It's raining here and I love it, Cakes loves it and Anze the Dog hates it, but...
I spent a couple of hours last week cleaning the gutters and drains getting ready for the predicted rainy weather, so I was set or so I thought
The roof has a new leak, it's easy to forget about your roof when you live in a place it only rains a few times a year. The leak sent me to the DIY Center to get a plastic tarp, so I was on the roof in twilight putting it down, getting wet while I did it. Apparently I wasn't the only person with a leak, the tarps were almost sold out. I also picked up some red bricks for 41 cents a piece to hold it down so the wind won't blow the plastic off. So far so good.
I was bright enough to put a load of firewood in the garage, dry wood is a good thing to have when your furnace conks out in cold and wet weather. On the other hand we have 2 zone heat and the system on the second floor works. That will be a comfort when the temp drops into the low 40's tonight. Once again, I'm not alone, the furnace guy is impossible to get a hold of today. He just called, he's tied up for a week.
I should have thought of "Executive Time" when I was running radio stations, close my office door and piss around for a couple of hours, But, since I'm not a "stable genius", I just ground it out 8-10-12 hours a day for years. Silly me.
If I see or read another profile of a "Trump Voter" I'm going to throw up...or see or read another pundit trying to rationalize irrational behavior. I've had it.
I'm 72, be 73 in 5 months and this is the first time in my life I'm:
1. Ashamed of my country
2. Ashamed of my fellow old, white guys. (some of you women as well)
Read an interesting article this morning written by the mother of a 20 something son, she was distressed that he, his wife and child we're immigrating to Norway. He told her, "Mom, I'll make better money, there are incredible schools, college tuition is covered, health care and day care covered, great roads, safe bridges and retirement is covered and all that will cost me roughly 20% more in taxes than I pay here. Do the math mom, it's a better deal and a better lifestyle."
Makes me wish I was in my 20's. I looked it up, the kid is right, everything is cheaper there, housing especially. Groceries are more, but you make it up by other savings.
I have a friend from broadcasting who works for Rueters in Switzerland, he's been offered much bigger jobs in the US, After 17 years in Geneva he won't move back to the USA.
One more thing...
From the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas:
Toyota and Pizza Hut have have partnered up for for a driver-less pizza delivery system. The pizza will even be cooked in the car.
Look, if I have to put on my shoes and walk out to a god damned parked driver-less system to get my pizza from some shitty chain. My pizza wasn't delivered. They just don't want to pay a delivery person.
Good luck in riding out the storm. We got 2.3 inches overnight. Have more since, but haven't checked the gauge yet.
ReplyDeleteNordic Democratic Socialism makes more sense all the time.
If it weren't for the long winters and lack of sunlight in those periods, I'd be booking it for Sweden, where I have some very contented relatives.
ReplyDeleteThey wonder what the hell is going on over here. I don't have a good answer. Deregulated electronic media have a role. Dumb-ass voters follow.
As you may know Bob, my son Dylan went travelling through Asia after he got his Criminology Degree. As there will always be Criminals, he was confident of a job whenever. So he decided to travel Asia with a friend for a year. It grew into two years. The only thing that brought him back was the expiration of a Work Visa and his sister's Wedding. On his way through Australia, New Zealand, The Philippines, Viet Nam, Thailand and Fiji, he worked enough along the way to buy a new Camaro when he got back. He also met a girl from Germany who went home, said hello and goodbye to her parents and then hopped a plane for Detroit. I'm told none of this is unusual in Their World. After saving some money, they'll be off to either Europe or Africa next. So far Dylan likes Australia best, although Viet Nam has a lot going for it. I have fun watching them on Facebook. Most of the problems our generation and those before us had were Tribal. The World was big and Tribes looked after you. I'm not sure where all of this is going but, I suspect, it may be to a Better World.
ReplyDeleteMy granddaughter is working on her master's at Cambridge. Her fiance is from New Zealand. I think she'll end up their. She went to undergrad for a years at the University of Copenhagen, then biked with another girl from Berlin to Istanbul. My other granddaughter went to school for a year and a half in Barcelona and has friends in London, Paris, Barcelona, Madrid and you name it. Like I said, i wish I was in my 20's again.
DeleteHave you checked out television in Norway? I mean 15 hour boat trips?
ReplyDeleteDo they eat oatmeal with sardines like the Vikings did? Or is that "Wikings"?
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