My brain and my heart

 I hate my brain. I was talking to someone yesterday and could remember what the opposite of dedicated was. This morning it hit me - more than 12 hours later - cross utilized.  This is a tragedy.  Is it age?  Is my brain failing?  Is my brain burned out from drugs used to manage other health issues?  Dopamine receptors fried?  I dunno.

I woke up early this morning and wanted to listen to Garth Brooks.  But ended up listening to George Strait.  Like someone had a different idea.  Garth wasn't meant to be today.  George was.  Divine intervention?  Perhaps.  Coincidence?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  King George - sings some of the best love songs - one of them particularly struck me with a line "you can lead a heart to love but you can't make it fall."  The heart has a mind of it's own which makes one wonder how can such a lovely lady be in love with such a jerk or how can such a nice guy be in love with such a bitch?  I'm flawed.  My wife is flawed.  Somewhere along the line we stopped trying to change each other and accepted the other flaws and all.  By the grace of God we've been together for nearly 27 years.  Neither one of us gave up on the other.  There were times when it would have been easier for either one of us to call it quits.  Neither of us did.  I guess that's the magic of marriage - the commitment made to one another in the eyes of God, family and friends.  A public proclamation that we love each other and won't give up or quit on one another.  There are times when I wanted to quit and times my wife probably wanted to quit, too.  Yet here we are having been through the ups, the downs, the trials and tribulations.  It's quite amazing, actually.

From first Corinthians: "Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails."  I caveat the last line with the word true.  True Love Never Fails.

Listening to King George often gets me thinking about relationships and my relationship with my wife.  He sings about love and human connection.  Between men and women.  The way God intended.  A wonderful artist.

Random thoughts - today is Easter.  My wife went to the grocery store and while she was there she bought a cake shaped like a bunny.  At one point in my life I would have thought that was stupid and a waste of money.  Now it delights me.  She saw something cute and fun and brought it home as part of our celebration of sorts.  It goes back to how women "plus" the world around them - make the world a brighter place.  Give a woman a house and she makes a home.  Give a woman food and she makes a a meal.  Give a woman a man and she makes a child - then she makes a family.  The entire premise of the word woman comes from the word womb - where a woman pluses the world by growing another person in her body and loving that other person the way only a woman can once it leaves her body and leaves her world and enters our world.  That new person is forever part of the mom.  The mom is always part of the child.  Every person on this planet came from a woman.  And only a woman can bring another person into this world.  That's amazing.  Plus. One.  Or more.

Maybe the world would be a better place if more people sat and actually listened to and thought about the truths in George Strait's music.  

Happy Easter to you and Yours.  Today is what makes christianity possible.  The resurrection of our lord and savior.  Maybe it's the biggest lie ever told.  Maybe it's not.  That's for you to decide.

Monsignor

 A movie with Christopher reeve which is not Superman. Who cares?!?!  I do because it’s got a John Williams score.  Originally wasn’t interested in this one until I heard it and was like… oh my - this is really good. Good in a gives me goosebumps good. At times hauntingly beautiful which is a special kind of beautiful.  It’s the unusual colors of the orchestra in this one that tickles the ear. And maybe because a lot of it is in 3.  

Which John Williams score is my favorite?  The one I’m listening to when asked.  How lucky I am to be alive the same time John Williams is alive. It’s the modern day equivalent to being alive when Beethoven walked this earth.  H

Who really runs the show

 So potato head had a fundraiser in New York and raised 25 million dollars in one day. First of all - WTF?!?!  Second of all, with Obama and Clinton joining it sends a signal of weakness to the rest of the world. That worthless old fuck can’t even raise money by himself. And if anything demonstrates who is making the decisions in this country. Barack Hussein Obama and William Jefferson Clinton.  What a pathetic bunch of globalist losers.  

Football - from the archives!

 Brothers and Sisters - Let's talk about that little light.  That little light is mine.  I give it to you through the good news and you proclaim and let it shine for all the world to see.  Your love for me is amazing.  My love for you is even greater than your love for me.  I am so proud to be your Father - I get teary eyed just thinking about it.

I'll admit it.  I enjoy a good football game every now and then.  I've always enjoyed the college games more than the professional games.  The spirit of competition to see who has prepared to take on their opponent and executes best.  I love to see teams and coaches correct when they are behind to fight the good fight and maybe earn victory.  I love the bands.  I love the spirit and camaraderie it creates among teams.  There's a special electricity in the air when it's going to be a good competitive game with impassioned fans.  The smell of the popcorn, enjoying a beer and a good wiener in the stands - maybe some nachos, too....   To a lesser degree, I enjoy hearing the trash talk, too.  Satan and I always get a good laugh when we watch football together.

One of our favorites is watching those famous touchdown end-zone celebrations.  Dude scores some points, drops to one knee, does the fist pound on the chest, makes the sign of the cross and points to heavens.  Kisses his finger and points to the heavens again.  Rock on brother... rock on.  Give me thanks and praise for your athletic agility and skill.  Give thanks that you are strong and able to play football.  I have blessed you with many gifts.  Give me praise, give me praise, give me praise. Yadayadayada...

As this occurs, Satan and I look at each other and bust out laughing.  We point at the idiot on the field doing all his shenanigans.  The dude is making a spectacle of himself thinking he's glorifying me.  Did he ever stop and think that this is why people mock me, him and our movement?  Does he not remember the stories in the bible referring to being humble.  If you ask me, it looks like these types are breaking one of my commandments - the one about 'bearing false witness.'  Last time I checked football was a team sport.  Give thanks to those who made the play along with you -  the coaches, the fellow brethren players, etc.  It's not about you.  It's about us.  Lift up everyone.  I didn't make that touchdown - your team made it possible.  Your preparations, the execution, the random selection that everyone would be in the right place at the right time.  Taking the opportunity that presents itself because your team has adequately prepared for competition by studying the opponent, practicing and executing better than the other guy.  Do a little celebration - give some high fives, etc.

When it is all said and done.  Each game is started with an invocation prayer in the locker room.  You ask to win, you ask for safety and guidance.  You give thanks.  Give a good "AMEN!" do some chest humps and get all psyched up to fight for victory.  Victory is already yours - you got it when you accepted me as your lord and savior and asked for forgiveness of your sins - it is yours for the asking....  At any rate, when was the last time anyone prayed to me after a loss.  When do they pray for the fact they are able to play when the lose or pray and give thanks for the other team inspiring them to practice harder to become better athletes?  Prayer works both ways.  Pray for the blessings and celebrations.  Pray for thanks.  Pray for guidance.  Pray for this.  Pray for that.  Pray.  Pray pray pray.  Pray all the time.  In the morning and the night.  We are all winners, we are all victorious.  Get that through your heads.  Then pray some more.  It is good for you.  It's like your daily God vitamin.

So the little video at the top of today's entry?  All the lost and confused souls doing their praise me after a touch down look like Brother Smith banging his tambourine. You be the judge....  Actually, that is my job.  The play stands as called.

Someone stop me

 Man…. I am on a tear lately with John Williams recordings. The man is 92 years old.  I don’t know how much life he’s got left. I’ve got this HUGE FOMO complex right now.  Not only am I collecting the limited pressings but also collecting outstanding performances of his work by other people and ensembles.  

This is completely irrational and compulsive. These rare recordings will either become impossible to find or they will all be re-released upon his passing and the market will be flooded.  Yes, the mainstream releases are easy to procure. It’s the special editions by the boutique labels I’m worried about. The deep cuts that aren’t  worthy of the commercial release.  IDK - maybe I’m losing my marbles.  

Maybe not the best idea

I started writing with napalm and decided it wasn't the best idea.  Instead, I'll write about a new addition to my John Williams collection....  An import from Japan that's simply called "John Williams" by the Seikyo Siena Wind Orchestra.  It's basically a concert band playing some of John Williams more popular work.  And you know what - it's fantastic!  The playing is second to none and the arrangements are excellent.  Sometimes transcribing John Williams work doesn't sound very good.  Most of the times it sounds pretty bad.  But THIS.  This is a great cd.  It makes me happy.  The ensemble plays with an extreme level of proficiency and comfort with the rhythmical intricacies of John Williams music.  Something an amateur group could not pull off.  They with aplomb unlike any other wind ensemble I've heard play the music of John Williams.

I can't read any of the liner notes and only know the titles of the tracks because they're also written in English.  As Forrest Gump would say "I like it a-Lot."  This may very well be one of the best John William's cd's in my exquisitely curated collection.

From the archives!!

 Today is one of the last big hoo-rah parties before the Roman Guards kill me.  So whatya say?  Let's make it a good one.

Back in the day, I rode to Jerusalem on a donkey.  My fans would wave palm branches as I rode by.  People would be singing jubilant anthems.  Then my followers would hand out crosses made from palm stalks to take home as a souvenir - they would wear them for a couple days and then use them as book marks in their bibles or decorations for their houses and Christmas trees.  Whatever....

Not this time. Instead, we are having a parade.  There will be marching bands, floats, drill teams, the shriners doing cool tricks while driving their little cars, horses, clowns and all kinds of cool things.  Maybe we'll even sell balloons.  I will be the Grand Marshall.  I am going to be sitting on the top of a convertible, yellow Corvette.  Joseph and Mary are the honorary drivers.  On the parade route, we will cruise very slowly as to not strain the people following the 'Vette.  It's a long way to Jerusalem.  The apostles, Mary Magdalen will be riding on floats tossing necklaces of beads, candies and toys like lego sets, dreidels, Noah's Ark play sets and puppets.  As we get closer to the city, I hope to see people waiving their hands and flashing me instead of wasting palm branches.  It's gonna be awesome.  Below is a picture of the car we will use to lead the parade.  Do you like it?

As soon as we reach the end of the route, there will be a red carpet.  I will descend from the Corvette.  The pope and the vatican guards will shield me from all the reporters and cameras as I valiantly stroll down the carpet and enter my old mansion.  Being a celebrity is hard work.  I do my best to control the media and my public image.  One thing I really hate is seeing a picture of me on the cover of the National Enquirer with some made up scandal about me and Mary M. having sex out of wedlock.  They say they have Mary's blue dress, voicemail messages and interviews from people who have seen us together.  Remember late last year when I crashed my Escalade into a tree right in front of my own house?  Less I digress...

I hope to see you there.

Love to all - Jesus

Target

 I hate target due because of their stance on social issue to which I adamantly disagree.  I was traveling recently and forgot my underwear and target was the closest to my lodging location. I begrudgingly entered the store and got the goods. While I was walking around I noticed all the model images in the women’s department. They were all ugly people smiling with joy to be wearing their clothing items.  Fat people. People with tattoos. Grey haired old people.  People with purple hair and nose piercings.  I don’t enjoy going into a store and seeing advertising collateral featuring humans that represents their target (pun intended) demographic.  I want to see pretty and attractive people. Do people really want to shop somewhere where the models look like them?  Do they want to shop where they see attractive people?  Aspirational images?  This is probably a textbook example of toxic masculinity and body shaming causing body dysphoria in the female sex of our species. I guess I should shop at clothing stores featuring middle aged men with the stereotypical dad bod that I have. No thanks.  I’ll shop where they have a picture of successful looking men with decent physique. I may be chubby with sagging skin and a bit of a belly.  I don’t want to see people that look like me on the wall. I doubt many people would. If they did, retailers could just put mirrors up everywhere and save on modeling expenses.  Thanks but no thanks. Father forgive me for I have sinned. 

Truth

 I think there is a movement that is trying to undo the American culture. They’re attacking the family structure. They’re making everything cost more. They’re trying to inhibit our freedom to travel freely. They want transportation to be expensive. They want food and energy to be expensive. They want us to live, shop and work in a small amount of space. They want us to be poor, not own anything and be happy about it. They are under the spell of satan.   I believe it is the new world order. It is those world economic forum. The world health organizization.  The people that go to Davos and member that attend the builderburg group. It is NATO. It is the people bitching about the environmental pollution who fly in private jets.  It’s the people supporting the war in Ukraine. The people supporting mutilating children through the guise of gender affirming care. It’s the people who take are money through taxation. The people who invented social media, Facebook, TikTok and the like. None of this shit is in anyone’s best interest except those that support and endorse the new world order.  It’s about control and restricting thought and freedom. It’s about destroying democracy.  It’s about regulation.  America, as is the rest of the world, except China is fucked.  Look at the shit in movies nowadays. Look at the satanic references in popular culture. Look at the dehumanization of people. Look at the push to mainstream sexual abuse, promiscuity, violence, drugs and a lifestyle based around luxury and impressing the Joneses. Look at the deterioration of cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Chicago and New York.  Something is not right. No one is doing anything to stop it. Everyone is just toting the “company line”. Look at the invasion of illegal aliens into this country. Look at how the government is turning a blind eye. Look at why in the fuck are we housing immigrants in hotels and feeding them.  This is fucked.  But what do I know?  Am I just a  conspiracy theorist nutjob?  No. I watch what’s going on. I pay attention to the bulkshit the government is endorsing. I pay attention to a lot of things. I don’t like what I see and the connections I draw from what is happening. Wake up but don’t go woke.  And anything the government wants to do is in their best interest and not yours.  There are too many people that no longer know how to think independently. Too many people going along with what’s fashionable or cool. Too many people hoodwinked into going along with this nonsense.

For the Love of God

I hope I die soon after a wonderful musical experience either attending a concert or performing in a band.  I find quality musical experiences to be extraordinarily satisfying to my soul.  Tonight there was a concert performed by the University of Texas wind symphony.  Two pieces were written by Viet Cuong. He does some really interesting things with the ensemble.  Don't quite know how to describe it but he brings certain sounds out of a band that I've never heard before.  Listening to these works is just so inspiring - whenever a band does something innovative, it's very interesting because I am intimately familiar with the sounds and colors a band can produce.  Then Viet Cuong enters the arena and my mind is blow.  It brings me such happiness and joy.  It grounds me like nothing else.  If I were to die after an experience life that, life will have been good. 

Hugely Disappointed

My son is in choir.  I asked him when they are going to UIL contest.  He informed me his group is not going to contest because the behavior of the ensemble has been terrible.  The choir director said she wasn't going to take them.  I'm like why are you taking an opportunity away from my child to perform because you can't manage your classroom?  If you ask me she should have left the misbehaving kids and took the kids with good behavior.  What if they didn't do well?  I really don't care how they scored.  What I care about is they prepared, went to be judged and came away learning something from the experience.  I don't care about stifling opportunity for knuckle heads.  Unfortunate situation.

At tonight's concert they sounded fine and should have been given the experience to perform and compete.    

 

The 64 Corvette

 When Joe's corvette gets auctioned off, someone should buy it, set it on fire and crush it.  

The Hur Report

 Judging by the news, the transcript from Biden’s interview with Robert Hur is probably the funniest yet saddest thing to experience.  It should be published in its entirety and made available for people to draw their own conclusions. 

An interesting interview is available on Twitter, newly x, with Tucker Carlson and Chris Cuomo having a conversation for almost two hours. Parts of it are laugh out loud funny. Other parts are really interesting. And some of it is nonsense. Some people won’t be able to tell the difference. 

My boss and I went to dinner. During our drive she brought up politics.  My momma didn’t raise a dummy. My response was it is it says a lot about the country when this is the choice we are given. Dropped it like a hot potato. Refuse to discuss politics with people I work with. Maybe we could all learn something by watching the Carlson Cuomo interview.  How to talk face to face with people with differing viewpoints while being civil and decent. 

DEI

 Diversity, equity and inclusion is absolutely exhausting. Every time I turn around it’s time to recognize someone for something else. One month it’s recognizing someone because they’re black, the next month it’s because they’re women, next it’s Arab American recognition month. Recognizing people not because of their merit and contribution but because of an attribute they have no control over - something genetic.  

In May it is LGBTQ awareness month so we can celebrate people for their sexuality and relationship choices and perversions.  At breakfast today there was some 300 pound fat man with a beard and braided hair acting like a prissy woman carrying a purse wearing 1970s trailer trash earrings.  Get out of here and go see a therapist.  When he arrived to his groups table everyone fawned over him and he melted into his chair when the conversation resumed. No one talked to him and he didn’t talk unless it was about him.  He/she/it/they/them/za/zim/zam/flim/flam/shutthefuckup.

Over the last 5 years it has become obvious to me that the participation trophy generation has entered the workforce.  They wanted to be recognized for attributes that don’t have anything to do with their contributions or performance to the workplace.  They want to be celebrated for who they are - not what they accomplish.  Isn’t that a friends and family thing?  It is for me.  Perhaps my leadership hasn’t evolved with the times?

And this practice of putting preferred pronouns in email signatures?  This is woke nonsense virtue signaling that is utterly idiotic.  But it matters to someone.  My question is how many people play along with it just because it’s trendy?  Probably started by an egghead from Harvard.

I’m Gen X.  By default we don’t care about all these trivialities.  We’re mean.  We’re hard.  We’re callous.  How did we raise a bunch of delicate little flowers?  We have failed.

Brain damaged

 This is the third trip in the last year I forgot to pack my underwear. What the hell?!?!?  I’m too stupid to figure  out what size I wear by looking in the pair I’m wearing - I call home like a moron and ask my son to look in my underwear drawer and my son says ‘Dad-are you okay?’  

Harmonica

 There is this John Williams box set released in Europe that contains 20 cds and highlights John Williams' career from his television scoring days through the work he done for Anne Sophie Muter reworking some of his most famous work for violin and orchestra.  While John Williams work is among my most favorite in the world, I notice in the early years of film scoring he had an unusual affinity for the harmonica against the orchestra.  Almost as if he wanted the harmonica to evolve into the instrumentation of a traditional symphony orchestra.  There's 4 like three different scores:  Sugarland Express, The Reivers, Cinderella Liberty, and The Cowboys.  An unusual instrument to feature....

Which begs the question - why has the instrumentation of the symphony orchestra remained the same since the romantic period?  

I’m a pepper

We drink dr. Pepper don’t you know. It’s the original taste that taste that we love so. Im a pepper. He’s a pepper. She’s a pepper were a pepper. Wouldn’t you like to be pepper too.  

#earworm

Two things

 First - Joe Biden is worthless.  Regrets calling a new comer/undocumented citizen an illegal...  Like what the hell?  They are here illegally and it's not okay to call them illegal.  They're breaking the law.  What is wrong with this world.  If you're here breaking the law from day one, what you're doing is illegal and you are illegal.  Say it you old fuck.  Coward.  Loser.  I’m not participating in the lies this government pushes onto the American public  

Second - My wife bought an Ikea storage contraption the other day and I put it together today.  I learned a few things.  They give you just enough pieces of hardware to put the item together - no extras and no shortages.  Kinda like Lego.  Their design is extremely clever - in my case the pieces were symmetrical so it didn't matter if it was left or right side.  I guess that makes sense for a piece of furniture.  They had clever ways for mounting the drawers onto the sliders that required no measuring or drilling.  I guess that's the beauty of Ikea.  Just follow the directions.  They put different heads on the plastic screw fasteners and the metal ones so you don't have to worry about the wrong one.  The metal fasteners used a Phillips head screwdriver.  The last ones used a flathead screwdriver. 

Ikea knows exactly where they can get away with being cheap and where they need reinforcements for durability.  Some parts of this unit are held together by plastic nails in predrilled holes.  Plastic.  Others held together by wooden dowel pins.  Others by metal screws and metal fasteners.  That means they can manufacture this item for the absolute lowest cost.  Actually all Ikea does is design, manufacture, package and ship.  The don't assemble anything. They make you do that to save on cost.  And yet this cheaply made particle board storage unit was 200 bucks.  A dollar isn't worth what it used to be.  Reasons for that can be debated.  So... this storage unit is not a legacy piece of furniture that would be worthy of reselling or passing on to a family member.  This is something that'll get flimsy over time and end up in the garbage, then a landfill.  You can't recycle saw dust and glue.  I bet a solid wood storage unit would be outrageously expensive.  And most people would not see the benefit of purchasing a wood unit.  

The cheapness of the Ikea storage unit makes me appreciate the way my car was manufactured and assembled.  Solid.  Heavy.  Metal used on most parts.  Metal valve covers.  Metal timing chain covers.  Metal door handles and pulls.  Wood for all the interior trim.  Not plastic.  All the wood in the car is from the same tree.  Not the same kind of tree, the exact same tree.  So the pattern and color both match perfectly on every single wood trim piece in the entire car.  Including the steering wheel and the ashtrays.  The manufacturer could have been cheap and used plastic and hard plastic in the car but they didn't.  They manufactured a quality machine built to last.  We'll see how long it lasts under my ownership.  I have a tendency to be hard on my cars and get bored with them in a short amount of time and always interested in something different.  It drives my wife crazy.

In my younger years

I was picked on a lot when I was a little kid.  Back in the day bullying was part of life.  I got more than my fair share for sure.  I was a nerdy kid on what I later in life learned on the bipolar spectrum.  I got beat up a few times by the neighborhood bully.  He was a total shithead and probably still is because was stupid. 

In middle school I decided if someone was going to start something I was going to finish it and that served  me pretty well through high school.  I learned to fight back.  What I never really figure out is why some other nerd would pick on me.  I made it my point to insure they would never touch me again.

Bullying was just something we dealt with back in the day.  It may have been frowned upon but no one really did anything to stop it besides blame the one who was being picked on.  What was that about?  How about go fuck yourself?!?!

In college something changed.  I went from nerd to gaining confidence.  Started dating and bought my first sports car - it was a 1983 Rx-7 that I bought in 1992.  Decided college wasn't for me and dropped out.  Back in the day it was expected that one go from high school to college.  I didn't know what I wanted to and majored in just about everything in college for a partial semester and finally quit after being put on academic probation.  I didn't want to be there.  But my Dad did,  That was a difficult conversation and know for a fact that my Dad was hugely disappointed.  

The year was 1994.  I was working at the Disney Store in the local mall and a part time college student again.  I was happy and full of self-confidence.  Doing rather well in school but ended up quitting again.  I wasn't made for university and university wasn't made for me.  And neither one of us was going to bend,  

I met my wife while working at the Disney Store.  The year was 1995.  I was working the greeter position one evening and it was her first day.  When she walked in, she rocked my world - she captured my attention immediately.  She was assigned to working the children section.  During she shift, I vacated my greeter position and walked over to her in the children's section of the store. Smiled at her, stuck out my hand and said, "Hello - My name is KB,  That may not mean anything to you now, but it will later,"  I have no idea what came over me.  It was a flash of thunder and lightening bravado that only happened once in my life - never before and never again. We were both dating other people at the time.  We started out as co-workers for about 6 months.  I ended the relationship I was in and the relationship she was in ended.  We hit it off and dated for a year and got married in June of 1997.  I wish we had a picture of the first time we met in our disneystore uniforms at the children's pajama rack in front of plush mountain. 

I have a picture from our first trip to Disneyworld in front of the castle taken in 1996.  It was the 25th anniversary of Disneyworld in Florida.  25 years later we took the same picture for our 25th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of Disneyworld.  Pretty neat.  It will be cool to take the same picture again for our 50 year anniversary and the 75th anniversary of Disneyworld.  75/100?  That would be something!

You never know

 Where you might find some truth

Like here

Music by John Williams

I discovered you can look at album credits when listening to music in iTunes.  I was listening to Star Wars The Force Awakens today....  I clicked on the credits and they said Gustavo Dudamel was the conductor in the credits for the album?  Really?  So I looked at the cover of the cd I own and it says Music by John Williams.  If you look at the first 6 Star Wars album covers they say Music Composed and Conducted by John Williams.  I wonder when John Williams stopped conducting on his albums.  TFA is copyrighted in 2015.  I checked the credits on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) and conducting credit is shared by John Williams and William Ross.  The last three Star Wars movies just say Music by John Williams.  Solo a Star Wars Story(2018) give conducting credit to John Williams and Emlyn Singleton.

Everywhere you go

A friend of mine once said "Everywhere you go, there you are." And ya know what?  It's true.  When I moved to FL I left all my cd's and my stereo at home.  Soon after I found a place to live I bought a little stereo someone one selling....  and that led to finding the sound exchange which led to buying cds.  I found some cds I had been searching for and repurchased some titles I already had so I could listen to them.  It's what I do.  I listen to music on cd.  I donated all the duplicates, the little stereo, etc when I moved again.

Which brings me to my dad.  When his house was cleaned out, he had miles of wire running through the house connecting all kinds of devices together and to computers.  Two years ago he moved into an assisted living community.  After he got out of hospice, guess what he started doing?  Buying cameras, wires and motion detectors and starting hooking all that stuff up to his computer and creating this home network of things and created his own little smart room.  He likes to tinker with it.  He gets everything working just fine and does something to it that screws it up and he enjoys figuring out how to get it working again.  It's what he does.

My mom has this weird habit of collecting napkins and used bags.  Her house was full of it before it was cleaned out.  Now that she's in the assisted living place with my dad, she has started her collection of napkins and paper and plastic bags.  Weird.

What's one of your quirks like that?

HelloMood

I received a solicitation in my mail box for cannibis products. Pre-rolled joints, rice Krispy treats, edibles and whatever other shit they're selling.  Addressed to "our friends over 21."  For starters, kids live at my address.  Second, why is this solicitation coming in the mail.  I hate the government.  But why do they allow this?  It is the most offensive piece of mail I've received in my entire life.  I believe marijuana derived products are ruining america.  Fuck.  Another example of this country going to hell in a hand basket.

Goodbye iPhone

I don't understand governments. The EU successfully sued Apple forcing them to change how the iPhone works.  They required them to adopt the USBC charging port as well as options to side load non approved app stores, payment methods and web browsers.  Why does the government sue to tell Apple how their iPhone has to work and what it has to be compatible with.  If you don't like how an iPhone works or what you can or can't do with it, get a different kind of phone.  Like seriously.  If you don't like it - don't use it.  Don't force a company to do something they don't want to do.  Or force a company to do something because you want it different than the way they make it.  Let the market decided.  Apple shouldn't have to modify their phone in any shape or form.  If people want the phone the way it is, it'll win in the market place.  If you want a phone you can customize the shit out of, get an android.  Don't mess with the iPhone.