I love technology because it usually makes my life easier. I have to love technology because my husband is a technology geek who has turned our home into a Smart Home. I can turn everything on with Alexa’s help and clean my floors with a robotic vacuum cleaner. A robot even mows my lawn. And, of course, I couldn’t live without my MacBook.
Today, however, was one of those days when I was not too fond of technology. A few weeks ago, I had a problem with my laptop continually crashing while I was trying to work. The problem went away as mysteriously as it began. This morning, I was on Medium and was not experiencing any problems.
I have been having a problem trying to link a customs domain that I own to a Blogger site I use. Even though I own the domain, I don’t use it for anything. I thought I might as well connect it to my Blogspot site. Following instructions I received from Blogger and my domain server, Ionos, I managed to screw everything up. I thought this afternoon would be a good day to contact Customer Support at Ionos. I was wrong.
Everything was going smoothly with the customer service representative, and I was excited to have my problem resolved soon. I was very close to the end of the process when my laptop crashed. The rep patiently waited while I restarted my computer, and it crashed again. This happened two more times. I was at my wits’ end and apologized for my disaster. He suggested I try again tomorrow, and I agreed.
I am now running a full disk scan as I write the story. So far, my computer has not crashed, and hopefully, it won’t before I finish this article. Tomorrow, I will try to link my custom domain to my blog site again. My blood pressure will return to normal, and I will hope for the best.
Have you ever had one of these kinds of days? I’d love to hear about your experience.
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I’ve been on Medium for over six years, but I don’t think my readers know too much about me. Many of those who did know me are no longer on this site. Since there are many new Medium members who read my work, along with some longtime readers who know little about my life, I have decided to share a few things about me.
Some people who have read some of my work know that I am a married, liberal, old, gay guy who writes a lot about politics. But there is quite a bit more to me than this. I am going to share some of my likes and a few of my dislikes so you may understand who I am a little better.
First of all, I love food. I love to eat. I grew up eating the basic American food, which included meat, potatoes, and vegetables. I always thought this was a very bland diet, and I still do. Early on in my life, I discovered Tabasco sauce and spicy food.
My favorite cuisine is Thai, followed by Chinese, Cajun, Malaysian, and Mexican. My husband is Chinese-Malaysian, born in Penang, Malaysia, which is noted for its extraordinary cuisine. He loves to cook, and needless to say, he does most of the cooking. He is also a big fan of Gordon Ramsey, so he cooks a great deal of Western gourmet food.
Ten years ago, we lived in Malaysia but moved to a small Rochester, New York suburb. It was a big dietary letdown. Our town has nothing but pizza places, greasy spoons, and restaurants serving the same menu. Our neighbors have no idea what ethnic cuisine is, thinking Taco Bell is authentic Mexican food. We have tried to introduce to them what we eat, but they will have nothing to do with it. If they haven’t eaten it or heard of it, they won’t try it.
Fortunately, we can take a half-hour drive to Rochester, where there are numerous ethnic restaurants due to the large foreign student population associated with the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology. If we decide not to eat at home, we usually dine out in Rochester once a week.
Aside from enjoying my culinary delights, I love all kinds of animals. When I was a child, I suffered from severe asthma and was not allowed to have any pets with fur. I did have turtles, fish, and snakes, though. I had always wanted an elephant, and I still do.
When we lived in Malaysia, we had a cat, Nero, a prairie dog, Chi Chi, tropical fish, and an assortment of designer geckos. We both wanted a dog, but living in a condo, owning a dog was impractical. Shortly after we moved to our new home, we adopted two Cattle Dogs, Cato and Lucky. Sadly, Lucky passed away suddenly, leaving Cato the spoiled king of the house he is.
Cato
We have two Quaker parrots, Blue and Gizmo, who amuse us with their chattering and occasional flights around the living room. I have a reef tank full of coral and colorful saltwater fish. Sitting back and watching them swim around the tank is so relaxing. Saltwater tanks are beautiful but quite expensive.
My husband, Kevin, had always wanted a chameleon; now, living in the United States, he has one, Hannibal. Hannibal doesn’t do much, but he amazes us with the array of colors he displays. He loves to be held but prefers to sit on our heads.
In the summer, I have a small raised bed garden that occupies my time and provides us with tomatoes and a variety of Asian vegetables, which my husband incorporates into his culinary masterpieces. Another hobby I have is bonsai, which I started about three years ago. I enjoy taking native trees and preparing them to be bonsai plants. I’ll be long gone before they can be considered actual bonsai plants, though.
Eating mainly Asian food helps me maintain a healthy diet, which is accompanied by my gym routine. I am a bit overweight, but as much as I try, I can’t lose much weight. But I’m not going to starve to death to have a slim body!
You know what I like, so now for a few things about me that you might find odd. I do not like watching television in bed, which is something my husband loves. I prefer to watch television until late and then go to bed. Once in bed, I must have the fan on and my right leg out of the covers. I do not like to be in a warm room to sleep.
I hate vacuuming and even the sound of a vacuum cleaner. Luckily, the house has robotic vacuum cleaners that run while we sleep. My husband is a tech and has transformed our home into a Smart Home. We even have a robotic lawn mower!
I also hate waiting. I am always on time for appointments, and I get upset if I am kept waiting. If someone says they’ll meet me at such and such time, they better show up on time. If anything, I am mostly early when I have to be someplace at a specific time.
I also hate bigoted, racist people, but you probably already know this. I have a few other peeves, but I can write about them another time.
It felt pretty good introducing myself to you in this way. I’d like to get to know my readers better, too, so I encourage you to take the challenge and tell me a little about yourself.
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As the upcoming presidential election approaches, I’m becoming afraid. I’m scared of what will happen if Trump wins and what will happen if he doesn’t. I’m afraid of what will happen on and around election day and after Trump takes office if he wins.
I have every reason to be afraid. Trump has already said the election is rigged if he doesn’t win. The Republican House Speaker has refused to say he will certify the election results if Trump loses. Trump also has threatened “bloodshed” if he is not elected.
Trump’s campaign already has plans to fight the election results in swing states if Trump loses. They have introduced legislation to suppress the vote in areas of swing states with heavy Democratic voter registration. Republicans in Red states have managed to gain control of local election offices, which could decertify election results if Trump loses.
I fully expect violence on or after election day if Harris is declared the winner. There is no doubt that Trump will incite his supporters to take to the streets to commit acts of violence in response to what he will call another election stolen from him. Violent acts will continue until Congress meets to certify the election. If Speaker Johnson does not allow a vote to certify the election results, January 6, 2020, will look like a picnic. The aim of Republicans would then lead to either the House of Representatives or the Supreme Court, both firmly loyal to Trump, to choose the President.
Even with the SCOTUS rulings on presidential immunity, which were made to protect Trump, I am sure Biden would not take any action, feeling it would not be proper. The situation would be a complete takeover of the country. The January 6th coup would now be completed.
It is highly likely that Harris will trounce Trump in the popular vote but lose to Trump in the antiquated Electoral College. In the end, the votes of five or six states could nullify the votes of the entire country, giving Trump the Presidency. We will have had our last election.
If this happens, I doubt Trump will wait until his inauguration to begin his reign of terror. Trump’s minions will begin the transition from the Constitution to Project 2025. Once Trump takes over, I believe he will act quickly to mete out his revenge on every one of his political opponents, including Harris, Walz, and Liz Cheney. No politician, Democrat or Republican, will be safe from his retribution.
I know Trump will aim for media outlets that he perceived to be unfair to him, including CBS News, for fact-checking him, and ABC, NBC, and MSNBC. They will most likely lose their broadcast licenses, as Trump has promised many times before.
I am particularly afraid that bloggers and writers like myself will be among those he has promised retribution to. Millions of us on this platform and others could be targeted. All it would take would be one Trump supporter, who has read and found issue with one of our anti-Trump stories, to report us to the Trump retribution team.
Once in office, I do not doubt that my husband and I will lose many of our rights to exist as a gay couple, including nullifying our marriage, along with others. After SCOTUS overturned Roe v Wade, Justices Thomas and Alito signaled gay rights would be next. Personally, this is what I am afraid of. We will be brought back to the early sixties, but it will be more dangerous.
But I also fear what another Trump term will mean for others. There will undoubtedly be a national abortion ban, as well as a ban on contraceptives and IVF. What will happen to the right to vote for people of color? Will women still have the right to vote? Will Christianity become our national religion? So many rights we have enjoyed could be gone with another Trump term.
Trump has promised to establish internment camps for illegal and undocumented aliens. Also, as promised, millions of immigrants will be deported with the help of the National Guard. What happens when the National Guard of a red state tries to enter a blue state to enforce Trump’s policies? God only knows.
Republicans have been trying to gut Social Security and Medicare for years. Under another Trump administration, there will be nothing in his way to do what he pleases with these two vital programs. For the millions of people who benefit from Obama Care, that, too, will be taken away from them, leaving them dangerously uninsured. Finally, those millions of senior citizens who receive Social Security benefits will have them partially or totally taken away. For many seniors, this is their only source of income. What will they do? Trump won’t care.
As scary as Trump is, his Vice President is worse. It is evident that Trump’s mental acuity is quickly declining. He is suffering from dementia and most likely other serious health problems, which he is hiding by refusing to release his medical records. It is doubtful he will be able to complete his full term or even his first week as President.
One plausible scenario is that soon after Trump’s inauguration, Vice President Vance and the cabinet could invoke the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, which calls for the removal of the President if he becomes mentally or physically incapable of carrying out the duties of his office. This would leave Vance in total control.
My future and the futures of millions of my fellow Americans are in doubt. I realize that many of these people do not know what Trump and Project 2025 will do to our democracy and freedoms, and they don’t want to know. This angers and saddens me. It also enhances my fears because my only hope is they will make the right choice this election day. Please vote as if your life depends on it because it does.
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Last night, most of the United States was treated to a rare sight, the Aurora Borealis, commonly known as the Northern Lights.
A severe solar storm occurred yesterday at noontime, resulting in the Northern Lights being visible in North America, as far south as Texas. Even though it was visible to the naked eye, using a smartphone camera app enhanced the beautiful colors of the aurora.
Previously, during the summer, the Northern Lights were not visible until well after midnight. But last night, the colorful show began shortly after dark. The pictures I am sharing were taken between 10pm and 11pm.
In case you missed the show, I have shared some photos I took with my iPhone. I hope you enjoy them.
Photo taken by author.Photo taken by authorPhoto taken by author.
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This coming presidential election is the most critical election of our lifetime. It is unlike any other election this country has ever had. We have a former President, Donald Trump, a convicted felon who has been accused of treasonous crimes and is a known rapist, racist and pathological liar, running on the Republican ticket. His opponent is the current Vice-President, Kamala Harris, who has been a successful prosecutor and a US Senator with a long history of public service.
Presently, the race is considered to be extremely close. A candidate like Trump should never have been allowed on the ballot. It’s a disgrace for our country and the Republican Party. The race should never be this close.
Those closest to Trump, like his Vice President, Mike Pence, and most of those who served in his administration, have said he is unfit for the office of President, although Pence has not announced his support for Harris. They have stated they will not vote for him.
In an unprecedented move, Dick Cheney, the former Vice-President under George Bush and a staunch Conservative, has announced his support for Kamala Harris. His daughter, Liz Cheney, the former Conservative Republican leader in the House of Representatives, has not only announced she is voting for Harris but is also actively campaigning for her.
And they’re not the only Republicans supporting Harris. Former Representative Adam Kinzinger, former Trump Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham, Pence advisor Olivia Troye, Trump’s former Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci, former Georgia Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan, former Bush Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and many others from the administrations of George Bush and Ronald Reagan, have also endorsed the Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris.
Many other former Republican politicians have joined their colleagues in denouncing Trump and supporting Harris. This show of force and concern for our democracy is unequaled in American electoral history. These people are true patriots who are putting country over party, and courageously risking their future careers and possibly their own safety and that of their families.
My question is, where are the other leaders of the Republican Party? The ones who are so terrified of Donald Trump that they don’t have the balls to call him out for what he is. Pence is afraid to say he will support Harris because he foolishly thinks he can run for President in the future. Trump almost had him killed, and he’s still scared stiff.
Former President George Bush has remained silent, too scared to say anything against Trump, even though Trump has taken the title of the country’s worst president from Bush. Bush’s mother, Barbara Bush, should be turning over in her grave over her son’s cowardice.
Today, Republican Mitt Romney showed his yellow streak of cowardice by refusing to commit to supporting anyone in the election. He’s scared for himself and his family. Hell, he has enough money to provide 24/7 private security for every member of his family. He probably thinks he’s going to make a comeback. I have lost all respect for the man.
Trump’s longest-serving Chief of Staff, General John Kelly, has called Trump “the most flawed person he’s ever met.” He has also confirmed Trump’s many statements denigrating our American servicemen and women. Incredibly, a man with his credentials and bravery does not want to be involved in the election, even after Trump suggested the execution of his colleague General Mark Milley, Trump’s former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
It is just unbelievable that with our country in imminent danger of losing our democracy, former Republican politicians and military leaders don’t have the balls that Liz Cheney has to stand up for our country.
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In the past couple of weeks, Florida, the Carolinas, Georgia, and Tennessee have been devastated by two powerful hurricanes. Trump-supporting MAGA politicians have been quick to remind us that this devastation would not have occurred had Trump been President and was able to use his famous hurricane-averting Sharpie pen to steer the hurricane away from the US.
They also pointed out that the Biden administration has done nothing to assist the victims of the storms as FEMA monies were instead given to house illegal aliens. They observed that Biden had not been there to help in the recovery, recalling fondly how Trump tossed rolls of paper towels to the Puerto Rican victims of Hurricane Maria, smiled for his photo op, and left.
As a public service, Trump and his supporters are telling the victims they will receive no assistance from the government and not to believe any information coming from FEMA or state and local authorities. Instead, he has opened his home at Mar A Lago to those victims needing housing. He has already donated hundreds of millions of dollars of his own money to assist those who have lost everything.
As Hurricane Milton approached Florida, Republican members of Congress revealed shocking information regarding not only this storm but others that have hit states in the Southeast. They have confirmed that President Joe Biden and his government control the weather. Biden has the ability to form hurricanes and direct them toward heavily Republican areas of those states in the Southeast.
With the help of their top scientist, Marjorie Taylor Greene, they discovered that Biden had a machine to accomplish this activity. He has a weather-changing machine that can create hurricanes, tornadoes, and other environmental disasters. Global warming has nothing to do with the changes in the weather.
All Biden has to do is unlock this machine, which is secreted away in the White House basement, use his password to activate it, set the strength of the wind and the amount of rainfall to produce, and then aim it at the areas of each state with the highest population of Republican voters. Before he presses the “Start” button, he can determine how much money can be diverted from FEMA and other federal assistance programs and be given to illegal immigrants,
This revelation is undoubtedly an October Surprise and emphasizes the importance of returning Trump and his Sharpie back to the White House for the safety of Florida and other hurricane-prone states.
Image Created by Bing Image Creator. Joe Biden creating Hurricane Milton.
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I often get ideas about what to write in the middle of the night. Sometimes I remember the ideas, and sometimes I don’t. Last night, I woke up at 4 AM to pee, which is not unusual for an old guy like me with BPH. What was remarkable was that instead of an idea popping into my head regarding an idea to write about, I was thinking, why do I even write on Medium if no one pays attention to my stories?
I don’t know why I suddenly started feeling down about what I was doing. Perhaps it’s because I have spent a good deal of time in the past couple of weeks creating a newsletter. Like many on this platform, my readership and earnings have declined dramatically. Last year, at this time, I had about 200 reads daily; today, I am lucky to get 10.I attributed this to the inability of the Medium membership, especially my followers, to find what I publish. I thought using a newsletter would help my readers find my stories.
Creating the newsletter was quite tiresome, as I knew little about web design and the technology used to develop and maintain a newsletter. However, I was quite proud of myself for completing this project. But then, after sending my first newsletter to my Medium subscribers, I began to have second thoughts.
Would my present subscribers unsubscribe once they receive the email with my newsletter? Would they delete it without reading it? Would it end up in the spam folder? Did I waste a lot of time for nothing? I’m not sure.
Soon after sending the first newsletter, I received a strange, if not rude, comment on one of my stories. The commenter basically told me that my stats were low because my work wasn’t very good, and I could improve my reads by following him and reading his stories. I didn’t know how to react. Before I deleted him, I checked his profile.
He joined Medium this month and had a few hundred followers and maybe ten articles published. What was striking was that each of his stories, which could have been better, had over 1.5K claps.
I began to think of all those articles I had read that had accumulated hundreds of claps within the first couple of hours of publication. Many stories I have found as fascinating as dryer lint have also had over a thousand claps. The writers often have fewer followers than me, which causes me to wonder about my followers. I know I shouldn’t compare myself to other writers, but I am human and can’t help but question what is wrong with me.
I used to follow and subscribe to many people, but I no longer do. One in particular is a very prolific writer, publishing several times daily. I tried to read as many of his stories as I could but soon lost interest. He seemed to always talk about himself in a braggadocios manner, but somehow his stories lacked feeling. He was more of a publishing machine than a writer sharing himself.
A few writers I enjoyed reading and getting to know disappeared after continued disappointing results on this platform. One writer I used to read faithfully and commensurate with is now rarely seen. She used to be a faithful follower and reader. Others I came to know have left for reasons unknown.
I publish in only a few publications I like and feel comfortable with, and I self-publish my political articles. I have writers I follow and subscribe to, and I make it a point to read most, if not all, of their articles. I won’t mention their names because I don’t want to drop names to get a few views. But they know who they are.
They may not always write masterpieces, but what they write from the heart about themselves and what they do. Reading their stories is like having a beer or cup of coffee and shooting the shit with a friend. I’ve gotten to know them and let them get to know me. I consider them to be friends. This is what I would miss if I ever left Medium.
I have done everything I can, within the limits of my ability as what others would call a writer. When talking with friends, neighbors, or family members, I cannot bring myself to say, “I am a writer.” But I cannot find a way to make my work interesting enough for people to read. I thought creating a newsletter would help, but it’s probably just another misadventure, like my futile attempts at writing blogs on WordPress and Blogger. Maybe someday I’ll learn.
I’ll continue sending my newsletter until my free plan runs out. Who knows, maybe things will pick up. Being an opinionated old fart, I probably won’t be able to swallow my pride and throw in the towel. So, I’ll stick around and rethink what I am doing on Medium. Thank you for allowing me to vent and wallow in self-pity for a while.
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