Author: Derek
Saint Augustine Happenings
The reason there wasn’t a Monday Links post was that The Wife and I did our now-annual pilgrimage to North America’s oldest city. It’s where we honeymooned and it’s one of our favorite places. We tried something different this year by going during the week instead of going on the weekend.
Monday started with taking our hairless Boo to the kitty cardiologist. The cat is doing well without any degradation. Plus, there may be a drug therapy to help his heart. We’re hopeful. Upon discussion with The Wife, we stopped at 5.11 so I could pick up a new backpack. The sling bag is good for short trips out to stores or errands. For long days walking around, I have found that my lower back dislikes the sling bag. So, I figured trying out a smaller backpack.
We went to the fort, which was in the midst of an invasion of school-age children. There were also some new displays compared to last year. From there, we hoofed it over to the Oldest House. Touring the exhibits, I explained the difference between matchlock and flintlock. Then back down St. Georges to enjoy all the shops. And yes, I procured a new hat. We need a new hat rack. We also found that some of the shops we normally visit aren’t open during the early part of the week.
We also found the B&B we stay at has an outdoor cat that is the spitting image of our big orange cat.
In short, we had a lot of fun, came home with some new souvenirs, and generally considered a good trip.
COVID +5 Years
A lot of places were doing their five year retrospectives based on the issuance of Trump’s emergency order. I mark it when The Wife and I were sent home to work from home. We were suddenly reordering our lives so that we could both telework full-time. We had to learn how to become not only husband and wife, but coworkers in a sense.
Looking back, COVID accelerated and intensified sentiments and feelings that were bubbling under the surface. The distrust of the elites and institutions was reinforced by their actions. Their absolute imperiousness against even the most reasoned pushback of their assertions. Their absolute craven cowardice against the mob. Well, the mob whose approval they desperately wanted. My personal goodwill evaporated when the elites and their sycophants kept schools closed well beyond when the evidence showed it wasn’t effective. The education loss will reverberate for decades.
And now we’re living in the backlash. Those who were persecuted under the previous elites now have the whip hand. And just as their predecessors, they will use their power to punish those they consider their enemies.
I still trust most people will do their best during emergencies – right up until the chattering classes and their paymasters get involved.
Ward Manor Happenings
Day Job Happenings – We’re still in a holding pattern. We know that Reductions In Force (RIFs) are happening, but the timeline is a bit…opaque, shall we say? Similarly, while a large segment of my division’s workforce has returned to office, I am in a portion without a current RTO date. The Wife and I are a little concerned that I’ll get an RTO – which necessitates getting a car – and then getting RIF’d a few months later. On the plus side, we received some additional revenue, so our last major debt, other than the houses is now paid off.
Musical Happenings – Back in November, I saw that the Sarasota Orchestra was going to be playing Gustav Holst’s “The Planets.” This is one of my favorite pieces of classical music. So, I picked up tickets for their matinee. Weekend before last, The Wife and I made the trek down. It was amazing to hear that played live. One thing that hit me while I was playing it live was the intricacies of the orchestra. Yes, I’ve seen it on television, but for some reason, the synchronicity of the various sections and the way that they came together was more on display in a live setting.
Sourdough Happenings – The Wife decided to join the sourdough bandwagon and try her hand at a starter. Because we need to anthropomorphize everything, she christened her starter “Doughlene.” Something about feeding it and keeping it alive means it must have a name. The Brother was kind enough to lend us some cookware he wasn’t using. We shall see what arises over the next few weeks. (See what I did there)
Monday Links
Well, this week will be a grab bag of links.
Reason first, starting with a couple of COVID retrospectives.
Do face masks work? A look at the evidence. The only time I wear a mask these days is if I’m actively sick and I’m forced to go out into public. I keep a few disposable N95’s in my various bags.
How many Americans died from COVID-19? As the article states, these numbers are going to be contested for decades. The range for the 1918 Spanish Flu is between 17 million and 100 million.
Standard piece on ending daylight savings time. Based on what happened in the 70’s, I lean more to staying on DST, but I’d be happy with just staying on one. For some reason, this time change has Ward Manor more discombobulated than normal.
Union makes outrageous claims when DHS reneges on union contract for TSA. I’m not a fan of how unions work these days – particularly government unions. I’m not a member of the union at the day job, but I’m still bound by the contract they negotiated. Then there’s the part of me that says it’s one thing to let a contract lapse and another to just break a contract. On the gripping hand, there’s something to be said about doing what you can to get out of a bad deal.
Georgia passed an anti-doxxing bill that was written poorly. Broadly written laws leaves a lot of room for abuse.
Cornell is disciplining students and student groups for disrupting a speaking event. And not just slaps on the wrists either.
Take a couple hundred bucks out of an ATM? The feds want to know about it. Especially if you’re too close to Mexico. No, this won’t be abused. History is so replete with examples of the feds upholding the highest standards of following the spirit of their laws.
I have a trio tech stories.
A Bloomberg article on Apple planning to bring live translate to its AirPods. I have some interest in this. I wonder if it would do it for anime I’m listening to on my AirPods?
From The Verge, Apple has agreed to support a new message encryption protocol that will make it interoperable with Android. No news if that means the green bubble / blue bubble divide will continue.
From CNN, iRobot’s future is in doubt. Thanks EU from blocking the sale to Amazon in order to “protect consumers.” Hopefully the robots in Ward Manor won’t be affected too much if iRobot goes under. Well, at least Eufy’s tend to go on sale pretty frequently.
A couple of gun stories.
Fox News article on Arkansas public school students being required to take a gun safety course. With the ubiquitous nature of guns in America, every child should know at least the four rules with some heavy doses of Eddie the Eagle thrown in at the beginning. It’s like swimming. You may never plan on taking your child anywhere near a pool, lake, river, or ocean, but there’s enough of those around that it’s best if kids know how.
From Shooting Illustrated, Tam has a piece on why you may need different carry pistols for different situations. It was one of the reasons I like having a compact M&P and a full-size one.
A couple of local stories.
The Rays backed out of a stadium deal. Now local leaders and sports fans are wondering how to keep the team in the area. I still hold that if the Rays want a stadium, make them pay for it.
An article on the endangered nature of Florida’s orange groves. It’s a story we’ve been seeing a lot lately around Ward Manor. The children of old family farms don’t want to take over the business and the demand for land has driven up prices that makes selling a good way to make the family fortune. This is before you throw in the greening epidemic.
Finishing up with a couple of lighter science stories.
Via The Brother, we have an article on how different languages hear and say animal sounds.
March Anime Recommendations
A rare rom com involving adults instead of students.
Speaking of rom-coms involving students. This one has an interesting premise and done well.
Another rom-com where the stepchildren used to date – and may still have feelings for each other. And a bit of ecchi.
It feels odd recommending one that’s not technically anime and over ten years old, but damn RWBY is good.