In Case You've Wondered

My blog is where my wandering thoughts are interspersed with stuff I made up. So, if while reading you find yourself confused about the context, don't feel alone. I get confused, too.

If you're here for the stories, I started another blog: scratchingforchange.blogspot.com

One other thing: sometimes I write words you refuse to use in front of children, or polite company, unless you have a flat tire, or hit your thumb with a hammer.

I don't use them to offend; I use them to embellish.

jescordwaineratgmail.com

Tuesday, March 29, 2022

It Makes Me Wonder

We had a corrupt election, Biden is in deep to crime with his son, Congress is spending like drunk sailors, the media is lying as usual, inflation is shrinking our money like a wool sweater in boiling water, federal law enforcement makes the Mafia look like amateurs, and there is no end in sight to the corruption. It makes me wonder when enough is enough.

Monday, March 28, 2022

Local Fair

 We have a local fair. At one time, it was a Fall event, but after a move to a lower crime area, and a few hurricanes, they moved it to the Spring. I haven't been since it was in the old location, and haven't heard much good about it since. There are multiple reasons, and with the current date for the fair, the local livestock auction can't be as good as it was.

A local news report states the price for the food has reached a point people are not buying. Dozens of dollars for a burger is beyond the budget of a family, and it's now a matter of choosing the rides, or one of the foods that once made many go to the fair. The vendors will be hurt, many will never return, and the Biden administration has struck again. Regardless of reports, people perceive much more than they are credited with.  This will not go unnoticed, but the big question is whether enough will respond in a way that corrects the problem. 

Friday, March 25, 2022

Is It Worth It?

The current 30 year fixed mortgage rate is about 4.5%. That's a note of $1266 per month, and a final interest payment - if paid over the complete 30 years - of $206,000. That's a tremendous sum, and at current home values, that's not a huge price to pay for a home. 

How this works out is to be seen, but with mortgage interest rates rising, and the mumbling of the Fed rates will rise to slow inflation, home buyers might find the market is too expensive to participate. I have a feeling the bubble is bursting, real estate agents will find far less revenue, those wanting to sell will have to sit on their real estate, and the crunch of inflation will lead to too many defaults. I hope I'm wrong, but from my perspective, it's unavoidable.

Precedent and Ignorance

Stare decisis is important in law, but embracing it without understanding the Constitution is ignorant. According to the newest poster child for failed EEO policies:

..."I do agree with both Justice Kavanaugh and Justice Barrett on this issue,” Judge Jackson said in her response. “Roe and Casey are the settled law of the Supreme Court concerning the right to terminate a woman's pregnancy.”...

The Constitution doesn't grant the right of abortion. Regardless of stare decisis, the Supreme Court has no power to grant special rights. Any justice that thinks so shouldn't be on the court, and treads into the territory of sedition by any action that interjects their personal opinion, instead of following the Constitution. 

Like the abolition of slavery, amending the Constitution is the only way to change the law. Until that happens, abortion - regardless of opinion - is not protected by stare decisis, nor should any justice attempt to protect it by ignoring the law that mandates the processes of all laws in the United States.

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Way Back in 2017

I found this article interesting. From my perspective, it appears Moderna invested too much in a sketchy technology, the possibility of turning their stock into toilet paper was becoming a possibility, and by "sheer coincidence", bio research "accidently" releases a pathogen into the world. Stockholders are granted a hedge against losses by government intervention, which prevent huge losses from litigation. Instead of paying for subjects, hundreds of millions of test subjects are forced into an experiment that is turning into a disaster. It's a win/win, until the side-effects finally turn into insurance liabilities, and even the government can't hide the dangers any longer.

Time will tell, but the immune reaction for some after receiving the Covid vaccine is HIV. In a controlled test, I doubt the vaccine would have made it past clinical trials. Since world governments turned millions of their citizens into lab mice, it will take a long time before responsibility is assigned. Those that were injected, and their offspring, may find the only relief from their part in the experiment is an early death. Meanwhile, Moderna, and other manufacturers, are laughing on their way to the bank.

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

It's Simple

Biden's pick for Supreme Court Justice is as incompetent as he is. That, is deceitful, unquestionably a partisan, and has no business to be a justice. That's as simple as it gets, and beyond this point a waste of time to interview her. Congress needs to stop wasting money, kick her to the curb, and do something about their damage to the economy. 

Tuesday, March 22, 2022

The Reality

All politicians receive favors, whether it's insider trading on millions in stock, or a few hundred dollars of Girl Scout cookies. They all know this, refuse to clean up their profession, and only make a stink, when the illegal gains are egregious. Even then, they gnash their teeth, profess their honesty, and the other law breakers skate on any prosecution. 

If integrity was salt with politicians, there wouldn't be enough to salt a fried flea.

Waiting

Texas is in a line of storms preceding a cold front. Yesterday, the conditions favored tornadoes, and many were reported. Some damaged communities, and the videos are something to see. Overnight, the conditions continued, and more tornadoes appeared. This morning, the line is approaching my area, and looks gnarly on the radar. My hope is we only receive heavy rain, with winds that don't blow away homes. Many times, what looks like severe weather is only torrential rain. I hope this is one of those times.

We received a little over two inches of rain. What looked like severe storms was the radar signature from heavy downpours. 

I don't like this time of the year, when the Spring storms brew. You never know what they'll bring, but usually, there will be some storm damage.

Monday, March 21, 2022

Gender Confusion

If you look it up, some people believe there are 68 types of genders. Unfortunately, like electrical sockets, there are only two. One plug has prongs; the other has sockets. There are no other genders, although there is one deformity that leads to one person with both plugs. Consider this your educational moment for the day, and pass it on to your children, if they ask. That, and tell their teachers any deviations from this explanation will lead to serious problems with their career.

Sunday, March 20, 2022

Annual Dusting and Unusual Boom

The trees are blooming. The last few weeks yielded the annual dusting of pollen, but the main event is starting. Cars are covered with a light dust in minutes, and over days will accumulate enough pollen to look like they were parked in the dry desert. 

Pine trees are growing the beginnings of cones. The small growths are yellow, and appear like clusters of ornaments. The amount of pollen they release is almost unbelievable, and will coat ponds with a thick yellow film. Eventually, the pollen will fall off, and I always hope for some rain at the tail end of the event. The allergen disappears for awhile, but can settle in the ground cover for distributing again on a dry, windy day.

My sinuses have taken a beating. They always do, but an antihistamine usually relives the symptoms. Some I know are forced to visit their doctor for help. Failing to do so leaves them with deep congestion, and with one person I know, the beginnings of pneumonia. 

 Last night, just after dark, my windows rattled, as a huge thump hit the house. I rushed outside to see what happened, but couldn't find anything that might have explained the event. The sky was clear, radar showed no thunderstorms, the distant refineries didn't report any explosions, and their were no jets to be seen.  Looking at local news reports didn't yield an answer, and as of this morning, it's still unexplained. 

I've had this happen before, with the same result. If I had to guess, I'd guess it was a meteor. Unless someone is outside, sees the meteor, and hears the sonic boom, they would have no clue of what caused the boom. It fits, and is another thing that makes life interesting.

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

No Bueno

The local blood drive at a local high school led me to go with my wife to donate blood. That didn't go well. My wife's blood was slightly low on iron, and my cancer surgery prevents blood donations for months. It's been years since I donated, but I don't remember the limitations we found. Regardless, I won't be making special trips any longer. I think giving blood is a good thing, but gas is expensive, being turned away means it was a wasted trip, and once bitten, twice shy.

Monday, March 14, 2022

It Doesn't Need to Make Sense

Another daylight saving time has passed, and again, anyone that sleeps has their circadian rhythm disturbed. It's not a tremendous difference, but like jet lag, the disturbance causes problems. 

Safety is one problem. People with sleep disturbances can lose restful sleep. The lack of restful sleep can lead to sleepiness, lethargy, and the lapse of attention at critical times. This can lead to accidents, unintended mistakes, and a degradation of health. Some might say: "It's only one hour." but not everyone adapts to a sleep schedule change without any effects. Tell that to the person already working two shifts that lost an hour of precious sleep, and fell asleep at the wheel on the way home from work. I doubt they'll find your dismissal as a valid argument.

Lost production is another problem. During my career, the change would usually lead to someone not arriving on time, a change in work plans, and a loss of production. The loss was small, but it was still a loss. Consider the effects of an entire nation, and it adds up. 

Most of all, and the biggest problem, is that the time change makes no sense. It adds nothing to a day, and even if it gives more time in the evening to enjoy daylight activities, the best solution would be flexible work hours for those that want them, and everyone else can adapt to the finite amount of daylight each day. It doesn't save energy in a 24 hour society, and thinking so is foolish.

I discussed daylight saving time with my grandfather years ago. He was a blackout warden during the second world war, and would patrol in the evenings to insure light couldn't be seen by possible enemy bombers. It made sense, in a way, but the easiest solution would have been to have everyone start work earlier, and a flexible work schedule. When the madness reappeared in the sixties, the lack of logic appeared again like a tooth abscess. 

So, the madness continues, and the ponderous animal of bureaucracy plods along. The calendars have notations, software automatically adjusts, and we're left with something that proves that our society is mostly controlled by sheer stupidity.

Thursday, March 10, 2022

More Surgery

Yesterday, I had Moh's surgery on my left cheek. (No. On my face). About a month ago, my dermatologist had taken a biopsy on a really small spot on my face. The result was almost all squamous cell cancer was removed by the biopsy, but some remained, and a dermatologist that specializes in Moh's surgery was needed. The surgeon, who I can only describe as one of the best, performed the same procedure five years ago on a basil cell spot on the top of my head. Like the first one, only a local anesthetic was applied, and I was awake during the entire procedure.

The procedure, for those that don't know, involves the surgeon removing some of the tissue, taking about an hour to examine the cells, and removing more if necessary. When all excised is shown clear, the wound is closed and stitched. It's simple in some ways, but in others, the tissue removed may require the expertise of a surgeon that understands how wounds heal, and how they can leave unsightly scars. 

The surgery went well, my wife took photos for my perusal, and I was a little surprised at what the photos revealed. Due to the size of the wound, the doctor had to extend the incision, remove some tissue, and place many stitches to leave a wound that wouldn't have an unsightly pucker. This means I will have a scar from the just below my eye to my jaw. It will look like I was in a knife fight, or a really bad accident. 

Hopefully this will end the surgeries. I still have some pre-cancers, which can be treated with Florouracil. It's not pleasant to use, since the medication has a harsh chemotherapy medication that destroys the cancer cells and leaves what looks like severe rashes until the areas heal. That, and it burns like the dickens during the last two weeks of treatment.

So, protect from the ionizing radiation from the sun, warn family members of the foolishness of not protecting from the sun, and realize a sunburn when very young can lead to things much worse than not having a good tan.

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

As The Truth Becomes Known

We had Covid 19, which came from a biological lab in China, performing gain of function research, and the United States was ignoring law to help finance the madness. Meanwhile, the same thing was happening in Ukraine, and people are wondering why Russia would attack a country that is involved with the same thing that released a dangerous pathogen that threatened the globe. 

So, as the truth becomes known, many will either turn their heads, or realize their own government is doing evil things, with the involvement of evil people, in foreign lands run by criminals. Meanwhile, Biden, his minions, and those that make millions from illegal foreign activities are probably sweating and hoping those they send to destroy the evidence beat the Russians to the sites. 

Monday, March 7, 2022

How Will They Function?

Survival is a strong instinct, and leads to what may seem as unintended consequences. With this in mind, and the Russian economy being squeezed, how will the Russians save their finances? 

My bet is China will end up boosting the Russian economy, have their currency become stronger with the Russian commerce, Putin will deepen his effort to remove the manipulation of the West, and use his oil as collateral. If he gains control of Ukraine resources, he has more to offer to his new strong trading partner. In the end, this power will help in his effort to regain more of Europe, and Europe will beg for his forgiveness to avoid conflict. 

Who wins? Communist China, Russia, those that make money on large economic fluctuations, and politicians. Everyday people will suffer and liberty will be destroyed. Those killed during the ongoing conflict are collateral damage, and most of the mouth breathers in the U.S. will remain oblivious to how they were suckered into being citizens of a compromised nation.

Wednesday, March 2, 2022

Behind the Curtains

The fighting in Ukraine is business as usual for somebody. There are tremendous fortunes to make off the unfortunate people that are killed, and if we had leaders - and a media - not in fear of their personal fortunes, those involved with this current deception would be exposed. Behind the curtains are always those that reap the benefits of war, and the manipulation of economies. Unfortunately, most of our politicians, and most of the media, are in their back pockets.

Consequences, and the State of the Union

Biden is mentally incompetent to run the United States, Harris is a bimbo that blew her way to the top, Pelosi is a drunk, and Schumer is a lying sack of crap. All are criminals, all should have never reached their positions, and only a few people lacking in crucial brain cells can believe corruption wasn't involved with any of them reaching office. That's the real state of the union. Crooks are in office, the country is suffering from their actions, and a less polite society would have gotten rid of the entire bunch years ago.