Tornadoes.

And down we go once again

this is called a triple top and has no real significance besides showing that "we" hit the top once again and are now on our way to HOPEFULLY bounce on the support and go back up again. It's been 18 months of going nowhere,  The trend is still up as long as the traitor President and his cronie controlled fed continues to take money away from civilians and put it into big corporations. 

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

I'm sure you have seen Jeffries almost have his career ended the other night

https://youtu.be/iFjinJgrw-U


When he went down I swore it hit him in the face. But then watching him I felt (I have chills typing this) there was something else wrong.  I FELT that there was something going on in his brain he was dealing with.  ALMOST seizure-like  and I mentioned it to DJ but it was not mentioned. I dated a woman once that had seizure's and I had that same pre-seizure feeling.  Then I find out last night that he does have a small issue with seizures.  His right had was the key as it shook JUST a tiny bit (not in this video).   

And speaking of the Brewers - maybe it's time to send Aguilar down so we can keep Hiura on the roster as a REAL second baseman.  We can't have Shaw, Aggy AND Hiura all at the same time.  Plus Nelson is now pitching in AAA so it's getting crowded. 

AND COME ON - when do we play somebody NOT in 1st place LOL.

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

I went to the DR yesterday and I do NOT have Gout.  YEA!   More like a bunion it seems (we think).  I did not realize gout was so prevalent. Hitting people between 30-50 normally. 

I had blood work and is it me? or are these guys that take blood just better?  seriously, the last few times getting the needle I have been more bothered by a mosquito bite then having blood taken.

They asked me if I needed a distraction when I was having blood taken.  I said it really depends on what the distraction is.  A hula girl I could deal with but a dancing clown I would say no. 

It was a buzzer vibrator thing.  I declined in disappointment. 

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

Another weird weather weekend.  I say high of 66 on Saturday while the talking heads are saying 10 degrees warmer.  I hope I'm wrong

And if you are one of the people saying all of these tornadoes are from climate change - you are wrong.  What scientists know the least about is tornadoes and so far there is zero correlation found between climate change and tornadoes. 

America is basically the only country in the world that has tornadoes.  A book called Storm Kings is about Americas first tornado chasers and how it was an unknown phenomena for people coming from Europe.

NOBODY believed they spun like a top, that was crazy talk. They were formed from lightning.

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

OH - remember the Space Force #DerangedDonald was talking about creating?   First of all we have one already called the Air Force Space Command.   But seems he mentioned it a day after he was briefed on how Russia and China are SO SO far ahead of us in Space.

While America commands space with all the communication and GPS satellites. Russia and China are FAR FAR more advanced with weapons in space. 

China has a satellites that can literally grab our satellites and Russian has so many lasers in space they could knock out our entire financial industry with one zap of the many GPS satellites.

We really are at war already with Russia and China but nobody is really talking about it.  If you can't see it it's not happening.

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

 Nuff said   

silent raves / Dubai / Downtown parking lane? ?wettest may ever?

Welcome back to work.  I saw a weather dude Sunday night saying what a great stretch of weather we were having. So a "stretch" is 2 days now?

Just random thoughts as I sit down here.

If you watched The Amazing Race they are really putting teams through some culture shock.
After spending a few days in Vietnam they fly to Dubai which seems to be Las Vegas on MANY MANY steroids. 

I mean geez if you have a beautiful city why not make a 50 story tall picture frame to show it off.  Maybe this is what Columbus needs.

So after spending 3 days in Dubai and all of it's futuristic buildings they fly 3000 miles to Uganda where they are running through mud streets.  Crazy good show.

Silent raves are a thing? How cool is that.!

https://youtu.be/nNSxZ2MSIFg



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

And then there is the 4 corner intersection.  Seems the police have been giving tickets to people making right turns from the parking lane.   Ed Johnson posted

Wisconsin Statutes Section 346.31(2) "Right turns. Both the approach for a right turn and the right turn shall be made as closely as practicable to the right-hand edge or curb of the roadway. If, because of the size of the vehicle or the nature of the intersecting roadway, the turn cannot be made from the traffic lane next to the right-hand edge of the roadway, the turn shall be made with due regard for all other traffic."

Which seems REALLY vague with the  "the turn shall be made with due regard"    wording.

It was MY understanding that that lane was a parking lane and thus you could not turn.  There is only 1 lane to make a right turn on red and it was not that parking lane.  People say it's yellow curb THUS no longer a parking lane - I would LOVE to hear what the actual law is.

There is a yellow curb which is Stop only long enough to load or unload passengers—no longer than posted. Drivers are usually required to stay with their vehicle.

to ME that says it's not a turn lane.  Anyone Anyone?

Also - bikes are being stolen from Pic-n-Save. Seems they were not registered OR locked which blows my mind that a bike on the side of a building is not locked while you work inside.  It's just ASKING to be stolen.

Speaking of bikes DJ and I took a leisurely 10 mile ride in the Horicon Marsh Auto Tour that links up with the Wild Goose Trail.  SADLY the Horicon Marsh Auto Tour area will be closed all summer so just when we find a wonderful biking path - it closes. 

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

RAIN - well so far this COULD be the wettest May on record.  Columbus has received 6.13 inches of rain so far

5/1  0.34
5/2 0.20
5/6 0.38
5/9 1.00
5/10 0.05
5/17 0.43
5/18 0.37
5/19 0.18
5/20 0.08
5/22 0.59
5/24 0.29
5/25 1.98
5/28 0.42

this spring reminds me of 1996 but not AS bad.  I remember that because people were all cranky and on June 9th after 30 days of clouds DJ and I flew to Las Vegas where it was 100 degrees and felt GREAT and we got married. 

In 1996 we were 7 degrees below average with 24 days with highs in the 60s or below and 2.95 inches of rain.   This year only 3 degrees below norm for May.

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

OK - I digested the Bucks fall and after reading many things - it was not as bad as it seemed.  For one thing Toronto got REALLY lucky and the Bucks shot REALLY poor.

The Raptors shot 33% on guarded catch and shoot jumpers. The Bucks shot 32.9% on unguarded catch and shoot jumpers.

and people forget just how tenuous these games are.  Fred Vanvleet in the last 3 games was 14-17 on 3 point shots. The highest percentage over 3 games in playoff history.  If he would have shot HIS normal percentage that is a 27 point difference in 3 close games.

The Bucks broke all sorts of playoff records scoring. The most dominate scoring team in playoff history since the 16 team era.  They just happened to play the exact team that could stop them when matching player to player.

But what losing did was show the weaknesses that can now be fixed AND Giannis, amazingly, is still learning. This was his first deep run into the playoffs. LeBron had these same struggles in 2011 with a new team.

I'm excited for next year as most players will be back.

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

May is officially over for my SOM team - check out the games above .500 graph.  -1 for every loss and +1 for every win.  I was HOT!

   Problem though.  Even though I'm on pace to win 102 games - not only am I in 2nd place 1 game back, but I'm 1.5 games out of LAST place.  The LAST place team in my division is on pace to win 98 games  IN LAST PLACE!

tough division.
***************

Who wants to go to Mt Everest - can we form 2 lines to the summit ?   The below shot is the last few 1000 feet to the summit which is about the size of two ping pong tables. Typically there are 20 people taking selfies while people below are running out of O2.  They have to step over a dead woman who ran out of air.  What is the politically correct thing to so.  Step over her? push her body off the cliff?

If you die up there no one brings you down. It's too dangerous.  I really don't think it is worth it.

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

Gus has a new best friend that lives next door.   His name is Matisse and he is half shih tzu and half chihuahua and is adorable.  They play so well together it's crazy. Just rolling around and chasing each other.

But sadly Matisse was gone this weekend and Gus missed him. He spent time wishing Matisse was home.

Sophie met Matisse and had no problems.  Just another stupid dog.

And Sophie has now climbed the cat friendly screen 4 times now - ZERO holes.  Can't even see where she climbed - not that we LET her.  Gus normally gets her down. He's the enforcer when if comes to cats being bad.

We yelled at Sophie ONCE and now every time Sophie looks at the screens Gus is on alert and will bark at her if she looks to climb.

Nuff said - need food.

Not the Glaucoma machine?

I will tell you RIGHT now - David's Deli Bagels are NOT boiled bagels and thus NOT bagels.  I worked at Bagels Forever as a bagel boiler and these are NOT real bagels.  First National bagels are real and actually good.  These suck.

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

I'm just going to mention this once and move on.

I have a friend for maybe 15 years where everybody seems to makes fun of him as a person that brings bad luck and everybody laughs including him.  In fact he also jokes about it.

Being a person where everybody made fun of me through middle school because of my speech and still make fun as I battle minor dyslexia I make fun of myself as a defense mechanism.  But, it really really does wear on you if it is a constant thing.  I have to think that people that constantly make fun of someone have never had it done to them year after year after year.

Maybe it's fine, I don't know other peoples inner demons but to me, it's a form of passive bullying that seems innocent to one side but will wear you down on the inside on the receiving end. 

Nuff said - it's just been on my mind the last few months.

***********************           

So I'm running out of contact lenses and called the eye doctor.  Everything was going well and they said my appointment was at the Main Street office in Sun Prairie.  I said I would like to have the appointment at the Prairie Lakes office.

OH ON - because I am 65 or older I need to go to the Main Street office because they have special equipment.  WHAT? - I need the Glaucoma machine or something? Maybe a defibrillator . .in case?
Will my walker be able to fit inside the doorway if my wife drives me?   I'm pretty sure I don't have glaucoma. I've been working on that for a very long time.

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

BUCKS - sigh. I'm glad I feel more pain with a Brewer loss after 40 games then a Bucks loss in game 5 of the playoffs.  Obviously the NBA is not my major sport.  First love?  baseball.

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

  YUCK David's Deli Bagels are bad - I threw it out!

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

There is a rule in TGCTours virtual golf where you can chip or flop shot on the green if you are closer then 100 feet to the hole.  I posted this image a few days ago on our board just to tell people I was going to attempt a flop shot as I was 100 feet away. (I was about 5 feet away and holed it).

   
Notice the helper thing says that because  my shot was 142 inches UP my putt was more like a 157 foot putt. Because these greens were pretty slow I literally was not able to putt 157 feet.

WELL - a guy comes on to say that he plays by different rules.  He did not like the official rule so he had his own rules. WELL . . . . that sort of irked a few people who said he cannot just make up his OWN rules.

When the police pull me over and I take a breathalyzer and it's 1.1 I can't tell the Chief Schultz that even though his rule is 0.8  MY rule is 1.1.  that probably won't fly. 

BTW - the city website has not been updated with the new Chief of Police

Long story shorter - I'm pretty sure the guy will be watched by everyone that follows the rules.

Check out the video of the course we play next week.  Designers are creating some beauty. In TGC19 people can create their own courses.  Looks a little on teh easier side this week.  Last week there were a LOT of big elevation changes.

https://youtu.be/Jx8FqHUDNOY


 ***********************

   *****************

We ate at Mullins yesterday.  As we were finishing an older guy comes up and asks about driving the Green Lake and he has a map.  Take 73 all the way there, easy. I ask where they are coming from and he says Kohler and his licence plate says Florida.

DJ asks if he is going to the lake or the town.  He reply's they are going to the House on the Rock Resort . . . . . .  . . . . . .wait .  . . . . . . what?

OH OH.  You mean Spring Green?  Well, that is a totally different story.  He can't figure out his Android phone maps so DJ spends time with him mapping out a course.  I hope they made it.

have a GREAT weekend - sever storms tonight - EXCELLENT the rest of the weekend.

Cheers

Hole in one at the Oaks, and another and another - NOT ME

Had golf league at the Oaks last night.

NO NO NO - not THAT golf league - REAL golf.

I was playing with my league partner, The Negotiator, on the 13th hole at The Oaks on a very windy night.  He will either shoot a 57 or a 46 depending on biorhythms or something.  We were just coming off 12 where I had birdied and I had a OK shot on the 132 yard par 3.

The Negotiator is next and hits his ball straight, (yea weird ?) and the ball hits the front of the green.

He says "never saw it" and we tell him it was because it went straight. The green is elevated so we can only see the front but I assured him "it's somewhere on the green" which elicits a victory fist pump.

We walk up and Mike is on the left side of the green and I'm on the right side and the other guy is in front and The Negotiator walks up and says "where the hell is MY ball".  I'm looking past the green  saying I SWEAR it was on the green.

We're wondering around and Mike says laughingly "has anybody looked in the hole"?  Well, I'm closest to the hole so I wander that direction and glance and start to move away . . . . wait . . . WHAT?

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!! 

  
I yell "IT'S HERE" and there is a shrike like a little girl and The Negotiator comes up and  . . . there it is.

But it gets even stranger.  Tuesday, The Oaks had their first Hole In One of the year  and yesterday?  They had THREE!

The chance of a hole in one on a par 3 by a normal typical non-pro golfer is 12,500 to 1 and they had three in one day.

The next shot?  ZIP into the weeds 20 yards away at a 45 degree angle.

The Oaks will need to make more banners I think.

It cost him only about $170.  Pretty cheap.  In Japan when you golf you take out Hole in One insurance.  For $65 a year you are covered for up to $3000.   A typical Hole in One in Japan can cost you up to $10,000 and you must apologize for showing off. 

40% of all Japanese golfers own Hole in One insurance. 

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

I might be liberal but I will NOT let conservatives steal the flag for themselves. I took this leaving  The Oaks.  It just looked beautiful.

 Inflation, higher taxes from a needles trade war, hate crime rising, infrastructure crumbling, hard workers being tossed out of the country as racism flourish's, child birth at a 30 year low and blatant, ignorant lies from the head of the Nation but still, America will endure.  At least for maybe another 50 years.  No promises after that.

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

Game of Thrones - a survey of 2000 random people saw 314 watched the finale'  of those who watched  26% LOVED it. 37% LIKED it a lot,  24% did not like it and 10% hated it.

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

Baseball - The ball is in play less then ever, the bullpen is being used more (3.3 relievers per game) and batting averages a low.

One reason is the fast ball.  In 2002 the average fast ball was 89 mph. This year the average is 92.9. In 2008 there were 196 pitches thrown at over 100 mph.  in 2018 there were 1,320. 

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

In Texas a bill to expand Medical Cannabis was unanimously passed in their Senate.

The Cincinnati Common council will vote to decriminalize Cannabis - it's expected to pass.

The Louisville, Kentucky Metro Council is considering a proposal to make marijuana the city's lowest law enforcement priority.

Colorado retailers set a monthly marijuana sales record in March.  In 2018 Colorado sold $1.55 BILLION with most goign towards education, infrastructure and law enforcement.   At the point Colorado is $21 million ahead of last year in sales.

Wisconsin - GOP cronies have ZERO planes for ANYTHING cannabis.  it's gateway drug you know and takes away from alcohol sales along with decreasing the need for opiates sales from big pharm  which many of the GOP are heavily invested in.

Nuff said     

Black Sails / trail cam? / economy

To comment on the comments.  What caught my attention in Black Sails was Tom Hooper.  He is one of the stars in Netflix weirdo but super interesting Umbrella Academy so when I saw his face I felt I had to look into the show.

I watched episode #1 last night just to get a taste for later.  A typical meet and greet episode with  gratuitous sex and over the top characters who looked like they were still trying to figure out their character.  More characacher's then characters but it looked interesting.

The thing with GOT is that people loved ALL the characters.  You can have a great show but if you don't like the cast it won't go.  The new comedy "Bless This Mess" is sort of a Green Acres knock off  but after watching the first few episodes I like the entire cast.  OK OK I sort of spun off in a different direction there . . .

 ANYWAY - I'm glad M had the same reaction and will continue . . once I finish GOT Season 6.

OH we BOTH love Downton Abby - The Downton Abby movie trailer

https://youtu.be/tu3mP0c51hE


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

I think many people understand things easier visually then just using words. People can say Obama created a good economy but then propaganda news will come on and say NO it was horrible as a certain segment suffered and yada yada yada.

Every economy will leave someone left behind and you can always find a black spot.  I mention this as I was talking to  someone who obviously watched Fox propaganda News and she commented Obama's economy was a nightmare.

WELL - Of course I could not let that go and said that she was either joking or just misinformed.

Obama's economy did GREAT and continues to be great. This is a chart of the S&P 500.  The 500 largest companies in America, the ones that drive the macro economy.

Notice that the bottom left is where Obama was elected.  Does that look like a bad economy?  YES - Trump can say his economy is doing great . . and it IS but it's not like he changed the momentum in any way.

Speaking of Trump - he canceled a $929 million project in California for high speed rail because political retribution.  The President for ALL Americans?  I think not. 


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

USPS is looking into driver less trucks to deliver mail to cities. I'm sure some people will be against this but how about asking the drivers and passengers caught in the nightmare under the Hy73/151 bridge from last week in Columbus. 

The one where the truck drivers failed to see stopped cars and plowed into them at full speed in a construction zone. 

It's been pretty quiet about that accident.

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

Trumps trade war is really hurting China. They were not allowed to watch the finale' of GOT and they are PISSED!  Otherwise they are just buying all their stuff from other countries. Never to come back to America.

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

We don't know what is wrong with Gus - he seems REALLY frightened at something, shaking.  No reason why.

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

Weather station is acting up - wind says NORTH at 2 MPH when it's really 18 from the South  hmmm   Davis Instruments are sending out test cables.    I've felt for the last 4 months that the wind speed just seemed too low.  Now this morning I see winds from the NORTH at 2 mph when in REALITY it's from the south at 18.   

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

Elweed has now had 4 trellises stolen from his garden by someone that lives in his apartment building - any suggestions in trail cameras (cheap) so he can catch the guy?  Anyone have a trail camera he can borrow? 

John Wick / AVAST / passwords /Steinhafels /SOM

DAMN IT -  I was using AVAST disc cleanup and was deleting unused programs.  I had one that said I had not used it for 6 months so I deleted it.  All of a sudden CHROME is totally new with none of my  200+ links.  AAAAAAGH!! 

I felt like what balderdash looked like last Wednesday when he could not find his wallet.  Calm and collected on the outside yet panicking inside.   I did find how to revert CHROME back 2 days but things are still messed up a little.  Passwords forgotten, and all sorts of nice short cuts gone.

Then every time GOOGLE acquires a company I have to change passwords. AND COME ON . When you forget a password and press the I FORGOT MY PASSWORD surrender button the first question that is asked

What was the last password you remember

IF I KNEW THAT YOU DUMB F*CK WOULD I HAVE TO ASK YOU?  What good does that question do ANYBODY!! 

sigh! 

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

Anyway - back on planet earth - we ordered some freakishly expensive porch furniture (all furniture is now freakishly expensive it seems - the saleswoman at Steinhafels said most couches are $200 more then last year and going up, thank you Trump and the GOP) and we were suppose to get everything my mothers day.

Obviously Mothers day came and went and I looked online and now it said delivery was scheduled "early June". WTF?  So I called last Thursday and politically correctly and WITH A SMILE, complained and got $100 off.  Then Friday 12 hours later, I get a call asking if they can deliver Monday between 9;30 and 11:30.  SURE

We get a call about 10:30 Monday saying we will be there in an hour, about 11:30. 

12:00 rolls around and I get a call.  Seems the person ahead of us canceled and the guys in the truck went back to Waukesha, dropped off OUR furniture at the warehouse and then went back delivering other peoples . . . OOPS!

So now it's today. Still 2 weeks ahead of schedule OR one week late.  I can't decide.  It takes longer to build a porch and a deck in freezing temps then to buy deck chairs and a porch couch.

sigh.

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

Everybody has a routine before bed . . I assume.   I read and then make sure windows are closed and yada yada and finally check email and OH OH - more road results from my Strat-o-matic team and I see I swept Scranton.

This might be good news for many people but I'm starting to feel guilty as my team is on a run of my life.  After finishing April with sweeping Green Bay in 3 games AND sweeping Seattle in 3 games I was 12-15.  NOT what I was expecting when I was bragging about how awesome my team was my team in March.

 Well . . . . . . The note From Scranton said "Two words Christian Yelich" .

What do you think of when you hear "Christian Yelich"?   His mom.

Christian Yelich's mom

But back to baseball . . . . yet another sweep by The Worthogs.  In my conference my team is 5-13.  Outside of my conference (or is it Division)  I'm 26-4 and on a 25-2 run with 6 road games to go for this month.   GULP!!

My offense AVG is .263 with the next best team at .245  First in On Base and First in slugging.

Pitching in the middle of the pack with Starters having a 2.89 ERA which has to be from my defense which at the moment as 4 Gold Gloves, 1B, 2B SS and CF with Yelich a runner up in RF.

But always looking at the future - I seem to have drafted fairly well.  I lose Freeman (1B) next year to free agency but will fill in nicely with Mancini (Balt) who I drafted 2 years ago to replace him and he has a .907 OPS which is GREAT.

SO - I'm waiting for  the worm to turn as I go back to my own division next month.

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

Anybody watch Black Sails?   I picked up the first season. Will start it once I get done with Season 6 of GOT.

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

1% of the entire population in Northern Ireland have been used in filming Game of Thrones.  The show pumped $250 million into the economy and tourism from the show pumped in another $64 million into the economy in 2018.   75% of the show was either filmed on location or on sound stages in Northern Ireland. 

Meanwhile John Wick chapter 3 finally ousted Avengers Endgame.  I never watched John Wick but from everything I have read it's one of those hidden gems and I will certainly watch it now. Plus John wick Chapter 4 is do out in 2022?   DO NOT KILL John Wicks puppy!

Any movie that will have a fight scene where John Wick is on a horse fighting ninjas on motorcycles to an awesome sound track has to be good.

https://youtu.be/pU8-7BX9uxs


I gotta watch #1 first!

Any other Keanu Reeves fans out there?  What a nightmare life he has had outside of movies.

Born in Beirut, his dad was in prison for selling heroin and abandoned his family. His mom remarried but divorced when Keanu was 7.  He went to 5 high schools in 4 years and was expelled in one of them.  He has dyslexia which I am very familiar with and his girl friend in 1999 gave birth to a still born child and then was killed in a car accident JUST before shooting The Matrix.  She was taking opiates for depression. 

And you wonder why he pretty much keeps to himself.

 ****************************

Nuff said

Weather / GREAT sports night / Farmer's Market / The Unicorn

HERE WE GO!  Expect wave after wave of thunderstorms for the next 4 days. We have a strong cold front that will be REALLY warm on one side NEAR US and REALLY COLD on the other side, NEAR US. 

As one talking head said last night - "a nightmare for weatherman" as just 50 miles could be a difference of 30 degrees.  The high today COULD be 80, the high tomorrow COULD be 55 and expect 1-3 inches of rain in the next 4 days

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

Meanwhile I had a GREAT sports night. The Brewers won, the Bucks won and I had my lowest 9 hole score at The Oaks (44) AND my longest drive ever at 275 yards (downhill but STILL, longest).

The Bucks - Oh man Toronto has to be kicking themselves - totally outplayed the Bucks for 3 quarters and lost.  Only one Toronto player scored in the 4th quarter as all other players were 0-15.  That won't do it. In fact in the 2nd half really only 2 players on the Raptors did anything.  The non-stars were a non-factor. Unlike the Bucks super deep bench.

Lopez, who I loved immediately when the Bucks signed him is a "on or off"  3-point shooter.  He can do what he did last night or go 0-10 shooting.

SO - Toronto played really good and the Bucks were flat . . and still won.

-6.5 WINNER   -240 WINNER
++++++++++++
The NBA draft changed for the better.  Because of the Philadelphia 76ers purposefully tanked for 3 years to get the #1 pick the NBA changed how lottery's are done and it seems to have worked.

Now the top 3 teams only have a 14% chance for the #1 pick as opposed to a 25% chance.  So this year the #1 pick went to New Orleans which had a 6% chance.  The teams that tanked lost out and will continue to be bad.  Lucky fans.   

COME ON MAN!! Dan Patrick took 40 minutes to even mention the Bucks game.  Its all about New Orleans Pelicans and Zion. 

THERE WE GO - an analysts just said the Bucks are the first Eastern Conference Team that plays West Coast basketball.   And . . . . that is it!  Back to Zion.  WOW! 

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

The Columbus Farmers Market was a huge success . . for what was there.  We have been trying to talk Leroys Meats into opening a store in Columbus.  They opened a second location in Fox Lake and had a stand at our little farmers market. 

They sold out in less then 2 hours! 

Columbus - we bitch about the town but do it as a team - yup. We showed up and showed them we want them in Columbus.

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

I'm not going to mention my SOM team as I don't want to jinks it - let's just say I have won 19 of the last 22 games EVEN with Yelich being a solid .245 hitter.

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

ONE quick cannabis note (I know move on) Oregon Senate voted to legalize interstate marijuana imports and exports. A change in federal policy is required for the legislation to take effect, but the vote itself is a first for any state.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) tweeted that he's "proud" to work on "legislation to expand access to medical cannabis for our veterans!"

Florida is more liberal and forward thinking then Wisconsin.  And FLA can shoot people for stepping on their yards.

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

Any Walten Groggins fans out there? Remember Boyd Kramer on Justified?  He became one of my favorite actors.

He has a new comedy on CBS that really looks good. COMING THIS FALL!

https://youtu.be/vOYqdWp2bqM



another good show is Tommy - about the first female Police Chief in LA - just putting it out there.

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

OK - It SEEMS  Republican politicians understand how tariffs work, yet Donald Trump and his supporters do not have a clue but will believe anything he says . . no matter how ignorant. 

While they have a valid argument about China's unfair trade practices of stealing technology and anything else they can get their hands on . . . Trump supporters believe that taxing Americans will will fix this.

They argue that nothing Obama did worked, which is totally true, I can not argue that.  But tariffs are like if you decided to combat a bully in school by poking a stick into your OWN eye so the bully will stop. 

They argue that tariffs will NOT really raise prices . . . yet prices are ALREADY higher since the first 10% tariffs.  Have they not purchased anything lately?   Inflation is at a 5 month high (odd how the first tariffs started 5 months ago) and rising.

As 99% of economists say "nobody wins trade wars", yet Trump and his followers believe we are winning.

Then they claim they are anti-socialism yet are fine with giving farmers . . or shall I say PROMISING to give farmers, a lump of cash because tariffs are hurting them so much. Is that not socialism? Are Trump supporters really socialists? The very thing they hate?
+++++++++++++

The markets?  Bouncing off a support at the moment - Macro events in America don't seem to be having much of an influence as many earnings are coming in greater the expected.  I think the next few days might be interesting to see where things go. 

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

  Have a great Thursday

Accident / cannabis myths debunked / The Bucks

The ground cover from yesterday - needs sun.  ANY sun.  it's not to picky.  Its an awesome plant!

Check out this link Sedum kamtschaticum var. floriferum 'Weihenstephaner Gold 

Easily grown in average, dry to medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Grows well in sandy or gravelly soils. Tolerant of hot dry sites and some poor soils, but must have good soil drainage in order to perform well. Avoid overwatering. Plants may be sited 12” apart when grown as a ground cover. Tip cuttings from plants may be rooted directly in soil around the plants. Winter hardy to USDA Zone 3.

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I want to welcome any new readers to this blog about nothing but really sort of about Columbus a small town north of Madison Wisconsin USA.  I must warn you I have a liberal slant on news so don't hate me or take anything personally. I grew up in a split Republican / Democrat household so unlike many people I actually chose my own slant once I saw that the Republicans do not really work FOR the people at all.

Republicans are all about business and Democrats are all about people - simple as that.

ANYWAY - look at the last 1200 people that read this blog

United States  853
Germany 82
Russia 57
Unknown 51
UK 44
France 30
Netherlands 30
Austria 27
Ukraine 26
Indonesia 18

I have no idea why but this seems to be a pretty constant group.

SO - last night just outside our little town we had just a horrific nightmare accident involving a truck not noticing cars stopped in a construction zone and he literally drove OVER a pick up truck which pushed into 4 other cars ripping one car in two. One person was killed and 6 were severally injured.

If you can see, that is a pick up truck right behind that car and in front of the truck.

As I was driving through Columbus we saw a firetruck speeding our way and like 5 of the 6 cars ahead of us we pulled over.  The other car did not seem to notice the huge red flashing sirens screaming firetruck and did not budge one inch out of their lane.  FREAKING MORON.  I wish I could have gotten his licence. 

Seems to me that since drivers ed is no longer taught in our schools, drivers are MUCH worse now then before.  BUT - who need education right?  Especially for something like driving.   

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I'm an advocate for legalizing cannabis for medical use.  FOR ME PERSONALLY the jury is still out on complete legalization. I'm not against it but I have not totally gone to the recreational side yet.  Which is weird I must admit.

I have been watching and reading everything I can about how it's going in Colorado and so far so many myths are being debunked.   OH - there are problems that the liberal press does not report and when the conservative press see they put a new spin on it to make it much worse then reality.

But for the most part there are really very very few issues so far.  Especially when compared to Wisconsin booze problems.

One myth is about cannabis shops. I have been to a few in Denver and it is a surreal experience for sure if you are from Wisconsin.

So here are some ACTUAL facts.

An overwhelming amount of studies show that crime rate around a cannabis shop is not effected.

Studies show that teen use of cannabis in recreational states are either steady OR have dropped.  A  2018 JAMA Pediatrics study in Washington shows a drop in teen use and a 2017 study by the Fed show cannabis use in teens is at a 20 year low,

A study be the journal of  Economic Inquiry concluded that property values actually rose 6 to 8% surrounding a cannabis shop.

So many myths are being debunked.  Yet the backward Wisconsin government has said there will be ZERO cannabis in Wisconsin.  Yet I know for a fact Medical cannabis works.

My X from 30 years ago had Osteogenesis imperfecta and the ONLY relief she ever had from 24/7 pain was cannabis. 

It's a crime the GOP in Wisconsin is against helping the citizens but are fine with helping bars fill everybody with booze and are fine with combating opiates with . . what ????  What are they doing besides just talking about it.  It's good for business right?  But cannabis? it's scary to their old ways.

We are even behind Nevada. They have a bill for Medical cannabis with proceeds going towards education.   NOT HERE!!  Wisconsin is one of FOUR States in America that does not have a cannabis bill on the floors.  FOUR! 

Weird how many of the heads in the GOP in Wisconsin are heavily invested in pharmaceuticals.

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I know many people will not go to the Columbus McDonalds because of the razor blade giveaway promotion in happy meals but in 2013 they started to make happy meals more healthy for kids. In 2018 they gave away 250 million apple slices in happy meals.  That can't be a bad thing.

FUN FACT - if you are dealing with gout (it seems to be a pretty common thing as you get older)  it's because uric acid is building up and you need to eat more nuts and fruit that combat uric acid.  When age starts to hit your body loses it's ability to combat uric acid.

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

Milwaukee Bucks are -6.5 favs tonight and -270 to win  - I like both.  The 4th quarter system is 11-4 (if a team outscores the other team in the first 3 quarters bet the OTHER team to win the last quarter).

Toronto will have to play MUCH better to beat the Bucks.  All they really have is Leonard who has been carrying them. Bucks are more rested and have home court advantage.  The Bucks, Nationally, are still underrated.  Milwaukee was the #1 defense team in the NBA and built their defense around ALLOWING teams to shoot 3 pointers.  Toronto is not a good 3-point shooting team.

I think Toronto will have a very hard time vs. the Bucks.  Bucks in 5.

Of course The Golden State Warriors have already won the championship according to most talking heads. 

FEAR THE DEER - Bucks win Championship - home court advantage in 5 or 7 games

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Weather - that dang cold front will be south of us giving us a cool breezy weekend - NOT the 72 sunny one that will happen 50 miles to our south.  Look for a LOT of rain this weekend with thunderstorms and maybe sever weather.  Typical spring in Wisconsin - stop complaining.  This is NOT unusual.

The good thing is the trend is warming up - BAD days are now in the low 60s as opposed to middle 50s.

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My favorite subject - polls.   In 2016 Bernie Sanders received 56.6% and Clinton 43.1%  in teh first round of polls.

This time Biden leads Bernie  24% to 20% and the other 127 candidates are fighting for the other 56% 

Nationally it's Biden leading Bernie but it's pretty early.

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Nuff for today   

Sedum kamtschaticum, commonly known as Kamchatka sedum or Kamchatka stonecrop

Three years ago Elwood and started working on the water tower wall. We took out all of the garbage between the rocks, beer cans  and CW&L brought in 10 cubic yards of dirt , normal garbage junky dirt.

We filled in all the cracks and using little sprigs of Sedum kamtschaticum, commonly known as Kamchatka sedum or Kamchatka stonecrop from our house filled in all the cracks.  We have never had an easier plant to tend too. 

It is very green is spring and the turns a beautiful yellow later.

We had only done this in rock walls as they smother all weeds and soak up a lot of water and are basically hands off after "planting".

As you can see in one of our rock walls they are a very lush plant and IF you ever want to get rid of them they are just hanging on by a thread and are easy to prune and pull out (just in case you change your mind)

What we did not realize is that they seed!   Which is fantastic

We planted this rock wall with sedum but not the ones spreading on the flat ground.  This is GREAT - it smothers out weeds but keep larger plants roots shaded.

AND - it's FREE!!!

All you have to do is stick your hand into the middle and pluck off one sprig

Like this.

then take that sprig and take off the bottom leaves - this is where the roots will start to grow.

Then all you have to do is put a slice into the dirt

Lay the sedum into the slice

And cover with soil - water?  you can . . or not . . it's a succulent so water is not really something it needs.    Notice this is pretty crappy soil - it does not care. In fact I don't think it likes GREAT soil.  We have been making super soil for 10 years and it prefers poor soil. 

And forget about it.

Elwood got a few sprigs out of a rock wall in Madison so we didn't know the name until recently.  It's a wonderful plant for filling in hard to grow places such as rock walls.  Just fill in the cracks with dirt and stick a sprig in it.  BAM

So if you need some take a trip to the water tower and grab a few sprigs.

I want to thank Columbus Water and Light for letting us do this.

Nuff said for today

Dot's Pretzels

WHAT? An actual warming trend?   Looks like it.

I have the Weather Underground app on my phone and there is an area where you can input temps and wind and so forth for an activity. 

For instance - I put BIKING in with temps 60-85 and wind <9 9="" activity="" an="" and="" as="" forecast="" forward="" gives="" hit="" idea="" is="" it="" look="" marks="" me="" mph="" my="" nbsp="" nice="" p="" tells="" this="" those="" to="" too.="" what="" when="" will="" you="">


Look at the SMART FORECAST area

Seems the Weather Underground is not as optimistic as the talking heads on TV looking at the 10 day forecast .

Side note - I purchased a Specialized Diverge E5 Comp.  After test riding 4 bikes I had an elbow pain from jarring and this one has it's Future Shock technology (putting "technology" after anything makes it MUCH more interesting). 

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Columbus Farmers Market starts this Wednesday,  I mention this as I went to Leroy's Meats in Horicon and picked up three  $3 Sirloin Grilling steaks.  OMG - even toothless Elweed thought those were the some of the most tender steaks he has ever had. 

They will be at the Farmers Market next to City Hall.

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OOOPS - this weekend 2 more families equaling 6 children are moving out of Columbus to Waunakee - School District issues.  SAD!

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DJ and I started to watch World of Dance.  Before you move on to something more interesting.   I recorded the 2nd to last dance by The Kings to show Elweed.  Then the finals arrived and they were even better.

These are are AMAZING   Check them out.  Elweeed said - WOW - that was AMAZING!

https://youtu.be/vweyQrGMEAk


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Before I forget.  Any pretzel lovers out there?

This is Dot. She makes Pretzels.  Dot's Pretzels

OMG - these are the best pretzels I have ever eaten.  You can get them from HyVee. They have just a touch of hotness. Not "hot" but a tiny bit of spice that makes them outstanding.

    Highly recommended for a try. Highly addictive.  I did not know if DJ who is not a super spicy flavor person would like them but she LOVES them.

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Farmers are having some big time issues getting their crops in.  In Illinois only 10% of the corn crop has been planted, normally about 60% by now.  Minnesota 6% down from 40%.  They can't plant soybeans instead because of the Trump Tax tariffs (which will cost every American an average of $800 this year).  China no longer buys soybeans from America and is now buying from other countries . . . never to come back to America. 

Expect the NEW tariffs to take effect in 90 days.  Here is the cool thing.  Somethings MADE IN AMERICA have gone up only because people believe the price has increased because of the tariffs.

American private companies are increasing prices because . . .they can.  The #TrumpInflation is taking hold.

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I got into a debate with some pro gun people.  I'm not anti-gun at all. I grew up with many guns in the house.  But as soon as I mention how in my opinion MORE guns did not make it safer some law abiding gun owner literally called me a coward and threatened to accidentally discharge a gun in my direction.

Why is it that whenever you talk to a law abiding gun owner they threaten you and call you a coward for not wanting to carry a firearm.  I WANT to say THEY are the cowards hiding behind a gun for protection . . . but I don't want some stable minded guy killing me so we can all be safe.

I have had a gun pointed at my face in a hold up.  YET - I feel no need to carry a gun. I will not kill a human for trying to steal $50.  sorry - my bad.

Here is my opinion.  We went to a Chinese buffet a few weeks ago.  A couple guys had HUGE firearms in holsters.  SO - let's say a guy comes in to rob the place.  Do you think he will shoot customers?  Probably not.  UNLESS the cowboys behind me whip out there guns and start blasting, Now the robber is surprised and starts shooting at THEM.

And I am right next to them.  So - am I REALLY that much safer surrounded by cowboys with guns?  I think not.   More guns mean more ways to get caught in the crossfire.  They are not protecting me AT ALL.  They are putting me in the crossfire.  MORONS

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More baseball batters are getting hit that at anytime since 1900.  There are many theory's but one is that there are just more pitches in a game AND more inside pitches in a game.

And nobody is talking about the Brew/Cub record.  Most double plays in a game.  Brewers tied an all time record of hitting INTO a DP and the 15 inning game tied a record for 10 by both clubs.

OH - the weather the Brewers play in all weekend in Chicago - cold and rain . . follows them to Philadelphia.

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US Navy captured a North Korean cargo ship, the Wise Hornet - the 2nd largest ship North Korea has for violating sanctions.  I GUESS it is now ours to do with whatever we want now.  Target practice or sell it to someone.

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Nuff said for today - tomorrow - the best ground cover EVER and it's free.   

eatking pizza with Chicken George

Spanning the globe looking for names to drop

First there was Doug Stanton award winning author of so many books with the longest titles

Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of U.S. soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan
and
The Odyssey of Echo Company: The 1968 Tet Offensive and the Epic Battle to Survive the Vietnam War
and
In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors

then there was Hunter Scott - the hero of the heroes who as a teenager took the fight to exonerate Captain McVay of the ill fated USS Indianapolis - AND WON.  Then he went on to be a submarine hunter. 

And now -  Chicken George - Contestant in Season #1 of Big Brother and Season 3& Big Brother All-Stars

The Chicken and I sat down for a conversation at #JamesStreetPizza in Columbus last night and I learned a few things about Big Brother.

George Boswell is Amy Boswell's brother. Amy runs James Street Pizza.

I asked George how he even heard about Big Brother (of which I have watched every season except #4 and #5,  Season 21 coming soon) and he said he answered an ad in the news paper.

A few tidbits.  In Season one contestants were given a little over $300 a week to be filmed 24 hours a day for 3 months.  There are cameras everywhere including the bathrooms and showers.  There is no place to hide.

He talked about Mike Malin (Boogie) who won Season #7.  The winner gets $500,000 of which about 40% is taken from taxes.  Boogie had the hottest nightclub in LA. The kind you line up hours ahead of time to enter . . if you are good looking.   He tried to expand to Las Vegas but that went poorly.

In Season #7 the All-Stars were paid $30,000.

What you see is pretty much what actually happens.  There is no coaching and the reality is actually real.   Yea - they do try to sway competitions a little by HOPING certain players will excel in certain competitions but that is about it.

Julie Chan is a WONDERFUL woman and super nice and he sees everybody once a year.  Evil Dick is NOT evil at all and you pretty much forget there are cameras on you 24/7 although it's always in the back of your mind. 

He never sees the contestants from Season 1 - they sort of disappeared.

I believe there have been more ACTUAL marriages between BB contestants then from The Bachelor and Bachelorette.

George is a fantastic guy and I would LOVE to sit down and have a few beers with him not because he was on Big Brother but because he's just a super cool guy!

I asked about the fly overs that happened in the first few seasons.  Planes would fly over the compound trailing banners warning contestants of trouble.  911 stopped that as CA does not allow planes with banners anymore.

ANYWAY - there is more that will percolate into my brain but sitting down with a great pizza AND Chicken George Boswell was the high lite of my week . . . so far.

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

MEANWHILE - a friend's child was sent how from Middle school last week with hives. 

HOWEVER once the kid got home he started Googling what hives were by typing HIVs and it seems he was getting pretty worried until his mom stepped in and explained it was not HIVs but hives.

Funny . . for us!

Speaking of HIV - PrEP is a drug that reduces the spread of HIV and is made by Gilead. Gilead is going to increase the cost of the drug 4.5%.  The treatment costs about $1,800 a month in America while in other countries it costs $6.50 (Six dollars and fifty cents) a month.

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BUCKS WIN BUCKS WIN and they now go to the Eastern Conference Championship.  I bet all the talk on National radio/TV is what happened to Boston and why do they suck.  Milwaukee?  Oh yea.

Good Lord Milwaukee keeps blowing out the competition.  It's a little too easy.  As Dan Patrick said - the problem with Milwaukee is they are SO balanced.  Milwaukee plays as a team while Boston played like 5 players.

The Bucks have been so easy to win money (for entertainment purposes only) as they have covered 8 of the 9 games and 21 of the last 30 and 56 of 90 (62%) this year.  Milwaukee?  Who are they?  They get ZERO respect.   Excellent!!

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Chick--fil-A is about to become the 3rd largest restaurant chain behind McDonalds and Starbucks.  All other chicken restaurants are falling by the wayside

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So Tony Evers is the 9th best liked Governor in America when taking the States 1% lean to the right into account.  What about Senators?  There are a lot of them.  Mitch McConnel, even coming in a VERY RED state is the bottom of the list as the most disliked Senator in a State.

Tammy Baldwin is the 14th best liked, Ron Johnson  is 32nd.

***************     

Magic Mushrooms have been decriminalized in Denver . . WHAT?  yea - this confuses me.

A study found that "patients with [chronic pelvic pain] are self-treating with cannabis and finding this to be an effective intervention.

The commissioner of the XFL football league said he would “prefer not to test for marijuana."

Next week will be a very good week weather wise.  Weekend is looking .. OK

 

Columbus School system / Trump debt / Chicken George

So I know 4 more kids that will not be attending Columbus Schools next year as the families move away from our School District.  Why are they moving? Because of our School District (I thought I gave a pretty good hint).

HOWEVER - homes are being sold at 10's of thousands ABOVE asking price. I believe the latest house went for $17,000 above asking.  Out with the old in with the new. There are always families ready to take their place.   How bad is it when you take your kids away from their friends because of schools.

I don't know, I would have a hard time justifying it. Just when city government gets it's act together in the last 7 years and now the schools are being run into the ground with mismanagement. 

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MEANWHILE - seems Trump has lost more money then any American in history. He is the bestist at creating debt.  Oh - I'm sure people will say it's the best economy ever . . .  Sort of like if I took a $100,000 loan when I'm 90 years old and bragged how much money I have.  Except once I'm gone SOMEBODY will have to pay for that loan.   NOT ME THOUGH!

And I will not even comment on Jerry Falwell jr and how Trumps fixer Cohen fixed an issue with sex photos that were about to be released.  A couple days AFTER Falwell jr's sex photos (all except one I guess) were "fixed"  Falwell Jr had a HUGE shout out to Trump and told his massive congregation how amazing Trump was.  This was during the campaign.   

OH - the Mueller report.  It's all coming clear now.  Since Trump's personal Attorney General said you cannot indict a sitting President, it is worded so once he is out of office . . THEN the shit hits the fan for #DerangeDonald. 

LOCK HIM UP.  and his little family too.

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If we do not golf tonight (fat chance) I will have a chance to see Chicken George from Big Brother #1 and #7 fame.  One of the most lovable characters on BB.  In Season #1 he tried to convince the other contestants to walk out (would have been a good idea).  At that time the viewing audience voted who should be booted.  Bad idea and that has changed.

George Boswell is Amy Boswell' brother? who runs James Street Pizza in Columbus.  WHOO HOO

Now I have to get Balderdash to watch Big Brother.  Once you get past the first week everybody's REAL personalities come out.  However bizarre they are.   Its truly the best pure strategy show on TV.  In fact Survivor has taken some cues from BB and incorporated them.

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BUCKS - Since the NBA started 7 game playoffs if you are up 3-1 the chances of winning are 284(?)-11.  And I have to believe that since the Bucks broke a record this year by only losing back to back once AND having the Home Court advantage the odds are even higher they they win. 

Bucks are -9 tonight!

BREWERS - you know what it's like when an ambulance passes and everybody is trying to get back in line?   The Brewer bull pen was like that and just like last year at this time (same exact record as last year) the pen seems to be coalescing . . . just like last year . .with roles being defined.

Now we need some healthy starters. 

It's going to be a WONDERFUL summer with the Cubs, Cards and Brewers taking turns at first place I think.  Using PECOTA Cards will win 88.4 games, Brewers 86.8 and Cubs 83.8

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A farmers market will open May 15th next to City Hall.  Leroys Meats will be a vendor. Please BUY MEAT - we want them to open a store in Columbus like they did in Fox Lake.   and of course buy other stuff also.

Speaking of vendors - I have stopped doing art fairs.  Just a big hassle when the weather is great. Get up at 5:30, set up, and be on your feet selling until 5:30 that evening.  NOT including the week before when you are preparing everything.  OH - it's good money, a couple thousand for "1" day of work on a great day.

But then are are days like this. An art fair buddy sent this to me from last weekend.  NOT a great day for sales.   You spend all week preparing for this!

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GOP run Texas are looking at changing their taxes to hurt the poor more. They want to lower property tax and raised the sales tax. This will hurt the poor who don't own property but help the rich who own property.  Businesses will pay much less tax while the citizens will pay more.

Seems like something the GOP would do doesn't it.

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

Denver voted to NOT decriminalize Magic mushrooms.  Even I can agree with that one.  I saw Pink Floyd, the Animals tour with those things.   Nuff said.

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

A study of mice found that "CBD may be therapeutically useful to treat aggressive behaviors that are usually associated with psychiatric disorders."

and another study

A study concluded that CBD "reduced anxiety-like behavior" in mice.

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

Cheers - keep dry - better weekend coming

Bananas, Bike tires myths

The Washington Nationals were suppose to fly to Milwaukee for the series opener yesterday after the Phillies beat them. They go to the plane and sat on the tarmac for 7 freaking hours.  At about 2:30 this morning they were headed back to the hotel and will catch another flight this morning.

SUCK!!

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So Trump is heading to war with Iran and sending a carrier task force.  Distraction?  Probably.  Typical GOP where they set things up to fail and then say I told you it would fail, like the so called Obamacare. 

Let's strip 90% of the funding and then say SEE?  We told you it would fail.

And WTF - The GOP had 8 years to screw with abortion in Wisconsin - yet as soon as Evers becomes Governor they put 4 anti abortion bills in Evers lap.  Distraction from getting anything else done.

Meanwhile it looks like Illinois will make recreational use cannabis legal January 1st 2020 with the first recreational use cannabis shops opening around June 1st. All cannabis  related criminals will be expunged.  With ILL now controlled by the Dems in all houses I can't see any road blocks.

cannabis arrests are related to racial bias in America.  American is a racist country.  You can not arrest someone for being black - HOWEVER - you CAN arrest a black person for smoking a reefer.  Which is what happens. 

Cannabis consumption has the same ratio between races yet blacks are arrested 5 times more then us white people. 

With that said there were 15,000 arrests in Wisconsin wasting police department time on actual important things. Our last Chief said when I was arguing with him that cannabis is the gateway drug to heroin.  I have to think BEER might be the gateway, but drinking huge amounts of beer is legal but having a spec of cannabis can be 6 months in jail.         

In Wisconsin the GOP has stated that cannabis in ANY form recreational  or medical will ALWAYS be illegal Wisconsin.  Who cares that it has been proven to be a miracle plant when it comes to medical and ALL of the worries you hear about are complete myths.  Nuff said.

and then there are bananas.

If you see bananas with green stems and bright yellow they are chemically ripened (go to Pic N Save to see artificially ripened bananas).  Artificially ripened bananas do not taste as good as naturally ripened ones.

Calcium carbide is to ripen bananas artificially which is very hazardous as it contains arsenic and phosphorus.

When exposed to water Calcium carbide produces acetylene gas. So when you see an artificially ripened banana they should have warning label

WARNING - acetylene gas - may cause headaches, vomiting, seizures, loss of sleep, cerebral edema, hypoxia and mental disturbances 

and

WARNING - ingesting Calcium carbide causes diarrhea, ulcers, allergy and burning eyes, sore throat, shortness of breath, extreme thirst and gastritis.

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Bike tire size myth 

Then there are bike tires.  My Giant has 23mm tires filled with 110lbs of pressure.  You would think they would be fast tires.  YET - it seems to be a myth.

Scientists tested 20, 23 and 25mm tires, same brand and found the smaller the tired the slower it was.

Once you get past 25mm size does not matter. In fact in controlled tests 26mm to 54mm there is no difference in how fast a tire is.  Even on super flat smooth roads.  On bumpy roads wider is actually faster.

There is a placebo effect going on where thin tires FEEL like you are going faster.  Fatter tires are heavier then thin tires but that extra weight does not really slow you down when starting from a standing stop.  The power-to-weight ratio is pretty poor on a bike and even professionals will not see a difference which is why professional sprinters are using wider tires now.

"Tire width influences the feel of the bike, but not its speed."   

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It was Gus's birthday yesterday and he spent it not feeling very well.  We went up to Kewaunee and he ate all sorts of bad things from treats to licking plates to other dogs dog food and anything else he could find. 

We got up a 4:30 and he had the runny orange poops all day.  The GOOD NEWS is we gave him a wonderful chicken and white rice meal which is suppose to cure this type of thing.

SO - here Gus is showing you how old he is as of yesterday - 2

 
******

Balderdash and I went to the Brewer game Thursday, (the last game they lost) and the crowd  was rather sparse.  This LITERALLY is the height of the crowd in our area.

Reminded me of the good ol' days at County Stadium with no lines.  Just walk up and get a beer and hot dog, no waiting.

I got to sit with Uecker for a little while but he was not very talkative.  And looked a lot younger then I imagined.

But then look at the view he had.

Billy Joel REALLY did a job in the outfield.

OH - The Brewers 18 inning game.  We were driving back from Kewaunee where I was helping Ralls roof and listening to the game.  We picked it up in about the 5th inning

Hours and hours later DJ and I are STILL watching the game on TV.  You could not turn it off. It was so exciting and frustrating.  That Brewer game was EXACTLY like my SOM team for an entire month.

Guys on base all the time and no runs. But here is the funny thing. So many people a watched the game because  . . . it was PROM NIGHT!  Parents were staying up late ANYWAY waiting for sons and daughters to come home.  Too funny!    Probably the highest rated extra inning game this year.

In fact it was the Brewers FIRST extra inning game of the year.  The last team to go OT.

Chers