^H

Do you think steps should be taken by government (local, state or federal) to help curb the obesity epidemic currently happening in the United States? If so, what steps should the government take? If not, how do you feel the problem of obesity can be addressed?
Like most things, I’m convinced there isn’t anything government can do to help.
In fact, I’ve heard repeated arguments lately that government actually caused this problem with their dietary guidelines.
Some will claim that those are there really at the behest of the grain industry.  Maybe.
No, actually not.  It’s not okay, but there’s nothing that can be done about it, now.  Locking Michelle Obama in a cage isn’t going to fix the overweight sixteen year-old that got fat eating those wonderful school lunches.
In so many instances, it is about calories consumed, primarily.
Newsflash:  portion control works.  I lost a lot of weight after my diagnosis by doing this:  1.  Eat good food.  2.  Accompany that good food with satisfying alcoholic beverages, and 3.  reducing my portion sizes.
Eat what you like.  Cut your portions in half.  If you’re still hungry after you eat the first helping, have seconds.  But cut those seconds in half, too.
I’m writing, because I intend to finish this all out.
At the same time, I’m not tweeting it (which also posts to FB).
Fuck it;  I’m done.  Between what’s happened in the past few days, and Lurch’s proposals for government fucking with the Intertubes, I’m done.
Much like Mrs. Clinton’s bit about requiring encryption backdoors, this is something that just won’t work.  Congress isn’t bright enough to understand that, but I guess if they wanna lock me in a cage, what can I do?
But my question, to many pols of both major parties, is simple:  How many people are you willing to put in prison to accomplish your goal?
Ultimately that’s what you do when you use government to accomplish your political goals.

This floated in front of me earlier today, but it’s the same sort of information reported last week.
https://reason.com/blog/2018/07/31/democrats-tech-policy-plans-leaked
Discussions on and off on Facebook about Twitter shutting down accounts.
I also saw a story earlier today about how “Millennials” (I put that in quotes, because college students today probably aren’t Millennials;  how many of them remember Y2K?  They’re the kids of Gen X.  No, there weren’t many of us, but some have learned how babby is formed, and those would be the folks in college now….) on campus at Columbia couldn’t name the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment.  Freedom of Speech was even one of the things they were having problems with.  When reminded about that, well, okay, so long as nobody is offended.  What.  The.  Actual.  Fuck?
But this was actually right around the bit about the ACLU deleted their tweet praising France’s law restricting free speech.
https://reason.com/blog/2018/08/03/aclu-catcalling-free-speech-tweet
Incredibly, the totes-not-evil company (the ones who were a number, and are now a bunch of letters) still has that tweet cached.
But I don’t want politicians deciding what I can read or say.   I would like to ask the people working for reconstitution of the Byrd Organization how many people they plan to throw in cages for reading shit they haven’t blessed.
But, hey, that might be treason, and good enough justification to execute me for treason.

Work happened, and I think management is happy with this weekend’s slogs.

I’ve been going through the old posts to think back on that awful summer three years ago.  Maybe I shouldn’t harp on it, but I got a really shitty deal there.

Is there an aspect of your personality you wish you could chnage?

That’s a tough question. The only thing I can think of is that maybe I’m too trusting of ordinary people sometimes.

I don’t think my boss is out to get me.
I don’t think the government is out to get me.
I don’t think evil corporations are out to get me.

I’ve never attributed to malice what could more easily be explained by ignorance or stupidity.

“They’re not bad; they’re just stuid.”

Maybe that makes me a fool.

But, whatever. I could spend lots of spoons thinking about how I’ve been fucked over. But I don’t have enough to waste.

I think, maybe, this is still true.  At the same time, I’m comfortable with how I approach others, even if it means people sometimes take advantage.

All that said, I will break contact.  If you’ve done something that’s hurt me, I can basically write you out of my life.  I only have so many cycles.

What I’m not going to do is go out of my way to make things awful for you.

The news of the past couple of days is that Apple, Stitcher, et. al., have pulled Alex Jones off their platforms.

On my initial response, I was okay with this.  But after thinking more about it it, does that really serve any purpose, and what implication does it have for other things that aren’t your cup of tea.

Nope.  Keep it running.  Trumpet it.  If people don’t like it, they’ll be the editors.

After writing yesterday’s bit, I realized that I hadn’t been reviewing my first summer of writing, in 2015.
My thoughts went there as I was thinking about why I”m doing this, and why I’m not getting the same sort of satisfaction from it as I did back then.
I’ve spent this weekend working.  Something north of ten hours yesterday, and about half that today.  Thanks to that, I may be finished roughly midday Thursday, which is more than okay, considering I have an infusion Thursday afternoon.  (And that is interesting, normally by this point, I’m absolutely exhausted.  I mean, I am, but I do feel a lot better than I would have the last few years….)
So, taking it back to 2015,
 
Write about your relationship status. How long has it been? Is it still good? If so, why?
I’ve been together with my wife for over nine years now.
We just work. And it really never feels like work. She’s the only person I’ve ever been with, where the experience is essentially effortless.
It’s a big freaky that I’ve been wiht her almost a third of her life, now, but…
At the same time, part of me asks, “why analyze this?” We love each other, are each other’s best friends, etc.. What’s to explain?
I do miss her every day I’m away for this shitty job, though.
That’s been as, if not more difficult than my medical maladies.
I feel better when I sleep in my own bed, next to her.
There’s really not a lot more to say about it than that.
Three years after writing that, I sleep next to her every night, and that’s a good thing.
Yes, we’re somewhere else.  Yes, we’re not on our own.
But we will be soon enough.
Last night, since we’ve got run of where we’re staying, after I finished working, we ended up just sitting and talking.
How many people can say that they can do that, really?  We do fit with each other, so it goes.  And I hope it does until I die.  I don’t want anybody else, and I can’t imagine being as comfortable with someone else.

End of the first half of writing.  Good thing, but, eventually, I’ll get everything setup the way.
I don’t know.  I feel a lot better this year than I did the previous two.
I’m maneuvering in to probably where I belong.  I really wish it paid more money, but whatever.
Meanwhile, I have recruiters nibbling constantly.  At the same time, part of me wants to stay where I am.  I do like the people I’m working with, and the work I’m doing.
It’s different;  I haven’t had that in I don’t know how many years.
The material desires that would have consumed me in the past are just gone.
Maybe that’s strange.  Maybe.
But what can I say?  Perhaps I should reanalyze things on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
So much of what I’d been trying to do the past few years was really just about keeping things afloat.
I’ve succeeded, though.   I’m still alive.  I still love my wife, and I think that feeling is mutual (most days).  There’s light at the end of the financial tunnel I dug for myself.
I’m still alive.  My wife still loves me.  I can sorta look at myself in the mirror.
This weekend, I will work.  I am 100% okay with this.  In my previous roles, that would have driven me completely insane.
Part of my impetus to write previously, though, might have been my dissatisfaction.  It was something to do to divert my attention from the bad shit that was going on.
I don’t have that anymore.
I do plan to stick with this for the month, but I might not do it next year.
NoJoMo in November will require additional prompts.  We shall see.

Apologies for the curtness in yesterday’s bit.  As I said, my mom was here for a very short visit before she left with my brother and his wife for a trip.
Listening today to people still defending the positives of the Healthcare.gov plans.
You have sleep apnea, and that’d make your premiums expensive?  Great.  Try having MS, where you got treatments thirteen times a year that hospitals regularly bill almost $30,000 for.
And, then, because you moved, you are three weeks late on a dose.
Good shit.
Taking it back to 2002 for this bit of recycling.

What to do when you’re bored – 8/9/2002
Me? Oh, I drove six hours one-way to watch a 45 minute football practice, then drove home. 😀
Went up to Carlisle to see Redskins training camp. It was really fucking surreal to be back in Carlisle. I guess seven years is a long time, but….
It might be that already, everything from that year is sort of a blur. You go someplace for just one year, and things don’t seem to fit together after awhile.
Biggest thing I’ll remember about Carlisle is my waist size. Ain’t gettin’ into those pants anytime soon….
My hip seriously hurts after the trip.
What do I remember the most? Meeting Danny Wuerffel and Shane Matthews. Seeing the punters try to land punts right between the “1,” and the “0” on the ten-yard line.
A lot of it was really running through the speed of the vaunted “Fun ‘n Gun” offense. I didn’t see the morning practice where they taped their #1 pick, Patrick Ramsey, to the goal post.
Maybe that had the potential to be a good team. Marvin Lewis, now of Bengals’ fame, was the Assistant Head Coach. While Spurrier had made his name in college, he’d played (niners, Bucs), and coached (Tampa Bay Bandits) in the pros previously. Watching the offense, I was able to pick out the difference between the passing progressions and anything I’d done before.
The Hall of Fame game is tonight.  There is one unfilled slot in the Fantasy league (in the unlikely event anyone is reading).
Could be strange having four league members under a single roof near the Redskins’ practice facility.

More busy than ever today.  Is this job kicking my ass?  Maybe.
That said, I’ve been able to listen to lots of podcasts while I’m working.
I do look in on social media from time to time.  Today’s gem, courtesy Virginia’s senior Senator….
Really bad ideas
Someone ought to beat Lurch with the cluestick;  none of this shit is within the realm of possibility, technically.
You can’t do this, but far be it from a fucking politician to understand that.  Motherfucker didn’t support Net Neutrality until it became a political issue his party was behind, and technology didn’t cause a big negative effect on his financial holdings.
There’s a lot more angry things I could spew out, but I’ll refrain.  There’s no reason;  nobody is reading this.
But I will go to onion routing if I need to.  And if you want to lock me in a cage because of it, go ahead.