Tag: X

Bot-Farms and Boris and Natasha

photog Current Events, OCF, Reclaiming the Family ,

Grandson “quartus” was over today for his visit.  Now his specialty in the movie category is Godzilla movies.  We saw two and half cinematic jewels because we switched out “Godzilla vs. Kong” halfway through and substituted the more recent “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.”  And am I glad we did.  It was an obvious upgrade.  Otherwise, I would have missed out on the additional monsters.  There was Skar King (another giant gorilla), Shimo and of course Mothra.  And because kids can’t adjourn for dinner, we ate the obligatory spaghetti and meatballs dinner while watching the movies.  This was followed up with sherbert of his choice.  Luckily, we eventually ran out of monster movies and moved onto games.  Camera Girl always brings out her Yahtzee game and we played several spirited rounds and then we adjourned downstairs to the pool table and that was much more to my liking.  He’s actually pretty good.  So, we talked about what was going on at school and which video games were the best right now and what sports were being played at school.  And the time flew by.  Before I knew it, it was 5:30 pm and I returned him to his parents along with a chocolate cake that Camera Girl whipped up for the occasion.  So maybe kids aren’t all that different today than they used to be.  Possibly the dissolution of the nuclear family isn’t absolutely preordained.

So, I was too busy today to go over to X.  But strangely I got about ten times more clicks on my post from this morning than I usually get.  Now I must confess I have almost no idea how these algorithms work.  I know that all kinds of things (various words, ideas and images) can trigger the algorithm to suppress a post or even an account from getting any visibility.  But for the life of me I don’t know why I would get more visibility than usual.  As you know I wrote about Trump’s tariffs.  And that’s neither a taboo subject or anything that would draw all kinds of viewers.  Now maybe this has to do with my little dustup with the denizens of Elon’s kingdom the other day.  But there were no likes or angry comments or anything to indicate why people stopped by.

The truth is I didn’t even get into a shouting match over the altercation.  Honestly it would seem absurd to hurl insults at people I don’t know over a comment that was quite innocuous.  My opinion was simply that seventy years ago the United States had an economy, culture and morale that were in almost every way superior to what currently exists in this country.  And I would say that this statement would neatly divide this country into two separate camps of people based on whether they thought this statement was obviously true or false.  And that trying to convince one side or the other to change their minds would be pretty much a complete waste of time.  Me trying to convince someone that the actuarial table differences didn’t equate to a better life in 2025 that 1955 would be as I found pure folly.

But what was heartening was the number of people who “liked” my statement.  It resonated with lots of folks.  So surprisingly social media actually has some reach.  I even had some of my first traffic to my site from X.  So, I guess it’s not all bot-farms and Boris and Natasha.  Who knew?!!!

Starting Trouble on X

photog Current Events, OCF, photog's Corner ,

So, after performing all of my chores and watching another installment of “Lonesome Dove” with Camera Girl, I checked on my feed on X.  And Iowahawk was going on an anti-tariff rant.

About six rants down he posted:

 

David Burge (@iowahawkblog):

Sioux City used to have a Zenith TV assembly plant. Even if our patriotic trade war kills grain exports the farmers can get new jobs soldering Quasar circuits there after the revitalization of the American Console TV industry.

 

This was an ironical jab at our lost electronics manufacturing industry.

So, I replied:

 

Orionscoldfire:

You want to know something?  I’d trade the circa 1955 economy, technology and culture for what we’ve got now any day.  At least you could tell a man or a woman by sight.  I could do without the 80” television.

 

So, he replied:

 

David Burge @iowahawkblog:

If only I had the power to grant your wish I would give a personal time machine trip immediately

 

I thanked him for this wish.

Then there were several other opinions and replies by me.  See below:

 

 

Robert Longo @RobertL37046977

  1. a) Adjusted for inflation average household income in 1955 was $50,000, today it’s $80,000
  2. b) We live 10 years longer than in 1955.
  3. c) It’s easy to tell when a man is pretending to be a lady. A man has an Adam’s apple and a deep voice.

Orionscoldfire:

I’ve seen what those ten years look like.  A massive heart attack at eighty is my exit plan.

 

 

Econymous @EHPlimsoll1

You can do that already. No need to force everyone else to live your chosen lifestyle. Cut you income by 2/3, halve the size of your house, buy a crappy car, watch classic TV and movies, refuse any healthcare developed after 1960, and live in a conservative town.

Orionscoldfire:

Sounds promising.

 

 

RobustFeedback @FeedbackRobust

Wait until your kid was diagnosed with leukemia, and instead of a 90% chance of survival, your child had a 4% chance. Or you had no ac when it was 98 degeees, with 70% humidity.Or until you had to work substantially more hours to feed and clothe your kids.

Nostalgia is stupid.

Orionscoldfire:

“Nostalgia is stupid.”  Interesting statement.  I could think of some counterexamples but then we’d just argue.  I’ll just enjoy the thought of that console tv playing Bonanza on a Sunday evening with the family all watching together and roast beef sandwiches and pastries and coffee to come.

 

 

Alboalt @albo_alt

The post-war American economic dominance isn’t coming back unless you want to put huge chunks of the world back into communism and hoeing yam fields all day.

Orionscoldfire:

I don’t want us to dominate anyone.  I’ll settle for an economy that keeps men employed and families living comfortably.  I don’t need to drive a Mercedes I can drive a Ford.  It’s not as good but it gets you there.

 

 

Manny O’Kelly @harshm1stress:

ok so you’re a white male and you’re looking to die around 65 am I hearing you correctly?

Orionscoldfire:

Well, then I missed my mark!

Manny O’Kelly @harshm1stress

there’s a lot you missed

orionscoldfire

Nothing too important.  The important things keep you busy.  Everything else is just background.

 

 

sum_dude44 @sum_dude44

ah yes polio, nuclear annihilation, 10 hr flights to go 1000 miles, lead everywhere

orionscoldfire:

Ah, those were the days.

 

 

Totally_not_a_Bot:

sorry i used to be able to afford a time machine.. but these new tarrifs put it out of range

orionscoldfire:

I’m rooting for you.

 

 

WCB @Si3rraDrive:

That’s a pipe dream. Tariffs don’t get you there, nothing gets you there. You can choose to make that life for yourself, but society won’t be structured thusly.

orionscoldfire

Okay.

 

 

A @2006ImageMacro

You’ve posted 4000 times in 3 years.  You literally could not live in an environment that doesn’t support your internet addiction

orionscoldfire

Mercy sakes!  What can I do?

A  @2006ImageMacro

Hey I’m sorry for some reason I thought you were being snide to Dave but looking now I see that I was shitty to you for no reason, my bad!

Orionscoldfire:

I was just putting in my two cents.  No problems.  Dave’s got definite opinions.  If I get on his nerves, he can tell me to butt out.  Or ban me or something.

 

So, this is all very silly.  David Burge (@iowahawkblog) is a favorite of mine.  Back during the Iraq war, he was a humorist that poked fun at our enemies and even into the Obama years his satirical posts always made me laugh.  Now he likes to identify antique cars from old family album photos and he talks a bit about Iowa basketball.  He definitely isn’t a fan of tariffs.

But it was just the sight of this 1955 television set that made me react.  I was just thinking that if tariffs had kept American industry in this country, we’d be 1000% better off than we are now.  Apparently, most of Mr. Burge’s readers disagree with me but apparently, I couldn’t resist the urge to put in my two cents.

 

Well, it was kind of fun.

 

Update:

Neil Dunn commented:

I want the USA to be as totally self sufficient production wise as possible. No more of China producing most of our antibiotics is my #1 example = some Pharma corporate
executive(s) looking to increase profits, America be damned. Google “how many American car dealerships are in Japan?”. My Google answer = zero. And not one word about tariffs, but lots of other reasons. I say raise the tariffs on Japanese imports until Japan lets US cars into their market. And no more of the 80 year freebee Marshall Plan that taxes the US to make things easy for Europe and the UK. I think Trump was too kind with his Tariff plan.
All barriers to entry from one country toward another country should be equal both ways.

 

With Caterwauling Like This Musk Must be Doing Something Right

photog Current Events , , ,

When your fired election trust and safety team leader starts bandying about terms like hate speech and misinformation it must mean that the government gatekeepers are squealing like stuck pigs.

And then there’s the sanctimony about what amounts to censoring the news.

“But free speech, the product of X that upholds democracy, is not a technology company or a physical thing. Speech is evolving, complicated, and sticky. It requires tradeoffs, flexibility, and tough decisions. It shouldn’t be dictated by an autocratic CEO with absolutist ideologies.”

“Tradeoffs, flexibility and tough decisions.”  What a pile of crap. She means hurting your enemies and helping your friends.  Another way of saying this is “some animals are more equal than others.”

Elon Musk’s immoral, dangerous, failing experiment in free speech