September 30, 2016

I'll take a Snickers, and some chips, and a soda...

Happy Friday. It looks like a soggy day ahead. I have nothing exciting to relate as to my travels this week. I was put on the "premium floor" at the hotel. My room was not any better, but I was given a code that let me grab free stuff from the vending machine. That was kind of cool.

My daughter celebrated the big three-o earlier in the month. Today is the youngest son's birthday and tomorrow is my oldest son's day. Christmas was always good for me in the old days.

Anyway, my daughter, her husband, and their best friends have been planning a big 30th birthday celebration for a year and a half. They have a Jamaican vacation set for next week. It looks like an unwanted guest named Mathew is going to be at the resort too. I feel bad for them. A few years ago they went to Florida and the area was hit by a tropical storm. Their Hawaiian honeymoon was beset with constant rain. Now it looks like they are going to get hit by a hurricane. Our family has always been cursed with bad luck. I hoped hers would disappear when she changed her last name. Instead it has just infected another family.

I told her to look at the positive, it will be a vacation to remember. How many people can say they spent thousands of dollars to ride out a hurricane?

September 29, 2016

Dear Secretary Clinton


I heard you proclaim during the debate that the rich do not pay their fair share in America. By any standard you are rich. So tell me, how much extra did you pay in taxes last year to ensure that you paid your fair share? You are allowed to pay extra. Did you forego exemptions and deductions? Did you take advantage of any of those loopholes you so denigrate? If so, why?

Could it be that you are like every other hypocritical Democrat, quick to spend my money, complain that is not enough, but grab every buck for yourself you can get? Put your money where your mouth is, announce immediately that you are paying 60% of your income last year to the IRS.

Write one of those big oversized checks like they give out at golf tournaments.

September 28, 2016

Wayback Wednesday

Stuff I have seen

Caribbean Sunset 2013
Not a pirate in sight

No politicians were harmed in making this post

Good morning. It is raining, so it is a good thing I mowed the lawn yesterday evening. The wife had a doctor appointment and then went to get her hair done yesterday afternoon. She planned on spending he evening with one of her friends, so I was on my own. This is nothing new or troublesome for a guy who is on his own for dinner two or three times a week. After I cut he grass I picked up some Chinese takeout and settled in to watch some Cubs baseball. I read a bit, played some card games on the iPad and generally relaxed to the easy pace of the ball game. The wife returned shortly before eleven.

I have some paperwork to do this morning then it is off to the Windy City. I was there last week, and probably will be there again next week. There is a lot of opportunity for my widgets there. It is funny, in my previous career one of my main customers was in a west suburb of Chicago. I stayed there at least once a month. Currently, I have a concentration of customers in the same area. I stay in tne same old hotel and eat in the same restaurants I haunted for eight years previously.Things change and yet remain the same.

Some road warriors go to a town and stay for an extended period for a project. I have a friend who is a consultant who spends as much as a year in the same place. Some of us go many places for a one night stand. I like the change of scenery. I may go to the same places, but I am usually heading somewhere else after a day or so,  i have become good at packing a suitcase.

September 27, 2016

About last night

Let me first of all recognize my bias. I believe know Hillary Clinton is a liar, corrupt and represents the worst in American politics. I disagree with every aspect of her leftist big government political philosophy.

I find it amazing that Trump was asked about his taxes, his bankruptcies, his business dealings, and stop and frisk policy proposal while the moderator not once asked about Clinton's emails, Benghazi, or the Clinton Foundation.

I have no issue with Lester Holt bringing up these issues with Trump. But this attempt to whitewash these very troubling aspects of the Democrat is disgusting.

For the record, about 20 minutes of that farce is all I could stand.

September 26, 2016

Now What?

OK. I will accept your position at face value. You are kneeling or raising a hand in protest of a racially suppressed America. You want to draw awareness. Done.

Now what? Protest without plan or purpose is just a temper tantrum. If your version of America is unjust, then what do you do about it? Do you want to disband the police in every community? Do we empty the prisons and abolish the courts? Is unbridled anarchy the end game? Tell me how you will fix it. Without solutions your protest is just another jump-on-the-bandwagon social trend as meaningless as last year's dump the water on your head challenge. You get your  participation ribbon, but that is about it. What is the plan?

If you want real discussion then we have to discuss black on black crime. We have to discuss welfare. We have to discuss culture and drugs and gangs.

If you want a true color blind society then we have to discuss discarding the United Negro College Fund,. We have to abolish admittance and hiring policies that allow racial preferences for certain minorities. We have to quit talking about reparations for people who were never slaves paid by people who never owned another human.

I do know that rioting and looting is not protest. I know that taking to the streets without facts in hand is just vigilante mob rule. I know that every time a criminal is held up as an example of everything that is wrong about America your credibility is weakened. I know every time you regale me with "hands up, don't shoot" I know you are uniformed, ignorant, and a fool.

I'm bored with your protest. You have become that guy carrying "the world is ending" sign. You are the Marlon Brando character in "The Wild Ones": "What are you rebelling against?"

"What have you got.".

You don't expect a repair man to merely tell you your car or appliance is broken. You want to know how to fix it. Anything less is a waste of time. Get off your knee and start with the hard part. Do something productive. Otherwise quit boring me.

Hah!

I have Lynyrd Skynyrd stuck in my head this morning. I slept fitfully last night. What say we just assume that is the case for future reporting unless I relate otherwise. It is a fact of life, and I suspect you really, really don't care. Thunder rumbled and hard rain fell intermittently in the course of the night. It is rainy and damp this morning.

The truth is "mundane" is the most generous description one could muster when it comes to content around here any more. I know it, you do too. I may or may not tune in to the debates this evening. I am sure who I will vote against. Whom I vote for, well that is a diffferent issue altogether.

Victory is mine! I have again succeeded in filling this blank space with letters and semi-coherent words. The evil flashing cursor is defeated once again. Take that blog template.

September 25, 2016

Simple man

The boy's dog is curled up tight against my hip on the couch as I surf the webz on my iPad this morning. The dog likes to be here. We have a fenced-in backyard where he can run at will. At home he has to be walked on a leash. I like him to come because he chases off the chipmunks and bunnies for a while. The dog is a corgi Jack Russell mix and smart as a whip.

It looks to be a gorgeous day here at the homestead. I have yard work that needs to be done but little desire to do the work.

I had a good time hanging out with the kids yesterday. After the brew tour we went to my daughter's for pizza and cake. The kids all got along and it was very nice.

September 24, 2016

Guilty

It sure brings on a twinge of guilt to see so many people out jogging, walking, and exercising their dogs as you drive past in your SUV on the way to the donut shop.

Hopping on the hop trail

I woke with a headache after a fitful night's sleep. Tylenol and coffee can't make it worse. The family is gathering today to celebrate birthdays.  My daughter had her day last week, and both boys celebrate this week. We are going on a brew tour of Indy's microbreweries. My wife, who hates beer, is staying behind to watch our granddaughter while the rest of us have a good time. I think this will be the first time all three kids and their respective husbands and girlfriends will be in the same place at the same time since last Christmas. We have seen the kids separately and in pairs, but not as a trio, that I can recall.




September 23, 2016

Rock a bye

At 12:30 my eyes popped open from a deep slumber. I managed to get back to sleep. I had gone to bed shortly after eleven.  2:13 AM found me back awake. I flipped from right to left. I punched up the pillow and turned it over a couple of dozen times looking for the cool side. I even got up and got a drink of water. Then I started the whole routine again. Finally, here I am at three o'dark-thirty tapping away at the old iPad.

I can faintly hear the night sounds outside through tne closed windows; the crickets, the frogs, the locusts, the chirping din of nature's white noise. Maybe it is just the memories grinding in my brain. Certainly it is not the well-oiled machine it once was.

I can just see the granddaughter's crib in the tablet's glow as I type away in the dark room. This spare bedroom serves many purposes -- blog room, spare TV room, daytime nap room for he baby.

I wish I had the funny tale or the witty bromide to toss into the interwebz for your entertainment. My buddy insomnia does nothing fun to offer up as blog fodder. He has no antics, no card tricks, no dirty jokes. He just keeps me awake.

I yawn a bit as I wiggle my rear deeper into the recliner. I close my eyes for a second, but I know I'm not yet ready to fall into the arms of Morpheus. Insomnia and I have hung out many times in the past. I know his ways. In the old days these late night sessions found me at my creative best. That part of my brain withered long ago. I have always had strange sleep patterns. Even as a boy, i often got up for thirty minutes or an hour at a time in the middle of the night.  I would walk the house, go outside and sit in the warm months, read or watch TV before heading back to bed. Im know it drove my parents crazy. Until I was probably thirty it was rare if I averaged more than five hours of sleep each night.  Now I usually get a steady seven in the sack. 

I have bored myself into trying to get back to sleep, so that means you were bored long ago. As I often say, I deliver the depth of entertainment you pay for when you enter this blog o'rama. I do not shortchange your entry fee. Fat in Indiana gives you a good return on your investment. 

Bon soir, mes amis

September 22, 2016

The view from my soapbox

It seems there is a bad case of thuggery going on in Charlotte. Too bad, I like the Queen City. I used to go there about once a month in my former occupation. It seems to me that you lose all legitimacy of a protest when it turns almost immediately into full blown looting and a riot. Too bad the President remains silent on this, as usual. For those of you protesting, you lose all credibility when the chant is "Hands up, don't shoot", a false rallying cry if ever there was one. Even the Eric Holder justice department could find nary a scrap of evidence that ever happened.

I'm not black. I have no idea how those particular Nikes fit.  I do know that life is not fair. I do know that your odds of doing a crime, of failing in school, of ending up fighting uphill against the winds of life increase when you come from a single patent home; no matter what color you skin. Not always, but facts are facts, you can look it up yourself.

The bottom line is that protesting a song or a flag will do nothing to change the culture. How about this dialogue: get an education, take responsibility for your kids, make sure they have a better life than you. There are opportunities out there, take advantage. Do not have kids if you cannot afford them. Stay off drugs. Look at welfare as a temporary helping hand, not a way of life. Learn to speak and write proper English. Get a job, no matter how menial. Work hard and use that experience to leverage a better job.  Write it on you hand in indelible marker -- society owes you nothing, you are only a victim if you let yourself be one.

Note that none of this advice is skin pigment specific.

Here is more, if a cop tells you to do something, do it. There are lots of lawyers out there who will gladly make it right after the fact. Lots and lots of cops are dickheads and bullies. The profession attracts those kind of power hungry fools. Lots more are good people who become jaded from spending their working hours almost exclusively dealing with the worst of society. Some truly want to protect and serve. In every case things get ugly when you argue with a cop or refuse an order. Again, skin color does not matter.

There are racist bigots in this world. Some are white, some are black. Jerks come in every color and ethnicity. Do not let those simple-minded creatures define you.

Kneel, protest, riot, and loot. It will get you nothing but a burned out neighborhood. Real change is up to you. Millionaire athletes and entertainers ought to put their money and effort into that message. Anything else is a hollow symbol and a self-serving waste of time.

September 21, 2016

Wayback Wednesday

Stuff I have seen

Hawaii 2014

September 20, 2016

Tuesday updates

This is medical stuff. If that is of no interest to you, check back later for he usual content.

I went to the eye surgeon today for my one month check.  Things look OK, but allergies are playing havoc with my eyes and vision. Insurance has denied coverage on three separate eye drops. The doctor is trying again. The good news is I can sleep on either side, and my back.  I still cannot sleep on my stomach, but at least I can change positions.

He is somewhat concerned my vision is not where it should be. In fact, it is a little worse than it was just after surgery.  Me too. I don't want to go through all of this and still not be able to see. They did the old "which is better, one or two, thing. No one told me the results, but I got the impression they weren't excited. I go back in another month. Let's hope my vision tuns better with a good freeze.

I doubt it will, but I can hope.

September 19, 2016

If it walks like a duck...

A white supremacist shoots up a black church and we know his motivation -- the Rebel flag, statues of Nathan Bedford Forrest, and displays at National Parks.

A crazed killer attacks people while shouting " Allah Akbar" and asks his victims their religion in Minnesota, Texas, California, Florida,....even if he verbally says "I am doing this in support of ISIS"...and the government and the press say they have no clue to the killer's motivation. 

Hmmm.

You choose the adventure

I spent my weekend doing worthwhile endeavors. I spent Saturday morning working at a homeless shelter. That afternoon we spent time at the art museum. We rounded out the day with dinner at a trendy vegan restaurant. Sunday, I watched the news shows, attended church and went to the opera.

Or

Saturday I lounged around in the morning watching an old movie. I then helped the wife clean house -- dusting, vacuuming. I went to the store to get a few items. I lounged on the couch watching the first half of he Cubs game. Some friends came over and we went out for a burger then played Euchre. On Sunday I watched a documentary about the early years of the band Rush. I mowed the yard. I watched the Colts football game. I watched part of a documentary about the band Lynard Skynard. The wife and I watched the recording of the Masterchef finale. Mostly, I relaxed the whole weekend.

I read where the Clinton campaign is reatedly taking withdrawals from small donor bank accounts when the donations were supposed to be one-time affairs. The Clinton's sure have a lot of computer issues, don't they?

It is Monday and I have work to do. The Man pays me to toil on his behalf, not to mess around here. Have a great Monday, all four of you.

September 18, 2016

End of the roundup, gather at the chuckwagon

Here are some Sunday highlights:

A bomb exploded in New York injuring 29. A second bomb was found nearby. The mayor says there is no threat of terrorist activity. Of course it is terrorist activity, you moron. Pressure cookers filled with metal and explosives don't just appear at random through a time warp. I do not understand the left's insistence that there is no terrorism.

Local TV icon Cowboy Bob has ridden off to the big chuckwagon in the sky, taking some of my youthful memories in his saddlebags.

The Cubs lost

College football games occurred

There is a heavy layer of fog over the neighborhood.

The Colts will lose by at least 17 today in Denver.

Senate candidate Evan Bayh is running commercials about how he will fix ObamaCare if elected. He is talking about repealing the medical device tax that is hurting thousands of Hoosiers. Apparently, Bayh has no shame, nor sense of irony. If only Evan Bayh had grown a pair and voted against his party, then here would be no ObamaCare to fix. He should be ashamed, but then he would not be a politician.

September 17, 2016

September 16, 2016

Easy chocolate lava cake

Finally it is Friday. It  has not been a great week. I will leave it at that.

The Cubs clinch the NL Central pennant.

It occurs to me, and not for the first time, this place could use an editor. And spell checker. And inspiration. And quality content. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play? I think it is the same sentiment when it comes to this piece o'crap blog.

As far as I know, we have no plans for the weekend. I'm sure the residential social director has plans she has not shared.

You may choose your own adventure for Friday music this week. Let me know what you listened to in the comments section.

Later.

September 15, 2016

%#^+*%#*

I have been trying hard not to curse these days. There is an exception to every rule and home repair projects and reading stuff on the Internet seems to bring out he worst in my vocabulary. Both inpire long strings of epithets and f-bombs to drip from my lips like diarrhea. So let me get this out of the way before we go any further:

Are you fucking kidding me? Jerry Fucking Maguire is one of the best sports movies ever? That flick is a piece of shit, a waste of good film.

There. I feel better. What brought that on? I read an article, maybe on Bleacher Report, I can't remember, but I wouldn't link it anyway because the piece was so obviously wrong it is not worth your time. I'm sorry I wasted the four minutes of my life I spent reading it. The premise was to look at the ten greatest "classic" sports movies of all time. I should have known the author was an idiot when Rocky only earned honorable mention.

Some of the choices left me sitting in dumbfounded wonder; Dodgeball, White Men Can't Jump, and Jerry f-ing Maguire? There was no mention of Rudy, no Breaking Away, no Hoosiers! How is it possible that none of these made the list? Oh, the author did include Field of Dreams, but that is like including The Godfather on a list of "good movies you should see". Even a Democrat can be right sometimes.

Any list of "classics" that includes Jerry Maguire is disqualified as serious thought and fit for nothing more than toilet paper. On a related note, it is hard to wipe your ass with an iPad.

September 14, 2016

Wayback Wednesday

Stuff I have seen

China 2013

Counting the days

Is it November yet? I'm not ready for winter, but this campaign season has been interminable. I have pretty much divorced myself from talk radio, that has helped keep me sane. The TV is inundated with commercials, but at least we are not bombarded like some of you who live in swing states. I think Hillary has pretty much conceded Hoosierdom, so it is the local race commercials mostly.

It seems the tone of this years' political spin is "I can work with the other guys, see how reasonable I am".  Of course we are to forget that when you were in office last time you were a political hack, voting straight party line. We should forget that you left the state to keep from having legislation passed. That your vote brought us ObamaCare. We should ignore that you are a carpetbagger who moved here just to get elected. I am beginning to think only those with the worst possible character seek public office; people too dishonest to work as used car salesmen or run credit card phishing scams from their bathroom servers.

Hillary has made lying such a habit she even spins stupid lies about stuff that doesn't matter. She fainted because of he heat on a breezy mid-seventies day, she went to Chelsea's apartment to see a doctor she didn't see until hours later at her own home. Who cares? Why lie about it? Do we need to have thirty-seven different stories about why you passed out? For all we know you were hung over. You caught pneumonia from your staff, but you are not contagious. Who believes that crap? Clinton lies about lying. Why not "I didn't feel well and now I feel better"? EOS.

I read an article this morning about how the Democrats are already working on their 2018 Senate midterm election strategy. Seriously? At this point I am praying for that Cleveland versus Cubs World Series that will indicate Armegedon is nigh.

September 13, 2016

Didn't Anyone Tell Hillary to Drink Plenty of Water?

The kitchen smells like bacon today. We had BLTs for supper last night. The lingering smell is not a bad thing. If Chanel could bottle bacon as Perfume No. 8, it would sell by he gallon. Or not. Personally, I find perfume offensive, but one that had a hint of smoked meat...maybe.*

If the media would just ignore he attention whores during the National Anthem the nonsense would die a natural death.

Chicago Cubs ace Kyle Hendricks took a no-hit bid into the ninth inning. It was broken up by a Cards home run. I guess that is better than a little blooper into short right field. Perhaps not, that falling quail would have preserved a shutout at least. I felt bad for Hendricks anyway. The final score of 4-1 seems somewhat ordinary and does injustice to the pitcher's efforts.

For some strange reason I was convinced when I first woke up it was Saturday. Alas, it took just a few moments to realize it was indeed just another Tuesday. I am not disappointed, I thanked my Maker for another day, but I was confused for a few moments. I do have to work today after all.

I hope all is good in your life. Enjoy the day.

* edit: the wife says this is a stupid idea.

September 12, 2016

5409

The Anniversary is behind us for another year. We continue to pretend it is September 10th. I was bothered by the sentiment after the attacks, and find it ludicrous today to claim it was not Islamic Terrorists, but just terrorism. Are we to assume the attacks had no purpose to the perpetuators? Do we believe those planes were hijacked by a random group of guys set on mayhem and death for the hell of it? That is what we have to believe if we leave Islam out of the equation. If that truth makes you uncomfortable, I welcome a counter argument.

Imagine a revision to history. We find ourselves beside the radio on December 8, 1941 and the President has just described the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor but cautions us not to blame the Japanese, that they are a peaceful people, that a few adherents to a warped version of Bushido are to blame. It the coming weeks the attacks on our bases in the Philippines and on Wake Island are described as just, well attacks. We are told in relentless reports that we should not blame the Japanese.

The whole concept sounds incredulous and even stupid, yet we are told Islam had nothing to do with 9/11. That sounds pretty ignorant too.

Avon Calling

3;48 read the digital alarm clock on the nightstand next to my side of the bed when I gave up and rolled to my feet this morning.  I padded downstairs. I stared out the patio doors into the dark backyard. After a while I turned on the TV and watched the early morning news.  I grabbed the wife's iPad and read some analysis of yesterday's Colts game. I checked the final score of the Cubs win over the Astros.  I tried stretching out on the couch, but it was clear I was up for the day. I gave in at 5:30 and threw a K-cup into the Keurig. Monday has started the workweek off with a bang.

Saturday I fixed nail holes and repainted walls. I moved a couple of shelves for the wife. Our granddaughter came over for a few hours in the evening. Yesterday, I cleaned a little, went to the store, mowed the lawn, and made a pan of lasagna. Oh, and watched a little football.  We had a great evening as the youngest son and his girlfriend came to dinner. Since we had plenty, and they live close, my daughter and her family came over to eat too. Too bad the oldest boy had to work. The granddaughter entertained everyone. After we cleaned up the dinner mess, and everyone left,  I flipped on the Cubs game and slumped in my chair while my wife surfed the interwebz on her iPad. I headed for bed sometime around the seventh inning.

That summarizes a busy weekend for me, boring stuff for you to read. Such is life.

Weirdness ensues. It is 5:42 AM. My wife just opened the bedroom door and hollered down the hall "Joe, who is at the door?"

"Huh"? I'm always articulate as heck at this time of the day. I told her there was no one at the door.

"The doorbell didn't ring"?  No.

I guess I'm not the only one having a hard time sleeping.

September 11, 2016

September 10, 2016

Did it

I probably should post something


September 9, 2016

Chip and Dale dig Toyota Trucks

How can a short work week seem to last so long? It is Friday at last. It is also payday, but those funds are already marked for bills and car payments and stupid stuff like food and electricity.

As far as I know we have no big plans for the weekend. It is supposed to rain. The garbage disposal died earlier in the week. I have to replace that. There is no better way to spend a Saturday than lying on your back crammed under a sink. The odds of having to replace some of the pipe is about 100%. The old pipes never fit right. Since I'm an idiot, I will start work after the hardware store closes. That way the project can spread over multiple days and cause maximum havoc and inconvenience. I also predict I will have to make at least three trips for supplies and stuff I did not think I would need. I have been down the home repair path too many times to expect otherwise.

I have a conference call to prepare for. Who schedules a conference call for a Friday afternoon?

I hope you have a good day.

September 8, 2016

Quick comments on the events of the day

HHS is bragging about he success of ObamaCare, citing the lowest rate of uninsured in...a long time. So what? It is no feat to claim success when failure to get insurance is against the law. Ultimately failure to get insured results in an IRS penalty. Failure to pay your taxes can get you in jail.  This braggadocio is akin to the city arguing that people are obeying a school zone speed limit when there is a cop sitting on each end. That is not success nor popularity. It is coercion by force.

Hillary gave a weepy CNN interview talking about how hard Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky was. Poor Hillary. Wait a minute, I thought that whole thing was a "vast right wing  conspiracy"? You mean she lied to Americans? Why didn't anyone ask about that? Or  perhaps how hard things were for Paula Jones or Juanita Broddarick, or...even the sexually harassed aforementioned Monica Lewinsky? Maybe the feminist icon Hillary Clinton could comment on that?

The press is touting that Obama signed a climate change treaty while in China last week. How is it that a supposed Constitutional Law lecturer does not know that treaties can only be ratified by the Senate? How is it that no one in he media knows this?  One does not have to read very far in the Constitution to learn that under article II section 2.2, it says the Senate has to ratify all treaties. The President can sign all of the global warming treaties he wants, it is the same as if I signed them. Only the Senate can ratify a treaty. Even John Roberts couldn't confuse that one. Could he?

The backup quarterback for the 49ers has become the best selling jersey in the NFL. That stat says much about be state of things In America these days.

September 7, 2016

Hump day hustling

It is a blustery, rainy day here where the bay is green. My weather app says the allergy warning is high. I believe it. My eyes are itchy and watering, my nose is running. My cheap-ass insurance is fighting the allergy drops prescribed by my surgeon. They wrangle over dollars while I suffer. They did not mind a 'script while I was paying my huge deductible (thanks ObamaCare). Now that they have to pony up nothing is approved. Big insurance is suddenly fighting diabetes meds I have taken for a year and now the eye drops.

It was not my plan to complain today. Sorry. If you don't know by now, this blog is an exercise in free form writing. I sit down and start the hunt and peck routine. I am the living embodiment of the hundred monkeys at a hundred typewriters.  Like the proverbial Capuchin monkey pounding away at an old Underwood, I have yet to deliver anything of note.  Such is life.

The NFL kicks off this week. I cannot recall a time I was less excited. It is probably a function of low expectations for the home team and anticipation over the Cubs playoff chances. Most years my Northsiders are out of contention by July, so I look forward to football. Don't worry, I am counting neither eggs nor fowl, I fully expect the Cubs to falter. A century of futility cannot be denied. I am happy to see the team win more than it loses.

Well there you have another installment of this pretend slice of my life. I have to brush my teeth to rid my breath of he powdered eggs and hotel coffee before I head off to customer number one of the day. Perhaps my allergy tears will make him think I am crying in sincere regret over our late delivery.    We are only late to when the customer wanted delivery, not to when we said we could produce it. That line about lead time on the quote must have been in Swahili or something. I guess the customer should not have waited six weeks after we quoted to place his order for an item that takes three months to produce.

Buck up, it is a short week! Enjoy your day.

September 6, 2016

At Last

I am off this week to do my Willy/Willie thing, as in Loman and Nelson.  Too vague? OK, I'm back on the road again doing my sales thing. I am off to Cheeseheadistan before the cold winds of winter make the trip more miserable. More to the point, it is a semi-short drive compared to some of the far-flung parts of my territory. I have to ease back into distance driving before I embark on fifteen hundred mile or more round trips. The trip to Green Bay is broken by Chicago and Milwaukee. Omaha or Wichita are just long hard drives.

I have gotten used to being home. It will be hard to return to travel three or four days a week. On the other hand, I miss it. It is hard to describe if you have never been a road warrior. Life from a suitcase is not what most people think it is. Business travel is not like vacation travel. I stay in hotels close to my customers. Factories are not usually in tourist areas. The industrial part of town is not usually on the attractions list.

Don't get me wrong, I like my job. I have been all over the country and world. I have seen things and visited places I would never be able to on my own. I have memories and stories that could fill a book (or a decade plus of a blog). That does not mean it is easy to take off every week and leave your family. That was especially true when my kids were small.

Anyway, I am glad to be back on the road. Working customers via phone is not he same as face-to-face. That is what I am good at. I may seem a giant ass around here, but I am good at my job.

September 5, 2016

Changing Time

I have the day off, a commie-inspired holiday that has morphed into a holiday marking the end of summer. There is plenty of warm weather ahead, but the days are growing noticeably shorter and the nights a bit cooler. We have had snow in mid-September before. The corn stalks are turning brown, the flowers a little less vibrant in their beds. My normal fall allergy headaches are already in force.

By this evening the retailers will be in full holiday season mode, shilling Halloween. Before the candy corn is even stale the first Christmas advertising will crop up. Ready or not, here it comes. Clothing stores have been stocked with sweaters and coats for a month. Worse, shoppers will soon be wearing them. No more tight tank tops and short shorts. On the bright side the shapely ladies will be wearing tight jeans and boots.

I got the yard mowed yesterday. I imagine house cleaning is on tap today. I don't want to, but I can't sit around and watch the wife toil. I was not built that way. Besides, she has shouldered most of the burden during this wasted summer of surgeries. Last night the wife dropped a disturbing notion into the conversation. She wants to move the furniture around in the family room. I hate having the furniture rearranged. My Mom used to move stuff all of the time. I mean sometimes weekly. One could wake up and find the couch on the opposite wall. It drove me nuts. The wife has lots of stuff on the walls; pictures, shelves, and knick knacks. If we move the furniture, that all has to be moved too. That means fixing nail holes, sanding, and painting. Then we have to put stuff back on the walls. It is not as simple as just moving the couch over there and putting the TV in the corner. I already know I will hate the new arrangement, whatever it is. That is until a couple of years from now and she wants to move it again.  I won't be too keen on that move, I promise.

September 4, 2016

You are getting heavy

This is depressing. Local, state, and federal government employs more than 22,200,000 people. Twenty-two million. The Census Bureau estimates there are 240 million adults in the US. That means nearly ten percent of ALL adults work for the government.

Some estimate more than 48% of adults are on some form of welfare. Add in the number of working poor who get "tax refunds" and credits for taxes they don't pay and this number creeps well above half.  If government workers are figured in, then almost sixty percent of adults are living off of he taxes the rest of us shoulder.

The government does not create anything. It does not manufacture anything. It has no means to create wealth or profit beyond forcibly taking wages from its citizens. Every single government worker, no matter how good of a job they do or how valuable their service may be, is earning pay taken from my wages. Even the taxes deducted from Cheryl down at the BMV's paycheck come from me. Since the only way the State can get be money to pay her is from taxing me and you, our confiscated wages were used to pay her and her withholding.

There are 12 million manufacturing jobs in the US. That is 1/10th about 1/2 of the number of people who work for the government. Clearly we don't make as much stuff as we used to here in America, unless you count regulations, enforcement, and paperwork. That is something to ponder over Labor Day.

September 3, 2016

And another thing...

The FBI notes also reveal that Clinton claims she did not know what the classified markings on documents meant. We are told she is the most experienced person to ever run for President. She was a Senator. She lived in the White House and was, in her own terms, "co-President".

This leaves us with three possible conclusions:

1. She is a liar of monumental proportions and committed perjury under oath. This must run in the family.

2. She is dumber than a box of pickles, despite the fact we have been told for three decades she is one of the smartest women in the world.

3. She has severe mental issue or dementia that makes it impossible for her to remember anything.

Any of the above makes her unfit to hold office.

September 2, 2016

What we learned today

From the FBI notes on the Clinton interview we know she is a liar and has no regard for secrecy. We already knew that, but it has been reinforced.

We also know the FBI and Comey ignored multiple examples of gross negligence and clear intent to destroy evidence. The fix was already in and the FBI is dirty as hell.

We also know Hillary was too sick to remember briefings.  All of this is clear evidence she is unfit for the White House. We already knew this too, but now we have proof.

But she is for abortion and has a vagina, so Democrats will vote for her. And that is pretty damn sad.

Friday Frivolity

Happy Friday to you. I hope you have good things planned for the long weekend ahead.  Fall is right around the corner.

We had a summertime feast for supper last night. I made BBQ chicken breasts, grilled some fresh corn on the cob and sliced some red tomatoes from my little garden. I grilled some slices of fresh pineapple. I sliced potatoes, added a diced onion and  a whole brick of cubed Colby cheese. I wrapped it all in a foil pack and grilled it as well. Too bad you couldn't enjoy it with us. You might have stopped me from eating way too much.

I'm coasting through work today, marking time until I can knock off early.

September 1, 2016

I guess Libertarian is just another word for Liberal

You Nevertrumpers who think the Libertarian ticket is the answer should take a look at the positions of Gary Johnson on the issues. He is much closer to the Democrats on almost everything. In fact Johnson has stated he agrees with Clinton about 70% of the time. He won't even use the word illegal. He wants to implement gun control. He is no small government small-"l" libertarian, he is just another big government politician.

This election is about how far left you want he bloated government to move.
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