WURSTWRITER

Tom's blog of whatnots and other stuff

Category: Blog

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  • Opening Bottled Stupid Or Another Story Of #Americant Run Amok Galore

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    Well, this was supposed to be kind of a worst-post based on the newz-links at the end but instead I got caught up in an email exchange with an Old Friend and let myself get a bit off worst-topic. Good luck 1.

    The following is an email exchange mixed what I consider to be some of my best worst-writing. That is, it’s totally convoluted, somewhat in-cohesive and angrily confused. Also, much of the yelling and screaming between worst-writer and my Old Friend back home has been removed on account… See good luck 1 above. Good luck 2.

    Oh. And one more thing. “Old Friend” in this post has been replaced with Worst-Reader. Good luck 3.

    Worst-writer: Are you in touch with the Jeff Sessions, new #SCOTUS pick and President Stupid, dear worst-reader?

    Worst-reader: Sessions? Really? Dude you gotta get over it. I told you, Trump is just one more step to the Market State. Sessions is the beginning. He is nothing. Wait till real lawyers are in there with real billionaires running the country. This is just a side show.

    –end correspondence with worst-reader out of pure shock.

    Pause. Worst-writer proceeds to fill glass with ice and white wine. It’s approaching 100 degrees here in Germania.

    Continue correspondence.

    Worst-writer to Dear worst-reader: If you’re serious about Jeff Sessions, you are waaaaay out of touch. And not just out of touch with reason but also with history. Either that or you’re drunk. But don’t worry. I’m gettin there, too.

    And so, allow me… (and brace yourself.)

    Another pause. Gulp. Gulp. Gulp.

    Dear worst-reader: You do know who bows to fascist power, don’t you? All of them, from Fiat to Mercedes Benz to big-bank here or there (in old Europe). They all bowed front and backwards to the fascists. And remember:

    The Germans and Italians lost WW2 but fascism won! (-George Carlin)

    Let’s start with Sessions and go from there.

    Sessions is a KKK shitbag fascist. The KKK and ALL racists love fascism. In fact, when business fails—as it ultimately must when capitalism runs amok as it’s currently doing in its present neo-feudal form–ALL business people will turn to fascism, too. How will you, Dear worst-reader, choose your living standard when the rug is pulled out from under you?

    Are you feeling the tug yet?

    If you think Trump is a pawn of Wall Street lawyers and billionaires, WOW! And you call me out of touch?

    Wall Street and ALL American bankers hate Trump. In fact, one of the reasons he’s so popular among republican shitbags is because he represent… Wait for it. That’s right. He represents the 7 deadly sins (pride, lust, sloth, greed, envy, wrath and gluttony) that is rural and middle-class America. Since people have allowed themselves to be convinced of the lie of individuality and/or the lie of the American-Dream and only know how to bitch & moan via faux-newz, thereby blaming everybody and everything but themselves for the error of giving republicans so much power for the past 30 years, Trump jumped on the hate wagon. How original, eh. He and so many cocksuckers like him have been riding these sins all their lives. Yeah, #Americant, baby.

    #Trump, indeed.

    Btw, that’s why Trump is beholden to Russia—and he most likely has broken laws here. He was smart enough to find Russian oligarchs that use him as their money launderer. How else can he afford huge money losing golf courses in Scotland and Ireland? How does he pay for that stupid jet of his? He skims off what he can from money laundering cocksuckers that prevented Russia from becoming a legitimate country after the USSR failed. Trump then hides his money from US tax authorities. Oh wait! Business people, like you, Dear Worst-Reader, think that’s “smart”, right? Yeah. The conman is smarter than the conned. Only in #Americant, baby! Anywho. Trump thought he finally made it out of NYC shitting on him for so many years because he really is a useless, cocksucking spoiled baby jerk-off–with a Russian connection. And who knows. Maybe he has finally made it. Then again, since he’s still disgusting to any rational thinking person—and there are some left—how do you think he’s gonna pay them all back–for this his last great con-job? Or is there no collective spite in gun-ridden, rascist, bat$hit #Americant?

    And one more thing. The man is beholden to Russian oligarchs and Putin. That’s clear. And when he finally wrecks everything, how will fascist US business interests, and all you cocksucking corporate automatons, all beholden to the failing mighty dollar, react then?

    Yeah. The ingredients are there and I’ve consolidated them quite well for you here. Share it with your fascists friends, if you like.

    But one more thing.

    Even though Trump is a moron he’s obviously studied the likes of Mussolini. Just watch one of Trump’s rallies. Mussolini rose to power in the same manner. Obviously, the American system is much more robust than that of Italy at the end of the 19th century but the similarities are there.

    And even one more thing about Jeff Sessions. Why was Sessions picked to run DOJ for a Trump presidency? Btw, have you been reading about Trump’s latest SCOTUS pick? With Sessions at DOJ and, in the near future, a possibly full fascist SCOTUS, i.e. the 3rd branch of government, who is gonna pay who when push comes to shove and the US House of Representatives is made impotent? Two out of three branches of government, baby!

    Shame your bubble can’t let you see that.

    And so.

    This is not a side show. You are in the middle of something that’s been going-on since the 80s, dude. And it’s being perpetrated by republicans. Be thankful that I’m so far out of your bubble to at least try and inform you.

    -Rant on

    T

    Links that motivated this post:

  • Paris Pic 2018

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    Dabbling in smartphone photography. Have no idear what I’m doing. Yet every once-a-once I nail it. Well, almost nail it. Street art from Spring 2018 Paris visit.

    -Rant on

    T

  • And Now: #Eurowasteland At Its Finest Or How I Learned To Aim It Right

    So. Like. About a year ago I was out and about on my beloved E-Bike and, as usual (at my age), I had to take a piss. Usually I find a secluded place among the urban trees but for reasons owned by men of my age bracket… when you gotta go you gotta fcuking go! And so. I found a relative off-street spot but it was aligned with a über-steel fence that enclosed the local water-works facility of D’dorf. Indeed. I knew that I might not be relieving myself in the best place, but like I worst-said… I had to go. Long story short. Some guy caught me at my business and while my (#Americant) Johnson was hanging out he decided to confront me and, only as a German can, give me the once-over regarding my choice of piss station. My first reaction was…

    Dude! Is you fcuking out of your fcuking mind? Never. Never. Never confront a comrade while his Johnson is dangling. Can’t you at least wait till I’m done? You fcuking cocksucking German piece of mother fcuking…

    And here, dear worst-reader, we enter the world of differences between the Germans and… and those who don’t want to be fcuking German. I think. Anywho. The guy was vehement about the fact that I probably broke a few German laws that afternoon. I indeed had pissed on a fence that housed the local water-works facility. My bad. Yeah. My bad.

    By-the-Buy, that’s NOT me in the pics above. It’s a pic I took this afternoon of some dude having his way with a local tree. When I came around the corner while walking Beckett, the killer Pug, I saw this guy pissing in the middle of… fcuking everything. Behind him is the Rhein; in front of him a fcuking restaurant. I walk along this path where he’s doing his bidness almost every fcuking day. When I take this pic (the second one is a blow-up) I’m standing at the exit of a park which is next to a restaurant and local hotel overlooking the Rhein. Should I have tried to photograph those on the terrace of the restaurant enjoying their meals… with this view?

    Ok. Ok. None of that matters. I would never be in this or any such situation in my beloved and missed #Americant. Reason? Well, there’s room to piss galore in land of free to be stupid–that gives way to the like of #Trump with with is piss woven hair.

    And on that note, I fcuking digress.

    -Rant on

    T

  • New Pug Breed? Tiger Lion Killer Pug.

    tiger lion pug.jpg
    Sorry for the blur. Still working on figuring out phone camera.

    As a pure black pug owner, seeing this guy really caught my eye the other day. According to his owner, he’s only three years old so the white/grey is very odd. He’s almost twice the size of my Pug–and mine is no Pug slouch. Although his facial features were almost perfect (for my standards), his body and tail were not quite right. That was probably due to his size. I’ve never seen a pug like him before. Very nice character, very friendly.

    -Rant on

    T

  • Things Like Doing

    counting suds progect.JPG

    For example. Count the suds.

    -Rant on

    T

  • Scenes From Yesterday’s Bike Tour

    Roof decorations on the northern most outskirts of Cologne.

    Cool.

    -Rant on

    T

  • Pseudo-Review #6: R&M Charger GX At 5000km And Humming Brakes From Hell

    Surpassed 5000km the other day on my beloved e-bike. As of May this year, it’s also just over a year old. Although I’ve met some who ride their bikes a lot more than worst-moi, I’m kinda tickled that I’ve been able to ride all these kilometres. With that in mind, perhaps it’s time to complain (or is it “rant”) a bit about this great bike.

    First: the frame (see pics above). As mentioned in Pseudo-Review #5, I was gallantly (sarcasm off) delivered a replacement frame under warranty due to a chip in the paint right in the middle of the top tube. A few weeks after ridng around with the new frame though, I noticed that the shop re-installed one of the handle bar cables in the wrong position. A few weeks of riding caused the cable to thoroughly abrase the head tube.  Well, don’t you know! The whole frame replacement ordeal for the cracked paint (which took almost eight months) was all for naught. Although I got rid of the obnoxious chip, I now have an obnoxious scratch. Wow. Competance hard to find, eh?

    Next: strange noises or humming brakes from hell. Although I tell people that I would buy this bike again and the main reason for that is the sheer quality it exemplifies, after a year of riding, it’s starting to show wear. This is most notible in noise. The seat, for example. Although I love this seat, it sqeeks and crackles something awful. The worst noise this bike makes, though, is a low humming sound coming from the rear disk brake.

    I had to the take the bike to a shop this spring because, after changing the rear tyre last fall, something went awry when I re-installed the tyre. For the life of me, I could not get the rear tyre properly aligned when re-installing it. I’m assuming this has something to do with the complex axil mount R&M uses on this frame design.

    Note: The Charger frame is special in that, unlike most bikes, the chain does not go through the frame–or the chain stay. This is in part why the axil mount for the rear wheel is so complex. As you can see in the pic above, the axil of the wheel is mounted to an adapter. The adapter is mounted to the frame. I’m assuming R&M chose this design to allow for choice in final drive solutions, especially belt drive systems which, unlike chains, require some form of frame separation to install. It’s a pretty ingenious design–if you can deal with the f’n humming brake noise that is, I’m guessing, caused by this complexity. But I digress.

    After the shop checked the rear wheel they told me that the problem wasn’t the alignment of the wheel but instead I had jarred the drums of the brake pads in the wrong direction when I removed the wheel. This caused one side of the brake drums to protrude further out than the other. Of course, this made no sense to me because I understand hydraulic brakes, brake pads, brake drums, calipers, etc. When I removed the rear wheel, I was careful not to squeeze the brake lever–or mess with the caliper. In fact, I didn’t go anywhere near the brake lever till I had re-installed the wheel. The bike mechanic said that they simply had to push the drums all the way back into the calipers. Ok. Fine. They charged me twenty Euros and sent me on my way. But! Did they fix the problem? No. The brake is still rubbing and humming–because I’ve given up on the whole thing. This also means I have to unnecessarily and prematurely replace brake pads.

    My worst-guess is that this is a two-fold problem and has to do with R&M frame design. There is simply not enough room for error or adjustment on the frame where the brake caliper is mounted. The complexity of the rear wheel mounts, derailleur, gears, hydraulic brake, etc., is also, IMHO, missing something. Unlike the front wheel, which has a through-axil, and requires no vertical or horizontal movement, the rear wheel, when removed, drops vertically. In this complex mounting situation there also needs to be some way to move the wheel horizontally if the brake caliper can no longer be adjusted. Needless to say, R&M have made something complex that should probably be a bit simpler. But on that note, I digress again.

    All in all, this is a fantastic bike and at this point I wouldn’t trade it for anything but a Stromer ST2 at half-price. (And even with such an offer I’d have to think twice.) I’m hoping that in time I’ll figure out some of the complexities of it on my own. Till then, humming and squeaking be damned.

    -Rant (and ride) on

    -T

  • May Screen-Agers Live Long And Prosper And Walk On The Corpse Of Old Scape-Goaters

    Email from an old friend:

    Hi Tom,

    Search: “SCREEN-AGERS Today’s Adolescent: Why Kindness is Missing” on … and watch the 1 hour 40 min video.

    Its a good summary that explains much of what is going on now in many aspects of US culture (and I emphasize US cause it’s the outlier nation in almost every way among “developed” nations).

    -Your old friend

    Short pause. I tried watching the video. Here my response:

    Dear old friend,

    Got through about first 5-7 minutes. Please! Please! Please. Video is awful and person speaking fits the mould of college grad behaviourist unable to come up with an original thought. Also. She is supposed to be an educated and trained specialist yet she has the vocal-burn of a teenager! As usual, without original thought, what you get from educated adults is: scapegoating. And this is scapegoating of a very special breed. What is this obsession with young people, btw? Why don’t you put more energy into analysing the behaviour of adults, the people in the cesspool of suburban and urban (insert your #Americant city here)? You should be more worried about people/adults that are dependent on dept, that are racist, that watch faux newz.

    The problem is not technology or internet or screens. The problem is young people can instinctively see through what adults are doing or have done. A young person’s brain is not corrupted yet by the $hitty environment older people are pushing (upon them). The brain stem—do some falsely refer to this as the reptile brain?–knows instinctively what’s going on in this environment. Because two if not three generations of #Americants have failed-upward in every aspect of their lives they have created an environment of blame (scapegoating) to avoid (their) reality—and it is shameful that it’s being thrown on young people. This is what happens when you can’t think creatively—and your personal and social growth is stunted well into adulthood. This is the environment that gives way to the filth-propaganda of faux newz, info wars with Alex Jones, and of course President Stupid.

    BTW. Where are the teenagers that are the cause of President Stupid?

    Obviously, young people are in trouble. Their reptile brain knows this. I can see this in Europe, as well. But technology is for most of them an outlet—just rock-n-roll was for us. Or maybe occupying the home phone chatting with friends while we were young. The social norms that kids have to deal with in schools these days is a huge problem. The cause of that problem is not a screen. So perhaps the norms that are dictated by wealth and greed of fail-upwards, mindless parents—NOT by technology or teenagers–should be the issue to address!

    -T

    -Rant on

  • The End Is Nigh Or Tech World Shouldn’t Be Allowed To Own EVERYTHING

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    Screenshot of ending/closing AWS account

    It’s finally over, dear worst-reader? Indeed. Not only have I been paying AWS something like $4 a month for the past year for services I had no idear if or how I was utilising, but I’ve even gotten rid of all those domains I wasn’t using that I bought so many years ago thinking I would go beyond worstwriter.com. I get it. I should pay for domains. But paying for “ec2 cloud synthetics” or “route53 surcharges” or or or! So I guess I’ll be saving some money in the near future. But that’s not what this cancellation is all about. I bit off more than I could chew thinking I could handle AWS and hosting my/this blog there. As stated in my previous post, there’s something wrong with a tech company that doesn’t really do anything except offer a platform where others can sell the stuff they do–but then this mediator-like platform is also trying to own everything having to do with the transaction. I mean that’s the gist of Bezos, Facebag & Co, etc., or? That there isn’t a law long since passed that declares my data and everything that I do on the #interwebnets as mine and only mine and only I can decide what is done with that/my data… Yeah, we live in those times. And everything that Amazon represents today is creepier than ever when it comes to data and the #interwebnets, baby. Anywho. The creepiest thing about AWS, i.e. Bezos’ backend of owning everything, is the worst of the worst when it comes to creepy. Not only does Bezos probably think that he can rule the world with his current stock price but he also thinks that by getting either individuals or organisations to utilise his fancy idear of re-selling the tech that he set up to create and maintain Amazon he can own more than the world. And I’ll have no part of it. The interface of AWS reminds me of Win95 regurgitated. The mass of tools available reminds me of a labyrinth of chaos where chaos isn’t needed. And even though AWS claims to offer a “free-tier”service, I couldn’t find it anywhere. But I suppose that’s how they get you–not unlike those subscription services of yore where you got a few music cassettes for free initially but were then liable to continuously  buy more. But I’m probably off subject. I found AWS waaaaay to complicated to use and the interface obnoxious. And Jeff Bezos, like so many other rich people in the world today, just gives me the creeps. I’ll have no part it, baby.

    -Rant on

    T

  • Something Little More Than Site Maintenance Or How AWS Might Be Comparable To GM Of Yore

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    Screenshot of moving fav domain.

    Freeing myself of the juggernaut of scavenger capitalism that’s finally, utterly, taken over tech industry? Indeed. Dear worst-reader. I’ve been worst-saying it for years. Or at least been worst-saying it since that short stint in the advertisement industry–so many years ago–where I had to explain the #interwebnets to a whole host of numb-nut corporate college grads that couldn’t fight their way out of a wet paper bag. Oh what am I saying? I finally got around to moving my domain to a better place. Or at least I’ve moved it to a better place. At the least, I’m already relieved that I, in the near future, I’ll be cancelling my AWS account. Yeah, baby. Pretty scary stuff what Bezos & Co. have/can come up with while scraping the barrel.  Anywho. I’m sure Jeff Bezos & Co. are all a grand horde of nice people, once you get around their Dr. Evil, Data (as in Star Trek NG)–looks. It’s just that, well, I gave AWS a try but found it to be an astonishingly ugly tech environment that in its totality completely feeds off the creativity of others–in the purest form of exploitation I’ve seen yet. And to think that enterprises completely rely on Bezos for the their tech infrastructure! Scary. Scary. Scary. Yes. That’s where much of the tech world is today. Exploit. Exploit. Exploit. Forget creativity. Scary. Forget indeed. Or just check out Facebag & Co. In fact, I’d go so far as to worst-write that AWS might be comparable to what GM was when it consolidated the auto industry so so so many years ago. You know, Buick, Chevrolet, Pontiac used to be their own companies. Oldsmobile, too. (Anyone remember that one?) Yes, AWS is the GM of tech industry. Now remember that when the Government bails out AWS in the future. Let’s just worst-hope that there’s at least a Ford somewhere in tech industry that gives us another choice. (That’s right. When my mother had to buy a new car a few years back, I made sure it wasn’t anything from GM. Reason? GM was bailed out (by Barry-O) but Ford wasn’t.)

    But I digress.

    -Rant on

    T

  • Worst-Recipe: Ravioli With Ricotta Mint Lemon Zest, Slightly Burnt

    Subtitle of this post: Or How To Fix, Make Delish, Your Kitchen Screw-Up.

    There are many recipes like this on the interwebnets. Good luck finding one with slightly burned butter, though.

    Ingredients (approximate):

    • Flat pasta, preferably fresh made the night before
    • 200g Ricotta
    • Mint leaves
    • Lemon
    • Olive oil
    • Butter
    • Parmesan

    How To:

    While I rolled the pasta with our trusty machine, better half whipped up the ricotta. Just put it in a bowl and add chopped mint leaves. Before slicing lemon to get to the juice, remove yellow (only) from skin (the white under the skin is bitter!) and put finely chopped pieces into the Ricotta. Then slice your lemon and squeeze one half into the mix. Add some fresh, shaven parmesan and then salt and pepper. Mix well.

    Once pasta is rolled, flattened, circles are cut-out, lay on ravioli cutter and using a finger dipped in water, slightly moisten around the edge. Fill with a teaspoon of ricotta and fold over. The moistened edge helps the pasta stay together. Pamper with some flower and set aside on a cloth.

    Btw, due to the circular nature of the noodle cut-outs, there will be some remaining pasta. Run it through the machine and then cut into strips and put aside to dry. Use this left-over pasta within the next few days for lunch. Just boil it in salty water and when “Adante” cover with some olive oil, salt and pepper and parmesan. Delish, baby.

    Once your ravioli is done, cook them for about five or so minutes in boiling, salted water. While doing that, heat up a pan with a good, thick layer of olive oil. Add a heap of butter and then mix-in whole mint leaves. Although the olive oil should prevent the butter from scorching, I was trying out my gas burner on my grill and set the heat too high. The butter burnt quickly. Luckily I caught it before it burnt too bad and just threw in some of the “pasta-water” from the pot to calm things down. But the damage was done. Oh well.

    Once the mint leaves in the pan have softened, add a bunch of ravioli. Mix and flip till the ravioli is covered with the oil and butter sauce. Salt and pepper and let simmer for about a minute. Then add some fresh parmesan. Mix and flip more. Done. Plate it with more parmesan and pepper if needed.

    Although we were in a bit of hurry this evening and I obviously rushed things, the slightly (butter) burnt ravioli was fantastic. The mix of mint and lemon inside the noodles is both refreshing and enticing as it all burst open while chewing and mixes with the oil and butter sauce.

    Rant (and worst-cook) on, baby.

    -T

  • Trying The Mirror This Evening But How Many Directions Can One Turn Away Away And Again Away?

     

    Had about enough with #MAGA again again today. That means I spent a few hours reading the newz of my beloved & missed #Americant. I’m not sure if my interest in newz has peaked on account of #Trump or if I’m just having one of those feel-sorry for myself evenings on account I can’t find a way to get back home. Indeed. So much is the humour and taxation of being worst-writer, the unwilling expatriate. But before I get too far off subject.

    Even though I own the DVD, I haven’t actually watched it. 1984 (the film), that is. I mean. Wait. I’ve seen the movie. I think I’ve seen twice. Yes. Definitely twice. There might have been a third viewing here or there but I also recall that one would have included banging some bimbo so I probably didn’t watch it to the end. But once again, I’m off subject.

    Here’s the thing, dear worst-reader. I got through about five minutes of the beginning of the movie. The beginning of the film with all those automatons as the audience of a propaganda rally was just too much for me. I short circuited. Indeed. #Trump and what has happened to my beloved #Americant has got me riled. Or have you not seen video of his rallies? But that doesn’t matter either. The thing to remember in this worst-post is that I simply can’t take it anymore. The whole dystopia thing that is obviously taking over my mind’s eyes.

    Or am I wrong?

    Nomatter.

    -Rant on.

    -T

  • How You Know You’re A Conservative, Especially If You Think You’re Not

     

    There is a reason in my beloved & missed #Americant there are so many shows on brain-dead TV that make fun of conservatives. You know, The Daily Show, Samantha Bee, pretty much everything on Comedy Central and, of course, Stephen Colbert. The most obvious thing to keep in mind, though, is that conservatives, especially compared to liberals, are just easy to make fun of. Does that mean that Hillary isn’t easy to laugh at? Maybe. Conservatives–and I mean all conservatives–simply have a price to pay for their greed-mongering, for their bigotry, the hypocrisy. They deserve in the least to be made fun of–especially since they’ve won at everything else for the past thirty yrs. Seriously. The best joke a conservative mind can come up with is: three Hillarys walk into a bar where there’s an email server, Benghazi and a blue dress stained with the same sticky stuff that keeps #Trumps hair….

    But I digress.

    Beyond the funny stuff, the political $hit liberals do–at least in the past thirty or so years–hasn’t been about propping up rich people (although I’ll agree that certain aspects of that is arguable, especially considering Blue-Dogs and neo-liberals), wars-of-choice or religious nuttery that goes beyond the extreme bat$hit humanity tried to purge itself of with things like, gee, I don’t know… The fcuking enlightenment. Anywho.

    I’ve been worst-thinking lately about what makes a conservative and how you can tell someone is, in their heart of hearts, conservative. The problem I’m having reaching any conclusion though is that I’m not smart enough to figure it all out. You know, empirical study; analysing/figuring $hit out like a professor would, etc. I’m sure a philosopher somewhere has touched upon the issue. I’m obviously far from discovering that piece of work, though. So I’m just gonna go with my prejudices here in reaching my own worst-conclusion. That’s right, I’m prejudice against conservatives and conservatism. One of the main reasons for that is how it’s all become so obvious that conservatism (of late) has embraced certain aspects of political extremism that, at best, borders on fascism. Beyond all the other uglies they espouse, a really bad part of being a fascist or a conservative is that these people simply are not funny. Nor do they know how to take a joke.

    So let me cut to the chase. The pics above are examples of how you can tell if someone is a conservative–even if they say they aren’t. Just look at the pictures. If they/you laugh or giggle at the pics they/you are a conservative (in your heart of hearts). This little experiment also includes, buy-the-by, libertarians and Blue-Dog Democrats, i.e. neo-liberals. FYI. Libertarians, IMHO, are nothing more than republicans without any balls. Blue-Dogs and neo-liberals are cocksucking corporatists that haven’t yet seen the light about what it is they do–i.e. pawn of the piper–in order to make a living (on the backs of others). And so.

    You are a conservative if you find the pics above in any way humorous. The reason for that is easy: the pictures depict something that is not only true but not twisted enough to be comical. For example, #Trump treats #Americants like children doing yard work (and #Americants obviously like it that way). The reality of the pic, though, which the motif subverts, is too deep for a conservative mind to actually grasp. And so… A conservative will giggle at #Trump bullying a little boy and his lawnmower. Whereas someone with a mind, with intellect, will see the picture for what it is: the truth.

    Women, so many of whom enabled #Trump irregardless of his locker-room banter, drink the tears of liberals while sunbathing in their own grab them by the pu$$y swimwear. Which is fine as long as some other woman’s pu$$y is being grabbed. And while I’m on the subject, why isn’t there a pu$$yhat protest everyday in #Americant? Why aren’t stars from hollywood, especially the hot ones, boycotting the moneyed interests of movie makers who are benefitting from the mindless tax cuts for the rich that President Stupid dished out and that only adds to what has to be paid for by others in the future?

    Only an a$$hole can in anyway believe that #Trump was some kind of protest against the establishment. If #Trump has proved anything about who and what he really is, he is a great–if not the greatest–conman the united mistakes of #Americant has ever seen. There is a whole country of a$$holes that have fallen for his con.

    And then there’s the grand painting of #Trump and (his) stubby. Although the portrait is humorous in its clarity and uniqueness, it is so real that one can only scream in absolute horror–unless you’re a conservative–which means you’ll either shun it or giggle at it. And so. Here is President Stupid of the greatest land ever of Free To Be Stupid in all his/its glory.

    Good luck suckers.

    -Rant on

    -T

    PS Another way to know if you’re conservative is if words like millennial, LGBTQ, borders, immigrants, PC or political correctness, liberal this or liberal that, etc., etc., appear in the news you’re consuming. And although I think those words are important, be careful who is writing/saying them. It’s usually someone full of lots of uglies on account them words ain’t the issue(s).

  • Blut Und Boden Or If You’re A Good Boy You Can Have All The Pu$$y You Want

    Screen Shot 2018-06-20 at 06.52.37
    Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8402204; FYI I did edit the pic a bit removing the disgusting swastika and nazi stuff. You’re welcome.

    Well, dear worst-reader. I got five years. It’s been a long time since my expat host country offered me five. For the past ten or twelve years (about half my total stay so far), it’s always been a two year visa. “Two years and let’s see how things go,” some automaton sitting behind an ugly office government desk would say. Indeed. Of course there was a time when I was offered a ten year visa. And then there was the time I was offered citizenship. But I laughed when they offered citizenship. Reason? Because of the unrein  (impure) nature of my existence, i.e. born of a half-breed American male serving in the US Navy and a German fräulein, I don’t have the right Blood and Soil (Blut und Boden) combination and therefore am punished (for something I never had control over) by not being allowed to have duel citizenship. Hence I can have citizenship but only if I give up my American citizenship. “Is you stupid,” I said to the automaton working behind the ugly government desk that made the ridiculous offer. “Why the fcuk-you would I want to give up citizenship from the greatest country in the world to have citizenship from some two-bit #Eurowasteland country that is still stuck in the 18th century–even though you guys make great cars?”

    Fcuk you, Germany!

    Anywho. As far as the ten year visa offer went, they saw that my home country passport was expiring and told me that I’d have to get a new visa anyway if/when my passport expired within their ten year visa period. So whenever they ask I usually just say: make it for two years you cock $ucking mutterficker–and while you’re at it don’t forget how I assimilated in this $hithole country long before #Trump & Co called out all $hithole countries. You’re fcuking welcome, biatch. And then I added a final remark about how they don’t deserve me anyway. If the automaton had a bit of pre-school English then we both giggled and continued looking away from each other. If he (or she) understood me fully, then he (or she) closed up, we remained silent for the rest of the process until he (or she) dished out… my fcuking papers.

    But hey! Have no fear, dear worst-reader. The other morning, the stars were aligned. The moon is in the eye of Jupiter and my passport has another ten years till expiration. And so. I have been granted a five year visa.

    Fcuk you, Germany!

    Pause. Breath.

    “Would you like a permanent residence visa,” I was asked.

    “Why,” I retorted.

    “No. That won’t work either,” the automaton said, correcting himself. Then he added after looking in my passport and pointing it out to me, “But I see you’re passport expires in 2025. There is no time for ten year visa. Basta, ja.”

    “Dude, just make it two years. I really don’t give a flying rats-a$$ fcuk.”

    “Yes. Ok, then. We’ll make it five,” he said. And we didn’t giggle.

    Whoppp-dee-fcuking-do!

    And so was my Monday morning this week. I had pranced up to the hideous bureaucrat facilities behind the train station and waddled my way through a crowd of refugees galore. Although I thought I had prepared myself with all the required paperwork–which amounts to nothing more than proving I have the financial means to not be dependent on The State–along with my US passport, of course, I did forget one thing. A new biometric photo.

    worstwriter angry or not
    Say, Germany, do I look like a give a fcuk?

    So I trekked across the campus behind the D’dorf train station to a pastry shop nearby where I bought a cup of black coffee. I only did this because no one would/could provide me the proper change for a 50,-€ bill. Usually I never carry bills under €100. The biometric photo machine only takes exact change, or 7,-€, and the nearby change-machine doesn’t take bills higher than 20,-€. The line to use one of the two photo machines was long but it looked like it was moving.

    Yeah. Bureaucracy and the poor, baby.

    Once I got the proper change–and the coffee–I headed back to the refugee facility to see what bureaucracy awaited me next. Of course, I realised I don’t drink cheap coffee so when I passed a security guard in a bright yellow jacket–of which there were many–I asked him if he’d like a cup of coffee and handed him the fresh cup. I told him it was untouched and I only got it to get change. He spoke a broken form of Bulgarian German (or something like that) and thanked me, accepting the coffee as though someone was doing something nice for him. I assure you, dear worst-reader, that someone wasn’t/isn’t me.

    IMG_4570.jpg
    Yellow mark-down is what I mis-read. Actually, the truth is, I never read this shit in this first place. Still, it does say I have to provide a current photo–which I eventually did after buying a security guard protecting Germans from a horde of refugees in the direct vicinity.

    Since I usually don’t pay much attention to German bureaucracy, I missed the part in the instructions I was sent that required me to bring a new photo. Hell, check out that list of krapp they want me to bring along. Look at all that stuff! Are the refugees Germany is taking in from #Americant middle-eastern war zones required to bring that much stuff, too? Oh wait. I wonder where all those people struggling on boats in the middle of the Mediterranean are able to get a “Schulbescheinigung” (proof of education) or “Mietvertrag” (rental contract). Oh wait (again). Most of the stuff I’m required to show has to do with money–not with wars of choice that Germany and, of course, #Eurowasteland has profited from over the past twenty (or so) years.

    Ok. Based on that last worst-remark about Germany profiting from mid-east wars, let me say this: I stand by it. In fact, the whole of #Eurowasteland has had numerous chances to stand up for the weak and oppressed of this world–that’s right, even by calling-out the US for it’s wars of choice–but it has done NOTHING accept promote a world of consuming to survive hidden behind the hideous filter of its past. The Continent is once again preoccupied with the greed $hitshow of nativism, tribalism and its reawakening of old-time aristocracies reminiscent of pre-WWI. That’s why I have no issue–like so many Germans do–with all the refugees being taken in. In a way, I’m one of them. And please don’t mistake that last sentence for me equating my situation whole heartily with theirs. And so goes the $hitshow of first, second and third world refugees all coming together in a country of automatons and corporatists that, in the event it’s required, couldn’t find their way out of a wet paper bag.

    On the other hand, taking in millions of refugees is the only thing Euro greed-mongers can do in answer to #Americant’s wars-of-choice. This is of course how Europe supports those wars! And no matter how you view it, it is a sad state of affairs, especially in Germany right now. I really feel awful for all those naive refugees that the pseudo-rich Germans are taking in. The facility that processed me as a foreigner the other day was packed to the hilt with people who are clueless to what awaits them–and their children. And let me tell you, it ain’t pretty. Even though they have made it out of extreme poverty, war-zones-galore or the humiliation of dictators, by coming to Europe they will be regulated to a state of 2nd or 3rd class citizenry that they will NEVER be able to overcome. The Germans, and other Europeans, will never accept the influx of these people who, sad to say, look quite different than the average (especially northern) European. For if I’ve learned anything after twenty-plus years of living in a part of the world where collective greed was invented, it’s this: Blut und Boden is all that’s left. Unless, of course, you can get a bank to finance a fancy car or afford regular trips to Mallorca for a get-away. Yeah, that’s what refugees are after. (Sarcasm off.)

    As usual, I’m off subject. This was supposed to be a post about worst-writer, aka Tom Stough, acquiring permission to live legally five more years in the old country–that he can’t get out of. And although I should be happy about it (I guess), I am instead furious. And the only thing that comes to my worst-mind right now is… Blut und Boden and how Germans, French, and yes, even the British, are obsessed with it. Btw, anyone out there in worst-writer land remember Blut und Boden? It was used vividly (in English) during the Charlottsville, VA, antics where #Americants tried to promote their greed mongering ignorance only, in the end, to slip and slide down that fun-game of racism #Trump & Co. have made dinner table talk once again. Welcome back to 1968, my beloved #Americant.

    I wish all those refugees that I was in the middle of the other day a better life than what they left to get to $hithole Germany. Heck, I even wish them better and more luck than I had. They’re gonna need it.

    -Rant on

    -T

    PS The second part of the title of this worst-post kinda reflects that only thing the Germans really have to offer. But I digress.

  • The Great Reconciliation Undo Or How Bubbha Missed The Blue Dress On His Second Go Round

    thebluedress

    Disclaimer 1: This post NSFW (for slight reference to certain sex stuff).

    Disclaimer 2: “Bubbha” is nickname given Bill Clinton.

    There was a moment while listening to Bill Clinton bat an eye when the interviewer asked (out of the blue) about his grand past where I didn’t know whether to LMAO or LOL. But then, suddenly, Clinton’s whiteness was taking a turn for the worst: bright red was beginning to shine through that pickled and scarred bulbous nose.

    Wait! When did he get a nose job, I asked my worst-self.

    That’s when you know something is up, eh, dear worst-reader. I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen that Clinton red nose before. Anyone who lived through this man making blowjobs dinner table talk in my beloved & missed #Americant should know it, too. In fact, I’d fare to say it’s almost like a new fangled disease and Bill Clinton is the originator.

    The angry red nose of über white people disease.

    But before I get too far off subject.

    What is the cause of Bill Clinton’s nose turning red during a simple interview where he’s actually trying to sell a book he co-wrote with a famous novelist? This nose-phenomenon is not totally unknown to many out there in the world. Reason? The cause of it is either severe embarrassment or less severe anger that begins and ends with… how blood is circulated through the male body. For some, the red nose of über white people disease is an everyday event. Your arteries begin to harden and the pressure in your veins increases. Who can tell what really goes on in the breathing carcass of #Americant males but I can only worst-guess it is akin to other human endeavours, albeit with less socially negative results. With that in mind, let’s get on with the sex, shall we?

    Would I be amiss if I didn’t mention sex in a worst-post that tries to deal with Bill “Bubbha” Clinton? I mean, cum on (her) already. And while there, I’ve admitted that he’s probably the greatest politician of the 20th century. And ain’t that how this whole thing got started? I mean, other than…

    blue dress yes, swallow no

    Imagine with me, dear worst-reader, how the whole ordeal came to be. For example, I’m now wondering if, not forgetting the cigar, she invited him in the hallway between the White House offices or if he told her:

    Wait. I can’t cum in here, he said.

    And I can’t swallow, she said.

    In the hallway, then, he commanded and chiefed. And then he added with his zipper down, I can cum on you in the hallway if you don’t swallow.

    Indeed. That’s how it came be. I mean, how was it back in the day when we (I) could make things work–down there–at the push of a popped blouse button or the sight of a blue dress. In fact, that last time I took the blue pill I immediately felt the constriction taking place in my non-Cuban little friend. It is indeed a constriction not unlike anger–or, perhaps, embarrassment–and it boils through your body seeking release. This, by-the-buy, is the difference between male and female, don’t you know. Is that, btw, what saves her (in the end)? Is that what keeps humanity’s head–as in give it–all about #metoo swallow or #metoo not swallow? Just blow your goo on my dress?

    Ok. Enough worst-sex.

    I’m pissed that Bill Clinton is back in the news and this is the only thing that can be talked about. I’m also pissed because he’s back in the news for having co-wrote a novel–which is code for somebody else writing it and he’s putting his name on it and he’ll probably get most of the proceeds from it, etc. Will I read the novel? Of course not. Will I read a review about it? Seems kind of inevitable.

    Spoiler alert: It seems to suck, btw.

    And yet this ageing and dilapidated white man with ugly bulbous orifice protruding red nose, the single white man that ushered in the era of GOP batt$hittery, is all over the news and he’s not there to be a politician.

    Go the fcuk away Clintons!

    Bill Clinton lost his $hit the other day when a reporter, IMHO, asked the wrong question about an issue that has nothing to do with the current issue that motivated the question: i.e. the #metoo movement. Obviously, in a world of so-called fake news–it wouldn’t be fake if it weren’t for the likes of Bill Clinton. But this reminded me of everything that is not only bad but also rotten in my beloved #Americant. And it’s all starting to get on my nerves. I mean, how much longer are we gonna have to live with what Bill Clinton, his corporate, neoliberal ways, and the fact they, in large part, ushered in #Trump & Co.? Is Clinton and his Frankenstein Monster (the GOP) gonna be around forever battling each other with pitchforks, shovels and tiki torches that spew cum all over us? I mean, since he started the whole thing, wouldn’t it also be appropriate if he, somehow, ended it? You know, the ending of his association, through GOP-means, the bull$hit #metoo thing? Or. Maybe. Nothing will/can change because of a belated apology to #Americants and their blue-dress obsession queen. Or can it?

    Within a few moments after the compelling worst-question Clinton faced, the first thing I thought about was why/how the reporter could attach what Bill Clinton did with/to Monica Lewinsky with the (über) current #metoo movement that’s moved the world because of another president, specifically President Stupid (#Trump), and his entry into the political BJ realm that is GOP (post Reagan) afterbirth.

    Wait, I thought. Is there a connection between the consensual activities of Lewinsky/Clinton and the non-consensual activities of Harvey Weinstein & Co.?

    After a brief discussion with my better half and a few hours of contemplative worst-thought, I eventually reached an inner consensus. At least I think I reached a consensus. This whole issue is not confusing (to me) because I cannot figure out what abuse is. Instead, this is about how to do deal with power? And so. The question asked of Bill Clinton that initially appealed to male sympathies tucked not deep enough in my worst-psyche, is a legitimate question. In the end, though, it’s not about whether Bubbha (Bill) Clinton apologised for consensual misbehaviour with Ms. Lewinsky. Instead it is about whether or not a man of power abused that power. In Clinton’s case it was clear abuse of power–irrespective of Lewinsky’s consent. And then my wife ended the whole issue in my worst-mind with this: He should have just said no.

    -Rant on

    -T

    Link that motivated this post:

  • Apple v Pi Or How I Slowly Got My Computing Future On

    I tried to become a watch-nut once. Not a real watch-nut, mind you. Of course not. A real watch-nut spends lots of money on watches. Heck, I don’t even like money. Anywho. A watch-nut knows what a complication is. In fact, that’s the only thing that made watches interesting to me. The simpler the complications, the better the watch. That’s why for years I wore a cheap, mechanical watch that within a twenty-four hour period lost at least two minutes of time. But it was a cool watch. Every morning I had to get up and wind it. Which brings me to the worst-subject of the day. As in super expensive and it works or something quite a bit cheaper and maybe, well, it loses two minutes of time a day. You in, dear worst-reader?

    As you can see in the confused pics above, I consumed Apple’s #WWDC2018 the other day. Already dislocated from expectations, I was, as usual, disappointed in the show. Long worst-writer, pseudo-technologist, story short: #Apple sucks. The only consolation, as an Apple user, is that Apple will remain the best of the worst for the foreseeable future. That said, I’m not ready to fully go elsewhere for my personal computing needs. Or maybe I am. I’m especially not ready to go iOS. That’s for sure. And that’s what I got out of this year’s WWDC. In other words, if you’re an old-school Mac user like me, it’s probably time to move on or at least get ready to move over rover. That means, iOS is definitely gonna take over fairly soon. And even though the guy with the funny hair and plastic look (pic above of the iPad) claimed that there will be no merge of iOS and MacOS, I don’t believe him. Well, I kinda believe him. I mean, look at him. Compare him to the slimy, filthy ashtray that I refuse to clean behind him. The duschbags running Apple these days are definitely earning their weight in bull$hit. And that’s coming from a guy who has nothing but Apple products in his digital life. Aghast!

    In order to prepare myself for the future I’ve been experimenting with what I consider the only true innovation in personal computing hardware in the past twenty years. And when I say personal computing I mean old school stuff as in a keyboard, a monitor and where necessary a mouse. And it doesn’t stop there. I’m also old school because I believe that when I buy a computer, what I do with it after purchase is all up to me. With that in mind, the thing I hate most about iOS and the direction computers are going is the touch screen interface and the fact that that it has exponentially increased the distance between human and the computer and device. Wow. I bet that’s worth a worst-thought or three, eh? Anywho.

    Now don’t get me wrong, dear worst-reader. I’m not afraid of change. It’s just that I really do hate tablets. Nomatter how bright, clear and shinny they make those screens, for me there is something awfully wrong with my finger tips hitting a piece of hardened glass in order to interact with the/my digital world. Add to that the closed eco-system these new devices have ushered in to personal computing… at the behest of greed mongering corporations…

    The thing to remember to keep in mind while reading this worst-post, dear worst-reader, is that nomatter what Apple does, worst-writer ain’t going to move to tablet computing anytime soon. In fact, so far, it looks like they’re gonna have to pry my dreams of old-school personal computing way of life out of my cold, dead, nightmare hands.

    And so…

    IMHO the most innovative personal computing product in years is the Raspberry Pi. Since its introduction as a code learning device for young people it has become a viable and versatile computer that has no rivals other than other single board computers, although it’s not quite ready to replace desktop computers. (But it is almost there.) And get this! It costs just under less than 40,-€.  Depending upon use and purpose, total cost of this device is around 100,-€, and that includes audio-boards, power supply and micro-sd cards. Considering what I’ve paid over the years for inevitably obsolete Apple products, that’s pretty impressive. FYI, I currently have three Raspberry Pi’s in full-time use in my house. And there’s this thought: I’m using R-Pis more than any of my Apple digital devices combined, except, maybe, my MacBook. In other worst-words, I’ve replaced what could have been Apple purchases–if Apple weren’t run by duschbags!–with some serious household cost-cutting purchases.

    Enough worst-writer anger, though, eh.

    One Pi is a Plex media client that has replaced one of my AppleTVs. It’s only a matter of time before another Pi replaces the other AppleTV. My second Pi is an audio streaming device using Volumio and a Hifiberry audio-board. It has 1) replaced iTunes for streaming music in our living room and kitchen and 2) will prevent us from having to buy any of those stupid little speaker thingies everybody and joe is pushing onto the music listening market. Sorry. Let me just put this out there:

    Apple HomePod + iTunes + Apple Music + blah blah blah = fcuk you Apple.

    That’s right. Finally. I can play my FLAC formatted music collection in its purest form–and with real air-moving speakers. Amen, brother.

    The third Pi is the latest device available, the 3B+, and because it has increased ethernet capacity–although still via a bottlenecking USB 2.0 bus–I’ve been testing it as a NAS (network attached storage). Other than a few twerks and quirks here and there, these Pi’s work great and are slowly but surely proving themselves as alternatives to my ageing Apple home infrastructure and, more importantly, my unwillingness to accept Apple’s monopolisation of everything.

    On that note, a few words about NAS on the cheap.

    As you can see in the large pic above, I’m using a 2010 MacPro as a headless server. In fact, I’ve been using it for almost ten years. It’s where all of my household data is stored and backed-up. Of course, I know it’s time is limited, especially considering what Apple is doing with MacOS. It’s currently running El Capitan and I’m not even gonna bother with Sierra or High Sierra for it or any other OS. What I’d really like to do with it is stop wasting it as a over-energy-consumptive server and re-install Snow Leopard on it and just use it as a awesome desktop computer. Any by-the-buy, the newest MacOS just released, Mojave, won’t run on it at all. Indeed. More obsoletism. And for those interested, I don’t favour going the commercial NAS route i.e. Synology & Co. on account they are just an added complication in something that should be simple, where do I go in the future with my home digital needs they all seem like over priced and over complicated un-neccessities.

    The fact that I have to even ask such a question is proof enough that there’s something seriously wrong with the world–or at least Apple’s and its, what I consider, corporate dysfunction. And perhaps this relates to my silly little watch analogy at the beginning of this post because when I heard that the latest Raspberry Pi had increased ethernet speed, albeit not quite gigabyte, I thought it finally time to take the plunge. Indeed. NAS here I cometh–even if you’re off two minutes each day!

    Conclusion after about a month of Raspberry Pi NAS testing?

    It works but…

    Using OpenMediaVault, a 32GB micro-sd card, and a dedicated 5v-3amp micro-USB power supply, and, of course, numerous available HDDs I’ve got lying around–including really, really old USB 2.0 cases–my new cheap NAS is a go-go works great so far. Currently occupying two USB (out of 4) ports I have an old 750GB HDD in a single case that is dedicated to audio. Another dual HDD case that has hardware enabled RAID-0 case and 2x3TB drives in it, gives me a total of 6TB as an experimental backup server. I’m using testing the big drive for shares where I’ll be copying most of what’s on the MacPro to it as an alternative to the MacPro. Btw, the MacPro is a great server but it is obviously wasted in this role. Also, I’m not able to connect any of the Raspberry Pi’s to it unless via a Plex server. Something about Linux file systems and Mac files system not getting along, don’t you know. Anywho.

    Hiccups so far mostly occur when I stream music and perform large data transfers. The Pi just doesn’t have enough ethernet/USB to make it all happen. For example. Copying my movie collection, which is about 1.5TB of data, from my MacPro to the big NAS share, the Pi then cannot deliver audio files at the same time. This screws up Volumio quite a bit and has required more than a few restarts and a few frustrating evenings where I was attempting to enjoy music. I’m assuming that these hiccups will decrease once I get all my music, movie and photos copied to the NAS, which is about 4TB total and will take a few days at current i/o bus speeds. And to think I’ve still got two more USB ports on the Pi for more drives… Cool.

    Update two days later: All big files have been copied and I’ve had no hiccups with Volumio anymore. Über cool!

    In worst-conclusion: So far I’m pleased with the time and effort required to get these Pi’s doing what I want working. And that’s the ticket, along with the price, if anyone wants to free themselves from monopolisation and corporate dysfunction galore. Of course there is a learning curve here. And even though there are forums out there and what feels like a large user base, the Raspberry Pi is not at all like any of the devices that I’m replacing. Obviously AppleTVs worked from the point-of-purchase until Apple makes them obsolete. So I’ve had to do a bit of research, reading and fiddling to get these Raspberry Pi’s to work. Then again, listening to Beethoven through real speakers in FLAC at 24bit streamed from a tiny server in my basement to a device that is hidden, tucked behind books on book shelf in my living room… Fcuk yeah! There is some wow going on in my audio listening pleasure zone, baby. And so. Good ridden monopoly Apple. Hope you choke on your duschbaggery and greed.

    Rant on.

    -T

    PS As far as the two other pictures included in this post, you’re guess is a good as mine. The one with the runners is kinda cool and reminds somehow of Apple’s dysfunction. Yeah, that kid running along the group looks like he’s trying to keep up with his daddy or stop his daddy from running away from his mommy, which is most likely, considering #eurowasteland greed mongering, inevitable. The picture of the smoke stack is Apple, too. Yeah, it’s gotten that big and fat and in the way of seeing a horizon.

  • The Collusion Illusion Mudpie And Other Ingredients Of The Land Of Free To Be Stupid Cake

    Subtitle: Thoughts on recent email exchange with an old friend.

    I do not think Trump’s collusion with Russia was about his wanting to be president. It was, though, about the next level of dirty-pool conservatives are willing to play and/or tolerate in order to maintain the(ir) greed $hit show. The greed $hit show, by-the-buy, is what conservatives have been cultivating since Ronald Reagan. Obviously there are multitudes of #Americants that have fallen into a state of über-delusion here, not only for President Stupid and his antics, but also for what it is that Conservatism really represent. Indeed. Sucker born every minute? Americans all are just millionaires down on their luck. Get rich quick, baby. Etc.

    And that’s all fine and well. I mean, I managed to get out of the greed $hit show while it was in infancy. And to be honest, even I am surprised at how it’s all developed in both a Orwellian and Huxley way. Which brings me directly to my forever next favourite rant when it comes to #Americant political chaos.

    Did you know, dear worst-reader, that #Trump is not upholding and protecting the constitution? I mean, other than pardons and legislative veto, it’s really the only f’n job of the President. But then again, considering the state of #Americant, its lust for reality TV, WWE and, of course, money money money, is anyone really surprised at the state of democracy and the political abomination that it has mustered? With that in mind, after a recent exchange with an old friend (who is a closeted conservative that thinks gallivanting with liberals is something cool), the issue of the current Trump investigation and his collusion with Russians has gotten under my gander.

    Above and beyond collusion with Russians regarding the 2016 election, here are the main things that President Stupid is doing in order to further not only his personal get-rich off of suckers presidency but also furthering the Republican greed $hit show galore–and reason enough to investigate the orange, ugly haired, abomination that is President Stupid. My only regret after all this will eventually end is that all the dumba$$ #Americants that enabled this, will walk scott-free enjoying Stupid-Cake forevermore. Or will they?

    • 14th Amendment (citizenship and guarantee of protection under the law)
    • 12th Amendment (the popular vote v. electoral college)
    • 1st Amendment (free speech and religion)
    • 5th Amendment (due process under the law; worst-writer is not sure about this one yet but I’m working on it)
    • Emolument clause (enrichment through his various businesses, family connections, etc.)
    • Pardons (there is a pattern of who is being pardoned)

    The constitution was never meant to be an agenda platform, yet conservatives are doing their best to make it just that. I mean, do Angel Gabriel trumpets go off in your inner ear when conservatives and republicans–or #MAGA again again $hitkickers from the flyover states–claim free speech when neo-nazis, racists or religious bigots try to claim foul play when their voices are curbed? Or have you forgotten Charlottsville, VA. and President Stupid’s reaction to it? Or how about watching him speak at one of his so-called rallies? The way this man addresses a horde of mongrel-like automatons all dressed in Walmart made-in-china I’m With Stupid t-shirts has to be Joseph Goebbels’ well-timed grand wet dream. Combine a man like #Trump with the tentacles of the Republican Party and a pretty ugly, history-repeating political machine, I’m worst-guessing a pattern is beginning to emerge.

    With that in mind, I have to give credit where it is due. Conservatives have been playing this/their dirty-pool game quite well for quite some time, especially since Ronald Reagan. (That’s right. Nixon didn’t play it well. But that’s a whole nother worst post.) Not only gerrymandering, politics in churches, and of course the projected (as in Freudian projection) of “liberal media” has served this dirty rotten wet-dream game well. All of that, to me, is really why Hillary and Dems lost and are still losing. Dems, as corruptible as they or may not be, just can’t play the $hit show like republicans can. (Heck, as far as I’m concerned, that’s reason enough to never vote anything conservative.) It’s also the reason I resort to generalising all forms of Stupid to explain everything American now, i.e. #Americant. A huuuuuge number of brain washed Americans (The Stupid; #Americants) are oblivious to the manipulation they face every day. But I suppose that would be the hardest thing to convince them of as I can so easily see it being such a far-fetched expat, stilted upon a pedestal of viewing the whole $hit show from thirty-thousand feet, albeit with a huuuuuge telescope to assist my view.

    Fail upwards and all will be well.

    #MAGA again again. Etc.

    Of course, trying to get dirt on Hillary and/or simply making deals, positioning himself to make deals, etc., is what President Stupid (of land of free to be stupid) is all about. Or? And hey, good for him. Good for all you moneyed, greed-mongers. For your payday has come to pass. Yeah, baby. Trump is your payday and I can’t think of anything or anyone more deserving. But before I get too far off this worst-subject…

    One of the things that really gets under my skin is how my beloved & missed #Americant has lost touch with liberalism. To me, liberalism is what made America great in the first place. It wasn’t industrialisation, it wasn’t the stock market, it most certainly wasn’t bluejeans, iPhones or the Wright Brothers. No. Liberalism, which is the only political connection to freedom, is why and how America came to be. And yet currently it is in a state of demonisation. So it’s no wonder that a worst-mind like mine can only refer to something that was once so cool as The Land Of Free To Be Stupid or #Americant. Or? Combine that with people who think a “liberal” can be a big-brother (the most conservative Orwellian tool there is) is astonishing. Indeed. That’s what my old friend claimed in our recent email exchange. He claimed that he never thought liberals would be arbiters of Big Brother. He thought it would be the conservatives. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?

    And so, there a lot of people out there that have been persuaded not only to misunderstand Orwell but also to be told what or how to think of or about him. Obviously this is another reason why someone like #Trump was able to get elected even though Hillary got almost 4 million more votes. But don’t get me wrong. Trump definitely won the election. The 12th Amendment and the Constitution worked, i.e. the electoral college worked. Yet there are so many people incapable of truly grasping and understanding what’s become of America that has obviously given way to the likes of Trump… I guess the power of money is the only truth left. And so. Allow me to paraphrase the likes of Mark Twain and any other liberal (as in free minded) person: every American is a millionaire down on his luck and a religious bigot waiting for his/her cocktail of stupidity cake en masse.

    Or maybe not.

    Rant on.

    -T

    Links that motivated this post:

  • Mini Clubman Über Fun And Electric Bike Cheat Galore Or How I Learned To Love A Car Hitch

    Subtitle: This Is Not A Review Of A 2017 Mini Clubman.

    Sometimes when I’m riding around on my e-bike I hear these voices. At first I didn’t make much of the voices. But then they grew, they increased, and although they never got louder, they became part of life. After having lived among #Eurowastelanders for so long, especially z’Germans, I’m not unaccustomed to these voices, don’t you know. But I am, every once-a-once, surprised by what these voices say. For example. Most recently these voices made rude comments about the bike I’m riding. “Oh, he’s on an e-bike,” someone smirked. Or. “Look. That doesn’t count. It’s an e-bike.” And then there’s my favourite. “Guido, if you buy me an e-bike I’ll fcuk your brains out,” said the Wessie-schlampe to her half Italian pseudo boyfriend as I roared past them at 25km/h. But let’s not weird out too much worst-writing about living in tax them by the pu$$y Europe.

    Although in my first e-bike post I made the claim that we gave up our second car so that we could become a single car household, and now we have two cars (again), I did not lie. Even though we’re once again a two-car household–on account my better half did something useful with her recent work slash compensation bonus–this situation is only temporary. After next September we will once again be a single car household. That’s when we are giving up the scam that is German corporate cars via greed mongering leasing companies. In the meantime, I’ve been given the challenge by my better-half to get used to our new vehicle and, more importantly, get it ready to do what it is we need it to do. I’m referring, of course, to our continuing to be not only a single car household but also to rely on our e-bikes for all of our local transportation needs and even some of our longer distance needs. That is, I use my e-bike for almost all my household chores. Whether I’m grocery shopping, picking up packages, or meeting with people in the city, my transportation of choice is my e-bike. Unless, of course, I have to lug around a few cases of beer, water or large amounts dog food for Beckett, our little killer pug. But that’s neither here nor there. Since I just surpassed my first year of e-bike ownership, I can’t say that I’m disappointed in this source of transport. Now that we’ve added a really, really cool Mini Cooper Clubman to the mix–with a friggin hitch–things have only gotten cooler.

    Long worst-writing story short, we bought a Mini that has a factory installed hitch. The hitch, btw, is as cool as the Mini. The hitch fits neatly under the boot floor along with the spare tyre. When needed the hitch clicks neatly underneath the rear bumper and is conveniently locked in place. I bought a bike hitch-rack (Westfalia) via an Amazon warehouse deal; most certainly saved 150,-€ there. Secured to the hitch, the bike rack hangs off the back of the Mini as though it was meant to hang nowhere else. In other words, we’ve tested this bike hitch with more than 2000km so far and all I can say is… f’n cool! Although I can see through the rear view mirror of the Mini how the bikes sometimes wobble and shake while on the autobahn, I’m over all my fears that the whole shebang would just drop off while on our way to Croatia (which we’re gonna do next September).

    As you can see in the pics (above), not only are the bikes fully integrated as part of the Mini when on the hitch & rack, but there is also the convenience of being able to access the split doors of the Mini, albeit only one at a time. That is, I’ve since learned that in order to access the boot of the Mini in this configuration, one needs to be prepared. First, make sure you pack stuff in the rear that only needs access if you can’g get to what you need through one of the two rear side doors. Remember that this is a six door vehicle. The issue recently came up when I forgot that I had put my wallet in a bike bag in the rear. At a gas station I had to then drop the bikes (see pic above) to get it. Obviously it was no problem. This wouldn’t be so easy, though, if the Mini was fully packed when traveling longer distances. And so. Heed this. Only one of the rear Mini barn doors is accessible with this hitch & rack, so you should pack the car accordingly.

    Another cool aspect of this Mini + e-bike rack layout is that when it’s activated the electronic connector of the rack (for the rear lights, blinkers, etc.) responds accordingly. The rear doors no longer respond to remote activation. The rear parking guide also shuts off and the driver is given a fancy signal inside the car saying, basically, when backing up… you’re on your own. Btw, remote activation of rear doors is kinda waaaaaay Mini-cool. That might sound like a bit of blowhard BS by someone that doesn’t own a friggin Mini, but let me tell you: I’ve already been out and about with this vehicle where I had to park it in tight spaces. If you activate those rear doors with the remote and they swing open, anything in their way will be slammed and, worst, the doors will be damaged. So hats off to BMW/Mini folks for getting the rear doors right when the hitch is activated. Now I have to get it right when there’s no hitch.

    As far as driving 2000+km with this bike/rack system on a friggin Mini Cooper? At first I was nervous. How can that little hitch hold all this–especially when driving 100+km/h on the German (drive with your brakes) autobahn? The answer: no problem. The hitch is rated at being able to carry much more than two e-bikes. Of course, I remove all excess weight from the bikes before putting them on. The battery is removed. The computers of the bikes are removed. The Abus lock on my R&M Charger GX is also removed. If on longer drives, especially where rain is expected, I also remove the seats and cover any open orifices with God’s tape. I mean, duck-tape. All in all, when emptied, each bike is around 20 kilos. The (Westfalia) rack is rated at being able to carry 60 kilos. Yeah. This is a pretty cool way to carry bikes around–even if they’re e-bikes (that might not deserve to be carried around; but that’s another worst-post).

    Rant (and ride safe) on.

    -T

  • When Your Tickle Goes Bling Bling And Your Ears Say Ahhh

    It took me a while. And it also took one of my micro-SD cards along with various installs, network wiring configs, a new fancy case and fun, fun, pure listening/audio fun. But before any of that, first things first. I’m finally NAS ready and my R-PI with Hifiberry Amp2 is the bomb! The initial install of OpenMediaVault, which I’m using as my NAS/Share source for my audio library, didn’t actually go all that well. Continuing my tech confusion streak, I made the mistake of tossing the first OMV install on account I found it too complicated. At the least, I wasn’t ready for the OMV interface. So while I proceeded to learn from OMVs website, you know, to get a bit informed about their software and how it works, I re-flashed the SD card back to RasPlex and suddenly the card was broke. At least I think it was broke. It was a 16GB card and after re-flashing it a utility tool informed me it had only 500MB of space. I tried everything. Erase. Partition. Erase and re-format in x-Fat and then in MS-DOS (or what ever’s available via Mac Disk Utility) and nothing happened. There was always only 500MB of space on what was supposed to be a 16GB card. Whaaa? Nomatter. I don’t have time for this. Plus I spent a few hours studying-up on the OMV site and after about two weeks (of casual reading of their doc pages), I was finally ready to give it another go. But then, out of the blue, I decided to support local retailers (as opposed to ordering from you-know-who online retailer from hell!) and jumped on my bike and road off to a local electronic store to buy a new micro-SD card. And get this, dear worst-reader. Would you believe that one of Germania’s largest tech stores doesn’t even carry a micro-SD card smaller than 32GB? Are you serious, I asked one of the store clerks. He informed me that I might have a problem getting such a small card anywhere. Ok. Fine. So I broke down and paid 16,-€ for a 32GB card–4x more capacity than I need for a OMV instal. I biked home, fought with the stupid mass produced packaging to free the card, slid it in the side of my 2015 MacBook Air (i7) and flash, flash, flash. I then proceeded to install the card in the R-PI 3B board. I hooked up ethernet cable and then the 5V 3amp dedicated micro USB power cable. According to OMV one is supposed to be patient as the software goes through the initial install. The readme.txt says I should give it at least forty minutes depending on speed of SD card and internet connection. So I set a timer and went off to be productive elsewhere. After about 36 minutes exactly, I woke up my MacBook Air, searched my network for a new IP address titled “raspberrypi” and… Boom! Long story short. I then hooked up an external 700GB Samsung HDD (which has got to be ten years old; which is also housed in a Icy-Box ext powered case) that has a copy of all my audio files (FLAC and MP3). I set up the network share with Samba and then opened Volumio. Again. Boom! Volumio immediately recognised the share and began indexing my music library. Oddly, Volumio seems to perform better with my music library using a network share. Previously I had the Icy-Box USB drive connected directly to the R-PI’s USB. Although Volumio worked fine with it, there were always hick-ups and duds. My guess is that Volumio wasn’t able to index the directly connected HDD as well as it can when connected by a network share. But that’s just a guess. The thing to remember is that when you have a house full of R-Pi’s, put them to good use. Btw, I’m really digging the R-PI3B+ as my new NAS device. Will be testing it by adding another HDD soon to see how it works as a backup system. And for those interested in how the Hifiberry Amp2 sounds? I’m tickled to-death with it. Together with the R-PI3B it is a fantastic low-cost audio device that delivers incredible audio, especially on high-sounding low-cost speakers like a pair of Pioneer BS22. And btw, even though I have rough beginning with some of this tech-krapp, the end result I’m experiencing is what tech should be all about.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Does History Repeat Slowly, Panickly Or Trumply? Predicting Your Great Depression v2.0

    crumpled currency

    What is it that makes #Americant? I mean, what is the thing or things that enable and facilitate the race to the bottom empire that is my beloved and missed United Mistakes? Probably at the top of the list is war mongering. And not just any war mongering. The fact that perpetual war is being waged and not paid for should say everything about the dysfunction-junction that history’s greatest consume-to-survivors live (with)in. But that ain’t all.

    The next thing that makes #Americant has to be the banking system. More importantly, it is a banking system that in its essence has become feudal. You know, as in neo-feudal. Or is it neo-liberal? Difference? Nomatter. Since the 1970s the reliance on credit as enabler of consumption is über-obvious. To hide this reality, though, at least two generations of #Americants have absolved themselves from resisting the grand delusion-illusion that is debt. Hence, it’s really not difficult understanding why/how words/concepts like fake-news, deep-state and Trump is President get their meaning via the mindset that says/believes them (has fallen for them).

    Of course, this level of delusion-illusion has been faced before. You know, there was a time when spending candy-money had a payday. It is called The Great Depression. Obviously, worst-writer is no economist so there’s not much I can say about those times. But something has disturbed me over the past 30 or so years as I too consume-to-survive and superficially read about things that have already happened and are obviously destined to happen again, albeit with a different ugly wig atop its orange, disfigured mullet.

    For example. The way money flows these days is fcuking scary. You would think, in a so-called free-market, something would be able to counter the blatant display of greed and hoarding that is taking place before (y)our very eyes. Yet there is nothing to counter what is going on. Or is there?

    From a Wiki page here is a list of the causes of the The Great Depression.

    1. Debt liquidation and distress selling
    2. Contraction of the money supply as bank loans are paid off
    3. A fall in the level of asset prices
    4. A still greater fall in the net worths of business, precipitating bankruptcies
    5. A fall in profits
    6. A reduction in output, in trade and in employment
    7. Pessimism and loss of confidence
    8. Hoarding of money
    9. A fall in nominal interest rates and a rise in deflation adjusted interest rates

    Now. Most of the list above says very little to me. With that in mind, it does say this: If the list is true and in anyway applicable to today, then there is one thing that connects the past to what is about to happen in the now. And so. Allow me to redo the list as only worst-writer (the über non-economist) can.

    1. Debt liquidation and distress selling – who owns all the debt and how does owner and seller of that debt mesh? (China v. #Americant; Petro-Dollar v. world, etc.)
    2. Contraction of the money supply as bank loans are paid off – consider current repeal of Dodd-Frank (see links below) and then ask: why would any valid economy need subprime mortgages in the first place? And if that is totally besides the point, why the hell, for the past few years, can I only withdraw 200,-€ in cash from an ATM?
    3. A fall in the level of asset prices – since the US economy is dependent on war-mongering and a rentier (feudal) system (based mostly real-estate manipulation), i.e. it’s manufacturing base has been decimated since the 1980s which means there’s nothing else to make money with/on, which of the two will fail first and where can the money come from to pay for the aftermath? Answer: the only people with money are the same people that caused all these economic problems in the first place!
    4. A still greater fall in the net worths of business, precipitating bankruptcies – considering how companies are valued these days, especially via a delusional if not artificially maintained stock market, this confuses the hell out of me; can you say stock-buy-back?
    5. A fall in profits – how many huuuuuge corporations in #Americant are in a perpetual state of bankruptcy in order to stay in business? Think: airlines, automobile maker bailouts, etc.
    6. A reduction in output, in trade and in employment – manufacturing base decimation, gig-economy, un and under-employment, nuff said.
    7. Pessimism and loss of confidence – #MAGA again again; election of President Stupid by an even stupider voting constituency.
    8. Hoarding of money – yeah, just try to get some cash (see #2 above); who and how is money supply manipulated?
    9. A fall in nominal interest rates and a rise in deflation adjusted interest rates – I have no idear what the fcuk this means but $hit is fcuking expensive.

    As someone who may (or may not) inherit something someday, I’m often wondering about how the idear of value and how it has been slowly but surely manipulated–like everything else in our greed $hit show. I mean. Come on. Considering how this world turns, any rational person can tell you that there is basically no intrinsic value left in the system–unless you’re already rich. Reason? Everything is either outright owned, financed/indebted to the hilt, or in some kind of moneyed limbo that can only reflect a purgatory run by a Greed God–or two generations of greed-mongering middle-class morons. Or is it God of Greed? Nomatter.

    With all that in mind, here’s the thing I’m really worried about and probably should be added to the/my (2nd) list above. I believe that President Stupid was elected for a reason. That reason is simple. The conservative wing of my beloved #Americant has seen the light regarding what they’ve done for the past (insert number post WW2 here) years. In fact, #Americant is so invested in the irrationality of what conservatives have done, that there literally is no turning back. That also means it’s full speed ahead in the realm of President Stupid.

    What better shill could there be to cover up for what Conservatives have done than to elect the perfect numb-nut to head the $hit show as they let what they’ve done (naturally) burn down? And that’s the ticket, dear worst-reader. That’s what’s ahead right now as history repeats itself. Republicans, the arm of the old, greed-mongering white men that is #Americant, will burn the fcuking house down before they come clean regarding what they’ve done. Trump and those who voted for him are the trump-card to pull off the great burn down–i.e. The Great Depression v2.0.

    Good luck suckers.

    Link that motivated this post:

    Rant on.

    -T

  • The Wrong Of Success In The Land Of Free To Be Stupid Because Rest Of World Is Even Stupider

    three dollar bill apple logo (low res)

    Here’s the latest greed-mongering-magazine’s list of top corporations in the world ranked by whatever-$$$ (I guess). I came across this list because, as an Apple pseudo-fan-boy, my favourite company-to-hate was recently downgraded. How can that be–especially after I just took advantage of a battery replacement program for my ageing phone that was probably the best deal ever? Seriously. If you have an iPhone 6s and an extra thirty-bucks, get the battery replaced. It works great.

    Here’s the newest list of really, really great corporations that are doing so much greatness in/for the world–in order of $$$-significance. I guess.

    1. Walmart
    2. Exxon
    3. Berkshire Hathaway
    4. Apple
    5. UnitedHealth Group
    6. Mckeeson
    7. CVS
    8. Amazon
    9. AT&T
    10. General Motors
      (Source: Forbes 2018)

    I’m actually surprised by the first company on this list. I had no idear that the rural, redneck family business of Sam Walton was back at the top of the greed $hit-show. But then again, considering the cesspool that Walmart’s nearest rival also operates (with)in, Amazon is close enough. So let’s run down the list, shall we–as only worst-writer can.

    First. Nuff said about Walmart. Unless, of course, one wishes to see yet another of the family kill itself by some ridiculous means. Yeah, über-rich people and their toys. Watching the whole damn family fall out of the sky in a cheap airplane and crushed on the ground would be cool. Or maybe not.

    Second. There is no surprise with an oil extraction and distribution company being number 2 on this list. Or is there? In fact, as worst-surprised as I am about Walmart being number one, I’m really surprised Exxon ain’t a whole bunch further ahead than the rest. I mean, come on. Exxon wouldn’t be where it is today if there weren’t enough poor, young #Americants trying to achieve a living-standard based on an overly outdated past and an dinosaur old-economy that could care less about them, by joining the military and, of course, fighting wars-of-choice for… You guessed it: oil. Am I wrong?

    The owner, founder of Berkshire Hathaway, the infamous filthy rich grandpa that likes simple ice cream cones, Warren Buffet, has said that he wouldn’t invest in Amazon because it was a miracle company–and he doesn’t invest in miracles. When I first heard Mr. Buffet say that I was taken aback. So there are a few wise men in this greed-mongering world of greed-$hit? Nevertheless, Berkshire Hathaway makes all its money in the stock market. And for those not in the know but wish to worst-know: the NYSE is propped up by lies, lies and more lies–baked and cooked with a whole bunch of sugar-cherries on top. Go figure, eh. The only reason the stock market doesn’t crash right now is because there is no alternative to what my beloved #Americant has put forth in the world: unabated and unhindered greed. And on that note, I digress.

    Although I have a lot of negative to say about Apple–especially it being ONLY the best of the worst in technology–I’m kind of relieved that its on this list. I mean, at least one company among these greed-mongering monsters actually produces something worthwhile in this day & age of worthlessness. Say what you will about smartphones, the Internet, social media, etc., Apple is the only company out of all tech companies that has managed to hold together, although not perfectly, the exploitable nature of hardware and software via the human interface. Among the many things I will never forget about Steve Jobs, the one thing that stands out the most right now is his contempt for Mark Zuckerberg and the willingness of a new generation of so-called entrepreneurs who will get rich quick by transgressing achievement and success with the simplemindedness of exploiting the vulnerable, the naive, The Stupid, i.e. Facebook. Go Apple!

    The next three companies on the list are all about healthcare. There is only one word that comes to my worst-mind when I think of my beloved and missed dysfunctional #Americant and it’s ludicrous healthcare system: scam. Indeed. So many have been scammed for so long that there is probably no way to get out of the scam. Live by the scam, you become the scam. Only in the land of scam can you also elect #Trump to the highest office–and what a scammer President Stupid is, eh. On that worst-note, I’m way off subject.

    For a long while now I’ve been trying to put myself in Jeff Bezos shoes. I remember vividly checking out Amazon on my CRT screen connected by RGB cables to my second (or was it third) used pizza box Macintosh computer back in the mid 90s. Wow, I thought. I could read about books. I could read what other people thought of those books. I could then order a book and… bam! It’s suddenly delivered in… a week? Nomatter. And then I thought: what a stupid idear this is. Why does the world need a retail middleman based on software and an internet connection? Why can’t products be sold directly form maker to buyer? Amazon is indeed a unique company on this list. It is unique because very few can see it for what it really is. Amazon is a scavenger business. It is the result of there being nothing left to exploit and all creativity (in business) being dried up. It is the same with companies like Über and Facebook. These businesses are bottom of the barrel scrappers. But because one of them makes a list like the one above, few people can see through to what they really are all about. Except Warren Buffet, of course.

    The last two companies on the list deserve to be combined because they are old economy $hitbag companies. Indeed. AT&T and GM are the remnants of dinosaurs that refuse to be fossilised. That is their only achievement. I suppose that’s good enough for most, at least most of the privileged old economy that partake in their exploitation. Yet I’m reminded of how it was supposed to be a good thing to break up monopolies in the 70s and 80s only to see that exact monopoly return twenty or thirty years later in the form of At&T. The fact that GM received a huge bailout from the government in 2007/8 should disqualify it from being on any list. In fact, GM should be owned by the government and all profit it makes should be used to repay taxpayers for bailing it out. But what am I saying? These dinosaurs can live and prosper, as so many other companies beyond and below this list, only in the land of greed, where free to be stupid reigns supreme and where the likes of an old man like Warren Buffet exemplifies living death–with lots of money, money, money.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Pseudo-Review: Pennies From Heaven Where Cents Make Great Audio

    First. The newest Raspberry Pi was kinda hard to get till I happened across it. I’m worst-guessing this is due to limited supply, heavy demand. Some online shops were taking orders of the Pi but then not indicating delivery dates. Second. I bow humbly to #Hifiberry and their new Amp2 and the fact that I just happened to see they had new Pi’s available when I was gawking at maybe getting another of their audio boards–on account I’ve been so tickled with their DAC+ Pro board. Btw, I wasn’t interested in the RPI3B+ to even go with the new Amp2. I was ordering the Amp2 to put on my RPi3–which would give me two potential audio sources in my house. The RPi3B+ was a just because purchase. Here’s a rundown of my current Pi setup:

    • RPi2B – with Hifiberry Dac+ Pro (more on that here); currently being used as a Plex Client (RasPlex)
    • RPi3B – this one I’m now using with the Hifiberry Amp2 (more on that below)
    • RPi3B+ – just because–and to test if the newest Pi is finally a viable desktop alternative (it’s not quite there yet); also testing for NAS use (so far so good but I’m not ready to replace my old MacPro with it yet)

    Now on to a pseudo-review of Hifiberry’s Amp2.

    Wow! I was blown away with the first sound that came out of the Amp2. Using Volumio, I’ve been testing this little audio miracle on three different speakers (see pic above). The great news is, it doesn’t matter what speaker I was using. The Amp2 drives them all till a smile rolls off my geezer and curls back ’round into my ears. Of the three speakers I own, my favourites are the Pioneer BS-22–which I lugged across the Atlantic (on account I couldn’t buy them in Germany) in early March. And although my B&W 305s are currently being stored in my basement, I hooked them up just see if the Amp2 could power my ageing low-end towers. It powered them with gusto! Of course, the smallest speakers I own are the Audioengine P4s–which were, I thought at the time, the best deal I had ever made on speakers–but then I got the BS-22s. Nomatter. I’m a cheap-o pseudo-audiophile and I don’t mind admitting to it–especially considering the cost of some of those fancy speakers from Apple, Sonos, etc., which also limit your listening experience through stupid transcoding. So let’s move on.

    My only gripe with the Amp2 right now is software, specifically Volumio. I run a Mac home network and Volumio cannot access Mac shares. Nor can it access Mac SMB shares. I’ve been reading forums, posting questions to support sites, reading more krapp, and to save my life I cannot get Volumio to access my 2010 headless MacPro which is a iTunes server, a Plex Media Server and, of course, a file server for a small household of multiple Macs and iOS devices. I’ve given up on networking with Volumio since I have a few old spinning 3.5″ HDDs lying around. So I bought a UBS external powered case and let the RPi/Amp2 access music files that way. Works great.

    The Amp2 is nothing short of a little miracle audio board. It’s rated at 60w of power and I can say that it easily produces sound as good as my TEAC A-H01 amp. In fact, it’s better than my TEAC in that, when used with Volumio, I no longer have to get up to change the volume. Another gripe I have with the Amp2 is that when controlling it with Rasplex or Volumio, neither has an output/driver setting specifically for it. According to the Hifiberry website, you’re supposed to choose the Hifberry DAC+ driver because “the Amp2 is basically a DAC+ with an integrated power stage.” After fiddling with the DAC+Pro (on my RPi2) for a while, I realised that the biggest issue with this type of audio device is definitely the power source. I’ve since purchased two 5v 3amp micro USB power source/cables for my other Pis. Fortunately Hifiberry sells a small power brick separately so I went ahead and bought that for this setup. So far, the brick is the best way to power the RPi and Hifiberry. In fact, considering the flimsy-ness of the micro-USB in the RPi, I’m really digging the Amp2’s way of powering things.

    After a few weeks of testing, the Amp2 works so well that I’ve actually replaced my living-room Rasplex client with it. My living-room TV now only serves as a monitor for my ageing AppleTV3, which we rarely use. In fact, the only time we use our TV is as a screen/monitor for Apple Photos slideshows via the AppleTV3. We’re no longer TV gawkers so we don’t miss NOT having a TV as part of music play. And to be honest, I’m really digging controlling all our audio needs with my iPhone. Besides, when my better-half watches her German TV stuff she does on her iPad. And so… why the hell am I worst-writing about how we watch/use a TV? Nomatter. I listen to music when cooking, when worst-blogging, and especially when I’m cuddling with Beckett the killer pug on the couch. If you can get through the minor hassle of the Amp2 not having a decent case (yet) or having to fix speaker wires to it, this is one heck of a purest audio device that can be easily hid in a shrank, book shelf, or even under a couch, etc. All you need to control it is a home network, a smartphone and a bunch audio files.

    Brilliant cheap audio!

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Pseudo-Review: The Film Collossal Or That Thing In My Substance Abuse That Is Serious Childhood Drama

    Screen Shot 2018-05-13 at 10.02.58

    Warning: spoiler alert! This movie is totally worst-explained.

    Things I wish I could have written? Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. Thornton Wilder’s The Ides of March. The movie Collossal. Etc., etc. And by-the-buy, I watched Colossal last night via some stupid streaming service and I was pleasantly surprised. On that note, streaming itself isn’t stupid but the greedy nature of how all these streaming services work is stupid. Indeed. Consume to survive: everything is stupid. But I digress.

    Although Collossal has a somewhat slow and peculiar start, the first thing I said after the opening scene of a young Korean girl initialising the audience to the Collossal monster, is this: this is movie about woman scorned! Oh how wrong/right I would eventually be. Once the odd, platonic relationship of the two main characters gets going, I even briskly forgot about all my worst-predictions. In fact, this movie is as pleasantly different as The Shape of Water. And to think both these great movies are made by Spaniards. Cool.

    The movie:

    In short, Gloria is a young drunk down on her luck living in NYC. After her boyfriend throws her out, she decides to return to her childhood home where she immediately encounters Oscar, supposedly a childhood friend. One of the best parts of writing in this movie is how these two characters are in a relationship but that relationship has nothing to do with romance. What a relief that is, I thought to myself. A film about a man and a woman and it has nothing to do with how/if/when they get it on. Fresh worthwhile movie story telling trick, indeed.

    Enter the monster(s) as a literal blast from the past starts to wake up these two from a serious drunken stupor. The whole story evolves around a flashback of what these two people were caught up in as school children. Although Gloria seems to have overcome the majority of that trauma, once she re-enters that old life as a drunk, the past appears out of thin air in the form of Collossal, a Godzilla-like monster. Why the fcuk this monster is destroying a city half a world away as these two #Americant dyfunctionals can’t get their $hit together, is the brief and tantalising mystery the story rides on. It eventually becomes obvious that the monster is some kind a manifestation of Gloria. And just when you figure that out–or are actually shown that she is the monster–it turns out Oscar has one, too. And that’s the gist of what’s really going on between these two. Oscar simply can’t stand being one-upped by Gloria.

    The revealing flashback of the movie comes fairly late. Unlike a lot of flashbacks, though, this one doesn’t just reveal the twist of the movie. While walking home from elementary school Gloria and Oscar are carrying school projects. They had to build a model of a city they would like to visit in life. Gloria picked the city of Seoul, South Korea. I didn’t pick up on the city Oscar built–but it’s probably the hometown he’s still stuck in. During their walk home it’s obvious that Gloria won the contest from her class of best built model. When a storm suddenly emerges a gust of win whips Gloria’s Seoul away (pun intended). Oscar jumps a fence to fetch it for her. Thinking that she doesn’t see what’s he doing, Gloria watches Oscar destroy her prized model Seoul replication (more pun?) by stomping on it–like a monster. But then something really weird happens. This is where the twist takes another twist. They are struck by lightening in the storm. Through out the movie Gloria is constantly itching a part of the top of her head where she was struck.

    Although it’s not very clear in the writing, worst-writer’s guess is the lightening strike probably ingrained this event into their psyche. Because of it, Oscar grew up hating himself (which she actually claims of him when they have a final confrontation) for the cruelty that has been part of him since that stormy day. Gloria is just a hurt child drowning her sorrows in drink. Gloria then realises to end their conflict all she has to do is continue going forward in life–like she did by leaving this small town and going to NYC. She also realises that she has to stop being a drunk–which brought her back to this mess in the first place. Oh. And to finally deal with Oscar, she also has to get rid of his monster. In order to do that, she comes-of-age, stops drinking and gets on a plane and travels to Seoul. Although Oscar has threatened her that this time she won’t leave him and his cruelty, when she does leave he continues to ravage (her) Seoul. In the actual city of Seoul, South Korea, Gloria finally confront Oscar by proving that at least she can leave that krappy town, stop drinking, move on. She one-ups Oscar one last time. End.

    All in all, a great film. It’s a smart film, too. What a relief a movie like this is in these days of blockbuster boredom and moronic comic book characters galore. Although at times it has some odd, indecisive scenes, especially in the beginning and while the relationships are being developed among Oscars friends in her hometown, Hathaway and her character are brilliant. There is a bit of heavy-handed misogyny in the form of serious boy on girl ass-whipping during the last fight scene between the two, but it fit their relationship and it didn’t go over-board–which I’m sure would have been the case if Harvey Weinstein had produced this film. On the other hand, I’m not sure this movie could be part of the #metoo movement. Ok. Maybe that’s not applicable at all. Nomatter. In the end this is a movie about a woman, the consequence of her actions and the sometimes brutal nature of human behaviour–especially male behaviour. The way she deals with it all sometimes took my breath away. At the least I’m not a Hathaway skeptic like I used to be. She can act her way around my screen any day–as long as she does a smart movie like this. Well done!

    Rant on.

    -T

  • 1984 Or 2018? Uncreative Theatre-Makers Will Always Be Too Late

    orwell big brother

    Just received an email from an old friend who went to the theatre the other night back home. Specifically, he went to the theatre in Wash DC, my old stomping ground. And what did he see? 1984 as play, eh? Done by a bunch of iPhone totting liberals, I bet. Oh well. Obviously, as worstwriter and failed playwright, I can’t let this one go by without worst-comment. And so…

    George Orwell been put to the stage eh. Whoop-dee-f’n-doo! More of the same pseudo-intellectual regurgitation mixed with uncreative minds—what else can compulsive behaviourists working in “theatre” do? So how is Winston’s hole in the wall? And what about those intimidating rats? Room-101 still missing a hinge on the door? Does Julia spit or swallow—for big brother? The only problem with Orwell right now is that it’s probably too late to figure him out or even apply what he wrote to what’s going on politically in this worst-world. More appropriate (at this time) would be Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, which was done in NYC during and after Trump’s election. I kinda cover that here.

    Doing 1984 (as a play) now because of Trump only reassures me that I’ve always been right about the psuedo creative environment of #Americant theatre—especially New York or London theatre. I mean, if there’s any proof of the lack of creativity in the arts right now, it’s in these places. And since we live a world that has long forgotten how to nurture creativity, I suppose this is all that’s left to be done. My worst-point being: it’s too late to show people Orwell. He should have been all over stages and airwaves in the early 90s when Faux Newz started in the US. Btw, conservatives figured out in the 70s that to circumvent the antifascist ideals Orwell espoused, just let the masses consume themselves to death. Yeah, baby. Consume-to-surivive. Seems to have worked very well up to now. But I digress.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Sunny Place In Germania, 5KM Long Luxury Beach Front Property, A Deep Diver

    The Prora complex is both fascinating and scary. “Kraft durch Freude.” Strength through enjoyment? Something like that. This building was first built at the end of the 1930s and when Germany started to lose the war all work was shut down. It was supposed to be play land and funville for up to 20k national socialists, I guess. Of course, the DDR never did much with it so it stood in waiting along the Baltic coast of Rügen. Waiting for what? Enter the capitalist pigs and their ability to turn something grey, banal and fascinating into something utterly dystopian and wondrous. It is indeed the perfect abode for automatons of success. If you can afford one of the flats in this place, you’ll have an absolutely breathtaking view of the Baltic Sea. When weather allows, you’ll be able to exit your apartment and go for a swim in clear, crystalline waters. Heck, even when weather doesn’t allow you can swim here. I’ve seen dudes swimming in these waters already–and it’s early May. Yeah. Kraft durch Freude.

    Rant on.

    -T