Pissing on the dumpster fire

As I started pondering my drinking, I found myself thinking of the good things that happened in 2020.

Shocking statement, right? What good things happened?

• Trump lost his bid for re-election. By a lot.
• The toilet paper crisis turned out to be a bunch of shit.
• Trump lost.
• Medical science has performed a basic miracle and come up with vaccines for COVID-19. Vaccines - plural.
• As of 12:01 PM on January 20, 2021, Trump will no longer be in the White House.

Yeah, it's not much, but ya gotta find the positives in life.

Nearly the end of 2020

So tomorrow's New Year's Eve. Last day of the fucking dumpster fire of shitstorms we've called 2020.

Don't think anyone's going to be sad to see 2020 fade into the distance.

Right now, the more contagious strain of Covid-19 is appearing here in California. I think we've got about 2 million cases of Covid infection so far. To say things are bad here really doesn't begin to cover how fucked it's gotten.

Ah California. You've really had a time of it, haven't you? Fires (God, the fires), economic issues, returning drought, and (of course) Covid-19.

Fucking hell.

I'm personally bunkering down like a madman and drinking far too many whisky cocktails (or just whisky straight). I'm going to give myself another few days then dry out a bit. But not until after 2021 is here, thankyouverymuch.

Winter Solstice

Huh. It's the Winter Solstice. First day of winter. The darkest day of 2020.

So, this is when the Murder Locusts come forth, right?

Winding down

Well, 2020 is a little over a week away from ending.

What a shitstorm of a year, huh?

I can't complain too much, personally. I've dodged the dreaded COVID so far (though the year's not over yet). I've adapted well to working from home. Could've been worse.

Then again, it almost was. I almost lost a close family member this year. Then there were the horrible fires and the resulting apocalyptic air. Oh and the constant resurgances of COVID 'cause people are fucking morons.

Scary shit.

Ten days left 'till New Year's Eve. A lot can happen in ten days.

Ding-Dong the Cheeto is dethroned

Looks like the Associated Press and other major news outlets are calling what was looking clear yesterday: Joe Biden has won the 2020 election and will be the 46th President of the United States.

I'm curious what Tweety McCheeto will do in response to that news. I hear his plans involve getting back into TV. I hope it's from a jail cell (though I doubt that will happen).

And ol' Tweety still has 'till January 20 to get together with Moscow Mitch McConnell and his other sycophantic twats to do all sorts of damage.

And now things get interesting

So... how's everyone out there in the world?

It's still a dumpster fire here on day 209 since the shelter-in-place was issued in California for the COVID pandemic. And that's still a thing. Spiking again. Yeah.

And there's still people out there who think it's a hoax. Yeah...

Oh, and an election next week! How terrifying exciting! I'm guessing the shitshow will just get more pungent.

Let's see... what can I ramble about that's not related to a horrible illness or politics? OH! I know! I'll ramble on about random stuff. That's always good for a laugh.

So, remember Goruck, that rucksack-making company I mentioned earlier this month? So I got curious and purchased footwear from them. I've been needing new running shoes for a while now, so I got myself a pair of their cross trainers and , because I was curious, their boots.

Goruck MACV-1 Boots

These are some damn fine boots! They're lightweight but quite sturdy. The boot lacks that sort of squishy mesh (they call it spacer mesh) so I've found that these don't squeak at all. At least not thus far. The MACV-1 runs a bit small. I ordered in my usual size and had to return to get the next half-size up. That size fits my feet like a glove and I gotta say these are easily the most comfortable boots I've ever worn. Unlike most boots, I can actually run properly in these (as opposed to just hiking or walking), which is nice. Well worth the price, in my humble opinion.

Goruck I/O Cross Trainers

These I ordered in my shoe size and they fit true to form. I've taken them for walks and running and had no problem breaking them in. No chafing or blisters. Like the MACV-1 boots, these are sturdy with no spacer mesh or anything. The shoe designers did some solid work with these. Also well worth the money.

Masks

Let's see... what else can I ramble on about? Masks? Sure, let's talk masks. So yeah. If you've got half a brain and have been paying any sort of attention, you're probably looking at wearing a mask in public. Or should be. I've tried a variety of options for masks, both with valves and without. Right now, the masks I'm finding work best for me are O2 Mask. Their mask offerings are lightweight, but have some impressive-seeming filters and I've found them easy to breathe through and wash. I'm finding it a bit of a bugger to get filter refills, but their product is still pretty solid.

The Kilij

I feel like I'm somehow doing myself a disservice if I don't go on about some kind of tool or knife or something. I don't think I mentioned this earlier this year, but I backed a Kickstarter (yeah, I know, I still do this...) for a knife - the Kilij by Tepe Designs.

The Kilij is one of those rare Kickstarters that caught me by surprise. I backed it, then I wondered why I backed it, and then I sort of got distracted by stuff going on in the world. Then it funded. Then it delivered on time. And wow, was I impressed! The Kilij is a gorgeous and wicked-sharp knife with exceptionally-smooth opening action. While the damascus finish looked pretty, I opted for the M390 steel and never regretted it. It's a solid and very well-made blade. Did I mention wicked-sharp? 'Cause it is. The point is like a freakin' needle and I've got the nicks on my fingers to support that claim. I'll be watching Tepe Designs in the future. These guys (this guy?) do great work!

Reviews: Goruck

When I came across Goruck on another site, I found myself intrigued by their rucksack offerings (they don't call them "backpacks" and there's a reason for that).

It's 2020 and everything's going to shit. I had some extra money and treated myself to a new bag, thinking that it would be nice should life return to sanity and I could commute again to the office.

I got one of their packs and swapped my messenger bag's contents for a rucksack.

I found myself impressed.

The bag was a GR1 and is a brute of a pack. Goruck's site says they guarantee their bags against any reasonable damage. As I've got this intended as a commuter bag, I think this thing will last me the rest of my natural life. It's a well-padded beast of a bag with a padded laptop sleeve that's accessible outside the main body of the bag. The bag itself opens 180 degrees when unzipped and has all sorts of useful pockets and loops. I'm almost eager for commuting again with this holding my work essentials.

Intrigued, I took a look at Goruck's site and offerings a bit more carefully. I really was just looking for a bag at the time. The quality of the GR1 made me consider obtaining a larger GR3 as a "bug out bag". Seemed a prudent (if steep) purchase at the time, given the way things were going. And then the summer hit in full force with fires and what-not and I've been doubly-happy I made the purchase. Should shit go sideways and I need to get moving, I figure my "bug out bag" will handle whatever punishment is going on around me. Probably better than I will, truth be told.

I'll admit, I've now started to look at the whole "rucking" and "sandbag" stuff that's advertised on the Goruck site. I may give it a try. It's not exactly feasible right now with the toxic air quality here in California, but that may change and I certainly could use a good workout.

They sell boots and shoes as well, it seems. I may have look into those.

COVID-19 - Day 174

So it's been 174 days since we were first told to do a lockdown in California.

Been quite the shitshow since then.

Things were looking okay for a while, then the Memorial Day holiday in May rolled around and folks got stupid. And then California went for the gold with the higest number of COVID-19 cases in the United States, which has the highest number of cases in the world. USA!

As if that wasn't enough, our fire season kicked off in earnest here. The Pacific Coast has fires running almost the length of it, or did for a while. God, the smoke! There was a day some weeks back when everthing had a weird sepia tint to it that was otherworldly. And then the air quality the next day went to shit, becoming some of the worst in the world.

I wonder if this did anything to the murder hornets?

Now the election insanity is ratcheting up. It's almost certain that there's going to be election fraud, almost certainly commited by the Republicans to steal the election. Trump has pretty much said he's not going to step down should he lose.

Oh, and Ruth Bader Ginsberg died, so ol' Trumpy now wants to put one of his puppets in to ensure a contested election goes his way.

Yeah... fun times.

I'm personally waiting for the murder hornets to get it on with locusts so we have murder locusts to worry about. I'm sort of expecting that in December, maybe while civil war is raging. I wonder if that will be before or after the nukes fly?

Time for more beer...

COVID-19 Day 169

I figured I should post something in August and I'm just about out of time for that.

So... yeah. One hundred and sixty-nine days since we were told to lockdown back in... hell, was it March?

Still a shitshow out there. Now we have huge fires in California to doubly-encourage us to wear masks. And still I see dumbasses outside not wearing them around other people. I haven't actually met a denier yet. In fairness, I'm doing my best to avoid people as a whole, so that does keep the odds down. Just found out a friend of mine came down with it. His description of it (days of fever coming, breaking, then returning) does not sound at all pleasant. I hope he pulls through. I hope his family doesn't get it.

Damn scary.

And now the election is ramping up. I have a really bad feeling about November and the fallout.

Scary times.

COVID-19 - Day 130

Day 130 of California's shelter-in-place.

I think.

So yeah. It's been a shitshow. California seemed to have its shit together for the pandemic. Then everyone got extra stupid and now we're an insane hotspot for cases

There's still fuckwits out there who resist wearing masks in public. And the idiots who think it's fine to have huge get-togethers in the middle of all this. Oh and the supreme shit-brains who have actual "Covid parties".

The news is a never-ending stream of testaments to human stupidity. And that's before we even get to politics. Twitler's little bid for dictatorship is off-the-charts. It would be funny if it weren't for him getting enabled by the soulless fucks who make up the Repugnican party.

The economy's teetering on the brink.

Oh, and people are still quite justifiably upset over the whole racial inequity thing that's been a problem in this country since its inception.

Everyone I know is dealing with some sort of personal stress that's threatening to overwhelm them. It's bleeding into everything, really.

Fun times.

On the plus side, I got the latest Dresden Files book, so at least I have a distraction for a while. Silver linings?

I seriously can't believe this is the United States of America

I've watched the video, like so many people. Watched a Minnesota cop sit there, his knee on the neck of George Floyd as he lay face-down, handcuffed, on the ground.

I can't believe this sort of shit is still happening in the United States. Four - FOUR - cops have got an unarmed black man handcuffed and face down and one decides to apply a move that he's got to know is dangerous, if not fatal. You can't tell me that four big cops couldn't handle things if George Floyd were seriously struggling while handcuffed, for god's sake!

In all honesty, I'm surprised the protests haven't been worse in light of that.

And now we have Trump threatening martial law. We have opportunists looting. And we have more people getting hurt as this escalates.

It's 2020. We're two decades into the 21st century. What the fuck?

COVID-19 - 78 days of shelter-in-place

It's June 1. Halfway through the dumpster fire of a shitshow that is 2020.

Everything is right on track for going straight to hell.

The virus issues linger still. While California has done an admirable job staying on top of the situation (as much as we can), the pressures to open up are resulting in some loosening. And the virus is starting to spike again.

To make things even more of a nightmare, there was the George Floyd killing. That has sparked a massive (and, sadly, unsurprising) backlash across the country. There are mass protests everywhere. There's violence, looting, curfews, and I'm betting more spread of COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Tweety McCheeto smugly denies all responsibility for the pandemic that's erupted under his watch (and made arguably worse by his disbanding of a pandemic unit designed to deal with this exact situation as well as his constant undermining of medical advice with gibbering nonsense). He's also inciting violence with his ranting.

The shitstorm has only just started.

COVID-19 - 71 days of shelter-in-place

Wow I'm drinking a lot of beer over this "stay at home" period. And when I'm out of beer (more often than I think is good), I am making a serious dent in my supply of the hard stuff. The weather has been warm, so Mai Tais have appealed of late.

No good will come of this.

On the plus side, I'm doing lots of my own cooking. As I'm lazy as hell, I tend to go for things that make good leftovers (soup and pasta, mainly). I make my own pasta sauce, too. Hell, I have an actual pasta maker and make my own noodles when the mood strikes. Probably healthier than store-bought tortellini and ravioli. Though less-tasty.

I'd like to think I'm adapting well to this work-from-home situation, but it's a mixed bag for me (as it is for most people, I'll wager). Still, could be worse. At least I have a job at the moment. The future is lookin' mighty grim in that regard.

This is really the time I ought to be burning through all those Netflix series and HBO shows I haven't seen. Hell, I should get the free month of whatever the Disney streaming service is called and watch "The Mandalorian". Unfortunately, I just can't sit still long enough for that. I sit too much at my computer as it is.

Been doing "virtual" sessions with my martial arts class. It's weak tea next to the real thing, but at least it's something. Gotten some good tips for do-at-home cardio workouts. Been doing those lately and it's making a difference.

So now the States are loosening up restrictions for COVID-19. And they're starting to see spikes in areas that aren't observing the precautions (wearing a mask, keeping a bit of distance, etc.). The petty monster in me feels there's some comeuppance due to the idiots who ignore the medical warnings, but mostly I find that alarming. Innocent (and vulnerable) people will likely get infected by these irresponsible idiots.

It's amazing how fast this country's descended into mass stupidity. I don't actually think these fuckwits are the majority, but there's an awful lot of them.

Scary.

In lighter news, reading material is starting to come in that's got promise. Will Wight finally concluded his "Elder Empire" series with the twin books: "Of Kings and Killers" and "Of Killers and Kings". I'm working on "Of Kings and Killers" (the book about the not-pirate) then going to "Of Killers and Kings" (the book about the not-ninja). A worthy distraction.

COVID-19 - 56 days of shelter-in-place

So it's Mother's Day.

I was all set to head out to a family picnic that would observe social distancing and all that. Even packed my own cocktail to toast Mom.

Went down to start my car and the fucking battery is dead.

Wasn't dead from disuse, mind you. I just took it for a drive last weekend to do a delivery. No, since then, something went to shit in the battery. Tried to jump it, but the battery is corroded and the car is an inert lump.

Not how I wanted today to go.

COVID-19 - 24 days of shelter-in-place

I have to say, all this shelter-in-place has taught me a few things.

I always knew I'm a bit of an introvert. Well, probably less an introvert and more a misanthrope. Hm. That's not really right either. I like people fine enough in doses and the right numbers. I certainly like the people I like. I do like having my space, though.

Working remotely has been a challenge, to say the least. It's hard to get people's attention via messaging systems. And it's hard for me to get my job done without the attention of people whose assistance I require.

I am still pretty comfortable, all said. I'm okay on supplies, though I'm running low on some things and planning a resupply run soon. I have masks, gloves, and a lot of soap, so there's that. I'm okay on food. I'm doing okay on booze, too. So all the essentials are covered.

The hardest thing really is those moments when I really do need to do the whole human contact thing. There are people I care about who are in pain right now. As far as I'm aware, the situations aren't directly tied to COVID-19, but the damn virus and shelter-in-place sure as fuck isn't helping. And I can't go help.

The news is promising in California. There's a possibility they may be able to unclench a bit and relax some of the restrictions "by Summer". That's an interesting way of saying May is going to be in lockdown as well. I dread what things are going to be like as this drags on.

And I'm counting my blessings right now.

COVID-19 - 18 days into shelter-in-place

So we've been under a "shelter-in-place" order in California for about 18 days now.

Been a hell of a thing.

In truth, the impact on my life has been minimal. I don't go out much anyway and it's allergy season, so I'm actively trying to avoid the outdoors due to pollen.

Upsides:

• I get an extra hour of sleep every morning due to not having to commute.
• Pants are optional.
• Feel like a beer at any time? No problem, provided there's some in the 'fridge.
• I have a guilt-free excuse for not going outside.
• Can do laundry almost any time I like.
• Did I mention the awesome commute?
• I can justify take-out orders as helping the economy rather than just me being lazy.

Downsides:

• There is no toilet paper to be purchased for love or money.
• If I want a beer, I have to have some on-hand or get a to-go growler from a brewery.
• All food is to go.
• Can't buy basics at local supermarkets: canned goods of nearly any sort, flour, sugar, soap, detergent, paper towels, and fucking toilet paper!!!
• Almost everything is closed (for good reason, but still...)
• Slight stir-craziness.
• Did I mention the toilet paper thing?

Okay, my downsides are pretty minor. Hell, I managed to score a pathetic roll of paper towels this morning! I only had to get to the damn store at 7am...

Everyone wears masks and gloves now. In a way, I'm glad the fires last year had me invest in some masks. The news keeps flipping back-and-forth between "you don't need to wear masks" and "for the love of god, wear masks". That's not counting the gibbering nonsense from the Cheeto-in-chief who initially claimed this was all a hoax and that COVID-19 would be gone by Easter. Nice job, asshole.

I'm told by friends in the medical industry and in local government that I should prepare for the shelter-in-place to stay in effect until at least June. Gotta say, that's going to be brutal, but it sure beats getting hooked up to a respirator. Or, y'know, dying.

Crazy world. Stay safe out there!

Thoughts on a COVID-19 world

It's been about a week of hysteria over COVID-19 (aka "coronavirus").

While I recognize it's a nasty disease to get, especially if one is vulnerable due to existing conditions or being of a certain age, it seems to me that people need to calm the fuck down and stop hoarding toilet paper and bottled water!

As far as I'm aware, diarrhea is only a symptom in some instances of COVID-19. And, as far as I'm aware, the virus does not inhibit the ability for the utility companies to continue to provide water as well as electricity and gas.

I might have missed a memo in there, but fucking hell.

All of this really drives home to me how utterly and completely fucked we are if there's an Ebola pandemic or something like that.

Leap!

This is mostly just an excuse to post on the 29th of February. I'm perversely fascinated by the leap year day. I really don't have anything in particular to say.

Nothing to see here.

Move along.

Move along.

Welcome 2020

And now it's 2020. I don't seem to have a flying car. I'm mostly okay with that. Given what dumbasses most people can be when driving in two dimensions, I don't wanna add a third to the complexity. Especially given how I drive! I don't have a jetpack. I'm okay with that for the same reason.

The world is a hot mess. Literally, on a global scale. Large chunks of the Amazon (a huge part of our oxygen supply) has been burning. Most of Australia is on fire, it seems. California's got a break right now, but we'll see more fires as the weather warms.

Politics... brr. I'm not ready to rant about that today.

In lighter news, I binged through all eight episodes of the Netflix version of "The Witcher". Not too shabby at all! I found some of the casting choices to be a bit odd, but the actors and actresses did an excellent job. The production values were high and I find the bard character's probably my favorite. "Toss a coin to your Witcher" is in my brain now. Argh!

I don't have any specific resolutions. I don't think I'm going to bother. I have to figure out some goals and focus on those instead. I think I can do this.

Okay, 2020. Let's see what you've got!