Cages

>

Concerned that because I was retiring just past 10:30 p.m. last night (or so I seem to remember), I would be unlikely to care to rise to my usual 3 a.m. cellphone alarm, I set it for 3:30 a.m.

Yet a wakeful point arrived when I was curious about the time, for I was not feeling especially needful of sleep.

It was 3:08 a.m.

So why the heck not rise? And I did.

Even so, it was 3:50 a.m. before I noted the time on the corner of my computer screen and was about set to hobble my way cautiously down the stairs to be on my way.

My youngest stepson was still up, but I probably left unnoticed by him.

Already at that time the eastward sky is noticeably turning from black night to the suggestion of morning blue.

There was a cool tint to the air that has not been present for some nights. I wondered of playground condensation on the elementary school playground equipment, my destination.

By the way, my approximate ¾-mile round trip walk requires me to pass by the well-lit site of the somewhat annual Surrey Greek Food Festival. I've lived in this house since late June 2002, if I am remembering correctly; yet I have never involved myself with the festival, despite very much loving Greek food.

I was right about the playground condensation, but it was only damp with dew ─ not dripping with it. My bandana easily wiped dry a couple of the jungle gym monkey bars.

I am holding fast to my recent series of bests where repetitions matter as I regain the strength I lost following my March 1st knee accident that still has me crippled, but at least I am able to get myself about for relatively short treks. My arms that became so scrawny are again looking fairly muscled.

But where pull-ups and chin-ups are concerned, I am still not quite at pre-accident levels.

My latest bests in seven sets ─ with a 30-count between sets ─ are three and then two pull-ups in the first two sets; then the same for chin-ups in the next two sets. But I am stuck at just one pull-up in both sets using the gymnastics-style rings, although I do pull myself up to peak height.

The seventh set is a token pull-up between two of the monkey bars after which I hold the descent hang for a 70-count.

I decided not to bother doing the squats to challenge my bad right knee because I fear that I am likely going to soon have the fabric of my denims begin to fail at my knees where the denim is seriously stretched. I thought to strip down at home and do the squats in the living room after my idiot stepson went to bed.

But I did manage five slow full-range decline push-ups on a cement ramp before I headed back for home.

My idiot stepson never went to bed while I was interested in exercising. I didn't get back to bed until maybe at least 6:15 a.m., by which time even if he was finally to bed, I would not have exercised because it would only have physically enlivened me ─ I want to be able to sleep.

I remained abed for two or so hours, by which time my younger brother was downstairs watching T.V. And just as I did yesterday, I actually joined him before 9 a.m. instead of after that hour.

Before I did, though, my wife emerged from her bedroom soon after I had risen. She even went downstairs and I suppose that she also made a check on her backyard garden plants, many of which are greens and other vegetables.

She did not remain up, though, soon enough retiring to her bedroom until her usual time at or soon after 9:30 a.m. when she is scheduled with a full workday at the Thai restaurant where she is employed part-time. Then around 10 a.m. she was on her way with the fairly long drive.

At my brother's invitation to put our Android TV Box to work, I led us off with a 13-minute (13:25) video uploaded yesterday to YouTube's AnitaK channel: Canada’s Already Net Zero – So Why is this WEF Elder Puppet Preaching?"

My next choice was a 48-minute documentary on YouTube, but suddenly nothing seemed to keep playing, and I felt that I wasted too much time with the video to bother continuing once I discovered that the problem was resolved with an update for a "403 error". Note that I don't watch videos on YouTube ─ I use the SmartTube app to avoid YouTube's infernal commercialization.

Besides, my brother had offered that the documentary subject matter did not impress him (Britain's Biggest Brood: Life in a Large Family) because he wasn't interested in watching something about other people's large families.

Remaining with YouTube (i.e., SmartTube), I next tuned in Juliet Bravo ─ season or series one's episode eight ("Cages"). My YouTube source was only uploaded yesterday to YouTube's Guy Crayford channel: Juliet Bravo-S1 E8. This is most remarkable because it was yesterday that I was coincidentally searching for a source for the episode, for we had already watched the first seven episodes and I hope for us to go through the entire series.

Next I tuned in a 41-minute (41:20) video that did not impress me ─ I would have tuned out of it if I had been watching it alone, but my brother is more tolerant of this nonsense. It had been published earlier today to BitChute's Sergeant Major channel: "THEY'RE ALREADY HERE" [2025-06-09] - JAMES LAFLEUR (VIDEO).

The Most Unexplained Sightings That Will Make Your Skin Crawl. From mysterious phenomena , alien like creatures and unexplained sightings, these are some of the most mind blowing sightings ever caught on camera. -- James LaFleur @ THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE

I am unsure of the order of these last two videos, but that is not important.

Let's first go with a 32-minute (32:44) video uploaded February 11, 2016, to YouTube's Proper Gander channel: The Knights Templar and Rosslyn Chapel - Secret Teachings.

The Knights Templar, the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, the Order of Solomon's Temple (French: Ordre du Temple or Templiers) or simply as Templars, were among the wealthiest and most powerful of the Western Christian military orders and were prominent actors in Christian finance. The organization existed for nearly two centuries during the Middle Ages.

This movie digs into the formation, the history, the crusade, and the supposed ultimate downfall of the Knights Templar.  We also look into Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland, which has been linked to the Knights Templar, as well as the new world, with plenty of secrets and anomalies that make one question if the Templars really did simply pass away.

Rosslyn Chapel was founded on a small hill above Roslin Glen as a Catholic collegiate church (with between four and six ordained canons and two boy choristers) in the mid-15th century. The chapel was founded by William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness of the Scoto-Norman Sinclair family. Rosslyn Chapel is the third Sinclair place of worship at Roslin, the first being in Roslin Castle and the second (whose crumbling buttresses can still be seen today) in what is now Roslin Cemetery today.

Finally, there was a nine-minute (9:06) video published December 26, 2020, to BitChute's bluedemon218 channel: The Mad Gasser of Mattoon.

The Mad Gasser (also known as the "Anesthetic Prowler," Friz, the "Phantom Anesthetist," or simply the "Mad Gasser") was the name given to the person or people believed to be responsible for a series of apparent gas attacks that occurred in Mattoon, Illinois, during the mid-1940s. More than two dozen separate cases of gassings were reported to police over the span of two weeks, in addition to many more reported sightings of the suspected assailant.

My brother thereafter sought bed rest; I had a small meal, and pursued a nap, intending some afternoon sunning.

I think that it was around 2 p.m. or soon after that I rose, but my brother was still home, so I was forced to bide time. Due to him hanging around yesterday, I only got in half as much time as I normally would have.

Well, it seemed like he may have left a little past 3p.m. to do his usual daily social drinking, so I dressed for the backyard experience and discovered that the backyard tool shed key was not where it is usually hung alongside a cupboard by the kitchen. The shed is where I keep the radio I like to use to gauge my time and to keep me entertained.

Perturbed, I set up my chair anyway, and began the boring process without the radio. It looked as if some very light cloud was moving in.

After a few minutes I heard what sounded like a wheelie bin being moved alongside the house. I took a quick peek ... and sure enough! There was my brother working it towards the back yard. He had apparently only been hand-pulling large weeds.

Condensing this narrative, it seems that he had lost track of what day today was ─ he thought it was Monday. I'm unsure why that mattered, but it seemed to disconcert him where his yard maintenance scheme mattered.

Ultimately, he expended so much time fussing that he finally decided to remain home. I got no sunning.

There does seem to have been a decline in sunning conditions, so it may be that tomorrow will be out. But even if not, my brother plans on mowing the lawns that day; and it is a bath day for me. I seem fated not to be sunning tomorrow either.

On a side note, my brother drew my notice to a crow in the backyard that seemed almost unafraid. My brother had to virtually walk right up to it and sort of shoo it off a little, but all it would do was hop a couple of feet along. He easily could have grabbed it.

Eventually I noticed that it was up on our old picnic table where my wife has a number of potted plants as well as a solar-operated little water fountain that shoots up water for maybe three inches from the pot this device floats in. The crow had found this water source and spent a heck of a lot of time leisurely drinking and balancing itself on that and another pot.

It still displayed no fear anytime we walked near.

We concluded that it was a nearly full-grown young crow that must have just left its nest today, and was still unable to fly more than a few feet. After my brother and I were both back in the house, at one point I saw a slightly larger crow come and sit atop a skid that we have leaning against the end of the picnic table. The two birds sort of squawked back and forth, and then the adult flew off.

Ultimately I did see the bold crow make a bid to fly from the picnic table to our tall wooden yard fence about 10 feet or less away, but it just could not elevate. It steadily glided down to the base of the fence.

It then walked behind an aluminum wee shed we have where the lawn mower and related supplies are kept. Bev later told me that it was back in the yard, but walked around to the far side of our wooden tool shed where I sometimes exercise. It was possibly responding to other crows nearby cawing.

Anyway, it walked out of sight between the far side of the shed and our backyard fence shared with the neighbour who has the damned dogs that have plagued me with their noise for years ─ the oldest one must be getting on in age, for it first showed up at least as far back as 2013. I wish that it would just die ─ I wish all three of the damned dogs would die.

I hope the crow found its wings, for it likely will not survive a night on the ground. Raccoons are a common enough presence hereabouts, for one thing.

I am going to take a break now at 7:34 p.m. and round up a small supper.

⬤⬤⬤

I ate, and then here on my bedside computer I tuned in Too Close to Home ─ episode seven ("In My Sister's Shoes") of the first season. Darn, I've gotten to be a fairly strong fan of this series! And it ain't just because of the three hot sisters, either.

My source was this Tvids.net link, but it did spawn a new browser featuring gambling website Stake that hid behind the (Brave) browser I was using.

My brother could have early enlisted me to come downstairs so we could watch a few of our shows, but he showed no inclination to do anything but watch shows with Bev. It may have been around 8:30 p.m. before I tuned in Too Close to Home, shutting myself up here in my bedroom.

It is nearing 10:15 p.m. right now, so I am going to start shutting down browsers and their tabs and get myself to bed ─ with my cellphone alarm set for 3:30 a.m. again.