nothing is normal

 I dig in virtual, dirt/sandless blocks to erase my mind, sometimes. 

V mined to -39 low flat ocean surface.

Angle shift of same survival mined V stairs.

Don't know how many days this took. Or rather nights, the annoying TV on so I can't think, evenings. 

This is a pile of virtual dirt.

Here's a screenshot of where the dirt came from.

Here's another. Should I bump the contrast of virtual night?

The other day, attempted to build a little hub at the edge of a dark oak forest, more wood to make shovel and pickaxe handles, wooden chests, crafting tables, etc... But, my one rule, "is it fun?" Not really, I've built a few too many survival hubs, unknown thousands perhaps? (Over the decade 2015 to 2025, not just this year of course).

You should see the mud where these mud bricks came from.

Nothing is normal in my life right now. Is anything "normal" in any of our lives in current news/history? The extended me says, not even close, and how long has it been slowly declining, strangling the life energy out of working people? Is it global or just America? Perhaps I need to dig some more realistic virtual "dirt" for a while. 

April 18th, 

There are lots of things I need to do in the real world. I looked at this blog just now because it's a record of sadness. In many ways nothing is more normal than grief. But, forced crying is just performing/acting. Reality and grief come at you at full speed. When someone you love is suffering, or you are suffering. 

pickaxe 99,698. shovel 92,120

I'm sure I've surpassed both of these since this screenshot, but meh, it's a record of digital, well this game, this world, I've no doubt I've surpassed millions of use of a pickaxe and shovel if all the worlds I've mined in since 2015 were on one stats sheet. 

Made it to the corner of 0 ~ -500,000 from zero. Well, 0 ~ 0. 

Only screenshot taken of corner so far

Built a garden, and a corner tower with three sets of double doors, but, tped back to the center, and started adding region files from 0 ~ 0 on the positive side to the 0 ~ 500k corner. 

been leaving gaps on purpose and adding stairs up

Survival is at lvl 55 now. This is a gap hub with stairs and a bridge along 0. 

center tower to bridge

There's a hub and small walled garden on the rock side. Very minimalist, sort of. 

April 23rd, for the past three days, been building a tower/mine from -63 to the top of buildable area, 320 is what I read. So 383 + 0 or 384 blocks. 

P.s. When I got to the top April 30th, the build area turned out to be 319.

standing on the bedrock -64 in the stairwell looking up

tower/mine in progress, day two

dumped a bucket of water over the edge and it did this

April 25th still building the same block height limit tower. 

not even at 200 yet, I think this is ~ 174 ~, the ground is 63

Another day, I keep building.... slowly... in survival. 

inside looking down the stairs from the entrance 

standing on the top so-far as I'm building

It's a spiral going up and up, the wall are about five blocks wide on average. Some areas with rooms are wider. The inside blocks are mud brick, seen surfaces built with clashing colors. Seems to me that almost all the Minecraft blocks textures clash like some terrible wardrobe. I understand why people install texture packs, but that's not what it's about for me. It's about the numbers,.. and numbing my brain by giving it something not sad, nor angry making, to near-mindlessly "think" about.

Day 6. This tower is a lot more blocks, and time than I anticipated. I decided to fly in creative and take a couple work in progress shots. 

April 26th, ran out of cement for the stairwell, so decided a good point for a photo. 

angle two of same day, 4-26-025 tower in-progress, build in survival screenshot in creative

Made it to the top April 30th, 2025

Had to mine and forge several loads of blocks, leveled up from 56 to 59 to finish the top to ~ 319 ~.

doesn't look that tall, tho 128 blocks are underground

It feels a lot more, ... wouldn't quite say dramatic, it is just Minecraft, but still there's a vertigo rush, of course jumped several times after spending 10 days building this tower/stairwell-mine. 319 to -63 is something, even in virtual, plus fearing I'd hit the stairs and torches of the stairwell is a little scary, I guess?

'Caves & Cliffs' challenge, achieved... my way, anyways.