Folks,

As predicted. SNOW! Just now sticking on grass, cars and roofs. Pouring down, beautiful.

Folks,

I got up before the sun did this morning so I could encourage him to warm us. He is. Temps should just exceed freezing today. Melting of the snow that fell yesterday may begin then freeze again tonight. The ambient temp was 13°F. when I rolled out of my warm bed. It has warmed tasty 17°F. at 8:30 AM.

As I looked out upon the pristine, snowscape a moment ago I noticed the wind was playing with the snow on our roof sending some of it flying happily into the sunlight before it fell like sparkly powder to join its once flaky relatives blanketing the ground around us. I do not wish anyone to get hurt but I do selfishly hope UPS can get here with my stuff today. A pot of clean snow was captured last night by the kids. I hear a rumor there may be snow cream made today.

The roads and bridges are slick. Some of these are covered with treacherous "Black Ice". There is a winter advisory in effect for hazardous driving conditions until 12 Noon today. Driving hazardous? Yup and I'd venture a safe guess that just walking to your vehicle this morning is too.

Gentlemenses,

So this is what the rest of you mean when you speak of winter. Went below freezing at midnight and reached 26 F before morning. 8 hours below freezing and a very low cold means much of our delicate vegetation will either be dead or stunted. Covered the most important stuff, but I’m afraid even it will take a hit. 26F; I don’t like it. No, not at all.

So I will not be driving with the top down. As we speak, I am in a diner across the street from the Maserati dealer. I wanted to get some specific items checked on the Spyder; clutch wear and adjustment and an item unique to the Formula 1 racing transmissions. Point of Initial Slip (PIS) which determines how the clutch slips in to lockup. There is a specific range it should fall into and I wanted to ensure it was correct to prevent early clutch and disc wear. Also had them do a VIN check for any outstanding recalls or service bulletins. There were none open. The Cambiocorsa F1 shifting system is a wonder. If you have never done it you need to give it a try. And I mean the real thing, not the fake automatic and paddle shifting that they are doing on some cars now.

It is very cold. Heating in the car worked very good.

Fittop, — Yeager’s broken rib was when he broke the sound barrier in the Bell x-1 not the X-15. Different days back then. Manly men, doing manly things in a manly sort of way.

I am always awed at Kelly Johnson and The Skunk works. Leaps in aircraft and technology at a very rapid pace. The SR-71 development was just incredible. Very akin to the Space Program at a much faster pace.

Well, I am going to finish my meal and wander back to the dealer. Then I will be using my local European car shop for regular maintenance. They have been doing my Jag for years and I trust them.

Have I mentioned it is very cold and is going to be so again tonight ?

I don’t like it. But the airplane does. Air cooled engine runs strong and the cold dense air makes for better lift. You can really notice the two working together on takeoff. Fortunately the heater in the plane works well. Going to a BBQ competition, car show, and fly-in at Zephyrhills Saturday. Three planes and six other friends. Good group so it will be a good day.

Folks,

OG:

Chuck Yeager was unknown by the public for such a long time after he broke the sound barrier for the first time. As you know, the info was classified. I bet some folks still hadn't heard of him until "The Right Stuff" came out. And I mean the movie, not the book. They know now. That guy could fly yet he has always said that "Bud" Anderson was the best fighter pilot he ever saw. Bud was at Seymour for their open house once when I was there but I never got the chance to speak to him. I did get up close and personal with Old Crow once. The Thunder Birds were at Seymour that year and my little son got a real thrill meeting a couple of them.

You spoke of Formula 1. Jens was shocked when he first heard me say so but from right here in NASCAR country, I have always preferred open wheel racing over "stock" car racing. My uncle used to live right across the road from the Petty house in Randelman, NC. I visited there every summer. Back then, a kid could just walk right in and say "Howdy". You could stay and watch until you got in the way and wore out your welcome. I wore mine out daily.

Hello Chaps,

Daughter Jane and partner Dave are staying in the Hotel Pennsylvania, New York tonight and for a few more nights of what will be a short break. They made the trip today on Aer Lingus Airbus A330 from Dublin's fair city. The hotel looks most imposing with the pillars across the entrance. I just hope that the hotel is well stocked with booze because Jane is a dedicated party animal.

So you guys look after our Janey and we will keep an eye on Meghan - OK?

Folks,

I'm running late today. Not because I slept late. I did not. I rose before the sun today and still I am catching up. It takes the sun a while after it comes up to rise above those very tall pines to the East bordering the neighborhood . When I got up about 6 AM the street lamps were still lit. Yet, I am still behind at 6:30 PM.

My KA-BAR came today and she is a black steel beauty. She is razor sharp. I know this for I shaved a spot on my arm. Even before unboxing I made sure it is the true Marine Corps fighting knife. Not a knockoff. I examined the box closely. The long, black box has the blade represented on it..check. The Marine Corps hologram is there too signify their verification...check. On the end of the box is listed its place of birth , Olean, NY, USA...Check. On the side of the box is printed KA-Bar Knives, INC Since 1898. On the other end is written KA-BAR 1217 with a bar code and a description plus the word NEW...Check.

Inside, the knife blade was sheathed in a white cardboard sleeve...Check. Under the knife was the natural colored leather sheath with name, Globe and Anchor, USMC and KA-BAR stamped (not printed) on it...Check. Did I mention it is sharp OG?

OK, there are better, more rugged survival knives available and probably better tactical knives too. Nothing I've seen brings with it such historical value and that is what has always impressed me. I have always wanted to own a real one. Now I do. The sheath is a good one but I may replace it with a custom one someday. My low profile ball cap came too and I like it better than the one I have that is not low profile. All should have come yesterday. The snow slowed UPS down by a day. There is very little snow left now. We saw temps rise into the 40's F. today. Full sunshine all day. I still have a few small things coming on Monday.

How did the KA-BAR get its unusual name? I've read that way, way back the factory received a worn and crumpled testimonial from one of their knife owners. About all that could be read in broken and faded English were the letters K A and BAR. Finally, it was determined that the old timer who wrote the message meant his gun had jammed when he was attacked by a bear and he killed the beast with the knife he had bought form them. He thanked them for making such a dependable and sharp tool. From that came the name KA-BAR. "Killed A BAR.

Here's a movie on YouTube I think you'll enjoy. "High Flight". It is a Columbia picture about early jet flight in the RAF. It stars Ray Milland and a young Anthony Newly. You'll see Vampires and Hunters in this one. It's not "Top Gun" but I liked it. Everything is subjective, so you may not. Worth a look IMHO if for nothing else than to see what branch of service Bernard Lee was in before being promoted to "M" in "Dr. NO".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l4byhJVA8o

Gentlemenses,

The Ka-Bar is a good knife. The other combat knife of that period was the Gerber Mk II. The Marines favored the Ka-Bar and the Army Special Ops and Rangers the Gerber.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerber_Mark_II

When I graduated Ranger School we went to Ranger Joe’s and bought Gerbers. Later at our units we found that you could tell the old grunts from the newbies quite easily. The newbies were carrying Gerber and the old hands had two blade folding Bucks or such. You quickly found that the combat/fighting knives were pretty much useless for most anything else. Also they were heavy and bulky. So for anything but combat you didn’t carry them. But they do have a mystique about them.

Got mine in 1974. I still have it, but it is not pristine. Bit weathered and worn. I can post a picture if you’d like.

Folks,

Dux:

I hope Jane and Dave enjoy NY. There is much to see and do in a town that never blinks its eyes, let alone sleeps. I am sure Fittop can tell you all about NY, NY. I have only visited that city once. Sinatra sure liked it. Actually, I did too.

I'd like to see London one day but I doubt I'll make it now. Canada is about as close as I will ever get. I did not see a single Bearskin hat but I did see several un-mounted Mounties in Toronto. And I saw a few rather dated pictures of a very young Queen when I paid for stuff.

OG:

The Rangers, eh. My wife's uncle was a decorated ranger in WW2. He was shot in the head during the Battle of the Bulge and captured. Uncle Bill spent the rest of the war in hospital captivity. The Germans did all they could under less than ideal circumstances he told me but he never completely recovered.

Uncle Bill died a few years before my wife did. His wife is still living. Bill Broughton was and is one of my heroes. He was a railroad man by profession. His job was still waiting for him after the war. He came home to that and also went into local politics. He was at one time the longest serving city councilman in the state.

I could very seldom get him to talk about his war. He favored me greatly by doing so once or twice before he died. A lot of men came home from that world war and only spoke about what happened to them when in the company of other vets. If you were not actually there, you could not possibly understand what they had seen and done they must have reasoned. I was born almost at the end of WW2.

All I know is what I have read about it. My paternal grandpa served in France in WW 1. He said very little about it. All I remember him saying is that it was a horror and a time of great privation. He recalled he and his men being so thirsty once they drank horse piss. He mentioned the trench life and death and destruction being a daily experience. Maybe they did drink and eat such terrible things and see unspeakable horrors? Probably it was even worse. That little he told me got the message across to me it was terrible time indeed. My great grandma knew several Confederate soldiers who fought in the un-Civil War. They would not talk about their war either, she told me.

No, the KA-BAR is not a survival knife. You can baton it but not chop down trees. It is a fighting knife. It is a historic knife. It is in some ways a sacred knife. My Uncle JD carried one through the Pacific. It saved his life once on Saipan. Or so I have been told. I am proud to have one.

Folks,

Cold temps prevailed all night. The sun is doing his best this morning and my world is warming. This promises to be a good weekend weather-wise. There will be some flooding up north but that is far less likely here, I think.

Amazon has challenged my intellect. They notified me yesterday they are raising the monthly tariff on monthly PRIME membership to 12.99 from 1$10.99. Somehow, they neglected to mention that is $155.00 per year. I don't use most of the perks they offer to lull me into accepting the expense. Free Two Day shipping is nice but I don't really mind waiting a bit to save $155. I'd really rather spend that on gifts for my grand children. They do hate waiting but I don't have to tell them something is coming by artificially speed governed mule train. There is also the option of paying the lower yearly rate all at once but I am girlishly shy about making that binding commitment so soon in our relationship.

My FREE trial subscription ends in February. I will be cancelling the automatic subscription that I so cunningly accept by simply "doing nothing" when September rolls around. That way I only pay the same amount I would have paid for 12 months of PRIME before the price increase. I will order Christmas items then so I can get FREE and extra slow shipping in plenty of time for the holly days. If I find I no longer wish to watch movies free or order enough mdse. each month to save at least $12.99 in shipping, I will cancel earlier than that.

Dear Amazon, you have tested my intellect. I do hope I have passed the test. Wait, you may be correct LeRoy, won't I fail by continuing for another 8 months?

Gentlemen,
LOL, JRT. I think you have broken the code (confusion) of Amazon.

I also bit on the "prime" membership some three years - or some almost-$400. ago.
My reasoning was when I got the Rokus, the Amazon movies/TV and the Kindle book of the month readings were a good deal.
Once hooked, of course the Kindle book "free" loan-of-the-month became very hard to find and suddenly there was a $10./month charge for its evolved replacement, etc.
I may just keep the membership for the movie/TV offerings but I only order some four things a year so the $132/yr is a debatable expense with Netflix being a better value.

It's the "ole hook and got 'ya" being taught by Harvard 'economists' and accountants, used by the Waltons and car dealers of every stripe. It still works.
But we are all really at fault here, trying to get the most for the least. Greed works.
That reminds me to extend my Consumer Reports subscription and make my donation to it and PBS.
But that only works until they ask for double what you gave before, regardless of amount. It's enough to make one drink. Be back after I get a beer.

Folks,

Fittop: 🤔

I had to think about it for 2 whole seconds. I have watched several good movies on Amazon. The Jack Reacher movies were really good. One I had to rent the other was free. I rented "Made in America" somewhere else though. I liked "The Lost City of "Z" " and that was free. I do not know if everyone's rate is going up.

Maybe the PRIME cost went up just for the ones that actually save money every month? To do that, it seems to me a lot of product must be shipped. That may mean no profit is made on shipping but there certainly is a good markup on the products shipped. Everyone is finding and looking for new ways of maximizing profits. Why not? Profit is a good thing, right? Well, I wish software could still be bought and not just rented. You pay more than the software is worth to you sooner or later. Especially if new version upgrades cause your rate to go up.

Adobe has gotten in a bit of trouble with photographers who do NOT want to upgrade their old Lightroom to the new Lightroom CC that is a dumbed down version of the old one. They don't want to upgrade to the familiar Classic Lightroom either because that probably will be discontinued as so many "classic" things (like you and I, Dux) usually are. That is denied by Adobe. Once was the time Adobe seemed to care a great deal about what their customers wanted and did not want.

These days, like Microsoft and others, Adobe seem to think they are so big now that what is best for their profit margin is what is best for all their customers. Kinda like that old thing about General Motors strategy. And they give us what they want without even asking if it is what we want. Adobe seems to have caught on they got it a bit wrong this time. At least they are finally requesting consumer feedback.

It seems to me in our new world of instant messaging and social media it is very risky to alienate customers. Word spreads faster if customers are angry and faster then ever online. I bet Adobe's competition loves them for their risky business model. So that is precisely what I told them when they asked my opinion.

I subscribed to Consumer Reports just last month. Unfortunately, quite a few items I want to buy have no review at this time. I have always liked CR since they used to have a program on TV years ago. There have been many CR reviews of products available free online as well.

There are a lot of 'smart' electronics available today that promise to enhance our lives. But I wonder if we aren't blinded by the hype and photos of families and other happy consumers and ignoring what data is being collected about us. Now not only our phones and our computers collect personal data but personal assistants brought right into our inner sanctums have that potential. They may be listening, watching collecting and phoning home from the last previously safe vantage point of our lives.

Anonymous data? OK. It really doesn't matter if they use our name if they are building an algorithm from all that data of collected averages. When that algorithm is put to use (for god knows what innocuous or dangerous purpose, it will also include us in its effect, right? Are there going to be compelling ads we cannot resist in our future? What will the government use that info for? Congress has long forgot government by the people for the people. Well it seems to have as it is shutting down unless "by and for the people" only means the government.

DISCLAIMER:
These are just my silly opinions, ramblings really. Ask yourself now, if you haven't many times already, what do I know about anything anyway? No one pay any attention the that old guy behind the curtain. Please.

BTW. Where is Gorge Orwell when we so desperately need another book? I haven't seen much from him since 1984; have you?

Gentlemen,
JRT,

You almost got me, grin, and I had dutifully started checking or rather verifying my feeling on Orwell's whereabouts until I realized the smiley meant you knew.
Don't remember reading Animal Farm. Surely I did.
You have to hand it to the Science Fiction writers. How did they know TV would someday be projected wall size, and flat?
How much of a fan of science was the guy who sat behind me in Jr. High to show me the working radio he made that fit in a match box? He did turn me into a Popular Mechanics addict though. But I had already learned I could go to the library and read that and Popular Science there, along with the entire 740. Dewey system shelf and a few other shelves.
I still believe in Public Libraries and public education, even if they have changed some. It does me good to go there and see kids and people go there and use books and computers and DVDs. If you go there you will also see the less fortunate and foreigners and older folks using the system and gaining knowledge. I always think an "Atta Boy!" to them for their hunger for knowledge.

Consumer Reports has been in my house since I was 25 or so. Seemed to be my best bet for consumer education at the time. Still is, even if they have also changed a bit; and if I don't get their top-rated car or TV or use a phone service, I do at least know why I did get the one I purchased.
Unfortunately, I do keep the hard copies for some ten years since their digital service barely seems to cover a year. Am I a hoarder? Possibly. But I don't buy the latest car model.
They do still have a TV segment, but the stations seem to change.

On the data collection, what keeps me sane is the knowledge that collecting data on everyone gives up a lot of cra, er, information. That has to be collated, etc. and garbage in,garbage out still holds true and reasoning is needed. But if they are after you, for the right and wrong reason, it's hard to go missing.

Folks,
Fittop:

Science fiction sometimes becomes science fact. What doesn't is poorly written or its time has not yet come. Dr. Jacob Bronowski, the physicist and writer of the book "The Ascent of Man" wrote something like: The scientific facts of today are only FACTS relative to the accuracy of the prevailing technology of today. The better our technology becomes to more "facts" are disproved and replaced with new facts. I still love science fiction. I am watching the last series of "Dr. Who" right now. I have watched that show since it first appeared on US PBS stations about 50 years ago. I cannot imaging the next series with a female Doctor. I guess I will get used to it.

I read "1984" in school and "Animal Farm" during a summer school vacation, as I recall. Books like that and "Lord of the Flies" and all of Jules Verne's works plus science fiction movies of that time fascinated me. Books like "From the Earth to the Moon" fertilized my already over active imagination. I wrote my first book (never published thank goodness ) in 1960 while in hospital or recuperating at home. That was maybe 250 typewritten pages single sided, double spaced. I wish I had that now. My uncle Ray took it to try and get it published and never returned it. No real loss I assure you.

Popular Science and Mechanics were looked forward to each month as were Popular Electronics and National Geographic later on. All that was before I was introduced to Playboy by a senior girl in tenth grade. That mag got a lot of my attention from then on. So, incidentally, did the ladies.

I too kept my magazines into adulthood and lugged them around after marriage. Finally, they were left behind. There was a lot of info in them and in my large supply of technical books, encyclopedias and reference books. When computers came along my brother in law who worked i R&D for IBM in RTP introduced me to them in the 1980's. I was instantly hooked. Now all that info I had in those books and mags and far more even than that is right at my finger tips on Google and Wikipedia.

Paranoia is encouraged daily when we are stricken by a virus ourselves or read about new threats attacking many others. As you know, just because you are NOT paranoid, that does not mean THEY aren't out to get you.

Gents,

With this prolonged period of overcast, grey, cold weather alternating with overcast, grey, slightly warmer but windier and wetter weather, I had to succumb to cravings of more consumerism.
Flipping the channels browsing the Amazon Videos, the Netflixes, HBO's etc. for entertainment, I was tempted by Amazon Videos claim to providing access for me to the content from the various Discovery channels and ITV+Hub. I didn't try it out, not even for a seven day trial period as I suspect my VPN might influence the offerings in such a way that once I'm in front of the big screen, my VPN on the browser is not on. Besides, I thought the offerings to be a bit pricey, for what seemed to me to be having access to a library of re-runs. I might test it out later. Who knows?

Instead I settled for a couple of extra cable tv channels. As is always the case these days, when you shop for something they try to "up-sell" you, and so it was no surprise to me that instantly the assistant went into parrot mode and tried to sell me a package of 10 extra channels for the ridiculous amount of $30 per month, an option I had investigated prior to making my decision and decided to forego, as the channels in question at times resemble a shopping window more than a tv channel, due to the excessive amount of commercials. Instead I opted for three extra channels, at $8 extra cost per month.

This pushy behaviour I also find these days in the way android software starts to push shove messages disguised as "alerts" or "notifications": You Tube feels it is vital to inform me that some channel I've subscribed to is now doing this and that, live. An app deems it necessary to encourage me to start using it, and I can't un-install it, only deactivate it. I have to go into the apps submenu to explicitly tell every single app that it is not allowed to send me push messages. What a drag! I shall not be surprised when one of these days, the hoover or the stove starts suggesting I get the bigger, newer model and wants to order it for me before I can tell it to shut up. At that stage, you might catch me with a screw driver, attempting to disconnect the higher brain functions, or at least the speech centre of that pesky little AI! Whether it will be against the law to do so, I don't know. But it will certainly void the warranty!

Science. I'm a huge fan myself. As regular readers will already know I was a willing space cadet from a very early age. Have spacesuit, will travel sort of thing.

Yet science, when applied to everyday applications and consumerism can be a double edge sword as it seems this post is rapidly becoming a listing of examples to illustrate just that statement.

I was well chuffed yesterday since I managed to get an e-book that I wanted very much for an extremely good price, buying from Google. The price for the book when including a $5 promotion discount, was just $2.5. So far so good, but I wanted to read it on my e-ink screen ereader, not the tablet screen, and not on my phone. So I downloaded the book to ADE (Adobe Digital Ereader) thereby making it availabel to Clibre, the open source Swiss knife of ereader management software, applied a little magic and there you are; Bob's your Uncle!

Science, as in science fiction, in my humble opinion all to often thrown into a bundle with the poor, distant, very distant relative; fantasy. I'm beginning to think if they want to have a show with a female lead, why don't they just call it Dr. Mrs. Who and be done with it? As discussed before; if James Bonde becomes Jane Bond, and perhaps non-caucasian, it is just not the same anymore but an entirely different franchise. I guess that the legal rights would see the likes of Grab T. Money, A. Precedent & Sons/Daughters having a field day arguing what is a rip-off, what is a continuation and what is an entirley new show.

When Science fiction is well told, it can be fanciful, inventive, inspiring yet also tell of dangers that lie ahead. 1984 is here, and our battle with the AI as envisioned in 2001 has surely only just begun.The dystopian sub-genre is quite proliferated currently and honestly I've had enough of sheer dystopia's and long for the spirit and nature of the original Star Trek where I was first introduced to future inventions such as mobile phones, PDA's and tablets. There's a 13 episode series that continues the voyages of the Enterprise NCC-1701, completing the original crews 5 year mission. It is incredibly well made and of a very high standard, freely available on You Tube and their own web site: Star Trek Continues .

I watched all of the Next gen episodes, got a bit tired by the end of Voyager, never completed DS9, entirely skipped Enterprise. and now rage against Discovery which is too dark, depressing, dystopian and poorly written for my tastes. did I tell you I don't care much for that one? I quite like the Orville, apart from some of the humour which on occasions is too puerile.

The man in the high castle I quite enjoyed, especially the magnificent Rufus Sewell.

Folks,

MG:

Well said.

If you think buying cable channels from their self serving offerings designed to give you one or two desirable shows plus a ton of less than desirable ones is less than fun, stick around. Watch the US. With the demise of net neutrality in our country, soon we'll be enjoying the same sort of thing provided by our ISPs. Not fair at all since there are so few ISPs to choose from in most areas. Mostly the big guys like Comcast. I hope mine resists making more money... not likely.

Congress must take a final vote on net neutrality this summer. I suspect not much will happen before that is over. Hopefully there will be enough negative response coming from we little voters and others to sway Congress to vote against it before the mid-terms this time....provided the government isn't still shut down by partisan politics. Congress and the Executive branch have the lowest popularity ratings I can remember. And the elevator seems to be going down. Iam daily reminded that Will Rogers was correct. We still have the best Congress money can buy.

Gentlemen,

A hearty laugh, since if one glances at the page above, one might think at first that we are sitting at a cafe trying to not sound like fuddy-duddies but just munching at Lady Progress. That is, until it is realized that these are becoming everyman's problems, and I am including the ladies.
It has nothing to do with age, eco-status or protest of progress or retro, but there is a hint of life-experience. Yes, some of that we didn't ask for either.
But we are being bombarded with all sorts of new gadgets and experiences to sort through at all levels and have to find the right tool for and against it.

We know not every challenge is a sword fight, although I would guess most of us had some knife training.
(I am still trying to find my KA-BAR to find if it has Navy or Army stamped on it and it was last seen next to my model 20 .38 cal. in the kitchen) but I'm pretty sure if the time came, a fire-spouting tool would be used, shotgun preferred.

Really, a cup of coffee or a drink would be a first choice, if possible, then engage brain.
But it would be nice to get some help from the ones we thought were helpers.

Grin. a few years ago I happened to meet up with an old friend, a lady who was still in the fight saving lives. Both being in our seventies, I mentioned that in another 9/11 or epidemic like the one we were fighting then that in our age bracket, if we got hurt we'd be triaged aside and left and that those were probably her orders. "Right?".
She looked at me, and never one to mince words, smiled and said: "Yep."
Yep. I thought so.

Thanks, Oldgrognard, I knew the X-15 did not sound quite right.

Folks,

Apparently we will get no additional snow this week. The temps are close to average or above so far.

I've been busy doing things I did not plan to do today. I am just now getting around to doing what I had planned by writing this post. Maybe I am just following the lead of Congress. They seemed to be getting around to funding government again but it looks like we'll only have another CR. Shame. Never put off until tomorrow ...what you can put off until Feb. 8th.That will be 4 months since this issue should have been resolved. We should all run for Congress. And when we catch up to them, we should give them a piece of our mind.

Will our SS funds be on time next month? Mine will be as late as it ever is anyway in Feb. Possibly, that may be in my favor. I've never looked at it that way. It seems former speaker Mr. Gingrich having been handed his head some time back taught no one anything, least of all him. It seems the majority of Congress is once again willing and perhaps able to triage us as well Fittop.

Folks,

OK. LeRoy just pointed out the obvious part I was ignoring. This is HWH and that does not stand for Here's What Happened in politics. Sorry, but that was heavy on my mind tonight. No excuse of course. As you have done every day I am sure, just Ignore me. I'll do slightly better tomorrow. If I cannot then I'll skip typing two days to make up for it.

Folks,

It was warmer and rain fell last night and again this morning. A cold front is on its way. I had the bedroom window open and the heat off part of the night. The rest of the time the sound of drops hitting the glass kept me in a comfy state of slumber. I've seen the sun once today. He promises to come back out later in the day to chase the clouds away. He'll be welcome provided he keeps the humidity in check. The cold front will do the rest.

The Russian Blue kitty that lets me call her two or three names depending on what she has or has not been up to that hour of the day is complaining. Zeena is always bossy, stubborn and demanding anyway. However, now that I provide her with Cat treats she has become a veritable treat junkie. You'd think they put Oxy Codone, heroine. weed, and a good sprinkling of pure cocaine in the things the way she has come to demand them from me.

Clearly she does not understand that I do not have an infinite supply. She thinks I either make her treats myself or just magically produce then from the little Altoids box that I keep beside the laptop. She has become quite a distraction and I cannot dare allow those treats to run out lest she report me to the local humane society. Yes, every time she catches me looking hopefully through one of those Kitty Detox Clinic brochures, she gets all huffy and threatens me with that.

Folks,

I forgot to mention that the Australian continent may be in deep trouble with our Continent. Geologists matching rocks from opposite sides of the globe have found that part of Australia was once attached to North America. Now that was over a billion years ago. Possibly that length of time is why none of us have missed Australia since it left.

It seems enterprising scientific detectives have found a 1.7 billion year old chunk of the North American continent still stuck to Australia. Who knew we were missing that? Now the secrets been disclosed, I just betcha someone is gonna demand that piece of North America back.