ROLEY

Category: Blog

  • Tuesday, Jan 7th, 2025

    • I need to see this out in the discourse if it isn’t already: “STOP PERSECUTING US!!! (said the people in charge)”.
    • Would someone please tell Nancy Mace that the extra is getting tiresome? Four years ago, your fellow cult members were wiping shit on the walls and crushing cops in doorways. You braved the snow. We are not the same, you wilted cabbage. Have a Coke, a smile, and a fucking seat.
    • If you’re not dialed in on the various blog content management systems that exist, this may not mean anything to you, but there’s been a little bit of drama surrounding WordPress lately, enough of it to the point that I started looking around at alternatives. I ruled out Squarespace immediately because I’ve already seen that movie and I don’t need all the bells and whistles. I’m not thinking about making this a monetary success anymore, I just want to have fun. I’d like to draw your attention to two other systems I looked at recently:
      • micro.blog — This platform is for regular content creators but allows it to be your social hub. You can subscribe to your RSS feeds and then share the content you post everywhere to, well, everywhere else. That’s fine if you want to use your social networks to promote your content. I don’t, at least not for right now. Also, almost all the people on micro.blog that I read had a primary blog elsewhere. That seems redundant to me.
      • Ghost — This platform allows professionals to share their content like a newsletter, allowing monetization. It’s Medium without the posts about how to make money on Medium.

        WordPress, for all its drama, is likely the best option for most people if you’re just…y’know…blogging.

  • Monday, January 6th, 2025

    • Everyone knows what day it is and is well aware of what happened on this day. There was a point when we all agreed that it was horrible, but that was short-lived. Today, we saw how it’s supposed to be done, lest we forget.
    • If you believe we’re merging with Canada and buying Greenland, I can’t help you. He got a rise out of us. It’s covefe. It’s “the calm before the storm.’ It’s the Sharpie. I keep saying that his fear is not being shamed, he has no shame. His fear is the day he bleats out some insane rant, and hears nothing in response. No reaction. No anger. Nothing. Trust me, it drives people like him nuts. I know this from experience.
    • I started the studio redesign this weekend. I have a new L-shaped desk for my Mac and my WFH stuff. I still have much to do, but I must confess that I overlooked something: This desk does not have a lip or space for my mic desk clamp. Looking for solutions. That’s why there was no podcast this weekend. I’ll resolve it as soon as possible.

  • Friday, January 3rd, 2025

    • I wonder what Mike Johnson had to give those two congressmen to keep his job. The old curse is that we live in interesting times. It’s going to be an interesting two years.
    • I try not to spend every waking moment in my office. So, I take my iPad Pro into the living room. I try to be social while I do what passes for research and writing. The fine folks at WordPress have an app for that called Jetpack. For the most part, I like it. The only problem is that I can’t copy the format of an earlier post. It considers every line in a post to be a separate block. I wondered if it works in the iPadOS Safari Browser, it does not. Finally, I went to my iMac, and it works there. If I copy the template from the iMac into my Notes app and copy it from there it works. I wonder why there’s a difference.
    • One of the things I’m looking forward to is playing with some new toys from ShiftCam. I have a new SnapGrip, the Stand Max, and a Snap Pocket light. These attach magnetically to my iPhone for photography and videography. Over the next year, I intend to use my iPhone exclusively, because it’s less bulky and easier to pack. I hope it means the device is easier to use. If the process has more friction, I won’t use it. It doesn’t seem difficult, so it’s up to the space between my ears.

  • Thursday, January 2nd, 2025

    • Watching the events of yesterday, I’m reminded that often the fastest and loudest takes right after some act of violence has taken place is usually made by people who don’t know what they’re talking about, or by people who are paid to be the fastest and loudest and STILL don’t know what they’re talking about. This includes a small but merry band of alleged ‘journalists’ that are more interested in engagement than accuracy.
    • We can boil all social media down to one sentence we’ve all learned: I don’t know who needs to hear this, but… No one needs to hear anything on social media. What we’re doing is attention-seeking. That’s the addiction. I’m not saying that’s wrong, but see it for what it is. Even blogging is a cry for that same attention, but there’s no bigger test of quality. The leap of faith you take with a blog is writing things people want to read. Or, you choose not to care and write it anyway. I’ve chosen the latter. It’s not that I don’t care what you think, it’s more like I don’t care to filter my opinion and I feel it’s more appropriate to do that here.

  • The Verbs, January 2025

    Watching: 1923, from the Yellowstone series (Paramount +)

    Reading: The Black Echo by Michael Connelly

    Jamming: Live 1978-1992 by Dire Straits

    Podding: The Black Dahlia Serial Killers by Wondery

    Working: Right here on this site. I’m just working on creating content for now.

  • Wednesday, January 1st, 2025

    • As much as I’d like to write some flowery New Year’s related prose here, I will resist the urge. I never live up to it anyway.
    • From a numerology standpoint–if you’re inclined to believe that stuff–this would be a ‘4’ year for me, where I lay a foundation for whatever is to come. I’ve been through one of these years about a decade ago. I did not get the message, or this stuff is just cyclical. It’s probably as much a bunch of hokum as astrology. To be fair though, the day I was rear-ended by a drunk driver in 1988, my horoscope said that ‘evening would find you in a bit of a scrape’. So, I’ll stay open to the Universe, thanks.
    • I don’t want to spend the next year–or four–obsessing over the dementia patient and the techpolitburo. If anything, this is where being a card-carrying member of Generation X may come in handy. Maintain an overdeveloped sense of cynicism, sarcasm, and dark humor, and get on with it. Wolverines, Bueller, and Amen.

  • Wednesday, December 4th, 2024

    I have but one takeaway from today’s US v. Skrmetti oral argument, but it’s informative: The TN GOP is all about parental rights until they don’t fit the agenda. In this case, the government knows better than parents what’s in the child’s best interest. These drugs harm a child’s body irreversibly. So does being pregnant at a young age, but y’all aren’t concerned about that one in Tennessee, are you?

    On a related note, Glenn ‘Kane’ Jacobs is mulling a run for Governor of Tennessee. Politics has become pro wrestling in suits so I suppose that’s logical. Surprisingly, the one guy in 30 years who made you believe he was a redneck rattlesnake, wasn’t. Go figure.

    Since we’re on the subject of pro wrestling, I have never liked that walking hot dog Hogan. I have never liked good guys. Bad guys were WAY more interesting. I was a Piper fan. I was a Jake Roberts fan. These days, the line has blurred because we’re not interested in good/bad anymore. These aren’t superheroes, they’re people. Since the Attitude Era, we’ve realized that characters who evolve and have reasons for their actions are more interesting. CM Punk, Karrion Kross, and Hangman Adam Page are great examples. I have one exception to this: Bray Wyatt. I miss him more than anyone I’ve ever rooted for. Hands down the best character since The Undertaker. I’ll die on that hill.

    I’m beginning to think that anytime someone beats their chest loudly on TV and says that they’re not going to back down, wait 24 hours or so. I don’t know who was first, but I’ve named this Agnew’s Law. How long before Agnew’s Law applies to Hygiene Hegseth? he came out today saying he’s not backing down and said all the attacks on him came from anonymous sources. His mom, for example… Wave bye-bye to the E-Ring, Hygiene Boi.

    Something to pay attention to in the House of Representatives: Jerry Nadler (D) NY, has been the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee for a long time. He has announced he’s stepping down and endorsed Jamie Raskin of MD to take his place. This is interesting because Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) has said she might run for ranking member of Oversight if Raskin gets Judiciary. There are many reasons to root for this happening, but let’s focus on two. First, James Comer is the Chairman and is going to lose his damn mind dealing with her. Secondly, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nancy Mace, and Lauren Boebert are on Oversight and at least one of them will try to take AOC on. Take my advice: If this happens, Start watching C-Span, particularly the oversight hearings. They might get lively. There is one thing the House GOP might try, and that is to try to use something AOC says out of context to strip her of committee assignments. I predict MTG will be the one to pull this stunt to ‘own the libs’. Watch this space.

  • Monday, December 2nd, 2024

    There’s an old joke that Gallagher—yes, the watermelon guy—used to tell about the first humans on the planet. They were all nomads. They’d settle somewhere, look around, and say, “Hey, I like it here. ” Then, a few months later, they didn’t like it so much. The root of the problem was that indoor plumbing hadn’t been invented yet, so after a while, it was time to pack up and move somewhere else, preferably upwind.

    This is how I feel about the office/studio where I spend my workday. I did a little decoration in 2018 to keep myself from going nuts when Devin was in the hospital, and if I’m honest, there’s nothing wrong with it. I’m just bored with it and I want to do something else. I keep getting ideas from YouTube from other creators who have done amazing stuff with their office, but I have to remember that these folks have a name and sponsorships. They also have that one other thing…money. I don’t have big money, so anything I do will be piecemeal. I’ll figure out a design and the cost, and then start collecting the parts. I think this would be a good thing to document on video. Stay tuned.

    I think the moment that Meghan McCain decided to weigh in on the Hunter Biden pardon was the moment irony hurled itself into the sun. I’ve read what most everyone has to say about the pardon, and every one of their paychecks depends on them being on whatever side they’re on. In the end, I’m going to remind you of the sage wisdom of Dick Cheney: So what? You know what Joe Biden did? He saved his son in the only way he could, because he could. He couldn’t save his first wife and daughter, and he couldn’t save Beau. He saved his son Hunter. If you can’t have a sliver of sympathy for that, you’re beyond hope. The only thing I can’t stand about this is that Bobo/Butthead/ThreeToes are going to co-opt a talking point I am sick of: No one is above the law. So, for those of you who missed the takeover of the term “Fake News” the minute Trump said that to Jim Acosta from the podium, you’re in for a fun time.

    Just so we’re clear, there are 20 plus seasons of various Law & Orders and assorted NCIS-es to keep your mind off this bullshit.

  • Monday, November 25th, 2024

    The week of Thanksgiving means one thing to me: The crazy people are about to hit the roads. My shopping is pretty much done already, so I try to stay away from the places crazy people go during the holidays. The groceries get picked up or delivered, I give the mall a wide berth, and I try to stay away from anything that looks like an accident waiting to happen. There’s nothing like heading down the expressway at 55 to have a car stuck in the exit lane cut left into your lane with no warning and about 100 feet to make a decision. That will wake you up, trust me. That said, I don’t complain so much about the crazies around here so much anymore, and there’s a good reason for that: I’ve been to New York City.

    I’m good, thanks.

  • Thursday, November 21st, 2024

    Don’t gloat over Gaetz just yet. There’s about to be a vacant Senate seat in Florida, and I think he got offered a consolation prize to withdraw from consideration for AG. Also, don’t get your hopes up about turning Gaetz’s district blue. It’s been red since Joe Scarborough won it in 1994. Could it go blue? Yes. Could I also sprout enough hair on the top of my head to cover my bald spot? Also yes, but like the former it would take a lot of help.

    I’ve been trying to wrap my head around the disconnect between the Right and Left and how they use the media. Going to give this some more thought before I open my mouth. Clearly, there’s a difference.

    The more I use Bluesky, the more I’m liking it. However, something happened on my Threads account this morning, when I first logged into it this morning it presented me with a toggle switch. Turning it on would allow me to see more political content. Go to Settings > Account > Political Content to get there.

    I’ve noticed something hilarious on Bluesky. Folks on Xitter that cried so much about ‘muh free speech” that an overgrown man-child with more money than God and barely enough self-control bought it, are the same folks who realize that now that they’re talking to themselves it’s no fun. So, they’re coming over to Bluesky….and getting blocked or banned like A Taint. The same thing is happening on Threads to some degree. Why are they so mad? They got the safe space they wanted to be as disgusting as they like. D’ya suppose that free speech was never the problem at all? It’s almost as if they have no actual identity without being assholes. Touch grass, like the younglings say.

    Related: Using Threads and Bluesky (deck.blue) on the desktop is amazing. If you ever had Tweetdeck, it’s that same design. I can’t tell you how much I miss Tweetdeck. 10/10 would recommend.