On-Line Hermit (Reprise)

To my surprise, the downtown gym is undergoing some kind of renovation. The entire first floor has been completely routed except for the front desk. Needless to say, the hottie gym trainer had to spend all of her time downstairs in the main gym area to facilitate her training sessions. Baby was looking mighty fine as usual. That hottie gym trainer is something else, isn't she?

As you can imagine, I followed a hectic itinerary before returning to Slob Manor (read: rental housing). You can follow me on Twitter®. Really? No, not really. No Twitter® crap here. In fact, I have been successfully terminating many useless on-line accounts. Why risk a security breach? In fact, I am really trying to wind-down everything, although I have mixed feelings about the "blog." If there any changes to the latter, there will be advance notice.

Ubuntu Linux "Karmic Koala" (v9.10) is running fine on my Toshiba® Satellite notebook computer. I have placed a moratorium on system updates. Currently, there are quite a few updates in the queue. I will be switching to "Lucid Lynx" (v10.04 LTS) in three months, so there's no need to bother.

Civilization

The ridiculous routine that I call the "urban nomad kind-of-a-day" continues unabated. I have too much time to engage in retrospection. I've been looking back at my pathetic life and wondering why I wasted so much time engaged in foolery. Why wasn't I able to commit to the monk life-style from early on? Instead, I performed my own personal version of the Hegelian Dialectic for decades. In fact, all of humanity has been engaged in the Hegelian Dialectic since the beginning of "civilization."

From what I can tell, the construct of civilization is flawed. Hence, the perpetual battle between "Thesis" and "Antithesis." The designers of civilization expected the final result to be a stable "Synthesis," a kind of "New World Order." In the Modified Hegelian Dialectic, the final result is a chaotic "Synthesis," which attempts to approach "Gestalt." I began to understand the concept when I commenced reading Chris Hedges' book, "War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning," at the library. However, the book was too psychologically painful to continue reading, so I set it aside. Mind you, the book unintentionally supplements the controversial "Report from Iron Mountain."

War is not the only anomaly of civilization. There are languages, cultures, traditions, beliefs, social classes, religions, polity, and so forth which contribute to the grand societal diaspora. Where and when did humans go wrong? I simply do not know. Societies continue to remake themselves, only to be torn down again and again. Within the framework of civilization itself, there are intricacies that make no sense except to create division. Why bother with constructing vast societies if their internal components are too volatile to compress?

So, I switched to reading Wendy Kaminer's book, "Sleeping with Extra-Terrestrials: The Rise of Irrationalism and Perils of Piety." Seems to be an interesting commentary. Perhaps it will contribute to discussion of the Modified Hegelian Dialectic, eh?

Triage

I neglected to mention that I had a few minor social interactions yesterday. One of the few senior citizens who works out at the gym managed to introduce himself. Alex is the only person who takes to time to chat, probably because he is retired and in no hurry to be anywhere. I'm not sure of his ethnicity, but he visits France every six months. He has a son who lives there. He also has a son who lives here in Hawai'i. His accent is clearly not French, though. I also had a brief chat with Justin, one of the trainer (and a former student of mine at the Diploma Mill). He just turned 26 years old. From what he was telling me, he seems to be going through "Quarter-life Crisis." Finally, Mark was on the same bus in the afternoon. We had an interesting chat, although nothing new was discussed.

My visit to Hawai'i Kai was routine. Moms and I ate another greasy lunch at Zippy's. Later moms served, chocolate cake with Foremost® coffee ice cream.

In the last couple of days, I may have seemed to contradict myself in the "blog." On the one hand, I claim that there is currently an attempt to re-inflate the "serial bubble" economy. On the other hand, I stated that the rank-and-file have been robbed and abandoned. There is no contradiction. Consider the vast pyramidal financial structure of "American" society. The lowest levels of the pyramid are the rabble that are being abandoned. As the economy continues to collapse, victims from successively higher levels are subsumed by the "system."

There is concurrently an effort to save the upper levels of the pyramid by re-inflating the "serial bubble" economy. The first "bubble" in the stock market will happen only if the Dow approaches 20,000 or more. A stock market "bubble" is insufficient to sustain another fake boom, so the subsequent "bubble" must again occur in real estate. If the latter effort fails, then even more levels of the pyramid will be subsumed by the "system."

History tends to repeat itself because of the stupidity of the masses. The purpose of the "serial bubble" economy is to make people (those who are still solvent) feel "rich." Then, they will begin consuming and incurring debt to consume even more, whether it be useless crap or houses. Mind you, the next burst of the "bubble" will be even deeper and more protracted than the last one.

What is happening right now is normally called "triage." When either the empire's economy collapses or the symptoms are abated to stop the bloodletting, then the recovery will proceed without those who were decimated in the lower levels. The corporate sector of the empire is invoking contingencies that will reinstate a new status quo of infinite growth regardless of the casualties. That's why we keep hearing about "emerging markets." That kind of mumbo-jumbo is only meaningful for people with tremendous amounts of money and resources. The rest of us would do well to get out while we can.

Gestalt

The quality of the urban nomad routine is not improving. Rather, it is degenerating. Essentially, I have fulfilled what little purpose that I had for myself. Now, I am locked in a quagmire essentially created by the beasts of empire. Who knew that it would come to this?

What is really happening is a modification of the so-called "Hegelian Dialectic":

Thesis + Antithesis = Synthesis ==> Gestalt

The ol' lavahead, the urban nomad routine ... simply a microcosm of the aggregate dynamic processes at play in the grand theater (i.e, macrocosm). I really have no idea about what is going on anymore. I continue to read as many non-"mainstream" sources daily. Yet, there is a major incongruence between what is reported and what I actually observe. I have often touched on this matter in the "blog."

There is something strange going on in the empire, that's for sure. With a record number of its citizens incarcerated (2.3 million) or unemployed (30 million-plus), there is an alleged economic recovery in progress. The recovery is being facilitated even though the crash of the real estate "bubble" has yet to be curtailed. From what I can tell, there is something much larger and more nefarious than the "shadow economy" emerging. The moneychangers and powers-that-be have succeeded in removing the rank-and-file peons completely from the equation. The latter no longer exists, at least on paper. Or, maybe we've been buried alive under the tons of useless fiat currency produced by Ben "Handjob" Bernanke and the Fed.

What it amounts to is simply this: a good dosage of economic "shock therapy" à la Naomi Klein has been forced upon the masses. The rank-and-file peons were robbed blind and are now being left out to rot. The empire is moving on without them. There's just a matter of time before the soon-to-be scavengers will be pruned from the population using "compassionate" eugenics. One need only ponder the Modified Hegelian Dialectic to understand.

Angst

Last night, I succeeded in burning a one-hour audio CD with a selected Deep House Cat mix using GnomeBaker. I was able to play the CD using the CD player in my Nissan® Frontier truck while I drove to Kahala Mall this morning. Although GnomeBaker has received some bad reviews for being so antiquated, it completed the task at hand as opposed to the extremely troublesome Brasero. Doesn't functionality matter the most?

Well, I definitely enjoyed my two-hour visit at Barnes & Noble®. There's nothing comparable to sipping coffee and perusing the same old Linux magazines in the café. That's the kind of fun we have on library "furlough days."

After I returned from town on the bus, I drove all the way to Safeway® in Kuapa Kai, only to discover that the few items on my grocery list were out of stock. So, I had to drive to Foodland in Koko Marina and subject myself to the usual customer abuse. In a couple of weeks, the newly remodeled Foodland in the Aina Haina Shopping Center is supposed to reopen. Wheee!

Well, now that Ben "Handjob" Bernanke has been assured of his reappointment to chair the Fed, the stock market ticked upward. As long as "Handjob" is chairman, there will be free money (i.e., zero percent interest rate) available indefinitely. I still stand by my prognosis that the Fed intends to re-inflate the serial "bubble" economy. First, another equity "bubble" to restore the rank-and-file 401(k) and pension fund accounts in order to boost consumer confidence. Then, with the accompanying asset price inflation, the housing "bubble" should re-inflate. If the plan doesn't work, we'll all be in deep shit.

In the meantime, Obama gave his little "State of the Onion" speech in which he stated, "I won't quit." Quit what? His job? When did he start? Is he feeling some pressure? Perhaps he should use "Tricky Dick" Nixon's quote, "I'm not a crook," instead. Sheesh!

Power

When I departed Slob Manor (read: rental housing) this morning, I noticed that everything except the dilapidated rice cooker was gone from the stack of crap that I had put out yesterday for the bulk trash pick-up. The scavengers were at it again. I may put more stuff out tomorrow.

At the library, I completed the reading of Jim Marrs' book, "Rule By Secrecy." The final and most anticipated chapter concerning the "Ancient Mysteries" was somewhat disappointing. Marrs places heavy reliance upon the Sumerian tablets that were deciphered by Zechariah Sitchin. The main point is that the human race was allegedly created by the extraterrestrials through genetic manipulation. Human were bio-engineered to be slaves. To make a long story short, the extraterrestrials ended up establishing human civilization and specifically placed certain bloodlines in power. The latter bloodlines continue through modern times.

Compare the preceding concept to David Icke's thesis concerning the shape-shifting reptilian extraterrestrials (SSREs) as discussed in the "blog" of December 2nd of last year. Icke had also placed some loose reliance on the Sumerian tablets. However, the bloodlines in Icke's case are the SSREs themselves.

I am really at a loss to commit to either schools of thought. However, there is no question that ultimate power is consolidated within a small handful of families. I have tried to imagine myself as one of those privileged elite. Obviously, being a pauper severely limits my imagination. I can, however, envision what efforts must be taken to safeguard that power ... secrecy, nepotism, inbreeding. No option can be too secure, I suppose.

I am also not at all certain whether I can place much credence in the Sumarian tablets. There are no other alternatives, though, since humans have managed to destroy much of their legacy through wars and crusades. Vast libraries, books, parchments, scrolls ... all gone. And lost with them are the oral traditions and the "Ancient Mysteries." That is, of course, if we do not believe what both Marrs and Icke contend. Both authors seem to believe that the "Ancient Mysteries" have been protected and passed along through the upper echelons of secret societies. And, who comprises the upper echelon? The power elite (i.e., moneychangers and powers-that-be)!

Creation

Before I departed for Hawai'i Kai this morning, I discovered that half of the junk that I put outside for the bulk trash pick-up was gone. Apparently, scavengers made off with the loot. Well, I suppose that's much better than putting the crap in a landfill. Moms and I ate lunch at Panda Express®, by the way. Later, moms served Foremost® coffee and vanilla ice cream for dessert.

Sometimes I wish that moms would get out of that religious cult that is her church. Fortunately, it's a passive cult at best. What I don't understand is how the entire cult spends so much time reading and studying the Scriptures, but yet none of them can identify any of the problems and anachronisms that I found in one simple reading. Then, there is the matter of the history of the cult, which has been tainted by its often eccentric leaders and its much publicized failures to predict the end times. I no longer read the religious literature that moms gives me. I peruse them quickly, just to note the repetitive nature of the subjects. The "society," as it calls itself, has been printing the same old thing over and over again for decades.

I am still a follower of the Creation paradigm. However, as I stated in the "blog" of August 15th and September 3rd of last year, the Creator is not the same entity as God (of Judaism, Christianity, Paulinity, and Islam). The trouble with discussing Creation is that everyone associates the term with the usual religious mumbo-jumbo. I am not at all certain whether the Creator is all-seeing, and all-knowing. I do not even know whether the Creator is able to transcend time. Empirically speaking, we can see the entire Creation as part of a learning curve. There is perfection in the life cycles on the planet, although there is no permanence. The entire physical universe was designed to exist for a finite period of time. Hence, physical lifeforms will follow suit. Such a limitation does not suggest imperfection. It's merely the intent of design.

I have many more thoughts on the subject, but I will elucidate them. No one reads the "blog" anyway, so I would simply be wasting my time. I must briefly mention that I have also been re-evaluating my conception of the "good versus evil" paradigm. I am attempting to conceptualize a new framework based upon:

Thesis + Antithesis = Synthesis

Yes, I know that the model is known as the so-called "Hegelian Dialectic" (although Hegel is most likely not the original source). The fact of the matter is that humans were created with the ability to perform both "good" and "evil" acts, the basis of "free will." Had the Creator insisted upon perfection, then only "good" acts would have been chosen as the default. We are, of course, assuming that we have been given a moral compass to determine what is "good" and what is "evil." For truly, there exists morally reprehensible acts.

What exactly was the Creator's motive for allowing us to guide our own behavior? Is that part of the Creator's own learning curve? Or, does the composite of "good" and "evil" create "synthesis"? There are no apparent answers. The Creator has neither chosen to communicate with us or intervene in our affairs. Instead, we have been given only a finite amount of time to accomplish whatever we wish, and then we simply vanish. The fact that there is no immortal soul should give us a hint about what is our purpose for being.

When I returned to Slob Manor (read: rental housing) late this afternoon, I noticed that the bulk trash pick-up never happened. In fact, the entire adjoining neighborhood had trash lining the streets in anticipation. So, I found more crap to stack up on the existing pile.

For dinner, I purchased a bottle of Won Bok Kim Chee from Foodland. I ate almost half of the bottle. I can't say that it was much of a dinner, but it was delicious none-the-less.

Evolution

The highlight of the day was the extended perusal of the hottie gym trainer at the gym. Baby had two clients back-to-back, so she spent a lot of time in the weight room. Baby was looking hot, but we knew that already.

Which brings me to the topic of evolution, the theory of evolution to be exact. Take the hottie gym trainer, for example. There is no possible way that baby could have "evolved" from the ape world. One would think that, after my extensive religious research, I would be more eager to accept the "scientific" explanation. Let me just give a brief example to explain why I am not a believer in the theory. The reason that many life forms have eyes is because the latter "evolved" is what we are told. In other words, a sightless creature somehow found its internal organism desiring to see what it had never seen before. Neither the creature or its individual cells knew what it was missing, although it probably bumped into many different inanimate objects, which caused much pain. Therefore, over time, the organism somehow developed eyes. Mind you, it had never seen anything before, but it developed eyes to see. The scientific explanation is always the same ... it "evolved." Doesn't the phrase, "it evolved," sound almost like, "shit happens"? That's exactly why the theory of evolution requires as much or more faith than religion. End of story.

Incidentally, I reluctantly made the decision to clean the second-floor fridge and the sink in the kitchen downstairs at Slob Manor (read: rental housing). Both were so filthy that I was extremely afraid of contracting some kind of fatal disease by mere proximity. I also moved a lot of useless junk and decrepit small electric appliances outside for the bulk trash pick-up next week.

Finally, I have removed Brasero again from my Ubuntu "Karmic Koala" installation. I also uninstalled Rythmbox and replaced it with Exaile. Rhythmbox has a Brasero dependency. In place of Brasero, I now have antiquated GnomeBaker in its place.

Brevity Redux

I have made another milestone decision ... if the Route 1 bus to town is unbearably crowded, I will alight at the Foodland on Beretania Street and purchase a cup of coffee there. Then, I will wait for the next bus.

I am now vacillating about the decision to offer my Palm® TX a reprieve from divestiture. I have really developed a disdain for techno-gadgetry. I am not particularly fond of all of the cables, accessories, and battery chargers that must be kept to maintain gadgets. And, I am really annoyed by the continual need to charge a gadget's battery. For the latter reason alone, I may divest the Palm® TX as early as next week.

With the new policy of brevity (see "blog" of January 17th), I find that there is nothing else to discuss.

Goosestep to a Fascist Beat (Reprise)

Last night, I attempted to copy the new Deep House Cat mix to the SD® Card for my Palm® TX. The simple operation froze my entire Gnome® desktop including the mouse cursor. After hard rebooting Ubuntu, and attempting the operation again, I discovered that the freeze actually only lasted about 30 seconds. I was able to copy the file, or so I thought. Curiously, the SD® Card unmounted itself during the process. Upon playback, I discovered that only a fraction of the file had transferred.

I was quite perturbed because my Palm® TX was rendered useless at that point. I can no longer access the Slob Manor (read: rental housing) wireless network because the Palm® TX does not even recognize the signal. And, without the capability to copy files to the SD® Card, my Palm® TX will no longer be able to serve as a music player.

So, while moms and I was making the rounds in Hawai'i Kai this morning in my Nissan® Frontier truck, I found a box to pack the Palm® TX and all of its associated components. Yes, I was ready to divest it. Moms and I ate lunch at Zippy's, by the way. Later, moms served Foremost® coffee and vanilla ice cream for dessert.

This evening, I attempted to copy the file again three times, although the SD® Card did not unmount itself. On the final attempt, the file successfully copied over. I then noticed that all activity on the desktop became jerky in motion. Even after unmounting the SD® Card, there was no change. I had to restart my Toshiba® Satellite notebook computer. Well, at least my Palm® TX has earned a reprieve from divestiture.

Well, another day in the Fascist empire, another goosestep toward repression. The Supremos have really outdid themselves this time, haven't they? Corporations are now entitled to the same rights of speech and political advocacy as individuals. Can you say, "Fascism"? Of course, there is a slight chance that Ben Bernanke will be removed from his post at the Fed, although the token act is merely a farce. More "good cop, bad cop" stuff, I'm afraid. We, the rank-and-file, are privy to that kind of cheesy theater when the moneychangers and powers-that-be decide that they must bamboozle us. In other words, if Big Ben goes down, then he will be the "sacrificial lamb." Oh, I am already beginning to yawn from the same old histrionics. Can't these fools come up with some new programming? Heck, they have enough money. Or, perhaps they just believe that we are too stupid to know the difference. On second thought, maybe they are correct in the latter assumption.