I Googled Myself (Yes, Again) And This Is What I Found This Time

Mark Daniel Korvin

Now here's the thing. I don't do this for any kind of ostentatious putting-on of airs. I'm not vain at all. Just the opposite. You can ask my psychiatrist. Or my therapist. 

No, I am occasionally Googling myself to see if Google has had any sweet sweet mercy on #Blogger and indexed our #blogs at all. Because we would really like Google to index our blogs. Lack of blog indexing is a frequent topic of discussion in certain web forums. Also Reddit.

It's so frustrating, you guys. I've been blogging for 25+ years. I write about a variety of topics from a Gen X point of view. Women's issues. Immigration. Equality. Civil rights. Race relations. LGBTQIA issues. Donald Fucking Trump. Class warfare. Nazis. Guns. God. Depression. Anxiety. Music. Local music. Movies, especially horror movies. Comedy. Shopping. Thrifting. Cooking. Writing. I don't use AI. I have no dead links. I signed on with a marketing company for a few years so I had a kind of crash course in SEO: keywords, titles, headers and other things you're supposed to do to drive traffic to your blog. I like to think I'm a good writer--I've done it professionally, and people tend to tell me my stuff is enjoyable. But no matter what I try (Google Search Console, Site Mapping, Index Requests, etc) I can't seem to get past this indexing issue. SO. FRUSTRATING.

Well. Anyway. I Googled "Diary of a Low Budget Superhero" this time--last time I Googled my handle "SuperLowBudge."  Know what I found? I found that the #Google #AI robot is writing about me in the past tense. Should I be worried or…I mean...did I die? Then why am I so tired.

Mind you, this doesn't mean Google is indexing the Blog. 

Well. Anyway. Here's what the robot says.

And it invites you to "Deep Dive" on that:

Apparently I’m “self-deprecating, raw, and fragmented.” Great. Just what I was going for, all these years of blogging. Yep. Fragmented. 

Well. That tracks.💔

 

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Currently Listening: SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE (Stevie Wonder)(1976)

Songs in the Key of Life was one of my favorite records practically my whole life. From the age of 7 I'd say. 

My parents have great taste in music. 

My favorite is Side Four--it's a double album. 

    Isn't She Lovely
    Joy Inside My Tears
    Black Man
    Ngiculela - Es Una Historia I Am Singing
    If It's Magic
    As
    Another Star 

I want "If It's Magic" played at my funeral.

Damn, Stevie.

  

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There Goes Pinterest I Guess (It's Getting Bogged Down With AI Slop)

Photo Credit: Freepik 

Not that I've been on it much lately, so me deleting my account won't mean anything to Pinterest. I created my Pinterest account when we first moved from Comm Ave to Lower Allston, as a kind of Look Book for home decor ideas.I also had some pins of 19th Century dinner rings--I had one once and thought I'd get another some day. But now it seems Pinterest is already chock-a-block with AI slop. Why? What are they thinking? That was a purpose-built site for people to share and pin ideas...WITH REAL PEOPLE IN REAL LIFE. It's like the old Second Life now,  just fucking around building a virtual world that's not real. Fantasy world. That's supposed to be a positive feature? AI slop has made Pinterest pretty much useless. They claim you can toggle off the AI setting, but doesn't that leave you relying on users to tag it as AI? Yeah. No thanks. Buh-bye.

Facebook (3:40pm January 9)

Facebook is next, not that I’m on it much anymore. It's so grim over there, you guys. They have nudes now--just dicks and vajay-jay all up on my page in the middle of the day. Plus Trumpers spouting their disgusting lies freely and without consequence. And  Suckerburg was just in front of an audience saying what a great thing AI is going to do for Facebook this year. I'm not even going to include the video. It's gross. I've already seen AI on Facebook--Reba McEntire crying at Dolly Parton's deathbed. Paul McCartney crying at Phil Collins' deathbed. Bette Midler crying at Diane Keaton's funeral. Lots of crying. It's so obviously AI, but apparently people are believing it's real.

AI replacing writers?

AI replacing actors?

AI replacing musicians?

AI replacing programmers?

AI replacing Human Resources? 

Isn't this kind of a dangerous path we're on?  

 

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...Because, That's Why (Regarding The Absence Of Politcal Posts This Time Around)

"But you used to write about politics..."

Yeah. At one time I did, yeah. Here in Blogger, back to 2012. You can find all those passionate, researched entries by searching on "politics" in the search field. In my Diaryland blog, I have essays from the 2000, 2004 and 2008 elections--that is to say, from the Hanging Chad to the Provisional Ballot to (sweet relief) YES WE CAN! I don't have any entries from 2020 to July 2025, when I just didn't have the mental fortitude for writing.

I can't do it anymore. I don't have the best mental health, for one thing, and while I am better than I was ten years ago, I have to take care of my mental health every single day. Every. Day. Plus I had a stroke, most likely caused by high blood pressure, so focusing on this stuff is the last thing I need right now. I learned to walk and talk again, but don't have use of my right hand. And thirdly, and I cannot stress this enough, I have said all I have to say on the matter. Y'all know how I feel about it. All of it. Women's issues. Immigration. Equality. Civil rights. Race relations. LGBTQIA issues. Donald Fucking Trump. Class warfare. Nazis. Guns. God.

I already said it. I've been saying it for years. Blue in the face, and all that.

You guys, I am just so tired.

But I realized last night that plenty of others still have fight left in them, to call out the fascists in power and their acolytes, and I can just amplify their voices on Diary of a Low Budget Superhero. I've been capturing headlines and so forth in the Photos in my phone all this time, so first I'll post those here. I thought about posting these screenshots one-by-one, but decided against it for the sake of my Followers that get an email every time I post a new entry. After this entry, we'll see. Blessed be.

________________________________________________

Get all that? Okay. So here's what's happened so far. It's been 342 days.

 

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I Signed Up For Fucking Instagram (I Regret It Already)

View this profile on Instagram

Michelle DiPoala (@superlowbudge) • Instagram photos and videos

So you guys. I tried for an hour to log into Instagram on my iPhone. I can log in with the browser on laptop and iPhone, but not the app. After changing the password twice (because “incorrect password” was the error message), I tried Instagram Help, I Googled for answers, I watched YouTube videos, I tried everything suggested by everyone. Reinstall the app, restart the phone, clear the cache, etc.
Then I checked Reddit. Reddit always knows and…

Instagram screenshot of other suckers

 

Oh. Well that’s just great. The screenshot shows the first few Redditors with this same issue—I stopped counting at 25 posts. Nobody commenting had any solution.

Especially the guy saying the only solution is to buy a different phone. Excuse me?

Thing is, I just signed up for Instagram tonight, it’s a brand new account. The only reason I signed up is because a person I want to contact only lists Instagram for a contact!! And the only reason I downloaded the app is because I wanted to add my blog website in my profile—which you can ONLY do on the app! You literally cannot add a website on the web. What the hell kinda feature is that!

I am holding back on some choice words for Meta right now. All these people who can’t log in to the app for all these months and Meta can’t figure it out?! Just…SOL for us then? 

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Terence Burke Was An Awesome Human (1969 - 2024)

Self-portrait

So we lost my good friend Terence last year. One August night he just quietly died in his sleep. We were all devastated. He was only 54.

I can't say enough about how awesome Terence was, and that's both personally and professionally. I knew him a little through the music scene, then in 2007 I hired him at my workplace. He impressed the pants off everybody, was a fast learner and a superb employee. We became friends. We had many friends in common.

He was a singer. He loved music. He had an extensive vinyl collection. He lived right next door for about twelve years, and in summertime we could hear his tunes and it was most excellent, as were the CD "mix tapes" he made for Joe and I, and everyone else. He was also an artist. He went to Mass Art for a year and loved to draw.

Last night while trying to fall asleep I suddenly remembered Terence's Flickr albums. And that it was under a moniker he sometimes used. Tolerance Burke.

 

Terence always had a camera in his hand. He took literally thousands of pictures. He'd been documenting his friends and family at parties, cookouts, rock shows, karaoke, a LOT of selfies showing all his different looks through the years, and a lot more. His albums of his toys, T shirts, and the famous mix tapes are awesome. His family, especially his brother Dave and the kids, through the years, is so great. Plus his drawings.

The Flickr site is really great to look through. With these thousands of pictures, Terence really left us all a legacy. Pour one out tonight for our friend Terence Burke.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/45106708@N00/albums/

 One of Terence's last captures: https://flic.kr/p/2q9pfS8 

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Big 103 Boston…My New Jam, Baby

You guys. I accidentally found a really cool radio station. Google "Big 103 Boston" to stream it (or click the link at the bottom). Or if you're near me in Boston, tune to 103 FM. That's how I found it, twiddling the knob of the little radio I bought myself last summer, They play a wider variety than most stations. Hip hop, Indie, Metal, Pop. I got some screen shots from different days/times--check it out! If you're anything like me (Uh...eclectic Gen Xer in America, I suppose?) you'll find Big 103 Boston quite badass. 

 

 

 

(This is a new Blogger feature currently in Beta!) 

 

 

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