CHARGE!

My wife and I are a great team.  We have established a good record doing the Connections and Sports Connections puzzles in the Times. More importantly, we recently collaborated on getting her new EV charged. It is amazing what two utterly clueless humans can do when they put their heads together. We first plugged into a regular outlet at home and figured out a full charge would take about a week. We then went to the Tesla chargers by Target.  We fumbled around trying to figure it out until a Tesla employee who happened to be there explained that the V2 chargers there were not compatible with other makes. We downloaded the Tesla app to figure out other places. We went to an apartment building but couldn’t make it work.  Then we went to large complex on Bounty and drove around for quite a while.  If the cops were there, they would have thought we were casing the joint.  We finally located the charger but should have taken a hint when the sign said EV parking vs. EV charging.  We plugged in and the charging time showed up as 7 hours plus.  We gave up for the day.  After some research we found V4 chargers by Piazza and got from 50% to 100% in about 20 minutes.  Monday morning the electrician is coming to install a new 50-amp outlet in our garage. We just finished clearing space for him, which led us to throwing out some junk and putting other stuff on Facebook Buy Nothing.

We headed up to the city Thursday afternoon in the new Hyundai. #1 let us stay at his duplex on Corbett, since we had several activities into Friday afternoon.  I’m repaying him by posting this blog. We took the Wig kids #2 and #4 out to dinner at La Ciccia.  The white anchovies, grilled calamari and tomato appetizers were all a knockout. I went with the gnocchetti for the entrée and was not disappointed.

Friday morning we went to the Presidio to pick up our girl. She is in town for the wedding of her brother-in-law.  It was a bit foggy, so we are hoping for better weather for the big event today. We had the opportunity to chat with AG, her dad and her aunts before we headed over to breakfast at Home Plate on Lombard. After a few sips of my $6.50 cappuccino, I dipped my toast into my over easy eggs. I clearly went at it ham-handedly, as a jet of egg yolk landed in a two-inch circumference on my black jeans. I was dismayed, as we still had to go to the DeYoung for the Paul McCartney photo exhibit. I managed to make myself look presentable, we dropped the girl back at the Presidio and I didn’t see anyone pointing and snickering at the DeYoung.

Since it has been close to two weeks since my last post, I guess I should go back a bit.  On the 4th, we went into the city to see the Valkyries at the Chase Center.  I was unaware of the complex of restaurants and bars there, but we picked a winner with Kayah, a Burmese place. The place was hopping, and the service and food hit the mark.  When we got to our seats to see the game, it did not seem crowded, but by tipoff it was packed. We bailed about halfway through the last quarter because I didn’t want to be one of 10,000 trying to get on the T after the game. We made it easily to the Caltrain station and heard that the Valkyries pulled out a victory become the first expansion team to make the playoffs.

Back home, on Sunday, we took in the Plaza Suite matinee with lots of other seniors at the Hillbarn Theater. We thought the actors did a good job, but the material was dated. We therefore bailed out after act two.  They tried reviving it on Broadway, but the reviews were not great.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/28/theater/plaza-suite-review.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

I’m sending out good vibes to a couple pals that had bike accidents recently. One of our Belmont friends had to have surgery and is currently in rehab.  We’ll visit him tomorrow. I also got word that Dr. Joe spent some time at the ER on his birthday after going over the handlebars, injuring his shoulder. Best wishes to both for a speedy recovery.

On a completely different topic, I’ve been having bad dreams about the Secretary of the Treasury kicking my ass.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/scott-bessent-threatened-to-punch-colleague-bill-pulte-in-the-f-face/

Blog I Must

How does one blog without much of anything meaningful to say?  I do not know, but it has not stopped me in my previous 768 posts. I mostly drown out the exhortations of #1 when I have not posted for a while. I’m more prone to write when I get the nudge from JB. But when Dr. Joe says to blog, I blog. I hope I can give him a quick chuckle in these dark days when his peers at CDC are being driven out. He sent me the article below, about Neil Young’s latest protest song. Young has been at it for decades. Joe and I used to crank up American Stars 'n Bars among his other albums during our days on Cleveland Ave. in Binghamton. This weekend the wife and I saw our bud The Poughkeepsie Kid and his band play Ohio up in Santa Rosa.  It still holds up.

https://tinyurl.com/2pf9vdwk

We took the overnight trip to Santa Rosa with Unc and Mashie in their new Hyundai EV. We also went to Tahoe in it for several days at the abode of TCG and Katie. We had big fun, even if it rained and hailed during our boat trip.  The bimini came in particularly handy. Unc and I agreed that it would be best for us not to hang out for a few months after the double dip socializing. We did fall in love with their car and it looks like we are going to go to the dealership to get our own.  A $7500 rebate - if still available – and an HOV sticker will make for an easy decision.  We will ship my wife’s Subaru off to SB1 and LGMG, which will make transporting the babies a little easier.

I’m trying, but failing, to keep my news intake limited.  I was happy to see that a court shot down Trump’s tariffs. I’m not sure that anything is going to change, but I can dream. The big news recently is that Trump had not been seen until this weekend after Tuesday’s Dear Leader cabinet meeting.  Luminaries such as Nick Fuentes and Alex Jones are up in arms about the state of Trump’s health, but I still see a tangerine glow. If he does shuffle off this mortal coil, I have a strange hope that Vance will revert to his 2016 stance on Trump, reverse some of his more nauseating policies, and get rid of gargoyles like RFK Jr. and ICE Barbie.

It is a new month and time for more activity. We have dinner with The Hotelier and Janet tonight at #1’s house, our first Valkyries game Thursday and driveway cocktails Saturday. Next week we take a couple of the younger Wigs out to dinner at La Ciccia. If you haven’t been there, rectify that oversight. The Wig just sent me a couple pics of him with his three siblings, all looking hale and hearty.  I hope to see my bud during my baby tending and cooking duties in DC, which will probably come after our 10-day Utah national park tour later this month with The Hotelier and Janet. We finish that off in Vegas, where we will see The Wizard of Oz at the Sphere and enjoy a few tasty, overpriced meals.

For some reason, I’ve saved this blurb from Yvonne Elliman’s Wikipedia page.

On August 16, 2017, Elliman was slated to sing for a Catholic school charity in Guam when she was stopped by customs for possession of marijuana and methamphetamine.

I’ve done my share of charity activities for my kids’ Catholic high schools. I always told myself “don’t bring the reefer, don’t bring the meth”

There’s been an uproar over the cover of Sabrina Carpenter’s new album, but she’s telling people to chill out. This got me thinking about the hundreds of names that have been assigned to music genres. I’ve decided to coin lingerie pop for her music.  I googled that and found nothing on the first page of results, so I’m claiming it.  It will go into the pantheon of my favorite genres, including yacht rock, country rock, glam metal, speed metal, and death metal. I don’t care for Christian metal however, as it confuses me.

Wish You Were Here

My bud 4M used to blast this 1975 album during his graveyard shift at the 7-11 in Middletown. I’m sure his older customers appreciated it.  It was just his way of saying “welcome to the machine”. He got robbed at gunpoint there one night, earning every bit of that $2.50 per hour.

I picked the wife up Friday night at SFO. On the ride home she told me she was heading up to the Hotelier’s pied-à-terre today to meet their grandson.  If we truly had an open and honest marriage, she would just flat out tell me she can only take me in small doses.

How does one handle 300 pounds of poop a day? First off, I’d say very carefully.  Foster City has settled on several non-lethal means of mitigation, much to the chagrin of #1. In other poop news, Putin’s team ensures that no turd is left behind.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/foster-city-goose-geese-20814760.php

https://www.thedailybeast.com/putins-magical-poop-briefcase-finally-breaks-its-silence/

We went to Foster City’s Summer Days yesterday, mainly because I had not chatted with any carneys for quite some time. My wife and I played the game where you shoot the water gun into the clown’s mouth to burst the balloon.  She won a pink baby dolphin.  I paid $10 for cuteness that goes for about 22 cents wholesale. There was a section with businesses hawking their wares.  I was going to go up to the chiropractor’s table and say “Boy do I have a story for you!” but thought the better of it.  We also looked on as some of the scarier rides were operating, but we saw no streams of puke.

We had a sushi extravaganza at #1’s house last night. It featured several house special rolls loaded with crab, tuna, shrimp and salmon. There were a few rough years in FC between the time Tokie’s left and MJ’s opened, when you had to go all the way into San Mateo for your raw fish fix. MJ’s is a great addition to town and their BBQ eel tasted just like what my mom used to make.

In celeb news, I’m sure all of you are as verklempt as I am about the Liam Neeson / Pamela Anderson romance but, on the downside, we’re looking at a double whammy.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/articles/end-near-megadeth-release-final-214100029.html

However, we should all be happy that Ms. Zeta-Jones is very comfortable in her four homes.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/articles/catherine-zeta-jones-calls-life-215208051.html

I am praying for progress in today’s Zelensky/Trump meet and I am heartened by all the support he will have with him from European leaders. However, I have to temper my hopes given the fact that Trump had American soldiers roll out a red carpet for a war criminal this past Friday.

Get Blogging

Those were #1’s parting words to me when he dropped me off after our rigorous 1 mile walk today.  I had braced myself for a possible philippic, but he is a gentle soul. He expressed some disappointment that there was nothing to read when he got off the Missouri River after his canoe trip with #2 and TCG, but that is just his way of telling me I’m a fantastic blogger.  JB had chimed in a few days ago telling me it had been 19 days. Today is three full weeks, so it is indeed time to get blogging.

My wife has been in DC and VA for the past two weeks.  The first week she was helping SB1 and LGMG set up their home for the arrival of the twins. She will return in October to provide some hands-on help. We will be spending Christmas there this year so Gampy DJ will need to re-learn the art of holding an infant. The wife’s second week was spent with her pal Charlie at Shenandoah National Park and Charlottesville. She gets back tomorrow night.  She’ll hop right back into the social whirl with a bridal shower Saturday morning.  After that both of us will attend a one-year birthday party for The Banker’s granddaughter. 

I’ve kept myself relatively busy in her absence.  I jotted a few blog ideas down but clearly did not act on them.  For several days I achieved the trifecta of stretching, walking and swimming. I gotta get at least two out of three on a daily basis to keep this balky body going. My brother visited last week and spent the night. We got some sushi at MJ’s and a beer at Fieldworks before I made him a sumptuous salmon dinner.  He is fresh off hernia surgery, and we learned our sister had to have her gall bladder removed.  Both surgically repaired siblings are doing well. My brother and I did hit a rough patch back in the late 70’s when we were both at Binghamton.  It is eerie how this recent article paralleled our difficulties back then.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/articles/dear-abby-girlfriend-cheated-brother-070000521.html

I’m going to stay away from politics and celeb news this go-round and close with this obit. Dr. Altchek grew up in my hometown. His father was also a noted orthopedic surgeon whom I was fortunately referred to. He removed a tumor in my knee in September 1973. I was ready to go out for basketball that November, but he put the kibosh on that.  I was dejected then but eternally grateful now. His flawless work allowed me to continue to be a mediocre basketball player into my mid-30s.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/45764042/dr-david-altchek-mets-doctor-tommy-john-surgeon-dies-68

Shredding It

I already tore it up in my lane at the posh club, so now it is time to communicate with the base. I know the question on the minds of many at poolside today was “Was this guy an Olympian? That slow, half-assed backstroke looks so familiar”. It turns out that folks were too shy to pose their query to me.

I saw my personable trainer yesterday.  He tells me my hammies are tight, so I’ll do double duty on those in my stretch routine today, which will be followed by a walk at the dog park on 3rd Ave. in San Mateo, during which I will take the hill.  You don’t get a body like mine if you don’t put in the work.

The Epstein wildfire is still out of control, which fills me with glee. After decades of slimy behavior, could this be the thing that finally takes Trump down? I don’t like being ashamed of the leader of my country. He just got roasted in the season premiere of South Park, with the creators sticking their thumb in the eye of Paramount just after inking a $1.5B deal with them. They tossed in some tiny dick jokes for good measure.

I turned my kitchen into a mac and cheese factory yesterday. My driveway cocktail buddy up the street just had a hip replacement, so I went up for a visit and dropped my wares. Another friend in SF took a tumble so my wife dropped off his portion after visiting one of her girlfriends up there.  I had planned to freeze some for my brother, but I’ll work up another batch for my visit next week. My mac and cheese has received many a plaudit, and I’m going to let the cat out of the bag.  You gotta us Tillamook extra sharp cheddar.

Anything else you’d like to hear about? Leave a comment, ya bums.

DJ, The Socialite

I’m sure my readership was surprised by my latest set of posts. Three within a week is not a record but is certainly enough to gladden the hearts of my die-hard fans.  I considered it a virtual tsunami of posts. Given this, JB gave me permission to take the rest of the summer off, but I’d never do that to you.  I commit to writing dozens of words every month.

As should come as no surprise, the active social life continues.  We had dinner with friends three straight nights over the holiday weekend, and I only had to cook one of them. It was a chimichurri chicken that would have pleased the grouchiest gaucho. Last Wednesday we caught a Giants game with the numbers, TCG and Barbie. We had fun despite the fact that the Phils crushed the home team 13-0. We then made a stop at Comstock on Columbus for cocktails and dinner at Sodini’s Green Valley restaurant, which likely hasn’t changed since I was lad.

Friday, we headed to Sonoma with 4M and wife to attend LA’s 70th birthday. The four of us had dinner at The Girl and the Fig, which was about 50 steps from our nicely appointed Airbnb. Four thumbs up on the restaurant and lodging. 4M ordered two fine wine selections and brought several from his own stash for later on. The big event took place at Sangiacomo Vineyard on Saturday, where we sampled several varietals while returning multiple times to the appetizer table. I met many of my sister and LA’s friends and saw several I knew.  My brother’s kids were there but sadly he could not attend due to a hernia that will be operated on next week. I asked him if he had been wearing tight pants.

Bro plans to recover at his daughter’s new house in San Leandro, so I will swing by to visit and provide one of my culinary delights. We have not seen each other for a while so we really need to resolve an ongoing argument regarding feats of strength.  I plan to challenge him to a deadlift contest.

OK, I know this is your go-to spot for political news, so I’ll provide some updates. Trump is crapping his pants on the Epstein story that will not go away. His “nothing to see here" strategy is not working and lately he’s been calling his critics “evil”. Kettle, meet pot. The guy is triple-coated Teflon but this one has shown some life and my fingers are crossed this somehow brings him down. That is a stretch, but even lapdog Mike Johnson is calling for a release of the files. I’ve been checking out a lot of YouTube podcasts. This one is a good example. If you don’t want to watch the whole thing, tune in around the five-minute mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfmrMPTI7QA

Down in Texas, there’s been a lot going on. They are tearing into Kristi Noem for FEMA’s response to the floods. This is what happens when you hire the incompetent. Ted Cruz also got an earful as he again happened to be on vacation during a crisis. And Mrs. Paxton is finally divorcing her Ken doll on “biblical grounds.  The hope is this will trash his Senate run.  I’m not a Cornyn fan but Ken Paxton is an abhorrent human being.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/houston-chronicle-brutally-mocks-ice-barbie-kristi-noem-over-flood-crisis-failure/

I’ll leave you with this. I think it was one of those mistakes on purpose.

Aftermath

Aftermath is the fourth studio album by the Rolling Stones, released in 1966. But that's not what we're talking about here.

One generally thinks of a 70th birthday party as a sedate affair. I wish that had been the case last Saturday. I woke up in my backyard Sunday morning along with a couple Belmont dudes that had decided to climb my pergola some time after midnight. The house was trashed and some wiseguy unbolted the guest bathroom toilet. I’m still waiting on the legal consequences of the three separate ER visits due to bounce house injuries.

OK, I kid. Our Saturday soiree went smoothly.  We turned the patio into Party Central and in the kitchen we had professional chefs from Pinterest and Flour + Water, because we’re connected. The chow was a major hit.  We started with stinky French cheeses, sesame noodles and spring rolls, then moved on to the curry chicken and eggplant entrees. We had plenty of vino and beer and I scored a few leftovers. There was oratory and singing, but no dancing. Things wrapped at a reasonable hour so I could get my usual ten hours of sleep.

I’ve been following the news on Trump’s Big Fugly Bill. It seems a lot of people have problems with it, but the Senate passed it nonetheless. I appreciate that Susan Collins unfurrowed her brow and voted no. Rand Paul, who hasn’t had his ass kicked by his neighbor for some time, made it to the Senate floor to cast a no vote. Thom Tillis did the right thing this time, after voting to confirm charlatans RFK Jr. and Pete Hegseth.  I’ll be sending Tillis a new bolo tie as a thank you. Sen. Murkowski got special carve outs for Alaska, admitted it was a lousy bill, and still voted yes. I wish she could have thought of the other 345,000,000 Americans, especially the poor, many of whom will suffer silently when their Medicaid runs out and rural hospitals close, until it is possibly too late, and then flood the nearest emergency rooms. I’m crossing my fingers that the House wrangling sinks this thing. I can dream. At least Fetterman can head to the beach now. If you can get a freebie from Esquire, I recommend you read Charles Pierce’s take on this mess.

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a65269543/republican-big-beautiful-bill-passes-senate/