Category: OCF

The Litmus Test Going Forward

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For the last seven years we have been witness to an attempt to break this country loose from the power structure that controls almost every facet of our lives and inexorably drags the world further and further to the left.  We elected Donald Trump to be our savior.  He was going to close the border, restore the economy and free us from the mind control that the woke forces of Media and Industry had imposed.  He gave it a good try.  He was basically completely alone.  Almost all the people he appointed from the GOP establishment to work in his administration were working against him 24/7/52.  He did succeed in revealing to us just how corrupt and powerful were the bureaucrats who run the FBI, CIA, IRS and the other alphabet agencies that really run our government instead of the president.  And for that I am grateful to him.

But we now know that the Left permanently controls the federal election system.  Through ballot harvesting or whatever you want to call the voter fraud system they’ve enacted they appear to have a monopoly on control of the White House and the Senate going forward.  That’s the situation.

To my mind the only meaningful news from this point forward is when someone figures a way to gain ground on the Left.  What do I mean by gaining ground?  Well let me give an example.  Suppose one of the states decides to do something about illegal immigration.  For instance, suppose Texas legislates that anyone in the state found to be an  illegal alien was subject to arrest and incarceration until they agreed to voluntarily return to their country of origin permanently.  I would consider that gaining ground.  But it would only be a victory if that state manages to successfully defend such legislation from the legal onslaught that the federal government would surely bring to bear against it.  It would only count if they successfully implement the program and make it work.

So, you see what I mean.  At this point I’m only interested in results.  It’s been said that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions and we’ve been going down that road for a very long time.  I’m only interested in something that gets us off that road.  That’s my criterion.  I’m too tired of trumpeting the advent of someone on the Right talking about doing something.  Talk, as has often been noted, is cheap.  Results are not.

So that’s my new policy.  If I read about something promising.  I’ll be interested but excitement will be reserved for results.  All of the talk about election fraud lawsuits have garnered not one reversal of an election loss.  All of the articles about lethal vaccine side-effects haven’t resulted in the FDA protecting the public from these experimental treatments.  We’ve read about how the FBI and CIA called the shots at Twitter but there hasn’t been anyone in the government fired because of it.  There’s been a lot of talk but nothing has happened so there’s really nothing to talk about.

From time to time, I’ll still comment on things in the news.  But when something really happens, I’ll say that someone has gained ground.  In fact, I’ll start a new web tag on the site called Real Progress Against the Left.  I’ll include this post under that tag because it provides my policy and its definition.  But I don’t expect to add any other posts any time soon.  But I can always hope.

Enough of Gloom and Doom for the Last Week of the Year

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So that post I had up for yesterday was certainly depressing.  Well, I had an antidote for that today.  After getting home from an errand this afternoon, I had all four grandsons over for a viewing of the extended version of the “Return of the King.”  This includes my personal favorite scene from the motion picture series, “The Ride of the Rohirrim.”

There’s nothing like hanging out with my young descendants to cheer me up.  This was the first viewing of this decisive completion to the trilogy for the two younger fellows.  And there was much excitement over the visually impressive Battle of Minas Tirth.  We cheered on the good guys and laughed when the various orcs and trolls were splatted by projectiles hurled from the battlements.

Camera Girl, always the gracious hostess, provided grilled cheeses sandwiches, mac and cheese and desserts.  There were several pies, various flavors of ice cream, cheesecake and cookies available.  And this being a vacation week we all ate way too much.

After the movie ended, we debated many important points of Tolkeiniana.  I expressed my opinion that regardless of the violence done to the plot Sam should have been allowed to liquidate Gollum.  In all honesty, in the movie version, I despise both Gollum and Frodo almost equally.  Frodo is such a hopeless basket case that it defies imagination that Sam was able to finally carry him over the finish line to Mount Doom at all.  If they had taken along a ten-year-old girl instead it couldn’t have been any more pathetic.  I think if Elrond had given the ring to Sam, he would have chucked it in Mount Doom a couple of months early and been back in the Shire in time for potato planting.

My younger relatives seemed to enjoy most the scenes where Gimli and Legolas compete to kill the most orcs.  I have to confess the liberties that the movie makers took with the dialog around Gimli borders on the farcical but I will admit that sometimes the lightheartedness is a welcome addition.  Although I do draw the line at the dwarf tossing and elf snowboarding scenes in “The Two Towers.”

Eventually some of the discussions spilled over into arguments about the actual text in Tolkien’s books.  I had to bring out my copy of the trilogy in order to provide authoritative answers to questions like which were older, the Oathbreakers on the Paths of the Dead or the dead soldiers in the Dead Marshes?  As it turned out they were both from the same time period, the Last Alliance of Men and Elves against Sauron at the end of the Second Age.

And so, we ended the get together and I brought them home in time to finish their chores and prepare for the next day of their Christmas vacation.  But if life in this confused world still includes time with such admirable characters as my grandsons, then it can’t be all bad.  We’ll have many good things to do in the days and weeks ahead.  And I’ll get to see them grow up to be fine young men.  As for problems, well, helping family with their problems is what family is all about.

December 26th 2022

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And just like that it’s over.  All of Camera Girl’s hard work has been expended and all the splendiferous foods have been eaten and all the children have gotten their gifts.  And we wake up on Monday morning and groan from the food we consumed and begin to straighten up the kitchen and the house and cart away the imperial ton of wrapping paper and boxes and put away the good china (of which one plate didn’t survive the exercise, requiescat in pace) and shake out the table cloths for the birds before they go in the washing machine (the tablecloths not the birds).

And we talk about all the moments we had with the kids and the grandkids.  And they are remarkable things these moments.  And we agree that it doesn’t get any better than this.  Spending time with the people you love and being relaxed and happy doing it is the pinnacle of life.  All of the hard work that went into the meal was repaid with interest by seeing the guests enjoy it.  Watching the young children playing together and sitting with the older children and talking about their lives and interests is the culmination of decades of work and is enormously gratifying to a parent and grandparent.

I was having a conversation with one of my sons-in-law.  We were talking about the uncertainty of conditions in the world for regular people and he said some things that told me he understands what’s important.  He said the only certain thing in the economy is that if you have a skill that people need, you’ll be able to survive.  And I said that’s true and I added, “No one is looking out for us anymore.  We have to depend on ourselves and each other.”  And he agreed.

And afterwards I thought about what I had said off-hand.  It’s true.  The government has abandoned us.  We’re looking out for each other or no one is.  If something happens to one of your family you may be the only thing between him and homelessness and death.  The government can’t be bothered.  The Canadian government, always ahead of us on the edge of progressivism, now uses the idea of assisted suicide for any situation where people feel abandoned by society.  If you can’t get help with a health problem, they’ll suggest, “Why not end it all with our convenient and economical assisted suicide kit.”  It comes with a YouTube video and on-line instructions to make sure everything goes smoothly.

I’m sure soon they’ll add it to all government FAQ pages as an option to all life’s difficulties.  Can’t get that rental house this summer?  Then end it all.  Can’t find that bargain on eBay you wanted?  Why not off yourself?  It’s fun and practical.  You won’t need to skimp on anything.  Just have a big weekend at a resort, run up an enormous hotel tab and then finish it off with an overdose of fentanyl.  Quick, painless and easy.

Well, excuse me if I don’t run for the exits.  Life is extremely precious.  Our overlords are working overtime to encourage people to give up.  Don’t get married, don’t have children, don’t buy a house, don’t work hard, just drop dead.

Well, too bad.  I won’t take the hint.  They’ve stopped pretending they’re our fellow countrymen.  The globalists say we’re all just one big world.  And it’s a world that has too many people in it.  Fine then.  We’re nothing to them and they’re nothing to us.  Less than nothing.  They’re our avowed enemies.

Let’s remember that and act accordingly.  We only have each other.  But the help of people that actually care about you is more valuable than anything else that you’ll find in this fake world of woke propaganda.  Recalibrate what you can and can’t depend on and decide what is worthwhile to do and what is a waste of precious time.  And you’ll be surprised how much less bleak things will appear.  Just find people you like and work together to make a little world around you that includes the things in life that actually matter.  That’s my thought on this day after Christmas.

Christmas Day 2022

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Christmas Eve with the grandsons at their home was great.  They were in epic high spirits and we talked of various things.  With the eldest it was nuclear fusion and robotics.  With the youngest it was, of course, dinosaurs but also his latest pet, a bearded dragon with an inexhaustible appetite for “super worms.”  With the others there was talk of soccer and what they would be doing on the Christmas holiday next week.  Much food was eaten and the younger kids were occupied with happy mayhem.  Something with plastic swords and shields.

 

But this morning, Camera Girl is at peak output with potatoes being mashed, lasagna, roast beast and ham cooking and side dishes being prepared.  I can tell her patience is exhausted so I have to tread carefully around the outskirts of her kitchen or a carving knife might end up under my ribs.  She does have Sicilian blood on her mother’s side.  But I can tell all is going well.  She’s in the zone.  All of the desserts are already prepared and the meat courses are right on schedule.  It will be a feast to remember.  And the leftovers will be glorious.  That ham will end up in at least a lentil soup and probably some breakfasts.

But after eating way too much food and way too much dessert I’ll spend the time with the grandkids.  Now that Princess Sack of Potatoes is a full four years old, she’ll be right in the thick of it with her older cousins.  I might even try to put on a showing of one of the “Christmas Carol” movies but Camera Girl frowns on television watching on the holidays.  She prefers more sociable pursuits like cards.  We’ll see.

The weather has cooperated.  Although bitterly cold, the roads are in mostly good shape.  Only a few curves of the hills have some large ice hazards but last night I noted that these had been treated with salt so my guests should be safe coming and going today.

Monday we can get back to the political nightmare our country has descended into but today will be “Peace on earth, good will toward men.”  So, all of you have a great day and night and in Tiny Tim’s immortal words, “God bless us every one.”

Update:

I ruined my own surprise by hanging around the kitchen.  Camera Girl had secretly bought me a boneless loin of lamb.  She hates lamb and vociferously refused making it when I mentioned it last week.  But after performing my duty of cutting an X on the raw chestnuts, I glanced over at the stove and there it was.  My discovery angered her but what could I do?  She should have hidden it.  I did thank her heartily but she is pretty mad for me spoiling the surprise.  Well, I’ll make it up to her later.  Christmas just got a whole lot merrier.  But, boy will I be groggy tonight.

24DEC2022 – OCF Update – Christmas Eve

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I’ll be heading out for a Christmas Eve dinner a little before 3 pm.  I intend to eat too much and spend as much time doing whatever the grandchildren want to do as circumstance allows.  Their parents are hosting the party so they’ll have to do all the work and I’ll get to hang out with the kids.

I haven’t written a political post lately other than the odd comment on the headlines.  It’s just too grim to do on the holiday.  The only rational option is to ignore the horror for a few days to allow some joy in our lives before we have to face the wreckage that is waiting for us up ahead.

And that’s reasonable.  Human beings require joy in their lives every once in a while just to survive.  And Christmas is the prime example of how we attempt to make a recurring ritual of joy in our lives.  So Biden and Pelosi and Schumer and the rest of the vampires will still be there when the holiday ends and we will still be up to our ears in dysfunction and depravity.  But we will have had a few days to feel a little happiness in our lives and remind ourselves that there is good in the world.

So I hope everyone has a good day.  And even if it’s just a day off, enjoy it and forget about the problems of the world for as long as you’re allowed.  I’ll post as time allows and as the spirit moves me.

Merry Christmas.

Wampanoag Lasagna

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It is reputed that at the Pilgrims’ first Christmas dinner the main course was lasagna.  Apparently, some of the Wampanoag Indians learned how to make this dish from Christopher Columbus or one of his friends back in the late 1400’s when they were on a Caribbean vacation and upon returning home it became traditional in the New England area.  Admittedly some scholars reject this time line.  These dissidents claim it came into vogue in the 1900’s with a later wave of Italian influence.

Regardless of which camp you find yourself in it’s obvious that lasagna is a very interesting choice for a Christmas menu.  Now Camera Girl had asked my opinion about the Christmas menu.  I had recommended a roast beast after the Italian wedding soup and she added a ham and then as an afterthought I asked about lasagna as a course.  Surprisingly there was resistance to this reasonable recommendation.  Something about not everyone liking lasagna.  I can’t remember if I pounded my fist on the table and shouted some strangled syllables that might have been, “Heresy!”  Later I calmed down and just swallowed my disappointment.

But Camera Girl is a mysterious creature and without my knowledge or permission she bought the ingredients for lasagna and today she is doing the assembly for later cooking.  There are fragments of sausage and meatball, sauce and various cheeses that go into the layers between the pasta layers.  Of course, I forgave her for her treacherous silence and subterfuge.  Just as Adam forgave Eve for that whole apple thing, I was the better person and put the whole treacherous story behind me and gave my blessing to this lasagna conspiracy.

But this does create an awkward situation for my meal.  I really like roast beef and I like ham.  But lasagna is enormously delicious and infrequently available.  How do I do justice to this dinner without ending up in the hospital emergency room?  Ah, heavy is the head that wears the crown.  Well, I’ll figure it out.  And of course, left over lasagna is a very pleasant situation and I’m sure Camera Girl will distribute it to the households that have children to feed.  Maybe the real concern is that some of it remains for me on December 26th and 27th.

Here is a photo of the intermediate stage of the lasagna assembly process.

And one of the end product.

And here’s one of the Italian cheesecake she’s also got going.

Well, I have to say, Christmas 2022 is shaping up to be pretty remarkable.  It seems that the crazier the world becomes the more special become the personal moments that we share with our friends and family.  In fact, that’s probably why they’re that way.  It’s a defense mechanism to keep our sanity and concentrate on the things within our control and keep the awfulness at arm’s length.  Well even if that’s so it doesn’t detract from the greatness of these special things we do.  Tomorrow we’ll be away at Christmas Eve most of the day so I’ll say Merry Christmas to everyone here.  May you enjoy your time and make the most of it.

Merry Christmas

22DEC2022 – OCF Update – Out of Pocket

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Today I have to catch up on some work.  I have to read some pretty boring procedural documents for work.  Also I’m trying to figure out how to make a global change in the website database.  There’s a free “plugin” that can be used to make the change one post at a time but I need to carry it out on something like 5,800 posts.  There’s a commercial version that supposedly will carry out the change globally but I think it’s a small programming change to do it myself.  So I’m reading this book on PHP and MySQL development.  The book’s about 600 pages so I suspect this will take a while to get a handle on.  But I feel it’s a good idea to start understanding how this web development stuff works.  Underneath the HTML page structure the PHP programming controls the dynamic aspects of the web site.  the thing I want to do is a database copy and paste operation.  In my ignorant take on this it should be like copying a row of excel cells and pasting it into another row.  But the reality, I’m sure, will be much much messier.  If the website crashes and burns you’ll know I pushed the wrong button.

Other than that, I’m continuing on with my holiday routine of eating too many Christmas cookies and watching way too many old movies.  It’s a simple plan but it works for me.

I studiously avoided the Zelenskyyyyyyyyy speech before Congress.  I added the extra y’s because I have now seen his name spelled with one y and two y’s and want to get ahead of the curve.  Honestly I wonder how long we can keep up sending billions of dollars to those people.  All we’re doing is throwing gasoline on a fire.  It’s pretty scary.  If the Russians level Kiev are we going to try and invade Russia.  Even Dementia Joe can’t be that stupid.  He’ll end up on the trifecta with Napoleon and Hitler.

Well, that’s enough for now.  I’ll get something together later when the Muse strikes.

21DEC2022 – Winter Solstice

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Winter Solstice.  The first day of winter, the day when the sun spends the least amount of time above the horizon.  The longest night of the year.  Well, while some neo-pseudo-druids will be cavorting around the Stonehenge site I’ll spend today reveling in the joys of the season.  I’ll watch some more of my favorite seasonal movies, eat some more Christmas cookies and try to work off the calories with some exercise.  Camera Girl is devilishly busy with her preparations for the Christmas feast and I am more or less nothing but a hindrance to her at this point.  I ask if I can help and just get scowls of contempt for what she considers hollow offers.  Maybe I can carry some heavy pots of soup or sides of meat downstairs.  But other than those few things I’m essentially of no use to her.  Well, what can I say?  God has divided us, quite wisely, into men and women and along those same lines he has provided or withheld various talents to the members of the human race.  And like the fabulous ant and grasshopper of Aesop some of us toil and are productive and others of us feast and sing.  I am cursed to be among this latter group.  And Camera Girl is solidly in the former category.  Such is life.

It’s bright daylight today.  I intend to walk around in the woods and snap a photo or two of whatever strikes my eye.  If tonight is as clear I must take a walkaround in the starlight and enjoy a sight of the winter constellations on this longest night.  In fact, the moon is on the next to last night before New Moon so viewing the sky will be almost optimal.  Orion will be about 45 degrees above the horizon at about 11 pm and that’s when I’ll take a wander outside.  The forecast is for mostly clear skies and 25 degrees Fahrenheit.  Sounds pretty good for late December in New England.

The world diverges into two contrasting pictures.  When I hear what is going on in the wide world it is a ghastly disaster.  Evil men run just about everything there is to control.  Joe Biden is a symbol for a world collapsing into decay.  But when I look at my personal world, I see good things all around me.  Good people are working hard to improve the lives of their families and displaying wonderful qualities of self-sacrifice and industriousness.  I see youngsters working hard at their studies and displaying intelligence and good will.  So, it’s a paradox.  How can so much good exist in a world that has embraced nihilism and irrational goals?  And I must say I haven’t an answer.  But I will celebrate the good and hope for the future no matter how bleak the big picture seems to be.

So, I’ll go out today and take the optimistic approach.  From here on in the hours of daylight will be increasing and the New Year comes with the ever-renewed hope that the world will come to its senses.  That’s good enough for today.

19DEC2022 – Scrooge Reborn

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When Scrooge awakens and embraces his new life we feel the electric thrill he feels at everything around him.  He rediscovers life and the joy it contains.

“What’s to-day!” cried Scrooge, calling downward to a boy in Sunday clothes, who perhaps had loitered in to look about him.

“Eh?” returned the boy, with all his might of wonder.

“What’s to-day, my fine fellow?” said Scrooge.

“To-day!” replied the boy. “Why, Christmas Day.”

“It’s Christmas Day!” said Scrooge to himself. “I haven’t missed it. The Spirits have done it all in one night. They can do anything they like. Of course they can. Of course they can. Hallo, my fine fellow!”

“Hallo!” returned the boy.

“Do you know the Poulterer’s, in the next street but one, at the corner?” Scrooge inquired.

“I should hope I did,” replied the lad.

“An intelligent boy!” said Scrooge. “A remarkable boy! Do you know whether they’ve sold the prize Turkey that was hanging up there?—Not the little prize Turkey: the big one?”

“What, the one as big as me?” returned the boy.

“What a delightful boy!” said Scrooge. “It’s a pleasure to talk to him. Yes, my buck!”

“It’s hanging there now,” replied the boy.

“Is it?” said Scrooge. “Go and buy it.”

“Walk-er!” exclaimed the boy.

“No, no,” said Scrooge, “I am in earnest. Go and buy it, and tell ’em to bring it here, that I may give them the direction where to take it. Come back with the man, and I’ll give you a shilling. Come back with him in less than five minutes and I’ll give you half-a-crown!”

The boy was off like a shot. He must have had a steady hand at a trigger who could have got a shot off half so fast.

“I’ll send it to Bob Cratchit’s!” whispered Scrooge, rubbing his hands, and splitting with a laugh. “He sha’n’t know who sends it. It’s twice the size of Tiny Tim. Joe Miller never made such a joke as sending it to Bob’s will be!”

 

 

17DEC2022 – Marley’s Ghost

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The 1984 version of A Christmas Carol has I think the best portrayal of Marley’s Ghost

“But you were always a good man of business, Jacob,” faltered Scrooge, who now began to apply this to himself.

“Business!” cried the Ghost, wringing his hands again. “Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”

Mankind is the business of us all.  And today the priority is to preserve what makes us human.  Protecting the young from the lies and perversions of the nihilists must be our focus.