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”

1/3 empty?

Happy Saturday. That ever-welcome Spring warming trend is underway. What is also ‘underway’ is our quickly disappearing stash of coffee (a couple more days). This means that there is a run to Costco in my near future, and here comes the best news: our ‘Big-Mack’ I-471 bridge that caught fire (arson) back in November will be re-opened tomorrow evening – a month early and when in use it’s easily the best route the nearest Costco. Hence, I’m writing with a smile on my face.

What’s in the TV ad below mixes our need for a coffee purchase run along with thoughts of my Frozen 5K race from last Saturday. It’s a great vintage ad.

The Frozen 5K — last Saturday started right at freezing which was both perfect and a nice warm-up from weather earlier in the week. Pleased with the event, however, it did cause me a bit of reflection.

I think many of us perceive ourselves as being somewhat younger than what our calendar age would suggest. And just like we see our kids and grandkids staying at the same age until an event makes us realize that in fact, they’ve ‘jumped’ a decade or so along ‘maturation road’. Looking at the results of the Frozen 5k — I realized that now I had become that wizened old man on the course.

Out of 2,259 entries I came in at number 1,572. Not bad – it looks a little better when parsed out for gender and age grouping, there I was number 10 (males in age bracket 70-99). See, just like politicians say, numbers never lie.

Where I did receive a bit of a shock was that for the first time, I realized I was the oldest entrant.

Without a doubt, looking at my own ‘aging’ process I realized I had advanced 15 to 20 years in under an hour.

Overjoyed – (Little) Stevie Wonder: Last Sunday Marcia and I went to a small gathering (200 or so, which filled the venue to capacity) Jazz performance. The Phil DeGreg trio had Phil  arrange Stevie Wonder’s compositions into an afternoon of wonderful Jazz music. As DeGreg told us; “Wonder’s melodies and harmonies are pure genius.” I learned that Stevie, blind since birth first performed on stage at age 4, and at age 11 signed with a major Motown label under the professional name of Little Stevie Wonder.

For the afternoon the Trio had invited guitarist Brad Myers to play alongside. Myers has played with any number of Jazz greats and over a 20+ year career has been involved in projects as far ranging as Jazz, Funk, to Western Swing.

It was only natural that the afternoon began with a piece we all knew; “You are the Sunshine of My Life”.

I captured a very different piece, “Overjoyed“, which was played as a duet with DeGreg on the piano and Myers on guitar. It’s a little-known number and was one of my favorites of the performance, not a big tempo upbeat number, but oh so melodic and lovely.

A Historian – Now that our newly installed President is performing much like an “Energizer Bunny”, and is quickly securing a likeminded team around him, I thought it proper to give you some quotes from one, John Mearsheimer. Who is Mearsheimer you ask? He’s an internationally recognized political science professor at the University of Chicago. He’s a foremost scholar of international relations and is best known for his theory of  ‘offensive realism‘.

“Are humans fundamentally social animals who strive hard to carve out room for their individuality, or are they individuals who form social contracts?”

“In the anarchic world of international politics, it is better to be Godzilla than Bambi.”

“Bandwagoning is a strategy for the weak.”

“If there had been no decision to move NATO eastward to include Ukraine, Crimea and the Donbass would be part of Ukraine today” then “For Putin, the illegal overthrow of Ukraine’s democratically elected and pro-Russian president —which he rightly labeled a coup— was the final straw… and there would be no war in Ukraine. “

If you’re into Football, be sure to watch the Super Bowl tomorrow evening.

If you’re not, remember that for the very first Super Bowl (1967) held in LA’s Memorial Coliseum, they couldn’t fill the stadium – about 33,000 tickets went unsold, leaving the stadium 1/3 empty. I mention this to prove that you’re not alone.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

A few miles east of here along the Ohio River in Point Pleasant stands a small, wooden, 2-room house, the birthplace of our 18th President Ulysses S. Grant (April 27, 1822). But “Ulysses” wasn’t his real first name. Which one of the following was his genuine first name?

1) “Jesse”
2) “Albert”
3) “Thomas”
4) “Halmer”
5) “Hiram”
6) “Josiah”

Importance of Correctness

Happy Saturday. One of the very few mornings where I must carefully judge my coffee intake – one cup max. After that water hydration is all it’ll be. It’s quite early and in an hour and a half the Cyclone’s Foundation annual Frozen 5K will start. At that moment I’ll be the grey-haired fellow somewhere in the mix of a couple of thousand ‘nut-cases’.

Today, four short weeks, and then Spring will have arrived. Whenever I walk by this place, I’ll know it is by the lines formed in front of these two small windows. Yes sirree, Spring is just four short weeks away when our area’s harbinger of Spring comes to life. The St. Bernard Dairy Queen will be open again.

Prayers for the families who lost loved ones in the air tragedy at Reagan Airport outside DC. It’ll be weeks before a definitive answer as to the ‘why’ will be issued. In the meantime, our power elites should reflect on how they too were instrumental in this catastrophe.

This from former House Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Peter DeFazio Democrat, OR:” For years, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority warned Congress that the region’s airports were at capacity…….The airport said, ‘Don’t do it [add more flights] and they did it….Every senator in particular wants a nonstop flight to and from wherever they live.”

Over the years I’ve used Reagan many times. Each time I parked in the nearby lot I remember walking by a special parking area near the entrance which was marked as being ‘reserved’ for Congressional members. It only makes sense to add more flights whenever possible.

If you felt the President’s DEI comments regarding the FAA inaccurate, look up nomination of Mr. Phillip Washington who then Secretary Pete Buttigieg exclaimed as an “excellent” FAA Admin choice. And as an aside, why are we still using floppy discs on FAA systems?

Auto Centric – Our city is in the throes of implementing an idiotic plan foisted by the former federal Administration. Here we’re already beginning to be ‘introduced’ to early efforts by our city administration implementing what is euphemistically labeled as: “Connected Cities”.

Most of it is nut-case – follow the $$$ — stuff. However, what it has brought to light is just how auto centric we (and our whole nation) are. In and of itself it’s not so much a car issue, it’s how any design is from an auto-first vantage point. As someone who walks a number of miles weekly, I am totally aware of this implementation, and it’s not necessary. If this ‘Connected-City’ stuff were worth anything (which it isn’t), attention to walking and pedaling would be equal. Sidewalks that actually connect. Bike lanes that receive as much attention for snow removal as for cars. Crossings which allow people to comfortably and safely cross. Car driving rules that are really enforced.

The ’Nati is actually comprised of 52 separate communities. About two blocks away is one such community, Saint Bernard – it has its own city council, Mayor, Police/Fire, and Public Schools. This also means that they implement their own rules and enforcement.

As a walker, almost weekly, I must deviate my walking due to some driver’s antics, never with any concern by the driver. Here is what I spotted on a new sign walking in St. Bernard this past week. Thank you!

Senate Hearings – Watching the Senate Hearings, these seem to have devolved into a search for a “gotcha’ event. No rational discussion. No allowance for a proper response. Mainly a method to create a perfect ‘meme’ to aid one’s re-election. Being a bit of a history and political buff I have been around long enough to remember it being different.

Watching the shouting circus this week let me remind you how different it was until recently. John Kerry was nominated as Secretary of Sate under Obama; he was a divisive candidate. The Senate confirmed him with a 93 – 3 vote with just 3 Republicans voting ‘Nay’. It was not a nonsensical display of ineptitude by the various Senators (such as grilling the nominee for the office of Budget and Management – OBM – on his position on abortion) – good grief, the guy is a CPA dealing with budgets!

Weekend Washout – Last evening our Local News showed video of various road puddles, yard floodings, and more, as the quick thaw and super cold-water intake caused water mains to burst. Every year we hear of one here or there, this year there are 89 and counting.

Beyond these 89, are the myriads of breaks in homes and businesses. Not mentioned on TV was last Saturday’s burst water pipe at our condominium building. This occurred in an isolated room where water was gushing from the ceiling and down the wall where all the electric meters are mounted.

I shut off the water for the building (we have no way to isolate it). It was overnight and till early afternoon the next day before the plumbers showed up.

To alleviate the stress of all my affected neighbors I offered to head for Kroger’s to buy each unit a box of adult ‘Depends’. I went on to suggest that we all wear one and assemble in front of the building for a group photo. Marcia was not impressed – my neighbors were never polled on the idea.

The 5K – Last week I asked; “Have you ever seen a six + lane steel bridge burn?” and posted a link to a newscast update on the reconstruction. I drove it one time on the northbound (open) lanes, but it was difficult to really see what all the repair entailed. In a little while I should be able to get a better view of it from the ground – at the same time I best watch out and not trip.

Last evening it was a bit of a “this-or-that” time. To relax and allow for sleep it became a watch Bob Ross (of paint little trees fame) or listen to a couple of numbers by a cute/fun group from Bavaria; Gruppe Lumpamensch – die Allgäuer Mundart Band im Bayrischen Fernsehen. I opted for Gruppe Lumpamensch. It worked, made the right decision and slept like a log.

For anyone missing The Ramblings in their normal ‘long-form’, sorry with this short version. Or as my French cousin Guillaume is fond to say; “Sorry, sooo Sorry!” Now, I’ve got to run (not a pun since I’m walking).

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Breakfast all over the country offers a cake from a griddle, then filled with a syrup or filling. Depending on where, you’d be ordering the same item with a differing name. Which five (5) of the following are regional alternatives?

1) “flapjack”
2) “scones”
3) “hoe cakes”
4) “paw prints”
5) “hotcake”
6) “pancakes”
7) “Johnycake”

Ol’ Man River

Happy Saturday. It’s wonderful to sit back a bit in a warm room keying these Ramblings. All week long I’ve been hearing; “worst ever” in regards our weather. And yes, it has been cold, bitter cold. And, cold enough where much of the snow, now ice, wouldn’t melt.

But in my lifetime, it’s been worse. This week forty-six years ago, the Ohio River froze over. People walked between Ohio and Kentucky. It didn’t take long before our Mayor, Jerry Springer (yes, THE “Jerry, Jerry” of TV fame) put a halt to the happy ice-walkers. It was pointed out that underneath the ice the river was still flowing; “fall through and it’ll pull and drag you under the ice”. Whoops! Hadn’t thought of that. See, we were all young and foolish once.

Love that little piece of “Ol’ Man River”? It’s from Paul Robeson singing in the musical Show Boat (London 1928)

Before I forget, last week I promised that I’d report on our emergency stash of Aldi’s coffee; Thumbs Up, we’re enjoying even as I’m writing.

Katie Hopkins – an English commentator columnist and professional ‘controversial gadfly’ who has been described as a professional troll by the Huffpost.

Her take on the last-minute indoor inauguration on Monday was that this was the plan all along.

Her Quote: “Word on the street – inauguration pulled indoors to keep the President alive & get him in the White House”.

Personally, I think it was primarily related to the weather.

So now it’s a bright new day, the Don shines.

OK – I had to do some research this past week. Basically, to get access to some missing pages in a book. Okay, no problem, we have a large County-wide Library system. Strike one, they didn’t have a copy.

All right, now it was the Amazon route, strike two. A trip to our largest, we-have-it-all, bookstore. Strike three and I was out.

Or was I? It’d been a long time, but I remembered that something called the Internet Archive; Digital Library. This is a free non-profit entity and over time had amassed the following, all easily accessible:

• 835 billion web pages
• 44 million books and texts
• 15 million audio recordings (including 255,000 live concerts)
• 10.6 million videos (including 2.6 million TV news programs)
• 4.8 million images
• 1 million software programs

The old account still worked and after no more than five minutes I had the pages, snapped a picture of the ones I needed and at about fifteen minutes there was one happy pup!

Breaking News – Just released, this coming May expect another Periodical Brood XIV cicadas. Lucky you if you happen to live in one of the following States: Georgia, Kentucky, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio.

If we’re lucky it will revive the magical mania caused by the Snappy Tomato Pizza spoof jingle versions going back to the 80s; Snappy Cicada Pizza.

My small number of favorite bands – shrunk a bit this week. Whatever it is, but something in the sound of a specific group just sets it apart. It’s not necessarily an individual musician as much as how it becomes the total package. And the sound (on my list) is all over the place. They are as varied as Tedeschi Trucks, Tuba Skinny, Black Pumas, Grateful Dead, Dave Matthews Band, or St. Paul and the Broken Bones just to get you thinking.

One of my top dozen or so was The Band. This week we lost the last surviving member of The Band, the glue to their sound, Garth Hudson. His parents had him study classical keyboard, although he also played Sax, Accordion, Harmonica – my favorite Hudson work was his work on the Lowrey Organ.

The Band made their name and sound as Bob Dylan’s backup. Hudson informed his parents that he was off traveling with a new rock group. With mom & pop this was an absolute NO! Garth came back and told them that he was heading out with them as their ‘music teacher’ – a first real paying job. He then told his bandmates that each to pay him $10 per week as their ‘teacher’. The rest is history.

Cincinnati Chili – is a nationally recognized, little crazy and wildly popular, chili. A supply of noodles, the (heavily cumin laden) chili, topped with a mound of shredded cheese. Onions, beans, and such can be added. Plus, a side dish of oyster crackers completes a proper serving. The largest of the chili parlors in the area is Skyline Chili (founded in 1949) with 138 locations.

Now it’s a first. Our local, premier, Ice Cream creamery is Graeter’s which has been around since 1870. Now it has developed a one-time only batch – Skyline Chili flavored ice cream complete with oyster crackers. Buy it at Kroger’s grocery stores beginning Monday. Previewed on TV newscasts it was nothing but positivity.

The Bridge – Have you ever seen a six + lane steel bridge burn? Last November Cincinnati’s Daniel Beard Bridge which carries I-471 across the Ohio River to Kentucky did just that. As an aside, Daniel Beard after whom this bridge was named was a Cincinnati native who “founded the Sons of Daniel Boone in 1905, which Beard later merged with the Boy Scouts of America” (Wikipedia).

Watch: Daniel Beard Bridge repair Crews show the repairs being done to Big Mac Bridge | Watch

Yet, as the old song goes, “The Ol’ Man River — He keeps on rollin’ along”

Have a great week, till next Saturday goodbye and good health. Not certain exactly how it’ll work next Saturday since I am participating in the Cincinnati Cyclones Foundation’s annual Frozen 5K – and yes, the route is along Ol’ Man River.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Colorado outlaws the sale of auto dealerships to sell cars on Sundays (boats and snowmobiles, etc. are exempt). Which three (3) of the following states also have similar laws?

1) “West Virginia”
2) “Kentucky”
3) “Indiana”
4) “New Mexico”
5) “Delaware”
6) “Louisiana”
7) “New Jersey”

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”