Doing the News

The motorcade carrying President Biden and Vice President across the Memorial Bridge to Arlington National Cemetery on their way to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Dad’s section would be behind the Visitor’s Centre (to your right as you’re looking back toward Abe’s place over the bridge). Thanks to the President and Vice President for allowing me a glimpse of a place I hold very near and dear to my heart forever. :) UPDATE: I…

Two weeks ago, Katie and I were watching the debate in the Senate after the challenge to Arizona's slate of electors during the certification of the Electoral College votes that was set to confirm President-Elect Biden's victory in November. All of a sudden, Vice President Pence interrupted Senator Lankford of Oklahoma who was in the middle of his speech and abruptly adjourned the session subject to recall of the chair and hustled out of the…

If tuning into CSPAN and CSPAN2 isn't enough to convince people you're a masochistic political junkie (though truth be told, most of the time it is for Prime Minister's Questions from the British House of Commons on Wednesday morning!)…noticing that the graphics used to show the vote tally during the House of Representatives recorded votes has not significantly changed since 1979 certainly will! And whilst we're on the subject of the yeas and nays…even though…

OK, so it probably won't be as momentous as the "To The City and the World" blessing given by His Holiness the Pope but reflecting on the year that was and the thoughts for the year that is yet to be is a tradition I truly do enjoy. There's no getting round the fact that 2020 was a complete dumpster fire of epic proportions and any semblance of normality has gone out the window for…

My 10 year-old builder-installed Carrier heat pump decided it really wasn't all that keen on continuing it's job of pumping heat into the house. To be fair, that Carrier system was never particularly competent at heating heating both floors simultaneously so I'd often turn off one floor to heat the other. And of course, this is all happening right before Christmas when the mercury took a nosedive! Jason of Wake Heating and Air came highly…

Lots of presents littered the floor, three happy kids, and the occasional bit of ham and the trimmings…it was a very good day hanging about at Julia's place for Christmas. And there were things to be learnt as well…not only am I completely rubbish at this new card game called Fluxx, I'm not significantly better at another card game called "Exploding Kittens". Yes, it's kind of as weird as it sounds but at least Nicholas…

1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to…

Even though these pictures were taken the day after the closest approach of Jupiter and Saturn to each other that has been observed in 800 years, it was still an impressive sight. I wasn't sure how good the viewing angle would be from the cul-de-sac last night so I was content to see where they were with binoculars with some of the more nerdly-inclined neighbours. Tonight's fun would involve bringing out the longest focal-length camera…

As I'm waiting to make the right turn onto the I-440 East ramp, I happened to notice that this particular mail van is delivering a bit more than the usual pile of bills and junk mail. I love it that this particular carrier managed to requisition a decent sense of humour which is decidedly lacking in the ones that tend to "service" my address. Goodness knows I needed it this morning after an evening enjoying…

A/C unit royally buggered but at least the fireplace works and the illumination from the new ceiling fan seems about three times brighter than it’s predecessor! Tonight’s wrapping music so far… Toccata and Fugue in D minor — JS Bach Piano Concerto No 2, op 18 — Rachmaninoff YouTube’s selections are wise! :)

So a couple of days ago, the light kit on the ceiling fan in the living room decides it wants to arc inside the casing and trip the breaker merely because I had the temerity to flip the sodding wall switch and actually desire the room to be illuminated. Not that it happens very often because I prefer the dark but if you're going to be hanging ornaments on the tree that has made its…

As my "Favourite Troublemaker of the Absolute Very Best Kind"(tm) has reminded us, today marks the start of Hanukkah. I was intrigued a couple of years back by the notion of the shamash candle (the "servant" or "attendant" candle that is used to light the eight candles on the Menorah)…the idea of celebrating that which serves the needs of others is something I think this world could do a fair bit more often. So in…

After dropping Alex off at school, the return to the house was a bit more interesting than is usual. The Knightdale Bypass (I-87) was already massively jammed due to a MVC for luckily for me, the jam didn't impede my ability to get off at the usual exit at the New Hope Road. As I'm waiting for the light at the top of the ramp to change, one of the fire trucks dispatched from Fire…

And no, it's not about the bloody coronavirus though those numbers are horrific as well as heading in the wrong direction. 137mph. 53 G's. That's what the telemetry is saying Romain Grosjean's car was experiencing right at the point of impact with the safety barrier that the cockpit ended up slicing through to the other side. By comparison, astronauts riding the Saturn V would experience 4 G's and the Shuttles would routinely max at 3…

All the best to Romain Grosjean who had more than a few angels with him whose survival cell ended up piercing the safety barriers in a massive fiery crash in Bahrain. That he managed to be conscious enough to extricate himself from the front half of the car that detached from the rear of the car in a head-on crash well over 100mph was nothing short of a miracle. Massive props to the medical car…

The battery swap on the 2014 Traverse isn’t as easy as it once was… :(

The FAA has just put up NOTAMS (Notice to Airmen) designating an one-mile radius TFR (temporary flight restriction) marked VIP/SECURITY over Joe Biden's house in Wilmington, DE. They don't do that this close to a general election unless they're darned sure they have a presidential successor in that area, especially given that he's smack in the middle of a very congested air corridor from DC to NYC and very close to KPHL which tends to…

Mr Trump gives us probably one of the best takes on herding 330M+ cats…in spite of everything, I couldn't help but laugh at this unexpected and delightfully witty take! :) “They’ll go, 'Mr. President, tell me: who is the country that's most difficult to deal with? Is it Russia, is it China, is it North Korea?'"“No, by far the most difficult country to deal with is the US. It's not even close.”President Donald Trump on…

2020 has been a brutal year and this election has certainly had more than a little to contribute to the strife and anguish and division we are all feeling. COVID-19 is bad enough but eventually we will find a vaccine for it and life will return to some semblance of normal. But the intense hatred and violence and threats of more to come? Our society has survived more than a few crises for almost 250…

With best wishes for all those wandering about in fancy dress canvassing their neighbourhoods for candies and treats...this evening is for looking at history back some 39 years. My father was stationed at Ft Sam Houston near San Antonio TX and Halloween came round as it always does. But this year was going to be special...I'd found out a while earlier that Mom was pregnant and due in October and Lee finally made good on…

I ordinarily don't do the "share memories" thing but in this case given last night's announcement by their excellencies the Wake County School Board vis-a-vis band activities which effectively renders impossible the normal functioning of a band by banning woodwinds and brass that make up the majority of the instruments from playing, I give you this picture of the Fuquay-Varina Marching Bengals featuring Miss Savannah Coley as one of two colour guard members performing at…

To all of my friends and family who are celebrating the New Year...a very sincere wish for one far more sweet than the one we've endured and a hope that all of the people can eventually find peace and love for each and for all.

I never imagined a month ago as I stood near this iconic building tucked behind the US Capitol that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg would no longer be with us. After all, she'd fought many health issues these past few years with a courage only a few of us could ever imagine and she seemed like she'd outlast them all through sheer force of will and perseverance. And whether you agreed with her positions on many…

It's been somewhat amusing watching the various political parties and lobbying groups carpet-bomb my mailbox for the last month or so and I'm pretty sure the next seven weeks will be more of the same. I can't even imagine how much postage the Republican Party or their surrogates has wasted sending near-daily advertisements with the occasional "survey and personal appeal" from President Trump (actually, it really comes from the Republican National Committee) who seems more…