Howdy!

A collection of satirical, political, spiritual and humorous writings and ramblings on various topics, including current affairs and issues, the Great Awakening, health, toxins, prepping, bachelor life, and more. Look for commentary and stories meant for understanding, and even a good chuckle, as well as some useful tips and insights. Hermit tested and approved√

Please check or re-check the 'Seminal' video series OFTEN for updated content &/or videos...GT

Friday, February 24, 2012

Dolla Stowe Penny-Pinchin' CAB Couponz

Booyeah! Gimme one of those bright yellow Dolla Stowe carts, and I'll careen through the crowded aisles until it is full or my wallet is empty! Savin' O' the Green! Again, I got some outstanding bargains in my local store, including a 30% more Bean-n-Bacon Soup, some DS branded raisen bran, and some chocolate-covered cashews, of all things (ya, they good). Cruising around, I managed to find all kinds of crap that I needed[?], but were somehow not on my 'list'. Dolla Stowe = fairly good place to get my dog, Ratchet, her fav 'red bones' in a 3# bag, and some chew stix too, at reasonable cost. Haven't seen those big bags O' rawhide chews she loves , anywhere, for awhile; wtf is up with dat??

Anyways, so I get outta there under $50, even after the $15 mini hi-velocity fan I impulsed into near checkout (hey, I needed a new, small, fan)--to my surprise, the receipt has like a 20% off coupon for the upcoming Saturday--what a grand deal ($5 off $25/+ purchase)! I might be out-n-abouts then, so mayhap I'll drop another $25 there, just to get the discount....yup--I is a CAB. No telling what indispensable item[s] I'll come across that will likely never make it onto a shopping list...


Decay


Decay affects all things natural, from the physical realm to the psychological, from rust to relationships, from anthills to empires. It is the main catalyst in an inevitable cycle from birth to death. Without constant remedy, it will eventually destroy all that comes to fruition. Perhaps it is a 'necessary' evil; a part of nature which allows for rebirth and regrowth out of things decayed. In nature, at least, it seems an integral part of the process and cycles of regrowth. For example, the leaves fall from the trees, renewing the soil with nutrients, and feeding other organisms, in symbiotic fashion.

But in the realm of humanity, and all things human, decay seems to be a negative thing. We constantly battle and succumb to its effects; we try in vain to delay the inevitable losses--we grow old and perish. It may indeed be a curse upon humanity, something we are destined to battle, everlasting. Or a blessing? If we, and things we create did last in perpetuity, would they, and we, be judged to be 'good' things?  Perhaps in our longevity, we would leave no room for the lives and accomplishments of our progeny? Does life indeed, require decay, change, and renewal, ever striving towards some undefined 'perfection'? It matters not, one must relent--it is inevitable for we mortal beings, and all things borne of us. Maybe it is simply a necessary 'evil'. For without evil, can there be good? There be no shadow, if light is absent. 

Given its inevitable effects, then, is it foolish or vain to attempt to slow, negate, or 'reverse' the processes of decay? Surely not. We shall always be drones in an army pitting us against an indomitable, and often, unseen, force. Though the outcome of the war is inevitable, the battles can offer a timely reprieve; a brief relief from our constant struggle. To repaint one's house, or repair some leaky plumbing, or simply to change one's motor oil. Failure to maintain and redress decay may indeed be a sin of omission. To do so would facilitate decay and destruction--something we cannot desire. 

Thus, one should strive to add light, and goodness, into the theatre of darkness and decay, whenever possible. To battle chaos, and instill order, wherever one detects the former. It can build upon simple beginnings, slowly but insidiously converting the light to the gray, then to blackness. It is not unlike an urban wall, gaining graffiti slowly over time, then exploding into excessive scrawling, engulfing all. An unkempt room filling with dirty laundry and haphazard deposits from daily living. At some point, it exceeds the threshold for just noticeable differences. It screams out for action, or reaction; it cries out for repair. To disregard would be like willful sinning.

But there are things that decay that are neither accessible to the senses, nor to awareness, without attending; the ethereal, and the intangible things that we often treasure most; love, relationships, and interconnections we strive to maintain, Freedom, security, and finance. The realm of thought, emotion, and psychological or spiritual processes. These, being unavailable to our limited input senses, become even more susceptible to decay, sans vigilance. Introspection and feedback from others is often required to even detect the inevitable decay. Thinking these aspects of our lives to be free of defect, or taking them for granted, can lead to sudden  failures of catastrophic proportion. A failure to detect and redress decay in these realms can lead to the destruction of marriages, friendships and families, revolution, and even the collapse of civilizations. It's just that important to comprehend.

Beware; the signs are not salient, and we are often oblivious to the decay, until it reaches the point of landslide, or eruption. Tensions and emotions explode, leaving all destructions in their wake, leaving few survivors. Perhaps we are all fated to taste the decay. Periodical vigilance and introspection may aid in the detection of decrepitude, on many levels. Be wary and cognizant of issues and effectors which are of value to you. There will be tremors; signs and harbingers of things to come--attend!

GT

Friday, February 17, 2012

Bookmarks are Memory (or, I Have Forgotten More Than I Ever Learned)

One thing that I have learned in my extensive studies, regarding both psychological and bio-psychological  realms, is that the mind and body are quite adaptive. More specifically, it/they conform to a 'conservation of energy' scenario in which processes and functions are allocated on a basis of 'need'. For example, if a function were to be undertaken by exogenous chemicals (like pharmaceuticals), then the body can and will adapt to the presence of same, and may even alter/shut down production of endogenous analogues, and/or change transmission or reception of associated neurotransmitters. Similarly, if a physiological process were to become deemed 'no longer necessary' by the brain, and related automated mechanisms, then it would cease to be supported. One extreme example is the shutdown of processes involved in muscle maintenance and bone density that was discovered to occur when astronauts operated in a zero-gravity environ. These examples are simply a function of the homeostatic needs of the organism in question.

Without getting into too much scientific gobble-de-gook, the mind/body saves energy and resources by altering or even eliminating processes which it deems unnecessary. Recently, I read some information suggesting that Modern Man is coming to rely upon exogenous memory systems, as opposed to storage in what might traditionally be known as long-term (LT) memory. That is, in this age of information, we have come to rely upon the computer/internet as an extension of our own endogenous systems; bookmarks are now memory!

 I wholeheartedly agree with the concept; it's not that we 'need' such an exogenous memory system, but just that it is there, and we do use it, so the logical and proper reaction by the mind and body would be to adapt. It's all about informational overload, folks. What would we do without 'stickies' and bookmarks? There is just way too much going on in the minds of Modern Man; zooming around through the maze of information, available 24/7 via both computers and cell phones. Who among us can say that they have not become lost in the internet 'process', ending up asking oneself, "how the hell did I get HERE, and what the hell was I looking for again?".  Nobody.

Although it would be difficult to measure, I think it's safe to say that the pure volume of information that we access and process daily would simply overwhelm anyone unexposed to the information age (say, an aborigine or somebody from the [not so distant] past). But we cope, with our new memory systems, and we will continue to adapt (bookmarks! booyeah!). Why bother remembering something when its only 'a click away'? Makes good sense to me, and reminds me of the 'learn-and-dump' memory system that was necessitated during my college years; so much information was needed to be retained, but only for constrained periods--till the 'test'. Henceforth, the majority of the information 'learned' became quickly inaccessible--no room for that crap we don't really need. Of course, overlapping and/or basic knowledge which was to be built upon likely forced its way into LT (endogenous) memory. However, given the definition of learning, then, as it pertains to storage into LT memory, it is fairly safe to say that I have forgotten more than I ever learned! What a hoot of a concept; It's funny because its true. Lol!

Given the foregoing, it seems that one might wish to consciously mediate our 'new' memory processes, in order to take advantage--to maximize "retention" capabilities, while minimizing expenditures. Keep in mind that this is not limited to simply bookmarks--that is just a grand analogy which may include myriad other resources and/or processes. One thing that I have found to be helpful is to categorize my bookmarks into nested folders, with related information. This minimizes temporal cues, but since I have nearly lost all capacity for temporal-based memory ("...just the other day" phenomenon), it seems to help keep things organized. A while back (seems like just the other day/week/month/year [?]) I began to keep documents and such in folders labelled 'recent (this-n-that)', but it didn't help much. Now I have a bunch of damned 'recent this-n-that' folders that I have to look through, in order to find crap I forgot wherever-the-hell-it-is. I will self-suggest that labeling by month might prove to be a better system, then nesting those by year(?). Dunno--I'm just becoming cognizant of this whole exogenous memory stuff--with practice, my pseudo-memory will likely improve  ;)   Any one else suggest some working model??

GT

Saturday, February 11, 2012

The 'Jimmie Cut', and Other Sleight-of-Hand BS...

Yup. The 'Jimmie Cut'. Worst card-cutting crapola ever. Back when we were teens, we used to get together a few times a week to play poker (OK--we were pretty bored, mostly, and mostly broke, so...). There was this shifty character who usually joined us--a younger neighborhood brat--'Jimmie'. This kid was a terrible cheat, though not for lack of trying. Although the sneaky devil probably spoofed us a few times, we soon learned to be always watching his hands when he dealt, because he would be shuffling and manipulating the deck, then pull what we later dubbed the 'Jimmie Cut'; it kind of looked like a 'cut', but it wasn't--just slapping the cards in such a way as to resemble a cut, but retaining his ordered (rigged) deal. Suffice to say that we all were cheating as much as possible, such that periodically there would be an under-the-table check, and usually there would be some cards flopping down to the floor, from who knows where[?]. Anyways, it was all in good fun, and we all knew and accepted the unwritten/unspoken ground rules; cheat if you can, as best you can, if you can get away with it. But the penalties could be severe if caught. This could be related to the US Tax code, I assume, for some suckers--Uh!...I mean...folks.

Now, Jimmie was what one might call a 'feeder'; without feeder funds, there likely wouldn't even be a game, because nearly everyone was really broke, and/or had extreme funding limitations. For the most part, our games were 'just-for-fun'--penny ante BS--and the pot shifted between the players in a fairly cyclical fashion. But Jimmie seemed to pretty consistently lose, and over time, came to be in debt to other players. Hell, at one time, I remember he owed me like 6 months of his daily 'lunch money' allowance. I don't remember what he owed others. However, at some point, one had to 'just say no'--"Sorry, Jimmie, you can't play anymore, till we get some of that cash back that you owe, or something of value--whatever". Often, we'd give him a break, or let him slide a bit. After all, this kid had been financing my cigarette habit (and my brother's ?) for months, and even allowing me to save up some cash, in doing so. Yet, here he was, always trying to 'bum' a smoke...an interminable leech. Needless to say, we started seeing less and less of him, till he simply faded out of the 'game'. I gotta say, we all missed the kid, and especially his money, when he actually had any, and I was probably smoking less, as a result.

Well, the other day, I got to thinking about both Jimmie, and the Jimmie Cut, and it kind of reminded me of another shady character--aka 'Uncle' Sam. This nefarious dealer has also been pulling the Jimmie Cut, after rigging the deck, for years. Now, I can't say for certain, specifically, who has been the benefactor of all these riggings, but it's pretty safe to say it ain't 'Joe Six-pack' (JSP) or John/Jane Q. Public (JQP). Sure, he tosses them (us) a few bones, and give-aways, but these are chump change--penny ante BS--meant to keep support for the brokers of the real thievery (yes, Virginia, there really is a Congress). Meanwhile, huge chunks of the GDP continually go out to the same players--the Powers That Be, or TPTB, year after year, and these are actually funded by the future income of JQP. Kind of like we, and all our children and grandchildren, and probably on down to great-great-grandchildren, are actually INDENTURED SERVANTS, at best. And, technically, we are not even playing. By proxy, each of us is allowing the Congress, and via their conveyances to TPTB, to usurp our freedoms, and mortgage our future into a virtual slavery. This is one of the main reasons that people came to the New World--to escape.

Yeah, yeah, religious freedom blah-blah-blah crapola we read in the history books--my ASS. The truth is that people in Europe had been getting shafted into classist serfdom for so many generations--Jimmie Cutted--that the only place open for real opportunities [for JQP] was America. And many of our Founding Fathers and New World colonists were indeed indentured servants; the tradesmen and workers needed to get the infrastructure going in this new land. One thing for sure; there was no opportunity in the 'Old World' for JQP.

Back then, mayhap indentured servitude wasn't so bad. After all, one worked for, and was 'kept' by  a rich landowner or businessman, and ostensibly, one learned a trade or important skill set with which one eventually gained financial freedom and personal independence. Thenceforth, the fruits of one's labors were one's own property and responsibility. The problem with the new indentured servitude is that it never ends--we never earn the freedom to reap our own rewards, and neither do our offspring [and so on]! Just like a slave's offspring was the property of the slaveowner. Show me how that differs from the current life-mortgaging debt system in practice today here in the USA. The real problem is that we will never be free of the debt, and neither will our progeny. TPTB/debt-holders will always have a captive population to whom to sell their wares, and the bare staples of living--and will be happy to finance by credit card whatever we cannot purchase outright for cash; holding us even further into debt...  Big Agra/Pharma/banksters are the new 'company store'?


And that's not all. Just like Jimmie, the Gub'ment has been borrowing incessantly for years, and not just from us--also from shrewd players like China. How long will Jimmie (aka Uncle sam, aka indentured servant JQP) be able to 'float' loans and stay in the game? We're not talking a little bit O' lunch money here--we talking serious beer! One may ask "What happens when it's put-up-something-of-value-or-get-out?".  China wants to 'smoke more', and will soon be demanding more substantial payments, but Sammie and JQP are broke--what more can we give? Will the USA be asked to leave the table--to stop playing altogether? Will we be sold down the river to China and TPTB that already hold our 'notes'? Will they end up owning the USA, or will we simply be indentured to them, or both? Where will it all end? Nobody can say for sure. I get the feeling it's 'serfdom or bust'--and there ain't any"New World" left to get us out of this slavery, this tyme.


The worst part is that we keep playing with Jimmie, even knowing that we are being duped, and robbed, and yes, indentured at minimum. Keep electing people who spend more than we can give in, forever borrowing, and we all get kicked out of the game-SOON. When the EU goes broke [soon], and those houses of cards fall, won't they be asked to sit out? Won't our joint debt drag us down with them, until the prophesied collapse of $USD as the reserve currency occurs? Won't we still be in debt then? Yes, and our "money" won't be worth doodly-squat. Ah, but all that slave labor we owe, maybe...? I think it wise to start learning to speak Chinese, or bone-up on chopstick techniques...