Song of the Week #21

Time to (modern) rock out.  I literally only heard of this band for the first time this weekend, and after checking out some of their songs over the last few days I have reached the conclusion that they are AWESOME.  Actually really disappointed that I haven't encountered them before now.  They sound like a heavy Muse - and that is a very good thing.  And I like me some decent bass - and their bass is incredible (to the extent that they don't need any other guitars).

New Balls

I had to make an emergency purchase recently - I've been using my pop-a-shot basketball game so much that I've worn out all the grip on the basketballs and so I've had to replace them.  Best decision I could have made - I was having all kinds of trouble picking up the balls as they kept on slipping out of my hand, and those lost seconds are crucial to getting a high score.  This game may have been one of the best things I could have bought to see me through these times - a perfect distraction for taking a break from working at home (when I actually have any work to do!).  Apparently there are (were) pop-a-shot tournaments you could enter - I just cracked the 100 point mark on the 30 second game, which is no small achievement (but probably small potatoes to the "pros").  It's kind of sad that this might be the "sport" I'm best at... now to start the campaign to make it an Olympic event.

Bobcat

Holy crap, I think I just saw a bobcat in my yard.  That's a new one for me.  I'd just got up and was downstairs on my sofa having a glass of water, and then saw a flash of brown movement in the window.  First thought was that it was a deer, so thought I'd have a closer look.  Then second thought was that it was a coyote, because it was smaller than a deer.  Then finally saw it clearly in the light before it disappeared into the undergrowth and it definitely looked cat-like, with cat-like movement and a shot stubbed tail - I am almost positive it was a bobcat.  It was definitely not a pet cat.  Though having absolutely no clue about these things, it could also have been a cougar or a lynx - though these are both a lot less likely.  But still, whatever it was that was kind of a cool encounter - if only I hadn't left my phone upstairs, I wish I could have snapped a photo in that brief 30 second interval that I saw it. 

Forecast

My oh my, the start of September is looking good in the forecast.  Might take the opportunity to take some more time off - it's not like I'm inundated with work (as has been the case for the last few months).

Sports

There is a distinct lack of sports on at the moment.  I've been watching a lot of playoff basketball and ice hockey recently, but not for the last few days for reasons that I'm sure you're aware of.  I have absolutely no problem with the postponements and the players' refusal to play - there is no excuse for yet another needless death of a black man at the hands of the police, and this is a legitimate way to increase the public's awareness of the problem - and the timing couldn't be better.  Not that I've been following either the Democrat or Republican conventions, but I find it quite ironic that all of these developments are eclipsing the Republican convention and specifically a lot of their talk about law and order.  I'm sure Trump is not happy about it, he's not happy about anything that takes the spotlight away from him - I'm writing this before his speech tonight, but I'm sure he'll say something to stir the pot further.  At this point, I don't think it even matters what he says - Trump is like the boy that cried wolf, he can say anything ridiculous and/or outrageous and nobody is surprised any more. 

Song of the Week #20

Something from my student days, from that peak Britpop time.  I think I had (have?) the album that this came from on cassette.

Work Uncertainty

I mentioned in one of my posts last week that the drug submission I had been involved with at work had not been approved by the FDA.  Judging by the number of “encouraging” e-mails sent out by the higher-ups at our company and the various all-hands meetings set up since the news to discuss the FDA response, this is a bigger deal than I thought and might be the first time I have some genuine concerns about job security.  I probably shouldn’t be worried too much – I think contractors will be the first ones to go, besides the fact that there should still be plenty of work out there if our goal (or, more precisely, the new CEO’s goal) is to have at least 10 new drugs approved over the next 10 years.  I am somewhat fortunate that my job role allows me to switch between different areas (I’ve worked in inflammation, respiratory, oncology and virology just at this company).  But based on my workload over the last few months, and based on the kind of response like “we need to determine what this means for our employees working on this program and the path forward” and overuse of words like “uncertainty” and “disappointment” - then I do worry.  When our company says they are “committed” to this therapeutic area, I hope they prove it rather than it being a precursor to dumping it.  And I hope they are also “committed” to all the people that worked hard on this program, and continue to work hard on this, rather than laying a load of people off.  The news certainly didn’t do any favors to our stock price, which is when people really start to panic. 

Peaceful

Today was a bit of a rarity - a relatively nice day, when I couldn't actually hear any of my neighbors so it felt very peaceful and relaxing.  I know it's not going to last - I wondered down the road to the house on the next lot over that is being refurbished, and it looks like they still have a lot of work to do.  Hopefully nothing as noisy as last week when they were operating all kinds of heavy equipment.  But when you're out on your deck and lying in your deck chair watching the occasional cloud pass over the otherwise brilliant blue sky, with only the sound of your wind chime or birdsong to disturb your reverie, you really appreciate these quieter moments. 

WA State Parks: Day 5 of 5

A confession, I didn't actually go to another State Park today.  However, I went to a National Wildlife Refuge - which is close enough, the only difference is that it is federally-protected land rather than state-protected land so it counts.  The place is called Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge - and is SW of Seattle, close to Olympia.  I had been there before, but a long time ago - indeed the "Billy Frank Jr." wasn't part of the name when I last went there (he isn't anyone famous as far as I know - a Nisqually tribe member and activist apparently), and the trails were different because I would definitely have remembered the big-ass boardwalk that goes out into the estuary.  And it was good to go for a hike somewhere that wasn't forest or coastline.  A very flat approximately 4-mile out-and-back hike, I went there quite early because (1) I wanted to avoid the crowds (which I only partially succeeded with - even at 8.30am, there were lots of people there, but by the time I got back to the car around 10.30am the parking lot was full), (2) I wanted to get back home by lunch (and online for Mario Kart at our regular time!), and (3) because I wanted to time the visit for high tide when supposedly the birdlife is more prevalent and active.  This is a serious place for bird-watching, and the majority of people already there when I arrived were "twitchers" - you could tell who they were by the fact they were over-dressed and lugging around these ridiculously huge binoculars and loads of cameras and camera gear.  Glad I timed my visit for when I did because lots of young and loud families were showing up by the time I was leaving - undoubtedly ruining the atmosphere.  And yes, plenty of birds to be seen - lots of swallows, lots of herons, lots of waterfowl, and lots of birdsong even in just the land adjoining the estuary.  It's a nice place for an easy and pretty walk - and if there weren't so many people there (many of whom wore masks, which was quite disconcerting when I wasn't wearing one), then it would be very relaxing and I would take more time there to enjoy the wildlife.

Hummingbirds

I'm pleased to say that my hummingbird feeder is proving a hit - getting lots of use.  I need to get some photos, but these birds are very skittish so that might prove tricky.  But when I'm on my sofa and glance outside, nothing beats the view of a hummingbird hovering by the feeder and feasting on my homemade sugar water (1 cup sugar, 4 cups water, mixed together).  I think they're territorial, so I guess it's mainly just the one bird making use of the feeder - but occasional I see a pair, or a bird that looks to be a slightly different color (they're kind of all grey/green, so quite difficult to tell).  I'm also not entirely sure whether they are migratory - particularly in the Pacific NW.  The internet tells me that there is one type of hummingbird that will stay year-round, but I don't have a clue if that is what I'm seeing - generally, I am utterly clueless when it comes to identifying any sort of birdlife in the US.     

Rest

No WA state park today - I'll try to do #5 over the weekend (ideally west of Seattle, but that normally involves a ferry ride and it's not worth enduring the ferry waiting times on summer weekends so we shall see).  The weather wasn't cooperating today (rain), my car wasn't cooperating either (I got a low tire pressure warning come up on the way home yesterday, so had to investigate that) and my body wasn't cooperating either (sore legs).  Watched a crappy movie (the Harley Quinn film - decidedly mediocre, 2.5 stars), otherwise a day of doing nothing is sometimes just what the doctor ordered.  Got news this week that the drug submission I've been involved with at work did not get approved by the FDA - they want more data from a couple of ongoing studies - so god knows what that means for my future work and workload, because I was slated to be assigned studies that were probably dependent on approval.  Guess I'll find out more next week.

WA State Parks: Day 4 of 5

I've been on 2 hikes north of Seattle, and a hike east of Seattle so far this week.  Today, I went to Federation Forest State Park which is south of Seattle on the way to Mount Rainier.  Of course I'd much rather have been going to Mount Rainier today, but my national park pass has still not arrived yet (neither have any birthday cards, if this is any indication then I really worry about the uproar and controversy that is going to surround mail-in voting come election time).  I thought I'd been to this park before, but it didn't seem familiar.  And got to be honest, was a little bit disappointed with this one.  Mainly because a couple of trails were closed, which meant that I couldn't do the loop I wanted to do, and in another case meant some serious backtracking.  So I definitely got my miles in - it felt like a lot.  It was also somewhat surprising that you have this park next to a very picturesque river (the White River - you'll tell why it's called that from the photos) but very few actual viewpoints of it.  Ironically, the best views were from trails that I wouldn't have done if my planned route had been open.  Also got a bit depressed that you have this small slither of protected land, but passed so many logging and mining companies on the way there that you don't like to think about how much of this beautiful habitat has been destroyed.  I doubt I'll go to this park again, unless it's for a "restroom" stop on the way to or from Mount Rainier.     

WA State Parks: Day 3 of 5

Apparently I had enough energy this morning to get up early and go for a morning hike at Tiger Mountain State Park - east of Seattle.  Even though it isn't far away (about 40 minutes drive), I've never been before - partly because "Tiger Mountain" suggests to me loads of uphill hiking, but mainly because it just gets so busy especially at weekends (no surprises, given the trailhead is only a couple of minutes off the freeway).  This is the first trail I've been to that actually has a sign asking people to mask up.  But I didn't encounter many people, mainly because the 3 to 4 mile loop I did was a combination of some less popular fairly flat trails (I wanted something less challenging today!).  No spectacular views here, just standard Pacific NW forest habitat - lots of trees, lots of undergrowth, lots of green, lots of wildlife, a few bodies of water, and a lack of decent signage (I had to backtrack at least once).  At one point got freaked out from the sound of something big crashing through the undergrowth near the trail, but didn't linger long enough to find out whether it was a deer or a bear.  Last time I trust the weather forecast, it was still quite sunny.  Otherwise, no plans to celebrate my birthday today (certainly no birthday cake, but I might treat myself to some ribs tonight because I got sent a discount for my birthday!).

WA State Parks: Day 2 of 5

Got back late - I'm tired, exhausted and in no mood to write my post and go through my photos from today's trip just yet - so I'll update this post tomorrow.  I think I've probably over-exerted myself, so tomorrow might be a quiet day.  Also today might have been the last day this week with some sun, which is unfortunate.

UPDATE: So, I ended up going to Deception Pass State Park on Tuesday - Washington's most popular state park.  And there is a reason for that - some of the views are spectacular.  I started with a hike in a part of the park that is less frequented and that I hadn't been to before - I guess there is a reason for that, since this hike was quite underwhelming compared to others in the park.  I wasn't going to do a beach hike - which on a sunny afternoon, even on a weekday, would just be too crowded.  But I wanted to make up for the first hike, so went on a second hike round some headlands - a hike that I had done before.  And spent way longer there than planned, since the views were even better than I remembered and I ended up taking about a gazillion photos.  I definitely will come back to Deception Pass, but preferably earlier or off-season when the crowds are thinner.  Now to go through the dozens and dozens of photos and select a few to post here...     

UPDATE 2: Here we go:

WA State Parks: Day 1 of 5

A week without work, and without worrying about work, means a week of doing some hiking.  First up: Camano Island State Park.  I've been on several hikes before on Camano Island, but not here.  Wanted to start the week gently, do did a loop trail that was only about 3 miles long - maybe a bit more because at one point I had to take a detour - but even so, it was a struggle.  Perhaps because I went during the middle of the day and it's still quite hot (not as bad as yesterday, which was the hottest day in Seattle in about 11 years), perhaps because it's a very undulating trail, most likely because I'm just generally really unfit - but several uphill sections were slow going.  But it was a nice hike - basically some pretty views overlooking the water combined with a tranquil forest section.  Not many people on the trail at all - almost everyone I saw just headed to the beach.  There was a small beach trail, but I'll save that for another time when it's less busy - this is a park I will come back to again because it's not too far away.

Song of the Week #19

A bit early this week, but I wanted to celebrate my sister's birthday by choosing a song from her boy band of choice.  I had a tough time choosing a song from this band, because they all sound the same - no surprises considering this is an A-1 example of the kind of dross that was being churned out at that time courtesy of Stock Aitken Waterman.   Schlock, aimless and waterdown indeed.  Happy birthday sis - glad your music tastes have evolved since then.

Heat Advisory

We've got a heat advisory here this weekend.  And having just been outside this afternoon to wash my car, I can confirm it is brutal.  And apparently it's going to be worse tomorrow.  Thankfully, the temperatures look as though they are going to come back down to something close to normal after Monday.  And that is a relief, because I am taking next week off work - and I want to do some hiking if it's not suffocatingly hot.  I was kind of hoping to go to Mount Rainier and Olympic National Park, but I ordered a national park pass a while ago and haven't got it yet.  Given that the National Park Service and the United States Postal Service are very low priority for the current federal government, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.  Hopefully it will arrive next week, otherwise I might have to stick to State Parks (my State park pass arrived without delay) - and save the National Parks for September.         

Positivity

I have to try to keep this blog positive - must not comment on the disgrace that is Trump trying to influence the election by taking away money from the US Postal Service to prevent mail-in voting, must not comment on the disgusting re-emergence of birtherism (this time focused on Kamala Harris rather than Obama), and must not comment on the rage that Evangelical Christians induced in me after having watching the documentary AKA Jane Roe (about the woman featured in the court case Roe vs Wade that legalized abortion in the US).  As you can see, it's going to be tough.  So let me just say that I welcome the return of Premiership Rugby - just in time, because I think the Southern Hemisphere rugby I've been watching is about to wrap up.

The Truman Show

As I was flicking between channels on a break from work today, I came across The Truman Show.  And it quickly turned into a 1.5 hour break as I decided to watch it from the start.  It's one of those easily rewatchable films, that I have seen many times and enjoyed many times.  And undoubtedly it is a good film, with a fantastic premise, but I still feel it lacks something that makes it a truly great film.  I don't really know what that something is - I wonder if it would have worked if we had just followed Truman and the truth was revealed to the audience at the same time as Truman?  I'm also a bit surprised that a real life version of The Truman Show hasn't been tried anywhere - some version of The Truman Show might have been the natural progression from Big Brother to satisfy our reality TV addiction (and note that Big Brother first aired after The Truman Show).  Either way, an iconic film that still resonates today - 4 out of 5.   

Testing

Hmmm, blogger has updated it's user interface and it appears to cause problems when I insert a video - i.e. you can't see it if you open the blog in mobile view.  That seems wrong - the video is there. So if you're reading this on your phone and I've inserted a video (like yesterday), there is a fix - if you open the post, click on "View web version" at the bottom, then the video should appear.  I'm also going to add the video to this post using the "legacy" interface - which didn't have a problem before.  Just like Apple, I hate it when they introduce an update and it is discovered to have loads of bugs - talk about inadequate testing.  Hopefully they'll fix this soon.

     

Song of the Week #18

 A track from an artist who was underappreciated and pioneering.  And perhaps also the earliest example of something that might eventually become trip hop - one of my favorite genres of music.  And, fair warning, it is a bit of an ear worm if you hadn't heard it for a while like me.

Hood

A neighborhood walk last evening emphasized my conviction that Trump will win re-election.  Why so?  There are now 2 houses I pass with signs for Trump 2020, and a third I noticed a guy doing some gardening wearing one of those red MAGA caps.  And how many signs have I seen for Biden 2020?  Absolutely none.  I haven’t seen any signs for Biden anywhere – let alone my neighborhood.  And that is the problem – whereas I think the supporters for Trump are passionate and motivated (and blinkered), I don’t see that for Biden – people are just reluctantly resigned to Biden as the alternative to Trump.  And so I think that apathy could be a real issue come election time.  I also think there are a lot more closet Trump supporters than polls will ever show – people are embarrassed with Trump, but will still vote for him.  The other thing I noticed in my neighborhood was that although I’ve seen quite a few houses with Black Lives Matter signs, I’ve seen a lot more houses with Blue Lives Matter or other pro-police signs.  I have to think that these people don’t support the Black Lives Matter movement (since Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter are mutually exclusive) and will support Trump since he doesn’t support the movement either.  This is actually quite eye-opening – these signs have only popped up over the last few weeks, and just go to show the systemic racism and how reluctant (white) people are to change the status quo and would rather make the country policed even more militaristically (personally I am in favor of police reform, but not police defunding).  It’s an aspect of the American psyche that I will never quite understand – much the same as the aggressively nationalistic actions of things like playing the national anthem at every single sporting event, or the sheer number of homes that fly a huge American flag. 

Mount Rushmore

 I can't decide which is sadder: that I think Trump was deadly serious and not joking when he inquired about adding his face to Mount Rushmore, or that when I heard the news that I just shrugged my shoulders and moved on.   I don't like this new normal.

Stomach Trouble

 Warning, this is a scatological post.  There are 2 words in the English language that should not be used in combination - "explosive" and "diarrhea".  Unfortunately, I was hit by this affliction yesterday.  It had been coming - I had been suffering from some stomach pains and some truly noxious gas since the evening before.  I had clearly eaten something that disagreed with me.  What could it be?  But then as I was tidying up, I happened to notice something on my receipt from the last time I went to get some groceries - a recall notice for some products that I may have purchased.  It listed various onions, accompanied by the words that you don't want to read "The products may be contaminated with SALMONELLA and, if eaten, could result in severe illness to those individuals who may consume this product.".  And what had I eaten the night before?  Why only some pasta, with some pasta sauce that, yes, I had added some onions to.  So, I think I got salmonella poisoning.  Nice.   I feel better today fortunately - I think perhaps the only good thing to come out of this is that it probably caused some weight loss.

Cable TV

 Once again, I feel a step closer to finally cutting the cable cord.  As the number of decent and/or new shows on cable continues to dwindle, it increasingly makes little sense for me to persist with it - I can easily fill the void with loads of streaming content, and maybe save a little bit of money (but if I do the math(s), not by much!).  I only need to look at the scheduled recordings on my DVR to tell me that we are already scraping the barrel:

- Aussie-Rules Football and Super Rugby - currently fulfilling my sporting fix (I've also replaced football with ice hockey as my favorite thing to have on in the background as I'm "working")

- Anything on HBO - I would subscribe to HBO if I cut the cord (so this also covers the high profile Sunday night HBO shows - I think the next big one coming up is Lovecraft Country)

- Oxford-based British TV (Inspector Morse, Endeavour) - my current British TV fix

- Dramas about to end their seasons (The Alienist, Perry Mason [recommended], Yellowstone)

- Hoarders - a compelling look at mental disorder and some truly disgusting homes (makes me feel better about my own!)

- Corporate - best comedy currently airing (though in its shortened and final season)

- Alone - the token survival show I like to watch

And that's pretty much it.  I've got several other shows and films saved on my DVR, so it's going to be interesting to see how long until I clear it all out - I give it a couple of months. 

Joker

 Another brief film review, this one on the polarizing film from last year - Joker.  And which side of the line do I stand on?  Well, I thought it was excellent.  Dark, graphic, adult, heavy on psychology, heavy on mental disorder and sprinkled with class divide - it is an apt film for our times.  My only criticism might be that it didn't need to use the comic character Joker to tell this story - a figure already portrayed many different ways on the big screen, most recently and memorably by Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight.  This would have worked perfectly well as a dark character study of someone less known and outside the DC universe.  However, I loved the setting - making Gotham City like run-down 70's New York reminded me of all the great films from that period - and Joaquin Phoenix's performance was memorable and worthy of his Oscar.  I have to recommend it (though definitely not with kids - this is not the Joker from the Lego movies) - 4 out of 5.      

Giving Back to Nature

With my battles against crows and moles, I feel I owe nature.  So I have obliged by getting a bird bath (complete with solar-powered fountain) and a hummingbird feeder.

Some important notes.  Firstly, although my bird bath looks great it is made of plastic and does not seem sturdy, and I feel like it could blow over in some big winds.  Also, a bad design fault means that it is not level - hence why I've had to stick a tile under half the base to try to balance it up a bit.  I've only got my frugality to blame, yet again.  I should have got a stone bird bath.   I think the solar-powered fountain is an excellent concept, it floats on the water and spurts out water when it is exposed to sun, however it also has some flaws.  For a start, unless the sun is directly overhead (with tree cover in my garden, and Pacific NW weather - this is not going to happen very often!) the fountain only intermittently spurts out water rather pathetically.  However, when the sun is out and it is going full belt then the water comes out so high that most of it doesn't actually stay in the bird bath.  I've already had to top the bird bath up loads of times.  I've actually had to take the top of the fountain off to make it more of a bubbler than a fountain.  And finally, the hummingbird feeder.  I didn't realize you had to change the nectar juice every other day in hot weather - so this involves a lot more maintenance than I expected.  Also, why it is absolutely impossible to buy a decent stand for the feeder?  I wanted something with a free-standing base that I could put on my patio - but all the stands available only have spikes that go into the ground.  And I was hoping the stand would be a bit higher, but again most of them are even lower off the ground than the one I've got.  So much trouble - I hope the effort is worth it and I actually see some birds using this stuff (encouragingly, I have already seen a hummingbird briefly on the feeder - I know they're around because even if I can't see them, I can occasionally hear their distinctive bird call).     

Song of the Week #17

Jeez, are we up to Week 17 already... how depressing.  What is also depressing is how straggly my hair has become and how much it has started to show up my hair loss - I seriously need to get a haircut.  So what better time to pick a song from a band with some of the best (and most) hair ever.

Outcry

Just finished watching a documentary series about a high school quarterback who was "wrongly" convicted of child sexual assault.  An interesting series, for lots of reasons that were probably unintentional.  Firstly, although he was exonerated of all crimes I still feel a big question mark is hanging over this guy's innocence - and having an entirely one-sided and biased documentary like this only emphasizes that fact.  Seriously needed more details on the prosecutorial side, and a much more balanced viewpoint to be a more effective story.  Secondly, made you think what would you do if you were convicted of a crime that you were not guilty of but you didn't like the head of the advocacy group fighting for your release - a person you've never met before.  I hated the guy who did this in the documentary, and made you really wonder what his true intentions were.  And lastly, there is only one state where this kind of story could emerge from - incompetence from all manner of parties acting in their own interests, and a child sex crime still unsolved - and that is the glorious state of Texas.  The place where I had my worst experience in America, and a place I never plan to go back to ever again.   

Coyote

For the first time, actually saw a coyote today.  I've heard them lots of times before - but this one was just by him (or her) self on my driveway about 30 minutes ago.  Very surprised to see one from my kitchen window when it was still light outside.  I hope this doesn't mean that he's caught my backyard bunny - who I haven't seen today.  That would be sad.  This coyote looked more like a beat-up hyena than anything else - these are the bums of the canine world.  Tried to take a photo - but by the time I had spotted him and went to get my phone, he had disappeared down my driveway.  I went outside and wandered down my driveway and spotted him again, but he saw me before I could get my phone up and disappeared into the undergrowth.  So sadly I have no photographic evidence of his presence.  I kind of hope to see him again, but I also kind of hope I don't because I like seeing his prey (things like squirrels and rabbits) in my backyard.  If he just preyed on moles I would be alright with that.   

Universes

I haven't done any brief film reviews recently, so let's do a couple from films I've watched in the last few days that are from different cinematic universes - both of which have become overstretched and that I have lost a lot of love for.

The first is the Marvel cinema universe, and I watched Ant Man and the Wasp.  Of all the branches in this universe, Ant Man is probably the one that is most tongue-in-cheek - with a healthy dose of humor and not taking itself too seriously.  And for that reason, I quite enjoyed it.  Yes, the story is very lightweight, and as with a lot of the Marvel films the set pieces are distractingly over the top.  But generally I found the film very likable and very watchable.  3.5 stars.

The second is the Star Wars cinema universe, and I watched Solo.  I knew this one had a troubled production, so there was a level of curiosity as to whether it was any good.  As it turns out, it was a thoroughly average film.  Not a disaster, but with a sense that it could have been so much better.  For a Star Wars film, I surprisingly found the score really distracting in not a good way.  And I didn't like the ending.  But again, quite watchable if entirely unmemorable.  2.75 stars.