Back in my day we didn’t have cell phone video and doorbell cameras. If something epic happened all we could do was tell somebody. Which is why old people today start so many stories with “back in my day…”
This is Methuselah, a 90 year old Australian lungfish believed to be the oldest aquarium fish in the world. She has lived at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco since being brought from Australia in 1938.
What do Duran Duran, Lionel Richie and Dolly Parton all have in common? They, along with Beck, DEVO, Eminem and the Eurythmics, have been nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There are 17 nominees to the 2022 class. You can read the full list, bios, discography and find out about fan voting here.
These are different tubes of silicone caulk available at my local Home Depot. I have just a few observations. The tub and tile caulk offers excellent flexibility, strong adhesion and will remain mold free for 7 years. The price is in the $5 and change range. For just a couple of dollars more the Advanced Silicone offers 40% more flexibility, 5 times stronger adhesion and will not mold for 10 years. For another 2 or 3 dollars the Supreme Silicone is 100% more flexible, 7 times more adhesive and will not mold in this lifetime! All three products claim to be 100% silicone. If there were additional ingredients to make the more expensive products better, imbued with more desirable qualities, then they would not be 100% silicone. So what makes one tube of silicone more or less flexible, adhesive and mold resistant than another?
I understand why one might wish to convert a WAV file to an mp3 format. I get converting mp3 to m4a. Why would anyone need to convert an mp3 to mp3? Before this week I wouldn’t have imagined a need to do so. But when I tried to upload the audio file of iMonk Radio Podcast #9 on Wednesday evening, I got an error message stating that type of file was not allowed. I have uploaded over a hundred mp3’s of iMonk Radio already. Mp3 is one of many file types that I can upload to WordPress. I tried uploading episode 8 again just to see if that worked. It did. Episode 10 did not though. To make a long story short – if it’s not too late for that – I converted the mp3 file to mp3 and problem solved. Looks like I’ll be doing the same thing next week.
Jeff Bezos is buying a boat. More precisely he is having one custom built by a company in the Netherlands. The 400 ft. yacht comes with a whopping $500 million price tag.
This is the historic bridge that will have to be dismantled to let Bezos’s yacht reach the open sea. The bridge was restored after WWII and has since become a national monument. This story infuriates some people but let’s keep things in perspective. The bridge will be disassembled, the yacht will pass by, and the bridge will later be reassembled. If the company building the vessel and the government responsible for the bridge were not willing to work together to do these things, they would not have agreed to it in the first place. Don’t feel bad for the Netherlands. They are making $500 million. That single purchase represents 1/18 of the entire annual GDP for the nation.
My wife just learned there will be another Jurassic World installment. There were three Jurassic Park films and this will be the third Jurassic World, subtitled Dominion. She wanted to know if Chris Pratt would be in it, if not she isn’t going. I had to look it up but not only is Chris Pratt in it, so are Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill.
The opening ceremonies of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing were broadcast live Friday morning and again last night in prime time. The United States is diplomatically boycotting the Games, meaning no government officials or dignitaries will be in China, although we did sent 224 athletes to compete. The Olympics have always been strictly apolitical and yet this year, being in China and China being what it is on the global political landscape, the undertones are hard to miss. Covid of course originated in China the protocols and restrictions are strict and attendance at all events will be sparse. In lieu of everything, the few moments the Olympic athletes have on the world stage is often a once in a lifetime experience that the vast majority of us will never know first hand. The first medals will be awarded today, records are likely to be set, and hopefully there are some things to look forward to leading to memories that will never be forgotten. The Olympics give people hope that we can put our differences aside and come together for a common purpose. Since the modern era of Games began in 1896 there have been two world wars yet the Olympic spirit says we can and will do this.
The Master's Table 
I have long given up on what is considered “rock and roll” for the Hall of Fame. People moaned when hip hop acts like Run DMC and Grandmaster Flash started getting in. I think that the term “rock and roll” in this context is an attitude. So, is Dolly Parton “rock and roll?” I would say so because of her independent spirit and desire to get out from underneath Porter Wagner’s controlling and demeaning hand. Also, she’s influenced many “rock” artists in music, style, and business who believed that they did not need a man to be successful.
It’s great to see Duran Duran get nominated. I’m a fan who has been quietly waiting for their nomination. One of my and Brittany’s early dates was to a Duran concert thanks to Steve Wood. They’re definitely one I’ll vote for in the public ballot. Although they may not have the same level of cultural impact as a certain band from Liverpool. I see similarities (figuratively, of course). Both bands were dismissed as good-looking pin ups when they first came on the scene. Both grew in to great composers whose career-defining music stands the test of time long after they either broke up (the Beatles) or aged out of the Top 40 (Duran).
I’m glad Lionel Richie is nominated. He’s another one who had a long string of hits. I just hope he remembers to thank the Commodores bc they’re the ones who brought him to Top 40 party.
I liked the first two Jurassic World movies. It looks like they’re throwing in the kitchen sink by getting the original Jurassic Park cast to appear. Sam Neill and Goldbum have appeared in various sequels… never in the same film (check me on that)… but I think this is the first time Laura Dern has returned since the original. Looks like they’re going for a Force Awakens-sized nostalgia trip.
Thank you Dudley for commenting. Yeah, Jurassic World is going to throw everything at it like Spiderman: No Way Home. Or the new Ghostbusters, bringing back everyone including Egon. Or like Luke Skywalker appearing in not one but two Star Wars series. We live in a golden age of giving fans what they want. I do not understand why that was so hard to do for so many years.