Happy Halloween!

Was going to do a post about the history of All Hallow’s Eve until a humorous ‘Twilight Zone’ moment yesterday changed my mind. So instead of traditions, customs, and little ones trick or treating, we present the following.

I called the business Dad used with his stocks to get an appointment to sign papers for the stocks he left me. We both have the same name as he’s senior and I’m junior. So the phone call went through the usual spiel ended with “how may I help you”. So I explained that someone from the company called me and asked me to call back. So far everything was going great.

I gave her the guys name who wanted a call back and she asked me my name. I told her my Christian name and the line went silent for a full 30 seconds. Then the lady asked “Who?” And I again gave my Christian name only to hear silence for another 30 seconds. Then the lady asked “what is your name?” I have to admit this got me wondering what type of company Dad was doing business with.

I again gave my name and was met with more silence. About this time I had to wonder if I was being pranked and wrote the number down wrong. The lady then asked “do you have a nickname” So I told her my nickname and almost immediately she replied ‘Oh thank God!’

Now I’m really wondering what’s going on when the woman said “I thought I was talking to a ghost!” It hit me that Dad did business with this company for years and since we both have the same name perhaps she was wondering. The lady and myself both had a laugh and I now have an appointment to get the paperwork squared away Monday. Hope I’ll remember to use my nickname when I keep said appointment. I wanted to ask her if she talked to ghost very often but didn’t have the heart.

Enjoy our Saturday and Halloween. Now for more coffee and some donut holes. Comments are always welcome.

Let’s see…

We still wonder what all the hoopla is about concerning the Covid virus that causes politicians to mandate business closures, mask wearing, and social distancing. First off the survival rates are almost 100% for those under 70 and around 95% for those older without other health issues according to the CDC.

And those who are counted among the fatalities of Covid-19 had 2.6 comorbidities, which is more than two chronic diseases along with the virus at the time of death. Regardless of what actually killed them they are considered victims of the virus.

And the WHO stated in October that 10% of the worlds population has been infected so using their own numbers the fatality rate for Covid-19 is 0.13%. Yes, just a little over one-tenth of 1% of those who get the virus will die from it.

We don’t mean to make light of the fatalities only to highlight the lies being told. Governors are closing businesses, mandating masks, making visiting families almost a crime, and threatening the mental health of us all.

The media doesn’t cover the over 11,000 doctors and scientists who believe the above because it doesn’t fit their agenda. Faucci says ‘follow the science’ yet ignores the same if it doesn’t work for him. One has to wonder why.

We don’t have an answer to that and only know that more doctors on the front lines and scientists agree with above. Do the math. According to the Census Bureau the United States has a population of 331,637,477. And the last number we heard of fatalities, including those with cormorbidities, was around 200,000. At one point the CDC claimed the actual number was closer to 10,000.

Everybody just needs to take a deep breath and relax. That said we’ll end it there as if I get going on the face masks this will turn into a novel. Enjoy our Friday as we woke up breathing again and get another shot at the game called life. Comments are always welcome.

Get ready for the circus

Got a feeling this election is going to make the Barnum & Bailey Circus look like an amateur act. Some states are already saying they will count ballots postmarked on election day. That begs the question; if said ballots are postmarked election day, how long will it take for them to get to where they’re going?

Voting is a right and with rights come responsibility. Since election day doesn’t change this line of thinking leaves me puzzled. It feels like the candidates have been campaigning for years, the robocalls keep coming, and how long is the bickering going to continue after this election.

As someone who can remember voting then watching the results on the 10 o’clock news it is confusing.. Now it’s looking like it will be fodder for the talking heads for days. While we agree that every vote counts we question all the new rules. If you vote you should be responsible enough to do it correctly and on time. We have a feeling, with our biased media, that we already know who the projected winner will be, but that didn’t work so well in 2016 and won’t mean much now.

When the dusts settles and the winner is announced, the drama may continue with all the domestic terrorist groups saying they’ll riot if their candidate doesn’t win. Then we the celebrities who say they’ll leave the country over results they don’t like. Lord love a duck.

We don’t know how this will end but am thinking it won’t be pretty and will include a lot of righteous indignation of some. Where have all the adults gone? Enjoy our Thursday as we woke up breathing. Now for some coffee and leftover pizza. Comments are always welcome.

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A few pictures

Finally got to see the man in the moon last night. Skies have been cloudy lately and I’ve missed seeing his smiling face. We talked for a short bit but it seemed he didn’t want company last night so we gave him a break.

Was excited when snow was predicted earlier in the week thinking of snow angels and throwing a few snowballs. Turned out we got just enough snow to coat the fox tails and other plants and even that was gone too quick. But it’s early yet.

Little Bit looks happy that she’s getting bigger and not picked on as much as before. As the runt she was last in the food line and now she’s at the front. It seems to suit her as she is getting pretty solid.

This kitten the wife calls Dusty and we may have to bring her in as her coat is matted and we wouldn’t think that’s a good thing with winter coming. She is the runt of the last litter and her short haired sister is much bigger.

That’s enough pictures for today, when we take more we’ll try to share them here with you. Heard from our youngest last night who said the low the night before was 28 in his little part of Oklahoma. We weren’t that chilly here.

Enjoy our Wednesday as we’re halfway through the work week and one day closer to election day. Now for some coffee. Comments are always welcome.

Cause and effect

Some among us want to get rid of fossil fuels in a foolish attempt to make our lives better, or so they say. These same people say if we don’t make drastic changes we will all die from floods, drought, terrible storms, or heat in 10 years. They even have a plan called the ‘New Green Deal’ to fix these problems.

The only thing we see happening if this bill passes is the extinction of the middle class due to tax hikes and costs of owning anything and buying what we need to survive. One of the things on the agenda is the removal of fossil fuels and converting to greener alternatives. Which would be fine, if that was the case, but it is not. So we’ll talk a little about about an item we are very happy with, petroleum. We don’t need to end fracking.

The US Energy Information Administration has this list of petroleum products and their
percentage of consumption from 2013-

Gasoline 46%
Heating Oil / Diesel Fuel 20%
Jet Fuel ( kerosene) 8%
Propane / Propylene 7%
NGL / LRG 6%
Still Gas 4%
Petrochemical Feedstocks 2%
Petroleum Coke 2%
Residual / Heavy Fuel Oil 2%
Asphalt / Road Oil 2%
Lubricants 1%
Miscellaneous Products / Special Naphthas 0.4%
Other Liquids 1%
Aviation Gasoline 0.1%
Waxes 0.04%
Kerosene 0.02%

But what is done with what’s left? Not making the list, but still made from petroleum are-

Bicycle tire, floor wax, ink, ballpoint pens, football cleats and footballs, fishing lures, golf bags, dishwasher parts, faucet washers, petroleum jelly, transparent tape, clothesline, soap, curtains, refrigerant, mops, tennis rackets, House paint, water pipes, guitar strings, antifreeze, CDs and DVDs, vitamin capsules, roofing shingles, and dental adhesive to name a few.

The women politicians say that doesn’t bother them and they still support going green. What if we told them the following also contain petroleum products?

Perfumes, dresses, shoes, purses, pantyhose, hair coloring, lipstick, nail polish, slacks, deodorant, shampoo, cold cream, pillows, toothbrushes, tooth paste, candles, sun glasses, soft contact lenses, hair rollers, and eyeglasses, to name a few.

Sure, it may be that not all the things listed above have petroleum products in them, and in a less than a decade scientists could come up with replacements for the petroleum. While we’re waiting though, all these products would be gone or too costly to purchase. Seems like a different outcome than the Utopia that’s promised.

How about we keep using natural gas to heat our homes, cook our food, dry our clothes, and power our power plants? We don’t need a new green deal, we need politicians who follow the Constitution and quit micro-managing us.

Enjoy our Tuesday as we’re one day closer to the end of 2020. Now for some more coffee. Comments are always welcome.

Odds and ends

We’re getting some white fluffy love from above this morning but not enough to cover all the blemishes on the landscape. Rather have a foot of snow than a half inch.

We were talking about this little one this morning over breakfast and came to the conclusion he is smaller than his sibling. Still think he’s a good looking critter. Perhaps he’ll get better at grooming as he grows up.

Think it’s safe to say we can no longer call Little Bit a kitten. While she has grown up her tail hasn’t and it’s still crooked. Just something about her that makes her one of my favorites. If we bring her in she’d make a good mouser too.

This ground hog spends a lot of time by the neighbors brush pile so he must figure it makes him hard to spot. We’ve seen him eating grass and dandelions while posing in front of the brush. Find it amazing how fast they can move on their short little legs.

This is the time of year that color pops up all over. On top of the usual greens we now see yellows and reds. Great to watch until the leaves drop and then the bare trees and bushes look lonely and cold. But that’s nature and we do see it every year.

Working on a piece for tomorrow about the idea of banning fracking and the New Green Deal. I’ll share a list of things made from petroleum that I didn’t realize were made with oil and what may happen if these things are passed.

Enjoy our Monday because we can’t send it back. Now for more coffee. Comments are always welcome.

Sunday snicker

“Dad, I want to ask you a question,” said little Josh after his first day of Sunday School.

“Of course,” said his Dad.

“The teacher was reading the Bible, about the Children of Israel building the Temple, the Children of Israel crossing the Red Sea, the Children of Israel making the sacrifices,” said Josh.

“So what’s your question?” his Dad asked.

“Well, didn’t the grown-ups do anything?!”

The plan

Yes this is late but it took about 20 cups of coffee to get rid of the brain fart from hell. Hard to type when you can’t think. Would also like to state that this post is my opinion of how we could make our country a more enjoyable place to live and straighten out our politicians.

We’ve noticed an abundance of flat out lies in campaign ads smearing opponents and making them appear to be descendants of Atilla the Hun. And we believe politicians have forgotten what their job is. Then we have the uninformed voters who believe everything said in the media as gospel and vote accordingly.

Campaign ads should have to be truthful and punishable by law if they’re not. If found not to be truthful the candidate should have to pay a fine, publicly admit said ad isn’t truthful, and banned from running ads for one month. We, the people, should also be able to opt out of any campaign mailers and phone calls if we so desire.

Politicians in office who do not protect and defend the Constitution should also be fined and face a reduction in pay and a probation period to get their act together. Said politicians should also be banned from promising to give us anything. Politicians don’t use their own money they use ours. Hence, if they ‘give’ us something, we paid for it.

Media should be forced to be truthful and not politically biased in their broadcasts. Go back to reporting the news not repeating partisan rhetoric. When a media outlet is found lying they should also be fined, and often. Just some thoughts. To go a step farther we will add the following.

Members of the House and Senate should have term limits and their salary should be equal to an E-4 in the military. They should also have the same insurance as us and lose many of the perks they now have. If they throw tantrums or boycott for differences in party ideology they should docked one military pay grade.

We believe doing this would bring us closer to the America we remember. Your opinion may vary and that’s fine. But we have to start somewhere.

Different place

The rain stopped, the clouds tried to take over the sky, and the world seemed a different place. No loud noises, bright flashes of light, and drying out. This is more like it.

Don’t know why but the picture above looks like the cloud is giving us the finger. We hadn’t done anything to the cloud but it’s showing us some attitude. Perhaps later it changed into a bunny rabbit.

And the rain has been good for the weeds ensuring they thrive a little longer before winter takes them out. Used to call these things ‘foxtails’ and never did learn the proper name. At any rate, when there’s a wind the tops look like they’re dancing to the music.

Found two of the remaining feral kittens huddling in the wet grass. When feeding them yesterday noticed they were all wet from the rain. The kitten on the right has been jumping on our porch when I open the door to feed them. Usually comes right back out when the cat food hits the bowl.

Not sure what the attraction is unless it’s the old curiosity thing. And the two white kittens don’t run off anymore when I go out so they must have figured out who puts food and water out everyday.

Finally, Little Bit, the black kitten with the bent tail is now almost full grown so it feels funny calling her by name as she isn’t little anymore. She doesn’t mind getting her ears scratched and will follow me around like a little puppy.

Enjoy our Friday as in less than four hours we’ll be at the grocery store picking up some overpriced food, and junk food, to get through another week. Oh yeah, pizza is on sale this week. Now for some coffee. Comments are always welcome.

What a rain

Here on the east coast of Iowa, in our little neck of the woods, we often here mention of I-80 (Interstate 80) by those who estimate the weather. Last night it was “storms north of I-80 with rain to the south”. We live south of the Interstate.

Fell asleep with a decent rain falling and was awakened by a constant rumble of thunder that felt like it went on for hours. And then a monsoon and lightening that lit the sky like phosphorous shells in the midnight sky, only brighter. It woke me up when lightening hit close to home with a bright flash and the ensuing thunder rattled the windows.

That’s the fastest this old redneck has moved in quite some time. Didn’t know you could jump out of the bunk with your body still horizontal. Said storm has passed now and the quiet is being enjoyed over a cup of coffee.

And the rain isn’t done yet as the weather estimator said more liquid love from above later today. Personally, I’d rather have snow. On the first day of measurable snow I’m outside taking in the beauty and making snow angels while the wife calls me crazy. Been called worse.

The storm did make me wonder where the feral cats and kittens were. Hope they found someplace dry to wait it out. If it stays dry long enough we’ll get some pictures to share and if not we’ll wish we did. Enjoy our Thursday since it’s here anyway. Now for some coffee. Comments are always welcome.