My bedtime last evening may have preceded 10 p.m., with my cellphone alarm set for 4 a.m., but I seemed not to sleep at all well. When my alarm sounded, I was feeling 'off' ─ not at all restored from my time in bed.
The plan was to leave here shortly ahead of 6 a.m. so that I could get in most of a five-mile walk before doing some grocery shopping at the nearest Save-On-Foods nearly a mile from here.
I am efficient at squandering my time preluding the walk, and that was the situation this morning ─ to my chagrin, it was a few minutes after 6 a.m. before I was on my way. It was very lightly raining, so I had no intention of stopping early into my walk at an elementary school playground for six sets of pull-ups and chin-ups ─ that decision of course did recover some of the lost time.
Nearly a mile from home I also made a stop at an ATM at my financial institution where I withdrew $100 ─ I gave up months ago using my debit card for any local shopping. It is cash only for me ─ keep cash alive!
It became my intention to tread some unfamiliar terrain this morning ─ a trail I have wondered about, but have never travelled because I only pass it by late at night.
The trail can be viewed on this Google Map ─ Salal Trail is at the intersection of 100th Avenue & 148th Street. I was walking along 100th Avenue from the left border of the map, and normally would turn right at 148th Street and then follow it over to 96th Avenue, where I would turn right yet gain. But I have long suspected that Salal Trail may actually work its way over to 96th Avenue, and very near its intersection with 100th Avenue.
As I look at that map, I can see now that this is indeed the case. Following it in the daylight would remove me from street traffic and give me some general peace for easier reflection.
Well, as I was walking 100th Avenue, and was maybe 100 feet from the trail mouth and 148th Street, I noticed someone coming 'down' 148th Street and arriving at that very intersection with two large dogs on leashes.
Oh, Lord, I thought. "Don't tell me that idiot is going to deny me use of the trail by taking to it with his two mutts?"
And so it was.
After nearly a year of wondering about that trail and only ever going that way at night when I have not been able to explore it, my one chance is snatched from me by a damned dog-walker. There would be no calm for me to be shadowing that threesome ─ and for all I knew, maybe the dogs would be unleashed.
So once again, I had to stick to the streets.
Gosh, in looking further at that map, I could even avoid most of 96th Avenue if I was able to use Salal Trail. I could trek Salal Trail as far as Cedar Trail, then turn onto it and follow it along to Willow Trail. It would then allow me to access 96th Avenue almost at Green Timbers Way, which is where I make my usual turn from 96th Avenue. By following the trail system, I would free myself of motor vehicle traffic by avoiding over a mile of road walking. I would skip entirely 148th Street (a half mile of walking), and then a little better distance than that of 96th Avenue.
Maybe in two weeks I will try that route out ─ provided nobody comes along and cuts in front of me with one or two dogs!
Anyway, I arrived at Save-On-Foods shortly after 7:30 a.m. and got my shopping done ─ heck, the friendly young female cashier even asked me if I would like her to load my two carrying bags with my purchases. How sweet was that?
It was not much after 8 a.m. by the time I was home. As yet, no one else had risen, but my brother quite soon enough did.
When we got together a while later ─ I first actually crawled back into bed fully-clothed to zone out for a bit ─ to watch some T.V. via our Android TV Box, I led us off with a 42-minute YouTube video that had been uploaded four days ago to the DW Documentary channel: The decline of supermarkets - A sector in crisis.
For decades, large supermarket chains dominated the global food market. But bitter price wars and the growing influence of large digital corporations like Amazon and Alibaba are plunging the sector into crisis.
There’s been little to challenge the dominance of large supermarkets since the 1960s. But in recent years, the big chains have found themselves in trouble. Competition between corporations is fierce. They employ increasingly aggressive methods of negotiation -- at the expense of suppliers, agriculture and manufacturing - and often infringe on European regulations in the process.
But the commercial battle isn’t just taking place between the supermarkets themselves: the huge success of digital corporate giants such as Amazon and Alibaba has meant traditional supermarkets are now having to assert themselves against new actors, who are themselves making exponential investments in the food sector. In the United States, Amazon has opened its own supermarket chain to supplant its business rivals Walmart and Target and capture the American groceries market. In China, Alibaba and JD.com are investing in various areas of the food supply chain. They’re opening their own poultry, fruit and vegetable farms, and replacing human labor with AI-controlled machines.
What impact is this kind of commercial revolution having on working conditions, food quality and the future of our planet? Featuring rare documents and witness statements, the documentary takes a look behind the scenes of these temples to consumerism.
This feature definitely made me more mindful of the chain store I had earlier shopped at.
We only had time to watch once further video ─ this one was on BitChute's Mercola channel, and had also been uploaded four days ago: "The Great Reset: And the War for the World" - Interview with Alex Jones.
The two men presented a horrifying looming scenario that I do understand is coming, but I do not fathom Alex's optimism.
Soon after that interview both my brother and I retired to our bedrooms for further rest. I had my nap, and actually emerged from my bedroom just ahead of my brother. And then he was gone for the day to resume his irresistible socializing.
Today has been much like yesterday ─ rain for the most part.
Okay, now for some photos.
My wife is presently in her home village near Udon Thani (City) visiting her mother and other family (and friends).
At 7:50 a.m. (Pacific Time Zone) this morning, she posted a half dozen photos to her Facebook account. In local Thailand terms, the time would have been 9:50 p.m.
Initially I did not know for certain where the photos were taken, but I was able to figure out that the Sizzlers featured as a backdrop for the photos could only be the one located in CentralPlaza Udon Thani.
My wife and her mother (who is in a wheelchair) are seated just outside of Sizzlers, but I cannot identify anyone else:
That little girl is so darned cute! She would absolutely steal my heart if we ever met and she took right to me.
But enough of that for today.
I will be sitting up late this evening watching television with my brother once he is back home ─ and enjoying a couple of cans of strong (8% alcohol) malt.
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