Circuitousness

 I guess it has been a long day, as it is already past midnight... it started with a trip to Dave's in the Village to get that pickup (I was told I was not needed at Aldi).  This was fine, and as I was given a number of frozen pizzas, I decided to drop them off at the OC before heading to Aldi at Kinsman.  This was good, because I soon discovered that they had sent the van off to Kinsman anyways, so I saved myself a trip.  Our operations manager was a-flutter over this, as we had "wasted gas" with the van.  I told her that the point of the WAS to save gas for all of us by driving that thing around, but it seems all we save is her gas.  This is yet another evidentiary point (to me) that this van is, on the whole...superfluous.  Oh well.  There were not a lot of things to pick up (which is fine) and as there were no produce pickups...we worked on cleaning.  Floors were swept, an old and broken desk tossed, stuff in it consolidated to another desk, the coffee station moved, other crap disposed of, and I took the excess pots away for pitching/scrapping (someone asked for one for the hot meal, so it is sitting here).  It does look better in there -- less clutter, more space; I hope the other volunteers like it.  I suspect many of them will start applying for jobs in my name...

Then it was off to the gym and then home for some work, where I completed my first month of work for Avalo.  Still haven't finished the project, as I keep looking at new tangents (sort of) to explore; most are not profitable, but some are, and I don't want anyone to think I am not being thorough.  I do like the work and the people (though my interactions have been somewhat limited).  I hope it continues, especially into something full-time, as the other efforts are... not progressing fast enough for my taste.

I had a haircut and then a friend and I went for a walk in the Rocky River Reservation; he had some stuff to get off his chest and he is a nature lover, so... it was nice, for a bit, to go around; it is sort of pretty there, and it was good to smell the smells, hear nature, and look at something pretty.  (Hilarious interlude:  he told me it was good to be unemployed, as I could work on my work-life balance.  I was vastly amused, as you can imagine.)  Of course, we got there too late for the sunset, and then it was dark, and while I was not scared, it was a bit unsettling, meandering around the fairly deserted trails.  We finally made it back to the car, and while I was glad to hang, there was no small part of me that was not relieved when I finally pulled into my driveway.

2024 Republicans want to eliminate the Education Department. What would that look like? (msn.com)
I think this is a pretty solid plan, actually!   One thing I would add -- I read the WSJ article about the cuts at WVU -- is a plant to mandate that any school that receives federal aid has to reduce the number of administrators by, say, 25% and replace them with tenure-track faculty positions.  If you think about it, this administrative bloat is one of the main reasons for the soaring cost of education, but no one seems to want to do anything about it... this would be one way, and the call to add more faculty -- who can teach the declining number of students they do have -- would be particularly insidious and clever.  Of course, we are Republicans, and we all know what I say about that.

Pensiveness

 I was out with some friends yesterday -- they are nearing the completion of their remodeled and soon-to-be-flipped home.  It was fun, honestly; just talking and having fun and doing adult things, but... I got home late, and then I couldn't sleep.  So in consequence I felt tired all day -- really crashed hard.  Having some coffee now -- I should probably be in bed.  But, this evening I have decided I need to push through and accomplish some things, and here we are... and this is probably good.   Ideally, between now and Friday, I will be able to get ALL of these things done, and...  well, we all know how I feel about that.

I was thinking last night about how it has now been two months unemployed, and while in some ways I am used to it... in many ways I most assuredly I am not.  Talked to a couple of recruiters yesterday, which will probably not help, but... it is something.  I keep applying, looking, and searching.  This long weekend I should probably do something else, like house clean or read or something productive.  Plenty of people tell me I need to stress less, but... well, that is not quite in my vocabulary.

Why Are Mortgage Rates So High? - A Wealth of Common Sense
Interesting.  It is true, given the large number of people (like me!) who have mortgages with low interest rates, that there will be little action in the housing market, save for a fall in rates or a big hike in housing construction, which is not exactly something that flips a switch, so... this might last a while.  To be sure, interest rates could fall, but I don't exactly see the Fed trying to do that soon, either... which is sort of a mystery to me. 

Colorado school is forced to let student keep Gadsden flag patch on his bag after teacher ordered him to remove it and said it had 'origins with slavery' (msn.com)
I am glad the kid won, but to me this is not enough... shouldn't we be going after the Board members and the principal?  It's not enough for a reversal of policy; someone has to lose a job over this -- at the least -- to prevent it from happening again.

Conservative pop culture is having a moment (msn.com)
I guess I am a little surprised about this; I mean, I think there has always been a conservative pop culture, but it is having a moment now because conservatives and their counterreaction are too big to be ignored by the media.  This is good, but it is also a matter of concern; we won't have home runs all the time.

Milestone!

 I could have posted last night, but I was tired and just crashed... and that was that.  I probably should have done it sooner, as while I got some sleep last night, it was not nearly enough, and here I am now... not exactly tired, with plenty to do.  I attended a Zoom meeting about how to better advocate for SNAP benefits (put on by the Greater Cleveland Food Bank) and there were times it made my blood boil.  To their credit, I did ask my usual question -- isn't more money and people NOT working the worst thing to do given the inflationary pressures -- and she did answer it, sort of; she did pivot that we need such things as better childcare and support for those on the fringes... which is true but does not absolve us from the responsibility of cutting inflation.  I firmly believe we need work requirements, reductions in benefits, strict nutritional restrictions on food, and in general tough love; I noted that if some of these people need to be told they have to show up on time, work hard, etc.; we need NOT to reward people for not knowing the stuff they should have learned in kindergarten.  Oi!

The Village Dog in Slavic Village to Open in September | Food News | Cleveland | Cleveland Scene (clevescene.com)
Interesting, and I hope it works.  I remember when this place was a Rally's, and it was so disgusting that they lost the franchise, which is pretty impressive considering the cleanliness of the Rally's I have visited... 

Pope Francis blasts ‘backwardness’ of some conservatives in U.S. Catholic church - cleveland.com
I made a comment on Facebook that the Pope is bad at his job, and... first one read this headline, and then one reads about how he tells the world that the Russians need to remember the glories of their empire... which is how we got to our current conundrum.  I mean, angering conservative Catholics in the US is akin to pissing off your banker, and given the growth of the global Church is fueled by the more traditional African/Asian believer... very odd.

Reached 50 books read today -- the selection was How Did You Get This Number which looked at the polling industry in the US.  It was quite good -- a smidge of history, some math, but mainly a look at how polling has evolved from 2000 to 2016 (the book is a few years old).  Interesting, and a reminder that probability is not the same as certainty, and that polling is something that always gets more accurate.

Languid Beauty

 It was a beautiful day today; maybe a bit warm in the noon hour, but other than that perfect... I took a little stroll after dinner, and couldn't help but think in a few weeks... meh.  Anyways, it was my last Saturday running the OC, and it was...mostly fine?  The count was 112, seemed higher; we were more steady busy than anything, I think.  Lots of clothes went, as well as a good deal of the shoes we had accumulated.  All of the produce and bread went; maybe we were a bit aggressive in the beginning, but we couldn't leave it sitting around.  Plenty of volunteers, which was nice.  Towards the end of the shift the ops manager and I went around and looked at stuff to see if we could pitch it (after I sent out an email warning them).  We identified a file cabinet that could be shredded and purged, consolidated some shelves and drawers, and put the four coffee pots and two Keurigs together for a picture... I think we may be allowed to cull some of them.  Even getting rid of half the stuff will make it much neater.  Hell, we even consolidated the mac and cheese and got rid of the pallet, which freed up floor space.

Funny; I hit the gym after and then for most of the day I caught up on stuff -- did some food pantry administrative stuff, applied for jobs, filled out some grant forms, wrote some follow-up emails, and lo and behold, it was dinner time.  Then a nice stroll and back here to watch a couple of documentaries.  Very exciting, I know, but I did want to clean out some stuff and starting the process on some things is... wise; winter is coming and often it is better to apply now, and that is what I am doing.

Finished book 49 -- the one about the end of Austria-Hungary -- today, and all I could do was think of the line from Hemingway about bankruptcy; it happened gradually, then suddenly.  I still think today that maybe it would have been better if the state had survived; not only as a counterweight against Germany and Russia, but also because a trilateral empire -- Germany, Magyar, and Slav -- would have granted the various peoples of the empire various forms of self-determination within their own lands.  Such a plan was favored by Franz Ferdinand, which of course did NOT come to pass, but I can't help but think that all of the damn fool things in the Balkans (and elsewhere) would have been avoided had there been some semblance of a strong central state there.

Crashes

 That was an impressive storm last night; I woke up at midnight to hearing the wind -- it was a sustained gust, very hard, and I was like "gee, this isn't good," so I got up and put the TV on.  It appeared I had missed the big stuff as the tornado warnings had passed, but I stayed up to watch the storm and honestly, around here it didn't feel like it had passed; we had high winds and heavy rain until 12:25 or so, at which point I went to bed, but not sleep, as I tossed and turned for a bit.  To be sure, I slept through the alarm this morning but was up at 7... so I skipped the AM gym (and chance at a double) to get to work.  Very depressing, honestly.

I finished a book a few days ago:  Rampage:  MacArthur, Yamashita, and the Battle for Manila.  It was quite good -- MacArthur could be quite a moron at times -- but one thing that struck me was... in addition to being very depressing to read about the Japanese war crimes, we have to consider this when looking at the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan.  Namely... if they were willing to fight like that for Manila, how on Earth would they have fought if we landed on Japan?  Certainly GIs, the generals, and Truman weighed this when they made the decision; I think we avoid these facts at our peril when we cast aspersions on the decision now.   Currently I am reading a book about the dispersion of Austria-Hungary in WWI; the author is looking at it politically -- not that the war is absent, but he looks at it as how each minority in the empire went from loyalty to ethnic separation.  It is good but slow going; I remember one of my college professors telling me you always need a current map of Europe and one from 1913 when reading about the Hapsburg Empire, and... he was indeed correct.

Back to today, I took a lengthy lunch break to stop at Holy Name school to get their school supply order, and... usually the principal there was... adversarial, to say the least.  This time... complete 180.  Polite, helpful, someone you WANT to help.  Then I crossed the parking lot to help with the pickups (it does go faster when I am there, as three work better than 2) and BS with the volunteers about OC issues (always useful in many ways).  After that, I got out my Quikrete and filled the last (I hope) hole in the floor; it was a dark and dusty corner, so I can see why it was not filled (we have racks there now) but once I had the stuff and shoveled/threw it on... well, as always, I was like "Why wasn't this done before?"  

Anyways, all of these labors really hit me this afternoon; that and the lack of sleep, as I just crashed -- and hard -- this afternoon; I even laid on the bed for a bit and demi-napped.  I guess I am sorely deficient in sleep, but... it was quite disheartening that I cannot remain awake.  I guess tomorrow I will hit the gym harder to invigorate my metabolism.

The Rejected Bet That Launched a Gambling Scandal in College Sports - WSJ
These things always fascinate me, mainly in the "how can you be so dumb" way?

Biden’s Twisted Idea of Empathy | National Review
I think it is obviously three, but you would think the press, or, better yet, any Republican would point this out and hammer him about it... I think a non-Trump candidate would do so in this debate, but.... one should never assume the obvious with our GOP, should we?

Milestone

 No post yesterday, as I went to a debate party hosted by my friend Sam.  About 30 people were there (COVID must be over!), and he had it catered by a GOP caterer (who will remain nameless).  That said, it was quite good -- several of us brought sides and desserts, with yours truly supplying a no-bake cheesecake pudding pie.  Largely good, but -- said no one ever -- I pulled it out too soon (of the fridge).  Ha!

As for the debate itself, my main thought:  too many people!  Five is probably too many, or just enough.  That said.  I thought Haley and Pence won; they both took Vivek to pieces over foreign policy and the January 6 riots.  He was interesting; I am not sure he appealed to the mainstream GOP audience (in so far as it exists) that seemed to be more likely to watch this event and not the Tucker-Trump bromance.  But the new GOP must have loved it.  I thought Ron did fine; he is good on his pivots and stressed his record.  No screwups.  I expected more from Scott; I like him but not sure there is a role for him in this campaign.  I am bemused by Chris Christie, leave it at that.  

I managed to dodge the storms on the way home; it was some impressive rain!  Loud, too; plenty of thunder and lightning out there.  Odd, as once I was home, I could not sleep.  Not sure if it was excitement, the fest, the food... but I tossed and turned all evening.  Not much sleep, which I felt today.

Today was productive, oddly so.  Woke up, went to Aldi's to pick up the load, but there wasn't much, so I raced to the Aldi at Kinsman/MLK (not much there also) and Dave's, and then helped put everything away.  The produce order was large, which might be a problem, as we are closed next weekend (they forgot that) and we do NOT want produce rotting in the fridge.  Sigh.  I then went to our parish school to drop off some gift cards, and the principal asked me about school supplies... I told her I would ask Downtown, and lo and behold, they don't really have much, but will help out our Catholic schools in the Village.  I was pleasantly surprised by this... I mean, I have to get all the info and set it up, but... if they can help, so much the better!

Funny; I really tried to get stuff done today -- the afternoon was spent answering emails, clearing out files, and that sort of thing.  I did it, but now, with the replies and the followups, I am right back to where I started.  Well, not really, but there is now a fresh set of emails and such to handle tomorrow, in addition to all the other stuff I planned to do.  Of course, I intend to get up early tomorrow and hit the gym, and then.... start anew.  

Oddly Productive

No blog yesterday, due to... well, an early and long day, a long meeting, and a couple of job interviews this morning, which I studied for last night (and again this morning).  Anyways, I crashed at 11 (woke up at 1:30 with low blood sugar, joy) and didn't write.  Aside from AM highs, my blood sugar has been low throughout the day, which has caused snacking, which has caused me to put weight on -- 183 pounds.  Oi.  I do not like that, though it is somewhat understandable.

Anyways, I think both interviews went well -- one was a screen, one was a second, and that one went long (to me a good sign, they want to talk to you).  I have a few more lined up this week (all screens, for now), a couple of more meetings, and, to be sure, my part-time job work.  I am not sure how I can fit everything in tomorrow before the debate (to say nothing of a trip to the gym), which I do not want to miss.  Even without the Donald, there should be plenty of fireworks, as people will want to stand out.  Honestly, I can see why the Donald would skip, but I would think it would give his rivals an opportunity to attack him and stand out.  If the GOP can winnow out the other candidates, and if someone -- say Ron DeSantis -- can make a coherent attack.  Of course, plenty of ifs.

I cut the grass and weed-whacked today; needed to, given the length and the rain coming.  Funny; after the interviews today, I lunched and did errands, and then it was home.  I shoved as much as I could in two hours, and then the yard care... I was like whoa, it's 4 PM, and then I had some food pantry stuff to do.  Now I am going to send out some follow-up emails and such from yesterday's food pantry meeting, which was fine, aside from the fact that nothing ever drifts off; everything needs follow-ups, contacts with other people or groups, I get ideas about how to help people or get resources... oi.  

Funny; I have been trying to go meatless a couple of times a week, for reasons of health and budget.  It's really not hard; I mean, he who eats a PB&J sandwich every day for lunch can easily have something like cauliflower steak or a baked potato for dinner.  I certainly don't care about the Earth, though I do enjoy telling our clients at the food pantry how easy and economical it is (I am sure they take it well).  But...one drawback of this is... well, let's just say that there are far fewer small critters in Chateau Mattie on these days, and lately... even I have been impressed by the olfactory carnage.

Business and Busy-ness

 Busy day Saturday, and today was catch up day, and I largely did that; answered some emails, cleaned out some links, updated the food pantry budget for the quarter, placed a produce order (whether or not it arrives is an open question), and registered for Virtus training.  Sigh.  I am not really sure I need to go -- I am not really in contact with unescorted minors or vulnerable populations; in most cases, wayward youthful volunteers are with their parents.  But, I do have the mantle of leadership, so...  of course, I had planned to do more today, but I ran out of time -- took a 3-mile walk outside, went to the Lakewood/Cleveland border to take Holy Communion/chat with my new Polish friend, and hit the gym (hard).  Alas.  Tomorrow is another day, and a new week, so I can at least get some work done!

The Ezra Klein Show: This Conservative Thinks America’s Institutions ‘Earned’ Their Distrust on Apple Podcasts
I listened to this one, and it was quite good, especially at the 32-minute mark, when she really took apart the teachers for their role in the decline of students' educational prowess.  It was good to see, even if she didn't get a chance to really go off on them.  It IS the Ezra Klein show, I guess.

I noted that the marijuana initiative got on the ballot for November.  I was a little surprised I didn't see any in my neck of the woods, or through my travels.  Not saying the West Side is a paragon of this support, but I suspect people are more tolerant of it -- why not allow the thing to be sold legally and let us derive some benefit it, though I think we all know either governments will tax it too much, or blow the money anyways, instead of cutting taxes somewhere else.  Sigh.

Projects

 I should have woken up early and gone to the gym and done a double today; instead, I slept in a bit, did some errands in the morning, and caught up on stuff (which is what I have been doing tonight.  I would not say it is exciting or terribly useful, but... I am glad it is done.  I think we all know how much I like to see emails, bookmarks, and paperwork disappear.  

My food pantry duties expanded a bit today; not only did I help with the Friday dropoffs (an average amount, it appears, but useful given the short load yesterday) but I also logged into the website we use to record these rescues and entered them into the system.  It is not that complex, and I wonder why I didn't do it before, but... my cross-training is important, I guess.  I also discovered a deceased member of the rodentia family while moving stuff to fill one of the holes around the foundation outside.  This, as you can imagine, did NOT amuse me.  The dropoff guys were amused by my determination to fill that hole (sealed) and then to check as much of the floor and walls that I could for holes and gaps.  (We have pallets and racks in the way in some areas.)  I didn't find any, so that is good.  There are a couple of pipes I think I can seal (have to ask the custodian).  Honestly, we do have a lot of clutter in the place, and if I going to be unemployed and on Friday nooner duty... well, maybe I can start to handle those projects.  

Colleges Spend Like There’s No Tomorrow. ‘These Places Are Just Devouring Money.’ - WSJ
One would think -- especially in GOP-led states -- that they would be all over this, firing people, cutting budgets, that sort of thing.  But no.  It should NOT take an WSJ investigation to uncover this, and GOPers should be getting involved; we are technically conservatives against wasteful spending, so...

Ron DeSantis’ Campaign Is Flailing. Enter the GOP’s Debate Wizard. - POLITICO
Behold the influence of Liberty!  More seriously, this is a good thing, though I think you also have to go after Trump, especially if he skips the debate...

Weights

 Meant to blog yesterday, but a friend was having some issues, and instead I decided to be a good person and comfort them.  To be sure, relying on me for comfort is really a bad sign but I was able, I guess, to calm them down, spell out some options, and be my usual calm self.  It was funny, though; I was hanging out with my friend Kevin tonight -- he has decided to move out of Ohio City, and he wanted to go over the economics of it (he has a nice place, but a cheaper place would be smarter) -- and he told me (upon first seeing me) that I looked as if I had the weight of the entire world on my shoulders.  Really?  I don't know; I have put a couple of pounds back on, but I don't think we need a course of full Karen Carpenter yet...   but I was appreciative of his concern.

Anyways, I crossed the 500 mark on job applications; couple of rejections today, which did not exactly fill me with joy, and one where they told me that they decided to not fill the position.  Again, glad they told me, but... I guess it is better to know than to dangle in the wind.  In the meantime, I am beginning to wonder when and if I will find something.  Not very comforting, to be sure.  I do have plenty of other things to do, but...

Funny shit today; we had a big delivery at the OC, so I decided to go and take the van and handle the pickups.  This was fine (I get a kick out of them asking if I can drive it, liability-wise, as my name is on the policy), until I turned the key and... it was like a Christmas tree.  Literally every warning light -- engine, tire pressure, stabilizer; all had check/replace/warning lights on.  I made the pickups (not that much, actually, especially in the meat department) and when I returned to the OC I had a brief chat with a number of people until I found someone who told me that the van was fine, someone hit a wrong button, and all of the sensors went on by accident.  Between this and the ongoing war on cracks in the ground and building, they will want me to find a job soon as well...

Serenity of a Sort

 Meant to blog yesterday but I crashed... I was laying on the bed, nodded off, and then I woke up and it was 3:30 AM, lights on (think of the carbon emissions!)... oops.  I do that often -- maybe more as I have been having trouble sleeping.  Of course, when I do go to bed early, I either can't fall asleep or get up in the middle of the night.  I suspect a real full-time position would change that but as that has yet to happen...

Sunday night I went with one of my former coworkers to see Blessthefall (among others) at the Beachland.  I do like the site -- it is a bit far, and the parking is interesting, to put it mildly, but it is a good site to see a show.  Blessthefall was quite good, as was the band preceding it, Caskets (though I preferred "Gaskets," given what happened the last time); I do like my screamo, I guess, albeit not as much as pop punk.  One thing... most concerts you go to, they have a wall of security to keep the crowdsurfers from the band, but not here... so everyone, once they made it to the stage, generally had to fall back down on to the crowd and surf back.  As I told my friend, I have absolutely no faith in my fellow man and hence have no faith in their ability to catch me, much less transport me from A to B.

I went to the closing rite of the Nine Nights of Prayer at St. Stan's today (it was our parish's turn to be in involved).  Actually, first I went to 7 PM Mass (it WAS a Holy Day of Obligation, and as we are not Hope and Changers...) and lo and behold, it was the Polish Mass.  Oops.  To be sure, I had my missalette and could follow along (save for the homily), but obviously, I need to pay more attention to the bulletin.  Then there was the prayer service, and it was... not very long, honestly, but quite nice; I should definitely go more often, especially if they have one closer to home.

A couple of flies are in the house, or, hopefully, were; I killed one yesterday and the other today.  I realize they can come from anywhere, especially given my fondness for open (and older) windows, but it was still unsettling, and in both cases there was a massive post-kill search for any of his cousins.  Tomorrow if I find any there will be a massive overreaction, I can assure you of that!

Lazy (but not Democrat!) Sunday

 Funny; I didn't have anything actual to do today; I went to Mass (not only I was the EM and had to take it to the choir loft, but I was also asked to help take up the gifts; I am sure Mom was spinning in her urn) and then it was off to the East Side -- one of my college friends was in town with her daughters, and we met at Pinstripes.  It is nice, but pricey -- one of the girls got brunch (they are staying with a vegetarian aunt, and I think there was an entire pig on her plate) and it was... whoa.  Anyways, it was good to catch up again -- the kids are getting older, I am getting grayer, but other than that, all was fine.

Then it was home, where, for once, I had little to do today!  I was able to go through some links, answer some emails, read a couple of articles, and answered some texts.  I sort of like this, but... it was feeling odd, having a whole block of time that is just unstructured.  The other thing is.... there are plenty of things I need to do/want to do during business hours, and I just couldn't get them done last week, due to my busy mornings and my theory that we should be working during work time (even if part-time).  Save for a couple of job screens (sigh) I do have an emptier schedule, so...

Staggering Ohio loss ignites an identity crisis within the anti-abortion movement - POLITICO
Yes, this is a concern, to put it mildly.  What to do is something I do not know; can we get a larger pro-life vote in a general election?  I don't think so.  I mean, maybe a more right-leaning electorate might come out, but... 

Opinion | First Conservatives Came for Affirmative Action. Now They’re Gunning for DEI Programs. - POLITICO
I don't know; considering what you are seeing with the counterassault from the Dobbs verdict, I think the right should be pressing the legal assault on affirmative action.  For one, considering how the left uses the courts to advance its agenda at every opportunity, for them to complain about it when we do it... well, it is deliciously rich.  More serious, I would think the courts would offer up a "target-rich environment" for this sort of thing, as there are hundreds of colleges and universities with these programs, and with the exception of Texas or Florida, no one is really dismantling these programs, so... off to the courts.  And I am totally fine with this!

War Factories | Episode 1: German Aviation | Free Documentary History - YouTube
It's funny; I have plenty of stuff to do and work on, but a friend clued me into this, and I of course had to watch every one.  Quite interesting -- the data, the stats, the stories behind the companies; all pretty cool.  Or, as we like to say around here... I wonder why I am single.

A Triad of Ideas

 Busy day, as evinced by my late posting.  OC duty again, and it was... nice?  It started off interesting, as I discovered a box of soggy zucchini, which I had to dump in the compost pile and clean up after.  This was followed by hearing some rattling, and lo and behold, one of our "visitors" was in extremis in the glue traps.  While I was glad they are working, it also annoyed me, as we have not yet fully eradicated them, and winter is coming.  Oi.  Anyways... the fact of the matter was that while we were busy, it was steady busy, not screaming monster death so, and all of clients were fairly nice -- no pains in the ass, everyone behaved (aside from parking in front of monsignor's garage; one of these days I am going to partner with a towing company), and we were able to empty several freezers, to say nothing of about two racks of clothes.  Funny; I came home and immediately placed the order for Thursday, one because I know how, two because I did the inventory, and three, I am now getting a glimpse of how the place is run and can make some decisions as to what we need or not.  For now.

Why voters aren’t buying Bidenomics (msn.com)
I think this is exactly correct; but given the other factors going on... it might not be enough.  In some ways, this is Trump's greatest advantage; he certainly had a decent economic record (til the pandemic), and by discussing gas prices, egg prices, formula availability... well, I am not saying it is a tremendous advantage, but it is one.

Bring on the Counterrevolution | City Journal (city-journal.org)
Interesting; I think the problem here is using the tools of government to affect the change; a true conservative would actually work to get rid of the tools of government, but that is me.

Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Coolidge’s Inauguration: Why He’s the Model President – The Chicago Thinker
It is no secret that I love Coolidge, and, equally, that Warren Harding has gotten a bum rap (correcting the obvious errors of the Wilson administration, to me, is something that has never been given enough attention, as you would have to admit that a Dem made errors, and Lord knows we cannot have that).  This goes a long way towards rectifying the lack of attention to Cal, and if only we had a President like him running around...

Theological Funnies

 Mattie has had quite the day today!  First I woke up early -- discipline! -- and hit the gym, doing back and shoulders.  Nice solid workout, did some cardio, and then it was home to shower, as we had a Hunger Network meeting at Pilgrim UCC.  Yes, hard to call such a place a church, but... while I saw no obvious heresies (other than the place itself), I did call them out for being presumptuous for guessing my gender when I asked for a bathroom (and for not having a urinal in the ladies room for women with manparts; I don't know which was more amusing -- those who thought I was kidding or those who thought I was serious).  The meeting was fine, but a bit long.  Part of it was because everyone complains about getting the necessary stuff (EINs and other documents) from the government.  It was mentioned that a LOT of the people doing this are poor, POCs, and volunteers, and this was a problem.  I pointed out in the small group that it was actually racist, so eliminating this government program -- among others -- was intelligent practice.  (I am sure they loved that.)  Part of the length is because of above, everything needs to be spelled out (twice or more), and that takes time, and most of these people are just non-working chatty Kathies.  Alas.  More seriously, I made a few friends by discussing potential solutions to problems that crop up (people not taking all the food, people squawking about not getting X, etc.); to me, most of these are common sense, but some of the people there thought I was an asshole savant.  To be sure, I am, but...

Anyways, I wanted to hit the OC (right down Harvard) to pre-pack some bags and see what the carnage from the Friday delivery was (the Thursday and Friday crews seem to have disagreements about stuff).  I didn't know when they arrived, and lo and behold, they arrived when I was there.  This was good, as I got to see what they brought, the quantity, where they put it, etc... I have a few ideas percolating, and when I see everyone as I do during the week, I will spitball some ideas to see if we can eliminate the friction while saving space.  The Friday crew is a bit more get up and go, which is more my style, but I can see how the Thursday crew operates and it works for them (sometimes we just have a yuuuugggge order!).  I guess this is one good thing from the ordeal of unemployment...

Then it was home, work the part-time job (20 hours a week is 20 hours a week!), dinner, and watching the thunderstorms roll through.  Between that and the blood sugar, my plan for a gym double was dashed.  Probably wise so I can do stuff here (read, catch up on emails, etc.) but I do feel like I need to get back into the routine of double workouts.

Collections: Why No Roman Industrial Revolution? – A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry (acoup.blog)
Why no Roman Industrial Revolution? — LessWrong
Interesting (yes, I am reading this on a Friday night, which explains why I am single).  I would argue you need industrialization/more efficient use of machines/equipment when you have a labor shortage, and the Romans did not; well, they did, but I would say that all these slaves meant that they could just put the "excess" labor into the army and conquer a third of the known world, and that worked until, say, 250 AD or so.  We would now say that this sort of labor is unproductive, but as plunder/slaves/land for soldiers was an integral part of the Roman economy... it was highly intelligent, in its own way.

DeSantis: Florida fought for strong economy. I'll do same for America (usatoday.com)
I have said it once, will say it again...the man has an impressive record, but it is a shame the message is not breaking through...

Soaring

Interesting day today; started with the new Thursday routine of heading to Aldi to pick up stuff for the OC, unloading it, weighing it, and then going -- by myself -- to the other Aldi and Dave's to get the stuff they had for us -- a decent amount of meat, some beverages, random stuff.  I also noted that the guys who went to the GCFB for our pickup decided to max out their produce order while they were there.  This is sort of fine -- we have the money, and we can give away the produce -- but I suspect that we might have too much.  You do NOT want it rotting in the fridge, of course.  So we have to give it out, which means less room in the bag for bread and other stuff.  To be sure, a large crowd (which I expect) will render it moot, but... I do prefer a tight ship.

The exterminator was there as well, and on his work order he noted that some of the building deficiencies we had -- namely, the holes in the floor -- were now filled with concrete and were NOT a problem.  As I was the one who had done the work, I was immediately filled with pride.  I want to be there the next time he is around and can point out to me other things that need to be resolved, as I am the only one who seems to worry about this sort of thing...I reminded everyone (again) that we are closer to winter than not, and we need to be prepared.  Oi.  Anyways, then it was back home to work -- there is enough work that the position could be full time!

The Closest Calls: How America Nearly Forged a Different Path in 1916 - POLITICO
Interesting; to me, one of the more fascinating things is that until very recently, all of this about Wilson -- his racism, his disdain for civil liberties, he generally shitty personage -- was conveniently excised.  Now, I think it is slightly unfair to say it is because he is a Democrat, but the fact of the matter is that they tend NOT to commit damnatio memoriae on their own, and, quite honestly, if there is one who deserves it, it is Woodrow Wilson.

On the Tragedy of Hunter Biden - by Josh Barro
You know, I don't buy this.  At some point there have to be limits placed, there has to be a sense of personal responsibility, and even moreso given Joe and his role... I know the man is not the brightest bulb in the bunch, but if he cannot see this... that is a problem in and of itself.

Progress

 Here I am, technically trying to keep my blog streak alive!  Funny; I wanted to hit the gym this morning, ended up sleeping in, and now... I didn't go at all.  Maybe it was a rest day, but I do not like it, of course.  In the meantime, I did have a largely busy now -- another part-time job offer, two screens (two more interview requests answered), a full day of work at the current part time job (two projects were assigned to me, so I will certainly be hopping, which is good), a stint of Dr. Pimple Popper, and an SVDP meeting, which was fine -- a bit long, and maybe some of it could have been emailed or Zoomed, but mostly good.  It was at the usual Panera, so I drank plenty of hazelnut coffee -- if you are charging me $2.29 for it, I will put it away.  This was fine until I crashed in the afternoon...

Funny; not only are my mornings full, but now the weekend is, as well; people must assume I really do have free time out the wazoo now (technically true, I guess) and while there are certain budgetary constraints... well, there is no reason why I should not see or hang out with people (if possible).  Summer will soon be ending and no one will be going out as much.  Sad; seeing all the ads for school supplies and such, I have a decided feeling of meh-ness.

I missed a book on my list that I had read, so now we are up to 46 for the year.  I ordered a bunch from the Ohiolink page, as that availability will be cut off (mostly) while the library switches to some new system, which I suspect will NOT be as convenient as the old one.  To be sure, I am one for dry, academic, guns and war texts, but I doubt I am the only one.  In the meantime, I think I need to pound the books (and get through the dozen links I have, and the email pile to craft, to say nothing of SVDP development stuff I could be doing) to move the list up; I will have 2,000 pages by next week, and every attempt to read should be tried.

Going Down

 I see Issue 1 went down, as expected... it was 60/40 before I went for a walk, and now it is 57/43... which is about what I expected it to be.  To be sure, I voted for it -- abortion is wrong, and, as I often said, the PD has been wrong about everything else, so why trust them on this?  But I didn't exactly feel warm about; it was certainly a bit of a stretch -- changing the rules of the game in the middle of it is not exactly kosher...

I continued (or completed) my tour of our food pantries by visiting the Southwest Ozanam Center.  It's at Broadview and Searsdale, and like our food pantry, it is run by a consortium of parishes -- mainly those on the Broadview Road axis and in the West Side overall.  It is not a large site; they have a store, basically (they pay rent, in contrast to us, and we are truly blessed).  It is open three mornings a week, and like us, they get food from the GCFB and pick up food from other stores/locations.  The layout is a bit tight -- half is their clothing area.  Everyone gets one bag of canned goods (unlike us), a bag of produce/mixed items (less than us), and a bag of meat.  I would say that for smaller families, you get less food than we provide, but for larger families, more canned goods, bread, and meat are provided, so you get a comparable amount, if not more, than we do.  Their crowds are smaller, sort of; they average about 120 families a week (like us), but across three days... well, the pace is a bit more leisured.  My job was "pusher;" every person's order is put in a cart, you take it to their car (or outside if they walk), unload it, and bring it back.  This was...fine.  They were glad to have me, I was glad to take notes and record, and... well, I will report the observations to the Board.

I am glad I am unemployed, as I have plenty of stuff to do -- morning meetings the rest of the week, and of course I am now helping out with the Thursday pickup/deliveries at the OC.  I am fascinated by this -- I think it is more of a quirk of the calendar than anything else -- but it would be nice to have fewer outside commitments, so I can do stuff I want to do, like work, look for jobs, and do some more reading... yes, I am ahead, but if I can chop a few more books off the list, so much the better...

Indecision Day

 Interesting; it hardly felt I did anything today, but... I did.  Applied for plenty of jobs -- sort of priority one -- and did some work for the new part-time job (more and more earnest tomorrow; just collating data today).  I met my new primary care MD this morning, and things were... different.  For one, their office is not populated by mask Nazis, and while I missed the friendly banter with the nurses, the new guy is... fine.  Actually had a lengthy chat to discuss my health.  He noted that my overall health is good -- the diabetes is in good shape, my cardiac health is awesome, and my weight was appropriate for my age.  He pointed out that for my main and annoying health issue...well, it might be best to do nothing -- there are meds that could be used, but they would affect the other numbers, and in that case...  I will survive.  Plus I had a Zoom meeting and a killer workout at the gym!  Of course, I should have structured my day more efficiently to put in more work at the part-time job; I want to complete one of the smaller projects tomorrow, just to show them that I am not a moron.

The riddle of JD Vance | Washington Examiner
Ohio’s JD Vance launches his Senate career with culture wars and coalitions - cleveland.com
Interesting; honestly, I was surprised at how fair and non-hackish the PD article was; maybe someone didn't get the memo?  More seriously, I think he is the blueprint for the new generation of Republicans; not soft on the culture wars -- or, as I like to say, enthusiastically common sense -- and also fully embracing the working-class economic populism once the province of Democrats.  It is very Midwestern (still a lot of votes there) but I am not sure it will work everywhere, which is a concern... for now.  I for one am quite pleased with my GOP Senator; unlike his predecessor, there is not a hint of RINO in him!

I am still not sure how I will vote on Issue 1!  A couple of people texted me with the same idea, though; I mean, I think the idea is wise -- protect the state from dumb ideas -- but of course if the people want dumb ideas, they should have them.  Nor am I opposed to protecting children, but it has been rather...nakedly obvious as to what this is about, and I am not a fan of constitutional shenanigans (on either side).  Sigh.

Lazarus

 Two days without a post...well, enough of that.  Actually, yesterday I was incredibly busy, but Friday... I was just a sleepy boy and crashed.  I did have an early day at the food pantry Saturday (I wanted to be sure I was there before 8, and I was), and we were swamped... 143 was the count, and we had a steady stream all day, with a big crowd early and late.  Oi.  I tried to keep people in the cars, mostly, but of course, people are conditioned not to, and... we gave out 90% of the produce (we had a lot, remember) and most of the bread, but someone came Friday and delivered more, so... well, still have more.  The big pile of mac and cheese is still there.  On the one hand, it looks like nothing went, but there are a bunch of boxes missing and we probably gave 100 people stuff -- not everyone wanted it.  One of the managers took 6 cases for his parish food pantry, which was MORE than fine.  Funny; we had about 20 walkers and most of them reported they were homeless so they didn't want some items -- especially stuff you have to cook, like that.  We are out of carts AND can openers.  Carts do come in (people seem to think we have a limitless supply, and that we can give them replacements if they lose them, which we cannot), but someone will have to get more can openers, and I think we all know who that someone is.  Sigh.

In other news... the demise of the Pac-12 depresses me; not only for the tradition, but also for the brazenness of it all.  Yes, they had a crappy money deal, but a century of tradition down the crapper... hard to believe the remaining schools will be lucky if they get into the Mountain West.  I guess a school could remain independent for a while; in some ways it is sad that Stanford has been meh lately, given their academics and private-school status.  I am not sure the ACC would really gain anything from WSU and OSU, but... they might go there as well.  If the MAC or Sun Belt had any sense of publicity...

I will finish The Panic of 1907 today.  Very interesting; hard to believe now that one man -- J.P. Morgan -- was able to stave off a crisis.  Nowadays we would never imagine asking Elon Musk, Bezos, Gates, or Buffett to do anything (save for jawbone); heck, I can only conceive of Elon trying to do anything, but back then, it was all done with a handshake and an admittedly friendly contract, with little -- if any -- government intervention.  Not sure THAT is the system we should have, of course...

A New Order

 The next chapter of my life opened today, as I started my new part-time role at the new company (Avalo) doing market research on agricultural trends -- pretty much my previous career at Pebble.  I have a bevy of projects for which I can gather data, research, make forecasts, and in general do what I have done for the past two decades.  As it is part-time, there is some flexibility as to when I can do the job and such, which is fine.  I am not sure how long this will last, but it is good to be semi-productive again.  I had a rough start, sort of, and ended up being excessively snarky to some friends, so I will eat a shit sandwich tomorrow... oi.  But so far, the natives are friendly.

I also helped out this morning with the food pantry pickup; a decent amount of meat from Aldi, followed by assisting with the big delivery from the Food Bank.  I am going to try and handle the ordering this week, just to shake things up and be prepared when everyone is on vacation next month.  There is quite a bit to it -- I hope I remember it all -- but I suspect, as with most things, that once I start and get into a rhythm, it should be fine.

 Started book 44 -- The Panic of 1907 -- and it is quite good.  A bit nerdy and economic, which I love, but the author does a good job with short chapters, vignettes, and brevity to make a compelling tale -- I read it a bit later than I should have last night!  This panic led in many ways to the creation of Federal Reserve System; also, one is struck by how much different banking was back then.  Bank runs with frequency, state banks, no way to really check well if they were solvent, no deposit insurance, interlocking directors.  Now... much as the libertarian in me hates it, government actions do protect people sometime.

'Everything has fallen off a cliff': Battleground state GOPs nosedive in Trump era - POLITICO
I bookmarked this a while back and after yesterday's comment... I would argue that the main problem is that the state parties traditionally do a lot of the legwork (literally), such as voter registration, small events in suburbs and such, and the small fundraisers that used to pay the bills and free up cash for other things.  I see where people are coming from, but these local parties used to be the glue that put things together, and now... I cannot see that we are helped by their disappearance.

David Samuels Interviews MLK Biographer David Garrow on Barack Obama - Tablet Magazine
This is one of the more interesting -- in every sense of the word -- things I have read!

The failure of liberalism - Don Surber (substack.com)
Are we really surprised by this?  Should we be?  I mean, this is simply the most basic form of economic calculation -- the most rational behavior out there -- and if young men are making these choices, why on earth should we stop them?  I would be amused to see the reaction to show this sort of thing to feminists to see what they would say...

Bemusement

 I finished Astroball yesterday (43 for the year), and it was...vastly amusing, in an ironic way.  The first third of the book was about the rise of their front office -- a lot of them came up from the Cardinals, where they tried to quantify drafting success and how to get more of their picks on to the roster.  Simply put, while Pujols was a great pick and a find... in most cases, the Cards drafted guys and they never panned out.  They turned that around -- heck, in one year, they drafted three starters, a starting pitcher, and a closer.  Then the book shifted to how they turned around the Astros.  Now, I don't doubt that they used data more efficiently and effectively and had an excellent of drafting the right players, but... as we know now, it is ALL tainted by Trashcangate.  Hence the irony.

Today I completed my tour of the West Side food pantries by hitting our site at St. Patrick's on Bridge in Ohio City.  As with others, downtown runs this one (not an Ozanam Center, with parishes contributing) so they give out much less food than we do.  Unlike the other sites, this one was fairly busy (only open once a week) and everyone got prepacked bags (one of canned goods, one of rando stuff) and ONE meat item (you could choose, but only one).  Our clients would shit their pants about the small amount, alas.  It was funny; a couple of them noted I was new and tried to scam me for extras, and as I told the volunteers, this was NOT my first time at A food pantry, and I shot them down.  They are Hope and Changers, of course, there, so... I was hardly surprised, and, being me, immensely amused.  I took copious notes and probably should write some reports to the Board.  

I read the indictment of the Donald and it was...quite comprehensive.  Will it change anything?  I doubt it.  This, of course, worries me, because I suspect the 2024 electorate is not the 2016 one, and more people will be appalled than fascinated.  Especially in the swing states, and THAT should be a real concern.  I guess this is one of those times where the party could step in and smack this down, but -- and let's face it -- the man has the support of half the party, so... we all have to ride the tiger.

Circling

 Progress, of a sort, today; I have health insurance finally, and I accepted a part-time position as a researcher with another agtech startup -- I was referred to the role by my former CEO at Pebble, and I think it would be good -- cash is nice, I hate being idle, I stay active in the industry, and I do like working in the field.  So there we are... it is not a full-time role, but it is something.  Hell, I have to pay for healthcare, and as I am still awaiting the $2500 in savings promised by Obamacare... Less happily, I spent about 2.5 hours trying to resolve my unemployment issue, and it was a complete waste of time -- bumped, empty lines, and of course I ended listening in on to someone's personal call, which was... almost entertaining.  I will try again tomorrow, but I do find it fascinating that when so many things can be handled online... this is NOT one of them.  Oi.

I have to admit, while there is something freeing in not watching J! (no need to see reruns), I also miss it -- it adds structure to the day, if you will, and it gave me a reason to be home.  Plus, I need to boost my brainpower, and what better way than America's favorite game show?  I guess when all else in my life is in a state of flux, there is now this, which I need like a hole in the head.  

Through the wonders of Netflix, I have been able to watch some of the pre-Code musicals of Lubitsch.  These films -- "The Love Parade," "The Smiling Lieutenant," and "One Hour With You" -- all have somewhat risque themes (pre-Code!) and while some of the jokes and attitudes are not terribly modern... the films are mostly humorous and of course there is the Lubitsch touch -- the camera work, the conveying of adult themes, the humor.  Those things are pretty timeless, and quite a few times I even snickered at how the various love affairs were shot.

Will There Ever Be an Apology for Covid Overreaction? – Chicago Boyz
Of course not!  I mean, I think there is something to be said for people acting in a certain way given the facts they had at the time, but...I think we now know that in many cases they were wrong.  That is the issue that divides people -- there has been no accountability at any time for those who were incorrect, not even the "dry up and blow away" school once prevalent in the US.  I know the GOP talks about this all the time but I don't think anyone (save for maybe DeSantis) would actually do anything about it, which is equally tragic.

The Misunderstood Reason Millions of Americans Stopped Going to Church (msn.com)
I guess I am not as concerned about this as others.  Ok, it is a concern, mainly because without people and volunteers, churches (and the services they provide) will collapse, and we are all the worse off.  On the other hand, as I so often say at the OC, eventually our clients will kill the goose with the golden eggs, and if they are too stupid to figure it out (I know they are mainly Hope and Changers)... as I like to say, there are plenty of non-white churches around, so go to them for help.  To say nothing of the fact that people will regret their non-churchiness if not in this life, the next...