For the past week I’ve been watching a TV series from the 2010’s on Amazon Prime Freevee. The show has a palatable plot, a decent cast and is mildly entertaining. Unfortunately, Freevee has commercials during the show which will eventually get me to quit watching. Some of the commercials promote other Amazon Prime shows. Those…
In The Bubble
When outsiders opine about the Federal Gov’t and the reporters who cover it, they frequently talk about DC politicians, lobbyists and media as being “In the bubble”. They say that people in DC are concerned with their own little world – DC politics, government policies, procedural minutiae and the like which has nothing to do…
“My Mom Was So Excited”
A podcaster I listen to brought his “behind-the-scenes” producer on camera for a guest interview this week. After he introduced the producer he asked her what she thought of being brought on camera. She said, “My Mom was so excited!“ The producer is 25 years old. On a different podcast, the host frequently talks about…
Mass Depersonalization
My insurance agent retired this year and sold his accounts, including me, to another agent. I only learned about this from a mass email he sent out telling us about this after the fact. I’m cool with that. Even though I’ve been his customer for nearly 8 years, I never met him and have only…
Winter Weariness
OK, I’ll admit it. It’s January 29th and I’m officially sick of winter. Aside from a record breaking cold spell that broke my furnace over Christmas, it hasn’t been brutal cold here in Raleigh. But it’s been gray, overcast, rainy and generally blah quite a bit. Most days have lows in the 30s and highs…
Snuff Films
The headlines this weekend breathlessly teased the upcoming release of two videos: 1) Paul Pelosi getting attacked with a hammer and 2) Five cops beating a man to death in Memphis. News programs and websites led with both stories, predicting there would be protests “around the country” after the beating video was released. I refuse…
Breaking Some Eggs
Ever since the pandemic, egg prices have skyrocketed. At first, it was simply a supply vs. demand situation. People stuck at home bought up all the eggs for baking projects, family breakfasts and general panic buying. I had to get to the store at the crack of dawn (pun intended) to find any eggs at…
Jealous Interlude
The retired swim coach who I see at the pool most days was telling me about his son this week. His son has worked at Google for 17 years. The coach calls him “The Oligarch”. He earns close to $1M a year. He owns a mansions in San Francisco and another on the beach in…
Emergency Contact
I have to fill out a visitors form when I swim at my backup pool that asks for the name and number of my emergency contact. This has been a bit of a challenge. It used to be a no brainer – my emergency contact was my wife. Before her, it was my mom. What…
All You Can Eat
When I was a teenager, I loved going to the “All You Can Eat” midnight buffet at Eat’n’Park, the unlimited salad bar Ponderosa Steak House and Rax’s taco/salad bar. I was in awe of the smorgasbord of foods, toppings and sides that each offered. The prices were cheap. And I could eat a lot. As…