A home improvement that was probably overdue, new AC

Posted on May 3, 2022 by Steve

I finally had a tech come out to see why the air conditioner wasn’t working to Jennifer’s satisfaction plus I was wondering why my Nest thermostat was presenting contradicting readings. Obviously as the title says, it was time for a new system because the compressor on the one  that was built with the house had crapped out. Well, it wasn’t really dead, it just couldn’t perform as well anymore so it would get overwhelmed and turn itself off. Due to changes in how AC systems operate, recharging it with freon isn’t possible nor legal. So I had to go through the hoops of a credit check to purchase a new setup which also acts as the furnace. A mere $15,000. Sure this sucks but I did get almost 21 years out of a mediocre system! Given how much Jennifer prefers the cold, I probably should’ve replaced it years earlier. I didn’t really care as I have a sit-down job with very little motion to trigger being as uncomfortable and before the Pandemic, I was often out of the house at my job plus the cats can’t complain in English.

The new system will be pretty impressive. It uses some new gas which isn’t inert yet more importantly, if it gets loose, the environment won’t have to take another one for the team. I forget whether or not freon contributed to the hole in the ozone layer. I think it would because it was around the South Pole and the CFCs from aerosol cans loved the extreme cold climate. Another element to this is how the motor or capability adjusts to the effort needed versus the olden days which were full blast or nothing. It’s more like 20%, then 50% and 100%. It would’ve been nice to have the system which can adjust across the whole range but price and my Nest couldn’t understand it. Oh wait, my Nest gets yanked after a decade of service to have a new intelligent system run things in person remotely.

Sure it sucks to get out of the hole on the floors and a couple other debts just to have this happen. I see the upside instead, much like replacing Vixen for Harley…

  1. The savings on the electric bill in the long run.
  2. Jennifer, the cats, the fosters and I will be more comfortable. Guests too.
  3. No more freon pollution from me.
  4. Improves the value on my house should we have to do a home-equity loan.
  5. The installation will be completed in half a day unlike the D-Team who needed about eight days to do the floor.
  6. It beats being dead, having shit credit and/or being even more broke!
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RIP Ric Parnell, aka Spinal Tap’s Mick Shrimpton

Posted on May 2, 2022 by Steve

Ric was best known as the band’s drummer who suffered the comical fate of exploding near the end of the movie. It was the conclusion to a long-running gag about Spinal Tap having the worst luck with drummers constantly dying. When the band re-united and toured in 1992, Ric returned as Mick’s identical twin Ric Shrimpton.

Outside the mock band, he was the real deal. Firstly, his dad was a famous Jazz drummer and led the actual musicians for The Muppet Show so drumming was in his DNA. Throughout his career he played in numerous acts the ones listed in The Guardian were ones I’ve never heard of and the one called Stars is probably not the Canadian band I’m thinking of. He will be remembered mostly for being the drummer on Toni Basil’s famous hit “Mickey.” Ric definitely nailed the marching-band vibe Toni was looking for and reflected in her video.

Thanks for everything Ric! You were the last remaining member of Spinal Tap I wanted to meet and alas, I did’t get to. Still, I appreciate everything you did. Your drumming gave Michael McKean, Harry Shearer and Christopher Guest more legitimacy to the sound they were aiming for and probably helped fool the crowds that were unaware they were cheering on a fake rock act.

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Mayday…for the rest of the world

Posted on May 1, 2022 by Steve

It is in some corners of Amerika, namely where the Amazon and Starbucks workers voted to unionize since only naive schmucks and ass-kissers believe Rich People will ever do the morally right thing…voluntarily.

On a more fun note, this month’s header was found via an enjoyable search for images of 1977 in the Summer. I think what you’re seeing is from a Sears catalog when that store used to matter. Believe me, it was my Grandpa’s version of Waterloo Records, Pinballz or Rogues Gallery/Dragon’s Lair. I’ve never understood some people’s obsession with tools and/or physical labor as leisure, unless you’re making a semi-useless object. I really like what I found since I was able to avoid the easy, lazier choice, Star Wars turning 45. Beyond the life-changing movie, I had a pretty good time. It was my first full year in our relatively new house in Champaign, IL (aka the 311 Royal Court days!); Uncle Chief and Aunt Mary with cousins Julie and Matt came to visit us as part of their tour to see the Maggi Clan; and boy did we have a great time hijacking the mounds of dirt our parents bought to remodel the yard. We dug up numerous caves, tunnels and bases for our GI Joes and Hot Wheels!

Yes, I’m celebrating Summer a tad early for you all who reside in the colder climes. In Austin it’s practically begun via our balmy temperatures and I like how we got out sooner in college. The extra couple weeks to decompress were nice. Besides, why can’t it start now? Technically it’s mid-to-late June if you go by the Earth’s position around the Sun and Starbucks rolls out the pumpkin stuff by late August and we can avoid the whole debate on when Xmas or Halloween decorations get posted.

So get out there! Hit the pool! Cold brew some iced tea, just keep it unsweet in order to let us modify it as we like! Enjoy what may be a first Summer with wide open crap! Or it might be a false “positive” should the next strain forces us to go back to 2020 activities.

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Cuddle puddle on the hammock!

Posted on April 30, 2022 by Steve

One thing that always baffles me about kittens versus cats is their sleeping habits. When they’re little, adorable kittens, they band together for warmth and probably familiarity when they sleep. Then they turn into cats and become loners about 90% of the time. In my house, only Agamemnon and Isis will team up on their sleeping arrangements. If you try to get a photo, you better hurry, Isis will run away. I’m guessing she doesn’t want to admit that she likes having my big dummy tuxedo guy around.

Meanwhile, as you see, the London Quartet have retaken the cat hammock which long ago used to be Molly’s exclusive napping site. It was first given to me as a wedding gift and Molly immediately claimed it. Miette and Wicca knew well enough to never set paw on it. Nemo dared by lying under it. When Kuroneko joined the household, she demonstrated how fearless she was and claimed to be the new Alpha by sleeping on it. After Kuroneko moved out with Somara, the hammock sat empty. Isis, Agamemnon, Metztli, Nubby and Vegas had no interest in it. I’m very happy to see these little jokers utilizing the joys of sleeping with a little elevation. Maybe it simulates sleeping on a tree branch or some other high location given the feline need to perch. Their mother has adapted to it also as I spotted her nursing them while lying awkwardly in position. A bit comical.

Here’s to hoping the next set of foster kittens will enjoy the hammock!

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1992: LA Riots

Posted on April 29, 2022 by Steve

What a horrible loss of lives. Things can be replaced and repaired yet 63 people weren’t so lucky thanks to the LAPD officers being acquitted of nearly beating Rodney King to death. Now there’s more to the events than what little the Media tends to show. King was dealt a pretty bad hand for a few reasons our corporate-owned news likes to leave out.

  • LA cops often treated the residents, especially the poor and Black, as an enemy (they still do).
  • LAPD was already on the defensive due to a Black teenage girl being killed by a Korean store owner for attempted shoplifting earlier; poor kid had the money to pay crumpled in her hand.
  • My friend Lester claimed the LAPD wanted to get even for a female officer killed during a traffic incident a couple days before; no luck finding proof of this.
  • King had a record, was drunk driving and tried to evade the California Highway Patrol before LAPD took over. A hat trick toward winning the cop lottery for physical abuse.
  • There’s also debate regarding the beating he got. Was he also on other substances allowing him to resist some of the taser usage or was he just scared enough to power through? Did he charge one of the cops or were the others toying with him while yelling racial slurs?

We don’t know anymore. King drowned a few years ago. The primary cops involved have disappeared and sure as hell won’t talk. Sadly, the guy who videotaped the incident died of CV-19 last year. The accurate events are lost in the ether of Time.

It didn’t matter then neither, the criminal case’s verdict acquitted the cops and the city erupted in an orgy of destruction lasting three days. I’m not an expert nor do I completely understand the rationale for riots and I don’t recall ever being in one. What I have learned is the major participants are venting their frustration at the inequality, the injustice and other negative crap thrown at them. It sucks in how these riots hurt their fellow citizens ‘s businesses who are mostly in the same situation but when people have nothing left to lose, the assholes in power need to get their collective shit together to address it.

Bush the Elder was up for re-election so his party tried to blame it on the Democratic mayor and pump up this do-nothing POTUS as a law-and-order guy, aka, he’ll protect the scared, old Whiteys living a thousand miles away. Slick Willie had the Dem nomination locked up then too and I don’t recall his spin. I’m confident it was something cynical and void of substance to woo undecided racists.

The riots’ legacy? Certainly not police reform. I think it just became another sad footnote in the History of the city and nation.

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Fun spin on Hughes’ cringiest movie

Posted on April 28, 2022 by Steve

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Today in weird EU food (April 2022)

Posted on April 27, 2022 by Steve

My friends in the Netherlands are now on vacation! Another great trip to Euro Disney (insert French-accented laughter). They drove this time which meant they drove through Belgium’s lamest, most annoying, goody goody region, Flanders…stupid Flanders! Meanwhile, Jeremy sent a picture of this French steak joint they stopped at for a meal. Thank Sweet Zombie Jesus it wasn’t Buffalo Grill! Those attempted murderers were investigated for serving beef from the UK during the mad-cow-disease outbreak and the people in charge lied to customers by claiming the meat was from Argentina. Obviously, the executive/managerial caste tried to blame the distributor. The difference in the EU v. Amerika? In the EU and France, the people being investigated faced actual prison and charges of manslaughter unlike Amerika where rich people pay some bullshit fine and have a pice of paper saying they’re neither guilty nor innocent, oh, and they didn’t do it.

With my immediate fear relieved, I was puzzled over this place’s name. You come here because you’re as hungry as a hippo? I doubt they serve hippo. It can’t be the board game Hungry Hungry Hippos since this place was founded in 1968, the game debuted in the late Seventies. I’m going with my last guess given the French sense of humor, it’s a dig on how fat we Amerikans are due to us being the biggest beef eaters on the planet yet you can’t outrun us in a straight line when we’re pissed off. Jeremy said he gave their prime rib about three seconds of thought, a mere €70 (~$73 US) and I suspect it would be a mere six ounces, so we Yankees have it pretty good paying under $30 for a pound at Outback or Texas Roadhouse.

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RIP Chris Bailey

Posted on April 26, 2022 by Steve

Chris Bailey of the Saints

Damn it! Another musical legend and part of my History passed away. What makes me more pissed is that I found out two weeks later, again, via the New York Times. If I had been paying more attention of The Guardian I would’ve been more timely.

As always, many of you are asking…who was he? The short answer, Chris was the lead singer and co-founder of the Saints. A band many thought (wrongly or rightly) was Australia’s first Punk act. Aussies beg to differ since their first hit single, “(I’m) Stranded,” was released before anyone in the UK under the genre, ergo, the Saints were the first Punk band altogether.

Regardless on who was “the first,” “where,” etc. Bailey’s band definitely had one key Punk element, it didn’t last in its original incarnation for long but he claimed ownership of the name and took over the songwriting. He would go on to the lead and record for the next 40 years with accolades from peers around the world. I think what blew my mind is how he started out in Brisbane in the mid to late Seventies. Back then, the majority of Aussie acts usually came from Sydney or moved there to get noticed by larger markets.

I first noticed and got into the Saints in the late Eighties through two random events. In 1987 or so, The Damned released a greatest-hits compilation with the vinyl version including a family tree showing all their past incarnations alongside bands they were related to. Hard to believe Jon Moss, the drummer for Culture Club had been involved with Punk since he’s most famous for being in a Reggae/New Wave-fusion act. Branched off in Australia was The Saints and its members because a former member played with the Damned for a while. A couple years later, the Saints were carried in the States by the newish label TVT to promote a song he wrote for the failed imported comedy Young Einstein. Well, its lead actor/comedian Yahoo Serious tanked since we didn’t get the humor. I’m guessing the producers were hoping to repeat the success Paul Hogan had.

The Saints fell off my radar after graduation until one evening at UT’s Cactus Cafe, Chris dropped by to join Johnette Napolitano on stage. What a thrill it was to meet him, get the picture you see and talk a bit about what his music meant to me, even though I only knew a fragment.

Thanks for everything Chris! You provided so much to what I love indirectly and were a crucial player in making sure Australia had a place in the Pop and Rock that followed in the Eighties and Nineties. In addition to the Bee Gees, LRB, AC/DC and Olivia Newton John, you chipped in to give the Land Down Under its time in the spotlight, paving the way for Midnight Oil, INXS, the Vines and nowadays, Tame Impala.

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Cambridge doesn’t like closeups!

Posted on April 25, 2022 by Steve

After doing a tirade mocking the has-been state of Ohio, here’s a little levity involving Cambridge! I’m not torturing him. As something to amuse my friends’ kids, I’ve been working on a time-lapse movie of my beard regrowing after the Weird Al ‘stache but to change it up a bit, threw in a little kitty. Cambridge wasn’t having it. He’s crying for his mother London to rescue him or something. Kittens are always funny in their evolution or maturation. They’re born with too much curiosity and a lack of fear which is why so many die (sadly). Yet they’re very averse to being held up high as I’m doing (a mere meter) and if he did fall, nothing would be damaged as felines are very durable unlike rabbits; my mom said their bones break easily. Anyway, kittens turn into cats and do a 180°. Heights don’t bother them, they’re aloof to much of the world and they’re suddenly afraid of anything resembling a snake.

Enjoy Cambridge doing his thing! He and his siblings have the cutest little eyes which are super cute every morning when I go check in on them and they start to wake up.

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Ohio’s campaign to stop their negative trend by being negative!

Posted on April 24, 2022 by Steve

I have let this lame campaign of bullshit go on long enough but during this Moontower Comedyfest, one comedian put Ohio in its place…It’s Amerika’s Cheesecake Factory, which means it’s the center of our nation’s decline via overpriced crap and mediocrity. I find it rather hilarious but not surprising how two diehard Republican states are screwing each other for jerbs. The difference? There’s a chance Texas can be moved closer to the political center in my lifetime while Ohio continues to drown in hillbillies, opiates and pathetic, rusted-out, has-been cities (cough! Cleveland)…while still governed by backward-ass Republicans who believe banning abortion is the winning issue for its millions of unemployed residents. They should just give up and be officially annexed as Northern Kentucky with Indiana.

I also have a special hatred of Ohio from college. When I was a kid, the place seemed OK since Cincinnati gained fame via WKRP and King’s Island was a pretty bitchin’ theme park I visited in the late Seventies. However, Cleveland was already the butt of jokes and when I arrived at Marquette, the majority of classmates from there added assholism and terrible musical tastes to the list. My neighbor on the fourth floor thought Marillion could walk on water, ugh! They’re worst than any Prog Rock mashed up with Rush times a million! Another dude on the floor was just a schmuck in his rude pickup lines with the ladies. Leading the way was a Goth girl with a ego that should’ve broken her neck from the weight of her big head and Elvira-esque hair. The city may have given us some great people in the past; Tim Conway,  Fred Willard, Drew Carey and the guy who was the voice of ABC for several decades yet remember this, they left!

In its defense, the state was home to a few presidents: William Harrison (old and dead in a month), Grant, Hayes (shitbag of the 1876 compromise), Garfield (killed by an insane person), Benjamin Harrison, McKinley (killed by anarchist), Taft (corporate shill) and Harding (corruption exposed after his death and lovechild). Oh wait, other than Grant, Ohio has given us terrible leadership and I’m not surprised on how all but one were Republican. To be fair, Pork King Sen. John Glenn was a DINO and used his position to needlessly be the oldest fart in outer space.

Should Texas, or more appropriately, Austin worry? With the rise of working from home due to the Pandemic, could be a factor. In the end though, not really. Ohio has Winter, is on Eastern Time despite being hundreds of miles from the Atlantic Ocean and the clincher for many in Texas, including some of my greedy, short-sighted friends…state income tax. For me, it doesn’t have much going on in the social life department unless I’m nuts about their sports franchises. Yeah Cleveland, while your city rots out from under you, make sure you continue to have a shitty NFL team. College sports are a big deal in Austin given this being the HQ for UT. The difference? If you’re not obsessed with the Longhorns’ ongoing run of disappointment in football and basketball, you won’t be bored which is more than I can say for Ohio and its southern sibling, North Carolina.

If the campaign got more of the Californicators and Brooklyn Hipsters to move away, I’d applaud it. Sadly, the geniuses behind this probably worked for John Boehner and lack the self-awareness to realize they are promoting ground zero of the Amerikan Rust Belt and Hillbilly Elegy was set! Suck it Ohio! Your best option is to hope Canada takes pity on you and invades.

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Caturday! Aggie meets Cambridge

Posted on April 23, 2022 by Steve

The foster kittens have reached the stage of stir crazy, already. When they’re awake and they suspect we’re in the same state, they begin mew constantly. Today, we let the wander about the master bedroom after Nubby had his food. I think we goofed in leaving the door open so Agamemnon hopped upon the bed for his late morning nap and/or scritches only to discover Cambridge (I got his name wrong in an earlier post). The picture above is really cute but what happened afterwards…no. My hopes for Agamemnon to be a good tutor were dashed with immediate hissing followed by deep growls. I will never understand why adult cats find kittens to be a threat. How much he puffs his face to take in deep smelling is comical. The upside is that none of our adults swat at the kittens, a reaction I have seen numerous times; it’s never deadly, it’s more of a warning to the little upstarts.

I continue to remain optimistic for my Aggie to come around because he would love to have a playmate or two; Isis just isn’t into wrestling. Metztli seems to be more of a loner (boo!) and Isis was indifferent to the kittens. I imagine her reaction was, “So? I gave birth to three sets of these things. I’m over them!”

The most shocking surprise turned out to be London as she has been super-aggressive in protecting her offspring. She howls and charges any adult who comes near her or if she spots anyone near the kittens. London can be really off-putting as her battle cry borders on blood-curdling and is equivalent to what I recall from another cat being injured or in serious danger.

Tomorrow, the playpen should be here and ready to deploy. Maybe everybody, except Vegas, will mellow out. Jennifer’s previous cats eventually grew accustomed to Roxy and her kids. I am hopeful. Cats do form feral colonies together. Why not briefly in my house. I’ve made it clear to mine, nobody is getting ditched.

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The era of Apple server products ends (1992-2022)

Posted on April 22, 2022 by Steve

Yesterday, Apple announced that its last incarnation of the Server application hit the end of its road after 30 years. This finale was pretty expected, just not its exact date. Server will still operate for those who want to use it with the latest macOS but any modifications or improvements are no longer happening.

Am I bummed or worried since I’ve supported this product line for the majority of my career? Not really. The last few years have been an evolution away from personal servers hosting files, web sites, mail and a handful of other services. It was pretty cool to offer such a setup to small businesses and schools yet the Internet added a “cloud” ability to store people’s information easily, making it more accessible (and vulnerable) so Server (along with its ancestors AppleShare, AppleShare IP and Mac OS X Server) became an unrealistic solution. My bumming out was worked out over a decade ago when the Xserve got discontinued, what a cool machine.

I find it funny as well. In the beginning, computers were centralized systems. The personal computer revolution during the Seventies through the Nineties was about breaking free from this top-down structure. The goal was to get everybody their own and do as they please. Nobody would be dependent on getting time with the almighty computer stationed in a university, government or major corporation! Now the Internet is pushing everyone back to centralization. Today, it’s just their data and personal information. Tomorrow, I could see it going back to the applications being the same given how the major software companies have adopted a leasing model with the stuff that made computers practical: Office, PhotoShop, etc. Non-computer corporations are trying to pull it off, see all the farmers suing John Deere on the right-to-repair their equipment.

Farewell MacOS X Server. It was a great ride for 20 some years. Glad to know a couple elements of your DNA survived (personal file sharing and Time-Machine-based backup destinations) because those were good ideas.

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Back to my workplace yesterday was pretty good

Posted on April 21, 2022 by Steve

I’m pretty lucky since I got to volunteer for the gradual plan for the next six weeks but I dread it may be pointless as another strain hits the Northeast a handful of Moontower Comedyfest guests tested positive. I think it had a lot more to do with air travel given how selfish some passengers are, especially those gross assholes who insist on being barefoot, ugh, go to your destination in a VW van you filthy Hippie.

Overall, the experience was bittersweet. My floor still looked like a ghost town with how few were scheduled on my day. The cafeteria was much better. It was awesome to see all the employees there. I feared they would’ve moved on given how the whole food services ecosystem has a high turnover. Heck, some even remembered my name! How wonderful. I was disappointed in not seeing any of the wild life I heard had become braver to feed off the landscaping. Personally I figured they would prefer the dumpsters, the cafeteria must have some bitchin’ leftovers. Back to my cube, it looked alien given it being empty. I am going to miss having a cat in my lap part of the day. Agamemnon and Metztli purring or trilling is soothing for both parties.

Before the pandemic hit, I really hated the idea of working from home…ever. I prefer to keep a hard dividing line between my personal life and my job. The clowns the Media lionizes who blur this, namely rich assholes, are selling you a bill of crap. I still believe it. However, the advantages of staying at home to do my thing did reveal themselves quickly: staying on top of laundry, eating leftovers, knocking out minor chores and the biggest one, no commute! Ergo, the now implemented compromise is do-able. I hope we keep it.

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Meet our Spring ’22 Fosters!

Posted on April 20, 2022 by Steve

Happy mother…London

The virtual dust has settled enough at Castello di Maggi that we’ve taken in our newest foster-cat family to socialize and prep for their new human families when they’re ready! Since it’s Spring time in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s also kitten season, alongside numerous other mammals. I thought it would be a while before we’d be called on to help. I applied a couple weeks ago and didn’t hear squat. Then I received an e-mail saying, hey, you’re on the list for the future. A couple days later, we were offered four different choices and we went with a mama and her litter. Sadly, I’m not ready for orphans yet. I hate to see them suffer but they tend to require round-the-clock care which neither of us can provide now with everybody returning to their places of work.

Oxford

The them for these little fuzzball is London, ergo, Mama’s interim name. The kittens then go as follows: Oxford, Picadilly, Bristol and Carlyle. When they’re adopted, their humans are free and encouraged to change it. Contrary to the anti-cat propaganda, cats do know and learn their names.

Picadilly

How are the fabulous five taking it? Not as well as I hoped. Nubby is oblivious even while London growled at him. Vegas hates all cats, par for the course. Metztli and Agamemnon hissed yet I think they’ll grow to like them as these two do like to play with their toys. Isis isn’t aware of them and given her reclusiveness, I think she stopped caring after three litters of her own.

Carlyle

Currently, they’re all getting acclimated to the new surroundings. I forgot which kitten already took to soft food. Jennifer scored them a new playpen. Now we’re trying to teach them how the litter box is for potty, not a bed.

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Well, I paid more than the One Percent again this year

Posted on April 19, 2022 by Steve

Last year I received my first refund in years and of course the IRS turned around gave it to me in the butt five to seven times harder. According to my W-2, the amount of pre-tax revenue I made…I find hard to believe since inflation devoured it! I don’t blame Grampa’ Brunch entirely, the GOP shares a hunch chunk of the blame along with their corporate masters who jacked prices well beyond the rate. On the upside, I had the means to cover the $1500 takes away from me while doing nothing about the One Percent and Organized Religion’s pyramid schemes. I really wanted to keep my shares tucked away for another year, see if their value would go even higher then kill off even more debt. I just wasn’t meant to be. So it’s better to have the money and use it than what’s been the case more often in my life, I had to borrow more. Nope, the IRS can take it and shove it while I get the Floor & Decor bill and something else killed off for good. This will free me up to pay down the furniture financing we did. Can’t wait to see the new bedroom set we bought in less than a month (see the countdown). Another factor to cheer me up, see tomorrow’s story which will have lots of cute photos!

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