Random Thoughts

[Miles Monroe]

Our St Bernard is 7.5 and she took a sudden turn for the worse. She hasn't eaten or drank anything significant in several days and seems to be losing her mental capacity.

This was our first real family dog and we got her when we bought the house. It's been a really tough weekend with all the tears, but Mondays appointment might lead to her being put down while the boys are at school.

So sorry to hear this news Mike. I've been there, never easy.

 

[Chris]

Our St Bernard is 7.5 and she took a sudden turn for the worse. She hasn't eaten or drank anything significant in several days and seems to be losing her mental capacity.

This was our first real family dog and we got her when we bought the house. It's been a really tough weekend with all the tears, but Mondays appointment might lead to her being put down while the boys are at school.

Any update, Mike? I’ve been sending good thoughts and hoping for the best.

 

[MikefromOH]

Thank you all

Appointment is at 1EST. I'm not sure what to expect

 

[burgold]

Last night, a tree fell in the backyard. It's probably about 15-20 feet. I already got my first estimate for removal. It came in at $600 which is lower than I feared, but I have no idea what these things should cost. Does anyone have experience/knowledge?

The one thing I'm glad about is that it mostly fell onto the lawn. Some the crown did strike the neighbor's fence and dented it, but it could have been worse.

 

[MikefromOH]

Will the grind the stump, too?
That would be a great deal if so. Otherwise it's about standard for that size in Ohio

 

[burgold]

I think they talked about removing the rootball. So, maybe?

Thanks Mike!

 

[MikefromOH]

Good. Otherwise you have it sticking out of the ground and possibly growing offshoots back and being a pain.

I keep my trees that I drop and burn them in the backyard for summertime fires.

 

[Chris]

Entries in the obituary thread are starting to become uncomfortably close. 😳

 

[Chris]

My wife is Russian born (no, I did not buy her on the internet) and fled, or escaped, from the country during perestroika (Soviet restructuring) in the mid-late 80’s. She has shared endless stories with me on what life was like in that country prior to and during that time. Things that are unimaginable to someone from a free society. In fact, somewhere deep inside I surmised to a degree that there was a good chance that there was, just had to be, some embellishment in her tellings.

I have recently been taking the time to educate myself on both Russian history and the experiences of those having lived within the Soviet system, and now the current realities of living under the 24 year rule of Vladimir Putin. I also have the advantage of anecdotal evidence of experiences from her close familial relations with people currently living in Russia as well as Ukrania and Belarus.

I am currently reading The Future Is History by Masha Gessen. It reads like a work of fiction from an overly imaginative mind. Unfortunately, it is not. What it is is a stern warning of what is possible when the personal ambitions of the powerful, and the subsequent government controls, take precedence over the will of the citizenry.

“Of the people, by the people, and for the people“ is not a just pretty catchphrase from Lincoln. It is a belief in ’life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’ that just cannot be taken for granted and I believe, in many ways, have become so.

 

[Boone]

St. Patrick's Day holds a special place for me (and not because I've got a little bit of Irish DNA). March 17, 1991 was the day I stepped back onto American soil after participating in Desert Storm. From my little personal blog site... that was one great ****ing day.

"The long flight back to Kaneohe, Hawaii is a blur to me. I don’t remember the route, where we stopped, how long it took. Nothing. I only remember having butterflies the entire ride back. I’d been married only a year when I was plucked from my happy, normal life in paradise and tossed unceremoniously into Operation Desert Shield. I’d received letters, and even had the chance to make a hurried, static-filled, desert phone call or two over the past six months. But basically, my loving wife had been little more than a memory, an ‘idea’, for half a year. The thought of seeing her again made me inexplicably nervous, almost queasy. The C-130 we’d hitched a ride back on hit the tarmac at Oahu’s Kadena Airfield and crawled to a stop on St. Patrick’s Day, 1991. As we gathered our personal effects, I stole a glimpse out of one of the cargo windows. There, in a sea of strangers, stood my beautiful wife Valerie.

I was home.

We drove to our base at Kaneohe Bay, traded our personal weapons for cold cans of beer they had waiting on ice for us, and were excused for the next week. I won’t regale you with boring stories of just how wonderful the return to civilization and all its comforts was. Suffice it to say that none of us truly appreciate what we have. Not really.

 

[Chris]

Have you watched Masters of the Air on Apple TV?

So very well done (from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks) and your post reminded me of it in many ways.

 

[Boone]

No - but thanks for the recommendation - I will check it out!

 

[Boone]

And another thing I think about every St. Patricks Day... my fellow Lt. Mike Monroe, who absolutely would've been celebrating the day for all the traditional reasons, but who didn't make it back. Wonderful guy with an incredible sense of humor and a great Marine. Miss you Mike.

 

[Boone]

Wow.



And Elon, you might want to take a look at some of your ad algorithms.... with this one showing right after the above..

 

[SkinsOrlando]

Just saw this as well. It's like a stunt scene in a movie watching the video. Awful.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

That crash is scary. You could see what looked like construction vehicles on the bridge at the time of the crash. Just an awful situation.

 

[tomwvr]

Have you watched Masters of the Air on Apple TV?

So very well done (from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks) and your post reminded me of it in many ways.

if you like that there is a good Pod cast the MIGHTY 8 .

 

[MikefromOH]

People are already out with the conspiracies saying the boat turns towards the pillar when it loses power and that the black smoke is a sign of terrorism.

I've been over that bridge hundreds of times in my life. It's just crazy how much it's going to mess up peoples lives and ruin shipping for a long while

 

[tomwvr]

It doesn't look at all like terrorism , The boat lost power two times within 5 mins of hitting the bridge. Now I think the US government should make the insurance company for the shipping company compensate baltimore for the port being blocked and pay for the new bridge,

 

[burgold]

I think the boat company needs to pay, however, we can’t wait for that money to come through. The Feds or Maryland can get compensated, but rebuild the bridge asap.