While our grandson enjoys the Minnesota winter:
Weather contrasts for sure.
Just one day more...
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Where We Are Now
Nationwide the weather this winter has been unconventional. The east coast has seen temperatures in the 70's and the south has had tornados.
The forecast where we are in Hope, AZ is for the 50's and 60's in the daytime, dipping to the 30's at night. Now comes a winter storm warning for heavy snow and white outs in New Mexico. That is the route we take when we travel from the farm in Nebraska to Arizona. Last year we left just after Christmas, which would have put us right in that mess had we been on the same schedule this year. We have stayed in Elephant Butte in the past and they are expecting 4 - 8 inches of snow with blizzard conditions.
The forecast where we are in Hope, AZ is for the 50's and 60's in the daytime, dipping to the 30's at night. Now comes a winter storm warning for heavy snow and white outs in New Mexico. That is the route we take when we travel from the farm in Nebraska to Arizona. Last year we left just after Christmas, which would have put us right in that mess had we been on the same schedule this year. We have stayed in Elephant Butte in the past and they are expecting 4 - 8 inches of snow with blizzard conditions.
I'm not sure if it is El Nino or what that is causing this strange weather, but I'm sure glad we are where we are now. I can live with temps in the 50's and 60's for now. (have I mentioned how much I hate snow?)
Just one day more...
Thursday, December 24, 2015
That Time Of The Year
We have been at our winter "home" in Hope, Arizona for a few weeks and while it has been cool in the evenings the days are mild. In a few more weeks daytime temperatures are expected to be in the 70's.
Back home on the farm it's a different story:
Issued by The National Weather Service
Omaha, NE
7:45am CST, Thu Dec 24
... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CST TODAY...
* MAIN IMPACT... SNOW ACCUMULATIONS MAINLY FROM 2 TO 4 INCHES.
* OTHER IMPACTS... TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES DUE TO SLICK ROADS.
* A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW... SLEET... OR FREEZING RAIN WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES. USE EXTRA CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.
Our grandson is one-year-old today and has brought a lot of joy into our lives. By the time we get back home this spring he should be even bigger. (Still has his grandpa's receding hairline).
It is also that time of the year when there are a lot of platitudes floating around. There is only one that has meaning to me and is one which has become more and more unlikely - world peace.
| Our Farm Back Home |
The U.S. especially must substitute a culture of militarism and aggression for one of detente.
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Friday, December 18, 2015
Predator In Cuffs
Martin Shkreli, CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, is in the news again.
He is the weasel who jacked up the price overnight of the drug Daraprim from $13.50 a pill to $750 a pill. Daraprim is used to treat parasitic infections that can be life-threatening for babies, the elderly and AIDS patients.
At 6 a.m. Thursday, F.B.I. agents arrested Shkreli at his Murray Hill apartment in New York City. He was later arraigned in Federal District court on securities fraud and wire fraud charges.
A spokesman for Shkreli said he was confident he would be cleared of all charges.
Yeah, yeah... I know everyone deserves their day in court. But, it is especially nice to see this predator in cuffs, even if briefly.
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Wednesday, December 16, 2015
No Big Surprises
On Sunday the New York Times did an article titled: Politicians Lie: Some More Than Others.
Falsehood Face-Off
Statements since 2007 by presidential candidates (and some current and former officeholders) ranked from most dishonest over all to least dishonest, as fact-checked by PolitiFact. “Pants on Fire” refers to the most egregious falsehoods.
No big surprises there.
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Monday, December 14, 2015
Three Years And Still Waiting
Today is the third anniversary of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. One would have thought that the deaths of 20 children and 6 teachers and staff would shock Congress into passing realistic gun regulations.
A casket carrying the body of shooting victim Jessica Rekos, 6, is brought out after her funeral
on December 18, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
|
Carlee Soto reacts as she learns her sister, Victoria Soto, a teacher at the Sandy Hook
Elementary School, was one of 26 people killed in a shooting at the school. Photo: Jessica Hill
|
The guns used in the Sandy hook shooting spree were assault weapons - plain and simple. Weapons that may have a place in the military or law enforcement, but clearly should not be unregulated for everyone else.
Congress held token hearings after Sandy Hook and blew a lot of smoke about finally doing something to end the killings and gun violence, especially against our children. However, as usual, this do-nothing Congress, influenced by the gun lobbyists and manufacturers, sat on their hands.
Neil Heslin, father of six-year-old Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victim Jesse Lewis,
holds a picture of him as he testifies during a hearing on The Assault Weapons Ban of 2013.
|
The fact is that nothing came from hearings in Congress and nothing ever will. There aren’t words strong enough to describe how worthless this Congress is. After all, not even the killing of 20 children and 6 educators persuaded Congress to act. Three years and still waiting.
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Friday, December 11, 2015
Crime Did Not Pay
Before he was reported missing, Matthew Riggins called his girlfriend to tell her he would be in the area breaking into homes. His body was found in water in Barefoot Bay in Florida ten days later.
Two men dressed in black lurking behind homes were spotted by residents, leading to a police search of the area that involved a helicopter and dog units.
Police said Riggins was attacked by an 11-foot long alligator while he was hiding out after a series of planned break-ins.
Major Tod Goodyear, from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, told reporters, “He probably went into the lake to hide from the officers and the dog, and came across that gator.”
When a police dive team located Riggins’ body, they also came across the alligator, which was euthanised. Some of Riggins’ remains were found inside the animal’s stomach.
Crime definitely didn't pay for this guy.
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Thursday, December 10, 2015
No Shortage Of Stupid
Back in April I commented about a guy displaying a Confederate flag and noose (here).
Along comes another one of these redneck neanderthals.
A Springfield, Missouri man, Jeffrey Tindle, insisted this week that a Confederate flag and a noose hanging on his home had nothing to do with racism.
“Representing my southern heritage and my southern pride,” Tindle insisted. “The Confederate flag, the rebel flag, whatever you choose to call it, it does not stand for racism at all. It stands for pride and heritage.”
According to Tindle, he had made the noose to show his brother how to tie knots. He suggested that the rope had nothing to do with racism.
And while the noose has been removed, Tindle vowed to leave the flag.
“Do all you can do to get it down, because without some kind of a law it aint coming down,” he remarked.
*redneck alert* *redneck alert* *redneck alert* *redneck alert* *redneck alert*
Just showing his brother how to tie knots. Yeah, right... There's just no shortage of stupid.
Just one day more...
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Here's A Clue
HERE'S A CLUE:
| SIX SHOT REVOLVER |
| AUTOMATIC ASSAULT PISTOL |
How many of these assholes who are killing our children and innocents are using a six shot revolver? Maybe it is time to classify a "sport" gun from an "assault" gun and regulate the assault weapons.
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Saturday, November 28, 2015
We'll Wait It Out
We are all packed and ready to start our trip south for the winter, however the weather has interfered with our plans. We were hoping to be on our way, however we have had a bout of sleet and snow here on the farm.
Have I mentioned before how much I hate snow and ice? It seems like we can't get a break from the weather we are trying to get away from, so we'll just wait it out.
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Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Poised To Get Screwed
U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced Monday that it would buy the pharmaceutical company Allergan for $160 billion to slash its U.S. tax bill in a move called “tax inversion.” Tax inversions are a form of tax avoidance, whereby corporations relocate their legal domicile to a lower-tax nation while retaining its material operations in its country of origin.
The acquisition, which would create the world's largest drugmaker and shift Pfizer's headquarters to Ireland, would also be the biggest-ever instance of a U.S. company re-incorporating overseas to lower its taxes. To avoid potential restrictions, the transaction was structured as smaller, Dublin-based Allergan buying Pfizer, although the combined company will be known as Pfizer Plc.
Pfizer, one of the largest prescription drug companies in America, not only paid no federal income taxes from 2010 to 2012, it received $2.2 billion in tax refunds from the IRS at the same time it made $43 billion in profits worldwide.
In 2012, Pfizer stashed $73 billion in profits offshore and has used aggressive offshore tax strategies to avoid paying U.S. income taxes. Pfizer’s revenue for 2014 was $49.6 billion.
Once again, another U.S. corporation is taking advantage of the tax laws to avoid paying taxes. Congress does nothing and lets it happen. The Internal Revenue Service has said that their hands are tied and they can do nothing to stop tax inversions and only Congress can act through legislation. All the while the taxpayer is poised to get screwed again.
Just one day more…
Sunday, November 22, 2015
What Could Have Gone Wrong
As a purse snatcher was being subdued by bystanders in a Bellmead, Texas Walmart parking lot and breaks away, a woman fires off a shot at him.
The man snatched the purse of an elderly woman as she and a companion were unloading groceries in the parking lot. Between four and five men tackled the thief and pinned him to the ground, however he broke loose, at which point a woman who was standing by took a shot at him as he attempted to flee.
In the cell phone video other people and passing vehicles can be seen as the woman fires at the fleeing man. Just as police arrive, the woman with the gun can be seen leaving the scene.
So, is this one of Wayne Lapierre's “good guys with a gun”? Watching the video made me wonder instead what really could have gone wrong.
Just one day more…
| In Memoriam • November 22, 1963 |
Saturday, November 21, 2015
A Proper Tribute
The final voyage of the Edmund Fitzgerald began November 9, 1975 at the Burlington Northern Railroad Dock No.1, Superior, Wisconsin. Captain Ernest M. McSorley had loaded her with 26,116 long tons of taconite pellets, made of processed iron ore, heated and rolled into marble-size balls. Departing Superior about 2:30 pm, she was soon joined by the Arthur M. Anderson, which had departed Two Harbors, Minnesota under Captain Bernie Cooper. The two ships were in radio contact. The Fitzgerald being the faster took the lead, with the distance between the vessels ranging from 10 to 15 miles.
Weather conditions continued to deteriorate. Gale warnings had been issued at 7 pm on November 9, upgraded to storm warnings early in the morning of November 10. While conditions were bad, with winds gusting to 50 knots and seas 12 to 16 feet, both Captains had often piloted their vessels in similar conditions.
At 3:30 pm that afternoon, Captain McSorley radioed Captain Cooper and said: "Anderson, this is the Fitzgerald. I have a fence rail down, two vents lost or damaged, and a list. I'm checking down. Will you stay by me till I get to Whitefish?" McSorley was checking down his speed to allow the Anderson to close the distance for safety. Captain Cooper asked McSorley if he had his pumps going, and McSorley said, "Yes, both of them.” As the afternoon wore on, radio communications with the Fitzgerald concerned navigational information but no extraordinarily alarming reports were offered by Captain McSorley.
According to Captain Cooper, about 6:55 pm, he and the men in the Anderson's pilothouse felt a "bump", felt the ship lurch, and then turned to see a monstrous wave engulfing their entire vessel from astern. The wave worked its way along the deck, crashing on the back of the pilothouse, driving the bow of the Anderson down into the sea.
"Then the Anderson just raised up and shook herself off of all that water. Another wave just like the first one or bigger hit us again. I watched those two waves head down the lake towards the Fitzgerald, and I think those were the two that sent him under.” (Great Lakes Historical Society)
I had intended to post this on November 10th - the 40th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Evidence seems to indicate that the hatches on the Fitzgerald were not properly sealed, letting water in during the storm.
Incidentally, one of my favorite beers is the Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, brewed by the Great Lakes Brewery.
It is a proper tribute to the ill fated ship.
Just one day more…
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Simple Minded Patriot
In Coon Rapids, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, a woman hit another woman with a beer mug when she heard her speaking a foreign language at an Applebee’s restaurant.
Jodie Marie Burchard-Risch and her husband were at the Coon Rapids Applebee’s on Oct. 30 when they became infuriated after hearing a woman speak a foreign language in the booth next to them and confronted the woman. Burchard-Risch told the woman to "go home" and that "when you're in America you should speak English."
| Burchard-Risch |
Restaurant supervisors reportedly tried to make Burchard-Risch leave, but she refused and instead began shouting and smashed her beer mug against the woman’s face.
The victim — Asma Jama — grew up in Kenya and was speaking Swahili before she was attacked. Jama, an ethnic Somali who speaks English, Somali and Swahili, confirmed that she came to Minnesota from Kenya in 2000.
| Jama |
Jama’s medical bills exceeded $9500 and Burchard-Rich has been charged with simple third-degree assault.
With all the hate-filled rhetoric against immigrants, especially from politicians, it is no wonder this doesn’t happen more often. Anti-immigrant fervor is all a simple minded patriot needs to validate going on the attack.
Just one day more…
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Utah's Solution
Utah's solution to homelessness and the associated costs.
Let's hope this spreads nationwide.
Just one day more...
Monday, November 9, 2015
Silly Season
This year Starbucks has changed the design on their holiday coffee cups and the religious right has their panties all in a wad.
In previous years Starbucks has had holiday items (ornaments, reindeer, snowflakes, etc) with their logo printed on the coffee cups.
This year they have gone to plain red cups with their logo.
Even though the previous cups had secular holiday themes on the cups, the religious right is doing their annual screaming about businesses “waging war on Christmas.” Humbug.
It’s silly season again. These religious kooks need to celebrate Christmas in their own way and finally give it a rest.
Just one day more…
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Being Obsessive
In 3 weeks we will leave for our Southwest winter stay and I have been going over checklists getting things ready to go. One of the tasks is checking the lug nuts on the trailer wheels. As luck would have it, two of the nuts snapped off when I was checking them. Rats!
I was using a standard lug wrench and certainly wasn’t gorilla tightening them. I was simply checking to see that they were all tight. I’m not a metallurgist, but looking at the piece of the studs that were left in the nuts there appears to be striation in the metal making the stud weak. The only other possibility I can figure out is that the lugs were over torqued when we had new tires put on.
We still have a little time before we leave, so I’ve ordered nuts and studs from the factory to make sure I have the correct ones. Now it is a matter of towing the trailer to the shop to have the new studs installed.
I know I’m obsessive about checking and rechecking things, but in this case it may have paid off. It certainly wouldn’t have been fun having a wheel spin off while tooling down the highway. I guess it pays to be obsessive.
On a more positive note... our grandson still has his grandpa's receding hairline.
On a more positive note... our grandson still has his grandpa's receding hairline.
Just one day more…
Friday, November 6, 2015
Enclaves Of Hate
I grew up in North Dakota and now live in Nebraska, so I have been watching with interest the story of a sleaze bag who has been skulking around both states.
Paul Craig Cobb, who lives in Sherwood, North Dakota, is a white supremacist who wants to create all-white communities in every state in a movement known as Pioneer Little Europe. Earlier this year, he tried to buy property in Antler, North Dakota, but the city spent $35,000 to buy up more than 20 properties to keep him out, according to the Grand Forks Herald.
Cobb is on probation for charges stemming from a November 2013 incident in which he and another man threatened residents of Leith, North Dakota, with guns. He had moved to Leith, population 20, with plans to start an all-white enclave. Cobb pleaded guilty in 2014 to one count of felony terrorizing and five misdemeanor counts of menacing.
Now, Cobb has made a move to buy up property in Nebraska for his supremacist scheme. He bought tax liens on the properties in Nebraska at a sheriff’s sale in late September and paid $125 for two properties in Red Cloud and $3,410 for one in Inavale. If the taxes remained unpaid, he could have foreclosed and taken possession.
News spread quickly after he bought the tax liens, and an emergency meeting in Red Cloud drew nearly 100 people. Community members paid off the nearly $7,500 in delinquent taxes and fees, plus an additional $3,400 in unpaid taxes not yet considered delinquent. The court cases for the foreclosures were dismissed on Tuesday.
Red Cloud Heritage and Tourism Director Jarrod McCartney said, “It is my personal belief that his ideology would corrupt, pervert and severely diminish the high quality of life we are lucky enough to experience here in Red Cloud.” He said the community created a Red Cloud Beautification Trust and used it to help the owners of the Red Cloud properties pay off their back taxes.
In September, community development officials in the Kansas towns of Smith Center and Lebanon warned people not to sell property to strangers offering cash after a man believed to be Cobb tried and failed to buy buildings in those towns.
Kudos to those folks in North Dakota and Nebraska who stopped this creep from creating his enclaves of hate.
Just one day more...
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