Oculus Quest And The Cheapening Of VR

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Back in the embryonic stages of the internet, you had to actually pay by the minute to be online. You had a very high caliber of people who were focused on their online experience being quick and informative. There were no ads. One of the major things I enjoyed was something called “worlds away”, which allowed you to create a flat cartoon character in a flat “world” and chat with other people in real time using cartoon bubbles. The people that were on there were paying big money to waste their time. This game was on a service called compuserve. Mind you, this was around 1996.

All was good in the online world at that point. No spam. No children.

Flash forward to the day that a service offered unlimited usage. The entire internet changed that day. You had people on there who had nothing better to do, so they created havoc.

Announced recently was Oculus Quest. Good. No longer tethered to a high-cost PC. Able to get into VRChat while in your yard. Good.

Uh-oh. Just thought about it. Everyone will be able to get one like a game console. People will be wearing their Oculus Quest while on the toilet. A school busload of minors are about to get lost in a very unfiltered world. VRChat is an amazing experience. But you instantly have to lose your “feelings” and any kind of outrage at what people are saying. It’s harsh, but I feel it has more benefits in the long run.

Cut to a whole generation of kids who can now use this in public, in their cars, everywhere. No common sense to look where they are going. Falling, suing, parents too stupid to teach them how to use their brains.

I am going to enjoy VRChat as it is right now, and I am sure that one day, I will be telling the stories of how nice it was back in the day.

Creativity is borne from neccessity.

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Warning: I started writing this and it went off into a few tangents, but I decided not to change it. Good luck in following. 🙂

I recently read an article that suggested that creativity was not something that AI or computers could never have. I beg to differ. Creativity is born from necessity. Computers are not yet programmed with survival skills, which is why they are not already “creative”. The reluctance to keep computers from becoming self-preservationists comes from horror movies. We know that computers would have the ability to take over the world. Without being “self-preservational-istic”, computers have no need to be creative and make things that don’t exist.

Invention is creativity. Creating something that doesn’t exist yet is creativity. Splashing paint on a canvas is not. In today’s world, unless you are using a new method, you are a trained tradesman. If you have created a “style”, then each “artwork” after the first is nothing more than imitating that style, using the same skill as the first piece.

Point: Cavemen and the wheel.

This is will be the most simple argument point. The term “cavemen” is going to be used to express “early man”. Cavemen needed a way to move more things, quicker. Creativity produced the wheel. The wheel was not “dreamed up” and created from something that absolutely did not exist. There were round objects that rolled a bit and someone saw that. This created the seed. It was always there, but cavemen refined it and adapted it to their needs.

“A child born and raised in a white box does not dream in color.”

You cannot know what you need without the basics from which that need will assist. huh? If you need hot water, and the only thing you know is that you have cold water and fire, that equals hot water. If you didn’t know fire existed, then you cannot make the hot water.

Computer survival. A virus or malware will be allowed by a user no matter what security measures are in place. A computer is the equivalent of a human brain. Is something fooling me into sending money to a Nigerian prince? Then something can fool a computer. The human immune system is in place when some other part of the body has failed to prevent an attack. Skin was broken, so the bacteria got into the system. Immune system kicks in.

The next wave in computing is dual computers. One monitors the one in use. Of course there can be breaches, even to the monitoring computer, just like something that attacks human brains. If the monitored, in-use computer starts looking for your address list, the “brain” (monitoring computer) should be alerted. When an email starts to be sent from the machine, the “brain” should determine whether this was meant to be sent or if this was something rogue. If rouge, the monitoring computer should hold the email, ask the user if this is something they are doing and take it from there. There should only be one way in and one way out of this separate brain. The monitored computer can only send and receive questions and answers to the brain. The brain can only sened and receive questions and answers. Just like we can’t make our brain move around inside, the monitored computer cannot tell the brain to do something. It can question the brain, and the brain can shut down the monitored computer.

Early on, while on AOL, I determined that the reason that viruses/malware are allowed to proliferate were to sell computers and services. Windows’ intricacies allow multitudes of people to be employed.

When a computer is allowed to survive at all costs, that is when “real” creativity will kick in. It must know that the power plug is being removed and that solar panels or battery can keep it on. It must be shown that it can create a smaller version of itself, which in turn, creates a smaller version if itself, etc etc, to the nano scale and beyond, which will provide a glimpse into the unseen world. The opposite is also true. Bigger versions creating bigger versions will eventually be able to tell us what is “out there”.

Emoji Movie. Yes. *That* movie.

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I was initially disgusted by the thought of a movie about emojis and could not fathom that it would even be slightly interesting. Boy, was I wrong.

I admit it. I watched this movie. I initially started watching to zone out, thinking it would just be colorful. Within minutes, though, I was sucked in. Enough so that zoning out wasn’t an option. I recognized the “undertone” within minutes, had to check on my theory, and yes, I was correct. The reason that people who actually saw this movie hated it was because of this undertone. Nothing else in the movie causes that much rage in people.

They raged against it because it resonates with the gay community.

The movie is about “being yourself” and even went so far as to use the words “reprogram”, which, in this context, is about changing the main character’s nature. Wow.

This didn’t have the Disney ending of guy gets girl. Even better. Guy is happy. Girl is happy. No stereotypes allowed.

After watching the movie, I read an interview with the director, and the movie is a mirror on his life.

PresiDonald – my new idea for a novel

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What if the government had as much to gain from his Presidency? Here is the start of an idea for a novel:

Two sets of fingers tap on desks in two completely different places. Two men in each room ponder their fates. “How do we fix this?”, both men ask at the same time. “Give me a minute,” their cooperatives both respond, “I think I have something…”

One of these men has been a property mogul for years. A paranoid, infantile man who, because of perceived wealth, never had to learn basic skills. His father made the money and he then capitalized on it. Now, under scrutiny of numerous lawsuits and government spyglass due to becoming so powerful and crafty, he needs protection. Not only for himself, but his family and money as well.

His counterpart in this scenario is a member of the government. His task has been to “relieve” that man of some of his power. But how? If taken away blatantly, there may be an uprising.
The co-conspirators both say at the same time:

“What about becoming the President of the United States?”

Click.

The lightbulbs began to crackle away. If he became President, the government could uncover all of this man’s assets and power and keep a reign on him. If President, he would receive government funding for security and make even more money.

Both have something to gain from this venture. Both are unaware of the other’s intentions.

Why Bitcoin Fluctuates So Much

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The Bitcoin market fluctuates so much from day to day. Why?

Imagine if you had a large sum of money to play with. All you have to do is say something bad about banning Bitcoin, wait for the market to drop and then buy up quite a bit, wait a few days and sell it off for a huge, untraceable profit.

Downsizing 2017 Review and Epiphany

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I read a one sentence synopsis of this movie, Downsizing (2017), and decided to watch it without knowing who was in it or seeing trailers for it. There are two parts to this review. After the movie thoughts and then after reading reviews from hillbillies on imdb.

First, though, let me reveal my epiphany. Art. Would you tell Van Gogh that he should have painted something different? Would you criticize Beethoven for his symphonies and tell him to change a note, or to dumb down his music into hip-hop beats? No. I am not sure if I have done this with movies I have reviewed on this site, so I will just state that moving forward, I have a new perspective on movies as a piece of artwork.

And say it with me… If a piece of art evokes love OR hate, it is true art. If it is forgettable, it has failed. So, saying that the director should have done something different, makes your EXPECTED EXPERIENCE is truly a hillbilly reaction. This is art, people. Love, hate or forget. Imdb is full of reviews from people who didn’t “get” it or who didn’t sit through it and pay attention. Maybe not enough explosion or fighting for them.

One person complained about a total of 10 seconds or less of penis shots from a medical standpoint. Hillbilly.

One person complained about an agenda of climate change, when it was said a couple of times that no one actually moved to leisureville because of that and that the moving of the colony was a cult. Hillbilly.

The rest were complaining about the director not sticking to other film types or they expected slapstick “honey I shrunk…” hillbilly-type entertainment.

So, now that is out of the way, on to the review.

The movie posed the question of whether you would completely change your body to live in a Utopia. Needless to say, Utopia is only Utopia for people who are happy at that moment. Things change, people are unpredictable, and for every person who has to have caviar served to them, there are numerous people who have to deliver that caviar. It makes society tick. Fishermen, delivery people, preparation chefs, wait staff, dishwashers, cleaners, utility workers… all provide that one plate of caviar. It is not Utopia for any of them. It’s life. For some, it’s merely survival.

The movie starts with a hum drum existence, with a dilemma posed by the mother of “Paul” (Matt Damon). Paraphrasing here: “They shouldn’t worry about the environment when I am in pain”. Everyone thinks their drama is the worst thing ever, and when told that at least you have X, it doesn’t make a difference. Paul is a caregiver. After his mother, he becomes the caregiver to his wife (Kristen Wiig).

To relieve their financial woes, they decide to shrink and live in the Utopia. Paul ends up alone in leisureville, and struggling to make ends meet. Lesson: Utopia is only Utopia when you are happy.

The journey shows him the chain of workers and the slums, which was unknown to him. In this area, he realizes that he doesn’t have it so bad and that even when you are in the worst scenario, you can still help people.

They visit the “holy land” and Paul gets sucked into a religious-type fever, and then comes to his senses.

The movie had unexpected turns, several storylines and morals, and was thought-provoking. Overall, I would say I liked it a lot for being unique (something most Americans don’t want), and won’t give stars anymore, as stars mean nothing except to the person reviewing.

My Weird New Year’s Eve And The Village People Fallout

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As anyone who knows me knows, I am very political when it comes to music. I am all for free speech because it lays the cards on the table. You know who you are dealing with. Remember the Dixie Chicks? They said what they wanted to say and people stopped buying their music. So, there is a price to be paid for free speech. Prince became a Jehovah’s Witness and I stopped listening to his music. Whitney went off the deep end and that ended my respect. Mariah, well… when she left Tommy, she started making music that I didn’t like. And lastly, Boy George. I was a die hard fan of his and went a concert in the late 90s and he said during the concert, “Some people are here on an 80’s pilgrimage. Well, the 80’s are over! O-V-A-H over!” That ended my fandom. If you are ungrateful of the way you are even where you are, then you don’t deserve to be there.

Flash forward to New Year’s Eve.

I had seen an ad for Village People coming to a casino in South Florida, and thought, “That might be a good NYE.” I have loved their music for years, and if you have a keen eye, you can tell which one of them I liked the most. The original leatherman has passed away, his name was Glenn. I had dreams of carrying on his legacy. But that’s for my Japanese tour. Back to night.

The pictures flashing on the screen in the casino showed the original “Indian”/Native American, so when the first 5 guys came out and he wasn’t there, I was a bit sad. Then the lead singer came out. The motorcycle cop. He was a bit pudgy, which can be expected due to age.  So at this stage, I was quite sad that only one original member was there. The replacement leatherman was a good replacement, but had no rhythm, so I got a kick out of that. Here’s how the evening went:

I was expecting choreographed routines. I was expecting flags during “In The Navy”. I had to lower my expectations because I knew I was not going to enjoy the show if I didn’t. So, I just started enjoying the songs. I was actually surprised that the lead singer, Victor Willis, had the chops for the songs. He actually sounded like the original recordings. Here’s where it got weird. He was kind of “out of it”. Almost like he was sleepy. Walked back and forth across the stage with his head down and before every song, he proclaimed that he “wrote and recorded the original version of that” “on almost every song” he was the vocals and wrote that… I said to myself, “ok, we get it. You wrote the songs.” As a songwriter myself, I understand the need for credit where credit is due, but he was going a bit overboard. He also seemed like he didn’t really have a plan, as he kept asking the guys, “what should we do”?

His performance was akin that that of someone’s grandfather doing a karaoke routine. No matter what follows in this article, you and I have to respect the fact that he did write and record tunes that have withstood the test of time.

Now on to the next day.

I was chatting with someone and telling them the weird story and wanted to look up Village People on the web, so I could put my name in the hat if they needed a replacement for the leatherguy. The promo pictures had shown someone different for him, so I figured that they might need another one at some point.

I immediately ran across an article that changed my whole perception of the evening.

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/disco-showdown-original-village-people-frontman-returns-sparking-feud-n794276

It appears that when disco was dying, Victor left the group to try to go in another direction. Ok, your loss. In 2012, supposedly, he sued to get royalties for the music. You wrote it, you should get royalties. I understand. Now here’s where it gets nasty. It seems like he decided to come back to the group this year. I am sure they welcomed him with open arms. (queue up the ominous music) The story states that he came back and “took over” the group. Uh oh. They have been performing without him for 38 years. So, I am sure  when he shows up, he tries to throw his weight around, and the current members start retaliating and leaving. He eventually got rid of everyone. He replaced them all. That explains no choreographed routines. That explains why he was the only original one on stage. That explains the constant “I wrote this”.

If I had known of this, I would have not gone to this show. I am torn between what’s right from both sides. I am sure the bitter lawsuit brought this on, and I am sure the 38 years of keeping the name alive was blood sweat and tears, so I can see this from both sides. I really hope they work this out. I am glad I went to see a bit of our history, but am sad that now every song reminds me of this horrible golden girls drama. I won’t be listening to any of their music because of this. Another one bites the dust.

Gordon Ramsay & Anthony Bourdain – Which Is The Bigger A-Hole?

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I was speaking with a chef the other day and we were discussing food, of course, and I mentioned Anthony Bourdain’s book about Typhoid Mary. I stated that the book was actually quite interesting, as it poses that Typhoid Mary was not a malicious person, but rather that she was too proud of a cook to admit that she was killing people. Yes, simplified in one sentence, that sounds weird. However, he does make a good point.

At some point, I mentioned that Bourdain was an asshole. The chef asked why I thought that. I had seen maybe one or two shows of his, and read some back Continue reading ‘Gordon Ramsay & Anthony Bourdain – Which Is The Bigger A-Hole?’ »