The Enemy Within

We have been trying to get in touch with you about your automobile warranty.

This singular phrase, not to mention the other nonsense that goes with it, caused me to kill the Magic Jack.

There is a good chance that in this day and time, some of you are so lonely that a call from someone (a robot) trying to sell you something you don’t need is a good thing. Not me.

The one phone I have not killed only rings in one room.  I removed all of the other phones and tossed them. The recycle bin has at least six phones, two base units, and a Magic Jack. They all work perfectly; I want them gone.

My internet phone will be the following line silenced by the end of this year. I plan to port that number to a cell phone that I can turn off.

As a writer, I don’t need the distractions every thirty minutes by some telemarketer. (A robot.)

As a person attempting to hang on to my sanity, I certainly don’t need interruptions.

Many of you might feel this way; I pay for the phone for my use, not that of robots.

Not that many years ago, I called a friend I had not heard from in years.  The screeching voice on the other end of the phone shocked me. “WHAT DO YOU WANT!?”

My friend was probably two steps further down the road than I am. Embarrassed by his response, he will not call, and that friendship is lost.

I don’t want to be that cray-cray voice on the other end of the line.  Mitigating the interruptions early on seems to be one way to keep my sanity intact.  

Magic Jack has tried to lure me back into the fold with deals.  Your device, along with several phones, cables, and power adapters, will soon be in a grinding machine turning it back into the dust from which it came.

It’s not often I quote the bible, and this is a paraphrase, but…Mathew 5:27-30 If thine right eye offends thee pluck it out…

What that means is, if there is something in your life that causes you to stumble, remove it.

My passion in life is to improve my craft of writing and put out material that is worth reading.  With the phone ringing every few minutes, the impediment to my goal is obvious.

Screens, Alexa, and a host of other diversions are also part of the issue. As you discover which ones are which, pluck them out. Alexa is off my desk, and when I am writing, I put it in do not disturb.

In all honesty, I can tell you that social media is an impediment and an unhealthy addiction.  Many that I know only check it when on the toilette. That might be a good strategy if you can keep to it.

What if you cannot keep to it?  What if you sit up half the night and find yourself scrolling through endless want-to-be-influencers with stupid videos?

Is this time on social media time that you are taking away from your family?

Is Social media that important?

Do you think that all those 468 friends would come to your funeral if god forbid the covid got you?

Are you so insecure that you need the affirmations from people you don’t even know to like your latest cat picture?

Yes, there can be mental issues with Social media, and they can be severe enough that getting professional help might be advisable.

What about those friends and the baby pictures???

Here is a simple test to tell how important they are.

If you were to remove Facebook from your phone or tablet, how many of those ‘friends’ would take the time to write you an e-mail or letter?

How many of those same people would you take the time to reach out to via the written word?

Those are the only people that truly matter in your life.  The rest are just noise.

Noise, much like the ringing of the phone, is toxic. Remove it.

-Best

TW

Is the First Amendment under attack?

In case you slept through school the first amendment is your right to free speech.  While I may not agree with the things that you have to say, I will defend your right to say them. That is what this country is all about unlike others.

Increasingly our rights are under attack by those that wish to chip away at our freedoms.

In my novel Under Roswell, I speculate that the government and big tech is spying on people.  I make veiled references to listening post and other high tech algorithms which sort through our daily lives and look for specific keywords or phrases.

Presidential Assassins which was just released I take that much further and talk about all the different ways that we are spied on in a very Orwellian fashion. I do this while telling you an exciting story of crime and passion along with a lot of action.

Today we learn that large tech companies use algorithms to systematically move search results up or down in their rankings depending on who is paying for what.  They also track your every movement so they can target you with ads.  Let’s say you were in a department store.  The competition is not far from there, and they are paying for targeted advertisements.  When you open up your social media, you will see ads from the other store.

So far that is relatively innocuous.  In fact, it is capitalism, although it is creepy.

Now let’s take that a step further.

What if we are close to an election season?

Campaigns are already high tech but, these large companies already know more about you than you do.  They can funnel negative news stories about your candidate and positive stories about theirs to your phone.  They are already doing it.

If today you google idiot and chose images most of them will be of Donald Trump.  If you can sit there with a straight face and think that is not biased, you are fooling yourself.  When companies can influence elections that is too much power in the hands of those that are unelected.

Ninety-two percent of Americans already get their news from the likes of social media.  The big tech giants are in the tank for left-leaning, and by left I mean communist level, left-leaning candidates.  Millennials are already leaning towards Bernie Sanders, a Socialist because he waves the free stuff banner in their faces and portrays those things like a right and not a privilege.

The middle class is shrinking and under attack by the alt left as they bring in more socialist agendas.  Sooner or later the entire country will look like London or California.  If they continue unabated, the country will eventually look like Venezuela.

Had the people of Venezuela been smart enough to understand history they would have known much like in the Weimar Republic, Hyperinflation is the last death knoll of a country before it must be reset.   When a country is reset, everyone, but the leaders lose.

The tech giants, Main Stream Media and even Hollywood elites are pushing for that because of their blind hatred for Donald Trump.  They are all the hyper-elite and will survive.  Everyone else will be working for pennies an hour when it is over while becoming slaves of the rich.

If you don’t believe me go research communism for yourself.  Research Stalin who said that the sharpest weapon is the printed word.

What he meant is the media is the most useful tool to push forward lies and other propaganda to rip a country apart and finish the destruction of a people and their way of life to reset it to something more authoritarian much like Hitler, Mau, Stalin, and too many others to mention.  Each of these “gentleman” saw to the death of millions of people in different and perfectly horrible ways.

Hitler’s crimes in comparison are child’s play compared to Mau’s and Stalin’s.

Not only is your first amendment and second amendment under attack but if the alt left has their way that whole document you know as the constitution will be tossed aside for something more equitable, for the elites.

Much like China today, your rights to think anything different than what you are told will be impinged upon.

Those cute little phones and other gadgets that we have grown to love are spying on you.  Tracking your every movement and soon enough listening to your every word.

If you read my novel, Presidential Assassins, you will see how I bring some of these theories to fruition in my latest thriller.

Thanks for the follows and of course the purchases as Presidential Assassins flies off the virtual shelf!

Your patronage is the highest compliment of all.

Much Love -TW

The Long and Winding Road…Do you need GPS?

I love road trips. I don’t know about you, but with me, I am never in a hurry. Hurry equals anxiety which I don’t need. What does a road trip look like for you?

I have a rough idea of where I need to end up around dark thirty. I don’t like driving at night, so I try to be situated in the vicinity of where I will spend the night before evening tea.
The road less traveled generally interests me as that is where you will find the small shops that time has almost forgotten. Since the box stores had all but killed the mom and pop shops, I look for them when I travel. Once there you will usually find “Mom and Pop!”

Those brave souls that dare to fight the box stores or the mega marts are a dying breed. I search them out and try hard to purchase something from them. Yes, it is usually overpriced, and of course, if it is food, it is probably not as fresh as I could get off the main drag. Still, the moms and pops have a story to tell.
Usually, if you are at a mega-mart, you will not find the stories there as their bosses will not be happy if they take a moment to chat. I do chat. I will learn their name, and try to learn something about them. Before I go, it is my goal to leave them with a smile.

Those that might be with me are amazed at how those people’s demeanor change when I am working magic on them. It is my magic, and no it is not witchcraft. I like names. I try to put a personality with a name, and I can only do that if I engage them. You have no doubt been somewhere in some line and the person checking folks out is surly or truculent while watching the clock until their break or time to go home. Folks that is depressing.
Those folks I try a little harder to leave a smile on them. Smiles are contagious you see. If I can get him or her to smile the next person in line might catch their smile and just maybe it will find its way to others who need one.
When you toss a pebble in a pond of water, the waves radiate away from it until the energy from the stone has dissipated entirely. If you can make an impact on the person behind the counter just how many others will see that impact and they themselves might be impacted?
That is the brilliance of comedians. Bob Hope, one of the all-time greats, sacrificed much of his life touring with the USO bringing joy and happiness to soldiers who were often in harm’s way or in grim situations. Before comedians became activist, they were delightful to watch. Now they spread hate and discontent.
The road we are on often has a fork.
Just like a smile is contagious so is hate. During the Christmas season when things are crazy how many times have you seen shoppers take out their frustrations on the person behind the counter?
That too gets passed down the line.
The twists and turns in life often take us by surprise, and that is ok. It is how we handle those revelations which define our character or who we are.
Yes, the long and winding road is a metaphor for life, and sometimes we need a GPS.
“Make a legal U-turn when possible!”
What does it take for you to realize that the path your on is not the right one?
My life often is fraught with “recalculating.”
As an author, our lives are different than most. We spend a lot of time alone with our thoughts. If we are inspired at three in the morning, we get up and write. A fun story for us may not be a best seller. Just maybe people don’t really want to read about the things that delight us.
“Veer right in 100 yards.”
Authors must be marketing gurus if they don’t have an agent. Even if they do have one, who is your agent? Do they know what they are talking about?
My novels are selling worldwide, and that makes me happy. I still have a day job because the royalty payments are just like those few good shots in golf that keep you coming back for more frustration.

• Robyn Williams did a brilliant skit on golf which I still remember. The truth is you get a few good shots that keep you coming back to the course to do it again and again. Why do it?
  • I enjoy the outing.
  • I enjoy the fresh air and comradery with friends and business associates.
  • More business is transacted on the golf course than the boardroom.
  • Writing is that way too, I enjoy what I do.
  • I enjoy telling a story.
  • I love reading what I wrote and making it better.
  • I love the art of marketing what I write. What do I need to say about this story that will have people willing to download it?

Price is a small factor in the general scheme of things.

When the next release of 50 shades or Harry Potter were released, people did not care that it was $15, or whatever the price was. They had to know what happened next!

My Hole In time series was like that on Kindle Unlimited. Free with Prime and people read it and seemed to enjoy it. Would they have read it if it were not free?

Until I hit that magical place where the GPS tells me that I have reached my destination, I will continue to plug away. Thankfully I love what I write so at least one person will be thrilled when the next book is finished.
What about you? Where are you headed? Where does your road lead? Are you happy with your life? Are you an aspiring writer or artist? Perhaps you are a musician. What in your life makes you look forward to tomorrow?
I invite you to saddle up and ride with me as I travel the road less traveled. I might in fact cut across an open prairie, find a comfortable place and camp out under the stars.

Our ancestors did this, can you?
When I think of what their life was like without a smartphone or phone for that matter. To be isolated on a thousand acres of land where a trip to the store was an all-day affair. Can you imagine?

What if families actually talked with one another without the aid of facebook or SMS?

Much Love -TW