No News is Bad News

Same ol' shit. No details are necessary. Now that the computer situation is back to the status quo, there's not much to fret about. I even enjoyed a fairly good night's rest for once.

I'm really glad that I have exited the world of Android®. From what I have been reading, there's something fishy going on with the "Honeycomb" release. The source code is not being released for general distribution because of certain alleged "shortcuts" that were taken in developing the code. Oddly, the larger computer conglomerates already have access to the code. My guess is that Google® does not want "Honeycomb" to appear on cheaper tablets and hacked onto existing "smartphones." Instead, it wants to limit the initial introduction to pricey devices. That's probably why ViewSonic® chose to continue packaging the loathsome Tap n' Tap modification with its G-Tablet.

By the way, in researching the Dalvik virtual machine used by Android®, I have come around to understanding why it was implemented. Mainly designed for "smartphone" optimization, it is fairly state-of-the-art. Deploying it on tablet computers should provide excellent performance. In fact, I would assume that a regular Linux "distro" installed on a table computer just could not match Android in speed, power management, and resource efficiency.

Well, there's really nothing in the news about the Fukushima meltdown. Only The Oil Drum site is providing on-going coverage. The "mainstream" news, of course, is completely fixated with Libya. One almost has to wonder whether the entire Libya enterprise is just a huge smokescreen to distract attention away from Fukushima. In any case, the "experts" are now saying that the current operation could go on for years. Does that make any sense? How can the Rube Goldberg method of cooling the uncontrollable reactors go on for years? The biggest threat now, I assume, is when the point of no return is passed. Radiation levels will be be so high that the entire nuclear facility will have to be abandoned. Guess what happens next?

In the meantime, I would expect to see the evacuation zones increase in radius. Tokyo is only 120 miles away. If the evacuation zone comes within 30 miles of Tokyo, expect all hell to break loose. How are millions of people going to be evacuated off the island? Where is the displaced population to go? Also, by that time, ever-increasing amounts of radioactive substances will be spewing into the atmosphere and flowing into the ocean and transited around the planet. There will be no safe haven. There will be no place to run. And, no place to hide. What do we do then?

Computer Status Quo

At 1:15am this morning, I packed up the ViewSonic® G-Tablet in its original packing crate and located the sales receipt. I was at wit's end. After an hour of observing pretty much every application crash repeatedly, I decided to "flash" the ROM. The process is actually fairly simple. I would have to transfer a file and a folder to the root directory of the device. The file is an Android® hack to back up the original operating system (OS) and replace it with a new one disguised as an update. I would also have to place the new compressed OS file in the root directory.

Well, I could not transfer any of the files to the root directory. Even when I attempted to "root" the device (i.e., obtain root permission) with another hack, I still could not move the files. They remained in the "Home" directory, which was as far as I could get.

I can't say that I was impressed with Android® "FroYo." It is clearly a cell phone OS. What's worse is that it runs in a proprietary Dalvik virtual machine on top of a non-standard Linux kernel. Why did the developers choose such a route? I don't know. Will the new "Honeycomb" version be better since it was designed specifically for tablets? Somehow, I doubt it.

Without much sleep, I was fairly groggy this morning. I rode the bus to Ala Moana Center, bringing the ViewSonic® G-Tablet with me. When Sears® opened, I couldn't get in the store quick enough to return the albatross. Good riddance! Sad to say, though, the hardware was really impressive. With a real OS, it could be a top-of-the-line tablet computer.

What about my computer situation? I really don't know anymore. What I really need is one of those newer netbooks with the Nvidia® Ion GPU on-board. Unfortunately, the Nvidia drivers for Linux are troublesome. For the time being, I will maintain the status quo.

One-Man Spending Spree ... Not Again!

Since I was already at Ala Moana Center, I stopped by Sears® to procure the ViewSonic® G-Tablet (made in China). As usual, I had to actively seek out a salesperson because they all ignored me. Who wants to assist a homeless derelict?

Typical Spending Spree Hottie

Anyway, that's another $380 wasted on more computer junk. Unbelievable! I could have purchased a really nice notebook computer for the amount that I spent on both the tablet computer and the Acer® Aspire One netbook. However, I do not want another huge notebook computer. Extreme portability is the main priority.

While waiting at the bus stop, I attempted to change the combination on my cheap programmable lock. In the process, I jammed the cheesy mechanism. Thus, I had to spend $5 at Longs® for a new cheap lock. Why was I playing around with the lock in the first place? Well, I wanted to make sure that no one would open my locker at the gym while the tablet computer was stored in it. So foolish.

At the gym, I am still doing a reduced resistance cardio workout, although my heart rate exceeds 140bpm. I am still wrapping a bandage around my calf for most of the day. There is still some residual pain. I am now able to ascend and descend a flight of stairs, albeit with minor difficulty.

After a long day, my new ViewSonic® G-Tablet and I made it back to the detestable Slob Manor (read: rental housing). I unboxed my new toy and charged the battery. In the interim, I had second thoughts about decommissioning my faithful Toshiba® Satellite notebook computer.

So, was money burning a hole in my pocket? Not really. I was more inclined to purchase the device because of the possibility that there could be shortages of consumer electronics because of the partial manufacturing shutdown in Japan. Although most of devices are made in China, some of the key component still originate in Japan.

The ViewSonic® G-Tablet is already outdated because of its older Android® operating system. Unfortunately, there appears to be a few setbacks with the newer Android® "Honeycomb." I am still expecting an upgrade to "Honeycomb" later. Surely, the dual-core Nvidia® Tegra 2 processor can handle it.

The ViewSonic® G-Tablet completed the battery charging cycle at 8pm. Upon start-up, there were a variety of problems. Since I already perused the Android® Tablet Forums, I knew what to expect. The proprietary Tap n' Tap interface is pretty bad. Everything was crashing. Looks like I'll have to "flash" the ROM.

On a somber note, the EPA has announced that the analysis of radioactivity in Hawai'i has confirmed the presence of Iodine-131. The substance has a shot half-life, but is a known culprit for thyroid cancer. I'm not concerned that the measured quantities are extremely low. Rather, I am very concerned that we are breathing in the substance, thereby making the latter "internal emitters."

Post No. 1,793

Another visit to Hawai'i Kai went well. Moms and I ate lunch at Panda Express®. My Panda Express® fortune cookie's advice: "Stick to the basics, be weary of novelties." Like a tablet computer, perhaps? Later, moms served Welcome® vanilla ice cream for dessert. The rest of the day? The urban nomad fulfilled his usual benign functions and followed his routine itinerary as planned.

"Highly toxic plutonium is seeping from the damaged nuclear power plant in Japan's tsunami disaster zone into the soil outside, officials said Tuesday, heightening concerns about the expanding spread of radiation." That's the latest word from the Associated Press concerning the Fukushima meltdown. Plutonium-239 has a half-life of 24,100 years, by the way. Little by little, there will be no way to cover-up just how out of control the situation has become.

Foolish as it may be, I have been reading up on the ViewSonic® G-Tablet. Hardware-wise, it is very close to the costly Motorola® Xoom®. However, the price is $380 on sale this week at Sears®. There seems to be a lot of problems with the ViewSonic "custom" interface layered over Android® "FroYo." However, there are ROM packages available which can be "flashed" to restore Android® to its original state. I assume that the latest version of Android® named, "Honeycomb," can be "flashed" as well. I am not too keen about Android®, but there appears to be numerous applications (including file managers) available. And, it can play 1080p videos!

Why am I bothering with that tablet computer nonsense when I was already warned by the Panda Express® fortune cookie? My goal is to decommission my Toshiba® Satellite notebook computer within two months. The device will be four years old at the end of July. The hard drive is not giving me any problems, but it has to be operating in the questionable zone by now. I could replace the hard drive but decided against the idea. I will most likely install the upcoming version of Ubuntu and gift it to someone, perhaps Shirley.

What about my Acer® Aspire One netbook? In all honesty, I have been somewhat disappointed by it. The device is small, but not exactly portable. Having a regular hard drive makes it fragile. Of course, I won't be divesting the netbook. It will make a fine doorstop. Just kidding!

Over the Top

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-Sunday was only made tolerable only by a very extended perusal of the symbolically unattainable hottie gym trainer at the gym. Baby was looking fine, real fine, by the way. Not surprisingly, I experienced a burst of strength once I saw baby. Obviously, the Vienna Sausage is still alive and well. Sheesh!

Well, another quake has hit Japan. No tsunami. No damage. And, very little news about the Fukushima nuclear meltdown. Oh well.

Since the "blog" is read by sixteen (or less) people, I can write whatever I want. And, there will be a lot more said in the days to come. As for Japan, I believe that the nation is on the verge of total collapse. Once the Fukushima meltdown proves to be uncontrollable, there will be no choice but to evacuate significant portions of the Northern Honshu population. In addition, the abrupt removal of the nuclear plants from the grid will cause more than a fractional shutdown of Japan's manufacturing sector. The island nation is already heavily in debt, and the damage from the earthquake and tsunami are not minor line items in the budget. Merely injecting more fiat money into the "system" may be futile.

The radioactive discharge and contamination will most likely continue and worsen in Japan. Nuclear fallout of radionuclides will affect areas within a radius of several thousand miles. However, because the effects of contamination will take years before the related symptoms manifest themselves, there will be no need to disseminate the truth. We'll just notice an odd spurt in cancer rates.

There are unconfirmed reports that the empire is planning to spearhead a major ground assault in Libya if "regime change" proves to be difficult by excessive bombing alone. The incursion is slated for the late part of April. The whole scenario is reminiscent of a scaled-down version of the invasion of Iraq. Of course, that comes as no surprise. Securing Libyan oil interests are now imperative given the setback that the Fukushima incident presents to the nuclear power industry.

Yeah, it's like a really bad nightmare, isn't it? War, and more more war. The Atlantic Ocean completely poisoned by the Gulf oil spill. The Pacific Ocean contaminated with radioactive substances. And, now we have nuclear fallout affecting Asia, the Pacific, and the empire's West Coast. That's the secular Apocalypse in a nutshell. We are facing our own destruction right now.

We have our own small version version of apocalypse at Slob Manor (read: rental housing). Methamphetamine Meathead (aka Brian) is stomping around upstairs as we speak. Back and forth. Each time he stops, he drops a heavy object on the floor. His pace is rushed. His feet are sweaty because they make an extremely loud squeaking noise with each step on the laminate floor. He's sweating profusely because his heart rate is "over the top." He's obviously "tweaking." His widescreen LCD tube is blaring in the background. I am really just hoping that his synaptic functions simply shut down from overdose. He needs to become a vegetable to put himself out of his misery. Perhaps I should change his nickname to "Fukushima Daiichi."

Prince Kuhio Day 2011

I was on my way to Kahala Mall this morning at 8:15am. As to be expected, I enjoyed my morning coffee at the Barnes & Noble® Café. About an hour later, the place was becoming uncomfortably crowded. I walked to the Apple® Store. I ended up perusing the iPad® 2 with no interruption from any salesperson. In fact, I was the only one who was not approached, much to my amusement. At first glance, the iPad® 2 seems to be very elegant. However, I noticed right away that the fonts were blurred in the Web browser. I then attempted to log into one of my investment accounts. Nada. Without Adobe® Flash, the task was impossible. Obviously, the iPad® 2 cannot fulfill my modest requirements.

One other disturbing characteristic of tablet computers is the lack of a user-accessible file system. The user does not have any idea where stored files are located. Thus, manipulation of files is severely limited. Looks like I'm stuck with conventional computers for the time being. Speaking of which, Kubuntu is giving me increasing grief. I must now reboot my Acer® Aspire One netbook several times before it finally senses the battery. What is going on here?

I departed for Koko Marina shortly afterward. Once there, I performed part of my workout at the gym. At 12:30pm, I met up with Shirley. We followed the usual itinerary (i.e., lunch at The Shack, shopping at Costco®). After parting ways with Shirley, I completed my workout at the gym before returning to the despicable Slob Manor (read: rental housing).

Well, there's maybe one news item about the Fukushima meltdown. So, the crisis must be over, or at least stabilized. Nothing to see here, just move on. Out of sight, out of mind.

Meltdown Madness

"We have been betrayed. We've been left to die." -- Katsunobu Sakarai, Mayor of Minamisoma City

Methamphetamine Meathead, "Iceman" Brian, or whatever he wants to be called, returned to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) at 7:30pm last night. After that, there was non-stop stomping, dropping of heavy objects on the floor, and assorted thuds emanating from the second floor. His footsteps were short and hurried, as if he were on an urgent mission. Yeah, before saturating his puny brain with amphetamines, the moron used to sit placidly for hours in front of his huge widescreen LCD tube. Too much money, too much time, too much meat between the ears. The moral of the story: A fool and his money are soon partying.

Another visit to Hawai'i Kai went well. Moms and I ate lunch at Loco Moco. Later, moms served Welcome® vanilla ice cream for dessert. The rest of the day? The urban nomad fulfilled his usual benign functions and followed his routine itinerary as planned.

There was finally some news about the Fukushima nuclear meltdown last night. Not good news, mind you. Reactor 3 has some kind of core breach. Although the news is being downplayed as nothing serious, that particular reactor is the only one (of six) using a deadly plutonium mixture for fuel. We can assume that the breach will cause, at the least, leeching of extremely toxic radioactive materials into the groundwater and ocean. Welcome to the secular Apocalypse!

Here in Hawai'i, we have been advised that radiation levels have risen and the signature is pointing directly at Fukushima. The "ambulatory Pez® dispensers" (i.e., media "talking heads") are downplaying the radiation levels as way below anything of concern. We are told that we receive routine radiation from space, from dental x-rays, blah, blah, blah. They tell us that, as you move away, the radiation is reduced in inverse ratio to the square of the distance. No need to worry. Nothing to see here, just move on. What the idiots don't seem to get is how the measurement of trace radiation is beside the point. The increase in radiation attributed to Fukushima is caused by something called "nuclear fallout." The real problem is contamination.

At the Fukushima nuclear plant, various radionuclides are being spewed into the atmosphere as hot gases because of the tremendous heat generated during a meltdown. Those molecules of varying radioactive half-lives float around until they are picked up by the jet stream and transited elsewhere. Eventually the radionuclides will cool off and disperse, usually as part of normal precipitation. As the radionuclides gently float back to earth, there is a high probability that humans and other animals will breathe in the substances. At least one of the iodine radionuclides mimics potassium and is easily absorbed by the human body. Nonetheless, once the radioactive substance is ingested, the safety of "inverse ratio to the square of the distance" is long gone.

We already know that long-term exposure to radiation may eventually cause malignant cell mutations and increase the likelihood of cancer. The effect could take years. Hence, there is always an upward revision of the number of cancer victims as a result of the Chernobyl nuclear plant meltdown. And, that disaster occurred back in 1986!

Here in Hawai'i, it's all about the money. The real truth will not be released until it is too late. We don't want to scare off any tourists, do we? There's just too much money invested here. We can't let that go to waste, can we? Of course, how do we evacuate the entire population? We're on a bunch of damned little islands. Sounds a lot like Japan, doesn't it? Will we be lamenting like Katsunobu Sakarai?

Lunatic Fringe

Not much was accomplished because I was suffering from sleep deprivation, thanks to Meathead (aka Brian). For some reason, I assumed that the fool was going to call it a night when he returned noisily to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) at 11:30pm. Not so. At 3am this morning, I was rudely awakened by banging noises. Meathead was in the kitchen washing something in the sink for at least an hour. At 4pm, the ass-clown was upstairs stomping around, dropping heavy objects on the floor, and moving furniture around. The noise was non-stop until the fool abruptly departed at 5:30am. Yeah, he pulled an "all-nighter." I surmise that he was "tweaking" on "Ice." What else could explain such odd behavior?

Aside from being comatose, I followed the same monotonous routine. Days are passing rather quickly. Yet, I continue to waste precious time. I am fully cognizant of the consequences, by the way. At the library, I chatted briefly with my homeless buddy. He's originally from Denver, although he has a puzzling foreign accent. He served time in the empire's military, which is probably why he has medical benefits. He's three years younger than I am. The nation that he recently visited for 4 months was Vietnam. I must reiterate that I was quite intrigued by his Vietnam adventure. He had told me that most of the people there are quite poor and the cost of living is very low. Thus, he's a homeless guy in the empire, but he lived like a king in Vietnam.

At the gym, I followed the same cardio workout as yesterday after my weight regimen. I was able to get my heart rate up to 131bpm. The heart "palpitations" were minimal, if anything. And, I did not discard any portion of my morning coffee. My poor leg still has some residual pain in the calf area. The sensation is similar to a cramp. I am now able to climb stairs, but descending is still a problem. My leg would have probably felt much better had I enjoyed a decent night's sleep.

I neglected to mention that I chatted briefly with fellow Slob Manor resident Alan last week. He's into occult-like activities including Tarot cards and palmistry. He seems to be convinced that there's some kind of spirit realm, although he is not a religious fanatic of the Yahweh Triad (i.e., Judaism, Pauline-Christianity, and Islam). After all, his occult-like hobbies would make him a heretic. He also mentioned that he had attended a session hosted by a friend of his that involved three computers that were set up in such a way to produce a "zero force-field" effect. Later, I happened to recall that the Indian guy had told me a while back that he had walked into Alan's squalid room to ask him something. The Indian guy has always thought that Alan was really strange, but he mentioned that he saw several computers in the room. I believe that Alan has set up the same "zero force-field" effect in his squalid room, and his bed is situated right in the center. I also recall that, on the day of the tsunami evacuation, Alan said that he did not like to power down his computers. He then made sure to pack all of the computers in his car before leaving.

There's never a shortage of extremely strange people residing at Slob Manor. The landlord sure knows how to pick 'em, eh? Of course, what does that say about the ol' lavahead himself? Well, it's easy to see why the moneychangers and powers-that-be can get away with anything. The common rank-and-file empire peon is very much like the sample of Slob Manor residents: too stupid and weird for their own good.

Illusion to Hurdy-Gurdy (Reprise)

The day? pretty much a repeat of the benign events of yesterday. To minimize my walking distance, I rode seven different bus routes all day. At the gym, I increased the duration of my cardio workout on the cross-training cardio machine to 38 minutes at half of the usual resistance. I was able to attain a heart rate of 124bpm, only a modest improvement. I am also standing up between sets during my weight workout. That seems to reduce the frequency of heart "palpitations." Sadly, there has been no fast cure for the annoying affliction.

I'll continue to put an ice pack on my poor leg for a couple more days. I will wrap the leg with a bandage daily until I can walk up or down a flight of stairs without any pain. Exactly two weeks have elapsed since the calf muscle was torn. Full recovery, from what I understand, takes about a month.

As for the boil next to my spine, it's still there. All of the toxic crap in my body accumulated to form the boil, no doubt because of my benign life-style. I also searched the "blog" to find the last occurrence of the heart "palpitations." That would be almost two years ago.

Everything that has transpired in the last two weeks, either to myself or in general, has triggered an existential crisis and a severe bout of nihilism. I have not been motivated to do much. Heck, I haven't even started to compile my tax returns. Neither have I solicited quotes for the sham insurance to cover the detestable 'condotel" unit. I have even stopped caring about my life savings dwindling down to nothing. Now that I don't compile a monthly expense report, I really don't even know how much money is going out. And, as I said, I don't even care anymore.

Rather than do anything productive, I spend all night in front of the computer. I piddle around, looking for news or truth. Could you tell that I found neither? Otherwise, I download more and more great hurdy-gurdy video clips for my vast hurdy-gurdy library. Why exactly is the hurdy-gurdy collection still around and growing by leaps and bounds? Can I not properly exercise free will?

I suppose that what it amounts to is the inability to suppress the "inner animal." The biological drive to mate is extremely strong and will remain so even if one declares a state of celibacy. There is no way to suppress the desire. Unfortunately, humans have attempted to separate themselves from the rest of the animal world using the failed "civilization" paradigm. Increasingly ridiculous and arbitrary gender roles have served to blur the true animal state. That is why there is so much confusion and aggravation when it comes to human sexuality. Throw in the foolish notion of "romantic love," only 800 years in the making, as well as economics ... it's all downhill from there.

Of course, the ol' lavahead is damned near 60 years old. He's already way out of his league. The game is over for him. Thus, he must use every trick in the book (e.g., the vast hurdy-gurdy collection) to fool himself and bide his time until the Vienna Sausage gives out. The biological drive to mate will become dormant. Heck, becoming a natural eunuch is just around the corner. Sheesh!

Ignorance is Strength (Reprise)

In continuing my experiment to determine the cause of the heart "palpitations," I threw out about one-third of the cup of coffee that I procured at Foodland in Ala Moana Center this morning. Then, at the gym this afternoon, I performed my usual weight workout. However, I pushed myself by doing 30 minutes on the cross-training cardio machine, albeit at less than half the usual resistance. I also did about 20 minutes on the recumbent cycle.

Nonetheless, I experienced the absurd heart "palpitations" until I boarded the Route 1L bus afterward. The "palpitations" were not as prolonged, but very annoying. I am now certain that my weight workout is the culprit. Until I can return to my regular cardio regimen, I may have to reduce my weight workout (again).

Typical "Blood Rites" Hottie

At the library, I completed reading the book, "Blood Rites: Origins and History of the Passions of War," by Barbara Ehrenreich. That's part of my continuing research on the human propensity for war. Apropos, eh?

Well, I now have a large boil growing next to my spine. Actually, that's the third one growing in the same place. Like a fool, I tried to pop it with my fingers. I probably only made matters worse. I really don't know anymore. Maybe I should start droppin' back cheap booze (i.e., "fire water") like there's no tomorrow. Sheesh!

The Libyan "no-fly zone" bullshit is quickly turning into a full-scale incursion. The non-stop bombing has already produced civilian casualties ... errr, I mean "collateral damage." An invasion is imminent. It's the Iraq and Afghanistan adventure all over again. And, there's no dissension from the rank-and-file peons. Just more flag-waving and patriotic crap.

In Japan, the irradiated engineers are working to get the Fukushima Daiichi plant's cooling system operational again. The power lines are in place, but the big question is whether the constant dousing with salt water caused irreparable damage to the critical infrastructure. The whole operation may take several days or more. Oddly, nuclear fission is practically uncontrollable without any type of closed-circuit cooling. I do not understand how the out-of-control reactors and dried-out spent fuel storage pools are remaining stable for so long. Something is terribly wrong.

Post No. 1,786

Last night, I downloaded the KDE Marble widget and installed it on my Acer® Aspire One netbook. After a few minutes of confusion, I was able to integrate Open Street Map into Marble. A very impressive application!

Another visit to Hawai'i Kai went well. Moms and I ate lunch at Panda Express®. My Panda Express® fortune cookie's prediction: "Now is the time to set your sights high and 'Go for it.'" Go for what? Later, moms served Welcome® vanilla ice cream for dessert. The rest of the day? The urban nomad fulfilled his usual benign functions and followed his routine itinerary as planned.

At the gym, I opted to forgo any kind of weight workout. Instead, I spent about 20 minutes on the recumbent cycle and about 25 minutes on an elliptical machine. I kept the resistance low in order to avoid injury to my poor leg. Earlier in the morning, I deliberately kept my dosage of coffee below half of the normal amount. As a controlled experiment, I found that I had only a handful of heart "palpitations" for the entire afternoon. Sadly, caffeine appears to be culprit. Or, my weight workout is the culprit. Which is it?

As for my poor leg, I apparently did not notice that there is some bruising around my ankle. I happened to be sitting outside in the sun and observed the dark patches. Since my skin color is a dark brown, I did not see anything peculiar. So, there must have been some blood pooling in the last few days. Not good.

The evening? I'll try to relax in the damned hellhole known as Slob Manor (read: rental housing). Most likely I'll lay on my squalid bed in my squalid room with my Acer® Aspire One netbook. That way I can elevate my poor leg for a spell. Tomorrow is another day.

Ignorance is Strength

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-Sunday was highlighted by an extended perusal of the hottie gym trainer at the gym. Baby was looking fine, real fine, by the way. I attempted to mix ten-minute cardio intervals with my weight workout sets. At the end, I did 30 minutes of cardio. I am still restricted to the recumbent cycles. Thus, I could only achieve a target heart rate of 90bpm maximum. I cannot increase the resistance or the speed, or I will risk injuring the afflicted leg again. I also tried to use my usual cross-training cardio machine, but I quickly realized the folly of my error after a minute or so.

Needless to say, the heart "palpitations" returned in full force after my gym workout. I am beginning to suspect that caffeine (i.e., morning coffee) may be the culprit, or an adjunct cause at the least. Why do I suspect caffeine? The "palpitations" completely disappear by late evening, probably around the time that the caffeine is completely purged from my body. There are no "palpitations" while I am sleeping or early in the morning. Do I have to give up coffee again? Perhaps.

Well, I finally become too disillusioned by relying even minutely on the empire's so-called "mainstream media." The reporting is atrocious. What's even worse are the viewer comments. Why are such comments made by morons even allowed? I am perpetually appalled by the sheer stupidity displayed by an allegedly literate public. Therefore, I am now relying upon Al Jazeera as my primary "mainstream" source in addition to the usual alternative media. Runner-up is Iran's Press TV.

Sadly, a few minutes later after choosing my replacement "mainstream" news sources, I was still unable to find breaking news or some tidbit of truth. So far, there have been "unconfirmed" tidbits that the attack by "coalition forces" (i.e., empire and its stooge regimes) have gone far beyond the original "no-fly zone" plan. Lots of "collateral damage" as well. There's unbelievably positive news from the Fukushima nuclear meltdown. The external power line has been hooked up, and the brave irradiated engineers are attempting to restore the cooling systems. "Unconfirmed" reports, however, are claiming that the cooling systems are most likely non-functioning. War is peace. Ignorance is strength. Wrong is right.

All for Nothing

Same ol' shit. At the library, I ran into Ann. She was still not feeling good, although most of the flu symptoms are gone. I am pretty certain that stress is exacerbating the situation for her. My homeless buddy was also there. He showed me a new digital camera that he just purchased.

At the gym, I noticed that the heart "palpitations" commenced during my weight workout. Almost every other heartbeat does not produce a pulse. My guess is that the weight workout, being anaerobic, is producing hypertension-like symptoms. The exaggerated muscle tightness may also be constricting blood flow. Only an aerobic workout can offset the latter effects. Thus, I attempted to perform a mixed cardio set, but my heart rate never even approached 90bpm. Until my leg is fully healed, I cannot realize any cardiovascular benefits. I am becoming extremely frustrated. Should I just stop working out entirely for a few weeks then?

My leg has stopped showing any improvement since two days ago. I can walk on level ground at a decent pace, but it's nothing close to normal. I have difficulty climbing or descending stairs as well. There is still some swelling, so I put an ice pack on my leg once I am back in my squalid room at Slob Manor (read: rental housing).

Well, now that the secular Apocalypse has officially begun, I have essentially lost interest in everything. I pondered about the events of the last few years, unable to understand why I haven't seen just how bad things have gotten. Most of the problems are human engineered, which just goes to show how much worse the arrogance and hubris has become. The moneychangers and powers-that-be seem to believe that they are both invincible and immortal. Even with huge catastrophes like the Gulf oil spill and now the Fukushima meltdown, lessons have not been learned. There are several wars still dragging on, none of which were necessary. As of today, the line has been crossed for potentially another war that may eventually ignite the whole of Africa. There are still shady financial machinations going on that seem to be getting worse, not better. The same mistakes will be repeated ad infinitum, essentially playing brinkmanship with diminishing odds, until mass extinction comes to fruition. We are on a collision course with our own destruction, and we're picking up speed by the day.

Since the main perpetrators are the remnants of "Western civilization" led by the empire, there is a hint of Judeo-Pauline-Christianity at play. We, especially the citizens of empire, keep hearing about God (of the Yahweh Triad) ad nauseum. The latter is the guiding force behind the insanity of careening to our self-destruction. Don't those fools realize that, if Roman Emperor Constantine has not embraced Pauline-Christianity as a ploy to consolidate his empire, the whole of that ridiculous religion would have faded into non-history? The idiotic fanatics are now at the helm, and they are steering the ship of "civilization" toward what they believe to be Armageddon. Why? They want to force God's hand. They want absolution. They want salvation. They want to take their riches with them. They'll destroy us all for a deity that does not exist. Sheer madness!

Welcome to the Secular Apocalypse!

Another visit to Hawai'i Kai went well. Moms and I ate lunch at Zippy's. Later, moms served Welcome® vanilla ice cream for dessert. The rest of the day? The urban nomad fulfilled his usual benign functions and followed his routine itinerary as planned.

Moms is planning to devote 50 hours next month to "pioneer" (i.e., perform "field service") for the cult. There's a lot of pressure from corporate headquarters being put upon the rank-and-file believers to push the "Armageddon" crap onto the untapped masses. With all of the wars and the recent earthquake in Japan, the "anointed" leaders of the cult are firmly convinced that the "Great Tribulation" in the bogus book of Revelation is nearing completion. If the cult's followers do not go out and "save" people by converting them, then they stand the chance of being judged unworthy of the "Kingdom of God (of the Yahweh Triad)." Yeah, the same kind of nonsense that infested all of Europe during the Dark Ages.

My nephew is still on disciplinary suspension from school. although Spring Break is currently in effect. He hasn't been doing much. He stays up very late every night, either watching the tube or playing video games. Thus, he ends up sleeping for most of the day. I'm a little worried about him, but there's not much that I can do. From what I understand, my bro wants to evict him when he turns 18 years of age. The way my nephew is going, the latter outcome is highly probable.

At the gym, I discovered that I have put on almost seven additional pounds in the last week (i.e., time spent with "pegleg"). Whoa! I am gaining about a pound per day. I also noticed that the heart "palpitations" commence sometime after my workout. What is going on here?

Petrol prices in Hawai'i have spiked with the lowest grade running at $4.06 per gallon. The crisis in Japan has also caused a dramatic decline in Asian tourist arrivals. Frankly, I believe that the local economy is going to collapse.

Speaking of Asia, have you seen the latest satellite pictures of the Fukushima Daiichi plant? If not, here's a glimpse:

Fukushima Daiichi (4-3-2-1)

Only 4 out of 6 reactor buildings are shown. Three of the four reactors are in various states of destruction. Here is the internal configuration of each reactor building:

Note that the spent fuel storage pool is inside the reactor building. Now, go back and look at the first photo of reactors 4, 3, and 1 above. What do you think the interior of those building look like right about now?

The courageous work crew is currently attempting to bridge a power line to the plant in order to restore cooling service. However, there is no guarantee that any of the primary or back-up systems are even functioning anymore. Take a good look, my friends. The secular Apocalypse is finally here.

Meanwhile, the empire, under the guise of a "coalition" of nations (i.e., stooge powers), are beginning what may be a new colonial war in Libya. Invoking a "no-fly" zone entails more than watching the skies for rogue planes. There may be bombing of regional military installations and possible ground troop involvement. In other words, we are looking at smaller scale version of the invasion of Iraq. Did I already say, "secular Apocalypse"?

Illusion of Hurdy-Gurdy

"At present, we're witnessing the entire repertoire of the neo-con clown school of misdirection and mendacity. What is unfolding is straight out of the Leo Strauss playbook for the intellectually bankrupt: First, employ a Reagan/Bush/Walker/ type manqué, and have these ambulatory Pez® Dispensers shower the public at large with candied covered "noble lies" i.e., promulgating faux populist sound bites serving to conceal the machinations of a corrupt elite, thereby ensuring the retention and expansion of elitist power." -- Phil Rockstroh

The day? Same ol' shit. At least I'm sportin' a revitalized extreme monk haircut courtesy the Institute of Hair Design. The stylist who cut my hair was a young hottie. Fortunately, my leg has improved enough to walk longer distances. Otherwise, I would have been looking pretty grubby by the weekend.

At the library, I chatted with the guy who just returned from Asia. His left leg was covered with a removable cast. Apparently, he fractured a bone in his foot. I discovered that he's homeless. He lives in his van, which he parks somewhere in Palolo Valley. He lost his job at a restaurant in Waikiki. Now, he is surviving off of $950 per month in SSI benefits. That's why he spent four months in Asia. He was able to live on so much less. Next time, he's planning for a six-month stay. I admire his ingenuity. He said that rent only cost him about $150 per month including maid service and all utilities. Food? About $2 to $5 per day for elaborate meals.

At the gym, I have resorted to using the recumbent cycles for 20 minutes in order to receive extremely minor cardiovascular benefits. Essentially, I can only peddle with one leg, although I have both feet on the peddles. I was also devoid of heart "palpitations" while I slept last night and also for most of the day. I noticed that the "palpitations" returned while I was doing my upper body workout. By late afternoon, the "palpitations" were again mummified. Strange things.

Well, there's really nothing more to do except to wait for the radioactive fallout to arrive from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. No, I am not going to run out and purchase a supply of potassium iodide tablets. Fools living on the empire's mainland are already doing so in large numbers. And, the empire's fearless figurehead leader, Obama, has assured the plebeian population that absolutely no harmful radiation will seep into its territories. By what supernatural means will he accomplish such a feat?

Typical "Illusion of Love" Hottie

While we're waiting for all hell to break loose, I may as well discuss the chapter, "Illusion of Love," in Chris Hedges' book, "Empire of Illusion." I was somewhat puzzled that Hedges focused on the hurdy-gurdy industry and the "escort" business. I then surmised that Hedges' believes that the empire has degenerated to such a low point in which love and da wild thing have been totally "commodified." Both the latter and former have been so adulterated (no pun intended) that they have been either reduced to financial transactions or have been substituted with virtual reality media. My confusion, of course, deals with the legitimacy of "love" and "romantic love."

I have previously discussed my own thesis about the human-concocted institutions of love and marriage in the "blog" of October 9th of last year, appropriately titled, "Vienna Sausage Mysteries." I also provided a hypothetical scenario of human mating in very ancient times. So, when exactly did humans concoct the foolishness known as "romantic love"? Many historians point to the time of the ill-fated Albigensian Cathars circa the 12th century In Languedoc France. The Troubadours emerged during that time and were renowned for their sacred and spiritual ballads. Although the ballads were religious in nature, they focused on God's love and the reciprocal love of God's followers. The ballads were so passionate that they inspired the notion of "romantic love" (i.e., between "lover" and "beloved") for mortal humans. Thus, "romantic love" is only 800 years in the making.

The fact that "romantic love" can easily be sullied is a testimony to its dubious origin. The failed "civilization" paradigm attempted to remove animal-like behaviors from the human psyche and, therefore, put a more a more "civilized" face on strictly animalistic behavior (i.e., suppress the "inner animal"). Unfortunately, humans are animals and will always be animals. When the suppression mechanisms of "civilization" break down, we see humans for what they are. The real illusion is "civilization."

7 Kumk'u 8 Ix

(12.19.18.3.14) Same ol' shit. To avoid belaboring the point, the condition of my leg has improved. I no longer need to swing my right leg out in a semi-circle in order to walk "pegleg"-style. I can take regular, albeit short, steps now. Unfortunately, another health crisis may be in the making. My heart rate has become somewhat irregular. I am experiencing what I have previously described as "palpitations," although I am not even certain whether the description is accurate. The symptoms were present last night. However, by this afternoon, I was almost certain that a "cardio event" was in the making. The "palpitations" were non-stop. Is that what happens when I take a week off from my cardio workouts? Or, are those two Spam® Musubis that I purchased from Foodland this morning coming back to haunt me?

I ran into Ann at the library. She was on her way back to Wahi'awa. She is suffering a bout with the flu, or so it seems. Ann believes that stress is the underlying cause. I tend to agree with her. Stress reduces the body's ability to fend off diseases. I also ran into one of the old regulars. He just returned from Asia, where he spent the last four months. He lived like a king for $900 during the entire time. I was amazed that the empire's currency had retained so much value.

There is very little real news about the Fukushima nuclear meltdown that is occurring as we speak. Truth, once again, is proving to be elusive. Out here in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, we have heard little about the potential for highly radioactive fallout. We are going to face the same problem that almost the entire population of Japan will face in a matter of days: How to evacuate millions of people off of a bunch of islands?

Even if the radioactive fallout does not reach populated areas, where will it eventually end up? What will the resulting damage be? Could it poison our water and ecosystems? Could it cause genetic mutations in plants and animals? Does anyone care? None of us in the rank-and-file class seems to know much about the Gulf oil spill either. Where did all of that oil and chemical dispersants go? What real damage was caused, and what will be the future impact?

Friends, we really don't need to wait for the downhill slide of Peak Oil or the effects of global climate change to kick in. We've got the makings of a huge regional war already in the Middle East and North Africa. A global war is not impossible. From all indication, the secular Apocalypse is at our doorstep. Unfortunately, about 75 percent of the world's population doesn't seem to mind because they are waiting for Armageddon (not to be confused with the secular Apocalypse). For those people who don't know, that's when God of the Yahweh Triad (i.e., Judaism, Pauline Christianity, and Islam) cleans up the mess that we humans have made. Frankly, we humans are in deep shit.

Ides of March 2011

Another "pegleg" ... errr, I mean urban nomad ... kind-of-a-day has hobbled into the infirmary of time. I am able to limp slightly faster, but I am still moving in slow motion. I am also icing down my leg when I am in my squalid room at Slob Manor (read: rental housing). The swelling has decreased from what I can tell. I have large calves to begin with, which were actually larger prior to my old man years. Guys used to ask me all the time about what I did to develop those calf muscles. Unfortunately, I had to tell them that I did nothing. I was born with them. Anyway, icing down my leg seems to have helped.

At the gym, I finally decided to try the one-and-only cardio machine that uses arm power. My arms were already a little fatigued from my weight workout. Nonetheless, I persevered through 25 minutes of arm pedaling. I can't say that I received any cardiovascular benefits. I didn't break a sweat, and I was breathing normally. My arms sure got tired, though.

I also attempted to use any possible bus route to reduce my walking distance. When I arrived at Ala Moana Center this morning, I waited for the Route 8 bus, just to get to the other side of the mall. In the afternoon, I rode the Route 4 bus from the library to the gym. Overall, a lot more time was spent in transit. I am not really engaged in anything productive, so I suppose that it doesn't matter.

The situation in Japan appears to be worsening by the day. Sadly, the worst part of the crisis has just begun. The fate of the Fukushima Daiichi and Daini nuclear power plants is hanging on some various precarious remedies being applied given the amount of damage the plants sustained. I surmise that core meltdowns are inevitable. Worse is the possibility that the containment buildings storing spent fuel have been breached. We can only imagine that radioactive debris has been streaming upward to transit in the atmospheric jet stream. The latest word is that Hawai'i is now on the trajectory for radioactive fallout due to shifting wind currents. Not to worry, though, as Japan's central bank has injected the equivalent of $283 billion into the "system," so the Nikkei is apparently surging. Very sad.

Thousands of lives were lost in a tragedy that was attributed to an "act of God." Millions of lives have been lost in similar tragedies and in foolish wars attributed to "evil." A human life is really worth nothing more than a common barnyard animal. Only humans believe that their lives are worth more, usually because of some kind of religious mumbo-jumbo. When are people going to finally realize that religion is the concoction of a few drug-induced minds of the ancient "mystery schools"? When are they going to see that religion was the cornerstone of the failed "civilization" paradigm? When are they going to understand that the failed "civilization" paradigm is the sole catalyst for the upcoming secular Apocalypse?

On a vain note, I have monitoring the tablet computer developments on and off. I must say that I am becoming more unimpressed as the time goes on. What could have been a truly novel avenue for personal computing has instead become another consumer vanity (with emphasis on "consumer"). Essentially, tablet computers are passive entertainment viewers. They are being designed to hold digitized photos, music libraries, e-books, games, and movies. Net connectivity focuses upon passive Web experiences, social networking, and limited file sharing. Worst of all, the current crop of tablet computers must dock with a traditional computer for updating and so forth. I am really not impressed.

Post No. 1,779

Another visit to Hawai'i Kai went well. Moms and I ate lunch at Panda Express®. My Panda Express® fortune cookie's prognosis: "Your personality is fueled by the fascination you feel for life." So true! Later, moms served Welcome® vanilla ice cream for dessert. The rest of the day? The urban nomad fulfilled his usual benign functions and followed his routine itinerary as planned.

Not doing any kind of cardio workout at the gym has made me both sluggish and testy. Simply doing upper body workouts is boring. I am also noticing a small "spare tire" that is growing around my midriff section. There's not much that I can do. My leg is showing only minor improvement. The healing process may take close to a month since I absolutely refuse to stay off my feet.

There's a lot more to discuss, but I am too fatigued as usual. I am sure that Chris Hedges or Morris Berman can fill in for me. Baha! Ha! Ha! Haaa! That only leaves the topic of Kubuntu. I am finally reporting that Kubuntu has been running quite well on my Acer® Aspire One netbook. I am still experiencing minor problems with power management, though. The "plasma" netbook interface is superb. Thus, I am deploying the netbook much more frequently, albeit only in my squalid room at Slob Manor (read: rental housing). Only two more months before the debut of Kubuntu "Natty Narwhal"!

Rock Pile Epiphany

I decided to give my leg a reprieve by altering my usual Sunday urban nomad routine. I drove my filthy Nissan® Frontier truck to Kahala Mall this morning. The landlord's husband had taken a weedwhacker to the foot-high weeds growing in the rock pile at Slob Manor (read: rental housing). Now, I have a thick and sticky green slime coating the entire exterior of the truck. Worst yet, chopping the weeds down does nothing more than make them grow even thicker. The weeds have thorns on them, most of which are long enough to go right through my slippers (read: slippahs).

I spent a little over an hour in the Barnes & Noble® Café. A cup of coffee now cost about 30 cents more since my last visit. I perused the usual computer magazines, albeit with little enthusiasm. After a heated internal debate, I decided to ride the bus to town in order to go to the gym. Once again, I only performed the weight portion of my workout.

I was back at Kahala Mall by 1pm. I hobbled around like a senior citizen for another hour before putting an end to the charade. For a non-consumer, hanging around a mall is simply pointless. I made a stop at Foodland Farms in the Aina Haina Shopping Center before returning to the ever-dismal Slob Manor. The rest of the day? Same ol' shit.

My leg has improved slightly. I am still walking in slow motion, but I am moving at a slightly faster pace. We're still looking at several more days before I can claim any kind of recovery. I did not walk as much as I did yesterday. However, I still covered a bit of distance. In slow motion, that translates into a lot of wasted time. People, in general, were not too sympathetic. I was essentially in the way, just like all of the slow moving senior citizens. Climbing stairs was a real pain (literally), by the way.

Later, I discovered that my calf was somewhat swollen. It may have been swollen for the past two days. I have kept a bandage on it continuously, so I didn't notice. I'm icing it down as we speak. What a fool! I don't know why I don't take better care of myself. I should not have been out carousing. However, I have great difficulty sitting in my squalid room at Slob Manor and doing nothing. I don't like being in the dump at all. Yet, walking around on a severely injured leg makes no sense.

On a side note, I have been haunted by the accurate observations that Chris Hedges made in his book, "Empire of Illusion." I can't really call what I experienced today as an epiphany, but I was jolted by how bad the situation really is. We, the rank-and-file peons of empire, are truly in some kind of "Dark Ages." What else could explain the rampant stupidity? Hedges certainly understands reality, but few will listen to him. Frankly, as I've stated before, we're too far gone already. There's no turning back.

Slow Motion (Reprise)

Against my better judgment, I decided to follow my usual urban nomad routine. My leg has not improved, so I am still afflicted with pain. Walking is a real chore. And, since I rode the bus, I did a lot of walking. I can only move in slow motion. Even 80-year-old senior citizens were passing me by as though I was standing still.

Typical "Love" Hottie

At the library, I completed reading, "Empire of Illusion," by Chris Hedges. The ending didn't seem to fit the book. Hedges prescribed "love" as the antidote to the upcoming upheaval in empire. I was reminded of David Icke's suggested deployment of "love" to combat the shape-shifting reptilian extraterrestrials (SSREs) in his book, "Tales From the Time Loop." Strange things.

Ann made her usual stop at the library. She chatted with me briefly before departing. She was heading to the beach on the North Shore. Since Ann moved to Wahi'awa, she has missed seeing the beach. Can't say that I blame her.

My workouts at the gym have been fairly short ever since the injury occurred. There is no way for me to perform any kind of cardio workout while I still suffer from the "pegleg." Well, I suppose that the walk from the library to the gym can be considered a substitute cardio workout. The walk took me damned near 20 minutes to complete. Yeah, that's how slow I have been moving. The only consolation so far is that I have not had much of an appetite. Since I am more sedentary, I do not need to consume as much food.

I was back at Slob Manor (read: rental housing) by 4pm. Since I am in pain and can hardly walk, there is nothing else for me to do except piddle around. I'm wasting precious time. What else is new? I have been privileged to preview what old age is really like. When I see the old folks hobbling around, I can fully appreciate what they are experiencing. Right now, I just wish I had a walking cane. Sheesh!

Nice Day for a Tsunami (Reprise)

At 9pm last night at Slob Manor (read: rental housing), I finally decided to shut down my big Toshiba® Satellite notebook computer and sit on my squalid bed with my legs elevated. Fortunately, I could put my tiny Acer® Aspire One netbook on my lap and continue my usual benign evening experience sans downloading hurdy-gurdy videos for my massive collection. A tablet computer would have been more applicable.

Well, the evacuation sirens started up at 10pm. Although I was in pain, I had to begin packing up my important papers and other possessions which can fit in my Nissan® Frontier truck just like last time (refer to the "blog" of February 27th of last year). Not having much is really a blessing in disguise. Unfortunately, because of the leg pain, I had to make the tentative decision to leave much more behind.

At 10:15pm, I popped open an emergency brewski. What more could I do? The burning question at the moment was, where exactly could I evacuate to in the middle of the night? Meathead (aka Brian) returned a few minutes earlier. His huge widescreen LCD tube was blaring away within seconds. I could hear him walking back and forth, moving his crap around. He was literally in a state of panic. He's got a lot to lose if the tsunami hits and water inundates the second floor. The landlord departed at 10:49pm, leaving me with an invitation to stay at the nursery if I desired. Brian also evacuated to who-knows-where.

I continued to sit on my squalid bed, opting to wait until the last minute to evacuate Slob Manor. The second siren warning sounded at 11:17pm, which meant that the evacuation would be mandatory. I woke Alan up. The young Asian hottie and her boyfriend came by to pick up a few things. The boyfriend observed that I was packing stuff and downing the emergency brewski. "I like your style," he told me. They departed for Kaimuki. Alan left for Wahi'awa. I secured the place before leaving at midnight for parts unknown.

Instantly, I made the decision to drive to Hawai'i Kai. I drove to the landlord's nursery, but no one appeared to be awake. I probably shouldn't have waited until midnight, eh? I ended up at the temporary emergency shelter that was set up at Koko Head Park. Oddly, I was one of the first to arrive. I chatted with one of the three volunteers, but I was not able to glean much information about the shelter facilities. As far as I could tell, there was one large empty room and restrooms. There were no provisions for sleeping. "I guess you can sleep in your car," I was told. The volunteer seemed more preoccupied with a family of ten that was supposedly coming in at any moment. I was left to fend for myself.

I parked my truck in a secluded area of the park. I made a big mistake by imbibing, not one, but three emergency brewskis. The walk to the restrooms was formidable, given my "pegleg." I attempted to sleep in the truck. However, there was a lot of noise outside. By 2am, the two parking lots were almost full. Fools were sitting outside on beach chairs. There's a nice view of the ocean and Kuapa Pond. So, I surmise they had front row seats for the coming tidal wave. A vehicle full of idiots ended up parking next to me. They were drinking cheap booze and carrying on. They finally left after an hour. Good riddance!

I tried to sleep with my right leg elevated. However, only a contortionist would have been comfortable. I had to angle myself in the driver's seat and lay my leg over the center console and the edge of the passenger's seat. Eventually, I gave up in frustration and isolated myself to the driver's seat.

When I came to at 7:15am, I looked outside and noticed that almost all of the other vehicles were gone. I didn't even hear any of them leave. I briefly listened to the radio. Apparently, there was no "all clear" given. So, where did all of the fools go? It was too bright outside to feign sleep, so I departed as well. I first stopped off at my bro's place and told moms that I was going to drive back to Slob Manor and unload my possessions.

As I drove past Koko Marina, I noticed that none of the shops were open. The roads were all open, which was odd. The landlord was already there when I arrived at Slob Manor. Alan was back within a few minutes as well. I unpacked as quick as my "pegleg" would allow me.

Back at my bro's place, moms made an ice pack for me. I placed the ice on my right calf as I had noticed a slight swelling. No pooling of blood or bruises, though. My sister-in-law gave me a bandage roll so I could wrap my leg. Then, my bro and sister-in-law left with some of my bro's friends for breakfast. I was left to my own devices.

Moms and I waited until almost 11am before going to Koko Marina. All of the shops were open by then. Moms and I ate lunch at Yummy's Korean BBQ before shopping at Foodland. Later, moms served Welcome® vanilla ice cream for dessert. I departed at 12:30pm. I ended up at the gym, if you can believe it. I could only do my usual weight workout. Cardio workouts will be deferred until my "pegleg" heals. I finally returned to Slob Manor at 3pm.

After unpacking my meager possessions, I too a brief nap. I felt much better. My leg also felt better. If only I had been able to sleep in my squalid bed last night. I would probably be on the road to rapid recovery right now. Instead, I may have exacerbated the damage. As for the evening? Rest and recuperation.

There are lessons to be learned from the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan. The earth, as beautiful as it is, remains a very harsh environment for lifeforms. We currently live in the most tame period. Imagine what life was like for ancient humans during the Ice Age, for example. The earth was not specifically designed for humans. We, like other creatures, must do our best to survive the odds of natural catastrophes. There is no deity offering us protection or resurrection. Nature (for lack of a better term) offers us no justice. It takes as it pleases. We have no say in the matter.

Ol' "Pegleg" Lavahead

Same ol' shit. Need I describe the urban nomad routine? No. Just like last week, I ran out of food by Thursday, so ended up stopping off at Subway® in the Aina Haina Shopping Center for dinner. The next bus was 20 minutes late. However, the driver was one of the guys I know from the gym. So, no problemo.

Right after I stepped onto the sidewalk after alighting the bus near Kawaikui Beach Park, I felt a painful twinge in my right calf. At first, I thought that someone on the bus might have attempted to kick me in the shin. The pain was extremely sharp. I tried to walk but almost fell over. I slowly hobbled to Kawaikui Beach Park. I couldn't even make it to the nearest concrete picnic bench. I had to prop myself up against the concrete wall at the entrance to the park.

After 20 minutes, there was no improvement. So, I painfully hobbled back to Slob Manor (read: rental housing). Upon searching the Net, I discovered that I am not suffering from a cramp. Most likely, I have a strained or torn calf muscle, an even worse scenario. After a couple of hours, I could still barely walk. Thank goodness, there's no sign of bruising, swelling, or blood pooling so far.

If the pain does not decrease by tomorrow, I will be in dire straits. Obviously, I won't be doing my cardio workouts at the gym for a while. I don't even know how I will get around with the bus. Heck, I don't even want to compose the "blog." Let's call it a night now, shall we?

Addendum. Hawai'i has been on a tsunami watch ever since the huge earthquake hit Japan earlier today. The estimated time that the potential tsunami is supposed to arrive is about 3am tomorrow morning. I can barely walk, and now I may have to evacuate Slob Manor. Sheesh!

Existential Fretting

Same ol' shit. At the library, I completed reading the excellent picture book, "Archaeology," by Kate Santon. I would have completed the book yesterday were it not for the extended conversation with Ann. The rest of the day? Nothing out of the ordinary.

Last night, I perused the shabbily locked (i.e., password protected) journal archive. I had to sift through the endless garbage that I had written in order to find the key pieces of information. As I suspected, the names have changed, but the story is exactly the same. That same story just keeps repeating itself over and over again. not for me, but for Lori. I could pass judgment upon her now, but then I would be using a flawed moral code concocted by humans. She's only doing what works for her. End of story.

The conversation with Ann got me thinking about the kinds of foolishness that most of us are engaged in as time just keeps ticking away. What Ann, Lori, and I have in common is that we are all in our fifties. Essentially, we are in the last of our "good" years, both physically and mentally. We each have different strategies (term used loosely) for survival, none of which seem viable. Each of us is vulnerable to varying circumstances in our unique ways. My real estimation is that we are "grasping at straws." Naturally, we are all fretting. However, I am the only one who is existentially fretting, for what that's worth.

Speaking of "grasping at straws," I spent a small segment of the evening looking for useless crap too discard. I'm already down to nothing, but I want to get rid of more. I'm down to mostly paperwork, consumables, and tiny handheld appliances. Why do we humans need all of that crap?

Belated Groundhog Day 2011

Same ol' shit. Same ol' routine. Same ol' itinerary. Surely there must be more? Well, I ran into Ann at the library. We ended up chatting for over two hours. Ann has settled in at her new place in Wahi'awa. And, she does not know anything about her new unemployment benefit claim as yet. Seems that Ann and Lori didn't part company on the best of terms. I suspected as much since Ann and Lori did not find another place of residence together.

I'm really not at liberty to discuss the bulk of our conversation. Actually, I just don't want to transcribe the tedious details. Needless to say, Ann filled in a lot of gaps about what's been going on with Lori. And, I was able to answer a few of Ann's questions. I really have no burning interest in Lori's life. However, each time I am in contact with her, I am given just enough information to arouse curiosity. I have made a few quick speculations and left it at that. However, Ann happened to confirm all of my guesses and more.

Sad to say, Lori has not changed her modus operandi at all since I've known her and even before then. I can barely recall what was recorded in the only shabbily locked (i.e., password protected) section of the archived journal, but what I do remember is eerily reminiscent of what has been currently transpiring. I surmise that I could simply change the names of the victims in the old story. Yeah, history just keeps repeating itself for Lori as well.

Ann mentioned that Lori's lease is expiring in three weeks for certain. So, Lori has basically been reduced to two options. She could move back to Oregon and stay with an old friend there indefinitely. She mentioned the option the last time we met in December of last year. Or, Lori could try to find another guy to latch onto. From all indications, the latter is the most likely option that she will seek. It's in her nature. That's what she does. That's who she is.

From what I understand, Lori's financial situation changed drastically just last month. The last I knew, Lori had approximately two years to live off of savings, if she lived frugally. If the situation is as desperate as it sounds, then I am even more certain of her next move. Lori is five years younger than I, but she is nevertheless in her fifties. I must admit, though, the last time that I saw her, she was looking really hot. Little wonder with all of the marathons and triathlons that she's been training for and competing in.

I don't know why, but the conversation left me with a dull headache for the rest of the day. Perhaps reliving an annoying part of the past was too much for my puny mind. Fortunately, the rest of the day was mundane. On a happier note, Ann mentioned that she's been sober for nine years now. That's quite an accomplishment. Naturally, I congratulated her.

Well, it looks as though Android® v3.0 (aka "Gingerbread") has won the tablet computer wars against Apple®. Sadly, I am resistant to adopt Android®. However, I want to move to the tablet form factor sometime this year in anticipation of extreme survival measures. The true test will be to find one that does not require a 3G/4G broadband contract upon purchase.

Post No. 1,772

Another visit to Hawai'i Kai went well. Moms and I ate lunch at Panda Express®. Later, moms served Welcome® vanilla ice cream for dessert. The rest of the day? The urban nomad fulfilled his usual benign functions and followed his routine itinerary as planned.

When I arrived back at Slob Manor (read: rental housing), I noticed that Meathead (aka Brian) was already back from wherever he goes. He parked new Ford® Mustang fastback in the center of the rock pile. I was forced to park my Nissan® Frontier truck about two feet to the left, which was overgrown with weeds at least a foot high. That's normally where the young Asian hottie parks her vehicle, Since baby is rarely around, the rain has watered the weeds to full maturity. Why did the fool purchase a retro "muscle car" anyway? I suspect that he is reliving his high school years. Perhaps he never was able to own the original piece-of-shit.

Naturally, Meathead was watching his huge widescreen LCD tube upstairs. His every waking moment at Slob Manor is spent in front of the dungy idol. I'll try not to dedicate any more trivial dialog to the fool. As I said prior, a buffoon like him would have been considered sacrificial fodder in early human times.

Well, I have made no real attempt to develop a strategic plan. The exodus is still proceeding in haphazard fashion. I have, however, made the decision to abandon (i.e., jettison) most of useless possessions if the need arises. For example, if I suddenly invoke my desire to become homeless, I would only keep what can fit in a very small storage locker. Nothing more, nothing less. In other words, I would make a mass donation to charity. Heck, I continue to essentially throw away hundreds of dollars every month. So, what's another few hundred dollars in the general scheme of things?

Tales From the Rock Pile

Lots of rain this morning. However, nothing deters the ol' lavahead from fulfilling his urban nomad routine. At the gym, I ran into Ronald, a former student from the now-defunct Asylum. I was glad to see him. That brought back old memories, both fond and disgusting, of my time at the dump.

Afterward, I attempted to enjoy the afternoon, but I was thwarted at every turn. I purchased an ice cream treat at Foodland in Ala Moana Center. Sitting outside of Sears®, adjacent to the parking lot, proved to be ridiculous. How can I enjoy the ice cream when I am constantly inundated with cigarette smoke? There's really nowhere else to sit, except at the bus stop. However, that's an even worse location insofar as cigarette smoke is concerned.

Later, I stopped off at the Aina Haina Shopping Center. I treated myself to a Subway® sandwich. Unfortunately, the place was crowded. No seating was available. From what I could gather, the people in the store had been there for quite a while and were not planning on leaving anytime soon. So, I had to walk to the Aina Haina Elementary School campus with my sandwich to find someplace to sit down. The entire campus was packed with people because of a softball game in the adjacent park. I finally found a small plastic toy picnic table in front of one of the classrooms that was way at the end of the campus. My gym bag took up almost the entire table. That's how small it was. Nonetheless, I sat on the tiny bench and ate my sandwich. As I was walking back to the bus stop at a leisurely pace, I saw the next Route 1 bus at the intersection. I ran to the bus stop, thereby ruining my leisurely lunch. I had no choice. Otherwise, I would have to wait at least 30 minutes for another bus.

I arrived back at Slob Manor (read: rental housing) with a heavy heart. Although I continue to exist in the human "purgatory," my mind seems to have escaped to parts unknown. I have been reading the book, "Archaeology: Unearthing the Mysteries of the Past," by Kate Santon. It's not a difficult read, but I have yet to complete it after several days. I must continually put the book down and reflect. Sad to say, we know so little about our past. What we do know about human history (and prehistory) is both fascinating and tragic. I can't seem to stop pondering the topic.

During my daily adventures, I often find myself speculating that the same kinds of morons that I encounter have most likely existed for eons. In the distant past, though, they would have been offered up as human sacrifices. We have come a long way since then, but the proliferation of morons is disturbing.

Well, I will spend the evening piddling around as usual. Meathead (aka Brian) returned at 8pm. So, I was privy to listen to the fool stomping around and dropping heavy objects on the floor. A slob like Brian would have made a perfect human sacrifice. He has enough blubber on him to fuel the sacrificial fire for days. The fictitious gods would be pleased. Baha! Ha! Ha! Haaa!

Rock Pile Horror Show

Last night, the young Asian hottie returned to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) at 5:30pm. Actually, she's been stopping by daily at about the same time. Alan "coincidentally" was in the kitchen. He attempted to make smalltalk with her, but she was aloof. She then started up a load of laundry. Once again, Alan made an attempt at smalltalk. Oddly, baby departed abruptly, leaving her laundry unattended. Within 20 minutes, she was back with her boyfriend. He kept her company until she completed her laundry chores. Then, they left together. I surmise that she brought the boyfriend back in order to thwart any more of Alan's feeble attempts at conversation. In other words, he was protecting her from the "dirty old men" of Slob Manor.

Speaking of "dirty old men," Brian has been keeping odd hours. He often departs before I do in the morning. Oftentimes, he returns to the dump in the wee hours of the morning. Naturally, no matter what time he comes back, he makes a lot of noise. As I said before, he's a meathead.

I was groggy all day, mostly of my own doing. Yesterday, I was so fatigued that I took the risk of consuming a second cup of coffee in the afternoon. Sometimes the caffeine does not affect me. Sometimes not. I was up pretty much all night. I heard Brian's noisy arrival at 2am. He stomped around upstairs for another 30 minutes. Sadly, all I could do was lie still and feign sleep until my usual waking time.

Same ol' shit. As tired as I was, that's the day in a nutshell. I spent most of the time in the library lapsing in and out of a coma. I also shortened my workout at the gym by about 15 minutes. Then, I ended up waiting over an hour at the bus stop. The bus I intended to ride never showed up. Or, I may have been so fatigued that I misread the destination signage on that particular bus as it passed by. Fatigue or senility? Oh brother.

Typical Strategic Hottie

The evening holds nothing important for the ol' lavahead. Rather than implement a new strategic plan, he will continue to piddle around in his squalid room, download more hurdy gurdy videos for his massive collection, peruse the non-"mainstream" news, listen to Deep House music, compose the "blog," and so forth. Anything but the important stuff. Meanwhile, time just keeps ticking away.

Wit's End (Reprise)

Another visit to Hawai'i Kai went well. Moms and I ate lunch at Zippy's. Later, moms served Welcome® vanilla ice cream for dessert. The rest of the day? The urban nomad fulfilled his usual benign functions and followed his routine itinerary as planned.

I was extremely groggy all day because of sleep deprivation. Interestingly enough, I am not alone. "Hawaii is among the most sleep-deprived states, with many residents getting fewer than seven hours of slumber a day, according to the latest national survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," according to an article in the Star-Advertiser. Unfortunately, tolerating noisy morons at Slob Manor (read: rental housing) wasn't listed as a factor.

As you may have guessed, the situation is pretty grim for the ol' lavahead. As much as I have been trying to distract myself, reality always wields its ugly head. My financial situation is growing bleaker by the day. I must continually withdraw from my life savings in order to survive. I have over $400,000 in liquid assets that made only about $3 in dividends for the entire year thanks to Ben "Handjob" Bernanke, the Fed, and the Fed's ZIRP. A few years ago, the same amount was making well over $20,000 annually. As I have said before, interest rates are never going up again in my lifetime. ZIRP is a permanent policy. Cheap fiat currency is all that is keeping the "globalized" economy afloat.

What about wage slavery? Well, I have probably burned all of my bridges. I really don't want to be a pseudo-professor anymore. And, I have been emancipated from wage slavery for over three years. No one will welcome me back into bondage ever again. Throw in a good helping of age discrimination, and anyone can see that it's over.

The despicable "condotel" unit has remained a yoke around my neck. I just can't get rid of the dump. It wouldn't be so bad if hotel rates were back to normal. However, after the fucktards on Wall Street caused the global depression, tourism hit rock bottom. No economic stone was left unturned in the aftermath of the biggest fraud and Ponzi scheme ever to hit the planet. So, the "condotel" unit can't even pay for itself. Worst yet, I may never be able to divest the dump given that another global economic collapse is always just around the corner.

Why not swallow my pride and put everything in the stock market like all of the "winners"? Well, I've learned my lesson about the bogus stock market. It's about as fraudulent as any of the other Wall Street Ponzi schemes. I am a small-time investor. I don't have enough to risk or to diversify in the stock market. So, just like all of the other rank-and-file peons, I only have the options of equity mutual funds. Believe me, mutual funds do not realize the same kinds of gains as actual stock holdings. The rules also make it very difficult to "trade." Thus, a mutual fund investor is either in for the long term or is willing to take huge losses by trying to "time the market." In addition, any gains are subject to the horrid capital gains tax. Thus, even though I know that the stock market will surpass Dow 17,000 very soon, I will not put a dime into it.

Finally, while I am happy about moms' longevity, I am also concerned about my on-going situation. I cannot see myself hanging on at Slob Manor for ten more years or longer. I would be staying at the dump just as long as Alan. I've already been at Slob Manor for over three years. And, conditions never improve. So, why am I still in the dump? There are severe tactical and logistical problems in the ol' lavahead's regime. The primary problem is that I completely shut down communications. I am essentially ex communicado. I rely upon one free Web-based e-mail account to access the outside world. I need to restore cell phone service in order to facilitate and expedite all exodus operations. I have been resistant to the latter because of the cost. Yet, my miserly ways are exacerbating the problem.

Clearly, survival and peace of mind are the most important considerations. I've been wasting far too much time on trivial pursuits. I now know that I will be hanging around Hawai'i far longer than I expected. Too much is out of my control. Mistakes were made. Frankly, I am at wit's end. I just don't know anymore.

Akonadi Two-Step & Nepomuk Shuffle

Last night, I finally figured out how to shut down the Akonadi server in Kubuntu. Well, first, I terminated the process from the command line using:

akonadictl stop

There were no fatal errors in the system, no doubt because I had already removed all of the KDE PIM applications. Prior to the experiment, I discovered that Akonadi is a user process. In other words, it is not invoked by the "root" user. It was also running 14 processor threads, although no application needed it. Thus, the initialization had to be in my home folder. Sure enough, there's a hidden Akonadi folder. I then permanently disabled Akonadi via its configuration file. As for Nepomuk and Strigi, both can be disabled in System Settings. So far, so good.

The power management problem is still unresolved. The battery is sometimes detected, sometimes not. Rebooting the system usually cures the problem. However, I can't say that I am impressed with the solution. By the way, I am not going to recompile the kernel. I'm not going to recompile the DSDT file either. I thought of flashing the Acer® BIOS with a newer version, but the latter is fairly recent as it is. So, that's Kubuntu in a nutshell.

I also downloaded the latest stable version of Chakra, but I was unable to install it on my USB flash drive. Thus, I aborted the foolhardy project for now. I doubt that I would have seen a drastic improvement in performance on the netbook anyway. So pathetic.

Same ol' shit. I was describing the day, of course. To prevent myself from going insane, I treated myself to dinner at Subway® after a mediocre workout at the gym. As usual, returning to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) made my stomach churn. Perhaps, I should just prepare a "liquid diet" for dinner, if you know what I mean. Baha! Ha! Ha! Haaa!

Kubuntu or Chakra?

The day? Same ol' shit, of course. I have noticing a lot more psychotic and schizophrenic people lately. The are usually talking to themselves of to an imaginary friend. Why are so many people losing their minds, so to speak? I have posed the question before, and I still have no answers. The number of homeless people seems to be increasing as well. There are telltale signs to recognize a homeless candidate. Hanging around the library all day is one of those signs. Sheesh!

Well, I uninstalled all of the applications that I installed again after uninstalling them previously. The Kubuntu PIM applications in question (i.e., address book, calendar, etc.) are part of the standard installation package. I didn't want or need them. I also removed the Amarok music player. I didn't need that either. Unfortunately, there seems to be no way to disable the Akonadi/MySQL service. Then, there's Nepomuk and Strigi. Lots of nonsense running. Heck, the situation is possibly worse than with Gnome®.

Out of sheer frustration, I thought of installing Chakra, a "distro" based upon ArchLinux. However, the current problem is not the "flavor" of Linux. Rather, KDE is the problem. It's bloated! Nonetheless, I would also like to get as far away as possible from the failed Plymouth boot splash. I don't think it will ever function properly.

So, am I finally going to give up and procure a tablet computer? The form factor is nice, but I doubt that a tablet computer would meet my needs. Applications specifically designed for a tablet would work well. However, using a Web browser is probably next to impossible without a stylus. Many links are too small. Take a look at the sequential numbered links in search page results, for example. Typing text into the browser would be frustrating as the virtual keyboard would cover most of the screen. And, there are no tablets that are standalone devices.

Foolishly, I'll spend the rest of the evening wasting my precious time with Kubuntu. I will remove the e-mail client since I don't need or want it. I will install a couple of small utilities. And, I may download Chakra and test it out "live." Am I livin' large, or what?

Post No. 1,766

Sometimes I just wish that there was something new to write about, but there isn't. Same ol' shit. Anyway, just as I was exiting Slob Manor (read: rental housing) this morning, I saw Brian walking his dog in his underwear again. Apparently, he went around the 'hood like that. So, he's actually wearing some kind of outdated European swimwear rather than underwear. Maybe he'll be arrested for indecent exposure. Baha! Ha! Ha! Haaa!

Anne stopped by the library this morning. She's unemployed again. The last job lasted all of seven weeks. Her last day at work was coincidentally the same as my sister-in-law's last day of wage slavery. History is repeating itself for Ann, only the duration of her employment is steadily decreasing. She's also moving into a room in a house in Wahi'awa this weekend. Evidently, Lori will also be moving in a few weeks because she was not able to renew her lease for the place up on the North Shore.

Kubuntu "Plasma" Netbook

I need to backtrack with Kubuntu. Seems that I am once again experiencing the missing battery problem. The "fix" is a custom rebuild of the Linux kernel, or so I read in the Ubuntu Forums. What kind of crap is that? Well, at least the KDE "plasma" netbook interface is easy on the eyes.