I debated whether to share this, but it is notable. Today was a wfh day. So, I worked out on the waterrower. Then, I ran out to the mailbox to get the mail. A blue car stops in the middle of the street, the window rolled down and an elderly woman exclaimed, “Ooooh, hot daddy!” My first catcall.

Do I get midwesterner cred if I go out to the front porch to bring in milk bottles in my underwear when it is 27°F? In other news, it might actually be above freezing today. But only by like one degree.

OK. I’m fucking sick of Winter. The snow doesn’t even have the decency to come all at once to close anything. Just a steady series of 1-2” snow falls. Multiple times a day. Hateful.

The combo of temp and humidity accompanied by light powdery snow today has given my hair “mane-like” characteristics.

Media's Greatest Pariahs: Liberals who have been warning about the trajectory of the GOP since the 1990s. Media's Greatest Heroes: Recently-former Republicans who slowly began growing alarmed about the trajectory of the GOP in 2016/2017.

No more, no more, please. Anyway, The Island Earth was one of my favorite programs on ‘DET and this absolutely sucks. RIP.

There ain’t no crushing melancholy like WINTER crushing melancholy.

After visiting the Post Office I am convinced; society has unraveled.

Fun fact: We have a milkman! Friday is milk delivery day. We started having it delivered during lockdown. It is small dairy, southeast of us. The milk comes in delightful heavy glass bottles. And sometimes the whole milk, though homogenized- rewards you with a small cream plug.

By the way, silver is now US$117 an ounce. Don’t even ask about gold. So, the economy is, um- fizzing?

One of the most infuriating things about what is happening, is that the Dems may be getting ever so slightly more aggressive in their resistance, m-m-maybe. But they have been EXTREMELY aggressive in using it as a pretext for fundraising. Not gonna make it rain for you for doing the bare minimum.

It’s so cold that our ham radio club’s repeater went deaf. It’s cavities got too cold. Mine, too- dear repeater, mine, too.

So does Greg Bovino move to Argentina now?

Whoo-hoo! Snow Day tomorrow!

Well, cleaning and purging are not making me feel much better. But getting rid of dozens of ancient micro USB cables in various states of decomposition is nice.

Across America and the world, people are realizing it’s not possible to appease America’s dictator. The only way to deal with him is to stand up to him — and the only way to stand up to him is by joining together against him. It's time for a massive general strike across the country.

There is a reason I admire the Romanians *other* than their headphones.

I believe it is time we consider a National Work Stoppage Day in solidarity with Minneapolis. We must show the thus far silent and complicit captains of industry the Un-American tactics of ICE, DHS, Kristi Noem, Stephen Miller, and Donald Trump cannot stand in a free and Constitutional Republic.

Lately, I have been wanting to go more analog. I just got box of old copies of The Onion. Because I have surfing fatigue. Think I want a pen pal. There is something so quaint about a fucking letter. I have dozens of fountain pens (another weirdo hobby) many bottles and cartridges of stylin’ ink.

Ventured out to get my glasses fixed. It was fine. My TPMS is complaining but welcome to life in the Midwest. Treated myself to some Lobster Bisque at LeDog. It was marvelous.

So the enchiladas gave my Dad serious food poisoning, and he is refusing to go to ER. My sister says he is doing better, but…

Pritzker/Carney 2028

Yeah, so much more impactful to post this instead of wasting your time whipping votes to defund ICE.

The nickle and dimeing Winter o’26 continues. With a couple of inches of very, very powdery snow and high winds. Every jaunt outside leaves me flavor-blasted with snow.

Dang it, Meze. Did you have to make them one of my favorite colors?

Marc blows… the driveway. (To be fair, I blew it yesterday.)

Called Dad tonight. He celebrated getting his new portable oxygen concentrator by using the snowblower to touch up the driveway and clear the sidewalk. Then he drove into town and got some enchiladas. I’m not gonna tell him to take it easy. It’s why he is still fairly spry at 89.

I need a big strong man who is undeterred by ladders to put up antennas for me.

Today (yeah, I’m late), I’m watching what I have decided is the very best Christmas movie. 1968’s The Lion in Winter. Katherine Hepburn, Peter O’Toole and a very young Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton. The later version with Patrick Stewart and Glenn Close is also acceptable.

So, the new headphones… I like them. For the first time a new set has clearly made look at a pair I already own and say, “Your services are no longer required…”

I ❤️WDET.

I ❤️ KEXP.

Strangely busy. Finally doing some ham radio stuff, yesterday I participated in the second weekly net in a row. I can actually reach the repeater with my little old handheld. Got the rebuild kit for my Realistic stereo receiver. It’s huge. Not gonna lie- I am a little intimidated.

The militia turned out to be not so well-regulated. (From July 2020)

The only adequate solution for decluttering my stuff is napalm.

New Headphone Day! Meze Audio 99 Classics, Mk II. First impressions: Effortlessly comfy. Stupid easy to drive. Would play fine on a phone. Very isolating. Spouse-cancelling, even.

They’re heeeeere.

After way too many shitty days, today has been pretty good. My Hifiman Edition XS are currently loud enough to make Apple scold me.

The latest from headphones.com Believe me, my package is ready.

My headphones are getting ready to ship! Squeeeeee!

Kenwood KR-9600 AM/FM Stereo Receiver (1976-78) Power output: 160 watts per channel into 8Ω (stereo) Frequency response: 20Hz to 40kHz Total harmonic distortion: 0.08% Damping factor: 55

I did not realize that the students do not return until *next* Monday. So, I am at work for a full week of intersession. No students, no faculty and the smarter members of the staff aren’t here, either. Maybe to celebrate I will run around the library naked.

On the one hand, they look like pretty shitty cans. But on the other hand, life is increasingly awful and I’m old…

My health insurance refuses to pay for an induced coma as an elective procedure.

Yet another thing being enshittified. A plumber with a stupid Web 2.0 Adjacent name, owned by Belfor, who is, you guessed it, owned by private equity. All the electricians, home repair and plumbers are being snapped up. It’s OK, though- it is being done for God and Man- God being private equity.

Looking through my audio gear tonight, I’m pretty sure I have a problem. Eh, it got me through the pandemic.

I’m rooting for a military coup. But our military is just as useless as our legislative branch. Next person who lectures me about ‘checks and balances’ gets set on fire.

Turns out, the Realistic STA-78 I rescued from the side of the road is rather sought-after. I found a well-sorted rebuild kit. With high quality components and detailed instructions. My main concern now is that expired electrolytic caps have damaged traces on the circuit boards…

So, I like old radios. I like early tube radios, 50s/60s vintage, european table radios- particularly German ones. And lately I like 70s/80s stereo receivers. Today I opened up a 1978 Realistic STA-78, 22 watts a channel. Looks like it needs several capacitors. Time to remember how to solder.