My Shit List

I have to get me some of these and start sending them out.

I have a shit list. 

It was inspired by my father, whom I consider to have been a very good and intelligent man with a wit and humour which kept me laughing and learning.

Whenever I hadn't phoned dad in a while he would call me and tell me I was on his "shit list", and that I better come and visit soon. 

Or if he felt like someone was ripping him off or disrespecting him, they would go on his list. 

Because he was a loving man, forgiveness was always forthcoming if the situation changed for the better. 

I was never on his list for long, and by the time he left this world, I am sure his list was blank. As it should be.

Now I have my own shit list. 

Presently this is my list, which is by no means comprehensive or static. 

My Shit List

- Big Anything and Everything: Agri/Food, Oil, Pharma, Tech, Government, Brother... 

- The Sickness Care Industry

- The Realestate Industry 

- Warmongerers 

- Overpriced products

- The (Not So) Great Resetters

- The weather (no snow for snowshoeing yet with the least snow since moving to the east coast in 2014) 

- All Mainstream media

 

In my quest to draw distinct boundaries around what time I have remaining in this wonderful life, my fecal flyer is indispensable and empowering.

Thanks, dad.

Do you have a shit list? What (or who) is on it?

Every Day Is A Good Day To Fight The System

One thing I am happy about during these turbulent times is the re-emergence of protest songs, although they have never really gone away.

However, I have noticed an increasing number of protest songs in recent years. 

That should tell us something. 

One that we have been enjoying lately is by Shungudzo, a Zimbabwean-American artist that knows about being oppressed by the system. 

She wrote her protest song during the Floydian summer of troubles, one reason she sings, "La-la-la-la, fuck the police". 

I didn't know this lyric until I looked it up because conventional radio scrubs the reality out with a dismissive bleep, so I had never heard it.

It is a strong statement, but if the police are treating ordinary people like the enemy (and increasingly they are everywhere it seems), what do they expect?

Having said that, the song has a dreamy gentle sound that shouldn't fool you, it is all protest all the time. 

"I love a harsh lyric enveloped in beautiful melodies", the artist says.

 

"I try to use sounds that either evoke the emotions I want to express or sounds that are so contrasting in emotion, that the words stand out more. 

For example, my song “It’s a Good Day (to fight the system)” is meant to make people feel happy, but also to empower them to fight the systems that oppress them."

It’s a Good Day (To Fight The System)

 By: Shungudzo

I woke up feelin’ great
The birds are in the trees
They’re singin’ me a melody
La-la-la-la, fuck the police
My head is on straight
My heart is in peace
My soul is incredibly
Ready to change history

It’s a good day
To fight the system
(To fight the system)
It’s a good, good, good day
Yes, a good, good, good day

When the system becomes corrupted, and corrosive to all life, fighting it and finding better alternatives becomes the duty of all Earthlings. 

That is why every day

 is a good day

 to fight the system.

And who says we can't be happy and have a bit of fun along the way? 

This revolution has music, dancing, and joy. 

"La, la, la, la, together we are fighting and changing The System. 

Together we are moving forward to a new, brighter world."

 It's a good, good, good, day.

Cost of Smart Speakers Too High

We have a friend that told us that she just set up a smart speaker in her home. 

We told her what we knew about these devices (little of it good), and told her to do some research. The next time we talked to her, she said her smart speaker was back in its box, and stashed under the deck in the back yard. 

Chalk up a victory for freedom and privacy.

Having a "hands-free and easy-to-use interface to interact with computers and accomplish tasks that previously required a display and input devices such as a mouse and keyboard" would be nice for us to have. 

Since Linda does not have the use of her hands for fine motor tasks, such a hands-free device would be appropriate. But at what cost?

These marketing listening devices are called "smart speakers", but does that mean smart for the mega-corps that benefit from mining our data, or smart for the users?

Speaking of users, I'm not sure why people that are fortunate enough to have the use their hands and legs need these, but that is another post. Or rant, I should say. 

I have always been wary of Big Brother listening in on our computer's built-in microphone, and have taken steps to minimize that risk. We also cover our computer's camera. 

“If Amazon and Google and Apple start giving up our personal data to whomever, to government agencies, to private industries, then people will stop buying their products the second they find out.”

- Matthew Rathbun

You aren't paranoid if someone is really after you, and someone really is after you. The state is after your freedom, and the marketers want your money.

These things are like baby monitors, except in this horror story, the state and corporations are the mommy and daddy. And we are becoming the defenceless babies.

These products are always listening. Voice recognition can record and share what you think are private conversations, in some cases. 

Smart tech can also learn. And what it is learning is how to sell you more stuff more efficiently and profitably. Or learning what you do in the privacy of your own home.

One large creepy tech company has already admitted to eavesdropping on their speaker users. Another warns customers that their smart TVs are listening, and you might want to watch what you say while you view them. 

Having noisy consensual sex? Be careful. That smart tech might end up sending the cops to your door thinking that someone is being hurt.

The simplest solution to a problem tends to be the right one, as Ocam's Razor suggests. But I wonder what exactly the problem is that is being solved by these devices? 

Allow me to extrapolate on Ocam and suggest that the simplest lifestyles tend to be the right ones. We should be wary of complicated high tech "solutions", especially the ones that claim to solve manufactured problems. 

As long as I have my mobility I will help Linda myself. I am a "smart caregiver", and I will tend to her needs in the old fashioned way, and with our privacy intact. A smart speaker will not be required, even if it would be convenient and useful. 

Like the rest of consumerism, while the price may be cheap, the cost, for us, is too high.