Mitchell Report

A personal blog for Michael Mitchell

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Movie poster for "The Tank" featuring five soldiers in military uniforms sitting and standing on a large tank with a prominent gun barrel. The background shows a smoky, fiery battlefield, and the title "THE TANK" is displayed in large, bold letters at the top.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ (3/5 stars)

I thought it was partly a drama and partly a horror movie. It was engaging and it also made me think about how history repeats itself through some of its themes. It was two hours long and maybe about half an hour too long. Still, it was interesting, and it was sad in parts. A lot of what was portrayed in some scenes probably did happen.

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Promotional poster for "TRON Ares" featuring a futuristic motorcycle and rider in a reflective suit, standing on a rain-soaked city street bathed in red light. The towering buildings fade into a foggy, overcast sky.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐½ (3.5/5 stars)

A solid, if unremarkable, entry in the Tron series. Jared Leto stands out, and the plot introduces a novel twist: the digital world invades ours, spotlighting AI. It's a fine way to kill almost 2 hours. However, it's not worth a theater visit. Watching it on Disney+ is your best bet.

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This is your Content Warning: this is going to be a Political Rant

Alt text: "Illustrative poster featuring a stylized muscular arm wielding a gavel labeled 'Article I' and another arm wielding a similar gavel, both extending from the central image of the U.S. Capitol building. The background is divided into two sections, with the left showing a star and a plane flying over a map labeled 'Greenland', and the right depicting a dark throne with a crown, a tank, and pirate ships over a map labeled 'Venezuela'. The overall theme suggests geopolitical themes or influences."

Flexing the power of Article I, this bold graphic underscores the enduring strength and influence of legislative authority across diverse global arenas.

Where is Congress while Trump talks like a king? I am going to let everyone in on a little secret. Congress, the Article I institution, is supposed to be the most powerful branch because it is closest to the people. Article I comes first in the Constitution and is the longest. The Founders had just fought a war against a king and were deeply wary of executive power. Alexander Hamilton called the judiciary the “least dangerous branch” in Federalist 78.

Think about it: the Judicial Branch is unelected and can be constrained by Congress. Both Article II (the President) and Article III (federal judges) can be impeached and removed by Congress. The only way to get rid of a member of Congress is expulsion by their own chamber or being voted out by the people. And “high crimes and misdemeanors”? That's whatever Congress decides it is. Gerald Ford said it best: an impeachable offense is whatever the House considers it to be. Congress holds the power to remove, and that is not an accident.

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Great news today at my follow-up with my hypertrophic cardiomyopathy specialist. Camzyos is really starting to work. My most recent echo earlier this week was excellent, and so was the heart cath I had in late December.

In fact, the heart cath showed that Camzyos is working well enough that I do not need to rush into an alcohol ablation or a septal myectomy. If I ever do need an intervention in the future, my doctor said I would be a good candidate for septal alcohol ablation.

I also told my doctor that, if at all possible, I would prefer to stay on medication and avoid any surgical treatment.

More good news: I will not have to see him or have another echo for six months.

I told the doctor I have been feeling great since starting Camzyos. My metoprolol dose was increased last month, and I have been sleeping much better. He said everything seems to have calmed down, and my gradients with exertion have improved greatly. So, no immediate decisions need to be made.

He also had a positive conversation with the cardiac interventionist and personally read my echo himself. It looked good, and he is pleased. I told him that I think staying consistent with my medication has helped. Lately, I have not had delays caused by the pharmacy needing certain tests before refilling my prescription, and I have not had any breaks where I was off the medication.

That means my main job now is simply dealing with the pharmacy and making sure I get my Camzyos on time each month.

So let's pray it keeps trending in the right direction. I actually feel normal for once.

#health #news #personal

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Promotional poster for the movie "The Pickup" featuring three characters: a woman in a black leather jacket, a man in a security uniform labeled "Guardian," and another man in a casual outfit, all surrounded by falling money.

When the heist goes right: Meet the trio behind the biggest score of their lives in 'The Pickup'.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ (3/5 stars)

“The Pickup” serves as a pleasant diversion with its fairly engaging plot and commendable performances. The film is entirely a work of fiction. A notable concern, however, is the excessive crude language, particularly from Pete Davidson, which seemed unnecessary for its comedic aspirations.

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A moody night sky with a bright moon partially obscured by thick, textured clouds, with silhouettes of tree tops visible at the bottom.

I just had to snap a photo when I saw this scene. A full moon peeking out from behind those clouds. It was such a dramatic, moody sight with the silhouettes of trees just barely visible at the bottom. Isn't it amazing how nature puts on a show like this? This is a werewolf's nightmare 😉.

#photos #landscape

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A serene watercolor illustration of a cozy workspace by a window, featuring a laptop displaying code, an open book, a steaming mug, and a potted plant, all bathed in warm sunlight streaming through the window. The artwork combines realistic elements with abstract watercolor splashes.

I just wanted to put up a quick blog post and wish everyone a Happy New Year. Let's pray and hope that God blesses us all. I'm looking forward to this year on many fronts. I want to continue getting my heart under control with my Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, do more self-hosting with AI, and learn more coding. This is also my 25th year of proper blogging (more posts coming on that later).

With all the computing power I'm putting together, I'm hoping to learn more about web development, self-hosting, and becoming less dependent on big tech. I'm one year closer to retirement, which I'm looking forward to. Instead of focusing on an employer's needs, I'll be able to focus 100 percent on what interests me and devote more time to my faith. Putting my love of God and technology together.

So Happy New Year to everyone, and let's see what 2026 brings for us all. Should be an interesting year, especially on the home front with the United States of America hitting 250 years.

#personal

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Illustration of a focused middle-aged man with glasses and a beard, sitting at a desk in a cozy, sunlit room filled with books. He is sketching or writing in a notebook, surrounded by art supplies and books. Ethereal, futuristic diagrams and clocks float around him, suggesting a blend of creativity and concepts of time. Rays of sunlight stream through a window, casting warm light and creating a serene, inspirational atmosphere.

Amidst a cascade of light and time, a visionary crafts his dreams for 2025, blending art and aspiration in his timeless sanctuary.

I thought I would give a roundup from my point of view for 2025 and share some thoughts on 2026.

2025 brought so many new things for me. I left InMotion Hosting and WordPress after 9 years with them. I probably would still be with them if it weren't for three factors. First, they had given me a discount for three years, and when it expired, they would not renew it and offered me nothing. Second, they had switched to a new spam email system called MailChannels that was more concerned with outgoing spam instead of incoming spam. I think they started to concentrate on outgoing spam because of complaints coming in. The last issue was WordPress. I started to get the same feeling of craziness from the owner/co-owner that I got from Elon Musk.

I moved to Write.as and thought I would like it. I had been trying it out before I left InMotion Hosting. I purchased a 6-year stint up front after trying it for about 3 months on the free version. But I soon learned it was not all that I had hoped for. I went to Micro.blog, and even though it had a shorter trial, I really liked it and saw how outdated Write.as was. I really liked, and still like, what Manton Reece is doing. So I changed from InMotion Hosting to Micro.blog and MXRoute for email hosting (as Micro.blog doesn't offer that and InMotion Hosting had the whole bundle). Both services have been fantastic, and Micro.blog is operated by an individual, not a big corporation and Manton Reece cares about his service. MXGuarddog is a small company from what I can tell and has been flawless. I will be making a detailed post about these services coming up in the new year for a one-year usage review.

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Today was a peculiar yet fulfilling day. It started with a dense fog but cleared up nicely. I managed to capture the sun through my telescope for the first time, and I also spotted the moon in broad daylight, though the telescope had some trouble pinpointing it. I hope you find the images as delightful as I did. They were taken with my Zwo Seestar S30, except for the fog picture, which I captured with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. A blurry photograph taken from inside a car at night, showing a view of a road with traffic lights and faint outlines of trees in foggy or misty conditions. The dashboard of the car is visible in the foreground.

Driving through a foggy night, the world blurs into a mysterious haze of lights and shadows.

A serene sky with a soft gradient from deep to light blue, featuring a pale moon visible in daylight and several small birds flying in the distance.

Birds dance around the daylit moon, painting a serene scene in the vast blue canvas above.

A close-up image of the sun showing a detailed and textured orange surface surrounded by darkness, highlighting sunspots and solar features.

Gazing into the cosmic abyss, the sun reveals its fiery solitude surrounded by the dark embrace of space.

#photos #landscape #nature

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Movie poster for "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" featuring the four main characters in dynamic action poses. Mr. Fantastic is stretching his arm forward, the Invisible Woman appears ready to use her powers, the Human Torch is engulfed in flames and flying, and the Thing is shown in a powerful, rocky form. The background includes a cityscape and the iconic Fantastic Four logo.

Embark on a thrilling journey with the Fantastic Four as they harness their newfound powers to save the world in their first epic adventure!

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐½ (3.5/5 stars)

Overall, the movie was decent. The storyline and the cast were quite good. What I found less convincing was the attempt to merge the 1930s-1960s era with advanced technology and space travel. This combination didn't come across as believable. If retro-futurism was a deliberate choice for the society depicted in the film, it needed more explanation.

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