“Real Craic”

Happy Saturday. Blame me if you must, yes, I am a bit behind. St. Patrick’s Day was earlier this week. Nevertheless, in the manner the dear folk of Éire would welcome you into any pub (even on days other than St. Patty’s), “Real Craic” – translated into meaning ‘you’ll have a good time — enjoy, have a lot of fun’

Love short lived – No more than six months ago Elon Musk was a beloved master, creator, business leader, and innovator. He was seen as the guy who was paving a pathway to what we view as American exceptionalism.

Then he made a major blunder. He discovered that Free Speech was number one in both our US Constitution and also number one in his personal belief system. Since it became obvious that social media had dropped any semblance of Free Speech; he bought one of the main players.

Then he aligned himself with a Presidential Candidate who he felt was espousing his personal viewpoints. You know the rest.

Now he requires a security team of over 20. His much loved, globe saving, electric cars began to be singled out for barbeque parties, and so it goes. It truly is a nutty world.

Anyway, our nation’s #1 African American, Mr. Musk, had also started a company which brought us back into space, SpaceX. 2024  numbers show how he’s done. Beating the competition is putting it mildly — I actively follow Space launches and SpaceX activity with Musk is making a trip into the heavens seem to be akin to taking an Uber.

Musk has blown the Overton Window wide open, and I bet he’s watching with a broad smile.

A Scheme? – It’s no secret in these parts that (brought to my attention by Kirstin) I love Dave’s Killer Bread – with 21 Grains & Seeds. A couple of reasons, the stuff tastes great and my Yuka App rates it at 100 out of 100.

Having said that, Dave’s Killer Bread also was able to point out how companies can deal with inflationary and tariff related issues. The trick is to trick. In food especially it gets down to packaging etc., anything to avoid a price increase.

Dave’s Killer Bread is even better. Packaging stays the same, size is unchanged, and price unmoved. In Dave’s case it wasn’t until I got to eat my newly opened loaf that I discovered a secret. It would appear I might have discovered a sneaky ‘shrink’; just don’t completely ‘fill’ each slice. Problem solved!

Mentioning bread, recently I discovered how grocery shelved bread is date marked and thought I’d share — it’s the little closure clips. I hope this helps.

Separation of Powers – At least it is if your name is James Boasberg and you’re a Federal Judge, a Judge who seemingly pokes at anything; similar to the way a pangolin pokes. So that I don’t blather on, if interested in a serious (and seriously accurate) assessment of what’s going on click on this link to Margot Cleveland’s assessment.

He, the same judge who gave the nutty order for over the ocean flights full of ne’er-do-wells to do a 180.

When Boasberg was advised that the flights had departed well before he wrote the order, thought it within his right to order them to return.

It is the satire entity, “fake news you can trust”, The Babylon Bee (March 17, 2025), which published this headline: “Federal Judge Orders Astronauts Be Returned to Space Station“.

As my French cousin would say: “la trahison des experts” (the betrayal by experts), is that a period we’re currently in?

The Polygraph – was an invention by President Thomas Jefferson – now such an instrument is called the Autopen. That instrument seems to be in the news a lot. But here is what I found interesting. Legal guru, Alan Dershowitz, owns one of the Jefferson letters which was signed by his Polygraph. Dershowitz claims that at an auction polygraph documents fetch more than those with an original signature.

I’m having a bit of a thought, thinking a little into the future, and at Biden’s many thousands of documents signed by machine!

The Cincinnati Reds – are Major League Baseball’s oldest team, set to embark on season 136. Opening Day on Thursday is an amazing event. The Opening Day Parade is a de facto city-wide holiday with the three-hour long event as kick-off. It’s been months since an Opening Day ticket was available – and the stadium will fill with more than 50,000. This year it’s special with the Reds hiring the hugely successful and locally loved Terry Francona as the new team manager. Francona played for Cincinnati during his playing years and now is back in one of his favorite towns.

Here is a photo – displaying my current occupation. I’m fairly well involved. If you’re nonplussed here’s a hint — all will be complete no later than April 15.

Life is AMAZING! Sláinte!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Tennis was a bit of a highbrow sport which I enjoyed in college. Then when I was younger it became indoor ‘handball’ and I joined a club. As of late the biggie is ‘Pickleball’ and even on my walks I’ll occasionally pass an area where I can hear the smacking of the ball. Now there is a different style of racket ball which is taking off. Listed below are all racquetball games, but which one of the following is that new one to emerge into the next ‘must play’ thing.

1) “Frontennis”
2) “Stické”
3) “Frescobol”
4) “Jombola”
5) “Miniten”
6) “Padel”
7) “Totem Tennis”
8) “Sphairee”

It’s Lent & Pi

Happy Saturday. “As the first light of dawn crept through my window this crisp March morning, I found myself staring at a blank page, the cursor blinking like an impatient metronome. Writer’s block, that old nemesis, had settled in with a cup of coffee and a smirk, daring me to string together something worth reading. But then, somewhere between the steam rising off my mug and the distant chirping of birds shaking off winter’s last grip, a spark flickered—because isn’t that how it always starts, a quiet rebellion against the nothing, one word at a time?”

Okay, so I didn’t write the opening paragraph, Grok3 Ai was the culprit. I asked the system to do a short review of previous Ramblings and assess my normal attitude, etc. Seconds later you’re reading what it came out with. I promise that this won’t be a new normal, you’ll be getting my thoughts.

Please Dirk, stop! Get yourself a coffee!

Winter has long gone – All week the temperature has been in the 70s. With that change I’ve managed to get outside and do a daily 4 – 6-mile walk. I needed to get back into the routine after both winter and my dealing with a solid case of the ‘cruds’.

Earlier I did mention that our bearer of Spring, our nearby St. Bernard Dairy Queen ice-cream shop had opened and here is the proof seen on one of the walks.

Pi not Pie – Yesterday was national Pi Day. Started in 1988 it’s celebrated every March 14th. It’s quite easy to figure out why; March is the 3rd month and the 14th day are the numbers 1 and 4. See how easy, Pi starts with the numbers 314. Remember your high school math; Pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, and we were all forced to remember this string of numbers, 3.14159?

Anyway, yesterday was Pi day. In celebration did you enjoy some Pie?

If yes, was it thrown or eaten?

A Lenten First – Right here in the ‘Nati. What in the world could be a Lenten first in this mid-west town. First we have to look back at the heritage of the German, primarily Roman Catholic, immigrant population which settled here. Add to that, the fact that while Ohio had the 60th McDonald’s franchise nationally, ours was the first one in Ohio. Now add lent.

Every Friday during lent this McDonald’s franchise stood near idle – people ate fish on Fridays.

The franchise owner, Lou Groen, came up with an idea and in basic terms, placed a piece of fish on a burger bun – this was a time where a McDonald’s franchise could still experiment a bit. After some refinement he shipped his idea to corporate.

But nothing is ever easy. McDonald’s founder, Ray Kroc, believed the Hula Burger, made with pineapple, would provide sales relief during Lent. Common sense (a contest) prevailed, and the Hula Burger and Groen’s Filet-O-Fish competed to see which sold more.

The newly named Filet-O-Fish turns 63 this year.

Quantum Computing – A previous Rambling had me mention my friend, Brian, a professor emeritus in Physics and his work in Quantum computing. I barely understand half of what he discusses on the subject.

However, it appears that there is more progress on the subject than I had realized. This past week a West Coast company, D-Wave, announced: “Outlining their work in a new study, the North American tech company argues their quantum computer performed a complex magnetic materials simulation in minutes, with a level of accuracy that would take nearly one million years to achieve with a supercomputer.” Tom Hale IFLScience

It sure looks like advances in Quantum work can now be measured in years rather than decades.

Ok, the end. Thunder and lightning are all around us and we’re expecting a couple of inches of rain. Already our condo’s front windows are being pounded by the rain. Marcia has the TV on and is channel surfing looking for weather updates. Here’s wishing that our annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade will find a dry spot to fit in as the day ticks on. It’s never had to be canceled.  For me, the plan is to post this and sit back with another mug of coffee.

The Coffee Call. Winslow Homer (1836 – 1910) Art Institute Chicago

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

This for Pi Day: An elderly Bradenton, FL woman had ordered a Pizza pie. As the delivery guy walked up to the front door, he spotted this lurking under the parked car and refused to walk by to deliver the Pizza. A kind Police officer completed the delivery. What lurked under her car?

1) “Racoon”
2) “12’ Python”
3) “Florida Panther”
4) “Coyote”
5) “8’ Alligator”

clocks and watches

Happy Saturday. Happy Saturday. As I start writing Vai is on an airplane, off with classmates to Andros Island in the Bahamas (3:00am at the airport). The stay is a weeklong part of her school’s intersession; everything from biology, marine life, interviewing locals, creating community, and just plain fun.

Her school, Clark Montessori High School, was the first such school in the nation and is nationally recognized for excellence. She loves the place.

Okay, coffee is ready, so a mug of java is next.

Take me to the river; a highlight(?) –The President’s Speech before the joint houses of Congress was scheduled to be undermined by the opposition – which didn’t work out too well. One ‘highlight(?)’ was the removal from the chamber of Representative Al Green.

In recognition of that event, here is his namesake, entertainer Al Green (and a lot of friends) who like the extant Representative Green leaving the hall while singing “Take me to the River”. Former President Bill Clinton looked extremely happy even as ‘Al Green’ left the stage.

Loving History – History and the study of it has been fascinating to me as long as I remember. Late last month I got involved gathering detail on the Iraq war, President GW Bush, and that of the Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein.

I won’t bore you with all the ins-and-outs of that period; Marcia would say “boring”. But here is the ‘why’ I am mentioning it. I watched a video detailing the last 24 hours prior to Hussein’s execution. The execution itself was to be done by the Iraqi’s, however, the years leading up to that event it was the Americans who kept him incarcerated. During that time there was one American who was assigned as Hussein’s interpreter.

On his last day Hussein was awakened at 3:00AM to be helicoptered to the execution prison site later in the day. As Hussein dressed himself, he looked at his watch and said, “My friend”, the name he used for his interpreter, “you have been good to me, and I want you to have my watch”.

The video showed a close-up of that Hussein watch, a Raymond Weil, Geneve Switzerland.

So, here is why it caught my eye. I too own a Raymond Weil watch – a gift from my employer. It’s a quality piece although it’s not that well known a brand. With only a single jeweler in town carrying and authorized to work on Raymond Weil they’re actually quite rare in these parts.

Okay, so it might only be satisfying and meaningful to me, but I think it cool.

If it bores you, “sorry, so sorry” as my cousin Guillaume would say.

Junior Jazz – Last evening Marcia and I gathered at the previously mentioned Clark Montessori High School for a performance by the various jazz bands. Our 8th grader, Vili, plays Saxophone in the start-up of the three bands that performed.

One of the numbers they played was a New Orleans favorite, “The Second Line”. That piece was written by Paul Barbarin who also wrote, “Bourbon Street Parade.” The number was the highlight of their performance because, in true jazz style, each instrument had a three-bar improvised solo. Vili did great and for each of his fellow musicians it was very gutsy. Listen for me yelling “Boom” at the end of Vili’s solo –(starts at 2:00 minute mark).

Remember Abbott and Costello doing their “Who’s on First?” routine? I tried to play on the Abbott and Costello routine with Vili and it totally crashed. While driving earlier in the week I asked Vili where in the program he had his solo. “Second Line” he quickly replied. I came back by asking him, “OK the second line, but second line in what song?”. “Second Line“, he replied again. Even after explaining the “Who’s on First?” routine my repartee still fell flat. Oh well, he’s still young.

Daylight Savings Time – Is still a fixture and a mostly booed event. Nevertheless, it is what it is and starting Sunday morning, for the next three weeks, our internal clocks will pay the price. Don’t forget that in many cars the clocks need to be set manually (assuming your car has a clock – our Deux Chevaux -the Duck- does not).

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk
BONUS POINTS:

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent presented the three pillars of ‘Trumpanomics’ during a talk at the Economic Club of New York. Of the three economic priorities, which of these are NOT one of them:

1) “Roll back regulatory overreach”
2) “Rein in government excess”
3) “Shift away economic power from Washington bureaucrats”
4) “A focus on the core safety and soundness of financial institutions”
5) “Tighten the “Supplementary Leverage Ratio” SLR ”

What did you do Last Week?

Happy Saturday.  Just in case you’re wondering, yes, my head cold is over and done. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that Marcia picked up right where I left off. Only she has a hacking upper chest cough along with a need to spend her days flat on her back. I think improvement is slowly creeping in.

Take a look, we’re actually number 4 in the nation for worst cold/flu related areas. Horrible!

Normally I get all BMV (Bureau of Motor Vehicles) stuff done online. This past week I had to manage one ‘bit’ at a nearby BMV office. Does the attached photo give some insight why I avoid the place at all cost?

Now some coffee:

And yes, it’s official, The St. Bernard Dairy Queen opens today, and you all know what that signifies — SPRING HAS ARRIVED!! It’s Official!!

A Birthday quotation:
My Birthday came and went this past week. As with every other year, nothing much changed and yet you just know that there is a change. So, in honor of my Birthday I’ll quote one of our foremost playwrights of the past century, Tennessee Williams: “Snatching the eternal out of the desperately fleeting is the greatest magic trick of human existence.”

Now that I’ve reached my new milestone age, I must insist that when you enter the room you kiss my ring. Mind you, I’m not gunning for any potential Papal slot, just simply kiss my ring!

Crazy Aging Fact – When I took my first job, kids today would be blown away pondering the fact that then there was a special kind of black paper I’d put between two regular pieces of paper, and that when I’d write on the top page, it also showed up on the bottom page. It was so good that using your printer (then called a: typewriter) it would work just as well making one or two copies. Forgot? Think Carbon Paper.

Chili Week – Cincinnati restaurants create new menu items, deals for Cincinnati Chili Week:

Be sure you read the Bonus Points below for your Chili Week special.

Soccer: I just knew we were in for a treat when Jason, Cathy, and I entered our stadium, and the following was displayed on the score board.

No, not really, we were at TQL Stadium to be part of a great game and the start of a Champions Club play. We enjoyed our home team, FC Cincinnati, establishing the home team by moving on to Round 2 of the Concacaf Champions Cup. The opposition was FC Motagua, winners of the Honduran Liga Nacional Apertura season. We had a blast!

One of the highlights was a hard shot on goal one of our forwards took. Their goalie punched the ball over the top bar, and I watched things going into slow motion as that ball climbed row after row coming straight for our heads and becoming larger as it closed the gap. I even remember thinking that it’d be nice if I only filmed the event. Anyway, a guy two rows in front of us jumped up and caught that ball! Much cheering ensued!

Immediately in front of us was an extended family from Honduras. At the end of the game as we were beginning to head on out, we all stopped and had a round of fist-pumps. A perfect end to a wonderful evening.

Steel Drums – just was advised to clear the evening of April 5th for an event to be held at Miami University in the nearby town of Oxford. This should be an event to anticipate (I am already excited). The music will be a tribute to the group, Rush. Playing will be the steel bands of Seven different schools. Vai who is first Alto drum for Clark Montessori will be one of the seven schools represented.

In case you’re unfamiliar with the music of Rush, here is a short; Rush – New World Man:

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

This is Chili Week in Cincinnati, and it’s a well-marked (marketed) event. In celebration which one of the following can be expected, gratis, if asked:

1) “buy 4 Chili Dinners at Northern Row brewery and get a free Growler”
2) “50% more Cheddar Cheese on any 3-way Chili at any Skyline; ask for Sky-Way”
3) “Buy three Coney’s, get 5 at all Goldstar locations”
4) “1955 pricing of 3-ways at Camp Washington Chili (limited quantity)”
5) “Buy a bowl of Chili at Dixie Chili & they’ll ‘sink’ a Coney for free ”