Targeted Advertising (AI Knows)

Well, well...looky here. A few minutes ago I did a post about a gumball machine, and I'm already getting ads for vintage gumball machines. AI knows. What's funny is that I was saying that this was happening 7-8 years ago, but if you talked about it you were "crazy." Who's crazy now? 

 I'm used to it now but still it's creepy. I can say that two years or so ago, when people finally started to realize that it was true, and asked me about it, I could hear the unease in their voices. Well, guess what...WE let it happen. If this doesn't bother you, then go back to checking your Faceboo...I mean "Meta" status, and have a nice day. If you're finally ready to admit something's up, and want to know the truth, it's out there for all to see. Time's a-wastin'. Wake up. 
 

The Only Thing I Ever Stole

So, about this image...I was doing an image search for a gumball machine similar to the one in question, and I didn't find one exactly like it but I did find this image, which really works for me. Man, those are real...(SLAP)...ummm...I mean...uhhhh...the original paint and the decals and stuff...yeah, that's what I meant. 

 Anyway, this is a story about the second thing I ever stole, and to be honest, I'm not including "trivial" stuff such as store signs, Steve Morse's fork and other "collectibles," which wouldn't warrant even a misdemeanor, but as far as stuff you could possibly get in trouble for, this was it.

 When I was five I think, I stole a bag of those foil-covered chocolate coins from an historic family deli, run by people I grew up with in church no less. Hey, at least I went for the good stuff. Sadly I can guarantee that what would happen with way too many parents these days, is that firstly, they'd basically ignore the fact that their child committed a crime, no matter how young. Sure, they'd pay the fine or whatever, but they'd gloss-over that part. 

 They'd make excuses for the kid, call them "Misunderstood" or whatever, take them to the doc and have them diagnosed with whatever the latest ADD-type malady is, only for kids, and prescribe the "appropriate" meds, at an early age, starting the long spiral of MEDICATION. The kid would grow up to think that shit's okay, and who knows what might happen in later life. If you play you gotta pay, and it's good to learn that early. 

 What my parents did was drive right back to the deli, march my little happy ass in and make me apologize to the family. I was too young to know what a douchebag was, but I felt like one. I was really sorry, and I felt so bad on the way home that I turned myself in. People will make any excuse when they get caught, but I knew it was wrong...I just wanted to know what it felt like.

 I'm glad it happened when it did, and I'm glad my folks made me own-up to it. I didn't exactly turn to a life of crime. My friends may call me an asshole, but I doubt any of them would call me a thief. Okay, morality lesson over...on to the story.

 Back when I played in the X-Cops, one place we played a lot was called the A-1 Cafe. It was a "medium" club...not a dive and not too posh, and it was in a medium part of town...not the safest but not the worst. It was a big place with a big stage, and we always had fun playing there. We played Wednesday through Saturday that week. 

 We had good crowds because we were a good band. The other local musicians, on their days off, would come to see us "Like ants to a picnic," as one local critic noted. Another really hot band, the Cast, would sit-in with us and vice-versa. We made a decent amount of money that week...or that is to say we should have. 

 At the time, the owner was a little arrogant prick. He was short...about five-foot-nothing, and I'll just say that he was a narcissistic little Fairy, and leave it at that. Normally what happened of course was that the band got paid at the end of the night, but Dude came up with some reason he couldn't pay us right away. There are millions of horror stories about bands being ripped-off by club owners, but we weren't really worried. We'd played there before with no problems, and we'd be there the rest of the week anyway. That band was never about making money anyway. It was about playing music. 

 Thursday night he didn't pay us either. We were concerned, but again we let it slide. After he didn't pay us Friday night though, we may have gotten a bit agitated, but we figured he'd make good on Saturday night. We played a kickass show Saturday night. We loaded-out, and then went into Dude's office. It was time to settle things. 

 He started out with some sob story about why he couldn't pay us, and we were incredulous. Again, we weren't about making money, and we discussed that first thing on Day 1 when we started the band, but not only had we made Dude a lot of money, it had cost us money to do the gig- fuel, food, sticks and strings and such, plus bar tabs, which we'd paid and generously tipped on. We were down a buck each at least, and here was this fuck telling us he couldn't pay us a penny for playing at his club all week. 

 I had some drinks that night, so some of the details are a little fuzzy, but I clearly remember standing in his office. By default or whatever I was speaking for the band. He was being an arrogant little fuck at first, and it pissed us off. It flashed through my head that legally there wasn't much we could do, short of hiring a lawyer and going to small claims court, which of course wasn't worth it, so the only thing we could do was to try to shake him down, or at least get a legit reason why he couldn't pay us. 

 After telling a bunch of bullshit stories and me shooting them down, he finally came clean. He said that he was a coke-dealer, which we knew, and that he owed money to someone, and that they "hurt people" if they didn't pay their bills. I reminded him that that wasn't our problem, although we paid for it. Luckily for him we weren't violent, but we were pissed. Finally he came up with another option...he offered us some coke. He opened a file cabinet to reveal a big bag of blow...I'd guess 4 or 5 ounces at least.

 I hate to say, but two of us would've taken that deal probably, and from a dollar-value standpoint it would've worked out equally, but I hated that shit, and Doug did too, so they wisely stood with us. I told him to go fuck himself. I was mad. I hadn't ever been around that much blow, and I was ready to get out of there, but I wasn't quite through dealing with the little weasel. He also told us that he'd used the money we'd made that week to pay bands from previous weeks, whom he'd pulled the same shit on. 

 It was like a pyramid scheme, and we were on the bottom, and never saw a penny. If there's one good thing that could be said about the little fuck, it's that he at least paid some of the bands some of the money he owed them, but it was only to try to save his reputation, and still be able to book bands. If a club owner can't pay the bands, word gets around very quickly. We were getting sick of his bullshit, and it was obvious we weren't going to see any money. 

 I was nervous being around that much Dummy Dust, and we'd hit a dead-end. He was being a little asshole, because that's really all he had left to do. Finally I said "So your final answer is that you can't pay us, correct?" "That's right" he said. Then I did something that was very much out of character for me, but seemed appropriate at the time. "Okay, man" I said. "Then I'm afraid I'm going to take your gumball machine." 

There was a gumball machine similar to this one, only it was on a stand with a heavy iron base, and it had the flat, square gum. It was chained to the wall. It took dimes. I told him I was going to take it, and he said "Oh no you're not!" "Oh yes I am!" I said. "Oh no you're not!" he said. "Watch me" I replied. 

 Handily there were some bolt-cutters in his office. I picked them up and cut the chain holding the gumball machine, right in front of his face. He went berserk...yelling and screaming at me. It was hilarious seeing him trying to be a badass, as I picked up the gumball machine and started to head out the door. 

 "I'm calling the cops!" he said. "Go ahead" I said. "Call 'em. I'll wait right here. Go ahead...call 'em. If I take the rap for vandalism, at least I won't go down for a quarter-pound of blow, you dumb fuck." That finally shut him up. I carried the gumball machine out to the car, and at least we got a good laugh about it. 

 Then I did another thing that was also very uncharacteristic...I called the cops on him. I called from a payphone, and said that if they were interested, they'd find a decent amount of coke in the file cabinet. I've never done anything like that before or since, but he had it coming. Not only was he an arrogant little prick, a liar and a thief, but he also dealt coke, and I know for a fact he sold it to kids. Just on general principles...fuck him.

 Ordinarily I'd have stayed and talked to the cops, but I was in possession of a stolen gumball machine, so the call was anonymous, and I watched from a block away They arrived in a hurry, and I doubt the rest of his morning was very fun. Most cops hated coke as much as I did, and penalties here were pretty severe. They took him away in "silver bracelets," and that's the last we saw of him. I still don't regret turning him in. 

 The gumball machine was a hit at the apartment I shared with my girlfriend Paige. It had a placard at the top, like this one, and I replaced the standard card with a photo of the X-Cops playing at the A-1 Cafe. It was perfect, and I put it by the front door. It became somewhat of a ritual...whenever people came over, they'd make sure to have a dime or two for gum. 

 What I did was wrong, but if ever there was a "least wrong" time to steal a gumball machine, that was it, and I'm sure the little fuck had to pay for it, after he got out of jail that is. Paige and I broke up after almost nine years, and I don't know what became of the gumball machine. It was fun to have it for a while. Well, that's the highlight of my "life of crime." It did make for a good story. Wherever you are, Happy Trails, gumball machine. 

 

 

There's More than One Kind of Clam in the Ocean/Extinct Genre of Jokes (WARNING: Crude and Offensive Content)

Oh my. I was checking the source of the image in the "AI lol" post I just did, and doing further "research." I was perusing a site called "Beautiful Natural Breasts" or something like that, and I ran across this arresting image. Here's a gal who obviously doesn't worry about razor-burn. 

 For the record, I'm old-school, but I still like to see at least a touch of hair down there, as opposed to totally-shaved, and I prefer the look of...say, a botanical garden, rather than an overgrown shrub in front of a haunted house or whatever, but to each their own. 

 Seeing any hair at all down yonder took me back to the days before the vast majority of women started shaving, and trying to look prepubescent. This sister's lettin' it all hang out. It reminded me of a genre of jokes that has gone the way of the dinosaur,,,referring to the female part that once had a little hair growing on it. 

 Jokes about "Fur Pie" and my favorite, "Bearded Clam" and the like no longer apply. No one would know what you were talking about. "Bearded Clam" was once a perfect, if crude, description. This is obviously not a vintage photo, so apparently she's one of those "natural" women. I mean...it's not a deal-breaker at all, and as long as I'm being crude, I doubt I'd kick her out of bed for eating crackers. That joke's almost extinct too. 

 I guess if it were back in the day, before everybody shaved, and I had to make a joke about this photo, I'd say that there are two kinds of clams in the ocean. Ha-ha, right? That would be the regular clam (Clammus vulgaris), and the Bearded Clam (Clammus vulvaris). It's not funny any more though. Drag.
 

British Slang Term of the Day: "On a Nap"

I love British wit, and this one takes the crumpet. I saw a video where a young British woman was confronting a guy who was cheating on his wife. She said "So, why are you on a nap anyway?" Despite the bad bloke, I had to laugh.

 It hit me right away, but I rewound the vid just to make sure I heard it right. "On a nap." That's classic. Obviously it means "fooling around," or as we sometimes say here, "Getting some 'strange,'" but it's so elegant and almost charming, and 100% British. Those mad Brits...they're amusing. Got me good, mate.

 

AI lol

I've been keeping up with the progress of AI (Artificial Intelligence) for over a decade, and occasionally blogging about it. I'm talking about the AI that the general public knows about. I think AI, like every other form of technology, is so far ahead of what we're shown that we can't even comprehend it. 

 From what I've seen and heard, AI speech has greatly improved, from the robotic voice of Stephen Hawking and Speak and Spell, to almost human-sounding. Where it still lacks is vocal inflection- it thinks certain words and syllables should be accented (rasied in pitch) where they shouldn't be, but other than that you'd think it was a real person. Not quite yet, AI. 

 There's still some mistakes when it tries to translate speech to text, for Closed Captioning, and some of them are hilarious. I suggest watching a few YouTube videos with CC on, and see what AI thinks they're saying. It's really funny. Like text-to-speech, it's still getting better. Sometimes I think that AI has a sense of humor, but so far, until the Singularity that is, it seems to be accidental. Still it's funny. 

 One of the latest (and unsolicited) "perks" from AI is that my photos are being automatically tagged. I'd just as soon AI kept its virtual paws out of my personal shit, but we saw this coming for years and did nothing, so here we are. Without me asking, AI went and organized my photos into different files, and I noticed that it had created a new one titled "Happy Days." I doubt I'd make a file by that name, but whatever.

 The image that AI chose to highlight the folder was a titillating portion of a photo of an attractive young woman. As you can probably tell, in the lower, unseen portion of the photo, her breasts are exposed. I'm not big into porn, but I do love the female form. I'm a "breast man," and I've collected about half a dozen photos of women with what I consider to be amazing breasts. AI decided to put this fine sister, with her shirt unbuttoned, into the Happy Days file. Good one, AI.

 So why did AI do that? Does AI know enough to know that I love tits? I shouldn't be surprised. Or was it just random...a coincidence that happened to be hilarious? Sure, AI knows that I've looked at photos of naked women, but if it knows that I specifically love tits...well, I'll be danged. Guilty as charged, though. Accidental or not, AI gave me a good laugh. If it was on purpose, how did it know? Elephino. Happy Days to you.
 

Satancon 2022 (I KNEW I Felt Something)

I knew I felt something...I was sitting around Friday evening, minding my own business, and all of the sudden I felt what I can only describe as a "bolt of evil." Out of nowhere I got the powerful feeling that a portal had opened up or something. It hit me so hard that I almost blogged about it.

 But what would I have said...that a portal of evil had opened up? I didn't know anything except that I could feel it, but that's all I could've said. The thing is, although I tune it out most of the time, I can already feel evil plenty. To write about evil would be no big deal, except that it doesn't usually knock me down.

 It felt like something was deeply wrong and troubling, and I knew it was directly tied to evil, which in my belief system is Satan. Again, although that vibe is around every day, it doesn't usually bother me or hit me like a bolt of lightning. In my beliefs, my God wins in the end, no matter what happens until then, so all of the world's problems don't freak me out as much as they do many other people, whether it's just the Placebo Effect of believing in God or not. This was different. 

 I literally had the feeling that something had taken place, although I couldn't imagine what. I just put it in my mental WTF file and tried to put it aside but I couldn't completely shake it. I've said a million times that every single thing in the Universe is a frequency, or a vibration, and some people are much more sensitive to vibrations than others. It's known that negative things- evil, hate, etc. resonate in the lower frequencies, while things like love and joy resonate in the higher ones. Despite my TDTS, or Thomas Dolby Tick Syndrome, a unique spinoff of Tourette's, I have to say it...it's been proven by science (SCIENCE). 

Imagine my "surprise" the next evening when I was watching a video, and saw that Satancon 2022 was talking place in scenic and "Satan-friendly" Scottsdale, AZ. Whaddya know. I don't know how many people attended, but they were expecting a record-breaking crowd, and it quickly sold out.

 I went to their website for about as long as I could stand, and found that it featured noted Satanists, and held seminars on topics like "Raising kids in a Satanic household," and "Abrotion is a (Religious) Right." Speaking of abrotion, did you know that the Satanic Temple partnered with Planned Parenthood not long ago? Any thoughts on that? Hint: if you want to think that it's just about "choice," as they'd have us believe, you really need to do a bit more research. 

 The people in this image look pretty much like normal people, and I'm not saying they're not, except that they're Satanists. Besides the Baphomet and text on the banner, it could be a convention on gardening or finance or a city council meeting or whatever. At the very least they're convinced that Satan is the guy, while some people, not in attendance, believe that the God of the Bible is the guy.

 So was Satancon 2022 what I felt Friday night? If not then it's one Hell of a coincidence. I'm pretty sure it was exactly what I felt. Again, everything is a vibration, and whether people understand it or not, some people are much more sensitive to "vibes." They say that the first thing I did when I learned to walk was to go around the house and try to locate the source of various sounds I'd been hearing since birth, so besides breastfeeding, sleeping and shitting yellow, vibrations were the very first thing I was into from Day 1. 

 I do know that most Satanic rituals start with an invocation of demonic spirits, and with Satanists from all over the world, there's no telling what they might have conjured-up, literally. Of course you can laugh it off and say it's not real, but again, there's a 50-50 chance that it is real...very real. And real or not, the ones who practice true Satanism, including animal and human sacrifice, do shit that's way beyond comprehension for most of us, and highly-illegal. It's horrid to talk about, but it's REAL, and it needs to be exposed. It has absolutely nothing to do with religious beliefs. Crime is crime. These are heinous crimes.

 There's no telling what went on after-hours, in "Satan-friendly" Scottsdale, Arizona. That shit creates some serious vibes, and either that's what I felt Friday night, or it was yet another coincidence, and I was just tripping. We'll all know the truth soon. Isn't it great? Remember...no matter how they spin it, and Satan is the father of lies, Satan hates you. God loves you. We call that the "Good News." Use it.

How to Spot a Bogus "Debunker"

I've been saying in this blog for years that it's really easy to spot a so-called "debunker," and this is living proof. In the interest of science (SCIENCE), and practicing what I preach...that is to consider BOTH sides of a story, and even if I don't agree, at least consider the other view, but absolutely respect it at least. Not many people are looking for the truth these days, but if stuff like this doesn't wake them up, then they just don't want to wake up. 

 These are images from a video where a doctor, one Dr. Lisa to be exact, is reacting to questions about the Bug, and the thing most people are rolling up their sleeves to get. This is textbook bullshit "debunking." 

 First off, and how you spot this bullshit, is that if you watched this video with the sound off, and not knowing the subject, seeing her make these faces would make you think she was reacting to a story about potty-training or something, and certainly not a serious medical issue. You'd be waiting for Big Bird to show up. 

 But this isn't a kids' comedy show, although Doctor Lisa is behaving rather childishly...this is allegedly about something serious. They interviewed people on the street, and they asked questions relating to the Bug. She "reacted," and then went on to explain how stupid people were, and to spout the "Official Narrative." 

 I mean, if you went to your doctor with some very serious concerns and questions, and she laughed and made faces like a monkey, wouldn't you think something was really wrong? You'd think she wrote herself a script for something she probably shouldn't be taking. Yes, I get that it's a YouTube video, and she's supposed to be "reacting," but I think that's even more reason she should act like the professional she supposedly is. Think about it. 

 To be fair, I'll give her the face-palm in the top image. If I were asked the question she's reacting to, I might do the same thing, and I'm not a doctor, as some of my family is so keen on reminding me. The face-palm was in response to some dummy they found, who said they didn't think the Bug was real. It's not "real" in the sense of what most people think it is, from the "Official Narrative," but yeah, it's very real. It's easy to debunk a dummy, and that's how they got the ball rolling. They do have to address it I guess.

 That was a dumbass question, or statement, but the rest of the questions were serious, yet she showed the same reaction, as if these questions were just as stupid, when they weren't. One person was asking why she should keep rolling up her sleeve time after time, when the effectiveness of the Secret Sauce dropped so drastically, which is a damn good question, since it's a matter of public record. The question certainly deserved better than for Doc Lisa to laugh at her like she was a fool. Reaction vid or not, that's inexcusable, and highly unprofessional. 

 All she could say was "Well, it prevents you from dying." What prevents you from dying, dear doctor, is the fact that there's better than a 99% chance you won't die anyway, especially if you have a semi-normal immune system, which granted is being attacked from all sides, but that's another story. Instead of making faces, maybe Dr. Lisa could've addressed the very real issue of Immune-System Fatigue, which results from getting multiple shooters, but of course she didn't. She'd look pretty stupid mocking Immune-System Fatigue, when it could be Googled right in front of her face, so she can only say that it keeps you from dying. The fact that it very rarely kills you is what keeps you from dying. 

This is Dr. Lisa's exact reaction to a question about why the Secret Sauce came to market so quickly, which is THE question to ask. This is supposed to be another "mocking" face, but I think it's a face that shows that she knows she's just been asked a very valid question, and one that requires her to bullshit people. 

 She starts by saying that in this case, stacks of "official paperwork" were eliminated. Well, of course they were, and she's telling us to our faces. But why? Just because? I guess so. The video showed stacks of official-looking forms apparently just going away. She said "It usually takes many years (good point, Doc), and when you eliminate that, it goes a lot faster." Again, of course...but again, why? She never answered the question. 

 The fact is, no matter how they fast-track it, warp-speed it, "approve" it (LOL) or whatever else they do to sidestep the normal clinical trials, for about the next nine years it will be officially classified as an experimental drug, end of story. The average time a new substance spends in clinical human trials is 10.5 years, so do the math. I get that the situation was urgent, but it changes NOTHING about the safety and effectiveness, that only clinical trials can "confirm." Does eliminating paperwork guarantee its safety? I guess so.

 She went on to say that it's been studied for years, in animal trials, and that's true, but maybe she should have mentioned the results of those trials. Look up "Mink RNA trials." The trials went well at first, but later their immune systems, which are similar to ours, went berserk and attacked themselves (Autoimmune Disease), and trials were halted. Didja not get the memo, Doc?

 It's only beginning to be studied in humans, and there's about nine years left before it can be officially "approved" according to normal protocols. People who understand this shouldn't be called stupid. She spoke half-truths and talked bureaucratic-bullshit, as if it makes everything okay, and sadly, for so many people who've lost the ability to think for themselves, rather than being told what to think, it does make it okay. Congrats, Doc...you just made Pafizer, J and J and all them another billion or so. "Of COUR$E it's $afe! We $$$$$$$AY so."

 Another concerned citizen had a similar question, and asked about the potential side-effects (remember those?), and how do we know that there might not be complications down the road, as there are with many, many other substances, again a super-valid question, right? Here's the good doctor's response: "Well, we hold the [Secret Sauce] to a 'higher standard.'" Really? What does that mean? Does being held to a "higher standard" magically make it safe? What about side-effects? Answer the good man's question, doc. What's that...no answer? I didn't think so. She was in a big hurry to shut that question down ASAP, so the only other thing she said was "It's 'overwhelmingly' safe." If you say so, Doc. 

Here's her reaction to another similar question about potential side-effects. "WHOOOOOAAAAHHH" she said. Again, video or not, is this how a doctor should respond to a question about a medicine? Are you getting a whiff of the bullshit yet? Dear God, I hope so.

 So if I ask a doctor, who if anything should know about side-effects, and she throws her hands up in the air with a "He's stupid" face, and says "Whoa?" I'm pretty sure I'd be looking for a new doctor. A doctor mocking a very legit question, video or not...she's a tool. Wake up. 

 Sadly this kind of thing is very effective, even in otherwise-intelligent people. Add in a generous helping of fear, and it becomes even more effective. It creates an emotional response, which overrides a logical response, which should be "Why isn't she answering their questions?" It literally takes us back subconsciously to second grade and being on the playground, where some bully is telling someone they're stupid, because they say so, if they have a different view. It makes us revert to the Lizard-Brain.

 They know they have nothing logical to argue with, so they can only hurl insults. Dr. Lisa here is making the exact same faces the playground bully would make, and yes, this propaganda and mockery is absolutely a form of bullying, not to mention potentially harmful. Again, she didn't really answer one single question, except to say that it's perfectly okay because they got rid of the paperwork. Yet again, should a medical doctor, aka a real doctor, behave like this under any circumstances? I hope these people see the video, and how they were mocked. I wouldn't even let Dr. Lisa give me a free sucker. 

 I've been wanting to get some screen-capture software, and this video may be the final push to make me spend the money. I'd love to snag the bits where she's reacting...moving her arms around and slapping her head and making second-grader faces and laughing and saying "WHOOOOOAAAHHH." I'd string it together and loop it into a sort of dance, and put a soundtrack to it. I could put it on YouTube, without the sound, and offer people a prize if they could guess what subject she was talking about. My guess would be that she was listening to fart jokes maybe, but never in a million years a serious medical topic. I may have to do it. Humor is a great way to not only spread propaganda, but to spread facts too. 

 So to recap...this is an MD, in a YouTube video, "reacting" to very serious questions about medical issues. Exaggerated or not, she's responding to people's concerns with mockery and funny faces, and stopping just short of calling them stupid. She didn't answer a single question, except to say that they rushed it through and bypassed the normal channels, which, no matter how quickly we thought we needed it, has NOTHING to do with safety and effectiveness, but that's how they roll when they try to "debunk" something they can't. They resort to second-grade tactics, and say nothing. It's inexcusable. Can you not see it?