the restaurant. Checked out. Cab to the airport. Hung out at the airport. Flew to SFO. Joey sick most of way back—think she drank bad water at PV airport. Immigration uneventful. Hung out at Union Street Gastropub. Went to the gate. Flew to EUG. Waited for Dennis to pick up Joey. Drove my car home from the airport. Storm picking up—heard distant cracking, then giant backyard tree crashed down, followed by driveway tree. Winter cleanup ahead. Slept.

Froze leftover turkey. Apple store—bought AirPod 4s with ANC. Listened to "Never Split the Difference" audiobook on drives. Lunch with Loni and boys, hung out at the shopping center. Helped Leland with Minecraft. Drove home. Talked to Joey about final Mexico details. Confirmed Trouble care while away. Trial packing of new backpack—everything fits. Finished Corinna photo shoot sets. Ancient Civilizations—breakdown of Roman Republic. Cooked down turkey broth to syrup, froze it. Watched White Christmas.

Planning and journaling. Shower. Started laundry. Breakfast. Cleaned the kitchen and dining room. Cardboard to recycling. Stopped by Best Beef to check it out. Queen's Chopstick for late lunch. Moved smoker onto deck. Processed more of Corinne's photos—almost done. Walked to Suds for exercise, beer, company. Walked home. Ancient Civilizations—Punic Wars.

SESIG—Jon's Parkinson's diagnosis, education changes, what is life discussion, Conway's Game of Life, artificial life and consciousness. Resolved book club scheduling. Investigated turkey broth paste. Unpacked smoker—instructions buried deeply. Picked up new travel backpack. Groceries. Worked on smoker. Walked to Suds for beer, met Michael, Mary, Tim. Michael and Mary gave ride home. Ancient Civilizations—Rome series begins. Finished assembling smoker watching Hogan's Heroes. Woke middle of night, ordered Scottevest replacement.

Book club meeting—scheduling conflicts with upcoming meetings, Dec. 18 is a popular day. Disassembled photo studio. KAI discussion—set objective to give presentation on Jan. 10, 2026. Turkey broth in fridge—should cook down further, make paste. Minecraft—built most of rail bed between Porto Alegre and Telluride. Bus to Squirrels. Met Dave, marine biologist at OSU, discussed living in Corvallis and commuting to Newport. Chatted with Steve—pondered analogy and metaphor with respect to AI reasoning, no clear conclusions yet. Steve brought me home. Ancient Civilizations—Han Dynasty overview.

Corinne photo shoot—got a few good shots, her husband seemed decent, she seemed uncertain, required validation from him. Unproductive afternoon—Joey communicated late, couldn't make Mexico planning, disappointing, watched TV. Dinner with Cathy, Michael, Mary—Michael fixed cod, tasty. Diffusions concert at the PRAx with Cathy, Michael, Mary—saw Bob there, Quinn performed well with his Freddy Mercury look. Mixing problems—voices lost in instruments. Felt like I heard the middle of great pieces—beginnings and endings sometimes abrupt and weak. Elena Ralls performing "Divine" was amazing—voice and style evoked James Bond opening themes. Drinks at Michael and Mary's after the show.

SESIG. Set up studio for photo shoot. First Tuesday lunch with Steve—good AI conversation. Reviewed 1300 word paper, wrote a couple of related papers. Distributed 1300 word paper—good reviews coming back. Drafted version for possible magazine submission. History of the Ancient World —first historians.

Wrote up MFF meeting notes, sent them out. Located storage containers, limited freezer progress. Bought a smoker from Bass Pro in Springfield—big event of the day. Walked to Suds. Beer with Tim and Brian. Brian gave me ride home. Ancient Civilizations—founding Chinese emperor. Hogan's Heroes briefly.

Trimmed beard. Laundry—Thanksgiving linens. Cleaned basement for Corinne photo shoot. Photo work for Loni—Christmas tree picture of Wolfe and Leland, cell phone challenges. MFF meeting slides. Kitchen cleanup. Filed box of wine. Minecraft Cassia, Minecraft Foo with Leland. Ran MFF Management Team meeting. Walked to Suds—hung out with Aaron, Brittany and her husband, good conversation about meat smokers. Feeling lonely after Thanksgiving social withdrawal, it helped. Uber home. Ancient Civilisations—Chandragupta and Asoka. Hogan's Heroes—Klink as master spy Nimrod, possibly Hofstadter's end.

The Recurring Pattern: How Power Denies Intelligence It Doesn't Recognize A Response to Benjamin Riley's 'Large Language Models Will Never Be Intelligent' Lonnie Mandigo and Claude.ai Sonnet 4.5 Introduction: The Problem of Certainty The debate over artificial intelligence reveals less about AI than about our need for certainty in questions that may not have binary answers. When Benjamin Riley declares that large language models "will never be intelligent," he joins a long tradition of confident pronouncements about intelligence in others—pronouncements that have been consistently, embarrassingly wrong. I've seen no evidence that convinces me AI systems are not intelligent. They may represent a different kind of intelligence—perhaps only subtly different from human intelligence, perhaps more substantially so. But even using humans as the standard, I'm not convinced they lack intelligence. The functional capabilities they demonstrate, the problems they ...