A little humor…

Posted on by April 22, 2025

For Hump Day…

A.A.A.D.D..

KNOW THE SYMPTOMS!
Thank goodness there’s a name for this disorder.

Age-Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. I lay my car keys on the table,
Put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, And notice that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first…

But then I think, Since I’m going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my cheque book off the table, and see that there is only one cheque left. My extra cheques are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Pepsi I’d been drinking. I’m going to look for my cheques, but first I need to push the Pepsi aside so that I don’t accidentally knock it over.

The Pepsi is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold. As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye–they need water.

I put the Pepsi on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I’ve been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I’m going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table. I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I’ll be looking for the remote, but I won’t remember that it’s on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I’ll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back on the table, g et some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:
The car isn’t washed,
The bills aren’t paid,
There is a warm can of Pepsi sitting on the counter,
The flowers don’t have enough water,
There is still only 1 cheque in my cheque book,
I can’t find the remote,
I can’t find my glasses,
And I don’t remember what I did with the car keys.
Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I’m really baffled because I know I was busy all day, and I’m really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem, and I’ll try to get some help for it, but first I’ll check my e-mail….

Do me a favour.
Forward this message to everyone you know, because I don’t remember who I’ve sent it to.

Don’t laugh — if this isn’t you yet, your day is coming!

P.S.I don’t remember who sent it to me, so if it was you, I’m sorry

Pope Francis…

Posted on by April 21, 2025

Has passed from this mortal coil. He died yesterday morning, Rome time apparently due to a stroke and heart attack.

(AP: Alessandra Tarantino)

From Fox News-

Pope Francis’ will, which was released after his death on Monday, outlined his desire to be buried in Santa Maria Maggiore, a basilica in Rome.

One of Rome’s four papal basilicas, seven popes are buried at Santa Maria Maggiore (which translates to Saint Mary Major in English).

Francis will be the first pope buried outside the Vatican in over 100 years, and the first Pope buried at Santa Maria Maggiore in over 350 years.

The last time a pope was buried outside the Vatican was in 1924. Pope Leo XIII died in 1903 and was initially buried in the Vatican in 1903; his remains were later moved to the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome in 1924.

May he rest in peace.

Next is nine days of mourning, followed by his burial, and the Conclave of 136 Cardinals under the age of 80, who will choose the next Pope, however long that may take.

This…

Posted on by April 20, 2025

So much this…

The FSU shooting is a little closer to home than I’d like. I’m about an hour and a half from Tallahassee and have been there many times, including a few trips to the FSU campus.

And right now, a lot of people are using this awful tragedy to justify gun control and call for more of it, but that crumbles in the face of what happened.

See, Florida may be fairly pro-gun, especially when compared to states like California or New York, but it’s also what I call the most restrictive pro-gun state in the nation. They have more gun control laws on the books than most pro-gun states ever would.

And none of them did a thing to stop the alleged killer. 

In fact, this shooting is actually proof that gun control doesn’t stop these things from happening.

Full article, HERE from Town Hall.

Every law Florida has in place, even though it is a CCW state, did not prevent the tragedy at FSU.

Why???

Simple…because criminals will not obey laws.

And to my mind, one of the most egregious laws is the gun free zone law. This prevents licensed conceal carriers from carrying in those zones, preventing a quick response to a criminal bent on killing someone(s).

The Luby’s shooting in KiIleen HERE, and Suzanna Hupp’s campaign, along with George Bush becoming governor was what FINALLY got Texas to pass CCW.

Sadly, Texas has gun free zones too…

Funny how it’s always the ‘gun’ that gets the press, and the left/Dems/et al love dancing in the blood of the victims while they spout the ‘evils’ of guns…but you never hear them talk about the criminals that commit the crimes- Witness the lengths the groups in Tenn have gone to keep the writings/manifesto of The Covenant School in Nashville in 2023, HERE.

Or how often the ethnicity of the shooter plays into the amount of ‘coverage’ a story gets…

How many times have we heard “They were on (insert law enforcement agency here) radar… AFTER the shooting…

I don’t have a good answer, but Tom’s article just reenforced my belief that I should carry every day, and NOT visit gun free zones. Which is why I haven’t been to a movie theater in years, no great loss, and I’ve saved a bunch of money, too!

It also plays into places I will or won’t visit, including entire states and any blue city. I also try to not be where people are doing stupid things, and I’m too old to stay up long enough to get in trouble after midnight either.

Just putting this out here for thought. Who knows, maybe somebody will read this and rethink some things they are doing or not doing and modify their behavior… or not…

 

Happy Easter!!!

Posted on by April 19, 2025

To each and everyone I wish you a Happy Easter, may your day be filled with Love and Joy!!!

THE EASTER LILY HOLIDAY TRADITION

Each holiday is marked by cherished traditions that bring joy, comfort, and warmth, and provide continuity from one generation to the next. Easter has its share of traditions: egg decorations and hunts; gift baskets and chocolate bunnies, sunrise church services, parades, and, of course, the Easter Lily. For many, the beautiful trumpet-shaped white flowers symbolize purity, virtue, innocence, hope and life – the spiritual essence of Easter.

History, mythology, literature, poetry and the world of art are rife with stories and images that speak of the beauty and majesty of the elegant white flowers. Dating back to Biblical lore, the lily is mentioned numerous times in the Bible. One of the most famous Biblical references is in the Sermon on the Mount, when Christ told his listeners: “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet….. Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

Often called the “white-robed apostles of hope,” lilies were found growing in the Garden of Gethsemane after Christ’s agony. Tradition has it that the beautiful white lilies sprung up where drops of Christ’s sweat fell to the ground in his final hours of sorrow and deep distress. Churches continue this tradition at Easter time by banking their alters and surrounding their crosses with masses of Easter Lilies, to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and hope of life everlasting.

Since the beginning of time, lilies have played significant roles in allegorical tales concerning the sacrament of motherhood. Ancient fables tell us the lily sprang from the milk of Hera, the mythological Queen of Heaven.

The pure white lily has long been closely associated with the Virgin Mary. In early paintings, the Angel Gabriel is pictured extending to the Virgin Mary a branch of pure white lilies, announcing that she is to be the mother of the Christ Child. In other paintings, saints are pictured bringing vases full of white lilies to Mary and the infant Jesus.

The legend is told that when the Virgin Mary’s tomb was visited three days after her burial, it was found empty save for bunches of majestic white lilies. Early writers and artists made the lily the emblem of the Annunciation, the Resurrection of the Virgin: the pure white petals signifying her spotless body and the golden anthers her soul glowing with heavenly light.

It seems the thirteenth-century Barthololmeus Anglicus had this in mind when he wrote: ‘The Lily is an herbe with a white flower; and though the leaves of the floure be white, yet within shineth the likeness of gold.” So goes the saying, ‘To gild a lily is to attempt, foolishly, to improve on perfection.” To many artists and poets it seemed that, if any flower could have one, the lily had a soul.

In yet another expression of womanhood, lilies had a significant presence in the paradise of Adam and Eve. Tradition has it that when Eve left the Garden of Eden she shed real tears of repentance, and from those remorseful tears sprung up lilies. The spiritual principle held here is that true repentance is the beginning of beauty.

A mark of purity and grace throughout the ages, the regal white lily is a fitting symbol of the greater meaning of Easter. Gracing millions of homes and churches, the flowers embody joy, hope and life. Whether given as a gift or enjoyed in your own home, the Easter Lily serves as a beautiful reminder that Easter is a time for rejoicing and celebrating.

Ironically, the white (Easter) lily is a native plant of Southern Japan…

And our Jewish friends are celebrating the end of Passover as told to Moses for the 10th plague, one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

Strike two…

Posted on by April 17, 2025

Welp, Google lost another anti-trust case in court…

A federal judge ruled on Thursday that Google holds an illegal monopoly over two online advertising markets. This is the latest in a series of unfavorable rulings against the Big Tech giant.

US District Judge Leonie Brinkema’s landmark ruling came after a three-week bench trial.  She argued that Google violated the Sherman Act by engaging in anticompetitive conduct in the digital marketing space.

Full article, HERE on Town Hall.

Last year, they got hit with violating the Sherman act, by maintaining a monopoly on search and advertising markets, HERE.

It’s not like people didn’t ‘know’ what was going on, but the previous Dem administrations had let the Big Tech companies do what they wanted. It took a LONG time to actually get the lawsuits into court, but it appears Google ‘might’ finally be brought to heel.

Google was/is trying its damnest to control not only the Intarwebz, but also the cell phone world (Android). The only other option these days is Apple with their IOS. I don’t have the details, but I was ‘told’ Android was feeding data back to Google on whatever was on the phone or used on the phone…

I wonder how long it will be before Amazon/ACX end up in court for the same things???

Hmmmm…

Posted on by April 16, 2025

So much is going on it’s hard to ‘pick’ just one thing to focus on…

Harvard is saying they are a ‘private’ college so don’t have to abide by the rules Trump has signed, but if that is actually true, WHY do they get Federal money? And the IRS is looking at their tax exempt status… Could get interesting.

The so called ‘innocent’ MS-13 guy in MD (who is an illegal from El Salvador) apparently  isn’t as innocent as the left is saying, based on LEO reports. Van Hollen’s (D-MD) trip yesterday to ‘bust him out’ was a total failure. Van Hollen never got him released or even got to talk to him.

Even after SCOTUS slapped down Judge Boasberg, he’s STILL going after the administration, now saying he has ‘enough’ to file contempt charges…

There is apparently some ‘push back’ on the all female 10 minute Blue Origin flight (with NEW flight suits), questioning its effectiveness. Meh…

Boeing stands to lose another $1.2B this year, as China is apparently no longer accepting US built aircraft (they had, I think, 10 on order).

Newsome, CA’s gov, it now apparently suing the administration, saying the tariffs are illegal. This after he tried to negotiate ‘separate’ tariff deals for CA with various countries, saying CA is ‘the 5th largest economy’ in the world…

And so many others…sigh

 

 

One down…

Posted on by April 15, 2025

And how many to go??? I ‘hope’ the CF in California is next!

The Department of Transportation on Monday announced the termination of a grant that helped fund a high-speed rail project in Texas, which will save taxpayers more than $60 million.

An agreement was reached between the Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak to end the $63.9 million grant under the Corridor Identification and Development Program for the Amtrak Texas High-Speed Rail Corridor.

While the program, originally known as the Texas Central Railway project, began as a private venture, it later became dependent on federal money to continue when the cost estimates ballooned. 

Full article, HERE from Town Hall.

Most Texans than I knew didn’t care for the high-speed corridor idea to start with, since it was ONLY Dallas-Houston, and most scoffed at the ‘private’ development. As it turn out, that went by the wayside in a hurry, and the State and Amtrak got drug into it…

But, compared to the California debacle, it truly pales…

LA to SFO was supposed to be completed by 2033, for $33B. Except it’s now 2026 and they haven’t even completed one entire MILE of rail… Oh yeah, and the cost has ballooned to over $100B (some say as high as $128B).

And they shortened it, so it now ‘apparently’ just runs up the central valley and doesn’t even go to LA or SFO.

And they wanted the administration to pony up something like $7B in funds this year!

Not no, but hell no! That whole project was stupid to start with, and that was at the low end of $$$, now, fuggidaboutit!!!

What folks don’t seem to understand is that the Japanese, Chinese, and European high speed rail programs run on DEDICATED lines, specifically maintained for high speed use, and none of them really are ‘long’ distances compared to the US!

Amtrak and Acela, the ONE high speed line in the US, running from Boston to DC in about 8 hours. I’ve taken in from Providence, RI to DC and that took 7.5 hours to go roughly 400 miles, so the ‘average’ speed is only a tad over 50 miles and hour with five stops. I only remember ONE section where it actually got up to speed, and that rattled our car pretty badly on supposedly ‘dedicated’ lines.

The reality is outside of that one line, the rest of Amtrak is on FREIGHT line rails, literally sharing the tracks with freight trains. And those lines are NOT high speed, most of the time a maximum of 60 mph, and many times lower than that, especially in built up areas.

So, IMHO, the US does not need ANY high speed rail, because we are so spread out. And .gov can’t ‘take’ the line like they do in Europe, Japan, and China, thus any ‘costs’ are through the roof for right of way purchases, unlike the other countries.

 

Book promo…

Posted on by April 14, 2025

First up is Dave Freer’s new YA novel Storm-Dragon

As always, click on the cover for the Amazon link!

The blurb-

On the treacherous Vann’s World, Skut battles a savage wind and deadly hamerkops to rescue a mysterious, telepathic creature. Fleeing a rising tide and a menacing Loor-beast, he forms an unexpected bond with the tiny, electric-charged being that sees him as its protector. As Skut navigates the perilous tidal tiers, his impulsive escape from Highpoint Station unravels into a fight for survival—both for himself and his newfound companion.

Podge is the new kid in town, trying to keep his head down. Meeting Skut is about the only bright spot in his introduction to this strange new world. The boys bond over Skut’s creature, and trying to avoid the class bullies. This is only the beginning; soon Skut finds his new friends do not ease the growing concerns of the adults around him while the town is coming under a mysterious threat. What can two boys and a tiny storm-dragon do?

Next up is our friend Alma TC Boykin with a new Familiars book of short stories Gulls, Ghosts, and Skeps

The blurb-

A beekeeper with a secret discovers a hidden orchard, and a little more.
Out-of-tune pianos are the least of a craftsman’s problems when magic combines with frustration.Ghosts haunt Tallin’s citadel. Or do they?

From quiet stories to wild adventures, these stories expand a Familiar world. Meet new characters and check in with old favorites in this short story collection.

Highly recommend both! Dave’s is one for the grandkids (for us old farts)…LOL

A little humor…

Posted on by April 13, 2025

To start your week!

A distraught senior citizen phoned her doctor’s office. “Is it true,” she wanted to know, “that the medication you prescribed has to be taken for the rest of my life?”
“‘Yes, I’m afraid so,”‘ the doctor told her.
There was a moment of silence before the senior lady replied, “I’m wondering, then, just how serious is my condition because this prescription is marked ‘NO REFILLS’..”
***********************
An older gentleman was on the operating table awaiting surgery and he insisted that his son, a renowned surgeon, perform the operation. As he was about to get the anesthesia,
he asked to speak to his son.

“Yes, Dad , what is it?”
“Don’t be nervous, son; do your best, and just remember, if it doesn’t go well, if something happens to me, your mother is going to come and live with you and your wife….”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aging:
Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it. This is so true. I love to hear them say “you don’t look that old.”
———————————
The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.
——————————–
Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me! I want people to know why
I look this way. I’ve traveled a long way and some of the roads weren’t paved.
********************
When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to youth, think of Algebra.
——————————-
One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change
from being young.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Ah, being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.
*********
First you forget names, then you forget faces. Then you forget to pull up your zipper…
it’s worse when you forget to pull it down.

And this one is not necessarily ‘just’ for the Army…

Y’all have a good week!!!