August 15, 2021

Yesteryear
One year ago today: August 15, 2020, my beautiful workbench.
Five years ago today: August 15, 2016, the robo-cashier-server.
Nine years ago today: August 15, 2012, famous Colorado pic
Random years ago today: August 15, 2013, club meeting Sunday.

           One great thing about owning your own blog is decisioins only have to make sense to you, yourself. In music parlance, at least in e-mail, I’ve decided “tomorrow” means whatever you'd like it to mean. I zipped over to Phat Bites, a local watering hole with no sign so you have to find it. In Donelson, not too far away. It's a live music venue which even in Nashville can be challenging to fill with the right sort of entertainer. That would be the kind who actually entertain. As I walked in, they mistook me for somebody important, but I was there to check if my guitar pal was on the roster. First, meet Coby, the two-year old doggie, I’ll explain later.

           I instantly recognized the sound man. Possibly the headlamp on his head helped me pick him out in the otherwise mostly empty room. The Kaiser isn't in until tonight, so I checked back and I see the mix-up. The Kaiser answered not on the date of the e-mail, but of his reply. The way to deal with this is sit there and have a beer before you leave. When live hands you lemons, hand them back and head for the nearest pub. You don't mess with the afternoon heat in the summertime.

           So, I get home and an hour later there is a ruckus. You could look at it at least two ways. One is that a large dog got off its leash in this neighborhood and wound up wondering across our front yard. Of course, the Reb to the rescue, he's bedded down in the back porch with food and water and a commitment to canvas the area in the morning. Yes, that's his picture and he's wearing a sweater or something, you know the Reb. Or the other viewpoint is, stay with me here, just this week my birthday present to the Reb was free dog food for a year, and by the weekend, other dogs are beginning to pour across our borders. I'll leave you with that, bwaaaaa-ha-ha-ha . . . .

           Isn't that something, these parents all up in arms now about masks. You pack of ignoramuses. You do nothing for 30 years, always too busy to notice the schools boards passing one little rule after another, never spotting the pattern. Now you think they are are not prepared for your ridiculous little shouting matches? They know you've filled your lives with enough bullshit that all they have to do is wait you out. Only one thing works, setting things up to fire them all and start over, but I doubt all of you chanting bozos between you have the guts to do it on a scale that works. Shame on all of you, because you called down the warnings that were on the wall. You think you are going to show up in your late 30s in a huff and change things. Karen, they seen you coming.
           Let me spit something else in your eye. The mask nonsense started the beginning of last year. You sat there. Now, the border is collapsed, the Taliban is releasing terrorists by the thousands, the currency is collapsing, and gas is heading for ten bucks a gallon--and you are just now starting to speak up? You clueless wonders. You've allowed the enemy to use your own tax dollars to bully you into a corner. You are by comparison a bunch of stunned apes who cannot even shout in unison. Things will change, but for now you are getting exactly what you deserve.

           Later. Coby, that was the name of the escapee doggie. Some guy over the way let his dad take Coby for his walk, who quickly slipped off his chain and wound up here, a mile away. Guess he heard about the good food. Anyway, he is a healthy well-kept animal so the Reb went on some pet-find site and located the owner in less than an hour. The owner had to drive here from work, but now he is a strong ally. He
owns every tool in the catalog.
Picture of the day.
Samoan pani popo.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           I made it to the show.. The place has craft beer but to compensate, they have great music. The Kaiser’s show was totally originals except one tune. This is a showcase, only an hour per musician, but they know who to for instant duos and trios to fill the night. Here's a random photo of our pet turtle eating chicken. I may release the video, since it is more entertaining thatn "The Green Knight". Now the Kaiser buys a banjo, except he doesn’t play banjo. Um,I think he tuned it like a guitar and that was part of the show tonight. Hey, it’s what I would have done.

           I am utterly absorbed by the book on Churchill. It is an inadvertant testimony to the grit of the Boers and the incompetence of the late-Empire British army. You kind of have to read around all the wasted paragraphs about how so many people who met Churchill just knew he'd be somebody some day. Because he sure was no good at behaving himself or obeying orders. I heard that snarky comment out there in blog-land. True, but Winnie was born rich & priveleged and I wasn't. Like my mother would have tried to get me out of a POW camp.
           The biggest lesson I've got from the reading so far is that the Boers were essentially pacifists. The British are damn lucky the original Boer leadership were of this persuasion, allowing England time to send troopships and trains. Had Botha or de la Rey been in charge at the start, Black Week would have been Black Year.

           I further learned that while the Boer rode around the entire countryside on horses, the British had to import mounts by the hundreds of thousands because they only lived an average of six weeks. Horses get seasick, and apparently were often ridden in to battle without time to recover. I've been really seasick once, that was enough. Then, I've learned to be on a boat deck no more than 36 hours and that was in the calm water of the Philippines.battle in that condition.

           Arnold Stupidnegger makes the news for the first time in years, but it's not helping him any. He compared disease symptoms to drunk driving. He's become the signature for Hollywood actors for dispensing uneducated political & medical opinions. Officer Tatum rates Arnold as dumber than five left shoes on a horse walking backwards. Good one.

Last Laugh