my journal: various subjects, opinionating, CW at times
The title explains itself.
If you're interested in the ramblings of a middle-aged man with chronic conditions who, at times, sees things a little too clearly for his own good, then read on.
Sometimes I get political, but it won't be all the time.
I don't mind comments in general but if you're going to differ with what I write, that's fine--as long as you can explain your position clearly & reasonably. Rants, shouting & general incoherence will be ignored or flagged, depending on the situation. Try to remember that not everyone else in this world holds your beliefs.
Every so often I may post art or snapshots of projects I'm working on.
If you're still interested after reading all the above, great. (I do wonder at how much time you have on your hands, though)
Another G00gle Maps review:
Am a bit bummed out about this. Cultured Collective was a nanobrewery not far from where I live. I could walk there in 15 minutes or less, & did more than once. I didn't go there every day or even every month, but I liked knowing it was there. The owner was a guy named Mike, who was a homebrewer for some 10 years before he closed his homebrew supply store & opened Cultured Collective in its place. Good beers, a couple hard seltzers too, all made onsite. That was before 2020...the nanobrewery survived the pandemic. No small feat but it's sad...the business survived the Wuhan plague & seemed to prosper for a while, only to shut down for good.
Also - today I discovered that Amaz0n doesn't let anyone read book reviews anymore. Aside from a few sample reviews on a book, now you have to log into your account to read more reviews & get a sense of what buyers are thinking. For that, of course, you must have an Amaz0n account to begin with. I do but I rarely ever use it.
That's annoying. Truly...G00gle & Amaz0n are two of the evil empires in today's capitalist economy. (& this is coming from a guy who is himself a capitalist...think about that for a minute)
Happy Thanksgiving, folks. 😎
@slowdecline48
Happy Thanksgiving, Slow! \(^-^)/
A family-friendly response. 👍🏻 You're more well-behaved here than me, for sure...
What is Snoopy doing with those bread slices??
@slowdecline48
Snoopy ੯‧̀͡⬮ is using it as an accordion 🪗 😄
@slowdecline48
I never realized Woodstock was a cannibal 😳😅
The first mental image from that was Woodstock behind bars speaking in a Hannibal Lecter voice...then attacking a guard!... 🫤
@slowdecline48 😂 I tried to bring your vision to life but this was the best I could do
Doesn't have the same effect lol
@mytwistedsoul You used an "art generator", it looks like...
@slowdecline48 Someone else did. I just borrowed the pic from reddit
Am reposting the GIF because it was taken down. Take that, censors! Freedom lives on!
Overcast, cold with a slight drizzle outside... Suits me.
When you are a member of a despised minority, you can only go through so many days before current events involving your ethnoreligious home1--or more specifically, reactions from the usual suspects to said events--drive home the point that you, undeniably, are of a people who are ineffably different from the rest of the world.
Different...& hated, whenever you try to stand up & hold your own instead of remaining in the subordinate position in which the world used to keep you bound.
In every generation, people have risen to move against your own. What makes the ongoing agitation over the Israel-Puppets2 conflict especially painful are the confused, misguided & manipulated youth from the same bunch I come from--& who are being used as pawns by our enemies, rather like how Israel's direct enemies use hapless Arabs as human shields for themselves.
1If it's not obvious, the reference is to Israel.
2The terminology refers to Hamas & Hezbollah, both of which have long been "proxy forces", or armed puppets, of the Shi'ite Islamic theocracy of Iran. Just reminding you who's behind all the death & destruction, gentle reader.
Brief summary of this morning: it's a mixed bag. Nothing unusual about that.
- Bad news: Two nightmares last night. Errrgh. 🤕 The usual slight headache, feeling of cranial weight, tinnitus. Got two peppers in the fridge that probably should be tossed out by now. The rent drops in two days & my account will be a bit thin right after that. I hate this human anthill.
- Good news: in the little tiff I had in the Negative Experiences & Criticisms thread in the R&S Forum, the "hearts"/upvotes are solidly in my favor so far. It's nice to know I'm not the only one here who doesn't buy into the "genocide of Palestinians by evil settler-colonial white supremacist Israel" narrative.* Thanks for having my back, & I appreciate you. Y'all know who you are. Also, I'm having some coffee this morning & a couple small repair projects were a success...minor victories.
I gotta get back to my land again...need to get to work.
Wonder if I should lubricate the needle valve in the saw now?...if so, how does one access it?... Gotta print out the service manual. That's another plus--I found the complete service manual online, in PDF format. For a pittance! 😁 This is not the basic user manual that came with the chainsaw...no, this is the kinda document small engine mechanics use. If I can find a source of decent spare parts in the future, I'll be able to keep the saw running with minimal expenses. Few to no labor & service fees, for one.
*Yes, it's horrendous & innocent people shouldn't suffer so. We all agree on that. But not all the Pals are so innocent, the conflict isn't so simple, & if Israel really wanted to kill them all it would've done that a long time ago. An action requires specific intent to wipe out a whole people for it to be a genocide; Israel has never harbored such intent. Palestinians would not exist now if it were ever the case.
*sigh*
...I gotta adjust the bookshelves.
More accurately, I have to move all my books around a bit to make room for new arrivals. Will probably end up discarding a few I've had for a while.
This might not sound like something to complain about but...sometimes owning a personal library is a pain in the a**. Most of the time it's good.
My library is pretty small, but it's solid.
Am thinking of posting a recommended reading list. Would anyone like to see it or...?
@slowdecline48 I would!
@slowdecline48 Me too!
@mytwistedsoul @ImpudentIncognito 😄 Okay, then. I'll try to get it done this week...it will be a busy week, just so you know. And I will try not to make it too long, just in case anyone here actually takes it seriously. (Besides, we live in the Internet Era--where everyone has ADD)
@slowdecline48 No worries - when ever you have time. I hope this is a productive week 😀
I was all set to make it a productive week...then this afternoon I got a notice on my front door. A certain number of apartments selected at random (supposedly) will be inspected this Thursday. Gonna hafta get this ready as best I can before then. Even though I don't know for sure if anyone will show up.
God D∆MM!T.
Only a few more months, & then I'll be free of this renter-prison...can't f**kin' wait...
No worries man! No rush. LOL true on the ADD part these days haha. Though, got a new gig for writing recently, so I'm used to the length. 🫠😂 I need more stuff to read and get inspiration. Hope you're doing OK btw!
Was up all night.
Yep...this week is going to suck orangutan te§tes.
@slowdecline48 🦧🏀🏀
🤣 I said this week is gonna suck 'em. I would never do it...no matter how much money anyone offers for it... That I will leave to those adventurous enough...or desperate enough.
@slowdecline48 Sorry, I couldn't resist. 🤣 But damn, that bites man....What's going on with this week? :(
@ImpudentIncognito An apartment inspection on Thursday. At what time I do not know, but someone's coming in here. Should be hauling out stuff I don't need right now but after online stuff & organizing some of my hard drive, I'm lying down with a headache. Too much screen time can mess you up.
Oh dang, that bites. :( I hated dealing with those. I don't like any randos coming to my place when I feel like sh!t due to chronic pain. Then, having to clean up while not feeling good. Maybe rest is best and tomorrow move? (If you can). Hope the pain goes away or becomes more bearable... I feel you. :(
@ImpudentIncognito You called it...I accede to your wisdom.
Was gonna throw some stuff out tonight but after dinner my whateveritis* started flaring again... Plus it's cold as a landlord's heart outside. Tonight I ain't doin' nuthin'... Might take a bath, but that's it.
*After just over seven years, I was told I don't have Meniére's disease & that it's "neurological". 1) That doesn't tell me very much, & 2) ringing in the ears & problems with my ears not always being pressurized correctly make me doubt my condition is a neurological one.
"Oh yeah doc, I definitely cause the ringing in my ears and dizziness. Completely in my head that I pass out and cause my own pain." Man ....Disrespectfully, FVCK those people who say "it's all in your head". Hate, hate HATE that some doctors do that. The first doctor I've seen after many years -- I told him how I was nearly k!lled by someone I knew and was by a car, and that I NEED a brain scan. He went "oh, you're just depressed, you're fine, take these pills for your depression and go to physical therapy." What the ACTUAL fvck!!! Also, the physical therapy actually ended up doing MORE damage. My chest was hurting worse and my pre-existing back pain worsened. I felt dizzy and nauseous every morning. And to this day, if I stand up for too long, I black out and fall. The 1st physical therapist I went to was also like "oh, it's just in your head" BS too. Why, oh why do they do that? It makes my blood fvcking boil, it honestly does. People ask "Why don't you just go to the doctor to get it checked out?" Went to maybe...4 doctors in the passed year? It was pointless. I also didn't live in a great city, but once I move again, going to save up and see if can find a better one that doesn't just go "it's in your head".
There are far, far too many enemies of my people in this country...& on this planet. These days, too many of our younger ones have been hopelessly corrupted by those who are out to destroy our nation, our spiritual home. They are puppets of the Muslims & their so-called progressive allies, who would happily wipe out every Israeli in order to help the Palestinians achieve their unattainable utopia. More indirectly, of course, the Iranian regime is behind much of it.
Whatever you say to them is wasted breath & time. Doesn't matter how many negotiations you conduct. Their aim will never change.
Also, these "land back" affirmations are ridiculous. Yes, the displacement, massacres & swindling of the American Indians off most of their lands was indeed a tragedy & a blot on America's record that cannot be erased. But.
- The indigenous tribes here were pretty good at displacing, killing, r*ping & plundering each other long before any white man set foot on this continent. Same with the rest of the world. If we're supposed to give the land back, who should we return it to? Who are the rightful owners?... Not an easy question to answer.
- So far I haven't heard about someone packing up & leaving the US for the specific purpose of returning the land to American Indians...doesn't seem like anyone ever will, either. Land-back oaths are purely performative, a virtue signal to one's fellow progressive that one is sufficiently enlightened enough to be woke.
- If anyone here decides to leave the US for someplace where you can live without feeling guilty because the place has no history of forced displacement/massacres/etc., let me know when you find it. This is something I'd have to see firsthand.
@slowdecline48 I completely agree with this. My family on both sides has native american bloodlines. Lakota Souix and Cherokee. While the history sucks and they lost so much back then. If every Indian nation was to have their tribal lands returned there wouldn't be any land left for anyone else or at least not much. Many tribes were nomadic and followed the herds so how would that work now? They fought against the US government and other tribes. There is no place on this planet that hasn't belonged to someone else at some point in time.
"There is no place on this planet that hasn't belonged to someone else at some point in time."
Exactimundo.
If you want an extreme example, look at Jerusalem. It is one of the most fought-over places in all of history...that started along with the rise of city-states in Mesopotamia.
Yep...can relate to that. :(
...they may have to take my apartment as it is.
😵💫🫨🤧😮💨🤕
@slowdecline48Tell them you're just getting over a nasty flu bug. Then they might not linger and look to much past the front door lol
@mytwistedsoul We'll see. I'm up & moving now....just put the first coat of finish on the 9th cane. Finally.
It's stuck in the holder block I made a while back for just this purpose. The block is clamped to the railing on the patio. Gonna leave it clamped there, & add more coats as they dry. I can neaten up the place while the finish does its thing. The cane will be out there tomorrow....if the bureaucrats have any questions I will point to it & say this is the kinda stuff I do here. It is an honest answer.
@slowdecline48 There's a lot worse things you could be doing. It'll be so nice when you don't have to deal with these inspections anymore. Probably just looking for an excuse to the raise the rent anyway
It involves someone from the bank the leasing company uses...I don't know all the technicalities, nor am I interested. The company will certainly jack up the rent on the next poor sap who moves in. That's bad, since these apartments aren't worth what the company charges for them now, let alone anything higher...but by that time I won't be here. As the millennials sometimes say:
"Not my circus,
not my monkeys."
Latest update - After an eon, I finally got back to ye olde cane projeckte. The FSM knows it f***ing took long enough. Sanded it a bit, then I wiped it with denatured alcohol to clean it & started applying tung oil finish... started this afternoon.
Now it's after 6 p.m. & the 3rd coat is drying on it. How I do it: I apply thin coats of finish, always with a piece of T-shirt cotton. I give each coat more than the minimum time to cure/dry. It's not the most sophisticated or up-to-date method but it works. Also if you buy your clothes right, you always have a supply of rags. 😁
Am a bit embarrassed to post any pics of the cane because I took so long to get it done. Between flare-ups, buying land this year & life's ongoing distractions, I got sidetracked a lot.
Was gonna throw out some stuff from the living room but right now I feel like lying down. I'll get up & do it later tonight if I have the energy, but...I gotta be honest here. Re the inspection tomorrow, I've just about run out of f***s to give.
1115 - Did cutting exercises on the patio this morning until the chainsaw ran out of gas. The manager of the leasing staff & some black gentleman walked by but didn't climb the stairs to my patio...this was a minute after I paused to make an important call. Am a bit dizzy but so far I'm still going.
Time for axe work. 😈
@slowdecline48 Stay away from the guy with the chainsaw! And now an axe. Omg if they drove there together can you image the conversation when they leave? 😂😂 They get in the car and just give each other the "look" 😂
The manager & the bank official (at least I think that's who it was) walked by late this morning but never climbed the stairs or entered my apartment. The manager greeted me in passing I was expecting them to enter the premises. What the h€ll??
Admittedly, by the time they went by my building I'd been running the saw...there were pieces of small logs in one corner, others I had cut were nearby & the patio floorboards were nearly covered in wood chips... Maybe they just didn't want to walk through the mess, or the whole thing was just too weird for them. 😆
I started chopping on one of my larger logs about a half-hour after that, until noon. Am trying to flatten & square up two sides, then my little portable table saw will do the rest. Hopefully 😂 Yes, that will be done on the patio too. 😏
@slowdecline48 😂😂 too funny! You'd think they would have at least said something to you. Although guy with chainsaw is so scary 😁
Hey your patio is the only place to do stuff like that and I'm sure you clean up out there when you're done because who wants to drag wood chips through the whole house?
Bank guy: "What's up with the guy in #146?"
Mgr: "Oh, him? That's Slow. He goes out on the patio & does stuff with wood every so often...I've never heard him like today, though. He's usually quieter than that."
@slowdecline48 😂😂
Got home a few minutes ago. You're gonna love this:
Yesterday was, of course, a day of lifting & cutting (see previous entry). Had a medical appointment today & I knew it, so in the evening I laid down to get plenty of rest--& was jarred awake by the phone. Turns out the credit union had detected fraudulent activity on my ATM card & wanted to clear it up with me. We went over the charges; I told the phone flack which ones weren't mine, & so they locked the card. That was the right thing to do, of course...however, I had planned to hail a ride to the spine/joint facility in the morning.
So much for that idea.
So today I woke up early (no alarm, as usual), reheated the last pizza slices from the freezer & made some coffee, scarfed it...then sat down in my office chair because my vestibular whateveritis was flaring already. Also, my thighs & gluteal muscles were sore from yesterday's exertions...
Still, I knew what I had to do. Dragged the old steel horse* onto the patio, pumped up the tires, went down the steps & took off...rode to the spine/joint place in the bitter cold. If I hadn't put on long underwear before my shorts, the ride wouldn't have happened. As it was, going with short sleeves was a mistake.
After seeing the doc & receiving instructions I got on my horse again & pedalled to my credit union, slowly this time...no reason to hurry. I told the cashier about the call; she understood & I got a new Visa/ATM plastic. By this time I was dragging a*s...had to get something to eat. I did, nearby. Took my time & recharged as best I could.
Finally it was time to ride home...best to do it when the sun is up. I took a different route & made it to the local library...half the time I was fighting icy crosswinds. I stopped in at the library & thought "f**k this. My legs are about half dead & my head isn't too good, either." After a bit, I hailed a ride, took the wheels off my horse, stowed it in the back & was driven home.
I haven't bathed & am not about to. The cold kept me from sweating a lot, & I'm too tired.
Most of me from the waist down will be toasted tomorrow...will almost certainly have back pain, too.
Excuse me while I pass out.
*bicycle, of course!
Next day (today) update:
> half of my body is sore.
I need protein. Bad.
@slowdecline48 Glad they caught the charges. I hope the damage wasn't too bad and they reimbursed you. It's a real pain in the a** when your card gets froze
@mytwistedsoul The card was locked & the charges were apparently reversed. Yeah...I have a new card now. Gonna update info for buying things online as the necessity arises.
