I despise the programming on modern television. Yes, there are some good shows, but even the best shows cater to the least common denominator: The American Zombie.
The Zombie Apocalypse struck decades ago, perhaps even longer. People tend to allow the media to tell them what's important, and they have chosen NOT TO THINK about what's important to THEM. Society has taught this behavior, as it's dangerous to allow your real opinions to show. It's dangerous to be different.
Television has become the goto information center for what to worry about, what to think, who to vote for (and sometimes why...but usually nobody thinks about why, much less talks about it). This allows the people who OWN all the media, to control the nations. Yeah, just about all the world is controlled by media moguls, and their motivation is monetary. (This makes them vulnerable to financial institutions.) Remember that there is an inverse correlation between intelligence, and the desire to be in charge: The less you understand yourself, the less control you have over yourself; the less self-control, the more arrogance; the more arrogance you feel, the more violence and short-sightedness in your behavioral toolset.
The sickness behind mass media is the desire for too much money, which leads to the "need" to increase ratings. Drama increases ratings: Viewers want to see how things turn out. Satisfying that need allows their attention to turn to other things, such as their own lives...and the media can't allow that to happen. So they bring us more fear, uncertainty, doubt...which are very effective wedges into your mind, useful for selling products to sheeple. After sex--which is taboo, and so has to be carefully administered--fear and uncertainty sell more products than anything easily accessible to media moguls. Humans are taught to crave power, and when that's combined with teaching us not to THINK, our desire for power is manifest through control of others, usually through force. Money gives us the ability to coerce others, and more of it allows us to do things without thinking. A stupid, senseless path, followed by many self-righteous people. "It's legal, so it's right!" they proclaim. Yeah, everyone knows smoking is stupid, but it's legal.
The pursuit of money beyond your needs is a pointless endeavor, yet increasing wealth is an addictive path followed by most humans. The de facto controllers of our lives encourage this: Everything costs money, and more and more "things" are required to simply hold a job. You need a phone, a car, a house, decent clothes...don't you? I guess that depends on what your goals are in life.
Can you be happy, chasing your tail to acquire these endless "things?"
The alternative to pursuit of money may be too subtle for society, but I'd be embarrassed to admit it: Pursue excellence in your career, measured in successful creations. If you make clothespins, make the best damned clothespins you know how, and keep working to learn how to make better ones! Measuring success by profit only measures your public relations and advertising skills...and most companies hire contractors for that, so there is nothing to be proud of there. Can you dupe the public into buying an inferior product? Unfortunately, that is the goal of most corporations: Cut costs till the product is barely marketable.
We cannot cure the insanity of others. I am frequently amazed at how insane society is, and modern religion displays the corruption that an insane society brings. The problem is peer pressure, irrational violence, and general lack of thinking (aka stupidity?).
Society trains humans to solve their problems through swift action. "Lord, grant me patience; but I want it now!" Alexander "solved" the Gordian Knot by cutting it with a sword. That's not a solution: That's destroying creation. He was clueless about knots.
Society is materially based. Remember, God turned over the world to the Serpent at the Fall. You'd think that looking at history would cure churches of that problem, but it seems few people are willing to look at history. The church of medieval times was insanely obsessed with possessions and political power, and effectively destroyed every sign of spirituality they encountered. If the hierarchy could gain in power or wealth by accusing someone of heresy, they did. And the masses dared not question them.
We can't cure "Christian" insanity: Those who profess to be Christian are almost entirely hypocritical, and lack understanding. "Few shall find the Way," Jesus taught us. Don't expect a large, prosperous church to guide your soul to God. That's not how it's done. Salvation comes from the recognition that God is within us, and then taking the time to seek Him.
What we CAN do, is work toward curing ourselves. Then let our light shine.
Thursday, May 14, 2020
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
COVID-19 and the End of Democracy?
People may not see it, but I believe that the COVID-19 Panic is forcing governments to react in ways that will soon cause more deaths than the corona virus itself. Quarantines of families and individuals who are living from paycheck to paycheck will either instigate a collapse of food supplies and distribution, or create a massive debit from the National Treasury. Either way, riots are likely. Ammunition is selling like candy in Texas already. People are scared, and they don’t have faith in government. Why should they? How much intelligence can be expressed in 160 characters?
The situation today—mid-March, 2020–is ridiculous: The media drama has made people think we’re running out of toilet paper, for crap’s sake! A self-fulfilling prophecy, of course: Stockpiling has wiped paper products off the shelves. I shouldn’t mention how stupid it is that people have already crashed the dust-mask supply chain, but monkeys associate dust masks with the medical profession, and medical professionals MUST know something...in spite of the fact that medical care—I mean, “mistakes”—are reported as being the third leading cause of death in the US.
A little ignorance goes a long way.
Masks do not protect the wearer from viruses. ‘Nuff said: Look it up yourself.
Shutting down businesses where contagion has not been detected seems sensible, at first. What’s going to happen to the more than three-quarters of the US population that lacks the means to feed themselves for more than a couple of weeks? The ones who go stir-crazy in quarantine? Will the small percentage of people who control the vast majority of the world’s wealth do ANYTHING to sustain the backbone of the economy: Those whose grueling labor built the infrastructure that keeps us all alive?
Do they want us to live? (Look up the Georgia Guidestones, for starters.)
The society we'll have after the Great Depression of the 21st Century is either going to look like Mad Max’s world, or—optimistically—something like the Matrix movies: Machines will be caring for isolated humans who are unable to meet even to breed. Perhaps we’ll be in pods, but shoebox hotels run by corporations are more likely, in the lifetime of today’s children. We already hear about driverless 18-wheelers, and drones are delivering groceries in major cities.
Personally, I hope the governments of Earth have a good plan, and can implement it in a way that is beneficial to the People of Earth that these governments exist to serve. Communism only works when there is a free market to sponge off of, and capitalism in chains is a death spiral...so, since governments have yet to show intelligence, my hopes for my retirement dreams are dim.
One good thing about this event: It may shift the US economy away from the military empire it's been focused on so long. It’s even possible that big pharmaceutical companies will learn to value human life over profit.
Am I too optimistic?
The situation today—mid-March, 2020–is ridiculous: The media drama has made people think we’re running out of toilet paper, for crap’s sake! A self-fulfilling prophecy, of course: Stockpiling has wiped paper products off the shelves. I shouldn’t mention how stupid it is that people have already crashed the dust-mask supply chain, but monkeys associate dust masks with the medical profession, and medical professionals MUST know something...in spite of the fact that medical care—I mean, “mistakes”—are reported as being the third leading cause of death in the US.
A little ignorance goes a long way.
Masks do not protect the wearer from viruses. ‘Nuff said: Look it up yourself.
Shutting down businesses where contagion has not been detected seems sensible, at first. What’s going to happen to the more than three-quarters of the US population that lacks the means to feed themselves for more than a couple of weeks? The ones who go stir-crazy in quarantine? Will the small percentage of people who control the vast majority of the world’s wealth do ANYTHING to sustain the backbone of the economy: Those whose grueling labor built the infrastructure that keeps us all alive?
Do they want us to live? (Look up the Georgia Guidestones, for starters.)
The society we'll have after the Great Depression of the 21st Century is either going to look like Mad Max’s world, or—optimistically—something like the Matrix movies: Machines will be caring for isolated humans who are unable to meet even to breed. Perhaps we’ll be in pods, but shoebox hotels run by corporations are more likely, in the lifetime of today’s children. We already hear about driverless 18-wheelers, and drones are delivering groceries in major cities.
Personally, I hope the governments of Earth have a good plan, and can implement it in a way that is beneficial to the People of Earth that these governments exist to serve. Communism only works when there is a free market to sponge off of, and capitalism in chains is a death spiral...so, since governments have yet to show intelligence, my hopes for my retirement dreams are dim.
One good thing about this event: It may shift the US economy away from the military empire it's been focused on so long. It’s even possible that big pharmaceutical companies will learn to value human life over profit.
Am I too optimistic?
Thursday, January 9, 2020
Words, Responsibility...and Politics?
I am a veteran; I served six years in the US Navy. When I signed up, I took an oath to defend my country against all enemies, foreign and domestic. While I have not personally witnessed it, I believe all US Presidents since at least World War II have spoken the same oath. It is my belief that they have failed to abide by that oath.
When a citizen of a US State acts against the interests of the people of our nation, that person becomes an enemy of the country, no matter what their office. Some actions may be excusable, perhaps, but when those actions include mass murder of innocent civilians, covering up these murders, manipulating the media to de-popularize hot issues and distract the public with inanities, and laying criminal charges against those whistleblowers who expose said activities, the people of our nation should stand up and speak out. When a government condones murder for money (such as waging war in neutral countries in order to control petroleum or other resources), that government must be reined in. When the media supports such a government by providing propaganda (because it profits the controllers of the media), the media needs to be censured. (Note that I am not saying “censored,” as in stifled, but rather, “censured,” as in reprimanded.) Evil should be stopped!
It has become apparent that such a situation has existed in the United States for generations. Perhaps the President is too busy to acknowledge this situation, but more likely, he is under the thumb of the controlling elements that benefit monetarily from it. Substantial supportive evidence exists for this theory. The scope of this situation is frightening.
Not only is the methodology of these controllers inhumane and criminal, it is unnecessary to further their own interests. Profit can be developed in other ways; energy can be produced more economically and in less-harmful ways as well. I won’t address their apparent desire for insane amounts of money; they already have more than they can figure out how to spend for their own well-being. It’s just numbers to them, the score in a fool’s game. They are essentially trading in energy, labor, and human lives; most of which is not rightfully theirs to control. By using fear and manipulation, bribery and deception, these demonic “people” have contributed to the decline of human civilization for generations. Sure, we have toys and technology that our grandparents could scarcely dream of, but we are still acting like savages in our governments. Genius is not encouraged in our society, but in spite of that, some does sneak out.
Without going into too much detail, the problems that our people face, other than those presented by these traitors, are relatively simple. We have an energy-distribution challenge, for example. Part of the problem there is that our infrastructure cannot handle the demands being made on it. The answer is simple: Distribute the generation systems, not just the energy. Putting small windmills and rooftop solar systems in as many places as feasible would add huge amounts of energy to our grid. There are simple systems that can be made to take advantage of climate and terrain, for small amounts of money and no cost in lives or diplomatic relations. Just ask me for more details; it only requires a small mental effort.
One of my favorite sayings is that there is an inverse correlation between intelligence, and the desire to be in management. (If that statement confuses you, you shouldn’t be in management, but quite likely want to be.) The result of this is that the people in charge, are often incapable of developing creative solutions to problems. (One likely symptom of that is the high turnover in CEOs.)
Throughout history, the preferred response of such people to any question that challenged their intellect, was violence. This led to a decline in the numbers of intelligent people on the surface of the Earth, which made the advancement of civilization more of a veneer, than a development of human nature.
Einstein came up with E=mc2. Truman killed people with it. Werner von Braun designed a space ship. Hitler killed people with it.
When a citizen of a US State acts against the interests of the people of our nation, that person becomes an enemy of the country, no matter what their office. Some actions may be excusable, perhaps, but when those actions include mass murder of innocent civilians, covering up these murders, manipulating the media to de-popularize hot issues and distract the public with inanities, and laying criminal charges against those whistleblowers who expose said activities, the people of our nation should stand up and speak out. When a government condones murder for money (such as waging war in neutral countries in order to control petroleum or other resources), that government must be reined in. When the media supports such a government by providing propaganda (because it profits the controllers of the media), the media needs to be censured. (Note that I am not saying “censored,” as in stifled, but rather, “censured,” as in reprimanded.) Evil should be stopped!
It has become apparent that such a situation has existed in the United States for generations. Perhaps the President is too busy to acknowledge this situation, but more likely, he is under the thumb of the controlling elements that benefit monetarily from it. Substantial supportive evidence exists for this theory. The scope of this situation is frightening.
Not only is the methodology of these controllers inhumane and criminal, it is unnecessary to further their own interests. Profit can be developed in other ways; energy can be produced more economically and in less-harmful ways as well. I won’t address their apparent desire for insane amounts of money; they already have more than they can figure out how to spend for their own well-being. It’s just numbers to them, the score in a fool’s game. They are essentially trading in energy, labor, and human lives; most of which is not rightfully theirs to control. By using fear and manipulation, bribery and deception, these demonic “people” have contributed to the decline of human civilization for generations. Sure, we have toys and technology that our grandparents could scarcely dream of, but we are still acting like savages in our governments. Genius is not encouraged in our society, but in spite of that, some does sneak out.
Without going into too much detail, the problems that our people face, other than those presented by these traitors, are relatively simple. We have an energy-distribution challenge, for example. Part of the problem there is that our infrastructure cannot handle the demands being made on it. The answer is simple: Distribute the generation systems, not just the energy. Putting small windmills and rooftop solar systems in as many places as feasible would add huge amounts of energy to our grid. There are simple systems that can be made to take advantage of climate and terrain, for small amounts of money and no cost in lives or diplomatic relations. Just ask me for more details; it only requires a small mental effort.
One of my favorite sayings is that there is an inverse correlation between intelligence, and the desire to be in management. (If that statement confuses you, you shouldn’t be in management, but quite likely want to be.) The result of this is that the people in charge, are often incapable of developing creative solutions to problems. (One likely symptom of that is the high turnover in CEOs.)
Throughout history, the preferred response of such people to any question that challenged their intellect, was violence. This led to a decline in the numbers of intelligent people on the surface of the Earth, which made the advancement of civilization more of a veneer, than a development of human nature.
Einstein came up with E=mc2. Truman killed people with it. Werner von Braun designed a space ship. Hitler killed people with it.
Sunday, June 23, 2019
Talking about thinking
Some years ago, I was chatting with an online friend of mine late at night, and the topic of thinking, and how it affects communication, came up. Writers have as many ways of thinking as they do writing, I'm sure, but this is how my thinking goes (and perhaps yours?), and part of the way my worlds are built. This is an edited clipping from that conversation.
LadyM (names are changed) is a dear sweet person who gave her time to me for no other payment than my time with her; I assume most friendships are like that. :)
Remember that this is written from an ET Perspective, and shows my immaturity.
Koehro: I'm still trying to learn about humans well enough to be able to communicate with them. It seems I'm going to be stuck here for a while. I need to become a part of humanity, I think. There don't seem to be any suitable alternatives :P
LadyM: Well, yes, you do need to be in the swing of things and communicate with others; but from what I have seen, you are doing fine.
Koehro: LadyM, what I say is what I know how to say. There is so much that I am unable to communicate. :( When I went to hell, I experienced an extreme form of this...being unable to communicate on any level.
LadyM: Tell me one thing you can’t communicate to me.
Koehro: I don't have the vocabulary, LadyM. I have thoughts that I cannot explain.
LadyM: Tell me what they are; you don’t have to explain them.
Koehro: It's much like having a different WAY of thinking. Words are symbols put on things, but they have such flexibility of meaning that two people can hear the same sentence and believe that totally different things are being said.
Koehro: I work in the...web, I'll call it. An interlinked matrix, or series of matrices, in multiple dimensions. Each node is an item, and each connection is a set of forces, or factors, between items. Forces can be tapped, changed, re-directed. Items can be created or introduced. I have no way to explain in a reasonable amount of time, what a part of the web means. The only things that language allows me to express, are things of the material world. Even spiritual languages like Sanskrit, can only hint at the existence of reality. So I'm like a man in hell, peeking through a keyhole at humanity, and trying to make friends through that keyhole. Sometimes I find a good friend, one who is not only kind and loving, but who attempts to understand, and shows a degree of understanding. Often that good friend turns out to be my own wishful thinking.
Koehro: That's when I cry the most. Loneliness is my hell.
LadyM: Wait; explain what you just said about the friend. Why do you think that was just wishful thinking?
Koehro: A person seems able to receive my communications to some extent, and responds with word symbols or actions that show evidence of their understanding. So I grow close to that person, and try to communicate more. But eventually, it turns out that the person is not complete, does not have a true understanding, or is malformed or too immature to grasp the meanings I thought they were expressing. I discover that their hearts are not full, that their thoughts are still unit-oriented, that they still strive for death. I can't explain this correctly. I'm sorry.
LadyM: Why do you think this is happening to you?
Koehro: That I can't communicate? Because I don't think in words, and it seems that most people are so accustomed to words, that their minds are restricted to the symbols that can be expressed in words.
LadyM: Well, it of course would be different for them, having never experienced it or maybe even heard of it before.
Koehro: Yes. Society is not made for people like me. But I'm sure there are hundreds on this planet who have similar challenges.
LadyM: Yes, I think you're right. You seem to communicate just fine, really. Is it that you want people to understand what you're going through that you try to reach out?
Koehro: Have you ever studied mathematics, and are you familiar with sets and subsets?
LadyM: I am horrible with math and science; is it like folders and subfolders?
Koehro: Well, the basic concept of a set is similar, except that an item can be in more than one set.
LadyM: The same as copy things can be, too.
Koehro: For example, "fruit" is a set. It includes subsets like apples, oranges, bananas, tomatoes...
LadyM: Yes.
Koehro: And food is a set, that includes edible fruits, but not toxic ones.
LadyM: Yes.
Koehro: Everybody has their own set of symbols, thoughts that they can work with. I have a set, you have a set of these thoughts, in essence, things that we can comprehend. What can be expressed by language is another set. Some of what is in each of our sets is part of the latter. That is, we can talk about some of our thoughts. But not every thing that we think about is expressible, at least with our vocabulary. If a person thinks in words, it is more likely that their thoughts can be expressed through language. Only subtleties or connotations might be missed, or attendant inexpressible feelings.
Koehro: If one does not think in a spoken language, there is a greater possibility of thought occurring that cannot be expressed.
LadyM: So are you saying you only think in pictures?
Koehro: I think in matrices, that include pictures...but also many more things. Even the thought of "picture" includes a matrix with elements that may go into the structure of a picture, whether it's on canvas, paper or in a computer. So when someone says a word, I "hear" so much more than just the word.
LadyM: I want to understand this; I'm very curious!
Koehro: Each word has a context, and potential contexts, as well. Each context is a "set" that includes energies and items.
Koehro: Then, humans lie routinely. So each word and context has other stories that it can be telling, and connections to other possibilities.
Koehro: I evaluate everything I hear this way. As much as my mind can grasp. Sometimes I'm very slow to understand something, because I can't decide which context it belongs in. Often, the valid context is something outside my experience. I'm not human--my mind is not human--so that happens a lot. :(
LadyM: Why do you think that?
Koehro: When I was younger, I considered destroying part of my brain, to try to eliminate that confusion. I felt like Pinocchio, wanting to become a real boy.
Koehro: LadyM...I don't think like a human. There are other, physical aspects, that I'd rather not discuss over a network. :D
LadyM: You don't turn into a lizard after midnight, I hope! lol
Koehro: Not while I'm awake, anyway. LOL!
LadyM: Lots of people have minds that are not the normal, and many have many different problems they endure.
Koehro: Yes, I'm sure there are thousands like me on Earth. Maybe millions. But I believe, as I told you before, that humans came from somewhere else. Oh, wait, maybe I didn't come right out and say it. But there it is. :D
LadyM: Yes, I think you did.
Koehro: If you're curious, the evidence is available. It may take a while to connect enough dots...or "nodes" in the matrix. LOL!
LadyM: I can do connect the dots. lol
Koehro: To recognize them, you'll need to discard the notion that the "experts" who wrote the popular books, are really telling the truth.
LadyM: Ok. So can you tell me some of your truth you have found?
Koehro: Look up Iapetus. Do you know anything about engineering?
LadyM: No.
Koehro: Bridge design, architecture, structural stresses and loading? Do you know what a geodesic dome is?
LadyM: I know what a dome is. lol
Koehro: Hm. Look up geodesic dome, too. What about carbon fiber, molecular monofilaments, skyhooks?
LadyM: Well, I would if I look them up. Why?
Koehro: Those are nodes in my matrix regarding Iapetus. You should also know something about orbital mechanics, electrodynamics, relativity, and theories of the creation of the Solar system.
LadyM: Why?
Koehro: If you had these in your matrix, when you study Iapetus, I believe you would most likely conclude that it is an artificial structure placed in its orbit by intelligent life.
LadyM: And are you thinking you came from there?
Koehro: No. :P It's been abandoned, apparently, for perhaps millions of years. Certainly thousands. I haven't tried to estimate its age, because I don't know what it's made of, or what has really been happening in the Solar system since its arrival. But, it makes Star Wars appear to represent actual history in this star system, rather than in a galaxy far, far away.
LadyM: Hummm...But why would you be concerned about it?
Koehro: Because it is proof that we are being lied to.
LadyM: But we are being lied to about almost everything, or maybe everything; why pick something so far away?
Koehro: So many things, yes. :) But it's a node in another matrix. :D See, this is a keyhole, and I can't even get one small matrix through it in a reasonable time. :(
LadyM: I didn’t get any of the last sentence.
Koehro: The reason language works at all, is because people have learned what words mean.
LadyM: True.
Koehro: I don't think in words. I think in dynamic, linked matrices. It takes hours to explain one node in a matrix, and without an understanding of all the background elements--such as geodesic domes, monomolecular filaments, etc.--I cannot effectively explain it. That's not even mentioning the historical evidence for it.
LadyM: So what you are saying is you just see things differently than the norm?
Koehro: That is an easy way to say it. :D I was trying to demonstrate the difference, though. You are the first person I've given this level of detail to.
LadyM: So it is the difference in how I see and understand things compared to you, right?
Koehro: Apparently. But it's more the way we see differently because we think differently.
Everything You Know is Still Wrong
LadyM (names are changed) is a dear sweet person who gave her time to me for no other payment than my time with her; I assume most friendships are like that. :)
Remember that this is written from an ET Perspective, and shows my immaturity.
Koehro: I'm still trying to learn about humans well enough to be able to communicate with them. It seems I'm going to be stuck here for a while. I need to become a part of humanity, I think. There don't seem to be any suitable alternatives :P
LadyM: Well, yes, you do need to be in the swing of things and communicate with others; but from what I have seen, you are doing fine.
Koehro: LadyM, what I say is what I know how to say. There is so much that I am unable to communicate. :( When I went to hell, I experienced an extreme form of this...being unable to communicate on any level.
LadyM: Tell me one thing you can’t communicate to me.
Koehro: I don't have the vocabulary, LadyM. I have thoughts that I cannot explain.
LadyM: Tell me what they are; you don’t have to explain them.
Koehro: It's much like having a different WAY of thinking. Words are symbols put on things, but they have such flexibility of meaning that two people can hear the same sentence and believe that totally different things are being said.
Koehro: I work in the...web, I'll call it. An interlinked matrix, or series of matrices, in multiple dimensions. Each node is an item, and each connection is a set of forces, or factors, between items. Forces can be tapped, changed, re-directed. Items can be created or introduced. I have no way to explain in a reasonable amount of time, what a part of the web means. The only things that language allows me to express, are things of the material world. Even spiritual languages like Sanskrit, can only hint at the existence of reality. So I'm like a man in hell, peeking through a keyhole at humanity, and trying to make friends through that keyhole. Sometimes I find a good friend, one who is not only kind and loving, but who attempts to understand, and shows a degree of understanding. Often that good friend turns out to be my own wishful thinking.
Koehro: That's when I cry the most. Loneliness is my hell.
LadyM: Wait; explain what you just said about the friend. Why do you think that was just wishful thinking?
Koehro: A person seems able to receive my communications to some extent, and responds with word symbols or actions that show evidence of their understanding. So I grow close to that person, and try to communicate more. But eventually, it turns out that the person is not complete, does not have a true understanding, or is malformed or too immature to grasp the meanings I thought they were expressing. I discover that their hearts are not full, that their thoughts are still unit-oriented, that they still strive for death. I can't explain this correctly. I'm sorry.
LadyM: Why do you think this is happening to you?
Koehro: That I can't communicate? Because I don't think in words, and it seems that most people are so accustomed to words, that their minds are restricted to the symbols that can be expressed in words.
LadyM: Well, it of course would be different for them, having never experienced it or maybe even heard of it before.
Koehro: Yes. Society is not made for people like me. But I'm sure there are hundreds on this planet who have similar challenges.
LadyM: Yes, I think you're right. You seem to communicate just fine, really. Is it that you want people to understand what you're going through that you try to reach out?
Koehro: Have you ever studied mathematics, and are you familiar with sets and subsets?
LadyM: I am horrible with math and science; is it like folders and subfolders?
Koehro: Well, the basic concept of a set is similar, except that an item can be in more than one set.
LadyM: The same as copy things can be, too.
Koehro: For example, "fruit" is a set. It includes subsets like apples, oranges, bananas, tomatoes...
LadyM: Yes.
Koehro: And food is a set, that includes edible fruits, but not toxic ones.
LadyM: Yes.
Koehro: Everybody has their own set of symbols, thoughts that they can work with. I have a set, you have a set of these thoughts, in essence, things that we can comprehend. What can be expressed by language is another set. Some of what is in each of our sets is part of the latter. That is, we can talk about some of our thoughts. But not every thing that we think about is expressible, at least with our vocabulary. If a person thinks in words, it is more likely that their thoughts can be expressed through language. Only subtleties or connotations might be missed, or attendant inexpressible feelings.
Koehro: If one does not think in a spoken language, there is a greater possibility of thought occurring that cannot be expressed.
LadyM: So are you saying you only think in pictures?
Koehro: I think in matrices, that include pictures...but also many more things. Even the thought of "picture" includes a matrix with elements that may go into the structure of a picture, whether it's on canvas, paper or in a computer. So when someone says a word, I "hear" so much more than just the word.
LadyM: I want to understand this; I'm very curious!
Koehro: Each word has a context, and potential contexts, as well. Each context is a "set" that includes energies and items.
Koehro: Then, humans lie routinely. So each word and context has other stories that it can be telling, and connections to other possibilities.
Koehro: I evaluate everything I hear this way. As much as my mind can grasp. Sometimes I'm very slow to understand something, because I can't decide which context it belongs in. Often, the valid context is something outside my experience. I'm not human--my mind is not human--so that happens a lot. :(
LadyM: Why do you think that?
Koehro: When I was younger, I considered destroying part of my brain, to try to eliminate that confusion. I felt like Pinocchio, wanting to become a real boy.
Koehro: LadyM...I don't think like a human. There are other, physical aspects, that I'd rather not discuss over a network. :D
LadyM: You don't turn into a lizard after midnight, I hope! lol
Koehro: Not while I'm awake, anyway. LOL!
LadyM: Lots of people have minds that are not the normal, and many have many different problems they endure.
Koehro: Yes, I'm sure there are thousands like me on Earth. Maybe millions. But I believe, as I told you before, that humans came from somewhere else. Oh, wait, maybe I didn't come right out and say it. But there it is. :D
LadyM: Yes, I think you did.
Koehro: If you're curious, the evidence is available. It may take a while to connect enough dots...or "nodes" in the matrix. LOL!
LadyM: I can do connect the dots. lol
Koehro: To recognize them, you'll need to discard the notion that the "experts" who wrote the popular books, are really telling the truth.
LadyM: Ok. So can you tell me some of your truth you have found?
Koehro: Look up Iapetus. Do you know anything about engineering?
LadyM: No.
Koehro: Bridge design, architecture, structural stresses and loading? Do you know what a geodesic dome is?
LadyM: I know what a dome is. lol
Koehro: Hm. Look up geodesic dome, too. What about carbon fiber, molecular monofilaments, skyhooks?
LadyM: Well, I would if I look them up. Why?
Koehro: Those are nodes in my matrix regarding Iapetus. You should also know something about orbital mechanics, electrodynamics, relativity, and theories of the creation of the Solar system.
LadyM: Why?
Koehro: If you had these in your matrix, when you study Iapetus, I believe you would most likely conclude that it is an artificial structure placed in its orbit by intelligent life.
LadyM: And are you thinking you came from there?
Koehro: No. :P It's been abandoned, apparently, for perhaps millions of years. Certainly thousands. I haven't tried to estimate its age, because I don't know what it's made of, or what has really been happening in the Solar system since its arrival. But, it makes Star Wars appear to represent actual history in this star system, rather than in a galaxy far, far away.
LadyM: Hummm...But why would you be concerned about it?
Koehro: Because it is proof that we are being lied to.
LadyM: But we are being lied to about almost everything, or maybe everything; why pick something so far away?
Koehro: So many things, yes. :) But it's a node in another matrix. :D See, this is a keyhole, and I can't even get one small matrix through it in a reasonable time. :(
LadyM: I didn’t get any of the last sentence.
Koehro: The reason language works at all, is because people have learned what words mean.
LadyM: True.
Koehro: I don't think in words. I think in dynamic, linked matrices. It takes hours to explain one node in a matrix, and without an understanding of all the background elements--such as geodesic domes, monomolecular filaments, etc.--I cannot effectively explain it. That's not even mentioning the historical evidence for it.
LadyM: So what you are saying is you just see things differently than the norm?
Koehro: That is an easy way to say it. :D I was trying to demonstrate the difference, though. You are the first person I've given this level of detail to.
LadyM: So it is the difference in how I see and understand things compared to you, right?
Koehro: Apparently. But it's more the way we see differently because we think differently.
Everything You Know is Still Wrong
Thursday, January 10, 2019
Gankers and Psychopaths
The online world, and MMOs in particular, reveal more about human nature than any real-world test or circumstance. The early Internet meme, that no-one knows you’re a dog online, reminds us that we are anonymous unless we choose to reveal ourselves, at least to the general public. Hackers can find you, and marketers. Facebook and Google know more about you than you know yourself, most likely.
But your online behavior reveals the TRUTH about what kind of person your really are: How will you behave when there are no real consequences?
I play MMOs, perhaps more than my friends think I should. They don’t understand that online friends are just as real as the ones that visit my RL (Real Life) home. I have a world of opinions about life online.
Today, I’d like to talk about psychopaths online. Gankers and the like. PvPers, they call themselves.
Now, for the record, let me make it CLEAR that not all PvPers (Player-vs.-Player) are psychopaths. I don’t have solid statistics, so I’ll be generalizing a lot, but I’d say most PvP is “friendly…” as friendly as a barroom brawl, at least. They may beat the tar out of you, but they’ll offer you a beer and a handshake afterwards. After all, “it’s just a game, man!” Generally, a polite PvP involves a query. Sometimes it’s as polite as “Wanna duel?” It may be a simple “1v1?” (one vs. one) in open chat. It’s likely to be a few light strikes from a weapon. If you run convincingly, they may let you go; if you turn and fight, it’s like dogs. It gets complicated, and varies with each assault. But generally, these guys are fitted out to kill, and nothing else, so anyone trying to play a different game style is at a severe disadvantage.
Psychopaths hide in this environment. I’m going to talk about how they reveal themselves. Maybe YOU are one of them, and haven’t recognized it? Game style is a clue: Most MMOs have a variety of paths to success, and a variety of goals to achieve. For many play styles, there is no “end-game.” They’re playing because they “live” in this world, and they’re exploring it.
I’m a firm believer in PwP—Player with Player—and I feel intelligent life manifests through cooperation, not destructive behavior. (It does seem that humanity is being trained to be warlike, if you look at TV, movies, and video game offerings for examples. Even books.) I’ve played a few MMOs extensively enough to offer an opinion in terms of their designs. I’ll give three as examples of how PvP can be very different.
First, the most sociable is a “game” called Second Life (http://secondlife.com/). It’s free to play, and has a huge abundance of free upgrades to your avatar. PvP is pretty much “opt in”: You must equip an add-on—generally, a HUD (Heads Up Display) of some sort—that keeps score of hits and damage. There are some locations in SL where damage is enabled to any avatar, but it’s very temporary, and limited to knocking attachments off of your avatar and pushing it around. You lose nothing of your player, as the PvP portion is such a small part of the game.
But Second Life isn’t really a game: It’s a virtual world. There are games within SL, but just like RL, SL has no end-game at all. I won’t go into it in detail here; as in the real world, you meet all kinds of characters, and find all kinds of things to educate or entertain you.
Another MMO is Elder Scrolls Online. Again, PvP is opt-in: You go to a region where PvP is enabled by default, or enter a duel mode with your chosen opponent. In general game play, other players do not harm you.
A third is Elite: Dangerous (https://www.elitedangerous.com/), a simulation of hundreds of billions of star systems. Less than a fraction of one percent of the game universe has even been visited, much less properly explored, so there’s a lot to do beside kill each other.
Now, in Elite, things are different: PvP is opt-OUT. You must select solo play, or build a private group of players that agree not to do PvP and select that group when you start the game. Open Play is Dangerous: Any player can attack and destroy you, and you can lose MONTHS’ worth of gameplay. Psychopaths LOVE this: They can really hurt you, by costing you everything you’ve invested in the game since your last “save.” Saves are complex: You must land at a port with appropriate facilities—these are common enough in the inhabited regions, but rare to non-existent throughout most of the galaxy—and sell your exploration data and collect on any earned bounties and intel you’ve discovered on your voyages. The psychopaths love explorers as targets, because they often have no weapons whatsoever, no defenses, and they have a lot to lose when they return from their explorations.
Psychopaths frequently intrude on private groups with intent to harm, and take advantage of Open Play by infiltrating roles as well. One of the most hideous examples is shown here: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/04/elite-dangerous-community-plan-event-upended-by-masterful-troll/
Calling a psychopath “masterful,” and saluting his savagery, is just sick, in my opinion.
These people spend a lot of time defending their play style, and will provide advice on how to survive their hostilities. It’s hard to know the devil when his arm is around your shoulder, eh? The problem is, any ship outfitted to survive a psychopath is not much good for anything else: You have to cripple yourself to have a chance. In E:D, you must exchange cargo space for defenses, and equipment slots that are needed for exploration and mining tools must be sacrificed for shields, shield boosters, over-sized thrusters, and anti-missile defenses. Heavy equipment destroys jump range—i.e., travel speed—in exploration ships.
This makes peaceful living crap, in open play. What these trolls force is a variety of “survival of the fittest” that ruins intelligent development: It makes humanity into a beast, incapable of doing anything but devouring others.
Think about that.
A beast.
Incapable.
Self-destructive.
Stupid.
There is an expedition known as Distant Worlds 2, scheduled for launch on January 13, 2019 (13 January 3305 in the game calendar). Over eight thousand players—myself included—have signed up for this event, which will involve months away from stations, and thus places to save progress. https://www.pcgamer.com/over-8000-elite-dangerous-pilots-are-embarking-on-an-incredible-18-week-journey/ The psychos have already promised to be there, and many are signed up—some in alternate accounts—just to create havoc, according to rumors. Armed escorts will be traveling along with the fleet…but given the example above, how many of those escorts are going to betray the ones they pledged to protect? These trolls love to hurt defenseless people, and even a very large defense fleet cannot prevent fragile explorer ships from being destroyed by even a weak attacker. My favorite ship can be configured to jump over 80 light years in game. Configured with most of the tools I need for exploration and support of the goals of DW2, including moderate defense, it’s about half that.
Because Elite: Dangerous lacks an effective policing system (psychopaths who are killed in game simply re-spawn, and they have nothing to lose as they don’t care about data), and has an “opt-out” PvP philosophy, there is no way explorers can socialize without fear of social diseases: Psychopathic trolls.
Trolls who will turn YOU into a beast.
Incapable.
Self-destructive.
Stupid.
I play MMOs, perhaps more than my friends think I should. They don’t understand that online friends are just as real as the ones that visit my RL (Real Life) home. I have a world of opinions about life online.
Today, I’d like to talk about psychopaths online. Gankers and the like. PvPers, they call themselves.
Now, for the record, let me make it CLEAR that not all PvPers (Player-vs.-Player) are psychopaths. I don’t have solid statistics, so I’ll be generalizing a lot, but I’d say most PvP is “friendly…” as friendly as a barroom brawl, at least. They may beat the tar out of you, but they’ll offer you a beer and a handshake afterwards. After all, “it’s just a game, man!” Generally, a polite PvP involves a query. Sometimes it’s as polite as “Wanna duel?” It may be a simple “1v1?” (one vs. one) in open chat. It’s likely to be a few light strikes from a weapon. If you run convincingly, they may let you go; if you turn and fight, it’s like dogs. It gets complicated, and varies with each assault. But generally, these guys are fitted out to kill, and nothing else, so anyone trying to play a different game style is at a severe disadvantage.
Psychopaths hide in this environment. I’m going to talk about how they reveal themselves. Maybe YOU are one of them, and haven’t recognized it? Game style is a clue: Most MMOs have a variety of paths to success, and a variety of goals to achieve. For many play styles, there is no “end-game.” They’re playing because they “live” in this world, and they’re exploring it.
I’m a firm believer in PwP—Player with Player—and I feel intelligent life manifests through cooperation, not destructive behavior. (It does seem that humanity is being trained to be warlike, if you look at TV, movies, and video game offerings for examples. Even books.) I’ve played a few MMOs extensively enough to offer an opinion in terms of their designs. I’ll give three as examples of how PvP can be very different.
First, the most sociable is a “game” called Second Life (http://secondlife.com/). It’s free to play, and has a huge abundance of free upgrades to your avatar. PvP is pretty much “opt in”: You must equip an add-on—generally, a HUD (Heads Up Display) of some sort—that keeps score of hits and damage. There are some locations in SL where damage is enabled to any avatar, but it’s very temporary, and limited to knocking attachments off of your avatar and pushing it around. You lose nothing of your player, as the PvP portion is such a small part of the game.
But Second Life isn’t really a game: It’s a virtual world. There are games within SL, but just like RL, SL has no end-game at all. I won’t go into it in detail here; as in the real world, you meet all kinds of characters, and find all kinds of things to educate or entertain you.
Another MMO is Elder Scrolls Online. Again, PvP is opt-in: You go to a region where PvP is enabled by default, or enter a duel mode with your chosen opponent. In general game play, other players do not harm you.
A third is Elite: Dangerous (https://www.elitedangerous.com/), a simulation of hundreds of billions of star systems. Less than a fraction of one percent of the game universe has even been visited, much less properly explored, so there’s a lot to do beside kill each other.
Now, in Elite, things are different: PvP is opt-OUT. You must select solo play, or build a private group of players that agree not to do PvP and select that group when you start the game. Open Play is Dangerous: Any player can attack and destroy you, and you can lose MONTHS’ worth of gameplay. Psychopaths LOVE this: They can really hurt you, by costing you everything you’ve invested in the game since your last “save.” Saves are complex: You must land at a port with appropriate facilities—these are common enough in the inhabited regions, but rare to non-existent throughout most of the galaxy—and sell your exploration data and collect on any earned bounties and intel you’ve discovered on your voyages. The psychopaths love explorers as targets, because they often have no weapons whatsoever, no defenses, and they have a lot to lose when they return from their explorations.
Psychopaths frequently intrude on private groups with intent to harm, and take advantage of Open Play by infiltrating roles as well. One of the most hideous examples is shown here: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/04/elite-dangerous-community-plan-event-upended-by-masterful-troll/
Calling a psychopath “masterful,” and saluting his savagery, is just sick, in my opinion.
These people spend a lot of time defending their play style, and will provide advice on how to survive their hostilities. It’s hard to know the devil when his arm is around your shoulder, eh? The problem is, any ship outfitted to survive a psychopath is not much good for anything else: You have to cripple yourself to have a chance. In E:D, you must exchange cargo space for defenses, and equipment slots that are needed for exploration and mining tools must be sacrificed for shields, shield boosters, over-sized thrusters, and anti-missile defenses. Heavy equipment destroys jump range—i.e., travel speed—in exploration ships.
This makes peaceful living crap, in open play. What these trolls force is a variety of “survival of the fittest” that ruins intelligent development: It makes humanity into a beast, incapable of doing anything but devouring others.
Think about that.
A beast.
Incapable.
Self-destructive.
Stupid.
There is an expedition known as Distant Worlds 2, scheduled for launch on January 13, 2019 (13 January 3305 in the game calendar). Over eight thousand players—myself included—have signed up for this event, which will involve months away from stations, and thus places to save progress. https://www.pcgamer.com/over-8000-elite-dangerous-pilots-are-embarking-on-an-incredible-18-week-journey/ The psychos have already promised to be there, and many are signed up—some in alternate accounts—just to create havoc, according to rumors. Armed escorts will be traveling along with the fleet…but given the example above, how many of those escorts are going to betray the ones they pledged to protect? These trolls love to hurt defenseless people, and even a very large defense fleet cannot prevent fragile explorer ships from being destroyed by even a weak attacker. My favorite ship can be configured to jump over 80 light years in game. Configured with most of the tools I need for exploration and support of the goals of DW2, including moderate defense, it’s about half that.
Because Elite: Dangerous lacks an effective policing system (psychopaths who are killed in game simply re-spawn, and they have nothing to lose as they don’t care about data), and has an “opt-out” PvP philosophy, there is no way explorers can socialize without fear of social diseases: Psychopathic trolls.
Trolls who will turn YOU into a beast.
Incapable.
Self-destructive.
Stupid.
Monday, December 19, 2016
Troubles with Trivials (The Trouble with Tribbles?)
Any enterprise in life comes with challenges, but ordinarily, they aren't more than you can handle. And when they are, there's generally something to be gained by letting go of the goals that are so supremely challenging to achieve...
That's what I'm telling myself, anyway :D
Most of my life's challenges are simple, pretty straightforward. I planned it that way. If I had plenty of money, I could easily fix them...and then I'd have to face even bigger challenges!
If you read my last post, you know I'm dealing with mechanical challenges. Those are the small ones, right now. For example, I've been working on the water pump in my Chevy Tahoe. I had my mechanic replace the booster in my brake system when I realized my tools were not up to bleeding the brakes; I needed a torch, perhaps, and a lift would have been helpful. Best case, I needed to replace those frozen nuts, because they were breaking when I tried to remove them. But the water pump should have been easier. I started repairing cars right out of high school; many of my tools are older than the kids I work with on my day job.
I got the old one out easily enough. A new pump was only $30, so that wasn't even a strain to my budget. But the new one wanted parts from the old pump, and the new pump had a plug which needed a tool I didn't have. Okay, I hopped in my Honda and took the pump back to the store, where they kindly removed the offending plug. While there, I got new spark plugs for the Honda, and back home, decided it would be a quick job to pop out the old spark plugs and put the new ones in.
Ugh, perhaps the plugs were the originals...one of them snapped off, deep inside the engine. (A later chat with the Honda's previous owner revealed that they were indeed ancient, as the owners were getting on in years, and unable to attend to minor maintenance. Perhaps the main reason they had sold the car so cheaply.) Anyway, not having an extractor handy, I called my mechanic, and he assured me he could get it out for me. I hopped in the Honda and putt-putted like an old jalopy to the mechanic, with an old plug in the wire laying in the intake manifold, to keep from stressing the electronic spark system too much.
He didn't use an extractor. His...technique damaged the head. It took three hours, between visits from other customers, so it was dark by the time we discovered he didn't have what he needed to repair the damage he'd done. I'm wondering what the bill is going to be...
So I went home to put the water pump in the Tahoe, while I hoped my Honda would be ready in the morning. (It wasn't.) All bolted in, serpentine belt routed, adding water...wait, there's a leak! Sigh, it's dark, cold, I'll finish this later.
Later, I discovered that one of the gaskets had torn like the soggy piece of cardboard that it was. I applied red gasket-maker compound, and shoved it back in, letting it sit overnight for the compound to cure properly. Tightening all the bolts the next day, putting all the parts back in, starting the engine...looks good, sounds good, let's go to my day job! Grab my stuff, hop in the driver's seat...whoa, the water temperature is over 300°? CUT!
Good thing I have a bicycle, even though the cold front has temps down to 22°F, and with a brisk breeze to keep me cool. :D
Today's job is to see if the intake water hose has collapsed internally. It's pretty old, and I was planning to replace it anyway, along with its hose clamp and the serpentine belt. That will probably have to wait, depending on what the Honda's adventure is going to cost me.
My more serious challenges are about love and the lives of others. When I moved out of my apartment in October to save money so I could build an RV, I had a place lined up that was to have cost me about half of what I'd been spending on my two-bedroom apartment. It would be easy to move into one room: I lived in one room, using only a portion of that space, with visits to the kitchen and bathroom. I never really grew into that two-bedroom space. But the place I was supposed to move to, backed out at the last minute. Failure to communicate, is my best guess. So I wrangled another place, which, frankly, is a disaster. Instead of saving money on rent and utilities, my savings are gone. My roommate, it turns out, has no income other than me, and what he can beg from his other (remaining) friends. He's not bright, may be entering dementia--but I believe it's more a case of spoiled rich kid that never learned to make a living. We don't communicate well, either, but I hate to leave him high and dry, even if that is what he richly deserves. (If I got all that I deserved, I'd probably be in an asylum lol)
Another challenge is that I have animals. When I moved here, I had two cats and a dog. The cats had NEVER been outside since I got them as kittens. I rescued one from under a trash compactor where she had been abandoned before she was weaned; the other was given to me as soon as he was weaned. He has been missing for several weeks now, and the other kind of said he wouldn't be coming back. My roommate--no surprise, really--decided to let them outside, and they loved the adventure. Maybe the coyotes loved them, too? Well, I still have Cleo, and I'm hoping she won't follow Tobi.
Thing is, my next planned step is to move into my car. I can't afford my roommate lol! The dog, Biscuit, won't be much trouble in the car, at least during Winter. (I'll NEED an RV before Summer, though.) But Cleo, now craving the outdoors, and knowing nothing of wild animals or snakes or traffic or other such hazards, is sure to be more challenging.
My favorite space so far, has been the 31' Airstream that I first moved into in 1998. It was a great choice, and I had the money at the time. It should have been, could have been, marvelous. It had a nice living room and kitchen on one end, with those awesome windows with panoramic views, a bigger-than-I-needed bedroom at the other end with matching windows, and a huge closet and full bath--yes, with a tub!--walling the corridor between. I promptly converted most of the closet to a computer room/office, where I could log in to my work office and remotely control the four PCs there, monitoring the activities at the Dell Factory Outlet's repair and distribution center.
But shortly after moving in to the Airstream, a series of events led to marriage, and as part of the inevitable compromises that one thinks one should make for a marriage, I traded my lovely Airstream for an S.O.B.: Some Other Brand. I promptly ripped out most of the furniture, built custom cabinetry, and added substantial insulation. I needed to accommodate eight cats and a couple of large dogs, one of them over 100 pounds.
Maybe I should continue this story in another post...but before I go, if you have an Airstream, KEEP IT! :)
That's what I'm telling myself, anyway :D
Most of my life's challenges are simple, pretty straightforward. I planned it that way. If I had plenty of money, I could easily fix them...and then I'd have to face even bigger challenges!
If you read my last post, you know I'm dealing with mechanical challenges. Those are the small ones, right now. For example, I've been working on the water pump in my Chevy Tahoe. I had my mechanic replace the booster in my brake system when I realized my tools were not up to bleeding the brakes; I needed a torch, perhaps, and a lift would have been helpful. Best case, I needed to replace those frozen nuts, because they were breaking when I tried to remove them. But the water pump should have been easier. I started repairing cars right out of high school; many of my tools are older than the kids I work with on my day job.
I got the old one out easily enough. A new pump was only $30, so that wasn't even a strain to my budget. But the new one wanted parts from the old pump, and the new pump had a plug which needed a tool I didn't have. Okay, I hopped in my Honda and took the pump back to the store, where they kindly removed the offending plug. While there, I got new spark plugs for the Honda, and back home, decided it would be a quick job to pop out the old spark plugs and put the new ones in.
Ugh, perhaps the plugs were the originals...one of them snapped off, deep inside the engine. (A later chat with the Honda's previous owner revealed that they were indeed ancient, as the owners were getting on in years, and unable to attend to minor maintenance. Perhaps the main reason they had sold the car so cheaply.) Anyway, not having an extractor handy, I called my mechanic, and he assured me he could get it out for me. I hopped in the Honda and putt-putted like an old jalopy to the mechanic, with an old plug in the wire laying in the intake manifold, to keep from stressing the electronic spark system too much.
He didn't use an extractor. His...technique damaged the head. It took three hours, between visits from other customers, so it was dark by the time we discovered he didn't have what he needed to repair the damage he'd done. I'm wondering what the bill is going to be...
So I went home to put the water pump in the Tahoe, while I hoped my Honda would be ready in the morning. (It wasn't.) All bolted in, serpentine belt routed, adding water...wait, there's a leak! Sigh, it's dark, cold, I'll finish this later.
Later, I discovered that one of the gaskets had torn like the soggy piece of cardboard that it was. I applied red gasket-maker compound, and shoved it back in, letting it sit overnight for the compound to cure properly. Tightening all the bolts the next day, putting all the parts back in, starting the engine...looks good, sounds good, let's go to my day job! Grab my stuff, hop in the driver's seat...whoa, the water temperature is over 300°? CUT!
Good thing I have a bicycle, even though the cold front has temps down to 22°F, and with a brisk breeze to keep me cool. :D
Today's job is to see if the intake water hose has collapsed internally. It's pretty old, and I was planning to replace it anyway, along with its hose clamp and the serpentine belt. That will probably have to wait, depending on what the Honda's adventure is going to cost me.
My more serious challenges are about love and the lives of others. When I moved out of my apartment in October to save money so I could build an RV, I had a place lined up that was to have cost me about half of what I'd been spending on my two-bedroom apartment. It would be easy to move into one room: I lived in one room, using only a portion of that space, with visits to the kitchen and bathroom. I never really grew into that two-bedroom space. But the place I was supposed to move to, backed out at the last minute. Failure to communicate, is my best guess. So I wrangled another place, which, frankly, is a disaster. Instead of saving money on rent and utilities, my savings are gone. My roommate, it turns out, has no income other than me, and what he can beg from his other (remaining) friends. He's not bright, may be entering dementia--but I believe it's more a case of spoiled rich kid that never learned to make a living. We don't communicate well, either, but I hate to leave him high and dry, even if that is what he richly deserves. (If I got all that I deserved, I'd probably be in an asylum lol)
Another challenge is that I have animals. When I moved here, I had two cats and a dog. The cats had NEVER been outside since I got them as kittens. I rescued one from under a trash compactor where she had been abandoned before she was weaned; the other was given to me as soon as he was weaned. He has been missing for several weeks now, and the other kind of said he wouldn't be coming back. My roommate--no surprise, really--decided to let them outside, and they loved the adventure. Maybe the coyotes loved them, too? Well, I still have Cleo, and I'm hoping she won't follow Tobi.
Thing is, my next planned step is to move into my car. I can't afford my roommate lol! The dog, Biscuit, won't be much trouble in the car, at least during Winter. (I'll NEED an RV before Summer, though.) But Cleo, now craving the outdoors, and knowing nothing of wild animals or snakes or traffic or other such hazards, is sure to be more challenging.
My favorite space so far, has been the 31' Airstream that I first moved into in 1998. It was a great choice, and I had the money at the time. It should have been, could have been, marvelous. It had a nice living room and kitchen on one end, with those awesome windows with panoramic views, a bigger-than-I-needed bedroom at the other end with matching windows, and a huge closet and full bath--yes, with a tub!--walling the corridor between. I promptly converted most of the closet to a computer room/office, where I could log in to my work office and remotely control the four PCs there, monitoring the activities at the Dell Factory Outlet's repair and distribution center.
But shortly after moving in to the Airstream, a series of events led to marriage, and as part of the inevitable compromises that one thinks one should make for a marriage, I traded my lovely Airstream for an S.O.B.: Some Other Brand. I promptly ripped out most of the furniture, built custom cabinetry, and added substantial insulation. I needed to accommodate eight cats and a couple of large dogs, one of them over 100 pounds.
Maybe I should continue this story in another post...but before I go, if you have an Airstream, KEEP IT! :)
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Back to the life I love!
I hope to be back in an RV soon. A few years ago, circumstances led to me moving out of my wonderful shady spot in the woods, and into a cabin on a river. That was okay, I thought, especially as I was helping to support the friend who owned the campground there. But as time went by, various factors twisted around the situation until I felt it was no longer tenable, so I moved to the nearby town of Fredericksburg, Texas.
I had lived NEAR Fredericskburg--near enough that it was my mailing address--for years, since 1999, mostly. When I moved to the area initially, I was living in a 31' Airstream travel trailer. Combined with a Chevy Suburban tow vehicle, and with my trusty Honda CRX for a commuter car, it was a nice situation. At the time, my total monthly expenses were well under $500; after deducting approximately 60% of my pay, my take-home was almost $800 every two weeks. The way that situation ended deserves a few chapters to explain, but I won't do it here; other people are involved, and I'd rather respect their privacy.
Life is about change, and things changed. I got married, got a different trailer, a different car, a different career...and after going through about a quarter-million in two years, well...I found myself on my own again. I have changed substantially since that time, and so has the career that paid so well. My plans for moving into a "real house" have met with the fact that I'm not happy in a "real house." I like RVs. I like tiny. I like being able to move without packing. I like being out in the natural world, yet carrying enough technology that I don't have to face bears and bugs tooth and claw. Intelligence is what sets humans apart from those toothsome bloodsuckers, right? :)
I took the first step in October: I moved out of my apartment. The place I'd planned to move to, backed out as I was packing, so I wrangled another. But rather than saving me money, the place I landed turned out to be a disaster; the homeowner has no income other than me, and is addicted to television and materialism. Quite the opposite of what I am. I won't go into further detail on that, either, except to admit there are many other things that make me uncomfortable about this situation. For example, he smokes, and I'm allergic to tobacco.
My hope was that I would be able to save a few hundred a month, buy a flatbed trailer, and start building an RV of my design on that platform. I've been kicking thoughts around for years, and I'm pretty sure of what I want the base design to be. Having lived in RVs, and seen much of what typical RVs are like, and what RVers have to put up with, it seems obvious that I'm not going to be able to BUY what I want, no matter where I look, nor how much money I spend. Since I don't HAVE any money lol I don't think that's going to be an issue for me.
But to save money, I need either a responsible homeowner to rent from--so that I don't have to support his crises--or I need to get out of houses completely. I'm on the edge of jumping off the cliff, and moving into a vehicle.
I have two to choose from: A 1995 Chevy Tahoe, and a 1989 Honda station wagon, or Wagovan. I'm fairly small, and can easily live in either, but I really like the Honda. Both vehicles are old, with over 200K miles, and many small problems. Currently, I'm in the midst of replacing the water pump on the Tahoe; I just had the brake booster replaced last month, and should replace the power steering pump and hoses sometime in the next year. I'd like to replace the parking lights with brighter LED lamps on both vehicles, and I should clean and lubricate the door locks and window tracks on both vehicles. They'll both need new tires this year.
Both vehicles have fully-reclining front seats, so I could sleep in those seats if I wanted (and I have, many many times!), but they also have fold-down rear seats, and there is room in the back to put my pallet--which is what I sleep on in a house, so it would be just like home. :) I can sit up in the cargo compartments, so on rainy days, I could fix meals, read, play on my computer, whatever, in the back. I have a Bluetooth keyboard that has a switch to select different devices, and it works with my iPhone, so I could use my iPhone as easily as a computer, at a fraction of the energy cost.
My dream has been to make a living as a writer, since I was a teenager. This is a path I could follow to do it...working full-time to pay for a place to live has been severely crippling, since it takes me a while to unwind from society and get into writer's mode. (That's one reason my blog is so sparse!) As chatty as I am, I won't go into detail about why society is so challenging for me; let it be enough that I think society is insane to a huge degree, and obsessions with television, hypocritical religion, and corrupt politics is part of it. Parents who lie to their children, rather than educate and control them, help promulgate that insanity.
In January, there is a gathering of people who live in vans, RVs, and yes, cars. http://www.cheaprvliving.com/gatherings/ It's about a thousand miles away; in my Honda, that's about $250 in fuel, round trip, worst case. (At current local prices and the mileage I expect to get, it'd be less than $100 lol) If the little car survives the trip, it'll cost me less to make the trip, than to pay rent. My current job is unskilled retail, with no advancement path that interests me; I can easily find matching work anywhere, so even if the car breaks down, I won't be any worse off than I am here. The only challenge is my littles: I have a dog--no problem on the road--and a cat...well, the cat is a bit wild, and I don't think I could contain her. The coyotes would be sure to get her, if not traffic or snakes or well-meaning rescuers.
If I can find a solution for the cat, I believe I will make the attempt. A first step to committing to my dream! :) After that, I will know for sure if I would be willing to stay living in the car long enough to save the money I need to begin my RV project. I estimate I could have a livable RV for less than $3,000, but I plan to do things like:
I had lived NEAR Fredericskburg--near enough that it was my mailing address--for years, since 1999, mostly. When I moved to the area initially, I was living in a 31' Airstream travel trailer. Combined with a Chevy Suburban tow vehicle, and with my trusty Honda CRX for a commuter car, it was a nice situation. At the time, my total monthly expenses were well under $500; after deducting approximately 60% of my pay, my take-home was almost $800 every two weeks. The way that situation ended deserves a few chapters to explain, but I won't do it here; other people are involved, and I'd rather respect their privacy.
Life is about change, and things changed. I got married, got a different trailer, a different car, a different career...and after going through about a quarter-million in two years, well...I found myself on my own again. I have changed substantially since that time, and so has the career that paid so well. My plans for moving into a "real house" have met with the fact that I'm not happy in a "real house." I like RVs. I like tiny. I like being able to move without packing. I like being out in the natural world, yet carrying enough technology that I don't have to face bears and bugs tooth and claw. Intelligence is what sets humans apart from those toothsome bloodsuckers, right? :)
I took the first step in October: I moved out of my apartment. The place I'd planned to move to, backed out as I was packing, so I wrangled another. But rather than saving me money, the place I landed turned out to be a disaster; the homeowner has no income other than me, and is addicted to television and materialism. Quite the opposite of what I am. I won't go into further detail on that, either, except to admit there are many other things that make me uncomfortable about this situation. For example, he smokes, and I'm allergic to tobacco.
My hope was that I would be able to save a few hundred a month, buy a flatbed trailer, and start building an RV of my design on that platform. I've been kicking thoughts around for years, and I'm pretty sure of what I want the base design to be. Having lived in RVs, and seen much of what typical RVs are like, and what RVers have to put up with, it seems obvious that I'm not going to be able to BUY what I want, no matter where I look, nor how much money I spend. Since I don't HAVE any money lol I don't think that's going to be an issue for me.
But to save money, I need either a responsible homeowner to rent from--so that I don't have to support his crises--or I need to get out of houses completely. I'm on the edge of jumping off the cliff, and moving into a vehicle.
I have two to choose from: A 1995 Chevy Tahoe, and a 1989 Honda station wagon, or Wagovan. I'm fairly small, and can easily live in either, but I really like the Honda. Both vehicles are old, with over 200K miles, and many small problems. Currently, I'm in the midst of replacing the water pump on the Tahoe; I just had the brake booster replaced last month, and should replace the power steering pump and hoses sometime in the next year. I'd like to replace the parking lights with brighter LED lamps on both vehicles, and I should clean and lubricate the door locks and window tracks on both vehicles. They'll both need new tires this year.
Both vehicles have fully-reclining front seats, so I could sleep in those seats if I wanted (and I have, many many times!), but they also have fold-down rear seats, and there is room in the back to put my pallet--which is what I sleep on in a house, so it would be just like home. :) I can sit up in the cargo compartments, so on rainy days, I could fix meals, read, play on my computer, whatever, in the back. I have a Bluetooth keyboard that has a switch to select different devices, and it works with my iPhone, so I could use my iPhone as easily as a computer, at a fraction of the energy cost.
My dream has been to make a living as a writer, since I was a teenager. This is a path I could follow to do it...working full-time to pay for a place to live has been severely crippling, since it takes me a while to unwind from society and get into writer's mode. (That's one reason my blog is so sparse!) As chatty as I am, I won't go into detail about why society is so challenging for me; let it be enough that I think society is insane to a huge degree, and obsessions with television, hypocritical religion, and corrupt politics is part of it. Parents who lie to their children, rather than educate and control them, help promulgate that insanity.
In January, there is a gathering of people who live in vans, RVs, and yes, cars. http://www.cheaprvliving.com/gatherings/ It's about a thousand miles away; in my Honda, that's about $250 in fuel, round trip, worst case. (At current local prices and the mileage I expect to get, it'd be less than $100 lol) If the little car survives the trip, it'll cost me less to make the trip, than to pay rent. My current job is unskilled retail, with no advancement path that interests me; I can easily find matching work anywhere, so even if the car breaks down, I won't be any worse off than I am here. The only challenge is my littles: I have a dog--no problem on the road--and a cat...well, the cat is a bit wild, and I don't think I could contain her. The coyotes would be sure to get her, if not traffic or snakes or well-meaning rescuers.
If I can find a solution for the cat, I believe I will make the attempt. A first step to committing to my dream! :) After that, I will know for sure if I would be willing to stay living in the car long enough to save the money I need to begin my RV project. I estimate I could have a livable RV for less than $3,000, but I plan to do things like:
- build in enough insulation to be warmer than a house in cold climates, with a fraction of the energy
- put in a rainwater-collection system with a solar-powered distiller (I might even collect my own interior condensation and distill my gray water)
- put in a composting toilet
- have PVC pipes for wiring and plumbing--that is, run my plumbing PVC through 4" PVC--for ease of maintenance and upgrades
- I'm considering cooling systems that won't use compressors, such as evaporative cooling; designing one for an RV will be challenging, with all the other stuff I plan to have on the roof!
- make the entire cabin removable in minutes, so the flatbed trailer can be driven away and used for cargo
- make it light enough that my Tahoe can pull it, at least if I stay out of the Rockies!
- and of course, add solar power, with lithium iron phosphate batteries.
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