a very odd structure has appeared on my front lawn.

it appears to be an electronic, flashing traffic sign asking drivers to slow down because it's a residential area. but, i've never seen anybody speeding through there. in fact, i'd say i see a car drive up marion and through that intersection about once a week. the cross street at cataraqui gets much more traffic, but there's basically nowhere to go down marion unless you live there, and there's actually only one house facing that way (marion is just full of a lot of large backyards that are parallel to it) so nobody even lives there. it's like placing a stop sign in a dead-end.

i suspect it's a camera. but, i'm not sure why they're being so low tech about it.

maybe they're frustrated by my rejection of mobile devices.

the reality is that they're not going to pick up anything interesting.

i seem to have cut my finger without noticing, and now there's blood everywhere. i don't think i've ever done that before. like, i spent five minutes trying to figure out where the blood was coming from, and it just kept coming. i thought it was my nose. i thought i was going crazy, or having some kind of stigmata event or something.

i must have cut it when i was making lunch. i washed some strawberries and let them dry in the sink. then i made a smoothie and a tomato sandwich, and went and watched the beginning of greenwald v. dershowitz while i was eating. i then put the dishes in the other side of the sink and picked up the paper towels from the top of the fridge to rip two sheets off to dry the strawberries. i find they keep best if you get the excess moisture off of them and then transfer them to tupperware, so i lightly dry them in the paper towel. i then did the dishes, and went back to get another paper towel sheet to wipe a sneeze off the floor and noticed the roll was full of blood. it looked downright grizzly, soaked in through a few sheets. i thought it must be something other than blood, but hadn't yet decided on if it was most likely to be tomato juice or hot sauce or strawberry juice...i mean, i *knew* it was blood, but it didn't make sense that it was blood, so it must have been something else, and it would be determined in time.

so, i went into the bathroom to get some toilet paper to blow my nose and there's blood on the toilet paper roll, too. now, i'm freaking out. checked my nose. no. was there somebody in here? is it just spontaneously appearing? did i get bit by something? am i seriously hurt, but in shock and can't tell? getting paranoid...

....but then i realized it was my finger, after checking over my hand several times.

i couldn't feel it at all. bizarre.

BUT

that also means my guitar calluses are back where they belong. which is good news.

i don't think it was deep. it only took a minute to clot with pressure applied, and there isn't even a scab. but, that was an unsettling experience, to say the least.

i must have been bleeding for a good ten-twenty minutes, but i can't find a trail, either, oddly.

so, the landlord is putting a furnace in here. apparently, the electric coils are expensive, and he's concerned electricity is going to go through the roof. which it no doubt will. we made a huge error in privatizing the grid to market rates, and it's leading to this sort of backwardsness.

i mean, i guess natural gas isn't as bad as oil, but a smart green policy would be encouraging people to move away from fossil fuels, not towards them as a less expensive option. from an environmental standpoint, hydro powered coils ought to be what's being strived for. and, there's not any good reason for these electricity spikes other than greed resulting from private ownership. hydro isn't expensive to operate, it just runs. it should be way cheaper than gas.

so, this is a step backwards, and is the direct result of state policy. whether we're talking of renationalizing the grid, or putting caps on prices, or whatever else, the guy *at the least* shouldn't be being pushed in the wrong direction due to costs. the state *should* be incentivizing him towards the greener choice, but at the least shouldn't be pushing him towards the less green option.

see, i can't and won't argue with the guy. i know the price difference. he's not running this for profit, he's just trying to take care of his family. he's doing what he's got to do. i blame the state for forcing him to do it to break even.

it's almost like the market has set itself up to provide cleaner, hydro energy as a higher end option. if you want to be responsible and reduce emissions, you'll have to pay for it! they've turned it into a fucking product; it's a price pyramid, instead of a social policy. but how could we expect different? and how can we expect a different future without addressing the economic screw-up?

it's just absolutely backwards.

directions for pedestrians wishing to cross the ambassador bridge

To: contact@cbsa.gc.ca

hi.

i have a nexus interview scheduled on july 17, and i've been having a hard time contacting somebody to ask for pedestrian directions over the ambassador bridge. i have never crossed the bridge before, but i'm aware that they do not allow people to cross by foot. the only information available in the directions is by car, so i don't know how i'm going to get across to the enrolment centre.

i do not own a vehicle, or even have a driver's license.

is there a place on the canadian side i can meet somebody at? if so, where? will i be allowed to cross under the tunnel (which is where i would normally cross, via shuttle) and walk along the river to the enrollment centre?

will i be forced to take a taxi? will i even be allowed to take a taxi?

j