Posts Tagged ‘online

04
May
24

What’s a JOB? Just Sell Stuff Online.

By writingbolt Leave a Comment
Categories: Concerns and Alerts and Uncategorized
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What’s a Job? Just Sell Stuff Online.

Jobs are too often scarce. Jobs are fussy about your education. Jobs get cut. You don’t need any of that. So, just sell stuff online like countless other people taking over modern commercial space.

What kind of STUFF? Oh. All kinds of STUFF. There is no limit to the kinds of STUFF you can sell and pitch on TV. As long as you’ve got a small factory in your garage, basement or neighborhood, pumping out this STUFF like some non-stop 3-D printer, and a link to the Amazon delivery empire, so you can have your STUFF sent by drone, you won’t ever need to think about seeking another job. If you can manage it, find a “professional” who can promote your STUFF with some phony status that is intended to make you believe the STUFF isn’t going to fail you.

Ain’t that just delightful?

Yes. A world full of dummies selling their STUFF and signing their souls over to Amazon delivery (just delivery…yeah, sure). What a wonderful world. [Bull shat.]

Anyone out there familiar with the Tupperware era? Or, Avon cosmetics? How about Asbestos or that pink insulation promoted by the cartoon Pink Panther?

You know where all of those fads ended? In a heap of what-do-we-do-now and a world scrambling to sort out one more ecological crisis. You may not need or want a JOB, but the world you depend upon for existence might not survive if all you do is contribute to the mass production of STUFF. STUFF is like smoking and alcoholism. It’s easy to slip into, especially if someone provides you with the means to make enough STUFF to satisfy demand. But, when you really think about what you’re doing, if you have any conscience at all, you might get a little nauseous (like I do).

Instead of shipping everybody’s latest variation of something paper or plastic they are trying to make outshine fifty other sellers, we should be discussing pipelines for properly distributing the goods this planet can and does often produce, instead of letting that natural STUFF go to waste. We live in an age/era when nature is somewhat out of balance and animals, not just humans, go hungry.

[And, yet, some groups trying to supply the “hungry” don’t always seem “legit” and may be just passing around food that’s expired or unwanted by fussy folks claiming to be on welfare.]

We have and promote a limited variety of wireless communication options which make just about anything seem possible. If you can connect minds, across the globe, to find common intentions (and interests) willing to work together to achieve a goal, that has to be better than posting a sign in a window or newspaper (or one website). Right? We have the means to reduce the need for income and taxes to zero. And yet, with the contributions of those who like to cause trouble and inject fears (which supposedly can only be cured with the latest “security app” or insurance offering), we humans still struggle with socializing and cooperating. Thus, we see/hear stories of tragic results from poor communication and see ads for services trying to get you into the virtual office of a therapist.

[Am I injecting fear? Maybe. But, I’m not following that with a pitch for some product or service you need to pump with your borrowed money. I’m not selling you anything here.]

There is a mountain of discontent hidden in all of what I just said. And, it’s not going away if you pump out more STUFF. Your conveniently manufactured body paste, sexual stimulant** or wall decor is not going to make the world a better, safer place to exist. It’s just going to give people a temporary, fleeting thrill before it ends up in a landfill of instant gratification failures. Then you and everyone else who didn’t want to work together to resolve the world’s problems is going to be looking for the STUFF that gets them off this doomed planet and moving somewhere safer.

**On that note, we have advertisements for sexual stimulating STUFF (“improving male confidence and stamina” and pleasing women at the same time), on one hand, and, on the other hand, governments debating the rights of humans to use abortion and birth control STUFF to counter what is a biological DUH! from having sex without self-control and common sense (that includes assaulting someone and leaving them pregnant). How dumb do humans have to get before we realize we’re screwing ourselves? Forget I asked. You already know. You just choose to douse yourselves in alcohol and other memory-warping drugs, hoping to forget.

Does your STUFF reduce waste? Eliminate garbage? Recycle garbage in a way that won’t upset stomachs or frighten to death? Does it put an end to ads for charities that are not always true to their word? Does it help reduce world hunger (including the loss of environment for animals other than humans)? Does it bring people together in harmony? Does it cultivate teamwork and friendship? [Or, does it just make people more vain and anti-social like “mean girls?”] Does it avoid feeding a monopoly which could easily wipe out all small businesses and thus end your financial pipeline?

[And, if you say it’s creating jobs by giving job to people who would otherwise struggle to find employment because of past “criminal” or otherwise disapproved behavior/history, I will slap you senseless. Having those people help manufacture and/or package your stuff, until machines take over, is not a positive to promote anywhere. While you are pitching that fabricated American dream, countless other humans are scrambling across national borders, looking for answers to their own misguided lifestyles.]

You know who’s going to be waiting at the exit ramp to abandon Earth? Those wealthy giants you fed with your shipping orders. Your convenient delivery assistants. And, they will decide your fate…kind of like a boss deciding if you should remain on the job.

So, you see, pretending you’re Betty Crocker or the next Mr. Clean isn’t going to last. It all piles up under the launch pad being built by people already looking at other planets to conquer, people who started out with something small and quickly manufactured because it was convenient, a seemingly modest service to the world which became hungry and started eating up other businesses until it no longer looked like a humble business with a singular purpose. And, the old fears of alien races taking over planets won’t be about little gray or green oddballs with big eyes and no body hair…it will be about your fellow human beings (or you, if you are so “fortunate” to become one of the next financial giants). We are the monsters of those alien stories. And, the more we ponder the possibility of selling STUFF, the bigger and dumber our eyes get.

Take me to your Amazon, earthlings.

Before you press the button to set your next whim into production, take a long hard minute to think about what’s ahead.

02
Sep
23

The World Favors Jerks…at Least, in Online Gaming

By writingbolt Leave a Comment
Categories: Concerns and Alerts
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

****

Maybe it’s a no-brainer.  Maybe you don’t agree and have much better luck.  Maybe “it’s just me.”  But, no matter how many times I try to connect with people online, I get lumped with “children” and drug addicts who cannot perform certain functions…while the opposing team, 9 out of 10 times, contains 1-3 sharp-shooting jerks with inflated egos.  Sometimes, they pass themselves off as losers.  They give themselves names like ISUK, dress like rookies and then walk all over you until you cry mercy or flee.  Sometimes they form collectives and dominate the field like a pack of hyenas.  In any case, there are more jerks scheming and ripping people off, together, than there are groups of good people working toward a positive goal.  Good friendships are SO SO SO hard to find.  But, jerks seem to find each other and form gangs ever so damn easily; it’s sickening.  And, I am tired of having to fight for my life to stay afloat with a–I can’t help it–team of inept babies/potheads and cowards thrown up against teams of calculating monsters who make you wish you never took interest in these games.

18
May
23

Where Is “Somewhere Else?”

By writingbolt Leave a Comment
Categories: Confessions of the Rabbit Kind and Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

***

Have you ever heard that old song that talks about being in the wrong place at the wrong time? Or, is it the right place at the wrong time? It seems I am perpetually in a similar position, and someone feels obligated to let me know. It’s as if I am stuck in some sort of Alice-in-Wonderland story with countless characters steering me away from where I am or think I should be.

If I choose to pick up pencil/pen and paper and draw something, that’s nice…but could I draw somewhere else at some other time? This isn’t the time or place for that. And, so many wish I had a better place to use that talent, a talent which I think is less impressive on paper than it is in my mind and the minds of those who see what I create. [My true talent is in composition and in my imagination and possibility thinking, in getting people to visualize great opportunities and awe-inspiring concepts…when I believe in the concept, not to sell merchandise for someone else.]

Then there will be moments when I express an interest in or ability to draw/create something, and someone will get excited and want me to do that and more…until I start and hear them or someone else tell me, again, it’s the wrong place and time for creating. And then there are other moments when I resist or refuse to draw/create and someone will say, “Didn’t you say you’re an artist? Why aren’t you using that talent?”

If I choose to speak–about anything–at length, I soon enough hit a roadblock with someone and have to curb my words. Oh no; I’ve said too much. [Yes, I hear REM, too.] I said something inappropriate, even if I try to speak cautiously and respect the interests of those present. Look out; it’s the next detour which is sending me to Shutitville. I’ll see you some other time, maybe. Or, I should realize you and I will never see eye-to-eye and avoid future discussions (with you). [Some people you try so hard to communicate with that you fail to accept the possibility that not everyone will “click” with your way of thinking. Some connections you just have to avoid or accept as failures.]

If I try to make friends online, without first seeing someone’s face and physically shaking their hand, I’m weird and/or crazy. Certain games provide the means to connect with other players…and then, perhaps, post notices about privacy and avoiding certain subjects to protect them and everyone’s privacy…which makes the whole interactive aspect questionable. Are we so starved for social contact that we inject it into video/computer games only to wince and feel pain when it’s too much to bear? Why play dangerously?

All I know is that I see an opportunity to socialize without my usual face-to-face social anxiety, to meet and interact with people around the world, to put an internet tool to its best use, not its worst, and I’m classified as “wrong.” I don’t want to “quick chat” and leave it at that. I’m not using a handful of stickers to substitute human interaction. If you want to talk about what is wrong, it’s trying to put my typically busy, heavy brain’s thoughts into less than three words from a very limited selection of phrases/faces.

What if what I need to say doesn’t fit those words? How does one say “You suck” or “Let’s do this, again, sometime” with a wink and a tongue? Do you have any idea how infuriating it is to see others repeatedly rubber-stamp the same tired words/symbols on my screen and be unable to convey what is going through my mind?…to have a microphone but be unable to adequately use it?…to see food or some other useful object and be unable to use it? That is evil.

You cannot reconnect with someone another day just by sending a “friend invite” and potentially adding them to a list, especially if that person/list doesn’t seem to grasp how to use it or speak my language. Right now, I have a few friend lists which might as well be coated in cobwebs because more than half of the people on those lists don’t seem to know how to communicate nor send invitations to play…nor respond to my invitations. A few might not be legitimate players, meaning they are some sort of spying or hacking weeds sitting in my interactive space. And, for some reason, I cannot remove them? How did they even get on my list?

I need to get to know my teammates, if they are worth knowing, and have the chance to establish solid friendships. Otherwise, I’d rather just go back to the old games that require someone to sit next to me when sharing a game. But, if I am limited to teammates I can see and touch, I’d rather curl up in a ball and die. I cannot adequately negotiate with the people around me to find adequate teammates, which is why I sadly turn to the internet and search for companions.

[Sigh.] There is a whole world out there, with some feeling much the same way…and we cannot make those good connections? Surely, there are success stories…or, as people like to fuss and say the internet is a liar, are the stories fake news? Is there no true happiness? Is the whole of the internet just one sly slot or claw machine that teases you with a prize you cannot get?

I get the concern for online security/privacy/safety, which only exposes our weaknesses, our need for interaction and our fear of being hurt and/or robbed. But, then, I wonder why we bother making and maintaining an internet, at all. Is it just one more scheme to get our money, time and energy?…to steal our souls?

Yet, so much is hinged upon the internet. If I want to see a doctor, I’m advised to get an online account with some app and link it to an email account, so I can receive all sorts of useful charts and sort out appointments. [Because using a printer or sharing a phone call is too much trouble? Isn’t that just putting more personal information online where anyone who can hack could tap into it?] If I’m going to go that far, why can’t I be phone or pen pals with the doctors (providers) I like and meet for lunch, sometime? Is that wrong?

If I want to get the instruction manual for some item I just purchased, it’s not in the box (anymore); but there is a tiny booklet that tells me, in seventeen languages, I can either scan a QR code or go directly to a listed website to find the information…maybe…if the link even works or the internet doesn’t glitch. Well, great. Maybe I will learn how to use this thing…or maybe I’ll wish I never shopped for anything.

Is it possible the internet was created to teach people a lesson about want?…to give them too much and eventually drive everyone who isn’t tech-smart away from it into the garden of the oblivious?

Is the internet any different from what happens when you apply for something offline only to get “third party” junk mail which agitates you to no end? Is the internet really any safer than your physical mailbox? You submit personal information like an address and/or phone number to get a chance to win or do something you want and get a bunch of stuff you don’t want which only adds to social conflict and landfills. You might even fill out a form for a legitimate and very personal need, like a doctor’s office, and some “third-party” business could get enough information to send you something you don’t want and sound like they know something you wish wasn’t public knowledge. So, instead of worrying about people you cannot see accessing your “personal data,” you’re bothered by countless businesses and jerks pestering you with a paper trail and sending you bills for things you didn’t buy.

Everything wants to be linked to an email account, which means you have to have some means of online/internet communication/interaction. You have to create an account to access something. And, those application portals don’t usually have opening and closing times. So…just about any time seems to be the right time to create an account.

But, it’s not the right time or place for me to speak or draw?

Whatever.

Am I wrong…here?

I’ve heard plenty of opinions from who may be “the wrong people.” But, what do you think, reader?

If you’re looking for me, I’ll just be standing over there. That’s me, in the corner, losing my…mind. [I can’t say I’m losing my religion because I’m still sorting out that bit.]

25
Jan
23

Don’t Let Your “FEED” Rob You of Family Connections

By writingbolt Leave a Comment
Categories: Concerns and Alerts, Confessions of the Rabbit Kind and Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

***

You know something is vitally wrong when someone cannot take the time to look at your email because they’ve already given that time to their “feed,” that term for what so many “cows” are fed by some anonymous online source, that stream of stuff, including TikTok-worthy videos and images, which is said to be custom-picked to appeal to every person, based upon their online activity. Are we that lost, as a species, already? Are we already submitting to the machine and forgetting what we claim is important, like family?

I saw a particular episode of the Parent Test, a recent TV show in which one of my favorite comediennes/actresses, Alexandra (“Ali”) Wentworth, and some guy, who looks a tad uptight, evaluate different types of parents by having them face various “challenges” as families. In that episode, the farming parents were asked by their kids to put the cellphones away for a day. And, the parents claimed to be somewhat surprised by the request. [Honestly, with ABC and television, lately, in general, I am not sure how much is staged/planned; but this felt slightly staged…like one of many Public Service Announcements.] I don’t think the farm family, if they even have the technology, would have this problem…or wouldn’t be the only ones. If you look at most of the video footage taken by the various families, there is some sort of “tech” in each segment. It’s everywhere. It’s like one big deceptive ad for some ISP (internet service provider). It’s sickening, in a way.

So, on a personal note, I have family who have submitted to “the machine” while still occasionally throwing a jab at others, including me, for how they either don’t make good use of technology or waste time on “pointless” interests/pursuits. ‘So easy to judge others and then disappear into the void of mindless scrolling…and scrolling…and ignoring what’s in front of you.

GOOD GOLLY! I want to scream and vomit.

What has happened to so many?!

Whoever is responsible for this madness, which seems like such an evil plot or a very poor miscalculation of technological power…there is a very special place in the “world below” for sick individuals like you.

I cannot even get my sister to look at artworks I thought would not only get her to laugh but give me some feedback on how I am doing with my art skills.

My other siblings send me emails so short and quick that they often just contain a link I’m supposed to click? In the age when we should already be aware of scams that appear like that? I tell them no; they have to include a message with that link to let me know it’s really from them. I am not just going to jump at every link; I already made a costly mistake with that move, once.

And, on top of the stuff that happens on these devices, it’s affecting social interactions. My siblings seem less tolerant of discussing anything and become more easily distressed when asked; and, if I look, I’m sure I’ll find them scrolling through that “feed,” again. It’s really, really sickening.

I ask them, repeatedly, who sends that “feed?” Where do they get it? Fbook? If it’s Fbook, I’ll add a few pounds of strength to my grip the first chance I get to strangle someone from that hot mess. If Fbook is to blame, I will just add another few pounds to the weight that keeps my hand from touching that disaster-waiting-to-happen. I refuse to submit.

But, what can I do?

I used to feel guilty for dabbling in online chat and other “traps.” I used to think I was a freak living in the shadows instead of socializing like “normal people.” I did it to fill in what I was missing but kept looking up and out of the rabbit hole, hoping some better reality would come along so I could turn off the internet and get on with my life. And, when the “feed” I was looking at lost its charm, when I either felt too sick-in-the-head (in part from the opinions/input of nosy people) or tired of going to bed feeling as empty as I was when I started looking, I stopped using those rabbit holes. I’m not saying I “quit cold turkey,” but I grew tired of being disappointed by the “filler.” And, even when I was somewhat hooked, I knew I wanted something else. I just couldn’t seem to get what I wanted from anyone, not from the people I knew close to home nor those I was meeting online. [I still find myself dabbling and feeling this way, just with different outlets that don’t suck me in the way the older ones did.]

I don’t even get along with my family, not very well, anyway, and I still want better interaction. I don’t want my family completely disconnecting, correcting each other and being guilty of judging the rest of our lives, when we’re not casting some sort of appealing illusion which makes others think we are glamorous arm candy. I don’t want to be a reality-TV disaster. Right now, I’d just be happy to have my siblings give time and honest opinions on my creative output without telling me I have too much time on my hands and that I talk/think too much for “social norms.” I can’t get them to look at something I wrote because they already spend too much time looking at glowing screens/text. That’s so sad.

What seems to be normal, now, isn’t normal…or tolerable…to me. This “norm” is sucking the warmth and comfort out of everything. It’s a bug zapper waiting to close the door on humanity. One day, someone’s going to say, “J-Just one more minute.” They’ll be looking at their little glowing screen, letting their good eyesight wither and die…and some big black box is going to close in around them, sealing them away for eternity.

I’d rather chuck it all in a void than lose complete touch with real people. I’d rather have a real hug than an emoji or short video clip.

Damn. How do you stop this runaway machine?

And, why can’t you “cattle” wise up?

I’ve never been the biggest family-gathering person; I’m a bit of an introvert who struggles with social anxiety. But, even I feel this is the onset of something very wrong and want more warming, social interaction in this world. I certainly do not want to see every human being glued to a glowing screen in their hands.

Can you imagine? ‘Being a tourist and seeing everyone around you sitting quietly with a small screen glued to their hand(s), perched on fountains and fences and leaning against buildings…all hypnotized by some glowing, radiating slice of technology? You might hear the wind and seagulls/pigeons over everything else…because the people won’t be talking or walking, anymore. It’s an unsettling thought.

10
Oct
21

Why Can’t I Enjoy My Latest Laptop, Episode 10-10-2021

By writingbolt Leave a Comment
Categories: Concerns and Alerts and Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

*****

It seems the longer I use my latest laptop, the less I enjoy it. And, I cannot imagine a replacement being any better, if Windows 10 has opened the “Pandora’s box” of constant updating and taking away every little program I’ve tried to use with some sort of comfort. My old Vista laptop had just about everything I needed/wanted and was running smoothly until I had an accident with it; then it just stopped doing much of anything (and I had a fit…for a few months).

Have I already had this rant?

So, most recently, I am trying to use what I thought was a built-in feature to turn a static image into a mini-movie of a sort.

This feature or app has changed almost annually with updates. When I first started using it, there were 3D effects that phased to a stop. You could light a fire and then watch it fizzle out where you set it to stop. After an update, the fire just stops abruptly and looks rather stupid; so it’s either burn the whole video clip or don’t use the fire effect. Lame.

I opened the app the other day and, suddenly, found I was unable to access the 3D effect options. All I could use were the three I last tried. What happened to the library? It’s only available ONLINE now? WTF?!

I have had similar experiences with other built-in software, including the most basic and boring of games, solitaire. You mean to tell me even that has to be used ONLINE?

It reminds me of a previous job at which I had to cope with the workplace making radical changes, at least once a year, turning the place upside down to “stay fresh,” like some executives in a meeting played a game of Twister and decided this year was left-hand-red or move-the-heaviest-items-in-the-building-to-the-opposite-wall. You know what would keep the place truly fresh? FRESH CONTENT. Update your inventory; donate/clearance what’s not selling and bring in something proven to appeal to a wide customer base. Don’t just rearrange the furniture to confuse people who just want to find the things they learn to like at your business.

So, am I supposed to thank modern technology for improving my PC experience when it requires me to be online all of the time, exposing myself to all sorts of wannabe hacker vultures just waiting to find a fool?

And, considering how any sharing of WiFi space can weaken if not ruin a signal, how well can I expect my favored programs/apps to run if there is risk of the signal fading?

We hear about how public WiFi is risky and how too much WiFi can be bad for our bodies, our brains and/or our souls. And, here I feel stuck losing the use of my computer, simply because updates keep forcing me to use more ONLINE, where nothing feels private or secure. [Pfft! Passwords and encryption. Whatever.]

If this continues, I think I’ll just give up on glowing screens, completely…or just use them like a menu at a restaurant, when they are needed to perform a particular function…ONLINE. You want me to do something that requires a computer? Give me your computer to use and help me use it.

What’s the point? Personal computing seems to be dead or endangered. I might as well use a computer like a phonebooth…you know, that other thing that no longer exists because it was wiped out by cellphones and all those beacons bombarding us with invisible radiation for maintaining signals. Senseless. Stupid. Insane.

I feel like I was handed a vault and a key to open that vault and then robbed of the key, left with thoughts of the vault I once could access. That’s just cruel and evil.

[Presents his middle finger and says, “Format that, Microsoft a-holes!” Translates for the British folks by presenting his index finger and middle finger. Wallop.]

Technology sucks. Period. Or, at least, how it is mistreated and used to control people sucks. Like so many things, it’s a nice idea…it could be very useful…but it never quite works the ideal way. No. That would be TOO nice; wouldn’t it? No one wants the world to be nice. Psh!

31
Jul
21

Letter to Psyonix and the Other Makers of Rocket League

By writingbolt Leave a Comment
Categories: Concerns and Alerts and Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

*****

A Letter to Psyonix and the other makers of the “free edition” of Rocket League, capable of being played with the Nintendo Switch (provided you have a decent controller).

To whom it should concern,

Folks, let me be blunt. Your gaming universe sucks. You’ve created one more lousy internet-crashing space full of jerks, losers, cowards and posers. Most of your music catalog is absolutely annoying. And, your award system is the worst.

How do I justify these statements? Well, let’s see…

I’ve invested more time than most players to complete every goal of the 3rd season, just as I did last season. And, I came very close to completing “gold level” the first season, back when Slushii was a decent guest DJ, providing the first song I would have liked as a player anthem…but nooo…I couldn’t get that song as my anthem. And, just because I’m not a paying member of your “premium” customer base, you’re going to deny me a decent song when I find one? Instead, you’ll feed me a billion dumb blueprint copies, ugly wheels and hideous decals? On my best day, I get a “finish” or “trail” that looks half-decent. Maybe I’ll craft a new preset to improve my furious mood. But, not today!

So, people are astounded when they see my high-level picture frame. Gee, is it because I put in the hard work for such little gain? It’s not like I am a great player……buuuuuut I sure am better than many of those boasting “Season 3 Tournament Winner.” Which brings me to my next point…

Learn how to group players by rank! You create this lengthy road to a rating system and provide numerous tournaments. But, people who cannot clearly play somehow become winners and appear in games with rookies and actual “noobs” (not those champion hotshots who just call themselves NOOB to be cheeky). Only the real champions ever show any skill, and, when I see them, it seems to always be an unfair game, me and a couple of newcomers or some lousy AI against 1-3 guys half my age who can spin their car in the air like a wand of cotton candy.

Let me tell you about my latest tournament experience. In my first tournament, just this season, I made it to round two before being crushed by a team of “S3 Tournament Winners.” There were no such winners on my team. How did I get put up against a team of winners? [Actual winners; not posers.] Fair enough; that just seems to be the norm with your lousy setup; it has happened far too many times in ranked matches, like those Rumble and Snow Day variations. I powered through. Oh. I earned some sort of tickets or credits to spend on some kind of trophy package. Hmm. Lots of possible items to get. Oh. I just get one? Ookay. Oh, wow! Goal explosions and some of Julie Buchanan’s music! Maybe I’ll. Okay. No goal explosion. But, I did get the better of two Julie B. songs. I’ll save the rest of my credits/tickets for later….maybe I’ll earn enough to get a higher prize. Next tournament, I am put up against three more pros with two rookies at my sides; we’re wiped out in round one. I have just enough credits/tickets to get two prizes. Maybe I’ll be lucky this time and get–nope! I got some lame wheels and a really ugly decal. Okay. Let’s save some credits for next time, again. What?! The week turned over, and my saved credits/tickets are gone? Is that how that works? What a load of–! Okay. Stay cool. Let’s just try one more tournament and get some more credits/tickets to spend. Okay, my team makes it to round 2. And, we are supposed to be facing some “Mantis” team. But, the game isn’t starting. I clicked “Continue” and was faced with the “bracket” while my teammates, for some reason, retreated to the main menu. Now, I don’t see them on the list and I am not in the game…and the Mantis team is up 2 to 0?! What is going on?! Suddenly, I’m ejected from the team and seeing results for the team’s loss. WTF?! Okay. Calm down. Let’s just spend some credits/tickets to improve our sour, confused mood. What the–?! A duplicate of the same song track I got the previous round?! Son of a–!! Okay, let’s not lose those other credits, again. Let’s spend them and get–more crappy wheels?!

And, ya know what else grinds my gears about team-ups? 9 out of 10 games, I am put up against a “club” of two or three who clearly have a means of communicating with each other. Forget your crappy chat system no one but me seems to want to use other than to slander and beg for freebies (trades and shots they won’t earn themselves). These players must have headsets and internet voice-chat services running to be so coordinated. And me? I’m just trying to silently convey how to work together, passing the ball in front of the other team’s goal (called clearing) so one of my teammates can score. No. No one really gets that move, other than the other team who does it so flawlessly and skirts around me and my team almost every time. And then, my team has the nerve to criticize ME! And, if one more “floater” tells me to “take the shot,” I will snap and shove my foot up his or her– Well, you get the idea. What’s the use in having my fierce language filtered?

And, how lousy is it to enter a ranked match and either have your team vote to forfeit after one goal or have some internet glitch lose connection, knock you out of the game and get a penalty for leaving the game? Extremely lousy! How many games have I entered in which my team bails and leaves me to rot with the full other team for another few minutes of humiliation? How many must I endure? And, if I feel the urge to leave, heaven forbid! I will be burned at the stake and banned from play! As if! Do that and I will unleash a wrath so scathing, you’re grandkids will scream in pain.

Oh yea. And, “friend lists?” What a joke. The people I befriend seem only interested in winning, not being actual teammates who tolerate and learn from loss and actually communicate with each other! I have actually deleted and blocked “friends” because they only want someone who can win games for them, as if it’s magic that just graced their doorstep like some blue fairy visiting a wooden boy. When I’m not dazzling them, they want nothing to do with me. Screw friends.

I thought chatting outside games would be beneficial to all. I guess not! People have no patience for chat. They just want to play, rank up and win, win, win more stuff. But, if they are going to be “friends,” why can’t they be more friendly and enduring?! No. Friends suck. Your friend list and chat service with all of its excessive filtering sucks. You’re worse than Ned Flanders; ohgly dohgly.

Now, let’s talk about those “rare drops.” How many of those damn things do I have to earn to get something I really like?! Well, so far, I’d say the odds of getting a favorable reward are about 1/20. 19/20 include lousy duplicate wheels, paint finishes or decals, even if the drop is an extra special one. Last season, when I completed the big list of chores and got the three special prize “eggs,” did I get anything great out of those? Nope. I got a duplicate of a car I had already unlocked/earned elsewhere and more wheels and, I think, a new finish or decal I was lucky I could even use on some cars. THAT was what all of my hard work earned?!

Of course, there’s always trading. As if! If I don’t “buy in to trade,” I see only the option to “trade in,” AND THAT SUCKS! How many things have I traded in just to get another lousy set of wheels or duplicate finish? Too many. Blueprint trading is dumber than dumb!

If people could actually trade with me, MAYBE I’d actually find someone willing to trade for what I have in duplicate. But, probably not, because what I think or see labeled as RARE, UNCOMMON and/or IMPORT are actually quite common and already showcased on other players. I don’t see much sense in trading anything. Any good items I have or want seem only one-of-a-kind.

Do you realize I have worked my arse off through three seasons/years of lousy team-ups and brutal thrashings by pros thrice my speed, and I still haven’t earned ONE lousy goal explosion? What is the fricken elite deal with those, anyway?! And, why can’t I get the one Julie Buchanan song I actually like without “going premium?” Haven’t I earned that track? I think I have. Last season, you had tracks available as prizes along the journey to completing a season level. Why not this season? Someone actually wants one of your better songs. LET ME USE IT, ALREADY!

I am so furious at my lousy luck after three years, I am reluctant to even open any more “prize eggs” much less play any more games, at all. And, I’m sure some if not all of you would say, “Good! Get lost, you cheapskate!” Well, isn’t that just a fine kettle of fish. What did you expect? Every person who plays without paying to eventually give in and spend the bucks? Ya know, I bet I’d cave, spend the money and STILL get screwed with the lousy prizes and teams. I look at the “premium” list of items I am missing out on…and only 5 of the lot are remotely appealing. The rest are–ooooh! fifty colors of the same prize from several levels ago! Oh, I just have to have that prize in every color! NOT! I’m not going to put out my hard-earned cash just to get paired up with more wimps who cannot communicate or endure a loss and get creamed by more pros and sweet-shot weasels who sit at their goal just waiting for my team to make a mistake so they can race across the field and score the easiest of goals! I’m not going to pay to earn duplicate items only to feel worse than I do getting useless furniture in Animal Crossing. You can take your financial demands, turn them sideways, polish them and then shove them up your candy–

You want me to reconsider? Tell ya what. Just give me the Julie Buchanan soundtrack, all of her songs, so I can pick and use them in the game…or, maybe, just send me a CD I can play at home when I don’t need to be raising my BP to the limit in your game, late at night. Do that, and I’ll likely shrug off my complaints. Or, even better, throw a decent goal explosion my way. Give me that “overgrowth” with the birds flying out of the tree; any color but pink or green will do. Give me the dancing rabbit girl (without me spending 20 bucks to buy enough credits). Or, give me that checkered flag or mic drop. For crying out loud, how hard is it to earn a goal explosion?!

But, if you’re anything like the average player I encounter, you’ll probably be happier just to see me storm away and never play your game, again. Whatever. There aren’t enough foul words to satisfy the bile in my throat, the venom I want to spew at you before I drive my fist into your faces like your obnoxious Octane speeding into a goal explosion; you know, that thing you refuse to let me use.

Sincerely,

One furious customer who regrets ever getting sucked into your world, Junk Sleep

P. FRICKEN S. Is there a contact service line I could use to speak with some of your illustrious staff?  Email?  Phone line? [Cracks his knuckles in anticipation.]

06
Apr
20

Online Bonding; Don’t Get Your Hopes Up

By writingbolt Leave a Comment
Categories: Concerns and Alerts, Looking for Love and Happiness and Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

***

So, after dipping my toes into some online gaming over the past year, I think I’ve finally broken the last straw on whatever supports my belief in finding lasting friendships online.  Online gaming isn’t exactly the most favorable place to secure a friend.  But, I believe anything is possible.  That is…I did.  And, now, I’m fairly certain (never quite set in stone) my high hopes will never come true.  I’ve done the chat-room thing.  I’ve worked emails better than anyone I know.  I’ve blogged and interacted with fellow bloggers, clearly.  But, it’s all wishful thinking on my part…to think any real bond could be made and carried over to the world outside the computer.

I am tired of losing touch with people into who I invest my time, talent and heart.  I cannot continue befriending people just to have them vanish without a trace…and, in this recent case, leaving no trace of what we shared.  It’s as if all I said and did was a dream.  And, when I forget a fairly good dream, that sucks.  [Which is why I recommend keeping a dream journal and jotting them down as soon as you wake.]

So, I think, from this day forward, any contact I have with people online will be with lowered expectations/hopes.  I just cannot tolerate this uncertainty and loss much longer.

25
Aug
19

Does Anyone Play ‘The Secret Society’ PC Game by G5 Games?

By writingbolt 1 Comment
Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

***

I am looking to see if anyone here plays this game and is interested in working with me on a “friend” capacity.  Also, if you do play the game, can you explain some features, like Strength points and how the whole friend-adding and other friendly interactions work?

For those who don’t know the game…uh, look it up at the App Store?  It’s not hard to find.  It’s a hidden objects game, sort of an advanced adult version of those old Highlights magazines.

20
Jul
18

Cherish Your Anonymity

By writingbolt 2 Comments
Categories: Concerns and Alerts and Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

*****

With so many suffering heavy punishment for speaking their minds via modern technology, it’s ever more vital we who do not “tweet” with our actual names spelled out on a glowing screen applaud and celebrate our “anonymity.”  We cowardly souls who bravely don costumes and vent as we feel fit when technology works with us; we should be comforted and celebrated.

It seems like every day in the news someone is getting grilled for something “offensive.”  We have squads of LGBT and feminism police officers, hordes of body-celebrating (instead of shaming) and various other armies going to war with the most sensitive of mining equipment capable of picking up the slightest blip of questionable commentary, increasingly adjusting the high standard of moral conduct until everyone who isn’t a violated woman or LGBT-type person will be guilty of offense and thereby open to verbal, mental and physical assault by the so-called victims.  So far, we without publicized names have been safe of retaliation.

I can’t speak for every offense case, but I would not be surprised if some offenses deemed fit for court or the loss of a job turned out to be misinterpreted.  After all, kids on a playground can cry wolf and have a teacher call a parent simply because the tattle-tale had a sweet face or stronger voice than the supposed offender.  And, who is to say some of these offensive voiced bits aren’t said at times when the speakers are not in the best of moods or right minds?  I know I don’t subscribe to alcohol or recreational drugs.  But, others do.  And, just because shit comes out of one’s mouth three years ago on a bad day does not mean that person is anti-gay or a chauvinistic maniac.

And, what if someone is a tad gay-phobic or unclear on the nature of that lifestyle?  Is every inappropriate remark worthy of jail time or a giant fine?  Are we catering to lawyers so they can put their hideous faces and names on every item advertised on local TV?  I don’t want to see so many lawyer ads.  I don’t want those people thinking they run the place just because they are getting old and think investing in a little advertising everywhere makes them immortal.  You TV lawyers have really become annoying!  And, I will not likely support you or any cause/company with your name on it because you are (annoying).

But, I’m getting off-subject, now.  Ehem.

You really have to mind your words and be sure you don’t touch another living soul lest you be accused of inappropriately fondling someone.  A pat on the back could be deemed the grabbing of a breast (on your back, apparently).  A sociable kiss on the cheek might be viewed as unwanted intimacy of the worst kind unless you can certify you are from a nation that does this socially as a part of their native culture.  Parents who kiss their kids on the lips?  You’re likely next on the chopping block.

One wonders if “social media” isn’t a mousetrap.  It lures people out of hiding to voice every little thing to come into their tiny brains…only to get them in trouble?  Snap!  You’re dead and out with the banana peels you slipped on coming in here.

But, I suppose, being anonymous DOES have it’s setbacks.  I mean, people are less trusting of random or fake names…unless you learn to share a sense of creativity and/or humor and can spell correctly (which so many cannot).  [Stop trying to speak English if you cannot use a dictionary.  I don’t use Spanish words I don’t know how to spell.]  You can’t really be a shopkeeper with a fake name, can you?…unless it’s a brand name.  But, even then, you have to be accountable for that shop with a real name/some form of ID.   People who use their real names seem to be taken more seriously because they seem fearless and, well, real, genuine.

[Yet, in this shady world of face-less interaction–unless you use some service like Skype which seems already forgotten these days–how do you determine a real face you see is that person’s real face?  And, how many “faceless” internet users stalk those “real” people, taking advantage of the exposed while remaining randomly generated user names, often with long barcode-like numbers attached, giving me the impression they are “bots” or some call center staff members in a building dominated by Middle-Eastern folks by the dozens?]

It seems astounding that more celebrities don’t use fake online names/accounts.  But, maybe they do, and all we know are the ones we hear about in the news when some mosquito with a microphone or phone-camera is stalking these people.

Once upon a time, people kept personal thoughts on parchment scrolls they had to carry with them wherever they went.  If anyone else read them, it was because the author read, lost or donated the scrolls.  Many years later, people kept notebook-style journals, especially teenage girls, who would lament brothers and parents violating their privacy.  Now, we have computers of various capacities and sizes.  And, instead of a PC journal like the one Doogie Howser, M.D. kept, so many turn to blogs and these accursed “tweeting” type accounts, putting everything “out there” for the world to see and LIKE and shallowly evaluate from afar…from anonymous spaces.

In short, those of you who have not put your real selves out for all to see, ye who do not YouTube your boob lube and hash-tag your new ‘do rag and personal mag’ (magazine), blippity blobbity blah!….  My blood pressure spiked just then and tangled my tongue-fingers.  Or, is it my finger-tongue?  Anyway.  Those of you, like me, who create unique identities for themselves online for whatever reason, embrace and applaud your anonymity, today.  And, count your blessings.  Because you could be somewhere down the list of those moral-criminal-hunting Elmer Fudds and receive severe punishment for the slightest misunderstanding or careless outburst on your worst day.  But, for now, you’re Joe Cool and free to be loose with those journalistic lips.

[We should start a holiday.  But, no one seems to follow me on those thoughts any better than I follow others.  So, I guess I’m limited to suggesting and waiting for some trendsetter to print up all the hoopla and manufacture all the swag.]

Happy Anonymity Day(s)!

24
Nov
16

The Future of Black Friday?

By writingbolt Leave a Comment
Categories: Concerns and Alerts and Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

*****

Imagine if you will…

The future of Black Friday in a world of internet shopping…

Just wait. It could all turn around. But, instead of people fighting in the stores, they’ll fume and fight over internet/web site crashes. They’ll keep the foreign hotline operators busy with complaints about internet service. The operators will offer them fake sympathy and minor discounts to keep them plugged in yet mildly happier.

After all, do you think families will get any closer the more they push fast computerized everything from radio speakers to watches?

No.  This is like driving cattle.  Retail and outlet stores drove people for decades to chase their sales.  Now, as so many stores give up and move resources online, the stampede route shifts in a slightly different direction (until the next big movement in sales appears on the horizon…if there is a horizon left).

Maybe someday, all the lonely people of the world will surround themselves with AI families, their phone, clock, TV, etc. It will be like Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, except all the characters will be digitized voices and flashing lights.

Amazon.com is putting all of your shopping money into dominating Mars and consuming the global economy. But, go ahead and feed the beast, a beast not unlike Wal-Mart type stores trying to house everything and run all hours of the day. Soon, Wal-Mart will create its own extinction event, and online empires like Amazon will stand out like skyscrapers…skyscrapers no one will see because all they know are numbers, words, video clips and flashing icons on digital screens.  Unless people get wise to some kind of reading/writing and math Apps, I fear even being able to read a label or balance a bank account could become a challenge.

I think Black Friday can be a fun time for a small family/group if they keep a positive attitude and camp together. But, more often, bargain hunters turn around to make a profit off their “hot items” or get really cruel and competitive about the hunt as if their life will be empty without the sale item. If you’re not on your A game, you tend to feel like a squirrel in rush hour traffic. If you’re not with a happy group that doesn’t care if they get every sale item or any sale item and just enjoys shopping together…don’t go.

—–

[I was just inspired to write more about Black Friday, the USA way to spoil a family holiday with thoughts of bargain hunting amid mad crowds of careless people who will trample each other and suffer buyer’s remorse, later.  ‘Amazing what glancing over blog posts will do.]

 

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