Perhaps the most famous quote to come out of the Oprah television talk show was “Men are amateur human beings.” If you accept this premise, and we do, you’ll not be surprised to learn that we really couldn’t agree on a topic for this week. Normally a couple glasses of white wine solves all, but not this time. So, for the first time, it’s “Freestyle” week. The boys will each write about anything they please.
My G-Shocking Story
Fools learn from their own mistakes. The story began around a year ago, but today was its next chapter.
I have a Casio G-Shock watch, a basic timepiece I like. I bought it in 2014, before my first 42K run. I needed something tough, brutally designed, and still technological enough to have a stopwatch to measure running time during my training sessions. It was already the beginning of the Apple Watch and other smartwatches epoch. Sure, such gadgets are much more functional, ideally fitting for running activities with GPS pacemakers, etc. However, I wanted a basic G-Shock; here I am with this small black and red beast.
It served me well during my adventures around the world. I stood on the top of Kilimanjaro with it on my wrist. I was mushing in Alaska’s taiga night and day with it. I was walking up and down the Himalayan trails with it. I even swam the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea in North Cyprus with my G-Shock.
The watch is a quality thing, and I just once changed the battery. Then, a couple of years later, I repaired the wrist strap, replacing a minor plastic element.
Then, around a year ago, it was time to change the battery again. I decided not to visit Casio’s official service spot for some stupid reason. I went to the nearest place to fix this simple, as I thought, problem. Yes, I had doubts, but I told myself: This is just a battery replacement on a simple G-Shock. No big deal!
The local service guy looked weird. I think he was missing an eye. That weird! Moreover, he behaved strangely overall. It took him almost 15 minutes to change the battery. While waiting for this essential operation to be completed, I saw him looking down at the floor of his tiny office. I didn’t realize why he was behaving like that.
The truth was revealed later. Days after, I studied the watch’s case and discovered that one of the very small screws, out of four, was not original. I guess he dropped the authentic one but couldn’t find it on the floor; that’s why he was scanning the floor.
After some everyday use, I noticed that one of the small LCD screens on the dial was not displaying seconds as it should. Plus, the lower left button suddenly stuck inside the case, and I couldn’t change the modes, etc.
I finally took off the watch and put it on the shelf for about a year.
Today I finally decided to fix it; my story is as fresh as possible. I went to the official Casio service spot. The watch master opened my G-Shock’s case, and studied it thoroughly. Then he politely asked me to come to talk over the counter.
He said that the diagnosis was complex:
- A fake screw (I knew it already)
- A wrong battery (not an authentic one by Casio)
- Broken rubber sealer – that bad guy took it out, somehow damaged it, and tried to put it back. This thing, in good condition and properly installed, makes the watch waterproof.
- A malfunctioning display as that lousy guy physically damaged some chip on the plate responsible for displaying seconds on the LCD screen.
The Casio guy replaced the battery with an authentic one, ordered the original sealer, and fixed the screw. He couldn’t change the chip as it was part of the whole thing inside. The repair cost would be almost the entire watch, which is nonsense.
Once I get the sealer back and properly installed, the watch will be almost OK, without seconds displayed, but I am OK to pay such a price for wisdom.
Freestyle
To be able to write about anything is definitely liberating – and once we had made this decision, the amazing thing is I instantly knew about what I wanted to put pen to paper.
I simply detest moon-landing-disbelievers; I loathe religious folk, yes, all of you; and I utterly despise flat earthers, you complete and utter dimwits.
I will restrain from unleashing my wrath upon two of those total twat-ish groups of mentally subnormal idiots, and concentrate on what I consider to be the most pathetic, and criminally underrated dogmatists, and fanatically bigoted extremists, yes, ladies and gentlemen, the religious.
Oh, you contemptable morons. Why on earth do you need, in the 21st century, to be subservient to a creator who, if you read your good book, is a proven horrible, insane, and unbelievably sadistic “God” who is happy to commit genocide, and other murderous activities.
I know your answer. “It says in the bible……”. A book written by many ordinary folk, centuries ago, but which makes you lead your life as if it was “God’s” word. You spend all your miserable existence hoping that you will get to everlasting paradise. Have any of you ever considered what “for ever” actually means? Who would want eternity? Think about it!
You fear hell, so most of you are only religious because of the possibility of everlasting torment and torture. What a wonderful concept. You must be so proud of yourselves, and your religion.
And yet you are all almost atheists yourselves. You deny the existence of the other 4,000 or so “Gods” that are revered world-wide, so basically, the only difference between you and me is that I don’t believe in one more “God” than you.
You ask: “How can anything (the Universe) come from nothing?” It’s so easy to say “God” did it, because you can’t think of anything else. Most of you despise science, because it often contradicts what you believe. But think of this. If all the religious material in the world was ripped up for good, it would never (in this day and age and beyond) be reconstructed. But if all science was dissolved, you bet that within a few hundred years, all the things that have been proven today would be once again be verified using the same principles that have always been used. Facts not bloody faith.
Religion is just an organisation in competition with government, to control people. The difference is that the government doesn’t use made-up mythology with magic, ghosts and fairies in the sky to do it.
I really think you are all totally pathetic, and you repulse me. But I do respect the fact that you have all been brainwashed. We are all, of course, born atheist. But sadly, so many of us are indoctrinated when very young, as was I, which is as bad as any child abuse of which I am aware.
Should’a picked my topic
My topic, which only a fool would not have chosen, is one of those stories that will either sink into the depths of the next news cycle or will explode to become one of the biggest events in human history. No, I’m not exaggerating. My topic: UFO’s. I know, I know, just hear me out.
In the past, the entire UFO thing has always been Flying Saucers and crappy cameras. Then the American Pentagon triumphantly announces swamp gas is the answer. Stupid right?
This time it’s different: it’s top physicist, like Michio Kaku (link here) and top Pentagon researchers are making or talking up these claims. The Instamatic cameras have been replaced by HUD videos in top-of-the-line fighters. While the video is still grainy, this time it’s recorded in multiple wavelengths while F18 computers struggle to maintain a lock. The witnesses are among some of the world’s best pilots. This ain’t your grandpa’s swamp gas.
Things are quickly coming to a head: One whistleblower is getting protection from the US Congress and he is saying things that would be a joke if someone else made such claims. I’ll not list it all here but there is a link to a John Michael Godier video just above. I recommend you watch this. By the way, Mr. Godier is another one of those heavy hitters I was telling you about. This whistleblower, David Charles Grusch, with a top reputation and top clearance to match, says the Americans have several of these craft and even body(s?).
Now why would the Pentagon suddenly start releasing this video stuff and why keep it secret to begin with? There are several more stories you can find online so I’ll not get into the weeds but in a nutshell: several countries would like to reverse engineer these craft for military advantage. Think Independence Day and the Brent Spiner character. To me, that has the ring of truth.
I’m also interested in the reaction of the main stream press: Ignore this story; run away. I suppose I can understand why; there have been way too many wackos who have made claims in the past. However, this has a different feel. These are names I know and the fighter jocks making these claims are not wacko crazies. I will close now with a worn trope of my own:
Watch This Space