FREE THE ANIMAL

— Anything, not everything, but lots in-between | Pratamnak Hill, Jomtien-Pattaya, Thailand | April 9, 2023

Refinements in artificial intelligence to make you control millions because you can; Elon Musk vs. Substack and 1 million whiny does (plus, three no-exceptions rules for life); A final parting with The Girl and Her Girls — nomadic travels on the horizon; Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is running for president, and I’m glad

Refinements in artificial intelligence to make you control millions because you can

I’m not spouting facetious bullshit.

I’m really banking on AI to make a huge difference in this blog’s paying membership roster, and not because I’m now or will ever be an expert in AI. I don’t care about AI. I care about jobs to be done.

“People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole!” —Theodore Levitt

It’s because I’m an expert in business systems and the organization and management of the personnel who operate them.

You don’t want to be an expert in AI either, and perhaps business systems and personnel management are just too daunting…kinda like…‘I’d love to take a swing at them, but how can I possibly even get a chance at bat?’

I hear ya. I still look back in wonder that in 1992 I started a business in a spare bedroom with under 200 bucks (to my name, at the time) and somehow ended up some years later with four offices, 30 employees, a dozen or so independent sales reps, and a million bucks sunk into software development for a completely one-off, customized CRM (customer relationship management) that was the business system that everyone used to get ‘er done. Could’a bought something off the shelf or customized a Saas, but I need my system that reflected how I think, and how I manage the business flow, using employees.

… I have designed many business systems in many work environments to do many things and have managed teams of employees to run them. I can show you exactly what you’re going to need to do as the AI capabilities come online and become available.

What’s going to come online in weeks, months, to just a few short years is precisely the tools to give that try at bat for silly money…by which I mean, the equivalent of running a team of 100 “employees” doing every little thing you can think of for a price less than some people’s monthly Starbucks bill.

… You ever stop to think how some actor is suddenly the head of a pretty big business empire completely separate from acting? What do they know, after all, about real-estate development, clothing lines, branding, perfume, restaurants…the list goes on?

A film studio or production company? Sure, that makes sense. They’re in the industry and have seen it all from top to bottom. Toss in the starting capital, hire the right people, get the right investors, pick the right movie project(s)… Not easy-peasy, but doable, and many have.

The other stuff? It’s the right people. In fact, oftentimes, the people will come to them. All they need is the name…the face of the brand. So, they make it look like Kanye West has been laboring over various clothing-line proposals for months…perhaps even doing some sewing his own damn self. Nope, they just do sniff testing about what’s plausible for him to sell, run tons of design ideas by him, he picks what he likes best, rinse, wash, repeat, and before you know it, Ye’s gear is in a storefront, and then his own stores, and we’ve all seen the end result of the same formula a million times.

How much time does it take? Almost nothing, compared to the time they have to put into their artistic trade, whatever it may be.

What I’m going to be going over, systematizing and integrating as the right tools come online is just this sort of thing. The big difference is this: rather than paying bitchy-ass employees crazy sums of money, you’re going to have AI employees that never complain, and work 24/7/365 fuck weekends and holidays.

How do I train the AI to do all this stuff? No need. It will already know thousands of AIs that can do everything, and it can talk to them. You will literally be able to have a team of 100s working as much as you want on any business ideas you can dream up. As time progresses? You’ll pay your AI force less, not more.

Now think of this: you’ll do all that pacing the room in a verbal stream of consciousness, and it’ll understand as though it’s your drinkin’ buddy. And it’ll talk back. It will be conversational. Whatever you can think, you can say. Whatever you can think and say, it will be able to do and report back, probably within seconds to minutes.

So let’s move on. More to come. Stay tuned.

… The harsh reality is that a membership blog requires paid subscribers to keep it alive. The more free content I give away, the fewer new paid subscribers I get. It’s like the young woman… You know… How do her proposals of marriage dwindle?

But here’s a sneak peek of today’s post, split into three riveting sections: Elon Musk vs. Substack and 1 million whiny does; A final parting with The Girl and Her Girls — nomadic travels on the horizon; and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is running for president, and I’m glad.

I explore the fascinating battle between Elon Musk and Substack, diving into the issues of free speech, censorship, and the power dynamics at play. A tale of epic proportions. Discover how the world’s richest man takes on the publishing platform that’s home to some of the most controversial voices on the planet; and you’ll find out how my three no-exceptions rules for life come into play. As I say, “When everyone is saying the same thing, everyone is wrong.”

Then comes the sad part, the end of a relationship with a woman and her two daughters from Sisaket, Thailand. Despite efforts driven by commitment and excitement, it became clear that the girls lack the curiosity and motivation to make things work for me, amongst many other things. I make the difficult decision.

Now that this chapter has closed, I’ll resume my initial plans of traveling around Southeast Asia, which had been interrupted by the Covidiocy. Naturally, that will be tons of new member content spilling over into the blog. You’ll like it. You think I know Thailand. How about over 50 trips to the Philippines under my belt?

I reflect on the Kennedy legacy and how RFK Jr.’s work during the Covidiocy has earned him respect, including mine. I believe he has a genuine shot at winning the presidency, but securing the Democrat nomination may be the hardest part. Trump should be worried.

Intrigued? Subscribe for full access to my 5000-post archive, with new material being added several times a week. As a subscriber, you’ll get immediate access to this post and all the juicy details I’ve just hinted at.

— Anything, not everything, but lots in-between | Pratamnak Hill, Jomtien-Pattaya, Thailand | April 2, 2023

Of mountains and mice; Correlation is not causation; The Andrew Tate saga; The best burger patty mix

The mountain roared and gave birth to a mouse

The phrase “the mountain roared and gave birth to a mouse” (also known as “parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus” in Latin) is an idiomatic expression that means a lot of effort or expectation has resulted in an underwhelming or insignificant outcome. The phrase is often used to describe situations where there’s a lot of hype, but the end result doesn’t live up to it.

This phrase has its origin in ancient Greek and Roman literature. The earliest known version comes from the Greek poet and fabulist Aesop, who lived between 620 and 564 BCE. In one of his fables, titled “The Mountain in Labor,” a mountain is said to be in labor, making terrifying noises and causing great commotion. People gather to see what will happen, but the mountain only produces a tiny mouse. The fable serves as a cautionary tale about not expecting too much from a situation or getting overly excited by something that may not deliver on its promises.

The phrase was later popularized by the Roman poet Horace in his work “Ars Poetica” (The Art of Poetry), written around 19 BCE. In this work, Horace uses the Latin version “parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus” to describe the importance of coherence in poetry and how a poem should not start with grand, lofty ideas only to end with trivial conclusions. Since then, the phrase has been adapted into various languages and has become a popular idiom to describe situations where the end result is disappointing or underwhelming, especially after much anticipation or effort.

ChatGPT-4 promt: Discuss the origin of the phrase, “the mountain roared and gave birth to a mouse,” and its variations.

Little did the woke Bing AI Chat (that gave a good, smaller answer, but with linked references) know what I was up to. Let’s see what happens when I clue it in.

— Anything, not everything, but lots in-between | Pratamnak Hill, Jomtien-Pattaya, Thailand | March 26, 2023

Banking meltdowns; How Trump got pawned on the Covid response; For the love of Thai pork; Kitchen tip for leftovers storage; Member section (AI stuff)

Banking meltdowns

Are we at the stage where everything is half false, or is everything only half true?

“This is as good as it gets, folks,” (said the pessimist).

So which are you? Probably, you’re optimistic about some things, pessimistic about others. Same me.

Where hard cash is involved—and not just the ability to spout a line of absolute bullshit at no conceivable cost—I’m optimistic. For the latter, I’m pessimistic, but it doesn’t really matter. The path through history is littered with the corpses of the smart and stupid alike, but the stupid lived in Pollyanna bliss (until they didn’t). Largely, most of what people like to “think,” is utter bullshit and most of the time, mere regurgitation, calculated to get head-nods—because everyone else is just as fucktarded, so someone blathering on with the same old slogans and bromides counts as confirmation. It’s OK to be wrong, so long as everyone else is, too.

Misery. Plenty of company.

Modern discourse and critical thinking is that pathetic and banal. It’s not a new phenomenon and no, it’s not TV and the Internet “dumbing down” society. It was always dumb. There are simply increasing means and opportunities for self-exposure…and for the conscientious and smart and curious and inquisitive to expose it all, especially in iconoclastic fashion, for the pure pleasure of all the laughs to be had.

Mel Brooks spoke the oft-quoted line in a film way back, “it’s good to be King,” but that only applies…to Kings, and as despotic as they may be, there are but few of them. Society is a modern equivalent, where, regurgitating football-bat goofy shit gets a room full of glancing-around, head-nodding, and uh-huhs. … One imagines someone bellowing out, “It’s good to be Stupid!” getting the same response and reaction from the agreeable crowd.

It’s all in the delivery.

It’s an awful trait in humans…the tendency to put more weigh on the validity of something owing to the number or percentage of others who believe it, rather than the plain plausibility of it, in itself.

And it goes way back. How far? Well, at least this far…

— Anything, not everything, but lots in-between | March 19, 2023

Trump arrest; Haircut with a 2-letter, 1-word dismissal; Feminism is over; James O’Keefe is in the house; AI Luddites; Member Section (AI stuff)

Trump arrest

Let’s get this one out-of-the-way right off.

Supposed to happen in a coupla daze. Of course, it’s bullshit. But, you know what else was bullshit? Going after Bill Clinton for having the temerity to get blown in the Oval Office by a consenting adult.

Did Republicans conduct that witch hunt—culminating in Clinton’s impeachment and disbarment—because he blew a load on a blue dress?

Yes, of course they did. And they trump-ed up religious and patriotic moral outrage to do it.

Is that what they charged him with doing? Having SEXUAL RELATIONS WITH THAT WOMAN? No, of course not. Why? Because while it might be uncouth…it might be worthy of moral scorn on any number of levels both sacred and civil, it wasn’t illegal. It was merely morally reprehensible to some, mostly God-fearing, conservative, hypocrites Republicans.

So, what am I to conclude, essentially, beyond saying that I neither give a fuck over Clinton lying about a personal and private consensual sexual matter, nor Trump doing the same? Nor do I give a fuck about whatever legal technicalities and contrivances are brought to bear in order to veil that which the witch hunt is really all about—which is entirely political.

So, beginning with Clinton, at least—perhaps before… I’d have to think about it—political opponents on one side began weaponizing federal investigative and enforcement agencies against the other. Back in the good ‘ole days, they created and maintained secret files on everybody, so it was a MAD situation (mutually assured destruction), just like everyone in a saloon having a six-shooter on their hip tended to maintain a polite clientele. The same went for the Cold War between the USA and USSR, when we could both destroy the other with nukes a hundred times over.

I can say that what goes around can come back around. I can say to be careful what you wish for.

— Anything, not everything, but lots in-between | March 12, 2023 All settled in; January 6th bullshit you can’t ignore; Naomi Wolf Wowzers; Revisiting the JFK assassination and CIA involvement; A 48-hr deal All settled in It’s been quite the standard first week in any new place one finds themselves. Adverse issues reported, routines sorted,…

— Anything, not everything, but lots in-between | March 5, 2023

Well this is way late again so I better account again: Moving finally done; Entrepreneurs; My new book; A stupid new diet study

Moved

That’s the young entrepreneur team who were my rental agents. Competent and hardworking. Verbal English is poor, but in text, easy.

… Anyway, this will be a very abbreviated version. It took a week of travels to get to Pattaya and then exactly a week to find and move in to a new place, and it’s hard to imagine it being better.

I’ll give the whole story next issue, which will also be the kick-off to things getting back to normal. Next time I do this—combine traveling and sightseeing with a move and the need of finding a place after I’ve already left the old place—I’ll just let yooze-all know I’ll be down for some weeks and will document everything and tell the stories later.

As much as I’m champing at the bit to write, I’m sometimes either too hungry, too tired, or both to do anything but grab some sleep. I don’t even know what a regular night of sleep is, anymore.

I got it done. After days cruising Facebook Marketplace to find suitable low-cost accommodations, which involves dealing with Thai landlords and their listings, I was getting frustrated. I asked Yui if she could come up with something, and that took 10 minutes. They showed me an initial place in a modern high-rise, but the rent was right.

Then I found out why.

I’ve seen larger prison cells than this “living” space these Chinese land developers put two partitions in, call it a 1-BR-1-Bath, and you’re lucky if you can get out of your own way. All I did was tell Chatkamon that I was looking for the “old style” studios where it’s one big room, 30 square meter minimum.

And bang. I was under contract within 2 hours. It’s in a different area than I’d intended, but that’s nicer too. Turns out I won’t be living in “Moscow.” That story, too. Ironic that I’m supportive of Russia’s aims in this Ukraine conflict; and yet, the Russians infesting the places around here are simply fucking assholes, and it’s difficult to find an exception.

Entrepreneurs in poor places

One thing I noted after moving to Thailand over 3 years ago and thought about it for a while is that an enormous number of people are self-employed. Out in rural areas, it’s damn near everyone, and many are “jacks-of-all-trades.”

— Anything, not everything, but lots in-between | February 26, 2023

Well this is way late so I better account: Moving week; The week in review; If I were God; Long walks making videos; Hua Hin; Kanchanaburi; Artificial Intelligence; A new dietary paradigm; My funniest tweets

Moving week

Moving day began last Sunday evening when I picked up my friend’s nice Mazda3 at Kata beach, about 15 minutes from my place (when there’s no traffic). I thought, well, since it’s the last unencumbered evening, maybe drive the additional 15 minutes to the infamous Patong Beach.

It’s a place that goes completely nuts every night. Fun in small doses.

Traffic was hellish, I was in a car, not a motorbike, so it took 30. Then it began the uncharacteristic tropical downpour for this time of year because people are dying of heart-attacks suddenly, at home (or is it the other way around…? I forget). Once I get there, the spirit to engage had left me. Grabbed a bite at any old place, pulled a U-ie, and then headed back home to contemplate the next day and get some sleep.

I was up rarin’ to go about 04.00 Monday morn, typical nowadays. Still Sunday, USA, so I worked on finishing up my Sunday Scribbles. Once the morning had worn off, I decided it was time to go mail my motorcycle to Pattaya.

— Anything, not everything, but lots in-between | February 19, 2023

I’ve gone back and forth with this Newsletter thing. I won’t bore you. You’ve either born witness or you can imagine. I guess it comes down to an inability to publish a newsletter adjunct to a blog that isn’t rather like the blog it plays party to.

Or, its owner-operator. That would be me.

I’m the guy who can arise from my bed, desk, or any other place at any random minute, toss shit in a 30L, lock the door behind me 10 minutes later, and either head out on the motorbike or hoof it to the nearest Phuket Smart Bus stop…destination unknown, no reservations, no idea of return. All I know is that:

1. I’ll have a good time
2. I’ll take photos and videos
3. I’ll write and publish about it

With a life-design like that, how in holy hell am I supposed to put out a newsletter by an arbitrary fixed deadline, on specific days, twice per week? … Especially when I always have multiple posts in various stages of draft and need to get those out when I get those out…exactly by then…not a minute sooner?

I’m living the life I’ve “always” wanted; and by always, I mean: since I was living and traveling abroad right out of college, 1984. I can’t sit still; but that’s only because I don’t fuckin’ wanna.

Ok? Capiche?

… So perhaps “scribbles” is apt. I’ll just get up Sunday morning wherever I happen to be, grab the notebook and just tap away. That I should [usually] be able to do.

Banking, Fraud, and Theft

I began the day thinking damn, is there nothing at all Americans will actually fight for, anymore?