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)
Repost tonight...because convos I've had here lately (& certain events on the news) reminded me of it:
Speaking of reposts, if any of you want to see a few unedited (& thus rather s***ty) samples of what I do, click on here. (It goes to an earlier page in this journal)
@slowdecline48 those are amazing slow. The riverside one especially
@unassumingEyes Thank you!
(woulda said that in Urdu or Farsi, but I don't know how!) 🤓
It was nice when I painted in the Riverside district...almost everything came together that evening. Wish it occurred more often.
@unassumingEyes Now you can see a bit more of what's behind the screen name & avatar, too.
@slowdecline48 i dont know a word of farsi
Thank you in urdu: شکریہ (pronounced shukri-ya)
It actually sounds very informal to me, but i prefer english as a whole anyways xD
It is similar to Arabic: "shukran"...I don't know how to write that. Yet.
As far as languages go, the most common language on the Internet is English--in the West. I wish I could read Mandarin, because of all the Chinese websites/forums/etc. Would I ever like to know what they say to each other when they know we can't understand it!... The fact is, you are more educated than most westerners in this area already. Once you've attained fluency in Urdu you will be ahead of over 90% of us by a quarter-mile at least. In today's hooked-up globalized world, with new tech & age-old gamesmanship for power, to know only one language amounts to ignorance. To know only other languages in the same family (i.e. Latinate or Semitic) gives limited awareness at best.
@slowdecline48 Urdu is a mash up of arabic, farsi, and few other languages. The word "urdu" itself is turkish. Sometimes you can find an english word in urdu "گورمنٹ" (government) altho that may have more common synonyms "حکومت" (hakumat meaning government) languages are interesting, but very difficult
I do feel somewhat proud. My initial years of school were in an indian school- i have a very bare, minimum but present understanding of malayalam, although i coud never speak or write it. Urdu and hindi words are common, english is the easiest for me, and i know arabic and french basic. It is somewhat an advantage i guess, but atleast you know the literal world language. The rest of us have to learn english for any kind of travelling 😃
The above is the price of silver (per oz.) over a five-year period to Jan. 16th, 2024.
...yes, it was a good investment to make. 👌🏼
Just under two months left in this worthless crackerbox.
It is definitely not airtight, because I know when my downstairs neighbors are cooking. (The woman is not great at it, according to my nose)
I woke up late today. Until a few minutes ago I was sewing patches on my two pairs of jeans, despite moderate symptoms from a few minutes after regaining consciousness. Those are mostly done. More to do as always, & I'm hungry now...for something that is not the chitlins (or whatever it is) the downstairs people are eating.
...was online for way too long last night.
I cannot afford to indulge in such silliness. And now I have a headache, again.
If I felt like it, I would post all my thoughts on the upcoming T1kT0k ban... As usual, the CCP & communications technology are outpacing our government by half a kilometer & counting. How do I know this? Websearch "Rednote".
Finally got a little sleep...would like to get some more but I gotta do a couple things today while there's still light in the sky. However, there isn't much of the latter:
...as usual, I'm dazed with head pain upon waking & getting up. Hopefully it will calm down in am hour or two.
Also - I had a nightmare. (Does this sound familiar, @unassumingEyes ) Unusually it wasn't focused on me--though of course I was involved--but on someone I know casually. She's not a member of Cups.
Normally I don't put stock in dreams, but I wonder if I should tell her...
@slowdecline48 Depending on what it was about it can't hurt to mention? I mean you're already wondering if you should say something. If you don't say something and something were to happen....
There's a lot of somethings in this reply 😅
[cw: adult/criminal subject]
@mytwistedsoul In this case, the person I know is a young local woman...cute, but unavailable & also not my type. As for the "something" in my dream, I don't remember all of it, but this tall dark-haired man abducted her & held her captive...I don't know what transpired, but when I saw her at the end on the nightmare she was slightly bruised & looking very unhappy...rather wretched, in fact.
@slowdecline48 (tw/cw human trafficking)
That might be going a bit far, Twisty. I'll just see her in a bit...probably at the end of the week, mention my dream & hear whatever she has to say. (She's a waitress at a mid-tier restaurant in town. I don't go there often because it's expensive)
Yes, she is slim & not much over five feet tall. A skinny little thing. If a trafficker or pimp decided to add her to his stable/pass her or sell her to a smuggler/whatever, she would fight back but probably not too effectively. We're not close friends at all but she's basically a nice girl with business ambitions. I hope she fulfills them while she's still young & energetic enough to have a chance.
@slowdecline48 If it's a nice place to eat hopefully it doesn't make it too awkward afterwards if you talk to her 😅
Like I said just me over active imagination 🤪
@slowdecline48 sorry for butting in, but i think you should tell her. Its probably just a dream, but it wont hurt for her to be a little more alert than otherwise. And if its nothing, it might make her feel a little safer knowing your concern and observant eye. Anyways, its on you. Youd be blameless even if god forbid it means something
@unassumingEyes Yeah, that was my thought too. As I said to Twisty, I'll go see her later this week & talk to her about it...gonna try not to make it too heavy. We will see how the convo plays out.
After Midnight - Dorothy
From One of My Sources
"Tensions in Western Sahara between Algeria and Morocco continue, with the involvement of the Polisario Front & alliances & cooperation with the United States and Russia. The dynamics involve an ongoing arms race & increasing military and geopolitical tensions, proving the regional dynamics deserve careful attention. A potential increase in intelligence operations & cyber capabilities signals a shift towards a more technologically advanced rivalry. Furthermore, the involvement of the US & Russia adds a proxy component to the conflict & strengthens competition between Algeria and Morocco. The longstanding dispute over Western Sahara continues to drive hostility & influence the regional landscape entering into 2025."
Perhaps you're thinking "Slow, why did you post this?" Well, firstly because I'm into that kinda stuff...that which was termed "the great game" by Britain when it was a great power, in the 19th century. The players change, the technology changes, but the game itself does not change. Nor do the goals of the players.
Second, one of you is in the MENA region & another is in central Asia. That's right, @iloveyouxx & @unassumingEyes: this is for you. Depending on what happens in Algeria & Morocco, your lives may be affected by their situation to some degree.
You see, folks, it's not enough to keep an eye on current conflicts like the Russo-Ukraine war & Israel's war against Hamas. One must also be aware of other hotspots, so one can see future conflicts before they appear.
@slowdecline48 i appreciate this, especially with how out of touch ive been with international news. I had no idea, and this is the thing i (and probably anyone honestly) dont like being caught unaware about for sure
...and that's one of the reasons why everyone needs a friend like me. 😎
But seriously, neither one of the current wars will go on forever. They can't. It is impossible. Sooner or later, every belligerent gets exhausted: it starts running low on auxiliary troops, equipment, ammo, etc. Unless the IDF can render Hamas nonexistent or powerless, at some point Israel will have to take whatever deal is offered. Neither Russia nor Ukraine can fight indefinitely...my hunch is that the easternmost parts of Ukraine will be annexed by Russia, but Putin still won't get everything he wanted when he sent his army westward. So they will calm down one way or another...
...but. Usually while one war is ending, at least one other is beginning or is about to start.
Moses & Muhammad in a f***ing Cadillac, I'm so tired...
It's almost 1000 hrs, not enough sleep & I can't find my old vise.
And I have an appointment at 1400.
Today's gonna be greeeaaaat.
[cw: hypothetical organized sex crimes]
P.S. to entry of last Sunday: We talked. My waitress acquaintance is doing fine, at least re risks of abduction & being pimped out in some hotel in the South or Midwest, or being trafficked to Thailand or the Philippines, etc. She's not involved in any of that.
She doesn't eat enough, though...especially considering that she works two jobs. She's really skinny, like a Skipper doll with braces. But there's nothing I can do about that. At some point you have to let adults live as they will, & figure it out...or not.
Something else on my mind: I need a truck. A good reliable pickup. And I need one bad. It can't cost an arm & a leg, either.
Already started shopping around about three days ago.
Edit: I put out a couple feeler e-mails. One responded...he gave me the VIN, which I checked. Everything looks pretty good overall. We talked a few minutes ago; he mentioned the transmission was a bit loose at one point, so he had it rebuilt with heavy-duty parts. V-8 under the hood...not the best for gas mileage but I will need power for hauling, pulling stumps, etc.
So far, it looks like a good lead.
I will see him tomorrow afternoon. Wish me luck, folks.
...whooaaaaa nelly! 😃
Nvidia's dropped by around 15% as of now, too. So much for this year's market darling. 😂
Red dry scratchy eyes, puffy face in the morning...with stuffy nose for icing on the cake.
Yes, ladies & gentlemen, the yearly pollen storm has arrived. I shall b*tch about it here & there until mid-March--when I have the time & energy to get here.
The first line might be a good start to a poem, if I felt like writing any verse.
@slowdecline48 Oh man allergies suck big-time! OTC meds don't help?
@mytwistedsoul Am on a prescription version of an OTC med right now...certainly I'll use other OTC stuff in the coming weeks. Probably start tonight, too.
How's it going up north?
@slowdecline48 Hopefully you pass through allergy season pretty quick. But I know the days drag when you're feeling like crapola
Up here we got snow and wind on the way but the pollen count is really low 😅
Ain't that how life is, way too often?...it boils down to "pick your poison".
@slowdecline48 So true! Hope you're feeling a little better at least
A good explainer article on the current noise, yesterday's market panic over DeepSeek AI.