Rather smarmy title, hm?
Well, I have discovered that the Interweb has slowed down quite considerably. First, it was my Amazon Prime feed that consistently began to buffer. Meaning it would stop playing whatever show I was watching and turn into a revolving circle. Again and again and again.
I thought that it was just Prime effing up on me. Now, my Netflix account is showing the same symptoms. Seizing up and showing that incessant rotating circle. Especially, when I am at a very interesting spot in the show I was trying to view.
Bleh. Yes, it is truly the start of end of daze. If I canna watch the mindless offerings of online claptrap, well... the end is truly near! My isolationist ways have been predicated upon my access to the Internet and its gratuitous offerings of escapism from the humdrum. I mean, heck, even my browser of choice, Chrome, is now taking like *forever* to load!
- - - Do note, "forever" is a relative term. Back in my C64 time, if a program took more that 4 minutes to load, it was SLOW! Thus, more than 30 seconds today is eternal!! - - -
As of today, 16 April 2020, my Youtube viewership has yet to lag or buffer. But. BUT!!! Since Prime began its slow down and now Netflix is lagging, well.... Wait!
Maybe those powers greater than me have decided to throttle their feed to force me to upgrade my connectivity and pay MORE $$$!!!
Dastardly buggers! Taking advantage of poor shmucks like me to line their pockets! hehe... but no, I am not saying that! Well, not exactly. I mean, if a drug store in TO can stoop to tripling the price of sanitizing wipes, hey, ISPs can do the same. Eh? (My ISP is TekSavvy and I have been very happy with the service they provide)
Oops!! Perhaps I spoke too soon! I just had a banner flash on top of my screen stating that the quick save of my blog could not be made... or something like that. So... conspiracy theorists out there, gimme your thoughts!
Keep The Faith*
2020/04/16
2020/04/14
Another Year
28 years ago, 14
April 1992 (and it was a Tuesday!), I realized that the lie I was living was no
longer working. Being in recovery for the previous 3+ years, it was wrong for
me to lie to those I knew & loved about my clean time.
I had relapsed in January '92, a couple of months after Bernie died. I kept using in the ensuing time, making sure that I did not pick anything up on Tuesdays since that was my home group night. Silly me, but I rationalized my actions by thinking that if anyone asked if I was still clean, I could *truthfully* say "Yes! Just for today!!"
Tuesday 14 April 1992 would have been Bernie's 30th birthday. Today, naturally, would have been her 58th. I decided that April 14 was as good a day as any other to truly get clean and put myself completely into a program of recovery from active addiction.
Thus, here I be. Clean. Somewhat sane. 28 years along. It's been a bumpy ride, but that is life for you, for me! I'm glad to be here, even if my body sometimes says WTF??!! I'm a wee bit sad that I can't go to a face-to-face meeting in these COVID mania daze. Still, I plan to attend an online meeting of the group I was going to go to before pandemania.
Life is good!
Keep The Faith*
I had relapsed in January '92, a couple of months after Bernie died. I kept using in the ensuing time, making sure that I did not pick anything up on Tuesdays since that was my home group night. Silly me, but I rationalized my actions by thinking that if anyone asked if I was still clean, I could *truthfully* say "Yes! Just for today!!"
Tuesday 14 April 1992 would have been Bernie's 30th birthday. Today, naturally, would have been her 58th. I decided that April 14 was as good a day as any other to truly get clean and put myself completely into a program of recovery from active addiction.
Thus, here I be. Clean. Somewhat sane. 28 years along. It's been a bumpy ride, but that is life for you, for me! I'm glad to be here, even if my body sometimes says WTF??!! I'm a wee bit sad that I can't go to a face-to-face meeting in these COVID mania daze. Still, I plan to attend an online meeting of the group I was going to go to before pandemania.
Life is good!
Keep The Faith*
2020/04/09
Outdoor Foraging
My last post talked about the current mania over COVID19. At the end, I mentioned the possibility of my going out to hunt and harvest wild game. Squirrels, rabbits and the like.
I read an article from MeatEater about how outdoor folk are a bit better prepared to weather isolation from society. It talked about how they can, and do, stock up on wild forage. Not just meats, but plant based stuff like mushrooms, fiddle-heads, etc.
What got me thinking was fishing. Even as I plan my video excursions for my Youtube channel, "Fishing Ottawa with Greybeard", and this self-isolate brouhaha going on, I think back to times I fished Deschenes Lookout along the Western Parkway (now called the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway).
I remember seeing families fishing there. Mom, pop, 3 or 4 or more kids... all fishing and keeping every damned fish they caught. From 4" sunfish or channel catfish to out of season musky, they kept it all. Not only that, but bugged other fisher-folk for their catches. It makes me think that local fisheries are going to very hard hit from people who may try to take advantage of a slow to renew resource.
Me, I still plan to do my spring catfish trips, as I do almost every year. For meat, not for fun. I never catch & keep more than the law allows (12 channel cats max, either on hand and/or in the freezer). It allows me enough protein to last a year.
But, when I think back to those dimwits intentionally over-culling fish during plentiful times, well... I certainly hope that MNR officers will be out & about in the coming weeks to help protect this fishing resource from excessive human predation. I hope...
Keep The Faith*
I read an article from MeatEater about how outdoor folk are a bit better prepared to weather isolation from society. It talked about how they can, and do, stock up on wild forage. Not just meats, but plant based stuff like mushrooms, fiddle-heads, etc.
What got me thinking was fishing. Even as I plan my video excursions for my Youtube channel, "Fishing Ottawa with Greybeard", and this self-isolate brouhaha going on, I think back to times I fished Deschenes Lookout along the Western Parkway (now called the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway).
I remember seeing families fishing there. Mom, pop, 3 or 4 or more kids... all fishing and keeping every damned fish they caught. From 4" sunfish or channel catfish to out of season musky, they kept it all. Not only that, but bugged other fisher-folk for their catches. It makes me think that local fisheries are going to very hard hit from people who may try to take advantage of a slow to renew resource.
Me, I still plan to do my spring catfish trips, as I do almost every year. For meat, not for fun. I never catch & keep more than the law allows (12 channel cats max, either on hand and/or in the freezer). It allows me enough protein to last a year.
But, when I think back to those dimwits intentionally over-culling fish during plentiful times, well... I certainly hope that MNR officers will be out & about in the coming weeks to help protect this fishing resource from excessive human predation. I hope...
Keep The Faith*
2020/03/18
The End of Days
No, no, not really. I'm just poking fun at the doomsdayers out in web land. Yes, I am talking about the coronavirus pandemic, COVID19.
Almost all local meetings have been put on hold for the next few weeks, mostly thru the city closing their facilities. Meetings held in churches and the like have closed, also.
I find it to be a major knee-jerk reaction by higher up powers. To shut everything down, tell people to avoid outside contact, isolate, Isolate ISOLATE! Silly people. It is like they don't realize that even tho' folks may not come into contact with each other for the next, what? -- 4 to 6 weeks, that virus is still going to be out there when quarantine ends.
Me, I'd rather contract the bug, see if I survive and then move on. This virus has been equated to a flu virus. We all know how society handles that, with (yay) vaccines each year to maybe kinda sorta help people. Meaning, from my viewpoint, COVID19 will always be with us, but in mutated forms. To steal from most computer programs and apps, we'll have a COVID19.1 and a COVID19.6, etc.
I'm in a higher bracket for complications in this thing. Complications meaning death, being 60+ years old and being a Type 1 diabetic. Thus, even if I get thru this round, I'm still kinda frelled.
I suppose I'm somewhat blessed in one aspect. I am already a superb and experienced isolationist, so being separated from humanity won't be a big thing with this ol' boy. My only concern is getting my day-to-day necessities like food, toiletries, etc. Store stocks are being decimated by panic shopping. Maybe I could use all that hunt & trap knowledge I have gleaned thru Youtube and go out to harvest my own protein stuffs. Glazed rabbit? 🐇 Cajun fried squirrel? Baked squab? Frog's legs Florentine? 🐸
Anyhoo, I have my wunnerful kitty, Ricky, to keep me company and drive me nuts, so... All Is Good!!
Keep The Faith*
Almost all local meetings have been put on hold for the next few weeks, mostly thru the city closing their facilities. Meetings held in churches and the like have closed, also.
I find it to be a major knee-jerk reaction by higher up powers. To shut everything down, tell people to avoid outside contact, isolate, Isolate ISOLATE! Silly people. It is like they don't realize that even tho' folks may not come into contact with each other for the next, what? -- 4 to 6 weeks, that virus is still going to be out there when quarantine ends.
Me, I'd rather contract the bug, see if I survive and then move on. This virus has been equated to a flu virus. We all know how society handles that, with (yay) vaccines each year to maybe kinda sorta help people. Meaning, from my viewpoint, COVID19 will always be with us, but in mutated forms. To steal from most computer programs and apps, we'll have a COVID19.1 and a COVID19.6, etc.
I'm in a higher bracket for complications in this thing. Complications meaning death, being 60+ years old and being a Type 1 diabetic. Thus, even if I get thru this round, I'm still kinda frelled.
I suppose I'm somewhat blessed in one aspect. I am already a superb and experienced isolationist, so being separated from humanity won't be a big thing with this ol' boy. My only concern is getting my day-to-day necessities like food, toiletries, etc. Store stocks are being decimated by panic shopping. Maybe I could use all that hunt & trap knowledge I have gleaned thru Youtube and go out to harvest my own protein stuffs. Glazed rabbit? 🐇 Cajun fried squirrel? Baked squab? Frog's legs Florentine? 🐸
Anyhoo, I have my wunnerful kitty, Ricky, to keep me company and drive me nuts, so... All Is Good!!
Keep The Faith*
2020/03/04
An Irascible SOB
Yup, that I am, or can be most times.
Back in November of 2019, I received a notification from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) of a mini-audit of my tax return for 2018. It appears that they didn't believe how much rent I paid for that year and demanded proof.
Since I pay my rent online and have no cancelled cheques or official receipts, I was forced to download all my bank statements showing each month's rent payment. I sent out a package of paperwork at the beginning of December.
Yesterday, I got a reply. Three months later. All is well. The CRA accepted my proof and applied it to my 2018 return. A return I filed thirteen months ago.
Yadda. I had to smile at my irascibility when I read the letter I enclosed with the paperwork - right, and they returned the whole kit & kaboodle of papers I sent, which I now have to shred. Yadda. Here's the letter (with personal details blurred out:
Keep The Faith*
Back in November of 2019, I received a notification from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) of a mini-audit of my tax return for 2018. It appears that they didn't believe how much rent I paid for that year and demanded proof.
Since I pay my rent online and have no cancelled cheques or official receipts, I was forced to download all my bank statements showing each month's rent payment. I sent out a package of paperwork at the beginning of December.
Yesterday, I got a reply. Three months later. All is well. The CRA accepted my proof and applied it to my 2018 return. A return I filed thirteen months ago.
Yadda. I had to smile at my irascibility when I read the letter I enclosed with the paperwork - right, and they returned the whole kit & kaboodle of papers I sent, which I now have to shred. Yadda. Here's the letter (with personal details blurred out:
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