May Not Look Like Much...

 

...but in my world, this is a glorious sight.  

Ain't pretty, but after a long winter that's a little bit o' paradise right there.

In no time I'll be outside swinging my hickories and embarrassing myself again.

too soon?

Can't wait.

in honor of it being March 1st, the AMC is officially changing seasons.  don't care what anyone says, <it's spring!>  no, really; it is.

Ok, let's get the politics out of the way, shall we?

TDS is real, the legacy media is pathetic, and if the dems were a country, they'd be <Burundi>.

talk about "bitter clingers"; dems can't let go of their beloved TDS even though it's killing them

Crapper's new book is a study in the legacy media's complete and total lack of self-awareness.  Hypocrisy much?

couldn't happen to a nicer guy

gonna need industrial strength disinfectant to get rid of that putrid Comey/Wray stench

while virtue signaling for his precious elites, Hanks flushed his reputation down the toi toi

<skrik!>  seems to be a recurring theme; if there's any justice in the world, he's cooked.

kudos to Canada for escaping with a narrow overtime win; for JT, <a rasperry>.

tip o' the iceberg - way too many "public servants" getting rich off taxpayer money...time to DOGEhammer them.

Nice to have that out of the way, isn't it?

Had a minor setback with my wooden subset / ringer box for my candlestick phone:

After lots of tinkering and advice from a couple of antique phone enthusiasts, we've finally concluded it's simply the 100+ year old wiring/components:

One of the guys I've been talking to is currently in Arizona for the winter but asked me to send him the subset when he's back home in April.

The bells work, but the induction coil and/or the condenser could be suspect.

I may just try replacing the 9 old wires with new and see what happens.

Until then I'm back to my metal subset/ringer box...

gotta admit, that polished black bakelite and metal is a classy look

...which works fine.

I've had an increasingly ominous feeling of nameless disquietude creeping over me for the last couple of months.

Aye, it's an ill wind that's been a-blowin' and today I finally realized why:

Yep, it's the annual return of Crying Man And The Dreaded Diet, slated to begin on Monday.

Not positive what my starting point will be - I still have a couple of days to cram moon pies and cream puffs down my gullet -

2 of each please, and a large coffee with a shot of espresso

 

- but I'm predicting somewhere around 212 lbs.

And as usual, the goal is to lose 15 lbs or so.

I'm hoping for rapid success, because past experience has shown it doesn't take too long before Crying Man morphs into...

"Hey!  I'm getting sick of this diet!"
- I.M. Yelling

...followed shortly thereafter by...

"That's it, I'm having a cheeseburger and pity the fool that tries to stop me!"
- Angry Man

Yeah, that guy.

Not much shakin' in the 23 Skidoo department this week, to wit:

starting to break winter's iron grip

there's normally a flagpole in the middle of that shot, but 50+ mph winds caused me to remove it for now

Ol' Man Winter may have taken one on the chin, but it's def still heating season

just because I like it

part of Karen's Crocus Hall teapot collection

Even though March is <nulla magna quatit>, it's really nice to finally be done with February.

We're still at least a month away from consistently nicer weather, but soon we'll be enjoying longer days and warmer temps.

Plus March is also the namesake month for a <distant relative> of mine...

...though as a general rule we don't speak of him.

Now, as you rush the exits, please to ponder this eternal truth:

later, mcm fans...

Did A Little Telephonic Surgery...

...this week...changed out the T1 transmitter on my candlestick phone (like the above)...

...for a "bulldog transmitter".

Note the flatter, wider profile of the mouthpiece compared to the original protruding one.

Much better looking, IMO.

But the real reason for that change wasn't cosmetic.

The transmitter inside the black bulldog housing is a T1 element, same as the old one...

...but the old one was barely functional.

The new T1 works great and the quality of the audio that people hear on the other end of the line now is much improved.

Couldn't be happier with the outcome.

In addition I swapped out the metal subset/ringer box for this period correct wooden one:

Many thanks to Richard Rose, proprietor of <Ericofon.com> who supplied the bulldog transmitter, helped me with wiring the subset/ringer box...

...and provided lots of great information about antique phones in general.

If you have an interest in vintage phones - and if you don't, for crying out loud, develop one - visit his site, and its sister site <Memory Lane Telephones>. 

Great stuff at good prices.

You know what really excites me?

It's sad to have arrived at the age when the near proximity of a crappy month like March seems like a <raison de célébrer> but just think of it:

In a week we'll have escaped the armpit of winter!

a rare visible sunrise this month.  so far we've had snow on 20 out of 22 days.

And while it's true, March isn't much to write home about in terms of gorgeous weather, it's got one great big beautiful quality you have to admire:

It ain't February!

So full speed ahead to the time change...

...St. Paddy's Day...

hey, wait a minute...that's not St. Patrick...

...and finally, <Blessed Spring>! 

Calvin and Hobbes perform the <danse du printemps>!

If that doesn't get you excited, you need to check your pulse.

In the "surely they jest" department, have you smelled the latest putrefaction oozing from the legacy media?

According to noted historian and arbiter of state approved truth, CBS' Margaret Brennan...

...the Holocaust was caused by - wait for it - free speech.

I kid you not.

Think about that for a minute.

This is not some obscure liberal moron (redundancy alert) ranting on X.

This is the moderator of an iconic - and in halcyon days of yore, respected - political TV show, Face The Nation.

So here we have what resembles an adult human being who...

* is allegedly college educated;

* appears to be of sound body, if not mind;

* shows no signs of being coerced;  - yet -

...actually claims on live TV that the state sanctioned slaughter of 6 million Jews was caused by free speech.

Don't believe me?

I almost can't blame you.  No one can really be that dumb...can they??

To see for yourself, turn fatuity deflector shields to max power, set phasers to stun, and proceed at your own risk: 

<check it out here>

You can be forgiven if you rushed the exits early; attempting to swallow Brennan's guano de toro causes severe asininity reflux.

The key part of Secretary of State Marco Rubio's response is this:

"Free speech was not used to conduct a genocide.

"The genocide was conducted by an authoritarian Nazi regime that happened to also be genocidal because they hated Jews...

"...there was no free speech in Nazi Germany — there was none.

"There was also no opposition in Nazi Germany.

"They were the sole and only party that governed that country, so that's not an accurate reflection of history. "

Seriously: how is this woman still employed?

Kudos to SOS Rubio for giving a calm, reasoned and intelligent response in the face of such profound stupidity and intellectual dishonesty.

Not sure how much lower the alphabet soup media can go but at the moment the prize for Biggest Dumbass Of The Year rests securely in the talons of Brennan and CBS.

Congrats, Maggie!

Thank you for publicly documenting your continuing descent into utter irrelevance.

Should anyone ever ask you, tell them yes, <It's A Long Way To Tipperary>.

In the meantime, let's 23 Skidoo:

2 dems said they would, to many cheers; but then they didn't.  Donald Trump is actually doing it, to faux dem tears; they wish he wouldn't.

wow...5 Loki's...she must have been rich enough to hire lots of help

this is what Winning! looks like

atop the Omni hotel in New Orleans <10 years ago>

#1 grandson serenading the city

beautiful New Orleans skyline

It's kinda ridiculous to live in a state known for its winter sports activities...

...and then complain about winter, and yet I often do.

So why do I live here?

Same reason most people live where they do - work and family.

We generally live where we make our money, and we generally make our money where we can be near our family and friends.

Even in today's age of hyperconnectivity that's made working remotely (often equated with remotely working) a reality, we still want to be close to those we love.

So I'm probably not going anywhere, in spite of my propensity to bellyache about the cold and snow.

Besides, I like whining...it's one of the few things in life I can still do pretty well, so there is that.

In the meantime, consider this truth from God's Word as you exit the AMC and re-enter life's fray:

later, mcm fans...