Mind Games: How They Play Us; Part II
Social media took human beings — once capable of nuance, friendship, and healthy disagreement — and shoved us back into warring tribes like it’s 10,000 BC and someone stole the mammoth meat.
Technology
Is “AI” The New Tool to Fundamentally Change America? by George Mcclellan
Along comes AI —the great new hope to solve all our problems. AI, created by hopeful modern tech acolytes of the Gilgamesh saga, who themselves hope to cheat death, cannot be moved away from their goal: immortality.
Which Is Creepier, Artificial Intelligence Or Communist Mayors?
Our “Get Real” special guest, David DeJager, demonstrates how he uses his “AI assistant,” Oliver. We pundits also discuss the idiocy of the Seattle mayor taking over grocery stores.
America’s Rifle: The AR Was Born a .308 — And It’s Time We Admit We Screwed Up
If we’re going to call the AR the “Modern Sporting Rifle,” let’s stop pretending it should be chambered in something that looks like it came out of a Pez dispenser.
Please Enjoy This Ad
Look at your phone. Ads. Turn on a television. Ads. Open a laptop. Ads. Scroll social media to make sure cherished friends and loved ones are still alive and actively posting angry political memes. Ads.
The saloon keeper who changed the world
The word of the day is peculation, which is the dishonest appropriation of public funds or property entrusted to one’s care. Synonyms include misappropriation, defalcation and Congress.
The Social Experiment
It was a social experiment. Nothing more. We were in an elevator. Me and Bill. Bill is an academic researcher, dealing in human behavior. Also rats. He knows a lot about rats. Whereas I am a redhead.
From Vacuum Tubes to Pocket Radar: A Retired Geek’s Lament
I’m a retired Army math geek, and I’ll confess: I didn’t get to work on the sexy, world-changing projects my predecessors did back in the day. My career field was literally born because, in the middle of World War II, some engineers with more brain cells than social skills invented a device called the Variable Time fuze
The High-Tech World
Wake up. Get dressed. Remove phone from nightstand charger, put phone in pocket. Your phone dings. The phone is already notifying you about your highly sophisticated security cameras, which have just picked up movement by the neighborhood cats.
The Impostors
I joined social media in my thirties. Back then, social media was still a new, exciting frontier. Sort of like outer space except no zero-gravity toilets.
These Boots Were Made for Texting
How I ended up walking into a sliding glass door in a supermarket is pretty simple. I got a text from my wife. I looked at my phone to read the message and, WHAM! Goodbye nasal cartilage.
Army XM7 – If It Ain’t Broke, The Army Will Fix It Anyway
Why the New .277 Fury May Be the Greatest Logistical Disaster Since the MRE Omelet The U.S. Army is rolling out its first major service rifle redesign since 1965—yes, you read that right. The M16/M4 platform has been around longer than disco, and just like disco, it still works surprisingly well if you know how …
The Strong Delusion of AI
Technology is advancing today at break-neck speed. As I mentioned in a previous message, research now shows that by the end of this year, technology and human knowledge will be doubling every twelve hours! I can’t comprehend that. Can you?
Inventions Needed
do you ever wonder why SOMEBODY hasn’t invented a device to do this or that? Chuck Klein has a few of those…”this or thats.”
Is Idiotic Net Neutrality FINALLY Dead in DC?
Way back when, Big Tech was just beginning to reorder its strategy of total conquest. In DC, that meant massively increasing their lobbying budgets.
This Was Not Written by AI
Humanoid robots. Automated cars. Augmented reality smart-glasses. Smart dishwashers. Robotic surgeons. And what about the weird AI images all over my newsfeed? Where are these freaky AI pictures coming from?
Tracked Since Birth: How Privacy Died with Our Childhoods Part 3
There was a time when being young meant making mistakes, learning from them, and moving on. But in the age of permanent digital footprints, youthful ignorance doesn’t fade—it follows you.
Tracked Since Birth: How Privacy Died with Our Childhoods, Part 1
Today’s young people are growing up in a world where the mistakes of adolescence are not only remembered but digitally archived, searchable, and weaponizable.
In Defense of Anonymity: Why Real Names Aren’t Always the Answer
Let’s take a moment to examine the other side of individual internet transparency. What if anonymity isn’t about hiding, but about protecting?
The Enduring Legacy of the Caltrop: From Ancient Battlefields to Modern Crime
The caltrop is a deceptively simple but highly effective weapon that has remained relevant for over 2,500 years. First recorded in 5th century BC Greece and Persia, caltrops were designed to stop cavalry charges by injuring the hooves of horses.