So the last half of December and the first half of January have been a write off in terms of getting anything done because the flu bug has been so bad this year. I got sick twice and had such a sore throat the second time I ended up getting some antibiotics to get rid of it. My dad, who turned 81 on January 8th, also got the flu to the point where he had to go to the hospital. Not a great way to spend a birthday. And my brother Tony said the hospital was so busy that my dad was unable to get a private room. So my dad had to stay in the Emergency Ward. Thankfully, my dad is doing much better and hopefully will be out of the hospital a couple of days.

My wife and I sat down to watch the latest Fast And the Furious movie on Friday night. Sheesh! They’re up to number eight already. This is the first one without Paul Walker at all, who tragically passed away during the filming of the seventh movie. As with each new installment in the franchise, each movie has to get bigger and crazier than the previous one. This time the action involved a major set piece with cars on ice being chased by a submarine.

There was also a setpiece in a downtown area where all cars with computer chips were remotely taken over. Pretty far-fetched that’s for sure but at least with the remote control cars that’s something you could see possibly happening in the future with more self-driving cars. The submarine staff was just ridiculous. Still, there is no doubt the cast is having a lot of fun, The Rock especially is really fun to watch. And I got quite a kick out of Kurt Russell.

These movies are the poster child for check your brain at the door type of entertainment but sometimes that’s just what the doctor ordered and I admit, we had a lot of fun watching this movie.

I assume there will be a number nine. The way this one ended there’s definitely a sequel in store. At the rate they’re burning through premises, the next one will have to take place in space.