Saturday - August 06, 2016

go green!

meanwhile ...

Posted by Drew458     on 08/06/2016 at 05:49 AM   
Filed Under: • Oil, Alternative Energy, and Gas Prices •  
• Comments (2) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

   Friday - August 05, 2016

screwed again

Damnation. Shit piss vinegar and damnation. Dammit dammit dammit, dammit!!

Remember how I have that garden out in the parking lot in front of our building here at the condo park? All the work I put into it, plants selected to bloom in sequence to keep the area in flower all summer long, only to have my “helpful” neighbors come and hack the entire thing back to the bare ground and call it “weeding”?

Yeah. $60 worth of alliums just about to bloom, buds swelling on the end of their 3 foot tall stalks. Dozens of them.  Gone. I felt violated.

Well, I tried to get over that. And five or seven weeks ago I laid down a whole bunch of marigold seeds, after buying a couple flats of Vinca and putting them in as a border. I spent very little but I had to do something, to show I was not beaten by their “accidental” actions.




Right. Well, I gave them time, and I wasn’t paying too much attention aside from a couple waterings during the hot dry spell, and once we had the rains some really amazing weeds started taking over. I’ve never seen plants grow so fast. Crazy. So I finally did the right thing (wanting to steal a march on my “helpful” neighbors just in case), and went out and fully weeded the whole thing the other day. I was very careful, but it was a huge job. I bet I took out 15 pounds of weeds. Crabgrass as thick as a McDonald’s soda straw. Some waxy oval flat leafed thing that sends out pinkish runners, and wherever a tendril touches down, it roots in and then sends out new shoots in 10 different directions. One run was 20 feet long. I tore that crap out by the bag, and found the queen plant that had stalks as big around as my finger. Rip!! Crivens! 

And when all was done, I had a lovely strip of annuals across the front under mulch, a nice pink and white vinca bordered 4x8 area in the middle, and bare clean earth in the other planting area towards the back. But in the middle, I had marigolds coming up. Dozens of little plants maybe 2” tall. I took away all the competing weeds, and gave them a nice drink of Miracle Grow. In 48 hours they had grown 3”, I swear. And I could see where I had to do some fill in seeding.

So I went out there early this evening. And once again found bare earth. Every last marigold plant had been plucked out of the ground and thrown away. Gone. All of it gone. Even the one “flyer” that was growing through the mulch in the pathway. The vinca was untouched.

It makes me so sad. I guess I could put down more seeds and another layer of dirt and try again, and maybe get some plants up that could produce a single blossom by the start of September. This latest rape cost me a precious month.

And I know it was you Carol, you nasty old busy body. You killed my alliums the last time, telling Jenn that they were only wild onions and should be ripped out. Jealous old cow. And you’re out there today trying to tell me it’s too late to grow marigolds. Why, the season is almost over! But what you don’t know, miss stupid, is that those tenacious little flowers will grow and grow and grow, and bloom hard until the second frost. No, maybe they won’t reach their full peak size. But I could have pumped them full of Miracle Grow and they would have done just fine. Assuming you don’t come pluck them for the third time when no one is looking.

“No, you don’t want to grow them this late. They’ll never bloom.”

“Riight, except these seeds came from plants that grew in August last year. All of them from the seeds you gave me the year before that. Well, looks like some very selective deer came through here and ate ever last plant and didn’t touch anything else.”

“No, deer won’t touch marigolds.”

“Yes, I know that. I was being ironic.”

No, I don’t think I’m going to bother to replant a third time. And I think it would be wrong to deliver a Viking-like revenge on someone with a crowbar and a 3lb rock hammer for such a minor offense as messing up someone else’s garden without permission. But right now it’s very tempting to think that way. Fertilize the soil with some blood and bone marrow. Accidental my ass, you stupid bitter jealous old bloated potato sack full of dog shit.

Posted by Drew458     on 08/05/2016 at 09:23 PM   
Filed Under: • Daily Life •  
• Comments (3) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

Meanwhile in the UK

Black Lives Matter UK campaigners blocked roads leading to London’s largest airport as part of a series of nationwide protests Friday.
Some transport routes in other British cities came to a standstill, with demonstrators chaining themselves together in Birmingham and Nottingham. More protests were planned in Manchester.

The UK-wide protests mark five years since 29-year-old black man Mark Duggan was shot and killed by police in north London. His death sparked riots across the capital and other British cities.
“In the UK, families have in some cases been waiting decades to find out what’s happened to their loved ones who have died in custody, or to get a straight answer—even where wrongdoing has been found to be by police officers,” Black Lives Matter UK spokesman Wail Qasim, 23, told CNN.
“So this demonstration comes after a decade-long struggle and it’s to highlight what’s happening.”

Starting around 8:20 a.m. (3:20 a.m. ET), several demonstrators began chaining themselves together and lying across the M4 motorway leading to Heathrow Airport beneath a banner reading: “This is a crisis.”
Ten people were arrested, said London’s Metropolitan Police.

Between 200 and 300 people gathered in Altab Ali Park in the London neighborhood of Whitechapel to hear calls for unbiased treatment for people of color.
Transit was not shut down. Police maintained a discreet presence in the park but several police vans were parked on nearby streets with reinforcements if necessary.
The park was named after a Bangladeshi man killed in a 1978 racially motivated killing.

Posted by Drew458     on 08/05/2016 at 05:30 PM   
Filed Under: • Racism and race relations •  
• Comments (3) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

damn, dawg

The union representing San Francisco police officers published a photograph of two dogs in its monthly newspaper that critics say belittles the Black Lives Matter movement and raises questions about the police force’s commitment to repairing its relationship with communities of color.

The picture, which appeared on the back page of the August issue of the San Francisco Police Officers Association Journal, shows a pair of Labrador retrievers, one black and one white. The black dog has a sign around its neck reading, “Black Labs Matter,” while the white dog sports a sign reading, “All Labs Matter.”

The photo, submitted by a union supporter, is accompanied by a plea from the union: “Maybe it’s time we all just sit back and tone down the rhetoric,” a reference to many months of heated national debate over police shootings and, recently, the targeted slayings of police officers.

The photo weighs in on a controversy that has flared on social media and has animated political debates. Some people have countered the phrase “Black lives matter” by saying, “All lives matter,” and they in turn have been accused of objecting to a simple request that black people be treated fairly.

People in the Black Lives Matter movement have sought to explain that the focus on black lives is appropriate because black people are disproportionately profiled and killed by police.

The dog photo “once again shows a severe lack of understanding,” said Sgt. Yulanda Williams, president of Officers for Justice, an organization within the San Francisco police force representing African American and other nonwhite officers. “It’s so inflammatory, and they still don’t get it. They still choose to inflame situations, and it’s just really insulting.”

Good. Anything that belittles this bunch of uppity racist shits is a good thing. The whole thing is inappropriate and poorly named. Because it isn’t #BlackLivesMatter. At best, assuming they are honest in their intentions (doubtful) it ought to be #EndPoliceViolence or something. Because black lives don’t matter to other blacks at all; they have abortions left and right, and they wound and kill each other constantly. How many thousand just this year so far in just Chicago? Please. It’s just the ones that get shot by cops because they didn’t heed the officer’s instructions (usually while committing some other crime)? And that’s a load of cobblers. The whole movement is a disingenuous attempt to lever PC to allow criminals to run rampant. Fuck that.

Posted by Drew458     on 08/05/2016 at 04:55 PM   
Filed Under: • Racism and race relations •  
• Comments (2) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

   Thursday - August 04, 2016

If It’s Thursday This Must Be UK

LONDON TERROR: Woman dead and five injured in mass stabbings rampage in Russell Square

A TEENAGER has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman was stabbed to death and five people injured in an attack in central London, with police saying “terror cannot be ruled out”.

A 19-year-old man has been arrested after he was Tasered by police outside the Imperial Hotel, in Southampton Row.

He was initially in hospital under armed guard but was this morning moved to a police station and arrested on suspicion of murder, police confirmed.

The woman, in her 60s, was treated at the scene but she died a short time later.

Five people, including two women and three men, were taken to hospital for their injuries.

Officers said at 8.30am on Thursday two people remain in hospital, while the other three have been discharged.

Police have said they are focusing their lines of inquiry on mental health, but they could not rule out terrorism.

Two men, allegedly of Middle Eastern descent, were seen acting suspiciously outside the hotel after the incident, according to witnesses.

A 35-year-old witness, who wished to remain anonymous, told Express.co.uk: “I saw two men of Middle Eastern descent acting suspiciously outside the Imperial Hotel, on Southampton Row.

“One man made off on a motorbike down the wrong side of the road with the other man heading in a different direction.”

Hours after the attack Islamic State (ISIS) jihadis started spreading the news through messaging app, Telegram, as they shared photos and updates on the attack.

Witnesses described victims “screaming and covered in blood” following the rampage in which the woman – believed to be a Spanish speaker enjoying a hen do – was brutally knifed around 10.30pm last night.

Other terrified onlookers described the crazed knifeman chasing pedestrians and “lunging for anyone he could see” as police confirmed mental health was a likely factor.

A 19-year-old man was arrested at the scene after being tasered by police in Russell Square as officers yelled: “Put it down.”

The horrific incident happened just yards from where one of the 7/7 terror attack bombs detonated in 2005.

Posted by Drew458     on 08/04/2016 at 05:48 AM   
Filed Under: • Terrorists •  
• Comments (3) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

shattered dreams of ascension

Nope. Sorry.

We got burned last night at Summer League, losing 2-5. So our chances of a total come from behind win are gone. Still, with a bit of luck we can manage to float up from dead last to around third. Good enough I guess.

Damn, I just couldn’t get it together last night. “Woulda, shoulda, coulda, didn’t” describes it perfectly. “Mister 9” all night, with a poor conversion percentage. I did make one awesome spare, after a terrible Big Ugly leave of about 6 pins. Kicked the 4 to the inside and took out the 7; the 4 just lay down and scooted across, knocking everything else down slowly. WTH, and I’m keeping it.  At the end of the night I dropped my ball off for a rejuvenation steaming and a resurface sanding. It’s been at least 100 games since I’ve done that. Speaking of 100 games, the alley does these little Thank You credit cards, where they give you X free games and some virtual money you can spend at their restaurant (but not on beers). Since I never get up there to practice, the games have just been accumulating; at this point I’ve got my own personal season, with 95 free games total. That’s 32 weeks of free bowling, 3 games per week. That’s a league of my own.

Posted by Drew458     on 08/04/2016 at 05:34 AM   
Filed Under: • Bowling Blogging •  
• Comments (1) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

   Wednesday - August 03, 2016

bears repeating

A bear attacked and injured a Pohatcong Township man before running off into the woods Wednesday morning on the man’s property off Route 627, the township’s mayor said.

The black bear, estimated to be between 450 to 500 pounds, ran over to the 57-year-old man about 9:30 a.m. and began swatting at the man, Mayor James Kern III said. The man was outside trying to feed his animals in the 300 block of Route 627, Kern said.

The mayor said he didn’t know what kind of animals the man owned, but indicated they were his pets, not farm animals. Pohatcong Township police said the man was feeding a cat.

“The victim said the bear was startled and reacted by swiping his paw at the victim,” police posted on the department’s Facebook page.

The man suffered cuts in the attack to his arms and hands and was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital in Phillipsburg, but injuries did not appear to be life threatening, Kern said.

Pohatcong Township is only a few miles away, just the other side of Jugtown Mountain.

Pohatcong Township on Wednesday afternoon posted an update on its Facebook page indicating the reported attack is yet to be confirmed. The update, which went live shortly after 2 p.m., came about four hours after the department and township mayor initially warned residents about the reported attack.

Guess they have their doubts. That’s understandable; my bet is that if a 500lb bear takes a swipe at you, you lose an arm or a leg, not get minor scratches.

Posted by Drew458     on 08/03/2016 at 04:40 PM   
Filed Under: • Animals •  
• Comments (2) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

double plus good

Posted by Drew458     on 08/03/2016 at 02:03 PM   
Filed Under: • Eye-Candy •  
• Comments (3) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

roots music time

Just for fun

That would be Jimbo Mathus on rhythm guitar and vocals, with Luther Dickinson on the dobro.

Posted by Drew458     on 08/03/2016 at 10:53 AM   
Filed Under: • Music •  
• Comments (1) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

   Tuesday - August 02, 2016

the_end_may_be_in_sight

I just got word from my server hosting company that they are moving to newer, up to date machines at the end of the month.

Certain older software that was written with archaic SQL etc may no longer run.

This blog was old when I got it, with out of date software even then. And I’ve been running it for how long? 10 years? No, not that long. January 7, 2008 I took over from Mr. Christian, and he had it a bit more than half a year from when The Skipper died, and that was around the end of May 2007. So I’ve been doing this eight and a half years, going towards nine.

And ya know what? Not a damn thing has changed. Every single issue I’ve written about and railed against is still out there, just as bad and nasty as before, if not worse.

Here’s a paste from one of Allan’s last posts:

Meanwhile, while you slept a few thousand more Mexicans crossed the border last night, Wal-Mart built six more stores somewhere, the trade deficit with China increased by a few billion dollars, the North Koreans and Iranians came up with seventeen more plans to prove they are barking mad and several thousand more non-Muslims were murdered in Darfur by followers of the Prophet For Profit.

Then again, you already know all this and just need a place to get together and figure out what we’re all going to do when the roof caves in - and make no mistake, the rafters are crumbling. Depressing? Sure, but what are we going to do?

We can start to fix our government eighteen months from now in the 2008 elections. The interim is going to be dicey as somebody out there decided in the last election to install a whole bunch of really crazy people in the Congress and Senate. That was not my fault, by the way - and neither was it George Bush’s fault.

As for the rest of the sitrep, we can wall ourselves off from the rest of the world and experiment with isolationism again or we can continue to muddle our way through the minefield of international relations - and that is where the problem comes in. We’re just no damn good at realpolitik. Not this administration, the whole country has never been real good at the devious games diplomats play. We haven’t been at this game long enough to understand all the rules.

All I can really tell you is (a) keep a firm grasp of right and wrong, (b) stay involved in government and watch the bastards in Washington every minute, (c) use every legal means to make sure you can defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and (d) keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere.

Hardly a thing has changed.

Anyway, it would cost a fortune to bring this old clunk up to date, and it would require a ton of work to migrate everything to a new platform, blah blah blah. I’m not going to do it.

And frankly, I miss Jay terribly every time I sit down at this keyboard. The fun is gone for me.

So what I’m saying is ... if the blog survives the server move, fine. If it doesn’t, well, so long and thanks for all the fish.

And if it does survive, I think it’s time to pass the mantle. I covered the Obama years. Who wants to cover the Clinton ones?

All I can really tell you is (a) keep a firm grasp of right and wrong, (b) stay involved in government and watch the bastards in Washington every minute, (c) use every legal means to make sure you can defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and (d) keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere.

Good words to live by. Who will carry them into the future for us?

Posted by Drew458     on 08/02/2016 at 08:59 PM   
Filed Under: • Blog Stuff •  
• Comments (6) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

DISCLAIMER

THE SERVICES AND MATERIALS ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE HOSTS OF THIS SITE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE OR ANY MATERIALS.

Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
2. Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
3. Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere

It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

THE INFORMATION AND OTHER CONTENTS OF THIS WEBSITE ARE DESIGNED TO COMPLY WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THIS WEBSITE SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ALL PARTIES IRREVOCABLY SUBMIT TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE AMERICAN COURTS. IF ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE IS CONSTRUED AS BEING CONTRARY TO THE LAWS APPLICABLE IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY, THEN THIS WEBSITE IS NOT INTENDED TO BE ACCESSED BY PERSONS FROM THAT COUNTRY AND ANY PERSONS WHO ARE SUBJECT TO SUCH LAWS SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED TO USE OUR SERVICES UNLESS THEY CAN SATISFY US THAT SUCH USE WOULD BE LAWFUL.

Copyright © 2004-2015 Domain Owner