Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
This past week Winnie and I made a trip to Rhode Island to visit family. It was notable for several reasons; it was the first overnight trip we’ve had since this Zombie Apocalypse started in March 2020. The occasion was the 75th birthday of one of my cousins still living in New England, and lots of other family came in to celebrate.
So we had several days of hanging around family and visiting in New England in November. It turned out to be a nice visit.
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
I’ve had a long post-Navy career at this point, and moved around a lot in my jobs. Within the different companies I’ve worked for I’ve had the great fortune of moving around doing different things, learning new skills, and working with different people. Some of the things I’ve done and people I’ve worked for were good. Other things and other people – not good.
I’ve also made some bad decisions throughout my career, mostly on basis that my word was the same as my signature, and other people’s word was the same as their signature. So when I had a chance to answer a Quora question ” Did you accept counter offer from your current employer when you put in two weeks, how did it turn out?” I went with my most infuriating job-related incident of trusting someone to keep their word.
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
So yesterday was our wedding anniversary – this one marking eighteen years together. Over our years together we’ve been flooded out, moved across country, performed multiple home renovations, and worked at multiple jobs. We survived two years apart and now we’ve survived eighteen months of near-house arrest. We’re still together so that’s a good thing.
In other news; We’re getting into autumn with cooler autumn weather and shorter days. Such is the cycle of life.
Estimated reading time: 12 minutes
On a daily basis, it feels like someone is trying to pick my pocket. The scams come in ever-increasing formats; from emails to text messages, phone calls, old-fashioned snail mail, and in-person. The one common denominator is that all these scams are focused on transferring my hard-earned cash to someone who feels they need my cash more than me.
The most recent attempted scam was this past week, when a person(s) replied to a Craigslist ad for an old guitar I’m trying to sell. The only notable part of this scam was that I exposed them. I’m going to expose these jerks even more in this post.
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
So a few weeks ago Winnie needed an annual safety inspection on her 2013 Nissan Versa. Considering that the car is in excellent condition, this should have been a routine process of taking the car in, getting it inspected, stickered, and out the door.
Instead, the dealer service center broke bad and tried to extort Winnie for an expensive and unnecessary repair job. They made a really bad choice.
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Yesterday was America’s twentieth anniversary of “9/11,” the day a handful of terrorists took down New York City’s World Trade Centers and damaged the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. Yesterday was also just a few days after all American forces left Afghanistan, a nation we attacked in retaliation for 9/11 twenty years ago.
I’d like to share my personal remembrance of 9/11 twenty years ago.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
As much as I hate to admit, I spend a lot of time on the Facebook Social media site. Too much time, actually. Normally, the time I spend on Facebook could be spent doing more productive things like – taking out the trash. Or, like – digging holes in my backyard that I later fill back in.
However, this past Saturday I found myself placed in “Facebook jail” for twenty-four hours as a result of a meme I posted. The experience was both irritating and exhilarating.
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Winnie got me hooked on kayaking ten years ago when she bought me a kayak on my 55th birthday. Since then, I’ve mixed power boating with kayaking as my warm weather water sports. I’ve also added two inflatable kayaks to my fleet. But almost all my kayaking has been a solitary activity. Until this year.
This spring, Winnie announced she wanted to go kayaking with me. So for this season we’ve been kayaking together and having a lot of fun.
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Winnie is only really happy when she’s working in her gardens. She’s been building gardens ever since joining me here in the US, trying different plants and different techniques. For this year, she’s outdone herself not only by building her largest garden ever, but in her elaborate use of bamboo for fencing and trellises.
She’s truly built a garden rhapsody in bamboo.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
So after a long dry spell it’s time for another edition of This and That; all the news fit to print and a whole lot more.
So to catch up on current news; The Covid-19 pandemic is almost over except for all the places it’s not. Floods are washing out Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, London, and parts of China. The Northwestern United States is burning up while roving gangs of MAGA-morons roam the vast wastelands waiting for their savior trump to return to the White House in a blaze of glory. Across the street from the White House, Congress-people are locked in a macabe dance of swords, fingers in their ears, screaming “I Can’t Hear You!”
In good news; today is pizza day, the second time we’ve had Costco pizza in sixteen months. I guess we take whatever good we can find and run with it.