Happy New Year! A selection of new year resolutions for 2022 that I will undoubtedly not meet:
We got another 3 inches of snow last night and today. I have absolutely no idea when is the best time to try clearing my driveway. I cleared some of the initial snow that we got on Boxing Day, but since it has never got above freezing then all that did was turn my driveway into an icy and slippery mess. And now there's more snow on top of this hardened layer of ice. I don't think this is good. We don't get above freezing until about Saturday afternoon, so I don't think I will try clearing my driveway again until then or Sunday. So that will be over a week that I'm unable to take my car out anywhere. Good job I stocked up on food before Christmas! And to think that today was the day I was supposed to have flown back to Seattle (if the flight wasn't canceled!). I have absolutely no idea what I would have done - I wouldn't have been able to drive all the way home from the airport, but I think the main roads are probably still drivable so I could have made it back part of the way. If this extreme weather is the new norm, then it's making me question (a) whether I should move somewhere less isolating, and (b) whether my next car should have 4-wheel drive.
I'm keeping this run of winter photos going. As I gingerly made my way to the bottom of my driveway today, here is what I came across.
Firstly, someone had made an absolute mess performing a u-turn at the bottom of my driveway. At least they didn't perform the u-turn on the grass a bit further up my driveway - but it sure looks like they crossed my property line.
It was probably the same person who managed to drive their trailer into the ditch just down the road, and abandoned it.
As you can see, the road at the bottom of my driveway has not been treated. So it is really icy and slippery, and on a slope, so even if I clear my driveway then I'm still not going to be able to drive anywhere until it gets treated (which hopefully it will, it has in the past). But when I went to pick up a few supplies from the corner shop, I noticed that none of the streets in my neighborhood have been treated. Jeez, the cold weather and snow was forecast, so whichever department it is have really dropped the ball when it comes to preparing the roads for this mess.
Rabbit:
Deer:
Some kind of bird (though thinking about it, this is probably actually just pine needles):
A nice shot of my house from my driveway on a clear and extremely cold wintry day:
Well, I didn't get a white Christmas. But boy, that wasn't the case on Boxing Day today. Here is what I woke up to:
Once again the weather forecasts were well off. What was only supposed to be a light dusting of snow, with about 50% probability of it actually snowing, turned out to be a lot more. I reckon between what fell last night and throughout today, I've probably got about 6 inches of snow accumulation on the ground where I am. So far. Great for kids, no good for anybody else. Unfortunately we are also experiencing extremely cold temperatures (it's about -5 Celsius right now), which was accurately forecast, and this is a recipe for disaster. It's going to freeze up, especially tonight (-10 Celsius) and it's not getting above freezing until about Thursday. Unfortunately, Thursday is also when another big round of snowfall is predicted. I don't even know when to start shoveling snow from my driveway - which is going to be a nightmare when it's frozen instead of the light and fluffy stuff. I don't think I'm going to be using my car anytime soon. And I've had to spend most of the day bringing my hummingbird feeders inside to thaw out - the poor things couldn't access the food because of the snow and the sugar water freezing up. And there certainly isn't anything else for them to feed on - so I'm doing what I can. And by the noise they make, and landing on the feeder that I have in my hand whilst I'm replacing it, I think they appreciate it.
What I miss most about being here rather than back in the UK on Christmas Day is the food, and particularly a home-cooked Christmas dinner that my Mum has spent hours on (with little to no appreciation). I managed to have a pre-prepared roast turkey meal today, but it didn't compare. But at least I managed to acquire a Christmas pudding and some custard, and that was absolutely delicious. Unfortunately, since having it I have been flatulent all evening. I am clearly no longer used to the heaviness of a Christmas pudding.
Look what I got in a recent purchase (among a load of other autographs):
This is a nice little bonus - a quite rare, and quite valuable, autograph.
This week it has to be a Christmas song - so please enjoy this little something from the early 80's, complete with funky bassline.
Well, my driveway just got a whole load more slippery. Someone - I don't know who, but I suspect a delivery driver - decided that instead of reversing down my driveway or turning round up near my house that they would perform a u-turn on the patch of grass down towards the bottom of my driveway. Unfortunately, that area is very wet and muddy and it looks like they lost some traction, so they churned up all the grass and then drove a load of mud all over my driveway as they left. Jeez, thanks a lot. Very considerate. They left that patch of grass an absolute mess with loads of tire tracks where there was just grass - a bit like if someone had just decided to perform some doughnuts on your front lawn. Not happy about it at all - but can't do anything about it because I don't know for sure who did it. I suspect it could've been a delivery driver but it could just as easily have been my landlord or one of his sons, or indeed a total stranger. And this patch of grass is just out of sight from my home, downhill on the curve at the bottom of my driveway with some trees blocking most of my view of it. So that's probably why whoever did it thought they could get away with it. They churned it up bad, so I kind of wonder whether it will ever properly recover.
If I was in the UK now, this would be the time I'd be staying with my sister and spending some quality time with my niece and nephew. And it makes me very sad that I'm not doing that. Especially because I haven't seen them in person now for 2 years. As I'm sure any grandparent also knows, the window we have to spend time with a niece/nephew or grandchild is very limited. Before you know it, they are teenagers and then off to college - and you're just an afterthought. I already feel that distance between myself and my niece/nephew widening - I don't know their interests, we have increasingly less in common, I don't really know them. And that's unfortunate. We've maybe had a couple of video calls this year, but that's not enough and is no substitute for actually seeing them in person. I guess I only have myself to blame for living on the other side of the world. But the fact that I don't have children of my own, and will never have children of my own, does make me really appreciate and enjoy the few interactions I do have with them. We play some video games online together regularly, which is fun - but I can already feel my niece pulling away from that (not my nephew yet thankfully!). Perhaps because I've watched too many American sitcoms, I kind of hoped that we might have a big family excursion to somewhere like Disneyland one year, where all the extended family (uncles, grandparents, etc.) are there and we all have a jolly good time. But I don't think that's ever going to happen, for lots of reasons. So I guess I just have to make the most of the few scraps of interaction I manage to get with them before they get older and move on with their lives.
With the limited number of football games on this weekend, I decided to watch some rugby. And imagine my bemusement when I came across the following:
Yes, there was actually a game of rugby going on somewhere in that fog. But I couldn't see it, and neither could the commentators - so that made it rather difficult to follow the action.
It's been a while, but a murder of crows accumulated outside my home yesterday. There were about 50 of them circling round, making an absolute racket. I couldn't work out what was going on, until I looked closer. And then I realized what I was seeing - it wasn't 50 crows, it was 49 crows and a bald eagle. And the crows were attacking and chasing the eagle away. And this is why I hate crows. The bald eagle is a magnificent creature - and I would love nothing more than to see one perched in a tree outside my home. But no, that will never happen while there are crows around to bully the eagles away. But this makes me want to go to the Skagit Eagle Festival, a few hours drive north of me - I believe January is peak time to see the eagles. However the winter weather so far this year is hardly conducive to making the long trip up there. But it would be nice to see some eagles in their natural environment.
It's interesting what you can glean from watching the English football games here. It was a few weeks ago that I saw some really snowy games, when clearly some kind of winter storm was hitting the UK. Then a few weeks ago, every game had a round of applause at the 6 minute mark. I didn't know why, and when I looked it up it was kind of unsettling to read about the murder of that 6 year old (a news story I had absolutely no knowledge about). And this week, we've started to see loads of games being postponed - due to a clear surge in COVID in the UK. I can't say it's a surprise - I don't think the government will stoop to ruining people's Christmas for a second year in a row, but I can see more restrictions and a possible lockdown coming in January. Coincidentally, there's also been a surge in COVID cases in professional sports here. But the worrying thing is that this one is still due to the delta variant. I think we still have a major spike coming here due to the omicron variant, and with the sheer number of unvaccinated people I think this one could be particularly devastating and overwhelming. I don't think it's going to be a good winter here, or anywhere else for that matter.
I'm fairly sure I've featured this band before, but what the hell here they are again. There's a reason why they're in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This is from the mid-70's - and perhaps their last big hit (and actually I thought it was a John Lennon song - which just goes to show how little I know). And I only picked this song because it was being played over the end credits in the film I just watched. That film was - well, this is rather surreal - Godzilla vs Kong (2.5 stars).
One of my aims for the next few weeks is to empty my DVR - with the eventual goal of cutting the cord. I'm not sure whether this is achievable - I've got an awful lot of shows and films and documentaries to get through, and I don't want to spend all my time over the festive period on my couch. But I have made a start - and I'm just in the process of finishing watching a documentary series on Obama. And my main takeaway is that even back in 2008, I had forgotten just how terrible and how partisan white America is. It is not a new phenomenon from the age of Trumpism - it existed well before Trump. Trump was just the lucky beneficiary of the inevitable racist backlash to Obama's presidency. And the total reluctance of the Republican Party to work with Obama is utterly identical to it's total reluctance to work with Biden. It's really dispiriting to me that one of the main political parties doesn't act in the interest of America and Americans, then and now, but only in it's own interests - yet remains as popular as ever. There is a certain irony that I, someone who has never voted in any election in either the US or the UK, and can't even vote in the US, am not averse to becoming more politically engaged. That's definitely something I never thought I'd say.
A word about Succession, which concluded it's 3rd season yesterday evening. And yesterday's episode was an absolute doozy - one of the best episodes of any TV show I've seen over the last few years. The comparisons with the Red Wedding episode of Game of Thrones is apt - changing allegiances, betrayal, twists, a shocking outcome. This was classic prestige TV. Overall, I don't think this 3rd season of Succession was quite as good as the 2nd season, but it is still far and away the best show currently airing and absolute must-see TV. In the age of streaming, I'm glad that there is still a show that generates so much positive internet buzz after each episode has aired. And this is, undoubtedly, a surefire top 10 contender on my list of favorite ever TV shows. I own box sets of The Wire, Mad Men, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Lost - I would happily add Succession to this list, though hopefully not for a while as I hope there will be many more seasons to come.
I don't care if the Formula 1 championship was decided in the last race, or even the last lap in the last race. It still sucks. As a sporting spectacle, Formula 1 is ridiculously overrated - lacking in action and excitement. This year has only created a modicum of interest because of all the controversy, little of which has to do with actual driver skill. I didn't watch any of today's race, but I caught the end of last week's race which was just bizarre - one driver running into the back of the other, having slowed to let them go past, and then having to slow down to let them pass again, twice. Perhaps I'm looking through rose-colored glasses, but the sport seemed so much more thrilling and watchable in the past. Perhaps it was the inherent danger in racing back then - in making the sport safer they have kind of ruined it. Ironically, I think Formula 1 is more popular in the US now than it ever has been before. And, sadly, it's almost entirely due to a popular Netflix behind-the-scenes documentary series. Unbelievably, the US is actually hosting 2 races next year. We've come a long way from that hilarious spectacle whenever it was (I just looked it up, it was 2005) when only 6 cars competed in the US Grand Prix.
It's not too late to get me a Christmas present. I came across this today:
It may just be a lighter - not something I would normally have much use for - but this one is special. As you can see, it is a James Bond lighter. But that's not all. It also happens to be very limited edition - only 7 are going to be made. And, perhaps the biggest selling point of all, it's made of solid gold. Which might explain why it only costs a cool 25K to buy. For a lighter. What a bargain. And it comes with a display case, which is perhaps the least you would expect when you're dropping this amount of money. Again, just on a lighter. I'm starting to think that James Bond branded items might be a smidgen overpriced.
I was supposed to be on a flight to Heathrow right now. Instead, I'm working late for the second evening in a row. I wasn't even supposed to be working today. And despite being on vacation from next week, I suspect I might still be contacted and pulled in to help out more before Christmas. The study I'm working on has just been unblinded, so all our team is busy producing and validating the datasets and outputs for the final deliverable. Having these timelines right before Christmas is kind of stupid, but that's just how things have worked out. And there are loads of issues to sort out and questions to answer on the data from this study, which is not helping. The study is kind of messy - mainly due to COVID affecting the ability of subjects in the clinical trial not being able to come in to be tested when they are supposed to. This point in any study is always kind of hectic and pressurized for someone in my role, so my vacation on some level is very poorly timed but on another level is very much needed as I am feeling very stressed out.
I think this is an early 90's cover of an older song, but the message is timeless.
I ordered a COVID testing kit a while back, with the intention of using it before flying back to the UK. Well I'm not flying back to the UK now, but I decided to test myself anyway - simply because this is, shockingly, the first time I've ever tested myself. As with everything else COVID-related in the US, nothing is straightforward - this is a PCR test so it has to be sent to a lab, and I only got it free because I ordered it through work (I think I'm allowed one free testing kit per week). No free testing kits for everyone here - like you get through the NHS - though I think Biden has said that might change soon. Anyway, I got my results today - and I tested negative, which is good. I haven't been feeling great recently, so I was a little bit worried. I did get a shock when I logged onto my account and saw a green check mark next to the test - but this was just confirmation of the test rather than the test results. Talk about bad web page design. Obviously happy that I don't have COVID, but secretly I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't test positive because then I would've felt so much better about postponing my UK visit.
I decorated my house over the weekend, and now I have loads of flashing Christmas lights both inside and outside my home. But since you can't see my house from the road, why do I bother with the outdoor lights? Nobody can see it apart from me, and my immediate neighbors. Which is a shame, because I think my lights look good as they cycle through the different sequences. Though ideally I would put up more hanging hooks. I'm waiting until we get some windy weather, and expecting a lot of my lights that are currently precariously balanced on door and window frames to quickly come down. Perhaps I didn't put them up as well as I could have. Certainly the hummingbirds didn't appreciate the invasion of their space - they were making a hell of a racket as I was putting up the lights near the feeder.
We got a little pre-Christmas bonus from work today - a $150 Amazon voucher. I think everyone in the Seattle office got one - this was a portion of the Christmas party budget split between about 200 employees, since there is no party this year! That was the good news. However, there were also a limited number of bigger prizes raffled off - think weekend breaks, an Apple Watch, etc. And the bad news was I didn't win anything in the raffle. No surprises there, I have an uncanny ability to never win anything in matters of chance. But it was made worse by the fact that 2 colleagues in my group, including my manager, did win. What did I ever do to Lady Luck for her to treat me this way? This is not an isolated incident.
I woke up this morning and opened my curtains, and was quite surprised to see a coyote out of my bedroom window! Or more accurately, the rear end of what looked like a dog (though it was probably a coyote) disappearing into the undergrowth in my back yard. So, once again, no time to retrieve my phone and get a photo. But wait, perhaps my trail camera caught the coyote. But a quick check, but nothing captured on the camera apart from me (no sign of the raccoons for several weeks now). If I had the camera pointing towards the other hummingbird feeder, I think perhaps I might have caught the coyote on film. So that is kind of annoying. Hopefully I'll get it one day.
This somehow encapsulates America. There was yet another school mass shooting event in Michigan recently, where 4 teenagers died. And then a few days later, a US congressman posted the following photo on Twitter:
For those who thought my decision to cancel my trip was a bit hasty and premature, well perhaps I got some karma today. Because we've had so much rain recently - officially the wettest fall (autumn) in Seattle history - my driveway has sprouted a lot of moss. And when it is wet, the driveway becomes treacherously slippery on this moss. As I discovered this morning, as I went down the driveway to retrieve my garbage cans (dustbins) from the bottom of my driveway I slipped and fell down in a very inelegant way. Fortunately I was still hidden from the road, so no one got to see my embarrassment. But the result wasn't good. An extremely muddied up pair of jeans, but more worryingly a nagging pain behind my right knee. I hope the pain is temporary, my movement doesn't seem limited, so my fear that I've done something untoward to my knee ligaments during the act of falling is hopefully unfounded. Nonetheless not good, especially when I value my mobility so highly. Next time I'll make sure I walk down the tire tracks where the moss seems less prevalent, rather than the middle of the driveway. I've also got my landlord on the case when I told him about my accident - and he was already scraping the moss away today with some garden tools. I really just want him to coat the driveway with chemicals and kill all the moss that way.
I've had to make a difficult decision today, and I'm sad to say that I've canceled my trip back to the UK. With the number of new travel restrictions introduced in the last few weeks, both on the US and UK ends, and the likelihood of further restrictions in the upcoming weeks, I've decided the risks are too great. There's too many things that could wrong with this trip, and the increasing expense and inconvenience of constant COVID testing is too much. Not to say a new and dangerous variant running rampant globally. Although it wasn't announced today, the prospect of having to self-isolate when I return to the US is something I'm not prepared to do - and it's something that the government here have considered, and will continue to consider when the number of cases of omicron inevitably multiply. The timing of this new variant couldn't be worse. Of course I feel terrible about this decision, it's going to make some people upset - not least my Mum and my nephew and niece - and the prospect of another lonely Christmas is not one I'm looking forward to. I think the only people happy with this decision will be work - because I've already been asked numerous times whether I'd be able to work remotely from the UK during my "vacation". I think I'm still going to take the time off, but I hope I can make it back to the UK in 2022 when the situation is better, and spend some better quality time with my family and friends.
We're slowing it down this week for some classic 80's smooth jazz. Just what I need, as my stress levels are high because it appears that the US is going to announce further travel restrictions tomorrow - one of the likely restrictions, a negative PCR test within 24 hours of departure to the US, could prove a particularly expensive and logistical nightmare. Any sort of required quarantine could jeopardize my entire trip.
I displayed some classic OCD tendencies today. A few weeks ago I found this delicious assortment of mint candies, and I want to get some more to bring back to the UK with me. But for the life of me I can't find them anywhere. And so despite having loads of work to do, I spent most of the day driving to different supermarkets trying to find them. I went to 3 of them in total - all of them said they had the candy in stock online - but amongst all the other holiday candy, I couldn't find what I wanted. So frustrating. I can't even order them online for pickup. I'm going to try one more place tomorrow morning - the same place I think I got them originally, which is probably where I should have tried in the first place - but if they're not there then I will have to give up disappointed and angry with only the dwindling memory of this mediocre minty American chocolate.
I really hate this time of year in the Pacific NW - it's dark, wet, cold and miserable. And it seems even worse this year. This Thanksgiving Weekend was a great example - a long weekend, ruined by our region being hit by about 3 Pineapple Expresses during this time. What does this mean? Lots and lots of rain. So all my plans to get and about each day were ruined. And when I did go out, it just wasn't very enjoyable and I think I caught a cold in all the dampness. I can deal with light rain, but not heavy rain and when it comes with flooding and landslides (some of my planned hiking trails have been affected). It's this time of the year when I really miss living in Southern California. And at the very least, I think this is the time of year when I really need to take a vacation to somewhere warmer and sunnier. Yes, I am definitely suffering from seasonal affective disorder this year.
So, a deal has been reached for who has the rights to air the Premier League over here. And the current broadcaster of the Premier League, NBC, won the rights for the next 6 years in a highly competitive bidding war. Apparently they had to pay over $2.7 billion for the rights - over double what they paid for their current rights. I think that says a lot about the increasing popularity of "soccer" and particularly the Premier League in the US - it works because the games air early in the day over here, so they don't clash with any of the big US sports. I'm not unhappy that NBC retained the rights, their coverage is good and extensive, but with one major caveat - the main channel that shows Premier League games, NBC Sports Channel, is closing at the end of the year. I'm sure that NBC will air the games on another one of their channels - they've got plenty to choose from. But as long as they don't start airing most of them on their streaming platform, then I'm okay with that. But today was not a good indicator of things going forward - every single game today, including the big one in Man Utd vs Chelsea, was streamed - which as someone who likes to record games so that I can watch them when I wake up, is a problem because I can't record games being streamed.
Ah, the Black Friday sales. When the only things for sale are the things you don't really need. Take last year - this is what I got in the sales:
Happy Thanksgiving! As per American tradition, it's at this point that I'm supposed to say what I'm thankful for. You know the usual platitudes - family, friends, health, money, food, "freedom of religion", etc. So despite what the world throws at us - whether it be a pandemic, extremism, Father Time, etc. - at a base level I am thankful to still be alive, and that the people I care most about are still alive. And, for the most part, in good health. Now to gorge myself on a massive Thanksgiving meal that I didn't cook myself. Nice.
A bad work day today. It shouldn’t be like that. It’s the day before Thanksgiving – and traditionally this is a slow day and you’re allowed to leave early or log-off early. We normally get an email from upper management telling us as such, and it was noticeable that we didn’t get one until much later in the day – I suspect sent out somewhat reluctantly. But did I have an afternoon meeting scheduled? Of course I did. And was the meeting cancelled? Of course it wasn’t. And was the meeting a nightmare? Of course it was. I know I’m not the best communicator – but when you’re dealing with other people who are also not good communicators, but on top of that whose first language is not English… well it’s a recipe for disaster. When someone is reviewing something I’ve done, there’s only so many times that I can say I don’t understand what you’re saying or please explain what exactly needs to be changed. It’s unbelievable. And the thing that they are talking about is the same thing that I changed in the first place because they asked me to do so. It was driving me insane. There were numerous times that I had to mute my microphone during the zoom call so that I can scream out in frustration. The ironic thing is that it wasn’t even a Chinese I was dealing with, it was a Russian. My god, they might even be worse than the Chinese. And the sad thing is that I actually like this person – just working with her can be really tough. And this meeting was really just the topping on a crappy day. Too much work, too much incompetence to deal with, too much stress, and too little thanks for all our hard work at this time of Thanksgiving. I can feel my blood pressure elevated, I’m suffering from some really poor quality sleep recently, I’m getting into bad eating and bad lack of exercise habits, and I don't feel good about myself right now. I was planning to go for a walk at lunchtime but I couldn’t get out thanks to being so busy. Hopefully I can do so over the next days – despite the rain in the forecast. I have got plenty of work I need to do that I could easily keep myself busy over this Thanksgiving break – but I’m not going to, I need the break. And then I have, what, 9 days of probably very intense work before coming back to the UK. On top of all the million other things I need to do before I fly back. Fun times.
For this week's selection, an iconic artist from the 90's. One who I didn't care much for or for her music at the time. And, if I'm going to be totally honest, I don't really care much for it now. But I just watched a documentary on her over the weekend, so she's currently in my consciousness. And she seems to have aged well - the irony of objectifying her as I have just done is not lost on me, hardly in keeping with her songs of female empowerment. My biggest takeaway from the documentary, apart from the realization of just how big she was in the 90's, was that her tour drummer is the same one currently in the Foo Fighters.
The last few months have absolutely flown by - I can't believe it's less than 3 weeks until I come back to the UK. But even before then, I can't believe it's Thanksgiving this week. It's always nice to have a shortened work week, but I haven't made any plans to do anything - and it didn't even cross my mind to make any plans. Travel around Thanksgiving is always a nightmare, and I think it's going to be especially bad this year, but it's something you have to endure if you really want to make the most of this time off. Because if you stay local, like I will, then you have to put up with the really crappy weather. Nonetheless I think I've been so consumed with work recently that I haven't thought about much else, so this shortened week is very welcome. And the much longer break back to the UK, along with 3 weeks without work, is even more welcome and much needed. I fear work may try to encroach on my time off, but I'll do my best to keep it at bay.
I've lived in the US now for about, what, 15 years? And it's taken me this long to realize something about Americans. They don't routinely butter their sandwiches. How on earth have I missed this? I am shocked and bewildered - not just with Americans' poor sandwich practices, but my total obliviousness to it. Shameful. And no, mayonnaise or mustard as your "base" on sandwiches does not count.
My distrust of Apple and Microsoft software updates has become more palpable recently. I refuse to update my iPhone to iOS 15 unless I absolutely have to. The last time I made a major update to my phone, it caused all kinds of issues - notably on my battery life. Similarly, I refuse to update my laptop to Windows 11 - even though I can. The last time I made a major update to my laptop, it caused all kinds of performance issues. This is why I like my Chromebook - the updates are discrete, and there is a lot less faffing around than you have to do with Windows or Apple devices. Chromebooks used to be seen as knockoff laptops that were just useful for web-browsing - but now that you can do everything on the web, such as using Microsoft Office products, I think we're at the point when getting an expensive and heavy Windows laptop is redundant when we only need a cheap, quick and light Chromebook. At least for my needs, and the average person's needs.
The early Lego VIP weekend (i.e. their Black Friday sales) officially started today at 9 pm. And there are 2 sets I want to get:
But naturally, both of them are temporarily out of stock. Which sadly means I can't take advantage of the deals this weekend. No worries, I'll wait until they're in stock again and there's a decent offer to be had (i.e. a nice freebie set that I can pass on to my niece/nephew)
An update on the yard wildlife. No hummingbird feeders mysteriously emptied overnight recently. No coyote sightings. No raccoons caught on film. No rabbits seen. Hummingbirds still around. My trail camera has captured only the very active neighborhood squirrel, and a very blurry photo of a deer that must have been running past in a hurry. Unfortunately the trail camera also caught some video of me clearing up some of the tree debris, and I got very depressed looking at myself and my horribly unflattering body shape. I really should do something about that.
I went into the office yesterday for no specific reason other than to catch up with some colleagues and to take advantage of a free lunch. Well, was it worth it? It was definitely good to see some people who I haven't seen for nearly 2 years. It wasn't quite so good to find out that some people had left our company and I had absolutely no idea. Met some new colleagues and realized that there are even more Chinese in my group than before. It's a real contradiction - I'm a white male in America yet within my department I'm in the extreme minority. What else? The commute was a real mixed bag. Took me less than half an hour to get into the office, but the 1-1 with my manager ran late which meant that I left later than I hoped. It should still have been before rush hour, but it didn't seem like it and there was an accident on the freeway so it took well over an hour to get home. Was not happy about that, and if anything is going to stop me going into the office other than having to wear a mask all day - which we still have to do - it is an awful commute. Took a walk round the neighborhood near the office - it was interesting to see how some things have changed (lots of overpriced new buildings) and how some things haven't changed (more construction, a lack of decent lunch options). I think I might start coming into the office once or twice a week - but only for fleeting visits, and only to grab a free lunch or to go for lunch with friends from work.
It's late, I'm tired, so here is a little something for your enjoyment that could only come from the 80's.
Looks like I dodged another weather bullet today. As I check on my provider's outage map, I see that there are over 26,000 people in my county who are without power. But most are further north or by the coast. My lights flickered a few times today, but the power never went out. Indeed, it seems I've been quite lucky. Apart from a few gusts it didn't get too windy. And I didn't even get as much rain as I was expecting over the weekend - don't get me wrong it was still a lot, but nowhere near as intense as forecast. I think it was a very different story for those who live a little further north or further sound - seemingly the Olympics rainshadow worked quite well for where I live this time.
Just an FYI that I shall not be purchasing this 50th anniversary Diamonds Are Forever diamond-studded gold coin:
So feel free to purchase it for me as a Christmas present. You only have to drop a cool 7 grand on it.
We get a $500 wellness credit through work for the calendar year. There are various purchases you can make that you can claim towards this credit. So far this year, I had only expensed my annual state park and national park passes. Since we are getting close to the end of the year, and not wanted to let this credit go to waste, I decided to make some additional purchases this week. So now, I am the proud owner of a rowing machine and an adjustable kettlebell! Naturally both still remain in their boxes, and probably will do so until the new year. But I've wanted to get a rowing machine for a while now - let's just hope I get more use out of it than my exercise bike! As for the kettlebell - that was something of a random and strange choice, so we'll see how much I use it. In retrospect, I could've and should've expensed the water flosser that I bought a few weeks ago - but I didn't know that was something that was expensable until too late. I think we will continue getting this credit each year, so I think I need to spend it a bit more wisely next year - I did notice that you can claim it towards the cost of a new mattress, which might be a good option.
The forecast for this weekend. Today: rain. Tomorrow: rain. Sunday: rain. Monday: rain. And not just any rain, but we currently have an atmospheric river of moisture (i.e. a Pineapple Express) pointing at us:
What does this mean? Heavy rain. In fact, we are currently under a lot of severe weather alerts. When I open my weather app, I see 4 river flood warnings, a flood watch, a flood advisory and a "special weather statement" which talks about an increased threat of landslides. Nice.
A request came in for my rankings of the Bond actors. This is exactly the kind of thing I like to do, so here we go (but sticking to the "official" Bond actors, so excluding someone like David Niven who was Bond in the 60's Casino Royale):
1. Sean Connery – without Connery, we wouldn’t have the Bond franchise
2. Daniel Craig – I remember the controversy surrounding the choice of Craig, but has proven to be a perfect Bond for the start of the new millennium
3. Roger Moore – corny and way too old at the end, but had the perfect raised eyebrow and was the Bond I grew up watching the most and thus developing my love for the franchise
4. Timothy Dalton – actually considered ranking him higher, I liked his more serious take
5. George Lazenby – kind of wooden, but his sole entry is one of the best in the franchise
6. Pierce Brosnan – I can’t really put a finger on it, maybe the increasingly poor Bond films during his tenure, but I have grown to dislike Brosnan’s take
I’ve decided that I’m going to watch all 25 films in the franchise next year (one every 2 weeks), so that I can then provide my definitive rankings of the films as well. That might also necessitate a re-ranking of the actors.
Got my COVID booster shot today. In perhaps a reflection of America's indifference to COVID now, there was nobody waiting at this drive-thru when I got there at 9.30am. So I was in and out in less than 5 minutes. I think perhaps they could change their policy of appointments only to allow for walk-ins (or, more accurately, drive-ins), though I suspect that still wouldn't make much difference. The biggest surprise was that the drive-thru was set up in a church car park. Considering the church's "neutral" stance on vaccinations at best, aggressively anti-vaxx at worst, I wonder how much push back there was on setting it up there. I was almost expecting to see some anti-vaxxers protesting there, but sadly not so I didn't get the opportunity to give them the finger. Only mild side effects from the shot so far - a sore arm, to be expected as that it was I have experienced from a COVID shot before, but also nausea, which I haven't experienced before. There's been a few times this evening when I've started over-producing saliva in that way you do just before you throw up. Not a pleasant feeling.
This week, we are going weird with a band that I don't even like. I hate the way they do their songs, especially the vocals. But the instrumentation, especially the kick-ass bass, is great.
I finally got round to watching the latest Bond film No Time To Die today - taking a cheeky afternoon off work, and the first time I've been to the cinema since the onset of the pandemic. I kept my mask on throughout the film, and this cinema was located in King County - which meant that I had to show my vaccination card to be allowed in, which makes things feel a bit safer. As for the film itself, I'm still kind of digesting it. I really wanted to like it, a last hurrah for Daniel Craig as Bond. But if I'm going to be honest, I didn't think it was all that. There was actually a few times during the film when I "rested my eyes" - not exactly a sign that I was really invested in the goings on. So it would be fair to say that I found the film kind of boring - it could have been more exciting or it could have been more darker, but it ended up being neither. It made me pine for the old womanizing Bond - a sole love interest, complete with (MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT) a kid, is not what I want to see. And (EVEN BIGGER SPOILER ALERT) neither do I want to see Bond unequivocally die - at least let him die with some ambiguity. I feel like this film just tried to tick all the checkboxes for a Bond film (car chase, gadget use, one-liner, etc), but lacking that something special. An unmemorable villain, an unmemorable chief henchman (or henchwoman), and an unmemorable love interest does not help. I found the little easter eggs to previous Bond films to be kind of distracting. But it does make me want to watch all the Bond films again, particularly Craig's Bond films because I don't think I've watched any of them more than once (though I feel that Casino Royale is by far the best of his). I think this film is probably closest to On Her Majesty's Secret Service, which also saw Bond in love, and which happens to be a better film even if it has an inferior Bond actor. I'm not going to give the film a rating just yet, it needs rewatching. But reading what I've just written here, it definitely seems like a low to mid-table entry in the Bond franchise ratings.
Sunday is by far the best night for TV - and as I look at my DVR, I see that I have over 10 recordings scheduled today. And that doesn't even include any sports - I also record any football or rugby games that happen to be on. The programs that I'm recording range from the sublime (Succession), to British imports (Grantchester), to current affairs (Last Week Tonight with John Oliver), to old reliables (Family Guy). And tonight, we have a couple of season premieres. A new season of Yellowstone, which is generally a pretty solid show. But the big one - Dexter is back. This is a show that I have seen every episode of - I binge-watched it well before the pandemic - and although the quality of the show tailed off in the last few seasons, it is a show I have a fondness for and I'm very much looking forward to this reboot. But with this many scheduled recordings, its no wonder that I remain unable to empty my DVR.
The oldest player ever to play in the Premier League was 43 years old. It's time to let go of my dreams of ever becoming a top tier professional footballer. I had so much promise - I remember one game of football in PE when I hit a pinpoint perfect 60 yard pass, and the PE teacher asked if I meant to do it. Of course I did, and shame on you for not recognizing and nurturing my outrageous natural abilities (although this might have been the only time I ever displayed it, and I had the somewhat disadvantage of being the shortest boy in my year, what can be politely described as a less than average level of fitness, and the fact that I still had to wear glasses when playing). This is the only school memory I have of playing football, and I didn't even play once for our school team. All that potential went unfulfilled, and will have to remain unfulfilled. I also have memories of playing kick-around in the park opposite where I grew up, using rugby posts as a goal and playing 1 on 1 with a friend who lived round the corner. Sadly, the strongest memory I have of that time is of a You've Been Framed moment when I was walking backwards to retrieve a ball and fell ass over end into a ditch full of stinging nettles. Now I'm thinking about it, I've also retrieved some even older football memories from the darker recesses of my mind - though with little context, which are hazy and probably misremembered. Memory of a tournament that my team progressed quite far in (maybe with my cub scout troop?) that included a game that was played in a field full of cowpats, and landing face first into one of said cowpats. And going to a training session featuring some star Spurs players of the time - notably Ossie Ardiles. Curse my failing brain for not remembering that potentially memorable event, and not retaining any photos or keepsakes (not even an autograph) from it.
... mention that the Royal Marines whupped the US Marines in a recent training exercise. Americans do NOT like any denigration of their military. At all.
I'm asked "Do you floss?" every time I go to the dentists. And every time I respond "No I don't, but I know I should". But then the hygienist actually flosses my teeth - and it's painful and I hate it, and so I don't floss between dentist visits. A classic vicious circle. So I've decided on a compromise. I've just ordered a water flosser. I'm sure it's probably a lot less effective than using actual floss, but it also seems a lot less hassle and a lot less painful. And that suits me just fine, and it's better than nothing.
With last night's disappointing, but unsurprising, political results in mind - Trump and Trump supporters are not going anywhere - I need something to cleanse the palate for this week's tune. We're not going totally heavy, but this one came to mind because I did an online quiz recently where you try to recognize famous songs - and this was the first one I didn't get.
Here are some photos from my day trip to Yakima on Saturday. I did a hike at a place called Cowiche Canyon. It was one of the recommended fall hikes, and though I probably missed peak autumnal colors by about a week it was still very nice. Yakima is not close - a good 2.5 to 3 hour drive away, across the Cascades and in Central Washington. It’s an entirely different climate and environment here - known for it’s orchards and vineyards - and this hike very much reminded me of hikes I used to do in Southern California. As the name suggests, it is in a canyon - basically following a stream as it meanders through this attractive but not particularly deep canyon. And you crisscross the stream constantly - passing over many many small bridges. It’s flat, about 3 miles from the trailhead at one end to one on the other - so a decent 6+ mile there-and-back in total. Quite popular, particularly with dog walkers and as it got later in the day, and apparently there are loads of rattlesnakes in the canyon - but I never saw any, perhaps it was too cold. Was the long journey (and early start - I left home at 7am) worth it? I’m going to say yes - and I will come back in spring when the wildflower bloom is supposed to be spectacular here. And perhaps I’ll make a weekend of it in this neck of the woods next time. I don’t think the photos do it justice - a low sun makes for either too dark or too bright views or my silhouette dominating the shot. Oh well.
As I hopped into my car this afternoon, I was greeted by this sight:
Cue panic. Although it looks like someone had broken into my car, this seems unlikely since it was parked at home, and the fact that nothing was missing from inside. Much more likely is that it was my landlord - who I saw puttering about in his lawnmower earlier in the day, and probably kicked up a rock or pebble into my car window. It's not the first time this has happened. Though the first time it has smashed an entire car window. But to his credit he did help me clear up the mess and patch up the window - probably with a bit of a guilty conscience. And he did offer to help pay for the repair, even though there is no definitive evidence that he caused it. But I am worried about how long it might take to repair - the earliest appointment I could get through the car insurance company was in about 3 weeks time. So I've left some messages for some other local auto glass specialists, and I'll phone around tomorrow for some more estimates and hopefully be able to get a repair sooner that isn't too expensive (I may not even go through insurance, if it costs less than $500 then I'd have to pay for it anyway). But I've a dentist appointment tomorrow, and I don't want to reschedule - so I'm going to risk driving the car, and leaving it unattended in a car park, with this flimsy plastic window cover. Hopefully it will stay on... I was also planning to see No Time to Die tomorrow, but I think that will have to wait.
It was an unusually clear and sunny weekend here. And with that came some plunging temperatures - almost freezing around sunrise. I had to bump the temperature up on my thermostat! But at least I was able to get out and make the most of the nice weather, which was important as it might be the last we have for a while. I have a load of photos to sort out, particularly from Saturday when I went somewhere I've never been to before - I'll post an entry with some photos later in the week, hopefully tomorrow. And also my leaf blower got a lot of use this weekend, where I cleared all the tree debris from my patio, my deck and my driveway. There is so much of it - and frustratingly loads of it ends up inside, so I'm constantly vacuuming it up. I don't know if we've got any big windstorms in the forecast, but I'm sure loads more debris will come down. We do have a lot of rain in the forecast - indeed, if I look at the 14 day forecast then every single day beginning tomorrow has rain, some of it heavy. Classic Pacific NW - this is when I miss living in Southern California.
I was shocked to see that the University of Washington in Seattle was ranked the 7th best university in the world. At least according to some recently released rankings. It appeared above Cambridge (which was 8th), but below Oxford (which was 5th). I wouldn't trust the objectivity of these rankings, since they seem to have come from some US media outlet - and so other than Oxford and Cambridge the top 10 is dominated by US universities (with Harvard as #1). I never really think of the UW as a top tier university, but I guess it's up there. I was kind of curious to see where my alma mater - University of Bath - ranked, and it came in at a lowly #412. Which is the #35 best university in the UK. Has the University of Bath gone really downhill since I went there? I'm sure it was considered a top 10 UK university in my time. And in fact some quick internet research does reveal that most current UK rankings have it around the #8-#10 range, which is more like I would expect. Jeez, the criteria that they use to come up with these US rankings must be wildly different. When I look at the subject matter rankings then it is ranked a bit higher in math(s) at #122. Still, does that mean that there are 121 universities in the world that I could have got a better education at? Crikey. Mind you, I don't think it really mattered where I studied mathematics - it was a subject that I was good at but which I was never really passionate about. And, if I'm going to be honest, studying it is one of the biggest regrets in my life.
Generally, I am not following US politics anywhere near as much as I used to during Trump's tenure. I'm fairly indifferent to Joe Biden - I think he has good intentions, but is somewhat hampered by red states and the very delicate balance of power in Congress and the Senate. But at least he isn't Trump. This year may not be as important an election year as next year - when we have mid-terms that could result in a serious swing in power - but there are still some important races going on. Not locally - I didn't even bother looking through the election pamphlet that came in the mail this year. But there are others elsewhere - for example, Governor of Virginia. And apparently what shouldn't be a close race (Biden won the state by 10 points) is indeed close, and one of the hot topics seems to be the teaching of critical race theory in schools. I've got to be honest and say I have absolutely no clue what critical race theory is (I guess not having any children means that I don't really care about stuff like this). But apparently it's a big deal and Republicans and the far right media have seized on it as racist (towards whites). Just like mask mandates and vaccine mandates, and judging by some of the video I've seen of parents' protesting, it generates some serious hatred and pushback from a particular demographic (think white, uneducated, Fox News consumers). Apparently Americans don't like being told they're racist, even though they clearly are.
Ah, one of my favorite genres of music - trip hop. Here's a little something from one of the bigger artists within that genre, though surprisingly not one that I really got into. This will definitely not be to everyone's tastes.
With the CDC having expanded eligibility for COVID-19 booster shots recently, I will aim to get one in a few week's time. It's almost 6 months since I got my 2nd shot, after which due to my "underlying medical conditions" (i.e. being obese and having high blood pressure - aren't I lucky....) I am eligible. I had a quick look online, and it seems there is another drive-thru place not too far away (not the same one I went to before, which I guess is no longer a vaccination site since it was in the car park of a college) where if I can get an appointment then I can get a booster shot. Given the COVID situation in the UK, it is a sad state of affairs if I can get my booster shot before my parents. But if I'm going to come back to the UK for Christmas, then I will feel much better about having had a booster shot.
Although we've still got a wet and windy week ahead, the worst of the winds are over. I think I was very lucky to avoid any prolonged power outages - I lost power again overnight, but that was it. And as I look at the outage map, there are still loads of scattered outages everywhere. My driveway is an absolute mess with loads of tree debris - this is why I bought a leaf blower. But no point putting it to use until we have a stretch of drier and quieter weather - which looks like it's going to be next weekend. Apparently some bigger tree limbs came down in the surrounding roads and yards - I heard a lot of chainsaws this morning. It's a wonder that none of them snagged a power line on the way down. It's difficult to quantify the amount of tree debris there is - maybe these photos of my patio and deck will help. These were clear a few days ago.
I guess I'd better do a blog post now, because my lights have been flickering all day so far and I reckon I'm going to lose power any time soon. A quick look at the outage map reveals a lot of outages nearby, but not in my immediate neighborhood. It's only a matter of time - it's extremely gusty outside. One second it's dead quiet, and the next second you can hear the trees howling. And we have an official wind advisory. And literally as I'm writing this, the power just went out and came back on again. It'll take a while for the internet to get rebooted, so I don't want to lose what I've already written! And now it's got REALLY windy outside. It looks like it's raining, but it's actually all the bits of tree coming down outside from the wind. The weather app says we can expect winds of between 20 and 35 mph, with gusts up to 55 mph. That's actually a lot less than I was expecting, I think the winds are considerably stronger on the coast. I just rechecked the outage map, and there are considerably more outages now than there were about 15 minutes ago. It feels like this could be a long day and a long night.
I kind of had it in the back of my mind that this year I would gradually work through my DVR, watching the various series and films that I had recorded there until there was nothing left. After which I could belatedly cut the cord. But it hasn't worked out that way. In fact, I think my DVR is currently fuller than it has ever been. How on earth did that happen? For sure, there is a lot of stuff that I didn't need to record nor keep on the DVR because it is available on demand. There are a lot of series that can't be that good because I didn't feel motivated to watch them at the time, but I still recorded them. There are a lot of documentaries I have on my DVR that cover a range of depressing topics, so I don't feel particularly enthusiastic about watching them. Will I ever get round to watching everything? I'll probably probably sacrifice a few things, but I imagine I'll watch most of it - I'm very slowly working my way through it. Unfortunately, I'm also adding to it all the time. Which I guess is why I'm starting to have messages pop up from my TV box asking me whether I'd like to upgrade my DVR plan. Quite the opposite, I wish I had less DVR space so it would force me to watch things in a more timely manner and really sort out the wheat from the chaff.
After the extreme heat this year, we have another significant meteorological event hitting us this weekend. There is a huge storm off the Pacific coast right now - and when I say huge, it is literally being called the strongest Northwest storm in history. And apparently it's going to hit on Sunday night. But as often seems to be the case round here, even the experts are not entirely sure where the storm will make landfall and what kind of impact it will have and where. We can definitely expect rain - in fact, the forecast here has rain all the way through to next weekend, some of it very heavy. But apparently the worst rain will be further south - the Bay Area is going to be hit hard. But it's the winds that I'm more worried about. They could be very strong, and they could wreck havoc. Even with a little bit of wind a few days ago, the amount of tree debris coming down was substantial. So if we get stronger winds, I fear some much biggest tree limbs, or indeed whole trees, coming down and causing a whole lot more disruption. This is where living where I am surrounded by so many trees, not all of which seem in optimal health, is a bit disturbing.
I once again noticed this morning that my hummingbird feeder was empty. But this time, I had my trail camera set up overnight. So let's check the footage:
Yep, that is a raccoon just helping himself to the hummingbird nectar. And check the timestamp - this is not very late in the evening. The cheek of it. This is not a welcome development, because apparently hummingbirds will stop using the feeder if a raccoon has been at it. So what can I do about it? Well first thing is that I've taken the feeder off the chain - so it's a bit higher up. But I still think it's too low, so I might need to buy a higher stand. I could also consider moving the feeder, but I'm somewhat reluctant to do that because I like to be able to see the feeder when I'm sitting inside watching telly.
At least I know my camera works. It captures the big stuff - like I've also got footage of a squirrel at the bird bath - but it doesn't capture the hummingbirds in action, which is a bit disappointing. I wonder whether I might be able to if I move the camera a bit closer. I doubt it, they are just small and their movement is too quick - you probably need a really expensive camera to capture that, rather than the cheap one I have.
I've booked my flights back to the UK for Christmas. But now I see all these headlines about an increase in Covid cases, likely fresh restrictions, "Plan B measures" (whatever they are) and potentially another lockdown. Now I'm having second thoughts about coming back to the UK this winter. Certainly based on the trends, it's not looking good. I don't want to come back if my options on things to do are restricted, and particularly if my ability to return to the US is jeopardized. Maybe I should just wait until next summer to come back - I think I can claim a travel voucher if I cancel my flights. But I won't do anything just yet - I'll just pay a bit more attention to the UK Covid situation than I have been. I don't know what the red line for canceling my trip is - but if things get worse then we might be close.
Well it's been far too long, but I actually did a hike this weekend that I'd never done before. And not one that appeared in any of my local guidebooks, but one that came up when I did an internet search on best fall hikes in Washington. And I'm pleased to say, this one delivered. I hiked the Old Sauk River Trail, located about a 1.5 hour drive away north and inland of where I am now. And this trail checked a lot of boxes for me - flat, decent length (I probably hiked about 7 miles), a decent trail through a moss-covered forest alongside a raging river, not too busy (especially for a Saturday - you've probably got the trail to yourself on a weekday), some nice views to be had, loads of mushrooms/toadstools if that's your thing, and some of the best and most colorful fall foliage I've experienced round here - that I don't think my photos do justice to. I will definitely come back to this trail on a sunny autumnal day.
Seattle Seahawks were playing in the Sunday Night game tonight. I wasn't watching, and I haven't heard any fireworks, so I assume they lost. Even if it's raining quite heavily, like it is now, some idiot will still set off a load of fireworks whenever they win. In fact, while I think about it, I haven't heard them very much at all this year, mainly because Seattle have not started the season very well (I think they're 2-4 now, and also have their star quarterback out injured). It also explains why I haven't seen many people out and about in their Seahawk's gear recently - what a bunch of glory fans we have round here.
I haven't done a film review for a while, so let me do one now since I watched Tenet for the first time last night. And I say first time, because I think I need to rewatch this film - because I hadn't got a clue what was going on half the time. I think it was a good film, if a touch pretentious, but the whole going forward and backwards - literally backwards - in time was so confusing. It made for some very surreal action set pieces - I can understand why it won an Oscar for visual effects. It's no surprise that after finishing watching it, I immediately wanted to rewatch it (which I haven't done yet) - and maybe the first time I've felt that since watching another Christopher Nolan film - Memento. And the second thing I did after watching it was to go online to try to find an explanation for what I just watched. There's plenty of discussion to be found, and many images of which direction in time each character was going in at various points in the film, SPOILER ALERT, like this:
