From pay toilets to high-tech pods—two eras of public convenience.
This has been on my mind lately. I was listening to the Planet Money Podcast and caught an episode about why it’s so hard to find a public toilet. It made me think of London. I’ve never been, but I watch a YouTube channel called London City Walks, which often films around Horse Guards Parade. The host strolls through the area, narrates what he sees, and points out that this busy tourist spot barely has any public toilets, except a few in the Underground.
🎬 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Season 3, Episodes 5-10 (Season Finale) ⭐⭐⭐
May contain spoilers!
This season was a mixed bag. I believe this series has great potential, but I question the structure and plot of some episodes this season. For instance, the season finale should have been a two-parter, episodes 8 and 9, with episode 10 serving as a proper season close-out. Alternatively, if they wanted to maintain its current position, they could have extended the season to 12 episodes, making this story arc a two-parter, episodes 10 and 11, then having a proper close-out as episode 12 as a look back over the season and what to look forward to.
I struggle to understand this new streaming series format of producing only 8 or 10 episodes for the entire year, a point I have raised and complained about in past posts.
TV series, when they were broadcast over the air or on cable, typically produced 20 to 24 episodes that aired from September through May, followed by summer reruns. The new streaming era, however, is characterized by shorter seasons with a year or more between new seasons.
Returning to the season finale, it felt rushed and anticlimactic. So a mixed bag this year. Hoping Season 4 will be better and more true to the series as it hopefully concludes handing off to Star Trek The Original Series. 🎬
The assassination of Charlie Kirk today is a tragic reminder that political violence is never the solution. It only creates deeper divides and encourages an “us versus them” mentality that is actively harming our society. The proper place to resolve political differences is at the ballot box and through civil debate.
This destructive rhetoric and division is not new. It has been encouraged for years and has been festering over time. The current environment reinforces a dangerous dynamic that threatens our democratic institutions. I have said this before, and I will say it again: politics is just one aspect of life, but its current state is consuming our nation. Politicians on both sides have not helped by trying to one-up the other party in order to stay in power, and it is a disservice to the public they serve.
I am working on something wonderful in Python 🐍. It’s a slow process, but I’m making progress 🚀. At this rate, it won’t be ready until the end of the year 📅. I don’t want to reveal it until it’s finished and working 🔒.
My week has been hectic with work and being off Camzyos for over a week now.“Why are you off your Camzyos? I thought it was helping.”Yes, it has helped. I have felt better. I am not energized and still fatigued, but I have been able to do things without feeling like I was going to pass out from exertion. The specialty pharmacy would not fill the prescription without every box checked. My doctor’s office also failed to upload my latest ECHO. The pharmacy never contacted me, simply put the prescription on hold, and left me in the dark. I had to reach out myself to find out what was happening. On Friday the medicine finally shipped. Will I get it today? Who knows. I was told Thursday, then Friday.
We may be about to repeat history in ways that will not be obvious tomorrow, next week, or even next year. This post discusses politics and history; if you prefer to avoid that, stop reading here.
🎬 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Season 3, Episodes 3–5
⭐⭐⭐½
No spoilers!
Continues to be a solid contender and, for me, the best of the Star Trek series on Paramount+ in this “new era.” 🎬
From Prime Video:
🎬 On Call – Season 1, Episodes 1–8
⭐⭐⭐
Spoilers
This one was okay. I didn’t expect it to be renewed. I watched the whole season; it had moments where it could have been brilliant, but overall it was just okay. I mostly had it on in the background, though a couple of episodes were really good. 🎬
🎬 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Season 3, Episodes 1–2 ⭐⭐⭐½ No spoilers!
I liked it overall, but I wasn’t thrilled that Season 2 ended on a two-part episode. 🎬
🎬 Tracker – Season 1, Episode 12 ⭐⭐⭐½ No spoilers!
This continues to be a solid series with a compelling storyline. Justin does a great job, along with his co-stars. 🎬
From Amazon Prime:
🎬 The Chosen – Season 5, Episodes 6–8 (Season Finale) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “No spoilers” doesn’t quite apply here—it’s based on the Bible.
This show continues to amaze me. The acting is phenomenal, and what a way to end the season. I can’t wait for the next—but I’m glad I already know how it ends. 🎬
🎬 Matlock – Season 1, Episodes 11–19 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
No spoilers!
I just finished the first season. What a different take on the original Matlock. Overall, I liked it and was really pleased that CBS decided to renew it for a second season.
You might remember I canceled my subscription to this service. Well, that’s true, but they offered me two months for 99 cents to come back. I figured, why not take Paramount+ up on the deal and finish the seasons I didn’t get to complete, including this show and the one below. 🎬
🎬 Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage – Season 1, Episodes 14–22 ⭐⭐⭐
No spoilers!
I finished the first season of this one too. I liked it. It fits nicely into the Big Bang Theory universe and is pretty enjoyable. I’m glad it got picked up for a second season as well. Nothing much more to say. It’s just a good show when you want something light and funny. 🎬
I recently made a few updates to the theme on my website at michaelmitchell.blog, which is hosted through Write.as. The goal was to modernize its look and feel while also complementing my micro.blog site.
Feel free to drop by and take a look. I’m really happy with how it turned out. If you happen to spot any bugs or quirks, just drop me a line. Thanks!
Quiet golden-hour read with tea and tech in tow.
