Dear readers

be safe out there tonight

Memories

Hey, remember when the President claimed the ACA would reduce a family's insurance premiums by $2500? Remember when the Democrats said if you like your medical plan you could keep it? Remember how Obama said he would have the most transparent administration ever? Remember when Pelosi said that there would be 72 hours to examine bills.before a vote?

Remember when a certain blogger of liberal leanings called these folks out for their outright lies?  

Me neither. 

It is always funny until someone gets hurt

I'm a bit worried about Friday. The day after holidays seem a bit dicey for me this year. You may remember my not-so-trusty 30 year old ladder broke and tossed me to the concrete the day after Thanksgiving. (It is there in the archives. I can either do research or write a shitty post. Not both). On Friday, the day after Christmas, I was heading downstairs to refill my coffee cup when I slipped on the stairs and fell down a flight clear to the landing. I think I twisted when I fell. My back is sore and bruised. Most amazing is I did not utter a single curse word the whole time I bounced and slid down, not even when I crumpled to a halt at the landing. What the heck? The good Lord gave me two gifts - great balance and a fantastic memory. Now both seem to fade recently. Although my advanced scores in memory on the Elevate app indicate my memory is not going away as fast as I imagine.

I confess

i confess that I was wrong about everything I ever thought, believe or said.  Of course my predictions were accurate in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. I guess we should forget that gas was in the $3+ range or higher for most of the Obama reign since it has been down for a month or so?

Now after one of the slowest recoveries in history things are looking better. The economy does correct itself over time.  It will also get bad over time again. Yes, I confess I have been wrong about everything.

Now me and Elvis are going to have some Fun in Acapulco. 

I've got you under my skin

Chloe Jo

My new Granddaughter. Named after me, natch.

Fabulous Friday

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I know I sure did. The wife got me a wooden cigar store Indian - albeit it is a small version about two foot tall.  But still it is way cool and will look great in my office.

I tried to post a picture of my granddaughter but the iPad will not cooperate. Maybe if I fire up the laptops will share later. I suppose you don't really care anyway.

It is supposed to be warm today. Maybe I'll walk off some of the food and cookies and candy I've consumed this week and burn up one of the good Dunhills I bought myself for Christmas

Have a great day.

No Friday music: my Christmas gift to you.

Merry Christmas

The Reason for the Season

Christmas Eve Eve

The wife was up late making iced sugar cookies and Christmas candy last night. I promised her I would bake pecan tassies tonight while she finishes the wrapping. I also have to make food to take to her family's Christmas dinner and to my Mom and Dad's house on Christmas eve. The youngest boy is set to come home from college this evening.

Holiday festivities are going into high gear. On Christmas Day my kids and brand new granddaughter will be over for presents and dinner. I have a 22 pound turkey waiting to be roasted.

Before I do all of that work I have to do the work that pays the bills. I am off to the real job.

In the meantime I want to wish you a Merry Christmas.

actually blogging in the evening

Today has been a good day.  While I could bitch and complain, I will not. I know. I can hear you. Bitching and complaining is what I do best. I am not playing to my strength as a blogger. But what the heck, sometimes you gotta push the envelope. The sun is down behind the neighbor's house, just a bit of pink showing through the bare bones of the maple outside the window. The Christmas lights are on. My work day is done and it is time to slip off my steel toed boots.

I  hope you have a great evening.

winter tale

A beautiful day is winding down. It was sunny and warm here in Hoosierland today. I saw it through the glass front doors of the big box store. One more Sunday! I will miss the people, not the hours.

My shopping is done and I have the wife's presents wrapped and tucked under the tree.  She is out finishing up the rest as I type.  I will help her wrap after supper.  What? Chicken enchilada casserole and home made salsa are on tap. I better get started if we want to eat at a decent hour.

I hope you are having a great day.

My refrigerator is running and so is my nose

Happy Saturday. The coffee is hot and life is good. No work today. I have two more Sunday's at the big box retail and then I am back to one full time employer. Product training is nearly complete and I will be back on the road beginning with the new year. New customers, new products to sell, new territory, and new industries all will make life exciting and challenging. I was in my previous industry for 25 years. It is time for a change.

I have my Christmas shopping done with the exception of some small items for the wife's stocking - candy and such. She has a few things left to purchase. Nothing is wrapped though. She wants to do some baking this weekend.  I told her I would make pecan tassies while she is shopping. As you may or may not know, I do most of the cooking around here, but I am not too fond of baking.

Enjoy your Saturday, I'm going to watch the GREATEST CHRISTMAS / HOLIDAY MOVIE EVER:       Holiday Inn.

Sorry Ed B, that is just fact.

Friday Music

Late, but worth it

Wow

The Obama is the world's worst negotiator, at least when it comes to tyrants, murderers, and the enemies of freedom around the world. Dude sure loves Commie Bastards. There is no doubt a Democrat Party heart beats in his weak little chest.

We send open diplomatic relations, send back convicted spies against the US all in exchange for an international aid worker wrongly held in prison.  The US companies are not given back their assets stolen by the Castros.

Obama has just guaranteed the Castro regime and its successors remain in power for generations to come.

But I may be able to get Cuban cigars.  There is that.

Still, what a bad deal for America.

Dear World

You are already a better place.  Meet Chloe, my perfect granddaughter.

Now could you stop evil people from killing innocent kids in the name of religion?  I am pretty sure no god would smile on such barbarism.

Additional Commentary

Sometime today, most likely, my daughter will give birth to my first grandchild.  I am told it will be a little girl.

Life is good.

Sorta dazed and really confused

Obama's agenda and the Democrat party were repudiated overwhelmingly in the elections last month.  The Republicans were sent a clear message. Yet somehow the Republican leadership just joined hands with the Dems and passed a massive funding bill that covers the Government for the next year. As the White House told recalcitrant Dems, "why are you fighting, this bill gives you everything"? ObamaCare is funded. amnesty is funded. Phony Global Warming projects are funded.

This time next year the RINOs will claim it is too close to the next Presidential election to have that fight and government grows and grows.

I may not be the world's smartest guy, but I know corruption when it is shoved down my throat.

I feel like I just got kicked in the groin by an NFL punter who was wearing steel-toed boots.

This post needs a snappy title

Bark bark. The neighbor's dog has been barking nonstop for a half an hour now. Ah, life in the 'burbs. If they follow the usual pattern they will let it back in around 7:00.

You can't tell, but I am in a great mood. I have the day off! This is the second Saturday since July I have not worked. I am giving my notice to the part time gig when I go in on Sunday. I have worked pretty much 7 days a week for the past 4 or five months. I need a break. I made a handshake agreement when the big box retailer hired me to stay until Christmas, in exchange for him hiring me knowing I was seeking a better job.* I think I have fulfilled my commitment. Now I need to buy some serious man-toys before I lose my discount.

Well I'm off to refill they coffee mug, then I think I'll watch a movie. In fact, I might go buy a box of donuts for breakfast.

I hope you have a great day.

*boy is that a poorly written sentence. I think you get the gist.

TGIF And I'm not talking about the restaurant chain

Sorry. Time is against me. I can either read my usual stuff on the interwebz or write a post for you to read. The path of least resistance is to read. Historian Barbara Tuchman once wrote that"research is endlessly seductive, writing is hard work" and I guess that applies to my efforts around here.

I am certain it is evident by my prose, but most posts just flow from my brain to the keyboard. I have always written like that, even massive research papers in college. I would research, take notes, write facts, and study. After days, or weeks the narrative would just flow. I would write for hours, only stopping to insert a quote, a fact, to verify an important part. In general it took me only a bit longer to write a 20 page paper than it would take a person to read that same document out loud.

Creativity is an uncertain thing, and I have been a bit lax exercising it around here lately. If you care then I apologize. If you stop by only to see what idiotic blathering I share on a given day, then I offer up this train wreck of prosaic nonsense for your entertainment.

No Friday music. Boo hoo.

I hope you have a great day.

That sharp pain in my back

...is the stab wound from the GOP. The new massive spending bill fully funds ObamaCare. It fully funds amnesty.  I see no austerity, few cuts, and more and more spending.

I am told that if I don't vote for a Republican, I will be voting for a Democrat.  It seems that if I vote for a Republican, I am still voting for a Democrat; albeit one who mouths the right words to get my future vote.

BOHICA conservatives Boehner is boning us again. Once again Lucy has snatched away the football.

woof

The neighbors got a new puppy a couple of months ago. They put it outside every morning at 6 am. It barks constantly. Bark, bark, bark, bark. If I can hear it, I know they can. It is damn annoying. I don't blame the dog.  He went out, did his business and now he wants back in. It is the owners who are rude.

Do I ignore it?  Do I be that asshole neighbor? Do I live with it?

A day that shall live in infamy

We were lucky enough to visit Pearl Harbor this summer. It was a somber, moving memorial, especially the USS Arizona.

If you have never read At Dawn We Slept by Gordon Prange, you should.

Do I blog or watch an old Esther Williams Movie?

I am convinced I need a wooden cigar store Indian for my office. It does not have to be 5 or 6 foot tall; a small one will do. Nor does it need to be an original. A replica will suffice. Said Indian may not go with my decor, but the model of the HMS Victory does not exactly duplicate the theme of Cubs and Colts pictures that adorn the walls, so what the heck.

It looks like the rain is tapering off on this December Saturday. Music is playing softly in the background as I hunt and peck on the keyboard.  I frequently pause and look out the window. The big willow is waving bare branches in the breeze. The old bench made of willow sticks and the small tree next to it are covered in Christmas lights that glow softly in the dim early morning light.

My coffee is just above lukewarm and needs refilled. The laptop hums in tune with the music. It occurs to me I should not have to struggle to fill this space, I blog so little these days. But here we are. I am certain the few dozen of you who bother to stop by are sadly disappointed these days.  I hope to resume my usual routine in January when my training is complete and my seven-day-a-week work schedule changes I am quitting the part-time gig in a few weeks. Until that time these pathetic efforts will have to do.

I hope you have a great Saturday.

Friday Music

And it is too.

Dear Mr. Boehner

That "roll over" trick is cute in a puppy. Not so amusing when it is politics.  Can't you read.the polls? Americans do not want amnesty. They want ObamaCare repealed. They elected Repubs to control Congress for a reason, not to spout empty promises and utter meaningless words. Call Obama before Congress and ask him where he gets the authority to dictate law. Quit crying and grow a set of balls. otherwise you will put Hillary (or worse) in the White House in 2016.  The People have spoken, it is time to listen.

Words to live by

Hands up, don't shoot don't steal those cigars.

Here is the difference

I refuse to let anyone define me. I am not my skin. I am not my religion. I am not my geography. I am not my politics. They may be part of me, but I am the person I choose to be. I want to be the best I can be. I make of my life what I dare. That is why nearly every religion recognizes we have free will.

I reject any label you put on me. My skin pigmentation makes me guilty of nothing but a collection of melanin cells dictated by generations of genetic code. My eyes are blue. So what?

Born rich or born poor or somewhere in the vast gulf between It matters not at all.  We are all given the same opportunity to make something of ourselves here in America. Sure, some have an easier path in life: but we all have a trail to the summit. All that holds us back is our will, our desire, our effort. The only label on my person is sewed to the collar of my T-shirt.

I am not naive. Some are born smarter, some with more athletic ability. Some are artists or musicians. I am not defined by my inability to dunk a basketball any more than the lack of funds in my bank account. Neither keeps me from working hard, or trying to be the best father I can be.

I am who I choose to be. I am not my hair, my eyes, my skin. I am not my political party. I am not my neighborhood. I am not my car, my house, my bank account, my school, my sports teams. I am what I define as me.

You have the same ability. .

Help me I think I'm falling

We got the outside lights and wreaths and stuff put up yesterday.  It was cold, but it could have been worse.  I got the big tree (8-1/2 ft) put up in the living room. It has lights but no decorations.  As soon as I summon the will, I am off to put up the smaller tree in the family room this morning. I suspect we will decorating both tonight when I get off work.  I hope the wife does it while I'm gone.  I don't mind decorating, but I don't like to put on the ornaments.

I was putting the boxes that hold the outside decorations back in the attic when I heard a loud "crack" and my ladder collapsed, throwing me to the ground. I fell flat on my back. It knocked the wind from my sails for a moment or two.  I'm a little sore today, but I think I'll live another day. Just earlier in the day the boy mentioned the old wooden step ladder was getting a bit wobbly. I think he hurt the old ladder's feelings, and she through me off and broke in a fit of suicidal desperation. I bought that ladder when we purchased our first house back in 1986.  I guess I got my money's worth. Still, I would have preferred to get rid of that old ladder in a less painful fashion.

Have a great Saturday. 

A brilliant post

Lost. A whole post full of bloggity goodness, sunshine, and the formula for perfect happiness -- all lost when my crappy first generation iPad did its usual crash just as I was wrapping up the post. I have neither the desire or ability to recreate my genius.  You will have to trust me it was the greatest thing you ever read.  I suppose it is for the best, nothing I could write going forward could be one half so brilliant.

I plan on climbing to the attic and dragging out the Christmas decorations today. I hope the boy will help me get them up before he heads back to college.

For some reason my crappy laptop will not let me watch or post YouTube videos. Huh? I don't know, I just use the dang thing.  Perhaps the tiny electronic elves that run the tiny movie projector inside the computer are on strike. Perhaps it is sunspots.  Maybe it is that the laptop cost $300 and is a piece of crap. Maybe you are sending bad vibes because you don't have any interest in the Friday Music selection anyway. I think that's it.  It is you fault. And probably because the laptop is junk and I have to update something or whatever.  I have been using my previously mentioned POS iPad for months to write this nonsense blog.

Anyway, here is a recommendation from our blog friend Hey Teacher for the Friday music. I have neither seen nor listened to the selection (see above and pay attention, will ya?). So if it's bad blame the teacher.  If you dig it, I should take the credit. I'm an ass like that. If you think I'm a jerk on the interwebz, you sure don't want to meet me in person.  But now back to our regular scheduled Friday Music program:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFU-FJzPE80

Have a great Friday

Ok I managed to listen on my iPad to the music.  I dig it. Funky. Thanks teacher.

I have plenty to be thankful for

Like the man says....


We are hosting Thanksgiving this year. The whole family (minus middle son who has to work Jeez people stay at home on this day so waiters can be with their families) will be at the old homestead. We rarely have visitors, so I am looking forward to the feast. Too bad it will be too inclimate to enjoy the backyard, one of the best features of the house in my book.

Anyway, I hope you have a great thanksgiving.  Take a minute to give thanks to the appropriate beings for the blessings in your life. Despite a few rough patches I have lots to be thankful for this year. I will offer a heartfelt prayer of thanks today.

Let me tell you...

...nothing, absolutely nothing, more demonstrates anger, fear, resentment, and a demand for justice than stealing a television or burning a barber shop.

Get up, Stand up

The perpetually aggrieved are calling for an embargo of Black Friday sales in protest of a lack of an indictment in the Ferguson police shooting. I guess because Macy's and Best Buy and WalMart and Target are somehow responsible for the Grand Jury verdict.  To further highlight the sheer stupidity of this protest one of the supporters of the embargo argued that not shopping on Black Friday would "show the government we demand justice".  Yes, and refusing to purchase a gift from a local small business hurts the Feds just as eating a donut for breakfast shows big cable companies how much we hate their lack of customer service. Perhaps next this moron will support a boycott of the NFL to protest the fur industry. We might see this mental giant waving a protest sign outside a Kroger food store to demand banking reform. Cause and effect is a difficult concept for some. I bet his Mom still lays out his clothes each morning now that gr-animals no longer fit.

On a second point, one day protests are meaningless anyway.  A few years ago economic morons routinely sent emails and called for an embargo of gas stations for a given day.  They laid out elaborate calculations of what the loss of sales for one day would do to ExxonBPMobileChevronEvilOil. Except it is nonsense.  You need gas, you will fill up the day before or the day after and spend the same dollars anyway.

Useful Idiots indeed. Milton Freedman and Adam Smith are weeping.

Things I learned today.

Facts are stubborn things.  Based on what I see on the news,  when one is not sure of the facts, when one has not heard from witnesses, when one does know the law, one should riot, loot, and burn other people's property.

I'm not sure how burning your own neighborhood fixes stuff though. Mayhap someone can explain.

It is time to bring them out of the shadows

The Federal, State, and local governments are in collusion to tear families apart. It is past time that we, as a nation, began to show the compassion and tolerance that is born of our freedom. An entire group of people are living and sometimes working in the shadows, walled-off from society by laws and policies that are tearing entire families apart. If Congress will not act, then I say the President must. Yes, I am talking about amnesty.  No longer should fathers be separated from children, mothers from sons, sisters from brothers.

It is estimated that more than two million people are incarcerated in the US. Though we have but 5% of the world population we have 25% of the prisoners. Yes, some of the people in prison are violent. they are killers, rapists, thugs of every description; but they are people too and deserve to be with their families, not locked in dark concrete cells. Prison tattoos and weight lifting are not a substitute for hanging with family and friends. Just because these individuals made a conscious decision to violate the law is no reason to punish them, to separate them from their families.  For the robbers, killers and Thieves who are hiding, unarrested, life is a nightmare, waiting every day for the shoe to drop when jackbooted authorities round them up and tear them from their crying children to be sent to a dank prison cell.  I cry "no more". It is time for comprehensive reform.

I say let's create a path to regaining their voting rights, and full participation in society -- owning guns, working, paying taxes or collecting welfare. It is time for Congress to act, we need comprehensive reform legislation to close these prisons, reunite families, create Democrat voters, for the children. Closing prisons will reduce greenhouse gases and slow the inevitable march to global warming and a mini ice age which will create overpopulation and starvation because the droughts and flooding will ruin crops. We must do it for the children, we can't raise them in a village when part of the village is locked away in prison.

Free them all -- killers and rapists and child molesters are people too. It is time the spent the holidays with their families free from fear.

Amnesty now.  Who is with me!?


This entire post was printed in sarcasm font which was created by the famed printer Jaques Leblow in 1693 in a remote village in the Patagonian Alps

A little of this, a bit of that

For the first time in ages I had an opportunity to sleep in this morning. Therefore, I woke up at 4:00 unable to go back to sleep. Such is life.

I have been neglecting the old blog recently. This commuting stuff is a big change in my life. Training for the new gig goes well, but slowly. I suppose the company wants to make sure I am up to speed before sending me out to woo customers. I think i could progress a little faster, but the man signs the check and you follow his schedule.

I am off later this morning to the part time job.  I am not sure how long it will last.  I am not supposed to be scheduled Monday through Friday -- it is a weekend only gig now that I have a real job again. Yet I am (unsurprisingly) scheduled to work Thursday and Friday this week. I won't do it. I may be fired, I may have to quit, or they might roll over, preferring to take advantage of my sales skills on the weekend as opposed to not there at all.  The choice is out of my hands, but I will not bend. I don't have to any more.

A bit of rain was falling earlier. It looks to be a warmer, yet wet weekend.  I thought about trying to get some of the outside Christmas decorations up this weekend (between long shifts at big box electronics store), but that will likely have to wait until next weekend.

Well, you are now up to speed on my most boring of lives.  Working 7 days a week leaves little time for hobbies, and while I love you guys, I do not love you enough to get up at o'dark thirty every morning to post to the old blog.  In fact, I think I will head off to visit Mr. Recliner and take a nap before heading off to work.

I hope you have a great saturday.  Me, I made other plans.

My five minute rebuttal

King Obama claims he is for the working man. King Obama says the Republicans are the party of big business. Yest in one fell swoop King Obama just pissed on the working man. 38 million Americans are out of work. The workforce participation rate is the lowest since the Great Depression and King Obama just created legislation that will help illegal immigrants get jobs easier.

This will lower wages, increase access to government benefits and encourage more illegal immigration. The Chamber of Commerce and business just got a larger pool of low-wage workers.

Where are the unions? Why aren't they complaining?  BOHICA working people of America King Obama and the Democrats just screwed you again.

How...

How did the Caesars come to rule Rome? There was a Senate for the entire period of the Empire. How do despots gain power? How is tyranny born? The people and their Representatives allow it to happen.  Megalomaniacs run for office, especially President. They become above the law. Incrementally the tyrant gains power because no one stops him.

Obama will announce tonight he will create Legislation from whole cloth against the will of the People, despite the empty protests of Congress and in clear violation of the Constitution.  The Courts will let it happen, claiming no one has standing to stop him.

And our freedom and our government will slip away one stroke of the pen at a time.

I weep for my soon-to-be-born grandchild.  She will witness the decline and fall of America as I know it, aided and abetted by a willing press, and politicians who only care about keeping their power, no matter how illusionary it has become.

Six years of study

Geez Democrats, you have been studying the XL Pipeline for six years.  How long do you need? Building a pipeline creates jobs,. The pipeline will help reduce our dependence on Middle east oil. It will help reduce energy costs.

For a party that supposedly is for the little guy the Democrats sure go out of their way to make life harder for us all.

Monday Commute

A mere couple inches of snow on the ground. Yet I know people will drive most stupid this morning. The result is I have to leave early for work.  Therefore, you get a short post with bad grammar.

Suck it up, you will be OK.

Ha

Take that beat down you Danny bastards. Six straight.

Good good good good intentions

...sung in the vein of a classic Beach Boys tune. I had every intention of going out early and raking leaves, but it is freaking 18 degrees outside. Eighteen.   I have plans for later today and I am scheduled to work Sunday at the part time gig.  I suppose I will have to get after it in spite of the cold, especially since we are supposed to get accumulating snow overnight.

Where did fall go?

Worst post ever

Today is a "choose your own adventure" Friday Music day. Listen to your favorite artist, play whatever is pinging away in your brain pan, find something new.  I have Supertramp in my skull this morning.  what suits your fancy?

The stupid party elected a RINO Senate majority leader.  Same crap from the Republicans --"please help us conservatives" then business as usual.  Once again we are Charlie Brown while the Lucys of the party yank away the football.  I'm sick of being screwed like a five dollar hooker. Whatever happened to the Whigs anyway?

Replacing the headlamp assembly on a VW Passat

Part of me wants to complain loudly about the unseasonable cold temperatures. But it is November and freezing cold is not unusual. Nor is a a warm spell unheard of.  It is called weather. I will drag out my winter coat and hope I don't have to scrape my windows this morning.

It is the little things in life that bring my joy. It probably escaped your attention, but I posted my veterans day tribute at 11:11. While pointing out my cleverness is decidedly crass, it does give me great pleasure.

I pounded down some boneless pork chops and fried some breaded tenderloins for supper last night. I made some scratch Mac and cheese a nuked some frozen corn ( I miss fresh corn cooked on the grill already) to round out the meal. The wife had a craving for pecan pie for dessert. She washed the pans and I dried, then I braved the cold to get her a store-bought pie and was rewarded with a kiss. I copped a feel through her shirt for good measure. After all, it was really cold out. She did not complain. She really wanted a piece of pecan pie.

Thank you

To all of those who have served in the US military past and present I offer a sincere, heartfelt THANK YOU.

Confused

Can anyone explain why, when Democrats win elections, it is viewed as a mandate, the will of the people to adopt their agenda. Yet when Republicans win it is just ...well whatever is the opposite of mandate. It is portrayed as extreme, and looked upon as an aberration by the media.

Why should the Repubs compromise to Obama's policies? The people have spoken. It is the President and the Democrats who must compromise.

Elections have consequences, right?

Minutiae

I have to go in to my part time job this morning at 11.  Yes, I am working two jobs for the time being. That is not a complaint, just a fact. Anyway, I was in my home office setting up my new laptop (from my real full-time job) on my home network. I glanced at the clock and realized it was 10:00. I still had to shower and drive to work. I packed everything up and then glanced at my phone to see when I got off work. The phone said it was only 9:00.  Ah, stupid time change last week.  I forgot to change my office clock.

I have not spent much time in there in recent months. Soon, though. As soon as my training time is up I expect to get back into routine of work and travel.  I have grown accustomed to telecommuting over the past two decades.  This working in a real office stuff is weird. All of those people. Wearing shoes. Showering every morning. Scheduled lunch times. Driving to work.

While I actually like the part time job, and especially the people I work with, I am looking forward to having my weekends off. Another month or so and I am free. Stupid bills.

Old blog friends

The wife and I enjoyed a rare movie night last night.  We went to see the Bill Murray film "St Vincent".  The movie was set in Sheepshead Bay and it brought to  mind my blog friend Erica. Hola Erica if you are out there. Erica hailed from that same Brooklyn area.

The movie was very good and Murray was terrific. We are talking an Oscar-worthy acting job.

Have a great Saturday. Me, I'm off to have the wife's car serviced.

Friday Music

It is harvest time.

Dear GOP

Please note:  if the voters wanted you to compromise and work with the Democrats they would have elected a Democrat.

Your friend,

Joe

Cheers

I am laughing only a little at the repudiation of the Obamites. I fully expect the stupid party to waste this opportunity and to go all out in the effort to piss off their base before 2016.

I love the Democrat talking heads in the media who proclaim the 2016 Senate is up for grabs because 23 Republican seats will have to be defended.  There must have been a memo.  I know this ploy.  As a Cubs fan the old "wait until next year" mantra has been my only consolation.

We will see if the next wave of Obamacare and unilateral amnesty brings the Dems back to power and through out Repubs in the reddest red states.  I think it is clear we are sick of the racist war on women meme.

A new non-post post

It moves The Alan Parsons Project And Thevweekend yammering down the page.

Hope your day is going well.  Happy Monday.

Frost on the pumpkin

It snowed here Friday and it looks like a big dose of the same global warming dropped snow in the Carolina's according to the news. It is very cold here this morning and the ground is white with a crust of frost.

The wife is off to a baby shower this afternoon. I have no plans to shower with babies, instead i think I'll watch some football and goof off.  I plan  to enjoy my Sunday, I hope you do to

Seasonably seasonable

It was a blustery, cold, windy, and wet Halloween. It snowed. Hard. Luckily the ground was warm and it did not stick.  I guess I have to face the fact the warm days of summer are in the past.  Boots and gloves and snow are my life for the next three or four months.  I don't mind much. The heat of summer makes us enjoy the crisp fall air.  The cold bare winter makes us appreciate the green and bloom of spring. The May showers are replaced by the hot breath of a summer evening.

Ah, that is bullshit; give me warm weather all year 'round.

Friday Music and a few facts you should know

I was planning on putting up some Traffic this morning, or maybe some good southern rock.  Instead I put up a spooky homage in honor of the date.

It looks to be a blustery late fall-type day around here with strong winds, rain, sleet and maybe even a bit of snow by the time Saturday rolls around. I suppose it is better to have some strong winds to shake the leaves from the trees. I would rather rake a bunch of leaves at once rather than a smaller amount every few days.

Warning explicit language follows.

What the hell is wrong with that stupid cunt in Maine who was exposed to Ebola in Africa? She is supposed to be a nurse.  What happened to "do no harm"? Any sane person would try hard to avoid being the next "Typhoid Mary", but apparently this woman is a narcissistic piece of shit that would rather risk infecting her friends and neighbors than be inconvenienced for a couple of weeks. I would bet my next paycheck this bitch is a fucking liberal..

End of rant

I start my new gig on Monday, Posting will be scarce for a while as I spend my days buried in training and real life 8-5 office schedules.. Not that anyone cares, but I did not want my loyal readers to wonder where I went for the next few weeks.

Matin noir

I have a long list of gripes and complaints. Most are petty and peevish and boring. I'm not going to heap that crap on you today (for a change).  Instead you should click on the links over there on the right. Or the left if future you is reading this and future me changed the template and moved links to the other side of future blog's page.  If future you is reading and future me did not change the future blog template -- never mind.

The customer is always right, except when she is not.

I am generally a pleasant person to be around.  It may not come across here on the old blog, but I can usually be pretty charming.  I would not be a successful sales guy if my personality was constantly abrasive.

Yesterday was weird. I was working my gig at big retail store. A middle-aged lady of Japanese extract asked me about a particular camera. I tried to be helpful. She spied an "open box" item, a discontinued display model offered at a substantial discount. She asked the original price and I told her I would have to look it up. This irritated her to no end. She told me I should know the prices. I apologized to her that we offer over 80,000 SKUs in the store and I cannot memorize them all.

She decided to buy the camera. I asked a manager to unlock the anti-theft device and he said he would see if we had the original box. I explained to the customer that there may not be a box, nor manuals, etc. She found this notion, as she put it "ridiculous" and told me that to throw away a box was irresponsible and stupid. I explained that display models stay for months and we cannot possibly warehouse the original packaging for every camera, computer, television, video game console, and appliance that is on display. She told me she always buys "open box" and has never seen any item offered without a box. I told her we were looking for her box, but that there were lots of appliances, televisions and computers in the store sold "as is" without the original packaging.

She insisted that it was dumb to not have the box.  I again told her that we were looking for the original box. I pointed out that the camera was half price due to the fact some accessories, including the original packaging might be missing.  I guess she found this fact offensive. She replied, and I quote, "You do not have to be so rude. I do not want you to help me. Go somewhere else". 

So I did. I left her standing there. I don't need shit from a customer at a low-wage part time temporary gig.  I don't make commission. I assume the manager finished the sale after his box search. I do not doubt she complained about me to him. The boss never asked why I left the customer. In fact the whole incident was never mentioned.

RIP Jack

greatness

Puff adders in the closet

I made a lasagna this morning.  There is nothing like the smell of tomato sauce and fresh squeezed garlic at 7:30 in the morning.  The lasagna is for supper tonight. I have to work all day and if I wait until I get off at 5:30 to start cooking, it will be very late when we eat. This way I just have to stick it in the oven when I get home.

The youngest is home for the weekend from college.  I haven't seen him for more than a month. Unfortunately I had to close last night so I have not seen him much. His dog is currently curled up sleeping in the wife' recliner. The dog snores.

It looks to be a great day, enjoy it!

I read that a python birthed a brood of killer babies without sexual congress with a male snake. WTH? It is bad enough I have to worry cobras might be slithering in my bedroom window and black mambas are hiding behind the garbage cans.  Now pythons are spontaneously hatching babies with bad intent. Pythons and anacondas are already skulking under the porch of every home in south Florida. If reptiles can start reproducing at will there is no hope for man.  I better go check my attic for rattlesnakes.

Friday Music

I was in London the day George Harrison died. I remember the headlines on the papers displayed in Trafalgar Square. I should have bought a paper, but being the tightwad I am, I did not want to exchange any currency when I was only going to be in London for a couple of days.

Shoulda, coulda, woulda.

I think this is a beautiful song.

Zippy titles are hard to write

The wife came home sporting a new haircut last night.  It is drastically different from any previous hairstyles. I like it, but she really looks different. Sometimes change is good.  We will see if her courage holds out and she tries to tease it back to the old style this morning.

Obama's Banana Republic

It seems the illegals freed from detention facilities last year during Obama's hissy fit over sequestration were not just innocents with misdemeanors and traffic tickets as Obama and ICE claimed. Instead many were accused of drug trafficking, kidnapping, and homicide according to an article in USA Today.

All politicians lie, but it seems this administration will say and do anything to pursue its agenda, and the consequences are often dangerous and deadly for the American people.  This whole affair has a Castro boat lift feel to it, only it is our own President emptying out the jails.

Congress can hold another hearing and do nothing. The press will ignore it, lest their role in propping up this failure comes to light, and the public will tune in to the latest Housewives of Wherever while the Obamanistas snatch away their freedoms a little at a time.

White puffs of cotton drifting on a light blue sky

I had to go pee in a jar for the new boss this morning.  When I got home I wiped a dust rag over the furniture and ran the sweeper on all of the carpet, including the stairs.  I also threw a load of towels into the washer and dryer. What a good boy am I.

It is a gorgeous day here in Hoosierdom, bright sun and the trees exploding in russets and golds all around. I took a spin around the backyard and would have sat on the patio and burned a stogie if I was not heading to work in a bit.  Instead I will publish this bit of nonsense, read a little and reflect on the good that is in my life.

Best wishes for a great day, blog buddies.

The Power Behind the Throne: the Julio-Claudian Women and the Early Empire

It is a cool overcast fall day. I have the day off and think I will mow the yard this afternoon.

I'm back. Sorry, I just remembered I forgot to put the trash by the curb. Where was I?

Oh yeah, yard work.  I probably should pull the tomato plants today.  I brought in a bunch of green tomatoes ( tomatos? Help me here Dan Quayle) over the weekend when there was a frost warning. They may or may not ripen. They may or may not get fried before they get a chance. The thought of fried green tomatoes makes me want some pimento cheese. I do miss going to the Carolinas, a staple of my work travels for the past 20 years. If I had a dollar for every hour I have spent in the Charlotte airport I could make this month's mortgage payment with enough left over to buy some beer. Lots of beer. And a jar of cashews - the good ones, salted and whole and big. And maybe even a box of cigars. I have spent a lot of time in Charlotte.

Every time I write that it makes me laugh for reasons I cannot/will not explain.

I am rambling, a sure sign I have nothing to offer on this October Tuesday. Have a great day.

Tyranny in its purest form

Many of my readers do not concur, but I really do not have an issue with gay marriage. I figure who a person loves and what they do in a bedroom in a private affair; as long as it is between consenting adults. As a matter of fact, I do not believe the Government should be in the marriage business at all.

I do, however. have a big issue with forcing gay marriage on people who have a moral objection. Service providers like churches and ministers should not be forced to do the wedding of a gay couple. That was my argument months and years ago, and it has not changed. This is exactly what I am talking about.  This is wrong, wrong, wrong on every count. A Christian minister should not be forced to marry a gay couple. A Jewish rabbi should not be forced to countenance a Muslim wedding ceremony, nor should a Catholic Priest be forced to marry a couple with Hindu Rites. Your right to a same-sex marriage is in no way impeded if a given church or minister will not do the wedding. You do not have a right to the First Methodist Church Fellowship Hall. You do not have a right to the St. Mary's transept. You do not have a right to get married at the Hitching Post Wedding Chapel.

The First Amendment does not promote a religion-free society, it is exactly the opposite. The Constitution guarantees the right to practice religion.

Thoughts on the weekend

Notre Dame got robbed.

The Colts put a beat down on the Bungles.  That was one of the most dominating performances from a Colts defense I have ever seen. No, from just about any defense I have seen -- including the '84 bears and 2000 Ravens.  I twas in that category.  The Bengals are a good football team. The Colts lost two games by a combined 10 points to the Broncos and Philadelphia. The Eagles loss can be blamed on play calling.

Peyton Manning may be the best quarterback to ever play the game. He could be named MVP every year, other than he is graded on a scale all his own, instead of comparison to the rest of the league. If he had possessed any sort of defense in Indianapolis (see above), he could have won two or three Superbowls. Anyone who claims Manning "choked" in last year's Championship against Seattle did not watch the game.  It was the Broncos Defense that came up short.

Jay Cutler really is the Jeff George of this era.

Bon jour

Hola blog world.  I start the post of in a bilingual way in honor of the awesome Mexican food we had for supper last night. The spicy enchiladas inspired some very weird dreams, though, including one that seemed to be entirely in French.  I studied that language in high school and my freshman year in college. A trip to France more than a decade ago was proof positive I have forgotten most of the French I learned in my youth.  I guess my knowledge of French is buried way back in some dusty, unusable file deep in my brain, because I could understand most of what was said and converse with semi-fluent sentences in my dream.  My accent was still quite bad, however. This morning my normal language skills have returned; that would be a smattering of words in French, Spanish, and German (mostly the ability to count and order beer) and a semi-fluency in basic American English.

It looks to be a great day. Shut off the computer and go enjoy it my friends.

Seasons will pass you by

It is still dark out even though it is not that early. The neighbors across the street have decorated their bushes and shrubs with orange Christmas Halloween lights. I sit here skimming the interwebz on my iPad, drinking coffee.  I have to head into work today, a nine hour shift at the part time big box retail store. That is not a complaint, just a fact. I have tomorrow off, that is a grand thing. Ho hum life goes on.

On my way to work Yesterday I heard a news report about Ebola. Congress was looking to put travel restrictions in place to the plague-ridden African nations. According to the reporter, the White House objects, claiming other methods are more effective.  What measure could possibly be more effective than not letting the disease in the country? I think common sense dies Washington.

This is the pathetic content you get nowadays. No wonder a mere handful of readers bother to poke their head into the door to see what is going on. I once averaged more than 100 readers a day, often twice that many.  Perhaps hours of windshield time and staring at hotel walls will stir creative juices, because it is clear I don't have much to offer readers these days. Your patience is appreciated.

I hope you have a great Saturday.

Friday Music

What say we mellow out today? Note, this is not an oldie.  Sometimes I surprise myself.

I do dig this song.

Glancing down one of those dank, dark alleys that intersects with Memory Lane.

I was listening to some tunes this afternoon. It is weird how a song can trigger a memory. In this case the song made me think about an old girlfriend. Not in a longing way, but in a "I wonder what ever happened to her?" way. Has this ever happened to you?

I started dating the girl who is now my wife at the end of 1978 when I was a mere boy of 16. She is the love of my life and I have never looked back. But before her, I dated a girl for about six months. In between, I dated several random girls, mostly one date flirtatious efforts that went nowhere. The girl that popped in my memory was my first kiss. We parted on bad terms. Shit happens. I have always possessed a strong streak of assholery. In my defense, no sane chick starts mentioning marriage at the age of 16.

Anyway, the song that cropped up on my iPhone spurred a memory. I am not sure why.  I have heard the song hundreds of times since the halcyon days of the late 1970's. Never before has the tune triggered these thoughts. The moment passed and I was not even tempted to look up the old flame on the interwebz. I just found the whole thing weird.

So what, who cares?

I woke early again this morning. And yesterday morning. I suppose I am going to have to get used to it. Maybe it is because I'm getting older?  There is no point in complaining about it.

Things have been a bit slow around here with not much to report. You have your own weather and do not care about mine. I suspect you have even less interest in what I had for lunch or my boring walk on the treadmill.

The upcoming election bores me to tears. My local Congresswoman is a virtual shoo-in, this district being so Republican I'm not sure the Dems are even trying. On the national stage it seems the Republican platform consists of  "we're not Democrats". Even though polls show the public agrees with the conservative position on immigration and health care the GOP just wants to be Rovishly Democrat Light and keep losing general elections.

Oh, I got a new job.  I start next month.  Posting will continue to be sporadic, It is not like the world is clamoring for my opinion anyway.

Paranoia Strikes Deep

I cannot help wondering about the whole lack of response from the Feds on the Ebola thing. For the life of me I cannot understand why we have not put travel restrictions in place for the plague-ridden countries. I don't consider myself a "black helicopter is watching me" kind of guy. Still, I cannot help wondering if something foul is afoot. After all, I never thought our Government would provide guns to criminals in an effort to pass stricter gun laws. I never thought any administration would systematically spy on its own citizens, monitoring emails and phone conversations. I really never thought I would see the heavy hand of the IRS used to target citizens that diasagreed with the President's politics. All have come to pass under Obama.

So, many in the administration and Democrat Party are convinced the Government is the best means to control the heath care of the populace. The American people are not only unconvinced, but an overwhelming majority want ObamaCare repealed. What better way to convince the people to change their minds about Government Health Care than to overwhelm the medical community and health care system with a a plague of infectious disease like Ebola?

Far-fetched? I am no longer so sure.

1492 yadda yadda

I for one am damn glad Columbus "discovered" the Americas. I don't care what  the revisionists and progressives believe.  I am proud to be born in the greatest nation in history.

What the heck?

I swear I am living in a dream, a matrix-like world where the absurd is normal, the normal absurd.

Take this for example  This has to be a story from The Onion. No one is that batshit crazy. This is what the left envisions for us. I hope I am not alive to see such idiocy become commonplace.

Never mind, that fed-up world is already here. The stupid people are now in charge:

Example 1,317

Calgon, take me away.  Oh wait, it can't, it is bubble bath.  I suppose they owe me money. At least I have Coke, The Real Thing.  No it contains artificial ingredients.  They must owe me money. M&Ms once melted in my hands on a hot summer day. Ca-ching, cash in the bank account for me. Where does it stop?  I bet there is a kid out there who had chicken pox but did not like hot dogs.

These morons vote. That's how we get The Obama for two terms.  Worse yet, they breed.

We are doomed.

Friday Music

I know you are so very sad I have not posted any music for a while. Really, you are sad. Admit it. You can't live without seeing what music is playing in my head. Well today it is the Byrds. Enjoy.

I said enjoy...

I nearly died today

Well, I was really uncomfortable.  I forgot my Chapstick at home and had to work all day without the comforting presence in my right pocket and the soothing coat of petroleum based products on my lips only a Chapstick can provide.  It was pure mental and physical anguish.  I think I read somewhere Chapstick Deprivation was the next step for those recalcitrant terrorists who would not break under waterboarding down at Gitmo. What, you don't believe me? Was there Chapstick in the Hanoi Hilton?  Did Sing-Sing distribute Chapstick in the canteen? Consider this: Trail of Tears -- no Chapstick, Bataan Death March --no Chapstick, Andersonville, Auschwitz, and Alcatraz--no Chapstick. Clearly a day without Chapstick constitutes a war crime and cruel and unusual punishment. I am pretty sure it is covered under the Hague Convention as well as State and local law.

I know, it was a miserable and horrible day. I am lucky to survive.

The Colts won. That helps.

words have meaning

I have long been a student of history. Most of you may know I was a history major in college.  I am not a historian, but I do know a bit about history and historiography. I learned how a historian should recognize his bias' and try to eliminate them.  I also know that a mere recitation of facts is boring and unreadable. History is a story, better than any fiction.

It is funny what a few words can do to change a passage or interpretation. I just started to read a memoir of the Vietnam War. I was eleven  when the last combat troops left Southeast Asia. I was thirteen when the helicopters lifted the last Americans from the roof of the Embassy in Saigon.  In truth, the protests and anti-war movement occurred before my time. I'm certain I can look at that turbulent period without the the color of personal experience. I know many Vietnam Vets,  yet I think I am (just barely) far enough removed from the historical period to look upon it with a fairly unprejudiced eye. I can only look back through the lens of this time period  through pictures, film, newspaper, and first or second hand accounts.

I find a few passages in this memoir interesting. In the forward by the co-author, a bias is clearly exhibited. As the "editor" who provides historical insight to the manuscript, the bias leaves me a bit skeptical he is a fair and impartial historian. As a reader I think I will have to view anything he writes with a skeptical eye.  For example take this passage:

Late that summer. the whole world watched as policemen rioted in Mayor Daley's Chicago and attacked anti-war demonstrations at the Democratic Party Convention"

In all of my reading about the anti-war protests, including the research and writing of  a senior seminar paper  on the Chicago Seven, I have never heard the Chicago police described as the rioters. Overzealous, out of control, excessive force all might be acceptable, but I am not sure the picture of peaceful demonstrators sitting around chanting anti-war slogans while police rampaged through the city is an accurate description, no matter where your politics might lie.

Or what do you think of this passage on the Kent State shootings:

The young National Guardsmen who...fatally shot the students with M-! rifles recklessly loaded with live ammunition.

Again the tone and description indicates a bias and intent to color the facts. Editorial is not history. Opinion is not journalism. Where the rifles recklessly loaded? Perhaps, but that is a conclusion for the reader to determine.

Anyway, the book is Last Plane Out of Saigon by Richard Pena and John Hagan.  Vietnam evokes a lot of raw emotion to this day. I suspect this will be an interesting account. I have no doubt the author's diary is accurate.  Can I trust Mr Hagan's historical notes to represent facts and the historical context as he promises? Of that I have some real doubt.

What have you done for me lately?

Did you ever see The Blue Man Group? Do you know how they pound on drums and buckets and pipes? Imagine if you combined that experience with the drum solo Moby Dick from Led Zeppelin's live album The Song Remains the Same and you will have an understanding of my pounding headache this morning.

Normal humans would be writhing on the floor in agony. Some would be curled in a fetal ball, crying  in some sterile hospital emergency room full of illegal immigrants, ebola patients, winos, and kids with hacking cough, all watching a muted episode of Jerry Springer. Instead, I am pecking out a blog post for you.

I'm giving like that.

Query

Why don't we restrict travel from Ebola-plagued nations to the US?

Seriously?

Remember when I once wrote an entire blog post in code?

Hola Blog Buddies,

I am late hitting the webisphere this morning.  I slept late, a welcome respite from waking earlier and earlier each day this week. I ate a couple of donuts left from yesterday's trip to the bakery and am energized, enthusiastic, and trying vainly to tell myself that is true.

I have a rare Sunday off, my first in two months. I can watch football live instead of taped, already knowing the outcome.*

 Fall pounced on us with astounding quickness Friday evening and we went from chilly nights and gorgeous days to cold nights and chilly days.  When the temperature in the house reached 60 last evening the wife switched on the furnace. You know what the Starks say.

Hold on a sec or two, I need to get more coffee.

I am back. I know what you are thinking, I must have a really fast coffee maker or perhaps a secret means to control space and time. since it took you but a few moments to read the previous sentences. You mumble to yourself, "there is no way he could go out of the office, down the hall, down the stairs, through the dining room, into the kitchen, poke a K-Cup into the coffee maker, take a quick restroom break, eat another donut, throw away the used K-Cup, and get back upstairs to the office and type all of this in that short of a span". You might or might not be correct. I refuse to say if I can control the space/time continuum , the Feds may be watching.

I have been in a weird writing mood lately. But then, you get what you pay for around here. I hope you have a great Sunday.

Praise be the Lord for his many blessings.


* I know it is not taped, but recorded digitally.

Well then

Good morning bloggity world. Once again I woke up at 5 in the way-to-early-morning. I fought it for a. while but here I sit pecking away at the iPad keyboard with one finger. The neighbor across the street just left for work. It will be a rainy commute.  I need to go put some petrol in the wife's car before she leaves for work.  Ain't I a swell guy?

I don't know why, but I was ravenously hungry at supper last night.  It was the most I have eaten in weeks..  It's not like dinner was special.  I grilled some chicken breast with jerk seasoning, sliced what will likely be among the last tomatoes from the garden, microwaved some frozen corn and  prepared a box of Mac & cheese. It was a quick, bland, uninspired supper, the kind you fix when you both get home from work at almost seven. Still, I ate like a pig.

Have a great Friday.  I made other plans.

Shut the bleep up

The voice in my head talks all of the time. He rarely shuts up. I think he talks with his hands, banging away at the inside of my skull with wild gestures for emphasis. That would account for my headaches in recent weeks. Or it could be my fall allergies,.

The guy in my skull is always playing music in the background, classic rock mostly.  Sometimes he plays songs from old movie musicals. He changes the tune often and at random, unless he discovers a song I really loathe.  Then he plays it nonstop for about 37 hours.

Man, does the guy in my head like to talk. Politics, jokes, conversations he had last week, last month, years ago, are rehashed. He plans discussions he has not even had yet. The man in my head reads aloud entire pages from books he read days, weeks, months in the past. He recites passages, facts, and dates from old dusty history tomes consumed decades ago.  He reminds me of people and places at the strangest times. He talks about bills and debts and the stuff he needs to do. It is yakity yack all of the time, morning to night.

The man in my mind talks about sex a lot. He is obsessed with boobies and soft secret girly parts. He talks about them at inappropriate times, appropriate times and often in between.  His tone when discussing nekkid is a little less strident these days, and it dominates less of his one-sided conversations of late.

He talks about football and baseball and endless tales of his youth.  He argues with me, pleads with me, and insults me.  He encourages me to make sarcastic and caustic comments. He is sometimes bitter and mean.  Occasionally he tells me to write stuff here.  Good stuff, bad stuff, weird stuff, regrettable and forgettable stuff. He curses a lot.

The voice in my head is me and he will not shut the fuck up.

Does this ever happen to you?

I woke a bit after five this morning. It was wake up or piss the bed.  I stumbled to the bathroom. When I got back in bed I could not shut off my brain. Thoughts crashed and fought throughout my cranium like heavily armored knights at a medieval tourney melee.  So here I am sipping coffee surfing the web on the old iPad, ready for the day.

Yesterday was my son's birthday.

Today is my son's birthday.

Yes my two boys were born a day apart, albeit with a five year span intervening.  The youngest turned a magical 21, the oldest boy 26.  For good measure, I should point out my daughter just turned 28 two weeks ago.  And yes, as you count backwards on your fingers, I used to really enjoy the cold nights of late December and January. Hey, when it is cold out you gotta snuggle to keep warm...

I had the day off yesterday. I mowed the yard, washed the sheets and made a pot of chili for supper. We had perfect weather and I will admit to sitting on the patio for a while reading a book and enjoying a good cigar in the autumn sun.  The big willow waved a long limb in casual greeting and the pear trees sighed in the light breeze. I saw a chipmunk scurry along the privacy fence where gladiolas bloomed not so many weeks ago. Winter is coming and my sunny days on the patio will be but a memory.  On the other hand, that means the cold nights of late December and January are not far off...

Quick hits

I cannot say this enough; no no no no no no on a possible Romney for President in '16. The dude lost the nomination in 2008, and lost the election big to a weak Obama in 2012, mostly because conservatives stayed home on election day.  There is nothing new to change all of those minds. Romney vs. Clinton or another Bush vs. Clinton? I would prefer we have a random drawing of eligible voters and let the winner be president.

Is the Secret Service really that incompetent? I know a guy who has his house wired. He knows if anyone pulls into his driveway. He gets a text when his laundry is done. He can remotely turn on his living room lamp while he is gnawing chicken wings down at the local sports bar. But with all of the power and money in the world the Secret Service can't stop a guy from climbing a fence and getting clear into the East Room? Unarmed minimum wage security guards can tackle and stop a streaker before they get ten yards onto a football field. Maybe the White House should hire a dude in a windbreaker to handle security?

Republicans, Democrats -- is anyone running on a platform this year?  "I'm not the other guy" seems a piss poor way to run a country.  But considering the candidates, that may be all they have to offer.

Only six months until the Cubs start playing meaningful baseball games.  At least they will not lose any more games this year.

Leadership

Back when I was 13 and the Patrol Leader of the Wolverine Patrol in Boy Scout Troop 338, I learned to take responsibility for my actions as well as for those under my guidance.  I continued that philosophy when I had direct reports working for me at the factory.  If you support your people, they will support you.

In a nutshell my belief was " You did something right, We did something wrong". The concept being that if there was a mistake or failure by a member of my team, then that error was caused by my not giving the individual the knowledge, training , or tools to do the task correctly.  It was a failure of leadership.  It goes without saying that credit for doing something well goes to the individual.

Apparently President Obama was never a Boy Scout, because he clearly lacks in leadership skills. When will America learn there is a very big difference in a good speech reader and a true leader?

Lucky Man A revised post for a new day

I am a lucky man. I cannot say it enough.

I have plenty for which to thank God each and every day. I have a wonderful family and great friends. That is plenty for any man, yet I have been blessed in many other ways.

I have walked on the Great Wall of China. I have swam in warm Caribbean waters. I have dipped at least hand into each of the Great Lakes. I have been to London, New York, Chicago, LA. I have sipped beer beside mountain lakes in Alpine Austria. I have seen many of the great cathedrals of Europe. I have gazed on the Mona Lisa, the Rosetta Stone, the Statue of Liberty, and Paris from atop the Eiffel Tower. I have walked the same Hamburg streets as the Beatles did before they became famous and climbed the rocky hills of Gettysburg where thousands of Americans died for freedom. I have stood above the treeline on Mt. Hood, and walked along the canals in Amsterdam. I soaked in the sun and surf of Waikiki and stared in solemn silence at the oil bubbling from the broken hull of the USS Arizona. I once nearly drowned in the riptide off a Florida beach and I have twice jumped from a perfectly good airplane. I have visited 44 states, and at least 10 countries. I have watched a full moon rise from behind the big willow tree in my backyard. I have enjoyed great cigars and fine wines. I have spent more than 30 years with the love of my life and fathered three perfect children.

I am a lucky man

Saturday Music

What say we take another trip to the '80s?

So long sucker

The cynic in me cannot help thinking Holder's resignation is yet another delaying tactic to keep the supoenaed documents in the IRS and Fast and Furious scandals from Congress, the press (like they really want St. O exposed), and the American public.

We will be deep into the election frenzy for the next corrupt politician or The Obama will be long gone before the facts are ever exposed. Then no one will care.  America will be a little worse for wear, but the President will be protected.

Catchy

I note the liberals are largely silent on Obama's pre-emptive war in Iraq. I have read nothing from those who think GW's pre-emptive war in that same country is the most shameful action in America's history. I guess that author slept through history class when slavery, the Trail of Tears, the Sand Creek Massacre, Wounded Knee, and the Philippine Insurrection were discussed. But, as is often the case, I digress.

The hysteria over a few bad rotten apples in the NFL has quieted a bit. There are creeps in every workplace. The odds are pretty good there is a wife beater, drug addict, child abuser, and drunk driver working for your company today.  Should I never buy your company's widget again because of it? You will say it is about the punishment of the n'er do wells that has your panties in a twist. I know of two instances when I worked in manufacturing that he union got a person's job back, including back pay for the time the persons were fired after the employee showed up for work drunk and/or drugged. If you're this passionate get yourself and your picket sign to march in front of every company in America.  Better yet, why don't we make these wife beaters, child abuses, and drunk drives where a big red letter of shame embroidered on their breast?

The Cubs need to win two of three against the Brewers to keep from yet another 90 loss season. Must they break my heart every year?

I'm getting dizzy up here on my soapbox. One final enigmatic request; cross your fingers for me today.  I need some luck.

Hump day random writing

Good morning blog world. It looks to be another beautiful day here at the old homestead. The air definitely has the feel of early fall. I really meant to get a post up yesterday but shit happens, as the saying goes.  I had the afternoon off. I threw in a load of laundry then I dusted and vacuumed the place.  The day was warm and nice, nary a cloud in the sky. I grabbed my book and sat on the patio burning a good cigar and reading until the wife got home from work (6-1/2 x 50 Siglo if you must know).

An old friend I have not spoken with in a long time called after supper. It was great to talk to him,

As I hunt and peck this post a ragged vee of geese just flew over the house, the flock's backseat drivers honking directions to the leader while he honked arguments back.  The giant willow in the backyard stands mute as they pass, the long limbs almost touching the ground; no breeze stirring it today.  On the opposite corner a big blue spruce stands sentinel over the little garden shed.

I sit inside drinking coffee, thankful God has seen fit to give me this day.

I'll take an "e", Pat

I know.  I hope I can find time to mix letters into words and words into sentences that will at least comprise a readable post sometime today.  Not just now.

I can eat 50 eggs

The morning sky is a cloudless brilliant blue. I think the Crayola folks called this shade "sky blue" in the big 64 count box when I was a kid.  Who would have guessed? There is a moderate breeze shaking the leaves on the maple out front. In short, it looks to be a gorgeous fall day. In fact it looks like it is too nice out to waste the day on the computer.  Have a great Sunday.

Good or bad

The contents of this blog are pretty much what you would get if we were to have a conversation. Sadly I may be just a tad more sarcastic in real life.  Fortunately I have learned to filter much of what transpires in my brain.

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Usually I take whatever song is playing in my head when I wake on a Friday morning and post it as the Friday Music feature. This morning Michael Jackson's Billy Jean is bouncing around in there. I don't know why. I have never liked that song and was certainly never a fan of Jackson's work.  I am not going to post a video. Say thank you.

Big stuff in store for this Friday. I have a couple of conference calls,  then I think I'll take the afternoon off and mow the lawn.  I agree, I don't know how I deal with the excitement either.

I must need Head and Shoulders 'cause I keep scratching my skull

Apparently Obummer isn't going to be happy until we have our very own epidemic of Ebola right here in America.

If you are one of the military personnel sent to Africa to "fight" the spread of the deadly virus can you refuse the mission?  How is this plan in any way, shape, or form part of the roll of the US Armed Forces?

Beef and Beets with Burbon Butter Broth

I woke wide awake a bit after four this morning. I don't know why. I flipped and flopped like a trout tossed on a river bank for a bit and finally gave up and climbed out of bed*  I have been sipping my coffee and surfing the web since.

I bet you are saying to yourself  right about now "Self, since Joe was up early I bet he is going to knock out a killer post given the extra time in his work day". You could say that if you want to be wrong as a Democrat on foreign or domestic policy. You don't want to be wrong do you? I was once and I did not like the feeling.

My coffee cup is empty and so is my tank of creative juices. Is it weird I am craving a hamburger at 6 in the morning?

*That phrase has always bugged me.  How do you climb out of bed? I don't sleep in a pit or a hole. There is no ladder or stair involved in exiting my mattress.  Instead replace the "climbed out of bed" phrase with " rolled out of bed" it is a more apt phrase and leaves my just slightly more satisfied with my elementary school level of prose.

What? It did not cost a bit to read this drivel. You get what you pay for in life. In this case you got a whole lot of nothing.

A little bit of nuthin'

I'm sitting here alternately staring at the cursor in the blank blogger page and out my office window at my backyard. I feel like my brain is in low gear this morning, despite two cups of coffee. I suppose the proper word to describe my mood is "lethargic".  It is not like I want to do something else, I don't want to do anything. Well that is not completely true.  I wouldn't mind sitting on a beach, sunning and drinking beer. Still, that would involve pretty much not doing anything, just in a much better setting than my home office.

The unseasonably cool air has brought forth sweaters and tight jeans and boots on the ladies at the mall. That is not a bad thing, I suppose, but the transition from spaghetti straps and cleavage to sweatshirts has been quick this year. But what do we do? Despite the fervent beliefs of the global warming zealots, we just have to live with weather.

Eat me, Buick

I once swore I would buy nothing that had an offensive or stupid commercial on TV. It did not take me long to realize that policy left few goods to buy. I hate the cartoon Charmin bears, but I am not about to pass on a soft wipe for my delicate butt. I do have standards.

The latest commercial that leaves me sputtering with outrage is the new Buick commercial. Assholes in all walks of life are exclaiming "I did not know it was a Buick". An idiot valet parking attendant can't find the Buick in the lot, I guess because the car does not look like a typical Buick. I suppose that just clicking the remote was too difficult for the moron?

My issue is that each and every car in the ad has a giant Buick emblem in the center of the grill. Ray Charles would not fail to notice it, and he is blind. And dead. The emblem is like four inches across. Only an idiot would look right at the front of the car and exclaim, "This is not a Buick".  It is not like the old bat in the spot is peering with myopic vision at a '67 Volkswagen Beetle with a Rolls Royce hood ornament.  The camera focuses on the front of the car, giant Buick emblem and all.

Who ever agreed to this ad campaign should be branded with the giant Buick emblem right on the their ass.

A really crappy Monday

I am a bit swell-headed this morning, if that is even a term. A commenter told me I "was so cool" and that he "has never read anything so interesting as my blog". He even invited me to read his blog! Can you believe it?

The past two weekends I have been deep in sales training for my new part-time gig. I passed the course. That means I can keep my job. Since I have been a moderately successful salesman for more than 20 years, I hope I could pass an introductory sales class. I will be honest, it has been 30 years since I sat in a classroom setting, studied materials, and took written tests. That part was harder than I thought it would be. Still, I scored a 90% on the written final and life is good.

I think we have been friends long enough to share a little too much information this morning. You may remember I had serious diarrhea issues a few years ago. It was caused by some meds i was on. I believe I blogged about the destruction of a Dairy Queen in Wisconsin, and the 8 hours road trip coming back from Rockford, Illinois, crapping at every gas station, McDonald's and Cracker Barrel between there and home, Since the doctor changed things up I have shat neat, solid cellophane wrapped cubes.  Until this morning.  I woke at about 4:00 in the dark of night with stomach rumbles and I have proceeded to stink up the house and each of the 2.5 bathrooms with a major case of the runs. It is a good thing the wife stocked up on the Charmin last week. I would light a candle or two, but I am seriously afraid of an explosion.

Needless to say, it has been a shitty Monday around here, I hope yours is going better.

It is about time

A school in Virginia has banned Chapstick.  We know lip balm is a gateway drug to hand cream and moisturizers.  Some users even end up on Vaseline. It is about time the authorities cracked down. You see, I know the dangers. Here is a little known blog fact: I am addicted to Chapstick. I carry one in my pocket at all times (the blue one if you have to know, but I will use the plain if I have to). I use it constantly. If I do not have a coat of petroleum wax on my lips I go into a panic.

My addiction aside, I can only ask what are these people thinking?  Is it a requirement to be a school administrator or school board member to lose all common sense upon taking the job? Perhaps frequent commenter and blog friend Hey Teacher knows the answer.

Friday Music

There won't be any today. You don't care and I lack the motivation.

Take that blog world.

It snowed in the Dakotas yesterday.  I wonder what the global warming fanatics say about that?

I think I will go buy some fresh donuts for breakfast.  Take that too, blog world.

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We all remember that terrible morning in our own way.  I offer a prayer for the families who lost loved ones.

There is pure evil in this world.

Historically Ignorant, Economically Illiterate

Sometimes I read stuff that is so astoundingly stupid I cannot help but comment. This article is a perfect example.  I know you do not read links.  You should read this one to see a prime example of historically ignorant and economically illiterate journalism. Does Ryan Cooper really believe that men lived a life of leisure prior to the industrial revolution? Men, women, and yes, children worked sun-up to sun-down and beyond in a very effort to survive. Cooper should go to any third world country and observe how hard it is to survive on a daily basis. Life is hard. The concept of "leisure time" is a modern concept.

Ryan claims that a "Universal Basic Income" will work if everyone is subject.  If there is no rich, no poor, then life will be perfect. Why would anyone go to work if their income is guaranteed? Who will produce the food, the energy, the consumer goods?  Who will build the houses, the roads, the libraries? Who will create the next iPhone, the flying car, the vaccine that ends the common cold? Where will the government get the funds to provide the Universal Basic Income?

You see, Ryan Cooper does not understand that Government does not produce anything. It makes no goods. The government only gets its funds through taking it from the people by force. The money the Feds spend comes from you and me and borrowing against the future income and taxes of our children and grandchildren.

Do you think I am wrong?  Answer two questions.  How long would you continue to work at your job if you did not get paid?  How long would you continue to go to your job if you got paid whether you showed up or not?

It is a wonder Ryan Cooper does not need an instruction manual to remind him to breathe.

See the secret Democratic Party Platform

Donna Brazile (Vice Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee):

Every time Mr. Obama tries to accomplish something with executive action, Congress tries to stonewall him. source

America, meet the real Democratic Party platform.  I guess the coronation of Emperor Obama would be fine with MS Brazile.

Here is my rebuttal.

I think I win this debate easily.

If you fail to see the issue with her tweet, I worry about the future of America.

Mundane

It is early on a fine Sunday morning. I am sitting in the upstairs den surfing the interwebz on the old iPad.  The sky is fading shades of blue and pink and orange as the sun rises from behind my neighbor's house.  The TV is off. My coffee is hot in the travel mug resting on the Indianapolis Colts coaster on the end table near my right elbow.  The recliner is upright and I am typing this post with a single index finger,  I have nothing to write for you today.  Football is finally here, but that means autumn is not far away.

Let me offer you

Sincere wishes for a happy Saturday

Fix the cigarette lighter

Another scene from one of my favorite movies. Good tunes, brilliant comedy.

Plop Plop Fizz, Fizz

We had a feast for supper last night. Ribs slow cooked in the oven and then finished on the grill with a generous coating of thick rich BBQ sauce, tomatoes fresh from the garden, corn on the cob I grilled next to the pork ribs and cheesy hash brown casserole.  I did my best Mr. Creosote impression. 

Easy rabbit stew

Why would I care what Angelina Jolie wore to her wedding?  If the bride liked the dress isn't that all that matters?  For that matter, why does anyone care that she even got married?  

The media tells us it is not our business if boys marry boys or girls marry girls. Then they breathlessly delve into every detail of this celebrity's marriage and that Royal's baby bump. 

I will say this, if you don't want your nekkid photos discovered then make sure they are destroyed or not accessible to anyone.  Better yet, don't take photos you don't want to share.  We all know the rest of the story that begins "I know this guy who used to work at the lab that processes film...".

True Ghost Stories

It is strange to see hits from Gutrumbles in my referral logs.

I miss reading the Acidman.

Chocked full of lemony goodness

I'm fairly certain I am not home on the range, 'cause the skies look to be cloudy all day. In fact, it is supposed to rain on and off much of the coming week. Right now there is a heavy overcast.

The wife made lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting yesterday. Lemon cupcakes certainly help make one's day better.

I saw where a fight in the stands spread to the field at a NE Ohio football game. The game had to be cancelled. Stay classy Cleveland.

I watched the movie Good Will Hunting for the first time yesterday. That is a great flick. Since the movie came out in 1997, I suspect you may have seen it and are not waiting on my less-than-timely review.

I have some tomatoes that should be ready for picking today. I think I'll go look before it starts raining.

See how I brought everything a full circle.  I am pretty certain it is that kind of clever stuff that keeps all fifteen of you riveted to these pages and not the cry baby stuff of yesterday's post.

I am just whining, skip this post

Sigh

I am a complainer. I know it. I don't want to be.

I am subject to rapid mood swings. Lately they have been more on the downswing than otherwise.

Combine the above statements and you understand my lack of posting lately. No one wants to hear about my troubles (real and perceived). 

Right now I am about as low as I have been in a very long time. I buoy myself with the certain knowledge things can (and likely will) get worse. I do indeed have plenty to be thankful for (bad grammar notwithstanding). 

For a good while we were flooded with happiness around the old homestead. It seems God has installed the sump pump of despair to fix that situation.

Don't worry, tomorrow will bring back happy Joe.

Friday Music

One of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite movies.

Yeah, I like romantic comedies.  Sue me.

Here is a bonus scene if you have never seen the movie:



classic.

Fluff and stuff

Content has been lacking around here as of late. That won't change today.  To quote the wildly popular novels and mini-series, "winter is coming".  Get out and enjoy the summer.

Summer at last!

We hit 90 degrees yesterday for the first time in almost a year. The humidity was about 95%. It was hot, miserable, and the way it should be in August.  I mowed the yard in the heat of the day.  The AT&T guy did not come until almost noon and I had to work yesterday evening, so that was when I could do the yard work.  The wife trimmed some bushes and then decided she wanted a couple Of other shrubs dug up, so I saluted and set to work. My T-shirt was so soaked with sweat it felt like I jumped in a swimming pool. You could have wrung water from it. Surprisingly, the wife declined to give me a hug for my efforts.

Waiting

I'm sitting here waiting on the AT&T guy to show up this morning.  The wife waited all afternoon Friday and they never showed. They were supposed to come between noon and four.  At 3:45 she got a text that it could be another two hours. When the wife complained, AT&T r said the tech would "be there anytime".  When the wife asked was it "two hours" or "anytime" the AT&T chick said "Well, anytime up to two hours".

We will see if they bother this morning.  I had the same problem when they did not show up for installation last year. The only bright spot is they are still marginally better than Comcast in the customer service department.  If you can get out of the phone loop and talk to a real person.

That is a big "if".

Mobilize

One hundred years ago this month marks the beginning of WWI, The Great War, The War to End All Wars.  WWI is often lost in American history in part by our late arrival to the action, and in part because it is overshadowed by WWII.

The human and physical devastation of The Great War had a lasting effect on the European psyche that lasts to this day.  Not only was the First World War the direct causation of the Second (in Europe), but a significant cause of the Great Depression.  Too bad that fact is not taught in American history where we think bank runs and Okies and bread lines were a pure American phenomena of the 1930's.  The world was wracked in an economic slump, not just here in the good old USA.

Back to my point. There is an old military maxim that armies plan their tactics to win the last war.  The opening days and weeks of 1914 saw what happens when nineteenth century tactics met twentieth century killing machines.  Chew on this with your Raisin Bran this morning: in the first three months of  the war there were over one million military casualties. No one can even guess the civilian toll as battle lines were formed from The Netherlands to Switzerland and across the Eastern Front with Russia and through the Balkans. Ponder that a moment -- one million men.

Take some time to do a little reading on the forgotten war. The ramifications of the events of 1914-1918 last to this day in the boundaries, the economies, the politics of the modern world.  Everything changed in August of 1914.



*one good place to start is Barbara Tuchman's "The Guns of August"

How to turn $100 into $1,000,000 in days

How about a little Friday Music instead?

Here is a version from the 2007 Guitar Festival with Eric Clapton:



Oh, OK.  Go buy $100 in lottery tix.  I did not claim it was a wise investment, but you can turn a hundred bucks into a million if you are lucky.

You may have heard about it

A cop shot an unarmed young man outside of a convenience store. Allegedly, there is a video.  The police say it will be released, but it could take "days, weeks, or months".

There have been protests and riots. You know the story.

No you don't.  There have been no protests, no riots. The cop was black, the victim was white. Read it here..

I know folks from Indy and all over the nation have made their way to Missouri. Who is on their way to Utah?

Hello?

 Is this thing on?

Hello?


h/t Mr. B

Wants and needs

Down in the Carolina's, near the hotel where I often stayed, was this little burger joint. I always ordered a hamburger topped with pimento cheese and a fried green tomato.

I wish I had one now. Yes I know it is 7:00 in the morning.

Query

Other than his own chip shot, is there anything in the world that is better since Obama took office?

Hmm, he claimed he would end global warming and there isn't any. There's that.

Admission

I may have to renounce my English Lit minor from college, but Walden is dreck. Just because it is loved and shoved by the back-to-nature hippies and college profs does not make it good reading.

Moby Dick is just unreadable.  The same goes for just about anything from Hawthorne.

Now I see

Eric Holder and the Justice Department can allocate resources and investigate a police shooting in Missouri. They will not investigate the IRS.  They will investigate a local crime, where the Feds have no jurisdiction, but ignore the shooting of a federal officer by Mexican drug lords who used guns provided by the Justice Department. Holder will investigate Treyvon Martin but not the Black Panthers violation of voting laws.

In Obamaland justice may be blind, but it sure isn't color blind.

A black kid shot a white cop a few weeks ago in Indy.  where is the FBI?  Maybe it is because no one "protested" by burning down the neighborhood.

In the mood

This is a pictorial representation of my mood today. I believe no further words are necessary.

Friday Music

How about those baggy clothes?  Who thought that was a good look? $1.49 for gas!

It has been a cruel summer around here.

recess!

What do you think of this?

The cynical black helicopter paranoid in me says this is just one more example of the social engineering of the sort Dewey imagined for the education system. Build the herd mentality, develop the notion where we are all the same, everyone does the same thing. THEY know best. THEY will tell you what to eat, when to play, what to play, where to work, what you will be paid. In other words, 1984 writ large. This policy squashes individualism, prepares young minds for group think.

I suspect the same mindset that envisions this is a good policy are also dead set against keeping score in the mandatory games, less someone think they win or lose. They forget that the competitive kids, even at 6 years old, know who wins, who loses, who is good at the sport and who is not. There are some non-athletic kids who struggle to make it through PE class in elementary school once a week. Imagine their reaction to organized sports every single day.

I think the education experts forget that these are kids. They need time to depressurize. There is nothing wrong with walking around the playground, looking at clouds. Imaginations are fostered in youth. Forcing everyone to do the same thing every minute of every day is the antithesis of imagination.  As Einstein quipped:

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

Heck, this might be a good idea. I was wrong once before.