Weird Weather

 I'm out in the shop right now, with no heat on.  It's the middle of February and unseasonably warm.  The weather-weenies are predicting that the temps will be in the mid-70s this weekend.

The weather is teasing us.  Winter isn't over yet. It's not yet time to put away the propane heaters.

Belle and I are going to make a run to Sam's Club in a bit.  We need entertaining supplies, like paper plates and plastic flatware.  Later today, if Amazon cooperates, I'll be working on a project that should increase the comfort in the shop.

In short, it's just a standard Tuesday around here.

Tea Leaves

 This guy is reading tea leaves and it's interesting.  Watching military air traffic across the US and world.

Signals intelligence comes in many forms, and these days, air flight data can tell you a lot about what is coming. Or, he could b all wrong.

Nationals

 The Cowboy Fast Draw Association is shooting their national championship this weekend in St. Augustine, FL.   This championship moves around, and this is the first time it has been on the east coast.  About 150 shooters from all over the country are enjoying Florida weather and testing their skills.

Belle and I didn't make it this year, for a variety oof reasons.  It just didn't fit into our schedule.  We've pared our schedule back some this year.  We'll do Texas in March, Georgia in April, and we are hosting Louisiana in May.  We plan to go to Kentucky in September.

I'm told that there is some trifling football game tomorrow.   I don't follow football as much as I used to, but the Super Bowl was one game I always watched. I met Belle at a Super Bol party in 2001.   Back then, the big game was the last Sunday in January.  Sometime since then, it has moved to February.

More currently, today is Saturday and I have things on my list.

Quandry

 So I'm hearing about this kidnapping in Arizona and I admit that it is a compelling tale. The woman who has been abducted is in her 80s, and that simple fact alone puts this outside the standard bell curve. The locals and the Feds are working the case.  From what little I've seen of the local Sheriff, he seems to be straight-arrow.

Hopefully, they will find this lady and bring her home safely.

Newspapers

 Newspapers are a relic of a bygone era.  In the 20tth century, every town had a newspaper.  It's where we got the news, weather, and sports.  Classified ads and legal notices.  My hometown paper, the Alexandria Daily Town Talk, exists as a pale shadow of its former self. The press is gone; I'm not sure if they print anything at all. At one point, it was being printed in Lafayette, but now I'm not sure at all.

Other newspapers hang on, grimly.  The news earlier this week was that the Washington Post was eliminating positions and laying off staff.  That seems to be the trend in the newspaper business these days.  However, those journalists still have employment opportunities.

That's funny, right there.

Wednesday Wondering

 There is an old saying about "death and taxes" So far I've cheated death, but once again it is time to deal with the IRS. I despise those sonsofbitches.

Some ignorant twat I've never heard of was talking shit at the Grammys last weekend.  Something about illegals and stolen land.  Turns out, her house is on stolen land.

I can take the moral high ground here.  My land isn't stolen.  When this area was first colonized, a guy named Fulton bought a huge chunk of land from the Choctaw. Land north of the river was considered worthless, fit for nothing but pine trees and brambles.  Fulton bought it and started selling homesteads. The Choctaw are still around.  They own a casino north of here. That same tribe has a small reservation near Jena, LA.  When that area went dry, they opened a package liquor store.  That pleased the Baptists to no end.

Busy Monday

 I hit the ground running this morning.  Good stuff.  Got a lot of stuff done, made progress in a number of projects.

I have our annual state shoot in four months, and it's time to get busy on that. The only problem is that we can't start promoting it until we nail down some details and we simply could not nail then down in January.

The weather was beautiful today, the best we've had in weeks.  The weather weenies tell me that we're in for another cold snap. Maybe we are about to turn the corner for spring.  I think I saw the scouts for the local purple martin flock yesterday.  On the other hand, I have heard that our friends in Florida are having "falling iguana" alerts.  So, it's cold in Florida.

Winter ain't over yet.  We still have February to live through.