370 more stuff from overseas




I got some answers to my question of why there have been so many full container ships at anchor. Our ports are indeed running behind. Normally a ship will get unloaded in two days, currently it's taking 5-7 days. 

Apparently this is a backup created in the early days of the pandemic that is still out of whack. At first, ports were basically closed, like everything else. So ships got stacked up. Then, orders changed. Business moved, and a lot of new orders were created. (For example, instead of fashion, we're getting ebikes shipped to us.) This created a wave of unpredictable traffic on top of the backup, on top of whatever work slow down Covid has created.

So, now, ships at anchor.

File under: other countries get more fun vehicles

Think GM can't beat Tesla? Well, they can with this $5k EV in China.

Can't find a compact pickup truck anymore in the US?

This one, by the same GM subsidiary, seats five, and has a six and a half foot bed. Our new truck is much bigger, but only seats four (our older, smaller one sat five) and has a shorter bed.

Plus how sweet is that bed? It's really only in the US that we're stuck with pickups with fixed beds, other places have "utes" like this. Oh, and it's $9k new.

Wrote a poem yesterday. There haven't been many this year, I think it's due to moving away from paper, and the spectacular failure of my last annual collection. So, while I might still collect these at the end of the year, I might as well run them when they're ready, too.

Gather the Forces of Happy
Let them inside
Nurture and grow
Intense satisfaction
With each breath.

Yesterday, I wrote the first line to a new story. I don't know if it's going to make it any further, but it fired me up to write another story with this time. I don't know what it is yet, but something might be coming in the next few weeks-ish.

Here's what I had yesterday:


"When I was twelve, my parents sent me off to a summer camp."

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