A dreaded “winter storm” from the Midwest is making its way towards the east coast. It’s not actually supposed to start pestering us until tomorrow – light snow to start, then turning to heavier shit in the afternoon. Estimates are all over the place, since it kinda depends on which way the wind blows. Right now, they’re saying 5-15″, with heavier stuff to the east of Lake Ontario. Hopefully the wind will blow due east over the lake, which would spare me but dump a few feet of lake effect on the poor bastids north and east of me. Sorry, but better them than me. Fortunately I’m working from home tomorrow and I have a good supply of beer, so I won’t have to go out and deal with whatever we get. Then there’s a Nor’easter headed up the coast a few days later, but right now that looks like it’ll miss us and stay to the east (sorry, NY, Boston, etc.). Of course, you never know what kind of a turn these things will take.

Fux News’ “credibility” is at an all time low. This has been determined by a poll, with 41% of voters saying they “trust” the right-wing propaganda machine, and 46% saying they don’t.

I’m surprised that many people claim to trust them, but then again I don’t trust much of anything.

Oh well, back to work I guess.

It was a year ago today that Siggy died. It seems like forever ago, in some ways. I had my phone hooked up to my computer the other day, and found a whole boatload of pictures of him that I’d taken the summer before he died, and he still looked good. He went downhill pretty fast, which I suppose it a good thing. I wish they lived longer, though I suppose it won’t be long before I’m on my last set of dogs. Hopefully my wife will still be alive when I croak, because otherwise I’ll have to figure out how to make sure somebody will come and take care of the critters. Maybe I’ll set something up where I post a message every day to a web page, and if I quit posting, somebody will come along and take care of the animals, and pick up whatever’s left of me once they’re done snacking (Granny went to some forensics seminar a while back, and, yeah, human’s best friend will definitely take advantage of a free meal – with tears in their eyes, no doubt). So the sooner they come to collect me, the better.

Speaking of death, I see that the Obama Administration seems to think it’s OK for a “senior government official” to order the killing of a US citizen overseas whenever they think that person is a threat. No judicial review before or after is required. I’m no expert, but this just doesn’t seem right to me.

If it’s allowed to stand (and no doubt it will), how long will it be before some administration decides the assasination self defense doesn’t even need to take place on foreign soil?

The White House Chief of Staff determined that the Speaker of the House had ties to Al-Qaeda, so he ordered a drone strike. We’re very sorry for the collateral damage, and will be asking the new Speaker to approve funding to rebuild the Smithsonian Air and Space museum – and we have every reason to believe that she’ll be cooperative, if she knows what’s good for her.

A shame they didn’t have this when Gingrich was Speaker.

I kinda sorta watched the game last night. For a while, anyway. I was watching the first couple of House of Cards episodes on the teevee while I had the game streaming on my tablet. Not a bad way to catch the action of a game you’re not really invested in. I think I finally shut it down when the score was 28-6, and I missed the blackout and the ‘niners almost comeback. Good thing – I stayed up too late as it was (and went over my beer quota, too; I got started way too early). So now I’m paying the price by having to suffer through a day at work. I only hope it passes quickly (so far, not so much).

Yes, it’s the day we’ve all been waiting for – Superbowl Sunday. OK, so, maybe not all of us have been waiting for it. I have to admit, I’m barely aware of the game being on. It mostly reminds me that we lost Siggy on Superbowl Sunday last year, and without having a team to root for (or against), it’s not all that big a deal to me. It didn’t used to be that way, of course. It used to be a highly anticipated event that was a lot of fun. A bunch of us would get together, drink beer, eat pizza and wings, and have a good time (often despite the fact that the game wasn’t all that interesting). Now, of course, I’m married to somebody who would get up and leave the room if I turned the game on, and I don’t really have any friends that would come over to watch (and god knows I’m not leaving the house that late on a Sunday night – why they can’t have the game on at 4:00, I don’t know. Well, I do know, actually – it’s so they can squeeze in as much pregame advertising slots as possible). That whole DWI thing really puts a crimp in the whole Superbowl party idea. Plus there’s work tomorrow. It really ought to be a holiday. I can’t imagine there’s a whole lot of productivity going on the day after the Superbowl. Between being hungover and talking about the game and/or the commercials (or the halftime show; is it another geezer fest this year? I don’t even know). Oh, it’s Beyonce. I of course have heard the name, but am not actually familiar with her. I’m not really all that interested in “singers.” I’m kinda into people playing instruments. But, whatever. Oh well, enjoy the game if you watch it, and enjoy not watching it if you don’t.

Ed Koch has croaked. He was 88, so I guess it’s no big surprise. Personally, I think they ought to throw him in the back of a pickup truck and bury him in a gingham dress near a Sears somewhere north of Westchester. Odds are they won’t be doing that, but it would make for a good dog and pony show. Not as good as Chuck Hagel’s confirmation hearings, though. The faux outrage from the likes of l’l Lindsey Graham and Ted “Joe McCarthy” Cruz (plus the actual crazy old man rage of John McCain) has been quite enjoyable. I know he’s Obama’s nominee, but it’s fun to watch these guys eat their own.

I’m listening to John Hodgman on WTF right now, and he just mentioned that he’s 41. I don’t know about you, but that makes me feel really old. I always figured he was more or less my age. Seems like everybody’s younger than I am these days.

Speaking of getting old, I decided to quit drinking coffee almost a year ago. I was cold a couple weeks ago and decided to have a couple of cups, and I felt like my heart and brain were going to explode. It was quite an unpleasant experience, so I decided to get myself some decaf.

A few days back, I drank probably a pot and a half of decaf, and felt like crap. So I looked to see if there’s a problem with drinking too much decaf. Damned if there isn’t. I knew there was some caffeine in decaf, but, damn, this article says there’s up to 10%. Plus, it’s very acidic which puts

your body into an acidity crisis, which forces it to liberate alkalizing minerals from your bones to maintain the proper pH balance. Over-acidity is an important cause of osteoporosis, arthritis and calcification of blood vessels and tissues, according to “Human Biochemistry and Disease.”
[…]
As such, decaf coffee consumption is associated with heartburn, stomach ulcers and digestive problems.
[…]
In addition to the acidity side effects, both decaf and regular blends of coffee raise your risk for certain diseases, such as heart disease, atherosclerosis, high blood cholesterol, rheumatoid arthritis, glaucoma and possibly even cancer, according to “Nutrition and Public Health.” Robusta beans contain a much higher content of diterpenes, which are fats that increase triglycerides in your bloodstream and elevate circulating liver enzymes. Chlorogenic acid is found in both caffeinated and decaf coffee and is believed to raise plasma levels of homocysteine, which damages blood vessels and eventually leads to atherosclerosis, or hardening of your arteries.

Oh, good. Not only that, but

The decaffeination process uses the solvent methylene chloride, which often leaves residues within the coffee beans. Methylene chloride is a known carcinogenic that is toxic to your lungs, nervous system, liver and mucous membranes, as cited in the “PDR Guide to Drug Interactions, Side Effects, and Indications.” Repeated or prolonged exposure to methylene chloride can increase your risk of cancer. Even “natural” decaffeination methods use ethyl acetate, another solvent that can have serious health consequences in large amounts. Ethyl acetate is found in trace amounts in some fruit, which is why companies can claim their coffee is naturally decaffeinated.

:paranoid:

So not only does decaf suck, it’s also trying to kill me. Isn’t that special

I’m sure all our hearts and prayers are with Ron Jeremy today, as he fights for his life with an aneurysm near his heart. I’ve never met the man, but as a porn projectionist back in the mid-eighties, I certainly became familiar with his work. Difficult to believe that “The Hedgehog” is only a few years older than I am, as he looks much older. Of course, the life of a porn star is a hard one.

As concerned as I am about Ron, the item that caught my eye was a headline that read, “WATCH: Woman Eats Cat Hair Voraciously.” It was accompanied by a photo of a woman who appeared to be in the process of licking a cat (I didn’t click through to the story, so I don’t know if this is her preferred method of ingestion or not – my first vision was of her sitting down to a big cereal bowl full with a spoon and some milk).

Now, why the fuck would I (or anyone) want to “watch” somebody “eat cat hair voraciously?” I can think of a few things more disgusting to watch (one of which would be video of this woman hacking up a fur ball), but not many.

I also saw a headline that read, “Rock Legend Recording His First Album In 4 Decades” with a photo of somebody that I didn’t recognize. So I thought, wow, whoever that legend is, he really didn’t age well if I can’t even recognize him. Then I clicked through to the story to find out that it was about Sixto Rodriguez.

I’m sure Vernon and you more erudite folks out there know who that is, but, frankly I never heard of him, which of course has nothing to do with his talent or anything like that but I’m pretty sure that in order to qualify as a “rock legend” I really should have heard of you. Not that I’m a music expert, of course.

Turns out Sixto wasn’t much of a hit in the US, but he was a major deal in South Africa. OK, so maybe I’m being jingoistic, but it doesn’t seem like having two hit albums in South Africa in the early seventies qualifies you as a rock legend. Maybe a South African rock legend.

Anyhow, I’ll have to listen to his stuff, and see if it’s any good.

Good news for ‘niners fans, as Nate Silver is predicting a San Fran win over Baltimore in the Super Bowl, which I think is coming up on Sunday. To the extent that I care, I’ll be pulling for the Ravens, since they have former SU guy Art Jones, and also because I’ve been a big fan of Edgar Allen Poe ever since I was just a youngster (“A Cask of Amontillado” was probably the first story to ever inspire nightmares). Poe helped shape my rosy outlook on life.

Speaking of Poe, I also saw (though I didn’t read) a story that the world’s first alcoholism vaccine is about to begin clinical trials. I’m not sure why you need a vaccine to become an alcoholic – beer seems to work pretty well for me, and I don’t even need to shoot it.

Yesterday was a bit of a disappointment for me. I ordered a new chair for my home office (I think the one I’m using is something like 15-16 years old; I’ve had it longer than I’ve had my wife). The old one is still comfortable, but it doesn’t adjust vertically (or any other way, for that matter, except to tilt or not to tilt), and I need something that’s just a little bit higher. So, I ordered one (and did the Amazon credit card thing to get $50 off, so it was a pretty good deal).

Anyhow, it was supposed to come yesterday but, sadly, it’s coming FedEx. And every time it rains a little in Memphis (FedEx’s “hub”), FedEx falls to pieces and can’t deliver (funny, UPS almost never seems to have these weather-related delays). It did make it to Syracuse last night, so hopefully they can manage to get it to my place some time today. As long as I can get it put together tonight and have it for my work from home day tomorrow.

Oh well, time to get back to work. Have a good one.

It’s a balmy 20° out there this morning, and they say it’s going to get up to 37 today. That, of course, means we’re going to get punished: snow this morning, and sleet/freezing rain to end the work day. Should be nice. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the mid-forties, and Wednesday the mid-fifties. Then things gradually return to normal. Still it’ll be nice to get the driveway cleared of snow (somebody’s been a little lax in plowing; I blame it on the high cost of diesel).

I hear that a group of eight “bipartisan” Senators have come up with a plan for immigration reform. They’re supposed to announce the details today that will include the vaunted “path to citizenship.” That’s nice, and hopefully it’ll all work out. I just hope it doesn’t turn out to be something along the lines of how Germans treats the Turks – cheap labor and less than second-class non-citizenship. Still, if it keeps the price of grapes, lettuce, and apples cheap, I’m all for it.

After that, let’s legalize dope everywhere.

But first, it’s time to get ready for work. It’s really such a godawful waste of time. If I was working from home today, I’d already be at my virtual desk. As it is, I won’t get in until 6:30 or so. Maybe later if the weather sucks. I see by the radar that the morning snow is almost upon us.

Looks like Friday’s post was abandoned.  Today’s post will be short, since I have nothing important to say– like usual. Guess that sums it all up. Have a good one.

Another brisk morning here (and pretty much everywhere in the north from the midwest to the east coast). It was about -10 out our way (at least according to the thermometer in Granny’s car – my sister had -11 over at her place). It’s still well below zero, though there are hopes that we’ll hit double digits (barely) later on. Definitely keeps the beer nice and frosty. I have 4 tons of pellets coming tonight, which is good ‘cuz we’re down to about 20 bags, and that won’t last us 2 weeks if it stays this cold. Though they say we’ll be up to 40 next week, which will be nice.

It’ll also be nice to get today over. I have this thing where I sleep until about 2:00 or so, and then I’m awake (or in some state that’s somewhere between being awake and being asleep) for the rest of the night. It makes it easy to come into work early, but the day sure starts to slow down by about eleven o’clock. That’s why working from home is nice – I can get some work done while my brain is actually engaged.

Speaking of engaging my brain, I guess I’d better get back to work.

Stay warm.

It’s a balmy 1° outside this morning, and it doesn’t feel all that much warmer inside, to tell you the truth. My feet are cold. We’re not expected to crack double-digits today. Seems a shame to have to leave the house, but not only do I have to actually go to the office today, it’s stupid meeting day. Both are huge wastes of time and productivity killers. And it’s my late day, which means I have to sit around the house trying to figure out how to kill time before leaving the house, and then drive home in the dark (and cold – did I mention it’s cold?).

We’ve got some snow on the ground, but nothing like what our friends just to the north got. There’s been a persistent and rather stationary band of lake effect snow over them, and some areas got about three feet of snow yesterday. Better them than us. Hopefully things will stay that way.

Otherwise, not much is new. There was a mass shooting in Texas yesterday. The only thing newsworthy about that is that nobody was killed – just wounded. I haven’t been able to find out from the various news reports what kind of weapon was used (you’d think something like that would be in the story – or at least something like “law enforcement officials won’t disclose the type of firearm used in the shootings”), but, judging by the relatively small number of people shot and the lack of fatalities, I’m guessing it wasn’t an assault rifle with a 100 shot magazine. I could be wrong, of course.

Bud – the trouble making dog – managed to get himself stuck halfway through the cat door in one of our gates that prevent the dogs from going into forbidden territory in the house. He got his head and both front legs through, and buried himself up to his chest before he could go no farther. I’d have had to break his front legs to get them to bend back through, so instead I had to cut out one of the bars on the gate. What a hassle. I’m just glad we were home at the time – he was pretty upset and probably could have hurt himself if we hadn’t been there to calm him down. It’s always something with him.

Oh well, time to prepare the Kings and other chew toys that will hopefully keep the little monsters busy (and away from the valuable stuff).

Have a good one.