Odd Bits - The Housekeeping Edition

As we did in October, the wife and I attended our neighborhood’s little No Kings protest on Saturday. Last time, it drew about 70 people at its peak. This time, it was about half that. I attribute that to the fact that it was about 40 degrees out with a brisk wind, rather than a lack of enthusiasm on the part of the locals. I was kicking myself because I stood in front of our closet for ten seconds, wondering whether I should bring gloves or not. Within five minutes of being out there holding a sign in that wind, I knew I had chosen poorly.

The cars were honking enthusiastically at the signs, which ran along the same general lines as they did in October, only with a few added pleas for peace. Sweetpea and I reused the same array of signs we made before. My favorite signing came from a protest I saw online (I failed to note where):

Now, “Over The Rainbow” would be a bit of Commie Leftist propaganda rather than a timeless classic.

From the Department of “I Totally Called That”

Over the weekend, TFG mentioned that they are building a large military complex under the new East Wing.

Yeah, no kidding. I pegged that in October:

“Since he was having it all rebuilt from scratch, I figured there would have to be some secret 'special rooms,' something he’d need to be off the books. Something like a protective bunker, something built with today’s best tech, where he could hide out indefinitely, all the while being able to surveil his domain and keep track of what’s being shown on TV. Maybe even have a studio in there from where he could get himself onto Fox and Friends. He could install a special safe to hold the Epstein files that only he could access. And, of course, his own McDonald's.”

Now he’ll have a place that, if his voter-suppression tactics and outright denial of results don’t work, he has a burrow from which someone will have to pry him, like a rabid badger down a hole. I’d recommend one of our famous bunker-busting bombs, if we have any left. Come to think of it, I bet he’ll make sure we’ve used them all up, maybe blowing up some “underground South American druglord fortresses” in October of 2028.

Never forget that the presidency is the only thing keeping him out of jail, and his loyalist Justice Department is doing the same for his family, cronies, and Cabinet. He has zero motivation to leave peacefully, and we need to expect as much. There is no line he won’t cross to keep this gravy train rolling. I bet there will be a helipad within waddling distance, too, so if he must flee, he can get airborne quickly, to shuttle off to Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, or some other friendly dictatorship that offers him quarter.

Paper Chase, Cont’

Just to let you know how it turned out with my newspaper subscription, from last week’s post, the situation has been resolved, temporarily.

I called last Tuesday afternoon, and after fighting through a voicemail system that definitely did NOT want anyone speaking to a human, I finally reached an East Asian call center and got my discount reinstated to $159/month. That works out to $5.12 per paper, as opposed to $6.80, undiscounted, which is still crazy but less insane. Cover price is $4.00... I remember paying anywhere from a quarter to a dollar on the street downtown, on days my paper wasn't delivered before I left for work.

I expect I'll have to do this every six months from now on until I die or tell them to screw it and go to weekends only.

Like I said, I mainly keep the paper for the comics and puzzles. I know there are alternatives, but I have my reasons for still wanting the paper. Getting a paper is really an ingrained habit. My parents always got a daily paper or two, so I grew up with it. I’ve had a paper delivered for my entire adult life, save for the 4 years I spent in a particular apartment complex that didn't allow indoor delivery (mid to late 80s).

I've tried doing crosswords online, but I just don't like it. And printing them from online would also cost me a fortune (in paper and toner). I like the daily routine of doing my puzzles during lunch (away from my computer desk) or weekend breakfasts. Sweetpea and I both do them. I do the Baltimore Sun puzzle (which is actually the syndicated LA Times puzzle), the NY Times, the Jumble, and the Sudoku.
I've been doing the puzzles at lunch continuously since 2010, and even started a results-tracking sheet in 2016. Yes, really. I used to keep track on my desk calendar, but started a spreadsheet in 2016 to look for the longest streaks and other personal records.

Someone got me a crossword puzzle book about 15 years ago, and I couldn't use it. It was a book of NY Times puzzles, but they were from the early 1970s. I couldn't complete a single one... it was like they were from another planet.

I like that the puzzles are up to date, always changing, and keep me sharp. Or at least, make me a fountain of useless trivia.

Also, this is Baltimore, and I married a native. We need newspapers to line the tables on blue crab night.

By the way, the paper never mentioned anything about local No Kings protests, including only an article about the big one in Minnesota and all the star power that appeared there. And they didn’t cover much about Speaker Johnson killing a vote on funding DHS and the TSA before sending everyone home on vacation. So remember that when you see the next troll blaming the Dems for long airport lines.