I have no words

 Yeah, I’m still alive and well. 

I have nothing of note to say. I know, that never stopped me before, but it has now. 

Buy my book if you want to read my words. 

Get off the road

 If you are going to drive in the highway use your cruise control. I don’t care what you think, over the miles you cannot hold your speed steady. 

I’ve driven over a million miles. I am not exaggerating. I used to travel a lot. I cannot make the speedometer behave up and down hills and around curves over long distances. 

I am especially looking at the jerk in the red jeep Friday . Over the course of about 100 miles we passed each other 14 times. My speed never varied. I had the cruise locked at 78. 

And when it's time for leavin', I hope you'll understand

 You can never go wrong jammin' with the Allman Brothers.

Go Cubs Go

 

Getty images

Baseball! 

The Cubs are in first place, pending the outcome of today's season opener.

Only nine months until Christmas

 If you were curious, my neighbor down the street took down his Christmas lights last weekend. They had burned every night since before Thanksgiving. 

Kudos to him for keeping up the holiday spirit well beyond  any reasonable person in Mudsock. 

Put me in charge

 After the frequent government shutdown it is the policy of the government to provide the backpay for the essential workers who  soldier on despite no pay., as it should be. The non-essential drones who did not work - if I were king, it would suck to be you. That's the price you pay for the excellent government benefits. You knew the risk when you took the job. Private sector workers get laid off all of the time. Collect unemployment then go back when things reopen. 

The TSA workers refusing to work? Screw you. Use your vacation or sick time but no back pay. No work, no pay. 

This situation should not be. But you can't get paid if you didn't work. EOS.

Of course not

 Maybe the union representatives of the TSA should be calling the Democrats in Congress threatening to withhold support if they do not fund DHS. 

Of course not, the Union doesn't care about its members, and the Democrats don't either. 

There, i Said It

 I am certain the Devil really won. 

Another bad idea

 We had to quit producing the penny because it is too expensive to make coins. Somehow, the government thinks it is a good idea to design and develop a $1 coin with Trump's likeness. Yes, because we love to carry around pockets of heavy change, especially dollar coins that are similar to quarters. Let's ask Sakajawea about that. 

I'm not even going to get into the ego-maniacal need to put your own likeness on coinage.  Calvin Cooledge was a jerk for doing it too. 

Sorry, this is just another waste of time and tax money and the whole idea needs to be trashed pronto.

It was all dial-up

 This is my 8,755th post. It is not a nice round number like 8,700 or 8,800. It does represent a lot of words, sentences, and paragraphs about...stuff. 

On March 22, 2005. I was working in a house converted into an office building. I occupied a room on the top floor. I think there was a credit union downstairs. Some local government entity filled out the rest of the ground floor. The rooms to either side of my upstairs office were little studio apartments converted from bedrooms. My company was based in Italy and I was the only employee in the US. My task was to grow the business from almost nothing (I tripled the business in a little over three years). 

I had worked remotely at that point in my career for about eight years. That wasn't an issue. The problem was I had little to no contact with anyone in the company.  Our product offering was narrow, and you can only cold call the same potential customers so many times. I could only visit my existing customers so often. Frankly, I was bored. I had no one to talk to for large chunks of the week. I was expected to keep the international calls to the main plant to a minimum. Time zones and language would have made it difficult anyway, even if cost wasn't an issue. 

By random chance I discovered blogs. Grouchy Old Cripple led me to Velociman, who brought me to Gut Rumbles, and I was hooked. After a couple of months I thought "I have stories, I have opinions, I could do this." In college my professors said I was a competent writer. Why not? 

So on this date in 2005 I launched this piece o'crap blog. Was I goofing off from work? Yes, did I get my job done also? Yes.

It was my intention to shut down this hobby last year. Twenty years is a nice round number. But here we are at twenty-one and counting. I'm not quitting.  My posts may become more sporadic.  I find I have way fewer stories and a lot less opinions than I used to. Arguing politics on the internet doesn't interest me much these days. A big chunk of people are just plain wrong. Another large group is crazy. Quite a few more are, well, dumb as Hell. Those who do not fit those categories agree with me anyway. 

In my usual manner, here are a lot of words to say thanks for reading. I offer up an internet toast to the many blogs that have come and gone from my blog roll, to the internet friends I have made, to those who are no longer with us. Thanks for the entertainment.  Thanks for being there in good times and bad. This is a strange community,  but I sure enjoy it. 

Good News

 My almost fanatical aversion to blue foods is getting better. I was able to eat a whole bowl of Cap'n Crunch without picking out the blue Crunch berries. 

RIP Chuck

 

We know Chuck probably would've kicked Bruce's ass.

Its's great cinema anyway. 

No longer "when"

 

Exactly

A link worth reading

One of my top five movies ever.

I got nuthin'

 

Mother Nature you schizo bitch

 It was73F yesterday. It is currently snowing and the wind chill is 13F. 

What the Hell? Aren't we supposed to be in the throes of global warming?

Gracias, merci, xiexie, danke, grazie

 If you read the dang book leave me a review over on Amazon or goodreads. Much appreciated. 

Beware!

 I don't believe my friends and coworkers are going to Julius Caesar me on this day. I hope not. The weather, on the other hand, just might. Mother Nature is showing her bipolar side this month and if the prognosticators are correct we should be in for a ride the next few days. A windy day will see temps push 70F then a front drives through bringing gusts to 80 mph and temperatures could drop 30-40 degrees in hours. Tornadoes and straight line winds followed by snow. 

What's Cooking

 It appears we are going to have to replace our stove. It won't hold temperatures in the oven. We have had it "repaired" once already and the expensive fix lasted about eight months before it started failing again. The red light that indicates the top is hot has burned on steady for a year no matter if the burners are on or not.  It, like my other Samsung appliances, is junk (don't get me started on the pos refrigerator). 

We have only started looking at options on-line and I sauntered past the selection at Lowes yesterday when I stopped for furnace filters. I want the double oven version, but I balk at the price. In the end it will be what the wife wants even though I do 90% of the cooking. It is just the way it is. 

In the end I know I will spend about a grand on an appliance that will last about a decade and that is a sad commentary on today's crappy manufacturing environment when "good enough" replaces quality components and workmanship. 

Friday music

 

Damn hippies

Do Not Do It

 I’m pretty sure this opinion will not be popular. I desperately want the SAVE Act to pass. It is no burden to show ID to vote, Indiana has had voter id for a long time. 

It is not worth chucking the filibuster to get it passed. Look at what getting rid of the filibuster did for the Democrats on judicial nominations. 

Elections go in cycles. Maybe in months, certainly in the next years, the Stupid Party the Republicans will find themselves in the minority and will need the filibuster to protect us from the left-wing lunatics.

About the book

 A big thanks to Nathan, Sarah, and Instapundit 

I do not have to vocabulary to properly express my gratitude. 

Yes it is fixed.   

Live blogging the coming storm.

 Indigestion rumbles in my gut harmonize with the distant thunder. I recline in my chair and watch lightning illuminate the western sky behind the neighbors’ rooftops. It’s going to be a bad storm. You can hear the wind rising in the trees and the house pops as if flexing its joints for the onslaught. 

Clearly my tired brain is running rampant in the early morning hours.  The doorbell camera chimes and the Amazon spy device announces there is movement at the front door. The Amazon driver hurriedly chucks a package on my porch and races back to the waiting van before the rain arrives. I go downstairs and grab the package. I place it on the kitchen table unopened and trudge back upstairs to my chair. I type these lines wondering why anyone would care. 

I need some sleep. 

Democrat Theater

 The Democrats still refuse to fund the Dept of Homeland Security. Ostensibly because they are upset over ICE and want it defunded. 

Except ICE is funded through 2029. Congressional Democrats know this. 

This all just political theater staged for their uninformed ignorant voters. 

In the meantime we are all more at risk. 

Getting Progressive

 

As in Rock.

I am not going to let the subject drop

 Some stories stay with you.

Hoosier Flats: A Novel of the Greatest Generation is mine.

This book is a tribute to the men and women who lived through extraordinary times with quiet strength, sacrifice, and resilience. Their grit built families, communities, and a nation.

Bringing this story to life has been a deeply meaningful journey, and I’m proud to finally share it.

If you appreciate historical fiction grounded in heart and character, I’d love for you to take a look.

👉 https://a.co/d/012fCSgz

#NewBook #HistoricalFiction #GreatestGeneration #HoosierFlats

If you bought it, thank you. Leave me a review once you have slogged your way through it. 

No Words

 I guess in Indiana Killing babies is a religion.

I am speechless. 

Bomb the bastards for about 444 days

 I am of an age where the Iran hostage "crisis" is a clear memory. Jimmah Carter's failure to wreak retribution remains, to me, a sad moment in United States history. 

I have no issue bombing the Mullahs straight to Hell where hopefully they are subjected to the same abuses they dream for the seventy-seven virgins. I hope dogs piss on them and pigs eat their bodies. 

I don't care of we declare war or not. Congress hasn't been called upon to exercise that option since 1941 and generations of American military have died in Korea, SE Asia, and the Mideast anyway. 

I say sink every Iranian ship and speed boat. Down every aircraft. Destroy every base, fort, bunker and any other site we even suspect is part of the government or Iranian military. 

Iran shouted "Death to America" for more than forty years. They spread terror throughout the World.

Eventually the bear gets sick of being poked. 

And while we are dishing out retribution we can pack up our wares and close our bases in Spain and Great Britain. If you don't want us then we will leave. And good luck to you both when the Russians or the Chinese or even the Germans come calling. Mr. B says it better.

I Can Only Laugh

 You may remember I had jury duty back in January. I finally got my $30 check in the mail yesterday. The whole thing is a perfect examp!e of government efficiency. *

No, the fault lies not with the county government. They did their job. They mailed my check JANUARY 28th. 

It took the post office THIRTY-FIVE DAYS to deliver a letter less than four miles. 

Read that again, 35 days to go four miles. 

I weep for our future.

* yes that is sarcasm

Musical Interlude

 

Did anyone mention you should not take the brown acid?

How About That?

 I made the book promo post at Sarah Hoyt's place. My blog buddy Fuzzy Curmudgeon not only has s book mentioned, he Also has given my book some great promo. Thanks to both.

What? You haven't bought Hoosier Flats yet? There is an Amazon link over there on the right. Or just press on the link in the previous sentence. 

Fuzzy has a bunch of books you should Go read.

Ungrateful Curs

It seems most European countries are more terrified of their Muslim immigrants than the US. Once again we will do the dirty work in stopping Iran from getting and using nukes. As for Great Britain, screw you. We beat your ass twice and saved it two more times. There won't be a third time. In addition, we took in Harry and Megan. 

As for France, we would not be a nation but for you. We paid you back twice over. I spit in your direction. 

Monday Gripes

 Ugh, we have a couple inches of snow on the ground. I'm ready for winter to go away. Fortunately, it looks like warm, but rainy, weather is heading our way. 

Fellow Hoosiers are not surprised we got snow; it is sectional week. Of course sectionals have been meaningless for three decsdes. but it always seems to snow during the week of the high school.basketball tournament.

After nearly five decades we finally did something about Iran. We should've bombed the country back to the stone ages when they took the hostages. 

All you appeasing Democrats can go @#$% yourselves. and before you go shouting War Powers Act you probably should read it and shut up.

Stomp stomp

 

Why is it appropriate, you ask? Because it is the greatest march in cinema. Why wouldn't you expect a march today