Hey everybody, good lord it’s been awhile since I’ve written. Part of this is due to general post-holiday chilling, and I was taking my first international trip to Mexico, which was cool. I’ll write more about that later.
For today’s entry, I’m blatantly stealing format from Derek Godin’s blog (https://blog.derekgodin.com/), going with only a slight modification to his “10 Things” theme, with what I’ll call”The So-So Ocho,” eight things that I find interesting or came to mind recently that I would like to highlight but not necessarily write at length about. Let’s begin.
- UNO: Reading a lot about Quiet Quitting and the strange push from faceless powers-that-be to blame that particular phenomenon on remote work. This is, as you would assume, total bullshit. Like everything else in life, each person has preferences and any number of minutiae that brings out their best production, and for many, to no surprise, it’s a lot less stressful to know you don’t have to dedicate energy and time to a commute, finance to gasoline and child care, and can be available to handle small-potatoes things that occur at home without having to take all or part of a day off. There is absolutely something special about working in-person in MY opinion, but I don’t feel there’s a single thing wrong with employees having the option, if it’s logical, to work partially or full-time from home. As far as “Quiet Quitting” goes, that’s a complete fabrication adopted by a frustrated Gen-X /baby boomer media machine that feel as though being miserable at one’s job (and remaining free time tainted by ‘the grind’) is somehow a sign of impeccable character. People work in the fashion they consider appropriate, and if that results in termination or promotion, hopefully it has more to do with their output and performance and less to do with vague “nobody wants to work anymore” “get off your phone, you lazy zoomer” -esque nothingburgers that fuel rage media among the aged.
- DOS: Jimmy Johns just added a new cookie to their arsenal – the red velvet, just in time for Valentine’s Day. I normally am, at best, ambivalent to red velvet, but damn – this is a fantastic cookie, and easily the best they offer at this time. Granted, it’s only competition is the just-okay chocolate chip and surprisingly-not-bad oatmeal raisin, but still! Get one. Delicious.
- TRES: This is easily the most excited I’ve been about a Bears offseason in years. They’ve got the number one pick (which I hope they trade), the most cap room in the NFL by a mile, and a likely franchise quarterback already on the roster along with some solid young pieces that need supplemented instead of replaced. Free agency starts in early March and the draft is in late April, so I’m looking forward to the spring thaw bringing some excitement to the franchise before it inevitably does what it always does in the fall.
- CUATRO: I’ve been playing the absolute hell out of an iOS game called The Program, where you run a college football team. It’s right there with Retro Bowl as the best football game on mobile, but satisfies a different urge to manage the roster and scout out talent in an imaginary NCAA full of made up teams. There’s a lot it’s missing, but until EA’s NCAA Football revival comes out, which won’t be until 2024 (if even then), and that’s banking on them having a dynasty mode and/or team builder. Give the game a shot if this sounds intriguing.
- CINCO: There’s a Raising Cane’s opening around here soon, and that means we’ll be blessed with the glory of this Cane’s Sauce that is supposedly one of the modern wonders of humanity. I’d better not taste it and go, “that’s just ranch mixed with ketchup and thousand island dressing.”
- SEIS: Been watching a show on Netflix called I Am a Stalker and it’s just as troubling and sad as you’d imagine. Interestingly not so much because of how unsettling and broken the stalkers are, but the poor handling of stalkers by the American justice system is extremely worrisome. I have a friend who has been dealing with a stalker for years now and it amazes me how relentless these clearly unhinged people are, and how little help the stalked can get from the government and authorities.
- SIETE: We’re going to be seeing Alaska in a few months, and hopefully some whales, glaciers, and who knows what else. I’ve never been on a cruise, so 2023 remains a year of firsts for yours truly. Including Malort, which I did a shot of last night, and it was fucking vile.
- OCHO: After a couple years of resistance, I’ve picked up Super Mega Baseball 3 and am enjoying it nearly as much as I did its fantastic predecessor. Especially since it’s included in GamePass!
1985 Edition 