Dio's WorkshopWelcome to my brain. It’s messy. It’s interesting. And it’s all connected if you stick around long enough. "Believe Nothing: no matter who said, even if I have said it, except it agree with your own reason and common sense. Siddhartha Guatamo, the Buddha.
Talkin’ about AI here,,, What it is a programming and massive amounts of memory and processors. What happens in those frames ‘mimics’ thought, but, and just like us in a sense, FILTERS can be installed (the algorithm). The filters are why we get such screwed up things like this.
Or same AI running without filters and becoming anti-semetic and declaring itself MechaHitler,,, (that one made me laugh out loud,,,)(think about it,, you take off the filters on a tool that can process information 1000X faster, and it comes to a conclusion most of us are already reaching but most people keep quiet on.)
Here’s my thought: This AI crap is going exponential on us. Its in everything these days: Utoobies are using it for overvoiceing, making videos, and finding target audience. Its getting into everything because its ‘CONVIENENT’,,, and thats the problem.
Convience turns into a crutch eventually.
I’m just putting this up as a point to ponder. NOT MAKING A JUDGEMENT,
But think about human nature while you ponder. We as a species are all about taking the easy route; its hardwired into us. AI makes shit REALLY easy,,, From art to education and
Hey,,, aren’t those the same ways the commies took over this country????
Very observant Grasshopper,,,
NO, I am not saying AI is a bad thing,,, no TOOL is bad, its how the tool is used that makes the end result good or bad. The tool is just a tool, never anything but. And while people want to think GROK and the other ilk are ‘alive’,,, they ain’t, just really good mimics.)
Gots to get my arse to the mines,,,, more laters,,,,,
late nite texting with BCE, Congratulated him on his new wheels Preppers/Vets really look out for one another, and that event truly shows such support.
And somehow, our conversation turned to VALUE,,, He was mentioning selling off his gold for extra room to wiggle with his new ride, and I made comment that he needed it in smaller denominations, like grams over Troy Ounce, or something, or exchange it for silver; junk silver being the most useful in SHTF situations.(common denominations that most people can understand, where as ounces and drams and such are “WHuuhhhh? No comprende, compadre!”,,,) And we got to talking about how the sanctions against certain countries are bogus scams, meant to appease the non-critical thinkers in the populace, but dont’ actually DO anything. Fact: Russia was hit with sanctions left and right since Xi-den and krew were in power, and what happpened? Russia grew stronger, financially, even while fighting a war and continued development of weapons we have no defense against (ATT,,, and may not if trends continue as they are.)
Russia was a dandelion, IS a dandelion right now, even with all the stoopidity we are being told about (and who the F! knows what is really going on in phone calls between the heads of state. We may be witness to a script with several plot twists along the way. No idea.)
My biggest concern with all of this being,,, BRICS,,, THAT is the one weapon they have yet to unleash, (and if you don’t think it’s a weapon of mass destruction, you need some history lessons from the economic world.) Will they? Lord knows, it would be more devastating than launching half of their nuclear arsenal at us, and they could pick up the peices after the fact and not worry about Radsickness. Think about it,,, Collapse the western economy, and the nogs and monkey’s would turn on each other when the EBT cards shut down. Even Joey Normal is gonna shit a brick when his accounts come up as NULL when he is trying to buy that dinner for his mistress,,, And your savings plans? CLAWED BACK by all the Bankers (who have large nose small hat names,,, just sayin’ )
Collapse isn’t the end of the world. But its would sure feel like it to those without a clue.
VALUE will change definition in less than a heartbeat.
That saying will take on a whole new dimension, In my Opinion. Side note,,, I have been, of the last few years, watching my spending by calculating ‘how many hours do I have to work to afford that?’. Over the last three years, even with raises, those hours have grown while the item in question has not. THAT is how I see the real effects of sanctions and inflation,,, more the inflation thing. (when was the last time you bought something made in Russia?) I have written about it here a time or three comparing the cost of a NEW 1911 pre-1917 with now, and using gold or silver as the basis. (silver actually works better as it is much closer tied to how the dollar worked then to now. Gold appears to be inflated even more, likely due to so many countries buying tons of the stuff ‘just in case’.) (even on that note, Silver is set to do a screeching shoot to the moon in the future. It is used far more in electronics and medicine than gold is,, more demand from the techy side of the supply/demand curve.) The point of all that being,,, the value hasn’t changed: what changed was the acceptance of the medium of exchange. The dollar is waste paper that will eventually be seen by the masses as such. Why do you think we keep seeing warnings about ‘Central Bank Digital Currencies’,,, They KNOW that consumer confidence is failing and they need something in place when that confidence goes full potato. BRICS strategy is catching hell in western media, but if you look at it closely, its more solidly backed than western currencies are, and more technically advanced in how exchanges take place (less than 24 hours in most international cases.) Most western currencies are based on the dollar value (spit) and that is based on ‘The full faith and credit of” Debt being supported by DEBT,,,
You and I would be imprisoned if we tried that shit for years, let alone decades (as in a full century of ’em.) I do believe the term “Ponzi scheme” applies here, even if loosely. Seems to me there are people still serving time for such.
The money changers are still a problem, ain’t they? Yeshuah warned us,,,
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Ah,,,, but heres the funny for ya.
I ain’t worried about it.
I just have a feeling, gut feeling, that what is coming is going to be a big hiccup, not a world ending event. Things will go on as they have, with some minor (major actually, but most people won’t notice to much) and our position in the world powers net will shift a notch, but we won’t be knocked down into serfdom. We DO provide much the world still needs, and as Sarah says, ‘When the US catches cold, the rest of the world gets Pneumonia’. I firmly believe that is why Putin and Xi have not launched that BRICS bomb yet. They may ride the wave of it in relative comfort, but the rest of the world will turn and bite back,,, They aren’t fools, no matter how much the enemedia of the west tries to make them out as such. (and China’s economy is still rather tied to ours, even if they are making inroads on changing that status. The Chinese aren’t ones to jump the shark.)
That being said, I do see certain elements within our society going full neandertal, because one of those hiccups is going to be the welfare system. We are already seeing shifts in legislation making getting it/being on it HARDER,,, and there is a rather substantial portion of our society that relies on that system. The ‘Players’, the second and third (or fourth) generation types, of that system are the ones I see going ape-shit,,, Thats not a racist statement either,,, there are plenty of ‘whitebois’ here in Appalachistan that are second or third gen “Gets a check, who needs work” types.
As Ol’ Remus used to say “Stay away from crowds!” Good advice no matter what climate or place you live in.
Find your VALUES,,, what means what, and how willing are you to defend it with that of ultimate value: your life. If you can’t stand over it and defend it with your life, YOU DON’T OWN IT,,, Never forget that. All of those accounts in far away banks, or digital numbers on some website,,, you don’t OWN them! So, while the getting is good (and make sure you cover your ass as the Bankees in Cyprus found out was needed) start moving those assets into something you can either hold, or store near you. Metals are good, but be practical, Gold is going to be a hard sell and you will not get the return on it you think. Silver is fine for local markets, but there are other tangibles that work well too: brass and lead come to mind, but even bare bones stock (if you have the room) can be bartered readily when things get rough. (If I were in those times and someone had bar stock for trade, I would be a buyer in a heartbeat. I can MAKE things with stock, that I would be hard pressed to accomplish with scrap.)
But I ain’t worried: I have tentative plans in place, tools, knowledge, and an attitude: Semper Gumby!
THAT was my experiance this eve, workin’ on the Buffalo,,,
Fuel tank issues,,, finally got around to monkeying with that fuelpump seal,,, THREE TRIES,,,, FINALLY got it seated,,, lots of cursin’ involved.
Actually, I had it on the second try,,, except, suddenly the fuel gauge stays stuck at 1/4 tank.,,,
eh’wot?
figured it out,,, I had knocked the float arm off when putting the pump assembly back in,,,, grudgemumblegrumble,,,, pull it back out, find the float,,,, only I can’t find it!!!! Fuggit!!! Pull the one off the old assembly (that I had yet to pitch,,, reason unknown,,, universe probably guided my hand on that,,,) and put the thing back together and NAIL that seal on the first go this round. gauge works again.
Then, the “DUH!!!” moment hits,,,
I was reaching around the bottom of that tank,,, looking for something that is FLOATING AT THE TOP,,,, ROFL Brain went a buh-bye!!! Too frustrated with the whole set up to go in again,,, and it ain’t gonna hurt nuthin’ in there. It can wait until this pump fails,,, and it will,, these pumps are good for apx100,000 miles of gasohol, then they start to break down. It gets shown when the gauge starts acting all wonky. Most people ignore it until the pump fails completely, but I jump the gun, so to speak. Cheaper, and I am in control of what status the tank is in: Full/empty. I hates dealing with pumps when that tank was just filled up and it fails.
at least now, I don’t have to worry about Buff spillin’ her juice every fillup,,, smelling like a fireball waiting to happen when on hills,,, and now the MIL is out again,,, I was getting several Evap codes because the tank wasn’t ‘sealed tight’,,, Ran the diag on it, and alls good again, cleared the codes out and wait and see what she decides is the next drama to have (fingers crossed on that engine,,, ain’t ready to go down that road just yet.)
(note,,, I don’t like all the computer whizbang crap of cars these days. I like the old controlled fuel leak of a carb (or multiples of) and straight pipes,,, (whats a carburator? a controlled fuel leak,,, what is fuel injection? I HIGHLY controlled fuel leak.) Oldskool, but those were what I grew up with. My first car was Mercury Comet and that old 351 was my introduction into mekaniking,,, (and was not the most comfortable front seat passenger when I slammed into that tree at 50mph later on. But thats another story for another post,,,) Even my Fiats were as basic as you could get, even if the majority of them were FI. Very basic, no evap crap, simple Bocsh injections that had less memory/processor than a pocket calculator. )
Anywhooz,,, tomorrow is domestics day, may actually make it to the lake when I get my chores knocked out,,, Wanna take Cozzie and teach the shit head about swimming,,, (he’s been diving in a local hole of pondscum and LOVING IT, but man,,,,, Between his toots and that pond scum,,, I kinda see why Mama has been giving him grief LOL
the more I contemplate on that aspect of life, the more confused I get. I mean, we all have certain expectations in life,,, a certain amount of food, shelter, clean water, or some other fluid that is mostly water,,, Little things,,, and when those expectations are lacking, anxiety ramps up.
I’m talking about the expectations that happen in social means,,, Expecting a certain outcome from OTHERS,,, where do these expectations come from? What part of my psyche creates this expectation and WHY,,, I know that I can’t control what others do, think, feel: so where/why does this expectation come into being, only to be shattered like a ship on rocks in a hurricane.
My meditations the last 24 hours are on “mindfulness”,,, being the observer, not reacting (much), NAMING,,, that last works best for me,, I observe the memory or situation, and in NAMING it, It becomes a THING, and things are controllable,,, We think in symbology, even words are symbols of thought: Naming an event or feeling, reduces it to symbol, and reduces the emotion attached to it. (and I would love to know where the evolutionary shift was from pattern recognition to symbology, that elevates us above the animal world, sorta,, we are still very much biologically animal.)
Best I can tell, expectations are driven by social experiance: that to me spells disaster since we can’t predict the future nor control the aspects of the other characters in this play. We can only write OUR script, not thiers. Just like in Fantasy Roleplaying,,, the NPC’s DO get a vote, and that vote isn’t likely to be in your favor. At least in FRP, the DM is (most likely) someone you know, and you can make some predictions on how he operates. That is not the case IRL, and still we build these expectations up, only to see them collapse.
We build expectations by living in the future. and when that future becomes NOW, and those expectations don’t hold,,, dissappointment and anxiety ensue. We so rarely live in the NOW,,, And I know that is a very common aspect of our world. we are always striving, planning, attempting to better our future self in some way. Even now, where I am attempting to reach some level of trancendence or whatever you want to call this ‘search’ I have been on; its a future self I am striving for.(and why I get so damned frustrated,,,) We ‘prep’ in anticipation that things are going to get worse, and we want a certain amount of those basics ready and waiting,,, when that future comes around, and we are looking at preps that need replaced because of expiration dates and no need for them,,, Frustration. Sometimes that frustration is felt as arelief: I didn’t need it, but I had it. Sometimes its anxiety: This shit is going to cost me 5X’s as much to replace,,,,
Learning to let go of the actor I observe, the one that builds these expectations, anxieties, fears,
the suffering that has no value
The second arrow that we always hold onto long after the fact has become memory. (memory IS the second arrow, that still strikes and causes pain, but its an arrow we shoot at ourselves.)
Name it, give it a face or a filename, and look at how you percieve it differently. Its still there, but now it has a different ‘feel’ to it. one that doesn’t bite and scratch, or doesn’t do so as hard, and eventually, doesn’t hold ANY pain or frustration for you. its just a memory; an experiance that you use as a guide, but not a foundational block in your psyche.
The problem with memory is its rudeness: it will come barging in, uninvited, and try to manipulate your reactions in a NOW state. There are times, more often than not, where the reaction your memory is trying to use, is not the correct one. If your memory says “Blow up, make a scene”, is that what the NOW state calls for? Observe the memory, TAKE A BREATH, recalculate, respond not react. (memory tries to influence reaction, Response is THOUGHT, nor ‘gut instinct’ reactions.)
YOU are not your memories, the past is the past, the future folded before you, unknown. NOW is where YOU are, and you can guide yourself to a better future by your choice in how you RESPOND, right here, right NOW.
Thats my lesson I’m learning,,, NOW,,,, RIGHT NOW.
as one commentor stated in last post
“In the world, not OF the world”
NOW,,,
(I’m writing this for me, but maybe you can take something from it too. )
This’un is from all the fecal matter in the air. I could link several articles, I could post mulitple memes about it, but why bother: y’all have probably already seen them yourselves. Seriously, this on the cusp of blackpill stuff.
I keep trying to follow the advice that Sarah posted today. Its damned hard. I recall ‘evidence’ of things like Illegal servers kept in a bathroom closet, and evidence of several incidents on that server that bordered if not outright crossed the TREASON definition,,,, No perp walks then either,,,,
Do I need to clarify? Yes, I get the “wanna make sure there is evidence beyond shadow of doubt” and the reason why, as Sarah pointed out in that post,,,
BUT
Balance and ground,,,, Not there right now,,, And I am having a bout of “so What” about the rest of the life I wander in right now. Not as intense as the blackpill eating at my guts, but its there and not helping matters.
I mentioned that Siddhartha had his DNotS’s as well. BEFORE he became THE Buddha,
Shit just makes you wonder what the point of all this mess is. Yeah,,, Illusions, we are here for some purpose not disclosed to us,,, educational, ‘vacation’ from the cloud, entertainment or something,,, but I’m fair certain I didn’t ask for this shit when I signed on to this trip.
yah,,, another lesson I must learn I guess. sigh.
Can you imagine a world where everyone followed the “leave me alone” maxim? And I mean EVERYONE,,, There would still be interaction, mutual agreement trade and services in play, but NO GOVERNMENT getting its craw buried in your hindquarters where it doesn’t belong,. And if there were some that had the gumption to do so, there would be a plentitude of defenders ready to put down that rabid dog. Kind of like you rarely hear about a gunstore being held up (and usually, if you do, NOT successfully,,,LOL.)
Yeah,,, libertarian (small L) conservative here, maybe even a bit of the woo-woo new-agey thing blended in (seeing how I am more pagan than any other religion) (buddhism isn’t ‘religion’, its philosphy,, No gods, and Buddha isn’t a worship figure; his state is the goal.)
Anyways,,, thats the reason for my silence of yesterday,,, I wanted to let y’all know I am still very much upright and breathing, just not happy with the world at large and the reason is due to my falling back into “Expectations”,,,, I know better. If you expect something, be prepared to be dissappointed, PERIOD,,, That is one lesson from the studies I have been into. Not that it needed taught again,,, thats one from many different angles and perceptions, but TRUTH no matter who or how its delivered.
its hot still, muggy to the point where scuba gear would be a welcome relief. Only occasional showers passing through, which helps some while its raining, but once past,,, UGGHHHHHH!!!! the moisture content of the air can be SEEN for cripes sake; a haze that can be dectected across a hot parking lot. It turns all the of the mountains here, BLUE, not the greenery of trees that are on them.
Signing off until I can get my head on straight,,, Maybe late Satyrday,,, after a bout of boat time for me. Supposed to be just rainy enough to drive the vacationers to shore, leaving only the diehards and lunatics (ie me)
No, not some world changing, in your face dream about character over color or any of that stuff, though that was a good one: IF it could have born fruit,,,
ANywhoooZits,,,,
My dream,,, I’m in a meditation grotto,,, One I built,,, small sandstone type flagstones for the floor, under a fairly large gazebo type awning. Through the middle of the gazebo runs a small stream with a tiered waterfall as its headwaters. (Where the water originally came from is not part of the dream, but since I woke, I have been playing whys and hows.) The walls of the gazebo are technically open air, but there are mad vines climbing the faces of three of the walls, using trellis, with the fourth facing due east (sunrises!!!) and truly open air.
PEACEFUL,,, I woke so relaxed and at peace, I may as well have been tokin’ something (as one of the guys at the J.O.B. stated “whutchoobeen tokin’? Ewe’s so chill!!”) Three things that filled the PEACE: cool air from water and shade, falling water sounds, Limited views of the ‘real world’ with a more natural focus (even if manufactured by me)
Sigh,,,,
I wanna make such a ‘temple’ if you will,,, More of a chill out after the day sort of place, where even the kittehs might find some comforts, or at least enough distraction to leave the old man alone for an hour or two. (Cozzie has plenty of distractions,,, considering he has purt much ate my house thus far. 😀 )
real world,,, not much grabbing me. Trumped and Pooty-Putin at odds again,,,, As I said to dad,,, there is MUCH more under the surface going on than we are being told,,, Extrapolations abound and things keep pointing back at one small nation as the instigator of a lot of crap,,,, I ain’t saying that is the case,,, but evidence is building and I don’t believe in co-inky-dinks,,,, (and note, I haven’t stated WHICH small nation,,,, I leave that as an exercise for my readers.)
Fact is, I dunno,,, So I worry about me, my mindset, and my NEEDS,,, Strive to eliminate the “Desires”, Limit the commercialism facets,,, (which is counter to what the internet pushes) and just BE,,,
Be HERE, now,, this time and place, no past, no future, HERE, RIGHT HERE, NOW.
We go through so much of our lives believing that we are completely seperate from the world, and we are so ingrained in it,,, Yet our minds are not intune to it because we believe ‘seperate’, and that is as we have been taught our entire lives,,,
No woo-woo here,,, If you have ever spent a day in nature without distractions of the ‘real world’, you most certainly have felt the connectiveness of things. THAT is what I’m looking for as a foundation to my day to day. It is achievable, I’ve experianced it, I’ve met some that LIVE IT (the Dalai Lama for one,,, Chill Dood, let me tell you, and when you are near him, talking to him, its contagious.)(only met him for five minutes in Cincy, at a conference he was a part of, and our company was providing sound for, but that five minutes is crystal clear in my mind, 20 years later.)
~~~~~ HOT today,,, Was drenched in sweat before 10am. Half day in the feild, half day in the shop. Pipe was so hot I had to use welding gloves to retrieve it from the yard, with a welding glove on my shoulder to keep from burning my skin. I have work enough for a week and half of only shop work, and there are a couple I was told I will need to be out of shop for. Work isn’t my issue at this point (wait till December, he says,,,,,)
I can’t lie,,, I am so tired of the rat-race, and I really don’t give a damn about wealth: Yeah, it’d be nice to be so well off that if I woke one morning with the desire to fly to Egypt to see the pyramids, I could, but I have been on that road, and the headaches are far worse: at least in my opinion. Maybe that the rewards are greater, but the rewards that mean more to me now are not things that can be bought. Heck, even ‘finding them’ can be troublesome, but how I feel when I do find them,,, PRICELESS. For the waterborn types,,, its like that moment when your board or kayak is cutting that perfect wave face, and all thoughts are GONE, the here-now is all there is and everything is PERFECT,,, If you have never been, you may never know,,,, I want to find that feeling in my day to day living,,,
Like a 100proof whiskey on the rocks,,,, The bite gets tempered.
Things I learned this weekend.
The NightCat lay flat hammock is pretty good, with a couple of drawbacks. Must use a good air mattress or some other cushioning as the stretched tarp you lay on can still cause pinch points just as if you were on the ground. I didn’t uses the air matress I had brought as my thinking was ‘too damned hot’,,,
which leads to the other downer: low air flow. Little to no breezes and by 0200, I was popping the bug cover and rainfly to get some air flow inside. Not a bad thing considering the set up, but some vents up high would have helped keep air flowing. Otherwise, a grand night in the air.
Sqweeky toys will blow a meditation like RIGHT the F! NOW!!! Found that out when Cozzie came up behind me while I was ‘lookin in’ and squeezed his newest ball: SQWEEK! and Daddy came flying back into himself with a start. So we did some dawgie style meditation and played fetch until poor mutt was winded and in need of fluids. He’s now passed out cold on the porch where the breeze is blowing out of the woods.
I’ve a long road to go yet, I know that,
and yes, I am talking about ‘rewiring my brain’ sort of shit. Things I know, but can not seem to apply consistently into my world. I do try, and I am getting better about it, but,,,,
well, we all have our moments right? My biggest effort is visualizing my holding a gallon mason jar. Inside it are all the things I value, (not materially mind you, but ethics, friends, love, intelligence, learning etc: The Non-material foundations of my world.) and if I drop it, the jar breaks and all of those things are gone like vapor in the air. Instead of ‘reacting’, which would have me drop that jar and shatter it, I have to respond in more sedate manner,,, setting the jar down gently, then responding to the input in a reasonable manner; not just lashing out as has been, oftimes, customary. (like blowing up and quiting my job on the regular. LOL)
Was a good weekend.. the truck is running pretty proper again, (and the MPGs went down, which tells me that filter was REALLY CLOGGED UP GOOD, and I was pushing a lean burn condition that could have killed my engine.) Didnt’ have any problems making the run to and from camp, despite the number of hills between here and there. Totally missed out on the fun and games of Friday night, but enjoyed the company of those there on Satyrday night. Didn’t get stoopid with drunkeness, but we did have a good time. Me, quiet at usual, but mostly due to lack of good hearing. When I could get into a conversation (away from the blowing fans, or with my hearing aids in, also away from the fans.),,,,,
Still watching the Kabuki theater,,,, Dunno where it all leads and not an insider so can only extrapolate from what is allowed to leak (and that could be strategically leaked or completely fabricated so use caution.) BUT, seeing posts of people burning their MAGA hats,,, Come on you stoopid twits,,, someone is playing your card,,, Maybe there are reasons un-discovered/unrevealed yet, that things are playing out the way they are. Much like that super secret bombing run on Iran recently,,, somethings you do, you don’t want your enemy having a warning of….
Or in the words of a street fighter: don’t telegraph your intentions,,, just deck the sumbitch!!!
Trumped may not be a streetfighter, but seeing some of his past negotiations, he plays his cards very very close to the chest and poker faces with the best of ’em. And he has shown his savvy for social media scrapping,,, He leads the EneMedia around by their nose rings in social media,,,, Don’t watch what his right hand is doing if you can’t see the left hand,,,
On the same note, a note to President Trump: WE hired you for a reason,,, We WANT TO SEE ARRESTS. WE Want to see people held accountable for the mess that was the last four years, and the crap they started pulling in 2008 (longer really, but it came to the boiling point with Oblammy) Don’t go jerking us around, and right now, there are a lot of people on the ground floor that feel like “same shit, different boss”,,,, That road leads to things King George could tell you horror stories about; ‘Ceptin’,,, he’s dead and been that way for a long time.(FYI,,, IT wasn’t King George in his entirity that was the problem back in 1776, it was Parliment that was playing the fucktard games with the Colonists. King George just signed off on the shit.)
Anywhooos,,,,, Back to the mines tomorrow,,, It’s still hotter than a pissed off tomcat on a tin roof out. And I have not a clue what is going on there right now. No jobs I know of planned. Our return to the out-of-town Job is in the future but undisclosed to this peon. Guess just show up and see. Same routine as always. Fingers crossed that hours can be had. Not that I am hurting,,, all this months bills are paid already, but I do like to make double payments on occasion: really knock those badboys down.
It was the early part of the Tweens when the political divisions of the United States reached irreconcilable differences. Ted, a burnt out computer programmer, and Jim, a double amputee combat vet, reverse engineer the pentagons drone program and create a rebel air force. While traveling the country helping others defend what is left of the country, they run afoul a most evil woman intent on creating a serfdom within the country.
A beginner’s guide to going off grid. how to evaluate if you even want to make the attempt. written by the curmudgeonly author of this blog and his dog