I don’t get out much anymore. I have little patience for clown world and its inhabitants. However, I’m a generally outgoing guy — or used to be — and can find myself feeling pretty lonely at times. As such, I accepted an invitation to hang out with a group of men I’ve known for quite a few years. This was to be a simple night of a few drinks while we watched a football game. These are ostensibly good men that love their families and have tried to do what they think is right for as long as I have known them. I have coached with a couple of them and some of their kids have been friends and/or teammates of my kids since before middle school. They’re “good people” and I genuinely like them, but aside from the occasional get together like last night, we’re not really friends.

Why? Because they’re normies. They don’t realize they are and they may not even know the word, but they do know we’re different. They know that my views don’t align with the narrative they live and that my expressing those views once caused a pretty good stink in the local area. One of the wives (who is very nice to me now) once tried to guilt-shame me into silence for my outspoken views on the COVID psyop.

Yes we’re different, but we’re a lot more different now than we used to be. This hit home last night. I noticed a few things.

1. The Vax is back (and it’s good again).
2. The narrative must be maintained.
3. During the evening’s general discussions, immoral activities were openly encouraged.

The Vax Is Back

The pregame chatter started with the vax and this new covid/flu double whammy. It was generally praised with one person even saying something positive about Pfizer specifically. It wasn’t strong praise and some of it felt forced, but it was praise none the less and I could feel my hackles raising up. How are these people still so retarded? And some of them were making such good progress towards waking up too.

The Narrative Must Be Maintained

Some of what a few celebrities have recently said against the narrative came up. One example was Aaron Rodgers. His views on the vax and covid were the starter, but his Epstein list comments were too far. He was labeled a heretic and all but condemned to the stake.

The Mainstreaming of Immorality

I won’t get into the details, but drug use, gambling, and the like were discussed and encourage to some degree. The legalizing of these and other activities was called for as an overall good for society. I’ve never heard anything like this from these people. I don’t think any of them are practicing Christians, but they always had that inherent Christian morality that used to be common place in this class of people. No more. They’ve changed and in a surprisingly short time.

 

Somewhere in the third quarter, I decided it was time to leave. It wasn’t until halfway home that I realized what I had just witnessed. This was the end stages of the complete conversion of these people into the FTS-2 of Uncle John’s Band’s Functionally Two Species Model — The Narrative Huffers. They’ve been assimilated. Some perhaps from just being tired. The narrow path is hard (especially if you don’t ask for His help). Others it was clearly an IQ issue, perhaps degraded further by the vax.

I don’t get out much anymore. I’ll think I’ll keep it that way… at least for a while longer.

UPDATE:

Just ran across this. “Demonized white people.”

DISCUSS ON SG

sgbase.org

TL;DR - Beta testing private Slack-like chat and video conferencing. If you’re interested in taking part in this beta phase, email me at thalios [at] thalios [dot] org. I’ll get back to you with some rules and a registration link.

Build your own.

It’s something we in the SG community have heard a lot. Some of us have done it. Many of us are trying. We’ve also talked about leaving big tech and trying to use the alternatives. Often we don’t trust the alternative. Or we do, but time and again we discover the alternative is just the another level of gatekeeping, degeneracy, and censorship.

I’ve preached “build your own” and “get off big tech” a lot over the years and I do my best to walk the talk. I’ve hosted my own email/domains for over two decades. I run an alternative OS on my phone (but… it’s a Google Pixel). I haven’t had Windows or Apple on any of my personal tech for a few years now. I roll my own when I can — almost always at the cost of my time and a lack of usability/feature set of the thing.

Building your own isn’t easy. Whether it’s a garden, a charity, a church, or an internet service, it takes time, focus, and the necessary skills. Sometimes you have the skills. Sometimes you need to learn. All too often though, finding the time and focus is the most difficult of hurdles. Clown world has seen fit to give me a bit of time.

So what the heck is SGBase?

I’ve watched groups of people (myself included) in the SG Community come together remotely to do various things related to building your own — planning meet ups, organizing projects, discussing business, and even just getting together on video chat to fight off the loneliness of clown world. This is wonderful and exactly why I love being a part of SG so much. But we almost always end up on big tech platforms to do these things.

That got me to thinking. Could I build a platform that would provide the community an alternative for the basics of collaboration (media-rich chat and audio/video conferencing)? So I got to reading, building, testing, rebuilding, etc. until I am now able to offer the following for a limited number of beta users.

sgbase.org

SGBase - A home base for SGers for when the conversation moves beyond the limits of social media. The tag line I came up with is “For SGers. By SGers.”, but I’m the only SGer running the show at the moment. If this gets legs and people find utility in it, I hope to change that.

SGBase is primarily two services (three if you include central auth).

chat.sgbase.org

This is an implementation of Zulip. A couple of bots are in place to update the notifications stream (McNeicements) for community related events. These events include things like new blog posts to Vox Popoli and other community blogs as well as new Darkstream episodes becoming available (disabled for now). I hope to get one stream linked with deplora.net IRC soon.

meet.sgbase.org

This is Jitsi. Video isn’t easy, but Jitsi makes it a little easier. There is still quite a bit of work needed to make things more stable, but it’s working pretty well right now. However, bandwidth is a concern in the beta testing phase, so the video quality has been limited somewhat. It still looks pretty good though. NOTE: Neither the SDL nor President Trump have used this service… yet.

Two additional services exist, but haven’t had nearly as much attention.

write.sgbase.org

This is a collaborative document creation tool called etherpad. Write documents in real-time together. I’ve integrated this with Jitsi. Some of us have already used this to take notes during calls.

share.sgbase.org

This is FileShelter. A basic file sharing tool that providers for expiration dates and password protection.

If this beta succeeds, I plan to enlist some help and open it up to the entire community. Doing this will likely require a right sizing of the tech, implementing some anti-fragility, and donations to pay for things (tech and labor). If it REALLY takes off, then almost certainly a paywall will go up. The cult of free has no home here.

If you’re interested in taking part in this beta, please drop an email to thalios [at] thalios [dot] org. I’ll send you some rules and a registration link.

DISCUSS ON SG

My first day of being officially unemployed was August 15th. I’ve never been unemployed before, so I thought I’d try to get some of those unemployment benefits that I’ve heard about my entire life. This is the short story of that brief adventure.

As with most things, my first step was to search the internet. That search quickly led me to the Georgia Department of Labor’s Unemployment Benefits website. Here I was able to read all about the wonderful bureaucratic world of unemployment benefits, how fraud is a crime, and how very little unemployment insurance actually pays out in my state (a max of $365 a week if you’re wondering).

To be fair, it’s a well organized website and I learned quite a bit pretty quickly. They have a fairly extensive FAQ which was helpful. This was also where I learned that I was likely to never see a penny.

Does severance pay have an effect on my benefits?

You are usually not eligible for unemployment insurance benefits during a period covered by severance pay paid to you by your employer. The only way to know for sure whether severance pay is disqualifying is to file a claim.

Without going into the details (cause you know… binding agreement), I did receive a severance in exchange for my agreeing to the typical expectations and covenants. But how did this apply to my eligibility for benefits? Given this statement — the only way to know for sure whether severance pay is disqualifying is to file a claim — I got about to filing right away.

Step one to filing a claim in Georgia is to verify ones identity through a third party service called ID.me. I was familiar with this service as it is a common way to prove veteran status (at least in the US) for things like discounts – especially online. While I rarely use it, it has saved me a decent amount money on a few large purchases. OK then… this should be easy.

We’re unable to verify your identity. Please try again.

OK. Very carefully this time.

We’re unable to verify your identity. Please try again.

Triple check everything.

We’re unable to verify your identity. Please try again.

Seriously?

We’re unable to verify your identity. Please try again.

The only choice I’m given is to retry. A quick search tells me that if this happens, I will eventually get an option to do some type of enhanced verification with a human over a video call. Many more attempts, but never did I see this other option.

Through more searching I learned that this is a very common problem with ID.me. There are a lot of frustrated people out there. I was now one of them. Do I really continue this process knowing I’ll likely be denied benefits anyway or should I just make a sandwich and forget the whole thing? The retarded contrarian in my head compels me to keep going. Besides, I wasn’t really hungry.

I then tried to reach ID.me customer support. That of course went nowhere fast. There is no listed phone number that I could find and using their online help option just filters you through their ridiculous bot. I was able to open a ticket though, but the bot (they named it Roy — I’m not joking) emailed me back effectively quoting their online FAQ telling me to… wait for it…

T R Y   A G A I N !

In the email, Roy also helpfully informed me that if it keeps failing, I will eventually be given the opportunity to do a video call with a Trusted Referee. Roy assured me that Trusted Referees are trained identity specialists who will verify my identity using additional documents not required when using their self-service option.

I go to add a comment to the ticket, but the ticket is disappeared. Not closed. Not on hold. Gone. The direct link no longer works and the ticket is not listed in the portal. I open another ticket with the same outcome — Roy emails me and the ticket disappears.

Wonderful. Let me TRY AGAIN.

Yeah… that didn’t work.

At this point, I decided that it was time to call Shaniqua at the Department of Labor. After being on hold for three hours, a very pleasant lady (her name was not Shanqiua) came on the line. She patiently listened to me explain my predicament and then informed me that it was not at all uncommon. My only recourse would be to visit my local DoL office.

My local DoL office was about a 30 minute drive away. I haven’t even made it past the preliminary step for what will almost certainly be a denial of my benefits. Do I really want to continue with this? A: Of course! I am retarded.

I arrived at a nearly empty DoL office in which the workers outnumbered the customers. Aside from the obese rent-a-cop at the front, I was the only white person in the place. I took a number and waited. After a few minutes I was called to the front. I explained my situation, but they weren’t sure how they could help me. I told them that I am here, this is my body and my face attached to it, these are my multiple forms of identification, and I even have a utility bill that proves where I live. Can you not verify my identity? A: No. You need to go through ID.me.

At this point, another lady emerged from the back and had me follow her to a PC in the corner of the room. She had me go through the entire ID.me process again. I did this multiple times with her looking over my shoulder. She asked me ridiculous things like “Are you sure you spelled your name correctly?” and “Is that really your birthday?” After the 4th try, she thought it best to get her manager.

Mr. Manager was a very overweight black man with unkempt hair and attire that screamed useless bureaucratic cog. He clearly didn’t want to deal with this situation. He listened to the story as relayed by over-the-shoulder lady and immediately disappeared to the back. After 20 minutes or so I was told that ID.me tech support would call me on my mobile shortly. Hallelujah!

Fifteen minutes go by. No call. Thirty minutes. Still no call. Over-the-shoulder lady is eyeballing me. She knows I’m getting upset. Out of boredom I check my email. In my inbox is a messgae from Dewayne of ID.me Member Support. It arrived nearly 30 minutes prior.

Looking into your ID.me account, I see you encountered a mismatch error message. The issue was that the birthdate on your ID.me account did not match the date of birth you were entering for verification. But do not worry! We have corrected the birthdate, and you can now verify your identity. With that being said, please reattempt the verification process.

That was it. No explanation as to how it was incorrect, if or when it was changed, why it was changed, etc. Fine. So I tried again on the corner PC.

Congratulations. Your identity has been verified.

Success. Although I didn’t feel successful. Over-the-shoulder lady took me to a bank of PCs in the middle of the room. I could now submit my claim for unemployment benefits. I completed everything in about 15 minutes. As I was leaving, I was told that I should hear something back in a few days.

On the drive home, I pondered my future as just another sucker on the dole.

The next day I received notice from the DoL of two determinations.

1. My work and salary history qualified me for the maximum amount of $365 a week for 14 weeks.

2. My claim for unemployment was denied and that more info will be forthcoming.

I should’ve just made that damn sandwich.

DISCUSS ON SG | DISCUSS ON GAB

On June 14th, I had a regularly scheduled one-to-one with my boss. I clicked on the Teams link to enter the meeting and was greeted not by the sole visage of my boss, but by my boss and what was clearly HR Lady. I immediately blurted out, “Huh. I’m being laid off.” This fazed neither of them. It was as if I had said nothing. The remainder of what was a very short meeting was effectively Clown World NPC mode. They read their respective scripts, I listened, and then they virtually showed me the door.

I’ve never been laid off before (I don’t count the time cancel culture came for my head). I’ve survived multiple rounds of layoffs over the years because, even in this mockery of a meritocracy, I’ve always been one of those guys that you just don’t lay off. It seems the expansion of Clown World into all facets of life had finally caught up with me.

After taking a few weeks off to deal with a busy personal life and to contemplate my future, I started working on things — fun things, annoying things, things that just needed to be done. I might write about some of that. But I also started looking for a job. It’s been a few weeks now. I’ve applied for well over a dozen jobs and have reached out to many friends and contacts, but I’ve not yet received a single hit of interest from any quarter. Not a phone call. Not an email. Nothing.

I know that finding a new job can take a while — especially one similar to the mid-level exec roles I’ve been in over the past 15+ years (director/VP) — but something feels very odd about this experience so far. Perhaps it’s the fake economy acting retarded. Perhaps it’s just a lull. Or perhaps it’s something else I can’t yet define. Whatever it is, I’ve decided to blog about it.

So… I plan to write about my experience as an unemployed, Christian, white, male, heritage American trying to find a new job in Clown World 2023. I don’t know how often I’ll write about this, but I will write as my experiences warrant it. I have a feeling this is going to be bumpy ride.

DISCUSS ON SG | DISCUSS ON GAB

The following is supposedly from a 1950s Home Economics Book. More of this would make for happier homes, stronger marriages, and better behaved children. That most young women today will think this is misogynistic is a big reason why they’re so unhappy.

Ladies… If you’re fortunate enough to have a husband capable of providing for a family on his own, the least you can do is make the man some dinner and not dump on him right when he walks in the door.

Clearly, Boomers ignored this advice.

Have dinner ready

Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal on time. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospects of a good meal are part of the warm welcome needed.

Prepare yourself

Take 15 minutes to rest so you will be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair, and be fresh looking. He has just been with a lot of work weary people. Be a little gay and a little more interesting. His boring day may need a lift.

Clear the clutter

Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives, gather up school books, toys, paper, etc. Then run a dust cloth over the tables. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too.

Prepare the children

Take a few minutes to wash the children’s hands and faces (if they are small), comb their hair, and if necessary, change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part.

Minimize all noise

At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of washer, drier, dishwasher, or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet. Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad.

Some don’ts

Don’t greet him with problems or complaints. Don’t complain if he’s late for dinner. Count this as minor compared with what he might have gone through that day.

Make him comfortable

Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest he lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soft, soothing, and pleasant voice. Allow him to relax – unwind.

Listen to him

You may have many things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first.

Make the evening his

Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner or to other places of entertainment. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure, his need to come home and relax.

The goal

Try to make your home a place of peace and order where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.

SGers may have some words. DISCUSS HERE.

Vox Day has identified another gap in the preservation of the Good, the Beautiful, and the True. In this case, he’s noticed that there a number of what he considers fairly basic public domain history books unavailable at the normal places. He offers up Project Castaliaberg as a possible solution to this.

This got me to thinking about the various websites I’ve visited looking for free public domain books. I’ll comment briefly on each.

Project Gutenberg

https://gutenberg.org

The default. Most people who read ebooks have almost certainly heard of Project Gutenberg. Formats available for download (plain text, html, pdf, epub, mobi, etc.) are consistent across most of the library, but the quality and accuracy can sometimes be poor.

Standard Ebooks

https://standardebooks.org

This is non-profit volunteer-driven project that proof reads, corrects, and beautifully formats public domain texts into excellent ebooks. While this library is not nearly as big as Gutenberg, the ebooks are outstanding quality.

Loyal Books

http://www.loyalbooks.com/

This site is basically a merging of the titles available at Project Gutenberg with the free audiobooks created by LibriVox. A useful resource.

Internet Archive Books

https://archive.org/details/books

A hit or miss mess or millions of books in all manner of state, readability, language, etc. If you know exactly what you’re looking for and can’t find it anywhere else, you may find it here. You can filter by year, language, etc. A lot of hits lead you to paywalls or limited previews.

Unz Books

https://www.unz.com/book/

Ron Unz has cataloged a lot of “controversial” books here. Many of them are available at other places, but many are not. Unfortunately, most of these are only available as HTML format and downloading them is non-trivial.

Google Books

https://books.google.com

It’s Google. They cannot be trusted. But it is a resource.

UPDATE: Hat tip to Arthur on SG. Thanks for telling me about this.

Library Genesis

https://www.libgen.is

Library Genesis appears to be a searchable database of specifically scientific and technical ebooks. I browsed around a little and it looks like a valuable resource.

If you know of any other good resources, leave a comment over on gab or SG.

I’ve been taking D3 and Zinc (amongst other things) daily since the early days of Covid. I’ve found them to be beneficial and I’m certain they, combined with general healthy living (I’m fit, I exercise, I run, I don’t eat like an idiot), have positively impacted not only my ability to dodge sickness, but also to get well quickly when I do become ill (only one mild illness since 2020 with several “itchy throat kinda cough a few days” episoides). While my experience is only anecedotal, there exists loads of pieces like this that try to either steer you away from them or deminish their effects. The enormity of the psyop attempting to keep us away from these supplements tells me they’re probably quite effective.

Here’s Dr Zelenko on the subject.

He is risen, indeed!

He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ - Luke 24:6-7

I am a Christian. I am not a good one though. I try to be most days, but often I am lazy or distracted with life and forget to put Him first. On my worst days, I succumb to my vices and sin over and over again as sinners do. But during this time of year, I find strength to be better; to work harder at following His example all the while knowing that I will fail. For Jesus Christ is the only man without sin.

His sacrifice for me (and you) on Good Friday and his triumphant resurrection today reminds me of just how much I owe Him – EVERYTHING. He died so that all those who believe in Him may live forever by His side. We will each of us be judged, but before that day arrives (and it WILL arrive), strive to follow His example. I believe that is how you gain entrance into paradise.

“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” - John 13:13-17

I am just a sinner and unworthy of the blessing that I have received in my life. I fail more than I succeed, but I keep trying. I keep trying because God loves me even with all my failings. The sacrifice of His only son and His resurrection three days later is the perfect proof of this.

And so in the spirit of love and renewed hope that this day brings, I wish you and yours a very happy Easter.