The Blog of Michael Lee Mitchell

I really need a new chair. I bought a Secretlab Titan chair in 2020 at the height of the supply shortages and COVID-19. I had to wait a few months for it and paid almost $500 . I figured that since I work remotely a couple of days a week and would be sitting in it when I’m home from work, it would be a worthwhile investment. I should have done more research. For the first year, the chair was alright—the seat was a little uncomfortable, but the backrest and headrest were fine. Fast forward three years, and one day, while sitting in the chair, I suddenly found myself on the floor. One of the base spokes/feet broke and sent me tumbling. To their credit, Secretlab sent me replacement parts, but ever since then, the chair has been going downhill. The hydraulic cylinder is failing—if the chair is facing a certain way, it sinks all the way down. The armrests are also wearing out and becoming rough. I say all this to emphasize that I want and need a new chair. But with the current state ...

You know, I think the media should pull all their coverage and reporters from the White House. Trump thrives on media attention. I know Fox News, Newsmax, and OAN won’t, but the people who watch them 24/7 wouldn’t care anyway. All we’re getting is lies, half-truths, and garbage as it is. #politics

What a total disgrace by the President and Vice President of the United States. This was clearly a planned move by both of them, only serving to benefit Putin. Just like the President's claim that Ukraine started the war, this plays right into Russia’s hands. Russia must be laughing at us, while Europe and our allies are left questioning the reliability of the U.S. Where is Congress?

Glad tomorrow is Friday. This week, I just haven’t had the get up and go in me.

A Little History I started blogging back in 2001, beginning with Blogger—probably like many others at the time. I remained on Blogger even after Google acquired the platform in 2003. However, I wasn’t a prolific blogger back then. Instead, I focused on maintaining a personal website where I frequently updated content, mainly pictures. At the time, I used my ISP’s residential web hosting service, which was included in my package, and built my site with Microsoft FrontPage. I became very proficient with FrontPage and really miss it—but I digress. When Microsoft FrontPage was discontinued and ISP-provided web hosting started disappearing, Blogger remained. So, I began using it more and more. I also started using Microsoft Live Writer—another great tool that unfortunately disappeared. For many years, I stuck with Blogger. Later, I experimented with WordPress, but I found it difficult to use and wasn’t impressed. Then came all the hullabaloo surrounding one of WordPress’s creators/owner...

I wish Microsoft Windows 11 Phone Link allowed you to delete text messages from the app on Windows. You can do almost everything else—so why not that? Another decision I just don’t understand. #Microsoft #Windows

First day with my new glasses 👓, and it’s great! I can finally see the computer screen without closing one eye or the other. Both screens are now perfectly readable! 🤓

Finally got my new glasses today and I can see again. I haven’t seen this clearly in 2 years. Soon as I put them on they were different but in a good way.

📺 Today’s Watchlist: Paramount+ 🎬 Tracker – S1 Ep. 9 The Disciple ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🎬 Matlock – S1 Ep. 12 This is That Moment ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🎬 Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage – S1 Ep. 11 Working for the Enemy ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Looking forward to finishing them all for this season! #TV #Entertainment

Who would want to work for the federal government, especially at an independent agency that Congress has expressly legislated into existence, if the next President can whimsically cut it out by Executive Order (which is unconstitutional) and cut off its funding? Where is Congress?

All in the Family is one of my favorite TV shows. I watch it almost every night and own the entire series on DVD. Why am I telling you this? Because lately, as I’ve been watching it, I’ve been thinking a lot about what’s going on in this country politically. And you know what? Trump is like Archie Bunker—but worse. The character of Archie Bunker and Trump have a lot in common. Both are New Yorkers. Both have racist tendencies—though I believe Archie’s stem from ignorance and learned behavior, while Trump's words and actions often suggest a belief that people of different races are lesser in intelligence and quality. Both refuse to admit when they don’t know or understand something. Both lie to cover this up. Both rely heavily on stereotypes. And both paint Republicans and politicians in a bad light. (For the record, Archie was a Republican.) The key difference? Archie had redeeming qualities. His ignorance and intolerance were rooted in tradition and, more importantly, a lack...

AI can be great! I just used it to analyze a file and confirm that it was a .jpg missing its extension. Then, it showed me exactly how to fix over 1,000 files. For newbie geeks like me, it's fantastic! 🚀

So glad it is Friday. Work was tiring this week. Got my 2024 taxes done. Figured I get them done before there is nobody left there to send me my refund 🏦. Also still have not gotten my glasses it has been 2 weeks. Supposedly next week.

A Little History I started blogging back in 2001, beginning with Blogger—probably like many others at the time. I remained on Blogger even after Google acquired the platform in 2003. However, I wasn’t a prolific blogger back then. Instead, I focused on maintaining a personal website where I frequently updated content, mainly pictures. At the time, I used my ISP’s residential web hosting service, which was included in my package, and built my site with Microsoft FrontPage. I became very proficient with FrontPage and really miss it—but I digress. When Microsoft FrontPage was discontinued and ISP-provided web hosting started disappearing, Blogger remained. So, I began using it more and more. I also started using Microsoft Live Writer—another great tool that unfortunately disappeared. For many years, I stuck with Blogger. Later, I experimented with WordPress, but I found it difficult to use and wasn’t impressed. Then came all the hullabaloo surrounding one of WordPress’s creators/owner...

I wish Microsoft Windows 11 Phone Link allowed you to delete text messages from the app on Windows. You can do almost everything else—so why not that? Another decision I just don’t understand. #Microsoft #Windows

📺 Today’s Watchlist: Night Agent (Season 2, Ep. 1) – Really liked it. The Recruit (Ep. 1, Netflix) – Even better! Looking forward to finishing both. 🎬 from Michael Mitchell https://mitchelltribe.com/2025/02/16/todays-watchlist-night-agent-season/ via IFTTT

I just love these 2 trees across the street from my house. The colors are strikingly beautiful.

I liked it. A worthy sequel. Always fun and lighthearted. from Michael Mitchell https://ift.tt/n1Ww5H8 via IFTTT

Cats being lazy this Saturday in the front yard. It was funny they were on the opposite sides of the yard. from Michael Mitchell https://ift.tt/LFbpiws via IFTTT

One of my favorite poems. from Michael Mitchell https://ift.tt/xzSKO5p via IFTTT

I have been trying to catch up on my podcast listening, but I keep falling behind. I curate my queue to include only the programs I truly enjoy, then refine it further by prioritizing from that list. Yet, I still find myself 25 hours behind! from Michael Mitchell https://ift.tt/Rag10v5 via IFTTT

I've had a Hotmail account for nearly three decades, and for most of that time, I’ve also maintained a paid Exchange-hosted email tied to one of my domains. That Exchange service is set to expire in a couple of years, and honestly? I won’t be renewing it. Why? Spam! Both accounts are bombarded with spam, and it seems to come in waves. Some days, things are fine. Other days, my inbox looks like a dumping ground for phishing attempts, fake invoices, and outright scams. I t’s as if Microsoft takes a vacation from spam filtering every so often, just to remind us what email would be like without safeguards. I don’t get it. Meanwhile, I have a Gmail account that’s nearly as old, and guess what? It gets almost no spam . Maybe three junk emails a week, if that. Google clearly has figured this out. Why hasn’t Microsoft? This is a big reason why I’ve moved most of my personal domains to a private shared email host, and the difference is night and day. At most, I might get one sp...

You ever feel like you're talking to a wall, like nobody is listening? I do—all the time. I feel the same way about writing and blogging. It often feels like I’m just writing for catharsis because no one seems to be reading or interacting. But maybe, someday, a future generation will stumble upon my writings and think, I can relate, or I know how he felt, or even That’s not a bad idea. Just thinking out loud again. 🙂 from Mitchell Report https://ift.tt/Bf4lKJO via IFTTT

My mother told me today that my cousin, Cindy Shaw Rounds, passed away in her sleep in Jacksonville at the age of 63, either last night or this morning. I will miss her greatly. I often saw and spoke with her at funerals for my great-aunts, uncles, grandparents, and at family reunions. I also have fond memories of staying with her and my other cousins in Jacksonville for about two weeks when I was a preteen while my dad was working there. I will cherish the memories I had of her. Originally posted on Scribbles

Technology can be amazing and frustrating at the same time. It kind of reminds me of the media—hold on, you’ll see where I’m going with this comparison. I have a Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 and an Oura Ring 3. I wear both to track my sleep and heart health because I have sleep apnea and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The problem? Both devices give me different sleep data almost every night. Take last night as an example: Samsung Health reported a sleep score of 94 (Excellent). A detailed breakdown is below. Oura Ring 3 reported a sleep score of 74 (Good) with a sleep efficiency of 88%. Further breakdown is below. So, which do I believe? While both ultimately say I slept well (and I did—I can feel it), their numbers don’t match. I tend to stay up late on Friday nights to decompress from the past week, catching up on TV, PC gaming, emails, bills, and other things. Still, I slept great. But which device is more a...

I have a multifaceted plan to restore integrity to the U.S. representative governing system.[1] While I am not naive enough to believe this could happen through Congress alone, I think it is high time the states called for a Constitutional Convention.[2] Such conventions should likely occur regularly, perhaps every 150 to 200 years. Many argue that calling a Constitutional Convention could lead to states going off the rails—a runaway convention. That is why, before convening, the convention should be limited in scope, and its representatives should pledge not to deviate from the established agenda unless three-fourths of the state legislatures agree to any new items once the convention has started. Legislative Branch For Congress, this is how I propose fixing it, starting with the House of Representatives. The House was designed to be the branch of government closest to the people—not to political parties—but to the constituents they represent. With the U.S. population exceeding 3...

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels I was thinking the other day after my doctor said the colonoscopy went well. He removed one polyp, and it was likely benign. The pathology results confirmed that it was indeed benign. The doctor also mentioned that I won’t need another colonoscopy for seven years—just two years before I retire. I'm planning for retirement in the next decade and thinking about how to balance savings, Social Security, and other income sources. My goal is to live off my savings and retirement funds (hopefully without exhausting them) before transitioning fully to Social Security and other financial resources. Speaking of Social Security, I don’t understand why politicians constantly attack it. They’re the ones who created it, and in doing so, they contributed to the disappearance of defined pension plans. Of course, that’s not the only reason—corporate greed was probably the main factor. It infuriates me every time a politician says, “We have to cut entitlements.” I alw...

Went to the eye doctor today in a city one county over—took about an hour to get there. The doctor was friendly & thorough. He agreed my prescription was bad, fixed it, & now I have new glasses on the way. 💵💵 My new glasses will come in a couple of weeks! from Michael Mitchell https://ift.tt/zBpK2IC via IFTTT