Bradley's Old Fashioned Weblog

Category: General Updates

Commentary on people, places, things, the news, current events, etc.

  • Why I voted for Trump

    I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a political ad this uplifting before. Or that I’ve ever seen an uplifting political ad. This ad makes you feel good. It promotes the idea of leaving behind the fringe lunacy of online political discourse and coming back to a middle ground that advocates for something better, something normal, something genuine. And something that makes sense for the country as a whole.

    Thinking about Kamala’s campaign and how she constantly lied, from outright lies like working at McDonald’s to how she changed her accent depending on her audience, to her non-answers about any question other than if she came from a middle-class family, the difference between Kamala and Trump is crystal clear. I couldn’t even tell you what Kamala stood for because she didn’t know what she stood for, and she wasted over $1bn USD letting us know it. The only things that stood out about her campaign to me is her horrible irritating cackle, how Beyonce snubbed her, and her saying she wouldn’t change a thing regarding Biden’s presidency, which tells me that four years of Kamala would be another four years of Biden’s disastrous policies.

    Trump is what you see is what you get and, despite the lunatic ravings of the far left, what you get is a guy that wants to get the US back on track by securing our border, improving the economy, and by no longer pandering to far-left ideologies when it flies in the face of common sense. He can carry a conversation, make decisive decisions, isn’t afraid to tell it like it is, respects American traditions, and has charisma.

    We need the return to normalcy that Biden promised but never delivered. We need the government to work for the majority of Americans and to create a narrative that unites people, instead of promoting the divisiveness of identity politics. We need a President that recognizes all Americans as people united by common ideals and goals, instead of one that would promote the interests of one group over another based-on race, sex, or ambiguous gender identity politics. And we need a President that will govern based on the will of the majority instead of the crazed rantings of the very loud minority.

    I voted for Donald Trump because I believe that the United States is a country that can and should be proud of itself, despite its flaws. I believe that the United States is a country that should work on behalf of its citizens, instead of crushing citizens to take care of the rest of the world. I believe the United States is a place of opportunity and could be a place of prosperity again, if we refuse to let the Democratic establishment tear it down.

    I want a secure border instead of an open border so my family will be safer. I want prices to go back down so I can afford to put away money for the future. I want housing to be affordable. I want a strong military that doesn’t have to be used because we’re respected in the world. I want common sense laws, rules, and regulations where criminals aren’t hailed as heroes and victims are helped instead of being prosecuted. I want the rights of women to be respected and to not have their accomplishments taken away by men in cosplay. I want children to be allowed to be children without having their parents manipulate them into making life altering and debilitating medical choices.

    Trump was the obvious choice. I voted for Donald Trump, and I’m glad he won.

  • Personal reminder to live in the present

  • Enjoying the sun and warmth while it’s still here

    Hopefully this isn’t the last warm weekend we’ll see, but everyone was out enjoying the sun like it was. It was pretty warm if you stayed out of the shade. It was a great day for walking, cycling, and seeing the sites.

    We took a ride around the park, avoiding the top bit of the loop with that ridiculously steep hill, and took a few minutes to appreciate the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir before heading home. It was a nice, relaxing afternoon.

    I picked up a tripod for my iPhone to record with, but I haven’t found the right time or place to use it yet. Maybe next weekend.

  • JD Vance Interview

    The man is articulate, respectable, well-spoken, and knows how to carry and handle himself during a friendly interview and a hostile debate. I almost wish he was running for President now, and I’m pretty sure he’ll be the nominee in 2028.

    Do yourself a favor and listen to the actual debates and speeches. Put the TikTok down.

  • May I have some oats, brother?

    Been sick for a few days so I didn’t really go out and do anything this weekend. I did find some weird YouTube videos though, and here’s two of them:

  • New York City bike lanes aren’t turn bays

    A line of cars using the 12th Street “protected” bike lane at 3rd Avenue in Manhattan as a left-turn bay

    For some of these people, I wonder if they just didn’t know. There is an NYU dorm on this block and there was a lot of traffic being caused by people dropping off their kids who are about to start Fall Semester. I imagine a lot of them are from Upstate or Central New York and maybe don’t understand the significance of bike lanes. I get into this place sometimes, mentally, where I just assume that other people know things that I take for granted because they’re common.

    Maybe they were all playing follow the leader, with the “leader” being a TLC vehicle driver who should have known better. I hope he enjoys the ticket he’s going to get from the 311 report I filed.

    Also, shout out to the guy who was making a statement by sitting on his Citibike in the bike lane, blocking the cars.

  • Summer Streets Manhattan Ride

    Summer Streets is an event in New York City where stretches of road are closed down from 7 AM to 3 PM to regular vehicle traffic and are opened up to pedestrians and cyclists for recreational use. It started out on just a small stretch of 4th Avenue, but year after year more roads and longer stretches of road are made available for Summer Streets use.

    I almost missed it this year, but my wife reminded me about it when she went out riding last weekend and accidentally rode into the Summer Streets route and wound up riding the length of Manhattan down to and over the Brooklyn Bridge. This current weekend was the last weekend for Summer Streets in Manhattan so I made sure to get out there, even if only for a little while, to enjoy having the whole road open to ride around on.

    Whole road is kind of an overstatement, though. There were so many people out there on bicycles and walking and running that it was actually a bit crowded. It was still a lot of fun, though, and made me wish that Summer Streets took place every Saturday from 6 AM to 7 PM all Spring, Summer, and Fall long.

    I do have one more chance for Summer Streets next weekend, but it will be here in the Bronx on Grand Concourse. I’ve done a few organized runs up and down the route that has been selected for use, so it won’t be a new area for me, but I’m going to do it anyway because it’s rare to have a long run of space to use for cycling in such a dense urban area. I’m grateful for the greenways and bike paths in parks here in the city.

    That being said, it’s kind of exciting to ride up and down blocks in Lower Manhattan. There’s a lot to look at and experience when you’re out riding on your bike and it’s not as dangerous as it used to be if you stay on the side roads or in the bike lanes on major avenues.

    We finished up our Manhattan Summer Streets ride with a trip to Chinatown to have a late lunch / early dinner at Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles on Doyers Street. It’s a great place and if you haven’t been, I highly recommend it.

  • Sunday afternoon in Washington Square Park

    On the weekends, we’re almost always going out to do something active: chores, exercise, visiting family, eating out, etc. Yesterday, I had this idea in my head that I just wanted to get to a nice spot in a park and chill for a while. I could sit and read for a bit and take in the scenery. Instead of feeling pressed to do something, I could just lean back and relax and take in the sights and sounds around me, and that’s what I managed to do.

    My wife and I parked in the East Village and rode our bikes over to Veselka for brunch. Afterwards we rode over to Washington Square Park to look at the vendors and then we found a quiet spot in the shade, situated sort of behind the music stage area, to just sit and relax. The air was fresh, the breeze was cool, and it was pretty cool to be able to take in different types of music while reading on my Kindle. My wife spent her time sketching.

    Fun facts:

    • The house that Robert Neville stayed in (from the movie “I Am Legend”) is located on the periphery of the park near the arch.
    • Washington Square Park was used as a “Potter’s Field”, or burial site for poor people until about 1820 and over 20,000 people were buried there in mass graves, mostly victims of Yellow Fever
    • There is a 350 year old elm tree near the northwest entrance of the park that was used to execute ~20 thieves by hanging

    Overall, it was a relaxing success of an afternoon.

  • Getting there

    This is mostly Japanese language learning. I took a short break on Latin American Spanish but went back to Japanese.

    Next stop, 365 days. It’ll happen, because Duo threatens me daily from a widget on my Home Screen.

  • No. I want the sauteed string beans.

    Called a Chinese restaurant near my office after work to order food to pickup on my way home. The experience turned out to be extremely odd.

    “Hello. I’d like to place an order for pickup.”

    “Ok, what would you like?”

    “I want the sauteed string beans.”

    “You want the sauteed string beans with shrimp?”

    “No. I want the sauteed string beans.”

    “You want the sauteed string beans with rice?”

    “No. I want the sauteed string beans. I’m just trying to order vegetables right now.”

    “So, you want an entree of string beans? That’s $16.”

    “Yes. That’s fine.”

    “So, you want soft string beans with no garlic?”

    “What? No. I want sauteed string beans. You know what? Never mind. I’ll order when I get there.”

    After hanging up, I realized that I no longer had any desire to ever revisit the restaurant again. The string beans would have been part of a $70 order, but I wound up going somewhere else.

    Things didn’t go smoothly on that call either, though.

    “…”. Call answered but silence on the line.

    “Uh, hello?”

    “Yes. Hello.”

    “… I’d like to place a pickup order.”

    “Ok, sure. What’s your number?”

    [phone number that I’ve had for 13 years provided]

    “Ok. Is this Tracy?”

    “Uh, no.”

    “Mary? Are you Mary?”

    “No. My name is Bradley. Can I place an order?”

    “Sure. What would you like?”

    The order proceeded normally from there.

    On the way home, I had one person pull in front of me and come to a dead stop. I had two others pull in front of me and slow down to 7-10 MPH in a 25 MPH zone. Absolutely bizarre dinner ordering and evening commute experience.