He Liberated Wallachia Is What He Did. He Impaled 10,000 Turkeys Or Whatever The FUCK They're Called,

There's a place in Mesa close to the border with Chandler that has killer tacos and local beers on tap. Put your laundry in, gorge on Mexican food and beer, put laundry in, more tacos and beer, stumble out to the car with your laundry all wadded up, and sleep it off on a bed of freshly cleaned shirts.

Like we have got to make laundromats aesthetic. In my entire life I have only ever been in one laundromat that didn’t have the grungiest, nastiest, most meth-core vibe I’ve ever seen.

If I’m going to have to drag my laundry somewhere and pay to wash it I at least want my surroundings to be clean and pretty.

Moonshine. White lightning. Corn liquor. Local squeezins. This is still a going thing here in the mountains. Stills and knowledge are passed down through generations, with a special pride taken in their batches. And usually they'll offer a couple of flavors: there's the regular burning sensation or you can get a burning sensation with a fruity aftertaste.

It degreases car parts, cleans up paint, lights up rooms in lanterns, and helps you forget about your troubles for a time. Store bought "shine" is nothing close.

Right now, in the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea, there's an unofficial naval conflict going on between the Chinese Coast Guard, "Chinese fishing boats", and various SE Asian nations. Basically, the CCP has decided to basically seize fishing grounds, lay claim to various islands and shoals and try to gain control of the sea lanes. They've been intruding into EEZ areas of smaller nations chasing fish, and are eyeballing the enormous amounts of trade that pass through the area. There's also huge oil fields and natural gas reserves under water that China is eager to control.

"Volunteer fisherman" in special fishing boats that have been reengineered for ramming have been pushing other nations out of their fishing grounds. Much like the little green men of the Crimean invasion, these little blue men (from their blue outfits) are deniable assets used to enforce Chinese will. They basically suck as fishing boats now, but boy howdy can they damage other fishing boats.

Along with this, the Chinese have been building land onto reefs by dredging to create instant sovereignty land which they then claim. Other nations have responded with derelict ships being anchored across reefs that act as permanent bases.

Recently, during a supply run to a Philippine base ship, the Chinese Coast Guard decided to intervene and called the whole thing an intrusion into Chinese waters. They rammed the supply ship and made a hostile boarding brandishing swords, knives and axes, the Philippino sailors fought back with bare hands and whatever weapon like object they could lay hands on. A Philippino sailor reportedly lost his thumb in the fracas along with other injuries.

So, uh, HOLY CRAP. Pirates, cutlasses, boarding actions, water cannons... everything old is new again.

It's the 21st century and I'm dealing with wood heating like it's still pre industrial times. There's supplemental electric heaters for places like the bathroom and a propane burner to keep the roof clear, but otherwise I'm dealing with cords and ricks of splits and rounds. Sharp axe, sharp hatchet, dead blow hammer, splitting wedges, ash can, hearth broom, ash scuttle, aaaaaaaagh.

I aspire to be this filthy

I love the lanyard.

Boatswain’s call - Bosun’s call with sailor-macraméd lanyard, 19th century