Puerto Rico

I feel sorry for the people in Puerto Rico.  They could not have picked a worse time for a natural disaster - as if they had a choice.  We had three major hurricanes within about 2 weeks of each other.  All of the disaster relief had been spent by the time Hurricane Maria decided to hit.

Instead of spending time feeling sorry for ourselves by publically protesting this and that, disrespecting the national anthem, and whining about how life isn't fair (nobody ever said that it would be) and playing the victim card for media attention, why don't we take that energy and attention to help those in Puerto Rico?

This is just the beginning of natural disaster scenarios that will shape the future.  Global warming will continue to produce freakishly and more frequently powerful storms that will wipe out places like Puerto Rico leaving behind a colossal mess.  I've said this before and I'll say it again.  The situation is way more severe than what we are led to believe.  If we knew the magnitude of what lies ahead, people would panic.  I have just one question:  Just where are what are we going to do with all the people?

I'm certain Puerto Rico's residents are all ready to relocate due to this natural disaster.  This is the first of many entire populations looking for refuge because global warming.

p.s.  Beach front property is a BAD investment. Say good-bye to places like Amsterdam that lie below sea level.  Amsterdam will be the next Atlantis.

Hillary Clinton: What Went Wrong

We're still talking about the train wreck of the 2016 election.  Let's face it.  We were doomed.  The democrats, who say they are all about the will of the people, squashed Bernie Sanders.  I guess the democrats really don't care about the will of the people at all.  They only care about keeping their own internal sense of order and political payback system alive and strong.

So now Hillary wants us all to know what went wrong.  We know what went wrong.  She's the only one who didn't figure it out in time.  We don't need her self-serving book deal crying sour grapes trying to place blame on everybody else except herself.  No words are necessary.

p.s. I just figured out that with just one little typo Hillary Clinton could be Hillary Clingon.  Yup, a cling-on and clawing desperately for what she thought she was owed and entitled to.  Karma's a bitch...and no, that's not a misogynistic term although I'm certain in her mind she will twist it as such. No shame in a strong, female dog putting things in their proper place now is there?  

California Housing

We have all heard about the California housing problem.  Yes, it's expensive to live here.  Yes, it's also very beautiful here.  Yes, it's a desirable place to live.  We are no different than Hawaii and other places where real estate prices are through the roof (no pun intended).

The answer????  Stop producing more and more people.  That's a start.  Stop being a dumb fuck and I mean that in the most literal sense.  More people equals more housing.  People require a place to live. Also, nobody can escape the law of supply and demand.  Politicians and other do-gooders think they have the answers, but they don't.

For every buyer there is a seller.  Don't ever forget that.  Maybe we don't have a housing shortage, but rather a greed problem.  Tell me of a cocktail party you have been at where somebody was bragging they sold their house to the lowest offer.  Silence.  I thought so.

Everybody nowadays buys their home with the aspirations of rapid appreciation.  Each residential purchase is a temporary, transitional stepping stone until the colossal, pretensious mansion on top of the hill is acquired.  Homes are not where families celebrate lives together anymore.  Homes are no longer the center of traditions.  Gone are the pencil marks on the walls tracking growth of children.  Gone are the family cemeteries.  Homes used to have souls - and that also created neighborhoods when people actually conversed with each other in the evenings out front as the sun set.  There was a human connection that tied us all together.  We actually spoke with each other and watched out for each other.

I'm getting off track.  When you hear people whine about affordable housing, ask them if they would support a price/equity limit on sellers - kind of like rent control.

I hear the uproar already.  Everybody wants to make the most profit from their homes or land when selling.  Welcome to capitalism.  You can't have it both ways, people.

TYD: This one is for you

At the last coven weekend TYD decided to put up Rolling Stone videos.  We had forgotten what a skinny little spastic whippet Mick Jagger was.  Recipe for fame:  Do loads of drugs, grab a mike, spaz out.

The Worst Thing I've Ever Done

I had lunch yesterday with a guy I've worked with for several years.  He and I did not always get along.  In fact, I recall flying over the conference room table and getting in his face when he pushed me just a little too far.  It was a moment I thought I was going to get fired.  Instead, I got applause from the other members of the board for sticking up for myself. 

Several years have passed and now he and I are friends.  Now he is getting older and has some health issues.  He is stubborn as all getout and still goes to work everyday despite doctor orders to stay home and rest.  He can't.  I think he knows that he has more time behind him on this earth than in front of him.  He won't admit it, but he's scared.  He's losing weight and he's not trying to.  That's never good.

I got a history lesson yesterday at lunch.  This guy I work with goes back in Sonoma County about 100 years.  There are layers upon layers of Hatfield and McCoy type antics that still play into the backgound of Sonoma County society to this day.  He told stories about who married whom, whether or not it was a shotgun wedding, and the true identity of the father of some children -- and the husband thought all along the kids were his.  Scandalous!!

There were stories about affairs, what happened when one of the spouses found out, the nasty divorce, and all the bitter tactics a spurned lover or spouse do to the current love interest to sabotage the new relationship.  There were stories about boot letters and drug dealers.  He knows which businesses are actually legitimate and which are fronts for smuggling.  He knows which cops are paid off.  There were stories about family dynamics and mental illness.  The one I found particularly sad was that where a man shot himself.  His son used the same gun to kill himself.  The grandson used the same gun to kill HIMSELF.  Talk about a cycle of self-destruction. 

The guy I work with then got off on a tangent about some of the things he's pulled over the years.  He said the worst thing he's ever done was smuggle drugs to a woman in rehab.  She got caught with them and got kicked out.

I can't make this stuff up, people.  

The Human Virus

I think it was the X-Files movie or one of the tv episodes.  I can't remember.  Anyway, the plot revolved around the theory that humans were a virus to earth.  Think about that. 

What does a virus do once it invades its host?  It multiplies exponentially sucking off the host (earth) until either one of two things happen:
1.  The virus (people) kills the host (earth);
2.  The host's (earth) immune system will kick into overdrive in an attempt to kill the virus (people) off. 

We can kid ourselves for a little while longer, but we can't have it both ways.  We can't live our modern lifestyle without killing the earth.  That includes Prius driving, organic free-trade coffee drinkers with their iPhones and liberal bumper stickers and FaceBook posts. 

We can't continue to mindlessly pump out more humans without seriously considering the impact more humans have on this earth with ever decreasing natural and economic resources.  I, for one, would like to see an environmental impact study done on THAT. 

So what's it going to be, Monty?  Door number 1 where we kill the earth, or door number 2 where the earth smites us? 

I've said this before and I'll say it again, mother earth will be just fine without us, but we can't live without her.....and Spock was right.....it's in our nature to destroy ourselves. 

Hot Enough For Ya???

Foamy is an angry little squirrel that reminds me of my paternal grandfather.  Acidic.  To the point.  No nonsense.  I remember when he was getting older his hearing was not what it used to be.  He would often ask people to repeat what they had just said.  Most of the time the speaker would just say, "Oh, nothing.  Forget about it."

That drove my grandfather nuts.  He got to the point where when the speaker would not repeat what they had said with the, "Oh, nothing.  Forget about it," he would bellow....and he did bellow....."IF YOU WON'T REPEAT WHAT YOU SAID AS YOU THOUGHT IT UNIMPORTANT, WHY DID YOU EVEN OPEN UP YOUR MOUTH TO SAY IT IN THE FIRST PLACE?  I'M DEAF BECAUSE OF ALL THE USELESS NOISE I'VE BEEN EXPOSED TO OVER THE YEARS.  I DON'T NEED ANY MORE USELESS NOISE.  EITHER REPEAT WHAT YOU SAID OR STOP TALKING. 

Well, there you have it then. 

On a related note, we are experiencing record-breaking heat here in Sonoma County.  I'm channeling my late paternal grandfather as his angry humor lives on through Foamy the Squirrel.  This video is EXACTLY what he would say.  Enjoy.