The thing about being on YouTube more than any other streaming service is the sheer variety of things I get to watch. The algorithm there is very, very good at knowing what I like to watch and feeding me a steady diet of content that's right up my alley.

My latest obsession is cooking videos.

It all started when I wanted some better Japanese bread recipes. The milk bread that I'm making now isn't quite what I'm looking for, so I decided to find a new one. But first I found this, which I very much want to try...

Then I found a new milk bread recipe...

Which lead to this garlic toast and egg recipe that looks incredible...

And then this (which I would make without the bacon...

American breakfast needed to be represented, which is how I got this one I am hoping lives up to the hype...

Plus some Americanized French bread...

And then YouTube was all "fuck it" and apparently served me this one because it knows I love hummus somehow...

Once I got to popcorn, I knew I was done...

P.S. There was also a recipe for Air Fryer Ciabatta, Another Easy Recipe Everyone Is Making Now, which isn't able to be embedded for some reason, but sounds intriguing.

Now if I could only find the time to try cooking some of this stuff.

Yesterday I had one of the easiest drives home from Seattle-side that I've ever had. 2 hours and 10 minutes of motoring bliss.

This morning I had one of the worst drives to work I've ever had. What's usually five minutes ended up being ten minutes of hell that had me wishing I would have walked.

Honestly, I just don't understand what is getting into people lately when driving. They're hostile, inattentive, impatient assholes. I had somebody come up behind me and was so close I honestly thought I was going to get rear-ended. I had a car lay on the horn because I dared to wait for two kids to cross the street. I had one car come at me half into my lane, and I had nowhere to go... and if I hadn't braked and laid on the horn as quickly as I did, there would have been an accident.

So, yeah. Not a great start to my morning.

I saw the same lineup 34 years ago. Two bands that I love playing back-to-back.

And last night I relived it now in 2025, starting with Cheap Trick...

And then on to Ann & Nancy Wilson and Heart...

Even when belting out the hits while seated, Ann Wilson can still blow the doors off the stadium.

One of the biggest surprises of the night to me was when they did a mash-up which included Straight On and David Bowie's Let's Dance. This video isn't from the show I went to, but it's the same mix...

Great show. So happy I got to see them again.

I'm too tired to blog, but I'm committed to the madness... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• Crashing Down? Does anybody want to buy some $BlogographyCoin cheap? It's the best crypto out there, and I'm letting people who worship me to get in on the ground floor, because this is sure to be an investment that skyrockets! Sink all your retirement into crypto because it's the investment that can't fail!

   
• Oh She Young! Sharing this for no reason at all...

Yep. Nope. No reason.

   
• Cringe Story! Some comedians can pull from experience in a way that should make other comedians jealous...

Guess I need to see if there's more material out there by this guy that's worth watching.

   
• NEWSFLASH: Pasta at Twice the Price? Some Italian Producers Face Huge U.S. Tariffs. If I could find bronze-extruded, slow-dried pasta that was American made... then great. Happy to buy it if the quality is good. But I ain't going to buy shitty American teflon-extruded, rapid-flash-dried crap that won't hold sauce and is just a slippery gawdaful mess. I'd eat half the pasta... but I'd pay twice the price for the pasta that's worth it.

   
• NEWSFLASH: Sales of AI-enabled teddy bear suspended after it gave advice on BDSM sex and where to find knives. But... so cute...

And now I really want one of these bears!

   
• Defunct Autonomatons! Defunctland released another video, and this one is beyond good... assuming you're into Disney stuff. This one is just over four hours long, but the time flies by as usual because Kevin Perjurer is just that good at his job. For the most part, this is just a timeline of Disney's adventures into autonomous animatronics, but it's also somehow deeply embarrassing for Disney who has become synonymous with overpromising and underdelivering...

They'll get there eventually. And once they do I'm sure it will be incredible. And, can I just say that Perjurer's take on whether Walt Disney would want himself resurrected as an animatronic is perfect? Probably because it's the same opinion I have.

At least until the autonomous animatronics get loose and decide to kill all the guests. Westworld never looked so adorable. I mean, just look at this...

Death by Olaf... what a way to go!

   
And... I'm off to a much-needed sleep.

I've put out warming pads for the cats every winter for years.

Last year one died, and this year the other one died. So I ordered new ones... and they make me mad I didn't buy 20 of the old kind.

First of all, the cords are not protected, which isn't a big problem because Jake & Jenny don't chew on cords. But still... dangerous!

Second of all, the warming pad is half the size of the cover? HALF! And the cover size is already smaller than the original one where the pad filled out the entire cover!

The cats are not impressed.

Here's Jenny... taking a big ol' pass on the new, heated pad and laying on the old, unheated pad instead. WTF?!?

And Jake was no more interested in it either, as he was always on the old pad. I went to pick him up and set him on the new pad, but this was what his reaction was...

Guess I keep looking. This is the first time I've been disappointed in a K&H Pet product. Hopefully the cats *warm up* to the new pads one of these days. SEE WHAT I DID THERE? WARM UP? LOLOLOL!

Guess I'll try putting the old warming pad covers on the new warming pads and see if I can trick them into using the new ones?

One of my neighbors is going to be on vacation for three weeks. They had a dozen eggs that will expire on December 1st, so they asked if I wanted them. And I took them.

Now, I rarely eat eggs anymore, and even then it's at a restaurant. I haven't bought eggs for my home in years, except when I have guests who eat them. I just put vegan egg substitute powder in my baking and it works perfectly. But anyway... I was actually more excited for my cats than I was for myself.

I cooked a lot of scrambled eggs for my mom, because it was one of the rare things I could get her to eat (the other being peanut butter sandwiches). Mom used to feed Jake & Jenny her eggs all the time, and they went CRAZY for them! I have photos of my mom feeding the kittens her eggs! JUST LOOK AT THIS...

And then the night came! I cooked some scrambled eggs for myself, then took a little bit out and put them into bowls for Jake and Jenny (before I seasoned mine). AND THEY COULDN'T HAVE GIVEN LESS OF A SHIT! Sniffed at them for a minute, then looked at me like "What the hell do you expect me to do with this slop?" Even Jake! THE CAT WHO WILL EAT ANYTHING! Wow...

Just look at that bullshit! Eggs completely untouched!

Before I go, I'm posting a comic by Thrice Fiction contributor Reza Farazmand from his Poorly Drawn Lines strip. It's a flawless summary of cat ownership...

©2025 Reza Farazmand

Yep. There it is.

I'm not a car guy, but I love watching entertaining people on YouTube, and some of the most entertaining were the guys at Donut. Then the channel started breaking up and I ended up following my favorites to their new channels... which included James Pumphrey to his channel, Speeed. And I actually prefer his new channel because he covers a bunch of stuff and not just cars.

Yesterday he dropped a video called 42 Things Everyone Should Learn How to Do and it goes in a few directions I didn't anticipate. I liked it...

First of all... I have that Yokohama Hard Rock T-shirt!

1. Fix a toilet. Thanks to having a piece of shit Kohler that cost me a fortune but is stupidly designed and needs tweaking all the time. I regret this purchase SO much.
2. How to reset a circuit breaker. Given my love of working with power tools, I'd be in sorry shape if I didn't know how.
3. Remount a bike chain. I haven't ridden a bike in decades, but I can probably remember how to do this from when I was a kid!
4. Learn CPR and when and how to use it. I do know, and am incredibly thankful I've never had to use it.
5. Jump-start a battery. DPLPLMDM... Dead Plus Live Plus Live Minus Dead Minus. I've rescued more than a couple people!
6. How to change a flat tire. Yes. And I would add to this... learn how to put on tire chains.
7. How to drive stick. That was all I drove for decades. I can probably remember how.
8. Exercise alone without any equipment. I know how... I just don't want to.
9. Learn and appreciate the power of compound interest. And I would add to this... learn about how absolutely deadly credit card interest can be and how to stay out of credit card debt whenever possible.
10. Have a basic understanding of how taxes work. It's shitty that this is even a fucking requirement because taxes should be simple as hell. But... we got all those loopholes to save millionaires and billionaires money, so we have to make taxes difficult for everybody so they might end up spending more than they should!
11. How to sew a button. Or, you know, how to sew period. And if you can use a sewing machine, you're much better off than not knowing how. Sewing machines are cheap and repairing clothes can save loads of money. My grandmother taught me, and it's been so important that I've always own a good sewing machine.
12. How to iron a shirt. My mom did her best to teach me, and I'm okay at it. But, largely, I end up ironing in more wrinkles than I end up ironing out.
13. Restart a water heater. When I moved into my place and mine was failing, I learned this skill to avoid taking cold showers.
14. Ride a motorcycle. Why yes, and I loved it. Except it wasn't something my body was physically able to do any more, so I sold my bike and admire them from afar now.
15. How to cook a good steak and grill a good burger. I'm a vegetarian, so I think I'll skip this one.
16. Dice an onion. I know how they want you to dice an onion, but I am happier not doing it that way. I halve an onion, cut into the cut-edge both ways, then pop it on its side and cut the dices off. I am told this is not the safe way to do it, but if you have very sharp knives it's just fine.
17. Cook rice. I ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS wash my rice. And I prefer to use a rice cooker. But I know how to use a pot too.
18. How to read a map. I haven't held a paper map since iPhones were invented, but I still remember how to read one, yes.
19. How to find north without a compass. My Apple Watch has a compass built-in, but it's a watch, not a compass, so does that count?
20. How to start and tend a good campfire. Thanks to endless episodes of Survivor, I know how to do that. But if I don't have matches or a lighter I'm probably screwed.
21. One solid party trick. I am entertaining enough that I can talk my way out of knowing a party trick. I've also been a lot of places and know a lot of things, which is probably more useful at an actual party.
22. One song on any instrument. I used to be able to play a little keyboard and piano. I am very, very rusty. But could probably manage Chopsticks.
23. One actually good long joke. I have stories that are probably better than any joke. Which I think is better because it's something personal.
24. Bowline knot. Noted.
25. Butterfly loop. Noted.
26. Sheet bend. Noted.
27. Taut line hitch. Noted.
28. Trucker's hitch. Noted.
29. How to give constructive feedback. Kinda my job(s) for the past 30 years or so.
30. How to give a good toast or speech. Did speeches for 18 years with the charity, so I got that.
31. How to memorize names. The three time memorization thing doesn't work for me and I'm terrible at this.
32. How to introduce two people. Something I've also done for 18 years with the charity.
33. How to politely decline offers. I am a little more tactful than saying "I don't want to do it," but yes... cosigned... I also tell the truth. Lying never works out for me!
34. How to put out a grease fire. Didn't everybody get told how to smother the flames with a lid or toss baking soda on it in school? I've got a massive bag of baking soda (and a fire extinguisher!) in my kitchen just for this purpose!
35. How to dress for a wedding. I wear a suit with open collar shirt every time... unless it specifically says "casual" or there's a request. And I never wear a tie unless suit and tie are requested.
36. How to dress for a job interview. As somebody who has hired numerous employees, this is entirely contextual and depends on the job you're interviewing for. When I was hiring designers, I didn't give two shits what they were wearing, all I cared about was that they were clean, for example.
37. How to dress for as an adult. Dressing like an adult is nothing more than dressing appropriately for the occasion. But, to be honest, I care more about comfort than fashion.
38. How to talk to strangers. If there's one thing I'd consider myself an expert on... it's this. I've always had this as a natural talent, and am so good at it that people hire me or request me to do it all the time!
39. How to lift things without hurting your back. Well, this is easier said than done for me. Especially now that I'm older and I once threw my back out when I turned to lock the front door of my house. Suffice to say that I've had back problems since forever, and "lifting with my legs" is not always something I can do.
40. How to disagree with others in a civil manner. Another part of my job and, in a professional setting, I'm quite good at it. This is a little tougher with dumbfucks on the internet or in social settings were people are ignorant and abusive. Then? I don't give a shit. I'm too old to care now.
41. How to receive compliments. I hate having to do this, but I've learned how to do it because it makes people uncomfortable when you can't.
42. How to learn how to do new things. Not tough to learn something that you love to do, and learning new stuff is one of my favorite things.

And if you enjoyed that, here's another recent one that I really liked. It's such a good idea for a video!

James, Zach, and Jesse also did crypto, which is hilarious... because this is what happens to the vast majority of people, all of whom think that they're going to be one of the very, very, very few who makes serious money at it...

I gotta learn how to do a good ol' pump and dump and get rich! Just like our president did with $TRUMP Coin!

The vilification of PBS is one of the most perplexing things I've ever seen.

In a world where kids are seen as nothing more than advertising dollars by television networks, PBS has been there to entertain and educate kids as kids. If PBS and public media were to start shuttering across the nation, it would be a terrible loss for Americans. If there's anything that I thought all Americans from any party would agree on... it's that PBS is value for the money and worth having. The money they get is such a pittance compared to the vast amounts of money being tossing left or right by our politicians. And yet... THIS?!?

I don't get it. I don't get it at all.

Turns out the second trailer for Project Hail Mary is even better than the first.

And, heaven help me, this may actually be the movie which has me heading to a theater come March...

I'm more than a little shocked that the trailers are spoiling some of the things from the book that were kinda designed to be a surprise... but it still looks fun enough that it may not matter.

I left Spokane on Sunday around 3:30. That gave me an hour of daylight before the sunlight was fading into darkness. Fading into the abyss.

Now, for the longest time, I loved night driving. It was calming and peaceful and, when I was younger, I did it a lot. Mostly while traveling around the United States because I didn't want to waste daylight driving when I could be seeing stuff.

Or maybe I liked it because the first driving I ever did was on my Atari 2600 with Night Driver...

But then... things started to change.

I was bordering on night blindness, where headlights (or any lights) would become a massive blight in my field of vision. I couldn't see. The amount of concentration required to drive safely was headache-inducing and I was genuinely worried I was becoming a danger on the road. And so I stopped driving at night. Completely. I couldn't justify the risk... not necessarily for myself, but for other people.

And it was fine. I could always get a ride with somebody else or pay for an Über or whatever.

Then, as I was having another surgery for my ongoing injury problems, I ended up getting my lenses replaced with cataract surgery (something I documented here). And even though I was told my cataracts weren't terrible and wouldn't need to be addressed for five years or so... I could suddenly see at night again! Night drivin' here I come, baby!

So I went ahead and drove home in the dark, it was perfectly fine, I could see great, there were zero issues.

At least when it comes to my vision.

Because there will always be assholes on the road, and that's something you can get fixed with cataract surgery.

Maybe a lobotomy, but not cataract surgery.

You know you're well past your prime when you see an ad which says "How to last longer in bed" and you're like... "I could use more sleep"... then continue reading and be like "Oh. Oh yeah."

Over the weekend I had a trip across the basin to Spokane. The drive is tantamount to torture because it's just hundreds of miles of mostly nothing. But in all honesty I don't really mind all that much. I can listen to music and think about stuff. A rare luxury in my crazy day-to-day life.

Where things took a very, very bad turn for me was about 50 minutes outside of Spokane when my iPhone stopped having data access. Thinking that, yet again, Verizon's shitty service was to blame, I shut down my iPhone and restarted it. Sometimes Verizon botches the cell tower hand-off, and this is the only way to get data working again.

Except it didn't fix anything.

Another power-down and restart. Then another. Then another. Still nothing.

This put me into a bit of a panic because I didn't know which hotel I was staying at. Unlike the good ol' days when I would print out my reservation before travel, now-a-days I rely on the fact that Apple Maps would see I had a hotel reservation from the email confirmation I received and ask me if I wanted to go there when I blew into town.

Not this time.

When I say "I didn't know which hotel I was staying at," that's not 100% the truth. But it might as well have been. I knew I was staying at "The Davenport" but considering there's like... I dunno... ten of the fuckers in Spokane, and all of them are named "The Davenport Autograph Collection" (or what-the-hell ever), I had no idea where I was going.

And so I drove to the one I stayed at the last couple times. I hadn't a clue if it was the correct one, but I assumed they could tell me where to go if I was at the wrong property. But I didn't have to go to that much trouble, because my phone connected to WiFi after I parked. Turns out, yes indeed, I was at the wrong hotel. So I left to drive to the correct one. Except the ticket machine at the garage wanted to make me pay $7.95 for the 5 minutes I was there. Fortunately I was able to explain my predicament to the valet who let me go.

But fate wasn't done with me yet!

Somehow Apple Maps didn't load everything off the internet while I was at the parking garage. Which meant I was, once again, not knowing where to go. Fortunately I've been to Spokane many times and was able to figure it all out, but not after I had to drive around the block to look for the self-park garage entrance.

le sigh

Must have been time for a beer and my favorite pizza on earth...

Don't worry... half of it was road pizza for the drive home the next day

After my early dinner, I was wiped.

But it was only 5:30pm, and I knew better than going to bed so early that I'll be waking up at 2:00am. Not that this would be anything unusual in my declining years, but this time it wouldn't be waking up to go to the bathroom. Probably.