Posts Tagged ‘smart

17
Apr
25

Beware the Game Show Network…Fools

By writingbolt Leave a Comment
Categories: Uncategorized
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***

Beware the Game Show Network. It is full of fools.

***

Hi. I’m one member of a friend threesome. We have been good friends for numerous years. We have traveled the world and have many favorites we share. You would think our life is bliss. [You might also suspect we are sleeping together…like one brainy threesome with no standard other than similar levels of intelligence.] But, we cannot resist being part of a game show that is sure to make us look stupid. Even if we fail to win anything, we go home just as perfect as we were before we arrived on TV. Enjoy watching us waste your time and remember how perfect our life is while your life is not.

***

Listen. I, too, am part of a trio of friends who has to give ourselves a witty group name before competing against another team in one of the many, many trivia game shows that, if watched together, will likely drive your already mashed potato brain completely mad. We each have a lame story to justify our life’s purpose and intelligence. The least attractive of my group stands at the far end, with her back turned to the cameras, ensuring she will get the least TV exposure.

Anyone at home could tell this was done on purpose. But, we just went along with it because we all wanted to prove we were smart. Everyone watching game shows wants to prove they are just as smart. You sit at home, seeing what people are doing to win prize money, and you say, “I can do that!” Right?

We play a game similar to Password, trying to get our teammates to guess words given to us on a screen. We are failing miserably, but the youthful host is determined to make us feel good about ourselves. The show ends somewhat abruptly, and we go home feeling dumber and physically exhausted, which seem strange for a show that’s supposed to be a verbal and mental challenge.

***

I buckle under pressure, too; which is why it seems stupid for me to be part of a game show that intentionally seeks to peg someone as stupid by giving them very little time to solve wacky puzzles on a touch screen. Many of the puzzles are actually rather witty, themselves. So, it’s not all bad being a genuine fool. I think the audience, at home, gets something out of watching.

***

I hosted said game show with visual puzzles that make you think outside the box to avoid me calling you stupid. I exposed my relationship status many times and often flirted with the female guests, even the lesbian ones. Obviously, that did not change my relationship status, because I came back, day after day, with the same story.

I am not a fool because I call myself a FOL. See? I took out one letter to change the spelling of the word. That takes intelligence…I think. Stop staring at my unusually large hands and odd outfit combinations.

[Actually, I think the host was/is rather amusing. And, most of the puzzles are amusing and/or decent tests of observation…not all of the tests, though. So, ‘no offense intended. But, you do place yourself among many other fools. And, damn, those two lesbians were very attractive.]

***

I was on a trivia game show that put three supposedly average people up against three “celebrities,” noted for their televised prowess on other trivia-related game shows. I helped viewers at home sit through an hour of failure laced with little supposed factoids supplied by the know-it-alls. In the final round, when it was just me versus the “expert” with the highest individual score from their group, I missed more than one question and didn’t go home with much.

Later, at home, I watched some other episodes and noticed a pattern. I think the “experts” knew which of them was going to be in the final round and answered accordingly. And, in the final round, I think the final know-it-all also intentionally answered in a way that gave me minimal hope of surviving until the final question, when they politely kicked me out the exit door.

***

I strongly disagree with the above testimony. I was on the same trivia game show and not only defeated the three experts but came back two more times and achieved the same feat to become one of the experts. Earning the right to appear on other trivia-related game shows, I now can speak freely about whatever someone else fails to know as true and annoy countless TV viewers with my big brain and not-so-big mouth. I enjoy dry cereal made of dictionaries and the New York Times. I literally eat books and newspapers. But, I can’t seem to make as much money as the other brainiacs who seem to always be on TV. I guess emulating or trying to compete with someone already deemed famously smart isn’t very smart.

***

I was on a similar trivia game show, with one expert at the top of some flashy mountain just to boost his ego. I was among three people who were all convinced we were very smart by people we know. I guess I let my support system influence me too much; I turned out to be a big dummy, utterly squashed by the big mouth in charge. The lovely hostess tried to make light of the situation but failed. I know now not to be so trusting of others’ opinions about myself, which will probably erode my self-esteem as I get older and dumber.

***

I am the (gorgeous) host of the forementioned trivia game show…well, actually, I hosted a few, and they featured some of the same know-it-alls. On one of my shows, which went on to appear on another channel and feature a variety of experts at the top of the mountain, put on rotation, I was forced to repeatedly address the know-it-all by his nickname. [I don’t host that other version.] I said his nickname so many times; I think my powerful jaws became stuck in perpetual motion. I go home, many nights, just repeating that name to no one. Sometimes, it just pops up in conversation.

It’s a beastly bad habit. I know. But, hey, I’m keeping busier and looking better than I probably did on that old joke about being a lifeguard. And, I didn’t have to radically change my appearance to put that behind me, like some Aquaman I know.

When I’m not bowing down to a British giant, I like to deliver questions to contestants at such an alarming rate, I fear, one day, my head will just fly off into the studio audience anyone rarely sees…because there are not many big winners on the shows I host. It’s a good thing I like to eat and never gain a pound.

[And, I don’t mind that last bit, either. That is one dreamy game-show hostess.]

***

Hey. I was on a dating game show that didn’t last long, probably because it smelled too much like the host’s other famous show, which ran too long for the sleazy crap it was, as did its cheap spin-off. As a contestant, I was required to describe three faults or quirks I have, in a few words, and put each answer in a silly piece of silvery luggage.

The lone woman, who had to pick one of us three guys for a date, not a commitment, just a date (planned by the makers of the show), did not like at least one of my “secrets.” Like many other people in my shoes, I told her I would burn my past and change my ways for her. [You might say it was a bold-faced lie to get the girl.] She seemed remotely pleased by that offer. [I’ll take that as a maybe.]

Unfortunately, my choice of words was more scandalous than accurate. I went home looking and feeling worse than when I arrived. Now, I’m marked for life as the loser I was on TV (thanks to reruns used as filler on a faulty broadcast TV system).

***

Yo. I was on that same dating show, but I was the star who had to put one answer in a single red piece of luggage. I had less chance of being rejected than the other three players in the room. I had a choice of three fine women. Being a rather superficial, immature (though mature in physique, which I pumped and sprayed at the gym) and selfish guy, I quickly eliminated the one gal who was the most nerdy because she freaked me out. Some other artsy loser can pick her up outside the studio; I’m sure. So, that left me with a nutcase and a hooker. I chose the hooker. But, when she saw my “big secret,” she rejected me. I think she misunderstood what I said. ‘Live and learn I guess.

***

Hi. I was a woman on that same dating show and in the previous speaker’s position, with the choice of three possible dates. I quickly rejected the one guy who still valued his mother and lived with his parents, because that’s the standard with this gig. I mean, who accepts an adult man who lives with his parents?

This left me with a scrawny nerd in debt and a hunk who barely fit in a suit. I couldn’t pick the nerd because that would just give other nerds false hope of landing someone as hot as me. And, I cannot process being with someone who houses a huge toy collection, even if it includes sex toys.

I chose the hunk, who, thankfully, did not mind me being a stripper, though I did not use that particular word to describe myself. We went on the show’s pre-packaged date and had lousy sex before looking for other cheap and lousy game shows to expose ourselves and build a crappy TV resume. If you see me, again, anywhere, I’ve surely had my brain removed and am now just a cyborg.

***

I also was a gorgeous woman who had to pick one of three guys on that same quasi-dating game show. However, I ultimately picked the most ethnic, immature and dorky of the guys, who had to accept that I was both a lawyer and a stripper, exclusively for some wealthy guys linked to the game show, itself, which I could not admit on TV (even though the host giving me a peck on the cheek might have given a clue). I gave false hope to other fools like my date to boost the show’s audience and round up other fools.

The date was just a formality to make the show appear like a success. I ditched the dork with a clause in my contract and never saw him, again. Actually, we did cross paths, but a restraining order set him straight…or gay. I can’t remember, anymore. I handle a lot of men. Ha.

***

Hey, folks. I was the host of that dating show, when Match.com was still hip and televised. It wasn’t just a dating show; it also advertised a talent-seeking agency for which any of the contestants could apply to do something other than humiliate themselves in a strangely limited social environment. [So, it’s possible some if not all contestants were staged and grouped for a preset result.]

I am a very witty guy with dentures, who can make countless jokes about himself and speak rather intelligently when pressed. But, instead of hosting something that puts my assets to good use, I am pegged as a “shock jock,” bent to getting scandalous noises out of the audience.

Unlike the other fools who appear on shows like mine, I had plenty of time to entertain viewers. Unfortunately, the nature of the shows I host eventually lose their charm almost as fast as viewers lose brain cells. But, when one show bombs, another is sure to rise from its ashes. So, don’t worry about me. I’ll keep cracking wise until my head falls to the floor.

***

Hey, America (and whoever else may be reading this remote blog). I hosted a game show that was supposed to be hip, trendy and modern…because it involved something I know we all love to use…EMOJIS! Yes, and it required contestants to see things in emoji codes which few if any people actually could do, because the selection of emojis and time on the clock were rather limited. Try playing Charades with only fifteen possible hand gestures. How DO you get someone to guess “Raiders of the Lost Ark” by using a hand, a box, a pirate and a puzzled face? I have no idea. But, I’m glad I was making money while the contestants went home with corporate swag and subscriptions to things no one needs.

***

I was a contestant on the forementioned emoji-laden game show. I was at a mall (in some part of Southern California) when I saw someone offering applications. A friend of mine, who likes to text with me, thought we would be good contestants, and, buckling under a fair amount of peer pressure, I agreed. I thought a show about texting was far easier than one that required you to use knowledge I failed to grasp in school; and I don’t read much, anyway.

On the show, I got nothing right and ultimately decided to never use emojis in my daily life; nor will I ever likely play a similar game, like Charades. When that emoji movie came out, I freaked and cut off all of my hair. If anyone tries to use emojis with me, I will probably break my own phone in a fit of uncontrollable rage. I shouldn’t even use the damn word…emoji! Ugh!

***

It’s been over twenty years since I hosted my game show, with a very sexy blonde assistant who had a strange name and little to say…because I swallowed up eighty percent of the air time with my non-stop rambling. Together, with a third person whose job was to put contestant pairs to sleep by whispering random factoids, we tested the physical and mental limits of red-eyed fools and offered little reward to compensate for the madness and therapy that would likely follow. The show was a play on what many students go through to pass the big tests they take in school.

So, you see; I’m no fool, even if my hairdo looked dated…like really far out, if you dig what I’m saying. I made money for my effort and didn’t lose any sleep. I just ran a sweat shop that bent others like slaves for my own amusement. I also had one of the most attractive assistants who just wasn’t getting enough better roles, anywhere. Those are the perks of being in charge of my destiny and not the pawn.

***

I was part of a reboot for newly married couples, hosted by some woman who I did not recognize because I don’t watch many movies or TV shows and don’t listen to music made before 2001. My new husband and I had a not-so-crazy story to tell about how we met, which gave viewers the impression we were close. But, as it turned out, we knew very little about each other and were terrible at reading minds. Instead, we just answered like the other couples, which didn’t do us any favors. Many of the questions were innuendoes, which I did not understand. [Why is this show so lewd?] I didn’t know there would be a kiss camera, either. In the end, we went home with a certificate for the loser-steak-of-the-month club and plenty to discuss in couple’s therapy. I’d say the experience was a waste of time, but, of course, my soon-to-be ex-husband disagrees.

***

I was also on that game show for newly married couples, and my lovely wife and I actually won! We were VERY in tune with each other and matched on nearly every question. We took the big prize trip to Antigua and met several other game-show winners. It seems Antigua is the pit where seventy-five percent of game show winners go to die like lemmings. I thought it was supposed to be a tropical paradise. There were so many people trying to sell me something. I came home covered in business cards and coupons I’ll likely never use.

01
Oct
21

The Loss of Attention to the Intention of Invention

By writingbolt Leave a Comment
Categories: Concerns and Alerts and Uncategorized
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****

Being naïve to praise is a dangerous trait. Someone claims to like what you make. So, you make more, hoping to keep the praise train going; maybe make some money. Suddenly, your creation is a hit, boosted in sales by the media and some wealthy investors. And, in a few years, if you’re not the fad of the decade, you’re among the richest in the world. People call you a genius and keep feeding the growth of your empire. Soon enough, you’re buying up companies that have nothing to do with your original “genius,” like you just won a fortune in the game of Monopoly and are itching to put up a dozen hotels.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world suffers from a misguided production line. The environment suffers. [Hello? Factories that cannot help but pollute. And, mistakes pile up in landfills, which take up more and more space, like faulty parking garages that collect tolls.] The economy suffers (because you’re raking in the most money while others are cutting costs, corners and employees to make ends meet). And, often enough, humanity suffers by becoming slaves to your latest “convenience.”

Here’s a smart invention. Door locks you don’t need tools or “professionals” to install. You just stick, paste and coordinate them with your “smartphone.” Yay, more electronic devices!…that eventually need new batteries or a charge and are sure to glitch and fail, sometime. You entrust your security to this system and find the stupid things on the floor when the “stick” you accepted (instead of solid steel screws and a little manual labor) looses its grip, a grip anyone could break with a little effort. ‘Can’t get a good signal to check a camera feed or disable a faulty alarm? Bummer. How smart is that “phone,” now?

Why didn’t I get a warning? Oh, because I depended upon an electronic gizmo to do everything for me. I stopped using my own brain and senses of awareness to prevent the threat. Instead of taking action to reduce the hazard, I put up a feeble defense system and let the bandits assault my castle. No worries. We’ll just improve the quality of your “flexible seal” and sell you the updated version of that security system, later. You just throw the old one on the landfill and wait for the mailman to arrive. ‘Gotta love free shipping!

You know what’s even more dangerous?

No. Not the mad-scientist sort who intentionally plots to take over the world. At least, so far, that sort of person hasn’t surfaced anywhere except in movies. But, anything seems possible, these days. Most of us really don’t know…enough. As they say in The X-Files, the truth is out there.

What’s more dangerous is lacking the empathy and/or conscience to see the problem before it arises. You know…not that you’d ever think of stopping production of anything you invent…because that would be counter-productive to your genius; your creativity.

[And, as a creative mind myself, who has fallen hard from excessive praise (though not nearly the levels of praise certain other wealthier folks have received), I acknowledge this.]

[If you think like a robot who is motivated (or programmed) to make more robots, are you going to see the error in your programming and stop production before you wipe out humankind?…if not all of nature, as well? You were built by humans…or, later, I’m sure, a robot…built by humans. Of course, you’re going to get stupid and keep producing; spare no expense to your Jurassic Park.]

I recently saw a video clip of Elon Musk talking about the future of robots. [It was featured with a news segment about robots replacing workers during this Covid-19 crisis; which went on to say the biggest and wealthiest inventors were busy producing replacements for human labor. If that isn’t enough to get your minds buzzing with concern…] He says robots will soon be able to do everything better than humans…everything. And, quote, he doesn’t know what else to say about that.

[And, you know what my response was? I felt the slightest cracking of madness setting in and was compelled to sing a lyric from that ol’ R.E.M. song about the “end of the world, as we know it.”]

Don’t you see? Don’t you get it? The guy’s deemed a genius, worth and amassing countless dollars for his creations. And, he has a mental condition that strips him of awareness for his own actions. He might as well be one of his own androids.
[And, maybe he is. Maybe his sterling-silver mother with her cunning smile and slicked back hair is the mastermind behind the robotic son. Dr. Alexa Frankenstein. There. I said it.]

[And, if you missed my earlier warning… They are talking about replacing human workers with robots due to a “labor shortage” during a “crisis” caused by some virus released in a Chinese lab; a lab in the country best known for housing countless factories which produce (American) “modern conveniences.” Forget talk about sweat shops. There won’t be any sweat left to produce if this production line continues…except the sweat of human fear. A man-made (even if it was accidental) virus puts the world in a panic and takes plenty out of the workforce. What a perfect opportunity for technological manufacturers to move in and take control. You think this wasn’t intended by someone? Coincidence?…I think not. And, if you need more distraction, let’s talk about a questionable vaccine mandate/solution. While you are taking sides on that issue, the factories will be at work making your replacements. I hope you were not trying to achieve something with the life you were given. Moo…Moo-ve along, cattle. Progress is prodding you toward your own demise. Though, it’s unlikely you have any chance of changing what is happening…if we are all truly in danger of rapidly dying from a hazardous virus that is taking us down, dozen by dozen, like an expert assassin. Wherever we go, there it may be.]

Lately, every guy given this grand status of technological genius has rather quickly turned into a dark, looming storm cloud of disaster.

***

They didn’t finish school like the “smartest hard-working students” among us; they just came up with something “smart” and rushed right into production (from their “garage”). RUMBLE!

Glitches abound. Updates need to be made, constantly. But, someone keeps investing to turn this coal into a diamond. RUMBLE!

Everyone gets a copy! It’s free (or “affordable”)…for now. Why is it so popular? Because I just told you and am giving you a copy! RUMBLE!

Free (trial) service becomes one more monthly fee, increasing in cost every few years. Now, you’re renting what was “sold” to entice you. RUMBLE!

Everyone must use the latest invention because it’s no longer as-seen-on-TV. It’s mandated. If you don’t learn how and use it, you’re obsolete and unemployed. Services you expect to continue working are suddenly changed and placed under different rules you must now learn and afford. RUMBLE!

The minds behind the genius suffer some sort of breakup (divorce) which prompts further loss of emotional support (that’s tech support for humankind) and a plunge into increased mindless creation and spending of seemingly limitless capital. RUMBLE!

The next time you see the genius on your preferred glowing, radiating convenience, he (or she…but usually HE) is not looking so good (though, they always seem to look pasty) and seems to be hiding something…like they are afraid (if they still feel fear) to say something. RUMBLE!

KA-BOOM! We’re all dead, replaced by someone’s inventions. And, we never get to see all of the other lovely animals and plants of our world crumble and die under the metallic feet of “progress.”

***

Invention is the drug that intoxicates the lonely genius. Genius is another word for alcoholic. Why? Because, once you are deemed and believe you are a genius, you can’t stop yourself from inventing, from creating MORE.

If you are an “inventor,” you’re still “small,” less dangerous, less senseless. Your ego is in check because you’re still working toward something. But, like an alcoholic, if you don’t curb your enthusiasm, you’re at risk of becoming a full-throttle genius, someone wealthier folks will pump full of their money to project a business model upon the world. If you are deemed a “genius,” “pro” or “expert,” you know it all; you don’t need anyone to tell you anything. You’re the master of your domain…until some more influential fool pushes you off your mountain. You’ll be too blinded by production and managing all you invent to see the bulldozer driven by the next “genius” in line.

And, if people hear about you, some will surely bow to your “greatness.” They will like. They will subscribe. They will comply. They will be assimilated. And, like many subscriptions, these days, they cannot withdraw from your contract. They signed on; they’re stuck with that decision.

[You’re an Icarus until you fall from the burning light of the sun as it melts your foolish wings.]

[Adolph Hitler wasn’t born a monster. He was driven to become a monster, fed by those who bowed to him, who cowered before him and agreed to do his bidding. Then anyone who still did not agree went to war with the guy’s amassing forces, and there was a ton of bloodshed and destruction before someone called an end to the conflict.

Jump ahead to modern times. Instead of sending countless bodies to their graves, we use remote-control war machines. Just like the old days of steering factory production toward assisting the military (all of those ads for war bonds and collecting scrap this and that to build weapons and support the troops)……

What? You don’t think all the recent talk about human-like robots, or androids, won’t also be given some combative purpose? You think there won’t be robot policemen and soldiers? Well, aren’t you just the foolish one.

And, who is leading this robotic army? And, what if every warring nation develops its own robotic army? Is that any different than every nation wanting its own nuclear weapons…just in case…and then dealing with some bossy nation like the USA, telling them to disable those weapons while leaving their own active and ready to launch at any time? And, what if we have to start worrying about “hackers” turning our robotic weapons against us? And, where will all the scrapped soldiers and weapons go? And, will any humans–other than the most wealthy who probably have a secure underground safehouse to preserve them–be around to celebrate some sort of victory?]

[If Einstein didn’t accept and believe in his genius, he would not have continued pursuing his famous theories until he died. He was drunk on pushing his brain beyond its limits.]

You’d think after countless movies and TV shows about this sort of thing we humans would see the light before the dawn. But, at best, those who DO predict disaster are written off as paranoid and cynical. Oh, that guy. He’s always ranting about something. That old coot. Shake your head. Fan your hand at him and move along. If it’s not making money, what good is it?

Keep buying your Mountain Dew Red, Blue and Color-Not-Found-in-Nature and slaving away at the general’s mill. You’re working toward…something. You’re affording convenience…until that convenience can no longer afford you.

*****

Let me just carve a slot in this heated subject matter to inject some thought about religion, about faith. In such a mad, pressurized environment of technological domination and social collapse, you’d think retaining a “faith,” believing in some sort of god, was impossible. You’d think we all would/should turn atheist. How can a god allow this madness to occur?

But, if you think a little further, a little bigger, a little outside the box outside the box…

What if this madness we are experiencing isn’t also intended by the same god(s)? What if our demise is as “written” as was our invention?…our creation?

[Read my next post for more on this subject. Or, you’d be here all day reading my diverting thoughts in one big slice.]

*****

[I could probably go on for hours with this feverish rant. But, having an ounce of conscience, something others in “higher places” seem to lack, I think I made my point. ‘No use getting fall-off-the-stool drunk in my outlook.]

If current conditions have anything to say about survival of the fittest, then, I guess, I am not among the “fittest.” I cannot compete with those bent on replacing humankind with machines, even if, right now, they are among the “wealthy” and “intelligent” minority who assume they will rule the universe (and let the rest of us fall where we may). I don’t have the same financial backing and other resources. I have failed at rallying others to my side. I don’t lead any party that can turn the tide (and am not interested in becoming the next “Hitler”). I guess, because I don’t swear allegiance to the forces that plot to ruin natural life as we may know it, I am doomed to get buried by the overwhelming majority of slaves to convenience (and whatever mad artificial world their masters conceive).

GET SMART, PEOPLE! Before it’s too late. [And, I don’t mean invent the next convenience that quickly turns into a financial empire (and ecological disaster).] Turn off the grid and find your heart, your spirit, your conscience. Or, soon enough, nothing you are told or sold will matter. Everything that makes sense will be just an illusion, nonsense in the fog of anesthesia carrying your poor excuse for a robotic body away while your replacement takes control. Does your life matter? Prove it.

The next time someone tells you that you are SO smart for crafting something, whether it’s a painting, a blueprint for a “new” type of house, a theory for our existence, a piece of computer software or the next synthetic human being, you flip a switch in your head and think twice about that compliment……or we all suffer.

[Lastly, here are a few thought-provoking images I am adding after I wrote this, inspired by the content.]

comeinpeace-goinpieces_cutman-peacefingers-disassembled_megaman-dvd-clip-4enjoyyourreplacements_DrLightsutilitybots_megaman-dvd-clip-5fixyourself-foolishthinking_roll-withthisyoucanbearealwoman-drwilyspuppet_megaman-dvd-clip-6influencerscome_magnetman-poweringup_megaman-dvd-clip-2influencersgo_magnetman-disassembled_megaman-dvd-clip-3peoplenotlearningfromhistory_newswoman-reporting-at-disasterscene_megaman-dvd-clip-1replacementinmakersimage-denialofexistence_megaman-wearing-wilysmindcontrolhat_megaman-dvd-clip-9replacingthereplacements-artificiallovers_DrPetto-roll-nosleepingonthejob_megaman-dvd-clip-7shouldhaveforeseentheend-preventit_rush-DrLight-roll-trashcompactor-ed_megaman-dvd-clip-8

09
Feb
17

“Smart” Devices, Security Threat

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

*****

“Smart” devices promising convenience; dumb inconveniences just like pills that result in lackluster results and/or more side effects.

Yes, I am at it, again! I am livid about the latest and upcoming “smart” technology! If you have any brain cells left to digest some food for thought, dig in.

Those talking speakers–which are supposed to make life easier and answer all of your questions so you never have to use your brain for more than uttering words and pushing a button–are a potential security risk IF you have devices–including phones, appliances, door locks, home computers (which might hold tax/income files, insurance records, bank/retirement account links, etc.)–connected to the same WiFi network.

Local news reporters recently suggested hackers could do some serious damage to your records, resources and even your home if this is the case. They recommended creating separate networks for each branch of technology and extra complex passwords, “ones you might not even remember.”

…Wait. Did you just hear/read that right? Yep. Passwords you might not even remember.

WHAT FREAKING SENSE DOES THIS MAKE?!

First, they make technology to simplify life. And, like so many new inventions these days, these conveniences ask you to link every aspect of your life together, put everything online and/or in one digital storage unit. How convenient…for thieves!

You don’t have to think much. You can turn everything on and off from the small nuclear reactor you keep in your purse or back pocket. You can get money wherever, whenever. Why do your own taxes or even send a check when you can link the IRS to your bank account and let them do the draining–er, work–for you? But, those who want what you have (and know how to program the very things you put your faith in) will make stealing and/or ruining it easy.

Need I mention the latest thing in American credit cards (not new to Europe, among other places)? Those wonderful “smart chip” cards that are supposed to be better protection for your credit/money. Yet, as quickly as they get “mandated,” there are commercials for thieves with devices that can scan them much the way the latest designs for retail/grocery stores without cashiers (among other employees) can scan your card and send the bill to your house (to save you the hassle of waiting in a line with other human beings with whom you no longer seem able to socialize and/or tolerate). As an added security feature, there are ads for wallets with metal mesh protection layers…if that does the job. But, if you are protecting your wallet from thieves with scanners and camera phones and “skimmers,” how are those locations that detect your card and send the bill to your home supposed to read your card? Heaven forbid you have to stop, pull out your bulletproof wallet, dig out the credit card for that store and swipe/scan it. Oh, that would be too much work. Wouldn’t it have been easier to just not invent credit cards? Or, here’s a novel idea, STOP MAKING EVERYTHING COMPUTER-DEPENDANT!

THEN, you’re supposed to separate everything you just learned how to connect AND lock it away with a complex password you may not remember. Exactly where are you supposed to safely put all of these passwords you may not remember? Isn’t one of the thoughts behind designing a password to make it something you’ll remember and not need to write down? Will you remember where you put the passwords you have to hide from any wandering snoop that may come along?

Will someone please hold my shoulders so the room stops spinning?

How stupid do humans have to be until the whole world explodes or shuts down? Seriously. No, not Sirius-ly or Siri-ously. Seriously. A word you can find in an actual paper and cardboard dictionary if you can make the effort to find one and use those things you call fingers to do more than swipe right.

Back in my youth, the least intelligent technology–aside from the occasional invention that died out before every “average joe” knew about it–came in yellow and black books, guides for “dummies,” to make life easier and save students the chore of reading actual literature. Then computer classes began, and the whole world started going down the tubes as fast as it was making global connections.

You don’t hear much about those “dummy guides” anymore because you or people you know are likely already the dummies talking to the devices that are now capable of doing your homework for you. The dummy guides are now “help” buttons (which are practically useless due to the fact idiots sometimes compose the “simple” text and diagrams they provide), search engines and digitized voices. Don’t you feel educated?

What’s the sense in spending money on education when technology is going to rob everyone of their brains? I would not be surprised if some tech heads are doing calculations to figure out how many human brain cells are required to get the robot revolution underway before humans are no longer able to program and repair said robots. Won’t we all feel better when we no longer exist and some white plastic-faced box is turning everything we lived for into fertilizer.

NOT ME!

Unplug, now, people. Unplug, now. Think before you compute. And, someone help us all if any more of this crap is forced upon us.

05
Jan
17

The “Smart” Future Looks Dumb and Bleak

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

*****
I only have to see five minutes of recent news headlines to get nightmares and palpitations.  If I had been asleep for some time and awoke to find this on TV, I’d likely go back to sleep or die on the spot.

One cause of palpitations:  Trump.  I think I’ll leave him at that.  But, I will say I see some of my worst aspects in him and too many faulty promises, like the parent that tells his/her kids too often they will do something for/with the child but never do.  And, seeing myself in him, I know I would not want to be president.  I’d rather be an advisor/assistant.

The other big mozza ball that chills me to the bone:  Rapidly advancing technology.  People are in such a rush to create artificially intelligent machines and way too many cameras.  So much talk about convenience and “smart” technology.

When I was a kid, I was told I was smart.  People still tell me I am when I doubt it.  But, there are different levels of smart.  And, I learned this the hardest way in my teens, entering high school and finding people who could do the same work in a fraction of the time.  Yes, people, not machines.  But, many of these smart people were from wealthy families that didn’t seem to care about anything; they just wanted to have it all and keep advancing without knowing what “it all” is or was before the next phase of advancement.  These were locomotives of intelligence going nowhere I could see.  For all my smarts, I was just getting trampled under their wheels.  Maybe their smarts were paid for with the highest approval for production while mine were scraped and taped together like the kid who makes his own toys instead of buying the expensive new spectacles.

If I have learned anything in the past 15 years–that may be longer than some who breast-feed off this stuff have been alive–it’s that technology that’s hot today could just as easily be pointless in ten years.  So, why invest in any of it?  Fools buy this stuff.  The smart people are the ones sitting back, buying and selling stock as the fools do all the salivating and tossing of money out windows.  But, even that comes and goes like the seasons.  It’s faulty gambling.

But, unlike some of the goofy gadgets that have come and gone, others that were only touching the tips of our fingers twenty or thirty years ago–again, perhaps beyond the age range of many who pack this stuff in their school lunch bags–are making steady and potentially hazardous progress.  Namely cameras that invade and robots, the stuff of the science fiction films I’ve been talking about for years, now.

And, where is the hot spot for showing this stuff off?  Not L.A.  Not “silicon valley.”  Not New York.  No.  It’s Las Vegas, the sleazy, I’ll-keep-every-one-of-your-immoral-secrets capital of the netherworld.  Can we say Nightmare on Earth Street?  I knew you could.

In the five minutes of a morning show I caught during breakfast, a guy is doing one of those crappy, quick displays of “feature products” at this electronics show.  And, one just happens to be a drone the size of a small pallet…you know…a shipping pallet…the sort you might see at an AMAZON.COM warehouse.  Yeah.  That marketing monster.  Skynet.  Darth Vader torn between the dark side and the light, but leaning toward the dark.

He’s talking about this drone like he approves of it at the same time he is spelling out in words plain as day that the thing is invasive and terrifying.  Companies sell this stuff to the masses as commercial entertainment.  The gadgets are the hit of every wealthy person’s social gala.  But, for every small investment in the flash-in-the-pan crazes, there’s one global step closer to these gadgets being sent out in masses to do other things we did not think were intended when we found them quaint.  Just as when the internet was ushered in as the grand means of bridging the global communication shortage, so began the madness of hackers, internet perverts and online crimes.

And, don’t get me started on all the push for online banking and “convenient” grocery shopping.  Let’s face it people, some majority taking action while the rest of you sit on your asses and let gadgets work for you–or do whatever you consider work for some tyran–er, tycoon–are taking advantage of your laziness.  And, if we go along with this madness, there will be nothing safe, secure or sacred left in this world.  You will be eliminated.  You will be replaced.  And, resistance may end up futile…or the movie you saw forty years ago but thought was just a silly bit of fiction.

Ugh!  I just have to let it out.  Wake up, Harold Cricks.  This is scary shit, people.

And, if we don’t get smart…I mean, really smart–not depend-upon-some-talking-gadget-to-answer-all-of-life’s-problems smart–you’re lives will be pointless.  Everything you think you are investing in or chasing will be a total waste of time, emotion, energy, etc.  You’ll just be a footnote in some robot empire, the slaves that built the “smart pyramids.”  If you want your lives to be worth more than the shit in your toilets…if you even bother to read these emphatic words written in a tiny hole of the internet like some message in a bottle…you’ll turn your backs to convenience and things that talk back and get your answers from people who were not built by Amazon or one of its ugly cousins.

Use your brains.  Show your work.  Stay off the grid.  Delete your Fbook pages.  Look up when passing others.  And, stay healthy.  For the sake of humanity, an investment that should be embraced and patched up when it falters, not discarded and replaced with robots.

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