2020

It's been a long time since I've written to this blog, but seeing as to how I don't seem to have another outlet, and I'd like to put this out there to albeit what is a very small group...

To put into perspective what a bad year 2020 has been...

In January, I lost who had been my best friend.  We weren't quite as close as we once were.  It had been difficult to watch someone so close succumb to mental illness.  To witness over time how a person could push away his friends, family, loved ones was difficult.  For it to have ended in his unexpected demise at 42 years old has left me shaken and insurmountably devastated.  As with many a pain, it has become more bearable with the passage or time.  However, some wounds never heal, and even if they do they leave behind an indelible scar that remains.  You may forget about it for awhile--Periods of time both long and short.   Yet it's always there as a reminder.
In fact only days earlier, I had gathered with a group of close friends, all of whom had either been pushed aside already, or were ominously soon-to-be.  But I digress, this isn't really about that time, forgive me.  Those who were there know how happy I was to be with them at that much better time.  How bittersweet it was to see them again too soon at the memorial...


In the midst of this, we've been planning my son's Bar Mitzvah.  Invitations and ridiculous trouble with the mail.  Meeting the the entertainment, the caterers, the rabbi, etc.  The time shuttling my son to and from the temple.  THE PAYMENTS!
To add to the stress, my wife is in the first year as a principal at an inner city elementary school.  She's beyond stressed.  I'm trying to be there for her, my son, my younger son who's doing AMAZING despite getting lost in the shuffle.  Trying to run a business, support my wife, plan a Bar Mitzvah, be a good father, it's tough in general, but lots of people do it.   Doing it while grieving for my friend added a ton of weight to the situation.

But, well hey, why not.  Let's throw in the Corona Virus COVID-19.

Now the Bar Mitzvah has been postponed.  The temple?  Closed all together due to having had positive test(s).  The caterer?  Well, what does that matter.  Keep an appropriate #SocialDistance.
If you have to be around other people, wear your gloves and mask.  A good N/P95 if you can find one! (you can't).  Maybe you'll find some toilet paper (out of stock) or some meat or chicken (out of stock). 

Now we're in self-isolation.  On the verge of all-out quarantine.  If I'm lucky, I'll still be able to pick up my groceries from the curbside pickup at my appointment--sometime next week (earliest I could get and damn lucky to get it).  I'm more optimistic that I'll be able to pick up the cake for my soon to be a #QuaranTeenager

But hey, it was a beautiful day today.  Went outside for a family walk/bike.  Kept an appropriate--you guessed it #SocialDistance from everyone else with similar ideas.  I mean a beautiful day.  Low to mid 70s, low humidity.  Yet somehow in some way, I managed to get caught outside for the 3 minutes that a stray shower POURED just overhead.

No folks, 2020 simply has NOT been my year.

Unique

Just a point of grammar that's been driving me crazy.  The word is "unique."  This word is very much like the word "dead."
Let me fill you in.  Something or someone is either unique or not unique.  There is no kind of unique or very unique, etc. I'm reminded of Miracle Max in the movie, "The Princess Bride," who said something along the lines of--this man isn't dead--he's only mostly dead!
You're either dead or alive.  There are no degrees of dead.
Unique is very much the same.  The very meaning of unique is one of a kind.  So unique simply doesn't exist.  It's either unique or it's not.
To say that something is very unique would be to describe a woman as a little bit pregnant.  It simply doesn't work.  I'm sure that Vizzini would agree--such misuse is inconceivable!!!

Overimbibed

Suffice to say, when the manager of an establishment has to board a shuttle bus departing a wedding to ask if you specifically made it onto said bus and if you think you're ok to make it back to the hotel, you've probably overdone it. 

The Man With The Yellow Hat

I was unable to provide answers when my son questioned me as to the nature of the relationship between Curious George and the man with the yellow hat.

Leave Your Shirt On

I was present for the Phish 2 day run at Jones Beach over the 4th of July this past week.  There's something bothering me that I just have to vent about.  We're all together in this thing called life.  There's this thing called a society, and being part of one includes you in a certain code of ethics that need to be followed.  Having said that, one of those things applies to concerts:
Wear your shirt!
We are all pressed together in fairly close quarters, and it is a violation of basic decorum to go shirtless during a concert.  I'm not talking about an outdoor GA lawn venue, where your are free to hang out in the back away from the masses and generally subscribe to a looser code.  I'm addressing a venue with seats, where bodies are basically cramped in tight side by side, front and back.  There is a certain social credence, by which we have consideration for our fellow persons.  This pertains to wearing your shirt at a concert.  I don't strictly direct this to the fat, hairy, sweaty men.  This is directed to all people--even you, Mr. "I spend 20 hours a week at the gym."  This also includes women, of all ilk.  Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of the female form.  However, there is a time and place for everything, and a concert is a time and place for the shirted.
The shirt is the basic fiber that allows for the separation of your sweaty body from other persons who don't want anything to do with your excretion of bodily fluids.  Violating this social contract is simply poor form.  I understand that is unconscionably hot outside.  I understand the desire to get cool by the simple removal of one's shirt.  I also understand that this is not a beach or a swimming pool, and that there must be a consideration for others.
Just think about it.  You're at a concert, your dancing, or listening, or just doing your thing.  The music is flowing.  You're finding your groove.  Just then, a sweaty, hairy shoulder blade slides across your forearm.  That's it.  Just like that the groove is shaken.  Sure it's only a temporary moment, and you're sure to shake it off.  But that moment did not have to happen if the guy next to you would simply leave his shirt on!
End rant...

Products That Work 2

Recently, I acquired an iPad 2. There are several cover options, but the one I've found to be not only the best product, but also the best value was: click me.

This cover, from monprice.com is a better designed, less expensive version of apple's own smart cover. This cover offers protection for the back of the device--whereas the apple smart cover only protects the front of the device. Also, this product clips on securely and stays on, unlike apple's version which with its flimsy magnetic clip on design, falls off constantly.

Just like apple's version, this cover offers a magnetic cover that turns the device on and off when it is opened and closed. It also folds to provide both an upright stand and gently angled keyboard stand.

Do yourself a favor. Buy the better product, and save yourself a few dollars. The monoprice version is about $10, while the apple version ranges from $30-$55.

Houston Texans

I feel pretty bad for the Houston Texans. With Peyton Manning likely out for the season, and the Colts off to a dreadful start, this was their big chance to win their division and make a little noise in the playoffs. All of a sudden, a "hurdle" in the road of their top wide receiver.--Now a tough, season-ending injury to Mario Williams, not only one of their best defensive players, but arguably one of the top 10 defensive players in all of the AFC, if not the NFL.
The AFC South now looks to be a two team race with the Titans, with Jacksonville down in the dumps, with no hope at all of getting rescued by a Hall of Fame quarterback in this season or the next.