"I found what you're looking for... but you're not going to like it."

I've been wanting to frame the Disney pin lanyards that my mom and I got from our Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos trip. But I've hard a really tough time finding a shadow box frame long enough to display both the lanyard and the Angkor Wat visitor permit like I wanted... WITH REAL GLASS AND NOT ACRYLIC. I fucking hate acrylic, and it's most of what's sold now. The crap attracts dust like a magnet and scratches ridiculously easily.

But then a friend called to tell me that they saw what I was looking for at fucking Hobby Lobby. A place that disgusts me because of the owner's horrific politics. So I stopped in and, sure enough, there they were. The perfect frames. Exactly what I've been looking for. After trying to find something for years, I just bit the bullet and bought them... knowing full well that I'll be making a donation to Planned Parenthood in Hobby Lobby's name to offset the damage done by giving them my money.

They do look great. Though I'd like to replace the backing velvet with a deep blue so the black lanyard can be seen (instead of blending with the black velvet that's there now)...

I wish that such an abhorrent company like Hobby Lobby hadn't run all the competition out of business. I use them as only a last resort, but I'd rather not use them at all.

I should have tried to make my own, but I've only made frames... never shadow boxes.

Next time maybe.

Don't think that yet another war started by the "president of peace" and chairman of the "board of peace" who campaigned on a promise "no more wars" will send me into a rage so fucking deep that I can't blog... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• Health is Overrated! There's a fuck-ton of idiocy in the news this week, but I'm going to focus on one. Wanting an anti-science, anti-vax, medical residency drop-out dipshit grifter social media influencer as your fucking Surgeon General. No big deal. Just the health of all Americans at stake. Jesus Christ.

   
• Classic Dutch: Expert spots vulnerability in Dutch national security, gets trolled with a souvenir t-shirt for his efforts. "So I notified the Dutch CERT that a Dutch ship was using a satellite router with a default password and that it was exposed to the internet. They notified me that the vulnerability was mitigated and asked for my address to send me a T-shirt. At first I was worried, but today I received the shirt."

This is epic. Dutch government +1000 points. No notes.

   
• Cuteness Overload! I'LL TAKE FIVE!!!

Though I'm not sure how the cats would react. Probably not well.

   
• NEWSFLASH: Denmark to tackle deepfakes by giving people copyright to their own features. And it's fucking absurd if everybody else doesn't follow suit. We are getting to a point where AI can render new realities. Do you want anybody to be able to use your likeness to have you doing whatever they can dream up and it looks convincing enough that people think it's really you? Kids in school are already taking their own lives because assholes are releasing deepfakes of them in horrific scenarios, and the sooner we start introducing severe penalties for abuse the better.

   
• No Freedom for You! This story appeared in my Facebook feed a couple days ago: "Trans man jumps in frigid lake & saves baby from drowning: 'I wasn’t going to let that baby die'" — Could have just said "man" but okay.

Then right after that, this story appeared: "Kansas is suspending the driver's licenses of trans people. Just abject cruelty. Nazis also revoked identity documents from trans people."

What the fuck is it about trans people merely existing that makes people become total assholes? They're just trying to live their life the best they can with the cards they were dealt, so why the endless persecution? Why in the so-called "land of the free" can't they be free to be who they are?

   
• Shitter! Oh God. I knew Twitter was awful... but I had no idea. The second half of this video is terrifying...

The death and destruction caused by bullshit and lies promoted on Twitter is cause to shut it the fuck down.

   
• Political Inaction! I am not wired to handle physical credit cards and ID cards. Despite trying real hard to keep them all in the same place, I keep losing them. Which is why I love my Apple Wallet and Apple Pay. But some cards don't work with it. Including my Driver's License... because the fucking assholes in Washington State government are looking for more ways to tax us instead of doing shit that will make our lives easier. Mississippi has digital licenses, but the state claiming to be a bastion of technology doesn't? A bill has been in legislative hell for THREE YEARS without movement. Fucking useless politicians. Especially stupid given that this is a bipartisan bill It was sponsored by both parties: Mark Mullet (D), Phil Fortunato (R), Chris Gildon (R), Marko Liias (D), Joe Nguyen (D), Jamie Pedersen (D), Claire Wilson (D). God how I fucking hate political idiocy. We've also voted to make Daylight Saving Time permanent... that's going nowhere too. JUST GET THIS SHIT DONE!

   
• When it absolutely, positively, has to be a pain in the ass! Remember when you could just call FedEx, tell them you had a package to pick up, and they would take care of it? Not any more. I spend 40 minutes trying to get a package picked up. Couldn't do it. The company that sent me the label tried for an additional half hour. Couldn't do it. It's insane. You can't even go online and do it because you have to have an account or some other stupid crap. Service has gone right out the window. I used to love FedEx... now I outright loathe dealing with their bullshit.

   
And now back to yet another war, already in progress. Ironic that our commander in chief is calling upon the Iranian people to rise up against the government when Americans can't even fucking protest the government (as guaranteed in our Constitution) without getting fucking shot.

Well, Jake's clinginess is apparently here to stay. Usually after I get back from a trip, it will last four or five days... maybe a week. But it's been two weeks since I got back from Kansas City, and he's still all over me whenever I'm home.

Not that I can really complain. Who doesn't like having a warm kitty on their lap when it's cold out?

But now that it's getting warmer every day?

One day soon, when it's hot out and I'm too cheap to turn on the air conditioner, I will likely feel different about Jake sleeping on top of me.

Though I should probably enjoy every minute while I can. Boo-Bear won't be around forever.

And neither will I.

I've been plagued by a looming sense of dread all week. No idea what that's all about... other than the usual news cycle... but Im really ready for it to be over. Maybe I need a distraction?

After Jury Duty changed everything about a reality television series, it's hard to believe that anybody would fall for it again, but here we go...

I am hopeful.

Jury Duty was phenomenal entertainment, and if Company Retreat is even half as good, I'll be thrilled to tune in for it.

And, to be honest, being "thrilled" to be doing anything now-a-days is a nice change.

Yesterday I wrote about my... um... "experience" when I ate two Beyond Burgers instead of my usual one. In case you missed it, my "experience" was explosive diarrhea.

Am I discouraged? No. I will still be eating Beyond Burgers, just in moderation. The taste is too good to be true, and it's the best veggie burger I've ever had. Even if I can only eat them one at a time.

But what about their latest product? Take a look at this...

I was never much of a steak connoisseur, even when I ate meat... 40 years ago April. Probably because, unlike hamburger, steak looked too much like meat. But I am interested in having something new, so I'll be giving it a try.

Once it's in stores.

Because right now it's only available in a 10/$100 at the Beyond Test Kitchen.

Which is tempting, because the reaction has been pretty positive...

I just worry that eating one will cause my ass to explode, so I'd rather wait so I'm not flushing $100 down the toilet.

Literally.

One Beyond Meat "Stack" Burger? Delicious! Wonderful! One of my favorite things to eat! Seriously, I like them better than an Impossible Whopper, which is something I didn't think was possible.

"Diarrhea after eating Beyond Meat is often caused by the product's high fat content (coconut oil), fiber, or specific, highly processed ingredients like pea protein and methylcellulose, which can cause digestive upset. Users reported symptoms like stomach cramps, nausea, and vomiting."

Well alrighty then!

Guess I won't be eating my "Stack" burger... um... stacked, because that was a never-ending experience I don't want to re-live any time soon. Fortunately my medicine cabinet was stocked up with Imodium. This is an excellent dieting tool. It forces you to eat only one. And if you can't resist and end up eating more than one, then you'll shit yourself stupid, thus you'll end up with the calories of less than one!

I gotta say, this is a crazy turn of events. For my entire life I've traveled the world eating dicey foodstuffs from even dicier places and was never worse for wear. But now I cook a veggie burger and end up glued to the toilet.

Say! Maybe Beyond Burgers could be used as a delicious colonoscopy prep! And now...

   
DO NOT READ BEYOND THIS POINT! YOU'VE BEEN WARNED! TOO MUCH INFORMATION FOLLOWS!

Do you want to know how I knew it was the Beyond Burgers causing my explosive diarrhea? It smelled like Beyond Burgers! My bathroom reeked of deliciousness! Kinda. I guess.

You could not pay me to watch the State of the Union address. I am so done with the hate and lies that I don't have the fortitude to endure it.

Especially knowing that the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy... a non-partisan non-profit organization who does analysis on the taxes we pay... reminds us that unless you're a millionaire or billionaire where your taxes went down, you're paying more fucking taxes now, and have less to show for it because you're losing government services so that millionaires and billionaires can pay less...

You can read all the depressing details on their site here.

In other words, the people who can least afford to pay more are paying more, and the people who have an ungodly amount of money are paying less. Which shows you exactly who the current administration is working for... the top 5% of us. So I hope you have a fucking shit-ton of money so you're getting some kind of benefit out of the shit-show that's become our daily reality.

Shocker.

It's just like where all the economists said that the illegal tariffs will worsen the economy. Then that's exactly what happened, and people are all "HOW COULD WE HAVE KNOWN THIS WOULD HAPPEN?" Well, maybe trusting a guy who could bankrupt a fucking casino would be a good start.

Or you could have just read Project 2025, where everything that's been done was spelled out with alarming clarity.

So... what am I doing if I'm not watching television?

1. Cleaning my toilets because if I don't, hard water stains will build up.
2. Drilling holes in my wall so I can install an in-wall cable kit.

And then I'm going to try to get some sleep. Or try to while knowing I'm paying more in taxes so billionaires can have a better life.

Last Friday I had a meeting for work in The Big City. I didn't finish in time to get back to the office before quitting time, so I decided to go to Petco for kitty litter and then Costco. I renewed my decade-long-expired membership to support them after they decided to say "Fuck your anti-DEI bullshit," but haven't actually shopped in a store. Instead I bought a few things via Mail Order.

I was surprised that now you scan your membership card to get in the store instead of showing it to a door guard. Though there's still a door guard because my membership didn't have a digital photo attached. They asked me if I wanted a physical card and I declined because I assumed I could add a digital card to my Apple Wallet. But you can't? You have to use the Costco app. Oh well.

Because it was a Friday at 3:30, Costco was incredibly busy. Way, way too busy for me to be comfortable.

Because the more people in a place, the bigger the possibility you're going to run into assholes.

And assholes I did find. Three incidents stand out...

1. The couple who KEPT. BLOCKING. THE. AISLES. I ran to another part of the store... twice... because of this asshole couple. And it didn't matter. I would run back into them again eventually. PULL YOUR FUCKING CART OVER TO THE SIDE AND DON'T BLOCK ENTRANCES/EXITS TO AISLES! It's fundamentally stupid that this even has to be explained. But people like this don't give a shit because they don't give a fuck about anybody but themselves. It was especially awful because it was so busy.
2. Racism. Because of course. I was standing in the cracker & chip aisle looking for crackers. Next to me was a couple talking to somebody in Spanish. They were bothering nobody. Oh... wait... racist pieces of shit are always bothered, and as a couple rounded the corner, they were compelled to say "I'm tired of hearing Mexican. They're everywhere." Because apparently "Mexican" is a language now? Well, I'd rather hear people speaking "Mexican" than hearing them speaking hatred on people who are just existing. So whatever.
3. I do not work here. A man diverted his shopping cart towards me and asked me a question. I replied that I didn't know. And he said "Oh. You don't work here?" which I found odd. Then, not ten minutes later, a different man rolled up to me and said "Do you work here?" When I responded in the negative, he barked "THEN WHY DON'T YOU HAVE A CART?!?" And I was thinking "Excuse me? You are required to have a cart to shop here?" And you know what I did? I went and got a frickin' cart to put my crackers in.

An asshole-unrelated problem is that Costco isn't laid out very well. When the checkout lines back up, they completely cut off the snack aisles at the front of the store. This is probably a good thing for me... I don't need to be eating loads of snacks... but it is disappointing. Who knows what tasty goodness I could have discovered.

So... yeah... thus ended my adventure in Costco.

Insomnia has been kicking my ass, but I'm not letting that stop me... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• Punch-kun! I ran across the tragic story of the macaque snow monkey "Punch-kun" because I still follow Japanese news. Punch was abandoned my his mother and took comfort in an IKEA stuffed orangutan named "Djungelskog." There were numerous photos of the poor little guy doing his best to find acceptance and love from a plushie...

But then, after days on his own, he finally got a hug from one of his troop...

So that's nice. Especially after the shit-show of a week we've had.

   
• Whither Pixar? When Onward was released in 2020, it was a turning point for me when it came to Pixar. With one exception, I didn't like any of these films. And I never really understood why. I never bothered to search my feelings to understand what it was about Pixar that was turning me off. Then this morning I saw this...

And there it is. The reason there's one exception to Pixar from 2020 onward? It's because I've been to the coastal Italian towns which inspired the film Luca. I have a personal connection to the movie because I can draw on an experience that I've had. It's also why I can like a movie like Elio, but not fall in love with it.

   
• Dave Smash! I've been a big Morningstar Farms fan since becoming vegetarian decades ago. I veered away to Boca Burger for my burgers because they had superior taste and mouthfeel, but after Kraft bought them out and fucked up the recipe, I went back to Morningstar Grillers. They aren't great, and you have to know how to cook them so the texture isn't awful, but at least I'm not gagging them down. And then... Beyond Meat released Beyond Stack Burgers...

Now, I should say that Beyond does make an actual smash burger product, but they're not sold near me and aren't meant to be frozen (though you can), which means you have to eat them the day you open the package. The "stack" version always come frozen and are meant to stay frozen until used. Which means I don't have to eat them all after opening the package. But anyway... I found that I can get the Beyond Stack Burgers locally (well, 25-minutes away locally, but still). I absolutely love these burgers. A little high in sodium (260mg per patty), but not atrocious. They also cook weird, with a strange foamy residue in the pan, but the results are tasty enough when you smash them that I just don't care. As a bonus, Beyond has packaging that actually works... unlike shitty Morningstar Farms packaging which I hate, hate, hate.

   
• Thor Tells Jokes! I really want to see this standup as a special... where is Netflix when you really need them?

Hearing this makes me want to watch Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King again. It's a highly personal work which happens to be very, very funny. And touching.

   
• The Dow! The Dow! This is an absolute banger...

I couldn't even watch the hearing because Bondi is a gaping fucking asshole. Instead of using her position to serve the American people and seek justice, she's conspiring to protect child predators. She's such a massive pile of lying fucking shit that any time she speaks I see red, so I don't put myself in a position to watch. Thanks to this video, I can see the highlights in a way that doesn't make me want to hide under my bed and start screaming.

   
• SANDIWARA! Given my love of all things Michelle Yeoh, I was thrilled when a friend shared this with me...

The comments having people saying this should be a Malaysian tourism video. I cannnot disagree. This definitely makes me want to visit Penang (I've only ever been to Kuala Lumpur in the country).

   
• Finalizada! Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família... AKA the Sagrada Familia basilica, is finally nearing completion. After 144 years...

Fascinating. I've visited Sagrada Familia three times over a 20 year span. It never seemed like it was any closer to being completed. Now that we're so close, it feels like it might be time to visit Barcelona again. Not that I need an excuse... it's one of my favorite cities on earth.

   
• Sci-Fi Entertainment! This list isn't perfect, but dang if it doesn't make me want to re-watch every one of these films...

Even though I've already seen all of them more than once. Some of them many times.

   
And now back to needing more sleep.

I talk to my cats... like... all the time. Especially when they talk to me.

They answer back but, don't worry, I'm not pretending I can understand them. At least not yet. It's entirely possible that sometime in the future I'll finally have that mental break that will take me all the way.

Because I reply to my cats when they talk to me, they are talking more and more. Jenny will alter how she meows based on whether she's mad, happy, hungry, wanting to be petted, or is frustrated. Her "mad" meow is very noticeably different than everything else she says. So she's fairly easy to decode.

Jake, on the other hand, just squawks. He can't meow for some reason. Which means I have no idea what's going through his furry little head and have to guess. Usually he wants attention. But sometimes he is looking for a toy or wants food... and it's a matter trial and error to get him figured out.

Ever since I got back from Kansas City, Jake has been spending a lot of time sitting on me. Assumably because he doesn't want me to leave again...

Fortunately, the only "leaving" I will be doing for quite a while is going to work. But I'll be back at the end of the day so I can be pinned to my couch.