Eligibility

Shockingly, I think I am eligible to get a COVID vaccination as of today.  Washington state today moved to Phase 1B Tier 4 (who comes up with these designations – what a joke!) -  which includes “people 16 years or older with 2 or more co-morbidities or underlying conditions”.  Considering I, sadly, suffer from both high blood pressure and obesity – that makes me eligible.  Unfortunately it also makes another 2 million people eligible, plus they are dropping the requirement to actually prove that you are eligible (a serious mistake in my opinion, as I don’t trust people to be honest with their eligibility), resulting in it being almost impossible to actually get an appointment anywhere.  I went on a couple of vaccine finder websites – naturally the unofficial one was a lot better than the official one – but nothing within reasonable driving distance that I could sign up for.  I’ll continue to check quite often, but I think it will be weeks or months rather than days until I can actually get an appointment somewhere.  I’m okay with that – considering my lack of interactions with anybody, I think my risk of exposure is very low so I don’t mind waiting a bit longer.

Song of the Week #51

Another track from a band that has already had a song of the week -  who are quickly becoming one of my favorite bands from the 70's.  From what I understand, you either love them or hate them - and I love them.  And the last minute of this particular track is gold.

Pyromania

I think I might have a neighbor who is a pyromaniac.  It seems like every day for the last month or so when there hasn't been heavy rain that he has a fire going in his garden.  It could be first thing in the morning when I see the plume of smoke, or late at night where I see the orange glow - but it's weird and it's disturbing.  I would understand the occasional bonfire or the occasional BBQ/campfire, but this is not normal - especially so frequently and at this time of year when it's still quite cold outside.  This is not even a neighbor I've given any thought to since I moved here until now - it isn't someone immediately next door but someone I can see from my kitchen window across the undeveloped patch of land adjacent to where I live.  It started with the appearance of a trampoline in his garden - something I think could be the source of some unwelcome noisy kids come summertime - and now these fires.  And if this is who I think it is, then his house has the look of belonging to a hoarder when I drive past the other side of it.  So lord knows what he's setting fire to - the color of the smoke doesn't always suggest wood... 

Canal Blockage

I've seen the headlines about a ship blocking the Suez Canal, which is hilarious.  How the hell does that happen?  But it also revealed how bad my general knowledge has become - because I naturally assumed that it was the canal between North America and South America, and didn't give it any more thought.  But it's only today that it dawned on me that I was thinking about the Panama Canal rather than the Suez Canal.  D'oh!  I think this is a good reflection of how my brain cells have eroded over time.  I haven't done a pub quiz in a very long time, but if I did (and I'd quite like to post-pandemic) then I think I'd be quite useless - though maybe in the US my entirely different knowledge base (or at least whatever is left of it) might be an asset as part of a team.  

Play At Home

Another year of the pandemic means another load of free Playstation games through their Play at Home promotion.  There were a couple of games last year, and about 10 this year so far.  I've downloaded them all, even though I doubt I'll ever play any of them.  Especially because half of them require a VR headset, which I don't have (and doesn't really appeal to me, as I'm not sure I'll ever embrace virtual reality games as anything more than a fad).  In fact, I've hardly played any new games on my Playstation or Nintendo Switch since the start of the pandemic - which is a surprise.  And yet I still want to get a PS5 - even though it's almost impossible to get one.  What is wrong with me.  I'm getting too old for video games.  I miss the simplicity and playability of the Speccy games I grew up on.  Like playing, and completing, Operation Wolf on Christmas Day after I got it as a Christmas present (I'm not entirely sure if this is a real memory, or one that I have exaggerated in my mind - Wikipedia does say it came out in December 1988, so maybe it did happen!).        

Fake News

Of all the news sources, I wouldn't have thought BBC would be guilty of fake news.  But here we are.  Today I came across an article in which they claimed that USA should be considered one of the contenders for the 2026 World Cup.  What utter bullsh*t.  I don't care that they are one of the host countries - a fact that had slipped my mind (as an aside: I will definitely plan to watch some games in person during that world cup, particularly since Seattle is one of the host cities).  But let's be realistic - USA will not win the World Cup in my lifetime.  They just don't have the focus, drive or passion towards "soccer" that you need to go all the way.  The article referenced the fact that so many Americans have appeared in the Champions League this season - but what they don't say is that most of these are fringe players who are either mediocre or play on mediocre sides.  Or that there are dozens of countries that have more and better players in the Champions League.  You just need to watch MLS to see how far behind the game is here compared to Europe.  Nope - I would suggest that you stick to your own version of football.  And that the BBC stick to credible articles.  

Phantosmia

Oh no, my house is starting to smell again.  It's too early in the year for the annual pollen smell (if that's what it is!) that so bothers me - this is something else.  And this smells different - I can best describe it as stale sweat.  And I seem to notice it most when I'm in my living room.  But, for the life of me, I can't identify the source.  Does it come from me, does it come from something inside the room, does it come from something outside the room?  Am I imagining the smell?  I guess now that I'm spending almost 24/7 of my time at home, there is bound to be some consequences.  I wonder if it's also coincidental that I briefly saw the raccoons again this morning.  But no matter what I do - vacuum the room, clean the sofa, light a candle, spray air freshener, plug in a scented oil freshener - the smell is not going away.  It's driving me crazy, and with the destructive sound of chainsaws and falling branches still going on in the background from across the road - I'm increasingly in a bad mental place right now.

Deforestation

There is a sound I really don't like, and it's one I've had to sadly endure for the last few days.  And that is the sound of a chainsaw.  I don't like seeing the wanton destruction of trees, and that is what is now happening on the opposite side of the road from where I live.  I have this really sinking feeling that they are clearing a lot for the construction of new housing.  And so this is just the prelude for a lot more noise and disruption to come.  And so, obviously, I am not very happy about all this.  I think this weekend I need to have a wander over there to see if I can work out what is going on - because there is only so much I can tell from peering down there from the edge of my yard.  Some classic twitching curtain syndrome going on here.    

Song of the Week #50

I should do a bigger song to celebrate week #50 of doing this, but nope you just get some 80's cheese!  I'll pick a favorite for #52, to celebrate a year.  But for the time being you get this - you don't hear that many chess-based songs, but here's one for your enjoyment.  I haven't heard this one for ages, but perhaps thanks to a resurgence in the popularity of chess due to the critically-acclaimed The Queen's Gambit on Netflix - one of the first shows I'll watch when I inevitably resubscribe to Netflix - it crept into my YouTube feed recently.

Phase 3

Washington state moved to Phase 3 today.  I don't know entirely how many phases there are in total, but we're not exactly talking about dramatic improvements yet - some spectators are allowed to go to sporting events, and slightly more people are allowed to go inside bars/restaurants now.  I also suspect that schools have reopened for in-person attendance - I certainly noticed a lot more school buses on the road today, and there were more kids outside when I went for a walk around 4 pm.  All of this despite big fears about another surge of cases.  At this point, it would be a total disaster if we had to reintroduce any restrictions - which is why it's so important for the US to maintain it's quite good vaccination rates (I think we're behind the UK, but not by much - and obviously we're talking about a significantly higher actual number here).  Some states are already at the point of being able to offer the vaccine to everyone - Washington isn't there yet sadly.     

Missing My Footy

A disaster on the sports viewing front.  I've become a fan of Australian Rules Football, and was looking forward to the new season starting this weekend.  Naturally due to the time difference between here and there, most of the games are on in the middle of the night so I end up having to record them.  So I had scheduled these recordings for this weekend, then all of a sudden they disappeared.  The games were no longer being shown on US TV.  What the hell?  Well, apparently the broadcaster here and the AFL have yet to reach a deal - and so they simply dropped all the games from their schedule.  I can't tell you how disappointed I'll be if they don't reach an agreement - this has become one of my favorite sports to watch (and actually having full crowds at any sporting event - as they do in Australia - makes it infinitely better).     

Good News, Bad News

A mixed day.

Good news: I got my new green card today.  So I'm a legal permanent resident here for another 10 years!  Unexpectedly, I didn't need to get my biometrics done again - so my new green card has an old photo of me from 10 years ago.  Yikes.  And did they refund me the cost of the biometrics screening?  Did they heck.  But with the long waiting times, was very surprised to get this new green card before my old one has even expired.  I don't think I'm going to get another one after this - if I'm going to stay in the US beyond 10 years' time, then I might as well become a US citizen.

Bad news: I did my taxes today.  I knew I was going to owe money, but I underestimated just how much.  I thought I might end up owing about $5K, in actuality it's almost $8K.  Yikes.  I haven't filed my return yet - I'm going to double-check my numbers again tomorrow.  But this is not good - I think I need to obtain the services of a financial advisor or someone that can advise me properly on both how I should be investing and how to reduce my tax burden.  That probably starts with donating more to charity, which results in a tax deduction.   

Supermarket Services

There is a local supermarket that I do my weekly shopping at, and there was an interesting development when I went there this morning.  It has also turned into a covid vaccination site!  I was wondering why there was a queue of people just beyond the checkout, and I saw that they had converted what used to be an in-store bank into a vaccination site.  This was unexpected, and I think must have happened this week because I'm sure I would have noticed it before today otherwise.  As with most of the other vaccination sites round here, I don't imagine it is easy to get an appointment - it looked quite busy even before 9 am.  There seemed to be an awful lot of people younger-looking than me queuing up - how on earth did they get appointments when they're not eligible yet?  (I think we're still on over 65's, and over 50's who live in multi-generational households).  I think it will be a couple of months at least until I can get my vaccination.  Hopefully by then there will enough supply that it won't be so difficult to get an appointment - whether it's as this supermarket or somewhere else that I don't have to drive miles to get to.    

Streaming vs Cable

I am still clinging onto cable TV, but only by a thread now.  The vast majority of quality new programs are now available on streaming services, some of them exclusively so.  I can watch live TV through a streaming service - traditionally one of the major reasons for sticking with cable was for live sports, but that simply isn't an issue now.  Conversely people say that streaming saves you money - but I don't think that's necessarily true nowadays.  Between paying for your internet connection and the streaming services that you'd want to get - it really is comparable to what I'm paying for my cable and internet right now.  So I'm conflicted, but I do think it's inevitable that I will cut the cord sooner or later.        

March Madness

March Madness starts tomorrow.  A quite unique sporting event that only Americans care about - a series of knock-out basketball games over the next few weeks between 68 college teams.  Frankly the most interesting thing about it is to work out where the hell some of these colleges are located geographically - I don't have a clue about most of them.  I can't even support a local team, as none qualified for the tournament (though the favorites - Gonzaga Bulldogs - are located in East Washington).  But naturally I have completed a bracket - even though I have absolutely no clue about how good any of these teams are.  They are seeded, so you can play the probabilities (though that didn't stop me picking a 16-seeded team to beat a 1-seeded team - only because the 16-seeded team was the Hartford Hawks, so I couldn't miss an opportunity to pick the namesake of my UK hometown).  March Madness was canceled last year, so I expect it to dominate the sports coverage here for the rest of the month.  Even though I have so many issues about the fact that these student athletes are not paid - despite the huge amounts of revenue this tournament generates.  It's also going to be interesting to see if the pandemic plays a role in this tournament - I think they are playing all the games in just the one state this year (Indiana), and I believe there are "stand-by" teams in case any positive cases are recorded.  

Song of the Week #49

It's rare for a live version of a song to be at least as good as the studio recorded version.  It's rare for an already great song to be given the opportunity to be elevated even higher with the addition of a choir and orchestra.  It's rare for a singer to sound as good live as he did some 40 years after the original was recorded.  This is great. 

I Hate Mondays

What other day of the week would you be sent an e-mail at around 5 pm telling you that you have 2 days to program about 40 tables?  So much for my hopes of having an easy week.  There is no in-between in my job - either I have nothing to do, or I have too much to do.  I'm sure this is doing wonders to my stress levels.  I'm already nervous about how much pressure I'm going to be put under when the new study I'm working on starts up in April/May and data starts coming in.  Keep calm and carry on etc etc. 

Tis The Season

Yes, it's that time of the year - the worse season of the year.  Tax season.  What better way is there to spend a horrible, wet, windy and cold day than making a start on my taxes.  Today it was just about collating all the information I need to start filing my tax return - since I have to report almost every single cent of interest I've earned across my various accounts.  Most banks will mail you that information, but increasingly more of them won't - so I need to log into those accounts and print the necessary documents.  And it was mightily depressing to see just how low the interest rate has decreased on all my savings accounts - it is a good couple of percentage points lower compared to what it was just a few years ago.  Nonetheless, I am worried about my taxes this year - because if we look at the trend over the last few years, I will owe the IRS even more money that I did last year.  And that was a lot.  So my mood matched the weather.       

Ring Fit Adventure

Well, I've had Ring Fit Adventure for my Nintendo Switch for a week now, and I haven't played it once yet.  I sincerely hope it's not going to be another one of those video games or blu-rays that sits on my shelf for years on end totally unused and/or unwatched.  No, I need the exercise so I'm sure I will give it a go at some point - but whether I stick with it is quite another question.  

Kitchen Nightmares

I am watching a lot of Gordon Ramsay stuff on YouTube at the moment - I think probably because his swearing is uncensored on YouTube, whereas it gets bleeped out on US TV, and so there is a certain amount of enjoyment to be had from seeing unfiltered clips from his shows.  They are not exactly must-watch - over-produced with very manufactured and fake drama - but the sheer amount of content (Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, MasterChef, Hotel Hell, etc.) means it's almost inevitable that you'll catch him on TV at some point.  And I happened to watch on YouTube recently the episode which featured a restaurant in Seattle.  And not just in Seattle, but in the neighborhood where I used to live.  And not just in the neighborhood where I used to live, but literally on the same road I used to live - just a few blocks down.  It wasn't somewhere I had ever eaten at - it was a fairly unappealing Greek restaurant, and I am no big fan of Greek food.  But I used to walk/bus/drive past that restaurant every day.  I don't remember exactly when the episode was filmed, but I do remember the big trailers they had parked on the street for about a week when they did the filming.  And a quick internet search reveals that the restaurant is still going - so I guess Gordon Ramsay might have helped keep it afloat.  Though ultimately I suspect he probably didn't have anything to do with that.   

May 1

Well, apparently I'm going to be eligible to get the vaccine on May 1.  Like every single other adult in the entire United States.  And what do you reckon the chances of being able to reserve an appointment are then?  I'm going to say slim to none.  Not when you have millions upon millions of other people trying to get appointments at the same time.  I predict this is going to be a disaster.  And I predict there are going to be a lot of unhappy unvaccinated people.  Presumably the aim is to have everyone who wants to be vaccinated vaccinated by the 4th July holiday - so that we can all celebrate independence from the British variant.  Ha ha ha.    

$1.9 Trillion

 ... That's a lot of money.  And how much of it will I see?  Jack squat.  I don't qualify for a stimulus check (which I guess is a nice reflection of my salary!).  I suppose I might see some of it indirectly through whatever state and local government get, but nothing directly in my pocket.  But I'm fine with this, and I approve of the relief bill - I think it's a necessary step to recover from the economic impact of the virus.  Of course not everything in the bill is going to be successful, but better something than nothing.  Disappointing but not surprising that it wasn't a bipartisan bill - such is the obstructionism of the Republican party nowadays.  What an absolute disgrace they are.  I would support the bill even though I don't agree with everything in it.  For example, I don't agree with the fixed amount of the stimulus check - $1,400 goes a lot further in somewhere like Mississippi than say where I live - and I think the qualifying criteria and amount of the stimulus check should have been more tied to cost of living.  It's exactly the same reason I don't agree with a universal minimum wage - which I'm glad they dropped from the bill - but I do agree with a minimum wage decided at a more local level.  It's so ironic that the people and the states that are likely to benefit most from the relief bill are predominantly Republican supporting.  What a messed up country this is.      

Song of the Week #48

Enough with the obscure, let's go for a tune from one of the biggest bands out there.  A band that I was there from the start - I got their first album on cassette - and who I don't think have ever made anything bad.  And I could choose between dozens of really great tracks, but I'm plumping for this beauty which I find so, so haunting.  Enjoy!

Fire

You'd think with the advances in technology and special effects that TV shows would be able to add realistic looking fire.  But no, they still can't.  And it's so obvious when they've been added, because the effect looks odd - it's off-putting, cheap and very noticeable that it's fake.  It's like some FX company just sells a load of these effects to various TV studios, and they just force them in whenever they can.  And with the sheer number of shows that involve some kind of explosion, there are plenty of opportunities to do so.         

Bingeing

I feel like I'm long overdue to start binge-watching a great TV show.  But so many to choose from.  Do I go for one I've seen before or not?  Do I go for a box set that I already own or not?  Do I go for something old or something contemporary?  Do I go for something British or something American?  Obviously I could just stick to the Bond films - something I've been meaning to do for a while.  But no, I want it to be a long-running TV show.  And I think I've decided which one it is going to be.  It is a show that I own the first series of on DVD, but I don't think I've seen any of the subsequent series.  It is a critically acclaimed show that ran for 6 series, the last of which was in 2007.  I know the ending - it is quite famous (or is it infamous?!) - even though I've never seen it.  And, apparently, there is going to be a prequel film released later this year.  It is, of course, The Sopranos.  And it's an HBO show, so I should be able to stream each episode for free - so final question, how should I space out 86 episodes?  I'm thinking maybe 3 episodes a week - which means I'll be done in about 28 weeks, which will take me up to September.  Blimey, that feels like a long time away.  I wonder if I'll still be working from home by then?          

TV Event

No, I shall not be watching Oprah interviewing Harry and Meghan tomorrow night.  It has been promoted endlessly, is anticipated highly, and CBS apparently paid a LOT of money for the rights to air the interview.  But I couldn't care less and shall not be tuning in - mainly because I don't give two sh*ts about Harry and Meghan.  In moving to the US and splitting with the royal family, isn't that how they want us to feel about them?!

Upgrades

OK, I think I've upgraded all the items I want to in my kitchen.  At least for the time being.  Just in the last week I've got a new microwave, a new toaster and some new dinnerware.  So what next?  There is certainly some bigger stuff I want to get - in particular, a new sofa and a new mattress.  It wasn't that long ago that I got new ones of both of these, but I feel I can and should spend a lot more money and get something a lot better for these things that I use a lot.  But that isn't my focus just yet.  I want to upgrade my clothing next.  It's been a very long time since I bought any new clothes - mainly due to a total reluctance to go anywhere near any shopping centers.  I did this week - I went to an opticians located in a shopping center to get my glasses adjusted, and it was nightmare because it was surprisingly packed and I couldn't find any parking, and then I had to wear a mask everywhere and it kept on fogging up my glasses.  So I think I need to do all my clothes ordering online - and then you have to deal with the fact that not everything will fit correctly.  Which is a total pain in the ass.  At least I've got another coat on the way, courtesy of a free gift from work.  I read somewhere that we are going to be close to "normal" by summer.  I very much doubt that - even though some states have already started lifting their mask mandates - it will be a while until I'm prepared to go to one of the local malls to do some clothes shopping.           

Vacation

I've taken 2 vacation days this week - Monday and Tuesday - and for all the good it's done me, I shouldn't really have bothered.  Rather than 2 days, what I really need is 2 weeks vacation.  Or even 2 months.  The last few weeks of work have been awful - not really feeling dialed in, not really feeling in the least bit motivated, not really feeling I'm doing a good job.  You could say I'm suffering from the L's - lethargic, listless, lazy and lonely.  I'm sure I could come up with some more words beginning with L to describe my mood if I really put my mind to it!  But yes I am feeling increasingly disillusioned with the job - none more so than during a team meeting today.  It felt politicized - myself and someone else are about to start work on new studies, and I get the distinct impression that we are being played/pitted against each other.  The meeting also exposed some clear favoritism - and I am definitely on the outside looking in.  This doesn't come as a surprise, but it's not fun to feel left out and unable/unwilling to contribute to any of the discussions going on during this meeting.  Perhaps there is a loss of confidence thing going on here as well.  Perhaps it's because my career has kind of reached a ceiling - which should be okay because I don't want nor need the extra responsibility and stress that comes with promotion - but I can't help feeling bitter when I see people getting promoted who totally don't deserve it.  Would love to know how much my colleagues earn - I'm sure I'm probably also being shortchanged on my salary and bonus, even though I'm quite happy with what I'm getting.  So much for keeping these blog posts positive.  But such is my mood today - I apologize.           

Travel

I'd almost forgotten that my green card is about to expire - since I've given absolutely no thought to traveling outside the country any time soon.  It had slipped my mind until I got some mail recently from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.  And it contained a form that I can use as evidence of my lawful permanent resident status for 12 months after my green card expires.  So that's good - I had only thought about not being to travel without a valid green card, but yes I guess it's also quite important that I'm still legally able to reside and work in the US!  But it also got me worried about just how long it will be until I get my new green card.  So I checked the status of my application online, and it did say it would be processed in about 4 weeks time - which is a lot sooner than I would have guessed.  But then I've probably still got to go into the local USCIS offices for an updated biometrics screening.  And who knows how soon I might be able to schedule that.  But hopefully by the time I want to travel - a trip back to the UK at the end of the year would be good? - I'll have a new green card and no issues with travel.

Song of the Week #47

Apparently this is the second most requested song to be played at funerals - at least according to the artist.  Bonus points if you can name the first (I wouldn't have guessed it).

I'm too old for this ...

Hmmm, what could the title of this blog refer to?  Well let me tell you - I happened to watch Lethal Weapon in it's entirety over the weekend!  A film that is nearly 35 years old now (!) and which I'm sure I've seen before, but it must have been donkey's years ago.  Of course, this is the famous quote from the movie with a certain expletive omitted.  And watching it, I did recall some of the plot details - but I think Lethal Weapon and Lethal Weapon 2 have kind of merged in my memory.  The thing that most caught my attention, and which I didn't remember at all, is that this a Christmas movie - in the same way that Die Hard is a Christmas movie, incidental to the plot but whatever.  The film has dated somewhat badly - from the fashion choices, to the music, to the highly questionable policing methods.  It doesn't have the entertainment value of say Die Hard, but is one of the better mismatched buddy cop films that were so popular back in the day.  3 stars.