Look, this is just a blog.  I write with little regard for proper technique, or rules of grammar... i'm basically an untrained novice writer who started blogging as a form of therapy once the covid-era began, and my livelihood changed forever... i split up this web-site to have a section geared toward my political opinions and complaints, and another one for my philosophical and religious opinions, but this page is just the blog part... with that said--I write for my own mental-health, as history for my family, and for anyone else that cares to read... i like to consume information, process it for a bit, and regurgitate while connecting some useful patterns... and, i complain a lot, too... the Reader should understand that i'm a world-class complainer... respectfully yours, chris.

 February 2024
02-29-24:  it's still about zero-dark:thirty, but technically it's Thursday already... i had three decent-night sleeps in a row, so maybe i was about due for this... just noticed that yesterday's post is gone, the only thing left was the Deutch-garbble that auto-populates these stupid text-boxes... bummer... i'll make proper-use of this opportunity to say that it was brilliant... hee Hee HEE... like a fish-tale, the one that got away... anyways, bummer... i didn't write much yesterday, it was more of a reading, and consuming some heady-podcasts... you know, AWESOME!  i reached out to some friends, and did a chore or two also... but i do remember using the post to write some notes regarding some creative ideas that i really wasn't even thinking too much about... i remember about six of them, but wish i still had the notes to see what i'm probably missing... i remember:
  •  more ideas for small-group series... reconciling hypocrisies/paradoxes, reconciling health, reconciling...
  •  ideas for the paper i just started, but i think i moved the notes for that somewhere else (good grief!)
  •  notes for the auto-bio 'resume' project
  •  idea for a pod-cast, already told a brother enough about it that it'll all come back, it's still in it's infancy, so not much lost overnight
  •  idea to sell some of the book-projects
 ... dang it!  i only count five, but thought i'd remember six of them, but i came up short... were there more than five to begin with?  did i over-estimate my ability to recall information?   wait, my math was probably off a bit, i should really learn some math again--one of these days--i've forgotten much of the rules after the basic + - * / = < >, and i remember the 0 - 9 stuff too, but everything else is stuffed into that part of my noggin that is giving me grief these days... atrophy or something... whatever... math confused me when i had to learn new symbols... math was like learning new languages... hard, but, if i immersed myself in it eventually i'd understand, just need a good book, or some guidance to get started in the right-direction... but for now, it all seems to be gone, by way of the unicorn, the jack-a-lope, and big-foot... you can tell by my sentence-structure, and complete dis-regard for proper-punctuation, that my equations would probably get sloppy in a hurry... i could probably make my writing a bit more efficient, fancy, and proper if i started learning math, and rules, and that sort of stuff, but i don't feel the need to do everything perfectly anymore... i'd rather work on the theoretical stuff, and collaborate with detail-oriented folks to make it presentable, and to see what i might be missing, i'm sure that i have many blind-spots, and quite ignorant of a zillion things... and i'm content with that... for now :-)
 ... OK, enough babbling... let me go and write for a bit... cheers  --  ct

02-29-24 later:  didn't write much--i'm spent--just some of the ideas for a pod-cast, i wrote it at the very end of this post... and look at that, it's 04:46 now... i'm gonna see if i can catch another chunk of sleep, before the noisy-ladies arise from their slumber ;-)... God bless  --  ct

02-29-24 laterer:  maaan, i had a seven-to-one chance of projecting this month's 'pay-day' correctly, and i still got it wrong... Look, i don't know what's going on here -- you know -- between february and march, but those two need to get their crap together, because TODAY IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE FIRST... for crying out loud... yeah Yeah YEAH, that's right the leap-year caught me off-guard, so i'm broke for one more day... stupid february... a totally obscure name given to a painfully-dynamic chunk of time... no wonder life is so confusing...
 ... anyway, i put some ear-plugs in, and fell back into some sleep, and woke up around 8:30ish, so that was probably two more 90-min sleep-cycles... i'll praise God for those last hours of sleep, i may have gotten eight hours total, just broken up by an hour or two in between... it's still somewhat decent accumulative sleeping hours, but, Good-Grief, trying to wake-up this time seems to be a chore, a wicked-haaahd chore at that... got me a Black Rifle Coffee Company 'just black' in the mug, which is accompanied by the perfect sugar:half-n-half ratio, but my head is still in the cosmos/dream-land... got me some 'fog in the noggin' this fine bright, clear, windy morning, in Rockingham county... going to pour another mug... i'll try to catch-up to you alert and awake folks as quickly as i can, in the mean-time, i'll cover your six as i slowly plot-along  --  ct


02-29-24 laterer:  maaan, i had a seven-to-one chance of projecting this month's 'pay-day' correctly, and i still got it wrong... Look, i don't know what's going on here -- you know -- between february and march, but those two need to get their crap together, because TODAY IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE FIRST... for crying out loud... yeah Yeah YEAH, that's right the leap-year caught me off-guard, so i'm broke for one more day... stupid february... a totally obscure name given to a painfully-dynamic chunk of time... no wonder life is so confusing...
 ... anyway, i put some ear-plugs in, and fell back into some sleep, and woke up around 8:30ish, so that was probably two more 90-min sleep-cycles... i'll praise God for those last hours of sleep, i may have gotten eight hours total, just broken up by an hour or two in between... it's still somewhat decent accumulative sleeping hours, but, Good-Grief, trying to wake-up this time seems to be a chore, a wicked-haaahd chore at that... got me a Black Rifle Coffee Company 'just black' in the mug, which is accompanied by the perfect sugar:half-n-half ratio, but my head is still in the cosmos/dream-land... got me some 'fog in the noggin' this fine bright, clear, windy morning, in Rockingham county... going to pour another mug... i'll try to catch-up to you alert and awake folks as quickly as i can, in the mean-time, i'll cover your six as i slowly plot-along -- ct

02-29-24 later than before:  this frickin 'extra day' is kicking me arse, the leap-day is a wonderful way for western-man to reconcile time and space, but man, for the sake of calendar-consistency, and predicting one's 'pay-day'... ahhh, never mind... i'm just complaining... again.  --  ct
02-27-24:  feeling blessed today, spending a little time under the warm sun nourishes the soul.  --  ct
02-26-24:  here's the topic for a new paper, or, maybe it will get incorporated in one of the one's that i'm juggling... time will tell... 'reconciling experience, science, religion, and confusion, for navigating reality with efficiency' ... i dunno, probably something like that...
 ... it's totally preaching to myself, and working through some logic/understanding... but, when i had my first major spiritual epiphany... aka, 'come to Jesus moment', it had been my intention/goal to be a PCP/family-doctor, and had begun the initial steps of education to do so... i was struggling with many cognitive issues, which--in hind-sight--seemed to be rooted in unprocessed trauma, repetitive (re-enforcing/validation/brainwashing) negative statements equating to warped sense of self, which can greatly decrease odds of self-actualizing... there was some sort of beneficial-epiphany, along with a bi-polar reaction where my focus moved from physical, to spiritual... to a fault, hence the term bi-polarity... the faulty/uncalibrated-perspective left a gaping-hole, an open equation, a hypocrisy, a paradox which needed to be resolved... i'll go into further detail as this thought evolves into something which i can articulate in a better, more thorough post/article/whatever.  --  ct

02-26-24 later:  there's another topic that i want to explore, mostly because of the passion presented by both sides... 'self-actualization', i won't go very deep as it's just picking up some steam in my noggin's priorities... but the argument that i'm talking about goes something like this--and, it's more of a nature vs nurture argument--potential vs actual vs meta/God... if someone is born with limited processing/cognitive-function (which can still be nurture and genetics), they simply are incapable of self-actualizing because they are just too dumb, it's just shit-luck, and no fault of their own doing... i don't buy that argument, not one bit... it's my current 'opinion' that everyone has an allotted portion of processing-potential, are gifted a certain portion of resources to use, and have a potential of making the most of all of their gifts and resources to benefit which-ever size environment their potential dictated... in the end, maybe it's a bit like free-will:capacity:effort/resources... i dunno why i'm getting in this funky 'resolving paradoxes' but it seems that's where i'm going now... i just resolved one that those silly little triple-9 folks hold so dear to their noggins... i'm not interested in looking at the other paradoxes which must be solved to pass through their egotistically-imposed 'city-gates', but i'll tell you this much, this quick post explains 90-percent of one of them... it's all 'understanding, resources, and action'... it's about using what's available to us to make the biggest impact on humanity that we are capable of, and within the criteria of the equation of our perception of reality... self-actualizing requires an accurate perception of reality, utilizing a large portion of our body's, mind's, and soul's in order to make significant positive impact on creation... when any of those falter, we struggle to self-actualize... it's easy, right.  --  ct

02-26-24 laterer:  thank you... that's for an old friend that i hadn't seen, or heard from in decades... seems like they are supporting me on substack... i know they are financially-speaking, but reaaaally hope that they are spiritually/prayerfully as well... Thanks Sue, i appreciate the assets, but really want your prayer-support... most of my day-to-day needs are provided for, it's just the things that we didn't plan for--or, have enough to save for--that become set-backs... please support me in prayer if you aren't already doing so... my mind is becoming more clear every day, and now is the time to start producing enriching material... i'm getting some better vision for practical things that might help folks... i think i'm going to work on a small-group series, i think i have enough direction to start that new project soon... there are plenty of 'self-help' types of material out there, and they are probably all great, but i won't look at them until i can finish my own... within the last week i've had ideas for two more papers, and a longer-format teaching thinga-ma-bob... 'finding meaning', i think i did... and i might need to be locked in a cave for a week with my laptop... WAIT!  maybe with some Jack-Links and some decent coffee and beer too, don't want to be gnawing away on the notebook you know... it's sort of like one of those moments of clarity/direction, you knooow? ... HEY, don't look at me like that, you know what i mean! ... just need some time to start sorting through the thoughts; i got me a couple of white-boards and some new markers, so stay out of my way for a bit  :-)  --  ct
 02-24-24:  fell asleep without Rx after we got home from dinner last-night, got through one 90-min sleep-cycle... and now, here i am i'm typing... the bottle of melatonin is in one of the girl's bedrooms, and i'm not going fishing around in there after mid-night, i'll wake everyone up like a bull in the china-shop if i try... going back upstairs to try to sleep again... wish my body just knew how to do that like regular folks... i remain hopeful that it's still possible.  --  ct

02-24-24 much later:  eventually fell back asleep, and got about 5 more hours... what a treat... nice day of reading and writing, and doing all of the other stuff that i had to do... well, most of it... working on writing projects is higher priority than the stupid dirty-dishes... if you are the praying type, i'm soliciting prayer to sleep better, the ambian slows the same part of the brain that has put me in a partial chemical-induced lobotomy for about fifteen years, compliments of ssri's... so... even though it helps me get a good solid chunk of sleep, i'm not unconvinced that it isn't interfering with cognition, and memory... and who knows what else... soliciting prayer... g'night.  --  ct
02-23-24:  it's actually a few minutes before mid-night, so technically it's still yesterday, but i'm just going to act like it's a new day already, sooo, for the sake of the accuracy of the date-stamp that i opened this post with... let it be known that i dragged this part out long enough that it actually is past mid-night now, so it's accurate... and, none of that really matters, so i'll just quit before i make things any more awkward... right right right... moving right along then...
 ... this post will somehow be incorporated in the paper i'm working on... but this post could easily be it's own thing... it's basically notes from 'last-night's therapy'... maybe you'd call it 'self therapy'... i dunno... i'll let you decide... but, i should warn you before you read any further... i'm pretty certain that i'm still impaired to some degree... well, like i already said, you are plenty capable of deciding/judging things on your own...
 ... nothing about this was done via controlled/measured science-experiment like, that wasn't really the point... so, i'm not sure how much 'silly-cybin' i ingested, or, of which classification the fungi is considered... but i sort of knew what i was getting myself into... with that said, i consumed about three and a half grams of fungi that didn't have the dis-pleasure of sprouting out of cow-shit... they were grown in a mason-jar by a college-kid who found himself a pretty cool hobby, maybe it's paying for some of his books, too... still trying to find out which 'strain' (higher classification) it is, though... hold on, are you still wondering why i would do such a thing? That's probably a fare-question... so, let's back the truck up for a second, don't want to lose you this quickly, some folks can't manage to read this much information, because it isn't a meme, or, an Occam's razor-analysis (i'll eventually get to some, though)...
 ... so, if you are intelligent enough to maintain focus this long, but still wondering why a 'churchy type of guy' would consume some of God's gift to humanity... oh, wait... maybe you don't like the way that i just described 'shrooms', sorry... NOT-sorry!!! They do happen to be on the same planet as us... sooo, you know, there's that whole 'part of creation thing', and... i'm about to begin describing tangible therapeutic qualities of a naturally-derived fungi that our government still swears up and down and side-ways 'has zero therapeutic qualities', according to it's 'scheduling'... too many compromised fvcking clowns running the circus if you ask me, but no one did, sooo... moving right along...
 ... the whole paper i'm working on is about healing from trauma, in order to be more whole, complete, and effective--to be able to help heal others, so maybe you could call it something like a 'church-thing'... it's really much to do with that... grieving sucks, and it's exceedingly unhealthy if left 'untreated' very long, but, ignorant shit-heads keep insisting that people 'growing up' is far too unhealthy, and, unpredictable for government-types... they prefer a country of good, obedient, and busy little drones/bots/workers to grow it's empire... so, naturally-occurring medicine that is safe, and effective, and literally costs ZERO/NADA/ZILCH/NOTHING... because... yes, let me say that one more time... it just fvcking grows because it's fungus... it just does what it does... and is serving it's purpose within creation, assisting in the symbiotic relationship of everything within our environment... but, since the government-cult has partnered with the pharmacological-cult, we are left scratching our heads, brain-washed to believe that scientists can provide better treatments than nature, better than our Creator... Dunning and Kruger probably have names for such people...
 ... OK, how was that for an introduction? Doesn't matter... completely rhetorical... but, let me show you how this 'therapy' sort of worked... i had zero-intentions of feeling groovy, and enjoying some extended-sensory stimulation... but i did... for a little bit... until i was ready to do some business, that is... feeling groovy wasn't the point, but was a pleasant side-affect nonetheless... after thirty minutes or so after feeling affects settle in, i closed my eyes... the primary stimulus was sound, but i also have some essential-oils--lavender being the predominant extract... OK, back to sound... i had me some 'Solfeggio tone 432, with an underlay of Schumann resonances, and subliminal loops of positive affirmations' going on... and the room had one little 'tea-light' candle, but was otherwise dark... it was about 20:30, so it should be dark by then...
 ... it wasn't until i closed my eyes that the therapy began... there were some profound historical events that sort of 're-surfaced', which is the point of this type of therapy, one of my survival-defenses is to 'forget about it, and drive on'... but that's a fool's mantra, it invites a negative-loop of imprisoning-confusion/chaos, and stunts maturity, growth, and effectiveness--in navigating our environment, and helping others in ways that they need to be helped...
 ... OK, so now all of the cosmic 'dots' began to connect... all of the self-deprecating humor, being my own worse critic, tons of brain-washed negative-narrative going on in the noggin... the newest neighbor--a ten yr-old boy going through a shit-storm that's far beyond his fault, and control... trauma... my past... child-hood trauma--which is just one of the types that i struggle with--inflicting pain, suffering, and death to other people, being another one... the pros call it something like remorse/guilt, type of grief... i didn't enlist in the Army to be a good quiet little boy, i enlisted to 'fight against things which were wrong'... maybe a reaction to surviving things in my own life which were wrong... maybe... the truth is, as a little boy, i wasn't the least bit violent, until i was sometimes neglected, abused, violated, and forced to try to 'grow-up' entirely too early, i experienced a part of reality before i was able to really process, and understand it... i think that might  literally be the definition of childhood-trauma... i guess it would be an interruption of the safety, and nurturing needs, as defined by Maslow...
 ... part of the inner-narrative during the self-therapy was like Robbin Williams in 'Good Will Hunting', the depressed doctor counseling the twenty-something year-old Will... 'it's not your fault, it's not your fault'... and then part of it was like me giving advice to my young self... 'this season in life is going to suck, but you are incredibly resilient, keep surviving, better days are coming, you just don't quite know when yet, and, your very smart, although you won't even realize it until you are old'...
 ... and then the narrative shifted to the little-boy across the street... what advice would i give him... it didn't take long being around him to discern that he's incredibly intelligent, he barely had to speak and i could tell--he could skip right over mensa if he wanted to, maybe three deviancies for the better, maybe more, i dunno... i think i'd ask him some questions about how he is processing some of the messy stimuli/stressors in his life... but really, the narrative was sort of like an advice thing for him, that was going on... in my mind... maybe something like... 'your a pretty smart young guy, you probably understand that your stress isn't your fault, right... but you know it sucks... it probably sucks because it's completely out of your control... and, you understand that other people's words and actions do not equate to an expected/assumed model of love/respect... you are probably stressed because you subconsciously understand the golden-rule, and your environment was lacking in mutual-respect, aka, Love... you were subjected to some rather unpleasant aspects of reality at a pretty young age... considering instinctual human-behavior, people that experience some of these types of compounded-stressors may react to their environment in some-what predictable, 'negative' behaviors, the worse of which might be projecting any grief or anger onto other people, forcing them to experience your pain too... that's not very healthy, in fact, it's a continuation of a negative-cycle, a loop which needs to be closed... people also present/employ various defense-mechanisms... isolation is a tough one to dig out of sometimes, but some folks are naturally introverts, and some isolation is important in order to have time to process all of the information that we've consumed--the more your brain is observing/calculating, the more time you might need to finish processing, to analyze what we are going to do with that information... so, extended isolation can be quite unhealthy, but sometimes a guy needs space alone with his thoughts, and that's fine... i'd suggest that you spend a bit of time to organize your thoughts, and/or feelings regarding your recent experience, put those thoughts to pen and paper (or digital pecking)... it won't just help sorting through thoughts and emotions, but, you were gifted an incredible brain to use, it doesn't feel incredible, because it's just you, it's part of who you are as an individual... it's important to exercise your brain, just like your body; and we want to make sure that your mind doesn't get bogged-down, and side-tracked on endless equations trying to assure yourself that none of it was your fault, how you may have been able to fix it, and it was all out of your control... it was other people trying to figure out their own faulty equations, and you were caught-up in the middle of it... sometimes, being an adult can be crazy-hard... when multiple expectations/assumptions are not met, people stop paying attention to one another, or get caught-up in vanity rather than reality, it can get Very frustrating... Most folks expect their parents to be civil, kind, and loving to one another, to family, and to others... some folks don't have any parents for very long, some have already lost one parent to death... anyways, those things are a bit like your brain, it was all out of your control, we get what we get, and have to use all of our resources to successfully navigate life... if life gives you one decent parent, not a ton of money, and a good processor/brain, well... you will have plenty of time and opportunity to use all of those resources to live a satisfying life, but to also leave humanity better than the way you inherited it... some day, i'll tell you the story of another young boy, he had all kinds of trouble adjusting to life after his difficulties and challenges experienced from a young age... eventually he turned out alright, but, unfortunately, it took him several decades to reconcile some nasty events that shaped his life... it's kind of a long, boring story, so, we'll save it for a rainy-day, as we old-timers like to say... but i think that young boy would have done well to try to understand the events, and many of the conflicting emotions that sometimes come when considering difficulties'
 ... i think my advice to him would be something like that... it's far from complete, but i think that's sort of the narrative that i had during last-night's therapy
 ... not sure what you think of all of this, maybe to you it's some kind of crazy voo-doo hippie-shit... however... to me, it was extremely beneficial... i'm a service-connected, disabled, veteran of a war full of air-born toxins, and some other unpleasant things here and there too... the united states government is still living in denial, when classifying naturally-occurring, therefore, FREE, molecules as being without therapeutic-qualities... they are either living in denial, colluding with the pharma-cult, or, unwilling to accept that they were fooled, or, coerced... too many compromised clowns running the circus... however, the VA is offering certain 'studies' to Veterans who are dealing with certain conditions lumped under PTSD... it's still an open-equation, a paradox... they are 'allowing' studies to test the effectiveness of fungi as treatment for something that they already know works very well, but they are the government, and idiots will do what idiots do... and i'm happy to explain how ignorant, and compromised they have become... but no one asked me, so i'm just going to do it... and that's one step in making the world a littler better than when i was birthed into it...
 ... hope you enjoyed reading, maybe you even learned something, if you are smart you certainly did... God bless. -- ct
 02-22-24:  Hey... look... i don't like to braaag, but i got me about 6-hours of that good-stuff last night... sleep... that's right... no no no, don't get jelly, i had it coming back to me, the universe owed me a good-night's sleep, eventually... six hours is better than the last two nights, so today has begun with the hope, and potential, for better clarity, and function... there was a physical job that i wanted to try to do for a friend, it ought to be pretty quick--when i'm healthy and a bit strong--but, the left-wrist and right-shoulder have been extra bothersome the last couple of days, and i woke up feeling them both this morning, they were all like screaming at me and stuff--so--today i'll probably try to take it easy, maybe even put two of the support-things/braces on today... the shoulder one is great, but shitty at the same time... it gives some nice compression to the joint, but takes tremendous effort to get it on, and off, plus, my pit sweats extra with the neoprene covering it all day... but, it looks so coool... maybe like a gladiator's arm, or sumthin ;-)  ... the other positive benefit to the brace is that you never forget that it's on, so it helps me be mindful to not subconsciously try to reach for stuff, things that i still forget will hurt the hell out me when i just react to my environment, and the task at hand, so, imma gonna wear that sucker today, for sure...
 ... i hope to write a bit today, yesterday was broken-up too much, so i never spent much time behind a screen, i was just listening to smart folks talk via podcast... i already put these links to Dr's A. Huberman, and Dr P. Conti's conversations on the next large-format post that i'm working on, over here, but they are worth adding here too:
 ... that's probably a combined 10 - 12 hours of conversation, and education... so, prospective-viewer be warned... and maybe make yourself some pop-corn, or sumthin before you start; and empty the bladder first, too... HEY... don't forget the bladder, for crying out loud... Hope your day is great :-)   --  ct

02-22-24 later:  i've got a bunch of topics bouncing around the noggin, most will get worked into the thing i mentioned in the last post... but, this one is a healthy equation to consider in many decisions, and thought-processes... 
* am i motivated to do something due to starved motivators, and by 'motivators' i mean things outlined/classified in the Maslow-papers... 
* is there some conscious, or, instinctual 'need', or 'desire' that you are trying to fill
 ... find the answer to those questions first... then, maybe 
* what steps you need to do in order to accomplish that 'goal', or, 'idea'... 
* what resources do you need to accomplish the steps that you've identified... 
 ... if you don't know the answers to the last two questions, maybe you are either acting too impulsively (and about to learn some lessons the hard-way), or, maybe you are thinking with the correct motivator, but moving a bit too fast/impatiently, or, maybe you are taking some steps of 'faith', and you know that's what it is... but, if you do know those answers, then... next, 
* consider whether or not those steps will hurt/harm others...
 ... 'mutual respect', or, 'the golden rule' should always be considerations in any equation in order to successfully complete it... it's a consideration that probably two-thirds of the population understands when we are healthy, because it's a sustainable concept that ensures harmonious-continuity, with only major set-backs being predators, limitation of resources, and natural disasters... if you've reconciled all of those factors then you are probably good-to-go... but, 
* our physical earth/ground/environment must also be a consideration... sustainability requires us to think about future generations, as well as ours... we learn from the mistakes of our ancestors, so polluting for the sake of one's expansion isn't advisable, in fact, it's just plain stupid depending on it's severity... 
 ... providing that you've successfully accounted for most of those considerations then you probably will be blessed in your endeavors... however, if you find yourself breaking any of those ten-commandments along your travels, or using some form of deceit, and other forms of victimization to acquire the resources that you have identified, then, proceed back to the start, you must have gotten a bit flukey somewhere in your travels and equation... Ask God to show you where you went off-track, and started to become your own little-god... here's another consideration... 
* an over-abundance of anything usually isn't good, don't fall trap to the hoarders, and those who feel obliged to collect so many resources that others around you are lacking, you need some sort of 'end-game', in order to help understand when you have enough to spare, and, if you still have energy and motivation after all you've been through--then sow into future generations some of the things that you've learned... 
 ... when you are lacking important ingredients that you require, it might be time to move... which is another important decision to properly consider... if you are being victimized then maybe it's time to Fight, which is another important decision to consider...
 ... you will make mistakes, and you are intelligent enough to learn from them, humans are capable of self-correction, and upward-evolution... we learn those skills when we apply some sort of logical criteria, and mindfulness--such as the considerations above--to decisions, rather than sub-consciously, and impulsively plowing our way thrlugh our environment... however, everyone learns some lessons the hard-way, so... may you be blessed, and learn as much as possible in those seasons too... be of good heart, and... cheers  :-)
 02-21-24:  i'm too tired/impaired/inefficient to focus much on the new project, so i'm just going to blog some notes for it... 
 ... Abraham certainly covered body, mind, and soul, which is embedded in his famous hierarchy of needs... physiological needs are obvious, as we learn most of them through biology... then, the mind is covered under the safety/love/esteem, nurturing types of needs/requirements... and then the self-actualizing encompasses a healthy soul... 
 ... Chris certainly touches on body, mind, and soul as well; but with much greater emphasis on the mind, and soul connection to God... Chris also considers much larger environmental factors in his CTMU/TOE... 
 ... but, i'm sad to say that i haven't read much on Elizabeth's work, the struggles of grieving while faced with what would be traumatic news for most people... 
 ... all of those theories, studies, facts, and ideas speak to our biome/being/holistic-health, and are predicated on healthy ratios of body/mind/soul; and which needs are starved, how long they are starved for, and consciously, or instinctively we successfully replenish the starved needs... or, how long it takes us to recognize our deficiencies, understand the significance of repleting those deficiencies, are mindful of the steps involved to overcome our deficiencies, and attempt to be more consciousness of our unhealthy routines/sub-conscious actions and re-actions as well grow back toward greater health... also while having some expectations of what a healthy goal/outcome/healing will present... 
 ... just crude over-view stuff here... that's about all i'm good for at 3:something o'clock... so the mental-health/brain-health stuff is pretty awesome when you start considering all of the possible factors/considerations/variables, and then sprinkle some cause-and-affect on top of it... this stuff isn't just interesting because it's become painfully-relevant to me, but there is so much to learn and understand about it all, and the end result helps folks navigate weird-shit/experiences, toward healing... maybe that's why it's so cool...
 ... also, Joe from church had a nugget's worth of observation for me a couple of days ago... self-forgiveness... not sure if he's read any of my self-deprecating posts, or humor; or, if it was just me saying the words 'i'm my own worse critic'... but, whatever it was, he spoke to my soul... part of my healing, and positive growth/health is to get past some of the negative things that were repeated to me, in loud and abusive manner and vocabulary, and often with physical trauma as well... some pretty mean and nasty things... i've repeated those same things over and over and over in my head so often that i was somewhat brain-washed to believe most of it... now that those things have all been proven to be incorrect, i should just logically move on, however, the brain-wash/dysfunction still haunts me a bit... the shitty thing about being a bit smart is when i'm wrong, and i fail... the inner-narrative is usually, 'how was i wrong', 'what did i miss'... sane, healthy, and intelligent people can articulate honest answers to those questions, or just tell you they don't really quite know... folks that don't fall under that criteria can't... 
 ... abusive homes are like worlds of confusion (it's like marxism), when things aren't logical, things don't add up, you're getting abused and told that someone else's deficiencies are your fault (their 'projection'), well, i guess that can cause some confusion, and difficulties understanding, and, navigating our environment, even reality in some sense... i'd like to think that the cycle of violence and abuse have ended with our generation, but not completely, however, it tapered significantly, i'm much more apt to implode and hurt myself somehow than other people, which is a dysfunction that i'm trying to overcome... i'm going to try a therapy in the near future that ought to significantly help in that area of my life... but, processing shitty events, understanding them through a different perspective/angle, with the blessing of time to shed more clarity, and being mindful and logical--aka--less sub-conscious and impulsive--are tools/assets to help in those struggles... seeking God's help never hurts either, well, nothing but the ego, that is :-)
 ... Alrighty, time to commit, am i going to lay back down and try to catch another sleep-cycle, or pour my first cup of coffee... hmmm, i dunno... time will tell. [UPDATE: took me an hour's-long nap, it was awesome]  --  ct
02-20-24:  i keep getting reminded of some words that a medical-professional said to me... they were a psyche-Doc... at the conclusion of our video-chat, they said 'you have healed yourself, as evidence in you returning to church'... hind-sight keeps telling me that maybe i should have asked a bit more of the philosophy they considered when developing that sentence, and making that statement... but i didn't... but in some ways i love those types of moments... moments when someone's words leave you with a double-take after you departed... moments that trigger that 'Wait!  WHAT? ... hmmm another mystery to explore'... anyway, i appreciate that person, and their genuine smile at the end of our conversation softens the soul (maybe they were some kind of angel, or sumthin)... so, yeah... i've been stewing on that lately.  i sort of know what they mean, but it still get's me curious enough to ponder, but not curious enough to research... i appreciate the mystery, actually... but someday i'll look into it... i don't know that i literally healed myself, and i don't know that partaking in church with regularity was the baseline to judge a state of health... but, i'll tell you what... as far as i'm concerned, taking the step to allow myself to be vulnerable/trusting of another religious-organization is probably a good step in the right direction... our family appreciates the Jesus-ideology, and i haven't had the desire to attend a church in several years now, so maybe this was a good first-step... the fact that i'm easily over-stimulated, especially with lot's of people and noise and movement, aka. 'stimuli', and try to avoid those situations as often as possible, maybe that's a good step in the right direction, too... ask me why i can't work in an office environment, too damn-much stimuli, distractions, and emotionally-driven people to navigate... i can handle all of those things, but in very small doses, very very very small doses... but, church, a bad experience at such a place can leave a person grieving when you forget that everyone, Everyone, EVERYONE is imperfect, even folks that you consider as some sort of representative of God/Source/Creator/Universe, those folks can get weird sometimes too... one thing that i like about this new church is that the pastors have accountability-partners with other pastors there, which helps keep them calibrated/honest/humble, and from getting too flukey... i like that concept.  --  ct
02-19-24:  this is an update from yesterday's post, it's sort of a cool new project... let's see how the minimally educated guy takes on this motivating-challenge: 

02-19-24 later:  listening to A. Huberman Podcast number 277, it's with Lex Fridman, they are talking about a zillion things, which is why i appreciate long-format conversations... Andy articulates something that i've had difficulty with... sometimes your mind gets a bit out of synce (he didn't actually say that), but he stated that ...

02-19-24 more later:  got cut-off during the last post, i'll finish it tomorrow, when i'm bright-eyed, bed-headed, and slurping on a coffee... just want to sneak in a quick note before i attempt this strange phenomenon, which some folks call 'sleep'... quick note... i mentioned reconciling reality against God, other folks, your environment, and yourself--not necessarily in that order--but also want to add a reconciliation of time and space, aka, history and future -- there is almost zero time in between, maybe even none... so, just a quick note to add in the time/space factor... g'nite mate... hope you sleep better than me  --  ct

02-19-24 a bit past bed-time:  one more quick note, regarding seating, and flow... it's a church thing which i need to be thinking about now... as far as seating goes, well, E. Musk's last chat with J. Rogan included a bit of consideration, maybe a way to explain some of the struggle with seating: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/lsJRQTEDYBQ
02-18-24:  i haven't worked on any of the books in progress in a couple of weeks now... but, after looking over some of my substack posts, i'm thinking, i dunno... maybe i could start building off of them, maybe moosh/massage them into another project... here, these are some of the one's that i mean:






 ... maybe i've got more to add too, i dunno, but that's what i was thinking... i'm also thinking that i should finish some of the other projects before i get cracking on a new one... and, then again, maybe those evolving projects need more time to ferment.  --  ct
 02-17-24:  had another crap-night's sleep again, awake since two, and i didn't sleep a whole lot before then... it's almost noon, gonna try to take a little nap.  --  ct

02-17-24 later:  caught an hour's worth of nap after the last post, no big deal, just wanted to put closure to the 10 second post from earlier... had a great evening with new friends tonight... trying to finish C. Langan's last essay, it's kicking my noggin's arse, too much unfamiliar content, and he writes some pretty dense essays, like a sentence could be a paragraph, and a paragraph a chapter... complain as i may, i enjoy witnessing the fruits of talented people's labor, and he does to write to folks who typically hold multiple PhDs, so i shouldn't complain, but i always expect better from myself, goals might be too lofty...
 ... wanted to work on a quick post regarding decision-making logic... maybe some simple criteria, or something, i dunno... but something like, will your desire negatively impact other people -- will it negatively impact yourself -- does it negatively impact your perception of God's word -- and finally, does it adversely affect the environment--all of those things equate to reality on earth... and then maybe consider motives, humans got plenty of them, but is seems like A. Maslow's categorization of human needs-motivators should be considered... if you're lacking any of them long enough then you might need to go on some journey/season to fulfill those needs if you are being starved in the geographies/environments that you spend most of your time within... anyway... i'm sure smarter folks have already written volumes on this, but it'll bug me if i don't do so... so i will, but not tonight... i'm too dang tired to consider writing another word.  --  ct
02-15-24:  there's this thing that i sort of hate... sorry, there are zillions of things that i hate, so this is just one of them... according to some metrics i'm not quite the dummy that i used to consider myself to be, or, maybe i just finally grew-up a bit, who knows... but, i'm not well-read, and not really interested in learning new words, i'm not great at memorizing things, in fact, i suck at it... so the thing that i hate--in this case--is when smart-asses that know they have a more rich vocabulary talk about you in the third-person, maybe they are assessing your understanding of technical words, exercising their unbalanced egos/whit, or to see how you will re-act when they start screwing with you; maybe pushing you to expand to some degree... their motivations may remain wrapped in mystery, but i hate in nonetheless... ass-holes... eventually i look up fancy words... you could have just said it the regular way you know... smart people are incredibly annoying sometimes, many times, they are like the folks in Canada that know how to speak English, but refuse to, because they think less of you... yeah yeah yeah, the folks that everyone else hates... passive-aggressive douche-bags, really... check your ego and motives at the door please, otherwise remain trapped in your tiny little insulated environment in whatever version of reality speaks to you... frankly, i have zero time for douche-bags, they bug me.  --  ct
02-14-24:  happy valentine's day, but, i've got a spoiler alert for you... cupid is dead... that's right, that plump little angel, with the most ridiculous arrow-heads that i've ever seen... that's right, that one... he's gone by way of the unicorn, un-compromised politicians, and the jack-a-lope... so, NO!... you aren't getting a box of chocolates, or an expensive night out, it's a dang cult-ritual which i'm not participating in, period... so no chocolate for you... cupid is gone, jack...
 ... truth is that i bought the wife and daughters some candy treats for today... but, i either tell, or show them that i love them everyday, when i'm present and healthy... so screw cupid, the candy is where i draw the line... Hmmmpf!   --  ct
 02-13-24:  had a tiny bit of gun-therapy yesterday... i received the shims for the muzzle-break, and got it installed and 'Rocktite' bonded... the muzzle-device is externally threaded for Wilson's suppressors, or muzzle-blast director/shield... i got the shield with the shims yesterday, so the big-boy 458scm is about ready to test now, but i'm still not sure what to get for an aiming-device yet, it doesn't even have iron-sights on it right now... the rifle is pretty heavy, so i might just do a light-weight something or other with 3, or maybe 4x magnification to finish it off... i bought the muzzle blast-shield to help direct the noise a bit, i still haven't gotten into the world of NFA-items, or, class-3 stuff... we plan on moving soon, and i'd just assume wait until we move before i go through the hassle and head-aches of the ATF's protocol for NFA ownership... you have to buy the item you want in advance, then apply for permission to own the device, the ATF get's you for $200 just to apply, then you have to wait until they finish their part (months of waiting), then, if they grant me their blessing, i will also have to pay to have the item engraved... and after all of that, i have to write asking for advanced permission to leave my state (currently NH) with it, so i can bring the items to my new place of residency (assuming that we are moving to the mid-west in the somewhat near future)... so, the muzzle-blast diverter was under a hundred bucks, and will help a bit on the shooter's ears, but not like a suppressor would, a good can will let the shooter shoot without the need for any hearing protection, the can is the protector for the shooter, and everyone else that's in close proximity, which is a real blessing in reducing noise-pollution.
 The 458 is probably going to be the least-used gun that i own, the bullets are close to three dollars per round, and will tear-up most targets, so it's really more suited for hunting large animals... elk, bear, moose sized critters to be more specific... but it's a semi-auto (under it's current configuration), so it won't get much use for hunting due to laws established in most states, but if i was walking through bear-country i'd want this rifle by my side, with maybe a five-round magazine, and a spare mag or two in a back-pack... on a similar note, i'd probably say the same thing regarding another rifle i'm working on... same way i do all of them, usually with a budget to only by one part at a time... it's going to be a light-weight 8.6blk rifle, i'm hoping to get a 14.5' barrel for that build, as the 8.6mm black-out round doesn't need much barrel-length to make use of all it's powder, so a 12' SBR would be pretty awesome, but i'll do a 14-incher, and get the muzzle device pinned and welded to keep the ATF from ruining my day... but i've watched videos of someone harvesting a cape-buffalo with an 8.6 blk sbr, so it's a pretty sweet cartridge, and the Ft Scott Ammo folks added 8.6 to their product offerings (SCS TUI), so i'm supper-stoked to finish that rifle-build too.
 There probably won't be any gun-therapy today, unless the hand-guards come in for my FDE-colored civilian version of an m-4 (without the third trigger option), that little rifle is going to be an awesome shooter, it's got a nice balance to it, so it swings easy, i used all awesome parts on it, and just need aiming device for it after the hand-guards arrive... but, i still have to get the short-barrel welded in place, i've already drilled it, used rock-tite, and have a roll-pin installed, just need a drop of weld over the hole to finish it... that's sort of what i mean by 'civilian m-4', not an m-4 due to trigger-burst mode, but because it's a 5.56 chambered 14.5 inch barrel, so it ought to have very similar shooting characteristics of an M-4, i already have a muzzle blast shield for that rifle too, and someday will get a can for that one too... the m-4 thingy will probably be the one i shoot the most, after it passes all of the test-fire checks, i'll get the gas-adjusted to shoot my preferred 70gr .223 nice, reliable, and soft, and it will be a pleasure to shoot once i tune the gas-flow... originally i wanted to just get an Eotech holographic sight for it, but now thinking that i should get something with a little bit of magnification -- i'll be 55 this year, and eyes are getting a little flaky on me... i'm REALLY looking forward to finishing that build too, i've had some of those parts sitting around in little boxes for years now, so to put it through some exercises will feel a little rewarding.
 The snow hasn't started yet, early yesterday the meteorologists were threatening us with talks of 6-9, or 9-12 inches, now it's 1-3 inches expected, and i no longer hate the weather-man, but i'll still complain about every flake that i have to move, you can bank on that... hope your Tuesday is a blessing, and hey, maybe you'll get to have a little gun-therapy of your own... all of the manufacturers are having good sales now... the shot-show is over, and the distributors are making room for the new products they just committed to selling, so there are plenty of deals to be had if you have a little spare-change... get going on your next build, you know the deep-state communists are doing what they can to disarm even law-abiding citizens, so get yours today, before it's too late.  --  ct

 02-13-24 later:  we got maybe two inches of snow before it got wet, and compressed down to maybe an inch or so... just a simple way for me to praise God, my gratefulness for decent weather that i don't have to clean-up much after... got the hand-guards in the mail, and a bunch of those cheap little rubber m-lock covers, B-5 Systems makes some pretty low-profile ribbed ones, you get a four-pack of them, and they cover three sections each, they make a bunch of colors that you'd probably expect--mostly subdued earth-tones, they give a nice over-mold feel to an otherwise all aluminum free-float hand-guard... i'll have to move them around a bit when i finally decide on a fore-grip, or resting accessory... i've grown to appreciate Griffin Armament's M2 back-up iron-sights, so i'll probably get a pair of them so i'll be able to aim in the near-future, my idea of decent optics are in the seven thru fifteen hundred dollar range, so i'm happy to start with some irons sights, like the M2s... that rifle is just about ready for testing now, need to get the muzzle-device welded, and get some sights... all function-checks seem great, the action is pretty smooth without even breaking it in, so i'm optimistic... weld, and sights -- not bad, light at the end of thaaat tunnel/project... can't wait to break it in, zero the sights, and have some fun... i bought a CMMG 22lr conversion kit years ago, once this rifle is proven reliable, i'll probably use the conversion kit shooting it as a 22lr more than i will shooting 223 or 556 through it... the Bravo Company Manufacturing BCG in FDE with get some initial use, but then probably get plenty of rest shortly afterward... the Aero Precision free-float, BAR-nut mounting Enhanced Handguard is 12.7, if i could made-up my preferred length it would be 11 inches even, but they don't make that, so i opted for a longer sight-picture (and mounting real-estate) with the next longer size, so 12.7 it is... if you aren't really sure what the BAR mounting system looks like, it makes the typical E. Stoner design look like a stick-figure--figuratively-speaking... check out the difference between a typical AR upper vs. the 'Enhanced' receiver, the enhanced design adds strength and rigity that i'll probably never need to maximize, but it's the 'brick shit-house' as far as AR-receiver designs are concerned, the straight free-float handguards attach to the upper receiver via eight screws, the only draw-backs are that they are proprietary parts, and it's a bit heavier too... the lock-up between the upper-receiver and handguards is superb, and it's two parts of the main 'bones' that i like to use when i build a new AR, the third part of the bones is Aero's enhanced lower receiver, they've got some nice features to them too.  i'd love it if Aero would keep the BAR enhanced line, but making a more slim handguard then the current ones, my left-wrist is old and gimpy, and the wide guards don't feel as great as they used to... the 10.5 inch guards are decent enough to cover to the end of most of today's mid-length gas systems, and still have easy access to adjust/tune gas-flow if you like the adjustable options, but another half inch would protect your gas-block just a bit more, and still be very accessible... no one asked for my opinion on design, but getting my opinions out of my head is much about why i blog in the first place (info dump)... anyway... i'm getting all kinds of Christmas-morning giddy inside knowing that 'Freedom' is just about done now... 'Freedom'?  it's what i'm going to name the rifle, it's literally the model name given by Aero, so it's what i'm naming the gun... i started to name it 'Brown' because of the colors/shades used in the coating-process, but i'm actually making a brown anodized M-5 rifle, so it's just not right to call a tan rifle 'brown' when it's clearly tan, and the model is called 'Freedom', and you have another one called 'Kodiak Brown' sitting there wondering why you're all screwy in the head... you see what i'm sayin?  Good good... anyhow... today included about thirty minutes on gun-therapy, and ten of 'em were opening boxes and packaging for crying out loud... the packaging is like some clumsy foreplay for the over-anticipating recipient... kid on Christmas-morning kind of thing.
 ... also hoping to finish C. Langan's latest essay today 'Where Quantum Theory Lives', i had an 'ahhh-haaah' moment earlier this morning, and motivated to consume the rest after i make some room for it by writing, and dumping more info... i've only got so munch capacity you know... cheers.   --  ct
02-11-24:  awake by 3:30 this morning, it might be a looong-day... yesterday was busier than expected, had to go to the store a few times... grrr... working on a ladder is something that's really noticeable on my fixed-hip, it's pretty weird, and sore today... i expected to feel shoulder, neck, and upper-back pain today, the hip kinda surprised me, but, i'm still less than a year post-op, so there shouldn't be any surprise there... ladder-work is probably one of the worse things/handicaps for me as far electrical, or home-improvement/repairs are concerned, i may have spent a combined one-hour of work on the ladder yesterday, and feeling it already this-morning... now--with all of that said--it was beautiful outside yesterday in ROckingham county... it was a pleasure to do a little outside-work, i felt the warm sun on my back, as i was cursing the oxidized electric-box, which required far more attention than expected... so much for a simple light-swap, stupid box, grrr... still testing physical-abilities, i'm still not nearly as strong as i hope, i'm good for some small bursts of reasonable strength, but not with any duration, or consistency... the left-wrist got a bit achy over the past few days... one-time, the nice O/T-lady (Lauren) had a bunch of needles sticking in the very tendons/muscle that was freaking-out yesterday... it calmed-down a little with some massage yesterday, but still sore today... fortunately i don't have much physical stuff on the agenda for today, but probably some more complaining about the toll that yesterday's physical work took on my gimpy, unconditioned, old body ;-)
02-10-24:  got me one of them insomnia nights/mornings again, awake by 2:am... i know, you want to puke in your mouth, right... fortunately i don't, i'm sippin on some herbal-tea, it's something like honey/vanilla/chamomile... ohhh, you'd love it... sometimes i fill up a big ol' 16ounce mug of water, add one of those tea-bags that i just mentioned along with a lemon-ginger tea-bag, and i'll tell you what... it's like a little slice of heaven, or something else more dramatic--if you think of something better to fill in that metaphor--at least i think that's a metaphor--read more than a few posts and you'll quickly know that my writing style, distain for proper grammar and punctuation, and ignorance of technical, and more appropriate vocabulary will stand as my trade-mark faults, as far as writing is concerned, an ignorant dummy is probably a better fit for my non-writing critiques... so let's just humor the village-idiot, and call it a meta-fvcking-phore for my sake... OK... good, it's a metaphore then (for the remainder of this post, until it bothers me enough to look it up later, when i'm not typing when i should be sleeping, and maybe i won't be lazy, and make a correction... which brings me to this... wait, hold on... think i'm in one of them goofy flow-states, i could probably bable-write about anything that comes to my head, until i can't anymore, eventually i'll peter-out and try to lay-down again, until then i'll just think, and write, and probably grab another mug of tea, except i'm all out now, crap, well... i might switch to coffee, it's a bit early for beer... alright, maybe that's enough narrating... but this insomnia time seems to be a great time for creative-types, when you wake-up in the middle of the night, are relatively comfortable, but know you aren't able to fall back asleep... i think that's sort of the blessing that comes with the curse of insomnia, but i get so fricking frustrated, and determinitive/stubborn-fighting to try to fall back asleep, that i forget that it's possible to redeem some of this time. considering that the house is pretty silent, but for when the heat turns on, so i have to be sound-sensitive to the folks who are actually sleeping, but i love silence sometimes, when i want to adequately think i require it... silence is good when i want to read-think-write, and those are big hobbies of mine since i've been out of the work-force... hey man, if any rich folks want to bless me with something that would probably help my mental health, you can get me one of them sensory-deprivation doo-hickies, yeah man, you know, top-notch and stuff... i wonder if i could get eight-hours of the good-stuff (sleep) in one of them, maybe pump in some of that awesome sleepy music, or some nice-smellin sleepy-smells or somethin, maybe something warm up against your face--like a warm drool-towel or somethin... anyhow, i have lot's of theories as to why my sleep might suck, but i'm so bad at it that i don't even want to throw out my hypothesis for fear of shattering what's left of my ignorant-ego... but, i got a future appt with a sleep-study doctor-guy in the not-close-enough future, so i got that going for me, you know...
 ... but now that i like writing--which i began as a sort of outlet for frustrations a few years ago, when my physical and emotional limits were pushed right after some fvcking dick-heads thought it would be a great idea to unleash a laboratory-weaponized germ upon humanity, and then exploited the shit out of the human-made crisis for everything their creativity, and evil could contrive... don't think some folks didn't notice what you folks did during the onslaught of the covid-war... that's much of the emotional-toll that was taken on my psyche... sort of understanding what some exceeding evil people did, that they had the evil-audacity to so, and me feeling powerless to do anything to stop any of it... and none of it 'prophetically', i mind you, i never saw it coming, i was completely blind-sided, my life as i knew it was pulled-out from under my feet, and it hurt my ass, and left me with an egg on the back of my head, so to speak... but, having worked for the Dod for just a few short years i learned enough about warfare, and some of the tools utilized to carry it out, and i also met some incredibly creepy people that were also employed by the DoD, never mind others who were contracted by them... and then there is the whole way my brain is sort of wired, genetics, personality-type, and all of that crap, seems that i'm a bit of a unicorn, but not in the sense used by the LGBTQ*** community, just in other respects... speaking of that, i clocked-in at an INTJ way back in the day, but now i'm pretty darn certain that i'm much closer to an intP, not a J... anyhow, that stuff is kind of useful information, if you don't treat it as a horocope, but it's nice information to have as some tool of sorts, especially when things don't seem to add up, and maybe you go through a shitty season or two, seems like it helps you realize some of your strengths and weaknesses, which is great for folks who wish to dwell in reality, consider working in areas of your strengths, and what areas you might need to focus, and improve upon...
 ... when i'm in a pretty healthy state of mind i like to be light-hearted, maybe silly/playful, you could call it flirty almost, and don't forget goofy--i might actually try a little stand-up, but the thought of it makes me puke, i don't like being the center of attention, i'd rather write for comics actually, but the good ones don't need writers, so there's that, and if you are a comic and want to use any of my jokes, just use them, and we'll call it good... but, that's more of what my personality is like when i'm both, in touch with reality, and enjoying--or, making the most of the moment, silly humor is probably my 'happy-place', but i also deal with some of that bi-polar depressive stuff (self-diagnosed because doctors seem to think it's better not to just tell folks anymore, maybe it's what they do if your an adult, i dunno)... which is debilitating in the sense that the mania manifests mostly in insomnia (sometimes the heart jumps too), and the depression i think speaks for itself, for me it's like when you feel like you are the reason for every bad thing that's ever happened, and ever will happen, and feel powerless to do anything about it, or to change... that's sort of what depression is like, there is some hopelessness involved too i guess, and everyone's efforts to try to help feel insincere, and just not quite enough information to steer me back to reality... i'm pretty good at some analytical stuff, connecting dots sometimes, but the bi-polar dysregulation thing can also distort reality enough that your hormones don't quite know what the fvck to do, the upside is when most figurative cylinders are firing i can be pretty smart, with that said, unregulated intelligence is frustrating as hell, so is unregulated consciousness, but it's like they are both on dimmer switches with my hormones, and someone else is fvcking with the knob... BTW, if anyone finds an obscure dial/knob-thing laying around would you bring it to me, and don't screw it, if you crank it up too much i'll get antsy and manic, and if you mess in the other direction i'll bury myself... so NO touch, alright... potential is one thing, channeling, exercising, and maintaining it, it's what you wish the operator's manual included, but there was no such manual, i had to trust the folks who were entrusted in raising me to have read some manual on how to raise weird kids, and most folks don't do that, so, lucky are us unicorns...
 ... alright, hold on... think i need me some coffee, the tea is cold and gross, and the house is cool... yeah, i'm gonna get me a coffee, be right back...
 ... OK, you know what, i think this mug was a fool's errand, made in vane, to entertain the disillusioned-folly, a pipe-dream of an idea that a stimulating mug of deliciousness would be appropriate... it's a shame too, i aced the coffee to cream to sugar ratio man, it's spot on... but i just realized it's already after 6:am, and i was hoping to get back in bed to catch a bit more sleep... something which might be accurately described as the perfect mug of coffee ought not be wasted on the logical/known affects of caffeine, it's literally a frickin stimulant... good grief... and a heaping teaspoon of sugar-in-the-raw to make it a little better... those two frickin things are stupid to consume when a guy is hoping to get some shut-eye... but, guess what, i'm drinking every last bit of it... like i said, the coffee:cream:sugar is great, the end result, maybe a little heaven on earth, maybe, maybe...  I'm gonna go read a bit, hope your Saturday is good, and not an extra-large shit-sammich, or nothin bad like that... here, i wrote this one out to Substack not too long ago, it sort of goes with this post, but i'm going to give away a nasty-secret, the post loops back around to this same post... yeah, i just took the post you just read, and pasted it at the end of the other article as an update... i didn't want you to start reading that part all over again, and then do one of them 'wait a second' sorts of things, you know... anyway, hope you like it... peace.  --  ct
02-08-24:  yeah man, Thursday... looking forward to some of it, dreading the mountain of chores though, it's frickin bad, man... the dishes alone are enough to make a grown-man cry... or fuel the urge to just throw them all away... i hate you 'dishes'... we should have a give-and-take relationship, yet i only want to dirty you, and not give you proper care afterward... stupid-ass dishes :-P  pbpbpbpbpbpbp raspberry, with the thumbs in the ears, and the wiggling-fingers at you, dirty-dishes... and this is how i fight against reality and responsibility... i direct/extend the fight toward life-less objects... good grief... i've got issues... anyhow, hope your Thursday is a good one, seems like i've got some suck to embrace... but, hanging out with Ralph for a bit will be a treat, we are like-minded in many respects, so we usually have some good stimulating conversation, our IQs are close enough for some good deep conversation, but it's the centering your life around the reality, and the pleasure of God, and empathy for man where the similarities of priorities become more evident, plus we both like tools, and know how to use most of them effectively, so there's that... OK, i'll quit bitching about the crappy stuff, maybe today will balance out better than expected, that's how most days seem to go, when i'm paying attention.  --  ct
 02-07-24:  i don't love the platform, seems like an a/i input collection tool, but sometimes i write on Quora too: https://www.quora.com/profile/Chris-Terlizzi-1/answers
02-06-24:  it's another pretty day in Rockingham county, feels warm too... got some chores and errands (responsibilities) to juggle/attend to, and hopefully some more reading and writing afterward... yesterday was mostly reading, but a guy with my limited capacity can only read so much without writing some of what i consumed... input, computing/metabolizing, and output... and such is life in many ways... you put good truthful stuff into a person who is relatively healthy, and you would eventually expect to see good results/output... all depending on priorities, how observant and well-adjusted to our environment we've become, and individual gifts/talents/genetics and the like... anyhow, hope your Tuesday goes well, mine is pretty good so far, but i've got some traffic to deal with soon, so, you know, pray for me ;-) -- ct

02-06-24 later:  had another person that i love and/or respect (both in this case) let me know they appreciate some of my writing/opinions... that's petty cool for an unprofessional-everything, and master under-achiever like me taking on a new hobby... let me give it to you straight, zero sugar-coating, no-nonsense fact... it's cool knowing that some folks can cut through my particular writing-style--which is an anathema to all rules of proper grammar--and my emotional-dump posts, and discern the baby within the bath-water... God bless you, i don't know if i could do it, if i could read someone else's blog, written in such a weird way, almost some perverse affront to English literacy in every aspect you might imagine... there you go, that's about as much celebration that my ego can muster up... but reality is, that as much as i appreciate some pat on the back, i require negative feed-back as well... i beg the reader to hold my sources and/or reasoning faulty in any way... hold me accountable, otherwise i'm just running away with my mouth/heart... some knuckle-heads give me crap from time to time--and i'm not thoroughly convinced that some aren't people that i know, like maybe some buddies giving me the business/crap, i'm well aware that that happens... stinkers... anyway, cool, thanks for letting me know, and please expect me to let you down in some respect, because--as you already know--i'm far from perfect, and i'm wrong and ignorant about plenty of things, despite some tests suggesting that i have the potential be a bit smart when i'm functioning well, i'm still a big dummy about a zillion things... so as much as i love hearing people's appreciation, it's the negative critique/concern that i appreciate more... but don't be an ass-hole about it, or i'll punch you in your ugly mouth ;-) yeah, i like to get funny and silly... they say that humans are emotional-beings, my only functional emotion is humor, the rest of 'em really suck... so... back to me letting you down... everyone has some calculated expectations of someone, and their ideas... i'm letting you know in advance that i think about tons of controversial topics, and get pretty weird in my theories and reasoning (because i am weird, and observant too)... i'm probably not intelligent, disciplined, or motivated to do any deep-dives into any topic/subject... i don't have any pre-determined audience, so i just write however i want to, with any depth that i need to in order to satisfy my crumbling ego; i'm my own worse critic, and i fvck up with some regularity, sometimes on important matters, but mostly due to false assumptions (laziness), or lacking enough relevant and truthful information... and such is everyone's struggle... bad info, and bad calculations... speaking of calculations, have you read C. Langan's latest essay 'where quantum theory lives'... i'm only about six or seven pages into it, and already had an 'ah-haaah' moment while sitting in the Dr's waiting-room today flipping through a few pages... fine, i won't spoil it, but you can check it out on substack...
 ... in the meantime, i just had two ideas/topics come to me tonight while i was working on dinner, and now i'm frickin tired as anything, and i forget both of them, but thy were good enough that they'll probably come back to me by tomorrow, otherwise, they were sh1t/nonsense, but i know they weren't, and i'm over-tired and still narrating and carying on about them... good grief. -- ct
02-04-24:  nice day in Rockingham county... the sun was shining, birds were singing, we never ran out of bacon, and Dan brought some good stuff to the keys, vocals, and the pulpit... Step-study afterwards was good too... you know God is moving in your midst when grown-ass men are willing to be vulnerable, and slowly submit to reality... it is NOT a quick process though... little revelations, re-adjustments, and break-throughs can be, but taking a deep-dive into your mind and soul, and expecting to come out with a much better view of ourselves, and reality are some of the things that make the world go around, and provide hope for our future.  --  ct
02-03-24:  it's bright and sunny in Rockingham county, almost 40f too, it's a pretty day... had a busy first-half of the day, now i'm reading, writing, and maybe a little bit of thinking in between, that's right, i'm in my happy-place... reading, writing, and thinking... you know what that means? It means i may have finally become a simple-man, on my path to be a most boring man, think i'm pretty darn close to reaching that goal too... maybe that sounds odd to you, but i'm the type of introvert where quiet and boring rule the day, and when they don't, i'm probably overwhelmed/exhausted, so boring is awesome... there's plenty of narrative going on in the noggin to keep me entertained when all is quiet in the house, plenty of questions for God, plenty of interests to ponder, plenty of melodies to hum, plenty of things to think and do when there really is nothing to do... nothing but time and space to occupy the thoughts... the thoughts are mere signals, one's which communicate to God all that i think... and see, and smell, and taste, and hear, and feel... what i think of it all... God knows i'm a world-class complainer, maybe a faulty sensor, a noisy opinionated over-sensitive one... God knows whats going on around us, as He experiences the world through us, through thoughts, through senses, through our souls... God had a thought, an idea, and created that idea, and that idea still exists in the cosmos, in the mind of God... God called the fruition of that idea 'good', and so it continues on... though fallen angels taunt, and interfere with God's good idea, by confusing the thoughts of the inhabitants, to worship creation over Creator, God still thinks his idea is 'good'... a good idea, a work of art, a beautiful creation, maybe even a master-piece... a good idea that remains in the mind of God, spinning and rotating and alive... though the enemy roams creation looking for souls to devour The Creator has left the inhabitants with protection, He has given them intelligence, minds of their own, minds to learn, understand, and interact with the rest of creation... The Creator spoke to his people, and given us words of logical sustainability, even demonstrated those words during the Jesus-years for us, literally showed us what He meant... the words and example never died, they provide protection, protection to understand reality when confronted with the enemy, the enemy who interferes with God's good idea, always distracting and interfering with the signals between Creator and creation, always disrupting communion/ conversation/thoughts, always trying to distort reality to manipulate man to worship creation, and not The Creator, a most patient God, who still thinks His idea is good... maybe you can thank God for that... anyway, here's to good ideas, cheers.  --  ct

02-03-24 later:  i'm gonna do this thing, this stupid thing actually, maybe it's not thaaat stupid... i'm gonna do some cut/pasting from quora... i'm in some stupid-ass algorithm where i keep getting email with MBPT information... so i'm gonna do this stupid thing where i copy and paste some info that i think is pretty accurate for me (INTJ, although the J is on the edge of P)... some folks write some crap that makes us sound like psychopaths with zero emotional IQ and complete lack of empathy (they might be projecting their own shortcomings)... so i'll copy and paste some of the bull-shit too, maybe a true/false exercise... it seems kind of dumb, but sometimes those are the best exercises... so this is just a note/place-holder to remind me to do that stupid project, it shouldn't take too long, but it will make the quora algorithm worse for a while.  [UPDATE: i started it over on this page]  --  ct
02-02-24:  it's supposed to be last-night still, but here it is... 2:22... and i'm up, and about... 02:22 is no time to 'make a wish', i'm pretty sure the moments for wishing are 11:11 (although i never tried that), so 2:22 is no time for wishing, unless it's wishing you were actually asleep at that hour... i probably am a bit asleep, maybe not, i suck at sleeping, so i'm not the one with the knowledge or credentials to suggest that i can properly define the word anymore, it seems more like a fictitious idea than a real thing... 'sleep', pssssh, right (followed by a snort-laugh)... OK, enough drama for now, there is plenty of time for complaining after the sun rises... but insomnia is a frustration that you never really get used to... i dunno, maybe some folks do...
 ... here's an idea for one of the papers stewing in the noggin, or maybe it's just a funny joke/bit:
 ... so, it finally happens... i'm sitting there, minding my own business, and BOOM, i get whacked, finished, i'm done... and--you know--i have that out of body experience, and my soul floats up past the clouds, and guess what... yeah yeah yeah, Saint Peter, standing--actually, floating--and i get all kinds of crazy excited... and much like 'Buddy the Elf', i let loose with an unfiltered 'PETE--the fisher of men--is that really you?!?', i shouted, with, what now seems like an embarrassing amount of enthusiasm. And he starts shaking his head in some judgemental-pity sort of way while crossing his arms... so then he just tells me straight-up, not trying to sugar-coat it, or nothin... 'Yeah, ummm... look, you are clearly assuming too much, and don't expect a hug or a hand-shake either... you idiot... you're a fvcking poster-boy reason why re-incarnation is a thing, alright... let that sink in a bit... that's right buddy, Mr. Under-Achiever... given a boat-load of potential, and what did you with it... sat at the back of class throwing things, and drooling over the pretty girl with the short skirt.' ...  Sure enough, that's when my life passed before my eyes, and, son of a bitch, Pete was right... 'It seems like you aren't aware of how this works', continued Pete... 'You were given so many years on earth, and expected to utilize a minimum of ten-percent of your personal-potential for the good of mankind--it was only twenty-percent if you ever considered self-actualizing... so, fair is fair, and guess what, you came up short, pal... what, you couldn't get it right enough for ten measly-percent?  It's rhetorical, so shut your trap, Mr. Three-Percenter.  Now I'll give you a minute to pick up what's left of those shattered expectations from the floor/cloud/whatever, and then back you go... i'm sure you'll try harder next time, maybe be a bit more diligent and purposeful about utilizing the tools you were given for others, not just yourself, shall we... Alright, very good... now get going before i ask Simon the Zealot to bounce you outta here, he gets ornery around you low-achiever types... go on now... toodles!'
 ... there's some humor in that story... but man, i've been convicted of some selfishness regarding use of potential, not doing enough with it... now that i'm more self-aware of the deficiency, and in my own defense, losing some capability makes it more difficult to really know what i have left to offer, and how close to maximizing what's left of my potential... too many years of goofing off, and seeking pleasure and escape... anyhow, hope you liked the bit, and St Pete and the other Simon got a chuckle too, those two could probably kick my ass.  --  ct
 02-01-24:  ummm, hello... ahhh, don't think we've met, but ummm... i'm chris... so you're like, number two, right?  the second month?  how do you say you're name, 'Feb-rrr', sorry once again... ohhh, that first 'r' is silent... so it's like 'Feb-u-eh-ree', or something?  no sh1t... i got it right?  Well, 'February', it's my pleasure to meet you... And, Hey, welcome to the area... most folks around here call me 'grumpy-pants', but you can call me whatever you'd like... Alright then, good day.  --  grumpy pants
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