my journal: various subjects, opinionating, CW at times

So I'm learning about earth anchors now.

If I were to bring in a storage container & hook earth anchors to it with steel cable, couldn't someone just cut the cables?...of course if you're gonna ask that question, the container itself can be cut through too. Only difference is it would take way too long for most thieves/burglars. And I'll be there much of the time anyway.

This immortal rap tune has been going through my head lately: The Humpty Dance

[CW: more of my opinions]

@slowdecline48 Slow, you fixed the internet! No one is bickering any more…..oh, wait, scratch that 😂

@PineTreeTree 😆 Don't I wish.

...it'll never happen. Something a few observers of our political scene don't understand: it is an expression of tribalism. And it predates the US by countless millennia. That kind of being together with like-minded people, with antipathy toward another group that is not one's own, was the default mode of existence for humans up to the Neolithic revolution & for some time after that. We're talking some 500,000 years for anatomically modern people. Chimpanzees, apes, etc. engage in tribal behavior all the time so you know it predates humanity itself. No one is going to get rid of it overnight; tribalism is in our DNA.

The above is one of the reasons I don't believe in modern democracy, BTW. It depends on citizens accepting others in their own nation as equals despite differences in beliefs, ethnic background, ideology, etc. That asks too much of most people.

Errrgh... Tired today.

...but it's all happening on Thursday. I can hardly wait!

@slowdecline48 This is great news Slow! Congratulations! 😄

Thank you, Mr. Twisty! It is great news indeed... Now if I can arrange for transportation before then, everything should go as planned. 🤞🏼

@slowdecline48 If it's ok to ask - which parcel did you pick? I'm thinking the first one? Putting everything up on pilings would be a total pain in the *** plus it would be an added expense and I remember the last one was a pretty good clip away. You have got to be pretty excited! 😆 

@mytwistedsoul No, I picked the 2nd one.

There were a few factors to consider. Without listing every last one (who would want to read that text wall?), I will add that the first parcel is in a flood zone too & faces a dirt road, to boot. A few days of hard rain could wash out nearby roads; that would cut me & my neighbors off until the county fixes the roads...whenever that would be.

The one I picked is in one but most of it is in the best possible flood zone...the least wet overall, apparently. Only one corner isn't, so I figure that's the lowest point on the property. Getting some dirt infill & dumping it in the right spot would raise the ground level by two feet, which will remove all flood risk. I could have it done to the whole lot but I'd rather do it on the northern half first, & see how that works out.

Also, the 2nd lot faces a county road. Paved & maintained. Definitely a factor in my decision. Much as I'd like to be out in the middle of nowhere, I have to be able to get in & out. If I get seriously injured then emergency services must be able to get to me...a winding hardpacked dirt road would slow them down.

@slowdecline48 I didn't even give that a thought! Now that you've said that though - (cue the facepalm and duh) There's always ads around here of people wanting clean fill. It was even put here at one time 

Thanks. I raised a glass after I drove back home. 🍷😄

[CW: more of my unvarnished opinions]

The Ukrainian government is offering convicts in Ukraine's prisons a deal: if you serve in the army, your offenses will be pardoned & you'll be put on parole once the war is over.

The item above indicates their fortune (or the lack thereof) in their war with Russia. They are desperate for more men. I hate to say it but the odds aren't on their side...if I were a betting man, I would not put money on Ukraine. Speaking of money, I think the billion$$ we sent there in support were all a pointless waste. Ukraine is not a major trading partner, let alone a nation of strategic importance to us. Our focus should've been on China from the start, as the CPC wants Taiwan. Taiwan is a key source of microchips for us, so we need to protect it. If Ukraine deserves support then let the EU do it... The current Russo-Ukraine war is a ripple in the old pattern of Russian westward expansion & setback. Even if Putin & co. take the eastern region, Putin won't stay in office forever, Russia will weaken at some point & the Ukrainians will revolt...possibly with German & other Europeans' support & encouragement.

Every four years I return to a certain quote... Its truth is undeniable, despite the odiousness of its source. This year gave me additional motivation, with the results in Venezuela:

"It is enough that the people know there was an election. Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything."

- Iosif Vissaronovich Stalin

The spot price of gold, as of 42 minutes ago.

Also:

The land is mine.

Victory is sweet, is it not?

Tonight: tired but happy

Errrgh....am not a morning person. I suppose I'll have to learn to be one once I'm on my land.

Woke up at just after 7 this morning. It's overcast outside & the weather app says it will likely be a rainy day...feel like going back to sleep.

Additional evidence for one of the foregoing entries:

Ain't we got fun...

@slowdecline48 Saw you had some weather headed your way. Hope it doesn't get too bad where you are. Stay safe Slow

@mytwistedsoul Thanks mucho. I'm not worried...it'll probably go the way it usually does. Yesterday it rained half the afternoon & all evening. Now we'll likely get some faster wind, a few gusts but nothing really dangerous, with a ton of water dumped on everything out here. If I'm lucky I'll sleep through the second act.

@slowdecline48 I saw this morning that places could get 20 inches of rain because it's sort of creeping along and moving slow. With it staying over land keeping it from getting stronger. Sounds like a good day to rest and sleep

"And Noah stayed on the ark, working constantly, always wroth because he had to keep the rabbits & squirrels from begatting more of their kind, & shoveling elephant & rhino s**t."

For a little bit now, I've been wanting a beer...

@PineTreeTree (& anyone who's interested) - This isn't so much about politics, but cultural tendencies & the basic differences they give rise to...

There's an old Japanese proverb about carpentry: "The nail that stands up gets pounded down." Make of that what you will.

Also...

[CW: prejudice, race, info you might not know about]

...a reminder that the world's oldest hatred is alive & well, not just in the US but in what used to be our most prestigious bastions of higher learning. The stated reasons (excuses) & the perpetrators change while the basic impulse remains the same.

Today, among our main enemies are far-left "antiracist"¹ activists & their allies (often but not always Muslim), on & off campus. In the 20th century our enemies were Nazis, Communists/socialists & from a bit before 1948, Arabs. From the early 2nd century C.E.² to the Second Vatican Council in 1965, our worst enemies in Europe were Christians (particularly Catholics). In the 20th century US a surprising & dismaying addition was African-Americans, after the civil rights coalition crumbled post-MLK; the re-emergence of the Nation of Islam under Farrakhan & the rise of the BHI³ cults keeps the hatred alive among them.

@slowdecline48 I remember seeing some of this. Even jewish teachers were being targeted too. (smh) these are sad and crazy times we're living in

Indeed... However I'd like to caution against a mistake common to people in our demographic & older: nostalgia.

Yes, the world today is a f**ked-up place. But by a few different metrics it's better than it has ever been, even as our affluence & technologies + our Stone Age instincts & biases = the modern world being worse in certain subtle ways. (E.g., there is far less starvation overall; big corporations control the food supplies in every modern nation) The point is humanity has always had its problems. Certainly that's been true since the beginning of civilization as we know it, in what is now eastern Iraq.

Debby is past us, today was hot, sunny & breezy. Figured it was over. Then it started raining over 20 minutes ago... thunder. *smh*

It's dying down now. Jesus on a pogo stick.

I've been trying to not turn on the lights at night so as to get used to darkness, for when I go to my land & have no house at first. But with s*** like this you might as well get up...I can't sleep anyway. Phuk.

💩.

Flareup today. F***sticks.

I lost the morning but still managed to get a few things done this afternoon.

This is one of the reasons why redoing my land & building my home will take four to five years, not two...these days will come. When they do, I'll rest & wait until it passes. Got no choice.

When I get home I'm gonna crash & nod out.

The day the fedgov & state governments decide that border/internal security is more important than corporate profits & new fodder for the pro-immigration lobby, things will change. After that, agribusiness & construction firms (& chain restaurants) would have to pay decent wages & improve working conditions for their labor force. Costs of certain goods & services would rise (inflation) but also, the foregoing changes would attract more native-born Americans to jobs we leave to migrants, since those jobs would be better. Unemployment rates would drop overall.

There isn't a snow cone's chance in H€ll of the above happening, of course.

Wondering whether to leave the Arts & Crafts forum or not... I haven't posted anything there in months. Most of my creative work gets posted elsewhere online, these days.

I might be done with Arts & Crafts here, but I also posted a new poem. Feel free to read it, folks.

In other news:

Once again, thank you for all the upvotes @iloveyouxx . What would I do in CupsLand without you?

Am wondering where tearstruck went...

@slowdecline48

awwe, I’m glad it doesn’t seem weird or anything now xD I know I don’t talk much but I do still love reading all your posts🤍

thankyou for tagging me I got noticed haha thankyou💙

I’m hoping your friend is okay ): maybe they’re on break, a lot of people are now 

She's another upvoter, or was until recently....nice girl from what I've seen so far. (I don't know most people here well) @tearstruck where are you?

@slowdecline48

oh waittt I forgot that was her user :0 she is really nice🩷and I just found out her account actually was set on break, she said her account is on break a lot because..well I don’t remember I think she said it was chronic issues or fatigue but I’m not sure

@tearstruck I hope you’re okay💗💗

@iloveyouxx you're super sweet 💗💗 kitten hugs;):)
I'm okay. How are you doing? I remember you had a lot going on when we last talked <3
P.S. sorry for not keeping in touch, I don't have the energy to go on cups very often, but I wish you the very best with everything🤍🤍🤍🤍