Lounge singing mixed with Scottish country.
This week the planets move through two arrangements that could be good or bad depending on how one looks at them (or potentially if one puts more effort into the higher-order effects but I’ve got too much going on until August to do that). The week starts off with Venus-Sun-Jupiter with Mercury in opposition. This can mean a disruption towards your marriage OR it can mean that your romantic relationship helps you make it through some bad event. Starting on Tuesday we have the Moon and Saturn indicating either a new more destructive phase of a war OR a war coming to an end. Saturday is an umixed recommendation to get together with someone sexually compatible (though, if you’re an Aries it may prove to be a disappointing experience).
’70s disco mixed with 2010’s disco
I should point out couple of particularly positive things happening in the cards this week. First three threes were drawn in a row. That’s always a good thing. And also, the King of Wands was drawn with the Queen of cups. I’ve mentioned before that there’s a lot of symbolic/semantic overlap between “complete” and “perfection” but specifically in this case you’ve got the male/female paring linked with the suits that represent to good/life-creating aspects of the sex in question (Wand = creative masculinity, Sword = destructive masculinity, Cup = creative female, Coin = bitchy golddigging whore)
Taurus: The World reversed – Inertia, fixity, stagnation, permanence.
Gemini: 10 of Cups reversed – Repose of the false heart, indignation, violence.
Cancer: 3 of Cups – Success, plenty, perfection and merriment; happy issue, victory, fulfilment, solace, healing.
Leo: 3 of Coins reversed – Mediocrity, puerility, pettiness, weakness.
Virgo: 3 of Wands – Established strength, enterprise, effort, trade, commerce, discovery.
Libra: Knight of Wands – Departure, absence, flight, emigration. A dark young man, friendly. If you let this man stay in your home someone will wind up pregnant.
Scorpio: 2 of Coins – Fake happiness.
Sagittarius: Page of Wands reversed – Anecdotes, announcements, evil news, indecision, instability.
Capricorn: 6 of Swords – Journey by water, bring trouble with you.
Aquarius: Queen of Cups – Perfect [female role]. Mary Poppins, June Cleaver, your favorite porn star. Also intuition, wisdom, virtue.
Pisces: King of Wands – As mentioned above, this is the idealized good/generative male attributes – Protector, provider, father, farmer, steward.
Aries: King of Swords reversed – Contra wands, the King of Swords means the destructive masculine aspects: warrior, raider, brigand, violence.
I’v’e’d never even heard of this movie:

Sagittarius: Page of Wands reversed – Anecdotes, announcements, evil news, indecision, instability.
Indecision kills.
Mediocrity, puerility, pettiness, weakness.
Sounds sufficiently shitty.
Puerility sounds like a bowel condition you get when taking Jardiance.
Kind of fits with the actual definition.
I know what the left is going for with the whole is Kristi Noem reality show attack. I get it.
But it’d probably be the best PR the “undocumented” community could get. You take a bunch of sympathetic illegals and put them on TV highlighting their struggles. It’d probably tilt the scales in their favor. That’s how this shit works. Probably the number one thing that led to the acceptance of gays was their constant depiction in Hollywood media.
“ Cancer: 3 of Cups – Success, plenty, perfection and merriment; happy issue, victory, fulfilment, solace, healing.”
Skeet, skeet, skeet.
Healing
Sksksk?
And I oop.
Please watch the Forbidden Movie video. Not only is it a heartwarming story about dogs, but it explores one of the dark sides of the tax code and how Disney (et als) can fuck over the actors, etc.
On a personal note, I particularly want to thank NA for that because Fat Electrician is hot AF by bear standards. “Shafted in the annals of history.” Heh.
As Sean wrote,
“Skeet, skeet, skeet.”
If they’re going to bury it for tax purposes they should have to relinquish the copyright too.
You act like it’s some sort of moral hazard or something. Why do you want corporations that are part of the fabric of Americana to fail?
And just like that Tonio got zapped with a 45-70 from a chick in a bonnet.
I had to watch to get the reference (and I’m glad I did).
I always wonder how much good a suppressor does with a round like that.
I do believe that .45-70 is subsonic, and, thus, would be a fine candidate for suppression.
Ehhh…1150-2250 fps…
STEVE SMITH KNOW ABOUT SHAFTING THE ANAL OF HISTORY. AND BEARS.
*hits play*
Academic creme de la creme
MIT says that due to concerns about the “integrity” of a high-profile paper about the effects of artificial intelligence on research and innovation, the paper should be “withdrawn from public discourse.”
The paper in question, “Artificial Intelligence, Scientific Discovery, and Product Innovation,” was written by a doctoral student in the university’s economics program. It claimed to show that the introduction of an AI tool into a large-but-unidentified materials science lab led to the discovery of more materials and more patent filings, but at the cost of reducing researchers’ satisfaction with their work.
It sounds true. It reinforces a lot of wishful thinking. what more do you want?
Researchers need more satisfaction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S94Bh3Qez9o
A bigger collapse than Disney!
That is hard to believe – it seems like hardly an insurmountable lead. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Ajax had 4 draws and 5 losses in the entire system, with two of each coming in the last 5 rounds, before pulling out a win on the final day.
system??? season
Have they blamed global warming for that Mexican ship hitting the Brooklyn Bridge?
Sea rising, et c…
Mexicans are better at climbing over barriers than ducking under.
I am trapped in a HomeGoods/Marshalls combo store with my wife. Never has a place met the definition of mediocrity, puerility, pettiness and weakness so well.
My God have mercy on your soul.
I thank Jeff Bezos, my Amazon buddy. No more of those trips anymore.
Marshall’s commercial: peppy, colorful, exciting, desirable products!
Marshall’s reality: …. tumbleweed drifts past ….
Marshall’s = Big Lots pretending not to be Big Lots.
HomeGoods is kind of a junk store, right? I think I went there once.
What ever happened to Tuesday Mornings?
Those stores did not used to be that way. Once upon a time they had pretty good stuff. Between those and Pier One I acquired an impressive collection of Japanese tea pots for my mother.
These days….they suck.
TM and BL nearest me closed. 🤷🏻♀️
RJ, I would gladly accompany your wife so you didn’t have to.
Tuesday morning closed all b&m locations. Online only.
Pull a Bobcat Goldthwait. Light something on fire.
Fake happiness? What am I supposed to do with that?
Put on a happy face.
I’m exhausted today because I was at this yesterday: https://cruelworldfest.com/
Man, New Order was disappointing. I got excited at first because they started playing Transmission, but then he started singing and I was much less excited.
I had heard Devo was disappointing these days, but I thought they were good. We only stayed for half their set, though, because Mrs. Parnell wanted to see Garbage who were playing at the same time.
I probably would have really liked Nick Cave if I were a big Nick Cave fan, but I’m not. He was fine though.
Apart from that, I really enjoyed Blancmange and Clan of Xymox. Alison Moyet finished with a couple Yaz songs, which was cool. She Wants Revenge was okay – Mrs. Parnell is a big fan, but a couple of songs they did were kind of weak. Buzzcocks and Actors were good. Kite was odd – had weird videos of people with dangling elephant-like noses getting haircuts, plus two bodybuilders on stage riding exercycles and then posing. Midge Ure was meh. Light Asylum sucked. Deceit sounds like a Cure cover band. Mrs. Parnell saw Til Tuesday and part of OMD and said they were really good.
The food and drink price gouging was absurd – $19 for a tall can of Modelo, $19 for three chicken strips and a handful of fries, and pizza for $10-15 per slice.
Lots of old goths there. My teenage son was unable to find any attractive girls his age, as the trend among the young goth girls these days appears to be white facepaint with dramatic black and red makeup on top, and “they all look like clowns” according to him.
Anyways, overall we had fun and will probably go again next year.
Heard about it on 91X. If I had been caller 9…
Wow, what a show.
I have seen Clan of Xymox – I pushed myself up to the front like the very drunken schoolgirl fan I was.
My buddy and his wife were there. I was there 2023. It was a great time. Gary Newman was killer.
I saw Devo two weeks age. They were good considering thier age.
We might go next year.
Looks like Derp fucked up my yootoob feed with his communist party link early this morning. I keep getting lots of ACP videos and tons of “The Democrats/Socialists/deep statists are owning Trump! He is going to resign! They got him this time, he is one foot out the door!”
Jesus they are pathetic.
You followed a link from Glibs?
I am a slow learner, what can I say.
https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ
I reloaded. Now I am getting Powerful Speeches! from Bruce Springsteen and Jeff Daniels on Donald Trump. Yep. When I want wise, level headed insights those are the first two guys that come to my mind. Where is DeNiro? I am sure he will pop up next time.
I really enjoy Springsteen, his live cover of “Pay Me My Money Down” is sooo fun. But why does an aging rock star’s political opinions matter? Also, since when does “86” mean kill? It has always meant eing icked out of a bar and not allowed to return until sufficient groveling before the owner.
Karma has caught up to Suthen. 😀
Biden has cancer
Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his personal office announced on Sunday.
“Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms,” read a statement released by the president’s personal office. “On Friday he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.”
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” the statement continued. “The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
Wasn’t he supposed to cure it? Maybe he shoulda spent some more effort on that.
I’ve seen less transparent freshly cleaned windows than this obvious ploy to get the “tell all” books to stop coming out. Don’t buy it for a second media, you are being played.
That and I think we are supposed to let up because he is just a poor old man struggling with cancer. Give the poor man a break.
Yeah, fuck all of that. Every one of them should have their nuts ground into butter and then cast them into the void.
Where did I just read this? “Most old men die with prostate cancer, not of it”?
My doctor says for most men it’s not really a question if they get prostate cancer but when.
Kinda with you on this. The tell alls, the Hur report…and then magically over the weekend..cancer. Now, I know shit happens but this is politics and DC we are talking about.
I was really hoping for a more painful form of cancer or one of those flesh eating viruses. But God is merciful even to beady eyed evil fucks like Biden.
The gates of hell opened, briefly.
Hell has a spit waiting so it can finally be her turn.
NOT EVEN STEVE SMITH WANT TO GIVE HER A TURN
STEVE SMITH FLEE FROM ELDRITCH TERROR
Romania’s pro-West candidate Nicușor Dan wins presidential election in dramatic comeback
No need to annul the results and try a third time.
Huzzah! Foreign votes carried the day!
Gaaah…
I thought foreign interference was bad.
Shocking that OMB didn’t again screw up another nation’s election.
Shocking that the establishment media didn’t blame Trump in a nonsensical way after the establishment backed candidate won? Yes, what a shock.
Whatever “pro-West” is supposed to mean. Not to mention “nationalist”.
🙄
Anyone opposed to the current Eurotopia!
I just got around to putting a chair outside on my upstairs gameroom balcony. I left for five minutes…
https://www.glibertarians.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG_1500-scaled.jpeg
And I have an interloper.
Nice pussy.
Shuffle your feet…lose your seat.
Probably smoked half that cigar, too.
He did! Such a sassy tomcat.
Does he have an eyepatch? Because a cigar smoking cat with an eyepatch would be cool.
He never had an eyepatch but he does have a tiny smoking jacket
https://www.glibertarians.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG_0393.jpeg
A highly fashionable cat
That look has I hope you’re stocked up on Band Aids all over it.
That chair looks like it would collapse under the weight of an adult human.
I haven’t had a cigar in years. Now I want one. I may get some to take on my fishing trip in a couple weeks.
#metoo
I quit smoking but I wouldn’t mind a sometimes-vice like that.
Sadly it’s verboten in my complex but I’m thinking of moving soon anyways.
I’m dating the bar manager at a cigar lounge. Yeah, my cigar habit has returned.The dumb thing is I won’t smoke in front of her, because she eats enough smoke.So the patio it is.
That’s everywhere at this point. You kind of just have to ignore it if you’re a smoker. The notion that you can’t smoke on your own patio is fucking ridiculous renting or not.
I hate spending 2K that I wasn’t expecting.
Damn fridge dying.
This is sad.
It was old enough that, as things were starting to go on it, that it better to just replace it now, before it nickel and dimes me. Of course it is a month with a bunch of other expenses, making it hurt even more.
Nah, he’s still alive, that was a fake report, McMichael is the 85 Bears DT that died
I don’t know about nickels and dimes. A fridge is pretty basic. Fan motor is 20 bucks. Defrost timer is 20 bucks. Defrost coil is 20 bucks. Even the compressor is only a few hundred. I fix ’em till they rust.
+1 Fridge of Theseus
A fridge is basic, a wife is not.
The snack bar at the swimming hole is called The Chubby Mermaid. Manatees do look like chubby mermaids.
The sign for the attached bait shop says: our worms catch fish or die trying!
These things make me happy when I see them.
“These things make me happy when I see them.”
^^ Boom. This. There’s always something to be curious about, or to snicker at. Might as well look for it. The world is a fascinating place, the worlds within worlds. Why NOT be entertained?! From that “Good enough” slogan for a burger joint, to little patterns or behaviors you notice, I’m glad I’ve never lost the curiosity bug.
I spend my day at work kinda looking for the most interesting things. There was a person with two artificial legs, from at least the knee down. I wonder why they were wearing shorts, at least the two (3?) times I’ve seen such. I’d be tempted to show ’em off. Likely, it’s a ‘getting dressed easier’ issue.
Also, there was a short sign language chat between a couple in the bakery, who were ~30 ft apart.
My reactions also get distracted cuz I have many Interesting Light Bulbs flickering over what I do and see. ‘Twould be nice if I once-again had ADHD meds, cuz FUCK my brain functioned in a new gear on ’em.
I miss Focus. She once was a dream girl of mine, but her pimp required too much prior authorization and I couldn’t keep up with increasing demands. *sigh* I’m sure she’s happy, but I miss her.
Also quizzical, I’ve still never seen Lost in Translation. Bill’s one of my favorites, and I reckon the setting would be especially interesting for me. Tomorrow’s my Friday and my weekend starts at 2pm. I should probably park my car.
Ooh, one of the referees just took a stick to the face.
Face lacerations bleed a lot.
Longer video
Florida. *spit*
Normally, Panthers v Leafs is a meteor game for me (as in my preference is a meteor strikes the building), but I am rooting for Florida since the Bruins get a first round pick if Florida wins.
I do need to take a Silkwood shower after the game.
I don’t know what that means but I just don’t like Florida in principle and especially as a hockey place – that’s just wrong.
I do enjoy Marchand being a total boogeyman for the Leafs.
He has the face only a Boston sports fan could admire.
Agree with Rhy. I was ‘rooting’ for the Blues, but I’m gonna root for Canada after that. Florida will win this Game 7, and that also displeases me. I like rooting for underdogs, and Canada is that, in general. Ex was a massive Senators fan, but they suck.
However, more than anything, I root for Game 7s. Always. (Unless it’s the Cubs. Just win. (Tho winning World Series Game 7 on the road?.. Uh. Best series of all time.))
@Rhy: Dad was born in Abingdon, VA in 1949. The only road trip they went on outside of Virginia was to Houston in ~’66, specifically so high school principal and football coach Grandpa could witness the impossible, baseball played indoors. That was an amazing accomplishment, and I appreciate your concerns, but folk in Arizona can play hockey, too. I like the ‘Yotes for their name alone.
Waiting for those classy Toronto fans to burn down their city again.
#metoo
Sports is mostly background noise like most TV for me so I have very few teams I steadfastly root for. Most of them suck so it’s kind of underdogs by default.
The Bills could make another four appearances in a Super Bowl but I’m under no illusions that they would actually win.
The Bills remain very good, albeit overreliant on Allen being amazing (he is). I wouldn’t be so down on their chances.
interesting story about Trump helping a rando NYer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ueclo-L4iQ
I hate “streaming” volume MCMLXIX:
I was just looking at Paramount+ and in order to get the sports I want, I have to also get Showtime.
I don’t want Showtime.
Apparently this is how content is sold, like fucking mafia deals.
They learned well from cable. Now they need some custom hardware that you can only rent.
And of course streaming was positioned as the better alternative to cable.
I have no polite words to say to that.
Cable, of course, pulled the same shit.
For years I had to pay for HBO in order to get the sports I wanted on Tennis Channel, Fox Soccer Channel, etc.
Still waiting for that promised à la carte fantasy.
Cable, satellite, streaming – it doesn’t matter the delivery mechanism, it is the shit-heads that want crap content to be forced upon us because they can’t sell it otherwise.
Our family of eight went out for dinner, apparently for my bro and SiL’s 20th anniversary. I was in that wedding! Oddly, I knew SiL’s sister a decade before Bro met her. I went to school with, and was ‘friends’ with the younger sibling from kindergarten through high school.
I stayed out of the conversation when it occasionally drifted into politics. SiL mentioned the upcoming Hand Maiden’s tale.. for fuck. Were they ‘surprised’ when it didn’t happen the first term? Or upset? (Yes. Upset that it didn’t happen. They need their harpoons.)
When it came up, I *did* perk up when the Mom brought up the CNN pair’s book about Biden’s medical slide. I mentioned how they all said on broadcasts that Biden was “as sharp as a tack,” and how it’s mighty fishy this comes out *now.* So, they were either monstrously ignorant ‘journalists’ who covered the presidency non-stop; or they were complicit in the scheme to hide the decline.
(Both.)
They didn’t respond, but I was also careful and succinct with my words. I was further careful to not poke that bear into forced ‘conversation’ and I swiftly moved on.
It irritates the shit out of me that lefties have no reticence about blathering at any time in any company. I think it is the same phenomenon whereby they are just desperate for approval. That is why 99% of the sloganeering you see in public is lefty bullshit. Normies have better things to do.
Same but I think it’s a function of where you live.
In Naples, FL, I had some stranger in line who wanted to talk to me about how awesome Trump was.
Lady, I don’t even know you, I certainly don’t want to talk politics with you.
Yeah I thought of that but I have to wonder how prevalent it is coming from the other side.
With Trump, it is prevalent. None of the Republican squishes inspires the same stupidity.
Here in North central Ohio 90% of the social signaling comes from the right. It’s tiresome even when I agree with them, same talking points , same narrative, every day, over and over again. Fuck sake, people sure like sitting around and agreeing with each other.
“I think it is the same phenomenon whereby they are just desperate for approval.”
Agreed. They vocalize their thoughts to get the approval of the audience. That audience needs to be lefties to ‘show their worth.’ The sloganeering isn’t done to have a discussion with an opposing view; it’s simply to signal. BUT! The outspoken compete to be ‘better sounding’ than rival fellows. They try to optimize their phrasing to sound intelligent, and if ‘messaging’ is successful, it shows now noble for the cause they are. All to earn brownie points. (And I’m sure poon and $$.)
Still competing to the coolest kid in school. ..Fucking 20yrs later. Shameful, corrupt, predictable.
“Fuck sake, people sure like sitting around and agreeing with each other.”
^^ YEP!! They feel the need to express ‘their’ thoughts to the crowd to make sure they said all the Right Things. Doing such, ya get Approved. Doing so well gets ya extra love. They want to feel like they belong. They have to send out test balloons to see if they’re missing anything.
Principles v Principals. As no Diversity of Thought is allowed, they need to check if they’re still in the R̵i̵g̵h̵t̵ Correct Lane. Social primates gonna find their communities. Secret codes and handshakes are out. (So passé!!) ‘Proper’ buzzwords, in. Master the lingo to show your worth, plebes.
Ha to be fair I’ve never lived in MAGA-land.
Nobody I knew voted for Nixon.
I’m not sure about that. I live in Orange County, CA, which was until recently pretty red and is now kinda purple, and while it’s possible it’s subjective and just a matter of who I hang out with, it really seems like the lefties are more vocal than the righties.
I mean, I know some Trump fans who have Trump signs and banners in front of their houses, but I can’t recall them ever bringing up Trump or any right-wing talking points in casual conversation, whereas a lot of the lefties I know seem to have no problem going off on some anti-Trump/Republican/conservative tirade pretty much out of nowhere.
I think it’s more common on the left. Just look at any online place that was ostensibly started for an interest area having nothing to do with contemporary politics and see who injects what politics into discussions and what jokes you can make that are supposedly innocent but really about you-know-who.
The four that I’ve spent the most time one were/are for fans of old movies, fans of game shows, Green Bay Packer fans, and a forum for the board game Go, and all of them skewed in one (the same) direction.
I do like being in the bluegrass, even if it is Louisville.
lol Toronto apparently sucks ass at home.
Come to think of it…the Dem Party was running a candidate that they knew had serious health issues and since the death pool saw the house winning, needed more time to pay out. So toss in the guy that ‘suddenly’, with some of the best medical care in the universe, pop up with advanced stage of cancer.
“Best” should be qualified. Best in only as far as they want to be the physician to the president and willing to just say what the party, either of them, wants them to say.
‘Best’ as in: He could carry the coattails of Obama.
That is the only purpose Team Blue had for Biden. Whoops.
OT: Evan, LIT was made for you!
@Tox: *intrigued* What is this LIT you speak of?
Literature? Or an acronym I don’t have time to think a joke for?
I’m getting a kick out of the Diddy coverage. We know he was partying with politicians and famous people. A lot more people did heinous shit outside Diddy and none of them are being named or held accountable. They put some “singer” on the stand who gets into lurid details that everyone latches onto and leaves them debating how culpable she is in all of this. And the answer is obviously pretty culpable.
I’m supposed to believe it was just Diddy and male escorts pissing in Cassie’s mouth? Don’t care because I’m into drama. I just want the rich and famous pricks involved in all of this to be named.
So far the case against Diddy sucks.
I would have thought the video evidence of him beating on that gal in the hotel would have been enough but WTF do I know.
It shows he was an abusive asshole, but he’s not charged with domestic violence or assault. And the same girlfriend was texting him how she loved freak offs and him even while in relationships with other dudes. On top of that, she was helping to procure other young women for the parties. She’s not exactly what I’d describe as a sympathetic witness.
I’m not in anyway defending “Diddy.” But there’s a lot of shit not being mentioned in this trial.
These scandal prosecutions resemble more and more Soviet trials for political losers. Everyone knew this shit was going on, and a lot of others were in it but it’s not yet time to punish them. See also MeToo.
Or Mr. Epstein.
It’s absurd.
Just like Epstein, Ghislane, and Prince Andrew were the only ones doing criminal acts on Pedo Island.
This is my point, put more succinctly. It’s a show trial with the lurid details like pissing in Cassie’s mouth meant to distract from the real scandal.
He’s a freak with unusual kinks but beyond the assault in the hallway, which he’s not charged with I don’t think, I don’t know why they’re bothering. If they could prove some sort of systematic blackmail scheme maybe it’d be worth the trouble but I don’t see that.
Time for my ‘Friday’ commute. Done at 2pm and then off for about 60hrs.
‘Tis nice for the end of the week to traditionally, be the most chill. *crosses fingers*
Enjoy the morn as best ya can.
Hey all you ass kickers! Time to do your thing.
🫡🌅☕️🫵
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PdKGDMhau4
🎶🎶
sounds like a call to violence to me.
It isn’t?
https://news.yahoo.com/capital-one-acquiring-discover-impacted-191102221.html
I don’t like change. 😕
-bringing “together two innovative, mission-driven companies.”
It’ll take more than corporate jargon bullshit speak to lure me in.
https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/lehighvalley/northampton-county/woman-injured-when-car-crashes-into-palmer-park-mall-store-update/article_18a36bb7-93a3-4d7d-8f48-9cf30b0fefd1.html
88 years old? She should be running for congress.
88? Does she have an Only Fans account?
/Curious in the Woods
Fourscore woke up with wood in the woods?
😁
Its too early. I need a new line of work, but my OnlyFans just hasnt gotten any traction.
suh’ fam
whats goody
maybe a career in HVAC is not for you.
Rule 34, baby!
Good morning, homey, U, Ted’S., Sean, Stinky, and EfE!
Morning. How goes?
Very well, thanks! The weather looks great, and I believe my coughing is lessening! 🙂🤞 And for better or worse, I have a post scheduled to go up here tonight. 😳🤞
How are you?
My knee* is slowly improving. My cough is stubborn, but almost gone.
I hope the mailman is late today so I can get home and sign for the delivery that’s supposed to arrive today. It is ‘Signature Required’.
*it’s astounding how much a knee moves, gets touched, or has weight put on it.
I was pleasantly surprised to have part of a Duluth Trading order delivered yesterday. (The rest had arrived Saturday.) It wasn’t one of the Big Three delivery agents – it was some outfit called OnTrac. An earlier order had arrived a little late (and after we’d left for our trip to the state park lodge, Thank goodness we have observant, helpful neighbors) but these arrived a little earlier than expected.
I have the unfortunate luck of things arriving early only when it will inconvenience me. I place orders with the expectation that they will arrive on a day that I am home from the estimates, but if something does go right it will end up stopping by when I’m not there.
GT, pictured
I’m listening to the Time Traveller’s Guide to Regency Britain. In the section where the author is talking about the agricultural revolution, he talks about how the drive towards profites drove up efficiency and yield to support a booming population, then spends ages lamenting how that selfsame revolution drove the tenant serfs out of their hardscrabble lives of subsistance farming into the new industrial jobs that were popping up all over. What he stridently avoided asking was whether this move resulted in an improvement in circumstance for those relocated rural workers. No, just an assumption that the loss of the traditional, starvation prone life inherited from medieval forebearers without the benefits of the medeival warm period was a thing of woe.
And they probably got inside plumbing and electricity as well. I hate when that happens.
Well, not electricity, this was around 1800.
Many historians – and others – do seem to romanticize the traditional agricultural lifestyle, overlooking such hazards as drought, weather disasters, pest infestation, etc. on top of the sheer hard work involved. I wonder if earlier historians bemoaned the decline of the hunter/gatherer lifestyle when folks figured out that whole farming thing.
The impression was worse because this book was on my playlist right after the Time Travellers Guide to Reconstruction Britain – where there was a lengthy chapter on the famines caused by poor harvests and widespread subsistance farming. I know they weren’t written as close together as that, but it was a bit of a contrast.
Earlier Historians had a very different approach where they crowed about their civilization rising above the primitive savages on all sides.
One thing that kept running through my head while listening to the “Rhapsody to the Poor Subsistance Farmer” was Thatchers “They would rather the poor be poorer as long as the rich were less rich”.
Asian drivers
amusing German mousetrap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22dOSAcJtHw
It only needs to be set once. As mice wander through the trap, they press levers which reset it.
UCS: Knees and pain become close friends the older you get. I have a knee wrap that I wear on alternating knees depending on which is complaining the most. Ladders seem to annoy my knees the most.
This was the result of a fall where the knee was the first point of contact to the concrete, not the general aging pains.
That’s how mine started 5 years ago.