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Green Party adopts anti-Zionist policy
from 
Cllr Gareth Kitchen - Green Party
So, the “Zionism is Racism” motion passed at conference, and as a Green Party councillor I will represent the policy our members have democratically decided.
I raised concerns before the debate, and I meant them, but the decision has been made. What matters now is how we carry it forward.
I’m encouraged by the statement from our MPs and leaders, which points to the common ground we share: standing against genocide, apartheid and occupation, defending the rights of Palestinians, and recognising there is no conflict between that and the rights and safety of Jewish people.
That’s the commitment I’ll be working to honour, and I know many colleagues across the party will too. Our solidarity with Palestinians is strongest when it goes hand in hand with the active fight against antisemitism. For Jewish friends and members worried about what this motion means for them: you belong in this party, and your safety and voice matter to me. Now the work begins.
#palestine #zionism
Doing Great, Obviously
from 
Notes I Won’t Reread
I’m in a bad mood. but im not angry, unfortunately. im not angry, it wouldve been easier to just say that. to just blame someone for it or yell at something or break something expensive and go with whatever calms me down, but no. im sad and upset. i dont know why. i hate that sentence. im sick, but i dont think thats it. im tired but i dont think thats it either. theres just something wrong with me lately and i guess nobody bothered to leave a note explaining what it is so i can just go back to my daily habits. i feel, lonely. which is embarrassing to admit because im not exactly surrounded by people i desperately want to talk to. i could have someone sitting beside me right now and still feel alone. my head is exhausting. usually, i can argue with it. i can tell myself i mbeing dramatic, stupid, irrational, random, whatever ive had enough practice at this point. tonight. i dont even want to argue anymore. im too tired to fight my own thoughts. they can say whatever they want. im just sitting here listening to them like some idiot who forgot how to change the channel on the remote. i dont want to do anything. i dont want to explain anything. i dont want to fix anything. i dont even want to think about tomorrow. i just want everything in my head to shut up for a while.
thats all, im tired of being inside my own head, and unfortunately thats where i live. and i hate it.
Sincerely, someone who’s obviously tired
bye-bye-phoenix-jp
from DrFox
En deux minutes, mon IA t’a remplacé.
Elle a repris toutes tes sources. Elle a copié, réorganisé, fait mieux. Je lui ai demandé quelque chose qui fonctionnait, elle me l’a donné. Aucun drame technique. Aucune raison de ne pas être satisfait.
Et pourtant.
PhoenixJP, c’est 26 ans. Plus que la majorité de ma vie. Jamais lâché un seul jour. Tu fais partie de ces choses auxquelles on ne pense pas à dire merci, parce qu’elles sont là et qu’on finit par confondre leur présence avec une propriété du monde. On ne se demande pas chaque matin si le ciel sera encore au-dessus de nous.
Je savais bien que tu n’étais qu’un site. Mais « ce n’est qu’un site » ressemble beaucoup à « ce n’est qu’une maison ». Cela décrit correctement l’objet. Cela ne dit rien de ce qu’on a vécu à côté.
Je suis celui qui a demandé à l’IA de te remplacer. C’est peut-être le plus étrange. Personne ne m’a retiré cette habitude. J’ai construit moi-même la raison de ne plus en avoir besoin. Puis j’ai regardé le résultat, content de ce que j’avais obtenu, surpris par ce que je venais de perdre.
Deux minutes pour reproduire une fonction. Vingt-sept ans pour lui attacher une partie de ma vie.
Ces deux durées ne mesurent pas la même chose.
Dans le ciel, regarder loin, c’est regarder dans le passé. La lumière nous apporte des nouvelles qui ont parfois voyagé bien plus longtemps que nous ne vivrons. Nous levons les yeux et nous appelons « maintenant » ce qui nous arrive d’autrefois.
Je crois qu’il se passait un peu cela avec toi. J’ouvrais une page pour voir du nouveau. Et sans le savoir, je retrouvais aussi quelque chose de l’homme qui l’ouvrait il y a tout ce temps. Les années avaient passé, mais l’adresse était encore là.
Il n’y a qu’une personne au monde qui pourrait vraiment comprendre. À qui je pourrais dire « Phoenix, c’est fini », sans présenter le site, sans raconter son histoire, sans justifier cette peine un peu ridicule devant une réussite informatique. Nous avons besoin de si peu de mots avec ceux qui connaissent le commencement.
Je ne vais pas prétendre que l’ancien était meilleur. Mon IA a fait mieux. C’est justement cela qui rend cet adieu difficile : je n’ai rien à lui reprocher. Je ne peux même pas défendre mon attachement avec un argument raisonnable sur la qualité du résultat.
Mais une copie, même meilleure, ne peut pas avoir été là à ta place.
Elle peut reprendre tes sources. Pas devenir rétroactivement un souvenir.
Alors, bye bye, PhoenixJP.
Je ne te dois pas de rester indispensable. Tu ne me dois pas de durer éternellement. Ce que tu as été n’a pas besoin de gagner contre ce qui vient pour avoir compté.
Je vais utiliser ce nouvel outil. Probablement avec plaisir. Je vais continuer à créer, à avancer, à m’étonner de ce que ces machines rendent possible.
Mais avant de passer à la suite, je voulais te dire au revoir.
L’IA a mis deux minutes à te remplacer.
Moi, j’avais besoin d’un peu plus pour te quitter.
În urmă cu douăzeci de ani
from 
Midus
Publicat la 18 februarie 2017
Timișoara. Oraș studențesc. AD 199x. Eu. Student. Vârsta: 2x-1. Complexul studențesc. Holul unui cămin.
Împreună cu un prieten mă îndrept spre camera altor colegi și prieteni. Meci de baschet în NBA. Ora târzie, că, deh, meciul e în America… Cioc, cioc, deschidem ușa și intrăm. Singura lumină din camera mică, în care erau deja trei amatori de baschet, este cea a televizorului sport. Cei trei, înghesuiți în colțul patului opus colțului camerei în care era așezat, pe o măsuță, televizorul, își îndreaptă privirile către ușă.
Lumina de pe hol îi face să mijească ochii, iar când ne-au identificat, au făcut un gest automat, parcă de retragere cât mai departe de ușa pe care noi tocmai intraserăm. Ciao! Nimic. Noi repetăm: Ciao! Abia îngăimat vine și salutul lor. Se uită parcă cu prea mare atenție la mine, aproape înmărmuriți. Dau din mână și le zâmbesc, moment în care par să-și revină. Comentariul de la TV pare să ne amintească motivul pentru care eram cinci într-o cameră de doi. NBA. Discuțiile obișnuite. Final de meci. Analiză.
Oră târzie. Ciao!
Holul căminului.
– Ai văzut?
Eu: ce să văd?
– S-au speriat de tine!
– Cum așa?
– S-a spânzurat un student în podul căminului. Descrierea lui i-a făcut pe toți să creadă că tu erai acela. Zice-se că din dragoste.
– Păi și eu de ce aș fi făcut-o?
– Ei nu știau motivul, ci doar descrierea victimei…
– Deci de asta s-au înghesuit în colț… Și cine era nefericitul?
– Unu’ de la Universitate.
– Săracu’ de el… Azi ești, mâine nu mai ești… Mâine cum ai ore?
– De la zece la două și de la patru la șase. Tu?
– Tot până la șase. Noapte bună!
– Ciao! Noapte bună!
Love Hurts. Dragostea rănește. Dar iată că, de data asta, durerea a atins insuportabilul. Oare care este limita psihică ce trebuie atinsă astfel încât simpla inerție a mișcării spre această limită să ducă la încălcarea ei și recurgerea la gestul extrem? Cei care au depășit-o nu ne pot spune, iar preoții nu le-o iartă. Oare chiar nimic nu mai contează din ce a fost înainte? Se pare că nici pentru victimă și nici pentru preot.
Show Must Go On. Viața merge mai departe. Trebuie să meargă mai departe. Dar nu Queen pare să fie muzica potrivită, tot așa cum nici Nazareth nu e, dar care își lasă totuși, în această postare, titlul faimoasei sale piese.
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence pare să fie albumul potrivit pentru acest episod de acum douăzeci (și ceva) de ani… Așadar, Dream Theater. Move On!
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence este un album conceptual în care cele cinci piese ale primului disc explorează diverse teme ale zbaterilor vieții, precum alcoolismul, pierderea credinței, autoizolarea, sanctitatea vieții și a morții.
Versurile cântecului „Disappear”, scrise de James LaBrie, dezbat tema morții; piesa a fost inițial intitulată „Move On”.
My First Catholic Mass by Myself
from Dallineation
I have gone to Mass several times with my mother and step-father. But yesterday I attended my first Catholic Mass by myself. Here are my thoughts and observations.
I decided to go to the Saturday 5pm Mass. Although I am not Catholic, I have learned enough to know that Saturday evening Mass satisifes the Catholic obligation to attend Mass every Sunday. Sundays are complicated for me right now, as I am still attending Latter-day Saint meetings and the times for my ward overlap with the 10am Sunday Mass times at my local Catholic Parish.
I wanted to go early. I was anxious and I wanted to have time to find my seat and settle down a bit – to direct my attention heavenward. I live only a five minute drive from the parish (what are the odds of that in Utah?). I left at 4:30pm.
A small chorus of seven women along with two guitarists and one pianist were singing through some of the songs that I later learned would be sung during the Mass. It was lovely music and set a familiar tone, as I am used to prelude music being played before LDS sacrament meetings.
The building was constructed in 2005, so while the nave (or what LDS would call the chapel where the pews and such are) is not very ornate like an older Catholic church might be, it feels like a sacred space and it is peaceful.
I watched people come in and bow, genuflect, and/or make the sign of the cross before taking their seats. I recognized a couple of men who have been helping to teach the inquiry and pre-catechumen classes I have been attending at the parish. Oh yeah...I should probably write a post about that development, haha.
Before the services, a woman made some announcements. At one point she was interrupted by loud feedback from the sound system as mics were turned on – I just cringed with everyone else and smiled as I have lost track of how many times we have had sound issues in LDS sacrament meetings.
The Mass was lovely. I noticed the priest sang – or chanted as it is probably more accurate to say – certain parts of the mass, and the congregation would sing in reply. This is different from the Masses I have attended before.
Although I didn't always know what to say or sing at many points during the service, I followed a long as best I could. I am hoping that, as I get used to the form of the Mass and how things work, I will be able to pay more attention to the spiritual aspect.
The officiating priest this time was the priest from the Newman Center up at the university. He gave a lovely homily on sacrifice – how everything we have is from God and how we should sacrifice or offer a little of that back. And that when we do, God turns around and makes something amazing out of what we offer. He likened it to the Holy Eucharist – how, as Catholics affirm, during the Mass, the bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus Christ. We offer the bread and wine, and God makes something amazing out of it. He asked us to consider “what am I offering?” I have been reflecting on that.
There were several opportunities for the congregation to sing during the Mass, and they had hymn numbers posted and hymnals. This is also something I wasn't used to – the main parish my parents attend is very large and rather than hymnals, they have screens that show lyrics for the songs. It was nice to be able to see notes so I could more easily follow along with the music. But I noticed that while I was trying to read the music, I wasn't paying attention to what was happening at the altar. Not everyone was singing, I suspect, for that reason. They were observing what was happening at the altar.
There were people of all ages and various ethnicitities. Lots of elderly folks, but there were also middle-age people like me, and a few families with young children. I expect Sunday Mass has the most in attendance – I hope to experience one of those soon.
Another thing I noticed: I didn't see a single smartphone. I saw people reading from physical copies of missals and hymn books and such. There might have been a few phones out, but I didn't see any. This is different from LDS meetings in my area where electronic devices are near ubiquitous. Speaking as one who has allowed myself to be distracted by my phone at church in the past, I decided before going to Mass that I would bring my phone but would not take it out once during the service. It was refreshing to see others doing the same.
After Mass, the gentlemen who teach the inquiry class came up to me and said hello. We chatted briefly and then I went home.
This was a big step for me. But I have been taking a lot of those lately.
I went to Mass by myself for the first time, but I wasn't alone. I saw many people who wanted to be in the presence of Jesus Christ and worship together. I am glad I went.
#100DaysToOffload (No. 169) #faith #Christianity
Dis de dimineață
from Midus
Publicat la 17 februarie 2017
Se întâmplă rar să mă trezesc dis de dimineață atunci când nu sunt de serviciu. Rar e mult spus; mă trezesc extrem de rar atât de devreme. Astăzi e una din acele zile. M-am trezit și nu am mai putut adormi. Un gând interesant a încolțit în mintea abia deșteptată: să mă dau jos din pat și să văd cât de departe ajungi când te trezești atât de devreme! Toate bune și frumoase până am primit următoarea replică: „asta nu o poți vedea într-o singură zi!”…
Perspective unghiulare – Here Comes the Sun
from Midus
Publicat la 10 februarie 2017
Perspectivele se schimbă când privești din aer.
Sau:
Perspectivele se schimbă când privești… de sus.
Cea de-a doua variantă este inspirată de prima, în combinație cu frumusețea limbii române, frumusețe care uneori joacă feste și ne trimite către niște interpretări cu sens contrar celui intenționat. Acum mi-am propus să vorbesc despre sensul propriu, cel dat de altitudine, cel din perspectiva pilotului. Acel sens de „din aer” sau, de ce nu, de sus, nu în sensul… arogant.
Stau la o cafea în capitală, privind către străduța pe care am căutat-o zilele trecute pe Google Maps. De aici, abia îmi pot da seama de existența scuarului verde dintre copacii din planul îndepărtat; de fapt, nici nu aș putea spune că ar fi un scuar acolo dacă nu aș fi trecut ieri pe lângă el.
Ha! Și nici măcar nu este verde! Cum așa?! Este iarnă și a nins, deci este alb!
În orice caz, perspectiva aeriană este una… aerată, una care dă o dimensiune longitudinală străduței. Citeam odată că un pilot este „pierdut” la sol. De când am început să călătoresc cu avionul și de când cu hărțile Google, rătăcirea pilotului la sol mi-a devenit mult mai clară; în adolescență o puteam doar intui.
Here Comes the Sun (cel din titlu) este piesa difuzată la radioficarea cafenelei.
Update: iată că a ieșit și soarele!
🍿 Watched Blitz (2024) on Prime Video
from Mitchell Report
⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: FULL SPOILERS
The poster for Blitz features a woman and a boy surrounded by floating flowers, with a lone child standing below.
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐½ (3.5/5 stars)
Final Verdict
Not bad, but a heavy watch. After seeing all the kid went through in this movie, you almost wanted to reach out to him through the TV and say, “Let’s get you home.”
If this is a true reflection, it does amaze me how much suffering and damage there is while people try to carry on like nothing is really happening. I am sure there was some truth in it. I would hope the darkest moments, like stealing jewelry off of dead people, didn’t happen. Unfortunately, I am sure that it did, though I haven’t researched it.
Overall, the story was good and compelling. It kept me interested, even if it was a heavy watch. Not a bad movie.
This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDb.
#movies #review
from Unvarnished diary of a lill Japanese mouse
Dans le ciel un oiseau blanc âme seule un instant suspendue s'éloigne sans daigner bouger les ailes
#shieko
from Unvarnished diary of a lill Japanese mouse
Journal 4 octobre 2026 Le saké de l'adieu
On est toutes ensemble ce soir, on est tristes mais un peu heureuses. Hier au soir on a décidé d'aller ensemble à fukushima sans savoir ce qu’on y ferai ni ce quon trouverait. Bien sûr on ne pensait pas trouver shieko mais on voulait y aller. Mon frère nous a prêté un minibus, hayame a le permis, on est parties ce matin, on a acheté des fleurs en route. Il faut 3 h pour arriver. La côte est désolée, c{est plein de terrains vagues de dépôts de débris. O n'a pas pu pénétrer en zone interdite, bien sûr, il y a des barrières partout. Très peu de gens, âgés souvent. Ils ne craignent pas les radiations, à nos âges ils disent ça n'a plus d'importance. Personne n'avait vu la voiture bien sûr, ça aurait été trop beau. Pour finir on est allées au bord des falaises, pas loin de la centrale, on a lancé nos fleurs là en pensant à chie. Son corps n'est pas loin on le sait, on le sent. Deux vieilles personnes nous ont demandé si on rendait hommage à des disparus... On ne s'est pas plus attardées. On est rentrées en silence, en pleurant un peu, mais c'était comme un adieu cette fois. On sait qu’on ne la reverra plus, sa grâce, sa gentillesse, sa gaieté … Les larmes viennent en écrivant ça. C’est un peu comme après une catastrophe, on se compte entre survivantes. On avait emmené une bouteille de saké, chacune a bu au goulot et on a vidé le reste dans la mer. À toi shieko notre amie pour toujours.
#shieko
Keep it, guard it, care for it
Why This Picture Matters
“Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that is the inheritor of our fear. Let him not love the earth too deeply. Let him not laugh too gladly when the water runs through his fingers, not stand too silent when the setting sun makes the veld with fire. Let him not be too moved when the birds of his land are singing, nor give too much of his heart to a mountain or a valley. For fear will rob him of all, if he gives to much.”
Alan Paton- Cry, the Beloved Country, Cape
from 
JON KALEV
Six years ago I plowed this field in Alabama the last time
In its place are houses for rich people. Covering memories of grandparents picking cotton Plain and simple I sold out. No romanticism just math. Security versus uncertainty.
Then I dealt with my father. My mother spent the last fifteen years in a wheelchair. She had a stroke and he pushed her into a bed and watched football for hours. The next morning she was still where she fell, clothes on, unable to stand. She could have been saved. I make no apologies. I made him suffer.
Come October I smell peanuts. Hear the dryness of cotton fields, soil breaking open to receive winter rye. Walking fields looking for arrowheads. Overseeding pastures for winter, praying for rain. I miss every fucking minute.
I no longer remember the names of my cows. Everything loved is gone. But the wonder of it all.
from 
G A N Z E E R . T O D A Y
I am a terrible multitasker. I thought I'd be able to alternate between writing and taking podcast notes, but when I'm in the writing zone (indeed in any zone), I find it very difficult to pull away and do something else. Even if I designate the something else towards the tail-end of the day.
So today I will attempt to power through 6 episodes, half the season we recorded. Now, each episode is quite long; an hour or more in some cases, which means more video-watching than I can handle. Basic logic would dictate spreading the episode-watching and notetaking across several days to ease the blow of the task at hand, but that would necessitate employing the kind of mental gearshift that I sorely lack.
Why am I like this?
#journal #work #podcast
Rippple's Weekly Tracker 5 Oct 2026 → 11 Oct 2026
from 
Rippple's Blog
Stay entertained thanks to our Weekly Tracker giving you next week's Anticipated Movies & Shows, Most Watched & Returning Favorites, and Shows Changes & Popular Trailers.
Anticipated Movies
- Just Play Dead
- Love of Your Life
- Matchbox the Movie
- Animals
- ☆ The Social Reckoning
- Tenzing
- Other Mommy
Anticipated Shows
- PSYREN
- NCIS: New York
- ☆ Carrie
- Below
- Take Charge of My Heart
- Eternally Yours
- Cupertino
- Avatar: Seven Havens
- Firefly Wedding
- The Vermilion Mask
- Dragon Ball Super: Beerus
- Treasure Island
Returing Favorites
- Marshals — Season 2
- Tracker — Season 4
- Murdoch Mysteries — Season 20
- FBI — Season 9
- Hudson & Rex — Season 9
- CIA — Season 2
- Reasonable Doubt — Season 4
- ☆ NCIS — Season 24
- NCIS: Origins — Season 3
- Chicago Med — Season 12
- Abbott Elementary — Season 6
- Chicago Fire — Season 15
- Pawn Stars — Season 25
- Chicago P.D. — Season 14
- The Kardashians — Season 8
- Reincarnated as a Sword — Season 2
- The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World — Season 2
- Rage (Furia) — Season 2
- Law & Order — Season 26
- Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage — Season 3
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit — Season 28
- Elsbeth — Season 4
- Mystery Science Theater 3000 — Season 14
- Haunted Hotel — Season 2
- Sheriff Country — Season 2
- Fire Country — Season 5
- Boston Blue — Season 2
- Time — Season 3
Trending Shows Status Changes
- East of Eden — Returning Series → Ended
- Futurama — Returning Series → Ended
- Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- — Returning Series → Ended
- Red Queen — Returning Series → Ended
- Clevatess — Returning Series → Ended
- Tomb Raider King — Returning Series → Ended
- Magic Repo Man: Dumped by My Party, I’ll Cash In With a Cute Support Fairy to Become the Strongest! — In Production → Returning Series
- A Different World — Ended → Returning Series
- Winter — In Production → Returning Series
Most Watched Movies this Week
+8UNABOMBER-1The End of Oak Street-1The Love HypothesisnewRunner=Coyote vs. Acme-3Resident EvilnewThe Uprising-4Mayday-3Toy Story 5=Backrooms
Most Watched Shows this Week
=Lanterns=Ted Lasso+1MobLand+2Slow HorsesnewSouth Park+4Dark MatternewAmerican Horror Story-1Neagley-4ReachernewThe Gentlemen
Popular Trailers
Get Tickets Now — Verity- You decide which. — Digger
- Emotions — Heart of the Beast
- In Cinemas Now — Resident Evil
- Are you tricking me? — Other Mommy
- he's running out of time... — Street Fighter
- Watch At Home Now — The Uprising
- Can you see the man underneath? — Clayface
- 50th Anniversary — Rocky
- Season 3 Official Trailer [Subtitled] — Ranma1/2
Hi, I’m Kevin 👋. Product Manager at Trakt and creator of Rippple. If you’d like to support what I'm building, you can download Rippple for Trakt, explore the open source project, or go Trakt VIP.
only water
from 
Things Left Unsaid
I've worked quite hard to achieve my mediocre running abilities... that have now given me a 2nd place in a category in an event. I still think it is pretty cool, and I feel quite good about it, even though I know that the only reason I got 2nd is that fast people in my category were not there.
The bulk of my running has been all alone on the city streets and paths near where I live. Alone, and aside from a weekend run, they are in the morning before work. For the last few years, since switching to morning shift, those runs before work have been alone and in the dark. That, combined with the social anxiety that permeates every fiber of my being; it takes a lot for me to show up to an event like the one I did yesterday. I should be including as events all the ParkRuns I have done over the years.
Sometimes I wonder why I register, and why I show up at these things. I guess showing up to an event or ParkRun pushes me outside of my comfort zone physically and mentally. And I guess that's good for me? I suppose. Not really a good answer as to why bother. I'm not competitive at all, and these events are a race. I say, hey, winning is for the elite runners. The best of the best. The rest of us don't compete with anyone but our past self. But even that now is kind of pointless with the age that I'm at. As I get older it gets harder. My 55 year old self can't do what my 49 year old self was doing when I first found running (or did it find me?). I work harder to achieve a slower time.
For the data maybe. That is a fun thing to think about. A tracker on my wrist communicating with satellites showing me distances and times is not like showing up at a start line with a chip pinned to my shirt front. I run across a mat on the road that communicates with the chip. This chip time is so much more accurate than the thing on my wrist. I get to be forever on a list of runners for any particular event. I was there, and did that. It is pretty real I guess. Proof that I'm actually running and not just pushing myself around the city streets on a scooter just to get kudos on Strava.
About five years ago I had some water left over in a water bottle after I ran a full marathon. I went to pour it into the sink, and suddenly stopped. I pictured that water sloshing around in the bottle while I suffered through that 42.2km run. Instead of dumping it out, I put it in a stainless steel thermos. Whenever I did a long run on a weekend, or participated in an event or ParkRun, I would put some of that marathon water in the water bottle I was taking on the run. I would save some, and then return it to the thermos after the run. I've been doing this for years with the water that is in that thermos. I have water in there from all the registered long distance events, and also most of the ParkRuns I've done, for years. That includes a few I did out of town, and also Claremorris ParkRun in Ireland. I filter it twice. and boil it for a few minutes occasionally, and then sterilize the inside of the thermos before putting it back in. lol Just a weird ritual. I know it is only water.
Shoes, Energy, and Grumbly Bits
from AnOublietteofThought
This morning I decided to spend a portion of my grocery funds on a new pair of Vibrams. They're not my choice colors as they have hot pink on the back, but they're a third of the price the style normally sells for. They're the style I prefer for long-distance walking and hiking. And adding an alternating pair will put a little love back into my aging primary pair. I saw a new style I would very much like to try, but I will need to save for that.
I have went through my closet in recent months and gave almost every pair of boots and shoes I had away — minus my Vibrams. I don't wear them, and my feet have changed enough over the past many years that most were no longer comfortable. I couldn't even put my favorite Mary Janes on. An interesting side effect of either being barefoot or wearing Five Fingers for the vast majority of time for more than a decade.
There's a few new brands making more affordable Five Fingers. That excites me. One is also making more feminine styles. That really excites me. I've not needed to really dress up in a few years. I get a little anxious when I think about it, because if I dress up, I dress up. That is one area where my vanity can probably use a little work. Could I make myself walk out the door in my more feminine Vibrams? I'm truly unsure.
I want to say that I could. The idea of bending to societal expectations on the topic annoys me. However, I admittedly have my own expectations. I wonder if I'll even be comfortable dressed up that much. It is such a strange shift in thought since “dressed up” was my norm for the majority of my life. I feel uncomfortable just contemplating it.
I realize that I've changed a lot in the past decade concerning such things. I don't know what to make of it. The choice of stability over appearance was never meant to become my normal, but the shoes made such a difference in pain as well that they have definitely become my default. I have a gorgeous purple pair of Ryka Devotion Plus 2's that I purchased five years ago or so. They're comfortable, but my body throws a hissy if I try to walk in them for any distance. It's annoying. I've probably only worn them a dozen times. I keep them for “emergencies” but I should give them to someone who might use them. I'm going to think on that.
Have you ever tried to go on even a casual date in Five Finger shoes? You can learn a lot about a man by doing so. A whole lot. It's kind of amusing to observe. Perhaps that says something about the men I've dated since I'm sure those who also wear them wouldn't even blink.
New day. The above was written few days ago. It's raining, I'm smiling, and it's going to be a good day. I love the sound of rain and thunderstorms. It's just rain this morning, but it's so soothing. Add the whistle of wind, and I'm in my happy place. I'm really looking forward to when it comes with a crispness, too.
I really have to figure out my electricity approach for this winter. I think I'm going to struggle to hit the 1000kw this month. I guess I could drop my thermostat down another degree. Yes, I'll do that now. It really annoys me to be forced to use electricity I wouldn't just so my bill isn't around $300 during the hot months. Unfortunately, it's still hot enough that I can't drop it low enough to matter yet, so I'm already having to use more than necessary.
I've spoken to multiple companies about it. They don't care. Environment be damned. Even the 100% renewable don't care. In the Winter months, my usage drops drastically. I think the lowest I've had is in the 290s. The highest has probably been around 490. (Maybe lower or higher by a few. I'm not going to go look.) That's a lot of extra kw to come up with.
I figured out the math and if I'm really conservative, and we're not too warm for too many days a month, I could probably pull off keeping my bill the same without pushing for the 1k, but that would mean I'd need to watch everything closely. That's really not my style. But to hit the 1k, I think I'd have to alternate running ac or heat depending on the outside temperature AND keep my windows open. Then hope. That's just annoyingly wasteful.
You would think the companies would reward me for using less, but noooooo. Same goes for my landlord with water usage. It's one of the excuses given for rent hikes. “Would you like to pay your own water bill then?” At least he's wisened up and stopped asking me that. I don't know.
OK, that one degree drop makes it chilly right now. I should look up how wise it is to keep dropping the temperature. Let's see... For now, it will work as the nights are still warm enough.
So it looks like I will either be cooking a lot of water in the oven, amongst various other wastes, or I go as absolutely minimal as possible, which will potentially get screwed up with a heat wave or massive cold front. I should ask all my neighbors if they'd like to use my washer, dryer, and oven to save themselves money. 😹
It's utterly ridiculous to need to play such games. Especially in this economy. It also creates a false demand for energy usage. Just give me a fair price for my low usage, and stop punishing me because I use less.
Speaking of which, I could also complain about family-plan subsidization, but I will refrain. The thought of needing to keep up with tech alone in a family with multiple children would give me anxiety even with an amazing income. I also won't start grumbling about the economical advantages. Especially when there's many programs that either will not run at all or will not run well on cheap tech.
OK, I'm still smiling. That one degree will make a difference for now as long as I don't get annoyed each time the AC turns on. I really dislike oil, gas, and electric companies with their record profits. I enjoy having all of the above. I just wish the greedy owners would stop manipulating the system. They have enough houses and cars already. Do they really need another private jet? I don't think so.
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