Ok, I get it. I could have stopped watching at any time.

But there was always the possibility that I was wrong, that the person who posted the video had not in fact just watched exactly four episodes of Red Dwarf, and made a ten question quiz about some of the more obvious things seen in them...

And then gotten the last question, about the method of time travel used in the episode Time Slides, WRONG!

No, I did not get that one wrong, the person who made the quiz did. I messed up the first question, which was the name of the pub in the episode .sdrawkcaB

So, Last Friday (August 8th), I went to Utah Retro Games eXpo(URGX

I got some basic information(What certain local vendors might be asking for, say, a decent quality used PS2).

I got a few things on my wish list( Sonic the Hedgehog for the Master System, a VHS of Venus Wars).

I got Gravity Poisoning! (Fell off my Bicycle on the way home, halfway through the first day, out of cash...)

Mostly Fine! Had I stuck around another hour, I might have found the live music. But, I had a few hard limit points, one of which was available funds for that day, so...

Ankle is FINE! Knee is FINE Ribs...

Keep reminding me that something big hit them.

Now, other parts of my body are trying to get in on the party, namely my Back, Lungs, and my Sinuses.

Back... Likes to do this at random times.

Lungs and Sinuses, Well...

So, I am trying to put in a small paved area in the back yard. Light exercise, nothing that should aggravate anything, except possibly the back, heavy lifting has not happened since Sat. Except, it is Dusty work.

On the other hand, it is still physical exercise, which let's me burn off irritation, such as that I feel after work, or due to body ache, or the fact that I can almost pinpoint the impact site on the rib cage each time I sneeze. In theory, I should end up the happiest I have ever been by the end of this project, if I don't kill myself in the process.

Hope springs eternal.

Possibly just Stupid...

Look, I don't want to change the world to be a better place. Well, I kind of do, but that is not what this is about.

I don't want this to be my source of Fortune and Glory. Or even just Reliable Income and occasional "Hey, I know him!"

I just want to start a (Semi)-Real Registered Media Outlet Group, so that should I ever go to a convention and say "Hi. I'm Kerflurval with Raccoon Freelance News" then they at least can not kick me out for Lying, even if the whole schtick is that RFN is know for it's Really Fake News.


...


I have too much time on my hands. I should work more, so that I can get enough money to stop working, which is the single stupidest concept in modern history.


...


I should water something.


(Additional)


Ok, found out a few things.

-Should this particularly stupid plan go beyond my head, I might wish to seek out an Attorney, for they know the setup process better than anyone. For Reasons.

-The Federal Rate is 21% of Profits, based off of Gross less Operational Costs, or something along those lines. (Not selling anything, no profits, no taxes, right? Right)

-the state I live in wants 5% of those profits, a little less than 5% of my personal profits from the Stupid, and just under 5% of all sales in Sales Tax. Also 1% Unemployment Insurance for all employees for the first two years, adjustable to anywhere from 0-7% after.(No Profits, personal or otherwise, No Sales, No Employees, No Tax!)

The only major downside is I would have to fill out at least form TC-20 in addition to my 1040 and Personal Utah State Income Tax.

Next Weekend, I am attending Utah Retro GameXpo, an event wherein older Video Games, Gaming Hardware, Accessories, Art, Books, and Voice Actors of old get together to see how much of my money can be transferred to someone else's bank account.

Sort of like a cheaper version of Politics, but with better music.

I am doing this because back in Feb. of this year, I got in a line to go into Minus World here in Layton, with the sole intent of picking up a couple of old games, and maybe a soundtrack record. Or in other words, I Did Stupid Things across the last six months, which resulted in a free two-day pass, and a Lanyard!

So, while out and about today, I wandered past the Davis Conference Center, and saw a bunch of people in Fur Suits, Tails, Ears...

Waited for the traffic on the road to thin out, did a hard left on my bicycle, reminded myself ONCE AGAIN that said bicycle is currently too tail heavy to do that sort of thing...

End result, I got myself with a minimum of control loss in a position to ask one of the half suited ones about the event going on right in front of me. Yes, the one in the building, Yes, it is a group of people who all wear animal costumes, I would like a name for the event please...

Anthro Weekend Utah! Which will set me back about $85 for a two day pass, slightly less for a Day Pass, and that is just getting in. Vendors Hall is full of people who kind of want to get PAID for the products on display, Food costs Money...


Look, as I have said to a few others around, my cash from this pay check is going towards a Bag of Shiny Rocks, I mean, old 80s through 2000s Video Game Rocks. I can do about $400 or so of that, get lunch, and possibly listen to some music before they arrest me for Vagrancy.

Next Year, I can go play with the Fuskies, Wolfoxes, Batta-Corns, and the guy that super-glues Cotton Balles to his skin. But I will have to cheat, and just not shave for the month prior.

Well, my one Bicycle is in the shop, trying to get about 3 degree or so of bend out of the wheel...

The bigger one, onto which I have the cargo bed I made attached, shredded it's rear tube Wednesday morning, so while I was dropping off the first bike I got the weird look from the repair person as I picked up a pair of tubes much too big for the Giant Escape I was dropping off...

I have been doing my best to AVOID overtime, so of course I get almost six hours of it on the last pay period...

For which I should have received the paycheck today. I am in Layton, in Davis County, in the state of Utah. The Restaurant I work at is currently owned and operated by a group based in Idaho. The Pay-role company they pay me through is based in Idaho.

So, My Paycheck is in Phoenix, Arizona.

I am going outside now, to try and kill weeds, while avoiding possible Peanut plants. Or maybe kill Peanut plants, while avoiding the weeds. Either Works!

One of the hobbies I have had over the last 15 years or so has been trying to keep track of the movies set in the incredibly far-distant future years of, say, 2019(Akira), or 2016(Back to the Future 2)...

Well, one from my youth, Back to the Future has taken on some slight relevance, given that I got charged $19.55 for one of my purchases today.

For you see, that one was set in the far distant past year of 1955 for most of the movie, with the stated goal of getting Marty back to the future year 1985. A span of 30 years or so.

As difficult a task as that is, I have managed to achieve a longer jaunt into the future, having gone from childhood(1985) to mid-life crisis mode(2025), a span of 40 years.

Congratulations, the movies I watched in theaters as a kid can now be watched on TCM.

So, I have around 82 and 1/2 Hours on that Final Fantasy VII save file. I have been playing it off and on for over two months now...

So, I have Four Master Magic, Four Master Command, and Two Master Summon Materia that the group can access, along with enough regular Mastered Materia to max out Barret's Missing Score. And most of that acquired within the last week and a half. I also have beaten both Emerald and Ruby WEAPONs, from whence one each of the Master Materia came from, along with a Second Gold Chocobo (FluFF7).

So, I accidently beat the game with Cloud Strife, Yuffie Kisaragi, and Redxii. Go Teen, I mean, Team Angst!

Well, if you don't have an invite to the big birthday bash, where they might even have cake, and Country Roads playing as the tanks roll in...

-Take a walk outside
-Start a Garden, try your hand at growing some vegetables. Even if you live Apartment bound, there are several variety of Tomatoes, Peppers, Beans, Squash, and Eggplant that take well to container growing
-Watch a movie. Might I suggest 1993s Super Mario Bros, wherein Dennis Hopper plays a vain president/king who constantly looses track of what he was talking about, and had as part of his election media a poster of himself holing up a chainsaw? (I think it went 'President Koopa: The Environment? We'll get a new one!')
-Play some Games (Currently loaded: Final Fantasy VII for the Playstation)
-Talk with people. Not To people, With People.
-Try out some sport. As in, go outside, kick a ball, run up to the ball, kick it again, try to figure out some method of scoring.
-There is always Politics...
-Donate. Time, cash, supplies, every charitable group is always short of all three.
-Cook Something, then eat it.
-Read a book. I hear that a 6th Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy book is out...

Two parts, one a mass of Text, the other a video link:

The last major mass U.S. Tariff enactment, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot.....ley_Tariff_Act

The Tiananmen Square protest, where military forces were sent in against unarmed civilians:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3RzKKfNkTk


On the otherr hand, both of these seemed to take a bit longer to get to the bad parts...

Through a Utah State Health Dept. certified online course.

Which is the ONLY way I can do it these days, as there is no way I can read through a physical document then fill out a scantron sheet.

Which leads to why I am now doubly annoyed...


So, there are two different types of online courses, right? There is the normal one for being, say, standard slacker frycookguy, and one for being a GM, Owner, Area Manager...

That second one is through a ServeSafe Certified Certification site, and does not cost nearly as much more as I was lead to believe.

Guess which one, I, semi-nonstandared Slacker Frycookguy, have managed to take, and Ace, three of the last four times I have needed to recertify?

No wonder the GM is always complaining, Gwen and Stacy are truly annoying. But then again, so is all the fake 'Social' parts of the video presentation.

I miss the scantron sheets.

I mean, just because I live in Utah, and managed to set off a Geiger Counter in my High School physics class, that is no reason to keep all these pesky rules, right?

Right?

https://www.ksl.com/article/5105580.....-the-conquerer

I am sure that my personal experience was entirely unrelated. And I seem to have all my hair, though I have had a slight cough, since 2008?

Article/Video titled 'Time Does Not Exist, Let me show you a Chart as to Why' or something along those lines...

And Yet...

-We have a recollection of that which has come before, and can come up with some pretty convincing records for that which we did not personally experience

-We have a certain amount of perception as to that which is going on around us, both in the immediate area, and to a lesser extent, the surrounding Universe, though the further out in that we look, the further back it happened. Oh, wait, that is presuming the passage of Time

-We have an idea of that which may as yet happen, and can accept that it may not

I may be mistaken here, but if I can find evidence of that which has gone Before, differentiated from that which is happening Now, and can demonstrait that it is distinct from That Which Has Yet to Occurre(Up Yours, Wiktionary!), well, if it smells, acts, and tastes like a Duck, it must be Time, right?


Personally, I want to start testing some of these 'Alternative News' 'Journalists' for 'Drugs'. But then again, I tend to find that I live somewhat Three Dimensionally, Unidirectionally along a Fourth-Dimensional line which might be part of a Five-Dimensional Construct. Though I have encountered rumors that it might be Seven, Nine, or even Eleven Dimensions, which could explain why everything is so Odd.

Been playing Dark Cloud 2 off and on for a few weeks now. Game is only 22 years old, barely to the point where it could buy Beer and Cigarettes...

And I last played it around 16 years ago? Anyway, at the time it was on loan from a friend of my brother, and the sibling returned it before I made it out of the first chapter of the game.

I have a cumulative save time at this point of around 9 hours, and this is the sort of game wherein you really need to multiply that by 3 if you are playing it for the first time, or after a few years of not going near it. BUT, I seem to be past the part where everything has a minor tutorial hooked on, I can start playing the game without having to learn to fish, or alter my weapons, and though I still have not figured out Armor I do have access to the landscaping tools...

And I can't anymore. This is almost as bad as Chrono Cross, I am many hours into the game, still unlocking basic mechanics, and I have yet to sink into some of the deeper parts, like character recruiting, or this Spheda thing...

Seriously considering putting the game on hold, and going back a consol generation at this point. Not any of the Final Fantasies, Torn between the Resident Evil series...

And the first two Parasite Eve games.

Who knows, I might give them all a miss and go with one of the MediEvil games. Could use some Knight Time action in my life right about now.

Then consider that 'Turn of the Century' means just that, the period of time between when it is considered to be the last century and the current one. And we had one about 25 years ago.

So, I was slightly confused when I spotted a piece on digging for 'Turn of the Century' soda bottles, and realized that though they could mean ones from around 125 to 130 years ago, it was entirely possible for them to be digging up random 90s era Pepsi Stubbies.

Clicked on Ye Oldie Booke Mark for e621, got a request from site to draw my Fursona as part of an I.D. Check.

Thought it odd, backed out, tried again. Same Request.

Backed out, Tried Again™ , clicked the process advance button, was presented with a white square, a selection of brush sizes, and a sixteen color pallet.

So, e621 and it's associated sites tend to do odd things for April 1st, last year they installed a piece of code what messed up everyone's comments. and it started around 6 PM Mountain Daylight Time on the 31st of March.

So, a few years back I was accused by my older sister of be a 'Hipster', because I am still using my CD Walkman.

Notice in there I did not state I went out and bought a CD Walkman specifically to use. I am in fact still using the one I have owned for years, though it is in fact the second Sony Psyc I purchased.

I am also still using a PS2, amongst other gaming systems I own. Again, I did not set out specifically to purchase these systems, with the intent of being stubbornly anachronistic, I just happen to already own these things, having seen no reason at the time to upgrade. And my older sister did not complain last year when I gave her kids that Win XP Laptop with a bunch of Sierra Games loaded onto it.

Anyway, Playing around in the Kingdom Hearts II game, I spotted that in the Twilight Town world there was a 'Mansion' on the outskirts of town with a bunch of Alicorn Statues in it. I would like to point out that my first impression was wrong, as the MLP:FiM series did not come out until 5 years after KH II hit shelves.

Having determined that I was possibly one of three people on the face of the Earth who cared, I went off to see if I could pick up new copies of some books, only to realize that of the 7 authors I could think of that I might want to read something by yesterday, I could find 4 of them on the shelves at the B&N store, and I already had fairly decent copies of all the books by them available. in the case of one of them, this was a whopping two books, though to be fair he has been dead for a few decades at this point.

Having played a game that would seem to hold reference to a show that wouldn't come out until five years after it was first published, having determined that I really have not kept up with New Authors as well as I should have, and having covered on bicycle about 10 miles or so looking for a restaurant before deciding to just get some hot case items from the convenience store a few block from home, I put on a DVD of The Pirate Planet. And it decides to act screwy on me.

Look, I get it. I get that time marches on, and there is this 'Streaming' thing happening now. I just don't care. Mostly because I hit the point in the year 2002 wherein my disposable income was fairly regular, and I could buy most of the movies, games, books, music, and assorted I wanted, rather than waiting in hopes someone might give me Tomb Raider: Chronicles for the SEGA Dreamcast.

And I have spent the last 20 odd years doing just that, as best I could.

And then I...


Eh, the problem is that thanks to Twi-X, Tic-Talks, and Meme Cult-are, I am the oddball. I don't have to stream, but I do occasionally change disks. I can read page after page of stark text, and not care that there is no one dancing around, or that I have surpassed the 200 character limit. I can overhear a conversation between two 20-somethings about what one of them would put in the Man-Cave in the house he wants to get, and resist the urge to point out to the youth that internal decoration of the home is at the owners discretion, as well as resisting the urge to inform him the terms used to be Den, Study, and Library.

Which is why I feel old. Because I learned all this stuff, I read, I comprehend, and I want to beat the younger generation with my Civics Textbook whenever I stray into a Political 'Discussion'. Because I get that when you own a home, you get to do what you want with it, in as far as it remains within Building Code.

Because I come from a strange place, called The Past, where when you bought a Game, you could pretty much play it until it caught ON FIRE, which is why some people seem to think they can ask upwards of $100 for their copy of Phantasy Star: end of the Millenium, and should I ever find it I could help out my nephews and nieces Collage Fund by selling Castlevania III.

Because the alternative is to perpetually 'Rent' them via 'Streaming', which is not 'Piracy' or 'Emulation', or so 'They' claim.

(Happy Raccoon Noises):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ1J0HCZS74

Apparently, the InterNets have "Questions".

I have two. Given that he likes the song, do you think the current POTUS knows what it is about?

Or, is it like that one previous employer I had? He was a major fan of Office Space, and could not quite grasp why we kept asking him if he had WATCHED the movie.

(Redacted)

So, MeToons seems to have shortened the Known Strings Attached block.

Down to Thunderbirds, Supercar now, around 1 1/2 hours, down from 3 full hours and also featuring Captain Scarlet as well as at least two other Gerry Anderson shows.

So, what do we get? Silverhawks and Gobots in at 1 Am, with Plastic Man in at 3:30 Am.

Admittedly, other than middle aged raccoons like myself, few will care that they cannot watch Stingray at 3 am anymore. And I did buy a DVD set of five out of the six shows that have been part of this block I watched, those nights I have been awake from 1-4 Am.

Still...

(Redacted)

Ok, so at or around 2:31 PM, I apparently got sent an email informing me that my online activity had not gone un-noticed.

I had left myself open to being followed by... Someone?

All my Devices and sensitive information were now his, even my Phone?

Several paragraphs of random words, font changes mid-word, please sent much crypto to specific account within 50 hours, bad stuff will happen if I break the chain...


Nope, not going to send funds to (Account) on the strength of a nasty form email.

Alarm went off around 5 AM, turned on the tv to check out the early mornings cartoons...

The Real Ghostbusters 'Moaning Stones'. Set in the New York Cosmopolitan Museum, and has the plot device of the week shown to us by a rather cute(In My Opinion) lady curator, light brown hair, somewhat curvy, round glasses...

Named Ms Nuxum(Pronounced: Nut-some)

And when the main monster showed up, she was in a red backless dress.

But, I will be ignoring it.

What politics? I'm talking about that DanDaDan Manga and Animated series.

Yes, I occasionally do watch Anime, Read Comics, Watch older movies, play older games...

Oh, why ignore it? Ok, it is simple.

Their Advertising Annoyed me.

Yes, much like the movie series Smile, and the Tv Series Lost, they went with the simple premise that if you provide a little information, the viewer will dig for more all on their own. Sadly, much like those two series, and so many others, they failed, from my perspective, to give me anywhere to go from the starting point, until recently. So, much like those two, and the Cloverfield movies, and a few other things over the years including some restaurants, I turn my back on what might have been a fun time.

Because they wanted to deliberately Annoy me.

Several Steps Down from Ladyhawk, though that might just be because of all the commercials.

No, on second though, if the protagonist was any more wooden, then we would need an ax.


All I wanted was to watch a cheesy 80s Swords & Sorcery film, Honest. I feel no need to find out about how Under Eye Cream and Not-Dependes can improve my Social Standing. So, I switch to the next channel, and Here He Comes, Here Comes Speed Racer! And Car Wrestling.

Wait, what is Car Wrestling? And why can it be done by the inured driver, when his injuries prevent him from Racing?

So, I don't find out about Car Wrestling, and I have walked away from the Swordsery fest before the Lumberjack got there to sell me I Can't Believe it's Not an Automotive Warranty, with a side of Iced Tea.


Look, I avoided the Caffeinated Beverages after 6 PM, I have been trying to relax for over 3 hours now, Why No Sleepy-Sleepy? Eh, I have tomorrow off, so it is no big deal if I sleep late, I would just like to sleep at all right now.

'Ok, using old LED light to replace Wall Clock Battery, what are you doing?'

'No, seriously, what are you doing? Just heat the solder on the pads, you don't need to...'

'Ok, having broken the front of the main housing, you are now breaking the base of the light...'

'And now, you have a shattered housing, sharp strips of metal all over the bench, and a converter to take standard current and reduce it to, wait, why are you marking the circuit board?'

'Ok, you soldered the wires to the circuit board, and to the terminals of the clock. You don't need that, all you needed was the converter and a resister to drop it to 1.5 Volts.'

'And now you have soldered the converter in, and out comes the Super Glue, because that and Hot Glue make everything work better.'

'So, you are really just Super Gluing everything to the back of the clock...'

At which point, I stop before the Very Creative Person can Super Glue the clock to the wall. Because if I had to watch that, I would rupture something.

I try not to be political here, or much of anywhere. But like in most things, you do need to vent every once in a while, or start drinking the Alum-Mag Hydroxide-Simeth with every meal

But it has been such a fun (Checks math) 10 Years already?

-Avoiding Family get-togethers
-Keeping quiet when those around me spout off on any and all subjects involving Politics, Personal Health, Faith and other Personal Beliefs
-Keeping my word to give the 45th president a chance in office, to not insult or snark at his antics, and keeping an even temper while his supporters took cheap shots at everyone else

So, I hear you ask, why do I say it has been a fun 10 years? Because all this started in 2015.

I think I might wrong on the four more years part. I will be very surprised if I stop hearing the last of this before 2030.


Please, don't try to tell me about all the great thing that happened to me because of who was in office between Jan 2017 and Jan 2021, or all the terrible things that happened from Jan 2021-Present. I lived through those years, and I really have come to hate being told what I should have experienced.

The cheap plant I bought around 5 years ago is blooming!

See! See! I said it was a real plant!