Author: Kris Roley

  • JOURNAL: Tuesday, November 7th, 2023

    I’m sure you know the old cliché, “The dog that caught the car.” If not, it’s when a person attains an ambitious goal and has no idea what to do next. Watching the election results this evening, I thought Dobbs was just one example of the car: the recent Speaker’s election and the preceding three weeks with a stalled House being another. An argument could be made that the response to COVID-19 is another car, and you might make the argument that it’s not a bunch of cars, rather everything since January 2017 is one large bus.

    You would think that after years in the minority, and in the case of Dobbs, 50 years of planning for the day Roe would be overturned, there would have been a plan. Not so much, which leads us to a hard truth: Today’s Republican Party has no interest in plans, policy, or even the bare minimum of governing. This new group is only there for the clicks.

    After years of getting my hopes up at other companies, I stopped worrying about merit increases a long time ago. If the company chose to give me anything for my work, I considered it gravy. I’ve been a salaried employee for a little less than ten years between two places, and the increases are usually better than anything I ever received as an hourly employee. It’s those 25 cent raises that beat the hope out of me, so I don’t worry about it. So it was nice to have received a note from on high telling me that I received something more appropriate for my work over the year. I still come from the school of not disclosing what I make to anyone, other than to say that I now make more than I’ve made anywhere else. As long as the bills are paid and I can still buy eggs, I’m solid.

    Friday off for the holiday, and we’re thinking about heading west to the Blue Ridge to see if we can squeeze the last bit of fall color out of the trees. Last year we went to High Bridge State Park, and in a strange twist, I had no trouble with the heights but Kim had terrible vertigo. Additionally, we had a storm come through that week, and it wiped out most of the leafs on the way through. Not a total bust, but close. Hoping for some better luck this year. Trust I’ll put some photos up here if we get lucky.

  • LINK: James Corden Inks New Podcast for SiriusXM

    I’m reminded of the revival of the British comedy show Spitting Image (see: Genesis’ Land of Confusion video) where any time I’ve seen Corden’s puppet on the show, it is usually shot in the head. The British knew all along.

    Friends don’t let friends Corden.

  • JOURNAL: November 6th, 2023

    A little housekeeping, even if you see it right up front. I’ve changed the theme of this site to something more manageable. The momentary downside is that it’s gray, and adding in some additional CSS code doesn’t quite cover it, so I’ll work on that. I like my blue and white jam. I was using a WP theme that I had to shoehorn it into doing what I wanted it to do. This one just does it by default. Roley happy now. Almost.

    I don’t know who needs to hear this, but when you slap a sociopath on the wrist for his bullshit, it’s not a disincentive. In fact, they’ll think they got away with it. They’ll hit you with more bullshit, and it will get worse. Stop coddling the sociopath.

    I wrote a video script today. it’s very short, but it works and that’s all I need it to do. Stay tuned.

    There’s a definite upside and downside to working with a cat in your lap. Both happen to be that you have a cat in your lap.

  • LINK: Trump Testily Testifies (CNN)

    I believe Trump is almost daring this judge to throw him in jail because he believes the persecution card is worth it.

    I wonder if a better idea would be continue to fine him heavily, demand the money in a timely manner, and figure out a way to give every fine he pays to places like Planned Parenthood, Everytown for Gun Safety, Immigrant Advocates Network, and so on.

    That probably can’t happen, but it damn well should.

  • BOOK: Romney – A Reckoning

    A very compelling book. Yes, there’s a lot of tea to be spilled here, but the big revelation—at least for me—is that Mitt Romney is a decent human being who has an amazing sense of humor about himself. Possibly wishing for a time when there was less chaos than today, but I wonder about what a Romney Presidency would look like.

    We need less of what passes for a Republican today and more Mitt Romneys. Even if I thought they were wrong at governing, at least they could govern.

    Read the book. You might surprise yourself.

  • APPEARANCE: Deprogrammed–The Tragically Hip

    Recently, I was honored to take part in a podcast with Justin and my friends at the Legion of Stupid, where we talked about a great Canadian band that should have made it in America: The Tragically Hip.

    For the perceptive, LoS are the same folks that do the Belle and Dubs podcast that I’ve appeared on a few times. Great folks, and I’ll pretty much stand on my head if they ask. Give them a listen.

    The Legion of Stupid

  • Shutter Saturday: Oreo Has No Comment

    Oreo is not a fan of the paparazzi and asks you to direct all questions to her media rep.

  • Shutter Saturday: Old Man Films At Cloud

    Kimmers took these photos of your intrepid creator.

  • Friday, October 13th, 2023

    I’ve often said that just don’t think my life is that damn interesting. That was no more apparent to me when I tried to make a daily vlog, and realized that I do pretty much the same thing every day. That doesn’t really lend itself to compelling video.

    However, the reason for starting to do some kind of weekly vlog isn’t for the content, it’s really for the chops. If I start making some sort of weekly diary, it’s for keeping in practice with videography and editing. Not that I think I’ll ever get another job doing it ever again, but it’s for my satisfaction that I can do it. I don’t expect that to make sense to anyone, but for me it’s very much a matter of pride at this point.

  • Thursday, October 12th, 2023

    The last few weeks of the Podcast have been less than ten minutes long, because they’re TikTok friendly. Would you believe that the podcast gets more views and engagement on TikTok than anywhere else?

    I said that I would do that as long as I had nothing else to do, but I’m feeling the urge to do more as we continue to move on. I realize that it doesn’t have to be a format, although my brain wants to continue to format it a certain way. If I take my own advice and make it a living diary that I invite you all to read, then that’s how we proceed.

    So the podcast—as ever—will change, because I change.

    When? I don’t know that quite yet. We’ll see.