Monday Musings...

Welcome to a brand new month, and the home-stretch of our holiday season.
How many Christmas ads have YOU seen (or read) ALREADY?
Cripes, can we NOT rush things? I'm not in that much of a hurry.
Our Hoosierland weather for today will have us enjoying no precipitation, a lot fewer leaves on trees (look down, you'll find 'em), and temps reaching up to around SEVENTY degrees.
Sure beats early snowfalls and late year flooding any day, right?
Now, if you're going to heave a heavy SIGH because the "global warmists" will be out in droves, remember this: WAY back in the early 1970s, we had 70-degree temps around NEW YEARS.

Did anyone think to bring marshmallows?

I know, because I was working in downtown Philly and remarked to my buddy about how warm it was...and no one back THEN even breathed a word about "climate change".
It's all cyclical in nature and by nature.
So what say we go get our morning drinks of choice poured as we see what's been going on elsewhere...
*** First out of the leaf-piles is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
November 2 -
---Today is ALL SOUL'S DAY

( A day to pray for the dead, and NOT the "undead")
Here's a WIKI for all the details:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls%27_Day
---It's also NATIONAL DEVILED EGG DAY

(My Mom could make the best ones, too)
---And, it's NATIONAL TRAFFIC DIRECTORS DAY

(always liked the LEOs in the intersections that directed traffic with "panache".
*** Next up, former .U.S. senator and actor, Fred Thompson passed away yesterday at the age of 73.
Here's his WIKI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Thompson
Personally, I found him cut in the Reagan mold...and I could have easily seen him as our president.

I mean, he DID play Grant in one movie.
And I've seen him in a LOT of his movie and TV work...always a good actor and the kind that made you really believe in his character.
Gonna kinda miss those AAG commercials he used to do, too.
*** Next up, we did not hear of ANY shootings in Fort Wayne over the weekend...talk about your revelations, hmm?

Ahgunna cumback an rob u latuh dismonf, dawg.

Well, it IS the first of the month, and all the mooks are busy spending their ill-gotten welfare monies, so they're probably ALL at the liquor stores, (buying and not stealing...for a change) stocking up on the cheap-swill of the week. I'm sure we'll be reading about their USUAL behavior soon enough (when both the booze, month, and money runs out).
Then, we'll be right back to business as usual.
---We also have a "new" neighbor (read another of the "same-old") who moved into the house across our side street (a black woman with multiple children - typical around here).

Impossible to get a GOOD neighbor these days.

And I greeted them by leaning out the front door last evening, shouting "turn the music DOWN". (again, typical around here).
Now, the clock is running to see HOW LONG it takes for her to move in the "boyfriend of the month"...as these "locals" love to do.
Also, how long before a dog (probably a pit bull) shows up to bark to all hours?

The infamous one pickup full of belongings.

So VERY predictable...in every way.
And the minority community wonders WHY so many don't advance in their lives?
Not that hard to figure out, is it?
*** Next up, I trust all of you have flipped your calendars, changed your clocks (back one hour), and that you are STILL adjusting to writing (or typing) NOVEMBER.
Caught myself a couple times already.

As to the time change?
That's another story.
Before, Wifey would go to school in the pre-dawn skies, but now, she's COMING HOME in the waning sunset...you just cannot win.
I was perfectly fine when Indiana was on ONE time...ALL year.
I didn't like changing the clocks twice a year back in Philly, OR in Ohio, so, it was a welcome relief to see a state with some common sense...which didn't last long...lol.
Now, I'm back to the twice a year "change" gig again...still don't like it.
Have to change the DIGITAL WATCH, and that usually means I accidentally turn ON the alarm or hourly chime (both of which I detest with a passion - annoying as hell). I think I got that one nailed down for another few months, though...
There ARE some idiots that would like to see Indiana move to CENTRAL TIME, however.

DOUBLE DST in the summer - wow!

Granted, we are closer to that zone than the EASTERN zone, but come ON now...enough is enough with screwing around with time changes.
No one is saving any money on this, so who the hell are we kidding?
And we're certainly not saving anything ELSE with this, are we?
I say go back to the way it WAS...and to when things were simpler, time-wise.
*** Next up, as is typical with ANY normal bulb (which is a dying breed, thanks to the EPA morons) around the home...they tend to blow out, soon enough.
And the ones that bug me the most are the ones OUTSIDE our "Fortress", even though we only have a total of FOUR.

So far...so good (and cost-effective)

I recently told you about changing out the front door and back door light-bulbs with LED replacements. I figure with a 16.000 hour lifespan, they could outlive me...LOL.
Well, Friday night, the floodlight on my side of the garage blew out. Changed that.
Saturday, night, the one on Wifey's side blew out. Changed THAT!
I don't recall SUCH a thing ever happening since we moved in here back in 1998.
And if I have anything to say about it, it never will again.
I'm looking into LED replacements for THOSE floodlight bulbs, and even though it might cost a bit (perhaps $12 a bulb), I'll only need TWO...and that should be that for a very LONG time.

Uses ONLY 18W to provide 90W illumination - double-wow!

I think the longevity of the LED bulbs will far exceed the cost over time, and that means SAVINGS.
Speaking of which, last month our electric bill was under $60...!
(sure hope someone didn't screw up the meter read...it's been known to occur)
Anyway, having LED bulbs for the outside of the house seems to make sense, if only to NOT freeze my ass off changing conventional ones out in a foot of snow...not my way of enjoying winter weather.
*** Next up,, I suppose the one thing that disturbs me about raking leaves in our area, is that we're pretty much the ONLY ones that do it every year...and do it properly (as the city suggests).

Done the RIGHT way.(for the third time...LOL)

There are a very few others that do SOME sort of raking or leaf-blowing, but aside from our one good neighbor (who has moved), WE are it.
We should "set the tone", so that others may follow, but that never happens.

Pretty easy to do if you WANT to.

See, the "locals" around here are (actually) FASCINATED by work, it seems.
They can WATCH IT FOR HOURS.
But, don't DARE expect them to be the least bit responsible for the property they recently moved into (or have lived in longer).
Same goes with clearing sidewalks with snow or branches after a windstorm...they've got better things to do...like get some take-out, or have friends over, or just leave the area to go someplace else (my personal favorite that never lasts as LONG as it should).

We know where THOSE leaves wound up, right?

You'd like to give people like these the benefit of some doubt, but your conscience won't allow it. (welcome to the ghettohood, where the ONLY honor they come in contact with is the magistrate hearing their latest criminal or civil case downtown).
*** Last back to the tool shed...There are as many things to do in life that you will like as there are things you will dislike.

That's just the way things shake out.
We may not all "like" to work, but we find that by doing so, we can accommodate ourselves and our families in a much better manner, not the least of which is financially. But, there are other perks when doing something we don't like.
It builds character.
How we handle the situation we dislike as well as how we handle OURSELVES is crucial to becoming a better individual (something ELSE the "locals" have no desire to achieve).

When we can overcome an obstacle IN life, we have a better outlook TO life, to US, and to the situation, however unpleasant it might have been, because it gets resolved.
And the last time I checked, I never though of any of life's obstacles as being listed in the "fun" column.
Still, we press on, or we regroup and try again, but sooner or later we have to face things that are not all that nice.

Those who give up and walk away are a dime a dozen, but those who stand firm, and will try their damnedest to overcome the bad things in life reap the rewards of many more of the good things...and THOSE are always welcome, are they not?

Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.