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Everyone should write about moving things that inspire them.

December 29, 2018 4:56 AM HST - Posted by Jason

New Year's Resolutions

This year I have several resolutions, but most of them will be simple.

I want to publish over 100 haikus in another book. I also want to finish A Brand New World: How You Will Live and begin A Brand New World: How It All Ends.

After taking off 4-5 years from school, I want to return and finish my journalism degree in 2019. I may get an A.A. or a B.A. It could take 2-3 semesters to earn an A.A. or over two years for a B.A.

Every day I want to eat a bowl of organic oatmeal. Not only is it good for me, but it is also dirt cheap. I will eat organic raisins, organic cinnamon and organic honey with a dash of Himalayan salt in it and it will probably be 400-500 calories. I think spending up to 25% of my daily calories this way is wise.

Since I am used to spending up to $5 for 500 calories, spending under .50 cents for 500 calories will save me money. It could even save me over $100 a month.

Oatmeal is high in protein and fiber. In a 362 calorie serving, there are 12 g of protein and 10 g of fiber. There is very little fat and researchers say oatmeal lowers (bad) cholesterol.

Every day in January I want to eat one, organic, fresh fruit or vegetable because they are good for me. This should not be too difficult, but it may be a little expensive. If it goes well and I want to continue, then I may do it or adapt it for 2019.

How much do organic fruits and vegetables cost where you live? A big bag of carrots is probably the cheapest vegetable even though there are not many calories in carrots. They cost around $1 a pound. Bananas are probably the cheapest organic fruit besides raisins. They are .89 cents a pound at Whole Foods.

Even though they are not cheap, I like all sorts of fruits and vegetables. My favorite organic fruits include avocados, tomatoes, bananas, raisins, mangoes, apples and applesauce and grapes. Tofu, pinto and black beans, carrots, broccoli, salad and bell peppers are my favorite organic vegetables.

Besides those things I also want to visit San Diego and Maui and I want to cut my hair. My bangs are one length and longer than my chin and I have resolved to cut them off because I am tired of them. I may even do it before the new year (like today). I have not decided yet.

Good luck with your New Year’s resolutions.

December 26, 2018 9:34 PM HST - Posted by Jason

Quick Take: NuttZo Organic 7 Nut & Seed Butter



Since I stopped eating meat, I have been trying to eat the right vegetarian foods that have all of the essential amino acid proteins that my body needs. I typically have to combine foods like whole wheat and beans, but they don’t have to be eaten together.

I used to like eating peanut butter, but I have developed an allergy to it. I think I fell asleep with It in my mouth and it led to a mild histamine response when I eat it now. I tried almond butter and it is good, but almonds are not a complete protein and it was very plain.

The NuttZo organic 7 Nut & Seed Butter tastes great and I like how it crunches. I think it is a viable complete protein, but the only way to know for sure is to look up the ingredients and determine which amino acid proteins they have. This includes cashews, almonds, Brazil nuts, flax seeds, chia seeds (which are complete proteins), hazelnuts and pumpkin seeds.

With 6g of protein and 3g of fiber per serving, it is difficult to eat just one. I like it plain, on bread or bagels or with crackers. Costco has the best deal on it, so visit Costco to try it. Also, if you turn the jar upside down for at least 6-8 hours, the oil that collects on top will seep back into the butter and mix with it.

December 5, 2018 8:00 PM HST - Posted by Jason

Quick Take: Plastic Problems

Did you hear that we have a plastic problem? Have you ever heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? It’s disgusting and disheartening.

Have you taken any steps to stop or reduce your use of plastics? I have done several things and you should consider doing them too.

Instead of using plastic silverware when I eat out, I bring metal utensils. Instead of using plastic bags, I use paper bags for trash and groceries. I use bamboo toothbrushes instead of plastic ones and glass containers instead of plastic ones for liquids. Instead of using plastic water bottles, I reuse a Brita filter bottle and instead of using paper and plastic coffee cups, I reuse a coffee mug. I also use a refillable torch lighter.

In the future, I hope to stop using regular dental floss and use silk floss. I also hope to continue what I have been doing while looking for more ways to stop using plastics.

December 3, 2018 4:31 PM HST - Posted by Jason

My Twitter Resolutions

Twitter suspended my account for a week, so I made some changes.

I spent several hours a week for several years developing and growing the account. I followed 1,000 users virtually every day and unfollowed users. Sometimes it was a hassle and inconvenient, so I am relieved to stop.

I used Crowdfire (formerly Just Unfollow) to find a user’s best followers and I followed them. It worked very well because many interesting people followed me back. It also kept me from accidentally following bots or unengaged accounts. I spent $10 a month on it.

I also used Manageflitter to unfollow users. It let me unfollow users that weren’t following me in the order that I followed them. I used to use this about every four months, but lately I was using it every month. I spent $12 a month on it.

Since Twitter can arbitrarily shut down my account any time at their whim with no recourse, I see no good reason to invest any more time or money into developing the account. I never paid a third-party to do anything. I only paid to use the two website applications that let me manually follow and unfollow users.

Avoiding that method will decrease my new followers at least in the short term. Saving $250 and 350 hours a year is worth it though. I have already found better uses for my time.

According to Tweepsmap, my account was gaining about 1,000 followers and losing about 500 followers every week on average. They send emails on Tuesdays, so tomorrow I will see what my account did in the last week.

I was following about 174,000 users and it was way too many. In fact, I don’t want to follow anybody, so I unfollowed everybody. After a time, I will follow the people I talk to and the people I like. My followers’ tweets feed will finally be discernible and coherent all of the time.

Some of the people that I was following were bad people. They were following people that I know and like, so I followed them. They aren’t all horrible people. They just do things that I don’t do and they don’t do what I do.

I also deleted all of my tweets. I own my data. Twitter doesn’t own my data. I have backed up my tweets on my website, so I can access them any time. Now I can start anew on Twitter too.

I used the Delete All Tweets Chrome browser extension to delete all of my tweets. It was free and it took less than an hour to delete over 142,000 tweets.

Good luck.

December 1, 2018 4:26 AM HST - Posted by Jason

Quick Take: Stop Lights

All of the stop lights in Hawaii are on timers and they don’t have sensors, so it doesn’t matter if no cars are coming and there is a line of cars waiting. It doesn’t sense anything and people have to wait.

Is the lava rock foundation why Hawaii doesn’t use sensors? I think that is why we don’t have underground parking lots. It is very hard to excavate and eventually you will hit water. Even if that is the case, they should still be able to use some sort of sensor.

If the city could implement sensors at stoplights, I think it would save people a lot of time. I think it would also be better for the environment because vehicles could drive instead of having to stop, wait and idle often for no good reason except the time was up.

November 21, 2018 4:38 AM HST - Posted by Jason

The Whitening

When I was a kid, my mom took me to the beach and outdoors and liked to put sunscreen on my face. She would rub in a thick layer of suntan lotion like Coppertone 15. However, it ended up damaging my skin and giving me combination skin on my face.

I’m not sure which lotion or lotions did it or which chemicals did it, but it somehow changed my skin. It gave it a lighter appearance on my face. I can get tanner on my stomach, chest, arms, legs or back because the skin is different. My face is actually more prone to peeling and burning now because it doesn’t get brown like the rest of my body. It just gets red.

If my white face wasn’t bad enough, I also have white hair from sunscreen. When I was little my dad told me to rub it in my hairline, so I did because I didn’t want to get sunburned. However, over time it has turned my hair white and it is an uneven pattern and exactly where I rubbed in lotion.

I’m sure that sunscreen does this because of the way that it dyed my chest hair. I have had laser hair removal, so it is not as obvious now, but there was a clear handprint where I always put lotion. I think some people have white splotches on their facial hair based on where they have rubbed suntan lotion a lot.

My parents made some wonderful decisions for me, but using lots of sunscreen wasn’t a great one. Whatever was in that sunscreen should be banned. It is keeping hair dye manufacturers in business.

If I want to hide my white hair, I can use more chemicals. I used brown hair dye for about a decade, but when I moved to Hawaii in 2014 I stopped using it. It’s a painful, risky, environmentally hazardous bandaid and relationship for $20 a month. It is ironic though that FDA-approved chemicals caused my hair to turn white, so I can buy more FDA-approved chemicals to turn it brown until it falls out.

When I was dying my hair, I noticed that it wasn’t necessarily falling out faster, but it was not regrowing like it was without dye. This led me to believe that dying my hair was preventing new hair growth and since everybody naturally loses a bunch of hairs every day I was losing more hair than I was regaining.

Be careful which chemicals you put on your body. I am very careful now and I don’t use anything until I know what is in it. I don’t use any public soaps or cleaners on my body. I bring alcohol or alcohol wipes and use organic soap and shampoo. I also use organic sesame oil instead of lotion. My body is happier and healthier too.

November 19, 2018 3:44 AM HST - Posted by Jason

America, Climate Change and Fossil Fuels



I don’t think the government is taking the disastrous effects of climate change very seriously. In fact, President Trump has said he thinks it is a hoax. He has also tried to revive fossil fuel reliance via coal, oil and gas.

Some countries are taking global warming very seriously because they think it is already costing them time, money and resources. The ways that climate change and warming causes problems can be difficult to ascertain or quantify, but people are getting better at it. Pollution is costly to clean. Healthcare costs go up. Storms are more powerful and last longer causing more damage. Fire season is extended. Oceans slowly rise putting coastal living in jeopardy. Coral is bleaching and dying. The oceans are becoming saltier and more polluted.

There are some dire environmental issues affecting the country and the world and it doesn’t seem like America is too interested in them. I think we can blame the government, dirty energy businesses and consumers and in that order. Nobody wants to fix things because taking the actions necessary to fix them are too inconvenient, so everybody now and in the future will have to suffer the consequences.

I think people living in America today are among the worst people to ever walk the planet in the history of the planet. I hope that wasn’t too emphatic, but burning coal and gasoline, eating “conventional” food instead of organic and using synthetic chemicals on yourselves makes you the world’s worst people. Never before have more destructive, more harmful, more belligerent people existed. I can add bad examples to that list.

Our government is screwing future generations in many different ways. The increasing $21.7 trillion debt and running out of money in 2033 to pay elderly social security investors are a couple of ways. Feeling no urgency to switch to renewable energy is another way.

I won’t make excuses for anybody. I keep thinking it’s too bad that Christian repentance doesn’t involve leaving fossil fuels behind. If it did or if it ever does, most of America may finally care about the environment like God intended.

November 17, 2018 6:10 PM HST - Posted by Jason

The Future of Twitter

There are over two days left in my 7-day Twitter suspension, so I was just thinking about Twitter again.

I think I see Twitter differently than it is because I see it more as a public utility and not a business. I felt that way before I was cut off for a week, but since I’ve been away I see it even more clearly. This medium is the country’s way to communicate with itself. It is the preferred method to disseminate information and taking it from somebody because they didn’t conform to an arbitrary set of standards seems inappropriate. Also, having appeal arbiters on Twitter’s payroll seems silly. Shouldn’t a neutral third party rule on appeals?

I have always fought for free speech and spoken against those that try to take it away. I say "try" because you can never take away free speech unless you cut out someone’s tongue and tie their arms behind their back. All you can do is restrict their reach if that is your thing.

I condemned ABC for firing Roseanne over a dumb joke. I condemned people that villainized Kathy Griffin, Michelle Wolf and Sam Bee and couldn’t take a joke. There are lots of other examples because it is something that I believe in and I am always amazed when the country dogpiles on somebody when they think they are evil.

I created a RSS feed for my tweets and I embedded it into the Poetry page on my website. If people didn’t just rely on Twitter, but used the same technology that they’re using that has existed for a long time, they could make their own Twitter feed. Search engines could spider all of the feeds. Twitter could even allow feed submissions.

It doesn’t have to be the way it is. Twitter doesn’t know what they’re doing and they’re making all sorts of mistakes. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the wealthy celebrities with wealthy backers (e.g. Milo Yiannopoulos, Alex Jones, etc.) doesn’t sue them and win a substantial amount of money. They must have financial losses from being banned from Twitter for things they said.

I have half a mind to return to Twitter and blast everybody under the sun. Two things are for certain. Whatever I do, I will do it like I’ve done it before and I will do it like I mean it because I will.

November 16, 2018 4:56 PM HST - Posted by Jason

Twitter Denies My Suspension Appeal

Twitter suspended my account for a week for asking comedian Daniel Tosh if he is retarded. Have you ever seen his comedy? He is hilarious, but it’s a legitimately funny question.

I had to delete the tweet, but I took a screenshot before I did it. They took about three and a half days to get back to me about the suspension.

I have not created any sock puppet accounts or even used my old account with my name on it. In fact, I am offended at the way they are treating me because it seems unfair. It also feels like it lacks a human touch and an independent arbiter.

I think Twitter needs me more than I need it. I won’t shut up if I don’t want to and I will post on my website or use another social media platform like Instagram or YouTube. I could also sparingly tweet instead of tweet all day.

Twitter shouldn’t be so reckless with free speech rights. I am angry at them for their decision, but I think they will suffer some consequences for treating people this way. They shouldn’t try to control or limit free speech unless it’s a death threat. They are playing Word Cop and doing a pisspoor job of it.

It is quite easy to create a RSS feed like Twitter uses and post or “tweet” messages that way. Getting others to subscribe is another story. That was the good thing about Twitter. There were so many people using it. They should allow users to submit their RSS url for inclusion in their searchable database.

You can see the appeal message and what I replied on Instagram.

November 15, 2018 2:44 AM HST - Posted by Jason

The White House vs. CNN’s Jim Acosta

Since 2012, I have been following CNN and politics closely. I have seen a lot of interesting stories and I have noticed some things that they didn’t mean to say. As for Jim Acosta, I thought that he was becoming a little obnoxious in the White House Press briefings, but it wasn’t unforgivable.

I think part of the problem is that he is intrigued by Sarah Sanders. I think he sees her illustrious father in her and can’t get over the things she says or the way she says them. Acosta knows he is in her head because she chastises him at news conferences by name.

Acosta had his White House press credentials revoked after he challenged President Trump’s perspective. Trump had given his version of events that did not exactly jibe with reality, so Acosta corrected him before asking his question and the president didn’t like it. It must be difficult to form questions based on reality and then rephrase them to cut through the president’s alternate reality.

In this case, President Trump said the migrant caravan approaching the U.S. was an invasion and Acosta said it is not an invasion. I had been listening to the rhetoric about the strong men approaching and I noticed how we sent the military to fortify and guard the border, so I started asking if we were preparing for war. How do you think it will look when the U.S. goes to war? Most people probably imagine it happening far away or at least in the air, but it could look a lot like these waves of migrant caravans and somebody would simply need to arm them after getting denied entry and they would be out of work and easily influenced. In the end, unless lots of powers and money poured in the war would probably falter and the waves of military would probably succeed unless it sparked something domestic.

I watched the video of Acosta pushing the intern’s arm down when she tried to reach for his microphone the third time. I think appropriate contact involves touching from the shoulder to the fingertips, so he didn’t do anything inappropriate. I think the next journalist made it clear that Acosta is a good guy and innocent before he asked his question and he seemed to acquire the president’s ire because of his bold stance. He worked for MSNBC and not CNN too.

Asking tough questions is a good thing. Being told that you are a terrible person by the president after you disagree with his characterization of events isn’t good. He sometimes creates his own narrative or version of events and gets angry at other narratives that challenge his.

I have noticed the president’s personal attacks on Acosta and there were three big ones and I labeled some of the tweets #thrice. You can find them on Twitter. Like in the case of Rosie O’Donnell, I have been fascinated with the way President Trump has went after Acosta. Some of the people they attack seem so random that you wonder if they spy on them first and acquire anti-Trump sentiments or if they would even need to because they so openly detest the president.

I think the White House should give Acosta his credentials back and stop acting this way. They are lucky if they still have a quality press because of all of the verbal attacks not to mention other sorts of attacks like pipe bombs and Saudi mercenaries.

This doesn’t say much for free speech. I think reporters in the White House press briefings will feel like they could get their press credentials revoked if they ask certain questions now. However, the White House does not have to do any press briefings and whoever they let in and keep out is their business. They keep out RT as well and I think they are just another news outlet without the western mainstream media spin.

November 14, 2018 7:42 PM HST - Posted by Jason

My Twitter Suspension

Twitter notified me yesterday about a tweet that they deemed inappropriate. I took screenshots of everything as it unfolded.

I tweeted a joke to comedian Daniel Tosh about him and the Florida recount because he is from Florida. He also knows Florida’s reputation and has referred to it on his Comedy Central show. It was a joke and not a disgusting or inappropriate one. See Instagram.

I deleted the tweet at Twitter’s request and I thought they would reinstate immediate access to my account, but they suspended my account for a week and provided a countdown clock. It looks like the account is still accessible, but I cannot tweet, follow users, unfollow users, etc.

I appealed Twitter’s decision, but they said it could take a couple of days before they reply. Perhaps they will reinstate the account sooner. They shouldn’t play politically correct cops. What a bunch of assholes. I am tempted to blast them with my first tweet back.

I am going to focus on writing some other things like blogs, stories, poems, etc. I feel like I have some more time now even though I wasn’t using Facebook to begin with. I am writing some thoughts in a notepad like usual.

See you later, but probably not on Twitter. At least for a week. I may rig the left hand Twitter feed to my own personal feed. I designed it recently in preparation for this moment because I knew they would suspend me eventually.

Twitter is a for-profit business and they probably don’t find me particularly profitable in their scheme. You never know though. They are definitely wrong and should change their position and apologize to me and pledge to treat free speech much more carefully in the future. I imagine somebody reported the tweet as a joke and they didn’t get either of them. #fail @Twitter

November 14, 2018 7:20 PM HST - Posted by Jason

6’ 2"

Did you know that your reach is roughly how tall you will grow? If you don’t grow that tall, then it may be a matter of injury or malnutrition.

How long is your reach from fingertip to fingertip? Mine is nearly 74” which is 6’ 2", but I am only 5’ 10” tall. I think I am this way because I sustained a back injury during my growth spurt between 7th and 8th grades. I was 5’ 3” tall at the beginning of the summer and 5’ 8” at the end of the summer. However, during that time I was hit in the back by a cheap shot while I was playing pop warner football for the El Cajon Falcons.

We had a great team and went to the final game called The Q bowl. Many of the players or their parents knew each other from public school and previous years of pop warner football, so they seemed to get priority. On one play our quarterback threw a meaningless interception toward the end of the game and I was getting some playing time on the offensive line because the game was so lopsided. After the interception I was jogging down the sideline toward the person that caught the ball and somebody on the other team earholed me. It didn’t have anything to do with the play, so it was awfully unnecessary.

I never saw the player that hit me, but he tackled me in such a spot that injured my back. I wouldn’t really understand what had happened until later though. However, they diagnosed me with scoliosis in elementary school and I have two bones that stick out a little bit and I think this is why. I don’t know if I actually had or have scoliosis despite their diagnosis. It basically just means an unusual curvature to the spine though.

When I was 20 years old I started visiting a chiropractor for spinal adjustments. A chiropractor named Timothy Carruthers in El Cajon used the gonstead method to adjust my lower back, middle back and neck. It always felt good afterwards. Eventually I saw his student named Ken Gilden in San Diego after I moved toward his office.

Gilden’s chiropractic practice was unique because it gave me unlimited visits and adjustments for a single price. I was married at the time and the one price actually covered both of us, our daughter and animals.

When I was a kid, my dad said I should be a contortionist because my arms were so long. My mom asked him about the job market for contortionists and he said mostly the circus and she rolled her eyes and that was the end of that. Too bad they didn’t have Cirque du Soleil yet. JK. My dad told us that I would be a great boxer with such a long reach, but my mom didn’t want me to get hit in the head and hurt. I think they made a good decision because boxing is exciting, but all of the great boxers acquire serious brain diseases over time. Even soccer players lose brain cells when they head the ball, so it’s hard to imagine the trauma one’s brain goes through after decades of boxing.

I wonder what it would be like to be 6’ 2". I would see better at concerts. I would probably be picked first a lot in sports. I was always one of the first picks, but not always the first pick. Perhaps I would have gotten more chances to play quarterback.

Clothes would fit me differently. I couldn’t imagine still wearing a medium or the same size shoe.

Being taller would have been better, but it probably would have been a mixed bag too. Some things might have been better and some things might have been worse. At least my injury was after I had already grown a lot. Some kids play pop warner several years earlier and if I would have sustained an injury then, I could have been under 5’ tall.

October 29, 2018 10:52 PM HST - Posted by Jason

Open Letter to Jordan

Dear Jordan,

I love you and miss you so much. I hope you are well.

Thanks for calling my dad for me. I liked texting you back and forth and I look forward to talking to you.

Remember that I still have 10% custody of you, so we can talk on the phone or see each other if we want to. Legally, I can see you three full days every month. Also, since I have seen you zero days in the last six years that may mean that I could see you 216 days in a row (72 months x 3 = 216) if we want.

I am happy with you living with your mom and Sam if you are. If you are not, then we can be together and arrange something else for you as soon as possible. I am here for you and I want to be here for you before any other person besides your mom is there for you because I am your one and only dad and I always will be. Also, you are my one and only daughter.

I have not called or texted you very much because my plan has been to wait until you turn 18 years old to reunite our relationship, but I would be happy to text or talk any time. You are very important to me and I don’t play games. I was waiting until you turned 18 years old because I didn’t want to talk to your mom or see her. That’s all. I think she is a liar with bad intentions and I don’t want anything to do with her. After you turn 18, neither of us have to answer to your mom ever again, but you can always do whatever you want.

Not only did your mom lie to me and hurt me with her deceit, treachery and hatred, but she disrespected the covenant that we made with God. You were very young and can’t remember everything, but she (and her mother) sabotaged our relationship after your birth and they did not stop until March 10, 2011. She was too young to be a mother and too young to get married, but she (we) didn’t realize it at first.

I think about you all of the time. In good times and bad, I wonder how you are doing and when good things happen I think about sharing them with you. I remember your smile and laugh and I miss your attention and your love. You were a great kid and I am sure that you still are one.

I still think that you may be surrounded by liars that care mostly about themselves and even use God to get what they want. Be careful, prudent and wise. You are almost finished with the first fraction of your life and the remaining 80% of your life is still ahead of you. In the end, the time that we have spent apart will seem short and insignificant.

I love you, miss you and want the best for you. I want to hear more about you and what you like to do these days. I don’t expect you to have everything figured out, but we had a deep connection and we always will have one. I am always here if you ever need me and I deeply hope that you are truly ok because I am far away and I know you want to please your mom even if that means being unhappy. Sometimes you have to look out for yourself and say enough is enough if bad things are happening and they will eventually pass. Hopefully, nothing very bad has happened or will happen.

Keep in touch. Talk to you later.

Love,
Dad

October 22, 2018 1:12 AM HST - Posted by Jason

Me Too

In this “Me Too” era, I figured I’d tell my story.

I was in an abusive marriage. It started with psychological abuse and it led to physical abuse. My ex-wife hit me, slapped our daughter and yelled all of the time. She even screamed at me in front of my private music lessons students. I retaliated a few times too. It was outta control, but nobody was seriously hurt. One time the police came and arrested her for domestic violence.

Sometimes we would get along very well and have a lot of fun. Other times the police would end up knocking on our door and we’d get a noise complaint for yelling at each other and bumping into things. It was one of those kinds of relationships.

We saw many different marriage counselors and eventually moved to the beach. We argued a lot until I got a medical marijuana card in the middle of our marriage which was about the same time. Using cannabis made us argue a lot less, so she opposed me using it although she helped me run the medical marijuana collective. We argued about me using it even though doctors recommended it for my muscle spasms from a childhood football injury. It worked and I liked it better than hydrocodone which was prescribed to me in large doses.

I had to end the relationship when she yelled at me after I moved into a new apartment. I was picking up the pieces after the raid and I didn’t want her ruining my new life and bothering the neighbors again. I needed a fresh start without her and even though she was initially on the lease I convinced her to remove herself and live elsewhere. It was a difficult decision to make, but I felt like I was being tortured and slowly losing everything and she had a lot to do with it.

After I received divorce papers, I never heard from her again. That was about six years ago. I consider myself lucky. I learned a lot from that relationship and I am over it. I haven’t dated anybody else, but I heard that she has remarried, so I wouldn’t take her back in the future.

I don’t think people understand this kind of abuse. It was slow, persistent and comprehensive. Sometimes it seemed calculated and other times it seemed spontaneous. It was unfortunate that our daughter had to see us argue, but sometimes she did.

Since she was awarded most of the custody of our daughter my ex-wife has been raising her and I have been waiting for her to turn 18 years old. I don’t even want to talk to my ex-wife. I have less than two years to go and then we will have fun without her. Some relationships don’t work out, but they don’t have to continue to bother you.

#METOO

Sincerely,
Jason

P.S. When I was 16 years old, my much older aunt had oral sex with me which is satutory rape, but that is another story.

September 15, 2018 9:40 PM HST - Posted by Jason

Showtime’s Californication Series

When Californication started broadcasting episodes on my birthday in 2007, I was excited about watching it because I had liked David Duchovny in The X-Files. Also, the storyline seemed interesting because I was married with a daughter. I was also a writer (among other things) at the time and although I didn’t have a dating life like Hank Moody’s at the time I used to have something similar.

As a man that was faithful to his wife, it was interesting to see Duchovny’s character Hank Moody (Hank was my grandpa’’s name) getting into so many problems because of his sex life. It wasn’t just Moody, but several people in the cast were filmed having sex and in some cases it cost them their job or reputation. However, there were some very beautiful bodies exposed that you wouldn’t see on basic cable TV, but it was Showtime (where we also watched Dexter).

Since I started writing and publishing books in the 2000s, I knew what it was like to write a good book and get little acclaim and not much money for it. Moody was relatable in that way. He was also relatable because I dated dozens of ladies before I was married, so his liberal and constant dating life was familiar to me.

I just watched the last two seasons because I hadn’t seen them. My wife and I divorced in 2012, so we stopped watching the show. Also, I moved and began living a totally separate life from my former wife and daughter. I still haven’t dated anybody since my wife though, so I am seeing it through that perspective now.

Watching Californication reminded me of the reasons why I left San Diego. I didn’t want the drama to continue and I didn’t want my drama to be part of their lives. I also didn’t want my needs to be on the table. A loving marriage relationship wasn’t a checklist and I thought we had something special and enjoyed doing all sorts of things together, but I guess I was wrong and I digress. Nonetheless, since Moody kept entering his former lover (he never married Karen) and daughter’s life, it contrasted mine because I haven’t done it. I think I made the right decision too.

Moody’s struggle with vices was familiar to me. I used to smoke cigarettes and I drink beer or wine from time to time. However, it rarely gets me into trouble and hasn’t done so for a long time because I grew up and became more responsible. This of course made it interesting to see an adult acting like a child and pushing the limits at partys and for no reason in particular.

I have never been unable to get an erection, so it was interesting to see Charlie Runkle being unable to get one with his beautiful wife. However, since it was their second marriage and she had been with another man I wondered if that was why. I also wondered if something like that could happen to me because my wife said she was a virgin when we got married and that was a huge part of her appeal. She has certainly had sex partners since we divorced (hopefully not while we were married), so that charm would be lost and tarnished in a way and it makes Runkle’s challenge potentially relatable.

I didn’t like seeing Moody smoke cigarettes because they are disgusting and my aunt died in North Carolina from smoking cigarettes. My dad smokes cigarettes too.

I miss Californication, but the last episode was epic and seemed to redeem Moody. I thought his daughter was going to say that she was pregnant, but she was getting married in New York, so it was probably good that he went there with Karen at the end even if he never met the guy (and we never saw him).

Shout out to Showtime for broadcasting such an interesting show that conjured up so many thoughts, feelings and memories over the years. It was entertaining, relatable and thought-provoking.

September 9, 2018 5:00 AM HST - Posted by Jason

Food, Education or Healthcare?

What do you feel entitled to?

I think most people feel entitled to something whether it is good parents, education, a job, opportunities or money. In the same vein, what do you think the government should give to people?

American politicians discuss the possibility of universal healthcare and cite examples in other countries like Canada. However, healthcare isn’t the only freebie that people may get. Things like free college education and basic income are also possibilities.

Some states like California have their own programs and offer free college education at community colleges for low income students. States also partner with the federal government for the EBT food stamps program and disperse benefits to people.

It seems to me that food is the most basic human need and one that would be nice to square away and not worry about. If a government like ours is able, then the very best food should probably be given to everybody first.

More than 40 million Americans get food money from the government every month. Why can’t everybody? If everybody had the ability to buy any food they wanted, then it could reduce the need for healthcare because it could improve lifespan, healthspan and productivity. Would people make good food choices though? Should food that causes degenerative diseases be banned? Those are good topics for another essay.

Right now the food stamps program gives qualifying people money on a debit card to buy food each month. It is accepted at grocery stores, many convenience stores and some restaurants. People can qualify if they provide evidence of their identity, citizenship and their need. There are also work requirements and people must work 20 hours a week or actively search for a job. The amount of the disbursement depends on the amount of money a person earns. Each state sets a limit and the maximum varies greaty between about $150 and $350.

After everyone has plenty of healthy food to eat they can talk about giving people healthcare, education, money or even homes. If eating (the best) food isn’t guaranteed, then the other things are moot.

The richest country that has ever graced Earth has a lot of resources and if it is going to enact high income taxes on all of the people, then it might as well give back to all of them. Not everybody needs or wants college education. Some people don’t want or need healthcare either. However, everybody will always need to eat nutritious food. Perhaps the 43 million poorest people in America shouldn’t be the only ones with guaranteed meals because everybody has to eat.

September 3, 2018 6:06 AM HST - Posted by Jason

The Blame for Pollution and Climate Change



The Blame for Pollution and Climate Change


Who do you blame for climate change? Who do you blame for pollution?

Since we have energy alternatives that don’t cause saltier seas, make glaciers melt or cause earthquakes to obtain, increasingly more people are wondering why we don’t use them instead of what we are using. I know I do.

Climate change is debatable. Do you know what is not debatable? Pollution. Burning coal and gasoline causes pollution. Pollution causes climate change, however people apparently feel more comfortable when they describe the destructive phenomenon in ambiguous terms that may not apply to them. Perhaps we should stop calling it climate change an start calling it “Manmade Filth”.

There are three people that I blame for our pollution epidemic that is leading to the end of the world. I blame the government, businesses and consumers in that order.

Government could end pollution, but they don’t. They could pass laws that require businesses to stop polluting or selling things that pollute the environment. From coal to cigarettes to gasoline, they could ban things that choke us and destroy life on the planet when they burn.

Government hasn’t banned those things for several reasons. Some of their constituents work in dirty energy fields, so they would be without a job. Also, governments profit from dirty energy because they collect massive gasoline taxes, sales taxes and sell land contracts to companies to extract oil and gas.

Businesses could refuse to sell things that pollute the environment, but they don’t. If businesses stopped selling those things, then people wouldn’t buy them or they would buy fewer of them. How often do you see businesses that have integrity and say, “We realize that some people like cigarettes, but we are not selling them because they kill people and pollute the planet”? They could.

Finally and maybe most importantly, I blame consumers. Consumers could refuse to buy things, but they don’t. Ultimately people must have personal responsibility and be held accountable for what they do. They don’t have to buy things that pollute the planet. Nobody is making them, but the way that society is structured it may make it difficult to avoid polluting especially if you must travel until changes are made.

When I rode a bicycle in Honolulu, I noticed how everything was set up for vehicles. If I needed something for my bike (e.g. a tire, air, etc.), I would have to ride a mile or two to a bike shop or Walmart and hope they were open. However, if I had a car I could easily obtain what I needed much closer and easier.

The country has gas stations, but needs electric charging stations. Power grids rely on coal, but they could rely completely on renewable energy like wind, solar, geothermal, etc. The kids of the future won’t know what a gas station is.

To stop burning gasoline we need a plan for vehicles that burn gasoline. Can they be recycled or traded in for an electric vehicle? There are millions of them across the country, so it will be no small feat.

When every consumer refuses to pollute the planet, government and businesses will have to adapt to what the people want. In other words, if everybody refused to buy and drive vehicles that burned gasoline because they wanted cars that ran on renewable energy, the government and businesses would have to make the necessary changes for the people. We could force their hand.

The same thing rings true for homes and burning coal vs. solar and other forms of energy.

When I ran a 24-hour Twitter poll about pollution on June 12, I got some interesting results. 97 people voted and the question was, “Who do you blame for pollution the most?” 43% said businesses. 30% said governments and 27% said consumers.

Why isn’t the government broadcasting messages to reduce, reuse and recycle? Why is the government whitewashing the mention of climate change? Why are they dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)?

Iran scares some people, but Iran was making clean energy and the U.S. government told them they couldn’t and made them stop. It was couched differently to make it look like they were making a bomb and threatening somebody, but they weren’t. Does it make the government feel better when others sink to their level and defile the planet like they’ve ordained?

How would you like this to end?

September 1, 2018 2:05 AM HST - Posted by Jason

Riding The Bus in Honolulu For a Month



August 2018 Bus Pass


In August, I bought a bus pass in Honolulu and rode 21 of 31 days. I rode 55 times and here’s the long and short of it.

Bus passes are for calendar months in Honolulu, so I bought one on August 1 to get the most out of it. I walked a couple of miles to 7-11 to buy it for $70. They don’t accept debit cards like they do for other products, but they had an ATM, so I withdrew $80 with a $3.50 fee. Unlucky, but at least I had the money.

Since I live in Hawaii Kai, it can feel a little isolated compared to living in the city of Honolulu. However, the 1 bus takes you downtown in an hour. It also takes you to the shopping mall in about 25 minutes.

When I lived in Long Beach, California for two and a half years I bought bus passes and rode daily. However, until August I hadn’t ridden it very much for the first three years that I lived in Hawaii.

On the last day of August, the bus was 20 minutes late, but everything worked out in the end. Fortunately, the Hawaii Kai Park and Ride is off the main road, so the air is cleaner than a typical bus stop.

I rode the 23 bus to Sandy Beach and it was an exciting trip. I had never ridden that line there. After dark I relied on the last bus to get me back to Hawaii Kai, but it eventually came.

I also rode the 23 bus to Waikiki to buy six, Hawaii t-shirts from a vendor that I have been visiting for years. Her shop is across from the Hilton Hawaiian Village’s Rainbow Tower hotel. There are some one-way streets around there, so that makes it tricky, but I think I found 23’s closest return bus stop in time.

Some of the bus stops are uncovered and unassuming. They are even at telephone polls. They will just attach two signs; one that says The Bus and one with the stop number. Every stop is a little different.

More than once I rode the bus to the laundromat to wash my clothes. It’s a roughly 40 minute ride each way, but the bus stops in front of it each way. They are clean and have WiFI and electricity. I just take my backpack and laundry bag that I wheel in a small pull-cart. Regular suitcases are not allowed on the bus.

I typically walk about a mile to and from my gym every day. However, the bus drove me back and forth at least a dozen times in August. This saved me from having to walk many miles in the early morning hours. They tended to be on time at 6 a.m. too.

I thought about taking the bus to the North Shore because it would save me $11 (two days of bus passes), but I didn’t go. Since I have been fasting and sleeping days, it complicated that trip when I considered going, but I’ll visit in the winter when the surf’s up.

Hawaii’s state library is open until 8 p.m. on Thursdays, so I rode the 1 bus there on Thursday around 5 p.m. I got there around 6 p.m. and the return bus left in front of the library at 8:04 p.m., so that worked out well.

The 8:04 p.m. bus took me to Kahala Mall’s Whole Foods for organic red wine and cash. However, they were out of the wine, so I bought an organic, dark chocolate truffle to get cash back and hung out at the mall for a couple of hours.

I left the mall on the last 1 bus and it was late as usual. In fact, I had ridden that one several times before and it is always late, so I asked a driver and he told me why. He said the last 1 bus always waits for the other buses to get downtown in case connecting riders need to ride to the 1 bus.

One time before August I waited at Kahala Mall for the last 1 bus and when I was walking away it finally came. I had waited for 30 minutes and I didn’t think it was coming. It was a good thing that I looked back one last time.

The 1 bus that ends in Hawaii Kai and drops by the roadside stop in front of the Park and Ride at 5:05 a.m. did not come once. I only had to go a mile, so I just walked, but I gave it plenty of time to arrive.

For the most part the bus stops are filthy. They have flies and trash on the ground, but most of them have trash cans. People frequently smoke cigarettes at stops. Some feature concrete seats and a few stops have benches. Homeless people sometimes sleep or hang out at them.

The Bus doesn’t have much of a social media presence, so I can’t communicate with them that way. However, I have been able to converse with them via email from their website.

Buses typically have several cameras that record activity inside and outside. However, one bus did not have any cameras; at least none that I could see. It was an older bus, so that might have been why.

On the last two days of August, I saw a beautiful girl that made my heart jump. She was so pretty that I want to write a poem about her. I could hardly believe that I saw her again. She was with two friends the second time.

Riding the bus is a mixed experience. There are many positive things about public transportation including reducing cars and our carbon footprint. However, it can also be frustrating and a hassle sometimes.

All kinds of interesting people ride the bus like school kids, elderly, local white people, dark-skinned Hawaiian people, work commuters, homeless people, tourists and others. I didn’t talk to many strangers, but I had mostly good experiences.

A little, old, Asian lady with a red flower in an oversized, straw hat walked down the aisle and elbowed me in the shoulder and it hurt, so I grabbed my shoulder and swore. Another old lady complained to the bus driver that I was “swearing at everybody”, so he asked me if I could stop. I told him the old lady elbowed me and he asked if he should call a doctor and I said I’ll be ok. I also told him that I like swearing, but I could stop.

I don’t intend on getting another monthly bus pass, but I will ride the bus again. In part of September, I’ll be on vacation in Maui, so I don’t want one. In October, I may buy a bike, so I won’t need one. It worked out well in August in Hawaii Kai though.

Have you ridden the bus? If so, how have your experiences been?

August 30, 2018 4:04 AM HST - Posted by Jason

Four Major Internet Companies I Won’t Use



Tumblr, Facebook, Google Search
Yelp


There are some great Internet companies, but there are also some shoddy ones. Here are four major Internet companies that lost my business.

Facebook: In 2011-2012 I faced a criminal trial for legally growing medical marijuana in California and a federal government agent testified that she had spied on my Facebook account before the raid. Facebook hasn’t really had the same allure since that time and I’m not into Russians. I also hated all of the ads, intrusions and fake friends until I deactivated my account on March 20, 2017 and I haven’t missed it at all.

Google Search: I stopped using the Google search engine after they retired Google Reader on July 1, 2013. Reader was valuable to me because it brought all of the newsfeeds from around the world into my inbox. There is no reason why it needed to be retired. They could have just stopped updating it and kept letting people use it to read the news. I figured if they are not in business to spread and share information, then I can take my business elsewhere. Bing is just as good or better.

Tumblr: Before I began coding and hosting a blog on my website a few years ago, Tumblr was the last blogging company that I used. However, they suspended my account for uploading a Weezer song and never gave me access to my data. I always tried to keep a copy of what I uploaded to Tumblr, but they should have given me access to my data, so I could back it up. Since they stole my data, I don’t want to do business with them. Coding my own blog takes a few extra minutes and it may not have the same exposure as a third-party blog, but it is worth it and the best way for me.

Yelp: I was an avid Yelp reviewer until they censored my reviews. My reviews were 100% honest and I think Yelp caters to paying customers and advertisers by removing unfavorable reviews when they ask. Also, when I taught music lessons for 10 years in San Diego some of my students posted positive Yelp reviews that were relegated to an auxiliary page because they weren’t regular Yelp reviewers. I don’t want anybody censoring people on a reviews website, so I post my reviews on my website now.

Which companies have you stopped using and why?

August 29, 2018 12:37 AM HST - Posted by Jason

YouTube Like Playlist

For a couple of years I saved the YouTube videos that I watched in playlists. They include three lists: news and educational, music and comedy. However, it takes too much time, so I am simply saving good videos in the like category now.
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