Sanitize.

So this is becoming a common site at public places during these YetAnotherApocalypse times. This jug of Purell was to be found at the hostess’ station of a local restaurant. The hostess didn’t mention it but I gave myself a squirt just because it seemed the right thing to do.

While in public this weekend I’ve been a bit more observant when it comes to the cleanliness of those around me. I watched a young woman lay her head down on a food service counter as she flicked her hair all over the take out bags that were stacked to one side. I shot her a look but she was oblivious. She probably still is.

After a pilots’ breakfast yesterday, while visiting the wash room I noticed several other men using the facilities washing their hands for extended amount of time. No one left the room without washing their hands. That’s impressive and is hopefully a new norm.

They say to sing “Happy Birthday” or something for timing your hand washing activity but I enjoy singing Abba’s “Me And I”. It’s obscure but still fabulous. Once in a while I’ll sing “The Visitors (Cracking Up)”, also by Abba, just to sound spooky. I don’t know if you’re suppose to do the timing of your hand washing by singing out loud but I do from time to time. Maybe if this Coronavirus thing continues I’ll add a little jig just to live people’s spirits up.

8 March 2020 by Inspiration and Motivation. 0

Caturday.

Truman’s day is not complete unless he can spend a few moments inspecting the hallway. There’s some sort of rule in our building that all the cats meow at the front door at precisely 8:00 AM. Truman does this and according to our neighbors their cats do it too. Both adjacent to our unit and above our unit.

Truman settles down by 9:00 AM everyday.

Interestingly, the meowing at the front door is only during the week. He spends his weekend mornings meowing at our bedroom door. A few weeks ago we swapped out the door handle so he couldn’t pull down on it anymore.

He’s such a cat.

Truman has me trained well: clean out the litter box, put it into a small garbage bag, take it to the trash chute, and let him walk the hallways while I’m walking back and forth to finish my human duties.

I wouldn’t have him any other way.

7 March 2020 by He's A Feline. 0

Progress.

I love the fact we have construction going on in our neighborhood. It’s great to live in a place that’s growing. When moving to Chicago we picked our neighborhood because it was “Up and Coming”.

I’m delighted to see this continue two and half years later.

One of the latest projects is the removal of an abandoned lumber yard down the street. The location had evidence of being closed long before we moved into our condo and I was hoping someone would do something with the lot. It’s a good location: it’s adjacent to a Trader Joe’s and is within very reasonable distance of two ‘L’ stations on the CTA’s Brown Line. There’s also a wide selection of restaurants, pubs, comedy clubs, and unique little shops within walking distance. The Lake is a reasonable walk away. The only concern is, like our building, it’s between the METRA and CTA tracks in the neighborhood. This isn’t an issue for us as our building is well constructed and we hardly hear the ‘L’ or the METRA. Although, we do need to run white noise stuff while sleeping to block out some of the rumble.

A quick web search revealed a six-story building is going in this location and it will have 62 housing units. Because our neighborhood is considered a “high density environment”, mostly due to its location near public transportation, I believe at last tally this building will have only 42 parking spaces. I haven’t seen plans for the building yet, but the Chamber of Commerce mentioned it will be patterned from the nearby Grace Pointe building that opened late last year, about a block away from this location.

I’ll enjoy watching the progress of this revitalized location this year.

5 March 2020 by City Life. 0

Coverage.

I’m not a fan of CNN. I liked CNN back in the days of Bobbie Battista but something went off the rails as time went on and CNN now feels like a big ball of hysteria.

But they do like their gadgets.

I’m fascinated with the touchscreen thing they use during Election Nights. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen the board crash during a broadcast but I’m sure it has. I’m not that glued to the tube on Election Night. I’m too busy throwing out commentary on Twitter.

And speaking of which, you know what doesn’t change the world? Throwing out commentary on Twitter. Who know what can change the world? Getting out of your home and voting at each and every opportunity you have to vote. When Illinois’ Primary comes up in a couple of weeks I’ll be voting. Up until last weekend I knew who I was voting for. I am now reassessing my options. I know I’m not thrilled with the idea of another old white guy in the Oval Office. But at the very least I hope it’s someone I feel comfortable calling president.

So I read up on CNN’s Magic Board and from what I can figure out, it’s running Microsoft Surface “like” software and was originally designed for the military.

It’s better than the failed hologram experiment CNN carried out a few presidential elections ago.

4 March 2020 by This Ain't No CNN. 0

Cord Cutting.

I’m not impressed with the choices for “traditional” streaming services available for the American public. Instead of paying for cable TV, which is peppered with hundreds of channels we have no interest in watching, I went searching for a streaming package that would get us some news during this political season.

As an aside, every day has felt like political season since 2016.

Anyway, it would be nice if we could go to a CNN or MSNBC app and buy a stream of just that news. But it’s not possible. The only way one can get CNN (or another news service) is to get in as part of some sort of package. Luckily, AT&T offers AT&T Watch for $15 per month. There’s no contract, no minimum subscription required, so we are giving this a try.

AT&T Watch has quite a few Food Network like channels, a smattering of news, and a bunch of other “secondary” cable channels. I can rationalize $15 a month in the budget, especially since we decided to ditch CBS All Access when “Star Trek: Picard” turned out to be not our cup of tea.

I told my husband we’d probably keep AT&T Watch through the November elections. We can enjoy coverage of the end of the world through the presidential election, the end of the world through the Coronavirus, or the end of the world through an asteroid hit.

Stay tuned.

3 March 2020 by This Ain't No CNN. 0

Queer.

I’m not a fan of the word queer. I never have been, mostly because it was hurled my way too often back in my school days and even though the young gays insist they’re “taking back the word for empowerment”, I still cringe when I hear the word ‘queer’.

I tried embracing the word and taking it back for my personal empowerment a couple of years ago, but old ways die hard for this old gay and the word doesn’t really describe me. I’m gay. I’m eccentric. I can be erratic. I can be flamey from time to time and I’m content just being myself.

Some folks may feel as snug as a bug in a rug and happily embrace the word ‘queer’, it’s just not my thing and I don’t feel part of any queer community. I don’t even feel part of the gay community. I’m just me.

I guess I’m more obsolete than queer.

2 March 2020 by Gayish. 0

Pete.

I was hoping to vote for Pete Buttigieg in the November election. A relatively young guy, Pete had accomplished a lot of what I’ve always wanted to be. Intelligent, multilingual, successful, confident, Pete was the total package. He has great ideas, he’s well spoken, and he was always a steadying force in the wild frenzy of the Democratic debates.

Since he has suspended his campaign, I honestly have no idea as to who I’m voting for, in the Illinois Primary or in November. Warren lost me when she took a DNA test. Klobuchar just rubs me as disingenuous. I can never tell if Biden knows where he is or not and Sanders just screams like the Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz all the time. Politically, the majority of them are trying to out do each other in the crazy department. I have no motivation to vote for anyone in Congress, they haven’t gotten anything done in years. I think Biden missed his chance.

Pete embodied the hope and aspirations I believe we need for this country. I guess I’ll continue to follow him and his lead.

Godspeed Mayor Buttigieg, you’re a good man and you have great ideas. I hope to shake your hand someday.

1 March 2020 by Politics. 0

Sister Act.

It’s amazing, the things that come to mind at times. Whenever it’s time to recite The Lord’s Prayer during a church service, I sing it to myself. I never knew there was a video to accompany this Top 40 hit from the early 1970s.

Here’s Sister Janet Mead with “The Lord’s Prayer”.

https://youtu.be/DZF9rsgKZHw

29 February 2020 by Fun and Games Dept 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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