Is it gin o’clock yet?
Oh, man, I’ve had a booger of a day. Power was down at work, which I didn’t realize until I got there.
When the power is out, the fire alarm keens like a wounded animal. The intruder alarm makes a series of two high, two low beeps until you plug in a certain code, which shuts it up. For half an hour.
Our phone now goes over ethernet, so no incoming calls on the landline. I managed to rig my cellphone as a wifi hotspot and get some mail in and out on the laptop, but none of the apps I use to control things would work. The solar panels realized they were offline and began to whimper softly.
Couldn’t buy a cup of coffee and couldn’t have paid for it if I did.
I don’t think our lords and masters have thought through this “make everything electric” business. Especially while they’re blowing up our sources of electricity.
No electricity, no digital money, no universal ID, no social credit score. We are ruled by idiots. Have a good weekend!
November 3, 2023 — 7:34 pm
Comments: 11
Wait…what?
Doctor gave me some meds today. I’m a bit nonplussed. That’s some kind of wide symptom range.
No, I didn’t go to the doctor about my little episode, though I’m still not feeling 100%. I had a longstanding appointment for a meds check (blood pressure) and so he could fuss at me about my cholesterol again.
I ain’t taking statins. There must be a note to that effect in my charts, because he just sighed and nodded.
Okay, you can have the anxiety, but could I keep a little schizophrenia?
Have a good weekend, y’all.
October 20, 2023 — 5:51 pm
Comments: 13
Bring it up again and we’ll vote on it
Ewww…I threw up, y’all! I was sitting still reading and suddenly felt scary dizzy, managed to stagger to the loo, and donated my lunch.
I don’t do this. I’m bulletproof. It’s got to be food poisoning, but…
I had avocado toast, strawberry yoghurt and a glass of tea for lunch. Who the hell gets food poisoning from a vegetable?
More or less okay now, but shaky. Weasel won’t be down for dinner.
October 19, 2023 — 7:11 pm
Comments: 8
Well, have you?
I’ll keep it short and sweet tonight – we’re having a windstorm and electricity might be dodgy. Have you tried this stuff? Did it do anything for you?
I first bought some years ago when a friend swore up and down it was a miracle for her dog’s arthritis. I had a crunky old cat that I would have done anything to ease out gently, so I gritted my teeth and bought some. It didn’t seem to do anything for her and she so hated having her mouth pried open, I gave up.
I’ve recently tried again – errr…not with a cat, she’s long gone – hoping it would help my stiffening hands. I’m…not sure. I’ve seen a real improvement in my hands, but I also started a fish oil regimen at the same time. I’m an incredibly bad scientist.
The price is eye-watering. Does that mean it must be effective or people wouldn’t pay that much, or does it mean I’m an absolute mug to pay that much when I’m not even sure what it’s doing? I hate feeling like an absolute mug.
Fair’s fair…I stole the illustration from here.
October 18, 2023 — 7:30 pm
Comments: 11
Sadly, it’s sold out
But you can still view it here.
I was chatting with our gardener one day, when my elderly hen Mapp just plopped an egg on to the ground in front of us, in full view of her backside. The gardener turned to me and said, “I’m not sure how I feel about that.”
My thanks to whoever it was on Twitter who thought I needed this in my feed today. I did. Have a good weekend!
October 13, 2023 — 4:27 pm
Comments: 6
A long way from home
I’m going out to a lecture tonight, so I shall fob you off early with this picture of a truck I snapped in the Aldi parking lot. It’s two tone, blue and rust. Definitely American; steering wheel on the left.
I’ve always wanted a truck of this era. I even test drove one once. I gave up on it when I realized I could watch the highway whizz past through the holes in the floorboards.
The decal is an ad for Dapper Dan, which I gather is some kind of hair pomade. It’s also an old song and I know alllll the words. Whenever I look at this picture, the whole thing unspools in my mind.
October 12, 2023 — 3:52 pm
Comments: 12
Last night of the Draconids
Tonight is the last night of the draconid meteor showers. Are we watching? Nah, the draconids are boring. Also it’s cold out there.
Also, that’s not a pic from tonight – I stole it from Uncle B’s Google Photos when he wasn’t looking. It’s not a full moon tonight.
Here’s a handy phase of moon link. Tonight, it’s actually a waning crescent.
Any Linux commandos out there? You could find the phase of the moon with the pom command. Games of Nethack would run pom on a new game and warn you if it was a full moon out. I think it affected luck.
I’m working on a way of recycling useless braincells into colorful party favors.
October 10, 2023 — 7:22 pm
Comments: 3
Count me out
I’m having an awful week for gremlins. Not only dealing with the flaky water situation, but flaky phone and flaky internet, too. And other assorted computer complaints.
Nobody’s pitching anything at my eyes, though. That’s weirdly specific (the poster is about wearing eye protection, but still).
I assumed gremlins came from older folklore and were adopted by early airmen, but no – the term originated with aviation. Huh.
One thing’s for sure – I ain’t doing Sober October.
October 2, 2023 — 7:04 pm
Comments: 6
Well, this is shit
This was tied to a light pole near work. If you can’t read it:
What does the sap say?
The sap says nothing.
Tree-blood
its only sound
comes in death
a ghostly gurgling
when its tree is felled
to feed our fires
or make way for industry.
Birds sing of the loss
of habitat and homes
and of advancing predators
until, lacking food or shelter
they sing here no more.
The sap says nothing.
That’s not poetry, it’s a super long bumper sticker. Political art is turrble, y’all.
I wonder how many trees are felled to make way for a solar panel farm?
September 26, 2023 — 5:41 pm
Comments: 7
Let’s talk underwear
Specifically thermal underwear.
Some years, it’s like God hits a light switch one day and makes summer turn to winter. Today has been such a day. Thank you, equinox.
I’m determined not to be cold this winter, so I’ve been shopping for some kind of longjohns. I find the world of fancy modern high-tech drawers very confusing. The new miracle fabrics are pitched to high performance winter athletes, who will be skiing or running and need something to wick sweat away.
That’s not me. I’m a sedentary old woman in a drafty 500 year old house and I just want to preserve all my precious body heat while I sit and shitpost. I don’t mind splashing out some money if the modern stuff is worth having.
Any underwear experts in the house? Am I just as well buying an old fashioned cotton union suit?
p.s. I know that’s a man in the picture, but it’s billed as unisex and it’s a woman in the main shot.
p.p.s. No, I do not want the zipper flap in the back, thank you.
p.p.p.s. Have a good weekend, everyone!
September 22, 2023 — 6:13 pm
Comments: 17