I couldn't be a bigger fan of Honorary Doctor of Science, Dame Jane Goodall.
I learned about her as a kid. I think it might have been with a Schoolastic book or something. After that, I heard about her off and on for many, many years. Mostly in talk show appearances, which she continued to appear in until quite recently...
Wonderful.
It's remarkable to think about how she started her career over 60 years ago when she was 26 years old...
And never stopped. Becoming a legend in the conservation of chimpanzees and their habitats...
But what made me really fall in love with Jane was after Gary Larson made a cartoon around her in The Far Side...
Somebody from her institute lost their shit and fired off a scathing letter, incensed that Larson would dare to call Jane Goodall a "tramp." Which, of course, is not at all what's happening. But, well, you know... some people are easily set off.
But not Jane Goodall, who said that she found the cartoon funny. She said that it was her favorite rendition of her in pop culture. Which is probably why she wrote an introduction to one of Larson's The Far Side Gallery books.
And why Gary Larson visited Goodall's lab in Tanzania.
And why Gary Larson let Jane put the cartoon on a shirt and let her keep all profits for her institute...
It's difficult not to be saddened by her passing, but more difficult to not feel amazed by what she did with her 91 years on earth...
Rest in Peace.
Your humanity towards wildlife made you more human than most.
I'm a big LEGO fan.
Not just of the cool sets they release... but the video games and shows/movies as well.
But it goes beyond even that. I'm a big fan of the books about LEGO. The reference books, the set encyclopedia books, the minifig timeline books... and the history books. I love reading about how LEGO started and the road that lead to where they're at now.
Which is why running across this video which explores a part of LEGO I never heard of before was pretty shocking...
Modulex?!?
As a concept, it's fantastic. Architects being able to explore building design with smaller LEGO bricks that are constructed around architectural needs? Cool!
Had I known about them at the time, I absolutely would have bought some just for fun, having been an architecture nerd since birth.
I really hope that somebody writes a book about it.
I wake up every morning and look out the window to see what kind of day I'm going to have. If I can see the surrounding hills, it's probably going to be a fairly good day (at least to start... who knows where the wind will take us). If I can't see the surrounding hills, I'm pretty much guaranteed a day of misery from the minute I walk out the door. And today was one of those days. We were socked in and I could smell smoke on Jake when he walked in, which means he was out in the catio.
But, as I lay here now at night? I can see a star.
Sure it's just one, but it gives me hope for tomorrow. It would be nice to be able to go outside instead of hiding in my house all weekend.
And now... for all the Swifties out there, today was the day...
The album that changed my mind about Taylor Swift was 1989. It was pop perfection and had the lyrical masterpiece that is New Romantics. Then she followed it up with Reputation and Lover and I was convinced that she was going to be on my "Best Of" list until I was dust.
But then she took a turn with Folklore and Evermore which lost me. Fortunately Midnights was a return to the Taylor I enjoy listening to, and I thought maybe... but then The Tortured Poets Department had only one song I truly liked (along with a smattering on the first part that were okay) and I thought "Well, it was fun while it lasted."
And now we get The Life of a Showgirl.
It runs the gamut, going from pop optimism and clever musical turns to a dis track on (assumably) Charli XCX and a bouncy song about her fiancée Travis Kelce's dick being as big as a redwood that opened her thighs.
In the end, this album is a partial u-turn back towards the 1989 era. Though it does get dragged down by a few tracks that won't be added to my playlists any time soon.
As for the others? Thank you, Taylor! I'm enjoying them.
Now that it's not so hot out, the cats are loving being out in the catio all day. At least on the days that there's not so much wildfire smoke that I close the door because I'm concerned about their little kitty lungs.
In addition to being outside where they can look at the world, the main reason the catio is so appealing is that they get to visit with the other animals of the area. Mostly cats. An occasional dog. Sometimes a deer or a raccoon.
Right now Jake's favorite visitor is Rusty.
Rusty is actually a very sweet dog from next door that plays in the field behind my home. But she does not like cats. And if my cats are out there, she's perfectly happy to bark and howl at them. Something Jenny is terrified of and will run back inside immediately.
But Jake? Despite how loud and scary Rusty might be, he somehow finds the courage to confront her (in the second half of the video, you can see Jake swiping at her through the fence as she's reflected in the door window)...
And Jenny?
During one of the times Jake was outside hissing and swiping at Rusty, she was happy to just sit next to me on the couch and watch the madness from a safe distance...
My guess is that she's just not up for the drama.
Insomnia got you down like it's got me down? Maybe reading something boring will help you to fall asleep. You're lucky I have the perfect solution... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...
• Ophelia! Taylor Swift released the video for The Fate of Ophelia (one of my favorite tracks off of The Life of a Showgirl), and it's beautiful. And probably very, very expensive...
What's remarkable is that Taylor both wrote and directed it. Which is to say she might have the chops to do that if she ever gets tired of making music.
• What Are You Doing Here?! In a day and age where every moment brings new horrors... I love moments like this (language NSFW)...
I have so many friends around the globe. I'd love to drop in and surprise them like this.
• Rollercoaster! And now I want a rollercoaster in my back yard too...
I wonder if my HOA would allow it?
• Great American Cities! My list... which includes my priorities of art, culture, American public consciousness, world consciousness, and food: #1 is New York. #2 is Los Angelas. #3 is Chicago. #4 is Boston. #5 is San Francisco. #6 is New Orleans. #7 is Seattle. #8 is Atlanta. #9 is Miami. #10 is Las Vegas.
Now, this list is always going to be subjective, but the fact that New Orleans wasn't even considered at any metric feels insane to me. It's my favorite American city, so maybe I'm biased, but WTF? And, my God, Las Vegas wasn't considered? To many people in the world, it is the metric from which American excess is pinpointed. The omission that I'm going to catch heat for is Washington D.C., which would have made my list easy... except the art and culture is being gutted now, so I'd prefer to leave that option to the past. Hopefully it can return one day. There's other cities which seem somehow wrong to omit from my list. Minneapolis. Honolulu. San Diego. Nashville. Memphis. Philadelphia. San Antonio. Santa Fe. Portland (both of them). St. Louis. Savannah. The list goes on and on. There's a lot to love about so many American cities which could make them contenders when you consider the metric which makes them special.
• Drone... um... Strike? A drone show goes terribly, terribly wrong in China...
I can't for the life of me figure out what happened here. If I had to guess, the combination of a drone show with a fireworks show wasn't timed properly the fireworks took out the drones? This is awful.
• Science, Bitch! A critical video that everybody needs to watch. Especially if you're buying into the anti-science bullshit that's fucking us over and killing people...
I am beginning to think that humans going extinct out of fucking stupidity is the best-case scenario for the planet.
• Follow the Money! Sooooo... states that put more dollars into the government than out are getting their funding cut? This is repugnant. I can't recall any other administration so intent on fucking over people who didn't vote for them like this. Presidents Biden, Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter, etc. tried to be a president to everybody, even people who didn't support them. They were presidents for the entire country instead of just the Americans they like...
Maybe these states should start withholding their money from the fucking government and let everybody else sort out their own shit. This is beyond fucked up. Especially since that $8 billion is probably going to all his wealthy owners and in his own pocket.
And now I'm going to bed early. Though I don't know why because I can never seem to sleep.
My mom was a huge fan of murder mysteries. She's the one who got me addicted to Agatha Christie novels. She also got me addicted to all those British "cozies" murder mysteries and Murder She Wrote, Perry Mason, Ironside, and a slew of others.
But the show I loved above all of them was Columbo, because it was so darn clever how the audience was shown the murder at the beginning so that they knew something Columbo didn't. The entertainment was not in figuring out who the murderer was, but watching Columbo figure out who the murderer was. And seeing him being underestimated at every turn when, in fact, he was always the smartest guy in the room.
Recently I started rewatching Columbo to decompress at the end of the day.
In many ways, the show holds up.
In other ways, I had entirely forgotten how insanely weird the series could get from time to time. In the second episode, for example, there's a long, very long scene of the murderer (Robert Culp!) cleaning up the scene of his crime... all reflected in another man's glasses! It was a bizarre stylistic choice. It was also pretty terrible, being wildly distracting and going on way too long.
But the rest of the episode was a great watch, as always.
And the series proved to be excellent inspiration for another awesome show that worked in the same way, Poker Face. You can almost feel how Natasha Lyonne was doing her best to channel Peter Falk! And why wouldn't she? Falk's Columbo is one of the most brilliantly-realized characters in the history of the genre.
You don't get 9 seasons and 14 specials without being brilliant.
Our brave firefighters keep gaining ground on the wildfires in the area that have been burning for over five weeks, and it's looking like there's finally light at the end of the tunnel. Today the fire to the north reached 55% containment. And while the fire to the south was holding steady at 7% for weeks, today they announced that the crews there have managed to achieve 10%.
The bad news is that what kind of day I have depends entirely on how the wind blows, because the smoke is still pretty bad.
Every once in a while blue skies will arrive... for a while... which means my lungs won't feel as fuzzy, my eyes won't be burning as severely, my head will be less likely to start exploding, and I won't be coughing as much. I also won't have to take an excessive amount of allergy medication.
But it's always fleeting.
Which is to say that I still go directly to work in the mornings then go directly home afterwards. And still feel awful most days.
Thank heavens for grocery delivery! But even then, having to open the door to receive my order guarantees an instant headache until the air purifiers can get things under control again.
Can you believe that I honestly thought we'd make it through the Summer without a wildfire?
It was announced that a woman in her 60s went non-responsive while riding the Haunted Mansion this past Monday at Disneyland. She was later taken to the hospital where she died.
This is incredibly sad. She was likely visiting the park with family or friends, so now the Happiest Place on Earth will have sorrowful memories for them. The Haunted Mansion (one of my all-time favorite attractions) isn't all that scary, so I'm guessing that it was a medical issue which could have happened anywhere.
At the end of the day, there's danger in everything you do. Just walking out the door exposes you to danger. There's danger in your home. Crossing the street can be lethal, especially in a day-and-age when people are looking at their phones instead of watching the road. But you really don't anticipate dying during a theme park visit (there was another death earlier this year at Orlando's Epic Universe).
In an article over at Entertainment Weekly, a former creative director with Disney Imagineering said that they had discussed removing the hanging corpse of the Ghost Host which appears during the first part of the attraction in the stretching room. And while I understand this is easily the most triggering part of the entire ride, I really hope that they don't do that. It's a frickin' haunted house. Things like this should be expected. Furthermore, it's not all that easy to see in the first place. It's kind of obscured by a screen, and you have to know what you're looking at to really understand it. This is the last attraction overseen by Walt Disney himself, and they've already made some poor decisions by altering it (removing the axe from Constance Hatchaway was clumsy and ridiculous)... it would be nice that at least some of what he intended is preserved.
I always have such grand ambitions for dinner.
In the morning.
But by the time I get home from work (especially with the wildfires raging) I am done. There's nothing left in the tank for me to even consider cooking something interesting.
So I rotate through the following list...
But what was really speaking to me tonight was corn tortillas.
Now, I need to preface what I'm going to say next by telling you that the last time I had corn tortillas, they were handmade by my friend's mother-in-law who is originally from Mexico. They were amazing. The stuff of dreams. It's just masa harina, water, and salt... but somehow tastes... more.
But the tortillas I had tonight?
Store-bought that expired on September 12th (relax, they were refrigerated) that I sprinkled with a little bit of pre-shredded cheddar cheese that expired on September 24th.
Which is to say... not great.
But it was less effort than making a spinach salad, so I'm calling it a win.
I could say that I'd really like for the Mariners to take the Series. They're not the Red Sox, but they are my local team.
Except all I really care about is that the Yankee's are eliminated.
Sad? Petty? Pathetic? Yes, yes, and yes. But I do loathe me the Yankees, so I'll cling to that...
Thanks, Jays.
There are many things frustrating about owning cats. But at the top of the list would be giving them a new food to try... having them absolutely love it... then, once you buy a case of it, they no longer want it. Second most frustrating is when they will eat a certain food for three years then all of a sudden decide they don't want it any more. A could go on. Most of my frustration with my cats are food-related.
Recently I ordered some of the #1 cat food as voted by veterinarians... Smalls
It arrived yesterday, so I served it for dinner.
Jake wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. I sprinkled some stinky dried fish flakes on top... he just licked it off and left the Smalls untouched.
Jenny was excited by the smell and started licking it up immediately. Except she couldn't lick it up because the strange grainy, dry texture just got flattened to the bottom of the bowl.
This morning I knew better than to force it on Jake, so I didn't even bother. I gave him something else. To help Jenny be able to get it into her mouth I mixed it with water so she could actually eat it. And eat it she did. I left them to their breakfast and went back to bed to read some emails.
After a bit I came back downstairs to the living room only to find puke all over the coffee table, the floor, on the side of the couch, and splashed on the side of the entertainment center. The color of the vomit made it very clear that Jenny was the culprit (victim?), because watered-down Smalls was everywhere.
Not that I cared about puke everywhere, that's just part of having cats. But I cared very much that poor Jenny had vomited repeatedly (or one long puke in five locations)...
And so... guess I'll be giving their Smalls to the neighbor cats and see if they handle it better.
Instead of going outside in the cool Fall air to get things done in my yard, I'm inside on the couch because my tummy hurty. But I'm not entirely dying, just partly dying... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...
• A Hero in the Stands! I fell down a hockey rabbit hole while watching Shoresy for the hundredth time today. And came across this story that I hadn't heard before. And it's a good one...
The fact that she was wearing a Tanev jersey already made her a hero to me. I remain gutted that he was traded from Seattle.
• dO yoUr OwN ResUrCh! Lord. This. All this...
On a daily basis I wonder how the fuck we ended up in this anti-science bullshit era after science has given us so much.
• Twenty? BWAH HA HA HAAAA!
In all honesty, I hope Jared Leto is planning on a Thirty Seconds To Mars followup album to It's the End of the World but It's a Beautiful Day. I loved it, and still listen to Seasons almost every day. One of my favorite songs of all time.
• Wood! When your girlfriend, one of the most famous musicians on earth, writes a song about your dick... well, you're going to be asked questions. But when it's your brother doing the asking?
Oh, Trav. Don't ever change.
• Scallop Festival! The longer this goes on, the better it gets...
I wouldn't have thought that otters were potty trainable, which is good because I'd probably have looked into that. Now I have my mom's cats, so I guess it's too late.
• Academy? Yikes does the new Star Trek series look like crap. And not just because there's a Tilly cameo in it...
If not for the fact that Holly Hunter and Tig Notaro are in it, I'd be taking a huge pass. But they are, so I'm willing to give it a shot for a few episodes and see if it's worth my valuable time.
• NEWSFLASH: Spokane's notorious 'South Hill rapist' Kevin Coe released, now living in Auburn. — RELEASED? How the fuck did this happen? I remember very well when his reign of terror was happening. Very well. These were violent, horrific assaults above and beyond an already horrific assault. How is releasing him in any way justice? This is absurd. His health is "bad?" WHAT ABOUT HIS VICTIMS?!? Let him die in prison. He should have never, ever been able to breathe free ever again. "State officials" can fuck right the fuck off. What message is this sending to women who have survived assault? If the person who assaulted you has a health issue, they'll be released? Get fucked. Who are these "state officials?" Why are they officiating ANYTHING if this is what they think is best for our communities? Where is Patty Murray? Where is Maria Cantwell? Any statement at all? This is how you're "protecting women?" It doesn't fucking matter that he's physically unable to assault anybody again. What matters is that women know that the people convicted of preying on them WILL GO AWAY FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES AND THE PUNISHMENT FITS THE CRIME. But nope. Survivors have to live with his actions for the rest of their lives... but Kevin Coe doesn't. Sounds about right.
Now off to an early bedtime in the hopes I'm feeling better tomorrow.
Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day, everybody!
An episode of Will & Grace popped up while I was working tonight and it guest-starred Bruno Campos, who many people will remember as Quentin Costa on Nip/Tuck, but who most people will know as the voice of Prince Naveen in Disney's The Princess and the Frog.
"I wonder what he's been up to?" I thought. "I don't remember seeing him in anything recently."
A brief internet search revealed that the last thing he did was voice Prince Naveen for the Tiana's Bayou Adventure ride pre-show in 2024. Then I ran by his IMDB page to find out that he stopped acting in 2010, and the only work he's done past that was an occasional job for Disney when they needed Naveen's voice for something.
Turns out the guy quit acting to go to law school and works at a law firm in Washington, D.C.
Turns out that not only is he a native speaker of Portuguese and English, but he also speaks Spanish and Italian. Which might come in handy as a D.C. lawyer, I'd imagine.
Interestingly enough... his Italian also came in handy for playing Prince Naveen. The character is from the fictional country of Maldonia, where the language is based on Italian.
Isn't it great how you can learn random strange facts on a Monday evening?
Diane Keaton, D'Angelo, and Drew Struzan have passed. All of them a punch to the gut.
But the one that hits the hardest is Struzan. His movie posters are iconic, and I have bought some of them over the years to hang up (including Back to the Future II and Blade Runner: The Final Cut)...
I've also got a couple of his books somewhere that I need to dig out.
Struzan's style is unmistakable, and it's no wonder that so many artists have tried to imitate it over the years. Some of the most famous films ever made were advertised with posters he created, And trying to cash in on that only makes sense.
You will be missed, sir.
The stupid. It burns.
"Don't take THAT acetaminophen, take THIS acetaminophen!"
This is what happens when you have morons in charge of everything and morons following them blindly in the most idiotic way possible...
@millennialrx Delivery Driver giving MEDICAL ADVICE when it comes to Tylenol! Let’s review why this is not safe #tylenol #autism #pharmacy #pharmacist #millennialrx ♬ original sound - Dr. Ethan Melillo, PharmD
@millennialrx Why is CVS locking up Tylenol but not acetaminophen? #tylenol #retailpharmacy #pharmacy #pharmacist #millennialrx ♬ original sound - Dr. Ethan Melillo, PharmD
And let's remember how this all started...
@millennialrx Pharmacist reacting to recent claims that Tylenol causes autism. Please watch my video that goes through the study. #tylenol #autism #pharmacist #millennialrx ♬ original sound - Dr. Ethan Melillo, PharmD
@millennialrx This is the craziest week in medical history. Please follow none of this advice. #acetaminophen #tylenol #pharmacy #millennialrx ♬ original sound - Dr. Ethan Melillo, PharmD
@millennialrx Replying to @robertduenas12 Pharmacist Reveiws the HARVARD STUDY about acetaminophen causing autism in pregnancy #pharmacy #pharmacist #autism #millennialrx #tylenol ♬ original sound - Dr. Ethan Melillo, PharmD
Lord. I feel like the entire world is going fucking insane. When did we start listening to people who have no fucking clue what in the hell they're talking about?
I have no idea where the days are going. The weekend passes so quickly it scarcely feels like it existed... then it's back to work where it's an exhausting blur until it's the weekend again. Months feel like weeks. I swear it was just July and here it is October. I can barely remember any of it. At this rate It will be New Years when I wake up tomorrow.
In the meanwhile, there's the here and now.
So there I was... scrolling through Facebook tonight and trying to avoid all the AI slop that is plaguing social media, when I see this...
A little scrolling later and I saw this...
Then I scrolled a little further and saw this, with both cosmic events in the same graphic...
Both of the maps showing that my neck of the woods had good visibility!
Except... it's Fall, which is to say that my odds of having "good visibility" here is not great.
And, sure enough, the night sky was completely obscured.
Oh well. There's always old reruns of Columbo to occupy my Thursday evening.
I have been ignoring the recycling that I keep in a bag on the back of the front door all week. After work I went to put a soda can in it and a bunch of stuff precariously stacked there fell on the floor. So I figured it must be time to take it out to the bin. On the way back inside, I saw a small fuzzy spider on the door. I was going to relocate him to a shrub, but decided it was the perfect Halloween decoration and left him there.
I have been feeling rough all week, eating mostly saltines and 7-Up. Which is fun for a day or two, but grinds on you eventually. But tonight I felt well enough to have something more substantial.
Sounds like a job for my bomb-ass tater salad!
Which was delicious.
Except my Instant Pot needs to be cleaned.
Not a big deal for the actual pot inside because that just goes into the dishwasher... but the lid is such a pain. Not necessarily the inside, because a brush with soapy water will fix that. It's the outside that's such a pain. So many nooks and crannies...
I swear, I'd rather throw my Instant Pot Duo Crisp in the dumpster and buy a new one than grab a rag and try to get it sparkly clean.
At which point I was like "Wait a minute. This lid is design for moisture, high heat, and pressure. Why CAN'T I put it in the dishwasher?"
So I Googled that shit and, sure enough, if you remve the sealing ring and the pressure relief valve cover!
To think I was this close to throwing out my Instant Pot.
If you don't hear from me after the next time I make my bomb-ass tater salad, it's because the lid got ruined in the dishwasher and exploded... killing me instantly.
Or I forgot to put the sealing ring back in.
Jake is so not bothered by most anything. Especially when it comes to the litter box. I have one downstairs in the hall closet and another upstairs in my bathroom. I can't tell you how many times I've been in the bathroom and Jake will come in and do his business without giving it another thought.
Jenny couldn't be more different.
She is bothered by just about everything. Especially when it comes to using the litter box.
I woke up early in the morning, stumbled to the bathroom, turned on the light... and... bedlam.
Jenny was in the litter box and went tearing out of it. Since I was in the doorway, she ran to the shower. I felt bad for disturbing her and got out of the doorway so she could run out. Which she did at top speed. Fortunately, she didn't stay mad at me long. An hour later and she was waking me up to be petted and have her feet held (don't worry, I wash my hands after because I know where those feet have been). But she wouldn't look at me...
Or she was bothered by the light out the window that was keeping her awake. Maybe that.
A couple weeks ago I ran down stairs while Jake was in the Litter-Robot (which is near the bottom the the stairs). Didn't phase him a bit. But afterwards, he did climb up on the cat tree and stare at me, like he was saying "What was that about? I WAS ON THE TOILET!"...
Though he did take the time to cover his waste first. That's something.
It seems as though my weekend is ending just as it began, which makes me want to crawl under the covers and cry for a bit. But I won't abandon you in your hour of need... because here's an all new Bullet Sunday starting... now...
• Cozy! It's pouring rain outside tonight. YouTube knows this somehow, so it recommended this lovely video. It's wonderful and charming from start to finish. They're Turkish, but there's English subtitles. Not that it matters... this is the very definition of "cozy" and the only way I'd want to do camping...
And this one is amazing. They decorate their campsite for Christmas. And I don't mean decorate a little bit...
Welp. Guess I know what I'll be doing obsessively for the next week. Watching RambleSoul.
• Polissya! That video lead me to a Ukranian guy building natural shelters and foraging for food in the forests of Polissya. His builds are very impressive. Like this one, where he creates an underground bunker...
Unlike so many videos that use primitive construction, you see nearly the entire process (albeit sped up) so you know that he built everything himself.
• Must-See TV! HOLY CRAP! THE ENGLISH TEACHER GOT A SECOND SEASON?!??
I haven't seen this advertised anywhere. Ran across it by dumb luck on my news feed because somebody mentioned it.
• Tig! Need a laugh? I'm a huge fan of Tig Notaro and have been finding her early specials available on YouTube...
It's amazing how her comedy was so fully formed from those early days. Her latest special from last year, Hello Again, was just as hilarious as ever, and can be seen on Amazon Prime Video.
• Logic! Here's my latest thrilling adventure with insurance...
PHARMACIST: Your insurance will only pay for 1/2 a tablet per day. We'll need to have your doctor re-write the prescription or you'll have to pay the cost or you can take it up with your insurance.
ME: Okay, I guess I'll pay for it.
MEDICATION INSTRUCTIONS: DO NOT BREAK THE TABLETS. THEY MUST BE TAKEN WHOLE.
I wrote to my insurance and asked exactly how I was supposed to take a half-pill for a pill that can't be broken. They wrote back and essentially said "Oops!" and decided they would pay 50%. Which is better than nothing, for which I'm grateful. But it's just beyond bizarre how insurance works. Or doesn't.
• Mitch! I'm not even going to pretend to give a shit about a man who spent his entire political career not giving a crap about the people he represents. As recently as JUNE he said that "Americans will get over Medicaid cuts." And it's like, gee, Mitch... not everybody has spent their entire adult life fucking over the country for cash, so they're going to need to rely on the Medicaid that their taxes paid for after retirement...
Good Lord is McConnell a gaping asshole.
And on that note, it's time for me to try and get some sleep.
I have been an unapologetic fan of fast food for forever. I used to travel a lot for work. Despite the fantasy that work travel is a non-stop vacation, it's actually a tough life to have. You still have a day of work, but you don't get to go home at the end of the day. And since you're too tired to go out and do fun stuff in whatever city you're in, you only have the energy to go back to your hotel and crash.
Hence my love at fast food. I can run through a drive-through after work on my way back to my home away from home, then crash.
I'm pretty sure you can see where this is going.
Fast food now is barely food. And it's so expensive that you might as well go to a real restaurant with table service. That's what I've been doing.
And if you want to watch an interesting video about the downfall of fast food, here you go...
Not that going to a real restaurant is a guarantee of a great experience. Now more than ever, it's not. And here's why...
More and more I'm happier just cooking at home. Sure it's a pain in the ass, and groceries are insanely expensive, but at least it's quality I can count on.
That's about all that's left.
I ordered something that was shipped from Kentucky. It made it to a hub three hours from me... then got shipped to Ohio... then ended up in Illinois... and now is estimated to arrive on October 29th? It was due TWO DAYS AGO!
I swear, these automated package routing centers for all the big carriers make a shit-ton of mistakes, and once something goes wrong they just continue to make mistakes for some reason. Humans are out of the picture, so if there's a mark on the barcode (or whatever) you're fucked. Totally and completely fucked.
This is not the first time this has happened. It happened in July where a package coming across the country from Florida ended up in CONNECTICUT before being rerouted to CALIFORNIA. At that point it sat for two days until somebody bothered to take a look and get it rerouted to me. And of course UPS doesn't give a single fuck.
But of course the cost to ship packages just keeps going up and up, so you're paying more for shittier service, which sounds right on-point for where things are headed.
It's gotten to the point where I seriously wonder if modern science deniers think that things like satellite television and mobile phones are powered by magic. At the rate they want to completely dismiss all scientific evidence when it comes to keeping humanity in good health, why wouldn't they think that Jesus allows them to make calls and access the internet from the smart phone in their pocket?
Thankfully, there's still pro-science advocates out there doing The Lord's work...
This is what we need more of. Though the odds of it getting through to people who have been brainwashed seems unlikely. But if the bullshit is not confronted early and often, it just makes it spread even further.
There was once a man who was being chased by a ferocious tiger across a field. At the edge of the field there was a cliff. In order to escape the jaws of the tiger, the man caught hold of a vine and swung himself over the edge of the cliff. Dangling down, he saw, to his dismay, there were more tigers on the ground below him! And, furthermore, two little mice were gnawing on the vine to which he clung. He knew that at any moment he would fall to certain death. That's when he noticed a wild strawberry growing on the cliff wall. Clutching the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other and put it in his mouth.
He never before realized how sweet a strawberry could taste.
—Zen Buddhist parable
As our world continues to continue its descent into madness and ruin, don't forget to look around and find those simple pleasures which still make life worth living.
They're everywhere.
Last night I went out to dinner with some friends that just got back from Vegas.
Back before pandemic, they went almost every year. But now they say they’re probably never going back.
Every drink they had was watered down. There was no meal they enjoyed, even at the expensive restaurants, because the quality of the food has taken a dive and the portions are much smaller. Slot machines don’t pay out. And there are extra charges, mandatory fees, and additional taxes on absolutely everything.
My friend’s wife said that it was impossible to enjoy their vacation because she spent the entire time counting the outrageous amount of money they were spending on a mediocre vacation.
As somebody who went on work trips to Vegas a few times a year for a decade, this is strange for me to contemplate. People flocked to Vegas to roll like a millionaire on a modest budget. Without that, what’s the appeal? Unless things seriously change soon, I wonder how Las Vegas can survive.
In other news...
Today I had my annual eye exam. The first since my cataract lens replacement. I have 20/15 vision. Which means I'm seeing better than I probably ever have in my life, since my eyesight was less than good even as a kid. Now I want to have another surgery. I'm going to try and trade up to 20/10 with X-ray vision next time.
A shame I need readers, but even there I'm told I only really need 1.25× instead of the 1.5× I've been using.
Such a nice surprise to have good news about my eyes for a change.
There have been a few heart-attack-inducing moments over the years when it comes to my cats.
The one which haunts me most is from 2017 when Jake escaped from the catio. The contractor who attached the roof used screws which were too short. It was made worse because I was flying out for work the next day. What if he had gotten out then?
So imagine my absolute terror when I looked out the window this week and saw that Jenny was looking at me from outside the catio.
Except it wasn't actually Jenny.
From the front, she (or more likely "he" since most orange cats are males) looked exactly like Jenny. It was a Jenny clone. From the side it's a little different story. Jenny has a whirl pattern and longer legs. Though the tail markings are the same...
I mean, just look at those gams...
And speaking of Jenny...
Early in the week, I decided to be a little late for work because Jenny had jumped on the bed for me to pet her, but twisted around to sit on my hand!
Apparently she was very comfortable, because she laid down and eventually fell asleep...
When I came home, Jenny didn't sleep on my hand while I was working on the couch, she instead rolled into the crack between the couch cushions and passed out...
Cats can sleep anywhere. But that doesn't mean they don't try and find the most comfortable place to sleep.
And now, this.
I saw this video of a cat bringing a mouse to get fried up, then being disappointed when it's removed...
@punjabi.remastere Cat puts mouse in food. Cat wants the mouse cooked up #cat #disgusting #indianstreetfood #food #ew ♬ original sound - Sheikhspear
I tried to find the original so I could use the video which originated it instead of somebody who stole it. Instead I found loads... loads... of AI slop videos which hasve been made. So now I'm questioning whether or not the one above is even real.
I'm sitting here wondering what the heck happened to my weekend and all the things I was supposed to get done that I never did, but I'm still getting Blogography done... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...
• Melissa. Hurricanes are a way of life in the Caribbean. But there are hurricanes, and there are hurricanes. And it's looking very bad indeed for Jamaica. Right now it's looking like Hurricane Melissa is going to hit at a minimum Category 4... maybe even Category 5.
At the 3:29 and 5:40 there's a cat in the frame, and chickens at 5:51, and it fills me with despair for the animals that have no idea what's coming... and no way to prepare and stay safe.
• Papal Security! When you're raised Catholic, the Pope becomes a rather large figure in your life. But when I was young, I didn't know much about him other than he was the leader of The Church whom I should keep in my prayers. Then I left... or rather I was kicked out when I was asking too many questions during Sunday School... and that was the end of it. Except my grandmother remained Catholic, and so on my first trip to Rome in 2000, I decided to visit the Vatican museum and buy her a rosary souvenir because I was told they all got blessed by the Pope. It was there that I was first introduced to The Swiss Guard, which is a fascinating topic...
The thing that makes them so iconic is their hallmark colorful uniforms, which I think have got to be one of the most beautiful uniforms there's ever been. Despite being so bright, they don't cross the line into garish. Probably because of the way they're constructed. With the exception of the cuffs, the red accents are hidden in-between the panels of gold and blue, so they are only visible when a guard bends or moves. It' a very cool effect. It's commonly thought that Michelangelo designed the uniforms, but it's not true. They were designed hundreds of years later, long after he died, by Commandant Jules Repond in 1914. It's a fun urban legend though.
• WE PWNED! If you're not scared shitless for the future of this country as it's being taken over by corporations owned by the wealthy elite, you're not paying attention...
It's all by design. All of it. Our government is owned by these incredibly wealthy people who get regulations and laws changed to benefit them instead of the American people. You can see it everywhere if you just look around. We are beyond fucked.
• Classic! You can have my old-school 1990's Speed Queen Washer & Dryer that came with the condo I bought when you pry them from my cold, dead hands. I am forever indebted to my friend who told me I was crazy to get rid of them. Since I've already had to replace an oven that only lasted 5 years, I'm betting my microwave, refrigerator, and new freezer are not long for this world. And here's why...
There's a huge, huge opportunity for a company to start releasing old-school appliances that will actually last. I would happily go back to an oven with knobs and dials if it means I don't have to replace them so quick. Though it sounds like that might not even be possible given what's presented in that video.
• Package PingPong! A couple days ago I wrote about a package which was supposed to have been delivered this past Monday. It made it to Spokane, 3 hours away, but then kept going back and forth. Last I checked, it had made it to Spokane twice but then was headed back to Ohio. Again...
But then Friday night I checked again. Sure enough, it was back in Ohio. But when I checked this morning, all the previous back-and-forth had been erased. As if it never happened...
Apparently UPS has finally realized there's a problem, corrected it (I hope), and then made it look like nothing was amiss. And it gets worse... if the package is in Spokane, then it should be delivered to me on Monday. And that's what UPS says is going to happen. But they've said that previously. Before the mysterious "YOU DIDN'T SEE THAT!" correction, it was projected to arrive on Wednesday. Now it's two days earlier. I will be very interested to see what the package looks like when it (eventually) gets delivered. It's been through a lot.
• iBusted! I finally did a Google Search to try and find out why I'm having so many problems with the Apple iPhone keyboard lately. It seems as if it's constantly coming up with words that I'm not typing. And since I use the "swipe" method of typing, it's very, very noticeable. And the answer is nope! Not just me...
It's absolutely pathetic how fucking bad that Apple products are becoming. Between Apple Home, CarPlay, and Siri all being a pile of shit, the Apple "experience" is so far behind what others are doing as to be embarrassing. Forget about all the broken promises that were supposed to make Apple reign supreme by having "Apple Intelligence" make their products the best in existence... Apple can't even be assed to through money at the problems they can actually fix!
• ERROR! ERROR! I watch a lot of YouTube videos. It's pretty much the only thing I do watch any more since streaming companies have lost their damn mind with their pricing. Last night a video came up about a horrible software error in a radiation treatment machine which killed people. Twice the city where tragedy happened was Yakima, Washington... a city not too far from me. It was a fascinating watch, but grated on me because they kept mispronouncing "Yakima"...
In the video, he says "yaw-KEEmah" but it's actually "YAKihmah." Now, when it comes to Native American words, nobody is going to get it perfect if they've never heard it before (and even then it's not guaranteed). And then there's the added complexity of non-Natives changing the pronunciation so that it's more comfortable for them to say. But in any event, there's a way that locals say it and, given how this is most certainly available somewhere on the internet with an easy Google search, it's strange that the narrator for a video wouldn't take a minute to make sure their pronunciation is accurate. Or at least in the ballpark. Oh well. Just another case of my being picky, I suppose.
And now I guess I'll load my dishwasher so I can feel like I accomplished something before Monday rolls around.
As I write this at 5:30am, I'm taking a break from working on spreadsheets all morning. It's a lot of cutting and pasting in really confusing ways, and my brain is having a tough time dealing.
So I wander through the internet for a few minutes to decompress.
And really wish I hadn't done that.
The first thing I check on is Hurricane Melissa. And the news is not good at all...
I’ve only been to Jamaica once. Some of the nicest, most welcoming people I’ve encountered. Worried for them and all the animals on the island. I cannot even fathom how catastrophic this could be for the island. All I can do is hope that everybody tries the best they can to stay safe and save their pets.
Then I run across the news that Dear Leader's Administration has no plan whatsoever to continue SNAP (food stamps) benefits on November 1st.
I will never in a million years understand the willingness of politicians to play games with people's lives. Have your differences. Debate your positions. Do whatever you do when you're not sucking on lobbyist teats. But to take away food from people? In what universe is this some kind of bargaining chip?
People will fight for a fetus with the passion of a million burning suns. But once those fetuses to grow up to become hungry kids? "Fuck 'em!"
For the millionth time... children are victims of circumstance. They have no control over whatever situation they might be trapped in. Including hunger and poverty. Of all the things I am perfectly okay with my tax dollars going towards, feeding hungry kids in the wealthiest nation on earth is somewhere at the top of the list. I know way too many Americans don't seem to give a shit about helping starving kids abroad, but here in our own house? Where is the "America first!" crowd NOW? And exactly who the fuck are these assholes in government serving that this is even on the table? This is not a Republican or Democrat issue. This is a humanitarian crisis.
Alas, we seem to be fresh out of humanity in these United States of America.
What a way to start the week.
It has been really difficult to get through my work day when I'm checking the news every 15 minutes to see how Jamaica is faring.
Last night I looked through my photos of Ocho Rios and Dunn's Falls Park from when my mom and I visited. There's no photo of my mom where she's not smiling. Jamaica kinda has that vibe. Such welcoming, kind people you can't help but be happy.
Really worried about how the people and animals are faring in the face of such destruction. They say the storm is losing intensity, but is still rated Category 5.
I've been holding this post for a couple days because I was debating whether to say something or not.
I finally decided to say something.
Do not be these people. By heading to Jamaica where you'll be using up valuable resources needed to help people who will have lost everything, you're just being a terrible person. You can get a refund on your ticket during emergency situations like this, so why?
I really hope this is fake.
In which case it's probably worse because you are making fun of people who will have lost everything.
Why are people like this? Empathy and decency are becoming a thing of the past.
The Japanese Prime Minister having to corral an obviously confused and forgetful President Trump reminds me of having to corral my mom when taking her to appointments as the dementia was taking hold.
I'm going to say the same thing to Republicans propping up President Trump that I said to Democrats propping up President Biden... "He clearly doesn't have the mental capacity left to run the country, so stop being cruel." Intentionally putting them into situations which confuse and embarrass them is just plain mean. And dangerous.
Obviously the protocol for this meeting would have been explained to the president before they entered the hall. He clearly forgot about all of it and wandered around. Just like he shook the hand of Emperor Naruhito instead of bowing. A heinous breach of protocol. And if you know even the tiniest bit about Japanese culture, you'd understand how seriously embarrassing this is for everybody involved.
Republicans are trying to spin this as "America not bowing to any nation." But that's not what this is. When you visit a country you acknowledge their customs. It's just being respectful. And Trump obviously didn't have a problem bowing to the King of Saudi Arabia to receive a medal... but here we are.
Can you even fathom what the Right Wing media would be saying about President Biden if he wandered off confused like this? Oh, wait... no need to speculate... we already saw what they said about Biden over every little thing that even hinted at diminished mental capacity. Telling us over and over he was unfit to lead. So where is that concern now? It's obviously warranted.
And much needed.
He's testing nuclear weapons without any understanding of what the fuck he's doing, for Christ's sake.
It's the busy time of year for me! I start work at 4:30am, head into the office at 8:30am, then head back home at 3:30pm, grab something to eat, then work until I fall asleep.
The problem is that I am so exhausted when I go home to eat that every little thing feels like too much effort. Just look at the number of times I dreaded having to do something menial...
But anyway...
Eddy is back, and this time he's entering psychosis with CHATGPT...
How does this not scare the ever-loving shit out of people? He did this for fun, but you just know there are thousands upon thousands of people going through this for real.
I have turned off every AI option I can find on all my devices and have done what I can to eliminate AI with the services I use (including Google, where you can search with "-ai"). I do this not just because it's rarely helpful and a waste of time, but also because I don't want to contribute to AI farms stealing resources and destroying lives.
Maybe AI can destroy my life so I can stay in bed tomorrow.
This year I had a whopping 16 trick-or-treaters. 2024 was 56, 2023 was 60, 2022 was 45. It was sprinkling rain off-and-on, so maybe that's why. Oh well. More candy for me. Not that I should be eating bags and bags of candy at my age, but maybe if I just eat one piece two pieces six pieces a day it will all be fine.
And now, this... something I posted on Facebook a few hours agao
As we yede into All Hallow's Eve, a blessing from me to thee...
Maye thy trick-or-treaters be sparse so the candy bounty left for thee be heavy.
Maye thy pets be not alarmed by the many intrusions unto thine house.
If the weather be not pleasant, maye it not intrude upon thy home when thou openest the door.
Maye wicches and devels and the foul forces of the orange satan passe thee by, and blessyngs be upon thee and thyn this night.
Amen.
It's tough to have Halloween without thinking back to nine years ago when I very foolishly scheduled a colonoscopy for November 1st ("We're wide open, so you can have whatever time you like!"). Which meant I had my clean-out on Halloween. When I was trying to pass out candy to trick-or-treaters. And having to sit on the toilet every five minutes. What I remember most is not wanting to get anybody sick with pink eye or whatever, so I was washing my hands as usual, but in scalding hot water before grabbing the bowl of candy. My hands were raw for days. Which was worse than the colonoscopy. But not worse than the clean-out, of course.
Today was payday! After turning out the lights at 9:00pm as the rain picked up, it was time to place a grocery order for tomorrow morning.
I am single.
I don't eat a lot.
I am vegetarian so I don't buy expensive meats.
I grocery shop frugally. Very frugally... only buying things that are on sale, and I purchase a lot of in-store brands instead of name brands.
Doesn't matter.
I just bought groceries for the next two weeks... the total was $206 ($12 over what I should have spent because I splurged and bought two packages of "fresh" pasta and a box of donuts, all at discount). My savings from shopping sales and special offers was $83. Meaning that the retail price for feeding one person with a low food intake for half a month is $289.
For half a month!
How can a family of four afford to eat any more? What happened to "lower grocery prices on Day One?" This is fucking abhorrent. People are having to use credit cards to finance food to eat while grocery store chains rake in billions of dollars in profit. People are going hungry while the government is financing multiple private jets, ugly million dollar marble bathroom renovations, and an even uglier golden ball room to entertain the millionaires and billionaires that own them.
How the fuck are people okay with all this? We've been completely sold out while the people who represent us rake in billions of OUR MONEY. It's all grift and scams from here on out.
Happy Halloween. For the USA it's 100% trick and 0% treat.
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