see, the problem with tying intelligence to achievement is that it assumes that being smart means you want to get lots of wealth.

and, if you don't realize that this obviously isn't true, then you default yourself from the start.

listen: i've taken a difficult path through life, some of it chosen and some of it not. it's given me a unique set of experiences. but, have i accomplished what i actually wanted?

well, i'm getting there.

right now what i'm trying to accomplish is twofold. first, i'm trying to complete the liner notes & aleph-discs for the first two periods of my discography, and i am making slow progress on it - slow progress, but progress. second, i'm trying to find a healthy place to live.

neither my previous basement nor the unit i'm in now have been healthy places to live, although the first was pretty good, until the new management took over. i admit i made a mistake moving into this place, and is admitting error not a sign of intelligence? we'll see if i'm able to accomplish this task on my third try or not.

but, understand the point: you can't tell me what my goals ought to be. you can't tell me what i should want, what i should dream or how i should go about accomplishing those goals or dreams. what you can do, if you insist, is measure how well i succeed at what i want to succeed at.

right now, those goals are as aforementioned.

and, i'm going to try to get some work done tonight.

ok.

so, maybe i am being persecuted for my views. like, what is this, iran? that shouldn't happen here.

and, if you can find me another example of the canadian government attacking a private citizen for their writing, i'd like to see it. that's unheard of, in canada. and, if you have evidence, then that's a story that should be published - and a government that should be held accountable.

this is supposed to be a free society, and broadly has been for a very long time, now.

but, presuming it's true: where's the white knight that steps in and stands up for free speech?

because, if the government is regressing to these kind of attacks then there needs to be a proportionate response - or you're next.

the potential abolition of chapter 19 is a HUGE victory for the left.

and, there is only person standing in the way of this unexpected triumph: justin trudeau.

if i could have picked one thing to change about nafta, it would have been to abolish the isds.

outright.

it's maybe even fair to say at this point that trump is as surprising on a number of things as trudeau is disappointing - that these contrasting evaluations are inversely proportionally related.

trump is right on this, and trudeau is just digging in to stand up for investors' rights at the expense of the working class.

the surprising thing is less that trudeau is a stooge - that was always obvious. but, trump is...

...he's following through on things that i didn't expect him to.

again: i expect the full text to be terrible. but, i've been arguing against chapter 19 for 20+ years. i'm not going to stand up for it, now.

have a credit card debt?

fuck judges. who needs those?

your case will be heard by a panel of credit card executives.

it's the return of the all-white jury, through the backdoor of corporate governance.

chapter 19 has deep resonance amongst canadians?

perhaps, but not positively.

it was one of the things that sparked mass protests.

these guys are total corporate stooges. they'd throw the whole court system under the bus in exchange for corporate council kangaroo courts, if they could.

i strongly support the abolition of chapter 19 and subsequent return of judicial sovereignty on both sides of the border.

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2018/09/02/will-chapter-19-be-a-deal-breaker-for-canada-in-nafta-talks.html

if smoky is gone by tomorrow, that changes the calculus, and gives me some time to figure out if an appeal is worthwhile to buy time.

they're paid up, now.

i'll pay (reduced) rent for october, if i have to.

i initially thought she was an american, because she acted like one, but her mom seems like a caribbean immigrant. canada has a large jamaican community, but that's just a guess. and, the older woman is probably well educated and probably has a good paying job - because she probably came here during a period of time where that was a pre-requisite to entry.

this is apparently a well-understood problem amongst second generation caribbeans in canada. these children of doctors and professors end up thugs or entitled drunks. and, it doesn't happen in other second-generation canadian communities, who are by far the most successful people in our society. second-generation asians, in particular, are extremely well off.

and, i think there's something specifically at cause here, in the americanization of canadian blacks. it seems to be pulling people down. and, there was probably something to my initial observation.

i don't know why they left her out.

but, i know that all i ever asked her to do was smoke away from the window - and all i got back was drunkenness & belligerence.

she sounds like cartman when she talks to her mother.

"can you hold this please?
"excuse me, i'm twiddling my thumbs."

i think it was a big rooming house, but that it was under a single lease. so, a couple of the people were just boarders - including smoky. when the group moved out, they didn't take her with them.

there's an older woman helping her move that i'm guessing is her mom. and, maybe that's where she's going.

she's like 40.

she has grandchildren.

so, if i understand the space properly (i've never been in there), there's a very big townhouse opening up next door, with a huge yard.

this would legitimately be a good spot for a family with some kids.

hopefully, they don't smoke.

and, hopefully, i can get some fresh air through the window for the next few weeks.

smokey mcsmokeface (the one in the yard outside) is in fact moving out. like, right now.

the woman downstairs is still there.

and, of course, if i move for september, i'm throwing away that $650.

which is now $600, if i vacate by the end of the day tomorrow.

i will need to plan an october move in order to maximize finances. it's just...

i want out.

i want certainty.

yeah, somebody else snatched that up quick.

i thought it was overpriced, because it was too small - but somebody else may have decided that the size was less important, and the clean carpets and new shower were worth paying more for.

it does make more sense to move that other person in, that likes like the place for what it is, and isn't just trying to avoid homelessness.

and, if i find what i want, it will be for the best. if....

if not, i could regret it.

we'll see.

it's $100 more than i pay now, but inclusive.

maybe i can take him down to $750 + hydro, from $800 all inclusive.

my rent here would either be going up by 1.8% in december or, more likely, by more than that in january. so, that's probably $720+.

and, remember that my prescription just went down by $65.

i'm also going to apply for that $100 small business credit, which could balance it out right there.

if i can just set up there for a year or two and actually finish the work, the rest won't matter. i'll be gone.

and, i have to keep something else in mind, too - all of the negative influences of this population growth are going to be offset by all these dying boomers. this is a perfect storm, for me. i should have appealed in that basement and waited for something better. but, here i am now...

...and i'm not going to need all this extra space, once i finish the work.

i'll call in the morning. i'll bring measuring tapes to be sure - i'm also relying on my eye, which is an imperfect tool. and, maybe i can get something signed by noon, to get out of here within a few days.

i'm going to call the gatekeeper before i commit. that ad is still up...