A Scattered Note or Two on a Snowy Monday

Finally, a decent snow storm blew through Acton yesterday and last night. It was everything they promised us. There is at least 18 inches of the white magic out there; a nice blanket I get to watch thaw over the next so many days. I can't wait. I'm so excited. 

I'm guessing Maggie was not so excited. She only made it a couple of feet outside when she decided the snow sucked and she was going to do her business next to the chimney. Usually she is a perimeter pooper, preferring some privacy a few feet out of sight. Desperate times, desperate measures. 

I could tell from the expression on her face, she blamed me for this. I explained to her it was Trump's fault. Everything wrong today is Trump's fault. Maggie was having none of it.

Speaking of Trump; an interesting meme crossed my path yesterday on Facebook. Like so many anythings posted on Facebook, I could not and did not fact check this meme before I decided to share here on the BoZone.

The meme claims to show the results of an IQ test our president took when he was a student at the New York Military Academy. The resulting score seems to support the opinion of many Americans that he was born stupid and he only made it worse by growing into adulthood. Of course this calls into question his claim that he is a stable genius and the bestest and smartest human on the planet. 

Now that I have fed a fantasy, I decided I would not respect myself later this morning if I did not check out the honesty of this well meaning crucible of misinformation. 

Sadly, Poli-Fact not only called the meme bogus, they wasted many words driving that point home. Okay, Okay, get over yourselves Polifact; it's a fake fact. But I am sharing it anyway. Why am I sharing it? Well, that may seem to be a good question, but it is not. It is a stupid one. As long as I include this written disclaimer, I'll fucking share anything I want; at least on my blog anyway.

So there it is; a wonderful few moments sharing what I often do on snowy mornings here at Acton Up. The excitement never stops here in the state that champions "Life in the Slow Lane".

Don't Eat the Yellow Snow Where the Huskies Go .............................

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I was trying to come up with a catchy sign off other than my usual "Keep it 'tween the ditches". I looked out the window and all I saw was snow and immediately Frank Zappa came to mind, Why, you might ask? Well, he is an awesome musician and when he was alive, I am sure he was one of the smartest men on the planet. He also did not suffer fools or their foolishness politely. He spoke up whenever he saw idiots plying their trade. And he never seemed to take himself too seriously.

Without further introduction here is Frank Zappa and his band, The Mothers of Invention, with a medley, "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" and  "Nan Nook Rubs It".

Because the New England Patriots won the AFC Championship yesterday and they are now headed to the Stuper Bowl in two weeks, Here is a "Two Fer" with Kool and the Gang performing "Celebration". ......  Go Pats !

Nor'easter, April 2024, - Day 3 - Are We Having Fun Yet?

I woke up this morning and discovered it was still snowing. Can't tell how much new snow yet. but from the look of the piled snow at the end of the drive, I am guessing at least another 5 or 6 inches anyway, Been quite a few years since we have seen this much snow in one storm and I have never seen one like this so far into Spring. It is fucking awesome out there. Mother Nature just bitch slapped us around as if to say:

                          " Whose the Boss Now Bitches,  cuz you sure ain't".

The meteorologists called for a lot of snow here in the Acton area. What caught them with their pants down was the storm apparently decided to punch well above its weight by dumping more snow than expected over a much wider area than predicted. Sanford, 8 miles away, was expecting 5 to 10 inches. At this point, they have north of 16 inches. Much of Sanford is out of power. Even with our power lines holding up a big pine, our power on Sam Page Road still flows. 

BA made the decision to not worry about going into her office today. She did bring home plenty of work. That takes the early morning pressure on me to get right out there for another fun filled hour or two of snow removal. I'd say I can't wait, but well, I am doing my best to make this cup of coffee last as long as I can.

Well, I headed out there to clean up some and dig out my wife's car. It was not as bad as I thought it would be. The moisture in the snow must have drained some. My tractor and snow blower had no problems. 

The tree is still across the power lines. I do not quite understand why it has not been taken care of yet. It is the main line that feeds Acton and parts of Milton Mills, New Hampshire. Over 10,000 people I was told depend on it for their electricity. 

So that's the way it is up here in the snow bound pucker of southern Maine today. Hope everyone affected by this massive weather system pulls through okay.

Keep it 'tween the ditches ....................................

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For music, again a song from one of the earlier Coen Brothers movies; here is the final scene and credits from "Blood Simple" accompanied by "It's the Same Old Song", by "The Four Tops". Makes me remember Friday night Teen Club when I was in 9th grade. ....... Always liked the Four Tops.

One thing though, the first 1:14 minutes of the video is the last scene of this very excellent movie. I think it or "Raising Arizona was the first time I watched a Coen Brothers film.

Nor'easter - April 4, 2024 - Part ll

It is 10 minutes to 3 in the PM. The snow that began in Acton roughly 24 hours ago is still pumping hard. When I came in from blowing a hole in the white crap, my wife informed me we are over 20 inches accumulation now, and the snow is expected to last well into tomorrow, April 5th.

I had mentioned in the earlier post of today that the town of Acton was shut down today. Then I said we will have to see how much longer. When I spotted the big pine down across the power line  at the end of my driveway, I knew Acton has been slammed. The plow guy told me our road looks like every road in town. We're gonna be awhile cleaning up from this storm.

So Anyway, I wanted to share some of the Kodak moments I was able to snap.

Snow is already sliding off the roof. This snow won't last long.

Stay warm ..................................

_________________________

Here is another song from a Cohen Brothers movie; "What condition my Condition was in", by the First Edition. From the Dream Sequence in "The Big Lebowski".

Nor'easter - April 4, 2024

I guess I should be happy all the meteorologists in the Universe got a weather prediction right. And how come when the they get it wrong, the shit usually hits the fan? But this time they had to nail it and shit still hit the fan?

Hmm .......

They claimed Maine, at least my part of Maine was going to wake up with a 14 - 18 inch wet white blanket smothering our dooryards. It's 10:00 AM and there is at least 15 " out there and it is still snowing; not expected to stop until this afternoon at the earliest.

Yeah, yeah,... yeah, you weather geeks are heroes. What I want to know is when will the climate Einstein's do more than just blather about they think is going to happen weather-wise. If we last long enough, I am sure that day will come.

My wife just popped in and told me she checked on power outages in Acton. 

Latest census figures put the population here in town at 2539 souls. Only 32 of us still have power. Cool. Hate to sound smug and shit but, well, for once its great to be in with the cool kids. .......... Of course, I might have just jinxed myself.

It started to snow yesterday, mid-afternoon I guess. At midnight I took out the tractor and tried to blow the 4 inch sponge of snow. Damn stuff looked like white water pouring from a culvert. It wasn't blowing, it was pouring. I did manage to clean out the ends of the drive after a semi-close call with a town plow.  

So here it is ten-thirty in the AM and there is another foot or so out in the dooryard. Branches are touching down, many have broken. .......... Acton is officially snowed in for the day, maybe longer. We'll see.

The picture of Maggie struggling to take care of her business is a perfect Nor'easter image. That tree is basically south of the camera. Look on the east side of the tree. That shows where the snow comes from in a Nor'easter. The drooping branches show how heavy the snow is; another typical result of a Nor'easter.

So this is my day so far. When I stop writing and post this, I guess I will make an attempt to moved some snow. Keep your fingers crossed.

Keep it 'tween the ditches ..................................

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~ Story for the next Liars Club hoe down - We got so much snow, our dog Maggie had trouble taking care of business. She usually has no problem, but this storm dumped a lot of snow. How much snow fell? Well, Maggie's a big dog. At least 5 foot tall at the hips .............

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Because lately I have been thinking more about the Coen Brothers and their wonderful films, here is "Man of Constant Sorrow", by the Soggy Mountain Boys, from the film, " O Brother, Where Art Thou".

750 Feet Above Sea Level

750 feet above sea level is not very high. Year after year, all it takes to put us into a higher snowfall zone than Sanford, 8 miles away, is the 500 feet difference between the two of us. 

Again, there is a 'Nor Easter headin our way and we sit close to dead center for the most snow predicted starting tomorrow and into Thursday.

It's been an erratic winter here in Maine. There is no normal anymore. It seems this winter we received more rain than snow, and the snow that has hit us fell outside the usual seasonal parameters for the most part. By my less than precise count, we still have managed so far to accumulate over 60 inches of snow this winter, with another possible 18" accumulation by the end of the two day weather event coming up.

Our story here in Acton, Maine is no different than name any other place in the World. Region to region, the extreme climate changes may differ, but nowhere on the planet is unaffected.

This rock we call home is experiencing weather we are not used to. The weather still manifests itself in the same way it always has. Only now the weather tends to favor extreme expressions of anger, hate, and discontent. 

A big snow predicted is often much bigger than before. Hurricanes are more numerous and often more vicious. Drought conditions find their way into areas previously not used to them. And areas of traditional droughts can find themselves with more water than they can handle. Water frozen for thousands and thousands of years is melting into the sea and flooding neighborhoods all over the planet through storm surging or precipitation falling from the sky. 

Because this post is just another tune on my broken record I refer to as my climate change schtick, I won't belabor any argument about the changing climate as a result of humans shitting in the bed they sleep in. No, I won't do that. It doesn't fuckin matter who is at fault or whether this is just a natural flow of geologic events that happen to planets from time to time as they find their way to their end times. 

What matters is what are we going to do to try to mitigate the damage coming? 

Pissing on each other shoes arguing about fault does not help any of us. Yet, that currently seems to be the only answer we have. The paltry efforts to find solutions go under funded and/or ignored for the most part.

So anyway, I write this post sitting in a house at 750 feet above sea level. How long will it be before I have to change that to, "Here I sit at 700 feet above sea level"?

Just some thoughts that popped up as I sat and pondered another winter that is not playing by the old rules.

Later .........................................

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There is only one tune I want to share with this post. I have posted it before, so this song also is becoming an anthem of sorts. Here is Playing for Change with their excellent cover of that great Led Zeppelin tune, "When the Levee Breaks".

Oh yeah, it's another song to play as loudly as you can handle. Enjoy.

Out Like a Lamb? Yeah Right.

The original forecast I heard was 3" to 6" of snow followed by rain. That was a few days ago. I figured since it's now the "out like a lamb" side of March, I won't worry about clearing the snow. I'll let Mother Nature do it for me.

Hmm .........

You would think that by age 72, I would have learned to not trust a meteorologist when they are giving a forecast. 

Last night a newer, more up to date screen shot of predicted snow crossed my computer screen. I did a double take. Apparently March, 2024 did not get the memo that the second half of the month, there will be no misbehaving, no hi-jinks, no fucking around. Acton now sits on the border of  6" to 12" and 12" to 24".

There is already 6 or 7 inches out there and it is only 8:18 AM. It's not a heavy wet snow. It's a dense pellet snow holding a lot of moisture. I would be well advised to try to keep ahead of it. So, with that in mind, I am suspending further comment and will now bravely face the elements with my 30 year old John Deere garden tractor. Together we will do what John Deere Tractors do; blow the shit out of that snow.

Still snowing. another 3 or 4 inches have covered what I blew two and a half hours ago. My britches are still wet and it looks like this storm is going to be a two blow storm. 

Later .................

__________________

I often use selections from my playlists to write by. This morning I picked "First - 2022", 2.2 hour musical binge of some of my favorite tunes. "Its Been Awhile", by Stand. I had not heard it in a long while; maybe since I created this playlist in 2022. Anyway ....... enjoy. 

What Stupid People Do

I cannot understand why the issue of Climate Change is still under debate. Ever since the planet consolidated out of cosmic debris and began orbiting the Sun, climate has been under constant change as it adapted to the gyrations and upheavals that it took for the planet to become what it is today.

I know Climate Change / Global Warming is nothing but a political football used to defend old school technologies dependent on toxic deforesting energies. However, continuing to take the planet for granted, is not going change the reality on our mutual horizons.

It doesn't matter if humanity is at fault or not. It doesn't matter if what is going on is a "natural" change. What matters is that while we are still pissing on each other's shoes, the climate changes we find ourselves facing are real and gaining significant heads of steam.

The planet does not give a shit about our petty political fights. In a perfect world, we would figure out that over 60 years of dicking around placing or denying blame, we would finally stop the madness and work harder to deal with what is coming. But no, we still bicker like school children.

The fact is, our parasitic behavior and our insistence on shitting in our own nests, have caused dramatic changes in our environment. Most are permanent changes, some that are in danger may be salvageable. We either get busy figuring out how to adjust to the changes coming, or we are toast.

Yeah, this is surely a doom, gloom, and apocalyptical vision of our future. Better that than being a self-denying Polly Anna dancing around playing a fiddle and acting as if this too shall pass. 

But then maybe I should not care. Maybe I should just say:

"Fuck it, you dumb fucks deserve what's coming." 

Later .............................

_________________________

No other song I can think of symbolizes better Mankind's sad and selfish abuse of the planet than John Prine's, "Paradise" .

We Got 2nd Place

 

A quick follow up to the quality snow storm we received yesterday.

Seems Acton once again failed to win the snowfall total contest for the state. We often come close, but usually one of the loser towns around us ekes out another couple of inches than we do. But we did make the podium. 

Seems Hollis, Maine recorded 18 inches as of last night. Acton was a close second with 15 inches. ....... Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride.

Oh well.

I will say the storm was a perfect storm. Light, fluffy and dry: My snow blower laughed and giggled as it tossed that snow 30-35 feet. Maggie had a blast and didn't bother squatting to pee in the deep snow. She just peed standing up. 

So, for a day, all is right with my world. Removing snow is what I was put on this planet to do it seems. And now I can actually get back to my life's work..

Bonus time. Looks like it will be one of those sunny Maine winter days that causes pain if you don't wear sunglasses.

Gotta run, the door yard is only half done. See Ya ..................................

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Today I am sharing music my parents listened to. According to family lore, at 3 years old, I would dance around whenever Dad played his Count Basie tape. 

Please enjoy this version of  "Jumpin at the Woodside" as played by both Count Basie and Oscar Peterson, two jazz greats from the early days of swing and jazz. It's a battle of pianos. Just excellent.

Winter's Back - For a Moment Anyway

For a few moments anyway, our climate here on Sam Page Road is in a seasonally normal status. The second snow storm of the 2023/24 season may not be a blizzard, but it's trying hard to be one. The general consensus among the deadbeat meteorologists settled on 6 to 12 inches for our neck of the woods. 

This storm gets us into double digits for snow this season. At the moment we are at around 14 inches for the total. Usually we are at least in the 50 inch or higher range by this point.

It began snowing last night around 11:30PM. By 7:00 AM there was over 6 inches out there and the plows are working hard to stay ahead of the snow that is still falling. Temps are around 20' F, so it doesn't look like we will have to deal with wet snow this storm.

I have been without my snow blower for 3 years. We used commercial plow folk to clean up our drive during that time. I used to plow my drive back 25 years ago. But the driveway is not plow friendly. It curves and drops with banks on both sides. I cannot say how many plows have gotten stuck in my drive. But I know I got myself stuck many times, never mind the pay to plow guys. My drive likes a snow blower, either on a tractor or a walk behind. Does a better job.

Back in October, I took my snow blower attachment to a fellow over to Sanford or was it Alfred? One side of the town line or the other anyway. I knew I had picked the right guy. His dooryard was full of power equipment in various stages of disrepair. Tractors, lawn mowers, snow blowers, and several rusty equipment trailers took up space next to his repair barn. He told me to drop it anywhere and he'd call when it was fixed.

There were multiple issues with the 30 year old snow blower. Cracks that need welding. Bearings that need changing. Impeller shaft needed to be re-welded to the auger differential. It needed a new edge and the drive chain coming off the PTO needed replacing. 

I was pleasantly surprised when he was done, the bill was only $390. At the local John Deere store, I bet it would have been at least double that, maybe even triple. And now that I have finally had a real snow to test it with, it has not worked this well since I have owned it. Throws snow many, many feet and doesn't shake the tractor like its going to self destruct at any moment. 

Nothing runs like a Deere when its maintained.

Yeah, it felt good to take on a snowstorm again. I wonder how many more I will have before we start seeing people planting palm trees.

Later ...........................

___________________

A snowed out Sunday with a football game to watch around 1:00 PM is an invitation to imbibe in mood altering substances. I sit here at quarter to Nine  AM. I contemplate if I should spark up a doob now or wait until kick off.............. Um. ....Yeah, now works. A different outlook might make picking a tune easier..... Yeah, sure it will.

A few tokes did not help. I had been in a quandary before I sparked up. Now, besides the quandary, I am dazed and confused to boot and really don't care what tune I pick.  I'm too busy watching the snow come down and enjoying one of my older playlists turned up to WOW. Each tune I listen to, I tell myself:

"Yeah Mike, this one rocks.... Use it for the post."

Then the next tune starts and I am not sure the one I picked would be right, this new one is even better. .........  And so it goes; the trials and tribulations of an aging Stoner.

Here is "Hooch", recorded by Everything 25 years ago. Nice tune.

Climate Hell

The Climate Hell that was July began to ease over the weekend here in the southern pucker brush of Maine. The humidity has dropped to tolerable levels and the temperatures are moving in moderating directions. 

Now on August 1, I can breathe again, I can sleep again, I can look out through eyes not stinging from sweat and when I lick my lips I don't think I'm licking a salt shaker. Today , it is supposed to be the perfect Maine day; Sunny, low humidity, and temperatures here in Acton are supposed to stay in the low 70's F . I'm already well on my way to forgetting July.

Complaining about the weather was one of the first eternal truths of Human interactions when we conversed with only grunts, whistles, and hand motions. I am thinking the fact that we  have no control over the weather is what really drives the constant pissing and moaning. Too hot, too cold. Too dry, too wet. We constantly think the weather is better somewhere else. Well, today, here in Acton, it appears we own that tag, "somewhere else". This is the way Maine should be on August 1. Absolutely perfect.

I have hopes now we are entering a more normal flow of summer. I won't hold my breath.

Now days, the realization is finally settling in that the increase in ugly weather we are seeing around our globe is self inflicted for the most part. ........ Hmm...... Maybe more than the most part,  ....... but hey, Climate Change is here and what are we doing about it?

Not nearly enough. Matter of fact, seems the only thing we are good at is complaining about it.

Later ..................................

____________________________

The first song I thought of was "Here Comes the Sun", by The Beatles. 

So here it is.

A Hazy Shade of Winter

We got smacked pretty hard yesterday. I know that after watching poor Maggie out in my back yard last night, the weather report posted here has to be very close.

 

21 inches will make even the most grizzled Mainer at least grunt when they see the totals. I am guessing there is chaos, frazzled nerves and unhappy campers aplenty in our part of the state. I especially feel for the plow drivers. This was a wet heavy snow storm that stressed equipment and tempers. 

The early news on Channel 6 had Shapleigh, a town next door to Acton as having the most snowfall for this storm. According to the clueless forecaster, Shapleigh received 14 inches. Once again, Acton misses out on a moment of fame, renown, and most importantly, bragging rights. Such is our existence; to be ignored by the button down sweater around their neck folks who exist the other side of the Turnpike.

Posted on our local town Facebook page, "What's Up in Acton", this image is off an Apple Weather App. From the amount of snow dumped in my dooryard, it cannot be too far off. Regardless, it was a helluva storm, especially this far into March. Not unheard of, but not normal either.

Of course what is normal anymore?

Later .........................................

__________________________

Please enjoy Simon & Garfunkel's song, "A Hazy Shade of Winter" from their 1968 "Bookends" album.

Just Another Day in Paradise

So Channel 6 apparently did not want to upset or anger its viewing audience too much with the latest weather report. Yes, most of us here in Maine are ready for Mud Season to begin. Winter is so yesterday's news. Or should be.

Channel 6 called for 10 + inches here in the pucker of southern Maine. But then I ran across an official government weather station forecast from up Gray, Maine way and well, they are claiming 12" to 18". While Channel 6 is not lying, they are clearly trying to stay on my good side.

The new twist for this storm is that it is a Nor'Easter and most of Maine is solidly in its path. The last winter Nor'Easter was well I can't remember. No matter which direction the snow comes from, we can get nailed hard. 

As I look out there this morning, the white crap looks to be falling at better than 2 inches an hour. There will be more broken branches and downed trees to add to the already impressive piles built up over the last couple of months. The storms though have been a boon here on Sam Page Road. The big pine out back has already dropped enough branches to increase the square footage that will be sunny this summer. And from the looks of things now, some more branches look to be in trouble and that is okay. More sunlight out back is good.

More sun over a wider area this summer will allow me more options about where I place my first raised garden in over 20 years. I miss the outstanding vegetables I used to grow. I sit here now and realize that giving up the garden was a regret for sure. We'll see if I can recapture some of that gardening magic of growing food for my belly and not just for my head.

All this snow in the past month has told me that I no longer have the enthusiasm for this white crap as I used to. I especially hate cleaning it out of the back of my pick-up now that I am sporting 70 year old knees and hips. 

So, I just spent the last so many minutes checking into a tonneau cover for the pick up. The last time I even considered one was back in the 1990s when I had a notion to trick out my new used 1989 Datsun?Nissan 4x4 pick-up that had been delicately owned by some city guy over to Portland. Anyway, there are quite a number of covers out there now over what was available back in the day.

After I had found a cover I liked, I decided to use the site's chat format to ask some questions. Samantha was very nice but no help at all at the moment. She needed a picture of the inside of the bed to more accurately answer my question. I told her I wasn't going out there to take a snapshot of my pick-up bed. I was warm and dry. With all that snow coming down, I told her I'd get back to her. Well Samantha is a smart ass. After she had said her goodbyes til next time, she snark-ly wrote, "Don't send that stuff down here to Florida".

I wanted to but didn't write back, "If you can keep your transgender governor within your borders, I will do my best".

She's not the only one with snark, even if I left it unsaid, I thought about it hard. ...... So there Samantha.

Keep it 'tween the ditches .........................................

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I figured given there's more snow than makes sense out there, the tune today ought to be in some way connected to the white crap coming down. Googles "songs about snow". Lo and behold, an excellent Hot Chili Peppers' tune I have not played in years popped up. Here is "Snow (Hey Oh)". Damn, they are good.

Politics and Snow

BBC asked me in the comment section of my Rudy post if things were going well.  I was not sure what he meant, so I am going to wing it with,  Fuckin Snow !!!!!!

With the added insult of another 5 inches of white crap yesterday, it would seem this winter is making even the hardest core Mainer sit up and pay attention to it.  It is beyond normal here.  I tried to look up snowfall totals for Acton and all I got was "not available".   Since I stopped keeping track a couple of weeks ago, I am sure we are in the 5 foot plus range now.  When we switch from inches to feet it means there is a shit load of snow out there.

Today, we are suffering the first heat wave of 2015.  The thermometer sunny side of the homestead read 52 whoppin degrees Fahrenheit.  And even though the thermometer  on the north side indicated a more realistic 24 whoppin degrees Fahrenheit, it was warm enough for me to blow snow not lookin like a toddler in a snow suit.  Of course we are supposed to see the temps drop past zero again.  Oh well, I'll take what I can get.

All this snow has a political side.  Yeah, I just had to bring up politics.  Anyway, most all town snow budgets for the winter are tapped out and are now taking healthy chunks out of the snow removal budgets for next year.

This brings sharp perspective to the plan of our governor, Front Page LePage, to shift more financial responsibilities back to the towns by not sharing the wealth accumulated by the state.  From everything I can gather about his over the top complicated new state taxing scheme is he wants Maine to become New Hampshire East.

The towns with the fancy high priced homes and deep pockets will benefit, while the towns dealing with the typical rural Maine lukewarm times  will find themselves even further outside the trickle up economy so many on the Right think will put us back on the top dog financial status we once enjoyed.

Lepage has the balls to say his new plan is simpler and will create a more "business friendly" environment when trying attract more businesses from away.   Losing the income tax and replacing it with an expanded sales tax of 6.5 % that would include most but not all service businesses to add a tax to their bills.  Lawyers would need to collect a sales tax, but doctors wouldn't.  The tow truck guy would have to add 6.5% to his bill, but the garage he hauls your car to to get fixed would not.  ....... Simpler?  I don't think so.

I know the pols always pad their expectations with grandiose benefits thought up by the people who push the new whatever it is.  But using this "taxation template" conjured up by some Winger think tank outside our state does not serve the specific needs and expectations of our state's population.  An almost identical taxation plan was implemented in Kansas a few years ago has not come close to living up to it's hype.

 Lepage is trying to sell the plan as good for all Mainers.  Bullshit.  This new plan heavily favors his rich puppet masters while leaving the average Mainer with less jingle in his pocket.

Later......................................................

Just Another Sunday Buried in Snow

I guess we dodged a bullet.  The two storms did not come together and fornicate.  They went their separate  ways.  One got huffy and headed up to beat on east Canada leaving us with nothing but the huffy part.  The other one decided "What the Hell", might as well give it my best shot."

I cannot really tell because of the blowing snow, but it looks like we may have only received about 6" to 7" instead of the possible 20" plus had the lovemaking of the two lows actually happened.  I am grateful.  My snow blower is grateful.  And my dog is grateful.  She's a squatter, not a lifter.

Because there is nothing worth watching on the tube and its colder than a fart in a dead Eskimo outside, I had nothing better to do,....... Hmm ........well I am sure I have many things better to do, but I decided it would be better to do them another time.

Anyway, I surfed the internet highways and came upon a new trend among uber elite and super rich.  Apparently, rather than taking some of their wealth and applying it philanthropically to forestall the upcoming societal breakdown, that wealth is being used to purchase safe haven getaways and fancy bomb shelters.  Citing riots that have broken out throughout the world because of the growing inequality, land is being purchased in New Zealand, islands in all the oceans are being snatched up, and bomb shelters are being planted in remote areas of the country side.

I am not sure what to say here.  It seems to me that if society breaks down around the globe, owning a bomb shelter or an island getaway will not save them.  If society breaks down, the imaginary wealth they have stashed in imaginary accounts will be one of the first things to go poof.  Eventually they will need to re-supply and what do they do then?  If the ship sinks, I am pretty sure we will all go down with it.

Keep it 'tween the ditches .........................

Another Day on the Planet

Two of my all time favorite Hollywood folks passed.  I fell in love with Lauren when I was a wee tacker.  It took "Good Morning Viet Nam" to show me the wacky brilliance that existed in Robin's mind............ I will miss them, but not their work.  It is forever captured on film for all of us to enjoy............ R.I.P.  Robin and Lauren.

Which brings me to "the Black Dog" as Winston Churchill called his episodes of Depression.  I suffer from Depression also.  It did not come on until I was fifty or so.  I refuse to ingest the chemical fixes pushed by the Healthcare Industry racket.  And while I have not found a cure, I am now able to identify the early symptoms of an upcoming visit to the pit.  Because of that, I have been able to control it to a degree I can live with.

What I cannot control are the reactions to my depression from the folks I interact with on a daily basis.  There is little sympathy or understanding.  Most if not all go automatic and tell me I need to see a doctor............ Fuck that.  I believe it was medicine I was prescribed in 2001 that turned mild depression into the nasty Hell I fall into now.  They can take their medicine and shove it ............. Americans place too much confidence in the AMA and their masters, the pharmaceutical industry.  I have had much better luck self prescribing.

Damn That Frackin* Groundhog

Okay, okay.  Yeah I live in Maine.  Vacationland.  The Pine Tree State.  Life in the Slow Lane.  Home to rugged wide hipped women, crusty lobstermen and manly lumberjacks sporting Paul Bunyan beards.  The state color is hunter orange.  The state hat, any chapeau with a John Deere or Patriots logo on it.

I should be used to harsh winter conditions.  And I am, but at some point every winter even the hardest of the hardcore local yokel gets fed up with the cold.  It gets old to try to look over or around snow banks taller than the flashing yellow light on a'53 Chevy plow truck.  And don't even start a conversation about the idiots who won't clean their car roofs off before they head out to the Maine Mall.  At some point every Mainer is ready to lose those red long johns and wear their short sleeves again.

For the most part Mainers seem to welcome the first couple of snows in late Fall.   A  December and January with decent snow cover is expected.  But come January Thaw and the temps jump into the 40s, we expect the climate to start calming down, down shifting into Mud Season.   A few last gasps of the white crap is okay in Feburary and even March.

We like our winter spread out evenly if possible.  When the storms stack up one right after the other and it gets harder to look out the windows,  even the gnarliest native can develop a nervous tic under one eye when they hear Kevin Mannix on Channel 6 utter the word "snow".  Yeah, Mainers can get grumpy when it seems the snow will never end.

Here in Acton, I suppose we are around 70 inches so far this season.  Not a record breaker, but it came down in 6" to 12" increments.  Seems like the last month, I've been either preparing to blow snow, blowing snow, or I just finished blowing snow.

I feel the grumps sneaking up on me.  Another 8" is on the ground and it's still coming down at better than a 2" per hour clip.  I blew out the ends of the drive so tomorrow's clean up would be less stressful for the blower.  I noticed the town plows had not been by recently.  Sure sign even the snow plow guys are getting tired.  Snow budgets are almost gone, no snow days left,  and the salt barn is close to empty.

And guess what?  More snow in the forecast.  Just Excellent.....
..... Damn that frackin* ground hog.

Later...................................
_____________________________________

* A tip of my hat to a SciFi series I came to really enjoy.

Winter Storm Alert

We are now early into the next winter storm in line that has dumped snow starting 2000 miles ago out Nebrasca-homa  west of here where the flakes go horizontal in a heart beat.  We are in the band marked down on the Channel 6 weather map for 11" to 14" of the white shit.  North of us Downeast Maine and Up Country will see less.  Of course the mountains that need the snow to keep all the crazed skiers happy will not be getting their fair share.

From the looks of things out there and all things being equal, I am happy I don't have to be out in it today.  Seems to be about an inch and hour.  The plows are keeping up so far, but we are just getting started.

Gotta love Winter in Maine.

Stay warm....................................................

The Pole Thumper

I lifted the garage door this morning around 6:30 AM I guess.  The cooler than usual air that came in made me wonder if I shouldn't have some shoes on and maybe a long sleeve shirt.  I stepped outside  anyway.  The pavement felt ice cold under my bare feet.  The air made me shiver.  I loved it.  After a couple of months of hotter and wetter than usual weather, I was once again experiencing the Maine I imagined many times during this summer of shitty weather.

I leaned on the back of the pick up and took in the sounds of the morning.  Birds getting busy, the slight breeze that had made me shiver, and the old cock rooster that lives behind us.  A few minutes into my quiet time with my dooryard, I heard the sound of something heavy hitting a sold chunk of wood.  It came from my left.  All I saw was the orange warning light of a CMP truck.  The truck then moved down Sam Page and stopped next to the telephone pole we get our power and lights from.  A big fellow fought his way through my manicured pucker and swung a good sized mason's hammer at our pole.

"Thwack", followed immediately with another thwack as if to reinforce the findings of the first thwack.

I was curious and feeling unusually friendly for this early in the morning.  I walked over and engaged the big man in conversation.

"Checking the poles to see if they're solid?"

The big guy was almost back in his truck, but reversed himself and looked at me.  "Yep, only have have 1200 more on this circuit to check."

"How many poles on this circuit?"

"4700 or so.  It's a big one, must have 10,000 customers on it."

"Well, how's this one?"  I looked up at our pole that had been crooked since the first day I saw it.  "Seems it has some age on it.  Been here since at least the early 1960's."

"Jeez, this one's mint.  But the cross bars on the top will have to be swapped out.  All of them on this section will have to be.  Some of them are just barely hanging on."

Not particularly interested in the notion our power lines were hanging from crossbars of dubious integrity, I was more focused on the poles for some reason.

"What's the oldest pole you know of still in service."

The big guy did not say anything for a moment.  He watched the the 2 1/2 pound mason hammer swing like a pendulum in his right hand.  A few swings later he looked up at me and said, " Well sir, there's some poles over to one of the lakes in Shapleigh that date back to the 1930's."

"Wow.  Were they still solid?"

"Oh yeah. they're still in service."

I smiled at the big guy.  "Well, I won't hold you up.  I'm sure you have a lot of poles to thump today.  Keep it 'tween the ditches."

The big guy smiled back and said, "Oh yeah, lots of poles to thump today.  Hope it doesn't rain."  He climbed back in his CMP pick up and drove the 40 yards to the next pole.

This conversation got me tossing many things around in what is charitably called my mind.

We are a society of consumers who consume mindlessly without regard to what it takes to bring the consumables to our dooryards, TV sets, computers, and refrigerators. We only pay attention when we have been cutoff from those consumables.  And even then, all we want to know is when the gravy train will pick up again.

Pole thumping may seem a lowly and boring job.  After all it is but another of the anonymous chores and duties performed on a daily basis by millions of citizens everyday.  Pole thumping is not glamorous.  I would imagine there is very little drama in pole thumping.  And many might consider it a job with no life or death consequences.  All I know is I consider the pole thumper an important guy.  If not for him checking our pole every five years or so, the power I depend on to run the burner in the oil furnace during the dark of winter would probably not be the dependable, take it for granted service I have become accustomed to.

It also occurred to me that we as a society are very selective when praising the efforts of the various workers who provide us with goods and services.  When is the last time I thanked the guy who pumps out my septic tank?  When's the last time I stopped and thanked the town crew who keep my road clear of snow and the ditches hoed out in the summer?  Well, I cannot remember when if ever I had done that.  I appreciate the results of the efforts of these people, I just have never really thought about what they did to make me content.

Yeah, I guess I could say to myself, "Your pay check is all the thanks you deserve", and leave it at that.  But then I realize that these folks are performing necessary duties I have no interest in but without them, my lifestyle might be completely different.

So instead of applauding the movers and shakers who seem mostly full of hot air and empty promises, I would like to thank the folks who labor hard under the radar to keep this country moving in spite of the stupidity their supervisors and presidents come up with.

Later.............................

Jersey Burns, O Man plays the HAARP

I have known for quite awhile that everything wrong with this country for the last 100 years is the fault of our foreign born Islamic President.  What I did not know was just how much evil the O Man had in his heart, his mind and apparently at his disposal.  The depths he will dive into to retain his evil grip on our pitiful souls is amazing.

There is a secret, okay not so secret facility in Alaska that is supposedly run by the US Air Force and the US Navy.  From this not so secret base stuck out there somewhere in the tundra of Alaska they manipulate the ionosphere in ways one could only consider magic....Black Magic I am sure.  They claim it is "scientific research", but we all know "science" is just a code word for Satan's Handiwork.  And the fact that Obama is currently Satan's man on the ground here in the US, he took full advantage of the "science" of that Alaskan base and used it to help him in his bid to win reelection.

He had the machines of the "High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program" (HAARP) turned up to wow and focused on the ionosphere above the East Coast of the US.  Apparently hurricanes cannot resist the come hither call of those evil machines.  And having already manipulated the Jet Stream into it's unusual new path, the stage was set for what happened these past few days along the East Coast.  Obama gets to look presidential and cool under fire.  And millions of people change their vote next Tuesday. 

What a diabolical man.  Or is he even a man?  Hmm...........At the least he is an evil wizard bent on controlling our minds by turning us gay.  Thank God for watch dogs like InfoWars and HaarpStatus, or this plan to dominate our minds and souls would go unnoticed.

After I found this nugget of Truth on the Internet, I dug deeper.  Where I dug is up to your imagination as I cannot reveal my sources because well, would you believe they do not exist?  Of course you would, yeah right.  Let's just say I know a guy who knows a guy who used fly a black helicopter.  His claim is that Katrina was a similar despicable misuse of presidential power.  Seems Bush the Lessor set Katrina in motion to pay back New Orleans for the trauma his father suffered in 1964 when he had his pocket picked on Bourbon Street.  Wow.  These Demigods can be a petty bunch.

Later..........................................

An Exercise in Stupidity

Storm A comin!  Storm A comin!

The media has not only made sure we know a big storm is going to have it's way with the Mid-Atlantic Seaboard, they have outdone themselves with their efforts to instill the needed panic to drive the aftermath for more than a few news cycles.  Store shelves up and down the East Coast are emptying.  Generators are being crammed into car trunks, pick up beds, and ole lady handbags in anticipation of widespread electrical failures.

Brilliant news folks are asking the questions that need to be asked of the various authorities who will have to deal with the clean up.

"How long will it take to get electricity restored for 50 million people?" - one smart news  woman asks a FEMA honcho.

I watched and listened to this unanswerable question come out of this woman's mouth and I imagined what the FEMA guy was thinking as opposed to the company line that came out of his mouth.

His Mouth:
"Of Course Connie (not her name, but who cares what her name was)... Of course Connie, FEMA stands ready to deal with whatever comes our way.  We have strategically placed teams in the areas we feel will take the brunt of the storm.  We are ready."

His Mind:
"You dumass broad.  What kind of question is that?  When will we be able to restore electricity for 50 million people?  I don't have a fuckin clue bitch.  But I would love to tell you one thing.  If 50 million people lose their electricity, we are all screwed."

Connie doesn't get it that this guy is giving her a chance to not look like a total idiot.  Instead she presses him.  "Well that's fine and good, but you did not answer my question.  How long until power is restored?"

FEMA guy smiles tightly and says, "Connie, FEMA is doing what it can to prepare for the worse so that we can bring back normalcy as soon as possible once the storm passes.  Predicting any kind of time frame for clean up is impossible given that the storm has not even made landfall yet.  We can only do our best to prepare for it and deal with what it leaves behind."

"So you are telling me FEMA is not ready?"

"No Connie, I am trying to not tell you that you are an idiot."

Okay, okay, so I took some liberties with the last parts there, but it certainly is a plausible conversation between a media idiot and a bureaucrat.

It is interesting that this particular weather event has made every metereologist on the East Coast wet themselves in anticipation.  A "super storm" they are calling it.  Two unusual things that do not normally happen are what will possibly make this storm one to remember.  Instead of behaving like a good hurricane and heading out to sea, Sandy is proving to be a juvenile delinquent.  She is taking a sharp left hand turn at Atlantic City, NJ where she will hook up with a rather large system who prefers to remain anonymous that dropped down on us from Canada.
( Nothing good comes out of Canada.  But I do appreciate the fact that they keep us so far away from the North Pole)  Romantic sparks will fly as  Sandy and Storm Doe party like there's no tomorrow and well, there will be some unhappy hosts when they finally move on their way.

But predicting who will be unhappy and how many there will be is an exercise in stupidity.

Batten down the hatches and I will see you later....................................