They're Way Ahead of Me

February 21, 2021

 

In “If You Can’t Beat It, Adapt” (January 23, 2020), I asked who was planning to conserve farmland, if rising sea levels forced people who lived on the coasts to move to the interior of the country, where the farmland was. It never hurts to plan ahead, I said.

Meet Vertical Farming. The modern take on vertical farming is that it’s basically tall greenhouses. As near as I can figure, the concept was introduced in 1999, and the greenhouses have been around for years; but the idea has been slow to take off—until the pandemic.

There are drawbacks of course—what if the power goes out, will vertical farming run the rural farmers out of business, who’s going to do all that pollinating… But at least somebody’s thinking about it.

  

It Just Keeps Giving

 

February 20, 2021

 

Many people heaved a sigh of relief when 2020 passed into history.

But for some people, especially those in the southern U.S. right now, the past week has seemed like a continuation of 2020.

Maybe in April, when we’re well past the one-year point of when 2020 started to fall apart, it will finally have released its grip.

We can only hope.

Leave Us Alone, Just Give Us Your Money

February 20, 2021

 

Like Idaho back in 2012 (see “Good Thing It’s Not In Phil Hart’s District”, July 9, 2012), Texas wants no part of the federal government—until disaster strikes and it needs some money.

How are those secession plans coming, folks?

 

 

 

He's Just a Practical Guy

February 19, 2021

 

When power outages during a cold snap left Texas in a deep freeze, Sen. Ted Cruz wasted no time in dealing with the situation: He booked a flight for himself and his family to Cancun.

And really, it’s not like his staying home would have helped anything. Can you see him working on power lines or water lines to help out in a crisis? Sure, he could have stayed and suffered and maybe gained (or demonstrated) some empathy for his constituents; maybe made some calls to heads of utilities, or even the governor, to make sure someone started making plans so that this never happened again. But he can make calls from anywhere, right? So it made sense just to pick up and leave.

And leaving his dog in an unheated house? Well, who has time to figure out the nuances?

 

But did he have to pull police resources away from actually doing their valuable jobs to give him “security” at the airport?

 

Self-Preservation: A+

Concern for Constituency and Animals: F

 

 

The First Time is the Toughest

February 15, 2021

 

For the first time in my life, I called in to say that I would not be in to work because of weather and road conditions. It was tough—I’ve always soldiered on, like everybody else, and lived up to my responsibilities, office-wise.

But now that I’ve got it under my belt, the next time may be easier. (All my mystery books say that about the first murder, so why not the first stay-home?) I know it was certainly smarter. I also know that the company wouldn’t bail me out if I got stuck on the road.

I guess that’s what comes of being an older worker. Your experience kicks in, and you finally start making the tough—and wise—choices.

 

 

 

Election Entertainment?

February 12, 2021

 

Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz seem to be pretty much on the same page these days, as far as the Capitol riot not being all that bad.

 

But I’ll bet this lock-step won’t last when they’re both running for president. I’m looking forward to hearing what they have to say about each other then.

Sometimes a Storm Is Just a Storm

February 17, 2021

In the past, some people have pointed to things that they disapprove of as the cause of natural disasters.

So far, I haven’t heard anybody blame this week’s huge winter storm, with its subsequent power outages and their attendant misery, on gays, gay marriage, or abortion.

 

How refreshing.

 

They'd Love to Help, But...

February 14, 2021

From the “Least Helpful Advice” Department:

A Department of Mental Health official in Missouri advised group-home administrators seeking information on when they could get COVID vaccines to their patients to “be scrappy” about getting what they needed.

 

(This is tied for first place with the advice given to government employees during the shutdown of 2018, when furloughed employees were advised to hire lawyers or ask their landlords if they could swap chores for rent.)

They Ran Off with the Socks

February 15, 2021

 

When I went out to shovel snow today, I had a very hard time finding a complete set of gloves. All the left ones seemed to missing. 

Why?

International Summit

 February 14, 2021

 

Next week, spacecraft from three nations will be either on or orbiting Mars. Maybe they can communicate with each other and solve some global problems here on Earth. 

Or plot a takeover.

 

Gov. Parson Gets Tough

February 6, 2021

 

Gov. Mike Parson took a strong line the other day about people getting COVID vaccinations intended for others. He said that health care providers who allowed people to jump the line for vaccinations would face consequences.

That’s pretty tough talk for a guy whose previous idea of leadership concerning the pandemic was, “If you want to wear the dang mask, wear the dang mask.”

Maybe he’s still riding the wave of anger from being dissed by the Missouri House, which wouldn’t let him give his State of the State address there because of the pandemic; although they had packed the hall the previous day, and weren’t even concerned about masks, they were suddenly alert to possible consequences of letting the governor speak to a crowd there.

Although he took a laissez-faire attitude toward people dying of the virus, this blatant disrespect got the governor pretty riled up.

Nice to know that something gets him moving.

 

Dial It Back, Mr. President

February 5, 2021

 

I was a little annoyed at President Biden when he tried to slip the minimum wage hike into the Pandemic Relief Bill. Why muddy the waters with something you know is going to irritate a good percentage of the legislature, and make them balk at passing a much-needed bill?

I was also annoyed that he didn’t try to target the relief a little more. Some people desperately need that money, but not all people do; so why not make the price tag less by not throwing money to all and sundry? A smaller price tag would have made the bill somewhat more palatable, and given legislators less reason to argue with it.

All this was even more puzzling because he’s supposed to be this great mediator. Instead, it was like he was thumbing his nose at Republicans, and daring them to contradict him.

Or perhaps he was thinking, “They’re going to block everything I do, so I may as well aim high and let them talk me down to what I really want.”

 

If that was his strategy, I hope he hones it a little more. This just looked clumsy. 

Real Estate Disclosure

 February 2, 2021

 

I just had an interesting conversation with a mayoral candidate. He was saying that it was time the town got some commercial development so that we could get some substantial tax revenue. He said that in a bedroom community, the tax burden falls on the citizens, and that, although people complain about how high their taxes are, most of it goes for education.

The downside is that commercial development can ruin a small-town atmosphere.

I suggested that maybe somebody should let people know up front that, if they’re moving here because they want the idyllic small-town lifestyle,

 

They’re going to have to pay for it.

Tote Them Away!

February 1, 2021

 

Please, businesses, no more tote bags as giveaways!

I’ve saved some, I’ve given lots away, but I’m still being overrun.

Think of a new advertising gimmick, please!

 

(PS—No more magnets, either.)

 

Will Fewer Choices Lead to More or Less Stress?

January 30, 2021

 

I read that as shoppers browse less and order online more, grocery stores are stocking the most popular brands, leaving less popular items out in the cold. It’s a little disconcerting knowing that we may be forced into choices that we wouldn’t otherwise have made.

On the other hand, it may not be entirely bad news. In 2011 I mentioned that I got overwhelmed just in the green-bean aisle. I had to wade through fresh cut, French style, regular, no-salt…You couldn’t just grab a can of green beans, throw it in the cart and move on. Multiply that experience by every item on your list, and you can see that choices can really drive up the shopping time.

 

So, maybe limited choices are a good thing. As long as they’re the ones I like.

 

Keeping Shoppers on Their Toes

January 23, 2021

 

One of the most irritating things about shopping is how stores keep rearranging the aisles. This is done, I’m told, so that shoppers won’t just go in, grab things on auto-pilot, and never notice other tempting items that they could buy. If you have to search for the things you want, you’ll be more aware of what else is on offer, and maybe make an impulse-buy or two.

Sometimes, though, the shakeups just don’t make sense. Do the storekeepers really think that I’m going to go in for hydrogen peroxide, look around the aisle, and suddenly realize that I need an enema?

I Finally Get to Use that Education

January 29, 2021

The Object of the Day from the St. Louis Art Museum was a bracelet from the 4^th Century AD, with a Greek inscription. I actually recognized one of the words. 

Nice to see those Classical Greek classes are finally paying off.

 

Never Have I Ever...Had to Use a Pivot Table

January 29, 2021

Every time I change jobs, I sign up with an employment agency. Every time, they make me take a set of aptitude tests, including Excel. And every time, the Excel test rates my knowledge of Pivot Tables.

So I brush up on Pivot Tables, tackle the test…and never have to use them again. I’ve gotten pretty good at them, though.

 

The job I just landed sounds like it may be different. Maybe all that knowledge will finally come in handy.