Rants, musings, and other general purpose blog entries reflecting the thoughts du jour.
Anyone who has spent any appreciable amount of time on Twitter will know that particular social media outlet is particularly well-named, even if they didn't intend to do so. After all, what would Twitter be without the massive legions of twits? ;) In this particular case, I couldn't help but suggest to one of the bigger twits that he might well have had what passed for a decent idea when he suggested that his father…
Every now and then I stumble across a situation that initially looks like all hell is going to break loose but somehow manages to restore my faith in the ability of our species to find our way to a better future. This time, this rather unexpected revelation came in the meat department at Sam's Club on Capital Blvd. One of the gems of that area of Sam's is the rotisserie chicken ovens and the fantastic…
When Vladimir Putin's illegal and abhorrent invasion of sovereign Ukraine started several days ago, it looked very much like David v Goliath part deux with David not getting a whole lot of love from the bookmakers. After all, the massive imbalance between the number of troops and material was such that anyone laying odds on the conflict lasting a week before Putin could install his puppet government in Kyiv would have to seriously juice the…
Do you… have no idea where and what Ukraine is?wonder why Vladimir Putin ordered the tanks and troops as well as missile strikes into Ukraine?why this invasion seems a suspiciously familiar story that seems to have played out many times before?question why Vladimir Putin seems obsessed with the possibility of NATO expansion into Ukraine?think this conflict won't affect your day-to-day life?have a clue as to what the ultimate end result of this invasion will be?ask…
Translated - "Russian warship, go f*@# yourself!"Pronounced - "Rosiysʹkyy viysʹkovyy korabelʹ, idy na khuy!"Ukrainian Defenders of snake island The fighting spirit of the 101st Airborne Division is alive and well as Ukraine is resisting the Russian invasion of their country! A Russian warship demanded that the thirteen souls defending Snake Island surrender their position and their response has since gone viral and served notice that whilst Putin's Russia may well have overwhelming force on their…
Translated - "It is wise to study the ways of one's adversary, don't you think?" Pronounced - "Mudro izuchat' puti svoyego protivnika, ne tak li?"Jack Ryan, "The Hunt for Red October" The invasion currently underway in Ukraine will come as a surprise only to those who have not been paying attention for these past few years, much less the last couple of weeks when President Biden and other western leaders finally got round to sounding…
I recently came across a posting on Facebook sharing a video that was made by Representative Kat Cammack of Florida decrying the House of Representatives passing HR 5746 which had essentially been gutted by amendment from it's original content as a bill authorising NASA to lease out underutilised property which was replaced by two House voting rights bills: HR 1 - For the People Act of 2021HR 4 - John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement…
It seems like yesterday that I was writing last year's "Urbi et Orbi" post on what was arguably one of the lousiest years I'd ever experienced in my entire life. Granted, that run included two divorces: being at Ground Zero of a rather unpleasant dispute between my parents that ultimately made history in North Carolina divorce law many moons ago as well as my own divorce whilst not the most pleasant or enjoyable experience was…
Another year has gone by and I've made my annual pilgrimage to Bedford Falls and the townsfolk of that wonderful town kept me company as I was taking on a task that I rarely look forward to but 3M Company rather does when their profits shoot through the roof due to my usual cellophane tape usage in wrapping presents. Even in the most wretched times of my life, I have never missed seeing "It's a…
Another year has gone by the wayside but I was absolutely adamant throughout this year that last year's entry in the journey without Dad's comforting presence would be the last one where I'd howl at the moon about his passing at least for a while. For me, it will always be a variation on the "stick your tongue where the tooth you just offered up to the Tooth Fairy used to be" but at least…
How to royally screw up your mind in three easy steps: The COVID Hurricanes called up 27 year-old AHL player Andrew Poturalski to fill one of six holes in the forward corps.Tripp Tracy starts talking about Alexei Ponikarovsky who played for Carolina and Los Angeles, the two teams featured in tonight's tilt at PNC Arena.So thinking that I'd be a bit funny and mess with Nick's mind a little bit, I mentioned that along with…
This afternoon was Val's memorial service and I dare say it was one she really would have liked. OK, truth be told...she'd preferred being in the audience far more than being than the guest of honour! “They say such nice things about people at their funerals that it makes me sad to realize that I’m going to miss mine by just a few days.”Garrison Keillor, "A prairie Home Companion" The music that was playing when…
Is it too late to give December a miss and go straightaway to the New Year? Between Darth RUUD acting weird, the Traverse practically blowing up on the motorway and watching a friend walking through the dark empty places from afar, it really has tried what passes for my patience when it comes to this festive season. Mind you, I've experienced worse almost six years ago but that was not intended to be a challenge…
May God be between you and harm in all the empty places where you must walk.Egyptian blessing, 18th dynasty This one has always been a favourite of mine and it is certainly getting some use these last couple of weeks on behalf of friends who are having to walk in very empty places right now. Faith and my heart tells me that they do not endure this journey alone for those of us who have…
We all knew that the end of the Formula 1 World Championship with it all to play for in Abu Dhabi was going to be a right cracker of a race with Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen level on points. And with the first ding-dong where Max lunged deep into Turn 5 and Hamilton avoided the collision by going off track and the resulting controversy in the opening lap, we surely weren't disappointed. But nothing…
For the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbour that finally got the United States off the sidelines in WWII, yesterday's remembrance of that day seemed remarkably muted for such a milestone. But for the last 20 years, the 7th of December would also serve as the final warning to a day that was equally momentous in terms of my personal destiny and the harbinger that its trajectory would be forever changed. Mind you,…
Eleven years ago (well, at least in a few more days!), I unlocked the doors to this house for the first time and started what has been my last move of this rather itinerant life. I did the sums of all of the PCS (permanent change of station) and other moves through the years and figured out that I was averaging about one move every year I'd been alive with this 40th move. And if…
Closeup of fire buttons and warning lights on control console in cockpit of contemporary airplane
After yesterday's excitement, today's fun was collecting Katie for school and then making a quick run to the car hire place on Capital so that I could have a vehicle whilst Nicholas continued on to work at Leith Toyota. When they say that hiring a car is far more expensive than it has been in the past, they're not joking. There's hardly any inventory and what's there will cost an arm and a leg at…
The day started out lovely. OK, it was a bit chilly this morning and Darth Ruud has been particularly evil of late frosting up due to the temperatures dropping into the 20s with high humidity and it appears that the defrost cycle is either not kicking in to melt the frost or it is not handling the amount of frost on the coils. At least that's not an emergency and it'll be mended soon enough.…
This gallery responding to a recent tweet from WRAL was pretty much shooting fish in a barrel. Finding amusement in this world isn't hard and sometimes the jokes just write themselves... :)
This evening marked the beginning of Hanukkah which is the Jewish "Festival of Lights". It was surprising learning that it is actually one of the minor holidays on the Jewish calendar given the visibility it gets in the media during the festive season. Hanukkah has it's roots in the re-dedication of the Second Temple after the Maccabees successfully defeated the Greeks where there was only enough oil to light the lamps for a single day…
This post is my take on the recent verdict returned by the jury in Kenosha where Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges against him. Before I get into my opinion on this subject, I did a deep-dive on juries in general looking at a very brief history of how they came to be and a detailed discussion on trials by jury as practiced in America. It's a long read but it was well worth…
Last week, a Kenosha jury returned a verdict of "NOT GUILTY" on all charges in the case of Kyle Rittenhouse who was facing charges in the prisoner's dock relating to his role in killing two men and wounding a third during the unrest that followed the shooting of Jacob Black by the Kenosha police. My take on that particular case will be written presently but I want to concentrate on first exploring the notion of…
If you asked my Grandpa Williams which holiday on the calendar was his favourite, Thanksgiving was top of his list hands down. To be sure, he did enjoy Christmas and Easter and the others but Thanksgiving was the one he truly looked forward to and not just because of the massive turkey feast. If there was a holiday that captured the essence of his soul in terms of how he approached each day and not…
On the way toward Clayton on US-70 to drop the kids off after collecting them from school, I couldn't help but notice this BMW in the overtaking lane. At first, I didn't really think much of it but as he got closer, it was clear that the driver has had about all they can stand of the average North Carolina driver's propensity for sitting in the overtaking lane and going well slower than posted speed.…
