Granted, lead balloons aren't expected to fly...but in times like these we think they're just the thing for lowering one's self into quieter, calmer waters for a bit.
All of the news and social media nonsense surrounding the nightmare in Las Vegas has actually managed to make a horrible situation worse. Finger-pointing, conspiracy theories, and political opportunism are all running rampant as people try to find a way to "never let a serious crisis go to waste." And it sickens us.
On a more personal level, we're mourning the loss of Tom Petty - a damn good rocker about whom "workmanlike" should be considered a term of praise. He was an American original and spoke to and for the heartland. He created a lot of great music, and we're saddened that his contributions are too soon over.
We're also feeling emotionally drained today as we round the two month mark on home remodeling. Every day brings a delightful new surprise, assuming you consider an incipient gastric ulcer "delightful," with today being no exception.
We had a warm, wet rain overnight - and as a result our brand new, fiendishly expensive, double-paned glass back door fogged over from top to bottom. As none of our crappy 30-year old double-paned windows did this, we suspected that something was wrong with the door. But nooOOooo. The manufacturer told us that condensation was simply a feature of their overpriced door and didn't represent a problem.
Apparently, they don't actually set up the double panes to provide an insulation factor or thermal barrier (surprise!) and promise only that their special reflectivity will give energy efficiency by bouncing dangerous UV waves away from our door's exterior (where direct sunlight of ANY kind never hits) while permitting cold air to flow right through - thereby making condensation a certainty on humid days when we run our air conditioning. And yes - that combination happens a LOT in Texas.
Bonus: come Wintertime, this will translate to a cold incoming draft and interior condensation - maybe even sheets of ice upon which we can chip off and add to any alcohol we'll still be able to afford!
It being that sort of day, we ducked out of the house (it's "fix your mistakes day," so there's a lot of hammering, painting, and such going on at the Jarlsberg estate) and went to McDonald's, where we managed to bring the entire operation to a halt by turning in a complicated and, perhaps, wholly unprecedented order: "A Big Mac meal and a cheeseburger." Seriously, the subsequent "meal" would have arrived faster if I'd ordered Duck a l'Orange on a bed of banana Moon Pies.
So please pardon this rambling, self-indulgent post. Following the horror in Las Vegas, it's going to take awhile for us to get back into the levity habit.
BONUS: MEMORIES OF TOM PETTY
30 comments:
" the subsequent order would have arrived faster if I'd ordered Duck a l'Orange"
See? There's your problem! The duck's name was "Big Mac"!
Thanks for the video, SJ. Haven’t seen that in ages...although I did just see Mr. Petty and the Heartbreakers in concert a couple of months back. I’d seen him many, many times prior and was on the fence about going again...now I’m so thankful I got to see him one last time. Gone too soon, indeed.
Good bye Tom Petty ......
Stilt, your comment on the Vegas shootings, is dead on. These idiots, the media and the politicians, try to gain some semblence of credibility by exploiting the event. I have become a news media dis-believer. You know, our forefathers didn't have this type of society in mind when they formed this country. Quite frankly I'm taking everything Trump says with a grain of salt, nay, a bag of salt. I have serious doubts of his making a full term. Big Mac's dipped in Cutty Sark ain't bad. Finally, the world lost a great man of music. Loved the Travelling Willburys, RIP.
Our neighbor across the hill is remodeling ... the hard way. Last month I smelled smoke, hopped on my 4-wheeler, and lo and behold, their whole house was engulfed ... with both cars in the garage. Yes they both got out OK. Now they have a complete remodeling, new furniture, and two new cars. Oh, and new clothes too. And I'll bet they will be finished before your remodeling. Perhaps you took the wrong approach ... not suggesting,just sayin'.
I, too, am in mourning for Tom Petty - one of the great ones. Once Joe Walsh checks out there will be little left to remember the halcyon days of my misspent youth.
I don't even want to talk about the political maelstrom surrounding Vegas. It is a horrible thing, and I cannot understand how anyone could hat mankind so much that they would subject people to such a thing. And the shooting was heinous, too.
RIP to Mr. Petty, and my thoughts and prayers are with the families of those directly affected by the shooter in Vegas - may the injured be healed, the dead rest, and the grieving families be comforted.
Somewhere up in Heaven
God said, "Time to add your name
To the Highest Hall of Fame!"
R.I.P Tom!
Stilton, if you really, REALLY want to mess with the "McDonald's mind", order a Big Mac with nothing but ketchup and mustard. Or, whatever toppings you like, but also ketchup and/or mustard. First, the counter person will experience a problem, because those won't appear anywhere on his/her screen and won't even be able to find a way to add them.
Then, when they ask for assistance from a manager, you'll be informed that, when it comes to Bic Macs. ketchup and mustard are "condiments non grata". Can't be done. WON'T be done. "We'll give you packets of ketchup and mustard. But we can't make a Big Mac and put it on for you." I've terrorized clerks & managers with that since the 80's (maybe about 20 times total over the years.) My success rate? Zero!
Wow, just two months,..?, that means your half way.., I redid my kitchen many years ago..omg. I swore never again..I had to make coffee every morning in bathroom sink.. had to finally threaten contractor with a lawsuit, and it was wrapped up eventually.., so many years later, swearing I’d never do it again, I did my master bathroom..down to the slab.., and included jackhammers punching holes in my slab.., what a fkg mess.., but ... I love my new bath..so yeah..I feel your pain Stilton.., been there, done that.. not sure what kind of door you bought that fogs up on day 3. Shouldn’t happen, so I think you have been told some BS.. Huck
It only took so long at Mickey D's because they had to work extra to make enough of their "special sauce"...
But at least they didn't take the Checkers approach:
http://tinyurl.com/y949p87h
because that would be a copyright violation.
Tom Petty was one of the few artists I can honestly say that I liked damn near every song he did. I also had more than one person in my life tell me that I looked like him. I never saw that. Perhaps it was the long hair.
Maybe he now can have another dance with Mary Jane.
He also wasn't a half bad actor. Here he is with Kevin Costner in "The Postman":
https://youtu.be/cDRa8FDL2ts
Petty was the most gracious performer I've had the pleasure of seeing in concert. Humble, grateful, and down to earth. His lyrics helped me through some rough times... So sad he is gone, so glad we had him in our world for a while.
As regards Vegas, I am appalled and sickened by the politicizing already in motion. Pathetic, sad... and they're not even addressing the real problem.
BTW, did anyone here read about the one major commonality in all the shooting massacres over the past 20 years? Each and every one of the shooters was taking prescribed antidepressant medication: SSRI (Selective Seratonin Reuptake Inhibitors).
Sad to see Tom go, but this happens eventually to ALL of us - ain't nobody goin' to leave here alive!
I'm even sadder about the people that were just having a good time, rocking to the music, when a (unprintable) assclown decides to send people to their Maker "before their time".
As to gun control preventing the massacre? The Libtards have their heads so far up their asses they have to unzip their fly to see where they're going. And the RINOs are in the same camp. You want to talk about wholesale slaughter of the innocent? Two words: Planned Parenthood. When you Libturds clean up that mess, come talk to us about Gun Control, mmmmkay?
Cool safe space. An aside: Scuba diving is one of the very few activities that I've partaken in where I can totally escape whatever is on my mind at any given moment. The last thing I'd take with me would be a laptop to break that bubble.
Las Vegas: Looks like we're in for another 6 months or so of "gun control" talk. Never mind that absolutely nothing that will be proposed will have prevented what happened this week. It's all an attempted power grab by people who don't like guns and don't like you. Want proof? Here it is:
Every single day of every day of the year, alcohol kills 4-times the number of people who died in Las Vegas on Sunday. And yet, nobody is calling for more "alcohol control". Why is that? Is it because we tried that once and it failed miserably? No, the left doesn't care about failure all that much. The real reason is because Progressives like alcohol, so they would be very upset if they were to be denied it. Even with the overwhelming and undisputed data on the social destruction it causes, they'll defend it for no better reason than that they want it. So what makes guns different? They don't like guns, and they don't think you should either. And since they feel that their Progressivism gives them moral agency, they have absolutely no compulsion against using the power of the state to deny you things they don't think you should have.
That's the big difference between their ideology and mine. Even if I didn't partake of consuming alcohol, it wouldn't occur to me that I should use the power of the state to deny others their right to consume it.
And it's not just guns. Progressive elitists have no use for pickup trucks. So they don't think most of you do either. So they're happy to use "climate change" as an excuse to prevent you from buying one. Many hate the NFL, so they're happy to see it self-destruct.
The list gets longer the more you think about it.
And then there's race: Is what happened in Las Vegas significantly more heinous than what happened in Orlando last year? Why didn't the usual suspects go on their usual gun control campaign after that? Was it the race of the perpetrator, or his ideology?
How about the Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport shooting? The usual suspects were engaging the narrative when all of a sudden it turned out that the shooter wasn't the stereotypical white survivalist type out of Alaska of their imagination, but a Puerto Rican who had recently recently discovered Islam. The plug was instantly pulled.
Why is this? Just who are the real racists in America?
Tom Petty. Another great I won't be seeing live.
Window: Never seen that happen with anything other than a broken one. My standard response in these situations is to take a picture, and then ask the manufacturer, "When people ask me about the quality of your product, is this the image you'd like me to present?" More than a few times, that's actually worked. Social media is your friend in this scenario.
Final thought: It took "the authorities" less than 6 hours to declare that the Las Vegas shooter was not ideologically affiliated with anyone or anything that would have motivated him to carry out his interestingly sophisticated plan. Meanwhile, we'll soon be entering year two of the Democrat's desperate quest to find anything that can be pointed to as "collusion" with the Russians and Trump's election. So far, it seems that all they have is that Russian bots were buying pro-Hillary ads directed at hard-core conservatives on Facebook.
Seems to confirm my suspicion that the speed of certain conclusions is inversely proportional to Progressive interests.
Stilton, what I have learned about double-paned glass is that if it isn't sealing a protective gas between the two layers, it isn't doing its job for you. They should have explained that. But, on the other hand, we have double-paned glass without the gas in it and when we have our monsoon season, we never experience any moisture collection on them. If moisture collects between the glass panes, then there is a broken seal. You definitely need to contact the maker of the glass and have them figure out what is wrong. Unfortunatley, the stress that comes along with remodeling doesn't help, especially in these trying times. Best of luck to you, Stilton and family.
@ Anonymous John the Econ said...
Every single day of every day of the year, alcohol kills 4-times the number of people who died in Las Vegas on Sunday.
I did a quick online search a couple days ago and found another sobering fact. Tobacco is responsible for 1,315 deaths per day, every day, 365 days per year. That is a paltry 14.6 times more than firearms related deaths (which BTW I do not believe include ONLY murder).
There is no doubt that the left is not interested in saving lives, only in controlling what you and I as law-abiding citizens can do if it does not match up with their idiotic agendas. I would much rather die free, than live as a "slave".
I am truly saddened about Tom Petty's somewhat early departure. The man was a self admitted stoner, but had real class and talent. We need more like him, and a lot less of idiots like Miley Cyrus, Bruce Springsteen, or Lady Gagya.
I'm especially (and selfishly) disturbed by the fact that I'll be 66 in a few months!
@Stilton,
Please take some advice from Tom Petty's lyrics and don't back down on that door thing. I was a general contractor for years, and built many a Habitat House using energy efficient grants that had extremely stringent requirements. I even took many hours of advance training to learn how to build the most energy efficient houses possible on a Habitat for Humanity budget. Our houses had to pass very stringent tests, the most important of which was NO AIR LEAKS. The goal was to make the houses as air tight as possible, then introduce fresh air directly into the HVAC system in a controlled manner. Leaky windows and doors would be soundly rejected and replaced.
That door of yours is going to permanently fog over in a year or two as the condensation leaves mineral deposits behind. You see this all the time on older doors that lose their seal. Double panes are useless unless they are total sealed from moisture, and preferably filled with argon.
Granted, I have not built a house for over ten years; just my two cents....
Off my soapbox now!
And anudder thing; speaking of bathyspheres, the last time I saw one was in the movie The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms. Buahahahahahaaaaa. Anyone old enough to remember what happened to it? And the good scientist within?
Las Vegas...
I was instantly reminded of the Obi-Wan scene after the Death Star wiped out billions of people...
"There is a huge disturbance in the force."
There is indeed...I had to control the feeling I got of tears welling up in my eyes...wouldn't do for me to start bawling from sadness...but I could'a at any moment.
The usual Demotard comments ("No biggie, the country fans are probably Repugs...") should'a done the same to me, but for different reasons.
I would like to bring the CBS guy and the CBS lawyer face to face with a Mom or grandkid who won't see Grandma or Grandpa or her daughter again except at the morgue or funeral, and have them repeat their heinous comments.
And I would definitely bitch-slap them for stammering or looking away.
I have Mr Petty in my heart and on my laptop, vids and music and movie appearances (The Postman w/K Costner..."weren't you someone famous?"); Stil, your eulogy is on point.
Now there are 3 great men passed on in the Wilburys...great people, great music.
As so many have commented above, I am beyond disgusted at people getting all wee-weed up over a statistically insignificant event. Apparently Sept was worse than usual for Chicago, they had 60 deaths.
As many as Vegas. Only difference? Vegas happened in an hour, not a whole month.
And of course, Chicago.
Pols in charge prefer dead citizens to live - they're guaranteed to vote Dem, and turn out EVERY election.
It's kind of fun, asking people what kind of 'sensible gun control law' would have stopped this? Anyone? Beuller? Hey, ass hats, the guns were already illegally modified... Mayb we should pass a law against killing people? Oh, we already HAVE a law like that? Ok then!
Saw a stat that in 2015 "racist cops" killed 18 unarmed blacks.
That same year, racist lightening killed 18 (presumably unarmed) blacks.
So clearly, Black Lightening Matters...
LOL! Sorry...not funny but damned funny all the same!
BLM...LOL!
My disgust and loathing of Democrats is growing exponentially. Their GD agenda and hunger for more power over us means more to them than simple human decency towards our fellow citizens. They might as well pile the dead bodies up to make a platform to screech their abominable nonsense. I'm sure they are fundraising over those poor innocent people. I think every time they open their pitiful pieholes about gun control, they should be met immediately with the lives lost to abortion argument. Every time! They can say it's in the Constitution which we all know is ridiculous as it was liberal justices who magically found it in that venerable document. Gun ownership is specifically stated as a right and it's not for personal protection or hunting. It's to protect ourselves against the tyranny of these despicable monsters. Do I sound mad? Hell yes I am!
@Mike aka Proof- See, I just hadn't thought that through!
@Section147- I never enjoyed the privilege of seeing Mr. Petty live, though his tunes have echoed through these halls for years (and will continue to do so). I didn't pay much attention to his politics; music is so important to me that I choose to stick my fingers and say "la la la" about a few artists, while holding others accountable (yeah, I'm looking at YOU Dixie Chicks). Heck, I've even been enjoying the latest album ("The Laughing Apple") from Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam. What can I say - I've got emotional history with his songs.
@REM1875- Hurts to even see that in print.
@Thomas Beechler- We're on the same page, brother. I believe NOTHING that is "breaking news" (well, I believe it when a shooting is taking place - I don't believe any of the surrounding chatter) and prefer to wait a week or two to see what shakes out as being "truth," or at least "verifiable." And that's not much - though the Wall Street Journal still does the best job in my opinion.
And regarding Petty, his form of rock was joyful, energetic, and American. I like all kinds of music, but sometimes you just want to enjoy rocking out - and Petty was the man for the job. I loved his cover of "Feel A Whole Lot Better" by the Byrds, and sooooo many other songs.
@Fred Ciampi- We're in the final throes here, so it's a little too late for me to accelerate things with, well, an accelerant. I almost (but not quite) envy the clean start your neighbors got. Even when our remodeling is done (just days now, God willing) we'll have weeks of putting things back and (more importantly) culling things to get rid of.
@Emmentaler Limburger- When certain musicians die, it really takes a chunk out of my heart. I felt that way about Dan Fogleberg, Gerry Rafferty, and (especially) Nilsson. And John Denver, bless him... when my sister died unexpectedly, I comforted myself by listening to "All This Joy" by John Denver (an AMAZINGLY powerful song). But only weeks into my attempted healing, Denver himself died in a horrible small plane crash. That left a scar on my heart.
Regarding Las Vegas, I'm getting so angry about all of the politics and conspiracy nonsense. Yes, there are unanswered questions that I'm eager to see answered...but this "noise, noise, noise" in the interim disrespects the dead and injured and coarsens our national dialogue.
@pgm1972- As much as I'd like to screw with the burger-flippers who are limited to making what their computer overlords give them permission to, I probably won't do it. Because even without the computer instructions, they can still spit in your food.
@Anonymous- We're really and truly only a week or 10 days from being "finished." And yeah, I'll believe it when I see it. I've loathed the entire process. And I think that things are turning out nicely, but I'm not wired to really appreciate such things so have to rely on the always-wise Mrs. J to tell me how much things are being improved.
Regarding the damn magic fogging door, I'm getting more and more input that this is actually a "feature" rather than a bug. I won't even bother trying to explain why this is the case, but I think I'm on the losing end of this: the door is more "energy efficient" than the old one, but the price you pay is that it frequently fogs up and obscures your view (which is rather the raison d'être for a glass door).
@Mark Matis- BLARGH!!!!
@Geoff King- I can see a bit of resemblance from your avatar. Until I grew my beard, folks said I look like Wilford Brimley. Now I'm straight up Santa Claus.
And I'd never see than movie clip - Petty did a find job!
@Anonymous- I consider music to be a form (the best form, actually) of medicine - at least for stress and moods. Petty has lightened my load on many an occasion.
Regarding Vegas, I just want most people to SHUT UP. I want the truth, but am willing to wait for it.
Finally, I'm not surprised that a lot of shooters were on SSRI's. They're very common (too common?) these days. That being said, I take them myself and you'd have a hard time getting me to stop. In my case, they work wonders agains Depression, and I've never had a thought about harming others. Clearly, others mileage may vary.
@Igor- Yeah, we all go...but I would have sworn that Tom still had some tread on his tires.
And you make a good point about the poor people who just went to a concert to have a good time, dance a little, sing some "God Bless America," and then pay for it with their lives. My brain just shuts down at the horror of it.
And while I'd love to wave a magic wand and prevent such a massacre from ever happening again, gun control isn't the way to do it. Mind you, I SUPPORT smart gun control: let's not give weapons to certifiable lunatics, and let's keep the restrictions on automatic weapons (and I'm not sure I want to defend these "bump" mechanisms that allow something like automatic fire). But the real fight is always going to come down to the good guys vs the bad guys, and our Forefathers realized that the good guys had damn well better be armed.
@John the Econ- I wouldn't really take a laptop in a bathysphere...nor for that matter would I actually get IN one of those sumbitches. I have claustrophobia among other delightful "quirks." But a Jules Verne-style above ground bathysphere with a velvet padded interior and steampunk music player? Oh yes, I'd happily clunk that iron door shut and spin the lock from time to time.
Regarding the rest of your comments, I've consulted with my good friend Mr. Glass of Scotch and we've decided to simply agree with everything you've said rather than add a jot or tittle of anything else.
Regarding my foggy door, I'm not sure I'm going to win this battle - but I will spread the image and my honest review all across the Internet. I've started already, in fact.
Regarding Las Vegas, a lot of the story we're hearing doesn't pass my sniff test. Why the hell did this monster do this?! I'm anxious to find out...and sick of the nattering nabobs of know-nothingness (to almost quote Spiro Agnew).
@Sandy Link- I'm being told that the glass is actually working perfectly, and that a magical "low-e" (emission) coating reflects away ambient rays of UV radiation to keep heat from entering my house. Because the door is reflecting it way, the interior cold (from my air conditioning) chills the outer window which - because it's reflecting rather than storing heat - allows the glass to become cold enough to allow condensation. So theoretically, the door is working PERFECTLY except for the fact that when there's a temperature/humidity difference between the indoors and outdoors, it will cloud over. And this is why I drink.
@American Cowboy- Well said. The Left doesn't want to save lives, they want to control lives.
@Colby Muenster- Per my comments to Sandy Link above, there may be a scientific explanation for why a door that flat out sucks is "better" by some arcane calculation. There's no condensation on the interior (between the panes) indicating that the seal may still be good. It's this damn "low-e" reflective coating that appears to be the problem - and I'm seeing this EVERYWHERE online, and not just from folks who can profit by screwing me. It just seems to be a case of technology creating a new product which is far more expensive and far more annoying than the older product which worked "better" (at least, if you consider being able to see THROUGH your damn glass an advantage).
@Fred Ciampi- You're talking Ray Harryhausen movies now, my man, and those are films that I love truly and deeply (no pun intended).
@Gee M- I love the idea of collecting these moral monsters who voice their opinions on social media and bringing them face to face with those who they've disparaged and hurt. I'd like to see that televised for all to see - and to hopefully teach a lesson about civility and Americans standing with Americans.
Failing that, throw them to the lions on pay per view - the rat bastards.
@Stan da Man- I'd hate to call the Las Vegas massacre "statistically insignificant," although it's certainly an arguable point. As you say, this is news in Vegas and just background noise in Chicago.
I can't see what sort of laws (assuming they're constitutional) could prevent this sort of nightmare. As others have observed, there are problems with men's hearts, minds, and morals which make it almost impossible to avoid these awful outbreaks altogether. Denying freedom to all would be the only answer...and it's too great a price.
@Gee M- Well, that's kind of what I try to do around here. (wry grin)
@Shelly- Exactly, exactly right. I agree with every syllable.
I read in the paper today that the Las Vegas shooter prepared meticulously for his "episode", including planting cameras all over the place so he could see when the cops were getting close. For some reason, he didn't want to commit "blue suicide" as so many other nutcases do. There was something seriously wrong with the guy, but I wonder if we'll ever find out what it was.
For a short while many years ago, I took an SSRI. I never got the urge to do anything like the nutcase, though I had the means. I doubt the SSRI added anything to the guy's insanity. The guy just wasn't right in the head.
Hey Hey Doc We can still see ya ..lake lewisville ain't that deep.......
@ John the Econ: A tip of the hat (or an "OK" sign) to you sir, a fellow scuba diver. Great minds often think alike.
I've not been hanging around here much lately; there's just too much going on including my father injured himself with a nasty fall & head wound. When it goes too long I miss this blog, however it IS becoming much easier to ignore the BS on TV, radio, etc.
For Tom Petty I cried. I also cried for my Mother who passed two years ago. We moved in the middle of senior year in '80 from California to Eastern Colorado. The drive and time with my mother are a cherished memory, with two things standing out: One was teaching my Danish Mor(mother) to say "Shee-yit" like a good redneck, and the other was listening to Tom Petty's "Refugee" play on the radio countless times. I miss you Mor, and I miss you too Tom Petty.
Stilton, the door dealer is telling you a fibber. They are just convering their a@@es. I would seriously get another kind of door put in and thell them this is not satisfactory. Just me 2 cents worth. Best of luck in the craziness that is called remodeling.
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