mikerengel@bsky.social

Mistyped “database” as “databae.” Maybe I have too close of a relationship with my data.

Got a big old lump on the top of my head from where the vacuum cleaner handle cold-cocked me an hour ago. I was down on my hands and knees using the pet hair attachment on the upstairs hallway rug and it tipped over. That’s what I get for being thorough. Man vs. machine - machine takes this round

That is absolutely not how it works!

There’s nothing like Southwest Diner brunch with @gatewaygroupie.com to refill your soul tank! Julie you are a stellar human and I’m deeply grateful for your lasting friendship and perspective.

He really did it all the way in there! 😂

They’re truly skilled at thoughtless and reckless destruction. And not much else. The way greed and nihilism have metastasized in the right wing is depressing is all hell. There’s zero policy left, all it is now is smash and grab.

I’m glad to hear everything went as it should for once! Sorry you keep having to deal with these trials and tribulations.

My Sunday morning favorite for so many years! I still miss the tofu scramble, and the perpetually mismatched and totally endearing retro decor.

Volume 5, Issue 59: Watching Too Much Television "Nature really does weed out the nimrods."

My free weekly newsletter this week was about SNL50, and how "Saturday Night Live," for better or worse, is inextricable from one's life. I say this as someone who was born the actual day before the first episode. You should subscribe, you might like it. williamfleitch.substack.com/p/volume-5-i...

Thanks random person, I appreciate being seen.

I didn’t. I’m not sure that they have one anymore, sadly. They do, however, have two Auntie Anne’s at different ends of the mall!

Two American dudes hanging out at the mall, as you do. @bunnydelgado.bsky.social, how have we known each other for almost 30 years? This increasingly uncertain world feels a lot more certain with you in it. I’m grateful for you, your friendship & support, and for the time we can spend together.

the single most un-american and anti-constitutional statement ever uttered by an american president

Infectious disease, how do they work?

In nicer news, it’s Friday, there’s a new Manic Street Preachers album out, the sun came out for the second day in a row, and I picked up this box of cute little cakes for Susan for Valentine’s Day.

My new hobby, apparently, is yelling “fuck you!” At Cybertrucks whenever I pass or encounter one on the road. Maybe eventually I’ll graduate to writing “fascist” in the layers of winter dirt and grime they’re all encrusted in.

Wow, did I really need to listen to Wilco’s “Cruel Country” (album) this morning.

I’ve never had any desire to go back and experience American life in the Gilded Age, but here we are.

Feeling unmoored the past few weeks, but also doing my best to remember my own agency. Positive actions: gave blood; called my loser senators; signed up for two more volunteer shifts at International Institute (poor IISTL never hurt nobody); checked on friends; cooked good meals for my family.

“Talking shit about billionaires” seems to be a broadly popular mode of rhetoric *before* one of them became an unelected king. Weird more Dems don’t try it.

Our worst senator? And that’s saying something.

I’m sure only everything.

YouTube video by remhq R.E.M. - The Great Beyond (Official Music Video)

“The Great Beyond” was released as a single 25 years ago today. Check out the video, directed by Liz Friedlander.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_Jn...

Giant Panda Cam Watch the giant pandas at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo starting in January 2025.

in case you need it, the panda cam at the national zoo has gone live nationalzoo.si.edu/webcams/pand...

I watched the first episode in the series last night (auditions) and it was one of the handful of things that brought a smile to my face this week, too.

Gonna tell my kids this was Pet Shop Boys.

He’s inherently incapable of telling the truth.

Grab it and recharge as much as you can! I agree about January always being a test, even under the best of circumstances. 😰

Man, you just can’t win right now! Hope you see some lasting recovery soon.