Did you hear? It’s Black Friday. :reaper: I know this, because every store I’ve ever made a purchase from (or even driven by) has been telling me so for about two months now. In case you don’t know what BF is all about, it means you have got to go out and buy shit. Lots of shit. It’s your patriotic duty, and, in order to do their part, fine American merchants are selling Korean, Chinese, Sri Lankan, Indonesian, and Mexican merchandise at deep, deep discounts in order to stimulate you. Yes, you! Home Depot, for instance, is selling a Rigid 16-gallon shop vac (technically not a shop vac, I guess, since Shop-Vac® is a registered trademark) for a mere $28.88. Although they’re probably sold out by now, since the Depot opened up at 5AM (plenty of time for you West Coasters to get out there, though). I have two Shop-Vacs already (official ones, too – an old red and black one that I use for the pellet stove, and a big ass yellow and black one that I use mostly for wet pickup), but still feel compelled to by another. I could keep it in the basement. But I won’t.

I do have a need to go to Home Depot this morning, though, as I need to fix a 4″ drain line that’s leaking (in two spots, no less; I have a plethora of fittings left over from the septic project, but could probably use another hunk of pipe), and I could also use some pressure treated plywood (to recover the septic tank cover) and maybe even some 5/4″ PT to deck the 3PH carry-all I bought for the tractor, and have yet to actually use (for one thing, it would mean taking off the back blade). But venture out into the world on this, of all days, amongst the teeming throngs of humanity (and I use that term loosely)? I don’t really like people to begin with – let alone large numbers of them all at once. So, maybe tomorrow.

Otherwise I trust you all had a good holiday yesterday. Or at least a fairly standard one. If you’re like me you were forced to resist being force fed while explaining why it is you weren’t eating (while you were in the middle of eating), or have the size and content of your dinner plate commented upon. I’ve never quite figured out why people seem to be worried about what other people are eating (or drinking, for that matter). I mean, I can honestly say I don’t give even a tiny bit of shit what anybody eats. But I guess I’m just weird that way.

Oh well, at least that’s over for a month or so, and I didn’t actually have to leave the house.

Thanks to everybody for everything. Except for Time Warner, who, I just found out, wants me to pay extra to get the NFL Network. So, no Jets game for me tonight. Oh well, it’s on too damn late anyway. Y’all have a good day, whatever it is you’re doing.

Well, it’s official. Our Congressional District will now be ‘represented’ by a teabagger, who appears to have won by about 700 votes or something (and she’s not even good-lookin’; at least with Michele Bachman, she may be a horrible, crazy, bitch, but at least she’s easy on the eyes). Words cannot adequately express the shame I feel, which is only mitigated by the fact that the district was severely gerrymandered years ago, and it’s really the rednecks of Wayne County (who have absofrigginlutely no business being in the same CD as we are), who put this…person into office. That’s the last goddamn bit of non-sports news I’m gonna pay attention to for the foreseeable future. Well, except for TSA gropings. And Dancing with the Stars, of course. Oh, and the upcoming Royal Wedding (did you hear? They set a date and everything, and it’s gonna be a national holiday – for the Brits, not for us, sadly – and she’s so gorgeous and elegant, and he’s so dreamy…and oh my God wouldn’t it be just freakin’ awesome if they were on Dancing with the Stars next season!).

I woke up to a snow-covered ground this morning. It shouldn’t stick around long, since it’s gonna go all the way up to 40 today (which probably means 35 out here in the sticks). I also awoke to my first utility bill in the new place (caught the guy on my surveillance camera reading the meters, so I knew it was coming), and it wasn’t too bad. Of course, we weren’t totally moved in here for the whole period (still aren’t, really), but my efforts at turning out the lights (funny thing, some of the switches must be defective, as they keep flipping up, even when there’s not a person in sight – and, do nocturnal animals like cats really need a light on? No, I didn’t think so) seem to be helping.

It’s hard to explain to some people that the cost of running those 9 watt under cabinet lights and all those LED “night” lights – that don’t ever shut off in certain parts of the house where the sun don’t shine – 24/7 really does add up (I mean, 9 watts for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year is damn near 80 KWh a year – each – about 75 of which are needless).

It’s not that I’m cheap, mind you. Hell no. It’s the environment I’m thinking about.

Of course, the gas bill is another problem, mainly due to the fact that the heating hot water is used to hear the hot water storage tank. I’d hoped to install a tankless system, but the logistics of running a gas line (normally not a big deal, but in this case, for reasons I won’t elaborate on – ‘cuz I know you don’t care) are too big of a pain. My long-term goal is to build a home-grown solar heater anyway (for at least the domestic HW – if not to at least supplement the heating hot water, too). Of course, this is all predicated on my other expenses settling down at some point, here.

I just ordered some parts for my tractor, including some steel diamond plate skid plates (that I thought about making myself, but these were fairly reasonable, come highly recommended by the tractor forum people, and are fabricated by a guy up in Canada), and I really need to order a few tons of wood pellets, too. The first mortgage payment is due in a week, and then the taxes come up in January.

I’m feeling oppressed. Good thing I have a teabagger to watch out for me now.

Speaking of expenses and stuff getting shoved in my mouth, I start the day with yet another dental appointment. They decided to schedule a “long” visit to get more done (and so the dentist has a bit more cash for Christmas – or more like Makar Sankranti or something). There must be something wrong with me, that I prefer the dentist to going to work – not that I get out of work, mind you, as I have to go there after. But it at least kills an hour or two. Maybe I can weasel some Lortabs out of him.

Jane Hamsher wants me to get all outraged over the TSA’s aggressive “pat down” (a term I frankly don’t care for) techniques. I’m sorry, Jane, but I’m all outta outrage, and I think I’m entering the “duck and cover” phase of my life. Go to work, pay my bills (and my taxes, of course; it’s not like I’m wealthy enough to deserve any breaks there), try not draw any attention to myself, and hopefully pay off the mortgage and retire with a few years of life – and a fairly complete set of teeth – still left in me.

Then I’ll set out on the front lawn with a shotgun in my zero-gravity chair and wait for these f*ckers that keep coming up my driveway to see what’s there. I’ll show ’em what’s there, by Jeebus. And what’s there is a one-way ticket to the afterlife if they don’t get the hell off my property!

But today, it’s the dentist, and then work, and then a few days off.

Traveling this week? Congratulations! You may be selected to spend some intimate, quality time with this guy from the TSA (who looks a bit like Markos Moulitsas’ older brother – only not quite as creepy). So if you’ve got a thing for latex gloves, you’re in for a treat. Howie Kurtz says the media (you know, that monster that he, apparently, isn’t a part of) has really blown all this stuff out of proportion, and that 99 percent of travelers have been unaffected by the TSA’s new “grope-a-dope” policy. Let’s see, at roughly 150,000 flights per day, with, oh, I dunno, say an average of 100 people per flight, 1% comes to a mere, what, 1.5 million people getting the rubber glove treatment for the crime of trying to get home to see grandma for the holidays. See? That’s nothing. Hopefully Howie will get to experience the full grope for himself wherever he may go this weekend. As for me, I don’t plan on flying anywhere ever again, anyway. It was way too much of a pain in the ass before. Now? Fuggeduboutit. I’ll go flying on my tractor instead.

Thanks to Sue for posting Mr FK’s report from yesterday. An excellent job, as always (Mr, that is – though Sue did an excellent job as always, too). The only thing that would have made the report a little better would have been if Mr. signed off with, “…and by they way, Christi, “some” say you look like a dude in drag, unlike Richard Engle, who looks like a woman in drag.” Of course, then we might not be hearing from Mr. for a while.

Otherwise, this past weekend was a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, I’m hopeful that my septic problems are behind me (so to speak) – at least for a while. And, while it isn’t exactly perfect, I’ve got the holes and ruts filled in and smoothed out as much as possible. I’m sure it’ll all sink in, but, barring torrential rains, it will hopefully stay more or less intact until I can get some grass planted in the spring. And I now have a good dirt, stone, and mulch connection, which is always important.

You know, we take a lot of things for granted in this country. And not just cable and Internet access, either. The ability to have your shit whisked away someplace where you don’t really have to deal with it should close to the top of the list – if not right there at #1 – of things to give thanks for on Thursday. I suggest that, as you stand at the head of the dinner table preparing to carve the turkey, you ask everyone to bow their heads and give thanks that, when the meal they are about to receive has been processed by their digestive systems, it will go down the hole in that magical chair in the bathroom with, at most, no more than a brief struggle with a plunger. And if you’re on a septic system, tell ’em to go easy on the paper.

Sportswise, things were also pretty shitty this weekend – at least for the home teams. On Saturday…well, never mind Saturday. Let’s just agree not to talk about it. Then, on Sunday, the SU basketball team – ranked #10 in the country (proving that the rankings – much like the American Music Awards – are bullshit) barely survived against William & Mary in a game that went down to the wire. If you didn’t think W&M was (were?) exactly a hoops powerhouse, you’d be correct. Plus, they’re inconsistent. Their nickname is “The Tribe,” yet their mascot is a griffin. What’s up with that?

Speaking of tribes, NY State’s lame duck Governor is scheduled to make a major announcement today. In an effort to settle a land claim in nearby (to me; in fact, I own 10 acres of land there, if anybody’s interested) Madison County by the Mohican tribe (yeah, I know; I thought we’d seen the last of them, too) the Guv will promise State support of a tribal casino in Sullivan County (a mere hop, skip, and jump) from NYC – probably a lot easier to get to than Atlantic City, too.

This may go down as the most important initiative by a lame duck elected official since Gerry Ford proposed statehood for Puerto Rico. And look how well that turned out.

Oh well, time to get out there and get this week started. Thank goodness it’s a short one.

I’m guessing there’s only one reason to pay attention to the news – and the boobleheads – today. And that would be because – as Okat told us yesterday – that rogue, insurgent, guerrilla (or maybe even gorilla), incredibly handsome, Edward R. Murrow (only better) reincarnation, intrepid reporter and defender of truth & justice, Mike “Hugh” Boettcher, has infiltrated the Goebbels network, and will have a story featured on ‘This Weak’ with Christi Amanpour. If you only watch one talking heads show today, make sure it’s this one. As for the rest? Eh, who gives a crap. Speaking of crap…

Yesterday would have been a nice day if it hadn’t been for the wind, which was relentless (and cold). Not too bad when standing in a four foot deep hole, though. If only I could have spent more time deep down in the hole without having to do so much shoveling by hand. Oh, the back is not happy with me this morning. Nor are the knees (and we won’t even mention the shoulder).

But I’m pleased to report that we managed to repair the crushed and broken pipe. Sadly, we had to dig out a lot more than we’d counted on, though, because the pipe they used 35 years ago was very thin-walled and brittle. It shattered like glass when you breathed on it (or even near it), so we wound up replacing a lot more than we’d hoped to when we started. It was also a challenge transitioning from the old to the new, because this old pipe was actually a bit small for the new fittings. A real pain, but thankfully it’s not like this stuff is under pressure (and they hadn’t even bothered to glue the old fittings, so this has to at least be no worse). At least water should make it through the pipe now. Necessity was the mother of invention when it came to the new distribution box, as we cut up and cobbled together a storage bin to use as a cover, and tried to pile rocks and plastic shards around to cover any large gaps. Again, the old one had nothing covering it but dirt, so this should be no worse.

At least I now know where it’s located (duly photographed and annotated with the modern, electronic equivalent of 8×10 color glossy photos with circles and arrows and a paragraph – in audio format – on the back explaining each one), should I ever need to revisit it (hopefully after I’ve had enough time to save up for a backhoe; digging with the front end loader worked rather impressively well, but it isn’t exactly a precision instrument, and left a great deal of devastation – in the form of a 15 foot long, 5 foot wide – not counting the ‘ramps’ – and 3 to 5 foot deep hole to repair).

So today I’ll be trying to use my new pile of topsoil to even things out. Hopefully it won’t be so goddamn windy today. Plus I have a lot of laundry to do – hopefully everything will go (and stay) down the drain the way it’s supposed to.

Another early day for me, as I have to go do some shopping, and then be around for a topsoil delivery ($100 for 4 yards delivered; a pretty good deal, I thought. One might even say ‘dirt cheap’). After finally getting some info on where shit (so to speak) is in my septic system, I was able to uncover what once was apparently the distribution box (it looks like there was a box sorta thing, over which they’d placed a very light concrete cover). The cover is all but disintegrated, and the ends of the lines had pretty much filled with clay over the year. More urgently, the outflow pipe from the tank to the DB was crushed (under a rather large – and quite heavy) rock.

So, today will be filled with more tractor work and digging (and the faint, sweet aroma of urine, fecal matter, and ancient, rotting hair & soap all mixed together). Mmmm. I’d have to say that – if we can get this repaired – the tractor will have come close to paying for itself in this one project alone (I don’t know what somebody would have charged for all this, but people who work with shit son’t come ‘dirt cheap’ – and rightfully so, IMHO). Assuming you count all the free labor my friend John is providing me. He and my sister have been invaluable (and by that, I of course mean I haven’t paid them anything).

In other news of interest only to me and other Orange fans, the SU football team plays its final Big East game tonight (though the season finale is next week against former Big East and one-time annual opponent Boston College) against UConn. A win secures a second place finish (while still having the potential for a shared or even outright league championship), no worse than an 8-4 regular season finish, and the chance for revenge against the Connecticut coach – Randy Edsall, a former SU player himself – who last year (with an 11-point lead, 55 seconds on the clock, and SU having no timeouts left inside the Syracuse 30) called a pass on 4th down that went for a TD. Now, clearly, it’s up to the defense to stop that, but unless one is a huge asshole, one does not run up the score that way – especially against one’s alma mater. But Randy is one (an asshole, that is), so it would be nice if SU could win.

Fortunately, the game isn’t until 7:00, when it’ll be too dark to be doing anything outside, so I’ll be able to watch (yes, I should be going to the game in person like a good little fan, but I just don’t have the time or money these days – but, well, it’s on teevee in HD, and the seats in my living room are much more comfortable). Whether I’ll want to watch the whole game is another question. We shall see.

Sadly, Syracuse’s offense isn’t what you would call ‘good,’ so every game is a challenge (especially this late in the season, where an already light roster has been further decimated by injuries). Still, one can hope. And, really, win or lose, we’re way ahead of schedule on the whole rebuilding thing. I believe our coach will soon be elected King of Syracuse – but if you’d like to see him named Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year, please feel free to go and vote for him here. That’s Doug Marrone – Syracuse. He needs to finish in the top 15 to make it to the next round, and not only will you be doing me a favor and making me happy if he gets your vote, but, given the sorry state of SU football affairs I’ve been forced to chronicle over the past five years or so, he actually deserves it.

But, anyhow, time for coffee and to get ready to hit Home Depot by 6:00.

It’s Friday, and I took the day off, so naturally I was up and out of bed before 5 AM. And I didn’t even sleep all the way through at that). I really am turning into one of those old people who gets out of bed in the middle of the night. Very strange indeed. I probably should have gone to a midnight showing of the new Harry Potter movie or something; as I speak – not that I’m speaking, but you know what I mean – they’re interviewing two people who just got out of the 3AM show. Are these people nuts or what? It’s not like it’s Star Trek or Lord of the Rings or something. Fer chrissakes, it’s just Harry “the Gay – not that there’s anything wrong with that – Wizard” Potter.

Still, it’s nice to have the day off – though I did wake up to a covering of snow on the ground. Not a whole lot. Just enough to remind us that it’s November (damn near Thanksgiving, too; how did that one sneak up on me?) and we’d better get ready for some snow action. As I’ve probably mentioned before (yet another sign of advanced age and impending dementia – telling the same stories over and over and over again) I’m looking forward to getting out there and moving some snow with the tractor (that’ll probably stop being fun before the end of the season). That reminds me, I need to figure out where my insulated coveralls have gotten to. Did I mention it gets pretty cold out here in the country?

Even though you’re ignoring the news, you probably heard that the House of “Representatives” (half of whom are millionaires – and all getting richer every day while complaining they have to wait 30 days for their public health insurance to kick in – as if they were “common” people) soundly rejected an extension of unemployment benefits.

Why is it that “people” seem to support tax cuts for rich people because there’s a minuscule chance that they might become rich themselves one day, but they seem quite down with cutting social safety net programs because, apparently, they don’t see that it’s way more likely they’ll wind up out of a job and on the streets than it is they’ll become wealthy (especially with teabaggers running the show)?

Oh, that’s right. People are stupid.

Not dogs though. Dogs are smart – except for their apparent devotion to (and trust in) humans. They love us – they really, really love us.

Not that I’m paying attention to the news or anything, but old habits are hard to break, and I couldn’t help noticing that even Bill O’Reilly’s arch nemsis – the evil, commie (which is interesting, since he’s actually a successful capitalist, which just goes to show show you how crafty he is) liberal George Soros – is somewhat less that enchanted with the Obama administration (which is odd, since I clearly remember reading that Obama is the most radical liberal since, oh, I dunno, Eugene McCarthy or something). Speaking at a private meeting (‘private’ in this day and age means that details of what occur don’t get released until the meeting is over, instead of getting tweeted in real time), Soros told a gathering of the Democracy Alliance to donate their money to somebody who will actually do something to advance progressive causes. This is big, of course, since (as I don’t have to tell you folks) we all take our marching orders from Soros.

According to multiple sources with knowledge of his remarks, Soros told those in attendance that he is “used to fighting losing battles but doesn’t like to lose without fighting.”

“We have just lost this election, we need to draw a line,” he said, according to several Democratic sources. “And if this president can’t do what we need, it is time to start looking somewhere else.”

I have to agree there. It’s not the losing I mind so much (hell, I’ve been an SU and Jets fan all my life, so I know a little about losing), but the rolling over and playing dead thing really bugs me. Especially since I honestly believe that it was this “can’t do” attitude (you know, the, “wah, we don’t have a filibuster-proof majority,” and “wah, wah, wah, the blue dogs are a bunch of meanies,” or “wah, we thought for sure if we gave up on everything worthwhile, we’d get Olympia Snowne to vote with us,” whining we’ve heard pretty much from day one) that alienated voters and lost the House this past election.

Oh well, thank goodness there’s a royal wedding in the air, or I’d be downright suicidal.

In other news, it was very, very windy and rainy here yesterday and last night. So windy that the cable went out (again) – and this time, the Internet went with it. Fortunately, it’s back up now (well, I guess that’s somewhat obvious), which is good. Today is supposed to be fairly miserable as well – rain, snow, and, while not exactly frigid, then not exactly warm, either. This change in the weather has my creaky old bones aching this morning, and, since I decided to take tomorrow off, I’m really looking forward to getting this day over with. Unfortunately, I have to do the acupuncture thing after work, which means I’ll get home that much later.

Oh well, time for another cup-o-joe (maybe a can of ‘Four Loko‘ would be a better choice). Have a good one.

Normally, I have a morning routine. Nothing too exciting, of course. I just get up, do the shower thing, and then watch the lo-cal news while I drink coffee and try to ignore the news on the Internet. Not today, though. Today I awoke to my cable box displaying “E-13” and showing nothing on the screen except for an “initializing” page. When in doubt, turn it off and on (then unplug it, then unplug it and leave it off for a while). When none of that worked, I was forced to call support – only to find a recording saying “yeah, yeah, we know, so don’t bother us.” Well, alrighty then. They better hope I don’t get used to this, or I’ll be saving myself quite a bit of money every month.

I’m now watching – more listening than watching, actually – last night’s ‘Countdown’ on the Internets. I believe it started last night (the trouble, not Countdown; I mean, I know Countdown started last night), but I was busy watching the SU game on ESPN3.com, so I didn’t have the teevee on. So this means I also didn’t get last night’s recordings – most notably Stargate: Universe. So this really blows. I mean, not as much as shit backing up in your basement, but still.

Speaking of shit backing up, I called the County yesterday to see if I could get the plans for my septic system. I’m not having any problems at the moment, but I’d like to know where everything is at, just in case. So I talked to a guy who did a search and called me back. Normally they’d just fax it to me, but there are lots of “notes” on mine, because they had “problems” installing it, and he wants to go over it with me “at the site.” And he happens to live out my way. Very nice guy, but this doesn’t sound as if it bodes well. I see more money hemorrhaging away from my bank account in the near future. Oh great.

Looks like I picked a lousy time to quit drinking beer.