The current free ebook is located at this link:
http://haggishell.com/ridgeproject.pdf

For details about the ebook, click here.

140123. Higgins the Cat doesn't seem to be in a photo mood today. “You take too many pictures. Go away. Meow.”

For a larger version of the photo, click here.

140123. Anshinin baked a cake today. He ate the whole thing. These are his reflections on the cake and its destiny. Edited for length and clarity. This piece made me laugh on a difficult day.

I baked it myself, though my sister did help a bit. I just followed the instructions on the box.

I got it from the grocery store down the street. I used pans to make two layers, then stacked them on top of each other and iced it. I also got a frosting tub thing with the sprinkles on the top.

My sister had a cake for her birthday awhile ago, and the last piece went to her because it was her birthday cake. So I decided to make my own. And say no one could have it. Because I was denied cake before.

When you lose a loved one like that, especially a nice birthday cake, it can make you go mad. You can say the project was spiteful almost.

But this cake; she is her own beauty. Not the subject of revenge. And my sister got the leftover icing.

I ate the cake myself. A beauty like that cannot go to waste by any other than its creator.

Plus I am now a cake expert. My skills are honed. I am in the cake zone. I have ascended the rankings. Nothing can hold me back. I see danishes in my future; man, do I love danishes.

The photo shows the last of the cake. It is now gone.

The cake works in mysterious ways. Bringing joy to even those who did not get the pleasure of eating it. They are moved by the sight. They appreciate even hearing legends of the cake, long lost. Even in death it continues to touch the souls of people everywhere.

140119. Aequus seems to be O.K. He's appeared twice now and reports that he presently has the flu. He's also confirmed that the small photo included below is of him. The dog is his, and based on a video I've seen of her, she's a lively companion.

This is a copy of a letter that I sent recently to one of Aequus's past associates. There might be issues here worth thinking about; points related to groups, people, and feelings. But they'll wait until another day. Presently, I'm glad simply to confirm that a casual associate is all right.

Dear Redacted,

Please excuse the delay in this response. For the past few weeks, I've been preoccupied with moving.

1. The attached photo may, or may not, be of Aequus. It's of somebody with the same name who lives in the same area. However, there are three such people.

Update: Aequus has confirmed that the photo is him IRL. As a related note, if I remember correctly, he's one of relatively few IRCers who's older than I am.

2. You said, “I'm not familiar with anyone using the nick Aequus, but I do know Redacted. At Redacted he goes under the nick Redacted. He lives in Redacted, California, but I can't recall his address. I've indeed been talking a lot to him and Redacted back then, but have lost contact due to me being far too busy.”

Yes, this is consistent.

3. You said, “Regarding him disappearing, he does this once in a while. I don't know how well you know him, but I give you my trust with this information. He suffers from various conditions... He doesn't sleep a lot... I've been worried myself when he's had his “offline” periods, because he's the kind of person that could disappear of own free will — or not. Mainly because of his heart condition.”

Yes, we know about some of the conditions. He's shared other things about his real life as well. I know where he was born, the stories behind some of his projects, and the way that his brother died many years ago. Also the fact that he's comfortable with people online but reclusive IRL.

When he disappeared, it was so abrupt that I thought he might have fallen ill. There wasn't much to go on at first. But research turned up the Redacted location. I found three people with his IRL name who were living there. I started to phone them, but it proved to be unnecessary as he reappeared; see below. I also wrote to you since he'd mentioned your site previously.

4. You said, “Please let me know what you find out! Sorry for the late response!”

After I wrote to you, Aequus appeared briefly in IRC and indicated that he was all right. Then he disappeared again. I'm still concerned, because it seems like a significant change. However, perhaps he'll surface after he sorts things out.

5. You added, “By the way — where do you know him from? Which forum? Apparently he's been MIA from Redacted for the past two years.”

I became acquainted with Aequus in IRC. He was active there after he left Redacted. He was part of the Friendly Coders channel. Additionally, he was a friend of somebody that I met elsewhere; Metacognician, who was one of the lead developers at Gentoo.

I liked both of them from the start. Eventually, both of them joined my own IRC channels.

One of my channels was Redacted. It was a fork of the main startups channel. Aequus and Metacognician were among the first ops. The channel still exists; it has 60 members and it's unusual in that it's a friendly channel which seeks to be helpful.

I never met Redacted IRL. However, in the online world, he was gentle and often kind to people. If he's left permanently, he'll be missed.

Regards, Robert (the Old Coder)

140117. This is a piece by John of Minetest. The license is Creative Commons BY NC SA Unported 3.0. The poem is a true story. For a larger version of the illustration, click here.

Deadly cold the westwind blows
Through the dark streets of the town
Fast forgotten are the woes
Of the ones who've fallen down

On a building in the sky
She is sitting, still and weary
Not a shiver not a cry
Night is cold and night is scary

With her rope firmly attached
To the cantilever roof
Checks again if rope is latched
She can do it, she will prove

Step for step she's climbing down
Holding tightly to the rope
Glancing with the darkest frown
Still there is a little hope

Wind is blowing strong and stronger
Rain is falling from the sky
She can't take it any longer
Will she live or will she die

Sun is rising up so slow
And she is still hanging there
Would've been better not to go
But nobody there does care

Frozen hangs she outsides there
Can not move, can only stay
Big, green eyes are watching her
Look a while and look away

140115. The photo below shows one of my Italy startuper friends engaged in typical and sensible startuper activities.

140115. Dr. Corey is one of the transients that I'm staying with at the moment. Like others I've met, he's learned how to handle things on a cost-effective basis.

This includes food. When one is in the mood for food, and funds are limited, a little creativity can improve the day and deflect dismay.

Ten Grain is one approach. It's simply grains of ten types mixed together. Ten Grain can be purchased in bulk and prepared so as to resemble oatmeal for breakfast, a main course for dinner, or a dessert for any meal.

If one wishes meat, it's best to avoid McDonalds and other “fast food” places. When did it become acceptable to pay restaurant prices for “fast food” ? For the price of a single McDonalds or Burger King meal, one can prepare a week's worth of meat with only a few minutes of effort.

Dr. Corey showed me one example. The recipe is provided below for your dining and pocketbook pleasure.

Note: The photo below the recipe shows what things looked like for Dr. Corey and me after step 10 and before step 11.

1. You'll need an oven, a baking pan, a bowl, and kitchen utensils.

2. Purchase a few pounds of uncooked chicken from one of the more affordable supermarkets, such as WinCo Foods. Avoid overpriced “membership” stores such as Safeway.

3. Get these items as well: Curry powder, cayenne pepper, bay leaves (optional), garlic powder, a tomato (optional), an onion (optional), a lemon or a lime (optional), a cup of yogurt (optional), a bottle of olive oil, milk (optional), and red wine (optional).

Notes: WinCo and other affordable supermarkets may sell cups of yogurt for only 35 to 50 cents each.

The curry powder, cayenne pepper, and bay leaves can be purchased from WinCo and similar stores at low prices. Don't purchase packaged or brand instances of these items. Instead, find stores where you can pour them into plastic bags yourself and pay by the pound.

Bay leaves are for seasoning and decoration. They are not intended to be eaten.

Dr. Corey used a brand-name bottle of garlic powder, but this item can probably be purchased in bulk too.

4. This procedure may be done all at once or, for improved results, there's an overnight version. If you'd like to do it all at once, preheat the oven to 350 degrees at the start.

5. Put the chicken in the baking pan.

6. Pour a little olive oil into the bowl. Just enough to cover the bottom. Add a small amount of garlic powder, a very small amount of cayenne pepper, a very small amount of curry powder, and one to three spoonfuls of yogurt (if you have any).

Stir well after adding each item. As you proceed, add a little milk (if you have any) or a little wine (if you have any) or water to keep the consistency of the mixture a bit looser than applesauce.

“Very small” means between 1/4 and 3/4 of a spoonful. You'll need to see what works best for you.

7. If you have bay leaves, tear a few of them into two or three pieces each and add the fragments to the bowl. Stir the bowl again.

8. Add water to bring the bowl to somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4 full. Stir well. The mixture should now resemble soup in consistency.

9. If you have a lemon or a lime, use a knife to cut it in half. Select a half and use the knife to remove the rind. Cut up the half and add the pieces to the baking pan. Note: Removing the rind is important for limes but less so for lemons.

10. If you have an onion and/or a tomato, slice it (or them) up and add the slices to the baking pan.

11. Pour the contents of the bowl into the baking pan. Make sure that it gets under the chicken. Move the pieces or slices of lemon, lime, onion, and/or tomato that you added previously under pieces of chicken.

12. Optional: Put the baking pan in the refrigerator and let it sit for a few hours or overnight. This isn't important. Dr. Corey and I didn't do it. However, if you elect to do this, it will improve the results.

13. If you haven't already preheated the oven, do so now. Set the temperature to 350 degrees.

14. Put the baking pan in the oven. Bake at 350 degrees for somewhere between 90 minutes and two hours. To determine when the food is cooked, proceed as follows:

Poke the added fragments of onion, etc., with a fork; the fragments should be soft and not present resistance to the fork. The color of the chicken should be similar to light wood. Additionally, if you cut a piece of chicken, it should appear cooked inside and not pink.

15. If all has gone well, you now have prepared several hearty meals. Refrigerate the chicken. Over the next few days, when you are hungry, warm up a few pieces of chicken using a microwave oven.

Enjoy your tasty and affordable Curry Lucky Clucky.

Note: Dr. Corey sometimes adds potatoes to Curry Lucky Clucky. However, as we had no potatoes handy on the present occasion, I didn't observe how potatoes would be used and so I haven't documented this part.

140115. The photo below this article is about a month old. A number of things happened in December, and so I wasn't able to post it until today.

It's simply a plastic Santa Claus. This one is larger than most but friendly.

The occasion was a visit to see A Different Song IRL. He'd had a birthday a day or two before. At the time, he'd expressed interest in a get-together. It meant driving at night during a week when I was tired. But I wanted to go. I felt that I was needed. It was part of what I was meant to do.

We met at a Chinese restaurant and had a nice dinner there. This is where I encountered Santa Claus and took his photo. He did not object to being photographed.

A Different Song had selected a movie theater for us to go to afterward. And a movie for us to see together. This was a novelty as I'd seen no movies, in theaters, since 2003. It would be the first movie night in a decade.

We waited, before the film, in a coffee shop next to the theater. A Different Song spoke of his life as an Engineer and a Taxi Driver. He offered to advise me about a Taxi Driver career. There were subtleties, he said, that I'd need to understand.

Bribes were important. Taxi Drivers need to know who to bribe at their companies. How much to pay. Taxi Companies forbid bribes, but if you don't do it, things will go badly.

I'd need to move to a large city and live in the drug and crime areas. I'd be subject to physical attacks at home and on the job. There might be fights. I might be spat upon or humiliated in other ways.

If I became a Taxi Driver, though, my race would help. The Taxi Company would value me because I was white.

But black passengers would be angry at me for the same reason. In both contexts, my actions, positive or negative, would be of less consequence than the color of my skin.

Taxi Driver would be an unpleasant life. Why would I make the decision to do this? It was simple, A Different Song said. One does what one must to continue in the World.

The movie turned out to be Dallas Buyer's Club. My friend, autistic as I was, had selected it logically. He'd used a website whose algorithms made sense to him. The approach used guaranteed that the film would be good enough.

The film was about conspiracies on the part of the rich and powerful that hurt people. In the end, A Different Song and I agreed that the get-together had been satisfactory. I drove off into the night.

140115. I went to visit Thermal Physicist recently and stayed overnight.

Thermal Physicist is the one who's developed imaging technologies related to bridge decks, terrorist tunnels, natural resources, and King Solomon's Tomb. It's an interesting project.

She was up against a deadline and asked me to help her sort out some data. Trips to her area take quite a while now, so I slept on her couch and we continued working in the morning.

While I was there, an Android device that I possess glitched and I was forced to reset it. I decided that, as everything on the device had been lost anyway, I might as well try to root it.

In a mobile device context, rooting is a sort of hacking that gives device owners full access to their devices. It's risky because if things go wrong, devices may be “bricked”. The word “bricked” means rendered inoperable.

The rooting operation was a success. It felt good to know that I was now in control of my own property. I thought I'd share roughly what I did.

This procedure is intended for Android power users; in particular, for people who are familiar with Android device configuration and APK files. It might work for a few different types of devices running Android 4.0.3 or 4.0.4 but I can't guarantee this.

This procedure is based largely on TechDad378's work. Thanks go to him and to the developers of Ministro, Poot, Superuser, and other fine APKs.

If you try this procedure, and the error “Invalid QT Version” occurs, look for posts by TechDad378. He's tested a work-around for the issue.

Other errors might mean that your device is bricked. Note: You are responsible for any breakage or brickage.

1. Boot the device and configure it as follows: Developer -> Stay Awake -> Enabled. Developer -> USB Debugging -> Enabled. Security -> Screen Lock -> None. Security -> Unknown Sources -> Enabled.

   Note: When you're done with the entire procedure, set Stay Awake to Disabled.

2. Set up Internet on the device. Verify that Internet is working.

3. Connect the device via USB cable to a charger. Or, if possible, connect the device to a Linux box instead. If you use a USB hub, make sure that the hub has a power supply connected. If the Linux box is a laptop, make sure that it has a power cable connected.

4. On the device, connect to Google Play and install this Android app: ES File Explorer (1.5 Cupcake). The exact release is important. Note: Google Play may prompt you for Google Account information. If so, you can use an existing Google Account or allow Google Play to register a new Google Account for you.

5. Locate copies of the following two APKs. The exact releases are important. Get the APKs onto the device, either by direct download to the device or by transfer from the Linux box. Use ES File Explorer to install the two APKs in the order they are listed here. If you're prompted to update anything, do not do so:

   Ministro II v9.4.apk, Poot-debug(W100).apk

6. Run Poot. It will probably prompt you regarding downloads of extra libraries. If so, proceed with the downloads. Allow a fair amount of time for the downloads; possibly 15 minutes or longer.

7. A button labeled Press here to Poot should appear. Press the button. A number of messages should be displayed. They might end with the following: A demon materialized while pooting. Error code 64 You need to restart your device. Do not restart at this point. Note: Error code 64 is not a fatal error.

8. Use Google Play to install Superuser by Chains DD. Run the app and scroll to the left. In the app's Info section, look for SUBinary. Verify that you have SU Binary version 3.03.2(15). Uncheck the option outdated binary notification.

9. Run ES File Explorer (which should, again, be a release named 1.5 Cupcake). Locate the app's options screen(s). Enable the Root Explorer option. The app should prompt you about superuser rights. Enable superuser rights. Turn on the option Always Remember, which should be displayed at around this point.

10. Enable the ES File Explorer option Mount File System. This option should be located on the same screen as the Root Explorer option discussed previously.

11. Use Google Play to install Root Checker by JoeyKrim. Run the app and press Verify Root to verify that the device is rooted.

12. Restart the device. Run Root Checker again and repeat the root verification step.

13. Use Google Play to install BusyBox. Note: Some apps that are designed for rooted devices require BusyBox.

140114. Ded Sirijus and I looked recently at the issues involved in converting a particular Apache .htaccess file to an equivalent Nginx server block. Everything seemed clear except for one part of the .htaccess code. I'll post that part here in case anybody would like to comment.

The problematic Apache .htaccess code was:

AuthType Basic
AuthName "Password Required"
AuthUserFile /var/www/bacon/.htpasswd
Require valid-user

SetEnvIf Request_URI "defenestrate.php$" allow
Order allow,deny
Allow from env=allow
Satisfy any

My theory was that the preceding .htaccess code might be roughly comparable to the following Nginx configuration pseudo-code:

location ~ defenestrate\.php$ {
    # put normal setup code here
}
location / {
    auth_basic           "Restricted";
    auth_basic_user_file /var/www/bacon/htpasswd;
    # put normal setup code here
}

Part of a discussion that followed. Ded Sirijus and I were both in reflective moods:

<OldCoder> The other person had a rough day. He needs advice about that.
<dsirijus> i spent 8 hours trying to solve this problem — how's that for a rough day? :D
<OldCoder> I can help

<OldCoder> We'll drop down to a trivial entry. And verify that the trivial one works. That part should be quite quick; it'll either work or not.

<dsirijus> the trivial bits do work, just one particular doesn't :) but i think you're right in approach. my shoot first, ask questions later didn't pan out this time ;) it does pan out often enough though :)

<OldCoder> Debug is good sometimes. I'll tell you now if I can or can't help
<dsirijus> i knew you would, you're awesome
<OldCoder> But I'm not webdev. I can only review the basics.

<dsirijus> well, you're sys-admin, i'm interested in translation from two languages -> apache (htaccess dialect) to nginx (configuration dialect) :)
<OldCoder> I see what it does...
<OldCoder> Checking nginx equivalents...
<dsirijus> ok, i'll wait :)
*dsirijus listens to some polka!

<OldCoder> The setenvif can be converted. Checking the rest.
<OldCoder> Polka is God's Own Music. Record some for me.
<dsirijus> some day :)

<OldCoder> http://wiki.nginx.org/HttpAuthBasicModule
<OldCoder> That page has more about nginx authentication
<dsirijus> why would i need a book when i have an old man first :)
<dsirijus> sweet old man :)

<OldCoder> Play me polka! :P
<dsirijus> i promise to play you a polka one day
<OldCoder> Start with this code. See where the logic is not applicable.

<dsirijus> what are you working on these days? right now?
<OldCoder> Finding a place to live and not being homeless. I lost my home of 25 years at Christmas.
<OldCoder> If you have family and IRL friends, be grateful. It's good to have people.
<dsirijus> i am

<dsirijus> i'd like to meet many. if i had finished all what i've planned this week, i'd be in boston tomorrow :( maybe meet someone from there that's also around here.
<OldCoder> Boston is too far away for us to have lunch

<OldCoder> I talk to people. Teach when possible. Work on drawings and writings. I have little IRL. This is what is left to me.

<dsirijus> i'm probably following those steps
<OldCoder> Creating?
<dsirijus> creating and being IRC
<OldCoder> IRL matters too of course
<OldCoder> Each thing in its place
<dsirijus> to some more than others

<dsirijus> IRL matters
<OldCoder> Yes. It matters to me. I've simply had most of it taken away.

<dsirijus> i have deprived myself of it
<OldCoder> How so, and why?
<dsirijus> lack of control, to be perfectly honest. i like stuff to be where i like it to be, sounds to be what i want them to be, even chat to be turned on/off like a pipe
<OldCoder> IRL is not predictable?
<dsirijus> it's not about predictability. it's about losing control

<OldCoder> Online can be controlled. Or its impact on you can. Real life. Anything can happen. Online...
<dsirijus> alone + online easier to control than social + real
<OldCoder> You can get up and walk away. Is that it?
<dsirijus> yes, i guess

<OldCoder> But you still have a real life; you are simply cautious. Is this right?
<dsirijus> yes, i don't hastily venture out. well, i do. but stuff happens when i go out.

<OldCoder> Hold onto the IRL people that you have. People are difficult to replace.
<dsirijus> they are. i'm trying to do better.

<dsirijus> it's the first snow that stuck to the ground this winter, today. i hate that i wasn't asked by snow if he's allowed to fall. i don't recall it ever being so late. my grandma doesn't recall it was ever this bad for the people since World War II.

<dsirijus> you remember World War II?
<OldCoder> Heh. I'm not *that* old. Old enough to be your Father. Not your Grandmother :-)

<OldCoder> I remember... Black and White TV, Vietnam War, First Man on Moon. Beatles. Civil Rights. Hippies. Life before Computers O_o !

<dsirijus> ah, baby boomer?
<OldCoder> Tail end, yes. Last part of Baby Boom.
<dsirijus> last part of baby booming is the best one ;)
<OldCoder> Very well. Why?
<dsirijus> good question. why is the last, but not least? or cherry on top?

<OldCoder> That's a nice way to look at it
*OldCoder is cherry on top :P

140112. For those who are curious about my hacker and startuper friends, the picture below is a self-portrait of DSirijus.

The license is CC BY-NC-SA Unported 3.0. For attribution purposes, the artist is DSirijus. The artist has this to say:

I have an autoportrait. Want to see it? I watched myself in the mirror. And painted on tablet PC. It's based on Uncle Sam. Many did join. It was drafting for real-life puzzle quest. With actual chests, and ships, and riddles.

140112. Mr. Tux would like to announce TuxBoard release 1.0. This is forum software written in PHP5. Requirements include Linux (or UNIX), PHP5, and a web server daemon that supports PHP5.

To obtain the source tarball, use the following link. For documentation, see the file Manual.txt in the tarball:

tuxboard-1.0.tar.gz

140109. Thoughts on Cats. Based on remarks by Mr. Meow:

Cats; Lazy bundles of fur
But they purr
Cats; I shall never understand
Why they are so much in demand

Small, soft, cruel, and lazy
Say they're kind is crazy
They love to kill small things
Then to you the things they brings

I need to groom my cat
His hair is like a mat
But good luck with that
He'd rather chase a rat

Cats are tot'ly selfish
But when you're gone they wish
To have you there for a bit
Though they'll never admit it

140103. I received the screenshot below recently. It shows a Doge version of Haggis Hell.

140101. I'm living temporarily with transients. It's working out. They tell me that I'm sensible and that I have a “good personality”.

One of the transients is a retired electrician. Older than me and on “disability”. He has observed me and feels that I should file for “disability” myself. But that requires doctors and there are no doctors.

The electrician is also a painter. I have started to scan his works for him. Here is one of his paintings. The license is CC BY-NC-ND Unported 3.0. For the purposes of attribution, the artist is Charles Artisan.

140101. I received the e-card shown below yesterday from a friend located overseas. It's cheerful so I thought I'd share it.

As a related note, I was tired and busy enough this past week that I lost track of the days. I thought that today, Wednesday, was December 31st and that tonight was New Years Eve. I was looking forward to a party or two.

That isn't really true. Presently I'm too tired to get up from the floor where the computer is located. Attendance of parties would have been unlikely.

Twisted Time has been moved to a transitional “rehab” hospital and hopes to leave it shortly. He says:

“Happy new year Bob! I will try to leave here tomorrow. I put my odds of escaping by Friday at greater than 50%. Not by much though :-)”

131229. I've signed the papers that surrender my home of 25 years. I've got access for a few more weeks but I've moved into a temporary room that Tactician found for me.

25 years is approximate. It's probably 26 years now.

The apartment was just a large studio or a small one-bedroom. I was never clear about the difference.

It wasn't the best place in the area. Management repaired the plumbing when necessary but they didn't upgrade much over the years. They didn't clean the carpet or paint the walls when I moved in decades ago.

I paid to have the carpet taken care of myself. The original paint remained until Gradient was kind enough to paint a couple of the walls this year.

I overpaid rent by about $5,000 to $10,000 in the 2000s. This was related to something that one of the owners did. It wasn't valid for her to do what she did but neither of us wanted to fight about it. In the end, I simply gave in.

Some of the floorboards were broken from the start. Never repaired. The refrigerator stopped working about a decade ago. I didn't have refrigeration at home subsequently. There was something odd about the gas heating so I asked management to turn it off. The apartment was unheated after that.

The building wasn't wheelchair accessible. I learned this the hard way when I got trapped outside in my wheelchair in 2011.

The resident managers were an interesting group. They were generally conscientious and hard-working. Personalities differed quite a lot, of course.

I remember one manager, a woman, who changed her hairstyle. I noticed the change and complimented her on it. She responded by replacing my oven door with one that had a different color. She felt that the new color was more attractive.

I worry about whether or not Crane, the most volatile manager, is O.K. Crane used to shout at people a lot. He and I both became very ill in mid-2011. Different issues.

Crane went to the hospital. He said that it was appendicitus. I ended up on my living room floor for two weeks. There was nobody to let people into the building so that I could get painkillers. The management company said to call 911 and tell them to smash open the building's front door. I figured that the owners wouldn't like that very much.

Crane turned out to have cancer. I wrote this Summer about a meeting that he and I had at a 7-11.

Gradient, if you read this, I'd like to find out what happened after that. The story that circulated was that Crane had been arrested. But no details were available.

There was a gap under the apartment door. The gap was fixed in 2013 but it was there for 25 years. I often dreamed about the gap because my subconscious mind saw it as a security issue. In the end, it proved to be a security issue after all.

When Michael Bonetto's people lied about serving me with legal papers in 2012, an assertion that I believe Michael was aware was a lie, they had attempted to take advantage of the gap. They tried to slide a thick bundle of legal papers under a closed and locked door.

This year, 2013, there was a lot of confusion at the apartment. The property management company did remodeling, after all the years, and other things as well.

My phone, the landline, was replaced with a tangle of wires hanging out of the wall. I lost my bed during this period. I slept on the floor until Gradient gave me a bed. I learned the other day that he'd exceeded his authority. It was a personal sacrifice on his part.

Despite everything, the apartment was home for decades. And it's gone now.

I'm writing this while sitting on the floor in a room that's far away. The room is temporary; it's believed that the transients here, including me, will need to leave. There is no heat but I'm warm. I could not take the bed that Gradient gave me but I retained a sleeping bag that he included.

The photo below shows part of the room. The plastic shelves are from Walmart. The wooden shelves came with the room. My own wooden shelves, the large ones, are gone. The ties on top of the wooden shelves are part of the set that I started to wear this year.

My once impressive library, the one that Twisted Time remembers, is reduced for now to a few books at the head of the bed. The books presently include:

• A Tom the Dancing Bug book by Ruben Bolling.

• A book of Roz Chast cartoons. Ken Kiraly and I were both amused by her.

• A copy of Year 2000 by Ivan Kmeta. My Grandfather. It was his one Science Fiction book.

• We are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy by Maurice Sendak. I purchased this one recently. I'd never seen it before. At this point in my life, though, the book has some resonance.

The room is comfortable. My primary concern is that it's temporary. But, then, most things in Life are.