Fly the Friendly Skies

If you think I am going to write about the “No Fly Zone” request that has been ongoing since the war, you are wrong. I am talking about normal people flying coach, in the United States.I just got back from sunny Pensacola, and due to the time constraints was unable to secure a discounted flight through Frontier. Now I am not dogging on Frontier, and normally everything with that airline is just fine. They only fly certain days and very limited routes. Not good. They also nickel and dime you for everything. It is … in my opinion — for the budget conscious minded. You have to remember that everyone is in a different stage in their life than you. So what is costly to you, might be pennies to another. So, if you are like me, you go to the different sites, plug in your dates and see what costs what. Clearly there are price differences and some are way more than others. Why?  Greed. Those seat prices change daily, and usually hourly. Some people see one rate while others see a discount. Some companies have deals that they buy seats at really low prices and then start selling them at a premium the closer the travel date. Frontier, Southwest and Spirit are all discount airlines. There are no tier levels. No first class. You get basic, very basic service. For some people that is JUST fine. You might have a second home on one of their direct flights, so you literally have no luggage as you have two homes full of clothes. I also discovered that if you are loyal and fly just one airline, they will reward you in forms of freebies.
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So where am I going with this? Well fortunately for me, I flew Delta this time. I decided it was worth the risk to apply for their top tier credit card, American Express Delta Reserve, which has a steep annual fee, $550. Naturally it arrived after I landed. I actually didn’t need to have the physical card as I was able to load it to my apple wallet, along with my boarding pass. Very cool. My electronic ticket, on my phone, also had my AmEx Delta card loaded, so when I checked into the lounge, they knew. One of the big perks is you get in their Sky Lounges, and you get 1 bag free, up to 8 people on your ticket. So that is like, $480, because you have to pay to get them back home. Bummer right? So what was new for me this time was the opportunity to request a complimentary upgrade from MAIN Cabin to Comfort Plus or even First Class. Well I quickly found out that those First Class seats are only awarded to Diamond Medallion, which I am not. However, 3 out of 4 air busses I managed to score a Comfort Plus seat, which was valued at thousands. And if you were sitting next to me from Pensacola to Atlanta, then you paid $1888 for the window version. I was in the middle, which is great so I can cross my left OR my right leg. And as silly as it sounds, it is much more relaxing to sit that way. Now, if you buy basic economy, which I guess must be like an Expedia ticket, you are not eligible for upgrades. So there were medallion members who I beat out for my seat. So I guess in “theory” my 3 seats were worth  $5664 in total. That is CRAY CRAY!! I didn’t dare tell my new friend I got my seat for free, … with only an AmEx Delta Reserve card. And get this, … although I have been a SkyMiles member for 2 decades, I only had 300 miles recorded. So the secret is your goal is to be a silver medallion Delta skymiles member, with the AmEx card. Buy a main cabin seat, and get the FREE First Class upgrade. With the card you can bypass their flown miles and number of flights requirement by using the card. Sure you have to spend $25,000 in a year, but if you buy a new iPhone or two, new Mac Pro or two, a DSL camera with all the accessories, it won’t take long at all. And I personally have dozens of eye glasses with outdated prescriptions, so that could easily be thousands of dollars. And we aren’t even talking about really going shopping at the Cherry Creek mall. Vuitton could do some serious damage.  I actually don’t have any luggage or bags from them. I sport a bright yellow Coach backpack. It’s on my Instagram. They say the upgrades are strictly  based on tier-level, miles flown, … but I think we all know it really is up to the GATE agent who can override one passenger and give it to another, just like when you go to a restaurant and the VIP takes your table while you wait with the buzzer in your hand. If you are a “Chad” or a “Stacy” it is always in your best interest to let the gate agent know you are one of the hopefuls waiting for that upgrade. If you are an INCEL … and I don’t mean this in a mean way, but then do not check in with the gate agent. Hotties get priority over fuglies. And there are way more of those than you would care to know. I must just be super lucky because I sat between Chad and Stacy. And there were no babies on my flight. Thank God. They gave out free headphones in First Class and Comfort+ to plug into their headrest on demand video screens. Although literally everyone had their own AirPods plugged in. AirPods do not work with their system as there is no bluetooth. I watched part of the new Scream movie. Airlines aren’t dicks like they used to be by making you shut your devices off and take your headphones off. They let you zone out, fall asleep and they leave you alone. After you stuff yourself with awesome food in the lounge, you don’t want to eat a bunch of snacks. I had a very strong bloody Mary, so I took a nap.

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If you want to get the Delta Reserve card, click here. (Expires 06/08/2022) You will get 100k points that you can use to upgrade your main cabin flights individually, which is cheaper than using all of them at once for a free flight. If you buy a Comfort+ and you are medallion you will almost for sure get the First Class upgrade. But don’t do that until you reach at least silver. May the odds be ever in your favor. Sure it has a fee. But look at what I got in just one trip. Thousands of freebies. Food and drink. And if have to do a layover, 90 minutes is just perfect for deplaning, getting to the right terminal and getting food/drink and restroom. The app keeps you updated and if you have an apple watch, that also notifies you so you don’t miss boarding.

 

 

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Media News Sources Blocked

Instagram joins the latest media news outlets that is being blocked by Russia. Damn. Yep, they can only hear/see what Russia wants them to see. Did you know that they are telling Russians that the Ukraine is full of NAZI’s and they are taking back what is theirs. They also bombed a maternity ward hospital. Fucking bastards. I am pretty sure that my site isn’t banned, and in fact, I have more and more international readers than I do readers from the United States. Crazy huh? And if you haven’t been watching the news or can’t … McDonalds, Visa, MasterCard, American Express and even Paypal have shut down operations or will be shortly. Facebook, Twitter, Tik Tok, … yeah, all are now history for Russians.
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While the people have nothing to do with the war, it is the citizens who are being punished. When Trump bombs with a drone, we the people in the U.S. didn’t get punished … other than having to hear/see his obnoxious voice/face. I think I saw over 2 million refugees have fled, although if you aren’t white you aren’t going to be admitted. Even in the U.S., white Ukrainians were refused asylum. So, don’t try to enter the U.S. from Mexico, where they are still racists. Last I checked there was still a war in Afghanistan, but I don’t see anything in the news about that 20+ year war. Why? Brown skinned people.

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And here is the latest coronavirus number for the U.S.
DAILY AVG. ON MAR. 11 14-DAY CHANGE TOTAL REPORTED
Cases 35,036 –49% 79,400,847
Tests 973,360 –12% —
Hospitalized 31,323 –43% —
In I.C.U.s 5,725 –46% —
Deaths 1,272 –33% 965,746
It appears that “most” of the U.S. has done away with masks as most people have gotten the shot and booster. In Colorado we are at a 90% vaccination rate.

Okay … many of you are wondering if I watched the new Batman. And yes, as a matter of fact, I watched it twice and then had to watch the YouTube spoiler review since evidently I missed a ton of shit since I don’t read the comic book or keep up with any of the “Easter eggs” they put in the show. It is NOT a superhero movie. Go in thinking … this is the DARK Knight who is going kick the shit out of a lot of people. There are a lot of long, boring scenes. This is NOT your DC Avengers movie. This is also not Oscar worthy. He wears a costume most of the movie. It is him or a stunt guy? Right. Would I recommend you spend the extra cash to see it? No. It will come to HBOmax. It will come to blu-ray/dvd one day. Instead you should watch the Amazon Jack Reacher. It has a real plot, with real people characters, not a comic book rebooted, reboot. Technically Batman should be dead. He’s just a man, not an immortal.

 

 

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Real Life G.O.T. (Game of Thrones)

Can you imagine how the Game of Thrones would have resulted if The King of the North (Jon Snow) told The Dragon Queen that he was going to “sanction” her if she attacked? Yeah that bullshit wouldn’t have done shit. So why does the world thing that doing sanctions is going to do anything to Russia? So if you are under a rock and didn’t know, Russia invaded Ukraine. Millions of innocent lives dramatically changed forever. Thoughts and prayers don’t seem to do enough. Colorado will be home to over 11 thousand refugees.

The new Batman reboot comes out this week. I’m torn whether or not I want to see it. I’ll give you my two cents if I do. The 355 is a cool action adventure with female leads. I liked it. And did you see “Inventing Anna” on Netflix? I kind of liked it. I didn’t like Anna. Let’s be honest, she was a bitch who took advantage of whomever she could. She has no remorse, even after sitting in jail. And also, her voice is like nails on a chalkboard. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. My favorite CBS tv crime show is coming back, Criminal Minds. I’m currently binge watching from the beginning, and it is still the scariest shit I’ve seen. Real life serial killers.

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Slot Machines

I love playing slots. The slot machines in Blackhawk and Central City in Colorado are just okay. The slots in Vegas are totally overboard and wow factor. Some go as high as the ceiling and have giant screens, some have 3 screens. So I found this website that actually lets you play for free. They call it practice. I think that is an awesome idea as you can really understand which games pay better based on the bonuses and multipliers and free spins. The graphics and animations are pretty amazing, considering it is all on your computer monitor. I haven’t tried playing on my iPhone or iPad.

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The software they use for each game is exactly like the software used on the computers/slots in Vegas. I discovered that a machine uses a random number generator (RNG) each time you hit the spin button, so in theory … each spin is independent of the prior spin and every spin has a lucky chance at winning the jackpot. So if you want to check it out and play for free, just go to slots.lv — but if you want to play for real money, then use my referral link and you get free gaming money. It’s hard to just watch your pretend money multiply and you could have won that if you used real money. I used a credit card, which of course had to be verified by fraud, since it is an international company used for online gambling. My Caesars Rewards credit card was as good as any as I get tons of points from that card that I can use for free hotel rooms and free game play when I am in Vegas. The first time you deposit money into your gaming account you get a bonus … I put in $250 and they gave me $500 for a total of $750. So I am still playing on their free money bonus. But I always practice first before I play for real. I am pretty sure you have to be of legal age. So have fun! Only gamble what you are willing to lose.

 

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Colorado is Cursed

Thursday afternoon hellfire winds tore through the Rocky Mountains, knocking down power lines sparking the first of many wild winter fires that would destroy the lives and homes of many. The Mile High city has seen less than an inch of rain and zero snowfall. As of now, the fires still burn like mad on New Years Eve. Over 600 high-end luxury homes, … gone. Burned to the ground. The Target in Superior … gone. 36 and McCaslin was hell yesterday. The sky darkened as the black smoke traveled for miles blocking out the sun, where it was only a bright pink ball hidden in the clouds of smoke.

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If you text REDCROSS to 90999 you can donate $10 to help the effort. They add it to your cell phone bill.

Pray for the much needed snow & precipitation to extinguish these flames of doom. Give thanks that you and your family are safe and still have a place to call home.

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And were you one of the few million who ventured out to see the all new Spiderman movie? <raises hand> Yes, it was a great movie and well worth the 2 hours of mask wearing. Matrix fans?  Yeah, guilty. What did I think of the reboot? I will just say that I loved the first and even the 2nd one. The 3rd was kind of a stretch, but I was highly disappointed that they recast Morpheus. Fishborne didn’t die. He just wasn’t invited back to the party. Truth? Don’t waste your time. You will be sad. Do you like scary movies? Antlers and Old are both thumbs up from me. And if you are reading this, then you made it to New Year’s Eve!!! Yay you’re not dead! Let’s all have a drink that 2022 is going to be a bigger, better, safer adventure for all of us. Cheers!

 

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Cooking 101

 

If you can read English, and follow directions, you can be a good cook. Over the years I have read dozens of cookbooks. This one, the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, 11th edition, is the best cookbook ever. Seriously, it has tons of useful information and of course, amazing recipes. As you learn many of your favorites you start to understand the importance of the different ingredients. The other cookbook that I really admire and sometimes use, is The Joy of Cooking. It  is more  advanced.

There are literally hundreds of recipes and after you experiment with some of them you will find a plethora of menu ideas. If you wanted to be a baker and learn about different kinds of breads and how they are made, this is the book that will teach you. I have only dabbled lightly with the Joy of Cooking. One thing is it if full of information. Why go to a culinary cooking school when you can just read and learn from this amazing cookbook? Besides, don’t you get tired of always having the same thing for dinner? Spaghetti every Monday. Tacos on Tuesday. Hamburgers on Wednesday. Yeah, you get the point. Spice things up, literally, with some variety in your menu planning. Did you know Julia Childs was a simple  stay at home wife who became a famous chef? True story.  How did you like the green chili? Yeah, I loved it too. I don’t make it often, but when I do I smother all my Mexican food and French fries with it.

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Did you see the new Paranormal Activity – Next of Kin movie? Wow, not what I thought it was going to be. I was thinking like, you know, ghosts and shit, but oh no. It is far worse than that. It is scary. People die. Could be based on a true story, but either way, it is bone chilling. If you watch it, there is a scene where I am literally yelling “Bitch don’t go down there.”  Laugh now, you won’t be when you watch it. And sadly, Google and Disney at are war as my YouTube subscription just lost ESPN, abc, and FX, which are owned by Disney.

And here is the latest from the NY Times regarding COVID.

DAILY AVG. ON DEC. 17 14-DAY CHANGE TOTAL REPORTED
Cases 125,838 +20% 50,663,217
Tests 1,592,057 +68% —
Hospitalized 68,659 +18% —
Deaths 1,294 +15% 804,266

Did you see “And Just Like That” episode 3? I was thinking, how could they make the show even more awkward for the audience? Well, that would be easy. Just write in Natasha the stick figure with no soul. Boom. Wish granted. Big … sorry, JOHN, gives his ex-wife, Natasha, a sizable amount in his will. Well, good job Patrick King. Everyone hated the tension in the series, way to bring it back with the reboot. It gets better next week, … Stanford makes an exit — stage left … forever.

 

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Another Reboot – SATC — and just like that.

Are you a Sex and the City fan? Like Dexter, they rebooted the series, and called it “And Just Like That”. I watched the first two episodes. I won’t ruin it for you. Darren Star, Carrie Bradshaw, and Miranda Hobbs give you plenty of uncomfortable awkward scenes who do plenty to ruin it. Don’t subscribe to HBO Max for this one, because it is just bad. Bad writing, bad plot, bad acting, bad hair, bad fashion. Just bad. Don’t believe me? I warned you. I loved the HBO original, and I even liked the somewhat lame movies, but this … this I have no love for … but I’ll keep watching. I read that Stanford is written off after the 4th episode since he died in real life.

 

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Disney+ Day!

ICYMI, yesterday was Disney+ Day. WTF is that? Right? Yeah I had to look it up since I didn’t know. It is their anniversary day that they launched the channel/app, and to celebrate they released the magic bracelet Asian movie. Sorry bad with names … 10 ring something.  You know what I am talking about.
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So the cool thing is they released a different version … this is the IMAX version and it has more screen real estate than the prior version. So you get to see it as it was intended by the director. So like I told y’all before, wait til it comes to Disney+ and by all means, invest a couple of hours in this fun cinematic adventure. They also released a bunch of their blockbuster hits in this new IMAX format. You can check out the article here. I didn’t see any of them in IMAX  so I think this will be a really cool add on that makes Disney+ worth that 8 bucks every month. Awkwafina is absolutely the best. She has some of the best lines. I can’t help but see her Dragon character when I hear her voice.  If you don’t have Disney+ they are doing a special for only $2 the first month, so you can totally watch a boatload of movies in a month for 2 bucks. They also released Enchanted to Disney+. Fun little cartoon movie turned to real life fairy tale. Amy Adams stars in it. Yes, she also plays Lois Lane in Man of Steel.

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And if you deleted your FAKE FB account, … pat yourself on the back. You are one step from slowly weaning yourself off Facebook-crack. I know the world “thinks” that Facebook is going to be around forever, but I have some angelic insight that tells me that is not going to be the case. I used to check my MySpace daily just like I did my email. RETRAIN your mindset to think outside the FB box. Ask yourself … which relationship did you find or rekindle due to Facebook that made life SO much better? Now, which person you thought was once your friend is not even your friend on Facebook? I bet you have a lot of those.

Surround yourself with individuals who will support your endeavors. Remember, … you are FLAWESOME. Or Flawsome — however you want to spell it. But it’s not a real word so it doesn’t matter how you spell it.

 

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FAKEBOOK

If you remove the “C” from Facebook and put something else, … what do you have? I like the “K” as Fakebook certainly sound about right. But what about … say, FaVebook? Fatebook. Farebook. Famebook. If you didn’t know, Facebook is not just a friends update website/company. They steal your data, your personal messages, your likes, your dislikes, your groups, your interests and they sell it. To whom? IDK, maybe China? Maybe Russia. General Mills? Monsanto/Bayer?
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Money talks and bullshit walks. You know what also talks? People who delete their fake Facebook accounts. You aren’t supposed to have 2 accounts anyway, so send a message to Facebook. If Facebook lost millions of users for no apparent reason, it would cause a ruckus. Facebook has a lot of power as it can easily influence your decision making abilities. You see a meme or a video that has been altered and all of the sudden you are motivated … maybe in a bad way. Facebook has influenced wars in other countries, aided in underground drugs and sex trafficking. I know that years ago there was a secret Facebook group where you could easily buy/sell drugs. True story.

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Do it. Delete that fake account and tell all your friends to do the same. Delete it from your smartphone and tablet and only access it from a computer for a specific amount of time with a specific reason for being on Fakebook. You aren’t bored. You are brainwashed. Pick up an actual book and read it. Turn those pages. Create a fun reading sanctuary that is your new zen reading spot. Unplug and meditate.

I watched a YouTube documentary on Princess Diana, which I thought was going to be more what Spencer was about. Diana didn’t whisper, she talked softly. You can watch it here. Or copy and paste https://youtu.be/Ym–qzQBGug

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Body Positivity

“Don’t go changing, to try and please me …” Oh yeah, some good ole Billy Joel to keep things in check. Since we are on the topic of looks, bodies, and such, I thought I would touch base on some basics. Let’s keep things real according to Aaron, shall we? Chances are if you are reading this, then you aren’t a celebrity. No fans, no followers, no paparazzi chasing after you wanting a selfie. So that means you are NOT paid on your looks, your posts, your pictures or thoughts. So the reality is, it doesn’t matter what you look like in order to create an income for yourself. Okay, just in case an influencer IS reading this, and you do get paid on your looks, … everyone else really only needs to be concerned with what ONE person thinks, and that is your significant other … or potential mate. Keep in mind, you only get ONE,  and in your eyes he/she may not be a perfect 10 model. Unless you are a 10, you probably are not going to attract a 10, … according to society. Everyone has flaws. So that 10, isn’t really even a 10. If you are IN a relationship then it is really important for you to actually communicate with your spouse that you love his/her body. It is also important that you are happy and if hearing it from your spouse makes it happen, then start communicating. Be an enthusiast not a victim.

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There are millions and millions of people looking for a mate. You don’t have to be alone and lonely. Join a club, take a class, start working out at the gym … and you will meet people. When you start liking your body, you will start loving it. How can anyone love you … if you aren’t loving yourself?

 

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Everyone has a type … a type of person and personality they are attracted to and want to spend time with on a regular basis.  Years and years ago I only had a couple of friends who liked going dancing at the clubs. I got tired of trying to convince work associates and friends to join me and started going alone. I made a ton of new friends at the club, who liked dancing and drinking and had no problems convincing to join me again. Guess what? Skiing is expensive and I had problems finding friends who wanted to ski. So I went alone, and discovered they have a lane JUST for people skiing alone. Yep, I have made a ton of new friends on the mountain riding ski lifts.

If you are a local, Loveland is selling a 4 pack passes for $200. They are normally $85 a piece. Loveland is a smaller resort, but not as crowded and closer than Breck or Keystone. If you ski during the week, a season pass might be of interest at only $379.

 

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