Short ride this morning ahead of the snow

I whiffed on riding yesterday morning.  It was nice, but still snow on the ground and I was running slow.   But today it was still nice this morning with snow predicted and then cold through Tuesday.  Even if we warm faster than they are predicting it probably wont be very nice on Sunday or for morning rides before Wednesday at the earliest.

So even though I was running pretty slow again this morning I had to grab the little bayrab and take a short ride.  I think we went 2.3 miles is all.  But it was fun.   Now I'm trying to wrap things up at work to a point where I can go home since it is snowing and is late enough that traffic should be nice and light.

Immigration reform, path to citizenship etc

Guess what.  I am ALL for this, but I don't want the current congress passing any amnesty type bill right now --because even if they got everything right (and fat chance with Reid as senate leader and Ear Leader having to sign anything that was passed)  I know that the marxist leaning folks who inhabit all the enforcement agencies would not enforce things so that even a good law would work.

But even so let me lay out how I think a good bill would work if we had an honest administration --not just president but all the ICE, DEA, State Dept, ...... agency employees that would enforce a fair law.

1.  No more chained immigration.  the U.S. now cares less if your aunt, or even brother or son lives here.   Does an employer want YOUR skills and is sponsoring your or do you have a business plan?  Yes, come on in.  NO, you can come for limited visits with your kin.

2.  You are here now working with a fake SS # or running a small business and want to be a citizen.  Yay you,  go to your home country with copies of your paycheck or business receipts and lets have a well expedited system to approve you for a green card so you only need to take enough time off from your job to get this done.   You are old but can show you paid into SS for 20 years we'll even let you have our SS and Medicare benefits. 

3.  You are here now working 'under the table' and/or employing other aliens while avoiding all the UE, workmans comp, FICA contributions etc that citizen businesses must pay or risk losing everything.  --You register and pay at least the last year of that stuff you should have been paying and get into the system so you have to pay the same costs as citizen businesses you can stay.   --You fail to do this and we deport your ass and seize any assets you have in this country even if its just  an ipod, but especially cars,  shops, etc.   And we'll have ICE hire extra contractors (so no permanent union jobs) to track you down rather than giving you a wink and a nod.

4.  We set up a decent temporary workers visa program and BUS you from the border to the farm you'll be working at AND back home again for the 'jobs americans just wont do'  and if stuff gets more expensive because some places have to pay more to entice 'lazy americans' so be it.

5.  We build a real border security system with mined ground between two serious fences everyplace where this won't seriously disrupt wildlife migration and armed guards who will be instructed to assume you are trying to sneak in to commit an act of terrorism in places where we can't landmine.

6.  You commit a felony or X # of significant misdemeanors while here on a green card we deport your ass, but we give your home country the option to lock you up rather than have you preying on your home country's citizens.   Since we are generous we'll even pay 6 months, perhaps more depending on serious of crime of THEIR standard incarceration costs which will in most cases be cheaper than ours. 

7.  Schools and hospitals do NOT have to provide services to you.  You want to enroll your kids you show up with green card or SS card something.   Same thing for hospitals but more so.  They do not HAVE to treat anyone.  They can require proof of insurance, money up front, proof of being enrolled in medicaid in lieu of insurance and we can have old fashioned charity hospitals that will treat you reguardless and even have the states and/or feds give them some grants but you do not get to run up the costs for everyone else by just waltzing into any old emergency room and demanding treatment. 

********Obviously this full set is NOT going to happen any time soon.*******
Now if Congress wants to pass #1  and #4 right away I'll support that bill.  Maybe some of the #2 category would apply for green cards this way, having a relative in the home country submit much of the pre paperwork and getting their current employer to say.   "I need a skilled hedge trimmer and my buddy in Mexico vouches for Juan" to make you legal, or if they do farm work and return home anyway they should be fine with a guest visa system unless their home country would fleece them too badly.  

If congress wants to work on  some watered down #5 and not just meaningless fences I'm there.  I know damn well they won't touch 2, or a 5 with any lethal force teeth to it,  6 ought to be perfectly PC acceptable but I doubt it and no way in hell they make waves with anything like #7.

Funny Ole story

L came out and rode with me on Sunday.   She came back from FL early but had a bladder infection.  Now she is worrying that the antibiotic the urgent care place she went to in FL can cause organ failure.   Poor gal,  if you are going to look up information on the internet about a medical drug or procedure you should do so beforehand.  She is a bit prone to reading symptoms and thinking "OMG I have that" as it is.   She does seem to be somewhat prone to health problems but other than negative, fearful thoughts do stress your body I blame that on her going vegan for a couple years (because she read some book that vegans live longer and healthier),  I don't think she had many health issues the first spring-fall when she was coming out to ride before she went vegan.  She was talking about dropping the vegan thing shortly before Christmas so perhaps she'll get healthier again if she commits to fueling her body with decent food.

Ole enjoyed having L come out he always does and he made me laugh.  We were going along and Ole noticed a neighbor walking his dogs along the irrigation ditch road, they had been south of road 6 and came north of the intersection and we had gone the other way and were coming towards 6.  Ole dashed up to say hi to them with tail wagging and then continued south w/o insisting on playing but then when L and I turned west at road 6 to head home Ole kept heading south, blowing me off when I called him to let him know we were turning for home.   L was loping up the hill but I kept circling Sadie looking for Ole and he had crossed the ditch and then was heading south along the ditch.  So  I said we should double back to make sure he wasn't getting into trouble.  He was checking out some bone piles he has found.  I didn't even know about the one on the east side of the ditch and didn't see just where he had been so I still don't know just where it is.   It struck me as so funny that he just HAD to check his stashes when he realized those other dogs had been in that area. 

I rode saturday also.   Got about 8 miles over the two days and much needed vitamin H.  

Ace posted about stock market tumbling so I bought more silver

It is getting hard to find interesting bars or rounds at prices that aren't too much over spot so I think I'm nearly done buying anymore even if the spot price stays down here at $20 which seems fairly reasonable given actual inflation and all that.   But still I have to get some entertainment value by buying fun stuff like the chinese zodiac coins or some of the holiday ones etc but not be paying much over the bullion price to convince myself to buy and now I've gotten most of the available ones.

Hopefully I will get a fun ride or two in this weekend.  L is back from Florida and interested in going Sunday or Monday but radio forecast was for it to get cold again Sunday night so she will have to make it Sunday.  Plus I have to go to the mechanic and get my car Monday.   Darn thing got a broken CV axle.   I barely know what that is, know that the CV joint(s) power the wheels so I guess the axle is a connector from the engine to the joint.   Anyway when I went to drive when my last light on my drive home turned green I went a few feet and then was gunning the engine but going nowhere.  I called dad and he towed me home.  I didn't even think of using my US Rider which I guess covers all my vehicles and not just my p/u and trailer when I'm towing.  Even if I had thought of them I would have just called dad since I was only a few miles from home and it was about 10 pm. 

I punted on calling the pyramid (MLM) company and demanding they either remove me w/o written instruction or turn on their fax machine so I could cancel.  Instead I changed my order so that I'm getting some overpriced green coffee pills that cost about a 10th as much as the 'core' program with the disgusting tasting liquid vitamins and other stuff.   I should go beeotch mode on the stupid company even if I did join via the friend but could not summon the energy this week and figured getting the cost down to a low level will do for  this next month.  I'm sure the green coffee pills will be overpriced vs if I bought them at Vitamin Cottage or Target vitamin aisle like the liquid vitamins are but at least its not "oxygenated cell water" that felt like I was being totally ripped off for very diluted peroxide with a bit of trace mineral salt added. 

almost normal

gently knocking wood.  Yesterday I felt crazy tired all afternoon and developed a late headache that was still there or back this morning.  It is gone or at least at bay for now, thank god for easy access to good NSAIDs and decongestants. 

Monday we went to the Stock show.  I bought too much stuff but I think I'll keep using what I bought at least, unlike the lint roller contraption a couple years ago.   We watched the Grand Prix jumping.  Those horses are amazing and the riders are so bold.   

Yesterday I did take a short ride on Sadie.   I should have rode again today but I don't ride the young bayrab when I'm feeling off.  I don't think a few days off will hurt us,  we are supposed to get a quick shot of snow overnight/tomorrow morning but warming to 50s by the weekend.  

Thought I wanted to watch the game today but I couldn't do it.

They started at 1 and I was slow getting going to ride on the incredible warm day.  Came in after riding to Bronco's 20, Patriots 3.  This should be fun to watch, Denver D stopped the Patriots going for it on 4th down vs taking a field goal,  then D's settled for yet another field goal and Patriots marched it down for a TD right away --sooo I went out and picked up the couple of plastic bags that had strayed into Grey and Shades paddock and got some hay from the big hay shed.   Missed one more Bronco field goal and 6 points for the Patriots.   Broncos are going to the Super Bowl with a 26-16 victory.  .   Been a long time since they've made it.  I'm happy for Manning who seems like a class act, not so much for Denver/CO, who chose to go full on liberal or Elway after handling the Tebow situation the way he did. 

Perhaps that was a wise choice,  I think Tebow would have been a good team player going back to backup QB but if Manning had faltered I suppose there would have been fans calling for going back to Tebow as starter but every crazy comeback Tebow had two years ago Elway looked very sour and jealous.  Tebow made Bronco's football fun again after years of sliding into being a boring mediocre team and then a boring losing team the first part of that season when Orton was starting and I think the Bronco's rewarding him for saving some fan enthusiasm by dumping him was horribly bad form. 

Back was fine today and had a good ride on Sadie

I didn't let my mind wander too much.  She had a couple jumps but since I was centered and didn't catch air and start flopping around they didn't become spazz outs.  But she is definitely reinforcing my "arabian horses are the ones telling themselves ghost stories around the campfire until they are jumping at every rabbit rustling the brush"  theory.     Stock horse spooks are likely to be more like someone yakking on their cellphone and not seeing the spiderweb until they walk into it and then having the 'OMG SPIDER freakout"

I made chili with multi year old elk meat and dried pinto beans in my pressure cooker today.  I cooked them separately to make sure I had enough head room for the steam vent process.  The elk meat got nice and tender but cooking the pintos just a wee bit more the recommended amount of time left them firmer than I like so next time I'm adding a good chunk of time. 

The chile overall is spicy hot.  I should have removed the seeds from the jalopeno, or used less of the old dried red peppers.   But I don't mind having to tone down the heat with grated cheese and sour cream.  I think I'll use the cooker a fair amount; I don't like waiting for food to be cooked. 

On carbonated muscle relaxer tonight

AKA beer therapy.   I came off of Sadie today,  I was so disgusted with myself for daydreaming and dinking around with doing some goofy neck stretches etc so when Sadie acted up a little bit I couldn't just ride through it and ended up on the ground.

So hitting the ibuprofen today and the program at work went out to celebrate today because congress finally passed a real budget and our program got put in NOAAs budget so the next launch of satellites should actually happen now.   Only took 5 years for the dems to actually pass a real budget instead of insisting on another CR to just perpetuate their pork from the early 2009 budget.  I told the admin I'd call going for a beer muscle relaxant therapy.  My back has been trying to spasm in one spot all day.  The happy hour beer helped quite a bit so I decided to have one at home late this evening.  

Sadie was a good girl after her mini spazz out and my stupid fall and I think my back will be OK but I'm kind of glad that I don't have any commitments, especially having to drive anywhere. 

Second ride of the year was much easier than the first one

That was yesterday.  Sadie barely grumped about going out for me and we did some nice trot and loping as the snow was gone.   No one target shooting or goose hunting so Ole was thrilled to go out.  The Adequan shots are helping him.  He had been having a funny loping stride on his back legs until going at least 1/2 mile or more loosened things up and yesterday he was doing a normal dog trot almost immediately.   So that is good news.   My ankle is bothering me a bit lately, it is good to know that I have that stealth option if doing to the doc and getting some stretches and exercises doesn't fix it up.  I think I would want to try the joint juice before taking a high power NSAID even if the HMO was ready to prescribe one right away.   Of course the P/T is probably the best first thing to try anyway,  I do know from Shade's history that the joint juice probably just buys a few years time before other measures are needed.

nail-biter here at the end of the game

Peyton got two clutch first downs to keep possession for the Broncos after SD got the TD and recovered the onside kick and then got a field goal to make it a 7 point game.   One more first down will seal the game.   Now a good run got it within a couple feet.  Ooh I do not want them to give SD one more chance with 20-30 seconds. 

I can barely stand to get invested in the game to this level,  I don't know how people can bear to be hardcore fans, I'm a Bronco fan, but about as soft core as one can be.  I guess I'm too much of a control freak to enjoy something where I have absolutely zero influence on whether I'll be feeling victory or defeat. 

WooHoo, the offensive line and runner punched it across for the final first down so they could run down the clock and advance to the division championship game.   Manning gets the red forehead from the helmet and has a bit of receding hairline..... and I kind of like it.  Reminds me of the salt of the earth midwest farmers.   I associate Peyton with Indiana and the midwest although I know he's a New Orleans boy and played his college ball in Tennessee. 

I am really wanting to win next week, just so that Peyton can be the one to make Brady have the "huh, I lost" pout, like he did when Eli beat them in the SB a few years ago. 

Finally got the first ride in this year

Took just a short slower ride, there is still a little snow on the ground.  Neighbor had a couple other guys over to target shoot.  Ole heard the shots and wussed out on coming.  He is skeered of gunfire.  Sadie got a little nervous going right past the shooting but she was pretty good.   She was worse right when I started out; probably testing me after having two weeks off; or possibly she was hearing the target shooting along with Ole.  I didn't hear it until we were much closer. 

Started packing up some of the Christmas stuff.  Dad got all the outside lights down but the boxes for the tree and ornaments are still in the attic so I won't take the tree down before tomorrow, and it may slide well into next week; its not hurting anything standing there in corner of the living room. 

Ended 2013 with a Sadie ride

But it might be well into 2014 before I get my first ride of the year in.  It was overcast and damp yesterday with intermittent snow showers and 30s temperatures all day.   I made soup from the ham bones from the last two holiday spiral cut hams.   Decided to live on the edge and use the one that had been in the freezer a whole year as well as the current one since it was just dry navy beans and  a few taters and carrots that would be wasted if it was inedible.   Turned out pretty good, makes me feel better after this years actual ham was pretty meh.  I should have resisted my cheap genes and got the slightly more expensive brand at the grocery store but it will be OK fried up or if I make ham and bean soup again just with ham chunks without having the bones to boil up to make good rich broth. 

Weather wise I could ride today or tomorrow but will be driving up to ND tomorrow, two funerals to attend.  Would not absolutely have to attend either, but in both cases the family was very supportive at mom's memorial last April, and since they are close in time so just one round of driving we will do it.  But this makes a fair amount of stuff to get done before leaving so I don't think I'll try to ride unless I'm restless and ready quite early tomorrow and that would be a rare occurence.