Welcome
- July 27, 2020
- Teevee Robots and Me
-
So I recall the advent of sex robots and my contempt for them, their inventors, and the poor pitiful customers willing to spend great quantities of cash on their acquisition.
Yes, the socialization and interpersonal abilities of the manufacturers as well as the customers have been the subject of pondering in my mind for I believe that people should partner with other people and that these types of relationships are not suited to automatons nor lower life forms.
I have been watching a Russian television series called Better than Us which is streaming on Netflix.
In the immediate future robotics have become commonplace in the lives of people. They help in matters of child raising, operate personal conveyences, act as security personnel, and yes ... lovers for those who purchase them.
The bulk of the people in the series consider these "Bots" as soulless machines attending to a never ending stream of routine duties ... then also become capable of emotions.
A group of people called "The Liquidators" reject this automation in humanity and have declared war on the machines and those who support their use.
There are three sub plots:
Arisa is beautiful, caring, smart, and powerful. She has the ability to fight, use weapons, and has built in countermeasures in the face of adversity and danger.• My personal favorite, that of Arisa and the family whom she adopts. • Another plot involves The Liquidators, and their involvment with the only son of Arisa's family. • Finally, the intrigue of Viktor Toropov who is the head of CRONOS, involved in concealing the fact that his company cannot make another automated empath such as the superior Arisa.
The portrayal of Arisa by Russian actress Paulina Andreeva is nothing less than stunning with the robotic look portrayed and the abilities to engage in warfare with firearms and tactical weapons and remain unscathed functionally.
The humanity projected from this automaton is the part that touches me with her ability to detect and thwart subterfuge and attempts to make her hurt others.
- Comments (0)
- July 26, 2020
- Regis Philbin passed at age 88
-
One of those television personalities who were "always there" was Regis Philbin.
He had a morning am television program I watched intermittently back in those days when I was watching the mainstream media prior to departing for hell on stupidity scorched earth aka Midlands Technical Collage Harbison campus.
He had some decline in the state of his recent health with orthopedic, cardiac and circulatory system procedures and he enjoyed a longer run than I'll probably have.
Bottom line here is he could do television without the personal attacks to which the mainstream media has devolved and projected a niceness we no longer see on television anymore.
His was a kinder, gentler, more polite form of televison.
On July 24, 2020 Regis Philbin died of natural causes at the age of 88.
Rest in peace.
- Comments (0)
- July 25, 2020
- Steve Rubell Kicked Off on This Day in 1989
-
Steve Rubell was an American entrepreneur and co-owner of the New York disco Studio 54 back in my Navy days. I read of the antics of this character in the various New York newspapers circulated aboard ship by my cohorts who hailed primarily from "the city" as they called it ... and they were all interesting fellows and each one with a distinct rude yankee persona all their own.
I loved yapping with these guys from time to time because you could never win with them. Whether it was an argument or a bit of wrestling in the compartment there was nothing which could stop them ... ever. It simply wasn't worth trying to engage them regarding anything for which they had an opinion nor challenging them to some manner of horseplay.
The were all pretty relentless.
So Steve Rubell was part of that time in my life because of the contingent of New Yorkers with whom I cohabitated in the tin can Navy. I was fine with him during this time frame because of his distance and disparate circumstances.
After brief stints in the military and some time at a brokerage as well as two restaurants in the great northeast Yankee land the Studio 54 phase of his life went into effect.
This was the phony patent leather era of shitty music called 'disco' and all the air head females who had nothing more to do than either go out dancing or preparing for going out dancing during the remainder of their lives.
My kingdom for a woman who can converse intelligently. They were more sparse than anything else in the waning days of Studio 54, disco, and the stupid closet case Steve Rubell.
Studio 54 was opened in the old CBS Studio on West 54th Street that the network sold to them.
Steve Rubell
December 2, 1943 – July 25, 1989
Rubell became the front man standing outside the building and spending his time wielding that great power he imagined having by turning people away and only allowing entry to those who met his narrow, boring, perverse standards.
Rubell also handled Studio 54's celebrity patrons, with over the top parties and things proved profitable early on with the joint making some $7 million during its premiere year.
The mouthy nature of Steve Rubell proved problematic and his bragadoccio earned him raids on the property and various criminal charges and it's said that the owners engaged in a "cash skim" policy when netted them almost 2.5 million dollars which ended up as unreported income. Prison time became the order of the day.
In 1985, Rubell, who was a closeted homosexual for the bulk of his life discovered he had contracted HIV and this evolved to full blown AIDS.
He began taking AZT, but continued recreational drug use and drinking reeked havoc on his already compromised immune system.
Shortly prior to dying Rubell checked into Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City under an alias to seek treatment for hepatitis, kidney failure, and severe peptic ulcers.
He passed there on July 25, 1989 with an official cause of death is listed as hepatitis and septic shock complicated by AIDS.
His was a private funeral attended mostly by celebrity customers of Studio 54. He is interred at Beth Moses Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York.
Later, Mike Myers portrayed Steve Rubell in the 1998 drama film 54. Golly gee, casting an insufferable asshole to play an insufferable asshole in a movie. Life's little ironies. Go figure.
Good Riddance.
- Comments (0)
- July 24, 2020
- COVID-19 results in 59% of Americans Not Planning Gym Renewals
-
So, in a story that hits home with me it seems that more than half of gym memberships will not be renewed directly as the result of the so-called COVID-19 pandemic.
A survey published Thursday, the online broker TD Ameritrade states that 59% of Americans releate they don’t intend to renew their gym memberships once the pandemic is over.
As IF the pandemic will ever be over. This so-called pandemic is the stuff of leftist libtard government officials trying to seize power over the populace ... why they are being allowed to live is well beyond me.
Even my blessed mother has said she will not be returning to her gym classes and these were things she enjoyed prior to the world allowing China to unleash this plague upon the world and then doing nothing.
It is said the primary driving factor behind this statistic is that the 'pandemic' has caused individuals to seek and find more cost effective mechanisms of fitness in their personal lives.
The impact of government intervention has further impeded gym businesses and the cold hard facts remain that too many of the wrong people were elected to office ... so you're pretty much reaping the suffering your democratic libtard attitude has sowed into the fabric of The Republic.
You who allowed this to happen can just suffer with the rest of us who spoke out against it all by electing President Trump.
- Comments (0)
- July 23, 2020
- Essential Types of Documents
-
Power of Attorney (POA) – This document allows the person that you appoint as your agent to make financial transactions for you while you’re still alive but unable to do so yourself. For example, if you’re diagnosed with dementia, or have a car accident, having this document in place will allow someone to go to the bank for you or pay your bills. This document is only valid while you are alive.
Health care proxy – This person, or agent as it’s often called, is basically a “medical power of attorney.” He or she can make medical decisions for you if you are unable. For example, if you suffer from a disability and can’t speak to doctors or consider the medical information being given to you, your health care proxy can do it for you.
Living will – This document details your wishes for the advanced stages of your life. The health care proxy can use this list to understand what you want to happen in different situations of illness. For example, if you are incapacitated or need a feeding tube, you can stipulate in your living will what you would like to happen. Do you want to be kept on life support? Do you want to receive pain medications? It is helpful to think ahead about what you want and assist your health care proxy in making decisions for you if you’re unable.
Living trust – In some states, trusts are very common because they allow the trustee to bypass the court and the probate process that comes with a will. The trust can also continue on after your death. For example, you could name yourself the trustee and after your death or if you’re no longer able to hold the position of trustee, someone else can step up to the plate to manage your assets.
Last will and testament – This is a traditional will where, among other things, you will outline where you would like your investments and money to go upon your death.
Letter of instruction – This is not a legal document, but it is a great way to put down on paper your wishes for your funeral and other personal desires about cremation, burial and ceremony.
Insurance documents – In order to get the full benefit of your insurance plans, whether they be life or long term care, it's a good idea to compile the policy papers to make for easy reference. Draw up your own at-a-glance overview that includes company name, policy numbers, dates issued, benefit terms, contact information for the agents who issued the policies. Make it easy to access the benefts of these valuable plans and to pass them along to loved ones when need be.
Here are some helpful tips when considering all documents:
Update docs periodically – Review these documents every 3 to 5 years, especially if there is a major life change. Examples include a divorce, a death, a new child or a change in friendship or business relationship with one of your executors.
Name successor agents – Each time you name an agent as your power of attorney or health care proxy, it’s possible to list more than one in order of succession. This gives you options should one of your agents become unable to perform the duties you have asked him or her to do.
Get recommendations – If you’re using a lawyer to complete the documents, talk to family and loved ones about who they had prepare their documents. It’s best to also check rates so you are careful about who you use and the total cost. Consider using a certified elder law attorney if you’re preparing documents late in life.
- Comments (0)
- July 22, 2020
- Judy Garland passed on this day in 1969
-
When I was a younger kid I was all about Judy Garland. I suppose it was due to her portrayal of Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz. At any rate the allure lasted throughout my childhood up until that time that I gained more social awareness of those pitfalls associated with fame and fortune ...
Namely those frailties which surface involving relationships and drug abuse. She was the archetypal actress/superstar of her era and I was on the tail end of that time.
Judy Garland was born Frances Ethel Gumm and grew from a singer, vaudevillian and dancer with the Gumm Sisters to an international star for both musical and dramatic roles.
She was also a recording artist and received many awards throughout her lifetime and she enjoyed the acclaim and esteem for the bulk of her rapidly waining years.
Struggles associated with her personal life plagued her early on and she likely was given bad self image from film executives who had the audacity and unmitigaged gall to voice that they considered her unattractive.
Her issues ran the gamut from owing back taxes through various and sundry other financial and interpersonal instabilities which impeded what could have and should have been a wonderful life with a public who adored her.
She turned to alcohol and other substance abuse and passed in London from an accidental barbiturate overdose on June 22, 1969. She was a mere 47 years old.
Still, when she crosses my thoughts I have flashbacks of her singing "Over the Rainbow" and I wish her life had worked out more in her favor instead of those with whom she surrounded herself.
Rest in peace.
- Comments (0)
- July 21, 2020
- Jay Silverheels Gets Star in 1979
-
When I was a kid I watched The Lone Ranger religiously. Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels were staples of my childhood for the entirety of at least their first run ... and likely well in to syndication as well.
I wasn't so much a fan of westerns per se, but more so a fan of characters and theirs struck a cord in my television watching and thusly I persisted thoughtout my childhood. They were simply always there; a standard to which other programs were compared.
Harold Jay Smith aka Jay Silverheels was a Mohawk (also, an Aboriginal Canadian and superb athlete) and is noteworthy being the first Native American to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was on this day in 1979 he got his star.
That would have placed me a month or so out of the Navy and so I really wasn't all that I would become at that point.
Dr Ted Rotz the radiologist called me a "late bloomer".
He was a horseman who raised, bred and raced Standardbred horses in his off time. He was once asked if he would consider racing Scout, his steed from the television series in a race to which he responded that he could outrun the horse, ie, likely not.
He was married in 1945 and the father of four daughters named Marilyn, Gail, Pamela, and Karen, and a son, Jay Anthony Silverheels Junior who followed his father into acting.
His end came after a stroke in 1976 — from which he lingered for years before passing in 1980. He was cremated and his remains returned to the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario.
Thus ended a pillar of my childhood. Soft spoken but a powerful and effective portrayer of Native Americans I have always remembered Jay Silverheels as a symbol of dignity over the years.
- Comments (0)
- July 20, 2020
- International Chess Day 2020
-
When I was a child I enjoyed chess. A period of my life had me thinking I was a full-fledged aficionado due to the indulgence of my parents with teaching chess sets that showed the moves and pamphlets containing instructionals with various tactics thrown into the mix.
I dare say the allure became lost upon me over the years to the point that I actually remember my last two chess games.
They were with my Navy buddy, the late Jerry R Landry from Barnstable, MA and we had two games because the first was a definite draw ... as was the second most likely.
I never played another game since that time which was something circa 1978 or so in the missile radar control room while we were out at sea on either a North Atlantic or Mediterranean.
I would not have played those games had Jerry not requested it and the blinding boredom with which we both were obviously stricken.
Anyway, I'd give anything to be able to sit with him and play yet a third game and laugh and yap as we did during the first two.
Today is International Chess Day. It is observed each July 20 which marks the founding of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) was founded in 1924.
Though I doubt I shall ever engage another game of chess in my lifetime. Those times from my childhood and the games I played with my friend Jerry are precious memories for me in this now of my existence.
- Comments (0)
- July 19, 2020
- Thwarting GPS
-
I'm not a big fan of GPS..jpg "Navigation Technology Satellite 2 (NTS-2)")
I have been known to cut a cable in a cell phone, pop a soldier pad with a heat pencil, and generally cause GPS to fail on my personal electronics as a countermeasure against triangulation attempts to ascertain where I am.
I recall one day when I called the Highway Patrol regarding an accident at malfunction junction how the officer speaking with me was curious as to why she couldn't get a fix on my location ...
I kept it to myself, but that was a GPS cable in my cell phone meeting up with my trusty industrial xacto knife with the ultrasharp carbon steel blade.
Global positioning has lost it's allure for me mostly because google can't get it right to save their stupid leftist libtard asses.
Never in my existence have I seen a tech company so inept with accurate IP to geolocation ... I mean to be a company supposedly immersed in high tech and all.
I keep wondering why they squander their budget on the lackluster innacuracy of the provider they are utilizing for GPS, Geolocation, and in particular IP Geolocation because they simply do not appear to have a clue. They wonder why I firewall them from my networks on a frequent and interemittent basis. It's because I have a low tolerance for stupid and that is their main claim to fame anymore.
And to think of how I held them in the highest esteem early on; you know — when they operated a "real" search engine where you could find what you want instead of this ad mechanization monstrostity which is all they're good for anymore.
On this day in 1977 a first in GPS signalling went down from Navigation Technology Satellite 2 (NTS-2) to Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, right about 12:41 am EST.
It's a shame all google can do is screw it up because it's been around a long time now.
BOO !
- Comments (0)
- July 18, 2020
- Where I was on this day twice in history
-
I used to sometimes envision myself at some historical event. In a moment of fantasy I would simply speculate regarding the intimate details of such goings on and it was insigificant to me personally as well as being neither here nor there.
Two items which come to mind are:
1976 when Nadia Comăneci became the first person in Olympic Games history to score a perfect 10 in gymnastics at the 1976 Summer Olympics and in
1984 with the McDonald's massacre in San Ysidro, California where James Oliver Huberty opens fire, killing 21 people and injuring 19 others before being shot dead by police.
In 1976 I was in class at the Recruit Training Command in Orlando Florida. I don't recall the topic, it was some navy specific information being disseminated and the instructor came in spouting off game scores and other sports news to the delight of the rest of those in my company. After a number of scores, stats, and team commentary — which amazed me by the way, he went on to the olympics and the Nadia Comăneci tidbit. So that's where I was during that historical event.
The 1984 event was much more proximal to me in that I was returning from a visit to Tiajuana (one of my most favorite places to visit at that time) while working a medical clinic in El Toro up the coast. The news came on with a story regarding a massacre at the McDonalds in San Ysidro which I recall passing some 15 minutes earlier. I shudder to think what I might have seen had there be a small deviation in the time index one way or another ... and that's where I was during that historical tragedy.
So you never know where fate might land you in moments of triumph or travail. The carnage at San Ysidro was devastating in the documentary footage I became drawn to knowing just how close I was to it all on the day it happened.
I was always taken aback by what I perceived as a touch of sadness projected by Nadia Comăneci. Her victory smile which often appeared subdued to me personally and I felt she was not really "happy" after the fact ... but I could be wrong.
Personally, I can do without being close to any more history, particularly when that history involves the destruction imparted by the idiotic cancel culture which is part and parcel of a generation of burger flippers reproducing then applying their dismal lack of raising to their own progeny.
- Comments (0)
- July 17, 2020
- World Day for International Justice 2020
-
The International Criminal Court has been sanctioned by the United States over decisions regarding Afghanistan ... and the actions of individuals who would use it's resources capriciously against US military and political leaders.
Personally, I don't think any organization has the right to invade the sovereignty of the United States for any reason in the absence of war crimes ... and simply contriving accusations as vendetta or for the convenience of an organization attempting to meddle in our affairs and showboat simply do not qualify.
The United States is not a member of the ICC because of concerns of their officers deliberately formulating charges against US Nationals.
Given the dismal state of jurisprudence in general AND particularly in Europe we are just as well removed from this leftist blight and I applaud the Trump administration for declining to participate in an obvious travesty of justice which is the International Criminal Court and that inherent crook ass element they incorporate and try to force on the rest of the world.
World Day for International Justice, aa Day of International Criminal Justice aka International Justice Day is an international day noted by some throughout the world on July 17 as part of an effort to recognize the faulty errant system of international criminal justice.
July 17 is the date of the adoption of the treaty that created the International Criminal Court. The United States does not subscribe to this body because they incorporate a number of proven legal charletans. Other countries such as China, India, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Qatar and Israel do not subscribe to it as well.
So take the International Criminal Court and shove it up the ass of the European Union and leave the United States out of this very poor joke made of criminal justice and international relations.
- Comments (0)
- July 16, 2020
- Daddy enjoyed the music of Kitty Wells
-
When you lose a parent you grasp for fragments of them in your mind because it's so important. After all, when we pass our physical existence ceases and our earthly existence is primarily in the minds of others.
My daddy was a fan of country and western music. I once thought he had no feeling for music at all until a fateful day I made a child's mistake ... and joined a record club.
Yes, for a mere penny I joined the RCA Record Club in Aragona Village, Virginia Beach, Virginia and they sent a bunch of albums for free — so I thought.
The corresponding obligation to purchase a number of additional albums was of course lost on my child's understanding of contractural agreements, but dad kept the subscription and fulfilled it with a number of country and western titles which he listened to with obvious enjoyment.
He had brought back a Telefunken stereo from the Mediterranean and I swear it was the highest fidelity music I had ever heard ... and to this day the sound quality remains high in my mind for quality.
One of those performers was Kitty Wells. This period was in her 'heyday' so to speak and the winsome young country girl singing honky tonk stuck in my mind for years because this was music that my father could relate to ... music that he obviously enjoyed.
Ellen Muriel Deason was known professionally as Kitty Wells and she was one of many performers which caught my daddy's fancy in my youth.
She was a pioneer who gained icon status among the country and western crowd and had a number of hits such as the ladies admonition It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels.
She was topping charts before I even knew what a chart was.
So, I take note of Kitty Wells. She passed on this day in 2012 at age 92 as the results of a stroke.
I noticed that her early photographs always revealed an easy smile. In those taken later she was conspicuously not smiling. I sometimes wondered why.
Hers was a long noteworthy run by a lady who sold albums to people like my dear old daddy ...
For that she holds a special place in my heart. The fact that she rose to the top of her game and was the mistress of all she surveyed for a time is neither here nor there.
- Comments (0)
- July 15, 2020
- The leftist libtard mistake called Twitter
-
On this day in 2006 one of the biggest mistakes in social media was born. That launch was twitter, which has grown into the very hallmark of censorship, libtard political manipulation, and dirty dealing underhanded meddling in freedom of speech and ideas.
This micoblogging microcosm of sheer turd existence aims for you to get as many 'followers' as possible while they manipulate what you choose to think and how you choose to express yourself.
They have an amalgam of abbrieviations and hastag entitites which obfuscates those libard manipulations and the general consensus is that it is a passe culture of those who simply refuse to give it up as though it has something meaningful to offer when it doesn't.
The platform will be the death of the english language as evidenced by the high school harry level of grammar and syntax displayed by their users trying to appear intelligent in a limited string of characters.
Get real twits.
Tweeting is not for the intellectually or academically spirited. It is a bastion of bad grammar and stupidity overseen by a group of nazi leftist democrats who would just as soon send your opinions to the gas chamber as look at you.
Twitter has caused this die-hard Trump supporter to lose respect for Donald Trump the man because I decline to think anyone who would grace twitter with their presence has ANYTHING on the ball.
Boo Twitter.
- Comments (0)
- July 14, 2020
- Franklin Graham's Birthday 2020
-
In my childhood a fixture on the television was the late Reverend Billy Graham, a Protestant televangelist who held numerous crusades for which my mother had quite a bit more than a passing affinity.
His son is William Franklin Graham III who was born on this day in 1952.
He followed in his father's footsteps as a Protestant evangelist and missionary.
He was likely influenced by his mother, Ruth McCue Bell Graham who was an inspirational woman who passed in 2007 and for whom I held a great abiding respect.
She was a favorite personality I would engage in various writing, sound bytes, and video clips over the years and she lent strength to me in times of personal trouble and sadness.
Franklin Graham frequently engages in Christian evangelism and is not one to hold his tongue in the political arena.
He is president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) as well as Samaritan's Purse, an international Christian relief organization.
Rev Graham became an age of accountability Christian in 1974 and was ordained in 1982.
He is a public speaker espousing his Christian ideology and conservative views.
He is also quite the prolific author with a library of works presently available.
- Comments (0)