Monday Musings...

This past weekend's weather sure had a lot of people guessing. I know I was beside myself wondering what it was going to do hour-to-hour.
We went from mini-deluge to sunshine in like 15 minutes...more than once. I was goijg to mow the back yard, but after several false starts, I said "faggediboudit". I'll try agin maybe today.
And speaking of today, our Hoosierland weather will bring us partly to mostly sunny skies, light breezes, and temps climbing to the upper 50s (could even be the lower 60s), with no rain.
That comes tomorrow (again).

In the meantime, let's get a comforting beverage to start our day, as we see what else has been going on...
*** First out of the cupboard is our "What the hell happens today, Bob?" feature:
MAY 20 -
National Be a Millionaire Day

(Yeah, that FIRST million is ALWAYS the hardest to come by)
National Pick Strawberries Day

(this will play into tomorrow)
National Rescue Dog Day

(let one adopt YOU)
National Quiche Lorraine Day

(guess that looks okay)
*** Next, I think I found a new game to play - it's called "WTF is up with AOL?" and here's how it goes:

--You type in your correct name and then password, but. Instead of taking you to the homepage or email,. you get THIS load of bullshit:
((We've noticed some unusual account activity.
For your safety, choose a method below to verify that it's really you signing in to this account.))
---And when you answer the "security question" (correctly) it tells you it's INCORRECT, and you have to take another turn on the merry-go-round, which gets you nowhere.
Sounds like fun. right? IT'S NOT!!!

THIS is what you get when both Yahoo and AOL are owned by Verizon...and that's why I detest such monopolies.

Little to no competition and crappy customer service...welcome to NOW.
*** Next up, I had a bit of a study (or lesson) in GRAVITY over the weekend.

For a while now, our garden wall has been bowing outwards, and the concrete stones (blocks) stacked there have been sinking (tilting) as the months pass by. Well, I found out that 45 degrees is the limit for stacked stones "tiltability".

With all the rain we had, it caused a bit of  an "avalanche" with the blocks and they would no longer remain at that angle.

Needless to say, it looks horrible, but at least none of the stones fell onto my feet, although one nearly missed it by inches. That WOULD have left a mark.
What needs to be done is for the stones to be removed, the ground leveled, and cut back to where it used to be, and then regrading with small stones (for drainage) before the concrete blocks can be re-stacked.
Now, if you think that seems easy, try hefting all those 40 lb. blocks for a good part of the day, not to mention WHERE to put them while the regrading is done. I'm not a spring chicken any longer
We're looking for places that will do that and do it right (the first time), because I don't want a repeat of this fiasco. Newton WAS right.
*** Next time to stop by our "Kitten Corner"...

A marvelous balancing act.

The kids had a pretty good weekend, until they got into a runaround mode yesterday. I suppose they could tell the bad weather was going away for a spell.

"I have nothing to do with his balance."

Other than that little bout (in which Gallifrey got squirted to calm him down), it as pretty calm, although Violet didn't like the thunderstorms that rolled through one of the nights. Guess it reminded her too much of the boom car noise we have to tolerate. I can understand that.
*** Next up, let's do our check-in with "Midnight and Whiskers"...

"Where's he at now?"

Our furry twosome tried their best to stay dry, and for the most part, they did...except for yesterday.
We had one line of showers roll through that came on REAL fast, and Midnight got a bit doused by those. Whiskers went into one of the shelters, so she stayed dry.

"I'm taking it easy between the showers."

Odd as it seems, they were both here for all three meals each day, although between meals, they took to wandering about.
Of course, neither of them missed ANY of the backstep treats.
*** Last back to the coat closet...there comes a time when you have to separate fantasy (or fiction) from reality.

Sometimes, that's not easy, because it might screw with your preconceptions, but sooner or later, like it or not, you got to do it.
Case in point, a recent story about actor Chris Evans.

Here's the link:
https://madworldnews.com/avengers-chris-evans-trump/

Now, I wouldn't go AS far as calling our president a "reckless moron", because his business acumen is such where no matter how much money he's lost, he's bounced back, and that says something about his ability to overcome financial adversity.
As far as being reckless. well, I might have to agree under CERTAIN circumstances.
Still, all that aside, it makes you wonder why some people started going around saying "Captain America for President".
Chris Evans PORTRAYS the good captain (and exceptionally well, I might say), but, he is NOT the real deal. It's arrogant to think (or assume) otherwise.

We could use Cap's virtues these days

I'm sure that'll shake any starry-eyed, superhero-loving child's resolve...sorry about that. He's a decent actor with no real bad press.
Face it, Cap would never WANT to BE president, and the character's values and ethics fly right in the face of (and against) any type of socialist or leftist mindset.
Don't get me wrong here...I've been a fan of the character since before high school (a LONG time), and the Marvel movies featuring the character are the best I've seen, but I still can discern the reality from the fantasy.I'm not a fan of DeNiro or Keanu Reeves, but I like many of the characters they've portrayed. Same can be said with Evans (and many others in contemporary Hollywood).
Yet, the character stands for freedom and liberty (and not the liberal agenda), so let's make that very clear.

Evans is an ACTOR...used to playing people he is not (and with the Marvel deal, made himself extremely wealthy along the way, thanks to Capitalism), so let's make that also abundantly clear.
What is troubling about this is all the "in your face" rhetoric coming from the anti-Trump crowd, who need nothing short of a remedial course in WHY socialism always fails, and to endorse or support any form of it does everyone (as well as our nation) no damn good whatsoever.

It makes you long for the days when Hollywood (studios and actors alike) stood WITH our nation (and it's leaders) and not against it. Sadly, we're no longer in that golden age.
These days, it's more like Hollyweird...and that's being a bit too kind.

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