Piers Morgan

One of the advantages (or disadvantages) that people in the UK have over those of us in the USA (in addition to better pubs) is that every morning they have the opportunity to wake up to Good Morning Britain. There they get their blood going with the opinions and tirades of Piers Morgan. 

Today, thanks to You Tube, Good Morning Britain is now available in the good olde USA. Now Americans can get in on the fun. Watching the show I have learned lots of things I never knew about Meghan and Harry. Apparently they are going to do a reality show on Netflix. Nothing official yet, but Piers said so, so it must be true. 

Editor's note: If you watch closely, when Piers moves his hand it goes out of the screen. Apparently he really is not sitting next to Susanna Reid because they are socially distanced?

Schools vs bars

 

As we enter the next phase of covid 19, in many states the schools are being closed again and on-line education has resumed. To the consternation of many, however, bars in most states have remained opened. Perhaps with the caveat that people are drinking in tents outdoors or in cute little tables near the bar.

You hear the cries.  "Why is  a man's right to get sloshed in a bar more important that the right of my child to go to school?" Like many things, the income that states derive from sales tax make the states reluctant to close profit making institutions, especially with no federal money forthcoming. A dollar is a dollar. 

Perhaps a compromise is in order. Children could be allowed to go to bars.  There they could be instructed by the waitresses on history and English. For math they could be taught by the bartender. He could demonstrate, for example, how much vermouth goes into a Martini and then ask how many ounces of vermouth would be needed to serve four customers. Perhaps alcohol units in liquor could be converted to proof levels. The speed that ice melts in a glass could be used to demonstrate the laws of physics. Pool can demonstrate Newton's principles. 

A day at the bar could be an educational experience for the children.  Talking to bar customers would be useful for them. It would teach them about life. They could see Trump voters firsthand. They could be taught conspiracy theories. There are many things that all of us, young and old, can learn from hanging out in bars.  When the kids get older and look back on these times they can say, "I learned more sitting in a bar than I ever learned in a classroom."

The wicked witch is dead

Yes those of us who live in Munchkinland are rejoicing that it looks like the wicked witch is dead. Yes the Trump presidency is coming to an ignoble end.  

Unfortunately for the Democrats, the battle has already begun for the future control of the party. As predictable as farting after too many tacos, the left wing has declared the party ran a campaign too afraid of alienating conservative mid westerners. Meanwhile the main stream of the party is starting to argue that the acquiescence to the demands of men with bullhorns demanding to defund the police killed the hopes of many potential Democratic Senators and Congressman. 

Since this is obstensibly a blog about the economy, we are looking at a Biden presidency. He will not do the weird things that Trump did but where a Republican Senate will stop him from doing anything that disrupts the status quo on taxes or government programs. 

It should be good for the stock market. As the old song goes, "the rich get richer and the poor have babies". 

I'm going to miss all my email friends after the election

 

This year I donated to the Democratic Party. I did it in response to an email. As my reward, every day I get about ten emails from people wanting more where that came from. I think I have gotten more email from Nancy Pelosi than anyone I have ever known. 

Over the months I have developed close pen pal relationships with Chuck Schumer, Barack and Michele Obama, Carole King, Sara Gideon, Mark Kelly, Stacy Abrams, Amy McGrath, Jaime Harrison, Pete Buttigieg, Adam Schiff, "Kati", "Scott", and Joe Biden (he put "Here's the deal" in the subject line).

I am afraid that after the election all of my new friends will have abandoned me. Like being hounded by an aggressive student bucking for a A who forgets the teacher completely after the grades are in, I am afraid of being forgotten. No longer being prodded for money I'm afraid I will feel useless and unwanted. Fair weather friends will no longer need me. 

Well maybe not. Some of them will need to pay off their creditors. 

Oh we have to reset the clocks again

 

Yuck, its non daylight savings time again. I have to run around the house setting the clocks back. Luckily the trick or treaters got to go out with an extra hour of sunlight this year because non daylight savings time begins on November 1.

Lots of computerized items did it for me. The computers, the cell phones, the Echo, the TV, even my Fitbit watch did that little procedure automatically. The old fashioned clocks had to be set manually. For these I had to find that little dial in the back and run it backwards. For years the atomic clock set itself automatically with the US Bureau of Standards in Boulder Colorado. I remember facing the clock towards the West to hasten it along. Nowadays it seems to have lost its connection and I have to push the set button and push the hour button. Same goes for the car clock and the oven clock.

I spent the most time setting the Beesy watch. This watch I bought as a backup for the Fitbit watch. You are supposed to set it with your cell phone but hours of trying have never been successful. I found the manual for the watch and figured out there is an old fashioned alternative that works for me. You have to bush the mode button, then hold the reset button for three seconds then push the start button to go to the correct hour. I also managed to move it from 24 hour to 12 hour mode. Hurray!

At my old job someone was cleaning out his office and he gave me an old 80s vintage clock radio. Setting the clock is tricky because you have to push the right buttons in back. You can do a fast forward or a slow forward. To get AM time you want the time without the dot next to it (which indicated PM). 

This morning the guy on the radio reminded me that now is a good time to change the battery on my smoke detector. I may be cheap but I figure why change a battery that is still good. Unless you are interested in selling batteries. 

For someone who is retired and doesn't have to be at work at a certain time I have a lot of clocks. At least now they are running on non daylight savings time. Brighter in the morning but an early dusk.