Apology

Its monday... I haven't blogged in forever... and even then it was just a hit and run. Fact is I don't have time. Its monday... there's aparently a lot going on in the political world... but I can't seem to make myself give a shit.

Democrats say this... Republicans say that... Libertarians say this... stay in your lanes. Say in your box.

Lanes and boxes used to piss me off... now it all just bores me.

Its a powerful boredom.... its the boredom of understanding.

Do you know why its so important for magicians to keep their secrets? Because if people knew... they'd be bored.

I think back to the days in college when I used to play these online games. They were fun... You had your little character and you ran around and collected items and weapons... and they the more stuff they did... the more powerful they were... the cooler it was. The coolest people in the game were the "gods"... the creaters... the coders. They made the items and objects... and even the areas.

Occasionally they'd "come down" and interact with the mere players... and when they did... it lent an air of unpredictability... it was so much fun to play when they were around. Anything could happen... because they could literally... make anything happen.

Then I screwed up.

I was asked by the admin to join them... to become a God... to be a coder.

This was my first real exposure to The Boredom of Understanding.... and incidentally... this is where the makers of the Matrix truly screwed up. More on that in a minute.

See... once I was a coder... I new that the power of an item or the damage a weapon could do was nothing more than a number in a line of code. I could change that number any time I wanted. There was no economics involved. I could make as many insanely powerful weapons as I wanted. There was nothing challenging... its just changing a number.

it was customary of course for coders... gods.. to create a signature weapon or item to show off their ability as a coder... and carry it with them. I remember... I became so bored and apathetic... another coder was named "Dolphin"... he was a rookie but everyone liked him... I eventually coded up a "tuna net" that was specifically designed to trap him. It would make him shout and scream... it would tell everyone playing the game... hundreds of people around the world... that Dolphin had been trapped in my Dread Tuna Net. After a few moment's humiliation it would kick him out of the game completely.

Sounds like fun right?

It wasn't.

Because I knew how it worked. It wasn't magic. It wasn't special. I understood it. It was predictable.

And that's where I am right now... bored with politics... and predictability.

That's why I've insulated myself off with my kids right now... because they aren't so predictable. Being individuals... they are new... unpredictable... and partly uncontrollable. They are after all... mine.

Once you understand the boxes and lanes... once you see the man behind the curtain... once you know its just a number in a line of code... that's when you really know what boredom is.

And that thing they screwed up in the Matrix?

Neo was effectively seeing things as a coder. He saw the code in the Matrix. He could manipulate it from within... just like I could as a creator god in the game I played in college. They completely missed the boredom of it. They never had Neo behave correctly. He should never have been in a fight. His adversaries simply should've disappeared. Agents... the Trainman... they are nothing... items with mere numbers to change. They are less than a passing thought.

The Matrix trilogy... arguably Hollywood's greatest disappointment.