Humans don't think - they EMOTE

Humans are ruled by Emotion, and maybe, once in a while, sometimes bother to think. 

Exhibit A: Social Media

Yes, I said it this way first. A friend, who still has a Facebook account helped me create the image.

I've pointed out before that humans don't think for shit.  (Actually, my entire blogging career is pretty much about that, so I've close to a thousand examples where I point that out.)

I kept trying to walk away, and not care, but I fucking care, and there's so much stupid in the world, I just need to shout at it.

Trump Twittering 2 - America's Shame

I've talked about President Trump (barf in my mouth) using Twitter before.  Hell, everyone talks about what an embarrassment Trump using Twitter is. 

But, let's stick to the fact that Donald Trump is President of the United States for a moment.  Just, let that horror rebound in your brain for a minute.

And President Trump's favored platform for expressing himself is Twitter.

Fucking Twitter.

The President of the United States of America wrote that message.

I want to die of shame and embarrassment to be an American right now.  A CHILD would have written better than that!

That tweet is the work of an 8 year-old throwing a tantrum, because little Susie says he pulled her hair, and he doesn't want the teacher to make him apologize.

Any human being not embarrassed that Trump is President of the United States is a fucking idiot.

Yes, real patriots are appalled that this emotional snowflake man-baby is President. 

I'm going to go throw up now.

You have value, fuck social media

A lot of words have been spent pointing out how social media is depressing as fuck, especially since we get this idea it means anything. Social media is healthiest when used as a tool for self-expression and not the unnatural tool of self-esteem.

Social media will kill your self esteem in no time, because there is no way to ever have enough feedback (especially for women).

I've managed to adopt a philosophy of "one +1" is great, because someone cared enough to click, and more than that is just gravy.

See, people have this warped view of "Likes." Ask yourself "Why do I click +1, and when? What motivates me to move my fingers and click the button?"

If you're normal, the answer changes from time to time, depending on your mood, depending on how tired you are, depending on the device you are using, blah, blah, blah.

That makes you normal. My point is that if you can recognize all the random, irrational, erratic and silly reasons you do - and so not - click +1, then you realize how little value it has. How pointless it is to give a crap about the number.

Focus on saying what you want, because you want to.

Here's a rule of thumb I have: multiply the number of Likes by 10 or 15, and that's a useful estimate of the number of people who have seen the post. That's the number of brains you have infected with your words. That estimate has a bit more value. I admit, it also feels better. I can't deny that. The numbers feel good, and fuzzy numbers feel better, because they are safer. E.g. "Well, only five people clicked +1, but that means 50 people saw it!" Accurate? Pft, I don't know, but I'm going to get the best mileage from this addiction to social media that I can, right?

Here's an example of what I mean. By most considerations, this is a good post. The kind that people out to bother to twitch their fingers for, right? Yet only TWO people bothered to twitch. And only TWO comments, potentially not even from the same people who Liked it. People are silly that way.

See what I mean about how absurd the whole thing is?  There are so many reasons to motivate someone to click somewhere - good "sticky" design - yet the responses are practically random - 33 "views," yet only 3 likes and 2 comments.  Plus, the poll has check boxes - and only 16 total boxes got checked - and obviously, some of those are duplicates.

So, basically, let's review:  "Likes" and "+1s" don't mean shit, because people are silly and lazy.

Here’s how you can use the ‘Facebook effect’ to stop Donald Trump

Here’s how you can use the ‘Facebook effect’ to stop Donald Trump

From the article:

Although one can still choose to not participate in the discussion, a recent scientific study shows that if one wants the political candidate they support to win, they need to join in. We have all heard the rallying cry “Your vote counts.” Now that can be extended to “Your Facebook comments count.”

I'm so depressed now.  Basically, by posting the shit out of something, we can influence what others think about it - positive, or negative - in a real and tangible way.

That means, when I rant against Trump, or for Clinton, or against rape, or for D&D, then I'm influencing how other people think about these same things.

I always knew my writings were mind worms, but that was really just me being meta and all that shit.  The truth is that it's not meta, it's real.  And the more the mindless idiots of the world cheer on Trump, even if they're spreading total bullshit, the more mindless idiots fall in love with someone who is a total farce.

That kind of shit is just freaky.

Equally freaky is how easily I was able to share this. The website managers provided a really handy little button form me to click.  Now, I've spread the word about their word, and the word is the bird, and the bird is flying up your nose.

Observations on blocking on G+

People fascinate me. Some things I've noticed

• blocking usually occurs after some kind of pissing match, and might involve actual swear words;

• the person doing the blocking almost always announces it, with emphasis, some kind of pride, and the verbal equivalent of a "talk to the hand" gesture;

• the blocked person often doesn't care, but sometimes does, and continues to be pissy, or may even crow, as if "driving off the infidel" was some kind of victory;

• usually, no one else in the thread ever seems to care.

Now, as I understand, blocking is one-click easy to do, but is kind of a pain in the ass to undo. Ergo, it is - for practical purposes - permanent.

For purposes of the following essay, I'll write in the first person for convenience and clarity, and reference the fictitious Dave as the other person.

Me: "I'm offended by what you said, Dave Buttweasel! I'm blocking you, loser!"

Now, I see two problems here:

• I let myself get offended and wound up. At some level, I chose to lose control of my own thoughts and emotions;

• I chose to permanently prevent myself from ever being exposed to Dave again, even in cases where we have mutual connections, which could result in my trying to experience a thread with one or more pieces missing, thus disrupting my ability to comprehend or enjoy the thread.

Now, I have blocked people, so I'm not innocent of the behavior. I'm just saying I it seems like it should only be after putting some thought into it.

The sample above is what I would consider a knee-jerk reaction, and frankly I find it pretty lame. Maybe he hated my politics, and this was just the tipping point? Maybe he secretly feels ashamed that he's posting these pictures? (I could suggest several reasons to justify a sense of shame, but I'm sure you're already way ahead of me.)

I don't know. He blocked me, so I can't even ask him. I can't apologize, or discuss it. I can't make amends, even if I wanted to. He'll never actually know if I give a crap, or not. He has decided I'm totally unimportant to his life. That's fine, really. He's entitled to decide who and what he cares about. It's just such an extreme choice to make, especially for something so trivial.  I was trying to make a joke, and use it as an excuse to drive other people to his thread.  He got offended; whatever.  I liked him, and didn't mind the pictures.

Then again, I have a high tolerance for assholes and idiots, because in many cases, they're really decent people just having a stupid moment. I know I have stupid moments, and some of them have been really embarrassing and caused me a lot of pain when people reacted badly. They say first impressions are important, and that's really because people are stupid and suck at ever changing their opinions on anything, but that's beside the point.

Conversely, I've muted piles of conversations in which I felt I said my piece, and feel I no longer want to be exposed to the negative stimulus of that particular thread. I'm not some kind of all-patient saint, I'm just a little more tolerant.

I usually find un-circling to be sufficient to reduce my exposure, while still allowing me to be exposed, when it suits a purpose, e.g. shared connections in a shared conversation.

Maybe I'm just not passionate enough? Maybe if I had stronger convictions, I'd find more things toxic?

I don't think so. I have very strong convictions, but getting into ugly fights isn't one of them. I'm perfectly comfortable walking away from a conversation that has no value to me. I don't need to "win" fights. Or maybe I call making my point and walking away "winning"? Bet the other person claims victory after I walk away; it's all subjective, and I don't have to care.

I've seen several people remark that they block others, because they don't want the toxic exposure. This makes sense, again, because it blocks viewing the comments.

Maybe if I was involved in more G+ communities, I would use the "block filter screen" more often. I guess I do this already, in the sense that I have joined only a couple of communities (actually, I think only one), and therefore already limit my exposure to stimulus I would consider negative.

Ultimately, at the moment, I think blocking is overused, as "mute conversation" and un-circling are also efficient at eliminating negative stimulus that I don't want to expend energy not getting wound up over. Maybe I'll change my opinion someday. :)

Hey, Faceborg! It's my shit, because I say so! Right?

The delightful, witty, and above all - sarcastic - text below came from the mind of my beloved Legendary David Shepheard. I have altered his madcap work only to insert my own name. I wish to extend the sentiments to the bastards at Google (bless them. For giving me free blog space), the bastards at Clear Channel and Fox (for being bastards), and any of you perverts ogling my icon, which is a photomanip of Amber Heard, and thinking naughty thoughts (although I expect naughty thoughts about Miss Heard are unavoidable, especially when she's wearing boob armor).


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Due to the Fact that Facebook has installed software that will allow Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates to look at photos of me (while they are sitting on the toilet) I, Icarus Anne Riley, aka Icarus Loofem, do declare the following: on this day 3rd December 2014: in response to the new Facebook guidelines and under articles L.111, 112 and 113 of the code of intellectual property, I declare that any sexual pleasure gained by looking at photos of me (while sitting on the toilet) REQUIRES MY WRITTEN CONSENT IN LARGE CAPITAL LETTERS CARVED OUT OF YUKON GOLD POTATOES. In the event that Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates or anyone they allow to look at my photos is up to any sort of naughtiness, I will require my standard fee of $10 Million CAN ($8.8 Million US) to be delivered to my house on the back of dragons within 30 days.

Those reading this message can copy and paste this message onto their own Timelines. This will have no effect whatsoever, except to make the trolls that started this BS chain-letter-rant laugh at your gullibility and make your friends think that you believe everything you read and do not know how to search for scams on Snopes.

By this release, I tell Facebook that it is strictly forbidden to think naughty thoughts about me, while looking at my photos.

The contents of my profile include nerdy information. The violation of my privacy is punished under Federation law (NCC1701).

‪#‎CheckSnopesFirst‬ ‪#‎DYSWIDT‬ ‪#‎DidYouActuallyReadAllOfThis‬?

 

 

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Anti-Troll: Avoid Pointless Fights With Friends

Sometimes the best way to disapprove of something, especially in social media, is simply to ignore it.

Doing so - in social media - avoids promotion, because touch it and the algorithms then promote it.

Ignoring it can also avoid pointless arguments, that help no one, and can merely damage your relationship with the other person. On social media, there is a good chance you have a lot of people you care about whom you will never meet in person, so pick your fights with a bit of care and wisdom, just as you would in real life.

Today is Tuesday - always a good day to lose my mind

Today feels like a lovely day to lose my mind.

Maybe that's because it's Tuesday.

Long time readers of my old Facebook rants know that Tuesday and I have a long-standing relationship. For years, it was pure antagonism, but recently we've reconciled.  I suspect me hiring the hobgoblin mercenaries had a lot to with it. Or maybe it was the laisez-faire attitude I decided to adopt, because I was tired of the fight. It's much easier to be laisez-faire from inside the blanket fort, especially when you keep the 40-watt plasma rifle warm.

I'm not really insane. I just see the world differently. Sometimes, I turn my head one way, and I see the mess created by human selfishness and naivety and it hurts so much, I want to scream, cry, or both.

Other times, I turn my head the other way, and just laugh. Genuine laughter, at the amazing and complicated world we live in. The universe is stunning, especially if you study a lot of science, and really grasp what you are seeing.

Some people call me "silly." I'm fine with that, since generally I enjoy life more than most people.

So, I guess I don't think I'll lose my mind today. But, maybe I will take it out and play fetch with it. Let it run a little, and dig under the porch. Yeah, that's the ticket. Of course, I did get it micro-chipped so even if it gets lost, someone will bring it home.

Happy Tuesday!

I miss my friends on FB

I desperately miss all my friends on Facebook. But, I can't give them a photo ID. I can't trust the bastards to protect my privacy, and I can't risk being exposed.

Fuck, it was a good run. I've gotten some really sweet feedback from people that FB won't be the same without me.

If you are one of my FB friends and read this, please spread the word, so people know why I disappeared, and that I can be found here. Thanks!

More insults from the FB asshats

"Icarus, a lot has happened since you last logged into Facebook!"

Asshats. First they tell me I'm a liar and "obviously" using a fake name.

Then, if you try to see any of my posts, it says "This person blocked as a spammer or abuser."

Finally, "Hey, while you're locked out, a lot is going on that you'd really like to be involved with, you lying, abusing, bitch."

Fuck 'em.

Death By Tuesday

Died on a Tuesday. Well, my FB account died anyway. Of course it was a Tuesday. Not that you can see any of my old FB posts, but long time friends know I have a long-standing war with Tuesday. Very metaphysical. Bastard Tuesday ambushed me just when I was starting to feel good about it.

Kicked off FB and they can kiss my ass

Well, let's see how this goes. Those asswipes at Facebook have (again) declared "You are not using your real name!"

This begs the question: do they have algorithms that just decide "Oh, that name must be fake" in which case they're just assholes, or are they parsing names against public record databases, in which case they are assholes who do not respect privacy.

Well, since they are demanding - DEMANDING - photo ID, they can just kiss my tight ass.

I know, I know, I'm not paying money for the service, and it's a private enterprise, so I really have no moral high ground to bitch from, blah, blah.

It's just a load of horseshit to bump otherwise perfectly well-behaved users - whose behavior is being data-mined and sold off - from their system unnecessarily.