Sunday, March 17, 2024

How Do You Evict 183,000 People?

 ... if they don't have anywhere else to go and are desperate?

Dig this.

Back in the day, when I was building a custom home with my previous wife, the lot had a decrepit house with ne'er do well renters. In 6 month period, we collected 1 month of rent. Evicting them was going to cost us an arm and a leg in legal fees, so instead, we informed them that we were going to bulldoze the place and they had to leave. They left without any fuss.

NYC has managed to get itself into a far worse mess. We only owned the house and had no responsibility for the rest of the city. NYC is the city. There's nowhere for the illegals to go, particularly if their benefits are expiring. Further, as has been noted before on this blog, the NYPD combat strength is down to about 60%. If even 10% of the illegals dig in their heels, how does the city plan on getting them to leave their current housing?

Now solve that problem from the point of view of an NYPD flatfoot. You're outnumbered 100-1, the illegals are desperate and many of them are criminal toughs. Your DA does not have your back. If you can't risk using your gun without going to jail, the encounters become melees at which point numbers matter a great deal.

Two things come to mind. 

  1. You'd have to be crazy to remain an NYPD officer.
  2. Things in NYC are about to go sideways in a big way.

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Sadly, ChatGPT Will Not Generate Porn

 ... certainly not my subversive kind of porn.

At work, I use Atlassian's Jira to help a large organization track and manage very complicated, distributed projects. Jira is a web-based issue management tool. Prior to my work, employees had emailed each other massive spreadsheets where the recipient would have to collate it with other spreadsheets. Usually, the spreadsheets were OBE as soon as they were received as the data behind them was constantly changing.

M$FT Office was the best tool we Boomers had to do information work. Nowadays, web-based tools where the servers exchange information with each other in near real-time is far superior.

Our organization is only now crawling away from M$FT Office. Oh, wait, it's being dragged back into it. Marginally competent managers on our IT and Knowledge Management teams have been sold a bill of goods with Office 365 and M$FT Teams, so web-based tools are being phased out in favor of files and email.

We Boomers are reaching out from our career graves and tormenting the younger generations, haunting them with Excel and PowerPoint. It's a horror movie in tech.

Anyways, I asked ChatGPT, M$FT's AI tool to generate an image of this and ... well, see for yourself.



Monday, March 11, 2024

ChatGPT Got Me To The Gym Today

 I know they're hooey, but for me, biorhythms are real. There are times when I just don't want to do anything. I can go through whole weeks like that. Then there are weeks and weeks where I want to do everything as hard and as fast as I can. 

Today was a nothing day. I got up around 0400, had a good cup of coffee, said my decade of the Rosary, hopped online and ingested all kinds of outrage triggers. It was all on schedule. Then it came time to go to the gym and I just couldn't do it. All I wanted to do was grab a little more coffee and ooze into the hot tub.

On a whim, I told ChatGPT my problems and then got inspired to ask it to reply as various personas. Dig these responses. I edited them down a bit because, as Tim has pointed out, the thing can be a real windbag.

I ended up going to the gym and doing a full workout. After I read through these, the ones who recommended sloth were the real motivation. I didn't want to be like them.

Drill Sergeant

Listen up! It's time to get moving, soldier! You've been granted a life of security and health, and it's not to be wasted lounging in hot tubs and staring at screens all day. The world out there needs what you've got – your skills, your experience, your energy. It's time to find a mission, something that gets you fired up and ready to roll out of bed in the morning.

And remember, soldier, this isn’t about harsh judgment; it’s about discipline, purpose, and taking action. You've got a reservoir of strength and determination inside you. Time to tap into it, get strategic, and move out!

Caustic, Severe Nun

My child, you have been blessed with health, wealth, and time, gifts that many can only dream of. And yet, here you are, squandering these divine blessings in pursuits that nourish neither the soul nor the world. It is a grievous sight, one that demands immediate rectification.

The Lord did not grant you these gifts for them to be frittered away in idleness and indulgence. There is much work to be done, many in need of your help, wisdom, and compassion. You must awaken from this lethargy and seek out ways to serve God's creation, to make use of the talents bestowed upon you for the greater good.

Do not delay. The time to act is now. Redeem yourself in the eyes of the Lord by embracing a life of purpose and service. Let this be the moment you turn towards the light, dedicating yourself to a cause greater than your own desires. Go forth, and sin no more.

Fat, Lazy Housecat Speaking In Lolcat

Oh hai. U finkin bout doin all dat stuff, huh? Soundz like lotz of werk. Why not jus chillz wif me instead? We gotz da purrfect setup here. U, me, cozy spot by da window. No needz for all dat runnin around an doin fings. Let's take it eazy.

Atheistic Nihilist

Oh, you're feeling the existential ennui today, huh? Look, from a cosmic perspective, nothing we do really matters. We're all just stardust on a floating rock, spiraling into the void. So, if you're looking for some grand purpose or meaning, you might be out of luck. The universe is indifferent to our struggles and joys.

Forget about societal expectations or looking for some grand purpose. The pursuit of happiness, pleasure, and experiences is the most rational response to the absurdity of existence. Want to spend the day in a hot tub, then go online all day? If that brings you joy, go for it. The only thing that's truly rational in an indifferent universe is to maximize your own happiness and contentment, in whatever form that takes.

General Stonewall Jackson

I find myself compelled to address your current state with the same fervor and dedication I applied to my campaigns. In life, as on the battlefield, one must always strive to make use of the resources at their disposal, not squander them in idleness or without purpose. You find yourself in an enviable position, blessed with health, financial security, and the luxury of time—resources many soldiers would have envied during the trials we faced.

I implore you, do not let this day pass as another footnote in a life of could-have-beens. Rise, and set forth with the determination and purpose that lie within you, awaiting your command. Let this be the day you take up your own campaign, not with the musket and the cannon, but with the unwavering resolve to live a life of purpose and action.

Grade School Counselor

Oh, sweetie, I hear you. It's really, really okay to feel this way. Everyone has those days where everything just feels like too much, even the things that usually make us happy or feel productive. It's completely normal, and I'm here for you, no matter what.

You know, it's so important to listen to what your heart and body are telling you. If they're saying it's a day to rest, then maybe that's exactly what you need. But, I also want you to remember how special and capable you are. Even on days when you feel a little lost or unmotivated, you have so many wonderful qualities and so much potential inside of you.

It's perfectly okay to have days where you don't feel like doing much. We all do, and it doesn't make you any less amazing. I'm always here to talk, to listen, and to support you in finding your way, at your own pace.

Victorian English Aristocrat

It is most pertinent that we, the custodians of privilege and rank, comprehend the profound duty that accompanies our station. We are, by virtue of our birth and fortune, set upon a pedestal, observed closely by the eyes of those less fortunate in their societal standings. It is imperative, therefore, that we conduct ourselves with the utmost propriety and diligence, for we are the living exemplars upon which the lower orders might model their aspirations and conduct.

I implore you to cast aside these doldrums and to embrace fully the responsibilities of your position. Engage in charitable works, take an active interest in the welfare of those who depend upon you, and dedicate yourself to pursuits that will not only ennoble your spirit but also serve as a beacon of hope and inspiration to the common folk.

Sunday, March 10, 2024

I'm Growing To Love ChatGPT's AI Art

Lately, ChatGPT has been producing some really lovely art for me. On Twitter, at the end of the day, I like to close out with some pleasant AI art. I'm now going to do the same at the start of the day. My initial efforts have involved an older, Southern man or woman with a cat. Dig these, posted last night and this morning, respectively. Each took only a few iterations to get something I liked.


Saturday, March 09, 2024

Anti-Pro-Anti Truffle Piggery

Yesterday, we discussed how the racial justice racket is turning us all into delusional truffle pigs, endlessly on the hunt for fantasy racism. The People of Color get rewarded with praise, cosseting and perks. The whites who are their "allies" get praise and a brief frisson of pleasure from exhibiting their fake virtue.

Not only are their no rewards for completely eliminating racism, there are actual disincentives for it. The moment the university says we're all equal and we're all individuals made in the image of God, the blacks' gravy train comes to an end and the whites have to go back to real accomplishments. Ick! We like gravy! We like party-game scavenger hunts where we get praised for finding little odds and ends!

In order to get the joke in the title of this blog post, you need to watch this short bit from Get Smart.

Some people, disgusted with the racism racket, post videos of blacks behaving badly on Twitter. There are many very popular accounts that do nothing but share videos of blacks fighting, shooting, stealing and slutting. Here's a good example.

They're truffle pigs, too.

In The Future, Everyone Will Be A Truffle Pig For 15 Minutes

Or maybe longer. Perhaps much, much longer.

The racial justice crew has been incentivized to find racism everywhere when, in fact, it exists almost nowhere. People sick of being accused of racism they don't have are now incentivized to find videos of blacks behaving badly and share them as fast as they can. "You think I'm a racist? Well, gag on this, you swine!"

There are truffle pigs. Then there are anti-truffle pigs. That gives rise to pro-anti-truffle pigs who use the anti-truffle pigs as examples of real racism. That engenders anti-pro-anti truffle pigs who show how the truffle pigs are just gravy-sucking pigs as in the gravy train that is our cultural racial rewards machine. If you ever wanted to turn a population against itself in a frenzy of racial hatred, this is how to do it.

Meanwhile, nothing much is happening. If you turn off the TV and social media and just hang out with real people, racism is pretty hard to find.

Hmm. There might be a key to a happier life in all that ...

Friday, March 08, 2024

We're All Delusional Truffle Pigs Now

I couldn't help but think of truffle pigs when I stumbled across Loyola University's policies on Anti-racism and White Accountability. Here's the key snippets.

The Counseling Center recognizes that Loyola University Maryland is a predominantly white institution within the context of Baltimore, Maryland. It has a history steeped in structural racism and racial injustice towards Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), especially Black and African American individuals. We feel it is important to highlight the need for white individuals to take an anti-racist stand and hold each other accountable towards working to change the systems that impact the BIPOC community in oppressive ways...

Anti-racism is an active process of seeing and being in the world with the intention of working to identify, challenge, and change the values, structures and behaviors that perpetuate structural racism. This highlights the idea that racism occurs at all levels of society and manifests itself in both individual attitudes and behaviors as well as formal and unspoken policies and practices within institutions...

Ultimately, it is for People of Color to decide if one is actually behaving in anti-racist ways. When one finds that they are out of alignment, they need to do what is necessary and try to repair the situation.

Emphasis mine.

What a racket! Everyone is incentivized to see racism all around them. The more racism they find, the more rewards they get. Blacks* get rewarded with adoration and perks as a way to make up for their suffering and whites get praise for having discovered and rooted out racism on campus.

Not only are their no rewards for completely eliminating racism, there are actual disincentives for it. The moment the university says we're all equal and we're all individuals made in the image of God, the blacks' gravy train comes to an end and the whites have to go back to real accomplishments. Ick! We like gravy! We like party-game scavenger hunts where we get praised for finding little odds and ends!

Loyola isn't alone in this. Anti-racism is everywhere around us and the same incentive structure is built into every corporation, every TV show, every movie, every classroom and every political campaign. Woe betide the person that says racism isn't a big deal any more!

We're all truffle pigs now.

Good piggy, you found some racism! Here's a treat!

This is how you end up with madness like Racism In The Great Outdoors: Oregon’s Natural Spaces Feel Off Limits To Black People.

(N)ot everyone has the same access to green spaces. Tara Cooper, like many Black people, felt excluded and unwelcomed from a hike in the forests, well before this spring’s closures that were ordered to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Cooper moved to Portland from the San Francisco Bay Area more than eight years ago. She said she fell in love with Oregon’s lush green forests and what seemed like never-ending opportunities to enjoy nature.

But once she arrived, things changed.

“I quickly realized that may not be for me and my son,” Cooper said. “I would love to have been able to go camping more or do more nature things and even do some off the grid camping if the opportunity came up, but I would never do that in Oregon.”

Good Lord, it's hiking in the woods. Drive to the park, get out and take a walk. How hard is that? Very hard, it turns out. Just going for a walk requires the black person to overcome systemic racism. They need more perks to be able to do it. The white people who see the racism in the woods get rewarded with praise for having been in tune with the hardships of being black.

The key feature is that there is no racism in the woods at all. We're not just truffle pigs, we're delusional truffle pigs. We're getting rewarded for finding fantasy truffles. 

Since the truffles come from our imaginations, there's no limit to the number we can find and with each discovery, everyone involved gets a treat.

What a racket!

Special Bonus Take

This was my favorite sentence from the Loyola web page:

Ultimately, it is for People of Color to decide if one is actually behaving in anti-racist ways.

The people on the gravy train are uniquely wise and discerning. Only they can tell you when they've had enough gravy and must return to being normal people, equal to everyone else around them. 

Who in the world is going to do that? If some of them become embarrassed by the fraud or do their own research and discover they've been turned into mewling, self-absorbed losers, the rest cast them into the outer darkness where there is great wailing and grinding of teeth. Don't derail the gravy train, you idiots! We've got a good thing going on here!

That's how we end up with every black conservative being told they're not really black. Meanwhile, the BIPOC end up like everyone who is a mewling, self-absorbed, self-pitying wiener. They end up as failures. Oof.

* - If you think I'm going to type "People of Color" over and over again, you've got another thing coming. "Blacks" will do just fine as a stand-in.

Tuesday, March 05, 2024

An Air Assault Was Never Out Of The Question

Given the massive, ongoing infantry invasion of the US, this should come as no surprise.

This is so awful that it's actually hilarious. From the article:

Joe Biden's administration has admitted transporting migrants on secret flights into the U.S. and lawyers for its immigration agencies claim revealing the locations could create national security 'vulnerabilities'.

Customs and Border Protection has refused to disclose information about a program last year secretly arranging flights for thousands of undocumented immigrants from foreign airports directly to U.S. cities.

It means that while record numbers of migrants were flowing over the southern border last year, the Biden Administration was also directly transporting them into the country.

Emphasis mine.

Well, that certainly cuts out the middle man, doesn't it? I mean, why stress out those Border Patrol guys with another 320,000 illegals? Why not just airlift them into the sanctuary cities?

As a frame of reference, we have less than 50,000 airborne soldiers in the US Army so this air assault is more than 6 times the size of our entire airborne forces. On to victory, men*!

* - Just whose victory this would be is up for discussion.