General Commentary (May be military related) email: Kudzuacres1@juno.com

 
A rant for Friday the 13th:

Mr. Policeman, if you must stop a person for a traffic violation, do not do so in the left turn lane of a major street. Have the guy complete the turn and pull off the side street. It makes it hard for the rest of us to get where we are going when you block the turnlane. Oh, and if it is pouring rain, let him roll up his window prior to moving him to your car for the ticket.

It is raining hard here in Huntsville this morning. We started with hail and are supposed to end the day with snow. I expect some bad storms in between. Five years ago this month, we had a similar day, warm in the morning with the temperatures dropping during the day. We had a small tornado visit our neighborhood. One such visit is enough.

My daughter turned 27 yesterday. She lives in Oregon and says it has rained every day for three months. Houses are sliding off the hills in the town where she lives. I told her that just increased the value of houses such as hers that are on level ground.

I have always thought that one should look on the bright side.

On the not so bright side, we are working a proposal so another three day weekend isn't.
posted by Larry at 8:56 AM

 
Yesterday I had my second formal music lesson. I got an "A" in left hand and a "C+" in right hand. I also got a "etude" to work on. It is the "A" scale with progressions. Not easy either.

The instructor let me in on a Bluegrass guitar secret which may get him excommunicated if word gets around. He showed me a drill in the "A" scale where you can play a fast series of notes and seem to be fast picking whatever tune the rest of the group may be playing. I have to work on it and try to figure out why it works for whatever key the band may be playing in.

I have moved to a one hour lesson since 30 minutes goes so fast.
posted by Larry at 10:31 AM

 
Baby Boomers: If I hear one more thing about the boomers, I'll scream. I am at the leading edge of the "boomer" generation and was around for its 60's heyday. Fewer than 10% were out doing the things the media talks about. The rest of us didn't have the luxury of having parents who would or could support infantile fantasies of self-importance. The folks I knew went to work in factories, construction or whatever they could find and some of us went to college. We have worked our whole lifes and will continue to work, most likely until we drop.

Traffic Related Idiocy of the Day:

1. If you are the first car at a traffic light that is green for only 30 seconds each rotation, don't sit in a daze for 25 seconds. The twenty cars behind you burn a lot of gas waiting another 3 minutes for the next green.

2. I know your Corvette is a hot car with lots of power, able to leap tall buildings at a single bound (sorry, wrong super character) and that you have a special permit from the State to drive wherever you wish, but my Dodge pickup is made of genuine Murrican steel so don't try to move into the lane I am already occupying.
posted by Larry at 8:19 AM

 
Additional Rants:

1. If you are going to pull out into a line of traffic going 45, it is a good plan to accelerate up to 45 rather than dialing your cellphone and drinking your coffee. Brakes are expensive and fenders and bumpers more so.

2. 60 in a 45 is okay but 70 is stretching it just a wee bit even if you do own a "sports" car.

3. If you speed up to pass me on the right after I signal I'm moving right, don't slow down just because you see a police car a quarter mile ahead. I will have to use those expensive brakes again to keep from running over your sorry butt.
posted by Larry at 10:54 AM

 
Warning, today will be a rant!

Things that really get to me:

1. Let's say you are on a six lane street and will be taking the exit you take every morning. Might I suggest you move to the right lane well before the exit. Turning right from the left lane is just so gauche and it makes you look really stupid not to mention putting excess wear on my nerves and brakes.

2. Most scientists agree that the earth is warming and that the warming is caused by human actions. Just who are these scientists? If you are a biologist for the Sierra Club or for Gargantuan Rainforest Timber Exploitation, Inc. you don't count. Not because of bias but because you are not qualified to make such a judgement. Stick to biology. If you are a rocket scientist you are not qualified. Nuclear physicist? Sorry, not qualified. Climatologist? Maybe, but not necessarily. My guess is there are fewer than 200 climatologists on Earth qualified to have a valid opinion on the question and opinions don't count. Facts do. Where are these people? Probably at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. What do they have to say about humans and global warming? Not a lot if you look at their website. There are a lot of global warming stories but as good scientists, the NOAA folks don't publish conjecture.

3. General Shinseki: The Huntsville Times carried another letter to the Editor yesterday saying the good General resigned because the nasty old Bush Administration ignored his request for 400,000 troops in Iraq. The good General was the Army Chief of Staff. As such, he was not qualified or responsible for making a judgement on the number of troops required. The idea that every General is an expert on all things military is ludicrous. Shinseki's job as CSA was big enough for any man and he would have done well to do it. He did so well that a group of retired four stars recommended that a retired General be recalled to fix the Army. The CSA is responsible for recruiting and training the Army and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Goldwater Reorganization Act of 1987 gave the Combatant Commanders the responsibility for warfighting. In the case of Iraq, that was General Tommy Franks. Also Shinseki did not resign. He retired after serving the normal four year tour as CSA.

Okay, I feel better now!
posted by Larry at 8:28 AM

 
I have discovered a new thing that I do not recommend: digging in Alabama red clay. Even if you enjoy digging in dirt and I understand some people do, red clay is not a good dirt to dig it. Wet, it has the consistency of unbaked bricks and dry, baked brick. This weekend mine was about halfway to baked meaning it came up in lumps.

I am building a garden where our back lawn used to be in order to control drainage and also attempt to block some noise from the neighboring pool. If I can't block the noise, my next move will be to open a mosquito farm and let them feed on the pool goers.
posted by Larry at 8:16 AM