Welcome to 48

So, I am 48, and it doesn't seem that much different than 47.  Indeed, I nodded off during Dr. Pimple Popper and now cannot fall asleep.  Sigh.  I had wanted to get some emails out, and I guess they will have to wait until tomorrow.  It was quite warm -- the AC was on a bit -- but there was a sense of... foreboding?  I mean, it was darker out with the clouds, and while we didn't have rain today, it felt like we were.  Odd.  I know we expect rain and storms later this week...it is summer, I guess.

Coaches, ADs 'disgusted,' 'stunned' with Brendan Sorsby ruling
Um, yes.  I need not remind you all that I called this, but... how the hell do you actually expect anyone to take this seriously if you let a guy who bet on his own team play?  I do not think this will last on appeal, but until it does (and it was a homer judge)...well, the NCAA (like every other league) got itself into this mess, so...

Anyways, Sunday was Corpus Christi, and as always, it was beautiful.  The altars were wonderful, the service was fine (attendance was a little sparse), the homilies nice, and I did NOT have to carry the blessed speaker, so I really got to enjoy the event.  We walk less now -- around the parish campus, mainly -- and there has been an effort to cut the time, I think, but I don't think it detracts from the experience.  I was joking that we are four months away from the Festival, but soon enough I will not be joking.  

I had breakfast before at Harvard Inn -- since the Red Chimney fire we need a new place.  It was... ok?  Not as good as the Chimney?  I mean, it was fine -- a bit too buttery -- but just different.  It was economical, and I should probably have the lunch menu as well, to judge it more fully.  After my Dominican feast...

Past-Posting

I was going to post last night but I crashed.  Not sure what happened but Friday I literally got no sleep -- I kept getting charley horses, and getting up with cramps, walking around...oi.  It was not fun, and I am sure the Lord was reminding me I am not quite a young man anymore.

Anyways, yesterday we plowed through -- met a friend for coffee, went to SJN to make the OC donation to the garage roof replacement fund, and then it was off to CentroVilla 25, the Latino-themed mall north of Metro. It was pretty cool, actually -- they have one section with stores, one section with food, and a central gathering area.  There are seven different eateries, each for a different country, and I have to admit making a selection was difficult.  I went with the Dominican place, and it was quite good -- chicken, rice, beans, plantains, cake.  It was a bit heavy for lunch after no sleep, but I will be going back to try them all.  

Have to admit I sort of crashed when I got home -- went through some stuff, vacuumed, dusted, moved stuff around, but the lack of sleep definitely got to me.  I did have time to read this:

Annotated Report
Which was interesting, if sometime incomplete and a big mess.  I think they are largely correct, but candidates and the economy matter too, as the GOP will soon learn, I fear.

I am now 48, and while I hate birthdays and getting older and such... I cannot complain.  Life is good so far - health ok, good job, house looking better, good family and friends -- there are worse fates to befall people.  All I need is time, and maybe some more discipline to use the time I have...

Wake but not woke

 Here we are, 1:30 in the morning, I should be in bed, but I was catching up on stuff -- emails, articles, etc. -- and he we are.  I guess it is officially the dah before my birthday, which does not help.  As I so often say, I had older parents, and I know what comes next (and in my case, sooner), and that is... not good.  I hit the gym and did some extra cardio, and then gave it all back by hitting Jimmy John's for a $5.99 Cubano (acceptable luxury to me in this day and age) and a cherry cordial flurry from Doc's -- as I told my sister (who mocked my big-spending celebratory ways), I don't mind going a little crazy once in a while.  I know I should be a bit more accepting of birthdays, but the leopard cannot change it spots.

Red, White & Clueless - ESPN Video
Interesting.  I remember going to a World Cup as part of the Citizen Bee and being bored out of my mind.  Hell, I am bored every time I watch soccer, so see above comment.  I guess I forgot that we advanced and were a thing.  

States balk at the high price of Medicaid work requirements amid budget crunch - POLITICO

I read this article, and I immediately thought 1) States always complain about costs; and 2) If they had been doing this from day one, it would not be the crisis now, and we would all be better off.  I realize the party that robs Peter to pay Paul will have the support of Paul, but eventually you do run out of other peoples' money.  I will also note that if you removing workers through immigration enforcement, thi would be a golden time to put people into the workforce, no matter what...if that is what you wanted to do.

Dark Clouds

Here we are, not blogging...  I was busy doing things, like work and some SVDP stuff.  Our initiative to revitalize older conferences is going -- not exactly swimmingly -- and we have some ideas for new ministries that I am trying to foment.  I always say that every time I sent out an email it generates two, and while that is not exactly true, it is close enough.  Sigh.  And, dare I say, I am a little...depressed.  My birthday is upcoming, and we all know how I feel about getting older.  It is one thing to say goodbye to 47, and... well, I just don't like it.  The weather has been nice, and I have been walking at lunch to get some rays, which has helped, but...  I will note that there is nothing on the schedule (for now) and I have not had any restaurant tourism in a while, which leads me to think that I should try to cross a place off the list.  We also need some Pub Quiz.  I have been busy, as has been the team, but the summer is the time to travel and try new places.  Rah.

Sherrod Brown leads Jon Husted by 8 points in Ohio Senate race poll | Fox News
This is not good.  I am worried about Texas (Paxton will drain resources that could be used elsewhere, like OH) and Husted has not exactly been on the air.  Ramaswamy is, but given his wealth, there is little reason he should be outspent.  

‘Why are we talking about this?’: Democrats are furious that the Bidens won’t go away - POLITICO
This amuses me, as we really should not be surprised that the Bidens are re-inserting themselves into the political sphere.  I am not sure that it helps us, as with inflation and prices being what they are, there is little point of reminding everyone who was President the last time inflation was this high.  I am not sure how this ends, and the issue is that POTUS doesn't seem to know it, either.  

Back on the Radar

Another one of those four-day hiatuses which I should avoid... so let us go in reverse.  Today was good -- Mass, an extended stay at the OC (a lot of canned goods were dropped off in the vestibule, so I figured I should take more and put them away.  Then off to the gym and to take Communion to my Polish friend -- she was in quite the good mood, and it was nice to catch up.  Then home where I cut the grass, weed-whacked, and spend much of the day catching up on the stuff I couldn't do over the weekend -- and I am not quite close to being done yet.

Yesterday was a long day (and I am feeling it today).  OC duty -- last of the month -- and it was mostly good.  Count was a bit low, and we had a lot of produce and bread to get rid of, and that didn't help.  The clothing room did a brisk business, and we did clean and rotate stock.  Off to the gym and an errand, followed by lunch at Rudy's Strudel.  I was listening to the local alternative rock station and they said they were a fest there; I was in Parma so it was an easy thing to visit.  They had specialty pierogi -- I had pulled pork, cheeseburger, and apple pie, and got a record when chatting with the AM team of the radio station.  Rah.  I got home in time to shower, and then it was off to church, as I was on the setup team for our Nite at the Race fundraiser.  That went fairly well -- more people than expected, they spent -- but it was tiring, heling to set up, serve dinner and dessert, clean up, etc.

Part of the reason Saturday was long was because Friday evening I went to Emo Night at the Globe Iron/Foundry (John Tapper would be appalled).  I stayed til the end --1 AM -- but it was glorious, and as I had had a long week of work, it was good to have a mental escape.  The venue is what I would call gritty, but I think it was fine -- I rather prefer those places than something larger.  It was 2 before I was in bed, and the turnaround was a bit...quick.  Of course, I cannot sleep now.  I downloaded the DNC "autopsy" for the 2024 campaign, should read that, but probably not tonight...

 All non-drone militaries are obsolete
This is rather sobering, in many levels...

The 11 best emo albums | Louder
I have been listening to these over the past week; not sure the early ones qualify but most of them did.  Most of these bands I had not heard of course, but they were...good.  Sort of sad to see how many of them broke up soon after getting an album out...also, now you can listen to anything you want, whereas before, it was only the airplay on the radio.  Had I listened to them before...but now, alas!

Mattie Lazarus

First, I was sad to see that Kenny Atkinson did not have a statistical breakdown of game four.  :)  OK, I don't think the Knicks needed bulletin board material -- it just seemed like they were the better team -- but that was... not exactly opportune of him to say that?  I don't know; not a huge Cavs fan, but it certainly seemed that Harden was... if not exactly old, not exactly a starter for a top-tier team.  And, the Cavs looked... defensively porous, to put it mildly.  I should pay attention more to see how they are going to fix it, if they are.

Second... I do hope the TX GOO knows what they are doing.  Talarico seems beatable, even in a blue wave, but, as I like to say, why take a chance?

In other news (I tried to post yesterday, but Blogger wouldn't let me log on)... let's go in reverse.  Today I went to KFC and got the 8 for $10 deal -- eight drumsticks and/or thighs for $10, and a side of cole slaw.  I have not had it since Mom died, and it was... quite good.  I forgot how nice the mix of spices was.  I would go again, albeit not right away.  It was a good switch from the salmon I made (a plank), and even after an extended session on the exercise bike... well, it was worth it.  A couple of days of fried chicken will not kill me, I think.  To be sure, I will be another year older in less than two weeks, and I am NOT feeling it, if you get my drift.  It will be beautiful this week, and I may take some lunch walks, just to get out and get some rays.

Anyways, it was a good long weekend.  Did some work but not too much.  Caught up on ALL of the back episodes of J! I had saved.  Hung out with some friends Sunday night.  Cleaned my house a bit -- I had the windows open quite a bit, simply because, after all these years, I can.  Read a couple of books (not too long) to get me to 20.  Even decided to conquer the pile of library DVDs and watched "The Loving Story," a documentary about the Lovings -- an interracial couple who fought the state of VA to legally marry.  This will surprise no one, but I preferred the second half -- which dealt with their legal case (went to the Supreme Court) -- than the first, which was a personal look at their lives.  But it was interesting, if a bit odd; hard to believe now that people fought about stuff like that.  And, as it was on the National Film Registry, this got me to 859.

Jon Husted Ohio Medicaid fraud: what his testimony revealed - cleveland.com

I get a kick out of these articles, because we all know if Husted -- or any non-RINO GOPer -- went after this, people like the PD and their readers would claim racism, sexism, hatred against poor people, etc., ad nauseum, simply out of reflex, and the result is that most nowadays feel it is just not worth it.  In some ways I would love to see a GOPer call them out for this.  I realize it would be largely useless, as they are too stupid and libtardy to realize it, or care, but...

Ohio’s food banks grappling with high demand that just keeps climbing with economy woes and aid cuts - cleveland.com

Similarly, I find this amusing.  Part of the GCFB's problem is that they created this mess - you really don't have to verify anything (like that you are poor) to get stuff, and I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of people are mooching and cheating the system.  Now, they could easily tighten the rules, but they don't, for reasons known but to them.  As far as I concerned, they caused this, and only a reduction of their resources -- donations, state aid, etc. -- will get them to change, and I think we all know how popular that will be.

Mattie posts

I should probably post!  Thursday and Friday I just worked, caught up on stuff, and crashed -- yesterday I tried to get through the backlog of emails and stuff (not quite done).  Today was my first off day, and I was busy -- woke up early, drove to the Acme in Montrose to buy pop and such, gym, errands, a spot of cleaning, some work, and I ended sort-of watching the Cavs and making a trip down memory lane.  I think I mentioned some Slate reporter asked me about my reminisces about the Teen Tournament.  I sent her a lengthy note (up in the ether, no reply, and we know how I feel about that, and reporters in general).  Anyways, I had told her that I had a scrapbook of everything that Mom had made, so I went through it (first time in a decade or more).  It is comprehensive, albeit in a box with my other high school and college stuff.  I organized it a bit -- it was all jumbled but I put it in chronological order.  If she calls or writes, it's ready for perusal.  Rah.

Is it me, or the Cavs are... overrated?  Too many turnovers.  Harden looks older than I am.  I suspect the Knicks are the better team, but we are doing our best to give them the series, and you would think that is an easy problem to solve (albeit next season).

Before You Invest in Crypto, Watch This Film – Mother Jones
Interesting -- I sort of want to see this, and I need more stuff to watch like a hole in my head.  Hell, I am still a couple of episodes behind on J!, and that doesn't even consider the stuff I got from the library a few weeks ago.  Yes, I should watch some this weekend, but the weekend is half over now, if you will.  I still need to do some more cleaning, but there is no reason -- with Monday off -- that I couldn't get at least one done.  Sigh.