Hi all, I've started the music off with Nina Simone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkDtrheq6A0 . I seem to see her music showing up in TV and movies with pretty sociopath government hitwomen listening. Apparently nothing to wind one down after a hard day of killing like a little Nina!?
I'm anticipating the roofers will be starting in the next hour. Like most of the neighborhood the hailstorm got our roof, thus the sound of the summer has been the tat tat tat of nailguns. That and some Ranchero music as all of the roofing crews are Mexican. (and oddly all of the adjusters and salesmen were Texans?!)
Like my Sister in law Bennie I've found I like the 'life' of most of the Mexican music. I should point out that while Benilde is Venezuelan by birth, Venezuelan music ain't Mexican. Homeland security might get by with a box to check "OTM" (other than Mexican) but music has all sorts of delineations. Kinda like assuming I like Brittany Spears. That said what I'm calling Ranchero might actually be Tejano or who knows what.
To go slightly political I would point out that no matter what your view on immigration no one can say Mexicans are not hard working. The crew that did my neighbors roof worked literally from dawn to dusk (just under 14 hrs) in a hot June sun. This was certainly a job they weren't stealing from this old gringo. Back in the day when I worked construction in Texas all the Mexicans I worked with were hard working. I recognize good people can have different views on immigration, me I'm an open borders Libertarian. I can't understand how lines drawn on a map by politicians can or should be allowed to tell me where I can go. Heck I don't like the idea of government issued drivers licenses. (since when are God given Rights subject to politician's permissions - just saying!) Feel free to argue your perspective on the issue in the comments section.
I had some tiny plans for the garden today but I'll use the excuse of the roofers to hang out indoors with the dogs. Thankfully we got a nice cool weekend that allowed me to catch up on the bindweed and actually think about some move ahead projects. With the growth spurt of the grape vines this month I've got to think about places for them to grow. I'm trying to decide between a small arbor and a fan of ropes for my newly planted seedless Concord. The arbor would provide a nice little morning shaded place to sit and would likely last a bit longer. The ropes could be strung in a day with the grapes doing the construction as they grow and fill in. The Himrod grape vine is also looking for space. It has a nice arched trellis Deb and I got married under but because of it's location needs a bit more. The tough part with it is it still hasn't proved itself. I planted it specifically because it was considered "excellent for drying for raisins". I figured some table grapes for eating fresh, but I'm not a canner (yet) and grapes can overwhelm you in good years. But I haven't had anything but hard years since I planted this little guy - not one grape. It's been killed back and declared dead more times than I can count but it's taking this living thing pretty serious. Life is precious, if you are given life as a grape vine might just as well grow - right?!
The truly yippee news with the garden isn't actually in the garden. I've lost weight!!!!!!! We're not talking 'get on a TV ad promoting some supplement' lost weight, just a couple of pounds. The scale at the gym was killing me this winter creeping up up and up till I just stopped weighing myself (hey it's a solution!). This Scottish gardener couldn't eat enough salads to keep up with the lettuce and spinach and I just have a hard time tossing it in the compost pile. Thus salad salad salad including some pretty inventive ones with some herbs and other garden pickings. During a particularly uninspired visit to the gym I stopped on the way to the steam room and hopped on the scale. I expected to grunt and mentally flip off the scale but hey sometimes you win.
I mentioned the herbs and I've been slowly adding a mix of them into the garden. One that has taken off this year is winter savory. My Sister Leslie gave me some seeds two winters back with the encouragement that it was good for bee's hive health. (The neighbor has some hives) I started it indoors with pretty good success and put it out at the base of my raised beds last spring. The plants were so tiny I marked each with a wooden stake to keep me from stepping on them. I think I can pull the stakes out soon. Not only have they grown but I started seeing tiny white flowers just this last week. Come on down bees Dr Savory is in. Now I've just got to learn more recipes using it. Meanwhile it's a nice garnish on salads.
The neighbor with the hive has been a little cheap in doling out the honey these last couple of years. I mean come on I'm feeding 'em. Perhaps I'll have to up his cut of the tomatoes. Social swaps are a delicate and complicated affair. You soon learn some folks are oblivious to the concept of reciprocity and than learn you've hurt feelings by not complimenting the 4 lbs zucchini they've passed your way.
The roofers just arrived so I got to practice a bit of my bad Spanish. Thankfully it's not like German in that most Mexicans have a sense of humor about bad tenses wrong words and the like. Additionally the music has flipped over to Tony Bennett https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv_odYE4Bu8 so I'll switch tracks a bit also.
The free rider concept is often used as an argument against free market or libertarian/ non government solutions. How could we possibly build roads without government taxes and powers of eminent domain. What if everyone but one so and so agrees to pay their share. Oh we know he'll use it, but pay up - come on dude. I mean life is easy when it's just me deciding what to grow in my garden. Heck it's even easy when I bring the lady up the alley's chickens bolted lettuce and she gives me some extra eggs. But try to build a pipeline. Oh sure your PR people will say everybody benefits from the oil getting cheaply to market but you seem to be the only one getting the monetized benefit. As no doubt the rancher who only sees hassles and the Indian nation that only sees sacrilegious trespass will share with you.
Now some of you like roads and some of you dislike oil pipelines thus depending on the case using the power of government to get your desired outcome seems an easy solution. So I gotta ask how has that worked out for you. There always seems to be some malevolent so and so on the other side. With more political power!
I want more roads built so I can get to work faster (hey that's green isn't it). But some SOB spent all the tax money on something else and I'm stuck in traffic. I want a clean environment and don't want to pay when some SOB oil company sticks me with at least part of the bill when they rupture a line or blow up a house. That's it that's all I got - How is that working out for you?
Essentially in most things political you're left with a rather binary choice voice vs exit. Head in the sand "I can't stand politics" is however what we mostly choose (it's really more of a non-choice.) That leaves the outcome to the malevolent SOBs. So if that is unacceptable you have to either figure out how to increase your voice by either holding office or supporting those who agree with you. Or exit - step outside the system and figure out a way to do it without permission and government interference. Outside of 'head in the sand' the next most popular choice is increase your voice. We just had an election for Congress that cost $57,000,000 perhaps not the norm but I think you would agree megaphones seem to be expensive these days. So how's that working out for you? Even if an election goes your way it's rare the elected official that votes and pushes 100% your way. You voted for and contributed to Barack because you wanted the US out of Iraq and Single payer health care. hmmm! Oh wait you voted for Trump because you wanted to drain the swamp and health care premiums you could afford. hmmm, how's that working out for you? Exit is personally exhausting, difficult to imagine let alone pull off, and expensive. That tends to be the argument against freemarket/libertarian solutions. But I think it has to be compared against the cost of the other choices. Each person has to decide what they will plant in this world. Doug A.
I'm anticipating the roofers will be starting in the next hour. Like most of the neighborhood the hailstorm got our roof, thus the sound of the summer has been the tat tat tat of nailguns. That and some Ranchero music as all of the roofing crews are Mexican. (and oddly all of the adjusters and salesmen were Texans?!)
Like my Sister in law Bennie I've found I like the 'life' of most of the Mexican music. I should point out that while Benilde is Venezuelan by birth, Venezuelan music ain't Mexican. Homeland security might get by with a box to check "OTM" (other than Mexican) but music has all sorts of delineations. Kinda like assuming I like Brittany Spears. That said what I'm calling Ranchero might actually be Tejano or who knows what.
To go slightly political I would point out that no matter what your view on immigration no one can say Mexicans are not hard working. The crew that did my neighbors roof worked literally from dawn to dusk (just under 14 hrs) in a hot June sun. This was certainly a job they weren't stealing from this old gringo. Back in the day when I worked construction in Texas all the Mexicans I worked with were hard working. I recognize good people can have different views on immigration, me I'm an open borders Libertarian. I can't understand how lines drawn on a map by politicians can or should be allowed to tell me where I can go. Heck I don't like the idea of government issued drivers licenses. (since when are God given Rights subject to politician's permissions - just saying!) Feel free to argue your perspective on the issue in the comments section.
I had some tiny plans for the garden today but I'll use the excuse of the roofers to hang out indoors with the dogs. Thankfully we got a nice cool weekend that allowed me to catch up on the bindweed and actually think about some move ahead projects. With the growth spurt of the grape vines this month I've got to think about places for them to grow. I'm trying to decide between a small arbor and a fan of ropes for my newly planted seedless Concord. The arbor would provide a nice little morning shaded place to sit and would likely last a bit longer. The ropes could be strung in a day with the grapes doing the construction as they grow and fill in. The Himrod grape vine is also looking for space. It has a nice arched trellis Deb and I got married under but because of it's location needs a bit more. The tough part with it is it still hasn't proved itself. I planted it specifically because it was considered "excellent for drying for raisins". I figured some table grapes for eating fresh, but I'm not a canner (yet) and grapes can overwhelm you in good years. But I haven't had anything but hard years since I planted this little guy - not one grape. It's been killed back and declared dead more times than I can count but it's taking this living thing pretty serious. Life is precious, if you are given life as a grape vine might just as well grow - right?!
The truly yippee news with the garden isn't actually in the garden. I've lost weight!!!!!!! We're not talking 'get on a TV ad promoting some supplement' lost weight, just a couple of pounds. The scale at the gym was killing me this winter creeping up up and up till I just stopped weighing myself (hey it's a solution!). This Scottish gardener couldn't eat enough salads to keep up with the lettuce and spinach and I just have a hard time tossing it in the compost pile. Thus salad salad salad including some pretty inventive ones with some herbs and other garden pickings. During a particularly uninspired visit to the gym I stopped on the way to the steam room and hopped on the scale. I expected to grunt and mentally flip off the scale but hey sometimes you win.
I mentioned the herbs and I've been slowly adding a mix of them into the garden. One that has taken off this year is winter savory. My Sister Leslie gave me some seeds two winters back with the encouragement that it was good for bee's hive health. (The neighbor has some hives) I started it indoors with pretty good success and put it out at the base of my raised beds last spring. The plants were so tiny I marked each with a wooden stake to keep me from stepping on them. I think I can pull the stakes out soon. Not only have they grown but I started seeing tiny white flowers just this last week. Come on down bees Dr Savory is in. Now I've just got to learn more recipes using it. Meanwhile it's a nice garnish on salads.
The neighbor with the hive has been a little cheap in doling out the honey these last couple of years. I mean come on I'm feeding 'em. Perhaps I'll have to up his cut of the tomatoes. Social swaps are a delicate and complicated affair. You soon learn some folks are oblivious to the concept of reciprocity and than learn you've hurt feelings by not complimenting the 4 lbs zucchini they've passed your way.
The roofers just arrived so I got to practice a bit of my bad Spanish. Thankfully it's not like German in that most Mexicans have a sense of humor about bad tenses wrong words and the like. Additionally the music has flipped over to Tony Bennett https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv_odYE4Bu8 so I'll switch tracks a bit also.
The free rider concept is often used as an argument against free market or libertarian/ non government solutions. How could we possibly build roads without government taxes and powers of eminent domain. What if everyone but one so and so agrees to pay their share. Oh we know he'll use it, but pay up - come on dude. I mean life is easy when it's just me deciding what to grow in my garden. Heck it's even easy when I bring the lady up the alley's chickens bolted lettuce and she gives me some extra eggs. But try to build a pipeline. Oh sure your PR people will say everybody benefits from the oil getting cheaply to market but you seem to be the only one getting the monetized benefit. As no doubt the rancher who only sees hassles and the Indian nation that only sees sacrilegious trespass will share with you.
Now some of you like roads and some of you dislike oil pipelines thus depending on the case using the power of government to get your desired outcome seems an easy solution. So I gotta ask how has that worked out for you. There always seems to be some malevolent so and so on the other side. With more political power!
I want more roads built so I can get to work faster (hey that's green isn't it). But some SOB spent all the tax money on something else and I'm stuck in traffic. I want a clean environment and don't want to pay when some SOB oil company sticks me with at least part of the bill when they rupture a line or blow up a house. That's it that's all I got - How is that working out for you?
Essentially in most things political you're left with a rather binary choice voice vs exit. Head in the sand "I can't stand politics" is however what we mostly choose (it's really more of a non-choice.) That leaves the outcome to the malevolent SOBs. So if that is unacceptable you have to either figure out how to increase your voice by either holding office or supporting those who agree with you. Or exit - step outside the system and figure out a way to do it without permission and government interference. Outside of 'head in the sand' the next most popular choice is increase your voice. We just had an election for Congress that cost $57,000,000 perhaps not the norm but I think you would agree megaphones seem to be expensive these days. So how's that working out for you? Even if an election goes your way it's rare the elected official that votes and pushes 100% your way. You voted for and contributed to Barack because you wanted the US out of Iraq and Single payer health care. hmmm! Oh wait you voted for Trump because you wanted to drain the swamp and health care premiums you could afford. hmmm, how's that working out for you? Exit is personally exhausting, difficult to imagine let alone pull off, and expensive. That tends to be the argument against freemarket/libertarian solutions. But I think it has to be compared against the cost of the other choices. Each person has to decide what they will plant in this world. Doug A.
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