Useless Possessions (Reprise)

Moms and I made the rounds around Hawai'i Kai this morning, including Longs® in Kuapa Kai, and Foodland in Koko Marina. Along the way, we ate lunch at Panda Express® in the Hawai'i Kai Towne Center. Moms also shopped for produce at the Farmer's market. Later, moms served Foremost® coffee ice cream for dessert. I chatted with moms until 1pm.

I spent an uneventful hour in Koko Head Park. Then, I drove back to Koko Marina, found shaded parking, and walked to the gym to perform my usual cardio workout. I unexpectedly drove back to Kuapa Kai in order to purchase a $24 (on sale) Rubbermaid® cooler at Longs®. Then, I drove back to Koko Marina to shop for my groceries at Foodland. I drove my Nissan® Frontier truck back to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) where the dreaded laundry chores awaited me.

So, why did I spend so much dough on a Rubbermaid® cooler? I already have the small insulated lunch cooler. The rationale, of course, is that I need the cooler to keep most of the items that moms or I purchase from baking in the truck as we go from place to place. For example, moms purchases a lot of packages of candy to give away. I had to carry the package of candy with us when we ate lunch at Panda Express®. Otherwise, the candy would have been a molten ump when we returned. Moms often gives me perishables to take with me. I have to carry them with me to the gym, even though my truck is parked in the shade. The residual heat remains high for hours. The Rubbermaid® cooler will give me about two hours of protection time without any ice pack. The only drawback is that I have added one more item to my collection of worldly possessions.

Speaking of worldly possessions, I should comment on the state of the DeLonghi® "retro" contact grill and panini press. Alas, the unopened box is still sitting in the same Macy's® shopping bag and in the same place that I put it after I brought it home many moons ago. I have never even seen the appliance. So far, I have no target date for its debut. I have lost the will to cook, even though pressing a panini is a far cry from actually cooking. Heck, the manufacturer's warranty could have already expired. For the time being, it will continue to serve as a makeshift end table. Sheesh!

Metacity of Hope

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-Sunday has galavanted off to nowhere. The only exceptions to the usual routine of the past few Sundays included the rare appearance of the hottie gym trainer and no Foodland stopover (in the Aina Haina Shopping Center) this afternoon. I was back in my squalid room at Slob Manor (read: rental housing) by 3:45pm.

Well, with the endorsement of Barack Obama by Colin Powell, I am even more suspicious of this year's presidential (s)election. Since I am not part of the two-party Fascist "system," I am able to view all events objectively. What I am seeing is clearly "good cop, bad cop" theater at play. Because the stupidity has become more brazen, I have decided to mummify most of my "bookmarks" of alternative media. There has been too much fanfare and gloating about an Obama "progressive" victory. That's all hogwash. As the empire flounders, the need for the ruling elite (read: the moneychangers and powers-that-be) to put a friendly face forward to placate the masses is vital.

American Century sent several money market fund prospectus supplements to me by mail. The firm has decided to buy into the Treasury's protection fund, the fees of which will naturally be deducted from the measly dividends. With that, I realized just how tired I am of worrying about the money in my investment accounts. Sooner or later, the money will be transferred to the ruling elite. Concern over money is about as effective as concern over the (s)election. In other words, it's a farce.

I discovered that the Metacity (rhymes with "audacity") window manager in Ubuntu Linux is much faster than Compiz-Fusion. Of course, Metacity is devoid of any "special effects" frills. As far as I can tell, the desktop freezing that I have encountered is not specific to either window manager. I happen to like the "special effects" frills, so I will stay with Compiz-Fusion.

Galavanting Redux

I was on my way to Waikiki at 7:30am. I actually had a decent night's rest with no toothache. Ditto for the night before. Pseudo-professor Glenn was waiting when I arrived. He used his pass card to let me drive into the Fairway Villa parking structure. Within minutes, we were loading up my Nissan® Frontier truck with only the bare necessities that he would need for the remainder of his time in Hawai'i.

We unloaded everything at his son's condo in the Varsity district. I also helped to set up his computer. We were done by 10am. I drove to Kahala Mall and parked my truck in the parking structure. I thought that I would look around the mall for a while. Wrong-O! The mall was already crowded, so invoked "Plan B." I rode the bus to town to engage in the rote urban nomad ritual, albeit later than usual. While sitting in the inner courtyard of the library, I realized that I had neglected to connect Pseudo-professor Glenn's phone line to his computer, which was not surprising given the fact that his Fax machine, answering machine, and phone were to be connected to the same line. I walked to the gym an hour earlier than usual. I performed my usual workout. Then, I rode the bus back to Kahala Mall. The mall was so crowded that there was a traffic jam in the parking lot.

I drove back to Pseudo-professor Glenn's place, only to discover that he was not there. I left a note detailing the procedure to locate and connect the phone line to his computer. I stopped by Kahala Mall again but I could not find parking. Thus, I ended up at Foodland in the Aina Haina Shopping Center. I made the mistake of purchasing Ahi Poke with Limu. Thus, I had to choke down the expensive purchase during dinner. My tooth was acting up again, but not as much as two days ago. I have another appointment with the dentist this coming Wednesday to fill my last cavity. I will ask him to inspect the suspect tooth again. Oddly, the most recent x-ray about three weeks ago shows no problem with the tooth. There is an extremely large filling that is very close to a nerve, which is why the tooth has always been sensitive. The only explanation would be that I fractured the tooth, although that would seem impossible since I rarely chew on that particular side. Strange things.

Well, so far Ubuntu Linux appears to be working out fine. The two remaining issues (i.e., no headphone sound, desktop freezing) have not been solved. I have avoided the latest kernal upgrade because there have been recent reports of computers being reduced to doorstops. The new version of Ubuntu ("Intrepid Ibex" v8.10) will be shipping in about two weeks. I will most likely order the free CD, but I will not install it since it is not designated LTS (read: Long-Term Support).

My Poor Tooth

I was on my way to Hawai'i Kai at 8:30am. Moms was home when I arrived. Moms and I only made the rounds in Koko Marina. We ate lunch at Yummy's Korean Barbeque. Then, moms shopped for groceries at Foodland. Later moms served Foremost® coffee ice cream for dessert. I chatted with moms until 12:45pm.

The rest of the afternoon was formulaic urban nomad. I spent time in Koko Head Park before returning to Koko Marina. I performed my usual workout at the gym. Then, I shopped for my own groceries at Foodland. When I returned to Slob Manor (read: rental housing), I completed the dreaded laundry chores. You know the drill.

My tooth was still bothering me. Although, I do not chew any food on the side of my mouth where the offending tooth resides, I was still privy to pain when the tooth made contact with the tooth above it. At the gym, I could feel the tooth throbbing while I was engaging in my cardio workout. My poor tooth. I just wish that the tooth would heal itself. We all know how far that's going to get me. I am certain that I am looking at a $2,000-plus root canal. That's in addition to the $600-plus dental work that I am getting done now.

I can really empathize with the myriad unfortunate victims of the greatest wealth transfer in history. We have been discarded by the "system" and left to be "nickel and dime'd" to extreme poverty just to stay alive. We must exist in "survival" mode, eat "rations," and use whatever money is left to pay the exorbitant medical and dental costs that results from a marginal life-style. In the last few weeks of the year, Ben Bernanke plans to lower short-term interest rates to near-zero percent. Those of us who are living on fixed incomes will begin to seriously draw down the principal of our various "nest egg" accounts. One by one, we will gradually succumb to homelessness and destitution.

Urban Nomad Blowback

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day relentlessly adhered to the same itinerary amidst an extreme toothache. While recuperating in the inner courtyard of the library, I was paid a visit by Pseudo-professor Glenn. He wanted to arrange a time on Saturday for me to assist him to move from the Fairway Villa in Waikiki to his son's vacant condo in the Varsity district. I reluctantly agreed to assist him, disguising my unwillingness by blaming my disposition on the toothache. After he departed, the guy sitting at the next table got up to leave. He handed me some religious literature, introduced himself, and left. That small act of kindness made me wonder about what kind of insensitive hermit I have become.

My sole goal for past two years has been to remain entirely self-sufficient. In following that course, I became a social recluse. Gradually, I came to despise most of humanity, but not without good reason. Humanity has degenerated into a cesspool of debauchery. Yet, in my campaign to become a hermit, I began to cultivate a caustic mindset, one that may eventually lead to my undoing. Thus, I have vowed to make the most of my Saturday morning when I assist Pseudo-professor Glenn. Soon, he will be moving to Texas, and I will probably never see him again.

I performed my usual workout at the gym, an increasingly empty task. My tooth continued to give me grief. Nonetheless, I soldiered on as only a true urban nomad would. I rode an extremely crowded bus back to Slob Manor (read: rental housing). I managed to remain oblivious to the typical inconsiderate transgressions of fellow members in the peon class.

Well, did you happen to watch the presidential debate? I could only tolerate no more than a few minutes. What a crock of shit! I seriously urge everyone to vote third-party or don't vote at all. It's time to put and end to the charade.

All Pain, But No Gain

I was able to visit with moms today. Our schedule was hectic. Our first stop was at Longs® in Kuapa Kai. We then made our way to the Hawai'i Kai Towne Center. Moms purchased a small pillow at Ross®. We stopped by City Mill to see if we could find a composter. Nada. Our final stop was at Koko Marina. Moms and I ate lunch at Zippy's. Afterwards, moms shopped for groceries at Foodland. Later, moms served Foremost® coffee ice cream for dessert. I chatted with moms for only about ten minutes. The time was already past 1pm.

My Nissan® Frontier truck and I spent a little less than an hour in Koko Head Park. I then drove back to Koko Marina. Finding shaded parking was easy. I walked to the gym, performed my usual workout, and dropped my gym bag off in my truck. I shopped for my own groceries at Foodland before returning to Slob Manor (read: rental housing).

I was privy to another sleepless night again. The problem stemmed from an aching tooth. My left rear molar was giving me grief again. In fact, it was aching for most of the day as well. There is nothing that I can do short of a root canal. The latter option is unacceptable to me. No doubt, I will have to live with the pain for the rest of my life. Isn't old age grand?

Now, for more urban nomad stuff:

Smell is going to be a problem for you at first, but after a few weeks you won't mind, because you smell too, and so does everyone around you. If you want a break from the relentless olfactory fact of being around unwashed large mammals, sidle up to somebody who smokes. That's the one good thing about cigarettes, and it may be why losers all smoke. Don't smoke just for that, though. Cigarettes are insanely expensive and turn lots of poor people into cringing beggars.

That's an excerpt from an excellent article by John Dolan titled, "5 Pieces of Advice for the New Paupers," which appeared on the Alternet site.

Keratosis & Saturnalia

The small (about 1mm across) black scab-like anomalies have tainted the skin on the lower deltoid of my right arm for several years. I had previously discounted the painless blemishes as "old man spots." I cannot recollect whether I had discussed the skin lesions with my personal physician while I still had health insurance. Nonetheless, I noticed that the number of scab-like tumors has increased with time. The size of each lesion has not changed in size. Nor has there been any melanoma-like symptoms. Yet, I have reason to be concerned.

The last thing that I need right now is a bout with skin cancer. I performed pseudo-research on the Net and discovered that I may be suffering from Seborrhoeic Keratosis, which is essentially "old man spots." I had heard the prognosis before, so there is a high probability that I had discussed the matter with my (former) personal physician. He may have suggested the surgical removal of the tumors. However, my health insurance may not have covered the surgery because its purpose is "cosmetic." In any case, I will need to expedite the procurement of some kind of health plan very soon. I cannot continue to live in medical limbo forever.

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day was marred by my concern about the skin anomalies. I did not sleep well at all last night. My itinerary was the same as always. You know the drill. The daily urban nomad routine is beginning to take a toll on my psyche. However, I am not yet ready to return to wage slavery.

Did you wonder where all the dinero for the worldwide bank bailout came from? Trillions in dollars, euros, yen, and so forth were injected into banks around the planet by their respective governments. I suspect that the money was "printed," which means that we are looking at world inflation on the horizon.

In empire, there is a frantic attempt to pump up the paper wealth of the minions and to establish new loans products for them as well. The Saturnalia shopping season is coming up. If the retail sector suffers a sharp decline, there will be ripples felt throughout the economy. There's no way around that fact given how consumer spending makes up over 70 percent of GDP. I am expecting next year to be the turning point for the gluttonous empire. With more mortgage resets coming up next year, there will be a reenactment of what we're currently experiencing. Sadly, the financial "system" will not have stabilized by then. For now, though, all eyes are on Saturnalia.

Nomadic Malaise

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day turned into a homeless guy emulation. Because of the quasi-holiday, I was not able to visit with moms. Instead, I followed a horrid itinerary that began at the Hawai'i Kai Towne Center. I arrived there at 8:45am. My sole purpose to be there was to use the public restroom facilities. Then, I sat on one of the benches along with several other purposeless senior citizens.

Observing the myriad shoppers filing into the various stores was a nauseating sight. I noticed another urban nomad walking about. He is always riding the bus to various location. He dresses in black board shorts and a tattered old grey hooded sweatshirt, which match his worn out slippahs (read: slippers). He wears his hair in a longer Dutch-boy style. He happened to be sitting next to me on the bus yesterday. When an acquaintance of his boarded the bus, they ended up conversing. I discovered that his name is Reggie, and he is 36 years old. I had previously asked moms if she knew who he was. He apparently lives with his parents in Hawai'i Kai. He is unemployed, so I have no idea where his unlimited funding originates.

I drove my Nissan® Frontier truck to Safeway® in Kuapa Kai to purchase an overpriced ($1.49) muffin. I then drove to Koko Head Park, where I situated myself on a picnic bench. I also brought along my small Rubbermaid® container filled with Quaker® Granola. I spent over three hours in the park. I noticed an odd assortment of humanoids. Most of them drive to the park in their 4000-pound motorized chairs (read: automobiles). Then, they sit in their motorized chairs and smoke cigarettes.

I drove to Koko Marina at 2pm, I easily found shaded parking, although the sky was overcast. I performed my usual cardio workout at the gym. I then tempted fate by eating an early dinner (i.e., two Cheesy Bean and Rice Burritos) at Taco Bell®. I did not experience any indigestion, which leads me to believe that the extra burrito and the enormous amount of Fire Taco Sauce is what really did me in. I made my final stop at Foodland before returning to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) where the dreaded laundry chores awaited my arrival.

Well, the stock market is back on track. The sky is the limit! Oh, happy days are hear again ... (sing-along). Errr, not exactly. Once again, the moneychangers and powers-that-be are attempting to prop up the "system." Note that the market gyrations are becoming wilder with each successive iteration. There's still a lot of wealth being transferred from the poor to the rich. My suggestion is to run the other way.

Ubuntu Linux is finally grating on my nerves. I have noticed that the touchpad is not very responsive. I must tap two or three times before the touchpad registers the transaction. I uninstalled the Brasero CD/DVD burning utility because it failed to work properly. I also gave up with the Totem media player. I uninstalled all of the so-called "dirty" codecs for it. I then installed VLC Player, although it is only slightly better (i.e., does not freeze the Gnome® desktop as often). However, I have already discarded the restore CDs for the "other" operating system, so there's no turning back.

Rock Bottom

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-Sunday was just like every Sunday so far. I am beginning to wonder if the homeless situation is approaching an epidemic here. This morning, a seemingly regular guy boarded the bus. He was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. He carried a backpack. Only when he walked past me did I notice the pungent odor. When he sat down, everyone around him moved to other seats. I then noticed that his shoes were scuffed with dirt. Upon closer scrutiny, I observed that his shirt was a brownish tint, also because of dirt.

When I alighted in Kaimuki this afternoon to transfer to another bus, there was a homeless guy sleeping on one of the benches. He had a shopping cart parked next to him. I have never seen any of the homeless in Kaimuki before. He wore tattered and soiled clothing. About ten minutes later, he woke up. He walked up to a small tree along the sidewalk and "drained the lizard." An obese chick in an SUV stopped several yards behind another vehicle waiting at the traffic signal, in fact just a few feet away from the homeless guy. The obese chick blared the horn of her SUV in an attempt to cause the homeless guy to cease and desist. Oblivious to the ruckus, the homeless guy completed his task and staggered back to the bench. He lit up a crudely rolled cigarette. Then, he sifted through his worldly possessions in a small tin box. The gusty wind blew most of the crap further down the sidewalk. The homeless guy seemed to care less.

I neglected to mention that I have been privy to several middle school panhandlers as of late. Mind you, those kids are from the affluent Hawai'i Kai area. Yet, they are walking around Koko Marina and soliciting various patrons for "bus fare." Whassup wi' dat? Are we hitting "rock bottom" because of the financial crisis?

Call to Homelessness

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day ... need I say more? Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary occurred during the course of the day. I followed the usual itinerary, returning to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) at 5:30pm. I cannot say that I was happy to be back in the dump.

I have been extremely fatigued as of late. The most likely culprit is the financial collapse of the empire, which is taking down the masses including the ol' lavahead. Sadly, I have not witnessed any despair amongst the masses. Life is literally going on as if nothing has transpired in the last two weeks. Fools are eagerly parting with their money. I can make no sense of it all. In the meantime, I have been looking at ways to save more money. All of the schemes will only save a dollar here and a dollar there. Yet, only a monthly basis, hundreds of dollars are fleeing my investment accounts. Who do I have to thank? Why, Ben Bernanke and "Big Bank Hank" Paulson, of course. I'd like to cold-cock them both just like what happened to Lehman Bro's arrogant CEO, "Dick" Fuld.

I have also been analyzing my proposal to become fully homeless. I thought of establishing a target date (i.e., January 1, 2009) in order to secure a timeline, but that alone may not be enough. There are clearly many disadvantages to the homeless option.

One primary concern is that I would remain homeless permanently after implementing the plan. I will certainly not be able to rent any housing after-the-fact, even with a stash of cash. Thus, homelessness is a one-way ticket to dereliction. In addition, my urban nomad itinerary would change to a true homeless guy itinerary.

I would need to put most of my possessions in a storage unit. I would also have to make a stop at the storage unit every day after I depart the homeless shelter. I will have to spend much more money for prepared food as well as patronize the local "soup kitchens." I would also have to purchase a smaller computer (Linux-based, of course!) to carry with me.

As for my Nissan® Frontier truck, I can probably just keep it parked on the side street near Slob Manor. No one would know the difference. My gym membership would have to be maintained, if only for the shower facilities. Am I prepared to do all of that and more?