Sic Semper Tyrannis

If I look to my right I can see a beautiful full moon through the window. It is tinged orange-gold by the sun rising slowly under the horizon. The house is quiet. The sounds of traffic on the distant highway are a muted reminder I now live in the city. Life continues apace.

The headlines are grim and sad news: shootings, bombings, death, violence. The world is a dangerous place. Don't fool yourself, it always has been. There is a reason that "man's inhumanity to man" remains an enduring theme of art and literature. Do you think life is tough now? Life was cheaper a thousand and two thousand years ago. Man is nature's top predator and always has been since Cain whacked Able.

Do you think Clinton or Trump are any different than a feudal lord who believes his power derives from Devine right? You are no more important than a serf on a manor. You are a body to be used; you grow fodder, you are cannon fodder, you are just votes.

I've been studying on the last days of Rome: the debauched Emperors, the constant change at the top, endless wars. But the Empire chugged on, administered by the bureaucrats, governing while the politicians politicized. In our minds the Roman Empire lasted centuries. It was only a couple of hundred years between Augustus and Commodus (whose name includes "commode" and "odious" for good reason). Don't fool yourself into thinking the last years of the Republic were so great either. Funny, Julius Caesar and almost every ruler that followed vowed to return Rome to its glory days. Cicero was pining for the good old days almost a century before we started numbering the years forwards at zero.

Jefferson and Madison would weep at what their experiment has become. Washington -- a close examination will reveal he liked being large and in charge. Adams was disliked by just about anyone who ever met him. I suspect Trump and Hilary and Cruz were never the homecoming queen or king either. They will get their revenge now on us ignorant peasants.

Instead of baking delicious cakes, Dolly Madison should have made James put in a term limit provision into the Constitution. We would all be better off.

Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,

I had to get up and pee at O'dark-thirty. That happens when you get older. I managed to go back to sleep, even though work stuff was slipping past the weekend firewall I erected in my brain. Some weird dreams ensued. Most days I wake up on my own at around 6:30 or so, if not earlier. The wife's alarm goes off at 6:40 if I sleep later. Since she does not have to watch the grandkid today she did not set her alarm. Somehow I slept until just past seven. How did that happen?

I had a good weekend. It was chilly, but it did not rain. I cooked some burgers on the grill yesterday. Two thirds of my kids came to see me. Life is good.

Have a great Monday

Because it is my blog, that's why

I ain't got time for that now

Last week -- no, it was the week before -- I dropped the boss off at the hotel. He wanted to change before boarding a flight to Germany. Since the hotel has a shuttle to the airport I headed towards home. I passed a big school. The sign on the corner told me it was Maine North High School. Synapses fired. Ahh, that is where they filmed the classic flick The Breakfast Club.

I called my wife to tell her what I had seen. She asked me "Why do you even know crap like that?". Sigh.

I suspect you are not impressed either.

No time for dancing, or lovey dovey

Saturday. Once again I woke up early. So it goes, I guess. That means I have more time to blog before I do whatever it is I might do later this morning. Yay for me. Yay for you, maybe. I suppose it depends on your point of view.

Hold on for a sec.

OK, I'm back. I had to go downstairs and get some more coffee. I also copped a couple of the wife's little chocolate donuts. Is it rude to type with your mouth full?

The youngest boy will be here this evening. He is going to supper with us before heading to a concert later tonight. He will be back to spend the night. Unfortunately he has to get back to school since he has to work in the morning. I hardly get to see him anymore.

Tomorrow, my other two kids and their families/girlfriends, etc., are coming over for a cookout. It is supposed to be chilly, but the grill works fine in cold weather. Cheeseburgers are on the menu. I sincerely hope I can avoid turning them into hockey pucks.

It seems I've lost my ability to cook a decent meal. Earlier in the week I attempted fried chicken, gravy, mashed spuds. I burned the chicken. This meant I had to grab a different skillet for the gravy (who wants black bits in their gravy?). Without good drippings the gravy was bland. It was also lumpy. WTH? I'm no gourmet cook, but usually my comfort food is at least a triple if not a home run. This effort was not even a hard hit single; more of a reached base on an error-type affair. I did redeem myself a bit Thursday. I pulled a frozen enchilada casserole from the freezer I made several weeks ago and made a pretty decent batch of salsa to go along with it.

That about covers the minutiae of my life. I think I'll read your blogs then see what old movie attracts my attention this morning. I might do one of the big "E"s: Esther or Elvis. And for goodness sake if you ask me who "Esther" is I'm going to come over there and bop you on the head like little bunny boop boop. Seriously...

So

....should I just assume you have stopped blogging?

This ain't no fooling around

Hoops mania is in full throttle and I don't care. Much. I'm not a big fan of basketball.

Here is something to ponder. The census counts everyone, citizen or not. Many non-citizens live in big cities and in some of the more populous states. When Congress apportions Congressional seats they do it based on the census, not the count of citizens, thus some states are over-represented.

So what? Well electoral votes are allocated based on Congressional seats, thus states with heavy illegal populations (who theoretically cannot vote) have more sway in the general election where electoral votes are usually winner takes all. Thus California, New York, Illinois, Florida, and Texas have more electoral power than they should because they have a larger population of illegals. Ask me again why the Democrats are in favor of open borders?

Squeezing lime juice when you have a cut on your thumb makes for exciting cooking.

It is Friday, finally the end of what has been a very long week. I think someone snuck an extra Tuesday in there or something.

In the midst of all this rambling I did not forget the Friday music:

What? Who doesn't think the mom is hot?  Plus the music is pop at its finest. Still reading? Tell me happy birthday on Sunday. Have a great weekend.

This ain't no party, this ain't no disco

It is still dark, but the birds are chirping in the trees. A spate of warm weather and some recent rain has the grass greening nicely. The tulips around the maple in the front yard are poking through the mulch and the trees are starting to burst out in leaves. Spring is here. Oh, we will still get some cold. It is supposed to drop into the thirties this weekend, but warm days are ahead. I was excited to see the trees in bloom on my quick trip to southern Missouri earlier in the week. The past couple of years marks the first time in more than two decades I have not had customers in the Carolinas, and I miss the warm weather and early springs those visits provided to help me through the February cold. In the end we had a very mild winter, little snow and not too many days of sub-zero temps. I can live with that.

It is St. Paddy's Day; since I'm not Irish nor am I Catholic. I mostly don't care. I won't wear green, unless by accident.

So ends another blog entry. Riveting stuff isn't it? You get what you pay for around here.

Well crap

Sitting in the car for hours on end yesterday I composed a first-rate post in my head. By the time I got to the hotel it was gone. I still cannot even remember what I was going to write about, forget the details of the post itself. Getting old sucks.

You might remember I bought a new phone a few weeks ago. During my drive I discovered somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,000 songs I had ripped from my personal CD collection have disappeared from my phone. WTH? According to the interwebz, and everything is true on the Internet, iTunes may even have deleted them from my library. I will have to check when I get home. If so, I'm gonna be pissed.

314

Apricot
Peach
Black raspberry
Apple
Lemon
Pecan
Sugar cream
Cherry
Strawberry rhubarb

All pies I would like to have on pi day

You can't say that

What happened tonight in Chicago is why we need Trump, as obnoxious as he is, to keep going. I am not a Trump supporter, and I reject much of his rhetoric. But he has a right to give a speech, even an obnoxious speech, without it being interrupted by demonstrators. All of us do. Trump is revealing how impossible it is to have a normal democracy with the activist left, who think their crying need for “safe spaces” gives them the right to silence their opponents. Link

Throughout history the left has tried to shut down and censor speech they found disagreeable. Even a cursory study of the French Revolution, Soviet Russia, Nazi Germany ( yes, Hitler was a socialist), communist China, North Korea, North Vietnam, the Khmer Rouge, Cuba, and modern Venezuela all show a tendency to silence any opposition and stifle free speech.

Leftism cannot stand the light of day. It is a vampire that sucks the blood of the economy and the citizens. I continue to be amazed at just how intolerant the supposedly tolerant left is. You see it in their speech. You find it at their blogs. They spew vitriol and hate at anyone who dares disagree. 

I find Hillary Clinton loathsome. I would vote for an illiterate crack whore from deepest Appalacia who could not even make change for a dollar before I would cast my vote for Hillary. But I would never dream of preventing Clinton from standing on stage offering her prevarications and outright lies.

It is not the supposed fascists righties who are blocking free speech. 

If you don't like what Trump says, do not listen. Vote for someone else. You have no right to keep someone else from listening or voting for candidates you do not like. Censorship is evil. Stifling the free exchange of ideas -- no matter how bad they may be -- is the first step towards despotism. Free speech exists exactly to protect the ideas we find most detestable. 

'Nuff said

The rock world lost another great one Friday when Keith Emerson died.

TMI. You were warned

Long time readers know from stories here that there was a time I had significant digestive issues. One of my meds, not the one that muffles the voices in my head, gave me significant bouts of diarrhea. I'm talking colonoscopy prep type episodes. Explosive, corrosive ass soup so odiferous it would make a sewage plant worker tear up in disgust occurred once or twice a week. I threw away more stained tightly-whiteys than you can imagine. I'm off those meds now.

These days I shit cellophane wrapped cubes.

That is a lie.

My bowel movements have become more routine these days. Now, my turds are compact elongated tennis balls, solid and firm. And they routinely stop up the toilet, especially the low water types.

Thursday morning I dropped an especially heavy load of these rocks into the hotel toilet. I wiped with only a little more paper than Sheryl Crow recommends, and flushed. I saw the familiar swirl of water and the slow rise of the bowl contents. I had log jammed another toilet. I finished packing and as a courtesy told the front desk about the situation as I checked out. I was, of course, a bit embarrassed.

Yesterday evening I got an email from the hotel apologizing for the stopped up crapper! They offered bonus points out of their concern that my stay was not perfect. The hotel apologized because I stopped up their toilet. Can you imagine?

For more than a decade I have stayed exclusively in hotels from the Hilton chain whenever I can choose. I have stayed at this particular Hilton Garden Inn more times than I can count. Now you know why.

Who was Dan Ryan and why does his highway suck so much?

I just don't have the energy. Traveling with the Very Big Boss from Germany this week. All day at customers, late dinners. I need to take five minutes for myself before I address the day's emails, call the wife and prepare for the morrow's efforts. Not complaining, just stating facts.

And writing incomplete sentences.

This seems appropriate:

I am not normally a big fan of jazz, but these guys just ooze cool.

About the blog

not today

You may provide your own content in the comment section

Mysterious musings

It is a gorgeous day and I'm stuck in the office. Worse, I don't even have time to crank out a meaningful post. You probably should not expect much for the rest of the week either. Unless I write something brilliant. Then you can set the bar higher. You should probably check by every hour or two, just to be safe. Or not. It is up to you. I'm not one of those liberal-types who is always trying to tell you what to do.

So long and thanks

18

For those of us in Indiana who ate Colts fans that number says it all.

18

Thanks for showing us excellence. I will miss you on Sunday's, that is a fact.

"Charge for the guns!" he said

After I wrote yesterday's exciting and thought-provoking post I went down to see what was available for breakfast. I looked askew at the wife's bag of little chocolate donuts. I considered the granddaughter's Cheerios. Then I spied the fresh pineapple we bought at the store earlier in the week. I had placed it upside down in the 'fridge so that the sugars would evenly distribute. I peeled and sliced and cored the fruit.

Man, do I love me some pineapple. This one was sweet and buttery and just the perfect state of ripeness. Every bite brought back memories of Hawaii, of summer evenings when I grilled slices along with chicken kabobs, of pineapple sundaes, of Mai-tais, Dole pineapple whip and ham steaks and pineapple. Yes, I love pineapple. Especially fresh pineapple. I had some for breakfast this morning too.

Oh, to be back in Hawaii.

Forward, the Light Brigade!

We tried a new pizza place last night. I'm not sure what was in the sauce, but I sure had some weird-ass dreams. Fortunately, the dreams faded away with wakefulness like fog in the morning sun so you will not have to read the nonsensical tales.

Traversing Illinois yesterday I drove for a bit on old Route 66. I suppose I should say I drove on new old Route 66. The original old narrow highway lay just to my right, about 30 feet away, crumbling apart. Grass and weeds poked through the old concrete. The nostalgic me kept one eye on the old road and was transported back to a time I never knew. I drove past the Mother Jones monument in the Union Miner's Cemetery in Mt. Olive but did not stop. I saw it from the road and that was enough. I was not that interested in paying homage to a socialist and Wobblie, anyway.

I cut across the Land of Lincoln on Illinois 16 and made it home just before traffic got really bad on the northeast side of Indy. Yay for me.

I'm not sure if we have any plans for today. It looks like it is going to be cloudy and cool, but not cold today. I'm sure the boss will have something in mind. Have a good Saturday.

Rode the six hundred

Friday at last. I have a couple of quick customer visits then I'm on the road home. I have to take only two major decisions this morning. Do I eat the crappy Hampton Inn breakfast or get something better? Do I take I-70 or back roads on my way home?

I had some first rate BBQ for supper last night. The place was packed so I grabbed mine to go and ate in the hotel room.  That was not my first choice, but such is life. 

I have been reading a historical novel about Richard the Lionhearted. It needs to get better and real soon. 

I watched some of the highlights from the GOP debate last night. Is there a single candidate, including the ones running for the donkey party, that you would want to have over for dinner? Could you imagine hanging on the patio with a beer and cigar with any of those assholes? I suppose that is true of just about any politician. I guess you generally have to be an asshole to get to the top. I doubt Caesar or Napoleon was a ball of laughs to hang with either. 

My first thought when typing the previous paragraph was to conclude that I would never be top dog. That concludes that I am not a self-centered egomaniac asshole. I like to think not, but then it occurs to me that I know some self-centered egomaniac assholes that are not top dog. I realize not one of you has invited me for dinner or to hang on the patio for a beer and cigar and I wonder....

I'm not handsome or athletic, I have no money, I'm not the smartest guy in the room. If I indeed have major personality defects, then I really have nothing to offer the world. That means I'm just another human toiling away on this mortal coil until my time is up, just like billions of others. Are you telling me I'm not a special snowflake? I'm not unique and special? As my old blogging buddy Dax Montana used to say --just damn.

We interrupt the normal flow of posts

Eat me Mitt Romney. 

We don't need a political lecture from the guy who blew a slam-dunk election against an unpopular President.

And you can just suck a lemon John McCain. 

You are a loser too.

All in the Valley of Death

We got less than an inch of snow overnight. Mostly it stuck on the grass. It is wet and heavy. I cleaned the walk and tossed some fake salt ice melt onto the drive. The snow won't be around long.

I wish I had something of interest to discuss with you this morning. I don't. Perhaps an interesting event during my travels will be worthy of a blog post tonight or in the morning. Not too interesting though. I don't want to be caught up in a Ferguson riot or a bank robbery. I could be happy to never be in another car crash.

I just started listening to a British history podcast I recently discovered. There are a hundred-plus episodes, each about 30 minutes long. I think I will listen further while I'm in the car today. I have only listened to a couple of episodes, but I like what I hear. The podcast is very much the way I would teach and discuss history if I was a history teacher. Most history curriculums are horrible and the associated textbooks even worse. Frankly, I learned more from Mike Wallace's "Biography" and the "And you were there" series narrated by Walter Cronkite* than I did from any history teacher in elementary, middle, and high school. I taught myself more history than all of those educators combined. That is not a criticism, but fact.

I wish you joy of this Thursday.

*Did you watch these in school?:

Half a League Onward

My phone tells me it is 19 F outside this morning. We might get a dusting of snow. I have no further comment on the weather.

I made a pot of potato soup for supper last night. Fresh brewed tea; mine plain, the wife's sweet, and BLT sandwiches rounded out the meal. The best part is I will get potato soup for lunch. It is one of those foods that reheats well. In fact, it may be better today.

It looks like we are edging closer to a Trump-Clinton election in the fall. A liar and a fraud. Seriously, this is the best we can do for Presidential candidates? Just as Obama made us miss GW, either of these two could make us long for The Obama. The US survived Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, Grant, Harding, both Johnsons, and Carter. We can muddle through this too. I honestly cannot imagine which front runner would be the worst. We already know we cannot rely on Congress to be anything but business as usual. More people liked the 1980s movie flop Ishtar than like the current Congress.

At least we don't live in Venezuela.

There is a lonely robin singing in the maple tree out front. That is a good sign. Spring is coming, baby.

Burning Down the House

Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s I was a very young customer service manager at a ball bearing plant. At that time there was a terrific shortage of bearings in the US. Lead times were long and delivery was poor. Customers were put on allocations. This means they were limited in the quantities and sizes they could buy; much like toilet paper is unavailable  in any progressive-run country.

Customers spent their days angry and frustrated and it was up to my little fiefdom to try and placate the seething buyer on the other end of the phone line. Often top executives from major customers came directly to the plant to vent their rage. One day a VP of Purchasing from one of the big agriculture implement manufacturers came to complain about our horrible deliveries, the allocations, and the occasional quality issues and their effects on the customer's manufacturing plants. Even a Deere can't run without bearings.

We are all in the big conference room. The heavies from the plant were present -- plant manager, department heads, production control, and little insignificant me.  Mr. VP ranted and cursed. The team from our side told how we have striven to fix the various problems in procurement, production, and quality. We described our heroic efforts in spite of nearly insurmountable issues to get the big customer his product.

"I get it", he said. "You guys are great firefighters. The only problem is it looks like every single damn employee here is a fucking arsonist".

Man, did I get the evil eye from the bosses when I laughed out loud. But it did break the tension in the room. When the big cheese customer left he was somewhat satisfied things were going to get better. After all, that was the purpose of his trip. To this day that is still the best line ever delivered by a customer to a supplier.

My thoughts on the Acadamy Awards

Did not watch.

Do not care.

Same old ennui

What Winnie the Pooh would call a 'blustery day' is on tap here in the Hoosier Heartland. It is going to be warm and windy. I like the warm part of the forecast. I'm not crazy about the windy portion. Still, one would be foolish to complain about temperatures in the sixties at the end of February. Since the warm wind will be blowing from the south maybe the house will block the breeze enough I can sit on the patio and burn a cigar. Or not. I will advise. Or probably not. You really don't care one way or another, I'm certain.

Hillary won the Democrat primary in South Carolina. Yawn and ho-hum, I don't care. I'm pretty sure Bernie believes everyone should vote for their candidate of choice but when the results are tabulated each candidate gets an equal share of delegates. After all, it is not fair that Clinton gets all of those delegates when he gets fewer for working just as hard. Spread the votes around. Does that notion sound silly? Then why would it be any less idiotic when applied to economics?

My coffee mug is empty, and so is my blog idea tank. Have a great Sunday.

I ain't complaining

You likely find that hard to believe. I woke up at about 5:30 this morning. I have been sitting here in the old recliner sipping coffee and surfing the interwebz. Life is good. Oh there are bills to pay and work to worry about and stuff I need to do. What is the point of griping about It all of the time?

My trusty three-plus year-old iPhone 5 has been showing signs of age and wear. Several times in the past few weeks it has displayed a "no SIM card present" warning and would only make calls if I rebooted it. Worse, the charging port was worn, shorted, whatever. I had to wiggle and jiggle and finagle the cord while holding my tongue just right while lifting my left foot in the air just to get it to charge. Yesterday I said "enough" and now I am the proud owner of a brand new iPhone 6S. I ordered a new Chicago Cubs cover for it last night. I will have to just be careful until it arrives. I'm not sure how I'm gonna like the bigger phone, but I'll get used to it.

I've had a cell phone since about 1993. The first one was a bag phone, then some mounted in the car. I had several of the Nokias, then a succession of smaller and smaller flip phones. The last of those was about two inches square. Since then, the phones have become increasing larger. I guess in another decade bag phones will again be all the rage.

Since most of you are just starting your day or are still sleeping, it won't take me long to peruse your unupdated blogs. Don't you ever think about me? You should stay up late posting stuff so I have fresh content to read when I get up early.

Enjoy your weekend.

Friday Fish Fry

Friday at last. This has been a long week. Did someone pop in an extra Tuesday while I was not paying attention? 

I woke up at about 5:00 with a pounding headache. I think the promised warm front must be approaching. I dropped a couple of redacted over-the-counter headache pills and was able to get back to sleep for another hour, but the pressure is building already as I type this. 

Reading the news this morning once again leads me to ask what the hell is wrong with people? Not just crazed shooters, but all of it --rapes, murders, perverts targeting teen girls, hit and runs.  When will the lawyers start suing the automobile manufacturers on behalf of hit and run victims? Ford, Chevy, and Toyota are making a dangerous product that kills tens of thousands every year. In 2010 cars killed more than 32,000 people and injured 2.2 million more. Well, that idea is no more idiotic than filing suit against gun manufacturers for the actions of a crazed shooter. Guns, knives, hammers, and even rocks are tools used by humans to harm other humans. They are inanimate objects and only dangerous when handled. I can't believe that judge in Connecticut did not throw out the suit against Bushmaster instantly. We have gone crazy as a nation. Is there no longer the concept of logic or even common sense?

We need some Friday Music today

Inquiring minds

Fried Spam, Kraft Deluxe Mac and Cheese, water to drink.

How about you?

I am so ready

Hurry up spring.

Stuff I wish I said -- Volume XLII

If you don’t want minimum wage, don’t have minimum skills. 

 From GOC.  Read the whole thing.

Perpetual Change

It looks like Mother Nature is uncorking a big bottle of unpleasantness today. The StormTeamScareTeam is all in a frenzy predicting lots of wind, rain, and snow. It appears da Region is going to get slammed along with northern Illinois. I was supposed to be on my way this morning to the Chicago/Rockford area but I postponed the trip. These customer visits were not essential and driving in blizzard conditions is no fun. I guess I get a pseudo-snow day. I still have to work, but I don't have to travel.

Apparently the folks in Nevada have succumbed to Trumpamania. Next week is Super Tuesday and the GOP race will begin to settle. The Stupid Party has no one else to blame for Trump. They have refused to listen to the strong message their voters have sent repeatedly for the past six years, opting instead for politics as usual. Now they have a bunch of voters mad as hell who want to poke "the establishment" in the eye, but who still won't pull the lever for The Bern or Hillary. In 2008 voters heard Obama say what they wanted him to say but not his real words. Trump followers are the same. They hear how he wants to address illegal immigration, but not his inconsistent message on everything else. They imagine he represents conservatives because he says he does. Then his supporters must quit listening. I just keep thinking of Jessie Ventura and his run as Governor of Minnesota. I think there are many parallels.

Inside out, outside in, ev'ry day.

I have been reviewing my past efforts at this old piece o'crap blog. I have focused on past Februaries to be precise. Two thoughts come to mind. One, some of you have been coming around and commenting for a very long time. Mucho gracias. Second, I was able to occasionally cobble together some coherent and cognizant posts on occasion. More in the 2008-2012 years than lately. It just proves you can always find something of small value in the garbage pile if you look hard enough. For a number of years I used a different commenting system, and those comments are lost. Too bad.

I have yet to make up my mind on the presidential hopefuls. I know I want nothing to do with Hillary and her lies. Didn't we have enough sleaze and scandal the last time they were in the White House? I still do not how any self-proclaimed feminist can look at the actions of either Clinton and offer support and still look in the mirror. Your hypocrisy proves once again that for a liberal orthodoxy trumps morality every time.

I watch in ev'ry single way

I had a great weekend. I hope yours was tolerable. My trusty earbud/ headphones (not those painful pieces of crap that came with the phone) died during my walk yesterday morning.  I was walking along and there was a pop and the music suddenly sounded like it was coming over a tin can and string. A block or so later there was some scratching static and they quit altogether. After I got home I tried various pseudo-scientific experiments with other headphones and other devices and it is clear; the old headphones, to phrase it in the colloquial, is broke. This necessitated a field trip down to the Big Yellow Price Tag for replacements.

As usual, I found lots of stuff I wanted, needed, must have now. I refrained, however, and walked out not with the Klipsch model I wanted, nor the Bose version I could not afford. I opted for a medium priced pair of Sony earbuds. I have not tried them yet. I'm sure they will be fine as long as they don't hurt when I push them into my tiny ear canal. I browsed the computers, drooled over the TVs and played with the high end audio. No one bugged me. I had the run of the store. I knew my way around. I worked there last year when I was unemployed and again over the holidays. Too bad I have to pay full price for my stuff. The small employee discount could have pushed me to the higher end headphones.

Today is paperwork day for the job. Trip reports for last week's efforts and preparation for this week's customer visits are on tap. I hope you have a great Monday, intrepid followers.

And watch the hills roll out of sight

My wife says it defeats the purpose of my daily walk if I light up cigar to smoke on my rounds through the neighborhood. I just give her a dose of my baby blues and a slight grin. I point out that I did not tote along a beer.

Jeb! Is no longer running for president.. I am not distressed. I have stated it often around here; we have had enough Bushes and Clintons in the White House.

We got a taste of spring yesterday as the mercury hit seventy. It is projected to be slightly cooler today with highs in the fifties. That is still great weather for February, but I want my warm weather back! We will return to snow and cold by midweek. So it goes.

This entry has been a waste of your time on a Sunday morning. That is 30 or 40 seconds of your life (depending on your reading speed)* that you can't get back. I won't apologize.

* it took me 29 seconds to read the post, not counting this sentence. Your experience may vary. This post was full when written. Some content may have settled during shipping. Offer void where prohibited by law. Not valid in Massachusetts, mostly because everyone there is a liberal asshat and/or a Patriots fan. Plus, I don't like Boston Cream Pie nor Boston Baked Beans. So there. Buy an 'R' jerk wads.  Ok, I admit it, this is not by best effort, especially when this is my 5,100th published post ( there are 83 more in the draft folder --they must really suck). When one writes five thousand posts there is bound to be a few thousand clinkers in the total. Wadda ya want for nuthin?

Man I need a vacation.

I see the cold mist in the night

It looks to be a great day in Hoosierland. Temperatures may well climb into the 60s. I don't know that we have any plans for the weekend. The wife said something about cleaning the house but I ignored whatever mumbling she said about that. She said "we need to clean" and I heard "blah, blah, blah".

The wind finally died down. It was a real gale yesterday. My grill cover did not make it. A small tear developed last fall and yesterday the wind ripped it to shreds. It is drooping around the legs of the grill like your undies bunch around your ankles when you are sitting on the crapper.

Pitchers and catchers have reported and everyone else arrives this weekend for spring training. I'm as giddy as a school girl. I just hope the young Cubs don't wilt under the weight of expectations. A century of failure and disappointment is a heavy load.

It is Saturday and I'm sure you have better things to do than read my rambles.

Oh, and a note to the people down the street: it is time to unplug your fucking Christmas lights.

Since I'm already mouthing off...

The Pope can go suck a lemon. I don't see Vatican City opening its doors to a flood of immigrants and refugees. His Popeness should lace up his fisherman's shoes and worry about the Catholic Church, not US elections. I'd say that newly reinstated policy of "don't ask and definitely don't tell" when it comes to child diddling priests would be a good place to start.

That is what he said

This guy is a genius.  From February 2012:

It must have been a sadist of the highest order who determined our National Elections should be held in leap years. Thus we are subjected to an extra day of politics, electioneering and all around unpleasantness.

It may be my age, but is seems every election the crop of candidates becomes increasingly unacceptable. Seriously, this is America, the greatest nation in the history of Earth, and this is the best we can do?  I am not just talking the Presidency either. Prospective candidates for nearly every office are the kind of self-serving power-hungry bossy-pants individuals most of us hated in high school, and today we would never hang out with on a dare.  You know it to be true.

Why is it the seekers of office are the people who always seem to think they know what is good for us?  They were the kid in class that always had to make all of the rules anytime you played a game. The jerk that put himself in charge, even if nobody recognized it.  My ancestors came here because they did not like the King or Clergy or local I'm-in-charge asshat telling them what to do. That has not been bred from my genes in the intervening centuries. Perhaps I am an anachronism from our Country's past. I hope not, but I cannot understand the willingness of so many Americans to expect the Government to provide food, healthcare, the basics of life? 

The problem with being a sheep is that there is always a sheep dog around to keep you in line.

The politicians are always calling the GOP the party of NO.  That is a joke, the Repubs are just the party of "not-as-much -as-the-Democrats" and they are trying their very best to be bigger Governmental meddlers than their counterparts.  Across the land we see so-called conservatives advocating smoking bans and even mandatory vaginal ultrasound at abortion clinics in Virginia.  I can only mutter a depressed "What the Fuck are they thinking"? Those big-government jackoffs are no more conservative than the strongest supporter of Lenin. Is there no politicians who understand the concept of personal freedom?

I want a Party of No. I will donate my time and treasure to help elect the first politician who proclaims he is truly the NO candidate.  I am sick of hearing what would-be office holders are going to do for me. What they want to impose upon the collective nation/state/county/city/neighborhood housing association. We do not need more laws and rules.  We do not need more regulation. We need less of government at every level. I want someone to tell me what he is not going to do. What regulations will she strip, what laws will he repeal? I want to vote for the woman who will ask before casting her vote upon any proposed law "what is the role of Government here? Why are we doing this? Is this necessary for the basic tenets of the Constitution?

I don't need the Government to tell me what to feed my kids. The laws and regulations of this nation are ponderous. We are all criminals. We have gone from protecting us from each other to protecting us from ourselves.

I say No. Enough already.

End disjointed nonsensical rant.

Oh wait, that was me. My opinion has not changed.

Something

I suppose I should write something.

That was uncomfortable

I told the middle-aged frumpy hostess there would be one for dinner. She made a cryptic mark on her table pictogram and said "All you single men sitting alone tonight. I'd like to sit with you". She gave me a myopic look through her thick glasses.

"My wife probably wouldn't think much of that" I said.

She shook her head and sighed as she led me to my table.

Not so urgent update

I spent about 8 hours in the car today, stopping at seven different customers in southeastern Michigan*. I wish I had something of interest to report as I meandered the highways and interstates. Last night's Hampton Inn was a little different than tonight's, but not much. I do have a suite tonight, that is very cool, but it doesn't really matter when I'm here just for one night. The good news is I have one appointment in the morning, and he is actually right on my route home. I should cross the line into Hoosierdom long before noon and I will be back home in the early afternoon.

On the positive side of the ledger the weather was fine and I have gained 2 more nights towards keeping my "diamond" status next year with the hotel chain. On the negative side the trip was a waste of time from a sales view. I'm starting from scratch in the new territory. No one has been to these customers in 4-5 years. That was true of the customers I took over last year too. I now have ten states full of mostly cold calling. What fun. Is the sarcasm font turned on?

* sorry Ed, I am on a tight schedule, even though I drove right through Y-town

Things that make you go "hmmm"

watch this.

I'm sure the situation is waaaayyyy different now.

Monday, Monday can't trust that day

There is an inch or two of snow on the drive. Most of it fell in a hurry yesterday afternoon. I have to head out in a bit to shovel it off. I'm in no rush since my daughter has the day off and won't be bringing the granddaughter over. The local schools must be closed for President's Day too. The kid across the street hasn't cleaned off his car.

The wife took me to see Star Wars finally. She even admitted the movie was pretty good. Now we have to wait two years for a resolution to the cliff hanger ending. Disney is going to milk this cow.

I think I'm gonna go shovel before I have more coffee. Then I have a little paperwork to do before I hit the road.

Have a good Monday. As a bonus here is some Monday music for you:

Double Feature

first the Battle of the Bulge, now this one:

My Sunday

You have to admit that the Nazi bastards had some catchy tunes

Way to be classy liberals

I'm not going to repeat the tweets here, but the joy and meanness expressed over the death of Judge Scalia is sickening.

I will say this too; Cruz and Rubio are wrong. The President has a Constitutional duty to find a replacement for the Supreme Court. The Senate has a right to make sure the candidate is acceptable. The notion that President Obama should hold off appointing a replacement is wrong. As a strict Constitutionalist no one would agree with me more than Judge Scalia on this matter.

Again

I have been awake since 4:08 am. That was the readout on the 35 year-old digital clock next to the bed. Despite its age, the old clock radio keeps good time. I fought to go back to sleep to no avail and now I'm here on the iPad, sipping my second cup of coffee, trying to decide if I want to brave the cold to go get some fresh-baked donuts or wait until tomorrow as a pseudo-Valentine's Day offering. Diagram that sentence bitches. Do they still do that in school or has sentence diagramming too gone the way of memorizing the multiplication tables?

I have again gone off subject. In fact, I'm not even sure what the subject of this post was originally. I'd like to pretend it is just not all fluff and stream of conscious typing, but in truth that is 96% of the content here. It has been since the beginning. That's a fact.

I still haven't seen the new Star Wars. I'm a bit peeved about that. The wife promised she would go as payback for the decades of chick flicks I have endured. Now she keeps finding flimsy excuses to keep from going like she is sick, or we are broke, or we have other plans. The whole point is to make her watch a movie she does not want to see. You know -- petty, juvenile payback. My oldest boy would drive down without hesitation to see it with me. He loves the whole Star Wars franchise. He has seen the new flick four times.

We are babysitting the granddaughter this evening. The kids are going to dinner and a movie. Today is the SIL's birthday so it is a combo celebration. I don't mind. She can hang out here any time. Since my wife provides her daycare our house is her second home. Some days that little smiling face is all that keeps me from driving my car straight into a brick wall at high speed. What? Do you think you are the only one with problems?

Well, that took a dark turn.

The donut shop just opened. I think I'll wait until tomorrow, but if you are going out could you grab me an egg and sausage McMuffin? I think I'm going to pop in a John Wayne movie because I'm in a cowboy kind of mood. Have a great Saturday.

A Movie Review

The wife went to hang out with a friend last night and I was on my own. I grabbed some takeout from the Chinese place down the street and read a bit. I decided to check the DVR and found that I had recorded Easy Rider a couple of days ago.

Until last night I doubt I had seen that flick in 20 years. Sorry, my impression has not changed. The plot is thin, the acting stiff (you can tell they were stoned most of the film), and the editing choppy. Basically, I just don't get it. In the end I'm left thinking "f-ing hippies". Then I think "f-ing rednecks" and "f-ing lawyers" and "f-ing cops". Mostly I just want to kick everyone at that commune right in the crotch.

Just one of the ways our robot overlords will kill us

I'm puzzled. You are probably not surprised. Nearly a dozen different companies are vying to create a driverless car. Why would I even want a driverless car? I cannot imagine the boredom of just sitting in the car on a long trip. I might as well ride a bus. Perhaps that is the long-term insidious plan: wean Americans from their cars and force them to mass transit.

So your driverless car has a malfunction (call it an error code if you like) and smashes into another driverless car, killing the occupants. Who do the sleazy TV ambulance chaser lawyers sue? The owner of the vehicle, the car manufacturer, the software company that designed the controls? Who is liable?

Can a computer ever make the decisions a human brain does in a crisis? Can it weigh in a split second the choice between swerving to avoid the deer that just jumped in front of your car or have a head-on with on-coming traffic? Will the car know that bumping over a dead rabbit in the middle of the road is permissible but one should avoid running over a dead skunk?

I drive more than the average bear. I logged more than 45,000 miles last year in my company car. I don't know how many more miles I spent behind the wheel of the family SUV. If you have ever driven the flat prairies of central Indiana and Illinois, the roads and highways of Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Minnesota, or either Dakota you know the definition of tedious, boring, uninspired driving. And yes, that is where most of my miles were accumulated last year. Still, I could not think of anything worse than spending those endless miles as a passenger in a driverless car. I can think of no reason I would ever want one.

About last night

Carolina quarterback Cam Newton likes to gloat and celebrate and talk when he wins. His pouting after game press conference after last night's loss was pathetic. No one likes to lose. The insistence by the media that the loser show up and answer as to what happens is silly, but that is also part of the job. If you want to be the new face of the NFL, if you want to be a role model then you have to be that face in a loss as well. You can't just be the man when you are 17-1.

Sunday Stuff

It is the day of The Big Game. We are going over to my daughter's to watch. My heart is with 18 and therefore the Broncos, but I won't lose any sleep no matter the outcome.

I was glad to see Marvin Harrison and Tony Dungy get voted into the HOF. Harrison should have been in two years ago.

I got an email from the electric company offering a messaging service that would tell me if my power is out. Really? If I'm home then I would know my power was off. If I'm somewhere else then so what? It is not like I can rush home and shinny up the utility pole and fix the downed lines or malfunctioning transformer. And what does it say about the company's service that they have to create an app to tell the customers their power is out yet again? If Duke loses power that often to that many people then perhaps they should focus on fixing the problem as opposed to creating an app that tells the customer "Whoops, we f-ed up again" or " Hey there was a tornado and power lines are down".

Who is so damn stupid that they are confused that the light does not come on when you flip a switch then checks their smartphone to verify that "Yep, according to my phone the power is indeed not working. That must be why it is dark and my TV won't work". Sheesh. What next, an app to tell me it is now daytime or nighttime? It is called a window, dumbass.

No, I did not sign up. When the lights, stove, TV, refrigerator, computer, and furnace all quit at exactly the same moment I am smart enough to conclude the power is out without getting a text message.

Enjoy your Sunday.

Saturday cartoon

I've seen snow and i've seen ice

It is Friday and it has been a long week. A most shitty week at that. I won't elaborate. I doubt you came here to read about my woes and complaints.

It is Super Bowl weekend. Who will win? This weekend the voters also make the pro football HOF selections. Will Marvin Harrison once again be bypassed for candidates who have significantly less impressive stats and accomplishments? We shall see. Lately the HOF is about rewarding guys because they have waited a long time as opposed to the best players.

Here is some Friday music. Listen and enjoy. Or don't. I get paid the same meager salary for my efforts at this blog either way.

Love Hurts

On the morning of their fiftieth wedding anniversary a couple was eating breakfast together. He was reading a newspaper, she flipping the pages of a magazine.

The wife suddenly jumped up from the table, tightly rolled her magazine and began beating the man about his head and shoulders. The attack was notable for its ferocity. Finally, spent, exhausted, and out of breath, she collapsed in her chair. She fixed her husband a look of malevolence and told him "That is for fifty years of bad sex".

The man slumped in his chair.  He was battered and bruised. Blood seeped from small cuts on his scalp. His glasses were askew. He stared at his wife in shock. He slowly stood. He rolled up his newspaper and proceeded to attack his wife with reciprocated fierceness until she too was beaten bloody.

"That", he told her, "Is for knowing the difference".

I wonder as I wander

Are the Democrats really interested in electing a socialist, or are they determined to vote for anyone besides Clinton?

On Iowa

I have spent a considerable amount of time in Iowa over the past 12 months. That gives me absolutely no insight about the political climate in the state. Further, I don't want to know.  I am at that " I don't give a shit" point of the Presidential campaign. I have not invested a lot of time or energy studying the candidates positions. At first blush my choice is a clear "none of them", but perhaps by the time the Indiana primaries roll around I will like one of the choices a bit better. Still, is this the best we can do?

On the Democrat side we have the choice between an old math-challenged hippie socialist and an old compulsive liar who is also a socialist.

On the Republican side we have a blowhard billionaire, a Narcissist, a supporter of amnesty for all and another damn Bush. On the bright side a recent poll reported that 25% of the federal workforce said they would quit if Trump was elected. If he promised not replace them he would get my vote.

Anyway, I don't care about Iowa politics. Good for you if the cornhusker vote has a deep interest to you.

Evil, Pure Evil

I just read an article that those fanatics in Nigeria just slaughtered hundreds of people at a refugee camp. The report claims dozens of children were burned alive.

I'm not an expert. God does not speak to me direct. I will stake my eternal life that no matter which Diety you worship, there is not one that condones the slaughter of innocent children.  I happen to believe there is a Hell, and it will be filled with foul evil people who do such things.  I personally think such heinous acts committed in the name of religion are more evil and a far greater sin than ordinary murder. 

With a tinge of sadness

I was feeling a bit nostalgic and stopped at Acidman's blog this morning. If you have been around blogging for a very long time then you know about "Gut Rumbles".

I read some random entries. I wish I hadn't . Re-reading his posts with the benefit of knowing the future was bittersweet. Today, you can almost see the demons chewing away at his joie d.vivre.  I suppose, had he lived, Rob would have slowly abandoned regular posting at his blog and migrated his wit to the book of face. I imagine that is what has happened to so many of the great ones. That or they just got bored with doing this weird hobby for ten or fifteen years.

Goin' on a date

It is supposed to be sunny today with highs in the low fifties. I am almost certain I am going to go for a walk this afternoon with a lovely hand-rolled stogie that immigrated legally from either a Carribean island or small Central American country. I have not yet picked out my date, but I'm sure we will enjoy our afternoon together.

I hope you have a good Saturday too.

Her vote counts the same as mine

I went to the grocery store yesterday evening to pick up a few items.  I stopped by the deli and asked the young lady for three quarters of a pound of Sara Lee Honey Ham,  shaved. After a five minute search behind the counter the other deli worker asked her what she was searching for. Worker 2 told my worker that she should just open a new ham since there clearly was not one partially sliced behind the counter.

This search meant she could not remember how much ham I wanted or how I wanted it sliced.  I told he again I wanted 3/4 pound, shaved.

She carried over a slice about 1/8 inch thick and asked if that was OK? I told he no, I want it as thin as possible -- shaved.  She brought over a slice about 1/16 inch thick.  I told her no, I want it shaved, make the slicer barely clear the guard, it is OK if it comes out in small pieces.  I explained I wanted the ham almost see-through.

She placed the meat on the scale and called her co-worker.  "How much is three quarters of a pound?" she asked him. He frowned in disbelief and told her 0.75 on the scale.

She handed me my 1/16 inch thick slices of meat. Apparently she flunked both math and vocabulary in school. 

Pointless Pontificating

It seems to happen on a regular basis any more. The clock metaphorically strikes four and my eyes pop open.  I turn the pillow searching in vain for the cool side. I try not to thrash about too much in consideration of my fair spouse sleeping one-half of a queen-sized mattress away. I try in vain to re-enter the sweet arms of Morpheus. After thirty minutes or so of squeezing my eyes shut I give up. I roll out of bed and strip off the gym shorts and old stretched-out and faded Chicago Cubs T-shirt I wear as pajamas.  I slip on my jeans and yesterday's sweatshirt. I close the bedroom door and sit on the top of the stairs to pull on my socks. It is O'dark thirty and once again I am up for the day. I offer a prayer of thanks for a new day. I pad downstairs and slip my phone into my left front pocket and a trusty Chapstick into the right. I perch my glasses onto my nose. 

In the kitchen I fill the Keurig with water and pop in a pod. In a minute or two I have coffee. While I wait I check and delete the overnight junk mail in my email accounts.  I glance at the digital clock on the microwave oven mounted above the stove and sigh at the blue numbers. I snap the lid onto the ceramic travel mug filled with black coffee and trudge up the stairs.

I sit in the unreclined recliner and pick up my iPad. USA Today is first, then the local news station app. Dilbert, a look at the Kindle daily deals and then I start perusing the political news sites and blogs. Only then do I turn to this little piece of the blogosphere. I have been up an hour. The neighborhood is dark through the window at my right elbow. After I type this entry I will glance at my stats, delete the spam from my comment folder and see if anyone bothered to read yesterday's drivel. I will get more coffee. Then I will check out most of the blogs on the sidebar before I walk across the hall to my office to begin another work day.  Maybe I will spend thirty minutes with the Russians first.

As I type, I realize this entry is a far cry from Lennon's McCartney's understated eloquence when he penned "Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb, across my head...".  Like most of the minutiae spewed in black squiggles on an electronic background at this blog, this post has no value to you. It is no different than most diaries in that sense. I just don't bother to hide my journal under the mattress. 

edit: fixed attribution

Dear Donald

If you refuse to be in the same room with Meygan Kelly because she was mean and rude and unfair the last time, then Putin is going to give you a wedgie and steal your lunch money.

Man up. Life is not fair.

First published without a title but I put these words in the title space so now I suppose there really is a title now

Humpity humpity, it is hump day. That is Wednesday for those of you who like for me to state the obvious.

I have decided I'm going to once again give War and Peace a chance. I actually read the book more than 30 years ago as part of a college English Lit assignment. At that time I read everything except the First and Second Epilogues. As I relaxed in a hammock drinking gimlets after work the summer after that class, I decided there was no way I could slog through 1,300 plus pages of a book and not finish. So I did. Truth be told, I have read thousands of books in the intervening 30 or 35 years since college. I remember absolutely nothing about the novel beyond the idea that it is long and has a lot of characters. Besides, it is far different to read something because you want to rather than you have to.

We shall see if I can stick with it. Tolstoy is a typical 19th century novelist in that he is wordy; but not in an exhaustive and unreadable way like Melville or Cooper.*  How much of the tome I read will likely depend on if something more interesting appears on my Kindle. Somehow 1,500 pages does not seem so daunting when you consider some of the Harry Potter and Game of Thrones installments went 700 pages and more.  Today, Tolstoy could have milked War and Peace into a two or three book series.


* imagine me calling someone wordy.

I will explain it all with a sigh

Well, it is Tuesday and I have nothing for you. The weather is blah. Work is blah. I'm sick of politics. When did the election cycle become four years long? I did my taxes last night. The Government has to give me some of my money back. Not a lot. Of course it will be returned interest free.  At least I don't have to write them a check. I had to do that last year.

Since I have nothing worthy of your attention and it is Tuesday, how about we listen to an appropriate classic tune from The Moody Blues?

Celebrate

You may have health problems, crushing debt, a soul-sucking job, hopelessness, no reason to live. But any day the New England Patriots lose is a damn good day. Watching Tom CryBrady get knocked down repeatedly is just like ice cream for dessert.

Queue up Kool and the Gang on your mental soundtrack.

News you can use

You may be unaware that the Washington-New York-Boston corridor , in fact much of the east coast, got a large amount of snow this weekend. I tell you this because there has been hardly any mention of it on TV, radio, or Internet news sources.

Just thought you would like to know.

I did not kill the deputy either

A good blogger would be spinning words of insight, entertainment, or inspiration this morning. Once again I am faithful to my art and you will get none of those things in this post.  At least I am consistent.

It is Saturday. You know that already. The giant the world-is-gonna-end snowstorm of snowstorms ( no doubt to be blamed on global warming) is far to the east and south of God's favorite state. In fact, it looks like the snow cover will melt like the Wicked Witch of the West in the coming days.

Speaking of the Wizard of Oz, you do know the book is an allegory for the debate over whether the Government should base their currency on the gold or silver standard that dominated politics in the late 19th Century? The yellow (gold) brick road leads to the Emerald (as in green dollars) City? The evil witches are in the west and the east, while the heroes hail from the Midwest and represent farmers, mechanics.  Are your eyes glazing over? Well trust me, the gold standard issue in its day was as big as any political debate we have today, including ObamaCare and immigration.  Politicians in Washington fixed the debate by not having our currency backed by anything at all. 

I know, I know, you didn't come here to learn stuff. I'm not going to start quoting the Cross of Gold speech. * 

I need more coffee and you have actual blogs of entertainment to read. Have a great weekend.

* do your own homework

No, no, no, no, please don't do it

Reports say that the Commissioner of  MLB and the players union are pushing to put the designated hitter rule into the National League. I was rather hoping that abomination would be stripped from baseball altogether, not expanded.

Follow me, boys

Get out your atlas, it is time to follow along with my travels this week. I'm not giving the roads, you can trace your own route through the Land of Lincoln: Centralia, Belleville and Mount Olive. We hit Lincoln and Galesburg and Rock Island. I even got my kicks on a few miles of old Route 66. I'll be home in a few hours. I'm ready. It has been a long week.

Ha!

Wouldn't you like to know...

Say there

Where was my great-great grandfather's white privilege when he volunteered to go fight, at great personal risk, in an effort to free the slaves?

Ahem

You people do realize that Bernie Sanders is a fucking socialist bastard, right?

Is there a socialist utopia anywhere that does not have high taxes and rough, almost unusable toilet paper (when you can get it)?

So long

RIP Glen Frey, you sure entertained me.

It must have been in 1976 or so when I was gifted a tape recorder/player for my birthday. My cousins gave me copies of The Eagles Greatest Hits and The Captain and Me by the Doobie Brothers. That year the family took a vacation to Kentucky; Mammoth Cave, Lincoln's birthplace, etc.  we listened to those tapes endlessly, probably because there was zilch on the AM radio, and mostly because I'm sure I whined endlessly and it was easier to let me have my way. I'm pretty sure a great deal of the time I had that one earbud that came with it stuck deep in my ear so the rest of the family could avoid hearing those tapes for the umpteenth time.

Glen Frey passed away yesterday and the world st another musical genius.

You are as cold as ice

Actually, I have It wrong in referencing the Foreigner hit from 1977. It is colder than ice outside. Right now it is a frigid 1 degree outside with a windchill factor of -17.  The greedy bastids at the gas and electric companies must be rubbing their hands with glee. If we were depending on solar panels for our electricity we would be screwed like a ten dollar hooker though -- the skies have been cloudy for days. That happens around here in the winter.

I hope you had a great weekend. We didn't do much. Some friends came over Saturday night. We played some euchre and ate way too many sweets and junk. We matched up like always, dudes versus chicks and this time the heroes were soundly defeated by the womenfolk. It happens on occasion.

On Sunday I ... Uh...well...accomplished nothing. I pushed the 1/2 inch of snow off the drive and sidewalks. I watched some football. I napped. I finished a mediocre autobiography by a guy who served in Vietnam in the Central Highlands in 1968/1969. I watched some TV. I was a lazy. It was a good day.

Now it is Monday and I am back to the grind doing my tiny part help keep the wheels and cogs of commerce in motion. I'm just a tiny component in the mighty economic engine. Chug, chug.

Have a great Monday.

Hear Ye Hear Ye

As official Arbiter of Taste, I hereby decree the following:

It is time to turn off your damn Christmas Lights.

Wow

That Arizona-Packers game last night had to be one of the wildest, craziest football games I have ever watched. Unbelievable finish in great plays as opposed to last week's Steelers-Bengals fiasco. The former saw great plays by Rodgers and Fitgerald while the latter game was marked by boneheaded and stupid penalties. Wow. Even the wife was going crazy watching that game.

Earlier in the day the evil Patriots won. That one I didn't watch.

How to give your hamster a haircut

Once again I am up way earlier than I need to be or want to be. By 10:00 this morning I will be fighting to stay awake.

I did not win a share of the big lottery prize.  I purchased two tickets yesterday and did not match a single number. I should have used those four George Washingtons to light a cigar or something useful. Oh, I don't mind really. Four bucks to become a billionaire is a small price. I feel sorry for the guy in front of me at the grocery who dropped a C-note on his dreams.  I guess that is why I don't gamble often or spend much when I do; money is too hard to come by to throw it away on bad odds. On the other hand, some would argue spending precious cash on rolled up leaves of tobacco and then burning it up is a waste of money. They could be right. I guess lottery guy's dream of riches was worth $100 while mine was was worth $4. Far be it for me to judge, I can't even get my own shit in one sock.

Do you remember the guy who used to come on TV and spin plates on the end of sticks? You don't see that much any more. Is it a lost art? Well, that juggling act is a metaphor for my life these days. I have so many plates spinning that I am struggling to keep up. I worry that at any moment any, each, or all of those plates are gonna come crashing down at my feet with disastrous results. I suspect that is why I cannot sleep these days. I have everlasting and unshakable faith in God. Things always work out like they are supposed to.

I'm heading downstairs to fill up my coffee mug. Have a great day.

Obama's SOTU Speech: A Review

There was a Bruce Lee movie on one if the cable channels. I will choose Bruce over The Obama any time. That means I did not watch the President move from TelePrompTer to TelePrompTer like a slow motion tennis match. I did not see Democrats leap to their feet clapping over the smallest pronouncements. "Today is Tuesday", proclaims the President. All of the Democrats leap to their feet clapping like they just saw Larry Olivier do Hamlet from beyond the grave. Sorry, watching Enter the Dragon for the thirty-seventh time is far more interesting.

I'm up early this morning. I don't  know why, I think I got hot in the night. The house is warm even though it is colder than heck outside. We are talking single digits with subzero wind chills cold. The wife turned up the thermostat because my granddaughter spent the night. She won't keep a blanket on and we were worried about her getting cold.

I'm blogging from my office this morning. Usually I read and blog from the "TV room", the front bedroom that doubles as a sort of den-slash-nursery-slash exercise room. That means there is a TV, a recliner, a treadmill, and a crib in there. I like to sit in that recliner in the morning and drink my coffee and do my internet surfing thing. I'm pretty certain you are as interested in that life minutiae as I was in Obama' speech last night. 

Get your lottery tickets, that way one of us can have a great Wednesday. I have to be honest here, I hope it is me. 

The Snows of Kilimanjaro

is a real book by a real writer. You get a crappy blog post about small amounts of snow. 

I went out at about 6:30 am to shovel away he couple inches of snow. It was light and fluffy and still coming down pretty hard. Normally, unless I have someplace to go, I will wait until it stops to clean the drive. Since her parents are bringing my granddaughter over I pushed the drive and sidewalks clear. By the time I was done, another 1/2 inch had fallen. I has a cup of coffee and did another quick cleanup. 

Boy, wasn't that riveting?

Now that is entertainment

OK, it is not entertaining, but it is finally the January we have come to expect. It is cold this morning. Wind chills are sub-zero. More snow (but not much) is expected tomorrow. It is a cold dark morning to have to go out to the barn and milk the cows. Good thing I have no cows to milk or barn to go to. If I did have a barn I would turn it into a most awesome man cave though. There would be a pool table in the loft. There would be soft leather chairs and a bar down on the floor. Old barber chairs would provide a relaxing place to smoke a fine cigar. A quality music system would provide the tunes. It would be a real-life He Man Woman Haters Club showpiece. You would want to come over and hang out. I know you would.

That was interesting

That was a wild wild card game in the NFL last night. The final minute and a half saw two turnovers and a complete breakdown in discipline by the hapless Cincinnati Bungles. After once again proving the "prevent" defense only prevents the defense from stopping anyone, two separate Bengals players lost control, received personal fouls and moved the hated Steelers into position to kick a field goal most high school kickers could make. You never want to point fingers, but if I was ownership of the Bengals, I would be in meetings this morning trying to decide if two players should be out on the street. Fumbles happen, but there is no reason to lose your head and cost your team precious yards. Not that I care, I don't root for either team.

A couple of inches of snow are on the ground. The wind is blowing hard. The windchill is 11. Was it me complaining about the recent spate of warm weather? No, I mentioned it, but I did not complain. I'm not sure if there is enough snow to pull out my new to me snow blower (my excellent son-in-law gave me his old model when he got a new one for Christmas). We shall see what happens as the morning progresses. Heck, I have nowhere to go today. The wind is creaking the siding and making a steady and subdued roar around the eaves. I can hear my neighbor scraping away with a shovel in the dark. He must have somewhere to go. Do you think he would stop and fetch me some donuts while he is out? No, me neither.

I didn't win the big Powerball drawing. You did not either. I didn't because I am likely the only person in America who did not buy a ticket. I might drop two bucks for Wednesday though. I could use part of a billion plus dollar prize. Yes, I would quit my job. I probably would buy myself a new truck. I would also change my name and go into hiding because charities, family i never knew, hucksters, and thieves would be at my front door like wolves on a crippled sheep before the last syllable of my name was announced by the lottery commission.

Have a great Sunday readers.

Fire Burns Hot

When 008 walked into the party, more than just female heads turned to look at his handsome face. His broad shoulders and narrow hips were accented by the white dinner jacket and dark trousers. He was tall and had dark wavy hair. A pale scar accentuated his jaw line. He walked over to the bar and leaned next to his target, Viktor Kamchovski. The plump Russian was the chief financier of SMERSH. 008 stared Kamchovski in the eyes and introduced himself, "Bend, John Bend". The bartender wandered over and Bend pointed a strong finger at Kamchovski's glass. "I'll have what he is drinking...shaken, not stirred".

The bartender looked confused for a moment and gave a slight shrug as he poured champagne into a glass and set it along with a bowl of pretzels next to Bend. 008 grabbed a handful of the thin pretzel sticks and leaned nonchalantly on the bar. A beautiful woman in a very low cut dress was walking towards him. Bend tossed a pretzel into his mouth with cool athletic grace.

The pretzel stuck sideways in the back of his throat. Bend started making hacking and small retching sounds. Viktor Kamchovski turned and stared. Bend was thrashing his tongue in a frantic effort to dislodge the pretzel. His mouth was opening and closing like a fish on a river bank. Bend stuck a finger down his throat and finally broke the pretzel. He also dislodged and broke open the tiny cyanide capsule cemented behind his molar.

He fell to the floor, writhing in agony. Kamchovski leaned over the gasping agent and tore open Bend's immaculate dinner jacket and tie. "Do...you...expect...me...to...talk" John Bend struggled to whisper the words.

"No", intoned the Russian. "I expect you to die". He stated as Bend's face turned purple. " Unless the paramedics get here very soon". Kamchovski started chest compressions, but it was too late; 008 was dead.

blame game

Suing WalMart over selling bullets used by a murdering thug is akin to selling the local car dealer or GM when a criminal uses the car for a hit and run.

Is there no concept of personal responsibility left in this country?

A murdering piece of shit pulled the trigger and killed three innocent people.  No one else is responsible for his actions. Not WalMart, not the gun, not the schools, or lack of hugs from his mommy. Find him guilty and execute him. EOS.

I wish I was judge for a day. I would castigate castrate the scum-sucking lawyers that bring these kind of ridiculous lawsuits. Shakespeare was right.

In old Vincennes

It is a rainy Friday here at the old homestead. I'm not complaining, it should be snow at this time of year. All hail Global Warming! One does not have to shovel rain.

As far as I know we have no plans for the weekend. I got the last boxes of Christmas stuff poked back up in the attic yesterday afternoon when I got home, so I can once again park in the garage. I started moving my tools into the toolbox my wife gifted me for Christmas. It is much larger and far nicer than my old one. Maybe now I can get all of my tools in one tool box as opposed to storing them in various places all over the garage.

What say we enjoy some classic Beatles music today?

Here is a Buddy Rich cover of the same:

Reason #19 you wish you were me

There is snow on the ground on the west coast of Michigan. Thee is some in northern Indiana too. The roads are clear. Travel this week has been a major pain. It seems some nefarious character skimmed my company credit card numbers and tried to run up charges.  The bank caught it, but now I have to get my card replaced. Since I was on the road, the bank put a hold on the card until I get home. I have to call them before I charge anything and they open the account for just long enough for my charge to go through. What a pain. Not the bank, the asshole criminals are to blame. My road trip for next week looks to be cancelled or curtailed until a replacement card arrives. I suspect I can survive without a Hampton Inn breakfast.

And they are off...

I am once again heading off to do my Willie Loman thing. New customers await in my new expanded territories. You gotta love a gig that sends you northward in January. But I complain for no valid reason. I'm ready to get back on the road. I have a couple of fresh audiobooks loaded and the new David Gilmore CD from my oldest son ready to help occupy the windshield time. I get to visit some new places I have never been, so that is exciting.

A strange day in Colts land yesterday. We started the day expecting the coach to be fired. Instead he was re-upped for another four year hitch. Boy, do most of the sports pundits look a little stupid this morning.

I need to accomplish the three 'S's and pack. That is not getting done while I prattle on. Have a good Tuesday.

Politically speaking

Numerous reports indicate King Obama is going to pass decrees in the form of Executive Orders to implement gun restrictions that cannot pass Congress. I guess he missed that part of civics class that explains how a representative democracy should function. In any democracy the minority view gets its say and the majority gets its way. More specifically, Congress makes law while the Executive branch carries them out. But since Boehner and the Republicans let Obama get away with his personal lawmaking previously, there is no reason for Obama to think he cannot do just as he pleases when it comes to implementing his own gun control laws.

I say go ahead. I'm not even going to argue the efficacy of the measures nor even the legality. Viewed through a purely political lens, Obama's proposed EOs show the depths of his narcissism. He has put every Democrat in the position of agreeing with his policies or repudiating the head of the party. Gun control is not popular and outside of the bluest parts of the big cities a sure way to sour the enthusiasm of millions of blue collar Democrats. Think I'm wrong? Ask Al Gore. I can think of no reason Obama is doing this in the heat of an election year unless he does not give a hoot about his party, just his so-called legacy.

Historians look back at FDRs attempt to stack the bench of the Supreme Court with extra justices as a lawless gesture. I can only hope the Roberts Court can grow some balls and look at the President's attempts to gain power in the same light.

Happy New Year

It is a brand new year, but I must say it feels a heck of a lot like the old one. I slept in today, thus I'm late getting a post up on the old blog. Both of you probably found something worthwhile to do while you waited for me to pen brilliance like this.

Hey Teacher* asked me to post something good for the Friday music selection. I briefly considered New Years Day by U2. But rejected that idea because, well it is by U2. I thought about the Stone's Start Me Up, since it is the start of a new year, but I was not feeling it. I could post any of countless songs about waking drunk and hungover. Some Johnny Cash certainly comes to mind. I am either drunk nor hungover this morning so I can't get excited about drinking songs.

I'm going with none of those ideas. I'm going with a classic rock take on a classic. I have posted this before, and it seems like the perfect mix of mellow and progressive rock to start the new year right:

Have a great day

* belated best wishes for the happiest of birthdays

Last Post

It is New Year's Eve. I can only say good riddance to 2015. While not the worst year of my life, the past 364 days certainly, as a collection, were not among my happiest. We did a cruise in the western Caribbean. The Cubs made a run toward history, only to fall short. We are relatively healthy. There is certainly plenty for which to give thanks to the Good Lord. The negative? Well, I am not going to dwell on it. Besides, who wants to read about someone else's problems? You have your own. I hope 2016 brings happiness and prosperity to us all. 

In 2016 we will still have the same knuckleheads running the country in Washington. More of the same will be vying for the chance to try and tell us what to do. The Colts will be done for the season on Sunday. Despite my best hopes, I'm pretty sure the Cubs will find a way to break my heart. 2016 will bring cold and snow and heat and rain. We will see stunning sunsets and rainbows in the afternoon. We will have have birthdays and anniversaries. This may very well be my last post for this year, but I will be here to document the new year from my perspective. 

Be safe out there tonight. Best wishes for a happy 2016.

Cubbyholes

One of my strengths has always been my ability to deal with multiple tasks. I am usually reading several books at once. I can have layers of paper on  my desk, juggling several customers, quotes, and issues without problem. I can deal with bills or personal problems with all the other stuff going on in the background, devoting attention at the proper time to each topic. I suspect most of you multitask as well with varying success.

Lately, I find myself stressed more. My well-constructed compartmental walls have sprung leaks; worries from work pop into my head at night and personal issues intrude on work. My former single-minded focus made me very good at dealing with multiple issues while keeping my stress levels low. People have always marveled at my ability to solve problems and "get things fixed". I still can solve problems and smooth troubled waters, but my stress over the complex is a new thing for me.

I used to have an Alfred E, Newman "What, me worry?" attitude. I solve problem 'A' then move on to problem 'B' in its time. Now I worry about issues A through Z, then worry that I'm worrying too much. WTH? Is this a by-product of an older, weaker mind or are my problems just bigger and more complex?

I need the on/off switch in my brain replaced.

Welp

I need to put up three posts, including this one, to reach 400 for the year. That will be my lowest total since we started in March 2005 and well short of the 540+ I dropped in 2006 at the height of the blogging craze. Now, I'm a sad old man plugging away at a blog in a Facebook world.

I can live with that.

Who did write the book of love?

The wife and I got a flu shot yesterday. My arm is sore today. That has never happened before. I have a bruise, I think she hit a vein because the puncture bled a bit.

Normal temperatures have settled in after several days of hard rain. It is still pretty windy, but at least there is no snow.

Otherwise, I have nothing.

Have a good Tuesday.

Malicious Musings

Ben Franklin has been perverted around here. It seems I am on an "late to bed, early to rise" schedule these days. That means I want a nap mid-afternoon. I suspect my bosses would not approve. I shall endeavor to soldier on.

After a week of snacking and over-eating I plan to get back to more sensible eating today. The pile of containers with Christmas goodies the wife made keeps calling me though. I confined myself to coffee and 1/2 of a two day old jelly donut for breakfast. I know, not exactly what the nutritionist ordered, but these days I am more about quantity, not quality. I guess my diet is just like my blog.

I'm preparing this entry on the old laptop this morning as opposed to the iPad. Since auto-correct helps out with punctuation and spelling, there may be even more errors than usual. Both programs try to correct my multiple spelling miscues.

After a great long holiday weekend I am back to work today. Experience tells me I will make numerous phone calls and send a bunch of emails all of which will go unanswered in my attempt to set up appointments for next week. Thanksgiving to mid-January are always slow times for those of us who labor in industrial sales.

Life is good my friends, another short work week is on front of us. I am alive and breathing and the good Lord has blessed me with another day. That is enough.

Head 'em up, round 'em up

Good morning blog world. I'm glad it is Saturday, I'm going to need a couple of days to recover from the Christmas festivities. Two days of eating, presents, and family have left me content and happy and worn out. As usual, the wife went overboard, but it is only money.

We did two family Christmases on Thursday. We went to my Mom's in the afternoon and to my wife's family in the evening. Christmas Day we went to my daughter's for the immediate family gathering. She prepared a feast. The granddaughter was inundated with presents. Her favorite was the $5 Mickey Mouse microphone that flashes and plays the Hot Dog dance song, gifted by yours truly.

I went and got some fresh donuts for breakfast. Life is good and my usual post-holiday blues remain at bay. I hope your holiday was as fun and joyous as mine.

Have a great Saturday.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to you and your families

The Reason for the Season

Gettin' Warmed Up

Dear Mother Nature

What the heck? I think you may have turned to the wrong page on the calendar. Perhaps Father Time was looking at your date book while watching porn and some of the pages got ..ummm, stuck together? It is December twenty-third, not April twenty-third. The weather man is calling for temperatures in the mid-sixties and rain and thunderstorms. There is even a chance for tornadoes. The only twisters I expect for December are found in the annual showing of The Wizard of Oz on cable TV. My neighborhood was struck by a small tornado a week or two prior to Thanksgiving a couple of decades ago, but this kind of weather in December is crazy. what happened to let it snow, let it snow, let it snow?

I passed the wife on the stairs this morning. I was getting up, she heading to bed after a night of wrapping presents. She said she wants to bake cookies and make fudge and candy this afternoon and evening so she wanted to get the wrapping done. She didn't start until well after midnight. She is a grown up, she can make her own bedtime rules.

I have plans to meet a buddy down at the smoke shop this afternoon for a nice cigar. Don't tell the boss, but I'm knocking off early today. I have had to travel on Sunday a couple of times in the past few months, so I think It will be fine. No customer wants to hear from me today anyway.

I hope you have your shopping done and are ready for Christmas (those of you who celebrate). If you don't, enjoy your days off courtesy of those who do!  I have the very few gifts I bought the wife to wrap and I promised her I would vacuum the house as my only tasks for the day. I think I'll check work emails, grab some fresh coffee and go meet Judy in St Louis.

Have a great day.