The Fifth

"You see, the Mob takes the Fifth. If you're innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?"

You would assume that the person who uttered the quote above would instruct his minions to answer the questions.

Positive Thinking

 So, one day you wake up one Friday morning  feeling more congested than usual. You are coughing. In the pre-pandemic days you might say to yourself "I think I'm getting a chest cold."  But, this is 2022 and you are in the high-risk category, so you take the time to check the symptoms: Just a dry cough and runny nose, achy, blah.  Not terribly significant, you think. You have lunch plans, but the sleet and snow put the kybosh on going out. 

Good news

On the second day, Saturday, you still feel a bit crappy.  Maybe you need to get tested.   You get one of those at-home antibody tests and swab away.  The results are good. There should be a "C" line but no "T" line.  Phew! that's a relief.  It's just a "normal" cold virus, after all.   The weather outside is still pretty bad, icy streets, so you stay in, again.  On the third day, Sunday, you are still feeling chest congestion and a bit achy - especially sore ribs from coughing.  Again, you lay low.  Normal appetite and temperature, so no cause for extreme worry.

Bad News

Monday, day 4, things have not improved. Now, you start to worry that this is not a mere cold.  Time for a re-test.  This time the results are a bit of a shock.  The dreaded "T" line appears after only 6 minutes.  That indicates Positive for COVID. 

So, now it is confirmed: you have joined the club you did not apply to.  Like many others, you secretly thought that you would be one of the folks whose natural defenses, plus the recommended shots, would get you through this pandemic unscathed.  But, now you wonder, what foolishness may have let the virus past the gates and into your lungs.  You try to trace your movements during the few days before you first noticed the cough.   This is a memory challenge for someone who cannot recall what they had for lunch yesterday.  You decide it must have been the Thursday lunch at your favorite Italian restaurant, when you and your wife sat at the bar and split a delicious lemon chicken dish.  That was the only time you can recall being indoors without a mask.  Of course there is no way to know for certain  how or where you picked up the virus.  

The rapid antigen test cannot discern what variant if COVID is present.  So you just assume it is Omricon, which seems to be the prevalent strain around here.  (How do they know?) Hopeful news is that the symptoms are mild.  The Health Care folks don't seem very interested in you unless you have severe symptoms.  No one with a medical degree recommends therapeutics, despite the fact that old fat guys are considered "high risk."

Anyhow, you quarantine, start taking Mucinex, which controls the cough and you push fluids (especially Sierra Nevada fluid) and rest up.  The wife must have super immunity, because she has no symptoms.  Because of the close contact, she has to cancel several social dates and classes and is pretty annoyed with you.

All in all, you feel pretty lucky that the symptoms have been mild, and you have family nearby to help.  In a way, you almost feel glad to get it over with. 

Too Much Brady Hype

 Am I the only one who thinks Tom Brady was a great QB who had a great career, but is not a God.  He threw interceptions, fumbled, got sacked.  He was a Professional athlete who played for Money, not because he loved his team or his fans.  I get that it is a worthy sports story, but why is it headlining national news?  If you tune-in to any mainstream news outlet today you would think that Tommy was solely responsible for the winning records enjoyed by teams when he was leader of the offense.  The defensive players who often kept the opponents' scores low, are seldom mentioned.    

.Football is a team sport.  When I look at a successful QB, I cannot help thinking of the other athletes on the team who blocked, caught passes, rushed the line, and protected the passer. I give credit to the coaches that designed plays, ran drills and helped prepare the team for the next game.  I recall that more than one of those Super bowl wins were won by the kicker. either  Adam Vinatieri and Steven Gostkowski.  Guys on the team that did their jobs.

Sports writers have to write about something, so media loves to raise personalities to Idol status. 

Brady set a bunch of records that will probably stand until the next GOAT comes along.  I wish him well. He made a lot of money.  It will be interesting to see what he does next.  It's pretty clear that he is not articulate enough to sit in the broadcast booth, or appear on one of those pre-game shows.  Maybe he would make a good coach?   Who knows.  He will always be #12 and one of the best QB's who played the game.

But he's no Payton Manning. 

Thoughts on the great resignation

 The COVID19 Pandemic has dominated our thinking now for almost two years.  Every aspect of our lives has changed to some degree. Those of us who took being healthy for granted have awakened to a new reality -- an awareness that no one is completely safe from a communicable disease unless one ceases all human contact.  Those who were already fearful or sick have endured the constant terror that the worst could happen at any moment.  

Granted the general availability of vaccines (since last January) has eased the fear of hospitalization and/or death, but the Pandemic is always there --a ravenous vulture sitting on a tree branch waiting for the right moment.  

A few white collars are going back to the office , (probably to get out of the house and get some work done), but a lot of workers and managers are realizing that, after avoiding the deadly daily commute back and forth for a year or more, they are reluctant to go back to the cage.  Many actually enjoyed reconnecting with families. a lot of min wage workers decided to move up to better paying jobs with benefits. 

Strangely, more than a few folks  are leaving jobs because they refuse to get vaccinated.  I say strangely, because there is no logical reason for most informed people to resist this lifesaving measure.   Okay, I admit that there is a lot of misinformation floating around, and for the gullible and stupid, no amount of facts will change their minds.  This is definitely a product of our current political environment:  What you believe depends on who you want running the country. This, of course, is a perverted mindset that has little to do with reason or common sense.

Many businesses have never recovered from the near total shut-downs that were enforced in the period before the general public could be vaccinated.  Some businesses that relied on in-person transactions with customers (Restaurants, Gyms, transportation services, etc.) never re-opened.  Those that have reopened are usually understaffed.   Those workers had a chance to think about their future.   I cannot fault anyone who aspires to a better position where the do not feel trapped.  I do fault the employers who took advantage of workers who were desperate to support themselves and their families.  Now those workers have options and are moving on.

It has been reported that more than 50% of currently employed teachers want to quit.  The reasons vary from COVID related regulations, to unhappy parents and general chaos.  Some corporate  employers are looking at these disgruntled teachers to fill open positions in HR and Training.  And on and on it goes.   

January Notebook

As 2022 starts ticking away, I am visited by the nagging awareness that I am six months away from my 80th birthday. You might think that the realization that I'm on the downward side of the hill would have me assessing my life and the meaning of it all, worrying about my legacy, putting my affairs in order. But no....  

I have long since given-up trying to find meaning in existence. I've come to accept that true understanding of concepts like infinity and eternity are beyond knowing to the minds of men. I would love to believe in an afterlife, higher power, or even UFO's. But, the evidence does not support such fantasies. 

What gives meaning to life anyway?   I do not require meaning in nature. I accept the randomness of it all. Scientific explanation for the physical world makes sense to my mind. As I contemplate my advanced age, I accept that my world is smaller. While some adventurers seek to walk on other planets, I am content to tread familiar paths, within walking distance. I cherish the ability to walk, realizing that it is an impermanent state.

Such concerns as my place in the universe, or was I a good father? do not haunt me. What is cannot be changed. As my grandfather would say to my grandmother's frequent harangues, "Anne, I'm doing the best I can; that's all you would expect of a horse." So it was, in work and life, I did the best I could at the time.

I accept that some doors have closed: I will not win the Nobel Prize for literature, or become US Open Tennis Champion.  Also, I do not ruminate about past events. The past cannot be undone.  I do acknowledge that my future is rooted in the past.  Smoking for 40+ years did not help my pulmonary function today, or tomorrow.  Ditto other unhealthy habits.  

Yet, there is still reason to remain optimistic.  Some bodily damage can be repaired. So can relationships.

Fortunately I do not have a list of regrets or evil deeds to repent.  I am content with my current self.  To go back and change any event in the past, would take me to another place.  I am not willing to risk ending up in that what-if place. 

My Wonderous Life

 

What if I was never...

Tis the season, for chestnuts roasting on an open fire, jack frost nipping at your nose, carols sung by a choir of Eskimos and, of course the annual challenge to see if you can get through an entire evening of TV watching without bumping into "It's a Wonderful Life." 

We've all seen it a few hundred times. Bedford Falls, George Bailey played by Jimmy Stewart, mean old man Potter. We all know the story by heart - a depressed George Bailey, ruined and hopeless decides to end it all on the icy bridge. His guardian angel a large white rabbit names Harvey persuades him that his life did have meaning - by taking him for a walk through Bedford Falls as if he hadn't lived. On the third day he wakes up and .... 

As I clicked over to the Comedy Channel to watch South Park, I vaguely wondered how the companies I have worked for would have been different if I hadn't worked my magic while on the payroll. Letsee - Wang Labs.  I helped design the first commercial application on the Wang VS Minicomputer. But they went bankrupt a few years after I left. (Perhaps they should have been nicer to me). Then Prime Computer, where my most memorable contribution was to design a customer file structure that would allow an intelligent executive to determine how much business a global customer had done with us. Pretty impressive except that the CFO didn't understand it. He had me transferred to Manufacturing because I pointed-out that he was the only one in the room who didn't get it. They scrapped that idea. A few years later, they were out of business. Then there was a short stint at Index Technologies. Aha, I managed the miraculous recovery of their lost user database. Unfortunately, before we got the thing up and running, they got bought out and the new guys laid everyone off. Then I went to Honeywell-Bull, where I analyzed and tested a new piece of software they were considering from Brock Controls. I advised against using this software. They thanked me for my incisive analysis by going ahead with the original plan and made me work on the project. Within a year, they were suing Brock for non performance. Everyone hated the new system. I went to the diploma factory where they were implementing Peoplesoft. I designed a nifty HR DataMart there, but the HR folks were too busy to try it out.  My best efforts were rewarded with an unwarranted  demotion. This act of clueless management turned out to be the best thing that had happened to me in a long time. I went to TAC, where I was finally recognized for my ideas and ability to stay awake during staff meetings. Ok, I admit that I did fall asleep once when the Director was giving us a pep talk. A few months later I was laid off. 

 So, that's the story of the impact my career has had on the world: Nada. I might just as well have been born rich, so I could have at least developed my Tennis game.

Strange Things

 Here's a mystery for you:  Every year around the beginning of January, I carefully take down the strings of  decorative lights that have been displayed for the holidays.  I do not casually stuff them in a box, but wind them, like Martha Stuart would, around my elbow in careful loops, so they will be able to be unfurled in an orderly fashion next season.  

But every year when I bring the box up from the cellar,  they have morphed into a hopeless jumble that requires at least 30 minutes of untangling before I can hang them. Apparently there exists some preternatural force that tangles them while in storage.

I am not complaining, mind you.  I'm just commenting on a domestic phenomena.  Tangled Christmas lights belong in the category "things I do not understand."   You know concepts like: Infinity and rules of grammar and spelling.

I'm starting to wonder of the basement is haunted by some malicious spirit.  That might explain the laundry-related mysteries -- lost socks, missing handkerchiefs and other  small items.  And don't get me started about loose wire hangers.  How come they always get tangled no matter how neatly you try to arrange them?  There must be a malevolent poltergeist that causes these phenomena.

And who, or what, keeps hiding my glasses and keys?

 

January 6th, 2021

"January 6th wasn’t a peaceful protest. It wasn’t a riot. It was an insurrection meant to overthrow the electoral process and install Donald Trump as an American dictator."   Stephen King




Look at the video and decide.

Obnoxious Activists

You probably saw the recent video of protesters following Kyrsten Sinema D AZ into the ladies room to rant about infrastructure and immigration reform.  

I suspect most fair-minded people find this type of harassing behavior to be both  obnoxious and ultimately counter-productive.  These In-your-face tactics have been used before, and are touted as an effective way to get wider media attention.  But not all attention is positive.   

There seems to be a renewed strategy to harass and intimidate public figures.  We've all seen video clips of deranged people disrupting school board meetings over issues such as mask mandates and teaching history of racism.  These are not intelligent debates.  They seem to think that The First Amendment gives them the right to squelch opposing opinions.

 I have no quarrel with protesters waving signs and  chanting on public property (except roadways),  but I decry those zealots who think their cause trumps my right to peace and quiet, or those who think their so called free speech obviates my right to access public buildings or roadways.  This includes peaceful sit-ins, marches and other demonstrations that impede other movements of others.  Go to one of the many public parks, fer chrisakes.

  

Rabbit Rabbit

 It's supposed to give you good luck if the first utterance of the first day of a new month is "Rabbit rabbit".  (Of course this superstition originated at a time when your word processing app would not flag this phrase as a potential duplicated word error.)   You may have a soft spot in your heart for small furry rodents but I have nothing but animosity for those hosta nibbling marigold destroyers.  They have literally gnawed their way through my garden this season.  

In other news...

Voting rights is a big issue these days.  In Massachusetts, the Democratic heavy legislature is considering expanding voting access, including same-day registration.  I am a fan of voting rights, but I am also a fan of free and fair elections.  The country is torn by division on voting rights.  If I were Emperor,  my rule on voting rights would go something like this:  1.  Since only citizens can vote in national elections, proof of citizenship must be shown at the time of registration, and proof of identity would be required at the physical polling places.  Proof of residency is not proof of eligibility. Automatic voter registration would be banned.   All ballots and election materials will be printed in English, since all naturalized citizens would be required to read and understand English.

Brady is back.   The so-called GOAT and his fellow turncoat Gronkowski will be playing the Patriots on Sunday night.  The hype around the confrontation between Brady and Pats coach Belichick has reached fever pitch.  Brady and Gronk are dead to me. I will watch the game, hoping that the new young quarterback Mac Jones has an awesome night.   I decry the current  adulation of individual personalities in sports rather than recognizing and promoting team efforts.   

Fall is here.   The tomato plants have been chopped down, the basil's gone by, the garden is looking sad and tired. The two experimental cannabis plants are bent under the weight of ripening buds. I have begun harvesting some of the most mature limbs, which have split from the main stalk.  There is a rather labor intensive process for drying and "curing" the buds.  I am really unsure about what I will do with the end product. I haven't smoked a joint since the "Abby Road" album, back in the early 70's.  Maybe edibles? Stay tuned.

New Republican Motto

Aren't Fathers of Fetuses Responsible Too?

Theresa Stack Boston Globe 9-12-21 (IDEAS) has a brilliant proposition.

 " If we are serious about legislating the birth of all fetuses, shouldn’t we hold the father just as accountable as the mother at all phases of gestation and life? Science has gifted us with the ability to do just that, and it could be considered a massive moral leap forward. Fetuses could now be automatically entitled to receive legal and social benefits, such as inheritance and Social Security, from their fathers. Many more could know their paternal medical histories. The government could save massive amounts of money by making fathers equally responsible for raising fetuses from conception through adulthood."

My mother used to quote Gloria Steinem  "If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament."

I think this would be a clever way to ensure that the recent odious Texas abortion law gets repealed quickly. Similar potential laws being considered elsewhere would be smothered in their cribs.  Why?  Because men do not want unwanted children.   They do seem to want women to be forced to deliver unwanted babies, because every baby has a right to live a miserable life in squalor and abuse.  

It is a mystery why so-called right-to-life supporters insist on every pregnancy going to term, because they appear to care not a whit about the child once it draws breath, These are the same virtuous people who continually vote to cut-back on programs that would help the quality of life for such children, many of whom are doomed at birth -- born into a life of poverty and ignorance, or severely handicapped.

To me, Quality of Life is everything...from birth to death,  With so many in this world living lives of pain, suffering and want, I cannot understand the thinking of those who pound the table for Birth at any cost.

The other part of the mystery is: How come those who loudly protest against "government over-reach" think that something as personal as giving birth (or opting for abortion) should be decided by government dictum.  Maybe this is what shrinks mean by cognitive dissonance. 

Technology has evolved to the point where the identity of the father can be established at the "heartbeat" stage.  I think it is only fair to pass laws to make the father responsible for the outcome of the pregnancy. Who could object to that?

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* to read the full essay click HERE.

Free The Guilty Capital Invaders?

 So it seems that there are a group of delusional folks planning to return to DC on September 18th  to protest the fact that the government has arrested and incarcerated some 300 suspects in the Jan 6 riot and invasion of the Capital Bldg.  They cynically claim these insurrectionists were just tourists who thought it was OK to storm the Capital. The object of the rally is to get them released and the whole matter forgotten. They falsely claim that BLM protesters have not been arrested. (see below)*

In my reality, there are hundreds of film clip evidence of violence against the guards. .  showing officers being pulled into the crowd trampled, assaulted with scaffolding materials, and/or bear-maced by protesters, These were not tourists. 140 officers were injured by the peaceful demonstrators.  4 officers were so traumatized that they subsequently committed suicide,  One officer died shortly after the attack but no one has been charged. Clearly, the fact that he was sprayed with toxic chemicals was likely responsible for his immediate hospitalization and subsequent death.  

The deluded have cynically focused on the shooting death of one innocent protester as she tried to break through a door to the chamber where elected officials huddled in fear of their lives.  She was never warned, they  falsely remember. But the video evidence speaks for itself.  

One hopes that the Capital police have orders to shoot the first ones running up the stairs.  Nothing scatters a crowd faster than police when they start shooting.

*here are some numbers from AP 

Chip Shortage

There is a worldwide shortage of the computer chips that modern vehicles use.  That shortage is causing a backlog, forcing layoffs here and elsewhere.  

The increasing computerization of automobiles has been an un-necessary "advance" if you ask me.  There was a time when I could change my oil or replace a sparkplug.  Now I don't even know where the dipstick is.  I recently had to spend $300 to replace the transmission cooling lines.  Who invented transmission cooling lines?  We never needed that when we had a clutch! 

I have a solution: Make cars simple again.  

My 1957  4 cylinder Volkswagen "Beetle" ran on 36 horsepower and got over 30 miles per gallon,  I didn't have a radio or A/C or even a gas gauge.  It had 4 forward gears and got me where I wanted to go.  

That's all we need folks. We don't need luxury cars or electric vehicles,  or all the stupid stuff that drive the cost of a car beyond affordable  -- or fixable by the local gas pump jockey.   Call me a Luddite!  We are on the wrong road, and our cars have become too big to park and too automated.

BRING BACK THE BUG!

Inclusion for all

The Boston Marathon is scheduled for October 11 this year. The race was cancelled last year due to the Pandemic, and delayed this year, in hopes that Covid 19 would be under control by then. Lately, though, the surge in cases has been disturbing with the Delta variant raging primarily through the unvaxed population and causing "breakthrough" cases in people who have been "fully vaccinated." So far, it looks like the vaccine is still effective against serious cases requiring hospitalization. Choosing the October 11 date is not without controversy.

Holding the famous race that date has been criticized for stealing some of the thunder from Indigenous Peoples day, which is the result of the cultural police's efforts to replace Columbus Day. For the record I still think the previous term "Native Americans" was an acceptable and more correct appellation for the poor savages that were driven out of their lands by marauding Europeans. But replacing Columbus Day with a fancy virtue spawned holiday celebrating...what?

But back to the Marathon, one can hardly call them insensitive. Look at all the divisions they have invented to include those with handicaps and genders. This is the order of runners starting times:
Mobility Impaired 8:50am
Men's Push rim wheelchair 9:17
Women's push rim wheelchair 9:19
Handcycles and duos 9:22
Elite Women 9:32
Elete Men + Wave 1 10:00
Next wave 2-4 (every 25 minutes)

I'm assuming these divisions are to make the running field more level in terms of the apparatus and skill required to race. It still seems unfair to me that some obvious diversity/mobility issues have been overlooked. For example, When do elite They/Them/Its line up?
How about midgets? Homeless Runners ? Gluten Intolerant? Old Farts? Hispanic? People with humps?
It's pretty clear that these groups also need to be included to erasing any semblance of unfair competition. If it were up to me, I would make the Kenyans run separately. That way, maybe an American could win. I want this Marathon to be great again.

Disturbing Distopian Goings-on

 SCOTUS has just chosen not to block an evil law that the Governor of the State of Texas has signed into Law. The law prohibits abortions after the fetus has a detectable heartbeat.  Many proponents of abortion see this as a guaranteed way to kill more young women who are not ready for motherhood. Because abortions will happen whether lawful or not.  And this raises the risk to women's' health. But the god-fearing men of Texas are committed to ending the killing of unborn.   No matter the cost.

Curious, because they seem quite willing to enforce rules that will ensure that more children will die of COVID 19. or malnutrition or the violence of poverty. They hate living, breathing  people who come to the border seeking a better life.  Well I guess the "sanctity of life" is not that important to them, so what is?  

Why this obsession with the rights of the unborn unbreathing insentient potential mouths to feed.

But I am not writing today to argue the abortion question.  Practically no one has changed their mind about abortion.  It is one of those kneejerk positions that separate liberals and moderates from right wing conservatives.  I can understand how horrified the conservatives have been since roe v wade.  Watching the county fall under the spell of guiltless sex and fewer orphanages.

No my truck with this law is how it will be enforced.

The gutless legislators are not responsible for enforcement.  They want citizens to sue people who are in any way involved in abortions.  This is so close to  the techniques of  the Maoist Communists and Taliban to force people to stay in line. Totalitarianism - when the state pays a bounty  citizens to rat on their neighbors, there is no freedoms of speech. 

The Texas Republicans and Governor are un-American, and need to be ousted in the way America knows how.  Vote em out! Recall them. Investigate them.   

We, America,  must be better than this.

Reinstatement Day

 Well here it is: The day that the former president is supposed to be restored to power.  If you are one of those loony tunes denyers, you are probably heading down to DC to be part of the celebration. Maybe storm the Capital again. Oh, wait. They just posted a picture of the growing throng

And This:

https://www.thebulwark.com/not-my-party-the-trump-reinstatement-is-here-in-his-imagination/

Finally!

 No more store-boughts till after first frost.  

Varmints = 1,  Me: = 7

I've been waiting for these babies to ripen since the plants went into the ground in early May. Now I can pick some fresh basil and slice some fresh mozzerella to make a delicious homegrown caprese salad.

Last year, I had a lot of throwaways because of rodents (Squirrels and chippies) taking a bite and leaving them. I have started rubbing the green globes with wet coffee grounds and so far have not seen the same predation by varmints.

Also am spraying with BT which is an organic compound that kills caterpillars if they nibble on sprayed plants. (Pain in the neck because you have to spray after every rain.)

Acting Mayor of Boston, Kim Janey, has defended her position NOT to enforce proof of vaccination (or negative COVID test) for people attending functions and going to restaurants. She bases her opinion on the fact that more than 50% of residents -- many of whom are minorities -- have not been vaccinated, and it would be unfair to exclude them.

Wait. Is it racist to say that I do not want to risk going into any public space where there are a lot of unvaccinated/untested people -- regardless of their social status, gender or nationality?

Science says the unvaxed are the most likely spreaders of Virus. A reasonable and fair person might conclude that those who refuse to get the jab have chosen to forfeit their right to sit next to me in church*, at the bar or theater or subway. It has nothing to do with equity.

Show us your proof!

Vaccine shaming does not work. Public pleas do not work. Knocking on doors and being nice does not work. It is time to give-up attempts to persuede the hard-headed to get the jab so their family and friends will be protected, What will work is isolating those refusniks so they cannot infect others.

We make kids get vaccinated before they can attend public school. We can do the same with adults at Gyms, Restaurants, Concerts, Rallies, Bowling Allies, Swimming Pools and Cornhole Tournaments.

*Don't laugh, I might be attending a funderal or wedding.

Irony, Sarcasm and Ink

I received an email from HP thanking me for using the HP Store to buy something and urging me to review the product --which was a yellow ink cartridge replacement for my printer.

Usually I ignore such silly requests to "share my experience," but I was feeling sarcastic so I racked my brain to find a truthful statement that I could make.  Finally I came up with:

★★★★★★★★★★4 out of 5 stars.

 

· 14 hours ago  

It fit the slot perfectly

I took it out of the package and inserted it into the yellow slot. It Fit! The official ink cartridges are too expensive but I had no choice, of course.

The editing board may have been counting stars rather than looking at content, so they published it on their website.  Looking further, I noted that I was not alone in mocking the review process:

★★★★★★★★★★5 out of 5 stars.

 

· a month ago  

It's Yellow1

I'm so happy that when I opened the package the ink was indeed yellow! Why am I being asked to review an ink cartridge?

★★★★★★★★★★5 out of 5 stars.

 

· 3 months ago  

It works

What can I say? It is an ink cartridge, and it works.

More enlightening was the number of reviewers extolling the benefits of buying overpriced ink cartridges ($35 each)

Funny World we live in.  Not ha-ha funny; more peculiar funny.