Archives January 2021

One of the perks of a government job is the large amount of holidays we get paid, outside of the standard four or five most employers provide.  The end result is sometimes I totally forget about them and have surprise three day weekends.  This was one of those times as I only realized on Wednesday that we have next Monday off for MLK day.  It is like being given a surprise gift.

Last night Cindy, Katie and I got together again for some more VR fun.  The plan was for us to do some virtual bowling but Katie had an issue getting it to install so we wound up playing some more Beat Saber.  Both of the girls are far superior to me in the game but I enjoy it just the same.  Cindy also got to experience Bogo for the first time which is a must play if you are an animal lover.

I plan to put the three day weekend to good use, I already have my list written and ready to cross off. Just think the next time I am back at work will be the end of the Trump regime.  I have heard people offer up a very interesting hypothetical.  It is well established that Trump cultists absolutely refuse to believe anything unless it comes out of Donald’s mouth.  What do you think their reaction would be if Donald somehow grew a conscience and said “you know all that rigged election stuff, I made it up, my bad”

If this reality was thrown upon Trumps loyalists from the mouth of their God himself, what the hell would they do?  Would they break down into tears, huddle up in a little ball on the sidewalk, and languish in the reality that Donald Trump has been lying to them all along?  I really wonder how they would react if faced with such an ice cold reality.  Luckily the majority of the population is able to discern this for themselves.

I believe I mentioned I bought Katie a Quest 2 VR headset for Christmas which she has been loving.  What I didn’t mention was I also bought one for Cindy that arrived yesterday.  This may sound crazy to most but there are VR games/experiences that you can do with others in real time which we really wanted to try.  We did just that last night.  Cindy, Katie and I joined up in a virtual group which puts you into real time voice communications with anyone in your party, no matter what game you are playing which is cool. I was in the great room while Cindy was in the bedroom.

We decided to play Beat Saber which was hilarious, challenging, and tiring all at the same time.  As expected I finished third out of three every game except some strange level where the blocks are more or less invisible, for some reason I did ok there.  I bet in total we were grouped up together for close to two hours.  Cindy really likes the apps that transport you to magnificent virtual spaces where you can interact, change, or just relax inside of them.  On our next get together we plan to meet up for some virtual bowling which should be fun.  It’s crazy how we all wound up getting thrust into the VR experience but it really is a cool way to have shared fun and memorable experiences.

I was laughing out loud repeatedly when Donald came on TV right after the house voted to impeach him for the second time, something no president has ever accomplished in history.  It’s nice he can add that to his resume of debauchery.  The speech was the polar opposite of everything that has been spewing from Trump’s mouth when he is allowed to choose his own words.  Obviously his handlers were trying to avoid what appears to be a possibility, the senate actually approving impeachment this time.  The speech was what should have been said the moment the election results were official and to hear Mr Big League read the hollow words now was utterly meaningless as the entire world knows he didn’t mean a single sentence.

Of course it is extremely self serving and transparent that some republican lawmakers are now willing to impeach Don since the Trump train is fully engulfed in flames but hey at the least the end result will be appropriate.  Mitch McConnell has to be loving this. He has a chance to give Don a large one finger salute as the walls close in on him.

Yesterday was a rough one at work.  One of the employees in our office was terminated abruptly.  Of course no details can be discussed publicly but the end result as impactful as it is for an employee that is fired, also resonates throughout the workplace.  Everyone wants to know what happened while the closer circle of co-workers deal with their daily work reality being flipped on it’s head in an instant.  I personally find it very difficult to wrap my brain around how I would handle having to fire someone as it can be such a disruptive event in a persons life.  When my buddy and boss retires in a few years I will be in a position where that possibility becomes more likely.  I certainly hope I am not needing to make that decision on somebody’s career.  I can’t shake the feeling of sadness for all parties involved.

Yesterday the House started impeachment proceedings for a SECOND time, a first in US history.  Well that’s cool Donald always does like being number 1 after all.  It may seem to most that it would be impossible to do this so quickly and so late into Trump’s term but as is always the case there are reasons behind it.  There is the actual possibility that it could pass this time as bandwagon Republicans frantically try to distance themselves from the off the rails Trump train.  Of course it would be utterly transparent but they might just cast an impeachment vote anyway.

The other benefit would be a successful impeachment bans Trump from holding any future political office which would be a big win for the sane part of the world.  Let Donald go die in peace at Mar-A-Lago or in jail, whichever works out.  It would be a minor miracle if the impeachment gets done before Donald is kicked out the door but we can always cross our fingers.

I’m still depressed a bit about Pederson being let go.  I saw a bit of the news conference by Jeff Lurie.  It seemed like the cliff notes version is Lurie said there were a lot of short term band aids that were done the last couple years in an attempt to get this core group of players back to the Super Bowl.  Those fixes obviously didn’t work out, mostly due to age and injury.  Lurie realizes the Eagles have an old roster with an overloaded salary cap that is going to have to be scrapped.  He basically said the team is going to be in rebuilding mode for the next couple years and it seemed like Doug wanted to try to still be good with what they have now.  It definitely seemed like an amenable parting of the ways.

Doug released his own classy goodbye message as well, as I would expect.  Doug Pederson and Nick Foles will always be burned into my memories as the two guys that finally got it done.

I neglected to mention yesterday I gave my dad a call wishing him happy 74th birthday.  It’s nuts, it feels like not very long ago at all we were just up in PA for his surprise 70th birthday party.  I wish I could say dad gave me an outlook on life after three quarters of a century on the planet that made me eager to experience it myself but I would be lying.  Regardless I think dad appreciated the call, despite his  well established dislike of most celebratory events like birthdays and holidays in general.

I just saw a headline I didn’t expect at this point.  After the Redskins game where Doug Pederson basically rolled over and gave up I thought there was a chance he could be fired.  Instead there was a story that despite the mess of a season Jeff Lurie decided he was going to give Doug a chance to turn it around.  After all, Pederson is the only coach to get the Eagles a Super Bowl victory so I guess he earned some leeway, or so I thought.

Evidently after some meetings between Lurie and Pederson recently things changed, culminating with the announced firing of Pederson less than an hour ago.  I am not sure of what was discussed in those meetings but it resulted in the exit door being thrown open.   I feel badly seeing Doug go, despite the train wreck of a season we just all experienced.  The historic amount of injuries on the roster certainly made his task extremely difficult.

There was already going to be a massive upheaval of the roster, having the head coach ousted is going to just pile on the huge amount of question marks for next year.  I always liked Doug’s approach as a coach when dealing with the media and public.  I thought he always tried to be thoughtful and honest wherever possible when answering questions as opposed to the robotic “I have to do a better job” responses of Andy Reid or the combative “My shit doesn’t stink” clownery of Chip Kelly.

Doug provided me with something I never really thought I would experience, a Super Bowl winning season that was filled with as much excitement as one could imagine.  For that I will be eternally grateful.

Man it felt like the weekend was a big disjointed mess, a feeling I never enjoy.  On Saturday morning after doing some chores running errands I headed to my accountants place.  She had been asking me for several months if I could stop out to look at stuff for her.  I felt badly that I had forgotten about it, especially since her husband had died so unexpectedly a couple years ago.  I wound up walking out of there with a bunch of old equipment she no longer needed or wanted, most of it I will recycle but there is a printer that we will be giving to Katie.  I was able to address the issues she had, I wish I would have done it sooner.

So by the time I got home it was after three but I had it in my head that I needed to get the weed whacking done.  It had not been done for weeks and it showed.  I didn’t get out in the yard until probably closer to 4:15.  I worked straight into darkness to finish up.  The session was very annoying because of some issues I am having with my grass trimmer, it only wants to stay running in the choked position.  I got sick of f’ing with it and switched to the electric trimmer which I had to refill twice with trimmer line and swap out batteries twice as well.  When I whacked the last weed I was very frustrated.

So Saturday night I looked forward to relaxing while watching a movie we rented, Tenet.  This movie made headlines as being one of the first to go into theaters after covid started.  I recalled hearing/reading positive things about it.  It didn’t take long for me to question these positive statements. I found the movie utterly stupid.  I had a very hard time understanding much of the dialogue because of the accents of some of the main characters.  The plot whipped back and forth nonsensically, at least to me.  I would love to hear someone explain how/why they liked the film.  It seemed confusing just for the sake of being confusing.  I don’t give out many D ratings but Tenet went there for me.

On Sunday I wanted to try to get some of my things in order. I had stuff haphazardly laying around various spots in the house which bugs the hell out of me.  I got stuff sorted, organized and put away, at least to some degree.  During the afternoon we met up with Deb to do a little ride around at the school, which was fun despite the rather chilly, by Florida standards, temperatures.

I also shot a video talking about my first year with the whole house solar system.  The cliff notes version is I did not break even from a power perspective like I hoped.  In total I wound up paying for about 5000KWH of usage, a far cry from what I used to pay but still, a bit annoying.

I spent a good portion of Sunday evening editing the two above videos as well as binge watching a few Cobra Kai episodes with Cindy.  This week is looking rather busy, I feel like I have a lot of balls in the air.

This week Cindy and I did something unusual, watch movies on a weeknight, an activity normally reserved for weekends.  On Wednesday we watched Bombshell, the movie about Fox News and the various sexual harassment claims against Roger Ailes.  I thought the performance by Charlize Theron, taking on the appearance and speaking patterns of Meghan Kelly was pretty amazing.  The movie outlined the slimy underbelly of Fox News although this type of behavior I am sure is pervasive through the industry, just ask Matt Lauer.  I’d give it a B+.

Last night we watched Soul, the new Pixar movie that came out Christmas Day on Disney +.  I heard a lot of people talking about how touching and inspirational it was.  I thought the movie was good but not quite as impactful as others expressed.  I am sure my lack of religious beliefs affects my interpretation but regardless I thought it was a feel good movie with a message that more people should pay attention to, enjoy the simple things.  I’d give it a B+ as well.

I read someone make a funny analogy regarding some Trump staff resigning as a result of the history making self serving abuse of power he displayed on Wednesday.  The comparison was to someone who unbuckled their seat belt as the plan landed after a long flight.  NOW, you are outraged, NOW you care.  Of course Trump is the primary focus of ire for the last four disastrous years but we can’t forget the litany of enablers that went along with the bullshit.  For some of them to say NOW they have had enough seems disingenuous and just a token effort to distance themselves from the Trump dumpster fire.

Speaking of the Wednesday event, it seems quite clear that the capitol police did a poor job preparing and executing their enforcement duties.  There are many examples of the police simply stepping away on video, allowing the rioters through without resistance.  The chief has subsequently resigned and McConnell fired the guy that was in charge of security for the buildings themselves.  It seems pretty obvious that many of the officers only made a token effort to slow the onslaught but not to impede it.

This weekend I should be able to enjoy outdoor labor and activities due to the pleasant temps.  On Saturday afternoon I am going to head to my accountants place to help her out with some tech stuff she had been asking me about for 6 months or so.  She reminded me about it this week so I figured I need to do it sooner rather than later so it doesn’t drop off my radar again.

I, like the rest of the country, well the portion of the country that has not been the victim of four years of deliberate psychological manipulation, watched in disgust as a mob of die hard Trump acolytes got whipped into a frenzy by the grand leader himself and then proceeded to invade the US capitol buildings.  Their activities included breaking barricades, climbing walls, breaking windows and infiltrating interior sections of the building, including the floor of congress itself.  It was the ultimate shit show of an already exhaustively long list of atrocious behavior both committed personally and/or encouraged by Donald Trump.  It was the result of a childish temper tantrum by a 74 year old child who simply can’t accept an outcome that he did not want.

Now I have to question, like many media sources, just how this was allowed to happen.  It appeared the capitol police in many places were not very prepared or forceful in turning away the red faced MAGA hat wearing lunatics.  Since this protest has been planned, talked about and predicted for MONTHS, somebody seriously dropped the ball.  Reporters also mentioned that if this were Black Lives Matter protestors there is absolutely no way they would get to the interior of the buildings, they would have been stopped in their tracks by an overwhelming use of force. I would not at all be surprised if the orders to only slow but not impede the protestors came from higher, much higher up the chain of command.

To have this spectacle taking place and be ignited, promoted, and desired by the president of the country is surreal.  This is the sort of thing dictators do which is more or less what we have born witness to during Trump’s term.  You either cater to his wishes and desires, legal or not, or you are out.  When Trump did his ridiculous message to “calm” the crazies by telling them we were cheated out of the landslide victory, the election was stolen, he loved them, but it was now time for them to go home I wanted to reach through the screen and choke him.  I thought it was hilarious and overdue that Twitter and Facebook locked his accounts so he was cut off from spewing more gas onto the bright burning fire.  I hope they never allow him access to social media again, he is far more dangerous than Alex Jones.

So Congress did eventually resume and certify the vote just like they had to.  There were a few sparks of sanity that were revealed as a handful of the congressman that originally said they were going to participate in election fraud results protest changed their mind after Trump’s stunt and ensuing madness.  It’s good to know that not everybody is a lemming.  Even Mike Pence had to eventually deal in reality, admitting he had no power to overturn state election results which of course infuriated Trump too. Hell you know Donald has lost his mind when Pat Robertson, a well established Trump devotee and an impressive whacko resume of his own even said that Trump is living in his own reality and needs to move on.

So there has been a strong reaction to this as you would hope.  There was talk of the 25th Amendment being enacted when a president has proven he is unable to perform his duties.  Some say, heck he only has two weeks left, how much damage can he do?  Yesterday was proof just how bad it can be and just how disconnected from reality the man is.  I am sure he actually enjoyed having his zealots rampage and destroy.

I was angry and disgusted, enough that I posted on my Facebook account an unfriend request to anyone that was enthused by the events that occurred yesterday.  If you voted for Trump in 2016, ok, there are various reasons to do so, you didn’t necessarily need to be a racist, gun worshiping, light thinking, individual to cast that vote.  Maybe you just were a wealthy me firster that doesn’t care much about the greater good or you really disliked Hilary Clinton and the way the DNC rammed it to Bernie.  However if you still are gulping the Trump Kool Aid after the last four years and the abhorrent actions since the election was over, you’re officially a cultist and I have no interest interacting with cult mentality.  That doesn’t mean there isn’t hope for you in the future to wake up, I can only hope that happens, but I am not going to be the one to do it for you, so adios.

I have said it many times, especially in the last four years because it is absolutely true.  Joesph Stalin said, correctly, that “A lie told often enough, eventually becomes the truth…”  Trump has proven it again and again and again.

As planned I stopped at Outback on the way home from work to grab an on the go birthday dinner for us.  Cindy placed the order online.  When I told her I picked it up and was leaving she asked me if I checked the order.  I snap responded I did not, I told her the bag was very heavy so I was sure there was enough food in there.

I got home only a couple minutes before Katie, Daniel and baby DJ pulled up.  It always warms my heart when he comes over and gives me the “pick me up” pose.  We all enjoyed the food despite the lack of traditional restaurant surroundings.  Katie requested an ice cream birthday cake which I had not had in awhile.  DJ seemed to really enjoy the cake as well as he wore a good amount of it on his face. The birthday visit was filled with lots of fun, love, and laughter which is all you can hope for.

So I woke up this morning to some very encouraging news.  I saw that Raphael Warnock was outright declared the winner in the one Georgia senate race and John Ossoff was leading in the other race by a thin margin that mimic’s the presidential vote.  Warnock’s win was huge, the first time Georgia has elected a black senator.  Ossoff is super smart and well spoken, his opponent David Perdue comes off as a throwback to good old southern politics, if you know what I mean.  If Ossoff manages to win, it will officially flip the senate out from the iron and decrepit thumb of Mitch McConnell which would be a huge accomplishment.

Winning both of the seats would be a nice and tidy bow on the utter rebuke of Trumpism. This would be despite the cult members gathering in DC today to protest for an imaginary result under the direction of the falsest prophet ever to reside in the White House.  Any of the congressman that decide to participate in the ruse when the electoral college results are read today should be rewarded the next election cycle with defeat.  They should not ever be allowed to forget they participated in this sham.

The carnival side show is over kids, either get on board with common decency, respect, and the greater good or take your Trump Water and Trump Steaks to one of Trump’s boarded up casinos and have yourself a party.  Donald’s dive into insanity is now complete as he is now driven mad for being the ultimate loser on the planet’s biggest stage for all to see.

Yesterday Cindy was in distress as her Hyundai Ioniq appeared to be dead.  I talked her through using the key to manually open the door but when she got inside no lights were on.  My over the phone diagnosis was the 12V battery was probably dead.  Some people are surprised that hybrid cars have 12V batteries.  The Prius has one, which I have replaced in the past.  Hell believe it or not my Tesla even has a conventional 12V battery tucked into the front end.  I assumed it was the same case with the Ioniq.

So when I got home I was all ready to jump the car.  I opened up the manual to find the 12V battery location as it was not under the hood.  As I read the manual I realized something I had never heard of, the Ioniq hybrid does not have a conventional stand alone 12v battery.  Instead it has a 12v battery incorporated into the main hybrid battery pack.  When you encounter a situation where the car is dead there is a “12V reset” button on the dash you press which basically “jump starts” the car from the main hybrid battery.  Once you do that you are just supposed to drive the car for a short while to recharge the 12V lithium battery.

I hit that button and the car immediately returned to life.  At first we thought DJ maybe hit the button but in retrospect I think Cindy just has not been driving her car all that much lately, the Tacoma has been getting a lot of work with the landscaping stuff she has been doing.  I think just driving it around a little bit should get things back to normal as this morning she had to hit the 12V reset button again to get it started.

Today is Katie’s 27th birthday.  Typically for her birthday we would get together and go out to dinner someplace.  With covid still circulating robustly this year I am going to bring the dinner to her.  Cindy is going to place a takeout order at Outback which I will pick up after work. As grateful as I am to have Cindy in my life, I’m also thankful that it meant adding Katie and now my best buddy DJ to my life as well.  I love them both and will do anything to protect and help them navigate through the maze of this crazy world we live in.