taxi1010 - Two-Word Bridges Back to Yourself

taxi1010.com — WineCellar

Whenever I read a book about difficult people, I come away with the idea I still don't know what to do. "Keep your own sense of self-confidence," one writer says, "and don't allow yourself to be verbally abused." ... Yes, but how?

... just as someone marches through the room crying out, "Don't you people have anything better to do?"

Well, I decided to turn everything upside down. Why not start with particular insults, especially insults everyone has heard before, and do research on each and every one to find the cure? —On schedule. —That includes everything!

So on this website, you start with an insult [SunPorch], identify a codeword [Kitchen], look for a bridge [Part 9, below], and end up with a response [Nursery].

Insult [SunPorch] => Codeword [Kitchen] => Bridge [Part 9] => Response [Nursery]

The bridges are the most important part of this process, and are listed in eighty-eight groups of four [Rows A. through V.] in Part 9, below.

As you can see, it's a big table. It has 88 * 4 = 352 two-word bridges. That's a lot! Remember how long it took to learn "Please," "Thank you," "You're welcome," and "I'm sorry" — ?

That's just four!

Part 9: Bridges:
A Bird's Eye View.

27.

85.

15.

78.

Hold it!
Sure, Jack!
That's DRASTIC.
Just wait!

All over.
It's terrible.
I'll bet.
Many ways!

Sight unseen.
How embarrassing.
So far.
MY mistake.

Go on!
What's next?
I guess.
Let's hope.

38.

48.

53.

31.

Pretty much.
Very serious.
Saved again!
It's overwhelming.

For nothing!
I'll live.
Home free!
NO TROUBLE!

Wild, huh?
Just normal.
Must you?
Or worse!

It's impossible.
Little challenges.
Another one!
Bad idea.

87.

18.

42.

Nothing special.
Everything's changing.
What's missing?
Many moons.

Much worse!
Spooky, huh?
Totally useless.
But better.

Oh, great!
Another thrill.
Or something.
Very enlightening.

That's enough.
Sure, boss!
Very different.
Not totally.

55.

30.

71.

36.

Certainly not.
Great timing!
That's all?
Better off.

Doesn't everyone?
Anybody can.
Dunt esk!
Totally demanding.

Not us.
How delicate.
That's precious!
Wise up!

Right!—Absolutely.
Well, okay!
Not major.
NOTHING LESS!

58.

16.

69.

Until now!
Small world.
Just imagine.
Far better!

Afraid not.
For what?
Quite unnecessary.
Completely different.

Oh, huge!
Says who?
Different times.
Too early!

You're safe.
BACK OFF!
On schedule.
Nothing better.

59.

83.

33.

50.

Way beyond!
Much better!
Even before!
YOU SHOULDN'T!

Heavy duty.
Can't wait.
No violence!
Just brutal.

Stick around!
Not anymore.
Just vicious.
That's preposterous!

Bad, huh?
Pretty wicked.
Many more!
It's murder!

35.

64.

75.

29.

Not today.
We'll see.
Hard times.
It's better.

Probably— Something.
Oh, yeah!
Wild moments.
Pretty amazing.

Bad timing.
Many things!
You sure?
Real suffering.

What if?
A joke!
So sad!
Just anything!

65.

26.

47.

37.

Totally unexpected.
Everything changes.
Especially now.
Without stopping.

Looking good.
Before long!
So much!
Be choosy.

All set.
No sweat.
We'll wait.
Really evil.

Very nice.
Chances are.
Either way.
Can't hurt!

19.

10.

74.

34.

So WHAT?
A natural.
Very advanced.
Not forever.

Doesn't matter.
Anything else?
What nerve.
Don't worry.

Not much.
The opposite.
Tough customer.
Cheer up!

Plenty!—Worse!
Smarten up!
That's impressive.
It's deeper.

84.

25.

41.

God forbid!
That's different.
Some chance!
High hopes.

Pretty intense.
Almost impossible.
Endless files.
Not exactly.

Since when?
Maybe less.
Unheard of.
Very funny.

Even greater!
Be resourceful.
Not yet.
Or vice versa.

22.

80.

Who knows?
I wouldn't.
Ever hopeful.
Oh, degenerate!

No doubt.
Very enriching.
How discouraging.
Is it?

That's life!
Must be.
Never stop.
Underneath everything.

Anything new?
Can't fail.
Nothing unique.
Of course!

77.

39.

56.

If anything.
Even better!
Never mind!
Very helpful.

Could be.
Very simple.
Next time!
Crazy, huh?

Well, anyway.
That's it.
Fear not.
Big time!

Au contraire.
It's easy.
That'll help.
No reason.

45.

17.

32.

68.

Nothing else.
No wonder.
I hope.
Not many.

All right.
Not recently.
THINGS CHANGE!
Totally natural.

Not alone.
It's genetic.
If ever.
Hidden away.

Work harder!
Cheap thrills.
THAT's why.
Control yourself!

13.

28.

11.

Good advice.
Anything less?
Strange, huh?
VERY LIMITED.

How romantic.
Real old-fashioned.
Not separate.
In case.

As if.
Think so?
It's relative.
Why bother?

Getting sophisticated.
So foolish.
Very common.
Wicked, huh?

62.

43.

88.

79.

Isn't it?
Thank goodness!
Different things.
I've heard.

You're strong.
KEEP GOING!
It's devastating.
Too soon.

Be serious.
You're kidding!
Not even.
Nowhere near.

At least.
Too dangerous.
It's criminal.
Great memories!

76.

14.

23.

63.

Very expensive.
What's different?
Not perfect.
Going up!

Nothing much.
Something else.
Just about.
No surprises!

Not often.
Hardly ever.
Doesn't hurt.
EVERY TIME!

What else?
Whatever's fair.
By now.
Among others.

86.

67.

12.

Like crazy!
Totally different.
The reverse!
MANY TIMES!

Way back!
It's powerful.
That's changing.
At best.

Not so!
Who cares?
TOO BAD!
Where else?

Without changing.
Thank you!
It's insane.
That's possible.

72.

82.

54.

So stupid!
Big surprise.
Just don't!
How exotic.

Well said.
Not quite.
You wonder.
Someone else.

Nothing fancy.
Totally unspoiled.
Very elusive.
An honor.

Oh, definitely!
Beyond belief.
Watch out!
Really tragic.

20.

66.

73.

52.

BELIEVE me.
Beautiful, huh?
Well, sure!
Living dangerously.

Very clever.
It's uncanny.
Don't panic!
Even so.

Until recently.
Maybe—Both!
Why not?
How amusing.

It's ridiculous.
Close enough.
I'm easy.
Missed out.

24.

61.

57.

40.

Nothing yet.
Really scary!
Nothing drastic.
Very little.

Hey! OUCH.
Unbelievable, huh?
Don't laugh.
All along.

No shit!
There's hope.
Nobody knows.
But why?

See that?
Very strict.
Not bad.
Big change!

81.

44.

60.

51.

Who's complaining?
How's that?
Totally destroyed.
That's next.

I'm sure.
Maybe more.
Spare me!
Big tragedy.

Yeah, sure.
God knows!
No rules.
It's chilling.

Nothing simple.
Someone must.
Or else!
Maybe not.

46.

21.

70.

49.

What then?
Be honest.
More so!
And furthermore!

Easy enough.
We'll manage.
And more!
It's maddening.

Sort of.
Not long.
Besides that!
No telling.

Worse yet.
Before that.
I'll cry.
No more!

Recent Contributions

Preparation is everything. There's an effective way to learn how to use these "bridges." You can prepare yourself in advance for a wide variety of different situations. (Not to mention Moxie's Disease!)

Part 10: A Wolf's Tale in the Sky.

A sarcastic "Thank you" can lead a person into trouble. "You're welcome" doesn't really work. However, "—NO TROUBLE!" spoken with an edge, works perfectly. The beautiful aspect of this second response is its adaptability to many shades of meaning, depending upon the physical situation in which you find yourself, the emotions expressed on your face, and your tone of voice. It sort of levels the playing field. They say, "Thank you." You say, "—NO TROUBLE!"

However, you can say lots of other things, including "—For nothing!" "—I'll live," "—Home free!" and the ever-popular, "—You're welcome." The entire purpose of the bins up above is to provide a repository of responses for any subtle knot or sticky wicket you can get into.

It's sort of like a wolf's tale in the sky. You can use your imagination.

Part 11: A Seal with a Human Face.

This is a website of concrete possibilities, with specific responses and powerful follow-ups. Remember that every particular thing is offensive to someone, so around your place of work, always act real serious and say things like, "—Absolutely!" "—NO TROUBLE!" "—It's insane," and "—All right." Try to act like the rest of the Robo-Persons, like you're in summer camp or second grade. It's better to be safe than sorry — You're better off acting like Snow White.

And if you're around truly dangerous people, that is, people who can't control themselves and who go around stabbing people and beating people up, act really dumb and say things like, "—Who knows?" "—Probably," "—Bad, huh?" and "—All right." Let sleeping dogs lie — You're better off acting like Mickey Mouse.

Otherwise, if you're like most people, you may be afraid to say something aggressive because you're afraid you'll lose control or say something stupid. It's very dangerous to hold things in. Most of the responses you find here are not stupid, even if you say them at inappropriate times. For instance, "—Real old-fashioned," "—Just normal," "—We'll manage," and "—THINGS CHANGE!" They provide a tangible outlet, in today's world, for people who might otherwise go postal.

If you don't do it on purpose, you don't know what's going to come out.

If yoo di ut on purpose, you do know.

You're better off acting like a seal.

Part 12: Things Change.

People frightened to death of seeing themselves, devote almost all their energy to "posturing." When people posture, they unconsciously alter other people's moods. In a way they are saying, "I feel hurt, angry and confused, so I want to make other people feel hurt, angry and confused." Some gift! If you don't accept such a gift, who does it go to? The aim of Non-escalating Verbal Self-Defence is to remember what we all have in common at the deepest level. Human beings need warmth, rest, nourishment and work in the outside physical world, and the perception we have smooth-running engines and large horizons in the inner world of dreams and ideas.

This is a website of warm, funny, and sensible responses to any worn-out or habitual sentence a person can utter. If the level of discourse some people devote to posturing were a game of chess, a computer programmed from taxi1010.com would be quite a champion.

I like to start from a particular point of view. In the late afternoon I sometimes stand on a promontory in Berkeley's Aquatic Park while my dogs roll around in the grass nearby. I count senses.

Breathing from my belly, like an infant, I sense the cool breeze on my cheeks. I listen to the rustle of breezes in the trees, and reaching out, to the soft roar of traffic on the freeway. Suddenly I hear the birds. Then I feel the gravity of the planet pulling me down, and my body in a slight sway, holding my balance. How many senses so far?

I feel a sense of community with Nature around me, and harmony within. I smell the pond, ever so slightly, and inside, the parched dryness of my throat — I'm dying of thirst! I see the clouds on the far horizon to the North, and turning, see the weather to the West and to the South. I sense the time and humidity in the moon of the moment. Then a light ripple of emotion racing across my face.

The sparkle of the day! You can almost taste it in beckoning spoonfuls: it's a bowl of pear-merlot gelato. Then I shift, drowsily sensing the droll irony of dreams deep inside. I can continue in this way for quite some time, breathing and counting senses.

I remember when, earlier in the day, a complete stranger had said, "When's the sun going to come out?" I had memorized the question and now look it up in Part 9, up above. I'm looking for an answer.

Every cell has a potential response, perhaps, "—THINGS CHANGE!" in row M, or "—Wild, huh?" in row B. Finally I get to, "—Before long!" in Row O, and realize on a very deep level it's the kind of thing a mother would say to a little boy.

"When are we going home?" the little boy asks, and his mother responds, "—Before long!" It's a heartfelt response and stays with you forever. Probably the man who asked, "When's the sun going to come out?" had forgotten such an experience or had never had one.

By saying, "—Before long!" I am taking him in a direction he might not have expected, and offering him a gift very difficult to refuse. Any more analysis misses the point.

Ø ¥

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taxi1010.com as a finite state

automaton ...

April 21, 2001

Dear Amoret,

We have three new "philosophies" near the bottom of the following URL:

http://www.taxi1010.com/resource/Prumbing.htm

In a totally unrelated matter, I am sort of curious how you might proceed if you had to "insert" a new "insult" into taxi1010 if you had to do it by yourself.

For example, what if you had to insert the following "insult":

"To be or not to be, that is the question."

Specifically, what stargate would you put it in, and what two-word bridge would you use? Don't worry about the follow-up. I'll tell you how to do that later.

Ciao,
Richard

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April 22, 2001

Dear Richard,

I'd not have much luck with this one! What I do when I try to place them myself is to look at all the classes first and see which one feels right. So for this insult (which I have a hard time feeling this as an insult) I picked the ones that were the closest - but none of them felt close. There is an element of the Belittler. Possibly a Patronizer, or a Reformer. Then the next step, I pick Belittler and try that ... it feels most like Intimidation, for the best of the four Diagnostics. Then I look at the tool set: —That's life! (now that seems perfect!) Now if I couldn't find a bridge that was anywhere near good from the Intimidation group, I would check my other choices, the Patronizer and Reformer and go through the same steps. If I still didn't find a good response, I would go to the wine cellar and read all the bridges till I found one that felt right. Usually when I do that, I find a bunch of good ones; however, I've never found one on my own that you agreed was "the" answer. That's how I do it. What do you think of that? How do you do it....

Ciao,
Amoret

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April 22, 2001

Dear Amoret,

This is easier than you realize. It's also a hell of a lot more fun than you realize. taxi1010.com is a "finite state automaton" and everything keys off the actual words in the attack.

"To be or not to be, that is the question," is an attack, because if someone walks up and repeats that sentence to you, it is not obvious what to say back. That is why it is an attack. You'd have to sit there "thinking" of something.

Taxi1010.com removes the "thinking." Everything becomes automatic. When they say, "To be or not to be, that is the question," they are not "thinking." They are reciting a "line." So here's how to find the taxi1010.com bridge:

(1) Immediately go to the following URL and look up the stargate for every single word in the sentence:

http://www.taxi1010.com/kitchen.htm

To - 51
be - 37
or - 3
not - 74
to - 51
be - 37
that - 51
is - 77
the - 61
question - 24

(2) Now, eliminate duplicate stargates:

To - 51
be - 37
or - 3
not - 74
is - 77
the - 61
question - 24

I can tell you this in advance: We want to give the most "weight" to the last words of the sentence, so I strongly suspect we'll find the "truest" bridge in stargate 24.

Also, the word "question" appears to stand out from the rest as the most "meaningful." This may or may not be the case. Sometimes a tiny word like "the" can surprise you in its usefulness as a response picker!

(3) Now, I have Turmeric cards here at home, and you don't. For me, all I have to do is go through my deck of cards and "pull" the seven cards in question, and leaf through them at my leisure. It's so easy! I almost instantly "spot" the "truest" response. However, you don't have Turmeric cards, so you have to struggle along by going to the following URL:

http://www.taxi1010.com/winecellar.htm#bridges

(4) Then you have to do a "Find" on 24, 61, 77, 74, 3, 37, and 51 and copy down the suggested bridges:

24 - Nothing yet. Really scary! Nothing drastic. Very little.

61 - Hey! OUCH. Unbelievable, huh? Don't laugh. All along.

77 - Could be. Very simple. Next time! Crazy, huh?

74 - Not much. The opposite. Tough customer. Cheer up!

3 - As if. Think so? It's relative. Why bother?

37 - Very nice. Chances are. Either way. Can't hurt!

51 - Nothing simple. Someone must. Or else! Maybe not.

(5) We have narrowed the field down to twenty-eight choices, which isn't so bad! With the "weighting" toward the top of the list, in stargate24, which was indexed by the word, "question," I would pick, "Really scary!"

However, other possibilities exist, and that also is "Really scary!"

It's also the "funniest" response, and "funny" is the most appropriate direction to go in this particular case.

(6) Finally, go to the following URL and have a peek at what that stargate has to say about the situation, which I will leave to you:

http://www.taxi1010.com/stargate24.htm

(7) Well, never mind. I went ahead and peeked: The follow-up, which I found in stargate24, could easily be, "There's always a way."

Notice how some things there "go along" with what we're looking for, and some things don't help us much. The whole idea is to "go along" with what works and to ignore what doesn't help too much. The essay at the bottom of the page, having to do with "Rick & Ann's" is especially appropriate for this "attack" and our subsequent research.

Ciao,
Richard

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