A Timeline Of Humilation In A Wireclub Forum Thread

The title of the Forum topic caught my eye:

"Is New Mexico Lame?"

I investigated with a mouse-click. Just some bored guy in southern New Mexico complaining that there was nothing to do. So I dropped in a mildly smart-ass reply. A day later, another reader followed suit.

And then then "☠uuǝʌ ʞɹoɯ☠" joined in, as well.

I continued with another silly comment. ☠uuǝʌ ʞɹoɯ☠ followed that. His comment had a geographical reference in it, which at first didn't register. I followed with another silly comment ... but ...

A short time later, the geographical reference bubbled up from my sub consciousness to my conscious thinking. I thought it might have been wrong, so I checked. Yep, he was wrong. So I checked the thread. No new postings had been made, so I edited my post, changing my silly comment to a question directed to ☠uuǝʌ ʞɹoɯ☠ about his posting.

Wait, wait, wait ...

This will be far easier to explain if I simply show what happened in "timeline" form. The timeline is all-important here, the order in which things happened in time. It's possible to have this documented, because all forum comments have a "time stamp" for the initial posting attached to them, and also a time stamp showing when an edit is made.

Note how each posting is identified POSTING #01, POSTING #02, etc. Also note that certain postings are revisited in the time line because they were originally posted, and then, a short time later, they were edited. I've shown both the original posting, and later in the timeline, the edit.

Any text you see within [brackets] is a comment added by me for the sake of this blog.

PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE TIME AT WHICH EACH POST OCCURRED.

It's a little complex, but you should be able to follow it if you pay attention to the POSTING # and the time stamp under it.

POSTING #01
Yesterday 07:01 PM
gfunk420:
> what they hell is there to do around here? I'm in Southern NM <

POSTING #02
Yesterday 08:11 PM
StuckInTheSixties:
> Hug a cactus. <

POSTING #03
Today 02:38 PM
pantybandit:
> Go play with the snakes <

POSTING #04
Today 05:34 PM
☠uuǝʌ ʞɹoɯ☠:
> Sneak across the border. <

POSTING #05
Today 05:39 PM
StuckInTheSixties:
> Have sw% with a Gila Monster. <
[Note: A "Gila Monster" is a lizard native to that area.]

POSTING #06
Today 05:41 PM
☠uuǝʌ ʞɹoɯ☠:
[Note: This has been paraphrased by me by memory. A short time later, ☠uuǝʌ ʞɹoɯ☠ edited this post, changing it.]
> Or stand at the edge of the Rio Grande and hold up a rifle range target. <

POSTING #07
Today 05:50 PM
StuckInTheSixties:
[Note: Again, this has been filled in from memory because shortly after posting this silly comment, I edited, removing it, and asking a question instead.]
> Re-enact Roadrunner cartoons in the desert. <

POSTING #07 (EDITED)
Edited: 5:57:07 PM
StuckInTheSixties:
[Note: Here is my editing change. I changed it from the preceding silly remark to this question.]
> Can you explain what that means? <

POSTING #08
☠uuǝʌ ʞɹoɯ☠:
Today 06:00 PM
[Note: Again, I've had to recreate this post by memory, as he soon edited it.]
> Sometimes drug gangs in Mexico shoot at people on the other side of the Rio Grande <

POSTING #09
Today 06:02 PM
StuckInTheSixties:
> You're flunking geography. The Rio Grande separates Texas from New Mexico, and separates Texas from Mexico, but doesn't separate New Mexico from Mexico. Nice try. <

POSTING #06 (EDITED)
Edited: 6:06:47 PM
☠uuǝʌ ʞɹoɯ☠:
[Note: This is where he takes a simple, innocent mistake in geography and cleverly (so he thinks) attempts to rewrite history with an edit. Notice how he has changed "Rio Grande" to "border."]
> Or stand at the edge of the border and hold up a rifle range target. <

POSTING #08 (EDITED)
6:07:16
☠uuǝʌ ʞɹoɯ☠:
[Continuing his attempt to cover up his blunder, he hurriedly changed his reference to "drug gangs" shooting "at people on the other side of the Rio Grande" to a simple "What?"
> What? <

POSTING #10
Today 06:35 PM
StuckInTheSixties:
[Note: A little time had passed before I returned to this thread. When I did, I discovered how he'd edited his posts in an attempt to deceive readers and change the fact that he'd made a simple, innocent mistake about geography. I've seen people try this sort of shenanigan before, and it's the time stamps that provide the evidence of crime. Gotcha!]
> Hahahaha! You can edit, and remove your reference to the Rio Grande, but you can't make that time stamp go away, showing you edited after my correction! Again ... nice try!

POSTING #11
Today 06:42 PM
StuckInTheSixties:
[Note: After a few minutes of chuckling about this, I came back to the thread, and examined it. I realized that readers might be confused by the somewhat disjointed sequence of postings, so I decided to fill them in, kind of how I'm filling you in here in this blog.]
> For the record, the sequence of posts went (before editing) something like this:

☠uuǝʌ ʞɹoɯ☠
New Member
Or stand at the edge of the Rio Grande and hold up a rifle range target.

StuckInTheSixties
Super Elite Member Lvl. 8
Can you explain what that means?

☠uuǝʌ ʞɹoɯ☠
New Member
Sometimes drug gangs in Mexico shoot at people on the other side of the Rio Grande

StuckInTheSixties
Super Elite Member Lvl. 8
You're flunking geography. The Rio Grande separates Texas from New Mexico, and separates Texas from Mexico, but doesn't separate New Mexico from Mexico. Nice try. <

POSTING #12
Today 06:44
StuckInTheSixties:
[Note: After posting that, I noticed that his profile had suddenly changed from a color picture of something-or-other into the generic white question mark on a blue background. I clicked it, and sure enough ...]
> Jeez! He apparently deleted his account over that! <


Just like Nixon and Watergate ... it wasn't so much the mistake he made ... it was the attempt to cover it up that did him in.



http://www.wireclub.com/Forums/ViewTopic.aspx?ForumId=647364&ParentId=1147899&&

Is There Any Hope For Humanity? Any Hope At All?

Going to WalMart is just asking for trouble.

I know that.

It's a black hole filled with every annoyance conceivable by the human imagination, and some annoyances that have not yet materialized in this complex universe we inhabit. But WalMart is cheap, and when I drive into town, WalMart is in that corner of city limits that is closest to where I live. The illusion of convenience is seductive.

Theoretically, though, the mission shouldn’t be too difficult. All I want is three items that I know will be there:

A loaf of Orowheat 100% Whole Wheat Bread
a 12 pack of 7up
a box of fifty letter envelopes.

I know right where they are in the store, so there is no searching around looking for them. It takes me literally two minutes to get these items. Arriving at the check-out area, I find half a dozen lines of shoppers at the regular check-outs, about three or four shoppers in each line …

… and one single long line where the white and blue WalMart sign advises that it’s a "Quick Check - 10 items or less" register. There are perhaps eight people in that line. A glance reveals that the shoppers in the regular check-outs all seemed to have very full carts, while most of the shoppers in the Quick Check line don't even have carts at all. Most are simply holding in their hands the several items they came to buy. I make a rapid calculation, examining and comparing the shorter lines of fuller baskets against the long line of shoppers with only a few items each. The semi-mathematical analysis is performed, and a decision is made.

I join the Quick Check line.

I keep my eye on the Woman-With-Two-Kids and her half-full cart that I had momentarily considered falling in behind in the closest regular line. As is my habit in this situation, I view it as a race between her and me. If I reach my checker before the Woman-With-Two-Kids finishes and walks away, I’ve won the race, and I can mentally pat myself on the back. If not, I lose, and I get to grumble to myself that I was stupid for getting in this stupid long line in the first place. It’s a mundane game.

But as I’d hoped, my line seems to be moving along pretty quickly. I’m watching, feeling confident that I’m going to win the race against the Woman-With-Two-Kids handily …

… until …

Two places in front of me are two young guys in their early twenties or so. They each are carrying two of those popular "energy drinks" in aluminum cans. They reach the checker and place their purchase on the counter. As she passes the drinks over her scanner so that the bar codes can be read and the purchase totaled, one of the guys extracts from his wallet a credit card for the purchase, which he swipes through the electronic card reader, pushes a button or two on the device, and then uses the magnetic pen to scrawl his electronic signature. A few moments pass. Nothing happens. The checker exchanges a few words to him, and gestures to the card reader.

The procedure is repeated. It’s no big deal. Sometimes, for who knows what reason, you have to do it twice for the data to go through the system. He repeats the ritual, again, without the desired result. He and the checker exchange words, with both of their faces showing a bit of concern and frustration.

The guy then replaces the card in his wallet, extracts another, and repeats the formality. Once again, it's a no-go. He tries again. “Hey, sometimes you have to do it twice ...” the witnessing shoppers seem to collectively shrug. But it’s another no-go. He produces yet a third card. No-go. Repeat. No-go. He's gesturing, waving his card around, looking closely at it, obviously trying to explain that he can't understand what the problem is. The checker shrugs. It’s not her fault she appears to be saying. The line of shoppers is watching intently, and beginning to shuffle their feet around impatiently, looking at each other, rolling their eyes.

Mr. Badcredit looks around, sees something he’s looking for, speaks to the checker, and gestures across the store. The checker sighs in resignation, and nods reluctantly to Mr. Badcredit. He leaves his buddy and, their four energy drinks there at the check out, and walks across the store to the ATM terminal sitting near the tall metal racks holding big plastic bottles of drinking water and soda pop. The people in the line, including me, scrutinize this. The line, which has grown significantly longer than it was when I joined it, is now beginning to grumble aloud, and adjacent shoppers are complaining to each other. Someone shouts out, "What's the hold-up!?!" Someone else cries out, "Come on! Let's go!" The checker gestures futility to the shoppers. The expression in her face appears to ask for patience.

We all watch the guy over at the ATM. One card goes in. Buttons are punched. He stares at the screen. It’s a no-go. His wallet comes back out. The first card goes back into the wallet, the second card goes into the ATM. The pattern is repeated. We all watch with dread. We all know exactly what is going to happen. No-go. For a third time, the guy attempts to make the ATM accede to his wish for cash. No-go. My eyes are riveted on this pointless display of futility, and then pulled away by the motion of the Woman-With-Two-Kids passing through my line-of-sight as she leaves the check-out area walks out the door with her half-cart of items bagged up in those white and blue environmentally unfriendly plastic WalMart shopping bags. “F&xw!” I soundlessly utter to myself, although my lips visibly form the word.

The people in the line are getting surly now, grumbling loudly. From further back in the line, the words “What the f&*% is going on” are clearly discernable. The checker appears to be very uncomfortable, on the verge of panic, realizing she made the wrong call in making the line wait while Mr. Badcredit makes his failed attempt at the ATM.

Mr. Badcredit’s buddy is very studiously examining his fingernails and trying, with no real success, to pretend that he hasn’t noticed that the people in line behind him are quickly transforming from innocent shoppers into a dangerous, mindless mob. We are collectively, at this point, wondering someone should be dispatched to hardware for a couple lengths of stout rope, and examining the overhead metal joists that support the WalMart ceiling, wondering just how difficult it would be to toss coils of rope through those joists to facilitate the justifiable public lynching of these two offending shoppers. Giving in to the inevitable evilness of the circumstance, I converse silently, psychotically with myself. “If the lynching actually takes place,” I think to myself, surrendering to the evil, “I know how to tie that complicated Hangman’s Noose knot.”

Mr. Badcredit returns to the checkstand, and exchanges some words with his buddy, nodding to the four energy drinks that lie at the nexus of this abominable, disgraceful display of wanton inhumanity. Mr. Cashless shrugs to Mr. Badcredit, and pats his pockets. He emphasizes with his physical gestures that, indeed, he has no money for the purchase either.

As the line of shoppers mutter jeering curses under their collective breath, Mr. Badcredit and Mr. Cashless slink off, both hanging their heads in the abject shame of this public humiliation, maybe, maybe not comprehending how close was their brush with a painful violently lawless mob execution. From back in the line, the epithet “Jesus F#$~*&~ Christ!” is clearly heard. The four cans of energy drink are removed from the counter, and squeezed in with the detritus of other failed purchases that have recently occurred at this unlucky checkstand.

“Next!” she says in a tired monotone.

(This originally appeared as a thread in the General Chat Forum, but I thought I'd post it here too. It won't be lost here.)

My Best Photos Of 2010

These are the best, or at least my favorite, of the photos that I posted in Wireclub in 2010. Most were taken in that same year, although a few were taken in 2009, but not posted until 2010. They are arranged chronologically by the date and time that the photo was taken, not posted.

Ordinarily, when I blog one of these collections of various photos, I attempt to group similar photos together and sequence them in some sort of logical order. This time, I'm just saying, "What the hell ..." and going with time, ignoring any other considerations.

There's sixty pictures in this collection. I know, it's a bit indulgent. But actually, it only represents a tiny fraction of the 1291 photos I posted for the year, a little over four and a half percent.

I Find This Performance Strangely Compelling

I was looking at Veronica's blog, "VERONICA RETURN (FOR THE MOMENT ANYWAY )" ...

http://www.wireclub.com/Blogs/veronicaaxxx/251458

It features a lovely song called "Sister Winter" by Sufjan Stevens. Upon seeing this, I was immediately taken back to mid-November or so, when I was watching "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon," and saw a performance by Stevens and his band, doing a song called "Too Much." (I wrote a short review in the Music Forum about this, by the way.)

It was a strange, and compelling performance. Here's the blerb I wrote as a comment on Veronica's blog about it:

....................................................
I'd never heard of him until I saw him on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon around the middle of last November. His performance, with the group of musicians he had, the presentation of it, was unique, and very interesting, compelling, and completely different than what you hear in V's videos above. I searched out vids on YouTube, and instead of what I saw on TV, I found only this kind of far less exotic, far less strange, but still fairly pleasing music.

On the Fallon show, Stevens had a very electric, and eclectic, band. Several synthesizer players. He also had two pretty back-up singers, who also doubled as dancers. The song was in the unusual 7/4 meter, which very few musicians would even think of doing. All of the musicians were in costumes, all sort of looking like Mayans or Aztecs, and decorated with what appeared to be little rectangular strips of adhesive florescent day-glo paper, arranged on their faces, bodies, arms, hands, etc. in interesting colorful patterns. I thought they looked like psychedelic day-glo space Mayans. The dancing was strange, sort of primitive, almost like the "voguing" poses that Madonna featured on that video of hers from yester-year. It looked like it had been choreographed by someone with an imagination, but no real experience with dance as an artform.

It was all fairly crude, and musically pretty simple, two qualities that can often alienate me. The singing was a little rough, an off note here and there, the harmonies less than perfect, the entire approach wasn't exactly virtuoso in quality ...

... yet I really, REALLY liked it!

All of the YouTube stuff I've found has been songs kind of like what we see above, or "guy with acoustic guitar and voice" kind of songs, so I can only surmise that what I saw was a "one-time-only" kind of thing.
....................................................

A little later on, after writing that, I Googled "Sufjan Stevens Jimmy Fallon." Turns out that the Jimmy Fallon performance is there, but unfortunately, it's rather poor in quality. Someone made a video camera recording of the TV as it was airing:



The Google search also resulted in a video of some sort of music review program that featured, in MUCH better video/audio quality, a small segment of the same performance (Note: The Sufjan Stevens segment is found at 0:54-1:38):



Finally, here's an audio of the song as it appears on his album: