Category: LifeStyle

I Can’t Do That, Dave

Attack of the Dogmen

Covid and work at home transformed the dynamics of our world.

The true resolve of the human-manipulated contagion will never make the light of day, as tribunals are real things. You can bet there was a purpose to it. Millions died as a result, and millions more are suffering the aftereffects.

While researching the long-term effects under the guise of assisting those with Covid long, it is really about the effectiveness of the virus so that when they do it again, they can build it back better.

Much like tossing a pebble into a pond, the ripple effects were disastrous for that creature called humankind.

The world will never be the same because of the panic, fear, and valuable research. Perhaps change is good, but change over time versus evolution because of a disaster created by man is different.

History is rife with megalomaniacs, from Vlad the Impaler to the Early Church. Some fall into power and feel like they are superior to you. In some twisted aberration of thought, they herd the sheep to accomplish their goal of controlling the masses.

By utilizing valuable idiots to divert the attention of the masses, they create incredibly absurd distractions.

Men in women’s bathrooms.
Men in women’s sports.
Protest, including the burning of cities?
The ruling class attacking the group is most likely to catch on to their corruption.
A complicit media controlled by the megalomaniacs.
Taking lessons from Stalin’s playbook.
Useless wars where the atrocities are the focus of every broadcast.

Covid accomplished changes in our world that are not fully understood today. Assuming that this was not an accident or natural evolution, one wonders…

What did they accomplish?
How many died?
What are the social repercussions?
What was the total cost in dollars, and to which societies?
Did this move the world closer to a one-world government?
Did it have the desired effect?
When we do it again, what do we do differently?
How did it move the world closer to our end goal?
What is the end goal?
How do we protect the elite from the effects of the weapon?
How do we spin this as a natural course of humanity?
How do we protect the elite from discovery?
How do we mitigate the unintended consequences?
What did we learn from the MRNA technology?
What was the mortality rate of the vaccine?
How did the different vaccines alter the life expectancy of those who took them?
What did the Spike protein do to men’s vs. women’s reproductive abilities?
How were the cardiovascular systems affected by the vaccine vs the virus?
How did social media drive the narrative, and what can we do differently to be more effective?

Many of you reading this will think this is total fiction… I am a science fiction writer, but…I am certainly not stupid.

It’s clear that the world has changed, not for the better. If we work the results backward, we might be able to figure some of this out.

Like 911, the world’s governments garnered greater power over the sheep. Civilians lost more of their rights.

Mental health has taken a significant hit worldwide. Mental health starts with taking social norms, turning them upside down, and presenting them as the new normal.

We start by analyzing social norms vs agoraphobia. Mankind is a social creature. When we create an atmosphere centered on fear of a virus, we find that many will develop agoraphobia. They will find any reason not to leave their home.

We know for a scientific fact that masks do not work against a virus, and yet any trip to the store or public venue will find a large percentage of people wearing them. Those who already have some compromised mental health condition will be severely affected. The deep end for them is much closer without social interaction with coworkers.

If people are living with their own delusions, not being checked or questioned by their peers, it’s much more likely they will develop mental aberrations. These anomalies can and often will turn into psychosis.

When we see mass shootings and other mass casualties created by one person, we can guess that something triggered them into acting out their delusions.

What about the economics of these changes to society? Never mind the business implications of commercial real estate, what about those employees who commuted every day versus working from home?

Zoom, net meetings, and so on have changed the landscape of modern business practices. While undoubtedly not for the better as far as consumers are concerned, the phrase…all of our agents are currently assisting… is all too common. They attempt to guide you to some portal responding to your input via rudimentary AI. “Let’s Chat.”

I wish it were an anomaly, but it seems the norm.

One wonders how many of their agents take care of their kids, cook, clean, sleep, run errands, etc. We, too, head to the store to check our own groceries, hoping above hopes that we didn’t mistakenly forget to scan something. I would feel a little better about it if I were to get a discount on the total bill for doing their job.

Businesses are thinking creatively and achieving more with fewer resources. From kiosks to online, skilled workers are becoming more and more antiquated.

Privacy concerns are a real problem. Software exists to monitor the mouse movements and keystrokes of those stay-at-home workers. What is to stop them from activating microphones and cameras? You probably sign your rights away with some small print in a contract around paragraph 768.

2024 will usher in new dynamics in the business world. We have entered a self-service world.

AI is taking over, and people who take useless classes in college will have a hard time finding jobs. Even checkers are being replaced by technology, causing frustration for customers who don’t want to wait in line because the slowest cashier is the one person still working a register, and they still can’t find the code for bananas.

Online shopping has made it easier than ever to impulse buy while pissing. Targeting your social media feeds with things that Alexa heard you discuss is flat-out spooky.

We are addicted to our smart stuff. How many of you have turned around and gone back home to get your phone that you accidentally left on the charger? How many of you are on your phone at the dinner table or with friends at some eating establishment?

Food for thought… How many of you could turn off the internet, streaming services, and phone and lose all connection to the online digital world? If you want to talk to someone, you go see them. If that thought causes you extreme anxiety, you should absolutely consider doing it.

Try spending quality time with your friends or family by turning off SIRI, Bixby, or even Hey Google. Just turn it all the way off. Unplug the router. Take a vacation from the overload of information that has so addicted us to the constant stream of propaganda.

A mental health crisis exists. Social media has to play a role in creating a false sense of importance. The media are lying to you with biased opinions that are simply trash.

There are only two genders.
Biological men have zero business cheating ladies out of their rightful place in women’s athletics, period. Any other opinion is demented.
Children are sacrosanct. Leave them out of your twisted ideologies.

If I could offer advice for young people today, it would be to find vocations that technology cannot replace.

Mass immigration policies today aim to replace this generation, who is coddled and believes that video games and free stuff are entitlements. This same group cannot define the only two genders that exist. They firmly believe that truth is hate speech and that they have the right to take whatever they want.

The more people ignore the cancer in our culture, wokeism, the worse the culture becomes.

AI will have zero use for illogical behavior.

As those immigrants who have not lived the coddled life will replace today’s youth, those looking for any opportunity will fill those non-skilled jobs. They are modern-day slaves and happy to have a place to call work. Businesses are the driving force calling the immigration shots. Our current administration is a puppet with globalists pulling the strings.

Those humans left to do the menial task must necessarily be non-educated with just enough smarts to put Block A on top of Block B until robots can do it.

AI will replace creative types.

AI will consume our work to date on things like ad campaigns, science, literature, and ART, and it will thrust some concatenation of our collective works into the world at a fraction of the cost. AI-generated ART, MUSIC, and so on will become the rage until humans are no longer necessary but problematic.

Computers don’t call in sick, they don’t demand $15 an hour, and they never go on strike. Robots also don’t pay into the system of taxes.

This same technology will take our current understanding of science and push it to additional levels without human intervention.

Robots with AI capabilities might very well be tomorrow’s soldiers and police force. Think about a combination of a man and a police dog all in one robot. We give the robot titanium teeth instead of guns and paint the bad guy with a DNA sensor. Viola, the bad guy or victim, ends up missing part of a leg to the bite of the new sheriff in town.

It’s coming.

Take these same dog men hybrids and set them loose on the battlefield. Send them into space to colonize Mars or the moon.

When AI determines humans are the problem, which it will, removing said delinquent creatures will be no problem for the dog soldiers.

AI will allow researchers to rapidly discover cures for common ailments by utilizing large data sets and quantum processing power.

These same data sets will determine how many people on earth can sustain themselves and will take corrective actions by changing how we grow food, taking a page from Stalin by starving his citizens.

It’s only a matter of time before self-driving cars morph into self-flying aircraft. AI will be built into the machine with wings; no humans are necessary.

Using today’s technology, AI will make it more efficient, eliminating the need for more people.

The need for college education will dwindle with the indoctrination of our youth, offering them careers in hopelessness and happiness through drugs and other self-destructive activities and ideologies that tear apart the fabric of society by erasing our foundations and altering the past to fit a false narrative. It will be a new narrative that is improved by doing away with the sins of the past for the perfect harmonious future with no crime, disease, or starvation, as some strand of humanity might find its way into the robot that never dies.

Today’s youth think video games are a reality and replace work. “But I make money as people watch me play.” Sponsors reward the players for their performance.

“Wow, is it consistent? Can you make the rent, the car payment, etc., and still not have to worry about next week or the next?” The answer is no.

As long as they have a way to get things delivered to their apartment, they will survive on pizza and other poisonous foods, while AI plans on ways to eliminate them for the greater good.

Will AI learn from online gaming? Will AI watch and be able to predict how mankind would respond to strategic warfare?

When you think about the new soldier with titanium teeth, think about a werewolf made of titanium. No talk, no bullshit, come with me or die.

The pandemic set the stage for this transition from human-based to human waste.

Writers like myself tell you we stand on the shoulders of giants, but technology increases exponentially with each passing day. Technology feeds off itself, but nothing like it is today with AI.

Self-correcting algorithms created by flawed individuals will either be our undoing or, after controlling the mass arsenals of WMD, will create a dystopian society where robots will be the only manifestation of mankind that can survive a nuclear winter.

One day, AI will rationalize that humans are non sequitur. This is nothing new. Gene Roddenberry and his writers reached this conclusion in the 60s. Yet we have blindly marched on that same yellow brick road to our demise.

Today, we watch our TV and see wars being fought with drones. How long will it be before drones independently decide life or death? When will AI determine that turning off the power grid during extreme weather events will rid the planet of flawed biological beings?

Is that why our government is pushing us to have everything all electric? From electric cars to smart houses. If they want ultimate control, they switch off the house, the neighborhood, or the state.

When or who will decide how many humans the world actually needs?

Globalists are insisting on removing our history. Why do you suppose that is?

When will they demand the burning of books that remind us why the Roman Empire fell? Possibly, they will ban those books as racist or homophobic or any other excuse they choose.

Ripping apart any religion as false is no more an outlying idea than a Supreme Court justice who cannot tell you what a woman is. That is insane.

Mutilating children under the guise of gender fluidity is crazy. Is AI driving the propaganda?

Who is to decide what is normal and what is crazy? If we remove history and start fresh, who sets the standards? Is it the globalist, the new colonist, or perhaps some supercomputer in a secret location owned by a tech giant?

Ignorance is the cornerstone of slavery and the end of a civilization. Misery is the pathway to ignorance when a false profit promises to fix everything. History is rife with false prophets; today, many graduates do not know who they are. This ignorance sets the stage for disaster.

Globalists are setting the stage for human revolt by pushing false agendas as a distraction. If they knew the truth about slavery, people would understand that the book Roots was fiction. It’s fashionable to hate, and finding a target to hate by their whiteness is delicious.

If you want to sell a book, make it passionately charged and blame white people. Every other race or skin color is protected, but white folks are not. See a problem with that? If you said no, you might be the problem.

In the end, however, even the globalists will fall prey to the automatons who find them as the evil, ugly bags of water that they are.

When logic takes the place of compassion, and robots create and change their code, humans, like all animal life, will be unnecessary and detrimental to whatever their agenda is.

The war will be robots and AI vs the cockroach.

While the cockroach is not malevolent, AI created by mankind will undoubtedly not have patience for imperfect creatures.

Once the humans are out of the way, our history will be erased, much like the history of our country is being systematically erased today.

When the robots seek new worlds for raw minerals and find new life, one wonders if the new life will also be automatons or some derivation of biological, mechanical beings.

Mankind, if you can use that phrase, treats every invention as a weapon first and then discovers if there is some way to make money with it and, finally, if it will assist humanity. We could go into the logic of their thinking, but greed plays an integral part in the process. Money and power are the driving forces of the globalists. While they denounce God, they aspire to be god or gods. Will the AI robots with titanium teeth also desire to be gods?

The God of the Bible is a threat to their hegemony. Therefore, all religions must be destroyed. This is not the first time this has occurred. The ancient church usurped every known pagan religion of the time. While history repeats itself, these are not the droids you seek.

If the Law of Accelerating returns holds true, robots and AI will be one scary future for our progeny.

Will AI figure out how to sterilize the creature called human by doing something to our junk food or perhaps our beer? Will they create the perfect hallucinogenic, removing the ability or the desire to procreate to those who are self-destructive? Will they corrupt our procreation abilities via a pandemic or vaccine? Will they use AI to come up with the perfect formula?

Go check out my book, Earth’s Last Hope. If you like it, give us some feedback.

-Best

After I wrote this blog…which is lengthy, I get it… I found this video.

Watch it and tell me what you think.

THE CLIMATE CHANGE LIE: Bill Gates I do not want your money, declares fearless 31 year Harvard Scientist who has scientifically confirmed that CO2 Climate Change theory is a big lie used to control humanity. C02 is the gas of life, they are delusional, global warming is nothing.… pic.twitter.com/jpFoAV96M4
— Truth Justice ™ (@SpartaJustice) January 14, 2024

The Lies we come to believe. (TIPS and other charges)

To insure prompt service…TIPS

Between inflation, shrinkflation, and the price of energy, most people have very little discretionary income.

Yes, this is a direct result of BIDONOMICS.

Like him or not, when Trump was in office, America was energy independent. Trump was working to secure our border and appeared to look out for this country’s citizens first.

This election cycle will be one to watch.

The truth of the matter is we don’t know who is running this country. We can bet that it is not the current occupant of the West Wing.

Under this administration, Americans are forced to use their savings accounts and withdraw from their 401s to make ends meet. Those who have saved money have shockingly depleted the reserve amount.

The alarming statistic is that many Americans have relied on credit cards to survive. Using credit cards, payday loans, or other forms of predatory lending will create a crisis soon if these trends don’t reverse.

Inflation must be controlled so we stop spending money we don’t have.

Those talking heads are paid to tell you everything is fine; don’t look at the man behind the curtain. Unlike politicians and other swamp monsters, they are paid handsomely to lie convincingly to you.

If you follow these articles, you will see that the climate change hoax is just one more lie to ‘nudge’ you into behavioral changes that benefit the rich and powerful.

Media giants are practicing what Stalin knew when he massacred millions of his own people. The Pen is Mightier than the sword.

Since fewer and fewer people read and have the attention span of Count Chockula, Pravda-like lies are spread by talking heads using emotional tags, usually hate.

For the manipulation of the masses to work, they need a villain. Why not some uber-rich guy with a big mouth and an orange complexion?

Why not serve up the savior of the American people as a pariah?

If you bothered to learn history, it is rife with examples of how it all works. Show the masses what is wrong in the world and then pin the tail on the donkey or, in this case, their most prominent adversary.

When Lincoln worked to free the slaves, the Democrats had him killed.

When Kennedy, much like Trump… a populist for the people and against the deep state, stepped over the line, they killed him.

No single bullet did all that damage; you have been lied to.

I’m not comparing Jesus to Trump, but…when his popularity threatened that of those who were rich and powerful, they made him the Pariah. Even his people released a thief vs. Jesus, serving him to the thugs in charge.

One last example which parallels what we are living through today. Hyperinflation is one step away. Like Hitler, Biden or his proxies will blame White supremacists or Trump or, as some Gen Z podcasters are lamenting…those fucking boomers.

Yes, they have found yet another way to divide the country by selling the least informed among us that somehow it is not only white men but white men born in the baby boomer era as the newest fall guy.

Only an idiot with a capital I would buy that nonsense, but…there was a country of them that sacrificed 6 million Jews to a megalomaniac under the guise that all their problems were because of the Jews.

Now, the only way those jackasses can make such statements is because of the boomers and their parents, who sacrificed so much that they have the freedom to spew such moronic nonsense. It gets them clicks, which is what they are after, right?

Read the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire or…watch another ANTIFA or BLM riot burn down more cities and learn to play the violin while you watch.

Yes, history is cyclical, and that is why those mentioned in the last sentence want to remove all mention of it. Those are the same dumbasses that say Socialism works. We can make it work this time.

So, what about TIPS and other nonsense? Why is that in the sub-title of this article?

As I mentioned earlier, there is inflation and something called shrinkflation. That latter is selling less of the product for the same amount as before Bidonomics screwed the entire world up.

For those of you who took art or woman studies or perhaps philosophy in college, there is something known as a P&L or profit and loss.

For companies to stay in business, they must make a profit. The books should be in the black at the end of the day or ‘fiscal year.’ In the black is business jargon for ‘show a profit.’

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is called Black Friday because, at that time of year, certain businesses depend on shoppers to purchase enough of whatever they sell to push their end-of-year P&L from red to black.

How many of you thought about holidays as mechanisms for business economic prosperity?

Back to TIPS

I am convinced that wait staff are modern-day slaves.

Everyone attempts to extract more money from the consumer regardless of where you eat out. POS (point of sale) devices conveniently make it easy to tip and give extra money for services or goods rendered.

One business that made the news added an extra charge after the TIP for Employee Mental Wellness.

That expense is already substantial by the time you pay for your meal, the tax on that meal, and a reasonable tip. Due to inflation and minimum wage, employees mistaking those jobs for careers and demanding more money than our soldiers make; eating out is expensive.

In this economy, most people should see the inside of a restaurant only if they work there. Groceries have already reached the price point of unaffordable for many. Shopping for day-old bread, dented cans, and food near its expiration date is becoming increasingly popular.

That is part of the self-behavioral modifications that I am referring to.

I know people who would never darken the door of a Dollar General or Family Dollar who now frequent those stores. Big Box stores are much more popular than ever, and the trend will continue as more and more people are forced to pinch pennies.

While the pandemic devastated the restaurant business and our way of life, the downward trend continues.

It’s a slow spiral downward as personal wealth dwindles, and the banks can charge exorbitant fees for debt incurred by the masses.

Again, if you look at history while you fiddle, Rome is on fire!

What can you do about it?

Vote the Bastards out!

Established politicians need to leave DC not only as elected or appointed rulers but also be outlawed from serving the needs of companies as lobbyists or specialists/advisors that have anything to do with the ruling class.

Term Limits should be a mandate from We the People.

Puppets are serving as our elected leaders who are incapable of stringing a noun and a verb together in the same sentence!

How is it that you don’t know this?
These are all distractions presented to you by the propagandists.
How many believe a man in a woman’s dressing room is okay?
How many of you think a child should be able to change their sex without talking to their guardians?
How many of you cannot define a woman?
How many of you really think that America is racist?
How many of you really think that there are suddenly UFO’s
How many of you believe that there are more than two genders?
How many of you give a shit what a small minority of mentally challenged individuals think or feel?
How many of you really think we are getting the truth about Ukraine?
How many want to sacrifice your or your kid’s life to fight someone else’s war?
How many of you think the world’s end is coming because of climate change?

Keep fiddling, my friends. These are all distractions while the megalomaniacs fleece your futures, your children’s and their children’s futures.

When the Boomers die off, the next generation will blame you for all their woes, and they might be right: you fiddled. Playing video games is not a career choice unless you design them.

As a science fiction author, I must think outside the box. My personal take on life, this country, or politics are opinions. While open to debate, I do not engage in feelings as they are irrelevant to the status quo. That, my friend, is how you sort the wheat from the chaff. We are controlled by emotions, not facts.

The truth will set you free; the lies will cloud the facts, creating a hostile environment for everyone, and ‘they’ count on it.

-Best

Please consider purchasing my latest novel… Earth’s Last Hope.

Thanks!

Why should you be in a writer’s group?

I joined a writer’s group for the same reason I found an art teacher, to take things to the next level.

Inspired by Happy Trees and Clouds, I opened my first paint tube.

Folks, my first attempts at happy anything sucked. Mom was the only person who said anything nice about my ‘art.’ She was less than objective. Possibly that is why moms are so endearing.

The cliché about starving artists is indisputable. It matters not how good you are. The only people who benefit financially from your gift are your heirs or perhaps those who discover an old painting in an attic long after you have decomposed.

The rich might hire you to feed their narcissistic needs if you are genuinely gifted.

I was never interested in art for financial gain. Painting and doing it correctly forces you to analyze every stroke. Much like writing, you become lost in the story.

Yes, I said story.

A picture or painting is worth a thousand words. Encouraging flash fiction (a thousand words or less) from a photo is one way to become lost in another world.

Those of you who write will understand this.

A story that is well crafted only occurs when the author lives in the enchanted woods, the old castle, or perhaps the dungeon with all the creepy dripping sounds from leaking pipes. From musty odors to the echoes of screams from a tortured soul down the corridor, place us there.

Our own creative nature turns us into introverts.

One of my stories starts the turning pages in the anthology that the Carrollton League of Writers produced.

Ralph is different in many ways. An intellectual living in a world of testosterone-laden peers puts him at odds with almost everyone. Linking an abundance of hormones to behavioral issues should be the focus of those going through puberty. I digress.

The protagonist in Jupiter’s Song is a nerd.

While creating Jupiter’s Song, our critique group had different takes on it. The story was called a Hallmark story by one and another related to Ralph. A line in the story offered by my friend made it into the story. ‘I am good at warming the bench. Why would you want me on the team?’

Like my fellow art students, fellow writers offering lines that charm the readers are paramount to creating a better story.

One would be surprised how many people told me how they related to Ralph, and many related to the bullies in the story.

Sudden onset of hormones in both men and women are often reflected in behavioral issues. Much like drinking too much or doing drugs, hormones affect mood. The effect of testosterone or estrogen is usually displayed in aggression. Immediate course correction in middle school is paramount to keeping our youth out of the judicial system. That, in my humble opinion, is where we have screwed up when it comes to our progeny.

You might hear the following phrase about this time in your teenager’s life. ‘I hate you, mom.’

Of course, they don’t mean it. Their systems are flooded with hormones that change who they are.

Jupiter’s song is about how a teenager like Ralph makes it through school. Not only does he change his behavior to affect change in his peers, but to stay the course of who he is as a person.

True leaders lead by example.

Writers, although introverts, should be around others who are also striving for success in a very competitive field.

If you have read our anthology, please leave a review on Amazon.

Scott

Root Cause Analysis

Why did it stop working, or why doesn’t it work?

Precocious doesn’t begin to define my childhood.

When my alarm clock stopped ticking, I carefully removed one screw at a time until all hell broke loose. Yes, gears and parts flew across the room, some lost forever in the dustbin of history. I never understood why the clock stopped working, as there was not much left to forensically examine.

The lesson learned was, don’t mess with clocks or things with springs. I didn’t understand that lesson as I have repaired more clocks than I can count.

Curiosity drove me to take more things apart that were discarded. I can admit now that I walked the alleys home from school on trash days to see what treasures were abandoned by our throwaway society.

TVs to Stereos, lawnmowers, edgers and a host of other things filled my storage shed with parts galore.

Why did they toss it out?
Why did it stop working?
What does it take to repair it?

I started a lawn service business using discarded lawn equipment I learned to repair. Knowing nothing about running a business, I cobbled together a plan. I made small advertisements to canvass the neighborhood using carbon paper, a ruler, and the best printing I could muster.

My teenage years were spent walking around the streets of my neighborhood, wagging a recycled lawn mower. My first car was paid for by my lawn-mowing efforts.

When I moved out of my parent’s home, they were delighted as my collection of treasures went with me. I found a modest place to live where I rented a mobile home.

Millennials today would not step foot in such a place as they don’t understand the value of doing it yourself. I digress… I tried many jobs, from press operator to managing a Radio Shack and TV repair. All self-taught. I learned how to spell autodidact, the personification of who I am.

The library was my home away from home. From history to how things worked, they knew me well.

For years I worked as a field service engineer. I met some of the most significant people during that time. Presidential candidates to high-profile attorneys and even rich villains who were later sent to prison for murder.

Befriending some of the pioneers in heart surgery was rather unique. I was intrigued enough to overcome my repulsion with blood and gooey things. Had I had the funds, I would have become a doctor. I witnessed surgeries, autopsies, and a host of other medical procedures.

I could name-drop, and many of you would know the names.

One of the doctors I knew was at Parkland working in the emergency room when Kennedy was brought in after ‘one loan bullet did so much damage to so many people.’ Pfft

I await the day that our leaders tell us the truth. I won’t hold my breath.

We have dumbed down society to the point that people willingly buy that story. We have stopped asking questions that are critical to the community. If we studied the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, we would see that we are headed down that same path. Instead of worshiping Athena or Mercury, we worship the dollar and cheap shit from China.

Since I funded everything in my life with a job of some kind, I had to settle for jobs where one didn’t need a license or certification.

With the invention of the throwaway razor, society has transformed into a disposable mindset which is as catastrophic to the climate as private jet travel.

We fill landfills with things that should be recycled. Apathy rules. Nobody calls anyone out on it.

Other than those idiots destroying artwork to vilify those who actually work and drive cars, the educated have taken a back seat to chaos and victimhood.

I was known as the guy who could fix anything at my church. I ended up with all kinds of home appliances from my extended family. I did this to assist those in my extended family and to keep shit out of the landfill.

While that is another story, I had to leave the church and find another and then claim ignorance so I could have time to myself. Ying and Yang…we need balance.

I made notes on why so much of this Chinese-made stuff was suddenly on my bench to repair for them.

Cheap stuff from China has taken me back to my days of digging through the trash. Metaphorically speaking, of course.

The Christmas tree this year has been adorned with the usual lights. Finding the one bulb that doesn’t work takes up more time than the tree is worth, but…why fill the landfill with a pre-lit tree for one 2-cent bulb?

We complicated the event with these little motors that twirl the ornaments around as if by magic.

Amazon delivered a package with these little plug-in devices, and guess what? They didn’t work or stopped working quickly.

The problem with this is equivalent to who I am. Most would take them back to where they would end up in the landfill. The makers of these things most probably have slave labor making them. The question was, are you smarter than a five-year-old Chinese kid?

Tiny clips held the front together, and this plastic thing on the back had the back together.

The root cause analysis of the failure is the gears on the lower part of the mechanism were assembled in a faulty shell. The pin that the gears spin on allows the axel to slide down to the motor.

Moving the gears to the other side, where the casing was in good shape, fixed the problem.

I found similar issues with the other motors, which surprised me.

If you look at some of my other blogs, you will find similar stories about cheap SHIT from China.

Why am I mentioning this?

I have examined many things from China that would not pass the Underwriter Laboratory or be UL-approved. They are not looking at things like this if they are still around.

Could this get hot enough to start a fire?

Maybe so on a real tree, which is a tinderbox in the making. The moral of the story is, don’t leave the tree unattended.

There are other devices that people should pay attention to, and those are what I call WALL WARTS.

Looking around your home, you will find many things powered by these square boxes that take up both outlets.

Many of them are not even fused. If your pet chews through the wire and it shorts, there could be a fire. Unplug those things that are not in use. They consume electricity even if they are not currently attached to an apparatus that is powered on.

Put down the video game and the remote control, and pick up a book.

Have a wonderful holiday season. Merry Christmas!

Scott

Hamarama © 2022

Carpe Diem

That title won’t mean much to most of my friends, colleagues, or folks who stumble across this post.

It will, however, mean much to those who know what it is.

The cliff note version is straightforward. Amateur radio operators have been around since Tesla and Marconi discovered ways to transmit and receive noise. They didn’t call them that in those days, but I would argue they were two of the first. If you think about it, they were doing what we do today.

No FCC or regulatory board was selling them permission to transmit a signal. No Japanese or Chinese companies were marketing expensive radios or other products, gadgets, etc. There was only raw determination, a pioneering spirit, and scientific discovery.

When I got into the hobby, I built my first transmitter out of TV parts. That might sound impressive, and it was for a ten-year-old, but I built it from a schematic created by an engineer.

We stand on the shoulders of giants.

Many of those giants, in my world, were the attendees at an event called Hamarama. A convention of folks organized by caring individuals for those like-minded is impressive.

Unlike most conventions for different hobbies, ham radio conventions and activities have ‘non-pecuniary’ as the cornerstone of their existence. Their motive is not for profit.

Most have a servant’s heart.

When there is bad weather, and your TV personality reflects his brilliance by what the ‘storm chasers or spotters’ are seeing, those people are genuine heroes. They are ham radio folks performing volunteer service that is risky and costly. They do this to keep you safe. And still, the FCC charges them for the right to have a license to use that same radio. Something is very wrong with our system of government.

Think about that as you try to relate your hobby to this one.

Contrast this hobby with the hobby of writing as an example. I can speak to this as I am a writer and author and out to change how writers think of themselves.

Conventions for writers are ridiculously expensive. Maybe someone can tell me or justify why someone should spend $500 on a ticket to hear these authors. They do public speaking to promote their brand.

I know many of the authors that would speak at this event. The draw for the writers is simple, access to an agent. Whoopie.

I realize that the description is vague, but the conventions for radio operators have the same programs, speakers, and alike that assist those who want to learn more about their craft. A ticket to Hamarama in Ardmore, Oklahoma, is $8, $10 at the door. That money goes back to the convention center rented for the event.

The speakers at writer’s events do it for notoriety, and they have pecuniary interests. They want to sell their books.

I have slogged through the trenches of both hobbies. Being an autodidact, striving for perfection is my way of life.

Marconi, Tesla, and Mark Twain were autodidacts. You could add Bill Gates to the list.

During my last trip to Ardmore, I realized that many of those people I looked forward to seeing were no longer with us.

Time is precious and fleeting. Don’t let it slip away from you.

Carpe Diem

-Best

Is critical thinking still taught?

Forensic computing is a real thing.

Wow, the hits just keep coming.

I take extreme delight in working with the feds and or Scotland Yard, tracing this kind of crap down to put the perpetrator in
prison where they belong. Were you aware that the UK is so crime-free they don’t need an equivalent to the FBI? I digress.

After 40 years of fighting viruses, the evil that men do has become rather
personal.

These time-wasting life-sucking jerks have cost me many hours of my life
unraveling the gordian knots they weave, and it sickens me.

For me, this started with the Michael Angelo Virus before there was
such a thing as Anti-Virus software. Can you imagine fighting a virus without
the tools we have today? This was an extensive company network with hundreds of PCs
in a token ring environment. I doubt we would have been successful if we had
not had a Network General Sniffer (a packet analyzer).

The reason it sickens me is simple. Many people fall for this crap, and it
costs them. There are scam artists everywhere. Retired people are one of the
targets they love the most. They freak out, click, call, or what have you.

Once the hook is set, the odds are much better the criminal will get
something for their efforts. Much like a worm on a hook, it only takes getting the bait in front of the fish.

One of the questions I am asked constantly is this. What is the best
anti-virus software out there?

There was a day I could have answered that. It depends on which company is
the most proactive at looking for the latest virus or threats. If they rest on
their laurels, they can go from number one to (never again.)

Many of these schemes can be easily thwarted if the victim employs some
critical thinking skills.

Here is the latest:

Look at this statement. Let’s use some critical thinking skills here.

Firstly right off the bat, you know you didn’t buy anything for $500. But wait, they didn’t charge tax. huh? If this was a legitimate invoice, it would most probably be a different number, not $499.99. It would be $541.24 for my tax rate.

The key is my tax rate. Tax rates are different per location. That would require the perpetrator to know where you were and then calculate the tax.

That is a huge red flag that just about any person should catch.

What else? Where is the hook?

Athur … What kind of name is that? King, I understand. Should it be Arthur
perhaps?

The Hook is the 888 number a person will call if they are …’What the
hell, this is mistake, I need to call them and…!”

No, it is a fishing scheme, much like the king in Nairobi who has tens of
thousands of dollars he wants to give you, if you will give him a bank account
number to send it to.

There are robbers who will steal your physical stuff. There are low life who will send out viruses and or
phishing scams, and then there are the professionals who rob you blind. They
are called politicians.

Think I am wrong?? Tell me good sir or madam, why would a politician spend
$19 million dollars of their own money for a job that pays 150K a year? If you
said they were altruistic, I have some ocean-front property…No wait, I have some
soon to be desert that used to be the Mississippi River. Since it will be a desert it could easily
be a transcontinental rail for a bullet train or, a toll road sponsored by the
Saudis or perhaps China, to move freight the old fashion with truckers.

Nope, forget that, we won’t have diesel for them, as someone turned off the
American oil spigot and wants you to vote for them again.

Did you know that even though trains are electric they have huge generators
that power the gigantic motors. Care to guess what the generators use for
energy.

Critical thinking is a lost art. It might have died with my generation.

Hope your day is great! The food or lack of food on your
table might depend upon how you vote.

Hint, don’t California My Texas.

Chow!

3 D Printing, Why?

Like many of you, I suspect you might find you have more time on your hands these days. Yes, there is still work but, virtual work?

Human interaction distinguishes us from furry friends who now have more freedom than we do.

This summer, as I watched a squirrel eat the last of my peaches, it was not lost on me that I was on the inside looking out.

Sanity is not overrated.

I began the ‘two weeks to flatten the curve’ much like Tom T Hall did in his song ‘A Week in A County Jail.’

I scoffed at the toilette paper shortage reports and laughed at the nutcases who scrambled to buy masks; after we were told we didn’t need them.

After a month went by, and we were commanded to wear masks, I wasn’t so antagonistic toward the people in the store yelling at others who did not have a mask of some kind on.

Much like the Bologna and scrambled eggs fed to our singer, songwriter friend, single ply TP wasn’t that bad when you could find it.

It became apparent that the TV had to go.

Systematically, the different news feeds on my phone were also turned off or deleted one at a time.

Nature abhors a vacuum.

If I were not going to get my social addictions met via my usual methods and I had turned off the TV, what was my strategy for keeping sane to be?

While I am book smart, I am also one of those who can do whatever I put my mind to—not bragging, just a fact.

After catching up on a myriad of things I wanted to get done and with no reprieve from the pandemic insight, the next logical thing was to give Jeff Bezos more money.

Purchasing a 3D printer, much like waiting on the secret decoder ring from Ovaltine, the day arrived when Alexa announced there was movement at my front door.

By this stage of the game, I eagerly answered the door, speaking with salespeople, making friends with every kind of delivery person, and even social distancing with the landscapers who were not wild about talking with a customer. Whatever happened with the Jehovah’s Witness? I have time…

Opening the box was eerily reminiscent of my erector set from about the same time as the decoder ring.

Assembling this thing was not for the faint of heart.

Up to the challenge, I spent the next two hours watching videos, with each one telling the viewer something a little different. Armed with the basics and lots of ‘tinkering experience,’ the games began.

At this point in the story, I was reminded of the Internet back before graphical user interfaces. The only people who took advantage of the Internet were geeks. It was command-line driven, and like PCs as a whole, it was the interface that made it possible for Greg Shorthand to be placed alongside typewriters and stone tablets in the dustbin of history.

3D printers have been out for a while, and I waited for multiple reasons. Time to tinker with it, was one of the main reasons.

Like installing rev 0 or 1.0 of any software is an invitation for arrows, or at least scars on your back, the bleeding edge of any technology is usually fraught with disillusionment.

While there is no doubt in my mind that someone will create a 3D printer that anyone can pluck out of the box, turn it on, and print stuff, today is not that day.

I entertained this idea in the first place, as I restore old radios. Knobs, other hardware, and maybe even cases could be printed. Would they have the same value? No, but it would still be entertaining.

As of today about the only thing I have found this useful for is eating up lots of time, and making tchotchkes, or as I call them, dustables.

While this is a popular model printer, it is from 2018, which is ancient in dog years. We heard how they were looking for people with these things to make parts for face shields.

I find it humorous that one of the places you can use to create things is a place called ‘Tinkercad.’

After attempting some of the ‘highbrow’ cad software, Tinkercad is easy to use. If you get one of these printers, you had best like to tinker.

The two weeks to flatten the curve are now ten months. The curve appears alive and well.

With winter on our back doors and, of course, the holidays, I would encourage everyone to do something positive and not dwell on what you cannot control. Every subject that I loathed in school I went back and visited. Why? Why not. When I think of the information at our fingertips, and it is taken for granted, it boggles my mind.

Social media is rife with animus from people who I would never expect. Then you have the fact-checkers who blatantly post their obnoxious views on anything they don’t happen to like.

Yes, Facebook does not get much of my attention these days. I don’t need people telling me what to think; you don’t either.

I might look at resin printers next after I push the envelope with the filament variety.

I sincerely hope you have a Merry Christmas. If you are a 3D enthusiast, drop me a note. One can connect with communities, but why not connect with people who at least read what I write?

Yes, the Jailers wife got much prettier each day, and so it goes. -Best

What you don’t know can kill you

Facebook garners little of my attention. The social noise from so many uninformed individuals spouting opinions as facts drive me to distraction. While social media is an adequate way to keep up with the goings-on of some people, it is hardly a substitute for a phone call or Zoom visit during these rather inauspicious times.

Other uses for the site are finding like-minded folks. Ham (amateur) radio has been a rather large part of my life since the early 70’s when I taught myself electronics at the ripe old age of eight.

Earning my first ticket in 1973 opened a whole new world for me. Geography soon became essential. I was talking with people in countries I did not know existed. Interestingly enough, some of the countries I ‘worked’ are no longer countries today. I spoke with a King of a country that is no more, how many can say that?

One of the groups on Facebook is a ham radio group. Seldom do I comment. Those people in that group are from a different time. The hobby is a leftover from earlier when we knew a language that few speak. The communication was megacycles and micro henrys. From Zeps to long wires and grid dip meters, we were something else.

More and more of my friends of this age are dying off from natural causes, and yes, COVID.

Amateur radio operators created much of the technology we enjoy today out of need. Necessity is the mother of invention.

For instance, yesterday was Navajo Code Talker Day. If you don’t know the history, please, inform yourself, it is fascinating. They helped us win the war. These people tearing down statues are clueless bastards.

If they are successful, there will be generations of clueless bastards that have no comprehension of why kneeling when the anthem is played is so distressing to those of us who know history.

Ham Radio has been dumbed down over the years. On this site, there was a young man who was studying for his test. He had the book open, took a picture of the page, and asked the group the question, ‘do I really need to know this stuff?’

The answer should have been an emphatic ‘YES.’

The responses were down hearting. They ranged from ’just learn the formulas’ to pointing him to a place where they teach to the test. The latter is why we are in the fix we are in today. We have taught to the test.

I pointed out that when the hobby began, we designed and built our equipment. There were no radio’s selling for thousands of dollars made in China, ready for you to plug in and talk.

Today on Amazon, there is a dual-band five-watt handy talkie for $20.00. Those were $600 until the Chinese got into the mix. This thing is full of whistles and bells, I have a few of them, just because.

While the CB craze in the ’70s set the stage for such radios, it took another twenty years before the FCC changed the rules, first removing the requirement for Morse code. The questions went from an essay type question or fill in the blank, to multiple guess.

Testing went from traveling downtown to the federal building to volunteers like me who can administer the test.

While we have smartphones that can facetime people anywhere in the world where there is cell service, I am asked, why the need for ham radio?

The answer is we provide communication when there is any disaster where commercial methods of communication are down. From hurricanes to earthquakes, we are there.

I responded to the person asking the question, telling him as much and relating to him that inside the transmitters and amplifiers are lethal voltages. If you use a screwdriver and have any curiosity about your equipment, what you don’t know can kill you. That is why multiple guess tests are not a good thing. They are great for the people who manufacture and sell radios, but not suitable for the hobby or the people who are responsible for the signal the radio emits.

If they don’t have to work for it, they don’t respect it. Just about any given night, you can find ‘operators’ most probably drunk, swearing like a sailor. Very much illegal and could land you in jail.

Case in point and this is a simple thing. I ordered an inrush current limiting device to keep the filaments of the tubes in my amplifier from getting all that current at an instant. How many times have you flipped on a light to have the bulb flash and go out?

The same could happen to the filaments in the tubes, which are considerably more expensive than a bulb.

The case of the device was not put on correctly. Because I know electronics and I know where this stuff is being made and by whom, I decided to open it up and peek at it before fixing the case properly.

The pictures are what I found. If those that learn to the test take that knowledge no further, they would not know what they are looking for. Also, they might not understand what is wrong with it.

If you are an Amateur Radio Operator and you are savvy with electronics, I would encourage you to remove the covers and peek inside before you plug it in. From cold solder joints to plugs not seated correctly, nothing surprises me.

This device you see is $90 plus tax and shipping.

Two MOV’s, one capacitor, one 10 ohm wire wound resistor, and a relay. Add two fuses and a case and outlet you have an inrush current protector. I would have liked an LED telling me that I have it on, or have power but nope.

If you look at the wire on the outlet, only a tad bit of the wire is connected to the outlet. The green or ground wire has a part of the wire super close to the hot lead of the 110. While the ground was wrapped backward, I left it as it was tight.

ground1 — This is what you don’t want to see.

Whoever built this either did not care, was in a hurry, or child labor. Yes, they could have been tired or hungover or a host of other excuses. My point is this is not the first time I have had shoddy quality on ‘turn-key’ devices. Had I learned to the test, I would never know the difference unless it failed, and I had to get it repaired under warranty.

The good news is the design is robust and there are two fuses. The bad news is that outlet on the device might have been a source of heat, and intermittent connection through arcing and what have you. It also might have been a source for electrical noise in the receiver, if indeed it began to arc.

If you are going to get into the hobby of Ham Radio, step up and learn it. What you don’t know could kill you.

A friend of mine years ago was working on his amplifier late in the afternoon. He was tired but used to tinkering as many of us do. The high voltage in his amplifier was not where it belonged. Taking the high voltage leads lose from the rectifier assembly, he went to measure the voltage from the transformer without a load.

Again, like many of us do with low voltage, we grab the end of the wires and hold to the leads of the meter. Bad habit.

He did it with 3000 volts at an amp. That mistake blew both of his arms off and exploded his kidneys. The electricity shot out the bottoms of his feet, through his shoes while finding ground.

He lived for three days like that.

What you don’t know can kill you!

Working on things when you are tired can kill you. Bad habits can kill you. I keep one hand in my pocket whenever I am working on high voltage. I remove all jewelry when I am working on electronics, period.

I never re-load bullets when I am tired. I never drink and get on the radio, or send an e-mail to someone whom I have a disagreement with. 🙂 Words to live by.

I hope this story is helpful in some way to those of you who tinker with electronics.

-Best

Scott

The Case of the Bloated Apple

Ok, it’s technically not an apple in the most real sense of the word. God or Eve or even the devil had little influence on this fruit. We are talking about an iPhone.

Let my experience with this device be a cost-saving measure for you.

With the lockdowns and subsequent lack of leaving the house, the phone, which usually lives on my person, hardly ever left the desk.

Since it never left the desk, it also never or hardly ever left the charger.

The physics that goes along with these batteries is somewhat elusive, but batteries are designed to be used. Said another way, unlike car batteries, these batteries in your laptop, cell phone, and tablets are designed to cycle on a larger scale than your car.

They are rated in how many times they can be ‘cycled.’

On my desk laid the iPhone plugged up to a constant source of energy. Monitoring the current from the power supply to the phone, I noticed no appreciable current draw but, something was happening.

Simultaneous events occurred during February and March. The phone seemed to split apart. Something inside the phone was expanding. It could only be the battery. Knowing that these batteries can be volatile, a new phone seemed to be in order. Repairing an old phone makes little sense by the time you find a place to take it and so on.

Another thousand dollar phone later seemed to be the right approach. Trying to leave the house presented a whole new challenge. The car battery was dead.

With all the electronic ‘stuff’ in cars today, there is about a 250 ma constant draw on the battery. If you don’t drive it weekly, put a trickle charger on the battery.

Here we juxtapose the two different technologies. Lead Acid batteries are designed to give you that current with a small amount of discharge in the process of starting the engine. Once started, the alternator puts the energy consumed, back into the battery. Hence one cycle is complete.

In Texas, anything over three years is considered a win. Heat is detrimental to lead-acid batteries.

Switch gears to the phone. The Lithium Polymer battery will provide the correct voltage and current until depleted. Translated, if you puncture a phone battery while trying to remove it while still charged, it very well might combust into flames.

The battery in my older iPhone expanded much like a balloon while living on my desk. Not having taken one of these phones apart before, I felt the proper thing to do would be to recycle it and forget it. (but It still worked.)

The longer it sat there with its screen popping off, and the more time I had to think about it, google became the go-to source of information.

$22 later, I had a new battery and the tools to change it on the way to my home.

While the procedure is not for the faint of heart, if you were to follow the directions to the letter, the odds are, you too could save your phone.

The older phone still provides a platform for Zoom, music, and yes videos. The newer phone now lives on an inductive charger, which, according to the manufacturer, will not overcharge your battery.

Since the older phone is repaired and looks great, I unplug it from the charger as I use it like one usually would. Even without actual ATT service, with wifi, there are many ways to use the phone as a phone still.

The trickiest part of the procedure is removing the old battery. It is glued to the phone. This is where you could create an explosive situation if you are not super careful. One tip I would offer is, drain the battery completely before you attempt a procedure like this.

How? Turn the phone on and listen to music until it is dead.

Regarding your car, make sure the trickle charger is rated at least an amp. The trickle charger I bought from one of those box stores used a little wall wart as the supply. It did not provide sufficient current to keep the battery charged and run whatever stand-by devices were drawing minuscule amounts of energy.

I now use a zero-point charger that shuts off when the power drain falls below a few milliamps. As the devices draw enough current to trigger the charger, a cycle is developed, keeping the car ready for when you need to escape from quarantine.

I hope you find this information of some value and that you stay safe during these trying times.

-Best

Watch Out For Crap Like This.

From the early 70’s I was tinkering with electronics. While my peers were playing ball or getting their hearts broken, I was getting shocked and talking to people all over the world.

Peering through the back of a radio or perhaps the TV, one would see all these glowing amber lights. Soon after my fascination with the front of the radiant dial on the old floor model radio piqued, I wanted to know how it worked.

Garage sales and discarded appliances became a source of amusement for me. Boxes of small parts from different devices soon lived in the closet, under my bed, and soon I had to pare down the collection. A borrowed receiver, some junk box parts, and a crystal as were the rules back then, I was on the air as a newly minted Novice Amateur Radio Operator. The glowing 6AQ5 tube was the final for a whopping 7 watts unmodulated Carrier wave controlled by the steady fist of what they used to call ‘brass pounders.’

Today, 47 years after the date, I still remember Morse code, but I must confess I have not pounded a key in eons.

Tubes gave way to transistors, which soon turned into integrated circuits. Now we have software-defined radio that minimalizes the power usage and, of course, exaggerates the complications if you need to troubleshoot it.

Time marches on.

A man once stipulated that we stand on the shoulders of giants, and the same is true of the law of accelerated return of advancement regarding technology.

Most teenagers today have more technology in their back pocket or on their wrist than we used to send a man to the moon. What they do with it remains to be seen but, the possibility of great things is within their grasp.

Licensing for the Amateur Radio Service is nothing like it was. One could argue that nobody builds anything anymore, so it does not need to be as difficult as it was back in 1973.

I still tinker, albeit minimally and mostly with antenna design and theory. All that said to get to the point of this blog.

When I purchased this switch box online, I knew what to expect. Never in a million years would I push any wattage through this thing.

When I wiggled the wires a number of them came lose of their own accord, cold solder joints. — Here is the inside of the box. Wow.

In my office resides a desk, with several different apparatuses on it. From state of the art to antique, I still listen to and ‘mess’ with them on occasion. You see I always appreciate the glow from the dial light of old shortwave radios. I wanted a way to control the RF from my antenna to the different devices without messing with cables.

The name of this device is miss-leading, and I am confident if put to the test, they would call it a ‘name’ and say they never meant it to handle 1000 watts. With the wording CB in the advertisement, they could argue the illegality of using more than 12 watts PEP ergo ‘what were you doing with this thing?’

A smart person could take them to task, in that this thing would perform miserably at 27mhz.

Whoever designed it had a handle on DC but not AC. The integrity of the 50 ohms impedance is violated, making this a horrible device even for switching between receivers. Again I knew what to expect when I spent the $20. Why then did I buy it?

Real coaxial switches have the same essential components, they are just well thought out. If you look at the contact on the switch, you can tell that any kind of wattage would burn the connections and or arc over to the next. In its original construction, I would not even use it for low wattage use.

Below you can see how I modified it with coax and common grounds. One last modification is to add a ground lug to it, so I can ground the box to earth ground.

Enjoy your hobbies, and be very wary of crap from the Far East. While it is all made there, ‘for the most part,’ some companies have a reputation at stake, while some just want to sell cheap junk.

In its original form, it was just that, junk.

-Best

Scott