This just in: I took 6 COVID tests in 9 days. All negative.

I needed a chest X-ray so the doctor told me to take a home test. If the test was positive, I should stay home. If the test was negative, I needed to come in and take a “real” test before they would e-X-ray me. The home test was test #1.

The home test was negative so I went to the doctor’s and took the “real” test which was test #2.

I was flying to Europe on a Tuesday so I needed to take a rapid PCR test withing 48 hours of travel. I found a CVS site online that did such a test and I scheduled it for Monday (24 hours before my flight). It seems no one tests on Sunday so I had to cut it close. No worries, this was going to be a rapid test. I get to CVS and they say, “Yes, some of our sites have rapid tests but this one doesn’t. I don’t care that the website you used to schedule this test told you differently.” I took the test knowing that the results may not be ready in time for my flight. That was test #3. (Cost $136)

Since CVS was not guaranteeing my results on time, I scheduled a rapid test at the airport 4 hours before my flight. This was test #4. Cost ($240)

I go to Budapest for a couple of days. I’m returning on a Sunday so I scheduled a test 28 hours before my flight. This was test #5. (Cost $50)

The morning before my flight, I’m checking to make sure I have met all the testing requirements; especially the 48 hour thing. As I scroll through all the fine print, I discover that a test is needed within 48 hours before most destinations but….if you are flying to the United States, I needed to have a test within 24 hours. So, I got in the car and drove down and took test #6. (Cost $50)

So, 6 tests in 9 days at a cost of nearly $500. All negative.

I am not anti-mask. I am not anti-vax. However, I am really, really getting tired of all this.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in: To no one’s surprise, Putin has invaded Ukraine on the pretense of Keeping The Peace. However, the obvious truth is that this has been a typo in his stated mission. It’s “piece” not “peace” that he is keeping. “I’ll keep that piece of Ukraine and that piece over there and….”

All this is happening 240 kilometers to the east of where I sit right now in Budapest.

People are dying from a war that was started to simply feed the ego of Trump’s idol. Putin wants a legacy of recreating the Soviet Union. People are dying and it’s all on him.

Putin has plenty of backers; people cheering him on as his murderous spree continues. Fox News, Trump, Pompeo and a whole slew of Republicans think this is all just fine. Why? For one reason: They oppose the position of a sitting Democrat president because it strengthens their political position. In short, Republican support Russia because they want more power.

Meanwhile, Putin is spinning a web of lies that are second in line only to those spun by Trump. Why does Putin tell so many blatantly obvious lies? For the same reasons our Republican party tells obvious lies, they both have a base of people who will believe anything they say. Putin wants war. Russians want justification. Putin says, “Ukrainians are killing children and they need to be stopped.” That’s good enough for the right.

Now for a music video…

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in: I’m going to list 3 companies that I recommend we all avoid. There are certainly more to avoid than these three but I made my selection on a vary narrow criteria: Thus must be very bad at the very thing they claim to be best at.

Let the countdown begin:

Number 3 on my list is United Parcel Service (UPS). Their sole purpose for existing it deliver packages quickly to anywhere in the country. Now, back in the days before Amazon, we use to put up with UPS missing a delivery date now and then. I recall a time about 20 years ago where they lost my order. I actually wrote and asked them if my order was the first order that they ever tried to deliver. When they found the order and returned it to the sender, they still tried to bill be. I had to remind them, “I pay you to deliver, not to try to deliver.” Right now I have a package that was sent 5 days ago on a 2-day delivery. After 2 days, it got to within 50 miles. It sat there for a day and then was shipped to Los Angels, 400 miles away. It spent a day there and now it about 100 miles away…where it has been sitting for nearly 24 hours. Amazon, meanwhile, is still making 1-day deliveries on time as promised.

Number 2 on my list is AT&T. For a number of reasons, I think this is the worst run company in the country. They have gobbled up other companies from time to time only to see them fail. In short, everything AT&T touches…dies. They have overbilled. They made my mom cry when she tried to cancel. They billed me for months for an account that I never opened. Right now, they say, “Move to AT&T and get use our software to stop you phone from being SPAMMED.” Right now, the number on phone spammer seems to be someone concerned about my lack of car warranty. However, I get spammed at least 3 times a week from AT&T telling me that I have qualified for a special offer. The company promising to protect me from robo-calls is one of the worst robo-call offenders in the country.

Number 1 on my list is McAfee anti-virus software. I’m sure you’ve had this experience. You buy a new computer and McAfee is already installed. This is called a “feature” when it is actually an intrusive virus. From the very first day, the installed software reminds you that there are other features you can upgrade to. Uninstalling it is nearly impossible. But, I got it done. Then, 2 months later, I started getting McAfee popups that said, “You have several virus infections.” When I close the popup, a browser automatically opens up and tried to sell me McAfee protection. This goes on constantly, making work nearly impossible. So the anti-virus software tries to sell you software by inserting a virus into your computer telling you that you have a virus so the company that installed the virus can get rid of it for you. I fail to see much of a difference between McAfee and ransomware.

Now for a music video…

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in: If I ever had to sit in a room with a bunch of elected officials to try and resolve some very simple issue, “what’s for lunch?” as an example, I would would be soon looking for a window to jump out of.

There are objective arguments and subjective arguments. Take math as an example of an objective argument. Someone presents a research paper for peer review and it gets trashed. Why? The argument goes like this: “I trashed this because in line 3 you failed to carry the 3 and thus reached a wrong solution.” Everyone could agree on that. Everyone.

In a subjective argument, someone at a school board meeting says, “We need to burn all books that have any content that contradicts the bible.” An opposition argument may be, “Who says that your interpretation of the bible is correct and how do you know that you know the will of God?” The first person will fire back with, “No, you shut up.” Both convincing arguments and the winner is simply a matter of opinion.

Politics, which should be packed with object based arguments is nothing more than a bunch of voices spouting unsubstantiated opinions with a belief system that says, “The louder one is the more right one is.”

So count me out.

I have dibs on this position of non-participation. I expect better out of you.

Local, state and national offices are being filled with people wearing QAnon t-shirts because the rest of us have more important things to do.

Thus, we get the government we deserve.

I feel that we may be reaching a tipping point where one of two things will happen. First, we may say, “Enough of this bullshit” and get some rational people to run for office. Alternatively, we may just say lazy and let the QAnon idiots take over.

Interestingly, the choice is completely ours.

So get out there and participate. I’ll watch.

Here is a cute video…

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in: I think that there is wrong-think amongst the American populace. Excuse my Orwellian “newspeak” language but I feel that “wrong-think” is an apt description for how we view our political structure. Of course…this only applies to people that aren’t me.

Let’s start with my theory, developed through observation, that there are 3 types of Republicans. (1) There is the man on the street; in rural America. This person is a loyal Republican and has been so for generations. (2) There are the super rich that will never have enough for themselves. Finally (3) Elected Republican officials.

Here is how the three operate together. The super rich pay the elected officials to take advantage of the gullible “loyalists”. All in one political party.

If it suits the Republican Party to hate Russia, then the elected officials say, “We hate Russia” and the loyalists agree. If the next week it suits the Republican Party to love Russia, they say, “We love Russia” and the loyalists agree.

If the Republican Party says, “BLM protests are too violent” the loyalists agree. If the Republican Party says, “Attacking the Capital is all a part of legitimate political debate” the loyalists agree.

If the rich need a tax break, they pay a Republican who tells the loyalists, “You will be getting a higher paying job because of a tax cut” and the loyalists believe. When the better jobs never happen, the Republicans do two things: (1) Collect their bribes from the super rich and (2) Blame the Democrats on the lack of new jobs.

When Republicans do everything in their power to stop Biden from accomplishing anything on his agenda, they blame Biden for not accomplishing his agenda and the loyalists agree.

When Donald Trump was found guilty of working with Russia to win the 2016 election, Republicans reported that the exact opposite was the actual findings; and the loyalists agreed in spite of direct and overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Having about 50 million Americans that practice virtually no critical thinking on their own is quite an advantage. The Republican Party can do whatever they want and 50 million people nod knowinging.

It’s like in the book 1984. At one point, a character notices that the enemy of the state seems to be the exact opposite of what he was told just a short time earlier. He never quite makes the effort to see that he is being told opposite stories. This enables Big Brother to claim progress in non-existent wars while giving the masses an enemy to be made at. In a Big Brother world, there is no need for critical thinking.

I find this both disappointing and frustrating.

I’m disappointed that we, as a county, are made up of so many sheep.

I’m frustrated that logical argument and direct evidence have no impact.

For example: Everyone wants bridges to be updated. When Biden fails to get the money because Republican opposed his agenda (just because they don’t want him to get credit,) then the bridges don’t get fixed. When you point out to a Republican loyalist that the reason bridges are not getting fixed is because Republican officials stopped it, the loyalists disagree. They can see the votes and still disagree. Ask they what they think happened and they will say, “Biden is a failure” as if this explained something.

Alas…

Now for a music video.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in: The Republican Party has come out with their official position about what happened at the Capital on January 6th 2021. It was apparently just Americans being involved in “Legitimate political discourse.”

Hundreds of arrests for assault = Legitimate Political Discourse.

140 police officers injured = Legitimate Political Discourse.

Several dead as a results = Legitimate Political Discourse.

Forget that the Republican Party opposed the infrastructure bill that passed earlier this year.

Forget that the Republican Party opposed a voting rights bill that would ensure All Americans have equal opportunities to vote.

Forget that the Republican Party added $8 trillion to the national debt during the Trump years with the only result being gross increases in wealth for the already wealthy.

Forget the racism, the lack of shame, the hypocrisy, the lies.

Forget that the Republican Party now stands with Putin when it comes to allowing Russia to invade the Ukrane.

Forget all of that.

All you need to know about the Republican Party is that they are calling the attack on the Capital in an attempt to overturn an election and thus overturn the Constitution “Legitimate political discourse.”

Here is a cute video.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim