Macabre Hammer

I'd like to get breast reduction, as those damned things get in the way during an oil change. They are frankly why I use the 5 Minute Oil Change shop.

Well, the infection that caused last weekend's vertigo has decided it is tired of the indoor life. It feels like it is trying to escape through my right eardrum.

FYI I took exactly two doses of the meclizine, one Sunday, one Monday. It felt like it neatly shaved 15 IQ points off the top.

@joanlansberry.bsky.social can you put out your social feelers since she was headed to Yuma?

In my experience it's card sniffers on outdoor gas pump card readers almost always. At unfamiliar gas stops I go inside to pay if by card, or plan for cash.

Same.

Not too off-the-mark. Mom was torn between being encouraging and being over-protective, consistently erring on the over-protective side. @jnork.bsky.social saw and heard us butt heads on the regular.

Akin to Orphaned Land's metal video for their song "Like Orpheus." Same concept but Metal.

The yellow star Mom saved from liberation.

Some people call it Holocaust Remembrance Day.

I prefer to call it Fuck You Hitler Day.

I've never been big on my birthday, maybe I should rename it that too.

This was Mom's. I still have it.

"Thank You, Gary" mug

I did NOT buy a Thank You Gary mug.

I did however order three of the stickers.

Steviacide or whatever that chemical is has a weird taste that has me appreciating the fine quality of saccharine.

It ruins coffee, barely tolerable in black tea, and I avoid it because that's a nasty quality to inflict.

The latest shooting is starting to show who is a red or blue side fanboi/fangrl and who is a trustworthy 2A advocate.

Master Rick (Hapkido) once taught in a lecture that when under stress you don't rise to mastery you sink to competence.

Train for competence.

Just watched The Sound of Music for the 1st time in literal decades (buying dvds for $1 from thrift shops/yard sales beats streaming Iike whoa.)

I have a couple of thoughts:

1. I forgot how much I identified with Maria when I was little.

2. Uncle Max is almost the platonic ideal of the Gay Uncle.

Exactly everything you just said.

Once January's over and I can get back to the bench, it will push me to be more polished and clean with my work.

I have a couple of pieces of old Spanish shipwreck silver coins I'm itching to set...

Also, beautiful setting. Setting it without marring the limestone is a great sign of good skill. Plus the rest of the silver work!

Did you happen to get that stone from RockhoundGaryB? :) if so it looks like the one I tried to order and it was already sold out. :) here's the one I settled on instead. Bolo tie set with a Baltic Amber cabachon as the "sun."

That sucks.

Irvine Marriott.

Good morning!

I hope when the Ayatollah's bunker is breached, it will be by a mob of angry Iranian women.

I remember when the Mullahs' regime started, and I want to be watching when it ends.

And - I have hope that it is the start of a collapse of the misogyny of the surrounding cultures.

That "You are pro..." comment is directed towards those who hate that that branch of my family is there. And I have no problem with your viewpoint because yes there is a complex reality at play.

"You want to kill off an entire and growing branch of my family who settled in Haifa, cousins who could well have been at the Nova festival as it's what they are too (and I was relieved to find they weren't) who lost friends/coworkers there."

"You are pro-r*pe/murder."

I want peace with security.

I self-ident as Zionist, and it's just a makes sense thing to me. Uncle Shimon got there pre-'48 after sneaking out of Europe the back way, I can only imagine his feelings as images got out and he had no idea if his sisters had survived (Mom and aunt).
So violent comments to me are:

Stamped copper pressure clasp cuffs bracelet, cold-connected with brass rivet.

Sterling silver pressure clasp cuffs bracelet with 14k gold hammered rivet.

Was thinking about adding bronze to my pressure clasp cuffs. I have copper ($15) and silver/gold ($250 now with silver price up) and think a middle option is a good plan.
Office needs will be crazy this year between recovering from <muttered imprecations> manager leaving, and expanding locations.

Yesterday chatted with my regular auto repair shop manager. He said exactly the same, agreeing with me.
My jewelry van needed new shocks, he got me a good price for all four. I had the money for it, so no problem. Like with this, I call it having good equipment for good work.

Old School Craigslist purchase:

Heading into Vegas this morning. Someone's selling a set of dual gas light duty regulators for half of what just one would cost new.

Yes, it's been a crap year for jewelry sales. First half of the year was ok, started tapering off.

She has been known to tell us to stay home if we have to come in late after a bad night. So, revenge bwahahaha.

(I may sneak in for a couple hours to make sure my billing reports are ready for tomorrow.)

Let's just say I work in the kind of office where the boss apologizes in groupchat for needing to come in late, and we tell her to stay home and enjoy a rare day off (she also runs a couple local non-profit children's rodeo orgs, just got back from taking her kids to livestock Nationals in Phoenix.)

Happy New Year!

I feel like I'm genetically incapable to be pessimistic about long-term things.

May All Good Souls who celebrate have a Christmas of sweetness, and abundance of all that is important in your lives.

An interesting passage from Pirke Avot. "Ethics of our Fathers." A wisdom text.

I need to study his passage more deeply.