shai

It does get annoying. What bums me out is that I didn't really want to stop drinking, but I've been going through intermittent health problems because of it for the past couple months...I was taking a week off every month for a while to keep things in check but that turned into a reason to go on a three day bender whenever I picked it up again. I know I'm prone to alcoholism, I've never denied that. But I've always had the willpower to hang it up as needed whenever I wanted. Lately I just found myself making excuses that worked, but in the end they were just excuses...and it really started messing with my health. I don't know what's going to happen next, I'd like to think that I'll be able to drink again someday more socially but it's looking more and more like that's not in the cards.

The one you don't remember? Or the one where you don't remember the good parts but have perfect recall of the bad ones.

Lasted a week, partied for almost a week straight (Xmas to NYE), which kicked my ass for a week. Back at a week off as of today, half of which was spent laid up in bed...again, no set plans, but if a one for one trade is gonna be the end result of me partying then I'm not so sure it's worth it.

My friend just got a new laptop, and she asked me to help set it up but didn't mention that it came with W8. So even though I rarely use Windows and avoid modern interfaces (too distracting) W8 didn't confound me in the same way that OSX did at first...but it's a pretty big metaphor shift for MS. I figured out the ribbon well enough to get by and the start screen did what it needed to do...the learning curve was tolerable, especially if you use anything with a touch screen and/or cover flow (iPhone and XMBC come to mind). Since it wasn't a touch screen, I turned off the corners/gestures so things would stop zooming around but didn't tweak anything about the interface besides that (and that was only so I could get things done). The terminal (DOS) seems the same aside from adding a "sudo" feature (elevated command prompt), which was long overdue but at this point seems like another example of MS adding something everyone else has had since the 80s (i.e. mounting ISOs, disk imaging, virtual desktops, etc...if you're talking about a root account, it's really more like the 60s but hey). You may not like it, but based on everything else I've seen out there it looks like this is the direction the user interface is headed in....and for once, MS got a pretty solid jump on almost everyone with W8.

I do too, but because I don't have private security I have to rely on the cops...since 2008 half of the cops in my city have been laid off, and I'm not sure how much I trust the ones who are left. But instead of buying guns I rely on goodwill and so far it's done me pretty well. I also don't live in fear of my surroundings even though I live in a somewhat shady neighborhood. On a side note, I would like to see what would happen if all the folks who felt they needed security one day decided to live like everybody else....I'm pretty sure that after a while the novelty would wear off for everyone concerned. Say what you will about the guy but I think Michael Moore nailed it in "Bowling For Columbine." If the media didn't use fear as a sales tool (and arguably a means of indirect social control) we would have a much healthier society. And that's just for starters. By the way I should add that I am for gun ownership as long as it's within reason. I believe that taking away the right to own guns (I know, that's not the point but work with me) in the US would solve about as much as not taking them away but with some potentially unexpected results...so even if it seems dumb to you, I am not about to cosign anyone abrogating or denying me any more rights, thank you very much.

We already have those, they´re called ¨Cops¨ and as it turns out they aren´t exactly infallible....I´m not sure if I would want another 100,000 of them running around. I´m sorry to hear about your friend....unfortunately, I don´t think we´re going to learn what we need to learn this time around, or the next time this happens. The US as a society is too good at avoidance to confront the real issues, like ¨what are we doing that causes people to snap and start shooting into groups of other people more than anywhere else in the civilized world?¨

^ I used to work around the corner from there. RIP...seems like he was just here even though it´s been years since I last saw him around the Bay.

I think having cops/metal detectors/guns in public schools simply reveals their true purpose, so depending on where you stand on things like full disclosure... Since parents don´t want to admit that public education is part of the problem, they´re going to have to put up with militarized campuses until they get serious about how (and what) their kids are being taught.

As of Tuesday I´m on hiatus till the beginning of the year...no real reason and no definite plans, just seeing what comes of it between now and then.

These are good, but take a little getting used to- I rode platforms with no clips for the past year, and didn't have too many problems....the only time it got hairy was when I was wearing worn-out shoes in the rain, which sucks no matter what. Even though I finally put clips and straps on a month ago, I only use them when I'm climbing or in heavy traffic.

I don't have a camera on my laptop so that's not an issue with me. And if I'm not sober I won't participate...I feel like that's reasonable.

Maybe an online meeting via something like Tinychat? Even though I don't embrace temperance like most of you I think that's a pretty cool idea. I would probably check it out just to see what it was like.

I've mentioned this before, but 90% of the problems that I go through with booze/drugs are with other people and how they deal with their intake. My drinking/etc. has been kind of a mixed bag lately. There are times where what I do applies to the situation, but sometimes it feels like I'm just doing it because I don't know what else to do....which is totally not true on one hand but I tend to do what works in the moment and not let the details concern me. Needless to say my depression and anxiety are not helping with this, but I'm still not at the point where I want to try medication again. Getting closer, though.

Abusei- sorry to hear about that.

Plus they leave cool soot marks on the ceiling...ideally they're meant to be used outside.

I posted this elsewhere a few months ago meaning to post it here....better late than never, I guess- Bacon Lantern AKA DIY Tiki Torch Clean and dry an old tin can (think beans, not beer) and cut the top off. Then get a piece of corrugated cardboard and roll it up till it's about the same diameter as the inside of the can. Stuff it on in there and cut it flush with the top. Once that's assembled, take some bacon grease and heat it up till it's liquid again. Pour it in the center of the cardboard-stuffed can, but don't overfill it. You can use it right away or wait till the grease cools. It takes a minute to get started, but once it does it will burn well for hours. I don't have a working camera with me right now, so imagine a can stuffed with oily cardboard with a flame on top and you'll be pretty close. Postscript #1- You don't have to use bacon grease...any fat or oil that solidifies as it cools will work fine. Corrugated cardboard is necessary, however. Postscript #2- I have a camera now, but no lantern. So it goes.

Let me know if you want to meet up while you're in town.

It's somewhere between 5-10 times stronger by weight and is much more readily assimilated into the body than morphine, which is why it's considerably more dangerous. If you drink and don't have any kind of tolerance to opiates it can kill you first time out the gate, so in my opinion the tradeoff for what it does is definitely not worth it. If this were a different thread, I'd say "If you have to get high on something stick to weed." But since this isn't really the place to be advocating that kind of behavior, I'll say "Try exercise or yoga, they work well too!" and feel kind of dumb, but it's not like it's the first time I've felt that way. Either way, harm reduction is important. If people had been straight with me when I was younger, I wouldn't have had to learn things the hard way, keep risky behavior secret, or deal with a bunch of unnecessary shame...if I can help someone avoid that, I will. In other news...I've been drinking way less and eating somewhat better. I'm about to go live on a commune for part of the summer, so I'm going to try to make the best of that and avoid binge drinking (which is sort of a tradition there) as much as possible. Good to see that most of you are doing well. Keep it up.

I met a friend of Anthony's recently at a party....he broke the ice by getting on my case for I having a Hickey patch on my sweater, but once we got to talking he realized we knew a lot of the same people (besides Hickey). At some point graffiti came up and he asked me if I had ever met KIDS. I said, "Yeah, when I lived with Shelley Skelley (RIP) he stayed with us for a few days...nice guy, gave me some good advice along with some cattle pens." He gave me a look, then pulled a brand new box of black cattle pens out of his bag and said "I was gonna give these to someone else but he couldn't make it...you should have them." So now I have a year's supply of cattle pens. Well, maybe half a year since I gave some out...either way, thanks, Brad! KIDS is still going strong here in Oakland...he did a LOT of drip tags in 2004 but his characters and streaks are getting harder to find.

I wouldn't recommend it.

If anyone plans to be in Oakland/Berkeley on a Friday night, they should PM me...I know about a spot that will blow your mind.

XC on drops with a suspension fork? That had to be the late 80s.

I weigh about that and have been riding a mountain bike for a few months. I rode a touring bike for years but recently made the switch and it's way more comfortable...I think if you're 200+ 26" wheels are the way to go, and you can definitely find something comparable to that Marin (if not better). I see nice MTB stuff going for dirt cheap all the time because everyone wants a track bike. Speaking of which (kind of)...I know this is going to sound like I'm late to the party, but why are people obsessed with looking like bike messengers when there's practically no messenger jobs left? I suppose it's better than everyone dressing like commuters or racers, but I've seen some people go way over the top to the point where when I ask them "Where do you work?" they turn out to be web designers or yoga instructors and have never done a delivery in their lives. Huh, could have fooled me. To me this is a completely separate issue from the fixed gear/shoulder bag fad. These are people going out of their way to look like the real deal...makes me wish I had kept all that junk from when I was a messenger, I could have made some money selling it on eBay to kids in Iowa.

Walking around the Haight last night definitely cooled me on the idea of going out to a bar. I'm not even sure I could have gotten into one had I wanted to. I recently got free from a stressful living situation so I've been feeling a lot better in that department....I'm looking forward to traveling and not being tied to obligations for a little while.