SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Shower thoughts: Pearl Jam, toxic trolls, and the Space Force

Aug 10, 2018, 2:45 PM | Updated: 2:45 pm

shower thoughts...

(MyNorthwest, Unsplash)

(MyNorthwest, Unsplash)

With all these Pearl Jam concerts and the start of the NFL Preseason, I forgot to do Shower Thoughts this week. Let’s jump into the random things that bounce around my noggin in the shower.

Sleeping is hard when it’s so hot out

When it’s over 85 degrees, my sleep schedule goes something like this: Turn on the ceiling fan and try to fall asleep. Roll around for a few hours and finally doze off in time for a police siren or drunk person walking by my open window wakes me up at about 1 a.m. Then it seems like a good idea to go out to the couch that is close to the window air conditioning unit. Only problem, it’s really loud, but I try it anyway. Round about 4 a.m., I drag myself back to bed and attempt to fall back asleep for a few hours before fighting the snooze button for about an hour. Good times.

Seahawks pre-season game

I watched the first half of the Seahawks preseason game last night, but I have to admit my enthusiasm was down a notch. I kept waiting for two helmets to crash into each other and a flag to be thrown. CTE has changed the way I watch the game. But it was cool to see Andrew Luck out there throwing the ball. He missed all of last season with an injury. Has there ever been a more disciplined rehab in NFL history? I think not. I’m pulling for him to crush it this year.

Trolls and toxic content

It’s been extremely interesting for me to watch big tech companies finally start to be judge and jury on specific content. Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was removed by just about every major platform this week. I use to believe that big platforms were not responsible for the way people used their product. How could they be with hundreds of millions of users? With the rise of bots and trolls, I’m evolving my thinking. I think there’s no such thing as an agnostic platform anymore. It seems everything can be gamed. So I applaud Apple, YouTube, and Facebook for finally putting their foot down.

How’s about you Twitter? Time to do the right thing.

Space Force

I don’t know if I’m smart enough to know if the United States really needs a Space Force. Seems to me like we’ve been doing just fine without one. I do think it’s amusing that there’s already an online vote as to what the logo should be before we even know what Space Force is and how much it’s going to cost. Space Force!

Pearl Jam

Finally, in honor of Seattle concerts, here’s one of my top five Pearl Jam songs — “Given To Fly.”

You can hear “What are we talking about here?” everyday at 4:45 p.m. on 97.3 FM.

More from Ron Upshaw

Please follow our Community Guidelines

FILE - Dan Sullivan, a candidate in Alaska's U.S. Senate race who shares his name with the incumben...

Associated Press

Republican with same name as incumbent Dan Sullivan advances from Alaska US Senate primary

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A candidate with the same name as Alaska’s incumbent U.S. senator advanced Tuesday to the general election in what will be one of the most closely watched races in the country this fall. Dan J. Sullivan, who goes by Dan Sullivan, was among the top four finishers after the Aug. 18 […]

48 minutes ago

Harold Jezler poses for a picture with a photo of his wife, Olga Jezler, in West Harrison, N.Y., Fr...

Associated Press

Release of Marine veteran from Russian custody turns focus to other detainees with health concerns

WASHINGTON (AP) — Robert Gilman’s release from Russian custody this month heralded a long-awaited homecoming for the Marine veteran after more than four years behind bars. But as Harold Jezler followed the media coverage from the United States, he couldn’t help but notice Gilman’s gaunt and sickly appearance and think of the implications for his […]

50 minutes ago

Associated Press

The US and Canada could pull back from an all-out trade war. It’s not clear that they will

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. and Canada have ramped up their trade war, hitting each other with steep new tit-for-tat tariffs. Despite the bravado coming from both sides of the border, though, analysts suspect the longtime allies will eventually strike a deal to end a conflict neither really wants. The prospects for compromise looked bleak […]

52 minutes ago

FILE - A federal agent wears an Immigration and Customs Enforcement badge in New York, June 10, 202...

Associated Press

ICE agent charged with shooting in Minnesota could be released from Texas jail

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — An ICE agent charged in Minnesota with firing his gun through a house door, striking a man in his leg, and then lying to justify the shooting, could walk out of a South Texas jail on Thursday if a federal judge does not intervene. Christian Castro, an agent for U.S. Immigration […]

53 minutes ago

Robert Ladd, a former Compton, Calif., police officer who was part of the department's gang unit, t...

Associated Press

Former detective says Tupac murder suspect was gang ‘shot caller’ who had final say in shooting

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A former Compton gang detective testified Tuesday that Duane “Keffe D” Davis was a high-ranking “shot caller” whose authority meant younger gang members would not have opened fire on Tupac Shakur with Davis present unless he allowed it. Robert Ladd, a former Compton police officer who spent years investigating gang homicides, […]

54 minutes ago

FILE - The site of a future data center being built near Abernathy, Texas, July 18, 2026, in Hale C...

Associated Press

Here’s all the ways that data center controversies have transformed the midterm elections

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The snowballing opposition to data centers in communities across the United States has transformed the midterm election landscape, thrown a wrench into the plans of the world’s richest companies and brought perhaps the industry’s biggest booster, President Donald Trump, to its defense. It’s a dramatic shift from two years ago, when […]

54 minutes ago

Shower thoughts: Pearl Jam, toxic trolls, and the Space Force