Couch Potato Update

A few shows I'm currently watching:

- Yellowjackets - a cross between Lord of the Flies and Lost, this is a very buzzworthy series

-  The Gilded Age - basically Downton Abbey transplanted to late 19th century USA

- Resident Alien - 2nd series of enjoyable modern equivalent to 3rd Rock from the Sun

- All Creatures Great and Small - it has been called an "incredible balm" and it's "cheerful optimistic tone" has been extolled by US TV critics

- Billions - we're into the 6th series of this ridiculously over-the-top drama

- The Righteous Gemstones - because this is an HBO show, this is an amusingly more adult 1/2 hour US comedy

And a few new shows I'm looking forward to:

- Reacher - thank god midget Tom Cruise is not appearing in this TV adaptation of the books

- The Battle for Uber - good cast, could be an intriguing look at the rise and fill of the former Uber CEO

- Better Things - last season of quality comedy series

 

Local News

It's become increasingly difficult to get extensive and unbiased local news coverage.  And we are talking about across different media.  Seattle Times is the big local paper - but I don't get it delivered and frustratingly their website, which is a good resource, has become subscription based.  The 4 main TV channels (ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox) each broadcast local news from different providers.  One of them is owned by Sinclair - and I'm not prepared to watch anything run by that notoriously right-wing broadcaster.  I used to watch Q13 quite a lot - which despite being affiliated with Fox was actually independent of it.  Until recently, when it got officially acquired by Fox - so I'm no longer watching that either.  Both Sinclair and Fox have an inclination to reduce actual meaningful local coverage in place of national right-wing coverage - and in many instances are actually forced by their parent company to air certain opinion pieces.  And that leaves 2 other TV stations with local news - neither of which are particularly good and neither of which I have any particular inclination to watch.  So it appears that my local news intake is going the same way as my national news intake.  Significantly reduced.     

Adage

I think everyone knows the old adage "Red sky at night, shepherds' delight; red sky in the morning, shepherds' warning".  Well imagine my surprise when I came across an alternative to this in an American article that read "Red sky at night, sailors' delight; red sky in the morning, sailors' warning".  I've not heard this variation before - is this another Americanism?   And some quick online research doesn't really tell me which version is correct.  An article on the Met Office website talks about shepherd first appearing in the bible, and that sailor is a "global variation".  But Wikipedia states it originates from an ancient rhyme often repeated by mariners, and that shepherd is the variation.  Does it matter which is correct?  They both mean the same thing.  Though I'm sure the "British" version is probably the original.

Pyromania

After a few dry days, I guess I shouldn't be surprised by this - but my pyromaniac neighbor is at it again.  It seems like he has had a bonfire going for most of the last few days.  I'm surprised he still has any trees left on his property to provide firewood - he's certainly cut down most of them.  It's annoying at the best of times, but particularly repugnant right now.  And that is because we are currently under an air stagnation advisory.  And what does that advisory say?  I quote this from my weather app: "State air quality agencies highly recommend that no outdoor burning occur and that residential wood burning devices be limited as much as possible.".  So thank you neighbor for making the air quality in my neighborhood even worse than it already is.  Dick. 

Promotions

In what has become a depressingly annual tradition, today they released the list of people who got promoted in our department and I am once again dismayed at who was included.  And who wasn't.  It is often people who don't deserve it - they might be useless at their job, or this might be another promotion after having already been promoted recently.  But, sadly I hate to say this again, but it mostly seems to come down to race.  Take Biostatistics (which is not my group, although I am a qualified statistician) - ever single person who got promoted was Chinese.  I'm sure this says something about the demographics of the group, although I know for a fact that not everyone in it is Chinese.  As for my group - Statistical Programming - the breakdown of promotions is something like 65% Chinese, 30% Indian, 5% Other.  Which I think is probably a fairly accurate reflection of the demographics of my group.  But most of these people have unpronounceable names and I don't know them, and those I do know have done nothing to warrant a promotion.  It bothers me, even though I know it shouldn't, because I have somewhat intentionally put myself in a position to not get promoted - not taking on direct reports, not wanting more responsibilities, not having a high profile etc.  But it's difficult to hide my frustrations and bitterness.  Which is probably why it's for the best that I'm working from home!          

Song of the Week #94

What do you get when you cross an 80's band with a 50's sound?  You get a genre of music that I know I have definitely not included in this blog before.  Enjoy some rockabilly!

Wordle

I don't want to brag, but I do currently have a 100% success rate on Wordle.  Admittedly I haven't played many games (why is it not an official app yet?!), but I am clearly some kind of skilled wordsmith.