BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING ON LINE

 

AS much as I dislike the mania of Black Friday shoppers, there are some real bargains on line.

Chef's Choice knife sharpener

I recently bought this model of Chef's Choice knife sharpener.  I was tired of trying to sharpen my kitchen knives with a whetstone.  I paid $55 on sell.   Two weeks after I purchased this knife sharpener, I sliced the end of my thumb while cutting onions.  

It really works!

The Strand Magazine

Arthur Conan Doyle first published Sherlock Holmes stories in the Strand.  

Now this Strand Magazine celebrates Holmes and all things mystery, publishing short stories and interviews from some of the major mystery writers of the 20th century and today.   It is a high-quality magazine worthy of collecting. 

Food Saver Vacuum Packer.

Hamburger meat will last into next year

Especially now with the economy mercurial due to Donald Trump's Big Beautiful Bill that punishes ordinary people to give massive tax cuts to billionaires,  food security should be paramount in our thoughts.   

We have used a vacuum packer for years to buy meats and other items when on sale, and preserving them by vacuum packing to avoid freezer burn.  We have stored meats, fish, and even beans, berries, and nuts for six months or more with no deterioration in quality.

Bread Machines

We have been making our bread for over forty years with a bread machine.  We presently use a Cuisinart, which is expensive, but there are many decent machines available at a reasonable price.  During the hot summer months, we usually buy store bread (an old Newfoundlander I knew used to call store bread bakers' fog), but in the wintertime, we look forward to our own-baked bread.   

the Ol'Buzzard

GO TO THE MOVIES OR BUY DVDS?

 

In the age of Trump 24/7 365, I am trying to find something to post about that isn’t the destruction of Democracy that I feel we are witnessing.

 

I am an avid reader, and I would like to post, once a week or more, books or stories I find interesting. 

 

I have just completed reading, for the second time, Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith. It is the story of a serial killer of children in Stalin’s Russia, at a time when the party line was that murders don’t exist in Russia, because murder can't exist in a pure Communist state. A security officer who has lived the party line is demoted, exiled, and faces execution of himself and his family when he pursues the killer of children.

This is one of the few books where the movie is as good, or perhaps better than the book itself. 

You can buy a used DVD for a fraction of the cost of going to a movie.  You can enjoy a DVD in your own home, watch it a second time, and share it with friends.

Child 44 is available in DVD for $10.10 from oldies.com, and the book is available for $5.00 from thriftbooks.com.

the Ol'Buzzard

GROWING OLD

 

You are short of breath, you have aches you never had before, your hair is greying, and you laugh about getting old.   Then one day you realize - you are old.

Growing old is an irreversible process.   The danger in this process is stagnation.   Your TV, your computer, becomes your life.  Your only exercise is shopping at the grocery store. You only do the things you are comfortable with.

  

When you keep referring to 'back in my day,' you have stagnated.

 

Neil deGrasse Tyson addresses growing old.   His perspective is a kind of awakening moment for me.   I am capable of continuing to grow, but over the past year, I have become distracted and settled into a routine that is unhealthy and stagnating.  

 

You’re getting old?

Food for thought

 

the Ol'Buzzard

DISOBEYING MILITARY ORDERS

 

 

There is a big hoorah going on in news reporting that some Democratic Senators posted that military men can disobey illegal military orders.

 

That sounds good, and looks good on paper, but the military has a two-tier system: Officers take an oath to the Constitution and the President of the United States, but there is an addendum for the enlisted: to “obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me”. 

Officers can resign their commission and quit, but enlisted personnel have committed to indentured servitude.   

If enlisted disobey an order - even if they believe it to be illegal - they can be court-martialed, lose their rank, and incarcerated in a federal prison for years; during wartime, they can be executed. 

It is extremely dangerous for an enlisted person to decide to disobey an order.   The military system is built on enforcing blind obedience.

Expose yourself to machinegun fire, Agent Orange... Killum all and let God sort it out…   That's an order.  You are expendable.

The Ol’Buzzard

U.S. military retired.

 

 

 

 

 "obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me,

THE AGE OF AI

 

 

People are not the only thing being replaced by AI.

 

On my bookshelf is a book called How To Find Out Anything by Don MacLeod.  It explains how to do advanced searches on Google.

 

That book is now headed for the used book store in town.  By all rights, I should just toss it; but I can’t stand to throw away a book.   

 

I wonder how many books are now irrelevant because of

Hey Google……………

the Ol'Buzzard

THE SOLUTION TO THE SHUTDOWN THAT SHOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED

 

Shutting down the government was a mistake for the Democrats.  A government shutdown is a pox on both parties.   It would have been better to let the Republican bill take effect, cut health care, and bring chaos to the economy. The Republicans would have had to carry the blame into the next election.

As it is, Republicans can blame the Democrats for people not getting paid.

I marvel at the ineptitude of the Democrat Party to message that it is the party of the people, and the Republicans are the Party of the rich and powerful.

 

Two options could prevent government shutdowns from ever happening again.

 A bill needs to be passed in Congress that, when the government is shut down, Senators and Congress members lose their pay for the duration of the shutdown, and they do not receive back pay when the government is reopened.

Of course, it is unlikely that Congress will ever pass a bill to their personal detriment.

 

The second option is a third party.

This nation would benefit from a third party.  It would take compromise for any bill to be passed.  A single party could not gain enough power to hold the nation hostage.

Common sense.   but there is no common sense in Politics.

the Ol'Buzzard

 

 

HOTEL CALIFORNIA

 

In your mind, you can never check out!

the Ol'Buzzard