Not a lot today, except to say that I forgot one of Roscoe’s quirks – he absolutely loves to lick toilet paper rolls. Usually they are the ones out on the roller, but sometimes he’ll get into the supply of them and go to town. Anyhow, I also forgot to call my friend yesterday. I did get a call from one and we talked for an hour, but I am mad at myself for missing the scheduled call and catching up.
My wife and I have often talked about taking a train trip – getting a private room and traveling across the country for a couple days, exploring the area, then doing the same back. Well we might just do that! We had been talking about taking a trip to New York for the Phantom of the Opera Experience, but instead of flying out just for a couple days, we might take a week and make a whole vacation out of it. It is something I have thought of doing for many years, and it just seems like an opportune time to do so. Other than that, we have no real travel plans, though there was some discussion about a trip to California to visit the in-laws.
Years ago, Ryan from the now defunct site Some Idiot and I discussed a “Tour of Doom” trip around the country to meet up with others involved in the E/N web scene. We never went far with that idea, but it was fun to talk about, and traveling by train was one of the ideas. I mean, back then we had the kidneys of 20-somethings and planned to be intoxicated for most of the trip, so it made sense to plan the trip to minimize the need for our own driving. But as much as we wanted to meet people, a big part of the idea was to see the country from the road. I’ll often think back to our chats about the idea and wish we had pulled the trigger and moved forward with the plan.
But these days, even though I no longer have the desire to meet a bunch of people, I still would love to see the whole country from the road. I’ve done several road trips (even the cross country one) and enjoyed the feeling of adventure. It’s a bit different these days with my physical limitations, and long road trips are much more fatiguing, but I think traveling on a train could be the comfortable middle ground to see this dream to fruition.
Interesting Tidbits
Song of the day: Die Born by Days of the New
The shutdown proves it: We don’t need so much government after all
MORE RUSH CONCERT DATES!!! Iconic Rock Band Makes Big Announcement Ahead of Highly Anticipated Reunion Tour: ‘We Are Blown Away’ – “Today, October 20, band members Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee revealed that they are adding 17 more cities to the lineup of their Fifty Something Tour, which is set to begin in June 2026.”
Dream Theater Announce 14-Disc CD Box Set and Vol. 3 of Vinyl Collection – “Dream Theater are rolling out a 14-CD box set containing multiple studio albums, as well as Vol. 3 of their vinyl box set series. Both arrive November 21st via Rhino.”
Steal the guitar tone from any song with this AI-powered effects pedal – “This one’s for guitarists who enjoy messing with tones, but spend way too much time trying to lock in the perfect sound. Groundhog Audio claims its tech can match the tone from any song and drop it into a compact pedal at your feet – no knob twiddling necessary.”
Scientists scramble for answers after ‘interstellar object’ makes shock turn towards the sun – “A leading astrophysicist has suggested the object could be an alien ‘Trojan Horse’ heading toward Earth”
Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s first female prime minister, plays Iron Maiden and Deep Purple to let off steam – “Speaking on Japanese radio station Tokyo FM’s “BABYMETAL” podcast in August, Takaichi confirmed a longtime affinity for the iconic British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, but said her favorite artist was Japanese drummer Yoshiki, of the X JAPAN rock band from Chiba.”
The rebirth of deathcare – “For many, voluntary assisted dying has come to symbolise control over how life ends. Yet dying well isn’t just about those final hours. That’s where a deathwalker like Zenith can help.”
A theory why the internet is going down the toilet – “In his new book, Doctorow argues there’s a pattern in how these platforms operate. The companies behind these platforms are basically middlemen, connecting their users with businesses that want to make money from these users. So, for example, Facebook and Google connect their users with advertisers. Amazon connects its users with third-party merchants on its marketplace.”
This company’s plan to launch 4,000 massive space mirrors has scientists alarmed: ‘From an astronomical perspective, that’s pretty catastrophic’ – “Reflect Orbital says their light-on-demand idea has generated significant interest from commercial and government customers.”
This CIA code went unsolved for 35 years. An amateur discovered the answer in plain sight – “Enthusiasts have found answer to a puzzle outside security agency’s headquarters, but their methods have split the codebreaking community”