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Where we are at politically ๐Ÿ˜

We as a society have been smoking a pack a day for the past 30-years, despite the warnings of health personnel. After all, we are addicted, and there is no alternative that is reasonable. I mean we like all the benefits of a fossil fuel society, like cheap light, heat and transportation and the side effects like the nasty cough from the air pollution didnโ€™t seem that bad of the time.

Then the Stage IV Lung Cancer hit. We tried the treatments, we tried to change, quit that pack-a-day habit. The cancer treatments with the chemotherapy didnโ€™t seem like much fun, actually they were down right awful when the hair fell out and it got harder to get through every day life.

But then a new joker came along, and we were told that we wrong about turning to medical personnel to address the cancer. If we just smoked some grass and eat some kind of organic vitamin, not only would feel great, it would get rid of the cancer. The old way wasnโ€™t working, so why not try something new?

Humping it through the End of February ๐Ÿ“…

How did that old Paul Anka song go about the calendar girl? I doubt there are many people alive who can remember that song but I remember hearing it on the oldies station as a kid. And I also wonder how my old colleague is doing on his count of loads of manure spread as we get through the winter? I bet with the warmer weather, folks will be busy into late hours spreading this evening, assuming that soon they donโ€™t sink out of sight in the mud.

Woke up this morning, and the floor made a loud creak when I went downstairs. ๐Ÿš I think thatโ€™s a sign the frost is coming out of the ground and the building is shifting a bit. Happens every year, though so far no new plaster has fallen or cracks gotten worse. Also happens in the heat of summer, especially after Iโ€™ve been gone for a while and the wood has expanded from the heat. Good though itโ€™s mild, hopefully the ice and snow is melting from the bike trail. โ˜ƒ Iโ€™m ready for winter to be done, it seems like today will be on the nicer side. Not expecting all the ice to be gone from the trail but I think it wonโ€™t be tha ad.

Rather wet start to the morning but itโ€™s going to be a relatively nice late winter day, โ˜€๏ธ and I think there will be enough snow melt to ride in but I may pack extra socks in case my feet get soaked from the melting snow on the Rail Trail. But itโ€™s good to finally being riding yet. Forgot to get Olive Oil on Monday at Walmart, which I walked down the aisle three times knowing I was missing something, so Iโ€™ll stop at Hannaford in the way in. I do a lot of frying with Olive Oil ๐Ÿณ so I need that. I have some cooking oil, aka rapeseed or canola oil, but I mostly use that for seasoning my cast iron and cooking at camp in winter when the Olive Oil would gell.

It would have not been a good day to ride in yesterday with rain by evening, ๐Ÿšฒ as it was fairly wet yesterday afternoon. Today might also be the best day to ride in as Thursday looks pretty cold and wet in the morning, and Friday is expected to be quite windy again. ๐Ÿƒ Instead I walked laps in the Plaza and then headed home on the later local bus. ๐Ÿš A lot of security in the Plaza again and they have a major construction ๐Ÿšง in Concourse near the Food Court, but it was fine walking between the white walls. ๐Ÿ‘ฃ Not may favorite, but I wanted to get exercise in. Iโ€™m hoping today to bike both ways, but it depends on the condition of Rail Trail and how bitterly cold it is come evening โ€“ temperatures are expected to drop as the day progresses. That said, Iโ€™m looking forward to riding today! Such serenity riding the bike trail to work plus it really doesnโ€™t feel like a work day when you ride both ways.

Need to get the compost out again. ๐Ÿ Truth is these days I need a bigger bin ๐Ÿšฎ inside as I find Iโ€™m constantly emptying that large coffee can into the 5 gallon bucket outside. Maybe I should be using the trash can for compost and the large coffee can for the burnable trash. That said, I want something pretty tight so I donโ€™t have mice and fruit flies. Though since theyโ€™ve ended the free paper ๐Ÿ“„ recycling โ™ป๏ธ I end up with a lot more paper that Iโ€™m saving for fire starting up at camp. ๐Ÿ”ฅ And yes I need chickens ๐Ÿ” and hogs ๐Ÿฝ to turn this all into food rather than my parents compost pile, though I do get some good produce ๐Ÿ… from them in the summer.

I am afraid this weekend might not be a good one for camping, ๐Ÿ• which is unfortunate as weโ€™ve had a lot of snow melt. I kind of donโ€™t want to wait for all the snow to be gone, as I want to have a good rip-roaring fire to hang out around ๐Ÿ”ฅ and have a fire risk. While small campfires are allowed during the so-called brush burn ban, youโ€™re supposed to keep them small and they still arenโ€™t a good idea where there is dried grass around. The one thing I like about that campsite on East Branch is itโ€™s mostly mineral soil, so during the spring months before the green up the fire risk is less. โ›ˆ Looks like rain for Saturday then very cold come Sunday. I guess March comes in like a lion. ๐Ÿฆ

Conventional wisdom and keep digging

I think itโ€™s a mistake to underestimate how broken things really are these days in America,  how much inefficency and waste is built into American life, and how most Americans arenโ€™t that happy about their lives today.

One thing I think is underestimated by many liberals is how much Trump speaks to that message and even proposes solutions, even if his solutions that involve rejecting the conventional are mostly fake and donโ€™t really get to the root of societyโ€™s problems.

At one level, you can see the cruelty and idiocy of his policies. But at another level, there is something beautiful and wonderful about his critique of society, that too often perveyers of the status quo ignore.