If I show you mine, will you show me yours?

Dragonlady already flashed us hers.

Stormy Monday

I have the classic blues song "Stormy Monday" going through my mind this morning. Not for the weather, but more for my mood.

It is a rare thing for me to get up and not want to go to work. This is especially true after two days of vacation and a two day Holiday. Last Monday was the last day I worked. I am not sure what my problem is. My sugar was really high this morning, so maybe that is it.

In any case, I am sure my sunny outlook on life will return, sooner or later.

In the meantime, listen to this. Maybe you can catch my mood.  Misery loves company.



The Allman Brothers recordings done at the legendary Fillmore East remains one of the finest live records ever.

Islamaphobe? -- you bet

It has become well documented how the press fails to mention the political party of politicians caught breaking the law -- if the person in question is a democrat.

Are we seeing a similar tendency when detailing attempted acts of terrorism? A young naturalized Somali Mohamed Osman Mohamud is accused of trying to detonate a bomb during the annual Christmas Tree lighting in downtown Portland, Oregon. source

I am willing to put a crisp new Jackson on the table betting this young man is a follower of the teachings a certain 7th century Prophet. Anyone want to bet me on this?

Wherein you find the Author in a Chatty Cathy kind of mood

Good morning Blog world. I hope your Thanksgiving went well and you managed to eat enough food to last a week.  I did.

The wife got a significant amount of Christmas shopping done yesterday. No, she did not hit the stores early. There was not much in the early-bird ads that appeared on the various wish lists. I know she was in heaven -- all day at the stores, the over-used debit card smoking in her hand. She wanted me to go with her, but I flat-out told her "NO" in no uncertain terms. Not only was I not getting in the middle of all those crowds (have I mentioned I really don't like people much -- except for you?), she really only wanted me to be her mule. I know how these things work.

Me, I put up one of the Christmas trees -- the big eight footer. Gosh, I am getting old.  I used to shoulder that big old box and lift it up and down from the attic over a six foot stepladder. Now I could not even lift it up the two steps from the garage floor to the house.  I had to have the boy help me.  Getting old sucks. I guess I am going to have to add strength training to my daily exercise. I will put up the little skinny six foot "Charlie Brown" tree later this morning. Then we have the drudgery of decorating the damn things. The wife bought new bows for the various wreaths outside, so I have to take them down so she can put on the new bows.

I turned on the outside lights last night, I am clearly biased, but I think the house looks good. Maybe I will try to take a picture and post it.  Maybe not. If you have not yet figured it out, what gets posted here is subject to my whim of the day.

For the first time in a couple of years I put our Christmas countdown calendar. It is a cheap wooden frame with a Christmas tree painted on it. The tree has a series of magnets.  Each day you take an "ornament"' a magnet of a drum or ball or present, and stick it to the big tree. There is a sleigh and Santa magnet for Christmas Eve. It is kind of a non-secular advent calendar. We have had it forever. The kids all loved it growing up, but it caused many fights and arguments when they started getting old enough to count backwards to determine who would get to put on the final magnet. We finally had to keep a note in the box so we could make sure each kid got a chance to put on the Santa in turn.

The wife hates this gaudy calendar with a passion, it does not match her country Christmas decorations at all.  I like the tradition, so I put it up while she was gone.  The boy was thrilled.  He mentioned he will have no argument about putting up the final magnet this year. I guess he does not think he will have to fight me over the honor. I may be old and weak, but I bet I can still kick his skinny ass. The first thing the wife said when she came home was "I do not want that thing up this year". I told her the boy wanted it up, so she reluctantly gave in.

Enjoy your Saturday.

Friday Five

Back in its original form, I offer the Friday Five. Here are lyrics from songs you should know.  Without using a search engine, answer in the comments the Title and Artist of the song. No cheating now.

Play along it is fun. Do it for the orphans, do it for the starving kids in India. Give it  try, if you loved me you would. Playing along will get you off of Santa's Naughty List...

Here we go, we will start with an easy one:

1. Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life

You were only waiting for this moment to arise
Black bird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
all your life
you were only waiting for this moment to be free
 
2. Hey hey mama said the way you move,
Gon' make you sweat, gon' make you groove.
Ah-ah child way you shake that thing,
Gon' make you burn, gon' make you sting.
Hey hey baby when you walk that way,
Watch your heartache drip, can't keep away.

3. Well, I built me a raft and she's ready for floatin'
Ol' Mississippi, she's callin' my name
Catfish are jumpin'
That paddle wheel thumpin'
Black water keeps rollin' on past just the same
Old black water, keep on rollin'
Mississippi moon, won't you keep on shinin' on me

4. Don't turn your back on me, baby.
Don't turn your back on me, baby.
Yes, don't turn your back on me, baby,
Don't mess around with your tricks;
Don't turn your back on me, baby,
'cause you might just wake up my magic sticks.


You got your spell on me, baby.
You got your spell on me, baby.
Yes, you got your spell on me, baby,
Turnin' my heart into stone;
I need you so bad,
Magic Woman I can't leave you alone.
 
5. Mississippi in the middle of a dry spell
Jimmy Rogers on the Victrola up high
Mama's dancin' with baby on her shoulder
The sun is settin' like molasses in the sky
The boy could sing, knew how to move, everything
Always wanting more, he'd leave you longing for

Bonus:  What do these songs have in common and why are they featured today?

Have fun, put your guesses answers in the comments.

Happy Thanksgiving

If you spend all of your time focusing on all that is wrong and bad in your life, you will miss out on the good things.

You have plenty to be thankful for, I know I do.

Cry me a river

I just got back from my daily walk.  I cut it a bit short this morning. I am a wimp these days. The temperature was 31 F. The temperature with the wind chill figured in was a frigid 16 F. Yes, I got cold and came home early. As winter goes on I will get used to the chill and cope better.  We have had some cold days this fall, but just Monday of this week it was 71 F! WTF? It is supposed to start in raining in a bit and a flood watch is in effect. rain is expected to continue through Turkey day. Sounds like a fun day to drive, eh wot?

Concrete proof of Zombie Invasion

Zombies actually invaded the US in the late 1960's. Below is confirmed video proof.

Dreaming of Grits

I am on vacation the balance of the week. My company has a firm "use 'em or lose 'em" policy. I had 7 days left, so I decided to take a couple this week. I will use the balance around Christmas. I have no plans. I will screw around on the old blog, read a little and maybe watch a movie or two.

I have to take the wife's car back to the body shop for a quick final repair (they were waiting on one part). I need to get the oil changed in my company car, but I may wait until next week to take care of that.

We had a heck of a storm front move through last night. It reminded me of  a spring storm in its speed and intensity. The Christmas lights seemed to have survived. The storm came from the NW and my house faces South, so the bulk of the house protected the decorations.

Insert your own pithy windup here, I have no more boring stuff to share with you at this time.

Airports I have known

Hamburg, Frankfurt, Torino (Turin), Charles De Gaul, Heathrow, Schipol, LAX, Albany, Pittsburgh, Binghampton, Rochester, Syracuse, White Plains, Newark, JFK, LaGuardia, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Dulles, Washington National/Reagan, Baltimore,  Johnstown, State College, Altoona, Allentown. Dayton, Louisville, Cincinatti, Indianapolis, Greenville NC, Greenville SC, Hickory, Atlanta, Birmingham, Naples, Tampa, Orlando, Tulsa, Portland (OR), Seattle, Denver, Sioux City, Minneapolis, Memphis, O'Hare, Midway, Indianapolis, Lafayette, Detroit, Pellston,  Dallas, Raleigh, San Antonio, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Toronto, St. Louis, Evansville, and Wichita.

I might have forgotten one or two.

The not so friendly skies

There has been a lot of talk about airport security in the old blog world in recent days. I have tossed around a few opinions myself in posts and comments elsewhere. I am not a security expert. I am not an airline expert. I will venture I have flown commercial more than the average person. I have long ago lost count count, but let me say in the last 15 years I have flown way more than 600 flights. At one point I enjoyed Chairman's Preferred/Platinum status (for about four years straight). For those of you not familiar with frequent flier programs that means I walked to the gate and automatically got a seat in First Class, at no extra charge, and other fliers got bumped back to coach. I had free membership at the exclusive airline lounges and clubs. That status was given to me because I routinely flew 100 or more segments a year. You do the math. For those of you who flunked third grade -- there are 52 weeks in a year, and I had three weeks vacation.

I have been to almost every major airport in the nation and many in Europe. I have been to the small airports where, in the old days, the person who took your ticket and  checked your bags also ran the security checkpoint and loaded your bags on the plane -- all before pulling the chocks and wanding the pilot from the terminal. I have experienced it all. Today, I still fly an average of one or two round-trips a month. I would posit myself as an experienced traveler.

I really have no issues with undergoing security at airports.  To be honest, I have no desire to be part of a religious fanatics suicide plan.  Diving straight down to the unforgiving ground from thirty thousand feet or becoming part of a missile hitting a building has little appeal to me. But I have little patience for the stupid, feel good security measures.

In the days after the Unibomber we were routinely stopped and asked if we had guns or bombs or explosives in our bag. If I did, would I admit it? What was the point?

After 9/11 the TSA instituted a number of senseless regulations. The airport rent-a cops are fanatics about cars parking next to the terminal for more than a minute or two. A nutjob hell-bent of placing a car bomb next to the terminal needs no more than a few seconds. He could drive the car and detonate it a la the Beirut Marine Barracks/Riyadh, etc. Or he could just walk away from the car.  It would take a few minutes for a security force to recognize the car was abandoned and that is all it would take to blow the car remotely or with a timer. I am not a terrorist, but if I can figure this out... So my point is this measure is symbolic rather than a practical security step.

I have already talked a little about the ID check chokepoint. This step slows every airport security checkpoint. A would-be terrorist knows this ID will be checked, so wouldn't all but the most incompetent bomber make sure his ID matched the ticket? I have to check my ticket to see how my name appears. My Driver's Licence has only my middle initial, my passport has my full middle name.  The ticket must match exactly, or else I cannot fly. The 9/11 hijackers all had valid IDs. We know who they were. The shoe bomber had a valid ID, so did the attempted Christmas bomber from last year. Many times the TSA ID checker matches the ticket to the ID, but not the face to the ID, so what is the point? How about a spot check of IDs, random checks instead, so the one incompetent bomber intent on earning his virgins gets caught? Has the checking of IDs caught a single would-be terrorist? Again symbolism of actual security.

Now we face the full body scanners and pat-downs. We are patting down three year olds, but considering not checking women in burkas. Last time I checked, it was members of the faith that favors full-body coverings for the females of the sect, not little kids, blowing up planes and driving them into skyscrapers. We might as well face reality. If a person is so determined to blow up a plane he is willing to strap a bomb to his child, he is going to find a way eventually. We cannot know if the hot chick's implants are PET or silicone or saline. We cannot know if a suicide murderer has swallowed the ingredients are planted a bomb up his rectum.

We do not allow tourists to climb to the top of Lady Liberty without a background check and waiting list. We will let any Tom, Dick, or Mohamed climb to the top of the pedestal.  Wouldn't a bomb planted under the statue's feet will blow it up as surely as one planted in her armpit? Wouldn't a round fired from an RPG in a speedboat have a similar effect? So what is the point?

I am not suggesting we roll over and accept we cannot win.  I am saying we should install real measures, not feel-good symbolism like checking every one's ID. If putting TSA hands on my junk means we all will fly safe, then by all means grope away. Just make sure you grope everyone. Oh, and let us be honest. Every act of terrorism in the skies for the past 15 years has been committed by Muslim males between the ages of 19 and 40. Perhaps admitting that fact that is the best place to start with real security.

Sunday

I dragged the Christmas stuff out yesterday. The boy and I put the lights around the house, except on the second roof peak.  Two sets of lights had portions that did not work and have to be replaced. Instead of climbing up and doing half of the section, I will do it all today.  We stopped by Target to grab some replacements. I did not put up the wreaths and other decorations, Noe did I put lights on the bushes yet. I am a firm believer that Christmas season starts after Thanksgiving. The lights were only on to make sure they worked and then I turned them off.

The annual Colts/Patriots game is on today. The Colts cannot defend the run, the Pats cannot defend the pass. Earlier in the week I called it 31-13 , patriots.  Today I am going to modify my prediction; 34- 20 Patriots. I makes me sick to type that prediction, but such is life.

Have a great Sunday.

Confessions

Only a few of you die-hard regulars check in on a Saturday, but you are the kind of people who would not be afraid to tell me the truth if I asked if my ass looks fat in these jeans (Does it?). Like Blanche DuBois, I have always depended upon the kindness of strangers. I am counting on you, Dear Reader, to tell me the truth.

Now that I have buttered you up, does anyone listen to, enjoy, or even find the Friday Covers posts interesting? Would it help if it featured naked chicks or guys with washboard abs?

I listened to Christmas music most of yesterday afternoon while working. It is supposed to be relatively warm (50's) today.  I may try to put up my Christmas lights around the roof. I will not turn them on however until the day after Thanksgiving.

Rob Smith isn't dead. I saw him in the Charlotte Airport Thursday evening. To be precise, he walked past me a couple of times while I was lounging in gate C6. He avoided eye contact. If it wasn't him it was his Doppelgänger. Maybe I was just tired.

Enjoy your Saturday.

Friday Covers

Here we have a 19 year Steve Winwood belting out some serious blues-driven rock.  Winwood formed Traffic and Blind Faith before going solo. BTW, that is Steve Winwood's brother on bass.



Chicago released their cover in 1969 when they were still the Chicago Transit Authority.  We sometimes forget Chicago could really rock back before they started doing ballads in the 1980's, following REO and Styx into pop music Hell.


Keith Emerson gave us a disco-infused version for the Stallone film Nighthawks.


Los Lonely Boys gave us a version pretty faithful to Winwood's original.

Random ramblings

I had the pleasure of taking to the friendly skies this week.  Alas, I was neither groped nor subjected to full body scanners on either leg of the trip. I always say a cheap thrill is better than no thrill. I do find one aspect of the TSA screening interesting. I have flown four times in the past two weeks.  Only one screener actually looked at me when checking my ID.  They made sure the name on the ID matched the ticket, but not once did they check to make sure my face matched the ID. What is the point?

There has been a lot of talk about earmarks in recent days. I believe it is important to limit Government spending where possible. But we should not take our eyes from the real goal -- shrinking Government at all levels.  We need to have serious discussions on not just cuts to Federal Programs, but eliminating them where possible. We cannot let a few bridges to nowhere get in the way of serious cuts to the Departments of Energy, Education and Defense. We need a serious discussion about raising the retirement age and trimming Medicare/Medicaid. And as an aside -- Dick Lugar your RINO days are numbered.

The wife's car is back in the shop.  She said it just died on the street last night.  It did it three times in four blocks this morning on her way to work.  She said it just dies, the dash goes black, the engine stops and before she can even come to a stop or put it in park, the engine starts again on its own! have you ever heard of such a crazy thing? I came and got her after it died the third time this morning and drove it to the shop, but it would not do it for me. Do any of you gear heads have any solutions?

I have a plan

The damn cursor is taunting me this morning. It is flashing a secret Morse-type code mocking my pathetic efforts to post something, anything of interest.

I have nothing to post, but I do have a plan.

I am going to surf the interwebz, reading my regular blogs to see if there is anything I can pilfer and expand into a post of my own. It won't be the first time I have resorted to such tactics. I am not proud. But I am willing to bet I am not the first blogger to use this method of generating posts.

Shakin' it here, Boss...

A brief glimmer of sunlight

Not in the Midwestern sky, we are getting a dose of the same rain that is drenching the Southeast. No, the shop called and the problem with the wife's car is not with the battery, but an error in a sensor that had the cooling fan running all of the time.  They reset the code and the issue has gone away.  They checked all through the day and the fan did not run and the battery stayed charged. The diagnostic costs were small. Time will tell, but hopefully that fixed the problem.

Tuna salad on fresh white bread also goes a long way toward making a gloomy day a little better.

You really are the wind beneath my wings

It is a cold fall day here in God's favorite State. I suspect it will set into a drizzle later in the morning.

I had the battery on the wife's car checked yesterday.  The good news is the battery is fine.  The bad news is the cooling fan comes on at random, running the battery down. It seems there are electrical problems, and they are never cheap. We just dropped $1,600 a few weeks ago on the boy's car.  I am about ready to take up shank's mare going forward. *^&$%#@ cars.

In the category of "stuff you don't care about but fills blog space", I had my last visit with the diabetic nurse and nutritionist this morning. They say I am doing fine. I am doing a good job of sticking to my diet and getting regular exercise. My evening blood sugar is great, but my morning numbers are still out of control.  They are random, no matter what I eat or do it seems to have no effect. I visit the Doctor tomorrow, so I suspect some new/different medicine (or at least dosages) is in the works. My blood pressure has been pretty good, until the nurse checked this morning. I guess I was nervous? Who knows, the body is a mysterious vessel.

Go forth blog readers and be productive today.  One of us has to be.

Monday -- as subtle as a two by four to the cranium

I followed the wife to the garage door as usual this morning. I like to see her off to work. She started the car, it ran for a few seconds and died. She tried to restart. Nothing. Dead as a doornail. The battery was completely discharged.

I scrambled for shoes while she went to my car. Since my car was parked outside, the windows were frosted over. I grabbed the scraper while she sat in the driver's seat, waiting like a NASCAR driver for me to do the pit stop. Off she went.  I have told her she should allow a few extra minutes, but she does not listen to me any more than you.

I dug out the battery charger and hooked it up.  The needles remained pegged at zero.  Not a good sign. I will check again in a few hours.

We just got the car back from the body shop Friday afternoon. I cannot imagine that had anything to do with our issues, other than they did clean the engine. I suspect it is just bad timing. It looks like the battery is a bitch to get to.  It sits down low with a charging module on top of it. Like many GM batteries it has the terminals on the side. I hope I can get it started so I can drive to get a new battery.  It looks like it will be a pain to take it out and change it myself.

It is always something, isn't it?

It is a gloomy Sunday morning

I think me and Mr. Roberts are going to try and get off this old tub of a supply ship and get to the real war.

What are you up to today?