This is the first day of my life

Swear I was born right in the doorway

I went out in the rain, suddenly everything changed

They're spreading blankets on the beach

Yours was the first face that I saw

I think I was blind before I met you

And I don't know where I am

I don't know where I've been

But I know where I want to go

And so I thought I'd let you know

Yeah, these things take forever, I especially am slow

But I realized that I need you

And I wondered if I could come home

Remember the time you drove all night

Just to meet me in the morning?

And I thought it was strange, you said everything changed

You felt as if you'd just woke up

And you said

"This is the first day of my life

I'm glad I didn't die before I met you

But now I don't care, I could go anywhere with you

And I'd probably be happy"

So if you wanna be with me

With these things there's no telling

We just have to wait and see

But I'd rather be working for a paycheck

Than waiting to win the lottery

Besides, maybe this time is different

I mean, I really think you like me

My Jam

(Best viewed large)

Seems most of us have, at one time or another, been faced with the prospect of Scratching Out a Living…

🎶 Boss keeps a screaming

The phone won't stop a ringing

Working like a farm truck

But nothings ever good enough

Gotta get some me time

Don't need another frown line

I'd Johnny Paycheck 'em fast

But lord knows I need the cash

Hands on clock are barley even ticking

Scratching out a living 🎶

“Scratching Out A Living” by Emily Ann Roberts

_________________________

The California Towhee:

California Towhees scratch the dirt as a primary foraging method. They are ground-feeding birds, and about 70% of their diet is found by rummaging through leaf litter and soil.

This scratching behavior is often referred to as the "double-scratch" or "two-footed backward hop." They lunge forward and then quickly hop backward, kicking with both feet to displace the leaf litter and expose the seeds, insects, and other food items they are looking for.

Their diet consists mainly of seeds from various grasses and plants, but they also eat insects like beetles, crickets, and grasshoppers, especially during the breeding season. They will also eat berries and acorns. This scratching technique is a highly effective way for them to uncover these food sources.

California Towhees are essentially large sparrows, with a sparrow’s short, rounded wings, long tail, and thick, seed-cracking beak—but towhees are larger and bulkier. The long tail and short wings can give this bird an ungainly look in flight.

Few birds are as uniformly matte brown as a California Towhee, except for a rusty patch under the tail (called the crissum, giving the bird its scientific name) and around their bill. Males look the same as females.

California Towhees hop or run on the ground but tend to stay close to the protection of low shrubs and trees. When not foraging they may perch on shrubs, rooftops, and backyard fences, to sit and chirp for long periods. In flight they look out of practice, using lots of wingpower to travel short distances.

(Nikon Z8, Nikkor 600/6.3, 1/1600 @ f/8.0, ISO 2000, edited to taste)

If I ever leave you, baby

You can say I told you so

And if I ever hurt you

You know, I hurt myself as well

Is that any way for a man to carry on

Do you think I want my loved one gone

Said I love you

More than you'll ever know

More than you'll ever know

When I wasn't making much money

You know where my paycheck went

You know, I brought it home to you, baby

And I never spent a red cent

Is that any way for a man to carry on

Do you think I want my loved one gone

Said I love you

More than you'll ever know, yeah

More than you'll ever know

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkbtJmLS1ec

Over and over

Waves of frightening feelings

Floating, weightless, I'm willing

My will keeps bending and breaking, honey

Hold me, trust me

Let me ride in your love all night, babe

Hold me, touch me

I wanna die in your love all night, babe

Lost in your light, baby

I wanna stay right here all night, baby

Let's get lost in the light, baby

I wanna stay right here all night, baby

Oh, now everything's vivid, vivid

Torture tempted with pleasure

I'm reckless, tangled, suspended

You want it all, nothing's wasted, woman

Hold me, trust me

You know you can hide in my arms all night now

Hold me, trust me

I'm gonna ride in your love all night

I'm

Lost in your light, baby (Alright)

I wanna stay right here all night, baby (Alright)

Let's get lost in the light, baby (Alright)

I wanna stay right here all night, baby

(All night, alright)

Midnight, your eyes

Bitter wine, conversations

You and me, some money, babe

I don't need a paycheck (Don't need a paycheck)

One taste and I'm hooked on it

Don't laugh, I know you want it

I'm addicted to your light

Lost in your light, baby

I wanna stay right here all night, baby

(All night, darling)

Let's get lost in the light, baby (All night)

I wanna stay right here all night, baby

(All night, all night)

Let's get lost in the light, baby

Tunes

Blog

I loved this cartoon caricature of a preacher spewing fire and brimstone! Take note of all the smaller details as he professes of some of the evils in life. The artist, creator, and sculptor is Clark Fitz-Gerald, and a little of his life and death here:

October 22, 2004

CASTINE, Maine -- Clark Battle Fitz-Gerald, a sculptor who moved to Maine in 1956 to find artistic inspiration in the quiet and simplicity of small-town life, died Monday at his home. He was 87.

Mr. Fitz-Gerald, who had been in declining health for months, was renowned as a sculptor of public art pieces in prominent cities, churches, and universities. He was planning new works until his death.

Mr. Fitz-Gerald was born in St. Louis. He attended John Burroughs School and graduated from Philadelphia College of Art in 1940. He served in the Army from 1940 to 1945, fighting in the Battle of the Bulge and the advance on Berlin.

His wartime correspondence amounted to hundreds of cartoons and graphics that allowed him to bypass Army censors. After the war, Mr. Fitz-Gerald taught at Phillips Academy, Washington University in St. Louis, and Beloit College.

In 1956 Mr. Fitz-Gerald left teaching and moved to Castine to devote himself to sculpture. For the rest of his life, he had no institutional backing or regular paycheck, but he supported his family through his art.

In more than 1,000 commissioned works, Mr. Fitz-Gerald looked to the natural world to draw inspiration from natural structures of seeds and spores, sinewy kelp fronds, or whale vertebrae for large works in wood or bronze. ''Nature is my greatest source of ideas," he once said.

Mr. Fitz-Gerald was awarded numerous prizes and honors. For the Maine Maritime Academy, he made an honorary mace used at the 2000 commencement.

Maine Maritime Academy, George Stevens Academy, Colby College, and the University of Maine all have Mr. Fitz-Gerald's works on their campuses.

''Continuity of Community," an enormous aluminum mobius in Bangor, is one of Mr. Fitz-Gerald's most notable works and typical of his work's prevailing themes.

I'm still recovering folks so my replies to comments may be a bit brief, but thank you all for the comments and faves!

Taken for Macro Monday's "The Space in Between"

I was perched on a stool enjoying a slice of deli pizza when I noted this crack in the wall before me. I took it for an abstract photo op, though the hole shape reminds me of one of Dr. Zeus' Whos from Whoville reclining with a book.

Whole Foods

(otherwise known as "whole paycheck")

Oakland, California

"Every day in the Corp is like a day on the farm. Every meal is a banquet, every paycheck's a fortune. I love the Corp!" - Sgt. Apone.

God I love that movie.

Anyhow, I dug deep into the convoluted mess that is Jax' inventory, and found some stuff that works well together. Threw in some newly acquired loot. And this is what happened :P

For your viewing pleasure - Natus Proelium (Forged in War).

Hugs an' kisses

- Jax

The 2022 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree from within the Rockefeller Promenade. The first decorated tree erected at Rockefeller Center was actually erected by the very construction workers at the construction site as they waited to receive their paychecks on Christmas Eve 1931. The spontaneously erected that tree as a gesture of gratitude for their employment and jobs once they received their checks, after all 1931 was smack in the middle of the great depression which a history records impacted New York City rather painfully. What a contrast to the 2022 tree with all its commercial fanfare, televised lighting and the thousands of tourists, myself included that flock to see and photograph the famous Christmas tree. - [ ] #developportdev @gothamtomato @developphotonewsletter @omsystem.cameras #excellent_america #omsystem @bheventspace @bhphoto @adorama @tamracphoto @tiffencompany #usaprimeshot #tamractales @kehcamera @nycurbanism @rockefellercenter #omd #microfourthirds #micro43 @nycprimeshot @nybucketlist

If you are lucky enough to have a road maintenance job in Alaska - you will never be out of work. Between cleaning up snow, repairs after earthquakes, and summer repairs after spring break-up - you can pretty much depend on a steady paycheck. I'm not saying it is easy work. You've got those pesky mosquitos to deal with in the summer, and the extreme cold in the winter, but other than that - it's a good way to make a living. Doc and I are thankful for all of the guys and gals that keep our roads in tip-top condition, such as you see in this photo.

With a set up in mind, there was one problem I had: a lack of elevation. I had a couple choices, find a ladder that would let me get on top of the bungalow that would have been excellent, or, find a taller ladder that would not make my shot too shady. I opted for the second. Coming back light after dropping a grain train at Osmer, the GLC OSTN crosses the diamond at Durand just after 1 am. The ladder I found was returned from where it was borrowed, which may or may not have been from my paycheck provider.

Now for something red from Italy that's not pizza sauce or a Ferrari, but a lovely and fun little Italian roadster. Throughout the post war fifties Alfa Romeo was producing mostly sedans, and from an excitement point of view few were a match for their prewar cars. Those cars were fast, excellent handling cars built with racing in mind, and they did that quite well! But, the fifties sedans were good family cars and Alfa produced enough of them to keep the postwar doors open. And when it came to excitement, or lack of, all that was about to change in 1959 when Alfa introduced the 2000 Spider, custom bodied by Touring of Milan. The cars were beautiful to look at, true two seater sports cars, with a 2 liter, twin overhead cams 4 cylinder motor, equipt with twin carburetors, and rated at 113hp (in doing the research I've seen ratings at 115hp, and also 130hp?? so you decide! It may have to do with the difference between the US models and the European models, but that was never stated)

Regardless of which was correct, it's obvious that they weren't going to be asphalt scorchers, and that's too bad because the car is gorgeous, and deserves a little more muscle under the hood to go with it's good looks. They came standard with oversized drum brakes and an all synchromesh 5 speed transmission. But, in spite of a somewhat anemic powerplant, I'm sure they were fun cars to drive and also handled well. We also have to remember that this was 1959, and even the 1959 Porsche speedster wasn't exactly a screamer! But then there was the cost of this lovely little Italian roadster. At a little over $5700 dollars in '59, it wasn't cheap, and back then that was a lot of money! And that alone would be enough to keep the total number of units coming out of the factory down. Now consider the 1959 Corvette, also a two seater, and surely available in red, powered by a 283ci, 4.7L motor with ratings up to 290hp, and with an MSRP of around $3800 dollars, and nearly a $2000 dollar difference, hmm, let me think, what would I buy?? Yeah, maybe it didn't have the panache of an Italian roadster in red, but $2000 dollars in your pocket would buy a lot of Sunoco 260! Today, a beautifully restored 1959 Alfa 2000 Spider might sell for around $130,000 dollars at auction, and from what I've seen, they have. And I think the right 1959, well equipt Corvette, in equally excellent condition would probably garner the same paycheck for the seller.

Vince

Twelve years ago, on April 6, 2009, Freeport-McMoRan geeps 56-58-49-51 cross U.S. Highway 191 and pull into the yard at Clifton with interchange cars for the Arizona Eastern (AZER). (At that time AZER was under different ownership.)

All four units retain their Phelps Dodge Corporation paint scheme, and all four locomotives were named, as follows: 56 (Old Jack), 58 (Gini), 49 (Paycheck) and 51 (Burt). Freeport had acquired Phelps Dodge in March 2007. Photo by Joe McMillan.

MM related ) - N Y X Pastels. 1

" What do you MEAN I HAVE TO WEAR PASTELS!...... " that paycheck seemed to make those bright colors seem better.

Mo Mitchell violin is in the regular line-up with the Doghouse. Sunday night is a party time in Cameron House. He is mostly playing in Cameron with Doghouse or at Drom Taberna with Viper Cloud in the style of Stephan Grappelli/ Django Reinhardt. He also plays a variety of music from Jazz to Folk to Hip-hop, Bluegrass, Hungarian, Celtic and Indian Classical. He does some teaching, as with club performances the paycheck is mostly just a voluntary tip-jar donation.

Here he is with band leader Matt Coldwell, while Dave Clark (Rheostatics, Tragically Hip) took the seat behind drum kit for few tunes. Mo is modest and kind of shy; I have always hard time to get a good photo of him, as he is not seeking limelight.

322. Cameron House P1100486; 2024-April 07. Upload 2024-April 21.

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BMLP crews earn their paycheck for the day as they shove two ballast cars to dump near the Kayenta Peabody mine, in an effort to maintain the 78 mile stretch of track that would be permanently taken out of service two weeks later.

302/365

On 3/20/1974, the operator at North Judson has given this Erie Lackawanna eastbound the light, while the railroad that issues him a paycheck holds back on the approach.

Photo by John Eagan

Huntington, Oregon

By March of this year I knew the Camry was done for. Leah and I had owned a '94 Camry since the middle of 2023 and by the time we got it she was already coughing up blood. The car constantly hemorrhaged oil, shook like a small dog when idling, and the timing belt was not only impossible to change without an engine hoist, it was 14 years old. The car had done a 1,200 mile road trip around the Gaspe peninsula in the dead of winter, a 1,000 mile road trip to New York, and endless commuting in between. It never once died on us, and I just had to replace basic parts every now and then. It always made me nervous but kept on trucking. She was a damn good car, but as life moved on and paychecks get larger, cars that piss themselves in your driveway on the regular tend to fall out of favor.

With all of this in mind, come March I was certain the Camry was going to be sold. I was sick of the constant upkeep, even though I loved the thing. We already knew we were going to buy something else by the time my buddy had gone out for some training on the G15 job out of NMJ. One of the days he was training the sky decided it wanted to put a nice blanket of snow on Maine in late March, and I saw this as an opportunity to give the Camry one last chase in the season it did so well in. For a little FWD sedan, that fucker ate up powder. So I drove down to Searsport and had a nice chat with my conductor and trainee friends alike, and off I went on the chase.

She didn't go out without a fight. The Camry was besting the hills of Route 1A, sliding around corners, and fearing no slick conditions along the chase. I may or may not have had an operator error along the way that was corrected by a friend of mine however. Driving up to a rural crossing I thought I heard them blowing for, I slammed on the brakes. I'd rather go into a ditch than be hit by my own friends, but alas they weren't there yet and my car was now teetering on the edge of a deep ditch. A friend of mine helped with a push and we were on our way again.

The last shot of the chase came at the trestle in Frankfort. A classic shot of the old BAR now overcome with trees, I decided to try a ground angle on this day. It would prove to be my favorite shot of the line to Searsport from NMJ to date.

After this, the Camry drove my fiance to work for another week or two before we bought a 2015 Volvo S80 and let the Camry go to a younger fella from the local area. The car is still running and apparently he plans on fixing every issue I was not inclined to fix. God bless the Toyota Camry.

Things disappear with time, and sadly this shot is soon to be one of them. Earlier this year I had gotten word from a contact that the old SP signal bridge in Truckee was going to be knocked along with the other signals at the crossover. For a while now these signals, which were installed around 30 years ago just after UP obtained the SP, have been proving to be unreliable. Just earlier this month I watched maintenance crews hook up the new signal box for the signals on the west side of the crossover. Knowing this, a friend and I wanted to get a some trains under this bridge before it was gone. We would end up getting a flanger with what consisted of obviously all former SP equipment. While waiting we had noticed a new signal on the side track that branches off on the far left of the photo. Between runs we went to the East Truckee crossover, and unfortunately the same fate is happening there as a new vader has already been put up to replace one of the signals. As to when all of this will be replaced I’m guessing comes down to the mercy of Mother Nature but apparently UP wants the signal bridge gone by the end of year, though as mentioned the weather may or may not delay that. After getting this shot I couldn’t get Johnny Paycheck’s song Old Violin out of my head for some reason. I guess just growing up seeing trains go under this signal bridge every time I went here for years reminded me of a song that was about the fear of aging, knowing not everything lasts forever.

"Cube" , 1997 , Vincenzo Natali

When we volunteer, at what ever interests or inspires us, getting a paycheck is the last thing on our mind. However, the fringe benefits can be rewarding! This was seen before time spent at the Muscatatuck Visitor Center; I always make a point to go in ahead of time and wander a bit. Bobcats are not uncommon in Indiana, but are rarely seen. Yesterday morning, at Muscatatuck NWR, just after sunrise, it was a combination of right place/right time, dumb luck, but also paying attention to surroundings. A plain, brown lump along the road a ways ahead suddenly rose and crossed in to some woods and brush. It was immediately obvious that it was a bobcat-and I figured it was long gone. I slowly pulled forward, managed to spot the bobcat, and (with shaking hands!) got a very few shots.

All right, sweethearts, what are you waiting for? Breakfast in bed? It's another glorious Alien Day!

A day in Second Life is like a day on the farm. Every meal's a banquet! Every paycheck a fortune! Every formation a parade! I love Alien Day!

American Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea)

One from the archives. . . trip to Colorado in January 2016. Hard to believe that was almost three years ago now.

We had a crazy, crazy bird show up a little over an hour north of me. A Double-toothed Kite. I'd never heard of it before. Darn need for a paycheck preventing me from looking for it! Best of luck to all my friends chasing it today. Insane bird for the United States. We're thinking it came in with Hurricane Michael.

Johnny Paycheck

It’s little moments like this where I am running along a trail enjoying the view of landscape and animals, I feel compensated for all those missed summers, as a kid. I have had a paycheck job since I was 13 years old. My friends would enjoy the summer, swimming and playing, while I learned how to make money and it has paid off with moments like these.

Today was my first time out with my paycheck-obliterating NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR. It's relatively light, around the same weight as the Nikkor Z 105 macro. Of course, you give up a few things when you fit your kit with an all-in-one but, for me, since I don't get out that often to shoot due to work and weather, I want to give myself the best shot at getting any shot I want 😂🙈👀. This morning was my first time out with it; although I need many more hours of practice, I do not regret the purchase.

This is the first day of my life

Swear I was born right in the doorway

I went out in the rain suddenly everything changed

They're spreading blankets on the beach

Yours is the first face that I saw

I think I was blind before I met you

Now I don't know where I am

I don't know where I've been

But I know where I want to go

And so I thought I'd let you know

That these things take forever

I especially am slow

But I realize that I need you

And I wondered if I could come home

Remember the time you drove all night

Just to meet me in the morning

And I thought it was strange you said everything changed

You felt as if you'd just woke up

And you said "this is the first day of my life

I'm glad I didn't die before I met you

But now I don't care I could go anywhere with you

And I'd probably be happy"

So if you want to be with me

With these things there's no telling

We just have to wait and see

But I'd rather be working for a paycheck

Than waiting to win the lottery

Besides maybe this time is different

I mean I really think you like me

(Bright Eyes/Conor Oberst)

Lydia's first paycheck... all that hard work was worth it!

now is the time to construct Great Buddha and to use the new era ;)

ginza,chuo,tokyo

"Now, that friendly smile (Help is on the way)

In every aisle guaranteed (Help is on the way)

That your day was breezy (Help is on the way)

All those hours (Help is on the way)

And store-bought flowers (Help is on the way)

Set me free

And freedom meant the world to me."

Adam, Check Please

"Help is on the way", is a lyric in an Owl City song called "Adam Check, Please", and while Adam meant something else wtih it, I always heard it differently. In the song he sings about working in a grocery store, making his first paycheck - before he knew he was going to be a well known artist. He actually means himself helping in the store with "help is on the way", but before I familiarized myself with the lyrics I thought he mean that something is coming to help, saving him from that situation. And whenever I get to a place where I feel trapped or lost, unable to change it myself, I lean into that thought and that melody. "Help is on the way".

A back-to-back, basic black pair of Illinois Central 70s--austere, spartan, plain--rushing down the table-flat, ruler-straight, north-south oriented big iron nearing Humboldt, IL, speedometer pegged at a 40 per with local traffic bound for the many yards and branches stemming off the Mainline of Mid-America between Chicago and Centralia. It's a typical sight out here, as appropriate as the barren croplands and bucolic homesteads of which this region is known, a continuation of the traditions present since the Illinois Central Railroad was chartered in the 1850s and legally represented by an emerging Illinoisan by the name of Abraham Lincoln. But things aren't as rosy as they may seem. Remove the grimy, road-worn locomotives and one will uncover a picture more despondent--this is a CN train, on CN rails, run by employees earning a CN paycheck, collecting revenue for CN's bottom line. In the 21 years post merger, when the freshly privatized Canadian National just freed from the restrictions of the crown pounced on the assets and operations of the Illinois granger, the Mainline of Mid-America has become mostly devoid of its heritage during its assimilation into North America's Railroad. Train A408 and its northbound counterpart A407 preserve the flavor of the IC on the rails and through the towns which owe their existence to it, holding captive a significant percentage of locomotives from the final large equipment procurement the railroad before absorption: the 40 SD70s delivered in 1995 numbered from the millennium mark. The class unit and a subsequent example have the honors this occurrence, presenting a nearly perfect pure look at how things were prior to the Canadian invasion with their sights on the next work event at Effingham, daylight fading but the pride of the IC holding strong in their presence as they race across its namesake.

Today shipping day for several ranches in this area. Unfortunately there was snow, wind and cold temperatures today too. It was still a nice day with neighbors coming early to help gather and sort the cows, and also to haul them to town.

This is the day that the ranchers work for all year long, taking care of their cows and working to keep the calves alive and healthy throughout the year to make sure they get enough of a paycheck to make it through another year. Ranchers don't get rich but they ranch because they love their animals, the land and their way of life.

So I’ve got an offer... but also a favor to ask. Right now with so many people stuck at home with extra time to kill, a few of you wonderful people might want to pick up a Photoshop video tutorial from me for 50% off.

But also consider this; There are MANY people and/or families now stuck at home with no viable income for the foreseeable future... especially right here in my home of Kirkland, Washington at the epicenter of the virus outbreak in the US. So I’m taking 25% of all the revenue from this sale and giving it directly to my local food bank/family assistance center.

There are many kids who relied on free school lunch programs for one of their meals five days per week. There are people who work their asses off just to live paycheck to paycheck and have no savings... and are now out of work. There SO MANY folks who have no way to ride out these scary times and I’m hoping to give back to the place where they will likely be seeking assistance.

The sale goes through Monday and gives you 50% OFF ANY AND ALL VIDEOS. Use code LETSHELP at checkout to receive 50% off. Thank you tons for reading, whether you make a purchase or not. Be safe and responsible out there, everyone. ❤️

WWW.RYANDYAR.COM

Rock Island westbound Memphis-Tucumcari #39 with 101 cars +caboose @2004 behind GP35, GP40, two GP35. This is a much improved photo due to Lightroom Classic editing so I figured it's worth a repost. The feeling of a soft Spring evening of the southern plains is far more in evidence here. Not quite two years before I took this picture, #39 was almost a regular call for me as a brakeman out of El Reno. Screaming west as the engineer had the 45mph limit well in hand, I would often see that distinctive butte of red clay from my side of the cab and determined that someday I'd get the train going by it. Even with the subsequent deterioration of the Rock since my last paycheck from them in AUG'73, this train was still launched out of El Reno in the late afternoon. About this time the Santa Fe was seriously considering taking over this route from Amarillo to Memphis, even running a business car special between those two points to look it over. Alas, the Santa Fe merged with BN, which had already acquired the Frisco, and the same routing was achieved although more circuitous.

I know you're thinking I'm heartless

I know you're thinking I'm cold

I'm just protecting my innocence

I'm just protecting my soul

I'm never gonna let you close to me

Even though you mean the most to me

'Cause every time I open up, it hurts

So I'm never gonna get too close to you

Even when I mean the most to you

In case you go and leave me in the dirt

I'm way too good at goodbyes

---

[Part I] [Part II] [Part III]

Part III

I couldn't watch as he fell over the edge of the balcony. He was long gone before gravity took him - scrambler rounds were good for that. One muzzle-press to the temple. One squeeze of the trigger. A quick laser-bore through scalp and skull to clear the way, and the scrambler itself follows before your mark can blink. Their brains get turned to pudding in the next instant, and then they never blink again. Quick and clean. I'm told that the most the vic feels is a 'little pinch,' like the Docs used to say before giving an injection back in the day. Back when doctors were still human, and not emotionless CareBots.

"You and me, we don't get to leave behind pretty corpses," that used to be his joke when we were partners. Every time we had a close call and one or the other of us was bleeding out of places we shouldn't be, he had to say it. I laughed and agreed every time. Even when I didn't feel like laughing.

I loved him for that. Being able to make me smile and laugh when nothing and no one else could.

Scrambler rounds were expensive as hell. A pack of six could clear out a whole paycheck. Years ago, after one of our first big paydays together, he splurged and bought some. Sat me down that night and split them with me three-and-three. We made a promise then. He'd save his last scrambler for me, and I'd save my last for him. Just in case. Contingency planning.

I'd scoffed and shrugged, but I agreed all the same. Never thought I'd actually use it.

It wasn't long before I felt the first heavy drops of sooty rain hit the brim of my hat, then more across my shoulders. A second or two later, my AR HUD flashed an acid content warning; I shouldn't stay out in it for long. And I wouldn't. There was just one more thing left to do.

I finally looked down, long after I heard the heavy sound of body hitting pavement. There he lay on his back, stories below me, with arms and legs akimbo. Just then I had a funny little memory from decades ago of what snow used to look and feel like. A memory of flopping backwards into two inches of ash-grey flakes, already half-melted, and making grimy angels.

Laying there like that, in a slow-growing pool of his own blood, he looked like he was making one now. Lifeless blue eyes gazed up at the falling rain, every drop of it born from the endless cloud cover haze of the city. Apart from that pool of blood and another thin trickle from one corner of his vaguely-agape mouth, he looked fine. Like he was just stunned from taking a nasty spill. And as the rain fell heavier and heavier, all that red was slowly washed away.

A pretty corpse.

That night, I stayed out in the icy, contaminated rain far longer than I should have. He didn't move. So neither did I.

---

I haven't had an opportunity to shoot any Sunflowers out in the wild, so the ones I saw

on display at Whole Paycheck will have to do for now. Sunflowers just make me smile. :-)

Please View On Black

Please View On White

○•. Taken with an iPhone .•○

Baltimore city a town rich in heritage and history

a town larger than life

come on Baltimore where Black Lives Matters has grown alive

let's stop the Jive let''s stop the lies

13 Baltimore high schools tested 0% of students could do no math at a grade school level

6 high schools where only at 1%.

Where is the mayor, the teachers, the rulers of this large system.

When students can't learn, when students aren't taught

they starve they die and it isn't their fault.

We spend billions to save the world, while in our backyard

we have kids who thru no fault of their own will starve because they can't count, they can't work.

they can go to jail, they can rob, loot and have children but our own people who say black lives matter don't care.

and......these people in power have come to power as black representatives because they say they care.

well, they care about their paychecks, their cars, their homes.

stop please stop. please.......

Although the Industrial Revolution increased life expectancy, it also produced many negative consequences. As a result, we live in a society that has lost much of its roots and moral grounding. Therefore, we live unfulfilling lives. As technology continues to advance, we will witness more social disruption. We now live in an industrial-technological system, which we will not be able to turn back. As this system marches forward, we will lose our dignity and freedom—even our humanity.

We have become a society of leisure; we have become decadent. As a result, we have become bored, hedonistic, and demoralized. An individual must have meaningful goals in life, which they can ‘autonomously’ work toward—goals with real adversity and reward. In accomplishing such goals, a person finds fulfillment. In our modern society, we have lost much of our autonomy. We have been trained to be obedient to the system. We must follow ever-increasing bureaucratic rules and regulations. Nowadays, experts tell us what to do and how to think. We are cogs of the machine—we are under the direction and control of the system. Yet this is not healthy for human beings. We must have our own independence, so that we can build our lives by our own initiative. If there is little room for a person to exercise autonomy, they will feel insignificant. If they have the autonomy to attain meaningful goals, they will gain self-confidence. A society that cannot make/create/set or fulfill meaningful goals will become demoralized; they will suffer from low self-esteem and feelings of inferiority; they will suffer from depression, anxiety, and guilt; they will become frustrated, hostile, and unfriendly; they will become bored and pursue hedonistic pleasures in order to cope.

Many young people today lack goals. They cannot see themselves attaining enough financial stability to marry a spouse or raise a family. They cannot see themselves owning a house or having a future to look forward to. This results in demoralization and defeatism.

In the past, people had to truly survive. This took serious effort. They had to make tools and weapons. They had to hunt down an animal, kill it, butcher it, get it home, cook it, and eat it. How manly and satisfying! A man would find fulfillment in a lifetime of roaming and exploring the land, hunting wild game for his family. He would have many adventures. Yet in our modern society, it takes minimal effort to attain one’s basic needs. Today, we work dead-end jobs that are unsatisfying. They provide us with a paycheck, but they don’t provide us with real fulfillment. We then try to find fulfillment in hobbies and other leisure activities, which will not bring us real fulfillment. What is worse, we spend our spare time sitting around staring at screens. The human body is not built to live a sedentary life. The human brain is not built to doomscroll. Living sedentary lives and doomscrolling obviously leads to unhappiness. Such activities are less satisfying than accomplishing meaningful goals such as buying land, clearing the land of trees by hand, using the trees to build a house by hand, carrying ones wife over the threshold, raising a family, working the land and raising livestock, thus conquering the land and continuing ones posterity. This in itself is Biblical. Why do you think, when Christ returns, He will divide up the land among the people (as it was done in the Old Testament)? It is so that man will work his ‘own’ land. Then man will work in nature, where he will be happiest. God made nature for man, not man for nature. The goal of the globalist agenda is to further divide man from nature; it is an antichrist agenda. Their goal is transhumanism, which will dehumanize mankind and further divide him from nature. Moreover, transhumanism will divide man from God.

A pre-industrial society is predominantly rural. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, the population of cities vastly increased. A technological society changes rapidly, thus there is less stability. These changes affect all aspects of society and cause the breakdown of traditional values. Breaking down traditional values causes the breakdown of societal bonds. An individual’s loyalty changes: it must not be first to their family or community, but first and foremost to the system. Indeed, individuals must be tools of the system. This makes us less independent and autonomous, because we become reliant on the system. The system is constantly changing, and we are taught to obey its changing rules and regulations. Yet these regulations are laid down by others. We have little to no input in the making of these rules. They are made by corrupt politicians and bureaucrats, corporations and organizations. This makes us feel powerless, which gives us a sense of hopelessness. Can you see why society has become so frustrated, insecure, humiliated, and angry? The more unfulfilled a society becomes, the more restless it becomes. Restlessness causes friction, and friction causes factions. Thus, a society breaks into factions. A society of impoverished relationships makes for a toxic society. Science will give us the tools to alter the material world, but our relationships with one another and with nature will be destroyed.

As society advances technologically, we lose more freedoms. People can’t even put down their phones, let alone toss them away to fight the system. People don’t want to sacrifice what they have become addicted to and dependent on. Yet they will replace their current technology with something more advanced. They will go from cell phones to wearable technology to microchips. With the promise of eliminating diseases and gaining super intelligence, much of society will give up freedom to be genetically engineered and microchipped. Even though, such a step will never be reversed. Humans will be modified to suit the needs of the system. They will become one with robotic technology.

Many people are not concerned about these dystopian scenarios. Yet technologies such as robotics, genetic engineering, and nanotechnology pose a great threat to humanity. These technologies will be used as tools to redesign the world. Self-replicating technologies will cause great damage to the biosphere. In the end, self-replicating technology will be impossible to control.

Artificial Intelligence will replace human creativity. In the future, the internet will be accessed only by your personal AI assistant. You will ask your AI assistant questions, and it will surf the internet for you. You will not go on Youtube to watch videos. You will ask AI to make the kind of videos you desire to watch. There will be no human content creators. Get used to AI art, AI videos, AI music, AI articles, AI slop! That is what you will be fed. Many who want to fight the system will eventually become passive, and they will no longer resist. They will be sucked into the system and become zombified. They will become docile slaves of the system. It desires complete control over everything on earth, both man and nature. Humanity will then be reduced to the status of domestic animals. Of course, this will be for the good of the planet!

If university students are using AI to write papers, AI will replace them in their future jobs. If teachers and professors are using AI to write curriculum and mark papers, AI will replace them. If the younger generation has no work ethic, they will be replaced by subsidized foreign workers, then both will be replaced by AI. If generation Alpha can’t read, then AI will replace them. The (dangerous) foreign semi-truck drivers on our roads will be replaced by AI self-driving trucks. AI in the schools, AI in the hospitals, replace, replace, replace. The politicians make many terrible decisions, thus they will be replaced by AI.

Moving on! The more society moves away from the traditions of marriage and family, the more unfulfilled and unhappy society will become. Radical leftists feel the least fulfillment, because they long to destroy society and its traditions. How happy can one be if they want to destroy their roots? They are constantly deconstructing themselves, it’s the Maoist way—how else can you brainwash yourself? Therefore, they feel guilt and self-hatred. They gain an inferiority complex. They have a love-hate relationship with themselves. On one hand they loathe themselves, but on the other hand they selfishly desire power. For this reason, they are self-loathing narcissists. They feel unfulfilled and powerless. Therefore, they seek power to bring about fulfillment. They feel weak and helpless, so they desire to feel strong and competent. It’s a coping mechanism. They also hate anything that appears strong, moral, and successful. They hate America, Western civilization, capitalism, the family, patriarchy, whites, males, heterosexuals, the rich, the middleclass, and even rationality. They despise all who are more beautiful, talented, intelligent, or successful than them. Envy does not equate to fulfillment or happiness. Side note: social media causes much envy and unhappiness.

The far left wants society to take care of them, because they are lazy and lack confidence. They feel strong only as a member of a large group or movement. They like to be abusive to those who disagree with them, because they have masochistic tendencies. The Marxist ideology is an authoritarian ideology, which is masochistic in nature, because it revolves around revolution. The far left may act empathetic, but they are apathetic. Indeed, a study on this topic found that radical leftists were apathetic and narcissistic. Their goals revolve around revolution and power. Their insecurity causes them to feel hostile, and their revolution helps them to vent their hostility. They don’t care about diplomacy, so they act hostile. With them, it is all or nothing: they want revolution, they want power. How can you have a rational conversation with individuals who don’t want dialogue? They use minorities as an excuse for revolution. They hide behind minorities, using them to shield their intentions of revolution. They go into poor black communities to fight for poor black people, yet they burn down black businesses and ruin their local economy. The communist must fight for the revolution, for everything opposed to the revolution is a sin. The communist tries to find fulfillment in the act of rebellion; he tries to find fulfillment in the act of revolution. He, however, is never satisfied. Thus, the revolution moves onward.

For the radical, activism is a vent for their pent-up emotions. Activism produces unity among the young militants, creating a bond between like-minded people. Losers can feel accepted, like they belong. Many of these communist agitators are from middle and upper middleclass homes. They have had an easy but unfulfilling life. They are the most radicalized, because they feel the most unfulfilled. They have become so demoralized that they have become nihilistic. Their life seems to have no meaning. They have lost their moral compass. They rely on emotions rather than on reason. They rely on feelings rather than on facts. “Their political activism is thus only a reaction to the more basic fear that the times are against them, that a new world is emerging without either their assistance or their leadership.” These activists will gradually accept more deviant subcultures as they further divorce themselves from reality. “The supreme irony of that loose and volatile sociopolitical phenomenon of contemporary middleclass America named the New Left is that it is itself the creation of the technetronic revolution as well as a reaction against it.” “The New Left was able to draw on the deep-rooted traditions of American populism, Quaker pacifism, and the pre-World War II largely immigrant-imported socialism and communism.” (The ‘New Left’ refers to the leftist movement of the 60s).

Paying for your child’s first car, college tuition, wedding, or house down payment will give them little sense of accomplishment. Giving children everything not only spoils them but also makes life boring. There must be ups and downs for life to be interesting. Bad times can produce growth and maturity, that is, if a person desires to learn from life. Especially if they want to build a strong moral character. The rewards of being cogs in the system produce great boredom. These middleclass kids have a self-indulgent lifestyle that contradicts their professed anti-materialism. Their material existence tends to depend on their parents. Their ideological infantilism stems from obsolete nineteenth-century criticisms of capitalism. They are spoiled kids who are rebelling against middleclass society. These activists offer no real response to the dilemmas of our age. Their revolutionary movement is really an escapist movement. It is a way of coping with their unfulfilled lives. They supposedly desire to change society, but they really want to create a refuge (safe space) from society. Their activism is a psychological safety valve, in which they can blow off steam. They escape their boring lives through activism, so they can feel a sense of freedom and self-gratification. They pat each other on the back, because they are supposedly fighting against their capitalist enemy. However, this is really a form of group therapy.

The woke activists on the ground are the canaries in the coal mine. They are indicators of the problems of our society as a whole. Through them, we have the best lens on society’s anxiety, uncertainty, vulnerability, and dissatisfaction. Side note: we can see the incoming collectivist system through the lens of the United Nations. They want to eradicate poverty. Yet they hide behind poverty, using it to shield their intentions of ruling the world. With communism, it’s all about gaining power. Communism is meant to go worldwide. Collectivism seeks to bind together the entire world (both man and nature) into a unified whole.

Neo-Marxism went through the dialectic with postmodernism and produced wokeism. Some think that post-postmodernism will have a more spiritual element to it. I think that wokeism will go through the dialectic with some sort of religious spiritualism, which will produce antichristism. Wokeism is authoritarian in nature, yet it has a quasi-religious character. Post-postmodernism will lead to an authoritarian system with a spiritual flavour. Man must be grounded to a one-world religion to be grounded to a one-world government. Woke socialism must have a spiritual awakening, so to speak. Wokeism must awaken further in its social enlightenment in order to transcend to the next level of social consciousness. This dialectic enlightenment will mix socialism with a spiritual experience. It will lead to transhumanism. The coming socialist leader—the antichrist—will combine socialism, religion, and transhumanism. Modernity, with its globalization, technology, and social(ist) change, has produced a society that lacks fulfillment. Although technology will bring less fulfillment to humanity, the technological system will lead it forward on a leash. I can see one of the marketing strategies for the Mark of the Beast: we live in stressful times, take the microchip and become numb to the stresses of reality. The soma of the Brave New World Order will give you fulfillment. You will be modified to suit the needs of the system. Warning: do not follow the world system!

Revelation 18:4 “Then I heard another voice from heaven say: ‘Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.’”

1 John 4:4 “Little children (believers, dear ones), you are of God and you belong to Him and have [already] overcome them [the agents of the antichrist]; because He who is in you is greater than he (Satan) who is in the world [of sinful mankind].”

1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

Romans 8:7 “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.”

Galatians 5:25 “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.”

In a sinful world, no individual can experience perfect fulfillment. When I’m in eternity with the Lord, I’ll know perfect fulfillment!

I stumbled across this beauty whilst hanging with some friends and Darling Tonia in Seattle, it's hanging just inside the door at the armory. While reading through the annals of the internet trying to find it's history I stumbled upon it being mentioned that it is the Frederick and Nelson Clock. That store had quite the history in Seattle, it's now the flagship store of Nordstrom....

The double entendre in the title is to say howdy, all that weekend and nights over and above my normal job is finished and I got an entire day off today. :-) The paycheck will be nice, but my camera was really dusty and it was really frustrating being unable to keep up here. hope that you've all been well, you've certainly been busy. :-) Great to 'see' you today.

Blow it up and take a good look, it's worth your TIME..... Lawd I crack myself up......

+5

so if you want to be with me

with these things there’s no telling

we just have to wait and see

but I’d rather be working for a paycheck

than waiting to win the lottery

besides maybe this time is different

I mean I really think you like me ♥

(c)

A huge thank you to Lizzy Gadd for editing the basis of this. I just tweaked it a little :) She's amazing and if you haven't already checked out her stream, you have to!

So guys, I started college on Monday. Can you believe it? Tomorrow I have a nice, long 9 hour day (Thursdays are my poopy long days, yuck). But I get Friday's off whoopp.

Andddd, I got a nice big paycheck from work tonight :) Working hard really does pay off in the end.

Behind the scenes photos soon to come to my Facebook page!

Check out my Facebook page for inspirational quotes, behind the scenes photos, client work not seen on Flickr and soon to be..clothes for sale.

Instagram: justttmakayla / Facebook / Ask me stuff! / Tumblr / Youtube

142/365

With sayings like, "Gold diggers and money hungry," we know that there are a lot of people today who chase after riches and fame, only to find out, riches and fame on their own don't bring you happiness. The truth is, it's not how big your house is, how fast or fancy your car is, or even what brand names are printed on your clothes and accessories that make a person happy. It's not the big things. If that were so, then why do people need more and more "Big" and expensive things?

My wife doesn't wear much jewelry, she never asks me for diamonds and pearls. She rarely will spend more than twenty dollars on a pair of shoes. But she smiles and laughs more than any other girl I know. I don't have the biggest paycheck, or drive a mercedes or BMW. We don't have a four car garage in our house with a pool in the backyard. But everything I have is hers. And she knows I would give her everything. I would give her the world, but she's not asking for that. All she asks for is the little things in life...

like a song says...

Buy me a rose, Call me from work

Open the door for me what would it hurt?

Show me you love me by the look in your eyes...

these are "the little things" I need the most in my life.

Hear me sing and play this song on the piano