Saturday Snapshot

Caribbean Sunset 2013

does anybody enjoy this weekly feature?

All is well

My mother has an abdominal aortic aneurism. She had a stent installed a few years ago in a life-saving emergency operation. It was discovered recently that the aneurism had grown and the old stent had slipped. A new operation was in order.

She spent 7-1/2 hours under the knife yesterday. Stents were added to her renal arteries as well. There were a couple of complications, none life threatening. The details are not important in this forum. She is doing fine and I appreciate your prayers.

In the meantime it is supposed to be hot this weekend. I slipped off and grabbed some donuts this morning. Tomorrow is. my anniversary.  There, I crammed as many random facts into one paragraph as I could this morning.

I hope you have a great Friday.

Diversionary tactics

I'm off doing other stuff today, like worrying about my Momma who is having serious surgery.

In the meantime, here is a musical interlude for those of you not familiar with the jaunty tune I referenced in yesterday's post:

Yes, not politically correct, but historically accurate. I am pretty sure the Librarians will purge this recording from their libraries like they have Laura Ingalls Wilder. You may file your complaints with the proper authorities.

I also like this version ( I have this CD):

Lemme save you time and energy

Merrick Garland, Merrick Garland

Screech screech

Repeat

There Lefties, I have you covered.

Edit  More to the point, this is why, if you are a conservative you don't vote for the liberal party. It is also why George Will became dead to me. True intellectuals don't fall prey to hissy fit emotional crying jags when they don't get their way.

This, (Supreme Court vacancies) is reason número uno that I cast my vote against Hillary and for the Trumpster. .

Mundane mid-week musings

I turned on the Cubs radio broadcast when I went to bed last night. I heard the start of the fifth inning, but fell asleep before the Northsiders started their big rally. I saw that the good guys won when I woke up.

That brings us to the next topic.

I woke a little after four this morning. It started with a need to pee. I returned to bed and after tossing and turning a while I gave up and rolled put of bed for the day. I peeled and ate a mandarin orange while the Kuerig did its magic. I suspect I will fight dozing off this afternoon.

The boy moved into his new apartment Sunday. I hate to see him go. He is an adult and needs his own place. Still, I don't mind him being here, even if he does drink all of my beer. He still has some stuff here. He is taking it in batches after his work. It's not like we won't see him, he works about a mile from the house and he can do laundry free here. He has to pay at the apartment laundry. 

It's been quiet around here. My daughter is off for a couple of weeks for summer break, so my granddaughter has not been coming over every day. When she was staying with us last week she cracked me up. It came time for the bedtime ritual of a couple of stories and a song. She always wants my wife to read and sing, but wanted me to do it one night. I read a couple of books and tucked her into bed. I sang a couple of refrains from one of my own kids' favorite bedtime songs: For What it is Worth. She did not like that one, so I started in with the opening refrain of Marching Through Georgia. She interrupted me again. "Those are not sleep songs, those are wake up songs. You can't sing anymore, get Grandma.". I got a Trumpian "Your Fired" from a three year old.

I need more coffee. You should check back often, I may have more to say that you won't want to miss. Probably not, but you never know...

Have a great day.

I see stupid people

A moron dropped a gun from his pocket at an Indy area IKEA yesterday. A couple of kids found the gat and launched a shot into the store. No one was hurt.

A few weeks ago a kid found a gun in the restroom of  a fast food restaurant. The owner of that gun was stupid too.

Both incidents were accidents.

There can be no firearms accidents.

Both should forfeit their right to bear arms. They have proven they are irresponsible and untrustworthy.

You will not find a bigger Second Amendment guy than me. When a person demonstrates his inability to handle those rights he or she should lose them for the public good. We don't allow felons to possess firearms because they have proven they are untrustworthy, and people who are careless with their guns should be punished too.

We take the keys from drunk drivers and we should start taking the Glock from idiot owners.

Yeah, I know slippery slope and all. I hate the term "common sense legislation". Common sense says stupid owners should lose the ability to endanger the public.

As always your rebuttal is welcome.

All you need to know

I was in the pissiest of moods yesterday and my foul humor is only marginally improved today.

I don't know why and I don't really give a flying fig.

Bernard, When I see what you have done, it makes me sick

My daughter bought me an old fashioned coffee percolator for Father's Day. It is great for the weekend when I want multiple cups of coffee. Three or four mugs from the Keurig gets expensive. I could drag out my drip coffee maker, but the percolator is nostalgic. It also makes a better cup of jamoke than the Mr. Coffee, I don't care what Joe DiMaggio claimed.

We went to downtown Indy to meet up with some friends last night. We at some good BBQ. It was busy in the city. Lots of people were walking and taking pictures on the circle. Everyone came back north to our humble house to play cards and eat snacks after. Ho hum.

I'm not sure I follow the logic. Lefties say you have to bake a cake or make flower arrangements because you can't discriminate on what people think, but a restaurant is cheered for refusing to serve Trump's press secretary. As the man says, lefties are not going to like the new rules. Remember when the filthy hippies were making movies and writing songs about how they couldn't get served and it was so wrong? I guess we are seeing the mean side of the leftist lifestyle. You can see how progressiveism always ends in the gulag.

Saturday Snapshot

Waikiki Sunset (2014)

I deign to disdain

Friday at last.  My Granddaughter's "week at the grandparents" will be over as soon as she wakes up. We had a great week.

Apparently they are playing a big soccer tournament. I don't care at all. No 'Merican Team is playing. I wouldn't watch even if there was. I am sure there is fresh paint somewhere calling for me to watch it dry. A guy once told me enthusiastically about a "football" game he saw. As near as I can tell the players chased each other for two hours. No points were scored. There was no overtime. Then he told me baseball was boring. I know this, the toy game that is closest to soccer is foosball, and it is far more action-packed.

On the news they said the Peanuts character Pig Pen was playing in the soccer game. I guess there was a translation error, they kept referring to "Messy". I wasn't really paying attention.  And I cannot emphasize this enough -- I don't care. And I started not one, but two sentences in a row with a conjunction. "But Joe, you say... Or is it four!  Score! That's more points than you will see in any three soccer games.

I bet the seventeen year-old next door has scored more in the past year than either team that played yesterday. Ba-boomp. I could do this all day.

There is a reason the Harry Potter characters play the made-up game of quiddich instead of soccer. The author didn't want everyone falling asleep in the middle of her books.

I suspect the yuppie metrosexuals walking around in their soccer jerseys couldn't name five players from their "favorite" team. At least the colors match their shoes. Question -- is there a Fake Madrid? 

Have a great, soccer free weekend. As always, should you disagree with my viewpoint, you may do so in the comments. You will still be wrong, but go ahead anyway. 

Missing you missing me

I'm back from a quick trip to the environs of the Motor City.  I had a good introductory visit with a prospective customer. I zoomed past the HQ of my former employer with a sense of nostalgia. I was sold along with the division I worked for. I worked with a great group of guys there. I last worked for that employer more than  20 years ago. Wow, that makes me feel old.

I have no entertaining travel stories for you. There was no egregious driving, the hotel was as expected, dinner was uneventful. I did forget to take my meds with me and I failed to pack an umbrella. The latter failure did not matter since it ceased raining as I pulled into the customer's parking lot. I hope I did not waste my limited share of good luck on a dry shirt.

blast from the past

Reruns are so blase. Click links instead. You asked. I deliver.

Click the links below.

I said do it.

Kittens and baby chipmunks will cry if you don't click the links. The unicorn disappeared because people like you refused to click links.

All the cool kids are clicking the links.

see here

and this one

From way back in the halcyon days of blogging -- 2008

OK, how about this; I had to go through almost four years of archives to find this crap, you can at least read it.

Getting Pithy

Monday. Woke up early yet again. I am watching sunrise through the hanging leaves of the big willow, leaning back in my chair, feet propped on my desk.  The coffee is good. The boy's dog snores gently in my recliner here in the office. The radio plays quietly on my Echo Dot.

It is going to be a hot one again today. It is summer. The weather does this every year. I'm on vacation today. We are taking my granddaughter to the zoo. I imagine we will see a lot of empty enclosures as the animals look out from their beds and wonder why the stupid humans are out walking around in the sun and heat.

Have a great day.

June 17

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there

Saturday Snapshot

Jinshan Jiangtian Temple
Zhenjiang, China (2017)

The Breeze in the Boxwoods

Red licorice and coffee is really the breakfast of champions; I don't care what that wheat flake cereal company claims. I also don't care what the doctor-types say. Those same folks used to think horse dung poultices were just the thing for cuts and bleeding cured...pretty much everything I have no doubt scientists in the next centuries will scratch their butt-shaped heads and wonder why no one could grasp the obvious benefits of Red Vines, Twizzlers, and a hot cuppa joe.

The heck with that Garp guy too. Pay attention to the World According to Joe and you will be happy, content, and most importantly, right. Lots of people think so. I see rubber bracelets with "WWJD" on them all of the time. I am pretty sure that stands for What Would Joe Do? I can only conclude that slogan is a reminder to the wearer to consider how I would think and behave accordingly.

What?

Oh. Never mind.

At least my T-shirt and undies line is still going strong. *

The rains earlier in the week have made everything lush and green. It also made the grass grow. With temperatures forecasted to hit the mid-nineties with high humidity over the weekend I think I will try to get the grass cut at lunch or this evening.

The granddaughter is coming to stay with us for a few days, so I took a vacation day for Monday. We will try to find something fun to do.

I've been tearing through my collection of the Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell. I have been knocking off a book about every other day. My reading time has reduced my Internet browsing and that is probably a good thing. Summer reruns are on the TV, so I read a little in the morning and a lot in the evening.

That is enough of my rambling. Have a great weekend.


* only the oldest of long-time readers know about my clothing line.

More. The title is always the last thing I throw up on a post because titles are hard. It is probably a good thing my application to caption pictures at National Geographic was rejected after college graduation. I would have really sucked at it. Anyway, it seems my first choice as title for this post "The Wind in the Willows" was taken. I don't know, I think it has something to do with frogs or toads and badgers and boats or something. I have a giant willow in my backyard and all I see near it is a random squirrel taunting the boy's dog. I've never seen a singing hedgehog crooning beneath the swaying branches.

Boring.

Not like my genius writing.

And the Prius you rode in on

I have been tepid in my support of President Trump. I will readily admit my vote was decidedly against Hilary Clinton rather than an affirmation of the Trumpster. Nearly halfway into his term I must admit I have been pleasantly surprised. Not only has he done the one thing I really hoped for in appointing an originalist to the Supreme Court, Trump has for the most part pursued a pretty conservative agenda. He has cut taxes, boosted the economy and attempted to enforce immigration laws.  In other words, check, check, and check. The Never Trumnpers were just as wrong as wrong can be. That tepid support is rapidly heating.

I wish the President would lose his twitter password, but in fairness, it does allow him to get his message out in a way that infuriates, confuses, and confounds his political enemies and the press (but I repeat myself).

Which leads me to the point of this post. The unrelenting assault of the left and the press has steadily shored up my faith in the President. I like him more every day. I see the unhinged hatred of the left and reflect that Fuzzy Curmudgeon was exactly right when he predicted that those reactions would just get us more Trump.

When you actively hope for an economic collapse (Bill Maher) or that the NOKs will start a war, then it has gone beyond politics into actual derangement.

Reasonable people can disagree. Hoping a particular agenda does not pass or succeed is one thing. Wishing misery and hardship on fellow Americans is quite another.

Shouting "F-Trump" may make you feel good. What many of us, roughly half of the country, hear is F-you to us. When Progressives describe half the country as ignorant racist mouth breathing hicks that are not deserving of their 1st Amendment Rights or 2nd Amendment Rights because we don't agree with you and thus should shut up and listen to our betters, it affirms we voted the right way after all.

I need a title that won't drive me crazy

It is a gorgeous day. It is slated to be in the eighties with mild humidity. The coffee is hot and delicious. I'm alive. The Lord has blessed me in so many ways.

Wherein I go all Chatty Cathy

Because everything Trump does is wrong and evil and probably raciiiist according to the media, we are told the "deal" with the NOKs was really no deal at all. Kim won't get rid of his nukes. We got nothing in return, the talking heads tell us. They may be right, but at least we didn't send a literal plane load of cash to pay for a bad deal. That was Obama-style negotiating. As a professional negotiator I can attest giving nothing to get little in return is a much better deal than giving billions for little in return.

With Kim, Trump demonstrated the art of he deal. With Iran, Obama gave us the fart of the deal-- it stunk.

But resistance.

I know, no criticism of The Obama shall be permitted. I suspect before I die an obelisk will be erected on the National Mall honoring the great and powerful Barack that dwarfs that puny spire dedicated to the evil slaver and racist bastard war-monger Washington.

Did you catch The Trumpster's bombshell at the G7 summit? He said he would drop all tariffs if the other members would agree to scrap theirs. Crickets. Apparently tariffs are only bad when the world's largest economy uses them. *

The boy is moving out next week. He has been here for just over a year. I hate to see him go, but I understand he needs his own place. He will take his dog with him. I will miss the dog too. I hate to see the mutt closed up in an apartment all day. The dog loves running around in our fenced-in back yard. The pup is also strangely devoted to my wife, who really does not like dogs at all. He has won her over though. She pets him and feeds him. If anyone gives him an extra treat it is sure to be my wife. I doubt I will convince her to get a puppy after the boy and his dog leave. I would even go for a cat, but that is even more of a non-starter with her than a dog.

Once the dog leaves I am going to have to worry about the rabbits eating the flowers again.

* I am more of a free trade sort. I also understand that US companies cannot compete against workers making pennies on the hour or government-subsidized industry. I've covered the cost of taxes and regulations to business in the past   If you missed it let me know in the comments and I'll provide the links.

How about a word game?

I know you do not read links.

You should really read this one.  Really. Go ahead.

Let us leave aside the obvious: how is this hate-filled hysterical person even allowed to teach college? Could a male even get a fair grade? What if a fellow sociology professor stated the same about his female colleagues and students? If this is indicative of the intellect, scholarship, and political philosophy of the faculty at Northeastern University I suggest you get your kid out of that institution forthwith.

What would you have if you substituted every instance where the author spits "male" and substituted the word "woman" or "black", or "Mexican", or "Jew", or any ethnicity or race you choose? What you would have is an example of some of the most egregious hate speech ever envisioned by your local KKK Grand Dragon, Nazi-wannabe, or militant race-baiter. This is evil stuff indeed.

Had the author spewed this kind of hate to a person of color, she would have been fired before the ink on her editorial was dry. WAPO would never have deigned to publish it. Since the diatribe was directed at men, with a subtle hint, hint, wink, wink towards white men, I suppose Walters gets a pass. This level of distaste, abhorrence, and execration is usually reserved for the most heinous of society. I guess now your average man is in this category.

Replacing the "P" in the patriarchy she believes exists with an "M" just shifts hate and bias in another direction.

I wonder if anyone bothered to explain to MS Walters that despite her fervent wishes otherwise, it took a man to create her.

Monday Monologue

A couple of baby bunnies are frolicking in the rain out by the big pine tree at the back corner of the yard. The boy's dog will go crazy if he sees them. It has rained on and off all weekend. We desperately needed the rain. Yards were late July brown. They have soaked up the rain like a sponge. I am sure more than one area farmer is offering prayers of thanks.

The kids, minus the one in Colorado, all went to dinner last night to celebrate my wife's birthday. She is never more content than when her kids and granddaughter are around.

That was the weekend. Rain kept us confined for the most part. I managed a walk Saturday morning. I read a lot. That is it.

Not the riveting prose and insightful commentary you were looking for, is it? You should be used to that disappointment by now.

Going to the dogs

Last night we went to a local burger joint. Since it was nice we sat outside. This place is in a suburban strip mall on one of the very busy east/west numbered streets that cuts across the north side. There are housing additions in the area, but none very close.

As has happened at this restaurant a couple of times recently a lady brought her dog to dinner. This was a big brute every bit of 100 pounds. She didn't walk it and decide to take a beer  break. I watched her drag the brute out of her SUV. The dog promptly plopped down next to a chair of a guy sitting at the next table. Why? There was no need to bring her dog to dinner. This was no service dog situation. This was a hey look at me bring my pet to a restaurant moment. It is not necessary.

Worse was the wait staff who fondled the dog then continued to wait tables. And no they did not wash after petting he mutt. I'm glad I had my food. As we left I noticed they had brought the dog a bowl of water In usual salad bowls. Somehow I don't think the Board of Health would like this humanitarian gesture.

If your dog is overheating because you brought him to a restaurant and it is hot out,  maybe you should have left him at home.

I have no doubt some of you will not like this post. You will tell me how good your dog is. You will tell me it is better behaved than most kids. How many kids eat cat turds and roll in their own shit out in the back yard?

A restaurant isn't a dog park. If you can't bear to leave Rover at home alone you should consider take out.

As always, your rebuttal is welcome in the comments.

Soporific Tedium

I contemplated having my coffee and Internet time out on the patio this morning. I even carried out my cup of java. The cushions were wet from a random squall over night. Instead I'm blogging from the office; chair tipped back and feet on my desk.

It looks like the President is digging in on tariffs. My neighbor sells machine tools and he said his company got billed for a steel shipment that arrived last week. He has no choice but to pass it on to his customers. The problem is not all steel is the same. There is limited steel capacity in this country, especially for specialty steel, and the tariff makes no distinction between grades of material.

If the next round of proposed tariffs goes into effect I will be out of a job. Our major selling tool is price and a double digit increase will make us beyond uncompetitive, it will put us out of business.

It is Friday. It is my fair spouse's birthday. I'm alive. I will worry about that other stuff another day.

Enjoy your weekend.

Juno, Gold, Utah, Omaha, Sword

"Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.
Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened, he will fight savagely.
But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man to man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our home fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory!
I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory!
Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessings of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking."

-- Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower

Typical Tuesday Twaddle

Yesterday was a gorgeous day here in the heart of flyover country. It looked like it from my office window anyway. Temperatures were in the upper seventies with a little breeze.

I made a nice salad topped with grilled chicken for supper. I baked some boxed blueberry muffins for accompaniment. It was a perfect summer meal.

Last week I detailed how I was reading real books. I'm on the third of the Sharpe books from Bernard Cornwell. (I read number four on my Kindle to start this re-reading of the series). I found the purchase receipt from the current paperback crammed deep between the pages. It was folded for use as a book mark. I bought the book at long-defunct Waldenbooks in 2005.  The current electronic versions on Amazon cost nearly double the price I paid for the paperback 13 years ago. That, my friends, is ridiculous. I understand that goods are priced at what the market will bear. Hah, there is a reason the publisher allowed one of the books go for a buck or so last week. It got me motivated to read the rest of the series. Just not the way they intended.

Whaaaah

Woke  up early. Have a toothache. Mowed, did yard work yesterday. Allergies are kicking my butt as a result. The boss is back from vacation today, so I am sure I will be hounded later today. It will be a major failure that I was unable to get prospects to call me back during a short holiday week.

I could go on. I think neither of us wants that.

It is real, not a video game

I was watching the Cubs vs. the Mets last night while the wife did whatever she does on her iPad. The announcers were droning away in that obnoxious way the national telecast guys do (this one was on Fox). John Smoltz mentioned recent discussions for rule changes in baseball and he was for most of them. I think those he mentioned would make the game unrecognizable and pointless. In fact, some of these proposals make the odious designated hitter rule look like a good idea. And yes, I know it is only a matter of time before the DH becomes standard in both leagues. Spit.

Smoltz is all for the girls softball rule where you put runners on base to start extra innings. He see no point in long extra inning games. Except maybe the fans enjoy them. Me, I think it is great when managers back themselves in a corner, using up pitchers. I like to see the backup catcher take the mound. Besides, baseball managers and front office types are always reminding fans that it is a long season and one or two games can be meaningless. Unless they lose one extra inning game because they used a pitcher to pitch to two batters back in the seventh. I ain't buying it. John Smoltz was a great pitcher but he has no idea what a fan thinks, clearly. His position is all from a player point of view. We don't like playing 12 or 14 innings, whah. 

Can you imagine Game 7 of the 2016 Cubs/Indians World Series with the "put free runners on base" notion? There would be no drama, no tension, no sport. Indians fans might joke at they would have liked to see a batter with a better average than .160 or so take the final at-bat, but that is how the game is played. It is sport, not a video game where you get to have your favorite player bat all of the time.

Worse was the idea of letting teams hit any batter if they are behind in the ninth or in extra inning games, regardless of the batting order. Jeez, why not just have a super DH that does all of the batting all of the time? Just think what Ruth or Hank or Mantle could have done had they batted 27 times each game. Ted Williams, Ty Cobb or Pete Rose would have each had millions of hits.

Disgusted, I finally went to bed and listened to the regular Cubs radio broadcasters describe a glorious 14 inning game, filling the downtime with stats, anecdotes, and nonsense as baseball should be presented. The game followed the rules pretty much as first encoded almost a century and a half ago. There was no rule change that would have made the game more enjoyable. It was perfect as played.

Either you enjoy baseball or you don't. Changing the rules will not make a non-fan suddenly start watching. It might drive away those who love the game though.

Help me Rhonda

Tomorrow is the March of Dimes event in Indy. We will be walking and raising money. My grandson passed away from birth defects in November.

Skip that store-bought coffee today and send a Lincoln to your local March of Dimes organization.

I don’t do the beg for money thing here. I don’t have a tip jar or an Amazon link. I do not have ads.*.

I am asking you to help on this one. Let me know if you want to direct your gift.

Five bucks for a good cause. If you wanted to do more, that is great. Even a dollar is a generous gift in my book.

Thanks in advance.



* that is certainly not a comment on those who do use their blogs to make money.