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Originally posted by SIGNYM:

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Originally posted by 1KIKI:

Just to continue the topic ... I HOPE in the next 2 months (possibly more) to get past the backlogged paperwork.

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Ugh, paperwork. I always feel like I've forgotten something, and usually I'm right...

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Once I clear that out I can work with good effort on the yard. Like you Signy, it's my favorite thing to do! Mostly it'll be cleanup and prep work. And I need to find a good fence installer, and someone who can trim and remove even larger trees, and has a chipper to mulch them.

One particular topic - in MY particular neighborhood, the coyotes seem to have disappeared. There was a pack northward over the top of the east-west ridge of the hill that I live on, and on the other side. The pack, as I've read, used to den near the top of the hill but range both down into the stables below that, and over the ridge into my neighborhood. They used to scout the neighborhood every day, and every few weeks I'd hear them yipping, barking, and howling on the hill.

The stable area has since been sold, razed, flattened, cleared out, and turned into a dense suburban development (as was the area east from the stables that were half-acre unkempt lots with small houses). So, I think that's the cause why, as time has gone on, over the years, I saw less and less of them ... and now I hear them not at all. Which I'm sorry for.

But other areas just a mile or 2 north and right at the base of the foothills seem to have had an explosion of coyote activity, including them scaling 6 foot block walls and attacking small dogs in backyards. (Either that or NextDoor has made it far, far easier for people to communicate what's been going on all the time.)

(As an aside, though these people live a mere 2 or 3 suburban BLOCKS, maximum, from completely open wildland and the foothills, they are up in arms over the coyotes and shocked- SHOCKED!, and OUTRAGED! I TELL YOU! that coyotes dare live in their area. And, despite the fact that literally every website I've looked at from across the country says that if you live in coyote-land you should never ever let a cat outdoors, and you should always accompany your small dog to the backyard with some kind of hazing device - like an airhorn - they're completely dumbfounded when they leave their little dogs in the backyard, or let their cats out, and something happens. What a bunch of noobs.
And a lot of them were all for carrying guns around until I pointed out to them - more than once, before it sank in with at least a few people - that most people are really bad shots, and if they missed the coyote for sure the bullet would hit something else - like maybe their neighbor's property, or their neighbor. And they'd be liable. Apparently it never occurred to them that they might miss. It's like they thought it happens like on TV - you point the gun in the general direction and the bullet knows the way.
So hopefully the human zombie pack has quieted down.)

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We had that reaction here too, when coyotes first came into our long-settled neighborhood. But they seem to be hiding, or not so many, because there haven't been many coyote sightings on NextDoor lately. One guy in our neighborhood had the idea of shooting at them with paintball guns. I wonder if you can get them filled with water ... would be cleaner that way if you missed. Might break a car window or dent a car, tho.

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Anyway, it got me to thinking about coyote exclusion fencing and devices.

And to that end I watched as many "coyote jumping fence" videos as I could find, about 60 in all. And what I found was that, no matter how short and open the fence - even a post-and-rail - coyotes never 'clear' a fence like a horse does a jump. They jump more or less vertically, always put their front paws at or near the top, then boost themselves up to the top, no matter how briefly, before continuing down the other side.
I think it's an instinct to give themselves a last second to bail on the jump if they see something concerning.

And I noticed that while coyotes might try to squeeze between the bars of a wrought-iron-like fence, they never jump over them. Maybe it's because that landing-pad at the top they use is often on the wrong side of the fence, it's a really narrow square steel tube, and there's usually 'spears' sticking up above it. And predator-fences like in wildlife centers that use wrought-iron-like fences additionally use verticals that bend in at the top toward the coyote-side.

So, since I was going to use that type of fence anyway, to replace the gnarly and short chain link, I'm happy that I already made that choice.

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Interesting. Too bad the original owners had settled on block walls... saw a coyote once, many years ago, clear our 5' wall with ease.

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Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

#WEARAMASK
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Originally posted by SIGNYM:

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whozit:
Now that the Dems are the party of big business their donors need that cheap labor.

CAPTAINNZILCH: As expected... I'm a big fat nothing.

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FIFY

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Big Tech and CEOs Poured Millions Into The Election. Here’s Who They Supported
By Sissi Cao and Jordan Zakarin • 11/02/20 12:52pm

... After years of cordial but largely distant relations between Washington, DC and the tech industry, controversial business tactics, accusations of bias, and activism during the Black Lives Matter movement have put giants of Silicon Valley have become front and center in American politics. That profits have soared while the rest of the American economy has struggled throughout the COVID-19 recession has only created more tension. It’s also allowed the big tech companies and their executives to spend a whole lot of money on Tuesday’s elections.

Below, we dive into the big donations from these companies, their employees and their CEOs, which have soared past $50 million this election cycle.
Alphabet

Total contribution: $21 million
Top recipients: Joe Biden, Democrat super PACs
Google’s parent company Alphabet is one of the largest corporate donors during the 2020 election cycle. The company’s employees and PACs have contributed a total of $21 million to presidential and congressional candidates since 2019. Nearly 80 percent of the funds went to Democrats, while just 7 percent went to Republicans. $3.66 million went to the Joe Biden campaign....


Microsoft
Total contribution: $17 million
Top recipients: Joe Biden, Democrat super PACs
Also a major donor in the 2020 election season, Microsoft’s PACs and employees shelled out a total $17 million to presidential and congressional candidates through individual and PAC donations. Three quarters of Microsoft’s funds went to Democrats, and 14 percent went to Republicans....

Amazon
Total contribution: $8.9 million
Top recipients: Joe Biden
The e-commerce giant contributed $8.9 million through individual and PAC donors to federal candidates. ...


Facebook
Total contribution: $6 million
Top recipients: Joe Biden
Employees and PACs affiliated with Facebook donated a total of $6 million during the 2020 election cycle. More than 92 percent of the funds came from individuals. Mirroring Google’s and Microsoft’s partisan splits, Facebook spent nearly 80 percent of the funds on Democrats ...

Apple
Total contribution: $5.7 million
Top recipients: Joe Biden
... About a quarter of the funds ($1.4 million) went to Joe Biden. Bernie Sanders and the DNC trail as the second and third largest beneficiaries, receiving $389,000 and $295,000 respectively.
CEO Tim Cook has not donated to any candidates this year, but did give $236,100 to help Hillary Clinton in 2016.


Netflix
Total contribution: $5.42 million
Top recipients: Democrat super PACs
... Co-CEO Reed Hastings has been a huge Democratic Party booster this cycle. In September, he donated $1 million to Senate Majority PAC, the party’s main US Senate fundraising vehicle, along with another $1 million in June. Hastings has also been very supportive of VoteVets, a PAC supporting military veterans running for office as Democrats, to the tune of $180,000 donated, and was a big backer of Democratic presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg and John Hickenlooper when they ran for the nomination last winter.


Twitter
Total contribution: $689,000
Top recipients: Joe Biden

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https://observer.com/2020/11/big-tech-2020-presidential-election-donat
ion-breakdown-ranking/

ALSO

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DNC AND RNC AWASH WITH CASH FROM CORPORATE DONORS

The big bucks sponsorship packages raise sticky questions for both parties as organizers go after major donors to raise money

Last modified on Tue 15 Dec 2020 09.34 EST

Next year’s national political conventions, where Donald Trump and the winner of the Democratic primaries will be enshrined as their parties’ candidates in the 2020 presidential election, will be awash with corporate cash from donors seeking access, their marketing plans reveal.

Organizers of both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions are going after major corporate donors appealing for huge lump sums as they scramble to raise the money needed to bankroll the made-for-television events.

Fundraising materials show that both parties are hoping to lure $1m donations from corporations and wealthy individuals in exchange for access and advertising opportunities.

The big bucks sponsorship packages raise potentially sticky questions for both parties... The scale of the parties’ ambitions is disclosed in marketing materials provided to the Guardian by Documented, a watchdog group that investigates how corporations manipulate public policy.

The host committee for the Republican National Convention pitches its offering in the most enticing language, having set itself a total target of $70m to pay for the bonanza. It promises that “for corporate donors, the sponsorship opportunities can be incredibly valuable”. It lists a range of inducements at the RNC which will showcase Trump’s re-election bid in Charlotte, North Carolina, between 24 and 27 August.

Not only will companies have the chance to project their brands in front of up to 50,000 participants at the convention, including 15,000 members of the global media, but they can also customise packages to their corporate needs “to ensure your convention experience is both enjoyable and beneficial”.

Top-tier sponsors, making a tax-deductible donation of $1m or more, will get VIP access at the convention as well as seats at an “exclusive campaign briefing with 2020 campaign leadership”.

The Democratic National Convention, where the party’s presidential candidate will be nominated, will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 13 to 16 July. Its host committee has also set itself a target of $70m, though that would be further supplemented by $20m from the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC).

Fundraising brochures put out by the host organisation Milwaukee 2020 similarly sets out a tiered approach with the top level lauded as “gold” donors contributing at least $1m each. For that largesse they are promised select advertising opportunities, VIP access and hospitality and tickets to host committee parties.

... That [SANDER'S "PEOPLE POWERED" CAMPAIGN MESSAGE] would appear to conflict with the message being handed out by DNCC officials who have been telling potential donors and lobbyists that their money would be welcomed no matter who the eventual nominee is. As Politico has reported, the DNCC’s chief executive, Joe Solmonese, has taken the view that the event needs to be funded well in advance, with the use of corporate dollars, no matter who is victorious in the Democratic primaries.

“We can’t know and try to, nor can I ever suggest that we ever try to, bend this towards any one candidate’s philosophy,” Solmonese told the news site.

Though the Democrats have a more progressive stance on big money in politics than the modern Republican party, they are by no means immune to the stresses and contradictions that come from welcoming large amounts of corporate cash into their coffers.

The Open Secrets database that tracks money in US politics calculated that almost three-quarters of the $70m raised for the Philadelphia Democratic National Convention that nominated Hillary Clinton in 2016 was raised from just 17 sources.

Among those mega-donors were Facebook, the telecoms company AT&T and health insurer Independence Blue Cross which all gave $1.5m each, and American Airlines and Bank of America donating $1m each. JB Pritzker, the current Democratic governor of Illinois whose fortune comes from the Pritzker family’s ownership of the Hyatt hotel chain, gave a personal donation of $1.3m

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MORE AT https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/dec/23/revealed-rnc-dnc-corpo
rate-cash-donors-seeking-access


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Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

THUGR posts about Putin so much, he must be in love.

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but really got to get those sanding sponges deep in all the groves and around the decorative edges.

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Originally posted by 1KIKI:

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but really got to get those sanding sponges deep in all the groves and around the decorative edges.

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Have I mentioned that I really dislike interior corners and edges?

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Originally posted by Brenda:
Can't get my mah jong game to come up on this thing.

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[Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
I'm wondering why you're having so many issues with weeds, especially with a flamethrower at your disposal.

I'd let my weed situation get seriously out of hand over the years, but after two years of regular spraying I've got them under control with only about 3 treatments during the warm months necessary now.

I can't remember... did you try that concentrate that I told you about a while back? Stuff is super cheap for how many gallons it makes even when I go heavy with the mix, and I'm very pleased with the results.


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A government is a body of people usually, notably, governed by Mark Zuckerborg and Slack Dorsey.

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Originally posted by 1KIKI:

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Originally posted by Brenda:
Can't get my mah jong game to come up on this thing.

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Dang nabbit!

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:

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[Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
I'm wondering why you're having so many issues with weeds, especially with a flamethrower at your disposal.

I'd let my weed situation get seriously out of hand over the years, but after two years of regular spraying I've got them under control with only about 3 treatments during the warm months necessary now.

I can't remember... did you try that concentrate that I told you about a while back? Stuff is super cheap for how many gallons it makes even when I go heavy with the mix, and I'm very pleased with the results.


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A government is a body of people usually, notably, governed by Mark Zuckerborg and Slack Dorsey.

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Well, there are few factors at work.

Most of the lot is garden, not lawn. In an approx 10,000 sqft lot, the lawn area is maybe 25'X15'. That's a lot of bare dirt for weeds to grow in. Whoever said that a native garden is less work ... LIED. Less water? ABSOLUTELY! No fertilizer? YOU BET! Less pesticide? Sure thing! But less work??? NOT. I'm trying to get the front yard to be something worth maintaining, but if I can't, it's going back to lawn which will just be "mow, blow, and go".

It will be better once I level the yard and mulch it. They say mulch discourages weeds. I guess I'll find out, but I haven't got to that point yet.

It was 92F yesterday! Weeds here grow 365. If you're not keeping up, you're falling behind. There's no vacation from yardwork! It didn't help that I didn't do much last summer, and then had a series of family things to attend to and health problems that kept me from doing more once the weather cooled down ... which took a long a time.

The lot across the street was vacant for about 15 years, and weeds seeds blew here, there and elsewhere.









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Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

THUGR posts about Putin so much, he must be in love.

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Originally posted by 1KIKI:

Hey Signy, I've forgotten. Have you ever tried out agricultural acetic acid for a quick weed-kill knock-down?

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Originally posted by 1KIKI:

Oh, JACK, I just wanted to point out that mineral oil isn't the same as mineral spirits.

https://www.h2ouse.org/mineral-spirits-vs-mineral-oil/

Mineral oil CAN be food-grade and be used to treat cutting boards, butcher blocks, wooden bowls and spoons etc. But mineral spirits are always toxic and you shouldn't use them for anything that you intend to use for food. Also, when working with mineral spirits, use them in a well-ventilated place since they can cause dizziness, contusion and so on down the line to death.

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Originally posted by 1KIKI:

Hey Signy, I've forgotten. Have you ever tried out agricultural acetic acid for a quick weed-kill knock-down?

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Too smelly for the neighborhood, I think. But if it burns grass roots and deep-rooted weeds like sow thistle, it might be worth a try.

Generally speaking, I torch and dig first. Digging is a PITA but torching won't work for large, established weeds (grasses, dandelion, sow thistle, cheeseweed, western ragweed). The weed torch is quick, but I have to keep re-burning anything with a decent root system. Whatever doesn't succumb to digging and burning gets sprayed, and while the spray isn't quick, it's permanent. By using other methods I limit using weed killer, but it's nice to have it in my arsenal as the last step. Usually, I spot-spray three times a year.

Also, the permanent plants are suffering from benign neglect. The hollyleaf cherries are suffering from a pest/disease/deficiency that I haven't figured out, but looking at commercial cherry tree pictures it could be two-spotted spider mite and cherry leaf spot (fungus). The oak also looks like it might be suffering from some sort of leaf fungus, and the ceanothus is about 1/4 dead from the roots up. Not sure why, but possibly too much summer water/root rot? They're fussy and short-lived so not sure what's going on with that one. Meanwhile, the bird-of-paradise (planted by the previous owner) has taken over the front window area (I just cut 1/3 of it out), the fern by the kitchen window (which gets condensate from the AC) has taken over that spot, and there's something lving in there so I need to dig out most of it.

I DID corrective-prune the climbing roses, after bracing them to the wall with brackets holding horizontal postsm but am still trying to dig out the heavenly bamboo, which I hate with a passion. I'm also corrective-pruning the feijoa and we've removed about half of the deadwood, which has already opened up the shrub considerably. And the big avocado tree needs some serious trimming; for a tree that (they say) is past its produtive life it sure is growing really tall. And the neighbor has requested that Itrim back the camellias on the north side to let the breezes thru.

So there is lots and lots of maintenance to do, not just with weeds. Most of the pruning, tho, won't need to be repeated for a few years.

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Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

THUGR posts about Putin so much, he must be in love.

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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Anybody here have any experiences dealing with auction houses and/or trying to sell things that are legit worth a few bucks?

In deciding that I'm going to let go of nearly all of my basically worthless wall hangings except for the prints my brother made, I've also decided I want to get rid of some artwork that I'd acquired over the years. Some paintings of Notre Dame that I'd mentioned here before as well as some Civil War prints, a few pieces of smaller antique furniture and other odds and ends. I've got some of these paintings just wrapped up in a few large black contractor trash bags now to protect them from any mishaps, but they should be hanging in somebody's house and be appreciated.

I've decided I am still hanging on to too much stuff and outside of my tools, tech and enough furniture to just reasonably fill up one room in my house I want the rest out since my next home will be much smaller than this one is and there's just no reason for all of it.

But if I'm going to get rid of any more, I'm at the point where I'm seriously throwing money away if I put it on the curb or take it to goodwill. One of the two Notre Dame paintings have what look to be a 70's era price tag from Marshal Fields with a $1,470 price tag.

Thanks.


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A government is a body of people usually, notably, governed by Mark Zuckerborg and Slack Dorsey.

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Who doesn't like watching Antiques Roadshow???

You know you pique one's curiosity by making such statements...

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Originally posted by 1KIKI:

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Who doesn't like watching Antiques Roadshow???

You know you pique one's curiosity by making such statements...

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And that's exactly the show I stumble onto most often, and actively avoid. Maybe it's just me but ... I (think I) see such anticipatory greed in people (he bought if for a penny when he was an ambassador to the Emperor in China and our family lived in a palace and had servants!), such a naked need for importance (our family goes back to 1776!), such a hunger for validation (I knew the artist was going to be important!), I feel embarrassed for them, watching them both salivate and fear in anticipation, and be so disappointed at the results. They're so desperate to be attached to something '$$pecial'. It's like watching someone's most private humiliating moment. It makes me cringe. But I guess that's just me.

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Originally posted by Brenda:
There was a report on the local news of Sasquatch prints being found around Silverton. A team that actual investigates this type of thing was sent. Turned out the track was made by a moose.

The news guy was trying not to laugh and I sat trying to remember when was the last time I had heard of a Sasquatch sitting or tracks being found in the province. Think I was a kid the last time that happened.

Still it was good for a laugh and a smile on a Monday evening.

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Originally posted by 1KIKI:

Yeah JACK, I'd be interested to hear your before-and-after take on Hoarders, if you'd care to share.

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1KIKI: Yeah JACK, I'd be interested to hear your before-and-after take on Hoarders, if you'd care to share.

SIX: Well the first thing to say about it is that after going through a hoard that wasn't nearly as bad as even the lightest they've ever had on the show, you do get a real understanding of how those people got to where they were. Even if you're not hoarding literal trash that you should be taking out to the curb like some of them do, mice can get in and will wreak havoc on the place anywhere you allow them dark areas to hide in.

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I may not have had droppings all over the center of floors, or had things piled up so much that there were only narrow walkways to go through, but quite a lot of stuff around the walls was ruined and had to be thrown away.

And getting rid of them and making sure they stay gone is actually a very easy thing to do, assuming that you haven't allowed your house to get to the point where walls and window/doorframes have rotted to the point of letting large amounts of air in. Just put out some traps, and make sure any easy access points were fixed up. Problem solved.

It should be simple, but when you're either letting days just pass you by while sitting in abject despair or burying yourself in things to keep your mind off that despair, things that most ordinary folk would just consider easy to do and common sense decisions get thrown right out the window.

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I can't even blame a lot of it on the alcohol. I'd mentioned I'd buried myself deep into a project I gave up years ago in an effort to take away that initial desire to just give up and go back to drinking. Two more years of my life were devoted to that project that allowed me to sit on my couch and work on my computer, safe in my little cocoon. The mice bothered me... a lot... but I still wasn't doing anything about them. Aside from the occasional dropping on the countertop if I had left something they liked up there, I just didn't see the damage they were causing.

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I had a few big life-changing catalysts happen all at once, and realized that I needed to do something immediately. Hadn't been drinking for well over 2 years at that point, but the problems were still compounding on each other. I still wouldn't have anybody over to my house, and I rarely ventured out except for work and mandatory purchases.

I'd just happened to be binge watching some hoarders at the time and it made me realize that I was just like those people. I might not have had 25 cats, or had to climb over 3 feet of "stuff" to get from room to room, but all the signs were there. My finished attic was stuffed to the gills with crap I never looked at. My 2 1/2 car garage was full of projects I'd never get to and I could barely get out of my car when I parked it. Every square inch around every wall in every room had really nice furniture, many of it restored antiques that other family members didn't have room for, and then came the piles of stuff I'd acquired over the years to fill in the cracks between and every square foot of the floors of every closet and most of the basement. Work I'd always meant to do when I bought the house as a fixer-upper never got done and it would be impossible to do any of it with all of this junk in the way. If I kept doing what I was doing, I have no doubt I would have been a worthy contestant on their show in 20 years if it was still on the air.


So, something in me just changed then. And slowly but surely I got rid of it and went back to work on the house. I went from being the eyesore on the block to having neighbors and even strangers compliment me on how nice it looks from outside. It hardly happened overnight, and it was a ton of work. Tons of work still needs to be done. But at least I've found my momentum now. Some days are great, others not so productive, but I always get myself back on track and do what needs to be done.

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So now, watching Hoarders is a completely different experience to me than it was before. [Outside of still thinking about how more can be disposed of from my attic] I'm not making it about me this time around. I'm watching these people and deeply empathizing with them. Rooting for a good outcome for them. It really feels good when there is a happy ending for them now, especially when some of those situations they're in are so utterly disgusting and you just know that those people were completely helpless and could never have dug themselves out of it without this type of intervention.

You never know what happens to most of them after the cameras stop rolling, and you never really can tell what people are like from filmed footage, but it seems that some of these families really care about each other and all it took was a real appreciation and understanding of the mindset of the sick person living in that hoard had to deal with every day. But that could only happen when the sick person knew that now or never was the time to make a change and they were willing to stop hiding and let the people they cared most about see the awful secret they've been hiding all this time.

The therapists on the show really seem to be able to get people who have never communicated anything to each other before to finally open up and let it all out after being confronted with the unfathomable. I think it's really cool too how over the years the organizers and trash removal people can talk with them just like the therapists, and the therapists know almost as much about organization and trash removal as those professionals do. They've all learned a lot from each other too.


I've got a ton of appreciation for Hoarders. I'm kind of a super-fan, if you will. They played a part in me turning stuff around, and they came at just the right time.


In a strange way though, I almost feel as if I've robbed myself of that opportunity to maybe help my own family heal by being hit with whatever my hoarding situation would have been like a decade or two from now. But the chances I would have ever made that show have to be near zero, and living like a pig for a few more decades on the off chance you'd make the cut on a show that might not even be on the air anymore AND that you'd be one of the happy endings seems like a terrible idea with very little ROI.


I still don't know exactly what my real problems are. And it's not as if I'm not still without my addictions. But hoarding, just like alcohol, wasn't something that I NEEDED to do. They're just symptoms. Things that were just easier to do than not to do, really. Now that I'm at this point of 4 years sober and going on 2 years of clutter free, I find it very easy to not fall back into either of those patterns. And it's certainly not as though I've been without happenings that would have triggered that behavior before.

And until I was able to do a bit of reorganizing after removing all the stuff from the kitchen shelves for this project, the relatively small amount of clutter it caused for a few days was driving me nuts.



Anyway... Thanks Hoarders crew. I know you're doing it for the money, but at this point you've got to be aware of the service you're providing as well.





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A government is a body of people usually, notably, governed by Mark Zuckerborg and Slack Dorsey.

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Originally posted by 1KIKI:

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Originally posted by Brenda:
There was a report on the local news of Sasquatch prints being found around Silverton. A team that actual investigates this type of thing was sent. Turned out the track was made by a moose.

The news guy was trying not to laugh and I sat trying to remember when was the last time I had heard of a Sasquatch sitting or tracks being found in the province. Think I was a kid the last time that happened.

Still it was good for a laugh and a smile on a Monday evening.

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All that woo-woo stuff is hot right now in the US. Ghosts, shadow-people, evil possessions, interdimensional beings, UFO's, interdimensional UFO's, poltergeists, the Moth Man and so on. (I watch/ listen to that stuff when I don't want to think about anything, because all I do is laugh to myself.)

The ONE thing I've changed my mind about as POSSIBLY being based in reality is the Sasquatch/ yeti/ skunk ape ... because there's just enough plausibility that there's an undiscovered branch of the hominid tree.

It wasn't too long ago when people snickeringly dismissed the stories of a small, child-stealing, people-eating, evil munchkin-human-creature living in the jungles of Indonesia. Then their bones were discovered and a new human-like species called Homo floresiensis was acknowledged. They were thought to have died out 40,000 years ago, but maybe a few survived in a few places till recently enough - the last several thousand years - to leave their mark in human folklore.

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Also, black and brown widows and violin spiders, both poisonous

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I was worried about them at one point, but the ones I had turned out to be wolf spiders and not brown recluses. I won't go as far as to say we don't have any dangerous spiders up this far north, but I think the likelihood is pretty slim here. I did have a LOT of them though. They almost always only prowled in the basement, and as big as they were I just let them do their thing. I figure whatever they were eating to get that big I didn't want in my house either, and they were the only tenants I had that were paying their rent on time.

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True, that. Apparently hoarding often starts with some sort of traumatic event, a loss, and may reflect a desire to control the environment.

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Yeah. That's what they bring up nearly every episode. I could write a book about my childhood, so who knows what caused it. It's funny that this is a means of "controlling the environment" though when you're absolutely out of control once you let it get out of control.

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But don't be too hard on yourself. That first project sounds like a necessary first step, as well.

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Yeah. It was a project I said I'd never get involved in again since I spent so many prime years of my life working on it. But I did kind of fall in love with it all over again, and I really do want to get back to it one day. Too much to do right now, but I'll get there eventually.

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Give me goosebumps to read that!

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SIX, FWIW you've done a terrific job not just fixing up up your house, but fixing up yourself as much as possible.

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One day at a time, is what the people who use the support groups say.

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The one thing I can say for sure about hoarding is that it is NOT OCD because I've read studies that the medication for OCD does not work on hoarders; there's a different brain chemistry involved. Since I used to watch Hoarders too, it looks to me like an attempt to stabilize... something... For sure dopamine is involved because it's dopamine that causes people to repeat a learned action; dopamine is the "reward" chemicl responsible for that jolt when we've learned something that is intrinsically rewarding, like how to walk, or a new math concept. Sounds like you're finding your rewards in more beneficial ways.

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I've never been diagnosed with anything, but I know that I do have OCD tenancies. I'm not on the spectrum like my youngest brother is, but even though my house is clean now, I'm still a digital hoarder. The project I'm working on and probably could never finish in two lifetimes is insane.

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You've been something of an inspiration for me. I realize that I can't work at the pace that you do, given age and infirmity (It's hard to believe that the half-year nightmare of aches and pains was all due to chronic sinus infection!) but knowing that I CAN make progress and tackle things I might not know how, learning as I go, keeps me motivated. As long as the pain allows, I'll keep moving forward too.

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Originally posted by 1KIKI:

Thanks, Jack.

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I don't have much specific to say except that it seems that drinking was a way to try and escape some mental state, and hoarding was a way to distract from that mental state.

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You're not wrong.

The drinking really fed badly into itself too when I started using Facebook for a time when I was dating a girl who practically begged me to get on it. Somehow I'd gotten myself attached to a lot of family and Mr. Hyde made an ass of himself when he was drinking. Unlike here in the RWED, that was with people I actually knew. The first thing I'd want to do when I slept it off and bits and pieces of stuff I'd said came back to me was to drink again. Then I'd get drunk and do the whole process all over again. It was terrible, and though I really can say with confidence that I won't drink again, I also intend to never use any sort of social media again either.

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I used to work with a guy - a brilliant guy - and I don't use that word lightly - who had some demons inside of him. Some internal conflict, or unmet need, or something. At even that very young age (20's) he was a hard-core, fall asleep on the park-bench, never make it home for days at a time of drinking and passing out in pubic, alcoholic. Obviously he lost his job though he could have done it in his sleep AND blown us all out of the water making advances none of us even imagined.

I think we all lost track of him day-to-day though a few people kept track of 'time and place'. And so I have no idea what specifically happened or how, but somewhere along the way he figured out his problems, got his PhD and a great job, got married and adopted a kid.

20 years later he came back to SoCal to visit looking happy and optimistic.

So, it's possible to figure out your issues. It's possible to solve them. I've seen it. Good luck, Jack, on your journey. There is a solution, and it is attainable.

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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

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True, that. Apparently hoarding often starts with some sort of traumatic event, a loss, and may reflect a desire to control the environment.

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Yeah. That's what they bring up nearly every episode. I could write a book about my childhood, so who knows what caused it. It's funny that this is a means of "controlling the environment" though when you're absolutely out of control once you let it get out of control.

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