Sorta Random Thoughts/Rants on a Sunday Afternoon

This has been one of those days of the Wandering Mind.

My wife woke up too early this morning with an aching ankle. I wanted to stay in bed. She wanted to get up. We got up. — The newspapers were not here yet.

I made her a cup of tea and brought her pills, opened the windows in her sunroom and turned on the heater. — The newspapers were not here yet.

I fed the cats. Mist had been quiet, but Smoke had been MEOWING since we had gotten out of bed. He finished all of his food but Mist left a bit of hers — into the fridge went her leftovers. Smoke will usually vomit if he gets too much of what he likes too quickly, so I put it away and give it to him a few hours later. He doesn’t seem to mind if it’s cold, but Mist won’t touch it. — The newspapers had arrived.

It was cool outside but not really cold. Yeah, I know I live in SoCal, but I spent Christmas week a number of years ago in northern Minnesota. I don’t remember a single day that the temperature got above freezing. I do remember deciding to go for a walk around my mother’s neighborhood and putting on seven layers of clothing — I walked down the steps, took half of a deep breath, and returned to the warm confines of my bedroom, removing several layers of clothing and proceeded to drink several cups of steaming hot coffee — Ahhhhhh . . .

After bringing in the papers, I made coffee. Well, I had half a pot left over from yesterday and, being the miser I am, poured some creamer (soy) into my cup and filled it with yesterday’s brew. Into the zapper it went — 99 seconds, yes, I like it hot and it’s a 12 ounce mug — then a teaspoon of sugar.

Into the living room and turned on the boob-tube to the English and German football games. Read through both papers starting with the comics and ending with the news sections, finishing my coffee before the papers.

Then into the spare bedroom, which has our recumbent exercise bike. Turn on the fan and the lights, connect this laptop to the TV and put the football games on — courtesy of Spectrum’s computer app. Cycled for the next 100+ minutes watching the tube and reading Asher’s Line War — and getting up to help Di get to the bathroom/loo when she needed to go and bringing her a fresh pack of cigarettes.

Then another cup of coffee, breakfast for each of us, re-read several newspaper articles I was interested in and on to the crossword and Sudoku puzzles in the papers.

Random thoughts?

Well, let’s see:

How do people who don’t read newspapers get their news? There is nothing in-depth on social media; television is sound-bites, sports, weather and celebrity.

Have you ever boiled water on the stove and it seemed, or seems, to take forever before you can add the ingredients? My wife is British and we have an electric teakettle. Heat your water in the kettle while gathering your ingredients. By the time you’re ready the water is hot, add things together and just keep the pot hot.

Ever noticed how much better condensed soup tastes when you add just half of the water the recipe/directions call for? Just add frozen peas, corn or mixed vegetables and it becomes a real meal, or even two.

Venezuela — ghads what a mess. The U.S. (and others) now recognize an unelected, self-proclaimed president as the leader of the government. The elected (no, I’m not going to get into the legitimacy of things) president is urged to step down. What business do we have meddling in the internal affairs of another country? (Think of our reaction to neighboring countries, allies or others demanding President Trump step down because Mrs. Clinton actually received more votes than he did and giving veiled threats about the use of troops to change things.)

Which brings on another question — How many countries have U.S. troops operating within their borders without their permission or a declaration of war? I mean, how would we react to Syrian or Afghani soldiers landing in Florida or Virginia? Shouldn’t we treat them as we expect to be treated by them? Or are we “special,” with a manifest destiny to make the world comfortable for ourselves no matter what the other seven billion people think?

And you wonder why North Korea and Iran want a nuclear capability? And if North Viet Nam had possessed nukes in the 60s?

The Oscars — NO, just no, no, no. ABC is televising the presentations and their pre- and post- shows, seemingly endless hours of narcissistic self-congratulation by the entertainment industry. I mean, didn’t people already vote with their wallets? Why watch the Oscars? To be told: yes, you were right, it’s the best film or performance or no, you’re wrong, this little arty film is the one you should have liked and seen. (No, you’ll never watch it and next year you’ll have to be reminded of what won this year and do it all over again.)

No, I haven’t seen Roma; from watching the trailers I couldn’t even figure out what it was about, therefore, a no go. No, I can’t remember having ever seen a film by Spike Lee, and I’ve never watched a Woody Allen move in its entirety. Yeah, I know I’m a barbarian and only want to watch entertaining, escapist films, not those which show me the world and how it really is. (I get that from the papers, 60 Minutes, CNN and watching the homeless push their shopping carts around the city.)

Manny Machado — 10 years: $300,000,000.00 — which is about $185.000.00 / per game over a ten-year span and assuming he plays every game (and, no, I don’t think he’ll get the Padres into the World Series). Just think, he’ll make more money for playing a single baseball game than most (any?) of us will make, or have ever made, in an entire year.

How much will Manny pay in taxes?

How much do Bezos, Buffett, Gates and Donald John pay in taxes? Amazon made $11,000,000,000 in profits last year and paid $0 in income taxes; yet they wanted billions in incentives to put their HQ in New York to make more in profits and still pay nothing in taxes. I’m not one of those who believe New York was wrong in having second thoughts about gifting Amazon.

Interesting article in the LA Times today about politicians and using your phone apps to keep track of you for the purpose of targeting you with their ads (and who knows what else).

Socialism

Socialism seems to be the new buzzword being used to target Democrats and other opponents of the Republicans and Donald John.

Ever notice how those who can afford the best medical care say it is too expensive for everyone to have even basic medical care provided by the government? Even if they work for the government which provides for their medical care?

Do you have a Social Security Card and Number? Provided by the government — Socialism!

Do you get a Social Security check? Provided by the government — Socialism!

Do you have Medicare? Provided by the government — Socialism!

Do you drive on public roads? Provided by the government — Socialism!

Did you or your children go to public schools? Provided by the government — Socialism!

Is your water delivered by a government water district or your sewage treated by a government sanitation district? Provided by the government — Socialism!

Does your farm benefit from subsidies and price supports? Provided by the government — Socialism!

Is your food inspected for safety? Provided by the government — Socialism!

Are your police and fire departments government agencies? Provided by the government — Socialism!

You want a border wall on our boundary with Mexico? Provided by the government — Socialism!

And on and on and on . . . time for a drink.


Mist and Smoke in the Window
Mist and Smoke in the Window

Random Thoughts

Some random thoughts on a Monday morning . . .

Charles Manson

Charles Manson is dead at the age of 83. He died some forty-eight years after those he is responsible for killing. 48 years.

How much money did we spend on his incarceration? How many school teachers could we have paid for; how many children could we have given better foster care; how many potholes could we have filled; how many . . . ? And all we needed was a single 9mm bullet (and maybe one for each of his cronies) to put him (them) out of our misery.

Jim Mora

Jim Mora was fired as UCLA’s football coach.

According to the LA Times, UCLA will pay some $12,000,000.00 to buy out the last four years of his contract.

$3,000,000.00 a year for a football coach? I thought the purpose of a university was to educate — not to act as a minor league team for a professional sports league.

Maybe I’m behind the times, but I would much rather my tax money go to provide scholarships for the next generation of doctors, scientists, engineers and teachers than to would-be future millionaire quarterbacks, pitchers and one-and-done NBA guards.

“I should have left them in jail.”

Can someone we have elected to high public office really believe that it was better to have left three young men in danger of being jailed for years in a foreign country, rather than to have helped gain their release, just because a boy’s father was publicly ungrateful to him?

A case of punishing the child for the words of a father?

Justice League

Justice League, from Warner Brothers, took in some $96,000,000 this weekend. That was about as much as the next five movies combined. Yet, it was a disappointment.

A $96,000,000 disappointment — aw . . . breaks my heart. C’mon, guys (and gals) how about something new and entertaining that’s not just for teenagers.


Thanksgiving

Is it just me (again) or is there more attention being given to “Black Friday” and the buying and selling of billions of dollars of goods imported from East Asia than there is to giving thanks for what we have?

Oh, yeah, and what about those who are forced to work on Thanksgiving Thursday?

I wonder how many of them are among our lowest paid workers, some working more than one job, and are giving thanks to have a job and are happy to have the additional hours to provide for themselves and their families — especially here in expensive OC SoCal?


Well, perhaps some of these thoughts aren’t so random after all.


Another gratuitous cat picture.

Smoke and Mist on Di's robe and British flag blanket.
Smoke and Mist on Di’s robe and British flag blanket.

Songs of the Fleet – The Middle Watch

by Henry John Newbolt, Sir
1862-1938

In a blue dusk the ship astern
Uplifts her slender spars,
With golden lights that seem to burn

John Henry Newbolt
John Henry Newbolt


Among the silver stars.
Like fleets along a cloudy shore
The constellations creep,
Like planets on the ocean floor
Our silent course we keep.

And over the endless plain,
Out of the night forlorn
Rises a faint refrain,
A song of the day to be born–
Watch, oh watch till ye find again
Life and the land of morn.

From a dim West to a dark East
Our lines unwavering head,
As if their motion long had ceased
And Time itself were dead.

Vainly we watch the deep below,
Vainly the void above,
They died a thousand years ago–
Life and the land we love.

But over the endless plain,
Out of the night forlorn
Rises a faint refrain,
A song of the day to be born–
Watch, oh watch till ye find again
Life and the land of morn.