Random thoughts...8-15-2026

Hi, everybody! Hope you're doing fine! Still trying to completely get back in the swing of things in the wake of that 5-26-2026 prostate reduction...right now, I'd call myself 99.999% recovered.

One of the activities I'm trying to get back to on a full-time basis is...getting myself caught up on current events. And one of the many events making me cringe is the treatment of the crew on the USS Abraham Lincoln.

The USS Lincoln has been at sea since November 2025...and food shortages, plumbing problems, and declining health among crew members have marred the ship's deployment (lengthened by the ship being sent to Iran). That's no way to treat people putting their lives on the line to keep the United States on the map.

You're welcome to read an article on npr.org: "Families of USS Lincoln crew say Trump should be 'ashamed' of conditions on board." (This article was updated today.)

Speaking of keeping the US on the map...if you're registered to vote here in the US, please make sure you do so this coming November (earlier than that if you can). There's too much at stake right now, and all kinds of people through the nation's history put their lives on the line (even to the point of death) to make sure ALL American citizens of voting age can cast ballots.

On a lighter note...on 3-31-2026, I started a new business.

I'm not doing this alone: I've been getting help from fellow LinkedIn member Wil Bowers. (That's right, THAT Wil Bowers...the same Wil Bowers who's been a guest star on TV shows like "Young Sheldon" and "Scandal.")

Maybe you're interested in this new business of mine, too...and if you are, feel free to watch one or both of these two videos: https://PPLProtect.com and https://PPLEmpower.com.

It'd be great to hear from you!

Frozen retribution?

Every time I get up these days, I can't help thinking about this current winter...one of the worst and most severe we've had here in the United States in a long time.

This weekend, here in the Omaha/Council Bluffs/Bellevue area, we're slated to receive more frozen precipitation. (Sorry...I don't feel like using the "S" word that rhymes with "crow.")

Through yesterday, according to WOWT (the local NBC affiliate),

the Omaha Metro has picked up 48.0" of the frozen stuff. (Last winter, through 2-27-2018, 14.6" had fallen around here...an area in which the average had been 21.0".)

The local record for frozen precip for one winter: 67.6", which took place around here in the winter of 1911-12. 

Lots of demoralized people around here right now. 

Let's face it: I'm one of them, too.

When it comes to why the winter of 2018-19 has been so brutal, with its frequent blizzards teaming up with long stretches of bitter cold, some people will tell you it's all cyclical (and that we were spoiled around here the previous two winters).

Others tell you that it's all because America is paying for its sins.

Still other folks chalk it up to climate change. 

After all, the fact that the world's average yearly temperature has risen- with most of the twenty warmest years in the world's history having taken place since 2000- has made storms (winter and nonwinter alike) more frequent and more violent.

With all that, and humanity's role in bringing about climate change, atmospheric forces (according to some folks) have told us that the bill is due.

What's your take on all this that's going on outdoors?