jc blog - tales of a modern-day nomadic hunter-gatherer

Follow jcomeau_ictx on Twitter This is the weblog of Intrepid Wanderer. You never know what you might find here; graphic descriptions of bodily functions, computer programming secrets, proselytizing for the antichrist, miscellaneous ranting and kvetching, valuable information on living off the land... if you don't share my rather weird interests you may want to try slashdot instead.

You can consider my Del.icio.us links an extension to my blog, as are my LifeTango goals and my other to-do items. My to-buy list is also public, but only for sharing any useful ideas that might be there; I'm not requesting charity, neither do I offer it.

You can find me easily in google searches, as jcomeau, jcomeau_ictx, or jcomeauictx. There are lots of other jcomeaus, but AFAIK I'm the only jcomeau_ictx out there so far.

If you want to comment on anything you see here, try the new Facebook comments, reachable by clicking the "[comment]" link at the end of each post. If for some reason that isn't working, go ahead and email me, jc.unternet.net. You know what to do with the first dot. Make the 'subject' line something reasonably intelligent-looking or it goes plunk! into the spambasket unread.

This RSS feed may or may not work. Haven't fiddled with it in forever. RSS Feed


2006-05-27-1741Z

Strange dreams last night. In one, I was a slave of sorts, in front of a group of people naked and I was supposed to masturbate for their enjoyment. Being the rebel I am, I turned over so my ass was in the air with my back to them so they couldn't see me as I attempted to jerk off. Finally, though, I was unable to cum, then I looked and a pretty blonde was there on stage with me. She was facing the wall to my left and stroking herself. I lowered my body, showing her my erection, and gestured with my hands as if to say "go ahead and use it if you want". She acquiesced but I woke up before she got to me. Damn.

Then I was working in a hospital or nursing home which I've seen in many of my dreams. It's a narrow one-story building that runs up a hill, although this time I was only in the level part of the building at the bottom of the hill. I was a contractor of sorts; few of the regular staff knew who I was but most ignored me. I'd get a urine sample from one of the nurses and I'd run down to the lab with it. There was always a clean sample bottle for me to pour out part of the sample for analysis. The second or third time I went there I wondered about that, and thought that maybe I should be leaving the lab as I'd found it each time. Anyway, one time a good-looking lady with a severe expression came into the lab while I was working at the analyzer machines, and just stared at me. I said something like, "What can I do for you, miss?... or am I in your way?... or..."; while I was saying that, my vision suddenly went blank, or rather, became like a computer screen with a white background and some icons on it. Anyway, I suddenly feared I was going to be arrested, and woke up.

After recently rereading Leon Uris's Trinity I'm inspired to write a stageplay or screenplay of The Capture of Conor Larkin, covering the period right after Sixmilecross to his escape from prison. If anyone knows of some free Linux software to assist with that (like the Windows / Mac "Final Draft" program) please let me know.

Got the COSF wireless network temporarily hooked up to the internet using my Bamnet account, but the ip masquerading is apparently lowering the MTU. I'll have to do some ping testing and maybe change the MTU settings on all the hosts if I can't fix it on the router. Many sites work, but both gmail and Yahoo! mail are timing out. The good news is that there's negligible packet loss from one end of City of the Sun to the other, most of the time. Once we get DSL, this network should kick serious ass. Slotted waveguide antennas are da shit!

I think I found out what the bushes with the fuzzy orange or red berries are: Acacia Pycanthia. Unfortunately a google search gives very little information on it. Maybe I'm spelling it wrong, or maybe very little is known about it. One anecdote said that it made a little girl very sick, but shoot, if you eat too many crabapples you'll get sick too. They taste good, and would probably make a decent wine.

Shaved again for the new moon. Cut myself up more than usual since I skipped last month and am out of practice. But I survived. A few more months and I will have outlived my Dad, who died in the spring of 1971. [comment]

2006-05-23-2305Z

Yay me. I figured out how to wire up a Sparkomatic SR55 my neighbor gave me, without finding anything on the internet. It's a common-ground system with only one wire per speaker: green and gray. Black (and case) is ground (negative), and both red and red with white stripe need to be connected to power. I guess I could have taken it apart and gotten a more clear idea, but just made some wild-assed guesses and got it right before letting any smoke out. Now I have music in my place.

I'm beginning to give up on ever finding a way to own land without paying property tax. A better method is living on public land, especially places like in the Tres Hermanas mountains where nobody really gives a shit what you do there. When my friends went into the abandoned mine, they said there are interconnected tunnels which they didn't explore. There may well be room for a few hundred people to live in there.

My anarchy library is pretty well established now. I purchased a used hardcover copy of Leon Uris's Trinity at the local thrift store (Manny's) and just finished re-reading it. That, with the 5 books of Quinn's Ishmael vision will hopefully introduce people to a healthier way of thinking. The first two people who show up and read (or have already read) The Story of B may have one of the 3 ammonite fossils I purchased recently on eBay. If you've read it you understand the significance. You may also ask for the "B" discount on a certain single-malt Scotch whiskey and save $10. Only at the Don Nowhere Shebeen. [comment]

2006-05-23-0056Z

Anybody else converting MP3 files for burning on WMP 10 finding it extremely slow? I don't remember this happening the first time I tried it, nor on WMP 9. I'm talking about a half hour per song. Poor programming or deliberate slowdown to thwart bootleg CDs?

The City of the Sun just approved purchasing a DSL connection for all members to use. I was against it, but now that the measure won, I'm gonna use it for all it's worth.

Gonna go to the metals recycling place in Deming and see if I can get some #6 or better wire for cheap. What good is having a 400-watt wind generator if my wiring cuts the 14 volts down to 11 by the time it reaches the battery? [comment]

2006-05-15-2040Z

I think I saw the same kids in the library today, those who tried to run me down yesterday. If so, it was a silver 4-door Honda with tinted windows (but not the windshield). Damn my imperfect vision, if I had known for sure it was them I could have possibly resolved whatever problem there is by now. Or I might be dead by now, who knows? I'd like to think I'm Ender but I'm not. [comment]

2006-05-15-0040Z

Erectile disfunction -- I guess that's what they call it -- sucks. Your cock goes flaccid during intercourse for whatever reason, maybe some freaky thing you thought of for some damnable reason, and it's over. Your woman thinks she's not sexy enough for you any more, and you're scared to attempt intercourse again thinking the same thing might happen; and sure enough, since you're worried about it, it is more likely to happen again.

Had another run-in with some kids in a vehicle, probably the same fools who tried to run me down last July 28. This time it was closer to downtown Columbus; some bug-eyed kid driving an older model silver-colored 2-door import flipped me the bird as he drove north and I was walking south. I turned around with my hands in the air as if to say "what the fuck", and next thing I knew they were waiting for me at the next intersection. I waited until a vehicle was coming north, blocking them from crossing, and walked across. As soon as the truck passed them, they shot across highway 11, aiming right at me. I of course scooted out of their way and they laughed as they passed and drove on west up the street. I got mad and ran after them a ways but my shoes started falling off and I gave up. I continued on into Mexico, and got a ride after another mile or so. I was still steaming until I had my third Pacifico and finished my steak. No incident walking back to town, and got a ride at about the 3rd mile marker from another COSF denizen. [comment]

2006-05-12-1934Z

Hooked up my Air-X Land wind turbine a few days ago, but still lacking sufficient wire diameter to get full use of it. Also reading more of Ender's saga but starting to get tired of Card's cultural chauvinism. He ought to read some Daniel Quinn if he hasn't by now.

Looking into building a pedal-powered generator using either a Ford Taurus radiator fan motor or a GM alternator (with built-in voltage regulator). There are some on sale on the web for hundreds of dollars, but I should be able to build something for less than $100 using junk-dealer parts. Some other nice ideas I'm finding with google: a heads-up display from a junked camcorder LCD for a wearable computer, and a simple hydroponics rig using an old electric drill and Flotec or similar drill-operated pump, using a dishpan on the bottom shelf as a reservoir and intermittently (using some kind of jerry-rigged timer) spraying a sprouting tray on the top shelf, which then drains down through trays on lower shelves till it trickles back into the reservoir.

No luck getting soap out of yucca leaves. I've tried several different plants and no matter how much I mash the fibers there's no suds generated. I'd hate to have to kill a yucca plant to use the roots, but might have to if I can't get anything else to work. I did find a good way for a desert dweller to clean his ass though: just squat over gravel or silt in an arroyo, picking up the dirt in your hand and wiping yourself with it until there's just a coating of dust on your hand and rectum. Since I haven't been shitting "clean" for months due to my beer habit, this saves me from having to buy toilet paper. Not that I would anyway, when old phone books are always available, but this is usable away from "home" also.

I'm half done covering the dirt "shelf" around my bunker with six-packs. Every time I get a ride into Deming or El Paso I buy different beers, and use the colorful six-packs as decoration around my shebeen. So far I have about 40, no two alike. Also getting a new keg of Guinness this weekend, so any of you who've been putting off visiting, this Saturday would be a good time to mosey on down. I've also got some Hacker-Pschorr Weisse Dark (what a contradiction in terms), TsingTao, Anchor Liberty Ale, Tuborg Gold, and a couple of others I can't remember at the moment. I'm renaming my place to "Don Nowhere Shebeen", I think it sounds better. [comment]

2006-05-05-1716Z

Oh, boy. My mom's birthday and I haven't yet sent anything. Well, she's used to it at least... I probably haven't been on time more than once in the last 30 years.

Finished reading N. Scott Momaday's House Made of Dawn, a depressing novel of one Native American's life in the white man's world. Somewhat similar to what Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man shows in the life of a black man, but less structured. Momaday's book is a series of snippets, jumping back and forth in time, which the reader must piece together himself. It's worth the effort.

Now I'm reading another Orson Scott Card novel, Speaker for the Dead. And, hopefully, will finish hooking up my Air-X Land wind generator today, on a temporary mount while trying to figure out a way to get a 20-foot piece of 4-inch iron pipe sunk into the ground without help. [comment]

2006-05-01-0021Z

OK, so I haven't been updating lately... too busy redoing my electrical system for the freezer, keeping in mind hooking up the wind generator this week after buying a 20-foot length of 1.5" pipe. Just by using larger wire and connecting the outputs directly to the battery I can now run the freezer fulltime plus have the computer running off the inverter. Much better.

Also finished reading Koonz's False Memory, an intriguing novel about the latest in brainwashing techniques, and Appaloosa Rising by Gino Sky, a weird cocaine-cowboy jerk-off fantasy story with some nice insights into some ways of life that don't destroy the world.

Had a lot of strange dreams lately, both the "digestive" type and the "visiting other universes" variety. I never seem to get them down while they're still fresh in my memory though. Damn.

Got my new black-leather jeans, about time I started traveling again... but a good friend is coming back to COSF after a long absence, and who knows, I might just hang around awhile. [comment]

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