King Kamehameha Day 2011

Another visit to Hawai'i Kai went well. Moms and I followed the usual itinerary. My bro was home for the holiday. Not much said, which was probably all for the better. The rest of the day? The urban nomad fulfilled his usual benign functions and followed his routine itinerary as planned.

Burger King® Kamehameha

I am assuming that the holiday was observed today, and not to be confused with Burger King® Kamehameha (refer to the "blog" of November 24, 2006). Oddly, the library will be closed tomorrow. So, I will be left to my own devices.

Well, I am starting to tie up the last of the loose ends insofar as the "blog" is concerned. I have discussed the most relevant issues. As you may know, I moved to Hawai'i many moons ago in order to be close to my parents in their last years. Pops passed on about ten years ago. Moms is still going strong, but anything can happen from this point forward. In eight months, moms will be 90 years old.

My goal was to put all of my affairs in order in the meantime. All of my useless possessions and property were to be divested in a timely fashion, including my truck and the detestable "condotel" unit. Obviously, I have not met my objectives. As long as moms remains ambulatory, I vowed to have a vehicle on hand. As it goes, moms may soon not be able to hoist herself up into the raised cab of my truck. However, I really do not want to purchase another vehicle, especially since I have zero income. As for the "condotel" unit, I may eventually have to sell it at a loss of $70,000 or more.

Where will I go from here? I don't really know. I've been pondering the problem now for several years. Clearly, I have the option of moving to one of the many depressed areas on the mainland. I could certainly live cheaply in places like Detroit. However, crime would be a major concern. There are many other hard hit places like Las Vegas, which has a sizable population of expatriates from Hawai'i. I've also thought of moving abroad and becoming a real expatriate myself. Yet, where would I go? Suggestions are always welcome, although please try to avoid mentioning places such as the non-existent "hell." Baha! Ha! Ha! Haaa!

So, that's pretty much where I stand right now. And, you are standing right here with me. I am certain that many people would disagree with my policies and procedures. A few may even question my sanity. I can assure everyone that I have done everything in my power to accomplish my objectives as well as deconstruct the ridiculous life-style that I had made for myself based on false beliefs. Taking the long road to search for the elusive truth was necessary. I don't regret it.

All in all, I should have purchased a Whopper® (my way, of course) at Burger King® to properly celebrate the holiday. Unfortunately, the lowly hamburger is now worth a fortune. In preparing for the exodus, I have impoverished myself. And, even harder times lie ahead. To be perfectly honest, the longer that I remain in Hawai'i, the more likely that I will end up homeless. After listening to Ann about her ordeals, I have come to realize that my options are very limited. I've been unemployed for over four years. I am close to sixty years of age. Returning to wage slavery my not be possible. In other words, I may be on a steeper downhill slide than I had imagined. Ho boy!

Lamp-Baked Tidbits

Same ol' shit. What more can I say? Nothing, I'm afraid. I have, at the least, decided to discontinue the on-going list of books that I have read (see catalog). I will also no longer mention any of the books that I have completed from this point forward. My reading has slowed down tremendously anyway. After all, knowledge only increases mental anguish. Sheesh!

I've been trying to figure out what to do about the antiquated LoserNet site. I had contemplated the mummification of the entire site, but I did not want to deal with bad hyperlinks. I thought of deleting portions of the site as a ridiculous alternative. Instead, I will most likely remove the indexed links, thus making navigation more difficult. That should solve the problem temporarily, even though there have been zero visitors to the site.

By the way, the recent update for the tablet computer installed a couple of new "apps" and shortcuts that just cannot be removed or uninstalled (with the exception of installed games). I must admit that I became quite perturbed. With only 16Gbytes of storage, there is very little room for crap. Even Ubuntu Linux has the same kind of problem. Too many useless applications are intricately tied to the operating system. Fortunately, I am still able to remove most of the offending applications, although some residual files just cannot be mummified. Kubuntu was a nightmare in that respect. The bloat problem with all computer operating systems is eventually going to push me away completely. Then, I will divest all of my computers for good.

Lifeforce (Reprise)

Same ol' shit. Yeah, same ol' shit. No surprise, eh? Only deviation was my usual visit to the Institute of Hair Design. So, I'm rapidly approaching the zero content threshold for the "blog." With that said, the daily format of the "blog" may quickly become a thing of the past. I'll try to tie up a few loose ends first, provided that I am not unpleasantly distracted by the likes of Joker or any other fool.

I've been thinking about the "soul" again. Previously, I finally conceded that the "soul" was mortal, just like our physical bodies. I had also argued that all biological life have an extinguishable "lifeforce," an undefined source of our biological individuality. The brain, I argued, provides the necessary resources to make the "lifeforce" who we are. The conundrum, of course is: Who exactly are we?

There are no repositories for the "soul" and "lifeforce." Both are temporary and extinguishable, if they even exist. Each of us could simply be a function of the myriad synaptic reactions in our brains. However, I know that I exist. I am fully conscious of my being. I am right here in my squalid room at the detestable Slob Manor (read: rental housing) typing away on my netbook. I am living my life, albeit marginally. I know that I am right here.

How can a blob of nerve cells create an emulation of a sentient being? I cannot be a biological algorithm. I am not an automaton. And, how exactly did I appear out of nowhere? I never existed before I was born. Although I appeared out of nothing, I have no idea about what "nothing" is. How can I appear out of nothing and will soon disappear into nothing?

What I have just cryptically discussed is the basis of my inability to wholeheartedly accept the theories of evolution and spontaneous generation. Why would consciousness and self-awareness simply evolve? On what basis would a living creature develop the latter characteristics when it never knew what it was missing? And, let's face it, the "soul" is way beyond the synergistic permutations of billions of brain cells.

Another conundrum: Where did intelligence come from? How did it originate? We take intelligence for granted, believing that it slowly "evolved" like everything else. Doesn't intelligence require intelligence of some sort to begin with? An entity must have the capability to learn, then reason, in order to be intelligent. How would a non-intelligent entity figure out how to learn without ever learning before? Evolutionists love to state that early life forms had developed infinite numbers of permutations and only certain ones survived. I really can't buy into that. The earth is 4.5 billion years old. Lifeforms have existed for only a fraction of that time. The slow, infinite permutations thesis doesn't make sense given the time frame. There really is more to life than we know (or guess).

Idiot Savant

Last night at Slob Manor (read: rental housing), I actually powered up my tablet computer, the first time in days. I learned of a software update through the CrackBerry Forums, so I was excited to install it. So far, so good.

The moron Joker was on good behavior for two whole days before reverting back to his ornery ways. I suspect that he just couldn't stay away from the "Ice" (read: methamphetamine). Yeah, he was "tweaking" again last night. The crazy fool was playing his favorite sixties-style arcade video game on his bulbous desktop computer with the twin LCD monitors until the wee hours of the morning. Every few minutes, he alternatively played "fetch" with his scrawny rodent-like dog. By the way, I discovered that he plays the same antiquated arcade video game when he had left the audio turned up full blast one day a few weeks ago. The cheesy bleeping (i.e., sound effects) would be enough to drive anyone crazy. However, for a simpleton like Joker, that's endless entertainment.

Why is a decrepit loser like Joker "tweaking" on "Ice"? After all, he's damned near sixty years old. Amphetamines or "uppers" can provide a sure energy boost (or a cardiac event), but it can also temporarily cure chronic depression. At the peak of its efficacy, the drug can create a feeling of power. I suspect that Joker's antidepressants weren't working for him. He talks to his dog, sometimes for a couple of hours straight, but the mangy mutt can't help him. Nobody can help Joker. He has no "free will." He was born a loser, the genetic coding of which was passed down to him from his parents and ancestors.

Joker's world is already coming apart at the seams. Just two days ago, he scraped the rear bumper of his piece of shit 4,000-pound motorized chair (read: automobile), no doubt while "tweaking." His Ford® Mustang was his pride and joy. He washed it every day. Never mind that he lives in a garbage dump. Now, his pride and joy is permanently marred, just like him. I giggled my ass off when I saw the damage. I am still anxiously awaiting the day that the coroner's van gives Joker his last ride out of Slob Manor. Baha! Ha! Ha! Haaa!

Needless to say, I was groggy the entire day due to sleep deprivation. What I've discovered is that Joker does not sleep for about three days straight. Then, he returns to normal sleep habits for one day. Three days on "Ice," one day off. Over and over again. A guy his age and in his poor condition should be a corpse already. There is the possibility that he is using cocaine instead. The side effects would not be as detrimental.

I have one other fun tidbit about Joker to share. As feeble as my long-term memory has been, I was able to ascertain that I have seen the maniacal clown before, a long time ago. It seems that Joker and I attended the same high school. In fact, we were in the same graduating class. I recall that he was a goofball back then, only not so bloated and hideous as he is now. And, yes, I ran a Web search to verify my hunch. Unfortunately, Joke was not considered an honored alumnus.

As I said, a wasted day. I was so tired that I was not able to exercise "free will" myself. I was constrained by physical fatigue, which made me very irritable. Back at Slob Manor, the moron that is Joker was obviously still "tweaking." He had been upstairs in his personal garbage dump all day watching his widescreen LCD tube. At 6pm, he prepared one of his usual microwavable meals. Then, he was in front of his bulbous computer with the side-by-side LCD monitors by 7pm. Did you guess that he was playing the same sixties-style arcade game? Did you also guess that he was playing fetch with his rodent-like dog? And, did you guess that he'll be doing that until 7am tomorrow morning?

"Free Will" Revisited

Another visit to Hawai'i Kai went well. Moms and I followed the usual itinerary. The rest of the day? The urban nomad fulfilled his usual benign functions and followed his routine itinerary as planned.

Well, I should revisit the religious and philosophical concept of "free will," perhaps for the last time. As you are well aware, I have made no attempt to appear to be an expert on any subject. Neither have I engaged in proper academic-style "review of the literature." Nor have I reverted to any kind of intellectual discourse. I'm just "talking through my hat," while I complete any unfinished business. A couple of days ago, I informally discussed a portion of the "human story." All in all, humans have been around a lot longer than religion or philosophy. Thus, the concept of "free will" has not been around for very long.

Do we really have "free will"? As I answered prior, we have a limited amount of "free will." Unfortunately, we are captured within a biological shell. Therefore, we are limited in scope insofar as "free will" is concerned. Yet, I really have to wonder. Perhaps our "free will" is even more limited than previously imagined. Science and pseudoscience have both been trying to provide a genetic basis for human disposition and personality. There's been talk of such ridiculous nonsense as the "alcohol" gene, that is, a code in the human genome that increases the propensity to become an alcoholic. Obviously, humans did not have any cheap booze available over 100,000 years ago. What makes more sense is that there are genetic codes which increase or decrease an individual's propensity for one kind of behavior over another.

Not to belabor the point since no one reads the "blog" anyway, I would postulate that pretty much all of our personality traits, our disposition, and our behavior has been genetically handed down to us. We are not who we think we are. In fact, if I may be so bold, we are the living product of our ancestors. We have some control over our being, but most of who we are has already been determined before birth. Mind you, a few years ago, I would have considered the latter idea as insane. Let's look at a relatively simple example concerning my bro and I. When I was a toddler, I was very sedate. According to moms, I could sit and play by myself quietly for hours. My bro, however, was very hyperactive. I was ten years old when he was born, so I witnessed his behavior firsthand. Obviously, at such a young age, neither my bro or I possessed enough consciousness and self-awareness to forge our respective personalities. We were born that way.

If we inherit much of our physical characteristics from our parents and familial ancestors, then we could also inherit other traits that affect personality, disposition, and so forth. The thesis if, of course, far reaching. Could so-called "criminal" behavior be inherited? A few years ago, I would have disagreed. Now, I am not so sure. We do not have immortal souls that will live on and answer to a fictitious deity. We are simply another form of animal. There is nothing special about humans. We follow the same life cycle as all other living entities on the planet. There is no justice either, because we will not live on to either redeem ourselves or achieve absolution.

So-called "crime," killing and maiming, and other deplorable acts are just part of human nature. It lurks deep within as the "inner animal." Those traits are probably passed on in code through the human genome. We can dispense justice. The non-"criminal" element can kill, maim, or otherwise punish the "criminal." Yet, the prescribed justice is equally barbaric and goes against "free will." Strange things.

On a side note, I discovered that Hulu® cycles episodes of "Firefly." So, fortunately for me, a previously unseen episode has been made available this evening. I am "happy as a clam," as they say (whoever "they" are). If only I had some popcorn.

Wasteland

Same ol' "urban nomad kind-of-a-Sunday" shit. Say, didn't I utter the same thing last week? Does it matter? Not really.

Knowledge can be quite dreadful. That's essentially the realization that I have arrived at after embarking on assorted research. I suppose that the scariest discovery that I have made so far is the fact that we humans have no idea about our origin. We do not know what purpose we serve. For that matter, we cannot even explain life in an unexplainable universe. Heck, I am not even certain about who I am, or what I am. And, don't get me started on mutants like Joker. I'll probably revisit the topic when I am not so spooked by it.

Well, I can safely say that I am going through "Firefly" withdrawal. I'm cannot even explain why I am drawn to the series. As it turns out, there are only 14 episodes. The series was terminated abruptly after a very short run. There is also one full-length movie. Right now, I am contemplating the one-week free trial membership at Hulu® just to view the remaining nine episodes. I really could not find anything else worthy in the archives. Tube programming, sad to say, is a vast wasteland.

Neanderthal Netherworld

At the library, I ran into Ann. We chatted briefly. Ann has changed her job strategy. She has decided that she will apply for multiple part-time jobs. I suspect that her situation is degenerating rapidly since her unemployment benefits will expire in a couple of months. I couldn't even possibly imagine what that's like, at least not for the moment. In due time, I will face the same dilemma.

I haven't really been doing much concentrated reading at the library. Most of the time, I am lapsing in and out of a coma. If anything, I read several books concurrently because I can never know when one will disappear. I had one chapter left in the book, "The Complete Ice Age: How Climate Change Shaped the World," edited by Brian Fagan, before it disappeared. Excellent book. The short section about the "human story" was quite intriguing.

As you may know, I am not an hardcore evolutionist. However, I must come to grips with some scientific evidence (not to be confused with the religion of pseudoscience). I have already come around to admitting that I agree with the evidence that humans have been around for a long time, at least 100,000 years ago for behaviorally- and anatomically-modern humans. I was somewhat skeptical of the Neanderthal lineage, most likely falling for the idiocy expounded by religious propaganda. There can be no doubt that the Neanderthals existed, although I am still skeptical about the chimp-like facial reconstructions. No doubt, the high brow cranium is oddly reminiscent of non-human primates. The striking resemblance to Joker's hideous cranium is also uncanny.

Religious propaganda, of course, attempted to discredit any anthropological and archaeological findings beyond the 6,000-year "Genesis" time frame. Thus, skeletal remains and dating methods were considered questionable. I regret that I once bought into the propaganda. That was many moons ago when findings were scarce and dating methods were much more crude. Strictly speaking, though, there is no way that any ape or chimp population could have dispersed into the areas thought to be populated by Neanderthals. Non-human primates could not survive under such conditions. And, the dispersion is far too wide to be a series of pranks (i.e., placing a chimp cranium with a human skeleton).

The ramifications are even more important. We humans really have no idea about our origin. We make pretty good guesses about evolution, I suppose, but we really do not know the truth. Religion, particularly the Yahweh Triad (i.e., Judaism, Pauline-Christianity, and Islam) suffers the most from ignorance. The "Genesis" account, the creation of life by "God," is completely discredited. As you may be aware, I am still a creationist, but I have no a clue about the creator itself. It is certainly not a deity, nor can it be personified. It is an entity that can severely stretch the metaphysical imagination. I am also not about to discard the Atlantis thesis, even though it really is moot.

I've tried to imagine what human life was like over 100,000 years ago or even just 50,000 years ago. I am not overly concerned about the hunter-gatherer existence per se. Instead, I wonder about what their societal and familial systems were like. We often assume a tribal format. How can we really know? There was a time when human life was tabula rasa. Square zero. No formal structure. No rules. What was it like?

Well, I have put my tablet computer on ice, so to speak. No, it's not "tweaking" on "Ice" (read: methamphetamine) like the grotesque Joker. I have simply relegated all computing tasks to the primary computer, my netbook. As I said before, everything has changed. The "blog" has changed. My computing needs have changed. I have changed. Shit happens.

Collapse, Lamp-Baked Style

Another visit to Hawai'i Kai went well. Moms and I followed the usual itinerary. The rest of the day? The urban nomad fulfilled his usual benign functions and followed his routine itinerary as planned.

Back at Slob Manor (read: rental housing), Kyle has moved in. He seems to be a likable guy. He's also quiet and considerate, unlike a few other fools whom we know of. The guy in the studio is moving out in two weeks. A 45-year-old babe is moving in, according to the landlord. Baby is divorced and has a daughter. I may have caught a glimpse of her yesterday. Baby might be a hottie. Perhaps Alan and Joker will fight over her. Who knows? Who cares?

I'm not really certain at all about what is happening in the so-called "globalized" economy. However, I have reluctantly decided to agree with the deflation camp at least insofar as the empire is concerned. We are observing deflationary effects in two key areas: wages and housing prices. Wages are deflating because of massive unemployment and outsourcing of jobs. Home prices are deflating because of the collapse of the "housing bubble." The money supply is apparently shrinking even though the Fed has attempted every trick in the book to trigger inflation. The money supply is also shrinking because there is rampant cash hoarding. Banks are also not lending, the latter being the only way money is "created." Cash hoarding (including rerouting to the commodities market) appears to be responsible for the inflationary prices for food and petrol, both of which are not used in computing "core" inflation. The situation is at critical mass. I do not expect a return to the status quo ever again.

The Eurozone is presenting another set of problems. The situation in Greece, Ireland, Spain, and Iceland is only the "tip of the iceberg." Apparently, many of the commercial banks in those nations decided to play the same game as the empire's banks, again with the full blessing of their respective central banks. When one "bubble" popped, then the rest all started popping. No matter how much useless money gets pumped into the "system," there's little hope for resolution. I have a feeling that the Euro is "on its last leg." The demise of the Euro may be beneficial to the empire and its worthless currency, the effects of which remain to be seen.

I am not an economist, but my guess is as good as any of the other fools out there. Common sense should dictate that injecting infinite amounts of money into the "system" is eventually going to fail. Japan has regained some relative stability after the Fukushima meltdown only by injecting massive amounts of money into its "system." Europe is doing the same. The empire is doing the same. They are all poised, of course, to reverse course in the face of exponential hyperinflation. Or, so they say.

Frankly, I really don't see any central bank reversing course. Raising interest rates, even slightly, will trigger a domino-effect "globalized" collapse. Unfortunately, once a trend appears to be semi-permanent, then it will likely become permanent. That is why I said that I do not expect to see interest rates rise above zero percent in my lifetime. Zero percent interest reflects the true value of money anyway. Money that is rented out (i.e., usury) creates more money as a function of the lending institutions' reserve ratio. Thus, debt is somewhat inflationary, and it is pure rentier capitalism.

Systems, of course, all follow systems modeling. Money, massive amounts of money, sloshing around in the global economy has a lot of mass and a lot of inertia. No matter which direction that it is heading, it will tend to overshoot its boundary because of its girth. Kind of like a tsunami. As far as I can tell, that's where we're heading.

Incidentally, my immediate goal for the "blog" is to cover as much unfinished business as possible. I have not returned to my comfortable rut. Everything has changed since the Blogger® outage. The "blog" has changed. I have changed. Shit happens.

Joker Day 2011

Welcome to Joker Day, the annual celebration of the ugliest mofo in the existence of all humanity. As usual, an obligatory facsimile of his likeness must be presented. I am still in awe at the uncanny resemblance to Cesar Romero's character in the campy "Batman" series of the early sixties. Joker of Slob Manor (read: rental housing) was definitely old enough to remember the original airings. Perhaps he has always aspired to be Joker.

Joker, Formerly Known as "Meathead"

I have decided to dedicate the day to the grotesque moron because I was able to confirm my suspicions. Joker has been engaged in the mischief that I have chronicled in the "blog" as a means of retaliation. I confirmed that the landlord has indeed spoken to Joker about his inconsiderate ways. Unfortunately, he is as utterly self-righteous as he is aesthetically challenged. With all the money that he possesses, he could easily afford extensive cosmetic surgery. He could even de-Botox® his entire bloated face so that it would look halfway normal.

Sadly, Joker lives in a dream world of his own making. He doesn't realize that he's a walking freak show. If he did, the coroner's van would have been here a long time ago. Let's hope that we won't have celebrate Joker Day next year. Okay, enough of that shit. I really just wanted to post the fantastic picture of Joker. I had to add some text to make it relevant. Baha! Ha! Ha! Haaa!

I've been experiencing quite a few strange incidents lately. For example, this morning, my local bank was not going to let me make a deposit. That's right. According to one of the managers, the security flag that I had requested after my stuff was stolen at the gym does not allow deposits without valid identification. Funny, I have been making deposits without a problem all the way up until yesterday. Then, oddly, I was told that my personal profile needed to be updated as well. The bank personnel were acting very suspiciously, as if I were some kind of "terrorist."

At the gym, I had to take a "dump" moment in the middle of my workout. As I sat in the stall, the idiotic Filipino porter decided to hose down the filthy urinal and floor mat next to the stall. All of the piss-infested (read: urine-infested) water splashed up under the stall and all over me. When I exited the stall, I calmly told the moron, "You could have waited a couple of minutes instead of spraying me with water." He looked at me blankly, then turned away. No apology was offered. I intended to report him to the management, but what's the sense? I would probably end up having to update my gym profile amongst other "terrorist"-related nonsense.

I'm not certain if all of the nonsense is due to societal collapse or a full moon. We already know that economic collapse has already affected the rank-and-file peons of empire. Very few have been left unscathed. Even fewer will ever return to the status quo. However, societal collapse is mutually exclusive to economic collapse. Incivility and social disorder has been increasing exponentially for several decades. The problem, of course, is when both societal collapse and economic collapse converge at the same point in time. Your guess is as good mine insofar as how the whole scenario will play out.

I don't believe that most of the rank-and-file peons of empire understand just how bad the situation has become. There's always some kind of false hope hovering around, even while the fools are being swept into the "Black Hole" of despair. The empire itself is permanently downsizing, at least internally. It's never going to "recover," and I really don't think that the moneychangers and powers-that-be had intended otherwise. We are seeing the signs of decay, and it's best to heed them now. However, I digress. Let's enjoy Joker Day (for what it's worth) now, shall we?

Vegetable (Continued)

Another visit to Hawai'i Kai went well. Moms and I followed the usual itinerary. The rest of the day? The urban nomad fulfilled his usual benign functions and followed his routine itinerary as planned.

Yesterday, I neglected to mention that I ran into my homeless buddy while I was waiting for the bus. I had not seen him around in a week. He is "good people." He's always giving me interesting tips. He's also pointed out a lot of shady characters who hang out at the library. Nonetheless, I was relieved to see that he was alive and well.

Speaking of "good people," I also heard from Mr. Ray in Washington State. It's been a while since I last heard from him. What's strange is that, whenever I am close to wit's end, I manage to hear from him. Although I've never met Ray in person, I consider him a friend. As you may know, I rarely use the word "friend" in reference to people.

Ray seems to understand that I am locked in a "purgatory" of my own volition. The term of my residency in "purgatory" is dependent on moms' longevity or how long my sanity can hold out. Of course, I made matters worse for myself when I decided to pursue the elusive "America Dream," albeit half-heartedly. Here's an excerpt of what Mr. Ray had to say:

Indeed, the "liberation" you seem to seek is (apparently) already well at hand. But you ask, "Is this really all there is to it?" Yes. That's it. It's not super glamorous, but there it is.

Of course the other angle is that no matter where you go or how you live, you'll always be wanting to get away from "them". The truth is, the World is what it is, and it's up to each of us to accept that fact on our own terms. The World and the people in it are never going to change. Ever.

After reading your journals for what, at least a decade? I can't help but wonder what it is deep in your innermost Id that you're struggling with. Whatever it is, once you can finally unlock whatever daemon (or daemons) and let them out of you, the whole issue of needing to "escape" will dissolve.

I was somewhat surprised to note that Mr. Ray was entirely resonant in thought with my current plight and the dilemma that I will soon face. As I've mentioned before, I cannot seem to "collate" my thoughts. Nor can I identify what exactly I am struggling with. And, neither can I effectively articulate the confused mess. Well, perhaps I have just discovered a purpose for the "blog." Either I will find some answers, or I will become a vegetable. Sheesh!

Well, in my fragile mental state, I should probably spend the rest of the evening perusing what is available in the Hulu® archive in order to find something worthy of sedating the anxious mind. Or, I can download hella hurdy-gurdy videos clips to add to my vast hurdy-gurdy library. Decisions, decisions.