Weird Dreams
I went to work, and the whole place had changed; I couldn't find my old work desk or a server connection to check on my databases. As others trickled into work, I didn't recognize any of them, but they seemed to recognize me. One of these colleagues pulls me aside and starts discussing a fluid mechanics problem. I've spent my adult work career as an IT academic and professional; why in the world am I discussing fluid mechanics, which I've never studied? It turns out (in this dream) somehow I've been drafted or traded into a new career, and the female manager, upset with my reaction, thinks she's gotten the worst of the deal.Actually since I left my last position (I haven't fully pursued a new opportunity because I'm still in the recovery phase after a medical procedure earlier this month), I did have a fairly unexpected query on a cybersecurity opportunity at the same local facility. But this was an unusual situation where they weren't so much interested in my database expertise as in my advanced math degree. I was less convinced I had the background they needed for the position; still, I wonder if that sparked this weird dream.
WWE Notes
The latest PPV, MITB, occurred last night, and I followed the results on a website I've followed for nearly 20 years. The signature men's and women's matches were booked in interesting ways that swerved me. At first, I thought the WWE was going to unify the women's belts when Becky Lynch won both in a title gimmick match at Wrestlemania. As soon as it became clear that Lynch would have to defend both belts at MITB against different challengers, it was obvious to me that Lynch would drop one of the titles. What I didn't expect was earlier women's MITB victor Bayley would cash in, taking Charlotte Flair's newly won title over Lynch.On the men's side Sami Zayn, who had won Braun Strowman's slot with the help of two other heels in an early TV match, got taken out in a pre-match altercation, with Strowman the obvious suspect. But long story short, it was Brock Lesnar who swooped in to claim the prize--a guaranteed title match over the coming year.
This is puzzling in several aspects. First of all, there's usually a guaranteed rematch clause, whereby Lesnar by all rights should have been able to cash in at MITB. The story was that Lesnar's limited appearance contract didn't give the title the necessary coverage, and Seth Rollins, who works nearly every TV show, would be better suited to hold the belt. Second, the guaranteed contract is often used to push a weaker contender to the title by cashing in over an exhausted or fallen champion (say, laid out by a post-match heel attack). :Lesnar is a legitimate contender for any title without the gimmick. It's always possible they could have Lesnar cash in on the WWE title currently held by Kingston. But it's fairly clear they are headed for a Rollins rematch, especially given the fact Rollins has been promoting himself as the Beast (Lesnar) Slayer.
In other matches, they took the US title off my favorite heel, Samoa Joe, in a cliche David vs Goliath match with cruiserweight Mysterio.. And once again they put Shane McMahon over the Miz, which is disappointing.
What has me puzzled is Bray Wyatt's new kids' horror show host gimmick complete with ghoulish hand puppets. I'm not sure how that translates into his wrestling persona. Of course, I fully expected Sister Abigail to appear as a separate character under his last gimmick, and that never happened.
Do I Have Trump Derangement Syndrome?
I can remember Trump promoting his potential candidacy on The Apprentice before the 2012 primary. The competitors quickly stroked his ego, although their motivation was obvious. I remember he got a couple of decent GOP primary polls, but I sighed relief when he took himself out of the running by signing a renewal of his hit TV series. It seemed he had been a perennial POTUS candidate since 1988. Although initially a registered Republican, he left to run a quickly-aborted race for Perot's Reform Party in 2000, registered Dem shortly thereafter, and then weirdly swapped in and out of the GOP starting around 10 years ago.It's difficult to know when or how Trump turned me off his candidacy even before his abominable bashing of Mexico opening his 2016 bid. He always come across to me as a self-promoting, egotistical snake oil salesman. He had no experience with the public sector. His views on trade had always been economically illiterate (bashing Japan vs. China back then), arguing other nations were freeloading off Pax Americana, yet unilaterally expanding the US military beyond defensive requirements. And he was pro-universal heathcare, out of step with Republicans which had sidestepped HillaryCare. It wasn't principled; it was based on a superficial understanding of economics and an expanded view of an imperial Presidency, a loose cannon and a dangerous one dictating terms to foreign governments.
I knew his signature issue of immigration didn't make sense--even if you bought into the immigration restrictionist view, there were more unauthorized aliens in 2007. On the other hand, we had an exploding national debt with Trump doing nothing over its cost driver entitlements. I've ALWAYS been pro-immigrant, pro-trade, and a fiscal conservative. Trump had little more surface knowledge of policy details, little more than bumper sticker soundbites. Plus a persecution complex.
I love my Mom, but I got pissed off at her forwarding Trump propaganda a couple of years back. She was really more anti-Clinton than pro-Trump. She ranted at me (I noted my Johnson vote was also against Clinton), saying I deserved none of the credit for Clinton's defeat.. She recently commented on my blog, "You really don't like Trump." Yeah, no kidding. And then when he attacks Justin Amash, one of my few favorite Congressman.... I despise his populism, I dislike his policies, I abhor his personal style.
