Merriment No Less
22/11/20 07:16
The Covid business is ramping up again. I don't hear anyone referring to it as a second wave so there's that. It's around, folks. It's around. Maybe it's always been around and we just thought it was somehow on the wane when it really wasn't. We're hearing a lot about an uptick in cases but we hear very little about changes in the mortality rate.
If more people are getting it but we're having fewer hospitalizations and even fewer deaths, maybe it's not that big of a deal. Yet, the mask mandates keep popping up across the nation in state after state followed by curfews, etc.
I'm thinking I'll stick with my original strategy of going out next Monday to buy a turkey for our Thanksgiving dinner. Nancy suggested that there may be fewer birds available this year because no one is traveling for the holiday due to Covid and fewer and fewer people are having large groups sitting down to a meal.
I guess that means more turkeys will be flying off the shelves, pun intended, and there may not be any turkeys to buy for latecomers like me. I suppose we could have chicken instead. That wouldn't be the end of the world. Or, would it?
We could even have Thanksgiving later in the week or on the weekend. When you think about it, people are often eating leftovers for a good three to four days after Thanksgiving anyway. We were going to order mashed potatoes and stuffing from a local store so I hope we've not waited too long to do that.
Taking a couple of things off the list that we have to personally prepare is maybe not a bad idea. It will give us a different take on dishes that we have been accustomed to making on our own all these years although I'm not sure potatoes and stuffing were the best choices for this so-called new adventure of ours.
I think I heard that in the State of Pennsylvania government officials are imposing a mask mandate in homes where you have non-family members on the premises. These power hungry governors and officials are out of their fucking minds. Did I mention that masks will be required regardless of the usual social distancing rules in Pennsylvania?
That is to say, you can be 20 feet apart in your own home, and if you are not a family member, you are required to wear a mask. Maybe everyone is required to wear masks when non-family members are in the house. Maybe that's their way of telling the citizenry that they don't want you having non-family members over for the holiday. Bastards.
Did I mention that I no longer watch FOX? I've seen a decidedly turn to the left on that network over time so I think it's time to turn my attention elsewhere. It's funny how your bullshit meter starts ringing off the hook when you detect bias in the delivery of the talking heads on television.
It's a nuanced sort of thing but it comes at you fast, snarky, and somewhat pathetic in my humble opinion. Conservatives had a home of their own when FOX came along and not having to turn to CNN and other leftist stations for their news and opinion was a godsend. Maybe more importantly, FOX was unapologetic in their support for Trump. Now, not so much.
I'm not alone in leaving FOX. They've lost 50% of their viewership since the election. Some shows, like that fat fuck Cavuto who does their financial show, have lost more viewers than most. Tucker Carlson has probably shed the least. I like Tucker but he's always been more of a free wheeling libertarian than a hardcore conservative so we'll be tossing him out with the FOX trash. See ya!
He also didn't help himself when he went after Sidney Powell (attorney extraordinaire) for not sharing with his viewers what she has for evidence in her case against politicians and government officials in key battleground states across the Midwest. She's promised to release the "kraken" whatever the hell that is. Oh, and she says that it will be biblical. Who's on pins and needles besides me?
The only guy I still watch with any regularity is Lou Dobbs. I know, I know. That's FOX business but still FOX. Right? He has the grapefruits to call out the "radical dems" by name nightly which I love. Lou, unfortunately, has a somewhat standard but tedious line-up of guests each and every night.
I suppose it's a small price to pay to get all the news that's fit to "print." I could listen to Victor David Hanson all day long but I wish they would give him the time he needs to make his points. Why do they invite him on if they have no intention of letting him complete his thoughts? That's a rhetorical question.
It's hard to know what to think of the financial markets these days. It has to be surprising to anyone paying attention that the markets are at an all time high or damn near an all time high despite the volatility of the news cycle these days. I had to laugh when the news came out this past Monday that Pfizer had a vaccine that was going to be 95% effective.
The market spiked like nobody's business at the open but sold off during the day and ending the day with a small increase. Maybe what they say about investing is true. Buy the rumor, sell the news. I'm talking about the major indices here. Bitcoin, futures, and commodities are something altogether different. A horse of a different color if you will.
I feel bad for the buggers who sold their stocks or turned in their mutual funds for something more conservative when the markets plunged some 35% in March of 2020. We've seen a V-shaped recovery off the bottom which, if you hung on to your hat through it all, you emerged in one piece and you are now more than likely in positive territory as we close in on year end.
You ignored the voices in your head that were screaming SELL SELL SELL at the bottom back in March when it looked worse than bleak. One of our relatives likened it to the depression back in the thirties and there was no convincing her otherwise. This is what corrections do. They shake out the fair weather investors and restore equilibrium to the markets. If you lose your hat in the process, shame on you. Chalk it up to lessons learned.
How do you like them apples? What apples might you be referring to, Johnny boy? I be talking about Honey Crisps, of course. We can't seem to get enough of them. I'll be wondering about just how long we can expect to find them hereabouts or, more to the point, when the season for this particular type of apple is over.
I like them because they are sweet but not too sweet, tart but not too tart, and crisp but not too crisp. As for McIntosh apples and the like, you can have them. I've never liked McIntosh apples and could never understand their curb appeal (no pun intended.) There is nothing worse on God's green earth than mushy apples.
Is there such a thing as too crisp? Probably not. I don't know that I've ever been as taken with an apple like the Honey Crisp although I will admit to having had a love affair with Mutsu apples some years ago. And no, I will not be making an apple pie this Thanksgiving. Not because I don't like apple pie but rather because Nancy will be making her pumpkin pie.
The Mutsu's are good but it's a big apple and perhaps better suited to cooking than munching. It is a late apple as well, which I think we liked because it put us out in the orchards well into the Fall. Nobody likes picking apples when the weather is warm. You need a cool cloudless sky when you're climbing ladders and plucking apples from the trees. Am I wrong about that?
Nancy and I were out for a drive in and around Portsmouth last night just as it started to get dark. Portsmouth was unusually festive, the streets and stores were busy with shoppers, and the outside cafes were brimming with mask-less customers.
If all you read is the Boston Globe with their outlandish hysteria about Covid this and Covid that you might think that the scene we witnessed was something out of a fairy tale. Something out of a dream where there are no scourges of any kind, only lollipops and unicorns. It was heartening to be sure.
Whatever reservations people in Portsmouth had about the virus, they were throwing caution to the wind and getting on with their lives. They were wearing masks but that did seemingly little or nothing to dampen their spirit and enthusiasm for what is more affectionately referred to as living in the moment.
So much so, in fact, that Nancy said to me that she was thinking about taking a break from reading the Boston Globe. It certainly didn't hurt that many of the downtown stores had already put up their Christmas lights. The shimmering of city lights and the vitality of the crowds were a welcome backdrop to a plethora of otherwise bad news coming from sources like the Boston Globe and their ilk in the media about mutating viruses and an embattled economy.
It was good to see my darling smiling once again if only for mere moments.
If more people are getting it but we're having fewer hospitalizations and even fewer deaths, maybe it's not that big of a deal. Yet, the mask mandates keep popping up across the nation in state after state followed by curfews, etc.
I'm thinking I'll stick with my original strategy of going out next Monday to buy a turkey for our Thanksgiving dinner. Nancy suggested that there may be fewer birds available this year because no one is traveling for the holiday due to Covid and fewer and fewer people are having large groups sitting down to a meal.
I guess that means more turkeys will be flying off the shelves, pun intended, and there may not be any turkeys to buy for latecomers like me. I suppose we could have chicken instead. That wouldn't be the end of the world. Or, would it?
We could even have Thanksgiving later in the week or on the weekend. When you think about it, people are often eating leftovers for a good three to four days after Thanksgiving anyway. We were going to order mashed potatoes and stuffing from a local store so I hope we've not waited too long to do that.
Taking a couple of things off the list that we have to personally prepare is maybe not a bad idea. It will give us a different take on dishes that we have been accustomed to making on our own all these years although I'm not sure potatoes and stuffing were the best choices for this so-called new adventure of ours.
I think I heard that in the State of Pennsylvania government officials are imposing a mask mandate in homes where you have non-family members on the premises. These power hungry governors and officials are out of their fucking minds. Did I mention that masks will be required regardless of the usual social distancing rules in Pennsylvania?
That is to say, you can be 20 feet apart in your own home, and if you are not a family member, you are required to wear a mask. Maybe everyone is required to wear masks when non-family members are in the house. Maybe that's their way of telling the citizenry that they don't want you having non-family members over for the holiday. Bastards.
Did I mention that I no longer watch FOX? I've seen a decidedly turn to the left on that network over time so I think it's time to turn my attention elsewhere. It's funny how your bullshit meter starts ringing off the hook when you detect bias in the delivery of the talking heads on television.
It's a nuanced sort of thing but it comes at you fast, snarky, and somewhat pathetic in my humble opinion. Conservatives had a home of their own when FOX came along and not having to turn to CNN and other leftist stations for their news and opinion was a godsend. Maybe more importantly, FOX was unapologetic in their support for Trump. Now, not so much.
I'm not alone in leaving FOX. They've lost 50% of their viewership since the election. Some shows, like that fat fuck Cavuto who does their financial show, have lost more viewers than most. Tucker Carlson has probably shed the least. I like Tucker but he's always been more of a free wheeling libertarian than a hardcore conservative so we'll be tossing him out with the FOX trash. See ya!
He also didn't help himself when he went after Sidney Powell (attorney extraordinaire) for not sharing with his viewers what she has for evidence in her case against politicians and government officials in key battleground states across the Midwest. She's promised to release the "kraken" whatever the hell that is. Oh, and she says that it will be biblical. Who's on pins and needles besides me?
The only guy I still watch with any regularity is Lou Dobbs. I know, I know. That's FOX business but still FOX. Right? He has the grapefruits to call out the "radical dems" by name nightly which I love. Lou, unfortunately, has a somewhat standard but tedious line-up of guests each and every night.
I suppose it's a small price to pay to get all the news that's fit to "print." I could listen to Victor David Hanson all day long but I wish they would give him the time he needs to make his points. Why do they invite him on if they have no intention of letting him complete his thoughts? That's a rhetorical question.
It's hard to know what to think of the financial markets these days. It has to be surprising to anyone paying attention that the markets are at an all time high or damn near an all time high despite the volatility of the news cycle these days. I had to laugh when the news came out this past Monday that Pfizer had a vaccine that was going to be 95% effective.
The market spiked like nobody's business at the open but sold off during the day and ending the day with a small increase. Maybe what they say about investing is true. Buy the rumor, sell the news. I'm talking about the major indices here. Bitcoin, futures, and commodities are something altogether different. A horse of a different color if you will.
I feel bad for the buggers who sold their stocks or turned in their mutual funds for something more conservative when the markets plunged some 35% in March of 2020. We've seen a V-shaped recovery off the bottom which, if you hung on to your hat through it all, you emerged in one piece and you are now more than likely in positive territory as we close in on year end.
You ignored the voices in your head that were screaming SELL SELL SELL at the bottom back in March when it looked worse than bleak. One of our relatives likened it to the depression back in the thirties and there was no convincing her otherwise. This is what corrections do. They shake out the fair weather investors and restore equilibrium to the markets. If you lose your hat in the process, shame on you. Chalk it up to lessons learned.
How do you like them apples? What apples might you be referring to, Johnny boy? I be talking about Honey Crisps, of course. We can't seem to get enough of them. I'll be wondering about just how long we can expect to find them hereabouts or, more to the point, when the season for this particular type of apple is over.
I like them because they are sweet but not too sweet, tart but not too tart, and crisp but not too crisp. As for McIntosh apples and the like, you can have them. I've never liked McIntosh apples and could never understand their curb appeal (no pun intended.) There is nothing worse on God's green earth than mushy apples.
Is there such a thing as too crisp? Probably not. I don't know that I've ever been as taken with an apple like the Honey Crisp although I will admit to having had a love affair with Mutsu apples some years ago. And no, I will not be making an apple pie this Thanksgiving. Not because I don't like apple pie but rather because Nancy will be making her pumpkin pie.
The Mutsu's are good but it's a big apple and perhaps better suited to cooking than munching. It is a late apple as well, which I think we liked because it put us out in the orchards well into the Fall. Nobody likes picking apples when the weather is warm. You need a cool cloudless sky when you're climbing ladders and plucking apples from the trees. Am I wrong about that?
Nancy and I were out for a drive in and around Portsmouth last night just as it started to get dark. Portsmouth was unusually festive, the streets and stores were busy with shoppers, and the outside cafes were brimming with mask-less customers.
If all you read is the Boston Globe with their outlandish hysteria about Covid this and Covid that you might think that the scene we witnessed was something out of a fairy tale. Something out of a dream where there are no scourges of any kind, only lollipops and unicorns. It was heartening to be sure.
Whatever reservations people in Portsmouth had about the virus, they were throwing caution to the wind and getting on with their lives. They were wearing masks but that did seemingly little or nothing to dampen their spirit and enthusiasm for what is more affectionately referred to as living in the moment.
So much so, in fact, that Nancy said to me that she was thinking about taking a break from reading the Boston Globe. It certainly didn't hurt that many of the downtown stores had already put up their Christmas lights. The shimmering of city lights and the vitality of the crowds were a welcome backdrop to a plethora of otherwise bad news coming from sources like the Boston Globe and their ilk in the media about mutating viruses and an embattled economy.
It was good to see my darling smiling once again if only for mere moments.