Official Rant of the Day

I'm not sure we should allow people who really want the position to hold elected or appointed office. In too many cases, they want the post because they think they know what's best and can't wait to impose it on the rest of us.

I served on our town's Planning Board for six years, mainly because we were doing a lot of stuff for a tech park that now houses a GlobalFoundries fab that employs over 3,000 people at an average wage of $87k. But the processes drove me nuts. "Well, maybe we should set our own environmental standards and enforce them" or "I don't like that color." These were people on the Planning Board. But the kicker was when we had to attend a joint workshop with the Town Board on affordable housing in our burg. We went over definitions, and there was posturing, like "I want someone who runs a checkout line at Walmart (which isn't allowed in our town) to be able to afford a home." But I lost it when someone pointed to an older development and noted that a number of homes there met the definition of affordable housing. The Town Attorney said, "Yes, but there aren't enough of them."

I then said, "No, there are EXACTLY the right number of affordable homes. If more people wanted them, the price would go up and builders would rush in to meet the demand. That would drive prices lower. If fewer people wanted them, the price would go down until more people did want to buy them. Either way, we get to the price point where supply meets demand. That's where we are today." I don't think the attorney said another word for the rest of the evening. I was speaking a foreign language, as far as he was concerned.

A long rant to say that I have seen too many people in too many meetings who were really saying, "I bought this brand new home here for the quality of life. Now stop any further progress."

I was President of Football operations for about 5-6 years for our local school system. Sounds awesome but it was unpaid and a TON of work. I was supposed to coordinate (and interview the new one) with the HS head coach to get my youth coaches to run as close to the same terminology and offense and defense.

One, after the first year I didn’t take parent calls until Tuesday evenings (games were Saturday or Sunday). Give everyone time to cool off. I hung up on more people that first year then I have the rest of my life (maybe ex-wife excluded🤣).

Two, while the district went out and got a proven winning coach, he was not the right fit for our program. As the only one that would have been involved in the hiring process with any football knowledge, I’d have passed even though he’s a big name locally. Not the right fit for our program. We have a ton of athletes but not much size. Most of our better athletes have been run off since this move anyways.

Three, what a pain in the ass and waste of time when my new HS Head Coach skips every f’ing meeting he was supposed to have with me. He then eliminated the youth program. Huh? Ok. Lasted a year and ruined our football program. Went 3-7 that year although it was an *year. Almost every single one of the starters got injured. I’m game 20/22 starting positions were filled in with 2nd and 3rd string.

Oh yeah, I got to tell the guy at the end of the season that he was fired. Thanks. I mean we appreciated his efforts and would really appreciate his resignation. He walks out and I turn to the AD and ask if we can return to youth football. We were full contact 3-6 grade then they hit MS ball in 7th. Nope. 3rd-6th is going to remain flags. I tendered my resignation from this prestigious position right then.

Flag. I won’t even let my kids play that as the fastest team always wins. In real football, the toughest and best coached team wins.
 
House Buying... That is all


Oof. I’m looking at trying to coordinate a buy/sell so I feel your pain.

On one hand the values are crazy high, so I’ll make a lot selling. On the other, I’ll likely overpay when I downsize. And trying to time the sale with a buy is a pain since almost nothing hits the market in my area right now. If it does you better offer 125%+ of asking day one, no contingencies. I’ve always bought high and sold low so I’m quite excited at actually making money, 🤣. Then shelling out most of my profits for another overpriced house.

So that one I can go back to my normal buy high/sell low system.
 
I almost don’t feel right about 3 rants in a row, lol, but none of them mean. I’m just dumb. But luckily I have the training to de-bad-wordify my situations so far.

After a broken bone a few weeks back I’ve switched to dumb bells for working out.

Safer…. yeah? Yeah. Lose control on a single arm overhand at xxx weight. Ouch. I don’t stitch unless medically needed and I know head wounds bleed, 🤣

Luckily I do my own. Novocain might as well be water unless you give me 3-4 doses of it. So I’ll just do it myself, thanks.

Pretty neat. I’m sure I’ll have a bald spot scar in 10 years. But I can’t even see the stitching at 1/3” hair. I done went and got good at something, making myself stop bleeding (I am not an MD or DO, clarification may be needed, I just know how to tend wounds-yes I have lots of training there-official and not).
 
So, it’s been a day.
Started at DFW for my wife’s birthday trip to Bandon Dunes. Get on the plane, APU is acting up but they can “jump start” it at Dallas, no problem. APU still acting up but they don’t have what they need in Eugene, OR. Get off the plane & hang around for a while. New plane shows up, board again. Push off & flat tire. Maintenance crew comes out & starts changing the tires. Shift change when they get the tires off, they’re back to the shop & waiting on new crew to get off their smoke break. New crew finishes the tire change (they’d go hungry in NASCAR), spins them around. they don’t spin. Plane is taken out of service & “we’re going to try & get a different one”, lines start forming at customer service. 2 hours later, we’re at the front of the line. Somehow, AA rebooked us to Phoenix no clue how or why. I call Bandon & start rearranging the tee times. She’s not real keen on the idea but I explain what’s happened, my wife’s birthday & that she’s near in tears. She is super happy to help & we reschedule for new dates. AA lady is no help, like at all. Finally convince her we simply want to rebook & get our luggage. The plane is still there, the new hasn’t shown up yet & they’ve got to unload it anyway. She’s gonna make a call. 3 hours later, 3 of our 4 bags is gone. Like in the ethers. Another 2 hours go by & our bags on a plane but we’re not. No help to be found, anywhere. We finally call it & leave. Wife calls another customer service number, they start a case. 20 minutes later, they‘ve found my clubs but neither piece of luggage with clothes nor my wife’s clubs. The other three bags are still on the plane in Dallas & have never left. They are supposed to be bringing them to me tonight. Its been over 2.5 hours, no clubs.
Good times, wife has just about stopped crying. Y’all have a great weekend.
 
So, it’s been a day.
Started at DFW for my wife’s birthday trip to Bandon Dunes. Get on the plane, APU is acting up but they can “jump start” it at Dallas, no problem. APU still acting up but they don’t have what they need in Eugene, OR. Get off the plane & hang around for a while. New plane shows up, board again. Push off & flat tire. Maintenance crew comes out & starts changing the tires. Shift change when they get the tires off, they’re back to the shop & waiting on new crew to get off their smoke break. New crew finishes the tire change (they’d go hungry in NASCAR), spins them around. they don’t spin. Plane is taken out of service & “we’re going to try & get a different one”, lines start forming at customer service. 2 hours later, we’re at the front of the line. Somehow, AA rebooked us to Phoenix no clue how or why. I call Bandon & start rearranging the tee times. She’s not real keen on the idea but I explain what’s happened, my wife’s birthday & that she’s near in tears. She is super happy to help & we reschedule for new dates. AA lady is no help, like at all. Finally convince her we simply want to rebook & get our luggage. The plane is still there, the new hasn’t shown up yet & they’ve got to unload it anyway. She’s gonna make a call. 3 hours later, 3 of our 4 bags is gone. Like in the ethers. Another 2 hours go by & our bags on a plane but we’re not. No help to be found, anywhere. We finally call it & leave. Wife calls another customer service number, they start a case. 20 minutes later, they‘ve found my clubs but neither piece of luggage with clothes nor my wife’s clubs. The other three bags are still on the plane in Dallas & have never left. They are supposed to be bringing them to me tonight. Its been over 2.5 hours, no clubs.
Good times, wife has just about stopped crying. Y’all have a great weekend.
I've always said - if any other industry had customer service as consistently horrible as airlines, they'd go bankrupt in a heartbeat. It's absolutely the worst. Hope the rest of your wife's birthday trip is awesome enough to make up for how it started out!
 
I've always said - if any other industry had customer service as consistently horrible as airlines, they'd go bankrupt in a heartbeat. It's absolutely the worst. Hope the rest of your wife's birthday trip is awesome enough to make up for how it started out!

Rebooked everything for the 24th. It’s been a day & traveling is out of the question for a week or two.
I will say though, the lady I spoke to at Bandon was super helpful. Rebooked all of our tee times, upgraded our room & is throwing in a dinner. Super nice & helpful. AA though, not so much.
 
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So, it’s been a day.
Started at DFW for my wife’s birthday trip to Bandon Dunes. Get on the plane, APU is acting up but they can “jump start” it at Dallas, no problem. APU still acting up but they don’t have what they need in Eugene, OR. Get off the plane & hang around for a while. New plane shows up, board again. Push off & flat tire. Maintenance crew comes out & starts changing the tires. Shift change when they get the tires off, they’re back to the shop & waiting on new crew to get off their smoke break. New crew finishes the tire change (they’d go hungry in NASCAR), spins them around. they don’t spin. Plane is taken out of service & “we’re going to try & get a different one”, lines start forming at customer service.
2 hours later, we’re at the front of the line. Somehow, AA rebooked us to Phoenix no clue how or why. I call Bandon & start rearranging the tee times. She’s not real keen on the idea but I explain what’s happened, my wife’s birthday & that she’s near in tears. She is super happy to help & we reschedule for new dates. AA lady is no help, like at all. Finally convince her we simply want to rebook & get our luggage. The plane is still there, the new hasn’t shown up yet & they’ve got to unload it anyway. She’s gonna make a call. 3 hours later, 3 of our 4 bags is gone. Like in the ethers. Another 2 hours go by & our bags on a plane but we’re not. No help to be found, anywhere. We finally call it & leave. Wife calls another customer service number, they start a case. 20 minutes later, they‘ve found my clubs but neither piece of luggage with clothes nor my wife’s clubs. The other three bags are still on the plane in Dallas & have never left. They are supposed to be bringing them to me tonight. Its been over 2.5 hours, no clubs.
Good times, wife has just about stopped crying. Y’all have a great weekend.

I am so sorry for your wife (and you.) I read as far as the end of the bolded text and said, out loud, "It has to be American." Nothing I read after that surprised me. It's good to know they managed to keep up their usual standards, even with a pandemic. I've had bad things happen with them , but it's been when I've flown alone, on business. You are showing remarkable restraint. Some day, after a great time at Bandon Dunes, I hope you two will be able to look back on this and laugh.
 
I am so sorry for your wife (and you.) I read as far as the end of the bolded text and said, out loud, "It has to be American." Nothing I read after that surprised me. It's good to know they managed to keep up their usual standards, even with a pandemic. I've had bad things happen with them , but it's been when I've flown alone, on business. You are showing remarkable restraint. Some day, after a great time at Bandon Dunes, I hope you two will be able to look back on this and laugh.

Oh we will. On a side note, that flight that was leaving at 6:35, took off at almost 9PM.
According to the app, my clubs will be delivered between midnight & 6AM. The hell!?
 
Small update, my clubs showed up. TSA took all of them out of the golf bag & put them in in the travel case (soft sided) beside my bag. Nothing seems bent or broken.
Our other bags are in Eugene, AA has no idea if they'll get them on the return flight tonight.

Can't find a reservation anywhere I've looked for dinner tonight but I just spent way too long blowing up balloons all over the house, putting out flowers, getting her favorite cake & another card. I hope this works.
 
Takeout? I think she will appreciate what you were able to do on virtually zero notice.
 
I am typing this w/my left hand only, since my right hand refuses to work today! Played yesterday and everything was fine. Wake up today and the right hand is no go. I think Imay have a pinched nerve in my right elbow, since the back of my hand and forearm are kind of numb and tingly from the elbow down. Above the elbow,no numbness or tingle. Don't know if I slept on it wrong, or did something while playing yesterday. Whatever, this is a total PITA! Well, lets see what tomorrow brings.
 
We are in an area where we badly needed rain, like to the point we are almost at water rationing, we finally got rain the past two days.

Tomorrow is the first day that golf courses could allow non-household golfers together.

All courses in the are closed tomorrow now due to receiving excessive rain for 48 hours, with many of the courses under water.
 
Some people should just play mini golf or at least keep practicing until they don't duff every shot 50 yards.
 
Small update, my clubs showed up. TSA took all of them out of the golf bag & put them in in the travel case (soft sided) beside my bag. Nothing seems bent or broken.
Our other bags are in Eugene, AA has no idea if they'll get them on the return flight tonight.

Can't find a reservation anywhere I've looked for dinner tonight but I just spent way too long blowing up balloons all over the house, putting out flowers, getting her favorite cake & another card. I hope this works.

So, her bag of clothes were delivered today, that's a win. Her clubs are supposed to be delivered by 1PM today (it's 5:39 CST right now). My clothes are, well we're not terribly sure, not here yet. Currently 44 minutes 11 seconds into the AA hold music for someone to answer. Yes, I'm trying the app/website but not sure what else to do when it says " bruh, we don't where yo sh!7 is. Are you sure you had another bag?"
 
Some people should just play mini golf or at least keep practicing until they don't duff every shot 50 yards.
Good luck trying to tell them that.
 
Got a text today from my buddy's Son, announcing tee times for Sunday, Father's Day, at 11AM. Here's the rant!

I know the kid, 45 years old BTW, wants to do something nice for his Dad, but it's Sunday at the US Open! Why not show up at the house with some beers and some food, and watch it? He can take his Dad golfing on his dime anytime he wants. Plus, he booked this round at a course way out in the boonies, that I'm not all that fond of. It's expensive, for the quality of the course, but it's crowded, probably because the only other course in the area is even MORE expensive! By the time we finish the round and drive home, the Open will be over!

And that's all I wanted to do this Sunday was watch the US Open! But, I may have an out. A few days ago I posted, on this page, about a pinched nerve in my right elbow or forearm that won't allow my right hand to function fully. It gets a tiny bit better every day, but it's been slow. I figure I'll take a club out in the back yard on Thursday or Friday and see if I can hang onto the thing! After I received his text, I called him back, and let him know what the situation was. I told him that I'd call him back if the situation changed.
 
Got a text today from my buddy's Son, announcing tee times for Sunday, Father's Day, at 11AM. Here's the rant!

I know the kid, 45 years old BTW, wants to do something nice for his Dad, but it's Sunday at the US Open! Why not show up at the house with some beers and some food, and watch it? He can take his Dad golfing on his dime anytime he wants. Plus, he booked this round at a course way out in the boonies, that I'm not all that fond of. It's expensive, for the quality of the course, but it's crowded, probably because the only other course in the area is even MORE expensive! By the time we finish the round and drive home, the Open will be over!

And that's all I wanted to do this Sunday was watch the US Open! But, I may have an out. A few days ago I posted, on this page, about a pinched nerve in my right elbow or forearm that won't allow my right hand to function fully. It gets a tiny bit better every day, but it's been slow. I figure I'll take a club out in the back yard on Thursday or Friday and see if I can hang onto the thing! After I received his text, I called him back, and let him know what the situation was. I told him that I'd call him back if the situation changed.

I understand your thought process and can't criticize it. As for me, I'd gladly timeshift the US Open to play a round with my son. I've got little grandkids now, so it will be a while before we get to tee it up again.
 
And I can totally understand your point of view. If it was any other day, at any other course, I would bend heaven and Earth to be there! But, in this case no! In your case, just enjoy the grandkids, and play golf when you can.
 
I’ll never understand people who treat others homes like a dump when visiting. Makes me want to be a hermit.
 
Is this what professional furniture repair is supposed to look like?
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My rant is that America no longer feels like home to me. The social phenomena is one thing (BLM, Antifa, open borders, wokeness/cancel culture, critical race theory, defunding police, climate change insanity, etc...); but affordability is the main reason I'm looking to move elsewhere. Costs are high today, but (I believe) they will rise much higher very soon. This of course will precipitate massive layoffs and a debt crisis that will be unsurmountable. When interest rates rise, it will be very hard, and then impossible, for the U.S. to service its debt; interest payments on the debt alone will be higher than defense, entitlements or any other budget item. When the USD is no longer the world's reserve currency, well all you need to do is look at how that has played out for other countries historically.

I'm moving to Mexico for at least a year, starting September 1st. In August, I'll visit the Mexican Consulate in Houston to apply for my temporary residency. By next year, I'll also have my Irish citizenship (if interested, look up the jus sanguinis laws in Europe if you had a grandparent emigrate to the U.S. from a participating country) and I plan to buy a modest home on the southern coast of Spain as soon as possible.

Escaping to a socialist/quasi-socialist country sounds counterintuitive, but in a lot of ways, they offer more freedom (and certainly more affordability) than the U.S. of the near future (my opinion of course). And there's always a chance those countries will implode during a worldwide financial collapse. But short of going full-on, off-the-grid prepper, it seems my best course of action.

Anyway, just a rant and a huge pang of sadness for what my country once was...
 
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