Relative Something

*this* John W. Hays' take on things and experiences

Posts Tagged ‘campaign calls

Stupid Bots

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Based on the first-hand evidence of my direct experience, I can confidently proclaim that the bots programmed to spam cell phones with calls and texts are missing a key morsel of intelligence. Especially the ones trying to mine votes for the candidate Musk and Trump so desperately seek in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election.

“Help elect… and get rewarded for it. Earn $20 for each Wisconsin voter you recruit – they get $20 too.”

The messages have been relentless. We may have received one or two for Judge Crawford –I delete all of them, regardless of the candidate– but the flood that has been begging (and bribing) for votes for Schimel to serve the power grab by Elon and his pal, Donald, has come non-stop by the quarter hour.

The brilliant technology doesn’t take into account that the campaigners are targeting a person (me) who objects to their message and methods. Smart tech would recognize where the message gets deleted before being read, especially after three, four, or even five tries, and stop trying that number. Move on to a fresh target.

If there is any mercy left in the world, I hope it will bring an end to the relentless annoyance of campaign calls today now that election day has arrived for us. I would dearly love to return to my expedition in a political-news-free wilderness.

April Fool’s Day. Well played, Universe.

Cyndie and I will do our part to save the country by our votes. I’m sure we will be key to swaying the election away from the fascist billionaires who seek to rule the world with their buddy, Putin, by eliminating any obstructions still hanging by a thread in the U.S.

According to the Associated Press, Wisconsin’s “high-stakes race has become a proxy battle over the nation’s politics.” It reports that more than $90 million has been spent on the race. If I would just sign Musk’s petition and recruit others to join me, I could earn my own chunk of that heavy spending.

Damn, I miss the days when politicians needed to hide their bribery schemes.

Even though I have been avoiding news media, I am well aware that on Saturday, April 5, people who object to the attack on the citizens of this country by the current administration will be protesting across the land. Like the rallies recently held by AOC and Bernie, like-minded conscientious political objectors can gather and assure each other we are not alone.

I wish it would have more power to actually stop what is going on since nobody else seems to be able to do anything. When do we get to the part of the script where the hero shows up and once and for all dispatches the villain? I mean, at least until the next sequel gets released.

Ethan Hunt? Is this an impossible mission? Jason Bourne? Reacher? Bond? Rambo? Harry Potter? Beuller? Anyone? Someone?

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Written by johnwhays

April 1, 2025 at 6:00 am

From Here

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There are many days when life around here feels like we should be mentioned in a Prairie Home Companion Lake Wobegon monologue. Oftentimes, that is because nothing particularly noteworthy has transpired. I could start out with, “It’s been a quiet week at ranch Wintervale…”

The sun came up about when we expected. The unseasonably warm weather that is becoming more seasonable every year hung in there to the last minute before a front of clouds and cooler air showed up yesterday afternoon. Cold rain is expected this morning. Last I checked, the conditions didn’t look all that promising for comfortable trick-or-treating tonight.

I miss being able to say that our phones rang off the hook. They buzzed and pinged with dramatically increased frequency from messages related to the election campaigns. I have no idea what any of them were because I instantly report them as spam, block the number, and delete the calls and texts in every instance.

It brings me great pleasure to not look or listen to any of them.

There are a lot of things that I get pleasure out of not doing. Plenty of them would be obvious, like not falling off a cliff. I love it whenever I don’t do that.

I like not picking up after the horses in the fields.

We took some time on Tuesday in the middle of the afternoon to give the horses extra attention. We brought along some carrots, which they seem to like more than the dry processed treats we keep in a cupboard in the barn.

Cyndie believes Mix may be experiencing arthritic pains. The last time the farrier was here, she thought Mix was showing some muscle knots. The farrier doubles as an equine massage provider. A few brief moments of her technique produced a quick response of approving signals from Mix, such as a big release with an audible exhale and dropping her head down.

Mia continues to be the odd horse out. The other three horses are very consistent about keeping her aware she is at the bottom of the herd hierarchy. Her response over the years is to simply spend more time grazing in the fields while the others choose to stand around under the overhang.

Now that we have some chilly rain happening, our concern will be whether they allow her to get under the shelter or not.

If not, we will intervene on her behalf.

That’s the news from here on this final day of October. Happy Halloween to all the little costumed candy seekers and their parents! (I love not taking kids trick-or-treating.)

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Written by johnwhays

October 31, 2024 at 6:00 am