sean – Page 35

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.

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.
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.
Do you recycle?
Where I can.
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.
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.
Write a news headline about your life.
You Thought You Knew
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….)
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.
What was the last movie you saw in the theatre?
The Big Lebowski.
What was the last movie you watched at home?
It’s December 30th; It’s A Wonderful Life
Do you daydream?
Rarely.
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.
What was the last show you watched an episode of?
Jeopardy! Just before the webinar I watched tonight.
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.
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.
What is something you are relieved about right now?
That this year is almost over.
What do you think of the Kardashians?
I really don’t think about them unless someone else brings them up.
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.
Have you been in the hospital in the last 24 months?
No.
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.

Another Saturday

Three days more of work, then no work until next year.

Maybe.

I, because I am who I am, will monitor things, and be there as long as there’s still mutual desire.

But I’m finished, and I really can’t bring myself to care about much of anything. I did get this from someone who’s actually been reading what I was writing.

But I’m finished with this year, really. Kind of appropriate background music.

What can I do, more, to get away from the craziness? I don’t know, and I’m not really thinking clearly.

I started to lay things out specifically, but I’m not sure there’s a real reason to do that.

Though, if everything goes well, it’ll be a late ending on Wednesday, and I can just step away.

News.

Last night, during our weekly pandemic get-together, there was a lot of discussion about what’s going on with the whole SolarWinds thing.

This was in my go-to online news feed when I’m writing.

The news source gets the conclusion wrong, I think, but I shouldn’t expect more, really. This shit is confusing, and you’ve got competing groups who don’t want to change what they do once they’ve become accustomed to operating in one way.

That goes to politics, too, I guess. The article is irresponsible, but it makes the fifty-something editor feel warm inside.

High as a kite

Or the big “confederate flag” that was flying along 95 before the Commonwealth took it for roadway expansion.

Mmm. Yeah.

So, I wanted to talk about this.

I waded into the cesspool that is Facebook, and saw that it’d been posted in one of the groups I follow.

My comment?

“Less promisingly, the bill would impose a 5 percent federal tax on cannabis products, rising to 6 percent after two years, 7 percent after three years, and 8 percent after four years.” Glad they got that part in there. Much like what’s happening with many states, the recent push doesn’t actually dismantle the apparatuses assembled in the past century to fight drugs, but just redeploys it to _collect taxes_. The SWAT raids will get worse. I see you’re running a grow operation, there, but the Commissioner of Revenue says you[ve never paid a cent in taxes. We’re going to take all of those plants, along with everything else you’ve got.

The hispter Democrats’ argument is that “decriminalization” fixes the bad parts of the “war on drugs.”

No. No, it doesn’t when you’re doing it to raise tax revenue.

Did you miss the bit about the Stamp Act in school?

Government Doesn’t Work.

Thirty

No prompt today, just a recap of what I’ve done, and what I hope to see for the rest of the year.

Since I’ve been up today, I ordered my new computer. It’s not exactly what I wanted, but it looks like it’ll do for the next few years.

This thing isn’t whining yet this morning, which is nice. I think the new one will be quiet, too.

So. On writing. I don’t know. Obviously a lot of what I’ve ended up writing about is the 600-pound gorilla in the room, COVID-19.

I’m worried about Lockeian fundamental human rights. I’m convinced there’s a large portion of the population in the US who don’t believe in those rights anymore.

I don’t know what to do about that, and I’m much more limited in my options to combat it.

The other day, Friday, maybe? I ended up watching a bit of MTV Classic. Bust A Move was on. “Everything you have is yours, and not stolen.”

But if you get a government agent to steal it, it’s okay, right? No.

For “Cyber Monday,” I did order my new desktop. I hope it will be better than this wheezing thing. While it’s not exactly what I thought I wanted, but can it be worse than what I’m dealing with now?

And, not long after I finished writing that, I ended up buying something else. So much for fiscal responsibility.

But, yeah, I’m finished. Eleventh year in the books.

I hope everyone has a nice Christmas.

I will try not to be so sporadic, but I do need to get rid of the daily writing spells.

Maybe I won’t write this summer. We’ll see.

I think there’s something useful, perhaps, in my underreported news items. Walt Hickey sort of does a version of this over at numlock.news, but I think I could do something different.

Could I do a very short podcast on a single story….? Hmmm…..