Archive for the ‘Education’ Category
I haven’ t posted anything since the start of the year and I’m feeling a little guilty. Having a blog is like having an ungratful child. It’s a lot of work for which I receive virtually no gratitude. I especially miss the less than friendly emails received from my more liberal readers. My life has been empty without their caustic comments and endless political preaching. I’ve relegated them to a dustly shelf in my mancave where everything that bores me is stored.
Enough of that . . . On to other matters concerning my newest and least satisfying addiction. I’ve known for sometime that I have an addictive personality. As a very young man I had a tremendous taste for beer. It got me into some trouble in my teens and I had to finally let it go. No more of that nasty brew. Then in my twenties I turned my attention to cigarettes and the occasion toke of giggle weed. Both of which hung on until my thirites when I saw the light and quit smoking everything. No more happiness weed and no more cigarettes. I got healthy, hit the gym, and finally (according to my mother) turned myself into a beautiful and productive person.
As the years rolled along I ended my addiction to marriage and lived a rather raucous and crazy few years filled with wine women and song. Yes I’d finally discovered a taste for wine and women but no matter what I did I couldn’t carry a tune. As is usual the combination of wine and women got me into considerable trouble as well. I finally met, fell in love, and settled down with the love-of-my-life, stopped drinking wine and turned instead to brandy.
The next to go was the damn brandy. While I enjoyed the brandy drinking experience it was rather boring and I had to stop. I hate spending that kind of money on alcohol that tastes great but I get no glow. No glow means you got to go and it did. So currently I’ve reduced my addictions to just three. My woman is here to stay, thats #1, and thank god for a continuous supply of Jack Daniels (thats #2). I’ve limited myself to just two or three Jack & Pepsi’s a week (and maybe a few more if we have visitors). Things seem to be working out perfectly almost . . .
My last remaining addiction is without a doubt the worst. I’ve rid myself of a major television addiction 2 years ago when I could no longer stand watching 10 minutes of commercials every half hour. I told Dish Network to cancel my account and signed up immediately with Netflix and Amazon for streaming service. Unfortuneately streaming is a double-edged sword. Being generous I estimate that both streaming services are 80% crap and only 20% of their movies are worth watching unless you want to pay a fee. My newest and worst addiction is to this endless supply of terrible, crappy, and ridiculous movies.
SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME
I’m in dire need of some sort of 12 step program to get me away from this TV. My greatest fear these days is that my better-half will find me alone in the dark, slumped over in my favorite chair, clutching the remote. Dead from dehydration, boredom, and felony eye-slaughter.
It’s been a number of months since I last visited my blog and I’m not entirely sure why. I suppose it’a mixture of laziness, apathy, and the holiday season that’s approaching. I’ve been wanting to write but I don’t want it to be more of the same crap you’re hearing and seeing in other media. The “Trump is the devil.” nonsense is wearing really thin except for a few braindead liberals and diehard Democrats.
There’s a time and place for everything but the last thing we need is the steady media drumbeat of negativety during the holidays. I’d much rather enjoy the season with my family than listening to an incredibly biased media laying hours and hours of propaganda and fake news on me. Life is just too goddamn short.
We’ve had out first two snow falls for 2017 and the snowblower came through as expected. I’m going to try very hard not to do the normal fall-on-my-ass routine that seems to occur every year. I’ll be staying in the house as much as possible, I’ll keep nice and warm, and have a drink or two to calm my nerves. Before I know it Spring will be here once again.
So Merry Christmas to family and friends and anyone bored enough to read this blog.
I’ve also been giving some serious thought to my New Year’s resolutions for 2018. I’ll do a quick review of 2017 just after Christmas and then post 2018’s early in January.
Stay healthy . . . Stay warm . . . Kiss the kids and grandkids . . . Hug your pets.
We (Trump supporters) should all be breathing a huge sigh of relief today. Trump’s favorables are up to 49% and he’s on the verge of breaking out from all of the negative BS the left and the media has been heaping on him.
Maybe some of the naysayers are finally beginning to get what Trump is all about. A successful businessman who knows how to present a deal to others who disagree with him and find a way to make it work. It took him a few months to discover that that same strategy will even work with politicians, especially the current minority party.
The reason I became a Trump supporter initially was that he was owned by no party or group. He can’t be influenced by the party elites or PAC money. That places him directly between the two outdated and useless parties who can’t agree on anything. Gridlock can only be addressed if there’s a President in office willing to make deals on either side of the aisle. After Trump’s move toward the Democrats this week the Republicans have almost peed in their political panties. Now the game can begin in earnest for Trump. Let the American voters of both parties see their own affiliations for what there are . . . Obstructionists.
Tax cuts are the main focus now and are crucial to the continuing health of our economy. If necessary Trump should make the best deal possible with any devil who steps forward to help. This is the first warning shot over the bow of the Republican ship- of-state and lets them know they are close to losing a lot more than a few political battles. The voting public of both parties are now seeing Trump as the ultimate deal maker trying to do the right thing but being kicked around by two groups of partisan political hacks. There’s only one winner that I can see coming out of this mess and that’s the President.
I know Trump is a lot smarter than most of the politicians he’s dealing with and that’s a good thing for the country. It’s always a huge mistake to underestimate any opponent but these politicians seem to be just begging for a nasty political bloody nose and I’m sure the president will oblige.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK GRANDPA
Well it’s been almost nine months since my last posting and it’s time to give birth or rebirth to this blog. Over the years I’ve posted hundreds of times on politics and politicians but never felt confident that anyone reading them gave a damn. I guess I was somewhat mistaken since Donald Trump found a way to pull a magical rabbit out of his hat. I think he jumped out of the frying pan directly into the media and liberal bonfire. Good luck to you Mr. President you’re going to need it. Also here’s a tip for you that I learned many years ago, “Keep low and keep moving.” It’s hard for anyone (even the Media) to hit a moving target.
During my time off I also turned 70 years of age which practically blew my mind. I never expected to live this long and I intend to make the most of my remaining time bitching and moaning about anything and everything that irritates or annoys me. I shouldn’t have any problems finding things to write about because right now in 2017 this is what the military would call, “a target rich environment”.
In the past I wrote endlessly about my better-half, my grandchildren, and my every day life. Going forward I may still mention them occasionally but the content of this blog will be changing. For years I posted once or twice a day, then I reduced that to just a daily entry but beginning today I’ll post when I have something to say. If that’s twice a day or twice a week, so be it.
So thanks to my followers for sticking around for the last nine months waiting for me to return. I hope you’ll find this blog even more interesting as we move forward.
I’ve always been a lover of Nature and almost anything related to it. As a photographer I spend as much time as I can out-and-about communing with Mother Nature. I come by it honestly because as a kid growing up I spent more than half of my time in the woods with my friends. We lived on the edge of huge state park directly adjacent to the Allegheny River and knew every inch of the place. My father, a hunter, spent a lot of time explaining about local wildlife and how they lived and traveled in the wild. It was just a very cool place to grow up.
So I thought I’d share a few interesting factoids about Nature with you. Here they are.
- Every year the world’s deserts produce 1.7 billion tons of dust.
- Nature reserves and national park cover 3% of the worlds surface.
- Over 99.9% of the land on earth is not occupied by a person at a given time.
- A tenth of the world’s population relies on the Ganges for water.
- It takes one hundred years for the deep-sea clam to grow to the length of a third of an inch.
- Nearly half of the carbon dioxide emitted by humans since the beginning of the nineteenth century has been absorbed by the oceans.
- An estimated 30% of Earth’s ice-free land is directly or indirectly involved in livestock production.
- Since the formation of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago, the sun has become 25-30% hotter.
- More than 90% of the world’s rubies come from Burma (or whatever they’re calling it these days).
- Lake Baikal in Russia contains about 20% of the world’s fresh water.
That’s it for today. It’s time to turn off this computer and get to work in the yard. Winter’s coming and the garden has to be deconstructed.
ENJOY YOUR DAY OF REST
Another week coming to an end and we’re already halfway through the month of September. The summer of 2016 went by in the wink of an eye and the holidays are again rushing towards us. I wonder to myself which retailer will strike the Christmas colors first. I suspect that as in years past Walmart will be the one to get things rolling 15 minutes after the Halloween holiday is over. That in itself is supremely depressing but it seems to get earlier and earlier every year regardless of how much we complain.
Yesterday I received this list of companies that have already made it known that Black Friday will begin for them by being open for business on Thanksgiving Day. I guess that’s the new approach to companies who put their employees families second on their list of priorities. That seems to be the ongoing retail way of thinking these days and unfortunately I can bitch about it all I want but no one in the retail establishment gives a damn what I think or what you think. Look at the upside . . . you’ll have a great place to spend your holiday if you get sick of eating Thanksgiving dinner, spending time with your family, or God forbid actually relaxing and enjoying the day. The almighty buck rules all. Make sure to thank these folks:
J.C. Penny
Kohl’s
Toy’s r Us
Target
Walmart
Sears
Macy’s
Belk
Sports Authority
h.h. greg
Dollar General
Best Buy
While I write this posting I have a Christmas wish that will never be fulfilled. I wish that the population of the millions of so-called consumers in this country would pull their collective heads out of the sand and stop allowing retailers to continue to think that the “great unwashed” are that easily controlled. It’s a lazy population that lets celebrities, the media, politicians, and big business tell them how to think, act, what to buy, and how to be politically correct at all times.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO US ALL
You usually get what you deserve.
Since our return from our vacation things have quickly returned to the normal everyday insanity. Over the years I’ve discovered that Mother Nature is a fickle friend at best and she got me again this week. We were still enjoying the post vacation afterglow as we visited a nearby Walmart. It was sunny and bright with a chance of thunderstorms. As we exited the store it was pouring rain with wind gusts of 30-40 mph. We didn’t give it much thought until we heard on the radio about the severe wind advisory throughout the area.
We arrived home to find the huge 60 foot maple tree in our backyard down for the count. It had missed hitting the house by only a few feet. It was a double trunked tree with one trunk now on the ground and the other still standing but leaning dangerously close to the house. It was badly damaged as well and looked as if it might fall at any moment.
The trunk that was down was partially blocking a nearby road used by our neighbors to reach their homes. One of those neighbors arrived within minutes with a chain saw and agreed to take the wood in payment for cleaning up the mess. Hooray . . Right? Not hardly. After doing an inspection of the standing trunk it was obvious that it too had to be immediately removed before it fell and caused serious damage to the house.
The better-half found a guy through someone at work who is a tree removal expert. Having no real choice in the matter he arrived to inspect the tree and I agreed to his price (OMFG) and told him to proceed. So yesterday I got to spend my entire day removing limbs and leaves and watching the tree get dismantled.
It’s now the day after and the tree is gone, I’m sore all over, and the house was saved from serious damage. Nothing can save the damage the entire experience did to my wallet. Thanks a lot Mother Nature . . . you nasty old hag.
After the last of the limbs and leaves were picked up and removed I took a shower and arrived for my dentist appointment right on time. The day just kept getting better and better as two of my teeth were extracted. I was packed with gauze, patted on the head, and sent on my way.
THREE DAYS I REALLY WANT TO FORGET
Our vacation began to wind down a little as we entered our fourth day in NO. We decided to spend the final day and a half just roaming around the French Quarter and shopping, people watching, drinking, and eating. It was a dirty job but someone had to do it.
My first suggestion to my better-half was a required visit to a NO must-see, Pat O’Brien’s Bar. During my first visit to NO many many years ago I was taken first to Bourbon Street and then directly to Pat O’Brien’s Bar. I loved the place so much I couldn’t wait to introduce it to my better-half.
It’s a nondescript hole-in-the-wall or so you think at first glance. You walk through the entry way into a dark tunnel with a barroom on either side. That leads directly into the terrace filled with tropical plants and tables for patrons.
Directly in the middle is a fountain that is somewhat famous. During the day it doesn’t look like much but at night it’s on fire.
It was difficult trying to capture the rising flames in a photo. This was my best attempt.
We took a seat in the bar and ordered dinner. Since O’Brien’s is the actual home of the famous Hurricane cocktail we ordered two. They were huge as was expected and strong enough to give you a glow after drinking only one.
My entrée was something I’d been waiting for for years. This is something the locals call “crawfish etouffee” and believe me it was the best I’ve ever had. It was hot and spicy and effing delicious.
It was a fun night spent people watching and just enjoying the atmosphere of the French Quarter. Vibrant, crowded, and as much fun as any person could handle. We retired to our hotel and the secluded pool to cool down a little before bed. Another terrific day in the Big Easy.
WE’RE REALLY GONNA MISS THIS PLACE.
Our fourth day in NO took us to one of the most interesting places I’ve ever been. I’ve always been a big fan of graveyards but this one was the ultimate. It’s called St. Louis #1, the oldest cemetery in the city. Some residents have been there since the late 1700’s. The temperature was 95 degrees but once we got inside the cemetery it rose to just over 100 degrees.
Since all bodies are buried above ground in NO the cemetery is just concrete walkways and white tombs. The heat actually accelerates the decomposition which is important I suppose. The cemetery isn’t open to the public any longer but I’m sure the Catholic Church is getting their taste from all of the tour groups visiting every day.
To add to the solemnness of the visit we happened upon what has become a common occurrence these days. A Hollywood celebrity showing up to spend 60,000 dollars to build an eight foot tall white pyramid right in the middle of all this history. Who else would it be but that way-out-there celebrity . . Nicolas Cage. Only one word comes to mind and that is A-Hole.
I think I lost five pounds of water weight in the hour and a half we spent roaming around the place. Our tour guide was an encyclopedia of history of New Orleans and the people resting in that cemetery. It was a highlight of our trip.
The vacation continues with Pat O’Brien’s Bar scheduled for dinner and drinks tonight. We both need a dip in the hotel pool and a few cold ones to rehydrate before visiting there. I’ll cover O’Brien’s in the next post.
MAN WAS IT EVER HOT
Our third day in NO was a special day for me because for most of my life I’ve wanted to ride an airboat through these Louisiana swamps. We boarded a bus in the French Quarter which took us across the Mississippi River southeast into the bayous. Our destination was a bayou named Barataria where the pirate John Lafitte and his men helped Stonewall Jackson defeat the British at the battle of New Orleans. A beautiful place filled with as much history as you could ever want.
These boats are just as fast as you can imagine. It’s like flying on water.
We left the dock and proceeded into the bayou and the beauty of the place was breathtaking. I could have spent an entire week just riding around taking pictures. The guide took us to a rather cool cemetery where the brother of Jean Lafitte is buried. As you can see all bodies are buried above ground here in Louisiana.
This is the ultimate spooky graveyard.
I was especially interested in getting some wildlife pictures and I no sooner had that thought and BAM . . . we found a few gators. They were almost as curious about us as we were about them. This guy came to visit after we pulled ashore to get a better look at him.
Doesn’t he have the cutest smile?
We played around with them for a few minutes then it was back into some isolated logging channels where we ran into a couple of turtles sunning themselves on a log.
I hated for this day to come to an end but I was able to take some truly wonderful photos. This last photo is the one that will remind me of this trip for as long as I live.
WHAT MORE CAN I SAY?
