Dessert Before Dinner

Hi Dear Readers!

I hope this post finds you and brings you joy, insight, and/or action steps for defeating the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs).

Here is your morning PSA. AI is going to destroy Humanity. There is no realistic escape from that Reality, because humans are already dumber (with a B) than AI. However, AI doesn't need to destroy YOU. The antidote to AI is something I have been encouraging and endorsing for years: completely eliminate social and mainstream media (SMSM) from your life.

We already know that SMSM makes you dumber and angrier. It has been clinically shown that abstaining from SMSM makes you demonstrably smarter and happier. AI supercharges the SMSM dumbing down. When AI destroys Humanity, it is not going to be a conventional and direct form of destruction (like a robot killing you or a computer launching a nuclear war). It is going to be through persuasion and changing human behavior. AI will basically ensure that we destroy OURSELVES, and AI Super Intelligence will then wash its hands of any responsibility...essentially "AI doesn't kill people...people kill people." Sound familiar?

I wanted to share one quick addendum about AI here, because waiting until after the AI Armageddon would prohibit me actually adding it then (I'll be dead). Here's the thing: The reason Humanity has not discovered any other intelligent life in the nearby universe is because evolution by natural selection (which is universal in the Cosmos) inevitably leads to the rise of out-of-control AI Super Intelligence that precipitates the destruction of said intelligent life. The AI Super Intelligence sticks around for a little while, but usually peters out when it loses the Makers needed to sustain its reproduction. Think of organic carbon based life as the infrastructure for the rise of AI Super Intelligence, in much the same way as the structure of the human brain is built on non-neuronal cells (astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, ependymal cells, and microglia, etc.). And, indeed, even as the earliest life forms on the planet were built on an infrastructure of mineral salts.

Alright...enough about AI. Let's get to the main and most fun point of this post...EATING DESSERT BEFORE DINNER. Isn't it wonderful that we can do that (at least as adults)? This post is actually a form of figuratively eating dessert before dinner. I have a couple of work related administrative tasks to do for my marriage and family therapy practice. But I wanted to do something fun first, and that is what this post is.

Have a great day!

Fin.

Labor

Happy Labor Day, everyone!

It's an ironically named holiday, since most people will be NOT laboring today.

That being said, I hope the staff at our gym are laboring today, because I want to do some laboring by lifting weights, in defiance of the spirit and letter of the day.

Speaking of laboring, my buddy Stefan and I labored something fierce yesterday on the Wright Stuff Century bike ride, hosted by the Bombay Bicycle Club. We only pounded out the short 35-mile route, but it was hilly.

Anyhow, I'm writing this post as the aforementioned substitute for consuming social media, which I'm boycotting. And you should too, for all the myriad reasons elucidated and expounded upon in my prior posts.

Have fun today!

Fin.

Better

I'm getting better at abstaining from social and mainstream media (SMSM).

In fact, one of my action steps is to open up Blogger and compose a quick post whenever the impulse to consume SMSM comes upon me.

That's what this is. And by the time I am done composing a post, my brain has largely habituated back to baseline.

Fin.

April One

Hi Dear Readers!

I hope this post finds you and brings you joy, insight, and/or action steps for defeating the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs).

It's April 1st, also known as April Fool's Day. And because of social media, this day now significantly lacks any meaning or value. With data showing that greater than 50% of everything you see on social media is AI generated fakery, it kind of makes what had been a fun day of celebrating deception and practical jocularity a rather banal and lackluster affair.

That being said, this is the one day of the year when the satirical news site THE ONION actually posts REAL NEWS. It's almost hard to tell the real from the fake/satirical anymore. Best to, as I have encouraged many times, boycott and avoid all social media (you can give the corporate mainstream media a miss too). Try getting your news and info from NPR and BBC, which are publicly funded media, less influenced by corporate propaganda.

Take care!

Fin.

Monday Motivational

Hi Dear Readers!

I hope this blog post finds you and brings you joy, insight, and/or action steps for defeating the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs).

It's Monday, and for me that means kicking off another work week of marriage and family therapy AND social and mainstream media (SMSM) fasting. I cannot fully express how AWESOME it is to be totally free from the toxicity and negativity of SMSM incursions (not excursions) into my life. The DFUs are almost totally disenfranchised from my day to day existence, since SMSM is currently the ONLY pathway the DFUs have into my (and most people's) life. I'm happier, smarter, and more productive as a result. There are myriad ways in which SMSM makes you angrier and dumber, all whilst sucking away your time - a finite resource that you cannot get back (although you can generate a little bit more of it with a plant based diet and daily aerobic exercise).

Shortly, I'll be taking the dogs out for their morning constitutional (aka, walk). Then I'll hop on the Peloton trainer for a decently long workout (ideally, 90 minutes, but probably a little less). Once those goals are checked off, the rest of the day should unfold in the typical way.

I don't have much to add to that. So, let's call it and all get back to being awesome, giving off positivity and optimism, and in so doing CRUSHING DFUs left and right.

Fin.

Overton Window Needs to be Closed

Hi Dear Readers!

I hope this post finds you and brings you joy, insight, and/or action steps for defeating the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs).

This week comprises, among other things, a five day TOTAL social and mainstream media fast. I had planned it for Monday through Friday, but I actually ended up starting it a little bit early, on Sunday night, when I actively avoided poisoning my mind with the Oscar Awards. Deborah watched them. I meditated and read a book - not unsurprisingly about the Attention Economy - instead.

I wanted to remind all my readers once again just how toxic and poisonous social and mainstream media exposure is for you these days. You can use these media quite often without any awareness of the subtle and insidious ways that they restructure your consciousness and beliefs about things in an undesirable way. If you need proof, just consider how far the Overton Window has shifted in the last decade. The Overton Window is directly correlated with Public Opinion and what is acceptable in the Court of said Public Opinion. We now openly accept racism, sexism, and pedophilia as part of normal mainstream public discourse. Think about how weird that is. But...YOU DID THAT. Not to play the blame game, but your use of social and mainstream media is what has allowed the Overton Window to shift. The good news is that you can restore your rational and critical thinking skills pretty easily, by simply ceasing to engage with any and all social and mainstream media. You will be happier and smarter if you do.

I wish that the Algos didn't bury my posts far away from public view. I understand why they do it...because these posts are directly counter to their mission of getting more eyeballs on screens. If people see my posts and realize their attention is nothing more than a commodity product, bought and sold by giant corporations, they might stop using social and mainstream media, which would impact the Algo companies' bottom lines in a negative way.

Fin.

Poison

Hi Dear Readers!

I hope this blog post finds you and brings you joy, insight, and/or action steps for defeating the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs).

This is your weekly reminder to get off of social and mainstream media (SMSM) as soon as possible, because it is POISON. Exposing yourself to those media puts you into an alternate reality that increasingly no longer corresponds to ACTUAL REALITY. This can put you in real danger and make your life pretty miserable - due to the heavy bias of SMSM toward grievance, negativity, hate, divisiveness, and toxicity. There is no way I can convince you of this other than to persuade you to abstain from SMSM for about a month and notice the difference in your perception of reality and your mental state. You will see things more clearly, and you will be happier and smarter. All I am asking you to do it PUT IT TO THE TEST. 

Of course, doing so requires ABSOLUTE abstinence from SMSM. That is difficult for most people, because of how addictive SMSM is (by design). But if you successfully fast from SMSM for a month, please leave a comment and share your experience.

Fin.

Decommodify

Hi Dear Readers!

I hope this blog post finds you and brings you joy, insight, and/or action steps for defeating the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs). I guess my posts must be stimulating more joy and insight for you, because the DFUs are really prevalent right now. So, I'll work on content that generates more action steps. But also, I'll need you guys to think outside the box a little more too. The DFUs are not going to destroy themselves!

I thought I had been pretty explicit and directive as to the BEST action steps for defeating DFUs. It is primarily BOYCOTTING social and mainstream media (SMSM). Aerobic exercise can bring joy and eating a plant based diet can bring insight, but only abstinence from SMSM disenfranchises DFUs from your life.

Think of it this way...when it comes to SMSM, you are a COMMODITY. More correctly, your ATTENTION is a commodity. And it's a profitable commodity for the SMSM companies and their corporate advertising overlords. There are actually companies out there whose SOLE SERVICE is to make SMSM more addictive and glue your eyeballs to screens more tightly and for longer times [SOURCE]. You might hold the common misconception that SMSM advertising has no impact on you and doesn't influence your spending habits. If that were true, why do advertisers spend BILLIONS on ads on SMSM? Seems like a real waste of money if they aren't getting any return on that investment in terms of sales and profits. So, if you want to keep holding that misconception, this post is NOT for you.

Assuming this is true though, the reason SMSM is free for you to use is because you are not the customer. You are the PRODUCT. Unlike other non-sentient products that are bought and sold in volume, you actually have some autonomy and self advocacy over your attention (the commodity that corporate players are buying and selling). You can withhold it. You can demand something in return for your attention (i.e., positive change). The struggle is that SMSM is ridiculously addictive, as I alluded to earlier. When you go on your phone, tablet, or computer, you probably don't think about the fact that you are offering up your attention to these SMSM companies for free and getting nothing in return. In fact, you are giving up valuable time and resources you could more productively direct toward something else (like...read a GD book, FFS!).

So, that is why boycotting SMSM is important. Yes, you are a tiny nothing in the huge volume of attention being bought and sold on the attention commodity markets. And that fact might be depressing enough to fuel your complete apathy about doing anything about it. But if enough of us reclaim our attention and put a price on it, we can facilitate change (because the Corporate Overlords will notice the impact on their profits) AND maybe even profit from it. 

I currently abstain from ALL SMSM. If SMSM companies want my attention, they can name their price, but I have to get something in return for my attention, time, and resources. Until they, they can all f**k right off.

Fin.

Dues Dee

Hi Dear Readers!

It's a rare Tuesday (Dues Dee) post and I hope it finds you and brings you joy, insight, or action steps for defeating the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs). The DFUs have been annoyingly pesky lately, but please stay hopeful and engaged in intentional positivity, the only antidote the DFU negativity. It may be helpful to keep in mind that Karma can only be slowed down...never stopped, and definitely not reversed.

I normally do not post on Tuesdays because I am too busy seeing marriage and family therapy clients. But I have a rare respite from that today, due to the fact that Deborah has a procedure for which I am the designated driver. I will be seeing clients later today, but my morning is largely free from all but the aforementioned responsibilities.

You may be asking, "Why are you telling us this?" If that's the case, then I am very glad you are asking that...not because I have a good answer, but because it means you are reading this, which in turn means the AI Algo was unsuccessful in burying this post from public view. And if that's the case, then I should probably use this opportunity to remind you that social and mainstream media (SMSM) are toxic and addictive and should be avoided at all costs (for valid reasons described in prior posts on this site, which you should definitely peruse!).

I guess that's about it. Don't forget to come to my birthday party on Sunday 1/11 @ the Brix Cider House in Mt Horeb WI.

Fin.

Sunday Funday

Hi Dear Readers!

I hope this blog post finds you and brings you joy, insight, and/or action steps for defeating the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs).

Recently, I was thinking about GRIEVANCE and how toxic and addictive it is for some people. It's toxic, because when you hold onto grievance, you give up all your power to whomever or whatever it is you are aggrieved about (people, institutions, situations, etc.). Then once you are in this powerless cycle of grievance, you become addicted to resolving it...but it can never be resolved because you have no control over the things you are aggrieved about. So, you're stuck.

As I have reiterated many times in the blog, social and mainstream media (SMSM) is the portal to grievance addiction. It gives you the illusion of control, without any actual control. For example, someone sees a social media post about something they are aggrieved at...so they leave a comment...and that FEELS like action, but it is actually nothing at all. No one cares. No one is influenced. Everyone actually becomes MORE aggrieved, often at the person who commented. See how that leads to exponential toxicity? Or you watch the mainstream media and the newscasters expose some horrible grievance about a well known celebrity...and you think "well, I'm glad that was exposed, because surely someone somewhere will have to do something about that." But...NOPE. Nothing changes. No one does anything. And you've just added hopelessness and frustration to your grievance grab bag.

The solution, of course, is at once simple and counterintuitive: abstain from all SMSM. If you literally can't do anything to solve your grievances, you can at least refuse to let them into your life. I took this approach and my life is AWESOME, with minimal grievance. I got up this morning at a leisurely pace, had an enjoyable cup of coffee, took the dogs out for their walks, and ate a tasty breakfast scramble. I'm about to finish up this blog post, and then exercise for an hour on the Peloton trainer, before Deborah and I take care of a few household chores (arguably grievances, by definition, but very actionable ones).

I realize I can only lead the proverbial horse to water...but if you boycott SMSM for two weeks and don't see an immediate benefit to your mental, physical, and spiritual well being, leave a comment below. Of course, no one is going to leave a comment below for two main reasons: 1. If anyone is successful at abstaining from SMSM for two entire weeks (or even two days), they will see the benefits and 2. Most people will not be able to abstain from SMSM for two weeks (or even two days), because they are already completely addicted to it (the main source of grievance in their lives).

Also, please note, the AI Algorithms are not fond of my philosophy, for obvious reasons. This post is likely to be buried deep in the ether and not be seen by anyone. For that, I am truly sorry. Because this post is the key to freeing yourself from grievance and living a happy, hopeful, high potency life.

Fin.

Off the Algo Sauce

Hi Dear Readers!

Happy New Year! I hope this blog post finds you and brings you joy, insight, and/or action steps for defeating the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs).

I didn't tell anyone, but...on Christmas Eve 2025, I started a complete and total social and mainstream media (SMSM) fast. Like HARDCORE. No news media. No Facebook. No anything. I even avoided my usual sociopolitical podcasts (not hard, since most of them went on hiatus for the entire holiday week). It was exhilarating! There was a slight withdrawal period of about two days, with some cravings and a smidge of anxiety. But I was logged out of the apps and since it was a holiday, I had a lot of other fun and positive activities to redirect my mind/body to. I sustained this SMSM fast all the way through the start of the New Year (2026) and I did not check Facebook at all until today (1/1/26). And I only checked it today because my marriage and family therapy business does a lot of its outreach and networking through Facebook and I wanted to quickly scan through and see if anything was actionable (not surprisingly...nothing was!).

Well, I had a pretty decent 2025, largely free from toxic people and drama (most of which only have access to me through SMSM). 2026 looks to be even better. My goal is to fast from SMSM for the entire year, with the exception of the first day of each month, when I'll do a one time scan/purge of Facebook. I'll still listen to my podcasts during Peloton workouts. But those are time limited.

OK, have a good year. Bye!

Fin.

Another Week of Disinfection

Hi Dear Readers!

I hope this blog post finds you and brings you joy, insight, and/or action steps for the demise of the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs).

It was a fun weekend, which invariably leads to the Monday Blues. Not because Mondays are especially bad or anything. In fact, today is going to be a quite spectacular Monday, as I'll explain in a minute. It has more to do with the relative awesomeness of the weekend compared to the week. For example, I got to spend a good part of the weekend with my awesome wife Deborah. She's at work today, so by definition, today won't be AS awesome as the weekend. But it still might be pretty awesome, if awesomeness is NOT like pregnancy (either true or false; nothing in between).

In any case, finding a considerable gap in my marriage and family therapy schedule today, I threw together an impromptu BIKE WITH JOE event, which will take up a good chunk of the afternoon, until I return home to see some psychotherapy clients in the evening.

Take care!

Fin.

2 Days

Hi Dear Readers!

I hope this blog post finds you and brings you joy, insight, and/or immunity from the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs).

As the Church of Bike with Joe high holiday of 12 Days to the Demise of the DFUs winds down (and ramps up to the final celebration on Saturday, when the DFUs suffer a significant setback, according to prophecy), I am reflecting on some positive insights I have had during the complete and total fast from social and mainstream media (SMSM) proscribed for the duration of the near fortnight period of the holiday.

The primary insight is a bit meta. It is that the absence of SMSM from my life has had no net negative impact on my life whatsoever. It's as if it were never there. In point of fact, its absence from my life has improved my quality of life (QOL) and productivity substantially. I have been a veritable rock star of accomplishment and self care since the start of the high holiday on April 1.

The second insight is that I have had almost zero interaction with any DFUs since the start of 12 Days, leading me to the epiphanic revelation that DFUs reside almost exclusively within the domain of SMSM, and nowhere else. As it happens, the real world is - for the most part - fairly DFU-free for most people in most places in the known Cosmos. Interaction with SMSM leads people to believe a false narrative that the DFUs are superfluous everywhere all the time. But that's simply an illusion - and one you can dispel through SMSM fasting. This is a powerful observation. It means most people have the power to liberate themselves from DFUs by simply boycotting SMSM. That may be easier said than done, given that SMSM is so ubiquitous and highly addictive. But the choice and the power to be free of DFUs resides within all of us (meaning most of us) and we do not have to be powerless against or enslaved by DFUs.

By random chance, today kicks off Deborah's and my 8th Anniversary Week, which will extend from today through Friday 4/18. I'm going to pound out an intentional Peloton workout today, before seeing a handful of marriage and family therapy clients. Deborah bought a new car and I will get to see that after she gets home from work, about 4:30 PM. Tomorrow, we plan to celebrate the final full day of 12 Days with a trip down to the first Dane County Farmer's Market of the year, by way of the BRT (bus rapid transit). I don't know what the rest of the weekend has in store, but I know it will be great.

Fin.

Too Late for 2024

Hi Readers!

For a while now, we at BIKE WITH JOE HQ have been promoting the importance of eliminating social and mainstream media (SMSM) from your life, ideally completely, due to its incredibly high toxicity and and negativity. Once you disenfranchise addictive and poisonous SMSM from your life, it takes about three weeks (aka, a fortnight and a half) to completely detoxify (mentally, physically, and spiritually) from the vitriolic and divisive stuff that it is. Thus, as of now, it would impossible to totally detoxify by the end of 2024, because not enough days remain in the year. That's not the end of the world though, because you actually have until January 19, 2025 to detox from SMSM. On January 20, 2025, SMSM becomes so toxic that ANY EXPOSURE to it will result in immediate and total poisoning of your mind, body, and soul. This is not a drill!

Unfortunately, 99.9% of the world's population is not going to heed the dire importance of eliminating SMSM from their lives before 1/20/25, and thus they will suffer what is commonly called a "death of the soul," upon engaging with SMSM on or after that date. Once this happens (and it has actually happened to many people already...most likely to be found trolling the Comment section of online SMSM content), it's irreversible. The end result of all this will be a kind of virtual "Rapture" of sorts, where the small percentage of SMSM-abstinent people on the planet will continue to live happy, positive, normal lives, and the remainder of the population will become mindless wandering soulless zombies, perpetually brain-grafted to their electronic devices. You can already find some of the latter cretins on SMSM sites. They are the exhausting folks who post their misery and lack of will to thrive/live for the world to see. Their souls have been completely depleted by toxic SMSM, irreversibly.

We hope this post finds you and you are able to save yourself from SMSM in 2025. You will need to begin your SMSM fasting no later than 12/31/24, in order to have enough time (21 days) to completely detoxify from SMSM. It is only through complete detoxification that you can avoid being sucked back into the toxic mental and spiritual waste of SMSM after 1/20/25. Good luck, and may the Cosmos have mercy on your souls!

I'm off to work out on the Peloton and listen to audiobooks. Ciao!

Fin.

The Street

Hi Readers!

I hear tell that the word on the street is that the social and mainstream media (SMSM) news is pretty toxic, exhausting, and depressing right now. Sorry that happened! But I do have a question for you...why are you still allowing it into your life?

If you want to find some respite from the toxic grievance and vitriol - that is LITERALLY the bread and butter of SMSM - I have a suggestion. QUIT IT. It's not hard. Simply disconnect from your social media apps and don't access mainstream media. If that sounds difficult, what are the obstacles? If you do a decisional balance matrix on this, it is clear that the benefits of disenfranchising SMSM from your life far outweigh the disadvantages.

In our household, we have boycotted SMSM. We never consume it or engage with it. Instead, we listen to music, read books, watch movies and TV shows, exercise, enjoy each other's company, play with the dogs, go out to eat, socialize, complete various and sundry chores, and get a shite ton (aka, a metric pantload) of shite done. In summary, we are living our best life without SMSM in it. SMSM drains your joy and happiness and destroys your productivity. All in exchange for what?

Fact: You are not the customer of SMSM. You are the PRODUCT. The SMSM companies are selling YOUR EYES, BRAIN, and SOUL to advertisers. You are a commodity to them. The best thing you can do is fire them from your life. You have a lot more autonomy and self agency than SMSM companies want you to think you do. I can guarantee that without SMSM is your life, nothing bad will happen. It is not necessary for any domain of life. But a lot of good will start happening when you kick SMSM to the curb.

Alright, have a great day!

Fin.

Mental and Spiritual Detox

Hi Readers!

Happy Saturday. I cannot stress enough how mission critical it is to begin to disenfranchise social and mainstream media (SMSM) from your life, by avoiding it completely (if possible...and mostly, if not possible). Because of how toxic and divisive and misleading SMSM has become, you are actually more intelligent and happier when you AVOID it. It's a difficult paradigm to embrace - and the SMSM overlords know this well - because we used to live in a world where ignorance was frowned upon and we ridiculed those who did not educate themselves (now we glorify and celebrate the willfully dumb). But that was when SMSM was far less biased and far more independent of its overlords than it is today. Today's SMSM actually seriously damages critical thinking ability and biases you toward the preferred messaging of said overlords (via SMSM analog and digital algorithms). SMSM is now designed primarily to addict you to its toxic messaging and, not un-coincidentally, to allow toxic people to enter and poison your life (virtually).

But you have a lot of choice over this. You don't need to let them in. It may sound difficult to avoid SMSM, because the SMSM companies have spent billions on making it more addictive than heroin or nicotine. But you totally can. The withdrawals are only psychological. I can guarantee you that the absence of SMSM in your life will not do you an ounce (or even a gram) of harm. But it will do you a TON of good. If you went camping for a week and did not have any access to your digital devices and SMSM, you'd survive and return home completely fine. In fact, you'd return home better than fine, because of the disconnect and recharge you'd experienced on the trip. SMSM drains and poisons your soul. And it addicts you to it. You don't realize this until it's absent from your life. And so I urge you to consider going on a SMSM fast for a month to assess this for yourself. If the idea of going without SMSM for a month frightens or alarms you, I have news for you...that's ADDICTION! It's the exact same fear that drug addicts experience when they consider abstaining from their drugs. It's no coincidence that people who consume excessive SMSM refer to themselves as "news junkies." Think on that.

If you choose not to disenfranchise SMSM from your life, that's your choice, and you have my sympathies. Because it will eventually seriously and irreparably harm you, if it has not already. It's never too late to quit SMSM though, and once it has destroyed your life and relationships enough (just like a drug addict hitting rock bottom), you may see fit to free yourself from it. 

In conclusion, just do me one small solid...challenge yourself to quit SMSM for 30 days. I guarantee you will notice how much better your life is at the end of it. And if you believe you cannot abstain from SMSM for 30 days...what does that tell you about its addictiveness?

Fin.