One year ago today: January 13, 2020, Hipsters+ IoT = Danger
Five years ago today: January 13, 2016, ridiculously expensive.
Nine years ago today: January 13, 2012, R.I.P.
Random years ago today: January 13, 2011, exactly as expected.
Driving the new van is a treat. It is 12.4 miles to my bank, 7.2 miles to my mechanic, and right now it is only 56°F outside. Too chilly to work on the van (removing the back seats) or continue on the east side double window, which is only boarded in place for security while I was away. The best insulated spot is the back bedroom, so how about I set up the PA system in there and see if I can get anywhere with the new drum pedal. Or maybe dress warm and work outside now that, thanks to Tennessee, I have some winter clothes again.
This photo shows a millennial innovation. Post-it notes with black paper. This was the topic of much hilarity at the coffee shop. The speculation is what these were for, being that nobody in the building had a piece of chalk and pens with white ink are in terrific short supply in North America. Ordering a round of refills, we set to finding a use for what even a millennial knows is the second-most useless item in his vicinity. Here’s what we came up with.
XYZ types, hipsters, and millies like to leave their computer passwords stuck on their cub walls. This is for them to keep it a secret. And maybe the combination to their bicycle lock. Or for writing down your beer tab so you won’t forget how many you had. My contribution is that they are for jotting when women you don’t like ask for your phone number. Black paper post-it notes, but then again, Crayola does make a white crayon for much the same market base, the Tide-pod bunch.
Some late adjustments to 2020 show some budget items are consistently off the mark. Some is attributable to generally higher grocery prices in Tennessee. But building materials drop right off, I averaged onlly $309 per month that year. General living expense dropped by $3,000 because the Reb & I provide out own entertainment, the biggest component of a total $5,200 less in total expenses. Let me check for any surprises. Nope, but on average, I’m spending $61.08 less per month that I was in 2017.
I spent $2,076 all year (2020) on entertainment, which includes stopping for beers. The average is $173 per month but the reasons for this are known. The budget does not disclose how much is spent on me or what is received for free. Operating a vehicle, which was never the plan, puts my estimate of $1,000 per year in repairs was very close, a little over toward the end. My largest expense remains groceries, even though I do a lot of home cooking. My specialties are rice, grits, and toast. And can I boil a potato, I have references.
[Author’s note: my budget does not track extraordinary items like buying minivans, insuring them, nor items like drum pedals and weekends in Memphis. Those come out of non-infrastructure revenues and I that is where I feel any pinches. I worked hard to have the basics taken care of, which is a wise piece of advice to anyone who starts with nothing. You have to go without a few things, mind you. Like a fancy house and grandchildren.]
Wind turbines.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
It never did warm up enough for anything; Trent reports the same the whole time I was away. Global cooling? I never did get the space heaters planned for each room, instead I’m using portable units. I’m debating if I should have one I can use in the shed in if needed. I’ve also planned to build removable lids over the space where the seats would otherwise recline. I switched to DuckDuckGo when Cliqz would not quit failing, even though DDG is operated by imbeciles.
This photo shows lawn ornaments. They are logs of wood made to look like pier posts, with shells and plastic seagulls for effect. On top is one of those solar powered battery lights. The woman shown is now completely out of the picture, never to be allowed back into the circle, ever. There are certain things you cannot say on our program. The ornaments struck me for several reasons. The novelty, the price tags, and that these could be made on my existing equipment.
Ghostery, the anti-tracking app. It’s great but beginning to play favorites and allow certain trackers. It is no longer the all-or-nothing blocker. It openly allows new Customer Interaction and Essential trackers unless you diligently go in and manually X them regularly. Boo, Ghostery. Get it? Boo! Folks, the instant you get an on-line suggestion of any sort other than your search criteria, you are being tracked. And not as of then, but from your earliest days of browsing. Biggest offender is Google, followed by Amazon.
Inasmuch as space heating is more important over here than what’s happening with the media, I will say a few words about Google and Twitter. Things are heating up there, as well. They only think they have control of the system. They are private companies operating on a public system and that means new providers will arise. Good, I’ve never liked either company. Still, I’m shocked by how dominant their partisan behavior as become and how much it is tolerated. There are reports everywhere of people getting 404 errors, but plainly this is not present on any of the sites I visit, if you get my meaning.
How about that dude who forgot his password over $200+ million in BitCoins? This would not have happened to me, since I’ve had a simple password policy in place since 1984. Each password is something that if I forget it, I can figure it out. Each is based on a code that reminds me of an incident or place in my life that nobody else could duplicate or imagine. No system is infallible, so I also use my ability to type and create longer than usual passwords, which now average 16 to 17 alpha-numerics in length these days. One potential flaw is that anyone who knows me well and discovers one password would be able to learn the process, but would have trouble figuring out the relevant events.
ADDENDUM
Ha, the left has shot themselves in the foot again. By vilifying Trump, his popularity is increasing, this, according to the Democrats own polls. I stick to my concept that both the Democrats and Establishment Republicans must not just steal this election, they have to prevent Trump from running in 2024. They may do it, but it will start a process that could hurt themselves even worse.
The XXV Amendment thing blew up in their faces so now they are going for the impeachment thing again. Some people never learn. The unfounded, unproven accusation this time is the weak premise that Trump incited violence, but I see “no evidence of widespread evidence”.
The problem is, the Democrats are the ones behind the most violence. They’ve said and done much worse, so they should not be trying to establish this precedent. They have to re-define the wording to get at Trump, yet not have it backfire on the things they’ve done themselves. It is mind-boggling because they have four or five angry people declaring for conflicting tactics. The big picture is they are confused and incoherent at a time they already have a woeful reputation for finangling with the facts.
There is talk of a censure. It reveals their radical left thinking, but still, like impeachment, most Americans aren’t sure what the word means. Look what the Democrats had their press arm do to the word “impeach” and they are certain to do the same with “censure”. This just means an official has done something in office that is publicly reprimanded. The worst it can mean is a slap on the wrist, the politician is not removed from his elected position.
No doubt the Democrats will work the word to mean removal of his right to run. It’s typical of their lack of brain-power. Most Americans before Trump voted with far less knowledge of the system than they have now, which is one positive that came out of the era. And the Democrats, by attempting to manipulate the word “censure” will now unwittingly teach millions of Americans what it means. Or more importantly here, what it does not mean.
Did you catch that PBS moron who wants Homeland Security to grab children of Trump supporters and put them in re-education camps? He’s worried there are now four-year olds who never known anything except Trump and they will grow up to be horrible. He says the camps are nice and the kids get to watch PBS all day. Every day. I’ve been a proponent of defunding PBS since the day I first saw one of their broadcasts. They are pathetic.
And you know what I would do if I knew how? I’d start a payment company that accepts all transactions. Square, PayPal and Stripe have all banned services to any non-leftist parties. That includes Trump campaign donations. These companies are far-left advocates that promote violence, crime, cheating, and lying. Yet they claim the monitor others for discrimination and dehumanization, when if fact, they are censoring free will. They can stuff their terms and conditions. I wonder if somebody else will take up the slack.
