Random Thought of the Day

People who are opposed to early voting (mostly seems to be Republicans) should probably consider that the middle non-affiliated with a party people are probably just looking at the question of do I want more options on a day to choose to vote, or just one?

I think the majority just see the convenience of multiple days. So, I don't think there's much hope it will ever go the other way very often.

One party + the middle will probably always be a majority, regardless of the issue.

Plus as I get older, it's going to be harder and harder to tote dead voters down to the polls, and I may need the extra days. 3 bodies in a wheelbarrow is as much as I can handle.

It was my birthday. And as I sat and reflected on my 35th year of life, I realized that I had completely and utterly f#$%ed it right to hell and back. Not the sort of f#$%ing that was irreparable or otherwise permanent, but in a way that has seriously put into peril my remaining 35yrs. You ever look back in your life and identify "turning points"? Certain decisions or moments that did irreversibly alter your path to the end? I have, and I found some. Not little stupid s#$%, but serious WOW moments where you can physically see the blinker come on and you head a certain way, never to look back.

I was doing this when the miraculous happened. I identified that I am in one right now. RIGHT NOW! I am in one of those moments, and by "turning points" I don't mean some obscure s#$% like 'oh, if I'd just driven a little faster I would've hit / missed that deer', but I am in one of those moments where a decision, and indeed a lack of decision, will shape the rest of my future. I am at a point where what I do will tremendously and irreversibly change who am I as a person for the rest of my life. AND I REALIZE IT. What power! Is this the benefit from rigorous reflection for the last 20 years? Is this my payoff for such diligence in my spiritual life? Is it not like unlocking some door you were never even meant to find, let alone manipulate? What a boon I have created, what bounty lies just ahead of my view!

I sat there, here, actually, and reflected on all those rah-rah speeches I've slung over the years. About how my current s#$% situation is, in all likelihood, a semi-difficult but easily attainable repair that has be scoured by a f#$%-ton of self-defeat and pessimism. In other words, it's the same "I am my own worst" all over again, and all I really need do is f#$%ing stop it. This miraculous thing that is happening, and really all I need do is every time I go to cuss myself out (which I do minimum 157 times a day), is just say "Hey. Stop. You got this s#$%." Literally just do that, even if I don't believe it, because I DO know it. And something big, big as a GD savior, is mine for the taking.

"36. I said it at 35 and f#$% me, it went on the whole year... (stop it)... right... but 36. The journey of 1,000mi begins with but a step, and 35 you just f#$%ing sat. Just walk, kid. It's literally as easy as that. No big revelations, no impossible acts, just f#$%ing walk. Walk, before sitting f#$%ing kills you (just do it). And you know you can. You did it before, and in way worse shape (but the kid...) (stop it) Look! Look how you feel already. You ain't TALKED to yourself AT ALL. That dead space in your chest... it's been but 3min, and doesn't already now feel like it's sprouting life? (but the...) (stop it. You. Got. This.) Feel it? Miss it, huh? And you just made that happen, pulled it from nothing, and all you did is, hey, be a fucking human and kinda sorta like yourself. Can you like yourself? Is that so hard? Now think about this thing, this turning point. You're going into it just as you are. Do it or do not, it's happening anyway. But you know you should, you know you can, and you know the hell you face if here you are, aware, and you let the f#$%ing thing slide right by you and took the path you were given, as opposed to the one you want (yeah). 36. No, f#$% 36. Just do. And be f#$%ing happy."

I go off during these talks. Don't even realize I'm having them, I'm just... off. On another plane. It usually takes something to snap me out of it. It's like coming out of a dream. Like you're so into this reality, then it starts to break and fade, and then you come back but you're still not ALL back, and then you're really back. Just like a dream. And as I came back, in the "back but still not ALL back" stage, I saw that I was smiling, and I did have a quite unfamiliar little glam of happy inside me. It felt good. It brought relief. In a word, it was nice.

Oh, what brought me back to reality?

I shit my pants.

Hello, 36.

Back in my grade school days, you would hear about guys going off to join the French Foreign Legion. I had no idea how that connected in America, but it was just a description some guy tossing everything he knew and was comfortable in to get away, seek adventure. (I guess)

Did the board quit working for anyone other than Paco and me recently?

I just had a long talk with my 89-year-old sister of my grandmother. She has a memory better than mine. She talks more coherently than I do. She has a better outlook on life than I do. The great majority of people I see at that age have a quality of life that I would not want. Of course due to my job I see those often at the very end of their lives. It was refreshing to see that an 89-year-old can have an excellent quality of life. It gives me hope for the future!

Yeah, the board quit working for a while.

I figure Face's last post in this thread did it.

Happy birthday. Or maybe just Birthday.

Quote: rxwine

Back in my grade school days, you would hear about guys going off to join the French Foreign Legion. I had no idea how that connected in America, but it was just a description some guy tossing everything he knew and was comfortable in to get away, seek adventure. (I guess)

You ever see the doc on it? Some guy entered and they followed in on the process. That's some serious s#$% right there, and a very interesting watch.

You're Google savvy. Look it up. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Quote: Dalex64

Yeah, the board quit working for a while.

I figure Face's last post in this thread did it.

Happy birthday. Or maybe just Birthday.

So disappointed. I thought it was funny; guess you had to be there. And apologies for the unedited cussin', looks like I missed a bit in my gradually increasing intoxicated state.

I at least laughed at your offer. I can't wait to wish someone "Birthday" XD

I got a DVR recently. Although I have no premium channels, I found that if I speak an actor's name in the voice recognition, it will find all the movies that person was in showing on the hundred or so channels and record all of them when they come on.

Then they are all ready for me to watch or delete. Even though I don't get the most recent movies I get just about anything after a few years from its release.

Pretty handy. May even save money. Plenty of movies I still haven't seen.

Funny thing with the DVR revolution is that [in my own case] there was no DVR to buy but a choice to make what kind of service to have from the TV service. First it was directTV and now it is Dish

Once before this, before we moved, I actually went in to buy a DVR and the guy looked at me like I had two heads. He said everybody just 'gets it' from the cable company, he was kind of snide about it. Suggested you have no choice, weird, but I guess they didn't even try to sell them. But I can tell from your post I might like having a separate component; it's like the cable and satellite people pounced on this and are getting people to make the wrong choice to benefit themselves. I can tell you the inertia has set in though, I am quite unlikely to change now.

Love having DVR though. It's one of those modern things where you just can. not. go. back. I won't watch anything without building up what I call "blow-through". This includes sports, I watch everything without seeing any commercials - takes me a little over an hour to see a game too. Every play if I want. Other people look at me funny - they can't stand being separated from the immediacy, they say, when it comes to sports. I have to tell you that completely mystifies me. With DVR you can start watching without the program being finished, you knucklehead*, all you need is some "blow-through"

*I feel like saying