March 2019

Chirping.

Truman makes the oddest chirping noise when he spots a laser dot on the floor. I haven’t heard cats make this noise other than when they see birds outside and they’re inside. But Truman chirps and chirps and chirps as he gallops around chasing the laser pointer.

I decided to look this up and researchers believe cats make this noise when they’re trying to hunt something they can’t physically get at, like when a bird is sitting on a branch outside and the cat is stuck inside. Truman doesn’t see anything physical associated with the red dot on the floor, other than the dot itself, and therefore he apparently starts chirping trying to attract its attention.

One of these days he’ll get this dot.

14 March 2019 by Fun and Games Dept Le Chat. 0

Mood.

I went to the airport tonight for a monthly safety briefing with the flying club. We spent the evening reviewing what to do in the event of an in-flight emergency. It was a good review of the basics and it’s always interesting to discuss with other pilots various approaches to dealing with non-standard events while flying an airplane. I learn a lot just by talking with other pilots. No matter how many certifications I earn during my aviation career, I will always be a student pilot because one should never stop learning.

As I was visiting with my fellow pilots, I couldn’t help but think about how “avgry”, or “angry due to lack of aviation”, I have been for the past couple of months. I’ve been super surly and didn’t even realize the depths that I was feeling this way.

I’m scheduled to fly this weekend and the weather is looking promising. I’m determined to earn more ratings and to get checked out on a couple of different aircraft this summer.

The “avgry” mood will dissipate soon.

12 March 2019 by Pilot. 0

Captain Marvel.

So we went to see “Captain Marvel” Friday night. I’d been looking forward to this movie since I was first made aware of it early last year and to make sure we had seats this weekend Earl bought tickets for the four of us on Wednesday evening. It was a family date night.

It was a thoroughly fantastic time.

I didn’t know much about Captain Marvel as I had not followed her adventures in the comics. I knew her name was Carol Danvers, I knew there were aliens involved, and I knew that she was an Air Force Pilot. Other than that, the story depicted in the movie would be new to me.

As I said, I had a thoroughly fantastic time.

The 124-minute running time flew by. As a viewer I felt informed on backstory without being overwhelmed. There were a couple of twists and turns in the story line that kept the narrative compelling. The dialog was very good and I really liked the way Brie Larson portrayed Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel.

The action scenes were great without being outrageously over-the-top. I never had a “wait, that doesn’t make sense” moment during the movie. I’d go back to a second viewing without hesitation and most importantly, I was happy to see where Captain Marvel fit in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). I’m really looking forward to “The Avengers: Endgame” now. While there was strife, I didn’t feel depressed leaving the theatre. “The Avengers: Infinity War” left me feeling depressed as a viewer.

I walked out of the theatre telling Earl, Jamie, and Chris: “this was my favorite Marvel movie thus far”.

I’ve been a Wonder Woman fan all of my life and while I enjoy the latest incarnation of Wonder Woman on the big screen, I have to say that I like Captain Marvel a lot more. She rocks in my book.

Go watch Captain Marvel kick some ass.

10 March 2019 by Fun and Games Dept 0

Cashless.

Gizmodo: Philadelphia Just Banned Most Cashless Stores, a First for a U.S. City

The city of Philadelphia just passed a ban on “cashless stores”. Retailers in the city must accept cash. Exceptions to this law include stores with a membership (i.e. Costco), parking areas, hotels and other venues which require a large deposit. While I don’t live in Philly, this law really rubs me the wrong way. NYC and NJ are looking at similar legislation.

  • We live in a free market society. If there’s a need for a store to accept cash, there’ll be a store that accepts cash. Let the market figure it out.
  • Handling cash increases labor and productivity costs for the retailer. How many stores have you seen lately that post signs “Does not accept bills larger than $20”? Balancing tills, monitoring employee theft, going to the bank, etc. costs extra money.
  • This law stifles innovation. Instead of just outright banning “cashless stores”, how about a requirement that retailers must have a “reverse ATM” out front? There’s a new market that could be farmed out to a third party. You can’t get on the L here in Chicago with cash, you have to buy a ticket or a Ventra card. Plus, what’s preventing anyone from buying a burner Visa card and putting cash on that?

Laws like this are part of the problem with our government, not the solution. Elected officials want to make shortsighted, grandstanding gestures to prove their worth. How about governing instead of grandstanding? /soapbox

8 March 2019 by Why. 0

Informed.

It hasn’t been quite 20 years since TVs started appearing en masse in restaurants. Prior to 9/11 it seemed rare to see a television in a diner or family restaurant. Televisions were usually relegated to pubs and sports bars and the like, but after 9/11, everyone was glued to the news and televisions started appearing everywhere. Moving from old CRT televisions to cheap flat panels certainly helped the cause.

Nowadays there’s a television seemingly everywhere you look.

Living in the third largest city in nation affords us plenty of occasion for adventure, and while we are out and about I enjoy reading up on restaurants, checking in, and leaving my impressions of the experience on Yelp. In fact, I’m an EliteYelp Reviewer for the 3rd year in a row. I don’t know what that means other than I get invited to nifty parties, but it’s kind of cool having that badge next to my name.

The content of programming on these ubiquitous televisions in restaurants and eateries weigh into my rating. I’m thinking if you insist on showing the news on the monitor hanging from the ceiling, you should probably be showing something fairly neutral, that is, if there is such a thing in the United States these days. MSNBC? Too biased. Fox News? Not even close. Local news coverage? I can handle it.

When I see all these televisions invading our gastronomic adventures I can’t help but think of George Orwell’s “1984”, where there television everywhere so Big Brother could command the masses.

It’s a little startling to think that some apparently thought “1984” was some sort of handbook or user’s manual.

I’m struggling to keep my phone in my pocket when we’re out and about, so I have a little extra time to notice all this news being beamed into our meal space.

Big or small, a tether is a tether.

7 March 2019 by Fun and Games Dept Ponderings and Musings 0

About J.P.

Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.

Weird? Eccentric!

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