Windows 11 – Nothing to see here

I installed a copy of Windows 11 to see what the hype is about but was unimpressed.

At first impression though, you might be wowed! A new taskbar moves the icons to the center (Just like the Macintosh). Menus are glassy (Just like the Macintosh). The main new features are mostly new tweaks on snapping windows to the side for split-screen action. Not really new. Just different. Microsoft has basically made Windows more Mac-like. Is a lawsuit in order?

Under the hood, there’s little change. All the familiar Windows menus are basically the same. All settings look the same. Lipstick on a pig…

A major change is improved security. Windows 11 requires a Generation 8 or compatible processor as well as UEFI and a TPM. Don’t worry about what those are. You either have them or you don’t. In general, you WILL need a new computer to run Windows 11.

There’s nothing there to get excited about yet. Perhaps Microsoft will be fleshing it out to make it some kind of new Ultimate Operating System. Or maybe not. It’s kind of a light renovation. If you are unable to upgrade, it’s not the end of the world. Windows 10 will be fully supported for many years to come since there will be hundreds of millions of computers out there that will be stuck with it. You’re not missing out on much anyway. No worries.

Long Introduction

I’m planning on posting the following to a local Texas Facebook Nudist group. I thought I would compose it here in order to share it with the rest of the world just in case anybody cares:

I just wanted to re-introduce myself in a maximal way because I want to share my story with someone, anyone, who will listen. I’ve tried to share my passions with my “regular” friends on Facebook but they don’t get it and it is just falling on deaf ears which hurts me deeply. I’m hoping that fellow nudists might care and understand a little more than the normals would.

I’ve been a nudist in Texas almost all my life ever since I went skinny dipping in the pool when I was a kid and tanned naked in the sun when nobody else was home. I was hooked because it felt so natural and free. It was the best thing ever and I couldn’t share it with anyone.

I tried, oh, how I’ve tried. All of my friends and family know I’m a nudist but they won’t have anything to do with it. It’s a lonely world when you can’t share your passions with anyone. As a kid, I wore speedos because it was as close as you can legally be to being naked. Speedos fell out of style in the 90s but that didn’t stop me. Eventually, I had to give them up because they became too “gay”. Teardrops fall. I still look awesome in them.

When I moved into my own house in the suburbs of NW San Antonio, I got to be naked most of the time. I made sure to make my backyard as private as possible so I could swim in the pool and use the hot tub without getting dressed. It was good. I tried to contact fellow nudists but it was difficult because you don’t know if they are “nudists” or just trolling for sex and I was not ready for that. I joined the local Nudist Club and have been a member for many, many years. It was nice to be among others of my kind but they were older and weren’t much for going on outings to Hippie Hollow or the beach, lakes, or rivers. I kind of lost interest in the group. I was alone. Time passed.

Eventually, I saved and invested enough to retire early from the daily textile grind and build my dream house out in the country where I can roam free on the land and never wear clothes again. It was really nice. Suddenly my mom turned 90 and could no longer live on her own. She now stays with me every other week alternating between my house and my sister’s house. Now I get to be naked every other week which is good but not ideal.

Still, I’m alone. I’m afraid to date anyone because the comfort of being naked is so important to me that I can’t afford to lose that completely. So few people are open-minded enough to even try it and it would waste my time and theirs if they don’t. I’m not sure I’m even capable of love anyway so it might be a total exercise in futility. If I think about it, I don’t really even want anyone around in a permanent fashion. I suppose I’m a professional loner. On the other hand, I can’t get loneliness out of my head. It’s a Human Condition that cannot be avoided. All I want is a nudist friend to spend a little time with. It doesn’t seem too much to ask for. If I never find one, I’ll live. If I do, then I might really live.

I’ve been writing a blog since 2007 but don’t get much feedback. It has been a nice place to share my thoughts and feelings even if it’s just with the Great Void of the Internet.

Perhaps I’m overly obsessed with being naked. I feel that that’s OK because it makes me happy. I feel that everyone else is missing out and I am incredibly sad for their loss. In a better world, this would not be an issue because everyone would be naked and it would be natural and normal. Can you imagine?

Thanks for letting me ramble. I can only hope there are other people somewhere out there like myself. I wish everyone as much happiness and freedom as I have.

Bump

It has been quite a while since I’ve written anything here. Almost two weeks I think. I haven’t really felt much like writing even though I’ve had a number of great topics run through my head. They’re gone now, unfortunately. They were probably mostly complaints anyway. The world is slowly going insane and there’s a lot to complain about.

I thought I might ramble a little for a few minutes:

Sooo. What? Not much exciting has been going on with me lately. I almost lost my marbles a couple of days ago. My 90-year-old mom stays with me every other week during which time I’m a nudist who has to wear clothing. It’s like being tied up and held for ransom. I can handle it in the winter but in the summer, I need to be naked. I need to be able to breathe. I could probably just go naked in front of her but it would be too weird. I manage by being “mostly” naked wearing short shorts and a tank top or no shirt. Still…not naked. She’s at my sister’s house this week so it’s naked time for the next seven days. Relief!

A few days ago I was mowing a neighbor’s field with my 1952 Ford 8n tractor and shredder. I was going through some REALLY tall weeds when I ran into the barbed wire fence. I was able to back out of the tangle but right then, the radiator cap popped off and a volcano of coolant shot up in the air. I was drenched with sticky, hot liquid. Fortunately, it was aerosolized enough that it wasn’t scalding. I let the tractor cool overnight then added some water the next morning. The cap was loose and wouldn’t stay on so I brought it home and ordered a new cap as well as a few other things it needed. Fortunately, parts for an old Ford tractor are cheap and readily available. Some even on Amazon! If you need tractor parts, I recommend yesterdaystractors.com. They have cheap parts and a great forum. I’ll have my old toy back up and running in a few days and will include an oil change.

My automated gate to the property stopped working. I’m pretty sure it needs a new battery. Thanks, Amazon for delivering one tomorrow. I also bought a WIFI camera for the front gate so I can see if it is open or closed as well as when packages are delivered. It has motion sensing alerts so nobody will be able to sneak up on me when I leave the gate open.

It has been a surprisingly moist year so far. My sunflower crop got plenty of rain a few weeks ago and got as tall as 8 feet. They are drooping now and will be drying out for harvest in a few weeks or so. More rain is expected this week which is good for my privacy hedges planted in areas where people may be able to see me naked. They look very healthy and should be nice and hedgy in a few years.

What else?… I got a new cover for my hot tub. The relentless sun bakes them to death in just a few years so I’m going to try to preserve this one by keeping it covered with a white tarp. A cover cover? It’s a shame that’s necessary.

My tomatoes are starting to turn red. I’ll be popping some in my mouth soon.

I’m still wishing I had a nudist friend. Keep on wishing, right? Hope. Hope that I will find one before I successfully become a full-hermit.

I got my RV out of the mud. After two weeks of rain, it sunk. I had to wait for the mud to completely dry and dig ramps to drive it out. It took a number of days. Not like I’m going anywhere in it anytime soon but I like to keep it maintained for the future. Camping alone is OK but losing its meaning.

Basically, all is well. Maybe I’ll blog a bit this week since I’ll have plenty of alone time to spend in any manner I like. That’s the best thing ever. I gave 50 years of my life to the world and now I’m taking time back while I still have some left. Time is the most valuable thing in the universe. I hope you can afford some too one day. Save and invest now! Money is Time and there’s no time Toulouse. (Get it? Monty Python? bah. That reference is wasted on you.)

Blah blah blah. I guess that’s enough to catch you up on my exciting and amazing life. Tune in later for more.

Substitution Therapy

I’ve been self-analysing myself for most of my life now. I might have made a great psychologist had I thought of it much earlier. One day I might even do some learning on the subject. On the other hand, I’m not sure I like the idea of submitting to the, although learned, questionable conclusions of others.

I prefer to make my own observations and conclusions. My logic may be flawed in many cases, but sometimes flawed logic makes more sense when it comes to the unknown mysteries of the brain. Human thought is far from being inherently logical.

One of the tools I’ve found to be useful is what I call, Substitution Therapy. I’m sure it may already exist and may even be called that in the world of psychology but I’m making it up myself. I haven’t even googled the term. Maybe later. I’d rather not find out that it means something else.

Substitution Therapy involves replacing unpleasant lines of thought with what may be a polar opposite line. I’ve noticed that I have been doing that unconsciously lately and have brought it to the front now. Specifically, my thoughts of chronic loneliness have been replaced by thoughts of solitude. I take my desires of interaction with others and project a likely, unpleasant, future outcome in order to cultivate a feeling of revulsion thereby neutralizing the impossible desire. Suddenly solitude looks pretty darn good. I have successfully minimized my sadness and just want to be left alone.

In the long run, this is probably not a healthy tool. Unfortunately, my options are limited. In a future projection, I become highly agoraphobic but not lonely anymore. Flawed logic, maybe. Dangerous, perhaps. I would take isolated happiness over isolated desperate loneliness anytime.

If you are at the end of your rope in a battle with neverending loneliness and depression, perhaps Substitution Therapy is for you. All I can say is that I feel 95% better.

Increasing Hermitage

My journey to becoming a hermit is proceeding steadily. I’ve always known it would be my destiny to live and die alone and lately that destiny is becoming reality.

But that’s OK. The life of common folk has little appeal to me anymore. I’m happiest when I’m alone and naked. Since moving out into the country and working to make sure my property is nicely concealed, I feel even more secluded than ever.

I have to thank the Pandemic for pushing me past the point of no return. I enjoyed a whole year of having to interact with only a minimal number of people and found that I prefer it that way. Now that it is over, I’m hoping that all those extra people continue to mind their own business. My gate is closed and nobody can visit without getting past my protection charms.

Nothing good comes from answering the phone or texts. It’s guaranteed that someone is on the other end wanting something from me with the refusal to give me what I need in return. Time Thieves! Soul Takers! Who needs them?

Every once in a while I might put on some clothes and venture to the store or a restaurant. It’s still nice to get out but fleeting interactions with humans just reminds me why it’s better to be at home. I have to admit that I like it. There’s plenty of TV to watch, books to read, and podcasts to listen to. I have a lot of property to tend to and hope to make it somewhat of a garden utopia one day.

I enjoy not having any stress in my life. No daily job or duties to anyone other than myself and my mom who stays with me every other week. It’s a son’s duty to take care of his mother. That means I have to wear clothes every other week but that also means that every other, other week I get to be naked for 7 straight days. That’s OK. Sometimes I get tired of being naked.

I’ve been out of the city for two years now but still never get over the feeling of being watched. I’m pretty sure that that feeling is completely self-imposed since I’m completely invisible and everyone else is too preocupied with their little lives and phones to even look. Still, the feeling exists and I don’t like it. I hope to get over it soon. Nobody can see into my property unless they stop their vehicle and peer though the brush. I’ve planted additional shrubbery to complete the shield and it should be maximumly effective in a few years.

Being retired is good. Work is bad. I don’t have any obligations other than the community band which is optional. I have thoughts of quitting but I admit that it is somewhat fun. I guess I’ll hang in there for now. I am kind of in the market for a FUN, part-time job. It has to be fun though otherwise it is just work. I don’t need the money but more is better and some kind of human interaction is helpful for good psychiatric health. No rush. We’ll see what comes along.

I’m living on my savings and profits from investing in the stock market. I’m kind of breaking even or making money so I’m not worried about running out. I made $900 today while watching TV and napping. Noice! In a 6-7 years I’ll have access to my retirement portfolios which should be quite substantial by then. Still, I prefer to live a simple life. I don’t need much. Minimalism is profitable.

My life has always worked out where if I need something, it will come to me. It happens over and over again. I must also presume that if I want something but don’t need it, it will be witheld. That only makes sense and so far proves true. That’s OK. Often the things you want most may not be good for you anyway. When the time comes, they will be provided. Patience has always been one of my virtues.

Well that’s enough rambling. I think I covered the topic adequately. I just wanted to get it out of my head.
Hermit Max – Out!