Removed, 10K Live, Is he trying to be fired, Is there any limit
On New Years Eve Cindy worked hard on getting the inside Christmas decorations put away, including both trees. It’s a huge help for me and was much appreciated. We had no formal NYE plans as you can imagine. Instead I played some WoW until close to 11 as tons of people in our area indulged in their personal home fireworks displays, which I despise more and more every year. Even with giving Elsa some calming treats and putting her compression vest on she still spent most of the evening in the bathtub, shaking. I wonder if all of these people that get aroused by fireworks so deeply have pets as well and just don’t give a shit? It was just another reminder of why I don’t enjoy human beings. We did stay up to watch the ball drop in NYC. Just like the rest of 2020, it was bizarre seeing Time Square mostly empty for the celebration.
On New Years Day I treated it like any other weekend, getting chores knocked out. I did trap another palm rat overnight who I released in the same remote area as the others. It seems like the rats that hang in the shed are not as wise to my live trap as those that hang in the chicken area. Cindy helped me with taking down the outdoor decorations during the day. It was a bit depressing but I also do get a sense of calm when things are returned to normal.
Earlier in the morning while I was out in the yard the neighbors kid, who I don’t think I have spoken to in a couple years, came running towards the fence to get my attention. He told me that if we wanted to sit on the porch that night that he was going to be setting off fireworks. Without hesitation I said “ok thanks” as he turned around and ran back inside. The second I said it I immediately got angry with myself and my reflex reaction to be polite in most situations. I should have told him that the fireworks terrify our dog and the last thing I would be doing is watching them for enjoyment.
The first thing I did was check to see if it was legal to shoot off fireworks on New Years Day. I discovered that fireworks are legal in Florida three days of the year, 4th of July, New Years Eve and New Years Day. Once I had that information I texted the neighbor kids mom and told her I appreciated him letting me know about the additional fireworks display but asked if they were going to do it, please keep them on the other side of their property which borders a vacant lot. I told her that the fireworks terrify our dog. The neighbors have at least two dogs of their own so you can refer back to my earlier confusion about why people would willingly scare their pets. Anyway, she acknowledged my concern but said the kid I guess has been working at one of the firework retailers so he has some “big ones”, which made me cringe. The kid was evidently very excited about blowing off explosives in the yard, yay.
Cindy and I came up with a plan where she would take Elsa to Katie’s house during the display. I was scheduled to live stream anyway that night. So just after dark the noise started. I scooped up Elsa, who was already shaking and put her in the back of the truck so Cindy could take her to Katie’s where there weren’t New Years Day explosions. From Cindy’s account Elsa had a great time there which I was happy to hear.
My three hour live stream went very well. Marty co-hosted it with me. At one point we had over 70 concurrent viewers which I think is a record for me. I gave away about a dozen items to celebrate the milestone, it was a good time for sure.
Since I got a lot of my chores out of the way Friday, my Saturday was less demanding. I mostly attended to things I wanted to do instead of things I felt I had to do. One of those things was replacing the hot end assembly on one of my printers which I made a video about. I really would like to get more 3D content on my channel as it has a much broader appeal than EUCs.
On Saturday night we also watched the live action version of Mulan with Cindy. I never watched the cartoon version that was popular so the story was all new to me. It was good stuff, I can see why it has been so popular, B+.
On Sunday we met up with Deb to do a ride late morning. I took my One Wheel XR which I have not ridden for months. Within 5 minutes of riding it I remembered why I enjoy it so much. With my normal once a week riding slot I just haven’t had the time to give all of my PEVs equal time. We had a fun time zipping around the scenic Oakes Bvd area. At one point I thought I broke my camera when I inadvertently let it hit a pole while I was holding it behind, Luckily everything still appeared to still work afterward.
After editing the video I headed out and changed the oil quickly on my Tacoma. As always seems to be the case I I wound up getting oil blown on me by the wind. The canister style filter the truck uses is a bit of a hassle but I have done the chore enough now that I can knock everything out in 30 minutes.
So I stayed up to watch the Eagles game last night. Although the Eagles were out of the playoffs the game had significance because Washington had to win to make the playoffs. If they lost, the Giants, who beat the Cowboys earlier would make the playoffs. I came away from the 20-14 loss angry, very, very angry. The team, and more specifically Doug Pederson, appeared to give up.
The Redskins jumped out to an early 10-0 lead but the Eagles scored two touchdowns in the first half on two running scores by Jalen Hurts. Speaking of Hurts, another head scratcher was the Eagles making Carson Wentz a clean scratch, meaning he wasn’t even eligible to play, instead they activated Nate Sudfield who hasn’t had a regular season snap in three years. The official reason was to avoid putting Carson in harms way but it seemed like another indicator that they didn’t care if they won the game or not.
Ok so moving forward to the second half, down 17-14, Pederson decides to go for it on fourth down instead of kicking a game tying field goal. Yea I know he did this all the time when the team was good but hey Doug, news flash, your team sort of stinks this year. So they fail to score on fourth down. So Jalen Hurts was not spectacular as a passer last night, he only threw for around 100 yards but he did score those two TD’s with his legs.
To be honest I think that is why he has had the success he has had behind this shitty offensive line that has changed 14 times in 16 weeks, a record dating back to the 60’s. He is more elusive than Carson and makes quicker decisions. If he doesn’t see an open receiver he quickly will make positive yardage with his legs where Carson far too many times would be taking sacks in the same situation.
So anyway, after the fourth down failure the next offensive series Pederson puts in Nate Sudfield for some reason. There is no way he could have been thinking Sudfield gave them a better chance to win. Sudfield, like I said who hasn’t seen regular season action in three years responded as you would think, throwing an interception in his first series and then fumbling on the second series on the Eagles side of the field, giving Washington another 3 points. The Eagles sputtered into the finish with Sudfield out there, it felt like Pederson just threw in the towel, almost like he wants to get fired. In a post game conference Pederson said he put Sudfield in because he thought it would help them win the game, come on Doug, that’s bullshit.
I have always liked Pederson and wanted him to stay as the coach but this raising of the white flag angered me so much that I really don’t care if he stays or goes. The lighting fast reversal of some of the players performances this year make me think that maybe Pederson has lost the magic of 2017, with this cast of characters. It was an appropriately pathetic way to end the Eagles season, one of the most disappointing since Chip Kelly was around. Yes injuries were a huge part of the teams decline but a lot of things are going to change next year, that is for sure.
Despite my assurance of the lack of integrity and sanity of our lame duck president, I have to admit that even now he still has no shame in trying to criminally strong arm election officials to change their results with no evidence. The call he made on Saturday to Georgia election officials was outrageous and disturbing to the core. Not that we didn’t already know just how corrupt and ruthless Trump is, hearing it first hand on a recorded call just further cements his legacy as the worst, most corrupt, and blatantly criminal president in the history of the United States. The thing that is truly terrifying is his cultists will hear that recording and think nothing of it, perhaps even cheer the effort by president big league to illegally change election results as part of a desperate and hopeless plan to stay in power.
This week there is a large contingent of spineless republican congressman that plan to stage a dog and pony show offering false support for the election dispute charade as both a ploy to remain in favor with Trump’s mentally checked out base as well as trying to get access to their wallets as they continue to funnel their dollars to the the biggest conman to ever sit in the White House. It is truly disgusting.
Now I know Biden said basically he was not going to pursue Trump for the numerous criminal acts he committed as president. He prefers to let the local state lawsuits run their course instead. I understand Joe wants to focus on moving forward and the greater good but there is something to be said about the consequences of not punishing illegal acts. If there are no repercussions for doing this shit what is the incentive for others to not do the same?