my journal: various subjects, opinionating, CW at times
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)
Yes, the markets are jittery right now because of the situation in the Near East*, less than expected earnings reports for some corporations, & persistent core inflation among other factors. But let's keep it in perspective, folks. No economy will boom indefinitely; market corrections are a normal part of modern life. Downturns are inevitable. It has always been so since civilization began. The smart move is to stay cool, don't panic-sell, & just ride it out.
Just saw tonight that Fristo is gone...why he left, who knows?
I talked to him once or twice in one of the chat rooms. It was the Sharing Circle, if memory serves.
It's strange...I didn't know Fristo well at all. He was just another name on the screen. For some reason his departure makes me a bit sad. I don't know why.... Maybe it's because I was used to seeing him around here & am finding this out suddenly.
Change is inevitable, but it's hard enough to get used to in & of itself. When change is abrupt & without advance notice, that only makes it worse.
@slowdecline48 It surprised me too. Fristo was here for as long as I can remember. It's odd not seeing their name around anymore 😕
A few hours ago, I typed up a new poem...felt the need to share it. So click the link, gentle reader. (It goes to a different thread here in CupsLand)
From the Keeping It in Perspective Dept.:
Tonight I'm feeling slightly better than I was earlier...finally got some sleep. Am slowwwly getting rid of the clutter in my place, though I have trouble staying on top of that. One of my projects is going slow but steadily...I can't wait to be done with the damn thing.
Best of all, the price of silver has gone up 82.22% in the last five years. H€ll, I woulda been happy just to see it beat inflation. It did an awful lot more!
I feel like rereading some precious prose from that great sage & eminent writer, Ambrose Bierce. Yes indeed...
Today was exhausting.
Barely slept last night, had a medical appointment for a series of tests this afternoon--two of which verged on cruel & unusual punishment--then went to a nearby place to eat because by then it was rush-hour & I wasn't gonna hail a ride just to sit in traffic, especially since I was feeling like 🐕💩 then.
I wound up having a beer (which I didn't order--there's a story behind that); I didn't get home until after 20:00.
Tomorrow I will pay the price for my folly. ☠️
@slowdecline48 I hope you were able to get some rest and that the price wasn't too steep. It sucks that we have to weigh the pro's and con's of everything all the time when it comes to our health - physical and/or mental. Life seems to have a sick and twisted sense of humor sometimes
@mytwistedsoul Hey! Twisty! It's good to see you back here, even though we're both in CupsLand.
Got some sleep this morning but it wasn't enough. I'm gonna try to fix that, then get some stuff done tonight.
@slowdecline48 It's nice seeing you too! :) I'm kind of a sucker for this place lol and it's about the closest thing I'd do to social media
Hopefully you caught up on some extra sleep. I know for me being tired make everything 100 times worse
I hope you have a good productive night Slow
[CW: 7Cups-related commentary]
It's nice to know y'all like my input in the forums...
Gracias, @mytwistedsoul & @PatienceImpatiens ...if I made anyone's day, good. I don't believe in karma but if I did, at this point I'd guess I will return in the next life as something medium-worthy, like an untrained Jack Russell terrier...or maybe an anonymous bureaucrat at a municipal reservoir.
But then there's this:
So this girl--I assume it's a girl--"likes" every post I make. She does this every few weeks, maybe once a month on average. I have no idea why because we've never talked, not anywhere in the forums or in any other way. We don't know each other at all. Yet every few weeks, she shows up & "hearts" everything I posted in that time....weird.
Aside from that, there isn't much to report. My head hurts but that is not news.
Hiya! I go on reading rampages, usually I will read all of something. And I’m enthusiastic about clicking stuff, because my brain is amised at things I read, so I like a lot of stuff, thereby leaving an electronic bread crumb trail lest someone try to track me down if I wander too far down some rabbit hole or to continue the metaphor, dangerously close to Hansel and Gretel’s wandering to the gingerbread house.
Amused though amised is a cool word.
@slowdecline48 I'm trying to picture you as an untrained jack russell - which if there is karma - that is way better than a banana slug imo
@mytwistedsoul At one time I would probably have reincarnated as a banana slug, or maybe a typical town councilman...but for several months last year I helped look after that older guy in my anthill complex who was in hospice. Have also left advice posts in plenty of threads posted by Cups members in distress about their various troubles. I would like to think those are positive entries in the ledger, so to speak.
Yeah, markets & finance are among my topics of interest. It's a big part of what makes the modern world go round, you know?
Since you've returned to CupsLand, I hope you're feeling better in some way. I did miss you while you were gone.
@slowdecline48 I definitely think you've got a lot of positive entries in your account. Especially with looking after someone who was on hospice. That's a hard thing to do. Offering support and encouragement here is a big plus too in my opinion. So yeah - I think you've got alot of good marks
I forgot to post about it, so here's the blurb: The interview by the industrious volunteer @MistyMagic, about my main chronic condition is here. 👈 click on that word if you'd like to read it...hopefully you'll find my answers useful & entertaining.
[CW: politics/current events, link to incident of unpeaceful speech]
You can think what you like about the Israel-Hamas war, gentle reader. Like many people, I am disturbed by the death toll in it. Unlike many people, I know why so many innocent Arabs have died & been wounded: because Hamas uses them as a collective flak jacket whenever it attacks Israel. Civilian deaths mean more propaganda victories for Hamas & associated jihadists. They've been running that hustle for decades, because countless gullible people across the West fall for it every time.
But for me, the clearest sign of moral differences between the belligerents isn't just the fact that Hamas operatives (& Palestinian assistants) targeted Israeli civilians on Oct. 7th, but the general tone of the protests. From what I've seen, pro-Israel rallies have been peaceful...loud, but peaceful. Pro-Hamas--er, "antizionist" rallies have obstructed traffic in a few places (the Bay Bridge in CA, among others), & deliberately harassed & intimidated Jewish students at the university campuses where they're being staged. In my book, that says it all.
Say whatever you want about the issue. But we pro-Israel folk, at least, don't issue death threats to public officials. Or to anyone else, for that matter.
@slowdecline48 I've noticed the tone as well. Just last evening I was watching a live stream and the person who was streaming it went up to an older man (late 60's at least) who was standing quietly in the background - not saying a word and the streamer started asking him questions to which he answered f**k them. The guy streaming then proceeded to tell everyone around him what the old guy said and was imo trying to incite violence towards the old guy. Many of the younger men there were more than willing to fight with him and a few even started to push him around
@mytwistedsoul You know it. The tactics you described aren't limited to the Israel-Hamas conflict, either. That's how "progressive" activists work in today's hypermediated age of spin: provoke the target into taking action, then cry crocodile tears as they get video footage of it & make the real victim look like the aggressor. It is very difficult to counteract such deception.
@slowdecline48 I feel like we have a lot of similar views. To be honest (I might get banned for this but LOL oh well), I see Hamas as a terrorist group. The Hamas' leader's SON even exposed Hamas, he's anti-Hamas and warned people how awful it is, but some choose to be ignorant and ignore him.
Here's a YouTube Short on it [Title: "Dr. Phil’s Audience Goes Silent as Son of Hamas Founder Shocks Palestine Activist w/ Facts"]: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dT_jA8WQjdA
And here's the full video[Title: "Dr. Phil, Mosab Yousef: Truth Behind Hamas; Unmasking Their Violent Intentions | Dr. Phil Primetime" Time: 17mins & 46seconds]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPomqJz-qYc&t=3s
@ImpudentIncognito Wow that was an eye opener that's for sure! Thanks for sharing those links!
@ImpudentIncognito Muchas gracias for the links. I've heard of the man interviewed but never heard him speak until now. He wrote a book, too...will have to pick it up. For what it's worth, the State Department considers Hamas a terrorist outfit too, as does the EU. Frankly, if I ever meet anyone who portrays Hamas as some kind of heroic or good organization then I will have serious doubts about that person's morality.
Last Cups reaction & market-related posts for a while, I swear:
Thank you, @ImpudentIncognito.
...I don't consider myself a poet, but apparently a few others do.
Also:
...copper is up. The above figure is the price per pound as of about 12 minutes ago. Even with all the fluctuations, copper has been gaining value over the last year.... 🤔 ...might be time to sell all that wire I scavved btwn 2018 & '22.
@slowdecline48 glad I'm not the only one with copper laying around! been saving it since the plandemic 😁
@mytwistedsoul Do you think it was planned from the beginning? I didn't believe any of that at first...now I'm undecided. It is true that the Chinese government had a huge influence on the WHO, & probably still does. I definitely believe the lab leak theory, as it fits the general lack of quality control in that country. Why else are factories in Shenzhen & other cities infamous for turning out goods that don't last that long? Also, this normally isn't reported on in the West but their vast infrastructure projects sometimes fail because when they are built, it's often slapdash & without sufficient safety standards.
@slowdecline48 Honestly? I do. I wasn't sure at first either but the more I looked into things the more it looked like it was planned. I think they wanted to make people afraid and see how far they could push their agenda. Half the time they didn't even follow their own rules. They've changed their story so many times. I probably sound like a conspiracy theorist but that's ok. Soros and even Gates has made many mentions about how the world population needs to be decreased. I've done alot of research - way too much research probably lol and crawled around in the darker places the web has to offer and omg don't get me started on that little keebler elf Fauchi and the crap he's been doing (looking over my shoulder nervously 😅) I don't trust the government. They lie and get caught in the lies and lie their way out. They do not now nor have they ever had our best interests in mind. Reagan said it best when he said that the scariest words ever heard are - I'm from the government - I'm here to help
*nod* I don't trust the government either, man. We definitely see eye to eye on that.
The basic problem is that those who are most attracted to power & will work hardest to get it are usually the people who are the least trustworthy with it. I don't know how to solve this problem...it may not be solvable.
@slowdecline48 Haha, I've been creeping by, like a lil fly heh. Wait? You invest in stocks too?! It's been awhile for me tbh.
@ImpudentIncognito Indeed I do! Don't get the wrong idea--I am not Warren Buffett or Bill Gates. Not even close. 😄 (If I was then my lifestyle would be way different, though not luxurious) Right now I mostly hold a few different ETFs & some metals. Have thought about those 10-year Treasury bonds...now would be the time to buy one, what with the current interest rate being as high as it is. Wish I'd bought some cryptos back when they were just starting...missed that opportunity completely. 🤦🏼♂️ D'oh!
Are you into any kind of stocks in particular? Any sector of the market?
