Memory Lane

 Stopped by to see a friend and saw the cleanest 1951 Ford you are likely to see. Nearly perfect, inside and out. Only $26,000.

My first car was a 1951 Ford, four door in faded green, three on the tree, and a different colored passenger fender. A real pimp mobile as the shifter was moved to the left side of the steering column and the interior light bulb was painted with red nail polish.

I added plastic seat covers so my date would slide over when I turned right and I could save her by putting my arm around her. One -40° morning when I got in the plastic seat covers shattered.

Colorado at the time required a “safety” inspection twice a year (repair shops loved that!) and my muffler was worn out. To pass I pushed steel wool up the tail pipe then slowly drove to where I could get it inspected. Worked well enough to get by and lasted maybe a day.

Courage

A neighbor lives with an artificial heart and a paralyzed right side. She doesn’t ever complain and is always upbeat. Her Yorkshire terrier, LexiLou, is fourteen with no teeth but thinks she is a 120 lb Pit bull.

I admire this woman.

Entitled Assholes

While waiting for a physical to clear me for my cataract procedure I noticed this sign. In years past this wouldn’t be necessary as more people then had proper fetchings.

Sisty has dedicated decades of volunteer work to Salud.

https://www.saludclinic.org/

Mortgages in Default

My assignments keep rolling in.  The weather has slowed me down. Two days ago negotiating side streets the snow was bumper high on the car. Shod with Firestone M+S tires the Buick handled the streets with no problems.

Arguments/opinions on tires likely exceed those about firearms. What I like is what works for me; revolvers and Firestone M+S tires.

Jowl Shaker

One assignment was in a new “upscale” development in Northeast Fort Collins. In the driveway were two Audi vehicles, A SQ7 (MSRP $90,200) and a S3 (MSRP $46,000). Given our recent weather why they weren’t using their two car garage makes one speculate what is inside the garage. One thing is certain; they are one step away from foreclosure.

Electric Clothes Dryer

Mine quit heating. With all the broken pipes in our building and the resulting damages the maintenance people are way behind. Ah, the internet! Ghastly experience, had to read directions! One tip was to check circuit breakers. The ones in my apartment don’t visibly trip.

After flipping the appropriate breakers off and on twice, the dryer now heats.

2023

Somehow we survived 2022 so we can have hope we will survive 2023.

As always, YMMV

 

Up To My Ass in Jackalopes

 It has been too long  since the last post. Reasons? 

Muse has been AWOL. 

Life, recently as f**ked up as a SP 5 at a Viet Cong reveille. Nothing major, just a series of little nit picking problems. 

Weather has put me way behind on my “part time” job. Yesterday drove 350 miles to NE Colorado, the Nebraska panhandle, and SE Wyoming. Some of the snowdrifts are six feet high.  

This week will be spent catching up on overdue assignments. New ones keep coming in. Folks, this economy, as most readers already know, is in trouble.

Christmas Day Sisty and I were treated to an evening of fun and great food courtesy of Every Blade of Grass and SLW. We got to meet Pebbles the Wonder Dog and examine the Supra. I’ve never seen a cleaner one.

Next week life may be less complicated.

As always, YMMV

Missed Us By Thirty Miles

Blizzard 

 Last week saw a major blizzard roar through the Dakotas, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Eastern Colorado. I have several assignments in the area that are not getting done. Even when the roads are “open”, the condition of those roads doesn’t make for safe travel and none of my assignments are life and death.

 How bad was it? This is from Falsebook.

 For the first time in about a decade, the Alliance, NE based rotary snowplow unit BNSF 972559 and rotary snowplow power plant BNSF 972572 lead a southbound W-ALNALN2-16B, seen stopped at MP 21.1 on the BNSF Angora Subdivision at Angora, NE with BNSF 8796 and 8490 shoving on the north end. Multiple attempts to clear the hill between Dalton and Bridgeport remain unsuccessful, as deep snow drifts and high wind speeds continue to challenge the crews working to clear the line.

2 trains were parked side by side at Dalton early this week, and the train in the siding was drifted in by snow so badly, it couldn’t move even after adding extra locomotives, and Hulcher was called to dig it out once roads reopened. A Jordan spreader was sent south from Alliance Thursday night, where it too fell to the mercy of the deep snow, and the plow separated from the locomotives when they backed up to get another run at the drifts, and the snow had built up under the pin lifter and wouldn’t recouple. State highways have been shut down since early Tuesday morning, further adding to the challenges of keeping rail traffic moving.

A remark

They demanded crews to show up. Said there would be no leniency on their attendance even with the road closures. They even had to walk a mile with all their gear to get on tbe trains. They were charged 7 point per call off.

ADDENDUM: Picture taken from the BNSF Rotary.

Side note: The looming nationwide rail strike isn’t about wages. Rather, work conditions and quality of life. BNSF demanded crews show up for their assignments even if they had to walk. Roads closed? Tough shit! Show up or get docked. If/when the workers strike the blame falls on management. WSF predicts the strike will be long and bitter.

After the blizzard North of Kimball, NE. There are cows scattered all over and these don’t belong here. Ranchers gather cows and wait to sort out who owns what.

Getting Old  

A neighbor is a Korea War vet (15 months starting in 1953). Great guy. A few days ago he was standing outside the entry not dressed for the temperature. Banner and I opened the doors for him. He told me his key didn’t work and showed me his keys. To open our doors after hours you need a fob that unlocks the doors. He didn’t have one and seemed confused by his situation.

Is that my future? I’m fighting against it by staying active, watching my diet, and taking a lot of supplements. 

Brutal Beast  

Banner is a gentle soul, a wimp unless severely provoked, which is a good thing. He isn’t allowed bones as his powerful jaws break them and he swallows the pieces. These are his chew toys. They keep his teeth and gums clean but last about three months.

While he will eat nearly everything (except garlic stuffed olives) he is quite particular about chew toys.

 

Calling AAA

 Why I didn't go to Nebraska today.

Don't Californicate Colorado

First bring your own bag. Now this. My personal choice is free range eggs, repeat personal. In part due to avian flu, egg stocks are low and prices high. Will we see $4 Egg McMuffins?

https://www.greeleytribune.com/2022/12/11/colorado-grocery-stores-cage-free-eggs/

Supply and Demand

Oil companies huge profits? Start wars disrupting the global economy, block major producers from selling their oil, and temporary windfall profits come the way of those producers who can sell. Big surprise!

Temporary, because billions of dollars are tied up in idling equipment.

Weld County, CO is the third largest oil producing county in the USA. Recent reports put the county in a nearly 4% decline in GDP.

Talking thru you ass because your mouth knows better, ie, the Xiden Abdomination

From various sources, mainly PJ Media

Amos Hochstein, President Biden’s international energy envoy and chief energy advisor, is railing against Wall Street and shale oil companies for not ignoring the president’s promise to destroy them and going ahead to drill, drill, drill, anyway.

Financial Times:

The Biden adviser’s comments will spark a reaction in the US shale sector, which has complained about mixed signals from a White House that has called for more fossil fuel output while also talking of cutting demand and speeding up a shift away from oil and gas.

But Hochstein denied any contradiction, saying the US could “do two things at the very same time, ensuring we have enough [oil] supply for a strong global economy while accelerating the energy transition.”

 

 

 

Killing Your Fan Base

At the start of the NFL season you couldn’t find a seat in our building’s lobby. At least the Donkeys scored some touchdowns, the first since Thanksgiving.

I do feel sorry for the Bronco fans.

While no longer much interested in the NFL, I did have Seahawk season tickets for a few years after they joined the league. They managed to lose today but their epic Russell Wilson deal with the Broncos is the stuff of minor legends. I’ve never met John Elway, but his reputation in the car business is dismal. Common comment? “He’s never picked up a check”.

Division II College Football

The Colorado School of Mines qualified for the Division II National Championship. How many years has it been since any Colorado team had a shot at a national championship?

Amtrak

Every year I buy my oldest son, living in Seattle, an Amtrak ticket to Portland and back. He spends Christmas there with several relatives. Every year I curse and yell as I try to negotiate their website! It is a, “tradition”!

Good News

My rancher friends in Northwest Colorado report they anticipate at least a three wire winter. Along with heavy snowfall in Southwest Colorado, some help for both the Colorado and Rio Grande Rivers may happen next summer.

Whiskey is for Drinking, Water is for Fighting

Two major water impoundments may, or may not, begin after a twenty year battle.

https://www.northernwater.org/Home/NewsArticle/87fc0828-4587-41de-beb9-d051e92a3cd1

Nagging question? The need is predicated on the area population doubling by 2050. One half of the water is for agriculture and one half if for drinking water. If the population doubles, how much good agriculture land will be left?

Always in the back of my mind is my maternal grandparents first farm is now at the bottom of Horsetooth Reservoir, and they most certainly didn’t prosper financially when they lost it to “progress”.

Banner

His current popularity is suffering due to a prolong period of flatulence. I’ve taken to giving him a Gas X pill with his daily feed which seems to help.

As always, YMMV.

A Glimmer of Hope?

Alzheimer’s is second only to cancer as an extended family affliction.  

https://scitechdaily.com/new-blood-test-can-detect-toxic-protein-years-before-alzheimers-disease-symptoms-emerge/

What is aggravating is new tools are developed but never seem to be used. How many billions have been spent on cancer research?  Sometimes I feel we are being scammed much like climate change.

This and That

A Saturday at home as I’m not working so maybe I can offer something interesting.

Social Credit

It is coming ala China. Maybe covertly, maybe openly, but the elites are going to try. Your health is your business? Hah. Your health impacts health costs and as a good little serf you will be monitored.

https://scitechdaily.com/new-research-demonstrates-that-a-smartphone-can-accurately-predict-your-risk-of-death/

Your smart phone is already monitored. The scofflaw in me envisions a mechanical device to move the cell phone. I already have an exercise machine. Yes, government twit, I use my exercise machine at home to get my required exercise. Do you need video?

No Shit, Sherlock 

https://scitechdaily.com/psychologists-dark-personality-traits-make-people-susceptible-to-fake-news/

What isn’t stated in the article is just who decides if news if fake. If they ever have, the American Media Maggots (h/t BZ) have long abandoned who, what, why, where reporting.

Climate Change

Part of my daily reading is Science Tech Daily as you can see in the above paragraphs. Type climate change into their search bar and almost all article are pro, “we are all going to die”, climate change. Rarely is a contradictory position printed.

YouTube, if you care to search, has many offerings debunking climate change.

https://scitechdaily.com/?s=climate+change+

Banner

He spent a night with Sisty as I was in Nebraska on assignments. He seemingly was able to cope.

Eyes

The eye exam went as expected. I have cataracts in both eyes. Now to schedule the procedures. The recommendation is to do one eye at a time. Macular degeneration, not curable today, affects the right eye. The staff seemed to expect me to have that done first. To my question of which eye will give me better vision if done first, the answer was the left. That is what I’m going to do. Now to schedule the procedures.

Other aspects of my eyes, pressure, etc. are all in the normal range.

Economic Reality

At a convenience store in North Platte getting my morning coffee fix a situation occurred I found disturbing. A young woman with two small girls came in and went to the ATM. As I was leaving I overheard her talking on her cell phone telling someone her card wasn’t working and she couldn’t buy her children breakfast.

For a moment I considered going back in and giving her some cash then decided to mind my own business. Raising my own sons, I was damn near in that some position a few times.

One possibility was she had enough on the card for a small purchase but not enough to draw money.

In my school years, there were Home Ec classes. Our school had a functioning kitchen. Most of the female students, and a few males, took those classes. In addition to learning how to prepare food, budgeting was taught.

Going back to the young woman and her situation, the cost of a convenience store breakfast would buy a week’s worth of milk, oatmeal and sugar. If time in the morning is limited, prepare the oatmeal the night before, pop it in the microwave oven (who doesn’t have one now?), and the children can eat in the car on the way to school/day care.

Somber Day

December 3^rd is always a somber day for me. My late father was born 12/3/1924.

In 1976, honoring Colorado’s Centennial, many men grew beards.

Proud Father

My middle son is high on the Asperser Syndrome Scale. Photographic memory, marginal social skills, and introverted.  He marches to his own drummer. Some of his coworkers complain about his shirt’s message and his tattoos. Not always stated, looking like an ax murderer. He stands up to management. “Want me to cover up? Then make the other workers put away their religious symbols, crosses, “Jesus Loves You T-shirts, etc.”

Where he is now was a reaction to being bullied by religious zealots as a kid.

While we don’t agree about his beliefs, I’m proud of him for standing his ground.

Our family motto. “We won’t fuck with you but if you fuck with us, we will fuck you up”.

As always, YMMV