April 2021

I listening to this dribble and I wonder how could people have been so stupid? It is a tragic confirmation that people are so desperate to belong to something greater than themselves they are ready to flush their lives down the toilet. The more things change, the more they stay the same.



"Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities."
~Voltaire

My small sound application system and high B Native American flute from Blue Bear Flutes are on the way. I will have them later this afternoon. So it begins La Vita Nuova.

Joe Collins, a Navy veteran who ran against Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., in November argues that she is 'very dangerous' and her actions and rhetoric are 'absolutely irresponsible.'

I'm glad I am not the only one who thinks Maxine Waters went off the deep end.


Video

Maxine Waters urges Minnesota protesters to 'stay on the street' if Chauvin acquitted in Floyd case

U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., showed up at an anti-police brutality protest in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on Saturday evening, saying demonstrators needed to "stay on the street," demanding justice until police reform becomes a reality.

Asked about the Derek Chauvin murder trial in Minneapolis, Waters told reporters if the former police officer isn't found guilty of murdering George Floyd, "We've got to stay on the street and we've got to get more active, we've got to get more confrontational. We've got to make sure that they know that we mean business."

So, U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., what is the message here? You are urging people to burn Brooklyn Center to the ground if you don't get what you want? Laws are fine as long as they don't interfere with our personal agendas? This Black Lives Matter Movement has been nothing but a shame. If a White person says, "Blacks should not be destroying personal property, selling dope, stealing and robbing whom ever and when ever they feel like it", that makes the White a person racist? I am tired of these deamnds that you better do what we tell you to do or we will attack you.

We don't need any more hate here in the mid-West. Rep. Maxine Waters, you need to pack your bags and go back to California where you belong.

I respect Doctor Anthony Fauci. He stood up to Trump when everyone else pretended to agree with his ridiculous COVID-19 rantings.

He told people not to inhale Lysol after President Trump said it might be a good idea. He told people hydroxychloroquine was not a "game-changer" after Trump told people it was a magic bullet. He told people this virus was a threat while Trump told the Nation it wasn't any different than the common flu. Fauci told us the danger was real while Trump said it was "fake news." Trump treated Fauci like a fool but the man stood his ground while others threw their dignity and commom sense into the garbage can. Those who were bullied by Trump and supported his nonsense paid a price. Deborah Birx's reputation took a blow, among others.

I know there are conspiracy stories out there that say he is a devil. Some people believe he is part of a global cabal of satanist hell bent on creating death and destruction. This act will increase their power and control over the human race. What better way to control the human race than create disease that will cull the herd? There is no denying this pandemic has put unimaginable wealth and power into the hands of a very few people. Plagues have always been an opportunity to grab power and consolidate control throughout human history. This is not a new phenomena.

About the picture. This picture of Fauci is over the top. He might as well be wearing a cape and sporting a superman logo on his white coat; Doctor Anthony Fauci fighting for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. I am not inspired or impressed with this Madison Avenue publicity stunt.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) is a poster child. He is the face of the New Order of Ignorance that has a death grip on the brain pan of America. We see this ignorance on display everyday you log onto the WWW, or turn on the television set. Men and women of adult age in positions of authority wear badgers of immaturity with pride. They spread ignorance and fear. The main delivery vehicle used is the digital technology once called "the information super highway." This miracle technology was supposed to being enlightenment and prosperity. It has brought us neither. It has brought us Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and a host of other social media platforms that spread brain rot. The potential to achieve the vision this technology promised is possible, but it will take great effort. It will take moral character. The future of what social media platforms will bring was on display January 6, 2020. The world watched goons living in a world of make believe posting their pictures and uploading video to these social media platforms. The world watched children throwing temper tantrums.

This heated exchange between Jordan and Fauci is a prime example
of where the information super highway has take us.

*Note

I am going to refrain from eating. I need to drop 12 pounds of fat and replace this with a couple pounds of muscle mass. A new flute and sound system from Bluebear Flutes has been shipped. I should have them by this coming Tuesday. I did some exercise last week. I woke up the next morning feeling like a truck had run over me. I mentioned this before. I just can not believe it happened. I am pulling my head out from my ass before my brain dies from consumption. I have to accept where I am. I have to accept what it is going to take to get where I belong, once and for all. I think it is going to take the rest of my life. I have no one to blame but myself. I have always been my own worst enemy. For what it is worth, there is Time to Blog! I realize it is not a great achievement, but it is mine. The people I have known since I started it don't know it exists. I don't talk about. It is for you, the reader of the future. I think perspective will make it worth something. It isn't anything to write home about. People at this present moment in time do not wish to achieve Enlightenment, or Think very hard. My judgment is harsh, but it is difficult to think otherwise. I am afloat on a sea of stupidity. People have nothing better to do than to drag you down into an abyss of darkness.

Back to full strength. I felt sluggish all day yesterday, the same way after the first Moderna shot. From what people were saying, my body tolerated this vaccination well. I believe all the years I forced my own immune system to work on it's own did the trick. I do not plan on getting any type of booster in the future. I wear a mask. I sanitize my hands with alcohol. If I end up in the hospital, I will deal with it.

The Community Health Center I joined is pushing me to take prescription medication for high blood pressure and high cholesterol. They were quick to mention my bad cholesterol was high. It always has been. My good cholesterol brings me back into equilibrium, and some. When I got my second shot the other day, my blood pressure was checked. It was 40 points lower. I don't trust these people. This is a shame, but that is par for the course. There is a reason I haven't been to a doctor in 35 years. I question their motivations. Clinics and Health Centers and doing the bidding of the Pharmaceutical Industry. They are quick to push pills and slow to explore other ways to heal and promote better health. The only reason I went to this place was to get the vaccination. I didn't want to get this done at some corner drug store, or some other assembly line distribution center. Now that I am fully vaccinated, I will go about my business. It would be a blessing not see another doctor again, ever.

I have hit bottom. I promised myself I was not going to find myself in this situation again, but here I am. The light at the end of the tunnel is nothing more than a faint flicker of desperation. I have no money or real prospects of accumulating it. I flushed that opportunity down the toilet like yesterday's shit wipe. I have no friends. The ones I thought I had have proven otherwise. The only prospect I have for income is busking this coming summer, if the virus does not close Dubuque down. I have to make money from sports betting on MLB. Both are long shots. I have to really take stock of what the hell I am doing, or I am going to end up homeless.

I was looking at a post I made 10 years ago. It may as well have been a post I made yesterday. The physical damage of having four concussions before the age of five has taken a toll on my brain. There is no question. The emotional damage of being starved and tortured from birth till age 14, when I left home for good, was frosting on the cake. I am not capable of doing things I thought I would be. I have been butting heads with trying to convince myself I was able to do things and the truth is, I am not. There is no shame here. The question is, where do I go from here?

I still love looking at programming code and trying to learn more about it. That doesn't mean I am seeking a career in IT. I still love the UNIX/Linux operating system, but that doesn't mean it has to lead to a job administering a server. I could, but it isn't in the cards. I don't have the time. I could still teach the basics of how to use a Linux computer. This isn't a pipe dream that I am not capable of doing.

Playing my Native American Flute and my harmonica is something I can do. I don't have to play the harmonica like John Popper, Adam Gussow, or Jason Ricci. I only have to play what I feel. I can do that. I am not R. Carlos Nakai. I can learn from him. I only have to play the music that the flute will teach me. I only have to listen. I can do this.

I got the second Moderna COVID-19 vaccination this morning. I feel OK, so far. My arm is sore.
Will see how things go tomorrow.

I lived in Brookly Center, Minnesota for five years (1985 to 1990).
I enjoyed it. Brooklyn Center was a nice place to live back then. I don't know what the circumstances are like now. The initial reports about this traffic stop point to an overwhelming desire by police officers to take any opportunity they can to kill someone, anyone.

Dozens of stores looted after deadly police shooting in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.

A large police presence remains outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department Monday morning after clashes between police and protesters overnight following a deadly police shooting. The area remains littered with debris, including anti-police graffiti and the remnants of non-lethal rounds used to try and control the crowds. Dozens of stores near Shingle Creek Parkway were looted overnight night, many of them the same businesses that are covering from the riots after George Floyd’s death last year. There were also reports of looting in other cities including stores along Lake Street in Minneapolis.

I do not condone rioting as a response. People don't give a rat's ass about anyone but themselves. This is the way things are in the USA, and probably to a larger extent, the rest of the world. What is happening in Brooklyn Center, and what happened this past summer in Minneapolis is just an excuse to fill pockets with free merchandise. The Mayor is giving thugs and criminals the green light to ransack this city.

"We will continue to support the peaceful gathering of members of our community to hold space ... "
* Mayor Mike Elliott *

So Mayor, what is happening in your city is a peaceful gathering?
Listening to you speak in the video tells me what side your bread is buttered on.


Video

*Extra
A few moments ago, I was watching a news conference live from Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. The police department is being crucified. Due process doesn't apply to White people. The police officer involved in this shooting was called "a cop killer" by some Black woman reporter. This might be the case, but it is unacceptable for a member of the press to spread hate. It is unprofessional for any member of the press to use their position as a reporter as a personal platform to push a political viewpoint, period. When you have a job to do, you do the job you are being paid to do. This Black woman is not being paid to push the Black Lives Matter mantra ... "kill whitey, kill whitey, kill whitey." She should be terminated. She needs to find a different job; one where it is OK for her to lash out at people and throw temper tantrums

So, glorifying mentally ill drug addicts is being lauded as art. Isn't that wonderful?

Musical guest Kid Cudi wowed on "Saturday Night Live" in a spaghetti-strap floral dress for his performance of "Sad People." During his performance of "Tequila Shots" on the show, he wore a rumpled green cardigan with a T-shirt featuring a photo of the late "SNL" cast member Chris Farley. The sweater and dress appeared to be a homage to Kurt Cobain, who notably wore a cardigan during Nirvana's MTV Unplugged concert in 1993 and a floral dress on a cover of the now-defunct Brit magazine "The Face" that same year.

It has been 666 days since I walked away from the Diamond Jo Casino, bringing to an end my career as a table games dealer in the gaming business. It wasn't all bad but it wasn't a dream job by any stretch of the imagination. My lack of focus never produced the clarity required to formulate the purpose necessary. If I have any regrets, it is that I came to this realization at such a late moment in the span that is my life.

It isn't too late to re-invent myself. The energy of youth is no longer in my toolbox. It isn't going to be a cake walk. I did some physical training a few days ago, and the pain in my left hip hasn't stopped. The only way out of the physical mess I find myself in is to work through the pain. I remember 25 years ago I was in pain all the time, but I worked through it. I gave a damn then. I better get my mind set to the reality that I will most likely be in some physical pain till I throw off this mortal coil.

I am at the mercy of my own wit to create an income stream now that I will never work for anyone, or any corporation again. I know what I have to do. I am not going to go into the details, but I know it is possible. I fear the remainder of 2021 is going to be much the same as 2020. If things do open up financially, they might be shut down again due to the further spread of this COVID plague. That isn't going to help things. I will approach this one day at a time. I refuse to sum up my life in terms of the dollars I could be sitting on. I do feel regret for not having taken advantage of the crypto opportunity I saw coming 10 years ago. $250,000 would certainly have made my life easier. I blew it. I have to live with this knowledge. This doesn't mean my life is worthless. It isn't. It never has been. I have lived a life few people would belive possible. Money had nothing to do with any of the things I have seen or the people I have met, or the things I have learned. This is who I really am. Now, I must take this experience to the final level. I need another 25 years. I don't know if this is in the cards.

"For what it's worth ... it's never too late, or in my case too early, to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit. Start whenever you want. You can change or stay the same. There are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you've never felt before. I hope you meet people who have a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of, and if you're not, I hope you have the courage to start over again."     F. Scott Fitzgerald

I like the sound of that.

I also like Geraldo Rivera calling out self righteous nonsense for what it is; bullshit. According to Black people on the news these days, if you are not an African American, you don't know squat about poverty or injustice. If you are White, you are a racist. No question about it. If a Black person says something and you disagree with it, that PROVES you are a racist and you are the product of a culture that is rotten to the very core a.k.a systemic racism. You think I am making this up? Ask Sharon Osbourne what happens when a White person disagrees with a Black person. You get crucified.

*Note


Thomas Woodard          Michael Dutcher

ANAMOSA, Iowa -- Two inmates at Anamosa State Penitentiary are now facing multiple charges, including first-degree murder, attempted murder and kidnapping after two staff members were killed during an attack Tuesday morning, March 23rd. Investigators say correctional officers Lorena Schulte and Robert McFarland were attacked with hammers and died of blunt force trauma.

The scum of the Earth are everywhere, including Iowa.

A life remembered: Dubuque man bet on his high rolling success.
John George, 78, of Dubuque, died on March 20 at Dubuque Specialty Care.
He is pictured at the Diamond Jo Casino in 1999.

The article details how his love of gambling degenerated into a serious problem that destroyed his life. I have buried myself in debt because of chasing the 'big win' of a promised or a percieved $5 slot payoff that never came. My life hasn't been destroyed, but I certainly have put a dent in it. I see examples of how serious it can be to have a slot monkey on your back, and I am grateful I have enough common sense to walk away from the one armed bandit. I know the slots are rigged to suck every last nickle you own. It is a fool's game to think you can beat the odds. This man was sick. He boasted of his winnings and ignored his loses. Living in denial is a horrible way to live. Glorifying this man's life as an adventure is a tragedy.

I did not turn my television on this morning and it is still off. I am bound and determined to leave it off. I do not need to watch the news. I can read about the shit hitting the fan on the WWW. I remember NOT watching television for seven years. I was better off.

I made an attempt to exercise this morning. It was a feeble display of vitality, but the effort was made. I know I am not in the shape I thought I was. I have been living in denial and it is time to rise from this slumber. I have been saying, "the truth isn't always pretty." I have to live by what I say. If I am not able to do this, that makes me a hypocrite. I will endure the physical pain. This way, I can look myself in the mirror. I don't like what I am seeing these days to begin with. It is possible to rectify this situation. It is going to take time. Time is something I do not have an abundance of, but I will work with what I have. I have zero options.

I am learning to play the Native American Flute. I will also get down to playing my harmonica again. I am still going around in circles looking at programming languages. I find ZERO praise of shell scripting as a first language. I think it is time for me to get down to business and master this. I can take it from there if I decide to tackle C, Perl, or Ada in depth.

My goal for April is to sit here and spend zero dollars. I have plenty of things to keep me busy. MLB has to be a source of income. Baseball is a market, not any different than the Futures Exchange, FOREX, or the stock/bond market. The key is to eliminate greed from the equation. April is going to be MLB research and data processing with AWK. I am in DEEP on the credit card. This was a mistake. I have to get my act together, or I will lose my present standard of living. That would be a bad thing. I can manage, if I stay focused on what I have and where I am going.

Things could be worse. I could be Derek Chauvin waiting to get my ass tossed into a dungeon for the rest of my life. People must wake up in the morning and decide they want to flush their lives down the toilet. I can find no other explanation as to why this man killed a person in broad daylight. He didn't even try to hide what he was doing. He knew he was on video and that the entire world would see it. I don't think his mind is right. He threw his life away over a worthless piece of garbage called George Floyd.

*Note

Dubuque listed among Most Dangerous as COVID cases continue to rise in Iowa.
The Dubuque metro area has been listed among the Most Dangerous in America as COVID cases continue to rise in Dubuque County. As of Mar. 30, there were over 13,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus per 100,000 Dubuque residents, the 17th highest rate of all 383 metro areas with available data.

Nationals-Mets Opening Day Delayed by COVID-19.
Major League Baseball announced that Thursday's scheduled game between the Washington Nationals and the New York Mets at Nationals Park has been postponed as a result of positive tests on the Nationals' side.

Son of a bitch! I am finding conflicting and vauge reporting on how effective the present vaccinations are against the newer variants. The World Health Organization reported ...

The COVID-19 vaccines that are currently in development or have been approved are expected to provide at least some protection against new virus variants because these vaccines elicit a broad immune response involving a range of antibodies and cells. Therefore, changes or mutations in the virus should not make vaccines completely ineffective.