So, it's a week into the new year.  I've been pretty busy.  I've been cleaning and reorganizing my father's truck for him.  It's a big box-truck (like a shipping truck) and the back is a mobile work station.

  The cleaning involved vacuuming and throwing away unnecessary things, which came to about two full trash bags.  That part is basically done.  The reorganizing involved consolidating similar things and storing them more efficiently and for the easier finding of said things.  That part is on-going.

  I've been custom-making boxes.  I've got four done so far, but need to make about four more, that I know of right now.  Until I get the boxes made, I can't really go any further beyond the first stage.  Still the truck is much roomier than it was.  Actually, a fair amount of space is taken up by small empty boxes that I'm not sure if I'll need, and therefore have not yet thrown away.

  It's been a notable physical effort.  By the time I'm done for the night, my whole body is in a mild state of soreness.  Not so much on the days that I only make boxes.  I manage one box per day.  With all the other stuff I have to do and the stuff I want to do, one box is about all I can make in one day.

  I like duct tape.  And Scotch brand Sealing Tape.  Very useful to me.  And cardboard.  I make a number of my own containers using those three items.  Made my own drill motor holster about a month ago.

  If you haven't tried any of the Truffle Hershey's Kisses, I highly recommend them.  They are very good.

  I don't recall exactly when it was (before Thanksgiving, but definitely in November), but I bought a set of ankle weights (the ones that strap around your ankles).  They have 2lbs packets that you can remove to vary the weight from 2-10lbs per leg.

  Until January 1st, I had been wearing 4lbs per leg.  I didn't wear them every day, but I did most days.  I wore them only when I was going to be having to bother getting dressed.  They hide nicely in my pants legs.  About the last week or two of December, I noticed that walking with them on had become almost a effortless as walking without them, so I decided to add another packet for the new year.  So, I'm up to 6lbs per leg, and it feels about like what 4lbs used to be.

  I may have to lay off them during the warm weather, though.  May be too hot.

  Some time ago, I was watching an episode of Dragonball.  Vegita was training in a gravity room (he could change the gravity level to many times Earth's gravity.  I was thinking, I'd like a room like that.  It's be nice for strength building, but it would undoubtedly make me shorter over time.  Probably not so good on the knees either.

  I'm not real big on the idea of weight lifting as a means of strength building.  Something about it seems disingenuous and over specializing; not to mention time consuming.  I like the idea of just making your daily activity require a little more effort, like wearing ankle weights around.  I'd like to just be able to add just a little weight to myself all over my body.

  A variable resistance force field would be nice.  Instead at adding actual weight, make it more like moving through water.  That would be easier on the joints and cartilage.  Anybody know where I can get a personal variable resistance force field generator?

  I don't generally care to have pets, but I think I would not mind having a large aquarium with a bunch of crayfish.

  One of my sisters and her husband have a large aquarium with pet fish and a few crayfish.  They can get pretty big.  I like watching them eat.

  My grand-niece had a fish in a small aquarium, but it died.  My sister put a small crayfish in there, so it would not stay empty.  It's molted twice that I know of.  I think its cool that after they shed their "skin", they eat it.  No clean-up required.

  Anyway, there's a few things I like about crayfish as a pet, but I think the best part is that you're growing food.  Hey, Skippy, want to try the "Jacuzzi" aquarium?

  You know what, I think one of the reasons that dogs are not typically bred for food is because you don't get out nearly as much as you put in.

  Think about it.  How many carnivores or omnivores are bred for food?  I can't think of any that are not sea creatures.  Well, I guess chickens and turkeys do eat insects and worms and the like, don't they?  They're just not typically intentionally fed them.  Even still, that would be much cheaper and easier than feeding a dog what it needs.

  Here's a bit of trivia that you might not have known: Cats are more carnivorous than dogs.  I'm not really sure why that surprised me as much as it did, when I found it out, early last year.  I knew the gray wolf would eat just about anything it could find.

  I heard about a so-called animal lover who forced her cat to eat a meat-free diet of rice.  As one might expect, the cat died of malnutrition.  What's with these so-called animal lovers who don't respect the natural order of things?  Every animal is food to something.

  With very few exceptions, all living things have to eat other living things, be it animal or vegetation as what's being eaten.  And yes, plants are living things.  So are insects.  Deal with it.  Just because it doesn't have a cute face doesn't mean you're not killing it to keep yourself alive.  If you want to live, then something's gotta die.  That's just the way it works.

  I would so like to have been there to see chess being invented.  I want to know the thought process of the person who invented it.  It just amazes me to think about the game.  It's thousands of years old, yet still so well-known and played by so many people.  The game play itself is relatively simple; it's the strategic aspect that is complicated.

  I'd like to one day invent a game that can stand the test of time.  But I'd like to go about it a certain way, though.  I want to be able to look at human mentality and understand exactly what it takes to make a game that will last.  I want to be able to delve deep into human psyche and understand the anatomy of the perfect game.

  This is not something I'm going to actively pursue, mind you.  I'd just like to be able to achieve it.  Sounds like a lot of work.  I'd prefer an epiphany.  I like epiphanies.

  I want to be going through my daily life, casually thinking about human behavior and human existence, as I typically do, and then BAM!  Eureka!

  "Would you like a hamburger and shake?"

  "No, thank you, I don't eat meat or dairy."

  "So, no cheeseburger either?"