A weekly note

It’s a disappointing week for America.

An extremist religious right, very much the political minority, has assumed control, even as the political majority have the power of the executive and legislative branches in their grasp.

That control came via big money and dirty politics. And it sucks.

It’s the reason women aren’t protected equally under United States law. It’s the reason guns are the number one cause of death for children in the United States. It’s the reason we’re driving further away from reality and the rest of the world.

If the judicial branch is now expected to be obtusely political, then embrace it. Stack the bench with progressive judges, ban guns, and adopt human rights as described by the United Nations.

✑

There are of course multiple definitions for obtuse.

✑

Nothing else in this note will fit this week and that’s okay.

✑

We hiked somewhere around 4 miles at Moscow Mountain today. It was very nice to be out in the “oh, it’s getting hotter” part of early summer. I’m a bit worn out even though Michelle is the one who carried the 35-some pound pack with the sleeping baby.

I think it’s the first day I’ve had over 10,000 steps since last summer.

✑

The portable air conditioner came up from the basement and we turned it on for an hour or so when we got home. The first day we’ll really need it is probably tomorrow, when it will break into the 90s.

✑

Tomorrow will also be the first real test of my office on the top floor. There’s another (very old) portable air conditioner up there, so I should be able to make it until at least late afternoon before finding respite at the kitchen table.

To compare, it’s 82 up there now at 9pm and the high today was only 86.

✑

We have a new vacuum. It’s very light and much quieter and even has a laser on the front that shows dust particles! It also shows a little counter of how many varying sized particles it has collected.

Very fancy.

✑

Wasn’t there a saying at some point in the old internet that given enough time everything will become an email client?

Is a thought I had when Twitter announced their notes thing. I still can’t determine if it’s an actual memory or something I just made up.

✑

In response to Tuesday night’s note:

Friday night went long and we made it through the full The Blaze album, Dancehall.

It was after a three-pan dinner involving lots of Dungeness crab cleanup in addition to the normal.

✑

We now know the blooming thing that is as purple as the lupines is a hairy vetch.

✑

Under Pressure played at the end of the latest episode of Physical and about every other time I hear that song I think of Vanilla Ice’s extremely hilarious defense of not crediting the sample.

Michelle had not seen that video yet, so it was great to watch. I am apparently a walking encyclopedia of Rob Van Winkle knowledge thanks to VH1’s Behind the Music in 1999 or whatever year it was.

✑

We noticed a very nice mouse gift outside the side door yesterday, with no indication of our benefactor.

Michelle went out to mow the lawn this evening and a grey cat we run into every once and a while a couple blocks away was hanging out looking for pets.

We thanked her profusely.

✑

A started army crawling this week. He’s getting mobile! It’s so amazing to watch. We’re fucked!

✑

That was a lot. Have a good week. 🍻