Because Saturday Morning

It’s a chance to sit and collect various thoughts I’ve had through the week. Or something.

If you’re reading, or just want to talk to me, please subscribe to the mailing list, and talk amongst yourselves. I’m not going to restrict discussion, unless something is completely out-of-bounds.

There’s folks who are trying to do things absent the big tech big tech cancellation. I heard about this on a podcast yesterday.

Registered. And no email. Hm. Things work more slowly. I guess the immediacy is something that people really value these days. I’m okay waiting.

Unrelated, but somewhat along the same lines, with the cancel culture, it can work in the other way. My thinking on this started seeing this in one of my newsfeeds. Companies are refusing customers left and right. I remember having mixed thoughts about what happened with Sarah Sanders at a restaurant here in Virginia.

I guess this speaks a bit towards to what Barry Goldwater’s objections to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 were.

Virginia law doesn’t apply the protections of that act to private businesses.

It’s a tough thing. In 1964, there were many places where there was only a single provider for many things.

That’s not true anymore. You can choose to live your life separately. Yes, it might be difficult, but it’s really not that difficult.

Do it.

And if you own/run a business, choose your customers. Choose how you will be reimbursed, too. Crypto. Barter. Whatever Government has shown repeatedly that it’s incapable of doing much correctly. Or, as Harry Browne put it, Government Doesn’t Work. (Yes, that’s a huge PDF, but it came up in my search results, and the shopping links were all from that company with which I will not do business..)

I got distracted by an alert about the impeachment trial. They voted for witnesses. Senator Graham changed his vote at the end when it was clear that there would be witnesses. So, nothing will get done in the Senate until this comedy of errors is finished. Democracy at work!!1!

Theme Of The Week #86

Tell us about a personal challenge you overcame, and how it helped you grow

I’ve spent several days trying to figure out how to answer this one.

Perhaps I’ll expound elsewhere about the particulars of what I’ve done, but I don’t know that I’m ready to articulate it fully on my public site.

I don’t really “overcome” things. I compensate, and adjust to keep moving along.

Since so many of my adjustments are related to my various physical issues.

Given that I’ve had all of these major things going on with my body, basically since puberty, some of the things I did to deal with physical discomfort weren’t good for me.

My psychologist has kind of pointed me towards OCD, especially the “Pure O” version of OCD.

I have many obsessions, and the various things I’d developed really don’t work for others (and I started seeing my doctor when the methods I’d developed really quit working for me all at once).

I do have obsessions. Writing, for example, but I’m definitely more towards the obsessive side of OCD.

So, have I overcome it? No.

Am I better than I was, say, two years ago? Absolutely.

I’ve done all of these things, but there’s so many things that I would have liked to go and do that I now can’t. I have money to travel, buy things I would like, etc., but I really can’t enjoy them because of things that have gotten worse with the MS progression.

For example, skiing would be something that’s a near-suicidal urge.

Even things around town are tough when you can’t drive or walk well.

I don’t think I’ve overcome, but I’m certainly a lot better than I was not terribly long ago.

Super Sunday

I guess I can say that without getting sued; there’s no ads here.

Very ambivalent on the game, honestly. There’s things about each team that I like, and things about each I really don’t like.

KC Likes: Patrick Mahomes. Travis Kelce, Spagnolo Defense. KC Dislikes: F’n West Coast Offense.

Tampa likes: Arians, Brady, Antonio Brown, Gronk, Fournette, Byron Leftwich, Ryan Succop. Tampa dislikes: 34 blitz-all-the-things Defense, Brady, Antonio Brown, that it’s Tampa, Suh…

But there’s still roughly six hours before kickoff, so I’m trying to find things to do until I start watching TV.

We watched the NFL Honors last night. Not happy that Rodgers got the MVP, though not as unhappy as Collinsworth and Aikman are that he said something about a fiancée. Was nice seeing Alex Smith win the Comeback Player of the Year.

Yes, I’m rambling.

I’ve been on hold with a certain foreign retailer who might have designed the Rams’ new uniforms. 31 minutes. We ordered this stuff in September. Three pieces. One was delivered late, and the other two have never arrived. I phoned at the start of the year to see what the deal was. Oh, we’ll refund the shipping, and the charges for the items that haven’t been delivered.

No credit back on my credit card.

That’s enough for now. I’m bored. I’ll update this once I finally get through to these people.

Adios January

Saturday, so, of course, I’m writing.

More than a bit of hesitance to start writing today, which, maybe, is a good thing considering that it’s a manifestation of my OCD.

Good virtual meetups with both the Peddling Fiction, and HR Geeks folks last night.

Calling, again, for folks to sign up for the ^H Talk list.

Getting to a way to stay in touch with people is important in the age of mass deplaforming. Good pod yesterday with someone trying to create a hosting platform that doesn’t just pull things with which they disagree.

What’s your job? Is it to serve your customers who want to host whatever it is they want to host, or to monitor their content?

To what seems like many these days, the answer is the latter.

But it doesn’t work. You can’t keep information inside a defined box.

You also can’t do that with people’s thoughts.

Short of murdering them.

Oh, putting it that way bothers you? I’d apologize, but, no, I’m not going to.

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

I was asked to take this survey, so here goes….

What do you think about most?

I really don’t know. Probably what I need to do next.

What does your latest text message from someone else say?

“Cool.”

What do you wear to bed?

Underwear

Ever had a poem or song written about you?

Not that I know of.

When is the last time you played the air guitar?

Probably to a bump with a podcast I was listening to. Last week, maybe? But last week, too, I was wondering if I could even hope to keep rhythm strumming with my right hand.

Do you have any strange phobias?

Not that I can think of.

What’s your religion?

It’s personal. There’s things that science hasn’t been able to explain. Science knows what the building blocks for life are, but we’ve never been able to really get spontaneous generation to work. I’ve never been able to get past the idea of the “uncaused first cause.”

If you are outside, what are you most likely doing?

Working on a computer.

Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?

Given my physical maladies, both positions are problematic.

What was the last lie you told?

I’ve been thinking about this since I saw the question, but I’m having trouble finding an answer. If there’s a question I don’t want to answer, I don’t answer it.

Do you believe in karma?

Dunno. Instant Karma gets stuck in my head from time to time. (And why do I find much of the various Beatles’ post-breakup offerings better than the stuff they did while they were together….?)

What does your username mean?

It’s terminal erase. (Hence my subtitle…everything gets deleted eventually….)

What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength?

Obviously my various physical maladies are probably my greatest weakness; being nearly blind is tough. My strength? Ability go keep my temper under control.

Who is your celebrity crush?

I really don’t know right now. I still notice people with eyes that don’t match the hair. (Blue eyes and dark hair will always be something I notice…..and, yes, my wife fits into that description….)

Have you ever gone skinny dipping?

Yes.

How do you vent your anger?

Snark, really. But I remove myself from the situation when I have an opportunity.

Do you have a collection of anything?

Nothing so much, anymore.

Do you prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online?

This is totally a twentieth century question.

Are you happy with the person you’ve become?

Umm. I’m not terribly regretful of anything.

What’s a sound you hate; sound you love?

Hate: there are some elevators that have this nearly rubber band sound that drives me nuts. I’m very happy I’ve not had to deal with a building that has those for very long. And, thinking more about it, those elevators’ presence might have partially steered me away from an apartment in Norfolk I was considering.

Love: I actually like the sound of an old school low-bypass turbofan. There used to be a video on the didn’t-used-to-do-evil video platform of a Boeing 720 taking off. Awesome.

Do you believe in ghosts? What about aliens?

Kind of skeptical on both.

Stick your right arm out; what do you touch first?

Nothing. I’d have to get out of the chair, and take a few steps right to hit the closet door.

Smell the air. What do you smell?

I think my wife is cooking something.

What’s the weather like right now?

Grey.

Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?

Against some, sure. Part of what I was trying to do a few months ago was forgive some of those who’d mistreated me, but I’ve kind of backed off on that. Yes, I made some mistakes, some of them pretty big. But I never did anything to knowingly harm anyone. I can’t say the same courtesy wasn’t paid to me. No, I’m not going to forget. I might forgive if you reach out to me.

What is your astrological sign?

Leo

Do you save money or spend it?

I’m pretty miserly these days. But buying things rarely gives me any satisfaction.

What’s the last thing you purchased?

Um. It was either a pizza, or various caplets to swallow.

Are you in a relationship?

I’ve been married for over a decade. We’ve been together for nearly fifteen years.

Is there anything pink  within 10 feet of you?

No.

Are you wearing socks right now?

Yes.

What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you?

Nothing I can see.

Where is your best friend?

She’s in the kitchen. As I said, I think she’s cooking something.

What were you doing last night at 12AM?

Sleeping.

Are you the kind of friend you would want to have as a friend?

Maybe?

What’s a song that always makes you happy when you hear it?

I’m having trouble naming something right off the bat. For whatever reason, Back In The New York Groove just started playing in my head. So, that?

What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far?

Asking my wife to marry me.

Favorite color?

Blue.

What is your current desktop picture?

Again, a very 1990s question. I’m using some Microsoft random photo thing. Today is some rock formations underneath a lightning storm.

What would be a question you’d be afraid to tell the truth on?

I’m going to demur here, too.

You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere.

Um. Was that a question? I don’t know where I’d like to go. The COVID lockdowns have really killed all travel. Would I be able to go do anything once I get to wherever it is I’d choose to go?

Do you have any relatives in jail?

Not that I know of.

What will you do after this?

Probably go take a nap; I have some more work to do tonight.

Saturday

Again. So I do what I do.

Listening to this.

Obviously, this has been an absolutely crazy week in the world, and I don’t see things really calming down news-wise.

I will say “rest in peace” to Larry King.

Since about Thanksgiving I’ve been listening pretty attentively again to Mike O’Meara, and have a temptation today to pay for his bonus show….largely because I’m so against giving money to Patreon. I’ve been listening to Mike on and off since uh, 1989? I disagree vehemently with his political allegiances, but I do enjoy his product, and appreciate that he doesn’t do Patreon.

I’ve not checked to see what the status of this is, but that was kind of representative of why I refuse to send anything through Patreon. Ever. There’s other things that I’d like to support, Quilette, Bridgt. Sorry. I’ll buy stuff from your advertisers, but nothing directly through your give-me-money service.

But there’s ways to get around the people who are trying to stifle things.

It’s not easy, but I’m still trying to find freedom.

I dunno.

Starting The Long Weekend Early

I have satisfied the hours in my pay period, so I stopped working at 11. A lot of what I was doing, anyway, would have been disrupted by patching operations on my work PC.

Good episode of The Fifth Column (unfortunately, I can’t find a link this morning. A lot of my concerns in the past week and a half have been related to what’s happening in response to what happened at the Capitol last Wednesday.

The government cannot end The Internets. Barring something like the firewalls like the Iranians or the Norks have, it’s impossible to silence everyone.

One of the things that’s gone through my head for a long time now is, “You Can Leave.” (Yes, I did just edit that; spotted a spurious vowel…)

But where to go?

On the Internet, it doesn’t matter. You can’t stop the math and science that goes in to technology. No matter how vehemently you decry that there’s ways to get around just about everything if you can think independently.

There are other things that fall into similar categories — short of killing people, you can’t stop them.

So, what’s on tap for this weekend?

Well, HR Geeks Jitsi.

Supposedly, there’s going to be competing virtual drinking games kicking off with Jonny, and other folks swirling around the Peddling Fiction podcast.

Speaking of that, one of his webinar on chart analysis is here.

But the technology is there, and there’s no way to stop it.

But you can leave what you don’t like. So, out of the cesspool that is Facebook again.

Another Saturday

And given all that went on earlier this week, I suppose I should be thankful that things are now calm.

Listening to this.

Words are really failing me, really, but I think things could continue to stay calm.

Forgive, and move on. I understand that that’s difficult, but it’s what needs to be done.

Survey

I’m writing, because that’s what I do.

  1. Have you ever used a dating site/app?
    I started dating my wife in 2006. We got pretty serious very quickly. I’ve not looked back. There were a few I’d done before then, but I’d pretty much given up on finding anybody by the time I met her. So. 2003, maybe? I can’t imagine what dating would be like these days.
  2. If you could live anywhere other than where you live now where would it be?
    I’m not even sure at this point. Many of the things that attracted me to moving where I am now are just gone. With the COVID lockdowns, I really wonder if there’s anywhere where I could go at this point. One of the podcasters I listen to quite a bit has gone to Mexico. If you’d told me three years ago that Mexico would sound the least bit attractive, I’d have said you’re completely nuts. Same goes for Texas and Florida.
  3. Do you recycle?
    Where I can.
  4. What is the weather like right now, as you write this?
    It’s winter, but it hasn’t gotten really that cold very long yet.
  5. What was the last video you watched on YouTube?
    I think I pulled up “Spaghetti Cat (I Weep For You)” trying to make sure I had my audio devices set up correctly. But, for the most part, I go out of my way to avoid anything from Totes-Didn’t-Used-To-Do-Evil Co.. And that includes YouTube.
  6. Write a news headline about your life.
    You Thought You Knew
  7. What does the fourth text message in your phone say?
    It’s a notice from FedEx. No, it’s none of your business. (And I don’t remember what it was, anyway….)
  8. How many states have you been to?
    I don’t know, and I’m too tired to count. The only Pacific state I’ve visited is Washington, but I’ve been to many of the others.
  9. What was the last movie you saw in the theatre?
    The Big Lebowski.
  10. What was the last movie you watched at home?
    It’s December 30th; It’s A Wonderful Life
  11. Do you daydream?
    Rarely.
  12. Where was the last place you went?
    Given the lockdowns imposed by Governor Hoodor Blackface, and my own worry about catching the COVID, I think it was probably to Georgetown for my last infusion.
  13. What was the last show you watched an episode of?
    Jeopardy! Just before the webinar I watched tonight.
  14. How many other countries have you traveled to?
    See the question on the states. I think the last time I counted, it was like thirteen.
  15. Have you ever given someone a fake phone number?
    Yes. We had this mentally-lll woman who’d call the radio stations, and inquire about our commercial order. “Did someone call and tell you to play it in that order?” Normally, I’d say “no,” but after about the fifth call from her, I said, “yes,” and gave her the number to the local weather service temperature reporting. Her husband called later after she’d caled about it, and explained what was going on. I apologized, and hope she got the help she needed.
  16. What is something you are relieved about right now?
    That this year is almost over.
  17. What do you think of the Kardashians?
    I really don’t think about them unless someone else brings them up.
  18. So far today how much have you gotten done off your to-do list?
    A lot of it, but I’m on vacation, so I haven’t been doing a ton.
  19. Have you been in the hospital in the last 24 months?
    No.
  20. Spring, summer, fall or winter?
    Fall.

Theme Of The Week

I’ve been urged to participate in these themes of the week.

so, yeah, I’ll try to do that.

Maybe the compulsion to write in the summer will be gone.

We shall see.


Theme of the Week 85 – If you could relive just one event in your life, what would it be?

This is really tough. I was thinking about maybe some of the things that I did in late-2009, probably the trip to DC with my soon-to-be wife to watch the soon-to-be Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints beat the Redskins.

In the snow.

But I’m probably combining that trip with other trips we took together.

I remember one year going to see the National Christmas Tree. We shivered and shivered, walked around in the snow, had a nice dinner at our favorite French place, etc..

But would I want to relive it?

I don’t know.

I’ve never been much about the one-shining-moment schtick. But it speaks to another question I often have trouble.

On the flip side, there’s also not a single monment I can think of where I totally screwed up.

Have a made missteps? Absolutely.

Why shouldn’t I dwell on those the way this prompt is asking me to dewell on moments of victory?

Merry Christmas to everyone.