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Praetorium Honoris

Friday, September 14, 2018

And Now for Something Completely Different: Random Musings Edition

As I mentioned, I've been away for a while on a trip overseas.  Some random thoughts forthcoming:

Kavanaugh Hearings-  I didn't watch much of it, but it sure seemed like a lot of dramatic political posturing by the Dems.  Theater really, playing up to their base to look like they're trying to stop the freight train.  Senator Corey "I wanna be President" Booker was the worst of them, although Kamala "I also wanna be President" Harris sure seemed to love the spotlight as well.  I just heard that Feinstein has an unnamed source who knew Judge K in High School, who refuses to come forward, with a secret allegation- on the eve of the confirmation.  Absolute BS.  That party is a clown show.
Image result for Booker hearing

Politics continued in my absence apparently, although I barely paid attention.  Didn't miss it in the least.  Anything I should have caught?

Baseball season is winding down I guess.  Haven't watched much this whole season, but then again, the Padres were out of it back in July.  The San Diego motto?  "There's always next year."

Football has supposedly started again and I still don't give a rat's a**.  Nike is such an overrated company.  Kapernick giving up everything?  BS.  He turned down a very good offer to test free agency and his timing sucked, like REALLY bad.  Greedy is what he was, not a hero.



Flying up in front of the airplane is always a treat.  No, I wasn't in the cockpit. I wish, but not anymore.  The overseas flights are far more pleasant in "tolerable leg room class."  We  upgraded to business which is really nice.  Too bad I wasted the lay-flat seat I had by not sleeping a wink.  Despite all the past bad PR for them, I still like United.  Still doesn't help me sleep on planes though.

I under-packed.  No rain gear and I could have used more expando-pants- Boy did I eat well!  We packed so light in just one carry-on each that we had zero room for souvenirs.  Had to buy another suitcase.  Sorry, I didn't get you anything.  I didn't know your size.

I flew home on 9-11.  I'm afraid it's starting to become one of those ho-hum days with people not caring as much as they should.

Doesn't anyone use their blinker anymore?  It's not like I'm going to speed up and not let you in.  In fact, it's just the opposite.

Saw a ton of castles on the Rhine river.  Best part of the trip.  Turns out a bunch of them aren't even castles.  They're actually toll gates.  If you wanted to pass you had to pay up or get shot from the battlements.  I guess even in medieval times the only sure thing was death and taxes.

By the way, my pictures were too small so I'm going full monty with them.  Hope the intrusion into the sidebar isn't too distracting.  If so, just click one and see them individually.

Supposed to be an island, but the river is uber low.
Google Rhine Castles for even better pictures.

Marijuana is legal in Amsterdam, along with many other things of course.  Actually, it's not legal, it's just not illegal. At least that's how they describe it.  It must be really good based on the number of "coffee" shops where you can buy and smoke it, as well as the huge MJ culture there- souvenirs, shirts, hats, even a museum.  I'm not sure what the fascination is though, and I'll never know.  However, if I ever get cancer or glaucoma and some doc wants to prescribe it to me in a pill form I may think about, as long as there's no high associated with it.  I just can't go there.




Didn't partake in their wares either.

My daughter is starting her third year of college in a row under the threat of a hurricane.  First year, she was evacuated.  Second- classes started a week late.  This year?  Florence seems to be settling down and may not be as really really big and really really wet as Trump described.

*Ok, it's not a Cat 4, but it's definitely wet.

Saw this in my feed.  It looks like it's gonna work.  And the  Hornet Bubbas rejoice:



I love my car.  Having a convertible Mustang in Southern California is a blast, and I have the lousy mileage to show for it.  But if I could take mass transit to work like most Europeans in most major metropolitan areas I would.  They are so easy and efficient.  I also love the narrow streets and big open squares, all lined with flower boxes.  I guess you can get that when you have cities that were built before cars were invented.




I am really grateful for the experience I received from the Navy in going overseas.  I feel that I'm very travel savvy, mostly because of it.  My wife is that way too after we fumbled through Italy five years ago.  We figure we can go anywhere and if there are any issues, we'll figure it out- we may get lost, but that's ok.  We'll just ask for directions or just find our way.  We know how to decipher the machines to take the trains, buses, trams, etc.  And the GPS in your phone means you're never really lost.  And Uber works in Europe too.  We noticed that others didn't have that confidence however.  They barely stepped off the ship without someone leading them, needing to be picked up at the airport, taken to the hotel, bags dragged to the bus, etc.  I guess it's to each his own, but port visits in third world countries can definitely take the edge off of any travel fear!

Strasbourg France

Colmar France
On a sad note, my Uncle Art passed away Wednesday after 87 years on God's good earth.  A good run if there ever was one.  A retired USMC LtCol, he commissioned me into the Navy nearly 30 years ago.  Married 62 years, he and my Aunt Jo had six kids, all of which were there when he passed.  I got there a couple hours later to join my wife, and I was able to pay my respects before he was taken away.  More respect to follow- Aunt Jo asked me to do his eulogy.   Guess I better keep writing.

Image may contain: 2 people, people standing and wedding

15 comments:

  1. For a few seconds there thought your first photo was a Key & Peele still then it sank in....yeeesh. Lotsa good photos there Tuna. Those river tolls weren't taxes but "investments" don't you know.....:) My condolences on your Uncle Art, a good looking couple there. Drone footage nice addition too, off to research that now.

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  2. Small world, I just did the same cruise got back 9-2.

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    1. North or southbound? Which line?

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    2. South from Amsterdam to Basel, spent 2 extra days in Basel. Viking. We were one of the 1st to do the Rhine Gorge because of the water level. Our Skipper was good! (German/Italian)

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  3. I was hoping for a SCOTUS nomination, but there was that incident in Jr. High 58 years ago when Cindy Rosen claims I might have accidentally brushed my hand against her backside. DAMN!!

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    1. Accidentally? And the NYT says it was both hands. Oh wait, they make stuff up, sorry.

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  4. Nice!

    Love the photos of Europe (though the one of Booker indicating his mental age is hysterical).

    Condolences on the loss of your Uncle.

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  5. Welcome back, glad you and the missus had a good vacation and a good anniversary.

    Response Part the 1: Yeah, a real poop storm. Jerks being jerks and the Party of Stupid not calling the jerks on being jerks. I think monkeys slinging poop have more ‘gravitas’ than those knuckleheads. Oh well, we’ll see how all the Kabuki theater plays out on the 20th.
    Part the 2: Baseball, baseball has been not berry berry good to me for long time.

    Part the 3: Now we find out that NIKE has been paying Colin-cancer all along, to the tune of 4mil a year. Why play and risk being shown for the third-string player he really is, or, gasp, actually get hurt? After the non-sanctions by the NFL and the teams, NFL is dead to me. Maybe Vince and the new football league might be interesting, might not. Give a darned is out of juice on that one.

    Part the 4: Dunno about flying. Last commercial flight was in ’73 and they still had Stews that looked gooood. So you got leg-room comparable to, well, 1973…

    Part the 5: There’s probably a use-tax for the blinker in California. Or it’s some new energy saving feature. Remember, your state wants to go 100% renewable by ’45.

    Part the 6: How else do you think they could afford all those castles? Taxes. Must tax to build a castle, must have a castle to collect a tax. Our government learned well from those medieval jerks. And I suspect that California will be setting up their own tax collectors/inspectors/thugs on their borders to get people trying to smuggle goods like food and detergent into your state. 

    Part the 7: Nice pics. Thanks for not showing us fat German guys going full monty.

    Part the 8: THC, which all the idiots want, has no medical use other than to get one high. CBD is the good stuff. So what does all the medical marijuana have in it? THC. Dumb-jerks. Yes, if I ever needed to imbibe I would also use Marinol. (Had a really good discussion with wife’s pain doc re this whole poop storm. He concurs.)

    Part the 9: Rumors are that Trump sent Mattis to the shore and he knife-handed it so much it lowered itself down 2 whole categories. That rumor has more truth in it than anything regarding Part the 1.

    Part the 10: Now if they had only kept the Hoover flying, or done the super-COD-Hoover…

    Part the 11: Drive what you want. Screw everyone else. After all, they’re screwing you…

    Part the 11-2: Mass Transit would require us being shmushed in like sardines or people in NewJorkCity. Me? I like my wide open spaces as much as I can get. Less I have to be within 4 foot of another person, the more I am happy (except for Mrs. Andrew, of course.)

    Part the 12: To travel well, one must have a certain.. lack of caring about schedules and such. Once you throw that out the window, travel becomes fun again.

    Part the 13: Sorry for your loss. Sounds like a great man. Glad Aunt Jo has you doing the eulogy. As you are pretty good yourself.

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  6. And.. Is Booker doing Jazz Hands?

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    1. Beans Part the 2- Ha! Keegan-Michael doing jazz hands! Part the one- great analysis all around. As for the car issue, I wouldn't give up the Mustang- just use the train to get tow work! Sardines? It wasn't Japan so we were comfortable.

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    2. Why would an ex-Navy guy be trying to get TOW work? I would think at least a Javelin, or whatever the Navy equivalent is.

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  7. How dreary Christmas in Amsterdam must be! All those red lights and no green!

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  8. Ah, memories. Saw many of those Rhine castles from the cockpit of a 27' Bridge Erection Boat. Amsterdam was my favorite city. Always stayed at the Hotel John de Wit.

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  9. MQ25 tanker. no one likes tanker flying. wonder if it knows when to get the hell outta dodge? range extenders gotta have a certain amount of paranoic concern for survival when close to the FEBA

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  10. Booker and Harris are mere wimps compared to the master mouth-breather, Sen. Chuck Schumer. It's been said that the most dangerous place in DC is to stand between Schumer and a media camera. As for all three of them, if they had two brains, then, the other ones would be lonely.......

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Just be polite... that's all I ask. (For Buck)
Can't be nice, go somewhere else...

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