Just Saying: Happy Halloween

The Fall or Autumn (if you're fancy) season is finally almost mercifully here (i hate summer so much).  That means one of my favorite holidays is coming up - Halloween.  Though, i support changing the seasons by 5 days to make fall a super season (both Halloween and Xmas).  There really aren't that many decent Lego Halloween sets out there (and still in print).

Just saying: 1 of these is new, 1 is in a different form than i've showed before, 1 is a Brickheadz (which i think i've shown before), and one is a mini Disney set (Haunted Mansion) an alleged older sister gave to me) that i'm sure i've show before - i guess it could be considered kind of Halloween-y

Musings: Music, Lost 80s, The Horrible Past, etc

Another musing post so soon?  Does that mean the end times are upon us?  Not necessarily, but i cannot totally discount that possibility.  Maybe my end is the one rapidly approaching.  One reason is that i post here, so that it won't show some other related Blogger thing i might have.  Seriously, you don't want to see that mess (yet i link it at the end of this post, go figure).

* i've been really into this Lost 80s channel on iHeart Radio.  "Alexa play Lost 80s on iHeart Radio".  It plays hits that may not show up on today's radio.

Many radio stations have playlists under 40 songs.  This one seems a little more robust.  Most of the songs were hits in their time.  Even retro stations (the best of the 80s and 90s) feel like they are just picking a playlist off of one or two compilation disks.

They play some songs i haven't heard for a while (like Bad Boy by Miami Sound Machine).  Sure, i probably have more songs on CD than they do, but it feels a little different to hear it on the radio (maybe a Gen X thing).  

i suspect the Lost 80s playlist is limited but seems to have more songs than most stations.  Yes, i hear repeats, but they are not as common as most radio.  Did i mention it is commercial (not interruption) free?

i'm lame and listen to retro radio - modern music is soulless crap that kind of sucks.  i learned about this station from an 80s radio show (Saturdays nights, a 4 hour or so block) with Jeff Stevens.  If it were on later, i would probably listen to American Top 40: the 80s with Shaggy, i mean Casey Kasem.  There are a ton of good songs that never get modern radio airplay (rendering them effectively lost).

What does it say that i mostly use my Echo dot for radio type uses.  As Robbie Nevil might say "C'est La Vie"

More Random Musings: Dream Girl, Post Milestone, Etc

i decided to look under my bed and get rid of some of the dust.  Dust, spiders, and insects.  i have been going through a couple of old notebooks i found in a box.

* Most relationships are borne out of a sense of mutual convenience (or meeting certain needs), but what if it was deeper?

i say i don't believe in fate/predestination - but the thing that frightens me is the concept that certain people are inexplicably/inextricably linked.  What if there really is "the one"/soulmate and you screwed it up?  That concept terrifies me - i could have missed out on "the one" due to timing, location, or just being in over my head at the time and i could never recapture that again.  Failure states suck.

Wouldn't it be strange if your "soul mate's" emotionally state could, or does, impact you?  If their desires could somehow transfer to you at random times.  Though, it would really suck knowing that you wouldn't be the one who fulfills them.

Crunchyroll Anime Binge Part 2: Binge Lesser

So, i got 3 months of Crunchyroll via Amazon Prime again.  The same issues still exist missing dubs/subs, missing episodes, misplaced episodes, etc.  It is getting harder and harder to find and watch some of the back catalog of Crunchyroll, so this time i rewatched several series.  i did finish off a few Spring Season shows (some i was waiting for the season to end to list or forgot).

Weak, arrogant, and obsessed characters (battle junkies, magic junkies, etc) tick me off more and more as time goes by.  i don't want to see the hero MC or his party crying (or being whiny at all).  i am not a fan of "revenge" stories (as they said in Trapped in a Dating Sim - the best revenge is being happy).

Random Musings Today: Stuff?

Another random musing post.  Let's see what has been weak the last few weeks...

* Coming off of 3 months of Crunchyroll streaming/binging (three month each for $.99 ended about a week ago).  Maybe another post on that one.  At some point, you are scraping the bottom of the barrel and stuff is less interesting.  i did rewatch a few shows this time.  Still about 7 Spring Season shows i'd like to finish at some point in the future (to, the extent i have one).

 * Puzzles: finished six 1,000-piece puzzles in about 12 days.  It is getting harder to do (questionable lighting, harder to discern color differences, dropping pieces on the floor, etc).  So many whites, grays, and browns.  Two were "mystery puzzles" - the puzzle is not the picture on the box (makes things a bit harder).

Puzzle tip: sorting plays a big role in completion time.  It is better to set asides pieces for certain blocks of the puzzle (like flowerbeds, or prominent features) then "take it as it comes".  One puzzle (from China) had the section written on the back (A-F).  i think that one took less than 6 hours.

i sold 8 puzzles at the yard sale for $1 each.  i already have two puzzles in hand for next Winter Solstice.

Random Musings: A Very Gen X Yard Sale, Birthday, etc

Time for another random musing - hold your applause until the end.

* My sister decided to have a yard sale yesterday (she actually was working on it for about a month).  A yard sale is a lot of work for little payoff (unless you have some awesome stuff, or very specific buyers).  You find the items, get them out, "warehouse" them until the event, price them, and try to sell them. Then if your stuff doesn't sell, back to the closet with it.

i decided if she was going to have a yard sale, that i might as well throw a couple of things in.  Ok, maybe a couple is a bit of a misstatement (i have almost 11 pages of tables in Word, two columns landscape orientation).  My "couple of things" were mostly video games, board games, and puzzles. 

The stuff a Gen Xer or an older millennial might have in their closets: video games (Xbox, Dreamcast, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii), a few too many games based off the 80s (the best decade), and some pop culture references familiar to that generational cohort.  i did have 4 versions of Trivial Pursuit and a VH1 Pop Up Video Game.  i even had a Mr. Potato Head called "Taters of the Lost Ark".

Random Musings Today: Birthdays, Anime, etc

 i decided to muse randomly today, i know it has been a while (March 2nd).

Birthdays:

Once you hit 25, is there anything to really celebrate anymore?  Congratulations, you're one year closer to death.  Why would anyone want to live to 100 years old?  Have they seen 70–100-year-olds who are constantly taking pills, and whose senses (vision, hearing, etc) and joints are shot.

My paternal aunt has a repetitive birthday song - it starts with "we're glad you're not one.  We're glad you're not two".  It then goes up to the age the person is (x to n, where n is the current age).  i estimated that my alleged mother's recent birthday would have taken over 6 minutes to get to her age.

My Ideal Messed Up World

My reality is unsatisfying and disappointing.  The "modern world" is layers of abstraction stacked on top of each other.  Sometimes, technological dependence can seem more like an albatross than a boon.  Life was never meant to be a subscription service.

On the surface, there are more choices, but is that really a good thing?  Today is full of psuedo-decisions that are more programmed responses than actual conscious decisions.  There can be so many theoretical branching impacts of decisions that it can cause decision paralysis (where few decisions are actually made).  Most choice is little more than illusion.  In some ways, i think less options and more "real decisions" would be far preferable.

Idle wondering when i couldn't sleep led me to think what my warped view of a more perfect world would be.  i got another $1.99 each for 3 months deal on Crunchyroll, so that tempered my view a little (a lot of fantasy/medieval period type shows).

The US Constitution is a Suicide Pact

The US Constitution is a suicide pact.  It did not start out as one, but it turned into one with unnecessary amendments giving the federal government more power than was ever intended.  To be fair, a litany of bad court decisions furthered this.

i could understand including the Bill of rights, but all of the amendments after the 10th could have been decided congressionally without weaking the foundation of the Constitution.  Yes, adding more amendments does weaken the whole.  Some of these actually went against the intentions of the founders.  The 18th and 21st Amendments show that the process was abused.

The language and intent of many amendments were weakened by compromise-based phrasing and word usage that does not reflect the current lexicon.  Ideally, the US Constitution would be rewritten taking out any ambiguities present in the current version, modernizing certain key terms, making it more concrete, and eliminating most of the amendments (which were never really necessary).

The most destructive amendment might have been the 16th Amendment (authorizing income taxes).  That accelerated the increase in the size and scope of the US government.  The awful Helvering v Davis decision (authorizing unnecessary programs outside the scope of government in the guise of "general welfare" ignoring the prevailing exigent circumstance) and 16th Amendment enabled the New Deal (better to call it the "raw deal") which extended the Great Depression.

More revenue equals more irresponsible spending.  More spending leads to more debt.  Debt begets debt.  Destruction of the US through government largess - i'm starting to think maybe that was the intent.

Happy Easter

Another Easter is upon us.

For me it was one of the two major candy holidays (Easter and Halloween).  Xmas had candy too, but it wasn't the primary focus.  My alleged father would hide candy around the house.  Yes, i dyed a few eggs this year with Paas.  Hiding eggs?  Why would people do that?  What is the point of egg rolling?

My easter was a secular holiday.  The whole Christian Resurrection story never made any sense to me (i've never believed the concept of an afterlife was anything more than a sucker bet).  Was Rankin and Bass even trying (there was Here Comes Peter Cottontail and The Easter Bunny is Coming to Town)?  Though, the Cadbury mini egg commercial with the lion is still decent after all these years.

Should have staged this a little better, but i didn't have that annoying fake green grass that got all over the place.  This is a small LEGO set (40523, 288 pieces) my alleged sister got me a few years ago placed in one of my two clearance Easter baskets.  It is not the blue denim-ish homemade Easter basket that i grew up with.

2026 US Coins... Eventually

Back in 1976, the US celebrated its 200th anniversary (Bicentennial) and changed the coins up a little bit (the next significant change i remember was the 1999 State Quarter program).  This was evident in the quarter, half dollar, and dollar coins.  i may have 20+ of all of these (definitely circulated, and not in great condition).  Those three coins were also minted in 1975, but with 1976 dates.  i did buy one version online that was in better shape.

1976 Proof set (the back of it at least, showing where most of the changes were made).  Ignore the top row, it was lame and unchanged.

The US also released a version of the $2 bill (or Jefferson, as i call it) with a reverse based off the John Trumbull painting "Declaration of Independence".  i need to get a better-quality version of this one of these days (the two or so i have are not in great shape).  Useless trivia - i carry a 1976 $2 bill with me most times i go out.  It is not like 2026 is my semicentennial or anything.  

Yes, that is the 1976 version - it is obviously creased/folded, and there is some writing on the front of it (who writes on dollar bills?  Monsters).

This year is the 250th anniversary (also known as the semiquincentennial, or half of 500 years).  Like the 1976 coins, they are sporting the 1776-2026 dates.  

This time, the dime has also changed.  For one year, one of the three most destructive presidents in US history will be absent from the coin (he will not be missed).  FDR will be replaced by "Emerging Liberty".  It is probably my favorite of the design changes.  Most of the best US coin designs didn't have presidents on them, but metaphorical depictions of Liberty (including one of my favorites the "Mercury dime" also known as the Winged Liberty Head dime).

There are also 5 new quarters - i could do without the weak Gettysburg Address one, the others aren't awful.  The Half dollar design looks decent, though reminiscent of the Platinum Eagle design.  The worthless Sacagawea dollar coin doesn't look changed at all (discontinue it already).

Too bad the proof set will not be cheap ($107) - i still would like to purchase one.  That is probably the only way i'm ever going to get a hold of these (still missing 6-8 National Park Quarters).  i like using cash, but don't go out that much (and when i do it is usually gift cards).

i can't do images (because i don't yet have any of the coins), but here might be a link to the US Mint's section on the program.  Check out "Annual Sets" (under American Eagle Coins in the Products By Category section). 

Semiquincentennial Coins and Medals | US Mint

Random Musings Today: DST, FF, Other

 Well, here it is... i'm musing semi-randomly (because true randomness does not exist).

* Daylight Saving time - i looked at the calendar (it's the paper thing on the wall with the months and days) and noticed that on Sunday, Daylight Saving Time starts again.  Daylight Saving time should never have existed.  It is inferior in every way to standard time.  Can't believe some people actually prefer it.  How much daylight does the time change save?  Absolutely none.

* Finally used the Netflix gift card my alleged sister gave me for Xmas.  i used to have Netflix in the past, but left when i got tired of cost increases, they put Susan Rice on the board, and gave a bloated production deal to the Obamas.  Since then, i have most used Hulu (cheap Black Friday deals) and Paramount Plus.  The thing Netflix does the best is creating accounts without the need for credit cards.

* Have been "watching" Night Court in the background.  It is one of my favorite series of the 1980s (the best decade), thought it definitely has some "clunker"/leftist episodes.  Finally finished it after having it for two years. 193 episodes takes, a while to finish.

Just Saying 11

Another Solstice has come and gone.  

In this post, we have a LEGO Creator 3-in-1, a LEGO Architecture, and a LEGO Icon set.  i know, kind of light this year, but the two i was most interested in never went on sale (One Piece Going Merry: 75639 and Nintendo Game Boy: 72046).  Not pictured is a 153-piece Creator Series 3-in-One Wild Animals Spider Set (31159, also snake and scorpion) my sister got me for Halloween that i wrapped up for Xmas.

Anime Musings After The Crunchyroll Binge

As a previous post indicated, i "watched" over 140 or so seasons of anime over a two-month period on a promotional offer.  Now i get to watch the several seasons i got for Solstice (3 are 24-episode seasons). Eventually i'll have to use the $50 Netflix card my "sister" gave me (that might be about 5 months).

So, what are some of the things that am pondering.

Crunchyroll Anime Binge

Amazon Prime had Crunchyroll on sale for $1.99 a month for 2 months.  i have been curious what they had on there, so i jumped on the offer.  This was the only way i could get Crunchyroll, but if you want it, get it from the official app/web (likely much better experience).

i thought if i had Crunchyroll for a year i would watch maybe 120 seasons of anime shows.  i mostly watched: banished/fired from a party/army, isekai (prefer party based), and rom coms.  Shows might not have been completely watched - possible missing episodes, might have gotten bored/played in the background while doing other stuff, and in rare cases i might have temporary fallen asleep while watching.  No, i couldn't tell you what all these series were about.

i would never actually buy an anime season in Japanese, but sometimes i can watch subbed.  First will be newer shows i started that might be interesting later. So how did i do in my two months?

Post Xmas post

Well, another Xmas has come and gone.  The real Santa Claus has forsaken me once again.

Maybe it was the late Thanksgiving, the warm December with 8+" of rain, binging Crunchyroll, or just feeling older - but Xmas 2025 felt the least like Xmas yet.  It could also be the strain from putting up lights and getting decorations out from a closet.  i'm not sure it has really felt like Xmas since my older sisters started moving out when i was a less experienced kid.