Mixture Posture: June 2021

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Without Glasses

With Glasses

First & Only Time I Ate At BeerBurger

A Nice Place that L & J did not Move into from 2018

Pulled Out a Second Copy of His Kid Rock CD - Joke

Top 5 Best FREE Photo Editing Software on PC - 2021

Discovering NMB - Thanks to Mike Portnoy

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

67 Days until Iowa Football 2021

From CBS Sports predicts Iowa football's win total in 2021:

Fornelli predicts that Iowa will beat Indiana, Kent State, Colorado State, Purdue, Minnesota, and Illinois at home and take down Maryland and Northwestern on the road. Fornelli believes that Iowa will lose road games at Iowa State, Nebraska, and Wisconsin and lose a home game to Penn State.

Monday, June 28, 2021

Missing This

We are going to Balltown on Saturday, July 3, 2021, which is the same night that Styx is playing in Dubuque. This is a recent setlist:

Videos I sent to Myself while on Vacation last week

Links that I sent to Myself on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 1:39 PM

Links I sent to Me on Thursday, June 24, 2021 3:29 PM

Friday, June 25, 2021

Monday, June 21, 2021

Bye

I'm on vacation this week. I'll post next on Monday, 6/28/2021.

Friday, June 18, 2021

Flashback to when Alexandria was a New Community on TWD

Most Commonly-Used Words in Metallica's Lyrics

Star Wars: The Bad Batch 1 x 09

Repetitious Thought

Every time I hear a Machine Head tune, I think this repetitious thought, "Wow, now that Machine Head is "fresh" in my mind, maybe now I will invest more time listening to their material."

Playing Drive My Car the Right Way

Microsoft's Windows 11 is Coming

Microsoft is going to announce Windows 11 soon, per the video below.

This is a list of the features described.

Thursday, June 17, 2021

Seeking A but Found (Fascinating) B Part Two

Of course, because I gave up looking and clicked "Publish" for the previous post, it meant I was sentencing myself to have a solution revealed to me when I clicked a link in my search results as this page - https://stackoverflow.com/questions/51076632/exclude-certain-subfolders-when-scanning-the-contents-of-a-folder - revealed the following solution:

for /F "delims=" %%D in ('dir /B /S /A:D "C:\myFolder" ^| findstr /I /V /C:"\\Users\\" /C:"\\Windows\\"') do echo/%%D

with $RECYCLE.BIN listed in the "C:\exclude.txt" file.

for /F "delims=" %%D in ('dir /B /S /A:D "C:\myFolder" ^| findstr /I /V /L /G:"C:\exclude.txt"') do echo/%%D

Seeking A but Found (Fascinating) B

I love DOS, but I don't always understand it. For example, if I go to my I: drive and type:

Dir *.* /s

that command will include the files in my Recycle.bin.

I don't want those files to be included. Thus, I went to Google.com and entered the following search string:

In the search results, I clicked the first line and ended up learning about PowerShell: list the files in the recycle bin older 100 days. Was that what I wanted to know. No, not really. However, I liked the fact that I discovered information about a topic I know very little about - Powershell - to start my day. When I typed: Dir *.* /s at the command line, I saw this result:

And when I changed the directory to I:\$RECYCLE.BIN and entered the Dir *.* /s command, I saw this:

Thus, the actual files on my I: drive is
308495 - 5311 = 303,184
and
the actual directories on my I: drive is
283767 - 160368 = 123,399
When I started my day, all I wanted to do was to go to my I: drive and type dir i:\*.* /s and see
303,184 File(s)
123,399 Dir(s)
Maybe I'll figure out how to do that another day.

Tuesday, June 15, 2021

DT

It appears that I blew the only chances I had to see Dangerous Toys in Iowa.

Monday, June 14, 2021

KISS 2021 Tour Dates

When hasn't been on a "farewell" tour? It's okay with me, in a sense, that the tour dates for 2021 don't include a date near me. I saw KISS at Chicago Open Air in July 2017 so, even if they did come to Moline or Des Moines or Omaha or even Cedar Rapids, I don't know if I would be jumping at the idea to go see them again. Would I really decline an offer from a friend if I heard my friend say to me, " someone called me and said, "Hey, I want to go see KISS in Tinley Park on Labor Day weekend - want to go?" or "Hey, I want to go see KISS in Milwaukee on Labor Day weekend - want to go?" I would probably have a tough time declining that offer.

Aug. 18 – Mansfield, Mass. @ Xfinity Center
Aug. 19 – Bangor, Maine @ Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion
Aug. 21 – Atlantic City, N.J. @ Mark G Etess Arena at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino^
Aug. 22 – Hartford, Ct. @ XFINITY Theatre
Aug. 25 – Toledo, Ohio @ Huntington Center*
Aug. 26 – Burgettstown, Pa. @ The Pavilion at Star Lake
Aug. 28 – Raleigh, N.C. @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
Aug. 29 – Atlanta, Ga. @ Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood
Sept. 1 – Clarkston, Mich. @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
Sept. 2 – Dayton, Ohio @ Wright State University Nutter Center
Sept. 4 – Tinley Park, Ill. @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Sept. 5 – Milwaukee, Wis. @ American Family Insurance Amphitheater – Summerfest Grounds
Sept. 9 – Irvine, Calif. @ FivePoint Amphitheatre*
Sept. 10 – Mountain View, Calif. @ Shoreline Amphitheatre*
Sept. 12 – Wheatland, Calif. @ Toyota Amphitheatre*
Sept. 17 – Ridgefield, Wash. @ Sunlight Supply Amphitheater
Sept. 18 – George, Wash. @ Gorge Amphitheatre
Sept. 21 – Boise, Idaho @ ExtraMile Arena
Sept. 22 – West Valley City, Utah @ USANA Amphitheatre
Sept. 23 – Sparks, Nev. @ Nugget Event Center*
Sept. 25 – Chula Vista, Calif. @ North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
Sept. 26 – Phoenix, Ariz. @ Ak-Chin Pavilion
Sept. 28 – Hidalgo, Texas @ Payne Arena*
Sept. 29 – Del Valle, Texas @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater
Oct. 1 – Fort Worth, Texas @ Dickies Arena
Oct. 2 – Tulsa, Okla. @ BOK Center
Oct. 5 – Biloxi, Miss. @ Mississippi Coast Coliseum
Oct. 6 – Lafayette, La. @ Lafayette Cajundome
Oct. 8 – West Palm Beach, Fla. @ iThink Financial Amphitheatre*
Oct. 9 – Tampa, Fla. @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre*

*new show

Death Sucks Another Life Away

R.I.P. Ned Beatty, Network, Superman and Toy Story 3 Actor Dead at 83 - The Academy Award-nominated actor also starred in Deliverance, All the President's Men, and Homicide: Life on the Street throughout his career

Some Anger Analysis

Timely

I'm chuckling as I add this post. I am a morning lark but I was not this morning. I had set my alarm for 4:30 AM with the idea that I would be walking into work at 5 AM. Well, I pressed the snooze alarm on my cell phone 3 times. I had difficulty getting up. Are you a night owl or morning lark? One may protect you from depression, study says

The 70 Year Old Demon Documentary

Loki Started Out Good

This is a Great Album

Friday, June 11, 2021

Remember that McDonald's Racist Hoax from a Decade Ago?

Racial hoax causes PR headache for McDonald’s

Thursday, June 10, 2021

The IC-PC Sucks

I randomly clicked this link https://www.press-citizen.com/story/news/2019/08/19/last-days-blue-moose-tap-house/2007577001/ and was instantly reminded why I have NEVER paid money to read the Iowa City Press Citizen. From the article:

With the business closing it's doors though, it will free Miller up to dedicate more attention to the other two Iowa City bars he owns: DC's and The Field House.

Sigh.

Translation of the above sentence:

With the business closing it is~~it's~~ doors though, it will free Miller up to dedicate more attention to the other two Iowa City bars he owns: DC's and The Field House.

No Comment

Iowa Athletics to Expand Beer, Wine Sales in Pilot Program

Doing my Research

Catching Up

There's a lot going on. To catch up:

On Friday, May 7, 2021, Alex graduated from UNI - I think I mentioned this earlier
On Saturday, May 8, 2021, Alex proposed to Hannah, his girlfriend - I think I mentioned this earlier
On Monday, June 7, 2021, Alex received a job offer at Wellmark in Des Moines
On Tuesday, June 8, 2021, Alex accepted the job offer at Wellmark in Des Moines
On Friday, June 18, 2021, Alex is moving to an apartment in Des Moines
On Monday, June 21, 2021, Alex starts his job at Wellmark in Des Moines

So This is Exciting!

As I mentioned, when I hear of a new band, what they sound like live is typically the first thing I evaluate. The second thing is to figure out if they are going to play live near me. Well, for Belmont, the answer is yes!

Tiny Moving Parts with special guests Belmont, Capstan and Proper. will be performing at Wooly's on Wednesday, November 24th, 2021. https://www.tixr.com/groups/firstfleetconcerts/events/tiny-moving-parts-2021-tour-25505

I am looking forward to this show already when it is 5 months away! I will learn more about Capstan (who I know toured with Bayside) and Proper. The tour goes from Denver to Omaha, which is okay because they have a day off to adjust to the time change. After the Omaha gig, they travel to Rose City, MI, which is 12 hr 9 min away. Then, after that gig, they come to Des Moines, which is a 10 hr 20 min drive. The Des Moines gig is the last date of this tour as they don't play again until January 2022.

Sat, NOV 20    Marquis Theater    Denver, CO
Mon, NOV 22    Slowdown    Omaha, NE
Tue, NOV 23    Record Bar    Rose City, MI
Wed, NOV 24    Wooly's    Des Moines, IA, which, per https://www.concertarchives.org/bands/belmont?page=1#concert-table will be Belmont's first-ever concert in the state of Iowa.

Belmont

Belmont is a new-to-me band who, apparently, have been releasing music since 2016, from what I can tell. I like this band. They remind me of Spitalfield if Spitalfield had double bass during some of their grooves. Also, Belmont reminds me of Count the Stars.

Here's a reaction video to the above tune.

Of course, one thing that I try to do when I hear a new band is to find out what they sound like "live" which is why I give you this:

I'm a Digital Hoarder

I got a new laptop at work in April and, yesterday, I had the idea to empty the Recycle Bin. I took this screenshot around 6 AM so that means it should be complete around 10 AM.

Yankees Fan Gone Wild

Yankees fan goes viral for argument with children in Red Sox gear

Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Every So Often I Dump

On my cell phone, I finally closed all the open tabs in my Firefox browser and, then, created the following list, conveniently in alphabetical order.

Upcoming Season of BD-M Looks Great!

Below Deck Med Season 6 Cast, Premiere Date, Trailer | The Daily Dish

Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Down the Tangential Hole

When I was watching the reaction videos to Tom MacDonald's Snowflakes, one of the channels had this reaction video, which I had to watch.

Reacting to Tommy Mac

I watched the latest tune from Tom MacDonald - Snowflakes.
I was happy with the sounds I heard.
I saw that Tom MacDonald posted that there were a million views.
I watched reaction videos to the tune.

TOM MACDONALD = TRASH ??? | Tom MacDonald - "SNOWFLAKES" - REACTION!

Tom MacDonald-Snowflake| Reaction

Tom MacDonald - "Snowflakes" (REACTION!!!)

Tom MacDonald - "Snowflakes" (REACTION)

Tom Macdonald - Snowflakes 2LM Reacts

Tom MacDonald Snowflakes Reaction ??

XMCLIVE // Tom MacDonald - Snowflakes & MORE..." – Language warning

My DAD and I react to "Snowflakes" - Tom MacDonald

Tom MacDonald -snowFlakes “REACTION” Now I can see All the Signs”TOM TRASH”? #ROMHOG - Language warning

Michael reacts to "Snowflakes" Music Video

Negotiate the Big Bucks

This is irrelevant to me, but it's important to Alex, my son: 13 Tips to Negotiate Your Salary and Job Offer | Indeed.com.

There's some thing in the works, but I can't say what the thing is. I can't say more.

Monday, June 7, 2021

Who Cares? ME!

When I saw the headline for a movie review of "Star Wars IX: The Rise of Skywalker," I thought of a specific scene in the Star Wars franchise, which includes 11 movies - yes, I count "Rogue One" and "Solo" as Star Wars movies.

Bear with me as I take you back to "Star Wars IV: A New Hope" and how after being rescued from the Death Star, Princess Leia informs Han Solo that their escape from the Death Star was too easy. Han Solo is an a$$hole, telling Princess Leia that he expects to receive money for what he just went through. Then, as Princess Leia begins to walk out of the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, she passes Luke Skywalker, and, as she does, she informs Luke that "Your friend is quite a mercenary. I wonder if he cares about anything or anyone." Luke Skywalker is stunned as he does not possess any self-confidence that he will have by his daring rescue of Han Solo on Tattooine in "Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi." Instead, Luke Skywalker can barely whisper, "I care" as Princess Leia leaves the cockpit.

Thus, to answer the question in the headline of the article - Review: ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ - Who cares - I proudly quote Luke Skywalker when I write the following two words:

I Care

I looked at the writer's bio John Podhoretz - in the hope that he looked like a young man who was not born when "Star Wars IV: A New Hope" was released on May 25, 1977 - I was 2729 days (7 years, 5 months, 3 weeks) old. However, Podhoretz's picture looks like he could be close to my age. Apparently, he just doesn't love the Star Wars franchise as much as I love the Star Wars franchise.

Returning to Normal - 1 Mass at a Time - Feels Totally AWESOME!!

I returned to playing drums at Saint Thomas More at 5:15 Mass on 6/5/2021 and it was awesome to be able to receive Eucharist and praise God with my God-given drumming talent! Jim S, a guitarist I have mentioned in the past (I think) played guitar at Mass. There was some sort of technical glitch with the equipment that created the video embedded below such that you can't hear my drums at the beginning of Mass. To hear me, click this link:Communion Tune.

The Creative VIsion for which I Wish

This was just too odd to ignore. This band sounds like Glenn Danzig's vocals and the tune is a cover of a Limp Bizkit tune. I wish I had the creative vision to conceive an idea like this!

Rick Beato Finally Claimed FAIR USE on a Video and was REJECTED! (Rant)

F Lied

Video Shows Fauci Lied to Congress About Funding Virus Weaponization at Wuhan

Golfer Ejected

Golfer With Six-Stroke Lead Ejected From Top PGA Tourney—on Live TV (Watch)

Friday, June 4, 2021

8 Bands that I Can't Hum

8 Bands That Are HUGE in Europe but Not America

How About an Update?

This is a reminder to post an updated screenshot of the account information I showed in It Has NOT Been a Good Month for Cell Phone Data Usage.

About my Post-C-19 World Part II

After only exchanging text messages and scattered phone calls for over a year, I finally saw BSS, my friend who I met when we both worked at Quintrex, at the Tin Roost in North Liberty. The Tin Roost was rocking. Not only was "Flash in the Pan" playing on the patio, it seemed like it was a pure party. In addition to BSS, I talked to:

Fred & Julie
the Kleinows
too many acquaintances and friends from church and from Regina to list individually
Megan

Yes, even Megan, my daughter, was at the Tin Roost.

About my Post-C-19 World Part I

COVID-19 sucked for so many people. Too many deaths. Too many families torn apart by whether they have to wear a mask. Too many families torn apart by whether it is acceptable for family members to take opposite sides of cultural issues, such as Black Lives Matter, whether there is systemic racism in every aspect of America. I'm speaking from personal experience about situations I've encountered that are inappropriate for this blog - trust me, my private journal has taken a beating (figuratively of course!) as I have wrote about COVID-19 and its impact on my life. What I think is relevant is that, throughout COVID-19, there has been a chorus of people that have begged for a "return to normal" - to what life was like prior to COVID-19.

That's why I come down on this issue in clear-cut terms.

Situation: you worked from your company's building pre-COVID-19 less than 5 days a week and worked from home the other days of the 5 day work week. For example, I have a co-worker who worked from home on Mondays & Fridays and I know of a fellow employee who worked from home on Fridays. I think those two employees should be able to return to their pre-COVID-19 work arrangement post-COVID-19.

Situation: you worked from your company's building pre-COVID-19 5 days a week, but during COVID-19, you began to work from home, either because you wanted to do so or you were asked to do so by your employer. This was my situation. Pre-COVID-19, I did not work from home. However, when I was going to be required to wear a mask in my cubicle, I explored the possibility of working from home because I didn't want to wear a mask when I live 2 miles north of my employer's building and could sit at the desk in the den in the basement and still do my work. In my specific situation, I believe that, post-COVID-19, I do not have any guarantee from my employer that I will be able to continue to work from home post-COVID-19.

Furthermore, in my specific case, this is what happened to me. I started working from home on Monday, April 13, 2020, and while I worked a few days, here and there, I only started coming back to my desk at the building 2 miles from my house on Tuesday, June 1, 2021. My employer has mandated that all employees return to their pre-COVID-19 employment arrangement no later than Tuesday, July 6, 2021, which is a (short) 33 days (1 month, 3 days) away.

They are Wailing and Gnashing Any Teeth within their Toddler-Sized Teeth

When I saw the headline for this story Employees Are Quitting Instead of Giving Up Working From Home, my first thought was "if an employee quits their job, I surely hope that there is a plan for the employee to pay their monthly bills because I don't want my taxes to pay for THEIR monthly bills if the employee impulsively quits." Per the article - Employees Are Quitting Instead of Giving Up Working From Home- The drive to get people back into offices is clashing with workers who’ve embraced remote work as the new normal - it seems as though that IS a legitimate concern. Consider this quote from the article:

Call it PTSD or whatever you want, but the idea of walking into work, learning there is a change in policy, and then turning around, impulsively, without the possibility of returning "tomorrow" terrifies me. In my mind, it reminds me, perhaps too vividly, what I felt 1955 days (5 years, 4 months, 1 week, 1 day) ago. On that day, January 26, 2016, I was laid off at Pearson. I had walked into the building with every intention of walking into the building "tomorrow" but due to a "change in policy" (my position was being eliminated), I was not going to be able to do that. I was terrified! I was losing my income!

Maybe that is why the quote about co-workers impulsively quitting their job rubs me the wrong way in so many ways. To me, those employees are children throwing an impulsive temper tantrum. I can liken it to if a child is told, "No, you can't continue drawing with crayon on the wall" and, in reaction to that change in policy, you watch as the child begins to wail and gnash any teeth within their toddler-sized mouth.

Thursday, June 3, 2021

TYT Destroyed By Pink Floyd

An Updated Definition of an Ideal Band

I am at a low point, where I am almost ready to give up on the Ideal Band scenario.

I have zero prospects for joining a band. While RPM has fizzled, R and I did discuss recording some of his original tunes in a recording studio. It's one of the last items on my bucket list as a musician.

Here is what I've been thinking about when it comes to playing gigs.

While the list of gigs I've played is very short, as shown below:

Lou's Classic Ride - 2
Uncle Rico the Band - 1
Koop and Company - 1

I also have to reconsider whether to include the times I've played at Mass. If I include the 50+ Masses I've played drums at, I can say with certainty that I have played a lot of gigs. At the same time, no, if I define a gig as being when I am paid for playing drums, then I have to go back to the above list of 4 and take away the two gigs with Lou's Classic Ride as neither gig resulted in cash in my pocket. In total, for the Uncle Rico the Band and Koop and Company gigs, I have been paid $120. Obviously, I don't play drums for the extra cash.

Which takes me back to potentially going into a recording studio with R and recording some of his original tunes. I hope that it actually happens and is not a grand plan that never comes to fruition.

I have realized that my Ideal Band is not rehearsing with other musicians and then going out and playing a gig once a month. While I would not turn down such an opportunity, I don't have faith that such a situation will actually ever happen.

As evidence, I posted to a Facebook group for musicians in Cedar Rapids and, basically, said that I was available. At this moment, as I write this post, I have seen that a handful of other musicians "Liked" my post, but none of them reached out to say, "I need a drummer" or "I know so-and-so who is putting together a band - I mentioned you to him so he's expecting to hear from you." Also, the Musicians page for Craigslist in both Iowa City and Cedar Rapids do not have any prospects for me. There's a 90s band based in Des Moines looking for a drummer but I am not going to respond to that ad. Perhaps my Ideal Band is in my future.

Wednesday, June 2, 2021

Sportsmanship Rocks

Way Too Early Optimistic Thoughts about the 2021-2022 Iowa Men's Basketball Team

I'm really happy that Keegan Murray is getting some attention as the summer begins in 2022. As this article points out - Leistikow: With more NBA Draft buzz, Keegan Murray is Iowa's summer star - the 2021-2022 Iowa Hawkeyes that take the court this fall will look a lot different than the 2020-2021 team. From the article (I added the numbered list to make the article text easier to read

None of last year’s starting five will be on the floor for the first practice:

national player of the year Luka Garza is off to his pro career;
all-Big Ten wing Joe Wieskamp is exploring the NBA Draft process;
shooting guard CJ Fredrick has transferred to Kentucky; and ...
Jordan Bohannon (head injury from a May 24 bar altercation) [is in recovery mode]
Connor McCaffery (two hip surgeries) [is in recovery mode]
top reserve Jack Nunge has transferred to Xavier.

Yet, for Keegan Murray, his brother, who didn't get a lot of playing time last season, "new blood arriving in big-man transfer Filip Rebraca and recent high school graduates Riley Mulvey and Payton Sandfort", Patrick McCaffery, Joe Toussaint, and anyone else I'm forgetting, the challenge will remain the same as it is for any basketball team: chemistry. Who is going to emerge as the leader, both in the locker room and on the floor? Who is going to help Rebraca, Mulvey, and Sandfort get used to college and model outstanding citizenship as well as a work ethic to accomplish any task in front of them, both in and out of the classroom? I believe that all teams, whether it is at the junior high, high school, college, or professional level, start the off-season on a level playing field. I don't believe that any triumphs - or defeats - follow a team from season to season. Sure, TV analysts like to bring up previous games between teams and to discuss history, but on the basketball court, every game starts tied at zero. It's up to each team member to help their team win.

That is why, on Wednesday, June 2, 2021, I am optimistic about the 2021-2022 Iowa Hawkeyes. If the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, as it has been over the last few weeks, I foresee Carver-Hawkeye Arena being loud and a very tough environment for an opponent to enter and win a game. Coach Fran is a competitor and I have no reason to believe he will not instill that sense of competition, that sense of putting in the work now will yield a fruitful season in March 2022.

I am going to revisit this post on Thursday, June 2, 2022. I will be curious whether the 2021-2022 Iowa Hawkeyes had a successful season or if it was an exercise in frustration to watch them. Sincerely, I hope it is a successful season and I hope that I attend many many games with either Fred (of Fred and Julie) or Brian Rock or Jason Lest or Alex.