Pages

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Initial Impressions 2.0 #7: Parking Spots, Unknown Texters, St. Patrick's Day, etc

#7: Parking Spots



1. At most beaches there are parking spots for regular vehicles and then a few much longer spots meant for boat trailers. There is one beach on Cape Cod I go to where cars park in the boat trailer spots. Rather than park at the rear of the spot near the railing, I have seen many cars park near the front end of the spots. This leaves a good 10-15 feet of room behind the car. I have no clue why so many vehicles do this. It looks ridiculous, I am almost tempted to go park in the spot behind them as there is more than enough room for my car as well.


2. Got a random text from an unknown number saying they hadn’t heard from me for a while and were wondering how I was doing. Okay, for a split second, I thought maybe a friend had changed their number. When I asked who they were they responded that we had met at a party in Marlborough and that I had remarked on how pretty she looked in her red dress. Ha! Jokes on them I’m old and don’t go out partying anymore especially not over an hour from home. Buh bye, blocked.





3. My 91-year-old client, the oldest person I have ever trained, came in for our session without her cane for the first time. I was like a proud parent. She came to me because a physical therapist basically told her she was too old to better herself physically. A terrible way to treat someone and this client’s success will prove that therapist wrong.


4. Welcome to Cape Cod in the spring. Today’s weather? Temperatures anywhere from the 20s-60s, likely cloudy, foggy, drizzly, or maybe some peaks of sun, or maybe a freak snowstorm. Or maybe all of the above on the same day.


Clouds, sun, 40s, maybe rain, just spring on Cape Cod.



5. If you post something on social media and can’t distinguish between ‘to’ and ‘too’ or ‘there’ ‘their’ and ‘they’re’ anything else you have to say is white noise to me.


6. My return to Walmart yielded much better results. A woman asked an employee where the braces were. The employee said they were all in the next aisle over halfway down, on the left. Pretty straightforward. I was in that aisle actually looking at those braces thinking of getting one for my ankle for running. Anyway, the woman comes down the aisle, walks the whole way staring at the right side, never turns to the left, and walks away shaking her head.


7. My goal eventually is to turn these blogs into a sort of weekly video podcast. The thought was to use my DSLR camera to film and my podcast microphone. However, I can’t hook the mic into the camera so I need to now purchase an affordable camera to record, or just yell really loud throughout the podcast. We’ll see which makes more sense financially.


8. I have been single for several years and choose to stay that way. The main reason why is that I don’t want to be in a relationship just to be in one. Finding someone who is ‘better than nothing’ is an insult not only to me but to the person chosen. I’d rather be single than pick a body at random to fill a spot in my life.




9. At a beach in Wellfleet I saw a car with New York plates parked basically blocking the entrance to the sand in between 2 big No Parking signs. I asked if he saw them. He waited until I was back at my car to step out and say something. I calmly said, “The signs say No Parking, hold on let me get a photo of your car parked there with its license plate to share.” He left pretty quickly. With a hundred parking spots in the lot, the guy decided to park on the edge of the sand where erosion is a huge issue, jerk.


10. Is St. Patrick’s Day the holiday most associated with alcohol? It’s either that or Cinco de Mayo. It’s one or the other because loads of people who aren’t Irish or Mexican suddenly are all about it as a reason to get hammered and act like idiots. I think being 3 ½ years sober has me seeing those holidays in a different light and that’s coming from someone who is 28% Irish.



Subscribe to the YouTube Channel

Going to the Video Store In the 1980s & 1990s



In these days seemingly all things entertainment are at our fingertips. Things were far different 20+ years ago. Back in the 1980s and 1990s if we wanted to watch a certain movie we had to go out of the comfort of our home and visit a video rental store. Those trips to the video store were full-on adventures that made growing up back then special. In this segment from Episode 136 of the In My Footsteps Podcast we are going to look at the entire experience that was visiting the video store. I know I miss those days, do you? To listen to episodes of the In My Footsteps Podcast click here: https://inmyfootstepspodcast.buzzsprout.com/ Become A Subscriber to the Podcast on Patreon: patreon.com/InMyFootstepsPodcast Purchase a DVD copy of the Lady of the Dunes documentary here: https://www.oldies.com/product-view/1176D.html Purchase the new book Searching for the Lady of the Dunes written by 12th Generation Cape Codder Christopher Setterlund at https://theladyofthedunes.com/


Wednesday, March 13, 2024

In My Footsteps Podcast Episode 136: Friday Nights At the Video Store; The 17 Original Nintendo Games; Product Advertising Villains; Debut of COPS(3-13-2024)

 


Memories of when a trip to the video store was a must on a Friday night. What were the original games released with the Nintendo Entertainment System? How about the bad guys of advertising?
Episode 136 is chock full of all of that and more!
It begins with a time when renting movies was as much fun as watching them. In the days before streaming and on-demand features if someone wanted to see a movie they could either pick up TV Guide and hope it was on a channel they had access to, or they could get to the nearest video rental store and hope that there was a copy in stock. We will go way Back In the Day through everything that made renting videos in the 1980s and 1990s fun, and sometimes not fun.
When the NES was first released in 1985, a certain number of games could be played on the console. Surprisingly Super Mario Bros was not one of them. We go back to those early days of Nintendo to review the 17 original games that were available. How many did you play?
The vast majority of advertising mascots are positive spokespeople for their products. However, there have also been some villains whose job it was to try to stop us from getting access to said products. This week's Top 5 will focus on the advertising villains. Who would win in a battle of these baddies?
There is also a brand new This Week In History and Time Capsule centered around the debut and legacy of the COPS television show.
For more great content become a subscriber on Patreon or Buzzsprout!

Helpful Links from this Episode


Sunday, March 10, 2024

Initial Impressions 2.0 #6: Old Houses, Phantom Whistling, Dollar Store Love, etc.

#6: Old Houses



1. I live not far from where my Nina and Grampa lived for 20 years when I was growing up. I occasionally make the street part of my running route so I can see the house's exterior to bring back fond memories. This week I saw that it is in the process of being sold. It is far too expensive for me to do anything (as all houses on Cape Cod are), but I took solace in the fact that I could go onto Zillow.com and look at dozens of photos inside the house. It looked different than when I last stepped inside in 1993 but still familiar. The current owners did right by Nina and Grampa.


2. Despite living by the ocean pretty much all of my life, and despite having taken hundreds of sunset photos along the waterline at the beach, I somehow still can misjudge how far I am from the water when taking the photos. I went to take a photo of an amazing sunset this week at a beach in Harwich and to my dismay I was too close to the water and I ended up with water above my ankles and soaked shoes. Great photo though.


The water soaking my shoes as I got the photo.



3. I fell down a rabbit hole of looking at old covers of the ‘classic’ Weekly World News faux newspaper. If you don’t remember it from the 1980s and 1990s it featured things like Elvis and JFK being alive, interviews with aliens, bigfoot encounters, and of course the legendary Bat Boy. If you need laughs just Google it and thank me later.


4. It’s amazing how certain places remind you of certain people. Good memories are powerful. Thus I enjoy visiting such places, especially one specific beach that was the backdrop of several wonderful moments with a person that redefined my life. I might never get the chance to tell her that, but I know how important she was and that might have to be good enough.


Good memories aplenty here, always.



5. In Stop & Shop a pair of 20-something guys not so secretly asked some heavy guy in his 50s if he had any Adderall to sell them. Obviously loud enough that I could hear it walking by. Seriously, parents and kids shopping around them, they don’t care, they need their drugs. Three absolute losers, I could only shake my head.


6. I pulled up to a bank to use the ATM, a few seconds after a man in a truck pulled up closer to the bank and got the door before me. He was nice and offered to let me go ahead. I had several transactions to make and could have been a jerk and let him wait several minutes but I let him go ahead. It was a good week so I didn’t want to risk any bad karma.


7. Walking around the frozen section of the grocery store there was a funky song playing. I could hear someone in the next aisle whistling loudly to it. When I got over there I still heard the whistling but couldn’t tell who it was coming from. A guy working there seemed to be the source but his mouth wasn’t moving or looking like he was whistling. So of course I had to get right up next to him to find out because I guess it was that important. Yes, it was him and he smiled and nodded. Finally, I could go about my day with this important question answered.


8. I think I have crossed over into one of those people who love dollar stores. I went into a local Dollar Tree looking for one thing for a costume party I was going to. I found that quick but then spent 10 minutes wandering the aisles and leaving with an armload of things and only spending $10.


I might be this person now.



9. Can we just get rid of Daylight Savings Time already? Losing an hour of sleep in a snap is not something I enjoy especially when sleep is one of my favorite things. Maybe if we do Work Savings Time where we lose an hour of work? While still getting paid for that hour of course.


10. Sure anybody can decorate their house/yard for Halloween or Christmas, but I have to tip my hat to those who go all out for other holidays like St. Patrick’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and Easter. That’s true dedication to celebration.

Dedication to celebration(AI Image)



Subscribe to the YouTube Channel

Famous 1980s Urban Legends: In My Footsteps Podcast Episode 135



Dangerous foods. Faked deaths. True song meanings. Curses.

Children of the 1980s likely can vividly remember some of the urban legends they were told about. Whether infamous or innocuous these stories fascinated some and scarred others.
In this segment from Episode 135 of the In My Footsteps Podcast we look at ten of the most well-known urban legends that those who grew up in the 1980s might have heard about. Which of these did you think was true?

This video contains images created with the help of Bing AI. It also contains some videos and images from Canva Pro. 

End Music: Local Elevator by Kevin MacLeod 

To listen to episodes of the In My Footsteps Podcast click here: https://inmyfootstepspodcast.buzzsprout.com/ 

Become A Subscriber to the Podcast on Patreon: patreon.com/InMyFootstepsPodcast 

Purchase a DVD copy of the Lady of the Dunes documentary here: https://www.oldies.com/product-view/1176D.html

Purchase the new book Searching for the Lady of the Dunes written by 12th Generation Cape Codder Christopher Setterlund at https://theladyofthedunes.com/



Wednesday, March 6, 2024

In My Footsteps Podcast Episode 135: The Goonies Made Me A Writer; Urban Legends 80s Kids Remember; Music From MTVs First Day(3-6-2024)

 


The Goonies as writing inspiration. Urban legends 1980s kids will remember. What music played on MTV's first day?
Everyone has their origin story, how they ended up where they are or doing what they are doing. In Episode 135 of the podcast, I share my story of how I first got interested in being a writer. It goes all the way back to 2nd Grade, my favorite teacher ever, and a surprising inspiration, the movie The Goonies.
Kids who grew up in the 1980s get ready for some major flashbacks. We go way Back In the Day to look at urban legends that kids from the 80s will remember. Some are silly old wives' tales, some are much darker and serious, and all are in this segment.
At 12:01 am on Saturday, August 1, 1981 MTV made its grand debut. Everyone likely knows the very first video ever played on the channel (hint: Video Killed the Radio Star), however, what came next? This week's Top 5 will look at the rest of Day One and the most-played musical artists during MTV's first 24 hours.
There will also be a brand new This Week In History and Time Capsule centered around the introduction of the pain reliever aspirin by the Bayer company.
For more great content become a subscriber on Patreon or Buzzsprout!

Helpful Links from this Episode

Listen to Episode 134 here 

Saturday, March 2, 2024

Initial Impressions 2.0 #5: Self-Checkout, Mutant B.O., Hidden Coyotes, etc.

 #5 Self-Checkout


1. I was at a self-checkout in a grocery store. All of the scanners were full and most of them needed some assistance including me. An older lady(70ish) was standing at the entrance to the self-checkout alcove holding only a newspaper. The employee in charge of that area repeatedly asked her to come over so she could get checked out before they went to assist with the rest of our checkout issues. For some reason, the older lady didn’t want to go over to the extra register. It ended up being like a person trying to feed a wild animal, coaxing it with food, before the employee finally gave up and flat out said in frustration ‘Why won’t you just come here?’ By the time I was finally helped all of the other people at the self-checkout had been helped and that older lady with the newspaper had also left before me.


2. Pulled in the driveway where I live after dark. The homeowners had just gotten home before me. As I walked from my car across the front yard they turned on the outside light. That was enough to light up a coyote standing twenty feet away next to a tree. Luckily my freaking out to get my keys scared it away, but if the lights hadn’t come on maybe I’d have been its chew toy.


Don't worry, it's just me.



3. Did you know there’s no such thing as a seagull? Growing up on Cape Cod I had always called the gray and white birds that live by the water (and dumpsters) seagulls. In fact, most people call them that. However in reality they are herring gulls and there is no such thing as a bird called a seagull. Crazy. Here’s its ID page: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Herring_Gull/id


4. It’s still amazing how much warmer 50 degrees in February feels as compared to 50 degrees in July. One day this week it was sunny and 55 on my way to work and all I thought as I stood on the beach was that I must really like my job because it was a perfect day to suddenly have a 24-hour bug.


Over 50 degrees at the beach on Cape Cod in February hits differently.



5. Had my first infrared sauna experience this week. 28 total minutes in 140-degree heat. I sweat buckets which basically meant I had tons of toxins I needed to get rid of. Also fun fact, my iPhone stayed with me in the sauna (intentionally) and didn’t blow up, so that’s a bonus.


Man it was hot inside that sauna.



6. Getting on the highway I was stuck behind a blue minivan with New York plates. The big issue came from the huge sheet of plywood on the roof. It definitely got a little wobbly the faster they drove. I didn’t want to end up in one of those Red Asphalt driver’s ed videos so I passed them before the plywood could fly through my windshield and pop my head off like a dandelion.


7. I found an old journal I kept during my time living in Las Vegas in 2000-01. It’s amazing to look back now at 46 to the daily thoughts from when I was 22-23 years old. Some problems were definitely not problems. Some obsessions made me laugh and shake my head. I’m about halfway through it and at times I feel like the narrator answering questions I was asking then. Overall a good trip down memory lane.


8. The latest ‘my life is like an episode of Seinfeld’ moment. Remember the guy with the terrible B.O. in Jerry’s car? Where the smell stayed long after the guy left? At the gym, there is a man whose B.O. pours out of him, even through a thick sweatshirt. It is so bad that the stink cloud hovers over the treadmill he uses long after he leaves. Like Jerry says it’s mutant B.O.


Only slightly exaggerating how bad the B.O. was



9. I finally bought myself a new Blender shaker bottle. They’re great for protein shakes and mixing other drinks for exercise, etc. Anyway, I don’t know what the lifespan is on those bottles but I believe that the one I just threw away I had for 12-13 years. Is that too long? If it is let me tell you about a few gym towels I have that are about the same age.


10. Have you ever not heard a song for many many years and then you listen to it and it instantly puts your mind back to where you were when you were listening to it a lot? I had that happen the other night with a song from the band Live. I hadn’t heard the song in well over 15 years but as soon as it started playing my brain went back to 1997 and the lyrics flooded my head. Music is so powerful.


Subscribe to the YouTube Channel