53 Comments
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Bill Southern's avatar

Michael, as usual, you have captured the essence of a conundrum we have wrestled with for hundreds of years, and explained it to us in terms we can understand: "Regardless, my plan is to ingest an unhealthy amount of cable news, sit at the edge of my seat, and self-medicate with cannabis and carbohydrates until every state on the big map is either red or blue. That’s just how democracy works." That's just how democracy works. . .amen, brother.

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appleton king's avatar

oh yeah i forgot you like a good mystery!

no one knows the answer but as a former gambler i look to vegas...6 months ago trump was a big favorite i wont bore you with the -530 shit and math but since then its gradually come down to basically even odds...the same i give to my Sox beatin Dodgers in World Series 💥💪😂

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tab's avatar

AI could probably tell the future if it was using the voice of James Earl Jones or Walter Chronkite.

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Michael Estrin's avatar

True!

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Anne Kadet's avatar

Wow I LOVE the idea that not only do we not know the answer now, we won’t know the answer after the election, and we won’t know the answer EVER. So many things are like that!

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Michael Estrin's avatar

Some people love the not knowing, but it freaks others out.

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Barbs Honeycutt's avatar

your gardener is great and I believe an oracle deck should be an option

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Amy - The Tonic's avatar

Based on this post and on your overheard Notes, the only nugget I have for you is that Californians are way more willing than New Yorkers to ask anyone their opinion on politics and also to say the most ridiculous shit out loud in public. This is an unscientific conclusion, of course. And I will not be using AI to try and support it.

Speaking of AI, I have been playing with the app Pi, and today it answered so many questions I had about house painting, central AC, and caterpillars. It’s witty and amusing too. Just like ScarJo!

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Michael Estrin's avatar

Trying Pi. I picked the female British voice. She sounds like she knows what she's talking about.

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Amy - The Tonic's avatar

ooh, I've not used the voice function yet. I'll have to give that a try.

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Michael Estrin's avatar

There are 8 choices.

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Paul Moxness's avatar

Taylor endorsed a big dude from Ohio. He didn’t win because they didn’t stop the count after her ballot was cast. Big dude withdrew because his brother was sweet on Swift so he switched directions and started a podcast.

Your gardener is headed for cable news stardom. Buy some weed killer and prepare for increased gardening services bills. (The bill might come from campaign headquarters and he might not cut your lawn anymore, but don’t worry, it’s all legit.

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Michael Estrin's avatar

I think you’re right about my gardener. He’s going places and our yard & bank account will likely suffer.

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Good Humor by CK Steefel's avatar

2. October surprise- Taylor Swift will run for Pres. Dunkin will launch the new double fried apple fritter.

4. I’m with the Gardner. Remember Being There the movie?

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Michael Estrin's avatar

A double fried apple fritter!? Will wonders never cease?

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Good Humor by CK Steefel's avatar

So American.

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Michael Estrin's avatar

I feel a stir of patriotism in my belly.

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Good Humor by CK Steefel's avatar

🤣

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Gayle's avatar

I think I will be forced to go to a fortune teller!

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Dennard Dayle's avatar

1. Taylor was a frontline soldier of Napoleon at the time. Quite the multi-talent.

2. Not to be morbid, but two stressed elderly men points toward one easy answer.

3. They've got this. Primary sources have never been more numerous.

4. Chaos is a ladder.

5. Scarlett's lawyers must be even more advanced AI.

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Michael Estrin's avatar

Your point may be more but your assessment is based in reality. Like the duels of yore, choosing the right second will be key.

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Caz Hart's avatar

Your garder is a genius. (Is his name Chance?) He covered the topic exhaustively from every angle.

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Michael Estrin's avatar

My gardener is wise. He might also be an assassin (a topic I covered in a previous Situation Normal).

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Sheila Moeschen's avatar

I think we're head for a J.J. Abrams October surprise: A splinter political faction calling themselves Not Penny's Boat throwing an eleventh hour wrench in the works; we learn that all voting machines are controlled by a guy named Desmond pushing a button in a hatch every 108 minutes; and the biggest surprise/reveal of them all: Toe Fungus Trump IS The Smoke Monster! Hallelujah! Holy shit! Where's the Tylenol?

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Michael Estrin's avatar

You Lost me. Kidding! If newsletters don’t work out, JJ will hire you to write screenplays.

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Sheila Moeschen's avatar

Maybe he was using AI before it was even a thing? Season 5 definitely felt like Hal-9000 was behind most of it….;)

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Michael Estrin's avatar

It’s quite possible! In fact, I’m not sure if JJ is real. I’ve never seen him. Perhaps he is Hal-9000!

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Geoffrey Golden's avatar

Are people hounding you for your opinion because of your law background? Nobody has asked for my opinion, and that’s a good thing, because my answer is 🤷‍♂️.

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Michael Estrin's avatar

I’m not sure. This happens to me whenever there’s a big news story. I’d chalk friends and family asking up to the law degree and my hobby of reading history. But I can’t explain strangers. I mean perhaps I look learned, but I also wear t-shirts that say things like “I got a beverage here, man,” so I don’t exactly give off professor vibes.

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Geoffrey Golden's avatar

Maybe it’s the beard. It gives off a “prognosticator vibe.”

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Michael Estrin's avatar

Perhaps! But this has been going on since I was a kid.

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Andrew Smith's avatar

Michael, I remember reading somewhere that cannabis doesn't really hurt your memory much after the age of 25. I wanted to say some other relevant things here, but I forget what I wanted to say.

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Michael Estrin's avatar

I had a witty reply, but I can’t remember it now. Damn.

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Andrew Smith's avatar

BRB, grabbing 9 snax.

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Christie Barnhorst's avatar

Tay Tay's ta tas only endorse NFL players, actors, and fellow musicians (dubiously), not elections. She does however influence world economy. The October surprise will be her tour taking the month off resulting in economic collapse.

I want future historians to recognized they are record keepers not soothsayers.

Yes on your gardener. At least he gave a balanced response. Also delivered in normal terms most people can comprehend.

AI is no smarter than the sum of its parts. And that's some scary shit.

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Michael Estrin's avatar

Your take on AI is chef’s kiss! Also, I need to get into the Taylor Swift business. It’s the only game in town.

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KdD's avatar

I want future historians to know that 2024 was just like the previous elections. Everything went like shit. What wasn’t just like all the rest was the technology which made very little overall difference. The vote went just like the Illuminati paid to have it go. Unless they’ve been proven to not exist.

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Michael Estrin's avatar

This comment will inspire several works of future history.

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