Duckburg Gazette

Itch that cough!

This is where my mind goes... the other day as I was coughing, I couldn't wait to get home to take some cough syrup to suppress the cough but at the same time I was trying to cough so my throat can get that itch that is causing the cough so I can stop coughing.  But, is the cough syrup supposed to suppress the cough so I won't cough but then I can't get that itch?  OR, is it supposed to get rid of that itch that is causing me to cough?  So this is where my mind goes and then I get stuck thinking about it for hours.  I am not sure if I ever discover the answer and just end up taking the cough syrup anyways.  Maybe that is why I never sleep well, my brain doesn't turn off thinking of all this random junk.

Weekly Update:
Our weather has been a bit odd lately but in a good way.  The nights are cold where I have to keep the windows closed but not turn on the heat yet.  The days are cool where I can drive with the windows rolled down.  But the mornings, they are a mystery.  We have overcast again so it remains grey outside till at least 11 or 12PM but the ground is all wet as if it rained but there was no mention of any rain.  Did that for a few days this past week and it's nice.  I like water from sky!  Even if it's just a little bit, maybe it will eventually lead to a lot of it!

At the movies:
Just in time for Halloween, fright takes the box office crown!  At #1 for it's debut is Five Nights at Freddy's earning a strong 78 million.  Overall word-of-mouth is good on this film and should get to 100 in no time.  Drop down to #2 is Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour with 14.7 mil extra and doesn't look like this will hit 200 mil but still did very well considering its just a concert film.  Dropping down to #3 is Killers of the Flower Moon with 9 mil more and still a strong award contender this year.  New at #4 is After Death with 5 mil from new comer Angel Studios and so far not fairing too well.  Holding ground at #5 is The Exorcist: Believer with 3.1 mil as this one quickly fades out.

New movies that did not make the top 5:
Just one this week at #7, Freelance with 2.1 mil to open and that is about all it will do.

Quote of the week:
"Research is creating new knowledge." - Neil Armstrong

Facts & Tips:
Cotton can catch fire with enough super glue applied.

"Ay, of course, because I'm Latina I have to know everything about gardening and sprinklers!" - Sofia Vergara as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett in the TV series Modern Family.

posted by McDuck @ 00:00 0 comments

No walking!

I may have talked about this before but this weekend I encountered at least twice... people walking in the middle of the road in a parking lot.  I was at the Costco parking lot area (shares with Amazon Fresh) so it's a very busy parking area.  I was there early in the AM when they opened because I wanted to get in, and out and get back home to rest (still recovering from last week).  I let this lady cross the street but instead of going completely across, they go halfway and then turn 90 degrees to walk down the middle of the road to their car.  Why?? They had plenty of room to walk all the way across and behind the parked cars and not impeded traffic coming from both directions.  Just people are freaking amazing and so inconsiderate... rudeness.

Weekly Update:
Is it Winter yet? This past week was kind of up-and-down weather wise but overall manageable.  The nights were cold but I did keep my windows closed this time so I could run my humidifier to battle this cold (now cough).  I also picked up more distilled water for it and just been using it at a low setting but I think it has been fogging up my windows in the morning too (which is fine, just thought it was funny).  I am not sure if I want to get a new humidifier later as the one I currently have is very old (10+ years) and the heating element is a bit worn as I used to not use distilled water in the past and had a massive calcium build-up which I had to chip off a few times (hence the wear).  Also the light for the switch is very dim so you can never tell if it's on unless you hear the steam... but, it still works.  I guess I'll continue to use it till it stops working.  It's a pretty dependable unit and very useful.

At the movies:
No surprise at #1 as Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour hangs on to the box office crown.  Earning an extra 31 million, very significant drop though so the repeat business is clearly not there. Still an overall win for this film just not mega-big hit as everyone was predicting.  New at #2 is Killers of the Flower Moon with 23 mil and definitely a solid award run film with a good box office. Down to #3 is The Exorcist: Believer with 5.6 mil and this film has capped out.  Holding on to #4 is Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie with 4.5 mil and really good counter programing for this time of year.  Coming back to #5 is the re-issue for The Nightmare Before Christmas with 4.1 mil.  What is astonishing is this film turned 30-years old this year and still brought in enough to make it #5 this week!

Quote of the week:
"There is nothing permanent except change." - Heraclitus

Facts & Tips:
The fire hydrant patent was ironically destroyed in a fire.

"Who are these women? Does anyone know? I don't recognize any of them.  I want to see my best friend's big sister, the girls from the soccer team, my next door neighbor, real women who are smart and pretty and happy to be who they are. These are the women to look up to.  Let's put life back into the magazine. And fun and laughter and silliness. I think we all- I think all of us- want to feel something that we've forgotten or turned our backs on because maybe we didn't realize how much we were leaving behind. We need to remember what used to be good. If we don't, we won't recognize it even if it hits us between the eyes." - Jennifer Garner as Jenna Rink in 13 Going on 30.

posted by McDuck @ 01:00 0 comments

Out for the count!

Talk about a whirlwind of a week!!  I had so much going on this past week, when Sunday came about, I ended up sleeping all day and night!  I think my body just had enough and shut down.  So the week started on Tuesday, woke up early to pick up a friend at the airport and then continued till that night for Disney's Oogie Boogie Bash event.  Then Wednesday woke up early again to head to Warner Bros for their studio tour and spent the whole day and night in Hollywood doing the sights.  Then worked Thurs and Friday but Saturday worked starting at 5AM so I could drop off that same friend at the airport in the afternoon and after that, went to a monthly game night.  So I think all those things combined my body just finally gave up!

Weekly Update:
My internal clock is way off... I woke up on my own around 1230AM thinking it was 5.  Then I woke up again around 3 thinking it was 5... why do I keep thinking it's 5?  I don't know why it's so off lately and also, why am I waking up on my own all the time.  I think I am broken... I have no concept of time anymore but also wondering if this is all due to being under the weather and exhaustion.  I hope once I've caught up, I won't have this problem continuing like this because its kind of annoying waking up on my own with no alarms thinking it's one time when it really isn't.  Do people take vacations to just sleep?  I wonder if I can book a staycation at a hotel and just sleep and eat, rinse and repeat... would that be weird?

At the movies:
Singing into #1 is Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour with a hefty 96 million to open.  Believe it or not that is below expectations as many were projecting in the 106+ range but still no number to sneeze at!  Word-of-mouth is strong on this concert film and will easy get to 100 mil by end of today.  At a very distant #2 is The Exorcist: Believer with another 11 mil and doing fair for this time of year.  Drop down to #3 is Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie with 7 mil more and also another film doing fairly for the season. Holding at #4 is Saw X with 5.7 mil and looks like this one is below the others this season.  Rounding off the top 5 is The Creator with 4.3 mil and did not perform well at all unfortunately.

Quote of the week:
"Life is the art of drawing without an eraser." - John W. Gardner

Facts & Tips:
Acoustic Kitty was once a cat in training to be a spy.

"It was so worth it." - Nancy Grahn as Samantha Voss on the TV series Castle.

posted by McDuck @ 15:10 0 comments

HOT HOt Hot

Well it heated up again and fast... 0 to 60 but more like 60 to 90 overnight!  Also it has been extremely dry so it smelled and felt like fire weather but so far so good, no fires.  I just hope it stays that way for the rest of the year.  But with the heat means... the AC turns on which I hate to use but I must.  Main reason, the old man pup and keeping him cool when I can and of course my office is on the 2nd floor so it can be any where from 5 to 10 degrees warmer.  Where is the Fall weather?  I just want Winter here now!  Or give me cool breezes, I can live with those.  But like I always say, it's easier to warm up than it is to cool down and also WAY more cheaper as well!  That is when my electric bill drops by over 300% and that number is no exaggeration!  I wish I could go solar... but too many golf ball impacts on my roof.

Weekly Update:
It's starting to get darker a lot sooner... what was once sunset at 8 to 815PM is now getting to be 7P and sooner... I do like it when it gets darker sooner because it also means it is getting cooler as well sooner (if it's a hot day).  I don't recall if that means the sun comes up later in the morning, it must right?  Maybe not a big shift in the AM but at least a little I would assume.  Now morning light is a little bit of a problem (for me anyway) because when the dog goes poop, a bit harder to see and I always have to pick it up as soon as he goes or he may double back and step in it with his old dog eyes.  Day Light Saving time should be ending (or is it starting?  I can never remember) soon and then that will be a major time to dark adjustment!

At the movies:
New at #1 is The Exorcist: Believer with a nice 27 million for October.  The big tell on how well it will do is next week and seeing if it can maintain a fair drop.  Drop down to #2 is Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie with another 11.8 mil with a below average drop (and that is good!).  Slipping to #3 is Saw X with 8.2 mil and also a below average drop but not by much.  Competition is tougher with similar genre of movies so close together.  Down to #4 is The Creator with 6.1 mil and this film has pretty much crashed landed at the box office.  Rounding off the top 5 and holding ground is The Blind with 3.1 mil more.

Quote of the week:
"The soul that is within me no man can degrade." - Frederick Douglass

Facts & Tips:
Astronauts can't burp in space.

"But the choir room? I'm almost offended by the simplicity of the request." - Ashley Fink as Lauren Zizes in the TV series Glee.

posted by McDuck @ 00:00 0 comments

I don't know anymore

I feel like our weather forecast was always very accurate and deviates very slightly but not enough to make it a big difference on what is forecasted. It seems lately it has been way off and not sure what to make of that or the cause.  If they said 5-days from now it will be raining and cold, it will rain and be cold.  This past weekend we were some rain and never got any.  It was overall cloudy with the hint of some rain but, never came down.  It was cold, which was nice but how am I supposed to plan on turning off my sprinklers when it's not going to happen?  Has our capabilities to predict weather gotten so bad or has global warming changed things up so much?  Either way, we need to figure it out please!  The say later this coming week it will be in the 90's, now I hope that isn't true!!  So I guess we'll wait and see.  But come on weather reports, get better.  Don't we have all this technology now?

Weekly Update:
Not sure if I mentioned this before but in June-July my Del Taco account got hacked and someone charged over $100 with the credit card on file between 2 different orders.  I filed a police report and reported it to Del Taco and nothing since has been done by them.  I even called twice to get a follow-up and they said they will notify the accounting team and yet still nothing.  I did hear back from the police and the case will go inactive unless it comes up again so, I decided to release the hounds and finally had Citibank take care of it.  The downside of that is now I have to get a new card and redo all my autopayments.  The upside, within 2-days I received a notification that I will be credited the amount that was lost.  Great service from Citibank but everyone else involved (Del Taco, police) kind of failed.

At the movies:
Move over horror as the cuteness of Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie takes the #1 seat.  Above average opening for this time of year with 23 million and could fade away quickly but for now, it's #1.  New at #2 is Saw X with 18 mil, a bit low for this franchise could be a tad worn out.  Word-of-mouth is actually good on this film but could just plain tired maybe.  New at #3 is The Creator with only 14 mil to open and not a great number considering the budget on this sci-fi action-drama.  This film will surely take a bath on its returns. Big drop to #4 is The Nun II with 4.7 mil extra and quickly wrapping up.  New at #5 is The Blind with 4.1 mil and will be out before it got started.

Quote of the week:
"Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." - Robert Frost

Facts & Tips:
Peanut butter can be converted into diamonds.

"Just by going fast enough, you can ride on water with a motorcycle." - Jamie Hyneman from the TV show Mythbusters.

posted by McDuck @ 00:00 0 comments