Merry Christmas!

This is my official Merry Christmas! post.  Any of you who are not Christian, I'm wishing you a Happy Hanukkah or a Joyous Kwanzaa, whichever is most appropriate.  For anyone who doesn't fall into one of these three categories, label yourself and stop causing trouble.

In times past both my parents were alive, and we had a large gathering for Christmas dinner.  Among the eighteen or so guests were Uncle Sardonicus and Grandpa Parsimonious.  My old dad really knew how to pour a drink, and Uncle Sardonicus liked to bend his elbow and pontificate on politics.  Since he knew everything that was worth knowing, and since he was an idiot a liberal, these speeches could easily lead to a civilized disagreement.  Keep reading - trust me.

Private School in the Big Windy - What Will Your Child Get?

I caught this story on Knuckledraggin My Life Away (which if you don't read, you should).  You can check the link Oh, HELL NO!!!, but it actually leads to the story Project Veritas Undercover Highlights Chicago School Dean Bragging About Sharing Sex Toys with Minors in Classroom, as published on December 8, 2022, courtesy of The Conservative Treehouse.

Keep reading for a commentary and rant that is unsuitable for moon-bats, SJWs, and fragile little snowflakes.

The 'No Food' Diet - Coming to a City Near You!

Big Mike announced that he's stopped wondering why people do the bat-shit crazy, incredibly thick-headed things that often make the news.  If I wanted a modicum of mental tranquility, I'd follow his example - but I'm not that bright.  I'm the sort that will take my finger out of the dyke to see if she'll demand I plug her up again dike to see if the water will come out.  Then I'll repair to the nearest bar and have a drink or three while the storm drain system overflows into the next country.

This latest move by the European Union and the environmentalists pretty much puts them all on the city council in Crazy Town, at least temporarily, and could easily lead to a genuine insurrection.  Keep reading for half a rant, complete with a decent helping of testosterone fueled toxicity.

Moscow, Idaho Police at DEFCON 4

 And they should be at DEFCON 1 or 2.  Here's why I think that their standard operating procedure (SOP) is far too tolerant.

Banned by Nextdoor

 It seems there's a third rate social media site, Nextdoor.  People create an account there to get the latest news about their neighborhood, as your account also has your geographic location.  I got an account there a few years ago because of a crime problem, and that was that.

Until...

Rant warning.  Foul language and politically incorrect insults ahead.  Read at your own risk.  SJWs should take two milligrams of Xanax before continuing.

How Does Something Like This Happen?

I caught this one over on Knuckledraggin My Life Away (Where bad choices make good stories), which is an eclectic site that if you aren't reading at least irregularly, you should.  All kinds of good folks hang out there, and they'll make damned near anyone welcome.

The story, Two years later..., gives a link to an absolutely fiendish case of child abuse and filicide, which you can read in Former NYPD Cop Found Guilty of Killing Son.  

From the article:

LONG ISLAND - Former NYPD officer Michael Valva has been found guilty of murder in the death of his 8-year-old son.

Michael Valva, 40, allegedly forced his 8-year-old son, Thomas, to sleep in an unheated garage in below-freezing temperatures in January 2020, leading to the child's death.

Valva was found guilty on all charges against him, including the highest charge, second-degree murder.

He faces 25 years to life in prison.

An investigation by authorities had revealed evidence of alleged physical abuse and neglect by Valva and his then-girlfriend, Angela Pollina, between September 2017 and January 2020, including reports from the East Moriches School District alleging that on numerous occasions, Thomas and his brother arrived at school hungry, cold, soiled, or marked with scratches, bruises, and cuts.

This guilty verdict will not bring back 8-year-old Thomas, who suffered immense cruelty at the hands of his father, the same person who was entrusted to protect,  provide and unconditionally love Thomas and his older brother Anthony," said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney. "While there is nothing that we can do to bring Thomas back, we are satisfied with the jury’s decision."

I've got many more questions than answers on this one.

Michael Valva was an NYPD cop.  How do you suppose he treated citizens he interacted with?  How the hell was this twisted, sadistic son-of-a-bitch allowed to get on the police force to begin with?

Then there's Angelina Pollina, Valva's significant other.  Two adult psychopaths in the same house at the same time, caring for children.  No one saw anything?  No one ever heard anything?  This situation is not something anyone wakes up some morning and decides to do.  Yeah, nice morning to start torture on the kids. 

Each one of these sick SOBs has parents, one way or another.  Both Valva and Pollina have a mother and father, and those parents know, beyond the shadow of any doubt at all, what their children are like.  I'd bet they also knew the abuse the kids were suffering and never said a word.

How does this crap actually happen?

How?

IQ, EQ, and Whatever...

 I got this off F**kB**k, and it came from some place in the Philippines.  Link to a FB page: 

Teresa Instructional Materials

From the blub:

According to Psychologists, there are four types of Intelligence:

1) Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

2) Emotional Quotient (EQ)

3) Social Quotient (SQ)

4) Adversity Quotient (AQ)

1. Intelligence Quotient (IQ): this is the measure of your level of comprehension. You need IQ to solve math's, memorize things, and recall lessons.

2. Emotional Quotient (EQ): this is the measure of your ability to maintain peace with others, keep to time, be responsible, be honest, respect boundaries, be humble, genuine and considerate.

3. Social Quotient (SQ): this is the measure of your ability to build a network of friends and maintain it over a long period of time (Ha!  Ha!Ha!  Ha!Ha!Ha!  Oh yeah, we sure see a lot of that these days).

People that have higher EQ and SQ tend to go further in life than those with a high IQ but low EQ and SQ.  Most schools capitalize on improving IQ levels while EQ and SQ are played down (which is a fucking lie, but keep going - MJ).

A man of high IQ can end up being employed by a man of high EQ and SQ even though he has an average IQ (In other words, you'll end up working for a popular, lying dumb-ass).

Your EQ represents your Character, while your SQ represents your Charisma. Give in to habits that will improve these three Qs, especially your EQ and SQ.

Now there is a 4th one, a new paradigm:

4. The Adversity Quotient (AQ): The measure of your ability to go through a rough patch in life, and come out of it without losing your mind.

When faced with troubles, AQ determines who will give up, who will abandon their family, and who will consider suicide.

Parents please expose your children to other areas of life than just Academics. They should adore manual labour (never use work as a form of punishment), Sports and Arts.

Develop their IQ, as well as their EQ, SQ and AQ. They should become multifaceted human beings able to do things independently of their parents.

Finally, do not prepare the road for your children. Prepare your children for the road.

The End.

She isn't serious.  She can't be, but what truly noble delusions she has.  Then reality sets in like a chainsaw.

If you believe what you read, the official average IQ is 100.  Anything below 80 is sub-human (I think Chimpanzees are around 70, porch monkeys at 75, Democrats are 76).  Genius level is 145 and higher.  Solid genius is 150.  Now me, having been tested and retested by an elite cadre of awestruck educational professionals quite early in my train wreck of a life, I'm around 110.  Likely 110, maybe 115 on a good day.  That means I'm just smart enough to know when I'm going to get hosed, but not smart enough to know how to avoid it.

My EQ, the ability to keep the peace with others (or something similar) is off the scale, mainly because the scale doesn't go into negative numbers.  Maintain peace?  Respect boundaries?  Give me a fucking break.

Now my SQ, my innate ability to build a network of friends and maintain it, fluctuates constantly with the state of my financial success or lack thereof.  You want to know if you've got any real friends?  Just party until your money runs out, and you'll find 'em.

Then there's my AQ, my Adversity Quotient.  It's off the charts in the other direction.  I'm not all that bright, I can't keep the peace with the other idiots I'm forced to share the world with, and I spend most of my time either broke or badly bent.  If my AQ wasn't off the charts high, I'd have shot myself and hit entropy sixty-five years back.  As it is, I'm a whiskey drinking gun owner with a bad disposition.

Can you blame me?

Crap like this gets on my very last nerve.

Off to Siberia for Political Reeducation

 I'll tell you one thing about Russia - they don't fuck around over there.  Over here in the United States we have civil rights which includes the almighty eighth.  It's probably not good for us, but the founding fathers thought it had merit, and maybe back then it did.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Over in Russia they don't have the eighth.  There's a few other things they don't have along with it, like humane standards (by U.S. definitions) for housing criminal prisoners.  They don't put up with much crap over in Russia.  I got this one from the Daily Wire, but it's pretty much all over the place.

WNBA Star Brittney Griner Sent To Russian Forced Labor Camp

From the article:

WNBA star Brittney Griner has been transferred to a Russian penal colony after being sentenced to nine years in prison for allegedly possessing cannabis oil, according to the Associated Press.

Griner was moved from a detention center on November 4, according to her legal team, but they do not know where the penal colony she will be transferred to is located.

First off, there is no allegedly about it.  Griner got caught with hash oil and pleaded guilty, presumably throwing herself on the mercy of the court.  Courts in Russia have no mercy as we in the U.S. understand it.  Being a product of a broken home and a criminal environment doesn't cut much cake over there.  Hell, what other kind of home is there?  Being black doesn't matter much either.  If I had to guess, I'm thinking it's more like a novelty than anything else.  Makes you easier to find in the snow, and that's a good thing where Griner is headed.

The judge sentenced Griner to nine years at hard labor, a sentence that most of the people reading this dog would not be likely to survive.  Hell, I wouldn't survive it.  A few of those Canadians might, but those guys are so crazy they actually go camping in the winter time, when the temperature's 80 below and the wind carries razor blades in it that'll rip your lungs out and freeze your whatzis off when you go outside to take a whiz at two in the morning.

So - nine years.  Not-a-president Bidet told his people to call Vlad's people and cut a deal, then wouldn't go for it.  The deal also included Paul Whelan, some super-spook with citizenship in three countries including the U.S. and a heavy rep.  No dice, I guess, because Griner's on a train to who-knows-where to start working the salt mines.

Griner's a professional athlete, six foot nine inches and two hundred pounds.  She's a flaming dyke who openly advocates banning the Star Spangled Banner from being played at all sporting events, in spite of being on the US Olympic team and winning the gold.  I'd think she'd be a little more patriotic, but no.  She said she's doing this as a protest over the whole George Floyd and Breonna Taylor killings.  Whatever.  Hell, the best thing George Floyd ever did, or ever would do for his family was eat his entire stash then resist arrest.

Nine years.

I'm inclined to let her rot, but it isn't my decision.  One thing is for sure, Bidet isn't going to spring her.  I'm betting he can't remember what he's talking about for five minutes.  President Trump, now, he might have done it.

I can just imagine the conversation between Putin and Trump.

Yeah, Vlad?  Yeah, it's me.  Oh, fine, fine... couldn't be better!  You? <pause>  Say Vlad, you know that big jungle bunny you got over there?  Black rug muncher, busted her on hash oil.  Yeah, plays B-Ball.  Yeah, I know all B-Ball players are black... yeah, I know white men can't jump.  No, I can't jump either... look, Vlad, I gotta get her back.  What'll you take for her?  <pause>  Okay, but I want the spook too.  Sure, I can do that.  Are you thinking a couple months?  More?  <pause>  I don't really care.  Make her appreciate the U.S. a little more, maybe.  <pause>  Okay, thanks Vlad.  Best to what's her name and the kids.  Click

If only.

You know, I'm wondering if we could work out a deal with Russia.  A sort of one-way prisoner exchange.  We sentence 'em, and let 'em do their time over there at hard labor.  I'm betting none of 'em would come back with the attitude they had when they left.

Officer Being Railroaded

Getting right to the point, LawDog, he of the The Lawdog Files, is being railroaded.  I got this from the Old NFO on his little slice of information here: LawDog Raffle Items.  The deal is that a pile of nice gear is being raffled off to help cover LawDog's expenses, and trust me when I say that these expenses could be extremely significant.

Shortening the news to one paragraph that everyone reading this hound can understand, LawDog's real name is Ian Hugh McMurtrie, and up until recently he was employed by the Texas Wichita County Sheriff's Department in various capacities, achieving the rank of lieutenant.  The 'Dog got into a dust up with a large prisoner and subdued him.  Given that the prisoner was large, strong, and an experienced brawler, plus was under the influence of an interesting cocktail of controlled substances, I'd say a hickory massage was justified, and I'd combine that with bear repellent and a cattle prod.  Ian didn't, but he did get the prisoner subdued, and the prisoner never filed any complaints about his treatment.  The sheriff doesn't see it that way.

Read more here, at Former Deputy Reindicted for Allegedly “fish Hooking” Inmate by Larry Statser as published on July 23, 2022.

From the article: As the inmate was being booked into jail, Wichita County Sheriff David Duke said the inmate was creating a disturbance, and McMurtrie responded.

The rumor here is that Sheriff David Duke holds an elected position, and is afraid that Ian McMurtrie will run against him - and win.  So, eliminate the competition.

My disclaimer is this.  I don't know Ian McMurtrie, AKA LawDog.  I've never met him in person, and I've only read him a few times on his blog.  I bought one or two of his books and read them, and based on that I probably wouldn't go out drinking with the man.  He strikes me as being a bit arrogant and something of a blow-hard.  That said, he should not be railroaded - which is what is happening to him.

The man has worked over twenty years in law enforcement, and you don't last that long by abusing people.  He's done a good job for the community, and so - buy a ticket.  Use the link here:

LawDog Legal Defense

My thanks to everyone for reading.

Halloween in the Nineties

 This happened back in the '90s when I was living with Main Lady and Excellent Rachmaninoff in quaint, historical Lincoln Woods up in Sylvania, Ohio.

It's Halloween and Main Lady has maternal instincts that kick in like an alarm clock on Monday morning.  I'm hep to this and so I'm on my best behavior.  I buy six pounds of candy at the store and a large sack of apples, then I open the front door and install a baby gate to keep the little trick-or-treaters on the good side of the foyer; I tie the dog to something so he can't get over the gate and savage the little darlings into six lawsuits and a SWAT team standoff - which he'd like to do.  The dog hated children.  He loved his family, but some people, like, for instance, Main Lady's sister, he didn't like at all.  In point of fact he actually bit the sister... 

So the dog barks, and Main Lady and I hand out candy and make cute comments about the little kids at the gate.  I was bored, so I had a whiskey.

A kid comes to the gate all on his own.  He's about eight or ten, but he's one of these tall, goofy types whose coordination hasn't caught up to his height.  He's dressed like the devil, horns, tail, red costume and all.  I walk over with the candy bucket in my hand.

"Look, it's the devil himself," I say in a stentorian voice, "Well shake hands - I've married your sister!"

I shake hands with the kid and I can hear his father laughing like hell out on the sidewalk.

Main Lady gave me the silent treatment for a while, but I didn't mind.

That's how I spent Halloween.

Flu Shot & Vaccination Warning

 I'm a believer in the effectiveness of the ubiquitous flu shot.  I get the senior version because I qualify for it - as of October 2^nd, I am 70 years old.  I have no idea just how or why I made it this far, but here we all are.

So, getting right to the fucking point, here's what happened.

Deputy Dumb-Ass...

 Just about the time that the Defund the Police movement starts running out of fuel and the commercial news media had nothing better to write about except the mysterious disappearance of Kiely Rodni (who has since been found, but no one will admit it as of this writing), a complete and total asshole down in Florida who is wearing a gun and a badge he should never in a million years been issued pulls a boneheaded stunt that could easily have blown up into the next Civil (rights) War II.

Be forewarned and keep reading - or not.

One picture is worth - I dunno.

In a moment of temporary insanity and half-in-the-bag boredom, I signed up for Nextdoor.  It's a social media site that is supposed to carry local news and human interest stories as generated by the moonbats, wingnuts, and fatheads who use it.

Consider yourself warned and keep reading.

Monkey Pox Renamed

 I gotta say, if you're looking for a real howl or two, something to really cheer up your day, you need go no further than Knuckledraggin' my life away...  This time a few contributors are coming up with alternate names for Monkeypox - and boy howdy, there are some real winners out there.

Click and read at your own risk: Knuckledraggin My Life Away - A Rose by any other name.....

My congratulations to Wirecutter, host of Knuckledraggin'.  Here's a tip of the old fedora and a hoist of the evening bourbon glass to you, sir.  You've raised the bar again.

Problems in Self-Sufficiency

Reading through the news, AKA the crap-o-sphere, then reading through the insights (generally questionable) and the opinions on the blog-o-sphere, I have come to the conclusion that I have no conclusion - yet.

Intolerance on the Left

I graduated high school in 1970, and in my class was a fine young man whom we'll call Scott, mainly because that's his name.  Scott has a PhD and is a regular contributor to Psychology Today, which is not terribly surprising as he's a LIBERAL with an executive membership card and the official thermos and lunchbox.

A good friend of mine who shall remain nameless has a FB account.  Upon reading one article that Scott wrote, he pondered the significance for about ten minutes before he was distracted by a naked woman running around his front yard holding a For Rent sign.

One way or another, Scott was encouraged to write a follow-up article, and did so, which my friend also read.  Instead of ignoring the entire business, he wrote a response, posted it, and a few hours later discovered that Scott had deleted his thoughtful missive and blocked him on FB.  He was surprised - I wasn't.

So, for your amusement, here we go: The FaceBook Fiasco

Happy Fourth of July - Red, White, and Boom, Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is having an outdoor fireworks display and accompanying festival this year.  Red, White, and Boom has been down for the past two years due to the Wuhan Flu and governmental lies and overreaction, but now it's back with a vengeance.  Wha-hoo.

What Country Am I Living In?

 So I'm slurping my morning coffee like a stupe and staring at the idiot box for my daily dose of propaganda, but my attention span is far too fragmented for this to last.

Squirrel!

Early to the Party

By now virtually everyone has heard that the United States Supreme Court has struck down Roe v. Wade and passed this particular live grenade to the States.  I think we've got an election coming up in the near future, but my memory isn't what it should be.

We passed the first day of summer a few nights back, and downtown Columbus, Ohio is a zoo.  Events are already scheduled - music, artsy-fartsy stuff, heaven only knows what else - and now we're getting protesters.  Some of these idiots are promising a violent protest, for whatever good that will do.  Anyway, I'll see what happened in the news tomorrow morning.  I'm thinking it's going to be the usual, complete with teargas and cops in riot gear.

I predicted Monday on this one.  I was, as usual, dead wrong.

Mark Your Calendar!

The word on the street is that the United States Supreme Court will issue a new ruling on the (in)famous Roe v. Wade case on Monday, June 27, 2022.  The racket you hear in the background is not the peanut gallery; it's the exploding heads of SJWs and Moonbats everywhere.

It's enough to make any red-blooded Texan stomp his heels and spit into the wind.

For my part, I'm keeping my own counsel and staying inside.  The SJWs are going to be hot as a five dollar pistol on Saturday night over this one, and Antifa is looking for another payday.  My money's on the Right, because they have the guns.

All that said, so far this is only a rumor, and kind of thin at that.  The story got leaked by an anonymous source to the commercial news media (and all you guys believe everything you read in the paper - right?) No one will disclose the source, and the USSC isn't talking too much about this little faux pas to anyone.  No surprise there, but still and all, I'd expect a hot denial and a promise of retribution to the effect of we're going to fire everyone.  But it's dead quiet.

So we'll see what pops.

Rehab - The Entire Journey (or In and Out The Gutter)

I've been a lot of things in my life, but I've never been a light-in-the-loafers cigar smoker, a short eyes, or an SJW (Social Justice Warrior).  I've known a few SJWs, and generally don't get along well with them.

I'm Regressing Sideways

I thought I was a normal, average, hard drinking, woman chasing, gun owning, red-blooded American male, but now I'm not so sure.  

Jefferson Davis

 

Today is Jefferson Davis birthday.

Oh, I wish I was in the land of cotton

Old times there are not forgotten 

Jefferson Finis Davis was President of the Confederate States of America.  Born on June 3rd, 1808  in Kentucky, he was a graduate of West Point (23rd in his class of 33) and enjoyed a successful life until the War of Northern Aggression in 1860.

President Davis was arrested and imprisoned for two years under harsh conditions, which took a toll on his general health.  In particular, he was prone to respiratory illnesses.

I think it's worth noting that President Davis wanted peace between the North and South.  He assembled a peace commission and sent the men to Washington, where President Lincoln flatly refused to see or speak to any of them.

Jefferson Davis passed away at his home in New Orleans, Louisiana on December 6, 1889 at age 81.  

I've seen the home which is in the Garden District of New Orleans.  Unlike most mansions in that area, Davis's home had low ceilings of about modern height.  Although the home isn't open for tours, the grounds surrounding the home are opulent and obscure much of his home from view.

 

The Argument Over Freedom

 I enjoy reading the Old NFO.  He's a good sort, and a reasonably honest soul.  He has a friend, Ian McMurtrie, on FuckedUpBook who falls into the same classification.  I'd cheerfully go out drinking with both or either of them.  So today, for no good reason, I'm picking on Ian - who doesn't deserve it.

How Much is Your Life Worth?

 The final invoices are in for my extended vacation in Hell with the lid off.  You can read about it here and here. The short list of invoices for various services rendered amount to:

Total Unmodified Amount: $104,130.91

Insurance / Medicare: $99,894.50

Other Adjustments: $1,898.26

Amount Out of My Mattress: $2,338.15 

While two and a half long isn't chump change, it's a hundred gees away from what hell's parlor wants.  This, by the way, is not a plea for money or anything similar.  I'll cover the debt.

My deal is that the whole thing cost a hundred grand and change, and it just isn't worth it.

Quora Question: What professional ballet is famous for being the worst performed?

Note: Someone actually took this question and my answer seriously.  I had to read it twice before I believed it actually happened.

Wooden Ships and Iron Men

In 1928 we were still moving freight across the ocean by means of renewable energy, commonly know as a sailing vessel.  I forget just where I found this You-Hoo video, but it's the first video I've found that I believe is worth watching.

Movie Review: Spider-Man: No Way Home

 Except that there is a way home, which completely destroys the one thing about this hound that would offer a silver lining.

Spoilers and non-PC opinions beneath the fold.  Read at your own risk, etc.

My Fourth Day in Hell With The Lid Off

On my fourth day in Hell with the lid off I was visited by three young ladies, all of whom were wearing a hijab (hi-jahb).  They all smiled and spoke to me in English that was so heavily accented I couldn't understand a word they said.  Drug-induced intrigue led me to ask where they were from, and again I couldn't understand them. 

An older lady, a nurse of some stripe, arrived to take my vitals and ask pointless question.  She had a younger assistant in tow.  When I asked what the three were wearing by way of headgear, the older lady told me it was a head job.  At least that's what she'd heard it called by women who escaped to the U.S. and taken the thrice-damned thing off and thrown it into a dumpster. 'Head job', she told me, because that's what it was. 

The younger woman disagreed, saying it was a hijab.  She explained that the three were very nice and were student nurses fulfilling their training requirements.  I told her that they should work on their English, as I couldn't understand a word they said.  She then accused me of throwing them out of my room, mentioning that I had every right to do that as I could decline treatment from anyone I chose, not that there was ever a plethora of people to chose from. 

Case in point, I didn't throw them out; I couldn't understand them.  I'd run into an SJW protecting her special little snowflakes, and you can just guess at the service I'd get from this human hate machine and her comrades. 

Big Mike had warned me to be careful of what I said and did in public, as the Left has agents everywhere, and their motto is Never Forgive, Never Forget. 

On a better note, tonight I'm headed out to hear the Blue Cats play. I'll be in good company, and may eat a slice of pizza or two.

My Status

Those few of you who may have been wondering just where I've been and why, prepare to be enlightened.  The rest of you can try thinking without moving your lips.

On Friday, March 18, 2022 at or around 7:30 PM, I started having severe pain in my lower abdomen.  The pain escalated as the minutes rolled by, so I asked my neighbor Nancy to drop whatever she was doing and take me to the ER.  She agreed, providing I didn't do anything freaky in her car - bleed, barf, die... the usual.

By the time we made the ER, the pain was a solid 8 (scale of 1-10).  I got to the check in desk, and my stomach issued my dinner a return to sender.  I got triaged and told they couldn't give me any medication until a room opened up, and they didn't know when that would happen.

So I sat in my wheelchair in the ER waiting room, in the most intense agony I've ever felt, for five hours.  Nancy kept me company.

Once the wait was over they got me in a room and shot me full of pain medication, which took the pain down to level 5.  After a few tests, the diagnosis was Acute biliary pancreatitis without infection or necrosis.  Go look it up; it's what I did.  The cure was to remove my gallbladder, so surgery was scheduled.  Not right away though, as my pancreas was acting up and everything was put on hold until the wretched thing settled down.

So it's off to a hospital room to wait.

I was ensconced in Mount Carmel East Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, and had my surgery on March 24; discharged on March 25.

Let me tell you something:  Mount Carmel East Hospital, in Columbus, Ohio, is Hell with the lid off.  No food, no water; only ice to eat.  I wasn't allowed a shower, and not allowed to clean my teeth.  I had a choice between a bed made of iron rods and a four inch thick foam mattress, or a chair that was marginally better.  The noise level precluded sleep.  Various machines kept going off with a loud screech, and the summon help button was only somewhat softer.  The staff ignored the machines.  Eventually I learned that if I yelled for help loud and long enough, someone would show up and let me know that I was an annoyance they'd rather not deal with.

I learned to sleep for two hour intervals, but then the nightmares started.  By day five, these dreams had transcended from the usual bad dreams we all get into the real screamers that you can't remember.

I finally got my surgery, woke up, and was treated to the news that they were keeping me one day for observation.  Whatever.

In the middle of all this I had a heart problem involving arrhythmia, so now I've got some nice new pills to take.

But I'm alive, and that's all I've got the energy to say right now.

Home Defense

 This evening, as I was about to enjoy my first martini, I noticed a very odd sight outside my back patio fence.

Here's a Great Read!

 If you want to read the beginning of what I hope will be a truly great story, point your browser at The Boys’ Club - Prologue, as written by that bad-tempered stumbling block to all things civilized in left field, the lovable old misanthrope, Glen Filthy.  Glen's written a few blurbs before, but nothing half so good as this one.

Packing Your Gat: Good News!

I didn't think he'd do it, but I was wrong.  You may want to make note of this date, because it's one of the very few times I've been wrong about something and admitted it.  Usually there's extenuating circumstances that affected my less than accurate statements, but this time I was just plain incorrect.

Because, you see, on Monday, March 14^th, 2022, Gov. Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 215 into law, which means that the law abiding, freedom loving, gun owners of Ohio no longer need a license to carry a concealed weapon.

Continue reading for a few valuable links and commentary.  Stop reading if you're a precious little snowflake with a sensitive nature.

Fault, Responsibility, and Justice

Being at loose ends, I made the mistake of reading the local news.  My sawbones recommends that I either stop reading crap like this, or start taking blood pressure medication - and he doesn't mean hundred proof gin.  I know, because I suggested it.

Keep reading for a rant and a question.

The Reeves - Oulson Shooting

On January 13^th, 2014, Curtis Reeves shot and killed Chad Oulson with a .380 automatic pistol.  On February 25^th, 2022, a jury of six found Curtis Reeves not guilty.  I wrote about the event here, shortly after it happened.  I've been watching this event ever since, waiting for the trial.  There were delays, more delays, legalistic chicanery, and finally - fianlly! - we get a trial.

8 years, 1 month, and 11 days after Oulson cashed in his chips, a jury of six spineless idiots found Curtis Reeves not guilty of Murder II in Tampa, Florida.  I'm less than thrilled with this verdict.

Keep reading as it amuses you to do so.

Animal Abuse and Crime

I got this story from Wirecutter, over at Knuckle Draggin' My Life Away.  I read his blog on an irregular basis, and consider him to be a truly erudite writer, if somewhat philosophically abstruse.  I usually ponder his disquisitions for several days before venturing a comment.  That being the case, before I continue I  recommend that anyone who considers themselves to be a progressive, liberal, avant-garde reformist go over (electronically speaking) to the Wirecutter's blog and settle in for a decent read - after you've finished perusing my latest contribution to the hoi polloi.

Fire in Columbus

 This one goes out to Capt. Schmoe, who is a retired fire fighter and runs the blog Report on Conditions. He's a good photographer and I enjoy his commetary as he's usually right about most things.