Castro dies, world rejoices, except for liberals

My full reaction is coming. Family prevented much blog posting over Thanksgiving weekend. Work has begun to interfere again now. Nonetheless, I will soon pee on Fidel's grave. Fear not.

Thanksgiving food porn

This is an incomplete post, because I didn't really focus on food porn pictures so much as I did putting a multi-dish dinner for 14 people on the table at the same time. It worked pretty well, with an assist from Minnesota Wolves:

Married Into Wolves and Cpl. Wolves also helped. The result was this beautiful 23-pount bird:

A squash casserole that failed to survive the evening:

A broccoli souffle that absolutely killed:

A pretty fricking good sweet potato casserole:

A green beans and bacon casserole that also disappeared:

Extra dressing (stuffing is in the bird, dressing is baked in a dish):

Some corn pudding to die for:

Of course, the gravy, mashed potatoes and desserts did not get captured on film. But dinner was magnificent, as was the gathering. If everyone in Eff You Nation had a Thanksgiving half as good, you had the time of your life. Cherish it.

Maybe she just doesn't like Slovenians

Liberals are always tolerant of other cultures and viewpoints, except when those viewpoints diverge from their own. Or course, we have no indication so far that Melania Trump has a viewpoint different from liberals, but liberals are already making that assumption. One liberal clothing designer of whom I have never heard is already taking that position:

This is a bold stance for Theallet, considering the designer has dressed First Lady Michelle Obama in the past, but in her open letter posted to her Twitter account today she made no bones about the fact that she will not be fashion to the incoming FLOTUS. In the letter, the designer writes, “As an independent fashion brand, we consider our voice an expression of our artistic and philosophical ideas. The Sophie Theallet brand stands against all discrimination and prejudice. Our runway shows, ad campaigns, and celebrity dressing have always been a celebration of diversity and a reflection of the world we live in.”
“I am well aware it is not wise to get involved in politics,” Theallet writes, “That said, as a family-owned company, our bottom line is not just about money. We value our artistic freedom and always humbly seek to contribute to a more humane, conscious and ethical way to create in this world.”

As Red State points out, the designer isn't taking a stand against intolerance, discrimination and prejudice. She simply is choosing who she will discriminate against. Shame bakers can't make the same choice base on religious beliefs.

Of course, since all designers are in business to make money, not all designers are morons willing to alienate roughly half of their potential customers. I guess some designers produce clothing that more actual people actually buy and wear, and so they exhibit more common sense:

Five days after Sophie Theallet became the first U.S.-based designer to publicly speak out against dressing incoming First Lady Melania Trump, Tommy Hilfiger came out in favor of a decidedly opposing stance. When asked about Theallet's comments at Monday evening's Angel Ball in New York City, Hilfiger told WWD: "I think Melania is a very beautiful woman and I think any designer should be proud to dress her."

I'm sure Sophie Theallet is every bit as tolerant as every other exploding-head screaming libtard, meaning tolerant of people who agree with her. I hope Tommy Hilfiger and other much wiser designers make a fucking fortune dressing Melania. I also hope Ms. Theallet, of whom I have never heard before, goes flat fucking busted-ass broke.

Thanksgiving created some odd bedfellows

An enormous number of people were in my not-enormous house for Thanksgiving, and the animals largely fled in terror to quiet spaces. Both of the sisters, Murder and Mayhem, kept out of sight and sought comfort where they could. Here they are, sleeping on Mrs. Wolves:

During the day, Jeb the Wonder Dog and the kit-tays still sought shelter, leading to some odd circumstances. Here, Mayhem shares a bed with Jeb the Wonder Dog:

Two extra dogs came for the feast, as did about 14 people, so most of my animals sought quiet spaces. Despite their reluctance, it was quite a celebration. More later.

Farmer John harvests his beans

Farmer John, who almost undoubtedly is not named John, harvested his soy beans a couple weeks ago. Mrs. Wolves captured some pictures for me, but it took me a while to get to them:

Same thing, father away:

A couple days ago, they disced the field. I think they planted winter wheat. I guess we'll see.

Mrs. Wolves sends me some cool stuff

This is Jimmy Fallon, Metallica and The Roots playing "Enter Sandman" using what seem to be  elementary school instruments:


Excellent.

Happy belated Thanksgiving

I was seriously tied up with family. I hope everyone enjoyed their turkey. Speaking of turkey:



Happy Thanksgiving.

Must be time for a document review haiku

Or two, even. Time feels right:

Attorneys from firms
Stalking the halls constantly
Much like evil clowns.

Very heavy supervisory presence from the firms handling the case, which is typical of these firms when working for his client (yeah, I've worked projects for this company before). Never worked for this agency before, so there is lots more coming on that, but first, another haiku:

Nastiest bathroom
on any project ever.
Hope I can hold it.

Killer hours have been keeping me from posting. Blogging behind enemy lines right now, so I hope to make up for lost time.

Cats are just freaking weird

No, really. Dogs don't do this. Dogs are content to drink out of bowls, lakes, ponds, streams, whatever is there to quench their thirst. Cats like their water to be on the move, which is why you end up with scenes like this, with three cats trying to drink out of the same faucet:

That's just wrong.

Not sure why anyone wonders why she lost

I think it is possible that arrogance and stupidity played a role. First of all, she wasn't shy about expressing disdain for voters' inability to understand her wonderfulness:

Aside from that, because she never felt a genuine emotion in her life, her facial expressions always appeared contrived and seemed to project what she seemed to think was an "I'm like you" image. The problem? She isn't. Who else goes in front of thousands of people (with the potential for millions to see it) and thinks this is a good idea:

Or this:

Or this:

 Or this:

Or this:

 Or this:

Sure, everybody who has cameras on them every moment has to deal with bad pictures taken at bad moments. Anybody ever see her husband looking so much like a fraud? Just sayin'.

Apparently, puppies are coming

Or at least one puppy, anyway. Cpl. Wolves and Married Into Wolves are considering adding a new puppy to the fold, to join Sadie the Emergency Auxiliary Dog in their mammalian family. The puppy in question will look something like this:

The parents are a shih-tzu and a dachsund-something mix. Not sure which one is the father, but this should give you some idea of size at one week:

Won't have a puppy until 8-10 weeks, but I think this is going to happen. I just hope Mrs. Wolves doesn't want in on the action. The bookies are taking no bets on this.

Thank a veteran

Today, of course, is Veterans' Day. We're supposed to honor the members of the military who have served this country. Don't make it an empty "Thanks for your service." Do something real. Donate to the USO or Fisher House or another veterans' charity. Volunteer at a veterans' event. Make it count. They sure as hell have.

I always thank my dad and my son on this day for what they did to defend our country. Thank the veterans you know. Then do something to make it count.

Super moon preview

We're supposed to get a super-moon on Monday -- a full moon that is close to Earth and looks fricking huge. The biggest and brightest in 70 years, they say. Mrs. Wolves couldn't wait, though, and went out and took pictures of the waxing moon -- not yet full, but looking pretty damn impressive:

No, really:

Can't wait to see what she gets Monday morning.

Happy 240th, Marines

Today is the 240th birthday of the United States Marine Corps. Happy birthday, guys.

This is not something you have to do for people who are not felons

Apparently, the Obama administration is less convinced than FBI Director James Comey that Hillary Clinton did nothing worth prosecuting by using a private email server to handle her official correspondence, including classified communications, while she was secretary of state:

The White House on Wednesday refused to say whether President Barack Obama would consider pardoning Hillary Clinton for her email scandal, but appeared to issue a warning to President-elect Donald Trump, saying powerful people should not exploit the criminal justice system for "political revenge."

So weird. Normally, people who have done nothing illegal don't need pardons.

OK, Trump's win is already yielding benefits

Or at least it will, if Lena Dunham can be trusted to do what she says she will (she's a liberal, so we know she's lying, but hope springs eternal:

Lena Dunham told Andy Cohen at the Matrix Awards that “I know a lot of people have been threatening to do this, but I really will. I know a lovely place in Vancouver.” The star and creator of HBO’s “Girls” has been a vocal advocate for Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee.

Lena Dunham leaving the country could only be interpreted as a positive benefit of Donald Trump's victory in the presidential race. As the article in The Hill makes clear, it would not be the only positive benefit if the other liberals named in the article follow through on their threats to leave the country. Of course, they likely will find that other countries have much more stringent immigration laws that make it more difficult to become a permanent resident, but hey, logic was never liberals' strong point.

A little presidential election commentary

I have no damn idea who is going to win. It is 1:33 in the morning on Wednesday, November 9, and things are still up in the air. I hate Hillary Clinton, whom I view as completely unqualified by experience and performance (one and a little terms in the Senate, a disastrous 4 years as Secretary of State) and character -- she lies about everything, all the time. On the other hand, she is facing probably the only candidate she could possibly beat, Donald Trump, who is beyond despicable. One way or the other, a person completely unworthy of the office will become president of the United States. God help us.

Yeah, we did game food porn dessert, too

I once again made the pecan caramel cheesecake bars:

Pretty good:

Naturally, I also made stuffed potato skins:

The main offerings looked pretty tempting:

Game's outcome, not so good. Game food porn: excellent.

Some pretty awesome game food porn

Unfortunately, it came in another loss. This time at home to a team we should have beaten. Injuries in the running game and defensive backfield are killing us on the field. No such problems with the game food porn. We started with a vegetable tray, because this was a 4:30 game. That means the game food would also be dinner, and, let's face it, the game food is a little less vegetable-friendly than you might like for a main meal:

I also made a meatball dish using a recipe from a neighbor. I didn't record the steps photographically because 1) I am stupid, and b) this recipe is too easy. Take a bag of frozen meatballs from the grocery store, put them in a crockpot. Pour in two bottles of Heinz Chili Sauce. Add a jar of Concord grape jelly or seedless blackberry jam. Both apparently work. Cook in the crockpot on low for about 8-10 hours. Serve:

Fucking fabulous. I fixed another new dish, as well, which is called "tater totchos." Start with a bag of tater tots, and cook them according to the directions:

 Array the cooked tater tots on a platter:

While the tater tots are cooking, cook a pound or so of ground beef:

Drain the grease, then add about a half-cup of ketchup:

Stir that in. Slather the tater tots with blue cheese dressing:

Put the ground beef mixture on top of that, then sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles to taste, and top with chopped green onions and bacon:

Die happy. Bon appetit.

Finally, the Air Force admits it has no plan to replace the A-10

As I've said previously, the Air Force has no real plan to replace the A-10. They've said so often enough.  And so, wisely, they quietly decided to keep it. At least for a while:

On paper, the Air Force plans to start mothballing the A-10 in 2018, with the last Warthogs sent to the boneyard by 2021. But last month Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James said that the retirement of the A-10 would likely have to be delayed further as the military continues to rely on the low-and-slow attack plane for close-air support (CAS) missions flown against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. Even more telling, the Air Force Material Command (AFMC) is bringing the depot line for A-10 maintenance and repair back up to full capacity, according to Aviation Week.

The Hawg isn't going anywhere.

Well, whatta ya know? The Air Force leadership wants to get rid of the nasty old Warthog so they can spend more money on far more glamorous planes, such as the F-35:

Much of the leadership within the Air Force is keen to retire the A-10 so that the resources used to maintain the fleet can be pumped into the fifth-generation F-35 program. However, the A-10 is the Air Force's only plane with the sole purpose of CAS to protect ground troops. In the current struggle against the Islamic State, a heavily armed and armored attack plane with a long loiter time—and the GAU-8 Avenger 30-millimeter gatling gun that holds 1,350 armor-piercing rounds—is significantly more useful than a stealthy, fast, software-laden fighter like the F-35.

And yet, nothing in the Air Force arsenal does what the A-10 does. Like it or not, ground support is part of the Air Force mission. They gave up on that issue in 1948 when the Air Force was able to significantly limit the Army's aviation capabilities, taking on most aviation roles for itself. Now they find themselves stuck with a role they don't really want, because it isn't glamorous, nor does it require expensive multi-role aircraft.

It seems to me that a perfectly acceptable solution would be to transfer A-10 squadrons to Marine Corps control. The Marines and their pilots have no problem with flying aircraft that come home with mud in the engine intakes -- that's the kind of missions the Marines fly. They pretty much invented close air support. I'm sure they wouldn't mind delivering CAS for their Army brethren, especially since it would demonstrate how much wiser the Marines were in 1948 when they declined to give up their air assets the way the Army did. Because this solution makes sense, don't expect to see it implemented anytime soon. Or ever.

Well, that was odd

We just had a massive (for this site) traffic spike that came almost entirely from Brazil. Normally, I figure these things are because I say "fuck" and "porn" a lot, and spambots zero in on that. But I haven't said fuck or porn a lot lately, and I don't even know how to say those words in Portuguese. So I hope all those Brazilians who came by -- or their spambots -- understand that there is no fucking porn on this site no matter how many times I say fucking or porn, so they can find their fucking porn somewhere else, in whatever language they like. Jeez. Can't believe a bunch of fucking porn addicts would come by here looking for some fucking porn. I mean, seriously, why would they think this is a fucking porn site?

The swordfish is dead

Of course, it didn't die of natural causes. I killed it. Walked out on the project for something with overtime. But, dead is dead:

And that swordfish is dead. On the other hand, the heavy-overtime project I start tomorrow is a very healthy swordfish indeed:

Allons, bebe, laissez les bon temps roulez.