Coincidence

 I've railed against celebrities and public figures and how much of our cultural conscience they occupy.  It bothers me that anyone cares about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's relationship or that Martha Stewart is over 80 years old and takes selfies dressed in lingerie.  Somehow people are interested in this petty garbage.

What struck me this morning is that the word celebrity and celebrate are so similar.  Our cultures celebrates celebrities...  just because they're well known and they entertain us.  That doesn't make them any more relevant than you or me.  THey're just popular.  Like middle school.  Like mean girls.  

Our society celebrates garbage.  Sports teams are part of our identity.  Who cares about UT and Washington or whatever.  It's a bunch of neanderthal men playing a stupid game.  Yet much of the population rallies around a team as they compete.  Somehow you're a winner if your team wins and you're a loser if your time falters.  Better yet, the game is rigged.  Just like an election.

Here's another interesting observation.  Potato Head is letting states decide whether or not Donald Trump can be on the ballot based on their interpretation of the constitution.  Yet when it comes to immigration, Potato Head is suing states for interpreting the constitution and upholding the law from their perspective.  WTH?  Hypocrite.

Potato is the absolute worst president ever.  He's a dictator nazi.  Choosing which laws to enforce and which ones to turn a blind eye.  His cabinet is terrible.  They govern through regulation and make decisions they think are best without public input.  The future of the car is electric because he said so.  No more gas stoves.  Buy a more expensive refrigerator that's more efficient.  Let a bunch of hoodlums and punks into the country through the southern border and do nothing about it.  Make it a Texas problem.  No-Texas decided to make it a national problem as it should be.  DOn't screw over Texas because of the states location.  

Have you noticed the people with the most to say about the environment are politicians and they come up with some way to regulate or tax everything they don't like?  

According to potato head the economy is great.  News flash - no one thinks it's great because everything is more expensive than it used to be.  Potato head's policies infused cash into the economy that made currency worth less.  He is such an idiot.  They want gas, food and appliances to be expensive so people don't burn gas, don't eat animal based food and don't use electricity because carbon is bad.  Bullshit.  Go fuck yourself.

Farewell Fuddruckers in Waco

 Fuddruckers is one of my most favorite restaurants.  Home of the world's greatest hamburger.  I don't know what the deal is but locations have been closing for years.  There aren't any in Austin anymore.  The last one I ate at was two or three years ago in Branson MO.  Well, there was one left in Waco and we decided we would eat there after visiting family in northeast Texas.  So..  We're on the way and get there and today is the last day of their business.  They are closed at three.  We got there around 2:45 this afternoon and were lucky enough to place our order.  They made my burger wrong so I went back to the counter and asked for a new one.  As it turns out, I got the last burger made at Fuddrucker's in Waco.  It was the last one.  It was delicious as always.

Why do some of the best businesses go out of business?  Maybe they aren't good businesses.  Maybe consumer preference changes.  Maybe the business doesn't change with the times.  I don't know.  

It was a strange interaction I had as we walked out of the door and briefly talked an employee on her last day of working at fuddruckers.  It was strangely emotional for me and understandably emotional for her.  At any rate, I told her I will miss fuddruckers and believe they really do have the world's greatest hamburger.

Then I got to thinking...  if I got strangely emotional over a hamburger stand closing, what is going to happen when John Williams dies?  Time will tell.

Drug charge pardon

 The only reason Biden is soft on drugs is because his son is a drug addicted loser. This president is morally bankrupt and is by far the worst president ever. 

It's all second hand goods

Starting around 2018 I decided I wanted a dedicated stereo system of listening to music.  I bought older used equipment from craigslist and slowly upgraded each piece as budget allowed.  Selling existing equipment for at least what I paid and adding a little bit for an upgrade when it would make a noticeable difference.  What I would do is buy something I was happy with and enjoyed it for a while.  When I decided I wanted something better I would routinely browse second hand sources like Facebook marketplace and craigslist in search of a deal that would make a worthy upgrade.  The trick was to find quality gear at a good price and have enough knowledge of the market to know if something was a good deal.  Having the freedom to act when a bargain was found was key to building the system over time.  I was an educated buyer.  I went through 3 receivers and four pairs of speakers and eventually purchased a dedicated amp instead of using a reciever - using the receiver as a pre-amp.  All in, I think I've spent approximately 1400 bucks on gear over 5 years.  I've assembled an amazing system for pennies on the dollar.  Here's my question...  since all my gear is used, what do people selling high end gear upgrade to?  My system is of sufficient quality that any upgrade would be a significant expense for minuscule if even noticeable gains in sonic performance.  Maybe people say the same thing about gear I've sold to them.  I don't know.  That's one of the interesting things about the hobby.  As gear is passed from one owner to the next, they're chasing the same thing - perfection in sound reproduction.  Everyone is chasing audio nirvana.  I believe I've found it.  I don't think there is a single compromise in my system.  

I think I'm the second owner of my speakers, second owner of my receiver and third owner of my amplifier.  My previous set of speakers I was the third or fourth owner.  Someone bought them from me.  And for as much as I know, that guy could have sold them to someone else.  Who knows.  One thing I do know is if you purchase good gear it doesn't go down in value.

I stopped chasing gains in performance a year ago.  And can't imagine anything else offering more bang for the buck.

While on the subject - everything in my system is at least 20 years old.  Everything from the speakers to the amp to the receiver to the cd player.  All made around the 1990 - 2000ish.    My car was built in 2004.  Maybe it's all crap and I'm too stupid to know what quality is. I don't know.  

I often tell people I am from a different era.  I don't want all this new fangled technology. I believe most of what is produced today is built with the idea of planned obsolescence.  It's built to last just long enough to the point  when it needs replacing there is something shiny and new that feels like a worthy upgrade.  Is it really a worthy upgrade or just a way to get you to keep spending money?  A never-ending replacement cycle.  My last modern car I bought was a 2016 Acura MDX bought in 2022.  I kept it for less than a year and replaced it with a 2004 Lexus.  The other modern era car I bought was a 2013 Toyota Venza.  The cars I've enjoyed the most were all built before 2010.  2 BMW E46 era cars 2002/2004, a 2009 Corvette and a 2004 Lexus.  All the cars from before 2010 are of superior quality to anything newer I've driven.  Same with audio gear.

Why is that?  Prior to 2010 things were built to last.  Now things are built to be replaced.    Now I'm rambling.  Good night.

Time to stop

 Driving half way across the country is two days. I stopped midway tonight after driving roughly 7 hours.  Towards the end of the drive maintaining the speed limit became increasingly difficult.  That’s how I know I’m done for the day. Will start early tomorrow and hopefully get home tomorrow night.  Yawn. 🥱 

George and Ali

 George stephanopoulos and Ali wentworth…. What a bunch of snowflakes. A grown man and woman falling apart ever since their daughter went to college.  Like what the heck?  Did they ever send her to camp or youth group outings?  Every time you turn around they’re touring some kind of emotional trauma that they can’t deal with…. Grow up. Stop it with the sympathy seeking drama of having a daughter that is growing up. Those two have the emotional intelligence of a 3 year old. 

Use our app

 That’s a no from me. I’m not using anyone’s app. Discounts. Convenience. Being in their club. Thanks but no. These businesses must be able to collect a ton of information about you by using their app. Where you go, when,  who you talk to. What you search on the web. Sliced and diced data. 

Some of these companies even try to hook you by giving you the ability to collect badges to share on social media to amaze your friends. Order online and get a badge. Get a burrito and share it with your friends. 

They think we’re idiots. I’m not playing along with any of this. 

Cybertruck

 Who needs a pickup truck that looks like a post modern aerodynamics experiment that weighs 3 tons, is bulletproof and is faster than. A Porsche 911?  Nobody. It is a reflection of the elite’s motto to do stupid things because they can. And why not?  Who cares.  Another status symbol for the rich. And people pretending to be rich. 

During the presser must stated if you get into a fight with another car you will win  

Elon musk may be brilliant by some but he’s also a retarded sociopath

He has a lot of money and a big mouth and somehow society values his ideas