Almost Missed

Writing on Saturday. I did miss the last two weeks. This was only partially intentionally, but it’s something I kind of was okay in avoiding.

I didn’t work yesterday, as I was about to exceed my hours for the pay period. With the Shmocon delay, it was even worse.

So coffee today didn’t happen until almost noon.

There’s football this afternoon, this evening, and tomorrow.

The Saints aren’t there. The For(mer)skins aren’t there, either. I’m really beyond the point of caring.

I can root against the Iggles, but that might be done pretty quickly.

So….bear down, and wait for the rescheduled Shmoocon.

Way behind on my podcast queue, too, as things have opened back up the past two weeks.

Didn’t get much last night with the HRGeeks Jitsi meeting last night. I started watching Don’t Look Up, but I didn’t have the energy to finish it. I did today, however, and, well, I get where they were going with it.

The concept was similar to my concern with the asset-backed currency folks. As I’ve said, with the predictable response of, “shut up math *(#,” the currency supply needs to increase at a predictable rate, in order for pretty much any sort of modern finance to work.

(And I get distracted looking whether charging an origination fee is okay with the Islamic prohibition on charging interest. I’m not finding a quick answer…)

I need to respond to an email. But I really don’t have the energy to really get into it.

None of the Above

I watched the debate between Spike Cohen and Dave Smith on Locals last night.

The title is a reference to this.

After thinking more about it, the less intrigued I am about either of the potential candidates.

Much like the Krystol-Horton “debate” at the Soho Forum, the more I heard, the less impressed I was.

To the participants — Spike, don’t wish for an Anachro-Capitalist society. I understand that, likely, there’s a lot less of my life ahead of me. (I worked through Y2K; I’m wondering if I’ll be around to see Y2K38) I think you could articulate a way to minimize the weight of the state on most people’s lives.

Dave, please find a book by someone with whom you disagree, read it, and write a brief summary of the arguments the author presented. Yes, there’s bad things the US did in South and Central America places in the past. Noted. It’s not why there’s tens of thousands of Haitians trying to cross into Texas. But that you floated out something from a very-biased take on history doesn’t add anything to your argument.

I find myself unimpressed with the options presented. None of the above.

Both of these guys are frequent guests on Kennedy, something which I often view.

Part of what one of the things that’s argued about the LP Mieses Caucus is an attempt to push ideas at lower levels to get libertarians to take advantage of the things that are coming up in the “alternative” media outlets.

I understand and enjoy the format. I really don’t think it lends itself to presentation of any coherent idea about policy.

Landing that fifteen-second clip that gets repeatedly shared on Twitter/Facebook/whatever, doesn’t explain what changes you would make to the existing morass that is the modern state. What will you do to move people from under the boot of the state? Next year. Not thirty years down the road. What are you going to do to bring people towards a system based on freedom?

Back At Again

I’ve never finished setting up the domain I snagged for “Notes of a Goon,” — BackAtAgain.com.

Considering the last episode, maybe I should give Harrington “mikey@backatagain.com”.

On a somewhat-related note, I’ve kind of narrowed-down what I’m going to do with my thing.

Start with three stories. What was said at the time it was reported? What was reported in the time in between, and what’s the latest news on the story?

I figure I can probably do roughly four minutes per story, which gives me some time for an intro, outro, and maybe a spot. *fingers crossed*

I’m still curious about whether I can make any money off of it. I think it might be an interesting way to supplement income after I stop working full-time. I am curious about what Michael Malice said about wiring a book.

But the OYR thing, I think, would probably be about three hours per episode doing everything myself. Obviously, folks who do a lot more opinion/entertainment-related shows probably don’t spend that much time, but I am going to do all the research, writing, and editing myself.

What else….

I’m doing some of my end-of-the-year donations. I do feel like of stingy with it, but I’m giving what I can at the moment. Maybe I shouldn’t wait until the crunch in December, but it is what it is. Who’s gotten money so far? Well, the charity gift thing my company is putting on, Reason, Cato….

I don’t know if I’m revisiting some of those, really, as a reaction to the nonsense with the LPMC fans.

They have nothing aside from their now-dated RON PAUL fascinations.

It’s not 2008.

It’s not 2012.

The Austrian school of economics is not right about everything.

I heard a longer description of what would happen if all currency was backed with real assets. While I appreciate the sentiments, there are so many things that are taken for granted in modern finance that would just completely go away.

One of the things that occurred to me the other day is that businesses run by Austrian School adherents should decline their employee compensation with predictable price deflation.

Yeah, we’re gonna drop your pay rate by 3% next year. It doesn’t matter if you kick ass performance-wise, everything you buy is going to be cheaper, so you’ll need less money.

Good luck finding people to work for you, Saint RON(pbuh).

So…news.

This.

In the wake of Epstein, the Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts, etc., you can see how things like the Comet Ping Pong story get a following.

I’m also not seeing the story I found on Wednesday or Thursday about how housing prices are pretty much at 2008-peak levels again.

Many people will be upset by this, but I can’t bring myself to be.

Thirty

Completion. Another month of writing every day in November, and not shaving my upper lip is complete.

I did it, and I can move on to the next thing which is the attempt at a podcast.

But there’s an essential thing here, and one that I think I’ve been letting bother me lately.

I’ve made several mentions of how the Austrian School economists are now undertaking a very, well, totalitarian way of viewing everything under the sun. They’re getting to be as bad as the Randians, honestly.

You must have a currency based solely on precious metals. You must think that the business cycle theory is the be-all, end-all explanation for everything.

But, you know what? You can live your life the way you want, regardless of what the men with guns who are running the central banks want.

See Trevor Lawrence.

Buy what you want to buy, do what you want to do.

When people want men with guns to stop it, make them fucking say so. Down to the point where they have to shoot you for your noncompliance.

Bubuhbut Rothbard said!!1!

I admit that could have just as easily been Mises or RON PAUL(pbuh).

Yeah, it doesn’t matter. You do what you want to do, and don’t mess with other people’s stuff.

It’s really not that difficult.

And if you want to put me in jail over it, something the President and Vice President are very accomplished at doing, fine. Just say it, already.

Time to do December stuff. To whom do I want to give money this year? It is “Giving Tuesday,” after all.

Twenty-nine

I have a few minutes to hit this first-thing-in-the-morning today.

More recycling form 2015

It’s the final Tuesday of the month. Do you care?

Not really, no. All it means, really, is that next Tuesday will be the first day I haven’t written in a month.

Although there’s still a few days left, I think I’ve proven to myself that I can still keep a commitment to something sometimes tedious.

By the same token, though, the fourteen months I’ve spent in this horrible, very bad job indicate teh same thing.

I’ve endured a lot in my life. Some of it deserved. Some of it undeserved. But all of it flavors my values, who I am.

I can endure a lot; the question is why do I keep doing it? When will I get to do something that I really enjoy professionally again? I’ve considered a lot lately, mainly to get out of my current situation, but should I go do something else I really won’t enjoy, for very little money?

Hmmmm…..

But one day of work left. I’m ready for a break.

I miscalculated that when I was putting together my prompts. The last Tuesday in the month is actually tomorrow, the 30th.

But, in keeping with the general tenor of the original entry, I think I’ll still feel like things are completed. Will I care that tomorrow is the last Tuesday? Not particularly. Will I care that it’s the last day in the pay period? A slight amount, I guess. I’m actually burning a little leave this pay period, so that’s a change from normal.

I was such a stick-in-the-mud when it came to a benefit I’d end up not being able to use very much. Thank you, The Science. (Why do I feel like Dave Smith’s pronouncements Saturday make him akin to the Dr. Fauci of the LP? Except Fauci’s been sucking at the public teet almost as long as Dave’s been breathing….)

But back to the prompt. Do I care that November is kind of over? A little. The weather is really outside my knowledge at this point given how rarely I go outside. I do sort of miss the days of when cold air would invade my lungs first thing as I step outside in the morning. (And, for several years, before warm tobacco smoke replaced it…)

though I’m physically closer to the point where I’d be able to enjoy that, it’s been taken from me for other reasons; thanks, The Science.

I could wax nostalgic about it, but I don’t really have that many good memories. I guess the closest would be some of the things in my youth in Europe. Or a couple of times freezing with my girlfriend (now wife) in DC.

Is there something that I can do? I don’t know.

One more day. Completion.

Twenty-eight

Two more after today.

I’ve spent a lot of time the past eighteen-or-so hours digesting this.

I understand that he’s sleep-deprived. I’ve never formed babby, so I can’t empathize, but I can offer sympathy.

But none of the things he’s ranting about do anything to further what he says he’s about.

It’s part of the experiment in moving into official politics. There’s nothing at all there. Nothing.

But those people also thought that Scott Horton smoked Bill Krystol at the Soho forum debate. I was there. I wrote my take here. In the pre-debate voting I was undecided. After the debate, I voted for Krystol just because Horton had been so terrible. After further consideration, my initial take was correct, but mainly because of how poorly the question was worded.

But, no, it wasn’t as cut-and-dried as Dave makes it out to be.

That he speaks as if he’s a fucking elder statesman of the Liberty movement is incredibly grating.

My initial objection to him as the Presidential nominee is that he’s not accustom to signing others’ paychecks. My latest objection is that he doesn’t write anything, ever. Though he does say that he could have written someone else’s part on a TV show.

Do it.

(I’ve got serious doubts about whether you actually can.)

The FNC and CNN audiences are 65-dead. The MSNBC audience is 55-64.

Who gives a flying fuck that a Neocon resigned because of a Tucker Carlson special?

Meanwhile, people are losing their livelihoods because of what government’s done with regard to vaccinations and lockdowns.

But something George W. Bush did in 2001 is front of your mind.

Elder statesman. Got it. *click* That’ll be the last time I listen for a while.

Twenty-Seven

Thumbing through pars years to see if there was a prompt I can steal for this year.

Nope. Nothing. But there was one with a link to totes-didn’t-used-to-do-evil Co.’s clip of Mike Gundy’s exasperated rant of I’m A Man. I’m 40!

But I guess the biggest message of today is one of completion.

I am excited to continue through to the end of my charge

How long can I keep going one that’s finished?

I don’t know, and, to be honest, I really don’t think about it much.

I’m listening to this in the background, and wondering if the guest has ever spoken at Shmoocon.

I guess I’m somewhat-impressed with how well some of these tools work. I don’t know if it’s a chicken-or-the-egg situation, however. I suppose retrofitting some of the nifty features is easier than securing something that’s an open sore.

But I think the only reason that that’s having to happen is because the big players, who portrayed themselves as paragons of virtue, out only to make the world a better place.

Maybe this reaction from Fargo is a good description of how I feel about it.

They’ve buddied-up with the thugs with guns. Maybe I should be more worried about irking them, but, well, I am the one who’s seeing a psychologist.

But I’ve finished it. Completion.

And I don’t care, and I feel like there’s something wrong with that.

Whatever.

All that said, it’s now afternoon, I’m almost out of coffee, so I’m going to stop for the day.

Tomorrow I’ll go find a flu shot, since there isn’t really a lot of interesting football with the Saints having lost on Thanksgiving, and the For(mer)skins playing Monday night.

–snip–

I had a resigned aside there about finishing writing so I could go do some work.

Instead of saving and finishing, Completion, I decided to go do the work I’d planned on doing.

An hour an a half later, I can get back to this.

But I really don’t have anything more to add, actually.

So that’s it.

Three more, and completion.

Twenty-six

Thanksgiving went pretty well. Good food. Enjoyed spending time with my wife just the two of us.

Football, on the other hand, wasn’t great, especially if you were rooting for one of the home teams.

The Saints were destroyed. On one of the other networks’ pregame shows, they said the Saints have fourteen players out of the game due to an injury.

Starting quarterback, Starting halfback, Reserve halfback, top wide receiver, etc. etc.

They’ll be partying some nights in the Quarter, certainly. It won’t be because of the Saints.

It happens

So, what did I want to write about today?

It’s “Black Friday,” so I guess Christmas shopping is top of mind.

My brother is pretty straightforward. My wife enjoys worrying about her family, etc.. Still not sure what to do for my mother — there’s lots that needs to happen with regards to her relocation.

I don’t know what to get my wife, but I will figure it out.

I would like to send a card to the nurses who took care of my at Georgetown over the past couple of years.

I wish there was a good way to do that doesn’t involve me worrying about the disaster that is the US Postal Service.

My grandfather is pretty straightforward, too.

I’ve been rethinking a bit my leaving-behind of the Space Cowboy, and his shipping Borg.

But I’m trying to enjoy the not working part.

How am I doing? Debatable.

I really don’t know that I have a chance to really go do something just for me. With B.1.1529, which is not Elon Musk’s illegitimate son, is sealing things up again.

So it goes.

Three more days.

Twenty-five

Thanksgiving

That’s today, isn’t it?

It’s just me and my wife. She’s finishing up some cooking things, and watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I’ll go join her after I write. And get some coffee, maybe a bit to nibble on to try and extend until the late afternoon meal.

The Saints are playing tonight. I’m wondering how bad a game it can be. The Bills are in NOLA, but both teams are really collapsing toward the end of the season.

Other stuff….

I watched Bombshell yesterday. I guess it was okay. I worked in professional media for, what, early a decade, and I never saw anything even remotely resembling that sort of thing.

Occasionally you’d get a couple of employees hooking up, but I attribute that more to it being an environment where you’re surrounded by somewhat-attractive young people; they hook up. They drink. They take drugs. They get upset about seemingly-inconsequential things. This isn’t news.

I listened to an interview with Joanne Nosuchinsky where she touched on her departure from FOX News while all of this was breaking. She was pretty adamant that nothing had happened to her, and she was unaware that really anything was going on.

Speaking of Joanne, I’m curious about what she and Bill Schultz are doing with their streaming TV show.

At the same time, it’s really tough for me to justify paying money for yet another TV service that I won’t watch much of.

There’s only so many hours in the day, and my eyes only are useful for so long.

I’m going to go drink coffee, watch the parade, and enjoy Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving to anyone who’s reading my blather.

Twenty-four

I don’t know where this one ran off to yesterday….

i was going to go through and finish something I’d started a couple of years ago, but never got around to finishing.

My brain is still swimming around with to do with this next project.

I think I might try to write an record an ep this weekend to see how it goes.

I’m listening to Adam Carolla talk about family Thanksgiving.

As a kid, we were overseas so often I only got a couple of those. The last one I really have memories of was riding down I-95 next to a very excited Golden Retriever puppy who would get carsick.

This.

Yeah, there’s not much I can identify with that.

We were so spread out across the world that it didn’t happen all that often.

There were a few times where we went to the mess hall so my dad could eat with the people he was commanding.

There was often one or more bachelor officers and soldiers who were invited guests to eat with us.

Nobody would have ever even considered bitching about the Mac & Cheese.

I just realized that maybe part of the reason I’m partial to the Lions’ game is because it was playing in the evening in Germany.

But I think the idea of traditional Thanksgiving might be part of what’s got me on the try-all-the-things-people-used-to-rave-about kick.

I realized a few months ago that I’d never actually had Maxwell House coffee.

Part of that could have been the period where I got out of drinking coffee for a while, but my parents were always Folger’s people….until there were other things coming in at the Commissary, and they got a Braun coffee grinder.

My mom, on one of her antique store trips, found a cookbook from the White House. The calculations take a lot of time to cut the recipes down to a consumable size, but these things were saved for a reason — by and large, they were really fucking good!

These things take time to prepare, but I think the payoff is worth it.

I would like to do some things, myself, but it’s not an issue I’m excited to debate.

I’ve written enough, now, I think. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.

Almost finished.