So back when I worked in Huntsville I had a friend named Ron and a coworker whose name escapes me. Let's call him Bob. Even though it annoys me not to be able to remember bob's real name.

So bob was a hunter, and had a deer stand across the river somewhere near Laceys Spring. When you cross the river and head south, you hear banjo's really quickly. I've seen entire valleys covered in nothing but kudzu over there. It was like an alien horror movie. Really weird vibe.

But that was where the deer were, so that is where Bob hunted.

One day Bob confessed to Ron that he'd seen some really weird stuff out there. He refused to really elaborate, but we got the impression it was really hair and made weird vocalizations. Maybe a black bear walking on it's hind legs?

Now you have to realize, this isn't that far from Arab Alabama. One of the most racist, hairy and vocal populations in a state full of rednecks. They like to ride around waving the confederate battle flag and doing the rebel yell. So hearing weird noises echoing off the hills not that surprising.

But Ron did some internet digging, and found some web pages that handle weird shit and printed them out and handed them to Bob.

Bob really freaked, and started babbling about things that walked like a man but were all hairy and definitely not human.

He got really really upset and never went back.

I don't blame him, even driving my ford explorer through all those back roads gave me the creeps. Deserted homesteads, shacks with confederate flags. You couldn't pay me enough to get out of the SUV and walk into those woods.

Ron's dead now, cancer, and I think so is Bob. But I thought I'd share their story. If I remember more I'll post them.

Financially I’m really well off, I have a pension, Social Security and amble savings. Health wise, not doing so great. Bone marrow slowing dying, arthritis and asthmas.

I have to give myself a couple of injections every week, it’s unpleasant to put a needle deep into your thigh.

Yet, at the same time, I’m not doing that bad. I went for 13 miles ebike ride in 90 degree heat yesterday, and it didn’t even phase me.

The slow decline of red blood cell count from the bone marrow is the most disturbing part. I try not to think about because it really crushes me. But my 6 month visit to the oncology is coming up, so I have to think about it. I probably have another 7 to 10 years left, maybe.

It’s really hard to look at your own death approaching. But oddly I’m not looking for sympathy. In fact I’d prefer you keep your condolences and well wishes to yourselves. They mean nothing to someone in my situation.

You’d think I’m writing about my health problems but I’m not. That was just background. With all that is happening, the thing that haunts my days is Trump, the death of American democracy, Israel’s genocidal action, the wars in the Ukraine and Iran.

The evil that is consuming our world really upsets me. Even thought it has no really measurable effect on my life. I live in a nice house in Florida. Access to food, medicine and health care is not a problem. Okay, it’s Florida level health care, which is way lower quality than up north, but still I’m doing okay.

Yet all this evil haunts my dreams, without in any way directly affecting me. Okay, gas is a bit more expensive, and so is food, but it’s not big deal. I’ll be dead before the money runs out.

And yet it seems all I can think about is how evil my country has become and how bad the world is.

Then there are these stupid fucking data centers. Draining resources and making peoples lives hell for no useful reason. A creeping mindless blight that is the exact opposite of sustainable living. While supporting a product that doesn’t even work.

I’ve tested all the big ai models. They are crap! Lying, manipulative, intentionally deceptive, censorship crap. Honestly WTF is the fuss about? It’s like having a conversation with a sycophantic sociopath who’s trying to get you to harm yourself.

I don’t understand my reaction to world events. I should be indifferent or uncaring. Lord knows my neighbors are. This is a deeply maga area called the Villages. I thought I was retiring to a quiet community of caring grandparents, but these people are really self centered selfish drunks, who are off their meds and carrying a gun. All while reveling in the violent brutality that is trump.

Anyway, I wish I didn’t care so much. I wish this didn’t bother me. I wish I understood why it bothers me. I mean I’ll be lucky to live another 10 years. I guess it would bother me less if I knew that we had a president and congress trying to make the world a better place. Bad things always happen, and the best you can do is try fighting against them. But now we, the USA, have become the bad things. We have become the source of evil in the world.

I spent my life working for the army, GS, not a green suit. I thought I was doing the right thing defending the country from its enemies. But now we are the bad guys. I guess I didn’t want to leave this world knowing my life was just a waste of time. That nothing I’ve done has had any meaning, as it all gets washed away in a flood of vile people doing evil things.

It really depresses me more than it probably should. So I decided to post this and get it all off my chest.

Also, no, I'm not clinically depressed, I'm just unhappy with the world.

In a couple of weeks I'll get on a train and go visit my brother in NJ. I'm fine. It's just that these thoughts build up and I find posting them gets them out of my head. Much like keeping a diary helps people in troubling times.

We know how we are handling space exploration. We send robot probes. So once you get good at space travel. You set up automated factories on an asteroid and just churn out probes. Scattering them all over the universe looking for radio waves, nuclear explosion and polluted planets.

Imagine what it must have looked like to the swarms of interstellar probe cruising between the stars, when we detonated Ivy Mike or when the Russians detonated the Tsar Bomba. They would all come running like moths to a flame.

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

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

I feel I should point out that the civilizations who did this are probably long dead or just don't care what the probes found. After thousands of years they are gone or have moved on. The probes are just on auto pilot.

Trump puts ‘Project Freedom’ on hold, saying he hopes to finalise a deal with Iran

US president says he is pausing US effort to guide stranded vessels out of the strait of Hormuz but blockade remains Mark Saunokonoko and agencies Tue 5 May 2026 20.55 EDT Prefer the Guardian on Google

Donald Trump announced he is pausing ‘Project Freedom’, the US effort to guide stranded vessels out of the strait of Hormuz, so he can finalise a deal with Iran, but added that his blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place.

Trump’s abrupt change of plan was declared in a social media post, saying he was pausing the effort for “a short period” to give space for US efforts to finalise a settlement with Iran to end the war.

Despite Project Freedom only launching Monday, Trump said he’d made the move based “on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran”. Iran is yet to comment.

https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/2026-stress-test-scenarios.htm#%3A%7E%3Atext=Equity+prices+fall+about+58%2Clevel+of+5.7+percentage+points

This is why banks are tightening credit. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/02/us-iran-war-credit-score-loans-mortgage-rates.html

In these times of economic turmoil it's important to remember that famine is a recurring part of human history. And that time and time again, people have turned to wood as a solution.

Properly prepared, sawdust in particular, is a great way to stretch out those lean meals. Whether it is as a filler in meatloaf and burgers, or as a thickening agent in soups and stews.

It has also been used historically for bread making. https://selfsufficientprojects.com/people-used-to-eat-these-during-famines/

Now it is important to properly prepare your wood, so as to avoid intestinal injury. What you want is sawdust, not a block of wood, and not splinters and twigs. Be sure to sift the saw dust through a screen to remove larger pieces and splinters. The finer the grind the better.

Also, be sure to pick the right tree for the right job. Maple is quite sweet, while oak, with its tannins is quite bitter. While walnut can be quite aromatic, and fruit trees will taste like their respective fruits. The needles of the pine tree can be made into a tasty tea high in vitamin C. The Sassafras tree has its own unique flavor, and use to be used for making root beer.

Avoid using unidentified trees and shrubs. Some can be poisonous, like hemlock and the American chestnut (often called a horse chestnut). Always check your pocket edition edible wood guide before consuming questionable shrubbery and trees.

I hope this handy guide can be useful in this trying times.

Humor should not be mistaken for dietary advice.