Upheavel

My internet went out and I was suddenly underwater...

Let’s start off by saying my Internet is out. Apparently it went out last night after I had gone to sleep and the house had been in an uproar and I did not hear a damn thing. I was out like a light. The proverbial “dead to the world.” I woke up at 4am though and just couldn’t get back to sleep. Took myself out of bed at 5 and lo and behold no internet.

When the hubby woke up, he asked if the internet was still out and I said yes. I asked when did it happen, and he replied, well what time did the kids start melting down? Honestly, I almost had a little meltdown of my own when I realized there was no internet access. We forget just how attached to the new normal that our lives revolve around our ability to access information immediately. From being here on substack, to checking our bank info, to reading the news, to simply texting with friends. Without internet access we are literally isolated from the rest of the world.

Suddenly, I felt like I was living underwater, and had no way to make it breech the surface of the ocean.

Now we know how beleaguered in Iran have felt since January. (Yes, apparently there is now a modicum of internet access in Iran, the IRGC/Mullahs are broadcasting propaganda to the populace. I guess the reality of economic collapse and the civil war raging among the elites has the powers that be nervous that the Persian People might actually revolt again. I wonder how many people the mullahs will slaughter this time? 40,000 [or more] might just not be enough for their bloodlust this time. Not that Europe gives a damn, especially that Spanish cunt who just reopened the Spanish embassy in Tehran. You would think that a continent that had survived nazism and fascism would understand the evil that is islamism- both the shia and sunni versions, but nope. It’s as if any political philosophy that hates on the US and Jews is golden to them. You just can’t with these European imbeciles. They really are a threat to themselves. It truly is like the inmates are running the looney bin.)

Meanwhile, I am writing from a hotspot. Which actually didn’t work well either for quite awhile. Everything was down it seemed. I could not access the app store on my phone and my games app would not update. It kept showing puzzles from last week. And even the game website was down too- I tried with the hotspot. Not quite sure what that was all about though. Unless there is some kind of area wide outage and of course the ISP won’t admit that on their website.

(Hubby is concerned it is a cyber attack or a preview of what the evil doers are going to try to do. [turns out we were told it was a cut fiber optic cable, or a damaged cable, the young lady I spoke to wasn’t too sure, just reading the notes in the account] If you have an emergency and can’t get through to 911 or emergency services how are you going to get the help you need? Yes, I figure that the NYPD has a plan since Jessica Tisch is the commissioner, but not really sure about where I live. Honestly, I think she is about the only competent individual out there who has an emergency plan, plus she is proud to march in the Salute to Israel parade, unlike that Jew-hating shitbag that was elected mayor of NYC who won’t be there (as if anyone actually really wanted him there in the first place). Ok sure, the federal government has a plan in the event of an evil doer attack? Really you think this administration has a plan? I think this administration couldn’t find its own tuchas with 2 hands, a flashlight and a map. [except for the military. Our military is awesome. It’s the politicians - democrat and republican- that run the military at different times that leave alot to be desired.] But then again, that is my general view of all federal departments for decades now. When has any federal agency actually functioned well and actually ended up resolving more issues than they created?)

By the way, interestingly enough, the ISPs had gotten wise to the need for hotspots and they now charge a monthly fee if you want to retain the ability to use your phone for internet access when their system goes down. How about that? Their system goes kaflooey and then they charge you more to find a way to access the internet because their systems are inadequate. Only in America folks.

Meanwhile, this entire episode of societal fragility got me thinking about the reality in which we live on so many levels. Not just our dependence on modern creature comforts. Honestly, when I turn on the kitchen tap and water just pours out, I do marvel at the ease in which that happened. Same with turning on a light, getting in a car and taking a drive. Roads. The roadways are amazing aren’t they? Historians actually credit the growth and staying power of the Roman Empire to their ability to build roads. When I drive on our highways and byways and I realize that is the same for the United States.

Think about it for a minute, well you can take more than a minute if you want. Our expansion across the continent, while at first was the covered wagon and the horse drawn cart, but as society grew there came the railroad (yes we can discuss how awful that was for so many and the Chinese who labored to create it, but were denied the right to stay in the US), however, as the age of the car began roads became important. Well, let’s just say the interstate highway was a great make work project during the Depression. And while it put millions to work, that backbreaking labor turned America into an economic powerhouse.

Yes, I marvel at the vastness of our roadways. Listen, history teaches us that the way for a nation, or a people, or an empire, to sustain itself is by having the ability to meet the needs of the people in its purview. That there needs to be way for goods to go to market, and for people to be able to move to where there is employment, and for those who protect society to have the ways and means to get to the area needing their help.

The average person doesn’t even think how goods are transported across the USA. Stuff just shows up. Ok, well maybe after COVID and the disruption of the supply chain we all have a better idea of how the system works. But most of us used to think everything was sent by plane. I mean FedEx, UPS, DHL seem to be everywhere and to be able to deliver your package overnight (notice I left off USPS, because they are just sad. I use them, but they are sad). Of course though, the cost of using one of these services is outrageous. I sent a book to a friend on the other side of the country and shipping, not expedited, just regular shipping, cost more than the book. (I think this is why Prime on Amazon is so popular, pay for a yearly membership and shipping is free no matter what you buy and how often, same with Walmart and any of the other big box retailers. They figured out that the largest perk for their customers is free shipping.)

So items can’t be airplaned across the country. That would make the average item cost so much, that a family couldn’t even afford an apple. Ok, you can buy local, but we also like fruits and vegetables off season. Yes, buy local if you can. Farmer’s markets are awesome. But eventually growing season ends. And unless you grew up on Little House on the Prairie, how many of us can can fruits and vegetables, make our own sauces and preserve meat? Homesteading may be a new fad. But it is so not me. Considering that I just spent several hours getting a green tea pedicure with reiki foot massage and manicure, can anyone see me standing and canning my own tomatoes, which by the way I can’t grow. Years ago I planted 6 beefsteak tomato plants. I got what looked like 1 cherry tomato out of the lot. If it is green, I kill it. Except lucky bamboo. I haven’t killed that yet, well some of it did die on me and that sent me into a tailspin thinking I screwed with my luck.

(But considering my guardian angel found my new bout of breast cancer last summer when it was still level 0 I figure my lucky bamboo is still working. By the way, the insurance company still hasn’t paid for that surgery, I called the hospital to find out if they even sent in the appeal, and if they got the information that we sent them. I swear by all that is holy, there is a competition to see who is the most incompetent between the hospital billing and the insurance company and who can get away with the most bullshit. )

Meanwhile, the only other way goods are shipped is by truck. Now that diesel has gone up- temporarily- goods may cost a little more, but it still is cheaper than if they were flown. Everything is sent by truck or even rail. Listen bringing goods to market is how companies make bank. (Obvious to everyone, unless you have a degree in economics from Boston University.)

(Ok things are also shipped by boat across the globe, and that is why freedom of the seas is important to maintain a function global economy as well. When 1 country tries to blackmail the rest of the world we are seeing in real time the global effect- and again those morons in the EU seem to think its not important to force the blackmailers to capitulate. They aren’t sending ships, or boats, or whatever you want to call them, to the area to help with a blockade, with mine sweeping capabilities, or to protect the international waterways. Oh no, they say that is not their responsibility since they didn’t start this war. But the EU did send an invite to the violent misogynistic, homophobic, antisemitic, antidemocratic, human rights violating Taliban to come for a state visit, while simultaneously pushing for a boycott of Israel because the Jews did something dastardly, like kicking the crap out of those that would slaughter their babies. I swear the people that run the EU are simply a hive of scum and villainy.)

But moreover, being able to move armies across continents is essential to maintaining the support structure that is needed in the event of emergencies, both natural and unnatural. Being able to support the populace is a sign of a functioning government. The government agrees to take care of the citizens in exchange for the citizens accepting the government. The compact between the governed and the government is as old as the beginning of tribes, clans, and even family groups. The government is just a larger version of a protective polity.

The overarching reality is that in order to function properly governments, companies, societies need to have a way to interact, with those around them. They need to be able to make people’s lives better and to ensure that tomorrow will bring about more positive than negative. The way empires are built, are through the ability of a governing body to communicate and to move goods. The internet, and roads, provides these things for our society. They also provide an efficiency we have gotten used to. Something that does make it easier to know what goods need to be produced, but not necessarily so much better for the average person’s downtime.

Back in the day, when I was in college, I had a 1 day job of helping with the inventory for the college bookstore. We had to manually count each individual item, list them, make note of what was missing, and the lists we created were compiled into a larger report, which was then manually updated into a processing form which was then sent to the main headquarters so the bosses knew what to order. Weeks worth of work in the end. Today, as your item is scanned in the grocery check out, or at the local department store, the warehouse already knows what is happening to the inventory and what will need to be ordered when. Processes which used to take days to weeks, now are on going and can be handled in a matter of perhaps hours. (Of course the restocking of the shelves in the warehouse and stores hasn’t changed, except to say the forklifts have gotten more complicated, like everything, including your washing machine. What is with that anyway? Why do I need a NASA level engineering degree to figure out how to wash my panties and bras?)

Listen, the truth is that as life has gotten more efficient however, it is expected that you produce much quicker as well. While technology was supposed to give humans more time to pursue hobbies and enjoy life, what actually has happened is that we are required to produce at a quicker and greater level than before the advent of the computer age. Things are instantaneous now. Before even when you would fax something, it would take a while before you heard back from someone about your work. Now, they get the email and you hear back within hours. Meetings are set within days over zoom or teamworks, and you hash out any remaining issues. In the olden days, these kind of negotiations would take months before anyone even had time to sit down and talk. You had down time. Today, you can kiss downtime goodbye. So much for pursuing hobbies…

Additionally, there was always ways for societies to communicate. We have had carrier pigeons, bonfires, flags, human messengers, pony express, telex, telegram, landline phones, cell phones and now the internet. In fact, marathons come from an actual event when a king sent a runner who ran 26 miles to deliver a message (poor guy died on the spot once the message was delivered). Hence, our modern races are all 26 miles. The soldier ran to the city of Marathon in ancient Greece. (see my previous discussion about Myths and Mythology)

But as the technology has changed and we have found better ways to send information to each other, the one thing that has not changed is the need for roads. The physical act of moving items, be it goods or personnel, from one area to the next is essential to a functioning human society. When humans finally invent being able to beam from one place to another, then roads will of course become obsolete, except for that rare need to walk down the flower strewn primrose path.

Meanwhile, now some companies are working on robots to do that warehouse stocking work too. Granted it might be good to have stronger better equipped automatons do the heavy lifting, this way there is less human injury. On the other hand, except a few philosophers (and some futurists) who know that life is not a Hollywood movie, but who have read enough Issac Asimov to know the 3 rules of robots can be over ridden by a really self aware AI. We could really have a SkyNet problem on our hands, which no one at the Pentagon seems to worry about these days. (Anthropic)

It really is interesting to watch how things change when the essentials in your life just stop working. Throwing you back into another time and era. Listen, I am not against technology. I am not a luddite. But at present we might want to pay better attention to the idea of creating machines that would have a mind of their own. Moreover, the AIs we have now, Claude and ChatGPT on the other hand, may not have a mind of their own, since they do glean from the internet, which is human powered and why its mostly for shit when it comes to facts (these programs use Wikipedia as reference- need I say more about why you need to think for yourself?), which is why they are dangerous on a whole other level.

Meanwhile, my hotspot is working…sort of. It is slow, like dial up, and some websites are timing out, because today’s internet works at a much quicker speed. The lack of internet did get one of my sons to go to Costco with the hubby (I think because the car has Wifi, but he is out of the house), and I am trying to figure out an excuse I can use not to exercise on the arc trainer. I usually stream a show when I do cardio. Maybe the show won’t download….The Peloton is out since there is no internet, and yes I could sit on the bike and just spin my legs, but how boring is that?

But, my car has Wifi. That is where I am sitting right now.

Oh my goodness….we as a society are so spoiled….

*****

Meanwhile, speaking of the Salute to Israel Parade, here’s to the marchers and watchers have a great time!

And to the Jew-hating shitbag of a mayor of NYC and his people-

AM ISRAEL CHAI

******

May Hashem keep all those brave civilians fighting to Free Iran from the grip of evil safe.

May God Bless the US Armed Forces and the IDF.

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