Quote:

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
How hard IS it to change an institution?

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/12/us/ferguson-drops-prosecution-watso
n.html

Ferguson Drops Charges Against Man Cited in Justice Dept. Report

By TIMOTHY WILLIAMSSEPT. 12, 2017

After five years of pursuing a host of minor charges against Fred Watson, whose case was held up as an example of systematically hostile treatment of black residents in Ferguson, Mo., the city abruptly dropped its prosecution this week without explanation.

Mr. Watson, who had been approached by a police officer while sitting in his parked car, was charged with failure to wear a seatbelt and six more offenses. His story was detailed in a Department of Justice report on Ferguson’s criminal justice system that followed the 2014 fatal police shooting of Michael Brown.

Though the case generated public outrage, the city continued to pursue the charges, despite the arresting officer’s problematic disciplinary record and what Mr. Watson’s lawyers called flawed evidence.

On Monday the prosecutor, Lee Clayton Goodman, filed a single sheet of paper with the Circuit Court of St. Louis County that brought the case to a close. He declined to discuss the matter.

What is the case about?

In 2012, Mr. Watson was sitting in his car, cooling off after a basketball game in a Ferguson park. He was approached by a police officer, Eddie Boyd III, who drew his weapon. Mr. Boyd arrested him, searched his car, and charged him with seven offenses: not having insurance, failing to register the vehicle, not wearing a seatbelt, having an expired driver’s license, not having a driver’s license, lacking a vehicle inspection sticker, and having illegally tinted windows. After Mr. Watson complained about his treatment, he was hit with two additional charges.

Why is it important?

After the death of Mr. Brown, a young African-American man, at the hands of a white police officer, the Justice Department found that Ferguson’s police department and courts had systematically violated constitutional rights with illegal stops, arrests and harassment of African-American residents. The report forced Ferguson to enter a federal consent decree and embark on a path of reform. The city’s police chief, city manager, judge and prosecutor were all replaced, and the city says it has dropped 49,000 cases and forgiven $1.8 million in fines.

Why did it go on for so long?

That is unclear, and raises questions about the city’s commitment to change. Ferguson police officers say supervisors continue to pressure them to write tickets for minor offenses. Mr. Boyd, the officer who arrested Mr. Watson, remains a Ferguson police officer despite a history of brutality and dishonesty. Finally, dropping the case with no explanation shows a lack of transparency that does not bode well for reform, said Thomas Harvey of Arch City Defenders, a St. Louis law firm that handled Mr. Watson’s case pro bono.

Is Mr. Watson now in the clear?

Mr. Watson, a cybersecurity expert, lost his job when his top-secret clearance was taken away after his arrest. He is in debt and his house is in foreclosure. He said he will continue to look for cybersecurity work, though there is no guarantee that he will receive a high-level security clearance again. He has sued Ferguson for what he says was a violation of his civil rights. “There’s a lot more people than me this has happened to,” he said.

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
It said he was charged. I didn't find anything that said he was guilty.

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
A part of me just can't go along without facts or evidence.

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Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
Hey Six,

This site is available to many here that need an outlet, a way of communicating so as to feel that they belong to something, anything and thereby giving their life importance. I understand that more than most, perhaps that's what you are feeling that is bigger than you. I am not going to pretend I know; I will not bullshit you. I don't go around pretending to know it all, that's not me.

I am a firm believer that each one of us has something to contribute, be it to friends or family, or to society in general. Sometimes it's through negative means, and sometimes through positive means; but we each contribute nonetheless. We all do our share. This community is a microcosm of that. Having said that, keep doing what you're doing. You're on the right track, well, I'd like to think so.

Bravo on your accomplishment of staying sober, by the way. It is something to be proud of. I know it ain't easy, but let me get one thing straight, and you'll see how what I said above is relevant. I am not a drunk, contrary to popular belief, this is a product of the evil twins making. I'm truly surprised that you would believe their incredibly insensitive and totally bogus bullshit. Something that Keeks and Sigs made up in their filthy little minds to discredit and impugn my character. This was their way of lashing out for whatever reason, well I do not know, other than this is how they get their kicks. I have some other theories, but I'll keep those to myself.

I do have a person, who is a close friend, who has gone through rehab over the years, so there's that. That is quite personal to me, but I ignore people of low caliber as a matter of course; especially ones that I don't know or care to know. I'm speaking, of course, of the two people here who don't have a soul. Who else would sling around such accusations without a care in the world, with little regard for the affect and personal impact it may produce as a result. I am proud of my friend, who, up until about 3 years ago, was a drunken steaming pile of misfortune. She's been clean and sober for 3 years now and looks and feels wonderful. Me, I had little to do with her recovery, she did this all on her own. I have let her know how proud I am of her, both publicly and privately. She is a new person.

I am not perfect. I have had my struggles throughout life, but I have managed to stay a step or two ahead of the curve. I'm not going to into my life here, it's not the appropriate venue. But I did want you to know that I am a human being. Well, you know the rest. I shit you not.

I follow my own path. I think for myself, and sometimes it rubs people the wrong way. Because generally people want you to conform to their way of thinking...for whatever reason. This goes especially for family as well as people you meet along the way. Take this country , for example, the pledge of allegiance...the national anthem, etc. Anyway, go get 'em, as the saying goes. Do your thing and don't look back. Really, I know that sounds cliché, but keep moving forward Six. Fuck everybody else (even me).............

Do right, Be right!

I am struggling with something, but I will be okay. I will find a way, I always do. I am walking the path.

Just go and do you. I don't give a fuck whether we agree or not. I'm just pulling for you, to be the way you see fit. Me? I'll do the same.


SGG

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I do NOT attack people; I defend myself, just as you do.
Shiny, this is you, in the span of a mere 3 weeks. No discussion, no facts, no debate, just full-on unprovoked attacking and trolling. And some complete raging incoherence thrown in. Yes, this is you, 'not' attacking people.

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Life is pretty good man. I'm just done sweating the small stuff or worrying about the "big" stuff that I have zero control over. Maybe it takes a self-inflicted brush with death to realize that all of that doesn't matter. Nobody knows how much time any of us have left. Why worry about it? Just try to fill the time you do have doing things you enjoy and being around people you care about. Everything else is just the superfluous bullshit we have to endure in between.

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Originally posted by 6stringJoker:
Hey SGG,

I wasn't calling you a drunk. I only saw some interactions here and there during my sobriety that I stay out of. Before the sobriety, I don't know anything that happened. It was kind of weird waking up out of that and seeing that almost everyone that used to post here is gone now.

I was just saying that if you do have a problem with it that I can't recommend enough trying to overcome it. I've been more involved with my family than I ever have recently and have become somebody to depend on again. It feels nice. This week I'm taking a break from that to focus on wrapping up some major work outside of my house that I've been neglecting for a long time. (I finally seem to have taken care of that massive ant problem that I had all summer).

I'm going to be power washing my entire house now and throwing out some old crap furniture because I'm getting two beautiful heirloom furniture sets that my parents aren't taking in the move. I've also got a lot of new tools that I always wanted to have but never would have bought on my budget, and some new shelving in my garage so I can re-arrange everything and have a fully functional workshop out there instead of the big mess that it's been the last few years.


Life is pretty good man. I'm just done sweating the small stuff or worrying about the "big" stuff that I have zero control over. Maybe it takes a self-inflicted brush with death to realize that all of that doesn't matter. Nobody knows how much time any of us have left. Why worry about it? Just try to fill the time you do have doing things you enjoy and being around people you care about. Everything else is just the superfluous bullshit we have to endure in between.

In any case, whatever your problem is, good luck getting it taken care of. You'll be able to focus on the important stuff once you put that to rest.

Later

Quote:

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Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
Hey Six,

This site is available to many here that need an outlet, a way of communicating so as to feel that they belong to something, anything and thereby giving their life importance. I understand that more than most, perhaps that's what you are feeling that is bigger than you. I am not going to pretend I know; I will not bullshit you. I don't go around pretending to know it all, that's not me.

I am a firm believer that each one of us has something to contribute, be it to friends or family, or to society in general. Sometimes it's through negative means, and sometimes through positive means; but we each contribute nonetheless. We all do our share. This community is a microcosm of that. Having said that, keep doing what you're doing. You're on the right track, well, I'd like to think so.

Bravo on your accomplishment of staying sober, by the way. It is something to be proud of. I know it ain't easy, but let me get one thing straight, and you'll see how what I said above is relevant. I am not a drunk, contrary to popular belief, this is a product of the evil twins making. I'm truly surprised that you would believe their incredibly insensitive and totally bogus bullshit. Something that Keeks and Sigs made up in their filthy little minds to discredit and impugn my character. This was their way of lashing out for whatever reason, well I do not know, other than this is how they get their kicks. I have some other theories, but I'll keep those to myself.

I do have a person, who is a close friend, who has gone through rehab over the years, so there's that. That is quite personal to me, but I ignore people of low caliber as a matter of course; especially ones that I don't know or care to know. I'm speaking, of course, of the two people here who don't have a soul. Who else would sling around such accusations without a care in the world, with little regard for the affect and personal impact it may produce as a result. I am proud of my friend, who, up until about 3 years ago, was a drunken steaming pile of misfortune. She's been clean and sober for 3 years now and looks and feels wonderful. Me, I had little to do with her recovery, she did this all on her own. I have let her know how proud I am of her, both publicly and privately. She is a new person.

I am not perfect. I have had my struggles throughout life, but I have managed to stay a step or two ahead of the curve. I'm not going to into my life here, it's not the appropriate venue. But I did want you to know that I am a human being. Well, you know the rest. I shit you not.

I follow my own path. I think for myself, and sometimes it rubs people the wrong way. Because generally people want you to conform to their way of thinking...for whatever reason. This goes especially for family as well as people you meet along the way. Take this country , for example, the pledge of allegiance...the national anthem, etc. Anyway, go get 'em, as the saying goes. Do your thing and don't look back. Really, I know that sounds cliché, but keep moving forward Six. Fuck everybody else (even me).............

Do right, Be right!

I am struggling with something, but I will be okay. I will find a way, I always do. I am walking the path.

Just go and do you. I don't give a fuck whether we agree or not. I'm just pulling for you, to be the way you see fit. Me? I'll do the same.


SGG

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Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
Fuck Six (and I mean that in a good way):

It's gonna sound like bullshit, but I'm doing the same thing - I'm "cleaning house"
really, this is strange, but it's what I'm doing.

Oh, and don't worry about the "drunk" thing, I know you weren't calling me a drunk.
Let's not dwell on the negative. It's fine! I just wanted to let you know what's going on with me and where I stood on that issue. Let's turn the fucking page.

Dude, I'm glad you are moving on with your life, and using the KISS method...Keep It Simple Stupid. I say that to myself all the time, it keeps me on track. I too have been reaching out to folk in my neck of the woods, and it is better overall to keep close to family. They and close friends know you best. My friend "Chris" was
battling the bottle starting 3 years back and now she's doing so much better, both physically and spiritually (I mean she's close with her eldest daughter again and with her other kids).

Listen, we are going to disagree. Those are just ideas, but we can agree upon what's really important - family and life in general. Fuck everything else, like you said "it's superfluous bullshit."

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It's all good man.

I'm trying to develop a more positive attitude about things, which isn't exactly easy for me since I've always been pretty negative.

I'm still going to argue about stuff here, sure. But I'll admit that I do enjoy doing that.

I'm just going to try to keep it less intense and not get into the personal BS.

Quote:

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As a matter of fact:

Quote:

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Life is pretty good man. I'm just done sweating the small stuff or worrying about the "big" stuff that I have zero control over. Maybe it takes a self-inflicted brush with death to realize that all of that doesn't matter. Nobody knows how much time any of us have left. Why worry about it? Just try to fill the time you do have doing things you enjoy and being around people you care about. Everything else is just the superfluous bullshit we have to endure in between.

---

I was thinking about printing this out and putting it above my computer. So that whenever I get a little sidetracked, I'll look up at this and say - FUCK IT!

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Wow. That's cool man. I was just typing what I've been thinking for a while. Glad it means something to you.

Quote:

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I started on cleaning out my overstuffed closets and ridding myself of the junk I've accumulated over the last 10 years. Man, does it feel good to get something done. And now I feel better and have more room. It works like magic.

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LOL. I did the same thing 2 years back. I was binge watching that show Hoarders and realized that could be me one day. I probably got rid of 50% of the stuff that I owned. Some of it I'd been holding on to since I lived at my parents house over half a life ago and I hadn't even looked at except for when I was packing to move it from place to place.

My new rule is that I don't store anything anymore, even though I have plenty of space to do so. The second rule is that if I acquire something new that I want to keep, I have to get rid of something that I haven't used for a year.

The only exceptions to this are my tools and my tech. I'd never throw out a good tool, but I did manage to get rid of a lot of ancient tech that I have no idea why I was holding on to it. Some of it is good to keep for replacement parts and such though since I'm on a shoestring budget. My brother just gave me his old XBox 360 and about 50 games, so I've got some decisions to make there.

And don't throw away the truly sentimental stuff. Pictures and the like. Ive got two totes that have a lot of that stuff in it. I don't look at them much, but every 5 or so years I just go through that and it brings back a lot of good memories of another person that I used to be.

Quote:

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So thanks and good luck to you as well.

Later Dude

SGG

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You to man. Maybe we should start a new thread about getting stuff done. Wishy and J0 and I used to talk a lot in a few threads about that before we started getting all political and negative.

Quote:

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Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
Keeks:

You say completely unprovoked, and that YOU only "defend yourself" that YOU do not attack. Hmmm, then it would appear that I must have lost "touch" with my senses because I go around "attacking" people for no reason at all. Is that what YOU think?
Is this what YOU truly believe?

I have thought, for a brief moment, that maybe someone hacked into YOUR profile and hurled the insults at me, called me a drunk and made rather insensitive remarks aimed at me. And that I have seen this done to others here who had the nerve to disagree with YOU. A couple of years back, before venturing into RWED, I was warned about the brutal nature and culture within these walls. I'm still waiting for that brutality...I have yet to see it rear it's ugly head.

I must repeat myself yet again; I do not attack. I walk the streets unarmed, but totally prepared to be knifed in the back. I keep my wits about me and stride forward, undeterred, stalwart and ever at the ready.

I do not tell YOU how to respond - YOU do whatever YOU like, it makes no never-mind to me. YOU want to produce "evidence" - that's YOUR prerogative. As this is a FREE SPEECH society, I'll answer/respond as I see fit, pure and simple. If YOU decide to arbitrarily declare that so-called "evidence" must be produced; which YOU then reject as "insufficient" based on self-professed set of rules known only to YOU; well then, that would preclude intelligent debate now, wouldn't it?

Here's what I don't understand, for the life of me. Why is it that YOU, a self-proclaimed intellect, would find it necessary to engage with such "so-called" debate with folk you don't know and that YOU have clearly shown disdain for? Why not engage with other "intellects" so as to stimulate your "brilliant" mind and grow? Why, for Pete's sake, debate with "lessers" if YOUR intellect is above reproach? Aren't YOU afraid that YOUR mind would go stale from the lack of intellectual stimuli and challenge? It puzzles me to no end.


SGG

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Quote:

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Originally posted by 6stringJoker:

Quote:

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Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
Fuck Six (and I mean that in a good way):

It's gonna sound like bullshit, but I'm doing the same thing - I'm "cleaning house"
really, this is strange, but it's what I'm doing.

Oh, and don't worry about the "drunk" thing, I know you weren't calling me a drunk.
Let's not dwell on the negative. It's fine! I just wanted to let you know what's going on with me and where I stood on that issue. Let's turn the fucking page.

Dude, I'm glad you are moving on with your life, and using the KISS method...Keep It Simple Stupid. I say that to myself all the time, it keeps me on track. I too have been reaching out to folk in my neck of the woods, and it is better overall to keep close to family. They and close friends know you best. My friend "Chris" was
battling the bottle starting 3 years back and now she's doing so much better, both physically and spiritually (I mean she's close with her eldest daughter again and with her other kids).

Listen, we are going to disagree. Those are just ideas, but we can agree upon what's really important - family and life in general. Fuck everything else, like you said "it's superfluous bullshit."

---

It's all good man.

I'm trying to develop a more positive attitude about things, which isn't exactly easy for me since I've always been pretty negative.

I'm still going to argue about stuff here, sure. But I'll admit that I do enjoy doing that.

I'm just going to try to keep it less intense and not get into the personal BS.

Quote:

---

As a matter of fact:

Quote:

---

Life is pretty good man. I'm just done sweating the small stuff or worrying about the "big" stuff that I have zero control over. Maybe it takes a self-inflicted brush with death to realize that all of that doesn't matter. Nobody knows how much time any of us have left. Why worry about it? Just try to fill the time you do have doing things you enjoy and being around people you care about. Everything else is just the superfluous bullshit we have to endure in between.

---

I was thinking about printing this out and putting it above my computer. So that whenever I get a little sidetracked, I'll look up at this and say - FUCK IT!

---

Wow. That's cool man. I was just typing what I've been thinking for a while. Glad it means something to you.

Quote:

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I started on cleaning out my overstuffed closets and ridding myself of the junk I've accumulated over the last 10 years. Man, does it feel good to get something done. And now I feel better and have more room. It works like magic.

---

LOL. I did the same thing 2 years back. I was binge watching that show Hoarders and realized that could be me one day. I probably got rid of 50% of the stuff that I owned. Some of it I'd been holding on to since I lived at my parents house over half a life ago and I hadn't even looked at except for when I was packing to move it from place to place.

My new rule is that I don't store anything anymore, even though I have plenty of space to do so. The second rule is that if I acquire something new that I want to keep, I have to get rid of something that I haven't used for a year.

The only exceptions to this are my tools and my tech. I'd never throw out a good tool, but I did manage to get rid of a lot of ancient tech that I have no idea why I was holding on to it. Some of it is good to keep for replacement parts and such though since I'm on a shoestring budget. My brother just gave me his old XBox 360 and about 50 games, so I've got some decisions to make there.

And don't throw away the truly sentimental stuff. Pictures and the like. Ive got two totes that have a lot of that stuff in it. I don't look at them much, but every 5 or so years I just go through that and it brings back a lot of good memories of another person that I used to be.

Quote:

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So thanks and good luck to you as well.

Later Dude

SGG

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You to man. Maybe we should start a new thread about getting stuff done. Wishy and J0 and I used to talk a lot in a few threads about that before we started getting all political and negative.

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
You DO know that the attacker is the one who starts it all - right? So I'm sure you can quote conversations where - out of the blue, for no reason at all - I just 'attacked' you. It's curious why you wouldn't bother to post them, when I've posted ample quotes of you attacking.

Quote:

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Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
Keeks:

You say completely unprovoked, and that YOU only "defend yourself" that YOU do not attack. Hmmm, then it would appear that I must have lost "touch" with my senses because I go around "attacking" people for no reason at all. Is that what YOU think?
Is this what YOU truly believe?

I have thought, for a brief moment, that maybe someone hacked into YOUR profile and hurled the insults at me, called me a drunk and made rather insensitive remarks aimed at me. And that I have seen this done to others here who had the nerve to disagree with YOU. A couple of years back, before venturing into RWED, I was warned about the brutal nature and culture within these walls. I'm still waiting for that brutality...I have yet to see it rear it's ugly head.

I must repeat myself yet again; I do not attack. I walk the streets unarmed, but totally prepared to be knifed in the back. I keep my wits about me and stride forward, undeterred, stalwart and ever at the ready.

I do not tell YOU how to respond - YOU do whatever YOU like, it makes no never-mind to me. YOU want to produce "evidence" - that's YOUR prerogative. As this is a FREE SPEECH society, I'll answer/respond as I see fit, pure and simple. If YOU decide to arbitrarily declare that so-called "evidence" must be produced; which YOU then reject as "insufficient" based on self-professed set of rules known only to YOU; well then, that would preclude intelligent debate now, wouldn't it?

Here's what I don't understand, for the life of me. Why is it that YOU, a self-proclaimed intellect, would find it necessary to engage with such "so-called" debate with folk you don't know and that YOU have clearly shown disdain for? Why not engage with other "intellects" so as to stimulate your "brilliant" mind and grow? Why, for Pete's sake, debate with "lessers" if YOUR intellect is above reproach? Aren't YOU afraid that YOUR mind would go stale from the lack of intellectual stimuli and challenge? It puzzles me to no end.


SGG

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Originally posted by JEWELSTAITEFAN:

Quote:

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Originally posted by 6stringJoker:

Quote:

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Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
Fuck Six (and I mean that in a good way):

It's gonna sound like bullshit, but I'm doing the same thing - I'm "cleaning house"
really, this is strange, but it's what I'm doing.

Oh, and don't worry about the "drunk" thing, I know you weren't calling me a drunk.
Let's not dwell on the negative. It's fine! I just wanted to let you know what's going on with me and where I stood on that issue. Let's turn the fucking page.

Dude, I'm glad you are moving on with your life, and using the KISS method...Keep It Simple Stupid. I say that to myself all the time, it keeps me on track. I too have been reaching out to folk in my neck of the woods, and it is better overall to keep close to family. They and close friends know you best. My friend "Chris" was
battling the bottle starting 3 years back and now she's doing so much better, both physically and spiritually (I mean she's close with her eldest daughter again and with her other kids).

Listen, we are going to disagree. Those are just ideas, but we can agree upon what's really important - family and life in general. Fuck everything else, like you said "it's superfluous bullshit."

---

It's all good man.

I'm trying to develop a more positive attitude about things, which isn't exactly easy for me since I've always been pretty negative.

I'm still going to argue about stuff here, sure. But I'll admit that I do enjoy doing that.

I'm just going to try to keep it less intense and not get into the personal BS.

Quote:

---

As a matter of fact:

Quote:

---

Life is pretty good man. I'm just done sweating the small stuff or worrying about the "big" stuff that I have zero control over. Maybe it takes a self-inflicted brush with death to realize that all of that doesn't matter. Nobody knows how much time any of us have left. Why worry about it? Just try to fill the time you do have doing things you enjoy and being around people you care about. Everything else is just the superfluous bullshit we have to endure in between.

---

I was thinking about printing this out and putting it above my computer. So that whenever I get a little sidetracked, I'll look up at this and say - FUCK IT!

---

Wow. That's cool man. I was just typing what I've been thinking for a while. Glad it means something to you.

Quote:

---

I started on cleaning out my overstuffed closets and ridding myself of the junk I've accumulated over the last 10 years. Man, does it feel good to get something done. And now I feel better and have more room. It works like magic.

---

LOL. I did the same thing 2 years back. I was binge watching that show Hoarders and realized that could be me one day. I probably got rid of 50% of the stuff that I owned. Some of it I'd been holding on to since I lived at my parents house over half a life ago and I hadn't even looked at except for when I was packing to move it from place to place.

My new rule is that I don't store anything anymore, even though I have plenty of space to do so. The second rule is that if I acquire something new that I want to keep, I have to get rid of something that I haven't used for a year.

The only exceptions to this are my tools and my tech. I'd never throw out a good tool, but I did manage to get rid of a lot of ancient tech that I have no idea why I was holding on to it. Some of it is good to keep for replacement parts and such though since I'm on a shoestring budget. My brother just gave me his old XBox 360 and about 50 games, so I've got some decisions to make there.

And don't throw away the truly sentimental stuff. Pictures and the like. Ive got two totes that have a lot of that stuff in it. I don't look at them much, but every 5 or so years I just go through that and it brings back a lot of good memories of another person that I used to be.

Quote:

---

So thanks and good luck to you as well.

Later Dude

SGG

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You to man. Maybe we should start a new thread about getting stuff done. Wishy and J0 and I used to talk a lot in a few threads about that before we started getting all political and negative.

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You guys lead exciting lives.

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