Open Bar: Subpoenaed by Congress, but still refusing to testify

[The Wizard Joseph]

Found this while going through my writings. Thought maybe Q. G. Might perhaps find it print worthy.

Everyone says that they want to be "A God" or even "The God", but nobody really wants to bear all of consciousness eternally.

Nut up or shut up, so to speak. Nothing is in fact the only thing vast enough to bear the burden of God in splitting Its consciousness, and so God dwells in nothing, and so you get to have a temporary sense of somethingness. Do not vainly seek reunion, which will happen no matter what you do in time, but enjoy the gift you have been given at the greatest of costs, for while it is an expression of nothing, from nothingness, it is the only thing you can be said truly have in any meaningful sense, which may not be much, but it's something.

[altered]

So I try not to keep everyone up to date on my latest bout of misfortune: it's bad luck to tell everyone how miserable you are, for one thing.

Given the latest is sliding to an end, let me tell you about a job I might have landed: data security company needs remote working internal helldesk specialist.

Why am I so confident without even an interview yet?

I might be getting this from a friend's mother. Who asked specifically for my resume. Who is extremely interested in my background. Who heard about one of my best friends and stopped speaking English for a few seconds. (Hi QGP's husband!!)

So I might be shooting out of Chicago to NYC for a couple weeks soon here for training. Paid for: food, transit, hotel room. Including transit back to Chicago.

I do my best work remotely and my laptop works again. I have a strictly hobbyist background in data security (it's a fun puzzle: how to irritate and frustrate attackers without imposing burdens on users) and I do a lot of unpaid IT work for friends who need computers rebuilt and debugged and stuff. I have helped people configure their routers remotely, without any page to go on but the Google image search results for "site:setuprouter.org <router model>". (Oh, right: I DID THAT FOR FUN. I was told afterwards NOT to do it because it wasn't our problem. I did it again anyway because it wasn't against policy and I enjoyed myself.) I am patient with the tech illiterate to an extreme degree, and pleasant to a fault with people I talk to.

I got this.

[The Wizard Joseph]

Fuckin' awesome altered! Hope things work out marvelously!

You know I live just an hour or so north of Chicago. Perhaps some time when youget back we could meet up! You would be the first Discordian that I know of that I meet in the IRL.

Over time I hope to meet quite a few.

[Juana]

Yay, Altered! That's good news! Break a leg.

[LMNO]

Great news!

[Cramulus]

Yeah, good luck! And if you end up in NYC for training, shoot me a line--it would be rad to meet in person!

[Doktor Howl]

So I try not to keep everyone up to date on my latest bout of misfortune: it's bad luck to tell everyone how miserable you are, for one thing.

It's not annoying, if that's one of your concerns.

[altered]

It is annoying, just not to some people. For others it isn't just annoying: it's frustrating, infuriating or depressing. It brings people stress by way of empathy, which is just rude to do. People who ended up helping me later have had to leave servers I was on or block me temporarily because of the intersection of "this is constantly horrible" and "there is nothing I can do".

If I don't need the help or the vent, there's no value in doing it. Sticking by that here helps me keep up with it elsewhere.

[LMNO]

If you do feel the need to vent, you can PM me without caution.

[The Wizard Joseph]

So I try not to keep everyone up to date on my latest bout of misfortune: it's bad luck to tell everyone how miserable you are, for one thing.

It's not annoying, if that's one of your concerns.

Seconded

[Faust]

Got a linkedin "Take time to acknowledge your coworker Clive on working together for four years" notification. Clive died two years ago. Here's a drink to you Clive.

But it does creep me out the digital ghosts haunting the place. It reminded me of Aaron the Moore's monologue from Titus Andronicus

Oft have I digg'd up dead men from their graves,
And set them upright at their dear friends' doors,
Even when their sorrows almost were forgot;
And on their skins, as on the bark of trees,
Have with my knife carved in Roman letters,
'Let not your sorrow die, though I am dead.'

But really that would be more of a facebook thing to do maliciously, linkedin are not that organized or competent

[Doktor Howl]

Got a linkedin "Take time to acknowledge your coworker Clive on working together for four years" notification. Clive died two years ago. Here's a drink to you Clive.

But it does creep me out the digital ghosts haunting the place. It reminded me of Aaron the Moore's monologue from Titus Andronicus

Oft have I digg'd up dead men from their graves,
And set them upright at their dear friends' doors,
Even when their sorrows almost were forgot;
And on their skins, as on the bark of trees,
Have with my knife carved in Roman letters,
'Let not your sorrow die, though I am dead.'

But really that would be more of a facebook thing to do maliciously, linkedin are not that organized or competent

You can actually use social media to track the point at which someone died.  It's fucking creepy.

[The Wizard Joseph]

I just found out that my brother's dog, but he has recently been like mine too, is dying of..


Wait for it...


FUCKING CANCER!


This dog, his name is Chopper, saved my brother, his then fiancee, and my dad from a fire at the family home I grew up in. He set to barking like mad and my brother woke, pulled his strap thinking home invasion like he do, and then he discovered that the entire integrated garage was consumed by flames. Dad had a lot of stuff in there. The kind with open flame warnings and or high pressure.

Long story short everyone got out alive and largely unharmed. My Dad strutted out like a goddamn Daimyo. Unhurried, and undisturbed. He has... a very meaningful level of True Faith. He doesn't rattle.

They could well have asphyxiated or worse if not for this dog. He is a very good boy.
 

Boy the hits just keep on coming.

[Doktor Howl]

So, California has its first secondary coronavirus patient, who hasn't been out of the country and who has had no contact with other known patients.

Given a 14 day incubation period, that means that an unknown but large number of people have been exposed.

[Cain]

Oh yeah, it's probably in the midwest by now.