Well….with the passing of Prince Philip today, the thought entered my head that, even being a big anglophile, or a fan of England, I’m not sure if I understand the monarchy in these modern times….or any monarchy for that matter…it seems that more egalitarian models of governance are more suited to the times we live in. I do feel for the British royal family as I do for any family that loses it’s patriarch or any of the people who guided it for 70 years, cripes, that is even longer than I’ve been alive, but what is the purpose of the monarchy? Here I fall back on my firm belief that no one should be able to go through life held up to high esteem just because of an accident of birth…whether it is through a monarchy or through inheritance of wealth as happens here in the US…for example, all of the idiot trump’s kids, what makes these people of any more worth than you or me? Maybe with the royal family it is a lack of understanding on my part…but, with the almost daily scandals coming out of that small family, ….okay…nope, I don’t like the way this one is going…I’m not going to attack something I don’t understand…and that is not how this one started in my head…maybe I’ll have to think more before I comment more….
Monthly Archives: April 2021
April 9th
Well…that was a little weird…went to bed early since the servers my son is renting for his media went down for the second time last night and I was really bored without it…but, I didn’t get to sleep until after midnight so I guess getting up at 6:37 is not that good….better than getting 5 hours but not much since I did wake up a few times….but, I feel okay this morning with 5 days in a row of being good and I’m not sure if I’m going to do 6…I might but I might make tonight a reward for taking better care of myself…we’ll see….the grass seed I planted in the yard is starting to sprout so it looks like I may have a yard this spring….I may have to get another bag of seed to cover the bald spots I missed but that’s only 8 bucks and worth it…there is so much work yet to do outside that I think I’ll be working on it for the next month…have to get started on garden plot prep along with getting flower seed planted around the house so I’ll have a little color when they grow…I think I may have to buy more of them and some more veggie seeds since the leftovers from last year aren’t going to be enough…but, the weather is going to be cold for the next two weeks or so and that gives me some time to plan….not much to do today…I do need to run out and get my Mega tickets and try to get some items that they were out of at aldi’s and it is still raining so I can’t get out on the bike anyway….so the ride will be in the afternoon and I hope it stays warm enough that I can still get out in shorts for the next two weeks….more later….
Playing with the toys…
Well…after I got a nice bike ride in today and got back here pretty sweaty, I decided to get the rest of my walks edged before the rain so I got out the gas powered string trimmer with the edger attachment on it and got to work…it started after just a little fiddling with it…and it only took about 10 minutes to edge the remaining 75 feet of walk and it was pretty cool to hear that two stroke just winding out and screaming….can’t wait to put the string trimmer head on it and try that out with it’s string that is almost the size of a pencil…it should hold up to trimming around the fences better than the thin stuff on my electric trimmer….and I’m edging up to using the mower to clean up the yard with the bag on it but I need to go out and get some gas for it first…..always fun to use new toys…but I do need a push broom to clean up after myself when I use the toys….maybe next week…
It’s on you, Manchin…
Well…as conversation continues on what to do about the filibuster to get this country going again, we have the biggest obstacle to moving America’s agenda, Joe Manchin, going on and on that the filibuster can be preserved and get the laws passed that are needed to repair the economy and protect voting rights…and he thinks he can get the 60 votes necessary in the senate by bringing along 10 repubs to vote for Joe Biden’s agenda. Now, I should just laugh at the prospect that any repub senator, let alone ten, will vote for anything that benefits the American people…they have shown over the past decade that they don’t give a damn about anyone but the rich way too many times and Manchin must be the most delusional senator in DC if he believes that he can convince any repub to go against mcconnell and the hordes of trumpists who would howl to the heavens if any of them voted for anything the dems want. I wonder how long it will take for Manchin and Sinema to have reality smack them in the face and for them to finally realize that the American people are more important than any senate rule that allows the minority to block needed infrastructure spending or relief…not sure if they are bright enough to realize that they are playing into the repubs hands with this delusional belief in bipartisanship…and I wonder if they care….
April 8th
Well…that was about normal with only getting up once and then out of bed for good at 6:23…and I had some dreams last night with people in it that I haven’t seen in years….and it included floods and swamped bulldozers and FEMA….yep, that was a weird one….but I was good for the 4th day in arow so I feel pretty good today…should be more sore than I am with getting the first double in yesterday but I think that may be coming tomorrow…that’s the normal pattern…it was such a nice day here yesterday that I cleaned 5 of the 11 windows so I could open them without the dirt that was in the bottom of them blowing into the house…and there is such good ventilation with just 5 open that I think this is going to be a livable house even without AC this summer…and it was petty quiet all day with very little of the bump, bump, boom music that has been plagueing me lately…something I’ll need to get used to in the future but I’m not there yet….I think I’m going to take down all of the curtains in here today since they scream old lady and I think it looks better without them, just leaving the mini blinds…I did like the way that the curtains blew in the breeze yesterday….it reminded me of our house when I was a kid where we had something like chenille curtains that did the same thing…weirdly comforting….not much to do today…need to get a ride in early before the rain comes in later this morning and then I’m going to work on the house interior and just start to plan the painting project…if it doesn’t rain much, I may just fire up the gas string trimmer and do some edging….more later…
Just a thought…
Well…with the Derek Chauvin trial still going on for his killing of George Floyd last year by kneeling on his neck for almost 9 minutes, a thought hit me today about how screwed up our legal system is that this trial has gone on for almost two weeks…let’s think about a hypothetical for just a minute…what if we replace George Floyd with a german shepard and Chauvin kneeled on it’s neck for 9 minutes in the view of witnesses? Right now Chauvin would be in in prison for a count of felony animal abuse and it would have been an easy open and shut case. So, why is it so hard to see that Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes that killed him isn’t at least manslaughter? Especially since he had George handcuffed and lying on the ground and posed no threat to the Chauvin? I’m afraid our legal system is too far gone to be saved if this creep is let off from the murder charges…and I fear for Minnesota if that is the outcome…I don’t advocate for violent protests at all, but damn…this is as open and shut as a case gets…and it is highlighting there really is a different legal system for white people in this country…and that is just wrong…
First double on the bike today…
Well…you know there is just much less to write about in politics with Joe in the WH so I think I’ll just do another one on my day…I did get the first double of the year in on the bike and that made 30 miles today…and it was so damn nice of a day that I went out both times in just a t-shirt and that was cool…but, when I was sitting on the boardwalk halfway through the second ride, I noticed that I had a piece of metal stuck in the tread of the tire…well…there really wasn’t any tread left and that’s why I was looking for a new rear tire for the past few days…I was getting discouraged with no one having the size I needed online but then I decided to try Meijer’s online and they had one…so I paid 23.99 for the tire since they are in a shortage right now and then spent the afternoon cleaning the bike and getting it ready to be re-lubed, and then put the new tire on it…and I found a new tube in one of the totes the other day and put that in, too…it was one of the slime tubes that will seal up small holes so that will help as I start doing doubles every day…so, it’s been another busy day with doing the second grocery run this morning then riding and riding…I may not get to a political one today since I’ve been trying to watch Chelsea play in the champion’s league and the 2nd half is starting….and I still need to trim my beard….
April 7th
Well…running a little late today with having fitful sleep again and getting up a couple of times but I forced myself to stay in bed til 6:23 to try to sleep a little more…didn’t work, but I tried….but I feel okay today with being good last night…again…my heel is still cracked and hurting but a little better than yesterday so I’ll take it…I did get a nice ride in yesterday but I still haven’t figured out the wind out here…I mean, it was blowing into my face on the way out and the way back…how the heck does that happen? I am getting used to the wind… a little…and I have to if I want to get my miles in….have almost 400 miles in since I got out here but I won’t get to my goal of 5K for the year unless I get started doing doubles every day…I am going to ride out to Whitehall and Ravenna once I can find the start of the trails that go there…that will be a project for the next couple of weeks as I get the outside of this place finished…well…not sure when it will be finished or if it will be but I do know I need to get started on the inside of this place soon and I’m not sure I want to do that much work right now…I wonder when I get to just live? Not much to do today…I do need to do a grocery run out to Aldi’s and then back to Meijers since they show they have the bike tire I need in stock…but, I’m pretty sure their website is wrong….but, we’ll see….and then out on the bike early to try to get a double in today…and I do still want to play with my new toys but that might have to wait until tomorrow since there is the possibility of storms later in the day…more later…
I have equipment….
Well…I have equipment! My brother stopped over today and brought the equipment he didn’t need anymore and now I have a lawnmower, (a really nice Toro) and a gas string trimmer with an edger attachment and a blade for cutting down brush along with the trimmer head that has the thickest string I’ve ever seen…and a leaf blower/vac along with a set of car ramps that I can use to change the oil on the car…and string and two gas cans….and all for only 200 bucks. I can’t wait to get out and use them…I think I may use the edger to do the rest of my walks tomorrow and I want to try the blower to clean up after I’m done…should be pretty cool to have equipment again and have things to play with…yay…oh, and it was cool to have my brother come out and visit and just shoot the shit for a while…that was fun…
Cry me a river, mitch…
Well…you know I’ve railed about the oozing hypocrisy that coats everyone on the right and gets worse every time one of these morons opens his or her mouth…and now we have the hypocrite in chief, ole moscow mitch, crying his eyes out that corporations are being mean to repubs by opposing their attempts to suppress votes of black and brown people by speaking out against them…and the hypocrisy is not just oozing from ole mitch but is flooding out as fast as the pollution from the retention ponds in Florida. Let’s take a little walk back to 2011 when mitch was full of glee that the SC ruled that corporations had free speech rights to spend as much money as they want in an election in the Citizen’s United decision….and ole mitch couldn’t heap enough praise on it since he knew that most companies would give more to repubs than dems…but now? The hypocrite mitch is howling that companies should shut up and not interfere in the political process…but only if it goes against what the repubs want…and he has gone so far as saying that companies will “pay” if they keep it up…a not so subtle or legal threat that the tax breaks, etc. that the repubs have lavished on companies over the years might be at risk if they keep telling the truth about the repubs efforts to cheat in the 2022 elections. Suck it up, mitch…you can’t have it both ways…and companies are looking at the demographics of their customer base and it is more than just the old white people that the repubs serve….and you can bet they won’t want to alienate much more than 50% of their customers who are now black, brown, and lgbt people….just keep it up mitch…you’re speeding up the death of the repub party by this crap and that death can’t happen soon enough….