The struggle is real ...
So a couple of weeks I had the urge for cookies and I wanted to try to make them on my own from scratch since that is something I've never done and thought I could or at least try it. What do I need first? Flour! Ok I had some but not enough, no problem I will go to the store and look for some. I did not realize this would be more difficult than finding toilet paper. I have been to multiple stores and all their shelves have been empty for over a week now of all flour except those with no gluten or like rice flour. I've never worked with other flours except the regular all-purpose and also those other flours are about 10x more! Not a time to either experiment or trial and error with. I did find some flour at one place, lots in fact but the problem was, they were in 50 pound bags! It was a store for like restaurant supplies and their small 2 to 5 lbs bags were all gone. I still have a craving for cookies but bought some packaged one for now.
Weekly Update:
Not sure if this bugs anyone else but it sure bugs me ... so I do drink bottled water for the most part and I prefer Arrowhead. There is a taste difference as most have an after taste, Arrowhead (to me) doesn't. But that isn't what bugs me, what bugs me is I sometimes get those little togo packets you put in one of those bottles. 99% of them are sugar-free so it's great! They have great flavor and things like cherry and grape are usually the best. Maybe pineapple or a general fruit punch. But what bugs me is when you pour them in, there are usually some clumps and they either take forever to break-up or never dissolve and just seems like a waste. For something that is made for liquid, I would think they would figure out how to make them dissolve both faster and better.
At the movies:
Due to theatres being closed for the time being, no new updates for movies at this time.
Quote of the week:
"O, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind?" - Percy Bysshe Shelley
Facts & Tips:
New York was the first state to require cars to have license plates.
"There weren't any other guards on patrol down here." - Ron Canada
as Guard Woodruff in "National Treasure."
Been hearing of more cases popping up in the US and I guess we have surpassed all reported cases than any where else in the world. What is more troubling with this statistic is WE KNEW ABOUT IT months ago and did nothing. Now it will become more of a damage control and trying to prevent it. We can certainly work on preventing more cases but there is so much turmoil in our government it is truly shameful. Unwilling to supply states requesting help and the being told to buy their own and then getting outbid by the government (only to resell them at a higher margin). This has become a making money business but the sad part is the gains of those sales will not be used for anything important or at all.
Weekly Update:
So with so many people self-quarantined
and isolated, there are way less cars on the road and the skies have been so clear and clean! I mean this is kind of nice but I know once this is all over it will go back to smog city. But really nice with no traffic, people walking around and getting out without having to drive. I just stay him and go out for errands if needed and I try to consolidate them and do them all at once if I can manage that. But sometimes you just have to go out and take care of something too.
At the movies:
Due to theatres being closed for the time being, no new updates for movies at this time.
Quote of the week:
"Anyone who has ever made a mistake has never tried anything new." - Albert Einstein
Facts & Tips:
Red kangaroos can hop up to 44 mph.
"That's all right but I detect a distinct South-Eastern influence in that particular rendition. Back home in Oakland we have our own refinements." Ted Lange as Issac Washington in the TV series "The Love Boat,."
So Covid-19 has pretty much gone full bore in the US and caught this administration by surprise. I mean all the warnings where there but no one took it seriously and our cases of the flu strand are in the thousands and growing fast. I think Italy has it worst right now with fatalities. Fortunately right now the US is low but it could potentially grow and we did nothing. Pretty much a too late scenario and are trying to prevent further spread by basically shutting everything down coast-to-coast. More to come I guess.
Weekly Update:
A very unusual week as everyone is scrambling to get home and get themselves set up at home for lock-down. However, it's not a real lock-down but a self inflicted lock-down. But in general it's more of a panic going on and people buying things they don't even need or at least not in the quantities they are suggesting! I mean all the toilet paper doesn't make any sense to me. Now if you were a hospital or some kind of housing that has maybe 30 people then sure, you would need more than one Costco case but I have been using the same case since November and I still have at least 27 more rolls to use before I am out. Bottled water is a safe precaution so that seems good but TP ... does not make any sense to me whatsoever and people are just plain dumb.
At the movies:
Suffering a huge loss at #1 is "Onward" which is no doubt due to the current state of emergency in the nation. But holding to the #1 spot is "Onward" with another 10.5 million as it will now fall short of a 100 mil cume. New at #2 is I Still Believe with 9.5 mil and just as expected too. New at #3 is Bloodshot with 9.3 mil for this obscure comic and slightly below expectations. Holding at #4 is "The Invisible Man" with 6 mil more and also suffering from the current state of affairs and will not make the 100 mil mark. New at #5 is The Hunt with only 5 mil to open and well below expectations.
Quote of the week:
"Try to keep your soul young and quivering right up to old age." - George Sand
Facts & Tips:
The city of Chicago was raised by over a foot during the 1850's and 60's without disrupting daily life.
"If any harm has befallen the child, I shall remove your head myself!" - Peter Mensah as Jaffa in "Hidalgo."
So the world is in turmoil over a flu strand. The Coronavirus started at least back in 2002 and has had many incarnations of itself including SARS. This new strand has originated from bats and suspect to have come in contact with chickens which were then sold in an open market in China. Now called Covid-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019), has managed to spread around the world. Now it is not to say it only originated in China as it could have happened in other pockets of the world as well and just simply continued to grow. But this is just another flu and I guess folks were simply not taking it serious enough.
Weekly Update:
A little bit of a hectic week with some major sleep loss but oh well, hopefully I can make that up sooner than later. I had bunch of little random things going on but it all ended yesterday with a quick meeting at a hotel in Los Angeles and then running into someone that I wasn't expecting to. So Sunday late afternoon I went to the InterContinental Hotel for a meeting in there lobby. The lobby is on the 70th floor! So you can imagine the incredible views it must have and it sure did. But, while hanging out in the lobby, ran into someone and got a quick pic with them:
*Donnie Yen - Best known for the "IP Man" franchise and will be coming up in the new "Mulan" movie. Nice guy.
At the movies:
Overall not a great weekend but we are sort of pre-Spring Break at the moment. New at #1 is Onward with only 40 million to open. Below expectations and while word-of-mouth is good (not great), this may not hit to far past 100 mil. Drop down to #2 is "The Invisible Man" with 15.2 mil more and doing OK in general. New at #3 is The Way Back with 8.5 mil and slightly below expectations. Also dropping down to #4 is "Sonic The Hedgehog" with 8 mil as it now quickly slows down. Rounding off the top 5 is "The Call of the Wild" with 7 mil more and probably won't hear much from this after the weekend.
Quote of the week:
"Respect is what we owe; love, what we give." - Philip James Bailey
Facts & Tips:
Walruses are true party animals; they can go without sleep for 84 hours.
"Sometimes it makes me sad, though .. Andy being gone. I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up DOES rejoice. But still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend.' - Morgan Freeman as Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding in "The Shawshank Redemption."
I was driving home the other day and the car in front of me, one of my neighbors (in the whole area, not like living next to me) pulls in to the edge of their drive-way. The they stop while waiting for their garage door to open while blocking the rest of the street with the back of their car ... they have a driveway!! Like at least more than a full car's length left in front of them. So I had to sit and wait till they waited for their garage door to fully open till they moved up a few more feet so I could continue on my way. Picture is not actual incident but shows what I mean.
Weekly Update:
On Wednesday night we had our 14th Annual Young Variety Pool Tournament. 14 years and still going with such a great group of people. My friends I invited last year ended up winning again this year! So now they are a 2-peat and let's see if they can continue next year with a 3-peat! But caught up with old friends and met some new ones during the event which is always great. Some new celeb friends:
*Tommy Walker - from Netflix's "Daredevil" and an incredibly awesome guy!
*Dawn Marie - been in a few small things but very sweet.
At the movies:
Scaring up a big win this weekend is The Invisible Man earning 29 million for it's debut. Above all expectations and word-of-mouth is good on the film. Right now estimated to fall short of 100 mil but next week's drop will tell us more. Drop down to #2 is "Sonic the Hedgehog" with 16 mil as it passes 100 mil easily. Hanging on to #3 is "The Call of the Wild" with 13.2 mil as it's calling won't last long. New at #4 is My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising with 9.6 mil and a bit above expectations but shy of breaking double digits. Rounding off the top 5 is "Bad Boys for Life" with 4.3 mil more as it is inches away from 200 mil cume and could get that by week's end.
Quote of the week:
"The richest love is that which submits to the arbitration of time." - Lawrence Durrell
Facts & Tips:
The koala is the longest-sleeping animal, sleeping an average of 22 hours per day
"Even if those two pages were in there, the book still would have sucked." - Michael Lerner as Fulton in "Elf."
The struggle is real ...
Weekly Update:
At the movies:
Facts & Tips:
