Cav's Place

The very fact that Putin, a wanted war criminal with an international arrest warrant in his name, was invited and welcomed on US soil, literally having the red carpet rolled out for him, receiving honors from armed forces who should be fighting against him and his regime, and being received by the president of the USA not only as an equal, which is a treatment that Trump quite obviously only reserves for fellow dictators, but even as a close friend, is already a great victory for Putin and another dagger in the heart of Ukraine, Europe, NATO, the ICC, the UN, and the rules-based international order as a whole. And the fact that those directly affected by the discussions that were supposed to take place weren’t even invited, along with the contrast between the reception offered to Trump and that given to other leaders, and to Zelenskyy in particular, makes it that much worse.
But, of course, that more or less remains in the realm of symbolism and things could have been far worse in practical terms if a deal would have been reached between the two, seeing as Putin wasn’t going to step back in any way, so the only way for that to happen would have been for Trump to throw Ukraine, and by extension Europe, completely under the bus, accepting Putin’s demands and forcing those affected to accept the agreement as a done deal. So, from that point of view, while obviously not good news, the fact that no deal was reached at least means no immediate bad news… But the emphasis is on that “immediate”, because on top of all of the talk about sanctions and consequences if Putin won’t immediately agree to a ceasefire and show real willingness to stop the war appearing to have simply evaporated, reports say that Trump seems to have agreed to Putin’s demand to be handed over the part of Donetsk that Russia is yet to control in exchange for freezing the current battle lines elsewhere and, supposedly, a written promise of no future attacks, and that’s what he was referring to when he said that he advised Zelenskyy to make the deal.
Now it remains to be seen what will happen on Monday, when it seems that Zelenskyy is set to meet Trump again, and other European leaders are supposedly also invited. But such a deal is very clearly unacceptable, so I definitely hope that nobody will give in, regardless of the pressure that Trump will exert. But, more importantly, I hope that the EU, plus the UK and Norway, along with NATO, will step in more and more and actually push back against the Russian regime, which at this point means directly helping Ukraine achieve victory, recover the lost territory and be protected from further attacks, but should also include similar aid offered to Georgia and Moldova and policies meant to protect from any future attacks, be they military or otherwise, along with finally ending any trade or other deals that fund the Russian regime. Otherwise, any talks or proposals, including those seen today, which apparently include some supposed security guarantees from Ukraine that would be “inspired by” NATO’s Article 5 but without accepting Ukraine as a member, are just empty words. And, of course, Ukraine, along with Georgia and Moldova, becoming NATO members is one absolutely necessary step, and the one thing that would have prevented this entire situation if it’d have been done long ago.

After being so relieved that no work had been done the previous few days, so I could sleep, the workers were back on Thursday, and dad also left very early, so I woke up after what had most likely not even been one full hour of sleep, some time passed before I got back to sleep, and after what was probably a little more than another hour the noise made by the workers woke me again and there was no chance to get back to sleep again, so I got up and only got back in bed around 12:15 PM, after dad left again and when I hoped that the workers would take a break. And they probably did, or at least made much less noise for a while, because I could sleep until 2 PM, so I got a total of about three and a half hours and was thinking that it was good that I had given up on the idea of running that day, which I had considered even if it’d have meant not going out again in the evening. But the workers remained until just about 7:30 PM, so my attempt to get in bed at 6 PM didn’t do much good, and I also initially lost something that I wanted to watch during that time, since the recording was corrupted after the first few minutes for some reason. And I wasn’t going to lose the matches as well, and the first one started at 7:30 PM, so I had to get up again just when I would have finally had a chance to sleep.

At least I got in bed a little before 5 AM and actually managed to get a fair bit of sleep. When the workers woke me just before 9:15 AM, I thought that I won’t, and that remained the case when I got back in bed, at 9:30 AM, after peeing, cleaning the litter box yet again, and checking that the recording of the recorded broadcast of that show, which had started a little after I had gone to bed, did save properly, since dad got up then and between him and the workers I was mostly awake for quite a while. But after dad left I did get back to sleep, and while I still woke up a few times, I think that it was mainly because I kept having to pee, the noise made by the workers seeming to get more distant as time passed, and that was particularly notable for the drilling, which eventually seemed to go away entirely. In fact, while I woke up again at 1:40 PM and decided to get up at that point even though the alarm had been set to ring at 2 PM, I then realized that I could have probably kept sleeping after that point if I hadn’t planned to run that day, the main noise that could still be heard being some occasional shouting, everything else seeming to be far enough away to not be a serious issue anymore. But I did plan to run, and I also wanted to shave, so I had the usual stuff, albeit replacing two of the raw almonds with apricot pits, shaved as well, wasted some time on the toilet, which wasn’t that much of a concern after having gone before going to bed in the morning, also had two nicer biscuits, with added honey, as the sweet thing, and left at 4:40 PM, wearing the full running gear and one armband… But without the cap, so I rushed back to grab it after realizing that when I stepped outside the building, so it was a few minutes later when I actually left. Either way, the reported temperature was 31-32°C, holding steady.
The time was 47:18.98, with sector times of 4:16.36, 5:00.56, 5:52 (5:51.09), 4:27.38, 4:57.40, 5:45 (5:44.44), 4:21.72, 4:57 (4:56.84), 5:53 (5:52.28) and 1:50.91, making for lap times of 15:08.01, 15:09.22 and 15:11 (15:10.84). I was only aiming to stay under 49 minutes, but the first sector seemed somewhat promising, and after the second one seemed even better, I wanted to see how much of a buffer I could create on the first lap, and while it wasn’t much, after the first lap I allowed myself a passing thought of staying under 48 minutes after all. But that was going to require pushing all the way, so I did, resulting in particularly good times on sectors two and three of lap two and a lap that made me actually set staying under 48 minutes as the goal after the end of it. And if after sector one of lap three I felt pretty safe from that point of view, after the following sector I realized that I could even get under 47:30 and aimed to do so, doing enough on sector three to be safe at the end of the lap. And at that point I really wasn’t thinking about anything better, mainly wanting to make sure that I’ll get to the end without problems and only really going for it on the last part of the final straight. But that was enough to end up with the year’s best time, the last time I was faster being in December.
Admittedly, the only notable problem was the heat, and it was probably also why there were relatively few people in the park at that hour, so looking for shade was likely the main reason why I weaved and went the long way around or otherwise off the best path, not other people. But it was quite clearly also why I found myself getting really dizzy towards the end of the first lap, to the point that I wondered how was I going to continue, and while it was nothing like that first moment, the fact that I also got briefly lightheaded at one point on sector one of lap two didn’t make me feel any better about my prospects. And, after not having another such moment on sector two of lap two, there was one per sector all the way to the end, the last two, or perhaps mainly the one from sector three of lap three, being more notable, though still nothing like the first one.

The worst such moment, however, was on the way back, when I felt like I was about to faint and my heart was beating erratically, so I focused on breathing calmly but deeply and took it easy until it passed. Then I ate a lot of the watermelon bought from Penny the previous week, which I had only tasted once before then, so that day was when I confirmed that, despite my initial misgivings, it actually was really good. Either way, I also ate a sweet pastry and drank one of the protein shakes taken after the Dream Trek, changed, and left again at 7:25 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol.
I went to Auchan Titan, picking up some more recyclables on the way and putting all but one in the machine when I got there, the problem being that the found label had fallen off the bottle that I had placed it on and when I tried to just put in the bottle with it loosely wrapped around it, after a few attempts the machine spat the bottle back out but “ate” the label, so I set my mind on recovering that amount, entered the store with that bottle, and actually looked around for a while, trying to decide on something to take that was that cheap. But in the end I left that for another time and just bought the cat food that I had gone there for, then put it in the backpack and walked out, knowing that I wanted to get back earlier that day, so I wasn’t going to follow a “normal” plan, but not knowing where else I wanted to go at that point. But I did want to get some bagels from Penny, so I entered one, with everything, and bought those, adding them in the backpack… And, just before getting to that Penny, my phone gave a low battery warning, so I turned it off for a while, but after about a quarter of an hour I turned it back on, though I obviously didn’t listen to anything anymore. Either way, I also briefly stepped inside a Mega Image, but only for a few seconds, because I saw that it was closing at 11 PM and there were obviously no 90% discounts yet.
I only finally made up my mind after that, deciding to go to the Mega Image that’s across the road from Kaufland Pantelimon. And I wanted to also use the machine from there for the few recyclables picked up on the way, and Mega Image stops the recycling machines at 10 PM, and I also wanted to make really sure that I won’t lose any of the 90% discounts, so instead of going there to put in those recyclables and then dashing to Kaufland and returning, I just went to wash my hands at Kaufland, walking back out even though a great evening discount for green onions was just announced, then grabbed two more recyclables on the way to that Mega Image, managed to put all of them in the machine just before 10 PM… And then wandered around and waited for the 90% discounts to be placed, realizing that I should have gone to Kaufland first when that only started to happen at 10:18 PM… And only bakery products ended up having that discount and remaining available, so I took a few and then just wasted even more time, waiting to see whether anything else would appear and, in particular, whether a high-protein pudding that expired the next day would also be discounted by 90%, since it only had the 50% discount at that point. But the employees who were making the discounts set aside two full baskets of products and when one of them took one and headed to the checkout, I realized that they were going to take those themselves and probably won’t make any other discounts that evening, so I just cashed in the voucher and bought those bakery products. And after walking out I went to a bench, added them in the backpack, and then jogged back.
I was back a little after 10:50 PM, then cleaned the litter box yet again, went to drop what I gathered down the chute, and soon after that I went to wash. After I was done, I redeemed Lords of the Fallen: Game of the Year Edition, the key being sent that day after I had requested it two days earlier on The Community Giveaway on the GOG.com forums. And since GOG.com’s recent move against the censorship enforced by payment processors made me want to buy something from there again, I purchased Seal of Evil for myself before making that request and Darkstone and Master of Orion 1+2 for The Community Giveaway after that, this also being part of my continued attempt to make up for what I played “pirated” back in the day, so after redeeming that game I sent those two to the giveaway’s administrator. And then, after just quickly spreading out the purchases, I stayed in my room until 1 AM, after which I exchanged a few words with dad and cleaned up a little, finally put the purchases in their place, and then used the cheese pie bought from Mega Image and the filling of some other pie made by that friend of my mother’s and brought by dad to fix something that counted as lunch, which I ate between 2:20 AM and 2:35 AM. And I made something similar, using a small flatbread that I already had, regular cheese, olives, and a vegan substitute for a processed meat product, which counted as dinner, which I ate between 4:15 AM and 5:15 AM. And I got in bed at 6:20 AM.

Well, just after 8:10 AM I was back on the computer, but while I didn’t check the time until then, I was awake well before that, since that was when the banging from outside made it clear that I won’t get back to sleep, the workers getting an early start and apparently getting back to doing the work right here, but I actually woke up after dad did, and he had already left by then. So it’d probably be fair to say that I only got one hour of sleep by then. But the banging seemed to stop after a little while, so I gave the remaining plum compot a quick boil and ate some of the plums, after having opened it a month earlier, moving it into a smaller jar at some point since then, but noticing at night that it had likely started to have mold on top and removing what I could out of the traces of white stuff, and at 9:15 AM I got back in bed. But, while not particularly loud, and in fact possibly not loud enough to wake me if I would have managed to get back to sleep when I was so tired, there was still some banging and shouting, and the very fact that I was so tired made it hard to fall asleep again, so just before 10 AM I got back up, finished that kompot, and got back on the computer, trying to get back in bed at 11:05 AM, after putting some moisturizing cream on my cock, since the heat had been making the dermatitis really act up again. And I did manage to get back to sleep pretty quickly at that point, getting some four hours before waking up again, and then actually catching another brief nap before getting up, a few minutes after 4 PM… And soon after that I noticed that the work stopped, so just after 4:40 PM I got back in bed, and while it took me quite some time to fall asleep again, I did get another brief nap before getting up for good, a few minutes after 5:30 PM.

It’s ever harder to write about such important topics, knowing that you couldn’t do them justice even if you’d actually dedicate yourself to them, much less if you’re simply writing a rushed post, but I guess it is important to at least keep saying something, and right now there’s even a faint trace of hope that it may no longer amount to merely screaming into the void anymore. I mean, when the outcry over Israel finally openly admitting and approving the plan for the complete takeover of Gaza included Germany ending what definitely seemed to be its unconditional support of Israel, regardless of all crimes and atrocities, and halting exports of military equipment to Israel that may be used in Gaza, it does seem that the line that had so far proved so elusive, being moved farther ahead whenever it could no longer be claimed that the horrors hadn’t yet reached the previous one, has finally been crossed.
To be perfectly clear: Hamas is a terrorist, criminal organization that shouldn’t be allowed to exist anymore, much less control and govern people and territory. But the same is true for the Israeli regime. In fact, I’ll be blunt and say that, in terms of what it does to the other side’s civilians and non-military infrastructure and territory, the Israeli regime is worse, and that was true all along, so I’m not just referring to the current situation that may well be the most horrifying string of atrocities and war crimes the world has seen in decades. And, to also mention the situation in the West Bank, I’m definitely adding Israeli settlers to the list of those who need to be removed and punished for their crimes.
Things are obviously far more nuanced when it comes to regular people, since it’s understandable if the Palestinians who are suffering and dying, as well as the Israeli survivors and the close friends and relatives of the victims of the terrorist acts committed by Hamas, are willing or at least considering to fight back, while the ones who nevertheless demand a real, just and lasting peace and two-state solution, openly opposing and protesting against the actions and policies of their respective regimes, fully deserve everyone’s respect and admiration. But there can be no excuse when it comes to those who are actually part of the regimes, at every level, and, especially in case of Israelis, those who act out or even merely openly support their policies out of an actual conviction that they’re correct.
So, while it was obvious all along that the end goal was to wipe out anything that may in any way be considered Palestine, did the fact that it has now been formally spelled out and approved finally cross that so elusive line, at least for European countries? Was that also influenced by the fact that the Palestinian Authority was also ruled out as a potential governing force, even if at the moment it’s the only realistic alternative to Hamas and, however desirable it’d be to have new political forces rise out of a healthy Palestinian civil society, Israel’s onslaught ensures that there can be no such thing in any foreseeable future? Either way, will this truly result in more than hollow statements of concern and vague references to potential future reactions? More specifically, will it lead to urgent and real protection for Palestinians, actual actions against the Israeli regime, and clear moves towards a fair two-state solution that will, eventually, pave the way to a lasting peace? At the moment, it’s anyone’s guess… But at least there are finally some faint signs that something may be moving in that direction, albeit still slowly and too late for so, so many.

Despite taking it easy while making the salad, which was finally more like what used to be a normal one eaten on the night before a run, including boiled carrots and even those two small beets bought after the July 11 run, and also occasionally getting back on the computer and even washing the cast iron pot and another larger one, in the early hours of July 23 I ate dinner over an hour earlier, between 1:55 AM and 2:30 AM, since I was alone and was also going to watch a match, so I went to the kitchen hours earlier. On the other hand, since I mentioned the cast iron pot, it slipped from my hand while I was washing it, and while it only fell a few centimeters, I might have managed to even cushion that to some extent, and when I looked it over I didn’t notice any more chipped enamel on the outside as a result, that look also confirmed that there is quite clearly a tiny spot on the inside where the enamel seems completely gone. That’s just a tiny dot and not related to what happened that night, and I’m pretty sure that I had noticed it before, but I had a good look at it at that point and confirmed that it’s not a remaining burn mark or anything else. Either way, I also shaved before going to bed… And after that I noticed two fleas on my left sock, one of them being full of blood when I killed it.
The thing is that, while I definitely meant to run, I wasn’t sure when, the forecast initially listing a high of 37°C but the two sites that update it more frequently lowering it to 34°C by the time I went to bed, so I didn’t set an alarm at first and had another look after going to pee the second time, at which point it did seem that I might just be able to run at the usual time, so it wasn’t worth it to go in the evening again. As a result, I set the alarm to ring at 2 PM and got back in bed, getting up after it rang, having the usual stuff, using some of the remaining baked almonds with Himalayan salt once again but replacing three of them with apricot pits, and with the sweet thing consisting of two nicer biscuits, with added honey, and leaving at 4:45 PM, after also drinking most of the tea and wearing the full running gear and one armband, and with the slip of paper with the emergency information in the pocket of my tights, just in case. The reported temperature was about 35°C, holding pretty much steady.
The time was 47:52.36, with sector times of 4:15.45, 4:55.19, 5:45 (5:44.47), 4:20.40, 4:55.25, 5:49.00, 4:31 (4:30.75), 5:13.25, 6:14 (6:13.38) and 1:55.22, making for lap times of 14:55.11, 15:04.65 and 15:58 (15:57.38). Considering that heat, I initially thought that it’d be great if I’d stay under 50 minutes, but I wanted to give everything, plus that I knew that the heat was going to crush me later, so I pushed from the beginning… But that time on the first sector was surprising even so, and it encouraged me to keep pushing, and after managing a surprisingly fast second sector as well I wondered whether I could somehow cover the lap in less than 15 minutes. It seemed extremely unlikely, but I did manage it, for the first time since February, which was also the last time when I ran ten kilometers in less than 48 minutes. And that made me wonder whether I might just do that again, so I kept pushing, each of the second lap’s sectors, and obviously also the lap as a whole, also being surprisingly fast, so after the end of it I only needed to cover lap three in 16 minutes to stay under 48, making me wonder whether even squeezing under 47:30 might just be possible, and thinking that 47:45 almost certainly was. But the heat and the exhaustion were taking their toll and I didn’t want to risk more than I had to, so I settled for just getting back under 48 minutes and took it easier, and some pretty clear warnings given by my body on the long straight of sector two of lap three made me even more careful, as shown by the sector times, the one for sector three of lap three in particular. That was actually an unpleasant surprise, since I meant to stay under the 6:10 that’s the normal target for a 16-minute lap, but at least I did cover the lap in just under 16 minutes, and then I did enough on the final sector to stay under 48 minutes by a safe margin.
There was a little pain from my left ankle at first, but it quickly went down to the level of a faint warning and on lap two I had to pay attention to notice it, and then I didn’t notice it at all anymore. And, while I hesitated a few times, I wouldn’t say that there were any notable problems caused by people, and it’s possible that looking for shade made me weave or otherwise go off the shortest path more than people. In addition, while there was a fair bit of wind on the first two laps, the cooling effect mattered more than the fact that I had to run against it in a few areas, and that wind dying down on lap three might have had something to do with the heat hitting me harder at that point. But there were moments when I was getting lightheaded even from the beginning, which moments obviously got longer and more frequent as time passed, there were times when I felt nauseous as well, and at some point a pressing need also appeared, though at least that went away after that. But, as I already mentioned, the moment that made me take it much easier came on the long straight of sector two of lap three, when I felt something from my heart, twice, and after that straight came what was probably the worst moment of nausea, forcing me to focus on breathing carefully in order to avoid throwing up. But I did enough to allow my body to recover, so that moment passed.

I picked up two recyclables on the way back. Then I put jam on a large doughnut and ate it, along with a lot of watermelon, did the day’s squats, changed, and left again at 8 PM, taking some more of that cat food that dad had left on the balcony until it expired, leaving it for the cats behind the building, and then going to Penny Basarabia, picking up a few recyclables on the way, putting them in a cabinet that I didn’t lock, and just buying some bagels that I put in the backpack before retrieving those recyclables. And then, after picking up a couple more recyclables, I went to that Mega Image that closes at 10 PM, once again putting the bag with the recyclables in a cabinet that I didn’t lock, entering with the backpack and seeing that I was there just in time to get quite a number of products that were discounted by 90%, all of the remaining ones being taken by other customers by the time I also took some more of the cat food that was on sale if you used the store card, which I did. And, while I’m quite sure that the employee who told the guard to check the guy with the backpack was referring to me and I looked at him a few times and took a moment to arrange the purchases a little before retrieving those recyclables, I wasn’t checked. So I shrugged it off, walked out, and picked up some more recyclables on the way back, stopping at one point to arrange the purchases a little better and at another to wash my hands with the water, or at least what I hope was water, which had been left in a bottle that I had picked up.
It was almost 9:45 PM when I got back. Then I went to drop a bag of trash down the chute and put the purchases in their place, at which point I saw that the bag that had been labeled, and therefore priced, as containing five buns actually contained six, which I guess made up for the tiny amount that I still had to recover from Mega Image. Either way, I wanted to get back earlier to make mamaliga, so I did, with plenty of stuff mixed in it, and I also drank the Gatorade grabbed after that run organized by the Romanian Lottery, which had expired almost three weeks before but which had been in the fridge ever since. And after I finished making the mamaliga I rushed to wash, going to the bathroom when it was almost 2:10 AM, and while I was done in just under 20 minutes, I still had to “cheat” a little to be able to say that I started eating in my room just before 3 AM. But then I once again wolfed everything down, managing to finish at 3:40 AM. However, since I also grabbed Brutal Legend, which was briefly free on itch.io, and waited for the download to complete and then scanned the archive as well, it was 5:25 AM when I actually got in bed. And I’ll also mention here that no visits were recorded on July 23.

In the early hours of July 30, after starting to make some macaroni and cheese very late, I ate some of them, as lunch, between 1:55 AM and 3 AM, on and off, while working on dinner. And then, after initially meaning to only add a little lettuce in a salad that was otherwise made of boiled germinated wheat and green onions, I saw that I couldn’t use most of one of the lettuces bought the previous evening, so I salvaged what little I could out of the remaining larger leaves, until I finally reached the inner ones that were mostly fine and used a few of those as well, eating dinner between 3:55 AM and 4:30 AM. And then I’d have wanted to shave as well, but after seeing the amount of ice built up on the back of the fridge while working on dinner, turning it down enough to make it stop, and thinking that I might just get away with it when it seemed to start melting gradually, after eating I saw that the ice had fallen, so I had to remove everything from the bottom shelf, take all of that ice away, then put everything back, also rearranging a little in the process, and ended up getting in bed at 5:35 AM. So I shaved after getting up, which was after the alarm rang, at 2 PM… And then I heard loud banging behind the building and saw that they were indeed starting to bring the scaffolding, as dad had said was going to happen by the end of the month, so the year, or however long it’ll take, of no sleep and even worse anxiety and who knows how many other problems is starting. But the plan for that day was to run, so I had the usual stuff, including another one of those imported bio (organic) apples and returning to the raw almonds, with the sweet thing consisting of two nicer biscuits, with added honey, and left at 4:40 PM, wearing the full running gear and one armband. The reported temperature was about 26°C, and 1°C more when I finished.
The time was 47:57.38, with sector times of 4:20.60, 5:05 (5:04.57), 5:53 (5:52.93), 4:26.35, 5:05.43, 6:05 (6:04.75), 4:34.07, 5:02 (5:01.62), 5:43.06 and 1:44.00, making for lap times of 15:18.10, 15:36.53 and 15:19 (15:18.75). I was once again only really aiming to stay under 50 minutes, but I did push from the beginning and after the first two sectors I wondered whether I could squeeze under that 15:20 that’s the lap time target for 48 minutes on the first lap, so I kept pushing and made it. But I was sure that I was going to get significantly slower, so I just changed the target to squeezing under 49 minutes, yet the first two sectors of lap two made me wonder whether I could even get under 48:30… Only for sector three of lap two to be slow enough to even make me worry about covering lap three in less than 16 minutes. Not that I couldn’t even go a little over that and still squeeze under 49 minutes overall, but that’d have been disappointing, so I went for it, really pushing from the start of sector two of lap three, when I realized that I might just have a chance to stay under 48:30 after all… And at the end of the lap it seemed that I was actually going to end up just over 48 minutes, which would have been awfully frustrating, so I thought of the month’s first run, when I needed 1:47 on the final sector to squeeze under 48:30 and managed 1:45 despite not thinking that I could even get under 1:50, and used every shred of energy I had left, managing that great final sector and squeezing under 48 minutes for the second time in a row.
The conditions were much better this time around, however, mainly in terms of the temperature, though when I wasn’t in the shade it felt hotter than what the reported temperature should have felt. And that was despite the fact that some areas were rather windy on the first two laps, though on lap three the wind died down and there was some partial cloud cover as well. And while the muscles from my left leg gave some pretty serious warnings on sector three of lap one, those lessened after that, and I wouldn’t say that there were any other specific physical issues. As for the problems caused by people, other than a pretty normal amount of weaving and going the long way around, I had to go off the path on sector one of laps one and three, because I happened to catch up to people just in a spot where most of the path was covered by a large puddle, and at the end of sector two of lap two I hesitated and might have taken some evasive action when a cyclist came down the slope.

After picking up a few recyclables on the way back, I drank a high-protein drink which had just expired, ate something sweet, changed my pants, and left again at 7:25 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol, and I picked up some more on the way to that store offering more for them, including one without a label but which was the right size for a label that I still had. And the cashier was once again that one that uses that calculator, but who does tend to care for the machine, so after waiting a little for my turn I could put everything in, except one of the recyclables which had been rejected before but which I had decided to try yet again, and then cashed in the voucher. And on the way back I picked up some more recyclables and also had a quick look in the nearby Mega Image, entering with them.
I was back yet again at 8:35 PM, eating a lot of watermelon and lunch during the match and cleaning the litter box and going to drop some trash down the chute at half time. And since I also did the day’s squats during the match, I timed them, seeing an amazing 1:58, despite doing them in the kitchen, right after eating, and wearing the pants that I wear outside, with various things in their pockets. And the moment the match ended, just before 10:25 PM, I went out yet again, without taking the headphones, jogging to Dristor, entering the Mega Image that closes at 11 PM at 10:35 PM, and getting a few bakery products that had the 90% discount. And then I checked that non-stop Mega Image as well, entering with those products and then just walking out, without finding anything else to get. But I did grab some more recyclables on the way back, and I also had one more quick look in the nearby Mega Image, entering with everything.
It was a little after 11:20 PM when I was back for good, though I then cleaned the litter box one more time and went to drop a tiny bag of trash down the chute. Then, after exchanging a few words with dad and putting those few purchases in their place, I went to wash at 11:55 PM, being done a little after 12:30 AM and then spending some time on the computer, during which I started to eat a large bag of corn puffs and also made another order from a pharmacy, getting back to the kitchen at 1:30 AM. Then I washed a few things, saw that I had to throw away much of the other lettuce as well, so I salvaged what I could out of the outer leaves and then also used what was left of the first one, and finished those corn puffs, eating dinner between 3:35 AM and 4:30 AM. And, after also getting some things that dad was going to take to mother out of the freezer, I ended up getting in bed at 5:20 AM.

I did mean to go out again pretty early and had set the alarm to ring at 11 AM, but there was no chance to need it, and quite some time before 9 AM the noise made by the workers woke me, though after exchanging a few words with dad and then closing his window after he left, since he had removed the bug net, saying that he didn’t want it to get splattered, I got back in bed, even if only to lie there, and it was almost 10:55 AM when I really got up, and then I did the day’s squats, eventually leaving at 1:40 PM.
Since I wanted to get there by 2 PM, to make really sure that there will be no problems, I jogged to the Sector 3 Treasury, getting there in less than 15 minutes and buying some more state bonds. Then I continued to that Kaufland, putting the recyclable picked up on the way in a cabinet and buying some things, including some expiring roes that I eventually decided to get even though, no matter how hard I tried, there was no way to read the ingredients, written in a tiny black font on a red background, so I only saw after getting back and using the magnifying glass that they contained sugar and I therefore wouldn’t have wanted any for myself, but since I had bought two I did end up taking one after all, leaving the other for dad. Either way, I also saw a deep discount for some sausages and asked for a few, for dad… And then I saw that the price was actually much lower, so I asked for some more, and when I expressed my surprise the employee said that they had many left and another discount had been made but the new price label hadn’t been printed yet. Then, after retrieving that recyclable from the cabinet, I decided to also check a Mega Image on the way back, putting my things in a cabinet… And finding a coin in it, so I used it to lock that cabinet, then bought an expiring product and took that coin after retrieving what I had in the cabinet. And I picked up a few more recyclables on the way back.
I was back the first time around 3:45 PM, and after putting the purchases in their place I left again just after 4 PM, taking the recyclables with the deposit symbol, including one that I had placed the remaining label on, picking up one more on the way to that store, since it was the last day when they offered more for them… And being bitten on my left hand by something that, considering when I started feeling an itch and that I was carrying the bags in that hand, might have been a spider which had been in or on them when I took them from the balcony. Either way, the machine reported that the bag was full when I just had three recyclables left, not counting that oddly-shaped one which I had wanted to try again, still without success, and while I told the cashier that just shaking the bag a little should be enough, I guess she wanted to make some use of me, perhaps especially after having seen me multiple times this week, so she asked whether I’ll help her empty it and after I agreed and held the metal frame while she arranged the new bag on it, she took the full bag and I followed her with that heavy metal box that holds the glass, having no problems carrying it to the bins that are outside, but then finding it almost impossible to hold it and turn it over, to pour the contents into the proper bin, so I sort of dangled it inside the bin until a part of the glass spilled out and she gave me some advice about how to hold it, at which point I sort of managed it, though I gave up and put it down before shaking everything out, taking a few remaining larger shards with my hand and saying that the handful of smaller pieces could be left there, since I was just exhausted. And she agreed, pushing that box back and restarting the machine, so I could put in those remaining recyclables and then cash in the vouchers.
After that, I continued to Carrefour, jogging some of the way, and after thoroughly washing my hands I put that remaining recyclable in the machine from there, which accepted it without problems. And then I bought some expiring products, which that day were discounted by 70%, plus a little garlic and a large bag of raw almonds, these being at full price… But the discount sticker didn’t cover the bar code from the normal label for the bakery products, or at least for the one that I scanned at the self-checkout, since they were the same and I entered that there were two pieces, so they ended up scanning at the full price and I had to call the employee to cancel them, so I could then scan them properly. And then I arranged the purchases and picked up a few more recyclables and a label on the way back, entering with everything when I also had a quick look in the nearby Mega Image.
I was back again a little before 5:55 PM, but I still wanted to go to Penny as well, so I put the new purchases in their place, ate a lot of watermelon, and a couple of minutes before 7 PM I left again, without taking the headphones anymore, going to the nearest one and taking my time to pick a watermelon, since the better kind was also discounted there… But there weren’t that many of those left and most were large, yet I had set my mind on getting a smaller one and I eventually settled for the one that seemed less questionable than the others, though I still wasn’t happy with it. Either way, the onions that were left in the crates at that point were pretty bad as well, but I nevertheless picked some that seemed more or less all right, settling for them even after I noticed unopened bags of onions in a corner of the store, I guess waiting to be brought, since I didn’t dare to open them and try to pick some from there, so I just added an expiring product and some bagels, and on the way back I grabbed another recyclable. It was mostly full, and the liquid was questionable and quite clearly not what should have been in it, but I just poured it out and took it.
I was finally back for good right at 8 PM… And a little later someone rang and knocked, and I heard discussions about changing the windows, so I guess that dad was right that we’ll have to decide what to change right away, though I thought that they’ll only get to the windows after they’ll finish the rest of the work, so probably at some point next year. And since someone was at the top of the stairs and looking right at me when I entered, I’m quite sure that they knew I was here, but it’s not like I could have told them anything even if I’d have wanted to, so I didn’t open, and as far as I know they didn’t try again so far.
Either way, after trying to be very quiet for a while, I put the new purchases in their place, munched on a handful of corn puffs, and eventually ate the rest of that large bag with lunch, instead of bread, between 11:55 PM and 1:05 AM, that bite starting to itch badly again during that time, maybe because I pressed that spot against the edge of the desk, and continuing to be really itchy and inflamed until yesterday, when just a bump and a faint itch were left. But, to return to that night, after eating I saw the “upgrade” to Windows 11 being offered and, after I dismissed it, that the definitions update for Defender was stuck downloading, and in the logs there was that error stating that the shadow copy storage couldn’t increase because of the size limit. But I initially shrugged it off, finally going to wash at 1:35 AM and being done just over half an hour later. And it was only then that dad finally started to split what had to be placed in the freezer, despite saying that he was going to do that in ten minutes when I started eating dinner and in three when I was done, and I had reminded him before going to wash as well, so I talked to him a little while he did that and then I arranged those things in the freezer and washed what was in the kitchen… And then I had another look and saw that the update was still stuck, so I stopped and restarted the update service, then checked for updates manually, and it worked at that point. On the other hand, when I microwaved it I once again ended up burning that bakery product that I used instead of bread for dinner, so I had to remove the charred part, finally eating dinner between 4 AM and 4:45 AM, with the last ten or so minutes spent gathering what was stuck on the plate. But at least I got in bed at the usual time.

I guess I was so exhausted that I slept surprisingly well despite the work being done, waking up just after 10 AM, as dad was getting ready to leave, but managing to get back to sleep after peeing, only waking up again just after 2 PM, getting back to sleep yet again after peeing once more, and getting up a little after 4 PM, though I was awake for a while by then. On the other hand, dad’s computer wouldn’t turn on after he got back in the evening, and while the obvious problem was the PSU, which actually gave off sparks when I tried to turn it on again, and replacing it initially seemed to have sorted things out, after cleaning a little more of the dust and even spiderwebs and struggling for quite a while to also reconnect the SSD, the position making it almost unreachable, the computer behaved as it used to way back, attempting to start but failing, so I had to take it back out of the desk, disconnect the CPU and motherboard power connectors, connect them again… And then it started again. But the whole thing took me two hours, and then I had something else to do, after which I also hung the clothes to dry, only going to the kitchen at 2:25 AM and then having some things to wash as well, so I ate dinner between 3:50 AM and 4:30 AM. But at least I once again managed to get to bed at the usual time… After seeing, and killing, two small cockroaches in the small bathroom, which was quite concerning. And the noise made by the workers woke me at 8:45 AM, and I stayed on the computer until 9:45 AM, when I tried to get back to sleep and eventually caught a few naps until another round of loud drilling that started just before 1:45 PM made me decide to get up, though it was 2:10 PM when I actually did.

Not that the effects and connections don’t go much wider, but since this is what this particular instance affects, I’m sure that at least everyone with any interest in gaming is by now very much aware of what’s been going on for the past couple of weeks, when a campaign led by an Australian activist group apparently convinced the major credit card companies to threaten stores with blocking transactions unless they remove many X-rated titles. Some are now trying to deflect the blame, but what’s clear is that Steam bowed right away and quietly, only confirming it a couple of days later, and itch.io caved in a pretty extreme manner a few days after that, though at least they released a statement about it, and a couple of days ago they announced allowing free X-rated titles again.
Not that things like this haven’t been going on for quite some time, but now they reached new heights and they come at a time when new checks and restrictions are also being enforced by law, notably the Online Safety Act in the UK and new guidelines that include age verification as part of the Digital Services Act in the EU. So the assault seems to be coming from all sides at once, governments, corporations and activists joining hands, and resistance is crumbling, the Internet rapidly becoming a much more censored and restricted place instead of what it was and should be, which is a place of freedom, an ever better method of escaping the claws of censorship, be it the “traditional” kind generally employed by conservatives and authoritarian regimes or the “cancel culture” pushed forward by “progressives” that in recent years challenged and in some areas even surpassed the others. And, on the other hand, it’s not as if the dangers of moving away from cash and the benefits of sticking to it, recognized even by the European Central Bank, aren’t plainly obvious for anyone who cares to see.
But this post is mainly about the issue that affects game stores, and I must say that I was quite surprised by itch.io’s reaction, seeing as, if you sorted their catalog before the change according to the best selling paid titles, you saw pages and pages that consisted almost entirely of X-rated titles, so removing them, and adding new guidelines that ban their addition in the future, is likely to eliminate the large majority of their revenue, so I have serious doubts about them being able to stay afloat after this, even if they are looking for other payment processors. But I’m pleased to say that others are openly fighting back, and while the name of one campaign strikes me as wrong, since it’s the payment processors and the power they wield that’s the real problem, far more than that activist group, the petition takes aim at the real culprits and may have its scope expanded in light of the recent legislative measures, to push back more strongly against such censorship and restrictions. And there is another campaign as well, which lists more suggested actions, albeit with a wider scope in one area and a narrower one in another. And then you have developers speaking out, and even a statement by the International Game Developers Association, though that’s too nuanced for my liking, taking aim at the lack of clarity more than at the restrictions themselves.
However, since it’s the stores that are directly affected by this and the ones that really have to put up a fight if we are to have any chance of at least halting the process, not to mention any hope of even thinking about reversing it, and it was also nice to see today’s announcement from Zoom Platform, I was particularly pleased and emboldened by the announcement made by GOG.com yesterday, clearly stating that they oppose and will fight back against such censorship, and not even trying to directly gain from it, but in fact promoting the campaign by offering a bundle of no less than 13 titles, or 14 if you consider Agony and Agony: Unrated as different, for free for 48 hours, with 30.5 hours left at the time I’m posting this. The other titles are Being a DIK: Season 1, Fetish Locator: Week One, Helping the Hotties, House Party, HuniePop, Leap of Faith (including the Official Walkthrough), Leap of Love, Lust Theory: Season 1, Postal 2: Complete (not including Paradise Lost), Sapphire Safari, Summer’s Gone: Season 1 and Treasure of Nadia. And if you’re interested you can then also grab the three free DLCs for House Party. You can’t pick only certain titles, you don’t get codes to give away for those you already own, you can’t gift the bundle, and it is apparently completely blocked in countries where any of the included titles are blocked, but there is an easy workaround for those who do want to obtain it from such countries, without bothering with VPNs. Now it remains to be seen how they’ll be affected by this, but while they’ve given me ample reasons to vehemently criticize and attack them for more than a decade, I’ll say that this is a good moment to show support… And, of course, also to very seriously consider switching to other payment methods if you’ve been using credit cards, PayPal or Stripe…