Grey aliens. Yep, I know they’re almost certainly not real. They freak me the frack out. It’s undoubtedly all the UFO stuff I read as a kid about abductions and such. A very petite friend once threatened to dress up as one in a realistic costume to scare me in the night. I begged her not to for her personal safety: I’m certain I would not react in a safe or rational way.

Being alone at night creeps me out because of this. Driving alone in a remote, low population locale? Horrifying.

Nevertheless, I still read up on stories and other media about the paranormal. Why am I like this? No idea.

It hasn’t ruined my life or anything. I’ve spent time alone far away from people, when I had to. I can go places at night. It’s just something that creeps into my mind sometimes. I function as a grown ass man, but I still get the creeps about it when I’m alone. I don’t know that I’ll ever completely shake it.

Naw, that’s an Allen wrench. They’re useful and contribute to our society, unlike Brock Allen Turner, the rapist.

Yeah, definitely like the rapist Brock Allen Turner.

Wait a minute. If I hold my jaw right, I do get a very short rumbling apart from my breath. Is that what you guys mean?

I do this thing where I pop my ears (like when pressure changes from altitude) and then it’s like I’m hearing my breathing inside of my sinuses or something. When I breathe this way, it effectively blocks conversations I don’t want to overhear. Do other people do this, or am I odd?

I remember the term for the fascists in Sinclair Lewis’s It Can’t Happen Here was corporatists. That novel was contemporaneous with the rise of fascism as I recall, and it’s a chilling look at how America might have gone fascist back then. It’s pretty relevant to what’s happening now.

Well, crap. I really want to go somewhere far from the global conflicts that might arise in the future but still live in a relatively modern and developed country. New Zealand seemed like it would be a desirable destination, but if it’s on the same trajectory as the US, UK, and Canada, I guess it wouldn’t be an upgrade.

I really want to be as far from likely military (particularly nuclear) targets as possible. I feel like we’re on the precipice of something truly awful.

Why couldn’t we switch back to glass as our primary container material? Wasn’t that always fully recyclable?

Silver has been considered effective against all kinds of supernatural threats by different cultures in different ways. I would imagine the Witcher’s lore was influenced by one of these traditions. As the link indicates, it’s a pretty common trope.

I’ve struggled similarly over the years and had my ups and downs. One thing that has helped me is remembering that my feelings are subjective, and not necessarily reflective of reality. My view of the world is often skewed, whether by brain chemistry, various biases, or the influence of others, so I have to seek out what’s actually true in any given situation. It helps me; I hope it will help you, at least a little.

Honestly, in my experience, things get better when I exert control over what I can. I’d tell you to control what you can and go easy with the rest. Try to do better every day, really try consciously, and the struggle itself will be rewarding.

I’m rooting for you. If there is a Creator, and I believe there is, he’s rooting for you, too.

Their breakfast burritos are good, cheap, and a great value for your money. Use their app, and you can get free stuff regularly, too.

On those funky Coke machines in some restaurants, there was an option to get Raspberry Coke Zero for a long time. I grew to love it. Now it looks like they’re taking it away in most places.

I used to love the lore of Steve Jackson Games a lot more than the actual games for this very reason.

It’s a good stick. Not as good as the one I saw on the Internet recently that had a nearly perfect guard and hilt like a sword, but still pretty awesome.

For the people that want to ban sticks here: please don’t take away my joy!