Running behind the DDT fogger vs. playing on an Ipod and FIP vs. ERA

 Thanks Sue - glad to know I'm not alone - I was taking Gus for a walk yesterday and while he was sniffing dirt I SWEAR I saw tiny bugs flying around on the sidewalk background but I really don't know because I also saw the same things in the sky (birds?) but they also disappeared.  

Also called hallucinations ?  ahhhhh the 70s!  I was doomed from the start growing up on 420 Jones Ave. BTW - should I start reviewing cannabis strains on the blog? There are some really good ones in S Beloit . . I have heard.  90% are all the same but a few . . . . . )  

And growing old is AWESOME . . except for knees and eyes I guess - I have  never been happier.  Well - it was just knees a year ago, add eyes this year.

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Air Fryers  - WOW - totally blown away with this invention.   We made the best pork chops ever last night.  Normally chops can get dry and grilling really takes out 99% of the moisture.  These were GREAT!!!  

Last week we got a loaf of bread from Pic n Save in Columbus WI.  Melted EVOE and butter with some Italian seasoning and cut deep slashes in the bread.  Then poured the liquid into the cracks and stuffed each knife cut with as much Mozzarella cheese we could into the slashes

BAM!!   

 Burgers are the BEST ever!  Even well done they blast with flavor and juiciness!  Same with tenderloin.

You know those packages of teriyaki chicken nuggets?  WOW - in an air fryer they turn out so different than an oven.  

And of course donuts 

But I digress! 

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A few weeks ago I TWINGED my back working out.  A week earlier I went to the gym for the first time in a year and was very very careful.  Then last week I went for the second time and was being so careful but this time I did the elliptical for 10 minutes.  All with a mask on of course.  My knee felt great and I started  on weights (in fact my knees feel better after working out)

I was doing great but was starting to get a runner's high - it felt so so good to workout.  BUT THEN - Arrowsmith came on in my earbuds on the last machine.  PERFECT weight music. Back in the Saddle Again was the song and I was getting SUCH A RUSH of adrenaline I was pulling weights like there was no tomorrow just rocking out . . . . .        

And then I went to stand up.  Oooops    Went 1.5 weeks with a back pain.  Sitting or standing was fine . . it was that transition where I looked like Tim Conway's old man. 

Lesson learned AGAIN! 

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The Great on Hulu is so so good! 

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So I keep seeing things on Facebook about how kids are on their computers and iphones too much and they need to get outside and play.  Then I see people complaining that kids are outside playing ringing doorbells and running around and one post was "they are fishing NEXT TO THE RIVER"  CALL THE PARENTS THEY COULD DIE! 

When I was a kid I played in a lime green and yellow toxic creek behind a foundry throwing light bulbs at each other - I also walked to school a mile in a snowstorm when I was 8.   OMG!!  And let's not forget running behind the DDT fogger    

Pick a side people pick a side.   

OK OK - last day to get my Computer Manager into my Strat-o-matic teams commish.   Get this - I "played" 50 practice games using the Computer Manager I created. Did not care about wins and loss - just seeing where my programming was flawed.

Covid and cancer KILLED my World Series winning team from last year and with the worst draft picks I will suck.

BUT here is the fascinating part. Two analytics   FIP  (((HR*13)+(3*(BB+HBP))-(2*SO)))/IP+3.19 and

ERA (ER*9)/IP  were also most the same.  

ERA was 5.31  FIP was 5.25  how can this be!! 

FIP looks ONLY and walks, HBP,  home runs and strikeouts.  How can that be so close to ERA! Boggles my brain. 

Nuff said - have a GREAT Wednesday - warmer weather is coming 

Cheers 

Rod   

 

      

What a week. And then it is all insignificant to the real news.

OOPS - after 2223 posts you would think I would remember the ol' "publishing " part.  forgot  

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It all started with Flip or Flop which DJ has been binging on for a month.  We decided that every 15 years we would paint the living room, kitchen, sunroom, stairs and ceilings . . .for the first time. 

The first floor was just sort of dipped in one color when the place was built. 

Well we all know that everything has to be moved so we started relocating to the downstairs finished basement and cleaned the upstairs and so forth and chaos ensued.  I felt I had alzheimer's as I could not find anything when ever I was looking for it. We were living in the basement as the below photo was  happening above us

and this 

So while this is all happening Monday and Tuesday I go to take Gus the Weather Dog out Tuesday about noon and I'm brushing a string away from my eyes and after 2 swipes - IT'S IN MY EYE!  WTF!   It's a floater from hell, like a spiderweb.  Yet - I could look RIGHT AT IT. Clear as day.  Just sitting there in the middle of my eye. 

WELL - this is annoying isn't it. It' did move around but MAN so clear!  The annoyance continued and Wednesday it was still there. The good thing was we Wednesday we could move back to the upstairs.

  Janke Property Group is AMAZING, they have done our landscaping and now painting and so so professional!  HIGHLY recommended if you want the job done perfectly.   

So all day Wednesday we are going up and down stairs and putting things back and hanging artwork and so forth getting totally worn out.  The place looks awesome 

The WHITE ceiling looks bright and the accent color is fantastic and I'm still annoyed at my floaters. 

We go to Baileys birthday party. She is 5 and on the spectrum and THAT is an AMAZING STORY for another day!  VICTORY!  

ANYWAY - Still annoyed and grumpy I do some self diagnosing and I see I might have a detached retina. FANTASTIC!  I had read that it's all OK as long as I don't see flashes of light. 

I didn't until it got dark out.  OK OK  better call a doc tomorrow and I post on facebook that I self diagnosed and yada yada.  

It's 9:30 at night and we both chillaxing and I get a text from Jenny saying "HAVE YOU SEEN YOUR POST?"   I say which one and who have I pissed off now, and she replies  GO TO THE ER ASAP!! 

Yea right - Even though her husband is an ER Nurse in Madison  pfffft! this is an eye issue not a broken bone.   I look at the facebook post - OH OH they are coming out of the woodwork - GO TO THE ER and as I'm halfway down the 2 yards of comments about going to the ER I get a call from a friend I had not talked to, literally, a decade - ROD - GO TO THE ER!! and then I get a text from the owner of James Street Pizza "Rod I was a optometrist technician - go . .  to. .  the . . ER or at least call.  

Fine fine fine, but I REALLY want to go to bed.  . . . 3 calls and a half hour later it's 10:30 and the nurse says "you should come into the ER tonight"    SIGH!!  really?  I'm FINE.  and DJ says - "well, what if you wake up tomorrow and are blind in one eye".  SIGH!! 

It's pouring rain AND, the one ER that has a slit lamp is in Madison - 45 miles away. SO - 1 hour to get there, 3 hours in a busy ER and 1 hour back.  Yea - should get home about 4:00AM   AAAAGH!!

OK OK - I'm putting shoes on and get another call.  The nurse says she has an idea.  How about going to the Prairie Ridge ER in Columbus, out of my network but . . . . .hmmmmmm   2 blocks to a quiet ER or 40 miles to a busy ER.  

Long story short - we left the Columbus ER at 1:30 Wednesday morning and had an appointment with ophthalmologist in Madison Wednesday afternoon. 

Prognosis ? Seems what I have is posterior vitreous detachment  which turns out to be fascinating in a sad way. 

In basic terms - the eyeball is filled with a super clear jelly-like material which keeps the eyeball round (there has to be SOMETHING in there).  Because of age this jelly weakens and becomes a little liquidy and sometimes it detaches from the retina.

As opposed to the normal floaters which are tiny specks of collagen which create shadows, what I was seeing was the actual filaments that were holding the jelly to the wall.  No shadow, the real thing. That is why it was so clear.  

NOW the cool part.  The brain, over the next few weeks will basically photoshop out those filaments.  Still there but the brain will just ignore them. My eye will still see them but my brain will not allow me to remember seeing them.  Brains rock. 

Not unlink the "event threshold", what is actually happening when you forgot why you came into a room. It's really healthy it seems.  

You are in one room and remember you need something in another room.  You get up and walk into the new room.  While doing this your brain closes a room file and opens a new file for this new event but sometimes it closes the link between the two rooms because it's too efficient.

The brain is so cool. 

So now I have a dirty right eye and a nice clear left eye.  It's like my contact is full of crap just floating around and I'm constantly cleaning my glasses with no contacts.   BUT THE WEEK IS NO OVER! 

THEN - I go get my second shingles shot on Thursday. I had to wait for the vaccines to take hold I guess.  The first one put me down - worst shot in my life but way way better than shingles.  Hurt like a mofo going in but it was fine until 1:00AM. Uncontrolled shivering, zero sleep all night, headache.  Friday I think I had literally had 6 waking hours and it was even date night with DJ.  Canceled!!  

Back to normal by Saturday!  

BUT HERE IS FANTASTIC NEWS! 

5 year old Bailey - off in your own world for 5 years. No need for the outside world except an iPad that she plays with.  No real communication with humans.  

The therapist was writing up her report Thursday and looked back . . . . there is Bailey . . . . reading a book OUT LOUD.  She has her finger on each word and is mouthing the word. Done with one page , turns the page and starts on the next page.   

WHAAAAT?    nobody has taught her to read!!!  WHAAAT?  

And get this - 2 days earlier at her birthday party. Josh and Jenny got her a wagon. They put her in it and she was not that interested.  They gave her a ride and took her out.  BUT NO!!!  She looks at Josh and wants another ride.   

WHAT?  She has never wanted ANYTHING before this. Now she wants more and more rides. She is  laughing and just a little bit - communicating.  

My troubles are so insignificant. 

Have a great great week.  I'll see if Gus the Weather Dog can come up with a wonderful forecast for this week.                              

 Cheers

Rod

  

Chickens from Kragdon-ah? - and I have never done this before

 I have many virtual blogs in my brain circling in a holding pattern over my LaGuardia keyboard, especially one that I wrote in my brain 5 times before I went to the ER Wednesday night, that I figured I better get ONE of them out even if it's in the wrong order. 

So here is my pre-ramble

I finished the 2nd book of a 5 book trilogy (it seems to be a long story, and again - no pun intended but always appreciated ) and it literally moved me. OH - it's not a "deep" story with life changing lessons although there was one bit where the NEXT time someone puts a gun to my face I would love to say the line. Alex said something on the order of "you have a lovely family and you should continue to enjoy your nice life" or something like that - I can't find the word but I keep looking - INSTEAD OF what I said was "do you want a bag?".  

Back up a bit - when I read it's typically reading numbers and formulas and analytics.  But I also "read" audible books.  OK OK looking at my bookshelf maybe I do read historical fiction  . . a bunch!  May I suggest ...

In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors because my FIL was a living survivor and a photo of him in the book and this is the best book about the cover up. 

BUT - there are so many books out there - I thought I would try Audible on the road instead of blasting my ears with Symphonic Metal (Nightwish, Delain Within Temptation). 

I started with 65 hours of a 3 book trilogy on WWII  by Jeff Shaara which wore me out.  Then Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton and then I was look for something new. 

I literally virtually stumbled upon a dude I had never heard of and a time travel adventure.  The Door Into time by Shawn Inmon.   I figured I'd give it a chance.  Let's just say I am looking forward to books 3 to 5 now.  

Here is something I have NEVER even considered before - I listened to the book and its outstanding performer reading it and when I was finished I KNEW I had to get book two but that was not it.  The ODD thing was that I loved this book so much - I PURCHASED THE BOOK knowing I might not ever read it. 

Now I understand why people collect books.   If I did not buy this book in 5 years . . I would not remember it. Now everytime I see that book I will feel like I just ate a tiny bite of chocolate and a wee bit of happiness will occur. 

The first book, BASICALLY, without giving anything away, is about a retired special forces dude who jumps through a door into the future which is more like the past and about his adventure getting back to the door after he is captured by a TRULY  WONDERFUL group of native with personalities that you want to meet every single person.

Then in book 2 "the chosen one" is stolen from the village and our little band of Alex, two natives and Alex's HUGE dog, have to cross the land that used to be America to get her back.  FUN FUN FUN!  And while so far both books read like a "PG" book most of the time, there are some battles, wars and skirmishes that are more adult oriented in violence.  

Both books REALLY have fantastic characters that grow on you especially Monda-ak the "dog" who is the size of my friend balderdash. 

So many characters I want would love to have spin-offs with.

So here is the thing "Chickens from Kragdon-ah" ???  As Oprah would say  WHAAAAT?     

As I mentioned one blog is about air frying and it's wonderfulness - So yesterday I went to the store to get IN BONE chicken breasts - I know they have to grow these a different way to get bones in them and they are harder to keep in a pen I suppose.  

BUT!  WHAT THE HELL - The in two stores all I could find were breasts that were 1.5 pounds EACH!!  Now in a different context that would be great but I'm not sure I can get 2 of those breasts in an air fryer.  Are they from Kragdon-ah where EVERYTHING is huge?  are the CHICKENS FROM KRAGDON-AH? 

OK OK - I needed a hook to get you top read the blog. 

One thing about the author Shawn Inmon.  And I'm not trying to insult him. He writes like I do. The only other person I have see this is Jeff Probst of Survivor.   In a conversationalist way?  

I have no clue where I'm going when I begin a blog - it just comes out until I start to bore myself.  Notice my use of parentheses as my thoughts have inner thoughts.  Alex has inner thoughts in the books and I believe Shawn sort of types this along along with Jeff Probst, sort of winging it. It's awesome.  It's how I got over 1,123,501 pages of my drivel read (insert self promoting tooting trumpet).  

OK - boredom has started.  

I just wanted to get this out of my brain - the ending of book to was a  WOW!!!!   80% 4+ stars in Amazon with 399 reviews and I will be #400 in a day or so. 

Looking for a super fun read?  Check it out 

And yes - I am mostly fine and a LOT went on last week. It was a very physically stressful week all but Thursday.  

That story was written in my head going to the ER!

Grinder - out.

 

 
  

Posterior Vitreous Detachment ?

So much has gone on in my life in the first 2 days of this week that does NOT include an ER visit lasting to 1:30 in the morning and a trip to UW-Hospital today.  Everything happens at once it seems.   

HOWEVER - for anybody following along on my journey, I'm fine . . . . I think . . we shall see (no pun intended but always appreciated).   I don't have time for the story but tomorrow I will . . I hope.  Can't do it Thursday as I have my "shecond shingle shot" which if it is like the first one will put me done on Friday.  Zero issues with both Covid vaccines but the shingle shot REALLY crushes you.  Doctor and 2 nurses all say ONE of the shots will zombi you.     

STILL - better then getting shingles!  

SO - putting the house back together and going to see a specialist in an hour.  

And this is not even including our school board meeting where people in attendance were yelling

"YOU'RE OUT OF ORDER FOR BEING A DICK"  at the head of the school board (he deserves it). So yea - what a magnificent start of the week.   

PLEASE 

Carry on! 

   

Painting and the City Council

 and then this happened

Yup - like clockwork - EVERY 15 years we paint we have the up stairs painted. 

It's surprising how odd the original color was.  So yellowish brown EVERYWHERE!  It was basically the builders color where they just dip the entire house in one color.  DJ almost cried the first time she saw it.  It was LITERALLY bright yellow  . . . until it dried and we came back the next day - WHEW

Now the ceiling will be white - most of the walls will be "Accessible Beige"  my all time favorite color LOL and some really sweet accent walls.  Jahnke Property Group  who seem to be the go to for everything from landscaping to painting are doing the work.   About a 2 day job!!   

Thay have done amazing jobs.  For instance - we had 14 cubic yards of mulch delivered 2 years ago. The high temp was 102 - Took one day for them to wheel barrow it to the back yard and distribute it.  They work their butts off. 

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Side note - this is blog number 2222 AND oddly RIGHT NOW exactly - 1,123,000 pages have been read. 

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In other Columbus City Council news written by William Garrison from the Columbus Independant.

March 16, 2021. A petition by a Columbus resident to keep chickens and bees at a residential property was the most potentially controversial item on the City Council agenda Tuesday night when the common council met at its biweekly meeting, having faced lengthy discussion at a prior Committee of the Whole meeting before ultimately being moved forward for Council consideration. Mayor Michael Thom called the council meeting to order a little later than the posted meeting time of 6:45 after a closed session meeting of the Committee of the Whole ran long. Mayor Thom called the meeting to order at 7:26 pm and both the agenda and the minutes from the 3/2 meeting were approved unanimously. 

First order of business on the agenda was approval for a Community Development Investment grant proposal. The grant application, Thom noted, will be supported by the city as a pass-through to the developer and would allow the developer to take advantage of grants available through Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) for revitalization projects at 101 E. James Street, 107 E. James Street and 118 S. Ludington Street. The proposal passed unanimously after a motion by Alder Mike McCabe and a second by Alder Ian Gray. This vote will allow the proposal to move forward to seek financial support to boost revitalization at the downtown properties.

Next on the agenda was the petition to keep chickens and bees on a property within the city limits at a residence on Waterloo Street. Mayor Thom noted that the city does not have a standing ordinance for bee keeping and it could pose issues down the road to approve bees as part of the ordinance regarding chickens on a city property, further noting that while the environmental considerations for pollinators were positive, the city should look at putting a specific ordinance on the books for the future. “I certainly don’t want to blame the applicant for the position the city is in right now,” Thom stated, “but I think approving bees on a chicken application is going to cause some problems [for the city] in the future. There really isn’t any specifications for the keeping of bees and this is something the city will need to address further in the future.” The request ultimately passed unanimously on a role call vote with little further discussion except a question on how many chickens are allowed on a city property and how many the petitioner, Hannah Best, planned to keep (the answer to both questions: four) after a motion by Alder Gray and second by Alder Trina Reid.

Conditional use permits for the Columbus Elementary School and Columbus High School were revisited after being tabled at the meeting on March 2 to further study revised plans that had been submitted too late to make the agenda for the earlier meeting. Concern about seasonal flooding brought a question from city resident Chris Roelke. He asked whether storm runoff being newly directed into the Richmond Street storm sewer had been studied. Mayor Thom advised Roelke that the period for public comment had passed, advising him to bring his question to the City Administrator. City Attorney Johnson noted there had been some minor discussion on the turning radius at the High School driveway for emergency vehicle purposes, but it would not affect the permit for conditional use. Both motions passed unanimously.

Other items on the agenda Tuesday included approving dates and an updated fee schedule for the special event electronic appliance recycling dates for 2021. Thom noted that DPW had found a new vendor, Refrigerant Depot, to work with for this program that will allow a wide variety of electronic appliance recycling at a savings to community members. Electronics/appliance recycling event dates for the city will be Saturday, April 24, July 14 and October 16 from 8 am-3 pm. Fees for recycling TVs and projectors will be $30; computer monitors will be $10 and no charge for items on the approved appliance and electronic list. These dates will also be published in the Columbus Water and Light monthly statements for city distribution. Alder Gray moved to approve, and Alder Katie Ryan seconded, the motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote.

The council also voted unanimously to approve the mayoral appointment of Brad Basten to the Water and Light Commission. Basten was appointed to serve the remainder of Commission member Greg Robbins’ term which expires in 2022. Robbins, a 10-year member of the Commission, resigned last June due to retirement and moving outside of the city. “It’s been pretty challenging finding residents to fill these boards, committees and commissions, especially this past year during the pandemic and I believe Brad will be a really good fit for the commission,” Thom advised the group.

Next Columbus City Council meeting will be held on Monday, April 5 at 6:45 pm due to the spring election on the normal meeting day.

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Nuff said - going back into the lower level where life continues.  

I'm Jonesing, Rob Schneider, Kohler, and cooking

 Seems I'm not a boomer anymore.  Never felt like a boomer.  I'm Generation Jones, 1954 to 1965.  

Generation Jones is noted for coming of age after a huge swath of their older brothers and sisters in the earlier portion of the Baby Boomer population had come immediately preceding them; thus, many complain that there was a paucity of resources and privileges available to them that were seemingly abundant to older Boomers. Therefore, there is a certain level of bitterness and "jonesing" for the level of freedom and affluence granted to older Boomers but denied to them

Many came of age during the 70s and early 80s. They shared similar pop culture and MTV with Gen X'ers. They were young adults navigating the workforce in the 80s and 90s, but still felt the 2008 economic crisis. This hit them hard because they had to help and advise their older Millennial children while also providing for their younger Gen Z kids.

BUT WAIT - bottom line is this! 

Key characteristics assigned to members are pessimism, distrust of government, and general cynicism.

WHAT? pessimism?  distrust of government?  I don't see it  LOL 

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The sprayer on our kitchen faucet broke.  Tried cleaning it and vinegar and so forth but no. The tipping point was when it would not shut off which was a serious problem. 

It's a Kohler faucet and trying to find a replacement sprayer was a nightmare.  SURPRISE - the connections are NOT standard.  

After a trip to Home Depot and then Menards we see we needed a Kohler sprayer.  OH - yea we could change the hose but LITERALLY - we cannot see where the hose connects to the water.  It's hidden behind are huge industrial garbage disposal. So we would have to remove THAT to change a hose. 

We searched and search for our faucet.  Finally found it - contacted Kohler and they gave a link to a replacement sprayer.  SADLY it's discontinued and SADLY it's replacement is ALSO discontinued. 

Searched on the net and a building supply place has it for $58!!  WOW!!  So I looked to see what our faucet cost.   WHAT?    $520?????   It was not that much when we got it 3 years ago!  I don't think.

All we have to do now is wait 3 to 8 weeks for delivery. 

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I think I mentioned we got an air fryer and LOVE it.  So many awesome things we have made including some fantastic donuts.  

Just biscuits with a shot glass hole punched in the middle and 6 minutes at 400 in the air fryer 

 brush on butter and cover with cinnamon.  SO GOOD  

 

 Tonight I'm doing something special that you will see next week.. . . if it works.

In my past life I was a cook at a few restaurants.  I was born premature with not a fully developed stomach ( seems good now) so I was a picky eater as a kid.  I learned to cook my own stuff and am no longer picky (much) 

ANYWAY - I love cooking and am the cook of the house. I watch all sorts of cooking shows  and we started watching  Amy Schumer Learns to Cook.    If you watch this 30 second trailer I actually made those latkes they showed.

https://youtu.be/Y-xDP9xge0o 

SO anyway - they created a mushroom pasta dish that looked really good so last night I created the same dish using basically their recipe.

Everything was going great and it was wonderful but I kept thinking it needed something more.  I could not put a finger on it until DJ said.  "I think it needs spaghetti sauce".

WAIT A MINUTE - what I just made was SPAGHETTI, WITHOUT THE SAUCE!!  Exact same recipe LOL  BUT NO SAUCE!!   

Maybe I need to have my own cooking show and just leave out the main ingredient.  I KNOW - I'll make pizza WITHOUT PIZZA SAUCE and call it White Pizza!!! 

It's actually a fun show and I've learned a few things.  

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We're up the Episode #3 in The Great which is GREAT!!   We don't binge and have a certain night we watch stuff.  Tuesdays nights are The Great night! What a funny and dramatic sexually charged show and in real life. Catherine the Great was sort of like that.  Heck - her marriage was not consummated for 12 years so what is a girl to do.  Her husband, Peter von Holstein-Gottorp (Peter III) was an immature idiot and Catherine pretty much slept her way to the top (from the bottom).

She was AWESOME and got rid of  Peter III to take charge (died mysteriously) . She was the patron of the arts, literature, and education of which was sort of illegal before she took charge. The Catherinian Era is considered the Golden Age of Russia.

Great show although it's "anti-historical"  and only loosely based on reality.  

Elle Fanning is fantastic as Catherine 

 

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OH - a wonderful musician that I really like is Ellie King.   What I did not know is that she is Rob Schneider's daughter!!  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA-bTnz4S4I

    

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND 

    

Da Bears - Back in the Saddle - “And here I thought my runner’s high was actually due to nipple chafing.”

Not sure I have ever seen this - Da Bears picked up Roger Daltrey  . . Andy Dalton and according to the sports books their chances of winning the Superbowl dropped from 40-1 to 50-1.   I can't remember ever seen a team LOWER their chances with a Free Agent!  

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I mention Roger Daltrey because of an Arrowsmith issue (I know I know different group, same era) I had yesterday.  

You see I went to the gym for the first time in a year last week.  Took it very easy.  Yesterday I was back and was on a stairmaster thing seeing how my knee would react - it did not react at all and I was ECSTATIC with finally working up a sweat.   

I had picked up some Jabra earbuds which are GREAT with actual booming base and fit really comfortable (unlike the hideous Apple crap). 

SO - I'm working my way down the machines and I think I'm getting some sort of runner's high listing to some great music and I'm on the last machine and Arrowsmith comes on, Back in the Saddle live.  

WELL - I'm on the machine that is like the anti bench press for the back and shoulders - and I'm FREAKING OUT on adrenaline and endorphins and am going crazy pumping back and forth like there is no tomorrow, just rockin out. 

Until I stop and notice I back is pretty much frozen in place and when I stand I'm pretty much looking like I'm 110 years old.   

Yea - lots of ice last night - feeling 60% better today - It's one of those pains where the more you do stuff the better it feels. 

From The Onion  

Study Shows Runner’s High Caused By Cannabis-Like Biochemicals

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We went to the new Popeyes yesterday and were soundly disappointed. Yea - they got the order wrong but that was not the issue.  Just not NEARLY as good as Chick-fil-a except for the amazing biscuits.

I'm not into boycotting chick-fil-a.  For one reason they are awesome.  For another I don't think their employees or the local management hate LGBT and I have never been treated poorly for discriminated against there. Plus I have a few friends in that community and they are fine. Boycotting large corps only hurts local people who are only doing their jobs trying to make a living.

If you go to Popeyes don't get the blackened chicken strips - no breading so you are left with holding super hot juicy pieces of chicken with your fingers and really - nothing is really that spicy at all. 

There is no dance of the flaming sphincter in this one.  

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WOW - heard a HUGE mistake on The Today Show this morning and they did not correct it. 

The story was about Tiger Woods and they said he signed a long term contract with EA Sports for the NEW PGA 2K21 golf game. 

UMMMMM - NOPE - EA sports is the enemy. He signed with Take Two (also known as 2K) to be the spokesperson for PGA2K21.  Take Two purchased HB Studios who developed The Golf Club 5 years ago and are putting their weight into the game and HOPEFULLY not ruining it.

EA sports SUCKS at everything and ruins everything they touch. 

HB studios created The Golf Club as a labor of love 5 years ago and it's been growing ever since getting better and better and I honestly believe it helped my putting by teaching me how to visualize breaks on a green. There is a par 3 at The Oaks where it really helps visualize.  I see grid lines.

OH - just got a call from Elweed  - I noticed last night while playing MLB The Show there was a new download for TGC 2K21. There is a new mode.  20 player elimination speed golf.  20 players tee off at once and the last 4 to put the ball in the hole are eliminated.  Number of strokes don't matter. 

Would LOVE to play this in real life  LOL

MLB The Show - I was playing a home game in Milwaukee but decided to play in a different stadium. I was in Tampa Bay but it seems the weather follows and it was listed as 30 degrees in TB.  LOL

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Cannabis - a study of states that have legal cannabis has found zero evidence that youth are smoking more. 

The Tax Foundation analysis found that if current marijuana sales projections hold up, "the value of marijuana sales will grow to two times that of firearms and ammunition, and three times that of McDonald’s sales revenue in the U.S." by 2023.

On a side note a friend told me that new hours are really great in S Beloit.  1:05 from Columbus - go right in and 10 minutes later you are driving back.  Plus prices are decreasing with normally 15+ strains to choose from.   Wisconsin is losing out of SO MUCH money.   $250 million in income for ILL from sales over 1 billion. 

***********************   

I have more but nuff said for today 

    

   

       

Baseball cards

Well now - a winter storm is heading our way a Mid Latitude Cyclone actually should hit later this afternoon  - not unusual at all. The battle for spring is nie.  

*****

My boring life has been consumed with a baseball draft where I believe I have the St. Louis Card and Brewers bullpen and bullpens are going to be very interesting this year.   Seems having a starting pitcher with 150 innings will be rare.  Very very few starting pitchers go more than 5 innings now.  

In the minor leagues big changes.  Some leagues will have larger bases (18 inches ) and one league will have an AI behind the plate umpire calling balls and strikes. With analytics showing umpires call games differently for home and away teams and particularly in extra innings.  NOT complaining. 

One league will make it so defense shifting will be outlawed.  You MUST have 4 infielders on the infield and another league has a 15 second clock on the pitcher.  

OH - and Strat-o-matic was hacked between 2 dates and we all got a warning to watch our CCs. WELL - I have a friend in LV at the moment but I'm pretty sure he did not try to use my card for a $375 zip line ride on Fremont.  Four other league managers who also had their cards used in Las Vegas last week.   

for my troubles I can get 2 free years of SOM 365 (I have 2 already for winning the World Series)  OH - a BIG congats to by friend balderdash for winning his SOM 365 World Series

OR

I can get 1400 career cards in real SOM which is sort of neat. 

******     

We're getting the interior of our house painted next week after 14 years and we are WISHING we had a good reason to change out our siding for a different color.  But no. 

OH - and the porch is up for another award. We already won the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI), and Contractor Of The Year (COTY) awards for the porch and now it's nominated for the Badger Craftsman Award. 

HOWEVER - at the same time I'm giving the builders (Michael F. Simon Builders) a call today to get our door changed - it's literally dangerous the way it's installed.   OUR FAULT.  It's SEEMEd like the right decision at the time. 

 

Notice the door opens to the outside and goes down the steps - BAD IDEA!!  In order to go from the deck to the porch you almost have to go down a step and then up to the deck.  And if you want to bring a chair out to the deck?  YIKES  Holding a heavy chair over the railing and balancing on the edge of the stairs is doable but  . . . .  The door needs to open to the deck . . not the stairs. 

Like everything else it will cost $1000 or $10,000. One of the two.  LOL 

and YUP - that south facing corner is AWESOME in the spring.  Sunny days the temp is 20 degrees warmer.  When it's 35 the temp is 55 in the corner.   It's been up to 75 so far,and yea - when it's 80 degrees outside it's like 100 in the corner LOL    

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

Rubber shortage is coming - rubber comes from trees that have their bark ripped off from small plantations in Thailand, Indonesia, China and West Africa which provide 85% of all rubber in the world.   The South African Leaf Blight is a HUGE problem and has already killed Brazil's rubber industry and now add covid.  

In fact the entire car industry is having issues with electronics not arriving to America and many parts not getting here from other countries.  The Honda Civic is basically not being made at the moment as key parts are just not available. 

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

Dungeons and Dragons is HOT.  Sales of D&D are up 33% this year and the 6th year in a row with increased sales.  Magic the Gathering is up 24% and small shops are getting the trickle down (sorry Jason) with a 46% profit margin on the cards. 

Baseball cards are a hot item also. I have a big stock in Ken Griffey Jr rookie cards.  Me and the bookie barber went in and for $2 a piece we purchased 100 cards in 1989.  I was looking at prices this morning and they from from about $250 a card to $400 a card.  SWEET  

I see in that set is also Randy Johnson's rookie card which is 4 variants with one at $350 because there is a Marlboro sign in the background.

Gary Sheffield's card is in that one and is $40 each   

My Billy Ripken F*ck Face cards are up. Somebody wrote F*ck face on the bottom of his bat and it was not caught. Those are $150 a card.   (of course they are worth what you can ACTUALLY get).   

Now I gotta see how much Willy "The Dupe" Dipkin is. OH found it - latest sale was $14.95  

I also have 100 Junior Felix cards if anybody wants to buy them - all 100 for 50 cents or whatever you got on you. 

*****

Milwaukee County is lowering the fine for possession of cannabis to $1    

*****

Nuff said today  

Brewers / Golden Globes

SO - The Golden Globes are the Sweetest Days of holidays - just a made up awards show with basically paid for voters.  The "Hollywood Foreign Press Association" is in reality 90 NBC employees, friends and family that are very open to being wined and dined for votes.  Again - not a "real" association.   

The Globes ONLY way to make money is with viewers watching the show which was way way down this year and MAYBE this could be the last Golden Globes ever.    No loss. 

++++++

The Brewers signed Jackie Bradley Jr to a 2 year contract.  I'm not THAT excited. He's a below average hitter most years but an otherworldly defensive CF. (Miller . . . AmFam Field will help his power as he is a Lefty)

Baseball Prospective predicts Bradly Jr will hit a .750 OPS  and a 1.9 WARP**  and Cain will now go to RF with his .718 OPS and  1.5 WARP.  Where does that put Garcia? He will be the #4 outfielder with his .740 OPS and  1.1 WARP.  And Yelich will be in LF with a .884 OPS and amazing 4.1 WARP.

** WARP - Wins Above Replacement Player is Prospectus' attempt at capturing a player' total value. This means considering playing time, position, batting, baserunning, and defense for batters, and role, innings pitched, and quality of performance for pitchers

The Brewers are STACKED defensively with Yelich being the worst of all outfielders. 

So at the moment 

1B -  Hiura   OPS .740  1.1 WARP 

2B - Wong  OPS .753 and  3.0 WARP

SS - Arcia -  OPS .700  1.3 WARP

3B??? - Urias? OPS .721  1.5 WARP 

LF -  Yelich OPS .884  4.1 WARP

CF - Bradley OPS .750  1.9 WARP

RF - Cain OPS .718 1.9 WARP

4th OF - Garcia OPS .740  1.1 WARP

Pitching is still in flux but MAN the bullpen looks good!    Topa throws 100mph all of a sudden.  Williams was rookie of the year and is AMAZING.  Best change-up/screwball in MLB. The guy had a WHIP of 0.63 and it was that "high" because he walked 9 batters but only gave up 8 hits.  

OH yea - walked 9 but struck out 53 in 27 innings. Batters were 2 for 62 with those 2 hits being infield hits with his Change Up/Screwball (moves OVER 1 foot - the average movement is about 5 inches in MLB for a change up).   PLUS - his change up ball spin is 500 rpm MORE than his fast ball. CRAZY. 

And Hader is still Hader .   

There is a good reason BP predicts (very good at predicting) the Brewers to be in 1st place with 89.   wins   

Odd thing last year was Hader was HORRIBLE against LHBatters and Yelieve CRUSH LHPitchers and sucked vs. RHPitchers 

Catchers - well - VERY few catchers now ever have more then 250 at bats so it's a crap shoot

OH - I've listened to 6 spring training games from 4 teams - seems the common thread is most teams will need AT LEAST 9 starting pitchers as most starters will not pitch more than 150 innings and it looks like an expanded play off like last year is coming.   

Also from other teams announcers - The Brewers are THE team that changed how games are played with analytics and shifts. No team shifts more than the Brewers and no team uses their pitching staffs like the Brewers - many point to Tampa Bay being the inventors of bullpenning but it's actually the Brewers who have perfected it.

+++

Air Fryers - wow - a game changer in my mind.   We have made some fantastic donuts, fried chicken, had some GREAT burgers last night, fried tofu as a great snack, frozen food is so so much better then oven baking.  Baked potatoes the other night.  Pizza is still a work in progress though.   LOVE it.  

and now I seem to go into RANT mode

Geez - I ALMOST agree with Ron Big Dope Johnson.  I would love to see all the pork in the stimulus bill.  BUT - we shall never know.  All 640 pages of the bill were read out loud last night.  Did you catch any of it?   Both factions of our government wanted to keep things a little secret. 

And then there is Andrew Cuomo who owns the largest asshole in NY (BTW - do you what is plural for anus is?  It's anis.  Say that in a sentence)  ANYWAY - the guy is always quoting P.A. Parkinson.

THERE IS NO SUCH HUMAN - it's a made up guy in his tiny corrupt brain!     

I used to like the guy but then a friend said NO!!!  he is a hideous human.  OK OK - so yea - there was no room for Covid patients so he moved them into nursing homes which killed a whole bunch of old people and THEN since they were supposed to be in hospitals  . . . . that is where they died, not the nursing homes. And might as well throw in the residents of the nursing homes also.

OH - don't you dare believe I'm growing soft. Republican Politicians are still the most corrupt group ever who only want power so they can make LITERALLY BILLIONS in tax cuts. Did you increase your household income by 30% this year?  GOP politicians and their wealthy buddies did.  Odd how that never trickled down isn't it.

BUT - I digress.

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

I heard that the S. Beloit cannabis store has longer hours and zero lines now.  Illinois sold $110 million in cannabis in February with $25 million going back to it's citizens from the taxes. 

Meanwhile Columbus wants to charge $7 a month for infrastructure because the State has no money (not a "tax" only a "fee").  The GOP run Senate budget put the nix on helping small towns so small towns are forced to create more money.  NOT OUR GOVERNMENTS PROBLEM.  They are way way to busy trying to suppress the vote even more and are super concerned with LGBT rights.

OK OK - got off a little there, that one is on me.  I literally HATE all republican politicians and dislike most Democratic politicians for NOT ACTING like the republican politicians.  OH - we are above their corruption and contempt for the constitution and law and order and will not act like a Republican . . . and that is why the left, even though we get more votes, always lose. 

******************    

OK - nuff said for today

have a GREAT weekend and LOTS of GREAT WARM weather coming!!!  

    

     

Dark Web and hitman the growth of Columbus

 WHAT? It's been almost a month?  Seems I am at peace in politics so I'm not "angry" or anything.  

The biggest news in Columbus is there is no way to get Columbus news.  An old story.  When I was on City Council a person contacted me and said she did not get the newspaper, did not listen to the radio and did not "do" the internet.  How is she suppose to know what is going on in Columbus.  Like is is City Councils problem?

Good question. No really, that was sort of my answer.  

So reading the facebook gossip pages (also called The Dark Web**) there has been a lot of chatter about coyotes in the area.  YUP - we hear them often (I know where they live).  Actually saw a pack of coyotes chasing an entire family down city streets.  But when I looked at the photos I took it was REALLY Antifa doing the chasing of the family and BLAMING coyotes. Typicle.    

(that joke went over poorly on Facebook - too political for Columbus pages) 

** more on the dark web in a second

In all seriousness though the main reason I was not blogging was I was dabbling in NHL small stakes gambling as I had an idea that might make me rich.  

And it would have worked (the getting rich part) if I was betting $10,000 a game (is it a "game" in hockey?  a "match"?)  After a couple hours of work EVERY morning I was up 12 units but alas . . . . baseball is back and my mind turned to a different sport (I never ever bet on baseball, I know when I'm clueless).  

++++

There was a post on FB post this morning  about what was happening at Kwik Trip last night across from Taco Bell. Seems there was a bomb threat.

I made a comment about every time I have Taco Bell there is a bomb threat in my bathroom. 

OOPS - that was in a Fort Atkinson Facebook page - NOT Columbus.  If that would have been in Columbus some woman would have reamed me a new arsehole for being flippant and not taking things seriously.  Yea - I made a comment about dog lessons are REALLY human lessons and SHE WENT OFF ON ME like there was no tomorrow.  Some serious insults to my entire character. blah blah!  Someone has issues . . . with me.  Welcome to the club. 

Columbus - we complain about EVERYTHING but, do it as a team

OH - the dark web, a real thing.  A woman that lives in Columbus tried to hire a hitman using BitCoin.  I did not know there was a website for hitman on the dark web, creating jobs it seems.  I have never lived in a town with so much white collar crime AND they keep getting caught.  

Not that hiring a hitman is white collar, it's nice to see us branching out to bigger crimes, it's a sign of growth. 

OH - I'm up 58% since Jan 1 with my Bitcoin (not a whole one), I was up 87% at one time but it slumped.

MEANWHILE - I had both covid shots.  No issues. 

OH OH - We watched about 15 minutes of the Golden Globes and an actress was talking about her show The GREAT.   It got my curiosity up and I checked it out. REALLY REALLY good  It's about the creation of Catherine the Great and the golden age of Russia.  

If you ever watched Victoria it's a little like that but funny-ish

https://youtu.be/hJGedvRfHYg

  

 

And we are one episode away from finishing The Flight Attendant. If you try it you MUST give it 2 episodes.  Don't get creeped out by the first episode. It's a delicious and fun murder mystery.

So - that is it for now - just wanted to make sure people thought I was still alive. . . . hmmmmmm that did not come out right! 

 

OH - We tried Kim's Kitchen - fantastic food.  I think the downtown is becoming Little Asia with all of
our asian food restaurants. Sorry Mexico and Tequila's.  But we temporarily lost James Street Pizza and Day One's phones are ALWAYS busy so it's all of a sudden hard to fine pizza in Columbus. 

Two of our three asian food places are fantastic.  The other one does not use water chestnuts so . . . I will not speak of them.  

SO!  

OH - My new band I have fallen in love with is The Muse.  So many different sounds. Reminds me of Beck a little with the variety of music. 

OK - gotta run.

OK - politics - After Donalds ranting at CPAC about how the GOP can't stop winning (????)  and how he is thinking about running in 2024.  I say GO FOR IT.  If 75% of republicans say they would STILL vote for him that tells me that whoever is running will win by even MORE! 

Seems CPAC sis not cover ANY actual policies on how to improve America but was more of a whining session complaining about how everything is unfair and how Donald actually won!  

NOT MY WORDS 

The common denominator behind most problems Americans face is almost always a criminal conspiracy lead by Republicans to defraud the public and government.

Too bad they cannot be held criminally and civilly liable for their one and only contribution. Graft! The acquisition of money, gain, or advantage by dishonest, unfair, or illegal means, especially through the abuse of one’s position or influence in politics, business, etc.

Hypocrisy and lies rounds out their new holy trinity! Oh the irony and hypocrisy of the Trumplicans know no bounds! Idolatry is the worship of an idol or cult image, being a physical image, such as a statue, or a person in place of God. ...

In these monotheistic religions, idolatry has been considered as the "worship of false gods" and is forbidden by the values such as the Ten Commandments. So much of their propaganda is now just their new religion of Lies from the book of Bigotry! hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah GREED IS GOOD.

+++++

There I feel even better now