copyright (c) 2015,2017
William A. Schaeffer
Friday, June 30, 2017
Corporate Propaganda
"We are all victims of this enforced perception of willingly self imposed virtual servitude. We haven't been given a choice. We don't stand a chance..." - Dr. Tony Bravado
How can you believe?
Question: "How can you believe in anything when you live in a society of lies and deceit and almost nothing you are told is verifiably true?" - Zobo the Clown
Answer: "Dumb luck?" - Whizz Kidder
Answer: "Dumb luck?" - Whizz Kidder
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Thursday, June 29, 2017
One Mile driven = One Pound CO2 in the air
Every mile you drive puts an additional one pound of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere.
The fuel efficiency of New and Used cars varies widely. The average fuel efficiency of brand new cars sold is about 23 - 25 miles per gallon. But as the car is driven -- that fuel efficiency drops, especially if the automobile engine is not maintained properly. Not long ago 18 MPG was considered good mileage. We assume a fuel efficiency of 19 - 20 MPG average for ALL vehicles driving on the roads.
A gallon of gasoline weighs about 6.67 pounds and is almost entirely carbon atoms.
The process of burning a gallon of gasoline removes 12 pounds of Oxygen from the atmosphere and replaces it with 19.2 pounds of Carbon Dioxide. The Oxygen is gone for good and the Carbon Dioxide has replaced it.
If we assume that the average car on the road gets a fuel efficiency of 19 - 20 miles per gallon, then after driving 19 miles, you have burned one gallon of gasoline and put 19 pounds of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere.
The answer requires some averaging, but the averages seem close to reasonable to me.
Every mile you drive puts an additional one pound of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere.
(if you have a newer car, you put a little less CO2 in the air)
The fuel efficiency of New and Used cars varies widely. The average fuel efficiency of brand new cars sold is about 23 - 25 miles per gallon. But as the car is driven -- that fuel efficiency drops, especially if the automobile engine is not maintained properly. Not long ago 18 MPG was considered good mileage. We assume a fuel efficiency of 19 - 20 MPG average for ALL vehicles driving on the roads.
A gallon of gasoline weighs about 6.67 pounds and is almost entirely carbon atoms.
The process of burning a gallon of gasoline removes 12 pounds of Oxygen from the atmosphere and replaces it with 19.2 pounds of Carbon Dioxide. The Oxygen is gone for good and the Carbon Dioxide has replaced it.
If we assume that the average car on the road gets a fuel efficiency of 19 - 20 miles per gallon, then after driving 19 miles, you have burned one gallon of gasoline and put 19 pounds of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere.
The answer requires some averaging, but the averages seem close to reasonable to me.
Every mile you drive puts an additional one pound of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere.
(if you have a newer car, you put a little less CO2 in the air)
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Oceans Rise 400 Feet
When Antarctica glacial ice melts the Oceans will raise 400 feet world wide. The calculation is easy to do. Antarctica covers 5% of the surface of the Earth. The Ice sheet on Antarctica averages one mile thick. One mile equals 5280 feet. The Oceans cover two thirds of the Earth which is approximately 66%. So .05 x 5280 = .66 x Y where Y is rise of oceans. Y = 400 feet.
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Love is a force of attraction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1LzVN8nqg0
"Alan Watts is God for Ten Minutes"
Atwaterpub said:
At 7:33 I tend to think this statement represents a misunderstanding of love. To me, love is wanting to be in the same "space" with someone (or something) else. Love is the universal law of attraction. Love has no real opposite, except possibly apathy or indifference.
Love is a force of attraction. There is no opposite to gravity, there is no opposite to light. Darkness is the absence of light, but darkness does not negate light. Hate is a fearful perversion of love, a twisted mutant emotion that wants to be in the same "space" as someone else, but is fearful and uncertain. This hate manifests itself as wanting to destroy the thing it wants to be close to, but it never succeeds. Hate is never satisfied and is self destroying. Love is always satisfied and is self perpetuating, and self generating, and ever renewing force of growth in the Universe.
ABC said:
Although is light not merely a physical phenomena created by the giant , flaring ball of fire and gas we call "The Sun" ? Is light not merely a physical and observable phenomena that has arisen out of physical processes of billions of years of formulation ? How can Love be a force in the universe when Love is only found n earth in humans and animals ? Human and animals constitute an infinitesimal fraction of the universe . How , thusly , can Love be said to be a universal force ? Please explain ?
Atwaterpub said:
Well, it is largely a poetic turn of phrase.
HOWEVER,
IF we look at the Universe in a slightly different way,
THEN we could think of it as follows (in super condensed form):
Some ideas:
1. One interpretation of the dual slit experiment is that electrons have conscious thought and these electrons actually choose, or decide, their course of action.
2. More than one philosophic tradition talks of all things in life as having a "living soul" (i.e. rocks, stones, hills, plants, trees, insects, birds, animals, "everything").
3. Even our own bodies are made of billions of one celled animals that act with purpose and intent. Are they conscious?
4. "Radical" Physicist Amit Goswami considers that it is consciousness itself that gives form and concrete reality to the Universe we inhabit. This, in my understanding, is a kind of a generalization of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, where it is our own conscious intent that "makes the Universe real."
5. Jeremy Narby in "The Cosmic Serpent" claims that psychedelic visions could be messages of photons of light that are embedded in our DNA itself.
6. In one interpretation of electron spin pairs, these electrons are still "instantly connected" across billions of light years of deep space.
7. In any event,
IF we consider the Universe to be teeming with conscious entities,
that are all coexisting and communicating on many simultaneous levels,
AND all behaving with conscious intent;
THEN we could say that,
"LOVE IS A PRIMARY MOTIVATING FORCE Of THE UNIVERSE."
8. Again, the briefest of explanations, full of possible flaws, but a poetic vision of the Universe that in many ways seems more true to experience than the giant impersonal "clockwork" theories of the 19th century academics.
"Alan Watts is God for Ten Minutes"
Atwaterpub said:
At 7:33 I tend to think this statement represents a misunderstanding of love. To me, love is wanting to be in the same "space" with someone (or something) else. Love is the universal law of attraction. Love has no real opposite, except possibly apathy or indifference.
Love is a force of attraction. There is no opposite to gravity, there is no opposite to light. Darkness is the absence of light, but darkness does not negate light. Hate is a fearful perversion of love, a twisted mutant emotion that wants to be in the same "space" as someone else, but is fearful and uncertain. This hate manifests itself as wanting to destroy the thing it wants to be close to, but it never succeeds. Hate is never satisfied and is self destroying. Love is always satisfied and is self perpetuating, and self generating, and ever renewing force of growth in the Universe.
ABC said:
Although is light not merely a physical phenomena created by the giant , flaring ball of fire and gas we call "The Sun" ? Is light not merely a physical and observable phenomena that has arisen out of physical processes of billions of years of formulation ? How can Love be a force in the universe when Love is only found n earth in humans and animals ? Human and animals constitute an infinitesimal fraction of the universe . How , thusly , can Love be said to be a universal force ? Please explain ?
Atwaterpub said:
Well, it is largely a poetic turn of phrase.
HOWEVER,
IF we look at the Universe in a slightly different way,
THEN we could think of it as follows (in super condensed form):
Some ideas:
1. One interpretation of the dual slit experiment is that electrons have conscious thought and these electrons actually choose, or decide, their course of action.
2. More than one philosophic tradition talks of all things in life as having a "living soul" (i.e. rocks, stones, hills, plants, trees, insects, birds, animals, "everything").
3. Even our own bodies are made of billions of one celled animals that act with purpose and intent. Are they conscious?
4. "Radical" Physicist Amit Goswami considers that it is consciousness itself that gives form and concrete reality to the Universe we inhabit. This, in my understanding, is a kind of a generalization of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, where it is our own conscious intent that "makes the Universe real."
5. Jeremy Narby in "The Cosmic Serpent" claims that psychedelic visions could be messages of photons of light that are embedded in our DNA itself.
6. In one interpretation of electron spin pairs, these electrons are still "instantly connected" across billions of light years of deep space.
7. In any event,
IF we consider the Universe to be teeming with conscious entities,
that are all coexisting and communicating on many simultaneous levels,
AND all behaving with conscious intent;
THEN we could say that,
"LOVE IS A PRIMARY MOTIVATING FORCE Of THE UNIVERSE."
8. Again, the briefest of explanations, full of possible flaws, but a poetic vision of the Universe that in many ways seems more true to experience than the giant impersonal "clockwork" theories of the 19th century academics.
copyright (c) 2014,2017
William Atwater Schaeffer
To my old friend
I could have had
so much fun --
with a plastic bag
and a lit cigar.
You do not know
how tremendously lucky
that you really are.
Peace.
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Nature's palace
The Honey bee is not native to North America. It is an invading species that was brought here by European colonists in 1600.
The earthworm is also not native to North America and is an invading species. Before the introduction of the earthworm, the forests of the East coast had no undergrowth, but a thick matte of decaying leaves that was soft to walk on. The forests themselves were like great cathedrals that stretched for miles in every direction -- a huge open space with a canopy of leaves overhead, supported by columns of tree trunks growing out of a soft carpet of dead leaves.
The earthworm is also not native to North America and is an invading species. Before the introduction of the earthworm, the forests of the East coast had no undergrowth, but a thick matte of decaying leaves that was soft to walk on. The forests themselves were like great cathedrals that stretched for miles in every direction -- a huge open space with a canopy of leaves overhead, supported by columns of tree trunks growing out of a soft carpet of dead leaves.
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
There is no LOVE in America
When people talk about what a great country USA America is, I remember laying on my bed with a broken neck and I could not get someone to wash my hair. For five days I saw no one, and no one would visit me, and I lay there with an itchy head driving me nuts. Sorry, there is no LOVE in America.
Yeah and when I hear my friends say "You have to be a friend to make friends" I think: There are thousands of people living right on the sidewalks of Los Angeles and you have an enormous house and you don't care. The junk in your garage is worth more than my entire life, and you act like a casual friend. If I'm starving will you feed me? I'm I'm naked will you clothe me? If I am homeless will you house me? I think not.
Yeah and when I hear my friends say "You have to be a friend to make friends" I think: There are thousands of people living right on the sidewalks of Los Angeles and you have an enormous house and you don't care. The junk in your garage is worth more than my entire life, and you act like a casual friend. If I'm starving will you feed me? I'm I'm naked will you clothe me? If I am homeless will you house me? I think not.
copyright (c) 2017
william Schaeffer
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Outpost One -- One million A.D.
"One day, millions of years from now,
the Earth will be a smooth dry lump of rock hurling through a dark sky
and no one will ever remember, or even know,
what really happened here." - Dr. Tony Bravado
the Earth will be a smooth dry lump of rock hurling through a dark sky
and no one will ever remember, or even know,
what really happened here." - Dr. Tony Bravado
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Watch the Birdie
"I like to think I'm photogenic,
but most of the time I don't even know who I am." - Aunt Mabel
but most of the time I don't even know who I am." - Aunt Mabel
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Poetry in Motion
"After doing a thorough literature review of the publications dealing with linguistics, physiology, metaphysics, science, poetry, military history, and English Common Law we have come to the conclusion that in our culture the middle finger has been specifically reserved to salute people just like you." - Zobo the Clown
copyright (C) 2017
William Schaeffer
Monday, June 26, 2017
Sunday, June 25, 2017
Alan Smithee family
Famous Directors in the Smithee Family:
Alan Smithee
Allen R. Smithee
Adam Smithee
Aphonse "Buttercup" Smithee
Aldolph "Boot Black" N. Smithee
Anne A. Smithe
Angela R. Smithee
"Aunt" Mable Smithee
Andrew J. Smithee
Andy P. Smithee
Androcles Smithee
Ambidexterous A. Smithee
Atwater "Pub" Smithee
Anthony "Fire Ant" Smithee
Agustus "The Back Forty" Smithee
Jack "Apple" Smithee
Audrey Smithee
April May "June" Smithee
Adjudicator "Boss" Smithee
Amphibian "Gill" Smithee
Alligator "Tail" Smithee
Afghan "Hound Breath" Smithee
Antelope "Highway" Smithee
and finally
Ambrose Bierce Smithee
Anheiser Butch Smithee
and lastly
Alphonso "Bumble Bee" Flapjack Water Pump Grapefruit Diagram Smithee
copyright (c) 2017
William Atwater Schaeffer
Take back your life
Peter: How can we take our life back? Do you have an idea? Please share me some
William: Well, there are two steps and I am not very smart: 1. honesty, 2. health. We must try and live a healthy life with diet and sleep so we function at our best. We must be honest in our dealing with others and with our self about the reality of our situation... THEN the real work begins... Just quitting cigarettes is tremendous superhuman effort.
Eventually, we will have a social revolution where the economy is distributed more equitably and this will not be pretty. Wealth never divests itself voluntarily and there will always be a struggle. The inevitable outcome is a forgone conclusion to me. As the natural environment is destroyed, the traditional bastions of power will no longer be able to protect their privilege. The oceans will eventually rise 400 feet. If they just rise 20 feet, most of the coastal cities will be destroyed. Most of the cities that now exist will be destroyed. It will be an opportunity for change.
William: Well, there are two steps and I am not very smart: 1. honesty, 2. health. We must try and live a healthy life with diet and sleep so we function at our best. We must be honest in our dealing with others and with our self about the reality of our situation... THEN the real work begins... Just quitting cigarettes is tremendous superhuman effort.
Eventually, we will have a social revolution where the economy is distributed more equitably and this will not be pretty. Wealth never divests itself voluntarily and there will always be a struggle. The inevitable outcome is a forgone conclusion to me. As the natural environment is destroyed, the traditional bastions of power will no longer be able to protect their privilege. The oceans will eventually rise 400 feet. If they just rise 20 feet, most of the coastal cities will be destroyed. Most of the cities that now exist will be destroyed. It will be an opportunity for change.
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Saturday, June 24, 2017
Fossil Fuel
When all the fossil fuel is burned and all the carbon is put back into the atmosphere, then the Earth mean temperature will rise by as much as 9 degrees. The Earth climate will return to the primordial "hot house" it was in the time of the dinosaurs. At this temperature the entire equatorial area of the Earth will be uninhabitable by Homo Sapiens mankind because during heat waves the air will be too hot for his lungs to extract oxygen and he will suffocate. People will be relegated to living in Antarctica and the polar regions of Earth.
copyright (C) 2017
William Schaeffer
Enlightenment
The sad thing about capitalism is that we let people die in the street and no one cares.
We work elbow to elbow with people who would kill us in a heartbeat.
There is no love in America and no one cares if you are alive or dead.
There are no homeless camps anywhere in the entire nation of Russia.
There are 90,000 people living in tents on the streets and sidewalks of Los Angeles
Is this your enlightened society?
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Friday, June 23, 2017
The concept of God
"Everything that has hitherto been called 'truth' has been recognized as the most harmful, insidious, and subterranean form of lie; the holy pretest of 'improving' mankind, as the ruse for sucking the blood of life itself. Morality as a kind of vampirism.
Whoever uncovers morality also uncovers the disvalue of all values that are and have been believed; he no longer sees anything venerable in the most venerated types of man, even in those pronounced holy; he considers them the most calamitous type of abortion -- calamitous because they exerted such fascination.
The concept of 'God' invented as a counter concept of life-- everything harmful, poisonous, slanderous, the whole hostility unto death against life synthesized in this concept in a gruesome unity! The concept of the 'beyond,' the 'true world' invented in order to devalue the only world there is -- in order to retain no goal, no reason, no task for our earthly reality! The concept of the 'soul,' the 'spirit,' finally 'immortal soul,' invented in order to despise the body, to make it sick, 'holy;' to oppose with a ghastly levity everything that deserves to be taken seriously in life, the questions of nourishment, abode, spiritual diet, treatment of the sick, cleanliness, and weather.
In place of health, the 'salvation of the soul' -- that is, a folie circulaire between penitential convulsions and hysteria about redemption. The concept of 'sin' invented along with the torture instrument that belongs with it, the concept of 'free will,' in order to confuse the instincts, to make mistrust of the instincts second nature. In the concept of the 'selfless,' the 'self-denier,' the distinctive sign of decadence, feeling attracted by what is harmful, being unable to find any longer what profits one, self-destruction is turned into the sign of value itself, into 'duty,' into 'holiness,' into what is 'divine' in man."
- Friedrich Nietzsche in Ecce Homo
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Cow farts and global warming
The Methane content of the atmosphere is increasing just like Carbon Dioxide and Carbon Monoxide content. A significant portion of this Methane is directly attributed to "cow farts" and the Methane release by digestion in grazing animals with multiple stomachs like the cow. The unnaturally high density of animals on most cattle farms just exacerbates the "problem." Therefore the cattle industry directly influences and helps to cause global warming through the addition of Methane in the atmosphere.
copyright (C) 2017
William Atwater Schaeffer
William Atwater Schaeffer
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Lavender or lilly
lavender scent was found to delay onset of puberty in pre adolescent boys. Human males should use lavender scent (and others) at their own risk. You have been warned.
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
I can still dream
"I can still dream." - Stumpy the legless bunny
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
The rainbow turns gray
I am disappointed that the rainbow has now become sexualized, politicized, and comercialized. I remember when a rainbow was a pure and beautiful manifestation of the natural joy of life. A miracle at the end of a rain storm.. Now the rainbow is a subversive symbolic tool that is used to manipulate public opinion and political will. Too bad. The rainbow has lost its beauty and purity in the process, and so has most of the rest of life.
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Praise Jesus
Have you noticed that the name Jesus is an amalgam of the name Jupiter and Zeus. This is interesting in light of the fact that Christianity was used by the Emperors to unite the Roman Empire (which contained Rome, and Greece, and Palestine/Israel).
Jupiter + Zeus
Ju (piter) + Zeus
Ju + Zeus
Je + Seus
Jesus
Do you really think it an accident that in the Spanish (a Romance language derived from Latin) the word "Jesus" is pronounced "Hey Zeus?"
Jupiter + Zeus
Ju (piter) + Zeus
Ju + Zeus
Je + Seus
Jesus
Do you really think it an accident that in the Spanish (a Romance language derived from Latin) the word "Jesus" is pronounced "Hey Zeus?"
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Monday, June 19, 2017
We have been turned into machines
Our economic system in the modern economy leaves us all isolated and "pigeon holed" by job classification. It is most economically efficient for each human to perform only one particular task for all their waking hours. Unfortunately, that is an absolutely unsatisfying and empty life for the human heart and the human soul. We have been turned into machines and we are dying inside.
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Money and violence
"The level Violence in society is directly correlated with the disparity of economic wealth. More disparity = more violence. More equality = more peace." - Dr. Tony Bravado
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Divine Grace
"I thought that I had become a Divine Being and then I realized that I was just having a bad reaction to the sun screen." - Whizz Kidder
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
People who correct grammar are jerks
A letter to a friend:
(I am terrible at spelling and automatic spell check frequently changes my small words. I often miss it. I believe the spelling and grammatical errors are corrected)
I am sorry to bother you again, but I had an odd thought.
If people that correct your grammar are kind of "jerks":
then, Jesus must have been a Royal Jerk of all time because, according to the writings that have survived, he is always criticizing everybody. Nobody does anything good enough for Jesus and we are all imperfect "sinners."
For example, at the well where the townspeople were going to kill that woman for committing adultery, Jesus made all the people see that they were just as bad, and broken, and "sinful" as this woman and they all left without fulfilling their mission. In the end, everyone just felt bad about themselves. What a Royal Jerk he was for pointing out those personal faults and making everyone feel so bad that they just went home.
In fact, if you really believe what is written, it is not possible for anyone to do anything correctly and we are all living our lives in hopeless, "sinful error," and mistake. I cannot imagine a more powerful manifestation of being a jerk than espousing THAT philosophy.
Perhaps I missed something?
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Being Followed
The other night, while walking home, I heard a noise. I thought I was being followed and then I realized I was just dragging my feet.
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Crazy Woman on the Train
Scott wrote
I'm traveling on a train and the women in front of me has a picture of her deceased parents facing out the window as if they were watching the miles go bye.. can't figure out if this is sweet or crazy.. although she does appear a bit "touched".
William replies:
In capitalistic societies the delicacy and fragile beauty of the human mind is rarely appreciated because we are all trained to be worker robots with no soul. That is why there are so many broken hearts and minds modern society. I saw a lady sleeping on the street and NO ONE CARES.
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Fast food question
Why does a hamburger cost $0.99 and a salad costs $4.99?
possible answers:
1. Meat can be "harvested" and processed with much less human labor and expense. Storage is less of an issue with modern refrigeration and freezing. Animal farming has government subsidies.
2. Vegetables must be harvested with some form of collective labor on a "nature's timetable" plan which is labor intensive and expensive, even if they are migrant workers. Plus vegetables have a very sort shelf life for transportation and processing.
3. Finally (and least probable), it is a form of social mind control designed by the corporate overlords. Drugs are fed to beef cattle and poultry, so we become willing servants of the giant robot collective so they can exploit our labor for their own nefarious plans and we just get fat and sit on the couch watching TV commercials when we are NOT at work...
possible answers:
1. Meat can be "harvested" and processed with much less human labor and expense. Storage is less of an issue with modern refrigeration and freezing. Animal farming has government subsidies.
2. Vegetables must be harvested with some form of collective labor on a "nature's timetable" plan which is labor intensive and expensive, even if they are migrant workers. Plus vegetables have a very sort shelf life for transportation and processing.
3. Finally (and least probable), it is a form of social mind control designed by the corporate overlords. Drugs are fed to beef cattle and poultry, so we become willing servants of the giant robot collective so they can exploit our labor for their own nefarious plans and we just get fat and sit on the couch watching TV commercials when we are NOT at work...
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Supernova: The Movie
I worked on Supernova which was the worst movie ever made. After they shot everything with models, they re-shot it ALL using 3-D digital CGI. There was a life size model of the space ship on the green screen stage and it was very cool, but apparently the motion control didn't work effectively enough. This was a long time ago at Digital Domain 1.0, and it was occasionally great fun times to work there.
I thought that Supernova was the first movie that was so bad that even "Alan Smithee" would not accept credit as director. Traditionally, the "Alan Smithee" name is used whenever no director wants to be associated with the movie any longer. The movie was credited to fictional director Thomas Lee. It was the first credit for the Thomas Lee moniker. The link below explains the history.
Also, even though the name of the movie is Supernova, there is NO SUPERNOVA in the movie. The film went over budget and they could not afford to film, or create, a supernova image.
Film dailies were a lot of fun on Supernova at Digital Domain 1.0 and the 3-D animators made a lot of funny "spoof shots" that no one will ever see. At that time the final shots were still delivered on film. Every morning at 9 AM we would watch the film loops of the FX shots that had been "recorded" on the film recorder the night before.
One Friday during post production, I met two women at an art opening in the neighborhood and I brought them back to Digital Domain 1.0 so they could see the huge model space ship on the Green Screen stage. The model ship was about fifty feet long and was mounted about sixteen feet in the air on a huge hydraulic lift.
As far as I know, none of the people that worked on Supernova at Digital Domain 1.0 doing digital paint and rotoscoping are still employed by the film industry in that capacity, or in any capacity at all.
For more information check: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Smithee
I thought that Supernova was the first movie that was so bad that even "Alan Smithee" would not accept credit as director. Traditionally, the "Alan Smithee" name is used whenever no director wants to be associated with the movie any longer. The movie was credited to fictional director Thomas Lee. It was the first credit for the Thomas Lee moniker. The link below explains the history.
Also, even though the name of the movie is Supernova, there is NO SUPERNOVA in the movie. The film went over budget and they could not afford to film, or create, a supernova image.
Film dailies were a lot of fun on Supernova at Digital Domain 1.0 and the 3-D animators made a lot of funny "spoof shots" that no one will ever see. At that time the final shots were still delivered on film. Every morning at 9 AM we would watch the film loops of the FX shots that had been "recorded" on the film recorder the night before.
One Friday during post production, I met two women at an art opening in the neighborhood and I brought them back to Digital Domain 1.0 so they could see the huge model space ship on the Green Screen stage. The model ship was about fifty feet long and was mounted about sixteen feet in the air on a huge hydraulic lift.
As far as I know, none of the people that worked on Supernova at Digital Domain 1.0 doing digital paint and rotoscoping are still employed by the film industry in that capacity, or in any capacity at all.
For more information check: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Smithee
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Surfing on Hollywood Blvd.
If all the ice in Antarctica alone were melted, the oceans world wide would rise by 400 feet. This is the future (but long after our lives have ended)...
The math is easy. The ice in Antarctica averages a mile thick. Antarctica is 5% of surface of Earth Oceans cover 66% of Earth. Therefore 5280 x 0.05 = Y x 0.66. And Y = 400
If you live in Lost Angeles, Hollywood Boulevard is 400 feet above Sea Level. This would be the new coastline of Los Angeles and everything West and South would be under water.
http://en-us.topographic-map.com/places/Los-Angeles-675024/
This is just to provide a real-life example so the possibility seems understandable. I have no idea WHAT the future will bring. My own personal suspicion is that we are in the middle of a planet wide climate change that was prompted by the appearance of mankind and the result of his "terra-forming" instincts. We will continue to burn fossil fuels until the supply is gone. And THEN, We will all live in the new vacation paradise of Antarctica and use Earth as a galactic way station in our quest to populate the Universe.
The math is easy. The ice in Antarctica averages a mile thick. Antarctica is 5% of surface of Earth Oceans cover 66% of Earth. Therefore 5280 x 0.05 = Y x 0.66. And Y = 400
If you live in Lost Angeles, Hollywood Boulevard is 400 feet above Sea Level. This would be the new coastline of Los Angeles and everything West and South would be under water.
http://en-us.topographic-map.com/places/Los-Angeles-675024/
This is just to provide a real-life example so the possibility seems understandable. I have no idea WHAT the future will bring. My own personal suspicion is that we are in the middle of a planet wide climate change that was prompted by the appearance of mankind and the result of his "terra-forming" instincts. We will continue to burn fossil fuels until the supply is gone. And THEN, We will all live in the new vacation paradise of Antarctica and use Earth as a galactic way station in our quest to populate the Universe.
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Monday, June 12, 2017
Intelligence test results
almost half of the entire population of the USA is less intelligent than average.
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Sunday, June 11, 2017
Honesty
The invention of writing promoted the practice of lying and deceit.
1. In pre literate societies, your word was your bond. Agreements were sworn before a witness and before “The Gods.” Your word was your bond and your reputation. People were more honest.
2. The invention of writing introduced the idea that no matter what we said, the "real" agreement is written down on paper (or stone or clay). This introduced the idea that we could tell half-truths because "WHAT WE SAID DID NOT MATTER. ALL THAT MATTERS WAS WRITTEN DOWN.”
3. Compulsive lying and deceit became a regular professional practice that is still carried as a badge of honor by insurance salesmen, used car dealers, real estate salesman, and every advertiser on TV.
4. In "The Communist Manifesto" by Marx and Engels, they remark that the function of Capitalism is to reduce all human relations to a monetary transaction. This is happening in our society before our very eyes. And consequently, people are compulsively dishonest, and selfish. Cheating is a natural part of life.
5. When I see the homeless people living right in the street and no one really cares to help, I know that Karl Marx was correct.
6. Too bad… "Prepare for doom." Because of this habitual dishonesty and deceit, World War Three has already started and the result will be total destruction. When we habitually lie, we forget what the real truth is and we live in a delusion. Eventually we pay the price for our delusion. A good analogy would be driving a car with your eyes closed.
*****
It is difficult to maintain a sense of honesty and integrity in a society that promotes dishonesty and lying on every level. For example, I have worked professionally for forty years. I have not had an employer that has not lied to me during hiring about 1.The pay, 2. The hours, or 3. The nature of the work.
Lying and dishonesty is now a standard feature of government debate.
My University Professors all lied to me about the nature of my schooling and the purpose of my education. In fact the entire University system in USA today is largely based on deceit of getting student loans for college degrees for which there really is no job and no necessity.
It almost seems that the USA America is founded on lies and deceit.
*****
Counseling is largely ineffective and has the same recovery rates as doing nothing at all.
Counseling is ineffective because the person is not responsible for their own pain. They have been put in a no win situation by society. Counseling might help the less intelligent work more efficient game playing strategies, but unfortunately most of the mental anguish that people suffer is not really caused by their own actions, it is the result of doing the best you can in a no win situation called modern industrial society.
"Mental Illness" [that is obviously NOT biologically based in a damaged or malformed brain] is largely caused by the structure of society. People are not responsible for their mal-adaptive response. They really had no other choice. Similar to a psychology experiment, they are put in a "no win" situation and then THEY are blamed when they fail.
This is all to the advantage of the money holders and the 1% that really owns and controls society. In this light, the entire discussion of honesty and "mental illness" is mute. The game is rigged against us by the 1%.
*****
The real advantage to honesty is that it is biologically healthier in the long run even if it is frequently disadvantageous both economically and socially in the short run.
I am not that intelligent and figured all this out by accident, dumb luck, and personal misfortune.
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Saturday, June 10, 2017
There is no job security in America
Ben's post:
Here's my degree. Look at this degree. I will light it on fire in front of the next person who can give me a permanent position at any level in VFX. If you think i'm bluffing, try me. I'm willing to literally let 4 years and 100k go up in flames, because this worthless piece of paper is nothing without a future doing what i love.
Dan wrote (in response to Ben's post):
I don't believe there any permanent positions in any industry, let alone VFX (which tend to be fairly short-term). Best of luck...
William replied:
There are NO PERMANENT POSTS. There is NO JOB SECURITY. There is NO FUTURE. If you are lucky -- your career will last twenty years (IN ANY FIELD OR DISCIPLINE). After that time you will be cycled out to unemployment in favor of younger and better educated competition. Do what ever you can, but do NOT get a thirty year mortgage. THAT, like the rest of life the USA, is just a rip off .
Most of the readers of this website are too young to remember, but the culprit is "At Will Hire" laws that were passed in this State of California (and the rest of the Nation) in 1995. Prior to the passage of "At Will Hire" laws, your employer had a responsibility to provide you with a stable job and decent working environment. If you were fired for unfair termination, you could sue your employer and get your job back. Prior to the passage of the "At Will Hire" laws the typical work week was 40 hours long and all employers paid their employees sick pay, vacation pay, holiday pay, you had medical insurance and job security. Those days are gone. Today - as an employee in the USA, you have no rights at all unless you have a written contract. You are a machine that is bought and sold like other factory equipment. You are no longer a human being, you are a tool.
Additionally, if you are lucky enough to have a job with some longevity, you will be fired or laid off once you pass the age of 50 years old. You will be replaced by a young college graduate. Your "real career" will only be 20 years long and not 40 years long like you expect. All these changes are the result of the "At Will Hire" laws passed in 1995 that removed all your guarantees for steady and reliable employment and took away your basic humanity. Capitalism has become abstracted slavery.
Prior to "At Will Hire" even most minimum wage fast food workers had job security, sick pay, holiday pay, and a reasonable length work day. In contrast -- At my most recent job at 4MaxPost I was hired the day before my start day in an email. I worked for three weeks. I was let go the day before my last day in an email and neither time did I even talk with my supervisor, or department head (because he was offsite at my last week). I was never told how long my contract was for or anything else about the work. My supervisor gave no reason for the termination and doesn't answer emails.
I am not complaining, I was Happy to work at 4MaxPost and they paid me well. The people I worked with were all talented and hard working. They were polite and considerate. This is my America.
Here's my degree. Look at this degree. I will light it on fire in front of the next person who can give me a permanent position at any level in VFX. If you think i'm bluffing, try me. I'm willing to literally let 4 years and 100k go up in flames, because this worthless piece of paper is nothing without a future doing what i love.
Dan wrote (in response to Ben's post):
I don't believe there any permanent positions in any industry, let alone VFX (which tend to be fairly short-term). Best of luck...
William replied:
There are NO PERMANENT POSTS. There is NO JOB SECURITY. There is NO FUTURE. If you are lucky -- your career will last twenty years (IN ANY FIELD OR DISCIPLINE). After that time you will be cycled out to unemployment in favor of younger and better educated competition. Do what ever you can, but do NOT get a thirty year mortgage. THAT, like the rest of life the USA, is just a rip off .
Most of the readers of this website are too young to remember, but the culprit is "At Will Hire" laws that were passed in this State of California (and the rest of the Nation) in 1995. Prior to the passage of "At Will Hire" laws, your employer had a responsibility to provide you with a stable job and decent working environment. If you were fired for unfair termination, you could sue your employer and get your job back. Prior to the passage of the "At Will Hire" laws the typical work week was 40 hours long and all employers paid their employees sick pay, vacation pay, holiday pay, you had medical insurance and job security. Those days are gone. Today - as an employee in the USA, you have no rights at all unless you have a written contract. You are a machine that is bought and sold like other factory equipment. You are no longer a human being, you are a tool.
Additionally, if you are lucky enough to have a job with some longevity, you will be fired or laid off once you pass the age of 50 years old. You will be replaced by a young college graduate. Your "real career" will only be 20 years long and not 40 years long like you expect. All these changes are the result of the "At Will Hire" laws passed in 1995 that removed all your guarantees for steady and reliable employment and took away your basic humanity. Capitalism has become abstracted slavery.
Prior to "At Will Hire" even most minimum wage fast food workers had job security, sick pay, holiday pay, and a reasonable length work day. In contrast -- At my most recent job at 4MaxPost I was hired the day before my start day in an email. I worked for three weeks. I was let go the day before my last day in an email and neither time did I even talk with my supervisor, or department head (because he was offsite at my last week). I was never told how long my contract was for or anything else about the work. My supervisor gave no reason for the termination and doesn't answer emails.
I am not complaining, I was Happy to work at 4MaxPost and they paid me well. The people I worked with were all talented and hard working. They were polite and considerate. This is my America.
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Friday, June 9, 2017
American Roulette
America is run like a roulette table. Read the book "Fortune's Formula" by William Poundstone for a better description of roulette. If 60% of the people are slight winners, then the remaining 40% can get "cleaned out" and the majority will still favor the process. You must understand this math to understand this life. In an environment with no real loving connection between strangers, these 40% end up homeless or dead and no one really cares. This is America.
As long as 60% of the population has some form of house mortgage with current payments, then the rest of the 40% of the population present no threat to the existing power structure.
"Life in America" - Whizz Kidder
As long as 60% of the population has some form of house mortgage with current payments, then the rest of the 40% of the population present no threat to the existing power structure.
"Life in America" - Whizz Kidder
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
very heavy jet air traffic at 3:30 AM in Los Angeles
Response to a facebook post:
"very heavy jet air traffic at 3:30 AM in Los Angeles"
Daniel said, "you are a intelligent man. With your talents you should be in top of the world.. I know people like you and it seems their just too honest, maybe to a fault. They seem to have to do more than most to have a comfortable life. Hope I expressed my self correctly."
I said, "I am confused how this relates to jet air traffic? I find it curious that there is so much noise from jet air traffic at 3:30 AM that I am awakened from a dead sleep. Now, I will admit that being a musician I might have better hearing than most, but I am curious if anyone else noticed this particular phenomenon also. I am also curious as to WHAT this air traffic might really be, because obviously I cannot see it.
Daniel -- I WAS on top of the world and I had a great career as a digital rotoscope artist. Then in 2008 that work was mostly shipped to Vancouver Canada, India and China and the companies stopped hiring trained workers in the USA. After 25 years, my career ended, and I lost everything. This is very similar to what happened to the factory workers in Flint Michigan and Detroit Michigan. Presently 75% of the single family home in Detroit are abandoned or destroyed because of Capitalism and our economic system. I imagine that quite a few of those people were also quite intelligent and hard working honest people. So -- Daniel, WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY?"
"very heavy jet air traffic at 3:30 AM in Los Angeles"
Daniel said, "you are a intelligent man. With your talents you should be in top of the world.. I know people like you and it seems their just too honest, maybe to a fault. They seem to have to do more than most to have a comfortable life. Hope I expressed my self correctly."
I said, "I am confused how this relates to jet air traffic? I find it curious that there is so much noise from jet air traffic at 3:30 AM that I am awakened from a dead sleep. Now, I will admit that being a musician I might have better hearing than most, but I am curious if anyone else noticed this particular phenomenon also. I am also curious as to WHAT this air traffic might really be, because obviously I cannot see it.
Daniel -- I WAS on top of the world and I had a great career as a digital rotoscope artist. Then in 2008 that work was mostly shipped to Vancouver Canada, India and China and the companies stopped hiring trained workers in the USA. After 25 years, my career ended, and I lost everything. This is very similar to what happened to the factory workers in Flint Michigan and Detroit Michigan. Presently 75% of the single family home in Detroit are abandoned or destroyed because of Capitalism and our economic system. I imagine that quite a few of those people were also quite intelligent and hard working honest people. So -- Daniel, WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY?"
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Thursday, June 8, 2017
Opiate based pain killer
Recently, during recovery from a car accident, I took Norco for two months (about 160 doses) which is an opiate based, prescription pain killer. Everything is better on Norco. I was angry for three weeks when my prescription ran out and if I really think about it, I am STILL angry.
There was a fairly recent research study in England (London) where Heroin addicts were just given Heroin supplied by the government. It was found that they were generally able to get a job and maintain a regular life as long as they had a consistent and reliable source. It was actually the scramble on the black market to find supply, that took so much time and was disruptive to leading a regular life. (Sorry no time to find references, but if you are real interested, I am sure you can find a description of the study online "somewhere").
There was a fairly recent research study in England (London) where Heroin addicts were just given Heroin supplied by the government. It was found that they were generally able to get a job and maintain a regular life as long as they had a consistent and reliable source. It was actually the scramble on the black market to find supply, that took so much time and was disruptive to leading a regular life. (Sorry no time to find references, but if you are real interested, I am sure you can find a description of the study online "somewhere").
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Carbon in Atmosphere
The carbon content of the atmosphere has almost doubled in two hundred years from about 220 ppmil in 1809 to over 400 ppmil today. The Carbon content of the atmosphere is now higher than it has been since before the Ice Age began over 2 million years ago. We can tell the history of carbon content in the atmosphere from glacial core samples in Antarctica and Greenland. In my opinion it is inevitable that this process will continue.
For example every single gallon of gasoline that is burned removes twelve POUNDS of Oxygen from the atmosphere and replaces it with 19.2 POUNDS of Carbon Dioxide. EVERY SINGLE GALLON OF GAS BURNED releases almost 7 POUNDS of Carbon directly into the atmosphere.
For example every single gallon of gasoline that is burned removes twelve POUNDS of Oxygen from the atmosphere and replaces it with 19.2 POUNDS of Carbon Dioxide. EVERY SINGLE GALLON OF GAS BURNED releases almost 7 POUNDS of Carbon directly into the atmosphere.
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
After Midnight Air Traffic in Los Angeles
Last night I was awakend at 3:30AM by jet air traffic overhead.
Civilian Air space is closed from about midnight till 6 AM. There are no domestic jet airline passenger flights over Los Angels from 12 midnight till 6 AM. It is my opinion that this is primarily military air traffic carrying supplies overseas. I have noticed a tremendous increase in this air traffic the past four months. It is my opinion that there will be a major military exercise this summer and this is an indication. Similarly, before the Iraq invasion in 2003 I was repeated awakened in the middle of the night by jet air traffic. Prepare for war.
It seems to be in the domestic political interests of the president to start a war. Then he can declare emergency powers and rule like a dictator. Additionally, this would be good "payback" for all those millennials flirting with socialism. A good tour of duty in a war zone and all those kids will forget any altruistic ideas they had.
Think about it. Think about the data in the context of geography and time of day. It would make sense that planes from Vandenberg AFB fly over .LA. on their way to Japan and the Mid East. It makes sense that these planes would fly convoys at times when there was no civilian air traffic to worry about. It makes sense that the Military supply convoys fly at night.
Civilian Air space is closed from about midnight till 6 AM. There are no domestic jet airline passenger flights over Los Angels from 12 midnight till 6 AM. It is my opinion that this is primarily military air traffic carrying supplies overseas. I have noticed a tremendous increase in this air traffic the past four months. It is my opinion that there will be a major military exercise this summer and this is an indication. Similarly, before the Iraq invasion in 2003 I was repeated awakened in the middle of the night by jet air traffic. Prepare for war.
It seems to be in the domestic political interests of the president to start a war. Then he can declare emergency powers and rule like a dictator. Additionally, this would be good "payback" for all those millennials flirting with socialism. A good tour of duty in a war zone and all those kids will forget any altruistic ideas they had.
Think about it. Think about the data in the context of geography and time of day. It would make sense that planes from Vandenberg AFB fly over .LA. on their way to Japan and the Mid East. It makes sense that these planes would fly convoys at times when there was no civilian air traffic to worry about. It makes sense that the Military supply convoys fly at night.
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Wednesday, June 7, 2017
Prepare for doom
1. Presently, 47% of Americans declare adherence to a fanatical philosophical doctrine that has no experimental confirmation in history or science. 2. The certainty with which this doctrine is held to be true cannot be disputed or disproved by any reasoning or debating technique known to man. 3. The United States is the only country on Earth that holds any sizable, or even countable (in many cases), population of people that believe this same philosophical doctrine. 4. This is not a trivial observation.
Although the percentage of adherents is disputable and may be as low as 22% of the population of the USA, the fact remains that this philosophical mindset is unprecedented both in the 1. historical immediacy of less than two hundred years and 2. essential geographical isolation of followers on the continent of North America.
Although the percentage of adherents is disputable and may be as low as 22% of the population of the USA, the fact remains that this philosophical mindset is unprecedented both in the 1. historical immediacy of less than two hundred years and 2. essential geographical isolation of followers on the continent of North America.
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Violence is a Meme
It is my opinion that "violence is a meme." A meme is a thought that exists in the mind only to reproduce itself in other peoples minds, similar to the way a virus replicates itself biologically. Apparently, my father experienced some horrible "belt whipping experience" that became lodged in his mind as a meme. When a trigger event would happen to my father, this meme would take over and my father became an irrational and violent monster.
( comment on video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLuafRGC6Fw )
( comment on video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLuafRGC6Fw )
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Sunday, June 4, 2017
To the Lonely and the Lost
To the lonely and the lost,
the crazy and the confused,
the demented and the distraught,
the helpless and the hurt,
the sick and the suffering,
and the unclean and unhealthy and unnatural,
and everyone else that has been rejected, and removed, and forgotten...
PEACE
(from comment on youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4M0vcyZK1A&t=27s )
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
Saturday, June 3, 2017
Never forget your objective
If you can't run, walk.
If you can't walk, crawl.
If you can't crawl, shimmy along on the ground like a worm.
And, if you can't do that, then just lay there until you can.
But, never forget your objective.
Never forget the goal.
If you can't walk, crawl.
If you can't crawl, shimmy along on the ground like a worm.
And, if you can't do that, then just lay there until you can.
But, never forget your objective.
Never forget the goal.
copyright (c) 2017
William Schaeffer
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