Category: Blog

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  • Sous-Vide Goose With Asian Rub Will Be Served In 22 Hours With Chinese Dumplings And Red Cabbage

    Nine month old Goose vacuum packed and in bath water of 65 degrees celsius (ca 150f). Also known as Sous-Vide. Before dig-in will place bird on the Weber grill for about 20-30 minutes to get it crispy. The Chinese dumplings to go with it are supposed to have a filling made out of the innards but I’ve never been a fan of organs. Although we did prepare the innards according to the recipe, the flavour is just too… liver. Will probably substitute innards with mushrooms and/or maybe oats. Not sure yet. We’ll figure it out.

    Merry f’n xmas.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Phishing Email Or #Trump For President? What’s The Difference?

    screenshot example phishing email
    Screenshot of a phishing email I recently received.

    These things usually don’t get through to me. But my email app didn’t catch this one. Since I was right in the middle of a deadline, I whisked through my emails and, even though I feel pretty safe from this type of krapp, there was a brief second where my mouse flickered over the grey area.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Finding Your Star Chamber Behind The Swine Ear Before The Nail Falls On The Hammer

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    Worst-thoughts of the day, dear worst-reader. Hope you have your tolerance-hat on for worst-writing galore. With that in mind, good luck.

    Donald Trump and Alex Jones and a society that can’t rise above conspiracy theory, WWE and stupid ugly old white people that belong in the 1950s. No. Seriously. They really do belong in the 1950s. In fact, wouldn’t it be grand if they should somehow be sent there right now? No kidding. Right now. And if they don’t belong in the 1950s and they’re sent there by mistake then it could be corrected if they are sent instead either to the middle or the end of the fcuking middle-ages. Imagine that. WWE wrastlers hanging out in 1790s London. Or how about Alex Jones (the grand conspiracy $hitbag entertainer of the royal middle-class dumb-down) facing a landlord that sucks the dick of some #euro$hitland monarch. But before things get too out of hand…

    Does anyone remember the movie The Star Chamber? Don’t worry, I don’t remember it either. But I do remember the 5th amendment of the united mistakes constitution and how preventing self-incrimination was actually a result of a real-life Star Chamber from the late middle ages. Can you imagine living in those times, dear worst-reader? If not, don’t worry. For you don’t have to imagine anything. You’re in those times right now.

    The reason I reference a bad 80s movie and one of the many ugly parts of human history is because I can’t help but feel that somehow both the ugly and history are repeating. Forget the fact that 2017 economics is kinda in the same place as, say, 1917. Of course, obviously, that which culminated in The Great Depression won’t repeat in the same way. I’m guessing the reason for that is people have gotten more stupid. You know the old adage. “You can’t fix stupid. Unless you fix it by making it stupider.” And so. Are you the least bit curious as to how the past will repeat itself since you’re pretty much living in the end of the middle ages, too?

    Do you know what the worst-thing is about #Trump? I mean, the situation my beloved #americant is in is even worse than his hair, his moronic and spoiled rotten personality, and even the people that he thinks he represents. That’s right. He doesn’t represent people. That’s the real joke about him. I mean, he believes that people voted for him. I’ll give him that. He’s just not bright enough to realise that those people who did vote, were actually voting for something else. And as someone once said…

    An idea is the hardest thing to kill.

    So. Like. I’m walking down the street the other day and my dog, Beckett, the killer pug, is sniffing soggy mulch and trying to tip toe through the wetness we’ve been having since October. Seriously. It’s been raining here in the Germanic portion of #eurowasteland (where I live) pretty much non stop since October. In fact, it’s so wet here that I can sometimes feel the moisture in my bones trying to find due-north–or at least the direction the Rhine is flowing.

    Whenever I waste time thinking about #Trump and my beloved #americant, usually while walking my dog, every once-a-once also think about Alex Jones, wrastling and how unsurprising the new tax $hitshow is. I mean, of the news that I do listen to–mostly via podcasts–it’s all about my beloved #americant. Seriously. I don’t even bother listening to anything about Germania or #eurwasteland. I mean. What’s the point in that? The only countries do anything these days are China, Russia and, yes, #Trumpland. Which means… I’ve been wondering ever since the Dick Cheney regime what will be the catalyst to push the whole $hitshow off the cliff? Or. Why hasn’t it fallen yet? I thought, briefly, when the electoral college elected #Trump, the cliff was finally behind (or above) us. But I quickly realised that that wasn’t the case. President Stupid hadn’t done anything yet. And up until the other day, other then tweets of nonsense, attacking is predecessor and even his previous political opponent, dilly-dallying around on Airforce One, playing golf, etc., etc., he’s done nothing. Absolutely nothing.

    The things I’ve been reading about this new tax thing that’s gonna happen is pretty scary. I’m trying to dig up in my memory if, when Reagan did the same thing–but on a much smaller scale so many years ago–the game is finally up. I mean, obviously, Reaganomics, did have a somewhat constructive initiation within the kaputt economy where it started. But that level of Kaputt is no longer applicable. Or am I wrong, dear worst-reader? Nomatter. The thing I’m trying to get at, I guess, is that maybe there is no cliff to fall off of. Maybe, instead, what we’re really dealing with is a $hitshow of such epic proportions that the only way to deal with it is to go this route of spending the money of the future like never before.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Things Are Moving Along Just Fine In The Land Of The Docile Free To Be Stupid

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    Something to ease the minds of the dumb-downed as another useless evening presents itself in the wake of my beloved and missed #americant dealing with a grand new-fangled tax scam from president smart for the rich and stupid for the rest of you suckers. Also wondering who the college grads are that set up all this digital krapp that’s so blatantly in my way. (If I only knew my way.) And get this: You can actually buy a movie on #itunes for less than renting it. I’m worst-wondering how this relates to the day. Also wondering what did all those college grads actually learn in college that has gotten us here?

    That’s right. They all majored in…

    #edumacation, baby.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Pseudo Review: Followup Of Newly Confiscated 2016 12″ MacBook

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    The first pseudo-review is here. A third is here.

    How did I get here, dear worst-reader? How did I get to be the confiscating husband I’ve become? And how did I get to this place I’m at where being overwhelmed w/ tech gadgets could be so frustrating? You know, dear worst-reader, as a useless-eater, as an exploiter of Tennessee Williams’ and Blanche Dubois’ “I’ve always been dependent on the kindness of strangers”, I wake up in the morning (sometimes) and say to myself: what the hell am I gonna do with all this tech krapp that has begotten me? Are there not people in the world cleaning up poisonous tech gadget waste dumps because of me? Are there not children’s fingers bleeding from mining the rare elements that make up the innards of these devices? Or perhaps the better, more prudent question is: Do I really have a need for all this krapp? I’ve got desktop computers, servers, laptops, phones, watches, tablets, etc. I’ve got video editors, glorified and digitised typewriters, backup devices, routers and LAN bridges, etc., etc. And I’ve also got a big old box in my basement labelled “Apple” where I store all the stuff I don’t/can’t use anymore. I know. I know. I should call it “junk”. The sad part of all this consume-to-survive nothingness is that it’s actually hard even giving this stuff away–especially when you have no friends and so little contact with the outer world. Indeed. Corporate agenda consume-to-survive obsoletism and dust collecting. That’s me. With that in mind, who would have guessed–after years and years of youth driven anger–I’d be in this phase of life overwhelmed with too much gadgetry? What to do, what to do, what to do–other than consume more.

    The pseudo review.

    As mentioned in my previous review of the 2016 12″ MacBook (see link above), there was/is something about it that got under my collar. That something has left me perturbed with my beloved MacBook Air. I mean. I don’t need two laptops. Does anyone need two laptops? But I’m getting ahead of myself.

    Damn you Apple engineers! In short. The MacBook is nothing short of amazing. In fact, it’s so good, I’ve found myself questioning why Apple has continued the MacBook Air line of laptops. So does it matter that the MacBook is outrageously expensive compared to other laptops, especially Apple’s MacBook Air? Which begs the question: Is this little device worth all that stupid-money? I suppose that’s exactly why Apple has kept the Air models going. For worst-moi, though, having a relatively new, i.e. three year old Air, the discussion is now moot since I got hooked on the 12″ model a few months ago. The real issue is, does the new 12″ MacBook (not really new as mine is the 2016 2nd gen version and the 3rd gen came out last June) work for me by doing the things I need to do in this useless eating, failed artist life?

    Oh boy does she go!

    I gave the MacBook a trial run–having left my MBA at home during recent travels. Between visits to Denmark and the bewilderment of galavanting in a north European forest that had markings for graves from as far back as 700AD, I spent a few hours each day typing on this new device. By-the-buy, my wife bought the MacBook in late fall of 2016. Being the iOS obsessed user she is, though, she rarely used it. When she finally replaced her go-to device, an iPad Air 2 with a new iPad Pro about two months ago, I don’t think she ever even looked at the MacBook anymore. It was relegated to sitting on a gadget shelf in my room. And, don’t you know, dear worst-reader, it was talking to me. It was looking at me–especially when I was using my MacBook Air or my Mac Pro. It said: Come on dude. You don’t love those outdated things. You love me.

    For a while I was able to resist. But we traveled to my beloved Homeland in late October and once again, for about two weeks, I left my cumbersome MacBook Air at home. Can you believe I’m calling a 2015 MacBook Air cumbersome? When we returned to the old country, around mid November, I found myself reaching for the MacBook instead of my MBA. A few days ago I finally gave in.

    Twelve inch joy and that’s what she said.

    There is something about this device that just fits. For one, I love the 12″ inch form factor. The fact that it’s so light doesn’t hurt either. Of course, I never thought I’d refer to my old MacBook Air as cumbersome–but I’ve already said that. The chassis actually makes this machine feel higher quality than my MBA. Compared to the MBA, the MacBook is stiffer and feels robust. In my humble opinion, when it comes to the amount of typing I do, although it’s a bit louder when I type, it even types better than my MBA. More on that in a sec. And by-the-buy, so far the solution to loud typing on this thing is to keep your fingernails trim.

    That Damn Keyboard.

    Would you believe I missed typing on this machine during the few months I wasn’t using it in the last half-year? From the day the new MacBook came out, introducing a new-fangled keyboard, trackpad and screen, I was totally skeptical about what Apple had done. I mean, come on. Someone at Apple actually came with that touch-bar thing on the MacBook Pros. A touch bar on a device that wants a touch screen? Hello!

    Anywho. My first thoughts were: There is so little movement from the keys. Then, the more and more I used it, it turns out that something was missing when I wasn’t using it. And you have to understand, dear worst-reader. I’m an old school typist. Other than having too many modern tech gadgets, I have a small collection of old mechanical typewriters. Trust me when I say, I know typing. The keyboard on the MacBook is for typing. All you have to do is type softer. And that’s not a bad thing.

    There’s one more thing that makes this new keyboard rock. As mentioned, I really like the 12″ form factor of this device–especially how Apple made everything fit perfectly. One of the faults of the MBA keyboard is that there’s too much chassis around it, especially below it. That means, if/when I’m typing I have to remove my Apple Watch because the watch-band gets in the way of the chassis. Also, the edges of the MBA are sharp enough to irritate skin. The MacBook, on the other hand, just fits my hands/fingers better. How they fit this keyboard into the chassis is actually more impressive than how they fit the retina screen.

    But the screen is the cream!

    Screen Shot 2017-12-20 at 06.44.25

    The “retina” display is more than a brilliant and versatile screen. The thing that makes it special is how I can adjust it–for writing/typing. What I mean by “adjust” is more than changing screen real-estate and pixels. Keep in mind, I’m getting to be an old guy. My eyes are almost shot (as in I can’t see without coke bottle glasses anymore). In fact, my eyes are so bad, if I were alive during the bronze age, I probably would believe in the mysticism of religion, too. Yeah, that’s what is wrong with the blind imagination of the men who snaked religion into humanity because they couldn’t see the trickery of things around them like… walking on water or how someone snuck in the wine to replace the water! But I digress.

    The most important thing you can do with adjusting the MacBook screen is not only change the size of it but also when you do change it, it doesn’t turn the text into a bunch of ugly pixelated letters. Nomatter what size the display is, the text is sharp and crystal clear. I cannot tell you, dear worst-reader, how significant that is for me.

    Fancy Trackpad.

    I was never and probably never will be a trackpad fan. I’m still using a wired mouse on my cheese-grater 2010 Mac Pro. When I work with my MBA on my desk I usually use a wired mouse with it, too. Remember the red dot pointer device on Thinkpads? They were/are the best pointer solution other than a mouse–ever. I had a Thinkpad back in the day when The System let me work for the man. Speaking of Thinkpads, if/when I finally give up on Apple/Mac–and I believe that day is coming as the company keeps going down this path of being an iOS centric organisation–I’m getting a Thinkpad and installing Linux on it. But again–I digress.

    Moving a finger across a small slab of glass (or in some cases textured plastic) and that translating into a pointer on your screen is the worst tech innovation ever. With that in mind, is the GUI (graphical user interface) an idea that’s reached its end? Personally, with the advent of AI (artificial intelligence), I think it is high-time to re-think the personal computing GUI. I, for one, would love having a command-line interface but with a voice activated AI that allows me to control the entire machine.

    • “Open” this or “Close” that.
    • “Put the last file I was working on in the trash, please.”
    • “Play that song I was listening streaming last night…”
    • “Open file so-n-so, please.” Etc.

    The trick being to finally get rid of the graphical user interface. Really. GUI sucks. CLI rules. (If only I were the coder I wish I were.)

    One last thing about trackpads. The thing I hate most about the trackpad on my MBA is how only parts of it are useful for certain tasks. The top of it acted different than the bottom. The bottom sometimes got in the way if I my hands were moving around wild and free. In fact, I would often take my eyes off my work (the screen) to make sure I was placing my finger in the right place so I could command my machine. Switching between left and right fingers didn’t help matters either. Luckily the MacBook’s new trackpad is finally approaching what I consider to be usability simply because all parts of it work equally. Although I haven’t found much use yet for “force touch”, it does seem like a logical and much needed addition to trackpad technology.

    Going places with the low-end.

    about mac screenshot

    Compared to 2015 MacBook Air (with i7 CPU), the low-end M3 processor of the MacBook is impressive. Switching between desktops spaces and full screen apps is faster on the newer machine. When I’m working I usually have several apps open, each occupying a desktop space. I have to move between them all regularly. There is no delay in screen redraw or app performance. Surprisingly there is some performance issues with my MBA. Manipulating screenshots from the interwebnets or pics from my iPhone that are transferred using AirDrop and adjusting their size or converting formats all happen instantly on the new MacBook. If I take a break from writing and go to youtube or stream media from my home server, it all happens in the blink of an eye. Now that’s to say that for other tasks (video and more intense picture manipulation) the MBA with its heavier CPU would be better. But there is no denying that the MacBook–for a low-end device–is very impressive.

    The good, the bad, the über-cheap and ugly.

    IMG_3620

    The worst part of this MacBook is the camera. For reasons probably better not made public, Apple decided to put a ten year old (480p) camera in this laptop. My MBA has a great camera in it. The pic above, btw, is the same ten year old camera that’s in the MacBook. I used to love that old camera when it worked on my Mac Pro–until Mavericks broke it. But get this. Even though the video of the iSight camera was $hit, I continued using it for its great microphone. But then El Capitan broke that. Actually, what I think broke was firewire. (But that’s a whole different post.) For me, video is just not a big deal. And when I FaceTime with people, it’s more than good enough–except in low light. Audio is somewhat more important to me and the twin microphones of the MacBook seem to work great. To me, the digital world is all about tools for worst-writing, typing, researching $hit on the interwebets, etc. and this machine does it better than any Mac I’ve ever used.

    One I/O?

    As far as hooking $hit up to this new MacBook, I don’t care about that either. The only thing I miss is the opportunity to attach an ethernet cable. But I’m starting to break away from that, too. Even though I have a USB-C dongle that gives me 3x USB 3.0, 1x MicroSD and 1x HDMI out, I really am good with the single port. Eventually I plan to utilise the port to tote around a battery, taking advantage of USB-C charging capability. Of course, I probably wouldn’t say any of this if this were my only machine. But I’m practically drowning in tech krapp at this point so I can’t judge whether I need more I/O. So far, traveling with it, typing with it, sleeping with it, hoarding it, the one I/O is not an issue. In fact, the only thing missing from this gluttonous life of mine is that I can’t own the newest stuff yesterday.

    In worst-conclusion.

    I’m digging the 12″ MacBook and for the future, unless something changes everything, like my wife gets really pissed at me for confiscating it or she breaks her new iPad, it’s gonna be my daily (typing) driver.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Roadkill And Other Forms Of Scaring Ausländer Out Of Germania

    The horse in the pic above literally asked me, albeit in German, to leave his country. The fish in the moat around some #eurowasteland baroque castle said nothing. The flying rat reminded me of the story I’m about to tell. And the headless mouse reminded me of all those in my beloved #americant that got a once great country to where it is today.

    But I digress.

    On the grave of someone’s mother, I swear this happened. I was walking around some Germanic uppity village one day many years ago. In fact, it was one of them uppity über-villages. You know the type. The type where the past still lives in the form of protected inherited wealth. Indeed. In my beloved #americant this type of village is called an old money town. In America, if you look at these towns closely, you can still see the slaves. In Germania, on the other hand, these towns are about something else. In fact, you could put street signs up around these towns that read: they kicked our a$$ in a war but our kids got to inherit the loot. Ha. Ha. Ha.

    Anywho.

    I’m walking down a sidewalk with Beckett, the killer pug,  in this über-village and I hear this strange muzzled explosive sound. Within seconds of the sound a flying rat falls out of the sky and lands right in front of me. My useless dog begins to sniff at it. For those not in the know, flying rats are pigeons and useless dogs are pugs.

    Moving on.

    This flying rat had a huge hole in the middle of its chest. It was at that moment I associated the muzzled sound with a powerful air rifle. I proceeded to look around the old money neighbourhood but all I saw were rows and rows, streets and more streets of #eurowasteland über-villas that looked like they were part of a well fortified ghost town–with too much money at Deutsche Bank. Taking a closer look at the dead pigeon, I noticed that there was no blood around its rather large chest wound. That meant the shooter had executed a clean shot, instantly stopping the heart of the animal as the projectile concurrently emptied out all its inner organs. I looked around to see if those organs had fallen somewhere near by. But I couldn’t triangulate the dead flying rats course. Still. Its inner organs had to be somewhere. If only I had something other than a useless pug as a pet. Have you ever seen, looked closely at, the nose of a pug, dear worst-reader? It is a useless pet for a reason. But let’s not dwindle on that.

    “Find the organs, Beckett!” I yelled. But he just stood there on all fours looking between me and the flying rat and, perhaps, considering, if he was next (to be shot).

    Before I could contemplate further this worthless life situation, a man came running down the sidewalk of the street. Aghast! It was an old German. In fact, he was old enough to be one of the enemy. Or maybe not. Indeed. Most likely he was born during or directly after the great war. Nomatter. According to how was running, he was in great shape.

    “I say old, boy. Do you remember me,” the old man asked me in English.

    It was then I remembered him. We had met twice before while I walked my dog and I only recognised him because of the earring he wore on his right ear.

    “How do you like my old dungarees,” he asked. “I got them from an American Navy boy stationed in Kiel when I was there as a student. “Can you believe it, after fifty years I still fit in them.”

    He waved his hands in the air gesticulating how proud he was of his figure.

    “And don’t worry about that, old boy. I’ll take it.”

    He bent over and grabbed the dead flying rat, cupping its carcass in his hands.

    “I have to be off now, old boy. My oven is reaching temperature and it takes forever to get rid of all the feathers.”

    I watched him run back the way he came. He entered a gated villa down the street and I could hear the metal gates clanging as he locked the door behind him. I looked back down the sidewalk and once again was astonished the dead flying rat left not one speck of blood. I wondered what kind of air rifle could do such destruction.

    -end-

    Rant on.

    -T

     

     

  • Adjusted For Inflation, We’re Back To Feudal Days Galore. Congratulate Yourself.

    Screen Shot 2017-12-11 at 12.54.48
    List of most valuable corporations in the world. Source of screenshot: see link below.

    What’s missing from this post, and from the pic above, is what it’s being compared to. Indeed. According the article where I stole the pic above, there was once a single company (adjusted for inflation) that was as big as all of these companies put together. That company? The Dutch East India Company. Since that company was so long ago and, also, because it was part of the greed show that culminated in krapp like slave-trading, I figured there’s no need for worst-moi to mess with it in this worst-post. I mean, we’ve moved on, right dear worst-reader? We’re all in the NOW. Right? And so. The most shocking thing about the information provided by pic above is that, other than Tesla and one pharma company, there’s only banking and tech. And all this because #americants are incapable of recognising how they’ve ruined the whole show because (their) greed is limitless and their politics are stupid-galore.

    Rant on.

    -T

    Link that motivated this post:

  • Twenty Four Hours A Difference Make

    Actually, dear worst-reader, it’s not quite 24 hours. The snow-pic I took yesterday afternoon. The rain pic I took before noon today. Yesterday’s snow storm was a sight to see–if you live in this region of wet-weather-torn Germania. It will snow every once-a-once here and the snow will be gone by the next day, but what makes this different is the amount of snow that fell yesterday. Within half a day there was at least six inches of snow in front my abode. Needless to say it was a wet journey getting to the same spot to take the same picture for comparison. Talk about a soaked area. It was like walking on water.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Interwebnet Uglies & Co.

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    This is a pic I took the other night of a street advert.

    Ok. Maybe I’m over doing it. It’s just that, I really thought, for years and years, that The Ineterwebnets was something beautiful. The reality is, it’s something ugly. Very ugly. Of course, it’s not ugly because it reveals the worst of humanity. No. It’s ugly because the cult of the entrepreneur (#americant) have found so many ways to turn something beautiful into something ugly. Perhaps that’s always what happens when something that was/is meant to be decentralised is then forced in to being centralised. Which means we’re probably not only in a time of greed run amok but also of ugly run amok. Can you say: #Trump? Or. If it works with industries like Hollywood (Harvey Weinstein & Co.) why shouldn’t it then work with technology?

    Enter Facebook & Co. (Co. = social media.) Now don’t get me wrong. If FB or social media floats your boat, sail on. But that doesn’t alleviate the reality that FB is part of what has turned The Interwebnets into The Uglies. And if you don’t believe me, give the above pic a good look.

    Here’s worst-writer’s translation to assist those who don’t speak the language of the last bastion of communism in the west, i.e. German:

    • Top text: “Facebook has no real daily use for me.”
    • Middle text: “Get really useful recommendations from friends that know what they’re doing.”
    • Bottom text: “Make Facebook your Facebook.” (Italic mine.)

    Note on translation: Although I have a FB account (and a Twitter account) and use the service to follow certain people, I don’t actively use it so I’m probably a bit out of the loop of what’s going on first hand with FB. Above the middle text is a red and white info-bubble icon with a star in it. I have no idear what this icon means. Nor am I interested in researching it to find out. Gee, am I missing (in translation) any redeeming quality from this advert because of that info-bubble?

    I had to ask my German better-half what this advert is about. She said it’s about FB’s bad rep in Germany. She added that FB has had trouble getting users because of the Snowden revelations. Ok, I thought. And then added in the back of my mind: if she (the German) says so.

    What is clear to me in the advert is that FB, either with or without knowing it, is revealing the thing that is not only inherently wrong with what it does but also that it’s partaken in making something ugly that is or was once beautiful.

    Or maybe I’m just way off base and can’t really articulate what I want to worst-say.

    Who cares.

    Rant on.

    -T

     

  • How The #neweconomy Became The #oldeconomy And #Apple #Sucks

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    Who loves being forced to buy new technology? I mean, that’s really what’s happening these days, or? If hardware manufactures somehow acted responsibly, there would then be no reason that the investment consume-to-survivors make couldn’t last longer. Or are the engineers that make everything smaller and thinner really not that good after-all? Oh wait. We’re living in monopoly times. And. Apple just made my Mac Mini obsolete. And. Apple also made it more difficult for me to update some software that I’ve been using. And while I’m on the subject… iPhones and the corporate obsoletism that’s behind them, really sucks. Yea. Apple sucks!

    After a year and a half of use, my iPhone 6s only works for about four hours a day before I have to put it on a charger. To counter this engineering #neweconomy wonder, a few months ago I splurged for an external battery case so I could forget about charging all the time. Luckily the case works really well. On the other hand, because of the case, my once gorgeous iPhone is now über-ugly, ridiculously heavy and I have to use an adapter for the headphone jack. But I’m not even complaining. Reason? I’ve been able to extend the life of my iPhone; I’ve been able to extend my investment. Ain’t that great? More importantly, this extension means I don’t have to dish out stupid-money to corporations that are already undeservedly rich because they can avoid paying taxes. And so. If I’m lucky, my technology investment (iPhone 6s) has somewhere between six months and year left in it. The reason for that has nothing to do with the battery. And so…

    The problem was hardware. The problem is software. Get this bull$hit quote from one of the undeservedly rich a$$holes from richer-than-god corporation:

    “I’ve always been fascinated by these products that are more general purpose. What I think is remarkable about the iPhone X is that its functionality is so determined by software. And because of the fluid nature of software, this product is going to change and evolve. In 12 months’ time, this object will be able to do things that it can’t now. I think that is extraordinary. I think we will look back on it and see it as a very significant point in terms of the products we have been developing. So while I’m completely seduced by the coherence and simplicity and how easy it is to comprehend something like the first iPod, I am quite honestly more fascinated and intrigued by an object that changes its function profoundly and evolves. That is rare. That didn’t happen 50 years ago.”

    Let’s break this quote down, shall we. Below the underscored text including worstwriter’s interpretation of greed mongering corporatists’ subtext.

    • functionality is determined by software
      • This will allow us to cheat customers even more than we cheat them now
    • fluid nature of software
      • fluid = 100% control
    • change and evolve
      • profit dictation and monopolised market equals obsoletism at the flip of a switch
    • I think we will look back on it and see it as a very significant point in terms of the products we have been developing
      • There is no ceiling to what we can charge for our products (first example is the iPhone X)
    • I’m completely seduced by the coherence and simplicity and how easy it is to comprehend something like the first iPod
      • Never question progress in the name of unsubstantiated profits in a monopolised market that is determined by arbitrary costs we pass on to customers in the name of that progress
    • object that changes its function profoundly and evolves. That is rare. That didn’t happen 50 years ago
      • That because 50 years ago there was competition and corporate behaviourists with college educations in Stupid hadn’t yet realised the easy profits from the verticalisation of industries, i.e. politically supported monopolies

    But I’m probably way off subject. What I really wanted to worst-write about today, dear worst-reader, was the idear that Apple’s App Store, along with the bull$hit spewed by Jony Ive, is yet another example of how the new economy has been defeated by the old economy (i.e. Goliath hath slain David). And not only has it been defeated but the new economy is now becoming the old economy. In the pic above, we see that software developers are locked into some kind of control room regarding their creations. A simple software that a few people put together must adhere to preposterous rules regarding how they run their business simply because they sell their creation through a “store” controlled by a monopolist entity. That this is legal, is beyond me. But then again, we are living in greed-times. Greed is good, right #americant?

    I have never been so motivated to trash all this tech krapp. Indeed. Looks like this text will be typed on the last Apple Mac that I ever buy. Of course, I’m stuck with the iPhone for a while. But that’s only because I’ve been too lazy to adopt “smartphones” the way I adopted (real) computers. But I don’t think it will take me as long with smartphones. Luckily I was able to see through the “smart” in phones a long time ago. And with that…

    But I digress.

    Rant on.

    -T

    Link that motivated this post:

  • Not A Worst #Brunch

    brunch 03122017
    Typical #eurowasteland Brunch for worst-writer once or thrice a year. Note that my champagne glass is empty. Indeed. On the wagon, baby.

    Good food, good conversation and worst-writer? Good idear or bad idear? I guess that’s what it’s all about in these worst-times, or, dear worst-reader? Indeed. Good food! Of course, we can’t let such an opportunity pass without a bit of ranting. Attendees of this Bruch: A Russian, a Serb, an American and a German. And now. Worst-words of the day while discussing the uselessness in this world of Germany and its politics after, of course, discussing the ramifications of whether or not it was/is a good idear for #eurowasteland to have pseudo trials run by so-called “neutral jurists” and thereby attempting, out of some form of abstract moral-code, in bringing war criminals to justice from the Yugoslav Wars?

    “Dude, Germany is nothing more than a pseudo colony of the US but with a strange language. So it doesn’t matter what it wants. Nothing it does happens unless the fcuking CIA makes it happen. Except, maybe, redesigning a VW. Fcuk Germany.”

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Worst Tweet # 4 Thousand So-n-So

    Since the 80s has been living off of consume-to-survive nothingness, meritlessness and the rule of mindless, college grad corporate #Automatons run amok. Understanding how the old economy so easily defeated the new economy in the 90s is also something worth considering. Then there’re the #warmongering #WarsofChoice of this new millennium. And now you’re worried about more of the same? #TaxScamBill? #LandoftheFreetobeStupid Good luck suckers. -T

  • Women And Men Working

    women and men working

    Believe what you want. Still. They’re both going nowhere.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • The Confusion Of Roadkill, Mighty Mouse And Who Is In My Dungeon Or Who Will Survive My Neighbor’s Dog’s (W)Rath?

     

    In my previous post, I wanted to put up these pics. But then I started typing and, well, you know how that batshit show ends up. Still. Here is potentially the post I would have uploaded regarding roadkill, my youthful confusion between Mighty Mouse and Mickey Mouse and a dead rabbit that was obviously mauled by dog near where I live. Poor Bugs Bunny, eh.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • The Harvey Weinstein Apology

    road kill frog or toad

    Subtitle: Or All Men Are Rapists And If So… Sorry About That.

    Disclaimer 1: this post is NSFW; it contains material of a sexual nature; some of it is also what I like to call pseudo-fiction. (Good luck with that.)

    Disclaimer 2: for those who can remember but don’t want to be reminded, this text contains NSFW material reminiscent of Guccione’s Penthouse Forum. Ah, those were the days!

    As much as I try, I can’t put myself in a mindset that can understand what women go through when it comes to sexual abuse. Seriously. I’ve tried. During one Halloween I dressed up like a sorority girl and I was sexual assaulted by numerous men. There was also the time I had my hair permed—when I still had hair—which was probably the most feminine thing I’ve ever done—and the guy that did it offered to blow me at least three times while I waited for the chemicals to set in; to this day I regret not letting him do it. During yet another period of experimentation I jerked off three dicks that stuck out of gloryholes—and not one of the recipients said thank you.

    But all belittlement aside.

    The thing I learned during my growing up days was that women, mostly because of men, have to have a different point-of-view when it comes to all-things sex. The simple-minded male oriented explanation for it is simple: it is just sex. For women…? Oh boy. Is it because there’s an added biological component that it’s different for women? You know, that whole procreation thing and the fact that women can be men but men can’t be mothers? Or is there something else?

    What I could never really grasp is what exactly goes through a woman’s mind when she faces the abuse? I mean, it’s been going on for so long is there a physiological, biological, chemical, ecological evolutionary change? Which brings me to this worst-question: was it ever really necessary that Daddy give his daughter away?

    Again. All belittlement aside.

    Sex is everything. Just look at how the world works. Money has failed us. Religion has failed us. What’s left? You’re either getting fucked or you’re doing the fucking. This differentiation, by-the-buy, is waaaaaaay beyond the birds and bees, don’t you know. Hence, what’s the point of sexuality or things like gender differentiation if everything is always just about getting your rocks off? And. Does political correctness actually mean what we think it means or is it ultimately just a call back to the days when sex wasn’t everything?

    I suppose there was a time when minds weren’t spinning so much (about sex) but those are long gone. And I don’t think they’re ever coming back—even though so many in my beloved #americant hope they do. Those were the days when it wasn’t ONLY winner take all—and there was one fucker and one fuckee. But then again, do we really wish for the return of those days?

    There might be one good thing about sex being everything these days. And here it is as only worst-writer can write it: The days of the three little king-queens are gone. That is, money, sex and religion once ruled the world. (Not necessarily in that order.) Now only one of the three rule the world.

    Still with me, dear worst-reader?

    The Actress

    All of this talk of sex abuse has gotten to me, dear worst-reader. It reminds me of those days when I once contemplated: am I a rapist?

    I’ve had my way with a few women, don’t you know. And not just women. I’ve had my way with a few actresses. (But don’t call me Harvey Weinstein, baby!) Indeed.

    I was once a itty-bitty play producer. And get this. I utilised my itty-bitty play producer casting couch whenever the opportunity arose. In fact, after my first play production, the opportunity–of my casting couch–arose more than I deserved. But let’s focus on the first casting couch experience, shall we?

    She was a lovely young actress. She had beautiful skin, long wavy hair, thighs typically early twenties thick. While she read the lines of my play I couldn’t stop my mind from drifting to you know what. I looked at her neck and her lips and her elbows. Yes, dear worst-reader, I am a stickler for joints—my favourite being ankles but they are at times the most difficult to see. Needless to say, within minutes of starting to read the script I had a raging erection. What does one do with a raging erection when the cause of it is breathing next to you?

    Due to the discomfort, I stood up in front the actress while she was reading her lines. I thought I was gonna get a cup of tea. But, while my cock was trying to poke out of my relative loose fitting chino-pants, she stopped me. Before I could apologise and make some excuse, the actress said something like “oh my” and “my goodness”. She was staring at the bulge. She then put down the script and told me that I couldn’t cum inside her and she didn’t like the taste of cum. I then quickly placed a huge kiss on her face and at the same time undid my pants.

    Within seconds her pants were off and I was caressing her ankles with my ears. I then went down on her and kissed and licked her till she came. Dripping from so much activity down there, I heeded her request not to cum inside her—assuming she was referring to procreative, vaginal activity—and entered her anally. She let out another “oh my” and “my goodness”. Her discomfort aroused me even more. To this day I can still hear her mumbling and gasping and slurping.

    And, by-the-buy, she was an awful actress. Her voice had no cadence. She kept screwing up the timing of the dialogue. When I asked her to say some lines without looking at the page, she couldn’t. In fact, she was completely incapable of memorising anything. But before I get too far off subject…

    It took a few minutes but the she eventually relaxed. I don’t think she enjoyed anything that afternoon except me servicing her and the shower I gave her after I dumped my goo in her ass. After a few dates she told me that she had found someone else and, she added, that she considered our first encounter to have been rape because of the way I helped myself to her ass. Then she also added that she has a new job and couldn’t continue with my play. I asked her for one last sympathy fuck and when she said no, I thanked her, said goodbye and told her that I had found another actress anyway.

    (For those interested, as far as the play is concerned, I eventually put the female role of my play, using casting couch actress #2, into a TV screen. This helped the productions in many ways. First, we were no longer dependent on an actress remembering her lines, i.e. we could just feed her cue cards. Second, of the three other actresses that were on my casting couch for that play, none of them mentioned rape even though we never once talked about all the fucking we did. And I had them many varying ways, too.)

    The Other Girl

    I met this girl in college. We went on a few dates, the movies, the usual. I could get to every base with this chick except home base. That is, she wouldn’t fuck me but she would suck on my dick if I promised not to ejaculate. (Who raises these chicks, by the way!) Then I met her best friend who said that she would fuck me. But I couldn’t/wouldn’t  go there; I didn’t go there. I simply didn’t think it the right thing to do—you know: date one chick who wouldn’t and then fuck her best friend who would.

    About a year later, long after the chick who wouldn’t fuck me (but would suck me) was out of the picture, I met up with her friend again. She mentioned how we were both caught up in a world of bad timing. Now she was seeing a guy and because she was fucking him she wouldn’t fuck me. She only fucked one guy at a time, she said. But she also said, “how bout the next best thing?” One evening after giving her a ride home she invited me in to her apartment. I was indeed curious… about the next best thing.

    Within minutes my cock was at the back of her throat. After about ten minutes of her proving why it’s called a blowJOB, she told me it was ok if I cum. I told her I wanted to fuck and then would gladly finish in her mouth. She told me once again about the other guy that she was hoping to have a relationship with and also added: “he’ll know if you fuck me, so let’s just do this… the next best thing.” I guess she was referring to the mess a man can leave behind. And I thought of two things: first, who doesn’t like sloppy seconds and second, girls don’t leave a mess behind?

    Another ten minutes went by. She was getting tired and resorting to the use of her hands. “Please, come all over me,” she said. “Let me fuck you and then I promise to come on your face,” I said. But she was incorrigible. She took a deep breath and tried to break the back of the bear that would be her last ditch effort to get me to ejaculate. I could tell her knees were aching, her arms were getting sore, her nose was slapping the tight skin of my lower abdomen, her tongue was losing its ability to jostle my sack. She eventually fell on her back and my cock was above her, raging hard and blue. “Ok. You win. I give up,” she said. “Are you ok,” she asked.

    I packed my blue junk as best I could back into my pants and kissed her on the forehead as I left. “Let me know when things don’t work out with your boyfriend,” I said. I drove home and it took me two days and countless jerk-off sessions to relieve myself of blue-balls.

    A few weeks later we were in the same situation. I had driven her home and she mentioned how much she wanted me to cum in her throat. I smirked and admitted that maybe I would give in this time. But I also asked her if she would at least let me play around a bit. “Ok,” she said. “But you still can’t fuck me.” When we got into her apartment she immediately removed all her clothes and I proceeded to fuck her mouth every which way. She laid on her back on the coffee table with her head hanging backwards over the edge. She made me get on all fours on her dinner table and she attacked my junk from behind. She blew me while she peed. She even tried to jerk me off while talking on the phone to her mother. Of course, eventually, we reached that special moment. “Ok, come now,” she demanded. “I’m not ready yet,” I responded. She then gathered her guns, prepped her jaw and continued the good fight.

    That’s when something hit me. Fuck this! I don’t have to take this krapp. And so. While doing one of her change-ups, relieving her jaw, my dick and balls getting bluer and bluer, I grabbed both her arms from behind, holding them together at the elbows. She squirmed but didn’t really try to get out of my hold. Slowly, already lubed-up from so much contact with her throat, I slipped my raging cock into her ass. Her squirms turned to a slight jolt but I pulled her arms back towards my chest. I leaned in with my hips and before kissing her neck I said: “is this what you wanted all the time?”

    After I finally released, I sat on the couch and said something about needing more of the same in a few minutes. You know, that old saying: “Hold a sec, baby. I’m not done yet.” Then she turned to me and said something about rules and how I just broke them. I smirked. “You’re not serious,” I said. “You can do what you have to do tonight–I’ll grant you that. But this is it. I’m the one that sets the rules. You broke them.”

    My jaw was hanging even though my dick was still raging. Then she mentioned that she had done anal a few times before but it wasn’t really her thing. She added that she would definitely not suck on my cock anymore even if I washed it with turpentine. Then I asked her if she was crazy. She repeated: “I’m not crazy. I set the rules.”

    Since I was a good listener back then, I got up off the couch, grabbed her by the arms again and turned her around. I bent her over the dinner table and fucked her in the ass till I came two more times. It was glorious.

    Finding Love

    And so. I’ve had my way with a few women here and there. As far as I can recall there have been a total of two No’s and numerous encounters where the issue was never discussed but I still had my sexual fun. Through out all my years I’ve often asked: Have I always thought enough about her while I’m doing her? Is her orgasm as important as my release? Does any of this make me a rapist?

    While growing up in my beloved and missed #americant, while entering the world of sex and relations and fun, of the women/girls I was with, the majority of them complained about being abused at one point in their lives. That thought has never left me. So let me try to say it again, put it another way. By the time I was 25—and I started having sex when I was 17—almost all the girls I had sex with complained about abuse by someone in their family, their stepfathers, church, athletics, etc.

    Whaaaaaaaaa the fuck is going on?

    And so. I have never cat-called a woman. I have never asked any of my girlfriends or wives or fuck-buddies to either make me a sandwich or iron my shirt. I’ve never entered a woman once without at least taking her out to dinner or to a movie … afterwards—where I then tried to fuck her again and most of the time succeeded. I’ve also never had a one-night stand because to me, no matter how bad the first time was or what my (relationship) intentions were, I always believed you had to do it with the same woman at least three times to even begin to get it right. With that in mind, there were still two women in my life that said “no” and I fucked them anyway because 1) they wouldn’t/didn’t leave (when they had the opportunity to do so) and 2) they didn’t stop what we both started.

    Now. Am I a…

    Which brings me to #Trump, Harvey Weinstein and being raised in sexually repressed #americant.

    The worst part of living in these nightmare times of a president #Trump is that he’s not just a sexually repressed man but he’s also an atypical greed-monger–and he is one among the many. So in a way, I guess, it’s no wonder women are going nuts. Especially those raised by very confused mothers. And so. Where has feminism got them? Did they end up not being like their mother(s) or did they just become the same (as their mothers) albeit wearing more fashionable fancy coats and shoes?

    The other thing is, I feel like the thing that #Trump really is, is that he’s something that is everywhere and he is, unfortunately, that which raised me. And no matter what I do the thought of being an abuser because I had my way with a few ladies will never leave me–as I’ve worst-written about here today. Indeed. I have to live with that. On the other hand…

    While I was out there trying to find love the Harvey Weinsteins, the Bill Clintons, the Bill Cosbys, the Woody Allens, etc., etc., have been ruining good fucks since day one. And for that I am very sorry. I really am.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Pseudo Review #4: R&M Charger GX At 3000km

    charger GX in the woods

    As stated here and here, I’m a big fan of Riese & Mueller e-bikes. In fact, after my better-half bought me the Charger GX last spring, the only time I’m not on this bike is 1) I’m pooped from riding it and 2) the weather sucks. Since the power of this e-bike eliminates the need to consider weather, especially wind as a riding factor (wind can be pretty severe on this part of the Rhine) only heavy precipitation keeps me from riding it. I use this e-bike for everything including grocery shopping and errands (utilising trusty and ageing Ortlieb saddle bags and the rear rack). After becoming a single-car family, I’m somewhat surprised how little I’ve missed having a second car. I suppose if we lived more remotely instead of on the outskirts of a city there’d be more reason to have a second car. But knowing what I now know about e-bikes, I’d actually continue without a second car until circumstances dictated otherwise. Of course, every time I drive our remaining car I’m also reminded of how $hitty it is to drive in Germany anyway. I mean. Come on. Just get a load of the traffic between D’dorf and Köln—most of which is hindered by severe construction (as though the Germans are just now learning how to build Autobahns). I’ve been riding my R&M between the two cities and other than an extended, boring passage which feels somewhat middle-of-nowhere-ish, I don’t mind the extra time it takes to ride the forty or so kilometres. But then again, I’ve not actually done a direct comparison of riding or driving from D’dorf to Köln. Maybe I should do that someday. Especially considering parking. But I digress.

    charger gx picking up sushi
    Picking up Sushi for dinner.

    Inspections & Dealer Krapp.

    The “Service” notice keeps appearing on my Bosch Intuvia screen. I think I’ve had two of the service inspections done so far. To be honest, I’m not quite sure what the dealer does with the bike during an inspection. The process is not at all that transparent and the bike doesn’t feel like anything has been tightened, changed or oiled when I get it back. Hell, they don’t even clean the thing. Of course, there’s some kind of checklist they have to go through—which they arbitrarily hand to me after I pay. In the end, as usual, it’s all just a waste of money–and time. Then again, I can’t update the Bosch firmware, which has been updated twice since acquiring the bike, hence the two inspections I’ve subjected myself to. Which brings me to the following question: Why do dealers have to charge for a firmware update if Bosch doesn’t charge for it? Oh wait. Who would pass up a chance to rip-off customers of 25,-euros if they can? (Sarcasm off.)

    Replacing Frame.

    Luckily, my dealer and the people he hires are a bit ditsy. That leaves me plenty of space to criticise, criticise, criticise. As mentioned in a previous post, R&M has provided a new frame for my e-bike due to damaged paint when it was delivered. I’ve had to put off frame replacement though because my dealer is unable to cope with not only e-bike demand but e-bike service. Now get this. The replacement frame was delivered in June. The dealer requested that I wait till the fall to replace the frame because he was too overwhelmed with “seasonal” business. When fall came around, due to my schedule, I requested that we do replacement in October. We finally set a replacement appointment for Nov. 2. When I arrived Nov. 2 (the morning after jet-lagging from international travel the day before) the dealer told me his mechanic was sick and I’d have to leave bike with him for two weeks. That was/is unacceptable. We’ve now changed the date to Dec 5 and I have insisted that an appointment is appointment—he shouldn’t tell me that he needs two weeks to replace the frame when I bring it in next time. We’ll see how that goes. (And by-the-buy, let it not be told that I could easily give up my GX for two weeks because, well, I could always use my wife’s Charger Mixte. The only problem is, I don’t want to give up my GX—at all!)

    rear tire 3000km

    Tires.

    There is something fantastical about the knobby tires on the GX. As far as biking goes, regular or e-biking, the Rock Razor tires are huge, bulky, and kinda ugly. I have to deal with countless comments from fellow bikers about how my tires are… not really bicycle tires. Seriously. I mean… I have pedals. Wheels. A Frame. Handle bars. And there are still some people that think I’m riding a monster-truck on two wheels. With that in mind, the huge tires on this bike are so well designed and made that, other than the noise they give off on flat roads, they are like the best friggin tires I’ve ever experienced on a bike. You would think, due to their size, width, knobs, etc., that high speed turns on roads would, at the least, be edgy. This is not the case. They don’t get unstable, wobbly or feel the least uncomfortable. Of course, off-road, they are even better. There is no terrain that I won’t ride across on these tires. Whether riding through sand, mud or rocks, nothing shakes them.

    Then again, they don’t last forever. As you can see in the pic above, my rear tire no longer has any bite. I’ve ordered a new tire to replace it which will be added when I get new the frame next month—and probably just in time for winter. I am indeed curious how these tires will handle the wet, cold and sometimes icy winter weather around here.

    Battery.

    Juice be told, baby. I really wish I had access to the Bosch system in order to see how my battery is performing. I should be into the hundreds of recharges on the battery by now. I think it’s recharge limit is around 700. I guess it’s held up well so far. But… In 3000km I’ve noticed how the battery has definitely weakened. I’m getting at least 20-30km less battery than the first 1000-1500km. I really started noticing the weakening after 2000km. Of course, if I had access to the Bosch system, I could see if, perhaps, I’ve let the e-bike spoil my legs a bit—which could be the  cause of higher battery usage.

    As far as battery modes go, here’s how I use my battery:

    • Eco: I use this mode for 1-2 hour leg and cardio workouts. This mode neutralises the bikes extreme weight and literally turns it into a workout machine–with a great view (of the outdoors). I also use this mode if/when trying to conserve battery on longer tours. Obviously, with battery getting weaker, having to use this mode more often.
    • Tour: this is my main riding mode. I use this when running errands and/or have to jaunt into the city centre. Usually won’t exceed trips beyond 50-65km.
    • Sport/eMTB: Recent update has turned Sport into “eMTB” mode. This is supposed to be a mix between all of the modes and is determined by pedal speed/cadence, pedal weight/strength, resistance/terrain, etc. I use Sport when I’m on trails or mountain biking and when I’m lazy.
    • Turbo: I only use this mode on extreme hill climbs.

    That’s it for now.

    Ride safely.

    And rant on.

    -T

  • Anti Relaxation, Boredom And Too Much Bat$hittery In The Homeland. But The Beach Is Still Grand.

    Pics above a welcome change of scenery from all those months in #eurowasteland. Assateague Island galore, including a lovely but decaying flush mechanism from a beach outhouse that I feel compelled to include. I wonder sometimes if flush mechanisms have lost their value in these days of greed mongering, sex abuse by people who are sexually repressed and politics that always… always leave the rich their unearned, stolen wealth. But before I get too far off subject.

    Last Homeland visit (to the land of free to be stupid) for 2017. Spent first week walking around mid-Atlantic cities and eating grand #americant breakfasts. Hotel beds were excellent. Weather has been unbelievably gorgeous–except for one storm. Other than a ridiculous dinning experience at a pseudo-Spanish restaurant in Baltimore–where we literally gave back our plates because the food was so bad–and the waiter told us that we had to practice eating locally in order to appreciate his kitchen–things have been a-ok. Of course, usually when I visit the Homeland–gosh, I just love writing/saying that dystopian name #americant has given itself because it/we made so many bad choices post 9/11–I try to avoid the newz. I don’t avoid it because it don’t agree with it. That’s a given in my worst-book. No. I avoid it because, well, I get better newz about the homeland when I’m abroad. The filters, including the willingly ignorant and inept minds that serve as nets, colanders, sling-shots for the propaganda (yes, that’s what it was called before “fake”) are simply too many to combat. One is bombarded here with so much bullshit from all walks of life that it’s no wonder things are the way they are. Or am I preaching to the choir, dear worst-reader? Am I just now realising this because of all my years abroad–or despite those years? Nomatter. This morning a fairly important confidant slash worker-bee of #americant’s favourite President Stupid was indicted. The hustle and bustle about this newest #americant political scandal means that flatscreens in all walks of life are blaring the newz. Even I, the grand wizard of worst-writtery, can’t avoid it all, dear worst-reader. And so. Here we/you go again with scandal galore. Which brings me to the following worst-conclusions:

    • Hillary did no wrong
    • Barry-O didn’t have one scandal (thanks to Hillary)
    • Dip$hit Dubya left #americant with a scandal it will never get out of
    • Who is #americant’s daddy, bitch! That’s right. You elected #Trump.

    Good luck suckers.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Japanese Deer On Assateague Island Looks Like Bambi And Costs An Andrew Jackson To See

    According to our friendly neighbourhood park ranger, this is not Bambi (vid above). I mean, we thought we were walking next to Bambi. She’s got spots on her back n’all. But according to Ranger Billy-Bob-Junior she ain’t even a “deer”. She’s an elk. Of course, I don’t really care. I was so pissed that we had to–in the land of free to be stupid–pay $20 dollars to enter a national park so that we could go for a walk. The good news is the ticket we bought works in the northern park of the park, too, which we plan on visiting before we end this lovely misconstrued #americant visit. Considering what #americant pays for wars, for stupid white people doing the easy wrong instead of the difficult right, etc., etc., to charge $20 for something that should be paid for by tax dollars is really, really f’d up. But what the hell am I saying? This is a country that has no idear why/how/who it pays taxes to/for/what. Need I worst-remind: The land of free to be stupid–where money is for maintaining the poor, artificially propping up inheritors of century old wealth and letting the inept middle classes think they too can someday be part of it all.

    Oh. Before I forget. The pine trees on Assateague Island have some kind of bug eating them from the inside-out (see pic below). This has devastated the forest there. We stopped one journeyman, an elderly Dame, and inquired about the devastation. Her faced turned sad as she explained the Southern Pine Beetle to us. To prevent a tangent into her life story we weren’t ready to listen to, I interrupted her and blurted out the following question:

    Worstwriter: Is this a climate change thing?

    Without getting into any reality that is climate change, here is the crux of her response:

    Nice Old Dame On A Walk: Well, if you’re the type… and I am one… I think you can say that.

    Indeed, #americant. If you’re the type… you too can have… a land of free to be stupid. Also, if you’re the type, you too can believe in virgin births, i.e. books written during the bronze age.

    pine tree dying
    Lone dying/dead pine tree. So sad.
    Good luck suckers.

    Rant on.

    -TS

  • Priceless Statue Fascist Glory

     

    Homeland bound. Homeland waning. Homeland unwanted visit–but also not a voluntary one. Although this was/is my normal off-season time of travel to the Homeland, I thought it better that I let it go this year and jaunt over the Atlantic early next year instead. Reason for change of travel-mind? Yea, could have something to do with family. Family? And so. Now I’m wondering if the word family has taken on the same superficiality as “hero”. Oh. The thoughts churned while traveling home. Nomatter. There are indeed more impending things to worstwrite about.

    Took a tour of the Virginia state capital yesterday and made a massive (personal) discovery. While an elderly southern bell provided us with all the obligatory knowledge-bits about where we were and what we were looking at, I found myself facing, according to our tour guide, “the most priceless statue in the United States”. As the southern bell detailed George Washington’s experience of having a plaster caste of his face being made by the French sculpture Jean Antoinne Houdon, my third eye got caught on… the thing Washington was leaning on. At first I let my thoughts pass and even joined the group of geriatric tourists in another chamber so as not to miss any knowledge bits. But the statue of GW was in the rotunda and with each chamber that was presented to us, I had to pass this curiosity. I think there were four chambers all-together but after the second one I skipped the group and remained in the rotunda. I couldn’t take my eyes off the object that GW was leaning on. When an employee of the building passed by me I stopped him and asked what the object was. The man searched his mind but couldn’t come up with the name of what it’s called. Then he explained–in a normal, non-southern voice:

    Oh that. You know. I can’t remember the name of it. But it’s when you take a stick and break it in half. Then you take the two halves, put them together and break them again. You then take the four quarters, put them together, break them again. Eventually, sir, you can no longer break them.

    And the object behind that, I asked him.

    Oh. That. That’s a plow. (See last pic above.)

    It was a moment I will take a long time to forget, dear worst-reader. In fact. Put another way: Holy shit. George Fcuking Washington is a Fascist! How do I know? Well. He is resting his left arm on a Fasces, i.e. the international symbol of Fascism. Or. Put another way. Even though this statue was sculpted in the late 18th century, long before what I consider to be the antithesis of fascism (and the reason for fascism), i.e. communism, GW is leaning on an object that symbolizes terror of another kind. Go figure, eh. Now. With that in worst-mind, allow me to traverse this brain flatulent: Irrespective of #Trump and his dipshit claim after Charlottesville that has lead to Antifa getting back in the newz, let’s see if this statue can be removed, too. Yea. On the other hand, as far as worst-writer is concerned, get rid of all symbols of hate, greed and war mongering, etc.

    wiki screenshot fasces
    The fascist fasces

    Rant on.

    -T

    PS. But worst-writer, what is a fascist? Good question, worst-reader. Here or here.

     

  • More Wishing What I Were

    more wishing what I were

    Can’t remember where I got the pic so let’s just source it as: screenshot # (infinity). Other wishing what I were here. Rant on. -T

  • That Moment You’re Out Of Battery. Oh. Great! I’ve Got Another One. Battery, That Is.

    challenging tour with ebike.jpg

    A pretty gruelling ride yesterday. It started with a train ride that took me and my electrified The Panzer to the badlands at the end of Wuppertal. (Btw, if you’ve never been to Wuppertal, you have to go. It’s worth it to go there and just take a ride on the Schwebebahn.) From there I planned to ride back the whole way to the Rhein and then D’dorf. I got started late after meeting with some folk and drinking a few. Since the sun is beyond it’s summer solstice, and it got away from me quicker than I expected, most of the ride was in the dark. And we’re not worst-riding (writing) about the dark on some paved roads. I was in the friggin woods most of the time. Thank goodness I’ve got some  pretty decent lighting on The Panzer. Btw, the panzer is a Riese&Müller Charger GX Touring (what a mouthful, eh). Now. The distance I travelled wasn’t the farthest I’ve been. It was only about sixty and half kilometres. The challenge last night was something else. Most of the first half of the ride required some pretty serious uphill trekking, including having to get off the bike and push it, albeit with electric motor assist. Seriously. There were these tree roots covering one pathway and I thought I’d have to put that damn bike on my back to get it up (and that’s what she said, eh). The darkness that quickly overcame me didn’t help matters. Anyhow. See elevation and speed profile of pic above. Moving my well endowed, well-over 200lbs a$$ up a hill–see 10km mark in pic above–pretty much wiped an entire bar from my battery. I even had to use the walk-assist of the motor to get up some of the hills. Keep in mind, five bars indicate a full juiced battery. By the time I hit 25km two bars were gone. On flat-land, I can average 15-20km (on tour-assist mode) per bar. And so. In the middle of some serious darkness on a lonely road in the middle of nowhere, and only one bar of battery left, I finally changed batteries at 45km. I was pretty tired at that point, too. I rode around 35-40km through dense woods and trails, up and down lots of steep hills–and it was f’n fun! But this middle-aged fellow was pooped at 30km. Would I do it again? Damn straight. But I’d prefer to do it when there’s… let there be light.

    Rant and ride on.

    -T

    PS The speed profile is a bit whacky. I think the reason it has such a large blank space in it is because, while going down one hill, I exceeded normal bike speeds by whole bunch. Indeed. I clocked well over 60km/h on one down hill short trek. (Oh, it was light out, in Ronsdorf, when I did that.) Yea, baby.

  • Pseudo Review: RasPlex + Hifiberry And Some Serious Audio On The Cheap

     

    rasplex hifiberry dacpluspro
    That little green light is more than go-go, baby!

    Kinda follow-up, update to this post here. More pseudo-review of audio equipment here.

    Can a non-audiophile still hear great audio? Can a music-lover of old music still get some jams through his/her head in these digital times without breaking the bank? Do those guys that spend all that money as “audiophiles” give you the creeps? Indeed. Money. Audio. How much you got?

    Because I spend too much money on other expensive stuff, I’ve never really prioritised audio in my life–even though I love listening to music. I learned a long time ago that you don’t have to dish out huge sums of cash to hear good replicated music. That said, I can’t go more than a few days without listening to something that either soothes me, rocks me or moves me. A good drink and some Jazz while cooking is heaven. Am I wrong? And so. Unlike most young folk today, I can’t listen to music through headphones–whether in-ear or over-ear. If you see me out and about with Beckett, the killer pug, and I’ve always got earbuds stuck in my head–I’m listening to podcasts! The problem with headphones and earbuds is the feeling I get with so little space between my ears and what moves air. Headphones make music not only sound weird but feel weird, too. If that makes me old fashion, then get this. I have come to love today’s modern digital music consume-to-survive world. Even though I don’t buy much music anymore–and I can’t stand most all of the music made nowadays, I’m good. Reason? I have a digitised music library that contains everything I need. Whether it’s The Beatles (the greatest album ever is Abby Roads), Beethoven (9th!) or some esoteric Jazz, I’m good. Really good. Seriously. And that’s not all. For all practical purposes, dear worst-reader, I completely missed the CD revolution, too. I couldn’t afford the equipment back then. Since the 70s I have consumed music by borrowing, sharing or trading. In fact, till about fifteen years ago, I had never even owned a sound system with speakers. But I digress.

    As digital music took over by the mid 90s–along with the Internetwebs–I was still catching up on the CD revolution. Of course, at least two-thirds of the CDs I have, were all acquired pre-owned or traded. Like in the days with cassettes and albums, digital music was made for sharing. For those who consider sharing piracy, first: fuck you. Second: I still have most of the CDs I ripped in a box in my basement. I never once downloaded anything from Napster–even though I admire greatly what they were trying to do. (Note: I will never buy anything Metallica for what that $hitty band did to young people who just wanted to share music.) I did make a few downloads from BitTorrent, though. (Note: it was all part of research!) Anyhoo. I have a nice digital library of music that spans most of the 20th century. Oh, and I have two version of that library. One version is in FLAC and the other, to appease me wife’s demand for media singularity and simplicity, is iTunes compatible.

    Let’s move on to the pseudo-review, shall we?

    As you’ll note in the pic above, I am currently using two streaming devices for our home media. For amplification (and in order to avoid those awful sound bars, which my wife wanted after I got rid of our AVR krapp) I’m using a TEAC A-HO1 integrated amp and DAC. Here’s a review of it. I got it last year after selling my hundred pound multi-channel AVR system, 7 speakers, and one 700 watt subwoofer. I’m not even gonna worst-write how little money I got for all that krapp–which says a lot about the state of the audio equipment industry. But get this. I would have almost given it away. If I ever have to wire up five, six or seven speakers again and then try to configure an AVR for a room… I’m gonna shoot myself with your gun.

    Amp and sound.

    The TEAC is connected to some really, really cool Audioengine P4 speakers (not pictured). We have a fairly small living room and I’ve never once regretted having these “bookshelf” speakers–which are actually in bookshelves that surround my flatscreen TV. They are fantastic speakers and I got them on a über-great-deal from shopping on the Interwebnets. They move the air more than enough to make sound very, very enjoyable.

    Streaming boxes.

    For iTunes we have the AppleTV(3) connected via HDMI to the TV. The optical-out of the TV is connected to the optical-in of the TEAC. This works fine–except for the fact that one is locked into the Apple world. Which also means no high-end audio and/or limited access to my own higher-end audio files. The ATV can’t play FLAC files.

    Also connected to the TV via HDMI is my RaspberryPi 2 Model B+, and connected to that is a Hifiberry DAC+Pro. This is a bit more complicated than the ATV. The HDMI of the RaspberryPi also delivers audio to the TV, and, as with the ATV, the TV converts audio signals to the TEAC’s optical-in. Again, for simplicity, I have chosen not to use the ATV’s optical out–which does produce better audio than the TV. That said, we want something more than any of these optical options, don’t we?

    Analogue Audio Galore.

    The Hifiberry is where the real magic happens. For less than a hundred Euros–the software, RasPlex, is free btw–the Raspberry Pi is a fantastic DAC. It actually converts and, where applicable, upscales audio and then delivers that as analog right and left stereo to the TEAC’s analog-in cinch ports. The Hifiberry DAC+ and “pro” designation means that it has the same type of chips used in high-end DACs. You can opt for a non “pro” version of the Hifiberry if you prefer to save a buck or three. But I couldn’t resist the gold cinch connectors! Nomatter.

    Btw, I’ve had the RaspberryPi+Hifiberry for two years or so. I gave up on it when I first got it because I couldn’t get the drivers to work properly. Even though the HDMI of the Raspberry Pi spits out audio, it’s not half as good as what this thing spits out with the Hifiberry card attached. And so. The other day, while bored out of my early-retirement mind and while fiddling through a junk box of old gadgets, I decided to google whether or not they finally fixed the driver issue. Alas! They did. I re-installed the newest version of RasPlex on a 16GB micros SD card. I also had to fiddle with the config.txt file a bit. Then you have to tell RasPlex, using the UI, to route audio through the Hifiberry daughter card… Boom, baby! That little green light (pic above) lights up bright and shinny.

    First test.

    From a ripped blu-ray of Guardians of the Galaxy, the Raspberry Pi + Hifiberry streams from my Plex server via LAN crystal clear 1080p video including up (or is it down?) scaled DTS 5.1 audio to stereo and the TEAC releases what will make even an ageing grouch like me smile from ear to ear. Also. I’m really glad those boys at RasPlex got their software to the point that even I can set it up. Cool. Über cool.

    Rant on.

    -T

     

  • That Place Where I’m Going

    that place where I am going soon

    Source of pic: vevo.com search for The Beatles Hey Jude and go to about 6m 24sec.

    Rant on,

    -T

  • Lucky Castle Sunset vs 1979 Solar Eclipse And A Treehouse I Never Built

    Glucksburg sunset August 2017
    Glücksburg sunset over Denmark

    Disclaimer. This post is somewhat NSFW. Good luck. §On account I’m so jealous that I couldn’t see the solar eclipse yesterday, here’s a pic I took two weeks ago while visiting the Ostsee. Sorry for the over-exposure. (That is over-exposure, right? I really know zilch about picture taking.) §I do recall seeing a solar eclipse in 1979, though. I even tried to catch its shadow on a paper plate but instead was distracted by a neighbourhood hottie. §She was riding around on her pink bike towing along her family poodle. Robyn was her name, I think. We were both in the same grade–eighth or ninth and since puberty barely shared a word with each other. She had really big hair and corresponding really big boobies. But not too big. Big boobs and hips. She was a show to watch/look at. I was terrified to talk to her. Indeed. §As the eclipse approached and everything began to darken Robyn stopped riding her bike, turned to me, and lost control. She stopped in the middle of a neighbours drive-way. Her dog ran away and within seconds was up the street and got hit by a speeding 1972 Impala. She dumped her bike in the driveway of Victor, the neighbourhood grouch. Victor proceeded to run over the bike while leaving his house, smashing it to pieces while singing “I’ve Gotta Be Me” as the celestial happening approached. §Robyn grabbed my hand and lead me off behind her house. We ran like a gazelle and a thick, beautiful cow. We even jumped over the fence guarding, surrounding her backyard. We went into the woods. §Only a few days before I had caught a whole bunch of frogs in the creek at that same place. A guy that lived in the houses on the other side of the woods told me that the frogs were gathering because they knew the eclipse was coming. If I didn’t do something they would all go crazy during the eclipse and annihilate each other in an orgy of self-destruction. So I gathered them up and put them in little containers. I would be doing them a favour, I thought. §Robyn pulled me behind a huge honey locust tree, the thorns of which I had removed recently because me and a friend wanted to build a tree-house in it. (Of course, if completed, we would have had the perfect view of Robyn’s bedroom window. But I digress.) §Robyn placed her mouth on mine and at the same time pulled my hand and held it over her left boob. I let her stick her tongue in my mouth and I focused on some tenderness, avoiding teeth–holding back my inexperienced tongue, feeling hers quiver and search. Under the veil of the woods and the disappearing act of the sun in the middle of the afternoon, I thought it was time to lose something. But I wasn’t ready to lose it. It just wasn’t possible under those circumstances. I realised it would take a life-time just to get underneath her shirt and bra. There are too many hindrances, I thought. Too many hindrances to this game. And. There was no place to lay down. There was nothing but old tree limbs, leaves, stumps, etc. Could we do it standing up? Of course not! Way too soon for that. Or? No. §First it’s time to finally learn the real purpose of a brassiere. It was a barrier, a guard-house, maybe even a trap–to the softness of a teat. A bra’s sole purpose is to hide and protect, to shield–it is not to support. But then she said, “if you can get underneath, go ‘head.” As I pushed on the metal support to get my fingers underneath, crickets started chirping–as they do at dusk. The birds stopped singing–as they do at night. And Freddy, a neighbours German Shepard, started barking. Freddy always barked at sunset. But it’s two-thirty in the afternoon. §We were let out of school early that day for the eclipse. I was doing my best to capture the sun and moon’s shadows on a paper plate that I was supposed to trace with a crayon and bring to school the next day. Primitive, elementary, but what the heck. #Americant was educating all of us to be geniuses now was it? Nomatter. Instead I was thinking about the paper-plate I stole while my mom wasn’t looking. Yes. I grew up in a household that counted the paper-plate supply. But I wasn’t going to get distracted by all that–the frogs were enough. §I was thinking about how Robyn was finding places on my face where she could make gentle smooches. She would circle my eyes with her lips and then move down the bridge of my nose. She whispered that she loved my flat nose and my big nostrils. She then touched her top lip to my bottom lip and grabbed the back of my head. She pulled me closer and closer and our skulls began to touch. She pulled back and then touched her bottom lip to my top lip, her top lip kissing the septum of my nose. She whispered, “how come you didn’t finish your tree-house?” Before I could answer I finally learned the method of the French Kiss. Placing the left side of my nose to the left side of her nose, my top lip gently met hers. Simultaneously we moved our lower lips lower to make room for the tip of our tongues. She moved her tongue more than I did. More experienced? I was focused on the electricity of her top lip. It felt similar to her under-boob. I had gotten the bra up above her nipple but was preoccupied with the milky flesh of her under-boob. I couldn’t find the gentlest part of my hand to caress it, though. The calluses of my palm must have scratched. Or it didn’t. She put her hand over mine and pulled my hand towards the whole of her boob. She crushed it as though massaging a very large itch. I squeezed with my finger tips, I could feel the weakness of the nail of my little finger gorging her boob. Then the first gasp came from her mouth, even while she tongued me. I could smell that she had milk and a banana recently, maybe even a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before that. Then I noticed an urge in me. I wasn’t sure where it was coming from. Was it coming from the sun–or the moon? No. It must be coming from both as we could still hear Victor, the grouchy neighbour singing I Gotta Be Me in the back ground of what we were doing in the oddity of new darkness behind Robyn’s house, beyond her yard’s fence, in the woods. §I pulled my mouth away from her lips but caressed the side of her face with the hand that had just left her boob. I sunk down low and placed my face  on the roundness of her puffy areola. Immediately the areola recessed and her nipple grew ten fold (or the like). I fiddled with it with my tongue until I could coordinate with Robyn’s gasping. She placed gentle kisses on the top of my head, running her fingers through my hair. She then offered to help me finish the tree house–if I come and talk to her tomorrow. §Suddenly the darkness was gone. It all happened in the span of a life-time during two or three minutes. The crickets stopped chirping. The birds started singing. Freddy was again silent, probably snoring away his afternoon. Robyn pulled my head away, covered her beautiful, swollen left breast with the bra, pulled down her shirt and ran off. She repeated as she ran: finish the tree-house, finish the tree-house. I watched her milky cow leap over the fence of her backyard like a gazelle. I sat down at the base of the honey locust tree that had shielded these first moments of love from the sight of others. I then slowly pulled a thorn out of my ass. I realised that I completely wasted my time with those frogs. But I had something to talk to Robyn about–if next days come.

    Thank you Robyn.

    Rant on.

    -T

  • Images While Getting Away From All Things Worst

    • The Panzer (trusty e-bike) that gets me there
    • An almost perfect triangle of pigeons
    • A cathedral that calls me; why?
    • Bridge of ships

    Rant on.

    -T