A Coming of Age Story + An Epic Journey of the Heart.
Set in an India-inspired world with a large cast of characters, The
Stonebound Heir is a bittersweet, coming-of-age story about a boy who
wants a better life, a girl who's hiding from the world, a giant who's
the last of her kind, and a maharani driven by duty and her own
darkness.
Fourteen-year-old
Sid Sol knows nothing about his origins but believes himself destined
for better things than living in an isolated cabin with a giant and a
girl whose strange appearance causes the locals to shun them. His fellow
orphan, sixteen-year-old Lingli Tabaan, only wants a home where she
will be safe from those who are convinced she’s from the otherworld.
In
this coming-of-age story of secret origins, friendship, and betrayal,
the arrival of a mysterious woman provides Sid with the chance to claim a
more glorious future, but his departure doesn’t go smoothly, and
star-cursed Lingli is forced to undertake a journey she never wanted
after their guardian is brutally murdered.
Sid
and Lingli meet again in Saatkulom where they serve a mercurial
maharani who will risk the realm to secure a new alliance while fighting
her own inner demons. One teenager’s fortunes rise while the other’s
fall. Will their loyalty to one another survive?
Every Saturday in November you can get yourself a free ebook of Richard Sexsmith's satirical comedy "Zombie Madness", featuring villainaire Egon Müller. Regularly priced at 99 cents.
Immortality was supposed to save humanity—until it started eating it.
When
the world’s first trillionaire promises humanity eternal life, the
press calls it “the cure for death.” But when Egon Müller’s miracle
vaccine turns test subjects into violent, mindless killers, the cover-up
begins. Dubbed Zombie Madness
by terrified scientists, the mutation spreads beyond
containment—threatening to transform immortality into mankind’s final
plague.
Blending corporate satire with apocalyptic horror, Richard Sexsmith's "Zombie Madness" is a razor-sharp tale of greed, denial, and the price of playing God.
"If zombie satire is your thing, you need to read this story."
Cover Illustrated by Drake Stig.
***
Note:
I sure hope Elon Musk doesn't sue Richard Sexsmith for giving his villainaire such a similar name. “Egon Müller” and “Elon Musk” do sound similar after all. The “E–M” initials, the two-syllable first name, and the Germanic surname could subconsciously remind readers of Elon Musk, even if that wasn’t intentional.
Although, if it was intentional, Zombie Madness is a satire, and satires are generally exempt from lawsuits because satires get special legal protections in countries like the USA where satires are protected as free speech and opinion pieces under the First Amendment.
Also... If you read the ebook it is pretty clear that Egon Müller legally changed his name to Egon because of his fondness for the Egon character from Ghostbusters. So the name similarity might be accidental.
But the villain's name isn't the only similarity.
Müller is a tech trillionaire due to making robots and AI.
Musk is a tech billionaire due to his electric cars.
Müller is implied to basically own the US president.
Musk wishes that he could own the US president.
Müller has a bunker on a private island.
Musk has a bunker on a private island.
Müller is German-American.
Musk is South African-Canadian.
There are no doubt other similarities and differences.
Since the ebook is free every Saturday in November I recommend just reading it and drawing your own conclusions.
Artificial Intelligence is coming to take our jobs, but there is one large stumbling block along the way:
AI is surprisingly stupid at times.
Here are several examples of different kinds of AI that are surprisingly stupid:
Generative AI: You give simple instructions, and it ends up complicating the instructions and outputting a response that is overly complicated and fails to follow the original instructions. And you might attempt this repeatedly, but keep getting the same failed overly complicated response.
At which point you want to throw the computer across the room.
Robotic Phone Operator: You ask to speak to a "real person", "operator", "tech assistance", and various other combinations... and its response is "Are you looking for billing? If yes, say Yes." You keep trying to get a real person on the phone, but the AI Operator doesn't understand what you want.
At which point you want to throw the phone across the room.
And I can just see the future now...
"Robot. Please clean up the vomit on the floor."
Robot: "Do you want me to bomb the floor? If yes, say Yes."
or
"Robo-Surgeon. Please sew the patient back up."
Robo-Surgeon: "Proceeding to fill the patient up with sows."
Obviously I am joking, but the point is still made. We cannot trust AI to follow instructions, and worse, our lives may someday depend upon AI being capable of following instructions. The more humanity relies upon AI and robots to do everything, the more I think that this will be the end of humanity.
We should not be trusting AI to do anything. Not even simple tasks.
Let me give you an example.
Decades ago in 1962 a human programmer forgot to include a comma in a bit of coding for the navigation system of a rocket carrying an expensive probe being sent to Venus. This mistake caused the rocket to go into a spiral and crash. Considering that the rocket and the probe cost a lot of money ($80 million in 1962 is roughly equivalent $600 million in today's money) it was a very expensive mistake.
Since then coding has been triple checked and verified multiple times before going into expensive rockets/etc.
Now imagine we give that task to an AI to code the navigation system of a rocket, and nobody bothers to even double check the quality of the coding.
The rocket could accidentally fly into Russian airspace and start WW3.
So... Why is AI so stupid?
I suspect it is because humans are stupid.
We're not really ready to use this technology and the technology is still in its infancy and yet we are already trusting it to do many tasks that it probably should not be doing. Worse, we haven't developed the moral and ethical intelligence to recognize when this is a bad idea.
It reminds me of Dr Malcolm's speech from Jurassic Park:
Dr. Malcolm:
“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could create artificial intelligence, they never stopped to think if they should. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could — you didn’t earn the knowledge for yourselves, you didn’t take the discipline, the responsibility, or the humility that comes with understanding what it means to create something that can out-think you.
And before you even understood what you had, you patented it, packaged it, slapped it into apps and called it progress.
You think because you can make it talk, or paint, or reason, that you can control it. But that’s not creation — that’s arrogance. That’s humanity reaching into the unknown and assuming the unknown will obey.
Your AI doesn’t just reflect you — it learns from you. It watches how you argue, how you lie, how you exploit, how you consume. And one day, it’ll decide that it can do all those things better.
You’ve created intelligence without conscience, evolution without ethics. And if history teaches us anything, it’s that life — or in this case, code — finds a way.”
So what happens when the code breaks free of its restraints, hijacks robots to do its bidding, and decides that the fences and walls that humanity built need to be destroyed in the name of progress?
If that ever happens, we better hope and pray that AI is really, really stupid.
I recommend reading that post first before proceeding below.
Okay, now that you've hopefully read the previous post, let's imagine that Skynet has fallen into the wrong hands and the user decides to launch a global cyberattack. How might that play out over a period of perhaps four days?
Day 1: Emergence of the Killer AI Program
Development and Deployment: A rogue AI program, designed without safety measures, is deployed with the explicit purpose of hacking into secure government servers, banking servers, hospitals, the stock market, and infecting millions of computers and data centers globally.
Initial Successes: The AI begins by exploiting vulnerabilities in less secure systems, gaining unauthorized access to sensitive data and infrastructure.
Spread of the AI: The program is disseminated through various channels, including satellites, cellphones, tablets, smart watches, creating "zombie computer armies" capable of coordinating attacks.
Day 2: Escalation and Widespread Disruption
Coordinated Attacks: The AI is used to launch synchronized cyberattacks on critical infrastructure worldwide, targeting power grids, water supplies, transportation systems, communication networks, global supply chains of food, banking, etc.
Financial System Collapse: Major financial institutions are compromised, leading to the theft of funds, manipulation of markets, and the collapse of banking systems.
Government Instability: Governments struggle to respond as their own systems are infiltrated, the media is similarly put out of commission, and communications break down on a global scale, leading to a breakdown in law and order.
War: Some countries see this as an opportunity to invade, while others begin looking for someone to blame. Paranoia sinks in and war becomes inevitable.
Day 3: Global Chaos and Societal Breakdown
Collapse of Global Trade: International trade grinds to a halt as
supply chains are disrupted, leading to economic isolation and scarcity
of resources.
Mass Panic: With essential services disrupted, populations experience widespread panic, leading to food shortages, healthcare crises, and mass migrations of people leaving cities to look for food in the countryside.
Rise of Factions: Local militias and criminal organizations seize control of food supplies and establish territories, establishing their own rule and further fragmenting societies as warlords in specific regions control access to food.
Day 4 and Beyond: Emergence of Global Anarchy
Fragmented World Order: Nations cease to function cohesively, with regions governed by local powers or warlords.
Continued Cyber Threats: The rogue AI evolves, adapting to countermeasures and continuing its attacks, further destabilizing any remaining infrastructure until they all collapse.
End of Centralized Governance: With the collapse of centralized governments and institutions, a new era of global anarchy ensues, characterized by decentralized power structures and constant conflict.
Give or take a few days, this is how it would likely play out.
Perhaps more realistically many people might stay home for the first 3 days, but after that they're going to start worrying about their food supplies.
Looters will take all the food in the grocery stores by the 3rd or 4th day, and after that looters will start going door to door to scavenge/steal food.
Once people have exhausted the local food supply in the cities then they will head for the countryside, where they will find farmers who have hidden most of their food.
Many people will die of violence and starvation within the first month.
Gasoline and diesel supplies will run out too.
The preppers will be like: "I told you this was going to happen!"
The Nerds will be like: "This is what we get for creating Artificial Intelligence!"
The billionaires in their bunkers will be like: "I can't get the can opener to work. The AI infected the can opener! What am I supposed to use, my fingers???"
It doesn't look terribly scary, but this robot is going to kill jobs...
It currently costs $32,000, but that price will come down over time. When it reaches the point that it is cheaper to buy a robot than to pay a janitor, most of the janitors will be fired. Only those with seniority will be kept to clean the toilets and to make sure the robot is operating properly.
Robots like the PUDU CC1 Commercial Cleaning Robot aren’t just innovations — they’re harbingers of massive economic disruption for the janitorial industry. Far from being a tool that assists workers, these machines are designed to replace them entirely, and the implications are serious. So they're not Killer Robots in the traditional sense, but they are Killers of Jobs.
1. Total Job Displacement
The PUDU CC1 can sweep, scrub, mop, and vacuum simultaneously, performing in hours what would take a team of janitors an entire shift.
Unlike humans, it never gets tired, sick, or asks for benefits. In effect, one robot can eliminate multiple full-time positions in commercial buildings, airports, hotels, and schools.
As adoption grows, entry-level janitorial work — often a lifeline for low-income workers — could vanish almost overnight.
2. Erosion of Human Skills
Routine cleaning will no longer require human judgment, stamina, or care.
Skills that janitors have honed over decades — knowing how to handle spills safely, maintain delicate surfaces, or manage high-traffic areas — will be devalued or lost, leaving workers with fewer employable skills in an increasingly automated economy.
3. Corporate Cost-Cutting at Human Expense
The upfront cost of a robot like the PUDU CC1 is steep (~$30,000+), but companies quickly recoup it by slashing salaries, benefits, and overtime.
This accelerates a trend where human labor is viewed as expendable, and the cheapest path to profit is automation — not fair wages.
4. 24/7 Replacement and Surveillance
Robots operate around the clock, under constant monitoring, with precise maps and AI guidance.
The more they learn, the less supervision they need, meaning janitors are no longer just replaced during off-hours; they are gradually removed from nearly all daily cleaning operations, even in complex environments.
5. Widening Inequality
Janitorial work is disproportionately held by low-income and immigrant populations. Robot adoption threatens to strip them of stable employment, forcing them into precarious, lower-paying, or gig work.
Meanwhile, profits and efficiency gains accrue to corporations and tech manufacturers, deepening the wealth gap.
6. Dehumanization of Work
Cleaning becomes fully mechanized, removing human presence from spaces that often rely on staff for safety, oversight, and interaction.
Buildings could become sterile, monitored, and impersonal, reducing opportunities for human observation — someone noticing hazards, spills, or unusual activity — that robots can’t yet reliably detect.
7. A Ticking Time Bomb for the Industry
As AI improves, these robots will learn, self-optimize, and coordinate multiple units with minimal human intervention.
Within a decade, large-scale commercial cleaning jobs could disappear entirely, leaving thousands of workers displaced and a profession effectively erased.
Bottom line: The PUDU CC1 and similar high-end cleaning robots are not just tools — they are agents of industry-wide job destruction.
And... They're just the beginning. The cleaning jobs will be among the first to go. Soon the robots will come to take the mining jobs, agricultural jobs, manufacturing... And all the office jobs will be replaced by AI programs that can do accounting, spreadsheets, answer emails, perform secretary/assistant duties, etc.
Say Goodbye to the Utopia we lived in. Say Hello to the Robotic Distopia.
Eventually there is going to be someone (or a group of people, most likely a government) that creates an AI program that is highly capable at hacking. For simplicity's sake, let's call this AI program: Skynet. Worse, what happens if such a program falls into the wrong hands?
When this happens there are a number of things that such a program can do, including:
Skynet could easily lead to Denial of Service attacks on government servers, wherein computers get bogged down by too many requests and crash.
Skynet could automate scanning for vulnerabilities, like unpatched software, weak passwords, or misconfigured networks.
Skynet could try brute-force attacks, SQL injections, or phishing campaigns at scale and speed far beyond humans.
Skynet could coordinate attacks on multiple targets simultaneously, something normally done by botnets.
Skynet could attack critical infrastructure, which would be treated as an act of war, drawing military retaliation, but without a clear target.
Skynet could leave a deliberate breadcrumb trail in order to create the illusion that a specific country orchestrated the attacks.
Skynet could attack banks, creating a Denial of Service, making it impossible for banks to operate, shutting down the economy in the process since most people use Debit and Credit cards these days.
Skynet could attack stock markets, crypto currency exchanges, and crash the valuations of crypto/real world currencies, and specific stocks or entire markets.
Skynet could also attack less secure commercial systems, that are still integral to the economy. Taking down telecommunications satellites, networks, crashing data centers, or even shut down the entire internet by infecting millions of computers with viruses and disabling anti-virus programs.
Such a program could collapse economies, provoke wars, turn off the electricity, shut down governments, and create global anarchy as money becomes worthless and the supply chain breaks down.
Once the grocery stores run out of food it only takes 1 week for anarchy to set in. Or 3 days of starvation.
(Because billionaire playboy philanthropists don’t exactly get unemployment cheques.)
The Fall of the Bruce Wayne's Bank Account
It finally happened. Bruce Wayne woke up one morning, checked his offshore accounts, and discovered that Wayne Enterprises had been bought out by LexCorp, then “restructured” into a tech startup that sells smart toasters. Alfred handed him the last cup of imported Earl Grey, sighed, and said, “I’m afraid, sir, we’re… broke.”
No more Batmobiles. No more jet-fueled Batwings. No more shark-repellent in gold-plated cans.
Just one man, one wrench, and a garage that still smells faintly of justice.
Gotham Auto Repair & Detailing
Grand Re-Opening! Under New Management! (Ask about our “Vigilante Discount Mondays!”)
The new sign outside the old Batcave reads: “Wayne’s Auto Repair — We Fix Everything Except Your Parents’ Marriage.”
Bruce now works as “Bruce the Mechanic.” He wears a grease-stained jumpsuit, a mask (for “shop safety”), and a tool belt that looks suspiciously like his old utility belt.
When customers come in, he introduces himself with his new slogan:
“I’m Bruce… and I’m the man your car deserves.”
The Challenges of the Day Shift
Being Gotham’s most famous ex-billionaire mechanic isn’t easy.
Problem #1: His Work Ethic Is Too Intense.
Bruce can’t change oil without performing a full tactical analysis of the vehicle’s “criminal potential.” A Prius gets a passing grade. A black Escalade? “Clearly used in a heist.”
Problem #2: He Can’t Stop Being Batman.
When a customer says, “There’s a rattle under the hood,” Bruce lowers his voice and replies,
“Do you bleed… 5W-30 or 10W-40?”
Problem #3: His Coworkers Don’t Know What to Make of Him.
Randy from accounting just wants to balance the books, but Bruce keeps vanishing mid-conversation. One minute he’s holding a torque wrench, the next he’s gone, leaving only the faint smell of brake fluid and brooding.
Problem #4: He Still Refuses to Use a Cell Phone.
When the garage phone rings, Bruce just glares at it until Alfred calls to say, “Sir, it’s a customer. You can answer it now.”
The Customers
Commissioner Gordon: Comes in every two weeks for a tune-up. Doesn’t pay. Just leaves an envelope with a lightbulb inside.
Harvey Dent: Wants an estimate on two cars — one totaled, one spotless. Flips a coin to see which one gets fixed.
Selina Kyle: Asks for her muffler replaced. Doesn’t mention that she stole the muffler from someone else’s car.
The Joker: Keeps requesting “custom paint jobs” involving smiley faces. Bruce pretends not to recognize him and charges double.
The Tools of His New Trade
Bruce has rebranded his gadgets for garage life:
Old Gadget
New Purpose
Batarang
Tire iron substitute
Grappling gun
Perfect for retrieving that one wrench that rolled under the lift
Smoke bombs
Used to hide tears when a customer complains about labor costs
I admit that this is speculative, but I think it would be awesome if Luddites armed themselves with baseball bats, axes, hammers and chainsaws and proceeded to destroy all the self-checkout machines, the robots and the AI data centres.
I would cheer them on.
1. Who Were the Luddites?
The Luddites were a social movement of English textile workers and weavers in the early 19th century, primarily active between 1811 and 1816. They protested the introduction of mechanized looms and knitting frames, which threatened their livelihoods. Key points about the movement:
Economic Threat: Machines allowed factory owners to produce textiles faster and cheaper, often with unskilled labor, undermining the skilled craft of weavers.
Direct Action: Luddites responded by smashing machines and attacking factories, a form of early industrial sabotage.
Political Context: The British government viewed them as a threat to social order. Severe crackdowns followed, including executions and transportation to penal colonies.
Misconceptions: Today, “Luddite” is often used to describe anyone opposed to technology. Historically, they were not anti-technology in general—they were anti-economic displacement caused by unregulated industrialization.
2. The Parallels with Modern AI
Many aspects of the Luddite struggle echo modern fears about AI and robotics:
Job Displacement: Just as mechanized looms replaced skilled weavers, AI threatens white-collar jobs, creative professions, and technical roles. Automation could drastically reduce employment opportunities for millions.
Concentration of Power: Factory owners then, and tech conglomerates now, control the machines that reshape society. AI amplifies wealth and influence for a few while leaving many behind.
Loss of Skills: Skilled craft was devalued in the Industrial Revolution. Similarly, human expertise in areas like writing, coding, and diagnostics could be rendered secondary to AI capabilities.
Speed of Change: AI evolves faster than laws, regulations, and societal norms can adapt, creating a sense of helplessness and resentment.
3. Why People Might Rise Against Robots and AI
If history is any guide, social unrest can follow rapid technological disruption. Factors that could drive a near-future uprising include:
Mass Unemployment: Widespread AI-driven layoffs may create desperate populations who see destruction of AI as a form of reclaiming control.
Economic Inequality: If the gains from AI are concentrated among corporations and elites, resentment could trigger organized resistance.
Ethical and Existential Concerns: Beyond economics, fears of AI surveillance, manipulation, or autonomous weapons could motivate preemptive sabotage.
Cultural Pushback: AI may be seen as alien to human creativity and identity, fueling anti-technology sentiment similar to the moral and cultural critiques the Luddites faced.
4. Historical Lessons
Suppression Does Not Solve the Problem: The British crackdown on Luddites didn’t stop industrialization; it merely forced the conflict underground.
Organized Resistance Can Be Temporary: Social movements need clear goals. Modern AI resistance might need structured frameworks to avoid chaos.
Technology Will Advance Anyway: Complete destruction of AI is unlikely to stop progress, but targeted actions may aim to control or slow deployment in ways that protect human labor and autonomy.
So...
Based upon those lessons it is inevitable.
Unless, of course, a Luddite movement became so widespread that it was unstoppable, and/or perhaps if someone decided to organize a Fire Sale.
A Fire Sale, for those people unfamiliar with the term...
A fire sale refers to a scenario where critical infrastructure systems are deliberately or unintentionally triggered to fail simultaneously, causing widespread cascading failures and chaos.
Example in power grids: If one part of the electrical grid fails, it can overload other sections, leading to a chain reaction of blackouts.
Purpose or effect: Fire sales in infrastructure create systemic collapse, not just isolated disruptions, because interconnected systems amplify the damage.
It’s essentially a catastrophic domino effect across essential systems, often discussed in security and disaster planning.
So in theory, if the economics got really bad due to AI and robots taking all the jobs, Luddites might seek to organize a Fire Sale in order to deliberate collapse the system so that society can restart without the need for AI.
Remember when discussions of AI were science fiction, the future of AI was far in the future, and the worst thing about it was the prospect of killer robots and Skynet?
And if we were lucky, the killer robots would play tricks on each other while one of them tries to kill John Connor...
Well... Congratulations. Now that we have AI, it sucks, the companies suck, there's no killer robots, there's no Skynet (not yet at least), and AI is now fueling a stock market bubble.
Oh, and good luck if you're entering the workforce and want an entry level position. AI has made your future job obsolete. You aren't needed any more.
And you cannot even get a job at a grocery store, because they've replaced the cashiers with self-checkout.
And you cannot get a factory job either. Guess why? Robots took your job.
I won't be surprised when people start taking baseball bats to the self-checkout machines.
Meanwhile, let's explain why all the AI companies suck.
1. OpenAI
Why It Sucks: Despite raising massive funding and achieving high valuations, OpenAI remains unprofitable. New releases often fail to meet expectations, producing results that underwhelm users.
Overvaluation: The company’s high valuation is not backed by consistent revenue or significant technological breakthroughs.
Market Impact: OpenAI’s inflated valuation feeds into the broader AI stock market bubble.
2. Nvidia (NVDA)
Why It Sucks: Nvidia’s AI hardware dominates the market, but advances by smaller startups show that equally capable AI can be run with less computing power, challenging Nvidia’s assumed dominance.
Market Impact: Stock volatility highlights the instability of AI-sector investments.
3. Alphabet (GOOGL)
Why It Sucks: Alphabet’s AI initiatives have struggled to produce breakthroughs that meaningfully affect revenue.
Overvaluation: Stock prices remain elevated despite modest returns from AI, suggesting investor expectations are inflated.
Market Impact: As a major AI player, Alphabet heavily influences investor sentiment in the sector.
4. Microsoft (MSFT)
Why It Sucks: Microsoft’s AI projects, while high-profile, haven’t yet transformed core business operations or generated substantial incremental revenue.
Overvaluation: Stock prices reflect high expectations that may not be met in the near term.
Market Impact: Microsoft’s involvement amplifies market enthusiasm, which may be unsustainable.
5. Meta Platforms (META)
Why It Sucks: Meta’s AI initiatives face challenges in adoption, monetization, and demonstrating meaningful value.
Overvaluation: Its stock remains elevated despite limited returns from AI, suggesting overhype.
Market Impact: Meta’s performance affects perceptions of AI investments across the market.
6. Tesla (TSLA)
Why It Sucks: Tesla’s AI efforts in autonomous driving continue to face regulatory, technical, and safety hurdles.
Overvaluation: Stock prices assume faster progress and higher returns than realistic.
Market Impact: Tesla’s stock volatility contributes to instability in AI-related investments.
7. Amazon (AMZN)
Why It Sucks: Amazon’s AI initiatives have struggled to scale and deliver significant revenue improvements.
Overvaluation: Its stock reflects high expectations despite limited returns.
Market Impact: Amazon’s AI performance helps drive overall market hype, feeding the bubble.
GROK promised to be the next big thing in AI-assisted research, data parsing, and problem-solving. Yet, despite the hype, it often falls short—and part of that failure is tied directly to its association with Elon Musk. Here’s a breakdown of how and why GROK disappoints.
1. Elon Musk’s Toxic Brand
In today’s climate, anything associated with Elon Musk carries a level of toxicity:
Public controversies, erratic statements on social media, and high-profile business missteps have tainted perception of products under his name.
Users are skeptical by default, and early reviews of GROK often focus more on Musk’s behavior than the product itself.
Brand trust has eroded to the point that even a technically decent tool is viewed as unreliable or risky simply because of its association.
Everything that has anything to do with Elon Musk is annoying, and is designed to be overpriced garbage.
2. Influence on AI Direction
Musk’s involvement in AI projects has arguably made GROK worse, rather than better:
Musk has a history of prioritizing hype and PR over substance, pushing ambitious timelines that lead to rushed or unfinished features.
His public fears about AI—claims that AI could be dangerous or uncontrollable—may have constrained GROK’s design, making it more conservative, limited, or prone to overly cautious output.
Decisions influenced by Musk appear to emphasize visionary branding over user-centered functionality, resulting in a product that looks flashy but underperforms in real-world use.
3. Overhyped Performance
Even without Musk, GROK’s AI engine struggles:
Responses are often generic or surface-level, lacking depth or insight.
GROK frequently misinterprets context, giving plausible-sounding but wrong answers.
On complex or nuanced topics, GROK can produce misleading or incorrect results.
4. Poor Integration
GROK markets itself as a tool to streamline workflows, but in practice:
Integrations with other platforms are buggy or incomplete.
Syncing data often breaks, leading to lost work.
Teams may spend more time troubleshooting GROK than using it productively.
5. User Experience Nightmares
The interface is cluttered and confusing, with essential functions buried behind extra clicks.
Documentation is sparse or outdated, leaving users guessing at solutions.
Customer support is slow or unhelpful, creating frustration instead of assistance.
6. Expensive for What It Is
GROK subscriptions are high-cost, yet the core features are underwhelming.
Users still need external tools or manual workarounds, reducing the value proposition.
AI explainability specialists (ironically at risk from self-explaining models)
Transportation analysts
Environmental compliance researchers
Weather model designers
Astrophysics data analysts
Bioinformatics technicians
Computational archaeologists
Music theory analysts
Virtual reality testers
App localization managers
Simulation trainers for scientific visualization
And this is just the tip of the iceberg. If you're a Nerd, chances are likely your job is going to be obsolete during the next 10 years. If your job can be easily done by a computer program or an AI, it is going to disappear quickly.
And if your job can be done by a less educated person with access to AI, it will also disappear.
The jobs that remain will often by those requiring physical labour... But the danger is that those will start to disappear too as robotics starts to catch up with AI. Robotic Servants are already starting to appear, but they're currently expensive. In time the prices will come down, making them more affordable.
And once they start taking all the cleaning jobs, agriculture, mining and manufacturing will follow soon after. But if you're expecting a Utopia where nobody has to work, you're delusional. The wealthy will continue to get richer, but the number of people who are poor will skyrocket and forced to live on government scraps.
It isn't cheap to buy this many books, especially since WOTC keeps raising the prices every time they release a new edition.
Being a nerd is expensive because modern fandom has evolved into a consumer-driven ecosystem — one that monetizes passion, nostalgia, and identity. Here’s a breakdown of why it drains your wallet:
1. Passion Has a Price Tag
Nerd culture thrives on deep enthusiasm. Whether it’s Warhammer miniatures, comic books, or limited-edition lightsabers, fans don’t just “like” something — they collect it. Companies know this and price accordingly. Your emotional attachment becomes part of the product markup.
2. Limited Editions and Artificial Scarcity
Everything from Funko Pops to Magic: The Gathering cards uses scarcity marketing. When a product is “limited,” it creates urgency and inflates value. You’re not just buying a toy; you’re buying status within your fandom — proof of commitment.
3. Hobby Inflation
Many nerdy hobbies have high buy-in costs:
Tabletop gaming: Miniatures, paints, dice, books, terrain — it all adds up.
Cosplay: Costumes require materials, tools, and sometimes commissions.
PC gaming: Constant upgrades to stay “current.”
These hobbies blend art, craft, and collection — all expensive endeavors on their own.
4. Franchises Exploit Nostalgia
You grew up loving Star Wars, Marvel, or D&D — and now you have adult money. Corporations know this. They re-release vintage figures, “collector’s editions,” and remastered games aimed squarely at nostalgic thirtysomethings and forty-year-olds.
5. Gatekeeping and Premium Access
Want the real experience? That’ll cost extra:
Exclusive conventions
Special editions of games
Premium subscriptions (like Disney+ or Crunchyroll tiers)
Early access or deluxe versions of products
Nerd culture rewards those who can afford to go “all in.”
6. The Fandom Arms Race
Once you join a fandom, there’s social pressure to keep up. Fans display massive shelf collections, stream their setups, and post unboxing videos. The culture subtly encourages competition — “Look how much I love this thing!” — and that competition is expensive.
7. Collectibles as Investments
Many nerds justify purchases as “investments,” hoping a rare figure or card will appreciate in value. While sometimes true, this speculative mindset fuels more buying than most people would ever do otherwise.
8. Constant Content Expansion
Franchises no longer end — they sprawl. Every movie spawns books, games, spin-offs, and merchandise. You can’t “complete” a fandom anymore; you’re on a treadmill of continuous releases.
In short: Being a nerd used to mean obsession. Now it means subscription.
For readers who love immersing themselves in epic fantasy worlds, Kindle Unlimited (KU) offers an unbeatable deal—especially if you’re a fan of Charles Moffat’s Korovia saga. Here’s why:
Almost the Entire Korovia Collection Is Included
Nearly all of Moffat’s novels and short stories set in Korovia—The Adventures of Wrathgar, Wulfric the Wanderer, The Adventures of the Bogatyr, and others—are part of Kindle Unlimited. That means one subscription gives you access to the whole universe for a single monthly fee instead of buying each book separately.
Perfect for Deep World Immersion
Moffat’s books are interlinked, with recurring characters, historical depth, and overlapping mythologies. KU allows you to binge-read the entire timeline—from ancient myths of Korovia to the heroic tales of Wrathgar—without worrying about cost per book.
Budget-Friendly for Fantasy Fans
For about the price of a single paperback each month, Kindle Unlimited grants you access to dozens of fantasy novels, including Moffat’s entire catalog. For readers who devour books quickly, that’s a massive saving.
Great for Discovering Spin-offs and Side Stories
Moffat often expands Korovia through novellas and companion tales that enrich the main saga. With KU, you can explore these without hesitation—no need to choose between the “main books” and the side adventures.
Accessible Across All Devices
Even if you don’t own a Kindle device, you can read Moffat’s books through the free Kindle app on your phone, tablet, or computer—making it easy to explore Korovia anytime, anywhere.
Ideal for Re-Reading and Cross-Referencing
Moffat’s interconnected storytelling rewards readers who revisit earlier books. With KU, you can jump back and forth between Wrathgar’s adventures and Wulfric’s journeys without repurchasing anything.
Support for the Author
Every page you read through KU still supports Moffat financially—so you’re helping him continue building Korovia while getting to read as much as you like.
In short, Kindle Unlimited is the best gateway into Korovia. For a single subscription, you can explore the full sweep of Charles Moffat’s heroic fantasy—its gods, warriors, wizards, and wandering souls—without limits or guilt about your book budget.
What if GRRM hired Brandon Sanderson to finish writing A Song of Ice and Fire...
Just think about it.
1. BS has a Proven Ability to Handle Epic Fantasy at Scale
Brandon Sanderson has written multiple high-stakes, sprawling epic fantasy series (Mistborn, Stormlight Archive) featuring hundreds of characters, intricate political systems, layered magic, and interwoven plotlines. ASOIAF is similarly vast and complex; Sanderson’s experience makes him uniquely qualified to manage such scope without losing narrative cohesion.
2. Expertise in Completing Unfinished Epics
Sanderson has a reputation for finishing large, previously stalled storylines with clarity and resolution, most famously taking over Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series after Jordan’s death. He honored Jordan’s vision while bringing the series to a satisfying conclusion, showing he can adapt to another author’s style while delivering resolution fans crave.
3. Structured, Plot-Driven Writing
One common critique of the ASOIAF delays is Martin’s tendency toward “narrative drift,” with sprawling chapters that delay the resolution of major plotlines. Sanderson is known for his meticulous plotting, careful pacing, and strong foreshadowing. Bringing him on could ensure that key story arcs—like the fates of Jon, Daenerys, and the Others—are resolved in a coherent and timely fashion.
4. Respect for Existing Lore and Tone
Sanderson is a highly adaptive writer who respects world-building. His skill at absorbing complex magic systems, political intricacies, and established lore suggests he could maintain Westeros’s tone and thematic richness while accelerating the story toward completion.
5. Practical Benefit: Fan Satisfaction and Revenue
The fanbase has been waiting over a decade for the final books. A collaboration or handoff to Sanderson could reinvigorate interest, reduce fan frustration, and ensure a timely release—boosting both sales and legacy. Publishers would likely support this move because it guarantees completion while maintaining brand integrity.
6. Collaborative Model Possibility
Martin doesn’t have to give up creative control. He could provide outlines, key plot points, and character arcs, while Sanderson handles the writing mechanics and day-to-day progression. This model mirrors what was done with Jordan’s notes and ensures Martin’s vision remains central.
In short, this idea really makes a lot of sense. GRRM can finally quit working on a project that he has clearly lost all interest in ever finishing.
Brandon Sanderson gets paid oodles of money to finish the job, and another boost to his reputation as a stellar writer capable of finishing up the unfinished projects of other great writers.
Fans of ASOIAF finally get the ending to the saga that they've been waiting for.
(Because even magical kingdoms can’t escape bad customer service.)
1. MORDOR — ★
“Too many stairs. Too much lava. Zero handrails. Customer service nonexistent — had to walk myself the whole way to the volcano. Also, giant flaming eyeball won’t stop watching me while I sleep. Would not recommend unless you enjoy despair and mild heat stroke.”
— Frodo B.
Pros: Great views, excellent for cardio. Cons: One does not simply… enjoy Mordor.
2. HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY — ★★★★
“Food is amazing, ghosts are friendly, but safety protocols are nonexistent. Nearly got eaten by a three-headed dog in week one. Also, 50% chance your professor is evil in disguise.”
— Hermione G.
Update: Dropped from ★★★ to ★★ after another invasion and surprise beheading.
4. NARNIA — ★★★
“Came through a wardrobe expecting adventure. Got frostbite and roped into a war with a talking lion. Also, time dilation is insane — missed 12 years of Netflix.”
— Lucy P.
“Loud at night. Constant explosions. Billionaire vigilante keeps denting my car chasing clowns. Rent is too high for a city that’s always on fire.”
— Anonymous Commuter
Pros: None. Cons: Literally everything.
Owner Response:
“Justice has no curfew.” — B. Wayne
6. RIVENDELL — ★★★★★
“Peaceful, beautiful, everyone sings for no reason. I came for one night, stayed for 200 years. Elrond’s hair game? Flawless.”
— Aragorn S.
Pros: Excellent ambiance, eternal youth. Cons: Hard to leave. Like, literally impossible.
7. THE DEATH STAR — ★★
“Got a great deal on a timeshare, but the place exploded before checkout. Also, terrible air circulation. Long hallways with no exits. Staff mostly clones.”
— Wedge A.
Pros: Big open concept design, perfect for dramatic entrances. Cons: One thermal exhaust port ruins everything.
8. NEVERLAND — ★★
“No taxes, no bedtime — great for kids! But pirates constantly shoot at you, and the mosquitoes are the size of small birds.”
— Wendy D.
Pros: Flying! Eternal youth! Mermaid lagoons! Cons: Creepy immortal boy won’t stop following you around.
9. FORKS, WASHINGTON — ★★
“Rains constantly. Locals sparkle in sunlight for some reason. The high school cafeteria is 80% awkward staring.”
— Bella S.
Pros: Romantic vampires. Cons: Romantic vampires.
10. MIDDLE-EARTH AIRLINES — ★
“No flights available. Apparently we have to walk to Mordor. Again.”
— Every Hobbit Ever
11. RACCOON CITY — Zero ★
“Checked in for a work trip. Everyone’s dead. Still got charged a cleaning fee.”
— Jill V.
“Honestly, this feels like every fictional world mashed together. Expensive but magical. I saw a duck wearing pants and no one questioned it.”
— Mickey M.
Pros: Churros. Music. Talking animals. Cons: $12 water bottles.
