• Haiku

    Needed to Laugh

    Day not going great,

    Jon’s podcast made me laugh. Whew.

    Day ended better.

    May 10, 2021
  • I can finally hide reconciled transactions on the iOS version of YNAB.

    Whew!

    May 10, 2021
  • Annual Enrollment was super lame. No changes from last year, except that major medical is now $17 more per month.

    Big miss.

    May 10, 2021
  • Biden Proposes $2 Trillion Bill To Study What’s Causing Inflation Rates To Rise - The Babylon Bee

    In the meantime, officials from the US Treasury as well as the CDC have advised the public to start carrying double wallets to protect their money and help slow the spread of inflation.

    Here’s hoping they get to the bottom of it soon.

    May 10, 2021
  • ChetCast

    Episode 194: Veronica Laughs, Again

    Veronica is babbling and laughing all over the place, so it’s time to catch it all with a microphone.

    May 10, 2021
  • Catholic Schools Are Losing Students at Record Rates, and Hundreds Are Closing - WSJ

    Some secular families are turned off by the church’s opposition to abortion or same-sex marriage, said Carol Ann MacGregor, vice provost of Loyola University New Orleans. Meanwhile, more the most devout Catholics are home-schooling their children, in some cases because they don’t believe Catholic schools are focused enough on the faith.

    Catholic schools, from the very beginning, have served the poorest of the poor. It’s at the heart of their mission. The trend of closings will surely hurt lower income and urban families disproportionately.

    I disagree that the schools are losing students because of opposition to Church teaching on social issues. But I agree that homeschooling is a very real threat to the business model. Un-subsidized tuition can easily hit $10,000 for a single student kindergarten alone, before considering uniforms, activity fees, etc. Homeschooling books and course plans can be bought off the shelf for less than $1,000.

    The Church teaches that parents are the primary educators of their children. There are more curricula and resources available to parents today than ever before. Parents taking their vocation seriously is a positive development.

    May 10, 2021
  • Catholic Husband

    Backyard - Catholic Husband

    In those minutes that they spent in the backyard, they were whatever they wanted to be and exactly who they are. Backyards are special places.

    May 10, 2021
  • Haiku

    Mom

    Always there and kind,

    Thanks for all that you have done.

    Home is where Mom is.

    May 9, 2021
  • Mother’s Day showers.

    May 9, 2021
  • Haiku

    Stump Removal, Part Two

    A few more to go,

    Small bushes, came out easy.

    Now the house is bare.

    May 8, 2021
  • Bad Dog! Major Biden Gives Nuclear Codes To China In Exchange For A Milk-Bone - The Babylon Bee

    Eventually, the FBI decided on a punishment, which was to stare down Major and tell him he’s a “bad dog.”

    Not very good at negotiating. He should have at least held out for a flying dog house like Snoopy’s.

    May 8, 2021
  • I burnt my hand cooking lunch.

    Ouch.

    May 8, 2021
  • Hospitals Draw Warning on Price Disclosure Rule Compliance - WSJ

    The rule states that the agency ultimately can levy penalties of up to $300 a day if a hospital doesn’t comply. Some hospitals might decide the penalty is less than the cost to comply, said Heather Meade, a principal at Ernst & Young’s regulatory and legislative advisory division. Some also fear how competitors will use the price information, she said.

    A $110,000 corporate tax imposed on hospitals, but not enacted by Congress. But then, what else has become of regulations in our Administrative State?

    May 8, 2021
  • 11 years ago today. What an adventure.

    Chrt and Alison at graduation
    May 8, 2021
  • Haiku

    Backyard

    So much to explore,

    Friends found on the Creature Trail.

    Good-byes are still hard.

    May 7, 2021
  • Friday night on the deck.

    Feet on a deck
    May 7, 2021
  • The great march of mental destruction will go on. Everything will be denied. Everything will become a creed. It is a reasonable position to deny the stones in the street; it will be a religious dogma to assert them. It is a rational thesis that we are all in a dream; it will be a mystical sanity to say that we are all awake. Fires will be kindled to testify that two and two make four. Swords will be drawn to prove that leaves are green in summer. We shall be left defending, not only the incredible virtues and sanities of human life, but something more incredible still, this huge impossible universe which stares us in the face.

    G.K. Chesterton, Heretics (1905).

    May 7, 2021
  • GameStop Frenzy, Archegos Meltdown May Prompt New SEC Rules, Chairman Says - WSJ

    The House committee’s Democratic staff has circulated draft legislation that would ban payment for order flow as well as some incentives offered by stock exchanges to attract orders.

    Payment for order flow has resulted in commission free trades. Not sure how that’s a bad thing.

    May 7, 2021
  • Shocking Study Finds Paying People Not To Work Makes People Not Want To Work - The Babylon Bee

    Amid shockingly low job numbers released today, the study suggested that some of that low unemployment was due to the government sending everyone more money than they would have made out working a job. Some smart expert analysts are seeing a connection between incentivizing people to stay home and them staying home.

    But the Administration says it’s actually proof that we need to do more.

    May 7, 2021
  • Softy, of podcast fame, running all over little hands.

    Softy the caterpillar
    May 7, 2021
  • ChetCast

    Episode 193: Softy

    During outside play, the kids found a friend.

    May 7, 2021
  • SNL Writers Denigrate Successful African-American Businessman - The Babylon Bee

    According to tweets about the reported rumors, some of the cast of SNL are refusing to work with the successful immigrant inventor, and will instead stand in a nearby corner and sigh as loud as they can. 

    It’s 2021!

    May 7, 2021
  • EDC Toolkit

    EDC Toolkit in pouch, on ground

    When out on an adventure with my four kids, I like to be ready. I used to have a pretty basic load out in my bag, primarily carrying a change of clothes for each kid. This year, I decided to take it up a few notches.

    My wife gave me a new backpack for my birthday. I took this opportunity to rethink my daily carry and to introduce equipment that I should always have with me. I went around the house and grabbed supplies to build an everyday carry toolkit.

    I keep my toolkit in an OD Green pouch. It’s a great color that’s the perfect alternative to the standard black/blue/grey color options. As a bonus, it has a nice heritage piece from my military upbringing. On the outside, I have an “Essential” morale tab for a bit of humor.

    Here’s what’s inside:

    • Pry bar
    • Bits
    • Farmer Alox Swiss Army Knife
    • Leatherman Squirt P4
    • Work gloves
    • Lightning/USB-C charging cables
    • Backup pocket knife
    • Multitool/fork/spoon
    • Olight SR2 Baton flashlight
    • Velcro quick ties
    EDC toolkit open to display contents

    It’s a compact toolset, but it’s ready for quick access and action. I’m looking forward to having this in my bag, ready to go.

    May 7, 2021
  • Biden’s Vaccine IP Debacle - WSJ

    The U.S. has spent years deploring China’s theft of American IP, and now the Biden Administration may voluntarily let China could reap profits from decades of American innovation.

    This is among the worst ideas. Ever.

    May 7, 2021
  • Haiku

    Committed

    Tempted to eat carbs,

    Stay out of way of success.

    I got a salad.

    May 6, 2021