Back again for the very first time

Ruby the cat forever in our hearts

2007-2020

Happy New Year, even though its 17 days in.

I spent the better part of last year becoming a more chilled out version of myself, found a great online group of people in IRC-most artists and music types- and started reading a lot, and found a new love of gaming. 

There is a vast and supportive community of people in the gaming world, and i have followed it since late 2017. 

The new rig, my Lenovo Legion C730 BEAST:

This is a stock photo. The best part of it, besides performance, is that it is 'futureproof'as in the motherboard and chipset will handle anything new for at least 5 years. I can keep swapping out graphics cards, add RAM and even another SSD, because, why not? 

I have a Lenovo Legion Y520 laptop, that i purchased in 2017, but save since then for this.

Funny how being middle aged, you appreciate things that take time to procure, and not instant gratification.

Anyway, my gaming handle on steam, twitch and youtube it Visitor73

The twitch has no content yet, as i just got the PC in early January, but i have a few youtube videos, mostly about gaming: 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOzAiTTRPrcqDibjumieZmw

The image i use is of the alien ship, from the movie Starman, from 1984:

Now, that is Meteor Crater Park in AZ.

A place i went to in both 1993 and 2001.

It is exactly what one would think it is: a big hole in the earth. 

Ok, im off now but i want to tell you who i've been reading lately, mostly scifi and fantasy

Richard Thieme

Zak ZyZ

These both i found in my adventures in IRC. 

Richard's site: https://www.thiemeworks.com/

If you get a book to start with, i suggest Mind Games. an EXCELLENT anthology of short stories. He also contacts you personally, and will sign the book. Really cool dude. 

Zak Zyz can be found here:

http://zakzyz.com/

All his stuff is free to download, BUT you can also buy it on Amazon. Which i think is worth it 1000%

He is working on a book called 'GRAVID'right now and here is the intro video: https://youtu.be/ndWUOSwqE_g

He also livestreams the book edit every morning. He made the GRAVID intro himself. Very interesting person, to say the least.

Ok, well I'M BACK.

And by that, the Jer you loved is back and i'm going to post here a LOT more.

Because i love to talk about myself. 

Ok. 

Vintage radio

I picked up this vintage Zenith radio at a tag sale for $2. It's been on constantly and still runs like a champ.

Prince

Well, we lost another great. Prince-the prolific musician and entrepreneur- died unexpectedly at 57.

Here is why i am chiming in on his death:

He was an amazing, kind, caring and open person. 

He was an amazing musician. His recordings spanned decades and earned him a worldwide reputation.

He was a Jehovah's Witness. Which meant a strict lifesytle, that contradicted some of the themes of his music, but molded him into the disciplined machine that he was. 

I was introduced to Prince's music in 1984. The very first album i ever owned, still have, and am playing as i write this i Purple Rain. 

I received this for my birthday. I had to give away the poster, because my dad thought it was too mature for my ren years. I gave it to an older girl on the school bus. I also had a crush on her. 

We listened to Ourple Rain when my dad, brother and two step vrotgers went camping at Lake Otis. 

It was a cathartic experience, because Prince used the word 'masturbating' in one of the songs. 

The other cathartic experience was that my dad made us chili one fine camping night, and my then nine year old bowels did NOT agree with the spicy, protein enriched fusion. 

I cleared a tent full of family, and basically had to change through three pairs of underwear. 

Anyway, Prince was really awesome, stuck to his guns and rocked the hell out. 

Hearing the 'sermon' at the beginning of 'When Doves Cry' sent a shiver down my spine. 

 

 

another.

I just found out that my older step brother Dale has passed away.

He had lifelong problems that kept him from fully enjoying life, but i always tried to treat him with some semblance of respect. 

He was a wanderer, as i am too.

I just feel really bad for my stepmother,as she did everything she could as a parent, to make him happy. 

This Happiness often eluded him as he moved from job to job, place to place. 

I hope he has finally found some peace for himself, as he has given some part of that peace to those he affected.         

Brussels.

I saw a video of a little girl running with her dad, away from the the carnage. 

Stop misrepresenting your religion, you fools.

You aren't terrorizing anyone. 

Scavenger hunt!

a branch. thanks to fred and betsy!

a big leaf. 

a fire hydrant. 

some bark.

a sewer grate. 

a stump. 

a big rock. 

a big rock. 

us. 

it was nice to take in the fresh air, to find things around our neighborhood and to give jackson a nice walk. 

Embarrassed.

Like many of my fellow citizens, you went to the polls on this day, to cast your vote for the nominee of this great land's highest office. 

Not having any political affiliation, Teri and I decided to march in and figure out where we were headed. 

We both chose a third party. 

There were too many bad apples already making too many promises, so we wanted to let them know that we don't want them.

Something was a little...off when we got to the polling station. Our privacy was put to the test, in a VERY uncomfortable way. 

First, being undecided, we had to tell them which ballot OUT LOUD that we were taking as a party. Then,we went to the next person,who we told again, and they handed us our huge, color coded ballot sheet.

They were: Red for republican

                  Blue for democrat

                  White for independent 

                  Green for green/rainbow

Now, i'm sure that this was done, as to not lend to the confusion of the voter, BUT it left the rest of our asses hanging in the wind.

After marking in our ballots, we walked over to sign out. That turned into a debacle as well, because the person crossed off the letter 'U' next to our names, and changed them to another letter!

I'm pretty sure that was completely illegal, as I am still undecided and can change my mind come November.

This doesn't help that we had to:

1) announce a party affiliation, THEN have our undecided status changed.

2) had to announce and show everyone around us which way we voted.

3) were made to feel very uncomfortable by voting the way we did.

But one take away is that our two votes (which led to a whopping 0.6% of the total for Mass.) were sacrificed, so the red and blue clowns could be shown that we want to be counted as one person.  

And, that there are alternatives to their hypocritical status quo, campaign money machines.

Fuck the greed machine and the greed heads. Fuck the empty promises and fuck the electoral system as a whole.