An Old War Dogs Satellite Site


Thursday, 31 January 2008
 

2008.01.31 Politics and National Defense Roundup

Worth clicking today:

Contributed by Bill Faith on January 31, 2008 at 12:12 AM in Politics and National Defense | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack


Wednesday, 30 January 2008
 

I guess the kids got to Alabama OK

I mentioned earlier that my sister's son in law had accepted a transfer to Alabama, his only other option being losing his job. They left town midday yesterday and got where they're moving too (Dothan, AL) late this afternoon; I guess it takes longer in a U-Haul truck  with a minivan full of kids following along behind than it would without the truck. I need to go to Wal-Mart long enough tomorrow to pick up the webcam I ordered. I'm sure it will be a day or two before my niece is online after the move but it's important to her and my sister to be able to video-conference; they've been using Windows Live Messenger in text mode for months but didn't realize all they needed was a couple of inexpensive camera's to be able to see and hear each other.

I think I'm still fighting some sort of bug. I slept a very reasonable amount of time last night, then took a four hour nap while my sister was at work tonight. I still feel like I won't have any trouble sleeping as soon as things settle down so I can.

Contributed by Bill Faith on January 30, 2008 at 11:18 PM in Around our place | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack


Tuesday, 29 January 2008
 

2008.01.30 Politics and National Defense Roundup

I guess enough of the vote's in that I have to accept the fact McCain won the Florida primary. Maybe it's just as well. He may have the nomination wrapped up by a week from now but in the mean time there's still hope for a brokered convention and a Thompson candidacy. After all the mud that's been slung in the last few days I'm not real happy with the idea of seeing McCain or Romney at the top of the ticket (I just took the "Fredheads for Mitt button off my sidebar) but I'd rather see either of them elected than Billary or Obama. One the Dem side I'm hoping Hillary ends up with the nomination, because I think she's more beatable in November, but not till after Bill finally gets mad enough to come right out and openly call Obama an uppity nigger like I know he wants to; the uglier he gets, the fewer black people are going to vote for the Clintons in November.

Worth clicking today:

Contributed by Bill Faith on January 29, 2008 at 10:16 PM in Politics and National Defense | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

I didn't think that was supposed to happen in the winter time

Jan 29 and we had a storm a little bit ago that would do any month of the year proud. Thunder, lightning, some little bitty hail, the whole bit. I guess the National Weather Service spotted a tornado on radar but as far as I know it didn't touch down anywhere. Our high today was 57 and weather.com says it's going to be 17 by morning (it's about 30 now) so I guess the storm isn't a mystery, just a surprise. They were predicting rain but we only got a couple of hours warning on the storm.

Contributed by Bill Faith on January 29, 2008 at 06:53 PM in Around our place | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Feelin' lazy as Hell at the Circle F

I don't know if I'm coming down with something or if I'm really just this tired.

I just sent my sister off to Vincennes for a used tire I'd have gone after any other day. I don't know why her son's so good at finding sharp objects to drive over but he came home on the spare again last night. I wish I'd known when we bought that car that it uses a tire size not too many other popular cars do. Finding used tires for it seems to get a little harder each time we need one and we can't afford to buy a new tire every time my nephew finds something sharp to drive over. The only one we could find today that's close enough to the original size to fit the wheel was at a salvage yard in Vincennes, then after we buy it we'll have to take it somewhere to have it mounted on the wheel and put on the car.  Maybe I'll perk up enough by the time she gets back to handle that part, anyway. I feel like I could go back to bed and sleep for a week. Maybe if I pour enough coffee down ...

***

OK, now I feel even more useless. My sister thought I looked bedraggled enough when she left here that after she bought that tire in Vincennes she went to Bridgeport, 4 miles in the other direction, and had it mounted on the car without even stopping by here first. I wasn't looking forward to going to have it mounted but I'd have done it if she's given me the chance.

Contributed by Bill Faith on January 29, 2008 at 02:16 PM in Around our place | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

2008.01.29 Politics and National Defense Roundup

I had too many other things going on yesterday to watch the State of Union address. The official transcript, with video, is available here. Uncle Jimbo caught the line of the night.

I missed it when it was fresh but it's still worth reading: Who Owns the Vietnam War?

Also worth clicking today:

Contributed by Bill Faith on January 29, 2008 at 12:02 AM in Politics and National Defense | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack


Monday, 28 January 2008
 

2008.01.28 Politics and National Defense Roundup

Worth clicking today:

Contributed by Bill Faith on January 28, 2008 at 02:48 PM in Politics and National Defense | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack


Sunday, 27 January 2008
 

I know it won't last but ... (Multiple updates)

it finally quit raining long enough there are places in the pasture where you can put your feet down without getting your shoes muddy, and it's even warm enough I actually spent a few minutes in a lawn chair in the back yard just visiting with the horse. The warm weather's supposed to last a couple more days but the rain's supposed to be back tomorrow afternoon. Nice while it lasts, anyway.

February: The 90 day period between January and Spring.

***

My niece and her kids are here for the afternoon. As much as I love 'em, when they're all here at once I usually spend most of my time in my blogging corner with my hearing aid turned off; the noise level in the front room is just more than I can handle. The boys and young Ms. Madysson did help me feed and water the horse, which saved me quite a few steps. They're all leaving for Alabama Tuesday and will be missed a lot around here. Noah, the youngest one in the bunch, made the transition from "baby" to "little boy" sometime in the last couple of weeks (I just really noticed yesterday) so at least we won't be missing that.

***

I guess now that I have that nice new scanner I'm out of excuses not to have more family pictures on my site, if I can just find them to scan; with Mom's Alzheimer's figuring out where they went when she "put them someplace safe" can be a challenge sometimes and the most recent pictures I have of my daughter and her family are the ones I posted right after they were up here for Labor Day. Anyhoo, here's the most recent family picture of the gang that's moving to Alabama; click it for a larger view if you'd like:

***

While I have the scanner fired up, I'm past due for a picture of the Circle F:

The picture's several years old but things haven't changed a lot. The hedge needs trimmed and the fence needs some work; I'll have that taken care of when I get my Social Security settlement. Except for the lane being ours our property line is about 10 feet in front of the hedge; the field in front of it belongs to a neighbor who bought it to keep it from ever being developed. When I get that Social Security money I'll have that wood fence extended north (toward the camera) to the property line and build one like it along the north side of the pasture.

Contributed by Bill Faith on January 27, 2008 at 03:16 PM in Around our place | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

2008.01.27 Politics and National Defense Roundup

Worth clicking today:

Contributed by Bill Faith on January 27, 2008 at 12:05 AM in Politics and National Defense | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack


Saturday, 26 January 2008
 

That wasn't supposed to be that much work (Updated)

... but at least it worked out OK. My old computer, the one I'm giving to my nephew the budding musician, didn't like that new sound card I bought, at all. I was getting audio out of it, but accompanied by a scratchy whine almost as loud. After a few hours of not thinking about it I moved the new card to my new machine, where it works just fine, and put the sound card from my new machine back in the old one, where it had been working fine for several months before I needed it for the new machine. I don't have any real good theories about why the new card and the old machine didn't get along, but at least everything's working OK now.

***

I hope it's just my imagination that my throat feels raw. My ten year old nephew's just getting over a case of Strep Throat that I hope I didn't pick up from him. With no health coverage except through the VA I don't know what it would cost me to see a doctor and get medicine locally but I have a strong hunch it would be more than I can afford, which means if I get to feeling bad enough I'll have to call the VA clinic in Evansville and try to get in there. With my sister's daughter and her family leaving town (as in "moving") for Alabama sometime Tuesday the earliest I feel like I could schedule a trip to Evansville would be Wednesday; too much chance of my sister needing the car Monday and Tuesday.

I don't think I mentioned that I cancelled my eye appointment in St Louis Monday, partially because I don't want to spend the gas money to get there, partially because of the reasons I mentioned in the above paragraph, and partially because I just don't trust the weather this time of year. I'm supposed to call them when I'm ready to come out. For now my eye seems to be doing better on it's own but I'm scared to do any serious lifting (anything heavier than a PC, such as 50 lb. feed sacks or 5 gal. buckets of water) until I get the problem fixed for good. I think I'll call about mid February and try to set something up for mid March.

Contributed by Bill Faith on January 26, 2008 at 04:34 PM in Around our place | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

2008.01.26 Politics and National Defense Roundup

Worth clicking today:

Contributed by Bill Faith on January 26, 2008 at 02:38 PM in Politics and National Defense | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack


Friday, 25 January 2008
 

2008.01.25 Politics and National Defense Roundup

Yeah, let's make the NYT editorial board happy by nominating McCain. Or maybe we can elect Rudy so he can have the Secret Service smuggle his next mistress in and out of the Lincoln Bedroom, or Hucksterbee so he can forgive all the jihadis at Guantanamo. Don't miss Bryan Preston's Florida Debate Highlights. I'd still like to see Fred nominated but I could learn to like Mitt. His Iraq answer in that highlight reel was dead on. I may or may not decide in a day or two to add a button like that one on the right just below the Fred buttons on my sidebar and hope he realizes what a great Attorney General Fred would make.

More thinking out loud: Mitt's taken some very non-Conservative positions in the past, but no worse than any of the others, and at least he's saying the right things now. Personally I'm convinced he's a man of sufficient integrity that he'll follow through on his campaign promises once he's in office, and I think he's smart enough to put together a good management team to help him run the country. I went ahead and changed my sidebar.

Worth clicking today:

Contributed by Bill Faith on January 25, 2008 at 12:01 AM in Politics and National Defense | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack


Thursday, 24 January 2008
 

Under the weather?

Can knowing it's down in the single digits outside slow your blood down even if you're inside where it's nice and warm? I'm beginning to wonder.

Either that or I'm coming down with something. As much as I'd like to be wrong, I think I'm probably coming down with something. My nephew's missed 3 days of school so far with Strep Throat and my sister had some sort of stomach bug yesterday and this morning. So far except for my stomach being a little queasy the only symptom I've had is a total lack of energy, but I've definitely had that. I managed to get out and around long enough to give the horse some grain and bust up the ice in his tub a couple of times, but that's it. I think he has enough water to last till morning but if someone else doesn't take him some by then I guess I get to carry some in a bucket again; the faucet in the garage is frozen and probably will be till sometime Saturday. I still need to put that sound card I ordered in the computer I'm giving my nephew but that's going to have to wait a day or two. ... I just saw my sister's husband go by with a 5 gallon water bucket; that's a load off my mind. That should get me out of carrying water till the faucet starts working again and I can use a garden hose to fill the tub.

I wish everyone else would hurry up and go to bed so I can.

Contributed by Bill Faith on January 24, 2008 at 10:04 PM in Around our place | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

2008.01.24 Politics and National Defense Roundup

Folks, the more I read up on Romney, the less impressed I am with him too. I'll vote for whoever the Republicans run against Clinton or Obama, but for now I've reinstated the Fred Thompson buttons on my sidebar. They'll stay there till someone has the nomination locked in, in hopes that won't happen before the convention and everyone will come to their senses and nominate Fred.

I have very mixed emotions about the economic stimuli the feds just implemented and are getting ready to implement. I think if I were capable of standing back and examining them unemotionally I'd probably be opposed to them. On the other hand, my daughter and her husband moved into a new home just before the housing market collapsed and are struggling with two house payments; maybe the interest rate drop will make their old place easier to sell. As far as the tax rebates that are apparently coming, it's been too broke around here for too long for me to say we don't want the money. I haven't read the details of the agreement yet but it sounds to me like between my sister and her husband, Mom, me, and my 21 year old nephew we could possibly be looking at as much as a little over $2K, which we can all definitely use. I just hope it gets here soon instead of a week after I get my Social Security back-settlement and we don't need it any more. --- Update: The information I've found so far makes it sound like at least June before the rebate checks go out, and it's not even clear that Mom and I will get anything since we neither one work any more. (Send me some and I'll spend it, I promise!)

Three links I posted yesterday but want to make sure you didn't miss:

Some other things worth reading:

Contributed by Bill Faith on January 24, 2008 at 12:03 AM in Politics and National Defense | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack


Wednesday, 23 January 2008
 

2008.01.23 Politics and National Defense Roundup

There's got to be a morning after. I guess. The man I wanted to see elected President isn't going to be and I'm sure the web will be full of campaign post-mortems for a day or two. Rather than dwell any longer on what could have been, what should have been, I prefer to concentrate on "Where to from here?" I don't want to see John Kennedy-McCain-Feingold nominated almost as bad as I don't want to see Mike Hucksterbee nominated. Of the remaining contenders Mitt Romney looks to me like the least of several evils and as long as he has a chance of getting the nomination I'll do what I can to help. Life goes on.

Worth reading today:

Contributed by Bill Faith on January 23, 2008 at 12:01 AM in Politics and National Defense | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack


Tuesday, 22 January 2008
 

Takin' the day off

... except for a little bit of blogging. Color this ol' dog still wore out.

I spent too many hours awake when I should have been sleeping, both getting that virus off my old machine and doing things on the family machine that I wanted to get done while no one else was wanting it, and it's catching up with me. I'll try to do a decent job on today's Politics and National Defense Roundup but except for that everything else can wait. The sound card for my old machine got here before I'd even finished my morning coffee but I don't even feel up to carrying the machine someplace where there's room to install it, let alone unhooking the machine I'm using now to hook that one up and make sure the sound works. Same for taking it to the other end of the house to finish setting up networking; it can read files on the family machine if I hook it up in here but I need to hook it up in place of the family machine to make sure it can read the shared partition on this one. If I was energetic I could also bring that old monitor in from the garage and find out if it works but that's going to have to wait too.

I guess the place my niece and her family are moving to is Gothan, Alabama. About twenty minutes north of Florida and about that much east of Georgia, pert near as far southeast as you can go and still be in Alabama. My sister did some online research and says it looks like a pretty nice place to live except for being so far from here. Low cost of living and close enough to the coast to not have any major temperature extremes. Sounds like the kind of place I wouldn't mind living if I just blew off any considerations of staying close to people I care about.

I guess with my daughter and her husband still talking about wanting to move to Washington or Oregon eventually I'll just plan on living out my remaining years in Lawrenceville and visiting them as often as I can manage, which should be a lot more often after I finally get my Social Security than it has been for the last four years.

I'm not sure if I'm just tired or coming down with something. My nephew's missing school today with at best a major cold and at worst strep throat; something that enough people in the area apparently have at once that my sister couldn't even get him in to see a doctor today; if it gets bad enough she'll take him to the emergency room but it hasn't yet.

I think it's time for my nap now.

Contributed by Bill Faith on January 22, 2008 at 02:51 PM in Around our place | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack