Burnin'

Nothing says "I am concerned about police behavior" like burning down a CVS. How Target, dress shops, and shoe stores were responsible for Freddy Gray escapes me.

Race is not an excuse to loot, and burning your own neighborhood is beyond stupid.

Riots, looting, and robbery is not protest.

Close to the Edge, Down by the River

It is a rainy Saturday here at the old homestead. The lawn is mowed, the walls repainted, my presentation for Monday's sales meeting is complete. I went and bought some donuts...mmmmm donuts....for breakfast. Since sitting on the patio, sipping adult beverages, and smoking fine imported cigars does not appear to be an option this morning, I think I shall find an old movie from the stash of recordings on the DVR. Andy Hardy or Esther Williams....Wait a minute, here is an Andy Hardy movie with Esther Williams in it! Never mind. I forgot I recorded "Breaking Away" last fall. I will watch it in honor of my son down at Indiana University. It is Little 500 weekend after all.

I'm off for more coffee.  It is good to be me, my friends. I hope you have a wonderful Saturday.

Once again I fail to compose a proper, meaningful, eye-catching title

The wife decided she wanted a collage of grandbaby pictures put up on the wall.in the entryway. Every frame is different and getting them all just right is a pain.  The adjacent hallway has family pictures  on both sides and she determined that was too much. So I patched nail holes yesterday and will have to repaint the walls sometime today. I took down pictures and a little shelf from the upstairs hall so I could hang some of the family pictures, so those holes had to be patched and it too needs painted. Yes, it is a different color. I really love my wife.

I have to get the lawn mowed today, Saturday is expected to be cold, wet, and blustery. Sunday will find me at the Cubs/Reds game. Look for me behind the plate, about ten rows up. The ducats were my birthday gift from my daughter and son-in-law.

In the meantime, I have the company sales meeting on Monday and I have to finish my presentation.

I hope the wife will go get some roller covers so I can paint tonight. That way I can put up the pictures and things on crappy-weather Saturday. I can mow at lunchtime today,  and work on my presentation the balance of the day. That leaves Sunday to go to the game and I can review my presentation Sunday evening.  No problem.

Today's Friday Music, if I posted it, would be a little Sinatra: probably "I've Got the World on a String". You may substitute your own selection.

Tax the rich

Let us say we follow the Democratic Party agenda and flat confiscate by taxes, legislation, whatever the total income or even the wealth of the top 1% , even though they pay 20% of the taxes. According to leading Cherokee Senators and Democrat Presidential contenders, the 1%ers are the problem. Apparently if the richest become poor the poor will become rich or something.

Anyway, assume we eliminate or "topple" the top 1%. You know what we will have then? A new richest 1%. If we give the confiscated funds to the poorest 10%, you know what we will have? A new poorest 10%. The only way to eliminate the rich and the poor, since those terms are relative, is to make everyone the same.  We all have the same house, food, standard of living, income. Some would call that Communism in its purest form. I call it an unworkable fantasy.

It does tell us a lot about the Democrat Party though.

As always, your rebuttal is welcome. I do reserve the right to ridicule your arguments.

Daddy, what did you do during the War on Women?

i had a need to recycle my morning coffee, so I pulled into a rest stop in south central LandofLincolnstan. My knees and ankles were stiff as I gimped up the slight incline of the sidewalk. As I neared the doors I heard a sharp clip clap behind me. Glancing in the glass I saw a woman coming up the walk about ten yards behind me.

I opened the door and stood aside for her to enter. She was in her late twenties, maybe mid-thirties, I did not look that close. She wore a nice business suit and heels, the source of the noise on the sidewalk. She looked straight ahead as she neared me, and as she came to me she said, just loud enough for me to hear "I can open a door".  Speechless, I pushed open the door marked 'men' wondering when manners went out of style.

Mr. Roboto

I went downstairs for my mediocre but free Hampton Inn breakfast this morning and the breakfast area was filled to capacity with nerds. Aparantly, there is a high school robotics competition here in St Louis today. Typical of most high school kids they are loud and rude. Nerd parents can be Little League parents too. Hover. Push. Back off, mom. And while you are at it you can stir your coffee and rehash your journey through diet soft drinks over at a table so the rest of us can get our caffeine fix?

Over in the corner two girls have notebooks spread out studying blueprints. At the big table in the middle a couple of Geek Sqaud wannabes held court with a few sycophant followers. Nervousness and excitement filled the air with an almost tangible electricity. I just wanted a place to eat my bowl of watery oatmeal. Apple Watch, here is you market.

As I headed to the elevators a group of moms and one dad were in the lobby making up sandwiches to throw into a big cooler. "Where is the ketchup?" One frumpy gal asked. "Didn't we buy ketchup? How can you eat a ham sandwich without ketchup?".  Some people eat sushi, monkey brains or snake. Pig's feet or kidneys or fried grasshoppers are some folks idea of tasty foods. Blood sausage, souse, duck feet, and  haggis are considered good eats. But ketchup on a ham sandwich? I think I'm gonna puke.

So Sorry

With typical arrogance, Snapple has decided the best selling point of their product is that it comes from New York and that New Yorkers love it. For many of us in flyover country that indicates a strong reason to NOT buy the product.  Many of us do not agree the center of the world is found on Manhattan and culture ends at the Hudson.

What kind of shallow jackass thinks the rest of us will say " Wow, some construction dude in NYC is shouting about Snapple, I should buy some".

Eat me.

Ease on down the road

WTH Mother Nature? It is a chilly morning today with temps in the low 40's. There is a frost warning. I hope you did not put your tomatoes out yet. The furnace kicked on at about 5:00 this morning, it was set on 65. Oh, well the weather is what it is.

I made a batch of fried biscuit donuts for our breakfast this morning. I rolled them in sugar. I suspect you wish you were me on this chilly Tuesday.

Once again I have nothing of import upon which to pontificate. Strange, I know.

when the lights go down in the city

Here we are on a rainy Monday and my wagon is empty of blog fodder.

I was walking across the living room holding my granddaughter this morning when I heard something hit the carpet. I said "what did you drop" even though I did not think she had anything in her hands. I turned to see I big glop of puked up chunky milk there on the carpet. What she dropped was her breakfast.

The power was out for the better part of three hours yesterday afternoon and evening. I don't know why. What a pain. I like my electronics. Luckily the dust rag and cleaning cloths still work. At least that was my wife's plan. Ha, my Kindle runs on batteries.

I'm still sore from the yard work I did Friday evening and Saturday. We have a giant willow in the backyard. It is gorgeous, but it sure does shed sticks. I filled a whole garbage can and still have almost an equal amount to go. My body is still protesting this hours-long game of pick up sticks. My thighs and back scream in protest every time I get up or down.

Hope you had a great weekend. Now get to work, you laggard.

Happy birthday

on this date in 1775 America was born. Like most births it involved blood and pain and noise.

Lighten up, Francis

Stevenson College in California apologized to students for serving Mexican food at an intergalactic space alien themed party. Some students complained because, well aliens, and some immigrants are illegal aliens. I'm serious. You can look it up. This is what the PC police have wrought. Common words, used correctly have become insults. Alien means foreign, different. It works for ET, it works for a person from another country. The controls used to operate a forklift could be alien to you. Are our college students really that ignorant? Sometimes serving Mexican food is just good eats. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

Third boxcar midnight train

Thick fog shrouds the neighborhood this morning. The Bradford pear blossoms make the trees look ghost-like against the eerie background. It promises to be a grand spring day later. It is Friday. The end of another work week. Life is good my friends. The granddaughter is squawking and chatting away in phonemes* downstairs, happy as a any four month old can be. My coffee cup is nearly empty, and so is my tank of ideas for this post.

If I bothered to post any Friday music, it would have been Roger Miller's sing along classic "King of the Road".

* I did learn something in that psych class 34 years ago.

I try

I resolved some time ago to let life's little annoyances roll off me like water on a duck's back.  You may not see it much on these pages, after all steam needs an outlet, but in everyday life I am a much calmer relaxed person. Unfortunately, I started today irritated.

I taught myself in Jr. High to get up with an alarm. Both parents worked and I needed to get up for school. After the first time I overslept, I put the alarm across the room. Presto, the alarm goes off to this day and I get up.

The wife is a chronic snooze slapper. In the early days of our marriage when I worked afternoons and she mornings it used to piss me off to no end when the alarm went off three or four times. I could never get her to understand that when the alarm goes off I wake up. If I wake up twice in ten minutes, I'm up.

This morning the wife had to get up at 5:45 am (babysitting stuff). So to my disgust,she set her alarm for 5:25. It went off at ten minute intervals until she finally got up at 5:45. She then had the gall to inquire on exiting the shower why I was up already?  Mr. Asshole urged me to say words of regret  like "rude, selfish, ignorant, bitch, fuck, stupid alarm". I said none of those. I just shrugged and sipped my coffee. You would think my tongue would be scarred after thirty plus years of biting it.

Trailer for sale or rent...

if you ate driving in the left lane on the Interstate and people pass you on the right, you are an asshole.

If you speed up when said people are forced to pass you on the right you are a fucking asshole.

If you are driving a Prius and do this I am certain even your kids think you are a fucking asshole.

I do amuse me

I suppose it is truly spring. My car's windshield is spattered with bug smears, the roof with bird shit.

Is it weird that I mumble "Toto, I don't think we are in Kansas anymore" every time I cross out of Kansas? I also have a compulsion to reach my hand forward to make sure I am the first in the car to get back into Indiana, even when I'm alone in the car. Look, you may think it strange, I find it amusing. Since I alone am arbiter of taste and humor around here I say it is right and good. And so it is.

I wish I had tucked a cigar into my briefcase. It is a fine day and I would not mind sitting outside the hotel stinking up the place. Instead, I will read a little more of my Louis L'Amour short story collection and then walk across the street for a cold beer and some BBQ.

I have spent more than two decades as a road warrior. I am visiting towns and cities that have not been on my path in the past. That is kind of cool.  I used to keep an old atlas with every town I made a business stop or stayed in a hotel highlighted. If I still did that the map of the states would look like a kid had mistaken the Atlas for a coloring book and had gone wild with the yellow markers.

So this is what road rage feels like

I found myself behind one of the biggest jerks I have encountered in palmist four decades on the nation's roadways today. I-70 is under significant reconstruction across Illinois, and the repairs are much needed. In one 7 mile stretch of one lane highway the pickup in front of me traveled the entire construction zone at FUCKING IDLE SPEED. After 1/4 mile there was nary a vehicle in front of him, he was just inching along, letting his truck go at its own speed, cell phone pressed to his ear. It took almost an hour twenty to get through the construction zone. What the he'll is wrong with people? I bet traffic was backed up 15 or 20 miles by the time we got out of the construction zone. This rat bastard's assholery delayed me enough that I hit St Louis at rush hour, and into KC two hours later than I planned. I try hard not to wish bad things on people, but this doichebag has it coming.

A taxing time

I finished my taxes this weekend. I also did both of my son's taxes. Actually all were done back in February, but since everybody owed some money, the youngest to the Feds, oldest son and I both owe the State of Indiana, I put it off finishing the forms.

The oldest boy always owes State taxes. He works as a waiter and they never withhold enough from his credit card tips to pay the State. Some days he would get nothing.* if they kept the full withholding. Anyway, I don't know what I was thinking when I filed his Federal taxes in February. He did not owe State taxes for once, he had a refund coming! This due to the fact he works a few shifts a week a manager and those hours are paid a higher, guaranteed wage via an actual paycheck instead of tips. A welcome screw-up on my part.

The youngest owed the Feds even though he is a full time college student. He works about 25-30 hours a week, more in the summer, to help meet expenses. He had to work more last summer/fall during my long unemployment, something I appreciated and loathed at the same time. I gladly paid his tax bill, not glad to pay the taxes, but glad to pay them for him.

I owe the State because my asshole former employers did not take out State taxes when they finally sent my due bonuses and commissions for the first half of the year (in December).




*Remember your friendly waiter DOES NOT make minimum wage, He/she works for tips. The State minimum wage for servers is like $2.15. If they don't make $2 an hour on tips most get fired for being lousy wait staff. Tip well folks, the server does not cook the food.

polorizing palaver

It looks to be a promising spring day here in central flyover country. It is a chilly 47 as I tap the keyboard, but we will be a sunny 60 plus this afternoon. Perhaps I shall venture out to the patio for a nice cigar this afternoon. I have plenty of yard work to do, so I may do both. Only time will tell.

It looks like Hillary will launch her campaign today. That prospect excites me about as much as another Bush in the White a house. What is it about politics that attracts such icky people?

Am I the only one who finds the idea of self-driving cars horrifying? Isn't that concept called a train? No matter how bad my fellow drivers behave on the roadways, I prefer to drive my own vehicle and I will be the old codger who refuses to give up the steering wheel. That said, what the heck is wrong with those people who refuse to use cruise control on the interstate, but lack the ability to hold speed for more than thirty seconds at a time? Will the self-driving Prius with Ohio plates actually get out of the left lane? Maybe these self-driving cars of the future are a good idea after all.

Oh No

My son-in-law is in Cheesehead land. My wife is working a rare weekend shift at the occasional part time job. My daughter has meetings this afternoon. That leaves me as the only available babysitter for my granddaughter. A semi-insulting panic has set it. "Will you be OK?"

I raised three kids of my own. Especially in the case of the two oldest, I spent a lot of time changing diapers and feeding them bottles. She is four months old. Even though I think she is perfect in every way, let's be honest. She sleeps. She eats. She shits and pees. She coos and kicks her feet. She cries.

I got it.

things you should never do

On the cruise ship they always have several desserts on the menu, including one low sugar or no sugar offering. One evening a low auger pumpkin pie Was offered. My wife loves pumpkin pie. She ordered a piece. The waiter told her maybe she should get something else. She said no she liked pumpkin pie. He told her it was "not like real pumpkin pie, maybe the chocolate raspberry cake instead?" Again, she said she would try the pie anyway. He said he would bring both the pie and some of the cake.

When he left to place the order I told her she should never order anything the waiter says is bad. She replied "how bad can it be?"

It was bad.  Really bad. It was tasteless white custard with a scant sprinkling of pumpkin pie spice. Trust me, that description makes it sound more appetizing than it was.

She ate the cake. She ate half the pie, just to prove a point. After 30 plus years a part of me has rubbed off on her.

Lurking just below the surface

Spring.  My least favorite of the seasons.

Have you ever had your head cranked tight in a vice  vise. Then you sneeze every five minutes? Add in a constant desire to sleep. Welcome to my world. Pollen, weather, perhaps the very clouds are all combining to make this a crappy day so far. I suspect I will be short-tempered and irritable, so if you are looking for an argument, bring it on. Otherwise, I am going to have to bite my tongue lest I bite my fair spouse's head off over something trivial that will rub me like sandpaper. I have a strong tendency to be a jerk when I don't feel good. It has taken me fifty plus years to recognize this trait and try to forestall a quick appearance from my alter-ego, Mr. Asshole.

What do you want?

The South Carolina cop who apparently shot the man in the back has been fired. He has been charged with murder and is locked in jail without bond. All as it should be. He will get a fair trial before a jury of his peers.

We don't have vigilante justice in this nation. The system is working the outrage is misplaced.

trust and do not verify

I know a bit about negotiating. To have an agreement both parties have to accept THE SAME terms and conditions. Try going to your car dealership and "negotiate" like Obama. Tell them you are going to pay $10,000 for that white Prius. Then proclaim that you have a deal.

Surprise! You do not have an agreement. You will not have a new car to drive ten miles under the speed limit in the left lane of the interstate. The sales guys will laugh at you, just like the Mullahs are laughing at Obama. Iran thinks Obama is even weaker than Jimmah Carter.

As long as Iran claims the terms of the deal are different than Obama says, then there is no deal. This is what happens when you elect a person with no experience as President.

As long as Iran claims their goal as a nation is to eliminate Israel and then to destroy America, we would be stupid to lift sanctions. You do not have to be a history major to see that as long as only one side wants peace there is no peace. Only the strong survive. Darwinism works for nations as well as biology.

Maybe you liberal wimp types can relate to these terms: if you give your lunch money to a bully all you have done is guarantee you will go hungry again tomorrow.

Mundane

I think vacation is catching up to me. I had to force myself out of bed this morning. I stumbled downstairs and made a coffee cake from a box mix. I may make a rare appearance in the main office later this morning.

The neighbor's dog is doing its constant howling/barking thing.  I hope they get their house sold soon.  I will not miss that damn dog. Of course it is not the dog's fault. It is the owners'. It appears the house is priced to sell, so if you are looking for a nice house on a quiet cul-de-sac with wonderful neighbors...

The sky has that weird yellow gray cast to it that always presages nasty weather in these parts. The weather map is sporting various hues of red to the south and west, not a good sign. Sharing the goodness that is me with the folks at the office may depend on just how wet I will get walking from the parking lot to the door. There is always tomorrow and I have no pressing need to go anyway. I'm sweet, as you know, like sugar and similarly will melt in the rain.

Thinking about stuff

They have these machines that take a photo and "print" it on a cake. If I owned a bakery and you wanted me to print a graphic pornography image do I have the right to refuse? Can I just say no to a cake shaped like a giant penis or a par of boobs? What I'f the local Skinhead club wants a swastica in red icing? Is there a line a business can draw? What do you think?

Easy homemade chicken and dumplings

A little seasonably warm weather mixed with rain and a healthy shake of thunder gives us a dose of spring fever today. You can almost watch the buds grow on the slender branches of the maple tree out front. The grass is greening even as I write. Honest.

There was a basketball game last night. I did not watch.

Is there anyone outside of the Administration who thinks this deal with Iran is a good thing? Can someone explain it to me? I am not a complete moron, and sometimes we may not agree on politics, but disagreement does not mean the other party is dumb (naive perhaps, but not dumb). For the life of me I can see nothing good in this deal.

State of journalism

if making up stories from whole cloth, ruining lives and reputations in the process, does not get you fired from Rolling Stone, I'm not sure what will.

At this point I am not sure I would trust Rolling Stone as toilet paper. Of course that magazine's integrity for fair and honest reporting ranks right up there with the bias found throughout the media.

Dear Al, Dear Jessie

What time will you guys be in Lexington to protest the hate speech from the Kentucky basketball player? I assume he will be kicked out of school for his rasicst and profane comments, just like those rascist and profane frat guys in Arizona?

We do not tolerate that kind of hate speech in America. Right?

Happy Easter

I dreamed I sailed away. I saw exotic ports, I drank cold drinks with paper umbrellas. I soaked in the sun. I zip lined through jungles, I snorkeled over coral reefs. I drank Mexican beer on a Mexican beach. I drove a Jeep in the warm rains on a dirt road in Central America. What a dream; seven days, four ports and three countries were framed by endless ocean vistas from the deck of a ship. It was not a sleep dream, it was a dream vacation.

I have been gone for 8 days, living the high life. Now I'm back, it is chilly and I want to be drinking my coffee in a deck chair, not my recliner.

Yes, I cheated you with canned posts. But this one is so fresh you can still smell a faint lingering fragrance of Mexico, Belize, and Honduras. Mea Culpa.

It is sometimes good to be me.

Today my mood ring reads "belligerent"

if I had any intention of posting Friday music today I would choose Vacation from the 80s girl group The GoGos. Because I need one. Not a GoGo, but rather a vacation. It is not likely I will have either.

But it is the Holy of Holiest days and I will offer a prayer today. You may spend your Friday as you see fit.

Like the song says

There is a song called "I'm in the mood for love". Robert Plant sang he was in the mood for a melody. There is even a big band tune titled " in the mood".

But I am not in the mood to post anything of value.

Reparations. Why not?

Slavery was a horrible thing. Some Black leaders have called for reparations.  I am on board. Any former slave should get $10,000,000 in tax-free payments. Now if you were born anytime after April of 1865 you will have to get by like most of the rest of us. Work hard, get an education, never let anyone tell you you can't succeed.

Every day I become more confused

Can anyone explain why I need to show a picture ID at the bank to DEPOSIT cash? I get why I need to prove I'm me to take money from my checking account but what does it matter who deposits money into my account? All the teller can explain is that "it is a new requirement".

Big Brother is here, we are just too stupid to care and powerless to stop it.

Slip sliding away

Most observers believe Governor Mike Pence has long had aspirations to occupy the White House. He is often mentioned as a Dark Horse candidate.

With one bold stroke of a pen he signed those aspirations away.

paranoid eccentrics rarely make good neighbors

It appears we are facing a cold, rather unpleasant early spring day.

No Friday music for you.  Boo hoo.

I stole the title of this post from a line I heard in an episode of Dateline that was playing in the background last evening. I wish I could credit the proper persons.

Want my vote?

The next guy who says "There outta be a law" should have his tightie whities pulled so far up his butt crack you can wrap the elastic waistband around his noggin like an Arab's turban. He should get a titty-twist, a red-belly, a bitch slap, and a steel-toed boot planted deep in the groin that it buries his tiny testes somewhere near the liver. It is not the role of Government to protect your feelings, you have no right to never be offended. It is not the role of society to prevent misdemeanor wrongs to your ego.

Men (I mean that in the generic sense, don't get offended. See what I mean?) band together in a society to protect themselves, to create common rules and organization. Don't steal my stuff and I won't steal yours. Don't murder me or mine. This is my house and my field and over there is your house and your field. Let's all drive on the same side of the road when heading east so we don't crash into each other.  Don't grind up your dead grandma and sell it to me as sausage. Let us codify these rules and the penalties if you don't follow them.

The rules should be as few as possible so that you and I can live and work and pursue happiness in the best way possible. Of course there is always some fucker who thinks he should set the rules. The asshole who thinks he is smarter or better or wants a way to take your stuff without penalty. They like to call themselves King, or Dear Leader or Democrat.

You know those people, they were always making up rules, even as kids. You can't climb up the slide. You have been on the swing long enough. You shouldn't eat the yellow snow, you can't use the jump rope as a whip. Hey, you better not aim that BB gun at me.

The damn hippies who complained about signs, signs, everywhere signs have made more rules than anyone. Do this, don't do that is worse than ever. How is that for irony?

Just because you got elected does not mean you need to think up more rules to justify your presence in the political office. For example, I would be fine with the return of the Obama who just voted "present" all of the time.

Seems to me

The Religious Freedom law wending its way to the Indiana Governor's desk should have been easy for the Legislature to write. All they had to do is dig up some of the Jim Crow laws from the Deep and not so Deep South one hundred years ago.

Carry on, Dooley

Five after five found me awake this morning. I tried to fall back into Morpheous' warm embrace to no avail. And now my sluggish brain is telling my fingers to type sentences I would never utter aloud under any circumstances. I'm not sure what is going on around here. Reading back over the past week's entries, it is clear the last few posts have been a bit strange. Stick with me. Like I said about yesterday's lunch burrito; this too shall pass.

Think of it this way; you get what you pay for around here. This is a capitalist blog.

At the moment

The sky is gray in the weak early morning sun. I look out the window at the branches of the maple tree heavy with buds. The ash on the other side of the drive is as dead as it was last spring. There will be no Lazarus-type recovery, despite my wife's fervent belief. It needs to be cut and chopped and fed to Fargo's wood chipper.  The garbage truck is banging the bins out by the curb. It's mechanical arm making the hydraulic groan our great grandchildren will recognize as the battle cry of their robot overlords. My coffee mug is almost empty, the contents just above lukewarm in temperature. The morning house is quiet without the sounds of my wife's soft melodious voice or the cooing and cries of the baby. There is no TV or radio, just the soft tap of my fingertip on the iPad keyboard. Tiny birds sing and flit in the tree branches. I don't think they are sparrows, they seem smaller. Bird watching is not my hobby. I don't know, nor do I really care, what breed they claim at the annual bird convention. Patches of yesterday's snow lurk in the flowerbeds. The green of new grass pokes gingerly through the brown blades of last years distant lawn. My disgust and disdain for our politicians and bureaucrats remains high. I fart in the general direction of Washington five times a day whenever I imagine an unheard muezzin calls the Muslim faithful to prayer. We all express ourselves in our own way.

Several words strung into sort of semi-coherent sentences

Happy Monday. I am at it early this morning. I have already written my call reports for my business trip last week and updated my customer files.

We are off to a chilly start today and the forecast calls for snow flurries tonight. Sigh.

My daughter the teacher has a snow make-up day today then is on spring break the rest of the week.  That means the granddaughter won't be here all day after today this week. Sigh. She is a real doll and I like having her around.

I noticed my neighbors have put their house up for sale. They seem nice, but I will not miss their barking howling dog. Sorry, but a dog that lives outside all of the time is not a pet, it is a farm animal. That is true even if you live in the 'burbs.

It appears the 2016 elections have begun. Sigh. To much, too early. The only bright side is that Indiana is usually not a battleground state, so we are not as inundated with the political ads as some other places.

It is nice to hear song birds singing in the morning, but I wish they would quit shitting on my car.

4819

i started this piece o'crap blog 10 years ago today. This post 4.819.. There are 83 posts in draft stage, mostly for good reason. If you have been visiting here for very long I am certain you can imagine how awful those 83 abortive attempts must be.

We have had some good times here. A ton of fellow bloggers have influenced me greatly. Some are dead, some have moved on to other social media, some have just quit blogging altogether. Some of my regulars have been along for a long time. I offer a sincere thank you to anyone who bothers to stop and read my musings, no matter if today is your first time or if you have slogged through 4,735 published posts.

There was a time when my little corner of the blogging universe regularly drew 150 or more readers a day. Some posts would generate more than 20 comments. That was when blogging was cool, before Facebook or Twitter. That said, I kind of like where the blog is these days. We have become old friends sitting down to a beer or cup of coffee, discussing what comes to mind.

When I wrote my first post, my daughter was about to graduate high school. Now she is a mother. My middle boy was just learning to drive. My youngest was playing Little League. The past decade has been chock full of life, and thank you for coming along.

Of course

From Russia With Love is the best Bond movie. You may think otherwise, but you would be wrong.

It is also the best Bond book.

Three things

1. Why any Jew votes Democrat defies all logic

2. At the time of the Equinox, you can stand an egg on its end. True.

3. Here is today's Friday music:


Listen. Enjoy.

Happy Spring

What's up, Doc?

Off to a regularly scheduled appointment with the doctor. I never changed docs when I moved 18 months ago. Now I have an hour plus drive through rush hour traffic to get to my "gotta have the very first appointment of the day". I seem to get dumber as I get older.

More later. Maybe.

Baseball and Buddy

Back on the road again. Yesterday, I raced across central Illinois before arcing north to pick up US 20 at Rockford. I motored westward as the road snaked around and over hills and valleys.   Stunning vistas of undulating prairie opened through my windshield.  The terrain reminded me of the hills of southern Indiana or Kentucky, minus the trees. I crossed the Mighty Mississippi on a high bridge at not-so-beautiful Dubuque. I have customer visits scheduled this morning, but if the weather cooperates, and time permits, I have a inkling I might see the Field of Dreams and/or the Buddy Holly crash site before I head up into Minnesota. Making sure I accomplish all I need to in my customer visits is my first priority. Still, what is the point of travel if you can't see cool stuff?

You, with your hand in the air. What is your question? Oh, yes, I did pass through historic Galena. No, I did not stop.  I visited here before several years ago. Stayed in Galena as a matter of fact. I did Grant's home, drove through downtown. Walked around a bit. I believe that stop is there in the archives somewhere.  This time I drove right on through.

I visited Galena way back in 2006.  See what a good fellow I am I looked it up for you.
Here is the post

there he is

I don't do St Paddy's Day. I'm not Irish.

Likewise Cinco de Mayo is just May 5th

Sorry get your fake Irish elsewhere

holy water and pecan pie

We spent the weekend in the northern 'burbs of the Windy City. We were there for the occasion of my granddaughter's baptism.  We enjoyed a nice dinner at a Mexican chain restaurant Saturday night with my son-in-law's family. I was a very good boy and swallowed my snark along with my enchiladas. My normal smart-ass was smothered in salsa. In other words, I was "work" Joe as opposed to every day Joe. What a good boy am I.  But there was really no occasion for Mr. Asshole to make an appearance.

The granddaughter was a perfect angel for the ceremony itself. She fell asleep just as church started. She opened her eyes as the Pastor poured the water over her head, but she uttered nary a peep and went straight back to sleep. Church service went well, lightning did not strike the steeple due to my presence or anything like that.

After church we went to my SIL's sister's home for brunch. Then the wife and I saddled up and returned home. After unpacking, all of the talk of pie day got me jonesing for some pie, and the wife, sweet thing she is, went down to the store and scored us a pecan pie. It is not homemade, but it is pie. Pie. Pie. Pie. I think I'll go have a slice for breakfast.

Beware

Et ti?

Not the math kind

Apricot
key lime
peach
apple
pecan
Black raspberry
sugar cream
rhubarb
strawberry
cherry

Thirteen reasons

I have been in a strange mood lately. I suspect recent posts reflect this weirdness. I am fed up with politics. I have had a spate of heavy travels for work. The weather is in transition from winter to spring, but I sispect old Jack Frost has one more round at least left in him. None of these explains my apathy, if not downright antithapy towards this forum.

The little notification bar tells me it is March 13, and I know it is Friday, so you superstitious types should be on your guard.  For me, no Friday that is pay day could be bad. How about a litttle bit of music on this Friday, for old times sake?



Have a great day.

Slice of life

Late yesterday afternoon I stepped out on the porch. I bent to tighten my shoe laces. I fired up a nice hand-rolled Cain Daytona and went for a walk. The sun was warm. The temperature was pushing sixty. The sidewalk was wet in places as piled snow melted into puddles and rivulets that gurgled into the storm sewers.

In a weird incongruity, a woman jogged past wearing shorts and a tight shirt next to the pond by the little copse of trees. The pond was still covered with a layer of ice. The lawn care guy was spraying the neighbor's yard even though patches of snow remained in the shady nooks of his yard.  The kids on the corner took a break from shooting hoops to chuck snowballs from the big pile of snow the plow left at the end of the cul-de-sac.

Spring fought her perpetual war with winter's icy fist as I meandered through the neighborhood.

At the moment

The branches of the big willow look like weird fingers reaching through the heavy fog toward my office window. I can hear my granddaughter gently cooing as she sits in the swing downstairs. I wait patiently for answers to a couple of emails. I think about the oatmeal scotchies in the container in the kitchen, but willpower keeps me from sneaking one. I wonder, is there nothing that can rid our politics of the plague of another Clinton? Or Bush? Listening to Hillary prevaricate about emails reminds me of just how slimy the Clinton years really were. I think my middle name should have been Eyore. We learned last evening my wife's niece has cancer. Bad things happen to very good people. The Cubs clock on my wall ticks, ticks, ticks.

Words

It seems to me one has the natural right to say whatever hateful, bigoted, ignorant crap one chooses, I find the notion of "hate speech" offensive. Not the speech, but the idea such speech could or should be outlawed.

It is sad that the college campus, where free thinking should be encouraged, has become the most intolerant of public places.

Too bad multiculturalism has prevented the teaching of American history in our schools and colleges. Jefferson's ghost weeps.

1836

i watched the Duke die at the Alamo this morning. You Texicans know why.

If I was ambitious

I would throw up a little video of the 80s classic "I melt with you" by Modern English. Instead you can hum the tune to yourself or skip over to your favorite video site and give it a whirl.

Yes, melting is the theme of the weekend. We are finally slated to get some seasonable temperatures and the snow will start to do its best wet Wicked Witch impersonation. To celebrate I may just have a patty melt for lunch.

Dude

i have driven right at 2,800 miles since last Wednesday. That is not a complaint, just fact. I am sick of my car, sick of fast food, and not too impressed with the skills of most of my fellow drivers.

The frigid cold continues its icy grip, but the weatherman says we will see more seasonable temperatures next week. Your results may vary.

As far as I know we have no plans for the weekend, but I suspect the social director here at the homestead will correct that situation forthwith.

Have a great day, Amigos.

You know me

if you  are a regular reader of this journal you know I revel in the road trip. I enjoy the drive to and fro,  In other words, I truly believe that getting there is half the fun. That said, this trip has been trying. The business aspect has been very fruitful, the travel, not so much. To be honest, the landscape of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and the southernmost of the Dakotas is not the stuff of ViewMaster-type scenery. The wide Missouri is not so wide here, tamed as it is by dams far upstream. It lacks the breath and depth of the Mighty Mississippi, or the full swift current of the Ohio. In fact, the Wabash River is more imposing as it borders Indiana and Illinois.

This is not my first trip to this area. I habitually travelled here a decade ago. But it is rare I find nothing to stop and see, no roadside marker, no scenic vista to snap an image from the car window. Perhaps it is the numbing cold and ferocious winds that have dampened my enthusiasm. Maybe next time I will dig this route a bit more.

Dear Republicans

fuck you. I'm done

I will vote for anyone who runs against Susan Brooks in my district. At least they will represent their constituents.  The same goes for both my Senators who also voted for amnesty for criminals, all of them voted to let Obama usurp Congressional authority. They swore to uphold the Constitution, then let it be used like toilet paper.

The Republican leadership has voted with the money, not the voters.  Good luck in '17 you backstabbing losers.

Don't let the lying bastards tell you DHS would have shut down either, only non-essentials would have been sent home. And if they are essential,why are on the taxpayer dime anyway?  Fucking Boehner said last summer he wanted amnesty. Fucker got his wish.

Choices, chance, cheap

I chalk it up to the fortunes of life on the road. The hotel I booked last night is attached to a casino. I am not sure how that fact escaped me when I chose the location.

The people are nice, but the room is worn. Like all casinos the place has a peculiar scent to it, the smell of desperation, I suppose. Gambling dens in places not named Las Vegas always seem a bit seedy, no matter how nice they are.  To me they have the feel of a used car lot, the outside may look sharp, but someone got rid of that Buick for a reason. The chime of the quarter slots echoes as " Gimme your money" to my untrained ear. You opinion will likely vary. I am weak at math, but I do understand odds, and the building attached to the hotel is not there to give away money.

I did not meander over to the casino. I got in late, and have meetings scheduled this morning before heading north for another night in another hotel in another city.

Fool me once, fool me 26 times

Radical Muslims took over Iran 35 years ago. Their power has grown and they have solidified their hold on their nation in the intervening years. The Mullahs in Iran have made clear their intention to bring a modern Caliphate to the Mideast and the world. They have claimed since day one that in their view the two big enemies are the Great Satan and the Little Satan.  That would be the good old USA and Israel, respectively.  They have never wavered in their stated goal of destroying both of us.

For some up unfathomable reason Obama has made it his goal to develop relations with Iran. Everyone else in the world can see the consequences of letting the mad Mullahs get a nuke, but Obama seems blind to the danger to the U.S. and Israel. Just like the North Koreans, they have no incentive nor desire to be our buddies. They hate our very existence. They will say whatever they need to to get us to relieve sanctions while moving forward with their attempts to build a bomb. I would have thought Obama would have caught on to the old bully trick - "Just give me your lunch money today and I promise not to beat your ass tomorrow" . Then tomorrow comes and you get your jock pulled over your head.

I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but I know trusting Iran is about the dumbest thing we could do. I am afraid John Kerry and Obama will be the 21st Century version of Neville Chamberlain.

Eight hard inches, Baby

Eight plus inches of snow. That is what fell yesterday. I went out to shovel and before I tossed a half dozen shovels my neighbor showed up with his snow blower and did me a real solid favor and cleaned my drive. How cool is that? I went out later in the afternoon and cleaned up the heap the plowman left at the end of the drive and cleaned off my car.

My daughter heads back to work after her post-baby leave. I am sure it will be tough this morning. The one upside is the wife assumes baby-sitting duties, so I will see lots of my granddaughter.  Of course she is just a boring bundle right now, but it won't be long till she is mobile, talking and playing. We can eat lunch together and I suspect we will be great pals.

I'm off to get my trusty company car serviced. I can't believe I have wracked up 10.000 miles since November first.

Head up the old rectum

I have had at least one kid in college for ten straight years. My youngest has at east one more year to go. As such every year when I fill out my tax forms, I segue right into the FAFSA. That is the application one must fill out to get any scholarships or financial aid.

Except somehow, I forgot to do it this year. I don't know how or why I forgot. Old age I guess. So now you know my plans for this snowy Sunday morning.

Government forms followed by shoveling snow.  It is good to be me.

On the bright side later this month marks my blog anniversary. I have been at this for ten years.I will have to look up he exact date of my first post, but I know it was in 2005. A lot of bloggers have come and gone from my sidebar over there on the right. Some of you have been at it longer. Some of you have more readers, butt none of you have better regulars. I am sure I will pontificate on the occasion later in the month.

Happy March. it is Jean's Birthday month over at Pondering.It is my birthday month. It is my blogaversary month. Spring is supposed to arrive in March. The month is coming in like a lion around here with Mother Nature dropping 4 or 5 inches of snow on us last night, I hope that means spring is a few weeks away.

I don't care what color the dress is

I need s vacation. Not from work, from winter. I need to sit on the patio, sipping a cold beverage burning silky tobacco rolled between the thighs of a Latin beauty in some Caribbean Island or Central American cigar factory. Shut up, I refuse to believe my stogie is rolled by the stubby fingers of a fat sweaty mamacita or wrinkled old man spitting phlegm between puffs of his factory second.

I stare out the office window at the snow-covered ground. I listen to the frigid wind and the creak of the siding. The sun is bright, but the air is cold.

Spring is coming. Summer will follow.  I am ready to bitch about the heat and humidity.

Choose your own adventure for today's Friday music selection.

Get your kicks on Route 66

The famous Route 66 is no more. I sped down its' replacement yesterday; Interstate 44. Slashing southwest across the state of Missouri, I-44 is as bland and devoid of character as any other highway in the Eisenhower interstate system. While I-44 covers some of the very ground of the legendary Route 66, it sports no wigwams , totem poles, stylized motels or roadside attractions. I-44 is also 4 lanes wide, paved, and devoid of stop lights, right angle turns, and 20 mph speed limits. I reached Springfield in a fraction of the time it would have taken me 60 years ago.

I am forever nostalgic for a time I never knew, but 7 or 8 hours of ass-numbing drive is better than spending three days in a car to get the same distance.

All for the working man

The Obama and his Democrat buddies are always boasting of their work on behalf of the working man and position themselves as champions of the middle class. Their words never seem to match their political deeds. We have a chance to create good, high paying Union construction jobs, bring cheap oil in a safe ecological-friendly manner and to reduce our dependence on foreign oil that helps fund terrorism. But Obama just vetoed the Keystone pipeline. Why? I'd say because a big Democrat donor does not like it. Special interest money flows to both parties. There is no other reason. The Canadians will not sit on the oil from the shale fields. The Chinese are oil-starved and will buy it for sure.

The fact that the Union bosses are silent demonstrates they are far more loyal to the Democrat Party than to the members of their Union. And you and I, we just got screwed by the Democrats one more time. We didn't even get dinner and a movie, just a quickie in the backseat of the car.

Dear Senate GOP

Cowards.

You are the worst negotiators ever. I would love to sit across a table from you. By the end of the day you would pay double the retail price, plus shipping, plus a penalty if you failed to buy a certain amount in a given period of my widgets. I suspect we would include automatic price increases. You Republicans are dolts.

Why would you surrender the only leverage you have in negotiation to end King Obama's amnesty decree? The President may be able to veto a bill, but he can't spend money if you do not give it to him.

How about this --  pass the DHS funding as the House sent over via Reconcilliation. Seems like something the Dems did not too long ago...

We need a third party with men and women of courage.  At least the Dems are willing to fight for their principles.

I've got a sharp pain in my back that feels like a knife wound

If a Republican majority in both houses of Congress can't stop Obama from issuing illegal immigrants Social Security cards and years of back welfare payments, there is no reason to vote Republican ever again. 

Damn straight. Sometimes Ann Coulter is not my cup of tea, but in this case she Is dead on target.

The Republican Party is caught between a rock and a hard place. The money and the voters.  They need both to win.  The past two Presidential elections the Party has gone with the Money choice. The voters stayed home. It is going to get much worse if they roll over again after telling the American people they will stop amnesty if we only give them the power.

When you look at your paycheck on Friday see the FICA box. When you do your taxes see what you are paying the Feds. Then remember the President and Treasury Have already said that if an illegal has a Social Security card he is eligible for the earned income tax credit going back three years.  Even if they paid no taxes. Even if they came across the border last week.

Oh, and why isn't the IRS going after every one of the employers for failing to collect federal taxes including Social Security, Medicaid, and the employer's share? There is one sure way to get the Chamber of Commerce off the amnesty bandwagon.

Hit the road, Jack

Six thousand miles. Not only is that a sentence fragment, but it is the number of miles I have driven for work since the start of the year. When you consider that last week's travels were via plane and rental car it increases the weekly average even more. The trip through Kansas put about 1.800 of those miles on the odometer. Garden City, KS ( look up Capote's In cold blood while you are checking your map app.) is a long haul from Indy, but I don't mind.

Windshield time is easy money. I get time to daydream, blare my music, "read" audiobooks, and listen to radio hosts pontificate. I can yell at the other drivers to my heart's content. I see America: her fields, her towns, her soul. I can hear the slowly disappearing regional accents when I stop for lunch. I revel at the sameness of chain designed hotel rooms. I eat burgers and wings and BBQ.

Best of all, I come home to a smile, a warm house, and,every other Friday, a paycheck. Life is good.

Hooray for the ACA!

I am amazed to see liberals cheering the number of sign ups for ObamaCare as if they have convinced the public the law is something good. It is like they coerced a classroom of 1st graders to eat a bowl of beets.

I'm not surprised that people are signing up, after all a failure to get insurance is punishable under penalty of law. The supporters might as well crow about the number of folks who did not rob a bank or rape a female college student. "See", they celebrate, "people are following the law". That is a victory?

How is it a success that 11 million or 12 million people signed up for ObamaCare? We were told that 20 million or 30 million or even as many as 60 million people had no insurance so we MUST cram this law through by any means possible. Is it a success to serve 1/5 of the folks you intended to help?  Why isn't your average hippycommieliberalDemocratpinko out wringing their hands over the uninsured any more?  Seems like they are spending time high-fivin' failure.

Now my son, who works for tips, is forced to spend money he can ill afford to buy insurance that has such a high deductible that he still must pay out of pocket to visit a doctor. That, my friends, is not progress. It is progressivism.

A post you must read

It has been a long time since we listened to the Chairman. This is an especially beautiful tune.

Go ahead. Listen. Do it,dammit. You will not have a good Friday if you fail to listen. Do it for the children. Do it for the puppies and baby seals. Do it for the Old School. If you loved me you would listen. Democrats / Republicans (depending on your political leanings) do not want you to listen to Frank today. Every time you listen Fidel Castro is a little closer to death. listening will make your erections last for more than four hours (go see a doctor if this happens -- right after you call all of your buddies and brag). It will cause you ladies to have multiple orgasms. Listening to this song will be like Christmas, the 4th of July and your 8th birthday all rolled into one.  Trust me here. Would I lie to you?

That just about covers it

What she said.

We may differ on minutiae, but the overall idea reflects my thoughts exactly.

Dear President Obama

It was not the Nazis who waged war on the world, murdered millions of Jews, gypsies, and homosexuals in the last century. It was just a few fanatics who perverted the ideal of National Socialism...

See how fucking stupid that sounds?

It is actually warmer inside my freezer...

It is so cold that I just caught the Tidy Bowl Man ice fishing in the toilet.


Currently, it is warmer in Nome, Alaska than Fishers, Indiana. WTF?

how did I do my job before GPS?

I could bitch and moan about the cold. After all, the windchill here in the great white north is -30; Celsius or Fahrenheit, take your pick. I won't complain. It is cold at your house too. That is unless you live where it is sunny and 70. In that case shut up.

I have to go warm the rental car in a few. More customers to see today before heading back south to God's favorite state. Yes, it is true 'cause I said so. OK, he probably is fond of your home state too. Unless you live in New York or Massachusetts or California or some other liberal Fuckedupistan He doesn't love your state since you are all atheist commie bastards. Unless you are not a hippie progressive commie pinko atheist Occupier and just happen to live in the midst of the liberal Democrat heathens. You think it is an accident Boston has been shit on this winter, that California has earthquakes? God hates commies and liberals. Fact.

I am unequivocally indecisive today. It must be the cold.

 I am going to stop now. No one reads long posts. I doubt anyone reads this far. Jabberwocky. As the ancient Romans used to spray paint on the sides of foreclosed houses and slow-moving rail cars: VVV.

Think about it

A blogger who loved his readers would post something today...

This too shall pass

Here we are on a cold Monday. I should be brimming with excitement, but well...

I'm traveling with the boss this week. I have no worries, I know how to do my job, but I don't like traveling with others.  You have to consult on what when and where to eat. You have to keep conversation going. There is a constant need, I've found when traveling with a boss, to talk about work too much.  I want to decompress between customer visits, not rehash the last appointment. I have to be nice and charming with customers. Expecting me to hide my inner asshole for 12 or 14 hours or more a day over the span of three days is a lot of work.  Plus I had salmon patties and fried potatoes for supper last night.  I am going to have to strangle some serious fish and grease gas this morning.

Boo hoo, whah,  whah. Have a great day.

observations

You know Debbie Reynolds was always hot, but in the movie "The Rat Race" she is especially spectacular.

When I was a kid both of my parents smoked. It was always a bonus to find a cigarette but in the toilet. I would play fighter pilot and strafe the butt like it was a ship until I shredded the butt.  Then, if I had any ammo left, I would shoot the tobacco like little sailors in the sea.  I always had a lot of imagination.

It is freaking cold.

I read two phrases recently that I found classic. The first was the way Zane Grey described a cowboy waking up in "Riders of the Purple Sage": "he unclosed his eyes". How awesome is that? Hacks like me would go the opposite and write that he opened his peepers.

The second was from Truman Capote's novella "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Capote writes that Holly "patted a yawn". So much description in three little words.

My inability to turn a phrase like that is why I sell stuff and toil away at a little blog hardly anyone reads. You cannot learn how to write like that.

I watched the "The Blue Max" yesterday. I have not watched that WWI Classic in years.

I hope you have a great Sunday.

sweet spice of life

Happy V day . I hope your day is filled with as much love and romance as you desire.

I ventured into the cold to buy my best girl some donuts for breakfast this morning. Ain't I sweet?

I have the Alfalfa version of "I'm in the mood for love"  swirling in my skull as I compose this sure to be declared greatest blog post ever.

Stay warm and have a great Saturday.

Easy guinea pig recipes

We are going waaaaayyyyy back today for our Friday Music, back when the world was black and white. Last year I went to my daughter's fourth grade class and gave a talk about the Civil War. At one point I was describing the Federal Uniform and a boy said he thought the uniforms were gray.  I said that some of the Confederate uniforms were gray.  He insisted that all the uniforms were black or white, because color had not been invented yet. I laughed all the way home, but showed surprising compassion when I calmly corrected his notion.

Anyway, with my usual digression I present Buddy Holly, one of the most influential artist of Rock era. What is most surprising is his body of work covers less than two years. He died at age 22 in a plane crash. One cannot help but think "What if"?

Who knew Arthur Murray had a dance party show?

I wonder

How is it the progressive types can keep silent when their chosen one can vow to wage war in Iraq of all places? After all, as they asked in the past "what American interest is at stake"?

How are American lives in danger? Isn't this just a further example of American imperialism? I seem to recall one blogger calling the American war in Iraq the most shameful episode in American history. What is different a decade or so later, other than the typical hypocracy of those on the left?

Me, I have no issue with pounding the terrorist motherfuckers into the stone ages. But I do have the same concerns I did when W and his buddies were squandering American lives and treasure, namely what is the end game, what is the plan, the goal? Hell at least then we had the justifiable goal of ridding the world of Sadam and his sons.

Frankly, I am not sure why the Obama is not calling for power to wage war on the sun, or coal plants, or cow farts, or red kidney beans. After all, according to the President, global warming is waaayyyy more dangerous than a bunch of folks in the Middle East who have declared jihad on us. Hell, wasn't it Obama who called ISIS the "JV" team?

Instead of waging pointless war perhaps he should just invite the leaders over for beer and a quick game of horse.

Epicurean mode

One post is just that, a single entry on a topic. Are two posts about food in a row a thematic thread? I don't know. You may judge me at your leisure.

The wife and I went to a very nice steak place for dinner last evening as an early Valentine's Day repast. She has plans for this evening and the place was booked for Friday. We are babysitting on Saturday. Thus, we celebrated early. Old Ruth did us right. My rib eye was perfect. The server comped us a creme brûlé for dessert.

No one at our table got any nookie when we got home. Still, it is pretty good to be me.

The good the bad the ugly

i cooked my favorite meal in the world for supper last night. That would be beef and noodles, and yes, like any good Hoosier I erved them with mashed potatoes (Yukon Gold if you must know). I have learned that this pairing is a regional thing, that for some reason the rest of the civilized world sees the two starches and recoils in horror. Frankly it has never occurred to me that chicken or beef or turkey and noodles would not come with a big serving of mashed spuds. I like my noodles served on top of the potatoes.  In any case this meal is not one designed to help my waist line and the heavy dose of carbs is certainly not conducive to maintaining blood sugar levels.  It was a good meal with bad results on the scales and ugly blood glucose readings this morning.

Did you see that -- a title that fits the post for once? Anyway, I know what I'm having for lunch --- leftover beef and noodles served with mashed potatoes. Get over it.

On being Nostradamus

At the risk of inciting the wrath of the lovely EOB I am going to offer another prediction. Gas prices are about to rise significantly in the short term in certain areas of the country as the unions begin to strike at key refineries across the nation. Union leadership knows that striking when gas was $4 a gallon would have brought on the wrath of the public.

--- What, you liberals do not understand?  You see the primary market force is supply a demand. When there is less of a good, the price of that good rises.  When a product is plentiful the price drops. That is why there is always a black market anytime the government interferes in an economy.

Union leaders see that oil,prices are low so adding 10-20% to the price at the pump do to decreased refinery output carries much less risk to the union and its members in public relations.  In the end you and I will pay more.

You may not be aware

Brian Williams is taking a few days off from reading the news.  I would not be a bit surprised that he cures cancer, eliminates the common cold, and gets Led Zeppelin back together in his time off.

Me and Brian Williams Episode 8

It was hot in the blazing Cuban sun. The bullets peppering down from the Spanish positions only added to the heat of the situation. "Teddy", said Brian Williams, "We can't stay here. We have to charge up that hill.  Follow me"

Colonel Roosevelt, inspired by the bravery of the intrepid reporter, rallied his men with a hoarse shout of "Charge! Let's go you Rough Riders"...

Me and Brian Williams Episode 11

It was March 6. 1836. Davy, Brian and I were standing at the palisade that bolstered the North Wall of the mission. The Mexicans were coming in force. I was so scared, I thought I would cry. Davy spit a stream of 'baccy and sighed. I could tell he was somewhat nervous too. But not Brian Williams. He was the bravest man I ever knowed. I bet he fought off six dozen Grenadiers all by his lonesome....

Me and Brian Williams Episode 4

We were on the train heading west out of Philadelphia. The President was pacing and muttering. "This speech just is not right" he said. "Listen. This country was founded eighty-seven years ago..." He started.

When the President finished Brian Williams spoke up.  He reminded Mr. Lincoln that he was a famous journalist and asked if he could help. "Please" cried the President.

I watched in amazment as Brian took an envelope from his pocket and begin to scraw.

Four score and seven years ago...

Me and Brian Williams

There was a whole group of us. We were seeking a suitable reply to parliament'so latest outrage. Brian Williams said we had to send the King a message. The next thing I knew we were all donning Indian garb.  All except Brian, he was brave. He was a study in determined defiance as we tossed that tea into the harbor....

Your pants are on fire

We all tell tall tales, but no one misrememberes they were in a helicopter struck by a rocket. That is something that you could not forget. I once went to the Indy 500. I did not drive the winning car.

Bria Williams is a damn liar.

Sigh

Yesterday I sent this text to my Daughter:

I am eating lunch in Dodge City, on Wyatt Earp Blvd, across the street from the famous Boot Hill cemetery

She replied:

That means nothing to me.

Sigh

 

Where the long grass blows

I spent my teen years reading Louis L'Amour and Max Brand and Zane Grey.  My Great-Great Grandfather served in the famed 7th Iowa cavalry during the Civil War years campaigning against recalcitrant Indians in The Great Plains. Thus it is always a minor thrill when I find myself driving the highways of Kansas, whipping through fabled cow towns like Emporia, Wichita, or Dodge City.

When I look out the windshield at the bleak nothingness I see beauty. I also marvel at the sturdy pioneers that managed to cross the vast American Dessert without a paved road, a GPS, a reliable map. The way west was fraught with peril. Miss your route out of Independence by a mere tenth of a degree and you are hundreds of miles from your intended destination. Sure the Smoky Hill or Arkansas Rivers were reliable landmarks, but are you upstream or downstream from your intended crossing point?

The American pioneer was made from strong stuff. I reflect on the panic throughout the east coast last week over the mere forecast of snow and wonder what the intrepid farmer or plainsman would think as he huddled in his sod house out on the prairie, burning buffalo shit to keep warm.  Now we need the Mayor of New York to remind us to wear a coat.

It is the little things

Bitch and moan. I'm good at it. Today I am irritated at the erstwhile air conditioning / heating unit tucked under the window of room 435 here at my Hampton Inn home for tonight. It has a button that indicates "constant fan" that will not shut off.  I will have to listen to the damn thing all night long. I hate the noise of the fan running and even shutting the heat off will not make the mother fucker stop.

Yes, 13 hours of traveling makes me a cranky asshole.

I see stupid people

I am about as small government minded a fellow you will find short of a true anarchist. But there are some rules a civilized society needs. A codification of most of the Biblical "Thou shalt nots" comes to mind. Traffic laws and other rules to protect the general populace from idiots, malefactors, and evil-doers are certainly necessary.  I support, to a significantly lessor extent, those laws created to protect us from ourselves. Maybe,  I am more likely to agree with laws that protect kids from parents' stupidity; car seat regulations for example.

I submit that any parent that refuses to vaccinate their kid is stupid, an idiot, a moron of the lowest level. Your actions are borderline, nay, are downright criminal.  I abhor frivolous lawsuits, but I would proudly serve on a jury of anyone who could prove they were infected by even casual contact with your unvaccinated offspring. Your failure to protect your children and society as whole from a preventable infectious disease is decidedly criminal. I would encourage the authorities and aggrieved individuals to seek criminal as well as civil remedies.

If you cannot or will not understand the difference between correlation and causation then you are damned fool and a danger to your children, your family, and society as a whole and should be treated as such. A refusal to vaccinate is as morally wrong and as criminally negligent as handing your kid a loaded handgun and sending him off to the local playground.

He Said, She Said, He Said, They Said

The cool kids all reviewed the film American Sniper last week.  Since I am not, and never have been one of the cool kids, I was not asked to participate. Of course, I have never been too good at following the crowd.  Back when blogging was cool, many published these memes -- you know, what kind of donut are you and such. I rarely played along.  I am an ass like that. So if I had been asked to provide my insight, I probably would have opted out.

Sunday, my youngest son, my daughter, and my son-in-law and I all traipsed to the theater to see American Sniper. It is a powerful movie. I think Eastwood's understating of Kyle's death and showing the actual funeral scenes as part of the credits was brilliant direction.  As the lights came on the theater was silent.

After the movie I had an interesting discussion with my son.  He is a Junior in college, and I know he is indoctrinated daily with a leftist slant, and also embraces a fairly liberal point of view as most young people tend to do.  I don't worry about it too much.  He was raised right, and he will find his own political water level. You see, I don;t think it is healthy for us, as Americans, to all think alike.  I think liberals and progressives are dead wrong, and naive and a little dangerous.  I would never dream of making their speech or politics outlawed. Unfortunately many on the left would, if given the chance, silence those of a conservative political bent. It is what the far left has done every time they have gathered the reins of power.

But as usual, I digress. The boy was disturbed by Kyle's reference to Iraqis as "savages". I asked what you would call people who would send a kid forth with a hand grenade? I also said that his opinion might change if he saw his buddies killed, maimed and wounded.  I added that many returning soldiers from Vietnam and WWII, harbored deep racial resentments against their former foes.  Such, I imagine, is war.  I am certain, my son does not share my firm belief that one American life is worth a dozen of our enemy. He will have to come to his own conclusions.

Anyway, the film is a pro-soldier, anti-war, human movie.  It is powerful. It is a movie everyone should see. The film makes no political statement about the war. Much like the film Lone Survivor, it is a story of people in extraordinary circumstances, fighting for themselves, their fellow soldiers, and their country.

About Last Night

1) That was by far the dumbest play I have ever seen called in football, be it pro, college, high school, or Pop Warner. Even my wife who knows diddly about football asked why didn't they just hand it off?

2) I absolutely must have a giant robot lion to ride. This not a want, this is a need.

 Today is my tribute to the film Groundhog Day, if you could nbot guess.

About Last Night

1) That was by far the dumbest play I have ever seen called in football, be it pro, college, high school, or Pop Warner. Even my wife who knows diddly about football asked why didn't they just hand it off?

2) I absolutely must have a giant robot lion to ride. This not a want, this is a need.

About Last Night

1) That was by far the dumbest play I have ever seen called in football, be it pro, college, high school, or Pop Warner. Even my wife who knows diddly about football asked why didn't they just hand it off?

2) I absolutely must have a giant robot lion to ride. This not a want, this is a need.

About Last Night

1) That was by far the dumbest play I have ever seen called in football, be it pro, college, high school, or Pop Warner. Even my wife who knows diddly about football asked why didn't they just hand it off?

2) I absolutely must have a giant robot lion to ride. This not a want, this is a need.

About Last Night

1) That was by far the dumbest play I have ever seen called in football, be it pro, college, high school, or Pop Warner. Even my wife who knows diddly about football asked why didn't they just hand it off?

2) I absolutely must have a giant robot lion to ride. This not a want, this is a need.

F-f-football

Yeah, I'm going to whine about football. I thought the Pro Football Hall of Fame was about honoring the best players, not recognizing a guy because "it is his turn". Maybe Tim Brown deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, but not when you compare his numbers to Marvin Harrison's feats on the gridiron. Harrison has more yards, catches, and touchdowns in 65 fewer games.  To argue, as some have, that Brown had to get in now because so many great receivers were coming eligible in the next few years is a crock. If you are not the best, you should not be in. Period.

Oh, and if JJ Watt is not the best player in football, then I don't know who is.

And since I'm bitching, the SnowTeam/ScareTeam missed even their low estimate on snow totals by about two inches. They started the lets all panic and run to the store and buy milk eggs and bread because snow, earlier this week. By Friday night they were claiming we could get upwards of a half foot of snow. Yesterday morning the prediction was 3-7 inches. This morning I doubt there is even one inch of snow. The models are wildly wrong 8 hours out, and I'm supposed to believe these same weather experts can predict the climate ten, twenty, or fifty years from now?

My coffee cup is empty and so is my tank of complaints. Have a great day.