We've started renovating a space in my parent's basement to live in so we can help out around the house/land. The lease here isn't up till January, but I wanna get that shit done. It's been stressing me the fuck out. I ended up mocking up the floor plan and our furniture in CAD so we could get a feel for how the downsizing cookie is gonna crumble. It is gonna be a quarter the space of our current place, but conquering bedbugs a while back made a lot of downsizing decisions for us. Spending a lot of time staring at the layout puzzling out walk paths and public / private spaces. The owners before my parents used the space to run a business, so it is more or less independent of the rest of the house. Figuring out how to get multiple uses of a space is an interesting challenge, but not really one I'm passionate about. Feels more like work.
I'm wearing a shirt into work today on which I've written a small rant about the lack of working fans in the building. These trailers get hot, man. I managed to work in some of their safety jargon too. I figure either no one will bat an eye, or they'll walk me out for my tasteful use of the word "FUCKING" as the centerpiece of the shirt. Will report back later on employment status.
Just got back from Gogol Bordello. It was a 2 1/2 hour show, plus the opener. We were on the outer cusp of wine-spitting-distance. The entire venue was. Cost us like $20. It was awesome. Pre Edit Edit: I'm starting to suspect the local venue has a deal where the doors open at 7pm, but the band can't start before 9pm. Gotta milk those bar sales. Edit: It's midnight. Who wants grilled cheese? Edit: Edit: I've got half of a 3d printer printed. Most of the outsourced parts are in the mail. Hitting some walls getting the right metric fasteners locally, though.
I subscribe to the "companies have forgotten how to pay" take on this. My employer turned a $3+ billion profit last year. $4+ billion the year before. They've been reduced to offering newhires a $125 bonus each week in exchange for actually showing up to work every day. That's all. Clock in five times a week: make $125 extra. And here I am, making a killing in forced overtime every day because they can not get staffed. Why? Newbies start off at $10 an hour. Newbies have to wait a year to get benefits. The job is just part-time. The schedule isn't fixed, making it hard to plan another job around. Even with the bonus: why would they stay? Corporate is in a position where every new person they hire sucks. Because they can only get people who haven't done the barista math. And all their old hands don't give a flying fuck, because the company oh-so-wisely decided to leave them in the cold with those retention bonuses. It is a trainwreck that everyone could see coming a mile off as the unemployment rate fell. But nobody did anything about it, because properly compensating labor is tantamount to sharing profits.You can't find good candidates if a you can't match barista wages.
I shaved my face, and my wife snapped a picture of it. I'm also doing an experiment where I've started uploading to Flickr and putting (lowish resolution) photos under CC0. We'll see if it ends up biting me in the ass somehow, but I figure hardly one is really going to look at them anyways. Do people even still use Flickr anymore? I ended up settling on it because I knew the creative commons search tools worked well with it. EDIT: I fucked up. Took a shower and then groomed the dog. Shoulda reversed those...
It's a socialist magazine with a paywall. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Bruises heal. Glitter is forever.
Per kleinbl00's tip, I have picked up a 3d printer off of craigslist. Is it steller? Nah. Does it work? Yes. Will I use it print out another printer? You fucking betcha. I've had to fix a few issues with how the previous owner assembled the kit, but it more or less passes calibration tests now! I haven't been this excited 'bout a nerd project since I installed Gentoo 1.2 on my iLamp.
Steinbeck I've read The Pastures of Heaven, To a God Unknown, Tortilla Flat, In Dubious Battle, and Of Mice and Men. I'd guess I actually started these before the last book thread was posted, but I didn't finish this volume of works until recently. To a God Unknown was my favorite of that batch, followed by The Pastures of Heaven. I could read Steinbeck describe land all day. In Dubious Battle was the only one that I really wished were longer. Felt abridged. Henry David Thoreau Natural History of Massachusetts, A Walk to Wachusett, and Sir Walter Raleigh. Didn't bother to find out which version of Sir Walter Raleigh I read (apparently there are two), but A Walk to Wachusett is the only one I'd read again. Basically a hiking trail report. Alice Munro Started a collection of her short stories. I only got three stories in, but I really liked it. Need to rebuy the book so I can finish it. F. Scott Fitzgerald I just finished This Side of Paradise. Not entirely sure what I think of it, yet. A quarter of the way through I was pretty sure I didn't like it at all. Then I was miffed when I realized I was reaching the end.
Name: my own Location: Kansas Age: 29 Current Preoccupation: Reading through this. About to finish volume 1. Trying to be less bitter about work. Previous Preoccupations: Being bitter about work. What change would you like to see from the users of Hubski? ? I find I lurk more as I become more comfortable with the fact that I'm not comfortable trying to be social for the sake of being social. More book threads would be nice. I need to get a hard copy of Society Of The Spectacle so I can finish it. I read super slow on my phone.
HEY HUBSKI Found in the alley behind the bike shop. Here's a more uptodate picture of me. (Also sometimes found in the alley behind the bike shop). Speaking of bikes, I went on a ~50 mile ride on an empty stomach monday. 0/10, do not recommend. Also: On sunday, my mother in law got a record player for my father in law's birthday. The radio tuner on it works great, and the speaker's noice, but the needle is missing and I think the stylus is broken. Couldn't figure out out to fit it into the arm anyways. Finally: I returned my copy of War and Peace. I'm at the end of Volume 1. I think I'm gonna read a volume per checkout. I was gonna grab Thelonious Monk:The Life and Times of an American Original, but the biography section of the library was getting moved. So I panicked and picked up The Easter Rising instead. I also went to the local bookstore and picked up a physical copy of Capital, and a copy of Malcom X's autobiography. EDIT Oh, and my wife convinced me to buy a wacom.
- Finally managed to go check out the local radical library. Hell, yes. The hours a bit inconvenient for me, but I'll making use of it. They had a copy of Understanding Power, which I checked out since I'd much rather read a physical book than an ebook. - I try to pick up the random trash I find while I'm out with the pupper. I realized yesterday that I've actually made a decent impact within his poop walk radius. Most of the trash now is confined to the drainage pond for nearby parking lots. If I ventured in there, I'm pretty sure I'd lose my shoes. - Someone posted some IWW stuff to my unions' private facebook group for mayday. It wasn't even me! That was nice.
Second the Wii. The game library is huge, cheap, and their age group is well catered to. They'll be much more likely to afford used wii games with whatever gift money they have, new switch games are expensive. Also, my public library has amassed a huge selection of kid friendly stuff they could check out; I'd wager yours has too.
Got my first real night of sleep in a week and a half. Beware of apartment leases (full stop) that require the tenant to pay for extermination services. Just because the cost isn't an issue for you doesn't mean that applies to everyone. And if it spreads... ick. Several of my books didn't respond well to heat treatment. Paperbacks all seem fine. My Library of America volumes, though? Less glued together than before (yay for sewn bindings) and some tearing in a few of the hinges. 'Bout to buy a car. Probably a Yaris or Prius. We were holding on to the '99 Solaris for as long as it could. And now that we are slipping in the highest gear, the time is come. Want a hatchback. Need good millage, since we mainly drive highway miles to work. Edit: $800 later and we still have bugs. Oof.
Local Politics We had ~10% turnout in our city commission primary. Whoooooh. Fucking Kobach. Everyone I voted for made the cut for the general, so that's nice. I suspect both of the incumbents will keep their seats, which means one of my choices probably won't get elected in the general. I hope Stumblingbear gets a seat, he's been the one taking affordable housing the most seriously thus far. Reading I'm now 30% of the way through Wealth of Nations. I get why no one reads this now. It's inconvenient. Both from a length perspective, and from our popular notions of what it says versus what it actually says. Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil is also short and good. It is balancing out Wealth nicely. I have mixed feelings about these matte paperback book covers, though. Some of them hold up fine, but some of 'em (thinking about my copy of Land of Lisp here) hold up like shit. Union Trying to come up with suggestions for the contract negotiation suggestion meeting this weekend. So far, everything I have is stuff they won't want to hear: that is, stuff that would require active involvement on their part, not passive benefits. I.e. stuff to grieve when the company violates it. Bread My sourdough starter is... done. Tried sleeping it in the fridge while it was so hot out, but then I forgot about it. Tastes off now. Oh well, they mostly just cost time to start. Maybe I'll get that mill soon.
Fair The County Fair is opening to the public tonight, and we're walking distance from it. What time is it? FRIED FOOD TIME! WHOOOOOOoooOOOOoOOOoOOOOoooOooo! Reading I'm now a fifth of the way through Wealth of Nations. I feel asleep reading it last night, so I've probably got to double back and skim. That's my problem with summer time: the heat just saps my energy. Since I read in the evening, it is a constant struggle to keep my focus. Coffee helps, but then I'm up till midnight and that leads to me getting my ass handed to me the next day at work. Which then means I'm more tired the next evening. I'm enjoying the bits of the book that aren't long tracts of accounting for the prices of silver and corn. Maybe I'll give audible a shot. Seems expensive, though. Project Gutenberg ebooks are free... Family My niece is going to Germany as an exchange student soon. My brother and his wife announced yesterday that they're having a Mandatory Family Dinner on Sunday for her. They've known that this meal would be happening for ages, but they have the planning horizon of a Labrador. They also haven't actually told me about it. They just told Mom and assumed she would disseminate The Word. Frustrating.
TODAY Lookin' at a 107 heat index today. We are gonna get \_FUCKED\_ with Prime Day bullshit. The smartest among us are burning their call-ins. I am not a smart man. Thank Fuck Amazon was able to clear out that old inventory in via a fucking Barrage of Bullshit and Poorly Taped Boxes*. I've been working in metal 53 foot trailers all week. Our door fans have an effective range of ~20 feet. Should be good times. Might break the 2 gallon mark on water consumption. Did 1.5 yesterday over 5 hours. My family wants us to go see the City Band at the park tonight. I have my doubts about my willingness to sit in the heat off the clock. I have my doubts about their willingness too. I don't understand why the Band only plays in the dead of summer, buried in the middle of the week. Weekends? Spring? Fall? Nope. LAST SUNDAY I made falafel! I've been meaning to do a #grubski post about it, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Frying is a pain, otherwise I'd make falafel more than twice a year. LAST SATURDAY Helped a friend move into a house he just bought with his new USPS salary. Well, I say "helped"... he's at the bottom of the seniority list. Guess who got called in to do a cover route on the day of the move? Yep. _________________________ * Fuck paper tape. Double fuck paper tape that was minimally applied. Triple fuck paper tape that was minimally applied to the bare minimum of products that can qualify as "cardboard".
- The Omnivore's Dilemma is definitely turning me on to local food. - Homemade Soy Milk is really good, but lacking stabilizers means it is prone to curdling in coffee. - Daffodils are popping up everywhere right now. Many of the trees also have tiny leafs, not buds. Too soon. - I've learned that the community owned grocery has some pretty spiffin' deals in their discount produce bins. _____________________ KU Field Station
I'm playing Fallout New Vegas. Which is good. The environment isn't as great as FO4, but the game itself? Way way better. I'm actually planning on playing all of the DLC for this one. I haven't done that since Skyrim. I'm also struggling with wine to get FO4 to launch so I can play that after I beat NV.
Giant Generic Tower Wood Block Game is pretty fun. Edit: Finally got around verifying all the bits on my 'spensive bike are still in working order after the wreck. Only took a few months to get around to. Now I need to buy a new rear rack for it. Thinking about aluminium this time around. It's cheaper. It's lighter. The weight ratings (can be) similar.
election night Locally, two of the three city council candidates I supported won. The one I was most excited about managed to net herself a four year term. Went from being the fourth place vote getter in the primary to second in the general. Less locally? The district judge candidate who wrote that? Fucking won. Lee Carter, one of the people politico used for their "Could America’s Socialists Become the Tea Party of the Left?" bit? Fucking won. It's not all riding coat tails of the Democratic party either. Ginger Jentzen straight up ran on the Socialist Alternative ballot line and did pretty damn well.I say all of this to say that while I have not identified as a democratic socialist in the past, I would be honored to have the support of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. To me, being a socialist means acknowledging, confronting, and demanding reparations for social inequalities in no uncertain terms.
Honestly, I have no idea why I ended up on Hubski. I think that at least one other user joined on the same day as me, so maybe I got here via a Reddit link? I stick around because Hubski is a social network taken from cyberpunk: an amorphous community of people spread out all over the world.
VACATION STARTS NOW! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES! ... I live in Lawrence, Kansas. The University of Kansas basketball team made it into the Final Four. Again. I could give less of a shit, but the city has announced that downtown will be closed to traffic all day Saturday. I'm sure as shit going to go relish in that. Just have to go early and get out before the game gets underway. Bah humbug. Oooo... a pedestrian zone. Neat.
Still employed.
Whelp, I now have a Canon T5, and a boat load of pictures of the pup. We're about half way through listening to The Omnivore's Dilemma. Which got me to thinking: now that we've moved, we are close enough to my parent's land to plant a garden. Potatoes, here we come! Also onions. And Garlic. And Beets? And Turnips? We saved a big ol' bag of veggie bits for making stock, but it was possibly the bitterest thing I've ever tasted. The onion skin to everything else ratio was too damn high, I think. EDIT: Oh, and canned coconut milk is a poor creamer substitute in coffee.
I HAVE DISCOVERED CHAMOIS-LESS CYCLING/RUNNING TIGHTS. THE TYRANNY OF PANTS IS AT A CLOSE.
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. GLASSES 2. KANSAS ----------- §1 GLASSES Have I mentioned that I got new glasses? It is my first time with plastic frames. I really like them so far, although I'm not sure how durable they will be. §2 Kansas I keep turning that over in my head. Kansas isn't my ideal, but it's not bad. Lawrence is ok. My big issue with living in the KC Metro was that I never felt like I belonged there. I had no sense of community. Lawrence, though? I fit in. My issue isn't the people. They make sense to me in a way I haven't felt since I left in '08. I've realized that when I think of "falling in love with a place", what I'm thinking of --what I'm not feeling here-- is landscape. When I think of places that I enjoyed going to, what stands out for me is the environment. Ours is now corn and soy.
- My popcorn popper just let a cruncha buncha smoke and is ded. RIP. The previous owner died in '82, so I guess it had a good run. - My boss tried to guilt me today for not working as hard as I could. I was having none of it. - Windows 10 review: ok for playing games. The rest of it, though? Just finished writing an OpenBSD install image to my thumb drive, because I can't get a virtual machine to work in Windows 10 Pro. - Finished reading Zinn's A People's History of the United States. Would recommend, but it is deffos a survey. - Starting The War on Leakers: National Security and American Democracy, from Eugene V. Debs to Edward Snowden by Lloyd C. Gardner. Impulse checkout from the Library. - Also starting Understanding Power which is an anthology of Chomsky edited by Peter R. Mitchell and John Schoeffel.
Work/ Union This week has been... interesting... Friday: Find out new hires' weekly attendance bonus is up to $200/week. Gross pay for a 20 hour week is now $20/hr. Full time union members finally start to take notice of the issue, as this is more than a new driver makes. This isn't super relevant to the drama that unfolds next, but I'm salty about it since the bonus is selectively applied and is exploitative as fuck if you get sick or injured. Friday Night: Rank and file vote down our national contract and various regional supplemental agreements. The union's lead negotiator is grumpy AF on the teleconference while announcing the results. They pushed the yes vote hard. Company puts out a statement accepting results. This is the positive energy high water mark. Late Friday Night: International Union ratifies national contract citing language in our constitution. They'd telegraphed that this would happen, but it still takes most people by surprise. Also: with the contract ratified, the new pay rate for new hires combined with bonuses is now $23/hr in 20 hours. Saturday: All hell breaks loose on social media. What limited news coverage there is notes how this will strain labor relations at the company going into the holiday season. Dissenting local leaderships start publishing open letters demanding the union walk back its position. Company puts out statement that they now consider master contract settled, with regional supplemental agreements outstanding. Can you guess what happens tomorrow? Sunday: Yup. International indicates that they will apply the same language to ratify a large chunk of regional supplements. This language was not applied last contract negotiation. In 2013, rejected supplements were renegotiated and re balloted. This is one of the sore points that get brought up when... Monday: 7 out of 10 of the International Union Vice Presidents write letters in opposition. The gist is that they want an emergency meeting of the General Executive Board, where they will attempt strike the language being used to impose ratification from the constitution. Tuesday: My local, which is aligned with the International and had a seat on the national negotiating committee, realizes they have a problem and publishes a letter stating that "our members" believe that there are issues with the contract that need to be addressed prior to implementation. The list of requested changes, surprisingly, doesn't suck. Looking forward: NLRB complaints. Probably Lawsuits. Probably no actual change on the contract. I doubt the executive board is allowed to meet. Rank and file will remain pissed off. The offending language will be struck from the constitution at our next convention. Recall language might get added. The dissident Teamsters United slate is going to have a cake walk into office in the next elections. I'm actually pretty proud of the rank and file. Our leadership sucks, but our turnout went up by a third. We handily rejected the contract despite the union and the company both pushing a yes vote. And we haven't meekly rolled over and accepted the outcome. Bikes Haven't ridden much since I crashed last year. My Raleigh is too heavy to want to lug up and down stairs, and my Surly I've been actively avoiding as that is what I was riding when I crashed. I've changed the setup on it a lot since then, but I still shy away from riding it. It'll probably set there until I pull the parts off of it and get a new frame-set. The frame is fine, I just don't want to ride it anymore.
To continue a developing theme: She was hung over and had just woken up. I'd actually done it drunkenly the night before, but she didn't appear to remember.Married folks of Hubski, how did you propose?