About anybody else, but I’d had enough of the BS for the election…
So I went to bed early last night.
I guess I’ll find out today who won, who lost, and who is still not decided.
But I hope everyone DID vote! It is your right and DUTY to do so!
1
If you haven’t already voted, today IS the day!!!
And the MSM is now saying this is the most ‘expensive’ election in history… Again… Don’t they say this EVERY time?
In my tiny little mind, I cannot figure out what at least half of the questions asked in the “debates” were supposed to be about, they didn’t have a damn thing to do with being a senator or congressman.
I think it was media driven to ask provocative questions designed to alienate voting blocks and force candidates to change their known stances on issues or come off looking like a fool.
And then they asked a FOLLOW UP QUESTION???? Oh come on….
By the way, can you imagine questions being asked during the Democrap debate???
The other thing I find interesting is the media’s continual broadcasting and dissecting of Republican “scandals” and the complete lack of coverage of any Democratic scandals…
This was sent to me as humor, but I think there is a lot of fact behind the humor…
DEMOGRAPHICS OF AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS AS REVEALED BY SUBSCRIBER STATISTICS-
The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.
The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country.
The New York Times is read by people who think they should run the country and who are very good at crossword puzzles.
USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country but don’t really understand The New York Times. They do, however, like their statistics shown in colored pie charts.
The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn’t mind running the country — if they could find the time — and if they didn’t have to leave Southern California to do it.
The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country and did a far superior job of it, thank you very much.
The New York Daily News is read by people who aren’t too sure who’s running the country and don’t really care as long as they can get a seat on the train.
The New York Post is read by people who don’t care who’s running the country as long as they do something really scandalous, preferably while intoxicated.
The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another country but need the baseball scores.
The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who aren’t sure there is a country . . . Or that anyone is running it; but if so, they oppose all that they stand for. There are occasional exceptions if the leaders are handicapped minority feminist atheist dwarfs who also happen to be illegal aliens from any another country or galaxy, provided of course they are pro gay rights, pro government sponsored gender reassignment surgery, anti military and that they are not Republicans.
The National Enquirer is read by people trapped in line at the grocery store.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune is read by people who have recently caught a fish and need something in which to wrap it.
sigh…
Remember unless you’ve been a bad person, you have a right and a DUTY to vote! Please do so. And no, I don’t care to know who/what you voted for. THAT is your business!!!
For reasons unknown, the post didn’t post… sigh
To start the week…
One day, when a seamstress was sewing while sitting close to a river, her thimble fell into the river. When she cried out, the Lord appeared and asked, “My dear child, why are you crying?”
The seamstress replied that her thimble had fallen into the water and that she needed it to help her husband in making a living for their family.
The Lord dipped His hand into the water and pulled up a golden thimble set with sapphires./
“Is this your thimble?” the Lord asked.
The seamstress replied, “No.”
The Lord again dipped into the river. He held out a golden thimble studded with rubies.
“Is this your thimble?” the Lord asked.
Again, the seamstress replied, “No.”
The Lord reached down again and came up with a leather thimble.
“Is this your thimble?” the Lord asked.
The seamstress replied, “Yes.”
The Lord was pleased with the woman’s honesty and gave her all three thimbles to keep, and the seamstress went home happy.
Some years later, the seamstress was walking with her husband along the riverbank, and her husband fell into the river and disappeared under the water. When she cried out, the Lord again appeared and asked her, “Why are you crying?”
“Oh Lord, my husband has fallen into the river!”
The Lord went down into the water and came up with George Clooney . “Is this your husband?” The Lord asked.
“Yes,” cried the seamstress.
The Lord was furious “You lied! That is an untruth!”
The seamstress replied, “Oh, forgive me, my Lord. It is a misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding???” asked the Lord.
“Yes, my Lord,” replied the seamstress, “You see, if I had said “no” to George Clooney , you would have come up with Brad Pitt .
Then if I said “no” to him, you would have come up with my husband.. Had I then said “yes,” you would have given me all three. Lord, I’m not in the best of health and would not be able to take care of all three husbands, so THAT’S why I said “yes” to George Clooney.”
And so the Lord let her keep him.
The moral of this story is: Whenever a woman lies, it’s for a good and honorable reason, and in the best interest of others. That’s our story, and we’re sticking to it.
Signed: All Us Women
No comment… 🙂
Sigh… 324 junk messages in the last 72 hours. Over 300 of them were voting or asking for money, most from democrats…
And I voted the FIRST day of early voting!!!
And today is the fall ‘back’ day for your clocks… IF you remember how to reset them… LOL
I remember those days… !@$@$# smart ass car clock… Never did figure out how to reset that POS!!!
Howdy folks, it’s everyone’s favorite holiday season. No doubts you’re looking forward to Trick’r’Treat, maybe a costume party, or ritualistic sacrifice to the Dark Ones! But always remember, safety comes first! Now, here’s some very simple rules that should make your Halloween a fun and safe holiday for everyone!
1. If someone tells you that you are the Chosen One and must save whoever or whatever, kill them and change your name.
2. Same bloody well goes for any harbinger of any “prophesy”. If possible, resurrect them and kill them a second time.
3. If a mysterious and beautiful woman appears out of nowhere and is interested in you, run.
4. If you see a lone young child in the middle of nowhere and is uncommonly cheerful and/or giggling, run like you heard banjos.
5. Black cats, not so bad. Black dog that watches you without ever blinking? Don’t run. Slowly back away.
6. Attics? Tell one of your buddies that you hid the beer up there.
7. Cellars? Tell your buddy that you forgot you moved the beer down to the cellar. That’s the point of buddies, they’re gullable.
8. Bullets may or may not work. Either way, shoot the evil entity. A lot.
9. Fire always makes a situation better. Or more entertaining, and that’s the truly important thing.
10. If mysterious folk with foreign or ancient accents pop on any suspicious date (full moon, ides of march, etc), pretend to not understand them.
11. If you can’t outrun the evil entity, well, you only have to outrun the more cliche characters.
12. For the love of the gods, if you are driving at night, fill the tank when you’re between a quarter and half tank.
13. Fix-A-Flat. Cheaper than being hung up on a rusty meat hook.
14. Hawt chicks are like canaries. Always keep a few around when you visit Bad Place. They’ll die first.
15. Little known fact, vampires are allergic to magnesium. When ignited and shoved down their throat.
16. If you have reason to believe you are being stalked by an evil entity, someone might want to stay awake when everyone else sleeps.
17. If one member of your party starts hearing voices, party over, time to leave.
18. If a disembodied voice tells you to get out, follow the advice.
19. Vacations to run down shacks in the middle of nowhere never work out well.
20. Vacations to Eastern Europe can end with you dismembered. But they have very attractive women. Definitely worth the risk.
21. If anyone says “But Whatever Bad Entity doesn’t exist”, kneecap them and leave them while the rest of you wait to see if he or she is right.
22. A flamethrower is always appropriate.
23. When various members of your party mysteriously start missing, don’t individually go looking for them.
24. There’s no such thing as overkill. Only “Not enough” and “Needs more”. Remember this when you think the evil critter is finally dead.
25. When you find the sacred/cursed/ancient artifact, don’t screw with it. Just put it on eBay and let the feedback answer your curiosity.
26. If some random weirdo offers you unsolicited food, drugs or drink, politely decline.
27. If the innkeeper is way too happy to see you, leave. They probably want to sacrifice you. Or they have termites.
28. If someone gives you a quest to find something oddly obscure that happens to be bloody far away with implausibly complicated directions, go on a vacation instead.
29. If you really HAVE to go, dial Blackwater’s Rent-A-Friend program then rent a helicopter to take you and friends to said obscure location.
30. If you manage to escape the werewolves, undead, aliens, or whatever long enough to get to the phone, don’t try to explain the situation. Just call the National Guard and tell them al-Qaeda is planning to poison the nation’s beer supplies and they’re currently at such and such an address. You’ll have all the Blackhawks and Apache gunships you’d want in about ten minutes.
That’s it! Remember these rules, and you’ll have a safe and happy Halloween!
So much for OPTEMPO/PERSTEMPO…
The ship left Naval Base San Diego on Nov. 21, 2025, as part of the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group. It remained at sea even after the carrier group moved on and the Lincoln returned to its home port.
Full article, HERE from Navy Times.
This mess goes back to the whole issue of how many ships the Navy has versus how many commitments the Navy has, e.g. operational requirements to meet, training requirements that have to be done underway, workups, multicountry exercises, etc. etc.
When you add in the missed maintenance availabilities, pushed upgrade schedules, etc. you end up with situations like the USS Boise, $800 million spent and NO upgrades done, one deployment in 11 years, and basically tied to the pier since 2015, lost dive certification in 2017, and IF a slot was found, it wouldn’t be back until 2030! So they decommissioned it, HERE.
And we’ve seen issues going back, that I know of, to at least 2007 on the surface fleet with cost cutting (sequestration), that pushed maintenance out years, lack of shipyards certified to actually DO the work, and pushing a lot of stuff off on the minimally manned ships (after saying the ‘extra’ sailors would be on shore duty to ‘help’ with maintenance.
The other thing you get into is the various technical inserts, and ‘builds’ for the ships, meaning ships of the same class do not have the same equipment or capabilities, and crews cannot directly cross platforms in class to benefit a crew…
And it’s NOT getting any better…
There are really two choices, either build more ships (which takes years), or cut commitments to a realistic level and actually start doing the maintenance on time!
Figure the odds of either of those actually happening…
OBTW, aviation is not in any better shape, you just don’t hear as much about it…
Back in the day, at least in aviation, we always relieved the watch a half hour early, but yes, even today, I’m early for any meeting unless something happens…
And this pic is pretty old, since the PO1 is in dungarees!
But the real fun was when we got to yank and bank down low…
180 knots, 45 degree angle of bank, 200ish feet doing MAD trapping!!!
Funny how when we did that with USAF pilots on board, they went aft and sat in the galley… Something about what was the wingspan and how high were we??? 🙂
Sometimes we even got to do cloverleaf patterns, which meant you did this five times to hit your weapon fly to point!
And this was one time the pilots actually paid attention to their flying! LOL
Stuff like this made up for the HOURS of rigging ships on the Maritime Patrol Tracks and especially the Rust Maru’s on the 209 track to Vietnam!
Yes, there are times I miss this, and the P-8 doesn’t have MAD, so they don’t get to have fun doing this… sigh…
If you write MilSF…
Baen has put up a new contest, the David A. Drake Memorial Award!
The requirements are HERE.
And the judges are pretty knowledgeable too… From the Baen website, HERE.
Riverdale, New York, September 2026 — Baen Books is pleased to announce that two science fiction luminaries who were close friends with David Drake will serve as guest judges for the inaugural round of its newest short story award, the David A. Drake Memorial Award.
New York Times best-selling author David Weber and editor, author, and anthologist Bill Fawcett will serve as the first guest judges for the award. Weber, best known for the Honor Harrington series, together with David Drake and Jerry Pournelle, helped establish the entire field of military science fiction. Fawcett, a longtime game designer, book packager, and author of military SF and nonfiction, edited the six-volume The Fleet anthology series and its follow-on Battlestation anthology with Drake. Baen is confident Weber and Fawcett will help Baen’s editors select stories that reflect the legacy of David Drake’s groundbreaking fiction.
Award submissions of original, unpublished short stories of up to 8,000 words will be accepted starting 24 September 2026. The contest is open to all forms of science fiction and fantasy, and Baen will be looking for works of great science fiction or fantasy with strong military themes central to the characters and plot. Authors do not have to be veterans or active military members to participate, but veterans and those in the military are encouraged to submit. Details of the submission process may be found on the Baen Books website
Submissions will remain open through 10 December 2026, and will be judged blindly by a panel consisting of Baen Books editors as well as guest judges Weber and Fawcett. Baen Books plans to announce the finalists in February 2027 and present the award in June at Baen Books’ Traveling Roadshow at the LibertyCon science fiction and fantasy convention in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
This is your chance to get your writing mojo on, and you’ve got plenty of time to put a story together!
Now get out there and WRITE!!!
These two ladies are amazing with their output and quality!!!
First up is Alma Boykin with book two in her Bard’s Song series- The Bard’s King
As always, click on the cover for the Amazon link!
The blurb-
What price honor?
Tuathal mab Bria map Aiden gave much to break the curse he brought to the land. Echos of that curse send him across the sea, to the Western Isle from which came his father’s people, the Dunalaid. Only the High King can settle a question of inheritance, one that has already seen blood shed. Half of that conflict, Fyon the Black, demands land and lordship, blood price for his son, and perhaps even Tuathal’s life.
Tuathal travels as law seeker and speaker for his half-brother, Low King Fiachta. He seeks nothing but a decision in his king’s favor. Trouble lurks, what sort he does not know, but the sense he knows too well. The same darkness that led to the curse, and his naming as “Twice Given” waits inside the High King’s court at Tara.
A third king also has a claim to Tuathal, a shadowy majesty of the mounds and hollow hills. Only a master bard and law speaker, an allav, Tuathal struggles to do his duty.
When duty brings danger and the High King’s life hangs by a thread of song, what can a bard do, even a bard of three kings?
More than Tuathal believes possible.
Next up is Pam Uphoff with her 27th book in her Chronicles of the Fall series, Vyatkin
The blurb-
Seventeen-year-old Afanasiy Vyatkin, orphaned when the Japanese attacked his world, has nowhere to go but the Vyatkin Family House in the capital city of the Alliance.
He finds the Great House overwhelmed by refugees.
A few nice refugees, an ambitious servant, some retired old men.
Outnumbered by the rude, aggressive, bullying refugees, fighting to maintain their status after the disastrous war. Penniless, powerful . . .and dangerous in their desperation to scramble to the top of the ruble heap of their lives.
A family has no trouble separating friends from enemies. And the enemies have underestimated him . . .
And last but not least, the cover of our Tom Burnett Library benefit anthology! It should be live in the next week or so, so no link to it…
And a word from our librarian.
The building that is home to the Tom Burnett Memorial Library was built in 1924 for Thomas Lloyd Burnett. He was a cattleman, oilman, and rodeo producer. He was known for his kindness and generosity, especially toward children and “down on their luck” cowboys.
The theme for this, our sixth library anthology, is the roaring twenties in Texas. I hope you enjoy the stories included as much as I did. The authors have donated their stories to this anthology to support our rural library. We appreciate their generosity and kindness toward us. To you, the reader, thank you for continuing to read and support our library anthologies.
To start the week…
Stuff that only makes sense if you live in Jacksonville (Florida)
- You are either a Gator or a Seminole. You have no choice. If you abstain, you will be assigned a team. There are no other schools. It’s better to learn that sooner rather than later.
- Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere. No one pays attention to them here. Merging, yielding, and right-of-way are completely foreign terms.
- To find anything in Jax you are required to know where Regency Square is. It is the Alpha and the Omega: the beginning and the end.
- Directions to anywhere may, and usually do, make a reference to ‘the old Pic and Save’.
- The morning rush hour is from 6am to 10am. The evening rush hour is from 3pm to 7pm. Friday’s rush hour starts Thursday morning.
- If you actually stop at a yellow light, you will be rear-ended, cussed out, and possibly shot.
- East Rd. meets West Rd. on Beach Blvd , but they both run North and South.
- Normandy Boulevard, State Road 228, Cecil Field Road, Maxville Road, and Post Street are all the same road.
- On the southeast side of town, Hartley Road, Shad Road, and Hood Road are all the same road. Hartley Road is the western part of the road, and Shad Road is the eastern part of the road.
Now don’t be confused about this Hood Road .
This is the West-East part that is in between Hartley and Shad, not the North-South part that starts out as Old Kings Road South , changes into Hood Road South , and ends at Losco Road .
Got it?
- Construction is a permanent fixture in JAX. Which makes sense, because the traffic cone is the State Flower of Florida. The barrels are moved around in the middle of the night to make the next day’s driving a bit more exciting.
- Watch very carefully for road hazards such as deer, skunks, dogs, barrels, cones, cows, horses, pot holes, cats, pieces of other cars, single shoes, opossums, truck tires, raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, crows o r vultures feeding on any of these items.
- The minimum acceptable speed on J Turner Butler Blvd is 75 mph. Anything less is considered downright sissy. This is Jacksonville’s version of NASCAR.
- Never honk at anyone. Ever. Seriously.
- If you are in the left lane, and going only 70 in a 55 zone, you are considered a road hazard and will be ‘flipped off’ accordingly.
- Ground clearance of at least 24 inches is recommended for city driving.
- If it’s 100 degrees, Thanksgiving must be next weekend.
- There are really only two seasons here: Summer and January.
- There is actually a Westside high school that has a confederate battle flag as its school flag, an image of a slave plantation owner as its mascot, and Dixie as its school song. Just accept it. Please don’t make a fuss about it, for your own safety.
- Ponte Vedra is to Middleburg as oceanfront is to double-wide.
- If you choose to live in Orange Park, or, God forbid, Middleburg, plan to leave for work at 4am and return home around 11pm. Otherwise you may get caught in what can only be described as ‘the world’s longest turn lane’.
- Don’t get here late and expect something to eat. After 9pm, your choices are Famous Amos, Village Inn, and Krystal.
- You can buy a million-dollar condo downtown on the river, but you have to drive 10 miles for a loaf of bread, and never after dark.
- The Landing is an interesting place. Every time you visit, there will be a whole new set of restaurants, fewer stores, and less parking. Hooters, however, is a permanent fixture.
- All city council decisions must be signed off on by First Baptist Church .
- North Phillips highway. Don’t go there. Ever. Unless, of course, you are looking for motels that charge by the hour.
- Learn all of the lyrics to every Lynyrd Skynyrd song. Trust me on this one.
- If you like southern-style barbecue, you’ve come to the right place. There’s a restaurant on every corner, but they all close at 9pm.
- Convenience stores are literally EVERYWHERE, unless you live in a million-dollar condo downtown.
- You can leave Jacksonville, but the blinking light of Five Points will always call you back.
- No matter where you want to go, you can’t get there from where you are…in other words, you can’t get there from here
Having lived there for 10 years (in Orange Park), ALL of these are true… sigh