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)
One last entry for tonight:
The Religion & Spirituality Forum here has something in common with similar forums everywhere else on the Net...
Isn't it uncanny, how religion-focused fora attract people who are so full of 🐂💩.
...g'night.
@slowdecline48 i dont know if i want to laugh or say "be nice!" I havent even been around religious forums much, so what do i know... 🤔
@unassumingEyes The R&S forum here now has a "philosopher" who posts the kind of statements that say nothing specific but are meant to sound deep & oh so profound. 🙄 ...like I said, bulls**t. Horse pucky.
Guess I should admit my bias at this point. Re philosophy: the ancient Greeks are fascinating & I kinda like Lao-Tzu, & some stuff in Zen Buddhism (particularly Nichiren). But that's about it for Eastern thinkers. Western philosophy after the emperor Constantine was mostly about the nature of God...stuff by Christian thinkers like Anselm, Thomas Aquinas, etc. Am not a Christian so I'm not into that. I do like Schopenhauer's thought, & some of Nietzsche's aphorisms. I have no use whatsoever for most philosophy written after WW2, particularly what came out of France. Poststructuralism...yecchh. 🤮 That is such a big pile of bulls**t. Modern philosophers today don't interest me at all, though I like Matthew B. Crawford's writings on technology & its consequences. Also, the late British woodworker-philosopher David Pye...he's a good one, too. Those two are just about the only exceptions.
@slowdecline48 i checked the forums and yes- i see what you mean. The "philosophy" is just a bunch of vague sentences that dont make sense. Well- whatever makes them happy 🤷♀️
Also - why is it that I'm still awake right now? This is absurd...hearing people coming & going occasionally outside, etc. I have to move a lot of stuff & drive in a few hours. *smfh*
I'd take something to help me sleep, but it would leave me groggy & dazed for the entire day. Can't drive safely like that. No better living through chemistry tonight...most likely I will fall asleep around sunrise & wake up at 11 or later.
🤦🏼♂️
Well, *** mi.
Woke up with a raging headache...on the right side.
After decongesting a bit (disgustingly, with plenty of TP & a few napkins) & having some cheese & almond milk, with ibuprofen, it calmed down somewhat...but it's still there. I could still load my truck but no way am I gonna drive while this is going on. Too distracted right now. The pickup is large, heavy & fast already....add in cargo weight & it would be more dangerous still.
Now I'm lying on my side in my office chair with my legs on a stack of crates...my head is on one of the armrests. Let's see how it plays out. I can load & drive tomorrow if necessary.
@slowdecline48 I would just wait to load too. Just in case it would rain or h.ll if someone sees an opportunity to take something. That might just be my paranoia talking though 😅
Hope you feel better soon Slow
@mytwistedsoul Theft is always a possibility...in this case I don't think it's that likely, but there's still a chance. (None of my stuff is that new or luxe) I'm certainly not going to load the cargo bed full & then leave it out for the night.
[cw: pol opinions]
The S&P500 index in the period specified at bottom. Since Feb. 13th its value has dropped -9.74% in a falling corridor, as you see.
As to why: an index like the S&P or NASDAQ conveys the state of its market fairly well, so this tells you how the US stock market is doing overall. Markets (any kind) go up & down for many reasons, but one factor that is surely contributing in this case is the tariff nonsense perpetrated by the current Idi0t-In-Chief.
If the orange blimp had any ability to focus or think constructively, he would realize that our trade imbalances & manufacturing dependence on foreign countries (particularly China) cannot all be fixed at once. Slapping tariffs on imports will not help the situation; all that'll do is start a trade war--as Trump has already done. Rectifying our import-export ratios & inshoring our industries can only be done gradually, with prudence & an eye to possible consequences at each move we make. But the Idi0t-In-Chief knows none of this...& most likely, future presidents won't know it either. (He isn't the only one with this problem; in his case it's just more obvious) In an electoral democracy, officials are too busy trying to hang onto their positions to look that far into the future....in a word, "short-termism".
If Trumpkin keeps this up, he will end his 2nd term on a bad note indeed... Except for the hard core of his base constituency, everyone will turn against him if he keeps on stirring the pot. That will include Republicans...plenty of 'em.
Latest poem (haiku) just went up. You can read it here. My other schlocky verses precede it, if you have some time to k1ll.
@slowdecline48 truth be told, the moment i found out you write you went way up in my esteem 😆 that was actually before we talked- I'd just seen you around
@unassumingEyes Thanks. Sometimes, my being awake at night leads to stuff like that.
As I type this, I'm in a smallish town about 1/3rd of the way to the town where my land is...just had a sandwich. My truck has the heaviest load I've put in it so far, in the bed in back...
Gotta admit, in this case I like the difference. Books are made of paper, which is heavy. So are most hardwoods. If I had piled all that on my old Saturn coupe (before it started dying in '20)...well, it would be impossible for one! The only way would be to pile everything on the roof which would probably crumple it downward. Then I'd have to tie it all together & to the car with 3,000 ft. of rope...the little car would drag a.ss thr entire time & it wouldn't accelerate worth a damn. With the Chevy, now...the bed is full, I used just enough rope to keep everything in place & there's barely any difference in the truck's handling at all. Its mileage sucks by modern standards but boy, can it ever haul stuff. 😁👍🏼
On top of all that, it's shelter when you have nowhere else to sleep. One big advantage of a quad cab model.
Am parked by my mailbox now. Need to replace it, BTW...later....
@slowdecline48 I've been think of getting a cap for mine but I can't decide if it would be a good idea. It would help keep stuff dry but would be a pita to take off
@mytwistedsoul You mean a camper shell? I thought about that too... Decided against it for now. Need the open space for loads, especially odd-shaped stuff that doesn't fit neatly into the bed like logs from trees I cut, maybe 2×4s & such. A camper shell would be more appropriate once the heavy work is done at my place...which won't be for a good while.
@slowdecline48 I think camper shells are bigger? They usually have that loft space over the cab I think and more head room. It would be a pain with hauling logs that's for sure
Am finally "home" (back in the apartment, in the rental anthill)--& exhausted....Hold all my calls, Sabrina.
Late evening edit: Sacked out in the office chair (that I won't take when I leave this place), then walked down the street & got a pizza.
I've little plans for tomorrow, as it's supposed to rain...also I will be sore & tender, like today but more so. That's alright...I have no problem with it. Better to be in pain because of work you did than in pain from chronic issues--that is, for no reason at all. I might have a flareup tomorrow anyway, but even that would be partly from what I did on Friday. Today, of course, I drove back here...bit of a road trip either way.
Am not saying all the above to complain, but as acknowledgement that this level of activity is something I'll have to get used to. Because once I'm on my land, making it livable will take several phases to complete...& will be one big ol' king-size buttload of work.
If I do it right, I might even lose five or 10 lbs!... Not likely at my age, for sure. Still...a man can dream, can't he?
It's raining, as the weather app predicted...feeling slightly dizzy & a bit sleepy...still so much to do...
@slowdecline48 i hope youre going to consider a break till the dizziness fades :/
@unassumingEyes I dozed in the office chair, with my feet up on a stack of milk crates. Had the usual weird dreams.
@slowdecline48 Sabrina .... Carpenter? 🤣🤣(Sorry... I just couldn't resist the lame/genius joke🥹)
@azurePond Okay, but I don't know who she is... Is Carpenter a folk singer?
@slowdecline48
pop singer
@azurePond 
this is her by the way..the other one was a cosplayer I think
Okay, thanks... 🫤 Not sure if I want this girl at a desk answering the phone for me... Pop singers often have high, annoying voices. I'd rather go with an aspiring jazz or cabaret singer...a woman with a low but still feminine voice. One with a slightly smoky texture gets extra points.
@slowdecline48 Stevie Nicks - I love her voice
[cw: hot GIFs]
Been dreaming a lot...there's a certain something missing from all my dreams. They're just not the same without it. Examples of said ingredient follow:
Don't blame me, gentle reader!... All the above GIFs are in the 7Cups system. 😏
Been sleeping off & on all day & I'm still a bit groggy...what's the deal? Aren't we supposed to wake up refreshed??
@slowdecline48 Wishful thinking
Yeah...only young healthy people can do that.
@slowdecline48 (i was gonna say no we cant before i realized i probably dont count in the healthy part-)
@unassumingEyes Full marks for self-awareness. 😏
"Because moralists in these matters are always driven by righteous passion, whenever you disagree with them, you are by definition immoral and deserve no quarter; whereas realists, precisely because they are used to conflict, are less likely to overreact to it."
- Robert D. Kaplan, The Return of Marco Polo's World: War, Strategy, and American Interests in the Twenty-first Century
Also - I remember when I posted this...How my life has changed since then!...what a long strange trip it's been.
Gusty winds outside today, & yet another f***ing pollen alert this morning. That s*** gets old fast.
Started the day by repairing one of my coffee mugs...it chipped when it collided with something in the sink. While I have misgivings & issues with modern technology, I gotta be honest: if it weren't for two-part epoxy, life would be harder for sure. You can fix damn near any solid object with the stuff.
My instinct is to stay inside, but with this old apartment the way it is it might be better to get out & move around...though I feel like going back to sleep. No time for that now. Plus the headache. Dammit.
The headache hasn't let up...bit of a flare I'm having today. Phucksticks. 😠
Guess I can work tonight...laundry, etc. I am not a happy camper.
I also made a meme:
@slowdecline48 Honestly... it’s not surprising—Germany is in trouble right now. They had a much stronger trade relationship with Russia and relied heavily on Russian natural gas...especially while scaling down (or temporarily cutting) their use of nuclear power (If I remember correctly it was during the Vice Chancellor Merkel's time) Anyway...Germany has been hit the hardest by the EU's environmental standards and the Russia Ukraine war. Also the infamous "Debt brake" law basically cut off government hands from spending more (reduced crisis spending and govt investments ).. I hope the bill was introduced to change that law..atleast relax its terms.
@azurePond "temporarily cutting"? My understanding was Germany scrapped the last few nuclear plants it had maybe two years before Russia invaded Ukraine...their Green party & environmentalist orgs have considerable influence there & are totally opposed to nuclear power, period. (It's a stupid stance to take since today's reactors are nothing like the one involved in the Three Mile Island fiasco, & pollute far, far less than coal-fired power plants) Merkel shouldn't have allowed it, but she's a typical EU-style bureaucrat...don't get me started on her flinging Germany's doors wide open for mass immigration without proper vetting for security.
Germany made an old mistake: depending on a single supplier for a necessary material. No sensible statesman goes against that rule. No matter what it is--natural gas, wheat, consumer electronics, Funko Pops--if you buy all of what you need from a single seller, then that seller has got you by the short-n'-curlies! 😬
@slowdecline48 Ooh...I couldnt remember whether it was a phase down or not… my memory’s worse than a goldfish’s sometimes—okay... most of the time😅 Anyway, yeah, you’re right! As for energy dependence, absolutely—relying too much on one supplier (like Russia for gas) was a major strategic misstep. Diversification is key....whether it’s for energy, food, or as you put it, even Funko Pops! 😆
🤦🏼♂️ Errrgghh 🤕
I could do a pretty good corpse impression right now...yeah, this is one of those days.
Desperately need more sleep, & the clock is ticking. "FML" as the kids say.
Probably gonna throw out quite a few things...
...at least I'm equipping my truck with the necessary items, here & there...
