Skip to main content Skip to bottom nav

my journal: various subjects, opinionating, CW at times

slowdecline48 June 24th, 2022

The title explains itself.

If you're interested in the ramblings of a middle-aged man with chronic conditions who, at times, sees things a little too clearly for his own good, then read on.

Sometimes I get political, but it won't be all the time.

I don't mind comments in general but if you're going to differ with what I write, that's fine--as long as you can explain your position clearly & reasonably. Rants, shouting & general incoherence will be ignored or flagged, depending on the situation. Try to remember that not everyone else in this world holds your beliefs.

Every so often I may post art or snapshots of projects I'm working on.

If you're still interested after reading all the above, great. (I do wonder at how much time you have on your hands, though)

1288
slowdecline48 OP November 4th

It's way too early for me to be up...

...however, this is something to which I may have to adapt. Somehow.

I still don't understand how day people do this s**t...

3 replies
iloveyouxx November 4th

@slowdecline48

good morning<3 it’s almost 6pm here. and I get it. I’ve been waking up later than I’ve wanted to like every day now because even when I’m awake at the time I want to be and I know what day it is and why I want to be awake I still can’t stay up it’s too early and I never really get enough sleep I just can’t get into the habit tho

i don’t understand either  :’) usually I feel better later on in the day I just need um a little push lol to get me awake but not always and those days usually by the early afternoon I’m exhausted so I guess I can’t be talking but I hope your day goes better than mine 🤍

coffee-monday.gif

2 replies
slowdecline48 OP November 4th

@iloveyouxx Thanks señorita. You're sweet. My day has been going pretty quickly...need to do some stuff, as always. Don't feel like doing most of it, as usual 😆

1 reply
iloveyouxx November 5th

@slowdecline48

🩷  that’s…. so real XD 

load more
load more
load more
slowdecline48 OP November 5th

No online conversion site works for downloading YT videos, as of less than a week ago.

🤨 😠

So Google finally figured out some kind of method to defeat all the converter platforms. Dam.mit. No more MP4s or MOVs for me...at least not until some brilliant hacker figures out how to get around Google's latest cyber-defense. I hope that happens soon. Have downloaded a lotta great stuff over the years, & I'm not done yet. I need more DIY info, especially re residential construction.

No, I don't have any qualms about ripping vids from the Toob. Considering the evil empire that Google is & how it has gathered so much power influence over the visible Net (& over Western society in general), if it comes down to it then frankly, the CEO & management of Google have a h.ell of a lot more to repent for than I do.

3 replies
mytwistedsoul November 5th

@slowdecline48 Hey Slow. I get my stuff here https://freemp3downloads.online/en131/  It dors have annoying popup ads but they're usually easy enough to close

You'll have to get Dropbox but it's free unless you need more space but tbh there's ways around that too. I'll often burn them to disk and delete them off dropbox and re-add them to windows media player. I just used it this morning and didn't have any trouble converting any of them

2 replies
slowdecline48 OP November 5th

Thankya much, Twisty. I'll try it out the next time I'm online via ye olde laptop...(it's better for downloading movies than a phone) 👍🏻

1 reply
mytwistedsoul November 5th

@slowdecline48 You're welcome 😊

load more
load more
load more
slowdecline48 OP November 5th

...got done with voting today. I decided to go at the last minute. That buls*** is over with for another few years.

4 replies
slowdecline48 OP November 5th

Now if my hands would just stop being sore, I'd feel much better about going down to the property & doing what I have to do there.

3 replies
mytwistedsoul November 6th

@slowdecline48 Have you tried soaking them in warm water maybe with some epsom salts? Maybe a couple of Tylenol or Advil? 

2 replies
slowdecline48 OP November 6th

@mytwistedsoul Soaking, yes. It works somewhat. Haven't tried the salts yet...I may do so tonight.

I believe it's about to rain.

slowdecline48 OP November 6th

Also, ibuprofen is one of the basic components of my diet. 😒

load more
load more
load more
slowdecline48 OP November 6th

Whatever you do, if you are awake after 2 in the morning, don't start cruising restaurants on G00gle Maps...

slowdecline48 OP November 6th

sketchstart_1730919659.jpg

An unfinished sketch from earlier today....not much time for it now.

5 replies
slowdecline48 OP November 6th

...aaaaaand it's drizzling now.

No surprise, as my head was flaring up. Whenever it's overcast & muggy, & my head hurts & my brain starts whirling & my IQ drops 20 points, just assume it will rain soon.

So I have to rest. Chores can wait til tonight, I guess. F**ksticks.

4 replies
mytwistedsoul November 6th

@slowdecline48 Hope you feel better soon. Send that rain north. It's been unbelievably dry for the past month. Red flag warnings every day. 

3 replies
slowdecline48 OP November 7th

@mytwistedsoul "red flag warnings" mean what? Water conservation messages broadcasted by the state government or...?

2 replies
mytwistedsoul November 7th

@slowdecline48 Fire danger. With all the leaves down and no rain and it's been pretty breezy. One spark could set everything on fire 😬

1 reply
slowdecline48 OP November 7th

Oh s***...sounds kinda like California.

For your sake, I hope no fool flips a lit cigarette butt anywhere up there.

load more
load more
load more
load more
load more
slowdecline48 OP November 7th

I woke up & did laundry among other things...still don't have as many tasks completed as I'd like.

I may have to just pack, rent a truck & get down there & let everything else wait... Still want to at least make some pasta sauce before I go. (Will do it after I get up) That steak is still in the freezer...I could bring it down there in a plastic container. Might even bring some charcoal with me... Could skip the firebox & bring the top grate from my grill, dig a hole & light a fire in it. Put the grate on top & cook the steak on it. That would make cleanup way easier, now that I think about it.

The way it's all playing out, I'll probably have to sharpen my chain after I get there. At least my go-bag has clothes & a soap bar in it, so I'm half-packed already...

...so d**n much to do. And it's late in the year now.

Note to self: don't forget the Tiger Balm & ibuprofen. And the can opener. And rope. You will need all of it.

2 replies
slowdecline48 OP November 8th

Sh!t.

It's after 5 in the morning. Woke up at 11:35 p.m. & couldn't go back to sleep. Now I'm stress cooking...at least I'm getting the cooking done. Finished the sauce a little while ago & the lasagna noodles are about done...all that's left is stacking the noodles, cheeses & sauce & baking it.

Still don't have any wedges....the only option left is to pick up a few on the way out to the parcel. I hate situations like this. Truly I do. My feeling is if you get into a situation where you have no other options, more often than not it's because you f***ed up early on somehow. In this case, I probably should've organized better at the start. Oh well *sigh*

Hopefully I can get some sleep before noon.

1 reply
slowdecline48 OP November 8th

Also, U-Haul workers have all the organization of a pack of rhesus monkeys with damaged frontal lobes.

At least the lasagna turned out okay & the pasta sauce is in the f***ing freezer.

...time for a nap.

load more
load more
slowdecline48 OP November 9th

Am in the Best Western Inn tonight & tomorrow night. I didn't want to spend the 💲on it but my parcel doesn't even have enough space for the rental van...no way could it get through the perimeter from either road. Even if there is sufficient space between the trees, the van would likely get stuck. So a low-rent hotel it is.

A few of the guests look shady as h€ll. It's because of them that I realized how I've changed... I do not fear anyone else in the hotel. At one time I would've felt cautious at least, but right now I don't give a fart in a windstorm about 'em.

Admittedly my gear makes a difference too... 😆 In my younger days all I usually had with me when I traveled was a tactical folder, or nothing if the situation required it. Tonight: the chainsaw is sitting on the square dining table (hotel standard issue), the mach€te is lying on the chest of drawers, my two folders are on the nightstand nearby, the cane leans against said nightstand & my ax€ is lying on the floor. By the bed. The only way any of these characters could be dangerous is if they have a g.un. Short of that, any one--maybe any two--wouldn't have a snowball's chance in H€ll.

No shower tonight. It would be pointless, considering what I'm doing tomorrow. When I get up I'll clean the saw, then sharpen the chain. As it will be my first time it's gonna be a touchy job...fortunately, the videos are still on my phone. And I've been sharpening knives since I first learned how (Cub Scouts. I was nine) & other edged objects since I first learned woodworking basics. Been sharpening things for over half my life now. Learning how to keep a chain in trim shouldn't be too difficult...

Also: it's been ages since I've slept in a room with a TV!...still not gonna turn it on, though. 😃

Maybe this is the kinda stuff I should put in the "land project" blog. I haven't actually started it anywhere...now I'm thinking I should've at least three months ago. Whoops. 🤪

slowdecline48 OP November 10th

Day 1

Lessons learned:

  1. Figuring out which way the tree is most likely to fall before you start cutting is one of the most important moves to make. Starting the open face on the leaning side will usually prevent the tree from grabbing onto your saw.
  2. Bring a spare bar, not just a spare chain, in case you phuck up #1. In tree work, spare parts are good to have around.
  3. Bringing along plenty of potable water was a great idea...maybe the best idea I've had since starting on this whole thing.
  4. Tree work is exhausting.

Stay tuned for future episodes of Slow Decline, the Idi0t Woodsman!

7 replies
slowdecline48 OP November 10th

@Tinywhisper11 ⬆️ free entertainment tonight. (The next time you stop by it'll cost you £10 to read the latest update.)

6 replies
Tinywhisper11 November 10th

@slowdecline48 you've become a lumberjack!?!? 

Ok that was only mildly entertaining. Next time do something funny like, have a fight with a beaver or something😁😂😂😂 

thanks dec ❤ I only have £2 though

5 replies
slowdecline48 OP November 10th

@Tinywhisper11 Kind of, yeah.

I was on my land today. It's raw land...no house. Trees everywhere. So before I do anything else with it, I have to cut at least a few of 'em. I don't intend to clear out every tree standing, though.

slowdecline48 OP November 10th

I got the saw stuck in a tree trunk. Twice. The 2nd time I could only free the saw by unbolting the bar (it's on the front of the saw's engine. the chain runs around it really fast)... It worked & I got the bar too, but I had to leave the chain. It's still stuck in the trunk. 😂

3 replies
Tinywhisper11 November 10th

@slowdecline48 😂😂😂😂😂 well done😂😂😂😂 it's not funny😂😂 I'm not laughing at you😂😂

you got your own land hey! I heard you were going to build your own little sanctuary and live there, I wish I could do that.

🙂❤

1 reply
slowdecline48 OP November 10th

All kidding aside, it's apparently an occupational hazard in this line of work. Even experienced guys have this problem every so often...

"Oh d∆mn. It's stuck & I can't get it out" 🤣

load more
slowdecline48 OP November 10th

its-stuck-guys-juliano.gif

load more
load more
load more
load more
slowdecline48 OP November 10th
slowdecline48 OP November 10th

...sh!t.

Up for most of the night, but it wasn't just due to my nocturnal habits. It was the pain...behind my right hip.

Will have to park the van on my land & sack out. Probably sooner rather than later. On top of that, it's Sunday. (There's a church on the other side of the dirt road bordering the west side of my land. Haven't met any of 'em yet. It's a Baptist church, not an evangelical one...am not expecting anything but chances are they'll be sane, by American Christian standards)

I knew this would be a long hard slog...however, it might be even tougher than I figured on. Gonna hafta figure out how to get it done despite my limitations.

...yes, this project will be very difficult. I just hope I can adapt to the demands. Phucksticks.

1 reply
slowdecline48 OP November 10th
eziafun-massage.gif
This is what I need...
load more