Happy Friday everyone. I hope everybody is doing well. Post any photos, memes, or music you like.

It's been a mild spring here in the lower left corner this year. Normally by this time of spring the temps inland from the coast where I live would be hitting the low 80°. So far the temps have been in the low to mid 70s and the morning marine layer that usually burns off around mid morning is sticking around until early afternoon. I'm keeping my fingers crossed this summer will be mild too. On the economic front, groceries are still expensive and a gallon of gas was $4.95 when I filled up the other day.

Wednesday of last week the camera club had it's monthly outing at the San Diego Botanical Garden, which, oddly enough, is not actually located in San Diego but about 20 miles north in Encinitas.

Welcome ladies and gentlemen to America's favorite game show where this year our contestants will vie for the honor of being anointed as the First American Dictator.

As we all know, this year's show is the most important in history, and to commemorate this event, the stakes have risen from one lucky contestant being selected as simply the President of the United States to the ultimate prize, The First American Dictator.

We have several contestants this year all of which have been carefully vetted by a panel of experts that have bought their way to the top. After careful consideration it's been determined that only two of the contestants portray the necessary traits to lord themselves above us all. Those traits include but are not limited to, narcissism, arrogance, and above all else, the love of money.

So, without further ado, here's our contestants:

US Forces Japan adopts a patch that incorporates the Rising Sun, seen in U.S.-allied South Korea and some other Asian nations as a symbol of imperial Japan’s occupation and abuses https://t.co/ahIpvQU423

— Josh Smith (@joshjonsmith) May 22, 2024

People are unhappy with the cost of living, and I'm one of them. The only issue I have is why people aren't putting the blame where it belongs.

Music Memories

Let's face it, there are a LOT of 'modern' musicians whose music has been popular, played constantly, collected by music lovers and fans, blasted in every store around, on the radio constantly and so on. These musical stars deserve to be recognized for their contributions to music (playing, writing, singing, whatever) and many of them are at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But, many of them aren't, and recently I found a couple of lists of musicians or bands who aren't in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (see links to these lists below, second paragraph from bottom). The fact that many of the musicians or bands on the lists haven't been recognized by the Hall of Fame shocked me. That might be because some of these bands are personally important to me, I admit, but still...

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, from Cleveland.com