Got it wrong?

A friend sent a link to a site that promised the honest truth
about you according to your birthday. Not usually having any
success with such sites I decided ‘why not?’

His birthday is about a month after mine and his result said:
“He puts on a brave face every day, but the truth is that he
feels everything very deeply. He is an incredibly sensitive
person and he cares for the ones he loves more than anyone could
ever imagine.”

Sounded almost like poetry to me, and the results would have to
similar for me, or so I thought. Mine turned out slightly
different and sounded more like a judge announcing sentence.
Mine said “He will never give up without a fight. He has been
through a lot in his life and it has built up an inner strength
that cannot be easily broken. He has the confidence to know what
he deserves in life and he has no problem fighting for what he
wants.”

Wait a minute. Why does mine mention fighting twice? This may
have been a good description 25 years ago but not today. It
sounds like a stranger to me yet when I read it to the wife and
mentioned my thoughts she laughed. Granted I have been through
a lot, but I am 66 years old! And I am bull-headed and it’s
pretty hard to change my mind. And I do go in with confidence
when I believe I’ve been slighted.

Oh. Perhaps it’s a better description that I first thought.
Enjoy our Wednesday anyway.
Comments are always welcome.

Bird day

The high temperature today almost reached my age and I just had
to get outside again and enjoy the east coast of Iowa. So I
checked out any critters flying about. This cardinal perched on
a branch and tried to figure me out.

After watching her watching me I looked up to find 2 flocks of
geese heading north. I took that as a good sign that perhaps
winter is almost behind us and spring is getting closer.

Then imagine my surprise when a huge flock of American White
pelicans flew overhead. There were too many to count and they
got here earlier this year. They were headed east, but hey,
they’re here. As always, you can click on the pictures to
enlarge them.

And finally, after these huge birds were done flying over a
bird of prey decided to take over the airspace. I believe it’s
some sort of hawk but not sure.

So I spent the day outside, missed all automated calls, and got
to relax. I’m working on figuring out how to get the coffee pot
to work while walking around outside. Perhaps a power inverter
and a small cart.

Some may call it wasted time, or avoiding work, but in my case
it’s therapy. No matter my mood, when the camera is in my hand
and a few pictures snapped I’m smiling. Having a nice day to
take pictures is an added blessing.

Enjoy our Tuesday as it has been a great one here.
Comments are always welcome.

Banner day

Today started like most other days and then something weird
happened. Shortly after the sun went down I realized all the
chores I assigned myself for today were done! I guess there are
times where giving up sleep for a night work out.

Some of the chores were easy, others I didn’t like to do, and
the rest were done first. It’s a dirty job but somebody has to
do it. The first chore of the day was to finish the donuts that
weren’t finished yesterday. I’m no quitter. After checking that
off the list I moved on the next two chores. Have coffee and
eat some leftover pizza.

Batting 1,000 at this point I had a short nap to make up for
the loss of sleep last night. Number 4 on the list was checked
off shortly after recovering from the nap. Yes, I drank a whole
bottle of ‘purified drinking water’. After all, we have to keep
healthy.

Feeding all the critters and refreshing their water was 5 and
6 and we even managed taking a few pictures, which wasn’t on the
list. Been so busy I even got the garbage and recycle out so the
city can take them away tomorrow. No wonder I feel tired.

I even took the time to check the garden and noticed a buds
starting to come up through the ground. Not sure what’s growing
but can wait to find out. Just talking about today is wearing
me out so enjoy our Monday. Now I need more coffee.
Comments are always welcome.

Late Sunday service

Since we feel the subject hasn’t got enough coverage lately we
think it time to do our part and mention the largest and most
complicated automotive recall in history. This recall affects
42 million vehicles, 69 million airbags, 19 automobile
manufacturers, and 35 brands.

The brands are Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler,
Daimler trucks NA (Sterling), Daimler vans (Sprinter), Dodge/
Ram, Ferrari, Fisker, Ford, GMC, Honda, Infiniti, Jaguar, Jeep,
Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Mazda, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz,
Mercury, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Pontaic, Saab, Saturn, Scion,
Subaru, Tesla, Toyota, and Volkswagen.

The problem is the chemical propellant used to inflate the
airbags. In the Takata bags the propellant can degrade with
time, especially in hot and humid climates, and cause the
propellant to ignite too fast and rupture the metal container
surrounding it which sends shrapnel toward the vehicle
occupants.

To see if your vehicle is on the recall list go to the NHTSA
site, enter your VIN (vehicle identification number) and see if
anything turns up. It’s free to use and may just tell you of
something else that could be a problem.

All vehicles affected will be known by December 2019. Yet the
problem is so widespread some can’t be notified of the recall
as they bought the car used and manufacturers aren’t updated.
So it is well worth a minute of your time to check.

Enjoy what’s left of our Sunday.
Comments are always welcome.

Sunday snicker

A new pastor moved into town and went out one Saturday to visit his parishioners. All went well until he came to one house. It was obvious that someone was home, but no one came to the door even after he had knocked several times. Finally, he took out his card, wrote on the back “Revelation 3:20 ” and stuck it in the door.

The next day, as he was counting the offering he found his card in the collection plate. Below his message was notation “Genesis 3:10”.

Revelation 3:20 reads: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me.” Genesis 3:10 reads: “And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked.”

Random thoughts

On this date in 1945, Marines raised our flag in Iwo Jima atop
Mt. Suribachi. A picture taken by Joe Rosenthal won the Pulitzer
Prize for photography and is one of the most recognizable and
reproduced picture of all time.

Locally, The Heart Ball is scheduled for March 3rd. And 11-
year-old Hannah Wells has been named the Princess of the Quad
Cities Heart ball that is hosted by the American Heart
Association. She was diagnosed with critical aortic stenosis
but is doing great and hasn’t had any surgeries since 2014.

The AHA opted to choose a princess to represent childhood heart
conditions since many of us believe heart disease to be a mans
disease or an older persons problem. Hannah’s parents started a
non-profit organization to help children with heart disease and
helped many since the beginning. You can visit the organization
at Helping Hannah’s Heart.

And we don’t know about where you’re from but here on the east
coast of Iowa the potholes are back with a vengeance. I hit one
the other day that could easily swallow a 57′ Buick. Ah the
rites of spring in the mid-west.

And finally, I have put the monster lens back on the camera to
see how it differs from my other lens. So far so good. That may
change depending on how long I leave it on. We’ll see and
perhaps share some pictures at a later time.

So enjoy our Friday as the weekend is here. We don’t have
anything planned, but hey, it’s the weekend!
Comments are always welcome.

A little lesson

The other day after feeding the birds I slipped coming back up
the hill and I thought I cracked my butt. Since the wife is a
nurse I asked her. She informed me everybody has a crack in
their butt, after she quit laughing.

I got all the snow off my clothes again and after checking
decided nothing was hurt but my pride. The next day we got
around an inch of cold rain so I didn’t get outside much as it
doesn’t take long to get all the critters fed and watered.

I noticed a female cardinal was having a tougher time with
the day than myself. She was soaking wet and dining on the
feed put out for the squirrels.

She looked miserable yet kept after the cracked corn until she
had her fill. The usually regal looking bird was looking a bit
rough. She hung around for quite a while before flying off,
hopefully to dry out a little.

Some birds took cover under the overhang of a nearby vacant
house to weather the deluge. Not sure who was smarter as the
cardinal got a full belly while the other just stayed dry and
would have to eat later anyway.

At least my jacket is water repellent and has a hood. It dried
off quickly once I got back inside. Just goes to show that
things may not be as bad as they seem. Enjoy our Thursday as
it’s looking to be a good one here on the east coast of Iowa.
Comments are always welcome.

And I’m the crazy one?

If I understand correctly the FBI failed to enter data into the
system and allowed the school shooter to purchase an AR-15
‘assault rifle’ yet the fault lies with not enough gun control
laws, the NRA, legal gun owners, and the fact that his mother
didn’t have an abortion.

As for the rifle, it was never clarified if said weapon was a
Colt AR-15, an Armalite AR-15, or an AR-15 style rifle. The
Colt was a semi-automatic version of the M16, which was used by
our military. The current version is marketed to civilian and
law enforcement customers. The Armalite is similar to the Colt
and the AR-15 style rifles came about after Colts’ patents
expired in 1977. They are for sale because people buy them.

And if the FBI doesn’t keep the data updated we’ve had more
luck than sense lately. Anyone who could explain how more gun
laws, restricting the 200 million other gun owners who didn’t
shoot anyone, would help the FBI ensure their list is current
please inform us. How about the government enforcing the laws
we have?

The NRA was founded in 1871 by Civil War veterans Col. William
C. Church and Gen. George Wingate to promote and encourage
shooting on a scientific basis because of the poor marksmanship
of their troops during the war. It in no way supports school
shootings. Yes, they have lobbyists in Washington. So does
everybody else.

Finally, we’re not sure why his mother didn’t have an abortion
nor do we care. It was her choice. We do know we’d like the
Country we grew up in to make a comeback.

Enjoy our Wednesday. Now I need more coffee and some leftover
pizza.
Comments are always welcome.

Of good days

It’s been quite a day here on the east coast of Iowa despite
the rain and clouds that made going outside a wet chore. After
a shower and a few cups of coffee I headed over to Dads and
stopped along the way to pick up some bakery fresh breakfast
rolls. It didn’t take long for him to wolf one down.

When I made it back home it was breakfast with wife and more
coffee. The rain let up by rush hour and a phone call from a
friend had me on the road again. I can imagine how hard it was
to make the call, but if his health improves it’s worth it.

As a result of the call we have a new boarder and I think she
will fit in just fine as she has lived here before. So Ghost,
Yoda made it here and is exploring the house while staying
calm. She meows a tad more than I remember but that could just
be getting adjusted.

I meant what I said and anytime you want to see her just let
us know. She still seems like a well-adjusted cat, even with
her 23 toes.

Now it going to cool off so all the rain that fell can freeze
and make things interesting once again. Enjoy our Tuesday as it
one day the doesn’t have a ‘r’ in it. Now I need more coffee,
fresh pizza, and a good book.
Comments are always welcome.

Robo calls

It’s been a gloomy day with rain showers off and on which means
not much got done outside. Since we were inside I noticed a jump
in telephone calls, most of which were automated trying to sell
us time shares, lower the interest rate on our credit cards, or
just offer us a deal too good to be true.

Some of these numbers are local and it’s hard to resist calling
the numbers back and chewing someone out. Yet I’d bet we
wouldn’t be the first and the people didn’t know their number
was being used in such a way until they got that first call.

We’re going back to just not answering the phone when numbers
we don’t recognize show up on the caller I.D. It someone moved
and wanted to give us their new number they can still leave a
message. If the call is indeed a spammer no messages are left to
listen to. That isn’t a perfect solution, but it works.

Remember the ‘do not call’ lists? We were on all them and
updated when things changed. Now the automated calls are even
going to my cell phone. Not answering that for unknown numbers
either.

One has to wonder why people keep sending out these calls but
here on the east coast of Iowa we’ve seen no let up. On the odd
occasion we do answer we hang up the instant the automated
message starts. Advances in technology are great until some
bent mind alters it for their own gain.

There probably won’t be a fix for this either in my lifetime.
Enjoy our Monday as it’s a great day to be alive. Now I need
more caffeine in my system.
Comments are always welcome.