Idle Rambling -- March 1, 2022

Wow, I'm in a great mood. This is for the archives. If you came here for the Bakken, look at the sidebar at the right or scroll down, but ignore this post. I don't plan to talk much about the Bakken.

But, wow, I'm in a great mood.

My wife was an Army brat. Her dad was often way from home, including two one-year tours in Vietnam, as a senior NCO. 

I was in the USAF for thirty years. My wife went from being an Army brat to being a USAF wife, with six years in between living the good life in west Los Angeles and UCLA.

May was used to being home without her father, and after she got married, the two of us were used to being separated for weeks at a time. She became very independent as most military spouses do.

I'm not saying it's great to be geographically separated as husband and wife, but in the big scheme of things, at least for us, it was incredibly rewarding -- although I'm not sure that's the best word I could use. 

Whatever.

May just headed up to Portland, Oregon, to spend a week with the twins, celebrate their two-year birthday.

Me? I'm home alone and loving every minute. We now have summer weather. It will be close to 80° today and will certainly hit 80° by the end of the week. My only responsibility is a bit of driving, picking up Olivia from high school after soccer and picking up Sophia from TutorTime at end of day. 

In the meantime, I'm free as a bird as they say. 

I just biked up to the local grocer that has excellent sushi. I am enjoying that with a new scotch for me, Kilbrin. 

I had never had it before. I had planned on buying a new bottle of Jameson but the store was sold out. But they had a huge sale on Kilbrin: about 67% of the cost of Jameson. It was a no-brainer. An opportunity to try a new scotch (for me) at 67% of the price I would have paid for Jameson. Wow, was I pleasantly surprised. Much, much milder than Jameson. I assume that's why some folks prefer Jameson over Kilbrin. I prefer Kilbrin over Jameson.

In the background, I asked "Alexa" to play Crystal Gayle. That's one of my favorite playlists. No ads, and the music never quits. [Two hours later, Alexa is still playing Crystal Gayle.]

Break, break.

When you think of "breadbaskets" around the world, there are only three: the US, Australia, and Ukraine. That's it. And I'm not even sure of Australia. See wiki entry. And, now, for the short term, at least, Ukraine is a non-player.

That leaves the US. 

I'm not exactly sure why investors are pulling money out of the US stock market. Not me. I bought some US equities today and I will be buying a boatload in March, one of four best months, for me, for dividends, and huge buying opportunity. Best dividend months for me: March, June, September, and December. 

Door to the balcony is open: perfect weather, and no wind. Did I mention that Alexa's Crystal Gayle's playlist is playing in the background?

I'm in my Shakespeare phase again. I finally have a new way of following "that" story. It will keep me occupied for weeks. 

I don't know if folks are following oil very closely but the White House daily briefing the other day was amazing. The "misdiagnosis" briefing. It will rank right up their with the “cardigan” speech. Wow. the White House press secretary was trying to thread a needle that had no eye. LOL. 

Misdiagnosis. Read closely her justification for "killing the Keystone XL." Again, this was not an "off-the-cuff" answer. The answer was prepared well in advance. I will post here the "misdiagnosis" answer regarding the "Keystone XL" pipeline if / when I find the time, and if I remain interested.

Wow, I'm glad "a Biden" is president and not "a Trump." 

I hear President Biden is now asking US producers to produce more oil. LOL. I don't think he understands the problem. There is not a shortage of oil. Wow, what a doofus. But in his defense, he was not asking. It was his staff asking. 

So, tonight, will we hear a "Ronald Reagan, it's morning in America" speech or will we hear a "Jimmy Carter, get out your cardigan" speech? If he's honest with himself it will be the latter. I'm in the mood for a "Ronald Reagan" speech. Regardless, I won't be watching or listening. I will depend on my readers to let me know how the speech went.

As for me? Time for some Duolingo Spanish.