Busy day

Many errands got run today and the workshop cleanup continued.

That means I didn't have a lot of interweb time.

Here are a few links:

• You just know there are people out there who think we just pissed off some aliens from a distant galaxy.



• This robot has been driving around on Mars for 11 years.



• Australia: What doesn't try to kill ya, tries to kill ya.

I have a clean workshop

I know it doesn't really look like it but this picture represents three hours and two trash bags of cleaning my basement work area:

Yes, I'm a packrat (bordering on hoarder) and I have a lot of crap but I'm pleased to say that as of this morning, I have less crap.

I started out with the drawers. I emptied them out, looked at the contents and asked myself three simple questions: "Have you touched this in the last 10 years? Will you need it in the next year? Is it expensive or can a replaced for a few dollars?"

Using those three questions, I was able to throw away stuff that I either hadn't seen in the last 10 years, probably would never use and if I needed one, I could buy it for less than $5.00.

That worked out to be two trash bags of old light switches, cabinet knobs, screws, nails, etc...

Suffice to say, The Professor is happy because she doesn't like clutter.

Next up will be the cabinets. You can see one of them in the left side of the picture. There is another one next to it.

Those cabinets contain more shit that I will probably never use. This includes crap like old software disks, motherboards, hard drives and cables as well as broken tools, hardened paint brushes, shelf brackets, etc...

That's going to be an additional two or three trash bags so I'll wait until next week. I don't want to overflow the trash barrel.

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Still no hockey but I still have an ample supply of DVRs.

While I watch those, you can check these out:

• This is why senators are not in charge of the military.



• I'm pretty sure he has dementia.



• Raindrops are no longer falling on Burt Bacharach's head.



• Why am I not surprised this is happening in China.



• If you name your baby after a felony, your parental rights should be revoked.



• Fashion: I don't get it.

As I predicted

Depending on which news outlet you watched this morning you would have discovered that everything is great or that we're all screwed.

Personally, I'm leaning towards the "we're all screwed' and it doesn't matter which party is in charge. Our political system is no longer a matter of liberal vs. conservative. It's now a matter of who is the rudest, brashest, loudest slinger of bullshit.

They all lie and, in their world, it doesn't matter what you think, it's only what they think. They are the queen bee and you are just a lowly drone in the great hive that is their life.

The weirdest part in all of this is the only news outlet I saw that managed to say something about the Sate of the Union speech that made sense to me was Al Jazeera. They published a story with the headline:

US foreign policy reduced to an afterthought

We don't have a cohesive foreign policy. I'm pretty sure our policy is to turn against our friends and kowtow to our enemies. Trump started that policy and Biden is continuing it.

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She thinks she is a prairie dog...

She's not a prairie dog. She is a cat who may, or may not, have some sort of brain damage

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Still no hockey games so I guess it's another DVR kind of night.

You should check these links out:

• I guess Willard doesn't care much for Tommy Flanagan.



• A well-sighted pellet gun eliminates these problems.



• it's just a matter of time before they outlaw these thing.



• Apparently Batman is now a drug dealer.



• Best criminal name ever: "Shadymon Patie"...

Eight more days

In 8 days, pitchers & catchers arrive at the spring training facility and the baseball season officially kicks off. In the case of the Red Sox, their first game is always against NorthEastern University and this year it will be played on February 24^th. Their first major league game will be against the Braves on the 25^th.

I have no idea what games, if any, NESN will carry, I have no idea if my buddy Walt will be there to provide me with his witty and in-depth commentary and I have no idea if the Red Sox will be any good but I do know that I will do my best to pay attention to the game because it's baseball and that's what I do.

I like to think that NESN will carry some of the games because they usually do and I hope this year is no different.

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Mice 4, Me 0

All four traps in my garage were picked clean of peanut butter. That means the factory settings were not sensitive enough for the dainty little rodents I have marauding through our cars.

I tweeked the triggers a bit and now those traps go off if you look at them the wrong way.

Hopefully the mice will look at them the wrong way...

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At 9:00pm this evening, Goofy Joe will stand up in front of congress and pontificate about how great things have gotten under his leadership.

He will say that the average American is better off now than he was two years ago, the economy is the best it's been since Monroe was President and our place in the world had never been stronger.

Half the attendees will cheer and applaud loudly while the other half will shake their heads and fold their arms across their chests. Depending on what channel you are watching, the talking heads will analyze every word he says and either tell you that he is a lying sack of dog crap or he is the second coming of Christ.

I will see none of that because I would rather watch a rerun of Star Trek that I've seen 20 times in the last 50 years rather than watch that crap.

Article II of the U.S. Constitution defines the Executive branch and the role of the President. Section 3 of that article defines the Presidents duties and it starts off with the following line:

He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient

Please note that it does not say he needs to present them with the State of the Union in person. Hell, it doesn't even say it needs to be done annually. It just says that he needs to periodically tell them how the nation is doing and what he thinks needs to be done to assure that it keeps clicking along nicely.

This desire they have to pontificate in front of congress and the American people is a complete waste of time. It simply massages their giant ego and fulfills their need to be seen as some sort of royalty.

I've always disliked the state of the union and I have never really believed anything any of them has said during it. I personally think the President should simply write a one page memo addressed to the Speaker of the House that clearly gives the State of the Union. The Speaker could have it read into the record and that would more than fulfill the constitutional requirement.

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I'm going to warm up some leftovers for dinner. Then I'm going to see if there are any Star Trek reruns on.

While I do that, you can check these out:

• Here's your Naked Guy In The News story.



• The Daily Star is fast becoming my new favorite news source.



• I can't help but wonder what new diseases will come of this.



• Speaking of cows, if you have ever been on a farm that raises cows, you know how bad this was.



• It's the old, "The check is in the mail" ploy.



• Key phrase in this story: "I knew I was in trouble when I saw mountains covered in snow."

Frame is made

I have a frame made to fit the glass I cut yesterday and I'm waiting for the stain to dry. Once dry, I'll put a coat of urethane on it.

I need to figure out the best way to close the back up. I'm probably going to pick up a thin sheet of pressboard, cut it to size and nail it in place.

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The Vet now has a small kitchen table to pile her stuff on.

We've had my moms small table and two chairs sitting in my basement for the last seven year and The Vet finally decided she wanted it. I brought it over this afternoon and put it together for her.

I am fully confident that within the next few weeks, that table will will be piled high with "stuff" because she is my daughter and that's what I would do.

Eating is something you do while standing at the kitchen sink or while sitting on the couch in front of the tv. The table is for holding your shit.

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Dinner is done (taco's) and now it's time for DVRs.

It's also time for links:

• Meet our newest terrorist.



• I wonder if they'll still publish the daily Royal Family Problems.



• Blobs of Brains would be a great name for a 1990s soft rock band.



• Yes, alcohol was involved.



• Fashion: I don't get it.



• If you have eaten any food that was marked "Fresh Creative Cuisine", you should plan on working from your bathroom for a few days



• Key phrase in this story: "Multiple children confirmed the account."