Rick's b.log - entry 2025/10/11

What?!?

What?

Does Macron even have a plan any more?

I think the National Front have said that this bad joke has gone on far too long and they don't care what he proposes, they're going to push for censure; presumably to push Macron until he throws in the towel, which he won't want to do as the left is still in disarray and his own party isn't much better so any election will basically be handing them an easy win.

The left is in disarray over the proposed changes to retirement and pensions. What strikes me as odd is that they're arguing over whether or not to accept the disliked proposals - but you know, there's another option - come up with a better plan. Pension reform is necessary as the population ages and the state simply won't be able to pension off people at, like, 55 (which was kind of WTF anyway), but it's not necessarily all or nothing. Make a better plan, propose that.

Whatever... expect the guy to have quit, again, by Halloween or stayed out of loyalty to his master (Macron) and had a nervous breakdown by Christmas because, well, Macron doesn't seem even remotely interested in compromising on His Big Plan, and the rest of government doesn't seem particularly interested in accepting His Big Plan. It's a stalemate and one man's hubris is making France the laughing stock of Europe right now.

Toilet check!

The next day I managed to speak to the guy on the phone. He took my details, looked up, and said "so you won't be able to make that rendezvous?". I replied that I don't understand why I have it as I was checked in May. I think the 20^th of May, but I didn't tell him that as I'm not 100% certain (I mean, I could have looked at my blog or calendar, but, you know, that implies a superior level of organisation).
"You were checked in May?"
Yes.
"Oh. I'll cancel the rendezvous then."

Well, that was odd, but simple to sort out.

New Anxiety Unlocked:
Somebody will turn up on the 6^th of November and raise hell over my not being present.
Well, 🤷, that's a much smaller anxiety as I have the paperwork from my previous visit plus the proof of payment plus my phone records calls automatically (which is why I stick with and ancient S9 - Google hobbled that sort of thing in later versions of Android) so I have a recording of him saying the appointment has been cancelled.

I wonder what wires got scrambled to have me scheduled to be checked twice in the same year?

Saturday work

In British time, that's 4:19am; when I was younger that was bedtime!

It was supposed to be the two women I like plus me starting at 7am because, well, my boss accepted that. ☺ One woman has been off for the end of the week because of personal reasons, so I volunteered to instead start today at 6am to help out a little more. Yeah, I know, I oughta keep my mouth shut... ☺ Still, it wasn't a bad morning. A tonne of work to churn through, but we got a lot done. Time went, actually, surprisingly quickly.
I stopped at the burger flinger on the way home and got myself some special offer of a regular sized meal plus a Happy Meal for €11 (note - regular sized, not exactly generous). They never asked for the promotion ticket, nor did they give me the happy meal book until I asked for it (and the woman had the audacity to read the receipt - like WTF lady? you just incorrectly made this...). Oh, and this was - yet again - a nice full pack of chips.

As if I don't already have enough photos of woeful chip offerings.

McDo assures us that they don't train their staff to intentionally underfill the chips, but I'm afraid it happens way too often to be coincidence, a staff member doing improper things, or whatever other bullshit excuse they might like to blame it on (a rogue employee...). Nah, this is by design. The only time I really get full chips is when they're flamin' cold and they scoop up every last one to save counting it as a throw-away.
Hmmm, what does the McManual say about how long chips can be left lying around before being served? And, related, what does the McManual say about preparing chips and then leaving them on the rack behind the chip storage under the mostly ineffectual heat lamp for some ten minutes while the rest of the meal (Big Mac and McFish) are prepared. And that was actually quite quick service, it usually takes longer and the chips are often sorted out first. It's even more galling when people with simple orders get given hot new chips, but mine sitting there going pallid and frigid will wait and wait and wait.

Funny thing is, it's extremely easy to ruin chips. I mean, let's face it, there's not a lot one could do to bugger up a Big Mac, is there? Even serving the thing practically cold is... kind of depressingly normal. But chips that aren't fresh and hot go a slimy sort of rancid in a hurry. And boy does McDo have a depressingly long history of doomed, imperilled, maybe even extirpated chips.
In fact, the awful chips are why I tend to avoid The Clown Place now. And, well, attempted murder is why I avoid The Crown Place. I can quite easily do nice fish and a pile of steaming hot chips in the air fryer, costing half of what that McMeal cost...but I just couldn't be arsed. I guess I'm paying for "convenience", because I'm sure as hell not paying for "quality". Not with chips like that.

Why did I go? Easy. I knew I'd be kind of wrecked today. And, indeed, I think I'm going to go to bed with a spoon and a little Lidl cheesecake and, I dunno, listen to some music before winding down before sunset.
Unfortunately the coming Saturdays are mandatory, so I'll have to start an hour even earlier. Gah!

AI songs?

But, when you can have a song about anything (so long as it doesn't trip the decency guardrails), the question is what to have a song about?

I have done tea, and tea, and tea. Peacefully reading under a tree (with tea, obviously). Carl Sagan. A rubber duck. A dearly departed cat. How everybody is so polarised. The joy of a morning croissant. A kitten beating down a dragon. In the aftermath. A gentle song about a violent storm. Being an introvert. And even a traditional metal song with intentionally nonsense lyrics that's actually kind of fun to rock out to when driving through the forest on foggy mornings.

So... um... I think that's pretty much ticked all of my song theme boxes. That's why I haven't posted any more AI songs. I have been enjoying the ones I have, and haven't thought "ooh, that would be a fun idea for a song".

Self-perception

It took plenty of annoying adverts and not-quite-right images to come up with this one. How I see myself is a generally happy ghost, peacefully reading (and tea, always tea), in the world but not willingly a part of it.

This is my self-perception.

Rather ironic, I think, that it's easier to get an entire three minute song out of an AI than one good picture.
Anyway, when I die, which won't be long the way time is flying by, that's where you'll find me. Under a tree, with a ghostly book (so, Lovecraft?) and ghostly tea. Maybe, as shown here, some ghostly lamps to get the right ambience. Because ambience matters.

Now, it's starting to get dark so that's it for me. Time to grab something pleasingly sweet and call it a day. I've been up since half three so...

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