I don't need pieces of flair

This is me expressing myself

We just decided to....

Discovered fasting by watching "The Science of Fasting" on Amazon Prime.  Decided then and there to fast for 48 hours from 10pm on Saturday to 10pm on Monday.  I did continue my thyroid medication each morning.  On the first day I had a multivitamin and a vitamin D pill, and had a cup of tea.  On the second day I drank a few bottles of SmartWater (for the electrolytes) and took salt a couple of times when I felt hungry, which worked unexpectedly well to quell hunger pangs.

 

One thing that helped on Days 1 and 2 was creating a motivational playlist.  Mine consisted of "Corduroy" by Pearl Jam, "Bleed It Out" by Linkin Park, and "Hungerstrike" by Temple of the Dog.  Whenever I felt a bit weak, I just played the playlist and I was back in no time.  The lyrics from "Corduroy" served particularly well as a mantra for the whole venture:

 

"I don't wanna take what you can give

I would rather starve than eat your bread

All the things that others want for me

Can't buy what I want because it's free"

 

 

When I got to 10pm on Monday (my original goal), I felt so good that I decided to extend to the next day.  On day 3, to prep for breaking the fast, I had organic chicken stock.  German fasting programs do this twice a day throughout the fast.  When I got to work, all through the day I wondered why I was bothering to eat anything at all today.  But I tend to take things to extremes, so I decided to call it a successful initial experiment and finally broke the fast at 3pm Tuesday with 20 almonds.  I chewed the almonds 25-30 times a piece, and I feel absolutely full.

 

Overall, the past 65 hours have been a very, very eye-opening experience.  I thought that a multi-day fast would be difficult after the first day.  Day 2, while I did get hungry a couple of times, I felt pretty good.  Going to bed last night (around hour 48), I felt absolutely great.  At peace.  Even dealing with two kids.  It's hard to explain, but I suppose it was the euphoria that everyone in the documentaries described.  And it kept going from there.  I felt great all day on Day 3.

 

Over the course of this little experiment, I have been totally blown away at how little I have actually wanted to eat over the past 65 hours. I suppose I didn't go far enough to get to the acidosis crisis that is mentioned in the documentary, but hey, to feel this good, how could it be so simple?

 

Before the fast, I stopped eating gluten and sweets for five days.  Not sure if that helped me adjust to fasting, but I suspect that it did.  In the first 5 days of gluten/sweet free, I lost 7 lbs.  This morning, when I hit day 7, I had lost another 6lbs during the fast, for a total of 13 pounds in one week.  Still TBD how much of that is water weight, but I know at least some of it was fat. Medical studies show that once you switch over from burning sugar to burning protein / fat, about 96% of the energy comes from burning fat. 

 

Based on these results, I plan to do a week-long fast (SmartWater and chicken / vegetable stock only) in the near future.  From there, who knows? 

 

It is no wonder fasting is so despised, even reviled, by our capitalist culture.   It is the exact opposite of wanton consumerism and conspicuous consumption.  After all, if you don't need food….what else can you do without?  Could the answer be….all of it?

 

Another shockingly weird side effect is that I actually enjoyed work this morning.  I got more done this morning than I have in probably the last 3 weeks combined.  Methinks our corporate overlords have this wrong as well.  Instead of juicing everyone up on caffeine, making them overhyped, brain-dead zombies, maybe a fresh approach would actually help their bottom line.  We all know that they prefer to suck you dry than to build you up any day, though.  So shortsighted.

 

As far as going off the fast, this past week has solidified my belief that sugar is all things evil.  So, I am going to keep the gluten-free / sweets-free diet going, and try to eat a lot of protein, whole foods, and veggies.  Beans, sure.  Rice, maybe, but severely limit.  It's long past time to turn this sugar burning loaf of fat into a fat burning machine.  Will check back soon once I initiate the weeklong fast.

Neal

--------

"Peace has cost you your strength....Victory has defeated you!"  - Bane

Technology progress trap / we all suck

Had some interesting discussions at work today with an avid technology user.  The voluntary self-surveillance of Facebook, the phones listening

Watching a PBS documentary on uranium, and what strikes me is the both the pace of discovery in the early 20th century and the apparent obviousness of the discoveries.  From Marie Curie to Einstein to Szilard, the discoveries really seemed not the work of geniuses, rather the work of slightly more intelligent people who happened to have time to think.

Perhaps that's why the pace of discoveries seems to be dwindling, except in those areas that serve commercial interest.  Nobody has time to sit and think anymore.  Email has resulted in a vast increase in the speed of communication, but how much of that communication is really necessary.  How much of your time at work is spent actually thinking about your work, and not reacting to some farcical drama cooked up by management? 

Add to that all the electronic distractions we have in our off time.  Facebook.  Netflix.  Hulu.  News.  "Reality" TV.  Which one is which, I forget.  All these things available in a little package that travels with you all day, ever listening to your conversations for a chance to sell you something the next time you look at it.  1984 was such a quaint novel. 

There's a great scene in Repo Man where they are burning trash from recently repossessed cars, and the trash man says he doesn't want to learn to drive because "the more you drive, the less intelligent you are."  While this is still true, it needs updating to "the more you use a smartphone, the less intelligent you are."

Look at all the digital trash out there.  Statisticians love to say that a million monkeys typing randomly on keyboards will eventually recreate Shakespeare.  Look at the ever expanding pile of garbage we produce and celebrate today and you know that's not going to happen.

Progress trap.  Perpetual pile of shit machine.  Bravo, humanity.

Even academics are caught up in the never ending publish or perish cycle, and by the time they are tenured, their best years (making a grand assumption that they had best years to give) are behind them and they are nothing but dried up husks riding their way to retirement.  Not that academia attracts real talent.  Universities are just corporations at this point. after all.  By and large, professors are just frauds that are there to tow the line.

An ancillary effect of our wonderful world is that we get stuck doing things we'd really rather not.  I started out as an engineer, which was okay for a while.  Then on to the wonderful world of bureaucracy.  Then back to a polish that turd job back at the Rock (and polish them I did), then back to an engineering position, which I left to go back into turd polishing for a promotion.  Finally, back to a technical position for which I have absolutely no qualifications.  And here I am.  After 13 years of working, I can't even explain what exactly it is that I do.  Insanity must be setting in, or I'm numb to it, because I really don't mind it at this point.  Just counting down the days to voluntary early retirement eligibility in 11.82 years.  That's all at this point.  A waiting game.  No wonder no one seems to be doing a good job. Everyone's just biding their time.

And then what?  I had an eye appointment for the first time in 20 years yesterday.  Next to me in the waiting room was a lady that had to be in her late 70s.  She was playing candy crush or some other nonsense on here phone, hunched over the screen like a troll.  Is that where we are all supposed to be headed?  Consuming digital ad trash while waiting to fork over money to doctors in the last years of our life? 

Is this really the best we can do?  Wow, we suck.  Let's just admit that we all suck.  You, me, everybody.  We have failed ourselves and each other extensively.

I know you're reading this on your phone or tablet, fucker.  If you know what's good for you, find the nearest blunt instrument and put it through the screen.  Merry fucking Christmas. 

Bad news

Trump is just another symptom that the US is terminal.

The problem with American medicine apparently extends to the population as a whole.  We treat the symptom, not the cause.

Neal

--------

"Peace has cost you your strength....Victory has defeated you!"  - Bane

Product of the day

I should rig this on my cubicle entrance:

https://www.amazon.com/Customize-Waterproof-Fabric-Bathroom-Curtain/dp/B075N6X13W/ref=sr_1_22?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1511099276&sr=1-22&keywords=shower+curtain+36x72+clear

Neal

--------

"Peace has cost you your strength....Victory has defeated you!"  - Bane

Idiocracy

You're ego is writing checks your body can't cash!

http://www.bbc.com/news/42032629

The real motive in Texas

Looks like someone is trying to divert attention from the Paradise Papers....

Excerpt from "The Power Elite" by C Wright Mills

So.....freaking......true.

How to succeed according to hunters / gatherers

https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/oct/29/why-bushman-banter-was-crucial-to-hunter-gatherers-evolutionary-success

What we will hopefully return to once western civilization shits the bucket.....

Just kidding, I know we'll all eat each other :)

They forgot the part about Americans being just plain stupid

From BBC:

Why opioids are such an American problem

People in America take more opioids - such as morphine and codeine - than in any other country. Why?

Read more:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41701718

I just got one

you should too.

https://www.thenophone.com/products/the-nophone-zero

Mohawk....

The new do?

Song of the Day - "Home" by Angels and Airwaves

Youtube link below

"Home"

There's a wind that contains the night

A fellow shadow wanders free

It runs across a sandy floor

With crooked jags and even seams

The moon's risen high above

The clouds can make them heavenly

A drought was kicked out of the class by

Frozen rings and dirty streams

I'm Home

I'm Home

I'm Home

I'm Home

The neighbors drink and toast the pain

To fill up holes they may have made

A child plays a silly game

With toys that he's imagining

The world is a deadly place

That swallows us with crass and ease

The only thing left from your name is

A tragic love of poetry

I'm Home

I'm Home

I'm Home

I'm Home

Someday you'll come back

You'll come back

You'll come wake us

Someday you'll come back

You'll come back

You'll come wake us

Meme

Someone at work had this quote in their signature line today.

Not sure why Beef Supreme came to mind.  But wow, it fits.....

Ghosts of Yesteryear

Like the screams of a dying animal, the seemingly random ridiculous tirades constantly thrown by our current "president" seem to be the death throes of a time long since past, but not long enough yet to pass from the psyche of our parent's generation. There's a reason why they seem somewhat familiar. Familiar in that there's a hint of something your uncle said here, your parents said there, probably at a family dinner, unsubstantiated claims loudly proclaimed and prompting little more than rolling eyes or complete indifference from the younger generation.

Sometimes these things happen at extended family gatherings, the older generation coagulating into a racist, xenophobic clump and, confident in their cozy groupthink, conspire to loudly exhort the woes befalling their tribe. The young ones play in the yard.

At the core, I don't understand the desire to go back to those purportedly heady days of misogyny, overt racism, and militaristic insanity. Oh, those were the days indeed! To once again revive ingenious deterrence strategies like mutually assured destruction! How I miss playing bomb shelter under my desk! And who can resist ant-like conformity, available to all those willing to turn a blind eye to racial and social injustice. Boy, those were the days!

Not that we've made much progress. We are just as militant as we have always been. Women and minorities have made some tentative gains, but shockingly less than most science fiction authors had predicted. Why? Mostly because these old fuckers keep their ideas hanging around like a bad infection.

Why are they all stuck in a horrendous loop of bad ideas? The human brain reacts to ideas counter to core beliefs in the same way it reacts to physical danger. Theirs is a generation that spent their whole lives in constant fear of a nonexistent enemy. They've learned to need that enemy, and whatever enemy fits the bill supplants the one before it. A whole generation ruled by fear.

Kinda pathetic, really.

So busy complaining they don't even appreciate what they have. Completely incapable of seeing why people outside of their tribe want the same things they do. Instead labeling these "outsiders" as "threats." C'mon, this is tribalism 101.

We need a psychotic split from this debased level of thinking.

In Fight Club, at the end of the book, it is revealed that Tyler's true target isn't the financial building where all the charges are rigged, rather it is the adjacent Museum of Natural History. "Those ancient people are dead. This is our world now."

I'm starting to think the best lesson I can teach my kids is not to listen to a god damn thing I say. This is their world now.

losing the twitter war...again

Empty Message

Death knoll for us industry

http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/11/news/china-gas-electric-car-ban/index.html

China will have all the advanced tech in 20 years.

Next Level Doodling

Drew a couple graffiti concepts while both kids were napping today....

Added a handy effect to the Colesville Carneal Family Seal.

Cheapest solution to global warming

Limited nuclear war with North Korea!  Careful, though, the analysis here assumes that China sits back and lets North Korea collapse.  They have said that if the US attacks first, then they are all in with North Korea. 

So, in that case, it's game over, man....game over!

http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-41143884/south-korea-runs-missile-drill-after-north-korea-test

Hit it again

Go earth, go!  Hit the red states over and over and over again until they wake up!

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41192997

"Take a step towards freedom, it'll take two steps towards you"

Goodbye phone.  I have to say, It felt so........GOOD!

I still have a brick dumb phone I will be using in emergencies.  And only in emergencies.  Like when a car breaks down on the way to work.  I may turn it on when in meetings and away from my desk.

So, from now on, email or a call to work or home is probably the best bet to reach me.  Don't take offense if I fight club you and ring you back right after you call :)

Katy nixed my plan to do the same to the wireless router, TV, and other electronics laying about. 

So, for now, I'm only destroying my devices......

It's true, I do

Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S® 5 ACTIVE™, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone

Earth 1, Houston 0

Have to say I'm rooting for Earth on this one.  Global warming is pulling an Emilio Estevez in Young Guns II on Houston:

https://youtu.be/35gjeT6Zsok

Now, reap the whirlwind you son of a bitch!

Reboot

Today, we went to Kenwood Methodist to meet the preacher in order to set up a baptism for Elinor. My own views on religion have become something of anti-authoritarian lore, but Pastor Dan seems like a pretty cool dude.

On the ride there, Katy pulled up his background. Undergrad at VT and grad work in theology at Boston College. I asked what he did to get assigned to a church in Hanover, VA.

During the meeting, I found myself trying to figure out why I had such an "escape velocity" reaction to religion after being brought up in the church. After the recent back-and-forth with others on anarchist appeals to capitalism, I realized a common thread.

Both my reaction to religion and my reaction to work have the unmistakable correlation between having to do something and ending up hating it. I hate work because I have to do it to continue a comfortable but supremely wasteful capitalist life. Similarly, my inverse relationship to religion has a very strong root in having to go as a kid.

It doesn't stop there. I hate doing yard work because I had to do it as a kid. I hated school because I had to go. So, a surefire way for me to end up hating something is to make me think I have to do it. That doesn't mean my reaction is at all rational. Or warranted. Damn, I kinda liked being a bit self-righteous.

One of the questions Pastor Dan had was how we would raise them in a "Christian" home. I Since the thoughts above had been wandering through my head, I responded that my intention was to tell them the honest story of my own experience with religion and to let them make their own decision when they reach the age of reason.  Just being honest.

Then, I realized something. I don't hate religion. Or religious people. If I give in to that, that's buying into the tired us vs. them mentality that is being peddled all too easily in this country. It's bullshit, and it's bad for ya. We've lost all sense of community in our country. Sweeping generalizations don't work in any situation. Surprisingly, one of the baptismal liturgy entries just had to be something straight out of an anarchist pamphlet, about "fighting oppression and injustice wherever they exist." How could I not enjoy a phrase like that? It seems the church has evolved a bit since I attended Sunday school.

Another reason I can no longer unilaterally condemn religion is that extreme viewpoints are never the correct ones, even ones that I am so tempted to take on my own. Yes, yes, one of the best things we can realize is that we are wrong. On almost any issue, the truth lies between two extremes. People get sucked into extreme positions too easily, and thanks to the way our brains work, we seek out only those who agree with us, and react defensively to any data or opinion that challenges our "beliefs." I can say that I hate extremist religion of any kind.  But a disdain for extremism certainly isn't limited to religion.

In the same way I can condemn political extremism of any sort. The state of politics in this country is an extremely unfortunate result of political extremism. I don't feel the need to belabor this point, since it is being made, well, everywhere else.

Even scientists get sucked into extremist points of view. You'll find no dearth of scientists willing to blow off any point of view counter to the consensus scientific view. How is this different than taking a literal interpretation of the Bible? At that point, you're no different than religious fundamentalists. The scientific community is not immune to the failings of other human institutions. Just look at how many major discoveries went years after the death of their discoverers before being officially recognized, and you can draw parallels between religious and scientific institutions. An institution based on the scientific method should not be so quick to condemn data counter to currently-accepted theories, that's all.

It seems fewer and fewer people are centrists, and more and more are heading to the extremes, deluding themselves into thinking that their side has the right answer.

Where's all this going? I don't know. Introspection is a great thing. Too bad life in these United States no longer provides enough time for most to do it. Every once in a while, though, I get a fleeting chance to try and figure out what makes me me. A bit of it was happened upon today. Upon further inspection, I guess I have a pretty juvenile response to authority. But I don't mind being juvenile. Part of it is being naive enough to think that there's a better way. I know I'm definitely too lazy, by a wide, wide, wide margin, to implement any reforms or make any real difference in the world around me. I've never been a follow-through, details kind of guy. I like thinking, musing, brainstorming, but nose to the grindstone, following through? Not my thing at all. Guess I'll have another post on that at some point.

More and more, it seems that society is thrashing about, fervently trying to defy entropy as the civilization around us decays away. People seem busier than ever juggling their work, home, social media, gadgets, hobbies, etc., but are they really accomplishing anything? I know I'm not. Not really. Again, the lazy thing. My reaction to the worldly state of affairs is getting more and more apathetic. It's at the point where I really don't want to know what's going on out there. Reminds me of the Green Mile, where John explains that being able to feel how ugly everyone is to one another keeps him in constant pain. The election, the constant scandals, the hyper-dissemination of every random hyperbolic viewpoint at the speed of light. It's overwhelming. When we're at my parent's house, we are often bemoaning the lack of high-speed internet access. Perhaps we should be celebrating it instead? Do we really need more media overloading our puny human brains? I'm writing this when the wi-fi has been killed because I don't want the transmitter active near my newborn. Maybe I will get around to posting it tomorrow, maybe not. Does it matter? No. Wow, I keep learning things today. It's 00:59. Elinor will be up soon to have another bottle, so it's probably best if I end the braindump here. Ah, this post veers most garbled and veers most verbose.

But I do have to say that today I had a few experiences in meatspace that I didn't expect. One was going to a meeting with a preacher and having the conversation make me think, and having that thought trigger all this, which I have truly enjoyed writing.

The other one was Ryan rolling over and saying "I love you, Daddy" before falling asleep. So even I have to admit, for now, life is pretty damn good.

:)

Jason's dream house

Was bored whilst watching Elinor sleep, so used a free app to sketch a 8x10 modern Walden-type shack in the woods. 

Needs 1 small power pack with a small solar panel for a USB light and to charge other devices.  Camp stove.  A few utensils and plates.  Rain bucket for wash water.   A shovel for burying shit.  Piss in the woods.  Honda ruckus (no tags / insurance) and backpack for supply trips.

They didn't have a trifold mattress model in this app.  Sleep on that on the floor and store during the day.  Desk is for books or a Kindle, if you're into that.  Paper notebook and maybe a laptop.  The app roof wouldn't shrink this small, so not shown.

 It's fun to dream...... maybe I can build one in the woods out back.  Or on a trailer :)

Privatize this!

Mercenaries R US.....

https://www.google.com/amp/amp.usatoday.com/story/548004001/

DPRK wins twitter war.....again

Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S® 5 ACTIVE™, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone

oh the irony.....

it wasn't me!

unfortunately........though I did fly delta today

http://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/dog-mauls-passenger-on-delta-flight/ar-BBC4LEY?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp

Song of the career

Work by ignite:

I carried my loved ones on my shoulders
Had my fill
Not too many choices in my day
But work until
The daylight fades as my dreams do
But I stand still, got to pay the bills
Some day I'll find some time

This voice in my head keeps on repeating
The dream is not dead but at rest
My life has all gone to these nights of machining
I'm down with this cause until death

I stay another day, I pray another way
It slipped through my fingers again
I stay another day, my life will have to wait
It slipped through my fingers
Slipped through my fingers again

Up at six, home at five, hit overtime
They make the dollar, I make the dime
When I get home the world is sleeping
And all my days, they fly by night
Some day I'll find the time

This voice in my head keeps on repeating
The dream is not dead but at rest
The years have dragged on
This life is my meaning
So i can provide all the best

I stay another day, I pray another way
It slipped through my fingers again
I stay another day, my life I dedicate
To do it all over
And do it all over again

When in doubt theres no second guessing
When I want out theres no escaping
Fight the doubt that echos in my head
So I'll suit up and show up again

This voice in my head keeps on repeating
The dream is not dead but at rest
The years have dragged on
This life is my meaning
So i can provide all the best

I stay another day, I pray another way
It slipped through my fingers again
I stay another day, my life I dedicate
To do it all over
And do it all over again

chews your destiny

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-39996592

Trade kills with an elephant, or eaten alive by crocodile.....

Phrasing!

Cacao

Takes like swiss miss.

Convenient.  Not brave enough to try "Nectar." 

the first taste.

Back from my labwork early, so cracking open the first bottle of Soylent.  Once the top is off, I take a whiff.  It smells kinda like graham crackers, which is weird.

Take a sip, and not really any taste, but the aftertaste is definitely teddy graham or graham cracker.  Consistency is pretty much like milk.  Overall, not bad.  

It has a better flavor than any of the whey powders, and definitely better than the Orgain Organic protein powder, which tastes like something out of a waste pipe.

Since it is my lunch today, I am taking slow swigs.  I still like the label at the top that reads "Ready-to-drink food."

Halfway through and it's still good.

Think this could be my standard lunch for now.  Katy looks at me funny when I say it should be dinner, too. 

This graham cracker thing is really weird.

And...finished.  Throw bottle in recycle bin.  

Not bad.  The future is here.

Soylent...green?

Pack of 12.  Came in today in a nondescript package.  The bottles have a decidely Repo Man style.  Each bottle has 20% daily allowance of pretty much everything.  5 bottles for a day of food.  Think i will start with 3.

Solves my issue of hating to fix food.  Shake, drink, toss.  No prep.  No cleanup.  It's the future of food, anyway, unless we all wanna starve.

Going totally gluten free tomorrow.  Been reading more about Grave's disease, and apparently gluten messes your shit up pretty bad if you have or have had thyroid and/or autoimmune disorders.  

It's gonna suck.  Had an extra piece of bread tonight in preparation.

Tomorrow have blood test at 1315.  Fasting until then, then trying the first bottle.  

Can't decide whether or not I prefer it to taste like shit.

Oysterband does it again

Everywhere I Go:

The black wind blows like you've never seen
And your TV screen is filled with snow
And the naked truth has an unmarked grave
Between the waves on your radio
And war is peace and peace is war
And less is more and yes is no
They want to tell you this, they want to tell you that
Just hold your hat when the black wind blows

Everywhere I go I hear what's going on
And the more I hear the less I know
Everywhere I go I hear what's going on
And the more I hear the less I know

And they're all tripped out on the ship of state
They're running late for the breakfast show
And God likes guns, doves are hawks
And Jesus walks in Idaho
And the food we buy won't go bad 
But the cows are mad and the chickens glow
They want to tell you this, they want to sell you that
Just hold your hat when the black wind blows

Everywhere I go I hear what's going on
And the more I hear the less I know
Everywhere I go I hear what's going on
And the more I hear the less I know

Rules reinstated 3/25

Been booze free since my last birthday.  Coffee had half weasled its way back into my rotation, so thats out.  Sweets out too.

Also curbing the amazon fill the void purchases.

Going well so far.  Goal?  Don't believe in them anymore.  I will settle for as Bane as possible.......

Collapse.....just in case it wasn't already obvious

Check out the part on how leaders respond to collapse:

PBS interview with "The real Indiana Jones"

That about sums it up.  As we say at work every day lately, "It's all over except the arguing."

On another note, recommend switching from google to this search engine, which my Raspberry Pi defaults to:

Duck Duck Go - the search enginr that doesn't track you

Happy riding it down!

Unplug

I noticed a while back that less news makes you happier, as discussed in this article.

And that was before, well, the world went all funhouse mirror on us.

Think I'm done with the news, with one exception.  My survival radio came in, and I am taking it in to work everyday.  Each morning I check the weatherband to determine the prevailing winds for that day and the next.  

That's really the only info I need.  

Working up the momentum to take my phone out in a field and blow it away.  

My schedule is free tomorrow.....

Planned on 2

Went 5.3

Well that only took two weeks....

"We heard a Chinese president becoming the leader of the free world," he said.

--------

Trump's Trade War May Have Already Begun
https://www.google.com/amp/www.cnbc.com/amp/2017/01/31/trumps-trade-war-may-have-already-begun.html?client=ms-android-att-us

It's called checks and balances...

Looks like someone's daddy sent him to a school where they don't teach civics.

What a dumbass.

How to eject

Apparently Australia needs all kinds of skilled labor:

https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Work/Skil

Plan to put in a EOI to get the ball rolling, just in case!

Get out while you still can

The end of the American experiment

Installing now

http://trumpfilter.com/

Song of the week

Blast from my past, "Take Me Home" by Phil Collins.

Yup, that's right, in high school I listened to a lot of Phil Collins.  This one has always one of my favorites.  Thinking of adding it to my "final playlist."

Told Katy no eulogies for me.  After they cram me in the coffee can (no urn necessary), I want a few songs played.  Before today, I only had a list of two:

1.  Sadness and Sorrow from Naruto, played by Katy herself on the piano, which so far she refuses to do.

2.  "Nothingman" by Pearl Jam.  Pretty much sums it up for me.

Guess I could add this one to end on a more hopeful note.  Eh, time will tell.

Take that look of worry
I'm an ordinary man
They don't tell me nothing
So I find out all I can
There's a fire that's been burning
Right outside my door
I can't see but I feel it
And it helps to keep me warm
So I, I don't mind
No I, I don't mind

Seems so long I've been waiting
Still don't know what for
There's no point mistaking
I don't worry anymore
I can come out to find you
I don't like to go outside
They can turn off my feelings
Like they're turning off the light
But I, I don't mind
No I, I don't mind
Oh I, I don't mind
No I, I don't mind

So take, take me home
'Cause I don't remember
Take, take me home
'Cause I don't remember
Take, take me home 'cause I've been a prisoner all my life

And I can say to you

Take that look of worry, mine's an ordinary life
Working when it's daylight
And sleeping when it's night
I've got no far horizons
I don't wish upon a star
They don't think that I listen
Oh but I know who they are
And I, I don't mind
No I, I don't mind
Oh I, I don't mind
No I, I don't mind

So take, take me home
'Cause I don't remember
Take, take me home
'Cause I don't remember
Take, take me home
'Cause I don't remember
Take, take me home, oh lord
Well I've been a prisoner all my life
And I can say to you

But I don't remember
Take, take me home
'Cause I don't remember
Take, take me home

Days 4 to 7

Sinusitis with fever.  Wearing my bane respro mask to contain my cough.  I like it.

"No one cared who I was until I put on the mask."

"If I take that off, will you die?"

"It would be extremely painful."

"You're a big guy."

".....for you....."

Gotta love the Irish

Perhaps we can move there sooner rather than later

Irish letters to Trump

Nobody showed

There will probably be more protestors this weekend than those that attended his inauguration.

Not surprising, really.

Day 3

Ouch.

Day 2 - road hills

2.2 miler around the neighborhood, 2 loops.

Minimalism and data

Yes, Claws Mail.  I am sure.  Delete the last 13 years of emails from the server......

So, I did use Google Takeout to back everything up before leaving.   But now, it's just a few .zip files on my backup drive.

Scotland it is

Scottish TV listing of Trump inauguration

Awesome!  If they leave Great Britain I will move there.

Off the couch.....

2 mile trail run behind the house

Yup, laughing stock

As expected.  One week, one day left to live, so live it up!

Awesome!

From 2013, but sooooooo much better now:

http://www.theonion.com/blogpost/when-youre-feeling-low-just-remember-ill-be-dead-i-31008