You are Reading "Low Value Content"

I was slightly amazed to look at my stats and see that people actually read this blog.  Wow?!  I'm seriously both honored and humbled.  I know my Marillion Weekend posts from over a decade ago get a lot of hits so that's probably the majority of it, but then again I'm getting daily hits so I'm thinking that maybe people are just randomly stumbling upon it.  My thinking is that people are so wanting something to read now and then and not have to deal with pay walls, signing up, etc.  Well, you're welcome...and thank you for reading!

Due to the number of hits, I made the goofy decision to maybe try signing up for Google AdSense.  Now, I say that like I know exactly what that is, of which I don't.  I get the concept...you know, those annoying little ads that display on the side and title bars of a page that then take you to some bizarre product that you didn't even know existed, and now maybe are a bit scared to know that it actually does.  You get the drift.  And so, I signed up for Google AdSense...and received a bizarre "no" in response.

Why?  Apparently, I have "low value content".  Hmm.  Now, in expanding upon what that means exactly, I had to waste about thirty minutes of my time skimming through page after page after page of, well, ridiculous rules and regulations.  Everything limiting porn to guns to the war in Ukraine to politics...  On and on.  Then, it moved into "unoriginal content" via screen scrapes, "doorways", content that can easily be found on another site, created by AI, and so on.

Let me be frank - I'm pretty sure I haven't exposed my naked body or anyone elses in this blog.  Fairly sure, actually, so I should be safe there.  As for guns and the war in Ukraine, again, I'm sure I haven't crossed any lines.  I don't believe I have any "doorways" unless that's considered a link to my other blogs, which would make absolutely no sense to me at all.  So, I have to guess that I'm being accused of either screen scraping, which is pretty outrageously bizarre, or they're simply saying that my content has literally no value whatsoever to anyone in the world.  Hmm.  Yeah, that doesn't hurt at all :)  Thanks Google!

Needless to say, I deleted the request for the AdSense account and shrugged my shoulders.  I guess in this world you can post as an authority on any number of topics that you may actually know nothing about, and that's apparently okay.  However, if you just maintain a regular "blog", of both your thoughts wrapped in with some comedy and silly things that happen during your day to day life...well, sorry, you're kaput.  Oh, I probably shouldn't say "kaput"...that'll probably generate on a report somewhere.  Yep, flagged again.

And so, dear reader, of whom I at least greatly value your eyes and time, I just felt it was my duty to let you know that you're indeed reading "low value content".  You've now been warned.  And yes, I write every single word...the old fashioned way...using my brain and fingers.  You have my guarantee!

A Cut and a Chunk Here

And so, the beat goes on...  Have I mentioned that I've had more Mohs done?  Yeah, it's a blast, seriously.  Mohs in general really isn't that big of a deal but when you're in the "blooming" phase, as my doctor recently put it, it simply gets very old quickly.  I'm now approaching procedure number 12 and from the looks of my scalp, I believe I'll have at least 2-3 more to add to it afterward.  I keep telling her, "...but I don't want to bloom!  I don't want to bloom!"  I'm not sure who's watering the seeds but I wish they'd stop already.

I've always been a very careful person and I've rarely had any accidents, falls, major cuts, no operations up until about 4 years ago, etc.  Well, at this age I seem to be making up for lost time.  I've lost count of the number of scars I have, especially on my head and facial area, and now I even have one on my left forearm.

So, this latest one is considered an "excision" rather than Mohs.  What's the difference?  Well, from what I can tell, it's simply that they cut, dig, and sew up right away, whereas with Mohs they cut, dig, and then study under the microscope.  If you're lucky, they then sew; if you're unlucky, you start over and do it again, kind of like some weird boardgame where you keep getting put back to the "go" square.  The bottom line is that one you're out in about 35 minutes while the other is 2-5 hours, depending upon how many times you go back to the "go" square".  Sounds great, right?  And you thought Monopoly was tedious.

Strangely, this excision on my arm is very itchy.  In fact, it's been nearly impossible to not scratch it, although it's the area around the excision that itches, and that's mainly because once you've been cut in this manner you more or less lose all feeling in that exact area, at least for a while.  It's a strange thing having all these little patches with no feeling.  I also have noticed a large amount of orange bruising on my arm which caught me slightly off guard.  Other than that, it's been pretty easy and straight forward, and I will honestly say that it's way easier addressing wounds that you can see right in front of you versus something on the back of your head.  You have to get pretty good with a mirror to slather antiseptic from a cotton swap while looking in a mirror at the back of your head, that is if you don't want to slather it accidentally on your ear my mistake (unless that's the intended target, of course).

All of this is going on while I still have a healing Mohs spot on the back of my head.  I don't know why but the ones on the back of my head heal much worse than the front.  My skin is fairly sensitive so I tend to get mild eczema break outs around the stitches...it's all fairly annoying.

I will say that I'm now getting to know the other "regulars" at the derm office, often chatting with them in the hallway, comparing notes, and so on.  I recently chatted with someone who readily admitted he's a nudist...yeah, you do the math on that one.  Honestly, I don't even want to think about getting these sorts of cuts down...well, there.  Geez.  He showed me one of his scars but luckily not one in that area.

Ah, life...  As they say, it beats the alternative!

I Think It's All Gone

Call me crazy but I think we're living in a new society.  Now, this isn't going to be some crazy political post, and quite frankly I can't handle those myself, but I would be amiss to not mention things around me that seem terribly obvious and yet no one seems to be commenting on them.  What am I talking about?  Well, for starters, mayonnaise.

Okay, that's not totally true.  This is NOT a post about mayonnaise...but it does start with mayonnaise, and I think it's a perfect example of what I'm referring to.  So, pretty much since the dawn of time (slight exaggeration), there has been a staple of a product called Hellman's Mayonnaise in the east and Best Foods Mayonnaise in the west (same product, btw, just two different names).  This has literally been the mayonnaise of the whole entire country since, well, I was born (the dark ages?).  This product is a staple because it's been consistent beyond belief.  It had a rich texture, full flavor, etc.  Well, not anymore.

Maybe you don't eat or use mayonnaise as much as I do but this product has absolutely, positively, hands down, without any doubt, changed.  It is not the same product.  Hell, just look at it!  Yes, even the color of the product has changed, where it was always just a slight creamy off white and now it has this grayish tint.  And then, there's the taste...  What I loved about this product was that it tasted "good" and not at all like icky bizarre Miracle Whip.  Well, those days are definitely gone.  Take a glob of this new version and tell me your thoughts.

So, what's my point, you ask?  We in this society are getting a snow job.  Products are being altered, changed, cheapened, and who knows what the heck else and no one seems to be noticing.  How is that possible?  I mean, seriously?!

Another one which is more well known is the "pint" of Haagen Daz ice cream.  Maybe you don't already know this but it's no longer actually a pint.  Hmm.  They have stated that they had a choice...either raise the price or decrease the quantity.  This is apparently a phenomenon that's happening to a whole slew of products out there.  If you're like me, you're probably thinking that they decreased the quantity AND increased the price...and I'd dare say you're correct, or at least that's what it seems like.  If nothing else, though, it rolls off the tongue easily to say "I want a pint of ice cream", and it's not quite as easy to say "I want a pint minus two ounces or 14 ounces of ice cream please".  Yes, it's simply not the same, is it?  No wonder math is more important these days.

Ah, but the list of products seems to just grow every day.  More and more products are cutting corners, changing ingredients, and probably, well, poisoning us all in the name of saving themselves a little cash.  Pretty soon, I wouldn't be shocked if water is no longer the main and only ingredient in water...but I shudder at what they'll use to fill in the gaps.

When and where does this end?  Have we no pride in anything anymore?  Will a Twinkie no longer have the infamous lasting 7 years cream center and instead something just shy of shaving cream filler?  And better yet, how have we not noticed?  One thing for sure - I'm beyond tired of the "supply chain issues" excuse.  C'mon, COVID's over, at least as an epidemic.  This is just a money grab, some strange and bizarre experiment to see if the American public notices.  And the scariest part?  We apparently don't.  Sigh.

Just Say No

It was announced that Joni Mitchell was going to come out of retirement to do one (now two) special performances at the Hollywood Bowl later this year.  I actually hadn't heard about this but I saw it written in an email and apparently it was blasted all over the news, the internet, etc.  After being rather shocked by this info (she is 80, after all), I then realized that pretty much everyone on Earth now knows about this performance.  This means that ticket demand would probably be fairly outrageous.

Now, I've purchased a lot of tickets in my life; in fact, one might say I'm a ticket buying expert.  I've been through all the phases of this dreaded event, from camping outside to physical in person lotteries to online purchases to scalpers, and so on.  I think I've seen it all.  What I've never seen, however, is the below.

I made a point to jump onto Ticketmaster a half hour early this time around, mainly since they tend to open ticket buying lobbies earlier than the posted time, something I personally think is completely bogus but probably helps prevent the website from crashing.  The lobby opened at the fifteen minute mark, I had to validate my account which admittedly took longer than I would have liked, and then I sat idle in the lobby for the next 15 minutes.  When the buzzer finally went off to say that ticket buying was live, I got this message:  "You are now in the queue...23,130 people ahead of you".

I'm sorry...what?!  23k people are ahead of me?!  This defies all belief.  How is that even possible??  I had to do a double and triple take, mainly because I've never seen a number that high in my life in a lobby and, well, my eyesight isn't good.  But yes, it DID say 23,130, and I could only sit there and scratch my head.  Prior to this, I thought being number 1,000 was bad...but 23k?!

As you can probably imagine, I didn't end up buying any tickets.  To add insult to injury, the only tickets that were available that I would be interested in seemed to be $1250 - $1450...per seat.  Um...?  Nothing like spending a mortgage payment or two to see a show at the Bowl.

So, let's back up...  This WHOLE bs via ticketing agencies was all about scalpers, etc.  The agencies and the artists wanted to cut back on scalping, especially back in the day when there were literal "ticket brokers" in business doing this sort of thing.  The solution the agencies evidently came up with was jacking up prices so that only the super rich will actually be able to buy tickets, and also allowing every average joe the opportunity to buy and then sell tickets at a profit, in essence taking the scalper problem from 10% of the market and making it 60%.  Yes, folks, this is the world we live in...and even weirder no one seems upset about it.

Now, I don't blame Joni, mind you, since I doubt the 80 year old has anything to do with ticketing whatsoever.  Still, I think it's time for us to say as a society that enough is a enough.  I say just say 'no'.  Sorry, Joni, but it t'ain't worth it.

Meanwhile, I'm still sitting in the lobby...and I now have only 19,510 people in front of me.  Hmph.