Goodbye 2020 ...

 ... and good riddance, you sucked.  

In addition to several subjective new year's resolutions, most of which I will undoubtedly quickly break - so I won't bother sharing them here - I have also made one objective and quantifiable new year's resolution.  And that is to lose 24 lb in 2021.  That is only 2 lb a month, in theory quite achievable.  But everything in my history suggest that it is going to be next to impossible.  Yes I have lost weight before, but I've never been able to keep that weight off.  And so this is going to be tough.  Exercise, diet, blah blah blah.  But the biggest thing for me is willpower.  I have to want to lose that weight enough to commit to better choices, and stick to them.  That's always been my problem, and something I need to overcome.  And when I take a step backwards, I can't give up.  Which is why I can't totally change all my terrible habits and lifestyle choices overnight.  It has to be a slow and gradual transition to something better.  Let's see how I get on.  I will aim to revisit this resolution in this blog on the last day of every month.

Song of the Week #38

For the end of the year, something from one of the best bands of their era.  Maybe not one of their best known songs but one that has been covered extensively, one that has been used extensively in TV show finales, and one that seems appropriate to welcoming in a new and hopefully better year.

Sense of Humor

I don't know whether this is a symptom of this year, or whether my sense of humor has evolved over time - but I'm finding that things I used to find funny are no longer funny.  In particular, I'm thinking of Channel 4 panel shows.  For example, I tried to watch the Big Fat Quiz of the Year on YouTube.  I've enjoyed these in the past, and this one featured some comedians who I have traditionally liked - but this time round, I found it almost unwatchable and couldn't finish it.  Same goes for 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.  Has my sense of humor changed?  Has it disappeared?  No, that definitely can't be it because there are still some shows (Taskmaster) and many podcasts that I enjoy and find very funny.  But the vast majority of these tend to be American now, so perhaps my sense of humor has become Americanized?  That is disturbing.  That might explain why I'm spelling humor instinctively without the u now.   

Resolution

My last burger and fries of the year today.  And it might also be my last burger and fries for a while.  A new year's resolution is to eat more "sensibly".  I've purposely made that subjective and ambiguous, but I do want to make more of an effort to cut down on fast food - especially when the weather stinks and I'm not going out for any exercise.  I'm not going to eliminate fast food totally - but I will have it less regularly, and I will be more sensible in the size of portions.  I give it 2 weeks before I totally break this resolution.       

Palace - oh dear

The less said about the Palace results over the festive period so far, the better.  Never a high scoring team, it's a bit alarming that we've gone so long without keeping a clean sheet (and shipping a lot of goals at the moment).  On the opposite side of things, lots of fireworks in the neighborhood tonight as Seattle won and sealed their division win.  I think the NFL playoffs are expanded and different this year, and only the #1 seed gets a bye - and Seattle are not the #1 seed on the NFC side, so much tougher to get to the Superbowl if you're not the #1.  A very interesting year for Seattle - started as an offensive juggernaut with a shockingly poor defense, and now they don't score nearly as much but have a much stronger defense.  If they can put it together, they could go far.   

And an update - feeling very pleased with myself, as I think I fixed a lot of my TV audio issues.  I realized that a splitter I use might be causing the issue following a firmware update on the TV.  And sure enough, when I eliminate that then I don't seem to get the intermittent sound issues anymore.  I notice I still get some stutter in the picture when I try to watch Wonder Woman via HBO Max on Roku - but I think that is more to do with the volume of people accessing their server, than anything to do with the equipment on my end.  I don't think this is going to stop me from upgrading my telly and soundbar - kind of fed up with having to deal with one issue or another.  The only reason I use the splitter in the first place is because of an another issue to do with audio lag - nothing more annoying than not being able to get a picture synced with the audio.  You'd think TV companies would latch onto the fact that if they included a decent sound system with their product then it would be so much more appealing - seems like a terrible oversight (though I suspect more an unofficial agreement between the TV manufacturers and the audio equipment manufacturers).

12 Films

A bit convoluted, but my version of the 12 Days of Christmas is to watch 12 films over the Christmas period before I go back to work.  I've done 3 films so far.  Ford vs Ferrari - a good old-fashioned, if somewhat one-dimensional, film - 3.5 stars.  Doctor Sleep - a perfectly okay film for what it was, but loses a star because it is sacrilegious to make a sequel to The Shining 40 years later - 2.5 stars.  And yesterday I watched Wonder Woman 1984 on the day of it's premiere - a perfect example of the serviceable but ultimately vacuous and unmemorable film from one of the cinematic universes we have today - 2 stars.  I wanted to watch it in 4K and with Dolby Atmos sound - because I have the telly and soundbar that play these formats.  But after much faffing around, it doesn't appear I have the actual combination of equipment that enable me to do so.  Which is extremely disappointing.  And then I got trapped down a rabbit hole of playing around with all my settings to see what my set up can and can't do.  And I have come to the sad conclusion that my TV isn't even compatible with my soundbar for playing any sort of Dolby Atmos sound.  Worse, I don't seem to be able to play audio from any of my streaming apps without the sound cutting out intermittently every 10 seconds or so.  Which is devastating.  I've been having a lot of doubts about my telly already - despite not having had it that long - and I think this might be the final straw.  This is undoubtedly going to consume so much of my time over the next week, as I am convinced it is fixable - though it is just as likely to be a bug in the firmware somewhere.  I might refine this - but I think I'm going to make it a new year's resolution to combine all of the following next year: cut the cord, get a PS5, get a better telly and get a better soundbar.  Let's hope I get a decent annual bonus to pay for all this (unlikely).    

Merry Christmas

A Christmas alone.  Not how you want to spend it.  You know what I missed most?  Maybe waking up to a sackful of presents from Santa at the bottom of the bed.  Maybe playing cards with all the family, particularly Grandpa who played with such amusing reckless abandon.  But no, I think it's the food I missed - and miss - the most.  I think the Christmas Day meal was, and is, my favorite meal of the year - something that Mum slaved over for hours with so little appreciation.  Well I appreciate it now!  Exactly like Thanksgiving, I wasn't prepared to cook a massive meal with all the trimmings just for myself.  Unlike Thanksgiving, there are a lot less places here that offer take out Christmas dinners.  In the end, I picked up a pre-cooked dinner from a local Irish bar/restaurant a few days ago - so all I needed to do was heat it up today.  It was perfectly nice, but it doesn't compare to Mum's home cooking!  As with a lot of American meals, it came with a side salad that was almost a meal in itself - so much so, that I had the salad for lunch and the main meal for dinner.  I doubt it was a real Irish Christmas meal, here is what it consisted of (verbatim from the website):

- Hand Cut Holiday Glazed Ham

- Au Gratin Smashed Potatoes

- Broccolini with Bacon

- Cider Spiced Braised Cabbage

- Emerald Salad with Fruit and Candied Nuts

- O'Donnell's Soda Bread

Make of that what you will.  They don't do Christmas Pudding in America.  So I also ordered some Bread Pudding, which is about as close as I can get.  I'm feeling pleasantly stuffed now, but of course a Skype call today can't make up for the lack of company.  I'm going to try to ensure that doesn't happen again for any future Christmases.

Childhood Memories

I went for a Christmas Eve walk round the neighborhood today.  It's still extremely cold, so this turned into a treacherous adventure with plenty of opportunities for me to "hilariously" slip over and fall on my ass.  I'm not going to have a white Christmas here, but there's still plenty of icy snow lingering on the ground long after I mentioned that snowfall we got a few days back.  But encountered a few things that triggered some nice childhood memories.  First of all, heard the shouts and laughter of some kids and encountered them sledging down a hill on what was left of the snow - brought back a good memory of doing the same thing in Hertford on the rare occasion it snowed there.  And a bit later on, saw and smelt some backyard bonfires - and that brought back some nice memories of bonfires at the bottom of the garden growing up.  I think as a kid you're always kind of drawn to fire, but I always like that distinctive bonfire smell and I kind of like the fact it lingers in your clothes long afterwards.  I miss that.  And I miss the innocent joy of youth.  

Song of the Week #37

Something seasonal is required.  I think I've previously posted my favorite Christmas song, so time to go for something different.  So here is an American Christmas song that I'd never heard of before until the last few days when it was recommended on one of the podcasts I listen to.  And I have subsequently found out that a cover of this topped the UK charts last year, which I had absolutely no idea about and had never heard (and still haven't heard!).  However, this is the original and I'm sure it's better.

Rain (follow up)

A quick weather update - ended up getting somewhere between 1 and 2 inches of snow last night.  Fortunately it's warm enough that most of it had melted away today - but still a dusting of snow all over my yard.  Lynnwood, where I live, made the local headlines by having some of the worst flooding in the region after this storm.  A lot of major roadways - including ones that I frequent quite regularly - were flooded and closed yesterday.  But things have settled down now, and no more rain forecast until Christmas Day.

The governor of our state proclaimed a 14 day quarantine for visitors from the UK yesterday.  Now I'm really confused about what kind of restrictions were in place before then.  I know there were, and as far as I know still are, restrictions on the UK side when it comes to travel between the US and the UK.  Either way, I am not even going to consider international travel (or indeed any sort of air travel) until it is safe to do so and has returned to some semblance of normality (whatever that is).  And that probably means after I've been vaccinated.  I did get an e-mail from my doctor's office today saying that they will be one of the region's first health care organizations to receive doses of the vaccine.  I have absolutely no idea when they'll start giving them to us muggles, I'm sure I'm a long way down the priority list.  Surely having high blood pressure must count for something?!        

Rain

It didn't just rain today, it poured down today.  Just a really miserable day.  It was so dark that I don't think my outdoor Christmas lights, which are controlled by a light sensor, ever turned off.  At least it was just rain, at higher elevations towards the mountains and out towards the Canadian border I think that rain turned into snow.  But that hasn't stopped flooding and landslides - along with an official weather alert.  When you get rain like this, you notice the issues where you live.  I could hear water dripping in my fireplace - so my chimney has a small leak.  And my gutters need clearing, as I was getting torrents of water coming down off the roof where they were full of debris and couldn't handle the volume of rain.  How can I make this blog more positive?  Well at least it's just today that we have this bad weather - the rest of the week leading up to Christmas Day looks like good walking weather!      

Addendum: it is now a couple of hours later, and I've just looked outside and it's snowing heavily.  How very festive!  I don't think it's cold enough to really settle, but we shall see tomorrow morning.  

Positivity

I have, once again, been accused of being too negative in these blog posts.  I have a number of responses to this slanderous hit:

(a) Suck it up.  I am not a positive person, so this blog is only a reflection of who I am.  I'd rather be honest than write with fake positivity.

(b) With everything that has happened in 2020, it has not exactly been a year that promotes positivity.  In fact, you could probably go as far as saying that this might be the worst post-Second World War year in history - at least for first world countries.

(c) I've lived in a country that has had a leadership for the last 4 years that has promoted an agenda of hatred and divisiveness.  Hardly conducive to promoting positivity.  I do think that it will help when Biden takes over (accompanied with an end to the pandemic) - not just for me, but I hope for the country as a whole (marginalizing Trumpism is key).  

(d) Whatever this is:

Restrictions

With the news that a load of new restrictions are going to be imposed over the Christmas period on a significant part of the UK, I feel bad for all the people whose Christmas plans have been ruined.  Especially those who really need the company of others - that's tough.  I'll only say that a family get-together doesn't need to be restricted to just over Christmas - so as soon as the restrictions are lifted, hopefully you can have that get-together then.  To go to the extreme, I like the idea of having a Christmas type meal and then playing some card games and having some drinks outside on a nice warm summer evening.  So I'll just preach some patience!  At least the UK has some transparency on how it's handling the pandemic.  You certainly don't get that from the incompetent and thankfully outgoing leadership here.  I don't have a clue what's going on with the spread of the virus here - on either a national or local level.  I'm not entirely sure what phase I'm under now (which is our local equivalent to the tiers you have in the UK) and how much the rate of infections/deaths has increased over the last few months - and I have no idea how Washington or Seattle compares to other states or cities (I don't think we're a hot spot thankfully).  I doubt we'd ever be told if or when there was a variant and more infectious strain of the virus.  We don't have an "R" number here (I actually had to look it up just now to know exactly what it stood for).  I mean people are still refusing to acknowledge that there is even a pandemic going on.  I know that Biden wants to do some kind of 100 day mask thing when he goes into the White House, but good luck with that when a lot of people will never wear a mask let alone have a vaccination (inexplicably considering them an infringement on their civil liberties, or some such BS).  To the surprise of no one, the distribution and availability of vaccinations has already been totally botched by the federal government - much like PPE protection and other hospital equipment, making it the responsibility of each state to acquire it's own supplies is a recipe for disaster.  I still have absolutely no idea how it's being rolled out.  It's absolutely shocking how bad the American leadership has been in dealing with this tragedy.  And all Trump is doing is still, excuse my French, f*cking whining about the election that he lost.  It enrages me.  As does all the Republican leadership who still refuse to acknowledge Biden's win.  It's mind-blowing.  You think the Republican-controlled Senate is going to accept a single one of Biden's nominees for various positions in his government?  And don't even get me started on the lack of federal response to the large scale Russian cyber attack on American government.  It's treasonous.        

Random List

A random list of 10 presenters/comedians who I really don't like (a lot of whom are American and you've probably never heard of).  Give me a month or two, and I could probably come up with a list of 10 new people I don't like.  And if we're talking about anyone related to politics, then give me 5 minutes and I could probably come up with about 50 names.

Jimmy Fallon

Rutledge Wood

Scott Aukerman

Daniel Tosh

Erin Andrews

Dana White

Graham Norton

Jay Leno

Peter Kay

Brandi Kruse

Christmas Lights

I don’t go all in for outdoor Christmas decorations, especially not the tacky inflatable eyesores that Americans seem to prefer.  It's not a big deal because my home isn’t visible from the road, but I do have some lights hanging outside my front door.  They are basic cheap lights that I’ve had for quite a few years, so I guess it shouldn’t come as a surprise when they stop working.  And sure enough, today I noticed that a large section of the string wasn’t lit up – it was working when I first hung them up, but not now.  I tried replacing each bulb in that section one at a time, but no luck.  I don’t know if there is anything else I can do to try to figure out the issue – I didn’t notice that a squirrel or a raccoon or something had chewed through a wire – so I think this particular set of lights is done for and is going right in the trash in January.  I've just ordered some replacement lights (better, but still cheap), which I should probably have waited until they were on sale because I don't think I'll get them before Christmas.  Fortunately the section that isn’t working is at the end of the string, and the string is long enough, so I can kind of readjust how I hang it up so that the dead section is on the floor and the lighted sections hang symmetrically around my door.  But it still makes my “effort” at putting up lights very shameful, especially as my landlord next door (or at least one or more of his sons) has put up some very extravagant decorations that I don’t remember them having in years past. 

Shopping

Took a brief shopping excursion to Target this morning.  Even if it’s perceived to be the fashionable alternative to Walmart, It’s not a department store I tend to frequent too much – I find it overpriced and overrated.  But, for whatever reason, I wanted to have a wander round it this morning.  And once again I was remarkably underwhelmed by what it had to offer – yet it was inexplicably very crowded.  It seems to be the store of choice for soccer moms – nothing like the blue collar/Trump supporting crowd you get at Walmart.  I’m trying to think about how to compare it to the UK – if Walmart is Asda, then Target is Sainsburys (and Whole Food Market is Waitrose and, I guess, Kroger is Tesco).  But walking out of Target empty-handed, I decided to check out the Cost Plus World Market next door.  Now this is a weird store, seemingly selling only home furnishings and some international foods – I have no idea how it is still in business, especially during a pandemic.  But, much to my delight, I was able to get some nice UK-themed treats for Christmas – some After Eights, some Quality Street and a Terry’s chocolate egg.  As I was checking out the Terry’s packaging, I was stunned to notice that it was made in France – what the hell, I thought it was a quintessentially English confectionery?  Some quick internet research reveals that they haven’t been made in the UK since 2005.  So at least you can’t blame Brexit for this one.

Song of the Week #36

This is long overdue, but it's time to go hard.  Feel the emotion and fury on this classic - another song that hasn't lost any irrelevancy over time.

 

Impact

I’m not an expert on the latest happenings with regards Brexit – if you’re in the UK, then I’m sure you’re consuming a lot more news about it than me.  In fact, you’re probably generally consuming a lot more news than me – I just find current affairs too depressing, particularly American politics and anything to do with Trump and Trumpism, so I am considering most of it just noise and ignoring it.  However, I encountered something at work that relates to Brexit, and I found it kind of interesting.  I am working on a clinical trial that is due to start recruiting subjects next year.  The plan was to include subjects from the UK in the clinical trial.  But – and this was explicitly stated multiple times in meetings – due to Brexit, then the UK will no longer be considered for recruitment in the clinical trial.  Too much additional work and too many unknowns when it comes to dealing with the UK in a post-Brexit world.  I know this is the tiniest of tiny things – but if you consider that there are probably millions and millions of similar decisions being made across all manner of fields and industries, then the overall impact in the UK will surely be felt.  2020 has unequivocally been a sh*t year.  But I think 2021 could be equally bad in the UK as the consequences of Brexit start to hit.  Good luck with that. 

Cookies

I was looking for a small storage container among all my other stuff today, and came across a couple of old seasonal Cadbury Cookies tins.  And I quickly got a real yearning for buying another one of these.  "An assortment of delicious cookies covered in Cadbury milk chocolate."  But after a frantic internet search, I can't find these things anywhere - I don't think they're sold anymore.  Not even in the UK, not even when I substitute biscuits for cookies in the internet search.  This is devastating - how am I going to satisfy my craving now?  There are alternatives - think McVitie's Victoria Classic Biscuit Collection or Fox's Chocolatey Selection etc.  But these are all overpriced UK imports that won't arrive by Christmas - I got these Cadbury's tins in the US, and probably from somewhere like Walmart.  One of the tins has a best before date of 2016, so this wasn't that long ago.  But alas I guess they didn't sell well and American consumers' tastes have moved on, even if mine haven't.                

Suspicious

It would have been my office Christmas party last night.  Sometimes I go to these, most years I don't bother.  I think I would have gone this year (if I wasn't back in the UK), because it was being held at some venue featuring trapeze artists - the idea of eating a Christmas meal with some trapeze artists flying above you sounds kind of cool.  But obviously it didn't happen this year.  Instead, I think every full time employee at the site is being given some money.  But the math (yes, intentional Americanism alert) doesn't work out.  Supposedly we are getting $25 each.  I don't exactly know how many employees in the Seattle office we have now, but it's certainly no more than 200.  And 200 multiplied by $25 is $5000.  There is no way that the cost of the venue, the cost of the food and drink, the cost of the raffle prizes, and the cost of everything else that goes into the party is anywhere near $5000 or less.  It has to be way way more.  So somebody somewhere is pocketing the rest - very dodgy.  It's not the only instance of this at work.  I know that the table tennis club has a budget - but that has had zero outlay this year.  I'm very suspicious of the Chinese guy in charge of this money - in previous years he's spent most of this money on things we don't need (like a new table and a table tennis robot), over the objections of me and several other people.  We haven't even had any gift cards through the club (that I know other clubs at work have had) - so where has all that money gone?  My cynicism is through the roof on all of this.        

Raffle Winner

Hooray, I just found out that I'm one of the winners of a raffle at work.  Before I tell you what my prize is, this needs some context.  The raffle was part of "Safety and Sustainability Week" at work, and I was entered because I completed a stupid quiz and attended a crappy talk about recycling or something that I don't even remember.  Also, it's important to know that I didn't win the first place prize or the second place prize - I won one of the 60+ third place prizes.  So dampen your expectations.  And dampen your expectations even further when I tell you that the first place prize was an emergency roadside kit, and the second place prize was a filtration water bottle.  Considering that, any ideas what I might have won?  I almost guarantee that you will never guess it.  I won ...... some wool dryer balls.  Just what I've always wanted - to "help eliminate the use of fabric softener and reduce clothing drying time".  And a quick look on Amazon reveals that my prize retails for the huge price of $7.99.  But I'm a winner, baby!        

Tennis Elbow

I'm going to sound like an old man, but as I've got older I've started to suffer from all kind of aches and pains.  Back ache, migraines, muscle aches, digestive trouble, coughs, and so on.  Obviously when some of these are covid-type symptoms, and more than one of them are occurring simultaneously, then I start to worry.  I've either been very lucky or I don't think I've been infected with covid yet, because I've certainly not shown any severe symptoms.  But the ailment I'm currently suffering from is, I think, tennis elbow.  And it is giving me a lot of grief - it can be quite painful, and I do notice a decrease in muscle strength in that arm.  If it persists through into the new year, then I shall have to see a doctor about it.  And it'll have to be a new doctor - since I don't think my current doctor is practicing any more.  As I get closer to a time when I start needing to have regular prostate exams, then I need to find a new doctor I can trust!  

Song of the Week #35

A classic from a band who is great and whose music crossed all kinds of genres.  This is an early one from their punk rock period, and you will definitely recognize that iconic bass line.

More WFH Expenses

As part of my company's working from home assistance, we can expense for "increased utility costs" due to WFH.  This is not something I'd bothered with before - the increase in the amount I was paying seemed negligible, maybe due to year-to-year variability or an increase in how much they charge.  But that changed when I got my electricity bill today, which was shockingly high.  The cost of keeping my house heated all day has seemingly made a big difference - something I would obviously not notice during those warmer months.  So, after consulting my manager about my intentions, I have submitted an expense report today for the difference between what I've been paying since starting WFH (9 month ago! - good grief) and the equivalent months from last year (which added up to not an insignificant amount).  It will be very interesting to see if these expenses get approved...    

Hiking Etiquette

I think it might be time to start wearing a face mask all the time even when I'm hiking outdoors.  I went to a nearby state park for a walk over lunchtime - and it was a lot busier than normal.  I don't tend to put a mask on unless I see a family approaching me - but when I don't, typically there are 2 extreme reactions of people when I encounter them on a trail.  They either grapple for their own mask and scramble into the undergrowth to get as far away as they can from me.  Alternatively, they don't change their path - not even going to the side of the trail - and brush past me.  The first is ridiculous, the second is just plain infuriating.  So I've just got some breathable masks for exercising, which I'm going to start using - and I don't want the hassle of taking the mask on and off all the time, especially considering the number of people I encountered today, so I might just keep it on no matter how stupid I look.  Not sure why it was as busy as it was - perhaps because I hiked a bit later than normal, perhaps because we have a lot more rain in the forecast.  I also wonder whether it was some kind of day out for a local loony bin - I encountered a lot of strange people: someone who was inexplicably carrying a lot of fern that they'd hacked from the forest floor, some guy who was in way too short shorts and some crazy lady who was wondering about way off the trail chattering to herself.  Very odd.  What was also frustrating was that I was walking the trails in the "correct" direction - i.e. following the signage.  So almost all the people I encountered were walking the "wrong" way - I guess there is no way of enforcing this (though I know of at least one popular trail where they are doing this), but it's tempting just to make the trails 1-way to avoid this kind of contact.  It's sad when even the most simple form of exercise - a walk - is so compromised nowadays.       

Christmas Cards

I need to step up my Christmas card game.  The cards I'm sending out this year are decidedly mediocre and decidedly cheap (I got them in the post-Christmas sales a while ago) - and that's not acceptable when I'm shelling out so much money just to post these things to the UK ($1.20 is the current going rate for an international stamp).  When the stamp is far more expensive than the card, then you know that something is fundamentally wrong.  So my apologies for anyone reading this who receives a card from me - I know I can and should do better.  Contrarily, the whole exercise of sending out Christmas cards seems quite unnecessary and dated in today's age - wouldn't just a simple e-mail suffice?  I don't know, it's nice to get something personal via slow mail nowadays and I like getting a Christmas card where clearly someone has made a bit of an effort.  However, rest assured I won't send you a card in the future with my ugly mug on it.    

The Islands

My landlord has gone away to Hawaii for 2 weeks, and I was kind of thrown by that.  I thought Hawaii had a 14 day quarantine period for any visitors, even those traveling from the mainland - so I looked it up.  And apparently, to visit most of the islands (not all of them) you can avoid the quarantine period with a negative COVID test.  Which is interesting to know.  I'm not sure I'm prepared to face the joys of an internal flight just yet, but Hawaii is somewhere I would like to go and definitely an option if winter here starts to become too much of a downer.  However, it is kind of depressing to read about a couple who recently took a flight there with their young child despite knowing that they had positive COVID tests - they deserved to get arrested, and I hope they get locked up for a long time.  Imagine you were on that flight and found that out...

Beach Hikes

We've had some unseasonably pleasant weather here for the last week - for the most part beautiful sunny clear skies.  So with a light workload, I took the opportunity to take a few days off work to make the most of the weather.  And I did a couple of exposed hikes to get some natural Vitamin D - one hike on Whidbey Island (Deception Pass State Park), and the other on Camano Island (Cama Beach State Park).  I've been to both parks before, but not necessarily the specific hikes I did this time.  In both cases, wanted to do quite a lot of hiking by the water - because nothing beats having an entire beach almost to yourself with the sun shining down on you.  Very therapeutic - it makes me so want to live by the water when I retire.  And walking on a rocky beach is definitely better exercise than just normal walking - my legs were plenty sore afterwards.  I'm sure I've posted some variants of the same views in previous blogs, but here are some more photos:

His Dark Materials

Having just watched the most recent episode of His Dark Materials today, I have reached a sad conclusion about this show - it isn't particularly good.  I want to like the show, I really do, but I have to accept the simple fact that I don't.  Maybe that's too harsh - I mean it's fine, but it's not like really good and I wouldn't miss it if it was canceled.  Kind of reminds me of one of those early Sunday evening dramas on BBC1 - maybe because it has children as the leads, maybe because it still feels kind of cheap despite the huge production costs.  Personally, I think it would have been much better with less kids and more adults - don't take away the importance of the kids, but only have them as secondary or peripheral characters.  Either way, I've heard so much about how good the source material is that I've recently ordered the trilogy of books from Amazon.  I need to start reading again more regularly, so what better choice than some (young adult?) fantasy novels with some big themes.       

Scam Phone Calls

The frequency of scam phone calls I've been getting recently seems to have significantly increased.  And I'm so fed up with it.  To the extent that unless it's someone I know, I don't even bother answering my phone anymore and instead let it go to voicemail.  That seems to do the trick most of the time.  That changed this morning, when I received a phone call before 7 am (!) from a number I didn't recognize that originated from Jesup, Georgia (?!) that actually did leave a voicemail.  The computer voice (what, not an actual real person?!? The shock.) told me that they were calling from my "legal attorney's general office" to "put aside my work immediately" and to call the number back so they can "discuss resolution of my legal case" otherwise "an arrest warrant will be issued against my name".  What a load of horseshit.  I think in the past they've told me that my social security number has been suspended due to criminal activity, or some other such nonsense involving my social security number that needs my immediate attention.  Jeez, can't these phone companies who are raking in these huge profits do something about this.  Kind of ridiculous.  Having seen someone close fall victim to a scam, these people really are scum of the earth.    

Song of the Week #34

Back to the well with something from the late 90's/early 00's.  And, fun fact, they are yet another band from the Pacific NW, but Portland rather than Seattle. 

 

Facial Hair Update

The last day of the month = the last day with this mustache.  Thank god.  First thing tomorrow it's getting shaved off, and that can't come soon enough.  I'm so self-conscious about it now that it's started to affect my desire to leave the house without wearing a mask.  I think it looks stupid and doesn't suit me at all, and I'm never growing one again.  All the ridicule I've received from friends and family have obviously not influenced my decision.  At all....  My inability to grow a nice thick mustache is also a significant influencing factor.  As, I suspect, is the fact that my dad had a mustache - that is some deep psychology that I have absolutely no interest in examining further right now.  

Guilty Pleasure

There is one TV show that I am ashamed to say that I continue to watch if there is nothing better on or if I want something on while most of my concentration is directed elsewhere.  And that is The Big Bang Theory.  I think apart from the last few seasons, I've probably seen every episode at least once - and probably most of them numerous times.  The earlier seasons - before the introduction of Bernadette and Amy - are by far the best, and the later seasons - when everyone is just phoning it in and collecting their huge paychecks - are by far the worst.  Now that the show is syndicated, it is aired on so many channels that almost any time of day you're guaranteed to find it.  If I'm going to be totally honest, it does have some truly funny moments - but for the most part it is utter trash.    Yet I continue to put it on.  What is wrong with me?  That was a rhetorical question.

It's On Again

Oh no.  Opened the curtains this morning, looked outside, and what was the first thing I saw?  Something that fills me with apprehension and dread.  The source of a lot of time and trouble.  A battle that has already been won once, but apparently not the war.  Yep, it was a big ole molehill.  The first new one since traps were successfully deployed earlier this year.  Oh joy, now we've got to deal with this all over again.    

Relic

I recently received something that I ordered over a year ago, and it might be my favorite 007 relic so far.

Yes, an actual Golden Gun that you can put together.  It ticks all the boxes - iconic, limited edition, already sold out, and looks good.  I probably overpaid, whatever.    

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all!  A time for millions of Americans to travel and congregate in large gatherings, despite all pandemic advice to the contrary, and inevitably cause an even higher spike in cases.  And for what?  To celebrate the pilgrims coming to America only to kill all the Native Americans with smallpox or guns.  It's always nice to have a few official days off work - but not exactly a big deal when you're generally not overwhelmed with work anyway.  But today has not got off to a good start.  I fancied having a proper Thanksgiving meal today, but I didn't fancy having to cook it.  So I pre-ordered a meal from a local restaurant, and was due to pick it up this lunchtime.  But then got an e-mail this morning saying that my order had not gone through.  No explanation as to why, and the link in the e-mail to re-submit my order didn't work.  Great.  Fortunately I was able to submit a new order from their website that did seem to work - though now I am having a Thanksgiving evening meal rather than a lunchtime meal since my old pickup time was no longer available.  It had better be worth it.  I'm already worried about being charged twice.  If I decide to do the same thing for a Christmas dinner, then I might try somewhere else.       

Plumbing

My DIY skills were put to the test today, with mixed success.  I noticed that my shower was leaking a little bit, and I had a spare shower head set from my previous abode - so decided to replace one with the other.  After initially making things worse, I realized I was missing a rubber washer and duly found one and fixed the issue - it's amazing how such a small little thing can make a huge amount of difference.   I think I have a better pressure shower now that doesn't leak, and was feeling very pleased with myself.  So decided to try to fix another issue for myself.  Pride comes before a fall.  And for such a small thing - I wanted to try to fix the washing liquid dispenser built into the kitchen sink, that doesn't actually dispense washing up liquid.  And in fact, I have made this worse.  I can't seem to fix the dispenser - the mechanism is probably clogged up with years of use and needs to be replaced.  And now the whole fixture is loose in the sink and I'm totally unable to tighten it up - I need a wrench that I don't have or a second person to help.  Time to call my landlord I think (after Thanksgiving - don't exactly want to take him away from his family for Thanksgiving for something so insignificant).

Proof

This little guy lingered on my feeder yesterday for a good 20 minutes, so I took the opportunity to snap a quick shot to prove that he really does exist.  I didn't want to get too close in case I scared him off, but apparently I need to get a phone with a better camera, or at least a better zoom....!

Songs of the Week #33

Note the plural in the title of this post - I had difficulty choosing just the one tune, so I've plumped for 3 instead.  A special birthday selection for someone who reads this blog and who likes their guitar loud and iconic.  Here are 3 classic riffs from the "unholy trinity" of heavy metal.  

Football (American)

I'm not watching nearly as much American Football as I used to - but I did catch some of the Sunday night game featuring the Raiders.  And it was weird.  Not the Los Angeles Raiders.  Not the Oakland Raiders.  But the Las Vegas Raiders.  Yes, now Las Vegas has a football team and San Diego does not.  It just doesn't feel right.  No fireworks today - but not because Seattle lost.  They actually played on Thursday night (don't even get me started on why a Thursday and not say a Saturday night).  And, sure enough, someone set off some fireworks after they won then.  I think Seattle will make the playoffs, but I think they will get torched by one of the better teams - their defense is porous to say the least.         

Legacy

I think we all knew that, as Edward Norton succinctly put it, Trump is a whiny bitch.  So I am not in the least bit surprised that he has yet to concede defeat.  I don't know, and I don't care, if it is because he is stupid enough to actually believe that he won the election or if it is because he is pig-headed enough to refuse to accept that he lost.  But when it starts to compromise things like national security or the timeline for the eventual roll out of the vaccine, then that is a serious point of concern.  It is not so much Trump that concerns me - since we wouldn't and didn't expect any different.  It's the people that enable his behavior to go on that really annoy me.  In particular, the Republican Party.  As Trump continues to lose all these ridiculous lawsuits, and make all these unsubstantiated and dangerous claims about voter fraud and other such nonsense - the Republican Party's lack of response is deafening.  And really regrettable - it undermines democracy, and continues to empower large swatches of the American population to refuse to accept the legitimate results of the election.  I have serious worries about what kind of unrest there might be when Biden is eventually sworn in.  I think the media also have a roll to play in this - Trump shouldn't be allowed to continue to have a Twitter account, and media shouldn't continue to report on Trump if he has nothing legitimate to say - which he doesn't.  Take away his headlines and you take away his lies.  This should be a time of celebration as we look forward to a new presidency after an extremely divisive and tumultuous last 4 years - but instead I continue to be profoundly depressed at how low American politics has become.      

Visitor

I had an intruder come up to my house this week.  As we made eye contact through the kitchen window, I don't know who was more surprised. 

Insurance

Well, apparently my dental insurance doesn't pay for everything.  I just received a letter from my dentists saying that I owe then $400, because it looks like I maxed out my insurance and I have to pay out-of-pocket for the remaining balance.  Which is disappointing, to say the least.  Do I blame myself for not checking what my annual maximum was that my insurance will pay?  Do I blame the dentists for not actually letting me know what the real cost of all the dental services I received would be to me?  Yes and yes.  I guess I won't be going to the dentists again this year.  Let's hope no one punches me in the mouth.  Like if we're fighting over the last pack of toilet rolls in the supermarket.  Yes, once again there is a shortage - unbelievable.         

Song of the Week #32

This week, a Motown classic.  Whose lyrics, nearly 50 years after it's initial release, are still terrifyingly pertinent.

Corporate Speak

I had to skip out of a meeting at work this afternoon.  I just couldn't take it.  It was about "leadership commitments" - and just full of absolute BS.  You know, all those kind of HR buzzwords and statements that are supposed to improve our "corporate culture".  I probably shouldn't share this, but these are the 5 commitments that have been newly introduced and imposed on us: "I am bold in aspiration and agile in execution", "I care and make time for people", "I listen, speak openly, and explain the 'why'", "I trust others and myself to make sound decisions" and "I own the impact of my words and actions".  I lasted 10 minutes, and as soon as they started talking about splitting us up into small breakout groups I was done.  If it was one of those meetings where you could just kind of zone out while they prattle on about all this nonsense, then that would be fine.  But if they actually want me to contribute to some sort of small group discussion - then nope I'm out of here.  I hate any sort of interactive meeting like this, especially on a topic that I don't find interesting or useful - you can't teach an old new tricks, and I'm an old dog at this stage of my working life.  It's just so fake and as I get older it gets increasingly more difficult to hide my disdain at change.  There might be some repercussions with my dropping out of the meeting - after all, my boss is one of the presenters!  Our 1-1 later this week could get a bit awkward.  Hmmm, I might have to go with the "Oh no, my internet connection suddenly dropped" excuse...    

Jigsaw #1

Yes, it has come to this - completion of not just any old boring jigsaw, but a 3d one.

I must confess that I have owned this puzzle for a while now so this is not my first time putting it together.  But I forgot how challenging it is and how big the end product is (so big that the top of the spire is not in focus in the photo!).   

Restrictions

As the virus continues to surge in the US, and the lack of federal response is utterly shameful, states are having to pass their own restrictions.  And our State Governor just announced a load of new restrictions today - notably a ban on most kinds of indoor social gatherings such as dining, and an occupancy limit on most retail stores.  I guess this means I might need to start going to the grocery store early again!  I hope this doesn't result in panic-buying of toilet paper and suchlike again.  I don't think so.  These restrictions aren't as dramatic as the ones we had earlier in the year - but frankly I think they should be as the rate of infection is much higher than before.  And I have absolutely no doubts that most Americans will blatantly flout these rules as friends and families gather together to celebrate Thanksgiving soon, and then Christmas.  I think things will get a lot worse before they get better again.      

Regional Transit Authority Tax

I moaned about this last year, and I'm going to moan about it this year, but it's time to renew the license plates on my car and the fee is still absolutely outrageous.  And it's all due to this "regional transit authority tax" - essentially I'm contributing to the light rail extension that is being built around Greater Seattle that I'm probably never going to use.  It's a great idea - but the transit centers will have wildly inadequate parking (as they do now), rendering them utterly useless for most people - including me.  So so stupid.  The only way the extension affects me is that all the construction causes road closures/delays that messes up the traffic.  But anyway, coming back to the tax - you're supposed to pay 1.1% of what your car is worth when you renew your license.  But the way in which they calculate this is notoriously inaccurate - it's based on some sort of depreciation schedule that does in no way actually reflect how much your car is worth.  For example, I'm paying a $173.00 tax, so that evaluates my car as worth about $15,700.  I know for a fact that it is worth something nearer to $13,000 (from a car vehicle report that I regularly receive).  That difference is not insignificant.  What a rip off.  What makes it worse is that last year an initiative was put to the vote and passed for capping the car tab fee at $30 (something I would probably have voted in favor of as well).  But first it was blocked in the courts and then ruled unconstitutional.  So the voter-approved measure never got implemented - what a disgrace.  I appreciate that we need to pay something for road maintenance and suchlike, but I'm not happy about having to pay for these huge and expensive and questionable mass transit projects (that I suspect will do absolutely nothing to help the increasingly worse traffic here).  The light rail from the airport to downtown is already a total bust - hardly anybody uses it - so do we really expect things to be any different when the service is extended to other areas?  I'll answer that - nope.    

WTF WFH

For the first time, it really crossed my mind that I would consider working from home permanently.  We got notified today that we are now required to work from home until April.  So that will be an entire year stuck at home.  And with the way things are going in the US (don't even get me started on the political situation here which we all saw coming but which is still despicable, and which is only hindering the pandemic response), I think going back to the office in April is extremely optimistic.  Hopefully at some point next year we will be allowed to go back to the office, but we will probably be given the choice not to.  Which is why I wonder whether further down the line we might be given the choice to permanently work from home.  Which is something I would consider now - unthinkable 9 months ago.  And if I was to do it I would definitely move - somewhere by the coast and somewhere I could own a dog.  I did pop into the office today (probably my last time for a very long while) to pick up a package - a package that I ordered over a year ago, which is why it got delivered to the office (and the contents of which I'm sure I'll blog about in the future).  But the office just seems so alien to me - quiet, nobody there (at least on my floor), and very unwelcoming.  And the neighborhood has changed - I took the opportunity to grab a sandwich for lunch at a place near work that I used to go to regularly (once or twice a week).  And it is totally different - it has undergone refurbishment, and what used to be a cheap and expansive sandwich selection in the deli there has been replaced by a limited and vastly more expensive choice.  Extremely disappointing - and even when office workers start to come back to the area, I don't see it getting any better.  Another place to cross off my list - my lunch choices should I ever return to the office have started to become very limited.          

Car Service

A good day, I was able to cross another thing off my to-do list - something that was long overdue.  And that was getting my car serviced.  There doesn't seem to be much wrong with my car - not too much of a surprise since it's getting so little use at the moment - but I still feel I got ripped off.  Might be time to start going to an independent mechanic rather than a dealer.  I don't know whether this is entirely due to the pandemic, but the wait time to get an appointment (3 weeks) and the wait time for the actual appointment (they said 1 hour, I was there for about 3 hours) were absolutely horrendous.  Especially as waiting in the customer lounge there was a nightmare.  It was full of old people chattering away - not all of whom seemed to be waiting for their car.  It was very weird, like they just meet there every day to get some free coffee and catch up on their day's gossip.  And let's just say that their ability to social distance and keep their masks on was "inconsistent".  As soon as they started talking politics and disparaging Biden, I was out of there.       

Glasses

I've been wearing my new glasses for a few weeks now, and I have some thoughts on them.  This is my first time with photochromic lenses, and I don't like them.  For example, I went for a neighborhood walk this afternoon, and the lenses darkened even though it was a grey and overcast day.  I don't like seeing the world through this filter when it is totally unnecessary.  I think I'm just going to get some prescription sunglasses instead in the future.  This is also my first time with progressive lenses, and they have taken a lot of getting used to.  There are still occasions when it take me a while to focus on things properly.  And as for the glasses themselves, I worry that they don't fit properly because they often slide down my nose - but then all glasses I've ever owned have tended to do that, so I suspect that has more to do with my nose than the actual glasses.  However, I still feel like the frames are a bit cheap - I'm not sure if they're going to last, and I think I should have got a better brand.  I suspect I might end up wearing the glasses that I've just ordered online - even though they were cheaper and were only intended as backup.  But they are not photochromic, not progressive and may even look a bit better.  We shall see...

Song of the Week #31

I hadn't heard this song for over 25 years, which is kind of sad because I actually really like the band - and several of their other hits appear on various compilation albums I had (have?) on cassette.  Maybe if my music taste had evolved a few years before it actually did, I would really be into them - their chilled out dance vibe is very much in my wheelhouse.  And I did my research - fun fact, a Palace player is name-checked in the song because the lead singer is a Palace fan.

Attacked

One of my backyard hummingbirds may be getting too big for his britches.  I had refilled the feeder, and just as I stepped out my backdoor to return it the hummingbird starting hovering in front of my face, easily within arm's reach.  And then he decided to land on the feeder whilst I was still holding it and before I even had a chance to hang it back on it's stand.  Either he was very hungry, or he is not shy any more.  I'm saying he - which is very presumptuous of me.  And a quick google search reveals that it may actually be a she.  It was the bigger of the 2 hummingbirds that regularly frequent my feeder - I assume they are a couple - and the other one is a lot smaller and lot more skittish.  I guess by the fact that they're still here means that they are here to stay and are not migrating anywhere.  I'd like to get of photo of them, so I'll have to think about how to do that without scaring them away.   

Facial Hair

It seems to be a no-brainer to participate in Movember this year.  Since I'm wearing my mask most of the time when I interact with people, I can easily hide my pathetic facial hair growth.  I haven't shaved above my upper lip since the start of the month, but it's not exactly grown in yet - it looks more like something a Hispanic teenage boy would have.  And I hate it - it will get shaved off as soon as the month ends.  But outside my home, it will be rarely seen.  I've even just ordered some face masks to wear whilst exercising - I'm increasingly self-conscious about not having a face mask when I'm out hiking and I encounter other people on a trail who about 90% of the time have their mask on as they pass me.  I don't think it's necessary when the trails are often wide enough to accommodate both of us, but wearing a face mask is such a political statement here and I don't want to be seen as one of "those" people.       

Lockdown

There's no lockdown here (despite Washington State posting it's highest covid infection rates this week - over 1750 new cases today).  So what better time to go out for a dine in experience for what felt like the first time in months - and indeed was my first time in months.  Despite the increasing number of cases, Washington state actually loosened it's dining in restrictions last month.  It went from something like 5 people per table who had to come from the household, to 6 people per table regardless of household.  So I met up with some friends and colleagues (and ex-colleagues) for the first time in ages.  It was at a clubhouse attached to a golf course - I didn't join them for a round, I'm nowhere near ready for that - and fortunately there was hardly anybody there when we met up in mid-afternoon, so didn't feel particularly risky.  Good to catch up with my friends, and glad that everybody seems to be doing well.  God knows when the next time I'll be able to do something like this will be, particularly if the infection rates continue to get worse.      

Country Before Party

Blah blah blah, election, blah blah blah, time to put his big boy pants on, blah blah blah, an obese turtle on his back flailing in the hot sun, realizing his time is over, blah blah blah.  I'm sure you're as sick of all this as I am, and just want it over.  But Trump will cling onto power with his greasy little fingers for as long as he possibly can.  What a sore loser.  It's absolutely shameful the way his presidency is going down - and it's absolutely shameful that so many of the Republican Party continue to support, encourage and echo the baseless and dangerous rantings of this lunatic.  I think it's inevitable that one day I will become a US citizen, and have the right to vote here.  And when I do, I'm never going to vote for the Republican Party.  Never ever.  That is my stone cold promise right here right now.  I don't care if I increasingly lean right politically as I get older, it is just wildly irresponsible to challenge voting and democracy in the way they have in this election.  I just watched Biden's speech tonight, where he got about as close to declaring victory as he could without actually saying it - I obviously expect absolutely no reaction from Trump on that.  I think Biden is saying the right things about trying to bring the country together - even though I think that will be absolutely impossible to do while you have the likes of Fox News, conservative radio, Russian influence operations and QAnon - and in a nice touch someone nearby set off some fireworks after the speech.  I was hoping I might hear some fireworks on Tuesday night, but better late than never.

Song of the Week #30

Whilst there are people protesting to count every vote and people protesting to stop the counting, life must go on.  This week's song was written by David Bowie - and once you know that then there is no unhearing that in this classic.

Reaction

Although nothing has been confirmed yet, it seems like Biden has won the Presidency (which is good) but Republicans have retained the Senate (which is bad).  Some thoughts:

- My final prediction was spot on, though I take no comfort from that.

- The people who do the polling in the US should be ashamed of themselves.  For the second election in a row, they were shockingly so far off the mark.

- I had allowed a little bit of pre-election optimism to creep in, which was quickly crushed.  Never again, and never trust the American people.

- I see Trump has already submitted loads of lawsuits to challenge some of the vote counts.  What else would you expect from this thin-skinned asshole - he'll never concede defeat, even when he was legitimately defeated.

- Trump actually got more votes than he did in 2016, which is astounding to me.  I just don't understand the American psyche and how you could vote for him.  The government's lack of response to the pandemic resulting in thousand upon thousands of needless deaths should alone have condemned this government to have been crushed in a landslide.  I just don't get it.

- And the fact that so many Republican senators were re-elected is equally astounding to me.  Despite being vastly outspent, despite the outrageousness of confirming that Supreme Court judge in the week before the election, despite being a truly ghastly bunch of sycophants and weasels.  Unbelievable.  It means that if Biden wins the presidency, his ability to actually make much-needed changes is going to be significantly curtailed.

- In some ways, I guess in this shittiest of shit years that we should be grateful at all that Trump is seemingly going to be defeated - despite everything he's tried to stop that e.g. voter suppression, voter intimidation, Russian influence (which is still undoubtedly a thing), entirely false accusations of corruption and vote rigging, undermining counts, I'm sure a bunch of court challenges to come.

Now we have the joys of watching the results being challenged and dragged out in the courts for weeks and months to come.  Joy.  The day that Trump is not in the headlines will be a very happy one.  

Election Night

I'm writing this about 7 pm, I've turned off my phone, this will be the only time I go on the internet, and I shall not be watching any news tonight.  I have absolutely no intention of following the election results - if the early signs were good, I would have considered watching Fox News to enjoy their discomfort and unhappiness.  But alas, the very early signs were not promising, so I just cannot go through the agony of watching any of it.  I'll read the headlines tomorrow morning.   I thought I would spend the evening watching some DVR recordings, but there seems to be a bit of a pattern to some of the stuff I have been recording, none of which makes for appealing viewing tonight.  These are all genuine things I have on my DVR:

-  Agents of Chaos, a documentary about Russian interference in the 2016 election

- The Comey Rule, a drama about the former FBI director who got fired by Trump

- The Perfect Weapon, a documentary about cyber conflict

- 537 Votes, a documentary about the 2000 US election

- American Selfie: One Nation Shoots Itself, a documentary about the current state of America

- The Soul of America, a documentary comparing the current state of America to it's past

- The Campaigns That Made History, a documentary about historically important political contests

- Cats, the 2019 film based on the musical which I've already tried to watch twice and had to stop on both occasions because it was atrocious

Tense

A short post, I'm way too tense to compose something when so much is on the line tomorrow.  It feels like the future of the world is at stake.  The best result, Biden wins in a landslide and Democrats win control of the Senate.  The worst result, a repeat of 2016.  My final prediction - it will be a close one and somewhere between the two (and possibly nothing gets decided tomorrow).

Hates

A couple of my pet hates seem to have got worse since the start of the pandemic - and that is the amount of trash being thrown out by passing cars on the road at the bottom of my driveway, and the amount of cars speeding on that stretch of the road.  I think because I'm spending so much time at home, I'm a lot more attuned to the sound of cars going too fast.  And I'm almost OCD about checking whether any new trash has appeared near the bottom of the driveway since the day before.  The kind of trash varies - most commonly its fast food trash or empty cans of beer or energy drinks, but I've also come across rolled up newspapers that haven't been delivered, mail that looks as though it's been stolen, used masks, vehicle documentation, etc.  I'll go out and pick up the trash if need be - with my gloves and picker, it looks like I'm doing community service!  But since there aren't any sidewalks down there, at least it should make the cars slow down if they see me.  Though sometimes they don't, and if they pass too close to me then I will gesticulate at them (sometimes with 1 finger).      

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!  I wanted to post a clip of a famous SNL Halloween sketch.  It's well known in the US, but I'm not sure about the UK.  However I can't find the video when I search to insert it, so instead here is a link to it that you might need to copy and paste into a web browser.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS00xWnqwvI

It's an interesting one - incredibly silly, no idea why Tom Hanks agreed to do it, but is it really good or really bad?  I'll leave that up to you!

Opportunity (Not)

Got a message from my boss today asking if I could call her urgently.  Yikes, what would necessitate a phone call rather than an e-mail or instant message.  So got on the phone with her, and sure enough she told me she had some important news.  And...... found out that one of her other direct reports had quit, who had lots of direct reports of his own, so she was thinking she could assign me a direct report.  As this distinctly anticlimactic and underwhelming news sunk in, so did the realization that this wasn't something I asked for or wanted.  But my boss seemed remarkably positive about it all, calling it a great opportunity that I couldn't possibly say no to.  So I didn't say no.  But I think she picked up on some of my very obvious lack of enthusiasm, and so I've got the weekend to think about it now.  She said she'd be happy with whichever choice I made, but I don't believe that for one second.  However, I don't need the weekend to weigh up the pros and cons.  I'm not interested.  Yes, it might hold me back promotion-wise - but I've been thinking about that, and I'm happy with the level I'm at and I'm not ambitious to improve it (I think the next level up is Associate Director, and that is something I don't want).  I also don't want a direct report who is not located in the same office as me (admittedly, something that is totally meaningless when everyone is working from home now), a direct report that isn't in my career goals, a direct report that will only cause me more stress, and - just for the record - a direct report who is, naturally, Chinese.  Sorry, I'm not even hiding my racism here - but obviously I won't say that to my boss.  I don't think this decision is going to go down well, but I don't care.           

Graph

Pop quiz, what is this and what can you tell from it? 

Answer – it is my company’s share price over the last 5 years! What do I take from it? You don’t need to be a qualified statistician like me to detect the noticeable downward trend. And when is the lowest point? Why, it’s today. Yes, our company reached a new 5-year low (in fact, a new 7-year low) in our share price today. A lot of people are not very happy about this, including me. It means all the company shares I’ve accumulated over the last 10+ years via the Employee Stock Purchase Plan are not worth nearly as much (and this is not a piddling amount – we are talking hundreds of thousands of dollars, my nest egg and/or source of down payment should I finally ever buy a house). It means our company is valued a lot lower and more prone to being taken over. It increases the potential for layoffs. And it raises some serious questions about just how good our new CEO is. We actually had a company all-hands meetings this morning – and he barely touched on all the concerns about the low share price, instead touting our recent multi-billion buyout of an oncology company – in keeping with our recent history of vastly overpaying for something that we will never get our money back on. His optimism and sense of confidence seem increasingly forced and fake. I don’t think I’m alone in having some serious concerns about the future of our company – judging by the way that the new CEO has cleaned house via the number of people that had previously been here for a long time having voluntarily or involuntarily left, and been replaced by people predominantly from his previous company that don’t seem nearly as experienced or qualified, and losing our company’s identity as a result. All our previous success and expertise has been in virology, yet he seems to want to make us an oncology company much like his last place. In many ways, it’s quite ironic that we aren’t a successful virology company at a time when a virus is ravaging the world. Am I worried about my job and/or looking elsewhere for other job opportunities? No. Not yet anyway.

Song of the Week #29

I feel like it should be a classic this week.

Whoops

It's just gone past midnight, I'm in bed trying to get to sleep and I've just realized I've totally forgotten to post anything today.  Or technically yesterday now.  That's what happens (a) when you forget thanks to pandemic brain fog, (b) your laptop ran out of battery and you were recharging it in a different room and so you never saw it during the evening to remind you to post something, and (c) you don't have much to say anyway because your life is utterly devoid of anything worth sharing.  Now let's see if I can try to actually get a few hours of decent sleep....    

4K

I've been watching some of the baseball World Series currently going on.  Not because I particularly like baseball, but because it's also being broadcast in 4K.  Since I now have a 4K telly, it's an easy way to compare HD to 4K.  And the difference between the two is noticeable, but not particularly pronounced.  At least not as much as I hoped.  Admittedly I do have entirely different picture settings for HD and 4K, but still a little bit disappointing.  The other advantage of watching the broadcast in 4K is that, inexplicably, it doesn't have any adverts.  And boy, you realize just how much baseball - and all other American sports - is dominated by commercial interruptions.  I didn't think this was possible, but it makes an already interminably boring sport even more boring.  But still, I'd rather watch an empty shot of the stadium than constant adverts for beer and male erectile disorder medication.  Yes, the advertisers know their audience.    

Cold

We did have snow in the forecast, but it never materialized thankfully (it all fell east of the Cascades - so I think Spokane in East Washington set snowfall records for this time of year).  However, it was still bitingly cold today - below freezing overnight and around freezing during the day.  I think it's the first time I've ever seen us get a "frost advisory" in our weather forecast!  As I was going on a neighborhood walk this afternoon, I was suitably wrapped up and it felt like one of those clear and invigorating chilly winter days.  However, it still looked suitably autumnal (though Washington state is known for not having the best fall colors - hence The Evergreen State).

Relaxation

To help me sleep, which I'm still not doing particularly well, I've bought myself a small indoor fountain for my bedroom.  Nothing flashy or expensive, I wanted to test it out first and upgrade later if it works.  The sound of running water is nice and relaxing, as is the underwater light that casts a cool dancing pattern across the ceiling.  However, I worry that the sound of running water might make me more inclined to go to the toilet during the night!  We shall see.  

Green Card

With 6 months to go until my current Green Card expires, I applied for a new Green Card today.  It cost over $500 just to apply for the replacement.  What a rip off, especially for completing and submitting just the one form that I was able to do online (much easier compared to the volumes of paper forms I had to submit to apply for the Green Card initially 10 years ago - good job I kept most of this paperwork because it had some information that I needed for this application e.g. of all the US states, I would never have guessed that the state where my initial application was processed was Nebraska).  The processing time for this application is likely to be longer than 6 months.  Though thankfully less than what I anticipated, I just looked it up and it says 7.5 to 10.5 months.  So there will still be a period of time where I won't have a valid green card, and so international travel would be difficult (though I think you can apply to get a stamp in your passport that allows it).  But in all honesty, thanks to the pandemic, the American response to the pandemic and my pessimism I don't expect international travel to and from the US to be a viable option even in 2021.  So I don't imagine I'll have any travel plans next year that could be disrupted.  I have given, and continue to give, some serious consideration to applying for US citizenship, but for the moment I will stick to permanent residency - and consider citizenship again at some point during the next 10 years until it comes time to renewing again.     

Debate #2

I'm writing this literally as the debate is going on.  But I don't care, and I'm not watching it.  I might read some online pieces about it afterwards, but that's it.  I guess the mute button, if they use it, might make this debate a bit more civilized than the previous one - but a lie is still a lie, even if you speak it rather than shout it.  Less than 2 weeks to the election, thank god.  But I suspect a whole lot of BS before, during and after the election is still to occur.  Right now, I would say that I am slightly more optimistic that Trump will lose, but I don't trust the polls and I don't trust the American people.  As much as I'd like it to be a rout to send a clear message, I think it will be close - and I utterly dread the potential chaos and controversy that will inevitably happen afterwards if a certain orange buffoon loses it in a close one.   

Winter

Well, I think my plans to go up to Paradise in Mount Rainier before the official winter season starts seem unlikely.  A lot of the roads are already closed for the season - such as the one that goes up to Sunrise, which is the other main visitor site.  And this is a webcam view of the (closed) visitor center at Paradise this afternoon:

Nope, I shall not be going up there when it's like this - even though the forecast for this weekend is good.  And apparently it's going to get worse before the weekend - there's even some chance of lowland snow on Friday.  Yep, snow in mid-October in Seattle - thanks climate change.  

Song of the Week #28

Up to #28, oh my how time flies.  Some classic grunge for your pleasure. (Is it grunge though?  I'm not entirely sure what the difference is between grunge and alternative music.  I don't think this band is from the Pacific NW - does that make a difference?  Whatever.)

Taskmaster

In a very welcome development, they've started posting episodes of the current season of Taskmaster on their YouTube channel.  This is one of my favorite UK shows to catch when I'm back, and I have been watching some episodes on YouTube here.  The only downside is that I have to watch episodes from this season on my work laptop.  They are not available in the US, but when I connect to my work network then I believe that it uses a server based in Canada.  So then when I go on the internet, it thinks I'm in Canada.  Generally this is a real pain, it means that most websites default to their Canadian sites - so I get the Canadian news, when I'm shopping for something it's all in Canadian dollars, etc.  But it's good to finally find a benefit with that.  Taskmaster has a bit of a checkered history in the US, to say the least.  They did a US version a while back, which was a total bust.  Then not too long ago they started to show some UK episodes on one of the network channels here - but after just the first episode, it got pulled because the ratings were so low.  This is clearly a show that is "too British" for the American audience.     

Changes

The pandemic and working from home has caused the following changes:

• Using the dishwasher a lot more
• Shaving a lot less
• Vacuuming a lot more
• Reading a lot less
• Watching TV a lot more
• Sleeping a lot less
• Stress eating a lot more
• Working a lot less
• Doing laundry a lot more
• Driving a lot less

TV Recommendation

Just started binge watching Schitt's Creek.  And enjoying it a lot - the best comedy to come out of Canada since, well, forever.  You can understand why it won loads of Emmys, quality stuff and very watchable - when you take away the adverts, episodes only clock in about 20 minutes so it's really easy to get through each one.  Perhaps a Canadian sitcom might appeal to my British sense of humor more than an American sitcom - but based on the universal love this show has received, I don't think where it was made really makes much of a difference.  Regardless, I recommend checking it out if you ever happen to come across it (I have no idea if it's on UK TV).

Customer Service

I went grocery shopping today, and was looking for a particular item.  I couldn’t find it, but there happened to be a store employee in the close vicinity stocking shelves so I asked if she had any of this product.  She said no, and I went on my way.  About 5 minutes later, I realized I had forgotten to pick up something else and went back to the same area where this woman was still stocking shelves.  And as I approached, I saw to my surprise that she was literally putting on the shelf what I had asked about.  My surprise quickly turned into anger – why did she so blatantly lie?  She knew she had it, so why be so dishonest?  So much for America’s renowned customer service.  Was it some kind of bias against my accent (something I have encountered before)?  Did she not want to deal with the extremely mild inconvenience?  I think she saw me looking, recognized me and quickly turned away as I gave her the evil eye.  I think I said something sarcastic like “Oh, looks like you DO have it” but she didn’t respond so I picked up what I wanted and moved on.  But my anger has not subsided, even for something so trivial as this.  The worst thing about America is the Americans.

Prime Day

I'm not normally a sucker for Black Friday type sales, but I did indulge myself with a few purchases during Amazon's recent Prime Day sales.  Nothing truly exorbitant - anything high end that I want would not be for sale - but I got a couple of things like an infrared thermometer, some AirPods and a new set of pots and pans.  Since I started working from home it seems like the amount of stuff I've been buying from Amazon has grown exponentially - no wonder Jeff Bezos is a very wealthy man.  But maybe not, I've kind of lost track of the sense of time this year.  It only seems recently that I was wearing t-shirts and shorts every day - and here we now with the days getting increasingly shorter, having to wear a jacket when I go out and having to turn my heating on for the first time since last winter.  Welcome back seasonal affective disorder.      

Song of the Week #27

A bit rocked today with the news that a good friend and colleague from work, and my main ping pong rival, is leaving his job.  My sense of loneliness, already pronounced by the pandemic and working from home, is sure to be exacerbated.

I'm already kind of forgetting which songs I've previously posted here, so apologies for any duplication.  I need something of a pick up, so here is something fun from the 80's with a bouncy synth bass.

Windstorm

I had a somewhat stressful day.  The first post-summer strong winds hit our region today, and no surprises what happened - yes, a power outage.  And it was out all afternoon - not exactly ideal when you actually have some work to do this week.  No power = no internet = no working from home.  With absolutely no clue how long it was going to be out for - the utility website was useless - I actually went into the office for the first time in about 6 months.  Your temperature has to be taken and you're given a bracelet you have to wear now to be allowed into the workplace - a bit OTT in my opinion, but understandable for the peace of mind of those who have to go in every day.  What perhaps surprised me most was how bad the traffic was going to and from the office - I imagine the normal commute is back to nightmarish levels.  Power was still out by the time I got back and the sun was setting.  And, invariably, as I was out getting some takeout food for my dinner - the power finally came back on.  Great.  My yard is now covered with bits of tree - it was probably something bigger that came down and took out the power lines.  But hopefully now that the first big blow of this season is over, we won't get so much disruption next time. 

Done

I'm finally done:

The most complicated and the most frustrating Lego set I've ever put together.  Multiple times.  I only do Lego to help me de-stess, and if anything this caused me more stress.  Even now, it isn't quite right - when I roll the car, it clicks when it shouldn't click.  But I just cannot face taking it apart and putting it together yet another time.  It's just going to sit on a shelf now, so it will do.  I need a break from Lego after this, so I'm going to do a jigsaw or an adult coloring book next.

Motor Sport

Formula 1 has sucked for years, so I get my motor racing fix from watching NASCAR nowadays.  Yes, they just drive round in circles etc etc.  But not always.  Sometimes they actually drive on Formula 1 type road courses, and when it rains these might be some of the most entertaining races to watch.  Because most of these drivers (a) can't drive on road courses, because they're just used to oval tracks, and (b) can't drive in the rain, because they stop racing when it rains on an oval track.  So when they have to drive on road courses in very heavy rain - as they did this weekend using wet weather tires - it's absolutely hilarious watching all the cars either crawl round really slowly or skid off, especially when they all pile up in the same corner, because they haven't got a clue how fast or slow they need to go.  Apparently they are increasing the number of road courses in the series next year, so I hope we get more rain and more races like this.    

Hurricane Hill

With utterly miserable weather today - really heavy rain, thunder/lightning and even hail - here are some views from Hurricane Ridge, when I did the Hurricane Hill hike earlier this week when the weather was a lot nicer.  I've done this trail before, but I don't remember it being as tough as it was this time - perhaps a reflection of how unfit I am, and how much I don't like elevation change in my hikes when I carry the amount of weight I do.  It's only about a 3.5 mile hike, but about 700 feet in elevation gain.  It's a good job that the views are spectacular, because that gives me the excuse to frequently stop and take some photos when I'm really just catching my breath and giving my leg muscles some respite!  I've posted loads of photos from here before, so let me make this easier for myself by just including a couple of videos I took.  One looking south, where you can see the ridge that the trail climbs up in the foreground with all the mountains in the background.  And the other looking north, where you can see all the way to Canada across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Mass Torts

As everyone knows, America is a litigious society.  Perhaps this is best exemplified by the sheer amount of mass tort TV advertising that you encounter here - typically something like "Have you or your loved ones been hurt by xxx drug or consumer product?  You deserve compensation - call us now.".  This is invariably accompanied by scary music and a dramatic and serious-sounding voiceover.  I've got used to this kind of advertising - in much the same way that I'm used to the ridiculous adverts for prescription drugs (my company is one of the worst for this) which hilariously and legally have to add the most common side effects - "Warning, this drug may cause explosive diarrhea, spontaneous combustion, etc".  However, I've recently come across a new mass tort lawsuit that is being advertised on TV, and it's by far the most shocking.  Are you a victim of boy scout sex abuse?  Were you abused in the scouts?  Are you a scout abuse survivor?  You may have a claim.  You may qualify for a settlement.  And so on.  The reason for this?  The Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, because they are facing increasing legal costs from numerous lawsuits from men who were sexually abused as scouts.  Jeez, America is so messed up.  I think in this particular case, the lawsuits are justified - but just to see it advertised so brazenly on TV, and at times of the day when kids are likely to be watching, is quite disturbing.