Realizing only now that all of my building and construction projects these last several weeks have been my way of spending time with my grandfather, connecting: when I use his sawhorses, his vices, his saws, it’s like he’s helping me again, as he did for all of the 42 years, two months, and 26 days we had together. I miss him terribly.

Tokyo hypnosis bar

via SoraNews24:

Located near Islam Yokocho (“Islam Alley”) in Shin-Okubo, the bar is called “Fushigi no Heso” (“Mysterious Belly Button”), and it allows you to experiment with the magical world through tarot card readings as well.

The main draw here, though, is the chance to be hypnotised by Endo, a veteran hypnotist who previously astounded patrons with his powers at the bar’s previous locations in Kitasenju and Ikebukuro. Prices for hypnosis are 1,000 yen (US$6.46) per person, with people between the ages of 20 and 40 able to take part, and for groups of 10 or more, if one of the participants fails to fall into a hypnotic state like the kind commonly seen on T.V., they will receive a prize.

https://soranews24.com/2024/07/27/hypnosis-bar-opens-in-tokyo-with-prizes-for-those-who-dont-fall-into-a-hypnotic-state/

It's been almost a year since I buzzed my hair and now that I'm letting it grow back it's a reminder of what a pain in the ass my hair was.

built and stained and waiting on their legs

desktoppery

Two desktops are built and resting on VERY temporary legs so I can figure how much more desk I need (two feet, give or take); for-really-real legs arrive tomorrow. Solar guys will start rough wiring the system next Wednesday so I can start drywalling by the end of next week. Might be working in here sooner than I expected - which, now that I've said it, means I'm not working in there until 2027.

earbliss/20240725

I'll watch Biden's speech tonight with a mixture of sadness and gratitude: haven't seen the kind of euphoric response Kamala's gotten these last few days since Obama in '08 and, while I know that the next few months are going to be ugly and that, eventually, some kind of reality will crash ashore, this present moment is truly a thing of beauty: it's nice to believe in the possibility of a better future again.