Puppies

Purchased a new mower last week as our mower seems to be permanently at Prairie Power Supply with no time frame getting it back. (I'll get to THAT when I get my lawn mower back) ANYWAY the new mower oddly hums is F sharp minor  - not unlike Symphony No. 45 (Haydn) "Farewell" Symphony*(see below).

I purchased it at True Value as I didn't want to give any big box store my money. Awesome Toro and I literally have never mowed my yard so short.  I actually mow less often with longer grass AND the the grass is a LOT softer when it's long.  But it's a little too short this time.  Gotta keep it long for a "new family addition**(see below the below) .

 *The story of Hayden's Farewell Symphony is interesting.   In 1772 Hayden and all his groupie musicians were in Hungry doing performances. The patron Prince Nikolaus Esterházy was resident and he kept all the musicians performing nightly even though they all wanted to get back to their wives's after an extended stay.

They appealed to Hayden to please "let us go home".  Well, Hayden always a diplomat, decided the best way was not to confront Nikolaus Esterházy but instead he wrote a symphony (which is how everyone fixes problems isn't it?).

During the final adagio (slow and stately) each musician, on que, stopped playing, snuffed out his candle and left leaving only Hayden and the concertmaster at the end. Esterházy got the message and all the musicians returned to their home and wives the following day.

My lawn mower does not sound as good as the "Farewell" Symphony but it seems to be in the same key.  F sharp minor.  I will write a great song while mowing.  Stay tuned.

I believe the next time there is a snowmobile route controversy in Columbus I will write a symphony.

****************

**Yes - we're getting a new member of the family. It's been almost 5 years since Blake passed away and it's time (we're not getting any younger you know) so we decided to pull the trigger and purchase a Golden Doodle.

We can't get the little guy until late June but he is probably one of these.  We are 9th in line out of 16 puppies but the 5 females are called for so that cuts down the line a bit.  Two very proud mommies and a proud daddy and 16 pups.  We drove up and cuddled all of them last week.

*********************

Seems conservative media is really taking a Trump-hit.  With FOX fake news now 3rd among the networks in news viewership and now Breitbart which was the 29th most trafficked site on the web is now in 281st place.

+++

Big Pharm - the group that is VERY anti-cannabis because cannabis is a great pain reliever and States with legal cannabis have seen a tremendous drop in pain prescriptions has 1,100 lobbyists in Washington - up 14% compared to last year.

++++

From the Columbus Journal

Melotte: Trees would make downtown Columbus more inviting

Every forty or fifty years the DOT hands communities like Columbus a gift. A complete downtown highway reconstruction. Of course this “gift” is not really appreciated by many for very good reasons but if you are in need of a silver lining there is one. 

One of the problems facing all communities in America is the shrinking of the relevance of their downtown's.  In the past a downtown was a meeting place where people would buy goods needed for everyday living and at the same time meet and talk with others doing the same. 

With the advent of big box stores with huge parking lots those goods and services have moved away from downtown's to the outer limits leaving the heart, the most important part of our cities virtually abandoned. Times have changed for all cities that have an actual “downtown”.  This is not just a Columbus problem. 

This “gift” from the DOT that I mentioned is giving Columbus a chance to make our downtown a more inviting, pedestrian friendly streetscape. 

In the past few decades there have been many case studies for large and small towns on how to create a more friendly environment for pedestrians and with more pedestrians mingling longer come more businesses.      

If you have ever walked in our downtown it’s a hard, non-inviting, loud area where sounds bounce off the sides of our beautiful brick buildings and large trucks drive through belching emissions that collect on our bricks. The only friendly shade comes from . . . .well, there is no friendly shade. At the moment there is no catalyst to slow down and casually and look around. Get in get out.   

We can and are fixing this. Trees will make downtown Columbus a place where pedestrians feel more comfortable. Trees will organically (no pun intended) make the area more attractive for business. 

Now to be honest, we are only talking 8 trees so this will not have a huge impact but with the addition of trees and a few other small amenities such as bike racks, benches and so forth it’s a start. 

The city has located 8 spots where in-ground trees can be planted with no preexisting infrastructure to worry about.  These trees will be salt tolerant, love CO2 emissions and grow conically, up instead of out.

As with anything new there are issues such as watering, trimming, roots and so forth that need to be addressed and meetings with the Columbus DPW have been positive. Columbus is very lucky as Davis Clark, the head of our DPW, was an arborist in the past and knows a thing or two about trees. We are not walking into this blind. 

Columbus is not reinventing the wheel. Many communities have trees in their downtown's including Sun Prairie, Waterloo, Deforest, Waunakee, Waupun, Hartford and I have talked to business owners in Sturgeon Bay who added trees to their downtown a decade or so ago about the benefits and issues with trees. 

For Columbus trees will add a much needed softness to the hard streetscape, they will add shade to the sidewalks which in turn increase the lifespan of concrete. They will not only absorb all sorts of fine particulates and airborne toxins but a small to medium downtown tree can absorb 200 pounds of CO2 a year.  Trees in downtown settings lower blood pressure and stress and make people linger longer which is what you want when shopping. Trees not only absorb noise but also give off a the soothing sound of leaves rustling in the breeze masking vehicle noise.  Studies have shown that trees increase business traffic which obviously will attract more business.

The DOT has given Columbus an opportunity to make a real change in our downtown.  It’s a slow, tough process but we only have this opportunity perhaps once every half century.  It’s not a huge change but an important one going forward in my view.        

     

---Rod Melotte 

**************************

Going to be a good week weather-wise- cool today with a chance of rain later this afternoon. Warming to 80 by Friday but rain and thunderstorms Friday into Saturday but warm. Sunday it seems the talking heads and I disagree.  I say cool and cloudy on Sunday and they are saying WONDERFUL Sunday.

We shall see.

OH - I see Gov Walker is all over the Instagram/National news this morning.  He tweeted a photo of his shish kabob yesterday and people around the world are going NUTS.   "Norovirus waiting to happen",  "No sauce", "Onions grilling the same amount of time as the steak".  And these are not eve from Wisconsin LOL

*****************

Eight new homes have been built in Columbus this year - on track with the last few years as Columbus continues to grow.  This growth will blow the last 100 years growth rate out of the water.

++++

The Indian Prime Minister called Trump a criminal and Countries around the world are dissing America and our "values". Germany said they can no longer count on America being a team player and wishes us luck in the future.  Pretty much standard talk in Europe now. Now Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni mirrored the same sentiments and agrees, don't count on America and leave them out of the conversation.

Well, it's what Trump supporters wanted.  It's all about US, screw the rest of the world.  

********************

The Blue Tsunami

So it's been a while since the last blog.  I've been busy writing but this time I needed complete sentences, correct word usage and punctuation that matched the words I was writing. Not the gibberish I normally hack out in the mornings.

All will be clear soon. 

*****************

Last night golfing in league it was 55 degrees . . . . and the best night yet. When is 15 degrees below normal a good thing.  2 weeks ago rain for 9 holes, last week 25 mph winds and last night a balmy 55.   NO COMPLAINTS, hit a 47 even with a couple of 7s from having to rescue a few balls under pine trees, I hate chipping sideways. 

But the weather will get better for the next days. Getting sunny this afternoon, a little rain tomorrow but Saturday and Sunday will be really nice.  

It will be nice for Door Creek to dry out a little. 

*******************

The Blue Tsunami - Republicans are increasingly worried. A couple of special elections this week has shown that Trump is a sinking ship and Republicans are not jumping off fast enough.

New Hampshire: state House’s 6th Carroll District.  Trump beat Clinton 51-44 in the election but Tuesday Democrat Edie DesMarais defeated Republican Mathew Plache 52 – 48.  But here is the kicker - the last time a Democrat won that district was 103 year ago, 1913.

In New York: 9th Assembly District - Trump defeated Clinton in this district 60 – 37. Tuesday Democrat Christine Pellegrino defeated Republican Thomas Garguilo 58 – 42 - the kicker? Democrat's have NEVER won in that district.    EVER!

Today in Montana it's going to be close but GOP gazillionair Greg Gianforte decided it was the perfect time to play WWF and took down a reporter breakign his glasses.  He is now facing charges and newspapers in Montana are pulling their support.  Even a FOX reporter in the room said  Greg Gianforte had zero reason to take down the reporter.

Remember - 100% of the time the party that is in the White House immediately starts to lose power, sometimes it's a slow decline and sometimes fast but it always happens.

Trump is a cancer for the GOP.

I remember saying Trump was the death of the GOP, then he won and Clinton was the death of the DNC. Well, I think Trump is back to being the death of the GOP.

*******************

Don't get me started on the US fantasy budget proposal which is riddled with accounting "errors" with some numbers being used multiple times.

The main thing is the use of trickle down economics (a proven loser) and thinking that the economy will be hitting 3 and 4% which will pay for everything.    

It's like taking out huge loans because you are looking for a job and you are sure you can get one in the future. There is no way the US can get 3 or 4% growth.  It will never happen for a number of reason.

Oh sure we have had that growth in the 1990s at 5% but we also had a rapidly growing workforce and a rapid gains in productivity.  It's like counting cards in BlackJack. The big gains come during the time when the bad cards leaving the deck. Not when all the bad cards our out of the deck. Same with the economy, the big gains are during these years of massive growth.

NOW - the labor force is slowing as baby boomers retire and productivity which his still strong but not really getting stronger. Plus it's really time for a recession and any small economic downturn will totally blow 3-4% out of the water.  The GOP has to have 10 wonderful years in a row with a massively growing workforce AND a bloom in an already productive productivity.  Ya gotta roll 7s for 10 years in a row.

Not going to happen.

OH - all that money gained to pay for everything the fantasy 3-4% growth will bring?  That same money was used twice in the budget.  So you go shopping with your wife to Pic-N-Save with $50. You both have your own cart with $50 of goods and can't figure out why you can't pay for BOTH carts with your $50.

The $2 TRILLION saved in the budget will pay for the $2 trillion in tax cuts to the wealthy AND that same $2 trillion will also pay to balance the budget.

That is what the GOP is trying to do. Is it just being inapt?  Or are they just trying to pull the wool over Americans heads yet again.

***************

Nashville - The three professional teams making a home in Nashville have won a total of ZERO championships in a combined 52 years.  Have fun in Nashville balderdash - go see a sports team.

*****************

While being a meteorologist was my first choice for a professions being a truck driver was my 2nd (well, to be honest my FIRST choice was to be a fire truck but that had some issues I was not aware of when I was a wee lad).  Being a weather man never happened - I needed two BS degrees and knowing my study habits that was never going to happen but I do love driving.  Driving from North Carolina to Columbus in one day was not a problem last month.

WELL - the annual turnover for long-haul truck drivers is 80%.  EIGHTY PERCENT!  Not the best profession to be in.

Congressional Budget Office came out with their numbers on Trumpcare.  23,000,000 Americans would lose health care coverage in the next 10 years.  Medicaid would be cut by 838 million and people with a lot of money will pay lower taxes.

OH - the healthy will pay lower insurance but the people with pre-existing issues will pay for the healthy to have lower rates so it all evens out.

***************

Speaking of Columbus - that barbershop moved to next to the comic book shop.  Better location I think. WOW a business actually moving closer to the center of town!!

Lots and lots of good things happening in Columbus under the radar behind the curtains. I'm totally optimistic about Columbus with good, slow, sustained organic growth.  We don't want to be like Sun Prairie that grows so fast the infrastructure AND TAXES can't keep up.

**************

Survivor crowned it's winner last night.  Great season.  But get this - the winner said he or she (no spoilers) was 90% sure of winning.  Think about holding a secret that you won $1 million from family and friends FOR 9 MONTHS!!  OMG - that would be a nightmare.   You tell anyone and you lose.

****************

Have a great day and root for the sun - it's coming!!  

   

Star Trek Discovery

I was asked if I was suffering from mental illness the other day.  I said no, I was actually enjoying it.

***********

Good news for the Republicans - they got a Special Council to investigate the President.  No really, it is good news for them.

But first - why is this good news for Trump?  Well, he can actually not say anything about his involvement with Russia because there is an ongoing investigation - no comment!!  and he can focus on actual political things instead of blaming everyone else on Twitter.

AND - they might not find anything at all and it would make Trump look like a winner (whic is important to him).

Why is this bad for Trump?  The Russian thing will not go away for a long long time and they could find some very very bad things in a cover-up.

OF COURSE - Trump can always fire the Special Council . . . . that might not look very good but is a very real possibility.  Remember - this is what Nixon did.

Whys is this good for Republicans?  Same as with Trump - they can get back to actual politics (unless Trumps does some more Tweeting) and instead of constantly being asked about Russia they can defer to Special Council.

Why is this bad for Republicans?  - it's not bad.  There is nothing bad about this for them.

Why is this good for Democrats - read why is this bad for Trump.   Also since this will be a long drawn out process it could last to the mid-terms.

Why is this bad for Democrats - The left could have pounded Trump every day for another 2 years and keep this as a headline - now they can't.

 - - - -

Side note - the co-author of "The Art of the Deal"  has apologized for co-authoring the book and is donating all of his proceeds to charity.

He has also said he really doubts Trump will get impeached - HOWEVER - he says Trump will "resign and claim victory".  Trump is all about winning and losing and he is losing very very bigly at the moment and is looking for ways out of the mess he created.  Trump NEVER wanted to be President in the first place and this is his nightmare.

**********************

OMG - check out the new Star Trek Discover trailer - I will for sure spend $5 a month to view this

https://youtu.be/4dxe_ugmIVM


******************

Seems AT@T and DIRECT TV are in trouble for bait and switch tactics on bundling phone and TV.

You sign a 2 year deal for a cheap bundle and then they raise the price on you. You cannot cancel without a large fine and you cannot have a lawsuit because in the very tiny letters it says you cannot have lawsuits.

I got that letter and it was only for new customers but I did see that you could not sue them in anyway.

**********************

VERY windy last night in golf.  I was doing fine until the last 4 holes and I started watching the oncoming storm.   ended with 7,7,7,7 for a 52.  sigh. Could not putt and on the last home a 140 7 iron with 160 instead.   Still waiting for a NORMAL night of golf.

*********************

A new Public Policy Polling survey came out and AT THE MOMENT the Democrats lead in the House of Representatives by 49-38

+++

That HUGE worldwide ransom attack has not been a gold mine for the perps.  They have only netted $50,000 so far from companies that caved in.

 - - - - -going to be a cool rainy Saturday but better Sunday

Cheers

Dark store Theory

Not used to see speed golfers on the course at 7:00 in the morning.  Hit the ball and literally RUN to it.  I need coffee.

******************

There is a "thing" chain stores are doing to screw the citizens of Wisconsin, particularly  Walgreens, Target and Menards. They are making YOU pay their property taxes through a loophole. Seems this loophole they are exploiting says that their store, in a thriving location, should pay the same taxes as a building in a vacant lot or abandoned store. Instead of playing property tax like everyone else they can pay the property tax of an abandoned store.

So, if Menards owes $700,000 in taxes they can say - look, that big box abandoned store only pays $350,000, that is what we will pay putting the other $350,000 tax burden to the people in that community.

BUT WAIT - it gets better. They can have the community go back a year or two and we will be forced to refund the excess (in their view) of back taxes. Again, at the expense of you and me.

Small ma and pa places don't get this loophole. Only the large corporations get this break (the same ones the GOP is reducing taxes for).  Well, Columbus and other city's are fighting back as there is a bill being proposed to fix this loophole and we are joining the fight.

*****************

Another tricky situation is downtown.  There are some apartments where the building owners are refusing to fix their back stairway, the ONLY way out of their building. In fact, the stairs LITERALLY have rotted and do not even touch the ground. (no really the supporting beams are no longer in contact with mother earth).  Obviously this is a safety concern.

SO - what the heck do you do!  Nothing?  That is not a good plan.  We tried to put pressure on the two dead beat out of town building owners, one has refused to acknowledge there is a problem and the other said he never received the multiple letters that were sent with the drop dead date of doing something.

So - the city could fix the stairs and put the $$ on their property tax but does the city want to get into the remodeling business?  And if we do will it have to be 100% up to code costing 30K and we would probably never get that $$ back?  Or we could evict the tenants but that is not fair to them and will be costly with court orders and so forth.

Plus - "we" would not be evicting the tenants anyway as this would fall on the building owners refusing to fix their problem.  The building owners would have a choice, fix the stairs or lose their tenants. THEIR CHOICE, not OURS.

This can all be seen in City Council so there are no "secrets" that I'm giving out.

*********************

Last night - about 1/2 inch of rain in the few storms we received. No tennis ball size hail like just west of Deforest.

Crummy weekend coming up.  A lot rain and cool all day Saturday and High of 63 and cloudy Sunday. Thunderstorms Wednesday night and high of 58 Friday.  80s the next 2 days.

********************

Trump attended a the 36th Annual National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service a few days ago, a very solemn occasion to be sure. One of the first things he did was to clap and say this was just like one of his campaign rallies.

Seems rather disrespectful if you ask me.

He then promised to support police officers because they supported him “bigly, during his campaign that beat crooked Hillary.

He then congratulated himself for sacrificing his fake comb-over and not wearing a hat, before throwing the hat into the crowd – again behaving like he was at a rally and not at a memorial service.

What an ignorant child.

HEY - I have issues from time to time with the Police but I still respect them.

****************

OH - lesson learned, don't write a blog when REALLY snarly - tough week last week. Wednesday I learned a LGBT friend tried to commit suicide even though he had talked 4 LGBT individuals from the same fate.  Seems the far right GOP is having an effect on the LGBT community by saying it's OK to hate them.

Then I get a call saying my lawnmower, that I have spend $350 on repairs in the last 3 years, will need $110 MORE repairs to fix the FRONT wheel and be in the shop for another 2 weeks.  

I guarantee you I will not spend another dime on it. GREAT mower . . . when it's wheels are not falling off.  So I'm looking for a BIG sale on lawnmowers so I'll have a back up when this one's wheels fall off again.  $450 in repairs over 3 years?  Geez - I could get a riding mower for that.

I must learn to not wear my emotions on my sleeve.  I need to hide my emotions in a deep dark place where they can stew for a while (a few hours might actually do it).

*******************

OH - I said we were look at rPods campers.  Got a message from a former citizen of Columbus, a Doctor in Montana saying to look into Jayco Humming birds.  Well, those are hard to find but upon further review they are built much better and really the same design inside, just better materials.

Now all we will need is an SUV (or car)that can pull 3500+ pounds such as a 2016 Porsche Panamera that can pull 4,500 pounds.  All I gotta do is convince DJ this is the only car that can do it.

car pictured has no bumper hitch. 

nuff said

pure energy with no mass

Well, I tell ya.  One thing I'm no longer going to worry about is aliens stumbling upon earth.  Seems we are in the far off regions in the back ally of the universe.  SO - check that worry off my list.

FUN FACT - there is a reason people pay attention to light years (some people).  It's because that is the fastest ANYTHING can go.  It's one rule that cannot be broken.  Pure energy with no mass. Faster then light cannot happen.

However - pure energy with no mass can move a sail. Of course a very special sail. Blows my mind.

I'm loving Astrophysics.

**********************

hmmmmmm - what else has happened lately hmmmmmmm

OH - seems there was some sort of hub-bub at the White House last night.  Seems thd con-man President was so excited because he was going to do something that his aids told him would be WIN WIN.  Fire the Director of the FBI (like Nixon did) and BOTH sides of the aisle would be cheering.

So - he gave the order and fired Comey . . .without telling Comey first (Comey found out on TV).  In fact Trump tweeted "They will all be thanking me".

FAIL.

And then the shit storm hits and Trump who sat down to watch all the good news he created is shocked. And then he is shocked even more when his aids are not backing him.  In fact is now RAGING mad as he see's all his aids are attacking each other for not realizing this MIGHT go badly.

The rookies running the country are clueless about their actions and results. I guess when you hire an auto mechanic to do open heart surgery because they both fix things it might not go as well as you thought.  WHO KNEW!!!   Well, this is what people wanted right?  Some new blood and a new way of doing things.

Who cares that the 3 people investigating a con-man in the White House that con-man fired those same 3 people to shut them up.

Sounds like the the Saturday Night Massacre?  when Nixon fired independent special prosecutor Archibald Cox, and as a result the resignations of Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus on October 20, 1973, during the Watergate scandal. - - - this is looking more and more Watergate-ish.

"Comey and his department have been investigating ties between the Russian government and the Trump camp for months. The investigation seems serious. The con-man President has now fired a man who was a major potential threat to his presidency."

Of course the GOP spokesperson said "It's time to move on, and, frankly, it's time to focus on things the American people care about." Oh yea - for sure, totally with you on that one - thank goodness THAT'S is over.  WHEW!   Everything is once again running smoothly.

*********

OH - John Ossoff the liberal in that run off for Georgia Special Election for the red-ist of red counties in Georgia is ahead in the polls.

Seems the GOPs savior con-man woman groping President is pulling the GOP down the tubes with him.  When I said last year Trump was the death of the GOP . . . I might have been right but not the way I was thinking it would go.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Going to be a mudder for golf tonight.  I hope I do better then Thunder Snow did last Saturday in teh rain.

**************************

Got my lawn mower back from Sun Prairie Power Center after 4 weeks in the shop for a broken wheel and I'm taking it back today because the front wheels are locked. sigh.  EVERYTHING that Kirchberg Repair repaired last year has now broken.  This is the last repair for this lawn mower. - EVER. It's been a good boy for 12 years.

Speaking of Fall River - We have been touring assisted living places (not for me) and there is one in Fall River that is AMAZING. The same people that are building the HUGE complex across from the hospital run this one and it is truly a fantastic place.  The Meadows of Fall River.

I would not move a child to Fall River (no fluoride) but an adult is fine.  If I had a child I would move out of Fall River ASAP.

**************************

Recreational marijuana goes on sale in Nevada on July 1, six months ahead of the scheduled deadline.

*************************

Gotta run - going to Sun Prairie Power Center AGAIN ASAP.

RM




 

Arby's responds

 My strategy for drafting my SOM team is working out fine.  Everybody needs starting pitching so when I drafted I went for as many young relievers that also started games hoping they would get a chance to be a starting pitcher.  My 40 man roster has 25 pitchers.

Working GREAT.  AT THE MOMENT I have 5 full time starters with ERAs under 3.75 and 3 more in the middle 4.00s. 

Of course my offense is hurting with both middle infielders on the DL. All NEXT year.  This year 20-9.

*******************

Got a call from a "NO CALLER ID" and they left a message.  Problem was the message was unintelligible.  I played it back a few times and heard the word "Arby's".  The person on the other end of the line had a THICK Asian accent. 

I called back and got a guy with a THICK . . . Caribbean accent. They are sending me more free meals and asked if I could be open to another call.

Reminds me of when I complained to McDonalds  about the Columbus McDonalds.  My Big Breakfast scrambled "eggs" were literally pea size pieces.  I took a photo and asked for a spoon as even a fork was worthless.  Got a bunch of free breakfasts but did not go back there for a while.  Our McDonalds continually make the worst Big Breakfast's, STILL.

*******************

Watched Doctor Strange.  Is it me?  Are all superhero movies now 80% boring fight scenes?  I have not seen a good superhero movie in a LONG time.

Speaking of superhero.  Started watching Iron Fist on Netflix.  Loving the show so far.  Also - I watched the season finale' of Sense8 on Netflix.  I literally was applauding like a little child. What an outstanding show. Eight strangers from different parts of the world suddenly become "sensates"; human beings who are mentally and emotionally linked. Politics, identity, sexuality, gender and religion are all explored  from different parts of the world.

They all come together for the finale' with their unique talents.  It's written by Lilly and Lana Wachowski who wrote The Matrix series, V for Vendetta, Speed Racer, Cloud Atlas, and Jupiter Ascending . . they seem to do better in a series it seems. 

Check out the season 1 trailer 

https://youtu.be/E9c_KSZ6zMk 

**********************

Don't by Coach bags.  They are so yesterday and sales are plummeting.  Gotta by Kate Spade bags now. 

OH - that Yankee game Sunday night. 

Longest interleague ever. Longest Sunday night prime time game ever.   I turned the game off after the Cubs tied it up in the 9th.  Was not going to watch the Cubs win.  SADLY, I missed the last 3 hours of the game as it went 18 innings.

It seems after the 9th inning comes the 10th inning and with it 10 consecutive strikeouts.  Along the way (earlier in the game actually) there was a home run hit and the outfielder never even saw it.  The ball went straight up 143 feet and the OF never budged in the twilight!  

On that subject - can the Brewers announcers get any more default sounding? God awful to listen too!  In fact I thought it was one guy because his partner sounds almost exactly the same AND, they sound exactly like 90% of the other announcers in MLB.  What happened to having a personality in the booth. 

***********************

Bovada came out with their over/under for next years Super Bowl race. So - what do you think. How many wins will the Pack get next year. Bovada says

Packers are at 10 wins.
Bears  5.5
Browns 4.5
Cowboys 9.5
Lions 8.0
Vikings 8.5
Patriots 12.5
Eagles 8.0

And in case you REALLY need a fix, the Packers are 3.5 favorites over the Seahawks September 10th (3.25 starting time)

The Derby - yea - my horse . . .ThunderSnow - seems he really did not like racing that day . . . did he even make it out of the gate?  sigh!  No I guess he didn't until they like walked him around the circle.

Where was my mom - she was GREAT at picking horses.

++++++++++++++

I'm reading astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson.  I'm already up to 1 second after the big bang and so much has already happened.  The universe was the size of the Milky Way after 1 second.  Where does the time go.

I like where he says - "After 9 billion years of such enrichment, in an undistinguished part of the universe in an undistinguished galaxy, in an undistinguished region, an undistinguished star, our Sun, was born".

Earth is a  meaningless small dot of rock in the back alley of the universe.

***************

James Comey - just keeps getting deeper and deeper doesn't it. Someone is not telling the truth. A LOT of what he has said seems to be totally inaccurate.

OK - don't get me started.  

Arby's FAIL

SO - spent Saturday with Elwood.

First we went to balderdash's house to take photos and make suggestions on how he could beef up his house with some plants.  Not a lot to work with as it was pretty nice already.  But there were two areas that could use some additions.

Then we went to the rock wall under the water tower in Columbus and did some weeding which is minimal (the reason we picked those plants) and planted a few more open spots.  If you have not driven past the water tower lately you should.  Lookin' good.  Everything is filling in and people no longer have pockets they can stuff garbage into.

The long term plan is to fill the wall up with sedum which stops weeds and then start to create veins of color.   That entire wall is from one $3 plant we purchased 4 years ago.  

Then we went to our house and beer-ed up to do some real work by Two Drunk Guys Landscaping.

  Still need more trimming but we got the mulch in and planted a lot more Georgia Blue (Veronica umbrosa 'Georgia Blue') which is hard to find but we have been propagating for a few years so it's all free.

I drove Elwood home back to Madison about 10:30.  On the way back I was a little hungry so I thought I would stop at Arby's to get a little bitty sandwich.  Coming into Madison I saw that the Arby's drive through was busy . . a good sign as they would have fresh stuff.

I let Elwood off and drive up to Arby's and there is STILL a line at the drive through.  5 cars ahead of me and I give my order.  One Classic Roast beef.  $3.47 pull up to the window.  Well . . . with cars ahead of me that was a problem so I waited.

After 6 minutes I was STILL in the same place I ordered my food.  Had not moved on inch.

Wait - I moved up one spot . . .and waited 5 more minutes (all times are REAL time).  I moved up another spot and waited  . . but wait . . there is now a woman at the window saying they got an order wrong and we are now on the 15 minute mark.  FINALLY I move up to almost to food window when the pick-up behind be drives over the curb and leaves.    

At the 20 minute mark I'm at the food window and the guy says "Please tell me you have a Beef and Chedder". I say no and he says DAMN IT.

SO!!  he explains that he does not have a Classic Roast Beast at the moment and then asks for $3.47.  I give it to him thinking he will make it  . . . . . and THEN he says drive around to the special creepy dark spot in the dark side of Arby's and wait.  sigh  We are now at the 24 minute mark and it looks like they are closed inside.

I drive around like a lemming and wait. I have GREAT music blasting and wait and wait and wait.  I see 3 cars go through the line and am wondering what I should do.

FINALLY - the door opens and it looks to me like the dude forgot about me and QUICKLY says "I'll be right back"   WTF!!!!

At the 28 minute mark he comes out with my sandwich, a free combo card and a HUGE FREAKING Chocolate milk shake.   sigh

I say thanks and he leaves . . . I have no sauce for my sandwich but a huge ass milk shake that tastes FANTASTIC but it's now like 11:45.

I ate everything and at 2 in the morning work up feeling REALLY sick as my body is one big liquid slush ball of roast beef and a gallon of milk shake.  

I hurled. Arby's FAIL.

Arby's has been notified of my situation.

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Trumpcare Version 2A - don't worry - never happen

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would remove several protections for people with pre-existing conditions (like my skin cancer), cut Medicaid, allow states to get waivers that allow them to drop essential health benefits, cut taxes on the rich, phase out funding for Medicaid expansion and more. It now moves on to the Senate.

This version will cut taxes by $765 billion with the top 20% of healthy earners getting 64% of that money while healthcare for the poor are slashed.

HOWEVER - Everyone is getting all upset but Trumpcare version 2a and it will never ever see the light of day.

Now the Senate has THEIR health plan that is much different. They now need to reconcile the differences (merge) and then vote on the new combined bill.  THEN the House will take the new combined bill, make their changes  and again vote. THEN, it goes back to the Senate who will make more changes and then they vote.

A long long process.  The Senate has some important and very close races coming up so Trumpcare will be a job killer for many GOP incumbents (as it was for many DNC incumbents with Obamacare - and the reason Trump is our President).  This bill will quietly die in the Senate.  Obamacare killed a large number of Democrats and Trumpcare will do exactly the same to the GOP if they let it.

remember - 100% of the time in American history - the party that controls the white house starts to lose power almost immediately from Governors all the way up the line.    

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Just to make you feel REALLY insignificant

I'm not a "photo gasper". I don't look at a photo and gasp at it's beauty . . . . normally.  This one I literally did gasp.

 That little spec is Earth as seen from between Saturns Ring's from the Cassini Spacecraft.  OR - it could be fake from the fake Nasa missions trying to pretend all that "science" garbage.

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I took a tour of the new Library annex . . . house - what a totally screwed up house that is. One full bathroom in the entire house, upstairs in someones bedroom.

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Still working on trees downtown.  There are issues with the size of sidewalks and ADA and all that but things are moving forward - trees are sill (or back) in the plans. What we need are business to step up and provide bike racks and so forth for downtown when the end game is nigh!

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So my brother and his very cool wife narrate for books on "tape".  It's a very complicated thing they have to do with their voices to narrate a book for the public. MUCH more complicated they you would think.  They have a little studio and so forth.

ANYWAY - he has been accepted to narrate a book about the USS Indianapolis.  How awesome is that!!

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OK - gotta run . WEATHER - we have an Omega block so what we have now is what we will have for a while across the US.  Whatever your weather is NOW, it ain't changing for 4 or 5 days.  We will be cooler then normal BUT . . . . dry (except for a cold front pushing through tonight with showers) and then back to what we have now!

Carry on

Are you recording this?

We got a free upgrade with DIRECT TV with a new tiny genie.  But there have been issues.  Things recording that we have never heard of,  remote being REALLY slow with what seems to be a SMALL cone of radar and screen freezing for a few seconds every 10 or 15 minutes.

WELL - the recording of random programs, THEY SAY, is user error.  FAIL - I think not. But it's an easy issue to delete. I can't believe we would randomly - BY ACCIDENT - record 3 or 4 random shows.

Screen freezing is a known issue they are working on and the remote was an easy fix.

Press the MUTE and ENTER at the same time and your remote goes into RF mode and can now see through things as opposed to being in a direct line.  That works GREAT.

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My virtual golf world with TheGolfClub (TGC) and IRL (In Real Life) golf met last night and I tell ya -  TGC helped my game.  I visualized greens much better and on one hole last night it was uncanny.   I was standing over a 7 yard chip shot saying to myself "this is exactly like a shot I had a few nights ago online".   I sank it.

My only problem was the greens were MUCH slower then Augusta and so forth  LOL  Still - I had my best 1st night round since 2013 with a 49.

I've had GolfShot on my iPhone for 6 years which records every round, so the other night I made a spread sheet of all my Door Creek league rounds.  On average I improve 4 strokes up to week 12 and then lose 2 strokes on the final 6 rounds.  My average first round score is 52.5, 49 last night. Average 2nd round score is 51.5.  Average of 86 rounds 49.6.  Yup - that is what a 25 handicap dude scores.

SADLY - I see my best year was 2011 which was also the year I stopped working full time AND golfed a lot more.  Weird how practice makes you better.  WHO KNEW!!!

Then there are my new golf balls.  MaxFli SoftFli which have a 35 compression golf ball. yes - THIRTY FIVE - lots of myths about low compression golf balls.

One is that they are only for low swing speed golfers.  Test results show that there is very very minimal difference in velocity and distance between high and low swing speeds with low compression balls.

Low compression balls do do better then at low temps then high compression while high temps they are basically the same (but still better) as high compression.

"Testing of a significant number of golfers indicates that low compression/soft feel golf balls are preferred by a majority of players regardless of handicap. With the correct design, low compression golf balls can be produced that have distance performance that is as long or longer than higher compression golf balls."

I REALLY like my balls.  I'm not sure they are longer off the tee but so far I'm consistently hitting them farther with irons by 10 yards (when I actually make contact) and the feel great.

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DJs dad.

Some of you know he had some time in the Columbus hospital last weekend.  Verdict - Rectal Ulcer. Drink more liquid and eat more protein is the main takeaway.  DO IT.   He's "fine" now. Or as fine as a 92 year old USS Indy Survivor can be.

BTW - have I mentioned that the movie "USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage"  is a HORRIBLE movie?

"Marine! why did you sign up to be a Marine".  "To kill Japs Sir!".   A cliche' ridden movie based loosely on a book nobody ever read.

In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors

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Seems the guy that made racial slurs in Boston now has a lifetime ban.
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This whole fluoride controversy has popped up again and I refuse to believe fluoride, as used, is poison.  CASE CLOSED!

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Seems about right to me - who does he think he is - DON'T MESS WITH AMERICA!

"An Australian man was imprisoned by U.S. immigration officials after getting delayed at the Canada-U.S. border and subsequently overstaying his U.S. visa by 90 minutes".

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Of to yet another dentist appointment - WISH I would have had fluoride as a kid.

Rod

Bitter sweet

Weather - this is the transition day - after today - expect 9 days of sun and temps in the low to mid 60s - BORING

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So the next time you decide to propose to your girlfriend . . . perhaps don't do it at Fenway Park. . Seems a guy made a very very public proposal the other day for all to see.

She said no on the Jumbotron

And while you are contemplating what went wrong and what your life will be like you are doing it with 35,000 people all chanting in unison SHE SAID NO SHE SAID NO SHE SAID NO.

LOL

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Yesterday was bitter sweet as I turned in my badge to 1 West Wilson and can no longer enter the building.  Well, I only used the badge like once in 10 years because there is not really any security anyway but I guess they feel the need for badges because everyone else has them.

So I had to go in and pick up my coffee cup and bowl.  That would be called a bowl movement.  I said good-bye to the only person I knew there and the one other Caucasian computer programmer that works for the State . . . . .  NOT THAT THAT IS A BAD thing.  I did really love all the Indian dish's and holidays that are now celebrated when you work for the State of Wisconsin.  BUT - I am now just another elderly driver waiting for an accident so they can say "an elderly driver lost control" like we are just driving randomly around hoping to get to a destination.

WHEN DID I BECOME  . . . SIR!!!  Whenever some one calls me "sir" there is a F U in my head.

Anyway - it was a good run.  I graduated from MATC in 1987 and had only one job in my life AND really only one system.  Never had a retirement party when I "retired".they just said good-bye, so long, here is a plaque,  Sort of sad.  You always dream of that big send off, an exit interview and all that.

If you work for the State government you get low pay, no Christmas parties and never ever a year end bonus PLUS, our Governor makes sure all the citizens hate you.

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The final (and I mean final) push to dump that now popular Obamacare repealed is about to come to a head.  Paul Ryan can't afford more then 22 GOPers to not vote for it. At the moment 20 have said "nyet".

Trumps first budget was passed and almost ALL of his campaign promises/lies went into the golden Trump toilet.

Not only will there be no boarder wall but there are REAL strict restrictions and only 1/2 the money asked is going towards boarder protection. OH - there are no cuts in funding to sanctuary cities.

Non-defense domestic spending will go up, despite the Trump team’s insistence he wouldn’t let that happen.

Barack Obama’s cancer moonshot will be generously funded. The administration asked to slash spending at the National Institutes of Health by $1.2 billion for the rest of this fiscal year. Instead, the NIH will get a $2 billion boost.

Trump fought to cut the Environmental Protection Agency by a third. The final deal trims its budget by just 1 percent, with no staff cuts.   This is just the money part of things - not what the EPA will actually DO now.

Planned Parenthood is still funded.

The war monger (every time he bombs his ratings go up)  got less than half as much for the military as he said was necessary.

To keep negotiations moving, the White House already agreed last week to continue paying Obamacare subsidies. This money, which goes to insurance companies, reduces out-of-pocket expenses for low-income people who get coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

Yea - the guy is an expert negotiator all right.

Don't start me on Andrew Jackson.  Being a Civil War enthusiasts . . . . I can't think of when Andrew was EVER mentioned.  He just killed American Indians.  Did you know he ordered plague blankets be given to the Indian woman when on the Trail of Tears.  

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The average Venezuelan lost 19 pounds last year, something Americans would love. But not in that way (food shortages, civic unrest and a catastrophic economic collapse) but it's only day 103 for Trump so there is still time.

If you want to see what it is like in that country check out "States of Undress" where Hailey Gates "explores global fashion and issues the industry often ignores, showing us what the world wears, and why".  It's truly an eye opener as she explores the country

Here is a 1 minute video of her in Venezuela.  I see many people don't see the videos I post so I try to put a link.

A City With No Tampons: SATE OF UNDRESS

https://youtu.be/C1oofhNubuo



Speaking of TV

There is a show called "The Mick" that is  . . . . interesting.  It's actually a very funny dark comedy unlike any show on network television.  Here is the thing - I guarantee you that at some point in that show you will feel REAL guilty and cringe about laughing at something.  No really - VERY politically incorrect.  You know like an 8 year old popping birth control pills or swallowing bags of coke.

I said once that this show is written by GOPers just to shove it in liberals faces (but in a funny way). . . I stand by that. BUT - it's funny and you will feel so odd when that part of the comedy happens and you are saying "should this be on TV?"

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OH - WHY HIM - we thought the movie was pretty darn good!!

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Avocados from Mexico are at their highest price in 19 years. America gets 82% of therr avocados from Mexico.

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Thames - That Brewer making all the headlines? (Drug tested 3 times in the last 2 weeks by MLB) is leading the league not NOT swinging at bad pitches.

His 19% swing rate at non-strikes leads major leagues.  Before he went to South Korea he had a non-strike swing rate if 35%.  After goign to S Korea for 2 years he learned to control himself. So far it worked.

Speaking of The Cubs.  Matt Schwarber is literally one of the slowest outfielders in the Majors. Where do that play him in the field???

And Villar the Brewer 2B?  WOW - he is NOT doing well at 2B. He is like an error machine statistically.