my journal: various subjects, opinionating, CW at times

[CW: politics; my honest opinion (which often needs a warning label by itself)]

Activists are annoying. I mean all of 'em, regardless of their political or religious bent.

Activists as a class are a perpetual irritant, sometimes a disruptive force &, with rare exceptions, not conducive to maintaining social order or to any kind of progress. In most cases, society would do fine without them.

I've seen them in action for many different causes over the years: anti-abortion, pro-abortion, anti-gun, pro-gun, pro/anti-freedom of speech, etc. I was one myself, before I outgrew it & learned a bit more about how the world works. So I have a pretty good idea of their motives. Many of them just want to raise a row before the TV cameras (or cell phone cameras) & virtue-signal to their fellow tribecritters. Much activism is really atavism, as well as an exercise in narcissism--singular and collective alike. Those who are serious about their pet cause are, without exception, fanatics. Even if the cause they're marching & chanting for is a decent one, to the extent that they achieve their goals, it is always at the expense of all other sectors of society. Fanaticism brings a host of problems with it, as even a casual glance at the track record of the 19th through the current centuries proves. If fanatics engage in peaceful activism, there is always the possibility that they will tip over into straight-up terrorism & chaos.

The above has always been true. A more recent development is that activism has become a racket. If you play it right, you can rake in some serious cash as an activist. Just ask the former leader of Black Lives Matter (not to mention its current high-ranking officials), or Shaun King. He's been whipping up his constituency against America, Israel, white people &--at times--Jews in general for a few years now; he's also taken in hundred$ of thousand$$ in donations. One of his charitable organizations piled up a six-figure amount before it was abruptly dismantled. Do you wonder where all that money went?...

Yes, activism is nice work if you can get it. And if you have a sufficient lack of moral scruples. If you can substitute dedication to a cause for an actual conscience, then you'll probably succeed.

Don't get the wrong idea: I am not saying that modern society is perfect the way it is. There are always aspects that need improvement, & injustices should certainly be rectified. I don't think any of us would argue against that. But activists, as a group, cause more problems than they solve most of the time. Indeed, most activists never give any thought to feasible solutions for the issues they rail against. They want everything changed right now. But social change is only beneficial when it is done carefully, slowly, with observation & after sufficient forethought.

Not only is today the anniversary of 9-11, this morning I was awakened by the rain...actually it wasn't just rain. It was pouring down like the flood of Genesis. 🤦🏼‍♂️ Finally it stopped...for now.

Don't have much more to say today, gentle reader. If you've kept up with this journal then you know I'm old enough to remember that day firsthand, & you know my feelings on what caused it, who's to blame & why they hate us.

On top of all that, I can't listen to Eric Clapton anymore. Not after this s***... I wasn't a fan of his after the end of the 90's, but this just makes my not listening to Clapton's music "official".

(Incidentally, a relative of mine notified me of Clapton's racist rambling onstage back in 1976. I wasn't aware of that before two nights ago. Oh well...in my book, Clapton's guitar work is rather overrated. He's good but he ain't that good)

Been meaning to tell youall: I had my hobby journal thread shut down. This was about three days ago... Yeah. After some rumination about it, I decided there was no point in leaving it up.

I left the Hobby Zone forum, too.

Any future art I post (if at all) will probably be on here. Stay tuned 📺 if you wanna.

If the weather we've all been coping with keeps up, I'm gonna hafta grow a set of gills just to walk around outside. 🤦🏼‍♂️

Also, when I move from this crackerbox apartment to my land, one of the things I'm tossing out will be my office chair.

...if you know, you know. 😒

Surely one of the most frightening things you can hear in modern times is "we work for the [gov't agency acronym], & we're here to help."

@slowdecline48 Definitely! They all lie and deny. Tell you what they think you want to hear while twisting the knife they stuck in your back 

I fasted today...will eat tomorrow. Hopefully this will calm my GI tract down.

Did anyone here watch the debate btwn Harris & Trump? If you did, what did you think of it & why? (All honest questions--I missed it)

@slowdecline48 I did. Tbh I have mixed feelings. She was smug and he was arrogant. I think she lied more than he did. The moderators fact checked him but not her. (I did my own checking on things - Springfield Ohio for one and found it to be true as told by actual residents. Most of what she said was untrue)

Personally I don't think she has the country's best interest in mind. She's going to "fix" what the current administration screwed up but she's part of the current administration 🙄 In one breath she says no and the next she says yes. There is proof on this.  I think she's saying whatever she thinks she has to in order to win. (Which I know all politicians do that) I don't have a problem with immigration I think it's a good thing provided it's done legally. We're spending billions to take care of all these people when we should be taking care of our own. I could go on and on lol

Wouldn't it be nice if we could replace our joints the way mechanics replace faulty or worn-out parts in our cars & trucks?

The high priests of the Federal Reserve will meet this Wednesday. Given Jpow's statement this past August, everyone knows a rate cut is coming... Snapshots from the app:

Interesting thoughts. I don't believe the drop will be 75 basis points* but Lazaro is right about the national debt...Frank Reza has a point re kicking the can down the road. (It's a natural tactic, especially in electoral "democracies" like ours). "skull splitter" has the most sensible take. For the record, I predict it will be a 25-basis point cut with noise to the media about a possible further cut soon, to goose the markets so they don't dip.

*That is, a drop of 75 thousandths of a percent, or 0.75%. My prediction is -0.25% with cautionary noises.

Having fun in comment threads today:

This is how you make it through a political comment section: by not taking it seriously. I'd say that also applies to life in general.

@slowdecline48 Dang I'm impressed. I made homemade sauce once about two years ago. The tomatoes holy cow they were a pain

😆 Canned tomato paste & sauce are the basic stock. I would use real tomatoes but until recently I didn't have anywhere to grow them, & what they have in grocery stores is made for shelf life, not taste... Even now, it's not like I have soil beds or anything. But every time I make a batch for the freezer, I try to buy the best stuff I can afford.

@slowdecline48 Next year maybe you can grow a few plants for your sauce. I've heard Roma tomatoes are best for sauces but I guess maybe it's a matter of preference? 

@mytwistedsoul So I've been told, Twisty. Apparently Roma is the standard variety...am not a tomato or gardening expert, so I can't answer either way.

@slowdecline48

Id like to see the picture of the tomato sauce 🍅 you made 🥫☺

@VictoriaLove7 It's pasta sauce, dear. I start with tomato paste/sauce/puree, the canned stuff...what I cook & add to it make the difference. Next time I boil up some pasta, I'll post a pic for ya.

@slowdecline48

☺ I misread it 🍝  but yes yes, I would like to see the picture whenever you made the pasta sauce

💩 on f***ing toast, man...

the Meniére's is acting up. I fell into my nocturnal tendencies again, which doesn't help. It also doesn't help that my creativity is at its best at night.

NSAIDs are a basic food group...this might be a YKYGOW moment. At some point I'll have to make a meme about it.

🫠

[CW: politics, the usual two cents]

As I see it, that decision means more than one thing:

1. Though I didn't include it here, an informal poll of Teamsters' rank & file indicated more support for Trump than for Harris. (Dunno how wide or well-run the poll was) The union bosses won't go along with that because unions have solidly backed Democrats since about the mid-1960's if not earlier. Thus they decided on non-endorsement. That's the real story.
2. Not only the fact above but also that the Teamsters--mostly the bosses & members who agree with their decision--did not stick to the usual party line, is telling. Though it's different from one labor union to another & from one chapter to another within a union, to varying degrees, some unions are run more for the benefit of their bosses than for the members. Not everyone is on the same page.
3. One reason for pro-Trump sentiment among blue-collar guys is his protectionist stance vis-a-vis certain American industries. They probably figure the less manufacturing of our stuff abroad, the more will be made here, which means more jobs for them. But
4. it is an unrealistic stance to take in today's world. With today's globalized macro-economy & fast-advancing tech, many blue-collar jobs are effectively obsolete. Factories can be shut down in one place & reopened elsewhere in a few days at most. Onshoring jobs here would jack up the prices of many products--which consumers do not want (especially these days!)...we all learned how it works in the late 90's to early 2000's. The only jobs that are truly resistant to outsourcing are in construction/building trades & trucking, for a few reasons. Even then, advances in robotics & AI will not stop...so those jobs will not exist indefinitely.

If I had to make a prediction, I'd say that in a few years the Teamsters will be the first union to fade out. Real live traffic conditions are tough for current autonomous vehicles but such machines do exist now; research/experiments with self-driving trucks is ongoing as I type this. There is a delivery service using small 4-wheeled robots in at least one city in Japan. Once autonomous 18-wheelers become practical...the Teamsters will start to die off.

Today I was gonna do a bit more to the cane project, & did...early this morning. Am not doing any more to it today because the peones are running around the property with leaf blowers. I don't need to deal with that s***.

The laundry can wait til tonight too, for the same reason.

Edit: eventually I fell into a headache nap & woke up after 5. No more loud noise...good. I stuck on some more of the hemp braid with epoxy; propped up the cane outside to let the epoxy cure & set.

Pics when it's finally done, if I can remember to post them here.

Food vs Sleep

Also - If you're following this journal, you're cool with me... By now, there are certain other people in the Cups community that I don't go for. I won't list their names here because that would cause unnecessary drama.

@slowdecline48 Sleep and maybe dream about food lol

@mytwistedsoul After a mostly sleepless night, I finally nodded out...& had a dream with a lot of falling in it. Great. 😒 Oh well...have come up with worse ones...

WOO-HOOOOOOO

...I love alternative investments.

A hurricane is expected to pass by a bit west of here, sometime on Thursday or Friday. I have some supplies but definitely need more canned foods, & potable H₂O. Things to do this week.

I'll be back when I'm back. Wish me luck, folks.

@slowdecline48 Good luck! Stay safe! 

Made it back here tonight, because of nocturnal tendencies & boredom.

I have some canned goods now. Two of my bigger glass bottles are drying upside down right now...in the morning I'll fill 'em up & plug the mouths. Replacing the filter can wait until next month, I suppose... Still got everything else. If the power goes down for a day or three, I should be fine. So far it's never occurred since I moved here (knock on wood)

Other than the above, nothing else to report. 😴

One Hour Mama - Lavay Smith & her Red Hot Skillet Lickers

@slowdecline48 Red hot skillet lickers. The name had me rolling 😅  I saw this storm could become a cat 3. This has got to be so frustrating for you Slow. Between the flare-ups and headaches and weather - it would be hard to get things done 

Got flashlights? Candles? Phone charged? 

For sure, Twisty. I'm probably better prepped than most if not all other residents in the apartment anthill.

Got several emergency candles, most of which I made intermittently over the last three years...yes, really. (I make 'em with fat wicks--braided cotton)

I do wish I had some more canned goods, but I have most of a crate-ful now so it's okay. Gonna soak some beans & start a batch of stew later tonight. Assuming the power doesn't go out, it will cook for at least 10 hours & probably longer.

@slowdecline48 Hey that's pretty cool that you make your own emergency candles tbh. Hopefully you can get you stew done. I just heard earlier that they're saying cat 4 now 😬 

I did lol at it being your downstairs neighbors problem though 😅 

Has it ever gotten that bad since you've lived there? 

The worst I ever saw was in 2017...that was Irma's year. I didn't see any damage to buildings except for one or two homes by the St. John, but that's the risk you run with riverfront property (maybe that's one reason why it's so expensive? The insurance!)... Saw quite a few branches & tree limbs scattered around the neighborhood, with a couple residential streets temporarily blocked by larger ones. I did not see any large trees down anywhere; a few only lost some limbs. The winds were fierce, though!...I never saw sheets of water move like that before. That was a new experience.