Hunkering Down

 I woke up this morning with a sense of trepidation and excitement, and... no more visitors.  Traps empty.  Am I pleased?  No; I suspect there are more critters around (I went in the one cupboard I never look in and I found some shredded paper).  To be sure, there are other hiding places in the house (such as the above cupboard).  So the traps will remain and on my lunch break tomorrow I will go through the thing and maybe lay some traps there?  I am tempted to call the Orkin man but will hold off.  For now.  In the meantime, every door in the house is closed and everything is sealed as well as possible.  It is an odd way to live, but...  couple of people suggested I get a cat, which is... well, let's just say that there will NEVER be another pet in this house, over my dead body.

In the meantime, a usual Sunday, of sorts; nodded off in the chair, went through some articles, re-filed a grant application from the United Way (it is $2,500, but it IS a pain in the ass), did some paperwork, caught up on a few things, moved some stuff to the basement (I do need to get the house ready for the bathroom and carpet, even if those projects are delayed interminably!), and watched "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles."  This movie -- no, I had NOT seen it before -- was pretty funny, in that 80s sort of way (didn't know it was a John Hughes film).  It came from the wonder of Netflix, and that is one of the things I will miss about the end of mail service.  I tended to select a bunch of movies at once, and then, over three or four months, I work my way through the list... so I could have said "Gee, this looks good" months ago.  I guess I could subscribe and watch anything on demand, but...not quite the same.

Also not quite the same:  I went to the Independence Kiwanis chicken dinner today and took one home.  My Mom loved this, which was odd -- the chicken wasn't fried, the smoke from the grills would blow into the pavilion, they only had unsweetened iced tea -- so we went every year.  I forgot about, but saw the signs this week and remembered today.  It was... good not great?  $20 -- yikes, I recalled when it was but $14 -- and while I got a lot of food... I guess with the to-go order, the chicken juice got on the fries so some were soggy, and I think it was better seasoned in the past.  But there was more food (and better) than the Ukie fest, by far.

Republicans get major boost as 'fired up' young men lean right in record numbers (nypost.com)
Interesting, but as I have often said, that if one party positions itself to be the party of women, the other will be seen as a natural home for men.  I think this explains much of this... not that this is bad, but there is something in that we are polarizing over this.

Iowa and Iowa State Athletes Were Busted for Betting. But Why Were They the Only Ones? - Sports Illustrated
This is exactly right; I would argue the reasons are 1) They were dumb enough to get caught and 2) No one wants to investigate this and be the DA who cripples your local football program (and not that I blame them).  If the NCAA was a serious institution they would look into it, but much as what I say about Republicans having brains...