thisiswhatyoushalldo

Random Reddit Roundup

1. What’s something that clearly split your life into “before” and “after”?

I know I may mention it too much, which kind of proves my point. That heart attack. It changed everything.

2. Anyone who played video games between 1985 & 2010, what’s the one game you still think about?

Tempest was my sweet spot in high school as a stone cold fav. We had a Tempest arcade game in the lobby of the Safeway I worked at while in high school, and each night when the store closed, and we were off work, we would spend about an hour duking it out in the galaxy of the Tempest world, in vicious shootouts. Such a fond childhood memory.

3. What is the most pretentious book ever written?

Anything by Ayn Rand is so overrated.

4. What’s a noise everyone should be terrified of?

Those one or two seconds of absolute silence before the atomic bomb goes off.

5. What’s your favorite game?

Table top game: Scrabble – Card Game: Pinochle – Video Game (not a big gamer but see above, Tempest.

1. Dogs don’t seem to get tired of barking. What is an equivalent human superpower?

Doom scroll social media

2. Without naming the city where you were born, what is that city famous for?

“Nut Cuttin’ time!”

3. What’s the perfect album opener of all time?

“More Than A Feeling” Boston from “Boston” A fantastic debut.

4. What is the dumbest thing that can be built out of Lego?

Artemis III

5. What smartphones evolve into, or will they disappear?

1. As an adult, at work or home, when was the last time you used algebra?

I honestly don’t think I have at work. I am sure that in some measurements for building or fixing something around the house, I have used some version of algebra, but I can’t be sure. I am good at basic arithmetic, but I am not very well-versed in any form of mathematics, such as algebra, calculus, trigonometry, or geometry.

2. Did you learn to use the “Oxford” comma in school? Do you use it as an adult?

I wasn’t taught to use that, and after a time in J-school and working as a reporter, well, editors broke me of that habit as well as two spaces after a period, which I was taught in typing class, both in high school and in the army. That is also a no-no in the editorial style of journalism.

3. As a kid, there were always jokes about carrying extra underwear in case of an accident. Do you still follow this advice?

I am quite clumsy and perhaps sharing too much, but I tend to get bloated guts due to some medications I take. As a result, I have a full set of backup clothes at my desk at the office.

4. When you read, do you move your lips?

I don’t think so, but the question reminds me of this odd bird that I had in an English class in high school. His name was John Pogline, and our last names were close enough that we sat next to each other in classrooms where the seating chart was alphabetical. Anyway, sitting next to him, I would notice that whenever he read, he would almost violently move his head back and forth as he gazed at the page, almost as if his eyes didn’t move and instead he moved his head to read across a page. (He is also now in prison for murdering his landlord, but that is a whole different story.

5. I am a couple of weeks late on this, but what was your favorite Oscar™ nominated movie?

“On Battle After Another.” When I finished that movie, I looked up and said, “Well, that one is going to win all the Oscars.” It would have been great if Thomas Pynchon (who wrote the source novel “Vineland”, which the movie was based on) had come up to the stage to claim an award. Pynchon is this really mysterious writer who no one has seen in person since the late 1950s or something like that. Too bad that didn’t happen.

1. What do you think will immediately happen when everyone receives the push notification that he has died?

“Celebration” by Kool and the Gang shoots to the top, and hospital emergency rooms will fill up with injuries from flying champagne corks.

2. What celebrity is the biggest example of “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it”?

Kevin Spacey

3. What industry is entirely built on a house of cards and would collapse overnight if people realized the truth about it?

BitCoin and blockchain e-currency

4. What has been the best day of your life?

Sitting fourth row mid home stretch at the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs for my 50th birthday.

5. If money didn’t exist, what would people fight over?

It’s back to the world of “Settlers of Cattan” and battles and wars over resources. Hell, “The Orange One” is already doing that.

haven’t blogged for a few weeks. On March ,my long-time blog buddy, blog reader Kevin Lang, known on these pages by my tens of readers as “Lono,” lost his hard-fought 14-month battle with Leukemia.

For decades, my Thursday evening/Friday morning began with sending this week’s Friday Fives questions to Kevin, who would then answer them and post them on his own blog.

For the last few weeks, taking on the task of gathering a few questions to post and then posting them to my blog felt like an empty task without first sending them off to his home near Elizabeth/Exuban Parker.

We all miss him terribly, and although we all knew the end was nearing when he decided to go into pain management and hospice care after an unsuccessful bone marrow transplant, many, many attempts of chemo and radiation, and unsuccessful drug trials.

A wise kid I have working for me, but Kevin’s passing in a very succinct way to handle the loss: “they may be gone, but not lost, as their story isn’t finished until those that carry the memory are/”

And that is the way I am holding on to my lost brother.

We will meet again, Kevin.

Shalom.