Cats and Dogs

I think I look forward to doing these posts as much as you do. They're a good respite for me, and perhaps for you as well. 

We are a little Sophie heavy this week. I think a number of you won't mind. 

Sophie has been spending time with me in bed before I go to sleep. 

She usually leaves before I doze off, but I love her being there. 

Apparently, lunch with 710 wears them out. 

I don't know the background of this. 

Wally can hold his own, but Bailey might have chased him up there. 

Sophie might be too close for Shep's comfort. 

The sofa is his!

Bow Wow Beach pack. 

My ottoman girl.

Song by: the Head and the Heart

Record of the Month

I figured I'd do a monthly 'what I'm listening to' kind of thing. This could be viewed as a lame placeholder kind of post. And probably it is. But it's my blog! So there!  

First off, for the most part, I love Garbage. Maybe now, I like the idea of them more. 

They're last album, Strange Little Birds, was kind of a clunker, yet I pre-ordered No G-d No Master without hesitation. I really probably shouldn't do that anymore, with any album, as so often it kind of comes to bite me in the ass. 

I'll start off with that Garbage is still a very talented band, and Shirley Manson is a great vocalist. The musical skills are good. Better than good. 

"Dark" is the adjective for which I use for this disk - in sound and tone; in music and lyrics.  It's not that the band has been sweetness and light, and granted the time between disks saw some troubling times - political (BLOTUS), social (#metoo).  As much of it was recorded before Covid, that doesn't quite play into it, but you get it. 

Garbage was always good a balancing the dark mood with some hooks, and that happens here, but far too infrequently. There are a few songs I like - or came around to like - "Creeps", "No Horses", "Flipping the Bird", "Waiting for G-d".  But the rest are kind of a drag. 

As I am apt to do, I went and got myself the DEE-Luxe version. It has some stand alone songs that Garbage had put out since 2013 including a few covers - a slightly uninspired "Starman" and "Because the Night", which I featured back in 2013.  

I'm sure I'll come back to No G-d No Master, but not for full-through listens. I'll be selective. 

I'll Tumble 4 Ya

Good for Simone.  And good for her sponsors - most of them. 

Simone Biles was smart enough, and strong enough to know when was when. At least a day at a time. 

While she claims no physical injury, she's trying to avoid one from what has to be a completely unnerving situation. 

Best. Best. Best. Best. Best. Best. Best. Best. 

How many times can you hear that over and over and not let it effect you?  No one is equipped to handle such pressure time and again. It's not even the eye of the world on you - it's worse.  It's the most asshole-ish U.S. audience who thrives on the build up and inevitable tear down. 

The media has gotten it all right and all wrong. 

Local news coverage, of course, tries the 'mental health' angle and saying all the 'right things'......and then the commentator ends with, in and upbeat but disappointing, "and she really the hope for ALL of team U.S.A." - basically saying, 'she let down the country'. 

No wonder Biles stepped away. She should have ran. 

All but one of her sponsors supports her choices. United Airlines - at least of this writing - is the only one not to say a word. They're a shitty airline, so it's no surprise. At least they're consistent. None are dropping her - though.........shitty United, so......who knows on that one. 

I'm glad Biles is reassessing on a day-by-day basis. I'm glad she's strong enough not to bow the pressure of performing. 

It's not like gymnastics has been a positive place for women. You know, their team doctor assaulting 300 women. The gymnastics association knew of - or allegedly knew of - and did little to nothing......even after the fact. They don't have the best interests of their members at the top of their list. 

My - tights, mats and a rapey team doctor?  Did Jim Jordan work for the U.S. Gymnastics Association? 

Yeah - Simone should have run away. 

Song by: Culture Club

Delta

I'm tellin' ya - Sandy Duncan, Peter Falk, Sammy Davis Jr and Miss Cleo could have seen this coming. 

It's not that Miss Cleo has (well, had) one eye, she was just a scamming 'fortune teller' - but even a broken clock is right twice a day. 

It was less than two weeks ago when I said I told ya so about rise in Covid cases. In 2-3 days it went from 20,000 to 24,000.  Now it's 60,000+ per day.......and the Delta, and now, Lambda variant (seen above), is allegedly infecting some people who've had the vaccine. 

Oh, and there is now modeling that has 4,000 deaths PER DAY, by October.   So.........yay!  Roughly 120,000 per month. ....on top of the pushing 700,000

The Alabama governor wench is blaming the unvaccinated on the rise.  Wow.  MENSA material. But she also hates blacks and gays, so............I don't really give a fuck what she thinks, even if she is correct on this. Naturally, Alabama has the lowest vaccination rate in the country. 

Not surprisingly, only a few states other than Alabama voted for BLOTUS in bigger % of numbers. Yes, there is a direct correlation from unvaccinated rates to that orange turd. 

But the CDC is recommending at all school children K-12 wear masks in school. They're also encouraging masking of all folks in the highly infectious areas.  I'm still fine with masking, but I think it will be a long hard road to get people back to doing it pre-re-opening up of things over the last few months. 

So, yay, we get to live the death, anxiety and uncertainty of April - December 2020. And we thought 2021 was gonna be our year!

Song by: Crosby, Stills & Nash

Love Shack

One would think I'd have learned my lesson. 

You're probably thinking 'which lesson?', as I forget the past so often on so many things. 

When my mom died, I went to the app, Let Go to well, let go of some of her stuff. For free, I might add.  It did not go well. 

We tried again when we moved from our old house. 

Not only was it more of the same, but in the middle, Let Go got bought out by something called Offer Up and all of my postings went away, with them telling me to re-enter everything. I tossed shit in the trash instead. 

But as we got ready to redo the backyard, 710 wanted the Rubbermaid shed gone. I could take it or leave it, alas, he could not. It was offered to a niece, but they didn't want it. So, Offer Up, it went. 

I did some research, but not a ton.  Bought new, these things run $999.99.  I thought $300 was a reasonable price for someone to haul it away. My research didn't extend for what others might be selling the same product. 

I posted pics of it in the current state. I posted a diagram from Rubbermaid that had ALL the dimensions. I posted a pic from Gooooooogle Shopping that showed the retail value.  Like everything else - I stated clearly, 'no delivery' 'bring others to move it'.   Blobby isn't into moving this crap too. 

......and then the loons came out. 

The lowballer:  I'll give you $100 for it. 

The unable to read:  when can you deliver it?

The passive-aggressive guy: what is the lowest you'll go. 

The uncommited: let me think about it and I'll get back to you

The no GPS: how long does it take me to get there from 130th? They neglected to say E or W. 

The creep: can you just give me your address?   (no offer to buy a thing - so......no)

As we had to get ready for the landscapers and the thing wouldn't fit down the driveway without breaking it down, 710 took it apart and expertly bagged all the parts and downloaded and printed off the assembly instructions for whomever would buy it. 

I took a picture and posted it in it's deconstructed state. 

"I have to come out and see it first".   Um....there is nothing to see. Slaps leaning up against a garage wall. 

But one man - no quibbling about price. Said if he left now he's be there in 47 minutes. And he was......to the minute. With cash. The full amount. 

Sure, he's probably going resell it for twice what I sold it, but it's not my problem nor is it languishing at the house. 

With the app, you mark it as sold and rate the buyer.  It also notifies anyone who was in the big process. 

.....and then the loons came out. 

Instead of just 'letting go', they piled on.  I was vilified for selling to another, apparently. I so wanted to respond, but realized this isn't the Seinfeld message board back in 1992 where 'flame wars' would break out. 

So, I just stashed the 300 big ones and shut down the app. 

Song by: the B-52's

My Music Monday

The last of the second banana series. 

Joy Division begat New Order, which begat Electronic. When Peter Hook left New Order, he also has performed with Revenge, Monaco, Freebass and Peter Hook & the Light. 

While Electronic had Bernard Sumner, New Order bandmates (and life mates) Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert formed the band, the aptly named, the Other Two.

There is nothing  revolutionary about their style. Some of the music, it almost note for note rehashed New Order - not that I'm complaining, as I do like the band. Gilbert takes lead vocals and she's ok, but she is not the strongest singer. 

Songs like this one, "New Horizons" is good for background or driving music.  ....you do have to wait almost a minute to get to vocals though. 

 

Guardian

David from Adventures of aTravel Penguin axed me yesterday (in a comment) my thoughts on the name change for the so-called local sports team.  .....and then Cookie over at Doing Hard Times in Shaker Heights beat me to the punch.  

Much like a Cleveland sports team, I just can't win!

As for naming rights, I was hopeful, and I was not denied. This would be a first for me and a Cleveland baseball team.  .....as they have denied me so very very often. 

The Cleveland Indians have a new name.  The Guardians. 

No. NOT of the Galaxy. Named for - or with homage to - the Guardians of Traffic sculptures on the Lorain-Carnegie Hope Memorial Bridge. 

It's true that bridge connects Carnegie Ave and Lorain Ave, but the Hope is for Bob Hope's (yes, THAT Bob Hope) father, who was the craftsman for the sculptures. 

A number of team names were bandied about: Spiders. Rockers. Crows (why?). And those were the good ones. I assumed / hoped (pun!) that it would be the Guardians, as the bridge leads right to the baseball stadium. ....and I'm always amazed at them. 

I won't lie - my whole life it's been the Indians. There is a sadness in seeing that go, but I get it too. Chief Wahoo is hardly how I think of Native Americans, but I'm not one of them, so I can't say how they feel. I suppose it is like some straight person thinking it's ok to call me a 'faggot'.  

So move one me must. And should. And honestly, thank you George Floyd. 

After decades of opening days with Native Americans protesting at Municipal Stadium or Jacob's Field, the front office was not swayed to make a change. Only with Floyd's death and the subsequent protests that turned out not to just be about Black Lives Matter, but the many tentacles of racial misappropriations that Cleveland and the Washington Football Team got the appropriate pressure to move forward. 

It must kill Derek Chauvin that with is murder of Floyd, sparked changes in this country that he never wanted to see come to fruition ever and might never have come if not for him. But I will not thank Chauvin for that. However, enough of the American people - not the Karen's or Chad's of the world - got movement behind all of this. 

So, next season, we will be the Guardians. I just have to believe if what I'm guessing was the 17 years old they got to create the new logo had just taken an extra 20 minutes, it would have been a better design. 

Song by: Alanis Morissette

Ray of Light

ROUGH work week - to say the least. I don't have to worry about my job, as they would be hard-pressed to find anyone who actually wants it.  So......on to doggies and kitties. 

Best things we ever bought this man. A traveling water bottle / bowl. 

Sophie doesn't come up into bed often anymore, so, I made sure to give her all the attention. 

No idea who this guy/gal is.  But honestly, it's all about the hot dog in the right corner. 

The dog does love the stop, drop and roll. 

Ray of light. 

It might look weird. But you know the 'live' pictures. I got the licking of a lifetime when picking him up from daycare. Took a pic for 710, but this is the screen capture that was left. 710 loved it. 

Yesterday morning I had to maneuver through these two on the landing just to get to work.

Trouble, I tell ya. 

Song by: Madonna

So Sorry

Dudes and Dudettes - 

I got nothing. It was quite a work day - nothing that I care to relive here, or that would even be of great interest to any of youz guyz. 

I am glad it is Friday. I don't say that much, but I'm ok for the week to end. 

I'll regroup, maybe throw a few back with the Muses and see what happens. 

Peace Out. 

Song by: Feist 

Out of Time

As any modern man can see........it's not 30 days from March 8th............yet here we are. 

Well, here the neighbors are, as "Nottinghill" isn't even our street. 

For the life of me, I can never remember its name, so I have dubbed it "Morning Glory" - and that's the name that stands. 

We are closing in August 8th, not April. 8th......and the road isn't done. Nor is an adjoining street. 

I will say, tearing up two streets, taking down dozens of scraggly trees, putting in tons of new sewers and water drainage systems, 30 days seemed ambitious at best. 

Clearly, this is the first go-round for the project manager. It might be his last?  I'd say - at the very best, they're two weeks away from completion, and that is if they were ready to start repaving......and they're not. 

It only seriously interrupts our Shep walks on rainy days, or post rain days - as that route is messy. And part of it is dangerous. 

I do just chuckle - silently - as I pass that sign a few times per week. I think they should leave it up a few months after they're completely finished. 

Song by: the Rolling Stones

Up and Down

As interested as I am in space, I could not be less interested in Richard Branson or Jeff Bezos going there. 

Truth be told - and yes, I'm a HORRIBLE human being (tell me something I don't know) - I didn't care if either of them made it back from their journeys.  

Elon Musk is a douche for sure, but he hasn't quite made it all about him when it comes to Space X. 

And Bezos giving $200,000,000 to two people to do with it what they want?  What kind of fucking dick passive-aggressive move is that?  So if Van Jones doesn't use it to feed every needy school kid in the U.S., somehow now it's his fault as opposed to Bezos, who could have just provided food to every needy family in the country along with adequate housing. 

I'd kill for Jones to use that money to fund the unionization of amazon workers. 

But since Bezos can clearly afford anything he fucking wants and it's his ride (!!) - what was the point of auctioning off a seat in his rocket for twenty something million dollars?  Fuck - take an underprivileged kid who can only dream of going to space. Take a girl who wants to be in a STEM program. Do fucking something that isn't for the greenback dollar.  Do something that shows you're not a complete douche. 

Bezos did none of that - except the douche thing. He's got that down cold.

.....and whomever designed his rocket has a major inferiority complex. .....and is quite possibly Jewish. 

Song by: the Cars

Alive

It's alive.  ALIVE!!!!!!!

You must say it like Frankenstein or even Young Frunkenshtein. 

I know you've been all on the edge of your seats, but Hubble is back. 

After more than a month in safe mode, engineers (choo choo!!) got a glitch in some protection circuit fixed and things are back up and running. 

As of yesterday, the telescope is even sending back pictures. Naturally, it's of three-armed spiral galaxy ARP-MADORE0002-503 and ARP-MADORE2115-273.   Those two are such photo whores. All over Instagram, I'm sure. 

Glad we have this back and operational. Let's see what it brings us before that new alleged telescope launches later this year. 

Song by: Pearl Jam

My Music Monday

Second Banana is the theme of the month. 

When it comes to the Go-Go's, most people I would assume thinks of Belinda Carlisle, as she is the singer and center person. 

But most of the songs were written by Jane Wiedlin and / or Charlotte Caffey. And really, how good is a band without a decent song? 

Near the end of the band's heyday, Wiedlin was upset at not being able to sing lead vocal on her song "Forget the Day" from the disk Talk Show. Caffey was a full-blown heroin addict. While the disk didn't tank there are a number of forgettable songs on there. And it was better than Vacation. 

Both writers went onto other projects (besides rehab) - Wiedlin with a song from Spark ("Cool Places") and two solo disks, which I bought (that's on me!) - that brought the semi-hits "Rush Hour" and "Blue Kiss" and very little else. She was also in the movie Clue, as a person who delivered a singing telegram. 

As it turns out maybe Jane didn't get lead on the Go-Go's vocal because......well, the voice. It's just a bit too helium. For a song here and there it's fine. For full albums.......again.......that was on me. 

Caffey's post Go-Go's career was more about songwriting than performing, though her immediate follow-up was another all girl band, the Graces, that included Meredith Brooks (who sang that horribly overplayed song, "Bitch" five years later). 

The Graces had one disk in 1992 called Perfect View.  One so-so disk, though the opening and initial release, "Lay Down Your Arms" was strong.......and featured here. Carlisle would use this song on a later disk, as well as another, "Should I Let You In". 

Change

We've been in our "new" house about 14 months.  Instead of making some immediate changes - not there is much we need or want to do (which was part of the move impetus), some yard work needed to be done. 

The front yard was mostly cosmetic, as things had gotten wild, even before we moved in. The previous owners started divorce proceedings and moved out about 6 mos before we bought the house. Grass was taken care of......and that's about it. 

The back yard is another story. The big storm of 2019 did some semi-major damage to the property when a big-assed tree came down (crushing the fence and at least one of the neighbor's cars). The previous owners fixed the fence and got rid of most of the tree, but some of the base and roots remain. Mainly the earth and yard was upturned and never fixed. 

There are also drainage issues.  And parts that are overgrown. 

That starts getting fixed next week. 

We knew it had to be done and it's not cheap (I haven't axed 710 for the amount - as I don't think I want to know). But we contacted a number of companies for estimates and quotes. Some came out, but never provided quotes. Some just never came out after making the appointment. Some never bothered to even call back to set something up. 

Before

The bush on the right is HUGE. The hydrangeas on the left (blocked by the tree) were out of control too. 

After

The house looks way bigger. The mulching around the trees is nice. 

'Tis the backyard for which I am truly waiting. I'm sure there will be that update too, but maybe in pieces.  While it's not a huge yard, after the drainage, digging, cleaning up and new plantings, the grass will have to grow back.  Full effects in before / after might take a while. 

Song by: Tracy Chapman

Creature Comfort

This puppy (me) is tired!   Long, grueling week. I can barely keep my eyes open as I draft this - and it is all of 19:24.  I gotta go to bed. 

The man does know how to make himself comfortable. 

I'm happy to get the sandpaper licks

Shep takes requests. 

Two pretty girls at Petco, that I did NOT take home with me. Thought I wanted to. 

Cleaning time. 

Shep really enjoys just lounging in the fenced in backyard. And we can let him out without worrying. 

Dinner time hang.  We are a pack. 

Song by: Arcade Fire

Site of the Month

This is brought to you via my friends. 

Rebecca got it and passed it along. It's like a more adult version of NonSequitur, which we used to play while drinking.  The idea is to go around the room and one person says a word, with following folks saying the farthest thing from it. 

Players can be challenged. So if you said 'snow' and the next person said, 'hiking', you could make a case for taking a hike in a snowy area.  I've said before, the one that stopped us dead in our tracks - and holding our guts - was Becky saying 'labyrinth' and Morty IMMEDIATELY coming back with 'pork'. 

We use it till this day. 

So, there is an on-line version, or something like it.  You play against yourself (basically) and against all who take also do the test (statistically). 

YOU have to pick 10 works that least interact. It is tougher than you think.

Not bad. I thought.  .....and it wasn't. 

Average score is 78.  I did 10 better than that.  10.51 better, to be exact. 

Marmalade was a BIG winner. Though I'm not sure how 'burlap / marmalade' and 'bicycle / marmalade' got lower scores. I suppose I could have ridden my bike to get some......or ride it through some jam. I dunno. 

Here are more rules / explanations. 

All I know is I beat Becky by 3 points........so winner winner, chicken dinner. 

You can play the Divergent Association test here. 

Tell me how you scored. 

I Told You So

I have very little.  I could say "told ya so" about Covid.  In Los Angeles county - every single person admitted to a hospital with Covid, not one has been vaccinated.  Not. One.  And those cases that were growing 20,000 per day?  Now 24,000 per day.  Ooopsie. 

So - told ya so.

But that's not today's post.   Meredity made me laugh with her Facebook photo. 

It made me laugh and laugh and laugh.  It still does. 

I LOVED Star Trek: the Next Generation (fave episode might be the poker playing one - or anything with Q). My friend Sal loves all things Star Trek - and knows far far far too much about most of the other series - most of them I've never watched........including most of the original series. 

Naturally I sent the shot to Sal today. This is what I go back........

I suppose he's not wrong in his reaction. 

Song by: New Order

Storm on the Sea

This could real fuck up potential retirement plans. 

In mid-2030s a wobbling moon - yes, you read that correctly - is going to bring a dramatic surge in high tide coastal flooding. 

I don't think they mean Lake Erie, but you never know. 

Actually, the beaches in Northeast Ohio have mostly disappeared over the last two years. The ones we used to take Shep to are down to a small path of sand now - no beaches, or fewer.  Rising water levels in the Great Lakes - and we don't even have melting glaciers, though I guess it could be coming from up north. 

The moon has an 18.6 year lunar cycle (take THAT menstruation!) .  When it hits a certain point in said cycle, there will be rising seas. 

The wobble isn't new - as it's been reported back to the 1700s. They probably had flooding too, but not one noticed. 

So - maybe a post-work home on the ocean isn't what I want anymore? 

I mean, do I want to be dealing with having to load up the handi-van and drive to a Bill Knapp's 15 counties away to take shelter and from some applesauce?  

.....see, the "joke" is, I'll be old by the mid 2030s........should I be alive at all.  It's not that I'll care about flooding at that point, as much as resale. 

Song by: Thompson Twins

12 of 12

 So I'm doing my 135th 12 of 12.

Normally it is 12 pictures taken on the 12th of the month. Since I only post once per day, you get my images the following day. All pictures taken with my iPhone. Click images to enlarge, if you choose.

Created by Chad Darnell and picked up from, what I can tell, any number of random bloggers who then link back to him and vice versa. Chad is no longer doing this, nor is successor coordinating the linking of other 12 of 12'ers anymore. Erik is back and I think he's picking up 12 of 12 again.

04:12.  Up early!

Like Golidlocks, I was either too hot or too cold, so I couldn't sleep. I had a 07:30 meeting anyways, so I just did some data prep for it, since I was awake anyways. 

05:22.  Prepping my lunch. 

06:01.  Old man, doing old man things. 

06:32.  'Murica. 

Where somehow Level 1 Trauma (gun shot wounds and motor vehicle accidents) are patriotic? 

08:44.  Zoom. 

I'm a minute early. Clearly no one else was. 

12:44.  Teeming!

This would be two days in a row. 

12:59.  Said lunch. 

Chicken salad on water table crackers. 

14:52. Scanning. 

16:41.  Leaving "early". 

Trying to beat the next round of thunderstorms. 

16:45.  Unsuccessful. 

17:29.  Rain and Shake.

19:13. Snow Pea detritus. 

Salmon side dish was snow-peas in sesame oil and garlic with a splash of soy sauce. But first I had to cut of those little ends of the peas.