31.3.21

We built this tenement on mock and vole

b1-66er: "Why does the Starship keep EXPLODING?"
(Their caps)

Special K: Because they built this city on rock and roll!

b1-66er: Don't make me start ANOTHER blog
K-DREX

K: Knee-deep in the hoopla.¹


¹ The editorial committee has never been so torn in its decision to include this line. Such is the environment of 21st century publishing on a 20th century mechanism. As always, we decided to lean toward the "stupid."

30.3.21

San Antonio sunset

© Former Flyer
(posted by permission)

The scream-yourself-to-death shot

b1-66er: Vaccine today.
I'm the tiniest tiniest bit nervous about it.

Special K: Understandable. Can you identify why?

b1: 1. It's out in public, which I don't do. If you're in Scorpion Manor, you don't get Cv.

K: 1. Yeah. At our vax site, I was around more people than I'd been around in a year. 

b1: 2. There's the SMALL chance I could react to the vaccine (if I don't jab chemicals into my body, nothing happens -- I've proven that EVERYDAY for YEARS ... and you better believe they haven't cross tested it with obscure MS oral meds).

K: Yes.

b1: 3. It means I'm going to have to actually quit acting like an expert on every goddamn thing and live a real life...

K: You're good at that.

b1: {was good at it, mmmmaaaayyybe.}
... So:
Get a passport and license plates and fix the kitchen floor and arrange to see my mom and rebalance my retirement accounts and learn a foreign language and start gathering my writing and begin more seriously reading and get the exercise bike fixed and figure out why I'm leaning so heavily to the right when I'm walking on my cane and go to the dentist to repair the two chipped teeth and set up an appointment with my GP.
All this giving me less time to meditate and clear my mind.
That kinda stuff.

K: Oh yeah. I definitely hear you on all that kind of stuff.


29.3.21

Put your plug where your conscience is

b1-66er: From Special K--
"VW to plug electric car shift with new name: Voltswagen"

Suttonhoo: The Economist thinks VW may have it over Tesla, which is interesting
And all because they're monumental liars and had to promise to spend money on sustainable tech
I hate them and I really want that new electric SUV, goddammit

...Nothing to lose and nothing to prove...

K-pi: Blixi, my ex-half sister, posted this pic of her and Billy Idol back in the day...

b1-66er: Super great.
You better believe Billy wasn't dancing with himself THAT night.

pi: Oh-oh-uhoh!

28.3.21

Oooo...sea can you say?...By the dawn's early light!

b1-66er: "...Microsoft Flight Simulator mod features the cargo ship stuck in the Suez Canal"

Special K: Smart. 

b1: Do you have the ability to fly a bomber in FS?
I've got a LOT of time to spend with 'ploding stuck cargo ships in the Suez---
...I do it for the good of World Commerce.

K: I don't know if you can. But I appreciate your dedication and conscientiousness.

b1: Sure. Nothing sez World Unity like a fully engaged International Commerce system...
... Unless it's the occasional shipping container hurtling over some random piece of the African desert.

All in all you're just a...

b1-66er: Great ground level pic.

Special K: Tune in again tomorrow. 

b1: So much for
IT'LL BE GONE BY THE WEEKEND•

K: They said that about Cv too. 

b1: From my brother--
I look at that photo and think Legos.  Then I think each brick weighs 50000 pounds.  Then I think you are just looking at the above deck bricks.  Wow.
Here's the crazy thing about the 21st century that people don't understand...
There is no one "right answer." It's biased by your proclivities and point of view.
Having a search engine at your fingertips doesn't make you a genius.
The ability to pull all information out doesn't give you the ability to process it.
Having enough information to make a decision doesn't even begin to tell you what the 'right' one is.

K: I couldn't agree more. And that's the best I've ever heard it said. It's the plague of our times. It's the flipside of having all this knowledge at our fingertips.

1000 mile forceps

Radioactive Dave: <dark clothing>

b1-66er: <light clothing>
Separated at birth•

26.3.21

What's eating YOU?

Special K: [09:30] "Meet the Goat Who Works As a Surf Instructor in California"

<No other messages this pic @ 09:50>

Thoughtless prayers

b1-66er: The one thing I didn't ask you about in our phone chat was anything broadly associated with the King Soopers shooting...
(that was b1-67er's grocery store in college.)

Space Kaptain: That KS is right next to a restaurant my infidel friends and I used frequent (pre-pandemic); The Tandoori Grill.
It's extremely disconcerting the Republicans block every sensible measure of gun control.  The perpetrator bought that weapon a few days prior, and was able to do so even though he was known to the FBI.   
It appears no threshold can be broken which would cause the GOP to wake up.  Just as there is no thoughts and prayers  threshold that could cause "God" to intervene on behalf of the innocent victims.  I'm sick of hearing thoughts and prayers platitudes in the place of sensible legislation.
It's maddening!   
On that happy note I'm going to meditate now and try to get back to sleep.

All I need is a graduated cylinder, a ramrod and a roadrunner

b1-66er: Man...I am telling you... His eyes don't look right to me...
The Accomplice thinks he's had his lids done...
I do not do not do not want to test our VP.

b1-67er: You know I was going to say it looks like they scotch taped his eyes open.
Harris would probably be ok.  Definitely better than Trump. I'd put any lawmaker in congress in that chair instead of Trump except for perhaps AOC, Cruz and Greene.  

66: Do a G image search on
"eye lid surgery men"...
The results are, if you'll excuse the expression...
... eye opening.

67: I would conclude if he had it done it wasn't by the most skilled guy.  He looks a little like Beaker from the muppets.

66: (For some reason I find that comment MUCH funnier than The Accomplice does.)

D4rw1n: Meep meep meep

67: Conservatives have a better sense of humor.

66: THAT is the kind of comment that'll get you shot in Boulder, CO.

67: So will going to the movies...Or High School.


23.3.21

What DO you call that stupid rock?

b1-66er: "7-Eleven is opening a taco drive-thru"

D4rw1n: The only thing I have wanted less often in my life than a 7-ELEVEn taco is a 7-ELEVEn taco handed to me through a window
And wait, how many different kinds of rocks can there be?

b1: b1-67er can tell you, but I think it's 4...
...... Or 5 maybe.
(I wasn't paying attention when dad described it...
4000×.)

D4: I forgot too. I think one is called ignoramus 

b1: You're smart just to remember that.

What color is YOUR shovel?

b1-66er: "25 H&M Pieces That Will Have People Complimenting You All the Time"

Special K: I'd rather have 25 M&M pieces that will have me being fatter all the time.

22.3.21

Slipping on the bandana

b1-66er: "Kim Kardashian Goes Camo in a Military Minidress & the Wildest Cargo Thigh-High Boots"
I assume camo means something different for her than you and me.

Special K: As do most words.

14.3.21

The fuse of perception

Special K: <05:15> SpaceX will launch (maybe) in 1:15. 

b1-66er: <07:00> Just watched the launch.
Very clean but they were having repeated problems with their visuals.

K <09:45> When the landing camera fails, I cannot be satisfied.

b1: Agreed. 
It is truly the Money Shot.
Fortunately my meditation has grown me to understand the Buddha nature...
... OF THAT JACKASS CORPORATION•
So let's see...
You can launch 100 satellites into orbit around a planet in a reusable rocket...
... Dealing with speeds several × faster than the speed of sound...
...using fuel so incendiary that it has to be mixed immediately before launch...
... People can't be within MILES of its usage...
... But you can't show me landing pictures because it's too hard?

K: Exactly. 

13.3.21

A little misreading

b1-66er: I'm eating a nuts and berries combo
"best before 6/29/18"

Special K0: "still not ok in 2021"

9.3.21

One of these days, Alexi... One of these days

b1-66er: Oh man.


***

b1-67er: Interesting. Russia has the capability. China has the cash and will.  And they both want to stick their finger in the eye of the US.  They will get it done.

***


Special K: Wow.

b1: If those guys become pal-y, our days are numbered.

K: On the MOON!

b1: Thanks, Ralph Kramden.

K: I knew that sounded familiar.

b1: "The show ran for just one season of 39 episodes from 1955 to 1956" !
I find that borderline unbelievable.

K: There were also skits on the Jackie Gleason show. 
That's what I remember. Must have gone on longer.

b1: 'Dedicated in August 2000, this New York roadside attraction was the first of several sculptures of characters and actors from classic television series that the cable television station TV Land has commissioned since the early 2000s and dubbed "TV Land Landmarks."'
They got everything right, but the name...
TV Land-marks

K: Perfect.


8.3.21

Anybody got a bag of quarters?

Sweet Rolls: 0-3, Two lives remaining!  Close match. He played like the GM he is...

b1-66er: And you had...
... Not quite sweet enough rolls.

SR: PR 6.1 me, 2.1 him

b1: Lordy.
At least you're not on the "Lose in 5 Years"
plan.

SR: My "luck factor" in the 3 matches:  -5.0, -3.2, -4.5

b1: When I first read that, I thought it said
fuck factor
Shows what's happened to MY mind.

SR: Rough interpretation is # of points won due to luck in 13-point match.
 But I've been outplayed all three matches, so no gripes

b1: GOOD MAN, SWEET ROLLS!

SR: My odds of winning the tournament now must be around my odds of death by vending machine. 

b1: Time for a Kit Kat!

SR: Huh, it's in one of those old cigarette-style pull machines...oh well

b1: If you're creative enough...
... There are MULTIPLE ways to die by vending machine.
(and that's not even including the Yakuza.)

6.3.21

Oh, just get me a shovel!

Special K: I love the ktxt empire. 

b1-66er: I'm glad you do.
We've built the best single bucket sand castle on the World's Largest Beach.
It claims to be nothing...
... And it's extremely close to that.

K: Perfect description. 

... with a side of your supposed aubergine ...

b1-66er:  "...Two large pizzas, three salads, and a so-called taco cost $114.76. Including tip."

Special K: I love "so-called taco". 

b1: I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!
I still completely appreciate the phrase
It's a borderline ultimate insult...
..."You and your so-called taco."

K: Agreed. 

b1: You should try to casually drop that into your next conversation with Momma K.

K: As appropriate. 
I also like saying au contraire.

b1: It must sound especially quaint in your Yiddish-American accent.

4.3.21

I forget if you're heads or tails

b1-66er: "About 50% of people who intend to change their behavior fail to do so."

F3mbot: Count me in that 50%

Nozzling in

b1-66er: "Susan Lucci, 74, sizzles poolside in a white swimsuit"

Special K: Call the fire department!

2.3.21

Big Tex-ass

Special K: Map of US shown on Sri Lanka TV.  

Former Flyer <TX resident>: That's awesome!!

So...what do you embrace?

Special K: I generally avoid non-fiction terror.

Try to run - try to hide - break on through to ...

b1-66er: "Lindsey Vonn Shows Off Her Glam Side in the Silkiest Green Wrap Dress & Towering Stilettos"

Special K: That's my favorite side.

1.3.21

Great stomachs drink alike

b166er: "Gatorade Created a Wearable Patch That Tells You How Much Gatorade to Drink"

I haven't read the article, but I assume the patch talks and sez "more," when you press it.


***


Special K: That should be the case!


***


b1-67er: [other TXT elided] Agreed on the gatorade patch.  I suspect all arrows in the flow chart point to "drink more."

Living like a pill popper

b1-66er: I'm pretty sure I missed my second dose of MS drugs yesterday... 
At least they're sitting right here in front of me at the table (and I wouldn't have taken unbottled 'others' instead, there's too many pills).
I'm really surprised at that behavior from me...
Shows how much the theft from my Accomplice's car rattled the household as a whole yesterday.

Special K: How often do you forget them?

b1: Maybe 3 times in a year of pandemic?
Pandemic puts an extra load on the psychology of living.
I did it once in the three years previous.

K: I forget my daily pills about 4x year.

b1: I'm about on that schedule.

K: How much do you feel the effects when you miss?

b1: 0; except for the beating myself up part.

K: OK.

b1: I believe I'm fundamentally 'getting better' or 'not declining,' depending on the day.

K: Very good.

b1: I'm positively full of 'self-talk.'
Immediately before every meal (2 or 3× a day), I pause briefly, to remind myself I eat this way to get better...
[And I didn't come from a family that said grace before meals, so it's not ingrained, like say, prayer.]
I'm the early days of my regimen, a couple years ago, it was to bolster not eating 'good regular food'...
Now it's to reinforce broad neurological advancement or compensation.

K: Excellent plan.

b1: You and I are identical in that -at the very end of the day- we are responsible for what happens to us personally...
•If we don't step up, no one will.
•You do what you have to do. 
•You do what you need to do.
Always.

K: Yes, absolutely.

b1: It's a good game for me. My will's as strong as anyone I know. 
My entire life has led me to this very moment...
• It's not a mistake. 
• It's not an accident. 
• I am not a victim.
• I play the hand I'm dealt, with the resources available.

K: My will is not so strong, and I'm lazy (or something similar), but I'll always take responsibility.

b1: I get a choice. 
I need to continually choose best I can.
Lather, rinse, repeat.