Random Musings Today: July LEGO Tradition, Black Hole Day, etc

 Another undefined time period, another musing post.

- Saw an Instacart ad - summer like it's 1999.  1999 was one of the worst summers of my life.  Don't want to relive a second of that misery.

Might have actually been worse than when my alleged father died of cancer 2 days before my 16th birthday (funeral was 2 days after).  That one was expected (for a while).  i felt a greater sense of loss in 1999 - more my dreams of the future (normalcy - marriage, kids, etc).  And... die they did, never to be rekindled again.  Both killed any future potential i might have ever had (other than illusions).

1999 was like the "King of Wishful Thinking" by Go West, "Missing You" by John Waite, and "Someday by Glass Tiger" - seem happy on the surface, but deep down come off as self-delusional false hope.

- Did i mention i hate summer?  Well, i do.  Wonder how much a C. Montgomery Burns style sun blocker would cost.

Random Anime Musings: Rent-a-Girlfriend, Toxic Fanbases, Crunchyroll Free

i noticed that there was a way to watch some ad-supported/free episodes on Crunchyroll.  Let's just say, that tier is unstable.  i would consider Crunchyroll/Hidive if they had gift cards that i could purchase in cash at retail.

* Crunchyroll Free Streaming: What's not to love - the 22+ ads in a 23-minute episode or the failure of ads to load - giving you an infinite black screen.  That was on the app on my Xbox, maybe PC is more stable.  Sure, there other problems, but those were the most annoyingly egregious.  

i think i saw How to Train Your Dragon ads at least 100 times.  Don't you hate in it in ad supported streaming when they take a break to show ads in the middle of sen....  Brought to you for 2.5 minutes by sponsors of a product/service you don't want or even need.  tence?

If the advertisers are getting charged based off the number of ads shown, they are getting screwed. Frequently play the same ad back-to-back.  The ads are set up as follows: 2 into ads, and an additional 4 sets of 5 or 6 ads.

Why i Hate Per Capita (100k)

"There are three types of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics" - Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) referencing a quote attributed to Benjamin Disraeli.

Lately, i have been seeing a lot of talk about per capita (especially crime rates).  Let's just say i'm not a fan (if you didn't gather that from the title of the post). Why?

- Stat normalization is decent in theory - used to compare populations of different sizes.  However, there are inherent problems with it.  A big one is that it tends to extrapolate data in lower populations and slightly suppress it in larger ones.  True, variability is lower with larger populations.

Per capita is a rate stat for "normies" to massively oversimplify data. It is not really that useful and can be misleading.  Comparing data in a very questionable way, while stripping out context.  Per 100K, makes it look to me like the data has 4 or more leading zeros (after the decimal point).  Always thought aggregate data was more meaningful.  i don't need per capita for the data to make sense.

Example: if i had $1, and it was adjusted per 100,000.  That would be treated as $100,000.  Where did the extra money come from?  Nowhere, because it never existed. That is an issue with lower populations - it extrapolates/creates data (which may not exactly exist) at a common rate.  Yes, that is an extreme example.

Random Musings Today: Juneteenth and other stuff

 What is week this week ("week" in this context not necessarily applying to a specific 7-day contiguous period).

- Juneteenth is upon us again.  Why should i care?  A Texas state psuedo-holiday carried over due to the venerable St George Floyd (the patron saint of drug overdoses).  This should have never gone national - too bad the nation sold out to the scam that was Black Lives Matter.  

To be fair, i think most holidays should not exist.

- Best anime name ever: Perv Asshat (from Eminence in Shadow - assume it might be an English name only).

Happy Friday the 13th

Happy Friday the 13th.  The only one in 2025.  Next year, if it exists, there will be three (February, March, and November).

i never understood the fear of it (paraskevidekatriaphobia), it is just another day.  This superstition never made any sense to me.  It is not like we are around Camp Crystal Lake or live with someone named Jason.

The original Friday the 13th movie mostly took place in June.  Will pseudo history repeat itself?  One can only hope

i always hoped Friday the 13th could be a lucky day - to be fair, it hasn't been any unluckier than any other day.

WTF: i saw a bad Debbie Gibson song cover on a Mayo ad

What is the world coming to?  Last night i saw a really bad cover of the Debbie Gibson song "Lost in Your Eyes" on a Best Food mayonnaise commercial.  A man was painting a garage door and got stuck to it.  i think he might have loved his sandwich a little too much.  If you are going to defile the song, at least pay for rights to the original.  i didn't recognize the song the first couple of times i saw it - pretty bad cover.

It is so hard for me to see these 80s songs defiled by crass commercialism.  Good songs in bad ads.  Yes, i will admit to singing along (quietly) to the music playing in Fred Meyer.  Put more 2010 songs in your ads - oops i forgot how bad post 2000s music was/is.

i guess this is like what Don Henley meant when he "saw a Dead Head sticker on a Cadillac.  Don't look back you can never look back" ("Boys of Summer").  i didn't actually look the lyrics up, sorry if i was slightly off.  A Cadillac was once considered a luxury car, seeing a hippie sticker on a luxury car must have seemed strange.

Did i ever mention that i used to have over 250 CDs?  At one point i could have given you a list of all the songs on a CD in order and also knew over 70% of the lyrics.  Thankfully, my memory is not quite that sharp anymore.    

Random Musings Today: New Calendar, Closed Captioning, and More

What have i been pondering lately?

Well i think that some things should change.  Obviously getting rid of Daylight-Saving Time would be awesome.  9 PM sunsets suck.  Why stop there?  Why is the calendar the way it is now?  

Calendar: This is not my idea.  However, it is a concept that i learned about recently.  What i propose is to change the calendar to 13 months of 28 days each (yes that is only 364 days).  Sorry big calendar.  Would be nice to have more consistency - all months being the same length.  Also seems a little more organic/attuned to humans.

Close Caption: was watching anime on Hulu with subtitles on.  Amazing how bad they are.  Probably less than 70% accuracy.  Character/place names are probably less than 25% accurate.  i suspect Hulu is using an AI type solution that uses speech to text functionality.  Program encoded subtitles would likely be much better.

The Summer of My Discontent

This date X years ago, i guess it is now X+1 years ago, i left college.  This was the start of a series of events that i could have done without.  Have i ever mentioned how much i hate summer?

A few days earlier, i was hanging out with my college girlfriend.  i wanted to keep her in my life so bad, but that was never going to be.  On some level i think i knew it.  i spent most of that day crying.  i suck at goodbyes.  Girlfriends are not generally impressed by guys crying for hours at a time over them (especially when they are in the same room).

Anime: Apothecary Diaries - My Cannon Ending

Apothecary Diaries kind of gripped my attention with its intrigue, "cases", quirky protagonist, and conspiracies.  However, sometimes a little knowledge is a bad thing.  i've seen the general direction the series is likely to go through recaps of the light novels - i'm out.  As far as i'm concerned, it ends at the end of anime season 2 (Light Novel 4).

Sure, there may be a few interesting episodes - like Maomao debunking every magic trick at a "magic show", but there is not the same narrative pull there was in the first two seasons.

That being said, this is how it ends for me.  No use seeing how the author wants to end it. See below...

My Cannon Ending (super mega unrealistically happy):

* The Madam admits to Fengxian's parentage, acknowledges Maomao as her grandchild.  In an unprecedented move, she tells Maomao that she loves her, is proud of her, and has always tried to look out for her.  Both the Madam and Maomao embrace then cry.

* Jinshi relinquishes any claim to succession (the throne)

* Maomao and Jinshi are married and move to Ah-Dou's place.  They are untethered by court politics.

* Ah-Duo becomes the mother figure the Maomao has been missing most of her life

* Lishu moves in and becomes a younger sister to Maomao (until she gets married and moves out)

* Maomao and Jinshi have 3 children - 2 girls and a boy. 

 - Their first child (a daughter) becomes a consort to Gyokuyou's/Emperor's son

-  Their son becomes a military strategist under the tutelage of Lakan.  Lakan can see his face.

 - Their second daughter decides to become a courtesan - and becomes the Verdigris House's all time 

    leading earner, she eventually takes over the house.

* Though dedicated to her husband and children, Maomao works part time as an apothecary.  When her children age she plies her doctor training.

At least the month is ending.  Hello new data cap, less of this type of post.

What to Do if You're Stuck in a Isekai.

So, i've been kind of bored.  That sometimes happens when you hit 90% of the internet data cap with one week to go in the month.  One of the subgenres of anime i have watched a bunch is Isekai (another world).  So, what tips would i have for you in the unlikely event you find yourself in another world - whether inside a video game, reincarnated, or summoned into one.  Read below to find out.

Anime: Apothecary Diaries Potential Empress Power Move

Some potential spoilers from the light novels if you haven't read a recap of them.  i only read recaps on a Wiki.  Apparently another one releases at the end of this month.  Ok, i'm a little twisted...

Anime: Apothecary Diaries

For some reason, this show kind of sticks with me.  This is somewhat a recap, some speculation.  Note: this is for the anime.  i don't read manga or light novels.  Looking up some stuff from the source material kind of ruins some things about the series.  Some rabbit holes are better not jumped in.

i "bought season" 1 (part 1 and 2) for $8 on an Xbox sale - the blu-rays are $40+ each.  Also got the first cour of season 2(for too much $11).  Yes, i learned the terms cour and seinen.

Romantic Disasters: My Second Date and Other Confessions

If there ever was a woman capable of "saving" me (religious context), it would have been Katie.  Katherine plus my last name sounded so good too.

Random Musings Today: Anime/Isekai, Polygamy, Video Games, etc

Well, after a brief detour i'm back to musing again.  So, what's weak this week?  Let's burry the more interesting musings.

Also, happy "Volcano Day".  Look up May 18th and Volcano.  Used to have a jar of ash in my room.

Video Games:

Song of the Day: Tonight I Wanna Cry by Keith Urban

The song today is "Tonight I Wanna Cry" by Keith Urban.  Also, up for considering was "I'll Be Over You" by Toto.

Listening to the song would show my current headspace (thought i do not drink).  Some songs hit harder in certain situations.

A Futile Proposal

Going back through the disjointed slideshow that was my life playing in front of my eyes.  Today's story is one of the bigger chances i felt i had to take.  Like every other chance i took, it did not end the way i wanted it to.

It was Mid-April.  i had been "going steady" with my girlfriend since MLK day.  We started off as playful and flirtatious.  Playing paper ball volleyball, exchanging notes, and throwing double entendres back and forth.  She was probably the best friend i ever had, but, as a guy, i wanted more.  i knew the clock was ticking and senior year would be over soon.  Without a solid commitment, i knew i would lose her forever.

i had been thinking about "popping the question" for a while.  i told her i was going to do this before we ever started officially dating.  i delayed that plan when she got scared after giving out phony credit card information in a search for a former, i don't know what, named Brough. Not sure what the date actually was (probably about April 23).  This will sound a little pathetic.

Confessions and other useless stuff about me

So, i thought i would give some embarrassing confessions.  Some covering weird personality traits.  If anyone out there in the ether want to share some of theirs, i'm ok with it.

- i did not have sexual relations with that woman.  i really, really, really wanted to - but she was never willing to commit to it.  She was more focused on the pre-show than the main event.

Song of the Day - Heaven Help Me by Deon Estus

i've been listening to CDs again.  Sometimes you play a compilation CD (Another Lost Decade: The 80s Hard to Find Hits) and one sticks out.  Yes, this particular song was kind of hard to find.

This song was the 1989 single by Deon Estus (was in the backing band of Wham!) co-written by George Michael (also background vocals).  This song seems to be about some type of breakup.  i sympathize with this "Thought the first time/ Was the last time/ Would be (forever)". 

Things are almost never that easy.  Getting back on the proverbial horse is hard as hell.  i could understand why you could need heaven to help get over someone and find someone new.  i know heaven never helped me.

It is kind of weird to me that "retro radio" misses so many great songs.  Some of the songs they do play ad nauseum i wonder why.

In my earlier years, i used to sing along for hours to my albums (mainly George Michael, Wham!, Chicago 17, Richard Marx and the radio).  Singing along to Wham Rap 86 always felt a little strange.  It's probably why i always opted for a little falsetto (trying to harmonize/match the pitch of the artist).  Though when your voice gets a little deeper...  Don't really know what my voice is since i sort of imitated other singers for so long.

Let's Talk About Sex

Ok, this one might be on the more risqué side (at least for me).

Was watching the anime Yamada's First Time (B Gata H Kei).  This is more from a female perspective.  Then decided to read some of the manga online to see how the story ended (the manga is far dirtier than the show).  Basically, a girl thinks she want to get with 100 guys.  The journey starts with trying (badly) to seduce one "normal guy".  After 2 or so years and a series of misadventures, she actually closes the deal with the guy.  But sex was not exactly what she thought it was and the process changed her greatly.

What is it about sex that seems so mystical, yet strangely unfulfilling (i've heard)?  Is it the "forbidden" (or discouraged) nature.  Is it intimacy and surrender?  As i understand it, it is kind of an awkward act - one that includes pain/discomfort and a little bit of pleasure.  It is so built up as a world-shaking act, that it cannot help but ultimately be a little disappointing.  Expecting intense fireworks, only to get burned a little by a sparkler.  Expecting the dam to burst but only getting a trickle.

Time to End the Social Security Scam

For the US reader (if any) this will make more sense.

"Nobody wants to get rid of Social Security" - well i do.  Any government program that encourages dependency is a failure.  Worse, any dependency inducing program that has perverse disincentives (like SS does).

There are several reasons for this including

* Social Security (SS) is an invalid program, that the federal government should have nothing to do with

* Social Security acts like a pyramid scheme

* 75% of the stuff people think they know about SS is a lie - it is not "your money" and therefore, you are not entitled to anything

* For anyone Gen X or younger, it is completely a bad deal

Heretical Easter Post

Maybe not exactly heresy per se.  These are my views on religion - in light of the Easter holiday.  i was raised as Christian adjacent, so that is what i'll include.

So, what should we hit on: the nature of God, the resurrection, pre-destination, afterlife, and other ideas.  How about a real challenge mythological "God", instead of bringing someone back from the dead, how about bringing back someone who never really lived life instead.

Much of what was in the bible was never meant to be taken strictly literally (especially the New Testament).  There are parables, coded messages, allusions and metaphors that are lost on the modern reader.  Not to mention questionable translations, edits/exclusions, and the like.

Wall of text incoming.

Random Musings Today: Video Games, Music, etc

So, what have i been up to since my last random post:

- Playing a bunch of Coral Island on my Xbox. Heard it was leaving Game Pass, so i've been binging it. Lots of hours over the last week. Coral Island is one of those farming/life type things.  Fricking RNG - i could do with a little less randomness (chests, weather, etc).

- Seems like i can't hit a note anymore when i tried to sing along.  i used to be adequate.

- Listening to Gen X country recently: talking Mark Wills, Keith Urban, and Luke Bryan.  They all have pretty good voices. Wouldn't be surprised if Gen X and later were more influenced by pop music than previous generations.  Wonder if that is why some "modern country" sounds more like 90s pop.

Decent Albums of the 90s: Wish You Were Here by Mark Wills

This is a late addition to the series.  1998's platinum album Wish You Were Here by Mark Wills.

i avoided placing this on the list for reasons.  Yes, a girl was involved.  She was a little bit country and i was a little bit pop.  i asked her to listen to 98° and Rising by 98°.  She was not a fan but kind of liked one of the songs "I Do (Cherish You) and heard it on country radio.  She asked some country DJ based out of Wyoming who the song was by.  After she found out, i bought this on a whim from "world famous" Rodeo Records.  

Even though "Truly Madly Deeply" (Savage Garden) was in the running, i considered "I Do (Cherish You) to be "our" song.  For a long time, it was hard for me to listen to the album.  Though i had to admit that Mark Wills had some vocal talent (the twang and weird "country guitar" thing i could have done without).  Yes, this was the first country album i ever bought.  i got rid of this album after the BU but replaced it years later with a Greatest hits album (and bought MP3s of some of the other songs, i think).

Singles: (Chart position US country / chart position Billboard Hot 100)

Just Saying 9

Solstice has come and gone once again.  This year i bought myself 4 LEGO sets - one of them kind of threw my Solstice budget off, but i didn't expect it to go on sale (though it did go on sale cheaper after i bought it).

Only one of these LEGO sets was under 2,000 pieces (Indiana Jones at 1,545 pieces).  i think 3 of these are now retired (Viking Village is expected to be retired by the end of 2025).

The manuals are now printed with garbage paper.  So much worse than it used to be.

This took a little while to post.  i also got a record 11 puzzles this year (2 of which did not have all the pieces).  i spent two weeks on a 3,000-piece puzzle to find it was missing 3 pieces.  

2025 Movies to Eventually Get From the Library (if possible)

Well, it is time again for me to look at the IMDB movie release schedule and see what upcoming movies from 2025 i am remotely interested in (though modern movies kind of suck).  Date format is US (2/14 if February 14th).  No movie is worth overpaying at the theater, so i'll wait until the library or Hulu gets it.  That and it is kind of hard for me to sit through a movie in a theater nowadays.