Conspiracy Theories and static on your radio.

In the 1980's, I was a young and budding sceptic.  This applied to what I'd heard of conspiracy theories and urban legend.  I was first learning of The Freemasons and The Illuminati.  I was first hearing about fake moon landings, although I'd have thought that they'd have been more believable had "Capricorn One" not been released several years earlier.  And I'm hearing that there has been a resurgence of theorists who believe that one.  And I've always been sceptical.  

"Come on, guys.  You're trying to tell me that they faked all that work, all that time and all of those resources just to fool us into believing that a man walked on the moon?" I thought.  "Who would do that?  And, why?  Nah...I'm not buying that one."

And that brings us to the current dust-up. Just to show that rap music has just as many crazies as the rest of today's music (No, I didn't forget you, Volvique Louis Jean Jr.) here's the latest from rapper B.o.B.

B.o.B (Try typing THAT name quickly and you'll sprain something.) believes that the earth is flat.  He sees it every time he climbs the hills near Atlanta.  He nearly tries to use scientific evidence to back his claims without realizing he doesn't have the equipment and resources needed to make the measurements needed.  

But you know who does?  NASA.  That's right.  The National Aeronautics and Space Administration.  And according to every measurement ever taken by NASA, the earth is not flat.  Bummer, right?  Another rap hero bites the dust.  

Except, B.o.B won't buy that.  He's going to write a rap that calls out fucking Neil DeGrasse Tyson!!  COME ON!!  You're going to dis a national treasure like NDeGT?  This is the guy who brought us the new Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey!!  The guy has a PhD in Astrophysics from Columbia University!!  I think he knows a bit more about the subject that I do, or that B.o.o.B has.

Sometimes, the conspiracies that we think we see are smaller scale.  I have a friend who refuses to upgrade to Windows 10 because then Microsoft will own all of his information.  Okay, you know what?  I kinda believe that MS has more information about me than I'm comfortable with, but what is there for me to worry about?  I don't know any top-secret information.  I'm not hiding Jimmy Hoffa in my basement.  And, I don't believe that upgrading my computer is going to give them any more information than they'd get from Google, or any number of other online resources.  My opinion?  Have at it.  If I haven't already been arrested, then we'll just assume that I'm still in the good subset of people on the database.   

Who REALLY killed JFK?  Has HAARP really been a cause of some recent hurricanes?  Has E.T. been up to no good here on Earth?

Back to the 80's, where I was contemplating things.  You see, I thought, to accomplish something SO massive as a JFK assassination cover-up, or the "conspiracy" to cover up Barack Obama's birthplace, you need people.  Lots and lots of people.  Remember, any "conspiracy", by definition, is going to include more than one person.   And, I had to wonder why, after all this time, one, just one, person hasn't spilled the beans.  "I was the guy who burned Obama's actual Nigerian birth certificate, and watched while his new one was devised."  

Suzanne Jacobs, at Grist.org, wrote a great article that describes the math behind this.  She says the same thing I'd been thinking for thirty years.  The more people involved in a conspiracy, the quicker that conspiracy is exposed.

Gadgets

I have a confession.  Okay, most everyone I know can tell you this, so I guess it's more of an admission.  I'm addicted to gadgets.  If it's coming out in the next few months, I want one.  If I've seen others using a new gadget, I come up with several hundred reasons to have one of my own.  As of now, I have absolutely no need for 75% of the gadgets that I want.  I don't need the gigabit router and I don't need the GoPro Hero 4, but I have imagined several reasons why my life would be better if I had one of each.

That's not to say that I currently buying any of them.  I've long realized that I will never be able to afford all of the gadgets that I want.  And, even if I could afford them, I realize that I may never have a need (or use) for most of them.  But, the ones I could use...  

When cable started offering internet access, I had to have it.  I went from 1.5 megabit speeds, in the beginning, to the current 60 megabits, and I'm behind the times!  I was the first on my block with near (relatively) instant website load times!  Dial-up?  Don't make me laugh!  

I've always had this thing for finding and wanting guitars.  Seeing as one can only have so many guitars before being crowded out of my own home, I've had my eye on Line 6's HD500X multi-effect processors.  I have their UX-2 Studio (one of the last indulgences I succumbed to) hooked into the computer, now.  I can only imagine getting the HD500X out in public.  But, at $500 a crack, I won't see one soon.  

From my previous post, it's obvious that we have a new (to us) car.  Now, all of a sudden, I have a need for a dashcam.  I don't know much about them, but that doesn't matter.  I keep seeing these two guys on my shoulders, one saying: "C'mon.  You KNOW you want one.  Just get out the plastic and get it over with," and the other saying: "Yeah, but you have to eat and pay rent, too."  In most cases, the latter wins out over the former and sanity reigns.  It's the same story with multi-effect processors and GoPro cameras and RC helicopters and...  you get it.

I bought a GPS unit a couple years ago.  It's not like I needed the help getting around.  I spent 5 years running around the country in a semi.  I know how to navigate.  But, you know how, when you see a hotdog, your mouth waters?  And then, to justify having purchased it, I notice that my speedometer isn't all that accurate when compared to what the GPS says.  And, I didn't know that there was a road behind that house.  Interesting...

So now, Apple has come out with a new watch.  I don't even like Apple.  Since the early days of the Mac when I found out that everything they produce is proprietary, I've disliked Apple's business model.  What do you mean, I have to buy the $3000 computer just to get their operating system?  I might have liked OS7, or OS8, or OSX, but I don't want the hardware.  I only wanted a chance to let the operating system impress me and THEN I'd have bought the rest.  So, I've settled for Windows (to replace OSX), MusicBee (replacing iTunes), and Android (as a suitable substitute for iOS).  Mostly, I'm happy with that.  I prefer Android on my phone.  I hate the way iTunes practically takes over my music library.  

But, I think I need a new Apple watch.  I haven't even seen one outside of a website, but the thought won't leave me alone.  The Timex Expedition that I received for Christmas some years ago still tells time, as advertised, but it doesn't sync with anything.  And, how am I ever getting along without Skype on my wrist.  Placing a call?  Heaven forbid I actually use my phone!  How perfectly gauche.  Phones were made to entertain me and to keep my contacts organized.  Just like how my personal organizer keeps my paper receipts in order.  (Who am I fooling?  No one actually owns a personal organizer anymore, do they?  And, paper receipts?  That's what e-mail is for.)