I'm burning for (bacon), filled with desire
I can't stand the heat and my heart's on fire
I can't get enough [burning (bacon)], it's down to the wire
I'm making my move, I'm looking for you
I'm burning for (bacon)

Today's title is inspired by Bon Jovi's first, self-entitled album. I purchased it at the Walmart over by State Tech, with the former replaced by a Bass Pro and the latter...well, I can never keep track of the name—oh yeah, Slacker School (or that place where adjunct professors have to teach in addition to their day job to have a livable wage). As a kid, I bought this album, not knowing I should have picked up Slippery When Wet. In my defense, the album features the song Shot Through the Heart which seems a whole lot like the lyrics of the song I wanted, "Shot through the heart / And you're to blame / Darlin', you give love a bad name!" But, I'm glad I picked this cassette up for its a great classic album. I was no stranger to Runaway when I heard it in Stranger Things. And She Don't Know Me is the classic high school anthem! All I'm missing is my locker on the 2nd floor next to Mr. Stewart's biology class.

And yes, bacon is back on the menu for me! Along with the lb of beef, I'm putting in a half package of bacon and all of its bacon butter goodness I can pull from the air fryer for the meet. And my weight just falls off!

I remain enthralled within my Player One space, driven by the potentials of not only what lies ahead with my own growth, but the metaverse of the future of virtual reality. When I pull over my set, I get the same vibe as I did when I first played a Nintendo in the back the Kmart on Austin Peay. Super Mario Bros was so far beyond my ATARI games of Pitfall and Adventure! I feel that way about my Quest 2. And like our 8-bit hero, there is an adventure of VR development that will be coming in the decade to come. The Nintendo came out in 1985. Where was Mario in 1996? In 3D on the N64. Don't take my word for it, check out Mario's evolution.

And in time, I look forward to a virtual space room in our houses. Look, it's just a matter of time before somebody can apply to VR the idea of the mirascopes I sold at World of Science back when Titantic played down the hall at Wolfchase. In practice, I don't suppose it'll be a whole lot different from a surround sound system. And it will fundamentally alter the way we approach our living rooms. That said, long gone are the days where we sit around the radio together.

And who knows: one day perhaps we'll create a Dyson sphere, convert energy into matter and just sit down in front of a bowl of gumbo after playing bingo all day and be right on point to quote this line from The Matrix, "There is no spoon."

But, where many solutions of VR is not unlike the 90s meme gags for a handsfree cell phone that involved a rubber band. Yeah, the existential threat in Bruce Willis' Surrogates is WAY down the line from now—well from a commercial perspective. However, what does it mean for the drone command near Vegas to guide UAVs to kill across the globe? And yes, there are VR drones available in the public sphere. But, I'd have to pop back a Costco barrel of anti-nausea meds to turn that into a reality!

And again, what will it mean if AI develops to the point when it takes over the hardware and yanks the leash from its master. Ahh, as long as it involves a pair of shades and a leather jacket! OK, OK, so maybe just an augmented reality? "Dead or alive, you're coming with me." The dream of the 80s is alive!

Dialing it down to my virtual world, I put in 75 minutes in with my workout before sitting down to write this. It was 25 minutes of Supernatural, followed by 30 minutes of Les Mills and ending with 20 minutes of Ragnarock. The Supernatural playlist was this classic rock.