gregly - Network

I’ve been watching various videos of cleanup work from the Palisades and Eaton Fires, and it just occurred to me that there’s one...

I’ve been watching various videos of cleanup work from the Palisades and Eaton Fires, and it just occurred to me that there’s one industry that will probably be growing steadily and considerably over the next decade or so:

Demolition, disaster cleanup, and toxic remediation.

I do not exactly take solace in this realization.

I’ve been watching old episodes of The Match Game lately. Old comedies and game shows are always interesting because it’s like “Funny,...

I’ve been watching old episodes of The Match Game lately. Old comedies and game shows are always interesting because it’s like “Funny, funny, very funny, cultural reference that is no longer funny, funny, somewhat funny, WHAM UNEXPECTED CASUAL RACISM”

(Or sexism, homophobia, etc.)

More and more I find myself responding to feelings of despair, anxiety — or just plain being overwhelmed — with goofy insanity. Speak in...

More and more I find myself responding to feelings of despair, anxiety — or just plain being overwhelmed — with goofy insanity. Speak in silly voices. Make up Randy Newman-esque songs, and sing them aloud. Converse with the dogs, the fish, or inanimate objects. Revel in horrible dad-jokes.

It is the Hawkeye Pierce school of psychology, minus the booze; the John Mulaney technique minus the drugs*. And sometimes it even works!

(* prescriptions notwithstanding)

At least we have leftover Portillo’s tonight from my daughter’s birthday/graduation party yesterday. So that’s nice.

At least we have leftover Portillo’s tonight from my daughter’s birthday/graduation party yesterday. So that’s nice.

So I just learned about the allegations of horrible working conditions, union-busting, and investigations into child labor at Hello Fresh,...

So I just learned about the allegations of horrible working conditions, union-busting, and investigations into child labor at Hello Fresh, and… like I know there’s no ethical consultant under capitalism, but god can’t we have *anything* that’s legitimately convenient for my ADHD without the people providing it being absolutely massive assholes?

I am SO TIRED.

Obligatory May 4th post: Tim Russ Explains Star Wars Dayhttps://youtu.be/M_ZRsf9sneQ?si=GDf4xDe9-I6sae6_

Obligatory May 4th post: Tim Russ Explains Star Wars Day

https://youtu.be/M_ZRsf9sneQ?si=GDf4xDe9-I6sae6_

I want to give a massive, genuine THANK YOU to everyone posting about the latest Doctor Who episode today. So far I haven’t seen a single...

I want to give a massive, genuine THANK YOU to everyone posting about the latest Doctor Who episode today. So far I haven’t seen a single spoiler that wasn’t behind a CW, and I am very grateful for that. ❤️

#doctorwho

Woke up to loud rattling from the aquarium canister filter; sounds like some piece of media got dislodged and is banging around somewhere....

Woke up to loud rattling from the aquarium canister filter; sounds like some piece of media got dislodged and is banging around somewhere. Hopefully I can disconnect and clean the thing out without causing a minor flood again. 😅

New Hello Fresh recipe tonight: “Elote-Style Corn and Potato Chowder”It was… fine. Not great. Too much cilantro, too little cotija...

New Hello Fresh recipe tonight: “Elote-Style Corn and Potato Chowder”

It was… fine. Not great. Too much cilantro, too little cotija cheese. Probably would’ve been better if the corn had been roasted first like actual elotes.

It’s performance review time again, and again the only specific goal I can think of is “continue to survive and keep my job in an...

It’s performance review time again, and again the only specific goal I can think of is “continue to survive and keep my job in an increasingly unhinged and catastrophic world”

Tech bros: “We’ve succeeded in making computers unreliable and inaccurate, give us money”

Tech bros: “We’ve succeeded in making computers unreliable and inaccurate, give us money”

Daughter is still pissed with me this morning. If she keeps this up she’s going to learn just how many things I do for her on a daily...

Daughter is still pissed with me this morning. If she keeps this up she’s going to learn just how many things I do for her on a daily basis, because she’ll have to handle them herself.

mh---Loneliness, or fear of loneliness, has resulted in me being a pushover, a people-pleaser, a doormat, for most of my life. Not that it...

mh---

Loneliness, or fear of loneliness, has resulted in me being a pushover, a people-pleaser, a doormat, for most of my life. Not that it mattered; friends all moved away and lost touch anyway. That’s probably one reason why I’ve always been so lenient with her; she and my wife are some of the few RL social connections I still have.

But as a result, she is nowhere prepared for the hellscape of a world she is about to enter, and I fear I’ve failed her.

mh---Tonight was the first time I saw actual anger in my daughter’s eyes, because she decided two weeks before Prom that she actually...

mh---

Tonight was the first time I saw actual anger in my daughter’s eyes, because she decided two weeks before Prom that she actually *did* want to go, and I told her that her mother can’t be expected to suddenly handle getting her ready for that while also planning her big 18th birthday party *and* dealing with two jobs.

It’s the first time I really put my foot down and said “no”, because I’ve been total shit at discipline for eighteen years, and that has done her no favors.

mh- (a bit)I really fear things are going to get really, *really* bad over the next six months. I keep thinking I’m on borrowed time, that...

mh- (a bit)

I really fear things are going to get really, *really* bad over the next six months. I keep thinking I’m on borrowed time, that sooner or later the economic destruction will ripple down to my employer, that my luck will finally run out. And I know that so many others are hurting so much more right now, and that makes me feel ashamed and selfish… but I’m so sick of feeling jerked around by the universe, and scared of the future.

mh- (a bit)The hardest part about trying to keep up with the news is the feeling of helplessness. That a catastrophe is unfolding and there...

mh- (a bit)

The hardest part about trying to keep up with the news is the feeling of helplessness. That a catastrophe is unfolding and there is nothing I can do to stop it. Or, worse, that there IS something I can do to stop it, and I am failing to do it, or forgetting to do it, and it’s partially my fault that things are getting worse.

We are finally getting our financial shit together, and this fucking regime is going to destroy our progress, to say nothing of the others they will ruin.

On a happier note, congratulations Canada! Please annex us. I am not kidding.

On a happier note, congratulations Canada! Please annex us. I am not kidding.

ph-I definitely bruised my sternum or pulled some muscles or *something* when I tilled that hard clay soil for flowers yesterday because I...

ph-

I definitely bruised my sternum or pulled some muscles or *something* when I tilled that hard clay soil for flowers yesterday because I am in *pain*.

Okay. Look.If you are over 50 and you garden, I have a question:HOW.I am nearly 46, and simply tilling a dozen or so square feet, spreading...

Okay. Look.

If you are over 50 and you garden, I have a question:

HOW.

I am nearly 46, and simply tilling a dozen or so square feet, spreading wildflower seeds, and watering them has wiped me out.

I don’t know, maybe it’s because we have awful clay soil and our drainage is total shit. I thought by now we’d have the money to have a landscaper fix our yards.

I have no idea if my miniscule efforts will be successful even if I do remember to keep the patch watered. We’ll see.

Today I did something I have put off for twenty-five years: partially cleaned out the shed, which contained not only a bunch of our old...

Today I did something I have put off for twenty-five years: partially cleaned out the shed, which contained not only a bunch of our old stuff, but stuff from the *previous homeowner*, including ancient old aluminum and vinyl deck chairs, and an enormous plastic roofing tarp that had been utterly destroyed by animals over the decades. It took cutting it up and stuffing it into three 39-gallon (147 L) bags to dispose of that.