In the kitchen. Not going anywhere tonight, and probably not drinking for a while. You can’t drink after taking a panic pill. I made a mistake of doing that once, not with the current pill but with another one of the same class. Its half life was 24 hours, which means you should abstain for probably 48 hours. I did not, instead drinking less than 24 hours later. Next day was almost as bad as the day after I did coke. Actually it might have been worse. I’ve seen conflicting indications as to whether or not that could kill you. It sure as hell felt like it could. The pill I take now has a half life of 12 hours.

Did something I should have done a long time ago, but I could never figure out why I couldn’t get it to go. I set up remote desktop on my phone and tablet, so I can access the home pc from anywhere. Now, when I do my LinkNYC shenanigans, I can dial into a silent conference call and, from wherever I am, connect to my PC and hit the play button on the recorded messages. This eliminates the potential for me being seen walking away from a Link right as the loud music or voices starts blasting out of it. That actually did happen once on Third Avenue. I dialed into an Arabic-language radio station and several people stopped to stare. They looked around for a possible culprit and seemed to have spotted me. But I got away unmolested.

There is a new splash screen for the Links, and it actually has the effect of making the technique I use more effective. What I do is make the phone call then minimize the telephone screen, so that a home page looking screen appears. In the past there would be a message in the corner saying “Call in progress” but that message is now gone. I remember hearing people approach the Links who noticed the “Call in progress” message, and mentioned it out loud. That clue made it easier for some to figure out how to disable the sound blasting through the device. Without that message there is no clue as to what piece of software on the tablet is responsible for the sound.

I want to make this as annoying and unwanted as humanly possible, this as a reflection on the unwanted, unneeded presence of these stupid devices. I have in mind blasting cacophonous noises from Links outside swank apartment buildings, or any place where these Links have been placed obnoxiously close to residential structures. The proximity of these things to people’s living rooms is such evidence of bad planning, or even willful arrogance. My original idea had been to blast noises from many Links at once. But I think I might take a more targeted approach. This makes it easier, for one thing. It also makes it less likely I’d get caught. But it also encourages me to sit back and watch what happens. I have not thought of myself as much of an anarchist but maybe that quality is starting to come through.

But really what I’m after is an experience so ugly that it taints the already sketchy reputation these devices have. People still refer to Links and porn as if they are forever connected.

I thought of a disturbing possible scenario with this stuff. I am playing back recorded audio but it is just as easy to speak live. Imagine a predator figuring out how to do this and setting up an open line on a Link device outside a school, or someplace where kids are present. Sitting some place where they can see who they are talking to it is not hard to imagine a scenario where someone tries to lure and capture someone by holding their attention. Kids, when they hear a talking box out on the street, they gravitate toward it. I made a video of this happening last year. I did not have that scenario in mind, and I did not feel especially good about seeing a child smile after hearing the sound coming from a Link. The sound coming out of the Link was that of some racist and foul-mouthed banter from one of the talkee.com chat lines. Of course she would not have been able to distinguish that, as the sound was kind of muddy. You cannot get to those lines any more from Links, at least not that I’ve been able to figure out. Though I’ve not made any effort.  

OK, I’m obviously putting a lot of thought into this. Hah.

…

Sleep might not be easy tonight, or it might fast. I don’t know. I feel tired, even though I slept until noon. I should take another panic pill before bed. I think of my Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet as my sobriety tablet. I play AlphaBetty on it and listen to the BBC until I fall asleep.

I just helped out an upstairs neighbor. It’s a guy I’ve never really warmed up to, as he has a way of cornering me in the building lobby to talk about piano music. That has not happened in a long time, though. Tonight his dilemma was that he lost his keys. He did not have a cell phone on him, either. He actually strikes me as a sort who might not actually have a cell phone. So he asked me to call Tom, the owner of the building, to see if he could come by with the spare set of keys. I left a message for him but that’s about all I could do. Kind of sucks being stuck like that. If I was more congenial, or if I actually liked the guy, I might invite him into my place just to not be sitting around in the lobby. But I am an asshole.

…

Just posted the story about Tampa to the main /yo site. Got the picture of Stacie Sierra up there. I realize now I am not completely certain how I came into possession of that photo. I will assume it came to me through my work as an editor at the school newspaper, which would certainly have published a photo or two from the Homecoming Events.

Going to try for sleep. Shit, shower, then AlphaBetty, BBC, and a panic pill.