FREE ART MANDALA --- by gvan42 --- Go Ahead and Pirate These Images and Use Them Wherever You Need to Automatically Zone Out in a Trance...

I spend a lot of time playing with the art program on my computer... When it is running I cannot see the clock or the TV... And I'm in a Zone where time and space don't really exist... So here's an example of the art that I've been doing in the computer... Fun! Better than watching TV news... Endless bad events that I can't do anything about...

I repaired my old Toshiba laptop by downloading Linux onto a thumb drive and making that the boot disc... Then I activated email and an art program called Pinta... it is very similar to the ancient art program called Paint by Microsoft... So now... I drew a squiggly drawing in Pinta and emailed it to myself and then transmogrified it using the Google Chromebook running a program called Photopea... And this is the result... 

I refuse to accept the trend of laptops being disposable... Use them until they break down then throw them away and get a new one... Since the Google Chromebook is available for $50 online... There is an obvious movement by corporations to make these things disposables... And I don't care for that... So I repaired the old Toshiba that had been sitting in a drawer for 2 years... And now I have a 32 GB thumb drive that I'm not using because I already downloaded Linux and I don't need the source code anymore... So I wonder what I'll do with that!

The one mistake I made when going to college was to challenge the computer science course that taught Microsoft Word and Excel. If you could pass the final exam you didn't have to take the class. So the teacher had one week training that covered the basics and I took that and I passed the exam and... I really wish that I had learned everything possible about those two programs... Because at work the only computer program that I ever used was Microsoft Word and Excel... And having knowledge would have been super handy... For example: one day my boss said: "Damn it! I've erased this long letter that I just wrote... Can you find it in the computer and bring it back?" And I did not know how... So she had to rewrite the letter again... If I just taken that class I would have learned that all former versions of any word processing document are saved... And I could have been the hero... But I ended up being the zero... 4 years of college turned out to be pretty much useless... At work... So the lesson learned was... If you're paying big bucks to go to college... Get every Penny's worth... I was employing those guys too put knowledge into my brain and I just said: "No Thanks!" Because it was exhausting to be a full-time college student and it seemed like a good idea at the time to just challenge that class... 

However I did learn how to find instructions on the internet in order to do what I want to do... The training and step by step instructions on how to download Linux and use it to boot my windows based Toshiba laptop was essential... I tried to download Windows... And it failed... I Tried to download Google's Chrome OS... And it failed... But Linux worked! Excellent!

Phil Valenti 
Why does everyone keep calling Iran our enemy? What exactly did they do to the United States?

And I replied:

Not everyone is calling Iran our enemy... I for one do not call them that... Nor do any of the people I know! And that guy that does the travel shows on PBS, Rick Steves did a tourist visit to Iran and the people seemed quite friendly and interested to see an American TV show being filmed... I think the only people call Iran are enemy are Trump and his evil Munchkins... One thing about Iran is that the guy that started the religion BAHAI was an Iranian... Also the organization called the assassins were Iranians...

And then some guy on Faceborg asked:

Did the dead play live shows while under the influence of acid?

And I replied:

Yes... But they didn't like to... because... When you're scheduled to play a concert, you're forced to go play and hopefully do a good job... And when under the influence of LSD... Sometimes you want the freedom to do something completely different... Go take a hike in the woods... Or dump a bucket out of water on your head... But performing in public is work... Remembering all those words and chord changes and all that... 

Watch the performance of the song "Ain't no Cane in the Brazos" from the movie Festival Express... Bob is obviously High...

Some Thoughts About My Life at An Old Folks Home... Autobiography... a Few Words About My Housemates and What's Happening Now - August 2020

Briefly: I Live in a Six Person Group Home. We Have a Caregiver On Duty 24 Hours a Day. They Cook All Meals, Do Laundry, Give Us Our Pills, Shop for Groceries, Take Out The Garbage and Clean The House... We Also Have Gardeners That Take Care of the Property. In Fact, With a Guy Who Invests My Money and Another that Does My Taxes... ALL TASKS ARE DONE... AUTOMATICALLY...

That Leaves Me A Lot of Free Time to Write This Blog, Publish Original Songs on Youtube and Draw Art & Memes in Potatoshop... 

~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~

My New Housemate is a DOORS Fan... and JOURNEY... (They are Sixties Rock Groups) A Caregiver has Karaoke on her Phone and we Sang "Lights" 

He Plays Youtube on the TV Really Loud. I Got to Hear some rather Interesting Live Performances of "The End" and "Riders on the Storm" ... He is Here Because of Mental Illness. Some Asylum sent him here as a Halfway House... Just Like Me! 

He went for Electroshock Therapy last week... It Apparently did no harm. I Was Surprised that anyone did that anymore but evidently they do... as a Cure for Depression when Chemical therapy does not work... WHO KNEW? I Always think of "One Flew Over The Cockoo's Nest" when anyone discusses that treatment." Or The "Sleep Room" the CIA MKULTRA Project in Canada lead by Dr. Donald Ewen Cameron... a Real Sicko!

anyway... It's Interesting to Have a Person That is Not Suffering from Severe Dementia... 

We also have a Retired Fireman from Fremont... also a Pilot... He has Great Difficulty Remembering Names or Locations... It's Kind of Fun talking to Him because I have to guess what the subject is... often I take five or six tries to guess the meaning of his sentences... He is Registered to Vote and Supports Trump... Like So Many TrumpNiks, Totally Out Of Touch With Reality... 

and a Widowed Housewife of an Air Force Policeman... She is unhappy about everything all the time...  Complains about the Food Every Meal... Complains about the Temperature in her room... Her TV "Breaks Down" about once a week and I Fix It using the Remote Control... Wants to Move Somewhere Else but... No Action on that front by her Daughter... 

and Then There is Trudy... I Have No Idea Who she is... Never actually had a conversation... 

and Last Week Betty Died. Over 100 Years Old. Passed Away Quietly... I've become friends with her son... Soon I'll write a Email saying... "How You Doing? I'm Sure Glad to Have Met Your Mom." - or something Like That... 

and... It was 108 Degrees Here Yesterday... and There WAS Thunder and Lightning... NO FIRES HERE... Yet... I Do Not Think that There is any kind of Evacuation Plan... However, Next Door Mickey and Elena Live and Both of them Have Cars... so I Guess I Could Ride along with them... and about Half of the Caregivers have cars... 

We Have an Endless Stream of Young Black Women who work here... Wonderful! Most from Jamaica... and a Lot of Filipino and Hispanic Women... Odd that No White People Want this Job... I Guess Higher Pay at Amazon or the Postal Service... That's Where a Couple of them Went... 

I Still Do the Guided Meditation by Sonya Sophia Every Monday... It's Worthy... LINK to a Webpage Called: Spiritual Teacher Sonya Sophia - Photo At the Goddess Temple in Chico, California - She Does Healing Workshops at The Rainbow Gathering and Burning Man... and Online... http://gvan42.blogspot.com/2018/10/spiritual-teacher-sonya-sophia-born-in.html

and I Participated in The Harmonic Convergence 2020... Which Lead to The Saturday Night Alive Show with the Global Peace Tribe... https://www.theharmonicconvergence2020.org/

READ MORE OF MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY:

LINK: https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2018/03/growing-up-in-los-gatos-california-in.html

My Brother Martin's wife Patti took me to my first AA meeting at Lake Tahoe. Thanks! It allowed me to live a lot longer.

More about Northshore Lake Tahoe and Squaw Valley. I remember riding the Tram to the top of Squaw Valley in the summer. Many Bicycle riders were going to the top in order to ride down. I just went there to walk around and look at the Lake and the mountains. At the top is a Restaurant/Bar and an Ice Skating rink. I got a glass of whiskey and sat on the porch. It is really high in elevation and the booze was strong... and wonderful...

I was living in my Dad's Cabin at Northshore for a few weeks in the late 1990s. Often I would get up in the morning and take a walk down to the lake... I would FLIP A COIN to see if I rode the local bus towards Nevada or towards the California side of the lake. If I was going to Nevada, I would stop at the Safeway Grocery Store and pick up a free "Shopper Coupon" newspaper. There were many "Lucky Buck" coupons for the Casinos. They would allow you to place one dollar bill and a lucky buck coupon as a TWO Dollar bet. If you won, they paid you TWO dollars, if you lost they kept ONE dollar. This changed the odds of winning DRAMATICALLY in my favor. They believe that once a person is in the casino, they will continue and eventually lose a Hundred Dollars or whatever... However, if you just WALKED OUT AFTER THAT ONE LUCKY BUCK BET the odds said you were likely to be a winner. I used all the coupons and on average I won $14.00... Then I went outside and Did something else with my time... take a walk in the woods, go swimming, see a movie, eat lunch (paid for by the Casino) or dance to the House Band... All of those Casinos had "Classic Rock" Bands that played for free in the Lounge... I usually bought a drink and relaxed... 

The Safeway store was within walking distance of Dad's Cabin and I remember shoplifting a Pint of Brandy in the middle of the night. Often... At 3 AM there were only two clerks and they were busy stocking the shelves. So I just walked in and put a bottle in my pocket and walked out. They never even noticed I was there... or if they did, they ignored me. Once, when I wanted to buy food, I had to shout loudly to get their attention so they could take my money at the checkout counter...

My Family came up one time and they determined that I should go to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. My Sister in Law Patti and I went to a tiny room behind a  Realtors Office that was very secluded and elegant... a truly wonderful location... I attended one meeting, determined that it was not for me and didn't go back until years later... BUT... Since I Had Gone Once, I knew where to go when I decided to stop drinking... Years later I returned to that Tahoe Meeting after I was Sober and had a few months in the program but it was closed at the time I went... so I distributed a handful of coins all over the dirt floor in front of the Hall, wrote a Thank You Note and Left... Frankly speaking, the First 12 Steps in the AA program make no sense to me but THE 13TH STEP got my attention. It is an unwritten step that says... If you don't drink you get to have sex with the other members. As with any organization of Adults, there is an unstoppable urge to merge. This Particular Organization recommends that members DO NOT have sex with each other because some members might take advantage of new members who are confused and in a delicate state of mind. However, a Million years of biology is... something that just happens... I grasped the concept that I had to make a choice between drinking and sex and... I Married a member and we stayed married for 17 years. NOT an unusual story.

I really enjoyed riding the bus around Northshore Lake Tahoe. There was no public transportation to Southshore so I never went there... Except, on time I rode the Greyhound to Southshore accidentally and had to hire a TAXI to get to Northshore. VERY EXPENSIVE... The correct way to get to Northshore is to ride the Greyhound to Truckee and take a local bus to Tahoe City.

One time I was staying at the Cabin and the whole family went cross country skiing. That is a LOT of fun because it's just lie taking a walk in the woods except you can travel twice as far. Then you are going uphill, it takes as much effort as walking but when you are going downhill it takes ZERO effort. WHEE... I did not like downhill skiing because it is too dangerous and you go too fast... So I went ONCE at Mount Rose and then went to the Bar. Where I taught a German Man to sing the Song "Hound Dog Blues" by Hank Williams... ( also a hit song for George Thorogood.)

Another time we all went to a Musical Performance at Truckee High School. "Once Upon a Mattress" - pretty good fun!

Another time I was trying to get to Sparks Nevada and I stopped in Truckee to get gas for the Van. It was Very expensive and I filled the Tank for over $100... It was Friday night and the Town was Exploding with Drunk People and Live Rock Music in the Bars...  I had quit drinking by that time and so I felt uncomfortable being in that scene...

Another time I was trying to attend the BURNING MAN Festival near Reno and I was riding the Greyhound. So I went to an AA meeting in Reno in hopes of getting a ride from one of the members... I announce my desire during the meeting and EVERY PERSON recommended I not Go. They DID recommend  hat I go to an AA Convention at the Nugget in Sparks. So I rode the city bus to that hotel and had a great time. There was a rib cooking contest in front of the hotel with a LIVE BAND playing Janis Joplin and Grateful Dead songs. I went up after the show and asked where they were playing next and the said Hyatt Tahoe Incline. So I rode the bus there and saw them again at the casino. The stage overlooked the Craps and Blackjack tables... I really like Blackjack because if you play wisely, the odds are about even... That was a great band...

READ MORE OF MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY:

LINK: https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2018/03/growing-up-in-los-gatos-california-in.html