Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Weekend Update

Ah, the weekend. It's what everyone is working for. Sometimes you're busy with lots of activities. Sometimes you can relax and unwind. Maybe sleep in. The sleeping in part never happens for me. On Saturday morning, I woke up a little after 3:00 thanks to hearing Lucy throw up. After cleaning it up with a carpet stain removal, I went back to sleep...only for Lucy to again wake me up at 5:00 because she wanted food. I love this cat, but she is so annoying. And as I’m typing this she is scratching the couch.

Okay, enough about Lucy. Let’s get to some good stuff.

The big highlight of the weekend was taking my boys to a card show. My dad took my brother and me to card shows regularly when I was in middle school, and I actually sold cards several times at the Eastland Mall Super Flea in North Versailles, PA. I love the atmosphere of card shows. For sports cards (since I skip over tables with Pokémon and non-sports cards), many people love to talk about certain cards or teams or players. At this particular card show, I learned why a guy who grew up in Northern Virginia is a Bills fan. I bought myself a $1 Bryce Eldridge card since I saw him play at Madison High School in Northern Virginia, and I hope he has a long and successful baseball career. This led to a discussion about ultimate frisbee with a father and his teenage son who plays ultimate frisbee with some guys from Madison HS. And I bought a Konnor Griffin card because why not.


The Moose bought several cards that might be valuable in the future, but for the most part, they bought cards of players they like or cool cards. For example, Pedro Tulo bought himself a Detroit Pistons Rodney Stuckey card since it included part of his jersey. While it’s a neat card, I doubt there’s a huge resale market for Rodney Stuckey cards. We did not consider getting a Lamine Yamal card for $15K or a Victor Wembanyama card for $8K. Someone else was trying to sell a signed drumstick by Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. One guy I met named Nicholas creates his own cards via Near Mint Customs. While we talked about the absurdity of Enes Kantor declaring for the WNBA draft (he was selling some of these cards that he made), I really liked his "What If" series (though Russell Wilson should have been in an Orioles or Rockies jersey since those MLB teams drafted him).


I went out to a really nice dinner the other night and mentioned that I’m seeing the Foo Fighters on Monday night. (Future blog post?) When asked who was the opening acts, I replied Queens of the Stone Age and practically had to whisper Mannequin Pussy. At a quiet, fancy restaurant, not quite the environment to say that name loudly! Actually, this was probably a missed opportunity to say the band name loudly!

Wegmans is discontinuing its mac and cheese boxes. I don’t know why. The grocery chain should really inform me of any actions taken. Anyway, did I buy 10 boxes for 26 cents each? Absolutely. I figure that I might make a box or two and I can donate the rest at an upcoming food drive.


When I was in 5th or 6th grade, my dad put a pair of red sweatpants in the washer with whites. All of my whites turned pink. At that point, I decided it was time to do my own laundry. With The Moose about to start his sophomore year in high school, he should have at least done some of his laundry years ago. Still, he did his first load of Sunday.

When the kids were away at camp, we ran the dishwasher twice a week at the most. Now that they’re home again, we’re back to running the dishwasher every day or two. So many cups get used by them!

It’s Dad Camp week, so more about that to follow.

Friday, August 07, 2026

Random Ramblings: August 2026

I'm really enjoying The Pitt. It's non-stop action, and I'm amazed how well the actors just spout off medical terminology. I guess that's why they are really talented actors. Sure, maybe they don't need to show all of the blood and gore, but I sense that this is a fairly realistic look at a busy emergency room. Completely related, I plan on donating blood again soon. 

The other day, I went on Facebook using my Sean's Ramblings profile. I follow/like dozens of people, companies, etc. In scrolling through my feed, the first 63 entries were either sponsored posts (meaning ads) or something that "matches my interests." 63! How about showing me posts for something that I follow?!?!

I saw Styx and Chicago play recently. Definitely worth the $20 Groupon tickets. The only negative was there were no Terrible Towels or Steelers celebrities for Renegade. 


Did you know that geese hiss? I've mentioned numerous times that one of my favorite summer activities is taking walks on our neighborhood golf course after the golfers finish for the evening. I regularly see deer and foxes and geese on these walks. Recently, while walking on the cart path, I said "hey guys" to a group of geese who were eating and walking on the grass next to the path. My thought was that I wanted to announce myself and not startle them. In response, one goose lifted its head from the grass, looked directly at me, and hissed. I walked right by and didn't look back until I was a safe distance away!

Sheffield Wednesday plays its first match of the season in the first round of the EFL Cup on Saturday. There's some optimism for the season under new ownership since anything has to be better than last season when the team only won league matches. Still, I'm not ready for the season to begin or seeing Wednesday play League One matches against teams like Leyton Orient, Burton Albion, and Doncaster. Feel like it's going to take a few years for Wednesday to get close to getting back to the Championship League. And I'm not sure if they'll ever get to the Premier League.

My dentist asked me to see a periodontist for receding gums, and I put it off for years. I finally went, and the periodontist says that I need to have tissue graft surgery. I'm not going to get into details, but this all seems ridiculous to me. I feel like receding gums and graft surgery is something for people who are AARP members. Uh oh.

Finally, the best way to end any blog post is with Cookie Monster.

Monday, August 03, 2026

The Return of Sean Analyzing Song Lyrics

In the earlier days of this blog, I occasionally wrote posts where I pointed out and analyzed various pop song lyrics. While it turns out that I haven't done a post about song lyrics since 2019, now seems like a perfect time to bring back a classic.

Stella Lefty - Boston

On a train back to Boston and we're jumpin' the gun
And I'm tellin' you, baby, this the part where I'd run
But I like it when you're nice, like it when you're nice to me

Like it when your partner is nice to you? That seems like a fairly low bar.


Bella Kay - iloveitiloveitiloveit (Video NSFW due to language)

I love it when we fight and I like it when you’re mean.
We don’t have to get into what that says about me.

My apologies to Ms. Lefty. Maybe nice isn’t such a low bar.


Ella Langley - Choosin' Texas

This is the song of the summer and will likely be the song of 2026. And sure, most people think that this song is about an ex-boyfriend of Langley who decided to return to another woman in Texas. But what if this song is about something else entirely? I've included the entire lyrics to the song below. It definitely hits differently if you picture the song from the point of view of the University of Tennessee football program and its fans lamenting its loss in attempting to recruit quarterback Arch Manning, who chose (the University of) Texas!

Just when I thought I got him to fall in love with Tennessee
I shoulda known better than to take him back to Abilene
I put him right back into her arms
I wasn't a match for that kinda spark 

She's from Texas, I can tell by the way
He's two steppin' 'round the room
And judgin' by the smile that's written on his face
There's nothin' I can do

It doesn't take a crystal ball to see
A cowboy always finds a way to leave
Drinkin' Jack all by myself
He's choosin' Texas, I can tell

Well, I guess he forgot about the Smoky Mountain rain
Them old Hank tunes, the Memphis blues we used to sing
He always loved Amarillo By Morning
I shoulda taken that as a warning

She's from Texas, I can tell by the way
He's two steppin' 'round the room
And judgin' by the smile that's written on his face
There's nothin' I can do
It doesn't take a crystal ball to see
A cowboy always finds a way to leave
Drinkin' Jack all by myself
He's choosin' Texas, I can tell

When I'm eastbound and down and I can't help but cry
'Cause I-40 gets lonelier with every mile
I'll know that his mind wasn't ever gonna change
'Cause his heart still belongs to the Lone Star State

She's from Texas, I can tell by the way
He's two steppin' 'round the room
And judgin' by the smile that's written on his face
There's nothin' I can do, nah, yeah
It doesn't take a crystal ball to see
A cowboy always finds a way to leave
Drinkin' Jack all by myself
He's choosing Texas, I can tell, no

Drinkin' Jack all by myself
He's choosin' Texas, I can tell

Come on, baby
Oh, yeah
Just when I thought I got him to fall in love with Tennessee


Niall Horan - Tastes So Good

I freeze
When you're not swimming in my bloodstream

I don't know what this means, but no one should be in your bloodstream. Oh, unless it's like an Osmosis Jones situation.



Sabrina Carpenter - House Tour (Video is iffy but lean towards NSFW)

The couch is really comfy comfy
Got some Chips Ahoy
If you're hungry hungry

I'd love to know if Chips Ahoy is sponsoring this song. Like did they pay Carpenter $1 million for the product placement? Oh, Chips Ahoy cookies are meh. Now, chewy Chips Ahoy cookies are legit!


Olivia Rodrigo - the cure (video NSFW for one word)

But my head if full of poison
And my heart is full of doubt
I got toxins in my bloodstream
You tried hard to suck them out

Toxins in your bloodstream aren't good, but it seems better than having someone swim in Niall Horan's bloodstream or Niall Horan being in someone else's bloodstream!


Please click here to read more posts where I analyze song lyrics.