10 Minute Rule

Having a hard time accepting it is Friday, which is likely a result of traveling in the middle of the week. I took my kid to Tulane, which it turns out costs nearly $93,000 a year to attend. He’s being offered a full ride to play football. This is and has always been the dream. The school averages better than 24K attendance per football game, which goes to show there is a high level of student and community buy in, given the school has under 14,000 students. Good football, better school. Top 70 in the nation. That stands out, given the number of very good programs throughout the nation. His other school choices do not rank as highly, either in football or academics.

Ultimately, it is not up to me.

All I can do is provide advice, which I will continue to do.

Some Thoughts:

1. Absolutely Bonkers Headline of the Day: “Education Department directs student loan borrowers in SAVE plan to prepare for repayment” Slipped this one under the radar, they did.
2. Really appreciative of the Lady Talis for giving me space to write this every single day–even when it is inconvenient for us or her in particular. In order to be successful in life you need to have that partner who is going to provide space for that success, be on your side, and see your success as theres as opposed to seeing it as a challenge or something that is a threat. This is me speaking from experience.
3. Another interesting thing I noticed: FOX is advertising on APnews. We are entering the DEEP age of spin and government-run media. Not so much gov as republican… That is scary territory folks. There will be a blog on how to escape not too long from now..

I think…

Staying healthy is incredibly difficult and expensive. Fast food is getting more expensive, mind you, but trying to feed four to five people salads on a daily basis is going to bankrupt me. Honestly, the uptick in healthy choices makes me feel good about how we treat ourselves and our kids, but it requires making some serious life changes financially. I don’t know what those changes are.  I do know the industry puts a premium on anything that is considered healthy or organic. That is bad for, well, everything we are trying to achieve. This is especially true because our kids, once on their own, are going to reach for what is cheap, not what is good for them.

I think…

This visit to Tulane is reminding me a lot about the culture of New Orleans. I forgot that NO was a black city. By that I mean the working class is predominantly black and brown in the heart of the city. After 11 pm, which is when we touched down, we only saw one person not of color working at the dozen plus places that were open including our hotel. That guy was barely out of his teens and yet was in charge. It is a snapshot, not a study. I cannot really say that it means anything.

I think…

I’ve forgotten how to sleep outside of my bed and especially without my partner. I rolled over in the middle of the night to hold her and dang near fell out the small bed. She wasn’t there, but the edge of the bed was. After a long moment of sadness I tucked myself back in and found sleep.

I think…

That’s all I got in me this morning.

Some Thoughts:

1. Absolutely Bonkers Headline of the Day: “FACT FOCUS: False claims Trump made as he addressed the nation about Iran” It’s bonkers because it is actually what we have to do now following whatever this man ever says. Even more bizarre is that he gave this speech about the war being at it’s end, on April fools day and today the articles are all saying things like, “Takeaways from Trump’s address: No end date for Iran war and few details on strategy ahead” So it was a joke… or he is.
2. Funny, after writing that blog on the plane we get to the hotel that night and South Park is on and doing a bit about exactly what I said about Heaven…

Being on a plane deep into the night as the sky fills with turbulent clouds has me thinking about death and, more specifically, how people consider the afterlife. Recently my mother-in-law has come closer to Jesus. I think itis a thing older people do when they recognize they’ve topped the hill and are heading to the clearing at the end of the path. I think part of it is wanting to remain intact—memories and all. I suspect we all want to preserve some sense of self; some awareness of who we are or were. The construct of Heaven gives us that hope. It points us towards the possibility of what could be after we close our eyes that final time. Yet, I don’t know how many of even the most devout believe in this Heaven.

I’ve watched comics and anime and stories and movies all try to dissect this place. Even science occasionally takes a stab at locating the afterlife. Is there a place in the clouds? I don’t know. I don’t think so. I don’t think that death is the end of our energy either. I do feel that it is the death of the memories and the mortal forms we hold. Energy, allegedly, can neither be created nor destroyed. Therefore it—we—only change state. Billions struggle to understand what that means before the end. Heaven is just a good of structure as any, should the purpose be peace and ease into the transition. Yet in its present state it is both the treat and the stick driving us towards someone else’s structure of a modern society.

That to me is no Heaven. Mine has all you can eat chicken. And light sabers.

Some Thoughts:

1. No Bonkers Headline. No internet. Heck, the closest I can get is remembering that I read a story this morning about Pre. Trump pulling up to the Supreme Court only to hear them shellack his lawyers’ argument against birthright citizenship. Why was he there? Intimidation? Grandstanding? I know he felt that these people he put in the seat would certainly do right by him if he were there. I also think he thinks there’s a lot of wink and nod type behavior about to unfold. I hope he is dead wrong.
2.  

Something really funny happens after you haven’t eaten “real” food for a few days. You start to taste things you haven’t before. I use this salad dressing by Braggs which has all kinds of stuff in it, and this is the first time I tasted the actual oils in the texture of the sauce. Yes, I know it is odd to call dressing sauce, but you get the idea. There are things we ignore because of frequency. I spent the last two days consuming three bowls of oatmeal a day with the occasional grape, banana, and once, watermelon and nut clusters additives. The goal was a cleanse. Mission accomplished, I suppose. I don’t know that the BP dropped to the level I hoped, but I know it reset me physically. My stomach is moving in a positive direction at least.

Also moving in a positive direction is the recruiting situation for the youngest of dem franchise boys. We’re off to Tulane shortly for a chance to see what kind of team they are and what kind of opportunities he may have here following his senior season. Most offers are not signable until you show up in person, so we are showing up. Tulane is a CFP playoff team and an offer from such a caliber of squad is an excellent oportuniry. What that actually means is yet to be determined, which is why we have to empty the wallet and hit the road. Sadly, the wallet it empty now, so future teams are going to need to foot the travel bill.

I hope they will.

Some Thoughts:

1. Absolutely Bonkers Headline of the Day: “A South African politician goes snorkeling in a giant pothole to highlight city management failures” No, seriously! The picture is wild.
2. Also.. “Tennessee librarian fired for refusing to move more than 100 books from children’s to adult section” She fought to protect kid hits such as, “Larry the Farting Leprechaun” which does not belong on any adult shelf whatsoever. We’re in the midsts of a culture war, folks. Hold on to your garters and bibles…

Day two of the Oatmeal cleanse. I’m officially not about this life. It is helping me recognize how much I actually enjoy food that tastes good. I get to enjoy a little of that tomorrow and a bit more when I visit Tulane later this week. That visit is the first of a handful of college visits for my youngest as he settles in to deciding where he is going to college. Tulane, Hawaii, Idaho, and Northern Arizona have officially offered scholarships. There have been conversations with Northern Iowa and New Mexico, the former being the result of his brother playing there and hopefully becoming a leader on the field this year. Note: I don’t think he’d ever admit it, but, beyond following his coach, I think the kid went to UNI in part to play in a dome. He’s never done that as a home player and it is kinda cool.

But this is about food, not football.

I’ve come to terms with the reality that I have high blood pressure and need to monitor it constantly. That means less salt than the average bear, which often translates to less taste than the average bear. This is the reason for the cleanse. I’ll be repeating this behavior every six weeks (in theory). Staring six weeks into the future means staring into the end of the semester and the beginning of summer. That’s a fun exercise. The summer is filled with opportunities to get healthy and to eat a lot of different things. I’ll need to start considering how to balance my eating and keep the pressure down. The goal here is to lower the pressure and create a lifestyle where I get tasty food and it stays low. Yeah, I want all the smoke.

Some Thoughts:

1. Absolutely Bonkers Headline of the Day: “Gulf allies privately make the case to Trump to keep fighting until Iran is decisively defeated” So they really want this thing to spiral? I don’t see how this ends well for the region. What happens when Iran is put down? Who is in charge then? Do we not think people are going to stay mad?
2. Also this: “Army reviewing after helicopters hovered alongside Kid Rock’s swimming pool as he saluted” Why does Kid Rock matter?
3. And this… “Charlie Kirk highway got vetoed in Arizona. Elected officials are citing politics” Because of course they are. If these guys don’t get what they want, they complain and play the victim.

The recent cancellation of Starfleet Academy fell into the realm of politicization, but the reality is the show sucked. It had a handful of good actors working their way through a Gaia Violo storyline that was, and I am trying to be fair, lame. Shows have long tried to push stereotypes and tropes as shortcuts. It helps us visually understand characters and even who to cheer for. However, this is a case where Violo overplayed their hand, leaning so heavily on this theme of unity among difference and the classic High school trope sets that it felt old as opposed to new.

Starfleet Academy is, allegedly, about the first group of cadets to attend Starfleet after a mysterious and terrifying condition called “The Burn” occurred in 3069. So we are talking way way way past Picard even. I put the Burn on Alex Kurtzman and his team of writers. It was a terrible concept by a writer who seems to have lost his way since splitting with Roberto Orci. All down hill from there, as they say. Anything post burn appears to have been on the path to terrible. Even I gave up on Discovery long before they uncovered they cause of the Burn. I still know what happened. I was still let down.

I have not stopped being let down. I’m not alone either. Star Trek stopped being sci-fi, according to Andy Weir. He’s one who would know.

Some Thoughts:

1. Absolutely Bonkers Headline of the Day: “Drones breach restricted Barksdale air base; no details on source or response” Say what now? You’re telling me we got buzzed by a drone swarm on our home turf and nobody knows who did it or where they went? Hot mess incoming.
2. Sundays are for cleaning… I gotta clean out my body too. I’m doing a two day cleanse of eating nothing but oatmeal. This is based on a study that shwoed such things lowered BP as a result of attacking metabolic syndrome. I’ll let you know how it goes.
3. When is a blog merely a diary? Is it always that?

TBH, too much wine before blogging.

This is not to admit to drunkenness. In fact, the issue is a sore tummy, which has me not wanting to work anymore today. At least I crossed one story off my list. I’ll drink to that this evening. It is odd how much drinking has been integrated into my life in both a relaxing and celebratory fashion. I do drink the casual glass of Cava quite often. That is the wanna be spaniard in me. I do also miss the chill of Spain and of Spanish beaches where the sand stretches and the waves lap gently, and the water is as clear and blue as aquamarine crystal. I’m also not going back there for some time. We’ve moved on.

I too, moving in slow motion today, must move on to…

Some Thoughts:

1. Absolutely Bonkers Headline of the Day: “Elon Gust and Dame Judi Drench among storm names sent to Met Office” Just wait till Jon Oliver finds out about the option to mail in storm names….

What is Balance?

When you look at it from a ten thousand foot perspective, the vision changes. If you spend 12 hours in one day playing games and 12 hours the next day working hard on a project, is that balance? What role do the multiple facets of your life play in balance and how do the external pressures factor into this idea of balance? Is balance about how you feel or about how the people in your life feel about you and about what you are doing?

When I think about living a balanced life it is definitely a conversation rife with questions. I am not feeling like I live a life in balance. I feel like I have too much to do and all I want to do is take time off and play games. I feel like walls are closing in on me and I need to sacrifice things and the only thing I ever sacrifice is myself. I feel like nobody is less important in my life than myself, but that doesn’t jibe with the amount of time I spend playing games and calling it self-care. I feel like I am breaking the things that matter most in my life and carrying anger that should not rightfully exist.

I feel like shutting down. Constantly.

Nothing there feels like balance. It feels like me falling off a cliff.

Some Thoughts:

1. Absolutely Bonkers Headline of the Day: “Panicked travelers hear a new message from airports: Don’t get here so early” Cue spit take.

I’m wiped out.

I cannot say where it came from, though the Lady Talis has been also been under it for a few days. We are both struggling with low energy and I personally feel like this is the worst possible time. I have deadlines. I have to get back on track mentally and physically. I need to be in a space where I am focused on what needs to get done over the next two months and not wasting time and energy trying to get started over and over again. Story of my life right there. I tried to get going today, but slumped on the keyboard, eventually retiring to bed where I watched an episode of Invincible before passing out.

I will get there. Somehow.

I need to reframe this energy crisis into an opportunity. Everything is about putting time on task and allowing myself to focus and lock into one thing at a time, which I am not very good at as of late.

Some Thoughts:

1. Absolutely Bonkers Headline of the Day: “Iran has been blocking ships it sees as tied to the U.S. and Israel from the strait while allowing limited traffic, and Tehran appears to be charging fees for safe passage.” See, this is what happens when you let bros run the military. You wind up realizing that bros have no idea how to deal with real ones who’ve been doing this for a century. They’re being bombed daily and still managed to accrue zero fucks.
2. Earlier I said I had deadlines. It is worth knowing that a majority of these deadlines are coming from people who owe me money for work I did some time ago. So… pay this man.
3. What a difference a fan makes. I’ve learned this lesson in my 90 degree office with a faulty AC. Adding a Vornado changed the game for me.

Looks like my youngest may have punched his ticket to the FBS. He is sitting on two verbal offers with the opportunity for a 3rd. We’re going to Tulane next week to sit in on a practice and see if that verbal becomes contract. Hawaii has offered, and New Mexico is coming out to see him practice this spring. Other schools have reached out from the FBS but no traction there yet. Still, having them helps move the needle in terms of getting him to where he wants to be.

To quote NCSA, “Because a verbal scholarship offer is made by the coach and not the athletic department, it is not binding. Instead, a verbal offer is more of an agreement that the student-athlete will attend the coach’s school and sign a financial aid agreement, which includes financial aid papers and a contract. At any time, a coach or the student-athlete can back out of a verbal agreement, if they so choose.” Equally important to note is the fact that, “When a student-athletes makes a verbal commitment, it serves as a signal to other college coaches to stop recruiting them.” So even if a student commits, it is not entirely binding. You are only bound once you sign that financial aid agreement, which is the college version of a contract.

I don’t know if we sign on this visit. It feels like the visit is more about them seeing him than the other way around. Likewise, the kid cannot sign with them until the early signing period. So that means he cannot officially sign any paperwork until early December of this year. Any commitment would need to be verbal. Sadly, any visit to, say, Hawaii, would need to be an official visit, because we cannot afford that ride. Tulane has offered 15 other safeties that we know of, and Hawaii has offered 2. So, there is still a chance he is not at the top of the list for Tulane or Hawaii, but based on published offers, he is at least in the top 3 for Hawaii.

This is the system we work with. There is a lot of power given to these schools and little given to these students to be able to control their own futures in the face of schools’ abilities to pull verbal offers. I wish it was different. Heck, I wish they took the time to really consider what they are doing to these potential athletes.

They won’t

Some Thoughts:

1. Absolutely Bonkers Headline of the Day: “Jury finds Instagram and YouTube liable in a landmark social media addiction trial” We knew it would be true. The real question is, what does this mean? Do my kids get money? Or is this just more lawyer nonsense?
2. Also this: “Perfect homework, blank stares: Why colleges are turning to oral exams to combat AI“
3. And this… “Teens get probation after using AI to create fake nudes of classmates” I mean, what did you expect? Once upon a time kids used to write nasty stuff about people they “couldn’t get” in the bathroom stalls. The technology has improved and the tendency has not gone away.