Duckburg Gazette

Sleepy tired, again

This week has been nothing short of draining! I think between work, other work and jury duty, I have been so tired.  Oh and I had visitors the last two weekends too!  So played host a little bit since they were from out of town. I think with all of that combined, I am just drained!  This past week I still woke up about 6AM with no alarm on and I just laid in bed till 9 or 10AM doing nothing.  I did want to sleep more but couldn't. There is a chance my trial I am serving on could be over this coming week so I hope that is true then I can try and get back into my normal schedule grove again.  Funny how a disruption can throw everything out of whack but then again, I guess that is why it's called a disruption.  I wouldn't mind a weekend vacation of just sleeping in a hotel room the entire time and have food brought to me... that actually sounds pretty good right about now.

Weekly Update:

I've been trying to eat more salads and price shopping on places who make them and are good.  I know I can make them myself for way less but my biggest problem is one head of lettuce can last me about 5-days worth of salads.  But by the time the 5th day is around, the lettuce isn't as crisp or even welted by then and not nearly as good.  So been shopping around and this is what I've come up with so far...

• Subway: $8.99, decent size and very tasty!  I would say overall good value but the lettuce is mostly shredded since it's the same they put on the sandwiches which isn't terrible but not used to it for a salad.
• Pieology: $9.45, fair, not the best salad I've had and they now charge an $1.00 for dressing so a very incomplete meal.  For a complete salad then it starts at $10.45
• Panera: $12.45 (around) and excellent.  Price to portion size is fair and if it was say $10.99 then I would get it all the time from there.
• Red Robin: $14.99 but a hefty portion size.  Overall delicious and on par with a burger in terms of price to quantity ratio.  Now if this was a $12 salad I would definitely go more often!
  
• Costco: $6.99 and BEST value for price to quantity.  The chicken in their salads are huge chunks and I wanted to get one the other day but they were out!

At the movies:
Some shaking up at the box office this week!  New at #1 is Challengers with a fair 15 million to open.  Not a bad number for an April release as we are post-Easter and pre-Summer right now.  New at #2 is Unsung Hero with 7.8 mil and only half of the #1 spot, this may be a fast burn out.  Holding to #3 is Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire with 7.2 mil extra and now shy of 200 mil cume, likely to possibly get there in the next 10-14 days.  Big drop down to #4 is Civil War with 7 mil and is quickly and quietly burning out.  Drop down to #5 is Abigail with 5.3 mil and this one will disappear pretty soon as well.

New movies that did not make the top 5:
Only one this week at #10 is Boy Kills World with 1.7 mil to open and it was also on a wide release pattern to.

Quote of the week:
"There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in." - Graham Greene

Facts & Tips:
A group of flamingos is called a flamboyance.

"No matter how crazed and bent out of shape I ever got, you were always there for me and I'll never forget it.  You really are my best friend." - Jason Priestly as Brandon Walsh in the TV series Beverly Hills, 90210.

posted by McDuck @ 00:00 0 comments

Cold... again?

Our temps here in SoCali are dropping again but nothing to extreme.  I thought we usually are a bit warmer and more rain in April (you know that whole April Showers bit)?  But last week we hit in the 70's during the day which seemed pretty normal but this week it is showing to be in the 60's but then at night, low 50's... that is pretty cold.  Also it's been breezy lately which I like but that makes it even colder by at least 5 to 10 degrees more.  I'm glad I bought a big box of hot chocolate off of Amazon (sugar free of course) and some whipped cream from Costco, though I may need more soon.  That stuff lasts forever in the fridge (well, a very very long time).  I did use up my marshmallows but you know what, I am not a big fan of that in hot chocolate because they don't melt... they are weird little floating things.

Weekly Update:
So completed two weeks of this trial for jury duty and starting week three... and I noticed something after the 2nd week, my eyes are hurting!  They crank on the AC (probably to keep us awake and alert) but it's extremely dry in the room.  And, we have to look at these low-res (definitely not high definition) screen in the front of the room as they show us evidence usually emails and letters so we are trying to read all these letters and with the dryness in the room, my eyes are straining. I noticed it when I got got back to work on Thursday last week and was looking at my computer screen, the entire day it was so blurry and hurting trying to read it.  The following days it was back to normal but is this going to happen again come Monday and after this week of jury duty?  I'm not sure how to prevent this, my eyes don't feel dry but I know they are suffering from the side-effects of having dry eyes.  I'm tired.

At the movies:
Holding on to the #1 spot for a 2nd week is Civil War with 11.1 million and so far getting decent word-of-mouth.  Unlikely will hit 100 but still good numbers for this time of year between Easter and Summer.  New at #2 is Abigail with 10.2 mil and really not a whole lot on this film, could be a fast burn out.  Slight dip to #3 is Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire with 9.5 mil and could still possibly reach 200 if it stays on this course. New at #4 is The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare with only 9 mil to open.  Not a good number at all for this film, almost kind of fits in line with League of Extraordinary Gentleman, may become just a cult following movie.  New at #5 is Spy x Family Code: White with 4.9 mil and another one that will probably burn out fast from the box office.

Quote of the week:
"Better remain silent, better not even think, if you are not prepared to act." - Annie Besant.

Facts & Tips:
A cat's nose is ridged with a unique pattern, just like a human fingerprint.

"In Virginia, high school football is a way of life, it's bigger than Christmas day. My daddy coached in Alexandria. He worked so hard my momma left him, but I stayed with coach, he needed me on that field." - Hayden Panettiere as Sheryl Yoast in Remember the Titans.

posted by McDuck @ 00:30 0 comments

Hot, hot, cold

This week has been a crazy up and down rollercoaster of weather!  Had some rain, it was cold, super window, then it got very warm for 2 to 3 days straight in the 80's.  But it felt like it was even hotter and was so tempted to turn on the AC but told myself, don't need it!  BUT, then at the end of the week the temps dropped nearly 20 degrees again!  I'm not sure what next week is going to be like but this weather is so dramatic lately going all the way up, dropping all the way down.  Some rain, dry as ever... what is going on around here??  I wonder what this means for this Summer... I fear it will be extremely hotter this year than before but I hope I am wrong.  Just a crazy time we live in with all the climate challenges going on and over half the planet not believing in it when it is literally slapping them in the face... wake the frak up people!

Weekly Update:
I don't understand Krazy Glue (aka super glue) after you use it once.  It always seems I get one use out of an entire tube because once I break the seal and open it, use it, then close it to hopefully use it again, it hardens up to be never used again!  If it be any time over a month from when you first use it, feels like the tube of the remaining glue is no longer there anymore!  Where did it go, or did the rest just harden up and that's it?  It never seems to fail though, I usually only get the one use out of an entire tube of Krazy Glue... I sometimes will by more generic super glue but same results!  If it's the liquid or the gel, they always seem to be one-use-wonders for me.  I don't get it...  yet my modeling glue for miniatures and stuff lasts for decades!!  Both the liquid and gel kind so what is the deal glue companies??

At the movies:
New at #1 is Civil War with a hefty 25.7 million to open. For indie studio A24, this is actually their biggest opening in their 12-year history as a studio.  Having a much broader, big budget film I guess does translate to a bigger box office.  Drop down to #2 is Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire with 15.5 mil as it starts a slow climb to 200 mil, uncertain if it will make it there but it will get very close.  Holding at #3 is Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire with 5.8 mil and now just inches away from 100 mil!  It should get there in a day or two but a bit of a struggle compared to the previous release.  Small jump up to #4 is Kung Fu Panda 4 with 5.5 mil as it also crawls its way to 200 mil, could still make it!  Rounding off the top 5 is Dune: Part Two after 7 weeks in the box office with 4.3 mil and actually close to 300 mil but also might fall shy of that benchmark.

New movies that did not make the top 5:
A couple this week... at #8 is The Long Game with 1.4 mil.  This is just over 1000 screens and a very poor per screen average at that.  This is likely just an indie studio's hope but, didn't work.  At #10 on about 800 screens is SUGA with 990k and even worse per-screen average and likely another hope and wish.

Quote of the week:
"God loves each of us if there were only one of us." - Saint Augustine

Facts & Tips:
Snakes can see even with their eyes closed.

"Yes. All men must die, but we are not men." - Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen in the series Game of Thrones.

posted by McDuck @ 00:00 0 comments

Rock'n like a hurricane?

No, we didn't have a hurricane but Friday it was some massive winds that followed a bunch of rain!  The rain was short but the wind was so crazy, I thought I felt the house shake for a moment or two which never has happened before. But it also got dark, than light again, I wasn't sure if I was changing time zones or what... just not our typical style of weather here!  And the forecast shows it will heat up into the 80's next week.  Where are the rest of the "April Showers" they claim is a thing?  I mean April just started but I just want more rain and water.  Well, maybe our weather will stabilize soon and I mean go back to normal.  Rain is good, warmer weather is fine, these winds though?  No thanks, they can stay away and remain calm please.

Weekly Update:
So this coming week I got jury duty!  I have to report Monday morning at 7:45 AM to the Santa Ana courthouse, not even the nearby Fullerton one which is sad because it's so convenient!  And it looks like the parking is a block or two away, makes me wonder why is it not more closer for those who are taking time out of schedule to do this civic duty, that we can have some nice amenities like closer parking.  Well I only hope it's a short day so I can come home and probably take a nap but who knows with these things.  Can be short, can be the entire day till 5PM.

At the movies:
The kings of monsters continue to hold the crown for a 2nd week as Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire earns another 31.7 million and now well over 100 mil domestic at #1!  Good worth-of-mouth continues to make this movie roar.  New at #2 is Monkey Man with 10.1 mil and not a whole lot on this one, might be a quick burn out.  Drop down to #3 is Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire with another 9 mil as it gets closer to the 100 mil mark and still on course to reach it.  New at #4 is The First Omen with 8.4 mil and another throw-away film I believe.  Rounding off the top 5 is Kung Fu Panda 4 with 7.9 mil and will definitely fall short of 200 mil but still did a good amount for its run.

"There is always room at the top." - Daniel Webster

Facts & Tips:
There are more stars in the sky than grains of sand on Earth.

"Getting my wine in position to throw in your damn face!" - Edie Falco as Carmela Soprano in the series The Sopranos.

posted by McDuck @ 00:00 0 comments

RAIN!!!!

Wow talk about your wet weekends!  We were expecting some rain this past weekend but not to the volumes I was imaging.  It down poured A LOT!  Heavy rain that woke me up at 1 and 3AM in the morning on Sunday.  I don't recall having rain that loud in a long time minus hail.  And more rain is due next week, this is the weather we have been needing!!  I hope this also means some heavy snow on the mountains so we have a nice flow of a water supply to last us this year.  I wonder where all this rain is coming from all of a sudden... or maybe I just shouldn't question it and glad it's coming!  It's not even April yet yet... April Showers are here!  So what if it's off by a day, if it rained every month for a couple of days we would be in a much better state than we are now with our water supply.

Weekly Update:
I was in a discussion about those home meal prep kits like Blue Apron and Hello Fresh.  I have tried both and they are both really good!  Really great thing to try if you are not good or great at cooking, these kind of accomplish a few things.  First, they give you everything you need for a meal for two (some offer meals for 4 for a family).  Then it comes with step-by-step instructions, usually with pictures so you can see if you are doing it right.  If you have any shipping or material problems, from my experience having tried both the customer service was outstanding.  I think the problems for me were minor but add up.  Meals start for 2 people so I always have left overs which isn't bad but for me it's more than just one meals worth of left-overs so I end up eating the same thing for days.  The other problem is as you do them, eventually the options become repetitive and they also have stuff I don't want to try (anything with kale, just seems like a waste to me.  OH and cabbage too!).  So if yo do them long enough, they get boring and a little pricy after awhile but still recommend them to try out!

At the movies:
Godzilla is back and he brought a friend... new at #1 is Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire with a huge 80 million to open.  Unsure if the now Academy Award winner Godzilla Minus-One had any affect on that.  But word-of-mouth is good on this new film as well.  Easy 100 mil by mid-week.  Big drop down to #2 is Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire with another 15.7 mil.  Still on track to hit 100 but will take a bit longer than anticipated. Holding at #3 for it's 5th week is Dune: Part Two with 11 mil as it continues into Spring.  Drop down to #4 is Kung Fu Panda 4 with 10.2 mil and continues to chop it's way through but might not hit 200 mil.  Rounding off the top 5 is Immaculate with an extra 3.3 mil and any new movie should knock it off.

New movies that did not make the top 5:
We have two this weeks, both limited releases though (under 500 screens).  At #8 is Tillu Square with 1.8 mil and a per screen average of 4k, this one will be out and gone quickly.  Right behind that at #9 is Crew with 1.5 mil and had a few more screens as well.  Also will be gone in no time.

Quote of the week:
"A rebirth out of spiritual adversity causes us to become new creatures." - James E. Faust

Facts & Tips:
In France, it's illegal for employers to send emails after work hours.

"and now, young Skywalker... you will die." - Ian McDiarmid as The Emperor in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi.

posted by McDuck @ 00:00 0 comments