COLOR ME.... (July 28/182)

 

ITS A GREEN GREEN WORLD I have declared war on weeds. Well mostly I am past the point of pulling the evil green monsters who thrive on apparently no water at all. Why aren't they prettier then? If I'm forced to cultivate them, they should at least do their part by acquiring some fancier clothes and getting rid of the spikey things that make pulling them out such a nasty task. As I pull, they stubbornly cling to their underground plumbing (you can actually hear them grunting) leaving their root system entirely intact as I hopelessly cling to the superfluous top (the spikey part). 

My lawn care people like lawns but not so much landscaping. My landscaper did the bare minimum and left me holding the bag with a couple of iffy bushes and way too little mulch. Looked good for about an hour and a half.  Tried to recruit the grandson, but that was a no go. I just can't bend and stretch and reach for the stars like I use to. 

A gardener for the weed debacle and agriculturist for the decorative part? What a racket. Reviews mean nothing. Always surprising that these folks don't hustle after the middle-class folks. We are usually easier to please and pay as required. Instead, they haplessly pursue the rich thinking bigger payouts. Except, they are much pickier and are genius at finding ways to stiff you on parts or all of the bill. Maybe I should interview prospective employees in a ball gown and tiara. My ability to pay as contracted will be a nice surprise. No one ever comes to your door touting landscaping like the construction and window people. "I'm working down the street, and I noticed your landscaping looks like it was attacked by both a volcanic eruption and a plethora of beavers. That spiel I would listen to. 

ORANGE LAND Gotta love marmie touting the Japanese tariff deal. We buy a hell of a lot more from them than they buy from us so yay for Japan. The little bitty problem though is that makes Japanese made cars 10% less than those made in Canada and Mexico due to their sweetheart deal. Yep, that'll get GM to build more factories in the US. Oops, they already lost 1.1 billion last quarter due to those silly little add-ons. 

And yes Virginia, I totally believe a convicted felon facing a long sentence will absolutely tell the truth with a possible pardon on the table if I tell the "right" truth. Hopefully she faces a better fate than her partner in crime who was murd, committed sui, ok died in prison. Just odd that the only one serving time is one woman. Can't have a crime ring without the ring so to speak. 

THE COLOR OF CHOCOLATE Does anyone but me have laundry cookies? Ok, one of my secret obsessions is GS cookies. I wait anxiously starting at the first of the year for the magic time when "Cookies Ahoy" is proclaimed. I will stake out likely retail spots to finally get my fix. As the young ladies are practicing their entrepreneur skills, the transactions are sometimes protracted and painful.  Yelling give me cookies and throwing 20-dollar bills at them just freaks them out. Anyway, all varieties freeze so I keep my hoard in the downstairs freezer. SOOO, while I'm waiting for my magic laundry pack to dissolve; they say just toss in the pack and then the clothes but I'm leery of mixing mediums until the packet totally disappears before throwing in the clothes. DIGRESS:  where does the plastic on the pack go? The same place as the mismatched socks no doubt, clogging my plumbing. So anyway, a frozen thin mint or two seems the perfect timing for the laundry pack to dissolve.  In many cases, the cookies never make it to the kitchen. They just slowly disappear. The OH never asks their fate. I bring up his favorite kind now and then to show I'm playing aboveboard. 

BLACK IS BLACK Considering all the famous deaths this past week and much conjecture/dreaming by so many on whose obit they really would like to see next (talks of a 3-day party were tossed about) I feel compelled to riff off one of Mark Twain's quotes. "Live so people won't take great pleasure in seeing your obituary."  Prayers for TC and all fallen music icons, peace out.......💚   💙💛

                                                                              

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC (July 21/183)

IN THE NEWS Again, we are in soap opera territory which may be where little stevie m gets all his plot lines. He should go into movie scripting for the outlandish scenarios he creates which also emphasize cruelty as the main feature. Kind of like Victor Newman on the Young and Useless. The fact that S&M can't keep his cool in interviews is just demented which again reminds me of the 3rd Reich fanatics. After making a spectacle of himself with the Chelsea FIFA winners and taking their trophy,  marmie is threatening the Washington Commanders he won't agree to their new stadium if they don't change their name back to the Redskins. WTF? Aren't there more pressing matters to stick your stubby little fingers into? But one must show their hatred of all diversity and sensitivity in a very public way. 

Every week another scandal or distraction as they frantically try to cover up their oopsie on the epstein debacle. They (whoever they are) talk about government waste as multiple sources and former employees reveal that over 1000 people from enforcement agencies are working through the "epstein files" to flag any mention of our glorious leader. But since you can't muzzle him, herr marmie calls his stalwart supporters stupid and weak. Guess he doesn't need them anymore since he's thrown in with the rich and powerful - surprise! 

The dems are pussy cats against this mob. marmie is now openly ordering texicoland to redraw their districts to assure at least five more congressional seats turn red. Please blue boys, could you lob a few shots their way? I know it's hard to pick from all that low-hanging fruit. Since they keep calling you evil prove them right and scream, post, bribe news outlets with the truth. Kind of like when Adam Schiff looked right into the camera on the Late Show and said "Don - Piss off and show us the Epstein files". It was a glorious moment. 

Here's a thought. Since CBS/Parmount shot themselves in the foot with the Colbert thing I think Stephen should run for Miss Lindsey's seat in SC. It is up for grabs.... intelligence and humor would be a welcome addition to the moribund Senate.

LIFE AT THE LAKE Anticipating a demand from our family party, the pontoon-a-lette made it to the lake last week. Our neighbor was so happy to help us launch; his first such foray since his heart surgery. I draw the line at dropping the boat with visions of crashing the dock or sinking the truck so thrilled our neighbor was up to the task. Then, of course, the weather kept threatening all day though actually it didn't rain, boom or hail until everybody left so we never took the cover off. 

The boy had a few days of fishing and actually carried on through the rain. After catching two respectable blue gills he almost landed the bass of his dreams. Just as it got to the dock it snapped the line. Undeterred, JP spent the next FOUR hours casting for that rascal. Fish 1, JP -0. He vows the battle is not over. 

With the S-I-L as DJ, we held family karaoke afternoon belting out such classics as Sweet Caroline, Living on a Prayer and for the truly old souls Flower Girl. Then it was a contest of who could think of the most obscure artist or song. I famously mixed-up Jim Croce and Joe Cocker. With a little help from our booze (get the reference? heh heh) not surprising. I chose to polish off some left-over wine, switched to beer and then tried a cider-based concoction that was truly gag worthy. Though to be fair, I never rinsed my glass in between. 

We can never figure out why we are always so exhausted when we get back home from relaxing at the lake.

PODTIME Supposed to be recording this week with an update on lithium-ion batteries, but my interviewee has been promising the discussion points since the first of June. I either cancel the darn thing or fake it through an interview, but my expertise on this topic is not current or extensive. One question I thought of "with the de-emphasis and cancellation of renewable energy project how does that impact further development in the ion battery world?" I am mildly panicking. At least I have another program in the books for August, so we have time.  At any rate I have to put some kind of script together in case we can pull this off. Peace out or my new mantra "piss off Don"........💚   💙💛

               

QUACKERS (July 14/184)

What looks like a duck, walks like a duck, talks like a duck, etc. A Jeffrey Epstein client list! I know nothing makes any sense these days. Just kind of confused that everyone says he did what he did, with others, but no one is in jail except one lady.

ROAD KILLS The ever-increasing amount of traffic; the level of driver expertise and hurry-up society has created much accident potential. However, when one is tooling down an empty country two-laner at a comfortable 50 mph and noting the walker up ahead in plenty of time when whammo! At least it might have been. As we were passing a dirt side street feeding said two-laner this van pulls out right into us which fortunately the OH's reflexes were on point, and we were able to zig out of her way and zag back the other way to miss the walker. A perfect T-bone situation averted. Though how the hell would one be that blind/distracted turning left onto a road with someone right in front of her. Her fender and headlight were visible in our lane. A guy mowing his lawn up ahead looked a bit flabbergasted when we passed him as he was looking intently down the road towards the walker and near miss lady. 

 The near-miss then led me to grip the door handle throughout the rest of the trip every time another bonehead misjudged our speed and pulled out.  It is a well-known fact that a passenger gripping a door handle will mitigate crash potential. Screaming has been debunked. My father taught me that when he lost traction one snowy night and started sliding. He yelled something as I frantically gripped the door handle, of course. I later asked what last words he was trying to convey. It was "Shut up Sheila" apparently. Like I'm really not one to judge. 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT Only now is marmie realizing puttykin has been playing him for a dodo for 10 years. Even the slowest of us got that one right years ago, like right after WWII. 

Like many states, Florida exempts taxes for school clothing in September up to $100. Very nice but cheap. However, in a move for fairness they have also decided to forego all taxes September to December for any and all weapons and accessories-no limit. Guns over kids....again. Hopefully they teach the now armed kids how to shoot straight. 

Why do the righties (even the ones that went to Harvard) actually fear the educated? Because the more education you have, the more empathetic you become as you are exposed to other perspectives, other people and the rest of the world. Of course, college makes you more liberal/accepting duh. Though I suppose it is easier to stay in your own little world niche and hate/fear whatever is different or who your masters tell you to hate. 

Also am I the only one who is exhausted hearing multiple media reports every time marmie farts? The best part of the Biden regime was I could forget about him for days....

HEALTHY WORKERS As I was in the midst of a coughing attack (allergy) I was reminded of the health tests I had to administer for certain employees exposed to nasty stuff. Hearing and respiratory were a given in our very noisy dusty environment but the real kicker was the spit test (sputum) tests for asbestos workers. They had to hack (technical term) a chunk from deep in their lungs. Not an easy task unless you're a smoker as that's just part of their everyday life. Which is ironic when you realize a smoker working in asbestos has just upped their lung cancer chances about 10-fold. I used to bundle the boys up in Tyvek suits, respirators and fiber counting monitors to track their exposure. On break they would immediately strip down (partially) and light up. Yeah, I know. 

The po-po on the other hand were concerned about lead exposure in the outdoor gun range 😐. Then once AIDS/HIV raised its ugly head it was blood tests for all the public safety workers all the time. Paramedics were partial to TB testing while Parks folks were concerned about the silica carcinogen warning labels on the sandbox sand they were pouring on the playground. It was a tightrope dance for me between practical safety and actual danger. 

BOAT TIME After going back and forth and navigating multiple doctor appts, company is starting to come and our neighbor is able to help so we are finally putting the pontoon in the water! Our last couple of visits have been a "battening down the hatches" type with Consumers threatening to curtail power to our multiple freezers/frigs. They finally came through so to speak with a planned power outage last Saturday. Fortunately, the weather cooperated, and I had cooled down the house sufficiently to get through the night as our generator runs everything but the AC. Enough of that shat. Family party Saturday so officially open for the summer. 

FINAL STANCE My political beliefs boil down to "I care about people and the planet" and boy does that piss folks off! Mission accomplished. Peace out....💚   💙💛

                                                  

TG FOR AC! (July 7/185)

                                                                                                       

SPARKLES! More fun with flags. We made quite a colorful caravan in the 4th of July parade through beautiful downtown Kentwood. Our gang was fired up (even in 90% humidity) and decorating anything that moved. The opposition had their decorated truck which did not match well with their glum little faces. Even a friendly wave was not returned. Wonder how they interacted with the crowd. Disdain for the little people is not usually a winning election strategy. Except for Congress apparently.  

Seemed appropriate that one of our candidate's handouts were gay little sparklers paying homage not only to her name but also serving as a reflection on her positive and enthusiastic personality. The kids have this down. They sported all manner of containers to accept any flying trinkets or candy that came their way. I was intrigued by the number of push-up pops appearing throughout the parade route. Later identified as being doled out by the Knights of Columbus dudes. Dressed in suits, top hats and ribbons. they must have been wearing cooling vests under their clothes as the rest of us were basically puddles within minutes.  As the pops were primarily green, I am imagining a tense conversation on what would be the appropriate color from the Romans (I am one). Blue would stain; orange is flashy and red would have a possibly unacceptable context to the body and blood so to speak. Green appears non-partisan. The kids didn't give a rip and neither did the older fans who slurped right along with them.

I'm thinking music would be a cool addition, and possibly super soakers (I mean it was hot) but I suppose we would be subject to retaliation from the crowd which the walkers probably would have appreciated. I especially enjoyed two of our young ladies who actually roller-skated throughout the parade route.  Maybe a few years ago....Hah. Who am I kidding? 

BUSINESS AS USUAL Welcome to America's second Regency period. Power to the rich as we fight over the last piece of pie they left behind. If cutting medical care and food is so good and popular, why are they waiting until after the mid-terms to put these rules in place? Shouldn't we start saving all that cash now?  The pittance we get on our taxes (the poorest folks) will not pay for the extra costs of everything else. Ah well. Rural hospitals are already closing in anticipation. You can't increase the population while eliminating health care and vaccinations. Oddly enough measles is back after declaring it eradicated in 2000 so welcome to the 1800's.

Horrible tragedy in Texas over the 4th though to be fair, no one could have predicted that much rain that quickly, though they are lacking specialized weather disaster folks there. Unfortunately, just as weather is becoming more chaotic and unpredictable, the administration is shutting down all weather research labs and university-based predictive science and weather technology projects. Some areas of the country are eliminating 24-hour weather service due to low staffing levels as so many federal weather folks had no option but "forced" buyouts. In other news, what is the opposite of education, research and science? A fool running for Congress in Georgia tweets that the Texas tragedy is a fake but people causing weather manipulation should be charged with a felony/murder. Drought stricken and hurricane prone areas would love to find that particular wizard.  

Cutting it short this week as my thoughts keeps getting overwhelmed by the stupid and/or cruel things done in the name of the king this week. Who knew you could build a concentration camp in eight days? Also, the house cleaner's coming early tomorrow, and I have to straighten up. Peace out...💚 💙💛