Michael's pondering thoughts

Why 1980s Meals Were Always Garnished With Parsley - Food Republic From steak dinners to bowls of soup, 1980s restaurants topped nearly every dish with a sprig of parsley. But why was this garnish so ubiquitous? — Food Republic (@foodrepublic.bsky.social) on bluesky ( source ) I saw this Bluesky post come across my timeline because I follow Food Republic, and it got my attention. When I was a kid and teenager, I did not like parsley. But now, in my 50s, I actually do not mind it. I started using it after following some recipes from Chef Jean-Pierre , who has a YouTube channel . It really did make my pot roast pop and helped brighten the dish after a long cooking time. It is strange to think that this may be why parsley was used so often in the 1970s, when I was growing up. Parsley signaled sophistication. During the decade, French cuisine was particularly in vogue among American cooks, and the herb served as a marker of European plating habits. Subsequently, a sprig of it fun...

I came across this hilarious YouTube short from a British TV show. I think the British have some great TV, and this one had me rolling on the floor laughing. Enjoy!

⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: MILD SPOILERS My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5 stars) Highly, highly unbelievable yet very entertaining. Great cast. If you want to kill about two hours and are after a fun, fast-paced movie, this delivers. It’s not profound, but it does exactly what it sets out to do, entertain. This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDb .

If you ever want to see a master craftswoman at website design and theming, then you must stop over at Hey Loura! She is also in my BlogRoll. Her latest creation is spectacular and pirate-themed. She keeps outdoing herself each time she updates. I love her work and wish I could do, or get an AI to do, what she does. I have tried. I am still working on a 4th of July theme, but I can't get it to see my vision. Anyways, great job, Loura! I can't wait to see what you come up with next.

I usually watch BGT (Britain's Got Talent) clips on YouTube because the British often have really interesting acts. One I liked was the Glantaf Boys Choir from Wales. They were excellent, and it made me wonder why we don't have this kind of all-male boy choir here. We do have choruses and choirs, but they are almost always mixed. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's a different cultural tradition and it's special to see and hear an all-male choir perform. What really caught my attention, though, was KSI. I had never heard of him until this year's BGT, but he seems to be famous in the UK. He connected with the boys instantly, and their reaction was so funny. They immediately understood what he meant, so I had to look it up. Since I don't use TikTok, I discovered it was a TikTok meme and that's why I had never heard of it. Here it is, watch the interaction. They get the joke right away, and the whole group visibly relaxes. I like that a l...

I have been watching the Artemis II mission off and on. I saw these pictures on the NASA website, and here are a few that I really like. They definitely got me thinking. I have always been fascinated by space and the Heavens. I would like to go to space, but not like we do today. If I went, I would want it to be on a Star Trek type shuttle or ship. Our spacecraft, much like our planes, are little more than thin tin cans. Looking at these pictures really affected me. The Moon is very dead and very unwelcoming, and space is the same way. Then, seeing our planet "Earth" from that vantage point just shows the miracle God made for us and the love Jesus purchased for us. Why would you want to go anywhere else? Hello, World NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman took this picture of Earth from the Orion spacecraft's window on April 2, 2026, after completing the translunar injection burn. The Nearside of the Moon (April 4, 2026) - A view of the nearside ...

At a pivotal crossroads, a nation contemplates its future between the pursuit of wealth and industry or the call to civic duty and democratic engagement. I turn 57 this month, and with everything going on in the world, it almost feels like an afterthought. This year feels worse, more doom and gloom than others. I am not entirely sure why, but it is not just politics. The economy has been rough too, with gas prices staying high, in my case over $4.25 a gallon, along with rising costs across the board and ongoing tech hardware shortages. It all adds to the sense that things are off. I have never seen as much upheaval as I have this past year. I have also never witnessed in my adult life companies and wealthy individuals fawn over a President to this extent, while much of the media seems complicit. Then they wonder why their trustworthiness is at an all-time low. I believe in a neutral, fact-based media, but in reality we have never truly had one in this country except when it suite...

⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: FULL SPOILERS In "Civil War" (2024), the iconic torch of liberty becomes a battleground as soldiers clash atop its flame, symbolizing the fierce struggle for freedom amid chaos. My Rating: ½ (0.5/5 stars) The movie stunk, and it stunk so bad I kept watching only for the action at the end. It made no sense to me. Why were we in a civil war? Seems more like a feel-good piece for the press. There were undertones of innuendo but no reason was given, nothing clear was given. It was basically like the viewer came in the middle of a tale and only got none of the backstory. Totally stupid movie. If you were supposed to guess about the relationship to today's politics, this movie will be bad in 25 years' time since there is no context at all, and I mean at all. Every good movie has some backstory, either through flashbacks or other ways. My big takeaway: no context, skip it. Don't waste 2 hours like I did. Yes, there were some good action and...

History was made today. The kind of history that will be written about and studied for years to come, and I was able to capture it from my backyard. Artemis II successfully launched with a crew of four and is heading to the Moon. Not as great, magnificent, or universe changing as what we will celebrate this Sunday with Easter and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, not even close. But still amazing. Here is what I get to see from my house on the other side of the coast of Florida. Not as amazing as being there, but still awesome. No Fools today on this 1st of April. Pretty surreal to watch it from here.

⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS My Rating: ⭐⭐½ (2.5/5 stars) The cast has done good work in other films, but not here. They were probably paid, but the story was terrible. Calling it a 2.5 felt generous. In my view, there was nothing redeeming about this movie. This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDb .

A man joyfully adjusts settings on a futuristic interface labeled "Analyzing," exploring the possibilities of Stardock's Clairvoyance technology in a cozy, modern workspace. I have been trying out a new app from Stardock called Clairvoyance . It is a nice AI interface that is very powerful and lets you use API keys to interact with large language models and do all kinds of things. It also takes a privacy-first approach and is a bit more user friendly than some other tools I have tried. I will say this has been very compelling and interesting to use. I honestly cannot believe it is free, and I hope it stays free. That said, there are still some bugs and rough edges. For example, it does not always make it clear whether it is actively working or if something has hung. When subagents get stuck there does not seem to be an obvious way to stop or cancel the task, at least that I have found so far. I have also seen cases where the interface says it is finished but still re...

https://elgan.com/why-you-should-love-blogs-now-more-than-ever Why you should love blogs now more than ever , Mike Elgan (@MikeElgan@mastodon.social) on sharkey ( source ) I saw Mike's post in my timeline, and it's referenced above. While I know some people hate AI with a passion, I agree that AI content has, for the most part, made the internet harder to enjoy. I agree with his post wholeheartedly, and maybe it will bring blogs - and hearing from people on blogs - back into the spotlight. There was a time when most blogs looked quaint and personal, reflecting the owner's personality not only in their words but in the site's visuals. I also agree with Dave Winer's views on blogs, though not the idea of leaving everything completely unedited. If by "unedited" he means honest, uncensored feelings, I'm fine with that. But I do think having an AI or another human proofread your work is usually a good idea. When I read some of my earlier posts from m...

A lone traveler embarks on a journey through a vibrant valley of blogging platforms, seeking the perfect path to share their voice and stories with the world. Okay, it has been one year since I joined Micro.blog and Scribbles.page, and just over a year since I joined Write.as. I thought I would review all three services with a clear winner, a hard "can't wait for my subscription to end and won't be renewing," and a dark horse. I joined all three within months of each other looking to get rid of my InMotionHosting web host and get away from WordPress. I didn't like the direction that Matt Mullenweg was heading and didn't want to get burned like I did with Elon Musk and Twitter. Twitter was a special place for me as I refused to use any Zuckerberg product, especially since he ruined Instagram. Now with the history out of the way, here we go. Write.as — I joined the free tier in October/November 2024 and was initially impressed by its simplicity compa...

⚠️ Warning Political Rant Okay, this is one of the few politically related posts I make each year because politics are so divisive. So here’s your warning: if you’d rather not read political commentary, feel free to stop here. The recent armed action against Iran has me conflicted. I believe it's more of a distraction and a pretext than a genuine strategic necessity. While the issues we face in America come from the neglect of both parties, Trump seems to be using these problems to his advantage. This situation should have been addressed years ago when Iran first began developing its nuclear program. The United States is skilled at acting as a global police force and solving immediate problems but not at handling long-term challenges such as nation building. We have never successfully created a functioning foreign democracy. Historically, outside powers that try to build nations in their own image often fail in the long run. They either cannot fully erase local cu...

A cluttered desk overflowing with DVDs, game controllers, and a computer setup highlights the challenge of balancing a busy to-do list with the pursuit of better health and productivity. I haven't blogged lately for several reasons. I have been feeling much better from my Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (I have blogged extensively about it in several past posts). I will just say my Camzyos and Metoprolol 200 mg ER twice daily seems to be working. I am sleeping at night and I hardly feel my heart symptoms anymore. The only lingering negative is a high heart rate most of the time, even when sleeping. But I have more energy, and that is actually why I haven't been blogging as much. I know what you are thinking: if you are feeling better, why aren't you blogging? Well, it is because I am catching up on backlogged personal projects I have wanted to get done, and spending too much money in the process. Ever since AI came on the scene, I have been getting up to speed...

⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS In the desolate wasteland of New Vegas, three survivors and their loyal dog embark on a perilous journey through a post-apocalyptic world where every step could be their last. My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5 stars) Episodes: 8 | Aired: 12-16-2025 This season answered a lot of questions and introduced a few new ones. But I actually liked this season better than the first season. I think they did the flashbacks much better this season, and this is thoroughly engaging and enjoyable entertainment. The one negative I would have is that this is not the first TV show or movie that has tried to technologize the 50s after World War 2 and the 60s. I am always astonished at the technology they built but other things that seem like simpler items that they miss, and I say why doesn't the technology they have built work here or there. Oh, and I didn't miss the few references to modern day issues and Trump. I find it amazing how politics of today is meshing...

⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: FULL SPOILERS My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ (3/5 stars) I thought it was partly a drama and partly a horror movie. It was engaging and it also made me think about how history repeats itself through some of its themes. It was two hours long and maybe about half an hour too long. Still, it was interesting, and it was sad in parts. A lot of what was portrayed in some scenes probably did happen. This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDb .

⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: FULL SPOILERS My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐½ (3.5/5 stars) A solid, if unremarkable, entry in the Tron series. Jared Leto stands out, and the plot introduces a novel twist: the digital world invades ours, spotlighting AI. It's a fine way to kill almost 2 hours. However, it's not worth a theater visit. Watching it on Disney+ is your best bet. This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDb .

This is your Content Warning: this is going to be a Political Rant Flexing the power of Article I, this bold graphic underscores the enduring strength and influence of legislative authority across diverse global arenas. Where is Congress while Trump talks like a king? I am going to let everyone in on a little secret. Congress, the Article I institution, is supposed to be the most powerful branch because it is closest to the people. Article I comes first in the Constitution and is the longest. The Founders had just fought a war against a king and were deeply wary of executive power. Alexander Hamilton called the judiciary the "least dangerous branch" in Federalist 78. Think about it: the Judicial Branch is unelected and can be constrained by Congress. Both Article II (the President) and Article III (federal judges) can be impeached and removed by Congress. The only way to get rid of a member of Congress is expulsion by their own chamber or being voted out by the people...