Have you ever tried finding a big, black dog in the dark? Hamilton damn near took me out at the knees this morning because I didn’t see him coming. The sky was so bright that it almost felt as though the constellation Orion was trying to slap me in the face. That resulted in heavier-than-usual shadows into which our lab/pit mix disappeared. Belvedere was waiting patiently to come back inside. I whistled for Hamilton and didn’t see him. I whistled a second time, no obvious response. I was in the midst of whistling a third time when wham all 76 pounds of dog hit me. He almost made me spill my coffee!
If that’s the way today is going to behave, I’ll just go back to bed now. Yesterday was strange without Kat or Tipper here. Tipper is spending the weekend with a friend to avoid the noise from the races at IMS. Someone needs to tell the racing industry that scheduling an eight-hour race to start at noon in October is a bad idea. It was dark by the time the last laps were completed. The oval at IMS isn’t lit (only the dirt track has lighting). See how that might cause some problems? There are shorter races today, but they’ll finish by mid-afternoon. Oh, and in case you were wondering, Keanu Reeves spun out at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in his pro auto racing debut. Running in circles is more difficult than it looks. Some of you could give lessons.
The only news that isn’t a re-hash of the week is that Tropical Storm Milton has formed in the Gulf of Mexico and could intensify to hurricane, threatening Florida. This morning’s map looks like this:
At this time, Florida is taking most of the impact. South Georgia, especially South of Savannah, will see heavy winds and rain. While this model shows the Carolinas missing out on the worst of the storm, stay aware that a lot could change between now and landfall later this week. Storm surge will affect both the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. This is not the last storm of the season, and anyone living in these areas would probably do well to plan a long vacation elsewhere.
Hurricane Helene is causing some unique problems. False and misleading claims about Hurricane Helene are spreading about the storm and recovery efforts. What is especially concerning is that these factless claims aren’t just coming from Russia and Iran. The people who say they want to lead us for the next four years are doing far more damage! In addition to the Orange Felon, who lies every time he opens his damn mouth, Elon Musk, North Carolina’s lieutenant governor, Mark Robinson, Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. are among the worst spreaders of misinformation. These lies reduce the ability of people on the ground to address the many problems. Don’t spread them. Don’t share them. And tell those who do that they need to fuck the hell off.
The worst fallout from the hurricane is in western North Carolina, but at least five other states are grappling with their own intractable problems. Now, with a second hurricane potentially coming right back in on top of them, the rush is on to find as many people and secure as much shelter as possible. What doesn’t help is the fact that Homeowners hit by Hurricane Helene face the grim task of rebuilding without flood insurance. Who in Western North Carolina thought they’d need flood insurance? Not many. Now, with supplies already in high demand, those same residents have to prepare for the reality that, at the very least, they’re going to get hit with more rain.
Be thankful if you are safe enough to indulge in distractions such as football. Yesterday was a day full of chaos among the top 25, and there were plenty of surprises elsewhere as well. The big one making headlines this morning is Vanderbilt knocking off number-one-ranked Alabama. I hadn’t planned to watch this one because, under normal conditions, why would you? ‘Bama always routs Vandy. Even when a score popped up showing Vandy in the lead, I falsely assumed the Tide would come back and win. Didn’t happen. Alabama got beat up and this could be a game-changer for the rest of the season.
#4 Tennessee fooled around and lost to Arkansas, 14-19. The problem here wasn’t that the Razorbacks are any good, they’re not. The Vols were sloppy, undisciplined, and made one mistake right after the other. It hurt to watch this game, especially in the fourth quarter. I should have gone on to bed.
What was fun to watch was the way that Texas A&M knocked the wind out of #9 Missouri, 41-10. Missouri was never in this game. A&M was on point, avoided making too many mistakes, and even blocked a field goal in the final seconds of the first half. I never have liked Missouri, so this game had me smiling a lot.
#11 USC played sloppy ball and lost to Minnesota, 24-17. This didn’t have to happen. USC should have won this game. That game-changing interception? Everyone saw that coming. USC’s ball handling sucked the entire game (double-entendre intentional).
This could be the year we see a number of teams who are traditionally underdogs rise and beat the living hell out of long-standing powerhouses. One of the stats I’m finding impressive is that both Army and Navy are now 5-0. Do you know the last time that happened? 1946! While we might question the toughness of their schedule, the military service schools don’t normally field teams this good. Good players go elsewhere. This is going to make the upcoming Army/Navy game on December 14 more watchable than normal.
And who the hell thought IU would be the first bowl-eligible team this season? They extended their winning record to 6-0 yesterday by running right over Northwestern, 41-24. The win makes the Hoosiers the first bowl-eligible team in college football. Who had that one on their football bingo card? Anyone? I’m not sure Bloomington was ready for this!
Folks in West Lafayette are questioning Purdue coach Ryan Walters’ decision to fire their offensive coordinator leading to yesterday’s 52-6 beat down at the hands of Wisconsin. There are plenty of excuses and attempts to explain the move, but who the fuck does this in the middle of an already-questionable season? Yesterday’s loss showed a complete lack of leadership from the sideline. This team has the talent to be winning. The coaching staff needs to step up and earn their ridiculously high salaries.
The chaos could continue today in the NFL. The 2-2 Colts are barely a favorite over the winless Jags. With QB Anthony Richardson out, and Jacksonville really needing a win, I don’t see this one ending well for Indianapolis. I doubt I’ll watch more than the highlight reel. There are plenty of opportunities for other upsets in today’s schedule, so watch where you place that dip while you’re watching the game. No one wants ranch dressing all over the carpet.
Does anyone else have problems with their bones randomly hurting for no obvious reason? Just me? Okay, I’ll deal with it. Now, where’s that Tylenol bottle?
Make the coffee strong this morning, folks! This could be the start of an interesting week.
Morning Update: 10/15/24
Yesterday was full of surprises, the biggest of which was PELICANS at Eagle Creek! Jen and I were out again, along with her daughter Ali, to see if we could catch some larger birds than we had the last time out. There was the usual collection of smaller birds floating on the water, and we caught a handful of blue herons and egrets wading around the shoreline. We first saw a couple of pelicans out in the middle of the lake and considered it unusual, but they were too far away for either of our cameras to get a good shot. But then, as we came around the North side of the land bridge, the first group flew in right over our heads, the shot above. Over the next several minutes, more came in groups of three, five, or seven. In total, nearly forty pelicans were taking a breather along the shallow water.
Why is this a surprise? Because pelicans don’t belong in Indiana! Sure, one might occasionally find one up around Lake Michigan during the summer, but we’re too far inland for them to be interested in hanging out here. More often, they prefer the warmer climates of Southern California and … Florida. Our best guess is that Helene’s winds blew the sea birds up here and now they’re trying to get back home before frost hits tomorrow night. I’ll share more pictures in a separate post later this morning.
Then, I came home, took a nap, and went outside to find that it rained? Not a lot, nothing more than a brief shower, just enough to leave droplets on top of the trash bin and make the road wet. But, there wasn’t any rain in the forecast yesterday morning! Conditions with the advancing cold front were just right to generate spotting showers around the region. More could pop up today. The cloud cover prevents air tempts from dropping too low. Only when the skies clear Wednesday night will we see frost.
Solaris wants you to know that he thinks human life is silly and that we should spend more time napping in the sunlight and cleaning ourselves. In fact, he’s decided that if a human touches him, he needs to clean the filthy area immediately. I gave him pets as I sat down and now he’s ferociously attempting to remove the stink from his body. Too bad that desire for cleanliness doesn’t extend to things like cleaning up his vomit from the floor.
Other news? It’s concerning that the UN is concerned about the safety of their peacekeepers. This is a sign that no one is playing fair and none of the leaders can be trusted. None of them. Just toss the Geneva Convention out of the window. War crimes are being committed daily and no one is doing a damn thing about them. I have ideas, but they’re probably too extreme.
North Korea is throwing a hissy fit, blowing up roads and rail yards in its own country. Those with multiple children will recognize this tactic of throwing toys all over the room while yelling and screaming in frustration. Why? Who the fuck knows. Perhaps the tomato slipped out from their cheeseburger. Maybe their wearing the red outfit when they want to wear the dirty brown one. Possibly a sibling walked past without saying anything. North Korea has a brain deficiency that doesn’t allow them to progress and grow. And their diaper stinks.
Oh, if you’re one of those selfish people who thinks that the US needs to seriously crack down on immigration, I hope you’re ready to pay more for milk. You see, the price of milk has long been regarded as a bellwether for families with children. When milk prices rise, family health declines. Dairy farms rely on migrant labor because lazy Americans don’t want to work seven days a week. Most milk cows have to be milked twice a day, every day. No exceptions. Take away the migrant labor and… you see where this is going, don’t you? A hard line on immigration almost immediately relates to higher prices on the most basic necessities. Perhaps we need to rethink our approach.
I know October is a spooky scary month, but most people prefer their horrors to be pretend. Russia, however, is making them real. As the trial in the death of a British woman in 2018 began yesterday, we found out that the vial containing the poison that killed her had enough to kill thousands of people. That only one person was killed was not Russia’s intended outcome. Let that sit and simmer in your nightmares for a while.
FEMA workers change some hurricane-recovery efforts in North Carolina after receiving threats. You would think that people would welcome those trying to help them. That doesn’t seem to be the case in the backwaters of North Carolina where apparently Fox News is the only television station anyone watches. One person was arrested yesterday for apparently attempting to carry out violence against federal aid workers. Maybe next time we let them drown.
I know, that statement is cold, harsh, and inhumane. I’m over all the stupidity, though. When people are trying to kill those who want to help, we’re no longer in a position to offer them humane support. The election is getting tighter as we move closer to November 5 and whether or not the election is peaceful is a serious concern! Who the fuck have we become? Last week, Australia sentenced a man to prison for giving a nazi salute in public. There’s no tolerance there for the kinds of stupidity that lead to people being killed. The problem with the US taking that approach at this juncture is that we’d have to jail a quarter of the population! We have become too tolerant of the type of speech and behaviors that lead to violence. We have become too tolerant of rhetoric that marginalizes immigrants, LGBTQIA+ populations, and women. Continuing down this path inevitably leads to a fall that makes what happened to the Roman Empire look like a child’s birthday party by comparison. We must vote better. We must scream louder. We dare not sit silent.
I’m glad I’m old and probably won’t live to see Mad Max become a reality. There’s little question in my mind that the US, and perhaps the world, is headed in that direction.
Don’t mind me, though. I’m just going to sit over here and drink coffee and take pictures of birds.
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