the zoom website has completely blown up my chromebook twice this week. it has done that before when trying to open a session, but even trying to log into the forum to ask a question has cratered it twice.
zoom is demonstrating itself as an antisocial company that should be boycotted, but dealing with them is required, until the government drops them, and i expect they will. zoom is going out of it's way to generate unnecessary, recurring costs. somebody else is going to undercut them. zoom's days are numbered.
it would be nice to eventually be able to buy something like a vp59 without being certain that it's going to be phased out in a few months, but that's not reality right now.
i'm looking at a few usb phones, but the only things you can find nowadays are engineered for microsoft. really, the phone needs to launch as a usb sound card, in the zoom context. that's what zoom should load it as. it should act as a usb phone for zoiper or softsip, but it's just a phone shaped sound card with a few specific buttons, like mute, for zoom. really.
after locking myself in all week, i have not had a headache this weekend for the first time in a while. the acne is also clearing up. it's clear what the truth is.
Saturday, June 6, 2026
what i can do that's affordable and will last is this.
- get a cheap android 15 tablet. which is possible.
- buy a usb c to usb, hdmi and rj-45 hub
- get a used monitor and cheap keyboard, mouse (the android probably has a touch screen, which is yuck)
- get a usb phone interface
the usb phone interface will connect to a softphone in the tablet and act like an office phone, whereas the tablet can run the android zoom app, until it can't and i can do it from the web instead. i can send it out to the monitor and use the normal computer peripherals. i can hack it eventually, or find one with ubuntu on it to start so i don't have to. but i'm going to get better hardware with the android 15 devices, i think.
these devices are designed for video and they work well for that reason. they will not have performance issues and should be compatible until well after 2035.
realistically, that's what a videophone is going to end up being, but with an older os you can't update and with less potential peripherals. but i can go through the yealink vp-59 and make sure i'm not skipping any features i want, too.
what i'm looking for appears to be widely available for consumers in china but is non-existent here. our corporate sector is going to destroy itself through greed, and slow us down in the process. zoom's days are numbered.
all american telecom companies seem to die the same way. it makes capitalism look terrible, but only the japanese have been in any position to react, for years. the chinese are making us look incompetent, truly.
my aluminum came in but i got sidetracked looking at zoom devices.
i've been trying to find the right cisco videophone that i can install, and struggling, but it just clicked that this is the wrong approach. these devices will enter end of life. they're designed to be phased out. that's really not what i want. i've been focusing on finding the right licence, but the licence is going to expire, and then it's a paperweight. i suppose i could still use it to video chat, if anybody else did that; nobody does. people just waste their money on proprietary systems and then pay to upgrade them over and over. i am not going to do that.
it's the operating system that's going to get forced into obsolescence by zoom and the only way to get around that is to use linux. anything else will get tied to the hardware. you could upgrade the firmware, but they'll block you, and they run the servers. what i'm doing with this ancient cisco phone, which is flashing the operating system in the device and then using it to connect to a non-cisco server to provide a service, cannot be done, or at least not yet. zoom is not making the mistake that cisco did; cisco avoided the servers. zoom is selling the servers, and selling access to the servers, and getting more and more aggressive about controlling access to the servers.
i want to hack an old cisco videophone and i am seeing them come up for $30, which is the price i paid for this office phone. i just don't have a use for it, so long as zoom is broadcasting imminent end of life. i also wish they had a vga or hdmi out, and a usb data in, and none do. the lack of data interaction is a potential utility issue.
so, the newer versions by companies like yealink and grandstream update the concept by using android, but they ship with android 7 or 9. you can't even install zoom on android 7 at all and android 9 is facing obsolescence in 2028. these devices are cheap, but they're actually worthless. you could upgrade them, but you're not allowed; perhaps you could force it, but i haven't seen an answer. you could try to run it from the web, too.
you can, however, get a linux tablet that you can upgrade for fairly cheap. if you get relatively recent specs (2.5 quad processor, 16 gb ram), it could last for this function for a while; if they try to force you to upgrade the os, you can do it without getting blocked. it probably has a camera and a mic and an hdmi out. you can input files from external drives. i'd be struggling to look for an ethernet out but could use a usb dongle if necessary. it's probably the best option.
the idiot trump is doing everything he can to stop a necessary and beneficial war in iran from happening, and he's doomed to fail.
i still don't know why the media wants to talk about ending the war in iran.
the inevitable regime change war in iran, which is more inevitable and certain now than it ever has been, hasn't started yet.
Friday, June 5, 2026
153.8.
time to eat.
it's almost time to eat and i didn't spend the day doing what i intended to do.
i sat down and very carefully tried to be as thorough as i could in getting everything done in the kitchen and i came up with:
- paper towel holder (i was going to make one, but i bought one)
- knife sharpener
- 32 ounce plastic cups
i was also looking at a mini food processor, specifically for garlic and dill because it's hard to cut it close, but i'd use it for broccoli topping and other things as well, and also at a new cutting board, but i had mostly decided against it by last night. i have three metal bowls and a fan in a cart at walmart awaiting a cancellation on something else.
when i woke up, i realized i had to address the temperature, as well.
the cardboard is actually a good insulator, and taping cardboard over the ceiling will probably help quite a bit in itself. i have a lot of cardboard. i should do that. but i was looking at buying some foil or some tape to reflect the heat back in and i wanted to make sure i understood what i was doing first.
i am very much doing the opposite of what most people are trying to do when they look into this. most people are trying to reflect the sun's light out and keep the cool air in; i'm trying to keep the cool air out and bounce the heat back down. for that reason, what i'm doing is likely to actually work, while it's not that likely to work in most other situations. i would not recommend doing this if you were trying to cool your space down.
if you want to create a thermal barrier that traps heat into your space and blocks cold air from a cooler space above you (in my case, an air conditioned main floor), the best heat reflecting material out there is simple aluminum of a thickness greater than that in alumnium foil, but you need to be careful that you aren't just conducting the heat through the foil, because aluminum is also a strong conductor.
it is argued on the internet that if you want full reflectivity then the way to do it is to create an air barrier between the foil and an insulating material that is large enough to prevent conduction through the aluminum but small enough to prevent radiation on the other side. i think that this is wrong, but thinking it through helped me better understand. my take on this is that this is probably a fool's errand, and that this supposed air barrier is probably going to inevitably result in convection, and there's probably no way to actually get this middle point between convection and conduction other than by heating the gap up. you should probably be more concerned about preventing convection than you are about preventing conduction and as such be careful to make sure there is no air gap at all; convection is more likely to break you than conduction, especially if you pick a good insulator on the other side. the aluminum is not going to store the heat radiating into it, and the heat isn't gong to disappear into the quantum void, it is either going to go through the aluminum to whatever is on the other side (including by convecting) or reflect off of it, back into the room. that proposed air gap is probably just giving the heat somewhere to go, until it gets hotter than downstairs and starts bouncing back; a flush insulator will stop it from building up in the gap and just push it straight back. i'm consequently going to warn against this idea of creating an "air gap" as being bad advice and instead advise you to push the aluminum flush against the insulator to minimize any space where the heat can build up. certainly, you want to ensure the aluminum is not touching any other conductors, as well, but that's not the point, and that advice does not extend to trying to prevent it from touching insulators.
in fact, that is the advice given by the company that makes the aluminum insulation that i just bought 400 square feet of. the sheeting is a roll of insulating styrofoam-like plastic sandwiched between a relatively thick sheet of aluminum (much thicker than aluminum foil). to maximize effectiveness, they suggest making sure the aluminum is pushed as flush against the wall or ceiling as possible, to eliminate air gaps. i think that is actually correct and that the advice on the internet is wrong.
i am going to use looped over packing tape to connect these sheets of foil-sandwiched insulating foam to large pieces of cardboard, and then use more looped over packing tape to connect the cardboard to the ceiling. i may also use pink fibreglass insulation in one space where there will be a gap, for added insulation. the layering will be as follows:
(cold air)
- flooring (either wood or plaster)
- (insulation, where it is open wood)
- corrugated cardboard, mostly from walmart or amazon
- aluminum
- foam
- aluminum
(hot air)
i want to keep the hot in and the cold out. the aluminum on the bottom, as insulated by the foam, should keep the heat in. the aluminum on the top, in context, should have little utility - it might reflect any light coming in from upstairs, but that should really never happen. rather, it will continue to reflect any heat that gets through the foam back into it, the other way. it will keep the heat that is upstairs, as little as it may be, up there, too. that heat would not flow downwards, anyways. the systems are designed to reflect heat in in the winter and heat out in the summer, depending on where the source of heat in the thermal gradient is sitting. the cardboard on the other side of the aluminum and any insulation on the other side of it will act as a final barrier to prevent any heat that got through the foam and the second aluminum from escaping, pushing it back down to the aluminum. a gap will develop between the foam and the cardboard, consisting of the heat that got through the foam and can't get through the cardboard. that trapped heat will act as a barrier between the two apartments and a buffer blocking any cold air from upstairs, which will get neutralized between the floors and have less effect on me.
this will allow me to open the windows without triggering the a/c upstairs, so i've bought a large amount of metal meshing to screw over the windows from the inside. this will keep out bugs, rodents and bad guys.
most of it will be here before monday.
when i stopped yesterday, i wanted to sort through some posts made in may to make sure i was keep tracking of plans i made and wrote down, without abandoning them due to the headache. these processes are interrelated and will finish together, it's just that this is a sorting process that requires space in ram to move things around in before i can have more space to move things into their right places. i want to make sure i don't skip anything and then have to come back to it.
i will need to sort through my pile of boxes before i can get the radiant barrier up. i will need to get into that space, first, which requires cleaning around it. i need to have somewhere to put it, which will require moving the boxes of books, which will require installing the shelves, which is what i was starting to do the other day before fell asleep.
i'm not gay and don't care about gay pride. trans women are not gay men and don't like being categorized as queer. i identify as heterosexual and female.
you will see lots of transvestites - drag queens - out and about. they are gay men and do identify as gay. they will celebrate gay pride and be frequently seen at gay parties, because that's what they're all about. they are not transgendered. it's not a small or subtle difference.
i'm relatively liberal and open about the whole thing, partly because i transitioned late and know better than to think i can sidestep the issue, but most transgendered people don't want to be deadnamed, identified as members of their previous gender, considered gay or even outed as trans at all. trans pride is not something that's visible the way that gay pride is. we do not want to march down streets or celebrate in queer subcultures, we want to blend in to normal society and not be noticed as trans at all.
i am going to be making what i hope are some last kitchen purchases today, but i also need to deal with the temperature in here. the tenants above me prefer the temperature around 18 degrees celsius, and i prefer it around 28 degrees. it's warm out, and they have the air blaring. i want the breeze from outside, but there's some kind of negative pressure working down here that's stopping the outside air from coming in. it's very weird. it might just not be warm enough out yet, and the gradient might be too small. but, i'm struggling to get the heat in and keep the air out.
if they set the a/c to 25 i could probably deal with it but they seem to want to set it to about 17. as a tenant, there is nothing i can do to stop them from running the air conditioning. the way a/c works is that it doesn't just reduce the temperature to a warm 25 in the summer, but sucks all of the warmth and humidity out of the air, leaving you with a wind chill like a/c effect. 25 in the a/c is more like 19. 17 in the a/c feels like 10 degrees. i can't tolerate this freezing cold and need to find ways to block it from affecting me.
i have a lot of windows in here but a lot of the screens are broken so i need to get some wire. i can just screw it in from the outside. a cross breeze will help circulate warmer air from outside in here and mute the effect of the a/c.
however, the same area in the back that the rats were in is going to be a problem because there's barely anything separating the units. i can smell their food in there, and the a/c is practically on full blast. the insulation blocks a hole to outside but doesn't address the lack of separation between the units. it's blocked with heavy doors and fairly isolated, so the rest of the place isn't so bad, but it's freezing in there.
i'm going to just tape some cardboard boxes up, but i want to get some insulating tape or something to put over the boxes. that's minimally invasive and should work in blocking both the cold and the smell. i can even take it with me and use it to block the a/c in the next place (this isn't the first time the a/c has been a problem). but i need to look into it first.
it's acne. it's gross, but i understand it and there's no utility in getting upset. it will wash off. they may have given me something that messed with my hormones with whatever they're drugging me with, or the acne may be a side effect; the only symptom is acne, once the headache has lifted. that's it.
the best way to stop the acne from building up like this is to lose the weight.
i'm currently at around 154, which is down from around 165. i need to fall to 153.x before the next meal, which i expect to be some time today. that will probably bounce up to around 158-9 when i'm done eating, then need to fall to 152 for the next meal, which will be for mondayish.
i'm not reducing portions, i'm pushing myself down through a systematic lowering process. it's not starvation. i ate last on wednesday evening and will eat again this afternoon or evening. my meals are planned to be extremely nutritious and have high calorie intakes, because i'm supposed to be doing a lot of cardio, which is the thing i haven't had time for. in fact, i should get an exercise bike in place within a week or two and that should reduce the gap. it's just extremely careful micromanagement, with no breaks and no compromises.
i'll have the 70 ounce bowl of chicken bacon caesar salad when i get to 153 in a few days and finish it probably on saturday,
a garden salad of the same size when i get to 152 on probably monday night,
another one on wednesday or thursday when i get to 151,
and a 70 ounce bowl of tomato bacon cheddar soup with crackers and toast on friday or saturday when i get to 150
we're keeping at this until i get to 130 and then easing up until it gets back to 140.
the acne might even be partially from the weight loss, but the weight loss didn't cause the migraines and auras over the weekend.
yeah, i look like a 14 year-old pizza face. somebody did this to me on purpose.
it's less gross than the bloated stupid jock face or the despicable hairy ape-dog face, which is what they want. the ape-dog is an elusive creature native to the forests around number one observatory, washington dc. it comes out only to feed on couches left in local laneways, and when cynical and principleless opportunism is rife.
but it's pretty disgusting, and i'm going to need a few days for the grease to drip off and to find a way out of this enforced arrested development and back to middle age.
fuck.
losers.
laho-hosers.
wait, i think i just derived something.
after sleeping it off, i'm feeling a little better. for now. this is cyclical, based on what they're doing.
i actually think i was having an allergic reaction for the last week, which is something i've noticed before. this time, it wasn't hives all over my body, but rather manifested in my face swelling up to twice it's size (i've noticed this before as well, associated it with what seemed to be forced steroid consumption and labelled it "stupid jock face syndrome", but that doesn't seem to be the issue at this time) and giant puss-filled zits developing all over it. a couple of these seem to have little eyelash sized ingrown hairs, but they're mostly just disgusting thick zits, like you tend to see in teenagers.
i have dealt with this as i have before, which is to wash it down until it bleeds and then lather over it with acne soap. this is a disgusting process that initially makes the whole thing worse, as it results in your face wrinkling up and breaking out even worse at the same time. the soap hurts, but when it's done you'll have a dozen big grease-filled bumps to break open with pimple poppers, or just pop with your fingers.
this time, the soap reached it's zenith this afternoon and i went through and broke open all the grease-filled blemishes this evening, before i went to sleep, as i tend to in the evening. when i woke back up, the swelling had come down and the zits had turned into bloody scabs. the result is that i look like a meth addict, which is frustrating given that i would never touch the stuff and would beat the shit out of anybody that tried to offer it to me (i would use shovels to smash their heads in. i would not show mercy. it would be messy. drug dealers do not deserve human rights. i don't support capital punishment for rape or pedophilia, but i would support it for drug dealers. it's a worse crime.), but also probably something approximating what my body has been going through, and something these stalkers are doing to me intentionally. it should wash off in the next day or two.
i had to go to the bank machine to get some cash on friday night for the couch, which gave the losers the opportunity to get in here. i had migraines all weekend, resulting in the swelling, which is coming down, now. they seem to have moved in upstairs.
i'm left with no option but to barricade the doors shut until i can understand what's going on.
my immediate focus is healing from the effects of the poisons i was drugged with. i'm a little groggy and i look disgusting but i think i'm ok and i'll be ok when i wash up.
the correct solution is to put these people in jail, but the canadian justice system is irrevocably broken and i've learned that i can't rely on the system to come to correct outcomes. the cliche is that the asylum is being run by the inmates, and that is very much what is really happening in canada. i will need to seek extralegal solutions, because the legal system is no longer able to succeed in arriving at correct outcomes due to a mix of systemic corruption and systemic incompetence. the judiciary in canada was recently intentionally redesigned to be hopelessly ignorant and incapable of solving or working through problems in a way that benefits anybody except the interests of capital.
i've also learned over the last few years that you cannot move away from the drug problem in canada. there are too many drug addicts, and they are distributed too widely. again, the court has created this problem via it's incompetence. citizens cannot evade it, and cannot use the system to address it, but will need to find ways to address the problem using methods outside of the legal system.
what i'm dealing with is something a little bit different than that, but i essentially need to address it the same way. i'm left with no option but to address the drug problem using vigilante methods, because the system has taken away everything else.
Thursday, June 4, 2026
i am being drugged with something, and it is familiar, and it's the same losers, but it's not testosterone or steroids anymore. it appears to be some kind of hallucinogen.
what happens is i get a migraine headache, complete with aura, i feel like shit for a little while, i pass out and i wake up dehydrated and filthy. it has no effect on me except that i feel filthy and shitty until it wears off. the idea that being filthy and sick is some kind of beneficial "therapy" is utterly retarded. i don't even understand. i can't imagine anybody reacting remotely positively to this. it's utterly horrible.
i haven't done these kinds of loser drugs since i was a little kid. i tried it a couple of times, i decided it wasn't much fun and i haven't touched it in like 30 years. i have no remote interest in it now as an adult. you'd have to have something seriously wrong with you to get any enjoyment out of a splitting headache and some stupid flashing geometric patterns. it's tedious and boring, and a horrible waste of time.
these poisons are doing substantive long term damage to my internal organs, to my hair and to my skin.
these people are not doctors and they are not doing research, they are petty criminals and they should be in jail. i don't understand what they want, but they're just making me tired and sick and sad and wasting my time and theirs alike.
i got cleaning behind the couch out of the way, which is a substantive thing to do, but my old coffee table is too big to fit in the space. it's like 25" x 48". i need it under 15", and preferably around 36" at that width. i need a skinny side table on the other side of the couch, too. but not right this minute.
i can probably put my big coffee table right at the foot of the side stairs.
there was a nice entertainment unit in here that i will make proper use of, with a full stereo system, and that needs to take priority in installing by clearing out the space. only once that is set up will i make decisions about further tables around the couch. i will need to clear the library area out first, so i can move the shelves and books and cds out of the way, so i can move the stereo desk in.
it took me a few days, for a few reasons, to finish planning out the rest of the kitchen, the side entrance and the listening/library/studio space. i'm still not able to move anything valuable into the garage until i get the entrance dealt with, but that could happen over the weekend.
i'm going to be slowly moving the remaining ceramic bowls and plates mostly out of the cupboard altogether and to under the sink, with the exception of the 8" plates, which i use mostly for cutting things.
- the 10" plates will get shifted to being used for holding glass bowls, and won't get eaten on directly
- the ceramic bowls will be moved to under the sink and used to hold things like doritos, although that is not something i do that often anymore. i haven't generally bothered putting the chips in a bowl in quite a while. i want to get a few very big metal bowls while i'm at it, as i let standing water sit in my old metal bowl for too long in the last place. i've also decided to get some plastic cups after all, just to be complete, which i'm being extreme about. i'm getting everything done now.
i don't think i mentioned the cast iron pans. i think i did mention the two new blenders.
it's also taken me a few days to get to the point in the coffee table book where i can move to building or installing the first skipped item, which is all of those stackable cubes i want to use as bookshelves. in fact, i have cleared enough space in here that i can start setting up the shelving more generally, which will open up a ton of space in here as it will clear out the centre of the room and get this pile of 20 or so boxes of books and cds off the floor.
i've also planned out a few more floating shelves in the kitchen. there ended up being four extra wall shelves in the bathroom (for now, all very small) and there are currently five extra shelves in the kitchen, with five more to come, and potential plans for a few more after that. i like this approach of just popping shelves on the wall with these cheap pegs without having to screw or nail anything into walls that should not be nailed or screwed into. the double and mostly even matching shelving (except one) on every possible open space in this kitchen maximizes what can be done with the space (which is big for a small kitchen. any bigger at all, and it might no longer be small, anymore.) and does a lot to make it look like a fancier kitchen than it is. this is the bottom half of what was a turn of the last century mansion; i know it's really, really old because there's still a chimney vent for the coal down here. it wouldn't take that much effort to make this place really nice.
i'm getting there.
regarding the laptops, i'm getting annoyed enough with the crashing old chromebook in the kitchen that i'm planning on replacing it with the one i'm typing on, but it's going to be a process. i need to make sure that i can't just swap the ram first. if i can fix it by swapping the ram, that's a better choice, although there are some annoyances, such as the inability to play bandcamp audio. that said, if i can stop it from crashing, i may still consider swapping out the os on it. i need to test the ram, which is replaceable in this thing because it's really a laptop with a chrome os chip. it might be easy. it's too bad the front panel is busted, really. but i've been over this a few times - this is why i stopped buying laptops, and i'm going to get to that. laptops will break. i don't have the money to waste. i'd rather buy $100 chromebooks that are expected to break or expire, anyways.
there is still going to be a zoom device in there as well and i'm trying to figure out how to do this. i want to get a videophone with an external monitor out. this will delegate the processor work to a dedicated videophone device but still give me a bigger screen. ideally, i should also be able to plug a usb key into the videophone for use with the zoom platform.
zoom actually is shifting to hardware, but they are moving to a corporate licensing model and this is leaving me in a hole. i could in theory buy a 20 year old cisco video phone on ebay for $100 and it should work perfectly fine, so long as zoom lets me connect, which it looks like they won't. i need to buy a license, intended for corporate use. that doesn't make sense to me. zoom's insistence on pushing a proprietary hardware product is becoming a problem and i want to drop this on them. they need to change how they're approaching this.
right now, they are leaving users like me in a bind. as mentioned, i can neither afford to keep up with laptop hardware nor buy proprietary zoom licenses. i do not currently have a computer i can use to run zoom on; i need to buy something, and i'd rather get a videophone if i'm doing it. the videophone shouldn't lose support like an operating system well, which is a major selling point for a low income nerd like myself. i know i can set one of these things up (i have a voip office phone with two lines that is connected to voip.ms that takes incoming and outcoming calls and works just like a landline) and i know it can and should work but, right now, zoom doesn't want to let me without charging me an exorbitant fee. it will tell me the desktop version is free, but it won't let me run it, either, because it claims my computer isn't fast enough (a claim which is, in truth, dubious to clearly false).
access to zoom is no longer a luxury in canada. zoom is increasingly exclusively used by courts, tribunals and other administrative bodies in canada, who are increasingly abandoning the court room altogether. still, in 2026, years after the pandemic has been over, the court house in windsor is still dead empty. if i was running for mayor in windsor, i may want to suggest converting the empty court house into a homeless shelter. it does not look like the courts are returning to normal any time soon, in ontario. ontarians need to adjust, which means they need access to this proprietary platform, without buying a fucking license. that means everybody, even poor people like me that don't buy new computers every six months and cannot keep up with zoom's onerous minimum requirements, which are unjustified.
i can call the court, but i've learned the hard way that that places you at a disadvantage. judges want to see you because they don't read your court documents and don't correctly apply the law, they judge you on your appearance and apply a variety of race and gender prejudices on you in the process, then make a prejudicial ruling based on nonsense. that's reality, and we can't avoid the necessity of the legal system, which governs aspects of our lives like housing in ways that we have no choice but to interact with. ontarians need a way to connect to zoom via video, moving forward. zoom needs to make this easier, not harder, or it might find it starts losing clients that can't deal with the user requirements and just want to connect to go to court because they have to.
first, i want to finish cleaning behind the couch so i can finally put the coffee table down. then, i need to clear out the space where i'm moving all my bookshelves into to clean, so i can move the shelves in. when that's done, i can get to cutting some of the wood for the kitchen, finally.
there will be a scattering of items coming in as that's happening, as well.
the truth is that while colbert may have legitimately been fired, he spent far more time sucking up to authority or trying to avoid offending people than he did speaking up against anything. he was a sellout in what's really the worst way possible, and in the end he got what he deserved for it.
you aren't likely to hear much from stephen colbert for quite a long time.
Wednesday, June 3, 2026
there's actually some plants popping up outside my bedroom windows. i think they're just weeds, or maybe random trees, but the increase in air quality is appreciated.
so, i like this place.
it's a shame about the losers following me around.
i'm noticing this afternoon that my trusty house centipede guard is back on patrol. i can do a million other things using barriers and chemicals, but the centipedes are more effective than anything. i wish i could go buy some but it's not legal, apparently.
i gotta keep the humidity up for these little buddies to survive down here and eat everything else, or they dry out and die, and i find them shriveled up in the corner.
canadian trade authorities should be aggressively seeking to crack down on this.
Canada’s Connection to Prison Labour
Though our trip focused on the prison labour system in Alabama, a large portion of our time over the summer was spent examining ties between the US prison labour system, and goods sold in Canada. Our research indicated that the Canadian supply chain has many likely linkages to prison-made goods from the US, particularly in the automotive and food sectors.
When we looked into the auto industry, we noticed that many auto parts manufacturers are based in the southern US, with Alabama leading in auto parts exports in 2023. Since many companies in Alabama use prison labour, this pointed us to a potential issue. The auto industry relies on a complex supply chain, with parts often crossing the Canada-US border multiple times before final assembly—making it hard to track the origin of each part. However, some parts are only made in specific factories. If one of those factories uses prison labour, then any car sold in Canada that includes that part was likely produced using prison labour.
The food industry is another sector with many potential linkages to prison labour. In 2023, the US exported $32 billion in agricultural goods to Canada, which highlights the prominent agricultural trading relationship between the nations. The food industry is difficult to trace, due to the structure of the modern food supply chain. Raw products produced using prison labour can be intermingled with other products and heavily processed before becoming a product for final purchase by consumers. Corn is a great example: corn might be harvested by incarcerated workers, and then processed into corn syrup, which is then used to make products like candy or beverages. Still, we were able to find links to food produced using prison labour at several major grocery stores and restaurants in Canada.
In addition to these primary industries, we found potential links to prison-made goods in the Canadian supply chain in home furnishing, pet stores, children’s products, and lumber companies, to name a few. Given the trade relationship between the US and Canada, it’s likely that prison-made products are a part of the daily lives of Canadian consumers—without them even knowing.
a retaliatory tariff on american prison labour by all affected parties, or even an outright ban on goods and services made in american prisons, would be a proportionate response that would also send a clear political message to the americans.
i am generally opposed to placing tariffs on goods entering canada from the united states. canadians don't benefit by paying more for orange juice, or not being able to buy vodka. that doesn't help us. it's just a punitive tax on ourselves.
but we should not be supporting the continuing reality of forced labour in the united states' penal system. canadians should not be buying goods made in american prisons. at all. period.
further, i would not support lifting that ban or set of tariffs as a part of negotiations. i would keep that restriction, until they change their laws.
Prison labor in the U.S. generates significant economic output. Incarcerated workers provide services valued at $9 billion annually and produce over $2 billion in goods.
The U.S. is home to the world's largest prison population and the highest per-capita incarceration rate. As of May 2020, there were 655 people incarcerated per 100,000. Prison, parole, and probation operations cost U.S. taxpayers $81 billion a year.
while i would welcome and support any american economic sanctions on forced labour, and strongly oppose canadian attempts to build trade agreements with countries like indonesia and vietnam who i would rather place canadian tariffs on for exactly that reason, the trump adminstration should begin by examining their own prison labour population, which they have actually been dramatically expanding since 2016.
allowing slave labour is actually a good reason to place tariffs on somebody, and one that i would generally support. but it's the americans that continue to have slave labour in their prisons as a result of the disgusting 13th amendment, not us.
i would support placing economic sanctions on the united states until they abolish the 13th amendment.
the last time i watched even a minimal amount of television was in the months leading up to when i moved out of my dad's basement in february, 2007. that is the right date - 2007. i went home to finish my math degree.
i have not watched anything on tv since early 2007. like, at all. i might watch ten minutes in a bar here and there or something. i have no understanding of what tv even is at this point, and i'm really not remotely interested.
in fact, the years between about 1998 and 2007 were themselves a process of slowly tuning out. i don't think i've watched a single full snl episode since they cut norm mcdonald and i've pointed out before that it's really directed at teenagers staying up late on saturday night. you grow out of it by design. i have not watched a single sitcom or even anything at all in prime time since the end of seinfeld. i have not been interested in drama on tv since they cut the xfiles.
after 2002, i was pretty busy - working, going to school, composing and even spending time with friends. i did not have a lot of time or interest in tv. i would watch the odd episode of conan o'brien or jon stewart, and a lot of simpsons reruns, and that was really the totality of tv i had interest in or time for.
i did not think stephen colbert was very funny. he was a very safe, conservative comedian that wanted to appeal to an upper class audience. he was not very silly, but he wasn't very sharp, either. he went after low lying fruit, in conscious attempts to appeal to high brow but low intellect audiences. he was a good fit for the show, but i just didn't watch the 11:30 slot, even when i watched a lot of tv, as a young kid. even if i had a tv set up with a cable (and i have not since 2007 and never will again), i would not have watched a mediocre, middle of the road, safe as fuck, don't-offend-anybody style comedian like stephen colbert. that's not something i would be remotely interested in.
i expect that they will bring the format back relatively shortly and this is just as an excuse to cut his contract and let him go.
Tuesday, June 2, 2026
i also forgot to mention that i bought some french onion soup bowls, which means the broccoli soup is now officially a part of the meal plan. i should make another big batch in mid june. i found i only ever ate a third, at most, of the 17 ounce cereal bowls i was using, so i bought smaller 15 ounce bowls, and they look tiny, but i think it's the right size and i'll thank myself when i make it. this broccoli soup is like a bacon and cheese stew. it's extremely filling. it takes weeks to eat through a pot of it, which is fine because it's better reheated.
i'll go through all of the stuff i skipped. it's what i'm doing next, i just lost a few days to headaches, so i bought some kitchen supplies (i am happy about the 1500 lumen bulbs in the kitchen. much better.) and redid a few things in the bathroom instead. a couple of the mirrors fell off the cardboard, so i glued them on.
the way i'm going to be doing this is month by month and i'll be reposting it as i get through each month. what i want to make sure is that i've "installed" everything i've bought for in here since october, so i'm going to be neurotic about it, as i tend to be. for example, i know i still have uncut wood from december. so, i'm going to go back to october and catalog it all to make sure it's organized and i didn't miss anything, go to november, december, etc and i'll eventually having everything installed and be caught up within a few more days.
i just spent a fair amount of effort and money converting my dishes (cup, various sized bowls, plates) from plastic and ceramic to borosilicate lead-free glass. i think i should have done this a long time ago. i'll go over it. i may buy some more but it will be extra.
i have bought
- 6 tall 550 ml glass cups for water and soy, mostly
- two thin 750 ml glass vases i intend to use as juice and pop cups, because good luck finding glass glasses that big
- four glass 20 ounce stemless wine glasses
- two glass shot glasses
- three 16 ounce glass containers, with lids
- three 20 ounce glass bowls
- three 70 ounce glass bowls
- four 10 inch glass plates
i'm being as thorough as possible. i may still purchase sets of 17 ounce or 33 ounce bowls, 55 ounce bowls or very large four quart bowls, as well as 650 ml vases and smaller 250 ml glasses, but they would be extra, and not replacements for my existing dishes, which are 10" plates, 8" plates, 20 ounce bowls, 70 ounce bowls and plastic cups. i'm not replacing the 8" plates because i only use them to cut things and for loose items like toast or cheese. i'm replacing the bowls, plates and cups due to the high amounts of fruit acids and vinegar-based dressings in my diet.
i have some 1500 lumen bulbs coming in the mail as well.
that was another weekend of splitting headaches, and i'm annoyed because all i can smell is candle wax. but i can certainly smell it now. i don't know what set me off, but i need to adjust, and i'm setting up a system of fans and heaters in here to make sure this doesn't happen again.
that took much of the weekend because these items are hard to search and the stores want to aggressively sell you on bad deals. i made sure everything was microwavable and marketed as lead free.
i'm addressing as many potential causes of these headaches as i can identify. this is overdue. when it's done, it's done, and i can get back to my art. but this place is definitely starting to take a more normal shape.
Sunday, May 31, 2026
i've been listening to these religious retards upstairs and i'm just going to be terse. i have no patience for this idiocy, and i have no obligation to tolerate them. they ought to be rounded up by the police, declared mentally ill and thrown into a rubber room for the rest of their lives. these are utterly insane dipshits.
i'm not going to bother trying to sort through this nonsense.
the phrase "islamic law" is a contradiction in terms and i won't even let you get that far before i interrupt you and shut you down. there is no such thing as islamic law. law, by definition, requires a democratic process to generate. if you have an absence of democracy, you have an absence of law. for that reason, islam's rejection of the democratic process places it entirely outside of any legitimate concept of law and the term cannot be accurately applied to it. islam is entirely inconsistent with the entire concept of law, and i won't engage with a discussion with you on those terms - islamic rules are never laws, and i will get up and walk out of the room if you decide to refer to them as laws.
rather, when a group of people get together and decide to enforce a set of rules on people not just despite of but in spite of their democratic rejection of those rules, that is not called law, that is called the absence of law. that is the definition of tyranny; it is the definition of totalitarianism. as such, we should speak only of islamic tyranny and islamic fascism, and never of islamic law.
there is no islamic law. there is only islamic fascism.
i'm never going to listen to a word any group of people that wants to enforce rules outside of a democratic process wants to say. they can pretend they're the fuhrer in their basement all they want, i'm just going to laugh at them and ignore them, and if they get too pushy, they'll need to get the shit kicked out of them (perhaps by a mob of fed up atheists) to teach them a lesson about the supremacy of democracy over totalitarianism.
through a poorly vetted immigration policy, we've allowed some very dangerous people to set up in this country and there's going to necessarily be some level of violent response required to prevent them from enforcing their rules on people outside of the democratic process. the best outcome will be for that violence to be enforced by the police on the religious groups, in a process of upholding the rights of the people they start attacking, who will predictably be queer people and women. but some violence is inevitable one way or another, and is coming sooner than later.
canada is on a direct path to civil war.
Saturday, May 30, 2026
appendix B - notes/summary
i want to keep track of what i'm spending on this. i don't want it to be too much, in the end.
i'm expecting an extra $2000 from the city. let me keep it under that, max, total.
i'm not close.
oct 12th:
plastic drawers: $30, and i'll use these for something else. this was regular $40. (delivered)
fan: $20, which i needed anyways. (delivered)
shoe rack: $10, which i need anyways. (delivered)
thermometers/alarm clock: $20. i broke my mercury thermometer and had to replace it, and the other weather station and clock is unnecessary, but was $10, and i think i'll use it a lot. minus $3 because it had no cord. (delivered)
- wide bagel toaster: $15 (i needed a new toaster, as my old toaster is broken). this was regular $25. (delivered)
- mini fridge: $100 (i've been meaning to get a second fridge for a long time as my fridge is always packed). this was regular $200. i could have bought a used fridge for $60-70ish, but then i'd need to get it delivered. it made more sense to pay a little bit more to get it delivered for free by walmart, and for it to be brand new. (delivered)
- mini indoor grill & sandwich maker device $30 (well, now i can make the chicken in the freezer, and we'll see if i use it for things like bacon) (delivered)
- extension cord: $5. this is for the laundry area. (delivered)
=====================================
$150*1.13 = $170.
as of oct 16th: 87 + 170 = $257.
oct 17th
knife holder: $10 (with shipping), it's cheap and i've been looking to get one for a long time (delivered)
kitchen/computer table: $60. this is regular $160. i need one that is 20"x48" or very close to it and lets me put something under it, and this one will do that. i don't have a table that size. (delivered)
new kitchen scale: $12 + hst is $12*1.13 = $14. this would be regular $30. my old kitchen scale is damaged, and this is something you have to replace every few years. my last one was bought in 2021, i think. (delivered)
new bathroom scale: $16 + delivery + hst = 24*1.13 = $27. this was also regular $30 + delivery. i've been looking to get one of these for a long time, too. (delivered)
i can use all of this when i eventually leave. i won't need to leave any of it here or find myself unable to do anything with it, in the end. further, i've found a fair bit of furniture on the curb recently, so i guess it balances out. i'd rather have bought the table used, but i couldn't find anything the right size, and this one is kind of perfect. it's a cheap and overpriced table that was marked down, but that's fine. so long as the legs are sturdy, i don't really care that it's made of composite. it's easy to clean, which is a bonus if i'm eating on it. the counters are composite. i won't have anything close to the 265 pound maximum weight on it. i simply didn't need a solid oak or otherwise expensive or fancy table in that space, i needed something cheap and functional.
i was looking at what are called console tables with a built in extension cord, but i couldn't find one that was the right size, and they tended to have metal crossing under the table to keep it sturdy, because they were so thin. i want to put a coffee table with a stereo system under the kitchen table, to save space. the kitchen table just needs to have a computer monitor, speakers and a laptop/chromebook on it, and space to eat. i will likely move the coffee warmer / induction plate to it, and maybe some other random kitchen things. 20"x48" should be fine for that.
the sturdiness issue will reduce to the legs, and i'll have to see about it. i think it looks fine, but it might be challenging to move without breaking it.
still to go:
wood plank: ??. 34" x 12" for under sink shelf & book case pins to hold it up. i need to call rona tomorrow.
wall shelving units: ???
shelf for on mini fridge (20" wide, 30" tall)? or not? i could just leave it open.
that is likely everything for the kitchen.
tonight, i'm going to get everything out of it's temporary spaces and into it's right place and see how much more shelving i think i still need. i think i need another standard wall mount, but i found a third shelving unit the other day, and i may be able to just rest it on a table. i'll have to run that by the owner, who i told i would contact before i screwed anything into the wall. the wood plank is almost 100%, but i have to have a 36" piece cut at the store and i don't know if they'll deliver it. home depot's website is useless.
oct 23
i just set up the kitchen table. it's a little more sturdy than i expected. unfortunately, the table i wanted to put under it is a little too big, so i bought a three tier side table to put under it that is a little smaller, instead. it was cheap, and a three tier "industrial" table sounds like the right thing to put my stereo system on. i can then move this system, with the two tables and the stereo/laptop system, as a unit when i need to.
a package of three items disappeared this afternoon. i think my neighbours stole it, and i think it's because they might not have understood that i bought this stuff. if there's free stuff at the door, it might as well be theirs. right? except that's not how this works. i'm asking fedex to double check. it was about $30 worth of makeup and cleaning supplies on sale. i want the items back, but i may have to ask for a refund, and i'll keep an eye on them about that.
i also just purchased $100 worth of stackable cubes that are intended to function as shelving and that i will use for shelving textbooks, mostly, as well as a portable closet for the walk-in closet area, a monitor stand for the kitchen system and a two-way wired video doorbell system for the complex door way, which prevents people from knocking on my door, which is fine. i got a wired system because the wireless systems don't work very well, and are easy to hack, which is worse because you have to connect them to your home network. if the cable is 10 m, that should be enough, but i may have to buy an extra cable if it isn't. this system comes with it's own lcd monitor and acts as a doorbell, a video peephole and a two way intercom and it has a night vision function as well.
oct 23rd:
power adapter for alarm clock: $5, after rebates. it was supposed to have one but didn't, so i asked for 50% off and got it. (delivered)
three tier 13"x17" side table, for mini chromebook and nad stereo system under the kitchen table: $40 + hst is 40*1.13 = $45. this was regular $50 + hst. (delivered)
thirty modular, stackable 15x12x12 cubes for book shelves: $102 + hst is 102*1.13 = 115. this would have been regular $171 + hst. (delivered)
portable closet: $40 + hst is 40*1.13 = $45. this was regular $53 + hst. (delivered)
monitor stand: $19 + hst is $22. this was regular $25 + hst. (delivered)
wired video intercom system: $45 + hst = $51. this was normally $102 + hst. (delivered)
two motion sensor night lights for entryway: $16 + hst = $19 (delivered)
======================
$302
as of oct 23rd: 376 + 302 = $678.
still to go:
wood plank: ??. 34" x 12" for under sink shelf & book case pins to hold it up. i need to call rona soon.
small desk for bedroom: ??
shelving for bathroom: ??
tweeters for celestions: ??
this is almost everything i need for the walk-in closet, the bathroom and the bedroom, as well.
i should also note the items i've recently found for free:
tall dresser for walk-in closet: free, left by previous tenant
two tier coffee table: free, left by previous tenant
low storage shelf: free, left by previous tenant
large clothing rack on wheels for walk-in closet: free, left by previous tenant
large ironing table (but i won't use it for that) for walk in closet area: free, left by previous tenant
electric kettle: free, left by previous tenant
coffee warmer: free, left by previous tenant
cutlery and dishes, including sharp fsih knife: free, left by previous tenant
hepa air filter, free left by previous tenant
ghetto hutch used as spice rack (two cabinets stacked on each other): free, found on curb
large craft table for laundry area: free, found on curb
matching set of wood speaker tables: free, found on curb
stove side cabinet: free, found on curb
utensil holder: free, found on curb
i can also add a few items i bought before i left the last place and will add that on at the end:
three level console table for voip (phone & zoom) and some kitchen storage: $30 (delivered)
sewing desk: $20 (delivered)
metal chair with leather cushions: $5 (picked up)
coffee machines: $46 (picked up)
=======================================
$101
$678 + $101 = $779
i will struggle to spend much more than this, i think. if i can get in under $1000 to really set this place up, that's pretty good.
oct 25
i need a few extra shelves in the kitchen. i don't need a full cabinet, just a few extra floating shelves. i have l-brackets, a drill and a studfinder, so i was just going to go ahead and drill the l-brackets in, but there seems to be some kind of metal plate behind the wall that's making it hard for me to make sure i'm not drilling into the electrical.
i instead bought a pack of 15 glue on pegs for $9, and a bunch of shelving pegs for another $10. they'll be here tomorrow. the glue on pegs will help me put up more floating shelves, maybe in the bathroom, with this pile of rectangular wood i have.
my big order from yesterday will also be here today, so the only things i'll be waiting for are refunds on the cleaning supplies (which i'll reorder), a package of j-cloths and the video intercom system.
i was looking at a dedicated zoom compatible videophone yesterday but think i should wait. they've come down in price a lot. i'm also there but not quite yet. this place is big enough for two voip phones, that's fine.
oversized adhesive wall pegs: $10 with tax (delivered)
bookshelf pins: $12 with tax (delivered)
======================
$22
$779 + 22 = $801
the last thing to do in the kitchen before i can pictures up late tomorrow will be to call rona today. that's step one, just about done.
this is crazy stuff for dirt cheap, in some cases. a two way video intercom for $60? so...inflation? what's that? i'm experiencing the effects of technology losing value, and the effects of superproduction coming from china, and it's decreasing prices, while my income has come up. i've probably never been better off.
i think the missed point might be that the inflation is happening in bourgeois goods and lifestyle products, while commodities for budget items are actually coming down. it might be more expensive to be rich than it ever has been, but it's probably never been cheaper to be poor.
(...)
i have now received the five items i bought at amazon yesterday, and i have mostly set up the stereo in the kitchen, and tested to see if it works by grabbing the first cd in the pile. which was cleanse, fold and manipulate. this is appropriate for the industrial strength table.i also finished cleaning the stove and started putting away loose items. there's not much more left to do.
i've been working on designing spaces like this for a while now, and a lot of people will consider this to be a sort of dream kitchen. i'm excited to post the pictures. soon.
(...)
so, i set up my computer stand and realized the keyboard is too big. this keyboard is missing a few keys and is held together with electrical tape. i have newer ones, but keyboards are things you use up and replace, so you tape them together until they're unusable, knowing the next one will break, again.
i just bought a smaller one for $15.
kitchen system mini usb keyboard: $15 + hst = $17 (delivered)
=========================================
17
as of oct 25th: $801 + 17 = $818.
the monitor stand in the kitchen is now set up and i've run an ethernet cable to it. i've now set the system up, and am eating some salsa and watching the most recent fall of civilizations.
i'll be going back to the oversight committee project and starting over again imminently, which is here:
the remaining items in my order arrived this afternoon and i was able to put three shelves up, which was the last thing to do, for now. the four packages that came in were the mini keyboard, the adhesive pegs, the bookshelf pins and some j-cloths.
the last things left are the doorbell and the wood shelf for under the cabinet. next, i need to finish some bulk purchases that i'll probably do via uber and then take a run to the bulk barn this week to fill up the spice shelf.
i'm going to take some pictures and start writing a post up.
oct 27th
my kitchen costs ended up being:
total cost for kitchen, including items previously purchased for last apartment, but not including food or cleaning supplies, including hst or shipping per item:
the next space to set up is the laundry / walk-in closet, along with the bathroom. both areas require some venting work, which i'm waiting on. unfortunately, i'm still working on some legal documents.
this morning, i just bought another $300 worth of cleaning and bathroom supplies, after getting about $40 back on refunds for missing items. i'm buying everything in bulk, and it's actually cheaper, in the long run, but it means spending $130 on makeup and $120 on dish soap, which i also use for air freshener. i won't need any for quite a while. like, two years. i have 4x the amount of everything that i'd normally buy.
i also just bought a $39 five tier metal shelving unit for in the bathroom. these metal furniture items are inexpensive right now, and i wonder if it has something to do with the tariffs. that's fine; it's better than plywood, for the same price, or less. the other option in the bathroom was plastic, but plastic warps in humidity and under weight. this metal table will have no problem holding it's shape under the weight of 20 lbs of shampoo and other items. i also bought another $10 worth of adhesive pegs and a $16 wall mounted 6 outlet extension cord with bonus usb power outs for in the garage area. i'll need to run that from upstairs to downstairs, and it should be enough to power the work area, which i need to get a series of tables for.
i've decided to move the desk i bought as a sewing desk into my bedroom and use it as a writing desk because i found a big, sturdy craft desk outside when i first got here and that makes more sense in the laundry room and walk-in closet space. the walls are not drywalled, but they're old stone. it's not bad. i do need something on the floor, but a number of rugs were actually left here. otherwise, i think i have most of the furniture for in there already, because there was also a tall bookshelf and a low storage shelf left here that i can move into that area for that function.
bathroom shelf: $39 (delivered)
extension cord: $16 (delivered)
adhesive wall pegs: $9 (delivered)
=====================
$64*1.13 = $72
as of oct 30th: $818 + $72 = $890
here's my update in terms of the next two spaces.
laundry items:
tall dresser for walk-in closet: free, left by previous tenant
low storage shelf for laundry detergent: free, left by previous tenant
large clothing rack on wheels for walk-in closet: free, left by previous tenant
large ironing table (but i won't use it for that) for walk in closet area: free, left by previous tenant
large craft table for laundry area (sewing table): free, found on curb
closet organizer: $40 + hst - $45
wall mounted socket extension: $5 + hst
rugs: ??
vacuums: ??
lights: ??
there is a working washing machine and a working dryer with no exhaust that i will borrow, as a tenant
===============================
$45 * 1.13 = $51
bathroom:
scale: $24+ hst = $27
metal shelves: $40 + hst is $45
two mirrors: ??
wood for window, probably: ?
make up table: ??
lights: ??
====================
$72
these are the remaining spaces:
bedroom:
matching speaker tables: found for free on curb
shelving for books: wall shelves
pegs: $9*1.13 = $10
writing desk: $20
alarm clock / weather monitor: $17 ($6 for device + $11 for cord )
heater/humidifer: $45 (added nov 2nd)
tweeters for celestions ??
======================
$92 (as of nov 2nd)
in-unit garage (as of nov 10th):
motion sensor night lights: $16
extension cord to wall mounted new downstairs outlet: $16
video intercom: $51 (inclusive)
space heater: ?
bicycle rack: ?
big tables: $50
===================
$32*1.13 = 36 + 50 + 51= $138
side hallway:
console table (same as kitchen): $0 here, added there
shoe rack: $10
lights:
front hallway:
items for charging table:
probably where i'll put stationary for indoor bicycle
probably where i'll put cd and book shelving
couch area:
videophone:
studio:
not clear yet; probably don't need more furniture.
hepa air filter: free, left by previous tenant
the kitchen required the most work, as i didn't have a kitchen table, and i needed to replace, update or buy some new small appliances. i also had that console table, which i'm adding to the cost.
still to go:
kitchen: wood plank: ??. 34" x 12" for under sink shelf & book case pins to hold it up. i need to call rona soon.
garage: space heaters:
garage: big tables for in-unit garage: (still, maybe)
garage: bicycle rack:
bathroom: bathroom mirror:
bedroom: tweeters for celestions: ??
as all i really need to do for the laundry/closet area is clean it, i could potentially get some pictures up by monday. but i need to go back to the court documents for a few days.
nov 2nd
one of the items left behind by the previous tenant is a sfnow sap200c activated carbon hepa air filter, which i now have running in the middle of the room, and is helping clean up the smoke in the house, in general. i have also purchased a combination heater/humidifier, as the heat keeps turning off, and i need to have a solution before it gets actually cold. i don't know if the thermostat is shutting itself off or if the drug dealers are shutting it off over wifi. i've asked the owner if i can password protect it and am waiting for an answer.
(...)
the heater came in early this morning and the humidifier function is more of a novelty. it's not a real humidifier. that's ok; it's still a good deal for $40. you can either set it to just heat (high or low), and place a timer on it, in which case it will keep track of the temperature, or you can set it to a temperature and have it come on and off based on the thermostat. it also oscillates, like a cooling fan.
so, i may need to get a standalone warm mist humidifier, too, which i was looking at before i got this. that's ok. it's not the most important thing right now.
heater/humidier: $40 + tax. amazon has two sellers selling this, the other for $75. somebody is selling it on facebook for $150. (delivered)
=====================
$40*1.13 = $45
as of nov 2nd, $890 + $45 = $935
nov 4
my video intercom came in in the mail today, so the only thing i'm waiting on is a package of nitrile gloves. unfortunately, as expected, the cable is only about 3 m long. i am going to need to run the cable through the garage and through two doors, which should be 5 m max. i'll have to see, but i think i'll need to buy another cable. that's ok. i can use this one to test it.
i'm also deciding that because i'm going to be putting a lot of wall shelving in here (the bedroom is a little small, too small for bookshelves, but it has that big closet/laundry area off the bathroom, which i consider preferable in concept; it means that multiple shelves on the walls are a better idea) and because i have a garage area that i intend to use to work in, it makes more sense to just order the wood i need and order a cheap circular saw to cut it with. i'm going to buy the same amount of wood, whether i cut it here or at the store. i can't bicycle with these wood planks, so i'm going to need to either walk it or cart it or take a bus or get a cab but some of the wood is going to be upwards of ten feet, so that even carting it from the closest store (a home hardware) becomes awkward. home hardware is also known for being overpriced. so i'm probably better off getting it cheaper online and mailed to me, and paying the $60 difference on a new saw. when i was a kid, i had a basement bedroom that had a kind of built in shelf (it was actually that the wall was about a foot from the brick, and the space lower to the ground was filled with insulation covered over by drywall, while the space higher up was not, it was just drywall over the outer layer) that i used to store paperbacks on. i'm going to build something similar to that in here, but it will be with three ten foot shelves held on to the wall with those adhesive pegs. that should be helpful to me as i work through the j's journal section of the multimedia presentation, which is the first thing to do when i get things set up properly.
it would be a shame to leave this space. it's huge. and it's cheap. i'm trying to get the furnace to work correctly and get a fan installed and get a new door on the side and i think i should be good to go after that. the landlord is absent-minded and distant but seems to be better than the last few, it's just that you have to bug him to do stuff. that's fine.
so, there's going to be another bunch of purchases when i next sit down to do it and it could actually be quite a bit, but everything else is in now except the gloves. today, i have the follow-up hearing for my harassment suit against the landlords in the last basement i was in and i will be filing something in the court of appeal tomorrow, regardless of how that goes, although i need to know what happens before i finalize what i'm filing.
nov 10th
i didn't want it to take more than five minutes, but i got stuck doing banking all day, as my bank tried to stop me from buying tables over kijiji. these are pretty big tables, for $20 each, and $10 delivery. it's an easy way to get what i needed for in there. great. i otherwise lost the weekend trying to figure out why this chromebook was broken, rather than doing court documents. i haven't called home hardware yet or done really anything in a couple of days, but hope to get some more stuff done overnight.
big tables for garage: $50. (delivered)
as of nov 10th, 935 + 50 = 985.
total list, as of nov 10th:
(0a) through amazon site:
- power adapter for alarm clock: $5, after rebates. it was supposed to have one but didn't, so i asked for 50% off and got it. (delivered)
- three tier 13"x17" side table, for mini chromebook and nad stereo system under the kitchen table: $40 + hst is 40*1.13 = $45. this was regular $50 + hst. (delivered)
- thirty modular, stackable 15x12x12 cubes for book shelves: $102 + hst is 102*1.13 = 115. this would have been regular $171 + hst. (delivered)
- portable closet: $40 + hst is 40*1.13 = $45. this was regular $53 + hst. (delivered)
- monitor stand: $19 + hst is $22. this was regular $25 + hst. (delivered)
- two motion sensor night lights for entryway: $16 + hst = $19 (delivered)
- oversized adhesive wall pegs: $10 with tax (delivered)
- bookshelf pegs: $12 with tax (delivered)
- kitchen system mini usb keyboard: $15 + hst = $17 (delivered)
- bathroom shelf: $29*1.13 = $44 (delivered)
- extension cord: $18 with tax (delivered)
- more oversized adhesive wall pegs: $11 with tax (delivered)
- heater/humidifier: $45 (delivered)
========================================
$408
(0b) through walmart site:
- plastic drawers: $30, and i'll use these for something else. this was regular $40. (delivered)
- fan: $20, which i needed anyways. (delivered)
- shoe rack: $10, which i need anyways. (delivered)
- thermometers/alarm clock: $20. i broke my mercury thermometer and had to replace it, and the other weather station and clock is unnecessary, but was $10, and i think i'll use it a lot. (delivered)
- wide bagel toaster: $15 (i needed a new toaster, as my old toaster is broken). this was regular $25. (delivered)
- mini fridge: $100 (i've been meaning to get a second fridge for a long time as my fridge is always packed). this was regular $200. i could have bought a used fridge for $60-70ish, but then i'd need to get it delivered. it made more sense to pay a little bit more to get it delivered for free by walmart, and for it to be brand new. (delivered)
- mini indoor grill & sandwich maker device $30 (well, now i can make the chicken in the freezer, and we'll see if i use it for things like bacon) (delivered)
- extension cord: $5. this is for the laundry area. (delivered)
- knife holder: $10 (with shipping), it's cheap and i've been looking to get one for a long time (delivered)
- kitchen/computer table: $60. this is regular $160. i need one that is 20"x48" or very close to it and lets me put something under it, and this one will do that. i don't have a table that size. (delivered)
- new kitchen scale: $12. this would be regular $30. my old kitchen scale is damaged, and this is something you have to replace every few years. my last one was bought in 2021, i think. (delivered)
- new bathroom scale: $24. this was also regular $30. i've been looking to get this for a long time, too. (delivered)
- wired video intercom system: $45 (delivered)
======================
$381*1.13 = $430.53
(0c) via kijiji in new space:
- two big tables: $50 (delivered)
(0d) items purchased at previous apartment:
three level console table for voip (phone & zoom) and some kitchen storage, now an entrance table (kijiji): $30 (delivered)
sewing desk, now a writing desk (kijiji): $20 (delivered)
metal chair with leather cushions, now a kitchen table chair (kijiji): $5 (picked up)
coffee machines (walmart): $46 (picked up)
=======================================
$101
(0e) items left by previous tenant:
tall dresser for walk-in closet: free, left by previous tenant
two tier coffee table: free, left by previous tenant
low storage shelf: free, left by previous tenant
large clothing rack on wheels for walk-in closet: free, left by previous tenant
large ironing table (but i won't use it for that) for walk in closet area: free, left by previous tenant
electric kettle: free, left by previous tenant
coffee warmer: free, left by previous tenant
cutlery and dishes: free, left by previous tenant
hepa air filter: free, left by previous tenant
(0f) items found on curb since may:
ghetto hutch used as spice rack (two cabinets stacked on each other): free, found on curb
large craft table for laundry area: free, found on curb
matching set of wood speaker tables: free, found on curb
tall dresser for walk-in closet: free, left by previous tenant
low storage shelf for laundry detergent: free, left by previous tenant
large clothing rack on wheels for walk-in closet: free, left by previous tenant
large ironing table (but i won't use it for that) for walk in closet area: free, left by previous tenant
large craft table for laundry area (sewing table): free, found on curb
rugs: ??
vacuums: ??
lights: ??
there is a working washing machine and a working dryer with no exhaust that i will borrow, as a tenant
===============================
$45 * 1.13 = $51
(3) for bathroom:
scale: $24 + hst = $27
metal shelves: $40 + hst is $45
two mirrors: ??
wood for window, probably: ?
make up table: ??
lights: ??
====================
$72
appendix A - budgeting
i'm doing a little budgeting, here. i just want a running total of everything so i can get a clear understanding of what was spent on what, partly for future reference. i want to understand where the money went and how to spend it again in the future.
i want to first pick up where i left off on nov 20th.
this is what became of my savings, after having left the last apartment:
3281.85 (as of sept 30th) + 1125 (returned money deposits, deposited nov 20th) + 1165.18 (lmr, deposited oct 14th) + 2000 (hsp, deposited nov 3) + 1408 (odsp, oct 31st) - 1000 (nov rent, oct 31st) - 2000 (first and last, sent oct 1st) =
5980.03 + 1.30 (interest, oct 2nd) + 0.28 (interest, oct 29th) + 7.97 (balance, oct 27) =
5989.58 - 200 (movers) - 100 (groceries before i moved) =
i filled out the canada disability benefit forms at the start of november, which could send me another $1000-1200. i also have a hearing on nov 4th about the second hand smoke, in which i'm asking for a large amount of rent back.
my grocery bills should be mostly produce and lower than normal for the next 4-6 months, so i should be able to put a little aside on a monthly basis, as well. i want to maintain some savings because i want to be able to buy one of these small houses here in windsor if i get attacked by another parasitic investor.
therefore, i spent the following redesigning this space from oct 10th to nov 20th.
a lot of that, however, is grocery items. i want to separate these two things from each other.
i also, as i have done before, want to add some other items that i bought in the place i lived from may 7th to oct 10th, and to take note of items i have found for free recently and previously over the years.
picking back up on nov 20th, my starting points are:
savings: 1108.77
checking: 1218.05 (1125 in bonds)
running total: 3439.21
date of order
store
apartment redesign
bulk purchases, groceries, bills and other things
total cost
kitchen
laundry
bathroom
bedroom
living (listening, studio, library)
garage
side
total
03-2007
items i took with me when i moved to bronson
- microwave - cutting board - dishes - utensils
$0
n/a
2007-2010
stereo items my dad dropped off at bronson for me
- nad 3020e - sony dvp-ns325 cd/dvd - yamaha ns-e55 speakers
$0
n/a
09-2013
best buy
small blender
$0
n/a
09-2013
dollar store
cheese grater
$0
n/a
09-2013
walmart
brita
$0
n/a
09-2013
home depot
wood for corner shelves
wood for toilet paper shelf
$0
n/a
10-2018
real super store
dish drainer
$0
n/a
10-2018
canadian tire
plastic drawers for tools
$0
n/a
10-2018
factory direct
lenovo thinkpad x131e chromebook: $99 + tax
$0
n/a
03-2021
found on curb
wood for floating shelves
small book shelves
$0
n/a
15-04-2022
ebay
tp-link 5 port switch: $15
$0
n/a
29-05-2022
kijiji
phillips monitor: $25
$0
n/a
31-05-2025
found on curb
utensil holder
$0
0
june 4th
found on curb
ghetto hutch for spice cabinet
$0
0
june 10th
walmart
- single person coffee maker: $20 - large pot coffee maker: $20 ========== $40 + tax
45.17
45.17
june 14th
kijiji
writing desk: $20
20
20
july 8th
kijiji
padded chair: $5
5
5
july 10th
kijiji
console table: $30
30
30
oct 1st
left by previous tenant
- electric kettle - coffee warmer - cutlery and dishes
- tall dresser - low storage shelf - large clothing rack - large ironing table
2 x toothpaste: $13 2 x shampoo: $16 4 x conditioner: $32 1 x coffee: 15 2 x nutritional yeast: $20 2 x face cream: $18 2 x moz cheese: $11 2 x ched cheese: $11 2 x marble cheese: $11 1 x vinegar: $2 1 x bulk margarine: $10 1 x franks: $8 4 x all bran : $16 6 x lysol: $24 16 x razors: $19 10 x ivory: $6 12 x dove: $19 16 x soft tb: $12 12 x med tb: $14 2 x laundry sheets: $10 2 x hand soap: $13 2 x comet $3 2 x vector: $20 2 x toilet paper: $16 6 x bleach: $20 10 x caesar: $30 16 x led bulb: $25 2 x laundry det: $20 2 x 50 j-clothes: $13 =================== ~$422 + tax
2 x laundry detergent: $20 200 nitrile gloves: $22 2 x laundry sheets: $10 2 x face cream: $18 2 x paper towels: $14 5 x air freshener: $10 2 x air freshener refills: $21 8 x makeup: $112 2 x dish soap refills: $21 400 cleaning wipes: $20 ============== $268 + tax
297.83
oct 30th
amazon
shelves: $39
adhesive wall pegs: $9
power bar: $16
72.14
72.14
oct 31st
whole sale club (via instacart)
0
2 x franks refills: $40 10x choc soy: $30 1 x black pepper: $13 1 x celery salt: $6 1 x garlic salt: $4 ================== $93 + delivery + tax
106.26
oct 31st
freshco (via instacart)
0
5 x 18 eggs: 36 5 x 2.5 L orange juice: 35 5 x 1.5 L grapefruit jce: 30 ================== $101 + delivery + tax* * - note that they charged me tax for the juice. juice is not taxed in ontario. i'm waiting for a refund, but have not had a response yet.
124.59
oct 31st
walmart
0
2 x nutritional yeast: $20 3 x coffee: $45 5 x bacon: $20 10 x doritos: $35 6 x sunflower seeds: $18 ================== $138 + delivery + tax
156.19
oct 31st
food basics (via uber eats)
0
5 x marble cheese: $25 5 x ched cheese: $25 3 x mont jack cheese: $15 2 x mozarella cheese: $10 20 x original soy: $60 6 x paprika: $30 6 x cumin: $30 6 x quinoa: $45 21 x basil: $21 7 x cayenne: $21 4 x espresso $20 21 x thyme: $21 ================== $323 + delivery + tax
370.17
nov 1st
oxio
0
november internet: $25 + tax
28.25
nov 1st
amazon
electric heater: $40 + tax
45.17
45.77
nov 10th
kijiji
2 x large tables: $50
50
50
sum
all
463 (kitchen)
50.85 (laundry / walk-in closet)
71.19 (bathroom)
94.42 (bedroom)
138.99 (living room)
138.01 (in-unit garage)
12.13 (side entry)
869.07 (since oct 1st) + 100.17 (before oct 1st) ====== 969.24
1683.60 (groceries)
2552.27 + 100.17 = 2652.44
i want to continue to keep track of these things, separately. as can be seen, i bought a lot of food and cleaning supplies, so my grocery bills should be less than expected for the next several months. that money should slowly go back into the savings.