Waiting Game (Reprise)

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-Sunday was unmarred by any form of excitement. Well, of course, I did catch a glimpse of the hottie gym trainer. Baby was looking mighty fine. I stopped off at Foodland in the Aina Haina Shopping Center on the way back to Slob Manor (read: rental housing). I purchased a small package of Ahi Poke for dinner. And, I also procured a pint of Häagen-Dazs® ice cream. My excuse was that I was celebrating a belated Ol' Lavahead Day. I ate the ice cream at the bus stop. Aside from the myriad flies swarming about, my celebration was ruined by the perpetual cigarette smoke permeating every cubic foot of air. That's "par for the course" for a true loser like the ol' lavahead.

The days are dragging on. And, I am finding myself becoming terribly apathetic about anything and everything. I have lost my desire to do much except to barely eat, barely sleep, and go the gym. Frankly, even the gym workouts are becoming too monotonous. I should be looking to re-enter wage slavery. However, the very idea leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I am really sick of the "system." And, I am even more sick of the myriad satanic gargoyles running amuck. Woe is me!

The only highlight of the day (aside from seeing the hottie gym trainer) was my receipt of the new Ubuntu Linux "Intrepid Ibex" (v8.10) CD in the mail. When I arrived at Slob Manor, I quickly rushed to my squalid room. I popped the CD into my Toshiba® Satellite notebook computer and ran Ubuntu in "Live CD" mode. Whoa! Everything including sound and the wireless network card worked flawlessly. My remaining issue (i.e., no headphone sound) was resolved. In addition, the sound was much louder now. I will be installing the version as soon as possible.

Ol' Lavahead Day 2008

Well, this is Ol' Lavahead Day. I nearly forgot because I am a senile old fossil. Not that it matters. What is there to celebrate? Sheesh! Well, here is another retrospective from the old journal:

Today is the big day. The 41-year-old virgin turns 42! And, naturally, this calls for a celebration of sorts. I've got the larger $1.09 can of Bush's baked beans, some cream-style corn, sardines (in oil, of course) and ... damnit! I forgot to get some of those Hostess doughnuts, the ones made out of lard. Maybe I can go over to The Idiots' place and see if they can spare a package of Ding Dongs. Now, all I need to do is put on some Chant on the K-Mart. Let's see here. Oh boy! A birthday card! It's from my "friends at Marlboro." My only B-day card and it's from my smoking buddies. Well, with a celebration like this I just might start smoking! Sheesh! Well, look here! It's a B-day greeting from the Klingon Language Institute! "Quchjaj qoSlIj. DuQuchmoH neH jajvam 'e' wItulbej." Thanks Worf!

That was Ol' Lavahead Day in 1995 for goodness sakes. There sure were some literary gems in the old journal, eh?

Irrespective of Ol' Lavahead Day, the urban nomad itinerary continued unabated (i.e., inner courtyard of the library, gym). Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary occurred. The weather turned ugly right after I boarded the bus destined for town and remained that way for the rest of the day. The rain, for the most part, was intermittent. Surprisingly, the ambient temperature decreased rapidly. Then, a major downpour ensued about ten minutes after I arrived safely back at Slob Manor (read: rental housing). The evening? Same ol' shit.

There will be no festivities. No celebration. Once again, what is there to celebrate? The detestable "condotel" unit was $350 short of breaking even last month. That's certainly not worthy of celebration. The hard drive load cycle problem on my Toshiba® Satellite notebook computer appears to be fixed. Well, that's cause enough for a celebration.

Ubuntu Reprieve

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day ... what more can I say. I followed the usual nauseating itinerary. I should mention that I almost could not complete the weight portion of my workout at the gym because my right shoulder was in pain. The pain, of course, resulted from the brutal wax job that I had to perform yesterday on my Nissan® Frontier truck. The good part about the whole day was that the library, the gym, and the buses were fairly empty. No doubt, everyone was out Saturnalia shopping. Someone had left a nice plastic soap container in the shower at the gym. Naturally, I had to procure it. Well, hey! These are tough times!

I spent about an hour or so this evening engaged in performing the necessary fix for the hard drive load cycle (i.e., park/unpark heads) problem in Ubuntu Linux. There are a variety of fixes available, but I chose the "official" version on the Ubuntu Wiki. I became concerned when I checked my hard drive and discovered that the load cycle count was increasing by ten or more every minute. And, that was in AC mode! Now, it's down to about 1.3 (or less) every minute. The other fixes attempted to keep the hard drive from spinning down. Essentially, the hard drive keeps running. I was not particularly comfortable with that concept. I am once again satisfied with Ubuntu.

Thanksgiving Day 2008

Well, the "American" Thanksgiving Day is upon us. First, a retrospective from the old journal:

There's nothing like waking up on Thanksgiving Day to some drawers slamming and to look out and see the crummy car cover wrapped around the ol' six-four because of 90 mph gusts. It just another beautiful day! This is a perfect day for a picnic, but one will need several anvils to hold everything down! By this afternoon, my six-four should be coated with bird droppings which are nature's own paint remover. There is so much to be thankful for, but that's why I'm a monk. You see, everyday is like Thanksgiving for a monk. I am thankful for this beautiful shoebox I live in! I am thankful for my wonderful and courteous neighbors! I am thankful that I never need to use my alarm clock to wake me up promptly every morning including holidays at five or six in the morning! I am thankful to all my creditors who prevent me from reckless materialistic abandon! I am thankful for my dim lamp that is making me go blind! I'm thankful that my new computer has the crappiest keyboard in the world. I am thankful for my French Press that broke two months after I bought it! I am thankful for the sinister force that keeps me in check! I am thankful for Bush's baked beans and the Toilet Duck! And, best of all, I am thankful that I have no babes (like that incredible gym babe Lisa)! I am truly blessed! You see, that's why I became a monk. I need to share my joys and blessings with everyone!

Yes, that was Thanksgiving Day 1995! How things have not changed! Doesn't the latter excerpt give a whole new meaning to the old adage, "The more things change, the more they stay the same"?

Briefly building on the theme developed yesterday, I dare say that I am finally beginning to understand the real concept of money. The Fed and the Treasury have the ability to create endless amounts of money (by "printing" it or selling bonds) when necessary as witnessed by all of us in last few months. The money simply appeared out of nowhere. The "magic" money is being used to bail out the financial "system" of empire. Bad bank debts are being "erased" with the "magic" money. What does that tell us about the money itself? What is its intrinsic value?

The situation for the typical rank-and-file peon is quite different. Every penny owed or saved by a rank-and-file peon is accounted for. Not one cent is misplaced. In essence, money is being used to control the masses as opposed to it original function as a means of trade. I've often mentioned that the money "system" will remain in place to maintain order in society. However, the most recent and brazen acts by the Fed and Treasury have initiated an unravelling of sorts. Why couldn't the Fed and Treasury just produce more "magic" money to provide adequate healthcare for the general populace? There are many endless questions of that genre which could be asked by any of the myriad wage slaves and rank-and-file peons. As more and more of the general populace awake from their stupor and realize what has happened, the likelihood of anarchy increases exponentially. In other words, we will move from a financially structured (i.e., ordered) society to one of rampant entropy.

I woke up fairly early this morning. The first of my chores was to wash my Nissan® Frontier truck. Upon completion of the latter, I drove to Koko Head park in Hawai'i Kai. I found shaded parking under a group of trees. My intention was to send an hour waxing my truck. Unfortunately, the deed consumed two hours. I had to spend one hour alone on just the right side of the truck. That's the side that was vandalized by one of the side street homeowners with his Weedwhacker. I literally had to scrub off the grass particles that were fused to the paint. I used an wet old sock as a scrubbing pad. While doing so, I noticed an infinite number of chips in the paints. The asshole had made sure that all the rocks and gravel flew against the side of the truck. My renewed interest in revenge, however, was short-lived.

When I finished the task at 12:30pm, I immediately drove to Koko Marina. I found shaded parking. I walked to the gym. Given that the gym was closing at 2pm, I could only settle on completing just my cardio workout. The highlight of my gym experience was when I found a full bottle of Dove® body wash (for babes) in the shower. Naturally, I had to procure it.

I shopped at Foodland for what would be my Thanksgiving Day dinner. I purchase a three-pack of Keoki's® Laulau along with a pint of Dove® ice cream for dessert. Then, I dropped by Kozo Sushi to purchase a Futomaki pack. I was back in Slob Manor (read: rental housing) by 3pm, just in time to perform the dreaded laundry chores.

Well, my Thanksgiving Day dinner was uneventful. I heated up the Keoki's® Laulau in the filthy Slob Manor microwave oven and consumed all three along with the Futomaki pack. To say that I was stuffed would be an understatement.

I am not sure what to make of Ubuntu Linux now that I have discovered a series of articles about the hard drive load cycle problem (for notebook computers). The supposed fix is logged in the Ubuntu Wiki. The problem, it seems, is that computers running Ubuntu may experience earlier hard drive failure because of excessive load cycle activity. Ironically, the cause is not Ubuntu, but the power management parameters established in the computer's BIOS. Did I really need this kind of grief now? Oh well, I might as enjoy the pint of Dove® ice cream now ... tomorrow is another day.

Imminent Collapse

I was on my way to Hawai'i Kai t 8:45am this morning in my Nissan® Frontier truck. Moms and I only made the rounds in Koko Marina ... Zippy's for lunch and grocery shopping at Foodland. For dessert, moms served up Best Yet® vanilla ice cream. Moms and I chatted until 1:30pm. Moms mentioned that I was invited to Thanksgiving Day dinner tomorrow, but I declined. No explanation required. Moms also gave me a package of Back to Nature® cashew nuts, a package of Hershey's® candy, half of one lamp-baked chicken, and a few religious magazines to read.

I spent only a few minutes in Koko Head Park. My solitude was disturbed by a group of people. I left immediately, found shaded parking in Koko Marina, walked to the gym, performed my usual workout, shopped at Foodland, and drove back to Slob Manor (read: rental housing). The evening? Same ol' shit.

Here's an interesting excerpt from an article titled, "Colossal Financial Collapse: The Truth behind the Citigroup Bank 'Nationalization'," by F. William Engdahl that appeared on the Global Research site:

Citigroup and the government have identified a pool of about $306 billion in troubled assets. Citigroup will absorb the first $29 billion in losses. After that, remaining losses will be split between Citigroup and the government, with the bank absorbing 10% and the government absorbing 90%. The US Treasury Department will use its $700 billion TARP or Troubled Asset Recovery Program bailout fund, to assume up to $5 billion of losses. If necessary, the Government’s Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) will bear the next $10 billion of losses. Beyond that, the Federal Reserve will guarantee any additional losses. The measures are without precedent in US financial history. It’s by no means certain they will salvage the dollar system.

The situation is so intertwined, with six US major banks holding the vast bulk of worldwide financial derivatives exposure, that the failure of a single major US financial institution could result in losses to the OTC derivatives market of $300-$400 billion, a new IMF working paper finds. What’s more, since such a failure would likely cause cascading failures of other institutions. Total global financial system losses could exceed another $1,500 billion according to an IMF study by Singh and Segoviano.

Might a suggest a good antacid as an appetizer before reading the entire article?

I refrained from going into a discourse about the empire of the damned (i.e., the United Fascist State of Empire) yesterday. I was too fatigued by the on-going events. In actuality, though, the dire economic straits has been on my mind constantly. In retrospect, I now realize that the Fed has been solely responsible for the "boom-bust" cycle that we have lived through in the past few decades or so. The current situation was the result of Alan Greenspan's easy money policies to stave off a recession after the bursting of the so-called "dot-com bubble" and the contrived "September 11th" event. The result was hyperinflation in the form of the so-called "housing bubble." Of course, not only housing prices went up. So did oil and other commodities. When the Fed attempted to decelerate the inflation by raising short-term interest rates to a paltry five percent, the cumulative effect of several serial "bubbles" popped simultaneously. A huge transfer of wealth took place, and a vacuum was left where there was once wealth.

We are still on the downhill slide of the collapse of empire. We are experiencing a pseudo-deflationary effect, with a possible overshoot past the bottom because of the speed at which the pseudo-deflation is unfolding. The stock market is also tracking the downward trend. As bank insolvency rose, the Treasury teamed up with the Fed and began frantically "printing" money and selling bonds to "pay" for the various bank bailouts. The bill for the taxpayers has not yet arrived. It is my belief that the Fed's brief interest rate experiment (i.e., raising short-term rates) proved that the empire's economy cannot survive with cheap money. It's the magic of compound interest returning as "blowback." The Fed must have foreseen the problem a few years ago when it ceased publishing its M3 data. Right now, the Fed is injecting so much money into the "system" that it is bound to overshoot in the other direction. In other words, within six month, we should see an extreme rebound in hyperinflation along with a weaker dollar. Oil prices will go up for sure. I believe that I was too optimistic in thinking that at least one more "bubble" would be possible. I'm afraid that the start of the next "bubble" will the beginning of the end. The Fed will soon lower short-term interest rates to zero percent. That, my friends, will be permanent. The Fed will not be able to raise those rate one iota because the collapse will come about even sooner.

Food prices, of course, have not gone down. That's the premise upon which I base my assessment of the pseudo-deflation-ism. When hyperinflation kicks back in, food prices will rise even higher. I'm afraid that we are heading into the realm of pain and suffering that I have often spoken about in reference to the secular Apocalypse. Well, that's what I am alluding to here. We are at the forefront of the secular Apocalypse.

Unix or Eunuchs Revisited

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day was thrown in the recycle bin of eternity. Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary occurred. I had to deal with myriad satanic gargoyles as usual. No surprise there. I was back at Slob Manor by 5pm.

My evening will be occupied by Ubuntu Linux on my Toshiba® Satellite notebook computer. Well, actually, there is no need to piddle around with Ubuntu. It seems to work adequately. I am, however, not satisfied with its multimedia capabilities, or should I say, hindrances. As far as I can tell, that's the major drawback of Linux. The competing operating systems, on the other hand, excel at multimedia tasks. In this day and age, that's what a computer is primarily used for.

I have decided to stick it out with Ubuntu v8.04.1 LTS (aka "Hardy Heron") for the time being. The software repositories are out-of-date. However, I fail to see why I need the latest version number of a given piece of software. Right now, most of of the "Hardy" software is archaic. I am tired of chasing the elusive "state-of-the-art." Yes, the multimedia functions leave a lot to be desired. I had thought about returning to the Apple® fold. Then, I noticed a lot of Apple® snobs popping up everywhere. No thanks. Well, at least the computer nonsense keeps me distracted from the reality of the Fascist empire. Sheesh!

Bailout Bamboozlement (Reprise)

Another Monday found moms and I gallivanting around Hawai'i Kai in my Nissan® Frontier truck. We made the usual rounds ... Longs® in Kuapa Kai and Foodland in Koko Marina. We ate lunch at Loco Moco. For dessert, moms served Best Yet® vanilla ice cream. I chatted with moms until 1:30pm.

I spent a little time at Koko Head Park. Then, I drove back to Koko Marina, found shaded parking, walked to the gym, performed my usual workout, shopped at Foodland, and drove back to Slob Manor (read: rental housing). I neglected to mention that I completed the dreaded laundry chores yesterday, so I had nothing pressing to do upon my arrival.

Well, Citi® received quite a deal in the eleventh hour, eh? Here's an interesting tidbit from Bloomberg News:

The U.S. government is prepared to provide more than $7.76 trillion on behalf of American taxpayers after guaranteeing $306 billion of Citigroup Inc. debt yesterday. The pledges, amounting to half the value of everything produced in the nation last year, are intended to rescue the financial system after the credit markets seized up 15 months ago.

The unprecedented pledge of funds includes $3.18 trillion already tapped by financial institutions in the biggest response to an economic emergency since the New Deal of the 1930s, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The commitment dwarfs the plan approved by lawmakers, the Treasury Department’s $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. Federal Reserve lending last week was 1,900 times the weekly average for the three years before the crisis (Emphasis mine).

Were you sitting down when you read that? $7.76 trillion! I suggest the procurement of a big-ass bottle of cheap vino before reading the entire article. Welcome to the United Fascist States of Empire (UFSE).

Warm Front

Another urban nomad kind-of-a-Sunday basked itself under the warm sun. There was no hint of rain. And, there was no hint of the hottie gym trainer. Because of the nice weather, my itinerary was expedited. I was on my way back to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) on the bus at 1:30pm. I did not want to arrive at the dump that early, so I stopped off at Foodland in the Aina Haina Shopping Center. I purchased a pint of Dove® ice cream. I sat at the bus stop and enjoyed the rich dessert while I waited for the next bus to arrive. I have determined that ice cream is my preferred dessert, especially on a hot day.

Well, Barack Obama intends to jolt the stock market to life before his inauguration by presenting a "hope and change" plan for the economy. Claiming that his plan will "create or save 2.5 million jobs" while cutting taxes and increasing government spending, he has gone ventured beyond "hope and change" into an unknown hallucinatory reality. Spending money on archaic infrastructure at the dawn of Peak Oil makes no sense. And, cutting taxes while increasing spending is exactly what the Shrub administration has done over the past eight years. Now, with a $1 trillion budget deficit looming, Obama wants to spend more. And, another clue that we are in for more of the same is Obama's refusal to shut down the Department of Homeland Security. Just the Nazi-like moniker of the agency makes me shudder. I would not hold my breath while waiting for the repeal of the USA-PATRIOT and Military Commissions Acts either. And, let's not even get started on the two wars of aggression being waged simultaneously by the empire.

I am extremely curious about the future concerning the "Big Three" 4000-pound motorized chair (read: automobile) manufacturer, especially in view of Peak Oil. Yes, we know that oil has fell to $50 per barrel. However, the price of oil in the commodities market has nothing to do with Peak Oil. It is purely a supply-and-demand issue relying upon a quota-based system. Saving the "Big Three" while spending more money on roads and bridges makes no sense. It's a dead-end street, so to speak. That's what I meant when I said that the empire in an economic conundrum. In the meantime, Citi® is ready to go under.

What we need to see is real change, which will require the retooling of the entire global economy. We need a new paradigm, and one not based on endless fossil fuel consumption. Now, with the (s)election of Barack Obama, we can expect to see more "Band-Aid®" policies to patch up the "system" in order to bring it back on-line just like the good ol' days. Well, my friends, the good ol' days are long gone.

Well, according to the Feedjit® Live Feed, the majority of visitors to the "blog" are in search of babe images, particularly that of Lindsay Meadows. Excellent choice, by the way!

Cold Front

The rain commenced sometime during the wee hours of the morning. The rain was still coming down fairly hard when I departed for town this morning. There's nothing like standing at the bus stop in the rain. Another urban nomad kind-of-a-day was soggy but manageable.

A real downpour ensued while I was sitting in the inner courtyard of the library. Last year, I endured the rainy season with a T-shirt, boardshorts, and slippers (read: slippahs). I am so happy that I purchased my NordicTrack® hooded fleece top (read: sweatshirt). The rain let up just before I departed for the gym. Thus, I was able to perform my usual workout. The weather had cleared up by the time I exited the gym. After a non-descript ride on the bus, I was back at Slob Manor (read: rental housing) before 5pm.

Last night, the air was still and the ambient temperature was fairly warm. Tonight, there is a stiff cold breeze (i.e., cold front), which I sense is a precursor for more rain. I will, of course, be stationed in my squalid room with my Toshiba® Satellite notebook computer. Perhaps the evening calls for more hurdy-gurdy "torrent" downloading, eh?

Time Passes (Reprise)

I found myself at Kahala Mall at 8:30am this morning. I walked to the dentist office to inquire about an appointment. To my surprise, I was scheduled immediately. The upper tooth was ground down a little more. All seems good now. I shopped for a couple of sundries at Longs®. Then, I spent some time in the Barnes & Noble® Café. I perused a couple of Linux magazines and noted feature stories about DreamLinux and OpenSolaris, both of which seem to be better alternatives to Ubuntu.

I looked around the mall briefly. Tiring quickly of the benign activity, I sat outside to wait for moms. Within a few minutes, moms arrived. We ate lunch at Pearl's Korean Barbeque. Then, we were off to Foodland in Koko Marina. Later, moms served Foremost® coffee ice cream for dessert. I chatted with moms until 1:30pm.

I spent sometime at Koko Head Park before finally returning to Koko Marina. I performed my usual workout at the gym. I treated myself to dinner at Taco Bell®. Then, I shopped for groceries at Foodland before driving my Nissan® Frontier truck back to Slob Manor (read: rental housing). Incidentally, the landlord had notified me that I can no longer park in the spot that I had chosen in the driveway. I must park along the West wall, of which there is no space available. Pat, the landlord, indicated that a couple of the other cars need to go. However, that's not going to happen. So, my truck is back out on the side street.

Well, here it is, just three weeks after the (s)election, and doubt about Barack Obama's "hope and change" revolution have surfaced amongst some of the so-called "mainstream" and "progressive" punditry. Finally, after observing the resurrection of the same old slimeballs and political hacks from the past into Obama's cabinet, they are realizing that they have seen this bad sitcom before. However, a large percentage of the empire's populace are still in denial. Wait until January 20th, they insist. That's when "hope and change" will come tearing out of the corner, ready to fight for the "little guy." Baha! Ha! Ha! Haaa! I am so glad that I do not watch the tube. Only after divesting myself of that malignant activity did I remove myself from the spell of propaganda.