TV Theme Tunes #19

A quiz this week.  I couldn't find a YouTube clip of the opening theme of this sitcom, so instead you get the piece of classical music from which it is based.  Can you name the show?

Alcohol-Free Beer

When watching the football this weekend, I noticed ads for Heineken 0.0 and Guinness 0.0.  I assume these are alcohol-free versions of the drinks, and I don't object to trying to popularize these.  But what is with the 0.0 naming thing?  Is this specific to these brands, or all brands?  Is there some kind of advertising push to promote alcohol-free beer?  Or is this something that's been around for a while but I just haven't known or noticed it before?  As far as I'm aware, it's certainly not a thing over here yet.  We have low calorie light beers, but you'd think for a nation where driving is so prevalent, and drinking and driving is equally prevalent, that they'd be a market for decent alcohol-free beers.  

Sunday Morning

When I went to bed about midnight last night, there hadn't been any snow.  Had the weather forecasters messed up again?  But no, here is what I woke up to.  A serenely still, quiet and cold snow-covered landscape.  Again.  Maybe a bit less than forecast, but still nice and peaceful.  And by late afternoon, most of it had melted away.  Until the next round (due on Monday night).

Top Gun: Maverick

96% on Rotten Tomatoes.  $1.5 billion box office.  6 Oscar nominations.  Yes, I finally watched Top Gun: Maverick today (mainly because it was free for me!).  This isn't so much a question of whether the film was good or not, rather how good the film was.  And yes, it was good.  Not Oscar Best Picture good (a ridiculous nomination), but normal good.  A fun, loud, stupid cinematic spectacle.  In fact, I wish I'd actually seen this on a big IMAX screen - no doubt accompanied by the whooping and hollering and USA chants of an American audience.  Yes, it is corny as hell.  Yes, it was just a big ego trip for Tom Cruise.  Yes, it is not really dissimilar to the first film.  But I found it surprisingly emotional, which I wasn't expecting.  Perhaps that was nostalgia?  Which wouldn't be a surprise, given the vast number of callbacks to the first Top Gun film.  And just like that one, the actual footage from the planes is amazing.  It's Metacritic score was 78%, and that feels about right to me - 3.75 stars.    

Cold

Lordy, it is cold.  The last few nights have been well below freezing - it got as low as 21F last night (-6C) according to my weather app, but it felt a lot colder than that.  Never a good sign when I have to crank my heating up by a few degrees.  And it isn't fun stepping outside - especially in the morning.  It doesn't help that my house doesn't get a great deal of sunshine, so it doesn't warm up easily - most of the snow we had earlier this week has disappeared from my neighborhood, but not in the vicinity of my house.  At least the roads are fine, so I'm able to do some shopping - though the weather is at least a good excuse not to go into the office.  The temperatures are going to be a bit warmer over the weekend - but still around freezing.  But we have a couple of inches of snow forecast for Saturday night - so it will be interesting to see how things look on Sunday morning.  The weather forecasters haven't been doing a good job with this system - apparently they really screwed up with the Portland forecast, where they got hit hard (e.g. over 10 inches of snow at the airport, the forecast was for less than an inch!),.     

Static Electricity

This winter, the number and strength of static shocks that I've been receiving seems worse than ever.  It's almost to the extent that I have to momentarily brace myself before flicking certain switches around my house, knowing full well that they're going to give me an electric shock.  I know the science says that cold, dry weather makes static shocks more likely to happen.  But I don't remember it being as noticeably bad as this in previous years.  And I don't really know what's different  Maybe I need to start using my humidifier more often - that apparently helps.   

Winter Storm

Once again, we have a big winter storm in the US causing loads of disruption.  This one is particularly newsworthy because places further down the West Coast - like San Francisco and SoCal - are going to see snow, which is highly unusual.  And we haven't missed out on the action either.  This was the sight that greeted me from my bedroom window this morning. 

We had absolutely no warning about this - there was no official winter advisory alerts until this morning, when it was happening.  Gee thanks.  Fortunately the daytime temperatures are warm enough that most of the snow - certainly on the roads anyway - had melted away by the afternoon.  So it's not like I'm snowed in.  But what do we have next in store?  The overnight temperatures are going to plummet well below freezing over the next few nights.  I'm going to be on hummingbird feeder duty, whereby I bring in some of my feeders each night to avoid them freezing up so that the hummingbirds will actually have something they can feed from when I replace them the next morning.  We might also see some some windy weather - earlier this week we had to deal with some big winds.  Fortunately I only lost power briefly, but the sound of the wind ripping through the trees around the house is starting to terrify me with the prospect of one of them coming down.  Fun times.

TV Theme Tunes #18

Another request.  And one I definitely would have got to eventually.  Though, this is not really one but two themes - since it changed radically during the course of the show's run.  I've included them both here, but obviously the original is the better choice.

Whoops

Did I forget to post something yesterday?  Maybe.  Do I have anything important or interesting to share?  Not really.  Am I writing this at 4.30 in the morning, because that is when I had to get up to pee and only then did this stupid blog come to mind?  Yep.  Am I going to be able to get a few more hours of sleep before I have to get up for work?  Probably not.

UFOs

It's been a strange week of America shooting down a load of high elevation stuff.  I say stuff, because we don't really know what it is.  Though I definitely know it doesn't include a Chinese weather balloon.  Though presumably this stuff has been circulating above American skies for years, so it is very random that this suddenly became a thing this week.  Was it a military decision or a political decision to shoot them down?  I suspect a bit of both.  Though wouldn't it be something if one of the things shot down was an actual UFO.  Like not from this earth.  We should expect a retaliatory alien invasion any day soon now. 

Diecast Cars

Instead of spending way too much money on James Bond trading cards, I've started spending way too much money (but not quite as much) on James Bond diecast model cars.  At least they are easier to display than trading cards!  This is one of my latest purchases, a cool replica of an original 1960's release:

On Call

I'm not particularly enjoying my job right now.  But I suppose it's good news that I've been assigned some new work this week that is really important to our company and quite high profile.  The kind of work that will justify a promotion.  The bad news is that there is a lot of pressure to complete the work accurately and quickly - I've already been warned to expect to have to work late nights and weekends.  I haven't had to do that for quite a while.  And because this work could come it at any point in the next month, I have to be "on call" ready to start the work as soon as it comes in.  Including bank holiday weekends, like this weekend.  That's an extra level of stress I don't need.          

NATO Straps

I'm not a watch guy.  I wear one every day, but I don't have a watch collection or anything.  However, this week I got myself a new watch.  I finally had enough of my old one - it was losing about 5 minutes a week, not much but enough to kind of annoy me.  It was an automatic watch, so maybe I wasn't moving my wrist enough (I'm sure there's a crude joke to be had there, but I wear my watch on my left wrist and I'm not left-handed!).  So what new watch should I go for?  As a James Bond aficionado, my old watch was kind of styled after a classic Bond watch.  But obviously a much cheaper knockoff, as I'm not prepared to pay thousands of dollars for some Rolex or Omega.  So after a bit of research, I went even cheaper this time.  I got a cheap Casio watch with a plastic strap.  But then I made the important decision to replace the plastic strap with a NATO strap.  So this is what I ended up with from a <$50 watch and a $10 watch strap:

Not bad right?  It looks a lot more expensive than it actually is.  And this also looks like a classic Bond watch.  I'm very happy indeed.  It was kind of interesting finding out NATO straps and the different ways you can wear them.  This black and grey combination is associated with Daniel Craig, but I think I might also buy a black/red/green combination which is more associated with Sean Connery.  

TV Theme Tunes #17

2 words.  Willie Rushton.

Feast of Saint Valentine

My least favorite day of the year.   

A Wordle Update

I'm currently on a 75 day winning streak on Wordle - which is my highest.  Is Wordle still a thing?  It doesn't seem like anyone really talks about it anymore.  Am I flogging a dead horse?  I think I'm only continuing to play it from a sense of duty rather than for a sense of enjoyment.  If another puzzle game takes over the online zeitgeist, then I will surely move on.

Superbowl Sunday

Well, it was the Superbowl today - complete with all the bombastic and patriotic pageantry that Americans seem to love (and which I don't).  I don't watch or care for the halftime show.  I don't watch or care for all the ridiculous adverts that oversaturate what is an already overlong event.  And normally the game is followed by a premiere of a buzzworthy show.  What did we have today?  Another stupid Gordon Ramsey cooking competition show.  Disappointing, no wonder network TV is failing.  Fortunately, today was redeemed by the actual game - which was a good one.  Two high-scoring teams, and it went down to the wire.  Congrats to the Kansas City Chiefs, led by an MVP performance by their injured MVP quarterback.  Got to be honest, I thought the Philadelphia Eagles were going to win comfortably, so that was a pleasant surprise.  And no fireworks outside - I normally hear some, no matter who is playing and who won.   

A Cleaner Bum

Well, I did something today that I've wanted to do for quite some time.  I installed a bidet attachment to my downstairs toilet!  Although I have very limited plumbing skills, it was relatively easy to install (apart from getting toilet water everywhere, and then stressing over some leaks where I hadn't tightened things properly).  However, I've already noticed a flaw.  With the attachment, now my toilet seat is kind of unnaturally raised and no longer flush with the actual toilet.  I'll see how it works out, but I might have to consider replacing the attachment with a whole new toilet seat with built in spray.  But from everyone I've spoken to who has a bidet, it is supposedly a game changer and I look forward to trying it out.  This is a basic model - you can get flashier ones with things like temperature control (mine only squirts cold water), heated seat, dryer etc.  But I wanted to just try it out first before considering an upgrade.  But as someone who typically get through a lot of toilet paper, I'm really hoping this will make a significant difference.   

Cablephobia

I've had a frustrating week playing around with my TV and soundbar connections again, trying to optimize my set up.  And I realized a few things.  Firstly, despite my TV being relatively new (2019?) it is NOT equipped to deal with next generation consoles, like my PS5.  Secondly, I have to plug my Nintendo Switch into my soundbar rather than the TV to get proper sound from it.  And thirdly, I cannot plug my cable box into my TV because it messes up the sound for all the other equipment.  So, in other words, despite having all these output slots on my TV I have to plug everything into my soundbar - which is NOT how things should work.  And the soundbar doesn't have enough output slots, so I have to use an HDMI switcher.  And deal with an audio lag.  From all this, I have concluded I really need a new TV.  I've done my research, and know which one I want to get.  It ain't cheap - nearly $1500 with tax.  But I could get it from a local store immediately - so I put my back seat down and was all ready to go.  But then I thought I'd better check the TV will fit in my car.  I've still got the box from my last TV, so I brought that out and tested it out.  It did fit, but only when you lay the TV flat - which is NOT how you're supposed to transport the TV since it's likely to damage the screen.  So I haven't got a new TV.  Yet.  I think I need to get it delivered.  Annoying.     

Backyard Wildlife

Just a few shots from my trail cam this time.  It didn't seem to capture much activity - maybe I need to reposition the camera.  I saw some deer outside the other day, but somehow they managed to elude the camera.  Most of my time has been spent trying to work out how many hummingbirds are currently using my feeders.  There are definitely a couple - one time, I managed to find them both on a feeder at the same time.  And I think there might be at least one more, who I've seen being chased away from the feeder.  There used to be more, but I fear they might not have survived the cold weather and frozen feeders when I was back in the UK.  But hopefully will see more when the weather warms up again.

TV Theme Tunes #16

Ah yes, the theme from a classic kid's tv show.  One that I sort of wished I had been on, but which I know I would've been utterly useless at.  When I think of virtual reality headsets and the virtual world etc etc., was this show way ahead of it's time?  Nope, just a bunch of stupid kids unable to work together, accompanied by some pantomimist overacting from the adult cast.  

Hogwarts Legacy

I'm quite tempted to get the Hogwarts Legacy game for PS5.  The reviews have been really good.  But then I have second thoughts.  Nothing to do with JK Rowling's controversial statements - using those as an excuse to boycott the game is ridiculous.  No, my concerns are more to do with the simple fact that I don't really play many video games nowadays.  And particularly not the kind of immersive and open-world RPG that Hogwarts Legacy is.  But then the temptation to rekindle the Harry Potter magic might be too much.  Can I resist...       

More Rodents

Goddamn it, how many mice are there under my house?  I checked the mousetraps this morning, and I caught another one overnight.  But during the afternoon, had perhaps the most annoyingly persistent scrabbling behind the wall so far.  It got so bad that I had to resort to desperate measures.  I started playing a YouTube video that emits a high frequency sound that supposedly acts as a mouse/rat repellent.  It didn't seem to make all that much difference.  Like I really expected it to.  Let's see if the mousetraps have any more success over the next few days, but if the scrabbling continues then it might be time to bring in the landlord's help.  There is no way he will pay for some pest control professionals - he'd rather deal with it himself - but if the mousetraps don't work, then I don't know what the next step is.      

Rodents

I have a mouse problem.  Again.  I've been hearing that infuriating scrabbling sound behind the wall.  So the mousetraps have been brought out of retirement.  In fact, there were some mousetraps still under the house from last time - and one had caught a mouse.  Judging by the accumulation of dust and the deterioration of the mouse, that was not a recent capture.  Yuck.  But I redeployed the mousetraps yesterday, and checked them today - and I managed to catch one last night.  Nice.  I thought that might be it for the time being, but then I heard the scrabbling sound again today - so there must be at least one more mouse under the house still.  The little buggers.  So the mousetraps have been primed again.  Judging by the continued scrabbling sounds through today, the remaining mouse hasn't taken the bait so quickly this time.  Hopefully the temptation of peanut butter on the traps will be too much.      

Man Utd 2-1 Palace

I think it's fair to say that I am officially worried about Palace.  I can easily see us being dragged down into a relegation battle.  We're not scoring many goals, Zaha is injured (and hasn't signed a new contract) and we're not getting many points.  Although I think there are worse teams than us, the relegation fight seems wide open this year with any number of teams below us liable to string together some results or pick up points against each other.  The next run of games could be decisive: Brighton, Brentford, Liverpool, Villa, Man City, Arsenal.  All teams above us, all teams that could (and should?) beat us (arguably, and shockingly, Liverpool might be our best chance of getting some points!).  By the end of March, we might be in the thick of a relegation battle - and I'm not sure we've got the backbone to survive it.     

Bothell

While waiting for my car windscreen chip to be repaired, I took the opportunity to have a quick wander around downtown Bothell.  I've walked the Sammamish River Trail a few times, which starts near here, but I've not really explored the downtown area before, despite it only being about 10 minutes drive from home.  In fact, it was even closer to where I used to live before.  There definitely seemed to be some decent places to eat and drink that might be worth checking out if the opportunity arises - particularly if I walk the river trail again.  But I don't think the downtown area has fully recovered from the massive fire that ripped through the area about 7 years ago (and probably never will).  I remember that - it was a big one, and destroyed loads of businesses.  I thought there was a British pub here as well, but I couldn't find it - and subsequently have found out that it closed pre-pandemic (but it didn't seem to have particularly good reviews, so I don't feel I missed out on anything!).  But Bothell is the the kind of place I wished I lived within walking distance of - I don't really have anything like that where I am now.  I encountered some murals and street art, but this is the only one I photographed (mainly because it struck me as odd, because Woodland Park Zoo is not in Bothell, and is not really that close to Bothell!).

 

Royal Rumble

It was the 2nd most important wrestling event of the year over the weekend - the Royal Rumble (behind, obviously, Wrestlemania).  I have a particular fondness for the Royal Rumble because it's one of the few WWE events that I can remember watching on TV in the UK many years ago (at the time, I think it may still have been called WWF - which just goes to show how long ago it was).  Traditionally, this has been a PPV event in the US - and I absolutely refuse to cough up any money to watch wrestling (apart from the one time I went to see a live event in San Diego), so I don't get to see it.  But these big wrestling events are now on a streaming service that I subscribe to (or, more accurately, comes with my cable TV service).  So I watched this year's Royal Rumble over the weekend.  Or, more accurately, I tried to watch the Royal Rumble over the weekend.  I couldn't get through it.  It sucked.  Professional wrestling sucks.  I think, shockingly, I may be over it.  Professional wrestling is not a sport, it's sports entertainment - the nearest America has to pantomime.  And I think, finally, I may be too old for it now.  That's probably about 30 years too late.  But better late than never.  So although I might still occasionally scan the wresting headlines, I don't think I'm going to watch it on TV ever again.     

TV Theme Tunes #15

Since I'm currently watching the 3rd series of the Channel 5 remake of this show, it seems appropriate to revisit the original BBC theme.  Which is a classic.