Random Notes from a Crank

In this troubling world and in this troubling country run by an absolute lunatic, I need some positivity in my life. 

One of ways to combat all the negativity out there is reading The Optimist Daily. I highly recommend it. 

As I've seen repeatedly on TikTok, all kinds of people are selling the loon in the symbol of the rebel alliance (Star Wars) in solidarity with protests in Minneapolis. 

Instead of getting one of those, I purchased a regular Rebel Alliance symbol for my car (see below) and one for my office door.

I hope the use of this symbol spreads because we are truly going up against evil people, the dark side of America. 

Prior to the election, there was one house on one of my dog-walking routes who engaged in some satire in response to their neighbor having a Trump-Vance yard sign on their lawn. 

They countered with Palpatine-Vader yard sign. Brilliant. 

I haven't watched any of the Winter Olympics yet. I don't know if I'll watch any of it. 

I did like the video I saw of J.D. Vance being booed at the opening ceremonies. 

Random Notes from a Crank

I find it odd that there a people around who wear cowboy hats on a regular basis who do not ranch or work on a farm in the West. It's so silly. 

When I grow my beard during the winters, I have tons of gray hair in my beard, whereas I don't have a lot of gray hair on my head. 

I wondered why that was and queried the InterWebs why. 

Apparently this phenomenon is quite normal: "Why Beards Turn Gray Fast." 

I will not dying my beard. That's just silly. 

And here's a video.

One of this guy's recommendations is reducing one's stress. Good luck with that. The irony is that I seem to have less stress now than I did when I was younger. So the stress I had then created the gray hair I have now.  

I will be embracing the gray in my beard though like he recommends. 

Years ago I subscribed to Ode Magazine, which was a really good magazine that focused on positivity and solutions in a troubled world. 

The magazine morphed into The Optimist Daily, which is now an online magazine. 

Here's a recent post from the magazine: "A Big Win for Parents: Free Childcare Is Coming to San Francisco." 

As various people on TikTok and other social media have opined, Greenland should rename itself Epstein Island. 

More files have finally been released.