It's the end....

This is the last post on this blog.
I've wrestled with and procrastinated on this question for a very long while.  But the time has come to suit action to thought.
During the primary dust-up, I became aware of Google's shady associations, and I'm not happy about it.  But the thought of moving the blog is daunting.  So, there ensued a protracted wrestling match.  The voices of my better angels have prevailed.
I'm packing up and moving over to Wordpress.  I've got a site set up and I'm going to start an introductory post over there now.
No telling when I'll get it done and posted, but I'm working on it.
If yer at all interested, you can check out the new site:

Wild Rambles

The great pickle experiment....

I love sour pickles.
You know the ones in the big jars at the Deli?  The ones that make your mouth pucker when you bite into them.  I can remember crunching down on sour pickles at the Bel-Air drive-in theater while watching things like 'Salt and Pepper', 'Cold Turkey', and 'The Ghost and Mr. Chicken'.
I like my pickles REALLY sour.
Come to find out, the ones I like are full sours and they are fermented.
And, strictly speaking, do not have vinegar in them.
Well, I like a good vinegar pickle.  Sour, with vinegar, that's what I'm after.
We had a lot of cucumbers to use.

 So, Tuesday I took a run at sour dill pickles.
This is an experimental batch.  So I'm not doing the full-on canning thing.
and this batch isn't going to be the best.
It's been a kinda rough year for the cucumbers.  But they are a hardy lot and have produced well.  We've been playing hide and seek with the cucumber vines and a few of them were out there longer than they should have been.

I ended up peeling a couple of the cukes, cuz the skins were too tough and blemished.
Add to that a lack of appropriate spices and this batch has some problems off the top.

But, I've never done this before and it needed to be done quickly.  We're gonna have to make a trip to Olde Town Spice to get the good spices.

For now, I'm working with what I have.  Which is a jar of pickling spice, which I'm not thrilled with.  I don't like allspice that much, and the commercial mix is loaded with allspice.   But, I gave it a try, it was all I could get at the store that day.  I had ground mustard and coriander, so I went ahead and used it. 

So, with those considerations, this won't be the best batch.  But, I processed the cucumbers before they went bad, and I'll have an idea of what I really want when we get organized for a trip out to St, Charles.

I'm already thinking about what I want in MY pickling spice.





So, Tuesday night I washed, peeled, and cut 4 large pickles.

I decided to try spears and thick slices.  Just for the sake of the experiment.
4 large cucumbers packed 3 quart jars.

I used:

3 cups white vinegar
3 cups water
1/3 cup sea salt

for the brine, and it was salty and vinegary enough for me.

While that was boiling I added spices to the jars.

The jar of spears got a clove of garlic and 1 Tablespoon of dill seed.

The jar of slices got a clove of garlic, 1 Tablespoon of dill seed, and 1 teaspoon of pickling spice.  Who knows, I might be wrong about the allspice.  It's worth a try.

The jar that's mostly slices, that got the last 2 spears chunked up, cuz I couldn't fit them in the spear jar, got 1 clove of garlic, 1 Tablespoon of dill seed, 1 teaspoon of celery seed, 1 teaspoon of ground mustard, 1 teaspoon of ground coriander.

And the list for the spice shop got a whole lot of things added to it.

I poured boiling brine into the jars, weighted them down with cups of water, threw a towel over them, and left the sitting on the counter.

As I write, the jars are still on the kitchen counter, souring.  I tried one yesterday and decided to let it go another day.

We'll have to wait and see what happens....

I can cook...

It's a good thing, and I ought to 'own' it.
So...
I can cook fairly well...

I make a pretty good spaghetti sauce.  The past few years, I've had enough homegrown tomatoes to make at least one batch from scratch.  We're bagging up tomatoes for the next batch now.  I've already got homegrown oregano dried and waiting.  I'm hoping to have some good peppers for it this year.

I'm getting close to a really good meatloaf.  I've got the mix down for taste.  I'm still working on the balance of consistency and cooking time, so it's not squishy.  I don't like squishy meatloaf.

I have achieved the lifelong ambition of a decent batch of chili, check it out:
HappyDale Homestead's Taco Chili

I've cobbled together a pretty good Sloppy Joe recipe.

I can bake a decent loaf of bread.
I've adapted that basic recipe several different ways.  The latest metamorphosis is a Garlic-Pepper-Parmesan roll that goes with the Sloppy Joes really well.  The Asiago cheese version was a big hit.

I can make good cookies of all kinds.

I have made a fairly flaky pie crust.  I can bake Brownies, corn bread, pies, and cakes from scratch.  I've fried, boiled, and baked eggs and potatoes.  I've made crepes, pancakes, turnovers, popovers, donuts, and candy from scratch.  I've made many Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.  I've even made some diabetic treats.  I like to deep fry things.

Thanks to my Deary Departed, I have a killer recipe for Egg Nog:
And I can make Wassail.

I have baked scratch made biscuits on a campfire.  Yes, they were cooked all the way through and turned out light and fluffy.  Only a couple were scorched on the bottom.

This last weekend I grilled a satisfying, medium-well strip steak, with a grilled baked potato, and a plethora of grilled veggies.

And, I am a good Frankenstein cook.
Steve, my Deary Departed, and I perfected Frankenstein cooking back in the day.
Frankenstein cooking is the practice of walking into a kitchen, surveying what is there, (Frankenstein cooking allows for a limited supply run.  As long as it's not a grocery run made solely for the meal, and the additions are minimal.  If you know, you have veggies and meat at home, and you pick up 1 or 2 things to add, it still qualifies as a Frankenstein meal.  Remember, the good doctor had to go out for parts...) and crafting a meal out of it.  This is a vital skill when money is tight.  If yer eating Ramen Noodles for a week, it's good to be able to change it up a bit.  I've made things with Spam and macaroni that weren't half bad.
Last night, I made soup.  The last of the steak was gone, and I still had a whole lot of roasted veggies left.  I had to go get a printer cartridge yesterday, so I got a roll of hot sausage, some vegetable broth, and a box of noodles.
I didn't want a whole lot of meat in the soup, just enough for flavor, so I only used a quarter of the roll of sausage.  The rest is frozen, awaiting a future use.
I grilled the veggies with a garlic pepper, butter, Extra Virgin Olive Oil mix.  But, unfortunately, I didn't think to grill any garlic.  So I chopped up a few cloves and threw it in with the sausage while it was browning.  I also threw some chopped onion in with it.  I did grill an onion last weekend, but only one, it was particularly tasty, so there wasn't much of it left.  There was a yellow bell in the fridge that needed to be used, so I chopped that up and threw it in, too.
While the meat was browning and the vegetables were sweating, I cut up the leftover grilled veggies.  There was most of a Zucchini left, which was what inspired the soup idea.  There were a few asparagus, half a red bell pepper, and a little of the onion left.  I grilled mushrooms too, but I ate all those.
I dumped all that in a pot, added the vegetable broth, water, and some chicken base.  I dumped in the sausage and the fresh veggies and put it on the stove on high.  While it was heating up, I threw in some oregano, a little thyme, and a pinch of ground coriander.  When it boiled, I threw in some tri-colored noodles.  Only about a quarter of the box, they were just there to add some body.
I let it all simmer till the noodles were done.  Made a nice big batch of soup.
And, now I have some sausage and noodles for some other meal.
No telling where they'll end up.

Watching the speech....

All right, this is a truly non-sequitur, spur of the moment.
But I just started watching Sanders' speech from last night, And I gotta ask:

How the hell is Hillary Clinton the nominee?

I just don't get it.
How is rolling over, licking the boots of the PTB, and validating their chosen one, going to change anything?
Seriously?
How are 4-8 more years of war, capitalist excess, and Wall Street pandering going to make things better for everyone?
I'm about 10mins in and he's talking about leaving a better world for the grand children.
And I'm seriously afraid, that boat might have already sailed.
PERMAFROST IS MELTING IN THE ARCTIC!!
Yes, it is another non-sequitur.  But it is a vitally important bit of information.  To the entire world.  We don't have 8 more years to dick around with 'clean coal'.  If we can't chill the poles back down, we're dead.  The planet will burn us out, and start again.
And, jeeze, just had a serious sense of Deja Vu....
How's that for non-liner progression?

OK, I'm at the 15min mark.
He's restated the goals of his campaign.  Which are what motivated all of us Bernie of Busters, or what ever you want to call us ardent supporters.
He's talking about the kind of leader we need, while demonstrating that he, not Clinton, is that leader.
I'm wondering how he doesn't see that.
I'm wondering how more people don't see that.
I'm wondering how he justifies telling us to vote for the corporate chosen one.  How do you spark a revolution and then rationalize capitulating to the status quo?
Clinton may 'understand' that a person working 40 hours a week should not be living in poverty.
But, she's not gonna do jack shit to change that.  She's going to push through the TTP.  She's going to keep the wars going.  She's going to let the oil and gas industry and Wall Street continue business as usual.
How does that help me or anyone around me?

Let's end the movement towards Oligarchy seen in this country?
By voting for the Oligarchy?!

And of course, we've gotta drag out the Trump Club....

I'm just about at the end.  He's laid out a lot of things that Hillary Clinton 'understands'.  Does he honestly believe she'll act on that understanding, and bite the hand that's rigging the election for her?  She just declared that single payer won't work.  She's gonna push the TTP.  We all know she wants to go to war with Russia.  She'll say anything to get elected.  Doesn't mean that's what she believes.

And we can pretty much blame the poor excuse for true health care reform that Obama care is, on Clinton.  A good chunk is lifted directly from the plan she put together all those years ago.
Don't get me wrong, I don't want to see that pitiful plan just blown away.
I'm a single payer advocate.  As I mentioned above, she's recently declared single payer a non-starter.
So, I know with her in the White House, that ain't happening.

I just don't get where Bernie's at right now.
Maybe he's more trusting than I am.
I don't believe that Clinton is on board with many of these issues.
The only candidate that would fight for all of these issues is Bernie Sanders.  With Clinton, all this promised progressiveness is gonna vanish like a puff of smoke the day after the election.

Sorry Bernie.
STILL AIN'T VOTING FOR THE WAR-MONGERING CORPORATE WHORE.

Tonight's time waster....

A spur of the moment thing. 

Last Night's Waste of Time...

 

 Yes, Red Rider is openly trans-species....

Also of note...

Sanders is the second energetic liberal in recent years to go into the White House and come out subdued.
Something drastic changed for Obama when he assumed office after the first election.  He seemed to age overnight.  He was less energetic, seemed burdened.  I've always wondered what happened behind closed doors.  His presidency is not what I expected form his campaign.  His tenure in office has been very disappointing on many fronts.
And I frequently get the impression that he's not happy with it either.
Bernie's trip to the White House on Thursday is causing the same suspicion.  What the Hell happened to knock the fight out of him?

And I am jumping the gun...

Cuz, I'm gonna kinda wedge 2 recent posts together and try to make a coherent statement.
As coherent as I ever get....

June 8, 2016

Senate Colleagues Mount Pressure On Bernie Sanders To 'Stand Down Now'

It might be a miscalculation for the Democratic party. But, not for the American people. The average Democrat may be OK with the corruption and fraud brought to light this primary season, but there are a lot of us voters who are incredibly pissed at what we've seen from the Democratic party the past few months.
The political elite need to brace themselves.
We all need to brace ourselves.
This election is going to be a BUMPY ride.
We're not all as stupid and blind as you think we are, and this election is a joke.
On one side, we have a bigoted, blowhard, who whines like a three-year-old when somebody criticizes him. This year it is easy to see the circus in town, cuz Trump is the lead clown. He may be giving the rabid Tea Partiers wet dreams, but the rest of us are already having a morning after reaction. He came out strong, and even a couple of my friends, who I thought were reasonably intelligent people, were looking at him as a viable candidate. But, his whole campaign is like a one night stand. There's that ineradicable rush of attraction, and then he started talking.
And the friends that I thought were reasonably intelligent, slapped themselves on the forehead with 'what was I thinking', gathered up their self-respect and got out of the Trump camp very quickly.
Sure, Trump is still popular with the lunatic fringe, and he does have a few good points. But, the rest of us are looking for something better.
On the other side we have a pseudo-liberal, corporate war-monger, trailing so many allegations of impropriety and criminal behavior, who, in saner times, would find it difficult to get elected president of a Bridge club, much less the highest office in the land.
Think about it, would you want someone with repeated accusations of misappropriation of funds, negligence, and ineptitude to head up your neighborhood association?
How either of these two is still in the race with their respective criminal cases hanging over their heads, is beyond me. The simple fact that they are both under investigation should be enough to invalidate their candidacy at this time.
So, we are presented, again, with the lesser of two evils scenario.
Thank you, o'mighty corporate overlords.
Cuz, I'm hard pressed to see the lesser evil here.
The simple fact that these United States are seriously about to elect a suspected criminal to the office of President is sickening.
And, as of this moment, it's going to happen no mater which of the two major parties wins.
How much more do people really need to see this is WRONG?
At this moment Bernie Sanders is the only real major candidate in the race.

 June 10, 2016

Elizabeth Warren Just Endorsed Hillary Clinton

What makes the Democrats different from the Republicans?
Absolutely nothing.
The only difference between the Democrats and the Republicans is appearance and perception.
Having Bernie in the primary gave the Dems the appearance of championing the middle class and poor. They have the decades old perception of being more liberal and compassionate and honorable than the Republicans.
And it's all still smoke and mirrors.
I'm beginning to see that the real mistake the DNC made was underestimating Bernie.
His campaign was a joke to start. They thought they were safe. There was no one that could seriously challenge Hillary. Letting Bernie wage his battle gave them good PR. It gave Hillary the chance to appear reasonable and responsive to the liberal cause. They could let it look like Bernie pulled her to the left just enough to lull and appease the voices of change. Just enough to fool the youngsters into thinking she really was cool. Just enough to hand out a big 'ol case of rose colored glasses. Make us believe that she really would do something for the average joe.
And then the problem started. Bernie and his message are way more popular than they thought.
And then the crap started rolling downhill.
And the fraud and corruption started showing.
I've learned 2 things from this primary season:
1. Our election process is totally F-U. We seriously need to demand a change to the way our elections are run. ONE PERSON, ONE VOTE! That is a true Democracy. Until we have that we are slaves.
2. The Democrats are truly no better than the Republicans. They are the corporate elite. They feed at the trough of the almighty dollar. A vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote for Oligarchy.

It saddens me to see Elizabeth Warren marching to the party line....

It's now June 11, 2016, and I'm feeling like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.
I'm about to be bitterly disappointed.
Cuz, it's looking like Bernie is accepting the roll of shiny distraction and lure.  He's promising to work with criminal Clinton and the corrupt DNC.  He's closing down his campaign.  It looks like he's packing up and going home.  The life long Independent is toeing the party line.  Talking about getting the kids excited about Clinton.
This is not what I expected.  This is not what I want.
I'm in a position of questioning my judgement of the man, and having my worst suspicions validated.  I'm not a happy camper at the moment.
WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?!
I'm really, really angry right now.
And I know I'm not alone.
Where's the outrage over the lies and manipulation?  Where's the demands that the provisional ballots in California be validated and counted?
Who cares weather or not they change the outcome of the election?  Those are votes people took the time to cast, they deserve to be counted.  We're staring at one of the grossest violations of voting rights to ever come along and saying absolutely nothing about it...
Sanders has gone silent, and I don't like that.  It could be an indication that the party has offered him one of the high profile gigs in the new administration, and he has accepted.
And I'm not sure how I feel about that.  As VP he's next in line for the office, so, IF they finally do the right thing and throw Clinton's ass in jail for treason, he'll step up and take control.
But things like that IF are a pipe dream in this our modern Oligarchy.
While I can see, and appreciate, the strategy of the worm in the apple, it isn't enough.
Why settle for the glacier slow change from the inside, when you have the avalanche that brings the whole system down?
Surly the Sanders' team has taken a long hard look at the numbers.  Despite what they tell you on TV this country is really centrists.  We'll agree to compromise on a lot of things.  Sanders speaks to the middle ground.  With both major parties imploding and picking the worst candidates they can find, there are a lot of us who have been dispossessed on both sides of the ideology.  The time is ripe for an Independent to take the lead.
And Sanders could be the one to do it.
But he's gotta try.....

Over due echoes...

Well, I, of course, didn't keep up with the cut and past as written plan.
It was a good plan.  I stated with good intentions.  I always do.  Then I get distracted.  I always do.  Too many things to think and do..
This was a bad time to loose focus.  I've been thinking a lot, so this is going to take a while to put this together.
But, the longer I wait the more time it will take...

April 5, 2016

Americans Favor Fifteen Dollars an Hour for Congress

  Oh, let's be generous and give them a whole $8.25 an hour, for the hours they actually work, and that's just the hours they put in at the office or some verified work activity. Most of us don't get paid to travel to and from our jobs, so, they'll just have to live with that like the rest of us.
And, of course, no paid time off, no sick time or vacation, cuz, if yer only making $8.25 an hour you don't deserve a life.

Revealed: The Chamber of Commerce Strategy to Kill Empathy of Its Members

'The poll, commissioned by Council of State Chambers (COSC), targeted 1,000 C-level executives (CEOs, CFOs, or COOs) who were members of their local chamber (46%), state chamber (28%), or the U.S. Chamber (16%). According to the results, there was lop-sided support for various pro-worker positions. Of those asked, 80% supported raising the state minimum wage, compared to only 8% who didn't. Meanwhile, paid sick time was supported by a margin of 73% to 16%. And asked about "more time off to take care of sick children or relatives," the executives supported it 83% to 5%.'

And the lies from the money men just keep coming.
But, this shores up my opinion of humanity. Not all of the money men are heartless and blind. It's only the ones at the very top of the pyramid that are truly psychotic.
If we move the base, a good chunk of the middle will follow, and the top will come tumbling down....

April 11, 2016 

 Remember, without employees they don't have a business. Let's see Papa John make and deliverer all the pizzas ordered, everywhere, by himself, for an hour....

 April 17, 2016

Illinois Gov. Rauner tries to explain $250K salary for staffer

 This is worth revisiting at the moment. 
 Of course he has a lower office budget than his predecessor, that happens when you pull from other departments to pay your staff. That $250K salary came out the health and human services budget.
I said it when the story broke, If she's such a superstar she should let her dedication to teaching shine and take a cut in pay for a few years to be of service to her fellow human beings.

Rauner never really answers the questions, and he's uncomfortable with them being asked. You know he's full of BS....

April 18, 2016

We've gotta start doing something soon. We're gonna reach the point of no return soon.

  April 19, 2016

Who remembers these 9 cartoons based on popular 1970s TV shows?

They left out The Chan Clan.
But, I guess, even though it was on TV all the time, Charlie Chan wasn't really a TV show....

 April 20, 2016

Anti-Marijuana Politician Charged With Possession of Marijuana

  Well, it wasn't ridiculous till after he was arrested....

April 21, 2016

  Yeah, I don't think they knew what the song was about. But, it had Jesus in it, so it must be all good....

 OK, I knew most of this as disparate facts. Never had it all laid out like this before. Now it makes a whole lot more sense....

April 23, 2016

 

 It's called a write in, and I will use it. I WILL NOT VOTE FOR A REPUBLICAN!! Be it Hillary or Trump.

April 28, 2016

 

 If I thought that she'd won all the primaries honestly and fairly, I might vote for her. As it is, there's already been too many allegations of fraud and dirty dealing to trust her anymore....

 

  And that's why I'm not voting for Clinton.....

  April 30, 2016

Forget Bernie Bros — the Worst Trolls Work in Corporate Media

'The big reveal? The Sanders camp actually had an average donation of $27.89! What a scandal indeed.'

Come on people, one of the big draws for the Sanders campaign is that he's trying to run an honest, civil race. His supporters owe it to him to do the same. Don't stoop to the level of the trolls.

OK, been working on this for a bit, and this is as far as I've gotten.  I'm gonna post this one and start another echos post.  I'm going to keep working on it, even though I keep jumping the gun...

Hanging onto positive....

Trying to, at least.
I'm still angry, at a lot of things.  I'm still cranky.
I'm working on it.
I'm also working on an echos post.  But, I had to go all the way back to April 2 on FaceBook, and that's taking awhile.
Busy with work right now.  So, there's a lack of time and obligations elsewhere right at the moment.
But I'm sitting here with the second cup and I am feeling some motivation.  It's unfocused motivation, so I'm just rambling, but at least it's here.
I've got to get moving, but I'm feeling a sense of impending doom.  It's been with me for a few weeks now.  I don't know what's causing it.  It's like somewhere out there in the Universe there's a load of shit waiting to fall on my head.  Have no idea what the shit is, but I feel it like the Sword of Damocles.
When I'm really conscious of the weight, I chalk it up to free floating anxiety and ignore it.
I have to go on what is in front of me, and right now that's looking fairly good.  Got plants in the garden, a couple of good paychecks in the near future.  The electric bill is dropping off.  Leonard's coming out of his cage and exploring the desk.  Moe's getting his feathers....
I've got a roof over my head, food in the house, good friends, lots to be grateful for.  I do recognize the good fortune I have.
And I am very grateful.
Yet, the doom impends.
And it worries me.  Impending doom isn't very positive, and I don't want that to be what I put out into the Universe.  I don't want that coming back three fold.
And yes, I am conscious of the fact that worrying about it, is feeding it.  That's why the negative is a spiral.
Reason tells me to accept and move along.  That's what I'm trying to do.
So for a contribution to positivism, I'm gonna throw out a couple of favorites.  Haven't done a favorites post in a long time.
  This one is inspired by a Me TV article:

Listen to the surprising demo versions for these 8 classic songs

Few of my favorite songs on there.  The comparisons are kinda jarring in a couple cases...

Again, Thank the Universe for David Bowie.
And Queen,  they've got a permanent place on my 100 things to grateful for list.





I'm thankful to the Universe that the original version didn't make it out alive...

Comparatively slight differences.  I do like this version better.

If you haven't followed the link, you should check it out.
They've got Prince doing 'Manic Monday'.  The clip of John Lennon working through 'Strawberry Fields' is worth a listen....

I am betrayed....

I'm not having the best spring of my life.  Money is short, bills are high, time is fleeting and I'm feeling overwhelmed.  I realize that, and it isn't an isolated occurrence, I've spent the vast majority of my life feeling overwhelmed.  I had reached a point where being overwhelmed wasn't as disturbing to daily life.  I was keeping things together and getting stuff done.  But so far this year, that hasn't been the case....

I am just a hot mess right now.  Talked to Rose about it the other day, and she helped me find the end of the thread that lead to this moment....
I've got stuff to do.  I've got to take a shower and get moving.  I was getting ready to do that and felt like some music....
And what do I get?

Second song on the shuffle, and that's right where I'm at.  Sitting here crying alone in my room...
I've been broken, and the new break is dredging up all the old ones, it always does for me.  The new break was a stealth hit.  It took a confluence of events to allow the true pain to surface.
I've been weepy, cranky, and short tempered.  I've been VERY conscious of Steve's absence.  I've seriously been wondering what I have to show for my life, and why I bother to keep trying...
I realize now that the depression has had me for a few months.
And that's a slap in the face with how pernicious the whole negative spiral can be.  Luckily, I'm not too deep in.  I noticed the spiteful, petty, competitive, and unfair tendencies in my thoughts of late.  Rose and I talked about it.
I admitted that I'm angry.
And now I'm ready to own the betrayal.  Got there with this post to FB this morning.

The times, they are a changing....
And if We the People can't see the writing on the wall, and step up and take this country back from the oligarchy now, with a clear vision of the changes we want, then we deserve a Trump presidency.
I was still hanging onto the thin edge of my Democratic alignment, still hoping that my party was really better than that.
And I'm pissed as all Hell at the betrayal this primary season has turned into. I'm tired of the manipulation, the lies, the fraud, the hypocrisy, the wars, the fear, and the hate.
And I'm not just pissed at politicians. I'm pissed at this entire country. I'm pissed at my fellow citizens.
We are supposed to be better than this, people. In this country All Men Are Created Equal. (We should have amended that decades ago to be All People Are Created Equal, but it was a start to something good.) We are supposed to be fair, non-judgemental, compassionate, just, free, and equal. These are the ideals of our founding.
And in the U.S. today, these are all as endangered as the spotted owl.
Have we really strayed so far from Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin that we are just going to happily march ourselves, and the rest of the world, into a global Fascist Oligarchy? Are we really going to let a small group of psychotic pigs decimate the world?
Seriously?
Clinton is the clear choice of the establishment. Trump is just there to scare the Hell out everybody and herd them into Clinton's waiting arms. A vote for Clinton is a vote for the Oligarchy.
I may be wrong, I was wrong about Obama, but I believe Sanders is making a serious bid to change the system. He's engaging people in the process. He's pointing the way to what this country should be. Reminding people that government is supposed to 'PROMOTE THE GENERAL WELFARE'. It's in the fucking preamble. It comes right after 'provide for the common defense' which is the bit the corporate world folks (Clinton) want you to remember, so a lot of people miss it. But, it is in there and it's time we all remembered that....

Yes, I am disappointed, angry, and depressed.
I am aware of the negative spiral.
I'm working on it....

Return of Spring Pictures...

 I've been keeping up with album pages!

Click on one and a nifty slide show pops up....

I am a 'conspiracy theorists'...

I confess.
Yes, for decades I have believed that all is not what I've been told it is.
Thinking about it now, in reflection of a conversation from yesterday, I realize my basic, rabid mistrust of authority figures stated when I was 5 in a doctor's office.  That moment sparked a couple of life long love/hate relationships and a basic mistrust of everything and everybody around me, cuz if people who care for you are willing to really, really hurt you, anything can happen.
Shortly after that, religion and I had a permanent falling out after they tried to tell me I was guilty for something that happened centuries before I was born.
Sorry, guys, I'm only responsible for my actions and bad choices.  I'm not taking the rap for somebody else.  I don't care who it is, or what you think.
So, by the age of 6 I'd had a profound break with respect for authority, because it was authority.  It takes more than a label to get my respect.
And I don't believe what I'm told.
I don't believe in climate change because I've been told it's happening.
I believe in climate change because I see the birds migrating later in the fall and earlier in the spring, and I see new, more colorful, little song birds mixed in with the sparrows.  The weather now is different than when I was a kid.  The storms are getting bigger.  The winds are stronger than I remember.
So, I've been questioning the basics of everything since I was a kid.
And the older I get, the more I realize that it's really worse than I imagined.
Watching the primary season unfold is an eye opening experience.  On one side you've got old white guys swaggering around making the usual overblown disingenuous promises, and spreading fear and hate.  One openly wants to make this God's kingdom on earth.  (The founding fathers are spinning in their graves.)
On the other side there's lying , cheating, and bribery going on.
And that's the Democrats, They are supposed to be the ones above that sort of thing.


And that was last week.
It's about 3am Monday morning and I have no idea why I'm sitting here instead of going to bed.  Except, my head won't shut up.  There's almost always a crowd of thoughts and voices running through my head like rabid squirrels on crack.
I've learned to ignore the noise, for the most part.  But, I frequently wonder if ignoring the nose is the wisest choice.  For one thing ignoring the noise keeps me from writing.  Without that noise, I have nothing to say.
But, there's a lot of stuff mixed in the noise, and that's a hurdle all by itself.  Like right now there's a very loud voice telling me to just stop typing, and go to bed.  That, with the gardening thoughts and plans that keep springing up, and the guilt over not having more done, the insinuous voice telling me I'm a looser with nothing to show for my life, worries about money, wondering what to get for dinner tomorrow night, knowing I have a long day of work ahead....
That all has a tendency of derailing the train,  Takes a lot for coherent thought to get through all that.
And, unless I've got time or I'm so pissed off I don't care how long it takes or having a funky moment, like now, I don't write...

Well, the voices of my better angels prevailed.  Sleep won out over thinking.  I went to bed.  Got up.  Eventually got my lazy carcass moving, cleaned up the patio some, moved laundry along, did the 6 jobs that were due yesterday and today, bought some plants, came home, ate, dealt with the animals, watched some more Glee, and went to bed.
And now it's Tuesday.
And I'm procrastinating on the moving part of this day.  I'm contemplating the possibilities.  I have a job open that I could go work on.
And that could happen.  Ya never know.
But my intent for this day is yard work.  We've got plants, they need a home.  But, in my experience things change, sometimes drastically in a small frame of time.  There are many and varied things I really need to do.
I need to work on the garden.
I need to do laundry.
I need to clean up around here.
I need to print documentation and my tax return this year, cuz someone filed a return with my social already.
I need to go get dog and cat food.
Etc, etc, etc......
And from here there are several topics and slants to pursue.  There's the idea that started this post, which has been with me for a very long time.  There's a daily post with the doings of HappyDale.  There's thoughts and musing kicked up by conversations with my SFAM Rose.  I could comb through the last couple of weeks for an echos post.
I have plenty of things to do and say.
But I'm sitting here feeling like a bunny in headlights, and I don't know winch way to jump...
Cuz, I realize that the world is way more screwed than even I thought it was.
And there's really not much I can do about that.
I believe in the power of positive energy.  But, I'm having difficulty holding onto a charge.  I'm in the middle of rough patch and it seems that no matter what I try, no matter how positive I am, there's always something, some major or minor negative occurrence to overcome.
And I know I'm not alone in the constant, unrelenting struggle to just get by, to keep the bills paid and food on the table.
And that's part of the reason this country is where it's at.
The vast majority of the population is overburdened, exhausted, and numb.  We have been worn and dumbed down, divided and terrorized, medicated and mesmerized, poisoned and starved.  We are nothing more than cannon fodder, dead peasants, and cheap labor.
And, I've come to believe, this is intentional.  This is being done with malice of forethought.  The fear and hatred is planned and scripted.
And if we don't wake up and smell the napalm, they are going to leave nothing but scorched earth.
It's taken a lifetime for me to fully accept that what I see in this country today has been consciously engineered.  But I've moved past the belief that it's a wholly natural state.

Spring pictures....

I played with the camera some.  If I keep putting the pages together as I go along, I might actually finish an album this year.....
If you click on the first Picture, it expands into a nifty little slide show.

Am I the only one....

I'm getting a weird, universe shifting kinda vibe off this election cycle.
Maybe the talk of a collective awakening has some serious weight....
Well I just took a minor sidetrack trying to find the article.  I got lost.  First on YouTube, looking for, of all things, a Donald Trump clip, and then I wondered over to FaceBook, and well....
I've given up on finding the article, for now.  I've already wasted too much time.
What sparked this whole boil over of thought, was an article I saw on FaceBook.  It was the results of a poll showing that Bernie Sanders would beat Trump.
And it suddenly struck me that this election was shaping up to be a major showdown of negative vs positive.  Good vs evil, to raise it to the level of melodrama.
And then I have to stop and consider, this is a turning of a millennium.  Big things happen in the years following century shifts.  You can expect them to be bigger things with a bigger shift.
So thinks my demented brain....
But, first I got Bernie Sanders, a man I can truly respect, based on what he says and his history.
Add this....

Let's face it people, this is not natural.  For me, there's something 'beyond' about this incident.  Birds don't do that.
Type in 'bird at rally' over on YouTube and see what you get...
And, watch the video closely.  Note, Sanders has his hand in the air gesturing at the sign, and the bird still lands on it and sits calmly staring at him.
Birds don't do that...
Then factor in the footage and events from Trump rallies...
Well that set the mind to wondering and I went over to YouTube to find clips of Trump.  You know, Trump talking about his plans, his values, etc....
I didn't find much.  Specially not much on plans, policies, or ideas.
And, yes, I did find the event videos.  But, I'm sorry, I don't have all the time in the world, and I'm not sitting through the tedious Rah Rah shows just to get to Trump saying something of little substance.  I've heard him before.  I know his rhetoric.
And I didn't find much substance.  I found 'fun' in the American tradition of violence,  American humor is rooted in pain.  I found hate and fear and ignorance.
Are we really so wimpy and fearful that we have to build walls to keep the neighbors out?  Seriously?  Can't we think of anything better?
I did a side by side survey of Trump and Sanders videos.
There's not much of Trump speaking for himself.  There are the aforementioned full event videos.  With Trump supported by a cast of characters.  There are ads that feature people talking about Trump.  But there's not much of Trump talking for himself.
Sanders has a plethora of interviews and speeches.
It was interesting to get the side by side comparison.
I come away with this....

And I have to ask, do we really want to spend the next century cowering behind our walls, clutching our guns?  Living in fear?  Fighting perpetual war?
Are empty slogans and violence really what we want to kick the new millennium off with?
Or would you rather acknowledge, and honer, the dignity of your fellow man, care for the weak, and pull together to build something truly awesome?

And that's where I'm gonna leave you, cuz it's 1:45am and I still have shit to do.....

More from FB.....

March 17, 2016 

 

Sanders hopes to lure superdelegates with electability argument

 OK, it's time for the western states to really push and save our collective asses. Please.

 

March 20, 2016 

 

 

How can anybody think Trump is not part of the system? The man makes his living from 'reality' entertainment. Which is the ultimate corporate corruption of the media. He's been to the Bilderberg meetings.
Trump is not an outsider, he's a shill.
He's a major mover for the deep state.

Leonard

 Leonard looking for snacks.....

March 24, 2016

 

New Details Reveal Possible Voter Suppression in Illinois Primary

 I've been reading article after article and seeing post upon post about voter fraud and suppression, and how the whole system is rigged
And I have no doubt that it is rigged. The whole process has been corrupted and is thrown into doubt. From hanging chads, gerrymandered districts, and all the forms of voter suppression that have come slithering out of the shadows, the whole thing stinks.
And this is an important election. This is a pivot point in history, a make or break moment. This is the moment we stand up and take our country back to the home of the free and compassionate and sane, or we march like zombies into the century of world wide corporate fascists dominance. This is the end game, and from what I'm seeing, I assume they don't give a shit who knows it.
Or they really believe that we're all too stupid to see what is happening.
But we're not all that stupid. Not all of us.
Bernie Sanders is not just a candidate for president. He's a leader trying to build a movement. He's fighting to make this country a decent place to live for everybody. He's trying to get us to move and make that a reality.
If everybody that has contributed to his campaign, attended a rally, reposted his stuff on FaceBook, if we all wrote him in, he would win. He has the numbers, despite what the corporate media and the DNC are telling us.
If we could all get coordinated enough to write him in, and then show up on the White House steps when they tell us he didn't win and demand a recount, we could take our country back and stop the war mongering corporate overlords in their tracks.
Is there a way you can personally record your vote? Some way of recording your vote independent of the system? Anybody know?

 March 25, 2016

 

Our democracy has died a slow death over the last 50 years....

March 27, 2016

 I didn't comment on this at the time, but the moment is so magical and uplifting I can't let it slide...


 

April 2, 2016

Governments Admit that Much of Modern History Has Been Manipulated By False Flag Attacks

False flags have a long and dirty history. Makes you wonder if any of the terrorism in the world is real or just the powerful staging things to get their way....

BREAKING: ELIZABETH WARREN ENDORSES BERNIE SANDERS FOR PRESIDENT!

Sanders/Warren There's the ticket!!

How Hillary Clinton Bought the Loyalty of 33 State Democratic Parties

'None of these are awful people; they are simply awfully rich. And they like their friend Hillary and want her to be the president. And if some of their millions will buy her way into the White House then so be it. None of this is illegal. But it makes a mockery of Ms. Clinton’s pledge to further the cause of campaign finance reform.'

The only candidate who is serious about finance reform is Bernie Sanders.

Deeply Moving Message from Bernie Sanders

Catching up....

March 15, 2016

Maybe.
I'm kinda aimless today.
The last 3 days I've had hard deadlines to meet with work, things that had to be done that day.  My next job isn't due till Sunday, so there's only a little pressure there.
Of course, I've got a ton of things to do here, at home.  But, the motivation has not crept upon me yet.
So I'm sitting here wasting time on the internet....
And thinking....
It's spring in the middle of the U.S.  Yesterday was 80 degrees.  There's a possibility of snow on Saturday.  So things are still a bit in limbo.  Not in too much of a hurry to plant stuff.  But I'm thinking next week is a good time for planting the cold weather stuff.  It's time to think about pulling out the duck pools.  All the little song birds are back already, so I don't think we've got much more winter left this year...

That was yesterday,

March 16, 2016.

It continued to be a rather aimless day.  I got some stuff done around the house.  But I wasn't focused on anything in particular and time kept catching me up.  The effort was rather scattered.  I got organic material, AKA leaves and old clippings from the yard, into a couple of the onion planters.  I'm waiting till next week to do any planting.  I got some of the laundry done.  I thoroughly cleaned one corner of my room.  I cleaned the window and wiped down the shade, wiped down the wood work and everything.  I built a cat barrier for the top of the bookcases.

Those cubes are about 17 years old.  Steve and I bought them back in the early 90s at Sam's.  We figured they'd be a good option on a limited budget.
We figured right.  These things were some of the best money we ever spent.  They've been used inside and outside as shelves, tables, planters, and barricades.
Which is the present purpose.  I need something to keep Giles:

 Off the top of the bookshelves.  When I moved the room around he discovered that he could jump from the dresser to the top of the bookshelves.  Since I use that space, he was becoming an annoyance.  We're waiting to see if this keeps him down.  Waiting to see how long it survives.
Could all be on the floor tomorrow...



I wiped down the washer & dryer, and cleaned all the gunk out of the bleach thingy.  I uploaded a post, took some pictures, figured a work around for the graphics.....
And wasted time.

So far today, I've finished cleaning out the garden, moved a corner shelf from the out building, cleaned it up, and put it in the pantry for the big pots and pans, and finished another load of laundry.
And now it's later...
I went and did the one job I had outstanding.  That was about four hours out of the day.  The next few jobs don't open till Sunday.  Next week will be busier than this week.  I've gotten a few things done  I've got a couple of planters for onions started.  It's been a little windy the last few days so they're sitting out on the table waiting for dirt.  The weekend is not looking good for outdoor pursuits, so they'll sit there till next week.  I cleaned out the window box in the garden.  It needs more dirt too.  We're getting things prepped for the season.  Kathy started cleaning the garden out, I finished that this morning.  Her Pop came out and got the old tiller started.  So we're ahead of where we were this time last year.
The current roster of inmates is:

5 people

5 dogs

4 horses

I'm too tired to try to figure out how many cats

or chickens

3 ducks

2 rabbits

1 turkey

1 pea hen

1 rat

I think that's everybody.

This is, of course, subject to change.  Every other weekend the human count goes up to 6.  One of the reason I'm not even attempting to figure out how many chickens there are, is, we've got new ones upstairs.  There will probably be more.  We are planning on getting some turkeys...

March 23, 2016

It's been an odd week....

Who says holding a treat with the camera works?  Not with our pack.  I'd hold the treat up, they'd all settle and then, just as the camera was going off, Juno moved, then Luna lost focus, Perdy tried to grab the treat, Doeman wandered off...
Dusty was the only one who stayed where she was through the whole thing.
They're lucky they all still have a happy home.
Couple weeks back I was in the kitchen one night, washing grapes, and I hear...

Perdy

Perdy- The Great Dane

And Juno- The little, brown Bullshit....

Juno

She really is a Bullshit. Part Pitbull, part Shih tuz.
She and Perdy have a thing.  They get along really well.

But, on occasion, they have had some serious discussions on the concept of personal boundaries.
They started one while I was washing grapes.
I yelled at them and scrambled to shut off  the water, grabbed a towel, yelled at them again as I headed towards the living room.  I rounded the corner of the counter and heard a thud, and then silence.  Got to the living room, and the only dog in sight was...

Doeman

Doeman laying in the bedroom doorway wagging his tail, where he'd been the entire time, I'm sure.  He's too lazy to start, or participate in, any malarkey.
The room was in what we call theater lighting.
Long ago, Steve and I discovered that a few strings of colored Christmas tree lights are perfect for watching TV at night.  They give you enough light to see what yer doing without the glare of room lights.
So it was kinda of dim and it took me a second to see the big screen TV face down on the carpet.
Dam Dogs.
Everybody, But Doeman, was cowering in the bedroom.  I could tell by the degree of head hang and the velocity of tail wagging exactly who had been involved in the incident.
Dusty...

Dusty

 

Was in her usual place on the bed.  Head up, tail still.

Luna

 

Luna had her tail between her legs, but she met me at the door her head was down, but not hanging.













 Perdy was trying to hide behind the bed, head hanging low and the tail wagging a mile a minute.  Juno had opted to go sit in the cage.
Which was a good choice at that moment.  Lucky for the two of them, the big screen is fine.
That's the first time, and probably the last, that I've been thankful we have the ill-fated light blue carpet, and not hardwood floors.

I worked today.  So I've been out and back.

Things are kinda rough right now here at HappyDale.  We lost Enos the turkey on Monday.  He ate something that really didn't agree.  He's buried under a straw bale out behind the garden.  He was a good boy, not too territorial.  He'd posture and puff his feathers, but that was as aggressive as he got.  I think he thought my car was some sort of mutant turkey.  If he was out when I left he'd chase my car.  We had hopes of breeding him, but it just wasn't meant to be.
The rest of the birds seem to be doing pretty well.
They were out enjoying the weather the other day.

Egg production is way up.  Which is a good thing.
We're facing the end of winter squeeze of big heating bills and the fall out of my slowdown at work.  Money's tight and things are a bit unsettled right now.  We're hanging in there.  We've got a start on the garden,  We've got a batch of new chicks.  The weather is getting warmer.  I've thoroughly cleaned a bit more of my room.  The cat barrier is still on top of the bookshelves.
And the daffodils bloomed really nicely this year.  So, it's not all bad.