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Thoughts on the Day

  • Apparently purple is not a color that Moonshine likes.
    • At least that was the only color of sidewalk chalk and crayon that he didn’t eat last night.
    • He also ate the boxes.
    • This is going to be interesting.
  • Crash seems to be fitting in quite well.  Today he climbed the living room drapes, hid in ambush on the curtain rod, and jumped straight down onto Koshka as she walked through the room.
    • Koshka refuses to cooperate with the investigation, so I suspect she is looking for her own justice.
  • There are very few things as satisfying as showing someone the email exchange where they discussed work that needs to be done after they deny all knowledge of it.
  • Going to a high school open house makes me hope that my daughter marries someone she meets in college.  In Sweden.
  • I really hope that tempura paint washes out of Boo’s school shirt.  He only has two  (more are on order) and today was art day.

Today’s Earworm

The time will come for amateur psychoanalysis of the scum who attacked the Naval Yard in Washington today.  The time will come to joust with those who will use this horrific event as an excuse to attack us.  The time will come to go over the preparation and response to the attack in minute detail.

 

But it is not that time tonight.

 

Tonight, there are people who are fighting for their lives and are only beginning a long journey in healing.  There are families that have been shattered, widows who need comforting, and children who will never see a parent again.  We need to remember them, and forget about our own interests, if only for tonight.

 

Thoughts on the Weekend

  • Crash the Combat Kitten might not be as much of a kitten as we thought.
    • When the vet took a look at his mouth on Saturday, she announced that he had all of his adult teeth.
    • That doesn’t normally happen until 6 to 7 months of age.
    • He only weights 5 pounds, so he’s either early for getting his teeth or he’s going to be teeny compared to Koshka.
  • Boo and I picked 8 more quarts worth of tomatoes out of the garden on Saturday.  I’m hoping that the ton of still-green tomatoes ripen over the next few days.
    • We can bring them in and ripen them on the window sills, but vine ripened just tastes so much better.
  • Irish Woman and I built her a new work desk in the bedroom.
    • Basically, it was two oak kitchen cabinets from BIGGRAYBOXHOMEIMPROVEMENT, placed on the floor and screwed into the wall, with a piece of cabinet-quality 1×20 screwed into the top of them.
    • This replaces a plastic folding table and a small computer desk that was holding her iMac, her work laptop, two monitors, two printers, and several scanners.
  • Irish Woman has been apologizing to me for having to work in the middle of the night for the past few nights, complete with conference call.
    • I had to tell her the story of my barracks room in Misawa that was across from the jet engine test stands and my barracks in PLDC down the street from the artillery unit that liked to pull 20 feet out of the motor pool to do night live fire training.
    • Among the few sounds that wake me up are breaking glass, doors slamming open or shut, and children crying.  Other than that, I sleep like a baby.
  • I love it when a plan comes together.
    • Wasn’t thrilled about working on Sunday evening, but it was quick and easy and uncomplicated.

Quote of the Day

Government is like chemotherapy – you *really* don’t want any more than absolutely necessary.  — Gay Cynic on Twitter

Today’s Earworm

The leaves are starting to turn and fall.  My garden is starting to die back.  It’s 20 degrees cooler and a lot less humid than it was 48 hours ago.  It’s time to call this one.

 

Musings

  • The saga of Boo’s school has ended, at least for now.
    • Now we just have to pay for it.
    • One good side of all this is that he will be in class with one of his buddies from pre-school.  We’ve warned his new teacher about the ramifications of that.
    • His new teacher has the nickname “Drill Sergeant”.  This does my heart good.
  • It took me a week to burn up half a tank of gas in the new truck, but only one day to burn up a quarter of a tank after I gassed up last night.  I guess I’ve done quite a bit of driving today.
  • Of course Boo’s new school doesn’t use the same color polo shirts as his old one.  What was I thinking?
  • Girlie Bear got excellent grades on her first German tests this week.  Now if I can convince her that “ich” is not pronounced “ick”.
  • Crash the Combat Kitten has developed a habit of ravaging the fresh fruit that we keep in a bowl on the kitchen table with his claws and fangs.  Going to have to break that habit.
  • The weather yesterday was hot, muggy, and oppressive.  Tonight it’s decidedly crisp and refreshing.  I think I can live with this for a month or two.
  • To the asshat in the semi truck who drove up the shoulder during a traffic backup, thereby cutting me off from taking the exit I needed and condemning me to 20 more minutes of stop and go traffic until I got to the next exit, I hope your truck rearends a tanker from a septic system cleaning company at high speed on “Take Your Daughter To Work” day.

Today’s Earworm

A lot of good people are Kilted to Kick Cancer this month.  Don’t forget to contribute and look out for your own health.

If you’re participating, please leave a comment with a link to your contribution page in comments.  The more we spread the word, the better.

News Roundup

  • From the “Bug, Feature, Whatever” Department – The AFL-CIO, one of the largest unions in the United States and varsity cheerleader for Obamacare when it was wending its way through the midnight backrooms of Congress, has figured out that the Affordable Care Act will make their cherished union health plans too expensive.  Their fear is that eventually unions and employers will eventually be forced to abandon them, which begs the question of whether or not a union does much for its rank and file when the most important benefit goes away.  I guess they believed all of the talk about golden band-aids and free botox delivered by Nancy Pelosi’s Air Force weekend ride.  You know, I can’t remember a time when large unions were publicly criticizing something so near and dear to a Democrat president’s heart.  Here’s hoping that their lapdogs in Congress start to listen to their union constituents instead of kissing the Presidential ring every time someone brings up reform or repeal of Obamacare.
  • From the “Coverup Is Such A Dirty Word” Department – The CIA has graciously deigned to make its employees, who were present at the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, available to testify to Congress.  I, and I feel that I speak for a vast majority of Americans here, feel absolutely blessed that the CIA has chosen to indulge our representatives after a year of stonewalling and delay.  How childish I must have been when I believed that the oath of office gave a Congressman or Senator ‘need to know’ and that the executive branch had a duty to answer to the oversight of Congress in a timely and professional manner.  I look forward to a new era of cooperation where President Obama’s cho-gi boys grace us with their attention after obstructing inquiries for a full calendar year.
  • From the “Antoinette” Department – Michelle Obama has descended from her shining house on the hill and proclaimed that the American public needs to drink more water.  You see, she has discovered that drinking water is a healthy thing to do, and we plebs have been polluting the purity and essence of our natural fluids for too long.  It’s so nice to know that the woman who by accident of history is married to a temporary government worker can give me nutritional advice.  I’m so glad that she has taken time out of her busy schedule of….. well whatever it is that she does to justify a large staff at taxpayer expense to tell me that I need to drink more water.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off for a cup of coffee.
  • From the “Chilling” Department – Anyone remember the jackass who was burning Korans a few years ago as a publicity stunt?  Apparently he was trying to turn the shock value up to 11 yesterday when he stuffed a towable barbecue grill full of Korans and kerosene, and was planning on setting them alight after he drove them over to a venue.  That’s when local law enforcement swooped in and arrested him for “unlawful conveyance of fuel”.  Now, I don’t agree with what he has done in the past and what he was planning on doing yesterday.  Honestly, it sickens me. But using an excuse to arrest him so as to prevent him from doing what is, as far as I can tell, a constitutionally protected act is out of line.  Yes, he’s a jackass.  Yes, it’s offensive.  And yes, I wish he wouldn’t do it.  But you know, that’s the compromise of freedom.  You have to accept that people are going to do things that offend you and piss you off if you want to be able to do the things you want to do.  So long as he owned the Korans and didn’t harm anyone else, his acts should not have been interfered with.  He may be a jackass, but he’s a constitutionally protected jackass.  If my cross can be dunked in urine and called protected art or my flag can be burned in the street and be protected political speech, then the government shouldn’t be interfering with him doing his own despicable spiel.
  • From the “Poor Planning” Department – Speaking of jackasses, my latest “Dumbass of the Day” award goes to the leadership of the fire department at Boston’s Logan airport.   Yesterday, which for those without a calendar was the 12th anniversary of 9/11, someone thought it would be a grand idea to hold a fire drill, complete with real fires and smoke.  As you can imagine, it didn’t go over well with those traveling yesterday.  One would have thought that someone would have noticed the date during the planning process and decided to put off that particular activity.

Thought for the Day

Today’s Earworm