Thank you, Clay Bennett.

 

Your Daily Meme

Escape to Rural France

I stumbled upon this YouTube channel early last year, and it has become my near-daily guilty pleasure.  It is a V-log of a journey one man (and a small team of craftsmen) have undertaken to restore an abandoned chateau in rural France.  

He is well into the second year of the restoration process, but this was the introduction video that started it all.  This series has proven to be a wonderful distraction to, well... everything.  Each video is no more than 20 or so minutes long.  

I hope you can find enjoyment in it as well! 

Rade

Thank you, Mike Luckovich.

 

Your Daily Meme

Four!

 

Humor aside, for has... heinous... as the daily barrage of missives are coming out of the Twice Impeached, Convicted Felon President's administration, we have to remember... we have a constitution that has been ratified by 3/4 of the United States of America which offers protections to... us.  

The Executive branch, the Legislative branch, even the Judicial branch can all declare they find something is null and void, but the constitution is the law of the land, and unless:

• 3/4 of both houses of government vote to amend / change it <and>
• 3/4 of the United States vote to accept the amendment

Nothing is going to be changed by some Executive Order.  Those are only a distraction; a way to get you to react.  Don't buy into it.

This link will take you to the Constitution Center website.  

Breathe.  

• Stay off / limit your Social Media.  
• Avoid Cable News.
• Don't spend time reading what is in the Executive Orders; to paraphrase as one blogger put it - they look like they were badly written by an AI bot and not proof-read by an under-educated staff.  
  
• Don't listen to soundbites.  
• Ignore the "HAIR ON FIRE!" hype.  

Oh, and if you DO find yourself stuck on Social Media, combine emoji's together for your response!  You'll feel better for the effort!   I use these two a lot!

🐎💩

(Feel free to copy and paste.) 

We WILL prevail.

In peace.

Rade 

Your Daily Meme

 

CBS Evening News

As I have mentioned more often than I care to contemplate, we record the ABC World News Tonight with David Muir. Sadly, he was the "Best of Breed" of the three broadcast networks.  Could never watch Lester Holt, and CBS was just... abysmal and all over the map with format and coverage. 

As for David Muir, I cannot stand him.  

Every night it is the same "This Just In!  Breaking News!" lead stories along with the requisite sound bites with his signature smarmy and maudlin interactions with the ground crews.  Lately including long segments on what Trump and his surrogates said today and their "What I think, David" OPINIONS on what we they said.  His ending segments are generally self-serving "human interest" stories labeled "#AmericaStrong", that begin with someone saying "Hi, David!" (cut away to him explaining the footage) then back to the person... explaining the footage.  I honestly think his broadcasts are set up to be a drinking game; take a shot every tune his ground crew says his name in a given segment.  But when he is NOT sitting behind the anchor desk, his surrogates are great!  Love Lindsay Davis (weekends) and Whit Johnson - great anchors! 

Last week, Nora O'Donnell stepped down as anchor of the CBS Evening News.  She firmly jumped on the Trump Train back when his New York trials began and she began her reports with "...we have a colleague INSIDE Donald Trumps motorcade as he goes down to the courthouse!".  That was when I turned her off.  

Last night was the first broadcast without her.  I was curious what CBS was going to do, so I set the DVR.

This morning, coffee mug firmly in hand, I watched the recording.  CBS is using a new OLD format using co-anchors of John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois. I think they were going after the old "Huntley / Brinkley" vibe.  They succeeded! Lead stories were, calmly, about AI and DeepSeek's impact on the stock market, and then into Chinese espionage, with some rather factual REPORTING.  Reporting?  Not blathering opinions?  Just... facts?  Findings?  Huh?  Instead of talking-head opinions, crafted dialog on how, SPECIFICALLY, the FACTS of the story could impact the US.  What?  No woeful or coy back-and-forth?   The rest of the broadcast was about Gaza and the post-LA Fires insurance issues.  I sat poised with my finger on the Fast Forward button... but.. found myself intently listening.  The broadcast honestly hearkened back to the days of Walter Cronkite (but with incessant Pharma commercials). Wow... news for adults!  

Best of all, Trump's daily actions were reduced to a bullet point, not a sound bite.   

Reset the DVR to record the CBS Evening News.  I am going to check it out for a week or so to see if they can maintain whatever this level of coverage is they seems to come up with.  I liked it.  

I felt educated and informed. 

Your Daily Meme

 

Summing up this, the first week of the new administration...

 "I'm going to...observe...", I said while the our Twice Impeached, convicted felon President unleashed his barrage of publicity stunts Executive Orders...  Observe.

 

Excuse me, I got some flung shit stuck in my ears.

When are the mid-terms...?

International Holocaust Rememberance Day

 

Thank you, Ricky.  It's terrifying to see America going down this slope; it is here and we let it in. We failed.   Rad

Your Daily Meme

 

Ask not...

 

Sunday Morning Sip

 The Sunday memes... 

A PSA: Avian Bird Flu (H5N1) and your house cat(s)

We have two house cats who spend a portion of each day outdoors and on patrol around the immediate neighborhood.  There are several feral cats in the vicinity that they keep at bay, and along with standing guard, deliver an almost daily present of some… thing.  There are times I feel like I am a forensic detective on “CSI: Tiverton” – having to identify the kill from a tuft of fur or feather.  Last year, I kept a journal of the findings.  

They are cats, that is their nature.  Thankful that they keep the rats, moles and vole population in check.  Not so pleased for the songbirds.  Don’t look forward to snake season (mid/late Spring) when “…the string that plays with me!” the Garter snakes begins to come out of hibernation; nothing quite as bad as trying to corral a really pissed off garter snake. 

My concern this year, and the point of this post, is about the Avian Bird Flu that is running rampant though the country.  At this time, it is decimating the poultry industry and, in some cases, jumping to livestock and even humans that have been in close contact with the virus.  I was concerned about our duo and their exploits in the wilds of our yard.  Keeping them confined to the house is just not an option.  So I began researching.  In case you are interested...

• There is no vaccine for cats (or dogs)
• The (so far) one case of a cat dying from the virus was as a result of eating a raw, poultry-based cat food from a contaminated processing source, and a few other from drinking raw (unpasteurized) milk.
• H5N1 is currently contained in poultry and waterfowl.  There is little to no risk unless you either raise / own chickens (Tiverton is a “Right To Farm” community, there are a lot of backyard coops) or have access to waterways where waterfowl roost. 
• All wild fowl are carriers of some form of the pathogen; not every bird is infected by H5N1
• Wild birds visiting your hanging feeders are not generally considered high risk, nor are pigeons.  At this time, you do not need to bring down your feeders. 
• H5N1 has not been found to cross over into rodents or reptiles.
• H5N1 is predominantly transmitted via fecal droppings and lost feathers, not via air.
• The lifespan of the H5N1 virus outside of the host is about 26 hours.
• The wild turkeys that periodically strut through our neighborhood and across our yard are a potential vector for the virus through their fecal and feather droppings. As a precaution, if wild turkeys come through the yard, observe for any droppings or feathers – clean up, accordingly and wait a day before letting a pet out into the yard.  Again, not every flock is infected – just an abundance of caution.
• For dog owners, be wary of what your dog starts chewing on or rolling in when you take it for walks.  
• As for humans - for now, make sure your eggs or poultry are cooked thoroughly (common sense).
  

So, for now, the duo still get to visit the great outdoors.  I’ll make an updated post if things evolve or change.  

 

Rade

Sources:

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/avian-influenza

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10045683/

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/two-cats-in-california-died-after-drinking-raw-milk-recalled-for-bird-flu-their-owner-says