Our Father Who art in heaven Hallowed be Thy name Thy Kingdom come Thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily Bread And forgive us our trespasses As we forgive those who trespass against us And lead us not into temptation But deliver us from evil

Amen

Jesus is Lord! Come Lord Jesus!

Come Lord Jesus! Christ is Lord!

🌹

And to this day unpare Speaking high to thus about The statement of the wind in truth Nary was wood in favour To seek the fall become- And it did hay A passion for the year Summering in constant Making death a place apart To hear the siren song A temperate mouth and be; To get along, Nary is a scar And custom swim To minds bend and this A favourite fact That all who poe are witness In filing this for just petition A parcel leans ahend This severance day A year of nine and six And flaming shoe- Passions of sweet and size ten The simple seed to Rome And thus begin That a rose is beautiful And grower be.

The video If TikTok Were Honest is surprisingly good. It does a great job of explaining the harms of social media in general and the harms of TikTok in particular.

Say you're into politics. [TikTok] will push you further and further into the extreme edges of whatever side you're on. Why? Because outrage and confirmation bias keeps you glued to your screen! This isn't just bad for your worldview, it's bad for society. Echo chambers breed division. They make people more certain they're right, more hostile to differing opinions, and less likely to engage in actual conversation.

—If TikTok Were Honest

Let's not gloss over the reminder that this is bad for your worldview. That's one of my biggest problems with social media. In making people more extreme and less aware of differing opinions, their persuasive ability actually weakens and they become counterproductive in their activism.

Don't leave social media because I told you to. Leave social media because it's making you hurt the people you're trying to help.

#Life #Maxims #SocialMedia #Tech

Cannot believe I've never heard this song until this year! Never even heard the original, but this collab with Bowling For Soup sounds really good. Such a super catchy and fun song to listen to!

#MusicVideo #Busted #BowlingForSoup

This is not recommended. Sleep is more important, but many of you (including me) will ignore this advice. So might as well tell you how to do it right. When you have to sleep in your older son’s bedroom to make sure he doesn’t toss and turn and go waking up mommy and his brother whenever I go to the bathroom, you don’t have many options to write before going to sleep.

Can’t write in the bathroom because of the reasons above. Not the kitchen, living room, or dining room. Everyone can see the lights from under the doors. The balcony and outside my front door is out of the question. And in my car? Forget it.

The best solution for now is to use my SOG Dark Energy tactical flashlight on the lowest setting, hide under the covers, and write. Yes, this sounds pathetic, but that’s the price of being a writer.

So, what’s the weirdest place or technique you’ve done just so you can write?

#writing #dark #night

Lydia's Weekly Lifestyle blog is for today's African girl, so no subject is taboo. My purpose is to share things that may interest today's African girl.

This week's contributors: Lydia, Pépé Pépinière, Titi. This week's subjects: Building Your Core Palette, Luxury, fine food, drinks or fashion? and “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”

---

Building Your Core Palette Let’s break down your Accra Corporate Capsule, neutral edition: Base tones: White, cream, beige, tan — perfect for blouses, dresses, and soft tailoring. Grounding shades: Camel, coffee brown, and charcoal — ideal for trousers, blazers, and skirts. Accent tones: Soft blush, olive, and muted gold — subtle pops that keep things warm and modern. When you stick to this palette, your wardrobe becomes harmonious. Everything goes with everything. Suddenly, dressing for work feels like a five-minute affair instead of a morning crisis. From Minimal to Memorable: Neutral doesn’t mean basic. The trick is in the textures and cuts. A linen blazer over a silk camisole, a pleated ivory skirt paired with a structured tan belt — it’s about layers and details that catch the light without shouting for attention. And let’s not forget shoes. Nude pumps are a staple, but pair them with gold hoops and a textured handbag, and you’ve just turned “simple” into “stunning.” Neutrals in the Accra Glow: Here’s the bonus: neutrals love the Accra sunlight. The way a soft beige dress glows against melanin skin under that late-afternoon golden hour? Pure magic. Whether you’re walking through Ridge after a meeting or heading to an after-work hangout at Skybar, neutrals make you look effortlessly radiant. In conclusion; Neutrals aren’t about playing it safe —they’re about playing it smart. They’re the silent statement-makers that say, “I’m confident enough not to shout.” So next time you’re tempted by that bright orange blazer, pause. Ask yourself: Would beige do it better? Chances are… yes, darling. Yes, it would. Luxury, fine food, drinks or fashion? LVMH, owner of 75 brand names ranging from Dior to Louis Vuitton happily combines them all. They recently bought into the European Wagon Litz trains, already part owned by Accor Hotels (5100 hotels worldwide including Ibis and Novotel). In the early parts of the last century connecting London to Paris to Venice to Vienna to Istanbul these trains have now become a luxury toy. The idea is that you dress up (in one of the many LVMH fashion brands, preferably and of course) and have first class meals and LVMH drinks such as Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Hennessy, Dom Pérignon and they own another 25 brands including South American and Chinese brands (there is choice, but unfortunately Johnney Walker is not sufficiently exclusive, that's for people who don't even know how to spell that name) and you sit and sleep in a slow moving train (and I guess you'll take a few selfies). It will take 24 hours. For example Paris to Venice is $5300, that is sharing a cabin with someone, the luxury cabins is 16800 $ for the night. LVMH has now added a Cote d'Azur trip, Nice, Monte Carlo, Monaco, Cannes and Entibes. Something for Valentine's day? I guess if you show the embassy the tickets you'll get a visa? What was the saying again? Take moneys from fools before they spend it wrongly? LVMH have surely understood that.

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. Most of these apples we see in Accra traffic are imported from South Africa, they don’t really grow in our climate, though you might harvest one or two if you planted an apple tree. And you want your apple to look nice. Here's the problem, apples growing naturally don’t look nice, they are attacked by all sort of insects and other pests before you get to it (same for peaches, plums and other “European” fruits). This is not really a problem, we have a lot of chemical pesticides to keep these parasites away, so we spray 7-9 times and boom, nice apple. Theoretically not many chemical residues remain by the time the apple gets to you, and they are to be below a certain threshold, so have a bite. Well, that's the theory. Apples sold to the public overwhelmingly contain multiple pesticide residues, according to a survey published recently by Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN Europe) and thirteen partner organizations. In 70% of cases, the 59 samples from 12 European countries contained several residues, some as many as 7, some classified among the most toxic, some persistent pollutants (PFAS), many above the legally approved thresholds. Only four out of 59 samples would have been approved for consumption by babies where standards are stricter. An additional problem is the “cocktail effect”. To write in simple language, say that we tested that you can take up to 10 tablets of paracetamol a day, and that we also tested that you can take up to 5 tabs of imodium. But did anyone test 10 tablets of paracetamol plus 5 tablets of imodium? No, or hardly. So if you now find 5 or 7 pesticide residues on your apple then it is any bodies guess what effect that might have on you, or the baby you are breast feeding, especially if already the permitted thresholds are passed. And, last one, to make matters worse, South Africa has a bit of a reputation of using forbidden chemicals, to the extent that sometimes the workforce goes on strike because they claim they are being poisoned. So how about organically grown apples, the ones without the chemicals? That is possible, they hang fine nets over the orchard to keep the insects away and use organic chemicals (like neem extract) to stench the insects away. But that apple would easily cost twice as much, and poor as we are perceived to be no one is going to try that one on Ghana. Bon appetite? No. Organically grown apples

Lydia...

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Keeping with the theme of the last update, I've gone a bit off the rails. This week, I released my next YouTube short, What if corn was advertised like cars.

The Lonely Worlds

On the 27th of January, I began a project currently called The Lonely Worlds. I don't want to say too much about it yet. It's intended to be a serial. It's a setting I've been noodling with for fifteen years or so and I recently worked out enough characters to have a good chance at it. I currently have four chapters written on it with a good start on a fifth.

The typewriter

Last time, I discussed the low-powered computer I put Alpine Linux on for writing purposes. Due in part to the workflow enabled by the typewriter, I managed to write about 47K in January without really trying.

I still don't recommend doing Alpine Linux yourself but if you want to use some of the tools I mentioned in that post, I've adjusted my micro settings files since last time.

settings.json:

{
	"softwrap": true,
	"wordwrap": true,
	"autosave": 60,
	"cursorline": true
}

bindings.json:

{
    "Alt-/": "lua:comment.comment",
    "CtrlUnderscore": "lua:comment.comment",
    "F5": "lua:wc.wordCount",
    "Insert": "lua:wc.wordCount"
}

Next week's goals

I have a few high priority tasks I have to take care of this next week that don't involve writing directly. So, my writing / creativity goal is ... to do some of that. 😹

#ProgressUpdate

According to word on the streets, living in an Homeowners Association governed community makes your property value higher [than those other people’s homes that are not HOA governed]. How do you know this is true? Because everyone told you so and everyone continues to tell you so. But also, if you do an internet search for, “Do homes in HOA communities have a higher property values?”, at least the first page of your search will tell you, “Yes, yes, of course!”

If you look at most of those search results, you will find something interesting about the groups who are providing the standard answers to the question posed in the previous paragraph. I will let you as the reader try and see if you can figure it out. When I did the search myself, I dug into the articles and forums to see what the people said. And this was how I was introduced to The Greater Fool Theory. So, let me paint this picture:

Let’s say I told you that if you moved into this HOA governed community called Misty Qualms, your home would have a higher value than if you moved down the street into another group of homes with no HOA. You believe me because I am trying to sell you this house. This house in Misty Qualms is brand new—everythang’s included (You can just move right in and start living!). A clubhouse with a pool and gym will be built. And there will be a playground and miles of walking trails. The lawns are going to be maintained and the neighborhood is going to look better than those other people’s neighborhoods down/up the street. Plus, you are going to get away from those people around the corner/on the east/west side. And you will be safe.

Ok now, so it’s going to cost you a little more to live here in order to distinguish yourself from where you came from where those other people live. No big deal! This house in Misty Qualms is priced about 4% higher than comparable homes. You have the money, right! I mean, we will offer you a deal of all deals to get you in! Oh, and to get your lawns serviced each week (or every other week) will cost you $50 per month this year (this will slowly creep up and in 10 years it will double). Oh, and the clubhouse will cost you another $50 per month this year (but it will eventually become a part of a property taxes so you will have to figure out if it doubled or tripled in 10 years. Also you will have to ID everyone in your home who wishes to use these amenities.). You will eventually pay for safety through your HOA because those people are going to come into your neighborhood and try to ruin things.

As a side note though, I just want to add that if you want to do things/make changes to your house, you will have to ask the HOA for permission. And if you do things that the HOA doesn’t like—which may or may not include things in the CC&Rs, your HOA will threaten you, fine you, put a lien on “your house,” and/or foreclose on “your house.” The HOA is not required to do any of this, so I am just letting you know about the possibility. But Misty Qualms will be the best place to live because of this, not in spite of this. And that is how your property value will be higher than those others.

Within three years of moving into Misty Qualms:

• Your house is already flooding.
• The ground around your house appears to be sinking and the back fence might be going bye-bye to meet the devil.
• The stucco is cracking.
• The a/c already needs repair.
• Wtf is that random, stank ass smell?
• Whose cat is this?
• Who did this to your grass? and your tree?
• Whose dog is this?
• Why do people keep knocking on the door?
• Whose alligator is this?
• Did the police just ask you for your camera footage?
• Why did you just trip over that one tile and that other one and the other one?
• Did that bitch just call you and your kid a nigger?
• Why is there a lump on the counter and is it cancerous?
• Is the HOA tailing your kid as they run around the neighborhood?
• Was part of the upstairs floor made as a musical instrument?

Six years later:

• What desperate and dumb Northerner will buy my “high value,” doubly inflated property—that is actually worth less than what I paid for it—during this period of international panic, so I can go buy another house at triple the interest that cost just as much as this one, and is also worth half of what I will be paying?

Pacers vs Bucks

My basketball game before bedtime tonight will again come from the NBA. It will be the Indiana Pacers vs the Milwaukee Bucks.

And the adventure continues.

There's a specific kind of panic you feel when a spreadsheet that runs your entire production freezes. Not crashes — freezes. You watch the cursor spin, knowing that somewhere in those 47 tabs and 15MB of formulas, your morning just died. We make paint. Artist paint, in a small workshop in Kraków. Five people, 200+ products, and for years, one massive Excel file that held everything together — recipes, inventory, costs, orders. It worked. Until it didn't. The breaking point came on a Tuesday. A customer needed to know which batch of Cadmium Yellow went into their order three months ago. Traceability — something any real manufacturer should have. We didn't. We had crossed fingers and a VLOOKUP that sometimes returned #REF. That night I started building something. Not because I wanted to become a software developer — I wanted to stop being afraid of Tuesdays. Eighteen months later, that “something” became a real product. We use it every day now. Other small makers started asking about it. Eventually we opened it up at krafte.app I still don't think of myself as a tech founder. I'm a guy who makes paint and got tired of spreadsheets.

俺は死んでしまい、天国の一歩手前で待機していた。 天界人に「ちょっとここで待っててね」と言われ、案内された部屋は何年も掃除されていないようで、埃っぽい匂いがした。どうやら本当に一時的に待つだけの場所らしい。

窓の外だけが異様で、静かな空気とは裏腹に赤く染まっていた。 「天国にも火事があるのか？」と思ったが、そこは厨房で、おばさんたちが火を恐れず中華料理を作っているだけだった。

「あのチャーハンはいつ食べられるんだろう」と考えていると、「こちらへ」と呼ばれ、滝の中を通り抜けた。

空には斜めに傾いた巨大な円盤が浮かんでいる。 その大きさに似合わず、静かなエネルギーで保たれているのが伝わってきた。

天国での新しい家に着き、電球を取り替える。 家の中なのに、薄いピンク色の風が吹いていた。

電球を替え終えると、いつの間にか俺は屋台船に乗っていた。 どうやら電球を付け替えるという行為は、場所と場所をつなぐ役割を持っているらしい。

上空は夜で、足元の景色は早朝だった。 小麦畑を走る少年の表情はよく見えない。

竜巻が小麦を巻き上げ、小さな島へ運んでいくのを見届けると、そこには重たいピアノだけが残っていて、おばあさんが静かに演奏していた。

天界人から注意事項とルールを説明されたが、俺は死後でも相変わらず人の話を聞いておらず、「ずっと家にいられるんですかね？」と質問をかぶせてしまった。 すると「進んでいれば、きっと外でも大丈夫ですよ」と、まだ理解できない返答を残して歩き去っていった。 壁が少ないせいで、遠くに行ってもその姿が小さく見えていた。

そこへ、80年代のアイドルのような紫髪の女性が現れ、「新しいリネンがあるから」と腕を引っ張る。 「理念？」と一瞬思ったが、案内された部屋にはベッドシーツやタオルが山のように積まれていた。

「リネン室が新しくなったのか」と思ったが、そもそも前のリネン室を知らない。 「使うときはここから取ればいいんですか？」と聞くと、 「ここは本当にただ積んであるだけで、取ったりはしないのよ。少しだけ天界に“重さ”を足すためだけにあるの」と言われた。

そこへ4つ打ちのテクノとともに汽車がやってきた。 「天界にも4つ打ちがあるんだ」と思っていると、運転手が「乗ってください、まだ戻れますよ」と声をかけてきた。 「まだ戻れるのか」と思った瞬間、汽車とは反対方向から「白湯が入ったわよ」と声がした。

白湯が飲みたくて、俺は汽車に乗らず白湯を選んだ。 汽車に乗らなかったことが“本当の死”を決定づけたのだと思い、駅員に「さようなら」と言ったら、 「いや、白湯飲むまで待ってますよ」と返され、まだ生きている側に近いことを知った。

明日はきっと布団で目を覚まし、荻窪の喫茶店に行く。

Non-Christians seem to think that the Incarnation implies some particular merit or excellence in humanity. But of course it implies just the reverse: a particular demerit and depravity. No creature that deserved Redemption would need to be redeemed. They that are whole need not the physician. Christ died for men precisely because men are not worth dying for; to make them worth it.

— C.S. Lewis, The World's Last Night, chapter 6

#culture #quotes #theology

E helped me move a ton more stuff and I’m stressed but things are slowly settling down.

Let’s visit the memory banks, and see if there’s something interesting stored within.

Let’s see…

Once at high school I’d gotten an award for being basically a warm person, and this other guy he said to me I hadn’t earned it, but I just said to him he was jealous and that shut him up to my (then) surprise.

I guess we both were around thirteen years of age.

It was the ninth graders who had some sort of show in the aula where they handed such prizes out.

They weren’t all benign.

A tradition I think.

Now I have seen this same person in adult shape, working extra at the gas station.

When I saw him, I felt nothing.

It wasn’t the right time until now. It’s crazy how such a simple act had to wait. I wanted to say just one phrase, but I hesitated for a long time. I couldn’t say it because it wasn’t in me. Many have said it to me. Part of me wondered if they really knew what it meant. If they actually had it in them. If they felt it. If they were it. I only want to say what I mean and mean what I say. I’ve said things I now regret. We can’t take back what we’ve said. Words are powerful like that.