Vik-Thor's Journal

@jik@federate.social
@taur10@friendica.opensocial.space
(þ = thorn = th)
OOF.

(þis was originally written as reply on Mastodon. didn't feel like breaking it into seperate entries to þread it...)

I worked þe election yesterday. Workers get to polling locations @ 05:00 CST (for set up), polls opened @ 06:00, and closed at 19:00. þen breaking þe equipment down, back into þe transport cages, þen location managers took þe Ballot Boxes to þe designated drop-off location for þe Board of Elections.
I did not look at anything last night after I got home. Just relaxed for awhile, unwound and went to bed about 23:15 (which is actually a bit early for me lately... but with þe early day... )

Disclaimer: I have worked þe polls as a nominal Republican since 2020. NO, I am NOT MAGAt / Trumpist / TeaParty / Dominionist Reþuglican etc. In Missouri, to be poll-worker, you have to declare as Democrat or Republican. (NonPartisan is not allowed as poll-worker, þough some jobs in þe Board of Elections are NonPartisian). þe area @Taur10 and I live in is fairly Democratic, and for 2020, I was afraid that þe orange guy's supporters would get in as poll-workers, and disrupt as much as they could. If anyone asks, I say I am more of a PreReagan (PreRaygun) republican, Back to þe Eisenhower Republican philosophy. Have been Poll Manager for þe past 3 elections. (Municipal, Primary, and þe one yesterday.)
Depending on how þe Dominionist Reþuglicans act over þe next time period, I have NO IDEA if I will work any future elections, or even if þey would let me.

þe polling place I have worked as Poll-Manager is fairly new. (Previous location was a firehouse / ambulance station.) Most people have started going to þe County Library 1mile west of þe firehouse. þe polling place I've worked is a community center (former grade school, built 1939) 1Mile souþ. St Louis county now does not specify which polling place you have to vote at. Since it is computerized, we can pull up whatever þe ballot for your specific precinct is, as long as you are REGISTERED... Our biggest issue was people who had moved from þe City of Saint Louis, to þe County of Saint Louis. (2 different political entities since 1876. and þose of us who are not originally from here, don't always realize. )

As of right now, I have not really looked at results much, oþer than it sounds like the Dominionist Reþuglicans have got þeir wish for þeocracy by any means!!!

I sorta wish I had been able to go to London for the Relay.FM 10th anniversary show. (but at least it looks like the recording has been posted, so I will get to listen to it.)

Missouri's Primary election is 06 August 12024. I am working as Poll Manager again. I am actually working as the republican manager. (no, I am NOT registered as R with the state, nor the state R party. It is just that to work in the polls in MO, you have to declare a party affiliation. I've never registered as / with either major party (even though I am much more of a Democrat than the modern RETHUGLICAN / MAGAT party. The County of Saint Louis is fairly Democrat, so I work as Republican to keep the trumpists / MAGATs from trying to keep people from voting. I don't know if I will continue working as a Poll Manager gong forward... It has been a bit stressful. Regular poll worker, I don't mind, but being in charge of the polling place... no thanks... But on the other hand, I do NOT want the RETHUGLICANs to be the poll managers. (If anyone ever says anything, I will say I am more of an Eisenhower Republican, rather than the modern Trumpist cult member...) Basically, if someone is registered to vote, I want them to be able to vote...

Thursday, 25 July, I stopped at LabCorp to get blood drawn for my Dr. appointment on 1 August. Got the results through MyChart, and about as expected, the cholesterol/lipid #s are a bit high...  not outrageously so.
I am currently on a blood thinner, and 2 blood pressure medications, so I can no longer donate blood. These medications were started after I had an atrial fibrilation earlier this year. I am actually feeling better than before I started taking them (which is pretty much the point, isn't it? :)   )
I've got a home blood pressure machine (actually have had it for well over a year at this point) but only started taking my BP regularly this year. (The times I took it before, I actually thought it wasn't working right, because it was reading 175/101 type readings, and "I don't have high blood pressure, so the machine must not be working right." When I would get my blood pressure at the doctors office, or when I was giving blood, they were not getting readings that high. They would get readings that were a bit elevated, on the high side of normal. Some people have higher blood pressure at Doctor's office, because they are nervous. I think I tend to have lower when official people take it...

I got my https://www.mephitfurmeet.org/ MFM 2024 registration paid, so I will be going down there over Labor Day weekend. Driving my Bolt EUV, so won't be part of the caravan.

SANKOFA

Sankofa is an African word from the Akan tribe in Ghana. The literal translation of the word and the symbol is “it is not taboo to fetch what is at risk of being left behind.”

The word is derived from the words:

• SAN  (return)
• KO  (go)
• FA (look, seek and take)

from: https://www.berea.edu/centers/carter-g-woodson-center-for-interracial-education/the-power-of-sankofa

I have been into genealogy for awhile (off and on over the years.) I even started to try to start doing this as a GeneaBlog last year. 
In a mostly ON mood right now.

I have traced my family back 4 generations with confidence (Great-Great Grandparents) mostly born in the mid 1800s. and so far they have been in the southern Illinois / Indiana, and central Tennessee area (some outliers in Kentucky). I have found 1 who (definitely) participated in the US Civil War. Most of this generation were too young or old for Civil War service. (Though war of 1812 has some.)
The previous generation is a lot more sparse in knowledge and documentation, which considering the ones I have some documentation are early 1800s (and one couple 1790s). I will have to do trips to TN for some of them, and hope they have the documents. (FamilySearch.com lists when various counties started keeping various records.)

The one ancestor I am viewing as my main brick wall right now is my Paternal Great-Great-grandpa (Benjamin F. Rose). The only document I have of him is his marriage license to GGrandma Tabitha Green. It gives his parents, age, and where he was born, (between 21 and 23, born in White County IL). I have found his parents in marriage records for White County, married in 1854, I have not found any of them in census records. (The one that would have been the most likely, the 1890 Census, was destroyed...)
There has been some conflation with another Benjamin Franklin Rose in some online records, who lived and died in Effingham IL.

Husband, I've not gotten as far back, and have gotten to Italian and German ancestors at the Great-Great-grandparents level. So that will but a kink in tracking them down (Though I do follow a GeaneaBlog that talks about italian research quite a bit...)




 

 Has been a bit busier than usual.

today (30 June) last day of Pride month 2024
went down to the St Louis Pride festival (Work has a low level sponsorship of it, so we got a few passes for the VIP tent. I got one.)
got a bit of face glitter painting.
Was stuck on W side of the parade for >1 hour
Seph and I did grocery shopping since we didn't yesterday.

 Well, got the email I've been expecting.

The Volvo EX30 is now DELAYED. They had hoped to be taking the actual orders by now, but several things have delayed it.
Seph and I actually put our deposits in on 08 June 2024. He canceled his a couple months ago at this point, but I sent my email in to West County Volvo (Manchester MO) just last week -17 June-. They didn't see it at the time. After got the email, called them, and got a better contact email.

I ended up getting a used Chevy Bolt EUV shortly before my Nissan Leaf lease ended. 2023 model year, and technically used (only had ~4000 miles on it.)

I am likeing it quite a bit.

We will be going over to Owensboro KY on Saturday 29 June. Seph wants to look at a panel van of some sort. (I might remember it if I wasn't so sleepy.)

How many times have I tried restarting this? We shall see if I keep it up this time.

 A very merry birthday to my 2nd great Grandma, Tabitha (Green) Rose!  She was born 23 May 1857, so she would be 166 years old today. :)

I didn't know anything about her until I started doing genealogy research.

I have seen documents with her name spelled as Tobitha as well as Tabitha.

at the Florissant Meadows donation center.
The Red Cross canceled my original appt (5PM), but I was able to make an earlier appt (11:45 AM)
Went as quick as usual.
Got Taco Bell on way back to Work.

After work, helped Seph on final cleanout of a storage unit he bought, and then we went out to eat @ Longhorn steakhouse, using up the last of a giftcard from Hank.
I ended up skipping the City Council meeting for dinner.

Ceaned Mimi's water bowl.

Watched couple episodes of ST: Picard 

 today's anniversary is Henry Arthur Lannom, who was born 13 May 1907. He was the husband of one of my grandaunts, Ella Agnes Moore. They had one son, who died at about 1 year old, in 1938. Ella died in 1940, so no direct relatives in that line. Henry remarried shortly after, to a Lyla (Fleming) Shadowens, it was her 2nd marriage also. Not sure if they had any children together, she had a son from her former marriage. (I wonder if they are related to the Shadowens who ended up buying the house on Casper Lane from mom? would be neat if so...)

There are a couple anniversaries today in my Rose line:

My great-grandma Grace Florence Gibbs was born on 10 May 1892 in White County, Illinois. She married my great-grandfather William Henry Rose on Halloween, 1908, in Hamilton County Illinois. She was only 16 at the time, to his 20... I would like to learn more about the timing of their marriage, since their first child was born less than 6 months later. My grandpa Rose was their 6th child. Grace ended up divorcing William in 1932 for abandonment and adultery. They had moved to East St. Louis (that is actually where my Grandpa was born, along with several of his siblings...) where William worked as a blacksmith for one of the railroads. She ended up back in Hamilton County, with the kids, and sued him for divorce. She actually named the woman who he "had carnal relations" with whom he ended up marrying shortly after the divorce was granted. 
Anyway, Grace remarried, to a William Edward Swallow (or Swallows) and had a couple more kids. She died in 1961, and is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Hamilton County, and I have visited her grave. 
I would like to get over to White county at some point, and do some research there, as several other ancestors are born there also.

the other anniversary is the death of her ex brother-in-law, my great grand-uncle Joel Rose, who died on 10 May 1958. I don't know much about him. He is buried in the Odd Fellows Cemetery in McLeansboro Illinois, but I have not yet visited his grave. His gravestone on Find a Grave notes that he served in WW1.

Grace's link is to her entry on WikiTree.com , while Joel's is to his entry on FamilySearch.org. they are both collaborative family trees. FamilySearch has the document images, but WikiTree to me is more fun. To find out more about WikiTree, visit: www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:About_WikiTree

I don't think there are many stories about sentient trees, and the fact that I read one this week makes me want to wrote about it here. (I may try to do some fanfic based on it at some point... maybe.)

The book is The Wrath of Trees, (c) 2011 by Bard Bloom (aka Sythyry from LiveJournal.) This exists in the same multiverse as the World Tree RPG, or more specifically Sythyry's Journals. The main character of The Wrath of Trees is Melyl, a maraleni from the World Tree. She was sold into slavery on Kono (where this novel takes place) by Vae in Ambassador to a Monster: Sythyry's Journal V.2, for a used garden trowel. This exchange is mentioned in passing in Sythyry, when Vae gives zie the trowel to sell in Vheshrame. The exchange is described in the past in Wrath, in the beginning.

Maraleni are dioecious plants, with two types of fruit. The common type, when eaten, allow the maraleni access to the being's mind. She can talk telepathically if the being is sentient, otherwise she can somewhat control their actions. She can also cast some spells through her immara (beings who have eaten fruit.) Spells mentioned are: levitation, invisibility, quiet, illusions, talking using fur of feathers, healing. These spells do not seem to be cley based (as much of the magic of the World Tree universe is, but not all.) The common type do not have seeds so would not technically be fruit, but they are describes as such. The second type of fruit is reproductive, which Melyl describes but doesn't grow in the story, as she is the only one of her species on Kono.

Kono itself is an odd world. (Bard has a habit of dreaming up odd worlds.) Kono is a conical opening in a surrounding matrix (which is not described). There are patches of light on the inner surface of the cone, which rotate around the surface of the cone, faster as get nearer the tip of the cone. The bottom portion of the cone is comprised of a fresh water ocean of an unknown depth. There are at least 3 land masses floating on the ocean surface, along with Mount Myru in the center. Mount Myru is the hub of Kono, and is the tip of a tentacle of a vast being known as The Twisting Queen. It will periodically (centuries or millenia) reach out to another world and grab portions of it, setting it down on the main continent of Ozotta. Each time bringing new ecosystems, each with their own intelligent beings. There have been at least 4 separate 'kidnapping' events, with 4 separate types of life.

<img src='https://vik-thor.dreamwidth.org/file/787.jpg' alt='World of Kono, a conical world, showing the 3 landmasses and the various suns, with an inset of The Twisting Queen' title='Kono' />


The main beings that Melyl interacts with are the Lakku, a bipedal doglike species from the 3rd wave, that are currently the most common on Kono. Melyl ends up being a spy-master for one faction.