Yup, I get it. People in England (and, for that matter, Australia, New Zealand, Ukraine . . . […]
Category Archive: Opinions and Stuff
My thoughts on a variety of things.
These shouldn’t be objectionable to anyone. For those who might not know, DV stands for Domestic Violence. The […]
I wasn’t going to add my thoughts, but I came across a few more comments, so, against my […]
I’ve been silent on many important news stories mainly because I’m tired of debating sound bites and the […]
If you own or are planning to buy a home, and that home has a roof, you might want to read this. Or, at the very least, go to the end of the post for the summary, observations, and cautions.
So, I need a new roof.
Sad, that. The roof is only 17 years old. Most manufacturers warrant their asphalt shingles to 30 years, but realistically, most roofs will only make it to 25 years, so I’m a bit shy of that (40%).
Twenty-five years if you are lucky, if the roof was installed correctly, if you don’t live through extreme weather, and if your roof has proper and balanced ventilation. Even then, you need the original paperwork and receipts, neither of which we have (there were two owners before us). But, even if I had all the receipts and the installers did a bang-up job, you’d only get a pro-rated amount for the material replacement and not the labor (although some include labor).
. . . let’s step back . . . proper and balanced ventilation.
Hmm . . .
. . . because I like the calming music . . . but now, I’m especially saddened by […]
Sorry: 950 words because of the topic. I was hesitant to write about current events in Europe and […]
Nota Bene: this post might or might not remain here depending on the outcome of this test. I’m […]
A few days ago marked the ten-year anniversary of the world losing Christopher Hitchens. I’ve written before about […]
I recently updated my Blogger blog (HERE). For the profile, they ask one’s preference in music and movies. […]
Until recently, I didn’t have a succinct way to express an essential aspect of how I live. Heck, […]
Using the concept of “freedom” when discussing vaccines is an example of people cheapening ideals that should drive […]
Many of today’s bitter arguments, nee discussions, are on issues that allow — no, demand — only binary answers: Yes, No, Right, Wrong, True, False.
“Isn’t it true that surgeons cut patients and sometimes cause patients to die?”
“Yes, but—”
“NO BUTS! Surgeons are awful people!”
Everyone recognizes the weakness of the argument. It may well be surgeons are awful people, but for reasons completely independent from them cutting into and mucking about in people’s insides.
That extreme example exemplifies the level of debate for many contentious issues.
Abortion and guns are two issues that come to mind; issues framed as being binary but aren’t.
This blog has many opinion posts buried among other poorly read — and probably poorly written — posts. My fiction still holds the record for least-read offerings, but my opinion pieces are a close second.
As mentioned before, I write not only to clarify my thoughts but also to keep track of my changing views.
What!?
On a comment, in passing, I happened to mention I might be prone to write about those three things tonight — the silly search for ‘purpose’, bees, and rocks — and I thus felt compelled to do so . . . first up:
It’s that time of year when the bees aren’t finding enough flowers out there in the wild, so they take over the feeders. They can do so because of two flaws in the design of those feeders. One, the holes are too large. A hummingbird can feed through a very small hole, but those are large enough for the bees to nearly squeeze through.
Disperser Tracks 