Last year astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams blasted off to the International Space Station for a mission that was supposed to last a mere week but wound up lasting nine months due to a series of mishaps and equipment failures. Fortunately things worked out and they returned to Earth today. It has occurred to me that this is a golden opportunity for NASA doctors and scientists. There are long term space missions on the drawing boards at NASA and this is a great opportunity to give these astronauts a thorough check up to see what adverse changes their prolonged trip into space has made to their bodies (I'm thinking loss of muscle and bone density due to there being no gravity on the station) so they can figure out what to do to prevent such things from happening in the future.

My father's a die hard Trump fan and also a Vietnam veteran who is applauding DOGE's quest to slash governmental programs and departments in the name of efficiency. I'm wondering if I should feel schadenfreude (glee at another's misery) if in the name of such efficiency some of his VA programs (especially at the clinics he goes to) are cut.

Is it me or does Romancing the Stone feel like an 80s era remake of The African Queen?

As you know I love arcade games, especially those of the early 80s where I whiled away many hours throwing all the quarters I could into such classics as Asteroids and Battlezone. Many of these arcade games are thankfully now available via either port of emulation on the modern systems and I have a whole passel of them. One group of arcade games that eludes this porting or emulation are the Atari Games (post 1984 and includes such titles as Roadblasters, Marble Madness, and Xybots), Bally/Midway (includes such titles as Satan's Hollow, Domino Man and Tapper) and Williams Electronics (includes such titles as Defender, Blaster, Defender II/Stargate). All of these games are through a series of purchases and mergers under the umbrella of Warner Brothers Interactive. For some reason Warner Brothers Interactive is not interested in releasing these titles for the modern systems even though the flower of nostalgia for 80s era gaming is in full bloom. Fortunately these titles can be played on the older systems like the Game Cube so there's that. Meanwhile, I for one am not holding my breath in waiting for Warner Brothers Interactive to reverse course on this matter.

With Trump and company wanting to get their grubby little paws on peoples' private information, how many other than me thinks that they want to do so to build "enemies lists" and find out who is part of their MAGA cult and harass those who aren't. "Are you now or have you ever been a member of the MAGA movement? 'Tailgunner Donnie Trump' wants to find out!"

I've just heard that Trump's just been given the go ahead to dismantle USAID. It takes up so little of our federal budget and yet does so much. Why Donnie? Why?

Hard to believe it's been a year since we lost one of the Furry Fandom's founding fathers Mark Merlino. Rest in power, friend!

Happy Valentine's Day y'all. It's the lonliest, coldest day of the year for those of us without someone special in their lives. *sigh*

I've found that there's a product called Supernatural VR Fitness that purports to use VR to help make your fitness regimens fun. I wouldn't care about it except that the spokesperson is none other than Jane Fonda-Hanoi Jane herself! I know that she was hired for her fame in those 80s era workout videos of hers but still there's the little bit of the unAmerican (and some would say treasonous) stunt she pulled in 'Nam back in the early 70s where she went to Hanoi and a picture of her was snapped playing around with a big gun like she was going to shoot Americans. If I were into fitness I most certianly would not use Supernatural VR Fitness with that knowledge in mind and can only hope that enough people remember the damage Ms. Fonda caused and avoid the product, making Supernatural's investment in her an expensive failure.

Heard that the next Mission Impossible movie (Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning) has a budget of $400 million. Movies have to make 2 to 3 times what they cost to break even so that means that to be in the black the movie will have to gross around $1 billion. :/

Heard that former president Jimmy Carter died today. Since leaving office he'd done a lot of good for the world, most notably several years of service for the Habitat for Humanity people. With that in mind I know that the Fox News and Newsmax goons LOVE to roast Democrats like Carter and am waiting with bated breath to see what they'll be saying in his memory to rake him over the coals. :/

Been doing some thinking about the murder of United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson of late. I know a lot of people hate to deal with insurance (especially when insurance companies deny their claims) but it's shocking to me that a lot of people are rather gleeful at Thompson's death. His company had a higher than normal rate of denying claims but that was no justification for him being murdered. Besides that he wasn't solely responsible for that higher than normal rate of claim denial, it was the policies he set plus the way those policies were interpreted.

Here's the bottom line. If people are upset about so many of their insurance claims being denied then they should work within the system for change, perhaps by working with their congressman or represenative to pass laws to reign in the insurance companies' denial rates. Killing insurance execs only breaks the law and achieves nothing at least over the long term.

Just my two cents. Your mileage may vary.

While watching an episode of the A Team I got to wondering...what 80s show destroyed more vehicles with stunt jumps-The A Team, The Dukes of Hazzard or Knight Rider? ;D

Something I would love to know.

Luigi Mangione was a child of priveldge. His parents were rich and he no doubt grew up comfortably. He was well liked and graduated from Baltimore's elite Gilman School as valedictorian in computer science. In short, here was a bright young man who wanted for nothing and due to his own hard work had the world at his feet and a bright career ahead of him.

Just one question...what made him "wig out" (as they used to say in the 60s) and gun down Brian Thompson, CEO of United Healthcare with the effect that he'll be spending many years ahead-if not the rest of his life-behind bars?

Star Wars Episodes 7, 8 and 9: We're the bane of the Star Wars fandom.
Star Wars Holiday Special: Hold my beer!

Was watching a rerun of the grand old holiday special Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer last night and that got me to thinking about something. Rudolph has a red, shiny nose and is tormented and rejected by his fellow fawns and adults alike for it. Just because Rudolph doesn't fit the rigid standards of the North Pole society, he is treated as a freak or worse.

However there is a bright (no pun intended) spot to the tale. Christmas Eve that year is host to a blinding, vicious snowstorm and only Rudolph's shiny nose can help Santa get through it and deliver toys as he normally does. It's only then that the other reindeer and the North Pole gang warm up to him. In other words, after spending the entire time rejecting him they now bring him in based on what he can do for him.

Of course Rudolph forgives them and does his job (if only for the sake of a happy ending) but it does beg the question-should he after all the hell they put him through? Part of me would have him say, "Screw you guys! You kicked me when I was down now you make your bed the best you can." At the least I would have had Santa and company squirm a little before agreeing help him and the rest out.

Your mileage may vary of course. That's just my take on things.

For those in the Cincinnati, Ohio area today, watch out for those falling turkeys!! ;)

It's well known that actors often tell each other to "break a leg" in order to wish each other luck. With that in mind, I've long wondered if the Phantom of the Opera cast wishes each other to 'break a chandlier" for the same reason. :D

Observation: There was a movie called Seven Days in May regarding an attempted military takeover of the United States. With that in mind, I'm wondering how the writers and cast would react to current events in light of this movie.

This being the day it is, thanks to those who have (if I may steal from Jefferson) refreshed the Tree of Liberty with your patriot blood!

I have voted. I did it because I've always felt it was my civic responsibility to do so. However I am of the mind that the purpose of an election is not necessarily to elect the best candidate to office but to choose from the lesser of two or more evils presented. :/

As I heard it, President-to-be Donald Trump recently proclaimed he was going to protect the ladies of our nation...whether they wanted him to or not. I'd like to see what kind of spin Hannity, Waters and their cadra of conservative kookaburras would put on this statement to keep him in contention to the Presidental office. :/

I recently went to Disneyland. Upon coming home and unpacking I found that there was a plush mouse in my suitcase. Holding it and examining it , I soon felt rather woozy. T'was then I realized that someone had SLIPPED ME A MICKEY. :/

Snuggle Bear is our poodle. She's been a four legged member of the family since Christmas 2008. She used to be a sprightly friendly little lady but now it seems she's being taken away from us piece by piece. She doesn't move around as much as she used to, preferring to spend much of her time in her doggy bed in the family room. Then too, she lost an eye to glaucoma about a year ago and she's going blind in her remaining one and can't hear very well so she's less aware of things then she use0d to be. Clearly she isn't long for this world and it will be devastating for us when she does die or is put to sleep. Until then we'll continue to do as we've always done-provide her with all the care and comfort we can so she lacks for nothing. Really that's all we can do while we wait for the inevitable.

Got a call from a Blue Cross/Blue Shield rep this afternoon. She wanted me to install their "wellness app" on my cell phone and tablets (she didn't give any details but if I could hazard a guess, it would allow me track my dietary and fitness habits and offer suggestions about improving them). With visions of the Blues snooping on my private business dancing in my head, I told her that in no uncertain terms I was "NOT INTERESTED". I've said it before but it bears repeating that I loathe being nannied and lead by the nose and being told what to do, how to do it and when to do it. Why can't those guys just leave me alone?