AI is a Tool...and It is Usable

The Master Control Program is going to destroy us along with help from VIKI and Skynet. Actually, I do not believe this in the slightest. Do I think there will eventually be a world filled with AI programs like this? Sure. However, we also have to consider that as far as we think we can take AI, we will also be able to take the safety protocols that far so that Sarah Conner will remain safe. So then why is everyone so worried about AI to start with? Well, I think it boils down to how people are interpreting what is happening with the technology. Many people think that it is some sort of entity that is going to act like it does in the movies. The truth is actually it is more akin to a new tool that is becoming more and more advanced and useful, which then leads people to want to use it in more ways. That is not necessarily a bad thing, even if some people do inherently have bad things in mind for it. At the end of the day though, one has to think about AI like an electric drill. Before its invention, the only way to drill holes was to wind a spoon shaped knife down into the thing you wanted a hole in. It took a long time and a lot of elbow grease. Then as drill bits got better and the electric motor became a staple, the electric drill was mainstream. Now, and I am reaching here, it can be used as a potential murder weapon. However, this does not make electric drills unusable or somehow a hateful creation that should never be looked at again. They are used to build many wonderful things and that is what we have to focus on while also trying to stop the dangerous ways they can be used. There is also another faction that feels AI is making things too easy for us. However, I can also give great examples of driving cars from place to place instead of walking, or talking on phones instead of sending letters, or even something as simple as using a calculator to add numbers. Imagine the first person to use one of those and how “lazy” he must have seemed. All in all, I feel AI will be a good thing for humanity, but its evolution will follow that of humanity. It will not be a perfect uphill line; it will be many trials and tribulations and many people working on it nonstop to bring it to a sort of “weird science” area where it will still have many flaws but will be the greater part of what helps the world keep moving forward. With any luck we will reach a point where we are using AI as a proper tool while not needing the help of Bruce Boxleitner, Will Smith, or Michael Biehn to keep us safe. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

The News Is Irrelevant

Before it is even brought up, the title of this ramble is not referring to “fake news.” That is a buzz phrase that I wish would exit the zeitgeist. News is not “fake” at any time. It may be uninformed, it may be misguided, but it cannot be “fake.” The fact that someone took the time to gather any information and spread it makes it real. However, news can be irrelevant. It can be completely unrelated to anything anyone wants to know, and it can also be something that is completely useless to tell. In the old days these sorts of news stories were referred to as “puff pieces.” Bits of news or even entire stories that were simply used to fill the airtime as there was not enough relevant news to talk about. It was “fluff” in between important stories. Things like a dog learning to ride a skateboard, or a child hugging their mailman. This was all well and nice to have a feel-good moment when most of the other news was probably either weather or crisis. Currently, this is exactly the way news works. There is great drama and danger and negativity, then a “puff piece,” and then back to more drama and negative news. What ends up making news irrelevant is when there is so much fluff because news stations want to spread positivity that it is more like watching an episode of America’s Funniest Videos than it is watching the news. There is so much unimportant rabble in the news that we end up only watching the weather section. By no means am I saying this is a bad thing inherently, but there is a point where the viewers want actual news that means something to our day to day lives so that we can be informed. Otherwise, we will ask Google what happened yesterday and then tune over and watch our sitcoms while the news tries to be one. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

The Dichotomy of Being Human

Humans are complex individuals. So complex, in fact, that usually by the time we become adults, we have picked our sides in beliefs. What religion we are, who we support politically, our value of life, etc. Through this, it is not an easy search to find someone who takes both paths on a fork in the road. However, I believe that if we look deeper at ourselves, we will find dichotomy. That is, a scenario where we have opposing views in our own self beliefs. For instance, I don’t think it is a stretch to find a “right to bear arms” supporter that also opposes abortion. Another instance is a person who is against illegal drugs that would not blame someone for selling their pain medication to pay their mortgage. Dichotomy, I feel, is the essence of being a human. A man or woman of many convictions is the norm. Why? Because if we fully delve into one side or the other of a bipartisan pool, we become rigid and stale as thinking beings full of character. We all have that friend who is the hardest working person we know, yet is also the silliest individual in our lives. They never miss a chance to get overtime at work, but April 1^st is their day. I am not saying that we are all Dr. Jekyll with his Mr. Hyde, but what I am saying is that a person of multiple faces is a norm that should be embraced and encouraged from a young age. Help the youth to understand that just because you feel you belong to one group, does not mean you have to believe in every message that group puts forward. That my friends is the equivalent of belonging to a cult. As I said, humans are complex, and having multiple beliefs, multiple sides of your personality – in other words, having dichotomy, is a part of that complexity, especially when those beliefs are seemingly opposing forces. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

Employee Shields Activate!!!

It is a literal nightmare in the work field in modern times. I could ramble on about each and every sector of the work force for hours, but in this particular ramble, I am talking about horrible bosses that choose any other position except keeping their employees content. It could be a boss that thinks money is most important. It could be one that picks favorites and makes employee of the month a Hunger Games situation. It could even be a boss that believes in that ridiculous notion that the customer is always right. Newsflash, they usually aren’t. A tip to any boss reading this. If you are one of these or some other example that I just don’t have the room to list, know that employee protection is the most important part of running a business, bar none, hands down, no ifs, ands, or buts. If you don’t have employees, you don’t have a business, because it is impossible to do every task of your business, no matter what industry, by yourself. Now I am not saying that every employee needs to have every demand met or that every one of them needs to be happy, jolly, ecstatic at every minute. What I am saying is that if employees feel unsafe, or if they feel like they are never heard, or even if they feel like there is always something wrong every day they work, they are not going to continue working in that kind of environment, or if they do, they are not going to do the best work and the business still suffers as a result. I understand it is not easy being a boss. Sometimes, there is a boss that bosses have to respond to. This ramble needs to be read by that head honcho character as well. Understand that trying your hardest to make your employees lives easier is the penultimate task of being a leader. Make sure employees have the resources they need to do their jobs. Make sure they are happy at least a few days of the work week. Also, lets all agree to make jobs as simple as possible. There is no good reason to overcomplicate tasks that should be relatively simple to carry out. A worker should not have to email 18 people before one thing gets done. They also should not have to walk 6 miles in the snow, barefoot, uphill both ways to click a button and move a machine, even if that is the way it was done back in the boss’s day. At the very least we should all be able to go to work, make a little money, and not pull our hair out or have a good scream in the car at lunch every day of our working lives. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

The Earth is Not Flat Right?

Since the dawn of humanity, we sapiens have been extremely curious about the world around us. Over time this has led to some of the greatest discoveries of all time. Different elements on the table, electricity, where Fez from That 70’s Show is from, but one of the biggest problems we still face through our methods of discovery is the groups of people that condemn others just because they have a novel idea. For instance, the first time a scientist proposed the Earth was not the center of the universe, the scientific community ousted an individual named Copernicus. How about the first time it was proposed that we actually evolved from a more primitive species? The religious groups of the world started throwing around the idea it was being proposed we evolved from monkeys and said that was crazy and only the Lord can create life. In the modern era, the notion that self-driving cars will ever be more than fiction is still hotly debated, even as select big companies have proven it to be possible. Now based on the title, one might think that I am leaning towards the idea of a flat earth being real. I am not. We have definitely proven the Earth to be spherical, and anyone who believes otherwise is a few continents short of a globe. However, what I am saying is that people who were later proven right, started out with what seemed like insane ideas. Of course, every idea is not going to be a ringer, and believing in concepts that have already been proven wrong is a step in the wrong direction, but maybe the next time a science fiction thought is attempted to be made reality, perhaps we should all listen. In other words, instead of laughing at a man holding a kite in a thunderstorm, maybe help him find a safer way to hold it and be on the front line when a new fact is proven. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

Office Bingo

Anyone who has worked in a white-collar field for even a minute will tell you that it can be the most soul-sucking, life draining, boring work on the planet, but somehow, every day, people survive it. How? A good sense of humor and a brain for passing time. You see, there are people who have been in an office setting for a while and they know that a little fun can go a long way in making payday arrive with less pain. For instance, a buddy of mine worked his way up to team lead at an office and every month he and his team had to attend a company-wide meeting. According to him, these meetings were so superfluous that you could literally play the last month’s meeting as a recording and you would not know the difference. So he decided to have a little fun with it. Every month, he would disperse a Bingo card full of events that could possibly happen during a meeting to his team and then as the meeting progressed they would have to mark off their squares. He said he got the idea from some Youtubers he watches. Unfortunately, some of the big wheels at the company got wind of it and made him stop, but I think it was a baller idea. For one, it really would help the time pass in a boring meeting if you had something to focus on besides your doodles or your hidden phone as you read Facebook. Moreover, in order to fill out the Bingo card, people actually had to pay attention to the meeting to see if any one particular square could be marked off. Heaven forbid, though, anyone having a little fun during an “important” meeting. I think work like that is a toxin that destroys the fun in people. It is not long before higher ups at an office begin to look like the pixies from The Fairly Odd Parents. Then once they reach full on Ben Stein voice, there is no way to not zone out in a meeting. So what is wrong with a little fun to make the time go by. Personally, I think all the up-tight losers of the world can stick it. I mean I am not saying we should all show up to work in a clown suit and pour water down each other’s pants, but a rubber snake in a desk drawer or some peanut butter in the paper clips, hell, even gift wrapping someone’s chair at Christmas time, can make a day at the office seem like a day at the fair. That not only makes the day go by quicker but it also can improve productivity. So have an office chair race, keep a betting pool at who will mess up first, and have a little fun. It may be surprising how nice the office becomes. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

As Long As I Can Chew

The idea of braces as a teenager bothers a lot of young people in that time in their life, so for one of those people to become an adult and then purposefully and, only for aesthetic reasons, to decide to get themselves braces is an anomaly to me. However, I personally met someone who decided to do it. As they tell it, it will fix their smile and once they are removed and they’re teeth are whitened by the dentist, they will have nearly perfect teeth. I realized, by the way they talked, it was more about feeling increased confidence because they had improved their appearance than it was about “perfect teeth.” I think we can all relate to this. We all have something that we feel a little insecure about and wish there was a way to fix it, but I think if we were to ask someone that we trusted to be honest with us they would say that we look fine. Even in this person’s case, I could understand if they had snaggletooth and were trying to get it fixed, but under the braces, by what I could tell, they had relatively average teeth. A perfect smile for a world full of imperfections. Most of which should be fully embraced because imperfections make us individuals. If everyone had perfect everything we would all look the same. Even Hollywood, with all its want for the perfect body and perfect hair and perfect facial structure, etc. years ago had casting directors begging for slightly flawed teeth so they could portray a knight in the Middle Ages or a Viking. Hollywood also realized that celebrities with slight imperfections are more recognizable. i.e., Cindy Crawford and her beauty mark, Joaquin Phoenix and his lip scar, even Michael Strahan has a gap in his teeth. So, I guess my one piece of advice is embrace your flaws because you may get cast as a Viking. Moreover, Trident gum belongs in your mouth, but it should be chewed not used as dentures. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

Being Undead Could Be Fun

Resident Evil, The Last of Us, The Walking Dead, Night of the Living Dead. These are just some of the pop culture references to zombies that we see, but what if these video games, TV shows, and movies are indeed our future? I am not talking about the slavery aspects of zombie media, which is definitely a topic for a future ramble, but, more specifically, the aspect of the day we figure out how to keep our bodies moving after we “pass on.” Imagine a world where no one actually dies. Instead, they become a zombie and continue to do things. Hopefully they would also continue to have brain function and we just don’t add more numbers to the brain-dead twits of the world. But even if they didn’t, at least we might be able to use them in some way instead of just filling up empty plots in a grassy field. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it would ever result in a Warm Bodies scenario where a relatively attractive actress brings back our humanity, but we could at least probably get to a DCOM area where as long as our lime-green Jello hair didn’t freak them out, we could at least coexist with cheerleaders. We would just have to curve our craving for brains and control our rotting parts. Maybe the invention of Impossible Brains is also our future. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

The $1 Rule

Charity is defined as the voluntary giving of help, typically in the form of money, to those in need. Now we all hear about the “volunteer your time” side of this, where a person or persons go and give their time to complete a task or fix a problem. What you don’t hear much of is the money charity, unless its on some primetime crime show where the money is laundered in some way. There are a few though who give to a big organization a couple of times a year, like the Salvation Army at Christmas, and then it is forgotten about. However, what if it was as simple as donating $1 every day to something? In fact, what if it was a rule that every day $1 had to be given in charity? Before everyone overreacts about who could even afford $1 in today’s economy, I want to point out that it is 1 dollar bill. It is not that much in today’s spectrum of money. No matter who you are, rich or poor, most everyone can afford a dollar. Even homeless people that don’t have two nickels to their name could scrounge up a dollar in change per day. So, who does the money go to? The answer: anyone or anything, as long as you are giving. Donate it to non-profits like the Salvation Army or St. Jude’s or some celebrity’s charity. Give it to your parents for all the money they spent on you. Give it to the homeless people thereby replacing their given dollar. I would even say, give it to that one friend who is always asking for a dollar. As long as you give every day, you’re good. The caveat to donating this dollar is that it is a true donation. You don’t want it paid back, nor do you ask for any form of restitution. It is a dollar that you are parting with as if you are buying something. By this point most of you think I am crazy, but I have to reiterate that $1 is absolutely feasible for everyone. Could we skip buying that $7 Starbucks one time? Sure we could. That is an entire week’s worth of donations taken care of. Could you save the change from other purchases in a jar? Probably. Then after a few days or weeks you would have an extra dollar to cover that particular day. I bet every stay-at-home parent in the world could find $1 a day just cleaning out the sofa, emptying the dryer, and looking in an old jacket they haven’t worn in six months. The end result of all this is that people learn to give. Hoarding money never solved problems. It is when we open our checkbooks and give to those less fortunate that we realize how far $1 can really go. If everyone, rich or poor, was donating their dollars every day, then the money would begin to flow. Non-profits would have more of what they need, those wonderful homeless people who have been giving their dollars might get better shelter, or other help they need, and everyone would start to learn the meaning of charity. And with 8.1 billion people on this rock of ours, that is quite a chunk of change to use for better purposes. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

Donate to charity:

St. Jude

https://www.stjude.org/promotion/impact-giving-pm.html?sc_dcm=58700008005633531&sc_cid=kwp&sc_cat=b&&&&&ds_rl=1291300&ds_rl=1285465&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwsJO4BhDoARIsADDv4vAQuwE11XPnu4hzjTQuP2wuZbgmJFDuWkYIiWMW8VBD-hIsx0ZDuVMaApKlEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

The Salvation Army:

https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/

No Kid Hungry:

https://secure.nokidhungry.org/site/Donation2?idb=1769261609&df_id=24566&mfc_pref=T&24566.donation=form1&gad_source=1&s_subsrc=1I000DD2501SGQXPNB0&s_src=search&utm_campaign=fy25_bts&utm_source=google&utm_content=paid&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=acqhf&gclid=Cj0KCQjwsJO4BhDoARIsADDv4vCTZEUTa5mFBuK3_fEm0gF1pBozrrQfgPH_-A3x4tuIvkS_QEd91wcaAgCPEALw_wcB&source=post_page-----640bb82a56bc--------------------------------

Intriguing Internet

The other day I was having internet trouble so I called the company for assistance. Now I won’t disclose the company name but it does rhyme with rectum. Anyway, it turned out that my modem was dying so they would have to send a new one. When the equipment arrived, I tried to follow the installation instructions, to no avail, and had to call them again. They ended up having to do a full system reboot of my internet which meant shutting off my internet and having me reinstall the hardware. This was an incredibly easy process, all of which they could see happening on their end. This was very intriguing to me. Not only could they shut down my internet with a snap of their fingers, but they could also tell when my modem was hooked up. Now the local internet office is probably only 30 miles away, but this call center that answered my call was probably more like 3000 miles away. By the way, I know it was a call center because I have worked at one, and I could hear other service workers in the background. I find it just a little creepy to know that a guy or gal 3000 miles away can actively see my internet connection and screw with it if they choose. Now I’m not a conspiracy theorist that believes our Alexas are spying on us, but it is odd that thought is even feasible in our minds much less be even remotely possible. Anyway, my internet is fixed and I can continue doing this and hopefully that person in charge of spying on me has a good time reading the pre-edit version of my rambles. The truth is out there. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

I Don't Have an Accent, You Do

“I’m sorry, I cannot understand you through your thick accent.” It is something I have heard my entire life from different people I have met. The only problem is, where I am from, everyone can understand me perfectly. When I ask for a glass of water at a local establishment, I am never questioned about what “wadder” is from the waiter. When I talk about one subject or another – usually rambling – everyone understands and is able to converse back because we don’t actually have accents. What people hear as accents is the cadence of speaking that a particular region has. We hear that way of speaking and then develop our speech with what we have already heard previously. It is the same concept as someone who has only read a word and never actually heard it spoken. They mispronounce the word because they have never actually heard it said out loud before. Words like Linux or acai come to mind. Your parents say words a certain way and then you say those words the same way because it is all you have ever heard. Oftentimes you will find people with more muddled accents when their households contain more than one nationality of people. That person hears their grandparent’s foreign accent, one of their parent’s more Americanized accent, and then their other parent’s fully Americanized accent. This person will then not be so influenced by one sound or the other. They sound “normal” and everyone only hears slight variations in their speech. And don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that hearing an accent is a bad thing. If the person you are talking to asks where you are from because they heard an accent, it is a conversation starter and can help connect more people. The problem arises when derision is in the listener’s voice. It always tickles my ribs when I hear someone poke fun at someone else’s accent because even when the accent is really noticeable like someone from Australia or Ireland, they are just talking in the manner they know to talk. In fact, it is kind of dumb to make fun of anyone’s “accent” because if the person poking fun was in the accented person’s home country or home region, that person wouldn’t be laughing when they were the one with the accent. I bet they would really enjoy their glass of water with that extra hard “T” if they were the butt of the joke. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

I Don't Read, But My Eyes Still Work

I think in the modern age there is one thing that everyone can agree on – books are dead. Amongst all the arguing and fighting going on in the world, most people agree that it is so much easier to just watch the movie. I mean so what if Hestor Prynne never takes a bath in the book and so what if Forrest Gump was actually a fowl-mouthed, cynical piece of work. Demi Moore and Tom Hanks play the characters better anyway. If ever a book report is needed to be written, I am sure the teacher didn’t read the book either so for all they know your report on how short of a book The Hobbit is will probably go unnoticed. All of this to say, that people in the modern age are WRONG. Books are great and it is not that difficult to find them if you want them. I cannot tell you how many movies omit so many neat little details that the book fully explains and actually helps to make sense for later parts of the story. I was so disappointed when I actually borrowed and read Eragon. The movie is not even related to the book. It has similar character names and I do love Jeremy Irons as an actor, but it is not the same story. I have no problem with someone getting the gist of a story from a movie, but it should definitely be on a bucket list to read the actual book before making any judgements on a story that you have seen in films. To all my reading impaired friends out there, don’t give up hope. There are many audio recordings out there with one large company in particular coming to mind. Also, to all of my Harry Potter fanatics out there, just know that if you thought the movies were good, the extra little details in the books will only make you love the characters more. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

I'm Working Out My Stress

It is the first of the month and most of the working force knows what that means: a stressful work environment where everyone is running around like chickens without their heads and it is complete anarchy and chaos all day long as you try to meet the needs of all the customers. When I worked 9-5 it always amazed me how only a day before, the customer base was like a desolate wasteland with hardly a person to be seen and then day one of the month hits and it is green flag racing on the Autobahn. You hardly have time to get a sip of water, much less actually get anything accomplished. This stress-filled day was always topped off with a good glass of wine and an early night because of exhaustion. However, for some, these days do not just happen on the first of the month. There are a few throughout a month and many all year, which is why it blows my mind when I see higher-ups in high stress jobs be jerks to the people who are just trying to lighten the mood. I have literally seen bosses grind into their subordinates simply because they cracked a joke and got a few laughs. Take it from someone who was the funny guy all the time at different jobs, it helps to laugh on days when you just want to pull your hair out. In fact, you need to laugh sometimes at jobs like that so you don’t end up in the parking lot with a gun in your mouth. It certainly makes the day go by quicker when, even throughout the toughness of the job, someone walks through the bullpen wearing Groucho glasses and says something like, “I know, I know. My new glasses just aren’t working.” By the way feel free to use that one, just know that you may not have that job the next day. On the other hand, if you work in a place where absolutely no one finds that funny, maybe it is time to find a place of work where a good joke goes a long way. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

Keep on Moving, Keep on Trucking

It is a concept that confuses most of the people that know me, but I have a strict philosophy of never looking back. What I mean is anything I do I either accomplish the goal or complete the task or get as far as I can with that particular instance of life and then I move on. There are people who say “I am going back to college,” or they will leave a job to go to something that should be better and then when it doesn’t work out, they go back to their old position. I did the college thing and, honestly, even though there are parts of my degree I would like to further, I cannot ever see myself going back to that schooling world. Also, my work track record is quite large because I work a job for a while, and then when I see I can’t take the position I am in any further, I start looking for something better. I have been unemployed before and could have easily gone back to the old hum-drum of one of my old jobs, but I just don’t like to look back. I always think about what opportunities I might be missing out on if I went back to a comfortable place. That, I think, is the key words: “Comfortable Place.” I think we should all strive to be a little uncomfortable. Get used to living in the uncomfortable environment. You will find that there are far more opportunities in front of you, facing that uncomfortable feeling and continuing to move forward with your life than there are behind you while you look back. It is a little scary, but, in my mind, the scarier place is settling for something lesser-than because of living in the past. Moreover, our lives improve when we take a few unknown but educated chances and allow ourselves to enjoy that unknown. And while I have mostly talked about limited scenarios in this post, I think this philosophy does apply to all areas of our lives. I am talking to you person who is contemplating taking back that lowlife scumbag of a partner because at least you know them. I personally prefer the devil I don’t know. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

Workin' 9 to 5......NOT

For anybody reading these blogs that doesn’t know, I am into side hustles. I have discussed them before on this blog and I think that everyone should have some sort of side hustle that keeps them occupied in their off hours. However, the trend that is started to emerge is the lack of those ON hours. And no, I am not talking about people being unemployed, although that is an epidemic for another ramble. I am merely talking about people who choose a career path based on the “side hustle.” In other words, they don’t have a 9-5 job and work solely on their own time, hustling to make a dollar. Most of the time, a delivery job through routes like GrubHub or DoorDash comes to mind, but there are actually quite a few side hustles that can actually turn into a decent income. Things like Uber, which has all but replaced taxi services, or freelance jobs through websites like Fiverr, or even becoming a professional survey taker through websites like Swagbucks and PrizeRebel. And of course, we can’t forget about that ever-faithful source of good old-fashioned time-wasting videos: Youtube. There are people who have turned Youtube into not only a full-time job, but a very successful full-time job at that. The main difference in these so-called “jobs” and their shiftwork counterparts is that people are essentially becoming upstarts of their own businesses where they work all day and the traditional 9-5 is that frame of an eight hour workday. It is mind-blowing for some people to think about always being on the clock, but it really doesn’t work that way. It is not that these freelancers are always working, it is that their workday is spread out over more hours. They therefore end up having more free time throughout their day because the job can be “worked” any time of the day. I guess there will always be a need for the dayshift working class and their respective jobs, but honestly, the traditional way of working, and by extension, even the way people look at work, will eventually dissolve to the point that only a few select careers require that time frame. Of course, there are those who are still hoping that we will reach a Star Trek society, where nothing needs to be paid for, so therefore they don’t need to work. That is one part of society, 9-5 working class or side hustle that will always be the minority. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

Compliment Me and I'll Kill You

I’ve never been one to fish for compliments, mostly because I don’t care what others think. However, one trend that is slowly fading away in today’s time that was a real thing not that long ago is a true and honest compliment. People just don’t do it anymore, and it is an interesting scenario to see when someone is clearly pushing to be complimented and just can’t get the satisfaction. Some people just find it hard to compliment others, for a whole host of reasons. For one thing, modern society is a cavalcade of wallflowers whose faces turn red when they hiccup in public, so not only can they not take a compliment with a proper “Thank you,” but they have so much social anxiety that telling someone they like their hair-do might cause them to have a stroke. Also, while I do promote certain aspects of it, the introduction of the “Me Too” movement really put a halt on saying nice things to the female gender. One is never sure if they will enjoy the compliment or if they will take it as an insult because they think someone is ogling them. Sure, there is that class of neckbearded creeps that tip their fedora when they give a very inappropriate compliment, hoping for a “favor” in return, but I choose to believe they are a minority and do not represent the general population. Now I’m not saying I want society to devolve into those two chipmunks that can’t get anything done because they won’t stop saying “Thank you,” but it would be nice to be told that I looked nice once in a while. And, yes, I realize in this format you can’t see me. So maybe a simple comment on how good a wordsmith I am, even if you can barely make sense of my tangents. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

Styling and Profiling

One of the biggest problems I think that plagues the youth of today is the bandwagon mindset. What I mean is, they all want to be the same. I used to be a substitute teacher and it was amazing to me how many of the students were literally carbon copied, grey blobs of people, who all had the same interests, styles, and personalities. I have always thought of myself as a good judge of character and someone who can read people pretty well. So imagine my surprise when I looked at these clones and saw that they were actually miserable behind the cool façade. I could go on forever about how many of them were hiding secret loves for things that were deemed “uncool”, but for this ramble, I will focus on the clothes and say that if you are one of the bandwagon riders, please hop off and own your style. People with different clothing styles and different ways of wearing those clothes is what makes a cool society in my book. It is what allows for there to be more than one kind of fashion designer. Moreover, if everyone dresses a little differently, then it is a lot easier to tell everyone apart and to find people who are actually similar to you. It may come as a surprise, but if you are wearing a Marvel shirt you may find other people who like Marvel as well. It is always a joy when I see someone realize as they enter adulthood, that finding your own fashion sense is just a part of growing up. However, most of the time it is a scenario, where they wanted to wear certain clothes for years, they just had to get out of their teenage mindset and realize that no one cares what you wear as long as you are wearing something. Now I’m not saying that all fashions and styles should be owned, although I can respect someone who really leans in. You know who I’m talking about. That guy that wears a pair of pajama bottoms with a mustard stained Imagine Dragons t-shirt and a pair of Chuck Taylors. He wears this everywhere he goes, even to nice public events and he is unashamed of it. What I will say is that every person will eventually find a way of dressing that fits their personality, their way of life, and their budget and will probably wear similar clothing until they die. So own your style, because, at the end of the day, it is a short life and clothes really can make the difference between enjoying that life or suffering from everyone else’s fashion. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

Lost Vocabulary

Have you ever been talking with someone, maybe even a close friend and you say a word and they stop you because they didn’t know what the word meant? That happened to me the other day. Me and a friend were talking about a celebrity and they said something about how sexy the celebrity was. I replied with, “Yeah, but they tend to show it to everyone all the time.” They replied with, “So, more to look at,” and I said, “Gone were the days of people leaving something to the imagination and making themselves appear sultry.” They did not know what “sultry” meant. I explained that it is synonymous with our current “sexy” except it means in a more subtle way that makes you want the person more. It also got me thinking about how many older words I use every day, because I am weird, that many of the modern generations do not use or even know the meaning too. I wonder, is it because we are losing words to the void? I mean that is not to say that I know all the words and slang that is being thrown around with the younger crowd, but I think the scales are tipped in my favor of how many words they don’t know from years past. Words that do not necessarily take a large vocabulary to use or even have within your grasp. Words like comely, lexicon, dreary, etc. I can understand some words being lost. Words that have to do with yesteryear’s technology for example. I do not expect a 17-year-old to know what a beeper or 8-track is. But some words are lost even though they still exist everywhere. Like my much younger cousin did not know what an encyclopedia was. When I explained that it was a lot of information in one book, he said, “So, Google on paper.” I can understand why he didn’t know what an encyclopedia did, but he should have at least known the word “encyclopedia” existed. It’s like someone who has never known the word for the color blue still knows what blue is. I guess there is hope in the current trend of bringing many words back with new meanings. It will be hard for us of the older generation, because we will still think of the old meanings. Like I know Fortnite is a game, but I also know it doesn’t take 2 weeks to play one round. Then again, maybe the younger crowd will take sympathy on the older generations and we can all meet somewhere in the middle. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

An Appropriate Phone Call

 I think in any society there has to be rules of engagement when dealing with social interaction. One of the biggest social interactions of the modern age is the phone call. With a new cell phone being pushed every month or so, it is no surprise that everyone on planet Earth, old and young, has one and they use them to make phone calls anywhere they are at all hours of the day. But availability does not equal insight. There are people who just do not understand what phone calls should be used for. So, in light of all that, let’s set some ground rules for the social interaction known as a phone call.

Rule #1: There are many hours in a day, but only certain ones are good times for calling someone up. Do not call anyone before the hours of 10:00 AM. Regardless of what they may be doing, a person’s morning should be their own, they should not have to deal with you on a phone. Also, do not call anyone after 7:00 PM. A person’s primetime hours (and yes folks primetime starts at 7:00 PM I don’t give a damn where you live) are meant for a good meal and some peace and relaxation. It is not a time for a conversation on the phone. So, between the hours of 10:00 and 7:00, you’re good. Otherwise, don’t bother. Please use your 9 hours wisely.

Rule #2: Just because you enjoy talking for extremely long times about God knows what on the phone, doesn’t mean everyone has that hobby on their list of things to do in the day. For some people, a phone is a business device only. So, if you call someone on the phone, get to your business and hang up. In other words, STOP WASTING MY TIME AND TELL ME WHAT YOU NEED!!! If you want to have a conversation, stop by the house sometime, we’ll have coffee and chat it up.

Rule #3: A phone call is a great way to connect with someone that you haven’t heard from in a while. And while you should keep your conversation brief, you can still see how they’re doing and catch up a little. However, it is not okay to call up someone that you have not seen, heard from, or spoken to in almost a year and ask them for any favor whatsoever. In fact, if you haven’t kept in touch with a person in over a month, just automatically assume that they are one of those “friends” that you know through association and not the kind of “friend” that would even be willing to piss on you if you were on fire. It’s just that simple.

Now, hopefully, this advice will seep into your skin and everyone out their will take it to heart. Trust me when I tell you, I cannot be the only person that wishes these rules were a legit thing that everyone knew. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

Leaving the World Behind

 Before anyone gets any ideas, no I am not talking about some greater place or anyone that has died. I am talking about people who lose touch with reality and just stop moving forward on the timeline of modern life. Now I understand that everyone has their own style and it is perfectly okay to still be wearing your bell bottoms, slap bracelets, and grunge shirts. I also think it is just fine to have had a hobby or a favorite show as a kid that you never really outgrew. I am 28 and I still like Pokemon. The thing I am talking about is when a person reaches a certain time period and just won’t move past it. I know a guy who refuses, and has refused for 50 years, to hop onto the technological train. He does not have a cell phone, computer, or even an email address. He still uses a rotary phone and no I am not joking. His landline rotary phone is his only method of contact. This is just unacceptable because he is not just cheating himself out of the experience of modern technology, he is making everyone else’s life miserable because they have to treat him special because he won’t give even a little. So, to anyone out there who has left the modern world behind and will not move forward in the years, come back to us. I promise, it’s more fun in the front seats. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.