A certain pall of despair has descended over Glibs and, really, society as a whole. Even the tinpot authoritarians whose glee at finally getting to put the boot in are really just compensating for a variety of despair at their empty, meaningless lives.
Sure, our institutions are decayed, social cohesion is fraying, the economy is propped up temporarily with fiat money. We can all recite the reasons for pessimism about the future in the near and mid term (the long term beyond, say, a generation, is unknowable, in my opinion).
But for a bunch of contrarians, we sure are following the herd. Let’s not do that.
To kickstart your attitude adjustment, a cocktail!
Blood Orange Old Fashioned
3 oz. rye (as ever, the Casa Dean deploys barrel-aged Bulleit)
1 ½ oz. blood orange juice
1/3 oz. maple syrup
3 – 6 dashes orange bitters
You know the drill – add to your shaker (with ice), shake 10 – 15 seconds, pour over rocks. Garnish with that slice of blood orange you remembered to take before you juiced the blood oranges.
The blood oranges aren’t as sweet as regular oranges, leaving some room for the maple syrup, and the juice has a wonderful deep red color. Experiment with the proportions until you find a balance you like. We’ve been dialing back sweetness in our cocktails; as we eat less sugar in our daily diet, we have more sensitivity to sweetness? Less of a taste for sweetness? A powerful craving for sugary goodness? Whatever. Our current recipes for the cocktails I’ve posted here have changed so that they are less sweet.
We’ve started adding a pinch of salt to our cocktails – it seems to help round out and combine the flavors. We’re using this, originally a gift from Bro Dean – it’s a very mild finishing salt, which should be familiar to those of you who are acquainted with Salt Fat Acid Heat. Its probably a terrible abuse of this salt to put it in cocktails, but, again, whatever.
So, what else to do to get your mind right? Well, stop paying attention to the news. The only thing you can learn from the news is what people who hate you want you to believe. Stop looking at social media, a transmission channel for the lowest common denominator of humanity. These are both excellent ways to fill your mind with things you can’t do anything about anyway. Who needs that?
Now, I have to say that Glibs is also a transmission channel for news and social media, so I’m planning to cut back a little on the healthy chunk of my day that I spend here. *waits for applause to die down* I just think I need a little different balance in my day.
At this point, I thought about adding something about how the social/political scene isn’t as bad as it looks, and anyway you can’t do anything about it. But that sort of defeats the purpose of this post, so screw it.
So, having made room in your head (and day), what to do with it? Beats me – you need to do you. The key is, what can you control and thus, change. Here’s what I have been doing:
Exercise. Mrs. Dean is an expert fitness coach, and designs a short workout for me every week. She has been kitting out a home gym in our garage, and I have a half hour now before I leave for work, so for the first time in probably decades, I am getting regular exercise (and feeling it). My mornings are highly structured, and I’d like to bump that to 45 minutes.
Booze and Sleep. I need less booze, and more sleep. I’d like to cut back to around half my current nightcap, and get to bed a half hour earlier, aiming to get my average actual sleep up to 7 hours. I have a heart monitor gizmo (the Whoop strap) that measures actual sleep, which is less time than you think, since even if you don’t remember it, you are awake for some period every night.
Reading. Like, actual books. For me, still mostly fiction. I’m going to read something, and if its not books, it will be the internet. What Are We Reading has been a godsend.
Chores. This sounds counterintuitive, but I always have a backlog of stuff I’d like to get done, and getting it done lifts my spirits. A neat garage, a passel of sharpened knives, landscaping that is watered, fertilized and doing well, whatever jiggles your handle – these are all Good Things. Its easy to let things slide when you are in the dumps. So don’t let it slide – it’s a way to get out of the dumps.
Walk in Beauty. This is a concept that I heard ages ago, supposedly a Navajo thing but who knows, that resonated with me. Basically, it says to open your eyes and realize you are surrounded by beauty. I suspect this would be a real challenge for me if I lived in an urban center, but I live on the edge of the high desert, so its not hard at all. The sky, the ever-changing light on the mountains, the semi-wild landscape . . . that’s easy enough where I live. But nobody said it had to be natural beauty. Broaden this with the “spark joy” idea to catch little things (just today, I chuckled at my neighbor walking her two Dobermans – one had apparently been a Bad Dog and was getting The Talk, and the whole thing was just comical).
Bottom line: Your spirits are yours. Lift them however you can. Terrible people making each other miserable (which is pretty much what our politics are) don’t need to get you down.
Working on it. Soon.
After my last gig crashed and burned (a little over three years ago), I took a step back. Instead of working like a dog, I decided to take a bit of a financial haircut in return for way less stress and time spent at work.
It has been a great tradeoff.
One of the things I have done a lot more of is spending time outdoors. That extra time I used to spend indoors in the office, I now spend on walks or in a boat. I feel so much more connected (I know, I hate myself too) to things because of this. Feeling the weather change, or even just being out as the sun comes up is awesome. So much better than spending all your time indoors where the temp and light is always the same.
Right now, its 30 degrees, all day, all night, cloudy, grey, that’s pretty consistent, I’m glad to hear of you and others being outdoors,
makes ya feel good
30 would have been the high here all week. But it has been sunny and not too windy, so if feels OK. Living in this part of the world you just need to learn how to deal with a bit of cold.
The trick to surviving a Minnesoda winter (as I tell my wife all the time) is to find some activity you like (fishing, skiing, sledding, etc) and then go do it. If you are outside doing something fun, you don’t notice the cold so much. The cold only really sucks when you have to go out to do stuff you didn’t really want to do anyhow (taking out garbage, shoveling, etc).
Also, spend as much as you can afford on good clothing and gear. It is amazing what a difference a decent set of thermal underwear and nice boots make.
I go out every day, somewhere and walk Bella, take pictures and explore, the cold doesn’t bother me anymore, just dress for it,
The wind however pisses me off! but that applies everywhere,
Have you noticed Michigan’s wind’s uncanny ability to blow directly at you no matter which direction you’re walking?
Just one of the special features here 😉
Truly a wonder of nature, you’re in Holland, Right?
No, I’m in Lansing.
Does Lansing have a sports team named the Lansing Boils? If not, they need one.
Hah. No, the local team is the Lansing Lugnuts. Once upon a time, Oldsmobile was here; Cadillac now has a plant in town. But it’s a shadow of a ghost of what it was in the 60s, and earlier.
I came to the area in 69 to start my college time at MSU. Back when it was an educational institution, not a sports franchise.
Hard to do and still Mask Up, Limit travel.
I prefer the pop a zoloft option.
I have to both get back to shovelling, and attend these pointless work meetings.
I don’t want to try to dig out my car in the dark, but the sun will be setting promptly now that it’s noon.
The snow has slowed down here but is still coming down. Once it is done I’ll start clearing my driveway. I have a feeling I’m not going to be able to get to the gym tonight.
The sun has come out here, we still have windblown snow, and it’d be perfect time to unbury my car, but I’m stuck in work meetings.
Someone just rode down my road on his snowmobile.
How rude – compacting down the snow to make it harder to clear.
Dammit. My fingers are freezing, while the rest of me is okay. I’ve got a huge amount of snow to get away from this car… https://www.deviantart.com/rm-4sun/art/Cocooned-Car-864348469
Phuuuuuuck that. I can’t stop daydreaming about moving to Florida. Nashville is getting to be too far north for me.
Ouch!
That is too much snow.
Yowza!
That’s just silly.
I’ve gotten the top cleared, and dug a trench along the driver’s side and front. But I still have the space in front of the car to clear so I can get into the traffic lane. I can’t clear behind it because there’s another car there.
Of course, they never plow our streets.
The damn car is uncovered.
I haven’t tried to move it yet, but it looks like it will be able to move. I took a break to catch my breath.
I do love an old fashioned. Might need to try that variant.
I understand Eric Swalwell knows a chick that does could work.
Wtf? Good* work…
I’ve been doing a lot more chores/handyman work around the house lately. I agree it feels better than it should to fix a couple leaky faucets. I expect my fascination with chores like this to drop precipitously as the ice becomes thick enough to go fishing on.
I hate to admit how much our Lockdown 2.0 has depressed me. Intellectually I know I should be able to adapt and move on, but man I’ve been much more angry and depressed. It really doesn’t help that all the gyms are closed. Exercise has always been a good way for me to get rid of stress and feel better.
* I liked your recipe till I got to the maple syrup. Uffda. I can’t stand maple syrup. I may try, but will use brown sugar instead.
I’m a hermit and wouldn’t be going much of anyplace anyway.
What bites my ass is that I CAN’T because the two places I DO go are/were closed (or now, limited).
You and me both.
During non-Rona times I would go to the gym almost every day and maybe meet a buddy once a week at a bar/restaurant. I would sometimes go to a coffee shop on a weekend morning just to get out of the house.
So definitely not producing very exciting Little Billy trails all over Minnesoda.
Like you it really chaps my ass that I can’t even do that.
In the BeforeTimes, I went Swing Dancing every now and then. Can’t do that now. I miss that.
Ya’ll need to move to a free state.
Deprive those monsters who run your states of your tax dollars and positive contributions to society. Just don’t bring and of your lockdown supporting friends with you.
Word. Barely a hiccup to my personal life here in Tennessee. Work’s been tolerable, with the only irritations due to HQ’s being in Denver, w HR populated by the inevitable prog Karens who spend half their days trying not to be ignored.
I want never to see any of the ads or shows depicting “free” Americans wearing masks that have saturated the TV and print media.
Just no.
The propaganda is so heavy handed: “Mask up for the greater good! Stay home! Essential goods will be delivered by approved big chain stores. We’re all in this together!”
“Essential goods will be delivered by approved big chain stores”
Once there is no business left other than Wal-mart and Amazon, the country will open back up. But only approved customers will be allowed to access their merchandise. There will be a way of assessing ones approvability. Some kind of scale. Maybe a score. A social one.
A spoonful of Wildflower Honey can’t hurt, Jimbo. I know where there is some. Fish houses on the lakes…so lots of ice.
Good to know about the fish houses. We just are hitting 3″ around here (as of last weekend, but I think there has been quite a bit more added this week).
I too know where there is some Wildflower honey in my house. The problem is that Mrs. Holiness might go wookie on me and tear off my arms if I tried to use it for such a wasteful thing as an Old Fashioned.
Honey can be hard to use a sweetener in cocktails. Straight up, it doesn’t want to dissolve in the shaker. You’ll get better results if you use it to make a simple honey syrup – dissolve in an equal amount of simmering water.
I could make that Blood Orange thingie tomorrow for Zoom, as I find myself with some Bulleit Rye (thought I was buying bourbon)
So XX tax deduction got an IT internship (help desk) at Cerner next semester. It means much more driving for me and more difficulty juggling the kids’ schedules, but I’m glad to do it.
Helpdesk is a decent place to start. I worked on one for a year. It’s lousy work, but you learn a lot about how users communicate (or fail to) and think (or fail to).
Of course, some people on the helpdesk just follow the script, but they also don’t tend to ever get off the help desk.
A good stint in a support role is good for anyone, especially starting out.
It exposes you to a lot of what is going on and you get to meet a lot of people. Like UC said, good help desk people don’t follow the scripts. They learn how to think about what is going on.
If you learn how to troubleshoot and communicate the IT world is your oyster. I’ve always been amazed at how many people have troubles narrowing down what is causing an issue. Not so amazed at how bad some of the colleagues are at communicating.
Deductive reasoning is a very simple process, and I’m constantly amazed at how many people in diagnostic roles don’t know how to do it.
I will forever have the phrase “half split bracket!” tattooed on my brain, even now 15 years after I stopped working as a technician, because that’s the way Sgt. Robinson trained me. Even when talking to technicians today, it stuns me how few of them seem to comprehend that, by splitting a system in half, they can identify the source of a fault much more quickly.
Yup. Some Gunney’s and SSgts taught us the same thing. I don’t remember that phrase, but they were always pointing to signal paths and telling you to look half way between the input and output.
Uh…I did not meant to post this comment on this post. I apologize for my rudity.
It kind of fits, you’re glad she is making progress.
I’m glad to do it
Looks on-topic to me.
Help Desk is a great place to start, no matter what she wants to do on the IT side. I got my start on Help Desk working during my transition from my non-developer background, into a developer Job. As stated, the work can be absolutely lousy sometimes, but it gets you to have lots of fun(ny) stories over time.
It’s more work for you, but I think it is good news.
Her goal is to be able to leave at 18 and support herself and we want to do everything we can to make sure she’s successful at it.
It’s a good goal. Hopefully she succeeds.
STEVE SMITH THINK HIM SHOULD HIRE INTERNS…
BY HIRE MEAN…
Here are a couple of tips for how to make a stint on the helpdesk useful in the long term.
1. She should keep track of the tickets that she receives and passes on to Tier 2 and Tier 3 and see what happens with them. Many issues will have a high degree of commonality to them, and have simple fixes that the user can apply if properly instructed. Learning these and applying them is what gets you noticed and moved from Tier 1 to Tier 2.
2. Pay attention to the Tier 2 and 3 people who solve the problems and cultivate relationships with them. Demonstrating competence to those people is key to being accepted among them later, when positions open up there.
3. Figure out what the other person, whether it’s the supportee calling/opening the ticket or the Tier 2/3 person you’re transferring a ticket to, is trying to do and what they need to be successful. Have their ducks in a row when you pass it over makes you look competent and you can solve the actual problem, not the stated one.
4. Treat everyone with kindness and professionalism. The hardest ones are those deserving piping hot dial tone, but it’s easy to acquire a bad reputation with a bad personality.
#4
Your model should be Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction when he finds out his girlfriend has forgotten to bring his watch.
In front of her, he calmly assures her that it isn’t the end of the world, then goes out to his car and starts screaming and swearing about her fucking such a simple thing up.
5. Learn how to ask questions in a non-threatening way to elicit honest answers.
WRONG: You idiot! Did you just delete all the files from your home directory?
RIGHT: Well, I’m sure we can get this figured out. Now you were sure to start out by clearing up as much space as you could?
The user will admit to exactly what they did if you ask it that way. If you ask too pointed a question, they will figure out they fucked up something and stop being helpful in telling you what they did.
I’ve never regretted blowing up in private, with dents and bootmarks in metal furniture and even on the wall where I’ve taken it out upon but I have regretted blowing up in front of someone. Particularly when I was wrong after all.
I liked the guys I worked with at Cerner. Good company. Lots to do. Sounds like a great opportunity for her.
Walk in Beauty,
/every day is a beautiful day,
STEVE SMITH AGREE. HIM NOT STRESS OVER QUOTA AT WORK, HIM TAKE MORE RECREATIONAL APPROACH HIKER/CAMPER RAPE. HIM ALSO LIKE BEAUTIFUL CASCADIA TREE AND MOUNTAIN!
I am actually in the midst of my annual Ellroy binge and am currently reading The Cold Six Thousand. Reading the aftermath of the people who were working on the Kennedy affair and how it changes someone is fascinating. And kinda uplifting.
Also stepping up my exercises and stretches and planning a limited road trip for this winter. That is important at this point in my life, and life-affirming, as corny as that sounds.
“Kennedy affair”
Which one, lots to choose from ?
The big one.
You know, the thing!
Good stuff and I agree with your entire list.
I might add a social component. Spending time with good people is healthy.
Haven’t seen you on Zoom recently, speaking of spending time…
/Zoom Nazi
I’ll try to get onto one. Good reminder!
YAS
I almost miss Humans, it does get lonely sometimes, now I feel like Pariah when I go out, because I don’t wear a mask, but hey,
Fuck Off, right?
Bookmarked. You said what is in my heart, but better. News and social media are cut. I’m planning to put some limits on my participation here to further cut out the exposure to TMITE and SMITE. Paying attention to the dreck they put out just ain’t healthy. Exercise, Reading, Cooking, Hobbies, Outdoors, Faith, and time with the family will be my focuses over the next few months.
Gyms closed, limit travel, church virtually closed. I guess batting.500 ain’t bad.
Hear! Hear!
All good things R.C. Every 4 years we go through this Psychological trauma where we are constantly inundated with fear and propaganda. Every time i think “Next Time i won’t be dragged into it,” and yet i still do get dragged into it. I’ve increased my readings of the classics, and scripture. The words of the ancients is comforting and enlightening. Wife got me Livy’s History of Early Rome as an early Christmas present and I’m excited to dive into it.
I just picked up Douglas Murray’s The Madness of Crowds as an early self-present.
I bought it a few weeks ago but haven’t started it yet.
Today in Vision Zero™:
Buckle up, world – it’s going to be a very, very expensive ride.
I remember the before times when stinky brown haze burned your eyes, nose, and throat.
I didn’t have and don’t have problems with regulations that control actual pollution.
CO2 regulations are utter horseshit.
I was coughing up black gunk within a day of landing in pollution-free commie paradise Shanghai.
The article is pinning the blame on traffic. I don’t how much actual pollution is left in western-country automobile exhaust – or how one medically establishes it as a “cause of death” WTF do I know.
Yes, it seems that every minor government official wants to get on the “we’re so progressive” craze. Next we’ll see Medical Examiners refusing to declare people killed by antifa murdered.
I have my issues with Phoenix, and Arizona’s seemingly inevitable transition to a ‘Blue State’ seems to be almost here.
But Phoenix is a great place for “walk in beauty” despite being a very large Metro area. Hell I live in a condo complex that requires me to walk out my back gate to stand on a walking trail which lines a golf course and has a truly stunning view of the mountains in the background. And that requires me to walk less than half a city block. If I’m willing to hop in a car, the place has more to see than I have time to see it all.
As a kid who grew up surrounded by dinge, I sometimes wonder how I’m getting away with this. But my upsettitude at what’s been going on goes part and parcel with this. I know how lucky I have it, and these zagnuts want to take my way of life away from me. And they’re succeeding.
My personal world view says that other people are the most important things on the planet, and they’re delighting in pitting us against one another. Covering us up in masks and trying to convince you that anyone you don’t know is little more than a disease vector. I would love to ignore it all. But every potentially friendly face I see covered in a mask trying to avoid all other human contact…
…it’s hard to shrug off.
it’s hard to shrug off
It is.
I’m pretty much an introvert, so you will note that my plans don’t really involve getting out much, where the impact of this madness is inescapable. I get a fair amount of social interaction at work (no WFH for hospital people). For people who are socially isolated by this madness and have lost the social interactions that are important to them, well, they have a much steeper hill to climb to get out of the slough of despond. I don’t have any great suggestions for working around/repairing that damage.
But every potentially friendly face I see covered in a mask trying to avoid all other human contact
Its a crime. But I can’t change it, and I don’t want to get sucked into despair.
I don’t have any great suggestions for working around/repairing that damage.
I can’t imagine being socially isolated plus having job uncertainties/loss plus being locked down again.
I’m going 4-5 day stretches on the regular where the mailbox is the furthest away from the house that I go. It’s miserable. However, my job isn’t in question, my income has gone up, and I have a healthy family. I really have very little to complain about and a lot to be thankful for in 2020. My heart breaks for those who got taken for a ride by their governors. What a meaningless waste of life and morale.
I can’t imagine being socially isolated plus having job uncertainties/loss plus
I can…
This video is a good explainer on why the introverted are having such a hard time with this shit. I was extremely surprised at my own reaction, as my plan for many years has been to WFH full time. I wouldn’t mind it if I weren’t stuck in a shithole condo in the People’s Republic of NoVA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JirNfkMEgk
Gah! That guy needs a Valium, a haircut, new glasses, and have his mom teach him how to button his shirt.
Awwww….I think he’s totes adorbs!
But every potentially friendly face I see covered in a mask
trying to avoid all other human contact…wants human contact as much as I do.Don’t let masks add a filter to your life beyond what they already are. Smile, even if the other person can’t see it. It really does carry over. Greet them warmly. Government can put chains on your body but they can’t do the same on your mind if you don’t let them.
When I was on my way to get my receipt checked before exiting Costco, I noticed the girl’s mask move and commented – I know you’re smiling under that, and we both chuckled. We can still be human to each other, maybe that’s more important now than ever.
I’ve been making an effort to be more pleasant to people for most of the year. We’re not the problem, and shouldn’t be part of it.
Absolutely.
Something something by the people of the people
Costco imposed a duty to wear face masks on its employees and members before it was required by most local and state governments. Both employees who enforce this policy and members who shop and comply with the policy are a part of the problem. Let’s not pretend that this dehumanizing and useless “social norm” was imposed on us solely by a faceless government that we all love to hate.
/A Costco member for 14+ years, renewed his membership in July
I haven’t seen you walking past OUR house. Ahem.
It’s a long walk. 😀 I will be coming to the New Year shindig though.
Excellent summation.
I will miss you.
If you look at urban decay with an artist’s eye, there is beauty to be seen there. There are stories in those paint-peeling boards and bricks. Men designed and built those crumbling skyscrapers. That man can build something so much more vast than he is is its own beauty.
Not much decay in my corner of urban, but yeah there’s all kinds of beauty out there. Also, I can walk to the bay which ain’t half bad.
I have a weird fascination with abandoned or seemingly abandoned places. There’s a certain street I like to walk on where there is an odd brick building overgrown with ivy, some cozy houses with old clapboard siding, and a strange storefront building with TONS of vintage/antique junk in the window as well as a herd of cats who come to say hello every time I stop there.
I used to love looking at the Illicit Ohio website, but I can’t find it now. One of the more fascinating structures was Mudhouse Mansion. It actually inspired me to start writing a story about a similarly lavish mansion, the drama and dissolution of the family that inhabited it, and the bittersweet rediscovery of the house’s ruins by a descendent. Maybe I’ll finish it one day.
…and submit it here!
If I get hurt or suffer a loss of some kind while walking in beauty, I’m holding RC personally liable.
He’s setting you up as rapesquatch bait.
“Walk in beauty” is why I still live here, even though everyting having to do with people was better back in Austin.
And to clarify from the dead thread, the “honda” I was giving thanks for is my snowblower. I am so in love with it now, and no longer worry that I bought more than I needed.
My Honda snowblower is nice. I don’t think it nice enough to justify the premium I paid over my old Cub Cadet.
My Honda walk-behind lawnmower is wonderful. Best lawnmower I’ve ever used.
Honestly, carving my way out to the road was combining playing in the snow (which I never got enough of as a kid) and playing with power tools.
I only need to clear 8 feet or so, but that Honda sounds like a blast!
I still don’t quite understand why they’re so expensive. I can understand them being more expensive than a lawn mower, but more expensive than six law mowers?
A lawn mower* is a motor with a blade, there’s more gearing/belts for the three augurs in your standard snowblower. If either is self-propelled, that’s the same additional gearing.
*push mower, not riding
Also, you only need a snowblower when it actually snows, and it only snows for a small period of the year. Seasonality and circumstantial use drive up the cost of keeping them in inventory compared to lawnmowers.
This year I only used my lawn mower to mulch leaves. Even on a regular year here I mow my lawn fewer times that I clear my driveway. Lots of trees, lots of shade.
That’s why I originally bought the Cub Cadet – mower deck for summer, snow blower for winter.
Here is Some Cheer, OzzyMan!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psTetbqa1NI
Except for the part where he said Australia remained free & open and he loved Jacinda Ardern’s live videos
yea, that made me spit take,
Hear, hear! I often told people who asked my why I didn’t watch Game of Thrones that “if I wanted to watch horrible people doing devious and horrible things to other horrible people, I would just turn on the news.”
Time to turn it all back off.
Game of Thrones was less vicious.
And made more sense.
I like the pictures.
My vacation has been a mixed bag. I have been sleeping more (close to nine hours a night). I’ve probably been drinking a bit more. I’m still going to the gym, but I haven’t gotten back into a five day a week schedule. I’m stuck on four days a week. I got a few projects done out of my backlog of house projects. I have not been to the gun club yet during my break. I have been reading more. In fact, yesterday I spent just about all day in front of the fireplace with books. I finished another Retief collection and started reading the last edition (5th edition, there probably won’t be more because the author died) of “Mauser Military Rifles of the World”.
The only thing you can learn from the news is what people who hate you want you to believe. Stop looking at social media, a transmission channel for the lowest common denominator of humanity.
I think it is good to know what your enemy is thinking. On the other hand, I’ve taken a break from reading a lot of news. I keep an eye on the local news to see if the Clown Prince or certain municipalities have issued new restrictions. Taking a break from the rest has been helpful.
I am on derpbook, but that is mainly for some restaurants and bars I like plus various Reopen-related groups. Also, one or two friends from Ye Olden Days of Yore. Unfortunately, there is a lot of derp on some of the Reopen related groups. Reopen PA is probably the worst.
Bottom line: Your spirits are yours. Lift them however you can. Terrible people making each other miserable (which is pretty much what our politics are) don’t need to get you down.
Yes!
I like the pictures.
All taken in and around my house. The first one, of course, on the kitchen counter. You will note I forgot to take that slice of blood orange for garnish before I juiced them.
The second and third one in my back yard. The last one less than a block from the house.
The cover picture from my front yard.
I would swear I have seen that house before. I am not going to say where, but I am fairly certain I remember it. I am not sure why it stuck in my memory.
South and south east Arizona has a special place in my heart, at least the one I remember.
It was built in 2008, and that view is from the backyard.
Its a pretty classic Santa Fe style house, so there’s others that are pretty similar.
Your scenery is better than mine.
Its kind of an alien landscape compared to, say, the east coast or midwest. The saguaros in particular look like something from another planet when you are used to normal trees. Its mostly rock and sand, with brushy “trees”, spikey plants, and very little grass. Flowers tend to be small, frightened, and fleeting, with a few exceptions. Wildlife includes hairy, stinky pig-analogues and a variety of vicious killers. We’ve had visitors who don’t like the landscape at all.
But the air is often crystal clear (I can see buildings on a mountain over 50 miles from my house), the light isn’t quite that crystalline northern New Mexico light, but its close. You see what you look for, and don’t see what you don’t look for. I’m trying to cultivate the habit of looking for things that make me smile.
The back of my lot is wooded. I have my kitchen table set up so that I can look out the back slider at my woods. It’s nice, but I like that desert landscape better.
One thing I’d miss if I moved to the desert: The flowers I have. I have azaleas, rhododendrons, tree peonies, herbaceous peonies, daffodils, tulips, and lillies. All in the front of my house as the back doesn’t get a lot of sun. I doubt I would have all of those in the desert.
Arizona is one of the most Beautiful places in the World, color everywhere, and the acid Blue sky,
the Mountains, yep I miss it, kind of,
I had my beefs with living in Arizona, but I will say this – the sunsets were incredible. Every single night was the kind of sunset which, if you see one like it on the East Coast, you remember it for a long time because it’s so rare. And yet, in Yuma, they were a daily feature of life.
“What were the skies like when you were young?”
Summer time, when living is easy https://imgur.com/gallery/a6cooyH
View from ky front porch. A few months old, but you get the point.
Sweet. I really like the light.
Nice.
I hate anyone that has snow right now. We got patches of sleet, then it turned to rain before clearing completely. The bastard rain/snow line strikes again!
You can have my snow.
#metoo
This is how it would go if I were Gaia: Snow from the last Friday in November until January 1, then moderate temps through to spring.
When I get my liveaboard RV, I hope to never experience full summer ever again. It’s a decent compromise with my original plan of winning the lottery and buying one house in the northern hemisphere, and one in the southern hemisphere.
Only if the accumulation is light. None of this multiple feet in a day nonsense.
I’m using the excuse of “the road conditions are abysmal” as an excuse to leave work before the sun sets. Snow FTW!
https://www.snowshoemtn.com/media-room/snowshoe-village-live-cam Snow at Snowshoe
Not so much at Blue Knob https://blueknob.com/trail-map-conditions/
Timberline, maybe: https://www.onthesnow.com/west-virginia/timberline-four-seasons/ski-resort.html
Holiday Valley got less than I would have expected https://www.onthesnow.com/new-york/holiday-valley/ski-resort.html
I hate anyone that has snow right now.
Well, now I wish I posted a pic of snow in Tucson. It happens. You gotta be quick to get a picture.
There’s usually a stretch in the winter when I can see snow on the mountains, which is nice. Not yet, this year.
I got my fill of snow, clearing driveways, etc. when I lived in Wisconsin. Don’t miss it, at all. But I never really got plugged into skiing or other winter sports.
We haven’t had a good snow where i live since 2017. It would be nice if we could have a good one every once in a while.
Meh.
Being able to see my lawn in mid-December is awesome. Every day closer to spring with no blizzards is fine with me.
Word. I need to move to the mountains.
Every time I’m up in the Adirondacks I wish I had a house there. Even though I know it would be ridiculously impractical, even with some magical never failing electrical and internet hookup.
Fuck Mountain driving in the snow, that’s heart attack territory, one or the other is fine, both?
No
Why don’t you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don’t you dig how beautiful it is out here? Why don’t you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?
Maybe I’ll give it a shot.
Don’t get your hopes up.
A neighbor is digging out his car out of snow. There’s no one around him. He is wearing a mask.
Well, they ARE warm(er).
Yeah, I can appreciate a nice neck gaiter now for walking in the cold.
There’s no one around him. He is wearing a mask.
Maybe his nose is cold.
I gotta say, that’s one thing they’re good for. When I leave work, I often keep my cloth mask on until the car gets warm inside.
“That mean’s he’s healthy!”
WTF. “mean’s?” *sigh*
It is always a pleasure to see an RC Dean article.
I agree, in general spirits are low but I have reason to be happy. My wife’s injured foot is getting much better. She is still a bit slow but the limp and most of the pain is gone. We finally found a competent Doc that actually cares and she is in her second month of physical therapy. It looks like she is gonna be ok.
Y’all keep your chins up.
That’s good news about your wife.
Yes. Poor thing. I can’t say how much grief she has had over the last year. A broken foot is a very painful and debilitating injury. I broke mine and it took me a year to recover and hell, I was 20 years old. She is not 20 any more.
She’s 29, has been for several years, right?
^This guy gets it^
Since I’m the only one brave enough to come in, I’ve got the big lab all to myself. It’s like living in the future. The workload isn’t bad, becasue three of the people who are supposed to work here are paper-pushing meeting-sitters, and much of the complicated work is sent to us by people who also didn’t make it into work this morning. So I see what work there is to be done, and tell the computer to bring it to me. And then an inverted R2 unit figures out where in this facility it is, and brings it, lowering it directly onto my desk.
Leaving me alone in a large facility with a robot that I can tell to rearrange things would . . . not be good for my career prospects.
As a member of ERT I’ve been entrusted with the locations od the “I quit” buttons. They’re a single emergency shutdown for every system on site.
However, the robot cannot track down and retrieve the labels I seem to have sent to the wrong printer. Oh well.
And of course I’m swaddled in soft comfy electrostatic dissipative monofilament weave, and the thousands of fans, motors, pumps and transformers all produce a white noise so thick you could eat it. This would be a great place to take a nap.
Our lab is the same today. Empty due to the vid and 35 cm of snow.
My lab is still packed with nekulturny chemists.
I’m with you on living in the moment. I look at my children who, at infant – 7 years, are wholly separated from the larger goings-on in the world. It’s nice zone everything out and play catch one of the sons or cook dinner with one of the daughters. We got them an aquarium and you’d think they won the powerball or something. Really fun to see. Time is scarce between work and school, but I’m trying to spend every extra with them.
So, what else to do to get your mind right? Well, stop paying attention to the news. The only thing you can learn from the news is what people who hate you want you to believe.
I think we part here on this. If the news had no impact on me, then I’d very gladly ignore it. Unfortunately, we’re reaching a stage where I need to make decisions for myself and my family based on current events. Ignorance may be blissful for my children, but it’s not a responsible state for me.
For example, I’m completely with you that VA politicians who hate me want me to believe that they are going to make me a felon with pending gun legislation on both firearm ownership and where firearms can be carried. And I fully believe them. I can’t control if this legislation passes, but being informed gives me the opportunity to stock up on pmags and plan to lose certain firearms in boating accident. Learning from the news about the full gambit of progressive agenda being prepared for VA gives me the opportunity to start preparing to remove my family from the situation by moving to a location more receptive to our lifestyle. Without keeping abreast of the issues, I can’t make a judgement on what’s a serious threat and what’s just blowing smoke.
Gun control is low hanging fruit but there’s countless other impacts… strategy for retirement funding, health care structuring (we got royally fucked by the ACA mandate when first implemented), student loan forgiveness/waivers, and predicted tax rate direction to name just a few.
Without keeping abreast of the issues, I can’t make a judgement on what’s a serious threat and what’s just blowing smoke.
Fair point. Its hard to separate the gossip about palace intrigue and the bloviating posturing from useful information. When I think “news”, I think the DemOp Narrative, which is about 90+% gossip about palace intrigue and the bloviating posturing. One of the hardest things to do these days is finding reliable sources of useful information.
I’m starting to lay down my Plan B. Plan A is to stay in Tucson until they drag my body out of my house. Plan B is leaving the country, which is starting to feel like a different country than the one I grew up in. Time will tell.
Just out of curiosity, what country would you choose and why?
*looks at map of the CONFŒDERATIO HELVETICA*
Hmmm. Glarus Canton…
Uruguay, Panama, and Costa Rica are on the list. Planning some travel when that’s a thing again to narrow it down.
One of the hardest things to do these days is finding reliable sources of useful information.
Completely agree. I can’t find anything consistently reliable anymore and have started discounting most articles that don’t provide primary source data.
Plan A is looking like Alabama or less likely Texas. Still working out Plan B.
You are correct. I think the progs are going to pull out all the stops.
The Biden election/pending Harris admin is a disaster.
Yep.
Obama with healthcare proved that it didn’t matter how unpopular or poorly constructed a program is, and that it doesn’t matter if pursuing your goals costs you seats in the short term. None of this horseshit ever goes away once instituted, and you can always just win the seats back in a few years. All you have to do is keep moving that Overton Window in your direction.
opportunity to start preparing to remove my family from the situation by moving to a location more receptive to our lifestyle
Trying to convince the gf to move to WV. I could probably live just over the border and still work for the same company at one of the offices in the western part of the state. She won’t do it because her parents live around Richmond. But since they got the China-cough that might not be an issue anymore. I keed I keed, they will (probably…) be fine.
Good article RC.
I was just looking at my time records at work for the year. I have already put in 2744.66 hours this year. I need a break, and after tomorrow, im taking one. I wont come back til the 2nd. This will be the longest amount of time i have taken off work since 2006. It will be nice. I have a few things to work on at my house, but most of my vacation will be doing christmas type stuff with the different branches of my family and just plain old taking a break. Well, as much of a break as my 2 year old will let me. My wife will appreciate having some help around full time for a couple weeks too. Until she isn’t.
Whut?
Holy shit…two years old? How did that happen? You were just telling us about the birth yesterday afterno….good God, time flies.
Really? Two years old?
Yeah. Its nuts how time flies. She turned 2 in the middle of October. She is something else. Her main goal in life is to spend as much time outside as humanly possible. She’s a lot to keep up with.
Awesome. Such fun times.
How’s the boy?
Youth hunt https://imgur.com/gallery/7rtWOoE
He is great. He won’t stop making me clean things though, and I’m running out of freezer space.
“He won’t stop making me clean things…”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2bo23n16tI
I think my brother can do it in 8.
That whole video can be summed up as, “Don’t do things that will dull your knife blade and everything will work out better for you.”
And he has savage youth model bolt gun in .223 with a 4x12x44 scope that im gonna put under the tree for him next week. He will be over the moon about that.
Oh man, that’s great stuff! He’s pretty proud of that buck!
Merry Christmas to you and your awesome family, Lach.
We’re going away in a couple days. It will be glorious & I shall share some pics.
Excellent!
I have been thinking about a trip down to support The Proper. I’m going to float a trial balloon to some relatives. It would have to be next week right around Christmas because of commitments I’ve made up here. I’m expecting almost all of my relatives will consider me “unclean” and “unwashed” since I have no plans to wear a mask or quarantine.
Good deal. If we all test clean we’re off to the islands for a week.
Can’t fucking wait.
My company was very nice and gave everyone a few extra days off this holiday season. I’m working Monday, then I’m off for about 2 weeks. I usually drift away from social media (and Glibs) in this sort of situation. I have a lot of hobbies and I usually regret not doing them enough when I have time off. But just “doing nothing” is good for you too.
The more you lift your spirits the lighter the bottle gets.
In response to the snowblower thread above.:
A Toro CCR 2000 is reliable and sturdy as hell for a single stage.
I’ve had it for 15 years after my elderly neighbor gave it to me in exchange for shoveling him out every storm.
He had it for another 15 or so years.
I never replaced the belt, carb, or paddles in that time.
I have a John Deere 524 two-stage from circa 1987-ish. They haven’t made parts for the fucking thing in more than 15 years, but I’ve kept it running great. Fired up on the second pull this year.
When It pukes I’ll look at the Toros but probably end up with a Honda.
Or move somewhere where I don’t need one!
Also, I think we need better photos of your counter top.
Try this.
A closer look.
Nice!
Hmm. Experimenting with Imgur links.
<a href="” title=”Kitchen.” target=”_blank”>Kitchen.
Well, the experiment delivered a result, at least.
And again.
Much better. “Direct Link” it is.
Bigger versions of some of the post pics:
https://i.imgur.com/8RTYd0w.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/6nWHddA.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/8RTYd0w.jpg
Cloudburst
I am amazed by your house.
Arizona done properly.
I have been laughing my ass off all day at the explosion of righteous indignation from lefty twits over Jill Biden’s pathetically needy insistence on being called “doctor”. These people have completely lost their marbles.
We have had four years of complete insanity from those people. Now they have their hands on the levers of power.
Buckle up brother, it is about the get crazier.
As in, the lefty twits deride her being pathetically needy, or they’re sympathizing with her pathetic need?
Oh no, they are very angry that anyone would dare to eschew Doctor Jill Biden’s academic title, and are pretending that her Ed.D represents some kind of impressive intellectual achievement.
A doctorate she received, not coincidentally, from the University of Delaware. You know, the state that her husband represented in the Senate for 35 years. She could have submitted a shit-smeared square of toilet paper as her dissertation and still would have been awarded the degree.
The best was Whoopi Goldberg seriously saying that they should make Dr. Jill Biden the Surgeon General.
Maybe Dr. Jill could make “not rape-rape” acceptable again.
*PAGING STEVE SMITH, STEVE SMITH TO THE RED COURTESY PHONE, PLEASE*
“STEVE SMITH PROVIDE ‘CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE’, AND BY ASSISTANCE, MEAN….”
that is hilarious and also so, so sad.
Yes, that’s some of the finest derp to come out of the election so far.
Getting too persnickety about doing and about not doing it is a little silly. Technically she is one but if I had a doctorate of whatever I don’t think I’d insist on it.
I spend a lot of time around people with Ph. D.s in the sciences and I have never run into one who wasn’t a professor who insisted upon being called “Doctor.” Most of them think it’s incredibly gauche to insist upon it, and usually tell people not to call them by that title.
People impotently insisting on you using a Title is perhaps the funniest thing ever. “It’s Lieutenant Colonel Vandman!”, “No, i think It’s Private Vindman”
Dammit, I should have scrolled down!
These are the same people who feigned outrage when Private Vindman didn’t get called by his rank.
Did he actually get demoted? I couldn’t be arsed to follow that ass.
He ended up retiring. Said he was “Forced Out”. I imagine his OER’s were pretty poor. His comment alone to a sitting rep should have gotten him flagged from any future promotion, and a Severe Counseling from his immediate and Senior Raters, if not a letter of reprimand from command.
So, it’s Citizen Vindman then
What if I like being mad?
…it motivates me.
Okay that was mean. It was a timely, necessary article. Thank you.
‘We Must Follow The Science!’ Screams Actor Who Believes Xenu Dumped Frozen Aliens Into Volcanoes And Exploded Them With Bombs 75,000,000 Years Ago
I admit to struggling quite a bit all of a sudden. I have taken a new job with a 30% salary cut, which hurts more than expected, my ex somehow demanded and was granted an extra $300 a month in child support for the 17 year old, and my flying club is going out of business (I’m the president so it’s my responsibility). I was anticipating the OMB loss would put a damper on the covid craziness so I could do a bunch of flying and instructing (the new job was less hours to enable this) but that is out for now so I’m stuck in limbo, and the lack of flying pushes out the timeline for the next job… the 2 year old being the cutest thing ever is about the only bright spot. I really should try this exercise thing, but I hate exertion.
I finished this video on Norwegian Krag Carbines just as the snow stopped. Time to clear the snow.
It’s still pretty cold here (21F). Hopefully I can drive into the garage without melting some of the snow that fallen while I’ve been at work into an inclearable ice ridge.
How much to bring the honda down here and help unbury my car?
😛
Even if I put the seats down, I don’t think it will fit.
I didn’t really expect you to wrangle it. I’m just trying for some levity while taking a break.
I recognized the emoji. My schtick is to play along, dragging the joke out until it collapses on itself or produces transcendental comedy.
are you in the pittsburgh area?
Near Albany, NY.
That’s a bit too far, sorry.
I fully expect to dig it out. I have four more hours before the parking switches sides.
Of course, finding a spot will be impossible.
Good grief. Wife just turned to the Hallmark Channel.
Believe it or not there are ridiculously good looking people making gingerbread houses.
Santa Claus dropped off 200 shells of #4 buckshot today. So I got that going for me.
Your poor shoulder.
20 gauge. Not so bad.
light yellow bruising instead of deep purple.
Last time I practiced with #3 buck it wasn’t too bad. But 20 shells was enough for one afternoon.
What? Hush!
Colleague tried to Whamageddon me TWICE on our video meeting just now.
He was unsuccessful.
Got something against George Michael?
I love George Michael. I hate losing.
(although, I already won, because I got him with a Google voice number 2 days after the game started)
No, but I have a big, big problem with Andrew Ridgeley.
I’m afraid to ask what that is.
Rick Roll only “Last Christmas” by Wham. Covers don’t count.
I see. We used to have a game like that, except it was with a Diet Moutan Dew can. Hide it somewhere on their desk and see how long it took for them to find it.
Ah. Equally heinous.
I’ve had 4 unsuccessful attempts against me this year. Last year was a debacle – my colleague got my desk extension, went to the courtesy phone in the elevator lobby, and played the song into my ear.
I don’t know how you can stand it. These sorts of shenanigans would drive me to violate the workplace violence policy, and probably several laws.
Because I consider a goodly number of my colleagues as friends?
Google knows all
Sometimes, Google knows too much. The phrase “edge” keeps coming up in reference to computer shit that I follow for work. However, a Google search for “what does edge mean” was NOT illuminating.
OK. Here’s something that made me literally LOL like a hyena at a kill. (yes, yes, dangerous, blah blah blah Karen)
https://www.facebook.com/da.gooch.5245/videos/181931956907121
I ordered some parts from Rock Auto a while back, which got split up (shipped from different warehouses). Luckily Part A, which I needed first, arrived with no difficulty. A day or two ago, it occurred to me to ask myself, “What ever happened to Part(s) B?” ( upper ball joints for the Honda- this road kills them).
Apparently, they got handed off to the mailman, who only comes to the bottom of the hill, 3 1/2 miles away. I just bungled my way through several web pages of tracking reports, and scheduled a re-delivery attempt.
Likelihood of success: ~0%
I don’t want to go to the post office. It’s a clusterfuck, this time of year.
KOVIDKristen on December 17, 2020 at 11:28 am
Haven’t seen you on Zoom recently, speaking of spending time…
/Zoom Nazi
You do know that he looks like a Cabela’s ad, right?
Speaking of “haven’t seen you on Zoom recently”…
Sorry bae….work has me out the door shortly after GlibZoom™ starts. Then when I get home in the morning, all I can read is sad messages left on here overnight:
“Guess I took another nap and feel asleep on cam again” – Hyperbole
HAHAHHA
We’re all old motherfuckers
Finally, I DID get a new TV tho. Im sure its anxious for me to have a night off, and crash into it.
Akshually, this morning I took 3 TV’s to the recycle place (including that poor guy). It was a moot point, since I had already robbed them of their useful components, like an organ-harvesting clinic in a chinese prison.
MMMM capacitors…..
Sup Tres!
You two gonna join me in tall cans, or not? *cracks one more tall can*
I get my joy from music, food, and people. Coming home to SP every night is a pleasure beyond imagining. My now-every-other-month trips to see Spud invigorate me.
I have a preternatural ability to ignore assholes.
Buttigieg Defends Transportation Credentials By Revealing He Has Played Tons Of Mario Kart 64
Biden is just following Carter’s illustrious record when Jimmy took a small town mayor to also be Trans Secretary:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Goldschmidt
Trans-Secretary.
Guffaw.
Biden tapped him for the job.
Looks like the guy had all the typical corruption of a democrat, but what’s with all the deregulation activity? He sure could not be a democrat today.
I keep getting slapped down, every time I try to stand up, something trips me and says, Nope, fuck You, it’s not me, I thought about it, life just sucks right now so go on or give up, in my case, that means blowing my fucking head off, or carrying on, I’ll take the latter,
Michael J Fox says it’s ok to admit it sucks sometimes.
https://www.fr24news.com/a/2020/11/im-no-longer-in-the-lemonade-business-michael-j-fox-the-day-his-optimism-ran-out.html
My reason for not giving up is that I’m too stubborn and contrary to submit to nihilism.
Geez, I just about fainted walking down the hall a while ago. Thank goodness for albuterol nebulizer solution,
Back curled up in bed again now. Safe from everything but the upper respiratory mess I have going on. But at least I’m COVID-19 negative.
Stay hydrated, I’m far more afraid of the flu than C19, I cannot afford to get sick,
Feel better!!
Does Beretta manufacture something else besides firearms? It’s weird to see the logo of a gun manufacturer on Italian soccer players’ uniforms.
They do do some clothing… But other than that…
They used to make a car back in 90 or so.
I didn’t even know you live in the desert Southwest.
I, sleep in the day, work in the night time,
That’s how, the Desert is easy compared to the Northlands,
But I didn’t know the author of this article lives there.
Yup. Tucson.
When did this happen? We were thinking about moving there, I found a house, it’s since been sold. How’s the scorpions?
Thanks to those of you who shared 3D relief map sources with me. I settled on Summit, whose products were resold by lots of other outfits, but summit had flat shipping.
Originally I figured I’d get a state of California one, but I liked the detail of the San Diego county one, where we should be able to find our hill. But then the slightly zoomed out one of Southern California (Los Angeles to San Diego, with some margin) had a pleasing amount of blue ocean with the local islands showing.
So I got a San Diego and a Southern CA. Both 20×30. If the hubs doesn’t like them as much as I do, I’ll put them in my home office, which is taking on a British colonial theme quite by accident: zebra skin hanging on a wall, kudu skull mounted, wooden roll top desk. Add a couple of maps and a pith helmet, and I’ll be all set.
Thank you for this post, RC Dean. It’s much needed.
*tugs forelock*
My pleasure to serve.
Thanks RC!