![\"A](\"https://media.mitchelltribe.xyz/gallery/posts/ai_gen_temp_f6d24cf5202e.avif\")
\nThis was hilarious
\n\nAs you get older, anniversaries and milestones hit you differently. I don't know why. I don't regret anything in my life, but I do feel nostalgic sometimes. The other day, driving to work, I learned that the University of South Florida is celebrating 70 years this year. That surprised me, because the first founding class attended in 1960, so the 70th anniversary is actually a few years off.
\nI attended USF from 1987 to 1990. I didn't graduate; I would have had about two years left. 1991 would have been my graduation year, but I was taking it nice and slow. Most people were taking five years, so 1992 would have been my year if I had stayed on track. What would have been my degree? Hold your chair and keep seated, but it would have been Music Education with a minor in Florida History.
\nMoney ran out, I was loaned out, and I decided to join the workforce. Funny enough, I never moved very far from USF. I now work at a non-profit hospital on the USF campus, so for almost my entire adult life I've been connected to the university in one way or another. Technically I guess I can't call myself an alum, but in every other sense I am one.
\nHere's to USF, 70 years, and all the good you've brought to the community. Go Bulls! 🤘
\n", "date_published": "2026-06-12T00:00:00+00:00", "tags": ["history","local","personal"] }, { "id": "https://michaelreflects.com/star-trek-outposts-unknown-pc-game/", "url": "https://michaelreflects.com/star-trek-outposts-unknown-pc-game/", "title": "Star Trek: Outposts Unknown PC Game", "content_html": "\n![\"Star](\"https://media.mitchelltribe.xyz/gallery/posts/social-card-83d91082c8294ec7e1e4.avif\")
\n\n\nStar Trek: Outposts Unknown - Official Announcement Trailer - IGN\nTo boldly go… and build in Star Trek: Outposts Unknown. Check out the Star Trek: Outposts Unknown announcement trailer for this upcoming narrative-driven outpost builder game set in the Star Trek universe. Build complex research facilities through the mysterious X’Lehari System. Explore strange new worlds, guide your crew through dangerous encounters, and uncover a cosmic force threatening all life in the system. Set alongside the era of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, your journey will take you across hostile environments, abandoned ships, ancient ruins, and a fragile civilization in desperate need of aid. Star Trek: Outposts Unknown will be available on PC. A demo is out now on Steam.
\n— @video-game-and-movie-trailers-ign on mastodon via Video Game and Movie Trailers
\n
This looks very interesting. I will be following this closely.
\n", "date_published": "2026-06-07T18:32:29+00:00", "tags": ["opinion","gaming","Star Trek"] }, { "id": "https://michaelreflects.com/popcorn-watched-tom-clancys-jack-ryan-ghost-war-2026-on-prime-video/", "url": "https://michaelreflects.com/popcorn-watched-tom-clancys-jack-ryan-ghost-war-2026-on-prime-video/", "title": "🍿 Watched Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Ghost War (2026) on Prime Video", "content_html": "\n⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: MILD SPOILERS
\n![\"A](\"https://media.mitchelltribe.xyz/gallery/posts/tmdb_82eb480c6e11.avif\")
\nMy Rating: ⭐⭐⭐½ (3.5/5 stars)
\nI agree with the other reviews. I loved the whole cast. John Krasinski does a fantastic job as the lead, and he works well as a replacement for Harrison Ford in this whole new series. The problem was the format: as a movie it felt rushed and the story couldn’t properly develop. This would have benefited from another season or at least a limited one-season run so the characters and plot had time to breathe. The cast gave you everything, they just needed more room to do it.
\n![\"TMDb\"](\"https://www.themoviedb.org/assets/2/v4/logos/v2/blue_short-8e7b30f73a4020692ccca9c88bafe5dcb6f8a62a4c6bc55cd9ba82bb2cd95f6c.svg\")
![\"Why](\"https://media.mitchelltribe.xyz/gallery/posts/social-card-fe6e0eedc5a5508b3e1d.avif\")
\n\n\nWhy Gen X is the real loser generation\nDon’t cry for millennials or Gen Z. Save your pity for those in their 50s
\n— @daily-reads-TheEconomist on mastodon via Daily Reads
\n
I am a Gen Xer, and I do not consider myself part of a loser generation.
\nI do think my generation came up during a time when the family was under assault from companies, the economy, and a culture that made it harder and harder for one parent to stay home. I know my mother and father resisted that pressure for as long as they could.
\n\nMy mother was a stay-at-home mother for most of my childhood, and I am grateful for that. I also get to spend time with her now in her 70s, and I appreciate every bit of that time. My father worked and was the primary breadwinner for our household.
\nBut after I graduated, my parents took on two more mouths to feed. My aunt on my mom’s side died young, and her two kids, my cousins, were being raised by my maternal grandmother. When my grandmother died, my parents took over raising them. That, along with other factors, eventually led to my mom entering the workforce.
\nSo no, I do not think of Gen X as a loser generation.
\nWe saw the birth of some amazing things, and we helped bring some great inventions into the world that today’s generations benefit from. I guess every generation can claim that in some way, but we were there for the rise of the personal computer, mobile phones, the internet, and so much more.
\nThe things I do think Gen X lost out on were more serious. We saw the rise of latchkey kids. We saw families stretched thinner. And now, many of us are facing a retirement system that is much less secure than the one our parents expected.
\nWe will probably have to work longer. We have less retirement security because corporate pensions largely disappeared and were replaced by 401(k) plans that many employers under-fund. The responsibility shifted from companies to workers, and a lot of people were not prepared for that. Social Security in a death spiraled only expected to pay full benefits until 2033 right when I will be drawing on it.
\nThe article argues that Gen X has had slower income growth than other generations at similar ages, and I believe that. Even now, I am making the most money I have ever made, yet it still does not feel like enough. My spending is not up. In fact, it is down. But the cost of everything keeps climbing, and it feels like we are always trying to catch up.
\nSo while I do not think my generation, or my siblings’ generation, are losers, I do think we have been more disadvantaged than people realize.
\nGen X is not the loser generation.
\nWe are a disadvantaged generation that has not been given the respect it deserves.
\nAnd there is a big difference.
\n", "date_published": "2026-05-23T18:30:27+00:00", "tags": ["opinion","retirement","family"] }, { "id": "https://michaelreflects.com/ai-isnt-black-and-white/", "url": "https://michaelreflects.com/ai-isnt-black-and-white/", "title": "AI Isn't Black and White", "content_html": "\n![\"A](\"https://media.mitchelltribe.xyz/gallery/posts/ai_gen_temp_d882b05b59c8.avif\")
\nOkay, this will probably sound controversial, but that's not my intent. I'm just sharing my thoughts because AI is everywhere right now, especially on social media and in blog posts.
\nThese views range from fairly neutral:1
\n\nTo fairly positive, with the idea that you need to learn or use AI because...
\n\nTo more negative views, often focused on whether AI's value proposition can actually justify the money being spent:
\n\n\nPeople tend to frame the debate as two opposing camps: camp 1 wants nothing to do with AI, and camp 2 wants to hand it control over everything. I live in a quieter third camp. Most people are actually somewhere in the middle, but we don't shout as loudly. I see both the risks and the benefits. AI has let me try things I never would have had the courage to try, and it's helped me grow and learn about technology in ways I likely wouldn't have otherwise.
\nThe loudest voices are camps 1 and 2, yet it's usually the middle camp that makes the real decisions when it counts. So maybe camps 1 and 2 should learn a little from us: camp 1 could be a little less rigid, and camp 2 could be more realistic and grounded.
\nAI is not going away. It may become less democratized. We are already seeing token, credit, and time limits, but those feel like temporary bumps. Many limits are at least partly artificial, and they may ease as the tech and business models evolve.
\nGiven current politics here and abroad, tearing people down doesn't help. If AI isn't being used to create false narratives or spread \"fake news,\" people should be free to use it or not. I don't support blanket punishments for anyone who used AI to edit, help, or build something. That kind of hard-line stance, and labeling anything non-factual as \"slop,\" isn't productive.
\nThe larger economic issue is real and has been building for decades. Automation started with the paperless office and industrial robotics. Robots and AI will continue to displace jobs, and that's a societal and political problem we need to solve now, not shrug off with \"it's not my problem.\" It's not necessarily tomorrow's crisis, but it's coming in the not-so-distant future.
\nJob losses mean less tax revenue, and corporations and wealthy individuals are skilled at finding legal ways to reduce taxes, wages, and benefits. We should rethink corporate structures and the single-minded focus on shareholder value. A shift toward an employee-and-business-first model would make more sense. After all, without a functioning business, you don't have shareholder value, and without employees, you don't really have a business unless you fully automate. If companies replace workers with machines and still expect high shareholder returns, they may under-invest in the equipment and long-term stability that would make that strategy sustainable.
\nThat's my two cents. I don't think we should be tearing people down for using technology that helps them, that they pay for themselves, and that helps them communicate and complete their vision.
\nFor full transparency, this post contains my thoughts and my opinions, and it was edited and proofread with AI. I made, directed, and approved the changes. AI helped organize my wording and corrected my spelling and grammar. It did not write this post, create the ideas behind it, or shape my feelings or thoughts. That, to me, is responsible AI usage.
\nI could not afford to hire an editor or an artist for this post, or every other post, to make a feature image. I told the AI what I wanted for a feature image, and it made it. I think it did an amazing job bringing my prompt alive.
\nI am using “views” broadly here. Some examples come from specific blog posts, while others come from podcasts, videos, comments, or general public statements I have seen or heard.
\nJim Mitchell adds notes to his site via a webmention. His note post tells all about it here and I am testing to see if it works and if my sending webmentions work. Jim your site looks great you done a great job with Clodd CMS.
\n", "date_published": "2026-05-09T14:52:23+00:00" }, { "id": "https://michaelreflects.com/parsley-pot-roast-and-changing-tastes/", "url": "https://michaelreflects.com/parsley-pot-roast-and-changing-tastes/", "title": "Parsley, Pot Roast, and Changing Tastes", "content_html": "![\"Why](\"https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:bp52rrlz2pjiugflzokle3ec/bafkreig6v2yyw3jntlnqrhbmdfyzo5apz67vgnco4vblpava2x4lbnxmny\")
\n\n\nWhy 1980s Meals Were Always Garnished With Parsley - Food Republic
\nFrom steak dinners to bowls of soup, 1980s restaurants topped nearly every dish with a sprig of parsley. But why was this garnish so ubiquitous?
\n— Food Republic (@foodrepublic.bsky.social) on bluesky (source)
\n
I saw this Bluesky post come across my timeline because I follow Food Republic, and it got my attention. When I was a kid and teenager, I did not like parsley. But now, in my 50s, I actually do not mind it. I started using it after following some recipes from Chef Jean-Pierre, who has a YouTube channel. It really did make my pot roast pop and helped brighten the dish after a long cooking time.
\nIt is strange to think that this may be why parsley was used so often in the 1970s, when I was growing up.
\n\n\nParsley signaled sophistication. During the decade, French cuisine was particularly in vogue among American cooks, and the herb served as a marker of European plating habits. Subsequently, a sprig of it functioned as a quick and accessible way to inflect a dash of color and Old World charm.
\n
I just thought this was interesting, especially since I used to really hate parsley. It made me think about how our tastes can change as we get older, and how something we once disliked can become something we appreciate later in life.
\n", "date_published": "2026-05-09T13:00:30+00:00", "tags": ["cooking","food"] }, { "id": "https://michaelreflects.com/blog/post-i-came-across-this-hilarious-1171/", "url": "https://michaelreflects.com/blog/post-i-came-across-this-hilarious-1171/", "title": "(Untitled)", "content_html": "I came across this hilarious YouTube short from a British TV show. I think the British have some great TV, and this one had me rolling on the floor laughing. Enjoy!
\n⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: MILD SPOILERS
\n![\"A](\"https://media.mitchelltribe.xyz/gallery/posts/tmdb_fed93aeda089.avif\")
\nMy Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5 stars)
\nHighly, highly unbelievable yet very entertaining. Great cast. If you want to kill about two hours and are after a fun, fast-paced movie, this delivers. It’s not profound, but it does exactly what it sets out to do, entertain.
\nIf you ever want to see a master craftswoman at website design and theming, then you must stop over at Hey Loura! She is also in my BlogRoll. Her latest creation is spectacular and pirate-themed. She keeps outdoing herself each time she updates.
\nI love her work and wish I could do, or get an AI to do, what she does. I have tried. I am still working on a 4th of July theme, but I can't get it to see my vision.
\nAnyways, great job, Loura! I can't wait to see what you come up with next.
\n", "date_published": "2026-04-23T08:08:48+00:00", "tags": ["opinion","web-development"] }, { "id": "https://michaelreflects.com/memes-connect-us-i-guess/", "url": "https://michaelreflects.com/memes-connect-us-i-guess/", "title": "Memes Connect Us, I Guess", "content_html": "I usually watch BGT (Britain's Got Talent) clips on YouTube because the British often have really interesting acts. One I liked was the Glantaf Boys Choir from Wales. They were excellent, and it made me wonder why we don't have this kind of all-male boy choir here. We do have choruses and choirs, but they are almost always mixed. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's a different cultural tradition and it's special to see and hear an all-male choir perform.
\nWhat really caught my attention, though, was KSI. I had never heard of him until this year's BGT, but he seems to be famous in the UK. He connected with the boys instantly, and their reaction was so funny. They immediately understood what he meant, so I had to look it up. Since I don't use TikTok, I discovered it was a TikTok meme and that's why I had never heard of it.
\nHere it is, watch the interaction. They get the joke right away, and the whole group visibly relaxes.
\nI like that a little internet meme can create that moment of connection.
\n", "date_published": "2026-04-21T22:26:20+00:00", "tags": ["entertainment","music"] }, { "id": "https://michaelreflects.com/moon-views-earth-love/", "url": "https://michaelreflects.com/moon-views-earth-love/", "title": "Moon Views, Earth Love", "content_html": "I have been watching the Artemis II mission off and on. I saw these pictures on the NASA website, and here are a few that I really like. They definitely got me thinking.
\nI have always been fascinated by space and the Heavens. I would like to go to space, but not like we do today. If I went, I would want it to be on a Star Trek type shuttle or ship. Our spacecraft, much like our planes, are little more than thin tin cans.
\nLooking at these pictures really affected me. The Moon is very dead and very unwelcoming, and space is the same way. Then, seeing our planet \"Earth\" from that vantage point just shows the miracle God made for us and the love Jesus purchased for us. Why would you want to go anywhere else?
\n![\"A](\"https://media.mitchelltribe.xyz/gallery/posts/b6c80270e9a0.avif\")
Hello, World NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman took this picture of Earth from the Orion spacecraft's window on April 2, 2026, after completing the translunar injection burn.
![\"A](\"https://media.mitchelltribe.xyz/gallery/posts/2571ed099196.avif\")
The Nearside of the Moon (April 4, 2026) - A view of the nearside of the Moon, the side we always see from Earth. Some of the far side is visible, as well, on the left edge, just beyond the black patch that is Orientale basin, a nearly 600-mile-wide crater that straddles the Moon’s ne
![\"A](\"https://media.mitchelltribe.xyz/gallery/posts/fde4612f9dc7.avif\")
A Setting Earth (April 6, 2026) – The lunar surface fills the frame in sharp detail, as seen during the Artemis II lunar flyby, while a distant Earth sets in the background. This image was captured at 6:41 p.m. EDT, on April 6, 2026, just three minutes before the Orion spacecraft and
![\"A](\"https://media.mitchelltribe.xyz/gallery/posts/bf3f8eaa3fb1.avif\")
Earthset Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon.
Source: NASA — April 2026
I don't know how people can look at these incredible images and not think there is a grand designer. I am staying where we should. Think about it, in the oceans or in space, you will always need a suit that could puncture, rupture, or run out of life-saving air or water. But God made our Earth its own spacesuit that self-replicates the air and water we need.
\nThese pictures are just beautiful. Space, the Moon, and Mars are places to visit for a day or two, but not places to live. It would be very isolating, even with other people. Look at that multicolored marble. It is home, and it is just beautiful.
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2026-04-07T23:39:06+00:00", "tags": ["current-events","inspiration","opinion"] }, { "id": "https://michaelreflects.com/birthday-thoughts-on-a-country-at-a-crossroads/", "url": "https://michaelreflects.com/birthday-thoughts-on-a-country-at-a-crossroads/", "title": "Birthday Thoughts on a Country at a Crossroads", "content_html": "![\"A](\"https://media.mitchelltribe.xyz/gallery/posts/ai_gen_temp_76fc10a9e310.avif\")
\nI turn 57 this month, and with everything going on in the world, it almost feels like an afterthought. This year feels worse, more doom and gloom than others. I am not entirely sure why, but it is not just politics. The economy has been rough too, with gas prices staying high, in my case over $4.25 a gallon, along with rising costs across the board and ongoing tech hardware shortages. It all adds to the sense that things are off.
\nI have never seen as much upheaval as I have this past year. I have also never witnessed in my adult life companies and wealthy individuals fawn over a President to this extent, while much of the media seems complicit. Then they wonder why their trustworthiness is at an all-time low. I believe in a neutral, fact-based media, but in reality we have never truly had one in this country except when it suited particular interests.
\n\nWhat do I mean by that? Yellow journalism is a term that emerged in the late 1800s, around the time of the Spanish-American War. It was fueled in part by sensationalized reporting about the explosion of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor in 1898. At the time, many blamed Spain, though the exact cause of the explosion has never been definitively determined. That kind of reporting helped push the country toward war. Personally, I think we probably should have kept control of Cuba at that time and eventually made it a state or states.
\nI also know corruption has existed across parties. The Watergate scandal during the Nixon presidency is one clear example. At the same time, leaders from other parties have had their own issues. Franklin D. Roosevelt had people around him who benefited from proximity and influence, a kind of cronyism that shows up in different forms across administrations, including more recent ones.
\nThe real root of the problem, in my view, is something I do not think the Founders fully anticipated or addressed well, and that is political parties. They formed quickly after the Constitution was ratified, but there were early warnings. George Washington, in his Farewell Address, warned about the dangers of political factions and how they could divide the country and put party loyalty above the public good. That warning feels more relevant now than ever.
\nNow it feels like everything is driven by one party trying to outdo the other. In the United States, this seems more ingrained and entrenched than in many other countries.
\nI foresee, and I could be wrong, a large Democratic wave coming if elections are conducted fairly. But if that happens, Democrats need to be cautious. People are tired of endless investigations and political theater. They want action. They want real solutions, not lip service.
\nThat means actually addressing things like immigration reform in a lasting way and strengthening Social Security. Some issues may even require constitutional amendments to address structural weaknesses that recent events have brought into focus.
\nAt the same time, do not spend all the energy trying to impeach Trump again. Focus on limiting his power through legislation, oversight, and where possible, overriding vetoes. Hold members of his administration accountable where appropriate, using every lawful tool available, and where warranted, pursue impeachment in cases where it clearly applies. There should be real consequences, including barring individuals from future federal service when justified. That kind of accountability would act as a genuine deterrent. If people know the long-term consequences outweigh any short-term gain, they are less likely to go along with wrongdoing, regardless of pressure or job security.
\nThe broader goal, to me, is making Trump politically irrelevant by not allowing him to dominate every moment or control every outcome. That would likely be more effective than impeachment, because it removes the attention and influence he relies on.
\nI am hoping this year ends better than it has started. I am usually upbeat during my birth month, but so far this year I am just not feeling it. Here is hoping things turn around.
\nLuckily, I do not rely on politics or economics for my ultimate happiness. We are just sojourners on this planet, and Easter reminds me of that. Time to shake off the doom and gloom and focus on what actually matters.
\n", "date_published": "2026-04-06T11:01:39+00:00", "tags": ["personal","politics","current-events"] }, { "id": "https://michaelreflects.com/popcorn-watched-civil-war-2024/", "url": "https://michaelreflects.com/popcorn-watched-civil-war-2024/", "title": "🍿Watched Civil War (2024)", "content_html": "⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: FULL SPOILERS
\n![\"A](\"https://media.mitchelltribe.xyz/gallery/posts/tmdb_6a498ca8700d.avif\")
\nMy Rating: ½ (0.5/5 stars)
\nThe movie stunk, and it stunk so bad I kept watching only for the action at the end. It made no sense to me. Why were we in a civil war? Seems more like a feel-good piece for the press. There were undertones of innuendo but no reason was given, nothing clear was given. It was basically like the viewer came in the middle of a tale and only got none of the backstory. Totally stupid movie. If you were supposed to guess about the relationship to today's politics, this movie will be bad in 25 years' time since there is no context at all, and I mean at all. Every good movie has some backstory, either through flashbacks or other ways. My big takeaway: no context, skip it. Don't waste 2 hours like I did. Yes, there were some good action and thrilling one-off action moments, but that was it.
\nHistory was made today. The kind of history that will be written about and studied for years to come, and I was able to capture it from my backyard. Artemis II successfully launched with a crew of four and is heading to the Moon. Not as great, magnificent, or universe changing as what we will celebrate this Sunday with Easter and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, not even close. But still amazing.
\nHere is what I get to see from my house on the other side of the coast of Florida. Not as amazing as being there, but still awesome.
\n![\"A](\"https://media.mitchelltribe.xyz/gallery/posts/f35316f8e18b.avif\")
\n![\"A](\"https://media.mitchelltribe.xyz/gallery/posts/c42e6b13e03d.avif\")
\nNo Fools today on this 1st of April. Pretty surreal to watch it from here.
\n", "date_published": "2026-04-01T21:42:12+00:00", "tags": ["news","photos","history"] }, { "id": "https://michaelreflects.com/popcorn-watched-chief-of-station-2024/", "url": "https://michaelreflects.com/popcorn-watched-chief-of-station-2024/", "title": "🍿 Watched Chief of Station (2024)", "content_html": "⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS
\n![\"Alt](\"https://media.mitchelltribe.xyz/gallery/posts/tmdb_6da3996e49ad.avif\")
\nMy Rating: ⭐⭐½ (2.5/5 stars)
\nThe cast has done good work in other films, but not here. They were probably paid, but the story was terrible. Calling it a 2.5 felt generous. In my view, there was nothing redeeming about this movie.
\n