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...

It's That Time Again...

...when we celebrate...well, depends where you are in life, I guess.

Usually folks celebrate love, but there is an offshoot that's not quite as romantic:

That's pretty much every day on social media.

For the traditionalists among us, history says St. Valentine lost his head - literally - for officiating secret marriage ceremonies in ancient Rome.

Why secret?  Because Claudius the Cruel...

...had outlawed marriage so men would become soldiers willing to die for their country, instead of lovesick little puppies cuddling at home with their wives.

When St. Valentine's clandestine activities came to light, he was "...beaten to death with clubs and his head cut off".

So, yeah...Happy Valentine's Day; don't forget the roses lest your fate mirror that of our unfortunate saint.

And in the 2-fer-1 department, it's also <Pale Blue Dot> day.

Please do some good with your time topside of God's PBD.

He made it with us in mind.

It's a tired refrain by now...

...but "Who Let The DOGE Out?"  

#3 son was a senior in high school when "Who Let The Dogs Out" by the Baha Men had its brief time in the sun.

It was stupid then and today's political brouhaha over DOGE is even dumber.

Elon & Co are doing amazing work exposing fraud and saving taxpayer money, but democrats are screaming bloody murder while humiliating themselves in the process with some truly horrendous folk singing.

Please, I beg you, do NOT <click here>.

Why would anyone oppose rooting out waste and fraud from our government, unless...

...they were benefiting from all that waste and fraud?

As Elon Musk noted there are many federal workers making around $200k per year with a net worth in the tens of millions.

Kickback much?

Stay tuned; the forecast calls for a rapid increase in the kicking of posteriors accompanied by widespread taking of names.

If February could just move a lee-tle bit slower...

...we might actually achieve a complete break in the space-time continuum.

Just like the song, this is the month that never ends, it just goes on and on my friend...

...and no need to thank me; ear worms are provided at no extra charge.

They're one of the many perqs of this interminable month, along with cabin fever, ennui, lethargy and the uncontrollable urge to...um...well, never mind.

You know how some people can't take the hint when the party's over, it's time to call it a day, they've burst your pretty balloon and taken the moon away?

Yeah, well that's not me.  This party is definitely over, so let's mount up and 23 Skidoo:

After he lost the big game and she was booed for the 1st time in her career, T&T ditched the spotlight and settled into a sedate middle class existence somewhere in suburbia.

as february drags on, a helpful reminder of your current estate

Loki, king of all he surveys

need to replace the transmitter in my candlestick phone...

...and swap out the metal ringer box with a period correct wooden one.

not a fan of flying anymore, but definitely would have loved flying in a Pan Am Clipper back in the day

at least he doesn't eat them

I'm at that age where I can't afford to wish too much time away, but mercy, is this winter ever dragging by in slow motion.

Yeah, like that.

Even so, wisdom stipulates we needs must make the most of whatever time we're given:

 

15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

    - Ephesians chapter 5

later, mcm fans...

According To The Babylon Bee...

...democrats are warning that Trump's unelected shadow government is totally dismantling the democrats unelected shadow government.

They really do not like Elon...

...and his volunteer army of AI nerds.

The amount of fraud and waste within USAID that's finally coming to light is staggering, running into the billions of TAXPAYER dollars squandered.

and the list goes on and on and on...the tip of a VERY large iceberg

That they’re squealing like stuck pigs is no surprise.

They’ve been sledgehammered by DOGE and their jig is finally up.

But it won't be just the dems caught with their slimy mitts in the cookie jar; republicans are just as dirty as will soon come to light.

Now when these crooks go to bed at night, instead of sugarplums they have visions of <Bob "Gold Bar" Menendez> -

can you say "11 years"?

- behind bars, wearing an orange jumpsuit - dancing in their heads.

It's nigh onto certain some of them will be joining Gold Bar's Prison Chorus Line before too long.

But this is just USAID...think of all the other departments of government that spend our money.

What are the odds DOGE will uncover more rampant waste and fraud in medicare, education, the pentagon, the IRS, etc?

And the more the opposition rages, the more you know you're over the target.

The truly pathetic thing?

This is the first time anyone has ever seriously attempted to cut the size of our bloated government, and of course it wasn't a politician who did it.

But then it wasn't a candlemaker who invented the electric light bulb, was it?

An outsider did that.

So it was left to Trump, the despised outsider -

- to start the dirty work of cleaning up this deeply entrenched, institutionalized cesspool.

Does Permanent Washington truly believe everything they are and do is absolutely essential with zero chance for improved efficiency?

Of course not; they're arrogant grade A grifters but they're not stupid.

They're simply riding the gravy train, loving it, and don't want the unwitting dupes who finance them - that would be us - to ever stop.

Now, like insects under a rock, they're panicking once exposed to daylight.

Let 'em scream.  DOGE is saving OUR money, rooting out corruption, and helping to return us to fiscal sanity.

If you ever wondered how a regular citizen can go to Washington as a member of congress - average tenure: 10 years - and exit government employment as a multi-millionaire, now you know.

Maybe - just maybe - we'll actually clean out the swamp and return this country...

...to the principles of its founding.

Are you as excited as I am?

It's time for the Stupor Bowl!

No...no wait a minute here, I'm wrong.  That's the <Dust Bowl>, circa 1934.  Different thing altogether.

Lessee...ah, here we go:

I assume #29 running with the ball is that Taylor Swift fella I've heard so much about

However, as Bugs Bunny used to inquire...

What's all the hubbub, Bub?

Sorry, this one doesn't move the needle on my give-a-crap-o-meter, even though Karen plans to make some snacks and tune in for the commercials.

For my part, I'm far more interested in the biggest sporting event of the year!

the infamous par 3, 16th hole in front of the grandstands

Let's be honest: anything with "waste management" in its name is automatically disqualified from being the biggest sporting event of any year.

Even so, it is golf - not hickory, sadly -

Harry Vardon winning his record 6th British Open in 1914 at age 44

- but still golf and it is impressive watching what the best in the world can do.

With snow everywhere and temps below freezing, I'll be watching, wishing and <waiting for Spring>.

And who knows?

After that I might even have some chicken tenders with hot mustard sauce while whoever they are does whatever they do Sunday evening.

Enough of that; I say we drop everything and 23 Skidoo.

See ya in the funny pages, kiddo:

AI think, therefore AI am

my kinda holiday

I've arrived at the age where this could work

sound advice

this is pretty much how congress works

1920s humor

Given the current headlines, this encouragement from God's Word seems cogent:

Wouldn't it be nice to see justice done for a change?

later, mcm fans...