Everyday Junglist
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About me. You know how everyone says to be a successful writer you should focus in one or two areas. I continue to prove them correct.
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The War of the Americas - Part VIII
The long bus ride to the camp where Sylvia Platt found herself imprisoned with close to 200 other American expats now declared enemy combatants after the United States had bombed and then declared war on Mexico was uneventful. She thought she knew approximately where she was. They were still on the Baja peninsula and not mainland Mexico given the shortness of the journey, approximately 10h, and the fact that they never crossed a body of water or left the bus. Also, they obviously had traveled south and/or east as directly to the west of where she had been arrested at her home near Tijuana, Mexico lay the Pacific Ocean, and only a short few miles north the border with the United States. They also could not go too far east as that way eventually led to the Texas border. Safest for prisoners would be an isolated location in the middle of the Peninsula as far south as possible. She could no longer see or smell the ocean and the roads had been relatively smooth for the first half of the journey and then terribly bumpy for the remainder so she guessed they had stayed on paved major roadways heading south of which were are only a few in that part of Mexico before turning off and heading east. The final 45 minutes or so of the journey had been a very bumpy steep uphill climb and that last part gave her all the information she needed to puzzle out their general location. Fortunately she had studied much of the geography of Mexico before moving there and those efforts had redoubled when she joined the ranks of the CIA. When she exited the bus and her blindfold was finally removed and she saw the terrain she knew immediately that they were somewhere within the boundaries of the Parque Nacional Sierra de San Pedro Mártir as she could see the Cerro Picacho del Diablo, or “Peak of the Devil” which, at >10,000 feet is the highest peak on the Baja peninsula of Mexico, not far from their position. She guessed they had stopped at an elevation of at least 8,000 feet somewhere near that peak. Hard to believe Mexico had a military outpost, let alone one set up for handling prisoners of war, in this remote location, but the Mexican military, much like that of the United States, had plenty of secrets that were known to only a very few. Sylvia guessed the CIA knew of the this location, but they had failed to inform her of its existence. Of course, there were many things the CIA knew about Mexico, and every other country in the world that they shared with almost no one. And she had no real reason to need to know. Her work at the time had nothing to do with Mexico, and that was not expected to change anytime soon despite the fact that she called the country her home. Neither Sylvia nor the CIA had predicted they would be at war with Mexico within the next few months or if they had her education and training would have been much different. The Mexican base she found herself at was well hidden, at elevation, and appeared to be buried deep in the rockface of the mountain meaning it was hardened from conventional attack and at least partially obscured from spy planes and satellites. The tracker the CIA had implanted in her when she was officially made an agent would allow them to divine her general location, but once inside the base, she had little doubt the thick walls and mountain rock would partially or completely obscure her signal. She would “go dark” as the CIA trackers would put it. She had no illusions that she was valuable enough of an asset to warrant any sort of second rescue attempt, especially after she had faked her own death to evade an initial attempt. That mission had been at her request and by now she was fairly certain that in addition to the CIA, the Navy at least knew she was still alive and that they had been deceived. If Dom had done as she had asked he would have explained her reasons for staying behind and that should end any discussion of another military intervention on her behalf, at least until she was ready to call for one. That might be a very long time from now and the military and CIA would be very busy dealing with the war and accomplishing her two main objectives; helping her fellow prisoners, and picking up intelligence from behind enemy lines, relied on her being with those prisoners in Mexico. That was the entire reason she had chosen to stay behind when her husband had left with the Seal team sent to extract her from her home in Baja shortly after the bombing of San Ysidro border crossing. Her thoughts turned to her husband Dom and their two dead dogs, along with her beloved cats, who she hoped had found a loving new home thanks to her own last minute maneuvering and negotiating with the Mexican soldiers who had arrested her. Two of those soldiers had suffered severe bite injuries at the hands of their dogs, and one had been killed by a SEAL sniper in the process. She felt a great sadness then, for the death of the dogs, the injuries and death of the Mexican soldiers and for her husband whom she missed terribly. She also felt some of the pain he must be feeling at the loss of his two best friends and longtime loyal companions.
By Everyday Junglistabout a year ago in Fiction
Trump and Sheinbaum use Opposite Approaches to Achieve Similar Results
As in many things, fear in American politics sells. Americans seemingly can’t get enough of it. They love voting for people that remind them of who it is they should be afraid of, and why they should be afraid of them. They also very much appreciate being reminded that it is those same people who are responsible for all the bad things in their lives, and the lives of their loved ones. Typically these people are foreigners, though sometimes other Americans with different political viewpoints fill in as the fear based objects of choice. If you are wondering how it is I know that Americans really love these things, it is simple, because the people that espouse fear based politics get elected over and over again to a variety of government offices, up to and including presidents of the United States. In fact the easiest way to get elected to political office in the United States is to run on an agenda of be afraid, be very afraid. Professional politicians like the newly elected President of the United States Donald Trump understand and appreciate this fact about the American people, and they exploit it to their advantage whenever necessary to achieve their objectives. It is a highly effective strategy, in the short, and even medium term. Unfortunately for everyone, it is generally epically disastrous in the long term, but who thinks about the long term these days? Not Americans that is for damn sure.
By Everyday Junglistabout a year ago in The Swamp
Gillette Scientists Confirm Six Blades is the Best a Man Can Get
In 2003 Schick had shocked the world by inventing and commercializing the first ever four bladed razor, the Quatro. Analysts credit that invention with igniting the razor blade numbers wars. Only three years later, in 2006 Gillette introduced the Fusion, the world's first five-bladed disposable razor. That same year Korean based DORCO released the first ever six blade razor the PACE6. Gillette followed suit soon after with the Mach 6. Many others would join them, and add even more six blade razor options to the market. Back in those heady days, it felt like the number of blades that could be packed into a men's disposable razor would continue to rise for the foreseeable future. Many analysts predicted eight or even ten-bladed or more razors to be available by 2020. But something unusual happened, the blade wars ended at six. For almost two decades now, not a single razor with more than six blades has been commercialized. A few scientists have voiced concerns over the years suggesting that we had reached "peak razor", but they were in the minority until Wednesday when Gillette scientists presented their latest findings which they say show conclusively that we have indeed reached peak razor blade, and there would never be a men's disposable razor with more than six blades. While the technology may be available, the market will not bear the cost. Moreover, the latest data suggests that after years of continuing to increase in coarseness and thickness, men's facial hair has begun to thin and decline overall. Gillette scientist Dr. Timothy Stephens said the following in a prepared statement. "Only a few short months ago myself and my colleagues celebrated a major breakthrough in our decades long quest to develop Planck's razor, the, until then, only theoretical, razor that would shave beard hair to the shortest possible measurable unit of distance from the face. Right now those celebrations are the furthest things from our minds, and our moods have turned to dismay and sadness. Today, the day we all feared for so many years has finally come. We have reached peak razor. In retrospect we probably should have recognized this ten years ago, but our optimistic hearts and minds and love of all things men's shaving related clouded our thinking. It has been almost twenty years since we gave the men of the world the Mach 6, and that will be our last gift to them. Analysis of our latest data on men's facial hair globally has confirmed what we had suspected for some time. The average thickness and coarseness has decreased by almost 15%, and that decline will continue into the far future. There is simply no need for a greater than six bladed razor, and in fact we may see a retrenchment in blade number until much of the world looks like Mexico where there is no market for a razor with more than 3 blades. If current trends continue men's faces will be totally hairless without the need for any razor blades at all by as early as the year 2300. That will be a sad day for the world for sure." With that Dr. Stephens bowed his head, turned and walked away.
By Everyday Junglistabout a year ago in Humor
The Argument
"Gods and Goddesses do not argue with mortals. An argument implies dispute, and there can be no dispute, for the Gods are always right." Baj groaned out loud and rolled his eyes, earning him a sharp sting of pain from the Goddesses' mental whip, dropping him to one knee. "Know your place mortal, and mind your manners." Elyria said with and edge of steel in her voice, and perhaps just a tinge of genuine hurt as well. Baj knew better than to respond as he had, but he just could not help himself. The Goddesses pith philosophical sayings on the nature of Gods and mortals never failed to irritate the ever living crap out of him. The many which touted the great superiority of the Gods, like the classic she had just spouted off, caused him the most distress. She, of course, knew how he felt and that is exactly why she favored saying such things in his presence. He slowly recovered his wits, and grimaced at the lingering pain in his head. At that moment he was sorely tempted to jab at her again, but he held his tongue. Of course he feared the pain of Elyria's punishments, but more so than that, he had no wish to actually hurt her, and it seemed by her reaction to his words, he actually had. Baj often thought how strange it was that a being of such power, who had fought near omnipotent Gods, and monsters so terrible the mere sight of them would cause a mortal to die from fear, could be so easily and deeply hurt by but the slightest of words. He was not sure if that was more a reflection of the awesome power of words, or the overhyped power of the Gods. No matter the reason, it was certainly the case that he could, and had hurt the Goddess very badly on many occasions with his words, much more so than with any actions he had ever committed. While he did regret those words (mostly), he was glad for them as well, because they reminded him that mortals were not totally powerless against the might of the Gods. With DisKord threatening his world, and all existence, he knew mortals and Gods would need every possible tools at their disposal if they had any hope of defeating the ancient lord of chaos.
By Everyday Junglistabout a year ago in Fiction
Interview with a Psychedelic Mushroom Entrepreneur
Author/Interviewer Preface: Charles Bogenberger is a 39-year-old entrepreneur with a BS degree in mechanical engineering, an MBA, and a former colleague. I met him a few years back when we worked for the same large company where he led one of their testing laboratories in Battle Creek, Michigan. At that lab Charles oversaw a staff of 20 plus employees, doing primarily microbiological analysis for pathogens and other microorganisms of concern in foods and the environment. Recently I reconnected with Charles and learned he had moved home to Denver and was now growing psychedelic mushrooms to support the nascent legalized psychedelic medicine movement there. I was intrigued, curious to learn how and why this successful engineer/businessman had chosen to grow what is/was an illegal substance and how he hoped to make money (legally) by doing so. I found his story compelling and fascinating and together we hit upon the idea of an interview to share this unusual story with a wider audience. That interview took place in February of 2024 and was first published in March and then again in November. Since that time, I have continued to occasionally check in on Charles’ progress with semi regular phone discussions. As we approached the 1-year mark of that first interview a follow up seemed in order.
By Everyday Junglistabout a year ago in Psyche
Why Do Infections of the Brain Only Make People Meaner?
The fact that on average the entire population of the globe has become more angry, unfriendly, and generally just bigger assholes is one aspect of the Covid-19 epidemic that is less remarked upon and studied then it should be. It is now well known that Covid-19 does enter into and replicate in the brains of infected animals, including humans, and that this causes inflammation and damage to nerve cells and can impact behavior in subtle and not so subtle ways. To take just on example from the animal kingdom when laboratory mice are infected with some strains of Covid-19 at a high enough inoculum level they develop a strange stunted gait or hiccup in the way they walk. Almost like they are trying to hop/jump instead of walk but somehow the signals for both are becoming mixed up in their brains resulting in a very bizarre, but indicative behavior. Those that display this behavior (almost) always die soon after. It is a very disturbing thing to see and our own human brain is instinctively repulsed by witnessing it. It falls so far outside the normal standard way of how we are "used" to seeing mice walk that it triggers a sort of revulsion, a primal revulsion is the best word I can use to describe it. If I were H.P. Lovecraft (not the racist dickhead one, but the master of eldritch horror one) I might call it a thing that should not be, and that would be a very good way to put it. There can also be changes in animal behavior in terms of what I would call their mental state. They can become more aggressive, they may attack each other for much smaller transgressions, those attacks may become more vicious, and they become much more self destructive and generally less concerned for their own or other animals well being overall. Of course, often times they are too sick to do any of these things, at least not very well.
By Everyday Junglistabout a year ago in Psyche
