Chuck Miller Archives - Page 9 of 38

June rambling: a blow to the head

How the Wealthiest Avoid Income Tax.

Future-proofing the presidency. How to thwart the next American tyrant.

Trump’s Next Coup.

Chicago’s predictive policing program told a man he would be involved with a shooting.

Far-Right Gang Killed Cop In Plot To Blame 2020 Protest Violence On ‘Leftists’.

Hatred lives in a Nashville millinery shop.

NEJM: Dilemmas of Double Consciousness — On Being Black in Medicine.

John Oliver: Asian Americans.

The Mogul and the Monster. Jeffrey Epstein’s longstanding business ties with his most prominent client, billionaire retail magnate Leslie Wexner. hold the key.

What happens if the U.S. can’t reach herd immunity.

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”
– Anne Lamott

Solidarity

Even though most establishments no longer require mask wearing for the fully vaccinated – and I am – I’ve opted to wear a mask indoors for the nonce. This is in support of the store workers, most of whom are still required to mask up.

Signs Of a Toxic Work Culture—And How To Correct Them.

Remote Workers Could Quit When Asked to Return to the Office.

Best Websites to Help Kids Learn From Home in 2021.

Amy Biancolli: lessons from a blow to the head.

7 VA Loan Tips for Veterans, Service Members, and Military Spouses.

Homeless Oaklanders were tired of the housing crisis. So they built a ‘miracle’ village.

How to Be Sustainable in College: 18 Green Tips for Students.

Eric Carle didn’t want his hungry caterpillar to get a stomach ache.

When I heard that F. Lee Bailey, the “high-flying defense attorney” had died, the first person I told was Paul Rapp. Seriously.

Larry Gelman, R.I.P.

Jack Parker White (1931-2021). He was the husband of my wife’s cousin Diane, who I’d see almost every year at the Olin family reunion near Binghamton. He, my late FIL Richard, and I would test each other over baseball statistics.

Speaking of baseball, Ken Levine on how he’d fix MLB. I agree with most of these, especially getting rid of the abomination of “the stupid extra-inning rule where a runner starts at second base.” But the shift, and fouling off ideas I wouldn’t change.

How ‘One Hundred and One Dalmatians’ Saved Disney.

Sister Cindy Is a TikTok Star. “Some of those who turn out to see her [said] they question whether her internet celebrity status is deserved.” Is “internet celebrity status” deserved?

Johnny Carson as Reagan, a “Who’s On First” spoof.

15 Clichés To Avoid With a Ten-Foot Pole.

Now I Know: The Buses That Make a Bee Line and The Tribe With the DIY Spies and Evolution, Eyebrows, and the Pets We Love and The Kids Are All Right and Why The NYC Police Darkened Their Blues and Refrigerators that Ribbit?

MUSIC

Nite Ride and Sunrise by Jean Sibelius.

You Really Got Me – MonaLisa Twins.

The Last of England by Nikolas Labrinakos.

In Her Family – Peter Sprague, featuring Rebecca Jade.

Black Dog – Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.

Coverville 1359: The Bob Dylan Cover Story VIII and 1360: Cover Stories for Psychedelic Furs, Keane and the Four Tops.

Tiny Dancer – Elton John.

May rambling: food and death

100 years since Tulsa, and one since George Floyd

vaccinated_2x — From https://xkcd.com/2460/

I’ve been thinking a lot about food and death. NOT death caused by food poisoning.

At my FIL’s funeral this month, someone told a story about how my parents-in-law met. They were both students at what is now UAlbany. She was a food server, he made deliveries of supplies. He came into the dining area, just as she was about to eat her fried egg sandwich. Instead, she offered it to him.

The next week, they went to the movies together. They lived happily for many years. It is a sweet story, but the telling was incomplete. The kicker is that he HATED fried egg sandwiches, but he ate it anyway.

My wife has discovered there were foods that were always in her parents’ house. One staple was spaghetti and meatballs. As it turns out, she HATES spaghetti and meatballs, but he liked them, so she served them. Now my wife has stopped buying them for her.

Arthur tells of taste obsessions and his late husband Nigel.

Some links

Generally, I have no energy for the Big Lie believers or the January 6 deniers who say those insurrectionists were tourists, blocking an investigation. But if Chuck wants to rant about Marjorie Taylor Greene – she’s beyond reprehensible.

Why Liz Cheney Matters.

We’ll Never Stop Trying to Cut Taxes for the Rich, Republicans Warn.

John Oliver: Stand Your Ground gun laws “exalt a white person’s fear over a black person’s life.” Also, sponsored product on the local news broadcasts.

I, too, rage America.

Avoiding Overtaxing Minorities When We Need Them Most.

100 Years: Remembering the Tulsa Race Massacre, which I wrote about here.

What to make of Israel/Palestine?

Wage theft is a huge problem that requires a creative solution.

Restaurant Workers Say They Won’t Return to Work Without a Living Wage.

If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.
– Jack Kornfield

And more

Working 55 hours a week can be deadly.

The Problem With Bitcoin.

Comics writer and journalist David Anthony Kraft passed away.

In honor of Ms. Ruby Hughes.

Adam Ragusea on converting recipes in liters and milliliters to pounds and ounces, and Vidalia Onions.

It’s going to rain. Can you smell it?

How to Conduct an Address Search to Access Data for your Location. Census Reporter is an option to find your block group, state and Congressional districts, and more.

Why you need to have your ancestor’s New York death certificate.

The filing cabinet was critical to the information infrastructure of the 20th-century.

Are you getting robocalls purportedly – and clearly not – from the Social Security Administration saying your number has been compromised? I’ve gotten a few dozen on my landline and my cell this year, from several area codes, mostly the 30-second version. Annoying, but also really pathetic.

Now I Know: The Forest Man of India and How Elephants Communicate From Miles Away and The Circle of Life and The Secret Ingredient is Curiosity and The Reason Florida Disavowed Space Oranges.

Music

Spring Ain’t Here – Peter Sprague, featuring Rebecca Jade.

Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door – Afro Fiesta feat. Twanguero and I-Taweh.

Main themes from Laputa: Castle in the Sky – Joe Hisaishi.

Coverville 1358: Cover Stories for Dave Mason, Donovan, and Graham Gouldman.

Danse slav from the opera The Reluctant King by Emmanuel Chabrier.

We Love the Drums – Peter Sprague, featuring Duncan Moore.

I Fought the Law – Bobby Fuller Four.

The Hamilton Polka – “Weird Al” Yankovic.

May rambling: Goblet of Empathy

Digital divide, and the home appraisal gap

vaccine_guidance — From https://xkcd.com/2434/

“Police are investigating a threat of violence directed at a local cocktail lounge after its owner announced that he will require proof of coronavirus vaccination before admitting patrons when the bar reopens next weekend. Matt Baumgartner said that in less than four hours Thursday afternoon he received more than 100 messages via phone, email, and social media, nearly all sharply critical of the stance. Some threatened boycotts, others vandalism, and one threatened violence. ”

I’d be MORE inclined to go there myself. Boycott if they want, but why are some people threatening his right to run his business as he pleases?

Mitch McConnell admits he is fully committed to blocking everything. He said the same thing in 2010.

Biden’s Great Economic Rebalancing.

The Reagan Era is Finally Over.

Anti-Black Police Violence Constitutes Crimes Against Humanity and They Were Sons.

11 Moments From Asian American History That You Should Know.

Gallup: Does Capitalism Need a Soul Transplant?

Red States Crack Down on Protests.

Tucker Carlson Is Emblematic of Today’s Republican Party.

The Baby Bump That Wasn’t.

Marital Histories Differ Between Native-Born and Foreign-Born Adults.

You Won’t Need a Real ID Until 2023.

Why Going to the Doctor Sucks.

I’m good with an Excelsior Wallet, proof of having been vaccinated against COVID-19.

Chart from the CDC: Choosing Safer Activities.

What is the digital divide?

How the home appraisal gap makes homeownership more difficult and costly for Black families.

Aaron Mair: The Problem With Climate Havens.

There is no remedy for love but to love more.
-Henry David Thoreau

Disney Must Pay!

Living With the Sackler Name.

Hair: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

‘Street Gang’ Director Marilyn Agrelo On All The Secrets She Learned About Sesame Street.

Olympia Dukakis, Academy Award-winning actress, dies at 89.

How My Ex-Husband Became One of My Best Friends.

And more

Beavers Wipe Out Town’s Internet.

Did This Man Have the Longest Name of the 20th Century?

LEGOLAND NY prepares to open.

Belgian farmer accidentally moves French border.

Not me: “They (People in low vaccinated areas) felt they were being overlooked and neglected,” said Roger Green Sr., the pastor at Mt. Zion. “What we have done is brought it to their front door.”.

Not me: Kent tokens dropped by traders fleeing the Great Fire of London could fetch thousands. Roger Green, who is originally from Kent, spent 35 years collecting the tokens along the muddy banks of the River Thames.

Now I Know: The Trees That Rock and When Foxes Flew (Against Their Will) and Four Weddings and Divorce or Three and The Road Repair That Broke Science and Harvard Versus Hard Knocks and The Other Side of Midnight and More Accurately, He Was The Hamburglar and There’s No Such Thing As a Lot of Free Pennies and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Empathy.

Love isn’t a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like ‘struggle.’
Fred Rogers

MUSIC

Take a minute to listen to Prelude No. 16 in B-flat minor, opus 28, for solo piano by Chopin.

Clang, Clang, Clang Went Josh Hawley! – A Randy Rainbow Song Parody.

Iko Iko – Song Around the World.

It’s For You – Peter Sprague, featuring Rebecca Jade.

We Need To Get Past Covid – Shelly Goldstein.

Rob Roy Overture by Hector Berlioz.

LOUBOUTINS 2.0 – Aubrey Logan.

R.I.P., Jim Steinman.

It’s All Coming Back To Me Now – Celine Dion.

So This Is Love – Peter Sprague, featuring Sinne Eeg.

I Love NY medley.

Our Town suite by Aaron Copland.

For Good – Chenowith, and Menzel.

Coverville 1357: Cover Stories for Lesley Gore and Robert Johnson.

Both Sides Now – the MonaLisa Twins.

Willie Nelson.

Jeepers Creepers – Julian Neel.

Many more Flintstones versions

The women of jazz fought racism and sexism to open doors for their sisters.

Roberta Flack – her musical gift to us has spanned more than 5 decades.

Songs that use augmented chords.

Two interviews, one accessible

Chuck Miller

Stories of two interviews.

Back on October 5, 2009, I was interviewed by Barbara Weltman for Build Your Business Radio, wsRadio.com. “Don’t mind telling you that I was mildly terrified,” I later wrote in my work blog.

“Through a series of connections, involving the business.gov website, a woman named Barbara Weltman became aware of me and my connection with the NYS Small Business Development. Her producer, Gloria Luzier, e-mailed me and asked if I would appear on Barbara’s radio show…

“I provided a few questions that she might ask me, about the SBDC, the State Data Center, and blogs. I got a call about 4:20 pm to make sure I was actually at the appointed place, then again at 4:27. I never talked to Barbara herself before or after the show, but I was in contact with other friendly and helpful people, including Wade Taylor, wsRadio, Operations Officer, and Assistant Program Director.

The next day, Gloria Luzier, Barbara’s producer, wrote me. “Thank you so much for participating in our Build Your Business Radio Show yesterday. We enjoyed the interview and believe our listeners benefited from the expertise you shared.”

I thought I’d give a listen. Unfortunately, the URL http://www.wsradiolinkinginfo.com/ is dead. I used the Wayback Machine, but that didn’t help get to the recording. As my high school prom theme noted, All Things Must Pass.

It’s Miller Time

Chuck Miller is a fellow Capital District blogger. I met him during our Times Union blogging days, about which I wrote here. Both on his TU blog and his personal outlet, he’s been a cheerleader for the local blogosphere.

Recently, he’s begun interviewing said bloggers, recording them on the ubiquitous Zoom, and posting them to his blog on Saturdays. On March 27, he posted an interview with yours truly that we did a couple of weeks earlier. I guess it went OK. I’m still not in love with the sound of my voice, and a couple of questions I could have probably answered better.

Mon Dieu, he’s so self-critical. Please tell him to stop that.

What he said.

In search of the COVID vaccine

not throwing it away

From day one, I’ve wanted it. I’ve been in search of the COVID vaccine since its availability was first announced.

My wife, the teacher, was the first one in the household to get a shot at the very end of 2020. She received a letter from her school system then got on the state site. As she put it, she got her two doses on national holidays, Sundays, February 14, and March 7, at SUNY Albany.

A couple of weeks later, around January 12, they let the 65+ on the list. As my wife warned me, the slots filled up quickly. Sometimes, while I was in the system and clicked on a date, by the time I finished, the slot was already gone. Finally, I got one. March 31. Ugh. At least it was also at SUNY Albany.

Friends of mine got appointments in Utica, 95 minutes to the west of Albany. Or Plattsburgh, about 2.5 hours to the north. Or White Plains, two hours to the south.

Consumer Value Stores

But then some of my buddies who were 65+ started getting appointments in the area. I didn’t try Walgreens because one had to register as a member or some such. But I did go to the CVS site, and it was always full locally, at least when I had checked.

On the morning of Tuesday, March 2, I woke up at 5:30 a.m. No useful info was accessible on the CVS site. At 6 a.m., there were – suddenly, as a host of angels singing Hallelujah, even during Lent – available appointments! And I got two, the first on March 3, a/k/a, the very next day, with the other about three weeks later!! (Worthy of at least two exclamation points.)

Later that day, a volunteer from the Albany Public Library called me to ask me if I needed assistance tracking down a vaccine. Twenty-four hours earlier, I would have screamed, “YES, HELP ME!” BTW, I understand that the Schenectady library is also reaching out to its constituents, and I think it’s grand.

I got to the store on Central Avenue in Albany, a 10-minute bus ride, and about the same time on foot, at 9:35, 25 minutes before my slated appointment. The guy in front of me was scheduled for 9:45. I was feeling bad for the store employee who was both working the registration table AND running the front store register. (Eventually, they got someone to just work the vaccine table.)

Following the blue tape, I stood in line. Soon, there were about a dozen people behind me. Then at 9:55, two guys appeared from the pharmacy area and started administering the Pfizer shots. Didn’t hurt at all. I shopped around the post-vaccine area, then chatted with another recipient. She admitted that she was one of those people who checked the various websites for hours each day looking for her “golden ticket.”

One more time

The next day, my wife said that friends had alerted us that the Washington Avenue Armory site was now accepting all eligible folks from the whole city. They weren’t just inoculating selected ZIP Codes that included where my wife used to live (12206) but not where we live now, a half dozen blocks away. This would be for our daughter who has a note from her doctor specifying her underlying conditions.

Early on, I was making zero progress. Then I got an email from the city of Albany school district with a direct link to the state site, and the Armory had been added to the list. Bottom line, my daughter has an appointment in mid-April.

But I COULD have gotten her a shot at a pop-up in Albany on March 6. At first, it was for 65+ only, but when they had vacancies the day before, they expanded the pool. By the time I found out about the change, all of the slots were gone.

The COVID vaccine rollout has been like the wild and wooly west. Some folks actually feel guilty for receiving their shots when others have not. While I appreciate their sensitivity, I would never fault them for getting protected. This process could have gone better at the outset, but as some musician once wrote, “It’s getting better all the time.” A Hamilton song also seems appropriate.