THE VILLAGE IDIOT
When I joined Lockergnome 20 years ago, I adopted the persona of “the Lockergnome Village Idiot”. I still feel like the village idiot. So many things that it seems everyone else believes, like religion, paternalism, equality, justice, capitalism; I don’t. I haven’t for nearly 50 years. It’s odd to feel so out of step with the majority of humanity. I’ve met others like me along the way. And we all have asked ourselves at some point, “Is it me?
Read moreSUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF
While watching a British police procedural on PBS I was reminded of one small action that English actors seem to never perform convincingly. Holding and drinking from a paper coffee cup, ala Starbucks. They way they handle the cup makes it obvious it’s empty, and they barely touch it to their lips while pretending to sip/drink from it. Suspension of disbelief. That’s what’s required in a drama. Little things like that spoil it for me.
Read moreYOUR CALL IS IMPORTANT TO US
Coming soon to your town. “Thank you for calling 911. Your call is important to us. Please stay on the line for English. For Spanish, press 1 now. Please press 0 for a menu of other available languages. Your 911 center is supported by your tax dollars, and we thank you. We will connect you to the next available operator. You are caller number 8.”
Read moreEARTH ISN’T FINE TUNED
People who claim that Earth was designed by a deity just for the benefit of humans are looking at that concept the wrong way around. Roughly 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water. The Earth is surrounded by the vacuum of space. Humans can only live naturally on 30% of the planet. Without specialized equipment, humans cannot live in the ocean, humans cannot live in space. In addition, Earth has earthquakes, wildfires, tsunamis, floods, landslides, volcanoes, and climate changes.
Read moreWe humans think we’re so damned smart. How many human words can a dog understand? Up to between 100 and 200 words. How many dog words can a human understand? Zero.
Read moreIf there’s one truism in tech, it’s “use what works for you”. Don’t listen to people who try to ridicule you for your choices. If it works for you, be it tech or app or OS, use what you enjoy and what works for you. CounterSocial
Read moreBillionaires are a single point of failure in capitalism.
Read moreWoke? Damn right I’m woke, And proud of it. Racists, Christofascists, and bigots can all kiss my woke ass.
Read moreCAPITALISM COMPROMISED THE INTERNET
When the World Wide Web, and later the Internet, came into existence, most of the nerds I knew thought this new means of communication would usher in a future of worldwide democracy, where everyone could talk with anyone, and freedom could be spread via modem. There were chat rooms and bulletin boards. And all this would be available to every person on Earth. Instead, we got just another capitalist venture, one in which the users, instead of charting its future, became commodities.
Read moreCLIVE WAS TRULY ANNOYED AT HAVING LOST THE CHICKEN
One minute he’s on the way to market, chicken safely tucked under one arm and whistling a random tune. The next moment Mr. Darby’s brainless spaniel runs up behind him and spooks the chicken something fierce, causing the bird to react violently. Unfortunately the violence was directed toward Clive and not the dog. Thank goodness chickens don’t have massive teeth. As it was Clive escaped the chicken’s reaction to the sudden presence of the yapping mutt by clawing Clive randomly about the face and neck.
Read moreThe fight on the right is going to be ugly, and I’m looking forward to it. At the rate they’re going, soon you won’t be considered a good Republican unless you’re under indictment for something.
Read moreLOVE WILL OVERCOME
It’s hard to deny that some form of Christofascism is attempting to be entrenched in America. The most effective way to resist this assault on democracy is to use what it lacks against it. Christofascism is a movement that treats people as slaves to the powerful leaders. There is no empathy, no concern for those less fortunate. Might makes right. Every man for himself. We can fight this inhumane form of government by caring for each other, loving one another.
Read moreMICRO.BLOG, WHERE ART THOU?
Platform specific: I was reading an article by Manton Reece on his RSS feed and wanted to make a comment. I noticed that the article was also on Micro.Blog, so I clicked over to that. I still couldn’t comment as the site told me I needed to log in. OK, standard stuff. I gave my email address and they sent a link. Using that link I was signed in, but to my own timeline.
Read moreNOTHING TO SEE HERE...
Trump’s indictment, and those to come, are welcome distractions. They are allowing us to ignore for even a few moments that there are rich and powerful forces determined to undermine our democratic republic, as imperfect as it may be, and substitute for it a theocratic fascist state. They’re distracting us from the imminent danger our entire planet faces due to our terrible stewardship and our unbridled capitalism. The band’s still playing but the ship is sinking.
Read moreCHAOS REIGNS
Even big companies are conspiring to reign chaos down on America. Google is selling .zip and .ooo domains. Spammers are jumping on .zip domains. And Apple wants to drop “Hey” from waking Siri. Insane. I learned how bad that can be when I changed the wake word for Alexa to Computer. I never realized how many times I say computer during the day, usually prefaced with a profanity.
Read moreCOMPLACENCY COULD KILL US
I guess climate change, growing fascism, and social inequality can be depressing, but it’s reality. If we let it overwhelm us to the point of denial we’ll never find a solution if there is one. No one (outside religion) ever promised us that life would always be easy and humanity’s future is assured. We could easily go the way of the dinosaurs, and much sooner, if we ignore all that’s going on.
Read moreWhen you know you’ve got to go to you kennel for a few hours but you don’t wanna.
Read moreALL THE GOOGLES IN GOOGLEVILLE...
So here’s how I see my future; I’ve accomplished the first step. I’ve sold my soul to Google. In exchange, I received a gmail account, a spot on Orkut, a Blog on Blogger and unlimited access to Google/Froogle/Google images, groups and news. I have heard that others have received these same benefits without bartering their soul, but I cannot confirm these rumors, and besides, I wasn’t using it anyway, so it wasn’t a big deal.
Read moreIs anyone else sick of privilege? White privilege Male privilege Police privilege Government privilege This country shouldn’t entertain privilege for anyone who has enjoyed undeserved privilege since its founding. It’s other people’s turn now.
Read moreCities create slums, not the people living in them. The rich create poverty, not the poor. Bigots create bigotry. Police create fear of police. We blames the victims instead of those who victimize them.
Read moreIMPOSTER SYNDROME
All my adult life I played in a stage production called “My Working Life”. At work I wore a uniform (costume) and acted according to a script (the expectations of the job/my employers). I wasn’t me at work, I was a character in a play which earned me money that was used to enjoy my real life. In fact I took great pains not to mix my professional and private lives.
Read moreI believe this is the first social space where I’m encountering people my own age (physically, not mentally) and it’s a pleasure. If I notice you’re over 60 and a fellow geek I’ll be following you and hopefully be able to discuss the tech world from our perspective.
Read moreWE NEED A REVOLUTION
Saving America going to take a revolution. Not necessarily a violent revolution, but a complete rethinking of capitalism and democracy. We’re seeing the limits of both systems in providing us with an equitable society and a sustainable planet. It isn’t feasible to think we can continue down this same road and not fall off the cliff at the end of it, which is just around the next corner.
Read moreTHE 1% DECIDES HOW THE 99% WILL LIVE
I can’t believe we progressives will ever attain our goals for a just and equitable society as long as the people making policy decisions are wealthy people who have never had to deal with the problems facing the non-wealthy. What interest do they have in Social Security when they’ll never need it? What interest do they have in providing health care when they can always afford it? What interest do they have in the minimum wage when they’ve never had to live on it?
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