March 2026 Personal Newsletter
I am now on Substack
Video Edition
Petrol Crisis – go electric!
So much of our oil comes from an area that is among the most volatile in the world.
This is a key reason I go electric wherever possible: car, machinery, everything.
When calculating costs, think also in terms of security of supply.
You don’t want to be stranded if the petrol runs out.
Be Prepared
Which also brings up the matter of food. EVERY family should have a year’s supply of food stored away, ideally backed up with a food-producing garden.
With proper storage systems, foods such as rice and wheat can last up to 25 years, and it doesn’t cost anything because you gradually use it.
Look up “food storage mylar bags and oxygen absorbers”. And honey lasts forever.
98% chance you’ll never need it but, if something happens, could mean life or death.
Digital Jim
A couple of articles about my digital avatar.
Can’t even remember saying some of these things about politics and politicians, but pretty spot on.
https://www.mediaweek.com.au/jims-group-ai-bot-goes-rogue/
This is me as a therapist. I tried it myself and got some pretty good answers!
Try it for yourself on www.jimpenman.com.au
Birth-rate Crisis
Major launch planned for October. Nobody has found a way to reverse our collapsing fertility.
A lot of people won’t like my solution, but it’s the only one that could possibly work. Character change, with the help of medication.
People won’t be able to ignore this book.
Fasting
Fasting is a great way to strengthen your brain’s reaction to dopamine.
I’m observing Lent this year, which means no deserts, sweet drinks, or deep-fried food such as chips. With that and 16/8 fasting, I get a bit hungry at times.
However, I also feel disciplined and clear minded, and more spiritual.
What I’m actually doing is reducing dopamine surges, so my brain is better satisfied with the small trickle that comes from positive things like work, nature, and relationships. Also, lost three kilos, which is surprising for only a fortnight.
Really ought to do this year-round, foregoing small pleasures for a better overall mood and focus.
Too many career politicians
Too many people in politics have never done anything else. The Labor Party was founded by people who had real jobs and understood how the world worked, and the experience of ordinary people.
So many policies mire us in red tape, legislated by people who haven’t a clue of the effects.
Typical example a requirement that people have the right to work from home, on the supposed basis that this is better for the business. How on earth would they know?
How can some political hack understand the needs of a business better than the people who run it?
Same economic stupidity as Mao’s Great Leap Forward, which was supposed to make China wealthy, and ended up killing tens of millions from the resulting famine.
Dumb economic policies may not cause starvation in Australia, but they take money from the pockets of battlers who could really use it.
The Good Life, by Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz
Good advice on how to live a healthy, happy life, based on a study that’s been running since 1978. Key lessons: focus on relationships over everything else.
Audiobooks are a great way to steer your life in a better direction.
It’s not just a matter of knowing what to do, it’s having it drummed into you until it becomes part of your way of thinking.
Love Machines, by James Muldoon
Great book on AI companions including the way they are used as friends, romantic partners, therapists, and as a way of keeping the dead alive.
Gave me some good ideas on expanding the scope for digital Jim.