A 2026 Holiday Depressing Forecast

I forecast depression for the 2026 holiday. Forecast, predict, bet, prophecy, or fortune telling. Any future looking verb is valid. I blogged my 2025 holiday depression Good Way Depression And Bad Way Depression on Jan 6, 2026. Some 2025 holiday depression experiences and moments are expected in the 2026 holiday. I played video games, read books, and watched movies as a distraction. I skipped meals. I kept my thoughts to myself. There was nobody strong enough to trust.

The forecast comes true for some people in the history of the holidays. Some people are fathoming today. Some people are preparing. Common knowledge is live the present. Worry about tomorrow on tomorrow. However, preparation is necessary to minimize the pain for a painful 2026 holiday.

Life Lessons From The Baseball Movie Bull Durham

Click on the YouTube links for scenes from the movie Bull Durham on life lessons.

BULL DURHAM (1988) | Meet Crash Davis | MGM. Any other job is usually better than retail.

Bull Durham (1988) - Kevin Costner - Tim Robbins - Fight. Buy a drink to break the ice to meet up from people in the past. Also, Don't think.

Bull Durham (1988) - Strikeouts Are Fascist Scene (3/12) | Movieclips. Listen to veterans. Listen to experience.

Bull Durham- Wanna Make it to the Show?. Don't date bossy people.

Bull Durham (1988) - Bunch of Lollygaggers Scene (5/12) | Movieclips. A good manager explains in simple words. Motivate explaining in simple words.

Bull Durham - Throw it at the Bull. Diversion is a trick. Diversion is a tactic.

Bull Durham (1988) - Getting Woolly Scene (6/12) | Movieclips. Job skills are more important than material goods. Say no to material objects. Say yes to job skills.

Bull Durham | Winning Streak. The feeling of a winning streak. Maintain the winning streak.

Bull Durham (1988) - Winning's Better Than Losing Scene (7/12) | Movieclips. Cliques can save a person from trouble. Boring can save a person from trouble.

Bull Durham (1988) - I Want you Scene (9/12) | Movieclips. Manners, self-esteem, confidence, strength, and intelligence attract men and women.

Bull Durham- Best Scene. The number one makes a difference. An average of one more makes a difference. Also, talent is more important than intelligence.

Bull Durham (1988) - Kevin Costner - Susan Sarandon. You can't get everything you want in life. There are going to be losers through no fault of their own. Some dreams don't come true. Also, out with the old and in with the new.

tourists in bull durham.mov. Almost all good news and bad news nobody knows.

Update On A Past Blog

The number one makes a difference scene> Bull Durham- Best Scene reminds me of the blog Today I Want To Talk About The Numbers Greater Than Zero And Less Than Or Equal To One written on Jun 17, 2020. Percentages make a difference. 20% increase. 20% decrease. A few percentage points is the difference between *fill in the blank one* and *fill in the blank two*.

I wrote past life lessons blogs. Here are two of my favorites. The first favorite is Top Ten Life Lessons I Learned Watching Sports written on Nov 5, 2016. Some of the lessons include curses are meant to be broken, be professional, and be calm. There are multiple updates on a past blog adding more lessons to the blog which include luck, circumstances, and talent are factors to succeed as a professional athlete; don't waste time thinking about something making no sense; and winning solves problems.

The second favorite is Life Lessons From Space Brothers written on Aug 17, 2015. Space Brothers is my second all-time favorite anime series. Some of the lessons include it's faster to just do it, veterans help newbies, find one interesting think to lose track of time, improve failures, and teamwork.

I Lie If You Want An Exciting Update

The scenario is you and I are at a coffee shop. We converse. You ask for an update. I answer in two ways. My first way is the boring update. My recent changes are boring. I finished reading *insert book title*. I'm currently reading *insert book title*. The last movie I watched was *insert movie title*. My physical workouts are limited because of a left tricep injury. I play classic video games once in a while. You may as well read fake news on the internet. Fake news is exciting. Fake news is entertaining.

Although, my self-job training is completed. Click Self Job Training Graduation Analytics Research Technology written on Apr 19, 2024 for the detailed timeline and the skills learned. I finished the extended self-job training HTML, JavaScript, and WordPress. I continue Python and Excel which are boring.

A Reason Some People Lie

The second way is lying. I exaggerate because I hide my boring life; moreover, some people lie to hide personal weaknesses or personal vulnerabilities. There is no right and no wrong living a boring life. There is a good way and a bad way to live a boring life. It has been harder to live my boring life in a good way.

My last exciting change was Self Job Training Graduation Analytics Research Technology on Apr 19, 2024. One must look at the big picture to conclude the graduation was exciting. I must mention watching the movie The Shawshank Redemption on Sep 21, 2019. The movie saved my soul. It was one of My Four Mount Rushmore Greatest Moments In My Life written on Aug 9, 2020.

Real Answers

My real answers are boring. They're legitimate. They're genuine. I practice them. Physical fitness is real. My mental capabilities are real. My job candidate prospects pre-pandemic were real. My job candidate prospects post-pandemic are fake. My webpage, my reading books, and my cooking as a single person are real. My programming is fake; although, I can escape the fakeness when I write ad hoc programming for general business data analysis. My data analysis is real.

Update On A Past Blog

The unemployed job candidate rejected after being a finalist for a job opening one reason may be he or she is a threat to the department manager or senior employees' employment statuses. He or she asks the question Can I Be Overqualified? written on Jan 10, 2022. Some hiring managers hire underqualified people or people stupider than himself or herself. There are logical reasons and illogical reasons departments employ underqualified workers.

If you understand the management intention, then you understand the management behavior. The hierarchy must be preserved.

I wrote Raymond Mar 3.0 on Jul 15, 2023. The blog is about me at my best. No Raymond Mar 4.0. Two small unexciting updates. Number 9 Mahjong I'm an advanced skilled Mahjong player instead of an intermediate skilled player. Number 10 Handyman the patience and practice are valid. I continue looking for new life skills to learn.

Depression Need Christmas Distraction Before, During, And After December 25

I jogged around my neighborhood on Tue Jan 20, 2026. Yesterday was the first time I jogged in 2026. There were a few homes with their outdoor Christmas decorations. 26 days after Christmas 2025. Beforehand, there were homes with their outdoor Christmas decorations during the first full week of Nov 2025.

There must be families experiencing tough times Christmas must come early. These households needed a distraction. These households have too much time on their hands. The Christmas holiday was unsatisfactory the outdoor Christmas decorations remain outdoors today. Life has been getting harder before the global pandemic, during the global pandemic, and after the global pandemic.

Good Way Depression And Bad Way Depression

Blogger's note 1: Today's blog is posted at both Innovating Common Knowledge and Finding Raymond Mar.

Blogger's note 2: Today's blog is edited minimally for grammar.

Christmas 2025 was a bad Christmas. No need for a detailed explanation. The one sentence explaining a bad 2025 Christmas was my family did a bad job being boring. Dec 25, 2025 changed my family's lives for better or for worse. Dec 25, 2025 initialized permanent changes. I write bullet points to share my thoughts and my feelings in no particular order.

*I played Portal 2 for the second time. I finished the video game in Sep 2025. I planned to play a second time. I choose to play the second time during the holiday.

*There was one lucky moment. The moment was small. I play Riichi or Japanese Mahjong on Riichi City. I paid $7.99 to support the video game paying for one out of four new characters guaranteed. The guaranteed new character was my first choice Toho Nagi.

*I read The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. I ate like the French during the German occupation in World War II. Food was distributed with ration cards. I ate poor meals after Christmas. No appetite.

*I cleaned the house.

*I watched the beginning scenes from the movies Saving Private Ryan and The Godfather Part I.

*Eat intelligently regardless of proper meals or improper meals. No appetite. Still eat intelligently. There were some days I ate meals like I had the stomach flu.

*I didn't want to cook for the household. There were no reasons to eat well. On the other hand, I admit I completed tasks I delayed months ago with the free time. No cooking was another protest to express my anger Christmas was bad.

Did everyone feel Christmas was bad? My answer is most of us felt Christmas was bad. Nobody verbally expressed it.

*I trusted nobody with my thoughts and my feelings. The family was weak. The family was not strong enough to handle me.

*The world didn't come to an end.

*The cure is stay busy. Stay busy relieves the depression pain. Be active relieves the depression symptoms. Motivation is the key. Motivation is more important than knowledge. Motivation > Knowledge. Hope the depression is cured like taking medication for the common cold.

*There is no reason to be a jerk. There is no excuse to be impolite. Bad behavior is intolerable.

*The feelings and the thoughts no wants and no desires to do something, anything are valid. The feelings and the thoughts must be temporarily.

*The Christmas holiday was effortlessly boredom. There are people who live good boring lives with effort.

*I silently protested how my family celebrated Christmas 2025.

*There is work every day. Work can be a positive distraction to a negative feeling. Work is not necessarily financial or earned income. Household cooking, cleaning, and organizing are examples of work with zero pay.

Personal intelligence is also work. Reading, learning new skills, and doing personal maintenance are work.

*No sex desire. I understood better how depression repress the human sex drive.

*Choose the cure. Choose the distraction. Choose wisely.

*The human being is like an engine. All parts must function well to live a good life. Any parts go down or weaken a negative chain reaction starts. Other parts of the engine compensate. More stress. Life is harder to live.

The engine must be maintained. Sleep is important to rest the engine. Sometimes the engine needs upgrades. A tragedy can disable the engine. Hopefully, the engine can be repaired.

*Backups can be available. Complements, supplements, and substitutions must be effective to keep the human living his or her best.

*I ate one good meal during the depression. It was like the late Steve Jobs while he attended Reed College who said, "I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple." The one good meal was at Panda Express. I ordered fried rice, broccoli beef, and string bean chicken.

Outdoors can be good. I was out of the house. I was out of the bad boredom household. I understood better from decades ago I read an article about multi families staying in a single residence due to low income. Each family spent private time at a fast food restaurant.

*Depression time should be temporary. Depression passes.

*Must eat good meals to live a good life.

*Permanent changes happen afterwards due to self-discovery. Be aware to correct the ongoing mistakes.

*I read my personal bible. Click Inspiration Cheer Up File to download the .pdf file. Continue to live life finding what you want to do. Jobs said, "Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle."

*I played my all-time favorite board game Puerto Rico solo. I played with four players being solo. I rolled dice to randomly determined the roles.

*I rearranged the PC and tech cables in the computer desk.

*I stored the Christmas tree on Sun Jan 4, 2026. I initially wanted to keep the tree displayed for months as a reminder for a bad Christmas. I changed my mind which was the correct choice. Out of sight, out of mind.

Update On A Past Blog

There were blogs I mentioned my personal bible I didn't include the link to download the Inspiration Cheer Up File. I posted the link again. The blogs were Top 50 Most Memorable Moments written on Sep 18, 2024, The Green Steno Notebook 8 written on Apr 22, 2023, Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog 1 written on Jun 2, 2020, Top 40 Most Memorable Moments written on Sep 27, 2016, My Spirituality Discovery written on Jan 11, 2015, and Exercise Your Body From Head To Toe Inside And Outside written on Jan 6, 2015.

Beautiful House On The Outside, Ugliness House On The Inside

I live in a middle-class neighborhood. Quiet. Nice streets. Plenty of street parking. Very little crime. A private elementary school. A small public park. Nearby retail stores and restaurants. Easy access to multiple freeways.

The homes are built in the 1950s, 1970s, and 1980s. One-story homes. Two-story homes. Few homes need major repairs. Few homes fully renovated to today's modern look. Most homes maintain their original build. All homes include front yards and back yards.

I jog around the neighborhood two times a week. I see normal neighborhood behavior. Neighbors interact with other neighbors. Some neighbors are friends. People maintain their gardens. People host gatherings when I see multiple cars parked around the house. People fix cars. Children play in the front yard. Homeowners push their garbage cans to the curb for garbage day. Repair trucks are parked in front of a house. Overall, all homes are beautiful on the outside.

Looks can be deceiving. Open the front door. Enter the house. There may be a different look. There may be a different emotion. Many of these homes have problems can't be seen from the outside. It's hard to believe there's something wrong inside these homes. The ugly problems on the inside. Financial debt. Poor medical health. Parents and children fight. Abuse. Distrust. Poor communication. Dirty, messy, dusty, and smelly by neglecting interior maintenance. Clutter. Poor nutrition. It can be hard to believe something is wrong.

The Price Of Maintenance Increases

The week of Mon Sep 8, 2025 was catching up. There were no physical workouts due to fatigue and a minor injury to my left Achillies heel. Circumstances favored me for which there was no weekly household cleaning. I felt good I caught up with most of my backlogged responsibilities and projects.

The week of Mon Sep 8, 2025 inspired today's blog. Prices are increasing to maintain our lives. The price is not necessarily monetary; however, in today's inflationary economy, all goods and services for maintenance increases. Time is another price increase. More time is required to maintain our lives. If a person has too many priority responsibilities to complete, then the price the person pays is less sleep.

Bare necessities for body maintenance such as soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and aspirin. Prices increase. Shoes, socks, shirts, shorts and supplemental equipment for physical workouts. Prices increase. Human body services such as medical, dental, and gym membership for those who need gym equipment. Prices increase. Engine oil, tires, windshield wipers, and wax. Prices increase. Utilities, light bulbs, batteries, furnace air filters, and cleaning supplies for residence cleaning. Prices increase. Further, more time is required to complete everything above. And learning new job skills to maintain careers. Prices and time increase.

Cut The Distractions

I admit I'm distracted in today's Information Age. There is a song stuck in my head. I must play the song on my computer. I look up information on Google or on YouTube. Unimportant information catches my attention. I click on the website or I watch the video. There is a breaking news headline. I read the news article. Time wasted. The distractions increase the price of maintenance.

Update On A Past Blog

Here are two blogs on maintenance. The first is Car Maintenance Is Expensive written on Mar 26, 2025. I wrote interior maintenance and exterior maintenance are important. The ultimate price for non-maintenance anything is chaos.

The second is Maintenance Is Important As Innovating Infinitely written on Nov 6, 2016. I repeat what I wrote from the Car Maintenance Is Expensive's Update On A Past Blog: "I shared some of my life maintenances including a clean household, job training, physical fitness, and keeping myself clean and groomed. I admit maintenance can be boring; however, my life is in chaos without maintenance."

I also update Normal Adolescents At Chipotle blog written on Dec 9, 2023. The blog was mature junior high school students socializing at a Chipotle restaurant. I overheard a conversation between three ladies at the gym earlier tonight. Two of the three ladies are high school students. The third is probably college. I'm bad at guessing people's ages. The three of them organize a breakfast meetup at their local cafe on Sat at 9:30am. 9:30am in the morning--on a Sat weekend. My initial thought was high school students sleep-in on Sat mornings. The two high school students are mature and responsible.

I Dislike Going With The Flow

One of my top priorities is physical fitness. I take advantage of my long-term unemployed status to workout four days a week. Two days of jogging. Two days of lifting weights. I feel weak missing a week of workouts. I feel failure missing a week of workouts. I feel unhealthy. I falsely feel gaining weight. All of these feelings should be nothing. I have been sick in the past. I have been injured in the past. I eventually get back to health like professional athletes. There is nothing to worry about.

The week of Mon Jul 21, 2025 I hated going with the flow. Going with the flow reduced stress; on the other hand, stress increased missing physical workouts. Physical fitness decreases stress. The increase and decrease didn't cancel each other. There were events, instances, and circumstances beyond my control. My sister in-law and my nephew stayed overnight on Mon Jul 21. The household didn't have groceries. My brother, older nephew, and niece visited on Tue Jul 22. I cleaned the household on Wed Jul 23 to take advantage of the below average temperatures. I drove a family member to the hospital for multiple appointments on Thur Jul 24. I also experienced multiple stomach aches. The explanations were a poor breakfast and an inadequate lunch. My sister's dog stayed overnight on Fri Jul 25.

The entire week I adjusted my routines. I delayed routines. There were one-time priority tasks. The week of Mon Jul 21, 2025 was a crappy week. Acknowledge the crappy week. Everybody experiences crappy days. Everybody experiences crappy weeks. Nobody plans a crappy week. Unemployed people rarely experience crappy weeks due to fewer responsibilities and fewer obligations. Life happens. Move forward. Fighting the flow can be worse than going with the flow. Sleep well at the end of the day.

Update On A Past Blog

I convinced myself go with the flow on Mar 16, 2022 from the blog Consciously Aware My Mind Is Focused On The Flow. I wrote today's blog to reinforce go with the flow. There were no penalties, fines, and reprimands for the Mon Jul 21, 2025 week. Moreover, my right hip is sore for which I mentioned in the blog. Perhaps, no workout for the week may speed up the healing.

A Garden

My dad and I assisted a family friend with routine garden maintenance. Mowed the lawn. Removed weeds. A lawn mower cut the grass. A weed wacker trimmed the grass edges. A metal rake, shovel, clippers, and loopers were tools to remove weeds. These tools existed at least a century. The front yard is maintained. The front yard is beautiful. Peace is created taking a break from today's Information Age. Effective time spent outdoors. The life lessons gardening are patience, take it one at a time, and breathe.

Buy Time At Restaurants

There are many purposes for the restaurant retail industry. Customers buy meals. Customers meet other customers for social events. Customers support businesses. I focus today's blog customers buy time. Also, customers buy human energy. Customers use the buying time for other priorities instead of cooking meals, eating processed microwave food, or eating frozen food. Customers use the human energy for other priorities instead of cooking meals, eating processed microwave food, or eating frozen food. Customers complete the other higher priorities or lower priorities. Examples of higher priorities are work projects, work reports, job training, physical exercise, raising children, and sleep. Examples of lower priorities are watching television, catching up with social media, and playing video games.

The restaurants provide a big service in today's Information Age. The service is more important today compared to past generations. The restaurants convenience may be too good for some people which can lead to bad healthy habits. Use discretion.

Smile For One Thousand Three Hundred Dollars

My regular dental cleaning was in Dec 2024. The dentist said I needed five resins costing $1,300. The resins are a generic term. Specifically, the dentist fills in gaps between the teeth to minimize debris stuck between the teeth and gums, and minimize decay. $1,300 or $260 per tooth is expensive; on the other hand, the alternative is future gum surgery which costs higher and more inconvenience.

I went shopping afterwards. The first two retail locations were two high class malls. I thought about $1,300 dental work and $1,300 for X object(s) many stores sell. The chances of X object(s) are useless for practical uses. A $100 jacket is good as a $1,300 jacket. Almost nobody cares for a $1,300 pretty decoration on a table. I thought "a who cares he or she has it (them)" item(s) for sale in the two malls.

Consumerism at its best. Consumerism creates jobs. We don't complain on televisions, movies, clothes, toys, automobiles, and tech gadgets. We complain on food, insurance, utilities, and dental work. Some people need to re-evaluate their budgets and their priorities. A smile can earn more than $1,300 in money. Nobody wants his or her partner with bad dental hygiene during sex.

All prices increase. Higher costs. Spend wisely. It's the 2025 advice of the year.

Update On A Past Blog

Here is additional information on the blog Homeless Encampment Eviction Day Real Story written on Mar 23, 2024. The media doesn't report the real story.

Many legal homeless people receive government support such as Social Security, disabled veterans pensions, food stamps, and Medi-Cal. Some homeless people don't meet the rules for government support.

Some homeless people refuse shelters by choice. Women feels unsafe. Pets are prohibited. Must be sober. Strict curfews; for instance, homeless people with jobs and/or visit family members conflicts with the curfew. Couples must be married to be admitted together.

There Is Truth Serum During COVID-19 And After COVID-19

Governments declared the COVID-19 global pandemic ended in 2023. However, the COVID-19 virus is clear and present indefinitely people need an annual vaccine like the annual flu vaccine.

Sodium pentothal or the truth serum was administered during the global pandemic. There is more sodium pentothal administered afterwards. Living a life with lies has been harder. Anyone lying maintaining the lies are difficult. Resilience faked during the pandemic is not faked afterwards. Calling out dishonestly has been easier. People waiting for the evidence to prove lies must be patient. It's impossible for 100% of the people globally their lives change for the better because life is unfair. There are winners. There are losers. The losers are identified. The percentage applies to me and everyone I know. The truth is coming soon from the lies I notice. The equalizer is coming soon for the appropriate situations or moments.

Social media is untrustworthy overall. I go with the information present. Lies? Maybe. Deceit? Maybe. Give them time. The lies and the deceit are exposed.

The truth serum is administered anywhere at anytime. It's given at the workplaces such as nurses and the hospitals, teachers and the schools, first responders and the stations, and postal employees and the post office. It's given at the supply chains. It's given in manufacturing. It's given in retail businesses. It's given in the public sector. It's given in governments. It's given in the banks. Money decreasing. Stress increasing. Respect decreasing.

I Understand The Truth By Identifying The Diversion

red herring: 1 someone who or something which misleads or distracts from a relevant or important question. 2 someone or something intended to divert attention from the real problem or matter at hand; a misleading clue. 3 a fact, idea, or subject which takes people's attention away from the central point being considered. A diversion.

Someone hides weaknesses. Someone hides ignorance. Somone laughs too loud and/or too much. Someone hides he or she is losing. Point out the contradictions. Question the possible lies. Look past the facade. The timing of changing the subject is questioned. Immature behavior is inappropriate at the present moment. The mistakes are intentional. There is clear and present ignoring the topic. Use intuition if necessary. Identify the red herring. Acquire the facts. Analyze the data. Combine the knowledge. Discover the truth. Actions speak louder than words. The rewards are earned appropriately. The consequences are administered to the guilty.

Update On A Past Blog

I read my May 2006 blogs to select the Aug 2024 Feature Post. The One By One Guilty blog written on May 25, 2006 is about the guilty convictions and guilty pleas from the energy company Enron. Enron declared bankruptcy on Dec 2, 2001 due to conspiracy and fraud. Enron used accounting loopholes, special purpose entities, and poor financial reporting to hide debt. I wrote in the blog Another Start-Up Business Is Out Of Business on Aug 14, 2021, "Give it time. The truth is exposed. . . . Punishments are administered." Be patient. It took four years and five months for the Enron executives to be found guilty.

Every Person Has A Breaking Point Dream

I dreamed last night I worked at my second company in the commercial real estate industry. It was a dark dream like a dark comedy or dark drama. The two-story office building prepared for a Valentine's Day celebration. The air, the environment, and the lighting felt dark except the reception area. There were no decorations. One of the administrative staff prepared many bowls of candy bars like Halloween. Perhaps, the Halloween explained the darky feeling. The back area prepared for a barbeque.

I worked in the Research Department. One of my primary responsibilities was maintaining the database. There was one R&D broker who needed closed deals entered in the database. The broker was a professional, a top producer, patient, respected, and focused. He was preparing a presentation for one of his top clients in the early afternoon. I received the closed deals he submitted in the department inbox in the morning. I delayed entering the closed deals. The broker asked me did I input the closed dealers. I answered, "I get to it." I was distracted. I was interrupted. One incident involved an industrial broker's daughter who started today as an intern. She was going to take my workspace. I was going to take my co-worker's workspace. My co-worker was going to be fired. I refused to switch my workspace. The conversation between the R&D broker and I continued throughout the morning.

Another conversation was during the 12:00pm hour. I didn't input the closed deals in the database. The R&D broker lost it. He grabbed me by the throat with two hands. He lifted me up. He threw me through a window on the second floor. I fell down at the back area where the barbeque was held. My body shattered. Blood came out from my body. I died immediately.

The dream fast forwarded to the evening. The perspective changed to third person who was me watching from above. Maybe I was a ghost. Maybe I was an angel seeing from heaven. The sheriff's department arrived at the R&D broker's house. The R&D broker's wife distracted the deputies as they walked inside the house tactically. He was an emergency medical technician before he became a commercial real estate broker. He drove out of the garage in an ambulance. He crashed the ambulance at another house on the same street. Additional deputy units were around the neighborhood. They surrounded the crashed ambulance. I woke up.

My morale of the dream is every person has a breaking point.

I Earned Playing Video Games

I hand washed and hand waxed my car for the first time on Sun Sep 24, 2023. I was in sixth grade the last time I hand washed a car. My dad told my brother and I we don't wash the family car anymore because he didn't want to take us to Chuck E. Cheese as a reward.

I played a video game and watched a movie in the evening. The job was completed. I earned the leisure. I didn't earn the leisure to play video games in Oct-Nov 2007. I helped my dad and his friend install a new roof for the friend's house every Sat. I didn't want to help. My attitude was uncooperative. I assisted with some effort. I thought about playing video games many times throughout the day. I played video games without feeling guilty for a poor effort on Sat's nights.

The roofing installation might have been completed sooner if I gave it 100% effort.

Schools Give Out An Unlimited A Grades

I admit I'm not an educational professional. If schools want to give out more A's for an easier school day, need to give out more A's while convincing more students to attend classes for more funding, feel less guilty conscious being dishonest, turn off their sincerities, and stop caring, then all of the above are accomplished easily. Students must not be fooled life in the classrooms reflect real life. The purpose of going to school is to learn. Students learn the ABC's and 123's; in particular, college bound high school students prepare for college enrollment taking required classes and exams. Nothing more. Nothing less. Anything taught outside the ABC's and 123's are bonuses and exceptions.

True A graded students learn outside the classroom 365 days a year. True A graded students are not the 3.5's and the 4.0's. Never stop learning. Never stop innovating--innovate infinitely. If students don't participate in athletics, then exercise at home. Read leisure books. Learn life skills such as cooking, tying knots, programming, Excel, changing the oil in a car, running basic PC, and sewing. There's nothing wrong with playing video games, watching movies, and socializing with friends. Know the priorities. Strengthen your self-confidence, self-esteem, socializing skills, and communication skills. Discover motivation. I will is more important than I know. It's okay to make mistakes. Make intelligent mistakes to learn from them. Schools teach none of the above.

The real life is not A grades. The real life is not feel good participation awards. People show up resulting in people succeeding is false. Students attend school whether they like it or not. Students attend school whether they're present or the minds are someplace else. The real life is people don't do anything not feeling up to it. People do quit. People say goodbye. The real life is limited opportunities for too many people.

People should wonder why the big successful people didn't earn A's and B's. They earned C's. Or they dropped out of college such as Bill Gates, the late Steve Jobs, and some professional athletes.

Keep In Touch On Social Media

Everyone knows social media. Even people who live under a rock know social media. Facebook, Twitter or X, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Reddit, and Yelp are popular social media websites. Give it time for the people who don't have social media. They participate in time. Social media is present. People use social media to communicate. People use social media to search.

A negative social media common knowledge is some people become depressed. A common knowledge solution is take a break from social media or deactivate their social media accounts. I'm in the minority. Never take a break from social media. Never deactivate social media accounts. It's okay to reduce time on social media. You never know when you need to contact a friend, family member, or co-worker from a past job. Do your best to keep in touch.

Don't feel jealous when someone gets married, finds a new job, travels on a dream vacation, gets promoted, or purchases a new car. Jealously is poor self-esteem. Poor self-esteem becomes depression. The person earns their happy moment thru hard work, destiny, life, karma, or luck. Like or comment. On the other hand, if you got married, found a new job, traveled on your dream vacation, got promoted, or purchased a new car, then you want likes and comments. You earned your happy moment thru hard work, destiny, life, karma, or luck. It goes both ways.

Update On A Past Blog

I add another sports lesson to the Top Ten Life Lessons I Learned Watching Sports written on Nov 5, 2016. Winning solves problems. A professional sports team wins a championship. The problems are solved. The problems are forgotten. The problems are forgiven. Likewise in life. Winning is a factor to forgive. Forgiving is easier when the person or the party forgiving is winning. Forgiving is easier when the person or the party forgiving is successful.

Richard Nixon And Watergate Previews Donald Trump And The 2020 Election

Former President Richard Nixon conspired to cover up a break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Office Building in Washington, D.C. on Jun 17, 1972. The burglars intended to install wiretaps. 48 of the 69 people indicted were convicted. Nixon's Watergate scandal was a Mickey Mouse juvenile crime compared to former President Donald Trump's 2020 Election interference.

Here are five YouTube videos on Watergate. These videos may be considered previews, foreshadowing, forecasting, and predicting Trump's future being indicted four times as of Aug 14, 2023.

President Nixon's First Watergate Speech (April 30, 1973)

From the CBS News Archive: Roger Mudd Watergate Special Report

Richard Nixon's resignation speech

John Ehrlichman: The 60 Minutes Watergate Interview (1973)

From the archives: Nixon officials found guilty in 1975 Watergate cover-up trial

A Daily Dose Of Novocain

Today's Information Age we get any information on the internet in seconds. Too much information is available in seconds. Easy access. News feeds are 24/7. Information feeds are 24/7. Social media feeds are 24/7. 98% of all feeds are garbage. Novocain is administered. Useless facts. Useless information. Nothing learned. Nothing improved. Moreover, dissatisfaction increases there is a desire for more information hoping to quell the dissatisfaction. Brain cells are destroyed. My IQ drops. The causality is too much Novocain. The Novocain habit I accidentally miss reading important news, information, and knowledge.

Reading is tiring. Additional mental energy is required to ignore the useless. Additional mental energy is required to stop reading. On the other hand, there are some people with more time on their hands they enjoy the useless. More power to them.

Update On A Past Blog

People who purchased shares from the blog Bet On The Real Raymond Mar Coming Soon written on Oct 4, 2014 should be happy. The stock price went up. Long term investing works. Buy and hold work.

I'm the best choice for many circumstances. I have been the best choice to get the job done. Unfortunately, there were too many barriers. Bad luck. Bad timing. I was told lies. People prevented me from being successful. Misinformation. Bad lessons. All are forgiven. I needed more time. I needed four years and 11 months to be specific. The naive, uncontrollable, and immature person is retired. Be patient.

Power Outage For 14 Hours

A power outage started on Tue Jan 10, 2023 at 2:30am in the West San Jose area. Power was restored in my neighborhood at 4:30pm totaling 14 hours. The bomb cyclone-driven rains driven by multiple atmospheric rivers arrived in CA since Fri Dec 30, 2022.

I didn't get mad there was no electricity for most of the day. I was glad. I was upbeat. No electricity. No internet. No computer. No TV. I could have used my cell phone to access the internet. I used the cell phone to access PG&E's power outage map only. Otherwise, my cell phone was for emergency use only. The household listened to the emergency radio for the first time in a weather related emergency and the second time overall. Both uses were power outage related. The radio was off most of the day. The news was the same throughout the day including power outage locations, traffic accidents, weather updates, property damages, and injuries.

I read Orange Is The New Black by Piper Kerman book. I practiced rope knots as a life skill. I ate a granola bar, a nut bar, cereal, and a Belvita. The household kept the refrigerator closed throughout the day. I remained calm. I minimized expending my calories. My parents spent the day not involving computers and TVs.

I went back to my normal daily routine after 4:30pm. The refrigerator kept all foods cold. I reset clocks plugged in to the electricity outlets. I job searched. I ate an early dinner. I trained in Python which was today's job skill. I wrote today's blog. The weather forecast is more atmospheric rivers continuing to next week.

14 hours is the longest power outage I experienced. The last time a multiple hour power outage related to heavy rains and strong winds I was in second grade in my grandparent's house.