How sad is it that I instantly knew exactly what episode of Seinfeld that picture of Newman is from? It's from the one when Kramer tries to opt out of receiving mail. The scene is a spoof of "Three Days of the Condor" where Newman is warning Kramer he can't trust any postal employees.
Regarding the wildfires, Ethical Skeptic has a series …
How sad is it that I instantly knew exactly what episode of Seinfeld that picture of Newman is from? It's from the one when Kramer tries to opt out of receiving mail. The scene is a spoof of "Three Days of the Condor" where Newman is warning Kramer he can't trust any postal employees.
Regarding the wildfires, Ethical Skeptic has a series of tweets up discussing how the smoke smells like burning tires or plastic and doesn't smell anything like typical brush/forest fires. He thinks something else is going on, and speculates it's related to the recent huge jump in sea temperatures. It sounds out there but he's speculating it's some sort of volcanic action that is cooking underground oil. Frankly it's so bizarre sounding that it's making me question some of his other conclusions.
Last off, anyone else notice that Twitter is now making you log in to see tweets? If anyone has a workaround please post. I've never had a twitter account and am not about to start now.
Update:
From Elon's twitter:
This will be unlocked shortly. Per my earlier post, drastic & immediate action was necessary due to EXTREME levels of data scraping.
Almost every company doing AI, from startups to some of the biggest corporations on Earth, was scraping vast amounts of data.
It is rather galling to have to bring large numbers of servers online on an emergency basis just to facilitate some AI startup’s outrageous valuation.
As I've said before, I finally pulled the plug on all 8 of our Alexa Echos a few months ago. 6 years ago I permanently deleted my FB account, after not using it for at least 3 years prior. I've dumped all other social media accounts - excepting Twitter - as well.
I also switched from an iPhone (I was an early adopter of iPhone and all things Apple as well as Twitter in 2008) to a non-internet phone (LightPhone II). The LightPhone froze up and went kaput about two weeks ago, and I won't replace it.
We dumped cable years ago, and about three years ago gave our large TV in the den to our eldest son, after realizing that there's something wrong with placing a television over our fireplace mantle, which simulates an altar. We do not want to give pride of place to the 5th gen warfare sewer pipe that emptied into our home.
I've recently been pining for dumping our internet service provider and the internet altogether. (Wouldn't it be great if we could somehow go back to a society without the internet and smart phones? Well why the heck not?)
There's some weird 5th gen warfare going on with our electronic devices. I call it the Matrix. I'm fighting against it.
I have never had a tv or cable or Twitter or any social media except Facebook. I only keep that to stay in touch with people who live far away from me and whom I don’t see often or ever. Also belong to some groups that are very worthwhile. I was a very late adopter of smartphones but it’s become very hard to do without in my line of work. I do try to avoid as much as I can though and pay attention to my settings.
I have a Light Phone. It has a few quirks, but I like it. I use it just for phone calls and text messaging (to those who insist on texting), but it also has podcast capability, and I love that. I listen to quite a few podcasts. Everyone I know has an iPhone, but I won't get a smart phone because I want to pay attention to the world when I'm out and about. Can't stand how everyone has their heads bent down, looking at a piece of glass and plastic when there are people and a whole world around them.
Thank you for this reply, Natalie. You are preaching to the choir. I too really hate seeing all the bowed heads (and I include myself in that condemnation). I deeply, deeply resent my phone and how these devices have trapped us all. I am really trying to break free.
I just finished the book Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. It's very good, and you might find it helpful. Though I don't use a smartphone, I find myself on my desktop way too much. I think this book will help me break free of the addiction.
Yes, I tend to justify the use of my desktop as a necessary evil for doing my job. It's still a distraction and time suck and I would love to exercise some discipline over my casual use of it. Before the internet I used to read several books a week - I literally could not be found without a book in my purse or in my car which I would read when I had to wait anywhere or for anything. I even took books on my walks when my kids were portable (one in a front back, one in a back pack and a book in my hands). I have lost focus with increased internet use and electronic media consumption.
I couldn't agree with you more. I used to read a lot of books and listen to music. I homeschooled my kids before computers were very important and founded a homeschooling support group without benefit of the Internet--just on word of mouth and using the telephone. Now I look back and am so glad there was no Internet because I probably wouldn't have accomplished nearly as much. I don't do any social media and everything I look at is worthwhile--like Coffee and COVID!--but it's just too much. I spend too much of my day reading Substacks or listening to podcasts, and COVID really ramped that up. I have to start picking and choosing which online resources to use and spend more of my time doing activities that used to mean something to me, like reading, playing the piano, gardening, etc. I do still take books with me when I go out to a doctor's appointment or some place where I'll have to wait because I don't have a phone to occupy my time, so that's at least a plus.
Gads...the idiots at the gym! They can’t put their damn phones down, so they’ll do a set, sit on the machine and look at their phone for many minutes, then maybe do another set...
Yes, this video is extremely good; B&W makes it even more morose. When the documentary Social Network came out I saw it 3 times in 1 week. I couldn't believe what I thought I was seeing and had to make sure. lol! I never signed up for FB as it was created/stolen out of pure jealousy and greed.
If you like to learn the 'old-school' way by reading a hard copy book I recommend: Nicholas Carr's The Shallows - What The Internet is Doing to Our Brains (2011).
For the effect of technology (our cell phones!) on our cells: Resonance - Beings of Frequency is my favorite:
I'm with you on the "dumb"phone--that's what I've called them from the start because people are surely getting "dumber" and "dumber" by grasping onto that "small screen" 24/7. I swear as time goes by--people will be PERMANENTLY connected to their "device".
And that is how they'll sell the implanted chips or AR Goggles--"Remember how silly we were (shots of bowed heads, tangled earphone cords, dropped airpods, people trying to do things but can't b/c they lack a free hand b/c it's got a cellphone in it), what a hassle it all was? Finally--(shots of vapid smiling people, hugging, shopping, nurturing their children, swiping their hands over scanners at Whole Foods) true freedom, true connectedness is available! (shots of little glowing pulse between thumb and index finger, or back of neck, or top of head). Don't be a Luddite (shot of person tangled in wire, ALONE)--get neuralink!"
I wanted to like it. But honestly, the LCD screen makes it damn near impossible to type. You can do the voice-to-text feature, but you have to keep your texts super short to be able to go back and correct the errors (which are many.)
My sister-in-law gave us one of those Amazon/Google things. I told him absolutely not. He thought I was crazy, but, about a year later, all of that stuff came out about them listening in. We still have it unplugged, uncharged, in its box, somewhere in the house. I’d be happy to dump it.
Siri’s good for turning my iPhone light on and off. She also does quite well with pulling up websites with the information I need. I’ve decided not to fear AI any longer, but to learn to use it for spreading the gospel.
God gave it to us. It can do immense good. If the evil beings decide to come after me…well, I’ll cross that bridge with Jesus when I come to it.
Interesting take. I say that about all technologies—they can be good or bad depending on how you use them. Like fire—it can warm you and cook your food, or it can burn your house down or kill you.
And it depends on choices for how to use them. If I didn’t hear reports, I would have no idea about evil things on the internet. Just like in real life, I don’t go to those places.
In general I agree but I believe there are areas forbidden to man like technology creating man/animal hybrids, manipulating genetic material that “enhance human function” (Can’t be done but they still try) cloning human beings, building a Tower to reach Heaven, etc. It’s like man wants to be God even from the beginning.
I totally agree with you there. I think trying to genetically modify what God has made can be very evil.
But I think if bad genes could be replaced with good ones to heal conditions, that might be viewed as very beneficial to mankind. I’m thinking of one, not handicapping, just disfiguring that I’ve had since preadolescence. One bad, bad gene. That I unfortunately passed on to some of my children and grandchildren and it really makes me sad.
I don’t give it a thought. If the feds decided they wanted me, they could take me. If they want to persecute or prosecute me for living my life as a free child of God and that’s in God’s plan for me, it’ll happen.
In the meantime I know at least half the human population must have cell phones now. And I know there’s some massive storage places collecting all our texts and calls. And I picture that scene at the end of Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark, where the Ark is stored, swallowed up in this massive warehouse. And you just think, well, that’s never gonna see the light of day again.
And given the level of proven incompetence in our government, I wonder if they really can manage such a universe of communications. Or are they exaggerating to frighten us into complacency? I’m sure they can do some specific targeting, but can they really watch us all all the time?
I think that’s what I’m realizing. My old geezer friends love their political groups and somebody is always trying to get me to go to meetings. Finally someone I can’t say no to asked me and I went to one. And it’s a marvelous socializing and small scale networking activity, but I can’t see it saving the nation.
I tell them I’m a keypad warrior. They do their part, but I feel called to influence a bigger field.
I think it’s all about you and what you personally do on line. The internet can’t reach out and pull me into anything. I know my Master’s voice and I’m heaven-bent on following it.
You are made of stern stuff, WS. I know that for me, I can end up wasting too much precious time perseverating on things over which I have absolutely no control. Twitter too often becomes a "near occasion of sin" for me tempting me to indulge in my anger. My husband gave up all internet for Lent and hasn't gone back (and he was already quite limited in his use getting most of his news from The Babylon Bee :)). All I know is I was happier and more productive before I began consuming events through Twitter. I honestly can't point to any person in my life who uses social media or the internet in ways that aren't problematic (I particularly reset the ways my children are affected and we held out long past most in even giving them access - but once granted, it is like a black hole).
I have said so many times, I am so glad I’m not having to raise my children in this age of social media.
For my grandchildren, they did not and will not get cell phones until they’re in high school. None of this 10 year old with a phone stuff. They all try ‘all my friends have a phone’ and ‘what if I have an emergency?’ Well, if all your friends have phones and there’s an emergency ask to borrow one.
Mostly they’ve had to get jobs and buy their own.
I know that’s tough, but you’re the boss. You make the rules. If you want to take possession of the phones from say 10:00 p.m. till 7:00 a,m. do it.
All true, WS. In our house we did not give cell phones to kids until they were 16. With kid #5 he was literally the only student in his grade without a cell phone (other students were going to chip in an buy him a phone). Plus, we have pretty strict control over his use but even when it is in his possession, it is total immersion. And, sad to say, my older kids who are in their twenties, aren't much better. It takes enormous self-discipline the likes of which I don't think many people possess.
I agree, but it can be a greater or lesser struggle depending on the person. I find it easy to dive into reading or watching stuff and lose track of time, and it's taken me quite a while to build discipline over it (and still not perfect!). I know others who can't resist arguing all night when "someone is wrong on the internet"; and of course, knowing that p*rn can be found easily is a temptation for some too... or instant gratification of online shopping.
On the other hand, I find a lot of positives out of it, educationally for example - lots of great videos explaining technology, theology, economics etc - or in connecting with like-minded people such as here on C&C. So as I said, I agree, but as with all things in life it's a matter for wisdom and self-control.
I know. I’m well into senior hood and hope I’m older and wiser. The things of this world don’t matter to me that much anymore. When I was younger, I made many bad choices.
And I’m so glad I’m not raising kids now. It was hard enough back in the day.
But I know this to be true from personal experience:
Corinthians 10:13. No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
I have stories about a faithful God, who has the answer to everything.
I unplugged Alexa when it started playing music while I was silently working from home. Siri responded to something I was telling my husband without being prompted to. After going back and saying the sentence again, there was nothing in what I said that came remotely close to “Hey Siri.” They are always listening, which is creepy.
Only experience I’ve had like that; I was reading a news headline out loud and it was something about Syria. I said, “Sure, Siri, I have to ask you three times to turn on my iPhone light, but you just jump right in when I say the word Syria?” 😂🤣😂
I was totally creeped out when visiting daughter's family in southern England in Nov, and 5 year old kept using Alexa to talk to me from the first floor.
I never read anything on Twitter unless I’m directed there by a good source like JC. Otherwise it’s very easy for me to just ignore. No temptation whatsoever to play with it. For me It is a tool to see these particular tweets and that’s all it is. We are in control of our eyes, ears and mouths.
Same, me too. I only follow a handful of conservatives and I don’t bother reading any thing else, like comments. I like having a Twitter account. I don’t tweet myself or get involved other than to heart for support.
I think the Twitter link problem for non twitter subscibers may have to do somewhat with the massive interest in the Tucker on Twitter postings. If you want to listen, you’ll have to subscribe. Same problem today with Telegram twitter links.
Tucker is instantly reposted on rumble and elsewhere every time he uploaods a vid, so it's not going to work except on those who don't know where else to look...
It's not like facebook; so you can use an alias 'Datagal' perhaps, and for birth date I like to use 1/1/(real birth year). Easy to remember and stay consistent.
I have an account. My handle is something like ‘f^ck Joe Biden’. It’s my second account. I closed one years ago. At that time I sort of knew how the platform worked. Closed the account when they started censoring right views.
Then something convinced me after the 2020 steal that I needed an account again. I never post or retweet, I’ve forgotten how to use it. That’s fine. All I want is to be able to see tweets that are posted. I really haven’t suffered any ill effects.
I've reopened a FB account too. Don't plan to use it for much but it gives me access to a few groups that I want to keep up with. I figure if I don't get in the habit of using them then they will be easily deleted from my life if I decide to do so in the future.
I also have FB; check in occasionally to see what nice little trips my large family has been on. Very seldom do I even post anything. I hardly have time for it anymore.
I had gone through the ‘done with Fakebook’ maneuver several years back. I got a new account, when one day I was talking to my sister and she said, “Mollycakes (not my daughter’s real name) was really nervous about Rufus (not my oldest grandchild’s first name) was having his first flying lesson.”
And I said, “What!!! How do you know that? And she said, “I saw it on Facebook.” Needless say, I made a new account immediately. My sister doesn’t get to tell me about big happenings in my family 😣
Naomi Wolf has a great description of the toxic air in Manhattan back when NYC had its “orange-out.” She said the smell and her reaction to it reminded her more of the poisonous air on 9/12 than just wildfire smoke.
Regarding Twitter, I also agree. It keeps making me try to login whereas I didn’t have to do that before to see a clip. Don’t want a Twitter account. Not signing up for a Twitter account. But I would like to see the clips. I went out on YouTube and found the Dana Carvey clip. 😂😂
All y'all without Twitter accounts are missing out! Though I don't fully trust Elon, Twitter-- which used to be an awful, blue-only echo chamber-- is great now that he took over.
I don’t really know as I only use it to read tweets posted on trusted sites. I told my grandchildren the internet is like the whole world is just opened up before you. And just like you know physically there are places you should not be, same with the internet. Ask Jesus. He’ll tell you whether or not you should go there.
"Regarding the wildfires, Ethical Skeptic has a series of tweets up discussing how the smoke smells like burning tires or plastic and doesn't smell anything like typical brush/forest fires."
This may explain the white flakes my son and I observed in the air when we were in the Detroit area a few weeks ago.
FYI... Forest fires can and do produce ash, white flakes to be exact... When we got slammed by 2 hurricanes in 2004 there were so many trees down the county hauled them out to a large private tract of land 6 miles from city center and set them ablaze....HUGE PILES OF TREES. Problem was, the area was not "out in the country" but rather countryside surrounded by communities. White ash and heavy smoke blanketed our area. It was a nightmare! Hot, humid weather...and SMOKE so thick in some places you couldn't see through it. It was a great teaching moment for our inept democrat run city and county commissioners.... ((Diversity) elected)🫢😒... And yet, we're still electing the same kinds of fools...progressive commies. Life in a University town.
When I was little I was swimming at the beach and ashes came floating down on me (they were burning a field after harvest). I didn't know what it was. My sister said "it is from the crematorium. They are burning bodies" I nearly drowned. I screamed like there was a shark attacking me. I was an irrational child.
Yup, white flakes are very common here in Southern California during brush fires, it's not unusual to see them a hundred miles or more distant from big fires. People know to was them off the car quickly as they can eat at the paint.
Having lived through literally dozens of brush fires though, they never smell synthetic but always like burning wood in a campfire. There is something funny going on if it smells like burning tires.
All the young women from Canada on a FB group I am on, said it smells like chemicals and they and others in the US are upset because they have babies and children and no one is issuing warnings or advising on ways to protect themselves from the toxic air.
Hubs was the regional director for state emergency management in Houston during Katrina, Rita and Ike. OMG!! It's not just the citizens, but the politicians! Mayor Bill White was responsible for that tragic evacuation when Katrina was on It's way. He got on TV and said EVERYONE LEAVE NOW!!! Orderly evacs were working well. He also invited all the refugees from New Orleans to come to Houston, then tried to "order" my husband to completely shut down I-20
and turnback the buses at the state line. What a dumba$$!!
Air quality here in Maryland was terrible yesterday. I was floating down a local creek and noticed ash flakes settling down on the water. I think there’s WAY more to those wildfires than we’re being told.
Has anyone seen pictures/video of said fires? You’d think that they’d be all over the place, I haven’t seen one...maybe I’m not looking hard enough BUT when CA has fires I see them all over my feeds. Just saying...
1. I heard there are fires on land bought by China?
2. Young women living in Canada on a FB group I belong to said that there has been torrential rain for 3 days (as of yesterday) so they were perplexed.
Well, you can blame Twitter on me. I've been praying for weeks (even months) for G-d's assistance in getting me to reduce the time I waste viewing Twitter feeds. I don't have a Twitter account and am not going to start one just to see timelines, so I'm chalking this up to Divine Intervention. Thank you, Jesus!
Never wanting to feed the beast, did not want to comment, never had an account. I did click on when someone linked to a particular twitter post of interest. Twitter has become a public commons, of a sort. But I prefer to be highly selective about where I actually "join", such a C&C. The very large, social engineering sites, like twitter, are particularly unappealing.
I'll hold out. Hope more people, who are accustomed to sharing twitter links, will adjust by copying the twitter comment, or summarizing the gist. Or I'll make do with what I can learn elsewhere, dropping out of those twitter conversations altogether, even as a "listener" only. That will probably save me a good piece of time for off-internet reading.
If I look at tweets through Google chrome, I have no problem looking at them without signing in. If I go through DuckDuckGo, I can't see anything unless I sign in.
Off topic, but was wondering if anyone could provide a link for the Defender article referenced in one of the first stories in this post? I can't even find a website called the Defender except for some woke Catholic college. I searched using terms like "Defender," 'The Defender," " The Defender COVID," "The Defender COVID Danish study European journal of inquiry" or whatever the name of the journal is and got zero results. Apparently there's a movie called " The Defender" because I got lots of results about that.
I tried google chrome for a link...didn't work. I think once you clear your cache and reset things or if you reboot your computer, you will eventually lose access to twitter unless you have an account.
I read posts on Twitchy.com and have always been able to click on the tweets to read the full tweet if needed. Guess I'll have to give up twitchy! I'm getting used to walking away from all sorts of things these days.
Yeah, truth social or telegram is all I have now. Used to be a rabid Facebook guy until they suppressed everything. Tried Twitter for a few months, until recently. Elon has to crack down on the porno ads that bots send out. Tons of other depravity. Just got sick of it even though it was useful to try to educate the masses, but to be seen you need to pay a monthly fee.
I quit playing on Facebook when they shut down Trump. They were already censoring me, but that was the final straw. Same with Twitter and Instagram. I got on Parler but then they shut that down. I finally just gave up. I have to say, I think it's been good for my mental health! Even if there was a place I could go where it wasn't watched by the government and people thought the way I do, there's danger in that group think rut. Being of social media allows me to think clearly and consider different angles that I probably wouldn't have considered it I lived in an echo chamber. I have to be careful even on sites like SubStack. When breaking news happens and I get the leftist sound bite, I like to think about it and ask myself questions. Then I go read what someone I trust has to say. Then I ask more questions!
How sad is it that I instantly knew exactly what episode of Seinfeld that picture of Newman is from? It's from the one when Kramer tries to opt out of receiving mail. The scene is a spoof of "Three Days of the Condor" where Newman is warning Kramer he can't trust any postal employees.
Regarding the wildfires, Ethical Skeptic has a series of tweets up discussing how the smoke smells like burning tires or plastic and doesn't smell anything like typical brush/forest fires. He thinks something else is going on, and speculates it's related to the recent huge jump in sea temperatures. It sounds out there but he's speculating it's some sort of volcanic action that is cooking underground oil. Frankly it's so bizarre sounding that it's making me question some of his other conclusions.
Last off, anyone else notice that Twitter is now making you log in to see tweets? If anyone has a workaround please post. I've never had a twitter account and am not about to start now.
Update:
From Elon's twitter:
This will be unlocked shortly. Per my earlier post, drastic & immediate action was necessary due to EXTREME levels of data scraping.
Almost every company doing AI, from startups to some of the biggest corporations on Earth, was scraping vast amounts of data.
It is rather galling to have to bring large numbers of servers online on an emergency basis just to facilitate some AI startup’s outrageous valuation.
Just noticed that today with Twitter. Very annoying. I do have an account but don't use it and would prefer not to have to log in to see tweets.
Okay, I bought 3 tickets today for this weekend.
I closed my Twitter account a couple years ago for a reason.
And because I don’t have an account I can’t view it’s contents
Much like many of the media online sites won’t allow you to read an article if don’t give them your email.
It’s the same thing with Siri and Alexa they won’t cooperate with one another either.
Who uses Siri and Alexa? The government 3 letter agencies... So
As I've said before, I finally pulled the plug on all 8 of our Alexa Echos a few months ago. 6 years ago I permanently deleted my FB account, after not using it for at least 3 years prior. I've dumped all other social media accounts - excepting Twitter - as well.
I also switched from an iPhone (I was an early adopter of iPhone and all things Apple as well as Twitter in 2008) to a non-internet phone (LightPhone II). The LightPhone froze up and went kaput about two weeks ago, and I won't replace it.
We dumped cable years ago, and about three years ago gave our large TV in the den to our eldest son, after realizing that there's something wrong with placing a television over our fireplace mantle, which simulates an altar. We do not want to give pride of place to the 5th gen warfare sewer pipe that emptied into our home.
I've recently been pining for dumping our internet service provider and the internet altogether. (Wouldn't it be great if we could somehow go back to a society without the internet and smart phones? Well why the heck not?)
There's some weird 5th gen warfare going on with our electronic devices. I call it the Matrix. I'm fighting against it.
Do you have a single twin brother?
First internet related smile today from your comment. Just hit me funny. Thank you. Hope it's a yes. Dreams DO come true Gram!
Not a twin, but he's a slightly younger brother. Never married, so he's spoiled and persnickety about what he does or does not waste his time on.
He's an exec with the federal courts, and makes a boatload of money. LOL
I have never had a tv or cable or Twitter or any social media except Facebook. I only keep that to stay in touch with people who live far away from me and whom I don’t see often or ever. Also belong to some groups that are very worthwhile. I was a very late adopter of smartphones but it’s become very hard to do without in my line of work. I do try to avoid as much as I can though and pay attention to my settings.
If I were totally retired--I'd go 'unconnected" altogether as well! I applaud your decision, Mr. Bennett.
I tried one of those and it creeped me out so badly . I actually threw it in a outdoor firepit
Fred, I am really intrigued by the LightPhone. Did you like it?
I have a Light Phone. It has a few quirks, but I like it. I use it just for phone calls and text messaging (to those who insist on texting), but it also has podcast capability, and I love that. I listen to quite a few podcasts. Everyone I know has an iPhone, but I won't get a smart phone because I want to pay attention to the world when I'm out and about. Can't stand how everyone has their heads bent down, looking at a piece of glass and plastic when there are people and a whole world around them.
Thank you for this reply, Natalie. You are preaching to the choir. I too really hate seeing all the bowed heads (and I include myself in that condemnation). I deeply, deeply resent my phone and how these devices have trapped us all. I am really trying to break free.
I just finished the book Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport. It's very good, and you might find it helpful. Though I don't use a smartphone, I find myself on my desktop way too much. I think this book will help me break free of the addiction.
Yes, I tend to justify the use of my desktop as a necessary evil for doing my job. It's still a distraction and time suck and I would love to exercise some discipline over my casual use of it. Before the internet I used to read several books a week - I literally could not be found without a book in my purse or in my car which I would read when I had to wait anywhere or for anything. I even took books on my walks when my kids were portable (one in a front back, one in a back pack and a book in my hands). I have lost focus with increased internet use and electronic media consumption.
I couldn't agree with you more. I used to read a lot of books and listen to music. I homeschooled my kids before computers were very important and founded a homeschooling support group without benefit of the Internet--just on word of mouth and using the telephone. Now I look back and am so glad there was no Internet because I probably wouldn't have accomplished nearly as much. I don't do any social media and everything I look at is worthwhile--like Coffee and COVID!--but it's just too much. I spend too much of my day reading Substacks or listening to podcasts, and COVID really ramped that up. I have to start picking and choosing which online resources to use and spend more of my time doing activities that used to mean something to me, like reading, playing the piano, gardening, etc. I do still take books with me when I go out to a doctor's appointment or some place where I'll have to wait because I don't have a phone to occupy my time, so that's at least a plus.
JUST DO IT, NAB!! It's not that difficult! Perhaps grab a carrot instead of the screen and say, "What's up, Doc", instead! LOL!!
I'm trying, SBE, I'm trying!
Grab your CARROT stick, NAB!! NOW!!!
Here's a YouTube video about the bowed heads permanently stuck on Social Media: https://youtu.be/QugooaNRnsk
It's extremely good.
Gads...the idiots at the gym! They can’t put their damn phones down, so they’ll do a set, sit on the machine and look at their phone for many minutes, then maybe do another set...
I am ready to KILL.
Yes, this video is extremely good; B&W makes it even more morose. When the documentary Social Network came out I saw it 3 times in 1 week. I couldn't believe what I thought I was seeing and had to make sure. lol! I never signed up for FB as it was created/stolen out of pure jealousy and greed.
https://archive.org/details/podcast_giant-geek-vs-mega-n00b_the-social-network-2010_1000383559241
The Social Dilemma is another profound documentary featuring the CEOs of Big Tech: https://archive.org/details/the.-social.-dilemma.-2020.1080p.-webrip.x-264.-aac-5.1-yts.-mx
If you like to learn the 'old-school' way by reading a hard copy book I recommend: Nicholas Carr's The Shallows - What The Internet is Doing to Our Brains (2011).
For the effect of technology (our cell phones!) on our cells: Resonance - Beings of Frequency is my favorite:
https://vimeo.com/54189727
Read The Shallows 10 years ago and apparently I need to revisit it :) Thanks to all for the encouraging comments.
The Social Dilemma is sobering and enlightening. I recognize so much of what it demonstrated active in my life and the life of my children.
The Shallows is excellent!
Thank you. I haven't seen / read any of those, but I darn sure will now.
I'm with you on the "dumb"phone--that's what I've called them from the start because people are surely getting "dumber" and "dumber" by grasping onto that "small screen" 24/7. I swear as time goes by--people will be PERMANENTLY connected to their "device".
And that is how they'll sell the implanted chips or AR Goggles--"Remember how silly we were (shots of bowed heads, tangled earphone cords, dropped airpods, people trying to do things but can't b/c they lack a free hand b/c it's got a cellphone in it), what a hassle it all was? Finally--(shots of vapid smiling people, hugging, shopping, nurturing their children, swiping their hands over scanners at Whole Foods) true freedom, true connectedness is available! (shots of little glowing pulse between thumb and index finger, or back of neck, or top of head). Don't be a Luddite (shot of person tangled in wire, ALONE)--get neuralink!"
Yeppir - and it's coming at nano-speed and the sheeple will EAT IT whole"heart"edly!!
.... by design.... part of the transhumanist agenda.
I wanted to like it. But honestly, the LCD screen makes it damn near impossible to type. You can do the voice-to-text feature, but you have to keep your texts super short to be able to go back and correct the errors (which are many.)
I don't think I would buy it again
My sister-in-law gave us one of those Amazon/Google things. I told him absolutely not. He thought I was crazy, but, about a year later, all of that stuff came out about them listening in. We still have it unplugged, uncharged, in its box, somewhere in the house. I’d be happy to dump it.
Siri’s good for turning my iPhone light on and off. She also does quite well with pulling up websites with the information I need. I’ve decided not to fear AI any longer, but to learn to use it for spreading the gospel.
God gave it to us. It can do immense good. If the evil beings decide to come after me…well, I’ll cross that bridge with Jesus when I come to it.
Interesting take. I say that about all technologies—they can be good or bad depending on how you use them. Like fire—it can warm you and cook your food, or it can burn your house down or kill you.
All things are permitted to us, but not all things are good for us? Some feller said words to that effect, once upon a time.
And it depends on choices for how to use them. If I didn’t hear reports, I would have no idea about evil things on the internet. Just like in real life, I don’t go to those places.
In general I agree but I believe there are areas forbidden to man like technology creating man/animal hybrids, manipulating genetic material that “enhance human function” (Can’t be done but they still try) cloning human beings, building a Tower to reach Heaven, etc. It’s like man wants to be God even from the beginning.
I totally agree with you there. I think trying to genetically modify what God has made can be very evil.
But I think if bad genes could be replaced with good ones to heal conditions, that might be viewed as very beneficial to mankind. I’m thinking of one, not handicapping, just disfiguring that I’ve had since preadolescence. One bad, bad gene. That I unfortunately passed on to some of my children and grandchildren and it really makes me sad.
It is called hubris. The Greek gods hated this in man. What does our God feel about it?
"MY grace is sufficient for you" comes to mind....
True. But in many ways technology always does that in some way. This is just closer.
🗨 Technology is an amplifier. It makes the good better, and the bad worse.
(same Svetski again)
Exactly.
As long as you don't mind your phone always listening in on you.
Well, every once in awhile, I say, “Did you get that FBI? Should I repeat it?”
I don’t give it a thought. If the feds decided they wanted me, they could take me. If they want to persecute or prosecute me for living my life as a free child of God and that’s in God’s plan for me, it’ll happen.
In the meantime I know at least half the human population must have cell phones now. And I know there’s some massive storage places collecting all our texts and calls. And I picture that scene at the end of Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark, where the Ark is stored, swallowed up in this massive warehouse. And you just think, well, that’s never gonna see the light of day again.
And given the level of proven incompetence in our government, I wonder if they really can manage such a universe of communications. Or are they exaggerating to frighten us into complacency? I’m sure they can do some specific targeting, but can they really watch us all all the time?
🗨 AI. It is a tool. It is a technology. It is NOT a new life-form, despite what the lonely nerds like Yudkowski(* so desperately want to believe.
🗨 the only way we can fight black-hat AI is with white-hat AI
(h/t Aleksandar Svetski of authenticintelligence.substack.com)
--
(* of 'nuclear-bomb the server farms' infamy
I think that’s what I’m realizing. My old geezer friends love their political groups and somebody is always trying to get me to go to meetings. Finally someone I can’t say no to asked me and I went to one. And it’s a marvelous socializing and small scale networking activity, but I can’t see it saving the nation.
I tell them I’m a keypad warrior. They do their part, but I feel called to influence a bigger field.
It is getting harder and harder to maintain that technology is morally neutral.
I think it’s all about you and what you personally do on line. The internet can’t reach out and pull me into anything. I know my Master’s voice and I’m heaven-bent on following it.
You are made of stern stuff, WS. I know that for me, I can end up wasting too much precious time perseverating on things over which I have absolutely no control. Twitter too often becomes a "near occasion of sin" for me tempting me to indulge in my anger. My husband gave up all internet for Lent and hasn't gone back (and he was already quite limited in his use getting most of his news from The Babylon Bee :)). All I know is I was happier and more productive before I began consuming events through Twitter. I honestly can't point to any person in my life who uses social media or the internet in ways that aren't problematic (I particularly reset the ways my children are affected and we held out long past most in even giving them access - but once granted, it is like a black hole).
I have said so many times, I am so glad I’m not having to raise my children in this age of social media.
For my grandchildren, they did not and will not get cell phones until they’re in high school. None of this 10 year old with a phone stuff. They all try ‘all my friends have a phone’ and ‘what if I have an emergency?’ Well, if all your friends have phones and there’s an emergency ask to borrow one.
Mostly they’ve had to get jobs and buy their own.
I know that’s tough, but you’re the boss. You make the rules. If you want to take possession of the phones from say 10:00 p.m. till 7:00 a,m. do it.
All true, WS. In our house we did not give cell phones to kids until they were 16. With kid #5 he was literally the only student in his grade without a cell phone (other students were going to chip in an buy him a phone). Plus, we have pretty strict control over his use but even when it is in his possession, it is total immersion. And, sad to say, my older kids who are in their twenties, aren't much better. It takes enormous self-discipline the likes of which I don't think many people possess.
I agree, but it can be a greater or lesser struggle depending on the person. I find it easy to dive into reading or watching stuff and lose track of time, and it's taken me quite a while to build discipline over it (and still not perfect!). I know others who can't resist arguing all night when "someone is wrong on the internet"; and of course, knowing that p*rn can be found easily is a temptation for some too... or instant gratification of online shopping.
On the other hand, I find a lot of positives out of it, educationally for example - lots of great videos explaining technology, theology, economics etc - or in connecting with like-minded people such as here on C&C. So as I said, I agree, but as with all things in life it's a matter for wisdom and self-control.
I know. I’m well into senior hood and hope I’m older and wiser. The things of this world don’t matter to me that much anymore. When I was younger, I made many bad choices.
And I’m so glad I’m not raising kids now. It was hard enough back in the day.
But I know this to be true from personal experience:
Corinthians 10:13. No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
I have stories about a faithful God, who has the answer to everything.
I unplugged Alexa when it started playing music while I was silently working from home. Siri responded to something I was telling my husband without being prompted to. After going back and saying the sentence again, there was nothing in what I said that came remotely close to “Hey Siri.” They are always listening, which is creepy.
Yup - THAT right there!
The idea of Alexa and the like is downright creepy, which is why I've never acquired one.
Only experience I’ve had like that; I was reading a news headline out loud and it was something about Syria. I said, “Sure, Siri, I have to ask you three times to turn on my iPhone light, but you just jump right in when I say the word Syria?” 😂🤣😂
I was totally creeped out when visiting daughter's family in southern England in Nov, and 5 year old kept using Alexa to talk to me from the first floor.
Nope.. no .. nada.
Never. But daughter's family in UK--all for it!
It just happened to me today, too. I really don’t want to sign up for Twitter but I may have to.
I signed up for Twitter and it took me one day to be so disgusted by people shamelessly attacking each other that i closed the account.
I never read anything on Twitter unless I’m directed there by a good source like JC. Otherwise it’s very easy for me to just ignore. No temptation whatsoever to play with it. For me It is a tool to see these particular tweets and that’s all it is. We are in control of our eyes, ears and mouths.
I don’t use it to read conversations. I use it to read specific tweets. No thank you to reading arguments
Same, me too. I only follow a handful of conservatives and I don’t bother reading any thing else, like comments. I like having a Twitter account. I don’t tweet myself or get involved other than to heart for support.
I think the Twitter link problem for non twitter subscibers may have to do somewhat with the massive interest in the Tucker on Twitter postings. If you want to listen, you’ll have to subscribe. Same problem today with Telegram twitter links.
Tucker is instantly reposted on rumble and elsewhere every time he uploaods a vid, so it's not going to work except on those who don't know where else to look...
Oh Susanna - Same
Same. They don’t like this link.
Same here. I’m signed in on the app, but when I click a link it thinks I’m not signed in. 😡
Yes, can't see tweets, don't have an account...not getting one😏
It was yesterday methinks that the curtain got pulled on incognito voyeurs 😒
To use twitter links without logging in, use nitter.
1. Take a twitter link and replace the tw with n, and replace com with net.
(i.e, replace twitter.com with nitter.net).
https://twitter.com/alextopol/status/1674695447590457346
https://nitter.net/alextopol/status/1674695447590457346
2. OR, use the Redirector extension (chrome or firefox).
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/redirector/ocgpenflpmgnfapjedencafcfakcekcd
This video shows how. 3 mins long.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPQQlSDCvSo
Jeff might want to consider making this replacement upstream as it were, for the disaffected us all at once, at the very source 😇
Ty for now, I'll show myself out 🤸
I'm going to start using nitter.net when I post my links.
👌 Inclusion & Equity covered. What are ya gonna do about Diversity?
Are y’all could just all decide to move into the 21st century. It’s not going away. Pray about it.
LOVE IT. Ah just when the modern day robber barons think they can stop the pleebs from accessing information we just find a way around it.
Thank you very much. I wasn't finding this via searches on various engines.
Not working for me, tried Nitter with the Dana Carvey link
Thank you! Will give it a try.
It works!
Who even are you, FBM, to come up with such geniusness? :)
Thank you! "Where there's a will ... "
To create a twitter account, should I give my real name and birth date or can I lie?
It's not like facebook; so you can use an alias 'Datagal' perhaps, and for birth date I like to use 1/1/(real birth year). Easy to remember and stay consistent.
Note they will need your phone #.
Thanks!
Sweet.....U da man!
Yep I think you mentioned Nitter months ago
I use that if I need to see something
Thanks 👍
"Tweet not found" on your nitter.net link. I read nittier.it would work, but alas, it doesn't work either.
Tried this and got serious Microsoft Defender warnings. Quickly exited because I just don't need tech issues.
Yes, I can't watch the Twitter video either. First time. I am not on Twitter and definitely won't join.
Yes, I've noticed and others too. Unclear if this is a deliberate move by the business or temporary glitch.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Twitter/comments/14mskki/can_anyone_still_view_twitter_without_having_an/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Twitter/comments/14myp4g/its_not_just_you_twitters_website_doesnt_show/
I have an account. My handle is something like ‘f^ck Joe Biden’. It’s my second account. I closed one years ago. At that time I sort of knew how the platform worked. Closed the account when they started censoring right views.
Then something convinced me after the 2020 steal that I needed an account again. I never post or retweet, I’ve forgotten how to use it. That’s fine. All I want is to be able to see tweets that are posted. I really haven’t suffered any ill effects.
I've reopened a FB account too. Don't plan to use it for much but it gives me access to a few groups that I want to keep up with. I figure if I don't get in the habit of using them then they will be easily deleted from my life if I decide to do so in the future.
I also have FB; check in occasionally to see what nice little trips my large family has been on. Very seldom do I even post anything. I hardly have time for it anymore.
I had gone through the ‘done with Fakebook’ maneuver several years back. I got a new account, when one day I was talking to my sister and she said, “Mollycakes (not my daughter’s real name) was really nervous about Rufus (not my oldest grandchild’s first name) was having his first flying lesson.”
And I said, “What!!! How do you know that? And she said, “I saw it on Facebook.” Needless say, I made a new account immediately. My sister doesn’t get to tell me about big happenings in my family 😣
I tried the nitter.net for all of today's tweets. They returned as Tweet not found.
Yup. Also my experience.
Me, too. Also nitter.it, which I read about. Doesn't work either.
Couldn’t get the Twitter links up either. And I have no intention of getting an account.
Same here. I briefly considered getting a Twitter account just to watch Tucker, but no. I can surely find his posts on Rumble.
https://rumble.com/v2wz3av-american-actors-dana-carvey-and-david-wayne-spade-mocking-on-fauci-and-covi.html
Thanks! 😊
Thank you
Same here. Am not able to see Twitter stuff.
Same here, I couldn't access the Tweets without an account.
Wow as usual, I thought it was just me and my lack of techiness
Naomi Wolf has a great description of the toxic air in Manhattan back when NYC had its “orange-out.” She said the smell and her reaction to it reminded her more of the poisonous air on 9/12 than just wildfire smoke.
Regarding Twitter, I also agree. It keeps making me try to login whereas I didn’t have to do that before to see a clip. Don’t want a Twitter account. Not signing up for a Twitter account. But I would like to see the clips. I went out on YouTube and found the Dana Carvey clip. 😂😂
All y'all without Twitter accounts are missing out! Though I don't fully trust Elon, Twitter-- which used to be an awful, blue-only echo chamber-- is great now that he took over.
I don’t really know as I only use it to read tweets posted on trusted sites. I told my grandchildren the internet is like the whole world is just opened up before you. And just like you know physically there are places you should not be, same with the internet. Ask Jesus. He’ll tell you whether or not you should go there.
Big nope here.
Yes, I couldn’t see them either. No twitter account so...
"Regarding the wildfires, Ethical Skeptic has a series of tweets up discussing how the smoke smells like burning tires or plastic and doesn't smell anything like typical brush/forest fires."
This may explain the white flakes my son and I observed in the air when we were in the Detroit area a few weeks ago.
FYI... Forest fires can and do produce ash, white flakes to be exact... When we got slammed by 2 hurricanes in 2004 there were so many trees down the county hauled them out to a large private tract of land 6 miles from city center and set them ablaze....HUGE PILES OF TREES. Problem was, the area was not "out in the country" but rather countryside surrounded by communities. White ash and heavy smoke blanketed our area. It was a nightmare! Hot, humid weather...and SMOKE so thick in some places you couldn't see through it. It was a great teaching moment for our inept democrat run city and county commissioners.... ((Diversity) elected)🫢😒... And yet, we're still electing the same kinds of fools...progressive commies. Life in a University town.
When I was little I was swimming at the beach and ashes came floating down on me (they were burning a field after harvest). I didn't know what it was. My sister said "it is from the crematorium. They are burning bodies" I nearly drowned. I screamed like there was a shark attacking me. I was an irrational child.
Funny. Bet she was a big sister.
Yes. 6 years older. She's still full of it.
Sounds pretty rational to me. Now you got me reconsidering cremation.
Yup, white flakes are very common here in Southern California during brush fires, it's not unusual to see them a hundred miles or more distant from big fires. People know to was them off the car quickly as they can eat at the paint.
Having lived through literally dozens of brush fires though, they never smell synthetic but always like burning wood in a campfire. There is something funny going on if it smells like burning tires.
All the young women from Canada on a FB group I am on, said it smells like chemicals and they and others in the US are upset because they have babies and children and no one is issuing warnings or advising on ways to protect themselves from the toxic air.
There is no shortage of stupid before, during or after a hurricane. Bet you can attest to that.
Yup! Never ceases to amaze me!
Hubs was the regional director for state emergency management in Houston during Katrina, Rita and Ike. OMG!! It's not just the citizens, but the politicians! Mayor Bill White was responsible for that tragic evacuation when Katrina was on It's way. He got on TV and said EVERYONE LEAVE NOW!!! Orderly evacs were working well. He also invited all the refugees from New Orleans to come to Houston, then tried to "order" my husband to completely shut down I-20
and turnback the buses at the state line. What a dumba$$!!
Air quality here in Maryland was terrible yesterday. I was floating down a local creek and noticed ash flakes settling down on the water. I think there’s WAY more to those wildfires than we’re being told.
Has anyone seen pictures/video of said fires? You’d think that they’d be all over the place, I haven’t seen one...maybe I’m not looking hard enough BUT when CA has fires I see them all over my feeds. Just saying...
Great comment - yes, WHERE ARE all the videos of these "wildfires?"
I noticed that too. Should be everywhere
No.. no videos.
1. I heard there are fires on land bought by China?
2. Young women living in Canada on a FB group I belong to said that there has been torrential rain for 3 days (as of yesterday) so they were perplexed.
3. Soneone else mentioned train derailments
4. They all saud that the smell is chemical.
Again: all hearsay
Well, you can blame Twitter on me. I've been praying for weeks (even months) for G-d's assistance in getting me to reduce the time I waste viewing Twitter feeds. I don't have a Twitter account and am not going to start one just to see timelines, so I'm chalking this up to Divine Intervention. Thank you, Jesus!
Ya I'm getting tired of all of it. Even substack! What?! LOL.
<In my quiet voice:> Me too, BFM, me too.
Yes. Suddenly twitter is requiring sign in!
Never wanting to feed the beast, did not want to comment, never had an account. I did click on when someone linked to a particular twitter post of interest. Twitter has become a public commons, of a sort. But I prefer to be highly selective about where I actually "join", such a C&C. The very large, social engineering sites, like twitter, are particularly unappealing.
I'll hold out. Hope more people, who are accustomed to sharing twitter links, will adjust by copying the twitter comment, or summarizing the gist. Or I'll make do with what I can learn elsewhere, dropping out of those twitter conversations altogether, even as a "listener" only. That will probably save me a good piece of time for off-internet reading.
If I look at tweets through Google chrome, I have no problem looking at them without signing in. If I go through DuckDuckGo, I can't see anything unless I sign in.
Off topic, but was wondering if anyone could provide a link for the Defender article referenced in one of the first stories in this post? I can't even find a website called the Defender except for some woke Catholic college. I searched using terms like "Defender," 'The Defender," " The Defender COVID," "The Defender COVID Danish study European journal of inquiry" or whatever the name of the journal is and got zero results. Apparently there's a movie called " The Defender" because I got lots of results about that.
Don't know the exact article link but The Defender is RFK Jr's news blog from Children's Heath Defense:
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/
Thanks for the tip on Chrome, I'll give it a try.
Thank you for the link! I couldn't figure out where to go.
Hmm--I cannot open the links today (sure could yesterday) and I am using Brave.
I tried google chrome for a link...didn't work. I think once you clear your cache and reset things or if you reboot your computer, you will eventually lose access to twitter unless you have an account.
That sucks.
I read posts on Twitchy.com and have always been able to click on the tweets to read the full tweet if needed. Guess I'll have to give up twitchy! I'm getting used to walking away from all sorts of things these days.
Yeah, truth social or telegram is all I have now. Used to be a rabid Facebook guy until they suppressed everything. Tried Twitter for a few months, until recently. Elon has to crack down on the porno ads that bots send out. Tons of other depravity. Just got sick of it even though it was useful to try to educate the masses, but to be seen you need to pay a monthly fee.
I quit playing on Facebook when they shut down Trump. They were already censoring me, but that was the final straw. Same with Twitter and Instagram. I got on Parler but then they shut that down. I finally just gave up. I have to say, I think it's been good for my mental health! Even if there was a place I could go where it wasn't watched by the government and people thought the way I do, there's danger in that group think rut. Being of social media allows me to think clearly and consider different angles that I probably wouldn't have considered it I lived in an echo chamber. I have to be careful even on sites like SubStack. When breaking news happens and I get the leftist sound bite, I like to think about it and ask myself questions. Then I go read what someone I trust has to say. Then I ask more questions!
It's definitely a healthier way to approach it.
It may be that chrome is tracking you and your clicks/history in a way that DDG does not allow.
Earlier today Twitter wanted me to make an account to see the tweets but now it’s not.... can just see them as usual. Weird 🤔