Point Defiance Park

I wanted to do a hike I hadn't done before, so this morning I went to Point Defiance Park in Tacoma.  I've never had a reason to go to Tacoma before - Seattle's ugly neighbor to the South - but this might be it, since this was a good hike.  Lots of parking, dedicated hiking paths which are well maintained and well signposted, a decent length 4.5 mile undulating loop trail, nice paths through old growth forest and views over Puget Sound  (I think I might have seen a whale - if it wasn't a whale, it was a bunch of seals feeding on some fish).  And I didn't even do all the side trips I could have - historical sites, gardens, and beach access were all easily reached from the loop trail, and the park also has a zoo, an aquarium and museums.
 

Spencer Island Natural Wildlife Reserve (Again)

I started a New Year's Resolution early today - to go out for a hike every day I'm not working, come rain or shine unless the weather is truly treacherous.  So today I went to Spencer Island Natural Wildfire Reserve for the first time in - searching blog - just over 2 years.  Not quite sure why I go there - it's right by the freeway so you have traffic noise, it's next to a waste treatment facility so the smell can be disgusting and half the island is set aside for hunting and I am no fan of guns or hunting.  But it's easy to get to - half an hour drive north - it's a flat and unbusy 4 mile hike, and the birdlife is amazingly abundant - loads of ducks in the water, loads of songbirds in the brush, and loads of birds of prey - including a brief glimpse of a huge bald eagle - perched in the trees.
  

Stir Crazy

Note to self - if you're not going back to England for Christmas, then at least make some plans to get out and go away for a few days.  The weather here has sucked over the Christmas period - wet and windy - and I am spending way too much time staying in with limited human interaction.  Not good.  Not healthy.  At least I've managed to free up space on my DVR.... 

Made in Britain

So, the Royal Mail produced a D-Day stamp featuring American troops landing in Indonesia.  Not on D-Day.  Not insulting or disrespectful at all.

Wall

As much as I don't like a government shutdown, I am totally with the Democrats in refusing to allow Trump to squander all this money on building a stupid, pointless wall with Mexico.  Let Trump fester in the White House for as long as the shutdown lasts, sending out his petty whiny tweets.  What a pathetic man-baby he is.  I'm not totally against taking steps to improve border security, but building a useless f*cking expensive wall does not help.  I honestly wouldn't be surprised if we get to see the PR disaster that is Trump on vacation playing golf, whilst the Secret Service that are protecting him are not getting paid.  Mind you, this shutdown is not exactly doing my stock investments any favors - so hope things get sorted out quickly in the new year.  Trump's entire presidency has taken the stock market on a roller coaster ride - it's a big concern that we might be on the verge of a massive bear market.  My company's stock price has dropped about 25% in the last 6 months - that is not good.

Christmas Songs

My favorite Christmas song - in actuality an anti-war song.

Christmas Films

I watched 2 classic Christmas movies today - Home Alone and Die Hard.  Home Alone - where to start, so many observations.  I'm mainly struck by how huge the house is, how all the parts with John Candy could've and should've been cut, and how incredibly implausible everything is.  But hey, I guess that is part of the magic of the film.  Die Hard is just a bona fide action classic.  Love the cocaine douchebag guy, the ridiculous secondary characters (Argyle!), and maybe one of movie's best ever villains in Hans Gruber.