May the Fourth…
Oh hell, those who celebrate know.
Those who don’t… it sucks to be you.
Why, after all these years, did John Cena finally turn heel? Before now, he didn’t have the acting chops. Clearly, he’s taken acting lessons, and they’ve paid off if you’ve watched him in movies. He could not have pulled off the heel turn even 10 years ago. So, I’m enjoying the story of John Cena, heel. I’m intrigued by how they pull off the turn-back to baby face.
It’s even more fun watching the audience get into the act.
My prediction, by the way, is that he turns on The Rock.
Because, you know, I’m the Inconsistent Blogger.
So, some catch-up is in order.
First, on January 30th of this year, I hit 40 years of sobriety. After all these years, it has become just another day. Still, it is something worth noting. Oh, and I’m so dry that the DNR has a fire spotter following me around.
Second, Valentine’s Day was Tina and I’s 11th anniversary of living together. I had known her online since 2003, but we didn’t start dating until 2012, which initially was a long-distance romance as she lived in Green Bay, I lived in Rutledge, and then Willow River. This long-distance romance lasted 2 years until she finished her two-year college course then wrongfully fired from her job. Considering it was in Wisconsin, you’ve got to be a poorly run company to have that government find you’ve fired someone wrongfully.
Third, after not running since November 10th, 2024, I’ve resumed my exercise routine starting on February 22nd, 2025. Yes, I am in pain. But it is temporary, and I will make it through to the other side.
Oh fuck. I now have a Doors tune ear-worming me. Sigh.
Anyway, that’s it for now. Carry on as you see fit for the current apocalyptic time.
It is not that we are doomed to the worst possible imagined outcome so much as that we are afraid it is possible, even if not probable. Yet, if we can imagine the worst, we can also imagine the best. So, note the fear, for it is legitimate. But we can also note hope; it, too, is legitimate.
Above is a picture I took years ago with an earlier version of the iPhone. It was incidental—that is, I took it without much forethought. I looked, snapped a few, and moved on. Honestly, I don’t know exactly where I took this on the St. Louis River. I suspect it is right after crossing the swinging bridge in Jay Cooke State Park.
One morning, I was working at my computer, and Cinnamon, the cat who chose me on 10/23/2004, decided I was paying too much attention to the screen and not enough attention to her. One day, I will write about how she came into my life.
This is the original incidental picture. I was at the Como Conservatory in St. Paul early on a Sunday morning with Caleb, the son of my then-girlfriend. The flowers caught my attention, so I stepped back, held my digital camera (my first one) over them without even bothering to look through the viewfinder, and snapped a photo.
The sun shines on a rainy day. Snapped from the front door of the house I owned in Hastings, MN.
This is the water flowing over the dam on top of the Vermillion Falls in Hastings. Snapped the summer of 2024.
Here is the outside shot of the flow over the dam.
So, there you go—just some random images taken over the years, with little connection to each other.
So, last night, the four-year-old furnace decided to crap out. Thankfully, the furnace wasn’t the issue; it was the old fuse element. Somehow, the wiring at the base of the connection plate of the element came loose. Anyway, this occurred at 9:14 PM, in sub-freezing weather. However, the local gas company has emergency repair technicians on duty. They arrived and got to work less than 10 minutes after making the call. The furnace was up and running by 11:30 pm. It was a stress-free situation. The technician was a pleasant man with whom I enjoyed talking while he repaired the problem.
Meanwhile, as the furnace was malfunctioning, the house managed not to lose heat. Despite the outside temperature being at 4 degrees above 0, the house did not drop below 50 degrees. Not bad for a 70-year-old building with original windows (sans one). Oh, there was a draft on the floor, and it felt like a window might open somewhere (there wasn’t), but it didn’t get uncomfortable.
The only members of the household stressed out were Loki and Smokey. Loki made a run for the ductwork in the basement and stayed hidden. Smokey hung out under a table in the living room. Kang? He did not give a shit that there was a stranger in the house. He stayed on the electric blanket and enjoyed the heat.
So, yeah, Happy Belated New Year.