Knowledge is Nothing

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day ... same ol' shit. I can safely say that my time in the inner courtyard of the library is invaluable for my sanity. There is no other refuge, no other sanctuary, to refresh the body and soul. And, I continue to enjoy my lunch in the Capitol district coconut grove.

Typical Knowledgeable Hottie

I do not know how much longer I will invest the time to read books to acquire more knowledge. What purpose does knowledge serve? Has it emancipated me from the ultimate slavery? I, like everyone else, happened to appear on this planet from out of nowhere just to spend just a few short years before I disappear again. Knowledge will not help me then. In the interim, knowledge offers no comfort. In fact, it seems to only increase the pain of existence.

I really don't know what I am going to do to enhance my "quality of life" in my remaining years. Since I am rapidly depleting my life savings, I cannot expect to maintain any kind of "standard of living." Will I have to indenture myself to wage slavery again? Let's hope not. I realize that I live a better life than the human slaves who comprise over 50 percent of the world population. Many of them will not have had a very good experience during their life tenure. They have only pain and suffering to account for.

In the meantime, the rich asswipes who comprise the global elite (i.e., the moneychangers and powers-that-be) are able to enjoy life in excess. They eat well, own every conceivable possession, are able to do da wild thing with hotties (of either gender), and so forth. The rest of us have to eat poisonous food, download hurdy-gurdy videos to facilitate chokin' da chicken, own the cheapest Chinese-made junk, and live an extremely marginal existence. Of course, those of us in the extreme underclass have nothing, the epitome of meaninglessness.

So, therein lies the conundrum of the exodus. Where is the escape point? What is the escape velocity? Even after three years of being emancipated from wage slavery, when my mind should be clear enough, I have formulated no answers. The more that I learn, the more confused I become.

Well, I suppose that I will shut down my Toshiba® Satellite notebook computer and fire up the Acer® Aspire One netbook to fiddle with it. I need to provide some justification for why I purchased it. Sheesh!

One Minute to Zero Redux

Last night, I attempted to play a short sample of a 720p video using the default MeeGo® media player (i.e., Banshee) on my Acer® Aspire One netbook computer. What a joke! I observed what seemed like a very slow slide show. There was no motion whatsoever. I have heard that 720p videos are watchable on the original operating system. Thus, the problem lies with MeeGo® or Linux itself. There are cell phones that can play 720p videos, for goodness' sake. Of course, the actual 720p screen real estate is over twice the pixel dimensions of a standard netbook display. The downgraded resolution wouldn't look good anyway. Nonetheless, very disappointing.

Perhaps I am asking too much of Meego® and my Acer® Aspire One netbook. Both are really only good for casual browsing on the Net, e-mail, and social aggregation. Nothing more, nothing less. I can't expect both to perform together as a media center.

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.

I spent a little time at the Hawai'i Kai branch of the library this afternoon before going to the gym. I completed reading, "Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things," by Gail Steketee and Randy Frost. I may or may not comment on the book later.

Incidentally, moms has been increasingly attempting to bring up religious topics as of late. I avoid any such discussion because the latter is fruitless. Moms has been completely brainwashed and indoctrinated by the cult of which she is a "baptized" member. I could apply reason and facts, but secular material is not accepted by the cult. Well, I should say, only select secular material is accepted by the cult. If anything goes against the cult's dogma, then it is rejected as the "work of Satan." I'd like to extract moms from the cult, but that's next to impossible. The entire cult is waiting for Armageddon, upon which they will be transported to "Paradise." Nothing will change their minds.

I was once a fool and bought into the myths and fables of the Yahweh Triad (i.e., Judaism, Pauline-Christianity, and Islam), but not because of the particular cult being discussed. There are many religious cults in "America." In fact, the influence of the detestable Pauline-Christianity is all-pervasive in "American" culture. The empire is, if I may be so bold, entering a new "Dark Ages," much as what all of Europe experienced during its time of religious fanaticism. The Middle East and other Islamic-dominated regions are also entering a dark period of religious fanaticism. The inevitable "clash of civilizations" will soon doom us all.

10 Muan 3 Caban

(12.19.18.0.17) Last night, I discovered that I have another e-mail account. Mind you, I have deleted every unnecessary account of all types (.i.e., e-mail, credit cards, instant messaging, and so forth). Ideally, I only wanted to keep one e-mail account and one cell phone number (for voicemail only). However, as you may recall, there is no easy way to rid oneself of AOL® and its ilk. I still have an AIM account, which also means that I have an AIM e-mail account. Yeah, I verified that it's there. I cleared out the 559 pieces of junk e-mail. There was only one legitimate e-mail, but it was dated well over a year ago.

The good news is that AIM Mail can be set up for use with a client e-mail application (e.g., Evolution). The account could come in handy one day. In fact, I could set it up in MeeGo® using Evolution Express on my Acer® Aspire One netbook computer. Wheee!

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day ... we all knew that already, didn't we? At the library, I completed reading, "Toward a New Civilization: Why We Must Tame Our Instincts to Save Our World," by Arthur Blech. The book is an imperative read. The rest of the day? Same ol' shit.

I neglected to mention that I rode one of those tricked-out exercise cycles at the gym the other day in an effort to diversify my cardio workout. After only twenty minutes, the Vienna Sausage was completely numb. There was a tingling feeling, and I thought that I going to lose all continence right there in the cardio area. I should have known better because I had ridden the Spinner® cycles a few times prior with the same result. Of course, I could continue riding the cycles to the point where the Vienna Sausage is permanently numb. Then, I would not need to download more hurdy-gurdy videos for my massive collection. Sheesh!

Slob Manor Follies (Continued)

I was rudely awakened this morning in Slob Manor (read: rental housing) at 3am by Alan. He noisily ate his dinner and then cleaned his dishes and Crock Pot®. He was bashing the crap around in the tiny sink. I was hoping that he would crack the pieces of shit so I could giggle my ass off. Alan is so preoccupied with Joseph's limerant object that he is probably not even cognizant of anything or anybody else. He has only three weeks to make his move on her.

As I've stated before, Alan is a strange guy. He seems more self-assured now that he owns a huge five-bedroom house in Arizona. However, he apparently has had little success in drawing in tenants. As you may recall, Alan's plan was to rent out all of the vacant rooms and make a huge profit. Right now, there are only two people living in the house. One tenant lives in the basement that has been converted to a sixth bedroom. The other tenant is a babe whom Alan may have had some romantic interest before. She currently has a boyfriend, though. She is supposed to be the rental agent on behalf of Alan. The odd part is that Alan has made her a one-percent owner of the house in order for him to qualify for owner-occupancy (i.e., for tax evasion). He has also named her as the sole beneficiary for his huge life insurance policy. Alan told me that she recently asked for "survivorship" rights for his house in case something happens to him. I'd say that Alan has a lot more to worry about than Joseph's limerant object.

I ran into the Indian guy on the Route 6 bus this morning. I was surprised to see him riding the bus. It turns out that he no longer owns the BMW® Z-4. He said that routine and small maintenance bills were running in excess of several hundred or a thousand dollars. He literally returned the car to the dealership. He now drives a beat-up VW® van which he purchased for $1,000 from a friend.

I told the Indian guy that the Iraqi guy and his limerant object were moving out of Slob Manor next month. "You mean, after all that hullabaloo, they're moving out," he opined. The Indian guy has never liked Joseph's limerant object, and I don't blame him. "[Joseph] should never have let her move in there. She's big trouble," he added. I had to alight the bus at Ala Moana Center, so we had to end the conversation.

The rest of the day? Same ol' shit. Because of the holiday, I pretty much followed the Sunday urban nomad routine. Thus, I took the circuitous route back to Slob Manor via Ala Moana Center. During the layover, I purchased a local-style bento consisting of one-half of a lamp-baked chicken and rice at Foodland. A very good dinner it was, I might add.

Back at Slob Manor, Alan was lying on the filthy couch in the living room for several hours this evening. He's been doing that for the past week or so. Sometimes he takes a nap in the dark. Sometimes he takes his shoes off, and the whole place stinks like his sweaty socks. He's been chatting on his cell phone in the living room, much more than ever. He's also been keeping his photo albums next to him, obviously to show anyone who might be interested. He showed me a few pictures yesterday of his recent vacation to his five-bedroom house in Arizona. He even had pictures of the massive amounts of food that he cooked for the guests that he invited over. Oddly, there were no pictures of the guests or himself. Since I know that he is not interested in sharing the pictures with Joseph, I can assume that he is, in reality, eager to show them to Joseph's limerant object. Pathetic, I know.

Slob Manor Follies

Another urban nomad-kind-of-a-Sunday was only salvaged because of an extended perusal of the symbolically unattainable hottie gym trainer. Baby was looking mighty fine, but we all knew that explicit fact already. The rest of the day? Same ol' boring shit.

Well, the Iraqi guy and his limerant object are definitely moving out of Slob Manor (read: rental housing) on February 11th, at least according to the landlord. Destination? Kalihi. Yeah, that's right. Both of them are going bye-bye to Kalihi, where neither of them will fit in. Kalihi is home to myriad Filipinos, Samoans, Fiji Islanders, Marshall Islanders, and Micronesians. Crime is high, traffic is bad, and noise is intolerable. From what I can gather, the Iraqi guy will be financially supported by his limerant object. No doubt, a calamity just waiting to happen. Not my problem, though.

I briefly chatted with Alan. He still seems to be partial to Joseph's limerant object, although he has washed his hands of the situation ever since she stated her desire to expatriate to war-torn Iraq. I verbally delineated my assessment of Joseph's limerant object, which I have included in the "blog" previously. "I think that she wants to be 'saved' by somebody," I said in summary. Clearly, the Iraqi guy's limerant object is depleting her options. She's barreling down the road to self-destruction and rapidly gaining momentum. If Alan wishes to intervene, he needs to do so immediately.

Even the landlord has exhausted all patience with Joseph and his limerant object. "They're both strange," the landlord told me. "They tell me two different stories. I can't tell who's lying." The latest "credibility gap" episode involves the alleged rent increase, which is why Joseph's limerant object decided to move out. The landlord, according to Joseph's limerant object, allegedly stated that a meeting of all Slob Manor residents was going to be called and a rental increase announced. Joseph's limerant object threatened to move out. The landlord then backed down. Now, according to the landlord, the only person threatened with a rent increase was Joseph, although he pays little or no rent. The landlord allegedly did so because of the increasing frustration of dealing with Joseph's apparent laziness. Joseph then supposedly told his limerant object that the rent was going up. His limerant object overreacted by giving notice to move. Who are we to believe?

The issue is moot anyway. The next set of potential problems will lie with the three incoming tenants, whomever they are. Now that Slob Manor is essentially a "revolving door" for alltypes of transients, we can expect the worst. More brain donors. More fodder for the "blog." More waste of precious time. More "stupid pet tricks."

Typical "Peace of Mind" Hottie

I'd like to tell the fools that I have no longer have any time to entertain any form of stupidity. I have a very limited tenure left on the planet, and I desire to spend that time in a way that is conducive to peace of mind. Nothing else matters to me.

Post No. 1,721

Nothing to report. All I can say is that I enjoyed an extremely nice day in the inner courtyard of the library. The sun was out. The ambient temperature was comfortably warm. I was even able to momentarily lapse in and out of a coma. I can understand why a lot of the homeless are there, too. They can enjoy the ambiance without harassment.

The rest of the day? Same ol' shit. I am now finding little joy in any of my other limited activities. I am really tempted to mummify my gym membership. Eating, sleeping, and residing at Slob Manor (read: rental housing) are now burdensome experiences. Even my two computers (i.e., notebook and netbook) are proving to be more annoying than anything else.

Well, the only excitement I had all day was when I discovered that the new WeTab tablet computer is using the MeeGo® operating system, the first production unit of any kind to do so. The device looks really nice, with excellent specifications. And, it's fully functional unlike the unnamed most popular tablet device. Unfortunately, the WeTab is only available in Germany for now.

Rock Pile

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.

Well, not exactly. I arrived back at Slob Manor at 3:30pm, a little earlier than usual. The landlord suddenly appeared while I was parking my Nissan® Frontier truck in the dirt pile. I was told that all Slob Manor residents would have to vacate their vehicles from the driveway. A dump truck with a payload of gravel was due to arrive at any moment. Apparently, the landlord decided to fill the muddy dirt pile with gravel to facilitate a less messy parking situation, especially during the rainy season.

Tired as I was, I drove to Kahala Mall to spend the waiting time there. Details are not necessary. Just know that I made the usual rounds. At 5:15pm, I returned to Slob Manor. Upon entering the driveway, I noticed that the dirt pile was now covered, not with gravel, but with extremely large rocks. Absolutely no one was parked in the rock pile (formerly the dirt pile). I opted to park in the area next to the house, which has a poorly laid concrete slab. Upon closer scrutiny, I observed that the rocks were not just large, they were coarse and jagged. Anyone parking on the rock pile will suffer from moderate tire damage. Of course, I have a truck, so that should be no problem. Or, so the landlord thinks.

I spent the evening locked away in my squalid room. I felt like a true prisoner. I composed the ridiculous "blog" for no apparent reason since no one reads it, at least according to the Feedit® Live Feed. On the floor, hundreds of sugar ants were scurrying around. I have designed a special little rag, which I use to squish each and every one of their tiny heads. The sugar ant infestation is worsening by the day. Just me and the sugar ants. Sheesh!

Agnostic or Atheist?

Junk day, today. More rain, but it cleared up about noon. Same ol' shit. This morning, I had a run-in with an obese senior citizen African-American bitch at Foodland of all places. She (termed used loosely) said, "I'm gonna kick your ass." I calmly and politely responded, "Kick my ass? You can hardly walk, you fat-ass bitch. Get the fuck outta here!" Just yesterday, I observed the same bitch preaching some "Christian" crap to a hapless victim.

Oh, those Sunday-go-to-meeting "Christians." What a bunch of hypocrites! Frankly, I am sick and tired of fanatic religious asswipes. They are only being "Christian"-like for a possible resurrection to some kind of eternal life in "heaven." Only the "fear of God" keeps them in check. Yet, when pushed to their limits, the "inner animal" breaks free. I can just imagine the fat trollop at home praying on hands and knees for forgiveness for the ridiculous transgression. Baha! Ha! Ha! Haaa!

After an unfulfilled day, I was back at Slob Manor (read: rental housing) by 4pm. I neglected to mention that Alan also told me that he has decided to not pursue the Iraqi guy's limerant object. He said that she (Joseph's limerant object) really wants to expatriate herself and move to war-torn Iraq, become an Iraqi citizen, and get married there either to Joseph or another of his relatives. "She's nuts," he said. According to Alan, after one of the numerous arguments, Joseph told his limerant object, "If we were in Iraq, I'd kill you." Well, I've already put my own observations in the "blog," and it's plain to see that Joseph's limerant object made a brain donation a long time ago. Let's hope that they both go bye-bye to Iraq real soon.

Much to my amazement, I find myself moving from the "agnostic" camp to the "atheist" one. I can't imagine myself joining the ranks of Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins, but my increasing disdain for human-concocted religions, particularly the Yahweh Triad (i.e., Judaism, Pauline-Christianity, and Islam), indicates that I'm already there. While I am still a Creationist, I do not attribute the Creation to God of the Yahweh Triad or any deity. Such deities are personifications attributable to feeble minds. Humans cannot possibly understand anything beyond a constrained "reality."

When I speak of Creation, I mean a benign form of creation not necessarily requiring any entity to accomplish the task. Creation is simply the extraction of something from nothing. While I could say that the latter was spontaneous, there would be no way for me describe what that means. Humans define "spontaneous" from the viewpoint of a constrained "reality." Whatever was involved in the Creation is left intentionally unknown to us, and will never be known. The fact that the Universe is finite, our solar system is finite, and all life on the planet is finite indicates that we need not know the origins of "something" over "nothing." We have no time for that. We are here for the moment. And, that's it.

Sun & Rain (Reprise)

Junk day, today. That's Pidgin English for "bad weather." There was only a slight drizzle when I departed for town. By the time I arrived at the Beretania Street transfer point, the rain was coming down hard. Nonetheless, I followed the urban nomad ritual. Same ol' shit.

The rain stopped at about 11am while I was at the library. The sun came out. I was just about to give up on the idea of restoring my extreme monk haircut at the Institute of Hair Design. I don't like it when the hair on the oversized cranium grows long. Well, actually, it was still fairly short by normal standards. Now, it's even shorter. Just the way I like it.

I went through Ala Moana Center this afternoon, paying a second visit to Foodland. I had to purchase food for dinner. Thus, I ate a delicious Ahi Poke salad. Unfortunately, I was hungry again in no time.

Later, Alan told me that the Iraqi guy and limerant object may be moving out of Slob Manor (read: rental housing) as early as the end of the month. Apparently, the landlord had mentioned to them something about raising the rent. That didn't go over too well with the Iraqi guy's limerant object. The foolish part is that they are not going to find a place as spacious with utilities included for a mere $700 per month. The entire second floor is as large as a two-bedroom house. And, how will they afford rent with Joseph's pitiful financial situation? Can you say, "Stupid pet tricks"?

Well, the second update for MeeGo® v1.1 was made available today. So, I updated my Acer® Aspire One netbook computer. I did not really notice much of a difference. Some of the more glaring problems, albeit aesthetic, are still lingering. However, I have decided to remain loyal to MeeGo®. I have less problems with it than Ubuntu. And, it's simply perfect for netbooks.

Ruminate

What is there to say? Absolutely nothing, of course. Just another urban nomad kind-of-a-day. With not much else to do, I ruminated about mental midgets. No doubt, that's an odd topic to ruminate upon. Mental midgets are simply mental midgets. However, one has to wonder why there are so many of them. Why do they think that they are so important? Why do they act like they are being filmed for a "reality" show? And, the big question is: why are they so stupid?

Typical Funtasticus Hottie

For lack of much else of substance, I'd like to recommend an interesting article by Ugo Bardi titled, Peak Civilization, which appeared on the Financial Sense site. Bardi reconstructs the insider's version of the collapse of the Roman Empire using the few remaining literature from the era as well as Joseph Tainter's model of collapse of complex societies. An excerpt:

The point that Tainter makes, quite correctly, in his book is that it is hard to see the fall of such a complex thing as an empire as due to a single cause. A complex entity should fall in a complex manner, and I think it is correct. In Tainter's view, societies always face crisis and challenges of various kinds. The answer to these crisis and challenges is to build up structures - say, bureaucratic or military - in response. Each time a crisis is faced and solved, society finds itself with an extra layer of complexity. Now, Tainter says, as complexity increases, the benefit of this extra complexity starts going down - he calls it "the marginal benefit of complexity". That is because complexity has a cost - it costs energy to maintain complex systems. As you keep increasing complexity, this benefit become negative. The cost of complexity overtakes its benefit. At some moment, the burden of these complex structures is so great that the whole society crashes down - it is collapse.

Is the empire heading toward collapse? You be the judge. As for the ol' lavahead, he'll be ruminating.