Throwback Blog: Past Comic Strips Posted Jul 2017

Blogger's Note: Throwback blogs are blogs from my past. I start posting past blogs reflecting what I wrote. It's like my "A Second Look" blogs for which I give myself feedback.

Today's throwback blog is titled Past Comic Strips Posted Jul 2017 written on Jul 2, 2017. I keep it simple today. Let's have a laugh. I repost comic strips. Enjoy!

I photocopied comic strips I read at work or read at home decades ago, or downloaded from the comic strip's website. Here are some of my favorite comic strips I took a picture on my camera. I post more later. Enjoy!

Credits: Dilbert by Scott Adams, Foxtrot by Bill Amend, Garfield by Jim Davis, Luann by Greg Evans, and The Duplex by Glenn McCoy.

Same Shit. Different Day. Everything Happens.

I'm a 95 year old person today. I've seen everything for the purpose of today's blog. I know everything for the purpose of today's blog. I've heard everything for the purpose of today's blog. I experience everything for the purpose of today's blog.

Today is another same day. Watch the news. Read the news. 99.99% is the same. There is a killing. There is a robbery. There is a protest. There is a company making record profits. There is a company declaring bankruptcy. Many professional athletes play sports. Few professional athletes play in the majors. They are the winners getting media attention. The rest are the losers who disappear. A celebrity is involved in personal drama. Another celebrity is given a big break. Unemployed is going down one day. Unemployment is going up another day. Nobody knows when the US deficit decreases. Global climate problems result in too many natural disasters. Nobody knows when the COVID-19 pandemic ends. Politicians can't work together. Local governments, state governments, and federal governments bicker at everything. A world conflict is inevitable today and tomorrow.

The same happens each day not newsworthy. One person out of many received a job offer. A person is admitted to jail. Maybe the person doesn't have money to pay for bail. A prison inmate is transferred to solitary confinement. More people are diagnosed with mental illness. There are surgery failures. A first responder can't save a life today. Injustice happens globally. A winning buyer and the family move in their first home out of multiple buyers submitting offers. A family lost their home.

A high school senior earns a college scholarship out of the tens or hundreds of senior applicants. The rest of the high school seniors apply to another college scholarship, apply to a less prestigious college, delay college, or quit to find other options. Parents can't afford therapy for their child. A single parent struggles with little to no support. A car owner can't find $30 for an oil change.

There are car accidents. Felonies are committed. A worker is unjustifiably fired. A parent must steal for the children. Library books are overdue. Rentals are returned damaged. Mosquito bites can result in medical emergencies. A couple breaks up. Too many cheats. Too many lies. Too many misunderstandings. There is a lack of communication. People are losing strength. People are losing courage. People are scared.

There are too many people. There are too few resources to satisfy the people. The world is full of scarcity. There are limits. Many try. Few succeed. Life is unfair.

There Are Always Exceptions

The COVID-19 global pandemic and world wars are two exceptions to the same shit on a different day. I ask the reader can you name exceptions?

Correcting Never Stop Learning

Never stop learning is a common life wisdom. I want to correct many people misunderstanding never stop learning. I admit I misunderstood innovate infinitely for which I thought of the idea. Innovate infinitely means never stop innovating. Continue innovating infinitely when an innovation is achieved. I admit I had innovated half-assed. Never stop learning and innovating infinitely are similar.

Never stop learning means learning and reviewing. Never stop learning means learning and drilling. Learn by repetition. Never stop learning means find something new to learn. For example, I'm learning Morse Code, learning basic land navigation, and learning Python programming language. Never stop learning means improving. For example, I'm improving my physical workouts and my Excel. Never stop learning doesn't mean learning must be done in an educational environment only. The never stop learning attitude is maintained daily everywhere. It doesn't mean learn every minute. It's okay to relax for a mental break. Always keep the five senses focused to learn, to maintain, and to review.

Use it or lose it. Use your brain or lose your brain. Keep the saw sharpen.

I Can't Win The Freedom Championship

A reality lesson schools and colleges don't teach. Some people don't succeed. Some people can't win. These people practice perfectly. These people practice intelligently. These people work hard learning, making mistakes, and gaining experience. Insert any positive adverb. Working, focusing, motivating, a supporting cast, and trusting life don't equate to accomplish goals. There are no guarantees in life. People don't get everything. A good example is earning a college degree. Ignore the college marketing. A college degree doesn't guarantee he or she gets a job.

I declare today's blog a non-bullshit blog. I admit I'm complaining emotionally. I can't get a job. I can't win my freedom. I job search six days a week. Friends and family know I'm unemployed. I learn new skills such as Python and Power BI and I review existing skills such as Excel and SQL six days a week. I physically workout four a week. I minimize eating processed foods. I read books. I write blogs. I sleep eight hours a night. I maintain a clean residence. Bad luck? Sure. Bad timing or being at the wrong place at the wrong time? Definitely. Favorable breaks? None. Opportunities? They pass me; moreover, too few for the too many needy. I digress. Have I been falling between the cracks? Yes.

I have won all battles except freedom. It's like hall of fame professional sports players don't win the NBA Finals, Super Bowl, World Series, or Stanley Cup. Dan Marino, Patrick Ewing, Joe Thornton, and Ken Griffey, Jr. are examples of hall of fame players who never won a championship. Some battles I won include a full recovery from two consecutive surgeries for Acute Gallstone Pancreatitis, personal conflicts with other people spanning decades, and solving problems self job-training.

It's like I can win lots of regular season games. It's like I can win playoff games. I can win anything except the championship--a freedom cup.

An Ignorant Workplace Misunderstanding Instance

I dreamed last night I worked at my second company which was in the commercial real estate industry after I graduated college. The managing general partner requested charts for his upcoming project. The ladies from the Administration Dept. accepted the request. The ladies came to me with questions. We conversed on the charts. The ladies created the charts from scratch and extracted the data by brute force. I told them my Research Dept. should have accepted the request because the dept. was the data source. My dept. was experienced creating custom charts.

The conclusion was real estate brokers didn't know what to ask for their clients and their projects. Also, the real estate brokers didn't know how to ask. The managing general partner should have contact someone in the Research Dept. It took time for the requestee and the requestor to communicate and to understand. Ignorance and impatience lead to misunderstandings. Time was wasted.

Never Used The Report

Another instance time was wasted the requestee never used the charts, reports, data, summaries, or analysis. One possibility was the requestee didn't comprehend the information provided. The information was too hard to understand. Another possibility was the requestor prepared the information with errors. The information couldn't be presented or couldn't be used for a presentation. Data is useless when either the source is unreliable or the recipient don't understand. Garbage in, garbage out. Prepare reports for the audience to understand in plain English.

Update On A Past Blog

I reread Harry Potter by J.K Rowling. I update Top Ten Plus Nine Equals Top Nineteen Harry Potter Adult Perspective Takeaways blog written on Apr 29, 2020. I mentioned Volume Five Order Of The Phoenix is my favorite volume in number 13 All Hell Breaks Loose. Volume Seven Deathly Hallows is my new favorite volume because Harry Potter took charge. It took Potter six years to grow up. My Harry Potter volume ranking is seven Deathly Hallows, five Order Of The Phoenix, six Half-Blood Prince, four Goblet Of Fire, three Prisoner Of Azkaban, one Sorcerer's Stone, and two Chamber Of Secrets.

Video Games Are A Depression

I have additional free time due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. I choose to use more of my additional free time coming out of video game retirement to play classic video games for the first time on Jun 2020. I purchased video games on sale during the Steam's annual Summer Sale. The first video game I completed was Final Fantasy VI. I'm currently playing Final Fantasy VII (FFVII).

I played FFVII once a week staring on Jan 2021. The Jul month is the sixth month. I want to finish the game. I'm taking too long. I started playing multiple days. I started playing more hours per day. The result is fewer hours slept. My sleep schedule is altered. I feel depressed. My body feels weaker. I drink more soda. There is less time on my higher priorities such as reading books, taking care of myself, job training, and exercising. These higher priorities minimize my chances of depression.

Playing video games is a valid leisure activity. Playing video games is a good activity to take a break. Video games can be a social activity meeting new people. There is no right way and wrong way to play video games as a hobby. There is the good way and there is a bad way. Many people play video games the bad way. These video gamers neglect real life. They forget their personal problems. Their health is weak physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, and spiritually. Playing video games at least 20 hours a week is not worth it. There is too much cost for the enjoyment.

A Challenge

I challenge the video gamers who disagree with my opinion. Stop playing video games for two weeks. Use the two weeks to check off the to-do list. Seek new adventures. Experience new experiences. Go outside. Get up and do something, anything. I speak from personal experiences. Get more sleep. Eat healthier. Minimize eating processed foods. Find your desire. Motivation is more important than knowledge. Learn a skill. Review an existing skill.

If the two weeks are successful, then repeat the challenge for an additional two weeks. The point of the challenge is challengers realize more time living life and less time playing video games.

Saying Friday On A Monday

It's a Mon at 5pm. Or it's a Mon at 1pm. Or it's a Mon at 10am. You ask a question, "When is it Fri?" Or you ask a question, "When is the weekend?" You say, "I can't wait for Fri." You say anything with the word Fri on a Mon. These questions and statements indicate your life sucks. Or you don't like your life. Make changes. If you don't like what you're doing, then it's a question of when you're going to give up. You're going to quit. The question is not if you're going to change. Changes are inevitable for people who don't like their present life; a rational person leaves his or her lifestyle professionally, personally, and leisurely.

Update On A Past Blog

More people make changes because their life sucks. They give up living a terrible life. I wrote The COVID-19 Pandemic Is Harder To Fake It on Jun 15, 2020. No more faking a good life. They realize the truth during the pandemic.

Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog June 2021

California issued shelter in-place orders on Tue Mar 17, 2020. I have been logging the highlights and lowlights. Jun slowed down with a few slow days. Regardless, 2021 year continues to move quicky. CA is reopened.

Tue Jun 1. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reported 1.9 million people in US airports during the Memorial Day weekend. The number was the highest during the pandemic.

Thur Jun 3. President Joe Biden announced the US shares 80M vaccines. 75% of the 80M is donated through COVAX. Priority goes to Latin America, the Caribbean, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa. The remaining 25% goes to immediate need and suppress surges around the world.

Fri Jun 4. The State of CA started a CA Vax For The Win state contest to encourage people to get vaccinated. 15 vaccinated people won $50,000. The second drawing was Fri Jun 11. 10 people won $1,500,000 on Jun 15.

CA Occupational Safety And Health Standards Board (CALOSHA) approved workplaces maskless if every employee is fully vaccinated. Fully vaccinated people can skip masks and social distancing in nearly all workplace situations starting on Jun 15.

A 65 year old fully vaccinated person died in Napa County. He had underlying medical conditions. He was hospitalized with COVID-19.

Tue Jun 8. Shopped at Lucky and Costco between 3pm and 4pm. Costco was dead like a weekday morning opening hour. There were more cars on the freeway. Traffic drove at the limit.

Wed Jun 9. The State of CA aligned with the Center For Disease Control (CDC) mask guidance. Fully vaccinated residents don't have to wear a mask in most social situations. Masks are required in public transportation, schools, child care facilities, health care facilities, and nursing homes. Unvaccinated residents must wear a mask in all social situations. Most businesses are not required to check vaccination statuses.

Indoor events with 5,000 or more people must wear a mask from now till Oct 1, 2021. All crowded outdoor events people must wear a mask.

Thur Jun 10. The US purchased 500 million of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines to share with 92 countries over the next 12 months.

Fri Jun 11. San Francisco is the first city in the US to vaccinate at least 80% of eligible residents with at least one dose.

Sun Jun 13. The United Kingdom delayed reopening for one month.

Tue Jun 15. The State of CA is reopened.

Wed Jun 16. I shopped at Costco. The number of customers were like a weeknight. All customers and all employees wore masks. All cashier stations back in their original position aligned together. There is no additional spacing.

There were more cars on the main road along Costco. There were more cars on the freeway. The opposite bound traffic experienced slower speeds. Some of the metering lights were activated.

Thur Jun 17. 4% of CA COVID-19 cases were the delta variant. 10% of US COVID-19 cases were the delta variant.

President Biden announced a 3.2 billion antiviral bill "Antiviral Program For Pandemics." The bill develops COVID treatments and prevents future viruses causing future pandemics.

Fri Jun 18. The US Government announced 300 million vaccine shots were administered in 150 days during the Biden administration. 168 million or 65.1% of US adults 18 and over received vaccine shots.

CALOSHA announced fully vaccinated workers don't have to wear a mask in most industries.

Mon Jun 21. The WHO announced the delta variant is fast and is more lethal.

Tue Jun 22. Dr. Anthony Fauci said the delta variant is a threat to COVID-19 herd immunity. The vaccines protect against the delta variant.

Wed Jun 23. The TSA announced business travel increased 19% from Mar to Apr.

Thur Jun 24. San Francisco is the first city in CA to require city workers to be vaccinated. However, the vaccines must be fully approved by the FDA. The vaccines are currently under emergency approval.

Fri Jun 25. Mass vaccination site Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, CA closed. 350,000 shots were administered.

The CDC confirmed 323 vaccinated cases experienced a rare heart inflammation. Most of the cases were people under 30. 216 of the 323 are male. The 323 is one case for every 12 million.

Tue Jun 29. The WHO urge immunized people to continue wearing masks and practice social distancing because of the delta variant.

Los Angeles County issued a mask mandate. People are encouraged to wear a mask indoors vaccinated or not.

Update On A Past Blog

A random thought entered my mind. The thought was an event at my second company I worked decades ago. The second in-command managing partner organized an afternoon workplace gathering at an upscale pool hall to celebrate and destress. The entire office staff and brokers worked hard. Revenues were high. The year was 1999 during the dot-com boom. We played pool. Cocktails and food were served. The staff was given the rest of the day off. Almost all of the brokers went back to the office to work. There was work to be completed. They were being professional.

The pool hall gathering reminded me of a scene from the ten-part Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls' six NBA championships documentary titled The Last Dance. I wrote a blog Ten Thoughts From The Last Dance Documentary on Jul 20, 2020. Michael Jordan organized an afternoon golf outing for all his teammates by ending practice early. I remember Jordan went inside the chartered bus's driver seat to honk the horn for, I think, Scottie Pippen, to get on the bus.