Yummy!

I've been on shift today since 22:30 last night, and got up at 06:00 for the shift change for my incoming partner. OMG... she is so young, but IMHO fully capable. It is strange to work in the fire service with someone born after 9-11. My own daughter was already 18 when my shift partner came into this world. I have actually met her parents and they are bikers, so OK in my book.

I had a leftover baked potato and some kielbasa, so with a couple of fresh eggs from my birds cooked over medium with some Mexican style shredded cheese and an English Muffin, I had a good breakfast.

I did the potato and kielbasa in the toaster oven for 10 minutes under the broiler, while the English muffin went in the 4-slice toaster and I fried up the eggs. Perfectly timed to all be hot and ready at the same time. I thought about turning the potato into homefries, but opted to just halve it with sour cream. I washed it down with an ice cold cup of milk. Real milk... like I have drank all my life... from a cow. Not from a nut tree, oat field, or soybean plant. As an aside; I was the oldest of 3 kids in an intact nuclear family of five. We went through 5 gallons of milk a week. It came direct from the Moser Farms dairy store right in town. They sold a 5-gallon jug that fit in the refrigerator with a spigot at the bottom. We also bought the rest of our dairy goods from them, and went to their soft-serve ice cream stand once a week in the summer.

Not Even The Same Area Code

While watching Newsmax this morning, they showed footage from the recent state dinner at The Whitehouse in June. There he was, the 1st Criminal, glad-handing with assorted VIP's and a thought occurred to me.... who in their right fucking mind would purposely be seen and photographed with that piece of shit? Like the title states, I don't want to be anywhere near him or any other criminal for that matter. Guilt by association? I don't need the added aggravation.

There have been times in the ambulance transporting a patient of questionable, uh... shall we say standards. They lost, misplaced, or don't have a phone and want to make a call. If there is no ALS Paramedic on board, I have to use the app on my phone to contact the receiving hospital. I tell them a lie that I need to keep the app open for the hospital only. If there is a paramedic, they are responsible for using the app, and so I lie again saying I just don't have my phone. I do not ever want my phone number appearing in the call log of some criminal's phone while being scrolled though by law enforcement, and then have to explain it. I got into an argument with another department member (who is a total jackass anyway) that told me I was "heart-less" for not letting others just use my phone. My response was "good, I will send them to you to make their phone call." Boy, you shoulda heard the excuses.

How Humid Is It?

After the tropical downpours of yesterday, this is what the windows at the firehouse look like. Heavy condensation on the outside of Pella double pane insulated windows.

I came on at 06:00 and the outside air is thick and soupy. The A/C is on throughout the station so it is cool and comfy. Ambulance calls won't be bad, but being outside for any length of time or at a fire will suck.

Afternoon Earworm

After my post the other day talking about riding The Beast while digging the `70's tunes on my bike's sound system, this just popped into my head this afternoon and I had to hear the whole thing.

An unknown live performance of "No Matter What" by Badfinger. This is the hardest rockin' tune of their hits.

 

Because I loved their songs and sound in my youth (and still do), some more Badfinger. Another live performance, this one is "Baby Blue"

Next up a song I never realized was theirs. I always thought Harry Nilsson wrote it and performed it first. But it was Badfinger and "Without You." Nilsson's version is so much more mournful and sad. This almost sounds sarcastic and like good riddance to the bitch!

 

And what I always think of as their biggest hit IMHO, "Day After Day"

 

 

 

Finally, "Come And Get It"

 

Hope you enjoyed these. Let me know in the comments section.

The Internet of Things? NFW!!

This post was prompted by the purchase of a new window air conditioner, and an ensuing conversation with my sister-in-law.

Because our home has an open floor plan on the first floor, we are able to keep the first floor cool and comfortable with a single large window unit and a ceiling fan. The original was an 8,000 BTU Frigidaire unit given to me by my cousin that continues to operate in my basement. It was moved down there when we purchased a newer, larger, and more efficient 10,000 BTU LG brand machine in 2009. Well, as most appliances these days don't last as long as older units do, it has crapped out. I am going to open it up and see if it can be easily repaired, otherwise it will be recycled at the town transfer station. There is a controller problem that won't let us shut it off. The fan will shut off but the compressor stays stuck on. We paid $259 for it at Homo Cheapo.

So I went and got a brand new GE 12,000 BTU unit at Homo Cheapo for a whopping list price of $459! Luckily with my military discount, I saved some dough and got out the door for a grand total of $439.33 with tax. It installed easily and fits and weighs the same as the unit it replaced. It doesn't seem to work as hard to cool the first floor and certainly does a good job. So good in fact, that after an initial run I will put it in "ECO Mode" and let it cycle on and off completely. It has a remote for controlling it across the room. It also has Wi-Fi capability which I refuse to enable.

 

Features list on the box. Wi-Fi... HA!

Voice enabled on smart devices? Aw HELL NO!!

 

 

My sister-in-law thinks it would be a great idea to use an app on my phone to be able to turn it on before I get home from work. I say if I can control such things so could a hacker....

Wi-Fi capable. "Whites" and "Colors"? That's racist!

That gray cap under the LED on my Genie garage door opener is where the Wi-Fi adapter goes

She kinda made fun of me for being worried about a nefarious character messing with my air conditioner. How about fucking with my washing machine? Opening my garage doors? Now THAT would be a serious breach of security. While getting hacked is a big concern, here is a bigger one... data collection. I value my privacy and always have and hate the argument I sometimes get about having "nothing to hide." Those people have been totally conditioned to not give a shit about their personal privacy and willingly give up info about themselves to whomever is willing to receive it. I don't need my air conditioner operating habits logged and stored somewhere, or some entity deciding on my comfortable temperature setting and changing it. Nor my laundry cycles, type of clothing washed, and measured water use. How about logging garage door operation when I am coming and going from my home. What about those refrigerators that keep track of your food and make a grocery list for you. Uh oh... you're not eating healthy enough, wonder why those medical insurance premiums have shot up? 

Yeah, FUCK 'EM... FUCK 'EM ALL!

If the day comes when appliances (or anything for that matter) comes automatically enabled and configured to use a cellular data network, I will find a way to make that stop working.