Q: Why do I think there's a commie behind every tree?
A: BECAUSE THERE IS A FUCKING COMMIE BEHIND EVERY TREE!!


Utilize the language with the same manipulation the Commies do, using the phrase "VACCINE FREE" instead of "UNVACCINATED" or "NON-VACCINATED"

Monday, June 26, 2023

It Got Muggy Quick

We built our house in eastern Kommiecticut in 2005 and opted to delete the proposed central air conditioning, since this is New England and not Arizona, Texas, or Florida. At most there is a period of 3 1/2 months where it is needed at times, not 8 months where it is mostly needed. Since our house has all Andersen double hung windows, yearly installation of window mount air conditioners is a breeze. I normally pull them out in late September/early October.

So Saturday morning with summer heat and humidity finally on the way, I spent about an hour and a half to put four units in place. It goes pretty quick because the hard part of initial installation is already done, these are re-installs. I have a fifth, but since the job I had that allowed me to work from home vaporized in 2016, I don't put it in our home office any more. It is just a spare.

My wife was going to be grooming dogs over the weekend, so I started with the basement. Being a walkout, there is a double hung window by the door. In a house with a basement an air conditioner keeps it cool and dry, which helps keep the rest of the house that way. This one is an older Frigidaire 8,000 BTU model that I got from my cousin for nothing. On the lowest setting it keeps the whole basement comfortable and dry. I originally used it for the first floor before upgrading. I store it under the basement stairs so it is handy, unlike the other units that I store in the garage attic. Because it is at ground level, for security purposes, the lower sash that holds the A/C unit in place has 2 L-shaped brackets screwed in place to prevent removal. If a criminal decides to just destroy the entire window and make entry, the monitored alarm system will go off.

Next up was the first floor. That one is a newer LG 10,000 BTU that I had to carry down from the garage attic. I store them in the boxes so while there is some heft to it, I can manage it just fine. We have an open floor plan on the first floor, so the single 10,000 BTU in the family room window combined with a ceiling fan keeps the whole downstairs cool, even on low. Because of the walkout basement, no security measures are required, but the slope doesn't put this one at full second floor level, so the L-brackets are also used to keep the sash locked down.

All of the bedrooms are on the second floor, and for those I have a pair of small Frigidaire 5,000 BTU units. Both are also stored in the garage attic needing to be carried down, and then back up to the second floor. One of the bedrooms is the office I described earlier. I put one in the master bedroom (I don't care if that is now a verbotten term, I will use it) and one in the guest room currently occupied by my Father-In-Law. Leaving both units on low, with the ceiling fans also turning on low, keeps the entire upstairs comfortable.

They only run as described when it is hot and sticky out, and when my FIL isn't staying at the house (he occasionally spends a few days with my wife's brother's family), the upstairs ones are off during the day. While running them certainly shows up on the electric bill, it is not all that much. Once the humidity breaks, we'll go back to having the windows open. My wife will only run the one in the basement if she is actively grooming dogs. In the wooded hills where we live, it can be almost 15 degrees cooler than in the Greater Hartford area. You can actually see the temperature drop on the vehicle outside thermometer as you head east to where we live.

Friday, June 23, 2023

A Four Day GFDZ in Kommiecticut

The Traveler's Championship pro golf tournament begins today at the TPC River Highlands course in Cromwell. In standard Kommiecticut modus operandi, personal concealed carry defensive arms of any kind are forbidden. All bags will be searched, and I'm sure everyone will have to pass through a metal detector then get wanded if necessary. Now, I don't really care because I hate golf and would never attend, in fact I don't attend any sporting events, concerts, or places with large crowds armed or unarmed. The exception is the Eastern States Exposition, but I carry a polycarbonate undetectable blade for that since there are plenty of West Springfield cops on the fairgrounds.

So hopefully nothing bad happens there in the next four days. But the potential for violent mass murder is high, and who is going to stop it, the unarmed security guards? Shoot them first and waltz right in.


*GFDZ = Gun Free Death Zone

Wednesday, June 14, 2023

GREAT NEWS!

For me anyway. Had my post MRI consult with the orthopedic doc today. NO SURGERY! He reviewed my case notes and the MRI and pointed out the tear to me (see image below).

Click it to big it. My personal info was scrubbed and those are my notes on the slide.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It turns out (no surprise) I had no idea what I was looking at when I got the results a week or so ago, but then, I am not a radiologist. The doc then performed a physical examination and manual manipulation of my knee. I winced a little for some lateral motion and he said there was no point going further and causing me unnecessary pain. Because I have been basically pain-free for the last six-weeks right after the injury and able to do normal stuff outside of work there is no way insurance was going to pay for what amounts to preventative arthroscopic surgery. He recommended just a cortisone shot, ice if I need it for post-shot pain, and a follow up visit to his office in six weeks. I've never had a cortisone shot before, it felt weird. It was a 3 inch long large gauge needle and the syringe held about an inch of white cortisone. He numbed the injection site with lidocaine and buried the entire length of the needle into my knee joint (smartly I might add) by my kneecap. It didn't hurt at all but I felt the pressure of the juice going in. The doc said as long as I don't firmly plant my right foot and then twist, I should be fine going forward without surgery. He said I still may need surgery at some distant future date, possibly a full replacement because there is some thinning of the cartilage and arthritis that isn't going to get better on its own. Hopefully that will all be after mandatory retirement as an interior rated firefighter. I told him I would do my best to be cautious with lifting and such so as not to repeat this mess.

This means that as of Monday, I will be up on a ladder cleaning my gutters, get out on "The Beast" for a post-injury ride, and get out in the canoe with my FIL to do some fishin'! My next scheduled shift was supposed to be an 18 on Sunday, but that is a day before authorized. Therefore I will be on duty Thursday as my next scheduled shift. I can't wait!


UPDATE 6-14-23 @ 21:00 EDT: I have taken the doctor's advice and put an ice pack on my knee. It's just a bit sore from the cortisone shot, and I figure if I do it now maybe it won't wake me up out of a sound sleep at Zero-Dark-Thirty.

Time To Update My Clothing

Since we now obviously live in the FUSA I may as well dress for the new environment.

The storefront from when it was cool, and before it was a store for the hipster doofus














Pith helmets and jungle wear. I should probably stock up on cigars and rum, too. Maybe I'll pickup a Kukri blade to wear on my hip with those Gurkha shorts.



Tuesday, June 13, 2023

I'd Go See This One

 Driving a team of horses and dragging more than one freak at a time would be more efficient.
















Go ahead and ask me.