Seeing Further Whenever I finish a blog story, I try to give myself a head start on the next story by creating a template and a title to get myself going. I usually write to suit that title and only occasionally find myself writing something for which a better title is required. Having just finished writing a story this morning and just finished Round 8 with my big life insurance carrier (I sent them a…
Pot Running We lead an exciting life here on the hilltop. Yes, I have a supply of CBD gummies to help with sleep (though I have only tried them once and felt nothing). I also have some CBD /THC salve for my back that was given to me by my friend Rob from Colorado (I only tried that once as well…and never inhaled). But none of that makes me uninterested in pot acquisition at every…
Trump and Pump Just this morning I read that the plan to take Truth Social public through the Digital World Acquisitions (DWAC) SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) was getting derailed by one aberrant investor that wanted to get a bigger piece of the pie. There was a certain ironic justice in that potential outcome of derailing Trump’s latest get-rich-quick scheme, but alas, I see that the vote went through anyway, which means that someone prevailed…
Cybertruck Last night we had dinner with brother-in-law Jeff and his wife Lisa and their friends George & Julie. We have known George & Julie for most of the last four years, almost entirely from going to dinner with them when they and Jeff & Lisa get together. The normal drill is to meet at Sushi Yama in Escondido for their collective fix of raw fish. Fortunately for me, they also serve gyoza and yakisoba,…
Ice Ice Baby Yesterday I planted eight flats of ice plants (technically, a succulent called Aizoaceae) both along the road and up in the Betty Garden behind the garage. I remember reading somewhere that the early explorers of California were attracted to the shore by seeing bright colorful flowers along the coast, so naturally, I assumed they were talking about ice plants since their colors are so very vibrant. But ice plants are natives of…
A Nice Week Ahead I read that Spring has come early all across the country, but that is deemed a mixed blessing at best. This was supposed to be a particularly harsh El Niño winter, but at least here in Southern California, that feels like it barely materialized. It’s always nice when the groundhog doesn’t see his shadow and we get an early Spring, but I should note that Groundhog Day was just over six…
Hello & Goodbye This evening we are going to a going-away party for some local friends who are moving to Bend, Oregon. We met Sam and Chris through the Hidden Meadows Garden Club, which is the vehicle through which we have made most of our local friends unless they are right next door to us. At some Garden Club event about three years ago, I was doing what I tend…
Buddy Boy We have now had our little Buddy for three months, which means that he has settled into his new territory and made it his home. Both Kim and I have noticed that the blend of fun-loving pup and feisty devilish troublemaker has skewed decidedly towards the former. He still gets those orange/red eyes at times when his blood is up, but for the most part he is a happy and contented little dog.…
Planning to Plan Do you remember Owl Jolson? He is that little adorable Merrie Melodies cartoon character from the 1936 animated short called I Love to Singa. It’s about a young owl whose father (that sounds funny…Who, Who) believes that the only pure music is classical whereas little Owl Jolson wants to sing Jazz. In other words, its a cartoon version of The Jazz Singer, with all the angst and…
Playing With Your Life One of the areas that I spent a great deal of time in during my professional life was the arcane arena of life insurance. Somewhere over the years, the business of life insurance took some very strange turns in this country. To begin with, the lobbying army that represents the industry is formidable, and they have done a wonderful job of making an arcane arena all the more arcane by purposefully…