Amen, change is Forthcoming

Happy Saturday, ours is a tame one weather wise. Early next week it’ll do a flip with below 0 temperatures. We’re brave at this end. Yesterday I made note that we were running short on coffee; couple that with a shopping trip to Aldi’s. Not ready for creating a Costco event I purchased coffee at Aldi’s – a pound each of two differing brands. Should I remember, I’ll give you a full report in a week.

OK – The other night I lost too much sleep with worry. I couldn’t remember if I inserted QWERTY or if I mistakenly inserted LTQBITSENUF in a document. Should I worry? Is this something major? Or is just a minor faux pax that should be glossed over? Thanks.

’41 La France at work – Jay leno at the wheel of his 1941 American LaFrance fire engine leaving a trail of Chicken and Ribs as he delivers food to first responders at the Los Angeles fire disaster. Good to see positivity such as his efforts during such a stunning disaster.

When I was – much, much younger I spent way, way too much time with craziness (i.e. Science fiction) material. Stuff such as The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. But before that, in the ‘60s, there was Robert A. Heinlein’s science fiction novel Stranger in a Strange Land. Buried in Heinlein’s book there was a new name introduced, ‘Grok’ meaning, “to know intimately.”

Now it’s 2025 and Elon Musk just introduced via ‘X’ his X Ai Grok vs2 a chatbot. I downloaded it! And I am having a blast. In fact, it’s quickly coming to the point where Marcia is done with anything chatbot related and my enthusing over same; “Don’t Panic.”

Ai Exploration – Part of my exploration and testing of Ai Grok Vs.2 had me ask Grok the following question: “write a 200 word article on the status of Ai generated content”, After about 2 seconds the system answered; here is Grok’s answer – zero input on my part. Pretty cool huh?

“The landscape of AI-generated content has evolved significantly in recent years, transforming how digital content is created and consumed. By 2025, experts estimate that up to 90% of online content could be AI-generated, highlighting a dramatic shift in digital media production. This growth is fueled by advancements in generative AI technologies like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and DALL-E, which can produce everything from text articles to visual art and even music. These tools are not only improving in quality but also becoming more accessible, allowing even non-technical users to create content that was once the domain of skilled professionals…………”

Then I tweaked it a bit: Grok, “write a 100 word lighthearted and funny article on the status of Ai generated content”, and before I could take another sip of coffee, here is what I received:

“In the ever-evolving world of tech, AI-generated content has become the new jester in town. Picture this: robots penning poetry that rhymes “byte” with “might,” and AI chefs creating recipes with a dash of “data” and a pinch of “pixels.” From tweets that sound like they’ve had too much coffee to blogs that seem penned by Shakespeare’s distant, digital cousin, AI content is a wild ride. Sure, you might get a news article where the hero is a glitch, or a love letter that’s all code. But hey, at least it’s keeping us on our toes, laughing all the way!”

I think we’d stunned were we to see just how much content, visual, music, and written, already is being pumped out right now by Ai.

The Big something – As long as I’ve been around, I’ve made note that people with (I think) much more intellectual capacity than me have spent their whole life thinking “Big”. Never certain on the correctness of what seemingly was a naming consensus, the idea was given a name even a kindergartener could visualize – the Big Bang theory.

However, there were still many gaps which were best filled with other “Big” ideas, like really BIG. So now, bolstering the Big Bang, they’ve added the following Biggies: The Big Rip, The Big Freeze, The Quantum Tunnel, The Big Crunch, and The Big Bounce.

Meanwhile, as mentioned earlier, I’m still stuck on Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Adams convinced me that at the end of the Universe there’ll be a Restaurant. Once there it’d be interesting to reach my hand through that final end ‘curtain’ only to find that Restaurant’s short-order cook shake it. Mind you, this last bit, the handshake, is purely conjecture.

It’s about getting wet – really, really, wet. As a six- or seven-year-old my family was on vacation on the shore. Long story (for another time) but I fell into an underwater trench that was being dug to free a stranded ocean freighter. None of that three-bobs-and-under-you-go business – I went straight down. Apparently, a guy close by scraped me off the bottom and dragged me to shore. All went well.

Back from our vacation adventure my parental units signed me up for swim lessons at a nearby pool. I did learn and have always enjoyed water. However, little to no remembering of my lessons, except for one bit. The pool had a walking bridge across the middle. I remember a wide belt being put around my middle. The belt connected to a line, which went to a ‘fishing’ pole. On that bridge was my instructor full of motivational speeches – back and forth.

Our kids (and others) look at me with one of the “here’s another tale” looks whenever I describe my lessons. This week I ran across this old photo. It was taken in the 1920s so it’s quite a bit prior to my lessons. But it’s the technique people!

And let’s not forget that this weekend, finally, it’s the end of Bidenomics! The end of fiscal maladministration. Now best prepare for the Polar Vortex quickly charging towards us.

Life is AMAZING!

Adeus e boa saúde (Portuguese: Goodbye and good health)

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Which two of these actual town names do have an exclamation (!) mark in the name? By the way, these are the only two towns to end with an ‘!’ in the world, the other 4 named towns do not!

1) “Hamilton!” Ohio
2) “Westward Ho!” England
3) “Humpybong!” Australia
4) “Orgy!” France
5) “Cyców!” Poland
6) “Saint Louis-du-Ha!-Ha!” Quebec, CA

A thing-a-ling kind of Week

Happy Saturday, a cold one. Our Mr. Coffee coffeemaker has just begun its “I’m nearly done growl” (or is it its ‘death rattle’)? The Mr. Coffee is just fine; I really have little need for something such as a $30,000 La Marzocco Strada AV 2 coffee machine by the Australian workshop Specht Design – even a used one.

And also, be assured, in no way shape or form do I consider myself a MAMIC (Middle Aged Man into Coffee). Or should that now be OGIC (Old Geezer into Coffee)? The acronym thing is in reference to the LSSU list of banished acronyms, words, and phrases (below).

Skibidi – and another handful of words and expressions made this year’s banished word list. Period, 100% that is! And the dear people at Lake Superior State University (LSSU) calls this year’s listing a ‘game changer’. And here IYKYK (if you don’t know, you know) are the remaining of the top 10 words/expressions which made this year’s light-hearted LSSU list: Cringe, Era, Dropped, Sorry not sorry, Utilize.

And, even after reading the various definitions, I still have no clue what ‘skibidi’ means.

Quotation: “Love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well.” – Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890) Dutch Post-Impressionist painter.

This was written by someone who would have been in long term treatment this day and age. Van Gogh who sold only a single painting in his day (he created 2,100). Who gave a painting to his doctor in payment, who in turn gave it to his mother, who in turn used it as a cover for a hole in her chicken coop. Yet today, 99% of the people in the wealthiest nations in the world would be strained to purchase one of van Gogh’s works.

In the White – Axios Crypto recently published its list of both slowest and fastest cities for driving. The way it was calculated was taking rush-hour driving over 6-miles. The ‘Nati made neither list. Having said that, this past week we would have made the top end of the slowest city (New York). Eleven inches of snow coupled with crappy preparedness locked the city and made it so that schools were closed most of the week.

Our useless, current, city council and mayor seem to forget that we are a Northern city, and we do get snow regularly this time of year. Certainly, it’ll be very little for a few years, but then we’ll get whacked. This year we got a monster.

If you remember, a few weeks ago I participated in the Mt. Adams Egg Nog Jog. This week, for 3+ days the residents of Mt. Adams had no (as in 0) snow removal whatsoever. Other than walking in and out they were stuck – the area has no food stores or pharmacies. The city ‘leadership’ had excuses galore; but what was not addressed was the fact that snowstorms earlier during the past century managed to have a successful cleanup responses.

Yesterday afternoon and into last night it was snowing and we were expecting 3 to 5 inches more of the white death – which looks like it was achieved. At least we’re not dealing with 100-mph winds and flames along with similar crappy response (P.S., my family in southern CA are all fine as is their property).

Devotional – Just before the Holidays I picked up a daily devotional which has a short read for each of the days of the year.

As just mentioned and like everyone else, I couldn’t help but hear about the massive fires out West and the disastrous ineptitude preparing and handling these. In the meantime, most of the cars on our street are still buried in snow and miles of side streets have barely seen a plow. Then, and totally unrelated, Adrianne and Tevita had the need for 4 HVAC calls to ensure they had heat; problems, problems!

Yup, I was a good day to grumble.

Yesterday, sometime around lunch, I picked up my devotional and turned to Friday, January 10 and began to read:

“Please help me learn to appreciate difficult days—being stimulated by the difficulties I encounter rather than becoming distressed. As I journey through rough terrain with You. I gain confidence from knowing that together we can handle anything…..”

I think I am back on track.

Batesville, IN – You know this little town. About 45 miles from the ‘Nati, and it’ll be the place your next burial casket comes from? It’s also been the place (for the past 60 years) where the small family-owned Schmidt Bakery makes and sells their Cherry Thing-A-Ling fritters – last year’s ‘Fritter Frenzy’ snapped up over 250,000 of the things during the 5-days per year they’re sold.

These are sold in mere days celebrating Presidents’ Day, and then they disappear for another year. “How popular” you ask? People line up for the 4am day’s opening and will wait for hours! Online ordering starts this Monday – store pickup lasts 5 days beginning February 13.

And I can’t talk Marcia into a short daytrip to Batesville.

For anyone in the Netherlands, next week, make plans to head for the Paradiso Amsterdam. My cousin Karin and her choir (Koninginnenkoor Amsterdam) will entertain with a fun afternoon of music and songs. Next Saturday, January 18 at 3:30pm, is when the party will be in full swing and think, only a mere € 3.-.

Life is AMAZING!

Vaarwel en een goede gezondheid (Dutch for: Goodbye and good health)

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Surprising duties for the U.S. President. Which 3 are true?

1) “approves truck weight limitations”
2) “right to create a personalized Presidential Seal”
3) “serves as head of the Boy Scouts”
4) “arranges seating order for the Press Briefing Room”
5) “selects coin design for Army~Navy game toss”
6) “manages the White House beehive”

Passing through Quantum?

Happy first Saturday of the year. Listening to the weather gurus it’s Armageddon at the doorstep. Our energy and internet providers have already prepped us by Messaging many paragraphs of dire ‘possibilities’, i.e. “warnings”. So, what did Marcia state was an absolute necessity? A haircut!

Now that she’s moved another year further into adulthood it’s also apparent that one gets both older and colder quicker. Hence, as a prep, should the weather types prove accurate, she’s testing out her wearable blanket, a “Comfy”.

Thursday, we celebrated Marcia’s Birthday at the Element eatery. We all gathered for a good time and three hours of good food, fine talk, with live music. Even burned a candle, sang Happy Birthday, and closed out with individual little Cheesecakes.

Just wondering – whether everyone’s head has cleared after the New Year’s celebrations. If still ‘foggy’ or headachy you should have lived in Kiribati (island nation in the central Pacific Ocean and formally the Gilbert Islands and not too far from Tonga) on this day in 1994.

See, that year, Kiribati skipped New Year’s Eve Day altogether. What? It made sense. Turns out the International Date Line cut right through this nation. The net result being that the Eastern islands of the nation were 24 hours off from that west of the Line. The net result was that there were only three days a week to conduct business.

So, a ‘carve-out’ of the Date Line was made to place all of that nation into a single time zone. To accomplish this, voila, the western islands of Line Islands and Phoenix Islands skipped the last day of December 1994. Now, don’t you feel better? If not, pour yourself another coffee.

Public Domain Day – Every January 1st is Public Domain Day, books published in 1929, and movies distributed in 1954 are now free for anyone to share and reuse. My favorites, Tintin and Popeye the Sailor Man, are now such classics, as is the art created by Matisse and Frida Kahlo. In music we find works of ‘Fats’ Waller (“Stormy Weather”) as well as Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” and an “American in Paris”. Even some older, classic, movies:

U-Haul – trucks are swarming the ‘hood. It’s an end of month thing and we’re used to it. Leases are up and, musical-chair-like, there is a wild dash from one apartment to the new. This means that almost everything U-Haul has available is on the road or in a driveway. We see tiny 8 footers all the way to the largest box trucks available – with a few trailers thrown in for good luck.

What makes it all novel in these parts are the industrial sized, black plastic, trash bags. The trucks are loaded to the gills with bags of clothing, bags of shoes and boots, bags of kitchen items, most everything in a plastic bag. Moving is a grand shuffling of trash bags. Marcia enjoys watching it all to the point that I suggested she begin maintaining a spread sheet on their movements.

Quantum Theory insights – Death in a Timeless World – A number of years ago, at an after-wedding gathering I met up with an old acquaintance, Bryan. As these ‘after-the-event’ things can move along with a certain level of boredom, he and I got caught up quite a discussion. See, Bryan is a (now) retired tenured Professor of Physics, and at that time was heavily into research on Quantum Theory.

Ever since that discussion I perk up whenever things under the rubric of Quantum Theory pop into my arena. With that as backdrop, I’ve been reading on the subject. If interested, type the above heading into Google and a world will open. Anyway, ponder on the quoted couple of paragraphs below; I find them fascinating:

“Our current way of thinking goes on to assume that the world has an objective existence independent of the observer. However, numerous experiments have suggested otherwise. We view life as the activity of carbon and other molecules: we live for a while and then decay into the ground. This belief leads us to accept the concept of death, primarily because we identify ourselves with our physical bodies, which eventually perish. However, biocentrism, a theory proposed by Dr. Robert Lanza, argues that if we incorporate life and consciousness into the equation, many scientific puzzles can be explained, including why the universe appears fine-tuned for life.”

“In a timeless, spaceless world, the idea of death does not hold. In this context, immortality wouldn’t imply a perpetual existence in time but rather an existence outside of time altogether. This idea aligns with recent experiments showing that light particles can communicate instantaneously as if there were no space or time separating them. Such findings suggest that our understanding of time and space-and, by extension, life and death-is deeply flawed.”

https://tinyurl.com/fw8snvma or https://tinyurl.com/preview/2bcyzkb

Quote: So, now that we’ve learned so much more about us, the Universe, and our relationship in it; I think it’s summarized perfectly by Mel Brooks – “Humor is just another defense against the universe.”

Sun – Tied into this little-bitty Quantum Rambling I thought I’d pass along another subject of interest to ‘Moi’. Back in 2018 NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe to explore the Sun’s outer corona. After placing a bunch of heat shielding the probe, adding a couple of swings around Venus to build up speed (430,000 mph), and this past week it successfully touched the sun as it swung by and observed the corona from a ‘mere’ 4-million miles out. I found this stunning first picture – hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Life is AMAZING!

Meilleurs vœux (French for: wishing you well)

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Which of these animals change their color to white in the wintertime?

1)   “ptarmigans”
2)   “Arctic lemming”
3)   “Peary caribou”
4)   “least weasel”
5)   “Stoat”
6)   “mountain hare”

Old Year? Or New Year Old?

Happy Saturday. Especially when most of this week already feels like it’s been one long, extended, Saturday. Wait a minute, I’m retired and unless I jump on a project, every day feels just like this one.

Today we’ll be touching 60-degrees and with the whole gang coming over to celebrate our belated family Christmas, that warm snap is totally appreciated. Now for some coffee, I just heard Mr. Coffee’s finishing up with its raspy bubbling.

Egg Nog Jog – Yup, last weekend’s Mount Adams annual 5K Egg Nog Jog has become a tradition with me. It’s only several hundred participants – and yes, they do have a costume judging as part of it. With the hills enroute my tracking applications told me that we climbed the equivalent of 14 flights of stairs.

So here is how I ended up. Out of 110 walkers I placed number 53. The chip calculated that I placed number 19 in my gender category. There were two of us over age 80 and I placed 1st in that category with a pace of 16:46. Ok, have I bored everyone enough? I’ll shut up now – but first, let me explain that the ‘real-feel’ temperature when I left home was 18 degrees.

Weather – OK, so I mentioned a chilly temperature that greeted me last weekend. This led me to pay attention to the latest news, “New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) ratified climate alarmist legislation last Thursday that will have the state confiscate billions of dollars from American oil, gas, and coal companies as reparations for bad weather ($75B)”.

And so it goes, the money grab that is. It’s amazing, climate change has been a reality since time immemorial. As a Mr. Laakonen wrote recently; “does the sun control the climate or is it cows this week?”

Also, this past week I came across this from the National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado Boulder. The picture diagram shows that the Antarctic Sea ice extent is 17% higher today than it was in 1979. So where is the lie, is it the ice or the constant blathering from self-serving ‘climate’ scientists?

Chaos & Mayhem – has purposely been left off the radar. There is always so much here that a weekly update tends to lose its punch. However, let’s finish up the year with a couple of this week’s events. As Marcia always says, “why watch television when I can sit here and be entertained.”

The picture with the cruisers I have no knowledge of other than a youngish lady was given a pair of sparkly bracelets and escorted into the back seat of one of the cruisers. The dump-truck, registered to the City’s Water Works, sat for a while with flashing lights on. Eventually a tow-truck as large as you’ll ever see arrived and picked up the front of the Water Truck as if it were a Little Tikes Cozy Truck.

Eagerly awaiting the arrival – Not of Santa or even St. Nicolas, but of the kids and grandkids. Marcia is busily arranging for the onslaught. I made my staple; Hummus.

Marcia has already done her grocery shopping on line. And what through the front door did my little eyes spy but the delivery guy. Now we’re all set for kids arrival.

Then, this year I went all out. In Michigan, sister-in-law Dia baked her specialty, “Kruitkoek” (Dutch Spice Bread). I was transported back to my childhood and for the rest of the weekend was seen hovering by the kitchen island where her Kruitkoek happened to be. I made an earnest plea for her recipe. So, guess what the rest of the family will be offered this afternoon? Yup, made sure all the required ingredients were assembled, all mixed in correct order and quantity, and two loaves were baked. Feast your eyes on the result!

Also to be introduced is a new ‘table-game’ for so inclined (which usually is everyone except “Oma don’t play games” Marcia). Of course there is a list of older staples such as Scattergories. But this one could be a winner, Wheels vs Doors.

Life is AMAZING!

HAPPY NEW YEAR and the best for 2025 – health, happiness, peace, and love to all.

Robert Burns, Scottish Poet (1759 – 1796) and regarded as the national poet of Scotland. Wrote Auld Lang Syne (“old long since”) i.e., times gone by, in 1788. The singing of old long since at Hogmanay (Scottish; New Year’s Eve Day) is an old Scottish and now world tradition.

In original Scottish: “For auld lang syne, my dear, For auld lang syne. We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet, For auld lang syne. And surely ye’ll be your pint stowp! And surely I’ll be mine! And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet, For auld lang syne. Chorus. We twa hae run about the braes, And pou’d the gowans fine; But we’ve wander’d ………….”

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

During the holiday period it’s an annual tradition to be barraged with sporting events. No small part of the game offerings is the role of the cheerleader. This weeks Bonus Points will be offered if you can name the four (4) Presidents who were Cheerleaders in their earlier life:

1) “William Howard Taft”
2) “Ronald Wilson Reagan”
3) “Thomas Woodrow Wilson”
4) “George W. Bush”
5) “Franklin D. Roosevelt”
6) “Theodore Roosevelt”
7) “Dwight D. Eisenhower”

A Short Jog and Goodbye Big-Boy

Happy Saturday. In Latin this day is: ‘Bruma’ which is derived from brevima, brevissima (“shortest”) or better yet: it’s the winter solstice as being the shortest day of the year (started at 4:21 AM Eastern time this morning).

However, relating to that period of the year use the word; ‘brumous’ which in the 1850s referred to days made up as being foggy, grey, rainy, cloudy, or murky: i.e. Wintry. And that’s exactly what our week back home in the ‘Nati has been like, brumous. And this definitely calls for a hot mug of coffee.

The Ramblings – will be short since as soon as these are done, I’ll be off to participate in the “Mt. Adams Egg Nog Jog”. This Mount Adams jog is great. A late year, event with a route around and about one of the city’s prettiest hillsides with its live theater, Conservatory, art museum, parks, and Ohio River views.

Last Weekend – was perfect. Perfect except for our GPS generated route which we used to avoid “lake-effect” snows. I never knew that one half of the nation’s traffic lights were situated in the little towns we blew through on the trip.

It was both fun and relaxing to have a few days in Michigan. Great seeing Marcia’s sibs. And a huge thanks to both Dia and Paul for putting up with us.

Also, after a year of refusing to walk with one, Paul handed Marcia a beautiful cane which she’s been using ever since. When she first walked into the room, we were all startled. Marcia was standing ramrod straight. She actually looked ‘statuesque’.

As a bonus, my love for Dutch dishes were catered to the extreme – Ouwe Amsterdamer Kaas, Gehachtballen. Dia, ever the kitchen fiend, baked “kruitkoek (the Dutch version of English Christmas fruitcake – but tastier); and I was given the recipe. This week I busily assembled all the fixings, guess what I’ll be up to later this weekend. Thanks guys!

About five miles before reaching home I managed to capture one of those meaningless highlights that nevertheless, people find quite meaningful – the F150 crossed the 94,000.00-mile mark.

Mentioning Food – I ran across this little video preparing a deviously more involved simple item – the Pancake. Like preparing food? You’ll appreciate this fun video – Pancakes prepared by 12 different chefs:

The Death of Big-Boy – My earliest memories of Cincinnati include Frisch’s Big-Boy restaurants – about 80 of them in the region. Basically, these were a ‘burger joint’ that thought themselves a family restaurant complete with some talked about deserts (especially Pumpkin and Strawberry Pie).

I first met one of my really good friends, Walton Lee, at Frisch’s. In nearby Mariemont was Frisch’s Mainliner drive-through – during the 1960s and ‘70s this place was the teenager’s ‘meat market’ and as such the place where brother George met Sandy. My uncle Harry would celebrate springtime at Frisch’s with fresh Strawberry Pie – exclaiming “extra whipped cream please.” Everyone has a Frisch’s Big Boy story.

But over time things do change. A handful of years ago Frisch’s was sold to a financial holding company. The money ‘squeeze’ had begun. This past month, in small groupings, clusters of Big-Boys closed. This past week it was the commissary which shut its doors. Laid off (days before Christmas) was the man who had prepared their amazing deserts for 40-years without a day off. And yes, around and about, one does hear people talk wistfully about “Big-Boy.

Now some fresh coffee for Marcia when she gets up, and some protein (couple of eggs) for me before heading out. With a ‘feel-like’ temperature of 18F (-7.8C), hardly any wind, and dry, conditions couldn’t be better.

Life is AMAZING!

And a very MERRY CHRISTMAS

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Alexander Graham Bell — the inventor of the telephone — who received a patent for the device on March 7, 1876 suggested that we answer his invention by saying —? One of these is correct.

1) “yes?”
2) “ahoy”
3) “hello”
4) “hi”
5) “greetings”
6) “you alright/good”

“No-one is above the law” (and other meaningless prattle)

After hearing the above harped about for the past four years: no further explanation is necessary.

Now on to better stuff. Happy Saturday morning. Got your coffee made?

You probably missed the fact that in the middle of this week (December 5th) Sinterklaas was busily spreading cheer, and gifts, to the kids in The Netherlands.

But since I brought up The Netherlands I want you to open up the attached YouTube. You absolutely will find it astoundingly informative and mind-blowing. You’ll want to pour an extra coffee and put up your feet, then sit back. Wow!

Were you aware that The Netherlands added enough land to create a brand-new Province – Flevoland? To gain Flevoland’s land, the only ‘war’ they fought was not with soldiers: their ‘troops’ were engineers. Then, have you heard of a Dutch company with the name of ASML? The base model of the machine they make is priced at $100million – and they have a years-long backlog! That Holland is the largest agricultural product producer in Europe. In part done with an area the size of Manhattan under cover and totally technology driven, growing fruits and vegetables far beyond what can be done with earth grown crops.

Is all of that enough of a teaser? Ok, here you go:

The Who – Mid week, 45 years ago, tragedy struck the ‘Nati. At the time it was a common practice to offer “General Admission” tickets – ‘first in’ standing room up front. The Who were going to be playing, and a large crowd had gathered outside Riverfront Coliseum. A final bit of a sound check made people think that the concert had started. The crowd surged! People got crushed! Eleven died!

The event caused a worldwide change in people management at these large events, i.e. no more “General Admission” tickets.

A boondoggle – It seems that our dear leader, Joe Biden, is apparently contemplating extending ‘prospective’ pardons. Folk such as Fauci, first brother James “Jim” Biden, Liz Chaney, Mayorkas, Representatives Schiff and Pelosi could be on such a ‘pardon’ list. This requires to be all hastily planned stuff; implemented prior to Trump getting inaugurated.

As has become the norm with this administration there is a bit of an issue. Although the pardon could be legal, in years past the Supreme Court ruled that the individual to be pardoned must admit to their wrongdoing and apologize for their action. Whoops. Spot the ‘monkey-wrench’ here?

Old Testament brought today – Last Monday I had the privilege of spending an evening with Dr. Jordan Peterson. It was a full house, and his insights were what the Brits would label as, “spot on.”

No cameras or audio possible, so instead, I believe this short piece of Dr. Peterson at Queen’s University will make my point:

Quote: “Of course I’m old, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t think young” ~ unknown with initials dp

Flying with Rattan – OK, this is a bit of a deep dive (and I hadn’t planned to post this on Pearl Harbor Day,  the day of the Japanese attack). Shortly after the end of WWII, and shortly after normalcy had set in, a (then) sleek, metal airplane flew into our town – it was a 3 engine Ford Tri-Motor or “Tin Goose”. It was a big deal since the world’s very first engine powered flight occurred just a mere 47-years earlier.

For a fee we could take a short ride above and around our city. My mother was a ‘no-go,’ so little me joined my dad, and we climbed aboard. I have two distinct memories: entering through a small door near the rear of the plane, and then climbing uphill to our seats. Second, the seats were cool looking rattan, something I’d never seen.

Over the years I have mentioned to family and friends these strange seats. They must have made a ‘yuuge’ impression since other than a lot of noise I have virtually no memory of the flight itself.

This week I ran across a photo of the interior exactly as I remember. Point of interest; let me know if you can spot a seatbelt anywhere.

Landing – Just a quick point of interest, SpaceX’s Falcon-9 reaches a flight rate 30 times higher than the Shuttle did, at 1/100th of the cost! Finally, here is the promise of; “in the future we’ll have quick and reuseable space launches”

This coming week Marcia and I will traipse north to Michigan. We’re really excited and looking forward to spending a little time with her sibs. This past week’s weather gave some concern (possible traveling issues), but now it looks perfect. OK, as you can see, Marcia is busily practicing her greeting since it’s been a while.

Hence: Next Saturday there will NOT be the regular Ramblings

Life is AMAZING!

Slán agus beannacht (Irish for: Goodbye and blessings to you all)

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Here are some antiquated “wintertide” terms from the 16th and 17th centuries that have fallen out of use. Which words are from these times?

1) “algid” – feeling cold
2) “crapulence” – overindulgence at feasts
3) “Ninguid” – area of much snow
4) “apricity” – feeling of sun on face in winter
5) “doniferous” – a time of gift bearing
6) “brumal” – meaning of or belonging in winter

Family Gathering

Happy Saturday morning. Here’s my earnest wish that Thanksgiving was a delightful gathering for everyone. We gathered here yesterday and it was wonderful. Thursday, Marcia stayed at home, and I did a 5k through the city center. For our get together, the Ongoleas with their vast collection of grills did the ‘bird’ (Adrianne ended up using the oven). Marcia did her sought-after baked beans, Cathy deserts and vegetarian protein. See, all bases were covered. And, yes, we live in the mid-west so therefore a green bean casserole did make it to the table. Add to the eats a few sit-in-a-circle games with much laughter – how good can it get?

And this past week really would not be Thanksgiving Week with the cast of WKRP in Cincinnati making it special – for the 46th year since the time everyone started talking about it, Turkey’s Away!

The whole family knows me. Therefore, I guaranteed that no politics would be discussed.

In the meantime, the people who manage the ‘Limber-Lost’ camp a couple of kilometers north of our “Northern Comfort” cabin showed people riding around on snow mobiles. It does prove that Jason and I timed the closing of the cabin perfectly.

What comes around – When Covid 19 first spread I became quite vocal that based on what I knew and what I learned was that there was no way I would subject my body to the primarily untested mRNA-based vaccines by Moderna and Pfizer. I believed we were being hoodwinked and made ‘lab-rats’. So decided that I’d take the older technology vaccine offered by J&J.

At the time all other input was were excluded and censored, Thousands of scientists too had their input censored, similar to what we were being subjected to. This included the idiotic lockdowns.

Now, it’s come full circle. The CDC has been ‘punched in the nose’ and Stanford senior scientist, Professor of Health Policy, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya will head up the N.I.H. under the new administration. I am THRILLED.

5k – Thanksgiving morning our town held its 115th Turkey Trot, both 10k & 5k (I did the 5k). Over 11,000 participants from 46 states and 5 nations joined in the fun. All was made even more enjoyable with an after-race party at the FC Cincinnati soccer Stadium.

Thoroughly pleased I placed 1st in my (geezer) age bracket with a 49.17 time. Bottom line, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

Monday evening will be special – During my walks I listen to any of number of podcasts. In my top five are discussions/interviews held by a Dr. Jordan Peterson. Peterson is a tenured clinical professor of psychology at the University of Toronto who also conducted research at Harvard University.

Monday, he’ll be in the ‘Nati and I snagged a ticket to the event (in case you wonder, yes, I did ask Marcia to come along and received that “you got to be kidding?” slant-eye look).

“In We Who Wrestle with God, Dr. Peterson guides us through the ancient, foundational stories of the Western world. In riveting detail, he analyzes the Biblical accounts of rebellion, sacrifice, suffering, and triumph that stabilize, inspire, and unite us culturally and psychologically. Adam and Eve and the eternal fall of mankind; the resentful and ultimately murderous war of Cain and Abel; the cataclysmic flood of Noah; the spectacular collapse of the Tower of Babel; Abraham’s terrible adventure; and the epic of Moses and the Israelites. What could such stories possibly mean? What force wrote and assembled them over the long centuries? How did they bring our spirits and the world together, and point us in the same direction?”

I am both enthused and excited.

Quote – “To learn is to die voluntarily and be born again, in great ways and small.” and this “Don’t be a slave to stupid rules.” ~ Jordan Peterson

Closing – Since I started the Rambling with a mention of walking, let me close likewise. Earlier in the week I came upon this scene. I have no idea why the cop was standing by the driver’s window – we can only guess. Maybe he was getting a warning. Maybe he was getting a ticket. Maybe he was being asked for an autograph for being amazingly clever. I should have stopped and asked but didn’t.

This week we lost our neighbor up north, Bob Baxter. Many an evening was spent next to a campfire. Bob spent 30 years as a Forest Ranger and always had some insight to pass along on those evenings. In fact, it was Bob who taught me how to skin a bear (then he donated the hide to an Amish family to serve as a seat cover for their kids on the cold winter buggy rides to school). We all did enjoy a spectacular Bear roast dinner after that event. RIP Bob, it was a good ride I should say, paddle.

Life is AMAZING!

Slán agus beannacht (Irish for: Goodbye and blessings to you all)

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

The Secret Service uses code names, prominent folk, Presidents, and First Ladies. The following First Lady names are all the correct code names, except for one. Good luck pinpointing that false one.

1) Jackie Kennedy: Lace
2) Edith Wilson: Grandma
3) Mamie Eisenhower: Springtime
4) Lady Bird Johnson: Velvet
5) Pat Nixon: Starlight
6) Betty Ford: Pinafore
7) Eleanor Roosevelt: Rover
8) Hilary Clinton: Evergreen
9) Michelle Obama: Renaissance
10) Melania Trump: Muse

Hope is Alive

Happy Saturday morning. And luckily, it’s of no concern that my morning glory will be disrupted by the ‘coffee sniffer’ (see below: a job of yore, especially under the rule of Frederick II of Prussia). Therefore, in between keying The Ramblings, I’ll ease back and enjoy my coffee in peace and quiet.

By the way, I thought you’d like to know that yesterday’s morning temperature here in the ‘Nati was 10-degrees colder than at our little place in Canada.

It’s been a quiet week here in the ‘hood. After a chase, I re-connected with my Optometrist – he moved over to the Cincinnati Eye Institute (CEI) which did all my past eye surgeries. Our reunion was only just a wee bit short of man-hugs. Anyway, it appears that everything about my eyes is hunky-dory and just some low-level pharmacy cheaters required. Yay!

DOGE – President elect Trump has approved the initiation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to be co-chaired by Elon Musk & Vivek Ramaswamy. Their charge? Reduce governmental waste and reduce it dramatically! Along with waste they plan to introduce a major shrinkage of the annual increase of a myriad (tens of thousands of pages) of new rules, orders, laws and restrictions.

Were you aware that at the time of Queen Victoria’s 50th jubilee, when Britain ruled the seas, had an empire where the ‘sun never set’, they ran the whole enterprise on a mere 10% of Britain’s GDP? Currently, our government’s last record was at 34.4 percent of GDP in 2023. Even at that unreal number we’ve grown the national debt exponentially. How much? The national debt grew $2,410,000,000,000 over the last 365 days; that’s an increase of about $6.6 billion a day.

How would you describe this out-of-control debt fiasco? I’d use words such as “obscene”, “frightening”, “criminal”, “crazy”, “unlawful”, sick, or “alarming”.

The 1920s were known at the time as the “Coolidge prosperity”. Now, we look back affectionally at the ‘Coolidge Prosperity’ renamed as the “Roaring Twenties”. Maybe because our 30th President, Calvin Coolidge, cut taxes in half, and then for his second term, did it again. Also, he managed to balance our nation’s budget every year of his Presidency. That feat has never been achieved since.

Can it still be done today when we’re so out of control? Apparently we’re going to give it a try!

Blueprint – During the latter part of the last century we were blessed with the amazing insights, humor, and knowledge of one of our most revered economists and statisticians, a staunch Libertarian, Dr. Milton Friedman (1912 – 2006). Winner of the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and the complexity of stabilization policy. Whew, I have no idea what he researched.

Anyway, thirteen years ago he had a discussion with Peter Robinson at the Hoover Institute thinktank. At the close of the interview he, in 4 SHORT minutes, laid out and assessed the viability of 14 government cabinets. He laid out exactly what Elon & Vivek are about to embark on – the Blueprint exists!

Want to watch the whole interview click this link:

Friedman made the selection portion for the DOGE-boys a snap! Now, does it make sense? The reason I am giving a chunk of this morning’s Ramblings to the potential of DOGE?

Vendée Globe – As I aged I had completely forgotten just how difficult and strenuous a sport sailing is. Here is a short of Brit entry, Conrad Colman, doing his thing, gybing in calm waters:

Quote – “Where the heart is not singing there is no melody, there is only the dreadful medley of human self-praise.” ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Screenshot

Dietrich Bonhoeffer – Yesterday I went and saw the movie; Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Spy, Assassin. Bonhoeffer (4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a Lutheran Minister. At his death at age 39 he had written 37 books including his writings during two years of imprisonment. He was put to death at the very end of the German Nazi regime.

He’s celebrated by some churches as a saint and by others as a 20th Century Martyr. The movie runs a fine line between ‘movie’ and ‘documentary’. It’s a powerful film and made me question how I would function under similar circumstances. If you can’t check out the film, then read his “The Cost of Discipleship” it’s a masterpiece.

I realize that this week’s writing has little lightheartedness, but instead it is a more thoughtful and serious Rambling, hence this close:

Does your State or country alert everyone whenever a DUI driver checkpoint is being set up? The location and times? Here is where a nearby checkpoint was located last night. For some levity, fool the police, place an empty Bourbon bottle across the passenger seat.

Wishing everyone a spectacular THANKSGIVING!

Life is AMAZING!

Slán agus beannacht (Irish for: Goodbye and blessings to you all)

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Time does move on doesn’t it? As it does, we see new jobs put into play and it’s the old ones that fade into the fog of history. Here is a list of those jobs, all but one that is (hint: it’s still being plied – to a degree – in my neighborhood):

1) hurrier
2) Uinyo
3) coffee sniffer
4) sluggard waker
5) night soil men
6) shorthand secretary
7) aircraft listener
8) human computer
9) groom of the stool
10) lamp lighter

Clickety—Clack

Happy Saturday morning. Every time I believe that I am traveling at ‘jet’ speed I get knocked back into reality. It’s been less than two weeks since I was in Chattanooga, TN and then with Jason closing the cabin in Canada. Whew!

[working the water line – delivering the new canoe – testing the standby generator – ready for my “walk on the water’]

At about the same time I learned that our newly elected President has nearly completed filling out all the slots in his Cabinet, making a cabin closing seem small potatoes. My hat off to you sir! Since you don’t drink, please share a mug of coffee with me would you.

Friday a week ago Jason and I arrived at our cabin – Northern Comfort. It was 10:45pm and we wanted to quickly unload and climb into our sleeping bags. Minutes later Jason hurried in, “Dad, quick, outside, look”. For once I had the good sense to grab my camera. Great view of the Northern Lights don’t you think?

Two men and their meal – Marcia thinks that when we’re away from home life revolves only with a slab of bread slathered with Peanut Butter. Wrong!

Truth be told, Jason is an incredible expert preparing Tofu. The photo below shows me enjoying an amazing Tofu Ramen w/Onion dish topped with a hefty ladle of Kimchi. A brilliant meal! Yes, it was a wee-bit chilly in case you think it odd me eating while wearing a Toque.

Quote – “Every Time you quit, somebody else gets your prize.” ~ Andrew Tate.

Clickety-Clack – For the election it became clear that winning Pennsylvania would be critical. Team Trump went all out. Team Harris was lukewarm. Add that the current administration’s fully armed Marshall’s Service raided an organic Amish Farm causing an uproar within that community. That and Elon Musk’s PAC funding door-to-door workers proved a winning combination. 80,000 new Amish voters climbed on board (or is it buggies?).

Vendée Globe 2024 – It few short years ago I became mesmerized with a 10-week around the world sailing race – the Vendee Globe. As their site states. it’s “is a single-handed, non-stop, non-assisted round-the-world sailing race that takes place every four years. It is contested on IMOCA monohulls, which are 18 metres long (60 feet). The skippers set off from Les Sables-d’Olonne in Vendée and sail around 45,000 kilometres around the globe, rounding the three legendary capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin and finally Cape Horn) before returning to Les Sables d’Olonne, France.”

Years ago a friend and I sailed a day Sailer (Highlander, primarily) and did regional races and once did nationals – all on inland lakes. It’s a great sport. Now, watching these magnificent boats transports me into a world I can only dream about – and dream I do.

The 40 boat race started on November 10th and here is a bit of an intro of the first 5 days of racing. Enjoy!

Filling the acronyms – Our elected President (Trump) has wasted little time filling all the key slots of our acronym riddled government departments. I think that in today’s world he won’t have the standard 100 day introduction period, and he knows it.

He’s ready to create change. His two ’axe’ bearers, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, have already begun to create notice.

However, there is one person who, if successful, will create truly substantive change, now, and well into that of future generations. The position of Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be a Democrat with a beloved family name, Robert Kennedy, Jr.

I’ll close out by letting RFK, JR tell us with the immense power of his own words:

Life is AMAZING!

Slán agus beannacht (Irish for: Goodbye and blessings to you all)

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Every nation has them, slang insults; and British English has a very rich such vocabulary. All of these are British slang insults (all without swearing). Which is the one word that is not one of these expressions

1) nutter
2) numpty
3) daft
4) pofertje
5) plonker
6) bonkers
7) manky
8) scally
9) wazzock
10) chav
11) prat

Finally some sleep – Huh?

 Happy Saturday Friday morning (again). Please take note. Seriously, do take note. I will make every effort to try not to gloat unbearably. Should you have any insights into our collective immediate past I shall try not to gloat too insufferably. I’ll be happy to entertain your thoughts (those on any viewpoint say the last three days or so) – or of the prior four years for that matter.

Quote – “I want to hang a map of the world in my house. Then I’m gonna put pins into all the locations I’ve traveled to, but first I’m gonna have to travel to the top two corners of the map, so it won’t fall down.” ~ Mitch Hedberg.

Traveling – has been part of the ‘drill’ since late summer, first it was Kirstin in Austin. Then Dinah rowing in Chattanooga. And today it’s Jason and I traveling to Canada to screw snow covers over the cabin windows. Giving this last bit of labor some thought has me thinking that maybe I’m the one getting screwed.

The way home from Chattanooga was filled with “Sturm und Drang”. It all ended up with Marcia stretched out on the back seat with a pillow. The event became a bit like a version of “Everybody Loves Raymond”. The difference being, as a paraphrased Paul Rudd says, “Everybody Loves Raymond” lasts 22-minutes: our tense version lasted six hours.”

But first some coffee to prep for nine plus hours of driving.

Brilliant – Read anything and you’ll be inundated by a wealth of opinions on the why of ‘winning’ and ‘losing’ at this week’s election – so let me add to this mix.

A few weeks ago, I posted in The Ramblings how the Douglas/Lincoln debates were run: open discussion lasting three hours. I think that we’re quickly coming full circle. The most watched event this election cycle was a couple of long discussions (3-hour) podcast by Joe Rogan. CBS Austin has the podcast being viewed 40-million times. And three hours of conversation cannot be made while relying merely on talking points; the unedited podcast can’t help but show the human side of people.

Unlike Trump and Vance, Harris refused Rogan’s offer to sit down (except possibly for a much shorter version with others in the studio which Rogan nixed). The inability for people to really get to know/understand Harris through such a medium cost her dearly.

Election thoughts – Addressing the events of Tuesday evening, Marcia advising tells me to stay away from politics in this week’s Ramblings. She’s right of course. Even in my own family it’d be difficult to stay with civil discourse were we to discuss.

So here is my solution. It won’t matter how you filled out your ballot. It won’t matter if you chose not to participate in the elections at all; for EVERYONE here is one of the great anthems of the 1980s. This captures, regardless whether it was Love or Despair, all the election – Foreigner; “I Want to Know What Love Is”.

Turn up the volume & however you judge the outcome of the election you’ll find meaning and comfort with this wonderful masterpiece recorded by Foreigner. ENJOY!

And if you can’t do politics at all – when even listening to Foreigner does you harm, then maybe you are someone who just needs a total break from all the ads and blather, etc. If so, read no further. Just sit back and focus on a calming and fun Sudoku puzzle:

Life is AMAZING!

Slán agus beannacht (Irish for: Goodbye and blessings to you all)

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Every organization needs a cadre of surrogates to oversee the organization’s various functions. The White House being no exception. Now, again, it’s President-elect Trump’s turn to pick. From this list of past stalwarts and new faces which two would never be invited to his 2025 cabinet.

1) Ken Paxton

2)  Vivek Ramaswamy

3)    Tulsi Gabbard

4)    Peter Navarro

           5)    John Bolton

          6)    Steve Mnuchin

          7)    Robert Lighthizer

          8)    Elon Musk

        9)     Linda McMahon

       10)     William Barr

       11)     Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.