Well…god, I hate these smarmy assholes in the repub party…in the “hearings” for Amy Barrett, she comes unprepared with no notes and with that repub smile on her face that says “let’s get this over…we all know this is a scam” and can’t even answer the most basic questions about the law…or won’t answer them because she knows the fix is in and she could sit there reciting the ABC’s and she will still get every damn repub senator to vote for her. One question she was asked was if the idiot trump could postpone the election…which the answer is no…congress and only congress sets the date for the election…and then she had the biggest tell of all when she went on and on about having to listen to the litigants and then rule on the case…just what he has been told to do by trump and mcconnell and the major reason she is even there…so when trump loses and sues to try to overturn the election, she will go along with any stupid reason they give and rule for trump. One other question she was asked was if she thinks climate change is real…and her answer? I’m not a scientist and haven’t read anything about it…another one of the many lies she has told in the “hearings” and she knows that she can keep it up, again because the fix is in. So, the destruction of any remaining shred of moral authority that the SC had is now obliterated by trump, mcconnell, and barrett and we are left with no choice but to expand the court to try to rebuild the public trust in another institution that trump has ruined….every damn time a repub is elected, we have to come in and clean up after them as they crap all over this country….
October 14th
Well…that was a crappy day…all my work on the downstairs project went for nothing and my lungs are completely trashed from allergies to the point that I can barely breathe….and I think it will take a couple of days to get back to normal…and the coughing and wheezing kept my up most of the night so I am just worn out this morning…and feel really lousy….I did get out on the bike for one ride yesterday but there is no way I can get out today with the lungs so screwed up so I think I’ll make it an off day and just take it easy…didn’t get anything done yesterday but the work downstairs but I do need to mow the lawn and do the grocery run today…and I need to get that done early since my brother is coming over to pick up some equipment and take some of the tomatoes off my hands before they spoil….so, I’ll need to get moving by 7:30 or so to get the grocery run done before he gets here around 9….not much to do today…I probably should do a little painting in here but I don’t think I will….just need to recover and be able to breathe before I can do much…more later…
John Paul Jones….
Well…no, he didn’t die…I do put musician’s names in the title when they die but I also add RIP…just a short little comment on a photo I saw when I was reading yesterday…as you know, I read a lot and yesterday, I came across an article about the greatest bass players in rock and JPJ’s name was on the list…and they had a photo of him from their concert at the Chicago Stadium in January of 1975…and I was there! I remember it vividly…but it was a little disappointing because Robert Plant’s voice was shot and you could barely hear him…very crokey…just a cool coincidence…
October 13th
Well…that night wasn’t too bad…didn’t get up until 5:49 and 6 hours is better than 5 so I’ll take it…and I got my computer problems fixed so it doesn’t take 10 minutes to start it up in the morning or to load any site so that is cool…feel pretty crappy this morning, though, and I really do need to cut back on riding….did another 30 mile day yesterday and the only reason was that I wanted to get one last ride in wearing shorts and a t-shirt before it gets cold later in the week…I do have lots of work to do on the downstairs project today that involves getting out to get some dry ice and then abusing my back and shoulders for a couple of hours and that will take up this morning so there won’t be time for two rides today….had another electrical fixture fail over the weekend so I had to replace that yesterday and remembered that I got a light that straps on my head and that worked like a champ when I had to shut the power off to work on it…and I got that free from HF about a year ago…it was cool to not have to juggle a flashlight while wiring it in…and it was cool that I remembered it…and could find it….other than that, I didn’t get a lot done yesterday….I did start on the winter clean up of the yard yesterday and I think got the last of the pink tomatoes off the plants but I am leaving the rest of the peppers for a few days until it frosts to try to get them a little bigger before I pick them….not much to do today….just the project for this morning and then the normal stuff for the rest of the day…will probably have to take some ibuprofen after the work today since it normally hurts pretty badly after I do it….more later….
Look who’s “pallin around with terrorists”
Well…if his pledge to destroy Obamacare and confirm many more unqualified right wing judges wasn’t enough for you to not vote for John James…this one should do it. Just today, it was reported that some of the terrorists who were caught plotting to kidnap and murder governor Whitmer had worked at James rallies along with the right wing terrorist organization proud boys…yep, you heard that right…John James has been “pallin’ around with terrorists” as he has worked to get the support of the hate filled far right here in Michigan. That right there should be enough for anyone who is still “on the fence” in this election…no matter that James issued the lame defense that he didn’t know they were there and that was it…no full throated denouncement of these right wing hate groups because he knows he needs them to get elected…just like the rest of the repub party, James likes these guys and has no problem with them plotting and scheming to undermine our state and country…after all, that is the operating principle of the repub party that is on display in the US senate today with the Barrett hearings….James is just more of same…
October 12th
Well…that was weird…slept all the way through until 6:30 this morning and I’m not sure why that happened…if I did, I’d do that every night and not be exhausted all the time…hmmm…but I’m still tired today and I’m pretty sure that one night is not enough for my sleep deficit to be fixed…but, I’ll take anything I can get….I do think that cutting back on riding is going to help with the pain I feel all day since I don’t have much right now after only doing one ride yesterday…I am getting out as soon as it gets light, though, since it is probably the last day that it is going to be over 50 overnight….big change in the weather coming later in the week with highs in the 40’s and freezing at night so I’ll need to salvage the last of the tomatoes and peppers in the gardens and start taking out the plants that are left…..I guess that’s pretty normal for the middle of October but I am not ready for the cold yet….not much to do today…I have to get out to depot this morning to get a replacement fixture for one that failed downstairs and I need some crimp on hose clamps to fix my expandable hose…both of them have failed and I am trying to make one hose out of two to get through the rest of the year….more later…
5,000 miles…part 2…
Well…yesterday I wrote some about my 5,000 mile year on the bike but I didn’t talk much about the physical effects of the ordeal…and yes, it was an ordeal that I am going to take quite a while to recover from…there were some good effects….I lost 3 inches off my waist and my clothes are hanging off me and I look a little thin as compared to normal…and my thighs are huge and have definition in them I’ve never had….but, I am just damn worn out…so tired all the time when I keep doing 30+ miles a day…I know part of that is from lack of sleep…and that is confusing since you would think that so many miles would tire me out and I would sleep well every day…but my best days are around 5 hours and I don’t think that is enough to support 5k miles….and, with being tired, I am sore and stiff all the time…I know part of that is from getting old but not to the extent that I feel it every day….so now, I think I need to start the repair process for my whole body by gradually reducing the amount I ride along with the calories I consume…but cutting 600 plus calories out of my day means no more bagels with my coffee…and no more cheese and crackers or cocktails….okay, I’ll cut the cocktails in half but damn, what the hell am I saving my liver for? I am old and I don’t know how long I have and I like my cocktail nights…and the repair process has to include my mental state, too…I have to admit to myself that the guilt I feel from not riding has to be put away and I need to understand that I won’t recover until I cut back on riding for a while at least….so, one ride today and there was no way I was going back out in the 15 mph wind when my legs went flat at about 12 miles on the first run….it will be interesting to see if I did any permanent damage from doing the 5K this year…that would suck…
October 11th
Well…hey, at least I didn’t get up til 5:02 this morning…and got another 45 minutes so that makes a whole 5 hours last night…I would just once like to get 8 hours in and see how that feels…I know I’m pretty worn out this morning so I am going to ease into it and watch the MotoGP and F1 race before I even think about getting out on the bike….I did get 30 miles in yesterday but I’m not sure if I’ll do two today….just starting to get bored with riding and I guess that’s to be expected after all the miles this year….but, I’m not too sore this morning so maybe…..didn’t get a lot done yesterday and today will probably be the same since I don’t have much to do but look for houses….and I need to cook two meals today with no leftovers in the fridge….not too motivated to do that right now and I am getting tired of what I’ve been making….think I need to change up and start making some pasta and more veggies…need some different flavors and lower calorie foods….not much to do today….just don’t want to do anything right now and I’ll need to think about what there is to do later on this morning….more later….
The 5,000th mile one…
Well…yeah, I know, I promised to do this one yesterday but I actually did some cleaning around here and that took up a lot of the afternoon…but, I’m here now so let’s go…got to 5,000 miles on the bike Thursday! Not sure how I really feel about it, though…on one hand, it’s pretty cool that I reached my goal, but on the other hand…why was it even a goal? Not sure what I was trying to prove…and who I was trying to prove it to….I think there were probably a couple of reasons for doing it…like the reasons people climb mountains I guess…”because it’s there”…or because I can still do it….and to prove to myself that I not a washed up old guy waiting to die….okay, that’s a little depressing…and I do have to say it was fun riding all year and it’s only been the past couple of weeks that I’ve gotten a little weary with doing 30-40 miles every day and being on the bike for 2 1/2 hours every day….but, I feel that I’m wearing out some in those weeks, too, just fatigued and sore all the time…but did that keep me off the bike the past two days after I met the goal? Of course not…I am an idiot after all…and did 30 miles a day…the bike that I bought in the spring has been so damn reliable and comfortable and that has made this year so much easier…no flats or breakdowns of any kind and I figured out that you should never, ever lubricate the rear shifter…when it sticks, I just blast it with water and it’s good to go…I did have a back tire fail at about 4K miles but I had one on the old bike I could use but I do need to order a new one so I’ll have one here when I need it. So, it has been a good year on the bike and I guess that 5K miles is pretty damn good for an old guy….not sure what the new goal is going to be for next year…one thing that has been floating in and out of my head is doing 100 miles for every year of age…that would add a couple of thousand to this year and I’m not sure I want to I want to make that much of a comittment…after all, I’m not sure why I did the 5K this year and wherever I end up I may not have trails that are as convenient as the one here….hmmmm…
October 10th
Well…this is starting to suck…have been regressing on wake up times over the past week and last night was the worst so far…went to bed late and still woke up at 3:35…but I will say I did get back to sleep in about a half hour and stayed in bed until after the coffee maker started so I guess I’ll have to live with it….I did get out to hang with T for a while yesterday and even had a couple of beers at LC which I didn’t even know was open….so that was fun to get out, put the top down on the car and have some laughs….and it is over 60 outside right now so I can get out on the bike as soon as F1 qualifying is over at 10…only did one ride yesterday but cleaned this place up some and it really needed it…you know, making it to the 5K goal has reduced my sense of urgency to get out and do two rides a day…I may still do a few as the weather allows but only having about 400 more miles to go for the last goal of the year and having 3 months to do it keeps the stress level pretty low….now I just need to start cutting the extra calories out that I was doing to support 30+ miles a day….and, I know how to but just don’t want to…need more fruits and veggies but doing that will be a long process….not much to do today…just going to veg it out for a while and have more coffee and watch MotoGP qualifying until F1 comes on….or not really watch it but have it on in the background as I read the news…I think there are races on later but I’m not sure about that yet…..more later….