Severe cold discovery: The Phlegm Diet™® is quite nutritious, but the flavor profile isn’t quite five star quality. Maybe 1/8 star. . . Texture? Well, if you like raw oysters. . . it’s a little less appealing than that.
Is It just Me?
Yeh, it’s probably just me. *heh*
Lil hitches in a sci-fi (or really, any) story stand out when the rest is well-written (especially if it’s “hard” sci-fi, which must meet a stricter standard for suspension of disbelief). Here’s a marginal blip: in order to “blend in,” a Chicom operative orders a cheese pizza. . . and eats it. The thing is, while lactose intolerance among those of northern European ancestry has generally been around 5%, among the Chinese, especially the Han, it’s around 90%. A cheese pizza just doesn’t seem normal. To me, that would stand out, not blend in.
*shrugs* My Wonder Woman chides me sometimes about being a bit too detail oriented, so maybe this is just an idiosyncratic problem.
The Right Tool for the Job
You have one knife on your person. Good for you. Two is better. Three is better still. More, if you want to have self-defense options that include edged tools/weapons. No, really. Close range knife “fights” mean BOTH will be wounded. If not defending against a firearm, ranged knife defense – practice throwing knives? Sure – can be an exceptionally effective option.
Note: knife wounds are more likely to result in fatalities, so make absolutely certain you cannot remove yourself from danger without seriously wounding an aggressor.
Aside from self-defense options, knives are pretty close to being the ultimate “frustration-free packaging” tools, among many, many other uses, and the right knife for the job can make a big difference.
CMS Apocalypse?
Premise of a fiction series.
FORTUNATELY, I read the author’s intro before committing to the series that might have had potential for having some interesting information gleaned through some storytelling. But, given one sentence early on, I was able to avoid further brain-damaging text. Whoever edited the book missed a gross mismatch between a plural noun and a singular pronoun. A further glance down the page and, yep: grammar being sucked like dead bunnies through a straw. I ain’t got time fer that. 😉
I’ll add to my infopack on CMSes and EMPs with info from elsewhere, TYVM.
Nopers. Not for Me.
Saw a posting for what is quite likely an otherwise worthwhile event, but even if I were to desire to attend, I could not, because I have a firm policy against exclusion of knives (and by extension ANY exclusion of items that can be used for self-defense, because such is an inherent right). And, guess what? The venue not only excludes ALL knives (no matter size, design, or purpose) but excludes a lot of other things that, well, only Koolaid drinkers would approve of.
Yeh, I don’t fly, either (and I’d have to to make the event. Or rather, I will not, because Thugs Standing Around are just Security Kabuki, laced with cover for Official Thievery. Sure, it limits some of my options, but not any that are really important.
Obfuscation, a PERSEC Device
PERSEC, INFOSEC, even OPSEC: fields to consider when using one’s Internet-connected computation devices (including phones). VPNs, TOR browsing, defeat of various tracking methods etc., are some standard tools, but do not underestimate sowing disinformation.
For one small example, Amazon has a record of ~8,500 books I have “bought” for my Kindles. Of course, MOST of those are freebies, and an [undisclosed] number of those are books I have absolutely no interest in at all (though I do fake having read ’em by “jumping” on through til I reach the end). This ensures that Amazon will keep pitching books to me that I have no interest in reading, demonstrating the company’s lack of true knowledge of my interest areas. (I do download a lot of PD books elsewhere while in TOR sessions, though.)
That’s just an example. There are others. It cheers my heart whenever a company sends my junk mail addresses emails touting things that “will interest me” demonstrating that a particular set of disinformation has taken root.
And now you get to wonder what part(s) of this post is(are) disinformation. . . 🙂
Needed More Fiber
This is the largest fossilized human turd ever found
“The hefty deposit, measuring 8? x 2? (20 cm by 5 cm), was found beneath the site of the famous bank [Lloyds]in 1972. . .”
Hefty? *meh* Maybe by weight, since it’s fossilized. (warning: may be TMI) 8”x2” isn’t much at all. Mine are regularly 12” (or longer) “floaters” of a diameter easily 50% larger than 2”. Maybe I should “fossilize” a personal “floater” and put it up for auction. . .
It’s Only Words. . .
During my childhood and youth, the family dictionary was a two-volume set of 8”×10”×3.5” small print books absolutely full of fascinating reading.
And so I read them voraciously. I still read dictionaries for fun, although some of my collection of dictionaries may be closer to encyclopedias (like my 20-volume set of Groves).
And yet. . . I sometimes find myself lacking the words to describe the depth and breadth of stupidity I see. . . everywhere. . . including, at times, in the mirror.
Post Hoc Fallacy? Not Exactly
I injured my left hand ~10 months ago. Recovery is slow (and may never be complete *shrugs*). Still only have ~80% grip strength – on a good day – and fingers still swollen (wedding ring still does not comfortably fit ring finger), but. . . after massaging some salicylic acid solution and DMSO into hand, better pain relief and a wee tad less swelling. Maybe the pain relief is just in my head, though. Placebo effect can be strong, I suppose.
Still keeping the hand exercises up and wearing the compression glove, but this seems to have effected more progress than all the other nine months’ measures have. We;ll see.
How to Survive the Coming Zombie Apocalypse
Note that when I use the term “zombie” I am referring to auto-lobotomized “mass-man,” the kind of person for whom the DummieBowl, celebrity shenanigans, and “news” from the Mass MEdia Podpeople Hivemind are MUCH more important than. . . reality.
So, how to survive?
Embrace the “prepper” lifestyle.
Condition Yellow: constant.
OODA Loop your daily life, and aim to stay inside “the enemy’s” OODA Loop.
And most importantly, learn how to really pray. (The catch is committing to being on GOD’S side, not trying to manipulate Him into being on your side.)
The way things are going, it’s the way to bet.