So, the asshole guy in Montana won the special election and will represent that state in the United States Congress (not that one more or less asshole Republican in Congress really makes any difference). I’m sure that surprises no one – it was both predictable and inevitable that the people who would vote for that asshole (he’s a “Trump Man” after all) in the first place would only see this as even more justification for voting for him now. The only thing that surprises me is just how fucking irritated I seem to be over the whole thing. We’re not getting out of this mess anytime soon, and that’s basically for one reason.

People suck. Oh, not all people, for sure. Maybe mot even most people. But not an insignificant minority either – there are certainly more than enough small-minded, ignorant, insecure, and just plain stupid people ripe for being taken advantage of by the corrupt kleptocracy and election by marketing campaign and disinformation (dare I say, “fake news”) institutions known colloquially in the US as the “three branches of government” to give us what we’ve got – which is a big steaming pile of crap running the show.

I find it all exhausting. I’m tired of the people who think “talkin’ tough” and being “strong” is somehow more desirable than being intelligent and thoughtful. I’m tired of the talking head types who roll their eyes at “We the Pitiful” naive simps who don’t understand how the “game” is played (Cokie Roberts comes to mind but there are plenty of others).

I’m tired of people who crave attention so badly they jump up and down yelling “look at me! Look at me!” and then whine that everybody sucks and “I hate you all!” because they aren’t getting the attention they so badly crave.

I’m tired of getting up and doing something every day that is, at best, killing me with boredom and at its worst is killing me with stress and anxiety.

I’m tired of living in a world where the worst among us make the rules.

I’m tired of not having a beer (or six).

Mostly I’m just tired.

Thank god it’s Friday, even if I am on call (for free – pretty fucking tired of that, too) all weekend.

So, my work iPhone (5s) lasted me for nearly 3 years before tragedy struck last week and it died (there may or may not have been water involved – I can neither confirm nor deny). It first started going through a boot loop, which is did for half an hour or so, and then it stayed on and appeared pretty normal. I noticed the battery ran down a bit faster than usual (I attributed that to stress), so I charged it up and (since I was on call, which seems to be a perpetual state for me these days) took it to bed with a 100% charge. When I awoke, it was dead. Big time. Wouldn’t charge, wouldn’t turn on. Just dead.

I only used the stupid thing for checking work e-mail and getting work-replated phone calls, plus turnin on the Hotspot feature occasionally to connect my phone on those rare occasions when I’m away from WiFi or my home computer via a USB wireless adapter when my Internet is out (which I’ve actually never needed to do, other than testing). I often just forward calls to my real phone (which, had I known the damn thing would die on me, I’d have done when I had the chance). About the only thing I liked about it was the size – very small, so as long as I didn’t need to do anything that required a decent size screen, it was easy to shove into my pocket (which maybe wasn’t a great idea in the end, considering how easily it actually fell out said pocket).

So I wasn’t especially interested in getting a new work phone, but, hey, whattya gonna do? My company doesn’t support Android devices, so I put in my order for a new iPhone 7 plus at about 5:30 AM on Thursday, my boss approved it by 5:45, and I had it in my hot little hands before noon on Friday (came from Texas, of all places). I spent an hour or so setting it up and replacing all the shittly Apple apps with the equivalent Google ones (to the extent possible), and was back in business to be on call over the weekend.

I didn’t really have any complaints (you can’t argue with the fact that it’s a nice looking phone, and it’s got a nice heft to it when you’re holding it), other than the display isn’t really as good for reading as my 3-year old Nexus 6. The iPhone is a bit smaller (5.5″ vs 6″) with a lower resolution (1080 x 1920 IPS vs. 1140 x 2560 AMOLED) – that’s 401 pixels per inch vs. 493.

Frankly, I never thought those kind of specs would make much of a difference outside of marketing materials, but I have a habit of bringing the phone to bed at night (to read – get your minds out of the gutter) and since I was on call and needed to have the stupid work phone near me, I figured I give it a try. The difference was immediately noticeable. The iPhone display is much “softer” – the text just looks kind of off. It’s not horrible, mind you, but I much prefer my aging Nexus 6. I did watch a little video on it, and that looks good. Sound is OK (I mean, it’s a phone, so it’s not gonna bowl you over – though my old HTC One M8 did have pretty impressive sound). I think the front-firing speakers are preferable, but it’s fine.

But then I ran into another annoyance. I have a stupid boring conference call that I’m forced to sit in on every Monday morning. I’ve got a rather nice pair of headphones that I use for this purpose, so that I can mostly sit there and zone out unless I hear something that requires me to say something. So this Monday I went to dial in and, guess what, I forgot that Apple in its infinite wisdom took away the 3.5mm headphone jack. Sure, they provide a shitty pair of whit earbuds with an adapter, but I didn’t bring that shit with me (and, from what I’ve read since, that adapter doesn’t work with third-party inline microphones so if you’re on a call, you’re stuck using their crappy ones because, you know, Apple).

Fortunately I always carry my trusty Nexus 6 with me (unlike Hillary, I can deal with carrying two phones – which I guess means I could get elected President. I mean, I’m not as smart as she is, but clearly being smart is no longer a requirement) and I was able to carry on using that.

The one advantage the iPhone has, though (aside from the fingerprint reader, which I do like and which wasn’t available on the Nexus 6 way back in 2014), is that it’s IP 67 water resistant. If past experience has taught me anything, it’s taught me the importance of water resistance.

Happy b’day Vernon! I hope you have a good one filled with whatever it is you’d like your day filled with. Have a beer (or two) for me. I don’t have a lot else to say, but it seemed time for a new post, and I can’t think of a better reason. Also, just in case anybody was wondering, halfway through May, and the weather here still sucks. RIP, Powers Boothe.

It finally appears to be spring around here. At least for a few days. The leaves are bustin’ out all over and the grass is growing. A lot. To that end, I got the mower on the tractor yesterday afternoon (always a painful process – I think the Japanese guy who designed the Kubota belly mower never quite got over WWII) and even cut the grass. Well, some of the grass – the part outside of the dog containment area. I was just gonna cut a swath to make sure I had the thing on and working OK, but then I figured I might as well carry on for a bit. I’d have carried on, but that would have required a serious dog hole and rock patrol (they like to pull rocks out of the sump pond so they can chew on them), and I wasn’t up for that. So I decided I’d spend some quality time sitting on the deck and not drinking beer. As soon as I got settled in, I had a work thing come up and that was the end of that. It was nice while it lasted.

The wife is rather thoughtlessly taking a few days off work, relegating me to public transportation like a common person for the next week or so. I don’t mind the bus, so much, but the late bus is almost always late, and even when it’s on time it means I don’t get home until damn near bedtime. But it’s supposed to be warm and sunny, so at least it’ll be pleasant hanging out at the bus stop. Especially if the pigeons haven’t managed to shit all over the picnic tables yet.

The only good thing about taking the bus into work is that I have a little bit more time in the morning before I have to leave the house. But I guess my time is up, so I better get going.

Oh, I almost forgot. Happy Birthday to my mom, who would have been 93 today. You can say astrology is bunk all you want, but you’ll never find a better example of Taurus the Bull than she was. Sorry to have been such a Scorpio to ya, mom.

I have not been feeling very well the past few days. Just a bit of a cold – nothing major or life-threatening (at least, I hope not. I can imagine relating the story down the road, “it all started out with cold symptoms – boy was I surprised when it turned out to be meningitis!”), but the usual crappy cold-like symptoms – headache, sore throat, drippy nose (that’s got to be to illness what fungus gnats are to etymology). Not enough to put you down for the count (or even justify calling in sick) – just enough to piss you off and make you feel irritable and crappy.

Then, in addition to the general Trumpian cloud of despair that we find ourselves living under (fun fact, Trump Jr says he wants to run for Governor, because NYC mayor isn’t good enough for him. Now there’s a thrilling idea for my fellow NYers. I’d dismiss it as a sick joke of an idea that could never happen, but….), I went to let the dogs out at 4:00 this morning, and was greeted by a couple inches of snow on the ground. Well, isn’t that special.

Now, it’s certainly not unheard of for that to happen around here in April, it was definitely an unwelcome (and unexpected – I’d heard there might be some snow, but I was thinking a few flakes in the air, not actual accumulation) sight.

I mean, I feel like shit to begin with, I have to hear about President Ass Wipe every day, there’s potential for Governor Baby Wipe, and now it’s fucking snowing. How much am I supposed to be expected to deal with before I snap?

Well, at least it’s Friday. And it looks like we have a new war or two to look forward to (not to mention all the upcoming “how manly and presidential that Trump guy is” news stories that we’re about to be inundated with).

I sure picked a bad year to quit drinking beer.

Today is National Puppy Day. Pretty much every day is puppy day at my house, but it’s nice to see the rest of the country celebrate. And if there’s one thing we really need more of these days around here, it’s puppies. So don’t forget to hug your puppy(s) today, and if you don’t have a puppy, go hug somebody else’s (unless you’re famous like Trump, you should probably ask first).

After three feet or whatever it was of snow last week, we actually had a couple of decent days, weather-wise. Not exactly balmy, but after a cold and crappy start to official spring, it was kind of sunny one day there, and I think it may have actually gotten close to 40. In a fit of uncharacteristic optimism, I ordered pool-opening chemicals. So now I’m all ready to go.

As punishment, and in light (or in spite) of the (know what I mean) vernal equinox, the weather turned to shit once again, and got really fucking cold. As cold as it was yesterday, it was even colder this morning – down into the single digits as we began our trek to work.

On the bright side (literally), it’s a clear, sunny day out there today. I know, because I walked a scant five yards or so near a window. And they say it’s gonna get all the way up to 35 degrees (above) today. So that’s nice. And even warmer, tomorrow – which would also be nice if it didn’t mean it was going to get rainy. After we start out with ice pellets, of course.

So since tomorrow is take public transportation home day, it means I should be able to enjoy a refreshing trek to the transportation “hub” in a 40’ish degree driving rain. I only hope it’s really windy, too, as that would be the epitome of springtime for Syracuse (and Germany).

Speaking of puppies, I have to take one of mine to the vet on Saturday. Nothing bad – just her annual checkup and vaccinations, which will be traumatic enough. If not for her, then definitely for me. I would honestly rather take myself to the doctor (or dentist, even) than take the varmints to the vet. And that’s saying a lot, because one thing I definitely am not is a doctor person.

This year, at least, I have them spread out one per month. This is Peggy’s month, next month is Bud (who is definitely the biggest pain in the ass), and then finally it’s Fritzi in May. I’ll be glad to get it over, but it sure makes it hard to look forward to the weekend.

Happy SPD to all you saints and all you Patricks out there (never met anybody who was both a saint and a Patrick, but I suppose it’s possible). It’s actually sunny in these parts today – and they say it’ll actually get above freezing (all the way to 35!). I’ll believe it when I see it. Friday and Saint Patrick’s Day…. Just doesn’t seem the same without beer.

As we wait to see if we’ll be buried in snow today (still very much dependent on which way the wind blows), we’re all celebrating Pi Day. I have, I think, 5 Raspberry Pis (that looks too much like raspberry piss, which I think would scare the raspberry shit out of me), none of which are currently doing more than collecting dust. I got the most recent on last Pi day, when it was on sale for $3.14. At one point, I had two acting as media (mostly video) clients and one hooked up to my workshop stereo as a music client. They’ve all been replaced by better (and by better, I of course mean “more expensive”) solutions at this point. One of these days I’ll find a project for them (I saw one where a guy used it with a camera module to remotely pilot a Roomba – if I can do that, much fun will be had chasing the dogs and cat around).

Last night, our beloved Governor issued a statement saying all “non-essential” state workers could stay home (and off the roads) today without having to charge their time accruals. I’m not sure what makes this storm so much worse than what we refer to up here as “winter” but it was a nice gesture. As I was contemplating that announcement (it was on the news – not like anybody had officially notified us), a clarification came from one of our “C” people – basically saying we are ALL considered essential (which of course made me feel very important) and we should get our asses into work. Though it said certain departments would have their own discretion. OK, well, that was clear as mud.

Then my boss’ boss sent us an e-mail saying, basically, that our safety was the most important thing and if we didn’t feel safe driving in, we shouldn’t. Note to managers and supervisors everywhere – if you want to get the most out of the folks who work for you, this is the way to treat them.

So, seeing as things really didn’t seem bad this morning, I figured I’d go ahead and go to work. I mean, we had some really horrible commutes this year and nobody seemed to care. But then I saw a revised snow map, and then they closed the schools, and then my boss e-mailed us and said, basically, “hey, just work from home today.”

Well, OK. You only have to twist my arm so much. And this way I can make sure the driveway’s plowed out so the wife can get in (‘cuz her work doesn’t much give a shit about her safety or even how many hours she works – for free).

The real problem with this storm is that whatever snow we get will be wet and heavy. That and strong winds make it difficult to plow – and can take down power lines and trees. Fortunately the leaves aren’t out yet, so hopefully we’re good there.

I just hope this is the last of the shitty weather for this year. I could use a nice, warm, sunny spring and summer (and fall).

Wednesday was a sad, sad day for my home office/man cave/tap room. I removed the beer taps and beer/CO₂ lines from my kegerator so I could use it as a refrigerator (‘cuz, like, one fridge isn’t enough) instead of just an empty storage cabinet/induction burner cooking surface. Although it hadn’t been turned on (let alone used for beer) in over six months, it was still a personally depressing moment for me. But it’s all worth it, because I feel so great now.

Except, not so much. Whether it was all the up and down (the stairs, getting tools and whatnot – nothing unseemly or fun or anything) or something else, I apparently triggered one of the worst gout flareups I’ve ever had. Not that I’m sure about the gout part, but pretty sure. For a while now, I’ve been trying to get more exercise, get myself in shape (nothing major – just trying to stave off death a bit), all that kinda stuff. I even got a fitness tracker thingie about six weeks or so. So I started getting about 7 miles a day walking in, 30 minutes on the rowing machine, and over 50 flights of stairs (up, that is). My resting heart rate was down to 54 (below my age – not bad for an old guy).

I’ve long had some issues with my feet/ankles, etc., and so it wasn’t surprising to me that I had some stiffness in my feet – and more specifically, soreness in my left Achilles tendon. The soreness got worse, and, to make a sad story short, I got to the point where I could barely walk. So much for all my heart-healthy progress.

Things came to head (or foot) on Wednesday night. My foot swelled up like a balloon, I couldn’t sleep, and there was no way I could put a sock on it Thursday, let alone go to work. So, anyway, here it is Sunday, and things aren’t great, but they’re better. I’ve basically immobilized myself, iced my foot and ankle down (the pain, redness, and swelling keeps moving around in a very gout-like manner), and have been living on Ibuprofen.

So, to recap: lose weight, BP good, quit drinking beer, don’t eat anything “bad” (frankly, don’t eat much of anything), get exercise. Result: severe crippling pain.

Seems fair.

At least the weather’s been great. Great, as in, frigid – single-digit temps, double-digit winds and snow. But at least it hasn’t been a lot of snow, right? Yeah, did I mention there’s a Nor’easter coming? Yeah, supposed to get a foot of snow starting tomorrow night. So that’s great. And to think, I had visions of opening up the pool a week or two ago when it was like 77 degrees.

You know, I hate to be a whiner or think of myself as a victim, but WTF?

On the bright side, I have a six-month checkup on Wednesday morning. So maybe there’s something the doc can do for me.

There’s a first time for everything.

March 1^st – the time when we here in the Great White North kid ourselves into thinking we see a light at the end of the tunnel of winter that isn’t an oncoming snowplow. Of course deep down we know better, which is to say we don’t know anything at all. It’s not unheard of for it to be warm and sunny in March. Or it could (more likely) be cold, snowy and crappy. What the krauts call Scheißwetter (and they know their shitty weather over there). There’s a lot of rain and gray skies on both sides in my heritage – it’s no wonder I feel so at home here in Upstate NY and can’t figure why outsiders seem to think it sucks so bad (Syracuse – come for the lousy weather, stay for the abject poverty and urban decay!).

This year, though, hasn’t been bad. I mean, sure, we’ve had over 8.5 feet of snow (so far), but that’s only three inches or so more than usual. If we’re not setting any records, then we’re not struggling. And really when we’ve gotten snow it’s mostly melted pretty fast – the sump pumps have been working overtime this year.

Last Thursday and Friday we were up into the 70s (I was walking around in shirt sleeves, which if you live where it’s warm most of the year you can’t fully appreciate). Sure, it got shitty for the weekend and snowed, but today it’s supposed to get into the mid 60s (and turn to shit for the weekend once again, with temps down to the lower teens). So, you know, we take what we can get. And we know no matter how bad things get, they can’t last more than another month or two.

If only we could say the same thing about our disgrace of a president, whose administration will be casting a shadow over the country (if not the world) for a long time to come, I think. If the Russian Bear sees his shadow next Tuesday, it’s another 8 years of Drumpf.

On the bright side, from what I understand he addressed Congress last night, and was very presidential. So that’s good.

I saw that he said “Nobody knew health care could be so complicated.”

I liken that to Dubya and his posse declaring that nobody could have know that Osama bin Laden was determined to attack the United States.

Which, come to think of it, should give us all one more thing to think about while Dumbass is running the show.

But, hey, it’s almost spring, so that’s cool.