Bye bye American Pie

 That song makes little sense to me, and high-schoolers older than me pretended to know the code.
Well here's another code (metaphor, parable, whatever)

National review's fans all agree

and anyway they have their arsenal of talking points (read the comments)

Baltimore-something....

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2025/10/21/trump-white-house-demolition-east-wing-ballroom/86817272007/

Cleverly written to make Google's front page

I wonder how long it will take for a future someone to turn it into a biggie library, a museum, or a hostel for homeless immigrants (just to piss you off)

But half the country (See "national review") are orgasmic about the whole thing, "a ballroom."

My John Bircher-uncle would have been so pleased.

I don't follow construction costs, like sewer-lines and paneling, and, well, I was just *wondering*

where the hundreds of millions of dollars are going to.
A contractor who shares the profits with the Trump dynasty?

The phraseology changes but the meaning looks the same

Chairs?

imported floors (think of the tariffs!)

Reeeeeallly nice kitchen equipment.

???

A space-launch-thingy with a retractable roof (like on "Thunderbirds"?)

The "Primary beneficiary," in case you missed it, *should* have been the US or some small part of it (washington DC) but however it's funded, the buck stops at Trump.

The bunker is below it

an AECOM project

"underneath the East Wing" Currently being demolished

The white-house-military office (run by some high-up guy, and I spent long minutes looking)

is the one overseeing the bunker-renovation, or so says the press.
I'm guessing Hegseth will want a biggie part. 
Let's hope whoever the guy really is, knows about construction and ergonomics, hmm

Google is being exeedingly vague as to who
and what he looks like

The one in the suit on the right (maybe)

Train of thought: (Don't read between my lines!) https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/04/politics/white-house-bunker-history

I wonder (being so incredibly bad at math) what "90,000 square feet" is.
A baseball field, a soccer field?
Anyway when you add in the bunker it makes more sense.

"Big box store"
You mean a "Mall", right?
A typical "Best Buy" is 30,000 square feet,
according to you (Google AI)
The biggiest ballroom would be swallowed up.
But a *bunker*, ok.
With the stargate and the extra alien stuff,
the apartments for the president and his closest friends,
the press, ok.
(But why don't they just say that?)

They won't divulge square footage, I'll keep looking

Right this exact second, I can edit these things but NOT read the published blog, because it says I'm not 18.
Ahhh, to be 17 again.

I might have to remove the "Sensitive content" thingy.
I'd reaaaally rather not.
Geez are you kidding?

Too many militant moms out there.
They'd rather have their kids die of measles than to have someone tell them they need a vaccine.

From Fallout 4
"Herd Immunity,"
From my own train of thought

I agree (kind of) on "Mandates" but you can't remove mandates, or if you can they won't.
(I'm getting off topic)

How in hell do I read my own front page without warping your fragile-little-minded spawn?

I want to at least ostensibly keep my content from kids, I cuss too freely for them.

"Ostensibly" meaning they know more about account hacking than adults, and they get away with it cuz they're "kids", the little darlings, grrrrr

Well, it's gone, I hope you're happy.

I'll put it back very soon.

I could have used a credit card.

But wait, how would you know I wasn't a kid using a credit card?
I could have used my state-ID.
(But wait, how would you know yada blah?)

OK FINE, now someone has my mugshot.

Massively huge face-recognition software like on cop shows, or random evaluator (I wasn't wearing any teeth)??

Now we await the news that evaluator.com (whoever) has been severely hacked and the massive database was downloaded, it's unclear by whom (NSA? A kid? Korea?)

My back arrow

 https://gizmodo.com/sam-altman-lord-forgive-me-its-time-to-go-back-to-the-old-chatgpt-2000672231

Terms: "AMA" ("ask me Anything")

Topics: People get sued for, uh, damn near anything (I'll get back to this one)

People (mentally healthy ones) liked ChatGPT 4 beeeeecause, it was personable and less expensive?
5 is too cold and unfeeling, they feel forlorn bereft and unsatisfied.

My 2c: the only people profiting off of chat-yada would be advertising, they could let machines try to win your heart with catchy phrases, little jingles, and hot AI women, but that's just my 2c.

Lonely people romancing bots is more of a sideline no one would talk about.

Here, a picture.

Oh, listen: The article has nested links that link to more links. ALL the links (in the article) used one single tab.
Thank you, back arrow.

Gizmodo had another article, something about the future of Doctor Who, which I feel that I know even less about.
I wrote (didn't I?) that you pick your show, and the streaming service broadcasting that show,

and the ISP letting you stream,

aaand..I wrote it's too expensive, and gave up. Fiber is tied up with little introductory deals and purported temporary discounts that kick in after three months, but end eventually (they don't say when or how.)
In other words, slowish fiber looks cheap, but there is too much fine print to worry about.
And I'm not eligible anyway (They don't like apartment complexes?)

53+37+tax and fees, let's guess $99

It must've taken an AI computer to come up with the convoluted rate-structure.

Why did they need "Speedtest"? Don't they control their own speed, or does it change on cloudy days or when the president visits?

I'm not convinced.

$142, optimistically AI

For $99 (before discounts) 2gig would be attractive...

And I already have a phone. 

There are other companies, just as restrictive and with weird rules.
Who could possibly afford competing streaming services (two or three) on top of the transmission rate (eg, $99) to watch their favorite shows? we're talking maybe the better part of $200 a month.

People pay tons I know, slavishly signing contracts for discounts...
I don't have a contract nor any discounts. I pay $105 a month (NO streaming)

add, o, maybe, 20+20+20 for streaming...and fees and tax...169? Or is that wishful thinking (premium-movie fees, live event fees) nevermind.

That's nice (Who is she again?)
Surfeit-facade of "MAGA" with a plot I didn't watch (the summary-video was too long)
https://www.google.com/search?q=wandavision+gop+propaganda&oq=wandavision+gop+propaganda

Save $12, watch "Bewitched"

Speaking of stuff I know less than nothing about,

I've had bluetooth for years, and never use it.
Someone somewhere has a bluetooth 65" TV that shows up.
That's just creepy, and the reason I don't use a bluetooth keyboard, but that's digressing....

Um, OK it says "connect" and it does, and four seconds later it disconnects, from my pixel phone.

Both devices ask me if I want to connect, and here is my code, do I want to connect?
Yes!

It connects!

Then disconnects.

On a hunch, I sent a file from the PC to the phone.

Do I want the file?
Yes, I want the file!

Transferring...

I'm guessing that a person needs a streaming app.

Right? 
IDK.

This is just silly. Bloviated BS.
(I mean, I transferred the file yesterday (no flies on me)
But this newfangled-whippersnapper audio app 
proclaimed superiority. Big fail.
It transfers a file, and then I play it, wtf is that?
What if my phone had some podcast going, or an FM radio?

Bleh-bleh-bla,-bla,
(It should be built in to windows or what the hell is windows for anyway, besides updates)

"No proven link"

"I need to see your contacts, and your call-history, OK? "

I'm always imagining that Bluetooth is the hot girl on the subway with a few friends she wants to share songs with.
With *my* setup, all she could do is transmit files and let the receivers use their players to play it.

Doubtless you've all figured this out since 2004 when you were 8, but I don't know how to "stream" anything.

I can send and receive files, that's it.

Edit:
A $5 program added a doohickey that lets my PC receive audio. I'm a little short on details..

"Alternative A2DP License," is That what I want?
OMG,wut?
You done HAD to bring that up,
now I'll be riddled with recriminations and self-doubt

So, (as in ages past) I look for a player that uses bluetooth, lose interest and ten years go by.

They've been saying that since I was eight and too naive to know that you never bring this up in conversation; let it lie encrusted in ancient tomes.
I Don't know (since I was eight)

They make these IQ tests, and no one really knows what they measure except that they seem to like math.

They do not split up the tests from math and verbal skills.

and, they reeely want to know how old you are, and if you're a guy or a girl.

My SAT and ACT both said "good luck fishing for shrimp" on math,

(Link)

but my verbal was impressive (so they stuck me in a damn class full of upper-crusties where I failed on "Term paper."

Term papers are my brick wall, my waterloo. (Do blogs count?)

Anyway I finally found an IQ test online that said my IQ was exactly the same as 40 years ago.
No alzheimer's here! I'll die happy.

"Swing low"

 Black spirituals from the '20s keep popping into my head.

My hovel has been condemned, and I am to be transported somewhere.
Hooterville? Mayberry?
Hooterville was bombastic and nosy.
Mayberry was judgmental (and nosy)

*Mount Pilot*?

I might add to this. 
Links to "Paul Robeson" who you've never heard of, except maybe as a voice in old movies.
"Nobody knows"
"The trouble I've seen"
(it was on "The Lucy show", you knew that one, right?)

clean underwear.
Syringes.
my insulin and some leftover food
(ummm)
a small TV.
All my chargers (three)
Aannnd...My condemned house-keys (I shall return)
And my new wrench, if it ever gets here.
I'll say "goodbye" to my new faucet, and consider buying a bed.
Oh! Pillows.

Will it be windy cold and dark? A blankie!!

I'll have to trust that my neighbors I leave behind are good, hardworking,
Americans, patriotic,salts of the earth (no stealing!)

Ignore the bottles and cans (but don't throw them away, OK?)
My teacup, my spoon, my sugar, (omg)
"Nobody knows..."

I've apparently been making Cobb Salads 3x a day, according to an all seeing neighbor.
I looked it up; it's maybe similar but they prefer a ton-better looking salads, all separate-but-equal, apartheid ingredients.

Plus, they use eggs. I don't, usually,  nor any avocados. But the biggest differences are, the stuff is heavily integrated and coated generously with mayonnaise.

Jennifer Aniston would hate it.
I wouldn't know about Mr. Cobb.

I glossed over one of the ingredients, "Chickpeas" and so I looked it up.

Apparently they're slightly trendy, and magazines feature them in articles.
Yes, if I were a name-dropping new-yorker who ate Lox and Hummus, 

Cream cheese and bagels, I might casually mention "Chickpeas."

(Link)

Apparently they upset your stomach. Lump them in with asparagus, I guess.

A line to remind me: Are "Garbanzo beans" the same as "Chickpeas"?

evil Bad Chickpeas are out there, be warned

I just thought they all tasted worse than lima beans, not that I eat lima beans (or brussel sprouts)

$Price is king, but I'll totally guess that "chickpeas" are pretentious trendy garbanzos.
(I don't eat them either)

My wife heard "Grits" were the thing to buy, so we bought an economy-sized can.
They were bland, a little salty. and my wife took two or three bites and never wanted to see another grit.

O..K, (deep breath) Are chickpeas anything like grits, depending on where you live?

If we're talking salad-filler, I mean.
No (*sigh*) Google frowns and looks down on "Grits"

But *I* wonder, as salad-filler, if they would be a good, uhm, filler.

Yes.

O...K!! Grits in the south, Chickpeas in the East, Garbanzos in the west.

Or whatever's on sale.

"basic vinaigrette" Hey, I use Vinegar! It makes the mayonnaise more tarty.
I almost forgot, *My* mayonnaise is all hoity-toity-upper-crusty,
And it has oil from avocados.

"pecorino," what's that? I know I can google it, but I'll prefer the vision in my head of 

happy cows sheep in southern france tended by kids hugging chickens.

Sharp cheddar here. "Tillamook," TYVM.

I don't know the dollar-tree brands, the kind they serve in orphan homes.
So a lot of this  next paragraph is guessing.
Like, I know there's imitation cheese that won't melt,
imitation spam (ew)
and et cetera, so I wonder what they came up with for pecorino.
Maybe there is a similarly named cheese?

Yes, of course there is, and it is every bit as expensive as Pecorino.

"Extra old"
do YOU see an old man in a green windbreaker too?
A real mean guy you've been warned to stay away from?

It looks all non-pretentious and natural, until you read the prices.

It's as if they hired Jennifer Aniston to hug the chickens.

DIY Pecorino (I've tasted your DIY pizza, it's not the same! but...

https://www.vincenzosplate.com/homemade-pecorino-cheese/

YEW guys love Parmesan, awful stuff, on your asparagus and sardines, so I don't trust you.
Price-times-three, leave it be.

Imagine you got all used to your home-depot DIY cheese and then found out it was nothing like the original?
All those pointless stomach upsets and nausea and lost friends. (Link)
I still say I can live without Parmesan and pecorino.

Stay away from "artisanal" cheeses!!

Mass-produced Cheddar FTW

(Link)

another link (bah humbug)

yeahbutt then the evoo & sea-salt people tarted it up

Anyway, DIY or the "extra old" stuff looks good, if you can grate it down real small and use it sparingly like sea-salt, buy a cheese-grotto for it and put it on display next to the cocotte.

(Link)

Ben vs Bar

 

I don't know any fictional "Ben"s 

and I wouldn't want to start anything.
But (apparently) Ben and Bar are the same meaning, but from different Languages.

"Son"

"Famous fictional characters named Ben include Judah Ben-Hur from the novel Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince who becomes a charioteer. Another is Ben Grimm (The Thing) from Marvel's Fantastic Four, a superhero whose Jewish identity is a key part of his character. Additionally, Adonah Ben Benjamin is a Jewish banker from the 19th-century novel The Garies and Their Friends. 

OK so what do jews in modern Israel speak?
Google AI has conflicting answers.

I'm guessing that ONE of the AI's was fed bad info (I should have checked, quora or Reddit?)
No one mentioned "aramaic" anymore.
So, uhm, "Hebrew" or something resembling it.
(But I'm totally guessing and wouldn't want to read/write a book about the subject)


I took a quote from somewhere but instead of pasting a snapshot, I did a "ctrl-V" to post the snapshot.
It posted the HTML text instead, with miles of unreadable code.
I apologize. This entry does not merit a rewrite. So it might look funny.

Plus, an unreadable (by me) train of thought about Ireland came through.
If you're into reading tons of text about why people barely tolerate each other, 

read https://secretpittsburgh.pitt.edu/sp/node/475#:~:text=In%201998%2C%20the%20Belfast%20Agreement%20was%20signed,from%201969%20to%201998%20called%20The%20Troubles.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgql9k59v7do

Or, listen to a US republican make a speech.

I wonder sometimes why articles appear on the front page of google, 

after the obligatory political-Trumpian news.
Are they so desperate for filler?
I can't deselect politics, no one can.
so I must've chosen super-esoteric stuff Einstein would scratch his head about.

We could make tiny self assembling robots to (__?__) 
And as every sixth grader knows, "conservation of motion" goes bye-bye.
WHUT?!

(link)

Do people have fun with Flagellas?

yes,

so maybe that's why the front-page rating