Happy Birthday to Me 13

Today is my birthday. (No, it's not a decade one.) And, as it's Thursday, it's time for a Thursday 13. 

Several years ago, my brother got all of our very old pictures digitized. And then he uploaded them to Google Images. In honor of my birthday, I'm posting images of me as a kid. Just because. 

1. Me as a newborn. Although, I have a couple pics where I had just... ahem... emerged, I think I'll go with one after I've been cleaned up a bit. 

2. I searched year by year, and this is me at somewhere near one-year-old. 

3. I do not remember this pic, but I recognize the couch, and I recognize the room. This was taken in the house I grew up in, in the living room. (The kitchen was behind that wall behind me.) 

4. Same location as photo #3, just a different angle. And about a year later. 

5. My hair still kind of curls like that. But I wear it longer now, so I can kind of tame that weird wave away. 

6. I vaguely remember this dress. 

7. As the years go on, it gets harder to find pictures of me solo. The feet and hand to the right of me in this photo are of my brother. 

8. I look perturbed. I don't know why I was perturbed. But I loved this dress. 

9. The year I was the Pink Panther for Halloween. (Mom made the costume. Mom made all my costumes until the costumes stopped somewhere around junior high.)

10. Not my cowboy hat. But we kids liked "borrowing" the cowboy hat. 

11. I remember this jacket. I don't remember anything else from this photo. 

12. The t-shirt says "Catalina" as in Catalina Island. (We had visited not long before this.) 

13. Me in glasses. I think I still have this pair lying around somewhere. I started wearing contact lenses when I was a freshman in high school. 

Customizing Blogger

Danielle asked about templates on Blogger. Alas, I have no idea what those are. When I searched for them, I got a bunch of third-party sites and designers doing various things. If anyone has any expertise, I think there are many who would appreciate a blog post about how they work. 

So, in lieu of writing about templates, today I'm going to talk about customizing your blog. Because that is something I know how to do. 

From your first screen, click on "Theme". (If the sidebar doesn't pop up, click on the "hamburger"--the three lines--in the upper left hand corner.) You can click on each of these images to make them bigger if needed. 

I think most everyone has gone through and picked a theme that they like. And that's cool. Personally, I like to keep a background image of something I knit. My current background image is of a blanket I knit a little over a year ago. (I like to switch that out every so often. I haven't knit anything that would make a good blog background recently.) 

To use your own image, you click on "Customize" and "Background", then you can add your image there. 

This bit requires some trial and error. Because, depending on the image you use, you may wish to adjust how you do "Alignment". I have mine as "Tile" and "Scroll with page" because that way you can actually see the knit piece in the background. Other types of images will work better with different configurations. 

You can also adjust the "Layout", especially if you want to add things to a sidebar. (And it is a good idea to clean up your sidebar from time to time. When was the last time you checked to make sure everything was current and working?) 

The last tab, "Advanced", is where you fix fonts and colors. From my image, you can see Page Text, Backgrounds, Links, and Blog Title. The rest of the list contains: Tabs Text, Tabs Background, Post Title, Date Header, Post, Gadgets, Footer, Footer Links, and Add CSS. 

Click on the item you want to play with. Up will pop the option to change the font and/or colors associated with it. 

If you plan on playing with this a bit, set aside some time for it. You might be surprised by what you can do. 

There is one last bit that I kind of skipped over. The arrow next to "customize". 

If you click on HTML, you get the code behind the whole blog. Which is fascinating to look at, especially if you kind of understand how HTML works. I wouldn't change anything there unless you know what you're doing, but if there's some formatting issue that you're continuing to have issues with, that would be your final way to fix it.

Have you customized your blog? If there was one thing you could change on your blog (that you haven't attempted), what would it be?

Breaking Up Families

I keep seeing headlines about a certain dead felon and his "files". But I'm angry about the concentration camps. 

I don't like living in interesting times. 

Some articles I ran across: 

• Google’s AI Is Destroying Search, the Internet, and Your Brain
• The Landlord Gutting America’s Hospitals
• 'Hell on Earth': Venezuelans deported to El Salvador mega-prison tell of brutal abuse

Feel free to rant in the comments. 

A Finished Random Beanie

Last week I told you about the first beanie of my Christmas projects. I was about halfway through random beanie when I decided it would be the perfect birthday present for my sister-in-law. (All the birthdays for that branch of the family are done for this year except for hers and eldest nephew, who was born the day after Christmas.) 

And I finished it on Thursday. 

I modeled it as it's easier to see worn. I really like this colorway, especially for SIL. It's perfect. 

I rather enjoyed knitting this. It may look complicated, but the yarn did all the work. There were a couple interesting rows (where you pull up a strand of yarn and where you tack that yarn down), but otherwise it was a 2x2 rib. 

It went fast. I'm tempted to make a bunch of these in various colorways. But, that would require buying yarn, and the whole point of using this pattern was to use up the yarn I already had. 

My one complaint is this top bit. I deliberately made the "slouchy" version. To get this to flatten out, I need to block it. Which I have not done. I need a balloon or something, which I do not have. Of course, just wearing it long enough to stretch it out will fix all of that. 

Otherwise, yeah. I'm good with this. 

I have one other colorway that I might make for my brother. Would this be too busy for a guy? I have some time to ponder as I've already begun middle nephew's beanie in "Lakers colors". I'll show that off next week. (Not sure if it'll be finished or not, though.) 

Oh, and just to note on the other thing I mentioned last week, the yarn for eldest nephew's sweater arrived. So, I can begin on that sweater any day. 

Recognized and Remembered

At the continuation high school there is an orientation class. It is a class for the newcomers, the ones that have just transferred from their other schools. 

On the second day of school, I was surprised by this orientation class fourth period. The school is making some adjustments with how they do things (some practices were out of date, and it was time to rethink and redo them). And so now Mr. G has a period of orientation. Okay, then...

As with every new group, there were several students I did not recognize. But there were a couple who I did. And I was not surprised to see them. 

I did not say anything to Jensen even though I immediately recognized him. 

But, on Friday, Jensen brought it up. 

Jensen: "Do you remember me from the alternative education center?"

Me: "Yup. I even remember you from [traditional high school]."

Jensen: Looking confused. Then recognition dawns. "Oh, the English class..."

Yeah, among others. 

The good news: Jensen can't really roam like he did at the traditional high school as there's nowhere to roam. And he seems to have matured a little. (Very little.) 

But now I get to see him when I go to the continuation high school. Of course, that means he can't escape me as well. *evil grin*

Second Day Drama

Thursday. Fifth period. 

So, well, um, the continuation high school starts early. Some years I get work, some years I don't. 

It was only their second day of school, so students aren't sure of their schedules. And I don't take roll first thing. I always get them going on the assignment before I figure out who is absent. Usually this works out just fine... 

So, I was looking at the roll. And I realized that I had a student who did not belong in the class. I had seen him the day before. I checked, and he was supposed to be in my sixth period. No biggie. He could explain to his fifth period teacher where he was, and if the teacher needed verification I would give it. 

Only, something else was happening at that moment... 

I was only half listening. Something something someone's girlfriend. And Travis was looking at her? Only, Travis got very upset at the accusation, because he said he knew she was dating someone, and he wasn't looking at her? I don't know, it was a ridiculous disagreement. 

But Travis.

Some people just aren't quite able to get along. You know who I mean. The kind of person who blows up for no reason whatsoever. 

On Wednesday, I had given Travis the assignment. And he complained. Loudly. The lines he was supposed to draw hurt his hand. And he was sure Mr. G wouldn't make him complete the assignment. (Continuation high school. If he didn't do the assignment he wouldn't get the credits for it. There would be other assignments he could get the credits for later.) 

I wasn't in the mood for an argument, so I moved on. Travis sat in the back far corner, and he did (or did not do) his work. Fine. 

But this time Travis wasn't going to let the whole "looking at the girlfriend" go. Andres said something that set Travis off. And Travis was getting louder and louder about it. 

At roughly the same time, I asked Andres what class he was supposed to be in. He realized he was supposed to be in my sixth period. I asked him to go to his actual fifth period. And Andres was willing to go. 

Only, Travis wasn't backing down. Travis was taunting Andres. Challenging him. Making it as if Andres leaving the class was Andres running away from him. Because Travis could take him. Travis was tough, and he would mess Andres up. 

I picked up the classroom phone and dialed security. 

Andres got up. Headed out. Travis continued his taunting. 

I told security that maybe they were settling... 

Andres left. Travis got up from his seat and followed him out. 

Nope, I told security. Fight incoming... 

But small school. The boys were facing off outside, but five other staff members (including security) were there before it came to blows. 

Whew. Fight averted. 

We shooed the students back to class (because everyone left their classes when it looked like a fight was starting) while Travis and Andres were escorted to the office. 

I did not see Travis again that day. Andres showed up on time to sixth period. 

It's been a while since I witnessed a near fight. Glad that sort of thing doesn't happen every day. 

After school and the next day I talked to other adults on campus, and I got a clearer picture of what that dispute was all about. 

Andres' girlfriend had reported to the administration that Travis had been "watching" her, and I heard he was doing other things that were making her uncomfortable. (Andres and his girlfriend have a baby daughter.) Andres had mentioned to Travis that he should stay away from her. Rather than backing off, Travis doubled down. 

And, apparently Andres was nowhere near stone cold sober that day (hence not realizing he was in the wrong class). 

Early Start

Monday. I was on my phone, playing a game, when a text popped up. "I was curious if you're up for subbing for 3 days, beginning this wed..." 

I knew the first day of school for the continuation high school was Wednesday. And I had no plans for the week. Of course I took the gig. 

It was for the computer aided drafting class (CAD). I've subbed for this teacher and this class many times in the past. 

But then I saw the lesson plans for the day: "Students will complete the sketching exercise since computers are non-operational." 

The computers, in the computer aided drafting class, are non-operational... Uh... 

When I arrived on campus on Wednesday, all questions were answered. The teacher, Mr. G, showed up before school to make sure everything was ready to go. (He was finishing up his summer job--teaching a class at the community college.) The computers were non-operational because the school had bought brand new computers for the class, but they were still waiting on a cable to connect them. (Public schools...) 

And... Everything was fine. Pretty much. The "sketching exercise" was an intro drafting exercise, which was fine since many of the students were brand new to the class. 

So, does this count as having worked the first day of school? I mean, kind of? (The district superintendent even showed up to say hello. So, kind of a first day.) 

Digging into Glonzo

Just a few thoughts this week: 

While perusing Bluesky (as I do), someone had linked to an article from 2017 titled "The Al Capone Theory of Sexual Harassment". In a nutshell, the idea was that, "often people who engage in sexually predatory behavior also faked expense reports, plagiarized writing, or stole credit for other people’s work." (That's quoted from the article. Click on the link to get the full explanation.) 

Not that there's any specific reason I'd be mentioning this at the moment, you understand... 

Indivisible is doing a training thing. "We’re launching a national effort to train one million people in the tools and tactics to fight authoritarianism. Next session is July 30." The first training session was the 16th. The video is below: 

Then, MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas presents the Indivisible One Million Rising Initiative to train one million people in how to best participate in the peaceful protests and mass mobilization: 

As of Sunday, it's been six months since the regime began. Dismantling the federal government, yanking support for poor and working-class Americans, and emboldening extremism have been among his accomplishments so far.

And finally, a little post about "The Glonzo Strategy". What's a Glonzo? 

If 25% of the population believed that a creature called ‘Glonzo’ caused high power prices by chewing through transmission lines, any competent politician would be negligent in not trying to find a way to exploit this. This doesn’t mean that these people wouldn’t be fucking morons.

Feel free to rant in the comments.  

Random Beanie

I. Have. Projects. 

Finally. 

I've been whining about not having anything to work on for months now. When I went back to Ohio to visit the family, I asked each of the niblings what they wanted for Christmas. With a niece, four nephews, a brother, and a sister-in-law, there's no way I'll complete them all in time for Christmas. But at least I now have things to keep my hands busy. 

Eldest nephew requested a heavy sweater. I found a cute pattern. I ordered yarn online. I'm waiting for the yarn to arrive. 

Middle nephew requested a beanie in "Lakers colors". I think this pattern will be cute, only do I use the yellow on the top or the purple? I go back and forth. Of course, it would help if I got the yarn already, but I'll do that this week, I think. 

But what did I start on? A beanie that doesn't really have a recipient. 

My brother, for the first time, actually requested I make him something. A beanie. And so, I went on a hunt for interesting beanie patterns. I found this one. And what caught my eye was that it used a variegated yarn with long color strands. I have some of that yarn in my stash from when I made niece that eye sweater last year. 

I printed out that pattern. I found the yarn I already had. I dug out the needles required. And this is how far I've gotten... 

But, will I actually give this to my brother? It might just be too busy for him. I just don't know. 

It's something to work on while I acquire the yarn I need for the other specific projects I have to do. I'll keep you posted as how things progress. 

1980s Movies, 3 Clues

It's Friday, and other than my "fun" flight home from Ohio, not much has been going on. So, it's quiz day... 

Can You Name These 1980s Movies With Just 3 Clues?

I was a teen for the majority of the '80s. I saw most of these films. And I have a good memory for movies. So, my 14 out of 15 was kind of expected. (The one I missed is a movie I have never seen.) 

Let me know how you did in the comments. I only taunt low scores for people like me. (For example, if Alex were to do poorly on this. Which he won't. If he tries it.) Everyone else, you did amazing. 

13 Apple TV Plus Shows

When the show Murderbot began on Apple TV Plus, an account I follow on Bluesky did a list of other shows people should check out when they subscribe. Because they assumed that certain people would just subscribe for that one show. And this got me thinking. 

Are there 13 shows I would recommend from Apple TV Plus? (Because Thursday, this is a Thursday 13.) Do I recall 13 separate shows from the service? Let's see... 

1. Ted Lasso: This is the one about the American football coach who is hired to coach a UK soccer team. This is absolutely my favorite Apple TV Plus show. I may be due for (another) rewatch...

2. Severance: What if you could leave work at work, because you literally have no memory of your work life when you're outside of it? That's the premise of this show executive produced by Ben Stiller (yes, that Ben Stiller). Two seasons thus far, and that corporation has gotten up to some nefarious activities. Creepy, but fascinating. 

3. Silo: In a post-apocalyptic future, 10,000ish people are living in an underground silo, but they have no idea why. I had been avoiding starting this one, but then my father said it looked interesting, so we watched it together. Two seasons, but I heard a third season has been ordered. 

4. Mythic Quest: As of this writing, I am just a couple episodes into season four (the last season, as it's officially been cancelled). This is a workplace comedy with Rob McElhenney as the creator of the video game in the title. 

5. Schmigadoon!: Do you like musicals? How would you like to end up stuck in the middle of one? Yeah, no? Our heroes don't particularly like it, either. They go hiking/camping in the woods when they stumble across a town adhering to musical rules (plot, breaking into song), and they can't get out until they complete the story. Two seasons, also sadly cancelled. 

6. The Morning Show: At the beginning of season three, one of the characters goes up to space in a rocket for a publicity thing. Several months before it happened in real life. This is all about the cast and crew of an early morning TV show. They try to be topical (so seasons one and two will feel behind the times now). It's really well done.

7. The Buccaneers: As of this writing, season two just dropped (and I haven't started it yet, but I will). Based on the unfinished novel by Edith Wharton, it's the story of four rich young American women who travel to England (in the 1870s) and end up hunting for husbands with titles. Things don't go really well. (Culture clashes. The titled are kinda horrible people.) 

8. Lessons in Chemistry: This was a one (season) and done, based on the book of the same name. Midcentury female chemist and her struggles. She ends up hosting a cooking show. 

9. Franklin: Another one (season) and done, with Michael Douglas playing Benjamin Franklin when he went to France to try to secure funding for the Revolutionary War. The political intrigue... These are the stories missing from history in school. 

10. Time Bandits: If you've seen the 1981 movie, you understand the premise. Lisa Kudrow leads a group of time bandits who aren't very good at the bandit part, and aren't all that sure of the historical periods, either. I'm not sure if any more seasons are coming, but this one was fun. And, unlike the movie, I could actually follow the plot. 

11. Amazing Stories: There's five episodes of this show, and I've seen two. But I liked the two, and I intend to watch the rest eventually. I have fond memories of the '80s show (exec produced by Steven Spielberg), and these episodes recapture a bit of that. 

Oops, ran out of shows to recommend. So, for my last two on the list, I'll add two shows I plan to watch next. 

12. Shining Girls: I've heard good things about this one. The official description: Newspaper archivist Kirby Mazrachi's dreams of becoming a journalist are put on hold after she survives a brutal attack that leaves her in a constantly shifting reality.

13. Constellation: And this one also came highly recommended. We'll see. The official description: Jo returns to earth after a disaster in space and discovers that there are missing pieces in her life, so she sets out to expose the truth about the hidden secrets of space travel and recover what she has lost. 

Does anyone else have Apple TV Plus? If you do, do you have any other recommendations?

Following Others' Blogs

How do you keep track of all the blogs you follow? 

When I started blogging, someone wrote a post about how they kept track of the blogs they followed using a feed reader. (At the time it was Google's Reader, but Google killed that off over a decade ago.) 

A feed reader is an app that uses RSS (which stands for Really Simple Syndication) to collect all the sites that regularly publish material in one location. So, rather than having to go to each website, you can go to the RSS app and see a list of all the articles published since you last checked. 

Some more info: The 3 best free RSS reader apps in 2025. Follow your favorite blogs, sites, and feeds for free.

I use Feedly. On any given day, I open Feedly, and there is a list of all the blogs that have been published since I last checked. I click on a title, and it pulls up the post. I can then click on the title of the post and it'll take me to that website (so I can comment there). Once I've read the post, I close it out, and that post disappears from my reader. Then on to the next. 

There are other readers, and they work similarly. To add a blog, I click on "Follow Sources" in the sidebar, and I add the website to the box that pops open. Then I add it to one of my "Feeds". 

I have several topics under "Feeds". I find it's easier to group them, so certain sites that I don't always read I can delete in one click. It's way easier to get all the feeds at once and delete those I don't want to read rather than having to check back on each blog daily or weekly to keep up. It just wouldn't happen for me that way. 

How do you keep track of the blogs you follow? If you use a feed reader, which one do you use? 

Unfocused

The U.S. now officially has concentration camps. I mean, we kind of unofficially had them before, but now they've officially opened one in the Everglades. And I sincerely wish that everyone that's put even a pinky's worth of effort into getting it going gets tried for Crimes Against Humanity. 

Just remember, it was illegal for Anne Frank to hide and resist arrest. I wonder how long I can continue to write these posts before I get into trouble for them. It'll happen, I'm sure. At least, if nothing else changes. 

So, speaking of the concentration camp:

• Hundreds at Alligator Alcatraz have no criminal charges, Miami Herald learns
• Is your family member or client at Alligator Alcatraz? We obtained a list

But, that's not the only place people are being imprisoned: 

• Congresswoman tracks down U.S. citizen children detained at Ferndale facility
• About enforced disappearance

As I was thinking about what I was going to post for today, I couldn't settle on anything. I had read that part of the fascism is to throw so many things at us so quickly so we can't focus. Plus, we have our day-to-day lives to deal with. So, instead of finding one topic, I'm going to share a couple more things I ran across that you might find helpful. 

Has your health insurance ever denied a claim? ProPublica has a site that'll help you create a letter to get the notes they used. Just in case you'd want to file an appeal. Or just find out the why. (I'm doing this more so I have the link, just in case.) 

And then there was this discussion on Bluesky as to whether or not air conditioning is overused. Some places have gotten hot lately, I understand. The articles tangential to this that I found interesting were, first, the 20 firms behind a third of all carbon emissions. And then, here's an article on how to figure out what climate change issues might threaten your home, and what you can do to help your home survive them. 

I hope you're having pleasant weather. And I hope you and your loved ones are safe. I open the comments to any ranting you wish to do on the current state of, well, anything. If you have any solutions, please, share. As well as any articles that we might find illuminating. 

The Minecraft Collection

As I mentioned (several times), I went to visit the family in Ohio last week. I brought along the Zombie. 

He joined Enderman...

And Creeper...

With the twins...

Can you believe they're 12 now? Yikes. (Here's the last time their pictures appeared on the blog.) 

And now I have a new project, or rather, projects. Christmas. I asked for requests, and now I have four sweaters to knit. Sigh. (I don't expect to finish them all in time for Christmas, and I told them so.) Of course I'll write about them as they progress. 

I don't know if I collected all the posts for these in one place, so it's about time I did that: 

• Explaining the Project
• New Project Loading...
• A Head in the Game
• And Then There Were Two
• Zombie Time
• Zombie Body
• Crunch Time
• A Finished Zombie

Missed Connection

I went to visit my brother and family in Ohio. (I mentioned this a few times already.) Every other post this week I wrote before I left for my trip. As I write this for today, it is Wednesday the 9th. I got back yesterday (Tuesday). 

I was supposed to arrive home on Monday. 

(This is going to be a long one. So... TL/DR: I got stuck in Denver overnight for reasons.)

The last time I visited was for Thanksgiving. As I was leaving, my sister-in-law mentioned that I should return to see the 4th of July with them. (My brother loves setting off fireworks.) Okay, then...

I was set to return on Monday. Because the Long Beach Airport is small, it does not have direct flights to/from Columbus, Ohio. So, for my return flight, I was going to change planes in Denver, Colorado. I had a little over two and a half hours layover. (I was scheduled to land from Columbus at 3:10 and take off to Long Beach at 5:45.) 

I got to the Columbus Airport early. I got through the TSA line (shoes off). I found my gate. And then, because I had time, I went to find someplace to have lunch. I checked my takeoff time, and we were delayed. By a couple minutes. 

Me at lunch.

It was probably 1 o'clock (EDT). I took my time. Had a nice lunch. And then I went to find my gate again. At this point our takeoff was delayed again. It got pushed back a couple times, so instead of taking off at 2 PM as originally scheduled, we were looking at more like 2:30. 

But I had that 2 1/2 hour layover. I'd be fine... 

The gate next to us was headed for Nashville, Tennessee. And instead of getting ready to board, they got some bad news. Weather delay. And announcement after announcement was about having them reschedule connecting flights. I was sorry for their troubles, thinking they weren't my troubles. Ah... 

It was time to board. They had the first boarding group line up. (I was in the second boarding group.) They waited. And they waited. And they waited. Still, no call to start boarding... 

Finally, the boarding guy told those in line they might as well sit back down. It would be a while. 

Most of the passengers got out of line. We waited. 

"That alarm you heard is for a lightning strike. Because it struck within three miles of the airport, we are on a 20 minute mandatory delay. No flights can take off or land." 

I turned to find that it was now raining outside. Okay, then. 

After a while we got another announcement. We were going to start boarding soon as the plug that had popped out (my memory on the exact phrasing is fuzzy, so I may have incorrect terminology here) had been fixed. 

Hey, what? 

The announcer chuckled. "Oh, you weren't informed of this?" He realized that we hadn't been told why they had halted boarding, so he explained the problem. As they were getting the plane ready for us to board, they found a popped plug (?? or something like that). They called maintenance. Who were on the other side of the airport. Then, of course the lightning delay meant no personnel outside. 

But now it was all fixed. Finally, we were going to board. Hooray!

We took off sometime after 3:15. (My last texts to everyone letting them know I was sitting on the plane were at 3:15. Then I put my phone in airplane mode.) 

We got to Denver in good time. However, we couldn't land. Something-something weather. We circled for a while. Then the pilot explained that we could land pretty soon, but we were going to need to refuel first, so we were being diverted to Montrose. Montrose? What's a Montrose? 

It was twenty minutes away. And, we landed at about 5:10 PM (MDT).

Welcome to Montrose, Colorado. This was out my window on the plane. 

We could not get off the plane. So, everyone got into the aisle to use the restroom (including me). Hey, they said we could stretch our legs a bit. 

Remember my connecting flight? 5:45 MDT. According to my phone, it had been delayed to 6:10. When we took off at about 5:35, the pilot said it would take us about 35 minutes to get back to Denver. 

We landed in Denver at about 6:45. 

I took my phone out of airplane mode to find a text. My connecting flight to Long Beach had been rebooked. 9:15 AM. (Long Beach does not have late flights. My original flight had been the last one of the day.) 

Now, I did have options. It's not like Long Beach is the only airport. But LAX? Maybe John Wayne. I was tired. I'd get back late and then I'd have to figure out how to get a ride from the airport. I decided I might as well get a hotel for the night. 

First, I wanted to get my checked bag. Baggage claim was down an escalator and a train ride away. Did you know the Denver Airport has a train? 

I found a very nice lady in the baggage claim area (for bag issues), and I asked if I could get my bag. She said she could ask. My bag was checked through to Long Beach, and it was currently booked on a flight to Sacramento, and then somehow it would make its way to Long Beach. (It turns out that tag that they tell you to keep is useful for something.) She sent a request. Said to check back in twenty minutes. At twenty minutes she said to check back a little later. 

A little later she found me. Said she found a baggage handler who found my bag and had retrieved it. They just needed to find a vehicle to transport it back to baggage claim. This would take some time, of course. 

I was just so happy to get the bag. I needed to take my contact lenses out, and my stuff plus my glasses were in my suitcase. 

While I was waiting on the bag, I booked a hotel. My brother was kind enough to do some internet research and find me a phone number. I got my bag a little after 9 PM, and then I headed out to get a shuttle to the hotel. 

I didn't get on the shuttle until about 10:30. The shuttles weren't well identified. The one with the correct hotel name had the wrong hotel address. (Same name. One was on Airport Tower Road--where I wanted to go. This shuttle was for Gateway or Garden Park something or other.) When I finally identified the correct shuttle, I realized that it had come by three or four times. 

I got into my room about 11:30. The shuttle back was for 6:30 AM. (That was the only time they had available, but I didn't mind as I wanted to actually make my flight back. Early was way better than late.) 

I got a shower. For dinner they had frozen dinners available (for a very inflated price) in the lobby (microwave in the room). Besides snacks on the plane, my last meal had been at 1 PM EDT. I took out my contacts. And I got a couple hours sleep. 

My hotel room. Just what I needed.

The hotel had breakfast included. And then it was back to the airport. I was dropped off at the wrong airline, but one of the employees directed me towards where I needed to check my bag. I went to print a label for the bag, but that wouldn't work. Sigh. 

There was an available clerk at the bag drop off. I explained the situation. He said I had a bag checked. I pointed to my bag and said this was the checked bag. He understood, and he printed out a new tag. Then I was off to find the TSA line. 

(The workers I encountered at Denver Airport were so very nice and helpful considering the situation. This could have gone so much worse.) 

The line went quickly. I went through screening (shoes on!?!). The TSA agent said we could leave our shoes on. I double checked. Really? Yup. I found out (after I got home) about that rule change. 

Then it was back to the train and back to the C gates. But reversing my path from Monday after having a bit of rest and some food helped me mentally. (I was still fried, but a little less so.) 

I was way early. 

The flight home, day 2.

Better early than late. I texted the family. I ate another breakfast at the airport. 

But one thing just pissed me off. For the flight I missed, I had managed to snag an A group boarding. I was so excited. I'd get on the plane early. But for my rebooked flight, I was downgraded to a C group boarding. That that just... Because, seriously? (Had to be said.)

As we got ready to board (pretty much on time), the guy in front of me and I got to talking. He was on the flight with me from Columbus. (Truck driver. He was picking up his load in Long Beach and he would be driving it to New York.) He also had the same boarding issue. However, he had not been able to retrieve his checked bag. Apparently, it had made it to Long Beach ahead of us. 

I got stuck with a middle seat. Sigh. But the flight into Long Beach was uneventful. 

We landed around 10:30 AM PDT. And home is about 10 minutes away. (I commute farther to work.) 

I got home. Unpacked. And then fell asleep for about three hours. Still, today, Wednesday, I'm feeling a bit wiped. But I'm home. Yay!

Maybe next week I'll talk a little about the trip itself. Although, family, so it wasn't a big touristy thing. 

And now you know why I was a bit late visiting blogs this week. 

The Third Annual Meme Collection 13

As I planned out what I'd write about on the blog this summer, I realized that there are a couple topics I seem to hit annually. One of them is a roundup of some of the various memes I've collected. As I did this in 2024 and 2023 around this time (not quite the exact week, but in July), I figured we were due for another. Of course, this is a Thursday 13. So, in no particular order... 

1. I was explaining to my uncle about the Leopards Eating People's Faces political party (because he hadn't heard of this meme), so I saved this for him. (No special reason why this is relevant...)

2. This goes with #1. 

3. I was explaining this one to a student, and I realized I needed the visual. Link to this comic online.

4. I have several anti-AI art images. I'll only post one for today. 

5. I feel this one so hard.

6. Uh, yeah, this might be me. (Definitely me.)

7. This one spoke to me after having done some laws in another Thursday 13 a while ago...

8. Another anti-AI, but this one is for text, not art. 

9. Hopefully, this one needs no explanation.

10. You can buy this T-shirt here. (We have cobra chickens in my condo complex, and yeah, cobra chickens is a great way to describe them.) 

11. Math joke. 

12. Math limerick. (This one broke my brain.) 

13. Let's end with a nice thought.