Leftward Progressive

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/quiz/political-typology/

I found this Pew Research survey. They broke down the current political climate of the US into not two or three groups, but nine political typology groups.

I scored as a Leftward Progressive. The description feels accurate for me. I do want government to be something that serves all people, and is especially devoted to helping those who need extra support (impoverished, disabled, cast-outs from the hatred of others). Not sure that I view myself as "younger," as my health puts me decades older than my planetary time, but whatever. 

Not sure why the flag drawing has only 22 stars. 🇺🇸 I support statehood (and, more importantly, REPRESENTATION, for everywhere the US taxes, like Puerto Rico and Washington DC), so that'd be MORE stars, not less. 🤔

Anyone else take this? 

The Force be with my Coffee

 What I'm drinking:

Star Wars Mandalorian and Grogu coffee. (The drawing looks more like Yoda to me. Baby Yoda has bigger eyes. 🥹 And is more adorable, imho.)

This special edition coffee from Bones is good. It's very much like one of my favorites:

Coconut Caramel Crunch Flavor is more affordable (free shipping on Amazon Prime, no shipping at the grocery store). 

But

It's special edition so I tried it. No regrets.

But will I buy another box? No.

I prefer the Kauai. 

(Yes, I know the arguments that coffee from Hawaii can be problematic because the state is running out of fresh water because corporations suck and environmental regulations are as gone as the East Wing of the White House.) 

Book Bans or Protections

 

Please SUPPORT 

The Books Save Lives Act (HR 8235)

The Right to Read Act (HR 6440)

The Fight Book Bans Act (HR 7691) 

Diverse books are important and should be in school libraries. 

Federal Funding must be given to increase LITERACY, as it is the building block of all civilized cultures. Libraries should be extremely well funded! 

OPPOSE HR 7661 until the language of the bill is more clearly defined. While children shouldn't be sexualized, the wording excludes everything, including biology and health textbooks. It is a hate weapon against some children rather than a shield of protection against pedophiles. 

HR 8705 and HR 2616 are equally problematic as they target elimination of all books where race and gender are mentioned, thus banning most history books and causing prejudice rather than promoting equality and harmony. 

Books are too important. And getting real reading material into the hands of children has never mattered more than it does in this digital age. We must do better!

Neighborhood AI Data Center letter

Copy of my letter to my local government:

2401 W Emaus Avenue, Allentown PA is a TERRIBLE location for a data center. 

The Wynnewood Greens Apartments across the street has a plumbing disaster already. The sewer and water here has been in desperate need of repair for years. A data center? That's just asking for a serious problem! 

How will Allentown save the people who live here? Hundreds of people are going to be in serious trouble if that becomes a data center. Are there emergency resources ready to deal with this situation? 

Data Centers are getting national, even global, attention. Which means all eyes of the press will be on Allentown PA as the residents suffer from the effects of a data center. Is the local government ready for that level of embarrassment and scrutiny? 

Stop this BEFORE it happens. 

I urge you to send a qualified engineer from the Office of Water & Sewer Compliance to verify the poor conditions. Check the records of the water main break at Wynnewood Greens Apartments less than five years ago. To be informed and prepared is vital! Does a professional from that office honestly believe this area could sustain the needs of residents, businesses, and a data center? 

Has anyone looked into how the HUMIDITY in Pennsylvania is going to impact the machines in a data center?

https://ultrapureus.com/humidity-control-in-data-centers/

Water cooling is not synonymous with humidity tolerance when it comes to computer equipment. That warehouse was not built with climate control in mind. The building will require a massive overhaul to house a decent data center. The site isn't designed for such a purpose! Has anyone taken a thermal imaging device to 2401 W Emaus Avenue to see if the building is capable of properly retaining the cool air needed for the equipment? Especially the side with over 40 dock doors. Are they Energy-efficient sectional doors? The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) estimates that the cooling necessary to protect sensitive data center equipment can represent as much as 40 percent of its total utility costs. Has the building been tested for the International Energy Conservation Code? 

I-3 zoning requires significant buffering from residential areas. Except there are apartments ACROSS THE STREET. There's no buffer there. It is a residential community. And Camelot For Children is across the street, and the KR Early Learning Center and The Lehigh School Academy of Early Education Inc are less than two miles away. There are retail establishments, including restaurants, next door. How is the planning and zoning commission allowing such a hazardous danger in this neighborhood? 

I am one of the over 3,000 signers of the petition opposing any data center at this location. https://www.change.org/p/no-data-center-at-2401-w-emmaus-ave 

- Jamie 

🫡🇺🇸

(Note: I'm an American. I'm not Chinese. The government of China is not paying me. NO ONE is paying me. I am aware of the problems with data centers. I worry for my own poor health, mainly. I am concerned for the health and wellbeing of children in the area. And the lives of all living beings in the area as well. That is why I raise concern. 

Certain government officials are demanding the FBI investigates everyone opposed to data centers, saying we're anti American for choosing life over profits. 🙄 Obviously, they were voted in by money and have cash dollars as constituents. 🤦‍♀️ But, I'm uselessly adding this disclaimer anyway. Not that it'd matter. 

Where's the dumpster 🔥 fire emoji? We need one!)

IWSG my Maladjusted Hat

HATS 

(Wait for explanation)

I have a question. HOW does one comment on Substack blogs in the IWSG without creating an account on that platform. OBVIOUSLY it can be done, because it's right there in the rules, so I know there has to be a way. I can't figure it out. Is it because I'm using my phone? 📱

Anyone? Because when I click "post" it wants a profile and sign up thing. And I haven't found the work around. 

HATS

See, I put together the above yesterday.

Maladjusted 

It's another word they used in the early '90s. Gen X people were not neuro divergent or autistic or have ADD / ADHD. (Gen Y, they stood in lines at the nurse for their pills 💊, Gen X just got blamed and yelled at, like all generations before us.)

Seventh grade, we got new school planners. In addition to being a requirement to put homework assignments in them, they also listed school rules.

HATS MUST BE WORN INSIDE THE SCHOOL. Upon passing through the entrance, all hats and head coverings (including, but not limited to, baseball caps, scarves, wigs, etc, unless medical exceptions have been given prior approval) are to be removed and must be stored in the locker or closet for the duration. 

🤔 If you're normal, that rule didn't get your attention.

If your brain 🧠 has been training, you see a typo. (If you're an informed activist, you see that a Klan member wrote it to screw with certain people.) 

But if you're maladjusted (note the name of my blog), you'll understand what I did.

I went to the office to ask for a hat. 

🥺🧢 I didn't bring one. I didn't know about the new rule. 😭 

"What are you talking about? Go to class!"

If you're normal, you'd think I'd shut up about it. My friends begged me to shut up about it. 

But I was disobeying a rule! And, umm... not totally sure how to obey the rule. Which, by the way, EVERYONE was breaking! We're supposed to remove them and then wear them while storing in lockers or closets. Our lockers were freaking small, the slender ones that barely held a backpack 🎒. How were we supposed to store ourselves? 

I eventually ended up in the guidance counselor's office about this. 

Who, eventually, realized I wasn't trying to be a little shit. 

I was genuinely upset because I felt I was breaking a rule. There had to be some way for me to obey this rule! The fact that the other 500 people in the building were breaking the rule didn't matter to me. I WAS BEING BAD. And I desperately needed to be able to obey the rule. I wasn't being an asshole. This was a genuine breakdown of a good kid who didn't understand.

He took my planner and grabbed a red pen. ^NOT 

"Better?" 

I stopped crying.

"What about everyone else's planners?"

"If they notice, I'll fix it. If you see something like this again, please come tell me."

"Okay. So I'm not breaking a rule?"

"Nope. Look at what it says now. See? You're behaving. Okay?" 

I'm better as an adult.

But

It isn’t as if I'm on medication for this. Or have any actual professional help.

So

Sometimes 

Like a splinter in the mind

I get obsessed over a rule.

And feel there must be a way for me to obey that rule. 

(Do not take me to a Bible study. You will find out how many contradictions are in there.) 

(I'm diabetic and have stage 3 chronic kidney disease. The food plans contradict themselves. And omg you don't want to know about my meltdown trying to figure that out, because the Internet has a whole trash heap of more information. Including a very trusted site that says I should eat CANDY 🍬.  And my doctor had to explain that's for stage 5 people who can't get calories from anywhere else and.... you DO NOT want to know.)

Maladjusted 

I'm not normal. (I'm not perfect. I make mistakes and typos.) And sometimes I get obsessed with the dumbest things that don't matter to ANYONE and have zero impact on the world. And sometimes it takes a friend to shake me out of a meltdown. 

But see how well I recall that hat story? 

Because it still bothers me a little.

I know fully right well that it was a typo. I'm a grown-up, I know.

But it's still in my head. I haven't thought about it in years. 

But trying to figure out how to comment without creating an account on that platform, it derailed me. 

And my brain 🧠,  all maladjusted, was 100% certain that everyone else in the group knew how to do it. That I was failing. AND I FELT INSECURE (as a person, not just a writer).

And, yeah, probably other people just skipped those or made accounts. I'm probably, no, I am definitely, the only butt nugget who obsessed over this. 

It's me. 

It's just me.

And I know that. 

Because I am maladjusted. 

But I'm an adult so I have to just get over it.

Except my brain is forever going to try to work this out. Even though it doesn't matter.

IT DOESN'T MATTER.

It does not matter.

The hats don't matter.

The inability to comment with creating an account doesn't matter. 

This has no impact on my life, on the world, on absolutely anything.

It doesn't matter. 

Unimportant.

Please don't contradict that.

It's the mantra. 

I have to keep telling myself that it doesn't matter. I'm maladjusted, that's why it matters to me. But it doesn't actually matter. It is not important. 

And I will NOT bring it up again. 🤐🙊

Motivation, Writing, Movies, #IWSG Story Ideas, 🏳️‍🌈 and AI neighborhood

Thank you to everyone who visited last month!
Here's a meme I found about writer motivation:

Movie 🎬  (on Netflix) Ladies First 

A misogynist wakes in an alternative reality.

It's not "women rule the world like women," but "women rule the world exactly like men in our reality," so he learns a lesson as to how life is for others. It'd make a smidge more sense if he had been turned into a woman and had to live in the real world. Or if he had trouble navigating the alternative reality because the ruling-class women didn't just mimic the shitty male rule to which he is accustomed.

QUOTE: "Balls [mean strength]? The delicate sack hanging off your body where the slightest tap has you weeping on the ground?" 

The signs and statues (especially if you know London) are fantastic. 

Still, a funny movie. Worthwhile. 👍

He learns to treat people with decency and respect. 

Watch with a pint of Guinness. 🍺

Movie 🎬  GOAT

Netflix animated movie. 

Basketball-like sport, but the courts, that's what makes this sport really interesting. Ice pond, a cave with stalactites, lava... 

And a team that doesn't practice together. 

They've got a LOT to learn and overcome. 🐐

Modo wins the most. "Roots run deep!"

Oh, and the twins are awesome. 🦏🦏

What's about to ruin my life:

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1YKgsjAwY3 (Brief video about this.)


Petition (if you're willing to help)
https://www.change.org/p/no-data-center-at-2401-w-emmaus-ave
They plan to put it across from apartments and Camelot for Children (a daycare for disabled kids). It's a Neighborhood. It's MY neighborhood.
And the Governor of Pennsylvania is giving them incentives! 🤦‍♀️Desperate times here.

---

https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html

My story ideas are from all over. Several are from life (as I discussed last month). One came from a dream my husband had. Some are from someone else because I have done some ghostwriting, but I can't discuss the details, obviously.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18Wkzqz3NB/

🏳️‍🌈 There are many books, authors, and people who need extra support (this month and always). 😶🧑🏾‍🏫 Censorship is a battle for everyone who favors freedom and equality.

You Might Be Grateful For This Post Someday

The above meme is about NOT saving anything "for a special occasion." That life, itself, is the special occasion. And that some people can alter their thinking to align with that belief. "Use the china, wear the clothes, your life is not a museum."

I envy that. 

From a VERY young age (toddler 👶) I was told, "this is for special." There was a BEAUTIFUL necklace made with crystal during the depression, and my great-grandmother said, "I want you to have it. We'll keep it here, locked in the drawer, but it'll be yours to wear for SPECIAL." I inherited it after she passed away. I locked it in a cabinet. I didn't attend prom, so I missed that chance to wear it. I figured I would wear it for my wedding. A month before my wedding, it went missing. The whole locked box is missing. I have since moved, and have no idea what the hell happened to that box. No one else knew where that box had been stored. Nothing else is missing from the cabinet. 

I never got to wear the necklace.

No one ever wore the necklace. I can only begin to imagine what my great-grandfather paid for it (or traded for it, as he did a lot of labor in trade because people were poor, though this was expensive jewelry, so who knows). 

Around 1990, my mom got me a white LA Gear jean jacket for my birthday.

She must have saved for weeks. Those were expensive! Here's a picture of me and my (then) best friend, Nikki, "sharing" modeling the jacket.
I never wore it outside of the house.

I was saving it "for good." For some super special occasion, like prom or something. Not something ordinary, like going to sixth grade. 

IDIOT!

Not only did I never go to prom, but it wouldn't have fit by then.

It's in my bedroom closet right now. In a protective garment bag. And I would be inconsolable if something happened to it. 

But I never wore it out. Just in the house a few times, after showering, less any spec of dirt land upon it. 

My mom was like, "I don't understand. I thought you'd never take it off. I thought you'd live in it."

I wish I did. I wish so much that I was able to think like that. But it felt so damn special, I had to keep it safe, so I just stored it. 

I still do shit like that. 

When we last moved, I had to downsize quite a bit. I am still DEEPLY bothered by every single solitary item I parted with, even though most of it was clothing I had outgrown. I took pictures of damn near everything before giving it away. 

Several boxes of stuff were lost. Almost certainly thrown out. (It was not well-planned. It was disorganized chaos, and that's putting it mildly.) 

I haven't let go.

There exists a large family property with two houses, an attached apartment, and an old church building. They are packed with stuff. The property was robbed multiple times. (The person was caught, no word on getting anything back or what's going on.) 

But, see, I inherited this mental condition. This inability to let go. Not quite as bad as some older family members, but still. 

https://www.facebook.com/drkojosarfo/posts/pfbid0L6jA5q68fmyNKFMBbeH9aPxg7avwNSU1B64ecNpu2YFa1yH5TrdLM6XX2517DDfKl

Is this ADHD? Is that what's wrong with me?

Or is it that I'm haunted by my grandmother saying, "You might be grateful for it someday"?