“Ubuntu”

Happy Saturday. Yesterday I attended the FIFA Club World Cup ‘25 volunteer training session. What quickly came obvious among the group was the African term ubuntu which is from a mix of African languages. In English it is best explained thusly; ubuntu encompasses a broad definition with the thought of ‘what I do to myself that is good/welcoming/enthusiastic/or with integrity will consequently be equally embraced by the whole community’.

Coffee – but first, since it is morning, a meme which in these parts stays just a meme since I am not surrounded by morning persons, i.e. Marcia (except this morning – she was up at 6):

Easter weekend – Praying the Steps in Mt. Adams at Holy Cross Immaculata Church is a Good Friday tradition going back over 150 years. For Catholics it’s saying the Rosary on each of the 94 steps. No one is turned away and the local Bishop Joseph R. Binzer began blessing the steps at 1-minute after midnight on Good Friday, by day’s end 8 to 10 thousand faithful will have completed the ritual.

My plan is to head out and participate in a nearby outdoor Easter service (although doing the ‘steps’ is still a bucket list item). Happy Easter everyone. Having said that do keep the Christian’s being slaughtered in the Congo in your prayers.

RFK Jr. – last week’s Ramblings had me post several statistical charts dealing with the inordinate increase in Autism, obesity, and diabetes – all being highlighted by Kennedy. This week I read how Kennedy has established new rules on food additives:

Kennedy stated that he’s — “given food company executives two years to remove Red 40 and other artificial dyes from their products.”

The CEO of Pepsi, which owns Doritos, said … “The consumers like them to be very red, and we have not yet found a vegetable dye that we can match, but we’re going to do it.”

Change is in the wind!

“I don’t want a pickle
I just wanna ride on my morotcycle” (Motorcycle Song, Arlo Guthrie)

Last weekend — I was on the Matt’s 5K Pursuit and passing me on the course was cadre of Sherriff patrol on big rumbling Harley’s. On the trail, either I could have been ‘smushed’ or maybe done the reverse. That’s when Arlo’s old Motorcycle Pickle Song came to mind, especially the following bit (see, the mind does wanders during these events).

The song desscribes how Arlo doing 150 mph on a cliff road flew off that cliff. Knowing he wouldn’t survive he eased back on his bike, got his pen, and wrote the song. Since the song survived it’s only logical that Arlo did too. He magically landed on the top of a police car and it died.

You just have to love the brilliance of Arlo!

What me Worry? – It made me wonder just how many of the thousands of people enjoying The Masters golf tournament in Augusta claim to be deeply concerned about this decade’s bugaboo, Climate Change?

The reason it crossed my mind began when I saw just how many private jets landed at Augusta’s little airport – 2100 throughout the event. The attached flight detail is from last Sunday when 229 private jets left the area – homeward bound. Luckily, this also means that once back home these seriously important people can again get back on track expounding serious concern reflecting on how best to ask the rest of us to be seriously concerned on Climate Change.

‘Fave’ Hammond – I’ve always loved the sounds of those little Hammond organs. Get me some old timey Gospel music, add a Hammond, let me shut my eyes and I’m in heaven as long as that instrument plays.

Years ago, when the Reds (then the ‘Redlegs’) were still playing at the old Crosley Field there was a guy by the name of Ronnie Dale (1931-2017). He started playing an hour before gametime. Then at the end of the 2nd, 4th, 5th inning, the 7th inning stretch, and finally, for 15 minutes after the game.

The Reds would hit a home run and Dales’ Hammond would come to life. He’d play stuff we’d sneer at these days, “The Hokie Pokie”, “Happy Days are Here Again”, or stuff such as “On Top of ‘ol Smokey”.

It certainly was a calmer time, wasn’t it?

FIFA at TQL – Yesterday I spent 3-hours at Xavier University doing FIFA Club World Cup ’25 volunteer training. Mid-June until mid-July, 63 games in 11 cities scattered about the country requires 9,000 volunteers (I was 1 of 99 attending our session). Volunteers are needed for 18 different functions at each event.

What had me do a doubletake was the age percentage numbers for each group:
Age 18-30 (44%)
Age 31-50 (41%)
Age 51-70 (14%)
Age 70+ (1%)
Care to venture a guess the grouping I am stuck in?

Enjoy The Hawkin Singers as we get ready for Easter morning!

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Which two of these named people held the first Patents for the automobile windshield wiper

        1)     “Mary Anderson ”      
        2)     “Edsel Ford”
        3)     “Carl Oscar Hedstrom”
       4)     “John Oishei”
       5)     “Ignaz Schustala”
       6)     “John Jepson”
       7)     “Clayton Leach”

“Planning a Pursuit”

Happy Saturday. Now that the waters have started to recede – and are doing so requiring no cleanup in our condo – yeeha! Having said that, I’m not gloating since for those affected, cleaning up basements and first floors filled by quickly drying sticky River mud it’s an awful job.

People that live in the flood-plain areas are a special breed. Almost all, to a person, they are totally aware that every decade or so they’re in for a horrible mess and cleanup. Yet, they love the views and thereby accept those infrequent disruptions. Bottom line: they wouldn’t trade their lifestyle.

After the wild market this week, let me post a line I picked up: “Economists were created to make weather forecasters look good.”

Coffee – Wouldn’t it be nice were I not to natter on and on about my morning affair with coffee? I’ve listened, and so instead, allow a few minutes for a co-production of the Erasmus Huis in Jakarta and the Hortus Botanicus in Amsterdam to properly recite a bit of the “story of Coffee”:

Quote – Today’s quote is from the library of the delightful and political satirist, P.J. O’Rourke  (1947-2022). I decided to quote O’Rourke to acknowledge last weekend’s visit to Miami University in Oxford (O’Rourke’s alma mater) and my study this week on what the whole Robert Kennedy Jr.’s MAHA movement is all about. Here are O’Rourke’s sage words:

“If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it’s free”

Pan Rocks ’25 – Ever spent some time attending an event and wondered just how it happened that you got so lucky? Well. Last Sunday well over a thousand of us just got that feeling. As we worked our way to our seats it was a ‘sea’ of steel drums.

Additionally, the very large drum kit placed in the center was specifically set up to replicate the drums played by Rush drummer Neil Peart (1947-2020) – after all, the evening celebrated the music of the band Rush. As if that weren’t enough, add a couple of bass guitars, an old ‘60s vintage Moog synthesizer, and at one point introduce the Miami University Men’s Glee club – about 100 strong (jumping about as if they were in a Mosh Pit).

The sound explosion was AMAZING!!

For family members click on the link below to head for Adrianne’s video taken from the opposite side of the stage, from her vantage point she captured a closeup of Vaioleti and you see Vai play her double Alto pans. Click HERE

MAHA – Here in the ‘Nati we’re lucky to have a non-profit group called Empower U. Empower U is a free University with the bi-line of: Educate – Enjoy – Engage. This week I sat in on a presentation by Dr. Jay Rissover. Rissover, recently retired after practicing internal medicine for 36 years, has taught post-graduate medicine at a local hospital system, and is an activist.

He presented to us some of the history of our current Secretary of HHS, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and his Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement. Also doing a bit of a deep dive into some of RFK’s more controversial comments and positions. It was fascinating!

Should any of you also be interested the whole talk and Power Point can be viewed on Rumble (click here on Rumble to be linked directly). Scan past the short, 10-min, presentation shown first.

Here are a couple of sets of numbers which either correlate or juxtapose by happenstance. We don’t know, but that is exactly why we should look deeper – this is what RFK’s MAHA movement is about.

Slide on the left (click to enlarge) are the stats of reported cases of Autism over the years. Then click on the slide on the right to see the stats for Recommended Childhood Vaccinations over a similar timeline.

On the left I’ve placed the dates/numbers/percentages for Childhood Obesity and on the right Childhood Diabetes. Should these numbers correlate (and they seem to) then these numbers are beyond shocking.

Below is an easy to grasp JPEG detailing what RFKs MAHA principle are:

Matt’s Pursuit – Tomorrow morning I’ll join in on the 20th Anniversary 5K for this event. I love this event for two reasons. It generates funds for the purchase and training of K9 dogs for Police search and rescue (have provided funds for 117 K9 dogs to date). Even more, the whole event is held at Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum. Wonderful scenery, nice and hilly, and with over 44-miles of roadway the 5K route happens to go directly past the grave site of my parents – it’s an opportunity to check if all is ok.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Remember those bell-bottom denim dungarees worn by U.S. Navy sailors like forever? Why did that style of trousers get started?

1) “as a patriotic mascot which appeared on boxes of Cracker Jack ”
2) “washing the decks of the bell-bottom pants rolled up quicker”
3) “maybe an 1813 Navy file about the arrival of Commodore Stephen Decatur”
4) “we really don’t know”
5) “ designed after popular 19th-century English sea shanty”
6) “designed in 1901 as an alternative to heavier wool pants”
7) “potential use as a life preserver”

“A wet March plus Two”

Happy Saturday. And it rained for 40 days. No not really, and no, I am not into ship building yet. But we’ve had a bunch of weather (roof of our condo building damaged) and it’ll continue through Sunday. Currently, depending where exactly you measure, the river is between 8 and 10 feet above flood stage, and 3” more rain expected in under 24 hours – water won’t start to drop till next weekend.

In these parts they’ve closed the gates on the flood walls. The venue where we saw Willie Nelson last year would have been cancelled today since it’s now under water. Where it’s much more of an issue is immediately to our south in Kentucky with all the hollers and creeks.

Coffee update – Then, our dependable Mr. Coffee machine died. It died mid percolate cycle – and didn’t bother to alert us. In the morning it looked like it was ready and waiting when I noticed that the hot plate was really hot and when I added water the first cupful instantly spit out steam. All this with none of the normal lights lit. I could NOT turn it off other than by a plug/unplug scheme.

Hence, let me introduce our newest family member, Mr. Cuisinart the coffee maker. This one with more modes than I think we’ll ever use. So far so good.

Call me crazy – but during my school years, literature and history I always found enjoyable. This week it appears we successfully slid through April Fools Day. So how did these two, history & literature, meet up?

There is thought it harks back to one, Geoffrey Chaucer, who in the 1390s wrote The Canterbury Tales. Question, is there any kid who has not struggled with this wonderful poetic? Either case, this from “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale,” where a rooster tricked by a fox says: “Syn March bigan, thirty dates and two.”

Do the math, March has 31-days, so ‘March-with-30-plus-two-days’ becomes April 1st. Was this the genesis of all the foolishness?

An Anniversary – Decades ago it was one of my kids who got me interested in a singing duo: Over-The-Rhine (named after a, then, nasty part of the ‘Nati where they holed up on the cheap). As an aside, today in the Over-The-Rhine area with its myriads of Restaurants, Pubs, and Boutiques you can find condos clearing the $1-million mark.

Anyway, I finally heard a CD and fell in love with the group. Later there was a fund raiser to preserve the Norwood’s old St. Elizabeth church to which I went. It was Karin (Karin Bergquist) who with husband Linford (Linford Detweiler) quickly made up the band: Over-The-Rhine. Those few hours were time with talk, music and lunch. Meeting up with Karin over Pizza solidified my appreciation for the duo.

At one point I took Marcia to Wilmington where, at a restored old Opera House, we saw them at a concert. And so, it goes.

This week it was a “my how time flies” moment when the group’s newsletter informed me it was the 20th anniversary of the release of their album “Drunkard’s Prayer” (recorded entirely in the living room of their then in nearby Norwood home to mark them stepping through a rough spot in their marriage). This album is part of my ‘all-time-favorites’ lineup. I hope Marcia won’t mind if the music heard on Clinton Springs this weekend carries the sounds from that album – at least that is the prayer hope.

Should I? – should I restate the fun years and long affair with my little French Deux Chevaux (2CV)? Maybe you know this iconic car better by its long line of deprecating and dismissive nicknames: Umbrella on Wheels, Tin Can on Wheels, Le Canard, Leelijke Eend (ugly duck), Dolly, or Tin Snail.

No matter what you call it, these are amazing cars. Early on in their production they won one ‘First’ after another. Mechanically, likewise there were many a first: all disc brake, independent suspension, and for simplicity both cylinders fire simultaneously, to name just a few. And these little marvels worked, boy, did these cars perform.

Then recently I came across the best 2CV tale I’d heard about. In 1993, Émile Leray, a French mechanic, driving through the Western Sahara Desert ran into a major problem. It appears he crashed his Citroën 2CV into a rock and became stranded. Nothing nearby and remember this was 1993, so NO mobile or signal of any kind. The guy had two choices, find a solution (the best) or wait to die.

Apparently, he had both extreme heat and only a mere 10 liters of water. Thus time itself was an issue.

His solution, tear the trusty 2CV apart and try and use workable parts to build a motorcycle – totally unthinkable, but possibly possible.

So, in the middle of the desert heat and minimal tools he did the impossible, in 12 days. He tore the frame apart and modified it. Removed the engine and got it mounted. Made the transmission workable in his ‘motorcycle’ frame.

He got the improvised rig i.e. ’motorcycle’ started and managed to drive it a number of miles to where he was eventually rescued.

Émile Leray proved that with determination, a trusty 2CV (and some serious mechanical skills), a little Deux Chevaux can defeat even the Saharan Desert.

RUSH – I am talking about the band from mostly the 1970s (formed 1968) which created a sound that blended much of what we then heard. Personally, what makes it somewhat interesting is the fact that RUSH as a band originated in Willowdale (Toronto), Ontario Canada the same area I spent my high school years.

So today, actually this evening, I’ll be making the 50-minute drive to Oxford, Ohio and Miami University. Not to hear RUSH, but to hear the sounds of RUSH performed on steel drums!

Here’s the scoop. Granddaughter Vaioleti and her school’s Steel Drum band, along with like bands from 6 other high schools will be performing.

Should be so cool! Just to stay current for any younger readers the 70’s term ‘cool’ is now, and here take your pick; “awesome”, “rad”, “chill”, or “hip”.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Who declined his Nobel Prize in literature?

1) “Ernest Hemmingway”
2) “Jean-Paule Satre”
3) “Mercy Otis Warren”
4) “Robert Caro”
5) “(Irish Friar) Edward Hicks”

“Steppin’ on out”

Happy Saturday. Crazy, and I have no idea why, but I seem to be waking up earlier than what I consider normal. Of course there are excuses, a nearby garbage truck, a motorbike or a loud car, even a distant dog. All excuses. I am beginning to believe that it must be some sort of a life change.

In a sense it’s too bad that we no longer have the ‘knocker-uppers’ of yesteryear blowing a pea my way. It’d be a perfect way to either start some morning conversation, or even a part-time job for me.

It’s a coffee question – That magic moment. The moment when it was time for me to grind coffee. All it takes is a couple of minutes before Marcia is out of the bedroom with an; “I smell the coffee.” Actually, I hadn’t even started the brewing process, it was just the grinding.

This leads me to the question. This batch has the roasted beans with a substantial sheen. Now, I’ve seen these both with and without their sheen. I know it’s the oil, but why a sheen on some and not on other batches? Other than a flimsy, “it’s the degree of roasting” I can only chalk it up to one of those mysteries of life.

As an aside but coffee related, this week it was reported that after ten years McDonalds regained the title of world’s most valuable eatery, beating our rival Starbucks.

Personally, this doesn’t affect me much since I don’t do Starbucks (only in an emergency). Aside from high pricing I can’t even figure out what to order from their menu board – and others must have the same problem since their lines stretch forever.

Club World Cup news – What follows is all Adrianne’s fault. Apparently, her Peace Corps contacts communicated a need for volunteers during June’s soccer Club World Cup FIFA month long soccer game tournament which spread across the country. These are the world’s best playing teams competing in an array of cities here in the USA.

She called me.

Minutes after I established contact with FIFA

An hour or so later I had a document application form – which ‘only’ took me a little over an hour and a half to complete. Included was the data required for a complete background check.

Then it started getting serious. Twenty-plus minutes to check off an array of topics for them to gain insight into how I operate and function. Two written descriptors regarding my ‘Why volunteer.” From a chart, clothing and shoe sizes needed to be checked, and so it went.

Two days later I was invited to a must attend three-hour training session to be held mid-April at nearby Xavier University’s Basketball venue.

>>> I am pumped!
>>> Marcia thinks I am nuts!

What follows is how we experienced the events in front of the Reds Opening Day game.

Findlay Market – Since 1855 our Findlay Market has been an institution, with its wrought iron construction it’s a landmark. Over the many years of our Reds Baseball team, it’s been the vendors of Findlay who have sponsored a Reds Opening Day parade from the market to first the old Crosley Field, then Riverfront Stadium, and now it’s Great American Ballpark. Without fail, every year that parade has been a fixture.

Throughout that time, it’s maintained the feeling of what must have been the look when it was made up by the butchers, fish mongers, and costermongers (vegetable/fruit sellers) of those early years. Even now it still had brother Arty say from his perch in California; “so cool that Cincy still has that small town feel.”

A dozen or so marching bands, bunches of current and past sports and political figures, many corporations and organizations and clubs. And so it goes, lots of cheering, and loads of candy tossed and tchotchkes handed out make up the fun time – at least so say the 140,000 of us lining the street.

Adrianne drove her organization’s van in the parade. Vai and I had our bag chairs front and center on the route. Marcia stayed home and watched the whole thing on TV (or so she claims ?)

Enjoy my 3-minute blend of what we experienced. At the very end it’s Adrianne driving the mobile van for her organization; Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CABvi) & that is Vai running up to the window.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

What really is a “Minsky Moment”? One listed ‘answer’ is correct

1) “Hyman Minsky moment: a computer gamers’ winning move”
2) “Hyman Minsky moment: the acceptance of the term; “Bidenomics”
3) “Hyman Minsky, moment: start-up of London’s repaired Big Ben clock”
4) “Hyman Minsky moment: a sudden collapse of the market”
5) “Hyman Minsky moment: describes the deep space transfer of Black Matter”
6) “Hyman Minsky moment: power transfer moment for magnetic trains”

“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 ”

I am Venti – I Contain Multitudes

Happy Saturday. And, even with a cold, it’s still a Happy Saturday.

Around the mid-1850s Walt Whitman (1819 – 1892) wrote his breakthrough book of poems Leaves of Grass. He is considered a unique American poetic voice. The Poetry Foundation describes Whitman as; “a kosmos, of Manhattan the son, Turbulent, fleshy, sensual, eating, drinking and breeding, … I am less the jolly one there, and more the silent one with sweat on my twitching lips.”

Song of Myself, 51
The past and present wilt—I have fill’d them, emptied them.
And proceed to fill my next fold of the future.
Listener up there! what have you to confide to me?
Look in my face while I snuff the sidle of evening,
(Talk honestly, no one else hears you, and I stay only a minute longer.)
Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)
I concentrate toward them that are nigh, I wait on the door-slab.
Who has done his day’s work? who will soonest be through with his supper?
Who wishes to walk with me?
Will you speak before I am gone? will you prove already too late?

Whitman’s works proved to be a breakthrough even into our modern times. In fact, Bob Dylan, long having an attraction to and a focus on the structure of oneself, felt comfortable enough to use a phrase from Whitman’s, Song of Myself, 51; “I contain multitudes”:

Wondering what’s going on? I’m a bit more reflective being in and out of bed while I fight a very leaky cold. Thus, it’s time to read more (especially since I was cleaning up my Kindle reader before the 26th). That is the day after which Amazon won’t allow you to download any of your Kindle books to elsewhere (i.e. your laptop). It’s all to let people know that even though you think you bought (a book in this case) you really didn’t – you only have it on a long-term lease.

P.s. Any books of special interest to me are now safe and sound on my laptop – including an E-version of a deluxe hardcopy first edition of Orwell’s “1984”.

 Mid-week — February 19, 1945, marked the 80th anniversary of the Battle for Iwo Jima, one of the most terrible of the Asian portion of World War II. Teach our children what those youngsters in that battle fought for and are now being remembered as the Greatest Generation.

Now as I sip some coffee – I’d like to say that in the EU, Brussels is BRILLIANT. The EU has just declared that caffeine is a poison. As yesterday’s The Telegraph headlined an article; “Coffee is dangerous for you, warns EU”. The newspaper’s article then published: “(European) bureaucrats said there was scientific evidence to back up claims that “caffeine is harmful to humans if swallowed””.

Brilliant, you ask? Here are my thoughts. It stands to reason that once the EU publishes a warning on caffeine it is bound to happen that a total ban will follow. Knock Europe out of the coffee cycle should drive coffee pricing down for the rest of us. See how this just a mere 1 + 1 = 2 equation?

Hurry up, I can’t wait.

Oliver Anthony — musically Anthony of “Rich Men North of Richmond” fame is a bit off the front page. But boy, has he been busy. Watch the attached speech he gave this week at the international Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) in London, UK where 4,000 changemakers gathered. It’s worth a view:

Techies: During the week I had the pleasure(?) of dealing with three techies over a span of two days. There is good news. As I climbed the techie seniority ladder it was that final push which broke the Sisyphus never ending struggle and my ‘boulder’ finally crested the mountain top of success.

Part of reaching a positive resolution was a bit of insight on my part. It turns out that each of the phone techies came from a similar ‘offshore’ site, hence the problem had great similarity. Here is my solution.

Between a crackling/hissing less than perfect phone connection and instructions spoken heavily accented, I was introduced to a series of ‘somewhat understood’ acronyms. I needed help. By day two I had my crib sheet to assist.

Now I just had to understand one or two letters, look up a word containing these on my sheet, and ask if such and such was what I needed to deal with – it’s called: ‘drill down’. My advice is to develop a cheat sheet, you’ll be surprised.

The national mood – in The Netherlands is as positive as it is because of this strange sandwich; “brood met Hagelslag” (chocolate sprinkles).

Life is AMAZING! Especially when you realize that for most of life you’re not fighting a cold.

Dirk

[ “venti” used in the title to conjure up size, coffee (Starbucks) & Whitman’s poetry ]

BONUS POINTS:

The German settlers here in town were beer drinkers. However, the local beer drinking is absolute fractionally a portion of the 50-Billion gallons of annual consumption worldwide. So, which contains the oldest known written Beer recipe?

       1)     “Brauerei Weihenstephan”

       2)     “300 BCE”

       3)    “Epic of Gilgamesh”

       4)    “Hymn to Ninkasi”

       5)    “Goddess Inanna ”

       6)    “Sumerian settlement; Godin Tepe”  

Boone?

Happy Saturday. Headline just noted on my morning news feed: “A Tale of Two Americas: D.C.’s Depression, America’s Revival”. Pretty well sums up the week, doesn’t it?

Before I forget (as I’ve done in the past few weeks), this bit of exciting news from the nearby downriver town of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, they have a new mayor – Boone-the-hound. As the news headline stated: “A ‘paw-some’ campaign secures victory for Mayor Boone”.

Warning, Boone-the-hound is a serious ‘speechifier’ (definition: deliver a speech, especially in a tedious or pompous way):

Now some coffee as the real ‘Ramblings’ kick into high gear ~\_(“,)_/~.

Our little Super Bowl — Sunday was the Super Bowl. Neither Marcia nor I had any real interest in the event. Although way down deep there was a bit of a burning ember about the game and the final football of the season.

We compromised!

Our living/family room (other than the three season family sunroom which is still out of season) has no television in it. I don’t know how it happened, but enough testosterone was released for me to get active and place a big screen next to the couch. Sorry to all of you who see this as a failure, I just couldn’t resist.

Brother George, ever the thinker, advised I bolt it to the wall.

Historic? – Later today (noon) I’ll be at a city-wide meeting regarding the idiocy being foisted on us by our City Council. It’s euphemistically called; “Connected Communities”. This is all part of the ’15-minute city’ poppycock shoved down our throats. Already passed unanimously by the Planning Commission, it is by far the worst, very worse change in the city zoning code. Now off for passage to a council both inept and 100% filled by committed democrats, socialist cause afficionados.

Connected Communities gets rid of Single Families neighborhood zones up to 10 blocks from a major designated route – we are two blocks away. Allows construction of 4 story multi family apartments with minimal regard to building materials and out of State LLC landlords. No regulation dealing with the number of parking spaces. Anything you can think of that would destroy a viable neighborhood is part of this drivel.

Cincinnati is unusual in that over the years there have been three major local political parties: Republican, Democrat, and Charter. The ‘Charter’ has been more libertarian and its members seldom used local politics as a ‘stepping stone’ to Statewide or National positions.

Charter Committee Convenor (Lawyer and former City Councilman) Steve Goodin noted:

“In my more than two decades of working on city issues, I have never seen public input so thoroughly stage-managed, manipulated and ultimately ignored.
No matter what one thinks of individual aspects of the ‘Connected Communities’
Ordinance, the process was a disaster. It represented a complete breakdown of the transparency and responsiveness Cincinnatians rightfully expect from a Charter-based government. ‘Connected Communities’ cannot be fixed. It simply must be repealed.”

Then mid-week I’ll be at a second meeting, this one only for our neighborhood. We’re embarking on seeing to have the neighborhood designated as a Historic District (the ‘Nati already has 27 Historic Districts so it’s not impossible). My interest is two-fold, the historic district aspect is one to counter the zoning changes ‘Connected Community’ garbage but not yet finalized. Now it’s ‘Dirk the Activist’.

Thought, maybe we should have elected as Mayor ‘Boone-the-Hound’ for this city.

Overboard ~ or ~ Overside ~ or ~ Of-putting? Prior to this rewrite of a 1930s Pete Seeger and Woody Guthry union/socialist song, which I first heard in my youth and I actually liked (it’s a catchy tune). However, this ‘updated’ version has me pulling my nails on a chalkboard about 15-seconds in. That’s all I can take. If these groups form Trumps opposition, he has little to worry about.

Spam – is an ongoing horror and we’re in the midst of them. The other evening it was the third call of the day. This call was for something health related, and I was invited to hit another digit if I wanted to go further in Spanish. Marcia looked up to see if I’d respond in my normal manner, i.e. a hang up.

That’s when I opted to change my routine. Instead of answering any questions, me, now speaking my native Dutch nicely asked the atomtronic at the other end that “I’d prefer their call be conducted in Dutch” (Ik heb liever dat deze lezing in Nederlands wordt gemaakt).

Crickets!

The call did not come to a satisfactory conclusion (for them). Here Marcia howled.

Happenings – mentioning Robo calls this week, I should mention that this was also a banner week for the Fire Department here at the Corner of Chaos and Mayhem.

Tuesday, I came back from walking and saw smoke a block away. Turns out that three houses from our place Fire was hard at work dousing the engine compartment on a car. No more than 20 minutes after I got back that I spotted the burned car leaving on a tow truck.

Yesterday, it was one siren after another, and each would cease to sound immediately after turning at Chaos and Mayhem. That prompted a look. Eight fire trucks had gathered (3 were ladder and one was the big ‘Heavy Rescue’ unit). Add an EMT ambulance and some pickup trucks to assist blocking traffic coming from three directions.

Although we saw smoke by the roof and the firemen on the roof the whole business lasted no more than 45 minutes. No outside damage to be seen. It didn’t take long to clear up and none of the rush-hour traffic had an inkling of all the earlier happenings here at the Corner of Chaos and Mayhem.

Now it is best to unfold my rain gear, especially since it’s already raining hard. The weekend is beginning with 3” to 4” of rain followed next week by temps dropping into the teens and some snow, all capped with flood conditions in the burbs. It’s going to be a good one.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

A U.S. patent (U.S. Patent 127,568) was issued in 1872 with the following text: “I, Robert Chesebrough, have invented a new and useful product from petroleum which I have named Vaseline…” The result being that probably every household in the nation has a jar of Vaseline sitting on a shelf and distributed in over 70 countries. It’s used by dermatologists, NASA, for cosmetic applications, and as a lubricant of fine machinery. Which of these names is NOT used to refer to Vaseline?

1) “Goop”
2) “Sludge”
3) “Petroleum waste”
4) “Translucent putty”
5) “Vaseline”