BLOG ENTRY #22: I've said it before...

 I don't hate Donald Trump.

However......

I did not vote for Donald Trump.

Even though he addressed issues the country needed to deal with....

he is not the one to fix them.

The Immigration issue is bad.  The migrant issue should have been dealt with better than it was.

Congress hadn't effectively dealt with it either, but the last few years were crazy.

I don't trust Trump with foreign affairs.

I knew Trump couldn't fix the economy.  I am not surprised that the economy is worse.

I feel that race issues will be even worse than the economy is now.

Again, I don't hate Donald Trump.

I do think he is still entertaining.

BLOG ENTRY #21: NEW ENGLAND VACATION PART 2........I love Maine

I love visiting Providence Rhode Island and Portland, Maine.  I love the landscape and the people have always been great.  And there's nothing like Maine lobster.

BLOG ENTRY #20 NEW ENGLAND VACATION.....Part one, profiled in Boston

I have learned from traveling that, at least nowadays, a lot of things that go in in big cities in this country are the same.  In post-Covid Prince Georges County in Maryland, a lot of folks avoid paying the fare on the bus.  Same in Washington D.C.  Same in Atlanta.  Same in New York City.  Same in Oakland.  People violate the same quality of life laws all over.  The homeless situation is similar.  At transportation hubs in New York, you are likely to get approached by a homeless or mentally disturbed person.  Same in D.C.  I found out that it is the same in Boston.

I am on a weekend trip to Portland.  I took AMTRAK, so I had to connect from the Northeast Corridor to the Downeaster in Boston.  At the Boston North station, I had four hours to kill before my train boarded to Maine, so I decided to get something to eat.  They fixed up that station from the last time I was there in 2020 or 2021 and they added an indoor eatery.  Lots of nice looking places to eat, but my indecisive ass couldn't decide what I wanted.  Plus, I had very little sleep the night before, so I was tired.  I left the station and immediately caught the sun's rays and cool breeze.  I noticed a CVS across the street and after a few minutes, observing how Boston natives jaywalk, I went shopping at CVS. 

After getting my Claritan and Uber card, I went outside, basically at the spot in this photo, and sat down next to two ladies who were smoking cigarettes.  They left and I sat for a few minutes, getting the direct sunlight while still enjoying the breeze you don't get except for this time of the year and early autumn.  I am checking out my phone and while I am looking at some foolishness from Instagram, a cop rolled up on me. 

He came up on a scooter, I think. He could have walked up, since I wasn't paying attention.  He didn't look like a beat cop and he introduced himself as being a part of an outreach group.  That means homeless and drugs, from my experience.

He was reasonably polite and professional.  Not enough that I would trust him, but he also didn't press me for identification.  He told me that he had gotten a report about a man in this area who didn't seem to be able to walk well and may be in need of assistance.  I supposedly was the only one in the area.

I looked him straight in the eye and without being nasty or confrontational, I let him know I was en-route to Maine from New York.  He could see I wasn't homeless.  He could see I wasn't confused or doped out. Conversation lasted another 30 seconds and he left.

I wanted to get a little annoyed, but I didn't.  According to the cop, someone reported something.  Could be bullshit.  I am reasonably certain that cameras are all over that part of the city, especially with Patriot's Day coming in three days.   I would hate to think this was a "sitting while black" situation.

What balanced my thoughts were the fact that Boston is like other big cities, with homeless issues.  Police have to do the same thing at Penn Station in New York.  The officer only introduced himself to me.  He wasn't threatening or bullying, so I guess I have no problem. I don't have a Bostonian vibe.  He should have been able to tell that from the minute I opened my mouth if he couldn't by looking at me.

I was just starting to like Boston.

JUST A FAN'S POINT OF VIEW: The Product part 2

Right after I posted my opinions regarding today's wrestling, Scott Steiner just did an interview where he said that today's wrestlers are "soft"  Bret basically said the same thing.  And it's true.  The wrestling of 20 years ago featured more physicality.  The promos were still there but the action was more physical.  Today, everyone is a gymnast and almost every match has someone flying over the top ropes, getting caught by an opponent.

Bring back the 90s.

PHOTO FLASHBACK 2014: FLAT AND DULL

Traveling across the country is a beautiful experience.   I highly recommend if you are able to , to drive cross country.    Bus is another good way, though AMTRAK is far more comfortable.  Most of the country is beautiful scenery......except for the part I am about to share.  Unfortunately, the Midwest is uneventful.  To be specific, visually it is flat and dull.  I did see a few cows.....

PHOTO FLASHBACK 2014: KANSAS CITY UNION STATION

 In 2014, I had a training to Kansas City Missouri.   Not wanting to fly, my supervisor let me take AMTRAK back to New York.  The city was celebrating a century of that train station.

BLOG ENTRY #19: IDGAF about your regret

 I've been thinking about this subject for weeks, but never had the time, or couldn't make the time to research the numbers to validate my theory.  By chance, I took to Google this afternoon and found a few very good articles addressing Trump voter regret, a form of buyer's remorse.  The first two links address the top reasons voters are regretful, while the final link discusses a man who voted for Donald Trump despite being married to someone in the country illegally.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-supporter-listed-10-reasons-204247507.html

It is absolutely insane to think people actually believed that Trump was going to lower prices.  From my recollection, prices have been steadily climbing since the pandemic began in 2020.  Very little President Joe Biden did helped lower them, even after the country went back to a so-called normal life.  Add to Covid era prices, the bird flu affecting prices of eggs, those costs have been high.  I wouldn't be me if I didn't add "greed" as a contributing factor.  In any cases, Trump could never truly be expected to lower the prices for anything.

A lot of people didn't realize that parts of retirement benefits work with the stock market, including retired people.  So Trump's tariffs, already causing problems with the stock market, are causing 401K holders (and Thrift benefit account holders) to lose parts of their nest egg.  To keep from losing most of my federal Thrift Savings, I may be forced to remove it all together and just place it in the bank.

https://www.theroot.com/15-examples-of-regretful-maga-folks-who-messed-around-a-1851775715/slides/3

All of the reasons raised make complete sense, and if you didn't vote for the current administration, my heart goes out to you.  You did what you could to avoid having a catastrophe from happening.  However, if you did  by chance vote for Trump and you have lost your job or are concerned about the country's position with Russia, IDGAF.  Between 2016-2020, we all had a taste of the Trump presidency, so if you voted the second time, you enjoy punishment.  I don't care about your suffering.

https://www.salon.com/2025/03/21/i-dont-regret-the-vote-why-most-stand-by-him-even-as-he-ruins-their-lives/

JUST AN AVERAGE FAN'S POINT OF VIEW: The Product

I guess I will watch pro wrestling now.....at least, World Wrestling Entertainment...and more than I have been watching.

I reintroduced myself the product a few weeks ago and it wasn't horrible.    It's not as good as I once remembered it, but I didn't really expect it to be.

Thing is, in the few weeks I have tuned in to Netflix for RAW, I don't recall seeing any good matches.  There were personalities or "superstars" who stood out, however, no matches.  Rhea Ripley lost her match and her title to Iyo Sky.  The match was ultimately nothing but to set up a triple threat match between the two and Bianca Bel Air, whose presence at that match helped Ripley lose.

There were a few matches involving Bron Brekker, the very impressive son of former pro wrestler Rick Steiner and the Judgement Day, but the matches themselves were  pretty much just okay events to showcase Brekker.

Match-wise, nothing else stood out.  There were some very good promos though.   CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes and John Cena kept you engaged in their matches and feuds.  Even the Ripley-Sky-Bel Air encounter was good.  But the program is still about wrestling. 

Bret Hart recently made a statement regarding the state of today's pro wrestling and basically said that a lot of the talent today are people acting like wrestlers.  He mentioned that so much emphasis is on skits and promos.  Later reports stated that he was referring to AEW Wrestling, but I think the statement is true, even for the WWE.    It's no secret today that the matches are booked.  They always have been.  However, years ago, a significant effort was made to let a good story be told inside the ring.  Undertaker matches, Bret Hart matches, Ric Flair matches, Kurt Angle, Steve Austin, etc., etc., were thorough and didn't look like someone just running through the motions.  During the wrestling wars in the 1990s, I could always get a great cruiser-weight match involving Rey Mysterio, Dean Malenko or Chris Benoit.  Or I could tune into ECW and see some excellent matches...and some violence.  Not today.

I will still watch RAW...or parts of it , from time to time.  Otherwise, I would rather tune into Jim Cornette's podcast on Youtube and get the dirt there.

JUST AN AVERAGE FAN'S POINT OF VIEW: John Cena

 It's been a few weeks since John Cena went bad at the Royal Rumble , and even though it is still the talk on pro wrestling, I am still under-whelmed.  I can't say that I was actually ever a John Cena fan.  I never hated him, but I was not a part of "let's go Cena/Cena sucks".  I respected the hard work he did.  Cena put a lot of energy into his role for the 25 years (he says) he was in it.  I just didn't jibe with him.  So his recent heel turn didn't devastate me.

Check out YouTube for the links to the heel turn and promo.

To a lot of wrestling fans, this is the biggest heel turn since Hulk Hogan joined the NWO in the 1990s.

It didn't do a lot for me.  It was stunning, but nothing ground breaking.  Check out Larry Zbyszko's heel turn on Bruno back in 1980.  Much more believable and the move had far worse consequences.  And it just had better drama.  The build-up to Zbyszko's turn was about one month or two.  Cena's  was apparently immediate.  Granted, you cannot compare Larry Zbyszko to John Cena.  Cena was the face of the company, while Zbyszko was a mid-card wrestler, but was the protege of the living legend.

John Cena doesn't seem believable as a heel.  His facial expressions don't convince me.  His promo was pretty good, but I am not moved yet, even though he insulted the WWE fans (including kids).

BLOG ENTRY #18

 I retired from my federal civil service job on January 28, 2025.  I had a regular doctor's appointment a couple of weeks earlier.  I was 286 pounds.  Today, I weighed myself and I am 268 pounds.  I am positive, retiring helped me to lose weight.

I don't think I ever ate healthy during my close to 30 years at the job.  I was sedentary most of the day, though I was occasionally active.  I would eat the occasional junk food while sitting at my desk.

For the past few weeks I have been eating differently.  More vegetables.  I eat smaller portions more.  I don't care for outside fried foods as much as I used to.  I will eat my own, but I think restaurants may overuse oil.  Whatever they do, I don't like their fried foods as much as I used to.

Whatever the case, I aim to lose a few more pounds before the beginning of the summer.