Another World Cup tickets update

I had a chance to buy a ticket for a World Cup game today.  I had first got an e-mail on Tuesday from FIFA with an "exclusive ticket window" in which I could buy tickets for a game being held in Seattle.  But the e-mail didn't actually specify when the window was - so that was absolutely bloody useless.  But then I got an updated e-mail yesterday specifying that my "exclusive Seattle ticket window" was 10 am this morning.  So despite being in a teleconference at work, I logged into my FIFA account (an account that I feel like I should now delete) and there were some tickets available.  Well I say "some", more like very few and only in the most expensive category of ticket.  I'm not going to pay $600 to watch a crappy game between two countries I don't care about, so I didn't buy anything.  I've really soured on the World Cup - I think it's too bloated, it's going to be used as a political pawn by Trump (just like he is trying with the US men's ice hockey team), and it's going to suck.  It disappoints me to say this, especially as I don't know if or when I'll have another opportunity, but I'm no longer bothered about watching a World Cup game.  

Algorithm

I don't know how the YouTube algorithm works, but I've gone from my feed being dominated last week by clips from a guy tuning pianos, to this week being dominated by clips of turtles having barnacles cleared from their shells.  AI is cray cray. 

State of the Union

It was Trump's State of the Union address this evening.  I didn't watch it and I couldn't give two hoots what he says.  Much like everything else that comes out of his mouth, it's a load of bull****.  And it's kind of tragic that all the networks have to air the address, and so give him a platform for all his lies.  All I do know is that he prattled on way too long, and so a couple of TV recordings I had scheduled for later tonight are messed up.  Yet another reason to impeach him.  I'm not even going to bother reading any of the analyses of his speech - such is the speed of the news cycle under Trump, this will quickly be forgotten about and we will have moved on to other things (like bombing Iran).  

Hertford

There are a few of these to be found on YouTube, but here is a short video of some of the "attractions" in Hertford - the town where I grew up in.

I find this interesting because (a) nothing seems familiar to me, and (b) I'm reminded why I grew up thinking Hertford was kind of boring.  And after all these years, it may have a few nice places to eat and drink but I stand by my teenage opinion.  Nevertheless, a part of me would quite like to take a day trip back there - just out of curiosity to see how much has changed.  A quick look at the street view on Google maps suggests that even the area around my childhood home has changed a lot.  It's been around 25 years since I was last there, so I guess this shouldn't come as a surprise.

Palace 1-0 Wolves

That feels like an incredibly important win for Palace.  It doesn't matter how ugly it was (against the bottom side, who missed a penalty, and only scoring in the last minute), a win is a win.  Especially a first home league win since the start of November.  Even if it is only a momentary respite from what has turned out to be a really downward spiraling season.  The prospect of relegation was unthinkable when we were in the top 4 - which doesn't seem that long ago - but here we are.  But a lot has happened since then - not least selling our best player and captain (without replacing him), our main striker being injured and wanting to leave, our manager already saying he's going to leave at the end of the season (if not forced out before, which is wild to think about considering how well regarded he was), a pitiful run of form (including an extremely embarrassing FA Cup exit), and having a new awful co-owner of the club.  What an epic collapse in such a short amount of time - I guess this is what it really feels like to be a Palace fan.         

Annual Pay Raise

This year, my annual pay raise was 2%.  Perhaps the lowest I've ever had.  Rest assured that it's not a reflection of my performance - which was "strong".  No, I think this is because I'm already one of the top earners at my particular level.  And yes, I could probably rectify this by getting a promotion - but I really am not seeking one, because I don't want the extra stress and responsibilities that come with that.  I did get a fairly decent bonus to make up for the measly increase in base pay, but still this pay raise is less than the current US inflation rate - which means that it is effectively a pay cut.  Which is disappointing to say the least.  Not surprising, but definitely disappointing.  Even more so when you consider how hard I've been working since the start of the year, and how stressful it's been.  But what can you do.  There just isn't the abundant job market out there for my kind of position any more.  

Hockey

I tried to watch the USA vs Slovakia ice hockey semi-final today.  Perhaps the only occasion I've ever wanted a US team to win, mainly because I really want to see a showdown between Canada and the USA in the final (with every chance of lots of fights, lots of hard hitting and some serious political undertones).  However, the game today was unwatchable because the US and Slovakian jerseys were the same colo(u)rs.  I couldn't tell one team from the other - they both played in red, white and blue.  Including the same color helmets and pants (excuse the Americanism).  Utterly ridiculous.