More Trail Cam

Some recent highlights from the trail cam:

Lord of the Rings

Yes, I shall be getting this Lego set when it is released at the start of June.

 It will pair nicely with the Rivendell set I've already got.

TV Theme Tunes #88

I haven't done one of these for a few weeks, but they are a nice fallback when you don't feel like doing a proper blog entry.  And it's a classic this week - from a national treasure no less.

Bundles

I haven't subscribed to Netflix for a very long time.  Indeed, the last time might have been when I got Blu-rays through the mail from them - which gives you an idea of how long ago it was.  But that might be about to change.  Comcast - who are my cable and broadband provider - have announced that they are going to offer a discounted streaming bundle to their customers.  This includes Netlfix, Apple TV+ (which I have never subscribed to) and Peacock (which I've already got).  It seems that these streaming bundles are the way forward - a lot of them have been introduced, or about to be introduced, recently.  We have a Disney+, Hulu and Max bundle, a Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ bundle, and - one I definitely want to keep an eye on, since they claim it will cover all major sports - is an ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. sports bundle.  The big question is - do these streaming services replace what I currently have, or are they just yet another expensive addition?      

I Must Be Dreaming

I haven't won many eBay auctions recently, but I did win this one.

And it's a PSA Gem Mint 10 autograph - which essentially means it's a virtually perfect autograph.  Sweet.

Fundraising

As I was heading home from on the office on Friday evening, I noticed that the traffic going the other way - into downtown - was absolutely horrendous.  Backed up a long way, and not moving.  I found out why.  President Biden was in the Seattle area this weekend.  No doubt fund-raising for the upcoming election.  When the president visits, it's an absolute nightmare for the "ordinary" people.  Flights get delayed, traffic gets stopped, roads get closed, protests and protesters pop up everywhere - and generally a whole lot of disruption.  A lesson in how not to endear yourself to your potential voter base.  As far as I'm aware, he didn't make any public appearances - all just private fundraising events for his rich donors.  Well, thanks a lot for visiting.  You're going to lose the election.

Aurora Photos

Yesterday night, the aurora didn't start promisingly.  This was the view about 10 pm:

My iPhone picked up a little bit of green, but not much.  But then, when I went outside again about 11 pm, this is what I saw:

Absolutely amazing.  Best aurora I've ever seen - better even than the time I went to Iceland to try to see it.  Obviously the colors on the iPhone are not what you see in reality - but you could still see white streaks in the dark sky, like streaks of sunshine between clouds on a cloudy day.  And at it's peak, I'm sure I could see tinges of red and green in the sky just with my eyes.  Considering I was just taking photos with my crappy old iPhone 11 from my deck and without a tripod or anything, quite pleased with how they turned out.  We've still got clear skies, so there's a chance of seeing more of the same tonight as well.

Aurora

As well as being the hottest day of the year so far (I went out for a long walk from the office this afternoon, and it felt like I was the only person not wearing shorts), we also have a really good aurora forecast tonight.  I don't really feel like driving a long way to somewhere away from the city lights, but we do have clear skies tonight so I might go outside later to see if I can see the Northern Lights.  Unfortunately, the best chance of seeing it is to look north - and that is the direction of my favorite neighbor, who has some very bright outdoor lights.      

Heatwave

The next few days are forecast to climb into the 80's.  80 degrees Fahrenheit is about 27 degrees Celsius.  It's a scorcher!  And as is typical for these really nice days, I have loads of work on at the moment so I'm not going to be able to get outside as much as I'd like to make the most of the weather.  Indeed, I might even have to work over the weekend.  Which really sucks.  I will however try to build the picnic table I bought almost 9 months ago and haven't taken out of the box yet.  Based on my recent experiences constructing some book shelves, expect a lot of swearing and shoddy workmanship.   

Hockey (Ice)

Been watching a few of the (ice) hockey playoff games.  Makes me ashamed of myself that I haven't been to see the Seattle Kraken play live at least once yet.  I have seen a game before, I went to see the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim play when I lived in California.  But that was obviously a long time ago.  I think hockey is one of those sports that is much better to see live than it is on telly.  So that is going to be a priority for me next season.  Especially since hockey on telly has a couple of noticeable flaws.  Firstly, that it can sometimes be really difficult to follow the puck.  Thank god for HD!  Secondly, it is impossible to actually see some of the game when the play is up against the boards on the camera side.  I don't know any other sport that suffers from that kind of issue.          

Binge

I am currently binge-watching Bosch (and Bosch: Legacy).  An LA-set detective series that has been around for quite a while (since 2014) on Amazon Prime.  It's enjoyable, straightforward, and very watchable.  It's the kind of show that I think network TV should aspire to - but then network TV is severely hampered by it's many restrictions on language and nudity.  Particularly when it comes to swearing, something that Bosch is not shy about.  Which is why network TV will eventually die, unless it adapts.           

Palace 4-0 Man Utd

Well, that was satisfying!  I enjoyed watching a replay of the game this evening, even though I knew the result.  And I even more enjoyed watching videos of Man Utd fans having some serious meltdowns. 

Lake Union

Since it was such a wet and miserable day today, here are a few photos from when it was nicer a few days ago and I went for a lunchtime walk from the office around Lake Union.  I tried to find some locations I hadn't taken photos from before, though ultimately the views are pretty much the same.

iPhone Mail

I don't think this is the first time I've said this, but I HATE the Mail app on the iPhone.  Once again, I've encountered issues where mail is not showing up on my phone.  Is it the Mail app or is it Outlook/Hotmail at fault?  Why do I still use a Hotmail account like the technophobe I am?  I don't care, so long as I manage to get it working again.  This involves playing around with various settings, restarting the app, restarting the phone, deleting and re-adding my mail account, etc.  That's a whole lot of time wasted on this nonsense.  And then I get new issues - like no longer getting sound notifications when I get a new e-mail - that I have to resolve.  And I still don't know whether I've fixed it.  Very frustrating.         

Covid

Apparently Covid is still a thing.  I've a friend here who I hadn't heard from for a few months.  So I got in touch, and found out that he has been waylaid by some quite serious Covid symptoms for some time now.  He caught the virus, was recovering, but then it hit him hard again.  That's tough.  And not just on his physical health, but also his mental health.  He's about my age, and arguably in better shape than me - we used to play ping pong a lot at work before he quit his job.  Although I don't know for sure, I'm fairly sure he would have had his Covid vaccinations.  So that is a kind of reminder that the virus is still out there wrecking havoc with people's lives.

Work Solitude Goodbye

My cubicle situation at work was good.  It was quiet with no neighbors to disturb me.  Today was my first time in the office since my car troubles, and my situation has entirely changed.  Now I have a new cube neighbor.  Someone who has - inexplicably - converted from fully remote to office-based.  Chinese, obviously.  And I feel like she has totally invaded my space.  Even though she hasn't really, but it feels like she has because I had a good thing going, and now I don't.  Of all the free cubes in the office, she had to choose the one next to me.  We will see how it goes - if she doesn't come in on most days that I do, and vice versa, then we should be fine.

Car Repairs

Took my car in today to get it fixed.  Based on my internet searches, feared how much it was going to cost.  Maybe a couple of thousand dollars.  This was the final total:

Phew!  My problems are apparently a known issue with my car, and so there was a specific extended warranty that covers the cost of these repairs.  So all today cost me was a day off work, as I was stuck at the service center bored out of my mind for nearly 8 hours.  At least I brought a book to read, and at least it was sunny so I was able to go out for a couple of walks, but still an excruciatingly long amount of time to wait.