Opinion

Phone Calls

I don’t like to talk on the phone. Anyone who knows me will tell you how true that is. I hate making phone calls. I’d rather text, IM, or do smoke signals.

I’m saying that because my house mate has been on the phone with a member of his family for probably somewhere along the lines of oh, say five hours.

Yep. That is not a typo (this time). Believe me, I’ve had many many typos. My whole life is a typo.

I don’t like I’d have six minutes worth of things to talk about let alone 6 hours.

Trust me. I am probably the most boring person there is. A rock probably comes in first place but damn it, I am a close 2nd.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

…or as I used to say back in the 90’s.

Happy “would have been” Birthday Grandma!

I think of her often. She was a wonderful lady.

As I go onto Google this morning, I have to ask myself “why is this google so fucking lame?”

CleanShot 2021 03 17 at 03 47 17 2x

No traditional St. Patrick’s Day anything in this.

Well, at least its green.

Public Stalking

I believe I just figured out why it disturbs me when I hear that someone is a “fan” of someone else so much that they devote time, money, and resources in the pursuit of said fandom.

The words “stalk” and “fan” are remarkably similar.

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…and fan…

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I believe the only difference between stalking someone and being a fan of someone is the fact that being a fan can be done in public.

Flashbacks

Flashbacks were the subject of a course that I am taking on fictional writing.

I have used them in the things that I have written but I admit, I use them sparingly. They can be a great tool but they can also make the story unwatchable or unreadable.

Case in point.

DC’s Arrowverse.

I had to stop watching the show because every show has an incredible amount of flashbacks in it.

It is a great example of what not to do. At least, in my opinion.

The show could have been greater without it.

Missing the Point

Australia. First of all, I love your women. They are amazing, smart, and gorgeous.

As for your decision making skills as a country, not so much.

Australia’s prime minister said on Monday that Microsoft is confident it can fill the void if Google carries out its threat to remove its search engine from Australia.

This story is about Microsoft filling a void. That in and of itself, should be scary.

Filling a void isn’t really the point. By your actions, you are taking a choice away from your citizens.

They should be outraged.

The Superhero TV Formula

I love comic books. That isn’t to say that I read them. I love comic books because of the superhero movies and television shows that are a result of them.

I remember sitting in from of our console TV as a child and watching Batman every day. The one thing I do NOT remember is shows that focused on sexuality, feelings, emotions, or other shit that simply doesn’t belong in the genre.

The series tied everything up in a nice bow. The villain would do dastardly things and the superhero would stop them and save the day. There would always be some trap that Batman and Robin would have to get out of. It was glorious. Was Batman bisexual? I dunno. Was Robin really a gender neutral? Again, dunno. My question is why would I care? It lends nothing to the story and although a modern screen writer might claim that it helps define the character, I would disagree.

It matters much less than they think it does.

I watched Star Trek as a kid and all of the way through to my adulthood. I believe I was in my forties when I read that George Takei (Sulu) was gay. That is how much it didn’t matter. His sexuality had nothing to do with the character much in the same way as if his character was gay.

A later Star Trek movie that reasoned that if George was gay then the character must also be gay was fucking ridiculous. I’m fairly certain that Gene Roddenberry did not write Sulu as a gay character.

You get the idea. Leave the fucking sexuality out of it and your shows probably would enjoy more seasons instead of getting cancelled.

I mean Batwoman. Jesus.

1% Mob Mentality

I am by no means, a one percenter.

In fact, I am probably on the opposite side of that spectrum.

I do not desire to have anything that a one percenter has. If I did, I would create a task list and goals that would get me to that end. It is really pretty simple really.

We can do anything if we actually set our minds to it. We really can.

During this past “peak season” when online shipments are going through the roof, I am the busiest that I will be all year long. It is always a dreaded time of the year for me and the people that work for me.

This year I decided to do something really radical. I decided to try and write a short story during “peak season.” I set a goal with clearly defined road maps along the way and followed the plan. The result?

Not only did I write a short story during “peak season” but I wrote nearly three of them. I finished the 3rd story shortly after the new year.

I am currently finishing up the 4th story and will soon be onto the 5th story. The goal is a nine story set that I may plan on actually publishing.

There is a point to all of this. If you want something that someone else has that, in and of itself, is a problem. That not withstanding, if you want something that someone else has or even just their lifestyle you can do it. If, you work at it.

There lies the rub. People are lazy. People are stupid. People love lashing out in a pack mentality. I think it is perfectly fine to want what someone else has as long as you are willing to do what it takes to achieve it for yourself.

Thinking that someone else owes you something is retarded. Yes. I’ll use the word and if you don’t like you can fuck off. Only a retarded cunt thinks that way. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that if you think the world owes you a pickup truck then I think the world should run you over with said pickup truck. That is what you deserve.

It is no wonder that I think people are shit.

It is because they are.

Not. Bitter.

Irrational Behavior in Action

There are many forms of irrational behavior but nothing more interesting than that of the female variety.

Scenario #1: The woman has a dog. It is a dog that hates people and bites everyone and everything. The dog is so bad that it can’t be taken out in public if there are people around. The dog is so disruptive that the family has to make plans base around this disruptive dog’s behavior.

A rational view of this situation would dictate that the woman get rid of the dog. That can be in any appropriate manner.

The irrational side of the woman will not get rid of the dog because she feels the dog needs love and she loves the dog. So, the whole family will continue to suffer until the dog dies or divorce happens.

Scenario #2: A certain religion who shall remain nameless has been discredited. The woman’s irrational behavior will still believe in this religion even though it has been proven to be a lie and complete fabrication.

Aliens: Come and Get It!

This is my #1 reason why I think aliens will have an easy time of conquering our planet should the need arise.

A vast majority of the human race whole heartedly believes (sights unseen) in completely made up and imaginary things. That makes them gullible as a species and deserving of eradication. Humans are simply too stupid to exist in the grander universe at large.

The #2 reason is that the human monkeys kill each other. It is difficult to say which should be #1 and which should be #2. They are both just as bad.

People say that we should focus on the good things about humanity. To me, that is like asking the same thing when talking about a serial killer. For example “sure, he killed 15 people but he donated to charities.”

As I was searching for a picture for this post, I found this…

In conclusion, aliens should invade and conquer us at their earliest convenience or at the very least, hurl a huge asteroid our way.

Thank you in advance.

Global Warming is Caused By

Excessive human population.

That fact drives everything else that has anything to do with global warming.

More people means…

  1. More garbage.
  2. More Cars
  3. More Industry
  4. More Animals to Support more Humans
  5. Less Trees
  6. More Housing. See #5

Someone said that it isn’t the amount of plastic bottles that is the real issue. The real issue is the need for all of those plastic bottles. Remove the need and they won’t be making all of those plastic bottles anymore. The same works for cars, etc.

Our population is way too big for the planet and it is only going to get worse. Scientists seem to take the position that this can somehow be controlled without getting rid of the human issue. In most cases, population is never mentioned.

How can you not talk about it?

You can’t. If you don’t remove a vast amount of the human population, you can never recover.

If you want to reduce CO2 and you honestly believe that is the major issue than you must entertain the idea that you need to remove people to do it.

Picture Credit

The Annoyed Beta Tester

I found this and couldn’t help but comment on it.

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My reply to this thread is below. Irritation, annoyance, and frustration are the very definition of what beta testers must go through. You are signing up to put up with it so I get a little irritated myself when I see people whine about it.

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Stolen iPhones

Please Note: The following applies equally to iPads as well.

If your iPhone gets stolen and you’ve done a few simple things — the phone is useless to anyone. The phone cannot be used and wiped without your authorization. The iPhone essentially becomes a brick. The most important thing you can do is to make sure that “Find my iPhone” is turned on.

ZDNet has a pretty good article about how a thief can actually use your stolen iPhone but it requires that the iPhone owner do some pretty bad things.

via ZDNet

In order for a thief to get your credentials to unlock the stolen phone you would have to give the credentials to them. Most folks wouldn’t knowingly do that but that is exactly how phishing works.

The best thing you can do if someone steals your phone is for you to conduct all business related to it through the official Apple website portal for iCloud. Do not follow any links in an email or elsewhere. Even if the email looks like it comes from Apple, go over to your browser and log in to Apple’s iCloud website that way.

When someone steals an iPhone, the odds are against them. It is exactly the same as if they’d stolen a brick from a construction site. Of course, most bricks do not have a built in GPS tracker.

If your iPhone gets stolen, play it cool and don’t panic. Instead of thinking about it negatively let’s call it a “forced upgrade.”

Reporting on Non-Existing Consumer Products

The one thing I absolutely love about Apple is that they don’t announce something that they don’t have. You might not be able to buy it for a few months until production ramps up and they gauge how many units they can sell, but they’ve presented a REAL item.

Having said that, Stanford University is working on/developing a new type of battery storage. It is not ready to be purchased — hell, it may not even work on the scale they think it will so my question is — why report it?

There is plenty of “pie in the sky” in the article. It could do this…It might mean this…

There is even a COULD in the article’s title “Liquid metal battery could lower cost of storing renewable energy.” …and if your Grandmother had wheels she’d be a wagon.

EU is a Big Fat Bully Who Wants Your Lunch Money

I equate the European Union (EU) to the bully at school that beats kids up and takes their lunch money.

Follow the Google link below for the latest bullying tactic.

They have fined Apple, Google, and Microsoft just to name a few. The reasoning is pretty weak and they just seem to be using their bullying tactics to extort money from the wealthy American companies. I’m pretty sure they care more about the revenue stream than protecting the rights of the downtrodden.

The EU declares war on American companies pretty much the same way that the small country did in the movie “The Mouse That Roared.” The whole premise of the movie was that if this small country could declare war on the United States and lose — the United States would pay them reparations which would boost their economy. My guess is that the officials in the EU have seen that movie and have taken it to the next level.

Engadget has a pretty good article giving you the background on the latest round with Google. The whole idea that Google is a bad guy for trying to get you to use its content is counterintuitive. Of course Google wants you to use its services. In case you missed it, that is how they make money. Taking that money from Google is how the EU makes money.

Getting out of the EU is probably the best thing Great Britain ever did. No-one wants to be associated with a bully when you want to make friends.

I think it would be awesome if the United States sued the EU for extortion.

They are a criminal organization that deserves NO less.

Update: 07.23.2018 – This little snippet from Engadget is extremely telling…

Google reportedly offered to make changes to its Android policies in August 2017, not long after it received an EU antitrust penalty for its product search practices. Although Google didn’t dive into specifics, it had offered to “loosen restrictions” in Android contracts and had considered distributing its apps in “two different ways.”

The EU wasn’t having it, according to the sources. Officials reportedly said only that a settlement was “no longer an option,” and that Google’s offer was “too little too late.” It couldn’t even mention the possibility of paying a fine as part of an agreement — regulators had effectively locked in their course of action.

Robocall Relief Possible

Great article over at Engadget about congress trying to pass stricter laws against Robocallers.

I get about a dozen of these per day. I wish Apple would just allow us to block any number that is not in our contact list.

Yes. I like using “asides” to post. I think bigger posts should be handled differently. Asides are great for quick posts. Love. Them.

Dumbing Down of America

I found a pretty good article that talks about why Americans seem so dumb today compared to what they were just a few decades ago.

The article points to the education system but I disagree about why Americans aren’t as smart as they used to be.

The number of American citizens who can do very high-end research who also can easily get security clearances is limited,” Ignatius says. “The ability of our schools to produce American students at a world-class level, that’s an important national challenge.

Again, I disagree to a point. I believe the problem is something else entirely. Do college graduates really need to remember anything? In the age of “just Google it” do we really need to even try to retain information? I believe the answer is no. If I can’t remember a song, there is an app for that. If I can’t remember what camping gear I need to take with me — again I can just Google it.