The last Monday in April

 Today is the 2nd day of the 18th week, the 29th day of the 4th month, the 120th day of 2024, and:

• Day of Remembrance for All Victims of Chemical Warfare
• International Dance Day
• National Peace Rose Day
• National Rugelach Day
• National Shrimp Scampi Day
• Shōwa Day - traditionally the start of the Golden Week holiday period
• Viral Video Day
• We Jump the World Day
• World Wish Day
• Zipper Day
• and Voyager I is 46 Yrs 07 Mos 24 Days and 15,125,049,783 mi/24,341,415,650 km/162.71231359 AU from Earth

Quote of the day:

"What do sharks do on Monday mornings?  They get up and start biting.  That's me."

~  Gemma Collins - English media personality and businesswoman who came to prominence via reality TV

Today, instead of posting in social platforms [usually Facebook, Twitter, and Mastadon], I have collected everything in one place, except for a couple of jokes that I posted.

The Enclave is an older building, and the way it was set up is that there can be heat or A/C.  The system has to be shut down, cleaned, and serviced before it can be switched over.  As is common with many counties, hereabouts there are laws about providing heat, but few about providing cooling.  And when you have whiplash weather, with Saturday's high being 57°F you have to keep the heat on, even if you know there will be Monday breaking records, there isn't much that can be done.  And when you live on the 20th floor [heat rises after all plus the roof is right above me and being baked by the sun], you are in for an uncomfortable time.  The daytime isn't too bad since the humidity is relatively low, provided you sit still with a fan blowing on you, but sleeping at night is difficult.

I continue, along with many legal pundits, to listen to the latest SCOTUS questioning with incredulity.  The MAGA judges, who in the past have espoused "originalism" to explain some of their controversial rulings, have all of a suddenly started seriously entertaining the fiction that POTUS is above the law.  One needs only to imagine how they would be reacting to a similar argument on behalf of Obama to realize how partisan the highest court of the land have become.  And quite frankly, Alito has been the worst of the bad bunch

The National Task Force on Election Crisis is keeping a handy dashboard tracking some voter issues that will directly impact the November elections.  

I follow a blog that writes about what Fox News viewers are seeing and not seeing of current events, knowing that those who get a steady diet of OANN or Newsmax are seeing similar stories.  The difference on a day-to-day basis is appalling.  Ever since the Reagan administration axed the Fairness Doctrine, it has become more and more possible to live in a bubble, a tendency only aggravated and abetted  by social media.

Not even this SCOTUS agrees with Elon Musk over his right to publish misleading information about his companies to artificially boost stock prices.  Must be a real shock to find out that shooting off your mouth has consequences for everyone!  Then again, adding bloat ware to the Tesla's computers so they can work when you aren't driving doesn't really seem like a good idea...   What could possibly go wrong?

This headline comes close to click bait - certainly I charge my phone overnight as do most folks I know!  But apparently some do not realize the hooking up a device to electricity and then putting it under your pillow isn't a good idea....

Nice to see Florida actually working with the House of the Mouse!  Seriously, every little bit helps getting through an expensive vacation and all visitors, no matter what their destination, appreciate it.

The only time I got into trouble about a direct report's vacation was after she had used up all her PTO for FMLA, and she quit when I informed her that the planned vacation would be leave without pay as a result.  But some bosses seem to feel that preapproved vacation scheduling should not be honored. 

Back in the 1980's, old-fashioned pensions were eliminated and 401(k)s created.  What this did was transfer the market risk from the company to the worker, and after downturns in 1999, 2008, and again in 2020, we learned just how much risk workers had been exposed to.  I have often commented that because I entered the workplace after my kids started school that I have the work profile of a person much younger, and I cannot afford to retire on what I have been able to save, my 401(k), and Social Security.   Retirement is a pipe dream for many and we all will be working as long as we can.

Is the internet a necessity?  I think so, especially in rural areas, and especially after seeing what role it played in keeping businesses going during the COVID shutdowns.  Connectivity, the ability to do things quickly and easily, is often assumed these days by banks, medical providers, and other services.  The GOP seems determined to cut funding for a bipartisan project to make sure internet is affordable.  I hope their voters remember this in November.  

My eldest grandchild, who will be 11 years old in a month, thoroughly understands how gender roles can define us.   

Joyce Vance has been an invaluable resource in keeping up with the various Trump trials - I can heartily recommend her because you definitely need a program to track all the various issues.  To understand legal issues in depth, I often rely on The Status Kuo, although they really get into the weeds sometimes and lose me.  Another blogger that I read faithfully puts what is happening today in an historical context, which I will admit, often makes the current events more frightening.  I never realized that the entire Republican party, not just the radical GOP, actually believe in an imperial presidency and reject the very definition of democracy. 

It is comforting that locals understand that you can be against what is happening in Gaza without being anti-Israel or anti semitic.   Of course Israel has the right to defend itself.  It does not have the right to flout international law and kill civilians at will on the pretext of rooting out Hamas.  As the protests on campuses show, this is an issue fraught with deep emotions.  I hope that as Passover comes to an end, wiser heads and better counsels prevail.  

The more I read about Modi, the less I like him.  First there is his well documented campaign against both Sikhs and Muslims in India, now there is documentation that like Russian, China, and Saudi Arabia, he feels his political opponents in other countries are fair game [gift article].

In gaming history, a little program that everyone played has its own documentary.  Take a look at The Oregon Trail.    

Flying overseas has become more dangerous as Russia and Hamas are actively blocking the GPS systems pilots rely on.  

It really does seem counterproductive to shoot one species of owl [gift article] so that another can live, especially when both are native North American species, but here we are, making the choice that one must die so the other can live.

Today the first trailer for Mufasa was dropped.  I wasn't that impressed with the live action Lion King, but of course, they make the prequel look very interesting

I wasn't aware that there had been a substantial decrease in the number of working-age men who have not been able to find jobs.  This article theorizes why that is the case, but for the traditionalists who define themselves as the breadwinner, it is a tough pill to swallow.    

Maybe when I was younger, I could handle a 10 hour day in order to go to a four day week, but I know I cannot do that now.  That said, I might be tempted if I could work 100% remote!  However, I agree that employers are simply not going to give an automatic 20% pay increase by cutting the definition of full time to 32 hours anytime soon though.  

And that is what I have been reading about and reflecting upon even while working through today.

It's Monday.
Again.