Transitions

I have to admit, I was a little surprised Kristi Noem got fired.  I mean, to be fired for ethical or moral violations in this administration -- that takes work!  On the other hand, she has been a distraction, and I do not think you can say she has shown tactical acumen in her approach.  Also, I think Mullin is fine, but I would have thought he would be better in the Senate.  He is entertaining and a sharp cookie.  My former boss pointed out that no county in Oklahoma is blue, so not only is his seat safe, but... methinks I should move.

In other news, I think I have largely recovered from yesterday's procedure... a bit of rumbletummy (as reported), and I was sort of cold, but tomorrow that should not be an option, given the weather.  I was able to hit the gym today and do legs, just to be safe, not that I expect to re-open the vein in which I was stuck. Hell, they will probably use the same one next week...  I do not really think this will work, or at least have much of an effect on my life, but...we will give it a try.

Funny; on the one hand, no OC duty, so there is free time, but Matt being Matt, I have a full weekend planned, and of course there is Duke-UNC and the start of Championship Week.  I've also decided that I miss my mom's chili, and that I will make it tomorrow, so I will buy the stuff today (now) or tomorrow.  Mattie being Mattie, I will change the recipe, as I was gifted some venison from a hunter friend (we have been getting it at the food pantry, though not everyone wants it), and rather than buy ground meat... well, it will be a slightly gamier and healthier version this weekend.  Mom would be slightly appalled by this change, but the combo of that, my frugality, and my love of going off-script a bit....well, I think we should not be surprised by this...

Infusing

Hard to believe Championship Week is nearly upon us; many of the mid-majors are in tournament play now, with the Vikings bowing out (on the men's side) and surviving an OT scare (for the women).  The OVC is at the same time as Duke-UNC, which is... unpleasant, as I rather like the drama of win or go home.  But it does not exactly meet the pageantry of the Duke-UNC game!

Had an iron infusion today; after the delays for insurance and all, the treatment to get a handle on this anemia was here.  And it was...fine?  I arrived, got a blood pressure reading, and stuck with an IV needle.  An iron formula was administered, I had to wait 30 minutes to make sure I didn't have any ill effects, and then home.  None of the side effects I warned about came to pass, but I do not exactly feel any better, either.  (Not that I expected to.)  I think I have one next week, at which time we will see how I feel.  I have to admit...for all of the health problems I have, this is the one I was least worried about, but once this whole thing is done...we will talk to the medical team about that.

The SOTU moment that Republicans hope saves the midterms - POLITICO
'These people are crazy' is the campaign Democrats should fear
Will this work?  I don't know; I mean, it is a good punch, but the Dems have plenty that they can run on, as well.  In some ways, the current approach to Iran is a reason why...yes, prices for gas and such are up now, but if you do it now -- in and out -- the price effects should mitigate over time.  Yes, border security is important, but so is the economy, and if it doesn't take....

Hooping It Up

The TX Senate primary is headed to a runoff, and there is no good that will come from that.  This could be me, but if Cornyn is the strongest candidate (and I think Paxton has some, um, issues), this should be a no-brainer, especially if this is a blue year and the Dems seem to think they have a chance (and Talarico is leading in their primary).  I can see why some GOPers might not like Cornyn, but he is hardly a lefty, and all of the time and resources spent on his campaign could be used elsewhere... I know we are the GOP and thus smarter, but there are times...

Beware of Libertarians Who Claim To Be Republicans
This is in a related vein, but this is also completely correct, and it also explains why we have the issues we have today...

Went through some links and emails today, but here and at work, and I feel slightly better about things, of course.  I am quite tired -- another sleepless evening -- so tonight I am soon off to bed, for better or worse.  Things are piling up, and I have to admit I am looking forward to the weekend, if only so I can sleep in a bit and catch up on some things (aside from Duke-UNC).  Getting my picture window installed properly would help, as the living room would not look like a disaster area, but I do not see that happening soon.  Oi.

Miami of Ohio is 30-0 -- another close win -- and I do find the whole debate about their NCAA Tournament chances to be fascinating.  I get the whole Strength of Schedule issue, but if no power conference wants to schedule them, it seems unfair to punish them for that.  If only there was some group that regulated college sports and had the power to make rules about this sort of thing...  I would also note that while it isn't that no one wants to see 12 SEC teams in the tourney, people also like seeing Cinderellas, underdogs, and upsets, and putting Miami in the NCAA Championship -- conference championship or not -- would, I think, be better for the game than keeping them out.

I would also like to note that Akron and Kent State have had incredibly good seasons, but they are completely subsumed by Miami.  I think most people would have expected them to make noise in the MAC Tournament, but they will have to go through the Redhawks to do so.  Then, there is CSU, which had a play-in to get into the Horizon League, where they will face the top seed...I realize they have a new coach and thus there is rebuilding, but... after the successes of the past few years, this is...rough.

A war foretold: how the CIA and MI6 got hold of Putin’s Ukraine plans and why nobody believed them | Ukraine | The Guardian
Fascinating read!

Mattie Catches Up

Been a long time since I posted, so... here we go.  Thursday I just crashed; it was a long week of work, and by the time I was done with it and everything else I wanted to do... I was pooped.  Friday night was fine; went to Holy Name for fish fry, Stations, gym, and then home.  But, no rest for the weary, as I had to make a seven-layer jello for a family fest Saturday.  I was surprised it turned out well -- I was pressed for time, just hit Marc's, and bought the brand X sour cream they had instead of a better brand for the white layer.  It was not quite the same, and while the family said it was fine... I will not take any chances.

While making jello, I watched the new "Naked Gun" movie, the one starring Liam Neeson.  It was very meh, and I was sorely disappointed, as I would have thought it was easy to remake the film -- some dumb gags, some running jokes... but no.  Alas.  Anyways, I still have a pile of films from the library to watch, but at least I made some progress.

Saturday was OC duty -- last of the month -- and it was sort of slow; not even 100 clients for the day.  Good in that we didn't kill each other, but we had a good amount of produce and bread and we had to hustle to give all of that away.  Indeed, the bread was not all given away and saved.  Oops.  We did get some cleaning and reorganizing done, always good, and pulled clothes from the "dungeon," as we had plenty of people there for items.  Then it was off to the gym and home for a bit before the fest.  I had to pick up (and take home) my aunt, and one of my cousins left a bag that I had to take back (though we ended up chatting for an hour), so it was a long day.  My cousin's son (also my cousin, I guess) had never heard several stories of family lore, so we told him that -- it was funny, because he was fascinated that people entertained each other without phones, three TV channels, etc.  

Yesterday was the usual -- church, gym, home -- and then I caught up on some work.  Joy.  No, I am glad I did, as I am set up to get more stuff done this week, also important.  I crashed after Bar Rescue, which was fine.... I do enjoy the show, but I always wonder how often these places crash and burn after he leaves.  That and how often people who have never owned a bar or a restaurant decide it is a good idea to jump in...hell, don't they watch these shows?

Today was....fine?  Work and then my sister and I had our monthly dinner for February.  It was my turn to pick so I selected Tay-Do in Parma (sort of far for me, actually).  It was quite good -- I just had the egg noodle/seafood noodle fry, but it was fine, and my sister didn't complain too much (good-naturedly) about my choice.  Her turn this month, and I did mention that it is now Cleveland Restaurant Week, even if the options are not quite what we usually do...and probably will not this time, so I will find a place on my own.

In other news, we are at war, sort of/mostly, with Iran.  I have been telling people this is 45 years overdue, and I give POTUS credit for carrying it out, to say nothing of the fact that the man who is accused of being a dictator here is intervening to protect the lives of people over there...  More seriously, as I increasingly say, I hope the man knows what he is doing, as we are good at winning wars but poor at winning peace.

SOTU

So, yesterday was the SOTU, and of course I watched.  First, it was...long.  Very long.  I realize much of it is performative theater, and there are plenty of breaks for applause and all, but...  as for the speech itself, it was...fine?  I will note that it was a bit backward-looking and it was a bit short on what to do next.  To be sure, POTUS can do one thing today and another tomorrow, but...I think it would have been perfect if he had been able to offer something on affordability, housing, etc.

One thing the speech did well was to put the Dems in a very bad corner (which may have been the point).  All the talk of standing for things, the images of Dems booing and jeering during calls for election and border security... it's brilliant.  I am not the only person in the GOP who is saying that we should have content for an election or two, though I have to admit that the chance of us actually doing it is...small.  Alas.  Also, the President must have large and manly... hands, as my bladder was full midway through the speech, and he kept going...

Another thing about the speech is that I crashed about five minutes after; part of the reason why I am up now, in some ways.  I have had a long week, and I was tired, but... anyways, the speech was...long.  I had planned on doing a bunch of emails and such during it, and I was only able to do half.  Alas.  Of course, I nodded off after J! tonight, so now my sleep schedule is off, and I wasn't able to get the rest of the stuff done... tomorrow is another day, I guess, but...I think we all know how I like to take care of loose ends.

The Purple Knight Rises - by Gerhard Thielman
This is hilarious; we sort of need this here in our country, but I am glad to see it happening over the ocean...

Midterm elections: Trump is preparing to make health care a central focus | CNN Politics
This is another thing for which you have to give Trump credit; he is willing to try anything.  Now, his health care plans are... underwhelming, but he is trying, and something like Trump Rx is not peanuts.  To be sure, the ACA has not succeeded -- the Mullin-Sanders exchange was quite good -- but the government that robs Peter to pay Paul will always have the support of Paul, so we are stuck with it.  But the Donald is trying to move the needle when no one else in the GOP does anything.

The archivist preserving decaying floppy disks | Popular Science
Interesting; I bet I have games or something on floppy disks in the attic, and I still have my old Civ CD-Rom (should convert that)... but it is true, there is a lot of content on those things, and some of it may even be useful to keep...

Mattie Multitasks

Yesterday I had planned to head to the West Side -- errands, gifts to deliver, "Metropolis" at the Unitarian church out there -- but it looked a bit sketch, and I had stuff to do, so I stayed in.  In retrospect, I should have gone, as it seemed today that it was 100 times worse.  The driveway plowed, for one!  I mean, every time I looked outside, I saw snow -- often heavy -- and it was always blowing and drifting around.  It's also cold!  I realize it is still February, but it was a bit jarring.  

At least I was mostly productive today.  I skipped the gym but did much work (with more to come tomorrow), plowed through some links, handled some emails, that sort of thing.  I have plenty more to do, and I have a sneaking suspicion that I will be multitasking during tomorrow's SOTU.  Mind you, I am looking forward (not that I have ever NOT looked forward to one) to it, as I wonder what exactly he will say.  He is not the most gifted of orator, there are war cloud on multiple horizons, and the economic picture -- while green shoots are apparent, by most measures things are decidedly mixed, if you get the drift.  The Donald is the type to double-down, reflexively, no matter the problem, which can work sometimes, but the man can also multitask, which leads me to wonder why Wiles and Bessant cannot figure out a way to get one, two, or a dozen initiatives announced tomorrow.  I get a sense that they have thrown everything at the wall and are now stuck, but there are always new approaches to be tried.

The ‘Enigma’: Why JD Vance Befuddles the World - POLITICO
This could be, but I read this twice, and I found little that was befuddling... indeed, I think for a bunch of people on the right, Vance is a breath of fresh air...

In other news, I am in the middle of Operation clean out the cupboard and go through the freezer -- I pulled some turkey soup out for tomorrow and uncovered some cheese pierogi for later in the week, for starters.  I also discovered some cans of cream corn (my aunt's corn casserole requires regular canned corn) and I cracked one open as part of dinner.  I realize it is not the healthiest of fare (even if I try to adhere to the serving size) but for a change it is pretty good; bit sweet, bit salty, you can devour the entire can in one setting.  Of course, then I reflect upon my waistline and I quickly decide that that is not happening...

Phew

Good day, I guess.  But long!  (To be sure, my not sleeping isn't helping).  OC duty today; started a little slow, but we ended up with 127.  Gave away most of the produce; didn't get the chicken order so the freezers are a little bare (we ran out of last week's and then switched to rando stuff).  Lots of clothes went; I asked and the people said there really weren't any hoarders, just people who seemed to need stuff.  I went to the "dungeon" to get extras, always good -- it does seem we are getting rid of that pile.  The people were mostly good, though some of them... maybe it is me, but other pantries do not seem to have the issues we do with client behavior and such...  Oi.  

Afterwards I hit Philomena Bake Shop -- the gluten-free bakery that took over Saucisson.  Never been always wanted to try, had time between stops, and so I went.  Picked up some cookies and a couple of cupcakes.  Both are good but you can tell there is something different.  Would I go back?  Yes, I think I would... then off to St. John Nepomucene to deliver some checks for the OC roof repair and to have a chat with the pastor, who is a good guy.  We are glad to have him running the show, in many ways!

Then gym, a couple of things are Giant Eagle, and home, where I caught up on a spot of work, had dinner, and then settled in to watch The Game -- Duke vs. TTUN.  I decided it would be good take down all of the Christmas stuff; it was time and if I watched the game too closely I would have a coronary.  I guess this is the new Saddest Day of the Year... it was a good tree, and I gave it a good home, and tomorrow it will go to the compost so it can live again.  I will need to vacuum a bit, but... I was watching the game.  It was quite the game, actually; every time I thought Duke would shit the bed, they didn't, and ended up with a nice road win.  I think UM is better, still, but this was the most complete game they have had all season.  Then it was take the stuff to the attic and now I chill...

How Ohio public schools are adopting private schools’ tax credit strategy - cleveland.com
Is this me or is this something public schools should have been doing all along?  It seems so; if the state wants to make it easier for people to donate their money.... why not?  If anything, given the larger enrollments -- current and historical -- that public schools have....

Republicans Are Using Fraud Scandals Against Democrats in Key Races - NOTUS — News of the United States

I don't think this is going to work, but... why not?

Obama Took On Recession, Health Care and Iraq. What He Didn’t See Coming Was Trump. - The New York Times
I have read this a few times, and....if he didn't realize his own agency in the rise of Trump, he -- and his party -- really are dumber than the proverbial box of rocks...