Kagan, an individual has absolutely no experience, whatsoever, in actually sitting on the judicial seat doling out judgments as a real judge - is now a Supreme Court Justice. Scary. This Obama administration won't go away soon enough. The long-term effects of this man's race to have the federal government control every aspect of our lives will be seen in the short term, the medium term and even more-so the long term. Democrats are taking advantage of the hopefully short time they have left in having almost total control.
Hot days. I have been out in the heat every day this week, hours at a time, sweating like a pig. My work shirt has salt stains in it from sweating so much after today's endeavors outside. It takes me a while after getting home to even think about going outside and getting things done out there. Thankfully, tomorrow is Friday and I can do whatever this weekend. Yes, I am working on the pond, yes, it is getting very close to being done for digging's sake anyway.
For the record, digging out the rather large hole for this pond is not just digging. It's ground that is FULL of rocks. You cannot just get on your boots, put the spade on the ground, jump up on it and poof, it disappears into the ground and out comes the dirt. NOT EVEN CLOSE. No, you put the spade on the ground after watering it to help loosen it up, and the first thing you hit is a rock, or even a boulder. You have to spend a great deal of time in digging out the rocks so you can - dig out more rocks. The dirt and rocks are shovelled directly into a wheelbarrow, as the place I have for dumping the dirt is about 75 feet away from where the hole is being excavated. So, yes, then you have to haul the dirt to it's resting point. Well, there are plants in the way of the entire place where the dirt is spread out, so I heap it up in one area to the side of the plants and then -have to shovel even MORE in spreading out the dirt.
I could have had this done already if it weren't for the heat and the fact that I spend a great deal of time of time in the heat at work - meaning no real desire to spend even MORE time out in it at home.
Yes, I am about to go out there and do a little - maybe 15 - 30 minutes worth. Again, I was in the heat and direct sunlight (112 in the shade) today much of the time I was working, I was busting @$$ and the only reason I am going to do anything out there is to give me - whatever it is in me that needs to get this portion of this project done.
Interruption. Qwest showed up. They did whatever they needed to do to the line at the pedestal and my internet connection is back up to what it's supposed to be. They did not, however, bury the line as promised. I already knew they wouldn't but still. It's a totally different department of the company that sends out a crew to bury lines. Just that I have been going through this with them for 2-1/2 years - them committing to bury the line, them never showing up. At this point, if it doesn't happen, I will be going to Cox for internet service, see if the grass is any greener on the other side of the fence. Pricing is about the same, allegedly as long as everyone on the block doesn't also have Cox, the speeds should be very good.
Another long interlude and now do not have time to finish this.
G'nite.
ben
5 comments:
The now-unemployed tenant finally showed up last night - well after I went to bed of course. She obviously doesn't want to face me - she owes me money. Not a LOT, but enough. She stuffed $30 in an envelope, wrote a note saying she would be spending today trying to find a new job.
She SHOULD have been doing that since the day she got fired. I had NO idea she was going to be gone this long, I figured if she skipped a weekend for a free vacation, no big deal, she's been gone almost an entire week.
Do you ever see people walking through the grocery store with one or even two carts just STUFFED with all kinds of food? You're looking at 2 or 3 hundred worth of food, at least. I'm always curious how these people are going to pay for that stuff, and sure enough, 99% of the time, a Qwest card comes out. That's the modern-day way to use food stamps, like a debit card, it swipes through the reader and automatically deducts that much from your account.
I'm not necessarily slamming people on food stamps, as a temporary buffer against being totally broke (ie: you got laid off from your job) and a way to keep food on your table, great.
As a permanent, life-long ideal of living off the government and really having no great reason to get off your @$$ and go find a job (ie: they also get rental subsidies through HUD so they aren't paying for their place to live, no, instead, WE are paying for their place to live).
This is the problem I have with food stamps. The news reports that a record number of people are on food stamps right now. Well duhhhh, the economy is flat, now they're talking potential deflation, people are broke and yes, they are still hungry. I can understand the temporary use of food stamps, I get it.
But, how many billions of dollars are being given out freely to people who aren't going to work whether the economy is good or bad? Just like unemployment benefits, people should NOT be able to just live on them forever unless there is a good reason for it - someone that CAN'T work because of some physical limitation, stuff like that.
Rental subsidies the same thing. Give them for 6 months, a year at most and then push them out.
There isn't anything more motivating that I know of than facing living on the streets to force your lazy, sorry @$$ to get up and go out and find a job. I don't care if it IS a minimum wage job, do SOMETHING and be a productive citizen in our society instead of a LIFELONG DRAIN on it.
I don't need to hear about how these people are uneducated, either. If they really want education, they can get grants or at worst case, student loans. Go into the military and get the deal where they pay all of your schooling expenses once you get out. Heck, you can find some great career opportunities through some of the things you can learn IN the military, I know that for a fact: my oldest brother learned skills in the Navy that landed him a job building Apache helicopters, he has been at the same company for something like 25 years and is making GREAT money.
The point is, the opportunity is there. I debate back and forth with myself whether to go back to school - but the costs of going to school far outweigh any great benefit from it. I am 46 years old, paying off student loans for the rest of my life isn't exactly an appealing thought. But I'll tell you right now, if I lose my job in the trucking industry because of the VERY strict regulations that are coming out (look folks, with these new regulations, your CDL license could be suspended if you simply haven't filled out enough of your paperwork correctly!), then yes, I would go back to school.
I know what I would do, too. But, I am not a lazy @$$ and I don't have to make excuses for why I am not working: I have BEEN working since I was 10 years old and before that I was doing jobs around the neighborhood for folks, usually yard work. I did the lemonade stand thing every summer for years: our street was THE street to take to get to the public pool and it was a LONG walk for most folks. I did great business sellin lemonade! I'm sure mother wasn't too happy me taking all of her lemonade all the time ((hey, I was a kid, that stuff was up in the cupboard, it must be free, right? lol), but, I learned early about money. Not that I have EVER had enough of it to do much of anything, but I'm not complaining about it, either.
Whatever. I saw that food stamp article and that got me going, I am so ever-loving sick of this lifelong cycle of families living in poverty and want and using the system to continue the cycle seemingly endlessly.
And here we go again with extreme heat in places that people are not used to such. I can't help you, I am IN that heat every day for several months out of the year, I have a very good idea what it is like to have to endure high temperatures and try to stay cool enough to continue working. It's NO fun. August will soon be over (I'm thinking that way, anyway, even if it IS only the beginning of the month) and then it will gradually start to cool down here.
I guess what gets me are all of these areas where houses are not built with central AC systems. My gosh, people, if you don't have cental AC, you DO at least have a window unit or 2, don't you? A nice window unit will keep whatever room it is installed in VERY cool. If it's a newer unit and you don't get carried away with it, the energy consumption won't be too terribly bad. That's what I used to do in previous houses I had that had only evaporative cooling.
Try living in a house that has only evaporative cooling when it's 117 degrees outside - it will be around 95 to 100 inside the house.
Well, freight truck showed up early, ate into my pre-login hours, now I have worked even more for free : )
G'day
ben
Ben,
I assumed you were encountering rocks in the dirt. Of course you know this digging activity should be on you tube. it is hard work but I'll bet with a little commentary it could be a pretty funny clip.
This Supreme Court Justice is something else.
I don't know what the future holds politically however I will embrace a change from this current group as quickly as it can come.
Have a good weekend brother.
Bobby
Ummm, well, I hadn't thought about making a video of it. I imagine that I might be showing some attitudinal "problems" in such a video because - honestly - I get mad at the rocks and dirt and even start cussing at it, lol.
Thanks, you have a great weekend, too!
ben
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