How do you manage screen time for yourself?

Daily writing prompt

Yup. Already done this one. Literally this time. I’m not saying this one is remarkably similar to a previous question. This one is literally a previous question. I got this three days ago when whatever bug in the system that is making this whole daily prompt thing not fun anymore first reared it’s buggy head.

I will answer again because I am a glutton for punishment.

I am 52 years old. I am not a child. I don’t need to manage screen time. If I want to do something on a screen I do it. I am a grown up. I work on a computer eight hours a day. If I want to go a-web-surfing after work or on the weekends then I do. Sorry, but again: Grown up.

If you need to do something to manage your screen time then go for it. Whatever gets you through your day. I will tip my hat to you and wish you well. I don’t do anything about screen time because I am fine living on the screen.

There. One question answered twice. Ugh.

What will your life be like in three years

Daily Writing Prompt

Yup… the app and the browser are different prompts again. The tags are different too. The browser’s prompt looks like it will show up on the app a couple of days from now. Nice effin’ bug, jerks.

Today’s tag is dailyprompt-2112… 2112… as in Rush… so this, despite being a dumb question, is my favorite daily writing prompt ever.

So what will my life be like in three years? Hopefully it will be pretty similar to my life today, as my life is pretty good right now. Optimistically, maybe the kids will be living a little closer to us than they do now, but it’s more likely that they will be further away. That will be bad, except that it will probably mean that Jen and I will travel more often so that would be the silver lining.

I will be 55 years old. The chances of me still having red hair will be pretty slim. However, I have been saying that about each new year ever since I turned 40 and somehow the red hair is still there. There’s more white mixed in than there was before, but it’s still mostly red. I think that’s pretty neat. I like being a red head. I hated it when I was a kid, but I love it now. I will be sad when the red head days are over, but it is inevitable and I will definitely be okay with it.

Three years from now I am guessing the band formerly known as Lizardfish will still be looking for a new singer. I will hopefully still be in guitar love with my 1978 Les Paul, and maybe by then I will have had my 1979 ES-335 fixed up too. That would be nice. Maybe by then I will have finished The Great 2015 Re-Recording Project as well. Probably not though.

Have you guessed that I am not taking this question all that seriously? I don’t know where I will be in three years. I just know I will still be with Jen and that’s all I really care about.

When I bring up the Jetpack/Wordpress app on my iPhone the daily writing prompt looks like this:

When I bring up wordpress.com in a browser on my laptop the daily writing prompt looks like this:

Really guys? You let two different prompts out on the same day? Is this a bug or just really shitty implementation? Add this to the prompt not pulling into the posts on their own anymore, and you have me really not wanting to play this stupid fucking game anymore.

So which question do I answer? Who cares, right? Why even bother?

Aw, hell. Right then. How do I manage screen time for myself. I don’t. I work at a computer for 8+ hours a day and I am an adult. I don’t need to manage my screen time. I am not a child. I can do what I want.

Invent a holiday. I’ll give you one. It just happens to coincide with my birthday, but it’s not related to my birthday. May 8th. That’s the date that Germany surrendered to end the European portion of World War II. We can create a holiday out of that and call it Fascism is Evil Day or something like that. How about Death to Fascism as a Political Ideology Day. We can all celebrate by not being fascists. We can all celebrate by reading of the evils and horrors caused by fascism. We can all celebrate by throwing rocks at fascists, fascist collaborators, and fascist sympathizers. It would absolutely be my favorite holiday of the year.

There. I answered both daily writing prompts because Jetpack or WordPress.com or whoever is responsible for it fucked it all up and put out two prompts.

Fix the fucking bugs, please. Pretty please.

What are your favorite websites?

Daily writing prompt

Do people still think in terms of favorite websites? Wouldn’t you say they are more like commonly used tools now rather than favorites? Back in the early days I might have thought in favorite terms, but I don’t think I do anymore.

I can give you a list of commonly used sites. These are the tabs that I keep open on my browser on my personal machine:

• Gmail
• WordPress.com
• Flickr
• Mastodon
• Bluesky
• Facebook messenger (in case the band thread gets updated)
• Reddit
• Trello
• Rhymezone (in case I am trying to write lyrics)
• Alonetone (in case I need to upload a new song)
• Hearthis.at (same as alonetone)
• Wordle
• The Who Back When podcast page, but that’s only until I finish the epic Doctor Who binge watch
• Google Keep for our grocery list
• My Food/Drink tracking spreadsheet

Really, I could do without all of those except Gmail, WordPress, and the food spreadsheet. The rest are not really that important.

Honorable mentions? There could be a few. The For You page on Google News gets a lot of use. So does US College Hockey Online, the NHL, MLB, and ESPN sites. Of course the one page that gets used more than almost all others is Google. Anything that comes up gets a Google search. Wikipedia is probably second on the list, but it’s a distant second.

I guess the answer to the question what are my favorite websites though would be… none, I think.

Is there an age or year of your life you would re-live?

Daily writing prompt

This is one of those difficult questions that requires a little too much self-examination. A little more than I am willing to do at 6:39am on a Saturday morning at least.

A year I would re-live… The answer, of course, is none of them. It is also all of them. The catch is that I would re-live them all only if I could do so without changing anything. There was a time in my past when I wanted to go back and change everything, especially myself. I was basically cripplingly shy and afraid of everything. Socially speaking I was useless and romantically… well, that was literally non-existent.

Then in April of 2007 I went on a first date with someone remarkable. On some strange subconscious level I sort of said fuck it and got over all of my hangups and some how, magically, that first date turned into my first relationship which then turned into my marriage. At that point it occurred to me that all of the problems I dealt with before April 2007 were just steps on the path that lead me to the place… to the me… that I needed to be. Those experiences made me someone that Jen could find value in. Someone that Jen could fall in love with and marry and allow to be a step father to her two children.

That is why I don’t want to re-live even a single day, because doing so runs the risk of changing the eventual outcome. That is literally the last thing in the universe that I would ever want. I wouldn’t mind observing the me that I used to be, but I wouldn’t want to do so in a way that would affect any decisions I had ever made. I would especially like to re-observe everything post April 2007 as that would allow me to see myself becoming that one thing I had always believed I would never be… happy. That’s a movie I wouldn’t mind seeing.

So the short answer to what year or age would I want to re-live is none. As hard as it is to believe, I think I got it right on the first try. I mean, how weird is that?

What historical event fascinates you the most?

Daily writing prompt

I’ve always been a history nerd. There are so many things I would like to go back and witness. Today’s response to the daily writing prompt is going to be a list of things I would go back to see if I could time travel. It’s important to state the rules of time travel though. In my case I would follow the Quantum Leap rules, only not the way Sam did it. I would be Al. Al didn’t actually time travel, he was just able to see what Sam was seeing. He could not interact with anything. He had no affect, and nothing effected him*. He was just a witness. That’s how I want to time travel. I don’t want to step on the wrong bug and change things, you know? Safety first.

So what events would I witness? What are the most fascinating historical events?

• The first moon landing. Wouldn’t it be cool to be there and watch Armstrong come down that ladder? I would probably want to visit all of the moon landings.
• Unfortunately, many of the historical events I am fascinated by are battles. I would want to witness the battle of Gettysburg. Specifically Little Roundtop on the second day, and Pickett’s charge on the third day.
• Possibly the first thing I would do if I could Al-style-Time-Travel would be to see The Beatles live in a bar in Hamburg during one of their residencies. I’d probably catch a few shows in Germany and a few shows at The Cavern Club in Liverpool. All of them would be pre-Beatlemania. Once things went crazy you couldn’t hear them at any of their shows over all of the screaming. I would want to be able to hear every glorious note.
• The signing of the Declaration of Independence
• Lee’s surrender to Grant at Appomattox
• Lincoln’s inauguration addresses, the Gettysburg address, and his assassination. Also, pretty much anything Lincoln ever did in public.
• Every single Rush concert starting at the Coff-In and ending in Los Angeles. All of them. Literally.
• Countless concerts and sporting events.

Unfortunately I need to start my morning routine now so I will cut this post off here. I might add an addendum later as more things come to me, or maybe I’ll just add a second post. This will do for now though.

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*Did I use effect and affect correctly? I would look it up to make sure, but I am way too lazy right now. Let’s just assume I got it right.

What’s something you believe everyone should know.

Daily writing prompt

Anyone else catch the grammar error in the daily prompt today? Has there been an error like this in every question?

Here are a few things that everyone should know:

• Everything is true.
• God’s an Astronaut.
• Oz is Over the Rainbow,
• and Midian is where the monsters live…

Wait… that isn’t it… that’s a line from the Clive Barker movie Nightbreed.

So what was I going to write about?

Oh yeah, now I remember.

Here is a definitive truth that everyone should know…

Fascism is bad. Like… not a little bad, or sort of bad, but absolutely evil and very, very bad. Dig? Nazis are bad. Fascists are bad. Fascist collaborators are bad. Fascist sympathizers are bad. The entire free world once banded together to remove fascism from civilization. That was good. Destroying fascist states and fascist people is good.

It is really very simple. You can all understand it, right? If you start thinking that maybe that hitler guy had some good ideas, then you need to understand that those ideas were not good, they were bad. Also, it probably means that on a core level you are bad as well.

Stop being fascists.

Okay, here is a bonus based on a few responses to this question that I have read this morning.

Twelve people have walked on The Moon. They were all Americans.

• Apollo 11 Mission
  • Neil Armstrong
  • Buzz Aldrin
• Apollo 12 Mission
  • Pete Conrad
  • Alan Bean
• Apollo 14 Mission
  • Alan Shepard
  • Edgar Mitchell
• Apollo 15 Mission
  • David Scott
  • James Irwin
• Apollo 16 Mission
  • John Young
  • Charles Duke
• Apollo 17
  • Gene Cernan
  • Harrison Schmitt

If you have decided that these 12 people did not walk on The Moon then I suggest you get your head out of your ass and grow the fuck up.

Thank you, good night.

What does it mean to be a kid at heart?

Daily writing prompt

I have no idea how to answer this. I’ll throw out a couple of theories and then see how our faux friend Google Bard defines it.

• Is it open mindedness? Kids need to learn negative biases, right? If we ignore such things does that make us a kid at heart?
• Is it immaturity? Does loving fart jokes the way a kid does make you a kid at heart? That seems as good a definition as any, and I do love a good fart joke.
• Is it some innate ability to see the wonder in the world? Life tends to kick our asses as we grow older. Does being a kid at heart require us to withstand such torment in a way that allows us to still see wonder in the insignificant things?
• Is it just a matter of being a brat? Could be.

So now let’s ask Google Bard what it means. The answer can’t be any dumber than the ones I’ve vomited up, can it?

To be a kid at heart means to have a youthful spirit and outlook on life. It means finding joy in simple things, being curious and adventurous, and having a sense of wonder. It also means being playful, forgiving, and optimistic.

Here are some specific characteristics of a person who is a kid at heart:

• They enjoy simple things, like playing games, spending time in nature, or reading a good book.
• They are curious and always learning. They love to ask questions and explore new things.
• They have a sense of wonder and are always amazed by the world around them.
• They are playful and enjoy having fun. They are not afraid to be silly or let loose.
• They are forgiving and quick to move on from mistakes.
• They are optimistic and believe in the good in people.

Being a kid at heart is a positive trait. It means that you are able to enjoy life and find happiness in the little things. It also means that you are open to new experiences and learning new things. If you are a kid at heart, you are likely to have a lot of friends and be well-liked by others.

Here are some ways to embrace your inner child and be more kid at heart:

• Spend time with children. Let them teach you how to have fun and see the world in a new way.
• Do things that make you happy and bring you joy. This could include anything from playing your favorite sport to reading a good book to spending time in nature.
• Be curious and ask questions. Don’t be afraid to learn new things.
• Be playful and don’t take yourself too seriously. Let yourself be silly and have fun.
• Be forgiving and let go of grudges. Don’t dwell on the past.
• Be optimistic and believe in the good in people.

Being a kid at heart is a great way to live a happy and fulfilling life. So embrace your inner child and have fun!

Google Bard

Yeah, that definition makes sense. It’s also no dumber than any of the crap I came up with. I think this will do.

You have three magic genie wishes, what are you asking for?

Daily writing prompt

1. Peace, love, happiness, and prosperity for all of my family and friends.
2. Infinite funds and financial security for all of my family and friends.
3. Disney’s Aladdin be damned, I’m wishing for infinite wishes.

Yes I know, old Uncle Walt made my third wish illegal, but the Disney Corporation can kiss my ass, I am wishing for more wishes. Sure, by the rules of the movie Aladdin I would basically be turning the Genie into my eternal personal servant, but he should have seen that coming when he first got into the business. Am I right or am I right? Call it an occupational hazard. The dude got what was coming to him.