Halloween, first rain, and Canada's nervous

 It's Halloween. We had a good rain last night, and Ken came by and I got my check, but he didn't come by until something like midnight (he did at least call and say he'd be late) so I got my pay check. 

Canada's nervous because there's already an article (paywalled) in the Globe & Mail about how Diaper Don, if he wins, is going to get water, which we're short of somehow, from Canada. I'm pretty sure it will be "get" in the same sense that a mugger holding a gun to your head "gets" your wallet. 

This is something I see coming and have for a while. A MAGA regime will want to annex both Canada and Mexico to make a MAGA continent, with the brown people in it becoming a slave caste or simply, as in the first time around, either worked to death or gassed immediately if they're not able to work. 

I packed the few things that had to go out (fortunately kinda pricey so today's numbers are decent) and took off for downtown at 3. I was wearing black sweatpants, my bright yellow Amazon cheapo bike riding jacket, and my orange hi-vis hat that has reflective stripes on it. It's a ball cap type hat. As I passed by some condos, a guy called out, "TRUMP!" except he kind of caught himself so it was more like "TRUMp!" I guess he saw the hat out of the corner of his eye then realized it's orange not red. 

But it got stranger. I got to the post office and was locking the bike and was putting the hat in one of the panniers and a distinguished older Black man in a suit, so possibly a lawyer or even judge from the courthouse up the street walked by and gave me a look like, "Really?". 

I dunno, are the Trumpanzees wearing orange high-vis to show solidarity after Donnie's garbage truck stunt? I think I'm going to stick to my yellow hat for a while. 

I deposited my pay check at the bank, then got wings and fizzy water at Whole Foods, then walked up to the hardware store where I found a thicker piece of brass stock than I'd bought at Sheldon's Hobbies so I got it. Then I got some bags and little bottles at TAP Plastics. If I sell off my concert flutes, I want to include a bit of the pad conditioning fluid with each one. 

Then I went to the bike shop to order a new "fabric floor" or whatever it's called, for my bike trailer. I'd noticed yesterday that part of it had split, I thought. I showed Ken last night, and it's actually been cut like someone took a knife and intentionally cut it. It's not impossible it could have been accidentally cut somehow but I can't imagine how. But the thing's pretty worn anyway. 

But here it gets stranger. The lady helping me at the bike shop found the thing, about $65, and then looked up my name in the records and somehow I had money in my account - about $65. They're carrying the records over from when they were La Dolce Velo which I've been going to for years so while I have no idea why I have a credit of about $65, I can't rule it out. So the thing will be essentially free and I'll have it in about a week and a half, The tape I've used to "repair" the cut will hold out that long. 

Then we talked about Bromptons, and I said I'm set on getting an A-line, but she's ga-ga over the G-line. The difference is an A-line is about $1200 out the door and a G-line is probably getting close to 3 grand. I told her about the Mobic folding bike I have now, and she even looked it up to see if there's a trade-in value for it. Yet another reason to get it roadworthy and put that new seat on, as I'm sure to get more in trade-in than I could on Craig's List. 

I like the "purity" of the A-line, it folds smaller, it's just got 3 speeds (I ride my 7-speed in one of the speeds 99% of the time) and just being smaller, with 16" wheels as opposed to 20" wheels, it would be my go-to if I have to resort to renting an office in this one building I know of and needing a folding, stealthy bike that can be hidden in a bag as many Brompton owners in London do to take their beloved bikes into the office. 

But, I concluded with her, I should really get the Mobic roadworthy and take it around on trips I'd take a folding bike on, like going up to San Francisco and riding around etc. (I do have dreams of taking the train and bike up there, busking and staying in a hotel overnight preferably one of those that are inexpensive but have high parking fees which of course I'd not pay, then busking some more the next day then heading for home.) 

I walked over to the used book store and found a couple of books to buy, and talked with the owner a bit. That guy is really tuned in. The trick-or-treaters were out in force on The Alameda, trick-or-treating in stores and there was candy galore everywhere, at the bank and everywhere else I went. 

I rode over to Whole Foods again for some serious shopping, then to the Amazon place for those free bubble mailers, then rode on home. 

More narc'ing haha

 I rode back in here yesterday and as I passed the gap between the two buildings here that has long been the home of a nest of bums, two black dogs ran out at me barking. The bum who was there called them back but who needs that noise? Plus I now know why it often smells like dog shit around there. 

So I made a report to animal control and one to the homeless encampment thing at the police dept. site. All the building owner would have to do is make that passageway a fire lane and then they'd have a leg to stand on to clear out the bums. 

Washington Post to change name to Der Sturmer

 The Washington Post, the paper of Watergate and The Pentagon Papers, withdrew an endorsement for Harris. A previously neutral paper has decided, like the McDonald's corporation, that it endorses Diaper Don. 

It's a faithful replay of the Nazis 1.0, when the big media and corporations decided to back him because they felt they could control him. Wait'll the new Nuremberg Laws come though, and now the Nazis have DNA technology. Without the USA being a haven for Jews, Jews are going to be in existential danger worldwide. 

And that's "just" Jews, if you're black or brown, there will probably be a racial classification system like in S. Africa and laws will be manipulated to bring back chattel slavery. 

There will be plenty of effective slavery for low-ranking whites too, don't worry they won't be left out. Every white crack-smoking shithead living off the gov't will find themselves with some kind of scut job they can't walk off of. All the "machinery" is already in place and I've long believed that this is why even educated whites (who are not rich) get thrown in prison for things, because "prison industries" (that's an actual name of a corporation) needs pencil pushers too. 

Given the Nazis 2.0 have such a fondness for how Putin does things, we could end up with a US like the old USSR with a vast gulag system, where even scientists and engineers are prisoners and do their work - as scientists and engineers - from prison complexes for prison wages. 

I slept in pretty late, until 1 or so, and packed 4 things that had to go to the post office. I took those there and then rode up to Sheldon's Hobbies for a piece of brass, which they had. While not that thick, it's still about two times as thick as the brass kick plates for doors sold at Lowe's and one of those is far larger than I need. This will be to fix the door. 

I hung out a bit talking with the guy there, watching some guys "drift" their R/C cars around the track they have, and looking at drones and stuff. It's a pretty neat place. 

Coming back I locked the bike at H Mart, and walked over to Ross where I bought a pair of sweat pants and a Nautica fleece jacket. "Nautica" is a funny name, like they started to write "Nautical" and lost interest before the end. Nice jacket though, and much needed as it's getting cold. 

I went to Sprouts then and got a cucumber and a bottle of "Crane Lake" (I call it Turkey Trot) pino noir because they were out of the cabernet. If pinot noir is more dry then cabernet, I might switch to that or at least mix it in. We're talking $4 bottles of wine here. 

Then I walked back to the bike and put the stuff in the bags, and went into H Mart to buy a package of ramen (for the seasoning only) and a bottle of Kewpie because it was on sale. I checked my card and I had about 1200 points so I was eligible to get a $10 gift card which I got, but you don't get change back from those, you have to spend $10 or a bit more. So I grabbed another bottle of Kewpie and pay a couple dollars cash. 

Then I went over to Lowe's and looked around a bit, looking at prices on chisels because fixing the door will require one, verifying that their kick plates are thin, and finally buying a gallon of Windex which was the main reason to go there. 

Now, loaded down, I rode straight for home but by way of Junction Avenue which took me by the African store so  I stopped there. I got a couple of seasoning packets one for fish and one for "goat" and a bag of green banana chips. So now my money's all spent. 

It's seriously getting cold so I'm wearing the new clothes from Ross now.  Dinner was fish soup. 

 

Beautiful skies

 We've got some kind of storm system coming in and the air's super clean, so when the sun shines it's really hot although overall it's cool. 

Because I wasn't sure if rain was coming in, I packed all the things, about 16 of them, and took them to the post office and FedEx. I left here at 2:30, just in time to go to Hu's lunch truck where I got three baked chicken drumsticks for $3. I also got a little bag of barbecue potato chips for another $1.50. Those were my carbs for the day. 

I found some shipping materials, some computer stuff I've taken the parts off of, and today's freebee was 2 lbs of shelled raw walnuts and 8 of those double packets of "Potsticker Sauce" with one side soy vinegar and one half hot chili oil, and the chili oil is why I took them, because that stuff is so nice and hot, and I can't find any in the store that are that nice and hot. As soon as I got home one if the things I did was take the packets and soak them in some water with Dawn, then washed them well, because, you know, I got 'em out of the dumpster... 

The walnuts were slightly less questionable. Someone's doing food drops around here, I don't know why. So tons of cans of beans and bags of dry beans and lentils and such things. There were also raisins and saltines which I put on top of the dumpster lid so the bums can find them because they'll eat those. And that's how I found the two bags, so two pounds, of walnuts. 

Except for one sprinkle that came through around 11AM, it's been dry but "crisp" feeling and the sky's all dramatic and beautiful. 

What a night

 I had it all together last night. I washed my hair and shaved and had clean clothes all lined up to change into after cleaning up in the morning, had my alarm clock set for 8AM, etc. I went to bed around 12:30 or 1AM. 

Then around 3:30AM there was tons of noise outside, guys talking, parking cars, etc because the old Salt Unlimited place, now rented out by some people who appear to be pimps, drug dealers, something along that line, was holding their biggest bash ever. I kept hoping it would quiet down and more people kept coming, making noise. I finally got up and put in another report with the San Jose Police Dept. 

But then something pretty funny happened. As soon as I hit "return" police cars came in, and there were four of them with their lights on and who knows how many at the other end of the parking lot, and I hope they thoroughly ruined the fun. 

So someone else is narc'ing on them too. It could be anyone from the guy in the RV who never bothers anyone down at the other end, someone from the welding place (Mormons) or someone else. The thing is, I'm not the only one having their sleep ruined by this. 

I felt I needed to get back to sleep quickly so I drank some more wine. and went to bed. My alarm woke me up at 8, but then I decided to "rest" a little and slept until 10:30. Too late for the class I'd signed up for. I realized I'd screwed up and slept some more until almost 2 in the afternoon. 

So the usual get-up routine. Turn on the lights, turn on the radio, on NPR of course. I love NPR, I love shows like "On The Media" and the science programming, shows like "Code Switch" the name of which makes me smile because anyone who grew up in Hawaii knows what that is. 

But today they had noted anti-Semite "Te Nahasi Coates" going on and on about hatred if Israel and the horrible un-human-ness of Jews in general. They gave him an hour of air time. 

This was the final straw as yesterday they'd run a really nice piece about a mixed Black-Indian family and their darling daughter and her dog whose name is like 7 names long, and it was so nice and cute, and then they went right into the daughter screaming "FREE 'PALESTINE'" and the whole family going into their Jew-hatred routine. 

I suspect German radio was like this by 1932-33, nice stories about a cutesy German family then right when the listener is feeling good about the world, it would be dropped in that the Jews want to drain the family's children's blood or something. 

So I wrote to NPR about "California Report" where the cutesy Jews-hating family was featured, and to KQED about the Coates blast of anti-Semitism and told both of them they won't get another thin dime from me. I'd just started giving $60/year because I listen to them so much but no more, never. That money should have gone to Tablet magazine or something. 

The problem now is what I've learned is called the "horseshoe theory" that the far-Right and the far-Left both hate Jews, hate the family, hate empathy, and in the end it doesn't matter whether it's Hitler or Pol Pot who kills you, either one of them will make you very dead. 

So it's not just a matter of "Vote Blue" you have to vote for people who aren't loony-Left. You have to vote centrist. I would even say to vote for a Republican if they're a centrist Republican like Arnold Schwartzenegger was. But I'm not sure there are any of those any more. The Republican party has become a cult, so voting for any of them is out. So the solution is to vote Dem but not the loony-Left ones like Bernie Sanders, for instance. 

Today's been mainly sitting around hoping this headache will go away. It's only decreased a bit and that's after some pickle juice, hot sauce, and an iced creamy coffee. 

Eventually I headed out, at maybe 7:30? I rode by way of Hedding to Whole Foods and wanted to have a Guinness and hang out at the bar, watch some sports, and socialize a bit. Johnny, the bartender, and I, and another guy talked about the election, and I got a lot of compliments about my trumpet playing - the general consensus seems to be that I am improving, and playing new songs. It was very good to hear. 

We also talked about Rabbit Trumpet Guy and well, how bad he was. I told them about his really bad attitude and how there's a Sharks hockey site where he's talked about a lot, the funniest post being something like "He's been playing for at least the 15 years I've gone to Sharks games, how come he never improves?" None of us knew what has happened to the guy though.

It wasn't a Guinness I drank, though, as they didn't have any singles so I got a Pliny The Elder which is $7, then tipped the bartender $2 for opening it for me and handing me a glass, so that's a $9 beer but that's pretty part for the course these days. (Honestly upstairs they don't care if you get a $2 PBR and they'll give you a glass anyway.) 

When it was about a half hour to closing, I finished my beer and did some shopping. Then the plan was to ride home by way of Hedding, but I realized I really had to pee. I ended up riding back to Whole Foods to do that, then rode home by way of Hedding. I dithered around a bit going to the Foster's Freeze, to find it was closed. I felt like buying a couple of big burgers and eating those without the buns which I'd leave out for the birds. So much for that plan. 

When I got back here I really had to pee again, that Pliny The Elder has quite a diuretic effect. At least I have my groceries in, and back here safe and sound and warm. It might rain tomorrow.

 

Saturday night

 There was no in-person service at the temple last night, so I just packed packages, listed things, and got my shopping in at Sprouts and H Mart. 

Then I got back and portioned out the ground beef and fish into servings and put them away in the freezer. 

It's gotten cold, and I may have to get my little heater out soon. 

I have to try to get to a class at the temple tomorrow that starts at 10AM. That's early for me so I'll have to get to bed early and also have as much as possible taken care of tonight so I can just get up and with a minimum of prep, go. 

I also thought about my schedule of donations to the Harris campaign. I only have one this weekend and one next weekend left. But they're going to need the money more, now, than next week which will be just a couple of days before the election. So instead of sending $50 this week I sent $100, and that's it. 

Mainly I've been really geeking out about whether I want to get a Brompton bike. I'm really leaning towards getting one, the base model, because I can keep it right under my desk here. If I end up living in a small office, or in a van, or in a rented room, a regular bike may be difficult or impossible to keep. 

I guess like everything else, it's going to come down to the election. If Harris wins, we'll have four more years of relative normalcy. If Mango Mussolini wins, I may have larger problem than whether to buy another bike.

11 days out.

 I woke up around 10. Up at around 11 haha. 

It's all about the election now. The Democrats are trying to point out that the Republicans are a cult led by a fascist, and the only trouble with that is, the Republicans are fine with this. 

It's like when I used to hang out with Communists in Hawaii. They all told me that the USSR wasn't doing real Communism, and China wasn't doing real Communism and so on. But when they (somehow) brought about real Communism, life would be great. 

This is the same type of thinking that's going on in the Republican cult. The Germans 1933-45 didn't do real fascism, and Italy didn't do real fascism, and Franco didn't do real fascism, but by golly, they'll do it right and life will be great. 

So telling them they're fascists doesn't have the desired effect, that they'll have the classic, "Wait, are we the baddies?" moment. The reason is something along the lines of, "Well yeah, we're fascists, and this time we're gonna do it right!". 

If one talked with one of them intelligent enough to have a conversation with, they'd probably say the problem with Hitler's fascism was it didn't have enough White Northern European Jesus in it. This time around they want to set up a theocracy so that will fix the problem! 

The most important thing

 I woke up today around 10:30. I had time to pack all the things that had to get sent out, about 12 things. And after that, the most important thing: time to fill out my ballot and make sure I'd done everything right as far as signing it etc., and I took that to the post office too and sent it off along with the postal packages.

Then I went to the bank and deposited my pay check, then to Whole Foods where I had some cole slaw and beet salad, then  I went down to the bike shop and looked at the two Bromptons they have there. 

I ended up talking with the guy who's got a ton of tattoos and a beard and is into all kinds of political theories and we had fun bagging on libertarians and Randists a bit, then we started talking about Bromptons and he was raving about the titanium one - a $5000 bike. I said if I get one it will be the "A-line", the basic model. He was enthusiastic about any Brompton really. This is the same guy who didn't want me to buy a new pannier set for my cruiser bike, "Those you have look fine" (they're not fine, they're beat up and faded and the bottom is starting to come apart on one side). 

Then I rode over to the Amazon place for bubble mailers and from there headed for home. I was riding along St. John street between 3rd and 4th and there was this big Black guy, possibly homeless, saying loudly, "I will pee on you!". I burst out laughing and he repeated, "I will pee on you!" a bit further up, a large Black lady was ranting about something and I said, "You'd better watch out for that guy, he'll pee on you!". Fun times. 

I got back here and put things away, put the trailer on the bike and loaded up the things to go to FedEx and rode up there and dropped them off. And found some boxes and bubble wrap etc. for mailing things. 

When I got back here it was time for some parking lot cleanup and I picked up the 25 or so rolls of hand-drying paper towels or whatever they were that the guys next door had somehow gotten soaked in some cleaning fluid of some kind, and dumped there. And beer bottles and cardboard and all kinds of crap. When I was done there was just a door, 1-2 folding yoga mats, and a big aluminum case like from an electronic instrument. That had been around the side of the building and I figured that would get taken first because aluminum = money = crack. But the yoga mats were taken first. 

Then once it got good and cold, the weird guy with the silver car started washing his car out there. I'm wearing sweat pants and a sweat shirt, and it's 52 degrees outside. I guess if you have to sleep in your car, you take care of it. (Frankly one of my possible Plan B's is to buy a vehicle and park it here because if you're quiet and mind your P's and Q's it seems you can live here indefinitely.) 

The gift that keeps on giving

 So, Dirty Diaper Don "worked" at a McDonald's, causing many, like myself, to decide they've eaten their last McD's. Seriously F that place. And the decision to let Mr. Fecal Incontinence "work" there was at the highest corporate level. 

Now, on the radio news last night and today, there's been a huge e. coli outbreak with something like 50 sickened and one or two dead. Coincidence? Not directly, but the kind of business that would court filthy, felonious, wanna-be dictators is probably the same one that's lax with things like hygiene. 

Yesterday I took apart a big microscope thing and listed the parts. Also took apart a dual power supply with lots of neat parts and sorted and discarded a lot of coaxial cables, keeping the good one I think will sell to list... today I think as  I have so much to do and they'll take less time than the power supply parts. 

I listed the cables, got cleaned up, and left here around 3:30. I dropped off trash, dropped off one small package that had to go to the post office, then rode down to Walmart. I had a bag of change with me. First I went in and with my last $2 got a beef stick using the self checkout because I was hungry. Then I cashed in my coins; they came to a little over $29. 

That little over $29 paid for dish washing liquid, foot powder, and some wet wipes. Now I had to get over to Whole Foods, where I got some chicken and fish and a bottle of beer. I had just enough time to eat and then get over to the temple. 

It was a pizza party in the sukkah. I had lots of salad and one thin slice of pizza, and only hate half the bready part. 

Then we did cool Torah stuff like, we walked around the room 7 times waving flags following the person carrying the Torah. Then we lined up around the periphery of the room and the Torah was unrolled, each of us holding up part of it. It was rolled up again. The new students (little kids) were called up and each got a honey stick and a little miniature Torah that I think is the coolest thing - I'm seriously considering buying one for myself from Behrman's or somewhere. 

Then the rabbi got out the lightest of the three Torahs and we trooped outside for a quick circle of the front of the temple to the tune of Hava Nagila, with the one in front holding the Torah - this person was changed periodically so lots of people got a chance. We went into the banquet hall and lots of people did Israeli dances. I didn't because my back has been getting better slowly and I don't want to risk making it worse again. 

I left and rode to Whole Foods where I got a bottle of wine, and rode back here. And put my about $1.50 in change in a small pickle jar because there's no way I'm going to fill that big tubular whisky container before I need to cash the coins in. A pickle jar is just about right. 

And, on my ride home I saw a busker! A young kid playing a guitar, not singing just strumming chords that sound good. I saw a $20 and some other bills in his guitar case. I said I didn't have any money but dug into my Walmart bag and got out the wet wipes. "These are very handy!" I said, and he thanked me enthusiastically. That was cool. 

Also, on my ride to Walmart, at one point I was on a wide sidewalk and passed a lady pushing her kid in one of those cloth sided wagon things. I waved to the little kid and the mother said, "Oh! The trumpet player!" and I said, "That's me!". 

 

NPR is starting to take the gloves off

 NPR is finally starting to take the gloves off a bit regarding Mango Mussolini. I think the personnel at that staid organization are starting to realize their heads will be on the chopping block - literally - if the fascists win. 

And indeed, the Mango is going insane. He's screaming for the umpteenth time about punishing (by which he means killing) his enemies, which is, again, anyone he doesn't like. Reporters, brown people, LGBT, Democratic politicians, black people, Republicans who aren't loyal enough to him personally, Jews, "the" Chinese, writers, yadda yadda. 

Both parties are throwing some crumbs to the working class, but it's only the Democrats who have any idea of how to prime the economic pump, by decreasing taxes on the working class, putting money into housing and other projects - like Obama did with all the road-building and things that revived the economy. 

I had to issue a refund for something around $200 which was not good. So when I saw we had an order for a vacuum gauge for close to $400 and the guy wanted it sent ASAP, I told him I'd ship it out today and go into the red a bit for FedEx 2-day air. So I packed it and took off, with another FedEx package also. 

On my way I stopped at a lunch truck and got a chicken skewer and told the lady No extra sauce, and I just put sriracha sauce on it. 

I dropped the boxes off at Fedex, then locked the bike at H Mart and walked over to Home Goods where I got some Xylitol gum, then Sprouts where I got a couple bottles of cheap wine and a bottle of horseradish sauce. 

I was really thirsty and had also gotten a bottle of water at Home Goods, and when I got out of Sprouts, I stopped in front where there was a bum with a pack and everything, and a sign with faded lettering saying "Anything Helps" so I said, "I'll give you whatever change you have" and dug out a bit over a dollar in change. He was thankful to get it. I hung out, finishing my water. The guy had a horrible snaggly meth-mouth and a silly little laugh. He was from Grass Valley which I'd heard of - it's past Sacramento just before you get into the mountains. 

He has parents there but he can't live with his mother. I talked about trade schools or even places around here that will hire felons to give them a second chance. I also talked about starting a business on his own like detailing cars. I learned that the guy's 35, I honestly thought he was a hard-lived 22. I wished him luck and to stay safe and walked back over to H Mart. The oak trees have already dropped a bunch of acorns so I stepped on a fair number of them because then the crows can eat them. 

I got a package of hamburger and some Xylitol gum at H Mart, and had about $5 left over. On my way back I got to  the place just when my favorite lunch truck drove up and I ended up getting some breaded fish with tartar sauce for $3. Needless to say, not on my diet. 

The snoopy car

 Along with sending my weekly $50 to the Harris campaign, I'd also gone to the local police dept and filed a report on the 2AM on activities, under possible human trafficking because guaran's there are hookers in there. So at about 2AM this black Prius came around with some kind of logos on both doors on each side, and a light bar on top. Now, at night, my video cameras only show blue/red as "bright" and I didn't dare peek out to see if it was red and blue, but the car went around several times, and who knows what they saw or found. 

I put a ton of things away last night which was good. I need to make Sunday the day to do that. And I got out a lot of things to ship out today. 

It's the usual political crap on the radio. It's only going to intensify over the next two weeks, now that it's only two more weeks. I need to get my ballot finished and then on election day I'm taking the evening off to go to the same bar I was in in 2016 to watch the results. And truth be known, I'm probably going to bring money to buy drinks for people. Hell I might even treat myself to dinner at Original Joe's first. 

Hm, I just looked at their menu and I could have a sirloin steak (the prime rib's too big I think) and a Guinness, a nice start for the evening. 

I  took off at the usual time with 17 packages, dropped them off at the post office and FedEx, found packing stuff on my way back, and once back here checked out a very nice car that happened to be in the parking lot by the end of the building, all four axles up on blocks, and the windows broken. 

I fished out all the important papers like registrations, smog tests and even a receipt the last owner had for an oil filter he'd bought, and the oil filter itself. Even a picture of his sister or girlfriend. I looked through the stuff and the latest registration was current - up to mid-2025. So I bagged it all up and, realizing he lived only 10 minutes by bike away, went over there. 

It was the kind of neighborhood where if you have an American accent, nobody knows anything. But I found the place and left the stuff on their doorstep (they were in but not answering the door) including a neat little map of where their car is. They'd never find it without that. 

This way, if his car was just stolen and left there, he would know where it is. And if he's trying to get out from under the loan, it's up to him to contact the credit union that actually owns the car. 

An older Hispanic "Ken" type was not too happy I was there, prowling around, so I got out of there and rode to Japantown. I remembered that this town closes at 9PM and after that time there are two choices: Denny's or a casino. So I rode over to Bay  101 because I wanted to check out the cosy little bar on the end opposite "The Region" or whatever their proper restaurant is called. 

I had a Guinness and their "Mongolian Beef" which is a lot sweeter than the same thing at M8trix. And had fun watching football, a replay of yesterday's baseball game, and talking and joking around with a guy named Kao who works for the VTA. He said he's up $3k for the month but had just lost a thousand today. He had a rum and Coke, a beer I think, then a Martini. Then we got talking about the "Irish Car Bomb" and I said I'll let him buy me one, so we had those. They were OK, but I knew it, it's not just Baily's in Guinness, there's supposed to be a shot of whisky too. 

There were some noisy people in the bar and everyone seemed to have been to Hawaii or grown up there. That included me so I joked around with them a bit. After the Irish Car Bombs Kao and I was both done "I have work in the morning!" he said, and we got out of there. It was a nice peaceful ride home. 

I got back here and found a circuit board and packed it, did a couple of other little tasks. 

 

 

Sunday - good busking day

 I woke up around 10, but didn't really get going in time to play for the lunch crowd, so I did things around here until it was time to leave to play for the dinner crowd. 

I left here at 4:30 and got to Whole Foods at 10 after 5. I played about an hour and 20 minutes, and it went fairly quickly. Lots of compliments, and I made $61. 

Then I went in and got chicken wings and zucchini and a seltzer water. I went upstairs to eat, and had a fairly good view of the sports on the two TVs at the bar. On the left were the San Jose Sharks being beat by a Colorado team. On the right one was the Los Angeles Dodgers playing the NY Mets. The Dodgers had a lead and I knew the rabbi would probably be watching so I got a bit into watching the game. 

I wanted to sit at the bar and thought I ought to buy a beer but they didn't have anything that sounded good. So I got a pint bottle of Guinness and left about a $2 tip for the bartender for helpfully jumping in and taking the cap off and giving me a glass. I was going to tip anyway. 

The game went pretty well - for the Dodgers.The only place to sit at the bar was way down at one end, next to a Japanese guy who was watching the game. We talked a bit, about how the fans really cheer at baseball games in Japan, and other small talk like what we do for a living and where we're from. 

I was kind of nice not paying attention to the world and just watching the game. I guess that's why a lot of people do this. The Japanese guy drank 3 beers that I saw, and he was probably 2-3 in before  I sat down. At least he didn't fall off his bar stool. 

At 8:30 the game was over and went back downstairs for some shopping, spending about half of my busking money. In the end I got groceries and wine and things, and am about $10 up from what I had when I left here. 

Saturday night

On Friday, I managed to get 10 things listed on Ebay and pack some small things, and get out of here in time to go to the post office and get them mailed. 

I didn't feel so much like going to a service, since I'd just been to one on Wednesday but I'm here to Do The Things(tm) so I set out to do the thing. I went to Whole Foods for chicken wings and broccoli and a small bottle of beer which didn't actually add to the meal as much as I thought it would, and in fact seltzer water would have been better. 

I stopped at the hardware store and found a piece of plastic pipe that had an opening a bit larger than on a typical shofar, and which was long enough for me to get two notes on. Perfect. I had my shofar with me too. I then went to the used book store to look around and got a book called something like "Living A Jewish Life" which I'm pretty sure will be on my reading list, by Anita Diamant and another author.

I got to the service at just about the right time, and since I'd forgotten my glasses I sat up near the front. I could read the screens pretty much OK so that was good. There was a small crowd this time because they'd done Tot Shabbat just before so a lot of parents were with their kids, and perhaps some people hadn't felt like coming like I hadn't, because they'd just gone to one on Wednesday. 

The oneg, or food after the service, was just about all sweets. Some people really load up their plates too, but for myself I just had a couple pieces of this sort of pastry that's not overly sweet and that was it. 

But Peter was there, and I showed him how I can get a tone on the piece of pipe, and that it's his now, and he can blow on it while watching TV or whatever, and thus be able to feel natural blowing the shofar. And he was able to blow it fine. I said he got a great tone, maybe better than me. 

At one point we were in the gift shop and it was a bit crowded and they had some new shofarim in. Two small ones and a long one. Of course I had to blow the long one, and this one guy, I *think* his name is Jim, was in there and said "That's a great sound!" or something like that, but due to the crowd he didn't know he was saying it to little old me. 

This guy "Jim" is a real character. Very outgoing, has to be in the middle of every conversation with the younger people, wears loud clothes, wears a tallis lately and so is the only one besides the rabbi wearing one, a very "Look at me!" character. And he sees me as a sort of a rival. Or at least he has been seeing me this way but that feeling seems to have died down. Because I really don't care if he's the center of things or not. Plus he is, or was, a sax player and I see all musicians as friends. We are not unfriendly at all, and we've found ways to make room for each other. Still, it's funny that he didn't realize he was complimenting me. 

After the service was all done, I rode to Whole Foods for some last-minute things then rode back here. Then I took care of the Pepsi. I had 4 cases of it still here, and I'd simply forgotten to take one to the service, that's how hurried I was to get out of here. 

There's a -non-Jewish worker at the temple, who I'm not sure if he's "Special" or what his deal was. I think he likes diet Pepsi, a lot. When I brought Pepsi over the last time, only a few cans appeared out with the coffee and tea and ice water, and Richard, the worker, kept saying things like people don't drink it, and joked(?) about drinking it all himself. 

As I was changing into my jacket and making ready for the ride home, Richard said with a big smile something about my having fun now. I was like, "What?" and he said, going to a bar and getting good and drunk etc. I said, "Shabbat doesn't work like that", smiling, but still, the guy's pretty clueless. 

In any case, when  I got back here before settling down for the night I took the four cases of Pepsi and put them out by the trash enclosure for anyone to take. I think a gal on a bicycle got two and the guys next door got two. And I still have 10 cans here for the odd time I feel like having some. But no more for Richard.

I drank a bottle and a half of wine last night and really slept in, until 3. Then I watched the 2nd half of "Don't Cry Wolf" by Farley Mowat, then found another movie by him called something like "Lost In The Barrens" which was also quite good. Then I found, snipped up into clips of varying quality, "Prince Of Egypt" which even viewed that way, was great. 

I think I'd skipped a couple-few parshas in the Torah so I looked at the little handout for this week and it's one in Exodus, I think because it's sukkot, where religious Jews build a little hut called a sukkot and try to live in it as much as possible. So, I had to find out what the chapter Exodus is called in my little chumash, and it's Shemot, and Lo and behold, it's the story that the "Prince Of Egypt" was taken from. So I'm just going to read the whole thing. Then it's on to Beresheit which isn't as bad as it sounds, it means "Beginnings". 

Actually cold

 It's amazing, it got cold enough last night that I got out one of my new pairs of sweat pants and even put on a new sweatshirt too for a bit. My new sleeping bag felt great, too. 

I got into serious nerding out reading about Brompton folding bikes. I should be able to pick up the Burley bracket today from the bike shop (it's been about a week) and I really want to get my Mobic road-worthy so I can hand my main bike off to the bike shop for wheel truing, new brake cables, and if anything else needs doing for them to go ahead and do it. 

But that shop is also a Brompton dealer and I'm tempted to take a test ride on one. I'd be interested in their base model, a "mere" $1200 or so out the door. If I end up in a rented room or a living in a small office downtown, a folding bike will be the only game in town. The thing with the Brompton is, not only are they of very high quality, but they fold up very small and there's even a bag you can get to put one in, so people see "large bag holding something, suits maybe" rather than "bike". 

So much of this is mind games. For instance, you're not generally allowed to take a backpack into a store, but you can take a $120 Chrome messenger bag in is just fine. Maybe the assumption is a messenger bag = a laptop in there, or office paperwork or something. I need to find mine, it's stuffed in a box somewhere I think. 

Happy Sukkot, cyka sucka

 I woke up at noon or a bit before, turned on the radio, and a nice thing: The Israel Decolonization Force has killed Sinwar. He ded. It's verified. 

This opens things up to regime change in Gush Katif, the so-called "Gaza". The best regime change would be the Arabs there Raus! And Jews live on their own, Jewish, land there as it is part of Israel. But we may not get that. But Ham-ass can be replaced by a less insane regime, with a very good, and snoopy, intelligence network so Israel will know if the Arabs are planning a game of pinochle with tea and baklava much less another terrorist attack. 

Ken came by last night,  I got my check and all's good. I've been pretty spendy this past week, and my savings for this pay check will be about $12. At least it's something. 

I packed 10 small things that had sold, took off a bit before 4, dropped off trash, dropped off a donation, dropped off the packages at the post office, and deposited my pay check at the bank. Then over to Whole Foods for some ... whole foods haha. Good old greasy baked chicken and some cauliflower and a can of seltzer. 

Then I went over to Walmart, but first I looked around in Big-5 and they had the same sleeping bag I have, for sale for $25 instead of the $40 or so I usually pay. So I told them I'd get it, but I need to go to Walmart first. I got stuff at Walmart, then came back to Big-5 and the poor gal, who's about 4'10" and maybe 89 lbs dripping wet, was being told to do a whole lots of things. She and I tried to get the sleeping bag into its carrying bag, than a bigger gal and I tried, and finally I just had them give me a big Big5 bag and I got it stuffed into that. 

So the bike was really loaded on the way back but I didn't let that stop me from buying some salmon sashimi at Nijiya on my way home.

I got back here and double checked my record keeping regarding my bank account, and it's just about dead on, maybe 15c difference. No problem. I put things away and futzed around in general, and then went to the site and registered for the upcoming Introduction To Judaism class. That was $180. 

The way I look at this whole thing is, if I were to complete my college degree it would cost me many, many thousands of dollars and put me into debt for the rest of my life. And it would not add anything to my earning power. But if I go through this conversion class, and do the things, and am accepted in the end as a Jew, then this "degree" confers the ability to go to Israel to retire. 

I'll not have to worry about becoming homeless and eaten by feral dogs or feral tweakers. I'll have access to medical care. The level of danger I'll be in (car accident, being mugged, hate crimes, etc.) will be something like 1/10th what it is here. 

Plus I'll "Learn Secret Language Overnight". Back in the 80s when I was in the army, I ordered the catalog from "Information Unlimited" of Amherst, New Hampshire. This was a place that sold all kinds of plans and kits, for things like ultrasonic zapping guns and the FM bug I built, and laser stuff, and all kinds of crazy shit. So I get this catalog and my buddy and I are drooping over it, and there were these sort of "mini plans" you could order for just $5 each and I remember one about how to change your car from a 6V system to a "modern" 12V system, no more bothering with "those old Kettering systems" and another one that was "Learn Secret Language Overnight". My friend and I laughed ourselves sore over that one, imagining a guy reading the little plan in bed before clicking off the light and going to sleep, then waking up and he can only speak this language no one knows. 

Hebrew's not like that, but the idea of knowing another language is pretty great. 

 

Slick propaganda

 Last night before bed, I managed to watch a bit further, basically the rest of the thing, of the "documentary" titled Israelism. I wanted to watch this awful thing because the Buddhist temple I was going to, Oh such nice people, just showed it at a special event to show what nice and open-minded people they are blah blah yadda yadda. 

"Israelism" is essentially what Goebbels would produce with modern equipment and methods. Very slick. And the message very Goebbelian: Jews are evil, they have evil networks through the country, they only want to kill babies, etc. I'm sure all the nice, peaceful Jodo Shinshu Buddhists clapped and cheered. Just like decades ago, they doubtless watched films of their Empire's actions in Nanking and clapped and cheered also. 

Yesterday I listed 12 things, shipped 15, got 10 ready last night to list today but I'm not sure if I'll get around to them, shipping has to come first. 

I packed 15 things, then loaded up the bike trailer with the things, trash, and donations. I dropped off the trash, dropped off the donations, then stopped in at Nijiya. I thought I'd get some baked mackerel but they didn't have any. But they had two little packages of hamachi sashimi for $4 each, so I got those and a little package of 3 cucumbers. That was certainly in line with the keto diet. I ate over on the steps of the old hospital. 

Then I rode to the post office and a guy was hanging out in front and said I'd give him a dollar to watch my bike, and he said no dollar was necessary. I went in and dropped off the packages, then came out and he certainly didn't turn down the dollar. "I can get a Coke or something". I said I only had the one dollar or I'd give him more, then remembered I had about 50c in change to "level up that Coke" and he was glad to get that also. 

Then I rode over to the FedEx on the Alameda and dropped off the two large boxes, and now all my drop-offs were done.  

I'd also stopped where there were palm trees to cut some leaves. I know the event at the temple was about arts and crafts, and it being Sukkot, palm leaves would be involved. 

I got the the temple early, so I ate the other two cucumbers. Then when people were going in, I gathered my bundle of palm leaves and went in. The guy supervising the kids said just put 'em down on the table (where kids were doing arts and crafts with paper and crayons) and someone will use 'em. But then the rabbi came by and said to take them up front, and we came up with the idea of putting one on each of the four posts of the sukkah. 

I got zip ties from my bike bag and put one leaf on each corner, except one corner had 3 smaller leaves. They looked good. 

There was a nacho bar and I did a sort of nacho salad sort of thing, 2 plates. I tried the sangria but bleh. It tasted like Malolo fruit punch. I poured most of it into the plants actually. 

We all ate and pal'd around and it was pretty nice. A guy, Peter, talked shofar-blowing with me and I reiterated that he ought to get a piece of PVC pipe that has an opening just a little bigger than the one in his shofar, and practice blowing that while he watched TV or whatever. We discussed blowing the shofar on Shabbat, and I said it's not normally done but then the rabbi let he try his on shabbat, and I've certainly blown the big one in the gift shop and no one's said anything. So, I'll have my shofar with me on Shabbat, and if he attends also and has his, I can coach him a bit. 

The rabbi had two sets of lulav/etrog/willow/myrtle, sent from Israel, and I got to the the actual shaking so that was great. The lulav from Israel is amazing, it's a beautiful leaf. The etrogim from Israel were amazing, much smaller that our local grown ones but very fragrant. 

The whole thing was done at about 7, and most people had left, when I took off. I got back here around 8 or maybe 8:30 because I guess I hung around later than 7, helping hang some of the paper chains the kids had made, and hanging out with one of the (adult) regulars who was doing this masterful coloring job of a coloring book page with a lulav and etrog and Hebrew words. 

The ride back was uneventful. As I went through the intersection of Hedding and 1st, a guy on a skinny single speed hipster bike ahead of me dropped something and suddenly stopped and started shining his light around. I hope he found it. 

I got back here and had time to put things away, clean the place, and finish the load of laundry I had soaking. 

Putting Ave Maria on hold

 Well, it's another day of political craziness. Degenerate Donnie apparently considers Ave Maria his favorite piece of music, and here I'd just gotten it down pat. So it's off my playlist for now. 

We've got about 3-1/2 weeks before we find out if the American experiment will be ended or not.

Reddit is back, for now

 I believe web pages can tell what page you came from, or were at just before you went to them. The idea was that it would help networking, there were things called "web rings" for instance. So last night I was kicked off of Reddit. I filed a report, and now I can read Reddit again. But I wonder if it's because I'd gone to Reddit from a Ha'aretz article. So I will have to make sure to read my Ha'aretz stuff then maybe check Ebay, then go to Reddit. 

I'm glad for this for now because Reddit is a news/information aggregator par excellence. For instance, today I was able to read not only that Karl Marx was a rabid antisemite, but able to read his actual writings. Wow. Yikes. The left, *that* left, is as dead to me now as the Republican Party is. 

I also treasure subreddits like r/aliyah. I seemed to have astounded Mr. Snider Saturday night telling him my plan is to finish my conversion then retire in Israel. It'd be worth it for the access to medical care alone, but there are literally hundreds of things I could list that are advantages there. 

The news lurches on. Donnie Diapers is allowing open display of Nazi symbols at his rallies, swastikas on T-shirts and flags, also the Nazi salute although we know he's long encouraged that one. 

And much discussion of Israel's problems. I think my own wish list would be for Israel to occupy Gaza, citing the Allies' occupation of Germany post-WWII as a model. Put a civilized gov't in charge, form one, and give it free rein to de-activate radicals/terrorists. Same goes for Judea and Samaria. And for Lebenon, it's time for a good old regime change. Same goes for Irain, is the Shah still around. Let's get the House of Pahlavi in there again. 

I'm studying the hell out of the propositions on my ballot. So far I've got Reddit's take on them, am getting KQED's, then will look up the "Jewish Voting Guide" or whatever it is. KQED is doing a good discussion of them, 3-4 per day at 1-2 in the afternoon. 

When they're not broadcasting a bunch of tear-jerking propaganda about those poor, poor, Arabs who just can't help sending rockets and drones into Israel and stabbing, shooting, and exploding Israelis when they can. I wish Bibi had just leveled Gaza starting at 1 minute into the 8th of October, to be completes 2 days later. That's how you win wars. 

My plan to be a Jew in Israel (or at least be a Jew here) is sure different from my plan when I lived at the old shop. I was buying episodes of Treme on DVD at Fry's, and got really into the show because it was about New Orleans. I might even still have my book and CD by "Doctor Saxtrum" around here. I'd worked out which streetcar would take me around to things I'd need like the VA and the Social Security office. I'd looked endlessly at living places for musicians or which would at least prioritize them. 

I was making real plans. I'd take the train there, in good old fashion. It was why I followed a certain musician there for far too long. These days it's like an accident scene. It's gruesome but it's hard not to look. 

Assume you're in New Orleans, given a free apartment with free food (plus know all the prime dumpster diving spots) and are surrounded by places with open mics, jam sessions, music stores, traditional bands, everything that makes for the good development of a musician. Even if one is white, one could put in the years and become like Professor Longhair, an institution. 

Assume instead you opt to take this fertile ground and alienate yourself with all the open mics, alienate yourself with all the established street bands, become only barely tolerated by the music stores and convenience stores and so on. Assume you opt to devote your time and energy to drink and hard drugs and extreme Right politics. 

I guess this happens. When someone goes to a place that's so easy to live in that they just fall apart. Maybe New Orleans would be too easy for me to live in, myself. But the hair-curling crime rate, Southern politics, and hurricanes have decided me on never going near the place. 

 

Rally 'round the flag.

 Well, that "Da Vinci" wine as more like "Da Almost Undrinkable" but drink it I did. Not only not a good taste but not really all that dry. If I choose to drink a Chianti, I'll stick with the stuff they sell at Sprouts. 

I really needed the sleep, I think. I went to bed at about 1AM, I think I woke up around 9, then went back to sleep a bit until around 1. I got up when I heard a car being parked right in front of the door here so that got me up. I told one of the guys next door that the car's gotta get outta here. And it was moved so that's good. 

I'm tired of having to tell the neighbors to move cars, though and I'm sure they're tired of my telling them so, so tomorrow I'm going to go over to one of the places that sell such things and get a stencil set and one of those cans of paint that can spray pointed straight down, and paint NO PARKING on those two spaces and that should help. 

I turned on the radio and there was some interview with some band I've never heard of before, "Bon Iver"? They were talking about performing at a Harris-Walz rally, and how the guy "had hardly touched a guitar in a year" and they played some of their "old Bon Iver songs" and their sound was thin, they "didn't have the biggest PA" and the guy felt bad for all those people who'd been waiting hours in the sun to see them, so then the guy started playing "an old Ry Cooder song" actually an old song from the Civil War, "Rally 'Round The Flag" and the whole mood changed. The crowd was "electrified" everyone knew the old tune, and things got "Real". 

Because the present day is very much like the time in which that song was written. Hell there are times I'm thinking I should go out and buy an AR and some ammo in case I have to fight. 

I've just listened to several versions of the song on YouTube and I like the version by The Weavers the best. Who doesn't love The Weavers? Since it's one of those old tunes that I probably heard as a little kid and onward, it's pretty familiar but I always like to listen to a tune to make sure I've got all the details right before adding it to my busking repertoire. 

Since I woke up so late, I'll be playing for the early evening crowd today. This is actually kind of good because if I went out for the noon crowd, like as not The Pieman would be there or one of those booths, which means I'd want to go to Sunnyvale and I might do really well there or not. 

Ope, gotta do my Harris donation for this week .... OK done it. 

In other news, I'm another 2 lbs down. Tapering down on wine and the keto diet have me feeling kinda lousy, but not too lousy to put in a good 3 hours or more on the bike yesterday and perhaps out-blow the ace hired gun ba'al tekiah at the service. Stuffed myself full of lox and drank a bottle of wine and I'm still 2 lbs down on my weekly weigh-in. People don't think so, but I've got a lot of lard on my carcass that's got to go. I just carry it well so I even fooled myself. 

The gift that keeps on giving dept.: Well, the number of incompetent hopeful assassins of Donnie is three now. This latest one, a "Sovereign Citizen", a believer in the same philosophy as the owner of the place I lived at in Gilroy. Being a good "SovCit" the guy had fake license plates on his very cluttered SUV (yep the Gilroy guy's a hoarder and this includes his car as well as house) and had several fake passports and of course, plenty 'o' guns. 

The guy's saying he's an "artist" and "the last person who would harm Trump" but knowing SovCits, the guy's been drooling since he heard Trump wants to set up concentration camps, and the guy's mad at him for not setting them up already and letting him be a guard. Crazy attracts crazy. 

I got going a little bit later than planned but not too bad. I set up at Whole Foods at 5:45 and started in. Unfortunately, however many times I'd listened to "Rally 'round the flag" I didn't have it fixed in my mind, so I just played other stuff. It went OK, lots of compliments for my playing, played Ave Maria twice without mistakes (Yehudi Menuhin just about made his career on this piece) and played the full 2 hours, or at least an hour and 45 minutes as the last 15 minutes were used up talking with a guy and then playing my sign-off, which is the old sign-off from the Lawrence Welk show. It always makes me smile because while the words went, "Good night, sleep tight, and may your dreams come true" we kids had it saying "Good night, sleep tight, and may your dreams come true, Have a fight, every night, until your black and blue" and so on. 

I'd made $53.75. I went into Whole Foods to shop and my groceries cost $32 and change so I handed the guy $33 in $1's and he was glad to get them, "I need singles". 

The ride home was nice, it was cool not cold. I got home, put things away, took a microwave the neighbors had left out, determined it doesn't work due to janky door switch(s) and took it apart so I have some stuff to list tomorrow. 

Finally time to relax with some cheese and olives and cucumber. Reddit is dying. I can read the titles but I can't read any of the actual discussions. And now I can't read anything of it at all. Is it because they can tell I've been reading Ha'aretz articles? That would be very petty but it does not surprise me these days.

It only makes me more firm in my line of thinking, that this high-tech stuff is going to go away eventually, and if you do something that depends on it, you're really going to hurt. My trumpet doesn't depend on the internet or even electricity. Being a sign painter or "Your Name In Hebrew" huckster or something doesn't depend on the internet or even on electricity. (I have seriously considered this last one because Tel Aviv is in dire need of a competent sign painter and doing signage in Hebrew would be good for my language skills. I just like music more, so far.) 

We'll have dial phones on copper lines again, and you'll often get in contact with friends by stopping by their place and seeing if they're home. We'll be back to considering a 30-hour work week or even a 20-hour one, like we were in the 70s, because less tech means less non-productive work to keep the whole thing going.

Yom Kippur

 On Friday night I got things to the post office in time, and ate at Whole Foods, then got over to the Heritage Theater in Campbell. I had an extra bottle of water and a bottle of "Stress B Complex" vitamins for Jeff the homeless guy but he wasn't there, not even his stuff. 

The service was nice, as usual, no wine and bread because we were fasting. The ride home, as the ride there, is 1-1/2 hours for me, and when  I got back I had some vitamins chased down by a couple of Brazil nuts, and had some tahini, just eaten out of the jar like you're eat peanut butter but runnier, and wine. 

The wine was Chianti from Sprouts, and while a red wine it's very dry - good for a low-carb diet. Since my mission here was to get sleepy and get to bed so I could get up early, I drank the whole bottle. 

I felt OK in the morning though, probably because of the low sugar content of that Chianti. I'd set my alarm for 7:30 in the morning and it woke me up as I was starting to sleep a little less deeply anyway. My neighbors were already chatting away in Spanish next door which is a fairly nice way to wake up as it's such a polite language. 

I was out the door at 6 past 8, and decided to be clever and took Hedding to The Alameda, that to Shasta street where there's a Peet's and got a double espresso and had that with some water. Then I took Shasta street to San Carlos to Winchester and that to the Heritage Theater. I'd worn my jacket but once it was about 9 it was warm enough that I took it off. 

It was a full day of services and things. First was a morning service, then a discussion about Israel and "Palestine", then a "musical interlude" with an actual string quartet that was really cool. And I found out about a piece of mystery music. In the documentary about Sergei NaKariakov, in the beginning he's playing this haunting melody, and Lo and behold in one of the pieces the quartet played, there was that melody. So when they were done and they were all packing and taking off, I got a chance to ask the cellist what it was, and he said it's Tchaikovsky's 2nd string quartet. That's so great to know, because now I can see if NaKariakov played through all of it or just did that part with his trumpet or 4-valve flugelhorn or something. 

Then there was another kind of service, lots of singing and praying in all of this but the singing was all sad, minor-key stuff, because Yom Kippur is when we apologize for all the things we've done wrong and ask for another year's reprieve to do better. 

Finally the part that's "the gates closing" and that's the part where the shofar is blown. Now, they had their standard ba'al tekiah, and anyone else with a shofar was invited to come up to play, plus the rabbi offered the use of his own if anyone liked. So I had mine, and an older lady had one, so I said to her we ought to flank the main guy on each side, and I headed to one side. 

The guy blew tekiah, shivarim (although not how I'd do it) and and teruah, and then when he blew tekiah gadol, that's when the rest of us were to join in. So while I had a rough start (drowned out by the others' blowing) I did a decent tekiah gadol, as long or a big longer than the main guy did. 

We then put the shofarim away and it was more sing and praying and lamenting and hoping to do better, and finally we were done. Nosh time! 

We trooped around to the "multi purpose room" and there was tons of food laid out. I had a big dollop of egg salad and a pickle spear and some cream cheese and lox and capers and red onion slices. And a coffee because it'd been a long day. And went back for more lox and capers and olives. There was actually a bit of leftover lox, that's how generous the spread was. 

I got talking with one guy, a Mr. Snider, who lives near Upshift Cycles. As soon as he got a whiff that I'm a musician, he mentioned how he needs to get a "pro" clarinet for his son. This was during one of the breaks in the day. So when we were eating, he sat by me and I asked how old his son is. 18. I said I'd dabbled in clarinet playing enough to know the models of them and so on, and said what he needs is a Buffet R13. He was like, "Yep!" and was glad to talk to someone who knows a bit about them. 

My suggestions to him were to check all the music shops but probably better to avoid Park Avenue Music, but that West Valley Music might be a good one because they're very woodwind-centered. I also suggested he look into Jewish charities or things that could help finance it. Apparently the kid's in college and still playing on a Jupiter student horn. Good mouthpiece, but very "eh" horn. 

A bit later a tall guy with bad teeth complimented me on playing longer than the main guy. I said I'd started after him, and he said everyone else started after him. I said I might have played as long or maybe a little bit longer, but not as long as it may have sounded like. He said he has a shofar but it always sounds awful when he plays it. I told him to go to the hardware store and get a piece of plastic tubing with an opening just a little bit larger than the opening in his shofar. And practice playing that when he watches TV or whatever, and he'll get the hang of it. So maybe he'll try that. 

Then I just had the long ride home, and rather than it cooling off much it just got damp. So it was a long damp ride home. I stopped at Whole Foods for another bottle of Chianti, "Da Vinci" brand, that should be called Da Barely Drinkable". Oh well, at least it's dry-ish?

Getting up earlier

 I drank less wine yesterday, basically a half bottle watered a bit to make it 500ml, and twice during the day I felt I had to take a small swallow, but all but a very small amount was saving until bed time, and I slept fairly well. 

I think I woke up at 9, but got up actually around 10:30. I gave myself a hair cut and then photographed 15 things to list on Ebay. Then I packed 5 things to take to the post office and took off around 3:30. I dropped off the packages at the post office and went to the bank to deposit my pay check, then went to Whole Foods. I had chicken wings and a near-beer but actually only drank half of the near-beer because although it was one of the best of them, it felt too sweet to me. I'd have been better off just getting seltzer so I know what to do next time. 

I returned the door striker plate I'd bought at Ace Hardware, and the kid helping me was super nice. An old lady came in asking where the entrance is to "the apartment building" and the kid said he'd walk her there, and he did. It was where I'd locked my bike so she effectively had two escorts. 

Then I went to Upshift Cycles to see about ordering a new pannier set for my bike. The set I have is *really* worn and on one side where the bottom end is tied down, the cord is broken off. They had one right there so I bought it. And I ordered a spare bracket for a Burley trailer which they'll have in about a week. 

Since I now had this bag/pannier set to carry, I turned around and went to the Amazon place for some bubble mailers, then rode to Nijiya for some beef, veggies, eggs, and some salmon sashimi. 

Then I just rode back here and put things away, then I put the trailer on the bike and put some stuff Ken had brought over and took it to an empty dumpster and dumped it, then went to this pile of stuff that's been there, with occasional new things added, behind Galli Produce. I took that stuff, in two loads, to the empty dumpster and dumped it. Then I put the bike and trailer away, and using a large bag, did some parking lot cleanup and ... into the dumpster. 

I found a big black trash bag full of, it seems, bottles and cans. It was hidden in the bushes behind the dumpster enclosure. The problem is, the bushes are so bushy there that bums like to hide stuff in there. So after dragging the trash bag around to the front where hopefully someone will take it away, and got out my clippers and trimmed the oleander back so it's a clear path back there and a much poorer place to hide things. 

Then I cut up the oleander I'd trimmed into smaller pieces and put it into a large black bag of my own, and put that into a different dumpster. My "work" was done here. 

Not sure if I'll get to vote

 I got 10 things listed, packed 5, had the place all cleaned up and had my "burger in a bowl" for dinner when Ken came by. I got my paycheck - good. What I didn't get was any kind of election materials. Ken said a big package for everyone in the household came, and I said I don't even need the voter guide, I can find that online, but what I need is my ballot. 

So hopefully if there's a ballot for me at the house, Ken will bring it by next week. In any case, I checked my voter status and it said I"m not a regular mail-in voter so I registered to vote again. I'm before the deadline to register, and I really don't know what's going in. 

Ken said if nothing else, he'll come pick me up on election day and we can both vote in person, and that might be a plan. What would take me hours on the bus would take about 15 minutes getting a ride with him. 

I hate to think there's some Republican Party dirty tricks going on around here, but I can't eliminate the possibility. I had to cast a provisional ballot in 2020, and it took hours getting to and from the polling place. The actual voting took something like 15 minutes. 

Ken likes to impose his night owl schedule on everyone else so he didn't leave here until a bit past midnight and he'd brought over a huge pile of boxes I had to put away in some organized fashion so that ate up another hour. 

And I want to get up at 9 tomorrow.

Less wine

 Last night once I was done with the things I was doing, I drank significantly less wine than the night before. And today my "mix" is 0% wine, 100% water with some lemon juice. (After drinking all sorts of drinks, diet sodas, etc I've actually settled on plain old water with a squirt of lemon juice being my favorite staple drink.) 

I now have what may be an oversupply of wine. I have a bottle of Crane Lake which is $4 stuff, a bottle of Chianti which is a very dry red. And 4 of those little bottles. My plan being to taper down to 1/2 bottle tonight, then on Friday night have emptied all 4 of the little bottles, and open and pour the Chianti into those, using 1 small bottle per Friday. One small bottle is one glass, conventionally. I can have one glass with my Friday night dinner, and thus even though the Chianti is about $14 a bottle, it'll last me almost a month. 

At that level I'm having wine on Shabbat, but not dependent on it. No more dry mouth when I wake up, shakiness, etc. My heart can relax. My blood pressure should go down. The last time I got off of drinking I'd told myself I could substitute all the coffee I want, and considering the strong chicory coffee I was drinking all day, this was not so good. I finally saw how dumb that was. Now it's just one cup of Elite (made in Israel) Instant when I get up that that's that. 

The news on the radio is the same-old same-old. It's like listening to reporting on WWII but from the Germans' side. Imagine it's 1943 and a major radio network is giving lots of airtime to Nazi sympathizers and agents. This was actually done by a minor radio network, the "Pacifica Network", home of KPFK, KPFA, etc. They actually did this, up until the actual declaration of war, then they reverted to being the "peace creeps" they are now - advocating peace, just be peaceful... (while the enemy kills millions of innocent people) that's the stance of the Buddhist temple I was associated with too. 

In fact the Buddhist temple isn't even "both sides now" neutral, it's actively pro-Hamas these days. I know this because they're showing Hamas propaganda movies and I'm sure, taking collections so Hamas can buy more bombs etc. 

Tired of the heat

 Yesterday I listed 10 things, packed 10 things, and took a bunch of things apart for parts, so I can list (at least) 10 things today. I also started a load of laundry. That only takes 10 minutes in fact. 

I woke up today at 10AM. I didn't get up until a bit after 11 though.

I listed 10 things, packed some more things one of which was big, got out of here to the post office and FedEx, picked up shipping stuff on my way back, unloaded, went back out to lock the bike at H Mart and walked over to Ross, picked out two T-shirts, two sweat pants, and a sweat shirt. I'd told myself I could spend about another $50 this week and this ran to $58. 

Then I went over to Sprouts and got stuff and by stuff I mean mostly wine, but less than I've been buying because I'm getting tired of it. My "mix" now in the day time is really weak - 50ml of wine + 350ml of water. And I only had maybe two of these. I felt twitchy, but I thought about it and realized it's nowhere near as bad as those headaches I used to have and all I had to do to get rid of those was stop eating chocolate. 

Actually before even going to Ross I went into Sprouts and bought a single beef stick. I was actually quite hungry, but one little beef stick gave my stomach something to work on and then I could take my sweet time when I got back here, putting things away and making a nice bowl of fish soup. 

That's the nice thing about the keto diet. You don't get super hungry, and when  you are actually hungry, a small thing like a beef stick takes care of it.

A day to stay in

 A day to stay in, by my plan. October 7th. It turns out there's a sort of march and assembly by a number of Jewish temples including my own, but I swear they probably only put it on the web site late last night or this morning. Not enough time to plan. I have to work. 

More horribleness in the news. Dumpo's going full Nazi, immigrants have "bad genes" etc. Someone on Reddit said this isn't helping him win as much as he thinks it does. His idiotic base will still vote for him, but it's galvanizing sane people to get out and vote. 

I haven't gotten my ballot in the mail yet. It'll come to Ken's house then Ken will bring it to me. If I don't get it, I'll have to mentally give Ken even more of  a side-eye than I already do, and spend hours on the bus to go to my official polling place, basically around the corner from Ken's house. Or I could ride my bike there, since it's essentially riding my bike to Ken's house which I've long felt like doing just to see how difficult it is. 

About this side-eye: Ken and his family are Catholics. So they're a lot less crazy than other Christians but all the same, any family gathering at Ken's house with his sons and daughter and everyone's had a little wine, isn't complete without rants about "The Rothschilds" and so on. It's their daughter primarily who goes on these Nazi rants, but the rest of 'em just nod and smile. And yeah their daughter is an idiot because she's off by a century or so, her generation is supposed to rant about George Soros. 

I don't mistake a relationship where I'm housed and paid because I'm useful to them, for actual friendship. If I'm not able to work here, I'll be out on the street in no time and I know it. 

2 lbs down

 It's Sunday, and I started this day by weighing myself. I'm 2 lbs down from last Sunday. That's how the keto diet works. 1-2 lbs down a week. 

Friday was a trip to take things to the post office and FedEx, and to find things on the way back, shipping materials of course, but also an interesting gadget to list on Ebay and ... 6 12-packs of Diet Pepsi. I got back here and cleaned myself up and took off for the temple a bit after 6. 

The service was great, and I think the 12-pack of Diet Pepsi I put in the fridge was a good thing. We're not even having coffee most of the time now, just water, sometimes some flavored fizzy water. So this time some people (not myself) had Diet Pepsi. 

The service itself was great. Singing lots of those good old cowboy songs, and the rabbi called up anyone with a September or October birthday and that included me. I got a birthday pencil. 

It was at the oneg, the snacks and socializing after the service, that the Pepsi came into play. Also, the rabbi had said I could try out his shofer, that he said was very easy to blow, "on Friday" so I reminded him of this and then stuck to him like a bodyguard almost, while he went around and talked with every last person who was still there. 

Eventually it was shofar time. We went into his office, and there was an even bigger Yemenite type shofar than the gift shop had. Yes it blew fine. He said the shofar blower at the Heritage Theater takes as students anyone who wants to learn. He said I'm a "good guy". 

The thing is, I've been going to services and doing the things, since just before Purim. It's only very recently, that I guess a combination of committing to joining and paying real money to be a member of the temple, and my not making the odd noise on the shofar in the gift shop but trying the rabbi's shofar and showing that I can blow it. (He was like, "Wow, you can get two notes" and I said, "I should be able to get at least 5 on this one".) 

I guess my talking smack about Ha'aretz, being told by the rabbi not to do so around him, then my thinking a bit and then telling him that I realized now I'd not been reading it, just reading cherry-picked articles pointed out to me by influencers, and then not only confessing this as I realized this about myself, then not only doing that but atoning by subscribing to Ha'aretz, made a real impression. One of the prayers we say around this time of year is to not be influenced by cynics. So I changed myself, and I followed through. 

I guess a lot of people talk about this and that, talk about learning to blow the shofar, talk about joining, but then just flake off. I've seen a lot of "come and go" people. Right after Purim there was a temple open house thing that I'd gone to, and I was really hopeful this one lady would stick around because she plays the clarinet and I mean, good enough to play in a symphony probably. Can read music really well, the whole nine yards. And she was interested in klezmer music. But I never saw her again. 

There are these comers-and-goers every time. The tall, dashing Black fellow from the last service in the temple wasn't back. This time it was a tallish, dashing, sorta white or maybe Italian guy in a suit, who I overheard being surprised that men and women sit together in our temple. (We're not Orthodox.) I don't expect to see him again. 

So what can I say? Service was over, I joked around with "Rock" the cop about the California Motel, that super-depressing place, and then rode to Whole Foods for a few things and back here and dinner. 

Yesterday I finished The Handmaid's Tale and read the first part of Once A Dancer. 

I tooted the shofar a bit last night. It's not difficult per se, but it's a matter of it becoming very familiar because it's very different from the trumpet. Very little mouthpiece pressure is required, for instance. And as I watched some Japanese anime movie, outside once it was a bit past 2AM it was party time outside. The trouble with that is, with these illegal alcohol sales, bordello, gambling joint things, sooner or later there's a shooting or a stabbing and I'd just as soon that not happen here. So I wrote out a tip to Crimestoppers. 

I woke up at noon and NPR's playing the good stuff. A really neat interview with Yuval Noah Harari, who in my book is worth about 10,000 Noam Chomskys. 

I finally got out of here at about 5. I had to drop off a bag of clothes to Goodwill, some books and stuff to the little free library in Japantown, and since I knew I needed food I stopped in Nijiya and got a bottle of black coffee and a bento that other than the rice, was some nice grilled salmon belly and vegetable, and some seaweed. As usual I ate on the steps of the old hospital. 

Then I chewed Xylitol gum to clean my mouth while riding over to Whole Foods. The sun was behind the big building next door, there were no hucksters there, it was perfect. I started playing just before 6. 

It went pretty well and I talked to some nice people. As soon as it got dark, the weird people started showing up and at one point I gathered up all my tips except for $1 because some young guy with a basketball was hanging out, possibly considering whether he'd get an opening to grab my tip box. I think he thought I was leaving, and disappeared. 

In the end I played an hour and a half, and made $49.67. So I just about made back the $50 I donated today to the Harris campaign. I got a lot of nice compliments too. 

The renaming

 I woke up around noon. I turned on the radio and there's old El Dumpo whining about something, and he also re-named the Republican Party. It's now the "Trump Republican Party". It seems like a minor thing but it's not. It's like the change when the German Worker's Party changed over from loyalty to the party and Germany to loyalty to Adolf Hitler personally. 

Dumpie likes to put his name on things, it's true, but Hitler was that way too. Hitler Youth. Hitler this 'n' that. The Dump floated the idea of "Trump Scouts" or maybe it was actually "Trump Youth" and if he seizes power again that'll be the least of things he'll certainly do.

Tashlich

 I'd packed one large thing last night and woke up in time to pack another large thing and take them over to FedEx. 

Then I cleaned myself up and took off around 2? 3? Not sure. Anyway I went to Whole Foods and  bought more water and picnic type stuff, meaning a couple of cucumbers, some olives and stuff from the olive bar, a package of little bottles of wine, a couple cans of seltzer, and some feta cheese. The containers they're using now for the olive bar are awful, so I spent the $12 to get a really nice Oxo container. 

I had a couple of beef sticks and a tall can of Trumer Pils beer because damn it was hot.  I had a nice little talk with a couple, German (him) and Swiss (her) who are riding their bikes from Seattle to Los Angeles. Apparently they fly over here, buy bikes and stuff, then sell or donate the bikes when they're done.

I had to ride down to "Oak Park" which is next to "Vasona Park" in Los Gatos. The ride was OK just very long. I got there a little bit late but they were off to a late start. Unfortunately, the ba'al tekiah "was given the day off" so, no shofar service. I piped up and said I could do it but the rabbi was like, Nah. 

We did this thing where we dropped pebbled into the "rushing rapids" of the Los Gatos stream, and I had some I'd picked up at an intersection. After dropping one by mistake, I dropped one for cussing, one for talking smack about Ha'aretz, one for being misled by online influence-peddlers, and one more for cussing. 

Then we got out our picnic foods but after all the riding I only ate a little. Everyone schmoozed around a lot and that was nice. At one point I was telling a couple of ladies about the "keto" diet and they both said enthusiastically that they're following that, then one offered the other apple cobbler and they shared cookies back and forth. That's not how it works, ladies! 

The ride home was super long. It didn't help things that I forgot to turn off of Blossom Hill road and went pretty far before I realized it. then turned around and got back to ... the campground. It turns out Bascom Road is Los Gatos Road down there.

I stopped at an office supply place and got a lot of page protectors, and at a Nob Hill for some roast beef for tomorrow night, and at an Indian market for sesame seeds which were super cheap, like $6 for two 14 oz. bags. 

I stopped at Whole Foods to use the loo and look around, but anything I wanted to get, I can get tomorrow. 

Head of the year 5785

 It's, or it was, Rosh HaShana, literally the head of the year 5785. 

I was so overworked I didn't go to bed until around 6AM then woke up at 2PM of course. Oh. Shit. 

I loaded up the bike with a change of clothes, some toiletries, and a load of packages on the trailer to go to the post office. I was able to get out of here at a quarter to 4. 

I rode to the downtown post office and dropped off the packages. Then, of course, I went to Whole Foods. I got 4 1-liter tetra-paks of water, 4 beef sticks, two packages of those little wine bottles, and a cucumber. 

Then I rode to the Diridon light rail and the green train came by moments later. Yes, the green train is less crowded from Diridon south, but it still had a bunch of other guys on bikes and most of them had a thing or two to say about taking one's bike trailer on the train. It's awkward. I had a guy jump in and help me maneuver my rig both getting in and getting out. 

I hung out a bit at one of the bus benches there are the Winchester transit hub, having a beef stick and half the cucumber, and a little bottle of wine. I also put a few Nuun tablets in one of the bottles of water and shook that around. It tasted OK but the bottle had a leak at the neck so I could drink from it but would give up maybe 10% of it. 

I rode to this big old historic theater in Campbell and I got there well ahead of time. I befriended a homeless guy named Jeff, who kind of lives by the public restrooms there. I gave him 2 liters of water and a few small bottles of wine. I tried to tell him about Adult Protective Services and such things, and I'm not sure he's competent to look out for himself which is exactly what Adult Protective Service. I even suggested he commit a crime to get hooked up to services because long ago a guy I talked to on the VTA said the best thing that ever happened to him was going to jail, because then he got hooked up with services. 

I went into the public restroom which, surprisingly, was fairly clean for a public loo, and had TP and everything. I got out this "Shower In A Bag" think I'd bought at Upshift Bicycles a while back. It turned out to be a nice scrubby terry towel and a little bag of liquid that smells a little like essential oils. The towel was just big enough for me to scrub my back, and I was able to get myself pretty clean, and also change into the clean clothes I'd brought. 

I came out and a lady was handing Jeff a bottle of fruit juice, and I asked her if she was local, which she was. I said I only come there maybe once a year, and if she's local she might be able to help Jeff get connected with Adult Protective Services. I said this is tikkun olam, right here. 

I went inside and indeed my high holidays tickets, in the form of a sort of badge to wear around my neck like tech workers wear, were in will call. The theater was great. To think my mother and my aunt used to perform in theaters like that. 

The service was pretty good and the rabbi gave what I'd actually call a fiery sermon. I got plenty of singing in, which I do because I feel it might help me be a better trumpet player. 

It was 10 to 9 when it was all over. I figured, I'm right by Winchester Boulevard, I'll just ride on it North until I see some cross street I know. It turned out to not be all that long a ride until I was at Santana Row. That means I could have ridden down there easily. 

Then it was just a matter of Stevens Creek to Shasta to The Alameda. I stopped in at the Five Guys and ordered a single patty, mayo and onion, as a lettuce wrap. It was pretty good although there was no detectable onion. That cost me $12 because I tipped $2. 

As  I got closer to the ship, Ken called me and asked me if I wanted a burger. I said, sure. 

I got back here, put things away, got out another pair of the "sports" shorts I'd bought at Goodwill because the pair I was wearing had disappeared, vacuumed the office and cleaned the bathroom. If I don't do these things in the 20 minutes allotted on Wednesday, they don't get done until the next Wednesday. 

Ken came by, I got my check, we talked about things, I explained my fishing analogy, and I said the situation is, to me Christmas and Easter and all those are normal work days, but the first 10 days of October are my Christmas and Easter and Thanksgiving and all that, and I'll be extra busy. 

When I'm in Tel Aviv I can breathe easy

 AQI in San Jose as I type, almost 100. In Tel Aviv? About 20. 

I woke up at noon - Needed the sleep! I took the things I'd packed that were small and needed to go to the post office, and took those to the post office downtown. Then I swung by Good Karma Bikes and dropped off a couple of 23c-25c 700c tubes I had that I'll never use. I had a shopping list with me too, and they had two of the things on it: a couple of 20 inch and a couple of 16 inch tubes. So I got those for $35 or so. 

Then I went to Whole Foods to get something to eat, and of course some wine. The stuff I got, some kind of baked chicken, was over-salted which is unusual for them. I really couldn't eat much of it. At least I'd gotten broccoli with it and could use that to sop up the chicken grease. 

Next was O'Reilley's. They don't sell valve cores but they well whole valves I can take the cores out of and they came with neat caps too. And some hose clamps. And hand cleaner - GOOP isn't a thing any more but this stuff appears to be the same sort of thing. 

Then over to Upshift Cycles. They had *one* 16-inch tire. Hm. So I rode over to Bike Express and they had two, sort of mountain bike type but at least they're the same. One was marked $20 and one was marked $15 so I got them both for $15 each. 

I'd stopped at Nijiya for a can of cold coffee on my way downtown, and I stopped there again for another can of cold coffee. It was hot out there! 

I got back here and put things away, then it was time to be a bike mechanic. Changing out the tires and tubes on the trailer went fairly well except I wasn't careful with the levers and pinch-flatted one tube so I got out one of my backups and installed that and will fix the one I damaged. This is why I like to keep lots of tubes around. 

I loaded up the things that go to FedEx since it was too late for the post office, took them there, found packing stuff on the way back, and came back here for another unload. 

I rested a little and then went back to H mart to lock the bike, and walked over to Ross and picked out a long-sleeved shirt. And got a few things at Sprouts. I came back here and dug out things to pack and ship, and eventually realized I was very hungry (it feels a bit different on the keto diet) and made keto sushi rolls using cream cheese and smoked salmon from Sprouts and seaweed I've got here. They were pretty good. 

I pre-packed all the things except one large thing, and picked out 10 things to list tomorrow. 

While out riding I thought of an excellent way to think about Ebay. It's like fishing. You put lines out when you list things. Something selling is like getting a fish into the boat. If you don't clean the fish you get into the boat and get 'em on ice, they spoil. A fish in the boat is a thing that's sold and needs to be shipped out. So, sometimes, when a lot of fish are coming in, you have to pay attention to that rather than putting out more lines. 

I don't think Ebay cares how many things you list, but once you've sold something, there are real repercussions for not getting that thing shipped out fast. And that's why I didn't list anything yesterday or today.