of stardust and black matter…

a bit of a rant. maybe…

<~~ALSO POSTED SEPERATELY AS A FIVE PART SERIES~~>

I’m never really sure how these things get started.  Often, I don’t even know where they began. I only know that frequently, material, time, and effort suddenly disappear from the things I’ve written. More things are lost than I can easily attribute to my less than moderate computer skills, my personal lack of acquired education, or just simple ignorance.

I’m basically a “learn as you go” kind of guy. Until recently, I believed computers were simple tools, like a hammer, a typewriter, or a toaster. Not particularly “smart” toys by any means. To be honest, I’ve garnered some resentment towards computers. Occasionally, out of frustration, I’ve considered taking a hammer to this laptop. So far, at least, I’ve only thrown its previous model into the pool.

Am I the only person jinxed by the many demands of computers? The apps, programs, accessories, updates, drop-down menus, and passwords– don’t even get me started about passwords, and the constant requirement to look here or there for six or seven-digit one time only, don’t share this with anyone, passcodes simply to reset yet another nagging password. This task is always required at the least convenient moment. What a pain! 

These days, I simply cut to the chase. Whenever possible, I cut and paste those numbers and use them to create random temporary passwords. They work fine, at least for the moment. At least until next time, when I need to harvest more digits. 

This is certainly quicker and easier than trying to remember them. Even when I write passwords down and then hide them somewhere, by the time they’re found again, I can’t use them anymore because I’ve already changed them with a new sequence of numbers.

You see where I’m going with this, don’t you, even if I don’t?

<~~~~~2 of 5~~~~~>

And tell me this: why do I feel it necessary to monitor every new action of my work? When I tuck words into posts, files, folders, programs, desktops, or The Cloud, I can’t feel satisfied that anything goes where I thought it had been sent. 

For instance, I always check to make sure anything I’ve pasted ends up exactly where it should be and appears just the way I want it. Such things as font sizes and spacing randomly mutate during such procedures. Or they simply vanish into the Wondernet, as in “I wonder where that went.”

And, because I never trust any cut-and-paste procedure to succeed as intended, especially cuts from one screen or program to another, I never actually cut anything. I always copy and then paste. Once I see the result I expect, only then do I go back and delete what I might have otherwise initially cut and lost. 

Finally, and only after I’ve confirmed that the pasted part remains as it should be, that the size, spacing, and font are exactly as desired. Then, and only then, do I delete the original pre-copied part. Then I move on.

<~~~~~3 of 5~~~~~>

And, really, come to think of it, how can anyone trust something called The Cloud? I’m sure you have observed a cloud, or clouds? A single cloud dissipates relatively quickly, and they say you can even break one up with the power of your mind. Even an ominous giant horizon-to-horizon fill of black clouds, expelling pounding rain, flashing lightning, and thunder, will break up and return to us as blue skies. Consider, too, that hurricanes dwindle to form floods rushing home to the sea.

Why would anyone store their precious words, photos, or “content” in a cloud? Isn’t it rather like “streaming?” And what exactly is streaming? I only know that streams transport clouds to the ocean and that I enjoy flyfishing in them. 

Whether it’s rain from clouds or, for the sake of metaphor, data plunked into Artificial Indulgence, er, Intelligence. Think of rain and information as being functionally similar, yet entirely independent of each other. Each empties into its own distinct ocean.

Just as all water flows perpetually to the oceans, so does all information (data) get absorbed by AI. To elaborate, absolutely every drop of rain, or anything we feed to AI, will eventually end up in a distinct, independent “ocean.” One ocean nurtures all of life; the other robs us of imagination, creativity, and our souls. AI creates only black matter, which becomes– well, you can imagine.

And too, the basic difference between these as metaphors is that the ocean conjures romantic and adventurous thoughts of endless spiraling emotion. Our oceans are the repository of stardust, of our beginning, our essence, of life. 

On the other hand, Artificial Indulgence is simply an evil oxymoron. A simple, self-manipulating search and destroy engine.  AI retains everything, only to spit it back at us as dark matter or a cheap simulation of knowledge. At the same time, it tries to convince us that our heading is nearing the stars.

<~~~~~4 of 5~~~~~>

Yes, it’s true, I’m writing this only because earlier today I inadvertently, or foolishly, but mostly accidentally began a Windows 10 to 11 update. This update was not supposed to interfere with my writing, and it wouldn’t take long, but it kept posting “just a moment, please.” It has taken over my laptop for over two hours now, downloading something or another, as it relentlessly reminds me, “Don’t shut off your computer!”

In the past, this kind of inconvenience would have had me throwing this laptop into the pool, but I’m better medicated these days. Now it’s more like cracking a beer and listening to crappy static muzak while waiting on hold for two hours after first being told that you were third in the queue.

<~~~~~5 of 5~~~~~>

Can each of us openly and honestly acknowledge that technology serves and services each one of us now individually and adequately and in better ways than anything could ever service any of us before? (sarcasm)

I’ve always tried to avoid repeating the same mistakes, at least not over and over. It’s a waste of time. It’s a waste of *my* time! I avoid things like hooking up with strange women or connecting to perilous foreign and secluded wi-fi sites. 

I double-check everything. When signing in to open wi-fi,  I verify every unseen connection by cross-checking links with email or Evernote, messaging between my laptop and phone. Even before leaving home, I make sure my batteries are charged, checking the little icon at the lower right of the screen. I check my mouse batteries. All sorts of mindful tricks like that.

It’s no wonder people ask me what takes me so long to do anything. More to the point, this post was not meant to be about any of these topics. This post was originally meant to be about what I… 

Oh, sorry, Social Security just picked up. I’m no longer on hold. Gotta go!

PS: When I returned to my laptop, the Windows 11 download was done. I could restart the darn thing. It was done, as was the story I had been writing when it insisted on being updated. Done, as in gone, not to be found. Luckily, I had backed up most of my story last night, and so had a near-complete draft to work off of from then. 

I had only to remember and find that backup on Blogger, or Evernote, or wherever I had left it. After a couple of hours, I managed to scrape together this semblance of what Windows 11 had lost. I spent too much time backing up and tracking my work. Sometimes it pays off. But still, how I do miss paper…

Comment “yes,” or leave an emogee if you made it through, or at least skimmed this post. Thanks!

-dp-

10-22-25

(30) 317/584/743/907/1015/1279