Tag Archives: AI

Just Say “No” to Flip-Flops!

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The following is from an old Facebook post, but it still applies. Please, spread the word.

~🦶~

Dear parents,

This is a PSA: Flip-Flops are terrible. 👣

👟 If your kids (or you) are going to summer camp, church camp, day camp, play camp, rec camp, bible school or any activity that isn’t the beach, a pool, or a shower, leave the flip-flops at home. They are unacceptable footwear for just about every activity that involves placing one foot in front of the other.

Relay races, kickball, volleyball, archery, hikes, creek walks, night games, and even campfires become dangerous when flip-flops are involved. Please, douse them in gasoline, set them on fire, and never purchase another pair. 🔥

Sent with love,
Signed every camp counselor your child will ever have. 😬

I’m going to leave some proof below. Please share your Flip-Flip hate in the comments. This does not extend to sandals or Crocs, as they can be somewhat more acceptable footwear. You have to be ready to adventure at camp, and Flip-Flops are not the vehicle to that destination.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10158888170493997&set=pcb.10158888170543997
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10156404141153997&set=a.10151120131758997
https://fb.watch/rHTv_z3ENA

Here is an excerpt from my last letter to campers/parents:

We do have a few notes from past experience on attire.  Please remember to have shoes appropriate for games and outdoor activities at a moment’s notice.  Flip-flops or sandals are good for the shower, and that’s about it.  It would be great if you had shoes appropriate for hiking, running, and maybe an old pair for a possible creek walk.  Also, though it is sure to be hot, some long pants for hikes add an extra layer of protection against ticks and a hoodie or other light jacket will help for cool nights around a campfire.  In addition it can help to have a sleeping bag and/or sheets blankets for the bunks appropriate for warm or cool nights.

And, from past checklists I usually include to remind kids & parents what to bring & what not to bring…

□ Sneakers – 2 pairs of sneakers if possible (Flip flops or sandals don’t count unless you want Eric to have some more campfire fuel!)

□ Walking shoes (bring an extra pair, if possible)  Flip-Flops are never acceptable for any type of camp activity be it a game, archery, a creek walk, kickball, or anything other than being used as fuel for a campfire.

Let’s start a list of why we should hate flip-flops!

  • They’re not good for kickball.
  • They’re not good for hiking.
  • They’re not good for creek walks.
  • They’re not good for gaga ball.
  • They’re not good for running.
  • They’re not good for riding bikes.
  • They’re not good for climbing.
  • Burning embers from a campfire can land on your toes.
  • You can kick them off by accident.
  • They can get stuck on a multitude of things.
  • You can be super annoying, kick them off on purpose, and lose them or get them stuck.
  • They are a broken or sprained ankle waiting to happen.
  • They’re not good for that swing amusement ride.

Can you keep the list going in the comments?

Please, post more flip-flop fail videos or stories, too!

Streaming related bands automatically?

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This stated as a Twitter post/thread, and is ending up here.

Am I weird for thinking this?

Streaming services like Spotify and Amazon Music need a feature that adds in related bands. I can tell Alexa to play Rancid, but I also wouldn’t mind Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards being in there, or Transplants, or Tim’s solo stuff.  Or even Rancid covers.

Streaming needs to get smarter already.  The Spotify “super grouper” feature picks the absolute worst songs from each selected artist.

Of course, I could just make a playlist.  But, with a band like Blink-182 in the news, I wanted to dig into Angels & Airwaves, Boxcar Racer, & +44.  I don’t know which songs to add to a playlist.

Also, if I want to listen to ALL, I could want to listen to the Descendents too.  What about Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver, Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds, Loaded, Neurotic Boy Outsiders, Slash, Slash’s Snakepit, Miles Kennedy & The Conspirators, all of it.

Snuff, Duncan Redmonds, Dogpiss, Guns ‘n’ Wankers would be another example.  As would Misfits, Danzig, Samhain, Son of Sam, etc.

Saying one phrase or typing one into a searchboith to be able to bring them all up.

Is that bandtoband.com still a thing?  That could be a reference for connected bands.

Teenage Bottlerocket & the Lillingtons.  Screeching Weasel & The Riverdales.  Ann Beretta, Foundation, Rob Huddleston, & Sixer.  Metallica & Megadeth.  Green Day, Foxboro Hot Tubs, The Network, & 300 other bands.

Even unrelated bands.  Can I just say “Alexa play songs by Flogging Molly and The Dropkick Murphys” and not confuse the shit out of it?

I have an Ozzy/Black Sabbath playlist on Spotify with a ton of great stuff, including a plethora of killer covers.  It took time to curate.  I have similar ones for Metallica, Misfits, Guns N’ Roses, & Rancid. I need to transition them all to Amazon Music… we have the family account there since we’re using the firestick. I like Spotify’s suggestions better… but I can listen to Amazon sans commercials. I refuse to subscribe to another service, sorry Spotify. Oddly, most of those transfer services have a paywall once you surpass an unreasonably low amount of songs. I don’t even my remember my Pandora logins.

I would think AI could have probably pretty quickly picked up what I was putting down & fleshed it out.

I wouldn’t expect it to go this deep, but it could link Flogging Molly to Fastway.

With Hip Hop too… say all the solo projects of the members of N.W.A.?  All that in one would be awesome.

Does something like this exist and I’m just not aware of it? I miss WinAmp.

I need to rip all kinds of older, local, & obscure stuff and put it on my own damn streaming server. I understand Google Music would let you do that before it collapsed? There is really a lot of stuff out there that you can’t stream, and some of my favorites don’t have their entire catalogs available to stream.

Help me out, audiofiles, music nerds, and techno geeks!

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