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Goodbye, John Kraman – Disaffected Musings
I was not going to write today at all, and certainly not on WordPress, but I had to acknowledge the death of John Kraman. I also have to acknowledge that the juxtaposition of this news with yesterday’s post about dying being the only thing a person has to do is more than a bit eerie.…
Seven Years, But Not Eight – Disaffected Musings
Yes, today marks seven years since I published the first Disaffected Musings post. A lot has changed since then, too much really. My wonderful wife and I have moved twice and live very far away from where we did when I started this blog. Far too much of the world has lost its way with…
Sub-Freezing In The Desert – Disaffected Musings
Sorry the picture is blurry, but I think you can see the outdoor temperature display reads 30 degrees. I had a very early appointment at the Mayo Clinic yesterday morning so we left well before "sunrise." Actually, a few minutes after I took this picture the display read 28°. At 39° and below…
Very Good And Very Bad – Disaffected Musings
Yes, for all intents and purposes this is the same post I published on this date last year. Wait until you see Saturday's post. On this day in 1999, my wonderful wife and I moved in together. We were not yet married, but we were engaged and this was just five months before the…
No Human Endeavor Is Perfect – Disaffected Musings
A Free Press article published last Saturday is titled, "My Mom Was Diagnosed With Alzheimer's. Then She Got Better." The sub-head reads, "My family experienced a miracle last year. It began with a tragedy." No, the piece is not about some bullshit "natural" cure for Alzheimer's. The author's mother was diagnosed with the disease. From…
The Last Mercury – Disaffected Musings
On this day in 2011 the last Mercury, a Grand Marquis, rolled off the assembly line. The make was conceived by Edsel Ford as a mid-level brand between Ford and Lincoln. The Mercury was introduced in November, 1938 as a 1939 model year car. In 1991, Mercury finished 6th among US makes in sales at…
The First Friday Of 2025 – Disaffected Musings
The first Friday of 1925 was January 2. Supposedly, on that day the capital of Norway was renamed Oslo after having been called Christiana. Speaking of Norway, a proposed tax on unrealized capital gains is leading to the exodus of many entrepreneurs and other wealthy citizens. The irony is that Norway can afford that exodus,…
The Stench Of Evil And Those Who Ignore It – Disaffected Musings
The CIA World Factbook, now only available online, has an Appendix titled Terrorist Organizations. 68 terrorist organizations are listed. How many are Islamic in origin? 57! I fervently wish for the painful death of all of the members of all of these groups. However, I feel the same way about the fucking idiots in the…
Last Link Dump Of 2024 – Disaffected Musings
Today's post title is self-explanatory, but incomplete. This might be the last link dump ever for this blog on this platform. Like too many of today's companies, WordPress is trying to put the onus of fixing the continuing blog issues on me. I did try one of their suggestions, but of course it didn't work.…
Probably Surgery – Disaffected Musings
I didn't really feel like writing today, but thought I should give an update. I had the nose tampon (the PA called it the Rhino Rocket) removed today. However, my left nostril is still packed although--thankfully--with something not quite as intrusive. It is better than 50-50 I will have to have surgery to cauterize the…
As The Nose Bleeds – Disaffected Musings
When we last left our protagonist he had returned from a second trip to the Mayo Clinic ER hoping the nose bleed would stop and he could relax. Alas, no such luck... OK, enough with the soap opera/third person idiom. The first treatment held for about seven hours before the bleeding resumed. The second treatment…
Night Of The Nosebleed – Disaffected Musings
Usually I write about this being the anniversary of my receiving a call from my hometown baseball team and their offering me a full time job. Usually... I woke up about 12:30-12:45 AM with some GI discomfort, or so I thought. As I went to the kitchen to get an antacid, I felt something running…
It Tolls For Thee: Goodbye, Rickey – Disaffected Musings
No, I don't normally publish a post on an NFL Sunday, but one of the greatest players in baseball history, Rickey Henderson, died on Friday night. I actually worked "with" him as I was Director of Baseball Operations for the San Diego Padres when they/we acquired him via free agency before the 1996 season. By…
Winter Solstice 2024 – Disaffected Musings
I guess I wrote about this day last year. Don't worry; I won't write about it next year. Our "sunrise" today is not until 7:28 AM with "sunset" occurring at 5:23 PM. As a morning person I dislike waking up to darkness, but I can't control the processes of nature. At the Summer Solstice…
Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction – Disaffected Musings
...and a lot more interesting, in my opinion. Yes, only come to the hospital if you're well! Thanks to my (i)ncomparable niece for sending me this photo. So, is this person an extreme dogmatist or an extreme skeptic? I don't know if the proportion of lunatics among the population is…
Odd Happening – Disaffected Musings
Sometime in 2023, although I don't exactly remember when, I had a new ceiling fan and light installed in my office. It has "developed" an odd habit in that it turns itself on with the fan at the highest speed. When I told my electrician about this, he did not do the installation, he said…
Late Post Wednesday – Disaffected Musings
More medical appointments made it impossible for me to write a post for today in advance or write "live" any earlier in the day. In all honesty, the primary reason I am writing this post is that the two-day "hypersurge" in views/visitors of December 6-7 means this month could see the most views/visitors in a…
Belated Sad/Happy Anniversary – Disaffected Musings
Exactly one week ago marked exactly three years since my wonderful wife had cancer surgery. (Where did THAT time go?!) The actual day of the surgery was immeasurably sad. COVID protocols were still in effect and I could not accompany my wife into the surgery prep area. Looking at her from across the waiting room…
Medical Matters – Disaffected Musings
On more than one occasion I have mentioned serious medical issues facing our family. More issues, although perhaps not quite as serious, have arisen. I am actually writing this post on Sunday afternoon because I am not sure when will be the next time I can write a "live" post. I haven't gone anywhere...yet. …
Wish I Could Show You A Picture – Disaffected Musings
We are near the full moon, which will be at peak illumination at 4:02 AM EST on December 15. We live in a neighborhood with no street lights and the effect of the moon is amplified. When I got out of bed "for good" at 4:15 AM this morning the backyard was illuminated as if…
The Vibe Shift Goes Global – Disaffected Musings
I readily admit this is a blatant attempt to "reproduce" an important (IMO) piece in The Free Press by Niall Ferguson. (For at least the third time, Niall Ferguson is the Milbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and a senior faculty fellow of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs…
Calendar Math – Disaffected Musings
If one uses just two digits to represent the year, then--of course--the sum of the month and today's date equals the year: 12/12/24. I have always fessed up to being an OCD-addled math nerd. I yam what I yam... ****************** Today's post will have no references to serious topics as I am burned out…
Coming To A Country Near You – Disaffected Musings
This CNBC article is titled, "Greece's ghost towns offer a glimpse of a country struggling with 'existential' population collapse." The three key points of Karen Gilchrist's piece are: - Greece’s abandoned “ghost” towns and villages offer an eerie glimpse into the future of a country, whose Prime Minister has warned of “existential” population collapse.…
A Sign Of The Times – Disaffected Musings
To begin...the surge in views and visitors abated a great deal on Sunday and Monday, but did not disappear completely. Again, these were views of the Home Page referred from Guck Foogle. A few people clicked on a post with a link to John Kraman's bio on the Mecum Auctions website. He has been absent…
The Blog Set Daily Records For Views And Visitors On Friday… – Disaffected Musings
So why am I worried and not happy? I guess, in part, that's just my nature (have to poke the world in the eye from time to time). However, given one of the subjects that was a topic in Friday's post, I have to admit I am worried that some radical assholes might be accessing…
Visitors – Disaffected Musings
Despite the fact that 2024 will be the first of the seven calendar years (!) of Disaffected Musings that will have fewer than 300 published posts and despite the fact that the number of views will decline about 17% from 2023 (no doubt, in part due to fewer posts), 2024 has already had the highest…
The New Realities Of War – Disaffected Musings
As reported here and in many other places, Chinese hackers stole large amounts of Americans' phone data from eight large telecom companies. What is even more scary is that appears their presence remains. Anne Neuberger, a deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology at the National Security Council, said, "There is a risk…
Toasty Tuesday – Disaffected Musings
Compared to 30 years ago or more, I probably eat only about 10 percent as much bread as I used to. My wonderful wife and I have stopped buying bread because we would almost always throw most of it away. All that being said, on those rare occasions when I consume bread--always in a restaurant…
As I Grow Older – Disaffected Musings
I prefer warmer to colder. The preceding, including the post title, is what I will sometimes tell people who ask me if Arizona is too hot. (In a related vein, sometimes I answer "I'm old and cold" to people who ask how I am.) For most of November we had well below average temperatures. On…
Saturnine Saturday – Disaffected Musings
Saturnine: Adj; cold and steady in mood, slow to act or to change; OR of a gloomy or surly disposition From renowned pollster/mathematician/poker player/author Nate Silver: “The Harris campaign folks are the most non-agentic people I’ve encountered in a position of comparable decision-making authority. They don’t even see themselves as victims so much…
A Change Of Plans – Disaffected Musings
A person is entitled to change their mind even if there's nothing wrong with the one they have. A link to a beautiful photo, if I may say so myself. ****************** Central bankers around the world are supposed to enact and to implement policy based on mandates such as price stability and full employment.…
Out Of Sync – Disaffected Musings
Henry David Thoreau wrote, "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." A college friend of mine, a beautiful young woman I met when she was dating my first college…
Six Days And Sunday – Disaffected Musings
For not the last time: PLEASE click on the tiny “Read on blog” link or the post title itself in the email notifying you of a new post. Thanks. ****************** Six Days And Sunday could describe the de facto publication schedule for this blog, Disaffected Musings, at present. It was also a suggested title…
Can’t Find My Way Home – Disaffected Musings
Once again I must begin with this: PLEASE click on the tiny “Read on blog” link or the post title itself in the email notifying you of a new post. Thanks. ****************** Today's post is not about the song written by Steve Winwood and first released by the group Blind Faith on their 1969…
Saturated Saturday – Disaffected Musings
I am sorry, but not sorry for starting posts with the following reminder: PLEASE click on the tiny “Read on blog” link or the post title itself in the email notifying you of a new post. Thanks. ****************** Today's post title refers to my intention to show more than one or two links to…
No Disrespect Intended – Disaffected Musings
To begin: PLEASE click on the tiny “Read on blog” link or the post title itself in the email notifying you of a new post. Thanks. Yes, today is the 61st anniversary of the day President John F. Kennedy died a violent death in Dallas. I am not going to write about my…
No Title Post – Disaffected Musings
Again: PLEASE click on the tiny “Read on blog” link or the post title itself in the email notifying you of a new post. Thanks. I was unable to think of a post title today without resorting to alliteration. Hopefully, that will not become a habit. ****************** Normally, the last time I check…