TANK vs TESLA

"We've crushed fascism before and we'll crush it again"

- ⁠WW2 veteran Ken, 98, in the tank

I thought this article was interesting. It is really important that we understand what the data is really saying & where it is coming from. www.politico.com/news/magazin...

Today was another one of those horrid, long days where you have to cram too many hard things into nowhere near enough hours...and then I got to talk to some of my most beloved humans and life was better again. Find your humans. Rejoice in them. They are worth it.

Sometimes you spend time with people you didn't know you needed & it feeds your soul...when that is accompanied by some of the finest homemade sopa de albondigas in the history of ever, that makes for a pretty perfect birthday. This is 53.

Building good habits is _hard_ y'all. I'm slowly adding changes every week, figuring that if I go slow, they will stick better. Writing. Language. Music. Next, exercise. Slow is sure. Sure is fast.

One of our traditions is NYE Sumbel. It's 3 rounds of toasts. 1st to a deity of choice (or Life or The Universe...that which is greater than ourselves). 2nd to an ancestor of choice (chosen, blood, you call it - those who have gone before). 3rd is either an Oath or a Boast. All are celebrated.

Tonight I had my 1st taste of South Indian food (as opposed to Punjabi, which is more common where I'm from), and I enjoyed every bit of it. If you're ever in Glasgow, get a meal at Westend Bananaleaf. Great food for great price in a comfortable space with good service. 10/10 do recommend.

There are any number of very valid and reasonable reasons not to celebrate today in particular. However, any other day, I am deeply grateful for so many people and life in particular. So, if today is no joy, I'm thankful for tomorrow.

Just finished "The Winter Order" by Robert Seutter. Having read his other series, I knew I was in for a good yarn. Great world building, complex characters, on top of a story about a militant order of Santas facing off against vampires bent on horrendous evil. Buy it. Read it. Enjoy it. Worth it..

This helps.

So, I've been thinking lately about facts in conversations - In order to have productive conversations, there has to be an agreed-on set of facts. We may value those facts differently, or place a different importance on those facts, but if we can't agree on basic facts, we can't communicate at all.

I've found myself! See? I'm right here :)