Just checkin' in

Maybe I oughtta say "just phonin' it in."  I keep tellin' myself I'm gonna write somethin' worth readin'.  Maybe I'll get there some day.

Right before I started writing this (perhaps in the subconscious hope it would inspire something to write about) I decided to google "get off my lawn," to see if anything on this blog came up.  The top part of the search results was about the same as when I was getting started with this.  But when I scrolled down to the image results I was surprised.  The first four images were beautiful, golden fried turkeys.  But Google knew it was my blog, too.  (They were all labelled "YOU.") I'm doin' this in Chrome and I'm logged in to Google Plus, and Blogspot is a Google product.  So I don't know if that means anything or not.  Why don't you google it and let me know.

But it did come back with this picture, too:

At least that gives me an image to include with this Post.

I've blathered on long enough about nothing.  If all goes according to plan I can retire in 807 days.

Seriously.

Get off my lawn.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everybody had one.  I don't know about you, but I'm stuffed.  Right now I'm waiting until I feel like going to the kitchen and stuffing myself some  more.

I'm not absolutely certain, but I think this is the first time I've actually had fried turkey.  I've been back in South Louisiana for 27 years, so how pitiful is that?  It won't be the last time if I can help it.

St. Albans Lodge # 28, Free and Accepted Masons fried turkeys on Wednesday to raise funds for the building fund.  I'll post a couple of pictures.

Here's a dozen birds cooling before getting wrapped.

I'm going to avoid showing people, since I didn't get anyone's permission.

Fortunately we have people who know what they're doing.  I kept my promise to stay away from the cooking.

Okay, that does it.  I'm hungry now.  I think I'll go get some leftovers.

Meanwhile, I should be able to retire in 814 days, and you kids get off my lawn.

Rushing again

8:08 PM 11/16/2012

Rushing again to get something written by midnight.  I actually wrote a little blog post at work (... on my lunch hour..., yeah ..., that's the ticket....) but I didn't post it.  Forgot to sent it home, too.  Wasn't very good anyway, but probably better than this one.

Last week I said I started to blog something about work, but by the time I got around to it I couldn't remember.  I had spoken to a former candidate for Mayor earlier in the day (I will not mention the city to protect the innocent) who actually inquired about my blog.  Since he was going to be reading (or at least lead me to believe he would..., he was a politician after all) I felt obligated to actually post something.

I also mentioned that I would be at a York Rite Festival the next day.  Someone there actually mentioned reading this.  Go figure.

People READ this?  Maybe I oughtta pay more attention to what I write.

Nah!

It's 8:16 PM, so I have a little while left to post this.  I'll see if I think of anything more interesting to say.

9:18 PM: Nothin' yet.

I think I did mention in the one I wrote earlier that I hadn't felt well for most of the week.  Excuses, excuses.  Sounds like whining to me, so I'm sorry I repeated it here.

I also mentioned that my dog (Alexia..., I call her Lexi) was home after spending the weekend at the vet.  I couldn't find a good picture but I'll post one soon.  She's a German Shepherd, close to 120 pounds, and starting her second decade.  I'm afraid age is catching up with her, but she'll always be my puppy.  I didn't start feeling better until she got home.  Go figure.

Well, it's 9:24 PM and I think I'll post this now.  I don't think it's gonna get any better.

I should be able to retire in 821 days, and you kids get off my lawn.

IT'S FRIDAY!

How did that happen?  It's 10:36 PM on 11/9/2012, and I'm determined to post something to my blog while it's still Friday.

Have I mentioned that I'm a Mason?  Well, if all the aprons, Templar uniforms, etc. on my Facebook page weren't a giveaway, I am.  I just got back from a York Rite meeting.  We were actually able to open and elect officers for next year.  Our many thanks to the two Companions from the Downtown York Rite Bodies who visited this evening and made us legal.  I will exemplify my thanks by not mentioning their names in this blog, as I know they would be loathe to be associated with it (if they knew of its existance.)

I have to be in Hammond at 8:00 AM to confer the Mark Master Degree, so I should keep this short.  But that's why I became a Mason.  I love degree work.  I have since I was a Scout, in the Order of the Arrow (when we called it Ceremonial Work.  Same thing.)

I remember the last Order of the Arrow Ceremony I did.  It was an Ordeal Ceremony, and I was Allowat Sakima.  Probably the only time I was EVER Allowat Sakima.  I was always Meteu.  I was also 21.  I was too old to do ceremonies.  But they didn't have anyone else to do it and my arm didn't take a lot of twisting.

There were two Scout Leaders who took their Ordeal that weekend.  After the Ceremony they mentioned to me that I would really enjoy being a Mason.  I didn't realize at the time, though I should have, that that was as close as they could get to asking me to join.  It took another 27 years, but I found out they were right.

I was going to skate over where the ice is thin, and talk about work today, but I don't remember what I was going to say about that.  It's just as well.  I feel better after writing the above paragraphs.  I'm not even thinking about politics.

It's 10:52 PM and it looks like I might have this posted by 11.  I'll be able to retire in 828 days, so you kids get off of my lawn.

Thin Ice

In my last blog I said I'd start making daily entries.  I'm writing this on Thursday night, and we can see how that's workin' out.  I did start something Sunday night but I was rambling.  What I wanted to say was that while I was posting last Friday's blog I realized that my comment on going back to WalMart didn't say it had been that day.

Speaking of, I was in WalMart earlier tonight.  Buying beer.  After spending that much time in WalMart (any time in WalMart) I need to be buying beer.  Another thing I said last week was that I like to skate on thin ice.  That's figurative of course, since I can't skate at all.  (I guess that makes me a figurative skater.)

As I may have mentioned (maybe not) I'm a Classified Civil Servant in Louisiana.  At least for another 835 days.  Before I blog again there will have been an election.  And of course, the Little Hatch Act prevents me from discussing politics.  Every year, at least every election year (and in Louisiana every year is an election year) Civil Service issues a General Circular reminding us what we can and can't do.   Here's the one from last year:

Now here's the one from this year:

The first difference you'll notice is that this year's is half as long.  It seems to me that most of the length was cut by not bothering to list (in any detail) the things a civil servant CAN do.  (It does say we can vote, but I'm sure they're not real happy about that, either.)  What struck me though, was that this year they felt the need to specify that we cannot LIKE a Candidate or party, of follow them on Twitter. 

It was a couple of weeks after this came out that I remembered I had LIKEd a radio program on Facebook which might be considered political.  So I checked my LIKEs and discovered I had also LIKEd a conservative group of some kind.  But neither one is a party or candidate so I haven't (and do not plan to) unLIKE either.

I do understand that LIKEing a candidate would be construed as a violation of policy, but the other concerns me.

I don't tweet, and I don't follow Twitter.  But the impression I have is that following someone does not constitute an endorsement.  I thought I could, just as an example, follow both candidates in the Presidential election to keep myself informed.  But I guess civil service says no.

Let me know what you think.  I'd also be interested in whether you think these restrictions encroach on our First Amendment rights?  I hear the courts have said they don't.

Anyway, I think that's enough for this week.  If the ice doesn't crack I can retire in 835 days, so you kids get off my lawn.