who killed the electric car? movie

i watched a DVD movie just before midday, a purchase from a while back, 'who killed the electric car?' it was a documentary, narrated by martin sheen. i had seen it at the theater, probably at an arthouse theater like the lagoon. it seemed relevant again as i recall a super bowl ad from general motors last week about electric cars. some other famous people were in it, showing interviews with phyllis diller, footage of ed begley jr. at a 'car funeral' stand out, as well as mel gibson as he was an electric car owner. naturally documentaries will show politicians as well, there was one of (then) governor arnold schwarzenegger in an SUV as well as some presidents when it was relevant. this movie was from 2006, and if electric cars are more common now, then this is proof of how things have changed since this movie was made. i know i have seen some charging stations for these kinds of cars at various places, such as library parking lots. 

i didn't go outside at all today, as it is still cold, subzero weather. there was still things that i was able to get done inside, since i can go online. i had a card from a finance company about two of my 401-k accounts, and it said they didn't have a current email account on file. so i added one as well as my phone number when prompted. hopefully this means there will be less postal mail sent to me, as i was getting handbooks from them all the time. i didn't read them but i was still keeping them. i checked that i wanted things sent electronically. i watched some of a college basketball game that was on after the movie was done, michigan at wisconsin. then i had lunch and slept for a while, it was evening by then so i tuned into '60 minutes'. there was more about computer security. i tried to watch 'the simpsons' on fox but the daytona 500 race was on, there had been a weather delay. so i switched over to some reruns of 'big bang theory'.

 i also watched some youtube videos, where i finally had one question answered that had been bothering me for a while. i recalled one year where there was a patch on the uniforms of the LA Dodgers baseball team, it was during the strike-marred 1981 season. found out it was honoring the bi-centennial of the city of los angeles. although this is a reminder of how the history books can be written, where some anniversaries are not the whole story. wikipedia does say that the city was recognized as a 'pueblo' settlement in 1781, when the area was still under spanish rule. but the city wasn't incorporated until 1850, after the area was acquired by the USA due to the war with Mexico. another thing i did was join the 'web creators community' on twitter. i had seen a message when logging into this blog about it. while there i did clean house a little on what sites or people i follow. i added one and dropped six, a net loss of five. i am still a big believer in 'stressing quality'. i also did some more research about fish fries as lent is starting soon. most of them are carryout this year, no surprise there due to the pandemic. hard to say how many i will attend, but i think i will want to stress proximity as i do prefer those close to where i live and work. there was articles found online from the knights of columbus, as well as the st. paul paper, about who will have them this year. 

the quarry movie

 just before midday i watched a DVD movie, a redbox rental, 'the quarry'. i did not recognize any of the actors in it, but not a big deal. i am more interested in the story. it was about a drifter that murdered a traveling preacher, then assumes his identity, arriving in a small town in west texas. at first there is a language barrier for some, but a translator is found for those who only speak spanish. a baptism in a river is depicted. the church building is also where the court of law takes place. a thief, a cousin of the lady where the man boards, is accused of the murder that the man committed. and nobody listens to the accused when it is claimed that he is a liar as the man is the preacher. and the local cop has a relationship with the lady from the boarding house. somehow this became a compelling story. 

this was also a day of errand running. it started early as i wanted to get my car into the shop. found out why the tires were always low. i was told it was due to a bead leak. two were under warranty so it was under a hundred dollars to correct it. i watched 3 reruns of 'family ties' while waiting. some of those episodes i recalled better than others. the first one where alex is on a date with a lady that didn't fit his typical description of what he goes for, in a restaurant where the servers were dressed like candy stripers and their server was a bimbo. the second was where his dad's friend is going through a divorce and doesn't want his son being moved across the country. and when the dad talks with him in a bar, there was a gag about buster keaton. the third i recalled best, when alex was on amphetamines to study more for exams. i picked up one order at the post office and went home to watch the movie. i tried to log into the annual meeting for spire credit union, held virtually this year, but it must have just concluded although it was just 40 minutes into the 60-minute allotment. normally they give $25 to attendees but not this year, so no big loss. i knew there was a chance i would miss it due to my car being worked on, but i knew the car was more important. there was mention of how the meeting will be available on facebook and youtube later on if i want to see it. 

then i returned the movie at the gas station and got lunch there, the typical pretzel dog and a stick of cheese. i got a haircut in at sport clips as i had a coupon that was expiring soon, in a week. i figured that my college roommate would say i looked like a hippie if i didn't have it cut. when i got home the basketball game in fox was just getting started, the iowa hawkeyes were playing at michigan state. iowa won by 30. and there was more about luka garza going farther into the record books for the hawkeyes. there was one graphic during the game saying he is closing in on passing roy marble as the school's all-time leading scorer. according to the stats i found online, he is less than 50 points away so it will be soon. no mention yet of when or if the postponed game against nebraska will be made up, but it looks like that is not the only game the huskers have postponed due to the pandemic. notable about this game was how the network cut away from the game at halftime, to show the senate voting on the impeachment article against mr. trump. it was 57-43 in favor, but they needed two-thirds so it fell short. after the vote concluded, they went back to the game, and there was 5 minutes gone in the second half by then. i moved up the weekly visit to aldi for groceries as i had plans for the evening. during my walks for the day i found 25 cents. 

i went to farmington to see my college roommate. we had dinner and it was good, there was pasta and mushrooms in the dish. his lady friend was also there, i had sat next to her at a pro hockey game a few years back, on a night when i wanted to see my friend. the two started dating after both got divorced.  we played a card game called 5 crowns, hadn't seen it before. it was called this as there was 5 suits, the fifth being a yellow star. i had one beer from the six-pack i brought, a rolling rock, as well as one he offered me, it was called galactic cowboy. i enjoyed the banter during the game as i hadn't done anything like that in a while. in fact i showed up with a mask on as i was used to having to go anywhere now with it. a little trouble finding the place when i got close as it was weird suburban townhouse streets. and at times it was hard to see the signs to know where to turn. i found a better route when i headed home. hopefully another event like this will be done soon. it sounded like some others had to cancel out for various reasons, one of them being a brother, another a friend from college that i probably hadn't seen since my former roommate's wedding of 20 years ago. 

water fountain closed

 i went to hy-vee in eagan tonight for my weekly grocery order. i went to find a bathroom to run water on my fingertips after being out in the subzero weather and saw a water fountain near the bathroom. i took a glove off briefly to use the air station to get more air into two car tires. there was a sign up saying the fountain was closed due to covid. sign of the times i guess. it was a smaller order as i needed less, aided by of course finding the ten meals nearly a week ago. there is one left as i had the last of the four pancake meals this morning. at work i was able to get caught up again on getting checks through the envelope stuffer. also ran through two things for payroll- the pay stubs as well as some of the tax forms for illinois residents, the second special project. during my walks for the day i found 10 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends get high in the woods, while sheldon helps penny after she gets injured in the shower. it was followed by the one where penny had a scene on NCIS but it was cut, and sheldon was studying joke telling. according to the local news, there was a new structure of triple-A baseball leagues announced. there are two, but no longer known as the 'international' or 'pacific coast' leagues. just 'east' and 'west'. 20 teams in the east and 10 in the west. 

geico TV commercial- bagpipes

 every so often lately i am seeing a TV commercial from Geico with bagpipes in it. i like it because it reminds me of hearing bagpipes at canadian days in little canada. there are other themes that this company has had with their ads, but i like this one the most. others are of aunts, the band ratt, and neighbors in the act of fencing. not sure what songs are being played on the bagpipes, tried searching online and no answer was found. at work the expansion tray is on, a technician installed it and hauled away the other one. some check files arrived late and there wasn't enough time to get them out the door so it still means carryover to the next day. one file that normally sends us 20 per day, or sometimes nothing, sent nearly two thousand. i got the lion's share out but just under 400 are left. another file i got the overnights out but the other 500 had to wait. in the evening i got more air for the tires, hopefully the appointment this weekend will eliminate the need for having to keep going to an air station. also made it to the liquor store and have some beer for dinner with my college roommate this weekend. during my walks for the day i found 2 cents. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when leonard and penny argued and it drove sheldon to the comic book store. he said he should have asked for more than a robot and a comic book. it was followed by the one where sheldon retracted a finding. and raj was kicked out as a houseguest because howard and bernadette were fine 'half-assing' their marriage until he came along trying to make it better. 

expansion tray arrived

 around midday i got a call about a delivery of a 'computer', which didn't make sense. found out it was the expansion tray for the check printer. as usual, the truck went to the branch and i said i would go find them. it was on a pallet, and i decided to cut it off the pallet as this would make it easier to get inside. there was a small box that i also claimed, but otherwise the delivery man kept the wrappings. i used a hand truck, or appliance cart, to get it inside. now it means waiting for a technician to install it, looks like this may be happening on thursday. a technician was in the check shop to look at the envelope stuffer and there are more parts to be ordered. it runs well enough at this point to get things done so i can still handle my normal duties. since it would take a while for installation, i was asked what days are the lower volume days. it meant more than a thousand checks did not go out today, but hopefully it won't take long in the morning to get caught up again. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when the friends went out to fly kites, and leonard tried to watch football with penny's friends. it was followed by the one where leonard wears an itchy read sweater at the behest of sheldon related to an unreturned DVD. 

door passcode changed

 for the first time since i started just over 8 months ago, the door passcode to the check shop changed. i am told the codes are usually changed every 6 months, but due to the pandemic they are changed less often as there are fewer people onsite. somebody from facilities showed up, and it surprised me a little as i didn't hear anyone pressing buttons, so much less of an 'advance notice' on it. the new code was given to me for both doors, i said i am used to them being assigned. at first it sounded like i would be choosing the code. it was around midday, so what is typical for me when there are visitors who are doing an 'installation' i did lunch a little later as i wanted to be there in case they wanted me test anything. it was a busy day for me, trying to get caught up from the previous day and the typical high volume tuesday. i didn't quite eliminate the backlog but it is lower than it was, under two hundred checks to run. the first phase of the special project for payroll was completed as well in the morning, just over five hundred documents were run. then near the end of the day i was given more, for a different state, illinois. but this one is much lower volume. the one i did first was california. after work i got an appointment scheduled to have the tires on my car looked at as i am going to air stations way too often lately to fill them. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when howard is fixed up with bernadette. it was followed by the one where bob newhart makes a second guest appearance, this time sheldon and amy spot him at the pharmacy. bill nye the science guy also guest stars. 

re-program the folding machine

 the technician arrived in the afternoon to work on the envelope stuffer, or 'folding machine'. the parts were out on but before the tech arrived, there was another thing that happened. i was trying to re-boot it and then got an error. then it looks like the machine needed to be re-programmed. it is running slower than before, and still jamming, but i was able to get most of the checks out by the end of the day. there were still two files that could wait until the next day, and the special project as well. i didn't like having it unavailable for more than half of the day, but not much could be done about it. the tech this time was the younger dude that reminds me of the patrons i would see when i was going to concerts regularly. i was also asked for a phone number on instant messaging for a shipment, although i asked why. with a delivery usually they just show up and don't ask for a phone number. the 'big bang theory' reruns were when howard and raj tried to pick up ladies in a goth bar. i like this one because one of them, sarah, liked to say 'not that anyone cares'. it was followed by the one where bernadette is in quarantine after a raccoon virus scare and the friends go there to sing to her. part of howard's song to her mentions he'd still be living with his mom without her. i also did a virtual open-mic in the evening, i think the one that got the most attention was the one about cities that started out as military forts. since one performer spoke of considering doing the song 'istanbul' by they might be giants. one of those cities mentioned was new york. the flautist was interested in how des moines is a french name. and she performed 'titanium', i like that one.