Leggings?!? Are you serious?

I hadn't written in this blog for something like two years either. In fact, I started this entry back in August. I'm going to finish it by tomorrow evening. It might not be worth reading, but it will be posted by Sunday October 4, 2020.

Umm. Anyone notice that October 4 has come and gone?

Yeah. Me too.

Did you ever have a stretch of time where your mood just isn't where you want it to be and stays there for way too long for your taste? I don't mean 'lock yourself in a closet and cry yourself to sleep' kinda mood - just the type where nothing seems to be quite up to par. 

Hobbies don't go the way you want them to. That damned golf game on my phone, for example.

Writing is another. I've always liked writing, but I've loved writing since 1977. Yes, that IS the year I fell in love with that. If you're interested, I can even look it up in my files and give you the date in 1977 and the exact title of the published article.

I haven't written for a music blog I really enjoyed writing for in over two years now. 

I've made no progress on the follow-up to my first book in a bunch of years, either.

Selling items to clean out space around the house, I've started selling items I've not used in quite a while. So I listed four items on various sales sites and got an immediate bite on one. 

Though this buyer had obviously failed any personality courses he may have ever taken and was not real good at geography (he missed the "I will meet within a reasonable distance from..." by 20 miles or 23 minutes travel time). Fortunately I happened to have had to go to work that day, and my place of employment was six miles or 11 minutes to the other side of his location.

In any event, aside from the fact that I wound up blocked in my parking spot by a UPS truck for about 10 minutes, everything here went well.

The guitar I listed attracted some interest, but one guy wanted to trade - something I listed as preferring to avoid. I admit I did say I would 'prefer' to avoid, and the guitar he offered would have put me on the winning side of the trade, but I didn't want to trade.

Final item. A guy in town from another state for work wanted to buy this one. No problem. I'll meet you at suck and such, if that's OK. We agreed on the place and time.

I tested the item several times to verify that it was functional. It was fairly old and had been in storage in an area that was not temperature controlled. It passed every test I performed on it, so I boxed it up and left to meet him.

He was already there when I arrived, and since he knew what I was driving he approached my vehicle as I pulled into the lot. I handed him the box and asked if he wanted to test it out, first. He said "Nah, that's OK. I'll trust you."

I had no problem with that. If the person I'm dealing with appears to be reliable. I've done it myself.

Less than two hours later I received a text from him that the device had broken "...on his first attempt to use it." I didn't respond.

I offered to let him try it before he paid for it, took it, and left with it.

Let the buyer beware, eh?  Caveat emptor?

Even though I don't feel like I did anything wrong I still don't feel real good about what happened. I don't know the guy and I'll probably never see him again.

The item will not be missed and it wasn't a bunch of money that changed hands. How do I know he didn't attempt something he wasn't supposed to try with it? Maybe it was just time for that thing to break.

I think recording artist Billy Paul at one time did a song titled "When It's Your Time to Go." One of the lines in that song is "When 'The Man' pulls your time card..."

Other events section. If anyone who knows me knows ANYthing about me, I'd think they would know that I LOVE music, hockey, and cats - not necessarily in that order. I've been a Penguins fan since they wore blue and while jerseys. I even loved them when they wore those ghastly art deco Penguin jerseys.

Las Vegas established 'The Golden Knights;' their entry into the National Hockey League. Sure, during the expansion draft that year they chose Marc Andre Fleury who is possibly one of only a few of my all time favorite Pittsburgh Penguins.

I can understand why Vegas picked him. He was by far the best goalie in that expansion draft. I can even understand why they chose to protect Matt Murray (protect here meaning to 'mark' that player so he could not be chosen by the expansion team).

Fleury was in his upper 30s and had some down seasons in terms of stats. Murray was much younger and had just 'tended the Pens to the Stanley Cup (which he wouldn't have done had Fleury not been busy being Fleury while Murray was out with a boo-boo).

But, Fleury'd had his share of injuries. He was older. Trust me. Your response time and physical capabilities definitely take a dive southward as you age. The better you take care of your body the slower the decline, but it happens. Period.

Fleury was making more money than Murray. In the age of the salary cap, that is an unfortunate consideration.

But now this season Seattle is throwing THEIR hats into the NHL proverbial ring with their entry into the league; The Kraken!

Cool name. Another NHL team. All is great. But that means there's another expansion draft. That means some of the best players on their teams are going to call Seattle home before too long. 

That means every other NHL team is going to be busy trying to unload players to free up salary cap space and try to insure that even though they ARE going to lose ONE very good player that fact could be mitigated by having a few of that caliber of player at that specific position.

Players who would normally be near untouchable are now trade bait. So I wake up one day and see that the Penguins have traded Patrik Hornqvist to the Florida Panthers. 

NO! NOT PATRIK HORNQVIST!

NOT THE MAN THEY CALL "Horny!"

Well, like Fleury before him Horny has had an increasing amount of injury over the past season or two. Then again, so has Letang, but I don't see anyone clamoring for him to be traded. Both players' injuries came as they did what they did to try to help Pittsburgh be a better team.

That said, the 2019-2020 season was not the Penguin's proudest moment, so Hornqvist and Letang, try as they might, and the other guys were unable to save the Pens from a very uncomplimentary early exit at the hands of the New York Islanders.

With COVID running rampant (and here's the only additional comment I'll make regarding COVID) and I'll put it in quotes so if you feel a need to cite me in your research paper I've done half the work for you.

I'm a very big believer in human right and in civil rights. HUGE believer. In fact, as my Dad used to say (because it extends to your believes and thoughts as well) "I will defend to the death your right to say what you think, but I do not have to agree with you."

As adults, we can agree to disagree. So now comes the part some may take issue with. YES, you have rights! No, dumb-ass. Having to wear a mask to you don't kill fellow citizens and prolong this already way too long pandemic in no way violates those rights. Government - democrat, republican, liberal, whoever - has a duty to protect all citizens. 

That includes protecting me from you, if you're dumb enough to believe that a quarter million death due to this shit is all 'fake news.' In fact, if you refuse to wear a mask under the guise of some civil rights protection, I give not a flying Finnish fiddlers'... well, you know if government agents hunt you down, capture you, and superglue a mask to your dumb and highly inconsiderate ass.

"Oh, you're healthy. You should be fine!" you say?

Point one; should be is not enough of a promise when death is the ultimate possible end of that promise failed.

Point two; let's assume I am immune to becoming infected with COVID. Doesn't mean I can't carry it around with me. I visit my 84 year old mother, who - by the by - suffers from COPD which is just one of the many risk factors that put her more at risk.

So you want to drag your cro magnon posse out to a lake or a school party or just a gathering larger than the 10 people you are recommended to keep your circle of contacts to. You can't wear a God blessed mask for the time your in an at-risk environment?

Some folks respond "Well where in THE hell did they come up with the number of 10 to limit your contact? Why not four? Why not 25?"

I'm sorry. I forgot your Center for Disease Control merit badge might be up-to-date.

Here's how they did it. It's a secret, so you'll have to lean in real close so I can tell you. Ready?

I GIVE NOT A GREAT GREY RATS' ASS HOW THEY CAME UP WITH 10 PEOPLE FOR THE CIRCLE OF CONTACTS! Why does it matter?

Are you one of those people who hang around the mechanic pissing him off with your suggestions?

Or the guy you hire to fix your computer who you subsequently don't want to pay because you could have probably done it yourself.

Perhaps you're simply one of those perennial malcontents who has paraphrased the philosopher from the 1600s René Descartes who said "Cogito, Ergo Sum." It means "I think, therefore I am."

Your paraphrase would be "Canis sum, ergo sum." Loosely translated, that means "I bitch, therefore I am."

Once again. Yes, you have rights. Allow me to point out that this is a two way street. I have rights as    well. YOUR rights end where MY rights begin; and vice versa, of course. 

Just use some sense. You and you parties you're dying to go to mean absolutely nothing to me when you're putting me at risk as well a causing immense hardships on local businesses and their employees who are doing their best to make it through.