Today's Thoughts

I'm not happy about the prices of fuel. Foreign governments meddled in the world market with politics that are destructive, corrupted the supply chain, and future oil prices reacted accordingly. Regardless of our supply, there's more money to make for producers somewhere else, and if we don't buy it at their price, they really don't care about the financial burden it causes.  

The other night, right after sunset, I saw a brilliant object to the west. My first thought was it was a weather balloon, since it was north of west; seemingly too far north of the ecliptic, but when the light on a weather balloon would have faded, this object stayed bright. A little research showed it was Venus, and it's quite a sight in the evening sky. 

Local cities, and school districts, regardless of performance, are pandering for more money. To add insult to injury, the largest local city's school district has been placed in conservatorship. The grades are terrible, and the students can be violent. Both cities, and schools, have managed to pad the salaries, pensions, and bureaucracy, but failed in maintaining the goals of providing a public service. Such things make me glad I moved to a rural county, where the city of the county seat didn't elect any incumbents in the last election. That tells more than is apparent, and a dissatisfaction that demanded changes. Property tax pushbacks are common here, and keeping the rates lower attracts those wanting to flee the cities. Hopefully, they don't bring ignorance, and stupidity to the county. We have enough of that without any help.

The Iran thing is becoming something that demands decisive actions. This walking on egg shell approach only emboldens those that have fomented (and outright financed) terror against the United States for decades. The old "I'll kill you since you tried to kill me" approach usually works well, but has more results when you eliminate the financers and their banks. That, and removing their income source, which in this situation, means destroying Iran's ability to produce oil. They have an island that fuels supertankers and I'm willing to bet bombing it into another century will end the problems. Maybe not, but it's worth a try.

Weather has been dry, wet, dry, and now looks like it's going to be more wet. The grass, and the pekin ducks, will thrive. The grass I can eventually cut. As far as the ducks, my thoughts on that problem don't set well in the neighborhood. Maybe I should find a way to pen them up and give them to anyone that wants them. They are a bane to my wife's peace of mind, since they tear up plantings, and leave big divots in the yard. I find them to be nasty, horny, and loud creatures that have no real purpose other than food. 

I have a colonoscopy scheduled for next week. This will be my third one over the last fifteen years. The last one revealed two benign polyps that put me in the high risk category, which means a colonoscopy every three years. That, and since my brother died from colon cancer, even if no polyps are found, I'm still in the high risk category. Prepping is never an enjoyable task, and my wife isn't happy she has to drive me to the procedure. She says my back-seat driving is irritating. I guess it is. I have no real defense against her assertion, so my best bet is sleep, and keep my mouth shut on the way home...but we'll have to stop for something to eat. I'll be quiet as I munch on my first meal to break the long fast required for the procedure.

Two weeks in the future brings my bi-annual trip to my dermatologist. Liquid nitrogen will probably be used in copious amounts, and I'll pray I don't need any biopsies. I've learned to not say anything to family members about their exposure to the sun. They can learn like I did, and I wonder if they'll be thinking about my warnings in the future. Hopefully not. I'd rather them go through life without dealing with skin cancer.

I won't complain about the cost of just about everything. I can't do anything about it, except adjust my budget, and maybe: buy a few lottery tickets. The odds of winning that are much better than positive actions after voicing my complaints in a well written letter to my representatives. 

I supposed to have two carburetors arriving today for a weed whacker and a leaf blower. Both were neglected over time, and fiddling with both has yielded only the realization they will never run without new carburetors. Both have fire, and good compression, so they should be in top shape after the replacements. I'll cross my fingers. 

An Interesting Monday

Sleeping last night was waking two, or three, times for no reason. I blame it on knowing I would have jury duty, and since I retired, having a set time to awaken does that to my sleep. So, I was out of bed at around 4:00 am, which gave me plenty of time to make breakfast, drink coffee, and go outside to see if I would have the opportunity to observe Tsuchchinshan-Atlas. 

The site linked gives a real time perspective of viewing times. This morning, even with some trees blocking my view to the East, there was enough darkness, and a transparent sky, to view the comet before the Sun brightened the sky. It was barely visible to the naked eye, although it was for a few minutes. My binoculars gave the best view, and it definitely looked like a comet. I woke my wife, she was happy to see something she has never seen, and within a few minutes, the sky was too bright to observe any longer. It wasn't nearly as observable as Comet West in the '70's, but it was a treat. 

Jury duty was all morning, a Voir Dire I thought was too long, and a $20 bill for my four hours of time. If I had been chosen for the jury, tomorrow would have yielded more money. My county pays $60 a day, if serving beyond the first day. It was an interesting experience, and I didn't have any facts to determine if the defendant is guilty, but in Texas, a felony charge of driving while intoxicated is after two other convictions. The defense attorney was, according to what I could surmise, pushing for the traffic stop being illegal, which should remove any other evidence from use in the trial. He might be successful. The only real question I have is who struck me from the jury. Was it the prosecutor? Or, was it the defense attorney. I don't know, but would like to know why. 

A family member was taken by another family member to the hospital to determine why they're having severe abdominal pain. They went in this morning. As of 9:00 tonight, they're still there waiting for results from a CAT scan. Hopefully it's all good news, and a simple problem easily fixed. My wife is not at peace, and worrying about both. Neither is young, and stress leads to fatigue. 

So, Monday has been a busy day, a nap didn't do much for rest, and it's looking like it will be long evening, if not a long night. Time will tell, and what will happen is unknown. 

After it was all said, and done, the abdominal pain was not due to a serious condition. It's some type of after-effect of hernia surgery from around a year ago. It's not dangerous, can be surgically treated, and the final result a clean bill of health.

Lawnmower Observation

I've owned, and operated, lawnmowers for decades. During that time, I've worked on many of them, and the repairs included just about everything, including rebuilding an engine. Over time, I've noticed the newer engines last longer than the older engines. Whether it's because they're built better, or the newer oils are much better, is something I don't know, but in the past, the engines would usually present problems long before the decks did. 

These days, the decks on riders just don't seem to last that long; especially if they're stamped. Replacing them seems like a good idea, until you realize the cost will probably be over a thousand dollars after you buy the accessories that need changing too, and you perform your own labor. Depending on the model, that can be at that magical point where it's so close to half the price of a new one, replacing it is a better option. 

I gave a way a fine mower a few years ago. I'd changed the deck once, but the new deck only lasted three years. Changing the deck was still an option, but the mower was old, and I foresaw other things going out, with the knowledge the stamped deck would become a problem. Still, it was frustrating, and only showed that to get long years out of a deck, paying for the most expensive riders, with a heavy welded deck, was the best option. Still, they don't last forever, but if you have a welding machine, building a new one is always an option. Well maintained, the engine will last a long, long time, and replacing belts, or pulleys is usually an easy task.