amor vincit omnia

for all true love, 
because now i know how soon now is


download zipped file here  : no images, sorry; to see them, search for the title in images.

do consider purchasing a copy of this excellent resource.

i say this despite the fact that i think that not all expressions of sorrow are 'get my way' behaviors; the only bone i have to pick.



to Captvtldz: thanks for inspiring me to put this up.

Knowledge is free.

Be seeing you.

The White Bath (a traditional ritual to cleanse the spirit)

 Some rights reserved by delicategenius

A white bath¹ is a way to cleanse oneself spiritually, where one has gotten 'dirty' either from other people projecting their problems, asking for help, or blaming one, or from being spread too thin, caring about others without taking care to protect oneself, or stress, anger, grief, &c.. The boundary between the self and the corrupt world becomes blurred.  It is useful, from time to time, to get back to remembering who one is -- one's Divine birthright.

You will need:

• a small bell (a crystal glass and a piece of silverware for a striker will do of the sound is lovely)
• a white candle (not large -- the 'emergency' kind is OK
• a piece of good white paper, not too big (you are going to burn it)
• a white pencil³
• A bunch of white flowers, preferably sweet smelling.  Any white flower will do, but if you are able, want to be more specific, and  are so inclined, there are different attributions to different flowers². 
• A cup of milk or cream (coconut is OK, cow or goat is traditional)
• A half cup of honey
• A cup of salt (table is OK, sea is better)
• A capful of a scented oil -- olive, almond or coconut mixed with hyssop or sage, peppermint or lavendar or bay, & one more, appropriate to your situation
• a bar of "black" or roasted soap, preferably homemade by someone spiritual
• a drain filter so you won't clog your plumbing with plant material
• as many white towels as you would need to dry off
• 1 or two plastic trash bag(s), preferably white
• white bed clothes to sleep in
• white clothes to wear for at least one whole day

Make sure you will not be disturbed.  This is very important  (the only thing more important is that you wear white afterwards).  

Ask yourself to visualize your desire -- the analogue of  the "clean" that could be extrapolated from your present, dirty, mental or spiritual situation.  Put it in a sentence, just one.  Make sure its phrased in positive terms: thus, "nobody complaining to me about their problems or bringing up old conflicts, no problems of my own, and no bad luck"  becomes something like "I am surrounded by optimism and easygoing cheerfulness, & circumstances are perfectly conducive to my needs, helping me make good progress toward my goals."

Draw a bath, as hot as you like.  Add the milk, honey, oils, & salt as it is filling.  Add the flowers (making sure to add only soft petals -- nothing sharp or thorny).

Leave your dirty clothes outside the bathroom.

Taking visual note of where the candle and matches are, turn off the light.

Light the candle.  

Ring the bell.

With the pencil, write the statement you composed on the paper.  Make sure it is worded positively (that is, say "using positive words" instead of "not refraining from avoiding negative alternatives to hand gestures").

Get in the bath.

Using handfuls of petals to scrub with, and lathering with soap, wash yourself methodically from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet, repeating your sentence to yourself.  Check the wording if you forget; revise it on the paper if a better version comes to you.  

Love yourself.

Try to keep your mind from wandering past the immediate sensual beauty you are confronted with.  Isn't it good to be alive? 

Love yourself some more.  Relax.  Enjoy your bath.

When you are done -- and make sure to dunk your head at least once -- get out.  Replace your tub's stopper with the filter, and allow the water to drain.

Dry off.

Burn the paper.  

Ring the bell.

Pinch out the candle.

Turn on the light.

Leave the bathroom -- get some air.  Feel better?  

Put on  white clothes.  It is best if you wear nothing but white, and sleep in white sheets, blankets, pillowcases, &c.; it is optimal if you can do this for a week, but even a day will help, and the improvement should be permanent.

Before going to sleep, take care to clean up after yourself .  All the evil is in the petals., and you don't want yourself or anyone else to come into direct physical contact.  You may find it useful to take two plastic bags and use them as makeshift gloves.  Collect all the petals and the ashes from the paper and the candle stub and wrap them securely.  Wash down the tub.  Don't delay in taking the trash down:  get it out of your immediate environment.

Last but not least, try not to make the same mistake twice..... or rather... remember to live, love, and learn.

....You can't go back 

and you can't stand still

If the thunder don't get you 

then the lightning will...

...Small wheel turn by the fire and rod

Big wheel turn by the grace of God 

Everytime that wheel turn round

bound to cover just a little more ground......

from "The Wheel,"  

lyrics here, 

listen to it here

NOTES

1) a white bath takes its authority from the fifty first psalm. From wikipedia:

Text	Translation
Asperges me, Domine, hyssopo et mundabor, Lavabis me, et super nivem dealbabor. Miserere mei, Deus, secundum magnam misericordiam tuam.	Thou wilt sprinkle me, O Lord, with hyssop and I shall be cleansed Thou wilt wash me, and I shall be washed whiter than snow. Pity me, O God, according to Thy great mercy.

Versions have been used to cleanse the body -- the original Temple, as it houses the Spirit -- in Christian magick since -- perhaps since the Psalm was written, certainly since the Psalter was first printed.  (1457 to be exact, the first Western printed book in color, put out by J. Faust, yes, that Faust, you may have heard of him.  What you may not know is that he bankrolled Gutemberg to could get the printing thing going -- and later, the debt still outstanding, repoed the very contraption that was destined to change the woirld, and, in addition to attempting to sell the printed Bibles, tried to sell papal indulgences and copies of his supposed pact with the Devil, all  as if they were hand copied, and thus worth more.  But i digress.

2) Some of these are: coneflowers are appropriate if the issue is one of disease, that is, physical illness or strength of immunity; poppies if you are troubled by memories, where you need to forget (as in, that is healthy and not irresponsible); carnations if it has to do with self esteem or confidence; hydrangea if you are not the one -- if it really shouldn't be your problem and you need distance; gladiolas to be prepared for a fight or to remain steadfast; tulips for foriveness, including forgiving oneself; daisies for issues hearkening back to childhood or concerning innocence; Camellia for liking who you are better or acheiving greater self-reliance of independence; lily of the valley if the world is too much with you -- if what you really crave is a cave somewhere for a year; dahlias for self-respect or reputation; impatiens if it has to do with mother; lilies to break an unrequited bond if you are the lover; roses for self image or issues related to one's virtue, calling, or True Will.

3) It is up to you if, after having read this through, ou opt for a pencil that writes in white or the more traditional lead pencil painted whitle on the outside.

Sudoroom Perimeter Security

An Engineer's Diuers Obseruations Concernynge 

Security 

Made After Some Contemplation Of 

SudoRoom

Campus, Disposition, Maintenance, &c,

That Are Deserving

Of A Most Full 

&

Rapt 

Attention

❝

Crime prevention through environmental design

(CPTED) is a multi-disciplinary approach to deterring criminal behavior through environmental design. CPTED strategies rely upon the ability to influence offender decisions that precede criminal acts. As of 2012, most implementations of CPTED occur solely within the built environment. Changing the areas we reside in to deter criminals from committing acts in our communities is the main goal of CPTED. With urban design and the planning that goes into the creation of new and reformation of older communities, citizens in these neighborhoods and places of business can feel safer at all hours.❞  [Read more at Wikipedia]

(1)

The Overhead Light In The Entryway

The Landlord MUST replace this light and make sure that its operational.  There should be no hesitation:  you ask, he replaces.  It should have been done yesterday.  

(2)

The Trees Across The Street

Get the City of Oakland to trim back the trees (hopefully) just around the street-lamps across the street.  There are three lights up on the building across the street, meant to light the street:  it could be much better lit.  See the double-plus-good discussion on Anti-Blight, below.

(3)

The Parking Deck Next Door

The building owner may be the owner of the parking deck.  If he does, getting the lights that are busted fixed is as easy as it was in number (1).  He is required to do it. And he should know this, if he has owned property for more than a month. Because he should know first or secondhand that if he does not fix it there is a damn good possibility (based on precedent in case law) that he will be financially liable for damages resultant from any further criminal activity.

if he’s not the same owner, then it’s a research question whether a property owner owes a duty of care to next door neighbors. I guess that would be why there are blight laws, huh?

which means, if he does nothing, SRers may have a case against him for what has already occurred (?).

If it’s things like lights in the alley then there are 10 lights.  There were 7 that  were spaced at regular intervals as you go down the alley, mounted 15- 20 feet up on the wall of the parking deck.  If they were there they would be shining light down into that darkness from where they are no longer mounted about 20 feet up. Only one non-functional one remains. Once you see it you’ll be able to see where the others were.

Then there are the three lights whose bulbs are burnt out where the bank drive thru is (was?) down at the other end of the alley.

(4)

The Intersection Of 22nd & Broadway

Street-lamps each have two super bright bulbs by means of which they light up the night.  This in turn enables people to see other people at a greater distance than they would otherwise, and avoid interaction if that is prudent.

At the intersection of 22nd & Broadway one of the streetlight's bulbs is out.  On the SR side of the street.  This does in fact make things more dangerous.

The city has to replace it, and pronto -- same deal -- we need to bug the fuck out of them until they do it.

Conclusion

Three different departments and one council-person; one or two building owners.

Call them once a day until its done.

it is a principle of sound design that good lighting is essential to a secure building.  building codes are written stemming from, and reinforcing, this.  There are, consequently, social, political, and legal mechanisms whereby certain actions that prevent and/or counteract blight can be taken.  The point is to do so with the least amount of delay or opportunity for that action to devolve into inaction, which leads to more blight, and directly and indirectly may result in harm to people or property.  Which we do not want.  Which is the point.

Further Instruction

Is it a part of fire code?  The fire department requires trees be trimmed back so that people will not be able to break into other people's houses without being seen...

A Note Concerning Insistent Constituents

 Without delving into the ethical underpinnings, that ism, without agreeing or disagreeing with this social principle, one can see that it is empirically true that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.  Applying this to the situation at hand, the axiom becomes:  if you keep bugging them, they will do it.

SR has a landlord, who may or may not be the building owner.  It also has a council-person, and a person who runs the department responsible for the city's control of urban blight, and a person who runs the department responsible for the city's trimming of trees. A month of hearing from someone every daywill probably motivate the necessary action.   They are limited in the resources that they have, including attention. A kindly daily reminder/report of status will help focus that attention.

 as far as organizing the once a day calling

it’s important to actually reach them

[what if you can’t? –ed] [i would be willing to go in person –ed] 

come up with talking points or even specific phrases, 

( like republicans do) such as “constituent service”

remind them that there have been “five events in the past month [accuracy check, please –ed] requiring police intervention at SR” [as i/we understand it -- i do not have all the details myself –ed]

- the pepper spraying incident 

- the car break-in

- the stolen ipad

- the being held up at gunpoint

- the guy messing with the keypad trying to get in

maybe give a status report such as X,Y and Z await action; A is scheduled for ,; B is underway; C has been promised, but no date has been scheduled/estimated/committed to

 a secondhand bit of info, FWIW: where SR is, at the edge of Koreatown Northgate, or KoNo, there are no beat cops because supposedly Northgate has the lowest incidence of violent crime -- but this is only because the city does not count armed robbery as a  violent crime.  KoNo has the highest incidence of armed robbery.

[fontsize emphasis mine –ed]

Notes On Finding Property Owners

Get APN

zoom in on map (assessors map at http://www.acgov.org/assessor/maps2.htm) to get the parcel # (APN) then you can get more details here also 

take APN and/or other details and feed them in to http://rechart1.acgov.org

I forgotten the exact  method of feeding the APN into the link above to find the current owner, mainly because I can’t remember right now what the right combo of leading, trailing, and extra middle zeros to trim is, but  we hack right? 3 quick ideas

1. Brute force – 

try the different combinations of zeroes etc

2. Use knowledge that you have of a property already – 

and feed it in to retrieve that property’s info to backward engineer the right format

3. Go to courthouse – 

and look on their property info computers. They rarely have a queue and seem to be available for just this kind of use by the public. Unrestricted access 8:30-2:30 or 4 except for passage through the courthouse entrance: metal-detector for your person and the x-ray machine for your effects.

[following are the results of the Speaker's engaging in the above research technique –ed]

Parking deck 

8-648-16-3

 [Owned by “exempt public agency” per Assessor’s, 

so very likely city of Oakland]

Parcel of SR building

8-648-1

Parcel facing Broadway at other end of block from SR  

8-648-18

Middle of block and alley next to SR building 

8-648-17

Having found out that the City of Oakland owns the parking deck next door, and they’re responsible for its blight makes me both more and less optimistic about whether they alone will fix the blight depending on my estimation of their willingness to fix their own problems. OTOH, since they are responsible to the citizenry in general, and they have geographic knowledge of problems via mapping crime and they are the landlords of the blighted property they arguably already have the kind of legal liability for what has happened recently, the kind that was mentioned above only in prospect for SR’s landlord. As I understand it, it’s established law that if a government is performing a function that isn’t unique to government (the set of which seems to be shrinking), that it has no sovereign immunity for doing it poorly.  

Please forgive the upcoming caps: WARNING: GO TO AN ACTUAL LAWYER IF YOU WANT A LEGAL OPINION RENDITIONED RENDERED. I only offer my opinion which is not withheld pending ransom retainer. (Sorry for the caps –CYA.)

The point is court action possibly offers another stick (but it is a blunt instrument). A carrot might be to offer to help correct the situation, but that would be poisonous to relations with city unions, probably, even if a qualified person could be fielded. The greater point you already know well and practice: to think (sideways or whatever direction) to the extent you believe the issues are salient. Hope my modest thought offering is helpful.

see also wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_prevention_through_environmental_design

and its reading list:

• International CPTED Association

• European Designing Out Crime Association

• Stichting Veilig Ontwerp en Beheer (the Netherlands)

• California Designing Out Crime Association

• Crime prevention and the built environment.

• Washington State University CPTED Annotated Bibliography. Url last accessed May 6, 2006.

• Oscar Newman, Creating Defensible Space (pdf) (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, 1996). Url last accessed May 6, 2006.

• CPTED LinkedIn Discussion Group

• SmartCode Module on CPTED

• Secured by Design (UK)

N.B.: These are the near verbatim notes I took of an impromptu talk.  They have been reviewed and edited by both the Scribe and the Speaker, & unless bracketed & followed by attribution, (as in "[...in respect of actionability alone these ideas are robust indeed.  –ed.]") represent the ideas mostly in the exact words of the Speaker.