In another twist on my two worlds colliding, there is this strange world of men's fashion that I call Grayman fashion.  Now, people who do this will NOT call it that, because that's way too sissy.  No, these men consider themselves the most operatey of operaters, the tips of the spear, possibly even tier 1 (and some actually are!) but the point is, you can't just be a badass.  You also have to look the part too.  As Garand Thumb (a military YouTuber) loves to frequently joke, "If you don't look cool, then nothing else matters."

But while I could try to describe the style, it might be easier if I provide pictures for visual aid.  Let's start with Daddy Flannel himself, Garand Thumb:

However, maybe this image is a better depiction of what I think the fashion itself looks like:

Of course, most people don't walk around in plate carriers while slinging rifles, and so, take those away, and you have Grayman fashion in a nutshell, which I think this following 5.11 ad picture perfectly illustrates:

So, why am I bringing this up?  Prior to retirement, I was surrounded by a lot of highly impressionable young men who are really into stuff like this.  Regardless of who they are, or what their actual skill level is, they still want to look and feel like a badass.  And as such, there will always be companies who are more than happy to help them look the part, in exchange for unreasonable amounts of money.  One such notable brand name is the one I just mentioned, which is 5.11, though they are not the only one.

5.11 used to be an online-only gear and apparel shop catering to the military, law enforcement, and first responder crowd, but they have gotten so popular, they are even opening regular retail stores now!  How do I know this?  Well, I finally got around to visit the (relatively new) 5.11 store near me:

As I'm sure you can imagine, the place is EXPENSIVE.  For example, a cheap pair of trauma sheers, ones you might find packed with your first aid kit bundle for free, are being sold individually for $15 USD!  But yeah, sure, it's in "tactical black" and lovingly etched with their fancy 5.11 logo, so I'm sure that more than makes it worth the money....

Now don't get me wrong.  Most of their products are all high quality.  However, does one really need to spend all that money for quality and function?  I personally believe I'm just as functional and operatey as anybody in my old man sweat shirt and sweat pants, along with my plain jane T-shirt with holes in it, that I think I might have gotten from Goodwill years ago.

And to be fair, I'm not saying it looks bad at all.  Right?  Paul Bunyan meets Special Forces has that certain quaint look to it?  Or better yet, I personally prefer this look:

Can't beat a man looking sharp in highly functional suits, right?  You know, actually, even Jason Momoa looks very badass and operatey in this photo, which is mostly why I chose to share this one.  But don't worry.  While I might have to fix my wardrobe some day, for now, I am still comfortably sporting my cheap, homeless hot garbage look.  And I kid you not, even when geared up, literally NOBODY suspects me of being anything other than hoping you'll spare me a few coins for a McDonald's value meal.

Aside from friends and family, there is not a whole lot that I need or want out of the world. And though I've mentioned this before, the one notable exception is me being low key kind of a foodie.

For example, I typically watch cooking competition shows while I am eating.  The last one I watched was called Culinary Class War, a Korean cooking competition. (Good show!)  Yesterday, I went out of my way to finally go try Raising Cane's chicken for the first time.  (It was just Ok.) Before that, I was thinking about taking a trip to Texas some day to get some Texas BBQ.   Before that, I was watching a show about catching fresh fish off the coast of Hawaii for some sashimi, ceviche, and poke. (Are they not worried about parasites?)  Last night, I dreamt about finally meeting an Indian chef and trying out his signature curry dish.

I know food is expensive, and though it's a constant battle, I do keep it within my budget, always.  It's just, the very thought of amazing food is literally what gets me up in the morning and excited about life sometimes.  Yeah, it's crazy.  My one guilty pleasure.  I wish I wasn't like this, but here I am haha.

I don't know if you guys remember me talking about a friend of mine from Canada.  As a quick recap, she basically cheated on her boyfriend of more than 10 years, left him for a new guy, and apparently according to Canadian law, can sue her now ex-boyfriend for SPOUSAL SUPPORT!

I think the original purpose of spousal support is that a married woman, especially ones raising kids, can sue the husband for running off with someone else?  I mean I don't really understand Canadian law or anything, but it sounds to me like their version of the alimony.

In the case of this "friend" of mine, because she and her ex-bf have co-habitated for more than 3 years, somehow that counted as common law marriage.  And even though they have no kids together, she decided to sue him anyways because she really needs the money.

Well, I just found out earlier today that their lawyers have finally agreed to settle out of court to the tune of a $25k lump sum, to my "friend".  It's half of what she was hoping to get.  Actually, she wanted way more than that, then tampered down her expectations, but still got half of what she wanted.

I basically tried to console her that it's still better than nothing, and it would not cause her any further legal fees by going to trial.  Honestly though, I was shocked how much she was getting considering that she basically had NO CASE.

As for this "friend" and I, we are not really friends anymore.  I guess we still talk on occasion, held together only by whatever friendship we once had in the past.  But she's really turned into something different... and not in a good way.  She is still clueless about money, other than the fact that she's now having to actually struggle financially because her new hot boyfriend doesn't make any money, but hey at least he's great in the sack or so she says.

And though I was certainly no fan of her ex-boyfriend either, to be perfectly fair, he did take care of her financially.  He clothed her, fed her, put a roof over her head, and basically paid for all of her living expenses.  He even took her traveling all over the world, at least once a year, even though she insisted that she didn't care about that.  OK, whatever you say.

Point is, imagine being someone who has technically done nothing wrong, and has paid for everything, only to find out she cheated on you with someone else, and is now coming back to sue YOU for SPOUSAL SUPPORT!  Without actual marrage or any kids involved?

What a crazy world we live in.

You know, my world can be a strange mix sometimes, and consequently, I am not sure if I should share this as I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable here.  For example, I realize not everyone likes guns, or even law enforcement.  If so, please feel free to let me know, and I won't share anymore of it in the future.

For now though, even though I am retired, I am still occasionally in contact with people who are still active law enforcement.  More specifically, I was also a firearms instructor, and some of my LE buddies would still ask me for gun advice from time to time.

A quick word about the LE community: Generally speaking, we are very, very bad at financial stuff.  The focus is always the quality of the gear, regardless of the price.  Can't afford it?  Just have to work more overtime or moonlight until we can.  Or better yet, "It is better to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission."  I don't agree with that of course, but for many out there, it's scripture.

Not to say every cop is like that, but let's just say I don't generally talk to them about being a fruggie, as many would think I have lost my mind.  (I can just see some of their weirded out expressions, if I ever complained to them about a $5 cabbage.)

However, sometimes, the LE path and the fruggie path can and do cross in beneficial ways.  A buddy of mine recently asked me for advice on a conceal carry pistol.  And sure, I could make all kinds of suggestions, but then, I decided to recommend something very affordable.  I don't want to bore you guys with the details (about the PSA Dagger), but the takeaway here is, I managed to talk him into looking into a cheaper option in order to help him save a few hundred dollars.

However, I didn't exactly tell him that.  I learned a long time ago that you can't sell affordability to cops.  You have to be more like an used car salesman, emphasizing practicality and value... and if at all possible, even a bit of charm and mystique.  I told them they're going to lose the gun to evidence anyway, so why bother carry something expensive and nice?  Plus, the Dagger isn't a horribly ugly gun... in the right light....

I don't really have much of a point to this entry, other than to say I felt mildly proud that I managed to help someone save a few hundred bucks.  Well, if anything, I am very concerned for their financial future.  Yes, they do have decent benefits, 401(k), SS and all that.  However, most of them are still not going to have anything to show for retirement, beyond what was required of them.  Generally speaking, most of their idea of a financial strategy is forming a list of things they want to buy in case they win the lottery, or better yet, hoping their crypto coins are going to rebound spectacularly.

Despite of it all, there are some really good cops out there, and I hope they land into retirement OK.  For all that they've done to actually help keep the streets safe, these ones deserve some peace and joy for a change.

When it comes to vegetables, I am typically quite lax when it comes to cost.  Even when they're not cheap, I know it's healthy for me, and it's hard enough to get myself to eat vegetables on some days.

However, even I had to do a double take when I checked my recipt and realized a head of cabbage costed me $5 USD!  Is that even normal?

Coming back home, I googled the average market price for cabbages, and found out it is not!  Then I realized I might have bought organic cabbages by accident, but even then, $5 is still on the high side....

Certainly, everything costs more these days, but perhaps this particular grocery store is just expensive in general?  To me, it doesn't seem anything special.  I'm going to check out other grocery stores, that are further away, but may offer lower prices.

So I finally got a humidifier, and have been running for a few days.

While I normally would loathe making such a purchase, after having constant bouts of itchy skin and static electric shocks, including one that partially zapped out my headset(!), I decided that enough was enough.

First, the machine has noticeably improved my room, bring up the humidity from 20% to 35% and more.  More importantly, I am no longer experiencing itchy skin and static electricity.  That was definitely worth the investment.

Now, here's the crazy part: My room is not very big.  In fact, it's roughly 8 feet by 8 feet (about 2.5 x 2.5 meters), and that's not including all the furniture I have in here.  And yet, this thing runs almost constantly, billowing out a noticeable spray of mist just to maintain that level of humidity.

But it's insane.  Each day, it can easily power through more than a gallon (~3.8 liters) of water.  That's a lot of water, right?  Where did all that misty water go to?  I know it's not sticking to my furniture or me, and the walls are not wet or anything.  But the water levels don't lie, and replenishing it with water is turning into a daily chore.

Of course, the room is far from air-tight, but I also keep the doors closed constantly so the humidifier won't have to work even harder to maintain this humidity level.

This foggy puzzle aside, I am still pleased with the positive results.

After reading PatientSaver's entry on them, I decided to get one as well, mostly because I am a bit concerned about my small room perhaps resulting in unhealthy levels of CO2 concentration, which as you know leads to dizziness, headaches, and the inability to focus.

Well, according to my new monitor, the CO2 levels seem very acceptable.  However, this is also most likely because I keep my room door open at all times.  It will not be the case come summer though, when I plan to run a window AC as well, to prevent from having to cool the entire house.

Hmm, I should run an experiment by keeping my door closed, and see what the readings say.

Currently though, the monitor is also showing that my humidity level is rather low, at only 20%.  That makes sense, as my skin always gets rather itchy around this cold time of year.  What to do about it though?  I am not sure if this is mildly bad or very bad?  And what would be the ideal solution in this case?

All other readings, including the ones that I don't understand yet, are all in the green.