With all the craziness going on in American society, it’s no wonder my mind did a Dobie Gray and drifted away into thoughts about violence and mayhem. Not writing it down is just killing me…
Hah.
It made me ponder our culture and the daily exposure to violent things.
Here goes something (or nothing):
Axe (deodorant)
Badass (TV series)
Bang (energy drink, game, slang for sex)
Bash (Unix shell and command language)
Belt (for pants or alcohol)
Batter (as in baseball and pancakes)
Blade (movie/comic book character)
Blast (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool)
Boom (comic book explosion, airplane, studio)
Burst (mobile video service)
Chop (stolen cars, steaks)
Chopped (a TV show)
Crack (cocaine and other things)
Crush (soft drink)
Cutter (bug spray)
Dagger (kayaks)
Destroyer (a Navy ship, rock band and comic book character)
Edge (shaving gel)
Eviscerate (Heroes of Warcraft spell)
Gash (slang term for female genitalia)
Hack (think computer)
Hammer (useful tool, fictional detective)
Hurt (awesome Trent Reznor song sung by Johnny Cash)
Impale (online game)
Impaler (Vlad)
Lance (national brand of baked goods)
Mace (the spray)
Maim (musical band)
Mangle (weird toy, laundry device)
Mangler (movie, software name)
Maul (Useful tool, sci-fi character)
Megadeth (heavy metal band)
OG (original gangster)
Pound (British money)
Pummel (online game, album title)
Ravage (wine)
Rent (something I’m late with on occasion)
Rip (pull songs from a CD or other source)
Ripped (weightlifting supplement)
Ripper (British slasher and tennis shot)
Sabre (tech company)
Scar (film character, actress nickname)
Shatter (high-potency marijuana)
Shredder (comic book character)
Slam (magazine, ball dunk, big hit in baseball)
Slash (Guns N’ Roses singer)
Slayer (heavy metal band)
Slice (soft drink and tennis shot)
Smack (heroin)
Smash (TV series and tennis shot)
Snuff (smokeless tobaccov
Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer character and volleyball shot)
Stab (surfing magazine and tennis shot)
Stiletto (a shoe, a tool company)
Stomp (musical group)
Whip (cool or otherwise)
Wreck (as in Wreck It Ralph kid’s movie)
If you have an item for the list, drop me a line at:
At the end of the working (or even non-working) day all of us would love to know that our books are balanced, that the sun will set (and rise) as it always has – and that all is well in our Voltairian best-of-all-possible worlds. Dr. Pangloss is an eternal optimist.
He’s French, so he has to be.
Humanity has risen to the top of the food chain – apparently – because it has elevated the art of self- and other-deception as the most important skill for survival and success. We want to be deceived (Mundus Vult Decipi, as they say in Latin) and many people will be quite happy to deceive you.
Hey, they are only trying to help you.
Meh.
What was once simply one among many traits of the overall adaptive strategies humans employ to survive, self- and other-deception is now the fundamental “truth” of human existence. Lies bring power. The bigger, the better. Truth is relative you are told.
Horse hockey – Truth is not relative.
Many adaptive strategies embrace deception and lying, confirming the erroneous belief (IMHO) that only a truly clever person could achieve success with such techniques. Sophistry is the use of fallacious reasoning, tricks of speech, and errors of logic to confuse, confound, and win arguments.
Politicians are, almost without exception, practiced Sophists. Just follow the news to confirm this for yourself.
You cannot escape the debacle of the smashing conclusion of the crash which is your life. That is to say, the crash which always ends in the demise of the driver.
However, the extent to which you enjoy your life and derive pleasure from it (while the wreck is happening) is directly and inextricably correlated to how well you manage and control the ongoing wreck that is an individual life.
Of course, as with anything in the “real” world — you are subject to the vagaries and variables which swirl around all of us like some noxious cloud that repeated waving of the hands fails to dissipate.
One such irritating variable — the wreck of our lives is always controlled by other people long before the “wheel” is ever handed over to us.
So, this means that not only must we learn to manage the crash on our own, but we must recover from the often poor handling of the previous driver, be they mother, father, friend, State, or other.
If we are fortunate, the crash was skillfully managed by the previous controller and when we are handed “the wheel” we can maintain a modicum of direction. Scalar and vector.
I must state, though, that words like “controller” and “control” simply do not convey the exact nature of what I want to say. The trick is to slow down the crash, reduce the rate of speed — if you will — so that while you, the controller (within your frame of reference) are living and enjoying every moment, the accident is happening so slowly around you you don’t even notice.
The last thing you want to do is to become so enamored with the crash’s net result that you initiate behavior to precipitate or accelerate the end or – worse – forget to enjoy the very act of driving (living).
It’s rather like watching a basketball game and some player is making every shot he or she takes. The announcer makes a remarkably astute commentary about it by saying, “That player is unconscious!”
Zen me.
In truth, the best results in life are often achieved if we don’t think about it too much. Sometimes, the more you fight for control, the worse the crash becomes. Often it is best to simply drive “into” the crash and not work against it.
However – this is critical – this does not mean ignorance is bliss and that we should relinquish our free will and let the State or any external entity drive and control our lives.
Self-determination is the key to happiness. Pay attention or you will pay a stiff price indeed – lost freedom and a vanished individuality.
Focus on the moment with an eye to achieving specific realist goals and the crash is relegated to the background, the periphery of reality.
Unless you allow the State or an external entity to be in charge. That is most definitely a DUIO violation – “Driving Under the Influence of Others.”
If you are going to have to endure the final wreck yourself (which you most assuredly will), then you ought to be the one driving – all the time. Don’t fight the crash – embrace it.
Who knows – you might even be able to drive around it. Maybe put it on auto-pilot and embrace the joy of everyday living. Get out and walk.
Perhaps an actual crash is not the end.
The Universe is full of strange things.
As for me, I’m walking right now, but I might break into a trot…
I play baseball. Amateur (i.e., unpaid). Fast pitch. I know, it’s nuts, but there you have it.
Anyway, I’m heading out to the game and it’s across town. I’m on the highway (The Loop) and proceeding at terminal speed, which is 65 in this case.
Hang on, maybe “terminal” and “speed” should not be used in the same sentence, especially the way most people drive.
The highway is crowded because — well — it’s always crowded. People are driving 65 and 65 plus. Mostly plus, truth be told.
I begin thinking. A dangerous habit I fell into many years ago and from which extraction seems impossible. Like a tooth in the back of my head. Sorry.
I’m wondering how in the name of Vishnu, G_d, Allah, Zeus or any other deity you care to conjure does this highway driving thing even work?! It seems like it is a catastrophic event awaiting activation.
I mean – stop to ponder the situation for just a cold, clinical, detached moment – you have whizzing and hurling hunks of metal weighing close to two tons — or more — flashing by on all sides — doing the whizzing and hurtling at a startling (if you stop to ponder it) at a close proximity of around 5 to 6 feet or so.
And the only thing separating their car from careening madly into yours is a line.
A line PAINTED on the freaking pavement.
This whole damn highway thing ONLY works if everyone honors the lines. Sure, it’s only paint, but it might as well be invisible because it only functions if everyone believes in it.
Trusts it, endorses it. Has faith in it.
The only way such high-speed driving functions smoothly is the absolute belief of all the drivers that the lines will be honored. Each driver must trust the other.
Governments should work the same way. Well, they are supposed to…
The invisible lines for our society – for those of us living in America—should be the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
Just like that simple paint on the highway, those documents are only printed (written) words on pieces of paper. They have no magical reality beyond what people grant to them. And — yet — by entrusting our faith in those words, a great country was born.
What happens – however – when certain groups of people decide NOT to honor the lines?
Imagine the utter chaos that would ensue on the highway if there were drivers that ignored the lines and steered their vehicle anyway they wanted, without regard for others. The only choice in direction such drivers cared would be their own — your choices would be rendered meaningless and ignored. It would be very bad. Catastrophic indeed.
Imagine any group or organization that ignores the lines and steers in any fashion it wants to without regard for anyone’s choice — then you have a much worse form of chaos.
That is because the vast majority of citizens are still using those aforementioned lines as guidance – they are honoringthe invisible lines — the words of those documents — the ones that link us as Americans. When they see any group or organization driving haphazardly – without using the lines – there is confusion, anger, dismay.
If someone ignores the painted lines on the highway, there are consequences. There are law enforcement agencies who will pull your car over and stop you. Or, you may die in a fiery crash. Despite what some political groups would have you believe, bad choices must yield bad consequences. There is a price to pay for bad decisions — you cannot be constantly bailed out.
It’s called responsibility, integrity, honor.
Who is going to pull the group or organization over and stop them before they crash into citizens still honoring the invisible lines of American society? Who guards the guardians, as it were?
American functions as a cohesive society because we have a belief in ourselves and others. We trust each other in societal interactions, just as drivers trust each other on the highway. Even an atheist has to have faith in the invisible lines that provide guidance for the conduct of American affairs. When that belief falters because our leaders ignore the lines or try to redraw the lines without our consent, then we have a chaos that is not easily mended.
Without belief and faith there is no positive human action because individuals give way to despair and resignation.
Perhaps this is what certain political groups desire. Citizens despair and resign. They stop driving. The roads are clear. Certain groups or organizations can then drive anyway they want, using any lines they desire. That is true tyranny.
The belief that the lines formed by the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights is the fundamental truth of America is critical to our continued success as a nation.
If that belief is lost, then America is lost. This is a nation built on belief in self — and others. Mistrust, retribution, dictatorship, and fear is not what we want.
If you put your faith in something and say, “I believe,” then make absolutely sure it is a belief in the right thing. Not the lies that is often held out as truth by any group, individual or organization that lusts only for power and control.
Honor the invisible lines which hold us together, or suffer the tyranny of others who have no such belief.
When we hear the word “technology,” the first thing that most of us think about is advanced computers, AI, digital devices and other such things.
The simple truth is that anything that humans create represents technology.
The root word “techne-” means that which is made by human hands (which by implication means that which was conceived of by the human mind.) The “-logy” part actually refers to the concept of “logos” which means how well the idea of the item being created reflects the thoughts of the mind conceiving the idea.
In other words, if someone builds a chair, the extent to which their technology is a “success” depends on how well the chair reflects the idea of “chairness” in terms of functionality and aesthetics, assuming it is a chair designed for humans…
Additionally, even the ancients understood that there was good and bad juju, mojo or logos (yin and yang, as it were). The same piece of iron (raw matter) can be transformed into a plough share or a sword. A passenger car or a combat tank. You get the point.
The
successful development and utilization of future technologies depend on the
“logos” which is their focal point. What I mean to say is, whether such
technology results in freedom or enslavement depends on how it is used.
There
are a number of technologies which are currently in the development phase and
the direction they take will inform human affairs for better, or worse, for
years to come.
Whoever
controls these technologies will rule the world.
Let’s
make a list so you can keep an eye out for such technologies.
Please
note that this is not a prioritized list, as any one particular technology can
leap to the forefront in prominence based on new insights, breakthroughs and
actual use in the “real” world.
I will list the item and then the positive and negative “logos” for each item on the list. Also, because my space and time is limited, this is just a brief and cursory examination of these topics. They all require a much more detailed expose…
►DNA
and genetic manipulation
Positive: We can fix or remediate disease, illness, infection and a host of other maladies that can be mended or alleviated by genetic treatment.
Negative: There is a danger if governments decide they can make
people “better” and genetic treatment is used to mold, fashion and manipulate
living humans, and human fetuses. In addition, if you can create genetic
methods to help fix genetic disorders, then the implication is you can create
genetic methods to deliver genetic disorders.
►High
speed communication, quantum communications, quantum computing, et cetera
Positive: Instantaneous communication without delay between any two points on earth that would basically be impossible to hack, plus vast improvements in computing speed and processing
Negative: Data encryption would be controlled by governments
and corporations and not individuals. Improvements in quantum computing could
result in dangerous human reliance and over-confidence in computer algorithms
and artificial intelligence systems for decision making. In addition, it would
permit governments and corporations to control and, if necessary, manipulate
all content that people see, hear and feel.
►Satellite or orbiting space station power transmission
Positive: Space-based capture of solar energy and then
wirelessly “beaming” this to earth is a subject of intense scrutiny on a global
basis. This could lead to almost free and abundant energy for all of humanity.
Negative: The difference between a device “beaming” useful energy and a device “beaming” destructive energy is, well, in the intention of the person controlling the device. In addition, whoever controls the energy has the power.
►Use
of electromagnetic waves other than visible light (solar) for energy source.
This would include the harvesting of human-made EM waves or harvesting
naturally-occurring EM waves (e.g., gamma, infrared, ultraviolet, microwave, et
cetera)
Positive: Humanity would no longer be dependent on petroleum
products, wind, solar or nuclear power. Energy would basically be free and
abundant.
Negative: Energy can be used for work, and work can be used to
make things (technology) and those things can be awesome good or awesome bad.
More energy = more temptation to evil.
►Neuro-link
communications
Positive: When humans think, our brain generates brainwave
patterns. While the content may be unique to the individual, the form and
structure is universal. Such patterns can be, and eventually will be, coalesced
into a database and correlated with word/concepts/images. What you “think” can
be “read” by other people or other devices. This will greatly facilitate
communications between humans themselves, and between humans and machines. It
will also make dramatic and life-changing communications possible for those
disabled, comatose or otherwise unable to communicate in traditional ways.
Negative: If a person’s thoughts – the last real bastion of privacy – vanishes, then power and control of human society would belong to those who control the technology. Never a good idea.
►Transhumanism.
A basic Internet definition is: “…an international philosophical movement
that advocates for the transformation of the human condition by developing and
making widely available sophisticated technologies to greatly enhance human
intellect and physiology.” A popular international transhumanist website[1] talks
about those “sophisticated technologies” in this fashion: “…artificial intelligence,
nanotechnology, nanomedicine, biotechnology, genetic engineering, stem cell
cloning, and transgenesis…. Other technologies that could extend and expand
human capabilities outside physiology include artificial intelligence,
artificial general intelligence, robotics, and brain-computer integration,
which form the domain of bionics, uploading, and could be used for developing
whole body prosthetics.”
Positive: Anything that improves the human condition should, on the face of it, be good. Better health and longer life are excellent goals which the transhumanists believe can be accomplished through technology.
Negative: The biggest challenge for transhumanism is – if you
create some truly remarkable breakthrough – who controls it? Who decides how it
is distributed and utilized? What is the impact of longer and healthier lives –
would humans be affected by the law of unintended consequences?
►Drones,
autonomous vehicles and robotics
Positive: Less human-based labor sounds wonderful – more time playing and less time working sounds appealing. Devices which facilitate commerce and make our lives more efficient are good.
Negative: Automation and robotics displace people from jobs and – due to their skill, talents, education, intelligence and abilities – renders them basically unemployable. Drones, autonomous machines and robotics can make everyday life easier, but they can easily be weaponized and the next great war or conflict will probably be won by the country that has the most drones, autonomous machines and robotics as well as the most skilled people sitting in underground bunkers operating joysticks and pushing the fire button.
There
are other things which could easily go on this list, but all this pondering has
worn me out. Therefore, ergo or in summation, I will provide a list for future
contemplation. Maybe after I have an adult beverage and give this some more
careful consideration.
■ Nanotechnology for health maintenance and treatment
■ Artificial intelligence for the diagnosis of health issues
■ Ability to sustain human consciousness in non-human systems
■ Neurological transfer accomplished through brain transplants to younger versions of ourselves accomplished through genetic cloning
■ Augmented and Virtual reality — digital means direct transplant
■ Breakthroughs in nuclear fusion, rather than fission
■ Using Earth’s natural electromagnetic field to create energy
■ Transformation of matter to create food and water
■ Recreation of abiotic oil in the laboratory
The world is full of decent, honorable and virtuous people. My fervent hope is that such folks will utilize all the positive things I have listed to make the world a great place. My fear, inescapable, is just the opposite. My rational conclusion is that we may have to weather some storms getting to all the positive, but eventually it will happen.
Then again, I am also convinced I will win the lottery…
Okay, let me toss out something which you may — or may not — completely agree with. Here it is — every activity you do that involves processing external stimuli can influence, structure, and modify your brain chemistry.
In essence, your brain changes throughout your conscious day. Every moment of the day. Constantly.
In other words, every time you listen to music, watch television, play a video game, read a book or talk to your mom — you are changing your brain chemistry.
Even reading this blog entry is having an effect on your brain chemistry by activating — or not activating — certain neuro-transmitters. There are a number of them, but I am primarily concerned with dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. They correspond to the triadic nature of human being. We’ll visit and revisit this topic over a series of future posts.
Anyway, here’s the scary part — there are bad people who are well-aware of the fact brain chemistry can be willfully manipulated. They are trying hard to sell you something that is not really beneficial for you — be it music, movies, books, television shows, products; anything. They also want to deliberately manipulate electromagnetic (EM) waves in an attempt to generate neurotransmitter dependence from you.
They want to make an addict of you.
Such ill-mannered folks would make it so your brain has to have certain kinds of induced stimuli in order that you feel “good.” Could be hours spent updating your social media pages; could be playing some massive multi-player game to accumulate enough gold to upgrade something or other; could be watching some plot-less movie with visually stunning special effects; could be reading a book which happens to be part of a series that never freaking ends.
Or — far worse and much more disturbing — they (the nefarious others) want to turn you into a non-reflective zombie simply responding to external stimuli and not really consciously involved in the thinking process at all. Don’t contemplate or be self-reflective about what you are doing — they require this of you — just pay us to permit you to keep doing it.
Do not let others manipulate the EM waves to fill your mind with thoughts, ideas, and opinions. Study, research, reflect, ponder and come to your own conclusions. Strive to control your own brain chemistry by keeping an equal footing within the three basic realms of human life — physical, social, and logical (higher-order thinking).
Dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine can be consciously utilized by you for seriously cool benefits — but you must be active and not passive in the attempt.
Next post will be about foods and activities you can do to increase neurotransmitter levels for a more holistic life.
I have a love-hate-hate relationship with technology.
They (the same nefarious bunch that always promises to build Utopia) told us that technology would make our lives easier. Better. More fulfilling. Simplify things.
What a crock of womanure (trying to be gender-sensitive here).
How about some examples? Glad you bloody asked. Let’s talk email.
Like a lot of people, I maintain a number of different email addresses. Some are for family, some are for team sports, some are for friends, some are for business, some are for quasi-anonymous blog communications, some are for Internet commerce, et cetera, et cetera. I won’t deny the utility and helpfulness of it all. However, lately it has become a huge pain in my gluteus maximus.
I mean, just dealing with my normal, regular and expected email is time consuming. Open it, read it, ponder it, usually respond and act on it. Tiring. And that’s just the stuff you want to read, that’s not counting the stuff you have to wade through and get rid of…
Let’s talk *SPAM* — no matter how elaborate I try to construct my filters and safeguards, I get inundated with a ceaseless stream of junk mail. If every piece of email that managed to sneak past my breastworks actually did what it said, I would have my mortgage paid off, be listed prominently in Who’s Who, be more incredible in the sack, be the proud owner of hundreds of stocks which quadrupled my money, own half of Nigeria, be living without pain of any kind, be thinner, have more energy and hair and whatever ad nauseum ad infinitum. Puke.
I spend WAY too much time highlighting and deleting crap emails. You can block the sender or domain but – guess what – the SPAMMERS rotate those more than the NSA changes passwords. Email addresses are like Chinese products – cheap and plentiful.
Oh, and here’s some more great news – companies want to ramp up automation and AI, which only means you’ll get more of this crap because it’s easier to generate from the sender’s end. Just set a few parameters and let the blasted machines churn and burn.
Enough with SPAM — let me rant on legitimate sites where you actually buy something useful. Now – hidden in the effing fine print, is the fact that by purchasing that “had to freaking have” item, you are automatically subscribed to the site’s newsletter. And, oh by the way, we also sell/give our subscriber lists to other companies with products we just know you’ll love {insert sincere smile here}. Sigh.
I do have a hateful admiration for some of these businesses – they have automated algorithms that are as utterly relentless as a Terminator cyborg. They will not stop until you buy something. Or you die and get removed from the list server.
Of course, you can unsubscribe. Just means they will send you MORE emails, hoping one of them will work. It’s not a shotgun approach, it’s frelling carpet bombing.
Then – even worse – there are hackers who send you things and WANT YOU to click the “unsubscribe” button, which unleashes gawd knows what evil script, key-logger program, or Trojan jackass to invade the sanctity of your system.
Don’t even get me started on Phishing and Scamming deals.
Fug – I’m headed to the Post Office to buy some damn stamps…
–E
P.S. Next post, we go off on text messages! Look for an e-alert. Hah.
