Snarky Tom's Rants, Raves and Ruminations

 The title is a Beatles thing. You need to be a fan to understand.  Well, Dec25 is almost here. And again, I have no idea what to get the few who I do shop for. However, I get a real kick out of the stereotypes that online big box stores like Walmart suggest. Adult Women: Perfume Jewelry Oversize Knit Sweater Instant Pot Another gaudy oversize sweater with giant hearts Another Instant Pot The Pioneer Woman 2-Piece Rectangular Ruffle Top Ceramic Bakeware Set A Blender Assorted beauty related hair doo-dads Air Fryer Do you see what I'm driving at? These are travesties for gifts. I think I would be unattached if I gave thoughtless phoning-it-in type of gifts like these. Would-be Walmart Christmas Slogans: When you truly no longer care, give crap.  To show how much your love has really waned, an Instant Pot.  It's not much better for men. Adult Men: A 44" Portable Basketball Hoop (for the guy who never exercises!) Apple Airpods with case (this may actually be a feasible ...

 It's almost Christmas. Possibly, some of us, will be able to receive a vaccine to protect, to some extent, from the Coronavirus. The medical community and the government believe that the vaccines will only be effective if at least 70-80% of the population receives it. As supply will not meet the criteria to accomplish this feat until Summer 2021, it's going to be a long winter and spring. However, people have demonstrated a reluctance in taking the "shot."  I have been vaccinated for everything you can be vaccinated for since childhood. And that was a very long time ago. I have received the flu vaccine for 20 years. And I have never been sick or got the flu. Knock on wood. I received every childhood vaccine to prevent childhood diseases. Recently, I took my first of two shots to protect me from Shingles, the adult version of Chicken Pox, which I had an extremely mild case as a child. I will receive my second shot in about two weeks. Happy Christmas to me! The questio...

 I took August off. I just needed a break and truthfully, I'm not sure too many people are following this BLOG. Anyway. I'm back. Let's talk about some misconceptions with numbers and statistics.  I've mentioned this before. Numbers and statistics can be molded to say whatever it is you want to say. You can ignore criteria or include it. You can fluff it up or downplay your data to suit your needs, desires or the message you want to present. For instance, Hillary Clinton won the 2016 election. She did if we only counted the votes and not played into that horrible, out-dated, misaligned Electoral College. Maybe. Will we have the same results this time? Maybe. Maybe not. As of today, Labor Day, Biden is ahead in the polls. But so was Clinton in 2016. Polls can be deceiving. It discounts certain demographics or makes assumptions on others. For instance, there were a lot of people who just said, "Fuck it! I'm staying home and not voting." That is a real fact t...

As a child and an adolescent, I had curious interests in the macabre. Vampires, werewolves, witches and all other creepy crawlies. During the Coronavirus lockdown, I have been in a deep binge watch of Dark Shadows, a 1960s Gothic soap opera that used to air on ABC. Besides housewives there was a great following by elementary school children like myself. Aside from the "icky" romance parts, there was the most interesting and fantastic ghosts, vampires and reanimated humans.  Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins from Dark Shadows Today, I got to thinking about the subject of Vampires. Who (or What) are they? How did they come to exist?  Blood drinking undead beasts. Hollywood has made films and television programs of vampires for nearly 100 years. The first one was Nosferatu (1922). Many authors have written vampire stories and novels. Bram Stoker, Stephen King, Anne Rice and Stephanie Meyer to name a few. For the most part, each story gave vampires the same traits. They only come...

I hate to say that I hate it when I'm right (correct) but that would be a fib. I love being right. And I knew I would be right in regards to the too soon reopening of the country. Why do I think it was too soon? Simple answer: Americans are too fahken stupid to follow the suggested medical advice.  Wear masks Social distance six feet Don't congregate in large groups For the last several months, all of the above have been ignored, mostly by the younger, entitled millennial ignoramus. And from people who think Trump walks on water. I know some people who are soooo ultra conservative that they won't wear masks or social distance and who are in their seventies. [Karens] Yikes! Talk about rolling the dice and hoping it doesn't come up snake eyes. As the map below tells a lot of the story. This is from the New York Times today. There has been a rise in Corona case in more than half the states. 17 states have seen a rise surpassing their previous 7-day rolling highs at the hei...