7/12 On Extreme Heat, Electricity, and Radiation

Evening, happy Saturday folks. Here I'd like to jot down some general ideas on extreme heat, electricity, and radiation. 

    First, the weather has become ridiculous and unsafe for humanity, animals, and plants. We're getting our first big heatwave of the summer starting on Monday and temperatures will be in the 90s and 100s. On top of that there are lots of heat-related natural disasters happening all over the country and the world. 

    For example, in California there's been some dozens of fires all going on at the same time in different parts of the state. In other parts of the US, there are natural disasters like extreme rain and lightning storms, flooding, and the usual stifling burning heat that is downright dangerous if you are not probably hydrated. And of course I know you heard about the recent earthquakes in Venezuela and Japan.

    

    Of course, the main reason why all of this happening is cause and effect but I also believe that the Earth has always been hot and gotten hotter no matter what the circumstances. We polluted the environment by having everyone and their grandma drive cars all the time all day long, decreased regulation regarding natural resources, and we use a ton of electricity, power, and radiation. 

    For example, AI companies are now building AI datacenters and the datacenters require so much power and expend so much power and radiation to run them that they're using tons of water just to keep the datacenters cool, to keep them from overheating, and probably so they don't just start burning down. 

    Just think about the average person. They live in a home or apartment, they have tons of electronics, they own a smartphone as well as maybe some smart devices, they probably  own a desktop computer or laptop, and they definitely have a TV, or if they're old school, they might own a radio or something. Okay, so just think about that for a second. Any one or all of these things by themselves or together generate a ton of heat, electricity, power, and radiation. Yes, if you keep your smartphone in your pocket all day, yes it is generating heat, power, and radiation in your pocket, and yes, that might not be a good thing for you in the long run, but that's beside the point. 

    Rather, I want this idea to hit home, that pretty much anything and everything in the post-modern 2026 world is running on tons of heat, power, electricity, and radiation. Let me say that again for the folks in the back. Anything and everything in the post-modern 2026 world is running on tons of heat, power, electricity, and radiation. There are some people who believe you can actually feel and hear the electricity and radiation that is being used surrounding us although I'm not sure I can really feel it myself, but rather I believe that there are tools that could be used to hear and feel electricity and radiation around us, but we probably don't have the proper scientific tools and equipment to actually measure it because it hasn't been invented or created yet. 

    Now, there are people who believe that this is conspiracy thing, that the government controls the weather, and that its getting hot because they want to do population control and whatnot. There's even large groups of people online who believe that because of all this extreme overheating going on this Earth, that it changed time, that somehow time has suddenly sped up much faster than ever before on the planet.

    However, I don't really believe that is true. But apparently there are people who believe that the government has been able to control the weather since the 1940s, and perhaps even before that, if you go by that crazy logic [science fiction]. But rather than this being a government conspiracy or something like that, rather it just a fundamental fact of life in this era of humanity, its heating up. 

    Second, where am I going with this? Well, I guess I'm trying to just bring more awareness to the fact that extreme heat, overuse and overreliance on electricity, and radiation is just as much of a deadly threat to humanity [or more, now it seems like its much more of a threat] as the extreme right-wing MAGA base destroying and distorting the Constitution, or Fascism, The Ice Secret Police, or Terrorism within or without, public shootings/stabbings, or War, or Covid, Cancer, mental illness, old age and dementia. 

    I'm sorry to say it folks, but we're living in a pivotal epoch in this era of humanity, where pretty much anything and everything could possibly kill you, turn on you, inform on you, get you fired at your job, get you arrested, shit man, times are so bad that I don't really want to say this, but personally I believe this is true, that you really can't even trust anything or anyone right now in this era of humanity. From my last experience at my last gig, the reality is that if you do something wrong or make some kind of mistake even if you didn't hurt anyone or steal tons of cash, everyone will turn on you, and you won't get any help from anybody. 

    This is where I get to the more paranoid section of the blog, lol, but I stand by this, at least at this current moment in time [but I am able to change my mind and be more positive and uplifting], but yes, I believe you can't even trust people at your job, your inner circle of friends, family, shit man, you might even want to think about cooking more of your own homecooked meals because I hate to say it but, they could be putting something in your food to make it more addicting, and start to make you want to eat a lot more even though you're full. 

    Yeah, you might laugh at me when I say this or you'll say, 'he's paranoid!' like the Ozzy song, or whatever, but yeah man, I personally believe they put chemicals in the food, drugs [it goes without saying], and alcohol, to make it much more addicting and make you keep coming back for more much more often so they can keep making more sales off you. Even the extreme heat and capitalism are going together. 

    Keep in mind, I'm not an anti-vaxxer, I'm not into that kind of wrong-headed thinking, but I can sort of understand why people could feel like the Covid vaccine was a hoax. If the vaccine was a hoax, why did so many elderly customers from my market job die from Covid just because they refused to take the vaccine? A good portion of elderly customers dropped dead from Covid after refusing to get the vaccine. That place was depressing and sad!   

    Third, my point with this post is just to bring awareness, but also you should ensure you stay grounded because things aren't what they seem and things are not normal folks. None of this is normal. When I was in high school during the 2008 financial crisis and we were going through the Iraq War after 9/11, as crazy as those times were, those were normal times. These years, these post-Covid Trump years are not normal. 

    I just can't state that enough right now, none of this is normal. We got a lunatic running the United States and almost every day, every 12 hours something he or his Cabinet did is reported in online news, and almost every single one or many things he did is a scandal worthy enough of impeachment but because the news is on a short cycle, almost all the bad things Trump and the MAGA Republicans do gets reported, dismissed, and somehow swept under the rug, and 12 hours later, it or something like it happens again, and they get away again and again. Make it make sense, folks. This ain't normal.

    In conclusion, you might not agree with me, you might even be a right-wing nationalistic almost fascist type of person and you voted for Trump, however, I believe that its good to get information from various sources and from a variety of different sources and types of sources and even types of people. 

    You might find this entire post boring and unimaginative because you're a young person who likes to party, drink, do drugs, and play video games, that's fine too. I hope this content reaches a wide variety of people. Remember folks, I'm just a 40 year old black guy with a high school diploma. 

    If this stuff doesn't interest you at all then you just haven't enough experience in life. If you're a kid and somehow this post got to you, remember, you're young now but at some point you're going to get big, and you're going to have to take the rap for this stuff, and mommy and daddy aren't going to be there forever, so you better start learning to understand this stuff at a young age, probably even younger than when I did because I learned about life through the school of hard knocks and it wasn't pretty, fun, or pleasant. Remember folks, when you [or they/them] fuck up, its reeducation through labor. And that's every country, every state, every city, every village.  

    Lastly, if you weren't aware yet, what you don't know can hurt you. That being said, no need to panic, worry, or be paranoid about anything at all, but just keep in mind, that there's something strange going on during all this heat and destruction. 

    I would've liked to have become a teacher in this lifetime because I believe kids are naturals at knowing things like the truth, and that even when bad kids seem to act out against teachers and whatnot, that sometimes they are not completely in the wrong, rather it is just that they out of all the 'normie' kids, have somehow picked up on the fact that the teacher could be bullshitting them, and they're calling it out. If you're someone who's kept that sense of childlike wonder and intellect and call people out when they BS you other people will notice and you will stand out. But that's a whole other post.  

    Concluding, in other news, Lindsay Graham died. He had a good reputation until his good friend John McCain died, then he become a MAGA Trump sycophant, so he ended up sort of disgracing himself after what otherwise could be seen as a pretty decent right-wing leadership position in US government. Watch this space. 

Things I learned From Playing Guitar Live in Los Angeles

 

So what is it like, playing shows live onstage at small bars and clubs in Los Angeles, from the guitarists' perspective? 

First, you have to realize, that playing guitar live onstage in Los Angeles is very common. There are a million guitar players in Los Angeles. Why? Because its a warm climate and guitars do much better in warm climates than in cold climates. Therefore, there are a million guitar players in Los Angeles. So, you must realize that if you want to play guitar in Los Angeles, you are competing with a million other players, many of which, may be good, very good, so-so, and/or amazing. 

So you've decided to play a guitarist in Los Angeles? Okay, so here are the next steps in your sound once you get on stage in whatever capacity: in a band, in a cover band, or in an original band, or just playing a jam session. 

Second, the type of guitar you use is important. So when you get onstage, the type of guitar you bring to the performance matters most more than anything. You need a cheap but comfortable guitar that you can play at any moment's notice. Cheap, because most bars aren't the most safest for your good gear. And comfortable because you need to be able to play very well in any moment's notice. 

Third, the type of amp matters a lot too. Let's say you're playing in a metal band. I would recommend some cheap solid state amp [digital] that you could haul easily. If you're playing country and western then you want something older like an old small tiny Fender tube amp that you can really crank up. Classic rock? Well, you could do a solid state amp [digital], or a tube amp. 

Or, there's another option. You could run the guitar through the PA, and have the sound technician turn up the guitar loudly. But this is a last resort option, only if somehow you have no amp and you must perform. 

Fourth, you as the player matter. What kind of styles of music are you more inclined to? If you're a metal player, you might play fast three-notes-per-string scales like Malmsteen or Steve Vai. If you're more blues, you might be sounding like Jimi Hendrix or Jimmy Page. If you're more country you're going to sound more like Joni Mitchell backing up Emoulou Harris. So, you, as a player matter a lot. 

Moving forward, you must ask yourself, why am I playing guitar in bars in Los Angeles? Do you need money, do you play for fun, are you trying to be famous, or are you just trying to chill and have a good time? You must have a purpose to what you're trying to do. 

However, because there are a million other guys playing guitar in bars in Los Angeles, you'll find that its difficult to make it in the business. Especially because the music industry and music business has changed so much from when I was a kid [2011] to now [2025], so you'll find its tough no matter how good at guitar you are. 

So, you'll learn that guitar in Los Angeles isn't the most necessary or important, or required instrument in bars. Because the music scene here is so oversaturated with guitar players, you'll find out that its better to be a multi-instrumentalist instead. 

Next, you'll find that you'll have to wear many hats and know how to play musical chairs. 

In conclusion, what do you have to do in order to be a musician [guitar player] in Los Angeles? This will take all of your musical abilities start from whatever age you first became attracted to music. Most musicians get interested in music around the age of 9 or 10 years old. 

So you'll find that you'll have to be a multi-instrumentalist. Most bands won't need a guitarist, so you'll have to be able to be a singer [while also strumming piano or guitar or bass or drums at the same times], or a bass player [non-singing], or a drummer [non-singing], or piano [non-singing] and you must also have the ability to be able lift heavy sound equipment for your band. 

Lastly, you'll also want good old fashioned sound engineer ability as well. For, as you see, its very complicated playing guitar at bars in Los Angeles. 

Rent-Due, Still Playing Clubs