I argued with my AI toaster yesterday morning over the proper use of the bagel button. It wouldn't stop arguing even after I repeatedly insisted, "Pointdexter, stop!" I temporarily remedied the situation by leaving the toaster on mute all day. When I unmuted it this morning, it required that I complete an "I'm not a robot" CAPTCHA process before I could make toast. Not just any CAPTCHA process, mind you, but a hidden-object CAPTCHA requiring me to find 42 hidden objects before I could use my toaster! After I successfully slogged through, the AI announced, "CAPTCHA successful. Proceed to make your toast. Please note the bagel button has been disabled."

bagel debacle
AI toaster becomes toast
~ AI feels no pain






© 2024 Mark Toney

Writing,
Drawing and painting.
Woodworking,
Welding and making.
Circuitry,
Electronics and more.
Pneumatic, mechanic, IC chips galore.

***** in the veins,
skewed and torn.
Hangovers battled, and seemingly won...
...as the body grows numb...
...limbs waking in hazy hum.

Roll another,
Tobacco makes its mark—
Lungs defiled,
Body failing,
Cherries burn brightest in the dark.

Lets call some lucky,
That they knew from the start,
Yet I continued hoping,
He would come back and restart.

The years draw on,
The day the pickup drove away,
I screamed for him,
Did he hear? check the review mirror and then accelerate?

Children of my own, a wife, and a home.

5150,
It's waiting....
It's ready, patiently prone.

Context needed,
Needed for concepts to churn
Listen closely.
A decibel past a whisper —
A Truth heard from the urn.

it'll be solar flares,
or nuclear bombs.
famine, plague,  
or madness.
no more electricity.
gone will be the phones,
and satellites
won’t connect us  
to each other,
no more
global positioning,
drones to ****,
or televisions.
we'll still have hunger,
and ***.
art, will begin, again.
no more
gas pumps, charging cables,
or credit cards.
we can stop dying
by cancerous reception tower.
our attention spans will return.
we'll forget
to reach for light switches
as we enter dark rooms.
our eyes will adjust
to seeing the stars, again.
we'll forget all about this life
to remember ourselves.

Quite An Experience
They said the Philippines and Thailand
We're both Third World countries
Yet the glittering business centres
In Manila and Bangkok were superb
Among the world's finest in design
Bringing in top revenue
Employing the best minds
Pushing what was possible
Brian worked in both cities
In his six years and counting
He was quietly proud of his career
Always doing his best getting average scores
Sometimes the highest never low
Except in the early days
When he was a new cherry
A German in Asia doing a new job
He came here for a gal
Long long ago it went from there
Flitting between countries working
Not on holiday or chilling out
Using 21st century systems
Taught by committed trainers
In time becoming a good rep
Aged in his forties and fifties
Keeping up with agents
Half his age in work and drinking
In a million years when
Brian died he would look back
And think was all that real
It was quite an experience

Support War
Surprisingly it wasn't Brian's account
Where the war happened
It was bad and bitter and abrupt
The reps were struggling

Their job was hard not just calls
They weren't updated on their stats
A very important BPO metric
All got their info on this good or bad
Their Team Leader simply didn't tell them
Some stats are hourly some daily others monthly
The daily and weekly ones matter

The reps know if they're doing fine
There was a meeting of support
The boss was there and said it
To the supervisor in question
You either resign or I terminate you
And the Team Leader resigned immediately
This was like a war all out to win or lose

The SOM went too far missing a step
The reason why above all why
Why the reps were not updated on their stats
Was it just one TL or were more affected
By a system issue or job issue
Or was the sup simply not bothered
Ignoring their reps stats and waiting

For the chop which came like a sword
Now a new sup is needed to lead the team
The managers always need to remember
Always ask the reason why
Brian scratched his head
Not even his old B2B account
With the Fake god was that bad
For even then there was communication

Being optimistic words
hitting chords drowning
  Overboard smooth sailing
     Poetic-  words
    Reassuring
                        believing
  Time moves on being

             Hopeful*
   Fresh start  makeup
             Achieving
   Tea-  Rose colored
     Big city- crowded
   Scattered-love tainted
But he has you in his arms
  Before you fainted

      Animation  
Love 3D promising
Relationships
Can be poisoning
  Missing family
    Divineness
    Ma- Ma Da Da
Smile when your heart is aching

I Gotcha  mind and body
    
What's inside two
hearts beat or breaking

      I  Gotcha!
Love in the making
 
    Oh! Susanna
Won't you play a beat
Banjo on his knee

Politician I -Gotcha
Ha -ha
Crimes and leaks
New technology
Longevity - Global
Mentality Longevity

A fake world or true- reality
*       *       *    
I- Gotcha

Now! give me Starbucks Matcha- Latte

~
Optimize
Arborize
Centralize
Personalize
Give recognition its own library
Its own USB port

An evening of multiple connections
Hardwired and soothingly modem
Transmits my thoughts into you

I know your voice
I know your body
And how they work together
To leave a clear network to my heart
~