Tag: daughter

Categories
Family life

Is it May already?

I cannot believe that we have entered the month of May. Allergies are bothering me to the point where I need to take the usual drugs in order to get through the day. The first several months of this year have just flown on by. We have already passed Cinco De Mayo. I have had another birthday, 62, and find myself still working. March flew by like a lion. The weather is starting to improve, yet a couple of weeks ago we had snow. Soon it will be summer, and the kids will be out of school for the summer.

Tis a typical Sunday that I find myself up somewhat early. Having tea and breakfast. Laundry is done. The dog is fed. Need to take some items to the recycling bins (glass and cardboard boxes). Vacuum cleaner needs to be run; a general spring cleaning is necessary. Yard needs to be cleaned up, especially since Jewel uses it a lot. Virginia creeper runs amuck along the once fence. If I don’t thin it out, it grows across the canopy of trees and slowly kills them. My backyard is a mess that is in need of some revitalization. I think about it every year but never really get any backyard project started. Yet it is time to plant the tomatoes in the deck box.

Ditto with the projects at the stables. Some of the wood in the buildings needs to be replaced. The wind can blow quite excessively, causing damage. The fence needs replaced in areas; a good coat of paint would improve the aesthetics of the place. Alas, soon it will be time to cut the grass, bail hay for the horses, and in general, try to keep up with the chores.

Soon I will find myself at the high school graduation. I cannot believe my little girl is 18 and a senior. Seems like it was just yesterday when she was doing little girl things. Where did the time fly? Soon it will be off to college and then taking care of the horses while she is away. Son will have wrapped up a very difficult freshman year. What will we have him do this summer?

This summer, I have taken a vow of sorts to do things that I want to do. Camping and other weekend getaways. Get to the gun range and target practice. Hiking and yes, some fishing. I want to sit under a tree and read books, to go to fancy restaurants, waste hours in bookstores, drink wine and visit microbreweries. Long weekend trips to visit friends, museums, art galleries.

Some of the planning is coming together for summer concerts. Robert Plant and Alison Kraus in Taos, Bruce Spingsteen and The E Street Band, and perhaps even Pearl Jam.

Yet I need a new iPhone, put the car into the garage, what else?

Well it’s a nice day and so I might as well see what I can accomplish. Until next time.

Categories
Uncategorized whatever

In the aftermath of COVID

I submit that we have returned to near normal after the past three years of COVID. That does not mean that it is gone. It is still out there, lurking in the shadows of everyday life as another virus that can interfere with us. I am hopeful that we have learned something as a society in the aftermath of COVID, but I am afraid not.

I was on travel the other week for work. Airplanes and airports are very busy. I am afraid that this is a simple fact that we have more people than our country can support, as much as it is of a return to near normal. Anyway, when I got to my work travel location, I was informed that a coworker had tested positive for COVID and was home. Of course, I, sitting in an office across the country, heard this and had to wonder if I too was going to test positive, get sick, or contribute to a new outbreak. As you see, as I was being told this, I wasn’t really feeling 100%. But I was on travel, and I always feel bad for a couple days after being locked up for hours in an airplane. It goes without saying but I always get ill after air travel. They claim that they have micropore filters and that they clean after every flight and that all is well. Doesn’t matter, I still get sick.

However, in my case, it turned out to not be COVID. The pollen count was up from the pine trees. Some loratadine and Flonase and I was back to my old self. And to be safe, a few COVID tests confirmed that I was not a walking typhoid Mary.

Conversely, my son missed most of February due to a sinus infection. It lingered for about four weeks after first not getting any antibiotics, to getting the wrong antibiotics, to just missing so much school and homework that he was suffering. Yet he didn’t have COVID either, although we had to test him multiple times for strep, RSV, COVID and the flu.

But it is still around. It will be with us forever they say. Biden still has all of the emergency aspects in place that were around with COVID. Pretty sure that he would try to spend billions more in COVID emergency aid if he could. The truth is now the subject of hearings, as to its origins. Perhaps they will have hearings as to how drugs were brought to market so fast, as the real complications of the vaccines emerge.

In my annual physical with my primary doctor, he had asked if I had all my COVID boosters. I said no. I had the original two shots, the 3rd shoot (the booster after the fact) but that I did not have the new COVID vaccine cocktail. I asked why since I managed to get COVID anyway. His response was that it probably wasn’t as severe, as I have a couple of health matters that would put me at higher risk, it would be advantageous. I argued natural immunity. In the end, we agreed to disagree. I keep looking for the data just to see how well things are since we have had inoculated millions, including myself. What health effects will we see down the road?

I’m guessing that the concept of masks will be with us forever. Every time I go to the hospital, I am required to wear a mask. The COVID aftermath created new litter that I see along the road, in the parking lots, all over. The mask! Whether it is cloth, KN95, something else, it now represents additional trash produced by our society and discarded without abandoned.

As we had mask, antibiotic, food and other shortages for basic good as they are no longer manufactured in this country, I would hope that we invest in returning the basic manufacturing needs for everyday life in this country. I’m not saying that we should make toasters, but there are things that we still experience shortages because of the supply chain.We go for the cheap but fail to understand the costs when we are without. They can be significant. Antibiotics is a key one. How many people would stay ill, or get worse, or die if we didn’t have access to antibiotics? I understand that we don’t make many of these drugs today here. We have drug shortages for many drugs important to our daily lives. The only drug that appears to be in unlimited supply and has Chinese origins is Fentanyl. We can thank Joe Biden for that!

As for now, both my son and I want to lose that extra weight that I attribute to COVID. The inability to go out and about, the daily sitting, has contributed to our individual BMI’s. As daughter got out every day to feed the horses, she didn’t suffer as much as we did.

However, the consequences of the COVID aftermath are all around us. Closed restaurants and other businesses that we enjoyed and shopped at; long lines in those places that remained open as there are fewer people to support the business. Lines are longer, waits are more. Shortages still exist as some of the isles in the grocery store remain baren. Small business is critical to towns and society. Sadly, our society continues to rot away. A frayed moral fabric continues to show our decline. Less civility has been replaced with more senility.

The tear of our social fabric is long and deep and will be with us longer than the mutations of COVID. I really do not care where it came from, although I believe more in the lab-leak theory. One of the lingering issues from the COVID years is that many conspiracy theories have turned out to be closer to the truth than the fake media wants you to believe! I do care as to whether it was natural or created by man and accidentally released. More to the point, what are we going to do to keep that from happening in the future.

The world is comprised of evil despots who want to destroy us. It would be nice if we could live together.

The whole inflation situation that we find ourselves in today, I am afraid, will be with us for a long while. I believe that the two separate issues of inflation and the COVID support are tied together. Free money allowed people the opportunity not to work. Yet, now that there is no more free money, where are all of the workers? They all did not retire. They all did not die or develop a health condition that keeps them from working. Did the free money allow people to unleash their rugged individualism? Allow them to develop self-sustaining farms? Unleash millions in investments so that work was no longer required? In all cases, the free ride that America has taken, since before COVID and continues to this day, is a bill that will soon be coming due. I am afraid that it will get worse before it gets better.

Sadly, our children suffered. They suffered way too much. Issues associated with their mental health are increasing. They lost critical educational years of school but will probably not be noticed given how bad the American educational system has become. Sadly, yet another indicator of our declining society. Yet another aspect of the simple truth that we are not leaving our country and our world, in a better place than what we inherited. I wonder, and I worry how bad things will become for my children.

Categories
life

The Return

Hello Everyone. It has been over six months since my last post. It wasn’t that I lost interest. It was due to the death of my computer. My desktop, and all of those files were rendered unretrievable because of a failure of the disc drive. All my pictures. All my tax returns. All my things in the electronic age were lost. My son and daughter lost years of games. Yes, I know better and should have had backup. Live and learn…or maybe it is fate telling me that it is necessary to start over. Let’s go with that!

Earlier this week I recovered from the problem. Partially. I bought myself an early Christmas present in that I got a new computer. I was excited when it arrived. Now I struggle because I need to figure out how to set it up with what I want. I hope that I can take the old hard drive somewhere, somehow, and recover the files, but we will save that for another time.

Much has transpired since last I commented on TheMcKeeSpot. Let’s spend a few minutes and get everyone up to speed. Can’t you see how excited Jewel is…

My last post was the latest update of the Cerro Pelado fire. It was pressing close to town, and we were in the early stages of preparation to evacuate. Well that never happened. The fire crews were able to stem the tide and the fire was soon contained and a return to normal happened. I actually traveled through the fire area near Jemez Springs a few weeks ago on the back road to Los Alamos. Many trees scarred and lands burned. A beautiful fall day in the mountains of Northern New Mexico.

Late June brought travel and the subsequent return to another sense of normalcy…travel. And so, I traveled for work. And so, I returned, then spent three weeks recovering from COVID. Yes, despite getting the original vaccine, its follow-up, and then a booster, I entered the ranks of over half of the country and got COVID. It was three days of pure hell, between the 103-degree fever and massive headache, followed by three weeks of testing positive, lethargic and brain fog. And then it was done, and I returned to normal.

During the whole time, my evening taste test of bourbon did not fail me. I could taste it every night. So, I did not lose my taste, or smell. As summer turns into fall and soon winter will be upon us, one has to wonder if the return of COVID, the flue, or something else will transcend life as I know it?

The summer months were spent between work, and the occasional visit with the kids. Daughter turned 18 in July and her brother 15 in September.

They are both in high school. Where did the time go? Daughter is looking for college possibilities and has already been accepted into a couple. And they only accepted her and not the horses. She is still riding, but not as much as in the past. Both Roman and Ruby are doing well. Son continues to play video games, gripe about schoolwork, and has limited extra curricula activities.

September also found me travelling again, both for work and a trip to Bourbon and Beyond. Now who could not enjoy four days of food, drink and music. I had a great time getting away from here.

Outside work, nothing to really to report. I am still working. Jewel and I spend quiet evenings after work, reading or whatever needs to get done, as illustrated in the photo above. Soon I will be wrapping up my 32nd year. I am ready for retirement but with the Biden economy in the toilet, my kid’s college funds have lost over half their value. As a country, we had an election which failed to result in a change since over 70%, myself included, felt that the country was heading in the wrong direction. Our country is in decline. Our world is gravitating closer to war. I am afraid for what tomorrow will bring.

Sadly, I believe that this generation will inherit a country, a world, that is not better off than the previous generation.

More to come.

Categories
the week in review

It’s seven o’clock on a Sunday Morning.

Greetings from New Mexico. It is Sunday January 16, 2022. It is cold outside. It is early in the morning. I am trying to get into the trend of getting up early on Sunday to post. Certainly no mutant messages are being heard here. But the mutants did pay a visit.

It has been a wild week since my last post. Last week focused on the continuing COVID pandemic. I wonder if it was foreshadowing for this weeks events? Well, this week it managed to hit home. Daughter was notified about contact tracing at the high school and started feeling bad last Sunday. Everyone who I know that has been flagged by contact tracing has turned out to be positive within a few days. If you are lucky enough to get a test!

By Monday, daughter tested positive. Son tested negative but stayed home awaiting for the inevitable. By Wednesday, daughter was starting to feel no worse, son tested positive. And since they were with their mother, she too was hit with the symptoms. In all cased, it was the equivalent of a bad cold, with congestion, cough and a low grade fever. Of course, not to be outdone, their aunt in Louisiana was working through her second bout of the Chinese virus.

In all cases, everyone was fully vaccinated. The adults had the booster. What is obvious is that the vaccine, nor having the earlier mutations, does not protect you from getting the virus. However, it appears that it reduces (thus far) your symptoms and complications.

Needless to say, by the middle of the week, I was taking care of the horses, making food deliveries and keeping track of my kids from a distance. Elements of work were moving to working at home. Aside from hating it, aspects of my job simply cannot be performed at home. By the end of the week, I was still in the office every day but the Los Alamos High School and the Los Alamos Middle School returned to remote learning, and both kids had already missed almost a week of in-class education.

At this juncture, I need to pause my thoughts and go feed the horses…

Roman (on the left) and Ruby (on the right) at morning feeding.

As it has been getting in the low 20’s here at night, the horses need to have blankets. Roman is still confined to a smaller paddock area months after his surgery. Daughter was riding him on the Saturday before she fell ill. Ruby, who spends her days starring at the neighboring stables and horses, and goats, and donkeys, likes it when I feed her because I always have cookies to greet her.

As you can see, there remains some snow in the background of the photos. We had some several weeks ago but it is slowly melting. We clearly need more, much more in order to recover from the drought that has hit the state, and much of the southwest over the past few years.

…What I thought was going to be a brief pause for feeding turned out to be almost 12 hours. I went and fed the horses. Then I went for my usual Sunday morning coffee at Starbucks. My friend and coworker managed to return from Florida late last week. Almost a week later than he normally planned, but air travel experienced a number of flight cancellations over Christmas, New Years, and into early January. After coffee, I managed to run a few errands and returned to the stables to move some hay.

It turned out to be a beautiful day with temperatures in the middle 40’s. Moved hay and took Ruby for a walk. Her, and my first real exercise outside in months. Fed the horses dinner and then tended to myself.

Ruby was all excited when I grabbed her halter to take her for a walk.

So we managed to walk the outer loop at the stables, which is over a mile. She was thirsty when we returned, as she started to eat the snow. I have never seen a horse eat snow.

Ruby eating snow after our walk.

We also managed to see Roman, who was outside on such a great day. We caught him lying down, sunning himself and taking a nap. As I said, he is still taking it easy after his surgery. And with his rider out with COVID, not much for him to do. He finally got up and we were able to snap a good picture of him.

Up close with Roman.

So the end of the week was very different than normal. I spent it outside with the horses, doing a bit more than just feeding them. While I do not ride, maybe someday I could learn. At least I had fun spending time with them. Here is to the kids getting better, me keeping from getting sick, and to the horses. Until next time. Much to be done.

Categories
the week in review

…and its the last Monday of 2021.

Happy Holidays everyone. I trust you all had a warm and Merry Christmas. And now your thoughts turn ahead to the new year. I certainly hope for COVID to be gone in the new year. I found myself up at my usual time today and practiced my same routine: shower, get dressed, make coffee, and take the dog for a walk.

Outside it is cold and windy. There is some snow on the mountains above Los Alamos and Santa Fe. And there is snow in the forecast for today. As I sit writing this post, I noticed that the sun is shining outside.

For me it was a very uneventful Christmas. I believe that this was the first time that I had the kids stay over on Christmas eve. It has been a short 9 years (give or take) since the divorce. My first Christmas in awhile that I did not awake alone in this quiet house.

And so we awoke Christmas day to open presents and then feed the horses. As I have in past years, son and I put the tree up about 14 days before Christmas. For the past 5 years we have always put the tree in the same place. Unfortunately, this causes us to displace the dogs bed, which causes confusion with Jewel. She thinks that she is somehow in trouble and it clearly upsets her visibly.

The tree…and the stockings. Christmas 2021.

I certainly go for the minimalist look at Christmas time in terms of lights and decorations. Especially outside where this year I think that it was bells, a wreath, some canes with lights and an inflatable Grinch (my personal favorite). Of course, nothing brings yuletide greetings better than a visit to the local Starbucks for some coffee…

A lazy Sunday before Christmas.

Christmas is always another time for me to practice Chemistry. This year was Herb-Garlic crusted prime rib, a roasted Honey-root vegetable medley, baked potatoes, fruit cocktail and ice cream. The kids enjoyed the food, as did I, in terms of the preparing as well as the consuming.

Prime Rib on Christmas Eve 2021.

On Christmas day, we awoke to a cold and windy day, with some kids sleeping in until 7 am. Presents were opened, and I find it interesting to note that the kids actually had a theme for this year in terms of the gifts that they got me…

They try to get me to tell them which one is my favorite!

Hopefully it will be a quiet week. Had thought long and hard about going somewhere but looking at the inability to get travel arrangements on airplanes and the spike in COVID made that an easy decision.

Thinking that maybe I’ll spend the week cleaning up around the house, and do some reading. Not feeling too inspired or wanting to get out.

Looked at the postings over the year. Yes my son has changed clothes and although he is wearing the same shirt at Christmas Ever dinner as he did at Thanksgiving dinner, I can say he was delighted that school was out for a couple of weeks. Daughter is finally able to ride Roman and they both are starting a conditioning regime. So that has her smiling of late.

As for me…another year is winding down. I am still reading Atlas Shrugged, but I might work on that this week. I survived another year at work, but I am pretty sure that this will be my last. Managed to purchase some additional Made in the USA blue jeans, and now I am looking to get some shoes and dress shirts.

Oh how I wish that I posted more this year. Alas, I did not. Clear that as I ponder the postings, I see that my life revolves around work, horses, kids and the dog. I certainly think about a great many thing, but few of those thoughts actually get posted here. Most of my political rants get posted on Facebook, often after reading about things on a variety of web sites.

It’s Monday and so I’ll spend some time looking for investment ideas for the new year. Themes to put my savings so that they may grow at a rate greater than the inflation that the year had brought upon us. It is now over $50 to fill the gas tank, which is up 20% since this time last year.

Until next time…

Categories
ramblings of a madman

There are less than 20 shopping days left until Christmas…

It has been a couple of weeks since my last post. It was about Thanksgiving, written a few days after Thanksgiving. On a positive not, I have either eaten, frozen, or otherwise discarded the Thanksgiving leftovers. After awhile, even turkey no longer enjoyable be enjoyable day-in and day-out.

And I just remembered that there are only 19 shopping days until Christmas. Only 19! Where has the year gone? I have completed my Christmas shopping, yet my son still comes up with new things that he “absolutely must have”. I am to the point where I simply say that “I’ll text Santa and maybe the reindeer can work through all of the supply chain issues.”

The Los Alamos Rock and Gem show was this past weekend. Son and I try go every year. That is where he typically gets his Christmas gift for his mom and his sister, mission accomplished. That said, neither one has given me the list of ideas for their mother. It is going to be a very strange Christmas.

And this is on top of a very strange year where we still have not returned to normal, COVID is still an issue, and people are just getting tired of it all. I see it with my friends. I see it with my coworkers. I see it when I am out and about. It has been a significant strain on my kids and school.

Another family tradition is that I find time to work on the annual family calendar. Well, I can say that it is done, ordered, and already here to be wrapped and sent out as Christmas gifts for the immediate family. It turned out rather well. The best thing about it is that some of my blog photos also made it into the calendar. And that happened without even trying. Also splurged and got some other special photo reminders for the kids. Now we actually have things for the stockings.

Just a few final things…when will we put up the Christmas Tree? Will it snow this year? What will I get Jewel? Do I have to get special treats for the horses?

Wait a minute Ruby, I need to get this text message to Santa about what I want for Christmas.

An anniversary of sorts is coming up soon. Later this month, and before Christmas, I will have eclipsed 31 years working at Los Alamos. Last year, I thought 30 was going to be my last. Somehow, I toughed out another year. But I can certainly feel that the time and work is draining my soul, my desire, my engagement. The enjoyment is no longer there.

Work sucks. Management sucks. Life sucks. It is clearly time for a change!

Of late, I have found that I am spending too much time at work and think that I have come to the end of the line. Many individuals talk about the split between work and home. I dream about it but very seldom do I get to experience it. I find it very disheartening that, after 30 year, I am still putting in long hours.

Don’t get me wrong, but I will certainly do what it is necessary to complete a task that I am assigned to, or agreed to have complete by such-and-such-date. But when I am to rush to complete task 23 when the individuals ahead of me failed to complete their tasks when promised, expected, or communicated…I am reminded of that old statement where

Lack Of Planning Quotes
https://quotesgram.com/img/lack-of-planning-quotes/2797083/

For too long, it seems that my energy and dedication has gotten me over these rough patches. But now work has gotten the best of me. I crave for a home life separate from the work life. And now, in the twilight of my remaining work time, I want it even more. NO I demand it. I am at a time in my life where I have experienced too much work. There simply is not enough people to do everything that is asked, required, or demanded. And so the piling on has to end. Program people will have to understand that unless they get more resources, it will just take longer to get tasks completed. And if it will take longer, it will cost more.

On that note, I will end it here. Until next time…and if I am not able to post before Christmas (or New Years), let me wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.

Categories
Family

Thanksgiving

Yes, I am writing this posting a few days after Thanksgiving. It has been a quiet but busy morning for me. It has been a month since my last post. I have, unfortunately, been too busy with work. COVID continues to make the new normal less normal. The world has become a very strange place. I am afraid that the planet that I leave for my children will be far worse than the planet that my parents left for me.

Thanksgiving was typical for me. It represents an annual treat where I get to practice chemistry in the modern sense. I get to cook. I get to enjoy wine. Wine for me; soda and water for the kids. But they like it that they get to drink out of wine glasses. I get to sit around the dinner table with my family. And for the most part, they put down their phones and iPad’s for eating and conversation (although they sneak a glance now and then). So true for this year as in previous years. It has become my annual tradition since the divorce.

Thanksgiving 2021

The kids basically came over for dinner and desert, and like that, they left. I find it troublesome that I do not get to see them as much but after all, they have their own life.

Now that daughter can drive, she comes and goes as she pleases. On this day, she arrived after son, coming from the stables after feeding Ruby and Roman.

Friday was spent doing some reading, cleaning up around the house. Watching some movies. And of course, eating leftovers.

Saturday was football. Ohio State lost. Penn State lost. All of the teams that I was routing for…lost.

Kinda spent Friday and Saturday as a couch potato. Maybe more like the “I want to be alone because the outside is such an evil place”. Didn’t even go for my morning walks the whole time I was off from work. And it shows that I have eaten more than usual as I have managed to put about 5 pounds on. Need to work harder on the whole diet routine because I have plateaued and cannot get to my next target. Jewel is bothered as she didn’t get her morning walks. She was usually sitting on the sofa next to me, but this morning I think she went back to bed. But tomorrow the routine of the work week will resume, and she will get her time.

Outside it is cold, as the mornings I find myself awakening to temperatures in the 30’s. The cold part of fall has arrived in northern New Mexico, as has some snow, especially in the upper elevations.

Spent this morning without coffee. That is something I will have to rectify shortly. But I managed to make the annual family calendar. It is a photo montage of the year in the life of me and the kids, and the dog and the horses. I usually get a couple extra so that I can send out as Christmas presents to the immediate family. For me, most of my Christmas shopping is done. Started early because of the whole supply chain delays.

Several weeks before Christmas, and just like that, it will be another year at work has past. I need to figure out that whole retirement thing and get on with it.

School will soon be over for the kids. It is still not normal either. Everybody wears masks. Everybody is vaccinated, and I have had my booster. And yet it is still there. The e-mail about the COVID case at school. The need for testing as you have the symptoms of the common cold. Influenza is making the rounds this year.

Categories
ramblings of a madman

Happy Halloween and other Eerie Events

As I was devouring my Sunday breakfast, I was time to search the internet and read up on some interesting articles of the day. All of this as I was preparing to write another post to TheMcKeeSpot blog. I was planning to write about the happenings since my last post, reflect upon October coming to an end and it’s now November. Christmas is right around the corner and I will have eclipsed another year at the Lab.

Then, among the articles in my news feed, I cam across a very interesting article. Entitled “The Five Universal Laws of Human Stupidity. We underestimate the stupid, and we do so at our own peril”. Written by Corinne Purtill, the article that I read can be found at

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-five-universal-laws-of-human-stupidity?utm_source=pocket-newtab

Upon reading the article, I had to search the underlying premise behind an article on human stupidity. BTW, I thoroughly enjoyed the article.

The premise was created in 1976 by an economics professor at the University of California, Berkley. Personally, the work of Carlo M. Cipolla may be the best work that I have read published from UC Berkley (in my opinion), a school known for it’s socialist agenda (in my opinion).

Another article on the work of Cipolla can be found at another magazine, The Guardian, known for writing some interesting articles.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/apr/09/improbable-research-human-stupidity

The best takeaway from the articles, because Cipolla was an economist is that

Countries moving uphill have an inevitable percentage of stupid people, yes. But they enjoy “an unusually high fraction of intelligent people” who collectively overcompensate for the dumbos.

Declining nations have, instead, an “alarming proliferation” of non-stupid people whose behaviour “inevitably strengthens the destructive power” of their persistently stupid fellow citizens. There are two distinct, unhelpful groups: “bandits” who take positions of power which they use for their own gain; and people out of power who sigh through life as if they are helpless.

Marc Abrahams is editor of the bimonthly Annals of Improbable Research, as quoted from https://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/apr/09/improbable-research-human-stupidity.

Those two paragraphs struck me as very interesting, as it provides a simple explanation of why America is in decline. Our educational system is in decline and we are left producing more and more stupid people, at the expense of less and less smarter people. The end result is the decline and death of a nation. All because of an “alarming proliferation” of stupid people. Read about them all of the time, see many of them at work. They even have annual awards for some of their exploits (aka, The Darwin Awards).

I guess I only point this out because next week is election day. An off year for elections in our area, it’s the election for the local school board, school bonds, and other such stuff that has become part of the democratic process. School boards and elections have become big things of late, based on the news and the Virginia governor’s election. It is time to get our country moving in the right direction, before it is too late.

Interesting reading. I even found that Cipolla wrote a book, available for purchase on this and other topics, as identified here:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/210480.Carlo_M_Cipolla

I hope that I cited the necessary works of others in this blog post. As I find helping my children with homework assignments, I often turn to the internet for help, as do they. I constantly remind them of the importance in citing other people whose words and ideas that you use, even in reports. I have come to find out that my children’s teachers run the reports, essays and other written words through various programs, specifically looking for plagiarism.

But I digress…

Tonight is Halloween. It was cancelled last year because of COVID, but this year, it appears that the kids will be able to go trick-or-treating in the neighborhoods. So I have my supply of candy just in case. Didn’t really do much in preparation, like decorations around the house, I didn’t purchase a Joe Biden mask, and not sure if the kids are going trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. Neither one certainly spent any time getting a costume. We didn’t carve any pumpkins. As time marches forward, the things we did in the past, simply fade away and become memories, provided we have caught them on or IPhone.

Son and daughter, October 2016.
Son and daughter, October 2018.

Yesterday was full of many college football games, which caused me to be a couch potato and scream at my TV for most of the day. Michigan State beat Michigan, and Ohio State beat Penn State. Sets up some interesting games as we move through November when Michigan State plays Ohio State, Michigan plays Penn State and the granddaddy of them all, Michigan plays Ohio State. Clearly there will be much excitement over the next few weeks as we approach Veteran’s Day and Thanksgiving.

Another tradition of sorts is happening, starting this weekend. McDonald’s is bringing back the McRib sandwich. I will always choose the McRib, over the Big Mac. It is so newsworthy that it actually made the business pages…

McDonald’s announced the sandwich’s return back in September. | Fox Business

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/mcrib-returns-next-monday

Check out what's clicking on FoxBusiness.com.
The tasty McRib, as depicted in foxbusiness.com

Not to be outdone, our local McDonald’s has already started selling the most delicious fast food item…here are my pictures from my order…

Why is it that what you order never, ever looks like the advertisement? Needless to say, my McRib tasted very good, which made me wonder if the advertised sandwich depicted above looks better than what I purchased and pictured, how is the taste? Better? As I contemplate these possibilities, I also envision that I might even venture out to find the Arby’s version, as they have advertised their latest creation, which doesn’t involve processed pork. I am a foodie at heart.

Categories
ramblings of a madman

Saturday morning. Autumn is here and the other rants of your host.

Happy Saturday! I cannot believe that October is almost over. Autumn is in the air because of the chill. We have had snow already. Many days it is in the mid 60’s, with the temperature getting below 40 at night. Horses need the overnight blanket, leaves are turning colors and Halloween is almost here. Soon it will be Thanksgiving and then Christmas. Another year in the Land of Enchantment will have passed me by. Thirty one, but who is counting.

Have already been out this morning to get the typical Saturday breakfast when I have the kids. Chili Works burritos. One Jolly for me, and two Hawks (no egg) for the kids. A jolly is sausage, egg, cheese, potatoes and green chili. A hawk is ham, potatoes and cheese. All of this is placed inside a tortilla. Just delicious. My trusted companion, Jewel, came along for the car ride.

I had been thinking about entitling this post as the “ranting of a madman”, but thought the wiser. Sometime, every post that I write could be considered the rantings of a madman. As things stand, I have been very busy with work. Yes I am still at it although the thoughts of the next chapter resonate as each day passes. On some days, the call is louder and clearer than others. Soon, I tell myself, but even my closest a friends and coworkers are doubting me. The kids have completed almost a semester of school, and have done reasonably well in terms of grades. Mainly A’s, a couple of B’s and each has a C. For daughter it is economics, ceramics for son. My best friend from high school, who studied economics and now works for the Federal Reserve might have to come to her aid. As for son, not really sure how you can get a C in art class, but I might have to get my cousin’s wife out here since she is a now retired art teacher back in Pennsylvania.

With respect to work, I have spent the past two weeks in meetings with external visitors. By the middle of this week, I had already put in close to 60 hours; 60 hours and it’s Thursday. It never ends and this has been the norm for far too long. The start of the fiscal year should be a quiet time, even though the budget is dictated by continuing resolution. Planning and schedules completed. Work packages signed. NOT AT ALL. Not even a month and working on a BCP to adjust scope, schedule and budget to reflect changes. I cannot get my shit together. Congress cannot get it’s shit together.

America cannot get it’s shit together. Mark my words. By Christmas, we will have experienced 8 years of OBama, 1 year of Biden, and they will have added 50% of the total federal deficit that it took almost 250 years to become $30 trillion dollars. OBama dropped the load and now Biden is preparing to flush! OBummer and OBiden, as I like to call them, continue to take the country in the wrong direction. Part of me keeps working, paying bills, saving money and not spending because the recession caused by the pandemic in terms of the government spending like drunken sailors will soon be upon us. A nation which makes less and less, cannot continue to spend and borrow like it has. At some point, the IOU’s will come due, and it will not end well. Wow, what I would gladly give now for a mean tweet and some Fox News…

As I write this, son is in the background trying to tell me ideas for Christmas. Daughter is off feeding Ruby and checking on Roman. Could be a very lean Christmas since COVID continues to warp the currenworld economic order. The supply chain is boats in polluted waters off the coast of socialist Commiefornia. The misery index is heading up, largely being moved by inflation. What would you expect with all the money being printed, nothing being manufactured here. Homelessness, urban decay and greed abound. The unemployment increases are not far behind. The dumbing down of America continues. Perhaps if America stopped importing crap and exporting jobs, we would be better off. Ahead I see hard choices, hard times, and significant challenges. America first was about fixing our problems and a stop at pretending that we can rule the world.

Daughter has returned. How are Roman and Ruby, I ask? As my daughter is often short in words, “they are good” is the reply. She grabs her burrito and runs off to her room, to watch YouTube and perhaps work on her homework. Son finishes his burrito and still wants more. So I get him his morning meds while he has an orange and some captain crunch with crunchberries. The pandemic has not been good for any of us in terms of diet. We get the occasional email from school letting us know of a positive test. LANL has terminated those who did not get vaccinated; and those who were granted religious or medical waivers are on leave without pay until sanity returns.

And on top of all of this, Joe and the Libtards want to singlehandedly fix global warming. As if they will get serious and actually work on the problem. Somehow I doubt that they will. Whether climate change is real or not, it cannot happen overnight. The mantra of hard choices, hard times, and significant challenges also hang true here. As for me, I’d like to see us plant many more trees, improve the wetlands, and nuclear power all they way. It is the only true solution to stop fueling our economies by hydrocarbons and other carbon-based materials.

And stop with the BS about migration because of climate change.

But damn, I still want my bacon, my car, and my steak. I also demand my guns and my freedoms as they are guaranteed under the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. So on that note, son tells me that I need to go to the store and get more milk. Happy trails, happy ranting, and God bless everyone.

Categories
the week in review

Today is August 1, 2021

Wow, it has been almost two months since my last posting. I’ll chock it up to laziness and not because of a lack of ideas. Another Sunday is before us. Time to rest, recover, and get ready for the next week. In the idea department, I have been working on three themes of late. So I have had to do research on the topics before putting them down. More on that later. As a trained scientist who still follows science, the complete lack of research on any topic makes it just an uneducated opinion. And of late, everything, from the daily news to whatever is just opinion.

In some ways, this blog is based on my opinion about things, from the subjects that I write about to the words that I use to convey the topic. Opinion is OK, so long as we agree to disagree. When it deteriorates from a difference of opinion to verbal harassment to physical abuse, then we have a situation that is not good.

And that my friends is where we find out country. We have a great many differences of opinion, but lack the leadership and the courage to compromise and move forward together. Certainly, as a society, we lack the art, the passion, or the will to compromise. Of late it has been one way or the other.

But this is not the subject that I care to write about today. Instead, what have I been up to since last I posted back in early June? Well the answer is, not much. I find myself still working, and working long hours, On the work front, I have come to a fork in the road. Simply, I no longer get the enjoyment from what I do, of that which I have done in various capacities over these 30 years. I long for the next journey in my life. It is one that I hope will keep my young and active for another 30 years.

I have been giving that a great deal of thought of late, thinking that it is time to embark on a new adventure. Plans I have a plenty. Execution has been limited.

Looks like it will be another mild and sunny day here in Los Alamos. Rain is again in the forecast, with the summer monsoons underway, bringing much needed moisture for the area. As for me, I slept in till 5 am, got up, made coffee, read some news and then went to feed the horses.

Ruby and Jasper were out standing in the mist that transformed into rain while I was mucking and feeding them. It was a very comfortable 58 F outside. Of course, the rain will certainly help my tomato plants that I have growing on the back deck.

My plants certainly are not growing tomatoes like the pictures that came with the plants. Thought about a garden in the back third of the stable lot but never started the necessary work to make that happen. So we will see how this summer goes in terms of whether I have a green thumb. Next year I can build some boxes for growing vegetables. Thinking that this may be one way to spend my time after I retire: taking care of the horses and growing some veggies.

The aquarium at the house with the final two fish, both whom are 5 years old.

Since it is just son and I this weekend, Saturday took us to Santa Fe, where we went to restock the aquarium. The pandemic certainly limited the options available from the pet store, but we managed to get six additional fish. So far, after 24 hours, they are all doing well. I hope that the two old-timers in the aquarium make the new fish feel right at home.

Daughter piled up some rocks during a family outing the other week to Durango, along the Animas River.

Took a family outing a few weeks back to Durango. One day was spent tubing the Animas River. Water was low and of a temperature that was just right. Fun was had by all. It is always good to get the kids out and show them things that I did from time to time growing up. Daughter was playing in the water and built this pile of rocks. Of course the pile of rocks reminded me of the RUSH Test for Echo album cover.

Cold IPA after one evening. Sitting on the hotel patio watching the Animas River go by. Very relaxing.

So school will resume shortly for the kids, in about two weeks. Both are vaccinated, but this new wave of the virus is certainly a cause for concern. We will probably wear masks, knowing that the county has a vaccination rate of over 85%, but it appears that the vaccine has its limits. Wore my mask at the grocery store this morning out of an abundance of caution. I typically take one with my to work, as it looks like the mask requirements will resume shortly. Of course, government could change things again and resume the lock down and bar gatherings and such. I am like most people and the idea of returning to work from home, staying inside, and the like will not be viewed favorably this time around. I have some travel coming up soon, and that will certainly be a topic for a later post.

And so, with this free-lowing update spanning several weeks since my last post, comes to an end with pictures of daughter performing yoga on a rock in the Animas, to your humble author and son in a hotel room in Durango, I bid you all good bye until next time. I will endeavor to do better and post more often. Have a great day, take a deep breath and enjoy.