Still Awake and Alive

I know, quite a long time since I last posted....I have been busy with work, trying to get some sleep, etc.  Indeed, I went to bed without posting last night, but my blood sugar alarm went off, so... God is telling me to post.  Saturday was OC duty -- 140, about average, but there was some excitement.  One of our volunteers left her key ring on a shelf, and of course, it disappeared... our clients are Hope and Changers, of course, so this should be expected.  Eventually, a client said they "found" the keys, and all ended well, but...well, our volunteers know better, or should.  Oi.

‘Platner on steroids’: Max Miller abuse claims have Republicans silently sweating - POLITICO
Are we really surprised?  I mean, the man is a laxbro from St. Ignatius, and if you looked up "douchebag" in the dictionary... I am not exactly sure how he thinks he can win, and while she certainly comes off looking less than stellar, given all that is going on, I am not sure why he thinks he is sticking around.  Good Lord, all I can say.

A New Report Offers a Stark Warning to Centrists - POLITICO
Interesting but not surprising?  I mean, the Left has not exactly delivered on its promises -- sort of like Trump.  And, they are going apeshit with their ideas -- socialism, women are men, etc., and people are going to the right.  Can we deliver?  I doubt it, given all else going on, but...

Inside the growing vigilante movement to knock out Flock surveillance cameras | US news | The Guardian
I completely agree, of course; quite frankly, we need this thing for ALL of these cameras -- speed, Flock, license readers.  I mean, I guess I have some sympathy for Flock cameras, but given the general lack of "who watches the watchmen," I have more empathy for those against them.

Ramaswamy campaign, GOP allies sensationalize and distort facts in attacks on Amy Acton - cleveland.com
This could be me, but we all know where cleveland.com lies on the scale, so I cannot wait for them to discuss their long history of minimizing claims against Sherrod Brown, Ed Fitzgerald, Jimmy Dimora, etc.  Hold my breath I will not.

Awake and Alive

Long week -- crazy earnings season, other projects, and of course I need to do some SVDP work.  Oi.  Wednesday we had our quarterly Presidents' meeting, and there is quite the to-do list -- stuff to follow up on, stuff to tell my parish leaders, and stuff I need to expound upon; people do have good ideas out there, just have to go and figure them out.  Today was the West District meeting, and I went... one to see how they do things out there, and two because I wanted to scout out who was there...

My AC kicked on today, which was surprising because it seemed so nice -- bit breezy, not too warm, plenty of sun.  It was a little odd, and of course I had to run around and close the windows and the doors.  It was not on long, and then back to fresh air.  Bit cool last night but rather worth it...

I still have an episode of J! to watch; guess I will do it this weekend.  On the one hand, I have more time in that I am not chained to the schedule and 7:30 (as much as I can).  On the other, I miss it -- the mental challenge, the rigor, the fight against my mental decline.   Not fun, but at the very least I can track my brainpower.  Here's to hoping I am smarter next season!

I forced myself to boil some eggs -- I bought them when they were on sale at Acme, and they are on sale at GE, if you buy three dozen. Yes they keep, and you can do many things with them, but I suspect I might have ennui with them if I buy them all.  I bought a $4.65 watermelon at Aldi a couple of days ago, and I was like... I miss it, as it is good, healthy for you, and fairly inexpensive in bulk.

The Daring Mission to Recover World War II POWs From the Bottom of the Ocean - WSJ
Interesting.  I can only imagine the nightmare of that site, but committing to saying that we do not leave a man on the battlefield... it is an impressive thing.  Also, we didn't avenge ourselves nearly enough on the Japanese for ALL of their crimes.  Not only against our POWs, but Chinese and other native peoples; I realize most of these guys died during the war, but not all of them, and that fact that any of them were breathing in 46 or 48....

Glitchy

Operation Internet with a Hotspot is proceeding...well enough?  I mean, people survived without the Internet decades ago, and I have plenty to do without it, be it read, clean my house, or get some SVDP stuff done.  Still, it is the usual annoyance when things do not work at the peak of efficiency. My new concern is that they will not be able to make the fix tomorrow, and that will be just more unpleasantness.  No one has ever accused me of undue enthusiasm, if you get my drift.

I rather like my doctor, but one flaw is that it rarely takes but one missive to get through... I asked for a follow up on the test, and something for this cough, and indeed off into the ether.  Tomorrow is another day, to be sure, but I would rather not, if you get my drift.

‘Cancer Doesn't Care What Party You Belong To’: Poisoned Water Is Turning This Rural State Bluer - POLITICO
This is a good article, and I agree with them, but if there is one thing I learned from my all-too-brief stint at Pebble Labs is that if you get rid of glyphosate...well, the alternatives are not so good, not so all-encompassing, and not nearly so cheap.  To be sure, part of the solution should be finding alternatives -- sort of like the people who want to ax property taxes here in OH.  I do not disagree with them, but if you are not providing a solution you are simply exacerbating the problem.

‘Not the slick choice’: Maine Dems sweat Troy Jackson despite dominant victory - POLITICO
Democrat set to replace Platner in Maine led state Senate with a temper - The Washington Post
I don't know; part of the appeal for Dems is that he is not as bad as Platner -- and let's face it, they certainly have a low bar.  Again, I feel this is a blue year, so it might not matter, but it does give me some comfort that our friends on the left are picking the candidates with the most baggage...

Spotty

 Another pause in blogging.  Thursday and Friday night were the usual; I went to bed semi-early, laid in bed a bit, coughing and not sleeping, then falling asleep somehow and waking up with low blood sugar.  Sigh.  I am feeling slightly better each day, and coughing slightly less.  Slightly, and not quickly enough.  Oi.

Saturday was OC day.  We had enough volunteers, and the crowd was 140, but we were all beat after service.  Not sure why -- the weather was fine, people mostly ok.  There was a shortage of strapping males so I spent 90% of my time in the garage bagging, which was more than fine; you really can do a lot more with 3 or 4 instead of 2 or 3 -- picking up boxes, restocking stuff, running the cart with full bags to the front, etc.  But dragging we were at the end.  Rah.  

Then it was off to the gym, and then my triumphal return to the St. Casimir Polish Festival (our sister parish).  It was... good not great?  First, they use those food tickets, and I just hate those, for many stated reasons.  The grub was ok; the chicken was good but cold, the beets were hot and out of a jar.  Better were the cabbage and noodles and the kremovskie dessert.  The church is nice; not St. Stan's nice, but pretty enough.  The clerestory windows are a bit high and a bit small; you need to really crane to see what they are.  The altar and apse are well-done, to be sure.  Not sure I would go back.

Today we had Mass for my grandparents on dad's side and my aunt, two cousins, and a cousin-in-law arrived.  I think I will move it up next year; a lot of my cousins do stuff on weekends, and switching the time with Mass for my other grandparent...well, might be worth of try.  Then breakfast, gym, and home for paperwork and some work.  Rah.

I am using my hot spot as my modem.  Yesterday -- literally when I got home -- I went to fire up the Wi-fi, but my neighbor was weedwhacking down by the telephone pole, and I suspect he nicked it, as I have not had a signal since then.  Oi.  The tech will come later in the week, and I will survive, despite it being a little choppy at times. 

Ted Williams, Satchel Paige and the fight to induct Negro Leaguers into baseball’s Hall of Fame | Baseball | The Guardian
Interesting article, and I think this is 100%, in that only Ted Williams could have pulled this off.  Now with the advances in historical statistical work, we can get a sense of how good Negro League players were, but back then....

Mattie Posts

Two days without a post, and I had been doing it regularly.  Alas.  I just crashed last nite -- I have a cold, sadly, and have been coughing up a storm, and when I got tired before 11, I figured if I could crash early, the extra sleep would help.  Now, I am sure it would, but I just started coughing, the fatigue passed me by, and while I eventually fell asleep... it was not a long and fitful sleep.  Alas.  Today I felt ok, just didn't hit the gym -- work was a bit stressful, and I am tired and hacking.  I of course emailed the MD this morning, and while I am sure they will eventually reply... well, there are days I think they just let it go into the ether.  Sigh.

Monday night I went to the Globe Iron to see Bloc Party -- never seen them live, love them, and it was an awesome set, so much so that I can almost forgive them for starting late.  The venue is pretty nice - West Bank of the Flats.  Google maps had me go down Canal (by East 9th) and come up that way; I hadn't been down that way in a few years, got slightly lost, but at least it was pretty cool; that area used to be desolate, and now there are like, people and houses and businesses.  Quite cool, and I have to admit if I was younger and not a property owner I would be interested.  Of course, now it is lovely, with nice weather and things to do and such; I am sure in December when the streets aren't plowed and the local Hope and Changers are trying to break into your car or house again...it is less nice.

Anyways, after the show there was some traffic, so I meandered to McCarthy's, had a late dinner, and figured that I would leave once it dissipated. I didn't realize that Louis Tomlinson was at Jacobs Pavilion, he had more fans and a later show, and I spent an extra half hour walking around while that jam broke up.  Oh well.  Also, everything there is cashless, so...I mean it is fine (I paid it today) but it is a bit odd.

What are the SEC’s breakaway choices? From going nuclear to the mild option - The Athletic
I realize they won't, but if they really wanted to play hardball and knock the SEC to its knees, the other conferences and the Powers That Be should say "fine, go away."  And, I mean, really force them succeed -- no games, nothing in the national championship race for ANY sport, no March Madness, anything.  I mean, the gesture would be a bit empty if they were shut out of the playoff race, and I bet the other schools would love to get a chance to make the playoffs, even we would now have 12 Big Ten teams in the playoff.  Of course, there is too much money involved so they will not, but...

Exhausted

Long and busy day.. Mass and then it was off to help set up for the alumni picnic.  I helped with some of the setup, some of the cooking and food prep, the grilling, the clean-up, etc.; in short, a little bit of all of the above.  And, dare I say, I am not sure I want to do it again; a lot of work, lots to do, and because many of the alums are a bit older and quite cannot do so much, so... Mattie had a few extra things to do.  And, I had to leave at 3:30 (ok, a bit later) as it was off to Edgewater to take Communion to my Polish friend.

That was nice -- it was her 92nd bday, so we had dinner and cake, and I was there a bit longer to chat and such.  I brought a couple of hamburgers for the pooches, and you would have thought they dogs had never eaten before.   Funny; someone brought a service dog and I fed that a hamburger patty and it loved me.  Indeed, I had some of the grill smell me, and the pooches were all over me.  Anyways, it was a nice time, but long, and I am very tired.  Not sleeping well the last few nights, and that doesn't help...  So bed soon. 

It was a bit stuffy inside tonight, and when I went to open the windows...well, now it is beautiful out.  A  nice breeze, a bit cooler, and now every window is open.  My hallway is getting a nice cross-ventilation, and it is almost perfect in here now.

The Last Time America Got It Right, According to MAGA’s Next Generation - POLITICO
Interesting.  It was the time I grew up in, and I think that would cloud my judgment.

Exclusive | Gavin Newsom affair partner Ruby Rippey-Gibney penning Vanity Fair story
Will this affect his run to POTUS?  I doubt it, given the overall tenor of things, but you never know.  And, they are Dems, so....well, it is hard to assail them for moral turpitude questions...

 Why Some Women in Maine Are Mourning the End of Graham Platner’s Campaign - The New York Times         
This is an interesting approach...

Mattie's Summer of Fun

The downside of these last nites is that my sleep schedule and biorhythms get messed up.  I woke up slightly later than usual and sort of dragged (not sure why).  I got the workout and errands done, and then it was off to my double event.  There was an open house at Grays Armory today, and I figured I should see that.  On the way there I remembered that the CBT had a day night doubleheader, so my approach in (I came in off 22nd) and parking plan was altered.  Still, I parked by CSU for  $3.35, which was cool. 

I am sure I went there as a kid, but it has been 30 years or more... anyways, it is a cool space - basically it is large stone house in the middle of downtown (I think they make more from parking than anything else).  It has that older feel, but it has a couple of large gathering areas, and there are plenty of military displays around.  A Civil War re-enactor was there -- I noted he was an artillery sergeant -- and he, I, and a couple of other guests had a lengthy discussion of their cannon, which is basically a hybrid piece the CSA made, we captured, and were like "off to the rear."  It was interesting to hear how this group survived as an adjunct to the National Guard and what it does now.  

Then it was off to the PACC for their Polish Picnic (I stopped at Philomena for some gluten-free treats; they are good, but different.  Still, gotta support a Village business!), which I had never been too.  I forgot they do those stupid food tickets (oi), and it was a little chaotic up front, as they just assumed people would buy tickets... I literally gave people some menus so they could figure out what they wanted and order (I told one woman I knew the cooks and thus the grub was good).  Very Polish.  Anyways, the food was good -- potato pancakes, goulash, gowumpki, halushki.  Bit heavy (which also explains my lethargy) but good.  I ate inside but meandered around the picnic area; never been there.  They have a series of plaques with key moments in Polish history (good and bad) and we all know I am a reader, so...despite the sun, I read them all.  

I talked with a friend who was there, and he was telling me stories of life under marital law (born in 80, came here in 87, so remembered some things) -- lots of cops, empty stores, waiting in line for little food, the surprise of coming to the US and hitting a supermarket.  He noted that stuff was pricier here but it was also... there, and in spades.  I told him he was like a World Cup video poster, and he said that is exactly what it was like, fascinating, and I told him to get this written or recorded.  (I should do the same.)

The 25 most influential works of American culture - Washington Post
Interesting.  I think Uncle Tom's Cabin has to be the TOP one in the decade they chose, and I can see why they chose a decade, but most of these are solid; hell, I spent a bit of time checking some of them out, not that I am exactly a culture guy...