Category: Uncategorized

Going to hit the wayback machine to revisit what will be five years ago in November.

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Halftime. When was/will be the halftime of your life?

This was a rather dark prompt now that I look at it again.

Do I think I’m past the halfway point? I don’t know. Am I there in other aspects of my life? Yes. My professional career? Yep. This particular job? Certainly.

On so many things I ask myself why I continue on. Maybe NoJoMo should be one of those.

I will probably write next year; I don’t just quit, even when I have good reason to. I’m a Saints’ fan, so I’m watching Buddy Ryan Jr.-B’s defense get a good start on serving up the fortyburger in FedEx Field……

So, a bit of freewriting as the Redskins score, what am I looking forward to the next few few months?

1. Thanksgiving. For the first time in a very long time, I think I will be able to actually enjoy eating this year. Actually being hungry for the first time in almost twenty years is something new.
2. Travel. My wife and I are planning a trip, and I’m excited about that. The only details I’ll reveal are that French food will be consumed.

That jewelry commercial was more than a little hetero-normative……

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Listening to this, and nodding vigorously.

Difficult to know what the halftime of my life is, really. If I’m only in the third quarter,

And if it’s very late, I don’t really care. I’ve done what I can do.

Going to fail the segue on this, too, but it’s a big like I feel about so many things.

Yesterday I was more than a little upset that the corporate press wasn’t covering an earthquake in Haiti.

I don’t even know.

I’m going to finish this streak, then try to get through until…..

I didn’t have a prompt for this one, so I’m going to repeat something from November 2015.

The prompt, then, was actually from the sixth; the fifth didn’t really fit, here.

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Nov. 6, 2015, midnight

What are your plans for this weekend?

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I have a virtual event on Friday night, then I’m going to see a comedy show Sunday.

Otherwise, no idea.

What I wished for in that entry, however, was just some time to relax. I’m kinda there right now, actually.

I’m sortakinda off on Monday. I’ll hop on for our normal team meeting, then I have my Monday night maintenance window.

Maybe I’ll get motivation to do more with these mailing lists…..

Getting some feedback on OD about my last two entries.

Yes, I don’t think the way a lot of people do. Understood. But I do aim for consistency, adherence to underlying principles.

Maybe my life would be easier if I played for “one of the two” political teams. Sorry, I can’t do that.

I only can do what ultimately makes me feel comfortable.

I also admit that I can make incorrect pronouncements; I’m willing to hear other arguments if they’re well thought-out.

Very little of what I’m seeing with what’s happening in DC today points to that, however.

The Machiavellian curiosity is just about how corrupt the folks in the “mainstream” are when it comes to exercising power.

Maybe it’d be better to ask directly, firmly, what do you think it’s always unacceptable for government to do?

The news cycle is moving so incredibly quickly. I know, I know, it’s dangerous that I get my news from multiple sources, Chuck Todd, but I am paying attention to what’s happening in New York because I’m supposed to go up there in October.

Their wonderful mayor was touting some new vaccine passport yesterday that’ll allow you entry to bars/restaurants/clubs/etc.. This afternoon/evening, there’s been a full backpeddle from some of his political allies.

Like the mayor of Boston. Hm. How’s that work, now?

We’re finished. You failed. Move on to something different.

Meanwhile, I’ll cross my fingers, and hope that there’s no issues with my trip to NYC in October. And DC this weekend.

This is sort of a writing-a-day-early thing.

I wasn’t feeling well last night, and decided to go ahead and try to take some of the copious leave I have.

So. What’s up.

Well, my left-handed comment last week to Brian McWilliams get a lot more punctuation. (Link to long, very disjointed Twitter thread…which will probably not work a few months after I initially write this entry. I periodically go back and delete all of my Tweets. Not because I regret many of them, but because things can come back and be misconstrued out-of-context). The discussion, however, did affect even my way of thinking about things.

Government does a couple of things well — breaking things, and killing people. Everywhere else, private industry does a better job.

If you knew of someone who needed immediate help with a problem, would calling some bureaucratic agency, or starting a Go Fund Me be more effective?

The host of the Peddling Fiction Podcast had a friend whose daughter was in the hospital with an unknown medical issue. Johny put out a request to listeners like me, and we gave money to support child and mom as they dealt with whatever the problem was/is.

Complicating matters, there, is that John, and his friend live overseas.

How long would it have taken to get things organized through government?

Much longer, I’m certain.

Would the money have gotten there with more taken off-the-top? Of course. That’s not a good thing.

People want to help. Paying a thug with a gun and a badge doesn’t increase generously.

But, back to the disagreement I was having with Brian, the way he was describing it is making the focus on the consumer when pitching Libertarianism.

No, that’s a pitch to a shrinking segment of the population. But that segment of the population, historically, seemed enormous, and the educators coming from that segment, focus on those like them.

Think Globally, Act Locally. Things will work out better than if you’re worried about what others are doing.

Maybe more tomorrow, but I should go do my daily stuff.

I am, but it’s really all I can do at this point.

Monday (the Federal holiday for Independence Day, as the 4^th actually fell on Sunday), I took the train down to see my mom. Overall, the trip went okay, though I did manage to lose my glasses on the trip back up.

Just now, I bought a replacement pair. $12.95. Yeah. I can deal with that even if I have to essentially throw them out when I finally get a replacement prescription.

But, largely, I didn’t do much of anything. I did get to Waffle House on Wednesday before I scrambled back to NoVA early to avoid the tropical storm.

I checked email when I got back on Wednesday night, then did some things on Thursday, but largely I’ve been off.

Am I re-energized, ready to get ack to the grind? *shrug*

Thankfully, the news has slacked off a bit this week.

Listening to this Podcast, there’s ads from Facebook advocating new Intertubes regulations.

So that they can make themselves bigger, more indispensable.

No. I am not in favor of anything that’d do that.

I need to figure out what my topics are going to be for my summer writing compulsion session.

A buck short. Maybe.

Lots of stuff swirling, and I’m looking forward to my “vacation” back to Tidewater after Independence Day.

I’m trying to remember the last time I had a vacation with nothing to do.

This won’t be one of those, unfortunately. I have a ton of old computing and electronics stuff that I need to clear out of my mom’s house as she prepares to finally move to somewhere more appropriate.

It will also give me an excuse to hit Waffle House.

I’m listening to this. One of my moments of clarity Friday was that the host should never be President. I haven’t heard anything, here, that is really moving me off of that position.

This was interesting.

The corporate press just ignored the FOIA releases of Dr. Fauci’s emails.

To quote President Biden, this is a big !@#&ing deal. But the press your relatives might be watching say it’s all good.

No. It’s not. It’s probably even worse than what Clapper did in 2013.

Obviously, Senator Paul is doing a lot of fundraising off of it, but who’s seeing it?

If you look at the numbers, it’s basically nobody.

You can leave. But does that do any good? Who knows.

I could write more about what I’m doing, personally, but it’s a curiosity only for a few.

So. What’s on tap for this week?

Well, I have an appointment with my neurologist on Monday. On Tuesday, I’ll vote in the party of Jim Crow’s primary for Virginia governor, and vote against some of the worst candidates.

The rest of the week, I have no idea. I should see if my wife will cut my hair; it’s getting hot outside.

Background is this song because it was something often spinning in my CD player as a young guy.

While I understood the sentiment, even with my rather-limited relationship status at the time, I disagreed with it.

I was looking for the written-version of this, but the audio version is fascinating.

No one owes you anything.

I’m carrying on listening to the podcaster’s analysis of the article. I don’t have any kids (and I can say that was near-absolute certainty), but I do understand where he’s coming from. But my interactions are almost entirely with adults. No, I’d say that all of my interactions are with adults.

How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World has been at the back of mind for me for a long time.

One of the things that’s been bouncing about my scarred brain lately has been one of the things that Browne wrote about with the rights trap. In one of the PF discussion sessions last week, there was impassioned discussion of using the state to protect intellectual property.

Another article talking about the rights trap.

Much of my thinking about it is flavored by some of the sentiments in the Free Software movement. I can’t recall, and can’t find, the phrase that used to pervade, “I don’t believe in imaginary property.” Flavored by things like this.

I get bound up thinking about when is it okay to use the force of the state to compel others to respect your rights?

I’m in the camp, that for the most part, it’s never permissible.

One of the things that was drilled into my head in school is that there are three separate elements of “intellectual property” — patents, copywrites, trademarks, and trade secrets.

Patents provide you, a creator, exclusive opportunity to manufacture, license, or sell a particular invention for a fixed amount of time.

Copywrites have similar limitations.

Trademarks are essentially perpetual, but you have to spend energy to protect them.

Trade secrets you have to keep secret forever. Think about Colonel Sanders’s herbs and spices, or the recipe for Coca-Cola.

So. When is it appropriate to force others to respect your rights?

To me, the answer on that is never.

Do what you do, and you’ll be rewarded for it. No one owes you anything.

You do owe others to avoid aggressing against them.

it’s the Friday before Memorial Day, and I’m not working.

Timesheet signed, and I’m not doing anything work-related until I do a quick operative thing early Tuweday morning. It is tough to resist the urge to reach over to check my work email.

Delayed gratification.

As if checking work email provides any gratification.

Maybe it’s feeding a compulsion. Who knows.

Speaking of feeding compulsions, I really do want to write again this summer.

So. What else is up?

Looking at intertubes speed numbers in a place I might frequent sometime soon.

The progress that’s been made is incredible, and that’s despite the Net Neutrality constrictions.

I remember in 2009 driving to a Kinkos in Pensacola, East AlabamaFlorida just so I could download some large files I’d need for a job the next day. I gave up on the T-Mobile Waing tethered to my laptop. Drive to Kinko’s so I could download something like 80M of files. The hotel’s Internet basically didn’t work.

But that was then. Looking now, it looks like the home connections where I’m looking are nearing 100Mbps.

Could I go there and be okay?

I think so. Would it get better in spite of government regulation? Probably.

Would the liquor laws be any less stupid than Virginia’s?

It’d be tough to be worse.

But I’m going to stop now. Maybe more tomorrow. We’ll see.

Listened to this.

I certainly empathize with some of what he’s been through, certainly. In some ways I’m envious that his disease progression doesn’t seem to be a severe as mine.

What I’m concerned what he’s talking about in the political sphere.

It’s difficult.

I do worry that the stuck-in-neutral HR1 might change the US into something even worse than the duopoly we currently have.

All I can do as someone who wants things not to get progressively worse is to vote for the least evil. That was true in the duopoly. That will remain true if I’m forced to work within a monopoly.

About all I can do is publicly say what they’re afraid to.

I did that when it comes to the presidency in 2000. I did the same when it comes to the presidency in 2016, and 2020.

Previously, I would have worried more about the negative consequences. I still do, a bit, but many out of concern about what effect it might have on people I care about.

But I’m never going to cheer for something that’s wrong.

And I’m never going to pretend it’s okay.