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Hey, AI doomers: Could you give it a rest for a while? Thanks. Life's plenty tough for all of us as it is; i for one don't need to have my fears about the world my kids will have to live in fanned every day. Let's just let possible future horrors come if they come, ok?

This'll be the one that makes me happy, i'm just sure of it

Can't sleep. Even one little bit. Second time in a week. Anybody up?

Oh hey, this sounds familiar encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/t...

Please enjoy this picture of a brandy over ice. It is in an antique hollow-stemmed champagne coupe that my daughter gave me for Christmas because i refuse to be bound by convention (plus it's cool) Seems like a good time to be drinking.

By the way, happy Edible Easter Grass season to those who celebrate! (me, it's pretty much just me)

Yeah, yeah. It's happy, you know? Feels bright and hopeful, and i'm not walking past that—these days least of all.

The problem with searching after catharsis is that if you don't find it you're just making yourself feel worse

Kind of fascinated by a small linguistic shift i first noticed w/my kids, and now see more generally. Suppose my grass is getting long. I might say, "The grass needs to be mowed," or "The grass needs mowing." But the modern construction is "The grass needs mowed." Not a huge thing. But interesting

Man, if it's not AI coming for our jobs it's the looming Trump Depression. If it's not the theat of the American Gestapo it's permanent water shortages. Or RAM shortages. Or the end of art & education, and on and on and on. I swear if i weren't so lazy i'd be a Prepper by now.

IG: The Place To Go To See How Very Old Your Favorite Celebrities Are Now

Going to be a long day tomorrow. Fortunately, i spent all day today being upset about it. So i'm prepared.

Aaaaaand, time to mute Stancil again. Two things: -Stop showing charts of nat'l averages like they mean anything on the ground. A steady mean can hide millions of people hurting; and -Even if you're entirely correct, telling people they're fine, stop being stupid, is counterproductive at best.

Budding

Went to a [bad] movie, and on a long drive. We'd been talking on the phone for hours a day for a few months already--we were college sophs--so there were no surprising new topics of conversation on our first official date.

This . . . has not been a good day.

Unexpected trip to the dentist b/c temp crown coming off! Permanent crown could not be seated due to manufacturing error! Had a tooth unexpectedly drilled on without pain meds for the fourth time in six weeks! Have i earned my merit badge yet??

In response to my silly burst of enthusiasm about warming temps, the living room ceiling started leaking. Onto the tv. I mean, i get it. There's a pile of snow on the roof melting all at once, which hasn't happened here in 15 years. It's funneled to that corner. Makes sense. Still. Sigh.

Kagan was right, and this is a huge issue: this SCOTUS (and DoJ) saying clearly that justice is not a right, it's a thing you buy if you have the resources. I'm aware that has always been the case to an extent, but there was at least a stated goal of fixing it. This is serious regression.

50° and sunny! (10° in metric-speak) Spring still invisible, but sensed now, curled up like a seed under the snow

Hey, cool, the area around last week's root canal has begun to hurt more. Currently seeing Dr. Paul Masson about pain relief.

Time and tide Unceasing run Now back, now forth And back again Endless cycle Just repeating Nothing new Under the sun. Why so weary? Many times You've walked along This path before. Because i know Where it will end All places i've Already been.

It is, in fact, pretty good. There's a little "you can't go back again" b/c the voices are unavoidably off, yes, but it's still fun

So, by way of doing normal things: Here's the giant icicle hanging off the corner of my porch roof. It's as big around as my arm and almost reaches the ground. It has a slightly smaller twin on the other corner. This is abnormal for central Ohio

Aww, you always know the wrong thing to say

Monstrous

Chappell Roan's dress is excellent

Got an appointment with a root canal specialist early tomirriw. In preperation foe which, i am drunk. Ask Me Anything (lol)

Not only was the dentist unable to complete the procedure today; he also told me i look just like Kevin James. I mean, i'm already in pain, man.

Finished putting together my new history show—just have to record it tomorrow (i hope; it's the first one in 13 months, and i'm a little rusty) It's on the pre-mayoral career of LaGuardia, the roots of his progressive politics. Hopefully it provides some context for Mamdani freakouts.

One of the fun things about Columbus is that when we get more than maybe two inches of snow it turns into Dallas. The road mainenance plan outside of a couple arteries is just "cars will carve out wheel ruts—if they dare"

Central OH. 5" or 6" down. About halfway done. Yes, i got up to shovel a path to & along the sidewalk & cleared the car at 7:30 on Sunday while it is still snowing & 6" more expected. This may be Columbus but i'm from Wisconsin; that's how we do it on the mean streets [near] Milwaukee.

I appreciate that it's hard, i appreciate that it's dangerous, but the people in elected office in Minneapolis need to identify and arrest the federal agents who murdered a man today. If agents do not experience consequences they will continue to do this until they get the riot they want.

Hey, any of you actual people who might be doing this (as opposed to troll-bots): challenging people with "What have *you* done to stop the federal government?" is counterproductive at best. At a moment when we need to work together, that's just creating hostility. Don't do it.

Sorry for the poetry spam; i'm just reposting my writing to the top of my feed. Happy thoughts, right?

I traveled to the shore Sat down amidst the grass On the dune And waited Until night fell. I lay upon the sand The moon among the stars In the sky Enraptured And I drifted. I heard within the surf Voices darker than the sea Insistent As the waves And I wondered. (1/3)

There is nothing but to make the best of today To do my best at each task i must perform To pass through suffering toward its end Above all to seek peace in the other moments And, at peace, to reach through all of my experiences To touch the beauty of the world And the life i get to live in it.

All day long we sweat and toil building palaces of sand. And every night with wind and wave time wipes away each thing that stands. Time terrifies in this respect, that it destroys our every mark. Its terror, and its virtue, too; all this will pass, into the dark.

I'm placid water In a crystal glass; I'm a gentle breeze Over soft green grass. The winds within I calm, i tame; I soothe the storm, I cool the flame. (1/2)

Tormented by sweet memories of you Of your kindness Your beauty Your smile Of heat we made that pushed back the cold And made of my winter a spring. I remember your words But never your touch Always miles And this tiny glass barrier between us. But in that window Perfection!

The rough wind blows; the tall grass bends In summer sun it scorches In winter cold it ends. But above all else, it lives! It sprouts in spring, in summer grows It doesn't strive; it simply is. I envy it! Its strength. Its peace. All fear removed. All struggle ceased.

She moves like an animated allosaur, with a slow, angry stride always on the edge of explosion. More elegant than a stalk. Too threatening to call a strut. She scarcely tops five feet, but watching her move you realize five feet is quite large for a bird of prey.

Small stars glitter, hot in the cold Small, i watch them, and wish i were home Wish that, like them, i too burned bright Warmed by joy in this still, chill night.

I once feared the darkness but now i know better. It's not the night that holds the terror. Why fear nightmares? Nightmares end. What comes in light you cannot send away just by coming awake. So i fear in the daytime what comes round each corner cause it could be the end.

She has an asymptotic mouth; it curves up often but never reaches happiness

Cold dusk, corn husk Wind rattles. Dim light, long night Joy battles. Time shifts, snow drifts Soil freezes. Dark mud, young bud Spring teases. Ice melt, flow felt Down slope. Sun spurs, life stirs We hope.

Traveling through the desert, i came upon a man—thin as a shadow, dry as salt water, worn as last week's welcome—dragging himself across the sand. I asked him, "What do you think you're doing? You'll never get out of this furnace crawling along like that." (1/3)

In honor of Valentine's Day, the three stanzas i wrote for my wife a couple of years ago: Your love is my sun Your words my rain You beckon, i run To lose my pain In the glory of your smile Your heart is my home Your mind my air You call, i come Your loving care Heals hurt from every trial (1/2)

Some of us, on meeting someone new, first notice smiles. Some see eyes, or lips, or height. Some even see hairstyles. I see teeth. Old, yellowed teeth show years of pain their owners try to hide. Some show off, gleaming, polished groomed for telling lies. (1/2)