Year End Random Musings

Happy New Year 2019 almost.

First, let me say.  I got sucked into the week-long Doctor Who Marathon, so I can't say I've accomplished much this past week or so.  My DVR allowed me to pause long enough to get some things done, but mostly I was hooked for the duration.

But I had random musings, and so in no particular order....

- 23 and Me / Ancestry.com -
Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I do not trust this or any organization with my DNA.  I read and watch too much Sci-Fi to not imagine how such a database could be used against us.  Not only that, but if I'm not mistaken, 23 and Me is owned/operated by Ancestry.com which is owned/operated by the Mormon Church.  Organized religion in possession of this data is a big problem.  I know all I need to know about my genetic history from oral and researched history.

What is that history that I know?  My maternal grandmother was 1/2 Native American.  I don't know her exact history or tribe as her records were lost in a house fire.  I was told she was born in Canada.  My maternal grandfather (her husband) was off-the-boat Norwegian.  On the paternal side, Caucasian European, probably German and Dutch.  I don't need a dubious DNA testing (for profit) outfit to tell me what I'm made of.

- Trump -
My favorite card game is Euchre.  The main theme of the game is the concept of trump - the dominant suit.  Trump has become a foul word, and hard to say in even the most benign of instances.  Right wingers call us libtards because we are, in their view, unpatriotic because we loathe Trump.  They don't understand that we don't loathe him because he's Republican or conservative or not Clinton.  It's because of who and what he is.  Most of us would be just fine with a Republican president.  It was their turn to fuck things up, I guess.  The Republicans had a herd of candidates, some perfectly acceptable, but this is what they chose.  We could be disagreeing about policy instead of the corruption and degradation of the highest office in the land.  We might be trusting foreign policy to someone who was not beholden to a foreign power.  We might have a leader who really cared more about the people than himself.  We might not be living in a fucking reality TV show.

- The Media -
Can't talk about Trump without talking about the media.  I get most of my national and political news from Twitter.  Yeah yeah, I know.  I try to be discriminating about where I get that news.  I only follow accounts I believe to be unbiased or mostly so.  If an account is just spewing opinion rather than facts, I don't usually bother following.  If an account is retweeting a lot of stuff from less reputable accounts, I don't bother with them.  I wait to see if a "breaking" report is confirmed by multiple outlets before I consider its validity.  I try to use my head.

I'm not the only one who has tired of how the media covers the Liar-In-Chief.  Every stupid "presidential" tweet is put into the echo chamber.  The outlets condense it to an eye catching headline that doesn't emphasize the bullshit.  Instead of starting with the truth, they repeat his lies,  Guess what is then out there.  The lies, not the truth.  The saddest, and most evil, result is that is exactly what Trump wants them to do.  Spread his bullshit.  He rails against the "fake news", but he revels in it.  Everybody is talking about him 24/7.  That's what he wants.  That's why he ran for president.

I could go on and on but let's move on to something else.

- Muscle Cramps -
How's that for completely random?  I've been plagued by cramps most of my life.  I wake up in the middle of the night with leg cramps.  I get muscle spasms in other parts of my body during the day.  I've heard dehydration might be responsible.  I do try to drink enough water.  Potassium deficiency might be another cause.  Bananas didn't help.  I had read many years ago that quinine helped.  At the time, I didn't know where to get it.  I thought I read somewhere that it was restricted or banned or something,  I recently discovered tonic water with quinine, available at any grocery store.  It has pretty high potassium, and quinine is one of the sources.  I do believe it helps.  If I'm having a crampy day, it seems to alleviate the spasms.  On another note, screwdriver (vodka and OJ) was my favorite mixed drink.  I now prefer vodka and tonic.  Two birds, one stone.

- Wee Dark Hours -
Don't know if I ever explained the origin of the title of this blog.  I'm usually up stupid early.  Way before the sun.  The hours between midnight and sunrise are sometimes referred to as the wee small hours.  They're also dark.  I used to write most of my musings in the wee dark hours.  Sooo….

However, tonight, after a few vodka tonics, I felt like writing.

Happy New Year

P.S.  I don't usually make resolutions.  Why bother.  But I am going to try to deTrump my life.  Managed it for a short period earlier this year, and it was good.  That means less political news, less of the piece of shit on the White House toilet.  Twitter once a day, and my favorite late night comedy shows should be enough to keep up on the state of the union.  We'll see how it goes.  Things might get even more interesting this year, and blow up that resolution.

tnt