I guess one chance in ten thousand

I am amazed at the blogs and Substackers and commentators  who do flips and turns of convoluted reasoning that would stump a philosophy major to deny the politics of the guy who murdered Charlie Kirk. 

Let’s try some common sense. Who more likely supported Mr. Kirk a conservative or a liberal? Who more likely hated Charlie’s position on most every topic, a conservative or a liberal? Who is more likely to go bat-shit crazy snd murder a man in public, one who supports the public figure or one who disagrees with Kirk’s every position. 

If you are still in the “I don’t know” camp I guess you are a modern Loyd Christmas, “so you’re saying there is a chance!”

Hippy Music Saturday

 

Let the market decide

 Once again I will post something unpopular, one that makes my long-time readers ask what has happened to me. The answer is simple, I remain a small-L libertarian. 

The thing is this, Jimmy Kimmel is a two-faced hypocrite, left-wing Democrat mouthpiece, and frankly, I doubt he is very smart*.  I found his show insipid and unfunny. So I did not watch it. 

I don’t need the FCC or the president to tell me Kimmel’s show wasn’t worth watching. If we are going to censor any program that distorts the truth or outright lies (Hello “The View”), then there won’t be much on TV. And there are plenty of shows that spread biased garbage on the conservative news networks. 

You might argue it was the station owners that demanded Kimmel be removed. I suspect in a future administration it will be learned the White House made some calls and “strongly suggested”. You know, very similar to how Biden had Meta and Twitter shadow ban conservatives. 

You might argue Kimmel was disseminating lies. Here’s the thing, if you are getting your news from Jimmy Kimmel, then you are so low that you are not even one of Rush’s low information voters. In fact those people likely don’t even vote. 

A concrete block was just used to crush an ant. 

*Apparently he was offered a chance to retract and apologize and refused. Not smart. 

Don’t forget to tip your server

It was really windy at the ball game

Probably because the stadium was filled with fans.

More importantly— the Cubs are in the playoffs!

What time is it?

I was late for work this morning. The last time that happened was 1990-something. What makes this extraordinary is that I work from home. My commute is about 20 feet.  Yes, I overslept. It was after 8:00 when I woke up. I haven’t slept past 7AM in decades. 

I did get up about four in the morning yesterday, so I was tired. But I went to bed early -10PM (early for me). Oh well, it isn’t like my co-workers could see my empty cubicle. I still am confused and embarrassed that I was late to work. 

Updated Uodate

 I called the manufacturer about the warranty on my water heater. I was only on hold for maybe five minutes. We quickly established that my unit was under warranty.  Since I bought it at Lowe’s I only had to take the defective unit to the store and they would give me credit for a new one. 

If I was a cartoon character you would see smoke erupt from my feet as I slammed on the brakes. Hold on. I have to take it back?  I have to install the new one? So I need to spend $300-$500 out of pocket on a plumber to replace the defective $725 product you sold me? In what world does this make sense?

Luckily I have a good buddy who is good at such things and he assured me replacing a water heater is not difficult.  He came down and we had the old one out and on the trailer in about 30 minutes. A good chunk of that time was draining the water. The exchange at Lowe’s was quick and painless, they gave me a gift card for the full purchase price of a new unit. It took about 30 minutes to install the new one. 

In all, it cost me $7 for pipe putty, two beers, and supper to get a new hot water heater. Not bad.

If I had to pay a plumber I would be pissed. The warranty is crap. The unit had a nine year guarantee and it lasted six. It could have costed me hundreds to replace poorly made products.still it worked out and I am thankful.

Rock on, Ted

 

@$&#%*

 Yesterday’s post was canned. I did not want to bump it for today’s tantrum.

Saturday the wife made a quick trip to the store to grab a last-minute item. Some friends were coming over to go to dinner then play some cards. She arrived home and ran into the house. “Joe,” she shouted, “Come out here.We have a problem.”

I ran onto the garage to see a river of water flowing across the floor and out into the driveway. The water heater was dumping its contents through the bottom. @$&#%*.

I grabbed a stool and shut off the water to the appliance. After our friends headed home I pulled out my paperwork. The water heater could have either a six year or nine year warranty. I checked my receipt. I bought that water heater in June of 2019. Counting on my fingers that would be six years and three months. 

I grab a flashlight and head to the garage. Whew, it is the nine year warranty model. 

I went to Lowe’s yesterday. As I expected, not their problem. I have to call the manufacturer, which  is only open during the week. I’m taking bets on how long I’ll need to be on hold this morning. 

Looks like another cold shower today. 

Happy Day

 Today is my little girl’s birthday. My first born, I had never even held a baby before the nurse plopped her into my arms. 

Now she is a mother with daughters of her own. 

The granddaughters came over yesterday to make her a cake. 

Not bad for  10 and 6 year-olds. The wife will cut and add strawberries between the white icing before it is served. At least the cake is devoid of sprinkles!

On Human Rights

I believe the people who posted and reacted with glee over the murder of Charlie Kirk are total pieces of human dross with no sense of empathy or moral decency.

They have every right to state their opinion. 

As I said before, the First Amendment exists to protect the speech we find most offensive. 

Here author JK Rowling says it best:

“If you believe free speech is for you but not your political opponents, you're illiberal. If no contrary evidence could change your beliefs, you're a fundamentalist. If you believe the state should punish those with contrary views, you're a totalitarian. If you believe political opponents should be punished with violence or death, you're a terrorist.”  here

I can see into the future

It is my least favorite time of year. I am not talking about pumpkin everything, nor cool nights and mornings, nor even Halloween. Nope, it is business planning time for next year. Forecasts are set, budgets are planned, goals are cemented. 

I don’t want to “sandbag” if estimated sales are too low then it reflects badly on my efforts. If I forecast too high I will spend next year explaining why I missed my numbers.  I have to “Goldilocks” it. 

There are two issues. First , the customer does not know what he will do next year. Some goofy sales guy is going through this same guessing game at his company, driving their forecasts to their suppliers (me).  Second, , after I go through all of this calculation and spreadsheet mayhem, some accountant somewhere will rule on high and my boss will (at the direction of his boss, etc.) tell me “No, here is what your forecast should be” (always higher), and I am back to massage the numbers in my spreadsheet. And next year I get to explain each month why I missed the forecast I never agreed to in the first place. 

It has been this way at every company I ever worked. 

I will work and calculate, and rub my crystal ball anyway to try and give it my best guesstimate. I have all but my really big customer finished. I should wrap it up today. 

September 11

 On this anniversary, coupled with the events of yesterday I am reminded there is evil in this world. 

On the news of the day

 I disagree with a lot of people and a lot of opinions some individuals choose to harbor. 

Not once has it occurred to me to shoot one of those people. Mostly because I’m not insane. 

When you spend all day, every day calling your political opponents fascists, Nazis, and racists you don’t get to be shocked when someone acts on it.

That old ennui

It appears I haven’t posted in a few days. I wish I had a good reason. I do not.

I suppose I could tell you about the weather. It is schizophrenic- cool in the morning and warm in the afternoon. I might tell you about last night’s supper. It was breaded pork tenderloin with green beans and Mac and cheese. I could regale you with my sports ball teams- both won their latest contests. 

All of that would be boring. It would fill up the electronic blank page. And it has. 

Right, Right

 

Rick Davies of Supertramp has passed away.  The greats of classic rock are dying off. 

I saw Supertramp in maybe ‘82 on the last tour before Rodger Hudson left the band.

Update: the concert was September 13, 1983 at MSA in Indianapolis. You can find anything on the internet.

It is only tax dollars

Trump has decided we no longer need a Department of Defense, but rather a Department of War. Whatever, but this is stupid. Once again politicians never think about the cost. How much borrowed money will we spend to change the signage on every building, create new letterhead, modify forms, websites, and requisitions? 

Sure it sounds great, but doesn’t anyone ever think that it is my money and your money they are wasting on nonsense like this? Is there even one single way this helps with military readiness?

That is what I thought. 

Hippy Music Saturday

 

One of my all-time favorite tunes. 

In a Place You Only Dream Of

 

I was going to write something but this tune leaped into my head. Have a listen. 

Indeed

 

Stolen from Midwest chick

This is funny for those of us who live in the northern ‘burbs. I’m especially looking at you guys just over the city limits about 1/4 mile from my house. 

You know who you are:

Joys of home ownership

 I was enjoying my ham and cheese sandwich at lunch yesterday when I heard a violent crash. I thought one of the bedroom closets had collapsed or something. Nope.  I checked the garage - gain, no shelves had fallen, the attic had not caved in. 

I looked out back to discover one of the big limbs on my slowly dying giant willow had fallen, striking the roof with the end of the branch on the way down. Parts had fallen across the privacy fence, breaking one of the boards. Parts had crushed one side of the oak hydrangea. The biggest section, about 8 inches in diameter and 12-15 foot long was in the backyard along with an explosion of lesser branches. 

I spent the afternoon after work cutting it up into smaller pieces. I’m going to have to call a roofer to see if there is any damage to the roof. 

That willow is probably 50 foot tall with a trunk 8’ in circumference. There are still some big branches that are going to come down, but the last estimate to cut down the tree ran over $2 grand. I suppose it is going to fall one big branch at a time. 

If anyone wants some free firewood 2” to 8” in diameter, let me know.

Who hoo ha ha

 I grilled up some burgers for supper last evening. I put on some cheddar /Jack pepper cheese on mine. The wife cannot abide cheese on her burger. Homemade macaroni salad, Deviled eggs, and baked beans rounded out the meal. 

This morning I’m trying to catch up on work. My overseas contacts did not get the day off yesterday and emailed me the usual volume. 

Here is some entertainment you can click if my boring words  are not enough:

There is that

For Labor Day I was going to write a post detailing my history with unions. Then I decided not to. 

On this Labor Day I will cut the lawn and do general yard work; pulling weeds, trimming bushes, picking up sticks. I might grill a couple of steaks for dinner. 

I do know this post is only slightly more boring than the one I was going to write about unions.