Tag: General

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Good things about the Coronavirus Pandemic

Aside from the news media screaming, “Death and despair” 24/7, there may be some good to come out of all this.

It’s probably too soon… But hey, I could drop dead tomorrow!

1. Corporate America has been forced to admit that working from home is viable. Going forward perhaps they’ll go “Green” and keep workers, working from home.

2. People have realized that health care is important and perhaps they’ll force politicians to follow through with a better version of health care that is affordable for everyone that also doesn’t allow pricing to continue to spiral out of control. Why does the same drug cost $10 a pill here and .01 in a third world country? What’s the real damn cost? Big pharmaceutical giants I’m looking at you!

3. Everyone is seeing just how easily despotic rulers can rise and how difficult it is to regain rights once those rights are taken away. Governor Whitmer I’m looking at you! BTW thank you for showing in just a few short weeks, the arc of a despotic cycle. Now hopefully America will use your rise and fall as a lens through which all politicians will be viewed.

4. Traffic is, for the time being a thing of the past. Speeding tickets in LA are increasingly written for speeds in excess of 100 mph. Funny how that works isn’t it?

5. The air is cleaner. So obviously if there weren’t as many people forced to drive to and from work, air pollution wouldn’t be as much of a problem… Duh!

6. The oil companies have seen their future. Yep there will still be a demand for oil but not at obscene prices, and if we continue to work from home you might want to sell off your oil stocks.

7. Antisocial behavior is suddenly fashionable. Who could’ve seen that coming?

8. People have more time to actually learn about little things, like their kids, and their community, instead of running all the time like bats out of hell.

9. For once, the Government is actually giving tax dollars back. At the same time it’s learning that the American People aren’t pleased with their government and haven’t been for a long time.

10. The Government is learning that they can still be functional with a lot less people actively working. I guess Trump laying off and consolidating various departments wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

11. People are re-learning that common sense might actually be beneficial. Planning for disaster, washing your hands, staying away from others if you’re sick, not depending on the government to be your savior, etc.

12. We’ve seen our vulnerabilities laid bare. We can’t have the convenience of super cheap disposable products without being vulnerable to losing access to those products at a moment’s notice. It’s time to start bringing jobs and industry back to our shores and this time, let’s do it with thought. We don’t have to trash the country just because we have manufacturing here. We have the opportunity to build better factories and better manufacturing processes that are less (or not) damaging to the local environment.

13. Everyone may be realizing that unlimited immigration legal or otherwise might not be such a great idea. I’m going to be interested to see how that plays out going forward.

14. Censorship is most definitely alive and well in America. Folks are hopefully realizing that Facebook & Twitter are not the best places to get information. If humanity is really lucky both of those corporations will come to a crashing end. I’m even hopeful that all of the news media will get a rework and re-establish some journalistic integrity. Then they’ll be using their first amendment rights properly, by just reporting what happened instead of every piece being an Op/Ed.

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The Garden is coming along

Planter box (1).jpegI’m still waiting for my carrots peas and cucumber plants to sprout.

But the various squash and lettuce is looking pretty good. Especially since I missed a day of  watering a couple of days ago and it was blazingly hot.

Some of the lettuce plants were looking very unhappy.

It looks like they’re bouncing back. (Amazing what water does for plants)

I’m thinking about putting in the pond i’ve been pondering in the back yard. With perhaps a nice seating area and water feature.

tomatoes.jpegThat is going to require digging. Ughhh!

I think it will be worth it and I’ll have to get some mosquito eating fish or we’ll be eaten alive. Next time I’m at a home improvement place I’ll have to look into the cost and upkeep of a pump and accessories.

I’m sure it will be another pain in the ass project, but it might be nice to hear water gurgling and have some interesting desert like plants decorating that bare back corner.

I’d planned to do it years ago, but Sundance developed a skin condition that meant he couldn’t get wet very often. It broke his little heart when the summer months rolled around and he couldn’t have his kiddie pool to play in anymore.

The potted tomatoes are looking good and while they’re supposed to like full sun they seem to prefer being in partial shade.

I’m looking forward to fresh vegetables a little later in the summer.

Hope your’e all having a good day.

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10 or 11 days and nothing much new in the world

Ugh! The country has lost it’s mind.

I have finally gotten my dirt. I humped 19 bags of it from the front of the house to the back. Then cut the bags of dirt open to create a “Redneck” liner for the raised gardening boxes. I wasn’t going to pay for some liner thing, all I need a liner to do is mostly contain the dirt and not let too much moisture seep into the ground.

So, I got creative and used the empty dirt bags to form a liner. I’m pleased with the outcome, call it on site recycling. The plastic of the bags is perforated so I don’t have to worry too much about pooling. I wanted drainage, but didn’t want it to be instant.

One box full. Got to use my nifty little shovel too.

The drip watering system is in place. I’m waiting for some valves and miscellaneous parts to complete that part of the project. Hopefully those will be showing up later today.

I purchased some bib lettuce and squash plants They’re already sprouted so later today when it cools off outside I’m going to be planting those. Next up will be some carrots and maybe tomatoes. I’m thinking some zucchini and perhaps some other veggies that I like to have fresh.

Empty, Slightly offset so I can work on
the Drip.

Now the problem will be to keep the critters out of my garden. I’d put a picture of Elmer Fudd hunting wabbits but I’m sure that I’d offend someone with that.

I’ve take some pictures and will be taking more as the garden progresses. These boxes aren’t going to generate a lot of food but they’re keeping me grounded and will spice up the regular meals.

Who knows? I might have to get more boxes and put them all over the yard if the unrest continues. I think that if I had the entire backyard full, I might even be able to grow enough to barely feed myself.

That’s not a theory I’d like to have to prove.

Boxes filled. Drip soaker lines ready to go

This is more of something to pass the time and keep me from losing my mind entirely. I like growing things and somehow, food I’ve grown tastes better. I suppose it’s a matter of literal fruits of my labor. This way I cut out the middleman.

In any case, I hope your day is as rewarding as mine has been.