Sunday, July 29, 2018

Don't Bring Me Down


Bah. Humbug.

Damned near everyday I see completely nice folks go batshit crazy over some political thing. I think we can all agree that your average politician is not the sort you'd leave alone in a room with your wallet.

Or your son or daughter.

Let's accept that and move on. You folks who think you're going to change the world with your whining and your antics, ain't happening. Give it up.

Trump's the President, Clinton isn't. Do I think we dodged a bullet? Ah, who knows? I have my opinion, you have yours.

Fire truck it, don't mean nothing.

Live your life to the full, find the ones you love and do so. Keep your nonsense to yourself.

I'll do the same.

That is all.

In other news, Chez Sarge has a new roof, itsa very nice. Cost me a pretty penny it did, but that beats waking up in the middle of the night to discover that you now have an indoor waterfall. Been there, done that.

Not good.

But for another cuppla decades the domicile should be "good to go" in the roof not leaking department.

Or so one hopes.

The title of today's post was semi-inspired by the junior member of the staff here at The Chant. Well, he likes ELO, as do I, not as much as other bands but they're good, real good. I thought of this song after I was subjected to another semi-coherent rant from someone who had perhaps a bit too much politics in his soul.

Poor bastard.

"Dude, don't bring me down..."

Cue the drums, take it away boys, and a one, and a two...


Sarge, out...


  1. New roof.
    No matter how well the roofers clean up, some roofing nails will get left behind.
    Get a decent quality magnet on wheels and spend some time getting a bit of exercise marching the magnet on wheels around your house.
    Anything that has pneumatic tire will thank you.
    Extra benefit. The magnet works pretty well at finding small dropped ferrous fasteners and parts when doing lawn equipment maintenance and repair. (successfully tested again a couple of days ago)
    We have been in the house long enough that the second roofing job is in the near future. This is not one of the tasks I am willing to do myself.

    There once was a dog that would rip open fluffy winter jackets, carefully remove the stuffing and bring the loose stuffing to his owner.
    The dog's owner finally got irritated enough that he yelled at the dog, "Don't bring me down!"

    Good post.

  2. Ya...NOT having a roof isn't an option is it? No more middle of the night inspections for unauthorized water entry is a good thing. Two weeks ago had an old asphalt section of the driveway replaced with concrete. Not as costly as I expected but still...... crew did a good job, hard workers. As to the first word under the quote of today's post I'll echo the second and third words, three-fold.

    1. Free is always the right price, but then you get what you pay for, neh?

  3. So I went on vacation with my parents, and my sisters (and their families) who normally live in the Sandy Eggo region of these United States. We were at the lovely Connecticut shore near the mouth of the Connecticut river where the sand bars (ok, mud flats) are awesome when the tide goes out. You can walk straight out into the Long Island Sound for about half a mile and down the beach front for about 2 miles before the water gets deep or you run into the river. Mom and Dad have been bringing us here for decades, and this was where my Mom and her family spent their lots of friends, relatives and great memories.We all agree that when we talk about "going to the Beach" we are talking about the one in Connecticut, not the one in California (one sister lives 3 blocks away from the ocean) or the one on Lake Michigan.

    Anyhoo, the older Mom has gotten, the more left leaning she has gotten in her politics, and my sisters have followed suit. After one heated exchange over the dinner table, when I defended the fact that I do not hate whales, and the straw in my Yeti cup is a reusable one, and that ALL straws are, technically, reusable, the other female members of the family took a deep breath and a step back. Dad just laughed.

    At the end of the week, we went to dinner at the Griswold Inn...if you are ever in the Essex/Saybrook area, go there for dinner, it is deelishes, not cheap, but very, very good...and my folks, who now live in "a senior community" and see how other families act, told us how much they enjoyed "going to the beach" with us, how relaxing it had been, and how grateful they were that we all get along and can do things like cook (ever get 3 strong opinionated women in the same kitchen together?), clean, and decide on entertainment activities together. My 2 sisters decide the menu, do the shopping and cooking, and I do the clean up (there is a dishwasher!!), and make sure everything is clean when we leave. Dad pays for the groceries, Mom pays the cottage rent, the rest of us pay our way to get there.

    For one week a year, we all take a deep breath, shove nasty, evil politics aside, and concentrate on enjoying spending precious time with each other, since with my folks being in their mid-upper 80's, we just never know from year to year how much longer we will all be able to gather together. We all agree we want to do it again next year, that would be the 4th year in a row after many years of each separately "renting" my uncle's cottage, we now all stay in a cottage together as Uncle had sold his place. As long as the folks who rent to us are willing to continue to do so. Another reason to make sure the place was squeaky clean when we leave.

    Personally speaking,it is kinds neat, being 60 and all, to be told by your folks that they are (still) proud of all of us, and that we are still on speaking terms, even though we do not agree on many things, especially after living in each other's pockets for a week, that we still love and care about each other. Of course, it is very helpful to be able to go walk on the sand bars when things get a little close. Lol. ;)

    The big project this summer is supposed to be a new roof on the barn/woodshop, as when it rains outside, it is also raining inside behind the electric panel in the hasn't started yet, and hubby is bound and determined to do it himself...I would much rather pay some younger fellas to do it...sometimes I think our brains forget how old our bodies really are...sigh..

    1. Great story Suz!

      My Mom and two brothers lean a bit to the left. Mom actually believes CNN. Sigh, arguing with loved ones over politics is painful and a waste of time. Ain't gonna do it no more. (No more, no more... cue Aerosmith.)

      If I can find someone to do a job for a reasonable rate, which saves my tired old butt from doing it? I break out the check book.

      A man's got to know his limitations...

    2. My family members lean left too, so I'm the "Black Sheep" - right leaner.
      Fire Truck It...Bah. Humbug.

    3. BC - I feel your pain.

      What are ya gonna do?

    4. Ran across TDS with my mom at Christmas. She thinks Trump is a class-less orange baboon. Wonder where she learned that from. Oh, well. Considering the county she's in, she's singing in the rain. Much like I am in the county I'm living in. Sigh.

      I had to learn about the 'No Religion, Politics or Sports' rule. Sucks, what else is there to talk about, with people you've grown apart from?

    5. Well, there's always the weather.

      Yeah, that get's old in a hurry.

  4. People who are passionate about politics, whatever they believe, care. Much prefer them to the apathetic sods who don't see past their selfish interests.

    1. Well...

      Hitler was passionate about politics, he cared, he cared that he wanted to be in power. That's all politics is, power, power over someone else.

      Render unto Caesar, otherwise leave me alone.

    2. Perhaps my reply should have been better worded.

    3. I want my politicians to care about America, not about politics. No matter what branch of idiot one belongs to, they should still vote correctly for the correct thing, and act like adults.

      I prefer Coolidge to Wilson, so to speak.

    4. WSF, perhaps. I kinda knew what you meant but...

    5. Care about the people yes, and yes Coolidge over Wilson, any day of the week.

  5. Lean to the left, lean to the right, stand up, sit down, fight, fight, fight. Well, I hope not.

    Thanks for the post.
    Paul L. Quandt

  6. There are more important things in life than arguing politics.
    There’s only one thing you should remember: “Would you rather be right, or would you rather be happy?
    I have some really strong opinions I am perfectly happy to keep to myself.

  7. Thanks for the ELO. There's good messages in their works. And the symphonic treatment doesn't hurt at all, not one bit.

    When things really get bleak, I like to listen to this catchy ditty by them - Wild West Hero - as it takes me away to a better place (can you tell I liked playing paladins in D&D?)

    I'll listen to that song over and over again. The calling of the lone rider is a strong calling...

    Glad you don't live in the Leaky House anymore. One of the things that makes us civilized is having water on the outside and water on the inside, in the appropriate ways, at our domiciles. Failure for water to remain on the exterior or properly contained leads to... barbarianism. We wouldn't want to see what was left of OldAFS after his lovely bride went cave-woman on him for not maintaining the proper hydro-barriers.

    1. Leaky House bad. Dry House good.

    2. Never mind the wife...what do the feline staff think now that they no longer get awoken with waterfalls in their closet!!


  8. What did you use for the underlayment? In the Goode Olde Dayes we had "felt" in different thicknesses. Now days they use this synthetic stuff. Very thin. Very durable. Seals fantastically. Lasts forever. Easy to install. Costs less....

    And since it's a layer of somewhat thin plastic, it lets ALL the noise through! Small tree branches that used to hit with a low 'thud' now sound like somebody dropped a hard object inside the attic.

    No more 'thud', now we get a "WHACK".

    I wanted TWO layers of "15 pound felt" (the good stuff), but was informed that this new synthetic stuff is what everybody uses "here in Colorado", and why would I want "Old Technology"?

    Cuz it's QUIETER, that's why.....

    1. I wonder if double or triple layers of the new stuff would be better overall, or even go so far as to do the new tech over the old/old tech over the new? There is something to be said for multiple barrier levels and sound dampening. Something to think about if I ever get the chance to build my Lair/Bunker/Flaktürme (Hmmm, some old telecom buildings built to the old standards... hmmmm…)

    2. Drjim - they used some modern stuff, same as what we had before I suspect.

    3. Beans - I would like my own fortress complex, somewhere obscure I think.

      Flak towers might give it away.

    4. Beans - I don't think the manufacturer recommends using two layers. There's the "standard" stuff, and the "heavy duty" stuff. The differences are in thickness (duh...) and the texture of the surface.

      Nowhere have I been able to find a "noise review" of a before and after, but I know this house is noisier now than it was before the roof was replaced.
      Sarge - Then I doubt you'll notice any difference, other than the peace of mind from having a new roof.

      Our roof was ~20 years old, and had the "30 pound" felt. The home inspection guy said the roof need replacing NOW, while all three roofing companies that gave us estimates said it had "at least two winters left in it" before we should start thinking about getting it replaced.

      Since we'd held some money back from the sale of our other home, we went ahead and had it replaced.

      Which involved removing a very dead 65' cottonwood from the backyard, a whole 'nother story....

    5. Well, we have nothing but the sky overhead, no trees in close proximity.

      Heavy rains in the past make a certain amount of noise, if none of that wet gets inside, it can make all the noise it wants.

      There is a certain comfort in having a new roof. The fellow that did it has been in business long before I moved here, he's done a couple of other roofs in the neighborhood. I feel confident, the workmanship looks better as well.

  9. Waiting on my new roof, too. The premium package with non-felt underlayment and architectural shingles. Had so much damage throughout the neighborhood this Spring that the Homeowners Association solicited companies for volume discounts. Even though my roof was rated for another 2-3 years, I figured now would be cheaper than later, on top of the discount we were offered. Now if the rains can hold off so the company can work its way through their backed-up schedule and get to me. Being a 3 1/2 story townhouse, I hadn't even considered noise on the roof and sound insulation. Not like rain on tin or anything like I've had to endure other places.


    1. Sounds like it is a good time to do it. I like discounts!

      The Nuke is learning the "joys" of homeownership, she bought a house in the spring.

      While it's nice having one's own place, it sucks having to fix stuff when it breaks. Time and/or money, often both!

  10. This is way out there but would like to let you know, OldAFSarge. Link is to a FaceBook photo of my grandson graduating from the F-15 Eagle technician training course at Sheppard AFB. Second from the right. Would love it if you could place this photo on your blog so I could show him. His father and I traveled to Sheppard AFB to watch him graduate; I will admit I was rather disappointed there was not more command presence for this very important point in the career of those who graduated. Even though I did 35 years Army, I let them know that I always requested the USAF support us because, "The Air Force's stuff always works!". :-) -Barry

    1. Well, thanks Barry, he's a good looking kid. They're all so young looking, well except for the instructor.

      It's kids like these that give me hope for the future.

      Expect a post shortly.

