Mondaze Humor…

Annndddd…. The first Christmas joke… sigh…

Golf on Christmas Day.

Four old timers were playing their weekly game of golf, one remarked how nice it would be to wake up on Christmas morning, roll out of bed and without an argument go directly to the golf course, meet his buddies and play a round.

His buddies all chimed in said, “Let’s do it! We’ll make it a priority; figure out a way and meet here early, Christmas morning.”

Months later, that special morning arrives, and there they are on the golf course. The first guy says, “Boy this game cost me a fortune! I bought my wife a diamond ring that she can’t take her eyes off it.”

The second guy says, “I spent a ton too. My wife is at home planning the cruise I gave her. She was up to her eyeballs in brochures.”

The third guy says “Well my wife is at home admiring her new car, reading the manual.”

They all turned to the last guy in the group who is staring at them like they have lost their minds.

“I can’t believe you all went to such expense for this golf game. I slapped my wife on the butt and said, ‘Well babe, Merry Christmas! It’s a great morning – intercourse or golf course?’

She said, “Don’t forget your sweater.”

++++++++++

THE STRANDED ENGINEER

There was this male engineer, on a cruise ship in the Caribbean for the first time. It was wonderful, the experience of his life. He was being waited on hand an foot. But, it did not last. A Hurricane came up unexpectedly. The ship went down almost instantly.

The man found himself, he knew not how, swept up on the shore of an island. There was nothing else anywhere to be seen. No person, no supplies, nothing. The man looked around. There were some bananas and coconuts, but that was it. He was desperate, and forlorn, but decided to make the best of it. So for the next four months he ate bananas, drank coconut juice and mostly looked to

the sea mightily for a ship to come to his rescue.

One day, as he was lying on the beech stroking his beard and looking for a ship, he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye. Could it be true, was it a ship? No, from around the corner

of the island came this rowboat. In it was the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen, or at least seen in 4 months. She was tall, tanned, and her blond hair flowing in the sea breeze gave her an

almost ethereal quality. She spotted him also as he was waving and yelling and screaming to get her attention. She rowed her boat towards him.

In disbelief, he asked, “Where did you come from? How did you get here”?

She said, “I rowed from the other side of the island. I landed on this island when my cruise ship sank”

“Amazing”, he said, “I didn’t know anyone else had survived. How many of you are there? Where, did you get the rowboat? You must have been really lucky to have a rowboat wash-up with you?”

“It is only me”, she said, “and the rowboat didn’t wash up, nothing else did.”

“Well then”, said the man, “how did you get the rowboat?”

I made the rowboat out of raw material that I found on the island, replied the woman. The oars were whittled from Gum tree branches, I wove the bottom from Palm branches, and the sides and stern came from a Eucalyptus tree”.

“But, but, asked the man, what about tools and hardware, how did you do that?”

“Oh, no problem, replied the woman, on the south side of the island there is a very unusual strata of alluvial rock exposed. I found that If I fired it to a certain temperature in my kiln, it melted into forgeable ductile iron. I used that for tools, and used the tools to make the hardware. But, enough of that, she said. Where do you live?”

At last the man was forced to confess that he had been sleeping on the beach.

“Well, let’s row over to my place, she said.” So they both got into the rowboat and left for her side of island.

The woman easily rowed them around to a wharf that led to the approach to her place. She tied up the rowboat with a beautifully woven hemp rope. They walked up a stone walk and around a Palm

tree, there stood an exquisite bungalow painted in blue and white. “It’s not much, she said, but I call it home. Sit down please, would you like to have a drink?”

“No, said the man, one more coconut juice and I will puke.”

“It won’t be coconut juice, the woman replied, I have a still, how about a Pina Colada? Trying to hide his continued amazement, the man accepted, and they sat down on her couch to talk.

After a while, and they had exchanged their stories, the woman asked, “Tell me, have you always had a beard?”

“No”, the man replied, “I was clean shaven all of my life, and even on the cruise ship”.

“Well if you would like to shave, there is a man’s razor upstairs in the cabinet in the bathroom.” So, the man, no longer questioning anything, went upstairs to the bath room. There in the cabinet was a razor made from a bone handle, two shells honed to a hollow ground edge were fastened on to its end inside of a swivel mechanism. The man shaved, showered and went back down stairs..

“You look great, said the woman, I think I will go up and slip into something more comfortable.” So she did.

And, the man continued to sip his Pina Colada. After a short time, the woman returned wearing fig leafs strategically positioned and smelling faintly of gardenia.

“Tell me, she asked, we have both been out here for a very long time with no companionship. You know what I mean. Have you been lonely, is there anything that you really miss? Something that

all men and woman need. Something that it would be really nice to have right now.”

“Yes there is, the man replied, as he moved closer to the woman while fixing a winsome gaze upon her, “Tell me … Do you happen to have an Internet connection?”

Yay…

Ate the last of the leftovers (except for some ham), thanks to the gang last night!

Now on with the regular meals! I’m DONE with turkey until Christmas!!!

I know some folks like turkey year round, along with pumpkin whatever, but I’m not one of them. Meat and potatoes, and fish for me. And shrimp… and fried catfish…

Funny how our upbringing seems to ‘drive’ what we like to eat. And how much of an impact a military career can affect that, especially when one gets to travel. The problem with that is that you get to eat the foods in their ‘natural habitat’, then come back to the states and try to find ‘authentic’ dishes…

Which is usually a failure of epic proportions! In a way, we’ve been lucky out here, because we’ve got a base here with foreign students, so good actual Greek, Italian, and we used to have good German restaurants in the area.

What was/is your favorites???

Rules…

For me, but not for thee…

As always, rules for thee, not for me, per the Democrat Party. 

According to reports, President Joe Biden will be riding into the sunset after it was highlighted that no criminal charges will be filed despite being caught in possession of classified documents. 

Sources close to the matter told CNN and the Wall Street Journal that Special Counsel Robert Hur, who is investigating Biden for mishandling documents, is not expected to charge anyone. 

Full article, HERE.

Sigh… I guess I’m really not surprised by this. Once again, we find that ‘laws’ don’t seem to matter, depending on whom is subject to them.

Is is 2025 yet???

Here we go again…

Hamas is playing games as usual… with lives at stake! 🙁

“As President, I have no higher priority than ensuring the safety of Americans held hostage around the world,” Joe Biden said in a statement. “That’s why—from the earliest moments of Hamas’s brutal assault—my national security team and I have worked closely with regional partners to do everything possible to secure the release of our fellow citizens.”

Even Squad member Rep. Jamal “Fire Alarm” Bowman appeared to take some credit for the deal. “I’m grateful that our continuous calls for a ceasefire and the return of the hostages has begun to make a difference,” he said in a post on X/Twitter.

Well, Hamas postponed the ceasefire—the ceasefire they wanted—until Friday, which IDF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus says is  “indicative” of their “psychological warfare” tactics.

Full article, HERE.

Backchannel says this is their norm, rather than an exception… What truly angers me is the MSM here seems to have bought into the Hamas mantra lock, stock, and barrel whether by choice or ‘direction’.

This makes me wonder who and how many hostages will ever be returned. Obviously, not all of them, as deaths have been reported, albeit not enough specifics to determine who has died.

Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and the other catspaws of Iran need to be ended by any means necessary, otherwise, this crap is just going to continue.

Kicking the soapbox back in the corner now…

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

As the holiday season kicks off today, take a moment and step back from the sales, hoopla, family dinners/arguments/loony Uncles etc. and think about how lucky we are to live where we do…

And have the freedoms that we have, both due to our country and our ability to EARN a good enough living to be able to feed the crowd, travel to family, and the other things that we take for granted…

Having spent a number of Thanksgivings and Christmases out of the country over the years, I truly count myself lucky to be able to enjoy these holidays with family and friends.  I know many scoff at the food in the military, but I will tell you that Thanksgiving and Christmas the mess halls/chow halls, the field kitchens, the mess decks on the ships and subs ALL go out of their way to fix a traditional meal, literally soup to nuts (and everything in between) for those servicemen and women (and on shore bases the families) of our military.

This is from the 646th ADC in New Jersey (in 1956).

This is from the 71st Transportation Battalion in Vietnam in 1967

What Was on the First Thanksgiving Menu?

Little is known about the first Thanksgiving dinner in the Plimoth Colony in October 1621, attended by some 50 English colonists and about 90 Wampanoag American Indian men in what is now Massachusetts.
We do know that the Wampanoag killed five deer for the feast, and that the colonists shot wild fowl—which may have been geese, ducks, or turkey. Some form, or forms, of Indian corn were also served.
But Jennifer Monac, spokesperson for the living-history museum Plimoth Plantation, said the feasters likely supplemented their venison and birds with fish, lobster, clams, nuts, and wheat flour, as well as vegetables such as pumpkin, squash, carrots, and peas.
“They ate seasonally,” Monac said in 2009, “and this was the time of the year when they were really feasting. There were lots of vegetables around, because the harvest had been brought in.”
Much of what we consider traditional Thanksgiving fare was unknown at the first Thanksgiving. Potatoes and sweet potatoes hadn’t yet become staples of the English diet, for example. And cranberry sauce requires sugar—an expensive delicacy in the 1600s. Likewise, pumpkin pie went missing due to a lack of crust ingredients.
And the whole food coma thing?  Well, that’s yet another myth…
It’s not the tryptophan in the turkey, it’s the booze, the amount of food (those second and third helpings of Granny’s sweet potato casserole and the pumpkin pie), and the sheer relaxation (other than the family fights/looney Uncle) and not having to work the next day…
And please, when you do sit down for your Thanksgiving, say a prayer for all our men and women serving in the military wherever they may be, and remember too our LEOs, Fire and EMS folks that are on the front lines here at home every day.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours…

Book promo…

Friends are very prolific authors, unlike me… sigh

First up, Peter Nealen with his latest in the Pallas Group series is out- Non-State Actors

As always, click the cover for the link to the Amazon page.

The blurb-

The war came back at Pallas Group Solutions. Chris and Nick both found themselves fighting for their families’ lives.

In response, they struck back.

Now, with two major underworld figures dead, who had facilitated crimes for the People’s Republic of China, the cartels, and others, the war has entered a new phase.

There’s no going back.

There is only the fight.

As Pallas Group Solutions becomes a Non State Actor.

You’ll love this high-octane thriller because the stakes are as high as the action is intense. 

Next up, Alma T.C. Boykin has another of her Familiar Series out- Hunter and Horseman

The blurb-

Undying love or cruel obsession?

Devon County, a quiet rural corner of Pennsylvania. That is, until two brothers refuse to take “no” for an answer. Malice and magic pull Jude Tainuit, the lone Hunter, into the fray. When a tornado rips through the county, leaving pain and twisted power in its wake, the Hunter and his allies face two foes – one in the open, and one who lurks, patient and deadly. A blood-path magic worker hides in the storm, one who hunts Hunters.

Worse awaits. Aunt Martha goes to visit relatives, leaving Jude in charge of the farm … Or as in charge as his Familiar and Martha’s cat will allow.

Jude Tainuit will need all his skills, and the help of allies great and small, to face the storm when twisted power awakens the phantom Horseman.

This one has a ‘really’ interesting twist in it… 🙂

And last but certainly not least, Cedar Sanderson has a new short story out- Running into Time

The blurb-

Time travel isn’t possible. Is it?
If it was feasible, how would it work?
And what price would the world’s powers pay to have the inventor under their control?

Garry never asked to be assigned to protect the girl he really liked in his classes. He just wanted time to get to know her better.

Pol never minded being called a mad scientist. He had good reasons for being mad. His top priority was protecting his sister, no matter the cost.

Both men were about to run headlong into a surreal reality, where the only answer might be held by a little white mouse cupped gently in a woman’s hands…

Highly recommend all three of these, and not just because they’re friends!

This could be ‘interesting’…

What if they gave a debate and nobody showed up to debate???

The Commission on Presidential Debates announced the dates and locations for its 2024 presidential debates on Monday that will lead up to November’s general election which is now less than one year away — but there’s no guarantee the GOP nominee will participate after Republicans severed ties following the 2020 debates. 

Full article, HERE.

After what happened with the ‘moderators’ questionable ‘questions’ and obvious bias demonstration, the Pubs indicated without changes they would not participate. And it looks like the CPD is ignoring that.

Possibly leading to their demise…

I don’t think Xiden will debate anybody, regardless, as I don’t believe he could get through 90 minutes of actual debate without melting down…

But that’s just my opinion, FWIW…

Some people…

Have more money than sense…

A hat that French leader Napoleon Bonaparte wore himself sold for $2.1 million at an auction Sunday.

The final price also includes a commission of 28.8% charged by the Osenat auction house, which anticipated the hat would sell for anywhere between $650,000 to $850,000. Additionally more memorabilia from the French leader were included, per the collection of entrepreneur Jean-Louis Noisiez who died last year.

Full article, HERE from the Washington Examiner.

That felt hat looks awfully good to be over 200 years old, and I can’t help but wonder about the provenance, but I can’t see myself ever spending that much for something that somebody wore/owned/or whatever…

Hmmm…

I ‘think’ Musk is pissed…

For good reason!

The left-wing media watchdog group Media Matters for America (MMFA) has a sordid record of not only publishing absurd “fact-checks” but of bullying businesses that dare to advertise on conservative outlets, or even platforms they don’t approve it. 

At 2 a.m. ET on Saturday, Musk threatened to file a ‘thermonuclear lawsuit’ against Media Matters. “The split second court opens on Monday, X Corp will be filing a thermonuclear lawsuit against Media Matters and ALL those who colluded in this fraudulent attack on our company,” Musk wrote in a post on X/Twitter.

Full article, HERE.

Everybody and their brother is going after Musk, between X and SpaceX. Starship came apart on its second test flight, and there is a lot of pressure from ‘various’ organizations to shut them down/limit their ability to fly…

BUT, we’ve been having a sidebar in a chat about SpaceX’s development program compared to the ‘old days’ between four of us old farts…

Test to fail.  All 33 engines fired; it cleared the pad with no reported pad
damage (though I thought I saw something flying as it cleared the tower); it
made it through Max-Q; it achieved stage separation with the first stage
appearing to maneuver for a “controlled” landing; it was on course; and the
second stage made it (or almost made it) to engine cutoff and coasting to
reentry.

I think the autopsy will find hot staging damaged both vehicles. 

However, under the test to fail philosophy and given Musk is pushing extreme limits, I think it was quite successful. 

Reply-

As I have been tracking what Musk has been doing for several years, I would suggest that your uncles approach is what he has been doing.  He’s at Boca Chica because NASA did not want to risk Pad 39A, the only human certified launch pad we have.  He started with Starhopper, a Starship prototype that reached an altitude of 500 feet in 2019 and then returned to its launch pad.  Then he tested several prototypes of the Starship second stage until one flew successfully.  Along the way he did multiple test stand engine tests, vehicle static fire tests, wet rehearsals (test launch procedures including fuel loading up to a second before ignition).  He has his rocket garden full of prototypes that never flew with some now being dismantled to make more storage room.  And, he has a feedback loop from his Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets.

        The problem is that no matter how extensive a table-top fault analysis is conducted, there will be surprises that can only be discovered by “test-to-failure.”  In fact, I am very concerned that Artemis 2 scheduled for (a manned) launch in November 2024, will be flown on the SLS that has only been test flown and then only once.

Reply-

My engineer uncles were probably too conservative for today’s environment.  I was taught to test, test, test and then build a prototype. 

Reply-

To be fair, they didn’t have the capability to do rapid prototyping!

Reply-

That is true: CAD, additive manufacturing, and CNC have made design, modeling, and prototyping much, much faster.  The perhaps unfortunate side is that it has also made far more complex designs possible.

I think we all agree that Musk is using every bit of technology available to move forward as quickly as possible. In the old days, it was months if not a year between tests due to having to ‘manufacture’ new pieces/parts and seldom were parts reused…

Obviously, he’s succeeded with the Falcon program and manned program much faster than anyone expected or believed. I think he will succeed again, but there will be more big BOOMS before he does. Testing to failure DOES tend to provide those booms and sharpens the learning curve dramatically…

Snerk…

Politics… Need more popcorn!

New Hampshire Democrats have a message for Presidentish Joe Biden, delivered figuratively with a flinty New England middle-finger salute to his plan to upend the traditional primary schedule.

Full article, HERE.
Cue the gnashing of teeth and whining from the lefties…LOL