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...