Carry on

Storms rolled through last night. I was partially drugged so I barely noticed. I slept most of the night in the recliner, elevating my head seemed to help.

I feel a little better, but my head is still chocked full of snot.

Other than those unappealing details I have nothing of interest to report.

Worst cold ever

I'm sick. Summer cold. Ordinary humans would probably be in the hospital.

Compare and contrast

Today is the anniversary of the D-Day invasions. If you do not know what happened on those French beaches in 1944 take an hour and do some research. Then come back here and tell me that Bruce Jenner is courageous.

Write to me and escape

Take a dose of that stuck in your head for ten hours.

Unlike this schmuck, I know my wife likes piña colodas.

Confession, I kinda dig this tune.

A Road Life

That Guy was out on the interstate today. You know who he is. He thinks he is a great driver, but he is not. He does not use his cruise control, yet cannot hold speed for more than 30 seconds at a stretch. He gets in the left lane and will not move right for any reason. You try to go around, but he speeds up. A mile or two later you get by because he is fiddling with the radio or reading a text. Then like a bat out of Hell he blows by you at twenty over the posted limit. Ten minutes later you glide past him again. Rinse and repeat until he mercifully gets off at exit 147, cutting off a semi tractor in the process.

Today he was driving a brown F250. Appropriately, he had a pair of rubber testicles hanging from his trailer hitch. I knew by the way he drove that he was a Dick. The balls just added proof.

Almost celebrity encounters

There was a dude at the table next to me at breakfast this morning who sounded exactly like the actor Vince Vaughn. He had the same timbre, same inflections, same cadence. He did not look like him though.  Besides, I am pretty sure Vince Vaughn is not staying at a Hilton Garden Inn in the Minneapolis suburbs.

Liar in Chief

as Gomer used to say, "Surprise, surprise, surprise". Health insurers are seeking another double-digit increase in premiums for those covered under the ObamaCare exchanges.

President Obama promised my premiums would decrease by $2,500. Instead my coverage costs more. I used to have a policy that covered nearly everything with a small co-pay. Now I have a $4,000 deductible. I pay more for significantly less. Obama lied, my checking account died.

At least Sandra Fluck can get laid all she wants and never have to pay for her birth control. There is that.

Yep

What the heck, Mr. Weather man? Here we are in June and it is forty-something this morning. Still, the sky is blue and the flowers are in bloom and I find myself upright and breathing so it is a good day.

The Dems are all aflutter because a Republican male had the temerity to introduce legislation that would make birth control an over the counter med. Their argument, other than a Republican supports the measure, is that women would have to pay for the birth control twice - once when she buys it at the local CVS and again when she pays for it in her monthly ObamaCare-mandated insurance coverage. Seriously, that is their objection. How about the roughly 50% of the population that is not female who is forced to carry coverage for birth control and pregnacy? Is there no concern they are paying for something they cannot use? Or is there any consideration for the sizeable population beyond the child-bearing age is paying for birth control in their premiums?  Repeal ObamaCare and presto, no more problem. Tada. I'm a genius.

I suspect the real issue is that if they can't pass out contraception Planned Parenthood won't get as much funding which they use to subsidize their eugenics abortion business.

Funeral for a Fiend

The Patriot Act died last night and I cannot say I am terribly saddened. I know we live in dangerous times, but that is the price of freedom. Some provisions can be reborn if really needed. As far as collecting phone records, we are told the metadata contains no personal information. One pundit claimed the No Such Agency could not even identify the owner of the phone number. Then what is the point of collecting the data? There are courts that will allow collection in specific cases, we don't all need Big Brother listening in or watching our phone bill. Any overseas call? Have at it. I am all for xenophobia.

That said, Rand Paul is dangerous.

Reason 714 it is good to be me

The wife baked a batch of oatmeal scotchies for me yesterday afternoon.  I can only conclude she kinda likes me, or she is greatful for all of my hard work beautifying the old homestead over the past few weekends, or she knows I am fighting my diabetes meds and is trying to kill me.

The granddaughter has learned to roll over and is traveling all aver the living room. Until Thursday morning she could only flip to her stomach and cry to be turned back; a game I found tedious after five minutes or so, but played along because she is my granddaughter. Now we have started to make the living room a little safer and obstacle-free because crawling and walking are just over the horizon.  

After a couple of gorgeous days it looks like the rain will be back this weekend. I ain't complaining. We could be getting the soaking our Okie and Texican neighbors are getting.

Have a great Saturday. I'm off to fill up my coffee cup and grab a cookie for breakfast.

I'll Save You, Penelope

Have a great weekend

Why?

I made spaghetti for supper last night. The wife was doing laundry while I cleaned up the dishes and washed the pans. A quick rain storm passed by herded along by a couple of claps of thunder, just when I thought about sitting out on the patio. Instead I turned on the baseball game, half watching, half reading. Then it became half watching  and half dozing.

The good guys lost and I flipped over to local news. I picked up my book when I should have gone to bed. The next thing I know, I have been reading for an hour and a half. It is past one in the morning and I am arguing with myself about reading a few more pages or hitting the rack. Sensible won. I should have listened to my brain and headed for bed at eleven. In my youth I routinely ran on about 5 hours of sleep, usually because I stayed up into the wee hours reading. I can't do it anymore. Why do I try?

Two things about me

If I have said it once, I have said it one hundred million times; I don't exaggerate and I never, ever repeat myself.

tuesday at last.

Man I am glad this weekend is over. I worked my butt off.  Remember when I said my wife had some projects? She has a pinched nerve in her back, so bending or moving is hard for her. That left Old Joe to plant the 2 flats of vinkas, the 2flats of begonias, and the 4 wave petunias, and a dozen other flowers of various sorts. I also dug out the pernicious ground cover that surrounded the stump of the tree we cut down last week.  Of course the ground where she wanted the plant holes dug was littered with roots or rocks. Then I spread about 4,683 tons of mulch. It seemed like it anyway. I need to go back to work so I can get some rest. I hurt in places I have not felt in decades.

Yesterday morning a rabbit was out among some of the newly planted flowers out back. I opened the patio door hoping to scare him away, but he did that old bunny trick of freezing in place. I was barefoot, so I grabbed a half dozen ice cubes and sent a couple of two seamed fastballs in his direction. One hit the fence next to his fuzzy tail. He did not move. Another bounced on the mulch an inch from his nose. He did not even twitch. The next hit him square on the back. Still he hunched like a statue. What the heck Bugs? I finally donned some flip flops from the laundry room and he ran when I got within ten yards of his spot. If that little SOB eats those begonias he is a dead rabbit. Sitting still like that will only make my marksmanship easier.

under an ice blue sky

This is bouncing around in my brain.

Oh, for Pete's sake just click on the selection, It won't kill you.  You might even smile or perhaps laugh.  That laughter may keep you from cursing at sheep and inciting the wrath of PETA*.  I spent like one minute finding this video. When I was working at the big yellow price tag trying to make ends meet last fall one of my young coworkers mentioned she had never heard of "Animal House". Sigh. I have never felt so old.

Have a great Saturday.

* look it up, I'm serious. Cursing at sheep is abuse.

Woot

It is an office day today. I have a couple of emails to follow up, some phone calls to make. I will start my expense report early so I am not late again this month.  Then...it is a three day weekend!

I think the wife has some projects in mind, but she could not possibly fill up the whole three days with work, could she?

I am in a great mood, I think I will go down the street and get some donuts.

Hells yeah you want to be me.

Cold as ice

I made a mistake this week. I know, I'm shocked too. I only looked at the daily highs when I packed my suitcase. I found myself with a short sleeved Polo shirt yesterday with no jacket facing temps in the forties and a light and very cold rain.  I usually don't screw up my packing that way. Luckily I had a pair of jeans on hand. I grabbed lunch at a drive-through yesterday since it was raining hard when I wanted to eat. I drove into my driveway on fumes, the gas-is-about-gone idiot light glowing in my dash. But I once again safely traversed the Mighty Mississippi, a Max Brand audio book keeping me entertained as I headed home.

Is there a Journalist in the House?

Will someone, anyone, just ask Hillary why she lied to the families, Congress, and the American people about a dumb movie causing Benghazi? Can someone ask her if, as she claimed today, she wants those emails released, why does she refuse to let independent investigators look at her servers?

Do we really want more years of the Clintons and their scandals?

Isn't there any journalist left with integrity? What do I expect? The highest award in journalism is named after one of the most biased, corner-cutting, print-anything-as-long-as-it-sells-papers publishers in history.

On Stephanopolupugus

Back during the Cold War we used to laugh at stories reported by Pravda, rightly believing it was biased and only printed what the Soviet Government wanted told.

Today in the U.S. We ave major news organizations fronted by former government employees. Pravda versus ABCNBCCBSCNNMSNBC is there really a difference? No wonder The Obama hates Fox News, it is not a state-run news agency.

Gathering

The youngest is home from the University for the weekend. It is good to see him. School is out for the summer, but since he has a job in B-town he only gets occasional days off for a visit. I think my oldest son is going to come down after work today too.  the wife has a cookout planned and with the addition of my daughter and her family the whole brood will be together for the first time since Christmas Day.  That makes me smile.

I know the boys will go past the Coors Light and Bud straight for the bootlegged Yeungling out in the garage 'fridge. That is OK by me.

I hope Ma Nature cooperates, but if it rains it will not be the first time I have huddled over a grill holding a spatula in one hand and an umbrella in another. It makes it harder to drink a beer while cooking, but I am sure I will manage.

The tree came down OK, it rained on and off all afternoon, but we got it down. Now I just have to get rid of the wood.

So long tree, thanks for the oxygen

In my side yard, next to my driveway, is an ash tree. It is dead, just like almost every ash tree on the Midwest. When we moved in it was struggling. Last summer saw but a few branches leaf out and now it is dead. A buddy is coming over today to cut it down. I hate to see a tree die, but this one serves merely as a perch for birds to position themselves to leave large amounts of droppings on my car.  Good thing I have an unlimited wash package down at the car wash.

I am tempted to take a likely limb from the tree to fashion into my own "Wonderboy" bat to beat burglars and trespassing midgets when the need arises. Alas, the wife won't play pepper and the boy retired from baseball at 16, so I have no sporting need for a homemade baseball bat. I guess I will store my bat limb with the rest of the wood from the tree until I can give it away, haul it away, or burn it in my fire pit.

Anyone want some free unseasoned firewood? You haul it, you can have it. *

Except for that one baseball bat shaped limb.




*Check local or ordinances before you leap...I did say it was an ash tree

Friday Music Updated

This is what I get for canning a post.

RIP BB King.

Friday Music

I'm not sure The Band has graced our Friday Music selection heretofore. I don't know why. Listen and dig it, man.

Channelling Mr. Rogers

It is a beautiful day in the neighborhood, even though it is off to a chilly start. Yesterday was the same as it began with temps in the forties and warmed to the mid-sixties. After work I trimmed some bushes and cleaned some old leaves moldering in the flower beds. I should have raked those out weeks ago, but such is life. There are no flowers there anyway, just a wide mulched area in front of the fence.  It needs re mulched but that will have to wait.

I fried up some chicken for super last night. Mashed spuds, gravy, biscuits, and green bean casserole completed the feast. True confession -- I am a bigot. I only like white meat when it comes to poultry. I don't wear a bed sheet or anything, but there you have it. Only the white meat of chickens and turkeys is allowed on my plate. Report my hate crime. At Thanksgiving the white meat and dark meat from the bird is segregated to separate but equal platters. Mea maxima culpa.

Geez

is there any statist, leftist, progressive, or liberal policy the current Pope does not support?  I would not be surprised if he was on board with the normal Leftist "ban religion" position.

I'm sure glad I'm not Catholic.  I would be pissed my tithe was going to pay for that horseshit.

Paging Mr. Asshole

Despite the impression you may form from reading these pages I do not enjoy getting angry. In fact, I am a pretty even-keeled guy. But, when I get pissed it turns ugly and usually pretty loud. My anger takes a bit to kick in, then it goes from zero to eleven in record time.

When we moved to the 'burbs we bought a whole kitchen of appliances from retailer H.H. Gregg. We bought the extended warranty, mostly because they discounted the cost of the appliances so that the warranty was practically free, but we still paid for it.

Last fall the "stove top is on" warning light ( it is a glass top electric range) came on and would not go off. After navigating through the phone mail hell, I finally got a service call scheduled; albeit three weeks out. They did not show up. I rescheduled. They did not show up. I said the heck with it.

My 'fridge has started making a popping sound when you open the left French door. So I navigated phone mail hell once again. I scheduled the range repair yet again and then told them about the door popping. The response was pretty much "too bad". According to H.H. Gregg, if it is not an electric or mechanical issue it is not covered. I told him it was clearly a mechanical issue. It did not make the noise when new. The right door does not make the noise, therefore there is something mechanically wrong with the hinge. The man says if it still cools food then the noise is not covered.

Mr. Asshole made an abrupt appearance. I called bullshit. I mentioned their failure to show twice as evidence of H.H. Gregg's worthless customer service, and coupled with this failure to honor the warranty makes me confident they will never get a penny from me going forward. The Supervisor started down the path of  'if the service company did not show up, my issue is with them'. I stopped that nonsense in the starting blocks. I don't care who H.H. Gregg hires to do the service work, my contract is with H.H. Gregg. Apparently mechanical issues only apply if the door actually falls off the hinge. Well fuck H.H. Gregg.  This is not finished.  I think I'll go to the store and make a scene. A loud "H.H. Gregg will not honor their extended warranty" in front of potential customers on a busy Saturday often has a strong effect. I often get my way.

About last night

We had some shredded pork BBQ in the freezer. I boiled some bow tie pasta and elbow macaroni together and made some macaroni salad. I deviled the extra eggs and thinly sliced some sweet onions and fried up a batch of onion rings. Nothing gourmet here, but still a feast.

I washed up the pans and ran the plates and cups through the dishwasher. I plopped on the couch to watch baseball while the wife did some laundry. I sat with her and watched a recording of last night's episode of "The Voice" before going to bed.

This morning I threw on yesterday's faded Cubs T-shirt. I could faintly smell the grease from the onion rings as it slid over my head. My morning coffee is hot. My wife is downstairs watching the morning news and playing with the baby. I am planning next week's business meetings. The sky has a fresh scrubbed look after yesterday's rain. This post has no point.

Do you eat smooth or crunchy peanut butter with jellyfish?

I hope you had a good weekend, I sure did. My daughter and SIL had to attend a wedding in NOLA so we had the granddaughter all weekend. She was wonderful. The weather was bits of rain and sun. We took the baby to see my Mom an Dad on Saturday.  Other than that I have nothing of note to report.

Perhaps something worthy of your time will occur to me later.  I would check back every fifteen minutes or so just to be safe.

Oh Mamma

Happy Mothers Day to all you Moms out there!

Bud Man, Cubs Fan

Be careful out there

Those words ended the roll call on the police drama "Hill Street Blues" twenty years ago. A cop in North Carolina, Matthew Kohrs, was burned by spilled coffee from Starbucks. Now he is suing the coffee chain because of the burns, medical bills, and emotional distress.

Hey Dude, coffee is made from boiling water. It is hot, it says so on the lid ever since some other dolt spilled coffee on her crotch and sued McDonalds. Worse, Starbucks gave Kohrs the coffee for free since he was a cop. Thank you indeed. If I owned a business I would stop Cop freebies.

Oh, his burns were so bad that he took time to drive home for pictures of the burns before going to urgent care.

I spilled coffee on my hand and all over the carpet a few months ago. I guess I should sue Keurig. My wife gets pissed every time she sees the stain. Now that is emotional distress.

Friday Music

Why not?

Incompetent

The Mayor of Baltimore has asked for a DOJ investigation of her police force. She sad in her statement that she believes there is a culture of excessive force, systemic behavior issues and a history of discrimination. If she believes this is the case, and she must or she would not seek outside investigators, why hasn't she fired the Police Commissioner and Police Chief? Better yet, since she is ultimately in charge, why hasn't  she resigned?  Harry Truman famously kept a sign on his desk claiming "the buck stops here".  Private companies fire heads of failing departments. Sports teams can the coach when performance is unacceptable. Democrat politicians just point fingers.

on my mind

Hard to believe it has been 35 years. Classic.

She caught the Katy, left me a mule to ride

I have done a lot of stuff in my 53 years on Earth. I've jumped out of perfectly good airplanes, dipped at least a foot in all 5 Great Lakes, visited foreign soil, kissed a girl and liked it. But until today I have never been to North Dakota. Strike that one off the old bucket list. The list of states not graced by my presence has dwindled to Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Alaska, and Montana. That means I have been to 51. Right Mr. President?

I know what you are thinking -- women want me, men want to be me. Or maybe you are thinking about that last cookie out in the kitchen. Maybe you are thinking about what ingredients go into enchilada casserole as you plan your Cinco de Mayo festivities. I confess, I don't know what you are thinking at all.

I do know what I'm thinking. You will never guess.

Have soapbox, will travel

If a lunatic Christian attacked an abortion clinic, would the Left claim the clinic had it coming by "provoking" the attacker? Is a hooker fair game for rape because she "provoked" an attack by her dress? Why are the folks in Texas at the draw a Mohammad cartoon contest part of a "hate group" when the true hate-filled folks are the ones who shot at people? The world is upside down.

I refuse to accept the term "hate speech". The First Amendment exists expressly to protect the words of those I most disagree with, be they Illinois Nazis (yo Blues Brothers), the KKK, Leftists, Muslim fanatics, Democrats, Liberals, Progressives, or those assholes who protest outside of military funerals. There is no unalienable right to never be offended.

about that

I have a big old bag full of nothing this morning.

Happy Star Wars Day.

sardonically speaking

I broke into my stash of good coffee this morning to celebrate nothing beyond The Maker's blessing of life on this sunny spring day. Some days call for more than Maxwell House.

I had weird dreams last night. I won't describe them. There is nothing more boring than reading about someone's dreams.

I had my windshield replaced yesterday. You need worry no more.

I need to win the lottery. I know the odds are on par with a miracle. This is especially true in that I never buy a ticket.

"Walden" is an unreadable piece of shit.

What happens if the prosecutor cannot prove those Baltimore cops purposely killed that drug dealer and they are acquitted?

Have a great Saturday. I intend to.

Friday Music

'Cause you asked and 'cause the weather is perfect

Oh and 'cause I may have learned how to post videos on my iPad.

dang it all

For the record, any Democrat that claims the Republicans have held up their agenda is not only dishonest, they are a damnable liar. The first two years of the Obama Presidency saw Democrats have a supermajority in Congress. With a filibuster-proof Senate the President and Democrats could have passed any legislation they wanted including gun control, amnesty, increased funding for everything, even tax increases on the rich, reparations, and cut the military to zero: had they desired.

Even after the Rublicans took back the House in 2010 they did not have the votes to roll anything back. Not that those Democrat-lite assholes would have anyway...

Facts are stubborn things.

It is a nice Friday, sunny with a promise of a warm afternoon.  I hate starting the day pissed. Politicians are the lowest form of life.

What do you want for nothin'?

The wife and I went to the 'Natti to see the Cubs beat the Reds on Sunday. We had a great time. The seats were a gift from my daughter and son-in-law for my birthday. The weather was great.  Is there a better way to spend a sunny afternoon than watching baseball?

Liars and other matters

President Obama said that Republicans holding up his initiatives is the reason we have riots in Baltimore and Ferguson. I have a few questions.

1) what initiatives have been voted down by Congress that would have prevented the riots?

2) what Federal programs have been cut in the past 6 years? What actual spending has been reduced?

3) we have spent more than  $20,000,000,000,000 over the past fifty years to solve the very issues the President blames on Republicans. Tell me now, how much treasure and how many years will it take to solve the "plight of the urban city dweller"?  Let's spend it and be done with this nonsense.

4) why is it everyone else's fault when the very places that have high minority unemployment, poor education systems, high crime, etc. are all run by Democrats-- usually for decades? Maybe it is time to admit the liberal  Democrat policies are failures?

5) what does the higher incarceration rate for minorities have to do with anything? Is Mrs. Clinton and the President saying those in prison are innocent? Is there implication Whites are not arrested? Is there proof of widespread bias in the justice system? Bring out the facts, otherwise this is meaningless blather. Guys in sports cars get more speeding tickets than old ladies in a '98 Cutlass. So what?

5) why doesn't any Republican have the balls to ask these questions?

Mundane Musings

The coffee is hot, my toes are cold. Gray clouds are building to the west. A new day awaits. I have a very long drive ahead of me today. I am not excited about it, nor am I dreading it. It just is part of the job.

I have developed a large crack in the windshield of my company car. I first noticed it after the cold and rain over the weekend. It may or may not be getting longer. I am waiting word from the boss on how to fix it. Does he want me to turn it in on insurance or just pay for the replacement? In any case I will be on my way west with a broken windshield today.

Have a great Wednesday. I made alternate plans.

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.