Layng quietly in fields

Layng quietly in fields
Glstening lights

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Nothing should be a surprise anymore.


Today's Tids Issue 4,011
For Bad Jokes and Small Laughs:

So, did you hear that Mrs. Clause got really angry at Santa for tracking mud through the house after last year’s trip around the world? “It was the rain, dear,” he replied skittishly.

When the CVS/Aetna deal goes through, the new company will be the 2nd or 3rd largest in the USA just behind Wal-Mart and perhaps Berkshire Hathaway but surely ahead of Exxon and Apple. CVS is currently 7th in the country ahead of GM, AT&T and Ford. Interestingly, CVS began as a small discount merchandise store in RI. It was called “Consumer Value Stores, but the founders found that it cost too much for signs that spelled out the entire name, so they shortened it to CVS. As they say, from humble beginnings…or was that Exxon?

I just got word that my 11 yo grandson was kicked out of his school chorus doing a Trump impression. I hope it was funny.

Jay Leno just spent about $13.5 Million for a new home in our town. I don’t live near him.

The Question:
--Frank and Clare Underwood got rid of a lot of adversaries throughout the seasons of House of Cards. Name 5 of them.

The Headlines:
--Fast Moving California Wildfire Explodes, Consuming 31K Acres, Knocks Out Power To Nearly 200,000 Homes; 27,000 People Evacuate In Ventura County Fire.
--Markets Looking For Direction; Investors Looking For Tax Planning Signals As Congress Moves Towards Final Plan Vote.
--Supreme Courts Says Ok To Trump Travel Ban…For Now; Judges Take Up Case Of Religiously Challenged Wedding Cake Baker.
--UK Considering Adding Bitcoin To Money Laundering Watch List.
--Russia Probe Twist: Mueller Subpoenaed Deutsche Bank About Data Related To Relationship With Trump.
--North Korean General’s Favorite TV Show: “Morning Joe.”
--Trump Shrinks Size Of Utah National Monuments Amid Cheers and Boos.
--Muslims Tell Trump That Naming Jerusalem As Israel Capital Is Crossing “Red Line”.
--Former Congresswomen Corine Brown Sentenced To Five Years For Charity Fraud And More.
--Colin Kaepernick A finalist for Tie Person Of The Year; Others Are “Me Too”, Mueller, Trump, Bezos, Kim Jong Un, Patty Jenkins (Producer of Winder Woman) The Dreamers, Saudi prince Mohammed Bin Salman and China’s Xi
--Conyers Will Not Run For Re-Election.
--Fast Food Price War Could Intensify As McDonalds Announces $1.00 menu.

“Cyber criminals just have to find one weakness. Cyber security companies have to find them all”. That is, in case you haven’t been paying attention, an immense problem, and it does not bode well for the security of personal information going forward. With all of the scary things going on in the world, control of everything by evil-doer's keystroking through a nefarious internet could be the most terrifying of all. It has ramifications that can not only destroy personal financial security, but basic infrastructure as well. It appears that cyber thieves love Christmas shopping too, as too many people open doors wide as they attempt to procure last minute gifts on line. Tis the season to be wary.

One of our incredibly knowledgeable readers reminds us that Jaye P. Morgan was also the funniest panelist on the “Gong Show”.

There were many good performances on The Voice last night. For the first time, I was impressed with Brook, who instead of shouting her way through a tune, began acapella to show the luxury of her voice. Amazing Grace, never sounded so good, and her “voice” shown through for the first time. One of my favorites, Red Marlow, once again did the country thing just right and Addison was, well, Addison all over again. That means excellent. Chloe who I like got raves from the judges, but I thought her voice got lost in the band. Davon showed again that he can really sing. Adam Cunningham did a good job, but I don’t think he has a lot of voter appeal. On the other hand, the observers are thinking Shi’Ann must have a secret reserve of admirers who don’t buy on ITunes or vote in the test polls. She was decent. Kiesha did a nice job with a Celon Dione tune and will probably save herself again. Noah, the favorite of the raging hormone set didn’t excite me last night, but he did prove his creativity. Ashland did her thing pretty well, and is a real down to earth country singer. But, regardless of performances, two have to go tonight I think the main candidates are Adam, again, Ashland, Shi’Ann and perhaps Kiesha. I would put Noah in there too, but that’s not going to happen..

ITunes sales for Voice singers had Brook as #2. #4 was Chloe and Addison also made it to the top five again. Kiesha hit the top 10 at #10. At 14 we had Red followed by Adam at 16 and Noah at 18. Chloe snuck back in at 21 for last week’s performance and Davon got 30. Ashland did well at 47 and Shi’Ann was in the top 100 at 71. The rest of the Itunes Voice winners were 3 Chloe’s and 2 Addison’s who now look like the clear favorites with big loyal fan bases.

For all of you who like House of Cards, the decision has been made to return for the final season sans sexual harasser. The sly tricks of Robin Wright, who was assuming the top perch last season (Like they knew something bad was coming), will be the focus this year. Her character Clare is as evil as the man who won’t be there. More good news – Homeland will return again in January and it promises to be very good as our heroes’ fight against a constitutionally challenged president. And, later in the spring we will see the final season of one of my favorites, The Americans. There are plenty of loose ends in that one Hopefully they can tie them into a nice little package I can take. I still miss Justified.


Many of our politicians suffer from a blather control disease.

12 superhot techno Gadgets for Christmas: TrackR Bravo – App creates network of smart phones to find lost item. Siren Song – Personal protection devise emits ear piercing sound to deter bad guys. KeySmart eliminates the need for bulky Key Chains. FixD – This one tells you what’s wrong with car when the dreaded “Check Engine” light comes on. Makes you smarter than high priced mechanics. Peeps – Carbon technology cleans glasses like never before. (Used on Space Station). Snap Smart Cam – Security camera doubles as smart phone charger. GlowBowl Fresh – Light up your toilet bowl while freshening the air, if you like eerie lights for those middle of the night trips. Hydra Smart Bottle – Water bottle also plays music, lights the way and side of the road emergency beacon. Smart Back Pack – Thieves hate this tech device backpack that also has a tracker and charges devices. Will call your cell phone, “Hey you forgot me”. Selfie Drone – Mini Drone takes the best selfies. Night Sight Driving Glasses – Greatly reduces night driving glare and clears up rainy and snowy nights. I’m buying one. Huddy – transforms your smart phone into a driving directional display.

The difficulty in achieving name recognition is a thing of the past. Most obstacles to success aren’t what they used to be.

Nobody pays much attention to NCAA Hockey, so The Tids mighty sports department comes through again bringing you  the latest Top Ten rankings: Denver, St. Cloud State, Clarkson, Notre Dame, North Dakota, Cornell, Minnesota, Minnesota State, Providence and Northeastern. There is definitely an above the Mason Dixon line bias. Hey, you have to do something in the winter.

After nearly a year, Spell-Check still isn’t giving me the option of a capital “T: for the word trump. Is this a deep government conspiracy?

How about Wapo journalist Kathleen Parker comparing Sarah Huckabee Saunders to The Wall? Parker said she was just attempting to describe how hard it is to get past Sarah for info, but most intelligent lookers who were present thought it a was an uncalled-for fat joke. Maybe Parker could assist Trump writing tweets.

One of my hobbies is looking for sales on coffee. Basically, I’m trying to see if those coffees I consider way to high in price are actually worth the premiums. Many times, I find some new favorites when prices go down (like Seattle’s Best #5), but often I find many higher priced coffees like Peets give me little for the extra cost. But, this morning I opened a new bag of a mystery brew, which was pleasantly cheaper than its normal shelf price. It was labeled “Dark Roast”, so my first ominous clue of what was to come was the much less than “dark” color when I opened it. It got worse when I tasted it – watery and with diminished flavor. Coffee adventures are not for the feint hearted.

Outspoken Dems are grasping at Mueller moments, only to find that their exhilaration is a bit premature. They don’t retract well.

(Thanks to Brookins and Mac Nelly for blather control, a little humorous yellow journalism.)

The Answer:
Zoe Barnes tops my list, but Peter Russo is named number one by voters. Zoe is #2 followed by Rachel Posner, Lucas Goodwin, Freddy Hayes BBQ Joint, Edward Meecham, James Miller ( C&F Allow his throat to be slit by Islamic forces to divert attention from them.), Michael Corrigan and Wharton’s dog strangled by Frank at the opening the series.


Actually, something did surprise me this morning – I didn’t think I had much to say. But then, you may agree that I didn’t! It’s the old quantity/quality thing.





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