“When are you gonna start?”

I joked with the nice lady after she got done administering my second COVID shot. It really was that well-administered, I barely felt the pinch. And, so far, 24 hours later, the only symptom I’m experiencing is a sore left arm.

The bad of it is that as I drove to the appointment (near Gates, of all places), I noticed the battery light was on. The car has been acting a little weird anyway, stuttering a bit at < 20 MPH. So, I set up an appointment at my local Monroe Muffler. I need a state inspection and an oil change (probably) anyway. The initial appointment, which I set up online, was 11:30 a.m. today. When I got there, the guy said they had sent an email suggesting Friday 9 a.m. Okay fine, probably better because it will allow more time before my shift starts. So I got back home and somehow got started with the next phase of my entertainment center rewire project. I think they turned out pretty nice. No more risk of crossed lines. Nice and neat. I like it.

I think I was 16 when my Dad and I drove to the local Circuit City and picked up a spiffy new Kenwood tuner for me. I think it was a birthday present. The beauty of this tuner was the remote control, you could mute the thing from across the room via remote, and the remote actually moves the volume rocker, so it maintains an analog aesthetic. And the thing has been the main audio engine of my entertainment center ever since.

This isn’t to say that the thing hasn’t seen some wear and tear. The remote had stopped working, especially on the volume. Seeing as how I have a few days PTO where I don’t have to telecommute, I thought I might see if a light internal dusting would fix these issues.

So I took the components off the system table and gave it a through dusting with some Murphy’s Wood Soap and microfiber cloth. I unscrewed the tiny screws in the tuner and tossed them into a clean coffee mug, and nervously removed the top (my brother is the one with training in this kind of thing, not me). I used my trusty power duster to blast out the ancient dust therein, then plugged it in to test. The volume rocker still would not budge for my remote.

I did find two further issues, the first a simple fix: There was a sticky goo on the remote sensor on the tuner’s front. Once I cleaned this up, guess what happened? The remote worked a bit better. Duh.

I also noticed that the volume knob is loose. There appears to be a tiny post next to it that it’s supposed to be glued to, but it has since come loose. If I push the volume unit forward so it is flush with the front panel, the remote works perfectly. But I am a bit too nervous to go injecting any sort of glue into the thing, so I’ve elected to leave this as is for now. I do feel like the dusting did some good, however.

The rest of my setup will also get an upgrade; I mean, why bother removing all the components if I’m not going to put it back together with a bit more care? New 16-gauge speaker wire. Flex-pin connectors are on order so cutting, stripping, and crimping will be a one-time chore. I may not even get all the work done before I’m back to the job on Thursday. Probably won’t, actually. But this time, the thing’s gonna get put together with some care. It’s gonna sound great.

Woot.

Guilty on all counts. Enjoy spending the rest of your life in solitary, you murdering cop.

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Well, that was an exciting game.

NOT.

The most exciting thing about it was watching my Dear Old Dad’s reaction to two “pass interference” calls in a row that were complete nonsense.

Yes, my Dad came over to watch the big game. He has been vaccinated. I have not, not yet. I know this doesn’t make it safe as houses, but at least I can’t kill him with the Covid.

I was already planning a menu and mentioned to him that I’d purchased a huge pork shoulder. Yeh, he heard “pulled pork” and wanted in. It was nice to watch the game with him, even if it wasn’t the best game. (Super Bowl games seldom are.)

But I got to cook. So, that was nice.

This was pulled pork on a cornbread waffle with Marty’s Carolina BBQ Sauce (which Dad said was some of the best sauce ever–good news, Dad, this stuff is local, though it currently shows as “out-of-stock”), macaroni and cheese, and slaw.

The Recipes
• Oven-Roasted Pulled Pork (Delish)
• Soul Food Baked Mac and Cheese (Chenée Today)
• Easy Cole Slaw (Coleslaw) (Dinner Then Dessert)
• Cornbread Waffles (Barefeet in the Kitchen)

Today might be a good day to watch The Godfather. I’ve been wanting to watch it lately. Of course, if I were to watch it, I’d have to watch The Godfather II because, to me, the whole entire point of watching the first one is to get set up to watch the second one. Problematic to that is that TCM has In the Heat of the Night at 6 p.m., and there’s some silly sportsball thing on the TV at 8:15 p.m. So there may be plenty to stream into my brain this weekend. There’s always that book thing I’ve been working on reading.

There is likely a BJs trip in my future, I thought it might be today, but I get to the weekend and am usually in a mood to stay in, provided my store of victuals will hold. Then I figure oh, maybe some morning next week, and then those come and I end up wanting to sleep in to make sure I am rested for the work-job. Lazy times, these pandemic days, and that is okay with me.

“Time for a shower.”

This was the last line I typed into my personal journal at about 1:30 p.m. today. Previous to this, I had summarized some of what was going on in Congress on the TV.

I think the joint session approved a couple of states, and then they got an objection submitted in writing for Arizona. Now they’re debating.

Preznit Carnage One-Term Loser is seeing “0-12” in the chyron right now and going “See? I won! Look! See? I won! Yippee!”

Little did I know.

My ablutions complete, I came back to my tube, expecting to witness an annoying, unnecessary, drawn out legislative process led by an extremist sect, to question some of the already most thoroughly-vetted national election results ever. I un-muted—I had muted the television when Ted Cruz was on, which I think is perfectly understandable—but I was ready and looking forward to it.

And then, the weird shit began to happen.

I was watching MSNBC (because of course I was). The pool cameras went to mute. Some in the chamber started gesturing weirdly. Vice-Preznit Pence was rushed out of the room. People started dashing around. At some point, official looking people rushed in. Soon, the reports limped in. The Capitol was being invaded. The safety of our Congress-critters was in question. They all went on lockdown. I’ve never seen the sweet, sweet Katy Tur every sound so upset.

(What? I have a crush. Who doesn’t?)

That was a tough spot for me. Because I was feeling horrified and really really sad for my country. And because, right at that time is when I usually start logging into my tools for my day job.

I don’t mind telling you that I momentarily considered calling in. And I do not call in unless I’m dead.

But I got it together for the job but kept an eye on the TV and an ear on another longtime media crush of mine, the one and only Randi Rhodes. And hearing her familiar voice freaking out right along with me, well, it helped.

Anyway, I can’t help but think about Charlottesville. Remember Charlottesville? “Unite the Right?” Buncha honkies marching with tiki-torches uttering nonsense concerns about “Jews” “replacing” “us?” Heather Danielle Heyer assassinated by automobile? Yeah. Doesn’t the energy of that day feel a teeny little bit like the same energy surrounding today’s violent and terrifying assault on the Capitol?

Charlottesville was in August 2017. That’s eight months following the inauguration of Preznit Carnage Sippycup Is The New Black. A whipped up crowd of undeservedly or misled angry white people with violent, destructive intentions seems to be an inevitable result of having this person as our chief executive. This seems to be his magick. Even if one doesn’t think in terms of magick or energy, it certainly is telling that events that have the spittin’ image of a putsch will bookmark this presidency in its legacy.

Notwithstanding some miracle, he has 13 days left. Buckle up.

Very exciting day. I bought a ladder.

I’ve needed one, but I felt particularly motivated to do so today. All I have had in the apartment is a little stepladder. And a couple of light blubs went out in the kitchen. And so usually when I have to do that chore, I’m taking my life into my own hands. And I ain’t young anymore. So I went to Lowe’s and bought a six-foot ladder. It cost a bit more than I wanted to pay, it was about $75, but that’s peace of mind knowing I can change a light blub in here without being in danger of falling on my ass. I also made the run to Lori’s (sadly they were out of the pan loaf bread I like) and Palmer’s, where I got some pork chops and some ground beef.

My life is very exciting.

Am mostly in reading today and listening to the official 8WK Frank Zappa Spotify playlist. By the way, I’ve added a search term in profile links in the AITWK sidebar that a person could use to find me on that particular platform. I also just obsessively populated the “Music for Honkies” playlist, which is based on my Tumblr ( honkies.blog ).

Okay, back to my books.

But first

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