Oh boy.

Here is the photo...

Long time Blogography readers might recognize this as a still from a video I made fifteen years ago for a video edition of "Bullet Sunday"...

But anyway...

I've started increasingly commenting on posts that are racist, bigoted, antisemitic, hateful, or stupid. The reaction is mostly what you'd expect. And I'm used to the hate... this is not my first time on the internet. But now the comments are all about my profile pic, not my comment. I have been called absolutely every name you can imagine. Because I'm wearing black makeup. For Halloween.

This is weird to me because I don't think much about my appearance (which should be obvious to anybody who meets me). The idea of having perfectly matching clothes or dressing in the latest style or looking "cool" or whatever just doesn't interest me. Except when it comes to Halloween, apparently.

I'm fascinated how people don't bother to make an actual argument about what I've said now. They don't like what I'm saying and how I look in my profile pic, but it's how I look that's what they choose to comment on. Which just reinforces the fact that ignorant assholes are ultimately bullies above everything else. Hating people for how they look or how they choose to dress is their priority.

I am trying to be unshocked, but this is not remotely surprising. It's the easiest shot to take, because forming an argument in support of your opinion is hard. And the easy shot is all they know.

Not that I really care. Goth Dave is the hottest Dave.

The past couple nights have been cold and rainy. But today the cold and rainy weather didn't wait for evening. It was cold and rainy when I left work at 4:00pm.

Which is unfortunate because this is exactly the kind of weather that drains what little energy I have left. All I'm good for is sitting in front of the television drinking hot chocolate while wrapped up in a blanket. That's it. I'm done. If I'm lucky I grabbed some Halloween candy before I sat down.

Guess I need to start wearing a jacket to work now. Bleh.

Remember when ovens had a knob you turn and the heat came on and cooked your food?

Now you can only get these stupid-as-shit electronic button boards, and so often when I set mine, IT JUST SHUTS OFF WITHOUT COOKING SHIT! Ironically, you can get knobs if you get a gas stove (not an option where I live) or buy a super-expensive one (which I can't afford).

This blows.

I don't understand why burners have knobs and it's no problem, but ovens are all getting idiotic electronics. I'm guessing it's a cost-savings thing but, if that's the case, then why aren't the burners getting electronic panels as well?

Everything is shitty and nothing makes sense.

With all the violence, death, and persecution going on right now, it would be so great if everybody could just not contribute to any more of it. Find the time to be kind and all that. And yet... exactly the opposite seems to be happening. If anything, the assholery is being ramped up to a frightening degree.

And the response to it all leads to an interesting observation on humanity: there's money and power to be made from hate, and the usual suspects are cashing in hard on it. That's what they do.

Most of the time I find myself rolling my eyes and marveling at the hypocrisy of it all (so much Christian Love™®© out there!) while trying not to go insane.

But, alas, it's too late for me. Nothing else to do but hide under the covers, eat chocolate pudding, and delve into my secret shame: watching reruns of The League for the hundredth time...

Because Taco has the best outlook on life in these trying times.

As I was driving over the mountains for the Peter Gabriel concert with Jester, a big pickup came roaring up behind me. I was in the passing lane, but I was... A) Actually passing somebody, and B) Wasn't going under the speed limit... so there was no cause for him grinding on my bumper. The speed limit was 70mph, I was passing at 75mph. As what usually happens, the person I was passing increased their speed, which meant I had to increase mine to 80mph... then finally 85mph just so I could finally pass them and get that truck off my ass.

The minute I pulled right again, the truck went blasting past me. Probably flipping me off in the process, because isn't that what these aggressive asshole drivers do? Even when I wasn't doing anything wrong (except exceeding the speed limit so he would get off my ass).

But then?

Sweet Justice.

As we rounded the next corner an unmarked police car was pulling off the side of the road with lights blaring.

And sure enough, I caught up to the pickup that was likely going 90mph as he was pulled over.

Ultimately I don't give a shit if somebody wants to exceed the speed limit (although I think that 20mph over the limit is probably too dangerous a speed to be going). Heck, I bounce around 5mph over myself. But holy crap... is it really necessary to terrorize people on the road to do it? It's not like I was driving in the passing lane under the speed limit and not passing anybody! I was using the lane as it was designed to be used!

Oh well. Assholes will be assholes and all that.

I'm not an overly-sentimental guy. Sure I have experiences that I treasure and I guess thinking about them could be considered sentimentality... but I don't really view it that way. One area that I fully admit being sentimental about is food. It just pushes all the sensory memory buttons for me. For my Washington grandma, her apple pie was truly epic. Award-winning epic. Mind-bogglingly epic. For my California grandma, it was her incredible enchiladas that send me. I make them more often than is probably healthy, but it was something I associate with her so deeply that it goes beyond a memory. It's a connection with how I remember her.

This is getting somewhere I promise.

Another thing that my California grandma made that I love is "Magic Marshmallow Rolls." I remember very, very well the first time I got to eat them. They were just beyond anything I had ever had before. Melt in your mouth incredible. My mom got the recipe from her, made them from time to time (but never often enough), and once I became an adult I got the recipe and started making them for myself. But then I became a vegetarian, so the gelatin in marshmallows meant that I don't make them very often now. I wish there was a vegetarian marshmallow that worked the same, but it doesn't seem to work that way. Oh well.

Fast-forward to earlier this week.

I needed to place a grocery delivery order on Monday night for delivery Tuesday morning. I decided that I would order the large marshmallows and crescent rolls required for Magic Marshmallow Rolls. Essentially you coat a marshmallow in melted butter with sugar and cinnamon then wrap the crescent roll dough around it. When you cook it, the marshmallow melts and disappears, leaving behind sweet, gooey goodness. It's for this reason that they are also called "Jesus Resurrection Rolls" or "Easter Empty Tomb Rolls"... assumably Jesus is supposed to be the marshmallow in this scenario, and he disappears from his crescent dough "tomb" when he gets "resurrected."

Then yesterday morning I got a notification that Safeway had made substitutions on my order.

The Jet-Puffed large marshmallows were out of stock.

They asked if they could substitute mini marshmallows. And my only option is to click "Yes" or "No." You can't talk to the shopper and ask them to substitute with a different brand of large marshmallows like you can with Instacart. You can select a substitution before you send your order, but it takes a lot of time to go through every item, so I often skip it.

I was mad.

How the fuck can I replace my single Large Jesus Marshmallow with a bunch of Tiny Jesus Marshmallows and get the dough to seal around them without it becoming a lumpy, leaky mess? If I had wanted mini marshmallows, I would have ordered them. Where is the correlation with this substitution? I guess it's for the people who don't care about the size... they only care that they're made by Jet-Puffed.

I don't get it.

It's like the time they wanted to substitute a pepperoni frozen pizza for the cheese pizza I had ordered. I'm a vegetarian. I don't eat meat. Which is why I ordered a cheese pizza. And it's like... in what universe does this make a lick of sense? So lesson learned. I now specify a pizza substitution that I can actually eat. And this week I learned I have to substitute large marshmallows with large marshmallows if I actually want large marshmallows.

If only I wasn't so lazy I'd be enjoying Jesus Resurrection Rolls right now.

Instead his tomb will have to wait until next week when I can =shudder= go to the store.

Every year I tell myself that I won't turn the heat on until October 1st. It's a noble goal that I fully intend to honor despite the fact that I always fail.

Year after year I'm turning the heat on at the end of September because it's just too darn cold in the mornings and evenings to go without. Bundling up in hoodies and blankets is not the same as actually being comfortable.

Just ask my cats.

I generally factor them out of the equation because they're walking around with fur coats on. And they still go outside in the catio, where it's far colder than in the house. Plus I put out kitty warming pads that they lay on to keep warm. So... whatever.

But, as I mentioned on Caturday, Jenny has started squeezing behind me on the couch... pushing and pushing until she makes a hole behind my back, then turns around and sits there to glom off my body heat...

It's cute... but it ain't comfortable.

Then this morning I woke up cold, which is never a good thing, so I finally relented and everybody is happy.

Well, my cats are never truly happy... but they're happier than they were yesterday.

I'm just going to be brutally honest: I am getting all the vaccines. I 1000% believe in the same science that's eradicated polio and allows me to have a phone /slash/ computer /slash/ camera in my pocket. So long as there's something that is tested and proven to help people survive COVID, I'm here for it. Especially as I get older and COVID keeps roaring back with new levels of hospitalizations and death.

I've got cats that are counting on me to be alive.

Today I got the new 2023 Super COVID Vaccine. The only reason I waited so long is that there were no appointments available when it arrived here on Tuesday. They don't have Pfizer in my neck of the woods yet, so I snatched up Moderna SpikeVax. My first dose was Pfizer so I've gotten all my boosters from their releases... but I researched and found that's not necessary any more.

This was COVID mRNA vaccine dose No. 6 for me and the easiest one yet. Zero arm soreness. Zero reaction.

I hope I didn't get a dud!

Next Friday they're having flu vaccinations at work and I'm getting that one too.

And when I'm eligible for the RSV and Pneumonia vaccines, I'm fucking rolling up on those two as well. If there's something out there to add any measure of protection in my declining years so I have better quality of life or... you know... don't end up dead? Bet that I'm in line for it.

Interesting to note that I was told by the nice lady jabbing me that there are no more boosters. It's just an annual COVID shot like the flu shot. I didn't know that. I'm a bit concerned at this though. Last I read they were worried that vaccine boosters weren't lasting the 6 months it took to get the next one... now they're lasting a YEAR? Here's hoping.

And then...

I never eat at Taco Bell anymore because I just can’t afford it, but I needed something to distract me from the fact that I’ve got THE DEVIL’S mRNA RUNNING THROUGH MY VEINS. My lunch with no drink: $18. Wow...

Remember when Taco Bell was affordable food?

It doesn't help that I have to pay for meat I have them take off.

But hey... it was delicious as always.

   
I worked 11-1/2 hours today. I'm done.

All week I've been trying to finish up a project that should have been finished last week. But something always came up. Which is why I was doubling down in committing myself that, come hell or high water, I would finish it up today.

And then I went in to the office. And was immediately hit with numerous crises that had nothing to do with my job, but needed to be handled by somebody which, alas, ended up being me.

Needless to say, I never even got to touch what I was planning on working on today.

Which means I'm working this weekend.

I thought Fridays were supposed to be the best day at work?