Three things

1. Why any Jew votes Democrat defies all logic

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

3. Here is today's Friday music:


Listen. Enjoy.

Happy Spring

What's up, Doc?

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

More later. Maybe.

Baseball and Buddy

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

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

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

there he is

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

Likewise Cinco de Mayo is just May 5th

Sorry get your fake Irish elsewhere

holy water and pecan pie

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

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

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

Beware

Et ti?

Not the math kind

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

Thirteen reasons

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

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



Have a great day.

Slice of life

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

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

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

At the moment

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

Words

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

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

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

1836

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

If I was ambitious

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

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

Dude

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

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

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

Have a great day, Amigos.

You know me

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

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

Dear Republicans

fuck you. I'm done

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

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

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

Choices, chance, cheap

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

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

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

Fool me once, fool me 26 times

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

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

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

Eight hard inches, Baby

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

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

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

Head up the old rectum

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

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

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

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

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