Coming Down

I already have a Site of the Month semi-planned in my head, so this is not the one........but consider it a back-up. 

The courts (I haven't read which one(s)), have determined that BLOTUS put his name on the Kennedy Center I'm assuming illegally - and ordered that the name comes down. 

Now, he most certainly will either fight it, defy it, or both. Allegedly there is an imposed deadline. 

The Kennedy Center website has taken down 'his' name and all official documents have reverted to only Kennedy. I'm assuming that refers to George - only because he was great in Airport '75!

"Next month" is the closest there is for a set date for the letters to be removed. 

A resident of the Watergate has turned a webcam from his balcony to the Kennedy Center. This has been with the help of a group called Hands Off the Arts. 

So one way or another, there will be video of that child-fucker's name coming off the building. 

The live link is here. 

Song by: the Weeknd

Torn Down

Last October, there was a post about the signs I saw during Marine Corps Marathon. 

There was one mention of seeing BLOTUS' 'banner' hanging from the Department of Labour.  

You know, because he's such a fan of the working man. 

<insert eyeroll emoji>

I will never be able to understand being so detached from reality. 

I think this is solidified at his reception at the New York Knicks / San Antonio Spurs Game #3 two nights ago. The man was profoundly booed. Anymore TV usually blocks that out - like they did for JD at the Olympics. Not this time. 

He. Was. Booed. 

....and here are his thoughts on how it went: “I thought it was very good, it was certainly amazing, It was, I think, mostly cheers,” he said. “It was loud and it was very enthusiastic.”. 

FFS, just say, "what a bunch of pricks those folks were.....".  I mean, he has said worse about better folks. But not - apparently Fantasyland isn't just a part of DisneyWorld. 

I mean, I'll give him the 'enthusiastic' part. They booed with gusto.  .....and then he fell asleep at an NBA final game. 

But back to the banner. 

Any movie where the current regime is unfavourable and the people finally turn on them, their political banners or flags get pulled down:  The Great Dictator. Hunger Games. Death of Stalin. Black Panther. Sound of Music. A Very Brady Sequel.  I'm sure there are others. 

The dismantling of the visual of the regime is the metaphor for the revolt (and fall) of said regime. 

I give to you a hero for our times, two days ago in DC.  It's not the Dept of Labour, but maybe the Treasury. Either way.............YES. 

Song by:Joe Bonamassa 

Hunter

Ok, I'm no fan of Pappy Joe. ...and less so of his only living son, Hunter. 

It seems Hunter got his old laptop back from the DOJ, or he went to Best Buy and purchased a new one....and then joined Twitter / X. 

.....and I am HERE for it. 

I mean, whatever gets fed to me on other social media platforms, as I do not - and will not - have X. My mental health is already a shambles, why add to it? 

Now, I don't know when Hunter joined X, but he is a troll.........but in the best way, though he might not be living under a bridge. 

Had he joined a while ago, either no one noticed or he was a lurker. That said, the man has thrown his hat - and fingertips - into the ring. And he's got nothing to lose. 

I'm waiting for Elon to deactivate his account, but until then.........

I like Jake Trapper less than I like any of the Bidens.

He goes on in other tweets calling Trapper "Brick Tamland" from Anchorman. HILARIOUS.

Someone had to edit 'coke' and 'drugs'?

Stupid Christian Mingle

Yes, it's wrong for me to say, but......for the first time in his life, Hunter might have game. 

Song by: Dido

Driver 8

I'm not a train guy per se. 

710 is. 

His grandfather, for whom he was named, was a conductor on the B&O. 710's license plate is the caboose number on his grandfather's train. 

I've been to a few roundhouses with him. And it's interesting and all, but I was always more of a plane guy. 

My father took me to observation decks at airports to watch planes land and take off. And it was at one of these outings, at the Detroit airport, where I excitedly ran through the parking lot and got hit by a car. A Pontiac Bonneville to be exact. A blue one. I was also really into knowing every car make and model. 

ANYWAY.............

A month or two ago I got some FB notification that 'the Big Boy' was coming through the 216. 

The Big Boy is the Union Pacific 4014 - the world’s largest and heaviest operating steam locomotive. Stretching 132 feet long and weighing 1.2 million pounds,  Of the 25 made, it is the only one operational. They were specifically made to be able to haul shit over the Wasatch range of the Rocky Mountains. 

....yeah, I never heard of Wasatch range either. 

The 4014 is making its way from Cheyenne to Philadelphia......and was coming through NE Ohio.

It must not be a common occurrence since not only are news and social media outlets touting it, but people along this trip are posting seeing it. I mean, how in the world were we not gonna go? 

Work and doggie daycare schedules were rearranged so we could get a sighting. And a sitting. 

Train travel in the U.S. is just doomed. There was a tracker on the train, and a schedule. Neither one worked optimally. 

The tracker tells time in EDT, but what we didn't really know is that it was CDT/CST. The scheduled was allegedly EDT. Regardless of zone, neither was remotely the times that the frickin' beast should have been moving. 

If you look, 11:59 is the time the train should have been to site we scouted out. It was about eight miles away. And you can also see the train status:  STOPPED. It stopped a lot, but it's a heavy train route, so as other trains "barrel" down the tracks, another has to wait to use said track. 

We waited almost two hours (!!!!) in the upper 80 degree heat. Eventually, I just pulled my car around and turned on the ac and put Shep in the backseat so he wouldn't overheat. He was happier there. 

We had found a parking structure, as my first locale choice ironically had a train blocking the view. So we went up higher - and shaded. 

We were not close like a friend who sent me the title image and the one of the crew below. 

But he pretty much saw the training sitting and finally pulling out. We had it moving. 

You'll want to know this for the Big Bang Theory clip below, but the Big Boy has a 4-8-8-4 wheel configuration, which means they have four wheels on the leading set of “pilot” wheels to guide the engine; eight drivers on the first engine; another set of eight drivers on the second engine; and four wheels trailing that support the rear of the locomotive. 

 

a two hour wait for 27 seconds.  Yeahhhh....that seems about right. 

The Big Boy makes a return trip though CLE in mid July. I have a feeling we will be seeing that as well.

Song by: R.E.M.

My Music Monday

Week 2 of June and I'm already breaking the MMM thread of no new music. 

Death Cab for Cutie kind of ruined that, but I'm not 100% sure a song has hit me to the core - lyrically - on the first play as "Stone Over Water". 

This is their second release from their just released album, I Build You a Tower. Their first song, "Riptide" was ok, but that was it. 

The song was released six days ago. 

The opening two lines of the song are just perfect. Ben Gibbard has a way with a phrase in many of his songs and this one does not disappoint. 

"Stone Over Water" hits on the times of today - at least in my mind. " 'cause oh how this year's been a slog" .  

As I journey with my mental health, it's easy for me to say "I've been seen" with this song. I'm sure it is not just me - not by a long shot. Yet it's not their blog, so............ me. me. me. 

Mack the Knife*

You'll have to humour me with this one. It's somewhat a two tale post. 

If you read me for content at all - and have a great memory - I've posted (years ago) about some OCD tendencies that I have. One is having things repeat in my head - usually names, sometimes phrases. 

For years - yes years! - I would go through phases where I'd repeat "Boutros Boutros-Ghali". I don't know whey it popped in there, but it did. 

All in my head, but the name ran through there hundreds of times per day. If anyone said his name I was doomed for weeks, as I could not get my mind to shut off. 

Lo and behold, one day it was gone. And I can now safely type out his name and I don't get the same effect. 

I've had lower key instances with "Mundungus Fletcher" (Harry Potter character) and Lou Alcindor, whom you might know more by his name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (or Roger Murdoch). 

Do not ask me how I knew Abdul-Jabbar's given name. I don't know. But there it was, popped in, then stuck in, my head. 

I have had other phrases stuck in my head on repeat too, but those I discuss with my shrink. 

All of it though, has kind of gone away.

......until last Thursday and Friday. 

I woke up with "Bertolt Brecht" running through my noggin. 

No idea why. It's not like I heard something about him consciously, sub or un. 

I know next to nothing about Brecht. I couldn't tell you where he was from, or time period in which he may have lived - or if he were still alive.  Sure, the name screams German or Austrian, but who knew for sure. 

During these periods, I say nothing to anyone about my brain being on a certain loop. It's difficult to truly understand. I just have lived with it for so long, I coexist with it all. 

So - I'm at the gym this last Friday. On Thursdays and Fridays there is a HIIT class that takes place and once I overheard them doing trivia during the class. It wasn't even the instructor doing it, but her partner / husband / boyfriend. His name is Bjorn and he looks just how you'd think. 

Anyways months ago I teased them about having to take tests during a HIIT class. He said he did it as a joke once or twice and when he stopped everyone wanted him to continue, so they do. 

A few weeks ago it was 90s music. Nailed it. 

Oh, I don't go to the class. They tell me the questions after the class. Hell, they don't even give the answers during the class, only afterwards. It's a weird set-up, but it works for me, because I get to participate without actually having to do a boot camp class. 

The other day, I axed before class started the theme - Bjorn said, "what do you know about French film?"  My reply?, "I'm out". 

As it turns out only one question was about French film - and it was about a review from the 30's (?) where a French paper used a term for the first time - and what was it. I correctly guessed 'noir'. 

But then there was one question about a horse's size - didn't get it. And one for if you sailed west from Madagascar, what country would you run into (it's Mozambique - which I got).

The last question:  what composer wrote lyrics to "something I can't remember" and "something else I can't remember" and "Threepenny Opera". 

I opened my mouth and said, "Bertolt Brecht".

They looked at me like I was a freak. Internally I looked at me like I was a freak. But I was also processing a backstory from the last two days of me repeating his name. 

I'd love to say that exorcised my OCD demon, and to a degree it did. Brecht's name has popped up over the last few days, but not on a continual loop. I'd thank Bjorn for that, but then I'd have to explain myself and I'd just rather not. 

*Mack the Knife" is a song from Threepenny Opera written with Kurt Weill (no Morty - not Kurt Vile). 

Song by: Bobby Darin

Pets

It's a Shep Saturday. 

Nothing from my nephew, sister or sister-in-law. Oh yeah, we have a pic or so from daycare, but it's mostly Shep this week. 

Deal with it. 

A tree a street over came down. Shep it tiny next to its leftovers. 

Shep and 710 had to cross the street. 

Georgia was not putting up with any Shep bullshit last Sunday. 

Dash and cute golden friend. All got pets. 

Speaking of........

My cousin David sent me this. He's petting Shep when he went to pick up Siggie. I was proud of David for attempting to pet Shep; and I was proud of Shep for not biting anyone. 

Rolling near Lake Erie. 

His preference to smell any tree and bush disturbed thousands and thousands of midges. I don't think we can go near the lake for a few weeks until they die off. 

Lulu is SO attentive to Shep - coming so close to breaking her invisible fence. Shep just plays hard to get. 

And always greeter Syndey and the same lovable golden from a few pics up. 

Song by: Porno for Pyros

60 Miles an Hour

For months you knew this was coming. 

It became an issue of 'when', not 'if'. 

Yeah yeah, Anderson Cooper jumped ship of 60 Minutes a few weeks back and I applaud him for leaving. I mean, he still has a full time gig at CNN - and his mother's fortune to keep him afloat, so I'm not feeling horribly bad for him.  (well except that he's friends with Andy Cohen.)

Scott Pelley on the other hand might be a new hero of the day. Standing up to CBS execs who were put in place by the right-winged fuckwad who used daddy's billions to buy Paramount.  .....which was cleared by the FCC easily when BLOTUS intervened. 

It was just a matter of time as they systematically started getting rid of folks who held the new organization to I'd say a "higher standard', but these days, ANY standard is saying something. 

Pelley got canned for speaking up - and out - during a staff meeting. And g-d love him, he hasn't let a firing keep him quiet. Clearly, CBS / Paramount didn't get him to sign a non-disparaging agreement.

Bari Weiss put out a statement that it was basically Pelley's fault he's gone. Translated: if he kept his mouth shut like a good soldier, he'd be fine. I'm not 100% sure why CBS felt the need to put out a statement it all. 

Pelley wasn't putting up with that bullshit snowjob of a press release: 

“At no point did anyone in the Tuesday meeting suggest that there would be steps taken by either side that would lead to a resolution,” Pelley said. He said that Weiss and CBS News President Tom Cibrowski were “openly hostile from the start. ‘Firing’ was raised by Cibrowski in the first 15 seconds. No CBS executive, at any time, suggested ‘a way back.’ To say so now is disingenuous. And they know it.” 

Call those fuckers out on it. 

....and calling them 'disingenuous' as opposed to 'bald faced liars' was very kind of Scott.

I've said it months ago - forget FOX, Paramount is going to be the lead in State Media. They're making sure of it with Colbert gone,  Pelley gone, Cooper gone, a handful of other 60 Minutes folks fired in the last day or two. 

Comedy Central is owned by Paramount. It would not surprise me in the slightest to see the Daily Show shipped out too.....and soon. 

They own MTV too, so I'm guessing we get 189 more seasons of Teen Mom. That should play to the BLOTUS base. 

I need Leslie Stahl to quit too. Fuck the non-completes and all band back together for 3600 Seconds. 

Just fucking do your show somewhere else under that slightly altered name.  I'd bet you'd have a few great stories about corporate greed, government oversight and interference. 

You could probably have the entire productions staff leave and join you. 

And best of all:  still no Andy Rooney. 

Song by: New Order

Around the World

I could have posted about Global Running Day yesterday, as it was yesterday - but it is highly doubtful I was convincing anyone to go out for a run because of it. 

GRD (as I'm calling it for the rest of the post) is always the first Wednesday in June. 

I speak like I ever knew of this more than four years ago, but let's face it, I did not. There are structured events in many cities. The one yesterday being my fourth. 

Yes, I ran four miles in the morning, but did join the hundreds who showed up at a Cleveland metropark to run a 5k "race". It's untimed. It's supposed to be for fun and community, but there are always the hyper-competitive ones who have to do the 5-minute mile thing. 

Traditionally, the 216 version of this has been highly highly disorganized. I was going in this time - eyes wide open.

.....and it was highly disorganized. 

The "race" started more than a half-hour late, which it always does. Check-in starts a half-hour before the race and there are hundreds of people lining up an hour before that. Their staff is there. The gear is there. Just start an hour before the race and stay on schedule. 

It was also hot. Cleveland Dept of Water is always there to hydrate after the race, but no one set it up this year. I didn't bring water with me because I "knew" it would be there. And while only a 3.1 mi run - sorry - 2.54, because they don't know how to measure - a squad was called for at least one runner. 

Love the running community, but this might be my last GRD. I don't need a shirt that badly - though I did get a free hat too this year, so.........not all bad. 

Song by: Kings of Leon

Cooking with Blobby

I think it's been a bit since I've posted any cooking anything here?  I'd have to go back and look, and honestly, who has the time? 

Tuesdays are generally salmon night for us. About 38 weeks of the year, I have a training run on Tuesdays and coming home, prepping / cooking salmon is extremely easy and is mostly done while I shower. The cooking part. Not the prepping part. 

So on those few weeks I don't have Tuesday evening runs, we don't much deviate from salmon. And I'm fine with the normal prep stuff, which is usually just olive oil, salt and pepper. Salt is a must for the albumin. It helps not make the white gooey protein from coming to the surface. 

Anyhooo......but something new is good to try too. I've done some here, and none have been home runs. 

Will Chile Crisp and Honey Roasted Salmon be the exception or the rule? 

Stick around. 

The ingredient list is minimal, so....bonus. And the first of four steps is to turn the oven on!  So going in, I'm good with the ease of this recipe. 

Ingredients 

Yield: 6 servings 1 (2-pound) salmon fillet (skin on or off), preferably center cut 

Salt and pepper 

¼ cup mayonnaise 

2 tablespoons chile crisp 

2 tablespoons honey 

Grated zest from 1 medium lemon 

Preparation 

Step 1 Heat oven to 375 degrees with the rack set in the center position. 

Step 2 Place the salmon in a baking dish that fits the salmon snugly (about 8 by 12 inches or 9 by 13 inches) and season the salmon on both sides with salt and pepper. Place the salmon skin-side down (if it has a skin) and set aside. 

Yeah - I forgot about the baking dish and used a rimmed sheet pan. I am not sure it mattered at all. 

Step 3 In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, chile crisp, honey and lemon zest. Taste the mixture and add more chile crisp to taste, or honey to balance the heat. Spread the mayonnaise mixture evenly on top of the salmon. 

Step 4 Place the salmon in the oven and bake until the thickest part of the salmon flakes easily when tested with a paring knife and the topping is bubbling a little along the edges, 15 to 25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the salmon. Spoon any glaze that has run off back onto the salmon and serve.

Meh. 710 liked it more than I. 

I was expecting more flavour; more spice. I think my chili crisp is 'mild' at best. Maybe the honey and mayo balanced things out, but I never really tasted anything but chili crisp. Not 100% sure the lemon zest yielded a thing. 

Pre-heating the oven and cooking for 15-20 minutes was a lot. I think it could have easily been done in an air fryer in less time and with less clean up.  The sheet pan was messy-ish. 

And for g-d's sake, use a glass bowl to mix the chili crisp mixture. A white plastic bowl and that stuff if just a disaster to clean. 

In the Garage

Back in the day, I spent a lot of time in the Garage. 

That was the name of a gay bar in Columbus. 

Oh I would frequent about four (maybe five) times per week. Well to be truthful, some of those days were spent the front bar called Trends. I was quite the Drunky McDrunkersen back then. At least four nights per week that would have been my name. 

The bar is long gone - though they unsuccessfully did try to resurrect it a few years back - and I can count on one finger how many drinks I've had this year. It's a different Blobby.

The times, they are a-changin', something's blowin' in the wind. Fetch me my diet pills, would you, hon?

Now the only garage I go to is our detached one. 

The thing needs / needed two definite repairs and a third one which is optional. What we really need is a garage that is 3-4' wider, but that's not going to happen. We are dealt the hand we were given, and that we purchased. So be it. 

The repairs really need to be in a certain order. From the ground up you might say. 

So the first thing to go was the floor. 710 did all the legwork on this, as while I care, he cares more, so he gets what he wants out of this. I'm just along for the ride. 

Last week - or longer? - a former neighbor who does concrete stuff started on the job. Well, started and finished - in the same day. I honestly didn't think it could be done that quickly, but from start to finish it was about six hours. 

To make way, we had to clear everything out of the garage that was on the floor - which was a lot of crap. We tossed a bunch, but not as much as I wanted. There are hills to die on, and this wasn't one of them. 

If you click on the pic, you can see how bad the floor was. I'm sure the structure isn't original build from 1920. I mean, they didn't have Model Ts parked there.  

The Bobcat had a jackhammer attached to the front. Being the good neighbor I am, I contacted folks on either side of us, apologizing in advance for the noise. But they ripped that shit out in no time flat. 

Then it was sand, and stone, evening the drains, etc before pouring cement. 

The final product. Well, of the floor. We have yet to move anything back in, as I think we are liking the Marie Kondo look. But that shit we dragged out is NOT going to live in the basement until our next move. It goes back, or it gets tossed. 

You can kind of see the side door to the right - that is the second must fix. If you look at the bottom, it's rotted through. The leaves you see in the new space isn't from the big door being opened, but from blowing in from the hole in the side door. Of course, it's a non-standard door someone put in, which means we need a custom door made. 

Fudge. 

The third thing is purely aesthetic. 710 wants a new garage door. I'm ok either way. It's a lot of money for a garage. That said, we are in there at least four times per day (combined). We have other rooms in thouse we don't use as much, so I guess I can see the argument for fixing it up a bit. 

Ahhh....the joys of home ownership. 

Song by: Weezer

My Music Monday

While I don't have a theme for June's My Music Mondays, the rest of this year has been all new music. I thought this month could be older music. Maybe even old music. 

The other day, someone in the running group was talking about 'classic cars' and he started mentioning the '70s and '80s. That hurt a little. Someday the Suzuki Samurai is going to be considered a classic car and there won't be enough antidepressants in the world to make me feel better. 

But in the 80s, when I was a young adult, music from the '40, '50s and '60s were considered "oldies". Now here we are 40 years past 1986. I just kind of reject the theory that the Smiths are an "oldies band". Once they use them for fundraising on PBS, then I'll painfully accept that fact. 

Artists are re-releasing some albums that have been remastered for better sound. But most things are streamed or even on CD compressed in sound. My 62+ year old ears are rarely, if ever, going to notice the difference. 

Even the Record Company is re-releasing a "10 year anniversary" edition of their debut disk Give it Back to You. 

I don't need to repurchase it, but if it throws some exposure on it, that would be great. 

The band is more blues influenced with a rock subcategory. That's never gonna get a lot of airplay on any station, but it's more than legitimate and the sound sounds much bigger than a trio. Drums. Bass. Guitar. There is no gussied up albums. 

This week's selection is probably their most played song ever - which is all relative - "Off the Ground". 

I use is it sometimes in my running playlist, but it's a good song for strength training in the gym. 

Girl You Know It's True

The "joke" is, the photo to your left is doctored, but you probably didn't even notice or question such a thing. 

The actual "joke" is what this fucking White House (not the actual structure.....but kind of) has become. 

I am surprised this just isn't the set for American Ninja Warrior, which btw, is far more entertaining than whatever this full-diaper wearing "president" has for us for the 250th b-day we are supposed to be having. 

Was. 

Almost everyone has bailed.  

Almost. 

Let's face it, Vanilla Ice is never going to have somewhere else to be and there wasn't a county fair who had yet requested is presence on or near the same day. And it might be his only paying gig this year. 

"Milli Vanilli" (yes in quotes) is just the perfect metaphor for this administration: fake entertainers laughing all the way to the bank. 

"They" are still on the bill. 

The only difference is (kind of): Milli Vanilli got caught in the act and paid the price - which was to never inflict another album on us again......or whomever actually sang on it. 

This administration has been caught several times for faking it and so far, to never been penalized. 

It should be noted that, at least in theory, Vanilli is/was a German group. And nothing celebrates U.S. independence than fake German singers. 

Correction: Singer.   Correction Correction: Lip syncer .

One of the guys in the group gets off easy: he's dead.    ......lucky bastard. 

While yay (I guess) for the groups who have bailed. I have yet to have it trickle down to me as of why they 86'd the celebration - though you know......Occum's razor.  That said - they HAD to know for what they were signing up for in the first place. You can't tell me they didn't know the stigma attached to such an event with such a polarizing twat as BLOTUS. 

And really, was C C + the Music Factory such a get in the first place? I mean, yeah - next to Vanilla Ice and Milli Vanilli. 

There is nothing to celebrate this upcoming independence day. Unless BLOTUS continues the legacy of Jefferson and Adams - who both died on July 4th. 

That, I'd celebrate. 

Song by: "Milli Vanilli"

In the Sun

All dogs this Saturday. I guess I could have taken screen shots from the Ring doorbell with all the kitty cats that seem to be crossing our front porch. Clearly we are a safe haven for them, and I'm ok with that.  

Shep hanging out University Circle after some squirrel chasing. 

Dual entry for my cousin's dog, Siggie. Yes, daycare got the spelling wrong. 

The top pic is a screenshot from a video David sent of Siggie. He. Is. ADORABLE.  The paw placement is everything. 

While I run, apparently Shep does not. 

710 sent this last weekend while I was out on a 10 miler. 

HANK. 

A new daycare guy - at least for me. He was SOOOOOO sweet. What a greeting. 

Sunbathing. At least one of us is getting our vitamin D

Song by: Peter Gabriel

Finally

I am sure Ms. Peniston has been waiting years for this blog to be using her song title. 

I suppose it being played repeatedly during Priscilla Queen of the Desert wasn't enough for her. Or every night at a gay bar from 1991 until...........now?  I haven't been in a gay bar in quite a while, so I don't know what the kids are listening to these days. I dare say CC and the Music Factory might still be on the playlist. 

So, CeCe finally gets her due here. 

Anyway...........the fucking Democrats finally found their gonads. FINALLY.  (see how that ties in?)

Now......I am very sure I'm speaking too soon, but it is the proverbial gospel record cover with the rays of sun coming from behind the darkened clouds*.

James Talerico (D) won his Texas primary and well, the GOP had been badmouthing one of their own candidates who well.......won theirs.....and now the GOP has to sell the guy they've been slinging shit about. And what better way to do that than distract with transphobic (and untrue) tweets**. 

While this is just their normal playbook shit, I'm just surprised at the level it goes up to that writes this shit that goes so low. 

But it was the actual fucking official Democratic Party response that floored me.  Remember: GONADS. 

I mean, Miller can't even sue for libel. Stevie Wonder, Sandy Duncan, Peter Falk all know he's an "ugly fuck". Surely a judge will be able to tell. 

While the High Rd would be nice, it hasn't gotten the dems anywhere. Lord knows I can't find it on my GPS, so fucking just meet them at their level. And they finally did. 

Let's hope this shit continues. I'm sure MAGA will be "outraged" at that kind of response - never getting it. 

Fuck them too. 

*For decades I called this the "Christy Lane album cover", but I just Gooooooogled her and lo and behold, she doesn't have any covers with that. I'm sure her commercials did when they pawned her albums over UHF. 

**Tweets. How long as Musk owned X?  I Gooooogle searched for the above tweet image under 'X' and got nothing. I did the same search and switched it to "Twitter" and it came right up. And they're postings are still called 'tweets'. Musk with his wasted $44,000.000.000.00 couldn't fit another $200,000 in the budget for the salary of a brand manager. 

Song by: CeCe Peniston

Freeze Frame

Yesterday after work I opted to go on my run. This wasn't a well thought out idea. 

Normally, I am an early morning runner. Like....starting at 05:00 or 06:30 kind of thing. Things are generally cooler. But I figured, it was only 5 miles, how bad could it be? 

Mind you, it was "only" 71°F , but you have to add (depending on who is talking) 10-20 degrees more when you run. It wasn't a great run. I didn't even plan a route and ended up doing a lot of hills. Mind you. I need that experience, but again..........not well thought out. 

I brought no hydration, but usually do not for anything less than five miles. During the summer, yeah, I do, but this is like Spring.....or Spring like. 

Now my gym has just installed a "recovery" area. When I think recovery, I think spa or massage. They think a super hot sauna and a cold plunge pool. 

These services is not yet fully operational, but they are allowing certain people to try it out and give feedback - and I was one of the selected few. I even had to sign a waiver. When this is fully operational, it was be a scheduled event and it is extra - meaning not covered in the monthly gym membership fee. 

You know me, I'm not parting with dough that easily - even though they don't have pricing yet - for something I'm most assuredly not going to like. But until it's up and running, for me it's free........and that is kind of hard to turn down. 

When I returned from the run hotter than hell, I kind of went - "well, it's now or never". 

I gathered my things from the locker room and toted them to the recovery area. 

The idea is to do the sauna, then cold plunge, allegedly repeatedly. Oh, and to shower between each thing. And you can't be nekkid. 

While there is a sauna in the regular men's locker room (and one for the gals) that is about 160°F.  The new one is not that. 

I have no idea what the 8:37 is. How long the sauna has been on? It wasn't the time, that's for sure. 

I'm not much of a sauna guy. I find it stifling and I'm not sure I get much benefit out of the experience. Ditto when it's hotter than hot. 

It turns out, I'm not much of a cold plunge guy either - see title image. 

Now I'm stupid smart enough to just go in. Dipping your toe and easing yourself in is going to make one stop themselves and never do it. And it is called a 'plunge'. 

The water is 42°F !!!  I think the coldest I've been in is the Atlantic in Maine where it was 53 - and that was awful. 

Oh - there is a large atomic clock hanging there too, so you can see how long you've been in. The recommended time is 2-3 minutes. I can assure you I did not last that long.  

87 seconds. 

F-R-E-E-Z-I-N-G.    

Though not by the literal definition. 

Hence the waiver I had to sign. On the upside I didn't scream. I thought I might. 

Others I know have used plunges before. They say this is colder because the water in the tank circulates. In still water tubs, you kind of have a heat barrier around you for a bit coming from your body. This swirling does not give you that brief barrier - so it is colder. 

Suffice to say, I did not go back and forth to the sauna and plunge. 

One and done. 

The shower was possibly the most interesting thing. It is hard to describe, but I'll try......

Imaging walking through a field of thistles Thousands of little pricks all over your body, radiating at slightly different times, but all the time. Tolerable, sure, but you felt the pain.....milliseconds at a time, but all over your body - head to toe. 

It lasted well after the shower. A cold shower.....which was still so much warmer than where I'd been. 

I showered. Shaved. 

Between the run and the sauna, 87 seconds in a cold plunge does NOTHING to stop you sweating. 

Lotion rolled right off me. I had to sit for a bit to even get a shirt on where it wouldn't soak through immediately. 

Cold plunge is something I can cross off my 'to-do' list. 

While I have access to do it again, it's going to have to be a scorcher, but I think my fail is embedded in my short term memory where I probably will not. 

It was an experience and the outcome was what I knew going in:  I'm a wuss........and I'm fine with it. 

Song by: the J Geils Band

Loser

I pretty much don't care about the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

I'm very sure you do not. 

But Travis Kelce does, and by association, his bride-to-be. 

I'll assume Jason Kelce does too, and I'd rather be seeing his pic here - no offense to Trav. 

Minor spoiler alert:  The Cavs lost the semi-final round four games to ZERO. 

It was painfully bad. Yes, I'd flip through to see how they're doing because you know someone at work is gonna say something and I don't want to look like a total rube!  Or feel like. I might already look like one. 

One game they lost a 22 point lead (!!!) and this last game they lost by 37 points!  Ouch. 

Trav and Tay Tay were at least at game 3, possibly 4, but I'm not sure. 

I think you all know Travis and Jason grew up a few streets away from where we currently live, and their podcast is named after the Heights in which we live. 

It would have been nice to have a Lebron-less Cavs victory, but that won't be this year....still they got close, though every play-off game was painful. And at least Travis is still a hometown boy when it comes to root-root-root (ing) for the home team. And it was a shame that they didn't win. 

I'll give it to the 11 people around them - not one were actively gawking at least when this image was taken. I'm not sure Taylor cares a bit about what's going on. Much like me. 

Song by: Grateful Dead