Black-and-white stipple portrait of a man wearing glasses, a collared shirt, and a patterned tie. The image is rendered in fine dot shading with a neutral expression and minimal background.from the shoulders up against a transparent background. Michael's Musings!
My thoughts. 
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🍿Watched Civil War (2024)

⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: FULL SPOILERS In Civil War (2024), the iconic torch of liberty becomes a battleground as soldiers clash atop its flame, symbolizing the fierce struggle for freedom amid chaos. My Rating: ½ (0.5/5 stars) The movie stunk, and it stunk so bad I kept watching only for the action at the end. It made no sense to me. Why were we in a civil war? Seems more like a feel-good piece for the press. There were undertones of innuendo but no reason was given, nothing clear was given. It was basically like the viewer came in the middle...
April 5th, 2026 movies

History Made April 1, 2026 Artemis II Launched!

History was made today. The kind of history that will be written about and studied for years to come, and I was able to capture it from my backyard. Artemis II successfully launched with a crew of four and is heading to the Moon. Not as great, magnificent, or universe changing as what we will celebrate this Sunday with Easter and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, not even close. But still amazing. Here is what I get to see from my house on the other side of the coast of Florida. Not as amazing as being there, but still awesome....
April 1st, 2026 news

Exploring Stardock's Clairvoyance

A man joyfully adjusts settings on a futuristic interface labeled Analyzing, exploring the possibilities of Stardock's Clairvoyance technology in a cozy, modern workspace. I have been trying out a new app from Stardock called Clairvoyance. It is a nice AI interface that is very powerful and lets you use API keys to interact with large language models and do all kinds of things. It also takes a privacy-first approach and is a bit more user friendly than some other tools I have tried. I will say this has been very compelling and interesting to use. I honestly cannot believe it...
March 14th, 2026 technology

Mike Elgan Nails It

“https://elgan.com/why-you-should-love-blogs-now-more-than-ever Why you should love blogs now more than ever , Mike Elgan (@MikeElgan@mastodon.social) on sharkey (source)” I saw Mike's post in my timeline, and it's referenced above. While I know some people hate AI with a passion, I agree that AI content has, for the most part, made the internet harder to enjoy. I agree with his post wholeheartedly, and maybe it will bring blogs - and hearing from people on blogs - back into the spotlight. There was a time when most blogs looked quaint and personal, reflecting the owner's personality not only in their words but in...
March 10th, 2026 blogging

My Blogging Platform Odyssey

A lone traveler embarks on a journey through a vibrant valley of blogging platforms, seeking the perfect path to share their voice and stories with the world. Okay, it has been one year since I joined Micro.blog and Scribbles.page, and just over a year since I joined Write.as. I thought I would review all three services with a clear winner, a hard can't wait for my subscription to end and won't be renewing, and a dark horse. I joined all three within months of each other looking to get rid of my InMotionHosting web host and get away from WordPress....
March 8th, 2026 review

Political Disillusionment

“⚠️ Warning: Political Rant” Okay, this is one of the few politically related posts I make each year because politics are so divisive. So here’s your warning: if you’d rather not read political commentary, feel free to stop here. The recent armed action against Iran has me conflicted. I believe it's more of a distraction and a pretext than a genuine strategic necessity. While the issues we face in America come from the neglect of both parties, Trump seems to be using these problems to his advantage. This situation should have been addressed years ago when Iran first began developing...
March 2nd, 2026 opinion

Better Health, Bigger To-Do List

A cluttered desk overflowing with DVDs, game controllers, and a computer setup highlights the challenge of balancing a busy to-do list with the pursuit of better health and productivity. I haven't blogged lately for several reasons. I have been feeling much better from my Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (I have blogged extensively about it in several past posts). I will just say my Camzyos and Metoprolol 200 mg ER twice daily seems to be working. I am sleeping at night and I hardly feel my heart symptoms anymore. The only lingering negative is a high heart rate most of the time,...
February 15th, 2026 personal

📺 Watched Fallout (2024) on Prime Video

⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS In the desolate wasteland of New Vegas, three survivors and their loyal dog embark on a perilous journey through a post-apocalyptic world where every step could be their last. My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5 stars) Episodes: 8 | Aired: 12-16-2025 This season answered a lot of questions and introduced a few new ones. But I actually liked this season better than the first season. I think they did the flashbacks much better this season, and this is thoroughly engaging and enjoyable entertainment. The one negative I would have is that this is not the first TV...
February 8th, 2026 review

🍿 Watched The Tank (2025) on Prime Video

⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: FULL SPOILERS My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ (3/5 stars) I thought it was partly a drama and partly a horror movie. It was engaging and it also made me think about how history repeats itself through some of its themes. It was two hours long and maybe about half an hour too long. Still, it was interesting, and it was sad in parts. A lot of what was portrayed in some scenes probably did happen. This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDb: https://www.themoviedb.org
January 19th, 2026 review

🍿 Watched TRON: Ares (2025) on Disney+

⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: FULL SPOILERS My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐½ (3.5/5 stars) A solid, if unremarkable, entry in the Tron series. Jared Leto stands out, and the plot introduces a novel twist: the digital world invades ours, spotlighting AI. It's a fine way to kill almost 2 hours. However, it's not worth a theater visit. Watching it on Disney+ is your best bet. This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDb: https://www.themoviedb.org
January 18th, 2026 review

Article I Was First for a Reason

This is your Content Warning: this is going to be a Political Rant Flexing the power of Article I, this bold graphic underscores the enduring strength and influence of legislative authority across diverse global arenas. Where is Congress while Trump talks like a king? I am going to let everyone in on a little secret. Congress, the Article I institution, is supposed to be the most powerful branch because it is closest to the people. Article I comes first in the Constitution and is the longest. The Founders had just fought a war against a king and were deeply wary...
January 15th, 2026 opinion

Finally, Great Heart News

Great news today at my follow-up with my hypertrophic cardiomyopathy specialist. Camzyos is really starting to work. My most recent echo earlier this week was excellent, and so was the heart cath I had in late December. In fact, the heart cath showed that Camzyos is working well enough that I do not need to rush into an alcohol ablation or a septal myectomy. If I ever do need an intervention in the future, my doctor said I would be a good candidate for septal alcohol ablation. I also told my doctor that, if at all possible, I would prefer...
January 9th, 2026 personal

🍿 Watched The Pickup (2025) from Amazon Prime

⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: MILD SPOILERS When the heist goes right: Meet the trio behind the biggest score of their lives in 'The Pickup'. My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ (3/5 stars) The Pickup serves as a pleasant diversion with its fairly engaging plot and commendable performances. The film is entirely a work of fiction. A notable concern, however, is the excessive crude language, particularly from Pete Davidson, which seemed unnecessary for its comedic aspirations. This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDb: https://www.themoviedb.org
January 4th, 2026 review

Happy 2026!

I just wanted to put up a quick blog post and wish everyone a Happy New Year. Let's pray and hope that God blesses us all. I'm looking forward to this year on many fronts. I want to continue getting my heart under control with my Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, do more self-hosting with AI, and learn more coding. This is also my 25th year of proper blogging (more posts coming on that later). With all the computing power I'm putting together, I'm hoping to learn more about web development, self-hosting, and becoming less dependent on big tech. I'm one year...
January 1st, 2026 personal

My 2025 in Review

Amidst a cascade of light and time, a visionary crafts his dreams for 2025, blending art and aspiration in his timeless sanctuary. I thought I would give a roundup from my point of view for 2025 and share some thoughts on 2026. 2025 brought so many new things for me. I left InMotion Hosting and WordPress after 9 years with them. I probably would still be with them if it weren't for three factors. First, they had given me a discount for three years, and when it expired, they would not renew it and offered me nothing. Second, they had...
December 31st, 2025 personal

A Day of Celestial Discoveries and Misty Mornings

Today was a peculiar yet fulfilling day. It started with a dense fog but cleared up nicely. I managed to capture the sun through my telescope for the first time, and I also spotted the moon in broad daylight, though the telescope had some trouble pinpointing it. I hope you find the images as delightful as I did. They were taken with my Zwo Seestar S30, except for the fog picture, which I captured with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. Driving through a foggy night, the world blurs into a mysterious haze of lights and shadows. Birds dance around the...
December 29th, 2025 photos

🎬 Watched The Fantastic 4: First Steps (2025) on Disney+

⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: MILD SPOILERS Embark on a thrilling journey with the Fantastic Four as they harness their newfound powers to save the world in their first epic adventure! My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐½ (3.5/5 stars) Overall, the movie was decent. The storyline and the cast were quite good. What I found less convincing was the attempt to merge the 1930s-1960s era with advanced technology and space travel. This combination didn't come across as believable. If retro-futurism was a deliberate choice for the society depicted in the film, it needed more explanation. This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed...
December 26th, 2025 review

Finally getting stuff done

This weekend was quite productive for me! I managed to put together the Pironman5 Max and install a 16GB Raspberry Pi 5, and I also moved my 1TB NVMe drive from my old 8GB Pironman5, which served my homelab and home server for a year. I've owned the Pironman5 Max since June, but my ongoing health issues had left me too drained to assemble it until now. Thankfully, my new medication, Camzyos, has really helped me regain some energy. Compact and mysterious, this sleek black box hints at high-tech secrets within, standing ready for its next mission. I'm planning to...
December 21st, 2025 hardware
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