Much has been going on since last time I posted. I have pretty much recovered from the back injury, and I’m trying to catch up on weeks of having fallen behind in various things that I need to do. After numerous logistical issues, my standing desk arrived and it is a pretty cool piece of furniture. Manufactured in China, extremely good quality build, and once all the parts and pieces arrived here it worked really well. Took about three hours to assemble, but the result was worth it. I’m now starting to get used to it, because thinking that it’s a good idea to stand while you work is a different thing than actually doing it. But the fact that it is electronic (motors inside the legs) makes it very easy to switch back and forth between sitting and standing. So I’m standing for short periods but even sitting is more comfortable now that I can adjust the height of the desk exactly. I’d recommend to anyone.

The one thing I’ve never had before is the dual monitor arms that suspend my laptop and extra monitor above the desk. Wow! What an enormous amount of desk space that frees up!

I still need to clean up the cabling but I will. I still am tired most days. My first priority is physical exercise and my health. Then whatever energy I have left over afterwards … well I do the best I can.

I took advantage of my Nevada driver’s license to purchase a firearm. I haven’t purchased a weapon of any kind (other than edged weapons) for decades. For 30 years I have been a foreigner with few or no rights in the countries I lived.

It was kind of interesting to be able to go into a store and do that. One very noticeable effect of both C19 and the recent protests in the United States is that both weapons and ammunition are not easy to find. I find this alarming. Not because I am some gun happy maniac that wants that store hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition and large quantities of weapons in a secret bunker. No. More because it is a commentary on what C19 is done to the supply chain.

Anyway, I have managed to find what I wanted, and I am going to go to some classes and refamiliarize myself with weapons next week. It is been 30 years since I’ve handled them regularly. Good idea to treat myself as a rank beginner. 😊

I had a funny thought about my YouTube viewing habits. If anyone ever tried to analyze it: Simple Happy Zen ; Drawing ; Warrior Poet Society ; Minimalism ; Electrical Wiring ; Organic Chemistry courses ; Math courses ; History ; Meditation ; Combat Shooting ; Trekking equipment ; Passive Housing Standards ; BIM … hmmm … 😊

I have really gotten back into hiking. I am enjoying being able to hike at high altitudes. It is easy to find places here close to Las Vegas that are over 7000 feet high. I have been able to increase my pack load to 10% of my body weight during my rucks. So, all good on that front. I feel like I have a long way to go, but at least I am in good enough physical shape that I can head that direction. The high altitude really gets the heart and lungs working. My goal is 90 minutes for 4 – 6 miles at 8000’ altitude with a ruck loaded to 20% of body weight. I’ll be ecstatic if I can get there.

I’m using an Osprey Talon 22 liter day pack. Excellent quality. I load it with some 5lb weights and top off with some tools, first aid kit, and 3 liters (3 kg) of water in a Platypus hydration bladder. Very comfortable to carry.

Another commentary on the C19 crisis is that I can see a point in the future where many countries (Canada is already there) will refuse to allow Americans to enter the borders simply because the American response to the C19 crisis has been egregiously irresponsible. I am daily appalled by the number of people that I see in the streets not wearing masks. The governor of Nevada just the other day finally said that by law, people have to wear masks in public places. I have seen an increase, but you still see some dumb asses out there that apparently think that it does not apply to them. The stupidity, ignorance, and rudeness of the general public here in the United States depresses me.

Due to local market forces pushing up the price of rental cars, my friend and I have recently embarked on a quest to buy a car. It has been a very stressful and thus far fruitless quest. There are a number of factors involved. The rental car companies started auctioning off the majority of their fleets, so for the available cars the rates all went up. Rates of $3 to $5 a day in the space of two weeks rocketed up to close to between $30 and $40per day.

On top of that the used car market, especially for good vehicles (Japanese and Korean vehicles, SUVs and trucks) has become white hot. Result? It is very difficult to find any vehicle that matches the specifications one wants at any kind of a reasonable price. The old paradigm that you drive a new car off the lot and depreciation hits it for 30 to 40%… It just doesn’t hold anymore. We have seen vehicles (like a Honda CRV) that are 1 -2 years old, maybe 10,000 – 20,000 miles and only reduced $3000 off the brand-new sticker price ($30,000 vehicle). I’ve never seen that before.

And the experience we went through at 2 different dealerships could have been parodies of the bad car salesman experience. They are either stupid or malicious … or both. I had to walk out of the 2nd showroom. At the 2nd place we got hit on twice by sales people in the parking lot before we even got to the showroom. Disgraceful. In addition, the dealers are adding anywhere to $2000 - $8000 to the MSRP of popular vehicles. Why? Presumably under the same premise of “Why does a dog lick it’s balls? Because it can.” – Highly unethical … at least I find it so. - Pardon the crudeness but I’m really disgusted with their behavior.

Finally, we decided to hire a broker to find and negotiate a deal for us. We will see how that goes.

It has been blisteringly hot here the last couple of weeks. Days in a row over 110° F (43° C). Today hot with a high wind. Ah well – good for leading a strenuous life 😊.

I have been drawing more steadily. I have inserted some pictures of my practice pieces from this week along with the original drawings I used. I’m happy with them but what a long way to go (as can be seen from the sketch of the female figure). Also - I’m just going for the basic outlines a lot of the techniques in the originals are beyond me.

Discovered a singer from Scotland via Amazon Music called KT Tunstall. First new artist I’ve cottoned to for ages 😊. Black Horse and the Cherry Tree from the Eye to the Telescope album well worth listening to.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KT_Tunstall

I hope everybody is well. [To my Swedish reader 😊 – I’ve texted a couple of times but no answer – hope you are ok.]