Weight Check-in Feb

Jeez, is it already the end of another month?  Time for another look at how my weight loss is coming along.  Well I just weighed myself, and not so good.  Not so much any weight loss but actually some weight gained.  Just a couple of pounds, and not surprising but still disappointing.  My diet hasn't been great over the last few weeks - despite having these "healthy" meals being delivered.  For example, I have developed a random and unhealthy addiction to pop-tarts!  And my exercise regime has been poor to non-existent - yes, I can somewhat blame the rainy weather for not enticing me to get out much, but unless it's absolutely pouring down then that is not an acceptable excuse.  I need to improve next month.  If not, then I need to make some significant changes to my lifestyle if I'm going to be serious about losing weight.  Which I want to be.  

Rugby Thoughts

As I'm watching the Six Nations games today, I have some thoughts:

- I think it might be time to drop Italy from the Six Nations.  It's been what 5 or 6 years since they last won a game, and most of their defeats are not even close.  We've given them plenty of opportunities to improve and compete, but it hasn't worked.  So let's give another country a chance.  Maybe Argentina, I'd go for Japan - the World Cup there was a success, and I think this would help continue to keep rugby popular there in the years between World Cups.  Yes, maybe not practical in terms of distance and time difference - but I think it is worth it, especially post-covid when travel is less of an issue.

- Why the hell are there still Premiership rugby games going on this weekend?  You don't get Premier League games when players are on international duty, so I think it is ridiculous that you still have club rugby going on when the teams' best players are not available.  That is some serious lack of respect towards the domestic game and the domestic teams.

- The actual game of rugby has not fundamentally changed over the years that I've been watching, but a number of subtle rule changes over the years have made a slight difference.  I think rugby has always been one of the most difficult games to referee - it's a messy game, a key reason why I like it, and there is a high degree of subjectivity when it comes to enforcing the rules.  It is still not a perfect game, I think teams will always find ways to skirt the laws, but I love the fact that players respect the game, and the referee, a lot more than any other sport I know.

- Oh England, that is some disappointing defeats this year first to Scotland and then to Wales.  I have to question the coach - some of the tactics, player selection and indiscipline is very disappointing.  For example, I don't think Saracens players should've been selected - they haven't played any games this year, so no question they would be rusty and not ready for international play.

- I have some major issues with how certain players are allowed to play for certain countries.  It makes a mockery of international selection rules - and really challenges the credibility of international competition. I had to look this up, but it seems like there is a rule about players becoming eligible to play for the country where they have resided for a certain number of years.  This gives a real unfair advantage to the countries with the best domestic leagues - like England and France - where any player from any country who plays for one of these clubs for long enough becomes eligible to play for a country that has no connection to their own nationality or family history.  That doesn't seem right.

- It's interesting that the use of VAR, which is so flawed in football, is extremely effective in rugby.  I hate VAR in football - it ruins the flow of the game, and some of the VAR decisions are questionable and problematic to say the least.  I think the linesmen (and lineswomen) should be given the respect to do their job - I hate the fact that they delay raising their flag now due to VAR, which is nothing short of saying they can't be trusted to make the right decision.  Whereas I find VAR in rugby to be perfectly "normal" and trustworthy.  Football could learn a lot from rugby in this regard.       

TV Update

I was having a scroll through the upcoming scheduled recordings on my DVR, and if you take away sports then there really weren't a lot.  A sad reflection of the state of broadcast and cable TV, with all the quality shows having seemingly migrated to streaming services.  And this is perhaps also reflected in the prevalence of game shows that seem to take up most of prime time nowadays - cheap and easy to produce, and utterly unwatchable.  So I only currently have 3 broadcast/cable shows I can recommend:

- Resident Alien: only 5 episodes in, and this is still one of the most entertaining and watchable shows out there about an alien disguised and living among humans.

- Prodigal Son: cheesy and totally over the top, but it fully embraces this - makes for a very entertaining show about a tortured criminal profiler (featuring Michael Sheen hamming it up as his serial murderer father)

- Clarice: yes, this show is flawed - nowhere near as good as The Silence of the Lambs, nowhere near as amazing as Hannibal the TV show from a few years ago, and unable to mention certain key characters by name (like Hannibal Lecter!) for legal reasons.  And despite it being a bit of a formulaic crime show, I have found it quite watchable 3 episodes in.   

   

Wildlife Update

I spotted some new wildlife in the yard today.  As I was settling down for some lunch, I glanced outside and spotted a couple of raccoons just sauntering past my house.  This was a new one for me - I've never seen them before, at least not in my yard.  No idea how they would react to a human presence, but I went outside to get a closer look - and one of them scarpered up a tree whereas the other stood it's ground just staring at me.  I wonder what it would have done if I'd got closer.  But instead I went inside to get my phone to take a photo, but by the time I got outside again they had disappeared.  Judging from the racket that all the nearby birds were making, I'm guessing that they might have both gone up the tree.  But I couldn't see them.  Let's hope that they don't make the transition from the tree to my roof.  And talking about birds - I had to make the difficult decision today to bring my hummingbird feeder and bird bath inside.  Apparently a lot of sick and dead birds have started showing up in our state, and it's due to some strain of salmonella that is rapidly spreading (that came to us from Canada - damn those Canucks, they're also guilty of giving us murder hornets).  So the bird experts recommended removing bird feeders and baths for the next month to try to slow down the spread.  Not that I ever see loads of birds congregating there, but since the snow I've not seen hide nor hair of my local hummingbird - so I don't feel too bad about it.  However, I do hear the distinctive birdsong of a hummingbird when I go past my neighbor's yard - so the traitor might have just moved next door.    

Bad Teeth

I went to the dentist's this afternoon for a checkup and cleaning - and, remarkably, my teeth are in really good shape and didn't need any extra work.  Hurrah - busting all those American stereotypes of all British people having bad teeth!  In fact, the most worrying thing about the trip was when they took my blood pressure and it was really high.  Perhaps that was a reflection of my high levels of anxiety about going to the dentist (the only time I brush my teeth after lunch), or a reflection of my high levels of anxiety about work today (didn't have a good day) or a reflection of my high levels of anxiety due to nearly forgetting about the appointment, leaving kind of late and then getting stuck in traffic on the way there (making a 15 minute trip much longer than normal).  Whatever reason, I need to do a better job of tracking my blood pressure - especially as I've just started a new blood pressure medication which may need the dosage adjusting if it isn't working.  What an action-packed life I'm living. 

Song of the Week #46

This is about as Seattle as you can get when it comes to music - a grunge supergroup featuring Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder on vocals.  And even the music video was filmed at a location I've been to many times - it sure looks like Discovery Park in Seattle.  It's one of my big regrets that my music tastes were so immature and undefined in the early 90's when there was such a decent amount of quality alternative music (grunge and madchester immediately spring to mind) - my guess, too much growing up listening to the decidedly mainstream pop music of Capital Radio.   

Tower Bridge

I've been working on a Lego set over the last week, and I finally finished constructing it yesterday:

I don't think the photo does justice to just how huge this bridge is.  It's about 40'' long and 18'' high, and currently sits on top of 2 bookcases because that's about the only place big enough for me to put it.  Not a particularly challenging build, and a bit too much repetition, but it does looks pretty good.  I've also got a Lego Big Ben set that is apparently on the same scale as Tower Bridge here - though I don't have the room to put that anywhere just now.  I have built this bridge before - so I was a bit alarmed by the number of spare pieces I had left behind once I completed it.  I'm sure that probably means that I've missed a step somewhere, but for the life of me I can't see anything wrong with the finished product.  And there's no chance now that I'm going to take it apart and put it together one more time... 

Gale Warning

It's windy outside tonight, and there is something very disconcerting about hearing the wind whistling through the trees that surround my home.  Because one of these days, hopefully a long time in the future when I'm not living here, the winds will bring down a tree and cause extensive damage.  I already know that loads of branches and tree limbs are going to come down tonight, so I'll have to do some cleaning up tomorrow.  I think the worse that has happened since I've been here is that a tree came down across the road at the bottom of my driveway - and I think it might have actually been my landlord who went out there with a chainsaw and cleared it.  I don't think we're expecting really heavy winds tonight, but we are under a gale warning - so I won't be going out on the sea tonight!     

More Subscription Boxes

I've decided to give a subscription meal box service a go, and my first meals got delivered yesterday and I had my first one today.  First impressions are mixed, to say the least.  First of all, they don't look appetizing - they come in this frozen package (with an awful lot of packaging, which can't be good for the environment) so essentially they just look like fancy microwave meals.  I thought they might use a lot more fresh ingredients, but that doesn't seem to be the case yet they are still a lot more expensive than the microwave meals you can get at the supermarket.  And, as feared, they are small.  This is not necessarily a bad thing - American meals are notorious for their lack of proportion-control, so I don't mind having a meal that is proper sized.  The first meal I had was pulled pork al pastor - I followed the instructions to microwave it, but I'm wondering whether I should have heated it up on the stove or in the oven to not lose so much of the flavor.  But even using the microwave, it didn't taste half bad.  However, it didn't take long before it - how shall I say this politely - "disagreed" with me.  That is not a good sign.  So this particular meal box service might be a very short-lived experiment.  I'll give it a few more weeks and I think I've got no meal the same (I'm on the 4 meals a week plan) so let's see how it works out.  But there might be cheaper alternatives (not least, learning to cook!) that will allow me to get a more varied diet - which is really the whole point of this.  

Mister

I was watching the local news last night - well when I say watching, it just happened to be on.  But then a report caught my attention - the reporter kept on using the phrase Mr Biden.  Perhaps that does injustice to how he was emphasizing the "Mr" part of it - more like MR Biden blah blah blah MR Biden blah blah blah.  How disrespectful was that to PRESIDENT Biden?!  And then it dawned on me, I was watching the local Fox affiliate.  And they were not showing a local news report but something national - so likely it came from Fox News.  And by not calling him President Biden, it was clear that the reporter was making a not so subtle jab at the legality of Biden's presidency.  The whole situation is just utterly preposterous.  It's clear that a significant proportion of the American population will never accept Biden's presidency - and irresponsible media outlets like Fox News continue to propagate this and other falsehoods.  I think it might be time to change the name of this country - it should now be called the "States of America" because there sure doesn't seem to be much "United" going on, and I'm not sure there ever will be again.          

Sweet Treats

Yay, my first "British Candy Box" arrived today.  And I've already started dabbling in it.  I think that might be the first bag of Frazzles I've had in over 30 years!  For my subscription, I went for "The Ultimate British Box" - so once a month I should get delivered a mixture of chocolates, crisps and sweets that probably won't last very long at all.  I'm a touch disappointed that a few of the items are readily available here - so not an exclusively British selection - but still most of the contents I cannot get here and which I miss, so that's good.  A lot of items have their prices on them, so I get to see just how much I'm overpaying for the privilege of getting them delivered here (and with shipping I'm maybe paying close to $50 for about £15 of goodies - but probably still worth it).  Hopefully this will satiate some of my cravings until I'm next back in the UK - or at least when the Canadian border opens and I can go shopping there!

A Whole Bunch of Nothing

These blogs are a real struggle when nothing is really going on and I'm feeling uninspired.  I don't want to talk politics (Trump's impeachment was never going to happen).  I don't want to talk about Palace's recent abysmal performances against some pretty ordinary teams (we'd better get something out of our next two games against some even weaker opponents).  Work is as insipid as normal - I've got stuff to do but nothing really keeping me that busy (that will happen later in the year).  The snow that fell is still hanging around, but that was probably the one and only proper winter storm we'll get this year (and it wasn't nearly as disruptive as, say, what is going on in Texas right now).  I'm not watching any particularly exciting or interesting TV or films at the moment, nor playing any video games apart from Mario Kart once a week (I gave a lot of consideration to buying Animal Crossing - but ultimately decided against it, as I just can't see myself committing the time to play it as much as you need to).  And, as has been the case for the last year, it doesn't matter how much the world is in turmoil but nothing particularly exciting or interesting is really going on with me.  Which is kind of sad.  I need a holiday, but since I don't want to fly anywhere then my options start to become a lot more limited.  But I'm going to take some time off soon, as I think I'm quite close to maxing out my vacation allowance - and it might be a good idea to do so before I start to get busy at work again.         

Song of the Week #45

Cannot believe that I only heard this masterpiece for the first time this week. It may be one of the most epic and grandiose song I've ever heard, behind only Bohemian Rhapsody.  

President's Day

It still feels like it was only a short while ago that it was the Christmas break.  And here we are, already at our second bank holiday since then.  Kind of ridiculous how front-loaded they are in the year, I don't think our next one is until May - no time off for Easter here.  And how did I spend the day?  Clearing my driveway of the snow.  What an absolute nightmare - it takes so long and it is such a work out.  With no more snow in the forecast and temperatures above freezing, I might as well do it - though it wasn't warm enough to really make it any easier.  It was fine until it started raining, and that didn't wash the snow away or turn it into slush, instead only making it heavier to move.  So I am exhausted, my whole body aches, and I dread to think how sore I'm going to be tomorrow.  But there is a certain degree of satisfaction in being able to push myself to clear all the driveway so that I can take my car out tomorrow.  The road beyond my driveway looked like it had been treated and plowed, so that's good (though it made clearing the bottom of my driveway particularly tough).  I'm glad I bought that snow shovel though.       

Winter Storm Watch - Day 3

Hey ho, here is what it looked like this morning:

I think it stopped snowing last night, but by this morning it had started again and the snow flakes seemed much bigger.  We were forecast to get 1-3 inches of snow today, but again it seemed much more.  It only stopped snowing late afternoon.  And then we are expecting rain overnight and tomorrow - fortunately just rain and not freezing rain, as the temperatures should creep above freezing.  But it will be interesting to see what kind of mess I have to deal with tomorrow.  And I'm pleased to say that the hummingbird is still around - first thing I did when I got up this morning was to go and unfreeze the feeder.  And it wasn't long before I saw him filling up for a LONG time.  I also thought I saw some human footprints in my yard that didn't come from me, but on closer inspection I think they were actually deer tracks.  However, looks like someone's car couldn't make it up the short hill on the road outside, as I saw tire tracks in my driveway where someone had turned around.  Kind of stupid to try to take your car out in these conditions on untreated roads. 

Winter Storm Watch - Day 2

Some views from outside my home this morning:

Yes, a lot of snow came down last night.  And it hasn't stopped snowing all day today (even as I write this in the early evening) - so there's even more now.  To the surprise of absolutely nobody, the forecasts were way off - I got a lot more snow than forecast, probably something close to a foot.  And snow/freezing rain has reappeared in tomorrow's forecast, so there is more to come (and a higher chance of power outages).  Fortunately it warms up by Monday - so I shall save my snow shoveling until then (there will probably be a LOT of local flooding).  It's President's Day, so at least Monday is a bank holiday.  I fear for my hummingbird.  I could see him just sitting on a branch near the feeder most of the day, probably absolutely starving - I did try to clean up the feeder a few things so that he could feed, but it's tough because the snow is relentless so it doesn't take long for it to get covered up again.  Hopefully he can make it through the next few days.  And the same goes for all the other animals whose tracks I see in the snow - even though some of the tracks absolutely mystify me as to what kind of animal they came from.       

Winter Storm Watch - Day 1

 This is the view that greeted me from my back door this morning:

Just a sprinkling of snow, but this is just the teaser I think for what is going to come tonight.  We’re under a winter storm warning.  The forecasters seem to be having an absolute fit trying to model this storm.  I’ve been checking my weather app a lot this week, and there seems to be absolutely loads of variability with wildly different forecasts every time I check – anything from no snow to a couple of feet.  It looks like south of Seattle got the worst of it last night – but I think everyone is going to get hit by the next band tonight.  Currently, I’m forecast to get 3-5 inches tonight and another 1-3 inches on Saturday.  We were also supposed to be getting some more snow on Sunday night in a concluding third act, but that seems to have disappeared from the forecast.  So hopefully this will pass quicker than the “snowpocalypse” 2 years ago.  But my goodness me it is cold today – it can’t have got above freezing all day.  I’ve already been out to check the driveway – kind of icy, but I think I could take my car out if I really needed to (which fortunately I don’t – I already stocked up on my groceries a few days ago).  Also refilled my hummingbird feeder that had frozen up – but I have no idea if those little guys will be out and about much today, if they even survive these kind of below freezing temperatures for the next few days.   

Gate

It seems like my landlord is putting in a gate on the driveway up to his home.  It's something he talked about a few years ago, and much like a lot of other stuff (e.g. putting up more motion-activated lights) I didn't think it was going to happen.  And now it is, I'm not happy about it.  At all.  Because I also use that driveway.  I use it to get to my mailbox, I use it when I go on a neighborhood walk, and all delivery drivers use that way to bring stuff to me.  Mainly because my own driveway is narrow, uphill and totally unsuitable for most vehicles - and there's no way I'm going to get my mail that way when it's dark and I have to walk along a section of road that is not lighted and has no sidewalk to get to my mailbox.  So I'm very nervous about the impact of this gate.  And he'd better make sure that I have access to it, and it doesn't impact any of the various deliveries I get.  I doubt my landlord has thought any of this through...  after all, this is the same guy that still has his Christmas lights up.      

K

OK, apparently I have very low potassium.  Some of the symptoms include fatigue, muscle cramps and abnormal heart rhythms.  Yikes.  But might also explain why I've been feeling so low energy and lethargic recently.  At my last doctor's visit, I was told to try increasing my dose of potassium supplement.  I've done so over the last few weeks, and went in today to get some follow-up blood work done.  And then this evening I got a call by the covering doctor to tell me that low potassium is still an issue and that it needs to be addressed.  That can't be good.  It may just be a simple case of changing my blood pressure medication - I use a diuretic and that is likely to be the cause of the issue.  But we shall see.  It seems like I have the joys of trying out different blood pressure medications, and their associated side effects, to look forward to again.  Great.  

Song of the Week #44

One of my favorites from when I was younger that I hadn't heard for a very long time.  Enjoy this classic.

Loft space?

It's difficult to describe the geography of my home, but I have this small loft space (is it loft space?  I don't know what else to call it) above my bedrooms.  Here's some photos to try to give you some idea:

So it's not like a typical loft with access via a hatch - this is actually a lot more open, but you can only get to the area via setting up a ladder.  And when the only ladder you have is an old crappy one left by your landlord, and when you have someone with my lack of mobility, actually getting up there is a real challenge.  So when the smoke alarm started beeping because it needed a battery change - it was a real nightmare clambering up there to deal with it.  But I've bought myself a bigger ladder now - so I think this area now becomes a viable option for storing things.  It's not really much use for anything else, there are no power outlets or anything, just a whole bunch of dust and cobwebs.  And some windows that I need to be able to cover up when myself or a guest sleeps in one of these bedrooms - otherwise they get way too much light in the mornings.  It shouldn't have taken me this long to deal with this.

Superbowl Sunday

Oh wow, did I forget to post a blog yesterday?  Perhaps I was caught up with the Superbowl being won by a quarterback who is nearly as old as me.  Nope, it wasn't that because I didn't watch a single minute of the game.  It must have just slipped my mind.  Though apparently our local Seahawks fan who sets fireworks off when Seattle wins a game was at it again last night - I'm not sure whether he is a Tom Brady fan or a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan.  I'm not sorry I missed it - apparently it wasn't that good a game.  But happy that this was another screw you to the New England Patriots - one of my least favorite sports franchises.  

Phase 2

I forgot to mention this earlier, but officially my part of the state entered "Phase 2" of reopening this week as part of the "Greater Seattle" region.  Basically, and controversially, this includes loosening some of the restrictions - such as allowing limited indoor dining, and limited use of gyms, cinemas and bowling alley's - though I think you'd be insane to go bowling or go to the cinema just yet.  It's controversial because the COVID rates in Seattle are still high, but also a lot of the other parts of the state that are still stuck at Phase 1 are unhappy about being left behind.  The whole phasing thing seems somewhat arbitrary - it's definitely undergone some significant changes, because I'm positive that Snohomish county (where I live) had different restrictions to King county (which includes the city of Seattle) not long ago.  I don't exactly know what the criteria are for moving from Phase 1 to Phase 2, but generally I think infection rates in our state are pretty good compared to other states.  But then I also gather that vaccination rates in our state are apparently one of the lowest in the country.  Who knows when I'll finally get the vaccine - the distribution of which also seems highly arbitrary.

A TV Recommendation

I've found the perfect TV program for these times - a quirky comedy/drama that combines dark humor with a big heart.  It's not too serious, it's not too graphic, it's not too complicated - reaching that ideal level of comfort and ease of watching.  It's only 2 episodes in, so it could go either way - but I think it has a lot of potential and I like a lot what I've seen so far.  So, I recommend checking out Resident Alien (I believe it's on Sky One in the UK).  

Ice Cream Dream

Another week, another jigsaw done:

And another Lego one at that - I dread to think about how much money I've shelled out over the years to our Danish overlords.  This one was a touch disappointing due to how quickly I was able to do it (humble brag?!) - basically a case of dividing the jigsaw pieces up by color, and then completing the 18 mini-jigsaws.   I need this kind of distraction - the act of completing a jigsaw or a Lego set is somehow very comforting to the soul during these dark winter days stuck at home.  I think it might be time to break out one of my unopened Lego sets next...

Temperature

I suffered a serious case of anxiety this morning.  With a dentist appointment this afternoon, and knowing that they take your temperature there, I decided to take my own temperature beforehand just to check that all was good.  And it wasn't - my temperature was high, over 100.  I haven't been feeling great this week, but I haven't been feeling feverish.  Or at least I didn't think I was.  And of course, one of the main symptoms of COVID is a fever.  Hence the panic.  So obviously I canceled my dentist appointment and feared the worst.  But then I checked my temperature again about an hour later and again this evening, and it seemed to be normal.  What the hell?  Is my thermometer really that temperamental?  I clearly need to get something better and more reliable - so much for buying one of those fancy no-touch ones.  Either way, I'm not taking any chances and not going out for the next few days (although with the amount of rain we've been getting, I'm not sure I would have anyway).         

Song of the Week #43

Jeez, my lethargy has extended into taking a day off work today.  Very low energy.  So let's give it a boost with this track - punk before there was Punk.

I Hate Mondays

Too much rain, too much work, too late to write a decent blog post.