Banging Along...

Still here, still shuffling forward.  Trying to avoid politics as much as possible...  Within reason.

On the national level I am well aware of whom I will be voting for.  I am also aware that some of my fellow citizens disagree with my choice, which is, at least for now, their option.  What both terrifies and strengthens me is when the Orange Jesus makes statements like "vote for me once more then you'll never have to vote again."  Right.  So the fat bloated convict wants to be the last one?  Eh, no.  

As to local races, I have much research left to do.  I do not chose as some do by seeking out the yard sign palooza that tends to pop up these days, and if Candidate A appears in a yard with persons Q, R, and S, well, then, they get the vote.  Nope.  That's how we end up with things like Moms for Censorship, who think it's liberty.

I do not give a hoot in hell what your particular politics are.  When you, in your misguided way, decide that censorship is the best way forward, nope, you are the wrong answer.  I have long lived my life willing to allow anyone, no matter how far outside the realm of reason, to express an opinion.  That does not mean that I expect it to carry the weight of fact, because, well, people have opinions and assholes.  Sometimes they smell quite similar.  Sometimes it's all a poopfest.

Huh?  Well, a friend of ours seems to wish us to believe that he believes the earth is flat.  As yet, he has been unable to provide any explanations as to why Sears Tower, Petronas Towers, and Burj Dubai are not visible here in south-central Minnesota.  Or Mount Everest.  Because if we're all sitting on a dish, then we should be able to see everything.  Or why is it, then, that I cannot see the other side of Lake Mille Lacs?  Or Superior?

It's really a simple world in many ways. And due to the education which I got back before the government insisted that no child gets left behind, I know that there are some things that cannot be understood without substantial study and experimentation.  Which is why, when I was a kid, I made a little gadget.  I stuck a stick in the ground, and I put a length of cord on the ground that stopped where the shadow stopped.  Then I waited.  And about an hour later, I came back, and noticed that the shadow had moved.  It was a bit on the cord, but mostly off the cord.  So then I started playing with a styrofoam ball.  I stuck a stick in it, and then started moving it.  And I was able to replicate what was happening with the shadow on the ball what happened on the ground.  The light was moving up, and then moving down as it went from side to side.  

I'm not blaming this young man's parents.  I'm blaming the culture that fed him the bullshit that his opinion has equal weight as that which has been established as fact.  I mean, sure, the ground appears flat and level in certain parts of this world.  It also appears to be pretty damned messed up.  But in areas where you can see a long distance away, why is it that you can't see further? 

And don't get me started on the whole "stuff orbits the planet".  Any fool could rig something up that made it look like that.  But it takes something of a fool to believe that's been done with absolutely no reason other than to fool people.  Follow the money - why spend all of that for no profit?  

Yeah.  That stuff.  Other than that, we're just hanging tight in the world as it is these days.  My job is still my job, I'm still having good and great days along with a few "at least that one's done".  Much like everyone else.  I remind myself that I am doing a job that makes a pretty big difference in the lives of the people we help, and I've been the fellow who needed someone like me in his corner.  So that helps.  

And the kids and the dogs are doing OK as well.  Turns out Freyja last weekend managed to somehow contract a case of "hookworm".  Sounds pretty terrible when you hear the first symptom of the infection comes from blood in her poop.  As in lots.  Turns out there's a thing called "hookworm" that can invade the dot through what they eat or what they stand on.  And as we do not control all of the land upon which they walk daily, there's a bit of a problem.  The recommended countermeasures for this infection are medication - already consumed - then environmental remediation, which includes the generous spread and working into the soil large amounts of Boric Acid, which will kill the hookworms - and anything else growing there.  

So plan B is pretty much a non-starter.  Fortunately for us, we do have remediation option 2, which requires time.  Due to our climate, it is expected that we shall soon experience colder temperatures.  Colder as in below freezing, soon to be even colder than that.  Which kills the hookworm and their larvae.  So we got that going for us.

Treatment, other than the usual flea, tick, and worm medication they get monthly, was a three day course of powder mixed into their evening meal with other tasty treats to insure complete consumption.  Dosage varies by weight, which is why Cheyanne's bag was nearly twice as heavy as Freyja's, and while Cheyanne exhibited none of the symptoms Freyja did, the vet did note that while she may not have it, walking in the same place and sharing much of the same diet Freyja does undoubtedly exposed Cheyanne to the same dangers.

The only place Freyja has been regularly which Cheyanne has not was Puppy Training at our local Petsmart.  And while it is possible that microscopic hookworm larvae may have been on the linoleum at Petsmart, it's unlikely.  It is more likely that the larvae came from some of the rabbit, rodent, and other wandering vermin poop they consume on a daily basis.  I never realized the amount of time some dogs spend seeking and eating the poop of others.  It's not limited to individual breeds or because they're not receiving enough food.  It's a choice.

A strange and disgusting one, which brings me right back to the first point in this post, but while I can excuse the dogs because they don't know better, I do have to ask why a clearly unstable, uneducated "stable genius" might be espousing some of the turds he recently brought forth.  And look, I know he's got diplomas from places I never went for schooling.  It must be noted that exposure to ideas, participation in various programs, and the obtaining of a diploma prove only that an individual has followed and completed a set of requirements to obtain the piece of paper.  It does not confirm that the individual has managed to adopt the knowledge presented by others into their own brain and used the knowledge as information to accomplish other things.  Heck, any fool can get a diploma.  It takes someone with a fair amount of intelligence to be able to evaluate the information presented and determine the veracity and reliability of the information.

I would, for example, put out there the information that while it has been widely shared that certain populations around the world may consume certain animals for food.  It must be noted first off that certain cultures have certain practices which have evolved over time to protect the population from diseases and dangers that exist in that environment, they may not follow to other environments where the dangers and diseases are dissimilar.  I have had, and enjoyed, alligator sausage.  That does not mean that I will open a farm to raise alligators to bring to market for the production of said sausage any more than I will choose to raise them at home myself and make the sausage on my own.  That means that I found the food as something I liked, but I have discovered other protein sources less likely to remove my leg or eat my pets.

That does not mean I shall condemn anyone for eating alligators.  It does mean that, if someone who is known to be less truthful than others espouses a theory of people choosing to eat pets, other people, or other strange things I will not leap to the conclusion that all people are evil.  I might consider that there are some people who have chosen protein sources I would not, but that is their choice, within reason.  I'm also aware that certain areas of the world are not as affluent - not in raw cash but also natural resources, including climate.  I would not, for example, expect a native of Greenland (if there are such these days) to be willing to eat things like carrots or potatoes - I am certain that the thought of pulling something out of the ground and consuming it was a pretty foreign idea for a rather long time for some groups of people.  I do understand eating things they see other animals eat, but then there are the evolutionary leaps that our species has made over the millenia which have me questioning how, first off.  

I mean, milk.  Sure, it's a good thing, but who was the first caveman to go up to a cow and say "if you don't mind, I'd like to try some of that your calf just had."  Imagine if said caveman mistook a bull for a cow...  I mean, last time I checked, and it's been a fair few number of years, but most bulls tend to only have one dangling bit down there, whereas a cow - a mother cow, I mean - might have one rather largish bag with four dangling bits.  Sure, the bull might become your friend for life, but I guarantee you the one product would be far different from the other.

So yeah, on that note, I'd best get to moving so we can accomplish a few goals today.