Instant Bullets Blog Apr 27, 2026

*Jennifer Lopez. 56 year old New York City native Lopez said she's not going to get married again after four divorces and six engagements. She's choosing herself. The four husbands were Ben Affleck from 2022-2025, Marc Anthony from 2004-2014, Cris Judd from 2001-2003, and Ojani Noa from 1997-1998. The multiple engagements included Sean "Diddy" Combs, Alex Rodriguez, Casper Smart, and Drake. Four divorces suggest she's choosing herself for a long time.

*Endless Potential.

*2026 Winter Olympics Milano Cortina Condom Shortage. Signs were posted in Olympic Village stating, "Celebrate With A Condom." Officials waited for new shipments. Officials emphasized the program's public-health purpose. Sex for celebration. Sex to relive stress. Sex to cure boredom. Sex is a distraction. Young and horny Olympic athletes. One night stands with other athletes.

Condoms have been provided to Olympians since the 1988 Summer Olympics Seoul to raise awareness of sexually transmitted diseases at the height of the AIDS epidemic. 2024 Summer Olympics Paris distributed 300,000 condoms. 2016 Summer Olympics Rio De Janeiro distributed 450,000 condoms.

*gentrified: (of a formerly poor urban area) changed in character by wealthier people moving in, improving housing, and attracting new businesses, typically displacing current inhabitants in the process. Having changed from a poor area to a richer one, by people of a richer social class moving to live there. A gentrified neighborhood has transformed from being a poor, working-class area to one where wealthier people live.

Gentrification is a process where increased investment in a neighborhood drives up property values and rents, displacing lower-income residents. Gentrification often increases the economic value of a neighborhood. It can be controversial due to changing demographic composition and potential displacement of incumbent residents. A poor neighborhood is shifted into a wealthy one; however, the people aren't becoming wealthier. The poorer people are being replaced with wealthier people, the previous residents remain poor, and forced out because they cannot afford the raised prices that the new residents have caused.

*precarious: a state of danger, instability, or insecurity, where something is likely to fall, collapse, or fail.

*Snowplow Parenting. The definition is parents remove obstacles, pain, and difficulties from their children's lives. The intent is increase the probability of success. An easy life without conflicts. Other terms include bulldozer parenting or lawnmower parenting.

*Vehicle Recall. Check car recalls for free at Check To Protect.

*supplicant: a person who humbly, earnestly, or submissively asks for something, usually from a person in authority, a deity, or a higher power. Synonyms: petitioner, applicant, suitor, beggar, or beseecher. Usage examples: kneeling in prayer, pleading for mercy, or requesting a favor.

*The Most Interesting Man In The World is back. And he still prefers Dos Equis. Watch on Instagram At Long Last, He's Back - Dos Equis (2026). Watch on YouTube At Long Last, He's Back - Dos Equis (2026).

*disavow: to formally deny responsibility for, connection with, or knowledge of something, often to distance oneself from it.

*allegory: a story, poem, book, or picture which can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, abstract idea, or moral principle. Parable; fable, apologue.

*Arnold Schwarzenegger from the movie Pumping Iron: The greatest feeling you can get in a gym or the most satisfying feeling you can get in a gym, is the pump. Let's say you train your biceps. Blood is rushing into your muscles, and that's what we call the pump. Your muscles get a really tight feeling like your skin is going to explode any minute. It's really tight. It's like somebody blowing air into your muscle. It just blows up and it feels different. It feels fantastic. It's as satisfying to me as coming is. You know, as having sex with a woman and coming. So can you believe how much I'm in heaven? I'm getting the feeling of coming in the gym. I'm getting the feeling of coming at home. I'm getting the feeling of coming backstage when I pump up, when I pose out in front of 5,000 people, I get the same feeling. So, I'm coming day and night. I mean it's terrific, right? So, you know, I'm in heaven.

*Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus by John Gray: Their relationship is a paradox. They don't want each other. They need each other.

*If in doubt, then edit it out.

*Vehicle Accident. Always file a claim to your auto insurance company when you're involved in a car accident with damage. Create an official record.

*90% of X is caused by 10% of Y. Apply the formula appropriately. Follow the patterns.

*If you can't sleep, then read a book. Choose an easy read such as a book you finished reading in the past.

*He is no longer a returning customer. She is no longer a returning customer. They are no longer returning customers.

My Best Motivational Quote On Winning From Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan on winning from The Last Dance documentary aired on ESPN in 2020. A camera crew was given unrestricted access to the Chicago Bulls 1997-1998 season. The ten-part documentary is Michael Jordan's NBA career and the Chicago Bulls' six NBA championships in the 1990s. Here is the entire quote:

"Well, I mean. I don't know, I mean. Winning has a price. And leadership has a price. So I pulled people along when they didn't want to be pulled. I challenged people when they didn't want to be challenged. And I earned that right because my teammates who came after me didn't endure all the things that I endured. Once you joined the team, you lived at a certain standard that I played the game. And I wasn't going to take any less. Now if that means I had to go in there and get in your ass a little bit, then I did that. You ask all my teammates. The one thing about Michael Jordan was he never asked me to do something that he didn't fucking do. When people see this, they are going say, 'Well he wasn't really a nice guy. He may have been a tyrant.' Well, that's you. Because you never won anything. I wanted to win, but I wanted them to win to be a part of that as well. Look, I don't have to do this. I am only doing it because it is who I am. That's how I played the game. That was my mentality. If you don't want to play that way, don't play that way. . . . Break." *Jordan requests a break*

The motivational pics are 4K 3840x2160 resolution. There are two full versions excluding the last sentence when he cried and wanted a break. There is a half version and there is a quarter version for those who want a condensed quote. The full, half, and quarter versions include a clean version without the swearing.

Begin The Divergent

I speak from personal experience. I follow the top four North American professional sports baseball, basketball, football, and hockey. The four diverged years ago. Football and basketball are higher priority. Baseball and hockey are lower priority. I believe my sports divergence and other sports fans divergence started at the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Divergence happens. Divergence can be good. Divergence can be bad. Divergence can be happy. Divergence can be sad. Divergence is present. Divergence is change. Divergence is life. There are forks on the road. Which path does the person choose? A or B. Or C. Or D. Workplace, careers, all relationships, hobbies, and opinions are examples. In particular, marriages. I'm not a marriage counselor. Some marriages end in divorce because the marriage diverges. The marriage changes naturally or intentionally for the worse at nobody's fault. The couple grows apart naturally.

Out with the old. In with the new. Close a chapter. Open a new chapter. The garbage collector arrives to pick up the garbage.

Stupidity Stress In 1998

I remember one workday in my first job after I graduated from San Jose State University. I took a nap. There was nothing wrong with taking a nap. Everyone experiences an unusual stressful day. Management should allow naps.

However, the unusual stress causing my nap was unjustified. I remembered my stupidity. I was naive as a newly college graduate. My Research Analyst position was unstressful. I maintained a database. I created reports from the proprietary database. I completed special projects a college intern could understand. No Excel was required. No analysis needed. Further, I complained like an immature high school teenager.

There is no comparison between the stress in 1998 and the stress in 2026. The 1998 stress was Disneyland. In particular, the research analysts, business analysts, operations analysts, and data analysts industry Power BI, Tableau, SQL, databases, key performance indicators, text editors, Salesforce, artificial intelligence, dashboards, and programming languages either didn't exist or didn't require to fulfill the responsibilities in the late 1990s. Times have changed. All of the above are required to fulfill the responsibilities today.

Update On A Past Blog

The Riichi City latest promotion is Riichi City Date A Live V introducing Date A Tile Collab. The five questions asked to match a Date A Live V character are below. Each question should tell the Riichi player there are multiple ways to play and to win.

1. What's your mahjong playstyle?
2. What would you do when your hand is a mess?
3. What's your favorite way to win?
4. What's would you do if a discard completes your hand, but it's a low score?
5. What matter most in mahjong?

I included screenshots with my answers and the resulted character below.

The Data A Live V reminded me of two Mahjong Riichi blogs. I'm a beginner player on Nov 12, 2012 from the blog Let's Play Japanese Mahjong (Riichi). I included my Riichi Hands guide from my webpage. I'm an advanced player.

I shared Life Lessons Learned Playing Mahjong Riichi on Mar 18, 2016. Most of the lessons are true today. The lessons are applied either way from Riichi to life or from life to Riichi. One experienced Riichi player told me professions who place fourth two times in a row stop playing for the rest of the day.

Baby Wipes

Baby wipes should be a top invention included with plumbing, freon, internet, light bulb, soap, and coffee. Consider other names for baby wipes. Call them poo poo wipes. Call them save people's butts. Children use them. Adults use them. Remove the sweat. Remove the grim. Remove the slime. Remove the dirt. Remove the poop. Instant clean. Instant freshness. Bring them for vacations. Bring them for emergencies. Baby wipes can minimize uncomfortableness. Baby wipes can help people fall asleep faster.

Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog March 2026

California issued shelter in-place orders on Tue Mar 17, 2020. I have been logging the highlights and lowlights. COVID-19 headlines are back. Record high temperatures 90 degrees and greater like the summer season from Mon Mar 16 to Fri Mar 20.

Tue Mar 3. Morning errands shopping at Costco and filling up gas at Chevron. Anyone wearing masks the chances they're Asians. I still wear my mask.

Wed Mar 4. Moderna settled a lawsuit for the COVID-19 patent. Modern pays up to $2.25 billion to Genevant and Arbutus. $960 million pay on Jul 2026. An additional $1.3 billion on a separate legal appeal. Moderna doesn't owe royalties for future vaccines. The Pfizer and BioNTech lawsuit is ongoing.

Thur Mar 5. Ran errand at Bank Of America. Shopped for used books at the Saratoga Library and Los Gatos Library. Ate lunch at Chipotle.

Sun Mar 8. Ate dinner at China Lounge.

Wed Mar 11. The Center For Disease Control (CDC) suspended not recommending the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine temporarily. The plan is politically motivated. The Republicans fear losing the 2026 midterm elections.

Sat Mar 14. Ate lunch at Sushi Arashi.

Mon Mar 16. Shopped at Costco and Nob Hill first thing in the morning.

Wed Mar 18. The Science Advances Journal published a study the US death toll during the beginning of the pandemic was undercounted. The research estimated 155,000 died from COVID-19 were uncounted in 2020 and 2021. The undiagnosed dead more likely Hispanic and people of color. Also, the undiagnosed dead more likely in the South states and Southwest states.

The CDC said 1.2 million died from COVID-19 in the USA. 67% occurred in 2020 and 2021.

Thur Mar 19. NCAA Men's Basketball March Madness. I watched Howard vs. Michigan and Saint Louis vs Georgia both games in part.

Fri Mar 20. Watched the overtime between Santa Clara and Kentucky.

Sat Mar 21. Watched TCU vs Duke in part.

Tue Mar 24. A new BA.3.2 variant was detected according to a Mar 19 CDC report. There is no sign the variant causes a surge. The variant is spreading across multiple continents. BA.3.2 was first detected in South Africa on Nov 2024. BA.3.2 has mutated extensively with a 70% to 75% genetic changes in the spike protein.

Wed Mar 25. 23 countries reported the BA.3.2 variant as of Feb 11, 2026 according to the CDC. The variant changes between 70 and 75 in the gene sequence of its spike protein which helps enter the human cells. 25 US states reported the variant from wastewater samples. BA.3.2 increased starting in Sep 2025. The first US confirmation happened in Jun 2025. BA.3.2 may partially evade existing immunity or prior COVID-19 infection.

BA.3.2 is nicknamed Cicada.

The World Health Organization (WHO) listed BA.3.2 as a variant to be monitored. The XFG variant is the current dominate strain affecting 53% of cases. LF.7 is 10.3%.

Fri Mar 27. Shopped at Costco, Smart & Final, and Lucky.

Sun Mar 29. Shopped at Costco and Lucky.

Data Analyst Actually Data Entry Dream

I dreamed last night my first day on the job at my new company as a data analyst. The dream began at a signaled intersection on Interstate 880 between Junction 880-101 and Brokaw Road which doesn't exist in real life. I drove northbound from San Jose to Fremont. I waited for the green light driving my 2005 Toyota Camry. I accelerated at an easy slow pace. Traffic was light for a morning commute.

I exited Mowry Road in Fremont. I turned right. I realized I don't know the company location. I drove to a Chevron station to look up the address on my Samsung Galaxy S7.

I arrived at the freestanding Office and R&D two story building. The dream skipped to the main hallway where I met some coworkers. I already received my security ID badge. A manager walked with me to my workstation. I visited a coworker in a private office with no windows before my workstation. The private office contained all company video game magazines back issues. The coworker maintained multiple copies of most monthly back issues.

My work area was not a typical open office with cubicles. I met one co-worker nicknamed Si-Tiger pronounced Psy-tiger. My work area was a sectioned off partition along a wall. The drop ceiling was low--eight feet from the ground. There was a swinging door entering and exiting. The sheet rock was removed along the wall. No insulation. The wall studs could be seen.

My workstation desktop computer was like the late 1990s desktops. 21-inch gigantic heavy monitor. Windows 95 operating system. There was trouble with my emails. There were at least 200 emails unread.

The time was 11am. My training began. The same manager handed me a spiral notebook seen in schools and colleges. Each page contained four columns. Each row contained PC hardware specifications including hard drive size and RAM size. Each column and row represented one desktop PC for a total of four desktop PCs per row. The PC hardware specifications were year 2026 specifications and not 1990s specifications. My job was entering all specifications to the computer. I woke up.