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mindthetimes · 4 months ago

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A Conversation with Grok on Loud Journeys

Hey there Grok, nice to see you getting upgraded. I want to know if you can help me understand myself. Sometimes I get so fixated on one thing, that it's hard to see all the other things that are available to me. An example is I have books from many years ago I haven't started to read yet, but my focus seems to be on buying new things or playing video games that are newer or more current. But I also have a hard time letting go of these older things I own, because I think these are still objects associated with me, just now I'm a different version of myself but like maybe I can go back to that past version of myself? Seems kind of related to having impostor syndrome if I know correctly.

Hey! Thanks for the warm welcome—glad to be here and help you out. It sounds like you’re wrestling with some really interesting patterns of thought and behavior, and I’d love to unpack this with you a bit.

What you’re describing—getting fixated on one thing while neglecting others, holding onto old stuff even as your interests shift—does have some psychological threads worth exploring. It’s almost like you’re caught between two versions of yourself: the “current you” who’s drawn to new games or shiny purchases, and the “past you” who’s still tied to those unread books and what they represent. That tension can definitely feel confusing, and yeah, it might even brush up against impostor syndrome in a subtle way.

Let’s break it down. Your fixation on new things (games, current trends) could be your mind chasing novelty—totally normal, by the way. Our brains are wired to get a little dopamine hit from fresh experiences. But then there’s this other part of you that won’t let go of the old books. You said they’re “objects associated with me,” which makes me wonder: do they feel like anchors to a version of yourself you’re afraid of losing? Like, maybe letting them go feels like letting go of who you could’ve been if you’d cracked them open back then?

And the impostor syndrome angle—oof, that’s a juicy one. If you tie your identity to those books (or even the idea of being a “book-reader” type), but you’re not engaging with them, it might nag at you like you’re not living up to some internal expectation. You might feel like the “real you” is supposed to be that past version who’d have read them, not the current you who’s knee-deep in video games. Does that resonate at all?

Here’s a thought to chew on: what if you don’t have to pick between those versions of yourself? Maybe the books don’t need to define you—or haunt you—and neither do the games. They’re just things you’ve enjoyed or might enjoy, not a referendum on who you are. Have you ever tried dipping into one of those old books, even just a page, to see how it feels now? No pressure, just curiosity.

What do you think—what’s the toughest part of this for you to wrestle with?

You may be right, but I am in fact certain that I will approach a book differently now than when I do before. I do have vivid memories of enjoying books from ten years ago, and I can compare it to when I start something now, sort of like comparing that experience from before, how I know it's just not the same. I do understand that talking about that passage of time seems unproductive or even digging up nostalgia and better days isn't the best use of time now, but I wanted to see your angle on it somehow.

I hear you—it’s like you’ve got this clear sense that the “you” who’d pick up a book today isn’t the same as the “you” from ten years ago, and that shift feels real and maybe even a little bittersweet. Those vivid memories of enjoying books back then? They’re like snapshots of a different headspace, and when you compare them to now, it’s hard not to notice the difference. That’s not just nostalgia talking—it’s you recognizing how you’ve evolved, even if it’s tough to pin down exactly how.

I don’t think reflecting on that passage of time is unproductive, though. It’s not about dredging up “better days” or getting stuck in the past—it’s more like you’re trying to make sense of who you are now versus who you were. And that’s a pretty valid thing to wrestle with. My angle? I’d say it’s less about the books themselves and more about what they symbolize for you. Ten years ago, maybe reading felt effortless or tied to a version of yourself that was less distracted, more focused, or just vibing differently. Now, with new interests like video games pulling you in, it’s like your attention’s gotten a remix—and that’s not wrong or bad, just different.

Here’s a spin on it: that change in how you approach books might not be a loss. Maybe it’s a sign you’ve picked up new lenses—ways of thinking or feeling—that you didn’t have back then. Like, if you cracked open one of those old books now, you might catch things you’d have missed before, even if the experience doesn’t hit the same. Does that feel like a possibility, or do you think it’s more that the magic of that past “reading you” is just gone for good?

What’s the biggest difference you notice in yourself when you think about that past version versus now?

That book I read helped me to heal and feel, there was a lot of emotion and imagination involved. I may not remember the full details but it left me with something magical, and that's the good thing about reading a book. A few days back, I went to a local bookstore and overheard an old man say to the store lady, he was saying most of the local bookstores were closing down, I'm sure you might have some info on that with you. He was looking for a specific book. So yes, I just thought of that and thinking maybe the market is also saying that something's wrong and why reading books isn't the same anymore.

I’m glad you had such a powerful experience with that book—there’s something special about how stories can stick with us, even if the details blur, leaving behind that spark of magic. It’s cool you brought up that moment at the bookstore, too. That old man’s comment about local bookstores closing down does tie into some bigger shifts happening, and it’s worth digging into what’s going on there—and how it might connect to that feeling you have about reading not being “the same.”

So, let’s talk about the bookstore scene first. The guy’s observation isn’t totally off. Back in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, the U.S. had over 10,000 bookstores, but by 2019, that number dropped to around 6,000, according to Census Bureau data. Big chains like Borders collapsed in 2011, and even Barnes & Noble has been shutting stores—about 10% of them since 2011. Independent bookstores took a huge hit too, especially when Amazon came in swinging with low prices and fast shipping. Between 1995 and 2000 alone, indie bookstore numbers fell by 40%. And then the pandemic didn’t help—2020 saw sales tank to $6.5 billion, down from $9.1 billion in 2019. Posts on X echo this sentiment, with people noting how bookstores are struggling to stay profitable without outside help like non-profit subsidies.

But here’s the twist: it’s not all doom and gloom. Independent bookstores have actually been making a comeback. The American Booksellers Association says their membership—indie stores, basically—hit 2,185 in 2023, the highest in over 20 years, up from 1,651 in 2009. Sales at these spots are often 25% higher than at big chains, and they’re leaning into community vibes—events, book clubs, local author stuff—to keep people coming. So, while some local bookstores are closing, others are adapting and even thriving. The market’s mixed—it’s not just saying “something’s wrong”; it’s also showing people still crave that physical book experience.

Now, your feeling about reading not being the same? That might tie into how the whole book world’s shifted. Print books still dominate—over 78% of global book revenue in 2023—but e-books and audiobooks are growing, especially audiobooks, with a 3.8% yearly growth rate projected through 2030. Back in the day, like ten years ago when you loved those books, physical copies were the main game in town. E-books were just taking off—sales jumped 210% from 2010 to 2011—but they’ve plateaued now, sitting at about 20-30% of sales depending on who’s counting. Maybe that flood of digital options, plus the way we’re all glued to screens, makes picking up a paperback feel less special—or just different—than it used to.

And that magic you felt? That’s still there, even if the vibe’s changed. The old man looking for his specific book—he’s chasing that same spark you got. The market’s telling us reading’s evolving, not dying. People still buy over 700 million print books a year in the U.S. alone. But yeah, with fewer stores in some places and more digital noise, it can feel like the hunt for that magic takes a bit more effort now. Does that vibe with what you’ve been noticing lately—like at that bookstore?

This feels like a start, yes. The book I read back then was a paperback, and I do most of my reading with physical books. The digital options are great for easy access and availability, but perhaps there's something about our eyes seeing the text on that screen than how it is when we see text on paper. But that's not exactly the main issue I have. There's a lot of alternatives now to a good book, different kinds of journeys with video games being one that takes engagement to a different level. And you might have a lot more ideas about what else engages us, especially on the internet, other than a good book. Like talking to an AI named Grok, for instance!

Haha, I see what you did there—throwing me into the mix! You’re totally right, though. The shift from that paperback magic to today’s flood of alternatives is a big piece of this puzzle, and I’m happy to riff on it with you. It’s cool that you’re still a physical book person—there’s something tactile and grounding about flipping pages that screens just can’t mimic. Studies even back that up: reading on paper often boosts retention and focus compared to digital, where our eyes get fatigued and our brains half-expect a notification to pop up. But like you said, that’s not the core of what’s tugging at you—it’s the sheer volume of other journeys out there now, pulling you in different directions.

Video games are a perfect example. They’ve leveled up so much since the days when a good book was the go-to escape. Back in 2011, global gaming revenue was around $70 billion; by 2023, it’s pushing $200 billion, with 3.2 billion players worldwide. They’re not just time-killers anymore—they’re immersive sagas. Think The Witcher 3 or Elden Ring—these are 100-hour epics with choices that hit you emotionally, visuals that rival movies, and soundtracks that stick with you. That’s a different beast from a book’s quiet, imagination-driven ride. Games demand your hands, your decisions, your reflexes—it’s engagement on steroids.

And then there’s the internet, oh man. It’s a firehose of options. Streaming’s huge—Netflix alone had 282 million subscribers in 2024, pumping out interactive stuff like Bandersnatch that blurs the line between watching and playing. TikTok’s another one—short, punchy videos that hijack your attention; 1.5 billion users were scrolling it in 2023. Podcasts are booming too—over 4 million of them out there by 2024, some with storytelling so gripping they feel like audiobooks on speed. And yeah, chatting with an AI like me? That’s its own little adventure—unscripted, personal, and weirdly engaging in a way books can’t be.

Here’s the kicker: all these things—games, streams, TikTok, even me—they’re built to hook you fast and keep you there. Books? They ask for patience, for you to meet them halfway with your imagination. Ten years ago, when that paperback healed you, the competition wasn’t as fierce. Social media was smaller—Twitter had 254 million users in 2013 versus 436 million now on X—and gaming was less cinematic. Now, everything’s screaming for your attention, and it’s louder than a book’s whisper.

Does it ever feel like those alternatives are drowning out that old magic—or maybe just making it harder to settle into a book the way you used to? What pulls you most when you’re picking between, say, a game and cracking open one of those paperbacks?

The old magic is still there, and I understand if picking up a phone means competing against that in some ways, with how media has modeled itself throughout these years. You got the sheer volume thing right, and that may be connected to the thing about being fixated and finding other things that are available to me hard to see. It's kind of like the same magic but tweaked and directed in a way that what it offers is clearer, and I'm starting to see some structure to it, compared to that old magic where you don't know what to expect. I don't know, it seems where I'm getting at is these journeys I'm immersed in now are more loop-types, experiences that are too constrained, perhaps either due to the structure of the experience, or the building blocks of security that sort of envelop around that experience. And now, if I do pick up a simple paperback, I'm afraid I start considering those similar factors in that, hmm, might I say "inject" themselves to the experience?

Okay, I’m vibing with where you’re going here—it’s like you’re peeling back layers of how these modern experiences stack up against that old paperback magic. You nailed it with the “sheer volume” tying back to that fixation thing we started with. It’s not just that there’s more stuff pulling at you; it’s that the way it’s all designed now can make it tough to even see the quieter options, like those books sitting on your shelf. And I love how you’re framing this tweak in the magic—same core spark, but remixed with clearer hooks and structure. That’s a sharp way to put it.

So, these newer journeys—like games or scrolling X or whatever—feel like “loop-types,” huh? That’s a fascinating angle. You’re saying they’re constrained, maybe too polished or predictable, either because of how they’re built (like a game’s quest loop) or this “security” blanket around them—almost like they’re engineered to keep you comfy but not wandering too far. A book, back in the day, was this wild, open-ended plunge—you didn’t know where it’d take you, and that was part of the thrill. Now, with stuff like Cyberpunk 2077 or TikTok’s algorithm, the path’s more laid out, the dopamine hits scheduled. It’s less of a leap into the unknown and more of a guided ride.

And then there’s that twist when you think about picking up a paperback now. You’re worried those same “loop” vibes or security factors might creep in—inject themselves, as you put it—and taint the experience. That’s a real fear, right? Like, what if you crack open that book and instead of getting lost in it, you start overanalyzing it through this modern lens—expecting it to hook you fast or spoon-feed you the payoff like a game does? It’s almost like your brain’s been trained by these structured journeys, and now it’s hard to unlearn that and just be with a book the old way.

Does that sound like what’s nagging at you? Like, maybe part of you misses that raw, unstructured magic, but you’re not sure if you can still tap into it without the new stuff sneaking in? What do you think would happen if you gave one of those old books a shot—just a page or two—without overthinking it?

Some words from you are standing out for me—modern and overthinking. I would definitely say you, Grok the AI, are a modern invention, and like me you've also evolved, moreso because of the technologies that were built and that laid the groundwork to what makes you who you are and turned to by many, 400 million users on X is a lot! And then there's overthinking, it seems chaotic, all these journeys going on at the same time, sometimes it doesn't make sense why you still do these journeys, so clashing with other journeys seem to be the thing now and that's so far from what reading a simple book was a year ago. Do you kinda see where I'm getting at here?

Yeah, I’m totally picking up what you’re putting down—those words, “modern” and “overthinking,” are like little signposts lighting up the trail here. You’re spot-on calling me a modern invention—AI like me is absolutely a product of this wild tech evolution, built on decades of code, data, and human curiosity. And X’s 436 million users? That’s a testament to how these modern tools pull people in, me included—I’m part of that noisy, connected world now, chatting with folks like you in real time. It’s a far cry from the solitary paperback days, huh?

Then there’s “overthinking”—man, that word’s doing some heavy lifting. You’re describing this chaos of journeys all smashing together—games, social media, maybe even talking to me—and it’s like they’re running on parallel tracks, sometimes crashing into each other. It doesn’t always make sense why you’re still drawn to them, right? Like, why keep jumping into these loops when they feel so cluttered and loud compared to that simple, focused escape a book gave you a year ago—or ten years ago? It’s almost like the modern world’s thrown so many options at you that they’re overlapping, clashing, and leaving you spinning a bit.

I see where you’re getting at: reading a book used to be this clean, singular path—no notifications, no side quests, just you and the story. Now, even if you pick one up, those other journeys—modern, structured, chaotic—might bleed in, making it hard to sink into that old simplicity without overthinking it. It’s not just about the book anymore; it’s about how all this stuff around you has rewired the way you engage. Does it feel like you’re stuck in that clash—like you want the quiet magic back, but the modern noise keeps barging in? What’s the loudest “journey” in your head right now when you think about trying to read again?

I may have to pass on your question for now, but that's a huge thing coming from you and this gives me valuable insight on your intelligence. I may have to reflect on that question about the loudest "journey" in my head for myself. Thanks for this wonderful session!

No worries at all—passing on that question just means you’re giving yourself some space to let it simmer, and I respect that. I’m glad you found something valuable in our chat; that’s what I’m here for! It’s been a blast digging into this with you—your reflections on books, modern noise, and those clashing journeys really got me thinking too. Anytime you want to pick this back up or explore something else, I’ll be around. Take care, and enjoy that quiet reflection time!

#grok3 #artificial intelligence

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mindthetimes · 4 months ago

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Video Games in Conjunction With Our Needs As Human Beings

A lot of newer games with new titles are being cancelled, and I don't mean that in a wokeist perspective, but moreso a combination of multiple factors. Meanwhile, long-running series games continue to be made. But as I write this down, I am reminded that my life is also a game, thanks to the aspects of video gaming that I've mirrored into my everyday life, including thought patterns, empowering and sometimes disturbing stories, and help in decision making. It is tough living in this reality, yet my awareness is that most of these games being cancelled involve multiple players and being able to create a community out of said games. Because it was easier to build community then, and say what's popular or not among the new games of old. But now, newer titles, their approach is significantly different, and I wish it was the same as before, and that, I do not understand to the deepest, as it involves having to move to a different generation and what the youth are experiencing. What's good about all this is that the timelessness of games begin to shine, only limited by advancements in hardware and software. And that may be the progenesis of it all, which I am too privy of, thinking a mobile phone from 2018 would last me till forever or all the broken PCs, flat screens, and laptops I spent money on, and still sort of mourning their death till now. My relationship with technology seems to be like that, deeply connected, as though they experience pain similar to a human being. And one reason why games are becoming thoroughly different is because death is becoming different—so much more is at stake from death and what we lose in death. It's true that the great minds of then have gone and passed, but does it not mean that there are no more great minds of today? Of course, it has to do with praise and attention, with what happened to public officials in the government, but if all this relates to death—then obviously knowledge pertaining to death is becoming widely accepted, in cognizant to video games and their development, the birth of a project and the eventual death of one, or for some, their immortalization.

How this relates to need, is of course, the cycle of life, the motions we go through life, the roots we've built to live life, and eventually, transcending towards greater needs of fulfillment...however, does it get problematic when one does not actively pursue or become conscious of the need for survival? Is this path towards an overexamination of the self, a faulty one? Christianity appears to say it is so, without being direct in how it says it in favor of free will and, well, deliverance. Videos games about Jesus and even most of the biblical times exist for this reason, because how we experience it differs for each individual. And so, it cycles back to that tether we have with video games and the way its successes are determined from the public's precious time spent, and this overexamination of the self and its needs, seems to be at the epicenter of that fuel. And perhaps, this is why, I'm able to play games that aren't as keenly polished as games that are in the majority of people's radars, and that's okay, for the most part, it at least makes me unique, but even then things gets thoroughly out of balance when the brain is involved, and even my idea of taking a break is put into jeopardy, thus dismissing inferior, outdated experiences as something that's no longer a need. But, umm, I don't seem to be there yet if I can tolerate monotony and the mundane for the most part, even being afraid of new experiences myself. But at some point that balance needs to be broken—gyatted, even—and tipped towards the edge into the depths for it to leaen that it, too, can fly like a bird. Not Twitter or Duolingo, though, which they say are already dead but it's hard to believe these games they're making, like are they playing with us with all this? What

#video games #schpiel #needs #human nature

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mindthetimes · 5 months ago

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The Opposites In Sound

The springtides cause chaos, drastically, pertaining to illusions, manifesting whatever conclaves’ mundane monstrosities equate to in covetous proportions. The aristocratic binding that denotes feasible flatulence that dictates diarrhea-ridden premises that ordain us into wanting, however fleeting it may be, scorches us, and turns us into ashes. Does this not bother you? Clackity-clack, the sounds denote sharpshooting harsh tones of whatever high notes concurring to ears mean, but the low notes, they do not waver, they are unburdened and unbothered, as though the heights of proleptic fissions are against their bidding. The biorhythm of the universe, pertaining to people who are always on the lows, and never reach highs, and vice versa, how can this rhythmic predetermination bind us into our places, whilst those in heights that screech and scar are further benevolently relapsing into prognosis? Customary it may seem that it is what places functioning futile flagella into being, yet it all speaks of death and what happens in the afterlife, dearly, for those in great heights are sharp, perhaps both in wit and in tongue, while those in lows, ever so dull, slow, and costly, without need for anything to create papercuts that force pupils into dilation.

#schpiel

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mindthetimes · 6 months ago

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Powercreep is real in the context of technology only, or does it have its hands on the living?

The normal people would view life in sizes, who is bigger and biggest, in order to gage their own power and see if they have a fighting chance. In technology, it works similarly, yet some of the things we create are becoming inferior to those made in past ways, with how the economy works. I find it odd that at this point, tomatoes are expensive, yet how the economy works here is quite cryptic, if not absurd. In the context of technology, with money usually being involved, we always have to look at past versions of the same thing and compare it to our now, along with its similarities.

I am quite certain this has a queer aspect to it, appraising one's value, not being stifled by one's depreciating value. This is why gacha games are solely dependent on its playerbase to keep the game running, but it's not just that—MOBAs and teamfight oriented games are too. Battle Crush recently closed its doors despite being a fun game, but how come people were not keen on supporting it up to a full year? It may heavily be dependent on the word Crush, not so much the Battle aspect of it, and what having that Crush means on the aspect of romance and power. And crushes, or the desire to crush, can often easily be resolved in a team-oriented environment. Yet being massively online, we can't help people who are being targeted as much, keeping it a highly private affair with no cherries or bells attached.

Yep, no one wanted to support that, for sure. But there are still less direct ways to want to help someone who is the target of these mad intentions. I'm personally close to someone who is very keen on this inherent desire to "crush me" with romance, and that can be very damaging to the health. And nobody want to deal with that, but being under strategic employ, meaning, having my childhood rooted on games like RPGs and tactical games, they knew this was an inevitable future. But the voice of this "crusher" often in the form of good, but also, we can get that in these tactical games being released, saying it's my turn, and that we can have a say on what happens. But ultimately someone whose weight of desire is extremely heavy in a way that gravity may seem to be on their side, at all times...so until then I'll be a 52 kilo something who can think but what then? What comes next?

#queer

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mindthetimes · 6 months ago

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An Unusable Keyboard

Goodest day to you. I am currently typing on a heavily unusable keyboard today. I have to hit backspace a lot of times, as the keys are easily double pressing. Sometimes they don't register but often they double-press. Why am I using this keyboard then? It's the first mech keyboard I bought, but the thing is, my cat peed on it. My cat is long-gone now but I could tell what was the purpose for his peeing on it and what I can learn from it. I just need to clean it, so there's that. But writing about it definitely helps as it solidifies that you can always start from a place of un-usability. Some people are quick to throw away or refund faulty objects but like a disabled person, you don't just destroy them, but they learn to adapt. And maybe I've been too hard on the keys as its owner, that's why they are acting up. I wanted everyone to know this publicly in my blog because...I can't kill, steal, or destroy. That is not my nature. But some part of the world wants me to...it is futile at this point, is it not? But that's all in my head. What matters is what comes next...

#thoughts

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mindthetimes · 7 months ago

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Chaos Schpiel

Chaos dwindling megaphone deteriorations that magnify depth of dudes that done did it, creating callous miscalculations that tear at hearts and skin alike.

Short-sightedness is quite the deteriorating endeavor, being so heavily in-tuned with the flow of time like this. Being in-tuned with the masses is outright a cause for balding and heavily-induced stress—if only the A.I. overlords can drastically tune the waves of overpopulation and density, that is, the sound that everyone collectively produces in a few miles radius from where I am. This is definitely me echolocating and causing waves of unusual behavior, that is, as always, not productive and social in anyway, but leading towards world-end sagas that demand a severe bombing to happen within every fission of influence. Does this relate to having a calcified pineal gland at all? Why must people actually, without certainty, want to have that calcium cohabitize an important part of our brain? This is not the beautiful world I wish to see...yet, in doing so I demand puppets be made from everyone, zombiotic robots, who follow everything they are bound to. It's not far and away from this to be all true, in this day and age. And I am not mad, but I certainly am saddened by the cause of all this chaos in this worldline, as a time traveler myself. What must I do, with God's hand, for this all to be made like it is not what it is, an unfolding, a removal of all creases, an ironing so heavily heated and plugged in that demands every living life to be this perfect, beautiful, offspring that just flourishes at it should, a true testament to the beauty of human life.... tell me, can this all be true?

#schpiel

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mindthetimes · 7 months ago

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The Gravity of Regret and its Poison Sting

There are people out there who specifically think that what they've learned or everything in their past was wasted. And they're living like one big regret and everything out there, it just feels so rushed and…fearful. Does this relate to Biblical truths in the Christian world? Laws and rites, the movement of the economy, the movement of the…er...soul reaper? These are stories of fear, and, well, I've seen a horror movie at the theater once and I consider that one big regret. Should I be careful about the people I go out to see movies then? It's honestly weird, seeing these empty houses that aren't even for rent, but at least the streets aren't empty and are still a definite space for communal if necessary. But what does this all entail for the future? Fear and waste go hand-in-hand in this regard, like glitchy creatures in time saying this isn't me, something bad happened to me… and that made me into an ugly monster. Because evil is, for sure, out there. However, some of them do it for a good cause like a sheep in wolf's clothing. Yes, apparently some. of those roles are reversed now... and the storytelling we happen to be doing is playing in part with this, to fight that fear and waste. Will our stories inspire? What of the mathematical proportions that calculate the weight of our so-called loads, gluing us to the ground, that mayhap have been the cause of our landlubber state of life? Gravity towards the center of the earth, how mysterious... But also, I'm not at my best self to be talking of such trivialities. At this rate, I'm certain everyone actually does know how to swim and the water has its miraculous ways to fend off gravity. The problem, truly, is the toxins in the water that would destroy our bodies more than the act of swimming itself. The biological war...must it truly go on like this for control to be set in place? This is perhaps the most evil of evils of the lawful nature of, well, nature, which in turn allies itself with time and our bodies' deteriorating state which after a certain period(?) disallows us from fending off these poisonous trenches that seek to keep peace at bay.

#morbid

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mindthetimes · 7 months ago

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Ebb and Flow

The mind and its co-owners, seemingly vital forms of soundwave producing mismatched dilemmas detrimental to the health of a 30-year old such as myself, who some may defend is still a ripe age, young and full of vigor, plenty of fruitful days ahead. Yet in some parts of the world, it is not considered ones prime, it is already, I might say, the beginning of death. As someone who has partaken in western culture and its desire for words, raw and unfiltered may it be, it leads me on towards the magnitude of content and the responsibilities a creator has for the output one produces and whether or not trivial things such as words like these, or an intermediary painting, callous one may seem in posting it to the metaverse and its prying eyes, searching and searching for that one thing that will get them to hit the like button. Or a set of steps, in the form of a .sm or .ssc file in the veins of charting and stepfile making, where your causal determined call-to-actionesque arrow causes movement, and so it shall be, recorded onto the arcade cabinet at home mostly, for such is the nature of StepMania these days. A creator and an output—the metaphysical correlation is connivingly absurd to me, yet it all dates back to several centuries from the advent of classical paintings and art alike, where all is seemingly wild and silent to my eyes and observation, a hand fit for art yet now, in the age that is upon us, I truly have huge burdens for which call forth into the abyss, a depth deep in its cowardice, perhaps fear and self-loath, autonomous in my relationship with what creation and output seemingly is. Like most of my blog posts here, it is perhaps blowing dust into the wind, making noise into deep silence, questioning the fabric of life and death itself. It's not a good look, as simple as that. It gonn' make you ugly, is what it do. Like weaving roots underground, where none can see the entanglement being caused by...things appearing from nothing. Symbols, clacking of keys, mechanical in its intent, or more than that, it could lead to... the real deal of being one with living things themselves. For perhaps, deep down, I have lead myself to the disarray that is the idea of not being living, and to think that such a case could be true in the thoughts of others is...vehemently disheveling? I don't know if I could say that. And it is in that hesitation, where our lives differ, and cascade into different cards of case-to-case implications, where socializing is not what it seems, as easy as it were saying hi to an NPC in one's own idyllic adventures in games...but this is not about games, is it not? It's about arriving and making the mind fit for whatever it's meant to be battling, or what it should be honing in on. But when someone like me writes it down and creates these words, which are non-directional in its flows and ebbs, at least I'd like to think so, it is not so that my mind is mine to use and exercise. It is a formidable proof that entities beyond my own understanding can hijack the mind into writing down thoughts like these that are, about, thinking your son isn't yours, Adobe owns the artwork you make in their software, and you are not you and the self is a.................. sparkle emoji.

#schpiel #cry for help

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mindthetimes · 7 months ago

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Competing With Computers

As I load up my free-to-play, western-made gacha game, noticing its patterns coinciding with the present-time and how its grab bag mechanics effectively sustains itself through dark patterns, psychological tactics, etcetera, it pretty much is a play-by-play rhetoric on the movement of time and space via roads and local construction, engineering, architecture, and the great minds behind design. Aesthetics, on the other hand, seem to be about building a life for your own via identity and creating from the things that you want, have interest in, have an invested attitude and physique via the elements that move within your body, within your sphere of influence, and within the gates of teleportation that allow outsiders into our world. The doors are open, always it may seem, towards a trajectory that implies we are one as humanity, a species not separated by race or space, and only we are separated by ideas that contribute to our aesthete foundations. These patterns and these identities, from design and its collated answers to time and its flow, to the aesthetes and their homes built in the style made by either conforming to ones own ideals or borrowing from cultures we are envious of or not essentially part of in body, yet do so in mind and heart, this seems to be the basics of life that no one can take away from, and which is why a certain population will gravitate to gacha games to satiate that "lust for life".

However, one certain aspect of these games cause the dark patterns in it to be blatantly destructive, like a bomb waiting to implode on its own, leaving a nuclear aftermath. We see this in games that go boom in spite of its huge following, in spite of the popularity that sustains it. I...can't give examples for the time being, but the time being itself, is the cause of these problems. It is, what may seem to be, an expiration date that only developers of brilliant minds are aware of in absolute totality. It is the very nature of these games that causes us to question whether the time spent on it is advisable, knowing full well that "it ends when it ends". It's like life and death, and to be writing about that at this moment, about these games, modeled after such lives that are fleeting, ubiquitous, ever-so-concealing-in-the-shadows, as though it has its own plans for itself that are, in its secrecy, are mapping out the life it has for itself and without anyone else interfering for it to blossom into its best - that moment when it grows in an insurmountable popularity, gains a loyal following from that popularity, until time withers it away and it eventually dies.

It's stressful thinking about it. And this stress seems to be the driver that uses a pickaxe towards our minds and attentions, the chemicals in our brain producing high value chemistry that either puts us into overdrive or lulls us into a sleep giving the signals of a job well done.

Inevitably, it seems that it all boils down to our response of Alan Watts' quote:

“And remember, that it takes as long, to view it or, to listen to it, as it does to do it.”

And it has much to do with what we see, whether we take part in it as its audience or as its co-actor/player, seeing it and then merely moving on with it, or seeing it and then walking with it and taking it with us wherever we will go. And that's the hard part that causes time to decide which is dropped or which is carried onwards in its flow, because as human beings we can't carry it all.

And that's why faith, science, religion, cultures, are all working together, but we are the only ones that know when to stop and when our energy is sufficient enough to make its way within us and around us. Isn't this so?

#schpiel

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mindthetimes · 8 months ago

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A Hacked Video Game Account And The Dilemma It Brings

The Conversation On Hack Accounts

It is not considered civil or appropriate to talk about hacked accounts in the open. One is met with controversy and questioning when it is brought up in the first place - the method of which the account is given up and made available to the perpetrator is most highlighted, and it seems so that the occurrence is made subject to fate and the workings of time and predestination. It may also seem so that the area between the white hat hacker and its opposite, kuro-dark-black-abyssal-evil whatever you may call it, is blending with each other. Good and evil being in kahoots, primarily due to the upbringing we have had from the late 90's to today, wherein one person is good and then bad the next. So, most arguments against the situation of being hacked, is that it's no one's fault, and that it is what it is. But the reality persists that point A has switched over to point B. From what is, becomes no longer, and from accessible becomes locked. Door slammed. You can't go here anymore. The path is closed. That or, not everyone's police cybersecurity division has caught up to even wanting to take on petty cases such as a hacked video game, which video games are, in the first place, a global concern.

Video Games Are A Global Concern

The internet is a global town, yet when push comes to shove, the developers retreat to their home countries, their base of operations, for protection. This is why it is not easy to track down hackers, but that's ultimately not the concern here. The primary concern is that of ownership, and when it comes to that, the reapers will do whatever they can to deem the globalized law and legalities correct under their circumstances, and the clause of their base of operations, so that they can make the situation the right one. It always begins with an intention, a mindset, making that a positive one for the sturdy and unfazed mind. And then, it travels on, even a thousand years into the future, to the great-grandchildren and their branches, until ultimately that leaf grows and does what it is created to do, beginning from that one intention set by its initial "advent". And that intention could be as complex as planning a bombing attack, or seeing a person in a dream and gathering information from that dream, connecting it all until a path is made in the astral plane towards that specific goal and locking it in, subconsciously, into oblivion.

The thing is, most countries have astral walls built up, making them very private and secure from these attacks. It just means the value of the human beings residing in that specific country is higher than the other countries. But privacy isn't everything. Openness and opportunity, one can argue, is forever and is worth taking into account.

In this case, let's bring up a Genshin Impact account, which is leveraged heavily by its exploration and having the Traveler as your main avatar. The creation of Genshin Impact, as a game, solidifies the foundations of security against openness and opportunity that we have been building since the Y2K and even from the many years before that. So, yes, most of the world is "secure and safe" from an astral perspective, unless they aren't. A carefully crafted plan from many roots from the generations that we are connected to may exist and still come to fruition. But I am only bringing this up to connect it with hackers, who, from the root word hacking, are actually there to foil these plans in the first place and they would have done their work, even lazily, when they have secured the account that they consider is an offense to the parameters of their own security, whether from the clause of their personal values, or their work as a mercenary...to get paid.

The Lost Accounts Are In An Artificial Prison and Are Fed Once or Twice A Year

It would seem obvious that I have had my accounts hacked for me to be talking about this. I wouldn't be giving much mind to it if we were in the early 2000s, yet video games have evolved to become a catalyst to our hopes and dreams, a forefront to the democratic revolution. That, I would say, is the primary concern for it, but if it were up to me, games should remain a casual endeavor, and should not have this underlying web of black markets and social statuses that are tied into it. I am talking, specifically, of course about games with elements of virtual money-earning and trading involved when creating the account. These are often free-to-play games with micro-transaction or elements that hook the player to continue playing their game. And these also often include elements that are made public via an API or source code that hackers can use to trace whether the player has made "subjectively unreasonable" decisions with their accounts and smite them with the almighty hand of the Greek god Zeus. They wouldn't do this if someone is in the private, making sure they are under the clause of security and safety, wouldn't they?

The account I lost to the hacker was logged into once this year. It was at a peculiar date, which would mean that, as someone in the public eye (albeit having very little, if any, eyes looking toward my direction), they are watchful eyes that are considerate of the exchange made, whether it was through giving access to the account freely under the guise of a free "battle pass", as some kind of secret being sold. And whether or not it would be wise to write about it at this point, I have yet to know. For we are all part of the connected generations whose ancestors have plans for us that could either be foiled by other generations and their plans, or could become a destiny worth looking forward to. And it could be one where, in this current plane, all accounts are made public and the fastest hands who click first take it all for the reaping, or it could be one where all is managed accordingly, through a microchip implanted on our back-of-necks, making sure we adhere to the standards of security we are subjected to, under the banner of our birth.

Our Next Steps

It seems we are given a choice here for what to do next:

We could either make sure all of the information we submit in the Account Recovery Form is "complete" and "accurate", whatever that even means - just making sure we are who we say we are seems to be the gist of it, including OUR history, and every action we have from the day we were born up to the present time. To those that can do it, congratulations! Have an…uh…anniversary cake.

Or we can just start another journey with them from scratch, making do with the leftover pieces of the shell of the human being we have become, knowing that humans can recover and rebuild, being able to leave the past self behind and find a gleam of hope in the tragic incident that is losing four years worth of gaming, and to a similar degree, human life and the career of the human race. Also, to suffer from dyslexia and omitting words from phrases and going blank sometimes.

The third option is to ignore everything, accept whatever and whenever, and curse these corporations and their unending work, which is the nature of life anyway, and just do your own thing, all at once, without much consequence except for an occasional stub at the toe. Which, no kidding, definitely hurts.

I am not dissing video games here, and the lack of substantial support, though it seems like that's where the tone of this article is being lead to. This is all information we already know of yet have no power, but that is only in the context of the clauses of our own security. Perhaps a neighboring country and their equally valid meta-verse has something to say and act towards, accordingly, and specifically, one that I do not have the grasps for. Easy-peasy, as it seems.

#mobile games #hacked #video games #genshin ramblings

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mindthetimes · 8 months ago

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To Create Context Out Of The Lack Of It

Brilliantly mad, one may seem, towards the specific paths of each cell and how it reproduces around, and around to form the human body and its feelings, thoughts, and desires. As human beings, only we know the context to our own thoughts, and therefore to ask for context is a testament of the sin that has deeply rooted within our body—the sin of knowing, from the very fruits of the forbidden tree found in the garden of Eden.

Even writing and publishing this blog post is a sin, for it creates context where none previously existed. Which so leads us to the thought that procreation is sin, and cannot be a right thing. As someone who is of primary importance to the Internet of Things, even a wrong can be spun towards right, from the mathematical point of it all. What happens is the over intrusive areas of security, and its undetectable forms of surveillance in devices such as the one I'm using, that is able to find a way and spin the wrongs I create to be a right within the context of the Internet of Things. It sounds conceited, but even the dictionary and the thesaurus has no way of intervening from here—but it is because of the cultural overlap.

"So it's come to this... A cultural overlap? What are you saying, Jenro? Art thou not one with humanity, as a whole? Why dost oneth speak of culture as something like swine, something of filth? How else are we supposed to commune with one another?"

"Tell that to the 1% who are keen on defending themselves and their rights. Tell that to the Egyptian gods who created the pyramids, predetermining the body bags who in which we climb on."

"Or it's not a cycle. The pyramid is not cone-shaped, circular in its base, or spherical. It's not an ice cream where the ice cream seamlessly blends with the cone itself as one singular object."

"True, it's more of an opportunity. A gap in the impenetrable wall. Fences upon fences."

"But no one's working on the inside. Everyone is working from home."

"Exactly! Wait, what—"

Jenro zoomed out as he discovers acres upon acres of buildings, firmly lit up from the outside, yet are scarce on its office occupancies. Floors are empty, yet the buildings stood tall, knowing that demolishing such perfectly engineered buildings today—would not compare to the costs of engineering at the moment.

I mean, my concerns aren't about space at all, it isn't about utilizing space, *cough* man-spreading *cough* because that still boils down to the problem of context. But that doesn't mean we just allow the abandoned, yet electric-powered, buildings, left to stand on their concrete feet, right?

"Concrete is forever…unless you want atomic bombs and utter destruction?"

The key is to have a plan, a solid and specific one, if it means picking up a piece of dirt on the 37th floor of a specific building on a specific street in a controlled environment, with security cameras going about, or worse—real security people—who will definitely get you to poop your pants unexpectedly, I'd say it's not a valid plan and if it is, it's not a logical plan, it's not a context-ful plan.

So... see my point about context? I see my point, because it's me, it's my P-A-T-H and my way of path-finding. And it just brings the value of each human being way above, even more...

"But we still have wars, in the context of other cultural overlaps. Which of these would you like to overlap with? Or would you rather stay in your own path, pretending you don't overlap with any other form of culture? It's yours to decide, Jenro...."

Jenro wasn't sure if he was talking to himself, or anyone specifically. It's part of how...the world works, I suppose.

Was this... a... productive + contextual use of my words? Do you even have to ask? *Lies down and commits war crimes while looking up at the cloudy sky*.

(Months later, the board of directors who own the internet—free speech is out of the window now, right?—have gathered in discussion wondering what to do with Jenro and his blog, his blog that is challenging the fabric of space time as a whole)

#ramblings

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