Ara Ara, Robzilla!

The good news: I have become quite adept at separating Juan "El Rubio" Strickler from his most prized possessions. This afternoon it was a pink diamond and a duffel bag filled with cocaine and some loose cash in his safe. My cut, including the $50,000 elite bonus, was quite a haul. Also this afternoon... We did so much to improve the property during the past year, so you can imagine how pissed off I was when I discovered this a few hours ago. I hope those little fuckers drown tomorrow, and if they don't the pest control company will arrive on Friday to help remedy the issue, weather permitting.

 ... Felt Like The Day's Events Were Surreal As I write this, it's the morning after one of the weirdest days of my life. I'm still in shock over two events that happened simultaneously.  For awhile, my brother wanted a new car. I warned him over and over that when I go car shopping things happen quickly, so quickly that it would snap his neck. He still didn't heed my warning by the time I visited the dealership yesterday morning. I'll summarize the events below: 10:15ish - I visited the dealership, put down a $500 deposit on a specific vehicle and then waited for it to be transported from another location. 12 noon - I called one of my banks and moved some money around so there would be an adequate amount in my checking account. 2:00 pm - My brother and I visited the dealership to look at the car and test drive it. While I was in the backseat, I debated whether or not to trade Akeno in (!!!) to buy the car for myself if he didn't want it. 3:30ish - We signed the

  Remember the flooding and mudslides that affected my city last week? I discovered to my dismay that we're going for Round Two with Mother Nature on Thursday and Friday. I expect to be okay, but as you can imagine it will disrupt my life for a bit until the rains stop. For now, I want to concentrate on things that make me happy like my ongoing weight loss. Then there's my GTA Online character in an outfit inspired by Aoi Miyamori from Shirobako . She's in the moon pool inside her submarine, where we launch The Cayo Perico Heist. The moon pool has two levels. The top level opens up to the surface and allows that helicopter to fly wherever she needs to go. Below that is a fancy submersible that goes quite far underwater. It must be nice to have $42 million in the bank, own several properties and have an 80+ car collection.

WHAT’S ON MY MIND My health. I rushed to urgent care last Saturday night for something, and I had blood drawn during my visit. I thought this health scare was behind me but I literally just had more test results added to my file while typing this. I’ve now had 30+ tests done so far, and the only abnormal result can be explained by me taking Bayer for muscle soreness from doing yardwork the prior day. Whatever I saw on Saturday evening has pretty much cleared up on its own, and I was never in pain or discomfort at any point in time during the past week. I believe I’m fine, and to keep my sanity I’ll continue to believe that until they tell me it isn’t. WHAT I ATE Spicy tuna tacos. I’ve been craving spicy tuna rolls and fish tacos lately, but due to the carbs I really shouldn’t have either of them. My kitchen creativity resulted in a unique taco experience that doesn’t qualify as a cheat meal or required cooking. Therefore, I’m free to eat them for dinner at any time. I’m assuming they’l

  Remember that Ford Mustang I raced in Gran Turismo Sport and Gran Turismo 7? The one with Hatsune Miku on the hood and sides? This past week, I decided to switch Beemers now that racing season is upon us.  The Z3 I've been racing for the past few months has been swapped out for a newer M6. I'm happy to report the M6 is a full second faster around Daytona's road course than the Z3 when I tested it out the other day. I might even be able to squeeze another half second of its current best time with a few suspension tweaks. This result also means I have to create a new livery for the car. I found that recreating the one I had for the Z3 would not work out for the M6's unique body shape, so I used the Mustang as inspiration for this... I'm still thinking about adding a pink stripe with white trim on top. It would run along the bottom of the doors where those logos are. I borrowed the Mustang Shelby GT500ish stripes from the Ford and then applied them to the M6. I think

When I play GTA Online, one of my favorite non-violent activities is having my character cruise around Los Santos while listening to music on the radio. There's this Motown station I love that's called The Low Down. It's hosted by none other than Pamela "Mama" Grier, and one of the songs she plays is "California Soul" by Marlena Shaw, who sadly passed away recently. Here's to Marlena, a good song, and good times.

I'm posting a quick note to let y'all know I'm fine. However, there are a lot of people in the San Diego area that are not. I suspect you'll see or hear about how Interstate 15 was flooded under several feet of rain and mud in such a brief amount of time. Or how one neighborhood was overwhelmed with knee deep water and mud. This storm is easily the worst I've ever seen it rain here. My thoughts are with everyone affected, and if the Amazon driver does manage to arrive tonight with my order I'll tip him like it's Christmas. I used to deliver pizza when I was in college, so I know firsthand what it's like to drive when there's heavy rain and winds strong enough to hurl trash cans in the air. It's no fun at all, so I do not envy anyone that has to be on our roads this afternoon and evening.

WHAT’S UP WITH MY HEALTH I lost 2.8 pounds. I’m assuming I retained water during last week’s weigh in for that to happen. I did not work out this past week, but I did yard work twice. Yesterday’s session lasted about ninety minutes so I slept well last night. WHAT I ATE Later today I’ll do some experimentation in the kitchen. I’ll talk about that next week. WHAT I BOUGHT A wicker fruit basket. It’s small enough to put in the center of my dining table and I can store up to three to four days worth of apples and roma tomatoes inside it. At least one of us finds that exciting. WHAT I LISTENED TO None of the recent guests on Smartless piqued my interest. Moving on… WHAT I READ ON MY PAPERWHITE The Girl I Saved On The Train Turned Out To Be My Childhood Friend , Volume 5. I really enjoy reading this Japanese light novel series even if the writing style would never see the light of day with a traditional American publisher.  WHAT I WATCHED Football. Even though most of the remaining teams a

WHAT’S UP WITH MY HEALTH I have another head cold, or maybe I never shook off the one I had last week. I'm not sure. I’ve taken Airborne every night since Wednesday to pump up my immune system. Other than the occasional Ricola cough drop I'm managing my symptoms just fine, but I miss working out.  I only lost 0.6 pounds this week. I had to increase my caloric intake a bit to combat this cold, but I think the real culprit was those “zero net carb” tortillas. I can’t believe I fell for that marketing bullshit when I already know highly processed carbs aren’t good for us. WHAT I WASTED $20 ON Black Rifle Coffee's Kodiak Attack. You figure a bag of coffee that has a growling grizzly bear printed on it would put hair on your chest, but the brew was weaker than Target branded toilet paper. After I threw the bag in the trash, I felt like I needed to grovel to a bag of Peet’s Major Dickason's Blend for forgiveness. WHAT I FELL IN LOVE WITH FOR ABOUT $200 A cordless Black &

 ... Pondered The Evils of Social Media I've been sitting on some wonderful news since about three o'clock yesterday, so I have to get this off my chest before I resume editing my novel. I had my specialist appointment yesterday and I was floored by the news I received. Now that my numbers are stable, they told me I'm no long required to meet with them and that they really don't have anything to teach me. They also stated I'm no longer required to test myself twice a day or at all. If my blood work remains stable when I'm tested again at the end of March my hidden disability will be in r-r-r... Yes, I can pronounce the word remission. It was just shocking they brought it up first. Anyway... They were so impressed with what I've done they want me to be featured in the hospital's newsletter. If this were two decades ago, back when social media was primarily used to connect with friends and family, I would have been delighted to become famous. My health car

A few years back, when Tang Satan was better known as Orange Foolius, I was moved to buy a token from MyIntent. I immediately put it on a 28" silver rope necklace but admittedly I haven't worn it in quite some time. I stumbled upon it while rummaging through my jewelry box for a Fitbit sports band the other day, and I've been wearing it every day since. Sector 2814 . Sassybear is likely the only one who knows what this means so I'll give y'all a brief explanation. In DC Comics's Green Lanterns , the galaxy is broken up into different sectors. Earth and its associated planets, both real and fictional, are part of Sector 2814.  While Sassy is like Hal Jordan and his power ring glows green for law and order, I'm more like Guy Gardner and my power ring is crimson red with fury. I'm no villain, but I'm not above getting my hands a little dirty if it's for a good cause such as protecting others. Even though I've mellowed with retirement, being a R

It’s a new year, and I thought I’d bring back two of my favorite comics ladies for my weekly post header. Here’s Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. Or is it Veronica Lodge and Betty Cooper? The panel is from the hilarious 2017-2018 crossover miniseries Harley & Ivy Meet Betty & Veronica, when the foursome were body switched during a Halloween Party. — Robzilla WHAT’S UP WITH MY HEALTH I lost 2.8 pounds this week and my BG numbers remain stable.  While that is good news, the better news is how my body is handling illness. On Friday afternoon, I had a sore throat. Now that I'm off medications, I took Airborne that afternoon and once again on Saturday morning. As I write this, I'm glad to report the sore throat is gone and I have no other cold or flu symptoms. Let's hope it stays that way. WHAT I ATE Steak street tacos. Instead of talking about them, I decided to make them for dinner this weekend. I used sriracha flavored “zero net carb” flour tortillas, spread a layer of av

  Please forgive the poor lighting. I snapped this photo before sunrise, and a few hours before thunderstorms might hit where I live.  Recently we've had some landscaping improvements done that have given my humble abode some curb appeal. There's a new block wall that borders the public sidewalk, so mud no longer needs to be scooped back onto the former Ice Plant Hill once the rains stops. This sidewalk, and the mulch that borders it, is also brand new. Once it's completed it will encircle the building. There's still more work to be done on the property in the coming weeks, but I'm thankful that my days of killing copious amounts of weeds for hours on end every week in the Winter and Spring are over. 

  New Year's Eve wasn't a quiet affair. People in the 'hood started celebrating just after I had dinner, so the annual game of "Ruger or Roman Candle" played out from seven o'clock until about twelve thirty. My guess was people were blowing up M80s and roman candles throughout the evening. Luckily, the only police sirens I heard were the ones my GTA Online character created while driving this vintage supercar based on the legendary McLaren F1 . I'm glad 2023 is in my rear view mirror. The first nine months were marked by death. Terri. Torrie. My old self. The last three months saw a resurgence of my very old self. The one that was full of optimism, ate right, and exercised on a regular basis. I already know 2024 will be a better year. When I was considered svelte, back when I played hockey, I was like a sawed off linebacker on skates. Without giving numbers, my goal is to get down to close to my old playing weight. I don't think I'll look like I co