The Stories and Novels By Derek Ward
From the Dispatch podcast:
Kummerspeck (noun)
Literal Translation- Grief bacon
Colloquial Translation- Weight gain from emotional overeating.
I may be suffering from this. Not critically, but I haven’t been below 205 much since we have been under safer at home rules.
John Kra-something or other started a weekly YouTube show featuring happy and heart touching stories from around the Interwebz. Take a gander at the first episode.
The second one is just as good:
Miguel posted on this on FB, and I decided to have some fun with it. Then I roped The Brother and The Wife into it.
Favorite movie: Black Hawk Down
Movie that makes you remember your childhood: Transformers (Animated)
Favorite Tom Cruise movie: Edge of Tomorrow
Movie that makes you cry: Forrest Gump
Favorite 80’s movie: Real Genius
Favorite comedy: Undercover Blues
Favorite sports movie: Necessary Roughness
Favorite courtroom movie: 12 Angry Men
Favorite horror Movie: In the Mouth of Madness
Most overrated movie: Pulp Fiction
Movie you can watch over and over again: McLintock!
Movie with the best soundtrack: Pirates of the Caribbean
Movie you’re most embarrassed that you like: Grease 2 (maybe?)
Favorite Christmas movie: Die Hard
Favorite sequel: John Wick 2
Favorite movie: My Blue Heaven
Movie that makes you remember your childhood: Rock ‘N’ Rule (1983)
Favorite Tom Cruise movie: Edge of Tomorrow/Live. Die. Repeat
Movie that makes you cry: I know I’ve cried watching a movie, but I can’t think of one that makes me cry.
Favorite 80’s movie: Ghostbusters
Favorite comedy: Real Genius
Favorite sports movie: Shaolin Soccer
Favorite courtroom movie: 12 Angry Men
Favorite horror Movie: In the Mouth of Madness (I guess? I don’t really like horror films)
Most overrated movie: A Christmas Story
Movie you can watch over and over again: Oscar
Movie with the best soundtrack: The Dark Knight
Movie you’re most embarrassed that you like: Not embarrassed about liking any movie.
Favorite Christmas movie: Die Hard
Favorite sequel: Gremlins 2
Favorite movie: Grease
Movie that makes you remember your childhood: Wizard of Oz
Favorite Tom Cruise movie: Cocktail
Movie that makes you cry: Homeward Bound (anything with animals – that’s why I don’t watch them)
Favorite 80’s movie: Sixteen Candles
Favorite comedy: 10 Things I Hate About You
Favorite sports movie: Good Will Hunting
Favorite courtroom movie: A Few Good Men
Favorite horror Movie: The Blair Witch Project
Most overrated movie: A Christmas Story (I hate that movie)
Movie you can watch over and over again: Dirty Dancing
Movie with the best soundtrack: Titanic
Movie you’re most embarrassed that you like: Magic Mike
Favorite Christmas movie: The Grinch 
Favorite sequel: The Twilight Movies (no judging)
First, no I haven’t watched it. No intention of watching it. The Wife damn sure couldn’t watch it. However, the series touches on a local organization – Big Cat Rescue. I remember – and blogged about – when the murder for hire plot was revealed. Apparently, other allegations are made in the series that are not true. Such as the owner of BCR offing her husband. Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is now asking for leads since the cold case is now hot again.
Big Cat Rescue put out a statement to address the allegations. What worries me was the producers saying that they wanted this to be like Blackfish. That tells me a lot about how they intend to tell their story.
Fair disclosure- BCR gets money from me through my work’s charitable giving. I support their work.
The Wife and I were walking through the local Target and came across the Top Gun strategy game. Complete with a fighter school side and a volleyball side!
I’m not exactly sure who the target audience is.
We picked up some Mountain Dew Zero. I like it, at least as much as Diet Mountain Dew. Even better, this is a zero calorie as compared to Diet Dew’s low calorie. But Derek, Diet Dew is only 5 calories per 20 oz. Yeah, but with the quantities I drink on a regular basis, that adds up quick. DON’T JUDGE ME.
I’ve finished listening to the new book The End Is Always Near by Dan Carlin (of Hardcore History fame). How to describe it?
I still recommend his Hardcore History podcast.
Even after being together for better than two-and-a-half years, and being married for almost a year, it still amazes me how loud my wife’s family gets, and how quickly the volume ramps up. For them, that’s normal. For my family, that volume level is akin to a cobra showing its hood. One last ditch attempt to scare off someone before violence happens.
After almost two decades, I now have a subscription to the local paper. Sunday only. Mostly, it was coupons. Part of it is I’m leaning more to paying for content.
Over the weekend, I hit a milestone. I reached 1,000 days of tracking what I eat. I will admit, some days are more accurate than others. I do my best, but it’s difficult on bye-weeks to make sure I’m logging everything.
So, where am I at? My goal is to maintain 200 lbs. At last check-in, I was around 205. I’ve been struggling with losing the weight I gained from the holiday celebrations.
I’m also feeling a bit of fatigue. I know this intellectually, and there are days when I start wondering what the damage would be for me to just let loose. Then, I have to remember why I did this. I write this not to gain sympathy. I write this for anyone in my admittedly small audience who is feeling the same struggle. I think this is normal, and it can be overcome.
I am going to keep working to get back to 200. I am going to have setbacks, but I can’t accept them as anything other than temporary setbacks.
The Navy announced the name for newest Ford-class carrier will be for Pearl Harbor hero. If you don’t know who Doris Miller was, he earned the Navy Cross for grabbing a machine gun and taking out Japanese planes during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was the first African-American awarded the Navy Cross.
I can’t wait to hear what the sailor will call her.
One of the heroes who helped rescue trapped boy scouts from a cave in Thailand has died from a blood infection he got during the rescue.
Petty Officer Beirut Pakbara, a Thai Navy Seal, contracted a blood infection during the rescue at Tham Luang cave.
My deepest condolences to his loved one.
For your enjoyment: