The Road*

Everything about the property was perfect . . .  seriously.
40 years ago [that's an approximation], when I was in business for myself, married [for the first time] with three children, and looking to set anchor permanently I went looking for a lot on which to build the family home. We had purchased a city lot in an upscale section of Redding, not far from the in-laws (mine, not hers), but had decided it really wouldn't suit our needs. It wasn't level and dropped precipitously from street level. There'd be no yard for the kids to play.

I looked through the want ads in the local fish wrap. At that time there were developers popping up all over the place, subdividing large parcels.

Don't ask me what attracted me to this particular lot. I don't remember. I called the number in the ad and met the seller that afternoon. My wife wasn't available for some reason or other, so it was the seller and I walking the parcel. It was three tree covered acres, with a year-round creek along the back of the lot and it was at the end of the one lane gravel road. It looked ideal to me. When she saw it, the wife loved it, too.

So we paid $13,000 for some country property. We sold our city lot for twice what we paid for it, basically covering the cost of the new lot. Later we also sold our house for more than double what we paid, which provided quite a bit toward keeping out construction loan at a reasonable amount. 

There were options, up to a point, as to where we could build on the lot, though we had to make allowances for a well and septic system. Oh . . .  and we needed power . . .  eventually.

The neighbors, the ones immediately adjacent on our road, who'd actually named the road using the first syllables of their given names needed power almost immediately. I found that out one morning at work. The local community liaison guy from the electric and gas company, who was also a city councilman, showed up with some paperwork to grant them an easement from the nearest power pole to the lots along the road. After some discussion about why it had to be done they way they were doing it permission was granted.

The neighboring construction was started almost immediately despite it being the rainy season. Progress was slow because the mud was horrendous. One wheel off the road almost immediately got a vehicle stuck (DAMHIK). The neighbor was not a happy camper . . .   literally. He and his wife were living in a camp trailer on the site while constructing his own house. He was working full time for a concrete outfit the manufacture precast concrete products like septic tanks.

They built their house in phases. The finished garage was completed first and they moved into it. But that's not pertinent to this story. In fact a lot of what's written so far is just rambling on.

So we built our house and moved. We got to know our immediate neighbors, all eight. We even liked them, most of them anyway. One of them was a highway construction contractor with access to really good equipment he used to keep the road in shape. He tried to explain how potholes develop through speeding down the road at faster than idle speed. One or two of us may have listened. Others were always in too big of a hurry.

At about the four or five year mark after moving in, the domestic situation started south. To keep this tale short I will say it was decided that I would move out.

Within days of my departure my wife came home one afternoon to find the road blocked just before the entrance to the second neighbor's drive. There was a big chain with a padlock, anchored by two big concrete bollards.  She was flummoxed and a bit upset because she had groceries and three young kids with her.

So she backed up to where she could turn around and drove around to another neighbor, whose drive is off the main road. She had three children about the same age as ours and two high school age stepdaughters. Their lot was directly in front of our place, but across a wash that was more times than not full of water from a natural spring. We'd put a footbridge made from a 30 inch wide glulam that someone hadn't needed. It was convenient and relatively close so the groceries didn't have to be packed too far.

So it was my wife who discovered why the electric and gas company needed a power easement. It would've helped earlier if they'd explained that they couldn't follow road from the other end because it was not built in the easement, but almost entirely across the next door neighbor's property such that both of his neighbors were landlocked.

The issue for my wife was resolved by the neighbor from across the wash. She granted and easement allowing ingress and egress. The highway contractor introduced a local guy with culvert experience to us. Permits were pulled and in about three weeks time there was new access to her house [see what I did there?].

There would be no reconciliations. The neighbors moved about three years later. I don't know what the other landlocked neighbor did. He and his wife had used their life savings to build their home and were on fixed income. Ironically, I haven't been able to entirely shake the one way neighbor. Our paths have crossed more time than I care to think about. I choose to remain civil. It would've been really nice if my ex and I got along so well.

$#!+ happens

*with apologies to Cormack McCarthy though I did walk that road with my son a time or two

Maybe you've heard

The wind's blowing here in California.
The major electric utility for most of the north part of the state turns off power when the wind blows so the power lines won't arc and spark, thus preventing wildfire starts.
It's inconvenient for a lot of folks.
When the wind stops blowing it takes awhile to turn the power back on because the power lines have to be inspected beforehand.
The most recent shutdown began Tuesday morning.
Some folks hadn't yet had their power back on from the last time.
All kinds of folks are pointing all kinds of fingers at each other and making accusations.
I wonder if any of them has made an effort to look at the hand on which the pointed finger resides long enough to realize there are three other fingers pointing back at them?

. . . and there are fires, too

Aftermath ll

My friend is retired from CalFire (formerly the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection).
He has been posting about wildfire issues since the Carr Fire broke out in July of last year.
I have done my best to preserve his formatting and include his images.
There are those who read his post and were offended, feeling that he was attacking them for wanting to rebuild to the same standards that did not survive the conflagration.

Royal Burnett

June 15, 2019

I started writing this blog during the Carr fire, 11 months ago. The Fire Agencies (CalFire, USFS, Redding City) were doing such a poor job of public information that I felt the need to post the news and commentary. My friends appreciated the updates, so I continue to comment.

The Fire Agencies haven’t improved much, and now my comments are about post fire reconstruction or hardening your existing home in preparation the upcoming season.
It disturbs me to see the reconstruction in the area West of Redding proceeding using the same construction and landscaping techniques...hundreds if not thousands of feet of new wood fences, wood bark being used for soil stabilization and wood decks. These are the things that contributed to the conflagration. I’m not saying that anyone with an existing wood fence should tear it down, but when it comes time to replace it fire resistant material should be mandatory. I’m surprised Insurance companies don’t require it.

Insurance companies and individuals are the ones who stand to lose during a wildfire...The Fire Department will do their best to save lives and property, but there are times when the best effort is simply not enough. When the wildland fuels dry out and the fire spread comes into alignment with wind and slope an average wildfire is unstoppable until the fuels or the weather changes.. That’s why most of them burn to the ridgetop… we don’t stop them mid slope very often.

In extreme burning conditions, The Fire Services will devote most of their effort to rescue and very little to perimeter control. Camp fire was was a Tsunami of fire and we were not going to stop it with air tankers, engines or bulldozers. Adding another firefighter to Redding City engines would not have stopped or prevented the Carr Fire...nor will new fire engines or helicopters. We’ve been throwing money at this problem, but it lands in the wrong place.
If we’re going to live in this Wildland Urban Interface, we’ve got to change our ways. The individual must prepare his home for the eventual fire. In 1972 I moved my family from Cobb Mountain into the town of Clearlake. I didn’t want to live in town, but realized I could not defend our mountain home… it burned down in the Valley Fire in 2014. Climate change, fuel loading and increased housing density have exacerbated the fire problem and Agencies and regulations have not kept up. 

Construction and landscaping standards that were in place in the past are no longer acceptable. Just as we outlawed wood shake roofs, we may have to regulate wood fences or list some plants like Eucalyptus, Redwoods and Junipers as undesirable. CalFire needs to computerize its fire inspection data base and radically change compliance standards. No more 2 weeks grace period for a cleanup, be clean or be cited on second inspection. Insurance companies should be allowed access to the inspection reports. Just as a driving ticket raises your car insurance, non compliance with fire clearance laws should raise your homeowners insurance. How about a tax break for money spent on hardening structures similar to the tax rebate energy saving plan ? We need new ideas in our Fire Prevention Program.

Chief Darin Quigley from Weed shared a post about how he rebuilt his house following the Bowles fire ( September 2014). ..Darin used concrete siding, triple pane windows and poured a concrete pad 5 feet around the home to insure that vital 5 feet of clearance is maintained. Weed is in a wind tunnel and the wind blows every day. Chief Quigley knows he’s got to exceed minimum construction standards in order to survive.
Darin’s father Jerry Quigley and I fought fire together here in Shasta and his experience is sorely missed. I’ll also say that Darin Quigley is a hero… when it seemed like his entire town was burning, and he knew his own home was endangered or lost, he stayed at his post in command of that fire, ordering and directing the fire fighting efforts. Good job Darin, your Dad would be proud. 

A Fire Safe home and a Fire wise community will not guarantee your home won’t burn, but its got to start at the individual level. First the homeowner, then the Home Owner’s Association or community over watch… then the City or County and clear up to the Federal Government have all got to contribute to our mutual well being.
Just as we can’t condone or should not tolerate a neighbor who lets his property grow up with weeds and brush, we should not tolerate it from the City with its Greenbelts...or the Whiskeytown Park with its wannbee Wilderness Park Policy. There is a persistent Urban Rumor that Park officials prevented or delayed the use of bulldozers on the Carr fire...if that is correct, the policy is not acceptable. 

The Federal Government has got to change its fire management policy. No Man is an Island...nor is any entity. The Wildland Urban Interface can also be called the Urban threat zone...and in times of global warming its getting bigger.
The Eiler fire (July 2014) in Burney demonstrated that a “managed fire” policy in the 1000 Lakes Wilderness can be a direct threat to Burney...The Reading Fire ( July 2012) demonstrated that a “managed fire” in Lassen National Park can be a direct threat to the citizens of Old Station. The Federal Government is trying to use fire as a land management tool without the benefit of an Environmental Impact Report...and the results are too often disastrous. 

The times are a changin’ and we’ve got to keep up.

Prequel

My friend is retired from CalFire (formerly the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection).
He has been posting about wildfire issues since the Carr Fire broke out in July of last year.
I have done my best to preserve his formatting and include his images.

The following is a set up for last evening's post and other's which follow.

Royal Burnett

May 10, 2019

Benign neglect or malpractice ?

From the Collins Dictionary...benign neglect phrase If you describe someone's approach to a problem as one of benign neglect , you disapprove of the fact that they are doing nothing and hoping that the problem will solve itself

I drove out West of Redding today, through the Carr fire scar...The burn happened in about 8 months ago. In the Oak Woodlands patches of grass were showing and the Valley Oaks were stump sprouting. In the areas that were dense manzanita or Knob Cone Pine there was not much regeneration showing.
I continued my drive to Whiskeytown National Recreation Area... parts of it that were desolated. I drove the same route last fall and remarked in this column that the fire burned as hot and did as much soil damage as I’d seen anywhere in California and this recon re enforced that feeling. Much of the burned area is resprouting with oak brush and poison oak ; I saw scattered patches of grass. In a few short years this will be a horrendous fire hazard.

Whiskey town is a National Recreation area...which operates not as Wilderness area or a Preserve...the NPS is charged with custodial responsibility...Caring for the Land. This land doesn’t look very well cared for. We had a disaster, now we have a mess. If we do nothing it will take decades for this land to recover.

After last summer’s fires we have more than 500 square miles of fresh burned land in and around Redding. Much of that land is owned by the Federal Land Management Agencies… the US Forest Service, The National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management. As land managers isn’t it their job to clean up after a disaster and prevent the same thing from happening again?
Can we afford to have Federal Agencies allow their land to become brush choked snag patches in close proximity to town ? If private citizens are required to reduce the fire hazard on their property, shouldn't Big Brother be required to do the same ?

Roseburg and other timber companies did a very successful rehabilitation of the Fountain Fire scar between Redding and Burney. It can be done...it requires will and effort. I hope the managers of our Land Management Agencies are up to the task.

Aftermath

My friend is retired from CalFire (formerly the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection).
He has been posting about wildfire issues since the Carr Fire broke out in July of last year.
I have done my best to preserve his formatting and include his images.
There is more to follow.

 Royal Burnett
June 11, 2019

I spent yesterday with my friend Mike Terwilliger, riding through the area burned by the Camp fire last November. Mike is a retired Chief from Truckee FD who also functioned as Incident Commander of the Sierra Front Type 2 Incident Management Team...he knows a lot about fire.

The Camp fire as you may remember, burned about 153,000 acres, destroyed about 15,000 homes and another 600 plus commercial buildings. 85 civilians perished perished in this fire. Wikipedia has a very good write up.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Fire_(2018)

The purpose of our visit was to see if there were any lessons to be learned...anything I could glean from this tragedy that would help those of us not directly affected. Its been 6 months since the fire, a whole winter has passed and much of the forensic evidence has been destroyed by weather or rehabilitation efforts, but here’s a few things that stuck out.

1. Almost all of the structures that survived, both residential and commercial had clearance in the all important 5 foot Home Ignition Zone. Here’s a link to the NFPA website for more info.

https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/By-topic/Wildfire/Preparing-homes-for-wildfire

2. Many of the surviving structures both commercial and residential had metal roofs. I some cases we could see where patches of needles had burned on the metal roof and the building did not ignite. Older homes had composition roofs and several of them survived. Clean roofs and gutters are a must.

3. Almost all surviving structures were clean and well maintained. No urban clutter, no fire wood piles, no autos and other vehicles parked near enough to ignite the homes.

4. Several homes that survived had Trex or flame resistant decks.
Paradise and Magalia are older towns located at the 2500 foot elevation level where Ponderosa Pines and Black Oaks dominate the landscape. Ponderosa Pines shed a lot of needles, year round...most buildings and grounds are covered with needle drape if not constantly maintained...and pine needles burn hot ! 

The towns are both located on a ridge above the Feather River in a known fire corridor. The Jarbo Gap winds are infamous in the firefighting community. In recent years there have been repeated major fires in the Feather River Canyon, both above and below Paradise. You would think this would be a FireWise/ FireSafe community. In spite of planning and preparation the fire overwhelmed all emergency services. 

Just like in the Carr fire, the emergency notification system failed...same excuse, the cell towers burned down. This is simply not acceptable. Emergencies happen at all hours ...not everyone has a computer or a cell phone and during emergencies people don’t watch TV. Emergency Service providers simply must find a more dependable way to notify the public. I will once again recommend town sirens. They use them on the Coast for tsunami warnings and in the South for tornado warnings...why can’t we learn from this ? 

Again. like in the Carr fire burned area we noticed people starting to rebuild..one business had replaced the wood fence that burned down and replanted a series of young redwood trees..guaranteed to give a rapid start to the next conflagration. Wood fences are nothing but upright piles of kindling wood connecting houses and yards together. In the Carr fire they were the fuse that helped spread the fire from house to house. Redwood trees are dirty, shed a lot of needles and will burn readily from base to crown . In my opinion. Redwoods ( both species), Eucalyptus, Junipers and Palms should not be used as landscaping in fire prone areas. Decorative bark should be used sparingly and not within 5 feet of any structure. Same with wood fences...use metal for the last 5 feet between the fence and the house.

You’ll hear me harping about this...fire defense has got to be a holistic effort… every body at every level from the individual to the City/County State and Federal government has got to contribute. No entity can make its own rules or exemptions. But that’s another column.

That'll teach me to delay

In the middle of April I received a notice from the DMV that it is time to renew my California Drivers License.
I was also informed I will have to appear in person so I can be inflicted with another test to see if I know the traffic laws.
I didn't think much about it until the other day because I have until August before the old license expires..
Then I realized the time window isn't really that large because MB and I will be out of town for a good portion of late June, July, and early August.

I won't go into details about how poorly things run at the local DMV office, other than to mention if you don't have an appointment you can expect to be there for about four hours.
The DMV has an appointment system.
The soonest I could get one for is after my license expires.
Now I know why they sent the notification in April.

I then started checking other nearby (within 70 miles) offices.
None of their appointments fell withing my time frame.
But I had an idea.
Next week MB and I are traveling to Washington for a Confirmation and a high school graduation.
So I checked on appointments in the area with which I am familiar.

Bingo!
On the way home we will both go in and get our Real ID licenses*.
The fun part for me has been gathering enough evidence to prove where I live.
Most of the bills are in MB's name and I subscribe to paperless billing.

What I don't understand is why a U.S. Passport alone isn't sufficient evidence.
It's acceptable to TSA# for boarding aircraft and that's what most folks need Real ID for.

go figure

*the main cause of the issue of waiting at DMV is that California's first attempt was non-compliant and now folks have to go back for a do over.

#Thousands Standing Around

It's goofy

No, not Goofy!
The opposite of serious kind of goofy.

It being the weather.
Not so much here as up north.
So goofy that it was scary.

Yeah, like that.

Before I post some pictures, I have to mention, in my experience, there hasn't been an instance that far north.
Also, in my experience, within days there have been serious tornado incidents further to the east where the land flattens out into prairies that go on for miles.

Yeah Tornado Warning, not Tornado Watch.
There was half dollar size hail and golf ball size hail.

 

It didn't touch down.
Dailytimewaster has his own take on it.

On another note...
It seems he and I have, more or less, traded places . .  .   mostly less.
We've not met, but I did get a jar of jelly from him once.

ya never know how spring will hit us

but that's normal

Opinion . . . and more

Tomorrow's post today because tomorrow we are on the road again, for at least three days, delivering children home to their parents in Washington.
There is some question if we will take the most direct route, as there is a serious situation¹ in the Redding area. So far I-5 looks okay.

The local daily (newspaper)
I won't mention any names.
I used to believe this one was better than the local in Redding.
My opinion has changed.

Actually I can't much comment on the paper itself.
Since I subscribed on June 22 we have received exactly one copy.
My issues up north had as much to do with content as with delivery.
Up there the complaint wasn't about receiving it.
It was about where I would find it.

So I was listening to a discussion on NPR the other day.
A senior editor from one of the major chains was lamenting how circulation, both hard copy and online, is declining.
The lament was more about the number of journalist jobs being lost rather than the cause of the decline, though some words about the importance of journalism transpired.
The local station also interviewed a "regional" [as in four western states] editor, of the chain that owns the local, about the loss of journalist jobs due to cost cutting measures.

Almost the entire time I was listening to these important newspaper people I got the impression they were sure they knew what the customer wants.
Not once did either mention timeliness or convenience.

The news in the papers is no longer new when it reaches the customer.
It has been hashed and rehashed again and again on TV and the radio.
The newspapers could provide some depth, but that would require research and research is expensive.

They talked incessantly about their websites.
I have yet to see a newspaper website that was user friendly or, for that matter, easily accessible.
I will be darned if I'm going to go retrieve my news if I have to pay for it, too.
They never mentioned home delivery [or if they did I missed it].

The newspapers have continuously given short shrift to their home delivery subscribers.
They have all but eliminated afternoon papers, which, if you treated your carrier right, you could find on your front porch.
There's nothing wrong with an early morning paper.
It's just that, in many cases the early morning paper is really a late delivery of last night's paper because the press run started at midnight [or earlier].
The real issue, though, is how poorly the delivery people are treated.
Reimbursement for what they do is borderline criminal atrocious appalling dreadful terrible and the hours really suck.
It's a seven day a week proposition, too.
I'm of the opinion that the journalism side of newspapers should do an investigation of how the publishing side abuses their contractors.

You might ask why I haven't contacted the paper about the missed deliveries.
I would respond that I have . . .   EVERY TIME IT WAS NOT DELIVERED!!!
I was reassured each time that the problem would be taken care of.
Unfortunately there was some kind of disconnect between the parties to whom I spoke and those who ensure delivery.
All manner of promises were made . . .

. . . and not kept.

I would be really miffed, since this was a prepaid subscription, but for one thing.
The subscription was purchased through an agent.

MB and I were at AT&T Park for the Giants game.
We were strolling through the area behind the Left Field Bleachers, where all of the amusements are, when the agent got our attention with, "Do you get the paper?"
MB replied, "We don't live here."
"Where do you live, he asked."
"Sacramento?"
"Oh, do you subscribe to the _____________?"
"Er . . .  no? We did but cancelled."
"Well, I can sign you up . . .   and you can have this custom Giants sweatshirt . . .   for $11.52"
Well, winner, winner, chicken dinner, it just so happened that MB had overlooked packing a warm wrap for the game.
If you have ever seen the prices of logo merchandise at a MLB stadium, you know what a bargain that is.

In case you're wondering, I am still going to have to get her a birthday gift.

feels better now

 that it's cancelled

¹I lived in the area for 44 years.
Maybe I can write about it when the crisis ends.

Frustration

Why does the media and, then in turn, the clueless public on social media seem to believe information is being withheld as a part of a cover-up on the part of the Navy regarding the collision between the USS Fitzgerald and the container ship?

It's not a cover up.
Of course there is information that isn't being made available. It has been locked away where nobody can tamper with it.
That's standard procedure for a collision at sea, even a minor [my word] one that only involves dents and scratched paint.
Sailors are even segregated so they may not discuss the incident until the inquiry is complete.

I know one thing for sure.
Those who were involved would like very much for the information to get out so they can put the incident behind them (DAMHIK).

Something else I know is that it is surprising that something like this has happened in that vicinity before.
Those are extremely crowded waterways with all manner of watercraft of all sizes and shapes traveling in all directions at any time of day or night (DAMHIK).

There was obviously an error on someone's part . . .   maybe even more than one someone.
Don't judge until you know all of the facts and can apply personal knowledge or expertise to those facts.

GOML!

Then I saw this . . .

stolen from APOD

 Click the image!

Day late

This image is really old, but it arrived too late for me to post it on time.

Better late than never

Mrs. Cuz forwarded this after reading MB's post.

source: the Story People

It's dead on.

Word of the day

Thanks to the Old Air Force Sarge:

Sparse - what posts are on some blogs;

Sarge was ten.

I wasn't.
Fifty-three years ago was probably one of the most memorable days in my life.

My ship was returning from deployment in the Western Pacific.
We were probably one day short of landfall at Sandy Eggo [why do I wanna say gritty waffles?].
It was still early, because I remember it was about time for a change of watch.
The first word we got about Kennedy being shot was through the "back door."
A Radioman called up CIC and asked if we'd heard about it.
It was just a few moments until it was announced to the entire ship over the 1MC.

It was really quiet after that  . . . all day!
There was a prayer service in the unused hangar in the aft superstructure.
Beyond that there wasn't much else.

When we did reach port, there was not much celebration of our arrival [except by the winners of the anchor pool].
Thanksgiving on the ship was pretty subdued in 1963.

it sucked

About that avocado peeler

Really . . .   I don't need one.

Then the discussion progressed to junk drawers.
I don't have one  . . . at least not they way it was described.
OTOH, my garage may qualify, as it meets the criteria mentioned.

I do have gadget drawers . . .   two of them (maybe three).

One for sharps:

One for pick 'em up things:

One for non-food things:

Okay!
So the last one may have some junk.
 But it doesn't need an avocado peeler

Instead of a junk drawer, I have a garage with a workbench that has so much crap on it that I stopped looking for stuff a couple of years ago.
Last Friday I went looking for the pressure washer.
It hasn't been used since the drought began.
It took four hours to finally find it because it was behind and under an accumulation of things I'd decided I might need.

I already have too many things I don't might need.

In fact, I need help.
I have stuff that I will probably never use.
(yeah, I used the word never   . . . deal with it)

I finally figured out why.
It's because I live in a grandma's house.
She acquired much booty for small visitors to entertain themselves.

Two things happened.
(more than two, but two main things)
Those visitors have gotten older.
They don't visit much.

The real question isn't about what to divest, but where to start.
Even some furniture has to should go.

Okay, here's the deal.
I know three individuals who are dealing with some particularly unsettling challenges* right now.
(actually I know more than that, but I am better acquainted with these particular situations)
I won't go into specific details because they aren't at all relevant to this conversation [and all three read this blog].

The point here is that I know these folks.
I can completely empathize with them.
I can even offer to listen and, if asked, offer information.
But the best part is it reminds me that I'm not the center of the Universe.
Also reminds me I am not the only one who has challenges*.

I am even reminded that most of the things that happen don't necessarily happen to me.
They may happen when I am there.
But that only means I am present.
How the incident affects me is entirely predicated upon my attitude and how I allow it to affect me.
I try to choose to be grateful, if even only in a small way, for being allowed to participate.
That way it doesn't happen to me.
It just happens.

tomorrow is another day

*in this case challenges replaces problems because the folks involved are meeting them head-on to resolve the issues

Stop . . .for just a brief moment

Please send your thoughts
. . .and if you pray, please do
. . .for the Old Air Force Sarge and his family.

thanks

Here's mine

Prayer request, that is.
I've already offered a few prayers for Suldog's teammate and friend, Big Jay Atton.
Sully explains it best in his post.
GS and I had the pleasure of meeting him at a softball game in Boston three years ago.

"Big" Jay is in the back middle, behind the guy holding the beer bottle over Suldog's head

big Teddy bear comes to mind

Entitlements

I was gonna write a post about how I think the word entitlements is misused and abused.
Then I said to myself, "Screw it, everyone's entitled to their own opinion."

I was given a writing assignment last Friday.
I've been doing some research.
So far I've underlined a few words and written three margin notes  . . .in red.
This assignment could take weeks.
The man who gave me that assignment is having back surgery tomorrow.
He could probably use your prayers.

yeah. . .   and his family

Annual rant about useless things

AKA - Monday

No. . .   don't get me wrong.
Monday's aren't useless.
Whatever you call them, they're still the first day of the week   . . .unless you start your week on Sunday [like most calendars].

What I mean here is the annual Let's Fuss With the Clocks circus.
Who needs it?
Hawaiians and Arizonans (except for the Navajo) manage just fine without it.
I would like to know just how much time is wasted annually in conversation about Daylight Saving Time.
BTW- here's something I saw yesterday.
(It was wrong, incidentally.
I already knew about half that stuff)

So if you've read this far, go over here and read something really intelligent with which I am in complete agreement.
(I have some other thoughts, too, that popped into my head after reading and commenting.)

Finally, also regarding yesterday, there was the word of the day.

Really?
Does anyone. . .   besides poets [and Sylvester Cat]. . .   say thither?

the Navajo have a good reason 

"For What It's Worth"*

"How many things have to happen to you

before something occurs to you?"

~Robt Frost

I guess that depends upon who's asked. . .

. . .what things they're talking about. . .

. . .and if you've been to sensitivity training.

Apropos, if not particularly connected, to certain current world events.

wake up!!!

*you'll figure it out