< Notes...

Yesterday, while having lunch with George at Kimchi, I learned that my favourite waitress, and someone I consider a friend, has retired. I felt a mix of happiness and sadness that’s lingering until now.

friends george life me

This is a sobering reality to witness, even secondhand. Everything has a cost in prison, it truly is dystopian. Want to treat an inmate to some food? Microwavable sandwiches and pizzas cost $7.95. Yoghurts parfait cost $4.50. Soda cost $3.50. All the food is of fairly rubbish quality, mind it. I don’t want to get into the price of food packages that can be send, up to four times a month. Families, of course, carry the financial burden.

I understand some people have done truly bad things; the degree of gravity varies from inmate to inmate. Yet, what I am describing is not correctional, it is pure profit-making at the expense of the innocent. Yes, nobody forces anyone to spend money while visiting, but as no outside food is allowed, it is almost impossible to avoid.

humans life

Feeling guilty beyond belief after eating around 8 fluid ounces of Häagen-Dazs’s caramel cone ice cream. I told the Horsie not to buy it (she ordered rum and raisins, they delivered caramel cone), but she didn’t listen. Can that be considered an excuse? I mean, once it is paid for, it would be a shame to simply toss it, wouldn’t be?

That’s it, this was the last time. No more ice cream for me!

horsie life me

When someone joins, that person puts in $30,000 CAD ($22,000 USD) to cover a down payment (this is returned if they leave). The total monthly mortgage payment is $2,433 CAD, which the residents split, along with utilities. There are provisions to help applicants who need financial help, Suek said. And each resident pitches in $70 CAD a week for food.

Ageing isn’t fun, no matter what anyone tells you. What these women have done is pretty neat! It allows them to continue growing older in company. And that is a good thing, as it is known that elders living along have an increased mortality rate.

humans life

I know this isn’t new. It comes from 2024. Yet, it was never noted here by me. This intents to correct that mistake.

“I don’t know how I’m going to rebuild myself, how I’m going to get over all this […] I don’t know if my life will be long enough to get back on my feet,” explained Gisèle Pelicot, 71, adding that she had decided to lift the closed-door nature of the trial so that “all women who (are) victims of rape can say to themselves ‘Ms. Pelicot did it, we can do it.’ I don’t want them to feel ashamed anymore. The shame isn’t ours to feel, it’s theirs. (…) Above all, I’m expressing my will and determination to change this society.” — Le Monde

Gisèle Pelicot is our hero. ❤️

humans life thoughts

Thrive in obscurity
https://www.jeetmehta.com/ →

If you’re in it purely for the promised land of love, praise, followers, and fame from millions of people – it’s impossible to sustain. In every field, it takes years of practice, repetition, and “failed performances” before the first hit. In the worst case, artists go their entire life without ever receiving the praise they deserved. Look at Van Gogh – an incredible artist who died unappreciated & broke, in a mental asylum. All of his fame came after his death.

Feels.

humans life

We came to see bố today, just like we do every weekend. It is a less than an hour visit, just to bring him some food, check on him, and tidy up his space. I also checked on Kathleen and Roxanne. Kathleen thanked us for the madeleines we left by her bedside last weekend (I was waiting for her, but she was taking an eternity in the bathroom, so I had leave). Roxanne was in the day room, being amused by the bunch of other elderly folks who get together on weekends to read, play dominoes, and otherwise engage in all sorts of tomfooleries. 🤭

I also went to visit a newly “adopted” resident. She is an elderly Vietnamese lady, who seems not to have much family around. The last two times Horsie and I passed by to see her she didn’t mutter a word. Today I brought her a madeleine, and she said “Cảm ơn”. Baby steps.

elders family horsie life

I visited a prison yesterday. Spent most of the day on the road, driving to the middle of nowhere, and then visiting an inmate for as long as it was possible. Prisons are very, very sad places, where people spend chunks of their lives at a time confined, according to their punishment. Some simply spend the rest of their lives in them.

It is interesting to see the camaraderie that forms amongst the regular visitors; in a way they are a big family. They all have a loved one behind bars binding them together: husbands, fathers, sons, closed family, friends. Each with a story, and each cared for enough to merit visits, with some visitors often traveling from far, far away.

I don’t have a solution for correcting people for their wrongdoings. Based on what I have experienced so far, prisons are not. At least not the way they are run today, or around here.

humans life

After my dad died, we found the love letters
https://www.jenn.site →

“My parents were not a love match. At 27 and 26, they were embarrassingly old by the standards of their small chinese port town. All four of my grandparents exerted enormous pressure to force them together.”

That blog post was hard to read. I couldn’t help feeling sad for the OP, their mum, their family. It left me feeling very melancholic.

humans life

Coming across Horsie’s many boxes and paper piles brings reflection. If it was up to me they would be gone long time ago. They are… attachments. I want to believe they are. Anyway, for that reason an old Mark Pilgrim’s blog post came to mind, and I had to go hunting for it.

“I had been waiting for the facts inside these boxes to change. Of course facts do not change; only people change. And with that, I dumped them in the trash and hauled them to the curb, still unopened after all these years.”

Will that time come for Horsie? I am going to work harder now to get rid of things I might have accumulated and left unused for years. If anything so that others—specifically loved ones—don’t inherit that burden.

family horsie life philosophy

“In the struggle for existence, it is only on those who hang on for ten minutes after all is hopeless, that hope begins to dawn.”

I heard this on NPR today while driving. They were talking about aphorisms, and the guest was asked to say his favourite—the above—one. It is from G.K. Chesterton. When feeling this despaired, I will think of this.

life thoughts

Came across Wealth which was illustrative, rather accurate, and super easy to read (and I loved the page design, and font, but I digress). Though still not fully set, Horsie set us at an upper ↑3. That is:

“If they lose their job, it’s financially stressful, but they can make it a few months without income. Upper ↑3 could even make it a year if they maxed out their credit cards. They generally can choose where to work, and to leave terrible work environments. Their hours are dictated.”

I pinged a retired friend about it, sending him the link, and asking “Pick your ↑X Wealth 🤑”. He replied:

Yes, I’m #6 (Rich) and am striving to be #7 (Ultra Rich). 🤑 I found 6 figures to 7 figures and to 8 figures fairly easy to obtain, but that jump to 9 figures ($100M) seems like an incredibly huge mission that I don’t think I’ll see in my lifetime. Hopefully the Dynasty Trust I leave to my heirs will someday reach that level. 😇👍

➝ Via Hacker News.

horsie life via

Eating out is something that I am giving more and more thought, before I do it. We used to go out to eat at least once a week (weekends), but prices have gone up everywhere, and portions have shrunk, and quality has diminished. Yeah, “times they are a-changin’”.

family life me

Truly enjoyed reading “Death and what comes next”. Some of the comments on its submission to Hacker News are food for the brain, and the closeted philosopher in me loves them!

“Astonishing”, said Death. “Really astonishing. Let me put forward another suggestion: that you are nothing more than a lucky species of ape that is trying to understand the complexities of creation via a language that evolved in order to tell one another where the ripe fruit was?”

➝ Via Hacker News.

life via

That EOE has to be spelled out, and made a law, is sad, and speaks very poorly about the human condition.

“An “equal opportunity employer” (EOE) is a business that pledges not to discriminate against employees or job applicants based on characteristics like race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information. This means that job decisions, including hiring, firing, promotions, and pay, are made without regard to these characteristics.”

humans life

“I went to a show in November of last year (it’s May right now) and ever since, I have tinnitus. I don’t recommend it.”

I do, too. And I, too, do not recommend it. I don’t know what it feels to be in silence. I have gotten used to my “new” silence, and learned how to enjoy it, but it is nothing like the silence I experienced before tinnitus started.

health life rants

With—and I will use the locally used Fahrenheit scale—96°F, with “feels like” 109°F, and a Sun so strong it can crack stones (theoretically), you will agree that walking outside an air conditioned building is almost suicide. I just clocked 2.24 miles during my 30 minutes lunch. Outside. Yes.

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Update: 20 Feb 2026 @ 18:22:26

I am, mentally and physically, finding it very hard to keep this promise. I am here, about to return to work, having doubts on whether or not I will go outside again this afternoon. “Listen to your body”, Martin told me. Ugh, my body speaks so convincinly!

Read more...

health life weather

If someone asks “what’s the meaning of life?”, they will find cliché answers, well reasoned ones answers, etc. But nothing explains it better than what this guy did.

“I discovered that no one had ever gone to every country in the world completely without flying [in one unbroken trip].”

Now, if doing what you want, and makes you happy (without harming others) isn’t what life it all about, I don’t know what is.

life philosophy travels

I look forward to coming to office—I can’t believe I am writing this!—to have a “lunch walk” with Errol. It is not just the walk; that I can do on my own, and I do. It is the wide range of topics we touch while walking. I am going to miss that.

friends life work

And just like that our treasured weekend is gone. Other than some grocery shopping, and visiting mum for an early birthday phở, we didn’t do much. Well, there was Eurovision, and a few “Solo Levelling” episodes, yes. But other than that, not much else.

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I have done badly to a promise I made to myself to walk 10,000 steps daily, no matter what. I could point out that the heat is extreme around here, but I can’t use that as an excuse. “None may atone for my actions but me, and only in me shall their stain live on”, so, “all I can be is sorry, and that is all that I am.”

food health life

The trade off of walking inside my neighbourhood is that it’s small, constrained, and gets boring walking the circle over and over. I feel like a Guinea pig on a wheel—though they often look as if they are having a blast; not me. The good thing is that I know the sidewalks now like the back of my hand, and I can walk while reading Hacker News, or Reddit, etc. on the phone. That entertaints me so much, that next I know I have all my daily steps completed.

Tally today so far, 6,100 steps. I will be done early this afternoon, and will then mow the lawn. That’s the plan, unless rain decides otherwise.

health lawn life

I am finding out that I repeat myself quite a bit. Is that good, or bad?

life thoughts

When I walk with my co-worker I do it at a slower pace. Usually when the walk is over, we have around 4,000 steps in our pedometres. He is out this week, so it was me along. I walked longer, and faster, and, still, my tally is 3,400. What’s going on here?

health life

Really tired of being included in class action lawsuits I don’t want to be part of, and having being forced to go through hoops I don’t want to, to exclude myself from them.

life rants

It rains so gently this morning, that I could almost distinguish music within the sound of it hitting my car roof while driving to work. I had to turn off the radio to enjoy it. It felt so nice, I even stayed at extra 10 minutes inside the car at the parking lot, hearing it a bit longer. I need more days that start like this.

life thoughts weather

This isn’t a complain. It has been overcast the entire day. Not a drop of rain, but just close enough to tease. This week I will have to mow the lawn. Yes, it is that time of the year again.

I can’t believe it is almost 19:00, in our marvelous Sunday. Accomplished just about everything I wanted to this weekend, but buying my vitamins. Maybe this week. Off I go!

lawn life weather

Today was a busy day. Busy days are productive, to certain degree. That’s good. They also go by relatively quick, at least in our minds. That’s bad. So, today was a busy, good/bad day.

life work

Lunch hour is quickly approaching, which translates to my first walk of the day. With a Sun that can crack rocks, the feels like 30°C, and the humidity at 69%, it is going to be anything but fun. Yet, must clock the first 5,000 steps, or walking the 10,000 after work will feel like they did yesterday: an absolute torture.

health life weather

On this month alone I have 20 birthdays in my calendar, including 2 of people I care about who have already died. I have written about it before; as long as someone remembers them, they are not fully gone. So, yeah, 20 birthdays. I think this is one of the busiest months when it comes to that.

birthdays friends life

“Have I gone mad? I’m afraid so. You’re entirely Bonkers. But I will tell you a secret, all the best people are.”

I just don’t want to be. Mad, that is. Now I understand the reason for flagelation; mine is walking. Off to it!

life thoughts

Using Google Maps for casual journaling is a neat idea, and I have to say, I wouldn’t know where to start. Maybe it is time to reach out to Claud, exchange hellos, catch up a bit, and ask her!

life social tech

It has been quite a while since I came by. Right now sick. A cold, or a flu (feels like the second). Didn’t get either for the last 4 years or so. Hurrah for not using masks anymore.

health life

Holidays are fastly approaching, and I have been experiencing that mixed happy/melancholic feeling that comes with them. There are always ups and downs, but when extra—as in, non-expected—downs come around this season, my melancholy increases.

I wish all that come around the very best for that next round we call 2025. For those I know, please know I care about you, and keep you in my thoughts daily.

holidays life thoughts

We were lucky, and Milton didn’t affect us much. Yes, boarding and off-boarding windows ain’t fun. Yes, cleaning up little debris ain’t fun either. But we didn’t lose power, nor Internet, and nothing was broken. No complains, absolutely!

life weather

Should I be sad because the weekend is coming to an end, or happy for having enjoyed it? Some will say “why not both?”, but not me. Thus I choose to pick the second.

life thoughts

Hurricane Helene is coming and, as her path will come nearby, she is granting us a day off tomorrow. Thank you Ma’am!

life weather

Not having fun. Actually, having the total opposite, whatever that might be. It all started yesterday, because I am lucky enough to do things that bring plenty of the opposity of fun.

life thoughts

For the first time in 10 years I am paying someone to mow the front lawn, and trim the bushes. All that hard work for $100. I don’t mind doing it, but I need a new mower, trimmer, and blower ($1000+), so, yeah.

Update: 20 Feb 2026 @ 18:22:26

I feel bad for this guy, he is still working on the lawn, and rain is coming. He is doing a good job, though.

lawn life

Oh, I just realised is is Friday 13th! Just one (the first), of the two this year will have. Will, let’s seize it, right? Break a leg! 😅

life random

Partner managed to break, for the second time, her SUV passenger’s side mirror. Granted, the mirror itself wasn’t shattered. Will it count for that “breaking a mirror brings back luck” superstition?

family life