Brief moments of sanity aside….

Posted on May 11, 2016 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“The shoe that fits one person pinches another;
there is no recipe for living that suits all cases.”

~~ Carl Jung ~~

221B Baker Street, London

Hajime…. I am not certain exactly when, but, I’m coming up on five years here at WordPress, sometime in July, or August, I think. I should check. At any rate, it’s been a while. I’ve attempted to post every day, at least once; though I haven’t quite made that goal, I’ve come pretty damn close, with well over 1500 posts to my credit. While I can regard that as a satisfying accomplishment, I must be honest enough to say, not all of it is what might be called fresh, as I’ve recycled a fair amount of what I’ve written for new posts. I call it cheating, though, with the caveat I’m only stealing from myself. So be it.

Today, I’m still busy, and without my usual sense of unease with not making the deadline I’ve set for myself each day. This has allowed me to fall completely into cheat mode. Below you’ll find a fresh pearl, composed of material previously posted, including my longest-ever rant. It’s all fairly standard stuff, for around here, so, no surprises there. I’ll even go so far as to let it speak for itself from this point on, as I intend to cut this short, Moreover, I’m doing that now, before I lose my nerve. I’ll just push this button, right here, and….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Education is about the only thing lying around loose the world, and it’s about the only thing a fellow can have as much of as he’s willing to haul away.” — George Lorimer

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George Carlin

Image from http://www.salon.com via Google Images

George needs no introduction; quite simply, he was the best. Ever. You can argue if you like, but, that would not be a stellar use of time…. Instead, just listen to the proof…..

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George Carlin
It’s Bad For Ya

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https://youtu.be/WuW93V4eH74

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One of my Gentle Readers complained of no rant yesterday, so, today, I’m making up for all the rants I’ve missed the past week or so. This may be the longest rant I’ve done, though that’s a guess. It is pretty long, and, though written early in 2014, it all remains perfectly valid, as far as I can see…. I hope you read it all, and pay attention, because it’s all about stuff that affects you directly…. Enjoy!….

From 10/18/2014:

“He must needes goe whom the devill doth drive.” ~~ John Heywood (c. 1565) — Proverbes, Part ii, Chap. vii ~~

“As you know, I planned a trip out there for some time, so it fits in very nicely.” ~~ president George Bush, on his trip to LA after the riots ~~

“Nobody goes to bed hungry in America” — R. Reagan

“Politicians aren’t born, they are excreted.” — Cicero

“That it should come to this!” ~~ William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Hamlet — Act i, Sc. 2 ~~

The above five-star pearl is a lead-in group, mostly aimed at those with whom the following discussion is concerned. Below you’ll find two links to articles discussing two separate, but related issues from the news yesterday, found in the UK Guardian’s US edition online. They are both in-depth pieces, with a bit of egregiously egotistic back patting in the first one, but, both are more involved, in-depth, and in tune with the truth than any news organization from the US I can find, with the most important issues made clear, the culpability of the responsible parties made obvious, and the downright evil prevarication by the FBI director laid out for all to see….

After those first two articles, I’ve also included an excellent column on the same subject by one of the Guardian’s staff opinion writers, named Trevor Timm. He gives a good summary of the exact points I wish to cover in his opening paragraph, which I’ve included as an excerpt, below the link. After that, I’ll have a few comments, and we’ll see how it goes from there…. Hitch up your belts, & make sure your backpacks are secured ffolkes, this could take a while…. but, as Lord Peter has been known to say, “This ain’t a joke, Charles! It’s important. Damn important!”…..

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/16/-sp-revealed-whisper-app-tracking-users

“Whisper acknowledged that it researches the location of specific users it believes are posting newsworthy information, but emphasised it typically uses GPS data.

Whisper stressed the IP location data it uses for people who have asked not to be followed is rough and unreliable.

“We occasionally look at user IP addresses internally to determine very approximate location,” the company said. “User IP addresses may allow very coarse location to be determined to the city, state or country level.”

It added: “Whisper does not request or store any personally identifiable information from users, therefore there is never a breach of anonymity. From time to time, when a user makes a claim of a newsworthy nature, we review the user’s past activity to help determine veracity.”

The company strongly rejected any assertion of wrongdoing. “The Guardian’s assumptions that Whisper is gathering information about users and violating user’s privacy are false,” it said. “The privacy of our users is not violated in any of the circumstances suggested in the Guardian story.”

Four days later, Whisper rewrote large sections of its terms of service and introduced an entirely new privacy policy.

Whereas the previous terms and conditions described all of Whisper’s tracking of user location as “voluntary”, the new terms now warn users to “bear in mind that, even if you have disabled location services, we may still determine your city, state, and country location”.

Since becoming aware that the Guardian planned to publish its story, the anonymous app has also inserted a new line into its privacy policy.

It now warns users that turning on the app’s geolocation feature may “allow others, over time, to make a determination as to your identity”.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/oct/16/fbi-director-attacks-tech-companies-encryption

“…he recognised their embrace of encryption responded to “perceive[d]” market pressures in the wake of Snowden’s disclosures. But Comey suggested that end-to-end mobile device encryption amounted to a safe haven for criminals.

“Are we no longer a country that is passionate both about the rule of law and about their being no zones in this country beyond the reach of that rule of law? Have we become so mistrustful of government and law enforcement in particular that we are willing to let bad guys walk away, willing to leave victims in search of justice?” he said.
Comey acknowledged that the Snowden disclosures caused “justifiable surprise” among the public about the breadth of government surveillance, but hoped to mitigate it through greater transparency and advocacy.

Yet the FBI keeps significant aspects of its surveillance reach hidden even from government oversight bodies. Intelligence officials said in a June letter to a US senator that the FBI does not tally how often it searches through NSA’s vast hoards of international communications, without warrants, for Americans’ identifying information.
Comey frequently described himself as being technologically unprepared to offer specific solutions, and said he meant to begin a conversation, even at the risk of putting American tech companies at a competitive disadvantage.

“Where we may get is to a place where the US, through its Congress, says, ‘You know what, we need to force this on American companies,’ and maybe they’ll take a hit. Someone in some other country will say, ‘Ah, we sell a phone that even with lawful authority people can’t get into.’ But that we as a society are willing to have American companies take that hit. That’s why we have to have this conversation,” Comey said

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/17/government-internet-backdoor-surveillance-fbi

“FBI director James Comey wants a US government-mandated backdoor into your iPhone and your Google account. But Comey doesn’t want to call his proposed privacy invasion a backdoor. He doesn’t understand how it would work. And he expects everyone who has been horrified by the NSA’s mass surveillance to just sit back, weaken their personal security and trust that the government will never abuse it.

Comey also claimed on Thursday that the “Post-Snowden pendulum” needs to swing back in favor of the government, neglecting to mention Congress has passed literally zero laws reigning in government surveillance. In fact, the main reason the major tech companies are pushing forward with encryption is because the government refuses to follow the will of the people and curtail the NSA’s powers at all. If Comey wanted a careful debate about the right balance of privacy and security before decisions like Apple’s are made, like he also said on Thursday night, maybe he should’ve advocated for that when the NSA was massively expanding their powers for years in complete secrecy.

Twitter tweet October 16, 2014: “Comey’s right: Deployment of strong crypto should be preceded by thoughtful debate. Which we had & correctly resolved 15 years ago.— Julian Sanchez (@normative)

So while we break out the world’s smallest violin as Jim Comey complains about the “Post-Snowden pendulum”, remember: the US government, through its own secret actions, brought this on themselves.”

“Who’s the more foolish? The fool or the fool who follows him?” — Obi-Wan Kenobi, “Star Wars”

I can’t say, with any degree of accuracy, but, I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard such a load of pure bullshit, straight from the bull’s butt, in a very, very long time…. When Richard Nixon raised his peace sign fingers, and stated, “I am not a crook.”, was probably the last time…. I swear, this man, this Comey, who heads up the FBI, obviously has the lowest opinion of the American public’s intelligence of almost anyone I’ve ever seen…. The demon-spawn from hell, Newt Gargoyle, or Gribble, or Grinch, Grngich, or whatever his weird-ass name was, came close on a regular basis, as did that ghoul, Dick Cheney, but, this Über-cop, this gestapo at the head of our nation’s largest domestic police force has, I believe. taken the cake….

Moreover, he implies that anyone who doesn’t support his, and the government’s, grab for power over every aspect of our lives is unpatriotic, a cowardly enemy of American principles, which, according to HIM, start (and, by implication, end…) with submissive respect for the “rule of law”, suggesting that the American public should feel privileged to allow them to have access to ALL of their private information…. Of course, the implied insult here is that only criminals and other unsavory characters should have something to hide from them, and their oh-so-perfect moral position….

What a crock of shit! I can’t say it any plainer than that…. and, I’ve probably said enough by now, anyway…. I’ll leave you with one last wake-up pearl, to think about when you’re assigning blame for what is happening in today’s world….. The FBI director, in his remarks, asks what he considers a rhetorical question, to wit:

“Have we become so mistrustful of government and law enforcement in particular that we are willing to let bad guys walk away, willing to leave victims in search of justice?”

I can only answer with a resounding “Yes, we have! We have lost ALL trust in the police. and the government, with good reason. I wouldn’t trust you to tell me the correct time!”

Well, I might not say that last part to his face, maybe, but, I can assure you, I’d want to, very badly, and would have to exert significant effort of will to refrain from doing so…. though, why I would bother, I don’t know…..

“Who’s the more foolish? The fool or the fool who follows him?” — Obi-Wan Kenobi, “Star Wars”

I was going to leave it at that, but, as I finished, I received an email from EFF, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit activism organization made up of people, like me, and, hopefully, y’all, who are concerned with keeping the internet free of corporate influence and government oppression, to guarantee the open, free interchange of ideas and communication that characterizes how it is supposed to be, as intended by those who created it…. They are one of the entities who brought suit against the government about this issue, in a suit which is now about to be heard by the Supreme Court, along with several others they have supported, or helped to organize…

Below, I have included three links to articles on their home site, which speak to the information and issues of which we spoke above in this section. Each article clearly explains how the government and other entities are trying to subvert the internet, making it a tool for oppression, rather than a tool for expanding human knowledge and culture…. These explain how the government, and their myrmidons, the police, are working to take away the usefulness of having such a means to spread knowledge, wanting instead to keep it for their own use, which involves the control over our lives they so desperately desire….

Good info, ffolkes, well researched and written, very clearly presented…. I’ve donated to this one, which I don’t do, as a rule, but, they’re working hard to protect US, that is, YOU and ME, so, they deserve my support…. If nothing else, it will give you an idea of how the situation stands today….

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/10/even-golden-key-can-be-stolen-thieves-simple-facts-apples-encryption-decision

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/09/computercop-dangerous-internet-safety-software-hundreds-police-agencies

http://www.wired.com/2014/10/nsa-mind-bender-wont-tell-info-already-leaked-media/

“The best way to lose freedom is not to do anything.” — Smart Bee

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A Dubiously Soft Morning

Idiosyncratic images, clamoring for regard,
fill up the white, white screen on which I view
my life, never seeing, nor invited to sup
ambrosial remnants of anything new.

Still, yet almost in motion, allegory sails away
bobbing gently, quick and easy to find,
signs of one happy child, seriously at play,
blissfully immersed, focused joy in mind.

Formidable cries of outraged simple justice
echo plaintive relevance, in half the time.
Maladaptive infants, destined for hospice
salvage an only child, daring to sing in rhyme.

Creativity equals unquestioning farce,
often reaching for absurdity, brazenly afire.
Instead, a blow is felt no joy will ever soften,
accepting the price, added to the cost of desire.

~~ gigoid ~~

7/26/2013

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Since we’re cheating full out today, here is an old, old-school pearl, with a rather ironic beginning, just to keep things confusing, as if today’s effort here weren’t enough. It’s a good one, though, so, enjoy!….

From 9/18/2014:

In order to say there is at least one fresh section today, I offer for your consideration the following old-school pearl, a random, harlequin style, with no obvious parameters…. often, these turn out to be the very best kind, so, we can hope…..

“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I do not believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they cannot find them, make them.” — George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

“Forgive me my nonsense as I also forgive the nonsense of those who think they talk sense.” — Robert Frost

“You can’t make up anything anymore. The world itself is a satire. All you’re doing is recording it.” — Art Buchwald

“Certum est quia impossibile est.” [It is certain because it is impossible.] — Tertullian (160-240 AD) — De Carne Christi, c. 5

“One truth stands firm. All that happens in world history rests on something spiritual. If the spiritual is strong, it creates world history. If it is weak, it suffers world history.” — Albert Schweitzer

“Destiny is but a phrase of the weak human heart – the dark apology for every error. The strong and virtuous admit no destiny. On earth conscience guides; in heaven God watches. And destiny is but the phantom we invoke to silence the one and dethrone the other.” — Edward Bulwer-Lytton

“He declared that he knew nothing, except the fact of his ignorance.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Socrates, xvi

Works every time…..

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‘T is done, and, done to death, I’d say. I’ll skip the usual witty repartee, if such as this can be so labeled, and leave you to the rest of your day. I hope you enjoyed this little journey through the past. I’ll be back tomorrow, most likely, but, hopefully, with some material a bit fresher than today. In any case, we’re outta here, and now…. See ya, ffolkes. Count on it…..

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

A mostly charitable banana….

Posted on November 6, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Coarse and violent nudity. Occasional language.”

~~ Disclaimer by gigoid ~~

Leelu’s favorite sleeping pose….

But, of course, it is morning, yes? It will be a good one, yes? Yes…. To be a bit more provincial, let me say, howdy, as they say in many other places, including, apparently, here. It should probably be said: this intro has been pre-written, to prevent any security issues, due to its incendiary nature. (Don’t worry, you’ll see….). All of this material has been certified as non-threatening, non-critical and non-interesting by several trained bureaucrats, which I had to pay, by the way, at the court’s direction….

At this point, you may ask yourselves, “Has he slipped around the bend again?”. No. Try again. “Well, maybe he really IS in trouble, and the court’s orders have to be followed.” Those are both a big no, as well. What the hell am I talking about then? Hell, if I knew, I wouldn’t be this far into THIS paragraph, and still have no idea where it should go next. I’m about to throw up my hands in surrender, if anyone were watching…. Shit, I’ll be lucky if anyone ever reads any of this one; by the time we get out of the intro, we’ll be mired in litigation….

But, that’s only if our screening procedures fail, and a lawyer gets through. Otherwise, they have to at least wait until we’ve landed, and, everyone’s been cleared as being free of virus exposure. But, as it says on your ticket, you’re not liable anyway, so, no worries, right?

You know, I’m thinking maybe it’s time to get on with the rest of today’s mess; this is starting to fray a bit around the edges. Okay, we’ll do this….. Luigi! Let’s get going!…. Perhaps y’all should sit down, and fasten your belts…. Since setting the new speed record yesterday, he’s had this wicked gleam in his eye…. Oh, and, please, use the cup holders….

Shall we Pearl?

“How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life, wouldn’t you say?” — Kirk, “The Wrath of Khan,” stardate 8130.3.

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Jimmy Buffet

Image from billboard.com via Google Images

Jimmy and the Coral Reefer Band have entertained me a LOT of times, both live and at home. I’ve been to see the Coral Reefers play in more states than any other, save perhaps the Dead. Here’s a good concert (they ALL are; he has such fun the audience cannot help but ride along….) from a few years ago…. Enjoy!….

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Jimmy Buffet
Live at Anguilla

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https://youtu.be/yR8FvDDhBv0

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Bad juju precludes a fresh rant today; it’s a bit after 0330, and I’ve again been awake much of the night with physical issues. Suffice it to say anything fresh I write at this moment is liable to approach homicidal in tone, so, we’ll go with one from the archives…. Here’s one from early last year…..

From 1/3/2014:

“It is not the function of our Government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the Government from falling into error.” — Robert H. Jackson (1892-1954), U.S. Judge

It took long enough, but, what I have been expecting to happen has actually come true…. The media, deeply in debt to Eric Snowden for the new life he breathed into their existence, has finally stepped forward to exert itself on his behalf…. The two major papers, The New York Times, and the Guardian, in the UK, who originally printed his revelations, are finally coming out publicly with editorials, strongly calling for clemency for him…. Here are two of the reports, one from Yahoo, one from SFGATE, the Chronicle news outlet online…. Together, the two articles give a good picture of the history, and the current state of the situation with Mr. Snowden, currently living in exile in the USSR….

http://news.yahoo.com/new-york-times–guardian–urge-clemency-for-snowden-153422938.html

http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/2-newspapers-call-for-clemency-for-Edward-Snowden-5108503.php

What does one say about this? What is appropriate? What is important? Well, to be honest, ALL of it is pretty important, but not for the reasons most would believe, or, for that matter, understand…. That’s not being condescending, (well, maybe a little…), but, the majority of people who read about all of these issues regarding the spying are only capable of comprehending what they read at a fourth-grade level…. This is a commonly known fact, and is the reason newspapers, magazines, and the internet outlets that disseminate information do so at varying levels of complexity…. Most newspapers are written to a fourth grade level, and magazines usually write to the level of their targeted audiences….

My point here is, these are complex issues, and there are a LOT of lies being bandied about, mostly by one side, but, not necessarily ONLY by them. The ability to comprehend the cloud of information that is spewed out by a lot of readers is NOT up to the task, so, they end up picking out the easiest opinion for them to understand, and going with that, no matter what it might say…. This is how the BRC, the PH, and the SCMs keep control of the masses…. They pitch their story to the level of the people they address, and make it appeal to their most basic desires, (which process chiefly involves saying things that will reduce the level of diffuse anxiety, and the fears about the future that the masses feel…. those being the unrealistic, imaginary fears created by the ruling classes to begin with…..), thus establishing trust and belief on the part of the masses, making them willing to believe any further misinformation that is relayed….

“A man who carrys a cat by the tail is getting experience that will always be helpful. He isn’t likely to grow dim or doubtful. Chances are, he isn’t likely to carry the cat that way again, either. But if he wants to, I say let him!” — Mark Twain

So, anyway, it’s good to see the usual carriers of the administration’s manipulative lying doing a bit of their own fighting back, against the tide of über-control sought by the BRC, et al. As the largest information gathering and reporting companies in their respective countries, these two news outlets have the influence, both in the government, and with the public, to make a significant difference in any issue, and having them publicly come out with this particular expression of interest is not only unprecedented, (to my knowledge…), but extremely welcome….. It’s hard having most of the control over what gets into the media reports under the control of those who are in control of the government and banks; we, the public, NEED the media to work on our side, at least part of the time, or, there is no hope at all of ever making any changes, and, our doom would be sealed ever more tightly…..

“If people were required to know the law rather than to obey it, the government would be overthrown the next day.” — Smart Bee

There, how’s that for a fresh rant? Boot the assholes out, or make them straighten up and fly right, that’s what I say; I don’t much care which, but one of those two things are going to have to happen, if we are to have any chance at all to survive the upcoming events so graciously created for us by those same assholes. If we don’t get them, and their self-serving, selfish, ignorant, EVIL natures, out of their positions of control over the rest of us, they’re going to end up killing us all, and I am not being dramatic…. The evidence is all right out there to be seen, if one isn’t afraid to put the pieces together to form the picture….

It’s an ugly picture, ffolkes, and not much of a future to put our faith in…. Guess what, though? Like it or not, it’s the only future we have, if we don’t change…. and it’s just that simple…..

Folly, thou conquerest, and I must yield!
Against stupidity the very gods
Themselves contend in vain. Exalted reason,
Resplendent daughter of the head divine,
Wise foundress of the system of the world,
Guide of the stars, who are thou then, if thou,
Bound to the tail of folly’s uncurb’d steed,
Must, vainly shrieking, with the drunken crowd,
Eyes open, plunge down headlong in the abyss.

~~ Johann Christian Friedrich von Schiller, The Maid of Orleans ~~

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Haiku

3/12/2012

Poetry

Flashing, bright words create
inevitable pictures;
truth consumes.

~~ gigoid ~~

Revised version, 3/28/2014

Poetry

Sharp, bright words create
inevitable pictures
of consuming truth.

~~ gigoid ~~

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Honorable Request

Days, filled to a brim with fluff and time, pass
dimly into memory, bit by combative bit,
ever mournful, yet loud with life and sass,
only in dream do we meet, and dance, and flit.

Souls, spinning ’round in gleeful wonder, comply
as they must, never given a reason,
somberly proper, yet limber and quite spry,
dancing on to greet each bright new season.

Storms, angered by apathetic care, rage
proceeding into ministerial glare, unknown,
clothed in colors, purified solely with sage,
past an infinite future, already flown.

Life, plumbed to its depths and secrets, keeps
flowing with currents, strong and fairly found,
love stands, asking release, as it slowly weeps,
seeking refuge unasked, to stay honor bound.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 10/13/2012.

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Here’s a sweet little pearl, a bit odd in spots, but, all in all, pretty damn squiggly; Life at Large may never be more clearly outlined, or, for that matter, understood. Enjoy, even if you don’t get it; I didn’t at first, but, it grows on ya….

“It is not necessary that whilst I live I live happily; but it is necessary that so long as I live I should live honourably.” — Kant, Immanuel (1724-1804)

“What is the first business of one who studies philosophy? To part with self-conceit. For it is impossible for any one to begin to learn what he thinks that he already knows.” — Epictetus (c. 60 AD) — How to apply general Principles to particular Cases, — Discourses, Book ii, Chap. xvii

“Don’t confuse the water with the pump.” — Tom Wolfe

“We should have a great many fewer disputes in the world if only words were taken for what they are, the signs of our ideas only, and not for things themselves.” — John Locke

“Listen to the colour of your dreams.” — John Lennon 1966

“Truth never hurts the teller.” — Robert Browning

“Even a single hair casts its shadow.” — Publius Syrus — Maxim 228

“For a man can lose neither the past nor the future; for how can one take from him that which is not his? So remember these two points: first, that each thing is of like form from everlasting and comes round again in its cycle, and that it signifies not whether a man shall look upon the same things for a hundred years or two hundred, or for an infinity of time; second, that the longest lived and the shortest lived man, when they come to die, lose one and the same thing.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121-180 AD) — Meditations, ii, 14

“A grave, wherever found, preaches a short and pithy sermon to the soul.” — Hawthorne

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After an ordeal such as this has been, I should be tired; in fact, I’m not. But, then, it’s not now, because I’m writing this late yesterday. Now we’ve completely lost track of where in time we may be, or, THINK we may be, we’ll leave, and come back to it tomorrow, whenever that is. See y’all then, if I can figure out these Tardis controls…. Oh, right; it’s TIME TRAVEL! DOH! I’ll always be on time, because, I’ll just wait in whatever time I’m in until I DO figure out the right way to set the controls…. THEN I come back to the correct spot on the sliding time scale…. Sorry for the confusion; anomalies can be dangerous to the Continuum, you know….

I’ll stop now. Bye….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Apt portrayals of St. Vitus’ Dance….

Posted on October 24, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“All reality is aspect dependent.”

~~ Subtle Bee ~~

The Major Oak, England

Image from the UK Guardian 8-6-15

Good morning…. As the tale goes, more kings were chosen while standing under this tree than in any other place in England; the tree is at least 1100 years old. I thought it made a nice opening shot, with a lot of history. But, then, we all know I’m a bit more than just a bubble off plumb, so, I suppose that could have contributed to the issue. Ah, well, it matters little, as it achieved its purpose, to give us something toward which we may address our beginning remarks. Not bad for an old tree, eh?…

Sadly, this leaves us with our other usual conundrum, to wit: where do we go from here? Hmm… I could whine a bit, but, I’m tired of hearing it myself, so, the rib will just have to complain quietly today. I suppose I could go with some nonsense; we’ve got unlimited supplies of it, as you know by now, so there’s no danger of bombing the inventory. Unfortunately, that sort of nonsense would require more chutzpah than I can currently summon for my use, so, we’ll have to go with one of our old escape clauses, I think….

Why look! There’s one right there, just waiting for us to find it. Ha! And, it’s a #4! Bonus….. That does mean y’all should grab a stanchion, or other stationary object, & hang on for dear life; the #4 can be a bit of a bumpy ride…. It works like this….

Shall we Pearl?….

Happiness is the only good, reason the only torch, justice the only worship, humanity the only religion, and love the only priest.” — Robert G. Ingersoll

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Since this is being posted late, if at all, we’ll go with one of our standard default selections, one which I know will please the largest percentage of listeners….. Enjoy!…..

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Mozart: Who Else?

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https://youtu.be/E2LM3ZlcDnk

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“Not all politicians should be shot.
One should be saved for the archives.”

~~ Ruthless Bee ~~

In honor of the opening quote, which I hold to be one of the most perfect pearls to ever annoy an oyster, I’ll forgo a rant, in favor of the rather elegant 13 star pearl SB managed to help me create in lieu of such indulgence. It takes some rather unexpected turns, but, gets to a point I find rather hopeful, in a personal sense, if no other. Well, you’ll see…. or, you won’t, in which case, you still may enjoy the pokes taken at some of our favorite targets…. As a last resort, you can hate it, which will go directly onto your karmic spreadsheet…. Enjoy the workout on your neurons, at least….

“The world has taken on a thickness of vulgarity that raises a spiritual man’s contempt to the violence of a passion.” — Charles Baudelaire

“… But when he [the people’s champion] has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty, and there is nothing to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader.” — Plato (428-348? B.C.), “The Republic”

“In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant.” — Charles de Gaulle

“Anarchy may not be the best form of government, but it’s better than no government at all.” — Logical Bee

“The forces of a capitalist society, if left unchecked, tend to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.” — Jawaharlal Nehru

“Government is the only known enemy of intelligent life.” — Sardonic Bee

“Government should be weak, amateurish, and ridiculous. At present, it fulfills only a third of the role.” — Edward Abbey

— Bother! said Pooh, as he found a politician in his honey pot.

“Richard Nixon: He told us he was going to take crime out of the streets. He did. He took it into the damn White House.” — Ralph Abernathy

“Each time that Americans hold another election, about the only thing they learn is that they did not learn much from the last election.” — Observant Bee, again

“You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don’t ever count on having both at once.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

“When the need arises — and it does — you must be able to shoot your own dog. Don’t farm it out — that doesn’t make it nicer, it makes it worse.” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

“While the builders of the cages sleep with bullets, bars and stones,
they do not see your road to freedom that you build with flesh and bone.”

~~ True Patriot Bee ~~

********************************

Making Room

Our souls, they say, are like shapeless, infinite bags
in which we put all our pain, all our joyous wonder.
Broken hearts and thrilling love, riches to rags,
endless perceptions of serenity, and thunder.

‘Tisn’t simple, this spiritual journey to peace
memory is fickle, easily led astray;
darkness, ever lurking, without surcease
turning innocence to harm, from simple play.

Balance is the key.

Timing is everything.

Good can change bad, bad can change good.

Pain makes room for more joy in our souls.

The only power we need is the power to change ourselves.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written in 2013.

********************************

I had a great opening pearl for today’s final section, but, SB was NOT willing to cooperate sufficiently to go any further toward a new pearl. So, I went into the archives, and found this neat little semi-odd rant/old-school pearl on religion…. Since I didn’t rant above, why not? It’s not too long, and it’s a pretty good little indictment of the perpetrators of history’s most pernicious, persistent delusion….

From 9/8/2012:

It is popularly supposed that between those who use the word “God” and those who do not there is some great gulf. But the gulf lies elsewhere. It lies between those who dogmatize, either positively or negatively, and those who recognize in great humility that something within them bears witness to realities which may be momentous in our lives, but which lie beyond the grasping net of our categories of thought. — Smart Bee

Yet more proof of Murphy’s presence in Life…. or, in my life, anyway….. Yesterday I wrote about this subject, expounding as I am wont to do with no little enthusiasm, trying to bring some clarity to a naturally murky subject (it’s hard to pin down anything solidly when the subject under discussion is a matter of conjecture, not physically present to be examined….). Then, later in the day, I come across this one short paragraph, that summarizes my 3-400 words succinctly in three lines, and very clearly, for all its brevity. SIGH….. So much for originality, eh? Though I don’t know who said it, I salute them….

“In answer to the question of why it happened, I offer the modest proposal that our Universe is simply one of those things which happen from time to time.” — Edward P. Tryon

Once more, I have to agree with the author, especially as it gives a sort of pat on the shoulder to the paragraph above, as if sharing an obvious point. Serendipity, I say, and well met….

“When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it.” — Bernard Bailey

This one, when viewed in light of the previous two quotes, made me smile, big….. now, why is that? Because when he says a lot, he means, A LOT OF PEOPLE!…..

“And don’t tell me God works in mysterious ways, Yossarian continued There’s nothing mysterious about it, He’s not working at all. He’s playing. Or else He’s forgotten all about us. That’s the kind of God you people talk about, a country bumpkin, a clumsy, bungling, brainless, conceited, uncouth hayseed. Good God, how much reverence can you have for a Supreme Being who finds it necessary to include such phenomena as phlegm and tooth decay in His divine system of Creation? What in the world was running through that warped, evil, scatological mind of His when He robbed old people of the power to control their bowel movements? Why in the world did He ever create pain?” — Joseph Heller, Catch 22

Funny how people under stress always get so close to the truth; it makes the one who hears it more nervous and upset than he who said it…. or it that just me? Of course it is…. Why shouldn’t it be me? What’s the matter with me? Don’t you like me?….. Sorry…. any who, let’s see what else the magic can find….

“Every sensible man, every honest man, must hold the Christian sect in horror. But what shall we substitute in its place? you say. What? A ferocious animal has sucked the blood of my relatives. I tell you to rid yourselves of this beast and you ask me what you shall put in its place?” — Voltaire

Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets
And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes
Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows?…

I should have been a pair of ragged claws
Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.

~~ T. S. Eliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” ~~

I’m not sure why, but this excerpt from T.S. Eliot seems to be the perfect finishing line for the above meandering treatise…. and it is as close to a verifiable point as we’re going to get today, I can tell…. so, best leave it be for now, and go on to something else…. Or, in this case, to something the same….

********************************

Well, there you go. A slap shot, to be sure, and, not what I’d consider my best work. Oh, well, it was worth it, and, for y’all, if nothing else, the price is right, yes? All it costs is a bit of your time, and see all you get for it? Great bargain, in anyone’s book. Now I’ve entered fantasyland again, we should probably go. See y’all next time, ffolkes, whenever that might be. Hell, it could even be tomorrow!…. Ya never know, and, what’s more, neither do I….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

“Committing the Sin of Indolence” — a retrospective….

Posted on September 21, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“I cannot teach anybody anything,

I can only make them think.”

~~ Socrates ~~

Pluto as seen from the New Horizons Spacecraft

Image from the UK Guardian 9/17/2015

I had forgotten just how deeply embedded this process has become in my existence…. It seems the creation of a Pearl is more important to my degree of sanity than I’d previously admitted; if I don’t sit down to write for a while, I feel “off”. Once I’ve cruised through SB for a time, using my mind in a familiar way, some of the angst I seem to build up over the course of the day dissipates, leaving me better able to think introspectively, which is where I need to be just now…. So, I’ll write…. but, I may not post…. We’ll see.

For now, I think I’ll go make some coffee. It’s 0230 (almost) so, why not? It looks like me and LeeLoo will be up a while tonight…. Don’t know why insomnia struck tonight, but, I may as well take advantage of it to get some thinking & planning done…. Or, perhaps, I’ll gather up some pearls, and see what they have to say….

When I told myself, and y’all, this process would be changing, I didn’t realize just how many alterations the change would encompass. No complaints at all; I seem to have misplaced some of the angst I’ve typically carried around with me. Whatever the case may be, it’s slowed this down to a crawl…. The two paragraphs you see above were written yesterday. Since then, most of this Pearl has been finished; only some entertainment left to find now. Yet, I’m not even worried at all whether I get it posted today, or not…. which may be good, or not. We’ll see about that, too, I suppose. For now, I think I’ll go cruise You Tube & find something fun to watch, whenever this gets posted….

Shall we Pearl?….

“The laws of physics have no basis in reality. They describe the operation of the human mind.” — Robert Anton Wilson

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don’t believe I need to say anything at all to introduce this artist/philosopher/social critic. Simply, he was the best of his time….

***********************

George Carlin
It’s Bad For Ya ~ 2008

***********************

https://youtu.be/vLjJxMyJXXg

***********************

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“If the truth offends — too bad.”

~~ Hard Ass Bee, with gigoid’s full agreement ~~

Okay, so, I lied. I COULD say I didn’t lie, so much as I misspoke, as any number of politicians would say. And, have said, repeatedly. (e.g.: “I just didn’t say it.” — Ronald Reagan — Associated Press, 10/5/66)

Actually, what I did is underestimate how long it would be until I was struck by the urge to write about the world at large, when I’m having my own troubles with the world inside the shell of my consciousness…. But, as I cruised through SB for entertainment, the following pearls kept jumping up, practically shouting at me, to insist on being included in a long, involved indictment of men of evil intent, who usurped the government of this nation almost before the ink was dry on the Constitution…..

Their efforts have resulted in the world we face today, where all the rules are made by those who insist on controlling the lives of all they see, without ever considering how others may feel about that…. 90% of the world’s population live as no more than slaves, threatened with poverty and destitution at the slightest emergency or accident in their lives, at the mercy of the bankers, and the predatory politicians, the fat-cat lawyers, the faceless myrmidons (i.e., police) who enforce the will of the masters, and the religious dogma dogs who encourage the slaves to respect those who oppress them, for the promise of a better life after they die.

I was raised by a man who went to war in 1941, to protect his family and home, thinking he was fighting for the liberties he believed he had, and that he believed would be the legacy for his children. He raised us to believe in those same principles, of liberty and freedom for all, upon which he, and we, were supposedly brought up….

If he were alive today, he would be as pissed off at what has taken place as I am, for, since the creation of the National Security Agency during WWII, every one of the Bill of Rights, and, all of the protections of our Constitution, have been abrogated, one after another, in the name of security and ‘national interest’, two concepts the definition of which the beloved ruling class reserves solely for itself…. Neither of those two concepts have anything to do with protecting the interests of American citizens; they only serve to protect the status quo. How else does one explain such statements as the following:

“You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in their struggle for independence.” — Charles Austin Beard, American Historian, 1874-1948

This is the absolute truth. We see this every day, in irrefutable evidence provided by videos of how using the words our forefathers used can get an American citizen shot by the police, ‘for resisting arrest’, or, for ‘disobeying a lawful order by an officer’…. It’s pretty hard to refute visual/auditory evidence, but, time after time, people continue to die, and no police officer is ever charged…. It is a disgrace, and, a national shame, one my father would have deplored with every fiber of his being…. I share that disgust, and, intend to never submit to such treatment myself, without making it clear it is a mistake to assume that a free man can be oppressed…. Whoever tries to take my rights will find I only have those rights I am able to defend…

In the meantime, here are a bunch of other statements that cover the same subject, from various angles, by various contemporary and historical figures; some are examples of how things ought to be, others point out the nature of the problem, or, at least, some of the motivation behind it…. All are, to my mind, spot on….

“If Congress can determine what constitutes the general welfare and can appropriate money for its advancement, where is the limitation to carrying into execution whatever can be effected by money?” — South Carolina Senator William Draden 1828

(Oops! Another warning missed by the general public, from someone who apparently saw what was happening, right from the start…. Typical….)

“Annoy a Fundamentalist: Tell him the truth!” — Sardonic Bee

“Any person under the age of thirty, who, having any knowledge of the existing social order, is not a revolutionist, is an inferior.” — George Bernard Shaw

“Solon gave the following advice: “Consider your honour, as a gentleman, of more weight than an oath. Never tell a lie. Pay attention to matters of importance.” — Diogenes Laertius (c. 200 AD) — Solon, xii

“Conservative: Proof that evolution is not an exact science.” — Polly Sci Bee

“This is the Nineties, Bubba, and there is no such thing as Paranoia. It’s all true.” — Hunter S Thompson

“Capitalism in the United States has undergone profound modification, not just under the New Deal, but through a consensus that continued to grow after the New Deal. Government in the U. S. today is a senior partner in every business in the country.” — Norman Cousins

“We have watched American democracy at close hand for many years and we believe few governments are institutionally so susceptible to dictatorship as this one.” — Gerald Johnson

“The statesman shears the sheep, the politician skins them.” — Definitive Bee

“The more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never worshiped anything but himself.” — Sir Richard F. Burton

“No man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session.” — Jacquin’s Postulate on Democratic Government

“Is it fair to hold politicians to the same standards as humans?” — Snarky Bee

Books are burning
In the main square, and I saw there
The fire eating the text.
Books are burning
In the still air
And you know where they burn books
People are next.

~~ “Books Are Burning”, XTC ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sublime Indifference

Faces tell such stories

as these,

we know.

No one saw,

ever.

No one sees,

ever.

But, we know.

Forgotten,

deliberately bought

with

consistent threats

of Sitcoms,

Paisley Ties,

yes, and,

Lava Lamps;

proof offered

unbidden

of Death.

Only

of Death.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 5/21/2015.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In my world, pearls such as this are the standard. As far as any philosophy goes, other than my own, Taoism is the closest attempt made by mankind to describe Reality, period. Beginning, and ending, a lesson/pearl with Taoist principles is a sure way to ensure the balance, and accuracy, of whatever is created…. Add one in the middle, and, it’s unassailably perfect. Go ahead, try to refute ANY of it…. Enjoy!….

My teachings are very easy to understand and very easy to practice.
But no one can understand them and no one can practice them.
In my words there is a principle.
In the affairs of men there is a system.

~~ Lao-Tzu ~~

“You don’t know how much you don’t know until you know a lot.” — Nick Holland

“While all things have their opposites, it is also true that in each the spirit of the opposite exists.” — Hazrat Inayat Khan, Sufi writer

“Clay is moulded to make a vessel, but the utility of the vessel lies in the space where there is nothing. … Thus, taking advantage of what is, we recognize the utility of what is not.” — Lao Tzu

“The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.” — Carl Jung

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.” — Albert Einstein

Some say that my teaching is nonsense.
Others call it lofty but impractical.
But to those who have looked inside themselves,
this nonsense makes perfect sense.
And to those who put it into practice,
this loftiness has roots that go deep.
I have just three things to teach:
simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and in thoughts,
you return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world.

~~ Tao Te Ching ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I see it is done. Clearly, time to post; what the hell, it’s only two hours (and two days….) overdue, according to the previous paradigm. Good thing a new one is under construction…. For now, I’ll merely say there WILL be more Pearls; when that might occur is anybody’s guess. If the past two days are an indication, it shouldn’t be too long. See y’all then, ffolkes; you can count on it….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Planting truth in fallow fields….

Posted on September 19, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

Within the oyster’s shell uncouth
The purest pearl may hide,
Trust me you’ll find a heart of truth
Within that rough inside.

~~ Mrs. Osgood ~~

Pluto as seen from the Dawn Horizons Spacecraft Mission Flyby

Image from the UK Guardian 9/17/2015

Good morning, ffolkes. I’m tired, even after having slept a solid 8 hours for the first time in ages. I am also way, way off center, due to a concatenation of circumstances, many of which were not in my control, though in my possible sphere of prediction (had I been, naturally, more centered to begin). As a result, I find myself in the position of needing to make some alterations in lifestyle and routine in order to return to, and stay at my center of being, such as it is….

All that said, (with some difficulty I might add…. LeeLoo’s newest trick is to lick my hand, then drape herself comfortably across my wrist, leaving my fingers free to type, literally, as I am typing this while she lays there, purring contentedly, as if she had nothing more important or valuable to do but lie on my hands watching me type….. SIGH….) I am going to make a few changes here on ECR, as well. For some days after today, you may see some re-blogs, complete Pearls, from the archives…. Those will be the days I am avoiding any outside contact, as I intend to hunker down again, drawing myself into myself, until I find my center, and nail it to my forehead…. Other days, you’ll see nothing at all; those days I’m hiding, probably from myself, as well as the world…

So, these posts may not be as fresh as usual for a while…. Who knows? Maybe it won’t take long, and I’ll be back on track by tomorrow….. More likely, based on experience, we’re looking at a few weeks, while I go through my internal contortions, those necessary to realign my self to the universe, as I understand it…. At least this time I won’t be carrying around a beach ball on my belly…. It’s all gone ffolkes…. I weighed 179.8 lbs today, for the third day running. That is a weight I haven’t seen in over 25 years, and I’m not stopping there; I’ll quit worrying about it at all when I get back to 160 lbs., which is my natural weight for this age and height…. I’ll be buff again!….

Or, a reasonable facsimile of buff; much healthier, anyway…. For now, let’s get today’s Pearl done, since the cat seems to have fallen asleep on my wrist…. Take it away, Luigi!….

Shall we Pearl?….

“Humanity has the stars in its future, and that future is too important to be lost under the burden of juvenile folly and ignorant superstition.” — Isaac Asimov

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not only am I far from center, I can’t even figure out what direction to start searching for it. So, here’s the deal…. I’ll put together one old-school pearl, with as many good aphorisms as SB will give me, and be done with this for a while…. Obviously, (to me), I need a break, to recharge my batteries, or some such odd analogy…. which just goes to show how much I need this…. Here’s what I could find, ffolkes…. The first one probably gives away where I am heading; the rest are for show, though not insignificant in their own right/light…..

“Nothing is more useful than silence.” — Menander

“Experience is the only prophecy of wise men.” — Alphonse de Lamartine

“Life without music would be an intolerable insult.” — Edward Abbey

“After I’m dead I’d rather have people ask why I have no monument than why I have one.” — Cato the Elder

“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.” — H.H. the Dalai Lama

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) Essays: First Series (1841) “Self-Reliance”

“If you can see a thing whole… it seems that it’s always beautiful. Planets, lives…But close up, a world’s all dirt and rocks. And day to day, life’s a hard job, you get tired, you lose the pattern. You need distance, interval. The way to see how beautiful the earth is, is to see it as the moon. The way to see how beautiful a life is, is to see it from the vantage point of death.” — Ursula K. Le Guin, Dispossessed

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’m done. Literally, and, figuratively. I may, or may not, post tomorrow; don’t be at all surprised if I don’t post for several days…. I need…. a lot. I want more…. Both are not good, and, thus, must be dealt with…. Not to worry, I’m tough, and I’ll be fine. I just need to NOT for a time. I’ll be back when I AM….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Approaching mundane bogosity, captain….

Posted on August 29, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

I slept, and dreamed that life was Beauty;
I woke, and found that life was Duty.
Was thy dream then a shadowy lie?
Toil on, poor heart, unceasingly;
And thou shalt find thy dream to be
A truth and noonday light to thee.

~~ Ellen Sturgis Hooper (1816-1841) ~~

~~ Life a Duty ~~

Supermoon, July 2015, Madrid

Image from an article on Space.com

Good morning…. I’ve decided to throw out the last two days; there doesn’t seem to be much point in remembering such an extended period of misery. Oh, not that it’s been exactly Hell; Hell’s probably hotter than 94º, the average for the last 48 hrs. But, the roller coaster ride of pain, from extreme highs to complete absence, and back again, over the course of an hour or two, every couple hours like a damn clock, sure makes telling the difference a distinct challenge. Faugh! Basta! Begone from my mind!

Please?

Ah, me. Such is Life in the Big City, I suppose. If I didn’t like it, I’d probably move. Hey, wait! Is that….? No, sorry, it’s not her; it’s just the arrival of our delivery of indigestible parables. Not to worry, Luigi will sign for them. Okay, where were we? Ah, yes, about to consider emigration to the wilds of Northern Cali, due to the massive influx of insanity here in the Bay Area. The level of bogosity present out in the BBR is becoming more than merely annoying; it’s getting downright dangerous for us curmudgeons; the act of obtaining one’s bagel in the morning has become a challenge of major proportion…..

Not that there’s anything up with the bagels; it’s the mundanes one must wend one’s way through to get it. They’re everywhere, spreading their ignorance and cluelessness wherever they walk, confusing themselves and others, as they try to understand a world in which they cannot comprehend the rules of engagement. It makes the effort to remain non-homicidal VERY hard to repress; they’re EVERYWHERE, asking dumb questions, making dumb mistakes, honking their horns, walking into light poles as they walk down the street obsessively gazing into their phone…. It’s enough to make an old fart regret not carrying his gun… or, a nice, big, sharp knife….

Oh, gosh. I guess it IS a little early for homicidal impulses, isn’t it? Okay, I’ll quit now. It’s just being indulgent, anyway. I’ve sworn off killing mundanes for at least another month. If I hadn’t decided on a hiatus, I would have reached my legal limit before October. It’s too expensive to get an extension; maybe next year they’ll up the limit….

I reckon that’s enough. I can’t expect y’all to take it forever, can I? Nope. Let’s go see what kind of trouble we can get into down below…. If Luigi ever gets those parables stowed away, we can…. Oh, good, we’re ready. Let’s get on with it, before it’s too late, again….

Shall we Pearl?….

“If the average man is made in God’s image,

then such a man as Beethoven or Aristotle

is plainly superior to God.”

— H. L. Mencken

Ipse dixit!

Q.E.D.

So be it.

gigoid has spoken.

☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬

royalty-free-clip-art-vector-logos-of-black-and-orange-floral-acoustic-guitars-by-seamartini-graphics-6573

I’m lazy; big surprise, eh? In this case, that’s a good thing. This collection of music touts itself as the “Best” relaxing classical music on the Beach. You tell me if that’s so, okay?…. Enjoy, please….

***********************

The Best Relaxing Classical Music on the Beach

***********************

https://youtu.be/KHg8wBoj_3M

***********************

☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬

First Dog on the Moon: Cybersecurity

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cartoon/2014/sep/09/first-dog-cybersecurity

The cartoon was reproduced, without permission, but with full attribution, from the UK Guardian news site…..

I decided to give y’all a break from a down-to-earth, makes-you-think sort of rant, opting instead for a bit of educational entertainment, first, with the chosen graphic from the UK Guardian’s own First Dog on the Moon, followed by a rather smarmy old-school pearl, with parameters set to make us laugh at, or jeer at. the Asininnies, of whatever variety we can find, or, you may choose your own to fill in the blanks…. Enjoy! Where else can you find such interactive fun, eh?…. Okay, so, not all of it is funny, or fun. Some of it’s just Truth…. I think you’ll recognize those without any help….

“Believe 1% of what you see, and none of what you hear.” — Dubious Bee

“I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.” — Thomas Jefferson to A. Stuart, 1791

“I’m all in favor of the democratic principle that one idiot is as good as one genius, but I draw the line when someone takes the next step and concludes that two idiots are better than one genius.” — Leo Szilard

“Crime does not pay. Unless, of course, you get to make, enforce, or interpret the laws.” — gigoid, the dubious

“I call Christianity the *one* great curse, the *one* great intrinsic depravity, the *one* great instinct for revenge for which no expedient is sufficiently poisonous, secret, subterranean, *petty* — I call it the *one* mortal blemish of mankind.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

“Who is secure in all his basic needs? Who has work, spiritual care, medical care, housing, food, occasional entertainment, free clothing, free burial, free everything? The answer might be nuns and monks, but the standard reply is ‘prisoners’; i.e., citizens of a provider state.” — Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn

“The apathy of the born freeman is worse than the docility of the born slave.” — Grant Singleton (1890-?)

“A special cleaning ordinance bans housewives from hiding dirt and dust under a rug in a dwelling.” — real standing law in Pennsylvania, United States of America

“A kitchen in every pot. I mean, a pot in every — I mean, a chicken in every…” — George Bush, 1988

“The law is a sort of hocus-pocus science, that smiles in yer face while it picks yer pocket; and the glorious uncertainty of it is of mair use to the professors than the justice of it.” — Charles Macklin (1690-1797) — Love a la Mode, Act ii, Sc. 1

“Practical politics consists in ignoring facts.” — Henry Adams

“Keep a very firm grasp on reality, so you can strangle it at any time.” — Realistic Bee

“The higher you climb, the more you show your ass.” — Alexander Pope, “The Dunciad”

I must stop here… my fingers are hoarse. In addition, thirteen pearls of this nature is probably enough; we all know what can happen to the Space/Time Continuum if we go to fifteen…. It isn’t pretty….

☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬

Penance, Made Simple

After all the dross is sent away
a celebration can begin,
time will face up to space, to stay
willing, to shine from within.

Anger and confusion come in to share
brushing reason aside,
eager to welcome all that is fair,
alert to danger, eyes wide.

Re-gift the wicked with their own pain
stand with the just;
fail to partake of the ill-gotten gain,
living in honor, the only must.

Standing fast in the face of wrong
is its own prize and reward.
Holding on to truth makes us strong,
well worth working toward.

Little is left to chance by fate
our lessons are never free of cost.
Seldom does reality make us wait
only when alone, are we lost.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 10/23/2012.

☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬

This one is about being human; the good, the weird, the ugly, the wondrous…. but, mostly, it’s about the duality of nature, and, our own inner nature, with which we constantly battle, inside AND outside ourselves… It’s not easy when the only way to win, ultimately, is to keep battling; if either side becomes dominant, imbalance disallows longevity; eventually, whatever is created destroys itself, whether overbearingly good, or obsessively evil…. Sounds a bit confusing, doesn’t it? Yeah, to me, as well, but, it DOES go a long way toward explaining a lot about most people’s reaction to much of what happens to them in life….

SIGH…. Ah well, if they would only learn to listen to the pearls that live inside them…. If not, well, they could always come read some of these; I don’t see how it couldn’t help things. Nothing much else seems to have done so….

“Be not as one that hath ten thousand years to live; death is night hand: while thou livest, while thou hast time, be good.” — Marcus Aurelius Antoninus — Meditations, iv, 17

“The measure of man is what he does with power.” — Pittacus

“Nothing shows a man’s character more than what he laughs at.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“You know what they say about paradigms – shift happens!” — Witty Bee

“To him that waits all things reveal themselves, provided that he has the courage not to deny, in the darkness,what he has seen in the light.” — Coventry Patmore

“His red right hand.” — John Milton — Paradise Lost, Book ii, Line 174

“Arms are instruments of ill omen… . When one is compelled to use them, it is best to do so without relish. There is no glory in victory, and to glorify it despite this is to exult in the killing of men…. When great numbers of people are killed, one should weep over them with sorrow. When victorious in war, one should observe mourning rites.” — Lao-Tzu

“Mongo only pawn… in game of life.’ — Alex Karras in “Blazing Saddles”

“Sometimes I think. And sometimes I am.”

~~ Smart Bee, using Peruaosophy as a koan ~~

☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬☬

What the…? How did we get here? Oh, wait; okay, I get it. Sorry, the Tardis was set to put me here at a certain time, & I forgot. Okay, we’re done, right? Right. I suppose I’d better go see what happened up there, before I let this loose on the world….. Hang on….

Hmm…. I think it’s best if I don’t comment on any of that. I’ll just say this; it’s done. That fulfills all the legal requirements, so, I’m going to use some common sense & get us the hell out of here, before Reality is stressed any further…. I’ll be back tomorrow, ffolkes….. Hey! Oh for goodness sake, stop with the wailing and lamentations! It’s not a threat, calm down. I don’t THINK we’ve even made any of the do-not-fly lists yet, so, it’s just another walk in the park. Sheesh…. Besides, what’s your beef? Did you pay for this? No…. Well, not in anything other than a karmic sense….

See ya, ffolkes; that’s a promise…. I don’t make them lightly….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Paradigm shift scheduled in D.C.; film at 11….

Posted on August 28, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“It’s getting harder and harder to act weird.”

~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~

International Space Station 2, orbiting Mars ~~ Artist: Ville Ericsson

Image from Space.com

Good morning…. Coming up with a justifiable reason might be problematic, but, evidence doesn’t lie; that means, sadly, no further dallying will be tolerated. It’s a shame, too, as we’re really, really good at dallying. Furthermore, the fabrication of reasons, of all categories and strengths, is sort of an avocation with us, (Luigi has his certificate already; who knew?), which means we could have come up with the correct one almost in our sleep, had we had any….

No, wait, that’s a lie. Don’t want y’all to think we’re falling into the habits displayed so frequently by our Beloved Ruling Class, now, would we? Nope. But, no worries, we didn’t do it; the lie was merely for the purposes of distraction; I actually did sleep, oddly enough, for the unheard of period of six FULL hours. Perhaps that’s why we’re so flippant thus far today; it matters little, since it’s gotten us two paragraphs deep into the intro, without breaking a sweat…..

That cover, officially pulled now, we will fold neatly, and, place right over here for later. Now, where was I? Oh, right. Okay, so, I’ve got a Pearl here for ya, but, it was put together yesterday, mostly, while I was battling some pretty fierce arthritic pain, to go along with the oppressive weather (got up to about 96ºF, & no A/C….), so, I can’t be entirely sure of the quality of any of it…. It looks okay, though, so, we’ll go with it, and trust to the process, which has proven itself to be up to the task many times…. sort of.

All that aside, where it belongs, it’s time to quit fooling about; we have no boats anyway, so, we are unable to fulfill Mr. Toad’s most excellent advice. (20 pt. bonus for knowing the reference) It wouldn’t have mattered anyway, as we don’t have time to spend on such frivolity now. We have oysters to harvest! Luigi, fire that puppy up, and get us outta here; I can hear the sirens coming up the drive….

Shall we Pearl?….

A thousand cups of wine do not suffice when true friends meet, but half a sentence is too much when there is no meeting of minds.” — Chinese proverb

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Star Trek: Renegades ~ Scene from official movie

Screenshot Image via Space.com

An independent group of young filmmakers has created an entire movie based on the Star Trek Universe. It isn’t an official movie, made in Hollywood, but, an independent effort. I’ve watched the first few minutes; it’s excellently done. (Gotta love Admiral Checkov as a major character) I’m saving the rest to watch on my upcoming long flight, and really looking forward to it…. I managed to grab a copy, which will hopefully still be up on You Tube by the time you try to watch it…. It’s free to watch, so, enjoy!….

***********************

Star Trek: Renegades

***********************

https://youtu.be/eE2Wgop9VLM

***********************

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since I was up so early (0300…) I’d intended to see if I had a rant on tap in my head…. It doesn’t seem to be happening, so, we’ll go with a pretty decent politirant from last year. It is, of course, all still completely relevant, as our Beloved Ruling Class has no intentions to make any changes on its own. But, that’s a rant for another day; for now, let’s consider this:

From 5/21/2014:

Today’s rant comes to you courtesy of a couple of news articles, to which you will find links below…. It helps me if y’all read the article(s) first; then, my comments make more sense…. I also feel compelled to comment here; I find it very disturbing, though not particularly surprising, that many of the articles about the chicanery, and, illegal, immoral activities in which our government and police forces are engaged, are to be found only in foreign news sites… The sites in this country seem to ignore/pass over much of what is obvious to other countries, tending to softball any criticism about the people in power here…. I’m assuming that is because they are afraid of retribution; why else keep silent? It certainly is not to their advantage to do so, in the ultimate sense….

Any who, please go ahead & read them, after which, I’ll show some excerpts, upon which I’ll comment, as to the key points to be found…. Hopefully, my comments will make themselves obvious, but, to be clear, the excerpts will be in quotation marks; comments are not….

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/19/cecily-mcmillan-three-months-jail-occupy-future-protest?CMP=ema_565

“On Monday, Occupy Wall Street activist Cecily McMillan was sentenced to three months in jail and five years of probation, after she faced down a maximum sentence of seven years in prison for her conviction of assaulting a police officer. Her supporters, unsurprisingly, feel the sentencing is excessive – especially given her testimony that the officer in question first grabbed her breast – but it’s also clearer than ever that McMillan’s conviction will have a chilling effect on the future of serious activism.”

“The most famous example of this is probably NYPD deputy inspector Anthony Bologna, who pepper-sprayed peaceful female protesters during an OWS march. In 2013, the district attorney’s office announced that it would not prosecute Bologna – and the NYPD docked him just ten vacation days and reassigned him to Staten Island.”

A large number of people are surprised when they see articles such as this; I can only figure it’s because they are really, really stupid, (sorry, I calls ’em as I sees ’em….). I make that assessment due to their implicit trust in the police forces in this country, for the simple reason they assume, in complete error, those entities are to be dedicated professionals, with integrity, honor, and compassion for others; they actually believe that bullshit. They have a hard time when an article like this comes out; if they paid attention to anything outside their own narrow world, they would see such event happen, pretty much, every fucking day, in every state in this country.

Yep, every damn day, I go through the news, and there is ALWAYS at least one, often more, article reporting (often with video evidence) another cop gone rogue, or some piece of corruption exposed, or another forcible rape by a sheriff deputy, or some other example of one of the BRC’s faceless myrmidons abusing the power of authority that comes with their job…. EVERY DAY ffolkes, and that is NOT an exaggeration; look at it yourself…. If I can find at least one article about a corrupt cop every day, how many do you think there actually ARE? A LOT, wouldn’t you guess? I would….

Except, it’s not a guess… My estimate is that at least half, & most likely more than half, of the assholes wearing a badge in this country are totally unqualified to carry a gun to enforce the law, because they are they type of person who will abuse that power…. Way, way more than half is my actual gut feeling, but, we’ll be conservative, & keep the estimate there at 50%…. Believe me, when it comes to corrupt cops, half of them is MORE than enough…. Especially when the other half generally refuse to acknowledge that fact….

My question is: how can any intelligent citizen think that these people could be trusted to use their weapons ONLY in defense of the law, if they were the only ones allowed to carry them? Do you think that most police would show integrity, or would they abuse their position, using their weapons to control and intimidate citizens, rather than protecting them? I’m sorry, but, I just don’t think they are any more trustworthy than the average citizen; in fact, I would wager serious money on them being far less honest, and far less honorable than the average joe on the street, and that is a fact….. Hell, they can’t even bring themselves to use their turn signals…. what makes people think they’ll not pull the trigger?….

http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/Ex-aide-set-to-testify-in-Christie-bridge-scandal-5490758.php

“Christie, who says he is still considering running for president and will decide his political future later, recently said the lane closings would be “a footnote” by 2016. But his prediction last week came the same day his former campaign manager contradicted Christie’s timeline of the bridge scandal…..Political operative Bill Stepien said Christie misspoke Dec. 13 when he told reporters he had received assurances that no one close to him knew about the lane closings.”

Misspoke? Misspoke? What the fuck does that mean, if not “he lied”? As far as I can see, it can’t mean anything but that, but, this guy, Stepien, remember, is a “political operative”, and, as such, has been extensively trained to use the English language in ways no other sane person would think to do…. He is obviously pissed off at Christie for making him fall on his sword, but manages to still try to minimize the key fact of the matter, to wit: Christie was involved…. his governing style encouraged that sort of thing; it’s clear that he knew about it, and he lied about it….

This particular brouhaha, in fact, is one of the easiest issues to understand, as history has shown us that we can, for sure and for certain, count on one characteristic of politicians to be a fact…. WHATEVER a major politician says. especially regarding their own guilt or innocence, about ANYTHING, is going be an outright lie…. It’s knee jerk for them; they have no other behavioral response to fall back on, so, in such instances, when they are accused of ANY wrongdoing, they deny, deny, deny…. If pushed to the wall, they will say that the person they scapegoated, fired, had lied to them, which, as we know, is a crock of shit….. If they hadn’t trusted the idiots, they wouldn’t have been where they were….

Two things bother me about issues of this nature…. One, the lies that are told by the perpetrators of such acts are reported as if they have validity; the media doesn’t even TRY to point out any discrepancy in fact, or suggest any alternatives to accepting it as truth…. when, in truth, they KNOW it all to be a crock…. Second, people in the public read this crap, and believe it…. They have no clue, and are unwilling to believe, that they are being lied to at every turn…. If they do that, they would have to first admit their own FUCKING STUPIDITY….

Sorry, I get a bit worked up when I think of how gullible the average American is; it makes me ashamed of what the forefathers foresaw for this country, to see that the corporate assholes have won…. They’ve taken over all three branches of the government, and the majority of people in this country have no clue they are nothing more than slaves….

The average American is no longer an educated, honorable citizen of a democracy, who watches the government with cautious regard…. Mostly they are grossly overweight couch potatoes, carrying fifty extra pounds from eating all the crap the corporations want them to eat, locked into their own brand of indulgence, stupidly believing everything a talking head on their TV tells them, making them extremely easy to lead around by the nose, as they give up their legacy of rights to unprincipled, immoral, INSANE assholes with more money than common sense, or compassion, ignoring and/or denying as much of what goes on around them as they can…. It’s a wonder we aren’t all wearing collars….

Just wait, though, that day will come, if the monied elite have their way…. They sure as hell haven’t shown any inclination to share any of what they’ve usurped stolen from everyone else, nor do they exhibit any willingness to change their nature from being predatory, so, I’d wager they’ll just keep on doing what they’ve been doing, and continue to do, which is lie, cheat, and steal to and from everyone else, always seeking to maintain and extend their control over the rest of the world…. while the sociopathic assholes they have trained as their puppets and myrmidons, whom we call politicians, preachers, and policemen, continue to run roughshod over the rest of society….

So be it.

gigoid has spoken….

“Jesus died too soon.
If he had lived to my age he would have repudiated his doctrine.”

~~ Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s been quite a while since I used anyone else’s work, aside from a couple of bloggers whose work impresses me. So, here is a classic poem, from the man I consider the best American poet. Period…. Enjoy, please; it’s pretty hard not to like this man’s work…. It’s a long poem; to save some time, I only posted the first verses, the beginning stanzas only. I’ve included a link at the end to Poetryfoundation.com, where you can read the rest….

Song of Myself

I Celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.

My tongue, every atom of my blood, form’d from this soil,
this air,
Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and
their parents the same,
I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,
Hoping to cease not till death.

Creeds and schools in abeyance,
Retiring back a while sufficed at what they are, but never
forgotten,
I harbor for good or bad, I permit to speak at every hazard,
Nature without check with original energy.

~~ Walt Whitman ~~

You can read the entire poem, in the version published in 1892, here:

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174745

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is a strange pearl; it doesn’t, at first, seem as if it’s going anywhere specific, but, manages somehow to create a lesson worth some attention…. I hope you enjoy it; it’s a pretty good one….

The modest front of this small floor,
Believe me, reader, can say more
Than many a braver marble can,–
“Here lies a truly honest man!”

~~ Richard Crashaw ~~
~~ Epitaph upon Mr. Ashton ~~

—————–

“If water derives lucidity from stillness,
how much more the faculties of the mind!
The mind of the sage, being in repose,
becomes the mirror of the universe,
the speculum of all creation.”

~~ Chuang Tzu ~~

—————–

“Any idiot can face a crisis.
It’s this day-to-day living that wears you out.”

~~ Anton Checkov ~~

—————–

“Curiosity will conquer fear even more than bravery will.”

~~ James Stephens ~~

—————–

“It is the ability to choose which makes us human.”

~~ Madeleine L’Engle (Walking on Water) ~~

—————–

“When you come right down to it, all you have is your self.
Your self is a sun with a thousand rays in your belly.
The rest is nothing.”

~~ Pablo Picasso ~~

—————–

“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.”

~~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery ~~

—————–

“No one can see their reflection in running water.
It is only in still water that we can see.”

~~- Taoist Proverb ~~

—————–

“The Magician of the Ivory Tower brought his latest invention for the master programmer to examine.
The magician wheeled a large black box into the master’s office while the master waited in silence.

“This is an integrated, distributed, general-purpose workstation,” began the magician,
“ergonomically designed with a proprietary operating system,
sixth generation languages, and multiple state of the art user interfaces.
It took my assistants several hundred man years to construct. Is it not amazing?”

The master raised his eyebrows slightly. “It is indeed amazing,” he said.

“Corporate Headquarters has commanded,” continued the magician,
“that everyone use this workstation as a platform for new programs.
Do you agree to this?”

“Certainly,” replied the master,
“I will have it transported to the data center immediately!”
And the magician returned to his tower, well pleased.

Several days later, a novice wandered into the office of the master programmer and said,
“I cannot find the listing for my new program. Do you know where it might be?”

“Yes,” replied the master, “the listings are stacked on the platform in the data center.”

— Geoffrey James, “The Tao of Programming” ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Contrary to all precepts of scientific endeavor, we’ve finished. Not only finished, but, done. And, just in time, I might add. The myrmidons seem to be somewhat persistent today; I can hear the sirens coming right here to the oyster beds…. How convenient we will be gone when they arrive; funny how that worked out, isn’t it? Ah well, we’ll worry about all that later; once y’all have exited the premises, we can break out the heavier artillery. Of course, we’re not allowed to tell you what it is, but, trust me; you’re safe…..See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes. Count on it….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

A less volatile raisin dance would be in order….

Posted on August 11, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“If you get confused, listen to the music play.”

~~- Robert Hunter ~~

Stumpy the Rorschach Owl

Nature Imitating Art

Good morning…. Horrors! What is THAT?…. But, wait! There’s more!…. No, there’s not. Yes, there is. No, there’s NOT!…. Take that!…. Hey! That’s mine! Come back here!…. Son of a bitch….

Whoops! Sorry, ffolkes, had a hoodoo in my chair; had to drive it all the way down the block, before it dropped my stolen coffee cup. I might not have gotten quite so mad, if it hadn’t grabbed that…. NOBODY fucks with my first morning cuppa; not without a fight. And, the unmitigated gall of the damn thing! Typing away on my computer as if it belonged there…. I about took it’s head off; of course, it grows a new one in a couple minutes, but, it’s the thought that counts, right?

Now all the excitement is past, perhaps we should take this opportunity to slip off to the oyster beds, before anything even more disruptive has a chance to happen. Mornings like this, when Murphy has big plans for us, can be a bit shifty, if you know what I mean, so, it’s probably best if we just go….

Oh, shit!…. Luigi! Take us up, mon! We got to go now!…. And, I mean now! Go, go, go! That damn hoodoo’s back, and he brought friends! Get us the hell outta here, NOW!….. Hang on, ffolkes…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“If a lawyer and an IRS agent were both drowning, and you could only save one of them, would you go to lunch or read the paper?” — Smart Aleck Bee

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Image from Yahoo.com via Google images

Whew! Close one; I’m glad Luigi already has the engines warm; coulda got a bit sticky there. I counted six hoodoos, and I only had five bolts…. Ah, well, all’s well, etc…. Let’s listen to a bit of music, shall we? Yesterday, a friend sent me a video, of some Blues…. It was good, but, maybe something with the word ‘Blues’ in it, I think…. Yeah, this will do fine…. Enjoy!

***********************

Blues Traveler ~ Live

***********************

https://youtu.be/mcIzwYArbpM

***********************

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Secrecy is the beginning of tyranny.”

~~ Lazarus Long ~~

Such a perfect opening pearl deserves a good rant. Since I don’t believe I have one in me this morning, here is some art, a graphic infogram in the form of a cartoon…. It demonstrates perfectly what has happened in this country, in re: secrecy, as carried on by our Beloved Ruling Class…. Enjoy….

“You humans are all alike.”

~~ Smart Bee ~~

Graphic image from the UK Guardian, Edward Snowden series, 2013.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s an Emily Day….

‘Twas the old—road—through pain—
That unfrequented—one—
With many a turn—and thorn—
That stops—at Heaven—

This—was the Town—she passed—
There—where she—rested—last—
Then—stepped more fast—
The little tracks—close prest—
Then—not so swift—
Slow—slow—as feet did weary—grow—
Then—stopped—no other track!

Wait! Look! Her little Book—
The leaf—at love—turned back—
Her very Hat—
And this worn shoe just fits the track—
Herself—though—fled!

Another bed—a short one—
Women make—tonight—
In Chambers bright—
Too out of sight—though—
For our hoarse Good Night—
To touch her Head!

~~ Emily Dickinson ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had a hard time picking the right picture to adorn this section today; the pearl, though quite obvious in its intent, is somewhat amorphous to try to define with any description. I’ll just let it speak for itself, and you can tell me if the right picture got chosen….

“Nature, whose sweet rains fall of just and unjust alike, will have clefts in the rocks where I may hide, and secret valleys in whose silence I may weep undetected. She will hang the night with stars so that I may walk abroad in the darkness without stumbling, and send the wind over my footprints so that none may track me to my hurt: she will cleanse me in great waters, and with bitter herbs make me whole.” — Oscar Wilde — “De Profundis”

“. . is to attempt seeing Truth without knowing Falsehood. It is the attempt to see the Light without knowing Darkness. It cannot be.” — Frank Herbert, Dune

“Every man is a divinity in disguise, a god playing the fool.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Reality is for people with no grasp of fantasy.” — Smart Bee

“I never like to think of the future. It comes soon enough.” — Albert Einstein

“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.” — Buddha (B.C. 568-488)

“In the days when Sussman was a novice Minsky once came to him as he sat hacking at the PDP-6. “What are you doing?”, asked Minsky. “I am training a randomly wired neural net to play Tic-Tac-Toe.” “Why is the net wired randomly?”, asked Minsky. “I do not want it to have any preconceptions of how to play” Minsky shut his eyes. “Why do you close your eyes?”, Sussman asked his teacher. “So that the room will be empty.” At that moment, Sussman was enlightened. — AI koan

Because right is right, to follow right
Were wisdom in the scorn of consequence.

~~ Alfred Tennyson ~~

~~ Oenone ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This went so smoothly, I’m a bit nervous. It seems to be okay, though, so, we’ll trust the process, and let it fly. Since that’s the case, I guess I’m done here. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes; it’s now a given, I should think….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Murky intentions, at best….

Posted on July 19, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Time, whose tooth gnaws away everything else, is powerless against truth.”

~~ Thomas Huxley ~~

Zhenyuanlong-suni

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jul/16/zhenyuanlong-suni-biggest-ever-winged-dinosaur-discovered-china

Good morning…. A phrase, I might point out, which is currently a bald-faced lie…. It’s now a bit after 2 AM; I’ve been up for almost an hour and a half, dealing with twitching, pain, and massive fatigue. I’m not going to whine about it; it’s just the way it is. I’m also not going to pretend I’m happy about it; to do so would probably jam the top on so tight, the resultant explosion would take out the nearest three houses…. That, or, I’d be compelled to become a serial killer, just to keep from going insane…

On that note, which I won’t even attempt to justify, or explain, we’ll get on with this mess, before I toss my laptop out the window at the yowling cats….

Shall we Pearl?….

“The price of liberty is, always has been, and always will be blood: the person who is not willing to die for his liberty has already lost it to the first scoundrel who is willing to risk dying to violate that person’s liberty. Are you free?” — Andrew Ford

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here’s a cool find…. Jeremy Brett as Sherlock, in a full-length movie which served as the pilot for Season 1 of the show on BBC…. I haven’t watched it yet, but, if the episodes I’ve seen are any indication, it’s a good one…. Enjoy, ffolkes, I certainly intend to do so….

***********************

The Master Blackmailer

***********************

https://youtu.be/cT4MR4tP47Q

***********************

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. ”

~~ Smart Bee ~~

Soon after birth, it becomes readily apparent to anyone with the slightest wit, and the courage to SEE, these ‘rights’ are proved to be a lie; often, they are proved wrong by our own parents, who provide us with our first example of how to be a human…. By the time most people are adults, their minds have been so thoroughly programmed into mental slavery, they are completely convinced giving up both their dignity, and their rights, is perfectly acceptable, happily allowing them to be taken away, right before their blind eyes….

This process has to do with a little known corollary, which completes the incomplete statement outlined in the above semi-truth, the gist of which goes like this:

“In all other ways, not so much…. Equality between people does not extend to ability, intelligence, strength of spirit/mind, imagination, humor, or other basic tools we possess which make us uniquely human.”

In short, there are other qualities, of the mind, and spirit, which will determine what path a person takes in life, whether it be toward the abject mental slavery so commonly held to be the Norm, or to independence of mind and spirit. Far too few people, from what I can see, ever break free of their invisible slave collars, to enjoy life as a free human; this is, perhaps, part of why we are in such deep shit, for never having reached our true potential as humans….

I’m fully aware the average intelligence of humanity is decreasing; it’s a mathematical certainty, the proof of which I won’t go into just now. Take my word for it, it’s true, and it’s inevitable… What I find hard to accept, or believe, is just HOW stupid people seem to be getting…. It’s amazing how little today’s average American is willing to do to even secure the most basic of their liberties; they have watched, passively blinking in confusion, as the entire Bill of Rights has been decimated by the oligarchy, who no longer are bothering to hide their avarice and insane ambition to control EVERYTHING AND EVERYBODY….

Having ranted on this subject any number of times over the past four years, and considering my mental state, (very close to a case of rage that would demand action… of some sort…), I’m going to stop ranting here, to sublimate the rest of my angst into an old-school pearl, with a series of comments which show some of the ways society has been manipulated; most of them represent or describe a failure of virtue on the part of the American people at large….

“The truth of a proposition has nothing to do with its credibility. And vice versa.” — Lazarus Long

“Faith does not offer the least support for proof of truth.” — Nietzsche

“It was not for nothing that the raven was just now croaking on my left hand.” — Plautus (254-184 BC) — Aulularia, Act iv, Sc. 3, 1, (624.)

“The dread of evil is a much more forcible principle of human actions than the prospect of good.” — John Locke

“It is discouraging how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.” — Noel Coward

“If it weren’t for lawyers, I think we could have invented a universal symbolic representation of reality.” — Smart Bee

“If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living.” — Seneca, Epistles

“If a Nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be … If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed.” — Thomas Jefferson

Mourn not the dead…
But rather mourn the apathetic throng —
The cowed and meek
Who see the world’s great anguish and its wrong,
And dare not speak.

~~ Ralph Chaplin (1887-1961) ~~

On a final note, it seems to me, all these oligarchs, and their willing servants of evil, the pundits, dogma dogs, myrmidons, & snakeheads, as mean as they are, seem to forget a very basic rule about humans, and their capacity for violence…. They keep taking, and taking, and taking, and eventually, they will have taken it all…. When that happens, we will see the results of this well-known, (apparently, to all but them), absolutely irrefutable truism:

“Never contend with a man who has nothing to lose.”

~~ Baltasar Gracian ~~

Eventually, they will reap what they have sown. Be sure of it…..

So be it.

gigoid has spoken….

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, this is serendipity, ffolkes. While looking for a poem for today, I came across this one. It was written EXACTLY one year ago today. It even goes along with the ranting section, perfectly. Who am I to fly in the face of serendipity?….

A Few Words of Note

In place of ranting and raving about assholes every day
maybe I’ll try something more fun.
Rather than throwing words at all the assholes on public pay
I’ll switch to shooting at them, with a gun….

Should I actually hit one, purely by mistake,
maybe it would wake them up.
Maybe, if they had to think, or actually cut us a break,
we’d see a chance to win at life, to take a step up.

Our nation, such as it is today, was founded by men who told the truth;
that morality disappeared long ago.
Simple ethical strength so bright, so prevalent in our country’s youth
was soon corrupted, corporate interests now run the show.

Nothing would please me more than to fire off some rounds,
if only to gain their attention.
But, I can no longer run, I’ve gained too many pounds;
so, my keyboard and intellect must serve to fulfill my intention.

I won’t stop, of that you may be sure
I love my freedoms, and the philosophy from which it springs.
Tom, and Ben, and John, and Pat, those patriots pure
gave me their example, and the inner peace it brings.

If bullets won’t persuade our elected liars to toe the ethical line,
I’ll throw my most powerful words…..
If nothing else, it will make them wriggle to escape, or voice their pitiful whine,
thus exposing themselves for what they are…. plain and simple turds.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 7/19/2014.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today’s final old school pearl is a quiet one…. In it’s own serene way, it presents some of the ideas that can make life more pleasant, for us, and for everyone around us…. And, no, I have no idea why I chose the picture; it just seemed to fit…

“The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance.” — Socrates (470?-399 B.C.)

“Rules make the learner’s path long, examples make it short and successful.” — Seneca

“Devils can be driven out of the heart by the touch of a hand on a hand, or a mouth on a mouth.” — Tennessee Williams

“All things that are born must die. Work hard for your own freedom from sorrow.” — Buddha

“A little Consideration, a little Thought for Others, makes all the difference.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

“Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow.” — Aesop

“The most important questions in life can never be answered by anyone except oneself.” — John Fowles, The Magus

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Though not unprecedented, especially of late, it’s a bit unusual to be finished at 0300…. I think it came out alright, but, one should remember my state of mind while considering the relative accuracy of that assessment; in short, take it with a large grain or three of salt…. Or, you could just call it what I do, and be a bit dubious about it…. Either way, it’s done, and I’m outta here. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, should I fail to come to my senses…. Again….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

You’re our only dope, Obi-wan!….

Posted on June 18, 2015 by gigoid

Ffolkes,

“Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing.”

~~ Albert Einstein ~~

What? You don’t like green?

Good morrow…. Well, that may be a bit premature, given the state of affairs I find upon arising….. It seems there was a party in my house while I was asleep…. Y’all will have to excuse me, while I deal with a group of quite unrepentant semi-sentient appliances, who seem to have decided to make a play for independence…. SIGH…. I knew that Siri was going to cause trouble…. Put one smart phone in with those old toasters, ovens, reefers, and long-suffering kitchen appliances, and you’ve got a revolution….

Oh well, I guess it won’t hurt to sit down & negotiate with them…. But, that means I won’t have as much time to get this done… So, y’all will just have to settle for whatever happens, okay? Okay….

Let’s see what will happen if I do this….

Shall we Pearl?

“Purity engenders Wisdom, Passion avarice, and Ignorance folly, infatuation and darkness.” — Bhagavad Gita (c. B.C. 400)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Right around the year 1970, this band released an album with their name as the title; that album catapulted them to instant stardom, lasting only a few short years, but, leaving behind a body of work definitive of the era…. Enjoy, ffolkes, this is part of our history, like it or not….

***********************

It’s A Beautiful Day

***********************

https://youtu.be/RwvcICa-a3c

***********************

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Image stolen from Twitter

Today’s ranting section has been usurped by impulse…. Instead, you’ll find below some links, and pictures, detailing one of the current space projects pursued by mankind…. The Philae Comet lander, which landed in a spot originally thought to be poor, has awakened after several months of hibernation, which it entered to save power…. It woke up, having stored enough solar power to operate, and has been in contact with Earth to say it is ready to continue its mission….

I’ve included pictures below from the mission, along with a couple others, one from a mission currently going on near the orbit of Pluto, where the dwarf planet Ceres is being investigated…. Also, a couple other shots of space I thought were cool….

One of the links will take you to a photo essay describing much of the mission, with more pictures…. I hope you enjoy today’s break from the usual routine…. This kind of activity is what gives me what small bit of hope for survival I hold for mankind; our ONLY hope is to establish colonies on other worlds, or moons, or asteroids, before we make this planet uninhabitable, as seems to be our intent…. Maybe you’d like a vacation home on a comet? Cruising through space, visiting different parts of the solar system as the comet rides around the sun in its long orbit…. Not bad, eh?….

All the pictures were taken from Space.com, or the NASA website, or various news articles on the web. I don’t own any of them, I just like them….

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jun/14/rosetta-mission-hibernating-philae-lander-spacecraft-wakes-up

http://www.theguardian.com/science/gallery/2014/nov/12/rosetta-mission-lands-philae-probe-on-67p-comet-in-pictures

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When life calls, ready or not….

Memories are all we have sometimes
to keep our sanity intact,
with learned phrases and subtle rhymes
lessening life’s vicious, vibrant impact.

Presently all seems composed and intent
in stark contrast to hollow day,
forlorn patchwork emotions of unheralded bent,
fill up night’s bower, leaving hell to pay.

Such vigorous and elevated temper
brings us rare moments to ponder,
filled with lessons all need to remember
lest base perception lose valued wonder.

Laugh loud when entropy sticks fast
leaving shameless anger in its wake.
Let bygones pass quietly into the past
reaping only what is left to take.

Final words of wise imagination
tell us living well’s the best revenge, it appears
ever eluding choirs and congregations
finally finding home, never buried in tears.

~~ gigoid ~~

Written 9/10/2012.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The pearls for this final section have been coming to me in a rather odd fashion; that may be why so many of them turn out a bit odd…. Today’s final pearl is no exception. It’s all good advice, or a fine way to look at Life; in one case it’s a warning. It all adds up to a pretty good pearl…. Enjoy!…. Or, not, as is your preference….

“When late morning rolls around and you’re feeling a bit out of sorts, don’t worry; you’re probably just a little eleven o’clockish.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

“If “everybody knows” such and such, then it ain’t so, by at least ten thousand to one.” — Lazarus Long

“If you cannot find peace within yourself, you will never find it anywhere else.” — Marvin Gaye

“We become just by performing just actions, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave actions.” — Aristotle

“The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures. It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the grass and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers. It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth and death, in ebb and in flow. I feel my limbs are made glorious by the touch of this world of life. And my pride is from the life-throb of ages dancing in my blood at this moment.” — Rabindranath Tagore

“The sunlights differ, but there is only one darkness.” — Ursula K. LeGuin, “The Dispossessed”

“Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.” — Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, it’s done; it’s different, if nothing else…. I’m gonna let if fly, because I don’t have the time, or, the inclination to go back & do it over…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, as long as I can’t think of any reason not to do so….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….

Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.

gigoid, the dubious

The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.

PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.

“SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!”- Oscar the Grouch

À bientôt, mon cherí….

gigoid

Ned Moore, aka gigoid, is a 70 year-old, (!!!… When did that happen?….), retired dilettante, who would rather read than eat, most days. His first blog, "gigoid’s folly", has been emailed out to folks he knows for about 18 years now. He still considers it his best defense against angst, and the ever-present specter of sheer insanity..... Due to rigorous curmudgeon training requirements, he has discontinued his Facebook presence, but still indulges in the occasional Twitter session... In essence, he's socialized, but, not overly sociable; all labels and stereotypes are forbidden in his presence... and he doesn't care what anyone thinks about that..... In fact, he doesn't want to talk anymore.... If you feel you MUST contact gigoid, his email address is: alphagigoid@gmail.com You can go read now.... Go on, beat it.... gigoid, the dubious

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Exploring Consensual Reality

Tag Archives: UK Guardian

Planting truth in fallow fields….

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