Morning all. I might as well confess, today I am but a smidgen away from joining the local throngs screaming; “Who Dey”! The hype in this town has reached new heights. This afternoon the Bengals on the playoff road to the Super Bowl are playing the Las Vegas Raiders. Sitting in prime, field level, seats will be Tevita and Vili – too cool!

In the meantime I’m sitting back with a nice mug of morning coffee. I could also be playing a quick word game of ‘Wordle’ to see if I can beat Kirstin, but those three or four of my faithful readers come first (you know who you are).

Prayers for Tonga – During our night Tonga experienced a massive volcanic eruption. The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha?apai volcano – 65-miles away from the capital of Nuku’alofa sent both shock waves and Tsunami waves throughout the region. The plume reached up 55,000feet and the 8-minute eruption was heard as far away as Fiji – more than 800Km away. Also reports of people hearing the sonic booms across New Zealand – 2,300Km distant.

Winter comfort – Mid January and we’re finally expecting a couple of weeks of below average temperatures. Marcia has begun hibernation under an afghan blanket. She suggested that I’d be wise to put on two pair of socks to manage better. Apparently I misunderstood a portion of the ‘how to’.

I did update her on early childhood normality – the concept of taking a hot water bottle to bed. That was both normal and welcome in a home with no upstairs heat. The ‘bottle’ was metal and to avoid burns was filled and dropped into a very large woolen sock. The top of the sock was then tied in a knot.

Her reaction made it seem that I was the only one who remembered this trick. Personally, there are days where I wouldn’t be averse to testing it once more. Apparently she thought that all we did was slide a pan of hot coals under the sheets. The coal thing was done by an earlier generation, we were modern.

The Un-Frozen 5 / 10k – which I did mid-summer gets money to the Cyclones (our minor league hockey team) Foundation. With it I got a game coupon for free admission this past Thursday – which was also $1.00 beer night. Since I couldn’t cajole anyone into coming along I went downtown solo. Had a great night! Had a great seat! Watched a well-played game against Atlanta’s Gladiators; winning by a score of 4 to 1!

Trompe-l’œil – The latest news is that the U. S. producer price inflation jumped to 9.7% in December from a year ago. This is the highest year-to-year increase on record. How obvious that the Administration trying to push us a conceptual illusion, a ‘trompe-l’œil’, touting that this is merely a ‘short lived’ spike, an ordinary (necessary) part of a growing economy. Give me a break!

CDC – Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, MD discussed a new study on the severity of those infected with the Omicron variant compared to the Delta variant:
* 53% less risk of symptomatic hospitalization
* 74% less risk of ICU admission
* 91% less risk of death
* 0 Omicron patients required mechanical ventilation.
Yet, it’s almost impossible to not hear each and every newscast kick start with a swath of doom and gloom Covid gibberish. Yet, many states and provinces continue with their draconian lockdowns and shutdowns.

Quote of the week –

”One idiot is one idiot. Two idiots are two idiots. Ten thousand idiots are a political party” ~ Franz Kafka

Fini –
• Based on a mail received a while back; who is John Galt? The note’s author perceived himself to be a ‘mocker’ of the stupid. Read Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged (1957)

• Remember this name – A&P? There was a time when the great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company ruled the nation’s grocery business. This photo was taken during the height of the Great Depression – 1936, and it appears that the shelves are full. And the reason today’s stores are struggling to keep product is available is?

• Empty shelves caused me to take special note of this quip; “Grandmas everywhere have been living off their ziplocks filled with straws, napkins, condiments, and Splenda and are now laughing at us. My, my, how tables have turned.”

• My daily walks take me round and about the ‘hood. Every one of these walks is an adventure; every one of them explores something different. This truck was spotted about mid-week. Can anyone tell me what gauge caused this ‘little’ ping?

• There was a time when the selling of liquors was prohibited; however, for a penny a machine would dispense anyone a lighted cigarette. Do you get the idea that every generation has its own ‘boogeymen’? Also, it would appear that then as now, reality played little part; it was mostly a way to wield power, a way for some groups to strike a fortune. Do we have a ‘boogeyman’ today? If so can you name it? Please mask up while you reflect.

• I’ve not seen any explanation as to why a new wall is being built around the White House. Seems like some walls can be funded and built – it just matters where.

• After asserting this deeply philosophical insight we can now quote our noble Vice President, Kamala Harris with this gem; “It is time for us to do what we have been doing and that time is every day.”

• From the Metropolitan Museum of Art comes this writing board dated from the Middle Kingdom period in ancient Egypt (circa 1981 – 1802 BCE). The teacher’s corrections can be seen as red marks. Some things never change.

That’s all folks. A bit of this and a bit of that. Somethings new and some old.
Have a wonderful new week and stay positive, be healthy, and continue to be connected.

Best till next weekend.

Dirk – the ‘who dey’ guy