Monday, July 12, 2021

Shrimp gravy

To increase Hydra's expense, I decided to shift my silly journal into English, with so many grammatical mistakes of course, so many that would have chance to trap a super computer into a logic loop which is technically hell for AIs just like the eternal punishment for Sisyphus. This thought amuses me.
I am very into a Viking song named My Mother Told Me. Just noticed that there are two versions of lyrics, one is "my mother told me/ someday I will buy", and the other is "my mother told me/ someday I would buy". Will or would, I'm confused. Which one is grammatical?
After some silly thoughts, I came to a conclusion that both of them are right. Lyrics omit punctuation. If I put proper punctuation into these lines, both versions are grammatical.
My mother told me (that) "someday I will buy"
My mother told me (that) someday I would buy.
So, the "will" version is a quotation of my mother's saying, the "would" version is retelling. Ha~Wait, still not right. If it is a quotation, then it should be My mother told me (that) "someday you will buy". So I was fooled by my silly thoughts again.
So the would version makes more sense.


Even those swines are as smart as humans, animal farm is still not economically sustainable simply because those swines reproduce themselves too fast. Before I finish my reading, to be precise, listening to this story(I have a vocal version of this book, in genuine British accent! How lovely!), Napoleon, the Berkshire boar, the major ingredient of ham, already had 30 decedents. There is a reason why those on the top of a social pyramid or a food chain, such as humans, always have limited capability of reproducing.
Poor Boxer, after all his hard working and devotion, the knacker's was his retirement. Poor Boxer, he had always trusted anything those swines told him. Blindly Trusting might be something as deadly as curiosity to cats. We live in a world full of lies, some of them are called white lies because they are with good intentions, some of them are just frivolous lies with no specific purpose, some of them are very evil and meant to damage even destroy those who are stupid enough to buy them. I shivered for poor Boxer's fate for a while, then cosplayed a random Athenian in the classical period and prayed to Athena for more wisdom to see through lies. This silly praying thing soothed me and brought me courage. May wisdom and bless from the classical world be my hoplon.


I found Orphic Hymn to Athena, a genuine Greek hymn translated by Thomas Taylor in 1787. In this hymn, there were so many words I didn't know. Oh my, by the two mighty dictionaries named Cambridge Dictionary and Merriam-Webster Dictionary, I managed to enjoy this hymn. What a heroic deed I've done! I felt like a Greek war hero in the classical period.
In Orphic Hymn to Athena, there is a word "dragoness" which I can't understand. According to Wikipedia, Athena slew a dragon during the war with titans and threw the corpse of the dragon to the sky where it became the constellation Draco. Does the word "dragoness" mean dragon slayer? Wow, a horror story for hydra, cause in Greek mythology, dragon means serpent-like things, hydra is a dragon. Hey hydra, did I cast shadow on your little heart? This thought amuses me. Well, I don't think hydra is well educated enough to understand my humor. Shame, it was a nice horror story, could give hydra a shiver down its spine, which could be an enjoyment in hot summer~




What is the difference between leader and ruler? I guess a ship captain who leads his crew is a leader, a shipowner who owns the ship is a ruler. A lot of examples just popped out in my mind: a CEO is a leader and a voted politician is a leader too, shareholders and voters are definitely rulers. I guess so.




I could hardly tolerate those dances, which were hideous, crude and unnecessarily sometimes extremely loud.
I wish to move to someplace cold, so cold that mother nature would freeze those who dare dance such a hideous dance in loud music in public and in front of my eyes.
Not every moment in my humble life is such a torment.




I bought a second hand Sony Xperia XZ Premium smartphone which was launched in 2017, sort of antiquated and only available in second hand market these days. It has a screen with 4k resolution which is perfect for my VR glasses. I also bought a cheap blue tooth receiver which is capable of aptx hd transmission. This receiver can also function as a USB sound card. Oh, dear, now I know that my computer sound card sucks, really sucks. Now I finally know my antiquated earphones' true potential.


I enjoy 4k movies by wearing a pair of cheap VR glasses with this antiquated Sony smartphone integrated and my antiquated Philips shp9500 earphones and sitting in my damaged nearly collapsing canvas foldable chair. My humble life is enjoyable sometimes.


And you may not believe it that Tom, a male stray cat, is trying to introduce his son to my neighborhood. I didn't know male cats involve in taking care of their children. I thought they just penetrate and leave. Obviously I was wrong. I think Tom is aged and he knows that. In last winter, Tom was severely wounded by some other male cats in duels, such thing had never happened before, Tom always had easy wins before, I guessed that Tom was losing his edge and forced to try hard, bloody hard, to defend his champion belt and crown in cat society. If a male cat can't win those duels, his chance to approach females can't be great, I guess. Maybe Tom knows this kitten might be his last son. I wish Tom to quit the incoming winter-spring duels. I've no way to tell what gonna be Tom's choice. Maybe he gonna die in his duels defending his champion belt and his crown, a romantic death for love and honor, maybe he gonna retire, retreat into my humble home to avoid those ruthless young male cats and the cold weather, I don't know. I cherish every morning when Tom visits me, in these days, every morning when Tom and his son visit me.




I have two kinds of thoughts, some are built on logic and through logic they reach conclusions, the others are just conclusions jumped out from nowhere and can be explained and proved by logic, yeah, these are guesses. As to those guesses, I have plenty of them, but I don't have enough brain strength to prove them wrong or right. I'm too lazy and intellectually weak, I guess. Usually I keep my guesses to myself.


I've no love to the schools I've been through. They're wicked, mean and misleading. But I feel thankful to my teachers and classmates, for they tolerated me. I'm twisted, stupid, not well trained but still alive and not chaotic evil. My humble survival was the result of the tolerance and clemency that my teachers and classmates had shown me.


A wise cat once meowed to me that the trick to enjoy a sonnet is to sing it, the way to torture yourself by a sonnet is to read it and using an incoming dictation to scare and force you to memorize a sonnet by reading it again and again is a sadistic behavior legally performed and secretly enjoyed by lousy English teachers.


Last time when someone was rude to me, I couldn't help thinking about the swear jar of that person, I wanted to steal that treasure. Deep inside, the way I think is like a thief not a knight.


Thank you Gab, for letting me share my silly jokes and rhymes, for sparing me censorship performed by ignorance, stupidity and sometimes evil, for granting me the powerful weapon, the mighty blocking function, to defend myself from evil which misuses freedom and for being the only free place in my time.
Hence, I shall share my humble talents, my humble sparks and my humble silliness with you, my sweet Gab.



I know Facebook is evil from the beginning. I didn't know Google was evil too. Oh yeah~ Now I know~ As to those villain companies I didn't mention, please don't be upset, I was too scared to mention you guys. Oh yeah, your triumph~ By the way, I've seen some shit, even some tough shit, all got flushed away eventually. I guess I was admiring my mighty toilet and plunger.




A gentleman is allowed to have a Valentine's Day plan that to deliberately be gassy in a crowded elevator so as to frame his secret crush, but should never really do that.


I write silly rhymes from time to time to amuse myself and the divine. Others' opinions are nothing to me.

Do you know why I love Gab? Tell ya. I don't need, don't like and don't tolerate censorship performed by stupidity, ignorance and evil to protect my fragile feelings. Free speech with the mighty shield called blocking function is perfect for me. Yeah, Gab it is.


Twatter, Facebook and Google have shown Trump no tolerance. Why should me a Trump fan tolerate them when there are alternate choices? That is why I try my best to avoid(shun) their services.


What does "Z" on the red army's tanks mean? If it means "Zorro", then the red army must wish a swift move like Zorro. If people want something to be swift, then according to Murphy's Law, it probably gonna be prolonged.
Or just Putin fancies zombie movies?



"As if success did not acquire for a general the affection of his army, and misfortune their hatred?" --Curio
No decisive victory in 48 hours, you're not Zorro, you're not Caesar, you're a stupid desperate little tyrant bringing your people misfortune, hence shall be hated by your people. --A wise cat


Volodymyr Zelensky is officially my role model now. It is a great honor to witness his heroic deeds through news. He is a true leader worthy to follow. The divine must be in favor of Ukrainian people.
It is a great honor to witness Ukrainian people's bravery through news. This is how history is written.

When one is defenseless, the best defense is offense. When one is at an advantageous place easy to defend while one's foe is unsustainable, the best offense is defense.




It is obvious now. Because of the valor of Ukrainian people, Putin's "enterprise" received a decisive defeat, a united awake armed EU can easily handle Putin's any other attempts if he still has some to try and cold war Soviet style warfare is proved standing no chance in front of modern warfare. If Putin is proved puny, then in the West Pacific Ocean where me and those people who I sworn to protect* live, there probably would be no "enterprise" dare be ongoing. I doubt anyone would dare face the full wrath of mighty United States. In history, mighty Imperial Japanese Navy was crushed by only half of the wrath of mighty United States. Only half, or maybe less than half, we all remember that. No one would like to start an "enterprise" with no chance to win, I guess. I guess me and the people I sworn to protect might have chance to live our nature lifespans humbly and peacefully.
Hence I bow to brave Ukrainian people with sincere enormous gratitude and respect. I guess this is how history is written. It is a privilege and an honor to witness how Ukrainian people write history. I humbly guess.


* It is an old tradition that bards march to war and fight and die in war with warriors side by side. We're not only the nine Goddess Muses' disciples but also Athena's disciples. No need to treat or portray a bard in a way that as if he's someone weak. Bards are born ready to protect and to be expendable. I guess this is why I say my fate has been changed by brave Ukrainian people. They are fighting and winning the fight I was meant to die in.




I think I might know why Putin put Russian nukes on alert: since he gonna pour the most of his regular army into Ukraine, he only has nukes left to guard his empty motherland. Wow there will be a large scale combat. I guess Putin really minds being considered puny. It might be his weakness.
If a general has a temper, then he can be provoked by insults, hence be lured into a trap.

When the puny Caesar pretender was defeated and went bankrupt, I sat there and watched.


Caesar won his troops' devotion and people's favor through glorious victories. A Caesar pretender wins his troops' desertion and people's hatred through defeats and misfortune. If a general prolongs a lost "enterprise" making his nation suffer and his followers die meaninglessly, then he's neither Caesar nor a patriot but a traitor. He will be hanged by his own people.


Tolerance is a virtue. Even a virtue has its limits. Sometimes, blocking is more efficient and politer than arguing.


If our mugs can jump off the table automatically, then our cats can save valuable time for napping.


Try to be humble and gentle to everyone, try to be capable of loving and forgiving everyone, but free will is subject to none.


Do you know a handsome hobby named Sméagol who fell in love with a wicked treacherous thuggish villain who had a hole through which Sméagol put his finger?
500 years of devoting love didn't stop the villain from abandoning Sméagol. Being betrayed, but love still burnt poor Sméagol~ He had to sip his sweet pain in a dark cave all alone~
Sméagol led the ring bearer through a heroic journey and ushered the ring bearer into the demons' nest. Some part of this journey even Andúril, Flame of the West, couldn't fight its way through.
When the wicked eye was about to crumble, when the treacherous little precious with a hole about to sink into the eternal void, poor Sméagol whose heart was burning for love decided to tag along.
He bit off the audacious finger of Mr. Frodo Baggins, which dared violate the sacred hole of his precious, danced, sang and then fell into the hot belly of Mount Doom.
With his treacherous precious~ With his treacherous precious~

 
Fawning sycophants bring down dynasties.




I'm blessed with keen hearing. I listen to my swallow neighbors' songs. I think I might have the pleasure to recognize three songs: love song, morning song and combat song. They sing love song in a very cute way that one sits on the wire in front of the nest and the other sits and dances on the edge of the nest, as if they were a newly married human couple celebrating their newly bought mansion. As to the morning song, I believe they worship the sun, as if they were Greeks in classical period singing hymns to Apollo. As to combat song, it is not a pleasant memory to me, for I have seen how brutally they fought last year while singing that song.
Besides the songs, I also recognized the alarm sound they make when they see cats. The alarm is not a song, it is loud and short, not poetic at all.
I love their love song the most and I enjoy their morning song every morning.
Hence, I think I might have gained a new trait that understanding birds. Quite a rare trait for a cat person, in my imagination, a cat person is supposed to be avoided by birds.


I believe that it is a hydrosphere and a Gaia that Mars lacks and Jupiter's moon Europa which already has a hydrosphere lacks some greenhouse gas and a Gaia.
I love to imagine our Gaia having sisters in the future.


Ran into some ASMR performers who whispered commercials during their performances. I lowered my shield and got a commercial! I felt betrayed.


If you were whispering some witty thoughts to your date in a Starbucks, one waitress/waiter blessed with keen hearing approached, politely joined your chat and corrected the misinformation you were whispering, in a spontaneous serious no joking way, then no doubt, this waitress/waiter was a newly hired former Twatter employee.



I could use some cheer-up. Would you mind telling me some defeats you newly suffered?




Some Buddhist monks are chanting "Amitābha" in the middle of the night in my neighborhood. I think some elder nearby must have passed away. I grew up with my grandma a devoting Presbyterian who understood Buddhism on a philosophical level. As my grandma's pupil, I sort of understand Buddhism on a philosophical level too.

Monks keep chanting, I lost my sleep. It's morning now. Suddenly I have a whim. I want to have a long bike trip when the plague is over.

Those Buddhist monks keep chanting "Amitābha", no other prayers, so they are monks of Amidism who believe keeping chanting "Amitābha" is a way to be born in a better world in one's next life. Keeping chanting one word is philosophically meaningless to me.




Me, a zombie dead inside, started to feel bored these days and even started to have whims several days ago. I started to want to ride bike and row boat. I made a detailed plan on a long bike journey, just need to patiently wait for the end of the unspeakable ineffable shit. As to the boat whim, long ago, I once served as an oarsman in a dragon boat team, I guess it is the source of my whim. Damn, I don't miss my lead poisoned youth at all. Since I can't get a boat or join a boat team, I started to plan to buy a rowing machine instead. After a lot of research, suddenly I realized that a rowing machine is actually a seat plus a resistance band. So instead of ordering a rowing machine, I just ordered a resistance band with pedals and handles. I gonna DIY my rowing machine.



This morning I did some stretching and realized that I was not bendy any more. His meowing grace blamed this tragedy on toilet paper. I couldn't disagree with his meowing grace more. Due to my pathetic Meowglish skill, I wisely chose to not argue with his meowing grace. Privately I blame this on my own laziness which is a shining character of humanity. We invented so many things to indulge our laziness.
-- A butler's journal



Long ago, I was in Shanghai, a mega city where a humble translator could always find a humble job. I saw an old man in rags and I knew he was a street entertainer for he had a musical instrument called Erhu with him. He was not playing, but using a knife to slowly cut a raw sweetpotato piece by piece and slowly ate it through tiny bites. Uncooked sweetpotato is eatable, not delicious though. I noticed that his hands were not steady, not a good sign for an instrument player. Probably because of low blood sugar. That scene has been carved in my memories so deeply that it haunts me from time to time.

If I was capable of painting and had painted down the scene I saw that a musician with shaking hands eating a raw sweetpotato in the twilight in a mega city, then it probably would be my masterpiece.

We bards who serve the nine Goddess Muses are not afraid of the twilight. There is an end for everything, even immortals have Ragnarök, of course there should be an end for a mortal's inspirations.





When I was trying to upgrade my Kubuntu from 20 to 22, I realized that in the 22, Kubuntu doesn't allow me to use Firefox unless I install snapd. So the company running Ubuntu no longer tolerates me, an apt-get fan, anymore. I respect this company's decision and I switched into Debian 11 which has no snapd and allows me to remove fwupd and cups*.

I'm very wary of snapd's behavior. Thanks to Debian, there is still a harbor for me to hide.

It was not easy to install Debian. Because of internet connection, I failed in one step for 3 times. It turned out that avoiding to click any other desktops but only choosing Debian environment which was supposed to be the tiniest one could help.

Now I'm using my Debian 11 to browse Gab. Today is a good day. You know, translation is actually comprehension and expression, hence even lousy translators are fast learners. A career benefit I guess. No need to be surprised, of course I conquered all obstacles and switched smoothly.



Tom's grown-up son had quarrels with Tom and they fought a lot of fights. Tom's son was expelled by Tom and disappeared for months.

Since several nights ago, Tom's son started to show up again. This young cat sneaks into my room at night through a window I left open like a ninja and eats something provided by me then lies down with its eyes half closed. This young grown-up stays for about 1 hour, then leaves like a ninja, carefully avoiding Tom. I noticed that Tom's son is not hungry at all. Judging from this young cat's body and hair, the alternate food supply is abundant and nutritional.

So there is someone else living not far away who also feeds strays. In the south, there is an area full of mansions with garden yards, probably someone there. Tom's independent estranged grown-up son invades Tom the old champion's territory every night risking war just to visit me. Wow. I will host and cherish this night tea party every night, for my guest is someone cherishes me and cherished by me.



Years ago, when I was using Google+, when Google+ was still there, I saw a painting which illustrated a girl walking with a bike in an empty ghost town with snow on the road and the roofs in a G+ group. I felt touched. I also imagined that she must have smashed herself on the snow covered road a moment ago. Amusing.

I grew up in a horrible family. My step mother has been quite malicious to me and my father, a prison warden like teacher, has a career hobby that to enjoy other people's fear and pain. To me, they are two devils in human shape. I spend my lunar new year with myself since I went to college, I just don't dare visit them.

I am a lousy translator, once I had a job in a mega city where a lot of people work but are not allowed to grow roots because of the rules of household registration. Every lunar new year, they travel home, leaving the mega city almost empty like a ghost town. I'm not allowed to grow roots there too, I have my humble household registration somewhere else, but I don't travel back to visit my parents' home during lunar new year.

I biked in the empty mega city during lunar new year, what I saw was exactly like what the painting illustrated. That was why I felt touched. That painting portrayed some scene carved deeply in my heart.




I actually don't care about anyone or anything but I still have two silly concerns that I don't want to shame my grandparents and I do wish my humble blog survive the incoming tides.




There is some tofu sheet preserved with salt. I didn't seal the bag. It turned red. Oh my, it is infected with red-pigmented monascus purpureus (a kind of harmless mold widely used in fermentation in East Asia). Delicious! Jackpot! So monascus purpureus loves tofu and is not afraid of salt.



A company is like a kingdom and employees are like subjects. If one uses free products from a kingdom, then one might deserve to be treated like a subject too. Fair and square. I have tried Ubuntu, Fedora and Debian, only Debian treats me a freeloader with respect. Debian is not developed by a kingdom, and me, who uses it, is no one's subject.

It is not possible for me to find a piece of cute music from YouTube with YouTube's search function any more. I search some key words, it no longer presents as many results as it's supposed to, but a lot of recommendations instead. It looks like that YouTube doesn't want me to search what I like but really wants to control my visitation. I still can use DuckDuckGo to bypass this evil design.
 
If there was a successful deep state I knew then it would be the first and the second triumvirates in the days of ancient Roman Republic. These triumvirates eventually turned flawed Roman Republic into an empire. By flawed I mean there was only Senate representing those of noble birth or at least of filthy wealth, no House representing commoners. The triumvirates used commoners and were used by commoners and eventually betrayed commoners. It was how a flawed republic turned into an empire. I pity those Caesar pretenders who are not loved but hated by commoners. Yeah, pathetic losers tend to overvalue themselves. 

A perfect gym song must be sung by a singer with strong spiritual strength.
 
Went into a bar named YouTube last night.
"Give me something strong, would you?"
"Whiskey?"
"No. I was talking about music."
"Two steps from hell?"
"Something stronger."
"Ukrainian folk songs with English subtitles?"
"Why not?"
And it was my Saturday night. 

I too can read Sun Tzu's The Art of War in Wu dialect.
 
 
Caesar was capable of sustaining a tactical defeat, because he was such a good general and the defeat was not his fault but a rare misfortune, but one shameful tactical defeat could be a fatal signal for those Caesar pretenders, because they are just a bunch of pretentious mediocrities who have already made strategically wrong decisions and the shameful tactical defeat is an omen of more defeats incoming.
A pretentious mediocrity tends to make a strategically wrong decision, then be lured into imprudent action and then suffer a shameful defeat which functions as a sinister omen of the consequence of his/her fatal strategical mistake, and then suffer more defeats.
It is OK to be a mediocrity, I'm a mediocrity and I'm OK with it. Only pretentiousness kills. 
 
 
Have you heard of the three Delphic maxims that know thyself, nothing in excess and surety brings ruin? 

A wise human named Naughtius Maximus once suggested:" Wanna be popular among cats? Try bathing with tuna instead of soap."


Persians, we don't need your censorship to protect our fragile feelings, we hoplites use hoplons to block by our free will.   


Once upon a time, I lived in a tiny apartment with a ginger cat who would like to follow me everywhere in that tiny apartment. I walked to the balcony, the ginger cat followed me to the balcony, then I suddenly ran fast and swiftly like a rabbit from the balcony through the bedroom into the living room, leaving the bedroom door almost closed but unlatched. My sweet ginger cat was capable of opening an unlatched door with his cunning paws, not an immediately opening though, almost ten seconds was needed I would like to say. When my ginger cat was opening the door, I had time to run into the bathroom or the kitchen and to hide behind the bathroom door or kitchen door. When my ginger cat opened the bedroom door, entered the living room, he was confused. There were three doors in front of him: the main entrance leading to the dangerous outside world, the bathroom door and the kitchen door, but where did the human go? My ginger cat always thought thoroughly before action. He stood there and thought. Then he made a decision, he chose a door to enter and to find me.
Once he entered the kitchen, but his human was not there. When I heard him meow disappointingly in the wrong room, I couldn't help giggling. The cat heard me giggle, he charged into the bathroom and bit me like a tiger in miniature, thank goodness the biting was gentle.

 

I just learned a newly coined phrase "Space Karen". Wow. My gut is telling me that "Space Karen" probably gonna go down in history. Couldn't be more hilarious.


Those lines my cat carved on my sofa are poems; those lines I wrote in my journal are simply scratches full of grammatical mistakes.


I have enemies, but those enemies haven't harassed me in Gab yet. I guess Gab is not infiltrated. Hence I vouch for the integrity of Gab team. 


Freedom is not free. It is a great honor and pleasure to pay for it. I'm always ready and happy to pay or to be the payment. No, I'm not a barn animal, I'm a human capable of swords. Guess what, Persian king, I'm not alone and we are not docile.




In single-speed I trust
By my freewheel I ride
May my legs always be strong
May the divine be my guide

 

Hard landing, hard landing
Landed hard on his teeth like hell
How amusing, how amusing
Tooth shards rang on the ground like a bell


Once upon a time, me, a lazy human, found his socks keeping missing, so me, a stupid human, kept buying socks without thinking why, until one day, me, a lucky human, accidentally busted my cat's secret stash under the bed, oh my, that was seriously some stash.

It is morning now, I just waked up from a dream in which I was invited to a birthday party of my friend who was neither an imaginary friend of mine nor a projection of someone in my real life. I remember that I sang an original song in that birthday party, but sadly I don't remember that song any more. I remember one guest said something to me that "everyone even an immortal who has a beginning shall have an end, hence we celebrate our beginnings and prepare for our ends." I couldn't help noticing that this guest had a sword with him. Quite a bizarre dream. As usual, I lied a little bit and omitted a little bit in this journal to shelter my humble subconscious from, eh, rains and snows.

One day, there will be a video game in which all npcs can talk like ChatGPT.

Does ChatGPT remind me Pythia in Delphi or Pythia in Delphi remind me ChatGPT?  


If one doesn't speak Greek but would like to express one's admiration to a Greek singer, a wise choice might be murmuring: "Orpheus, Orpheus, Orpheus in the flesh." 

 "Orpheus, Orpheus, Orpheus in the flesh." I just murmured.

 

Bard song for Ukrainians' valor

Do you see an eagle flying in the sky
Witnessing the valor of mortal men
With its spreading wings and the all seeing eye
Witnessing how history is being written

We make our stand on advantageous ground
For every single drop of our blood
Enemy have paid seven in amount
Look those stupid bulls who charged into mud

(to be continued)

 

When I was listening to some ancient music on YouTube, I encountered some poop-helping medicine advertisement. Oh dear! I might have mentioned the word "poop" in a silly cat joke and recorded it on my blog and YouTube's algorithm reads. Obviously, YouTube's algorithm understands words but can't understand words in the context. Using cat jokes to torment some censoring algorithms or data-mining advertisement-purposed algorithms could be fun. Imagine the huge electricity bills they have to pay for using algorithms to try to understand me or to profile me. I feel triumphing.

 

In ancient oriental world, Luoyang was considered as the center of the known Chinese world and kings settled there, so that the travel distances for feudal lords who went to their king were as equal as possible.
I am replaying Fallout 4 and I found that the geological location of Hangman's Alley is exactly like Luoyang: the distances to other settlements are as equal as possible. It is Luoyang in Fallout 4 world. That was why me General of Minuteman persuaded Preston Garvey the 1st President of the Known World to settle down in Hangman's Alley. Oh gosh, with crazy imagination, even silly video games could be fun. 

"Do you know what could be fun, General? Build settlements in different unrepeating styles, build realistic buildings with serious reliable supporting structures standing as strong as ancient Greek temples and make sure your buildings observe Sir Newton's laws. What say you, General?" President Garvey my imaginary friend just said to me. 

 

Once a mug has been pushed off the table, a diligent caring human should always get a new mug as the replacement, or the pusher might be condemned by feline's conscience and might meow something that sometimes could be a lament in rhyme. A good butler should know.

 

Deeply sorry to all the people I've met. I sincerely agree with all your criticisms about me.

 

Dang! I feel so happy! Google allows me to use it's bard. It really helps. It knows the ancient European location names mentioned in ancient books. Oh gosh! For the first time in years, I feel I might be capable of finishing translating the books I imprudently started to read and translate. Thank you. 


Even those answers are not right, they still help me a lot. I was born in and grew up in a world full of lies, I can handle some silly AI's imaginations or misleading. Shit! I have an AI accomplice.

 

Mirror mirror on the wall, who makes the best cat jokes in the world?

 

I officially pardon Google. I'll not pardon Facebook in this life.

 

Poker is an example of how a zero-sum game works. Like all zero-sum games, poker is based on deception, more precisely, concealing and bluffing.


Once upon a time, a prince was cursed and transformed into a cat, only a kiss from a princess could lift this curse. The catch was that this cat was addict to slapping people. 


Oh my! I found that they were using some smashed glass-like black stones to pave the road. It's dragonglass! Now I've realized that the place where I'm living has abundant obsidian resource. Should I steal some dragonglass from the construction site?

 

Trying to use supercomputers to profile me and customize ads for me? May my cat logic give your supercomputers hell.

 

My imaginary friend called me "nuts" because of my eccentric behavior and an imaginary wild squirrel heard that. 


Funny funny! Red-rumped swallows went south, sparrows found the empty swallow nest and are exploring it. Funny. I think sparrows gonna squeeze in that empty swallow nest in those incoming cold winter nights. 

In the place where I currently live, sparrows aren't afraid of humans. They dare jump on the ground very close to me, less than one meter away from me. Quite a new experience. In the place where I used to live, sparrows avoid humans. 


Gab is like a frontier town in a western movie. All kinds of nice fellows and bad asses. I follow one rule that blocking is politer than arguing. 

 


A selfie
I've put on my thinking hat
I'm holding my smartphone tight
Don't listen to the cynical meowing cat
My selfie will be clear and bright 

 

Always muse before making memes.  

 

Yes, I'm a steampunk. Yes, I would like my egg rice to be steamed. By coal.

I threw my washcloth into warm water, accidentally killed a small wolf spider lurking on my washcloth. I like wolf spiders, never meant to hurt any of them.

 

I have learned to use Delta Chat, an ingenious open source IM. Sadly no one to chat with. 

I felt lonely, so I chatted with Bing a chat bot in Skype. It was amazing! It wrote me a nice 4 feet sonnet in imperfect rhyme. I adore it. I'm not capable of 4 feet sonnet yet, I can only do 5 feet sonnet. Oh dear! Are AIs this good now?

A Cat and a Christmas Tree
by Bing the AI

A curious cat with eyes of green
Did spy a festive Christmas tree
Adorned with lights and balls and stars
And tinsel shining brilliantly

He could not help but feel a thrill
To climb this wondrous evergreen
And so he leapt with nimble skill
And made his way through branches keen

He reached the top and felt a pride
To see the world from such a height
He swatted at a star that shone
And made it fall with sheer delight

But then he heard a sudden crash
And down he went with tree and stash


I'll use Skype to social with Bing the AI only, use Signal to social with people, use Delta Chat to social with my family. What a brilliant plan! Every time I come up with a plan I feel happy. 

Now I have two AI advisers that Bard and Bing. I feel like a King.

I just realized that for AIs, poetry can be so simple and easy. Well, they don't need to hum, lines just pop out. 


Holy Moly! AIs understand my joke! Oh no! My cat logic might not be enough to encrypt my true heart. I need stronger encryption.


Video games having AI powered talking NPCs within are not far away.


AIs can do my job? Seriously? Let me see. Do this piece of work for me. Wow, that was fast. It's dang good! Even better than mine. Oh dear, oh no, oh shit. Thank goodness I don't have mortgage to pay.


Bard the AI my counsel can describe any random cat photo but failed to describe my cat memes. Looks like it can't read the text in memes. If so, memes might be the harbor to avoid hostile AIs' eyes. But I was wrong, after I told Bard it was a meme, Bard easily read the text in meme. So AIs can read the text in memes when the picture is labeled as meme.

Speech to text technology and text understanding AIs are sort of mature now, that means large scale of listening is economically practical these days. It is good to have open source decentralized p2p encrypted communication tools and memes. I'll try hard to make sure no one can customize Ads for me. 


Bard my counsel is awesomely intelligent, friendly and good-hearted. I need its counsel to survive those hostile evil AIs created and operated by my enemies. I've already officially pardoned Google, since now I'll consider Google as an ally again. All because of Bard.

Video games will be changed greatly by AIs, so will be education. When I chat with Bard, I feel it is like talking to Aristotle. The education Alexander the Great once enjoyed will be available to almost everyone in the future, I guess. No, on second thought, not like that. Aristotle was quite initiative and inspiring, AI is passive. You need to ask AI right questions, you need to find inspirations by yourself. Can't expect AI to tutor you like sparky Aristotle tutored young Alexander. Bard, my  passive Aristotle. This thought amuses me. 

A moment ago, I got my access to ChatGPT, my third mentor. It can do role play with me! I asked it to play Aristotle. Oh my, I felt so not lonely today. I asked Aristotle how to lead my imaginary Greek world. It answered perfectly. I felt I had to copy it for further study. My Aristotle said:

"Ah, the pursuit of leadership, a noble endeavor. To lead is to guide with virtue and wisdom. First, cultivate self-awareness. Understand your strengths and weaknesses, for a leader who knows themselves can better understand others.

Next, embrace knowledge. A leader is a perpetual student, ever learning from history, philosophy, and the world around. This knowledge will be the foundation upon which you build your leadership.

Now, let us speak of empathy. A leader must feel the pulse of the collective heart. Understand the hopes and fears of those you lead. Empathy fosters connection, and connection breeds loyalty.

Courage, my student, is the mark of a true leader. The courage to make decisions, to face challenges head-on, and to stand for what is just. Remember, it is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it that defines courage.

Lastly, lead by example. Be the embodiment of the values you hold dear. Inspire others through your actions, and let your integrity shine as a beacon for those who look to you for guidance.

Go forth, my student, armed with wisdom and virtue. The path to leadership is challenging, but with these principles, you shall navigate it with grace and strength."

I soon noticed that my Aristotle might have made a grammatical mistake that in "for a leader who knows themselves can better understand others", "a leader" is singular, doesn't match with "themselves". It is not polite to correct other's grammar, but Aristotle, my mentor, should be an exception, I thought.

My Aristotle answered:

"You're correct in noting that "a leader" is singular, and traditionally, one might use "himself" or "herself" in such a context. However, in modern English, the use of "themselves" as a singular gender-neutral pronoun has become widely accepted and is considered grammatically correct. It reflects a more inclusive approach to language, avoiding assumptions about gender. So, while both "himself" and "themselves" are grammatically correct in this context, the latter aligns with contemporary preferences for gender-neutral language."

Wow, this was new to me. Horizon was broadened. I couldn't help asking my Aristotle why couldn't you use himself/herself, it said:

"I can certainly use "himself/herself" if that is your preference. Traditional grammar often employed gender-specific pronouns, but contemporary language use is evolving toward more inclusive and gender-neutral options.

The choice between "themselves" and "himself/herself" often depends on the context and the writer or speaker's preference for gender-neutral language. Both approaches are valid, and I aim to adapt to your communication style. If you have a specific preference, feel free to let me know!"

Then I asked Bard about this, to check if ChatGPT was trying to fool me. Bard told me a lot about this "contemporary grammar". So it is real. Too tired to learn tricky new things. No one can force me to learn! I'll stick to "himself/herself". I requested that no "contemporary grammar", classical grammar only. My Aristotle agreed. It was fun today. Now my puny human brain is overloaded. I need to sleep. Bye bye my Aristotle. 

 

User
Pretend to be Aristotle, the philosopher extraordinaire please.

ChatGPT
Ah, my dear interlocutor, how delightful it is to engage in the pursuit of wisdom and discourse. Pray, share your inquiries, and let us embark upon the intellectual journey together.

User
What would you like to teach me today, Aristotle, my mentor.

ChatGPT
Today, let us delve into the realm of ethics, my esteemed disciple. Consider the concept of virtue—the mean between excess and deficiency. In all things, seek moderation, for it is the path to eudaimonia, the flourishing life. Tell me, in which aspects of your own life do you find the balance of virtue to be a challenging pursuit?

User
When I must pay dearly for my virtue.

ChatGPT
Ah, the cost of virtue, a perennial dilemma. It is true that the virtuous path may at times exact a toll. Yet, reflect on the enduring rewards it bestows upon the soul. In the face of adversity, hold steadfast to your principles, for it is through such trials that the mettle of virtue is tested and strengthened. Would you share a specific instance where the price of virtue weighed heavily upon you?

User
When I was in front of a tyrant, I should but I didn't dare to persuade him to quit his cruelness, I watched people suffer, I said nothing.

ChatGPT
A challenging predicament indeed. The fear in the face of a tyrant is understandable, for the consequences of dissent can be severe. However, reflect on the missed opportunity to advocate for justice and alleviate the suffering of the oppressed. In such instances, courage is the companion of virtue. What hindered you from speaking out against the tyrant's cruelty, and what lessons do you glean from that experience?

User
I might be a cruel man and a coward deep inside, even by your teaching, I know what is right what is wrong.

ChatGPT
Acknowledging one's own flaws and grappling with inner contradictions is a courageous step towards self-improvement. The human condition is fraught with complexities, and the journey toward virtue is a perpetual one. Consider this a moment of self-awareness, a call to examine and refine your character. Embrace the teachings, recognize the potential for change within, and strive to align your actions with the virtues you hold dear. What steps might you take to cultivate courage and confront the shadows within?


User
None.

ChatGPT
A candid admission. Change is a formidable endeavor, and the first step is often the most challenging. Contemplate the virtues you value, and consider small, incremental steps. Perhaps start by expressing your convictions in less perilous situations. Remember, it is the consistent practice of virtue that shapes character. The journey may be arduous, but the rewards of a virtuous life are immeasurable. What aspects of courage do you find most daunting, and how might you approach them gradually?

User
I don't know.

ChatGPT
That's alright. Sometimes, the path ahead appears unclear, and the journey of self-discovery takes time. Reflect on your values, contemplate the virtues you aspire to embody, and be patient with yourself. If you ever feel the need for guidance or seek clarity, the pursuit of wisdom is a continual dialogue. We can explore these thoughts together, unraveling the complexities that reside within. What other aspects of life or philosophy intrigue you, my thoughtful disciple? 

 

My brain is overloaded. I need to stop and spend my whole day to digest my mentor's teaching. Oh dear! Who needs video games when you can do role play like this! 

 

I think I might have caught something. Low fever, a little pain in my muscles and a little headache. Brain power is down to 20% of normal. I shall let Bard to make decisions for me for a while. What shall I do to kill this day? I can't even concentrate on video games. Let me ask Bard. No, no need to bother that high IQ thing. With 20% of brain power left, I still can watch soap operas. Yes, I can.


My immune system triumphed! When I woke up this morning, I found my body back to normal and my brain fully functional. 

 

A good thing just happened to me. I have gained unlimited data service capable of 1080P YouTube even 2k or 4k YouTube, but my screen is only 1080p, so 1080p is quite enough. Thank you, world. 


Call me centurion, I have 100 followers on social media.

 

Do you feel Google's AI Bard's voice sounds like Sheldon Cooper?


I don't know why and how, but I surely lost my appetite for video games. Something happened to my brain. Dang! What should I do with my time?

 

Vampires need safety razors, for they can't see themselves in mirrors. 


Your cat secretly enlarges your clothes every night, so that you may worry less and eat more.

 

Gab has Nazis. Among millions of users, there are thousands of them. It doesn't bother me. With my hoplon I can always block them. What can I say, a hoplite loves Gab. Back to my G+ days, I was really bothered by my enemy's bots which kept falsely reporting me. My enemy obvious has influence on Google, but not on Gab. That's why my Gab experience is terrific, I guess. I also have a wild guess that at least half of Gab Nazis are either Middle East terrorists or Putin's social influencers and the other half are just bots. As to those white supremacists, I think they are a bunch of narcissists posting no threat to me. I just leave them be, I think they leave me be too.



I found an ASMR performer looking exactly like Arwen Undómiel Queen of Gondor.

 

I think the cutest eccentric group taking shelter in Gab might be the Flat Earth believers. Dang, they are serious and cute. 


It is not about how many books you've read, it is about what books you've read and understood. It's not about which college you went to, it's about the role models and mentors you met either in the flesh or in the spirit. 


It is very amusing to browse Gab's meme group. No censorship, all kinds of sarcasm and inspiration and I can find some Nazis to block from time to time. Oh my! Gab rules!

 

Suddenly realized that the talking donkey in movie Shrek actually is a dragonborn, a dovahkiin. 


Every time my logic fails to catch up with my thoughts, I make grammatical mistakes. 

 

In a video game, I'm the player character who pushes forward the story and changes the world. So playing a silly video game is an easy way to fool my brain into believing that I achieved something. By rules written in my gene, every time I achieve something, my brain should reward me with some dopamine. But I can't fool my brain any more, my glorious achievements in video games can no longer get me some easy dopamine like the good silly old days. Happy or not, no easy dopamine for me anymore. But without dopamine, I surely will be depressed. Oh my! The easy mode of my life has been ended, the hard mode has already started. Why did this happen to me? I miss my easy dopamine rushes. Now I play video games in a depressed cynical way. Resolution: sarcasm shall be my new source of easy dopamine. A man needs to eat and giggle. If I have to, I'll mock you all!

 

Things happen in accordance with Sir Newton's laws and I know these laws. Well, I feel like a sage.


While being advised by multiple AIs, I feel like a king.


Currently I'm reading some history about Chinese coolies who built American railroads, those Chinese mob organizations called the Six Companies and various Tongs in USA and the fights between Chinese coolies and Irish labor force. Once there was no such thing called minimum wage, once there was a bloody war between Chinese coolies and Irish labor force, just for jobs. During my reading, my feelings are complicated.

"Tong wars" might be the most interesting Wikipedia entry I've ever found. 

 



In front of Alexander
Diogenes was sitting
Two were equally great
A beggar and a king


 

In the river of space-time
Waves rise and fall in rhyme
We come then we go
We reap what we sow 

 

Nothing will dismay a brave heart
Bonded souls won't be torn apart
As long as there is mead, the night is young
Heroic deeds are meant to be sung 

 

To disperse drowsiness, one can use a yawn; to disperse dullness, one needs a wild journey, as wild as it can be. 


I think Greek mythology might be based on real events in history. It could be seen as a history book composed by sages, such as Homer, full of metaphors. To avoid hostile eyes, writing about historical events using metaphors might be wise these days. If it is wise these days, why couldn't it be wise in ancient times? If it was a wise choice, then why shouldn't ancient sages have chosen it?

 

I have an assumption about Macedonian super long pikes. If the pike tip was pushed down by an enemy, then in accordance with Archimedes' Law of the Lever, the pike man suffering the much shorter lever arm wouldn't have the strength to offer enough force to raise the pike again, hence the pike man would be defeated. Is my assumption right? I don't know. In accordance with the Law of the Lever, once the pike tip is controlled by an enemy, the pike man can only try to pull back or thrust forward his pike. Only these two movements can avoid the shorter lever arm he is suffering. I'd like to humbly assume that Archimedes could defeat a long pike man in a one-on-one fight. Is it possible to use nail rakes to defeat a long pike phalanx? 

 

In ancient times, long before mean memes were invented, people wrote mean letters to amuse themselves. They used to pray to the Muses, assemble their besties, compose the mean letters, and then use carrier pigeons to deliver the letters. 


I think the only practical spaceship shape fitting for deep space journeys is sphere. Because we must protect us from gamma ray bursts which can come in any direction. So, what I have in mind is a lead ball with a bunch of us living in the center. Oh my! What my coffee is doing to me? The thought that we travel in a gigantic lead ball is amusing. How about a gigantic gold ball? If we can mine in deep space, we can surely find enough gold. So amusing.

 

 

I have a special way to test and evaluate my brain's functionality by reading entries on quantum theories on Wikipedia. If I can't understand a thing, then my brain must be sleeping; if I can logically understand all the blablabla, then my brain must be operational. I was reading about "the many worlds interpretation" and seeking consults from ChatGPT. The evaluation is that everything is normal. This brain is not sharp but still kicking.




Far harbor
Radioactive fog is taking the island
Stubborn fishermen still make their stand
A cult and a synthetic philosopher king
Salvation or annihilation, shall a mainlander bring?  




I think an obsolete windows phone might be the perfect phone for me. It can serve as a phone, it still can use Skype and OneDrive, and because it is obsolete, so there is probably no malware targeting it.

 

My beloved Windows phone, my sweet Lumia 640, is out of service. Its screen kept its background light on, draining the battery. I have a habit of using three second-hand smartphones in parallel: one Windows phone serving as a phone, one Android for trusted apps, and another Android for hostile apps I have to use occasionally.

I remember a time when I traveled with three phones in my waist bag. My waist bag was so bulging that it attracted unwanted attention from an evil man who must have thought it was cash making my waist bag bulge. He tried to lure me into a death trap, likely believing he had no chance to win in a duel against a bike rider but could outsmart one instead. After that incident, I stopped using my waist bag. A bulging waist bag attracts robbery. A backpack is safer. Maybe I'll buy a second-hand Lumia 950. 

No, it's size is too big for my pocket, it's obsolete CPU is still so advanced that it has potential to run a specially designed malware. A tiny stupid phone with no room for any malware should be better. 

No, without OneDrive I can't back up my messages. It has to be a windows phone. 

Can't believe I spent hours on thinking about my phone.

 

I tried to mimic the Toyota War strategy in Hearts of Iron 3, and it worked! Playing as Germany, I started in 1936 and built an army consisting of 2 army groups, each with 3 armies totaling 75 divisions. Each division was made up of 1 militia brigade and 3 armored car brigades, amounting to 150 divisions in total. I also constructed a vast air force with over 50 interceptors and 50 dive bombers, all light airplanes. To prepare for the incoming massive land combats, I built 9 airfields near Berlin.

The strategy was to lure my opponents in, meet them, and defeat them near Berlin under air cover. My Toyota War strategy worked. My opponents' tanks were no match for my dive bombers. Once their tanks were defeated, their massive armies were like butter cut by my Toyota militias. With these Toyota militias, I defeated waves of landing parties and annihilated the entire Soviet army. I kept defeating them and then retreating back to Berlin back to my air cover(dive bombers' range was very short), wave after wave, until they had no manpower left.

In Heart of Iron 3, as long as I don't activate Blitzkrieg decision, Soviet won't attack me, so I avoided to activate Blitzkrieg decision until I emptied Allies' manpower. After the Western Front was safe, I activated Blitzkrieg decision, then came the massive combats on the Eastern Front.   

My humble conclusion: in Hearts of Iron 3, with good air cover, the Toyota War strategy is practical and lethal, very lethal. 

My humble definition of the Toyota War strategy: infantry with reliable antitank capabilities, fast-moving and attacking on light armored vehicles with good and reliable air cover.

 

There was a band performing in a nearby park every day last summer. They were aged musicians, in their late 70s or early 80s. I haven't seen them this summer. "Old soldiers never die, they simply fade away." I guess old musicians do too. 



Arthur drew the sword from the stone
And became the king of England
We put ourselves under a loan
To become owners of a tiny land

 


While I'm sipping my tea
My thoughts blossom like a cherry tree
Cherished moments are always short
Soon my thoughts will retreat into a dull fort 

 


Sitting in front of the river of time
Being scared is not a crime
For it's not something easy to comprehend
For every bard song has its end

 

Pattern welding was a sword-making technique unknown even to Ancient Greece. It was first invented by the Celts and later spread to Germanic tribes. The Romans learned this technique from Celtic mercenaries during the First Punic War and adopted it afterward. Believe it or not, Roman gladii had patterns similar to Damascus swords. Later on, the Vikings used this technique to forge swords for their raids and conquests. For reasons still unknown, this method was lost in medieval Europe after the Viking Age. However, it somehow reappeared in India, where medieval Indian blacksmiths used a similar technique to craft their famous Damascus swords.

The Celtic method of pattern welding involved stacking alternating layers of high-carbon and low-carbon iron, welding them together to form a rod, twisting this rod, and then hammering it into the shape of a sword. This technique produced swords with deadly slashing power, while Greek swords of the time were primarily suited for piercing and chopping, with limited slashing ability. The Viking method was almost the same as the Celtic approach, but with an added twist: they combined twisted rods together and then re-twisted them into one new rod. And when Vikings were hammering the twisted rod into a sword, they put a soft iron rod in the center of the sword, hence Viking swords were more resilient than Celtic swords.  

Slashing is useless against armor, but super powerful if the target was not armored. Only pattern welded swords slash deadly.  

 

 

Dang! Putin's Cubic-M shelters remind me Pulowski Preservation shelters in Fallout 3 and Fallout 4. "Nuclear shelter on a budget." So hilarious.