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)
Interesting... My thoughts:
- Wonder who was backing the rebel forces? Russia has been involved there for a while now, as has Turkey, & us (we don't have a lot of guys in Syria). I suspect it was the Turkish gov't; if memory serves they're anti-Assad while the Ivans have been pro-Assad... Don't take that statement as gospel, however.
- Re whoever replaces Bashar al-Assad: an old saying comes to mind - "The king is dead. Long live the king."
- Whoever replaces Assad, I hope they're not too anti-Israel...but that is probably a vain hope.
I hate babies.
They're way too loud, & at the worst times. They make the already noisy urban environment that much more disruptive. All babies should have their voice boxes removed; they should only be reinstalled after mandatory & extensive training on basic etiquette up to the age of six.
Better yet, people should stop making them.
That is all for today.
Edit: That was all I was gonna post for today. However I made the mistake of logging in here out of boredom, & ran across some buncombe.
I am not going to post a link to the thread because it would likely cause needless (& pointless) conflict here in CupsLand. You can find it if you want. I will, however, post a link to a sensible response to such casuistry. The page itself is a few years old; however its validity endures:
More Thoughts About Events in Syria:
😁
During Bush II's second term, I read about a planned community project somewhere in Florida. The whole thing was dreamed up by Tom Monaghan, multi-millionaire (billionaire, maybe?) & the guy who started Domino's Pizza...the article's title was "Party Like it's 1299!" As Monaghan is a serious Catholic & the centerpiece of the town was to be a neo-Gothic church, the title is apt. Remember, this was when the "religious right" was riding high.
Now it's well over 15 years later, & what do you know...Monaghan & co. pulled it off:
@slowdecline48 I don't think anyone could pay me enough to live in a place like that. Well I'm not catholic either and there is no way I could even begin to deal with an HOA. Fluff that. I like to be left alone and don't need a group of nosy Karens telling me my grass is too tall and that I should take down my Christmas lights after the new year
Idk Slow with all the BS going on and the wars between certain countries with religious differences it kind of feels like there's a crusade of some sort all ready going on
@mytwistedsoul I never had an account on X/Tw∆tter & have never regretted my decision to not get one. From screenshots occasionally sent to me over the years by a friend of mine, by now it's quite obvious. Tw∆tter & certain other (anti)social media platforms tend to attract people with a "crusading" mentality for whatever their pet cause is. Worst part is when a bunch of 'em get together & rat-pack some poor sap who's insufficiently woke, or not conservative enough or not _____ enough.
@slowdecline48 Yeah I don't have an account there either. Never have and never will. Don't do fakebook. Oh man I have seen some of the posts like that just on YT and even the comments in response leave you thinking Wow 😕 The division between people is is really sad all the way around
"For a Monarchy readily becomes a Tyranny, an Aristocracy [to] an Oligarchy, while a Democracy tends to degenerate into Anarchy. So, that if a founder of a State should establish any one of these three forms of government, he establishes it for a short time only, since no precaution he can take can ever prevent it from sliding into its contrary; by reason of the close resemblance which, in this case, the virtue bears the vice."
- Niccolo Machiavelli, Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livius
Also, I'm tired & hurting today... So much for getting things done.
Hello, gentle readers.
You may remember that earlier this month there was an "inspection" of the apartment anthill where I live, by the manager & a guy from the bank used by the leasing company. I managed to get some sleep the day before the inspection--even, amazingly enough, a few hours of sleep that night--& was vexed about it. Expressed my frustration that day by processing some of my scavenged water oak on the patio for most of the day. The bureaucrats walked by but didn't climb the steps nor try to enter my unit. If they had, they would've seen something like this, but with me using the saw & wood chips flying all over the place:
@slowdecline48 I've got to say Slow, you've got a pretty decent sized patio/balcony there for an apartment!
@mytwistedsoul The complex itself was built in '79...that might be the reason for the patio size.
Two other features of note:
- The overall construction technique is cr∆p, though most of it isn't visible from this viewpoint. Either of us could build it better...probably without much thought.
- Parts of the railing & a few of the vertical members are rotten...inevitable, for something built out of big-box store pine & left outside without a decent finish.
Admittedly the situation has a bright side: you can use the patio as a workspace for the messiest projects without hesitation.
@slowdecline48 Back then codes were probably more lenient and they didn't try to cram so much into a small area. Now they'd probably put something in a quarter of the size.
It's hard to believe they wouldn't replace what's rotten considering how quick people are to sue these days. 😅 I'm sure all the humidity and the weather doesn't help much either
So I hung out in the "Community" chat room tonight... It wasn't my 1st time there. More like the 3rd, maybe 4th. It was all right, I guess...
However it reminded me why I stopped hanging out in chat rooms years ago.* Also have an additional reason not to these days: most chat room ppl are much younger than I am. Thus, a wavelength difference.
*Most chatters are fairly ordinary people, which means most of 'em ain't too bright.
Errrrgghhh....achin' all over this mornin'. 😷 Can't do evenings out anymore.
Growing old sucks harder than an over-the-hill p0rn actress.
Also, this:
Yep...it's starting already. F**ksticks.
The spirit is 
...but the flesh is 
- Shakespeare, probably
@slowdecline48 It's not easy especially when we have to battle with things we have no control over - weather - health issues but you got this!
Thanks, Twisty. Up til now, my usual response to problems is to try to think my way around them...figure out a solution & hopefully avoid making any dumb mistakes. I consider it a good strategy overall & will stick to it, but now I see it has its limitations. When you have land that needs improving, hard work is unavoidable.
@slowdecline48 D4mn, that really sucks...Hate those days. :( Hope you're getting plenty of rest though! Sometimes, that's all we can do in the moment...
me: "I bought, sold & gave away all these books over the years...kept some of the best ones. Now I can deepen my historical knowledge, learn other languages & come to know the world."
also me: *watching Jeff Dunham clips on YouRube after finishing a bottle of Chianti*
Also this:
...given that BlackRock has one of the biggest piles of investment portfolios on the planet, & some of the sharpest minds in finance on its payroll, one would do well to consider its recommendations.
