Things Going Wrong

A bit of an electronics disaster today.  Firstly, my soundbar stopped working for no discernible reason.  I've been having ongoing minor issues with it since I got it - so this didn't come as much of a surprise.  Serves me right for getting a cheap brand, even though it came recommended.  After extensive online research, extensive playing around with the system settings, and a lot of cuss words - managed to fix it.  And how did I achieve this - by using the tried and tested formula of turning it off and turning it on again, and it magically fixed itself.  Grrrrrr.  And then this was followed up by finding out that one of my Nintendo Switch controller buttons isn't working properly - hence an embarrassing effort on Mario Kart today, as I couldn't get one of the key speed boost buttons to work.  And looking online, the price of replacement controllers is exorbitant - sold out at most places, and the few people selling them are doing so at an exorbitant markup.  I'm clearly going to have to shell out since I can't be competitive without it, but not happy about it.

Dark Days

- I've been watching Inspector Morse and Prime Suspect on PBS, but all of a sudden they will stop airing these shows after the end of May.  And AMC are not airing any episodes of Line of Duty beyond Season 3.  This is an absolute tragedy - how am I going to get my weekly fix of British detective shows (without subscribing to another streaming service)? 

- It is quite literally a dark day today.  After a couple of warm and sunny days, we've been hit with a load of tropical type storm systems - dark clouds, heavy rain, thunder and lightning etc.  Very unusual for round here.  Good job I went for a long walk yesterday, because I'm not going anywhere today.

- And finally, what do you get when you combine a pandemic, increasing unemployment, a probable recession, a cop killing a black man caught on video, and an unhinged president who encourages violence and protest?  You get the kind of scenes we saw in American cities last night - and probably also tonight and who knows for how much longer.  Of course, when the president - and I emphasize THE PRESIDENT - tweets racially insensitive things like "When the looting starts, the shooting starts." and then throws a hissy fit when Twitter finally attached a warning to one of his tweets about glorifying violence (something they should have done a long time ago) - well things are quickly going to escalate.

Hard Work 2

Another early start, another day sitting around in case I'm needed.  Today might even have been worse than yesterday.  I treated myself to a massive meal last night - a big rack of ribs - and totally overdid it and so I felt stuffed all last night and this morning.  American portions are just ridiculous - this was really a meal for 2 rather than 1, but I couldn't help myself and I paid the consequences.  And then at today's meeting, they brought in a load of external experts - and let's just say that some of them were "technologically challenged" (not unlike certain parents!).  So trying to conduct a virtual meeting with them was painful.  So yes, another long day which again ended up with nothing for me to do.   

Hard Work

Today was the first of 2 very long days at work.  And of course when I say "at work", I mean "at home doing work".  And more accurately, "at home waiting to see if I need to do any work".  Because we are currently practicing some high level meetings with the FDA covering a submission I've been involved with - we don't even know if or when this meeting will actually take place, but it might be necessary in order to secure approval of our drug.  Of course, I am nowhere near at a high enough level to actually attend the meeting - they are all vice presidents and executives.  I am not even part of the backroom - which is full of departmental heads.  No, I am part of the backroom support staff.  So if we get any questions during the meeting that need addressing and covers my particular area of expertise, then I have to be available and prepared to quickly program some outputs that can then be used.  Which means getting up early (these meetings start at 8 am), and sitting around on the off chance that something comes up - nothing has yet.  But if it does, then that means some serious pressure to turnaround a response.  Kind of interesting to see how the work I've done fits in the bigger picture - it is really just a very small part - but this is the kind of thing you put on your CV.     

Song of the Week #7

After a brief respite on Memorial Day when it rained all day, I once again peer out of the window and it looks like it is snowing with the amount of tree pollen floating around and settling on the ground.  But that doesn't matter, because it's song of the week time - this one a random one from the early 90's that I hadn't heard for ages until very recently, though I think it was played loads at the time.

Viking

I watch a lot of British dramas, particularly British costume dramas, if they happen to air on American network TV.  And let's just say that the demographic for these shows tends to skew on the older side.  Which means the advertising also skews on the older side.  So as much fast-forwarding as I do I still catch an unhealthy number of adverts for things like Viking River Cruises.  And something really struck me about this particular advert.  You are trying to sell me going on a cruise on a river, yet every single shot in the advert is aerial.  So you see all these great panoramic shots of these beautiful European cities from the air, but in reality you will never ever see these shots from the ground, and certainly not from the river.  It's not like there aren't beautiful shots to be had from the water - so it just seemed like a very odd choice.  I just wanted to get this off my chest.   

A New Game

Yes, I am now the proud (?) owner of this:

Yes, it is way way bigger than I anticipated.  Good job I've just about got the space in my home to put it.  Yes, it is good fun and the in-built games can get quite intensive.  Yes, it will probably lose it's appeal quickly and remain untouched for months on end.  Yes, it was an absolute nightmare to put together.  No, it was probably not worth getting it. 

Refund

All the auto insurance companies here are giving out refunds because people are driving a lot less and so there are a lot less accidents.  Since I'm not getting any stimulus checks, this might be the only non-work related financial benefit I get due to the pandemic.  And how much did I get?  About $18.  And I pay over $1000 a year for my auto insurance.  An insultingly low proportion of money back - why even bother?  Auto insurance is notoriously expensive in the US - and I always wonder whether I am overpaying.  I probably am - I could certainly pay a lot less if I only went for minimum coverage.  But I should probably shop around and see if I can get a better deal, especially in these times when I'm driving so much less.

WFH

Got some profoundly depressing news yesterday.  All "flexible location employees" at our company - which is apparently what I am - will not be allowed back into the office until after Labor Day at the earliest.  Which is in September.  So yes, I will be working from home for at least a total of 6 months.  And I hate working from home.  So this really sucks.  If this somehow becomes a permanent arrangement - unlikely, but not beyond the realms of possibility because no one really knows what the world is going to look like then - then I will have to consider moving somewhere more suited to working remotely. 

Doctor Doctor

Whilst I've been very happy with my dentist experience recently, my doctor experience remains very suspect.  Compare how we're treated on arrival - the dentistry has one of those flashy infrared thermometers (I need to get one of these) to check your temperature on arrival, whereas the doctor's office had just some guy on the door asking if you had any virus symptoms and then giving you a sticker and a face mask.   It's definitely a step down.  And then you have the transparency of costs.  The dentistry has been really clear about what I'm paying and what my insurance is paying.  Whereas I have no idea where I stand with my doctor, apart from the $25 co-pay.  For example, today I had labs done (to check whether my potassium level is still low) and an x-ray on my ankle - and I have no idea how much these cost and the exorbitant amount I'm going to end up having to pay out of my own pocket.  The American health care system really is an absolute rip-off.  The good news - my blood pressure is very much under control, despite the various stresses I am under.  I've even lost some weight as well despite being stuck at home so much, especially over the last couple of weeks.  The bad news - I have a small possible avulsion fracture in my foot.  Fortunately not bad enough to require a boot or anything - but will take a while to heal.  I'm glad it was something, and not my imagination - because my foot has been getting better but not feeling quite right. 

A Recommendation

Shoot, I was just about to go to bed and realized that I hadn't posted anything today.  So since John Oliver's show seemed to cover some of the stuff I've written about here (sports and Space Force - which I wrote about before his show aired), let me recommend something that he brought to my attention.  The.  Best.  Sport.  Ever.

Song of the Week #6

Next up, a "random" song from the latter stages of my peak period of music interest - the mid 2000's.  Hello to the resurgence of folk rock.

Crown

So now that non-urgent dental care is permitted, I was able to go to the dentist today.  And now I possess a temporary crown, and have to be careful about what I eat for the next couple of weeks until I get my permanent crown fitted.  What does this mean?  Avoiding sticky foods (so I shouldn't have any multivitamin gummys), avoiding hard or crunchy foods (no nuts or crisps, and - this might be tough - frozen pizza) and awkwardly chewing food on just the one side of my mouth.  It was also recommended I get a soft-bristled toothbrush - something I currently avoid as a very vigorous brusher.  I also got advice on how to floss to avoid loosening the crown - but since I don't floss, and have never flossed, that fell on deaf ears.  The procedure itself was fine - not as bad as the root canal, but I think my nitrous oxide level was lower as I was more conscious of what was going on and a lot more conscious about my breathing and swallowing.   I was thinking of how to make some analogy between temporary/permanent crowns in my mouth and in online Mario Kart, but I couldn't come up with something suitably derogatory about my regular competitors in Mario Kart.   

I hate Mondays

Tired, irritable, unable to focus, bored, depressed, lonely.  A typical Monday then.

Sports Update

I just couldn't bring myself to watching any Bundesliga games this weekend.  Yes, I miss football (soccer), but is this the true Englishman in me showing itself and refusing to watch German football?  I don't know, maybe there is still some historical xenophobia in my DNA.  But 2 teams I don't care about playing in an empty stadium just seems too weird and too unappealing to me.  As opposed to say motor-racing, which was on today for the first time in about 10 weeks, and was perfectly watchable despite the lack of fans there - and I think that is because the sound of the sport is the cars themselves rather than the spectators, so their lack of presence doesn't matter.  Another weird one is martial arts - I've watched some UFC the last few weekends, despite absolutely loathing the Trump-loving president of UFC, and the lack of fans has made the sport even more brutal because you can really hear the punches and kicks landing, the heavy breathing of the fighters and the cries of pain when they are submitted.  What else is there?  Even I'm not prepared to watch Korean baseball - something else they've started airing here with the MLB season postponed indefinitely.  I think you have to be really desperate to watch that.  And about the only other thing is the Michael Jordan documentary, which is wrapping up with it's final 2 episodes tonight.  My overriding conclusion - Micheal Jordan may have been a great athlete, perhaps the greatest of all time, but he might also have been one of the biggest assholes ever as well.       

Space Force

I've been trying desperately to not blog about Trump too much - even as he plumbs to new lows during the last few months.  Which is saying something when you look at the entirety of his presidency.  For sure, I could spit vitriol for days on end - because every day him or his administration say or do something abominable.  However, I couldn't resist commenting on this:

Where to start: the Star Trek logo, the bad name (the best they could come up with is Space Force?!), the even worse language used by Trump (developing a "super duper" missile), the equally childish glee on Trump's face, the absolute inappropriateness of creating this new branch of the armed forces, and particularly the timing of all this when there are about a million more important things he should be spending his time on.  Unbelievable.  And this entry had to be strongly edited to remove numerous swear words - Trump does that to you.

Too much telly

An update on my viewing habits.  Still watching a lot of British police/detective procedurals – including Inspector Morse, Prime Suspect (now up to Prime Suspect 3, which features a bunch of well-known actors I’ve seen in other things – Doctor Who (in drag!), The Demon Headmaster, Merlin, Remus Lupin, Mance Rayder, Sick Boy), and now also Line of Duty (which is really good so far – don’t know how I’ve previously overlooked this show).  My DVR doesn’t get much use during the week when the number of decent network shows seems to be in serious decline (I guess partly a result of shows shutting down due to the virus, but I suspect also a general decline in quality as the best shows now appear on streaming services), but still a bunch of ones getting recorded on Sunday (including new additions like I Know This Much Is True, Snowpiercer, Killing Eve Season 3, Billions Season 5, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, Run, What We Do In The Shadows Season 2).  But nothing that I would really classify as must-see television, so I am getting closer and closer to cutting the cord – which I think is something I’m going to inevitably do sooner or later anyway.

Downton Abbey

No, I haven't been binge-watching the Downton Abbey series - that would be desperate.  No, this is a brief review of Downton Abbey: The Movie, which premiered on HBO this last weekend.  And, frankly, it was perfect escapist fare for these times.  Essentially just a bloated bigger-budgeted episode, I enjoyed wallowing in the comfortable familiarity of the setting and characters.  No, it's not exactly going to win any awards - but sometimes uncomplicated melodrama is just what the doctor ordered.  I'm knocking off quarter of a star because I thought I saw a cellphone tower in one of the establishing shots.  3.25 stars.

Song of the Week #5

Yes, time for another "random" song - this one inexplicably popped up on my YouTube playlist the other week, and features an artist who I have not even thought about since the 80's (for good reason, some of his discography is awful).

The Slow Recovery

A good sign - I think - is that my dentist contacted me today to set up an appointment to get my crown fitted.  This was something that was previously prohibited for only being a cosmetic procedure, but I guess we've reached a phase in the recovery where they are actually allowed to perform this now.  A sign that perhaps the slow recovery is under way.  We are still under a stay at home order until the end of the month - but after that who knows.  I don't imagine we'll be allowed to return to the office any time soon - and who knows under what conditions.  I've certainly got a long list of things I want to do once I'm able to - starting with a haircut, and probably ending with a trip back to the UK, and a lot of stuff in between. 

Flora

I've lost all concept of time - how long have I been working from home now?  All I know from going for a walk today is that peak blossom has ended, but I did take some photos of some neighborhood flora during past walks.  I don't remember when, it seems like a long time ago....

Minor ailments

In these times, the most minor of ailments can generate the most major amount of concern.  My ankle continues to nag me - and now I'm convinced that I have something more than just an ankle sprain, like a broken foot.  I'm probably over-reacting, but I have a scheduled doctor's appointment for my blood pressure next week (another long term worry - and I don't think the current world situation is doing that any favors), so I think I will ask the doctor to take a look at my ankle/foot as well.  Sleep is a problem at the moment as well - I'm not sleeping well, the quality of sleep is poor, and I'm nowhere near the recommended 8 hours a night.  A new minor ailment that afflicted me this past week is tinnitus.  Is that also stress-related?  It's a new one on me.  Fortunately these all seem virus-adjacent rather than any actual symptoms.  I would be curious to take an antibody test to see if I have already been infected.  I don't think so, but you never know - I haven't had a cough or shortness of breath, but I have had a sore throat and congestion.  Is that just allergies, a simple cold, or something more?

Pasty Gams

I think this is the first day of the year I'm wearing shorts.  Not a sight for sore eyes.  I went out for a walk this afternoon, and didn't encounter as many other walkers as I'm used to.  Was it because I went out at the hottest time of the day (getting up towards 30 Celsius)?  Was it because it's American Mother's Day tomorrow, so can expect to see a lot more people outside then?  Or, as I suspect, was it because all the parks were reopened this week?  On a weekend like this, and because they've been closed for so long, I bet the more popular parks were absolutely packed today.  And I bet there was absolutely no 6 ft social distancing going on.  I want to do a coastal hike - but I won't do it until my ankle is back to full strength, and I'll only go during the week and early.  It'll probably be a couple of months until we get weather like this weekend again, but I can wait. 

Backyard Activities

Currently in a spell of gorgeous weather.  Blue skies, very mild temperatures for this time of year.  So, naturally, what better time to (a) be really busy at work, like weekend busy and (b) still have a dodgy ankle which significantly limits my ability to go out for walks. Fun times.  So I think I need to find activities that I can do in my backyard when it's like this and I have limited mobility.  Forget about gardening, that's not my thing.  I could wash my car, but that's not exactly fun.  How about some lawn games?  But those are really for more than one person.  So I am giving serious consideration to getting a golf practice net.  I'm not a golfer, I'm not a very good golfer when I do play, but I don't mind the idea of hitting some balls into a net.  It's been a while, but I have been to a driving range quite a few times.  Though I really need a set of my own clubs.  And then perhaps I might consider actually taking up golf - when I retire I do want to be one of those old, slow and absolutely terrible golfers you see out of member-only courses.

Better Call Saul

I haven't done a film review for a while, but I seem to go through phases of how I pass my time in the current situation - sometimes its through films, sometimes its through video games, and currently it is through TV shows.  I've just finished watching the latest season of Better Call Saul.  And quite simply it is brilliant.  A classic slow build it has great cinematography, great character development and had me on the edge of my seat throughout (I think I watched the last 3 episodes of the series consecutively without breathing).  I was, and am, a big fan of Breaking Bad, and I was skeptical that this prequel would be any good.  But with many of the same people involved, I should have trusted that it would be.  And it is indeed high quality and classy stuff.  Recommended.  I look forward to the last season (I have no Game of Thrones fear about this show's finale), but utterly dread what will happen to Kim who is not even mentioned in Breaking Bad.   

Song of the Week #4

This has become the blog post I most look forward to doing each week.  This week's "random" song, perhaps my favorite song featuring what - I think - is a musical saw.

No
No
No
No
NO
NO
NO
NO
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
It has come to my attention that even if and when our office re-opens and we can go back, that the table tennis table will be out of commission indefinitely.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I'll play with face mask and gloves if I have to.  Goddamn this pandemic. 

Stupidity

I just don’t understand Americans.  I see these photos of massive amounts of people protesting against stay-at-home orders, massive amounts of people going to beaches as soon as they reopened, and a load more examples of socially irresponsible behavior.  And absolutely no evidence of social distancing.  I even saw a video of a park ranger getting pushed into a lake when he tried to enforce some social distancing.  It really is sickening.  And all of this practically encouraged by an administration that is making decisions that have and will cost thousands more lives, and that apparently will not engage in global efforts to try to fight the pandemic.  And yet Trump is still probably the favorite to win re-election.  You just need to see the influence of right-wing media with the many headlines and stories over the weekend pertaining to Biden’s alleged sexual assault, and the stunning amount of hypocrisy associated with this.  I think the vast amount of Americans are decent, considerate, rational people – but unfortunately the small sliver that is not seem to have a vastly disproportionate influence – even at the highest level of media and government.  I really truly despair at times – and it does make me question whether I really want to live somewhere like this.  I think I do, and I think I want to do something to fight these lies and misinformation.  And that starts with Trump and his administration.  This has to change.  On top of everything else he has done, the handling of this pandemic has been nothing less than a disgrace – so it is incomprehensible to me that he still retains some degree of popularity.  It’s insane.  And it’s morally wrong to just accept it.  America deserves better.  I’ve never engaged in anything political outside of sharing my opinion with anyone who might listen, but I am increasingly tempted to do more.  Like vote.  And that starts with getting American citizenship.  It’s not exactly a good time to apply for it – but definitely something I would like to do sooner rather than later, particularly as my green card renewal date looms.  Let’s see.

Reckless Expenditure

The James Bond merchandise machine must go on, even as the world crumbles around us.  And I've come across some Ken Adams' limited edition art prints for sale.  This is an example of one.

Ken Adams was - as any Bond fan will know - the iconic set designer for a lot of the early Bond films.  Sadly, even for me, I think these prints are outside the price range I am willing to pay.  3 prints, ranging from 225 pounds to 900 pounds each, is just too much - especially as someone who is not particularly prolific at framing and displaying many things on the walls of my home (something I should rectify).  So although as great as they may look, and as much as I crave the words "limited edition", I have to reluctantly pass. 

Accident

Today was looking to be extremely uneventful.  It was raining all day, so just stayed in performing chores, watching TV, and really not doing much of anything.  Then that changed this evening when, and there is no easy way of sugarcoating this, I fell down my stairs.  Apart from a swollen ankle - I don't think I have any injuries.  Just a bit of shock when it happened, a major feeling of embarrassment (even though it's only me here) and a mental note to be a bit more careful going upstairs and downstairs.  This is the kind of thing that should happen to someone twice my age, so yes it sucks.  Good grief, do I need to get one of those personal alarms for the next time I fall over?  I guess I should be grateful that it happened at the bottom of my stairs, so wasn't exactly tumbling downstairs movie-style and getting more seriously injured.  Hopefully my ankle will get better soon - because now I really am stuck in the house for at least a few more days. 

The Hood

Well, Washington has extended it's stay at home order to the end of May whilst other states are totally reopening.  Nothing like a well coordinated national response...  So it looks like the new status quo will last for a bit longer - and even after that, things will take time to get back to some semblance of normality (for example, I heard that Amazon is telling it's workers that they will work from home until October).  What does this mean?  For one thing, more walks around the neighborhood.  Here are some more "highlights":