All posts by Sylvia

Funny story.

When my son was little, a running joke between us was me telling him when he got rambunctious, to go find a really big stick so I could beat him. Any time I would tell him to go find a stick, he would grin, run outside and find a twig, run in and announce loudly. “Okay, Mom, now you can beat me.”

The neighbors would give us funny looks, but we did it all the time with silly grins on our faces. One day we were at the mall and he was just antsy because he wanted to go get our Friday pizzas and then go home. I was looking for something — I can’t remember what it was. It’s been over 40 years since this happened.

He kept whining at me, so I told him if he didn’t behave, I’d send him to find a big stick. What I hadn’t paid attention to was the workers outside the store trimming trees. So my son disappeared from the store and a little bit later, he came in, dragging a branch three time times his height. In the loudest voice he had, he yelled, “hey mom! Is this a big enough branch to beat me with?”

Every head in the store turned toward this little boy standing in the doorway with the chunk of tree, grinning his head off. Then they all turned to me as I walked toward him. I pointed out that we were both laughing and no one needed to call CPS. He dragged the branch back outside, still laughing.

Every so often, if he tells me he messed up somehow, I still tell to go find a really big stick so I can beat him.

There’s been a lot of talk about amendments of the Constitution.

Why we have birthright citizenship. Civics again

There’s a lot of talk lately about birthright citizenship AKA the 14th Amendment —the rights of citizens.

Section 1 defines citizenship as “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof , are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” It states further that the United State as well as individual states may not make laws or enforce laws that are counter to the privileges and immunities of citizens including the right to due process and equal protection under the law.

Section 2 describes how Representatives are allocated by the number of male inhabitants of each state, the minimum age to vote for such representatives, originally age 25, now age 18; and what counts as a disqualification for voting – insurrection, giving aid and comfort to enemies. The right of women to vote is a later Amendment.

Section 3 details that those engaging in insurrection are barred from Government office including the Office of the President, Vice President, the Senate and the House of Representatives, as well as judicial officers, if they were under oath as government agents when they participated in the insurrection. It goes on to state that Congress may void the insurrection action by a two thirds vote.

Section 4 Public Debt The expenses incurred by The Civil War are authorized to be paid except for expenses incurred by the states that participated in the Insurrection.

Section 5 Congress has the power to enforce the provisions of this amendment by proper legislation.

Normally Americans become citizens by birth or naturalization. A child born in a foreign country to American citizens is an American by birth. A child born to foreign nationals can be considered a citizen by birth if the parents are seeking asylum or are long term workers abiding by the laws of the United States or are awaiting naturalization. Children born of officials working or representing foreign countries in the US are not considered to be “birthright citizens.”

Birthright citizenship was a way to give the former slaves, who might have been in the country for several generations, legal status and protections as citizens. It didn’t really give the former slaves all the rights and privileges of free persons, but was a way to break the South’s economy during and after the Civil War.

The net result was backlash against the now freed people. Even though the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments granted the former slaves freedom, citizenship, and the right to vote, the South worked tirelessly to limit the new rights of the freed slaves. Intimidation, poll taxes, murders, and bombings were used to prevent the former slaves and their descendants from voting or even improving their lives.

We are experiencing a backlash against birthright citizenship. The current administration is representing birthright citizenship as a scam by non-white persons to overwhelm our population using their old catchphrases “mongrelization,” “diluting their blood”, “undesirables.” and “criminals.”

We have people imprisoned without due process, shipped to foreign prisons, starved, beaten, raped. Small children carried off, protesters killed. It’s like having Idi Amin in charge. Except the current incumbent make Uncle Idi look sane

My opinion on AI data centers and other stuff

How are people supposed to live if their jobs are being taken over by artificial intelligence and robots? I agree that some jobs are done better by automation – mining, deep sea exploration, cleaning polluted water ways and land, parts assembly, exploring other planets that do not have breathable atmosphere, and mind-numbing tasks like verifying a hundred pins are in a packet.

But humans shouldn’t be replaced, especially in a country has no real social welfare programs in place to enable the unemployed or disabled, or even children, to have a meaningful life. There are so many forms to complete, so many proofs of employable status or unemployable status, and gatekeepers and nosy parkers who involve themselves in other people’s business and create problems.

This country likes to claim it’s the greatest, but lacks a supportive infrastructure for its citizens. No universal healthcare, no guaranteed minimum income to ensure that everyone has a place to live and food to eat. Our food, water and air are poisoned by the upper 10 percent in the name of profit, who buy companies to transfer their debt to so they can declare bankruptcy, leaving taxpayers with higher tax bills and empty store fronts and businesses.

The few data centers that have bern built are already causing problems. The builders promise jobs and improvements for the communities they build near, but instead they pollute the water table, cause aquifers to fail, and consume electricity that increases the power bills of the nearby residents.

The centers will actually provide few jobs other than the initial construction of the centers and supervisory personnel, and the artificial intelligences will not add much to the value of the towns they are in. A few custodial humans will move in, but they will start to change the character of the towns. They will want more modern houses, wider streets, and demand higher priced goods and services. They won’t shop in the local businesses because they don’t provide the amenities of larger cities.

While other countries have invested in the health and welfare of their citizens, this country is devolving into a third world nation. The oligarchy siphons funds out of communities and hoards the wealth of the nation. None of the oligarchs could spend all of their wealth even if they all lived to be hundreds of years old.

The wealth of one man could modernize the entirety of the continent of Africa with funds left over. The fact that one percent of the human population controls most of the resources, most of the money, and the health and livelihoods of billions of people is the true crime against humanity.

I would love to be wealthy. Better than that, I would love to just be debt free. Unlike many people, I consider myself to be well off because I can afford to keep my credit use reasonable. I have a house — yes, there’s a mortgage — but I can afford the payment. I use credit cautiously, generally paying the cards off within a month or so.

One of the credit card companies notified me that they are reducing my credit limit because I don’t use the card enough. Fine by me. I’m cancelling that card anyway. My credit score will take a hit, but no big deal. It won’t be that much of a hit.

I spent years clawing my way up from practically no credit score to one that has three digits. I have everything that I need because my needs are reasonable except for craft supplies. We all have our faults.

Before you get all mad at my rant, remember this is just my opinion based on moderate research, reading, and life experience. You have your opinion based on your information gathering. We can have differing opinions. That’s what the First Amendment is about, right?

My sisters were here

That’s rarely a good thing. I am very low contact with my siblings. They are all younger than me, and in my opinion, are not that good for me mentally. We were all raised by the person I generally refer to as “the crazy lady,” our mother. She ultimately was diagnosed as “schizophrenic with delusions of grandeur.”

That didn’t really help me, who is probably just as nuts, but in a different way. I spent my time in the womb, nutritionally deprived because the crazy lady didn’t want to be “fat.” Her words, not mine. When she would get angry with me, even after seven other kids, she would pull up her shirt to show me her stretch marks and blame them on me.

I spent the first month of my life in a 1940’s style incubator, practically untouched except for necessary care. (Question: have you read this before? I lose track.) I was rarely held during feeding. The bottle was propped next to my head on a pillow. I know this because all of us were fed that way. It’s a wonder none of us choked.

I still have problems with being touched. I can do a handshake, but I really don’r want to be hugged. Sometimes I do accept hugs but unless it’s a hug from a small child, I tend to stiffen up. It’s not that noticeable to people I have some sort of relationship with, but I get really tense when strangers or acquaintances want a hug.

Don’t try to analyze me. I already know the sources of my quirks. I fight most of them every day. I’m just weird that way.

My theory for the sonic booms

Hear me out before you judge.

The sonic booms being reported are from aliens trying to send a vaccine to cure the current Dear Leader Infatuation Syndrome in the United States and hitting the Stupidity Shield created snd patented by the Administration to keep the followers from becoming self-aware.

Since it takes a long time to travel through space, it was probably an attempt to prevent the current disaster that is our government. The aliens misjudged the thickness of the American Stupidity Shield and the speed and power needed for an effective penetration to disburse the vaccine.

Nice try, Aliens. You underestimated the thickness of American Ignorance. You’d never catch enough of them for individual vaccination since they’re incredibly anti-vax.

Recent Prompt

What jobs have you had?

After high school, I got my first ever job as a collar pointer and hood turner in a coat factory. That lasted three whole weeks. I did alright with the poplin and cotton coats until the wool can out. Unfortunately, the fibers generated by cutting the wool pattern pieces with a huge bandsaw triggered a dormant wool allergy and caused breathing problems.

In college, I worked food service and for the Dean’s office. Also while in college, I learned what a nasty place a nursing home can be. Islso worked in the town library and Historical Museum — it’s amazing what winds up in there. Civil War uniforms, founding daughter’s doll collection, commemorative plates and weird artifacts found around town and brought back by travelers were all arranged in a little tiny room

I worked for a major corporation and got fired for telling off my supervisor. He was fired after a few more complaints from other female workers. This was in the ‘70s when sexism was rampant. To be honest, I did not fit in with the corporate environment. I wanted to talk theater and music, they were all sales and profits.

My next and best job was as a cook for a daycare center. According to some of the parents, the toddlers wouldn’t eat breakfast at home because what I made them was better than eating at home. I even had a few reports of picky eaters gaining weight due to my cooking.

The Director fired me because I asked for a raise. Of the 50 kids I was cooking for, 20 were pulled by their parents because the quality of the food declined and kids refused to eat. I went in to pick up my things, including my cookbook and wound up calling the Health Department on my replacement because he was cooking for MY kids with a cigarette in his mouth. That was in 1972

My next job was two years later working on a military base at the post exchange on the register and unloading trucks. That lasted 2 years until I took the Civil Service exam for a Federal job, also on base, working the phone for base and housing maintenance.

Concurrently with that job, I did a part-time job with K-Mart in the automotive department. Since this was pre-digital age, we had books to look up the replacement parts for the major brands. Yet somehow, men would wander all over the store to find a guy to help them find spark plugs and wiper blades, rather than accept that I could look in the same books they could use.

I spent the next few years being a stay-at-home mom until my marriage went to crap. Then in 1983, I started working at a chain store as a cashier and department lead. In 1984, I got a job working for the university in campus libraries, processing book orders and later working as a student supervisor. I retired from campus in 2011.

A couple of years later, I worked part-time for the state revenue service between January and June, processing tax returns. I did that for a couple of years. But now, I just have an almost full-time volunteer position at a local maker space. I find it way more satisfying than any paid position.

If I need extra income, I can teach classes in the things I know how to do with equipment already in the space. I usually only charge aa bit more than the cost of supplies per student, except for kids’ classes. Those are usually only $10 per child up to age 15. 16 year-olds are eligible for membership if a parent is also a member so I generally just charge them the cost of supplies or $25.

Don’t fall for free offers

I bought a new HP Deskjet printer recently because it was cheap and was only going to be used in my studio. I also signed up for their free instant ink cartridges. My expectation was that I would use the cartridges and cancel the subscription since I don’t print many pages at a time. The thing is they can monitor the amount of pages you print and yo

There’s a catch. If you cancel the Instant Ink subscription early, you have to return the cartridges even if they’re not empty because they will turn the cartridges off remotely on the expiration date. I have two weeks to use up the ink. So far I have printed 50 pages. I guess I’m going to print a lot of reference photos for paintings as well as collage papers for future art projects.

So once again, Free does not mean free. Unless you make a lot of prints, I don’t recommend the Instant Ink. Just use the regular cartridges right from the start.

What have I been doing?

Sticking close to home since the cost of gas is so high. But I’ve finished a couple of projects.

Lucy Furr, Attorney-at-law

Miss Lucy Furr will be part of my art show in November along with her companion, Kitty Karlyle, a former game show panelist. She likes wine, maybe a bit too much.

Miss Kitty Karlyle

I’ve done few paintings as well and need to get caught up on my new 100 paintings project. I’m way behind, I think. I need to count what I’ve completed.

I need to move stuff back into my craft room from my studio now that I moved the Boomerang Child out. He still has a bed here but not a room. Since he is employed, he can save up for his own place and get his stuff out of my garage so I can get to the yard tools and put my car away.

I finally replaced the water softener. The plumber called this morning and asked if I was available for the install. I thought they had forgotten. So the last of the home equity money is done. I can wait until fall to get a new dryer. I hang clothes on the line until late fall.

In car news, I spent way too much money after a little accident caused by being run up onto a curb. It was the only way to avoid being hit by a car that ran a light. Now I have a different problem— the rear driver-side window is inside the door. I’m back to plastic and duct tape until next week. I didn’t even have to tell Mike my name, I just asked what Kia he thought had a new problem.

Once again my car is broken

I think I need to just take the bus. This past Wednesday, I had a re-check at the Orthodontist. Not a problem. Except it turned out to be a problem. First I took a wrong turn because I misread the map. Once I got going the correct way and was going down the off-ramp, I was forced to the right by a car that ran the yellow and forced me to move too far to the right to avoid having another insurance claim.

I was closer to the right side that I thought and ran up the curb and then dropped back down to the road. I continued on to my appointment without hearing that particular sound that a flat tire would make. When I came out and started the car, I got a low tire pressure warning light. I walked around the car to get to the air gauge in the glove box, looked down at at the tire and realized I didn’t need the gauge. Called for a tow and called the shop that services my car to tell them the car would be on the lot when they arrived in the morning.

I let the folks at the reception desk know I was outside waiting for a tow in case anyone mentioned someone was just sitting in the parking lot. I had to wait an hour for the tow and had the car towed to my regular repair shop. It was still open so I was able to drop the key inside and tell them what happened.

I’m still waiting for the car to be done. There were six cars already on the lot for service this morning. I did get a call yesterday saying they are changing both front tires so they’re the same. I told them no rush, so I guess they’ll call me this afternoon.

I had the dubious pleasure of using our new and improved (not!) transit system to go to the makerspace for a meeting. I missed my transfer connection by 3 minutes because the connecting bus was running early. I texted one of the members to meet me on at a corner at the bottom of the hill. They showed up very quickly. After the meeting they brought me home.

What a mess. If I had kept my Saturn, this would never have happened because I’d be on a different timeline. 😂😂😂

I bought a camera and I’m this (years) old.

Yep. I decided that with the petty thefts going on at the shop, I would monitor my studio. It’s not an expensive camera, but sufficient for my needs. It watches the entry and I can access it from my iPad. It works well enough for my purposes and notifies me when someone walks past my studio.

I was just reading an old Buzzfeed article asking how many years old you are without giving your age or birthdate. The answers were mostly from “youngsters”— the ones who grew up with remotes and color televisions. The oldest was “I’m riding in the back of the station wagon-years old” I can beat that. I’m “crouch under your desk and cover your head with your hands”-years old, also known as “duck-and-cover” air raid drills

Early Atomic Age— prepare for falling atom bombs AKA early Cold War Era. Eisenhower was President and Russia was Enemy Number One. We could be attacked at any time by the godless communists. Air raid sirens went off once a month. If you couldn’t get to shelter, you did the “duck-and-cover.” Yep. That’d save you from a real bomb.

Maybe with the current state of the country, we should start those drills again. Not that they’d do much good. Just ask the folks from Hiroshima and Nagasaki how well they did. The weapons we have now would literally blast us back to the stone age, not metaphorically, literally. There’s nowhere to hide. Maybe Greenland or maybe Antarctica.

With the luck of most of us, a nuke would strike Yellowstone and send us all not back to the Stone Age, but back to the Primordial swamp. Millions of years from now, the future inhabitants of Earth will be drilling for hydrocarbons in the areas formerly known as Chicago, Minneapolis, New York.

Geologists will speculate on the enormous pools of fatty hydrocarbons that were formerly Americans. Archeologists will be confused by the incredible amounts of crumbling plastic artifacts. Anthropologists and Paleontologists will be using carbonized and crushed shards of bones to assemble what earlier life looked like and will come up with creatures assembled from the fragments of humans and their pets.

They’ll mine the great rust beds that were girders of skyscrapers and wonder about the fragments of tarry ribbons winding about under the dirt. They’ll wonder why there are uncountable seams of copper that extend for thousands of miles but are scarcely thicker than a twig. And they’ll find the Twinkies of a bygone era- still in the plastic wrap, still with the creamy filling, and the soft yellow sponge cake.

What fun.