Happy Brexit Day

It’s too late now, but there is one clear recent example of why we should just discard the Brexit vote.  In the National Television Awards, Mrs Brown’s Boys beat Fleabag for the best comedy award.  This was voted for by the British public.  Therefore, I think every single thing that the British public voted for since Mrs Brown’s Boys started airing (2011) should be ignored.  The British public clearly cannot be trusted.  Mrs Brown’s Boys might be the worst program I’ve ever had the misfortune to catch in my lifetime.  The same people who like and voted for this atrocity are probably the same people who voted to leave Europe.  And don’t even get me started on how insulting the commemorative 50p coins being produced are.  “Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations” – whatever (and I am definitely in the NO Oxford comma camp – Americans love their Oxford commas, but they have incorrectly dropped “u”s from lots of their words and they also write out their dates the wrong way so they must be wrong about Oxford commas).  However, the coins might make a nice keepsake that we can laugh about in the near future when we slink back into the EU.  Or become the 51st state.

Engage

Another constructive day at work.  It’s the quiet before the storm – it’s going to be busy, potentially crazy busy, next week.  But not this week.  So how did I spend my afternoon?  I watched the first episode of Star Trek: Picard.  It happened to be streaming free on YouTube for a limited time – the rest of the episodes are on a streaming service that I’m probably never going to subscribe to.  But after having watched the first episode, I might be tempted.  It was good, really good.  I’ve long been a big fan of TNG – and Picard has always been my favorite Star Trek captain, so it was great to revisit him and his history.  And of course when you have an actor of the caliber of Patrick Stewart, he must be sick of the Star Trek fanboys so you know it must be a decent show if he was prepared to come back to this character.  Recommended.

Crash

So, apart from more impeachment nonsense, the story that has been dominating the news here is the death of Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash.  Obviously sad that him, his daughter and some other people died in what was probably a tragic accident.  Obviously he was a great basketball player.  But the way the American media have almost matryed him is shocking.  Let’s not forget, it wasn’t that long ago that he wasn’t a nice guy at all.  He was probably a rapist – not a convicted rapist, I think his case was settled out of court and with a public apology, but whatever happened that night doesn’t reflect well at all on his true character.  So his legacy is complicated, to say the least, but that hasn’t stopped the American media from endless coverage and gushing over his achievements and loss while conveniently ignoring this huge tarnish to his reputation.  It is very odd – but I guess sporting and entertainment icons are the closest Americans have to royalty, so they are mourned as such when they unexpectedly pass away. 

SAD

Seattle hasn’t officially had a sunny day since Thanksgiving.  How shocking is that?!  There were apparently 2 “partly sunny” days in December, but those days still had 70% average cloud cover.  Every day in January so far has been considered cloudy (at least 80% cloud cover) , with 8 days having 100% cloud cover.  Perhaps this explains why I’m in such a foul mood – SAD (seasonal affective disorder).  Or at least is one of many contributing factors.  Another small one that irritated me today was that there was a Chinese New Year celebration lunch at work.  It was slated to start at 11.30 – which is way too early, I normally have my lunch after 1.  But I still showed up at about 11.45, and all the food had already gone.  If you’re going to cater a lunch for the entire office, then you’d better make sure there is enough food to go around.  Annoying.  I didn’t even bother hanging around for a chance to win a gift card, which you apparently had to be present for – not that I would have won, and not that anyone offered me a seat at their table.  Nice of my colleagues to ask me to join them when they went to get some food – but then the Chinese prefer to stick to their own, because it means they don’t have to speak English which they reluctantly and barely do if I’m present.  It’s one of the reasons I don’t bother with our office Christmas party most years.  It’s ironic that one of my company’s core goals is inclusion – yet I feel I work in one of the least inclusive departments in the company.  I said as much when responding to an anonymous questionnaire that got sent out to all our department recently.  It will be interesting to see whether they address it, or even mention it, when they discuss the results.  I doubt it – when you’re in a group that is 90% Chinese, you don’t want to upset the apple cart.

Conspiracy

This is telling.   They recently announced this year's departmental promotions.  My manager got promoted.  My previous manager got promoted.  My previous manager before that got promoted.  These are all the managers that I’ve had since returning to this company.  And my last manager before I quit is the head of the department.  Clearly, everyone has no problem stepping over me as they climb the corporate ladder – people should be clamoring to be my manager!  I congratulated my current manager – who I think deserved the promotion – but have not and will not say anything to the other two as I do not think they were worthy.  But hey, I’m just a lowly soldier in the trenches – so it doesn’t matter what I think.

Moles vs Me: An Update

I can't officially declare victory yet, but I think I'm close.  No new molehills since the snow.  Has the poison finally done the trick?  I don't know - I have no confirmed killings.  Apparently, in the eyes of some, that means nothing.  I disagree.  I think the bodies of the vanquished lie out there, just beneath the surface, but I have no desire to dig them up.  Their fight was noble, but their deaths will neither be mourned nor honored.  But, I fear revenge.  My neighbor's yard is a formidable display of power and destruction - and my yard still shows the scars of battle.  I await their next move with baited breath.       

Dance

It's bad enough that I keep on seeing incessant ads for this on TV, but now I've started to get junk mail:

Talk about pushing hard for something that I have absolutely no interest in seeing.  I mean, literally none.  I kind of imagine these schools in China churning out these dancers like a factory where they spend they entire childhood just practicing the routines.  If there is one thing I have learnt working with and being friends with some Chinese, they do not have ANY artistry or performance skills.  But perhaps I'm generalizing and that just says more about the kind of people working in my profession (like me!). 

Downtown

You might have seen this in the news, but there was gunfire in downtown Seattle a few days ago that killed one and injured a load of others.  Another shooting in America?  Hardly a surprise right.  But I have a lot of thoughts with this particular incident.  Yes, push for more gun control blah blah blah – but if mass shootings, and mass shootings at schools, can’t push the dial then this won’t either.  Also, the area where this shooting occurred is notorious for trouble.  Has been from the very first day I moved to Seattle, and a long time before then.  When our office was downtown, the most convenient bus stop to get home was just nearby, and I actually walked further to another bus stop (even in pouring rain) just to avoid hanging around there.  But the Seattle police or politicians or whoever have never done anything to try to change it.  Just for starters, close the McDonalds there.  That seems to be the magnet for all the lowlife – the shooting took place from a dispute in front of that McDonald’s at the height of rush hour.  And that place seems to be where all the troublemakers loiter around – I’ve seen fights and drug deals and more there.  What is shocking to me is that there are so many innocent people and tourists that frequent this area as well – lots of bus routes go down this street and you’re just a few blocks away from Pike Place Market, and this is in the heart of downtown where some of the big department stores are literally opposite where the shooting occurred.  It’s hardly a surprise then that so many innocent people appear to be a victim of this crime, or other crimes in this vicinity in the past.  So for the police not to have addressed this issue for so long is unconscionable and reprehensible to me.  This blood is on their hands.  I hope this is the wakeup call to clear this scum out and make downtown Seattle a bit nicer -  especially with all the change and improvements being made to the downtown Seattle waterfront.

Contagion

How to get very nervous very quickly.  Feel that you are coming down with something flu/cold-related.  Then find out that one of your Chinese colleagues went home over the Christmas period – and where was their home?  Wuhan.  Source of the fatal coronavirus.  Yikes.  Not that worried – I don’t have a fever or breathing difficulties, and the chances of infection are minuscule – it is not even a colleague I interact much with normally.  Still, shows how easily a deadly pandemic could spread and wipe out most of the population.  It’s telling that the first US case of the virus was found in Everett, a city just north of Seattle.  And then a welcome lunch today for a couple of new Chinese employees at work was cancelled due to the virus – which seemed like a bit of an overreaction.  Not that I was going to go – because they were going to a restaurant where the food was just too weird for me.

And I said I wouldn’t do much politics in this blog, but I have to mention 2 things.  One – senators being given fidget spinners to play with during the impeachment trial.  After all, it’s easy to quickly drift off when you’ve already made up your mind about your vote before hearing all the evidence and arguments.  Two – Trump rolling back even more environmental protection rules while everyone is distracted by his impeachment trial.  Shameful.  Nonetheless, I happened to notice that the odds of Trump getting re-elected are 8/11 with William Hill – if I was a betting man, which I’m not, then I would put a BIG bet on this.

Congestion

I hope it is just because of the wet weather or because we had a public holiday this week, but the traffic commuting to and from work over the last few days has been absolutely appalling.  I expected Tuesday to be bad because that was the first day back to work after the holiday.  But I did not expect it to be even worse this morning.  Took me over an hour to get into work (about 14 miles) – and that was still leaving relatively late at 9 am.  I hope this is not a new norm.  Obviously the tech companies and the influx of tech workers have to shoulder most of the blame for the worsening traffic, but there also seemed to be a lot of traffic going to the University of Washington.  I didn’t see any accidents that might have caused a backup, but it wouldn’t surprise me if there was one earlier because the wet weather brings out some shockingly poor driving.  I particularly hate the big rigs in the rain, who are going too fast and kick up so much spray it can blind you.  Let’s see what it is like tomorrow – Thursday is traditionally the worst day of the week for traffic.  I’ll probably take my work laptop home tonight so that I can log in tomorrow morning over breakfast and not actually head into the office until much later.  I know I’ll probably end up staying at the office well past 7 pm – with just the company of the cleaners going round emptying all the bins – as my rule is not to leave until Google Maps tell me my commute time home is 35 minutes or less.  It’s at times like this that I welcome our computer overlords when AI takes over all our jobs and all our driving.

Impeachment Blah Blah Blah

I think this year I will be cutting down on my politics blog posts.  This despite it being an election year.  I’m just done with politics – too partisan, too unpleasant and too farcical.  Take the Senate impeachment trial that started today.  What an absolute sham.  The outcome has already been decided – and been decided on party lines.  So why go through the farce of this kangaroo court.  It is just ridiculous.  I think anyone with an iota of common sense knows that Trump is guilty of impeachable offenses – and not just the ones that he is being tried for.  But there isn’t a chance in hell that Republican senators will impeach him.  So why bother.  Equally, I am done with the Democratic leadership contest.  This has dragged on for way too long, done nothing but ruin the credibility of the Democratic party, and boosted Trump’s re-election chances (especially if Bernie or Elizabeth Warren win the leadership – they don’t stand a chance in hell of winning a presidential contest, so I don’t understand why they even put themselves forward).  I am sick to death of seeing ads for Mike Bloomberg on TV – there are just so many, he must be spending an absolute fortune on them and he isn’t even one of the leading contenders.  So, similar to a post from a few days ago and again apologies for the bad language, but I don’t give two sh*ts about politics right now.

MLK Day

A day off work today thanks to it being Martin Luther King Day.  Though I always welcome a company holiday, this seems to be the most wasted holiday day of the year.  It's too soon after the holiday shutdown over Christmas, the weather isn't great, you don't really think about planning to do anything this weekend, and invariably you forget that this is even a holiday.  I know I did until my manager reminded me last week. Obviously not much you can do about when Martin Luther King's birthday was - but I so wish we had a company holiday at another time of the year.  We don't have any time off for Easter - what about then?  Or, if we're trying to be more environmentally conscious, what about taking Earth Day as a company holiday?  Either of those would be in April - a much better time of year to get away for a weekend.  Or how about sometime between 4th July and Labor Day - that's peak getting away time.  But no, instead it's now and it feels like just a wasted long weekend.

Underachievement

I had fallen behind on my TIME magazines, so I've been catching up this weekend.  Including reading the TIME Person of the Year issue.  This year, the winner was Greta Thunberg.  I don't know whether that was the right choice or not, and I certainly still don't see the environment and climate change being a priority in American politics.  But boy, it hit hard how little I've done and how little I've achieved in my life.  Such a waste.  Is it too late to change that?  Probably not, but the simple fact is that I won't.  I just don't have the motivation, the drive and the dedication to make my mark on the world.  Nor do most people.  Which is why the human race sucks.

A message to my American friends

This is a formal statement, mainly directed to my American friends and colleagues who don't read this blog but who keep on asking me about this.  I don't give two sh*ts about Harry and Meghan.  Thank you and goodnight.

Every Silver Has A Cloud Lining

So much for things going well at work.  I received a swift kick in the face today.  Got my manager’s performance review evaluation back – and was granted the rating “Achieved”, which is the Grade C of performance reviews.  In my self-evaluation, I had given myself a rating of “Exceptional” or Grade A.  I thought this might come down to “Exceeded” (B), but not to come down by 2 grades.  Very, very unhappy about this.  I worked my ass off over the last year, including sacrificing numerous summer weekends to meet exceptionally tight deadlines, and ultimately did a great job on fulfilling my responsibilities – but I have never got any sort of recognition for my hard work.  No bonuses or awards at the time, and now a distinctly average annual review.  And, as a result, a smaller annual bonus as well.  Apparently, my manager was telling me, they couldn’t grade me any higher this year because I got promoted last year.  But I cry BS.  That, or the whole performance review process is just a total farce and sham.  Is there “cultural” bias in any of this?  I can’t be sure, but it wouldn’t be a surprise.  Are a number of other undeserving people going to get better ratings and/or promotions?  Undoubtedly.  Am I the victim of a flawed process, or a departmental hit job?  I’m being told it’s the process, but I don’t totally believe it.  All I know is that I’m disappointed, angry and demotivated – and if I’m going to be rated as an “average” employee, then maybe I should act like an average employee.  I’m better than most of the people here, and I think the people that I work with know that, but apparently the people who actually matter don’t.  So screw them – and screw my positive attitude to the job.  If this is how they recognize probably the most fulfilling professional year of my life, then I will treat the job with the same contempt they’ve shown me.

Lego

Anyone who knows me knows I like my Lego - perhaps unhealthily so.  But there is one set that has just come out that I am 100% never going to buy.  Not under any circumstances.

Nope.  Perhaps if they released sets for all 20 Premier League stadiums, I'll get the Selhurst Park one.  But somehow, I don't see that happening.

Snowed in Day 3

An earlier entry today, just in case there are any power outages later.  I'm still staying at home.  The last band of snow is due this afternoon, and after that windier and warmer.  So I plan to clear my driveway tomorrow, and actually go into work on Friday.  I kind of measure my ability to go into work by school district closures - and my district has been closed for the first 3 days this week, so it's not just me being affected by these conditions.

The sun did pop out this morning for the first time in ages, which made for a nice view from my bedroom window:

But then I saw this from my back door.

I'm not sure whether all those snow indentations are from animals - I certainly haven't been out there.  However, those brown monstrosities to the left are not welcome.  The mole or moles are clearly rubbing it in my face.

Snowed in Day 2

Today wasn't a good day.  I only stepped out of my house twice - once to go to the dustbin, and once to go to the mailbox.  It didn't get above freezing all day - and REALLY cold overnight.  My driveway is like an ice rink now - and it's not going to be much warmer tomorrow.  Take a look at how the melting snow then froze overnight:

Not a chance in hell I'm going to take my car down my steep driveway when it's as slippery as that.  Which is unfortunate, because it looks like the road at the bottom of my driveway has been treated and is clear.  There is the potential for snow tonight, so I doubt I'll try to clean my driveway until the temperatures go up.  But I'm in no hurry because my back is aching and my body is really sore after all the show shoveling I did yesterday, which seems like a bit of wasted effort now.  And, just to make things even more interesting, it's getting windy tomorrow - and the winds are coming from the east, which is not the normal direction.  So I think the potential for trees coming down and power cuts is high.  Joy.

Snowed In

Well, this is what I woke up to this morning:

Actually, not a surprise.  It had been forecast, it started snowing on Sunday afternoon (too warm to settle, at least while the sun was up) but just wasn't sure how bad it would be.  Although not as extreme as last year, enough to still have an automated message sent out by work and enough to keep me snowed in.  So although I was theoretically "working from home", actually spent most of the day clearing my driveway (I think my body is going to be sore tomorrow).  We have extremely low temperatures forecast for the next few days, so I didn't want all that snow to turn into ice.  So my driveway should be good (unless it snows again), but the local roads will ice over (and, at least where I am, are low priority for getting treated) so I don't think I'm going anywhere anytime soon.  The best thing about the snow is seeing the animal tracks - I haven't seen any rabbits for ages, but it looks like there are still some around, and that makes me happy.  And hopefully the moles will freeze to death.

Infamy

I've been catching up on the TV show The Terror: Infamy recently.  A horror drama show set in a Japanese internment camp in the US, but just like the first series as much to do with an evil spirit as with the setting.  However, I am having a big problem as I watch it - despite the serious and chilling subject matter, as I'm watching I can't stop thinking "Infamy, infamy, they've all got it in for me", as spoken by Kenneth Williams in Carry On Cleo.  Jeez, what is wrong with me. 

Crisps (Chips)

Why doesn't America do decent crisps?  Is it because they call them chips?  I've already consumed most of the crisps I brought back with me from the UK, and I'm seriously craving more.  The lack of flavors that US "chips" offer is so disappointing.  I miss:

Walkers Crisps (particularly Prawn Cocktail flavor)
Skips
Hula Hoops
Quavers
Monster Munch
Wotsits
Frazzles
Chipsticks
Twiglets
Nik Naks
French Fries
Space Raiders
Salt & Shake
Wheat Crunchies
Mini Cheddars

and I'm sure I've missed out a load more.  Might me time to order some more (at inflated prices) on Amazon already.  I should also find out whether Canadian supermarkets sell any of the above - in which case I could take a drive north.  That sounds too desperate - but needs must.

Water

Baby steps.  I need to drink more water, and cut back on soft drinks, so despite receiving numerous water bottles via work I decided to buy myself a new one that actually has markings so that I can track progress over a day.  Let's see if it works.  I think the last time I tried to make a concerted effort to drink more water, I quickly got disillusioned because I ended up having to use the "restroom" way too much.

Streaming

Netflix

Hulu

Amazon Prime Video

Disney+

CBS All Access

HBO Now/HBO Plus

Peacock

Apple TV+

BritBox

Acorn TV

… plus about 200 others.

TOO MANY STREAMING SERVICES!!!  I only get Amazon Prime Video because I’m a an Amazon Prime member, and I pay for HBO as part of my cable package.  But everything else is dead to me whilst I still have cable (which might not be for much longer – especially once I buy a new TV).  The last two listed are quite niche, but they stream British shows so they get a mention.  But what is most disappointing is that all of the above now have a number of high quality and original programs exclusive to their service, and that I will unfortunately not get to see anytime soon.  I’m extremely reluctant to pay for any of these on top of what I’m already paying for cable, premium cable and Amazon Prime, which is quite enough – once upon a time I used to subscribe to Netflix, but that feels like an eternity ago when I still got DVDs sent to me in the mail and way before they started producing about a billion new shows.  How the TV landscape has changed – and not for the better.  I don’t know how long all these services can sustain their business – I think there eventually has to be some kind of consolidation or trimming of the fat.  We are already starting to see casualties (Playstation Vue is shutting down).  But I think it is inevitable that I will cut the cord soon – I need to do a price comparison to see how much it would cost me to watch all the channels I currently do via streaming compared to what I pay my cable company.  It should be less, but I don’t think it will be less by much – especially as I think I can negotiate a lower bill with my cable company.  So maybe I can (reluctantly?) hold out for just a little while longer.  

To Office, or Not To Office

I got offered the option to move into an office this week.  Apparently my level of seniority entitled me to one, and apparently entitled me to one last year even though nobody mentioned it.  But, in an extremely controversial decision, I said no.  I must be some kind of masochist.  I’m sure I’ve complained enough about my cube neighbors in these posts – whether it’s loud Chinese being spoken, overhearing conference calls from someone whose headset volume is turned up way too high, someone typing way too loud, or the stench of food.  But despite all that, I still said no.  Why?  Well for starters, I didn’t want to give up being by a window.  All the offices are in the middle of the building, so no window and no view.  That is too claustrophobic for me.  And I think the other thing about being in an office is that it can be quite isolating – yes great for privacy, but I think you can begin to shut yourself off from everyone around you and minimize your interactions.  If I wanted that, I’d work from home.  I want that balance of hearing some activity around me, but I can put my earbuds in and shut it off if need be.  I have enough privacy in how I angle my screens so that nobody can see them.  And I don’t have direct reports and I don’t have to dial in to many conference calls, so my need for having an office is not strong.  I’m happy where I am for the time being.  Saying that, and knowing my luck, probably someone new will move into one of the spare cubes around me and be the cube neighbor from hell (note to self – excellent TV idea).  So I will probably come to regret this decision, but at least I know I can put myself on the waiting list for the next available office if things go pear-shaped.

WARNING WARNING WARNING

Oh-oh.  This is the current Seattle forecast for next week:

Apparently still a lot of uncertainty over the model, so things could change.  But this is ominous.  I think I shall stock up on supplies before Sunday, just in case.  It maybe nowhere near as bad as the last time it snowed here, but now I expect the worse.  After “snowpocalypse” last winter, I’m certainly not the only one on high alert now whenever snow starts to appear in the forecast.  All to the amusement and bemusement of Americans in other states which are used to getting snow – we can’t deal with it here. 

Desynchronosis

I’ve been back over a week now, yet my body clock is still totally messed up.  Is this what happens when you get older?  I think I’ve fallen asleep in front of the TV almost every evening since I’ve been back, and then I’m wide awake at about 4 am every morning.  I don’t remember this kind of jet lag lasting as long on previous occasions, and this time definitely feels worse.  Perhaps I am slowly getting back to normal.  I know that on New Year’s Eve I went to bed about 8 pm, and if there were any fireworks then I slept through them (unlikely with the bad weather, the high winds caused the show to be cancelled at the Space Needle – for the first time in its history).  Yesterday, I went to bed about 11 pm, but I had fallen asleep in front of the TV sometime around 10 pm.  So I’m gradually getting back to a more sensible bed time, but for the moment I’m still waking up in the very early hours.  So apparently the number of hours sleep I’m getting is going down by the day.  Which is disturbing.  I need another vacation.

Decisions

Although there are about a billion better things I should spend my money on, I'm debating whether I should get one of (or both, or neither) of the following:

Titans 20-13 Patriots

Cheaters never prosper.

Switch

Having had the opportunity to see and play some Nintendo Switch over the festive period, I’m quite keen to get one of my own now and get some revenge on certain family members in an online game of Mario Kart.  I’m quite disheartened by how over-complicated some of the best Playstation games are nowadays, but the Switch games seem a lot more fun and more playable.  However, things are not as straightforward as I thought.  Firstly, I have apparently missed the boat in terms of getting good value in purchasing the system.  All the good deals seem to have been around Black Friday and prior to Christmas, and now they are sold out or being sold on at exorbitant prices.  So the Mario Kart 8 bundle I wanted to get is not readily available.  Secondly, it appears that you have to pay extra for online play.  It’s not exactly a lot of money, but kind of sad the way they bleed you dry.  And despite paying for the online experience, it looks like you still need to download a smartphone app in order to voice chat with other players and engage in some obligatory trash talking.  But that doesn’t put me off, I think I will still buy one soon.  Just not this month – I’ll check for deals again next month, when hopefully they are re-stocked.

Self-Improvement

I’m not starting my new year’s resolutions until Monday 6 January, when normalcy returns.  It’s all about healthier habits and healthier routines, but you can’t do that on public holidays (like yesterday) or quiet days in the office (today and tomorrow) when there is hardly anybody in and no work to do.  Considering I was out for 2 weeks, I was surprised (and a little disappointed) that I only had about 100 unread emails waiting for me today.  And nothing that needed my attention.  So until my manager is back next week, I shall just sit back and twiddle my thumbs.  And think about my resolutions.  I think my priority this year is to lose some weight.  Doesn’t have to be a lot, but I have got to break the cycle of the last few years when I’ve gained rather than lost weight.  Food and exercise obviously go a long way towards that.  But it’s simple things I need to be better at – drink less soft drinks and more water, cut down on snacking, apply portion control, etc.  But I can’t rush into these things otherwise I won’t stick with them, so I just have to go for slow and incremental improvements.  As far as exercise goes, it doesn’t help that this is the 10 day weather forecast for Seattle:

That is not a lot of good weather to encourage me to get out and about – but showers should not deter me.  However, the snow in the forecast is a little ominous given what happened last winter.  And also makes me want to splash out on something like a Peloton exercise bike to use on those rainy days.  Hopefully the forecast will change for the better.  My other main resolution is to finish off my living space improvements.  I’ve got the new sofas now, and I have moved my television into the other room, so next in line is a dining table set, plus lots of accessories (I need to buy a number of floor lamps, and I’ve given myself some space for a display cabinet), before finally upgrading my entertainment system.  This is all going to hit my wallet hard – but needs must, these improvements were long overdue and I’m not an impoverished individual any more. 

Premier League Predictions

Since there was loads of football on telly today, and since we are about halfway through the season, time to see how good my predictions at the start of the season are doing:

• Man City will pip Liverpool to the title again, and no new teams will break into the top 6

Well, it will take a miracle for Man City to win the title now.  And I didn't see Leicester challenging for a Champions League spot.  But otherwise, the same teams are competing for the European places.

• One of Frank Lampard or Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will not be a manager next season

TBD.  Chelsea and Man Utd are two of the more enigmatic teams - can be really good one day, and really bad another day.  I like Chelsea's youth, and I think Man Utd should be doing a lot better than they are considering the resources they have - and I think they are the ones who really need a world-class manager.

• The relegation battle will go down to the final weekend, and the following teams will be relegated: Sheff Utd, Norwich, Brighton

I still think the relegation battle will come down to the wire - there are a lot of clubs who could go down.  Of the 3 teams I predicted: Norwich are going down, Brighton could go down and Sheffield United are not going down.  The fact that Sheffield United have as many points as they do so far has to be one of the surprises of the season.

• VAR will still result in major controversy

Yep, this was sadly predictable.  VAR has been a disaster - too many marginal decisions, too many stoppages in play, and sadly not suited to the flow of the English game.  I'd rather not have it and live with the occasional controversial goal or decision.

• English sides will not dominate European football this year

TBD - but I don't think we will see the same English domination in the European competitions as we did last year.  That was a fluke.

• Due to the closeness of the races at the top and bottom of the league, the most amount of money ever will be spent on vastly overrated players in this season’s January transfer window

TBD.  I guess the transfer window is open now, so it will be interesting to see who is on the move.  With so many clubs not separated by that many points, I think we could see a flurry of activity in that middle to bottom tier of teams.  And yes, teams will undoubtedly spend loads of money on mediocre and obscure foreign players.  

• Harry Kane will experience a major injury and Tottenham will fade at the end of the season, yet again

I don't know what to make of Tottenham.  They haven't had a particularly convincing season so far, and I think their managerial change is one of the more perplexing choices.  I think they will struggle to qualify for the Champions League - and Harry Kane may not experience a major injury but he will have a decidedly ordinary goal-scoring season.

• Everton will flatter to deceive, yet again

Yep, I got this spot on.  To the extent that Everton also had to get rid of their manager.  But now they seem to be turning it around, so we shall see where they finish up.  

• Newcastle will have a surprisingly good season under Steve Bruce (but he’ll get fired next season)

Yep, I'm on track with this one as well.  Newcastle are holding their own this year.  And Steve Bruce is not the kind of manager who you can trust to keep your team competitive every year.

• Palace will be one of the lowest-scoring teams in the league

Yep, I am Nostradamus.  Who is the lower scoring team in the league currently?  Palace.  Mind you, it didn't take a genius to see that one coming.