Beer-induced musings on 2015

My favored watering-hole closes for the balance of 2015. I've had pints and food there and now face a four-day weekend in which I'll see 2016 come on to the scene. Thanks to 6% beers (plural) I feel the urge to comment on my stream-of-consciousness:

• First of all: it's goddamn cold. Seriously. This is the coldest winter in ages. I wish I'd gotten PG&E to fix my goddamn wall heater.
• A year at a new job. Ups. Downs. Ambiguous territory. Comfort zone achieved (more or less). In that year I've hit a point where I've actually had to mentor some other poor soul. The joy of the tech industry. It's been a bumpy ride. I'm hoping 2016 will be better.
• Star Wars managed to redeem itself under J.J. Abrams. I'm unsure how I feel about that. I still want to kick Abrams in the teeth for "Lost". And I'm perversely pleased that George Lucas is unenthusiastic about The Force Awakens. In fairness to Lucas, the plot is a 21st-century ripoff of A New Hope. He's a bit justified in thinking that the film's popularity is bullshit. Having seen it twice, I'm not convinced Episode VIII can be as good without Harrison Ford to carry it, but it's going to be a damn sight better than the turd-blossoms that were the prequels.
• Guns. Seriously. Gun crimes have just gotten crazier in this country. Since when does the Second Amendment cover military-style weapons? The right to bear arms doesn't mean you're entitled to a weapon that can kill a room full of people in two seconds. This shit is fucked up.
• Cops killing African-Americans. That's been a thing for too long of a time. 2015 saw the topic get much-needed attention but it's truly disgusting to see how many unarmed Americans are shot dead by cops. What. The. Fuck?
• ISIS/ISIL/Whatever-the-fuck-they're-calling-themselves. So we have a new boogeyman out there. In fairness, these dickheads are pretty disgusting as simulacrums of humans go. Still, I'm getting tired of shitbags elsewhere in the world being waved about here as an excuse to justify turning this country into some fascist wet-dream. That shit needs to stop.
• Donald Trump. Okay, on the topic of fascists, what the fuck? Why are there people in the United States who pay any attention to this fucktard? Why do we have so many inbred, mouth-breathing, home-grown fascist shitheads who think his brand of stupid is okay? Why is this asswipe getting airtime? Oh wait. He's rich. Nevermind. Carry on.
• It's a sign that one needs to invest in a proper bookshelf when one has towers of books stacked in front of one's already-full bookshelf. Time for a trip to Target/IKEA/whatever. Sigh.
• I'm still thinking Calicraft Oaktown Brown may be my favorite bottled beer in 2015.
• I'm thinking that High West's "Campfire" blend of rye, bourbon, and scotch is my favorite sipping liquid. I plan to end 2015 with a glass of such, assuming I can refrain from killing the bottle between now and then.
• I'm thinking "14" by Peter Clines will be the book in 2015 that had the biggest impact on me.
• Another year of my gaming group going solid on the new campaign I've shoved down their throats. New group. New dynamics. Lots of weirdness. It's still going strong, though. Well, more-or-less.
• I will be totally jazzed if Bernie Sanders somehow defies the odds and takes the presidency in 2016.
• Did I mention it's cold? Fucking hell. I think my adopted cactus plant froze.