26 Comments

Go to the beach and use your cell phone to dig for clams. Follow all harvesting rules and regulations. Report back on progress and/or obstacles. A crack team of stochastic postmetaphysical scatologists will verify the emergence of punctuated , dynamic equilibrium.

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do NOT p00p on the Beac, that is the job of the crabs, birds and clams.

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Beach (edit function missing in the three dot hamburger thingy)

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Matt: Please pass on to Aaron something from his comment on Monday Mourning. I don't remember the exact clip Aaron was referring to, but it was about East Palestine. Aaron thought the comment by the necon about "leaving a trick on the table" meant the neocon was equating doing something good for the community was a "political trick."

I'm the last guy to defend a neocon, but I believe the neocon was making a card playing refernce. In Bridge, or Hearts or Spades, the round of 4 cards played is a "trick." The high/best card wins the trick. I believe the necon meant it would have been very easy for Biden to go to East Palestine and win the "trick" as president Biden is a "higher card" than Donald Trump. "Leaving a trick on the table" would mean purposefully NOT playing your best card to win the trick when there is no advantage for you to do so.

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This May, I'll begin spending at least 2 months in Oregon fly fishing, floating, and camping on the Deschutes River. This will be my third time doing this in the last 6 years (2018,2022). Otherwise, I live in Seattle, where I've spent most of my life since growing up here in the 70's. During those two previous trips, I spent most of my time without using the internet or even having access. At the same time, I was surrounded mostly by people that were no less connected than if they were in their car or at home. While staying in campgrounds with road access, I frequently had neighbors telecommuting for weeks on end from $100k converted minivans.

While there is relatively far less structure to river life than my normal day here in the city, no way would I ever bored. I get 2-3 miles of walking in a day just from regular activities. If I sit out the heat of the day next to the river under a tree, things are always going on around me. I might read a paperback from a campground little library or get back to learning a card game I brought with me. Tie some flies for the evening bite. Or maybe I'm stuck in my tent in wind and rain for two days. Or everyone disappears and I'm alone for a week. It's not like it's always fun, but it never leads to boredom.

The average person has, I think, a great range of "habits of satisfaction" - ways to go about life that tend to feel good. Urban, "Western" life tends to scratch only a few of these itches. Boredom, then, is the measure of the degree to which an individual's personal collection of itches are being scratched.

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I have a cargo van I camp in down by the river, but I only eat beans cooked in a cast iron kettle over buffalo dung chip campfires while I perform re-enactments of Blazing Saddles, gratis, to entertain the wildlife.

Malheur is nice if you like birdwatching and/or hot springs.

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I’m bored of trying to find the chat for these. The circular reference is broken

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Are you in the app?

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Yes. Manfred to find the chat page but only through the app in a circular path. Not as direct a connect as it could be

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I think you confuse boredom with distraction.

I am never bored with our without a screen to look at.

I am frequently distracted by a screen...

If I were working on an art project the phone or screen might distract from something I was not bored with.

I find so much to think and to do that boredom never comes into the equation.

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The link takes me to Matt T's page and says I need to subscribe there to participate.

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That’s the useful idiots page, just says matt’s name. It’s just a link to open the substack app where you’ll find our chat

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I’m already in the Substack app though.

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Did you you look for the “chat” tab/button?

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OK, I think that only shows up when the chat is active. I'll try again next week,

I guess.

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"Are you logged into substack via a web browser on a device with youtube capabilities?"

That I can watch. Fine!!!

"Or were you talking about substack chat?"

That I cannot watch, listen, or participate. Yes, it is annoying!!!

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Since I don't have a mobile phone, I cannot watch The Absurd Arena! Why did I sign for it?

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Are you logged into substack via a web browser on a device with youtube capabilities? Or were you talking about substack chat?

Chat is only available on Apple or Android phones/tablets. With a Apple or Google login, urg. Substack chat won’t accept a substack email login. Dumb, or at least annoying.

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"Are you logged into substack via a web browser on a device with youtube capabilities?"

That I can watch. Fine!!!

"Or were you talking about substack chat?"

That I cannot watch, listen, or participate. Yes, it is annoying!!!

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Heavy alcohol consumption can lead to a cure for almost any kind of boredom - it ain't a good solution, but pretty effective. If I had to move to some cold, wet island off Ireland, it would be an inevitability unless it were totally unavailable. It's pretty much why I passed on Mullingar 30 years ago and Fairbanks 15 years ago. Excellent, non-boring summers, but winters to put one in a bottle for months.

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I think it is a chicken and egg situation. The more financially secure I've become, the less need I have to follow social media. Conversely, I follow world news much more (i.e. the war in Ukraine is next door to major customers of mine). I get a lot more exercise and am a lot happier now that I can take 2-3 hours 6 days a week to train rather than work to pay my bills.

If I knew I could live off the grid on an island for the rest of my life, it'd be great and I'm sure I wouldn't be bored. But knowing the world as I do, I think it would be naive to ignore whatever multinational might be about to convince the US marines that "Jack's Island" is run by ruthless dictator and needs some democracy right now, because someone thinks there is a natural resource on my island that needs exploiting.

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On the "innate" side I would ask: Do animals ever get "bored"? Plants? On the "invented" side I think over-stimulation by ultimately redundant technologies inhibits the individual's ability to cognitively re-charge; modern boredom may be a sign of perceptual and cognitive exhaustion.

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I can not find a place to send comments for account problems. I am a paid subscriber who is no longer getting full access to content, please help. Thank you.

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