Tag: Transplant

The Early Bird Might Be Sick

Although I will spare you the disgusting details as to why, I have been awake since 1:30 AM. No chance in hell exists that I can go back to sleep tonight so here I am at my computer keyboard.

 

David Banner (not his real name) wrote this in a comment: “Besides, what’s better than “School Days” these days?”

 

 

The title track from Stanley Clarke’s most famous recording, School Days, helped get me through my first year in college. When I read David Banner’s comment my brain immediately started playing the song. Maybe one day I will record his seminal bass solo from that song and post it here. In college, I remember being in awe of someone I did not know that well because he could play that solo.

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So, the Unitas post from Concours In The Hills 2023 was not the last from that event. The reason I showed this photo was unearthing this story on MotorTrend about the Pontiac Fiero. From the story:

 

“The car that would become the Pontiac Fiero was presented to the GM board as an economical commuter car as opposed to a sporty model, its two-seat setup billed merely as a way to keep weight down and fuel efficiency up. It was a successful pitch, and [Pontiac VP Bill] Hoglund was thrown $700 million for his new pet project.”

 

I have always thought that, reliability issues aside, the Fiero is the rare example of a design that obviously comes from a specific period and yet remains fresh through time. I know that some of these have been “adapted” to look like mid-engine Ferraris. I will never do this (so many CARS just one life), but I can imagine having an expert mechanic/craftsman putting a modern, relatively small but powerful engine into one of these. Of course, the brakes, suspension and chassis would also need upgrading.

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Thanks to my VPN subscription my wonderful wife and I were able to watch all 13 episodes from Season 3 of Transplant including the recently aired season finale. (Still, shame on NBC for not airing Season 3, but continuing to broadcast dreck like American Ninja Warrior.) I don’t know whether it’s because we watched the show on a 24-inch computer monitor instead of a 65-inch TV screen, the departure of John Hannah and his character from the show, or a combination of those and other things, but Season 3 just did not seem as amazing to me as the first two seasons.

Don’t get me wrong; we thoroughly enjoyed Season 3. The season finale seemed like just that and not a series finale. It was mid-February last year when CTV announced that Season 3 would be produced. Maybe Mark and/or Rubens Junior can weigh in, but my impression is that the show remains popular in Canada. I will be surprised if Season 4 is not made.

Whenever Transplant and The Good Doctor cease to be produced I will probably be done with current scripted network TV. I/we have been binge-watching The Great British Baking Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show via Roku. Watching the latter reminds me of how beautiful Mary Tyler Moore was.

 

 

Of course, The Dick Van Dyke Show could not be produced today as it was not politically correct or woke. What a shame…

 

#TheEarlyBirdMightBeSick

#PontiacFiero

#Transplant

#MaryTylerMoore

#somanyCARSjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

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Nothing In Particular Friday

I don’t have much today. Most of you will probably like this photo.

 

 

In late August the USPS issued these stamps. My wonderful wife purchased a set for me earlier this week.

I remember looking forward to these stamps being released; the fact that I/we didn’t buy them right away is yet another example of how time seems to speed up as one ages. “The stamps will be out in a couple of months.” “It’s been a couple of months since the stamps were released?!”

I’m sure I am not the only person who has amended the famous remark “Time flies when you’re having fun” to “Time flies whether you’re having fun or not.”

By the way, I do intend to actually use up to ten of these stamps, but doubt I will reach ten pieces of mail anytime soon. Like most people, I just don’t use “snail mail” very much.

I wouldn’t care if mail delivery were cut back to three or four days a week. Yes, I know that until 1950 mail was delivered twice a day. Things change, times change.

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Yesterday, I watched the Season 2 finale of Transplant for at least the 10th time. Can you say OCD?

The first two seasons are available, for a cost, on Amazon Prime. I was happy to pay what amounts to less than $2 an episode. I can no longer stream Season 1 on Hulu and may not be able to stream Season 2 anymore, either, but I haven’t checked since I can watch it on Prime. I can tell you, though, that I am not the only person who has searched for “Transplant Season 3” on Amazon Prime.

No official word has been issued by NBC whether or not they will air Season 3 in the US (the show is produced and airs in Canada). Of course, I have figured out how to watch those episodes, anyway. If NBC airs them I will certainly watch them again. What can I say? I just love the show.

 

Transplant (2020) HD streaming - Guarda ITA | AltaDefinizione

 

Above is a picture of the main cast for the first two seasons. John Hannah, second from left and you might know him from Four Weddings And A Funeral, left the show at the end of Season 2.

House, another TV obsession of mine and the show I usually describe as my favorite ever, was also a medical show. It was more cerebral and had better writing. Transplant affects me more on an emotional level (because I’m getting older?) and is written more realistically, in my opinion. The latter has already earned a place in my very small TV pantheon, I am not a big TV watcher, along with the aforementioned House, Frasier and The Big Bang Theory.

 

Have a great weekend.

 

#NothingInParticularFriday

#TimeFlies

#Transplant

#somanyCARSjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

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Moonday Mosings

For some reason, I like seeing the red squiggly underline beneath both words of today’s post title telling me the words are misspelled or non-existent.

 

We had heavy rain Saturday night and last night into early this morning. Neither event was forecast by the National Weather Service. Since we are in monsoon season, they will estimate the probability of precipitation at a cover their ass number of like 15%. If rain events are independent, then the probability of rain on consecutive days each with a 15% likelihood is just 2%, 15% times 15%.

On Saturday the rain began before “sunset.” (Once again, the sun does not rise and set.) The temperature of record at the time was 104° (40° C). An hour later, it was 77° (25° C).

In addition to the rain and strong winds we had vivid lightning, the like of which I have seldom, if ever, seen before. I don’t know if it’s due to our location, but sometimes we would see brilliant lightning that seemed right on top of us and not hear thunder, meaning the flash was far away. Other times, we would see bright lightning and hear thunder within a few seconds, meaning the flash was close by. Sadly, the exterior light was not enough for me to shoot any pictures or video.

The storm on Saturday night distracted me from something important, the Season 2 finale for Transplant on NBC. I love this show and it is certainly one of my favorite five or six TV shows ever. No, I am not damning it with faint praise.

I was sad at show’s end because no new episodes will air for awhile. The next morning I became even more sad after learning that, despite previous reporting, NBC has not decided if it will air Season 3. Transplant is actually a Canadian show broadcast on CTV. NBC decided to air it in 2020 while the damn virus was wreaking havoc on TV production.

Transplant is the most-watched and most-awarded scripted show in Canada and, obviously, will continue in production. Its Season 2 ratings in the US, however, were far worse than those for Season 1. The only bright spot, if you will, is that its ratings improved after it was moved mid-season from Sunday to Saturday. The bad news, of course, is that Saturday has long been considered the graveyard for prime-time programming.

I do not watch a lot of TV and almost nothing from the major networks, except football. I will be very disappointed if I can’t continue to watch Transplant. I continue to be appalled at what passes for entertainment.

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Chevrolet/General Motors have officially announced pricing for the soon-to-be released Z06 version of the C8 Corvette. The base MSRP for the coupe will be $106,395 and $113,895 for the convertible. Apparently, anyone interested can order theirs beginning on July 28.

It is extremely unlikely that anyone will be able to buy a C8 Z06 at MSRP. Dealer markups of $20,000-$35,000 would not surprise me. Thousands of people ordering the car will not surprise me, either.

 

Pricing for the 2023 Corvette Z06 Announced! Starting MSRP is

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From Why Evolution Is True is the Hubble Space Telescope photo of the week.

 

 

More from the post:

 

“This intriguing observation from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows a gravitationally lensed galaxy with the long-winded identification SGAS J143845+145407. Gravitational lensing has resulted in a mirror image of the galaxy at the centre of this image, creating a captivating centrepiece.

Gravitational lensing occurs when a massive celestial body — such as a galaxy cluster — causes a sufficient curvature of spacetime for the path of light around it to be visibly bent, as if by a lens. Appropriately, the body causing the light to curve is called a gravitational lens, and the distorted background object is referred to as being “lensed”. Gravitational lensing can result in multiple images of the original galaxy, as seen in this image, or in the background object appearing as a distorted arc or even a ring. Another important consequence of this lensing distortion is magnification, allowing astronomers to observe objects that would otherwise be too far away or too faint to be seen. . .”

Gravitational lensing was predicted by Einstein’s theory of relativity and that prediction is visually confirmed by pictures like this. Remember that Einstein had no computers, no calculators. Many of his theories resulted from “thought experiments,” mental exercises without the use of data, but that used deductive reasoning to reach a conclusion. In this post I asked where are the Einsteins of today. I think they would be hounded by the idiocy of woke, of faux equality. People may have equal rights under the law, but all people are NOT created equally.

Here are links to two other Why Evolution Is True pieces. If you are very religious, you will be very offended.

The Freethinker interviews Richard Dawkins

The faithful write in about my post on Intelligent Design

From the latter post, a reply to one of those comments and involving Albert Einstein: “As for Einstein, he believed in God as a metaphor for the laws of the universe. As I [Jerry Coyne] show in my book Faith Versus Fact, he didn’t believe in a personal god at all, and certainly not the Yahweh you are touting above. Einstein said as much. Do a bit of research!”

The word counter at lower left exceeds 870 so I will stop. As always, I welcome thoughtful comments and your recommending this blog to friends and acquaintances.

#MoondayMosings

#Transplant

#AlbertEinstein

#somanyCARSjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

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Where Are We Wednesday

If we’re Elon Musk, we’re probably in Texas. In this post I relayed the CNBC story that Elon Musk had told friends and associates he would be moving to Texas. Yesterday, this CNBC story reported that he has, indeed, moved to the Lone Star State. Everyone repeat after me: People Vote With Their Feet.

Musk might literally save billions in taxes by making the move. Why on earth would he stay in the People’s Republic of Calizuela?

“Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy; its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.”

– Winston Churchill

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I am surprised that I have not had more “Where Am I?” moments after the move. I am also surprised that I seem to be sleeping better. Of course, before the move our lives were quite stressful and now that the move has occurred, that source of stress is removed. Views like this don’t hurt, either. (Sorry about all the blacktop. Hey, photobyjohnbo, maybe you can give me some lessons in photo editing.)

 

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My wonderful wife and I have really enjoyed watching the first season of Transplant on NBC. The show is about a Syrian refugee who is a doctor and who has relocated with his younger sister to Toronto (Tronto as the natives pronounce it). Transplant is a Canadian production that NBC is showing to fill the void caused by the damn virus. The final two episodes of the first season aired yesterday.

The show has been renewed for a second season in Canada. We really hope NBC will continue to air Transplant even after US TV production returns to “normal.”

Those who know me and my obsession with House might want to know how I would compare the two shows. In a nutshell (I hear you, nut case is more appropriate), House was more cerebral and Transplant is more emotional. House was better written, but Transplant seems more realistic although the premise of House about a medical genius explains that distinction, at least in part.

From babytorrent.se a picture of the main cast of Transplant:

 

See the source image

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Long live UTZ potato chips!

 

 

The UTZ brand is not available in the supermarkets here. I tried the “generic” brand of potato chip offered by the store where I do most of our grocery shopping. (Yes, I always wear a mask and sometimes I wear a mask AND a face shield.) All I tasted was salt. I went online and ordered the “Vending Services Bags” from UTZ.

In 2001, Consumer Reports conducted a nationwide taste test of potato chips. UTZ won.

I used to have a semi-regular dialogue with Jim Schwartz, long-time NFL coach and a Baltimore native like me. Somehow, one of our conversations moved to Tastykake (a bakery brand familiar to those in the mid-Atlantic) and then Schwartz said, “To hell with Tastykake. What I can’t get here in Tennessee (he was on the Titans’ staff at the time) is UTZ.” When I told him he could order the chips online he sounded quite happy and I think he ordered a dozen big bags of chips.

I am quite happy that I can eat UTZ chips in Arizona. I guess the Internet isn’t all bad, after all. Oh, that awful tile will be replaced in January.

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I have written before that it was on this day in 1963 that Studebaker announced it was ending production in South Bend, Indiana where it had been producing wagons, automobiles, etc. since 1852. I will spare you long prose about the end of Studebaker and just show some cars.

 

See the source image

(From Mecum…)

 

See the source image

(From RM Sotheby’s…)

 

See the source image

(From a WordPress blog…)

 

(From yours truly…)

 

#WhereAreWeWednesday

#PeopleVoteWithTheirFeet

#SayNoToSocialism

#WinstonChurchill

#Transplant

#UTZ!

#Studebaker

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

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