The Blog of Michael Lee Mitchell

Lately I’ve been dealing with some heavy medical stuff related to a heart condition I’ve lived with for years: hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). It’s a rare condition where the heart muscle becomes abnormally thick, making it harder to pump blood efficiently — and unfortunately, it’s been getting worse. Despite medication, my symptoms have progressed to the point where even walking short distances has become difficult. My cardiology team is working hard to get me approved for a new medication called Mavacamten, which offers real hope for people with this specific form of heart disease. It doesn’t work for everyone, but it’s a big step forward compared to what used to be available. If that doesn’t help, I may be looking at more invasive options like a septal myectomy — a type of open-heart surgery that could relieve the obstruction and help me breathe and function more normally again. It’s a lot to process, but I’m thankful to have a solid medical team and good care opti...

It’s been a movie weekend 🎬, and this was the last one. No spoilers, I promise 🤐. The Equalizer 3, starring Denzel Washington, was great—just as good as the original 💥. I haven’t seen the second one yet, but you don’t need to watch these in order. Denzel does a fantastic job in these movies 👏. I’ve enjoyed almost all of his films, except Flight, which I personally think was his weakest ✈️😕.

No Spoilers. Not bad for a film based on a true story. I liked the story and the music—it was engaging and covered something I never knew about. Worth a watch if you aren't looking for an action movie or comedy.

This wasn’t a bad movie. It was family-friendly and, according to the end credits, apparently based on a true story.

No spoilers — not bad at all. The characters were solid across the board. Jason Bateman played against type — it was interesting to see him in a different kind of role. Taron Egerton is a versatile actor and delivered a strong performance here too. Not bad for an on-the-fly choice.

I woke up early today, determined to finally get Nostr up and running and join the network. After all, ChatGPT—my AI guide for most things—told me everything would be fine and estimated it would only take 30 minutes to an hour. You're probably thinking it should have taken 15–20 minutes tops. Well, I’m self-hosting everything. Little did I know what self-hosting everything really involves. Remember, I’m not a coder, network engineer, or anyone working in the computer industry. I have some basic computer knowledge and skills, but I’ve been branching out more with the help of AI. I’ve written about it many times on my blog and social media. I’m learning, but I have to be careful—not to get too absorbed. Before I know it, the whole day is gone. Like today. Today came with its share of challenges, because when I start something, I want to finish it—and finish it properly . I like using Portainer with my Raspberry Pi, along with Docker and Docker Compose, but that setup se...

I use Google’s Blogger as a backup for my main blog. I’ve had that Blogger account for over 20 years, and since it’s free and supports custom domains, I figured — why not use it for archival purposes? I used to rely on IFTTT to automate this. When I posted something on my main blog, it would trigger a webhook that sent the post to Blogger via IFTTT. It worked — most of the time. But lately, IFTTT has become unreliable. Since they use a shared API for Blogger across all users, even my modest 3 or 4 posts a day would sometimes fail to go through due to quota limits. So, I decided to take control. I set up a self-hosted automation workflow on my Raspberry Pi to do exactly what IFTTT used to do — but using my own system. It works like a charm. Here’s the twist: in Google’s eyes, to make this work, I had to create an “app” — just to post to my own blog. That was fine, except that in "testing" mode, Google only issues OAuth tokens that last 7 days. After that, you have...

Maxwell Class of 2025 Maxwell Senior Picture My nephew Maxwell has graduated from high school! It’s incredible to see how much he’s grown and matured over the years. I still remember when he was little—there are posts and photos of him from those early days right here on my blog at mitchelltribe.com . I’m so proud of him and wish him all the success in the world as he steps into this new chapter. With this milestone, he now joins my oldest niece, Alexus, and my oldest nephew, Landon, as high school graduates. 🎉

I’ve been meaning to blog about this for a couple of months — the Howard Frankland Bridge, which was part of what I considered my first real job and career in my early twenties.. I crossed it often and saw it change over the years. For a bridge, it never really felt like one — at least not in the usual sense. It had (last I saw) scenic turnarounds on both ends that gave it a unique character. I’ve been under that bridge by boat, and over it by car, and I always felt safe on it. But wow, traffic could get snarled in a hurry if something happened. I’m including two photos — one from when the bridge first opened in 1960, and another from March 2025, showing the newly completed span. I don’t really know why this came to mind, except that I don’t have any bad memories crossing this bridge. Now the Skyway Bridge… that’s a different story, and definitely worthy of a blog post on its own — coming soon. #HowardFranklandBridge #TampaBay #ThenAndNow #PersonalHist...

This review may contain spoilers. This was my first time watching this. It started out pretty good, but overall, it wasn’t that great. I’m glad I never bought it or paid to see it in theaters. I know there’s been a lot of controversy surrounding Ezra Miller, and while he usually gives a solid performance, this one just didn’t deliver. The whole story was a slog and a snooze-fest to get through. I thought about turning it off, but this was also my first time using Tubi—and as I expected, the ads added another layer of distraction that I don’t enjoy anymore. The ending showed some promise, but the middle dragged on for far too long.

📺 This TV Week’s Watchlist: From Disney+: 🎬 Andor – Season 2, Episodes 10–12 Season and Series Finale ⭐⭐⭐ No spoilers. I finished Andor last night and walked away feeling unsatisfied. The characters were strong and interesting, and the actors and actresses who portrayed them were compelling and talented. The problem was the story. While the season did provide some valuable background, explaining how we got to this point, the pacing felt uneven. Some parts were rushed, while others were overly drawn out. It seemed like they were trying to cram the content of four or five additional episodes into just three. If you're going to do that, then each episode needs to be treated like a classic TV miniseries—back in the day, miniseries would run across three or four nights, and each episode would be about 90 to 105 minutes (to account for commercial breaks). That kind of format could have helped here. Yes, technically (not a spoiler), the show leads into the beginning of Rogue...

In my continuing battle with subscription fatigue, I’ve decided to drop my SiriusXM satellite radio service — they wouldn’t match the rate I had before, so I let it go 👋. For two years, I paid just $6.98 total (taxes included). It wasn’t the top-tier plan, but it suited my needs, especially since I used it two to four times a week. That subscription ends next month. I’m also parting ways with my free Netflix access, which came bundled with a Verizon Peacock deal last year. That runs out in July, and honestly, I’m not sure I’ll pay for Netflix on its own. Lately, I’ve been watching more on Prime Video, Disney+, and my own Plex server anyway 🎬. #subscriptionfatigue #SiriusXM #Peacock #Netflix

Finished reading: Who is Jesus– Really? by Josh McDowell 📚 Finally finished. Learned a couple of new ways of thinking and explaining things. On to the last book in the series.

📺 This Week’s Watchlist: From Disney+: 🎬 Andor – Season 2, Episodes 7–9 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ No spoilers. I thought Episode 7 had a small pacing issue and dragged a bit, but Episodes 8 and 9 picked up nicely. Like I keep saying, I really hope they wrap this up leading into Rogue One with a satisfying conclusion. There are some tie-ins to Star Wars Rebels —might be time for a rewatch. 🎬 Tags: # TV # Entertainment # Disney +

This was much better than I expected. I really liked all the characters—each one felt distinct and well-acted. The story moved at a good pace and held my attention the whole way through. Knowing it’s based on real events made it even more gripping. I can confidently say I’d never want to work in the North Sea—especially not above or below it. If you’re claustrophobic, it could be triggering. Overall, a solid and well-made film that’s definitely worth a watch.

Big cast but ultimately disappointing. The pacing was slow, and the story didn’t flow well. Hard to tell how true to life it really was.

I just received a notice that my High Yield American Express Savings Account has dropped its rate from 3.80% to 3.60%. I remember it being 4.00% at the end of last year, and even a bit higher when I opened the account earlier in the year. So, let’s recap: Credit card interest rates are up My pay is stagnating My retirement funds are losing money And now, my savings rate is steadily declining All this while “he who must not be named” shot the whole economy in the foot with what amounts to the largest tax increase in American history, all while claiming “the other country pays the tariff.” From what I’ve seen — and this is just my read on the situation — it looks like savings rates are falling for a few reasons: the Federal Reserve may lower the benchmark rate, competition among banks for new deposits is cooling, and fewer people are borrowing or opening new credit lines. That last one I can see firsthand — I've cut almost all discretionary spending. Over the next few months...

📺 TV Watchlist for Today Amazon Prime: House of David – Season 1, Episodes 6–8: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ House of David was excellent, especially the two-part season finale. I do wish there had been one more episode to really round out the season. Once again, I find myself frustrated by shows only getting eight episodes. Here's hoping we don’t have to wait a year or two for a new one. No spoilers. 🎬 Tags: # TV # Entertainment # AmazonPrime

📺 This Weekend’s TV Watchlist From Disney+ and Amazon Prime: House of David – Season 1, Episodes 1–5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Andor – Season 2, Episodes 4–6 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ House of David is very interesting. They do warn viewers that the series takes some liberties with the story and is not entirely based on the Bible, but I think they’re trying to stay as true to it as they can. Andor is progressing nicely—I just hope they tie everything up with a bow to connect it smoothly to the movie. No spoilers. 🎬 #TV #Entertainment #DisneyPlus #AmazonPrime

Today isn’t just another Sunday — it’s Star Wars Day . 🎉 May the Force — or the Fourth — be with you. I'm a big fan of Star Wars (though I’ll admit I’m an even bigger Star Trek fan — too bad Trek doesn’t have its own dedicated day, at least not one that’s widely known). Still, credit where it’s due: Disney — with the help of Dave Filoni, Jon Favreau, and their talented team — is doing an excellent job keeping the Star Wars universe alive and thriving. That said, I do wish it didn’t take so long for new seasons to be released. I've made this gripe before, but TV series used to have longer seasons and shorter breaks. Now it feels like we wait years instead of months. 📺 May the Fourth be with you — and as we reflect on our own world, I’m reminded of a moment from Rogue One : Saw Gerrera : “You can stand to see the Imperial flag reign across the galaxy?” Jyn Erso : “It’s not a problem if you don’t look up.” 🏴‍☠️ Sometimes, looking away seems easier — but today remind...

Caption: A hand-drawn sketch showing a frustrated man with empty pockets in front of a laptop running Pocket in Firefox. I’ve been using Pocket since I switched to Mozilla Firefox over four years ago. I like Firefox, though I do miss some functionality from Chrome—like the ability to cast directly to the TV. Still, one of the things I’ve always appreciated was Pocket. I actually signed up for Pocket back when it was called Read It Later, even before Mozilla acquired it. I never paid for the service—I stuck with the free plan. But recently, I decided that Pocket is one service I’m willing to support financially, especially to help Mozilla. I also subscribe to Mozilla’s Relay service (which I’ve started using quite a bit) and pay for it annually. Overall, I’ve been happy with Pocket. I even started using it with my Kobo e-reader once that integration became available. But lately, things have started to turn. I’ve noticed that Pocket hasn’t really improved much, particularly when it c...