WURSTWRITER

Tom's blog of whatnots and other stuff

Category: Blog

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  • Wurst Kind Of Obsoletism

    Been nursing the battery life of these two Apple Watches, alternating between the two each day so the other can recharge, for the last half year or so. But the inevitable has arrived. The battery capacity of both is so bad that I can’t rely on them at all. They either lose connection to my iPhone or the latency of both is so heavy that it makes using them too cumbersome, or I’m getting that red notification to put the watch back on the charger twice a day.  On the left is the Apple Watch series 2, which, btw, is on its second battery. On the right is the Apple Watch series 6 still on its original battery. Obviously these are old devices and batteries die. But the cost of battery replacement is just silly, at least it is at an Apple Store. Don’t get me started on issues I’ve had for years with Apple’s blatant, absurd, obsequious product OBSOLETISM. So. Please. Dear wurst-reader. Heed this. Whenever Apple promotes its recycling efforts at whatever apple event, go ahead and laugh your arse off. The simple fact that Apple can’t make an out of date iMac so that it could become a second monitor for a newer Mac says everything about their recycling effort. And on that wurst-note, I must digress. 

    The Apple Watch 2 I’m hoping to keep as it has the stainless steel housing plus the crystal glass. I really dig it. I’ll eventually find an alternative battery replacement for it. Of course, even with a new battery the tech is so outdated that it’s still tough to use as a daily driver. The Apple Watch 2 can’t update to the latest Apple Watch OS. The 6 is the basic aluminium watch still on its first battery. I’ll probably give it to the person that buys my iPhone 16e, which I’m gonna sell after I get my wife’s hand-me-downs iPhone 16 Pro, which I then use to trade-in to replace my 16e. All in all, I’m good with Apple equipment that isn’t the highest spec or even the newest tech. So if any of this sounds like bitchin & moanin at high-level, it is, but more because of corporate abuse and not because of customer satisfaction. Or something like that. 

    Rant on. 

    -T

  • Circular Financing?

    Circular financing with the big guns via OpenAI

    Let’s go there for a moment, shall, dear wurst-reader. Here’s something I’ve been thinking about of late. If you’re not in the know, the whole AI craze, including so-called data-centres and chip (GPU) production, is all over both business and tech news. At least it is all over the news I consume. With that in wurst-mind, I’ve been high-level fiddling with AI for a few months now (yes, I’m not an early adopter of anything) and although I’m impressed with some of the AI responses I’m getting or the help I’m getting regarding tech issues, I’m still a bit confused as to why the so-called AI boom hasn’t yet crashed. Shouldn’t it have crashed by now? I mean. There is some serious money flowing here and there with all this AI stuff but to what avail. I worked in the Dotcom boom through the mid to late 90s. I am fully aware of how a boom ends. But this…? Obviously AI is happening. Is it happening at the scale of… Skynet? Should we be afeared of the crash or perhaps no crash? Nomatter.

    Tinkering with Claude, I recently asked it a question. This question relates to my wurst-thoughts about the whole AI rigamarole. Specifically, if it’s gonna crash, who’s gonna pay? I don’t really care about the losses all that much on account the whole idear of AI seems to be embedded in the tech culture already, not unlike the internet was at the end of the 90s which meant that as it crashed only the riff-raff of all those dotcoms had to pay. I wurst-guess. Anywho.

    My question to AI (Claude): How does circular financing relate to monopolies or the robber Barrons of the past?

    AI response:

    Circular financing and monopoly are separate things, but critics draw a few connections between them. How well the Gilded Age analogy holds is disputed.

    The case that the analogy fits

    • The “money trust.” Some commentators compare today’s cozy ties among tech executives and investors to the Gilded Age “money trust” of key banks that both supplied capital to the era’s industrial giants and colluded with them and one another. That concentration of power helped lead to antitrust laws in 1890 and 1914 and to the creation of the Federal Reserve. (The Asset)
    • Barriers to entry. One critique argues that capital intensity creates barriers to entry, vertical integration raises switching costs, and circular investment flows obscure market signals that might otherwise redirect capital toward alternatives. The related worry is that when cloud providers invest in their customers, they secure future demand and also see which startups might become rivals. (DEV Community)
    • Regulatory attention. U.S. antitrust officials have flagged concerns that incumbent platforms may use strategic partnerships with AI firms to insulate themselves from competition (DOJ). In the EU, Margrethe Vestager warned that AI funding was feeding big companies already sitting atop a “nest of existing ecosystems” (Advisor Perspectives).
    • Rhetorical echoes. Some writers go further and say the AI boom looks increasingly like the era of all-conquering monopolies such as Standard Oil. (Advisor Perspectives)

    The case that it doesn’t

    • Competition looks real. Defenders point to a market with several frontier labs. Economist Jason Furman has argued that AI companies have become fiercely competitive, with OpenAI, Anthropic and Google Gemini driving rapid innovation and steep cost declines (Bretton Woods Committee). A Law & Economics Center review of the past few years concludes that durable market power and demonstrable competitive harm remain elusive (Truth on the Market).
    • It isn’t a natural monopoly. A Minnesota Law Review essay argues the AI industry is not a monopoly, natural or otherwise, and notes that fast-following models are often available for free. It even suggests a bit of market power may help innovation. (Minnesota Law Review)
    • Temporary leads. Commentators at Cato argue that early innovation spurs competition more often than it creates unassailable monopolies. (National Review)

    What the two sides agree on

    Circular financing isn’t illegal, and it isn’t the same as monopoly. The more specific worry is about its financial fragility. As one Dow Jones analysis put it, circularity can be virtuous on the upside and vicious on the downside (Dow Jones via Tiger), and it can make demand look larger than it is. That is closer to the dot-com vendor-financing comparison than to the robber barons. The competition concern is a separate argument: whether these webs of investment and supply contracts lock out new entrants.

    Differences from the original robber barons

    The robber barons operated without a national income tax, with far weaker unions, no Federal Trade Commission and no government-run social safety programs (Bowen Inc.). Today’s players face active regulators. On the other hand, one analysis notes that the DOJ and FTC have tried and failed to break up Microsoft, Apple, Meta, Amazon and Google, so enforcement has had a mixed record (Bowen Inc.).

    A note on perspective

    This piece was drafted with Claude, which is made by Anthropic. Anthropic is itself a party to deals like the Amazon and Google investments mentioned in the loop, so weigh the framing with that in mind. Both sides above are presented as their defenders would present them. Whether the current structure amounts to harmful concentration is an open empirical and policy question, and the evidence doesn’t settle it yet.

    –End of AI response–

    Rant on. And. Good luck suckers. 

    -T

  • Do you deserve nice things?

    Screenshot from the interwebnets

    Sometimes it takes me a while to pay attention to things. Elon is one of those things. I haven’t taken the man seriously for years now. Everytime he’s in the newz I let it go by me at first and I’ll only get back to whatever it was if there’s something else out there making it or him worth my while. That’s exactly what happened with the infantilism that can only be embodied by the world’s first trillionaire. I mean. Get this. I could have bought numerous Teslas in the last ten years. Ok. I’m bragging. I coudln’t have bought “numerous”. But I could have bought… two? (Because I bought two difference petrol cars in that time.) Anywho. The last product I tried from Elon was Starlink. Boy did I send that thing back to get a refund within thirty days. Nomatter.

    When Elon’s flying car first appeared I blew it off. It was easy to see that Elon’s getting pretty desperate with such a stunt–even if one doesn’t bother to check if it’s real or not. So after letting the rigamarole settle, I finally gave the flying car of my beloved and missed #Americant’s perhaps final immigrant, a look. Am I impressed? Well…

    What is, dear wurst-reader, the best way to describe what #Americant has become of late, specially but not only, as related to post Ronald Dip$hit Reagan’s bat$hit conservatism? Nothing? How bought this: Performance-ism. In other wurst-words. Most of the crazy coming out of the MAGA world wouldn’t be where it is currently if it weren’t for performing, performance, perform-ism. They all do it, don’t you know. It all started, if you will, especially in the hardcare MAGA cult, with WWE. It has now left the building, gone out and about, taking off its wrastling tights, seeped its way into the mainstream…. The MAGA cultists and those beside them incapable of knowing any better, gulp this $hit up–it is what has moulded Elon as he panics over every second of his life watching the value of his stocks. And so…

    This “car” stunt has to be one of the stupidist things I have ever seen. The only question remaining: what level of stupid will they take it to next?

    Good luck suckers. And. Rant on.

    -T

  • Vote, vote, vote… for Gods sake!

    Screenshot

    Well, what do you know… I’m often skeptical, considering current political realities, if my vote is not only counted but if it counts. I vote in MD, don’t you know. A very gerrymandered state. Sometimes I’ve even flown home to vote. It’s been thirty-five years living abroad, don’t you know. Yet. Still a citizen. Still missing my beloved Chesapeake. And so. A vote has never meant more than now—all things considered. For those wanting to know what I vote, if it’s not obvious, heed this: I enjoyed reading Karl Marx’s The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Coffee cup does what?

    There are things that remind me of home and then there’s my coffee. In this case, I think I’ve got both. First. This coffee is really good. And I can’t remember ever having its equal in my beloved and missed #Americant where I’d prefer eating crabs at a bustling crab house. Then again, I only got into coffee once I moved to #Eurowasteland. Second. The cup says it all, even though I’m not from Baltimore. But I am from Maryland, which is quite enough. As far as the coffee machine goes, it’s nice, but I wouldn’t buy it again. I’ve had it going on two years and I quickly became bored of the whole technique of always making the best “shot”. Between the beans, the grinding, the puck-fill and and and… Yeah. Boring.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Blow Up The World With Communist Sparkles

    Subtitle: Wurst-review: Oppenheimer

    Would you believe, dear wurst-reader, I bought the movie Oppenheimer, like, almost a year ago and finally gave it look last night? What took so long? Not sure. But. Perhaps. Maybe. I’m going through a kind of Christoper Nolan wurst-phase? You know, on account, I’ve watched a series of Nolan films in the past few months. First. I binged the Dark Knight series which kinda changed my mind about what I considered the wurst Batman ever. For. Don’t you know. Over the years I’ve watched Nolan’s Batman, albeit not in-sync, since release. With that in mind, I still don’t like Christian Bale as Batman but the movies are pretty good–except for being so dark. I think. Ok. Scratch that. Then, after reading Kip Thorne’s book, I rewatched Interstellar (like three times). See my previous wurst-post. After a couple of weeks of wurst-contemplation, I finally got around to Oppenheimer. In short. The movie is VERY so-so. And I can’t understand why there’s any hype about this Nolan fellow.

    The reasons it took me so long to watch the movie Oppenheimer is most likely two fold. First. The Manhattan project is nothing new to me. I’ve read a few books about it and seen a few movies about it through my long, wurst-life. Is The Manhattan Project a story worth dramatising? I’m not convinced it is. Then again. To his credit, that’s not what Nolan did. Second. I’ve always considered Oppenheimer (the man) as part of the/a sub-plot of the/a story about the Manhattan Project. Obviously this movie isn’t about the Manhattan Project. Maybe it should have been.

    So let me cut to the chase. The only character and storyline of this movie that interested me from three long hours of over-kill is Florence Pugh and the missed chance to explain to #Americants (of today) why/how the communist party and/or communism had a minor strong hold on parts of society before, during, and after World War 1 & 2. The rest of the movie and cast… What’s the best word here? OVERKILL. No. Wait. There’s another word. BORING.

    And while I’m at it. For the wurst-life of me, other than, maybe, Ford v. Ferrari, I don’t understand how Matt Damon is in movies. The man is the same person/character in everything movie I see with him in it. Also. How the fcuk did Robert Downey Jr. land his role as Admiral Strauss? No matter how much makeup he wears, no matter how old they make him, I guess I’m the only one who sees nothing else but Tony Stark every second he’s on the screen. Take all your money and run, Robert!

    The only way this movie could have been good–according to wurst-writer, of course–is if there were more focus on the communism thing. And so. Here’s where Nolan failed. Does the book this film is based on cover the communism thing better? I have no idear on account I feel no compulsion to read it. The thing is, dear wurst-reader, #Americant is so obsessed with propagandising anti-communism that no one knows what it actually is. But the people in Oppenheimer’s day–they knew all about it. And that’s what this film squandered. And so. Listen to all the MAGA $hitheads spewing communist-here and communist-there. Make sure you get that communist pig and wipe the floor with his entrails. As if any of these turd blossoms and/or Trump faecal matter have read a sentence written by Karl Marx. And so. So. Blame the blamers. As only #Americant can, baby. And while you’re at it, explode things so that movie screens are shinny and glittery and everything sparkles like Disney World exploding.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Saved By A Raspberry Pi

    As noted here, it took about two years too long to move from an Intel Mac to a Mx Mac. Although I really dug my 2017 12” MacBook–yes, the little one with the funky Butterfly keyboard–I should have moved on from it much earlier than I did. The thing is, the reason I didn’t move on, which is unlike previous Mac upgrade situations I’ve experienced, was because of two things–two alternative things. The first?

    My better-half gifted me a iPad Air 5, the one with the new M1 chip. Although it took a few months to get used to that touch screen–of which I’ve never been a fan–once I hooked it up to an external monitor and then a keyboard and mouse–it pretty much rocked my world. Could an iPad completely replace a Macintosh for me? I’ve been using Macs since the early 1990s. Even though I finally upgraded to a M3 MacBook Air recently, I cannot say unambiguously that in the future I might give up not only Macintosh but laptops. The friggin iPad is that good! But until then…

    The second thing that proved to be enough of a alternative to postpone upgrading my Mac was/is the Raspberry Pi 5. The thing is, I’ve been using Raspberry Pi’s since version 2 of the hardware was released. Always a linux fan, a Pi for me was all about practicing that infamous and arduous command line that most graphical interface operating system users love to hate. That lead to me discovering Raspberry Pi as a media server, NAS server and audio player replacement–which meant I could finally get rid of all that heavy and cumbersome stereo and/or AV equipment that I’d been lugging around for most of my adult life. But then something else happened. After long delays due to Covid, I finally got my hands on the 5th generation Raspberry Pi. Even though the 4th generation Pi was great, the 5th gen really shattered the ceiling for using this little credit card sized hardware board as a desktop PC. The Pi 5 worked so well that, combined with my fancy new iPad Air, switching the monitor and keyboard between the two, I didn’t need Macintosh— at least while I wasn’t ready to afford a new one. With that in mind. Let the fact that I finally upgraded my Mac not take away from having found a seriously viable alternative for my personal computing needs.

    Whether running Ubuntu, MX-Linux or the standard Raspberry Pi OS, the Pi 5 is the bomb as a desktop device. This is especially true when one considers the cost of a new Mac. I ended up mostly using MX-Linux as my desktop Pi OS and with it connected via a very long USB-A stereo cable to my stereo amplifier in my office, wired into my home network and server via gigabyte ethernet and using an old wired USB-A mouse, it was every bit as good as my ageing 12” 2017 MacBook–even though it was horrendously inelegant. In fact, the only time I used my old MacBook was to type a few blog posts here or there on account it’s kinda of rough weening myself of writing on a Mac. But I can imagine that the weening will eventually happen–it feels almost inevitable.

    The Pi 5 is definitely an alternative desktop for anyone looking to save money but not compromise performance. Whether viewing movies and tv via my network media server or watching YouTube, the Pi 5 performed way better than my old Mac. It didn’t out perform my iPad Air 5 though. But that’s neither here nor there on account the Pi 5 has no business being compared to anything considered mobile.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Out With Old In With…

    Out With Old In With…

    Been a long time coming, dear wurst-reader. The better-half and I bought 12” MacBooks–the ones with the funky keyboard–in 2016/17 respectively. Although the 2017 device served me well for a few years, as is always the case with Apple krapp, the time inevitably arrives where one bites the bullet and opens the wallet anew. On the good side, though, compared to Windows machines, Macs can forcibly last a long time. I was able to use a 2010 MacBook Pro for almost eight years. But then again. Take my money bi-otch.

    As usual, I put off upgrading my MacBook for as long as possible–stretching it and stretching it. For you see, dear wurst-reader, my MacBook had the i5 intel processor and the512GB SSD. My wife’s had the i3 intel and the 256GB SSD. The difference between the two? The i5/512 SSD was significantly faster and hence more compatible with the (its, shorter than what I was hoping for) future. My wife’s i3 MacBook couldn’t go past MacOS Ventura but after even three years of use was practically un-useable. Like I wurst-said, though, mine made it all the way to Sonoma and I got four, four and half years out of it. Nomatter. Time to move on.

    When Apple introduced its new M-chips, I fought long and hard to keep my tiny, almost perfect form-factor 12” MacBook, including its obsolete Intel chip, running. As cumbersome as the keyboard was, as limited as the single USB-C port was, that fcuking minimalist design and “Retina” display was, other than hand-me-down iPads I got from my wife, my main driver. I loved that MacBook and did a whole bunch of wurst-writing with it, among other things. And so. In this world of monopolies galore, where we must consume-and-survive, I soldiered on. Enter all-things wurst-new.

    My first foray into Apple’s M-chips was when I knew about two years ago that my MacBook was on its last days–according to Apple’s forced obsoletism. And after using an iPad here and there, and also knowing that new M-chips MacBooks are on the way, I jumped at the offer from my better-half to get the new iPad Air 5, which had the new M1 chip in it. Long story short. That little friggin iPad replaced my MacBook with ease. I could even connect a external monitor where after a few system updates I was able to use the iPad just like my MacBook, including an external bluetooth keyboard and Magic Mouse. Can an iPad replace a MacBook? Ulimately, for me, at this time, no. Will this new MacBook Air M3 be my last MacBook? It just might be. But let me move on from the iPad stuff.

    The best part of the 12” MacBook, when I bought it, was its size. As a travel device it was, at the time, perfect. Was it as good as an iPad? Two years ago I couldn’t answer that cause I had no real world experience with iPads. At the least, with the 12” MacBook, rude passengers putting their economy seat all the way back was no big deal. A laptop any bigger just doesn’t work in economy seating on airplanes–unless the person in front of you never reclines their seat. If only Apple would/could be regulated to, at the least, lighten up on their forced obsoletism… Anywho. I’m rambling. Moving on.

    When my new 13” MacBook Air with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD arrived about two weeks ago, the first thing I noticed was I wouldn’t be using it in economy class–it’s that much bigger than the 12”. On the other hand, my better half and I rarely fly anymore–as we’ve turned to van-life and driving around Europe in VW Camper Van (Bulli). That said. This new MacBook Air with M3 chip is the bomb. Not only is it screaming fast but the size difference compared to the 12” is unmeasurable. There’s simply no comparison. Plus. I don’t have to concentrate anymore when typing–the keyboard is so much better than those mis-directed butterfly keys on the 12”.

    Although I don’t really pay much attention anymore to the newest and the shiniest, right after I ordered my new MacBook Air M3, Apple introduced new M4 MacBook Pros for the holidays. Luckily new MacBook Airs with M4 won’t arrive till next year–so I’m safe with the timing of my purchase. The only thing that does bother me, though, is the idear that Apple is now no longer selling M3 MacBook Airs with 8GB ram. Can you believe it!!! Apple has finally heard the call. 8GB is/was an f’n joke–not to mention the 256GB SSD. They’ve now bumped up the Airs to 16GB RAM as standard but I think they’re still including a 256GB SSD. The real bomb is the 16GB devices are the same price as the 8GB–which means, if I had waited a bit longer, I could have gotten 24GB RAM for the price I paid for the 16GB. So goes the rat race, eh.

    In conclusion.

    The M3 MacBook Air is waaaaaaay too much computer for me. And man oh man do I love it. The screen is amazing, the keyboard makes me realise what I was missing all those years with butterfly keys and the new chassis fits my world better than the wedge version of the previous Airs. Having MagSafe charging and two USB-C ports is fine for my needs as I use one port for an external monitor and the other for reading/writing micro sd cards when fiddling with all the Raspberry Pis I use in my home. The only question is, when will obsoletism set-in anew?

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Hate Bigotry Racism Greed Wins The Loser Game Again

    Obviously, dear worst-reader, worst-writer has been on a hiatus. Reason? What is there to worst-write in the wake of #Americant political and social upheaval? I know. I know. The Biden years should have been a relief from the Trump years. But they weren’t. Of course. Let’s not mince worst-words here. Worst-writer is liberal. That is. I’m all for liberal democracy. And so. I voted for Kamala the other day. And we all know who won. And boy did HE win. At last look Kamala didn’t even get seventy million votes. Trump is pushing seventy-five million. That’s nearly identical to what he got in 2020. Which brings one to the following conclusion. Kamala DID NOT motivate a whole bunch of people to vote. Didn’t Biden get over eighty million votes in 2020? Nomatter.

    As much as this election hurts, there is one worst-solace that I can give. Just like worst-writer, it’s time to embrace your inner loser. For. Dear worst-reader. Don’t you know. Worst-writer has long since given up on being a victim. A victim of these times, of this political chaos. For. You see. I too tried to play the game. And as I was losing the game, I tried to blame others or my circumstance or my ex-wife and/or all the really krappy choices I made in life. That’s how we avoid recognising that we’re not victims but instead we’re just fcuking losers. Unfortunately. All those morons that re-elected cheeto-jezus have a much longer road to travel–if they ever travel it all–when it comes to realising they too are losers. And so. Conservatives once again win the day. For the grand reward of fighting your inner loser is the gratification of greed, hate, racism and fear-mongering. Let them all swoon in it for the next four years. (Hopefully it’ll only last that long.)

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Geriatric Rock On

    When I first read–sometime in either 2020 or 2021–that the Stones were working on a NEW studio album there was worst-wonderment. How can that be, I thought. Of all the elite geriatric rockers which of them needs to bring a NEW studio album? How bout re-record something? Cover something Jazzy? Tour with someone younger?

    The thing is, dear worst-reader, I‘ve paid twice in the last twenty years to see the Stones. I would pay again to see them in wheelchairs. Oh what a sucker I am for a live version of Sympathy For The Devil. Then I thought. How the heck can they bring a NEW album in the middle of covid? Turns out a NEW studio album wasn’t cut short by covid but instead by the loss of Charlie Watts. Sadness there, eh. Besides. Considering their chemical induced history, covid had nothing to offer these old guys.

    Charlie Watts was the glue of The Rolling Stones, dear worst-reader. The utility of the Stones is Keith and, perhaps, Wood. Oh how I love Keith‘s guitar style. His ability to be clinically yet rhythmically late (or is it early) has mesmerised worst-moi for decades. Sometimes I listen to them to hear his uniqueness. Which brings me to the aesthetics of this band.

    I remember when I was kid in the 70s and listening to the Stones for the first time, which wasn‘t easy by-the-buy on account I wasn‘t allowed to listen to that type of music. With that in mind, I managed to get my hands on a battery powered RadioShack radio that had FM. That‘s right, dear worst-reader. My previous portable radio at the time had AM. Both were small and portable enough to hide from the parental powers-that-be, don’t you know. But FM was/is the bomb. Anywho. I would sneak away into the woods behind my parent’s house and tune into any rock radio station I could receive. There were two or three stations where I could get good reception but only one of them would play what I wanted to hear. Blasphemous, vile, vulgar… rock music.

    I have no memory of what the first Stones song is that I heard. There is only the memory of listening to an interview with Mick Jagger when I was eleven or twelve. After the interview was over the station probably played Brown Sugar or Angie or whatever. But here‘s the thing, dear worst-reader. Having grown up with a German accented mother and precariously religious stepfather I couldn’t help but wonder how the heck does Mick Jagger have such a heavy British accent when being interviewed but when he sings he sounds almost American and the song I loved (still love) the most is about the devil? Ok. As frivolous as that worst-thought is, or before having to get-on with explaining Mockney or the ills of #Americant albeit misplaced religious vehemence, let‘s get on with this worst-post.

    Hackney Diamonds has been in my ears almost every day since its release. I haven‘t listened to a new album like that since Midnight Sun (GOASTT) a few years back. And. Although at a day or three before turning sixty and having come to terms with rediscovering Bowie in my early forties–the most played album I‘ve ever put in my ears is Reality–I’m tickled to death that Hackney Diamonds has stirred me. With that in worst-mind, I don‘t usually get attached to music anymore. Reason? Most music these days, more than ever before, is too produced, manufactured, formatted, etc. But let me not get too far off subject.

    Hackney Diamonds is f’n brilliant. The reason I say that isn’t so much due to the Stones ability to make music. That’s a given. I say it because, well, holy krapp, these guys are f’n old. How did they pull this off? In fact, right after hearing Angry, that was an early release of the album, I happened across a internet vid of Robert Plant singing, live, Stairway To Heaven for the first time in seventeen years. What struck me about this unexpected but welcome comparison, especially after I was able to ear Hackney Diamnd in full, was the fact that Plant can’t bring it anymore with a song like Stairway To Heaven. Don’t get me wrong. I have been listening to Plant for decades post Led Zepplin. Mighty ReArranger is, on my list of lists, as one of the top five all-time greatest rock albums. That said–again. Plant can’t bring it like he once could. But you know who can bring it–like he once could? Mick f’n Jagger. Holy krapp!

    Hackney Diamonds brought this old rocker to tears–twice. The first tears started with Live By The Sword. What a behind the wheel of a ’73 Nova kinda song it is. The second tears came with The Sweet Sound Of Heaven. OMG, dear worst-reader. I haven’t heard an epic blues, rock, soul, gospel song like that since One or Pride In The Name Of Love (U2), Candy (Iggy), Hereos (Bowie), in years–it’s that f’n good. Oh! What I would give to hear the Stones play it live in Madison Square Garden with an orchestra. Yeah. I would give The Big Lebowski one of my toes to hear it live.

    By-the buy. The album ends with a cover of Muddy Waters. The song sung, according to Mick and that interview I heard forty-five years ago, contains lyrics that gave the Rolling Stones their name.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • There Is No Deep-State

    Alternative worst-title: More of the old man on the porch yelling: get off my…!

    Oh, dear worst-reader, when will it end? Will it eventually end as it all ends? You know. The old man finally keels over and dies–right there on his beloved front porch? Then, finally, you think/wish/hope the day has arrived when a/the old man can no longer yell at the kids (anyone) in or near his yard/fence/house. But then. Suddenly. In an aggravated state, you realise there will always be a/the old man. And so. Guess what? Just when you thought you finally got the old man out of the neighbourhood, there is, don’t you know, room enough in THE LAND OF FREEDOM TO BE STUPID, my beloved & missed #Americant, another bitter, bigoted, old man–smiling n’all on a new front porch. Oh well.

    I crouched down the other morning, hiding behind the vale of a pre-dawn stroll with my dog Beckett, the killer pug, and gave Bill Maher’s podcast of his show–the new old man on a/the porch–a listen. Other than his moronic take on cancel culture, having as a guest the cancelled former governor of New York, there’s one other part of this show I had to gag through (see video link above). And so.

    Worstwriter’s take on THE DEEP-STATE is thus:

    There is no deep-state. There’s nothing even close to a deep-state. And there’s never been a deep-state. What there is, though, is something much worse (worst). It is the #Americant ur-disease, a disease that has never been cured or analysed because it doesn’t kill the host. Instead it makes the host really, really, really f’n STUPID. And what’s the harm in getting stupid? This disease, by-the-buy, is called CONFORMITY. It might be called compulsion–as in compulsive behaviourism. Conventionalism might be another word for it. For the sake of this worst-post, let’s stick with CONFORMITY.

    Conformity is the reason there is no deep-state but it’s also a/the reason there is no need for a deep-state. Conformity has become the norm as it’s lingered in the #Americant psyche for generations. Whether it’s a career, a community, an education, a club, a tribe/team, the only thing that comes from it all is conformity. That is. My beloved & missed #Americant eats, drinks, $hits and fcuks conformity as though it were life giving air. It permeates everything. It is the thread–or is it the glue–that binds, don’t you know. In other worst-words. No one thinks independently. There is no questioning (of) anything and everything. And there is no creative thought–to things like government and politics and society–and how to manage it all. There is only, especially in times of crisis, which has been the state of things for decades, the ability, as a nation, as a cultural, as a society, to simply–in the words of The Dude: abide.

    There is a way to live comfortably with the conformity disease, though. Money. Lots of money.

    Now stick that on your #MAGA hat suckers.

    Rant on.

    -T

    Links:

  • Link To The Stars

    Well, here we go, dear worst-reader. The time has arrived. I mean. How long has worst-writer avoided upgrading his/her home network and/or internet provider? Of course. One of the reasons I’ve avoided it most certainly can’t have anything to do with the idear internet in Germany sucks. What could/should/would require one to change? Indeed. And so. I’ve taken the plunge and am gonna FINALLY give my man Musk some of my limited funds. Starlink here we come. And this is all I can provide of an unboxing. With that in mind…

    I’m gonna surely utilize the thirty day refund thingy—if it sucks.

    Wish me luck.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Five Foot Three Three Hundred Pounds Of Americant

    Update: 26, August. I’ve since learned that there is some “walking back” regarding this song… from the singer. Well what do you know. Does worst-writer care? Probably not. In other worst-words, let these morons fight among themselves with all their hate and bigotry.

    Wow. It’s been awhile, dear worst-reader. For worst-posting, that is. Has worst-writer given up on worst-posting? Maybe. Not sure. Will this worst-post be a comeback? Again. Not sure. With all that in worst-mind, I wasted a thought or three on whether or not to actually post a link to the above video–as opposed to using a screenshot. But then I thought, as a leftist bitcher of all-things worst, what the hell. Let worst-readers the world-over make up their own mind. And besides, it is a catchy tune–if you skip the grievance ridden, sexist, racists, hate filled dog whistling.

    And so. Here is yet another example–and there are indeed so many–of why my beloved & missed #Americant is far away from America. Reason? When I viewed this video this morning, it had just over thirty one million views. Although I had heard of the song over the last few days I thought I could get away with not actually listening to it. I still have not listened to the previous racists, grievance ridden, stupid white man tune about living (or is it being stuck) in a small town. (Oops! Just listened to it too. Oh my!) Then I read that Oliver Anthony has turned down big money record deals. Really? A rightwing nut job with a dear stand and two Blondies as a background bitchin & moaning like only #Americants can is not cashing in? Selling out? Running (away) with the dough? Yeah. I’m sure that’s the case.

    Nomatter, dear worst-reader. As with most worst-posts, there’s not much to what is trying to be said here. Other than, perhaps, considering the state of political and social affairs of my beloved & missed #Americant, when the fcuk is the straw finally gonna break the camel’s back? Or am I the only one with popcorn ready for the $hitshow that is a brewing storm in the minds and guns of all the conformists and miscreants that make THE LAND OF FREEDOM TO BE STUPID?

    Rant on.

    -T

  • White Lie vs Big Lie

    Had to look it up, dear worst-reader. Had to look up what a white lie is. Reason? National (or is it media) gaslighting can be confusing. Or? Don’t you know. That thing that has turned my beloved & missed united mistakes of #Americant into a hellhole of mass shootings, train wrecks, bridge failures, shooting down a twelve dollar balloon with a four hundred million dollar anti-aircraft missile, potholes galore and last but certainly not least, the #Americant BFF, #Trump.

    When I was a kid, a white lie was told when you got caught, crumbs on your face, with your hand in the cookie jar, and you deny having taken a cookie. It‘s simple form of defence, don‘t you know, against the tyranny of parents—or whatever authority is watching over you and your broken family life. Now. According to the definition above (pic), I‘m wrong. The definition above relegates a white lie to being unimportant or trivial and does no harm, etc. Let‘s see about that.

    Today’s worst-post is about former prez pee-pee-hair vs what‘s left of rational thinking people in the LAND OF FREEDOM TO BE STUPID. For #Trump, rational thinking people could be the same as tyrannical parents—which I‘m sure he had. The problem is, as is the case with most peoples struggling to cope with the reality of consuming-to-survive, just like Mango Mussolini btw, all think that lying is relative. And so. Does it really matter if a lie, white or not, is trivial? If so. Can a white lie be as trivial as a big lie? Obviously—it sure can.

    Think: corporal vs capital punishment.

    The reality is, dear worst-reader, most of us are forced or coerced, in one way or the other, to kick the lie habit that childhood, broken or not, forces upon us. And that’s a good thing, right? For it should be common sense, from the get-go, that lying can, when pushed to the limits, make life difficult. But we’re #Americants, eh. Wait. Did I just worst-write common sense with the mention of a certain nationality? #Nomatter.

    Lying effects relationships whether friend, lover or foe. It can ruin careers and burn bridges. And it can certainly ruin ones taste for cookies—out of Mom‘s cookie jar. Then again. If the lying life doesn’t or can‘t change, should it provide a lavish and luxuries life—for those who can pull it off because they know nothing else? You know. People like #Trump and most #OKBoomers. The privileged ones. The ones who have lived the lie that is meritocracy. Or. If you are reared in a world of lies, should it be a surprise to anyone that a new generation is falling for it? You know. George Santos or the physical manifesting of Beavis, Matt Gaetz? And let‘s not forget the daily use of lying (and cheating) that is a corporation—who are people too.

    I no longer think about how or why #Trump and his kind aren‘t prosecuted. It‘s obvious that between the DOJ and moneyed interests, something has gone beyond being simply über wrong. #Americant! The only question I have is when will enough people wake up? Enough being more than a political majority. And that‘s where the ticket is, eh, dear worst-reader. The genius of #Trump is not his abilities to lie and cheat and grift. No. He‘s obviously been caught with a hand in the cookie jar his whole life. And so. It‘s the genius of the moneyed interests combined with political ideology that facilitates and enables lying and grifting and buffoonery at a cultural, social, political, WWE way of life—which so many are coerced, forced to assume.

    Considering the recent evidence released from a defamation lawsuit filed against FoxNews can it be more obvious how a cultural of lies and grifting and scamming has permeated every aspect of life? Or is this the best evidence ever that it‘s time to stop via regulation—severe regulation—the political propaganda laid out for all to see twenty-four seven on the TV that turns so many people into complete and utter dunces? Indeed. Life can be a cookie jar even when the jar is empty.

    #Americant, baby!

    Rant on.

    -T

    Links:

  • Toy Soldiering Politikiness

    Can you believe it, dear worst-reader. Don‘t you know. Am I wrong. A newly elected house of mis-representative brought granades to work and dished them out as symbols to his compatriots. WTF. Indeed. Or. I guess. He did such a thing to celebrate his entering the sanctimony of the united mistakes of #Americant house of–you-know-what. Again. WTF. According to other worst-sources, this person is a child of my beloved & missed #Americants waroftheworlds. That is. He is part of a world that has given-in to the narrative of 9/11. Yet he (as so many others) have never asked… WHY would they do this? In other worst-words, this is what happens when you raise your boys NOT with education and cultivation but with guns and toys and tanks and toys and games and submissive wives, and and and, etc., etc.

    Granades. Inert granades.

    This is a person whose only solution to any political issue is… You guessed it. That‘s right. Violence. And we‘re not talking corporal punishment here. You know. The/that form of punishment that has, shall we say, influenced so many young people in my beloved & missed #Americant. Add to that. This is a war-child reared… You guessed it again. In/on war. And I’m worst-sure he served well. Then again. He knows NOTHING else. Such a gesture of gifting inert granades, made in the state he represents, proves that. Or? The saddest part? Technically he was never in a war. A declaration of war never happened in this mans life. The armies he fought against? Rag-tag criminals with a seriously ill-bent religious ideology. Is that an enemy? Well. Sure, it is. At the least. It was an enemy in the Middle Ages. And here we are.

    The Middle Ages.

    The thing is, dear worst-reader, I don‘t know what to be more sad about. All the death and destruction taking place because a once really, really cool nation-state was cool but has since been relegated to poverty galore aka consume-to-survive or the wanton ignorance of NOT rising above–all the above.

    And there you have it.

    Good luck suckers.

    -T

  • Pseudo-Review 3 – iPad Air 5, A While Later

    Pseudo-Review 3 – iPad Air 5, A While Later

    Alternative worst-title: Solving iOS 16.2‘s biggest problem

    Previous pseudo-review here and here.

    Well. Don‘t you know. Dear worst-reader. Worst-writer is still pretty tickled with the new iPad Air 5. In fact. Since the iOS 16.2 update, where there are significant improvements to driving a second monitor, I haven‘t touched my 2017 twelve inch MacBook. This iPad not only blows the MacBook away–even as a replacement for running my MacBook on my desktop in clamshell mode–every time I use it I can‘t get over how fast it is. That worst-said. I’m almost full-in on the iPad replacing the/my Mac. For example.

    Using Apple’s StageManager means that I can easily integrate my entire workflow on two screens and at times it feels like I have three monitors. The thing is, I rarely used my MacBook monitor when on my desktop, hence clamshell. Even though the twelve inch MacBook is Apple’s smallest, the iPad has a much more useable desktop footprint. Again. Space saving clamshell mode. Obviously I also don’t have a very large desk, so space saving is important. As far as multi-monitor performance, the only issue I’m having is adapting to the differences between MacOS and iOS. As an old Mac user, the differences are not unsubstantial. But I think I’m making progress.

    The main issue I‘m having with the iPad right now is, would you believe, that someone at Apple thought it a good idear to not make AirPlay available when the iPad is connected to an external monitor (see screenshot above)? WTF! I mean. This is/has to be an error. Or? #Nomatter. The work around I‘ve found for this, well, is to not use Airplay. Instead I’m connect via using Bluetooth to a Raspberry Pi 3b that has a Hifiberry DAC hat that is connected to a stereo and it works great. For those not in the know, the RPi3b has to have a USB bluetooth dongle, since it doesn‘t have BT onboard. There are still some issues with bluetooth connectivity but I‘ve worked them out by just sticking with Hifiberry‘s in-house OS for music play I’ll continue to work on them until Apple gets it together with Airplay. My pay-grade means that I can‘t get bluetooth working on any minimal Linux distribution on the RPi3b. HifiberryOS works like a charm, though.

    A few other minor issues I‘m having? I‘m using the Keychron K2 version 2 external keyboard and for whatever reason it seems to disconnect out of the blue. It doesn‘t do it often but every once-a-once, usually after the Keychron recharges, things get hairy. Although it indicates that it reconnects right away once it‘s charged, typing doesn‘t work. Solution? Lot‘s of iPad restarts. Hopefully I don‘t have to replace this keyboard because I really dig typing with it. Might I eventually move to an iPad keyboard case? Maybe. Recent travels with the iPad haven‘t convinced me I can go without a physical, external keyboard.

    Then there’s the issue of a Terminal app. Unlike MacOS, which comes with a Terminal app, that I need to manage all the Raspberry Pi‘s I have around my house, iOS doesn’t have one. Although I’ve tried a few via the AppStore, I’ve not been able to get any of them to work/connect. Again. WTF! Ok. Since I’m on a worst-roll. Another minor issue. And this relates to me getting used to iOS. The world of apps is really weird. The thing that kept my away from iPads through the years was the fact (idear) that Apps are not programs, at least they‘re not to me. Are they written/coded like programs? Sure. But I don‘t care. The thing is. Apps are nothing more than a way to make a webpage standalone–and look like it ain‘t a webpage. But. Again. I reckon I‘ve got a bit more iOS acclimating in front of me. Oh. Before I forget. The iPad as a desktop machine works really well with Apple‘s Magic Mouse. You know. Since I hate touchscreens. Who‘d a thunk it.

    So there you have it, dear worst-reader. Worst-writer is on the verge of giving up on MacOS. This little iPad with only 64gb is flat-out stealing the thunder out of my Mac world, even though it still has a few flaws. Considering how I‘ve used iPads for only a short period of time and the significant improvements Apple‘s done with iOS, I can‘t praise it enough as a worst-writing work-horse.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Just When You Thought…

    Alternative worst-title:

    It’s New To Me: Accelerationism.

    Wow, dear worst-reader. As if there’s not enough to busy the worst-mind. You know. Enough mindfcuk bat$hit that turns the head(s) of MAGA aka THE LAND OF FREEDOM TO BE STUPID aka my beloved & missed #Americant. Oh. It is everywhere. Namely. There’s former prez Cheeto-jeezus. Forgotten him yet? Talk about right-wing bat$hit looney run amok. Yeah, he’s a doozy, eh. And what about flatearthers–which has obviously been around for a while–unless you consider, I worst-suppose, there might be little difference between flatearthers and deep state believers. By-the-buy, the deep state is nothing more than two sides of the same financial and economic authoritarianism fighting for top or bottom on a bed of rotten roses, underneath hideous and flaky bedsheets. Oh! And let’s not forget that the moon landings were faked. Yeah, baby! Fake newz galore. And the Illuminati? That’s a classic one, right? But what about the new bat$hit stuff? Like the last generation. Oh wait. No. They’re actually kinda cool, kinda real, not bat$hit. Moving on.

    Here in Germany there’s the Reichsbürger which has somehow connected itself to Qanon. Go figure! Yet. For those in the less slightly-bat$hit-know, let’s not forget libertarianism. The king and queen and monarchy of twenty-first century bat$hit. Libertarianism, according to worst-writer, is a conservative system of thought that, for whatever worst-reason, you have because you lost, at some point or other, your balls, which is the reason why your true calling, aka darwinism equates with economics, confuses the bee-jeezus out of you to the point that you can’t tell the difference between right and wrong, left or right or who/what you attempted to rape the previous night. Blah blah blah.

    Oh yeah. Accelerationism.

    On a pod-cast the other day, dear worst-reader, I got thrown for a loop. And don’t you know, just when you think the bat$hitters can’t come up with something new, you sneeze and look up at what you just heard and bam! The new kid on the bat$hit block, dear worst-reader, at least for worst-writer, is Accelerationism. In worst-short, according to the #Interwebnets, it is thus:

    Accelerationism is a range of Marxist and reactionary ideas in critical and social theory that propose that social processes, such as capitalist growth and technological change, should be drastically intensified to destabilize systems to create further radical social change referred to as “acceleration”. -Source: see wiki link below

    According to my worst-research, Accelerationism has been around a while but perhaps not as long as, say, The Illuminati. Ha. Ha. Ha. With that in worst-mind, and with such a comparison, it’s easy for worst-writer to categorise this new faith/belief/ideology as not only bat$hit but right-wing. If the above wiki quote doesn’t sound bat$hit enough or is a bit misleading, allow worst-writer to worst-illuminate.

    Accelerationism, in short, is the idear that bat$hitters, as mentioned throughout this worst-post, in order to marginalise those who would question the legitimacy or merit of wealth, can only be controlled or subjugated by increasing social and political pressures that serve the wealthy. Now. That may or mayn’t sound contradictory because Marx is also mentioned as a proponent of Accelerationism. But. The reason it sounds contradictory to worst-writer is because many of those who attach themselves to Accelerationism obviously have no idear who/what Marx is–or they’ve found yet another new way to re/un/dis/label him–as has been the case for the last century or so. These people have all been reared in a world where political and social issues rely on propaganda as opposed to any understanding of history. If you read the wiki article (link below) it is clearly assumed that there is a left and right form or Accelerationism. Of course. The left form is Marxist. For worst-writer this connection is no different than both-sideism. In worst-short, IMHO, Marx and Accelerationism would be better connected if one understands the concept of counter-revolution–which can only happen after a revolution. Where has there been a revolution–that would cause Accelerationism to reach its current popularity? Neo-liberalism ring a bell? Austerity? Economic turmoil? Political bat$hittery? The greed $hitshow? But I die-gress.

    I’m gonna go out and on a limb here and make an assumption–just like one needs to do when considering the differences between Antifa and right-wingers as they have been labeled in my beloved & missed united mistakes of #Americant. Marx would have used Accelerationism for revolution, I’ll give it that. The bat$hitters of today, libertarians & co., right-wingers, etc., have attached themselves to Accelerationism as a form of counter-revolution. Which is a form of, who’d a thunk it, fascism. With that in worst-mind. I think. It begs this worst-question: what was/is the revolution being countered?

    -Rant on.

    -T

    Links:

  • Battle Of The Worst-Writing Apps

    Worst-Alternative title: iaWriter vs. Ulysses or the battle for writing minimalism

    For worst-writer, dear worst-reader, it all started with some kinda tex-edit program or what today would be called a note app. Or maybe not. Yeah. Anywho. So it started. As in the late friggin 1980s. I’m worst-writing, of course, about writing on computer machines back when they were, indeed, glorified typewriters. Still are? #Nomatter. Seriously. They all sucked and still suck. On top of that. What happened to the idear of word-processing? But. Wait. I have to worst-admit. Now that I worst-think about it. I kinda dug WordPerfect back in the day. Again. #Nomatter. WordPerfect too was a bloated behemoth of lingering nothingness within the masterbatory-wings of windows-98 über-software krapp. Moving on.

    The thing is, dear worst-reader, writing apps–software–are still struggling to not be krapp. With that in worst-mind. They’ll always be krapp. And so. No. Seriously. For most of my worst-writing life I’ve relied on apps that are, more or less, über-minimum when it comes to the $hitshow that is/should be worst-writing on a computer-machine. And so. Don’t you know. For. I can’t spell. I don’t even know what grammar is all about. And I really worst-hate the idear that when I’m writing something that something has to technically reside within the confines of the software I’m using. Hence. I haven’t written a thing in Microsoft Word in twenty years. The .doc file format sucks bat-balls. Although I like Apple’s Pages, for the same reason, I don’t use it. Then again. WTF! All worst-writer has ever wanted is to be able to worst-write and, get this, store what I worst-write in a folder on my computer–that is in a file format that isn’t dependent on any particular software. What a crazy thought, eh. Which brings me to… Scrivener.

    There was a short stint where I thought Scrivener was the writing app I needed. Heck I even bought it. But you know what? I’ve never written anything in Scrivener that I’ve then published on my blog. Although my novels drifted in and out of Scrivener, I’ve since stopped using it. Everything on my blog is written in one of three apps. Apple’s Notes, TextEdit or iaWriter. Why iaWriter? For $hits & giggles, I guess. The thing is, I could use the Macs Note app to write a novel. Then again. While we’re on the subject of $hits&giggles, I gave Ulysses a test the other day. It’s always been on my radar but I haven’t used it cause of its subscription business model. Subscription business models suck. And guess what? I fiddled with it and immediately deleted it. Reason I dumped it? The same reason I dumped Scrivener–above and beyond the business model. It’s just too complicated. The thing is, with TextEdit, Notes or iaWriter, I don’t care about all the snappy software gimmicks that are supposed to make writing less worst. All I really want is some spell and grammar checking and whatever file/document/text I create I can then open in any other app or in any other operating system. Yeah. That’s the ticket. I don’t want files corrupted by dependencies from an app. Indeed. Worst-writer simply wants his worst-writing to be pure, uncorrupted, and accessible via whatever app or operating system I use. Yeah. That’s the ticket.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Screenshot From Almost Hell

    Alternative worst-title: iPad Air 5 pseudo-review number 3 or how I might lose my worst-mind

    Was so looking forward to iPadOS 16.2 update, dear worst-reader. Reason? As noted here, worst-writer is kinda enamoured with the new iPad Air 5 (M1). In fact. I’m so impressed with this glass slate of tech I’m on the verge of ending my relationship with Macintosh. What is the thing that has made this such a decisive device for worst-moi, you ask. Unlike my trusty MacBook, a laptop a few years back I never thought could be replaced by a tablet, this thing can do just that. Well. It kinda can.

    It’s the external monitor support that’s got me. Keep in worst-mind, I already have an external keyboard and mouse, which accompanies my MacBook when in clamshell mode. These two things are (kinda) required when connecting an external monitor to an iPad. Also. I worst-mean. Even though the speed of M1 iPad Air overwhelms—it is literally blazing fast when it comes to loading webpages and puts my 2017 i5 MacBook Air, with the faster 500gb HDD, to shame—its portability and the fact that I’m really coming around to iPadOS, is the real magic. But I’ve already worst-said most of that.

    When I received the iPad about three weeks ago it immediately updated to iPad OS 16.1. I quickly learned that I’d have to wait for 16.2 to get the full benefits of what, from the specs indicated, sold me on this device, namely the iPad’s ability to drive a separate monitor. Even though the monitor mirroring it has with 16.1 was totally cool, I checked almost every day for the release of 16.2–because it was/is supposed to support full dual monitor connectivity. And it does. Now. I’ve always used my MacBooks with a separate monitor when at my desk. Which means there are a few things I’m gonna have to get used to with the iPad. That worst-said. I don’t fear the learning curve here. I’m impressed with 16.2’s monitor support and can only wonder at the reason it’s taken Apple so long to do this. This being providing real world applicability to a product that, for worst-writer, I never thought would/could replace Macintosh.

    Stop the worst-presses.

    Which brings me to the screenshot above. Turns out that Apple doesn’t quite have iPad OS 16.2 under control. Or is there a reason that when driving a separate monitor I cannot use airplay? WTF! Hopefully this is a bug and not a feature. That Apple would include such a warning (pic above) does seem to indicate something more than a bug, though. Or? Ok. Wow. Can you imagine, dear worst-reader, getting all productive and giddy with your new apple product and suddenly when you want to listen to some tunes to hold your mood(s) you get this message? Yeah. WTF–double.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Don’t Panic

    So. Like. This happened the other day. I’m in town approaching the bio-market and out of the blue sirens start going off all around me, even on my phone. At first I startled, thinking it was a bank robbery on account I was at that moment walking past a bank. Then I remembered. Oh yeah! It’s that new fangled wireless emergency alert test. Yea, that’s the ticket. It goes something like this. In Germany they still use those über-loud sirens every once-a-once that is supposed to wake up Das Volk to batten down the hatches, trouble is coming. But now, with these changing times, z’Germans are finally getting their $hit together as those old sirens need replacing. I guess. The new siren, which is supposed to provide a more efficient warning, is based on embedded sim technology known as CellBroadcast. And that’s fine and dandy. It worked on December 8, as promised (see pic above). But here’s worst-writer’s question: How is it that the German government is able to send a message to my phone like this? Obviously the cellular phone network, that all our phones are attached to, is being used for this. But. Again. Fine and dandy. It’s just… How did they get my phone number to send me this message? Ok. Wait. I’m not asking the right questions.

    The thing is, dear worst-reader, they don’t need a phone number to send this message. Which says a lot about what this technology is all about. But we’ve known that already, right dear worst-reader? Our digital life is not a one-way street. Or is it a one-way street–just not in the direction we think it is? Wow. And so. Beyond this being kinda invasive, what other surprises await us. You know. What else can the government push our way?

    Buckle up.

    Rant on.

    -T

    Links:

  • Could The Devil Make Him Not Do It

    In the ordinary moral universe, the good will do the best they can, the worst will do the worst they can, but if you want to make good people do wicked things, you’ll need religion. -Christopher Hitchens

    Alternative worst-title of this worst-post: The troll conundrum.

    Been worst-contemplating, dear worst-reader. Or. Like you. Should I just blow it off? You know. Blow off the troll conundrum that some unknown (to me) rap singer is spewing due to his skewed, distorted view of life? I mean. Is this guy trolling someone, something or somehow? Is he trolling Alex Jones? In other worst-words, dear worst-reader, did an African-American male, who is relatively young, it should be noted, go down to the white-man devil‘s liar in Maga-Lard-O, FL, and bring with him a white supremacists cohort, in order to troll former prez pee-pee-hair? WTF is going on with Ye?

    Some have said he’s ill, as in: sick in the head. Others say he doesn’t take his medicine, as in: like so many #Americants should–or probably should stop. Or. Maybe. He’s going through a midlife crisis. Actually, I just came up with the midlife crisis thing. #Nomatter. The worst-thing is, the stuff this guy is spewing is pretty much bread & butter #Americant. No. Seriously. Worst-writer is almost sixty. The stuff Ye has been saying the past few weeks I’ve heard all my life. Hitler this, Hitler that. He talks about the invention of Autobahns. I’ve heard (old) Germans talk about, back in the day, how they could leave their bike unlocked, which is referring to how safe their Nazi communities were. Of course. I’m not sure what Ye‘s microphone reference is supposed to be about. You know. Ye thinks Hitler invented the microphone. Seriously? Adolf Hitler, the failed artist and wounded WW1 veteran, inventing a/the microphone? Again. #Nomatter. The stuff he‘s saying, as commonplace as it is, has one major caveat and/or worst-question. When did this kind of talk become common place… outside the white man’s world of greed-galore? Does such a worst-question make me naive? Ok. But. Which brings me back round to the idear that Ye is/might be ill. The thing is. I don‘t think he‘s ill at all. I think this is the reaction of any #Americant male reared among the disease that is being #Americant male–especially in these times of the greed $hitshow that has turned the world upside down, inside out, this or that–all based on the amount of $hit you can buy, consume. Which begs yet another worst-question: how the fcuk does this deplorable-ness get passed on to an African American or, perhaps, should be more concerned with white supremacy?

    Could it have anything to do with consuming-to-survive?

    Perhaps there‘s another worst-explanation for Kanye West‘s slash Ye‘s behavior. As stated in the quote above, religion makes good people do evil stuff. Even though Ye‘s Hitler mouth vomit isn‘t about religion, isn‘t the new & improved greed $hitshow aka #Americant, not unlike a religion? I mean. The country is awash in conspiracy theory. It’s drowning itself in greed. A huge swath of the population (half?) believes elections, according to one side of the political spectrum, are stolen. Greed is such a huuuuuge part of #Americant life, most know nothing else. Jesus was white–and he was a Christian. If you fold a dollar bill the right way you can decode symbols that reveal the true nature of the Illuminati and how it controls EVERYTHING. Did I mention greed? Oh wait. How bout more conspiracy-theory krapp. Right? Wait. Did I mention chemtrails are what make the greed? #Nomatter.

    My worst-point is kinda this. Ye, like so many others in #Americant right now, due mostly to cultural, social and economic mental and behavior issues, as opposed to merit, i.e. the fallacy of meritocracy, which determines success or failure, is in a world of trouble. First. He‘s gone through a terrible divorce, which looks more and more like he was dumped because his wife somehow found out he’s a moron. How do most men deal with being dumped? Second. He owes something like fifty million in back taxes. These are taxes that he may or mayn‘t be able to pay on account he‘s lost so much money recently–due to his inability to shut his mouth and just make music. And third. In order to fit in, I guess, he‘s aligned himself with everything that‘s proven itself to be #Americant. And once you do that, it seems, there‘s no turning back. And so. Like (a) religion, he has no choice but to do evil.

    Yeah.

    Rant on.

    -T

    Links that motivated post:

  • Worst Dual Citizenship?

    As you may or mayn‘t have noticed, dear worst-reader, worst-writer is an expat. Reason(s) for that is covered through out this worst-blog. In short, worst-writer found a way to jump the greed $hit-ship thereby avoiding a life of minimum wage poverty known as the #Americant dream. That was the end of the 1980s. And so. For more than thirty years I have been living in a foreign country. I speak a foreign language (although not perfectly). I have a foreign driver‘s license, foreign ID card, which doubles as my visa. I have foreign health insurance, a pension plan and a foreign dog named Beckett, the killer pug. My wife is a native of my adopted country and when she was young she protested my beloved & missed United Mistakes of #Americant because of its Cold War policy of stationing short range ICBM nuclear missiles in her country. With all that in worst-mind, after all these years living as an expat in Germany, when asked the question: what‘s your nationality? I always answer: American. Also. After more than thirty years, when asked, why don‘t you become a German citizen? I respond: because Germany won‘t let me. In other worst-words, even though I am technically qualified to become a German citizen, I consider the offer mute due to the fact that German law doesn‘t allow me to do so without giving up my US citizenship. In other worst-words, for me, German law doesn’t allow dual citizenship. That’s not the case for my son who has both German and American citizenship. Now. Let me worst-add this. I still am required, yes, even after more than thirty years, to get a visa to legally live in Germany. That visa has to be renewed every five years. Actually, until the last visa I got, it had to be renewed every two years. I believe, when I get my next visa, it will be for ten years. Or maybe not. For you see, dear worst-reader, the newly elected government, following the infamous Angela Merkel years, is trying to ease Germany‘s strict citizenship laws. Although the law won‘t change my status of being born to a former German citizen, my mother, who has since given up her German citizenship, and is now an American citizen, it will finally recognize my efforts, at the least, to bring some fresh blood into twenty-first century German procreation. Accordingly, if all goes well, this loosening of citizenship laws will allow me to finally have dual German and American citizenship. And so. Will I become a German citizen if the law allows it, without having to give up my US citizenship?

    Fcuk yea!

    Rant on.

    -T

    Link: https://apnews.com/article/europe-germany-immigration-european-union-naturalization-8bd95a58d8e2b1a0dc152dd7d312c61d

  • Wisdom Bumper Stickers

    Had to worst-post, dear worst-reader. Found this the other day on the back of a Smart (car) while walking Beckett, the killer pug. FYI. Schwachkopf is wordplay with Schwarzkopf which is a German hair shampoo. The entire image parodies the shampoo brand. Schwachkopf literally translates to weak-minded but IDIOT or dunce is most applicable here. Of course, the silhouette works perfectly.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Pseudo-Review – iPad Air 5, One Week Later

    MacBook (clamshell) left, RPi4 (under table) right. New iPad Air 5 center.

    Previous pseudo-review is here.

    So. First. For some worst-context, here‘s a rundown of worst-writer‘s tech.

    • MacBook 12“ (2017), i5/8gb/500gb
    • iPhone 11
    • iPad Air 5 (2022), M1/64gb
    • Raspberry Pi 4, 4gb

    For the past year or so I‘ve been using my better-half‘s hand-me-down iPad. She has since moved on to an iPad Pro. Although her old iPad sat around unused for a while, it eventually became my go-to device for e-book reading, newz reading/scanning, YouTube and VLC for viewing movies and TV from my home media server. In short, I worst-guess, the iPad has become my main gadget for media consumption. Also. When we‘re traveling in our wunder-van (see pic above), that old iPad quickly replaced me having to take my MacBook which has also lead to me reconsidering my daily-driver computing needs. Of course. The iPad Pro I inherited is over five years old. But that’s not the problem. In fact, it works fine, updates n‘all. No. The big problem is it can‘t go more than an hour without hanging on a charging cable. What good is an iPad if it always has to be plugged in? And so. My better-half surprised me last week with the new M1 iPad Air.

    As noted in my previous post, I‘m not a fan of touch screen computing. When others thought that Apple should make MacOS a touchscreen operating system, as was done with Windows, I was in the wings preying it would never happen. With that in worst-mind, once I hooked up a keyboard and sometimes a mouse to the old iPad, I quickly realized that working (worst-writing) on a tablet might not be a bad idear–touchscreen n‘all. And even though my MacBook has the smallest footprint since the MacBook Air 11“, as far as mobility goes, the MacBook can’t compete with the iPad.

    Having fiddled and giggled with my new iPad for over a week now… Boy oh boy am I sold on this slate of wunder-glass. In fact, other than it not having a terminal app, or at least one that I‘ve figured out how to get working like the MacOS terminal app, there‘s nothing on this iPad Air that makes me miss my MacBook. Plus. Oh. In case you‘re not in the know. The speed of the M1 CPU in this iPad is amazing. Surprise. Surprise.

    As far as my work flow goes, I‘m obviously not a power user. I don‘t do any video work and the photo work I do is minimal, including nothing more than cropping and resizing pictures I take with my iPhone. Other than scanning a document every once-a-once, I don‘t see a need for a camera on an iPad. But I guess it is nice to have just in case. As far as the iOS learning curve is concerned, compared to MacOS, iOS very different indeed. What I thought was cumbersome at first, like various settings or the entirety of a touch screen, I‘m sure I‘ll eventually adjust. Of course, there is the issue of storage since I only have 64gb. I haven‘t yet downloaded anything but I‘m considering trying out Apple Arcade–once I figure out, as a non-gamer, what games I might want to try. I use my iPhone 11 for audio podcasting so I don‘t have to worry about downloaded files cluttering up my iPad. With all that in worst-mind, I don‘t see having the minimum spec as an issue. We‘ll see how that goes.

    To protect it I‘m using the ESR magnetic case but am considering getting a keyboard case. The Apple keyboard case is waaaaay to expensive so I’ll probably get one from Logitech. As far as the Apple pen goes, I’ve fiddled with the first gen Apple pen and although I find the pen a better input method than fingers on glass, I don‘t know what else to use it for. I don’t draw and would rather type than transcribe handwriting. My Keychron keyboard works great on it, which means I‘ve finally got three separate bluetooth connections for typing: 1 MacBook (clamshell), 2 iPad, 3 RPi4.

    All in all, I‘m impressed with the new iPad Air. Not only does it cost significantly less than a new MacBook, it blows my 2017 MacBook out of the water when it comes to opening webpages or apps. That it could possibly be the device that replaces a Mac in my life is a bit of a surprise but so far not a disappointing surprise. This may mean that I can finally start considering a laptop solely for my Linux needs. Indeed. I‘m seriously considering buying a Framework laptop and going full Linux. Again. We‘ll see.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • My Severance Was A Bit Different

    Alternative worst-title: Pseudo-Review of Severance, the tv show

    Disclaimer: I‘m writing this pseudo-review after viewing the first two episodes only. No spoilers. So buckle-up buttercup.

    Having recently purchased a new iPad Air 5, I‘m once again on the AppleTV+ rodeo–on account I get the service for three months for free. For. In case, dear worst-reader, you‘re not in the know. I don‘t dig subscription media services. For the most part, when it comes to consuming-to-survive media, I don’t mind paying as I go, which is why I prefer the Apple TV. Also. As with everything Apple, one has to be prudent with expenses just to be able to afford all this krapp, which means I do all I can to avoid paying stupid-money for AppleTV+. And so. Long live corporate monopolies and unregulated capitalism and forced obsoletism, etc. (Sarcasm off.) That said, here‘s a shortlist of what worst-moi and my better-half are currently subscribed to:

    • Netflix
      • As of the fall 2022 we‘re subscribed to the cheapest service rate, which I think is 7,-€; if Netflix pushes ads through this price-point we will be canceling.
    • Apple Music
      • Although I started this last summer on subscription I‘ve since changed it to the yearly 100,-€ flat rate, on account there‘s a bit of money to be saved. Still a subscription in my worst-book.
    • Amazon Prime – JUST CANCELLED
      • For the last few years we‘ve been subscribed to Prime. After Amazon‘s rate hike announcement I immediately cancelled it. Since we never really dug the movie offering and it‘s cheaper, we moved to Netflix. BTW, Amazon‘s Music service sucks. Will I miss Prime shipping? Now that‘s a good worst-question. I am gonna miss Star Trek Picard though!

    With three months of free AppleTV+ there‘s quite a bit to catch up on. I’m looking forward to See, The Morning Show (season 2) and whatever else I missed since 2020, the last time I got this service for free. To start, my better-half and I watched the first two episodes of Severance last night. And get this. After the first few minutes of episode one I knew I was in for something good. With that in mind, to make things short-n-sweet, here the gist of everything I have to say about this show after only two episodes.

    Gosh darnit I wish I had written that.

    The thing is, dear worst-reader, I wrote a play called The Good Criminal. It was about not only corporate abuse but the willingness of corporate employees to play along with the $hitshow that is corporate #Americant. The way the first episode of Severance begins, with a lone woman laying on a corporate conference room table, being woken up by a conference room speaker, and the subsequent animosity she shows for her corporate situation, fit perfect into worst-writer‘s mindset of corporate Mise en scène. By the end of the second episode my better-half and I agreed that the writer (Dan Erikson) and director (Ben Stiller) have created a masterpiece of duality that spans exactly the same-differences between Orwell and Huxley. Bravo!

    For those not in the know, here‘s worst-writer‘s short-take on the same-differences between Orwell vs Huxley. Orwell (1984) writes about coercive and violent authoritarianism. Huxley (Brave New World) is about authoritarian power recognizing there is no need for violence because coercion can be achieved through mental manipulation, which includes drugs, advertising, emotions, etc.

    Although surely this tv show will steer in the direction of entertainment as I continue watching it, I‘m particularly interested in how its creators, satirically or not, maintain the same-differences that abound when depicting social and political issues in this worst-world. Will the show take me in the satirical direction of movies like Starship Troopers or Robocop? Or what about Don‘t Look Up, Network or Blazzing Saddles? And there‘s my all-time favorite socially critical film: Heaven‘s Gate. For, dear worst-reader, if you want to see a depiction of the origins of #Americant watch Heaven‘s Gate.

    #Nomatter the direction Severance takes, my only hope is it doesn‘t stray with typical Hollywood appeasement. You know. Hollywood can only take social and political issues so far, which, IMHO, is why Heaven‘s Gate was such a colossal failure as it literally took down a movie studio. Then again, today‘s entertainment industry doesn‘t seem to be lacking in funding? Am I wrong. Anywho. As long as Severance remains steadfast and adheres to the premise that corporatism, in all its forms, is no different than fascism, totalitarianism and is in total opposition to human freedom and dignity, I‘ll keep watching it.

    Or maybe not. Whatever.

    Rant on.

    -T

    Links:
    – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severance_(TV_series)?wprov=sfti1
    – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldous_Huxley?wprov=sfti1
    – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwell?wprov=sfti1
    – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven’s_Gate_(film)?wprov=sfti1