Berthold Bay

A sailing friend took this picture.  Old Kadizzle has spent hundreds of nights holed up in this spot.  May fond memories.  So many sailing tales around the campfire here. So nice to sail into this bay every spring.  Was there about a week ago. 

It was the best of Trails, the worst of Trails

Winky and Kadizzle had to lay low while the estate was shown in Hazen.  Off to the Badlands once more we headed with the ebikes.  In segments we have been doing the Ma Da Hey Trail.  On this trip we hit the jackpot.  The trail was just stunning.  North Dakota does have some wonderful spots.  Some of the turns were so sharp dropping down to the Little Missouri that you had to come to a complete stop at the switchback.  OK,  that is the good news.  Now the bad, in the infinite stupidity of regulations carried out to the extreme bikes cannot be taken into the wilderness portion of the Badlands.  Kadizzle generally agrees with this rule, but every rule has it's short comings.  In this case it meant somehow we had to skirt about two miles of the wilderness on bikes.  Now it was obvious other people had tried to do this, but what it meant was we had to take a bypass that pretty much, did not exist.  In fact it did not exist.  Pushing the bikes and riding through brush we were not able to get by the protected part of the park.  A couple simple solutions exist.  First they could build a bypass, second they could make an exception.  The trial we needed did briefly wander into the sacred territory.  If they let bikers use the sacred portion of the trail they would be on it for less than ten minutes.  The reality is no one is way back in that part of the Badlands except the people on foot and bikers.  It is just the classic case of an insane application of a rule.  The intent is good, but the outcome is not.  Anyway perhaps if Kadizzle becomes awake this morning he will ad a video or picture to this post later.

Swigert Class of 2020 Video (This is Sylvie's teacher, the absolute best)

Will Change Come?

You can dance, and spin, and hit them on the head, but they will not change.  Kadizzle is an old man.  It has taken 71 years to learn you cannot change society until people are cold and hungry.  If the great depression proved anything it is that change will only come with pain.  When people have had enough change will come.  Currently the spark may be ignited for change.  The root of the mess is inequality.  Kadizzle firmly believes capitalism must be changed or discarded for something that mandates sharing.  When so many do without while a few wallow in unneeded wealth we have a problem folks.  Let this sink in.  The four richest people in the United States have as much wealth as the bottom half of the country.  If that does not ring your bell, push some button in front of you to go to cartoons.  So you are a black person living in a slum.  What do you have to lose by showing your anger with a barbecue at Target? When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose. 

If people cannot see Trump is the flower at the top of the plant. Trump sits atop the rubbish heap of stench that got us in this mess.  There are none so blind as those that will not see.  Republicans have one goal and one goal only. Protect the rich, enrich the rich, it is that simple.  If you cannot see that push the cartoon button.

When Kadizzle goes to Denver he goes to Walmart.  At Walmart he engages a few black people to take their pulse.  Kadizzle wonders how they are going to vote, or if they are going to vote.  Kadizzle got his answer black people are voting with matches and bricks.  They have had enough.  Don't blame them.

Scott Hennen

Yesterday Kadizzle had to take a truckload of tree branches to the dump.  Irritated with Trump's lying about Joe Scarborough Kadizzle wondered how KFYR radio host Scott Hennen would spin the story if he was confronted with it.  Hennen plays the role of little Rush Limbaugh in Bismarck, ND.  for KFYR radio.  The rednecks with red hats love the radio station.  If Trump farts Hennen will praise the zephyr and call it the wind of God.

Kadizzle called Hennen while he was on the air for his morning session of lies.  Kadizzle asked Hennen for his spin on the Scarborough story.  Hennen said it was alright for Trump to jump in because he story was in the papers. It was the newspapers that were at fault.  Whenever Hennen is confronted with facts or the truth he talks over you, hangs up the phone, or goes to a commercial.

Hennen has a secret weapon.  Since his show runs with a time delay he can cut you off and pretend like the conversation ended politely.  Radio listeners would get that impression.  The net result is you don't get to express your opinon.  The real irony to this crap is they call the show "fair and balanced".  If indeed the show was fair and balanced someone would be on the air with Hennen representing the other side of the story.  Kadizzle has suggested this to Hennen at times.  In the end Hennen's show is a little propaganda outfit for the Republican party helping with the dumbing down of our country.  Hennen also understands the way to play up Kelly Armstrong, Kevin Cramer, and any Republican that wants to be a kiss up to Trump. Hennen gets them on the show and throws some softball questions with continual compliments.  Hennen's advertisers are the guys who sell erection pills, magic pillows, gold scams, and the who gammit of things that appeal to the poorly informed.  KFYR's business model is give the people at the circus what they want.  It is the Fox News model in action.  Now if anyone does not see the problem just keep the radio on after Hennen is done spinning. Guess who comes on next.  Yup, it is a couple hours of Rush Limbaugh the world champion liar.

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Launch the boat

Kadizzle has launched hundreds of sailboats. Yesterday we put Stroupini's boat in the water.  The most memorable was a launch many years ago of the Jennie Rose.  The sailboat was sitting high on the trailer as sailboats do.  McGarve and Kadizzle had the boat at the top of the ramp. The ramp was long and steep because of the low lake level.  We were about to back the boat down by the water.  The procedure for launching a sailboat is a bit complicated.  Because a sailboat draws so much water one must get the boat out into the water at least forty or fifty feet before it comes free of the trailer.  To do this the trailer is first parked by the waters edge, then an extension is put between the boat trailer and the truck that will back it into the water. So we were going to back the trailer with the boat on it down to the waters edge. McGarve was on the boat by the wheel.  Kadizzle began to back the boat. When Kadizzle tapped the brake the boat trailer came lose from the truck.  In order to prevent disaster safety chains connect the trailer to the truck.  However ,  the chains were rusty and immediately busted loose.  There he goes.  McGarve is going down the steep ramp about 12O feet long.  McGarve's eyes were the size of pumpkins.  Kadizzle was watching in amazement.  McGarve thought Kadizzle had locked the safety latch and Kadizzle thought McGarve had done it.  Of course neither had .  The boat took off down the ramp and into the water.  The boat floated free without a hitch. It actually was a wonderful launch.  Now the marina operator who had a few bolts loose saw the whole thing.  In a fit of excitement he called the park rangers and told them a disaster had taken place.  There was one major problem the boat trailer was out there in the lake somewhere.  Kadizzle assured McGarve it was no problem.  With utmost luck Kadizzle tossed a small anchor out and caught the trailer.  As we pulled the trailer out of the water the rangers came rushing up.  They asked if there was a problem.  Kadizzle with a great deal of fun said " No, we do this all the time".

Insanity

Here we sit, Kadizzle, and the people inside his head.  The coffee is good, Winky went nuts because something went wrong with the coffee maker and the coffee went all over the floor.  Cannot resist listening to the ex con tell his stories on youtube.  It makes one realize how nutty the world is.  Here it comes.  Trump.  Trump is just a lousy con man.  Trump is a mentally ill nut case.  Kadizzle grew up with a psychopath that lived a few blocks away. These people have no sense of getting caught.  The con man on youtube was telling his story about how his pizza business was too much of a headache so he thought he would just burn it down.  The first try did not work, so he went back later and burnt down the whole block.  The insurance company knew he did it, but could not prove it.

When Kadizzle lived in Wheeling, it was at one time known as little Chicago.  Al Capone came to the racetrack there.  Anyway if you have seen the mob type operate they are not hard to figure out.  Trump is nothing but a mob guy.  Who could be so stupid as not to see it. Trump dismisses all the good guys and fills the positions with idiots and other mob guys. Trump's gang scamed the virus. Trump tries to get people to buy his drug as a cure.  It is like a cheap tv commercial.  Trump or one of his buddies must have had stock in Clorox.  Why else would he try to get people to drink bleach.  Now for the amazing part, the idiots who cannot see what is going on.  Simple minded people surround us, they walk around in a daze.  When someone hangs with the mob, they are part of the mob. Look at Cramer, and whats his name Burgum.  If you watch the con man video you will find out loyalty is everything in the mob.  Does that sound familiar? Our country is being run by the mob.  How can people be this stupid. Trump will not show his taxes.  Did anyone forget Al Capone went to jail on taxes.   Now, this takes the cake.  One of Trump's guys goes to jail, and he pardons them. Imagine a mob boss who can pardon people.  Are we really this stupid?

Going to prison

Wow, Kadizzle has been studying up on going to prison. It sounds like no fun at all. Go to youtube and let Larry Lawson tell you about prison.  The United States is on par with the worst country in the world for the way people are treated. Not, much time to tell the story, because Winky and Kadizz are going biking in the Badlands today.  However, the guys stories are fascinating. Today he talked about being on con air. That is the prison airline.  Locked in your seat you cannot use the bathroom for up to sixteen hours.  Check out his first experience in prison where they make a cocktail of human waste to throw at the warden.  After they do that everyone gets beat senseless regardless of your innocence. Check it out we need prison reform desperately.

Awakening with a devious scheme

The old lump got out of bed and decided he needed a shower.  In the shower he thought about the article he read in the NYT.  The article outlined how Trump caused a lot of distress for a family that lost a daughter.  Trump claimed Joe Scarborough murdered the woman.  A complete lie.

Read the article.  Now here is the plan.  We are plagued with idiots.  The guy who sells us insurance is a Republican dolt.  Kadizzle if he gets the courage, which may not happen would go to the dolt and say " If you don't read this article about Trump I want all my insurance canceled and I will go with another agent".   Here is the problem, the dolts are never forced to see the truth.  What if a lot of people joined my movement and forced the people they do business with to face a little truth?  Republicans have the luxury of pretending they do not know how evil Trump is.  We let them get away with it.  What if conscious Americans forced the unconscious to smell the smelling salts? What if you said, " OK, I am not buying this car unless you read this"?  All the dolts hear is Rush Limbaugh and Fox News.

Now maybe one could go about this politely, and say something like " It would sure help me be a customer if you read this.

The Problem with Shitt's Creek

The Kadizzles got drawn into the show Shitts Creek.  By normal standards the program and the people are absurd.  Wait they are not.  There is a new normal where people believe in and support Trump.  Kadizzle has walked away from the silly show and realized reality is every bit as goofy.  We have a lying, cheating, immoral rat for president, and he does three stooges stuff all the time.  It is no different from Shitts Creek. The right conclusion is there is no normal. Normal people do not vote for Trump, but there he is. Normal people would not wear a red hat that says I am an idiot, but you see the idiots. Normal people would not let someone give you money from your own wallet and tell you it is a gift.  Normal has completely evaporated.  One day we are in a pandemic locked in the basement and the next day we are crowded on the beach.  One day we are worried Obama is going to push granny off a cliff, and the next day we are looking for cliffs where she can sit and get the virus.

One inch smarter

Who knows why, but Kadizzle was called into the kitchen to stir the oatmeal.  For no reason known to man Winky wanted to measure Kadizzle's head.  Kadizzle thought he might be getting a new one.  Well Kadizzle's head is 22 inches around at the equator.  Next we measured Winky's head which turned out to be 21 inches.  This explained a lot.  How much difference one more inch of brains can make.  Not sure what kind of head Winky is ordering for Kadizzle, but he hopes it will fit.  Does it come programmed, or does it have to be filled with bull manure? Would be kind of nice if the new head has more hair, and less age marks.  Maybe the new head will be digital with a better hard drive. The hard drive on this head is worn out and there aint much hard.

Sailing Adventure

Down the lake the little boat went in front of the wind.  A pleasant sail that took the small boat to Berthold Bay.  Low and behold Nick was there with some friends on the Jennie Rose.  The Jennie Rose is the boat Kadizzle has been helping restore for the last couple years.  Sailing back into the area where the Jennie Rose was anchored we went aground.  The depth meter on our boat is useless. Getting back on the water brings back hundreds of memories.  Each Spot on the lake has a story.  Shad owned the boat we were on and probably got tired of Kadizzle's endless recollections.  The bunk on the small boat was small and narrow.  After we had some socializing tied up next to the Jennie Rose we crawled in to sleep. Shad snored all night and Kadizzle had the fire belly from the fire pickle and a couple rum and cokes. The weather forecast seemed to promise a sled ride back in the morning, but that was wishful thinking.  Leaving early to beat the oncoming rain we ended up beating into massive waves.  The morning was cold and spray from smashing the waves did not make it any better.  The wind god had to show he was boss and made us fight out way back.  Tired we finally made it back to the marina.  Kadizzle is getting old and the battle wore him down.

Being a " Know it all"

At various times someone has said to Kadizzle in not the nicest of fashion " You are a know it all".  Well Kadizzle must admit he certainly has the characteristics. To know everything is not as easy as just signing up as a know it all, it takes lots of study.   Currently Kadizzle is learning how to fly a jet passenger plane, operate a tugboat, be a bum, and too much else to relate here.  How do you know everything.  You go onto Youtube and just watch video's.  Hat's off to Omar, all the stuff you have to remember to fly passengers is way more than Kadizzle will master.  Omar did that for a living. Tugboats are more complicated than Kadizzle thought.  This morning learning how to manipulate a huge cargo ship turned out to be more complicated.  Being a know it all is a lifetime study.  Just being a good bum involves way more than Kadizzle thought.  Bums, at least professional bums need to know a lot about trains.  Kadizzle learned so much from Shoestring the bum he never would have though of.  How do you hide, how can you tell where a train car is going,  and the list goes on.  It turns out every job has way more knowledge than one might think.  Kadizzle has mastered being a lazy, worthless old man if anyone wants tips.  Now if you have infinite curiosity Youtube is endless.

Way back one hundred years ago Kadizzle was in college.  When Kadizzle went to the library and tried to do research he quickly ran into his lifelong problem, attention deficit disorder.  Wandering down the narrow isle of the library to find a book, another book would catch his attention.  Soon Kadizzle would be paging through a book that had nothing to do with his research.  Back to the subject of being a know it all.  One of the best ways to know everything is ask questions.  If you are not bashful about asking questions you will find out a lot. What is that for? Why are you doing that? and of course Why do you want me to quit bothering you and get the hell out of here?

Hym ha Fiddler

Shanika and Kadizzle set off to try a motorcycle in Sydney, Montana.   It was a pleasant drive into the oil rich country of the west.  Always Kadizzle is bumfuzzled by all the idle equipment in the boomtowns.  The oil boom caused so much to be built that is now sitting idle. A lot of people lost a lot of money.  Convenience stores with ten counters and endless isles of soft drinks are empty with next to no customers.

About forty minutes or so before we got to Sydney, Shanika called motorcycle Willie to let him know we would arrive.  Willie turned out to be a fiddle f**ker.  You know the type person who finds it difficult to walk in a straight line.  A normal person about to try to sell a motorcycle would make sure it had oil, it would start and have it ready to go, but not Willie.  When we arrive Willie is in the garage with the cycle torn apart changing the oil.  So after a constant stream of pauses and meaningless conversation it finally comes time to start the motorcycle.  It starts right up, amazing.  Willie had just put a little charge on the battery.  However, it would not start again.  The battery was bad and could not hold a charge.  This meant some more fiddling.  The motorcycle had to be pushed out by the truck and jump. started. 

Kadizzle took the BMW 650 thumper for a spin.  It was a nice cycle but just did not seem to fit Kadizzle's profile.  Shanika tried it and decided it was too big.  So back to Hazen we flew with no cycle.  Some good conversation, a nice drive, and some wasted gas.  Such is life.  The coffee just finished perking. 

When old Kadizzzle was a kid people would ask the usual question " What do you want to be when you grow up?'.   Kadizzle wanted to be a bum.  Kadizzle has been watching bum videos on Youtube.  Winky doesn't like it.  Shoestring is the bum making the videos.  He is a very professional bum and just happen to pass through Bismark a week or so ago according to his video.   Youtube is amazing.  If you can get enough people to watch your documentary on being bum you can make enough money to buy a couple sandwiches.  In fact people have sent Shoestring money to help him be a bum. 

How the mind works.  This train of thought at five A.M. made Kadizzle think of singing the old depression song halaluja I ama bum.  Kadizzle broke out with this song in New Zealand and low and behold the lady running the Airb&b knew the song and started singing along.

Back to bumming.  Shoestring has a terribly mangled hand.   Shoestring got off a moving train and fell.   He pushed himself away from the track by putting his hand on the rail.  Whoops two fingers gone.  There is a story he tells with the event how the police immediately issued him a trespassing ticket in the ER while his cut off fingers dangled in the glove.  If you are tired of virus news watch Shoestring and learn the art of bumming.

Winky's breast get rave reviews.

Old Kadizzle was wandering around the house. Looking out the window there was a long line of cars coming down the street.  Since we live on a cul de sac it seemed very strange.  The cars were driving by our house honking their horns. Puzzled Kadizzle went into the bedroom where Winky was getting dressed.  She just happened to have her shirt off with her naked bosoms exposed toward the window. Since our house is so isolated we rarely pull the curtains.  Winky did not realize a parade was going by. Kadizzle told Winky it might not be a good idea to be facing the window half naked. Kadizzle told Winky " They must like what they are seeing, all the cars are honking". It took a little time to register, but Kadizzle figured out the town must be having a graduation parade for the seniors.  Hopefully nobody saw Winky's inadvertent display.  If anyone did it will spread like wildfire that Winky flashed the seniors.

Lying and cheating for the greater good.

Kadizzle had a bad experience with a North Dakota rat politician.  In fact he has dealt with a couple of the dishonest rats.  Now the Republican rats are fighting amongst themselves.

This little Rat or should it be said big rat helped rig an election against me.  It has been written about before on this blog.  It is a strange world. Living in a rural area everyone knows everyone.  Kadizzle used to work for a man that supports this rat. The ex mayor of Hazen supports the rat.  It is disturbing to find our people you thought were somewhat honest would buy into the old idea that you can do something dishonest if it creates a greater good. Dirty tricks, lying, and immoral behavior are all part of politics.  It is a matter of degree. However, who you support says everything about you.  If you publically say you support Trump you are admitting you don't have an once of sense or decency.  The only other possibility is you are delusional. The evidence is clear about Jeff Delzer, Kadizzle has first hand knowledge about how the man operates, and how dishonest he is.  This morning Kadizzle called the old mayor who supports Delzer the rat.  The mayor said he knows nothing about the crooked crap Delzer pulled.  This is pretty much impossible.  If you come out of the huddle and claim you are clueless if it will be a pass or a run, who would believe you.  This is their game.  Deny it ever happened. Trump gets away with this like no one in history.  If you get caught, just simply lie. 

MAGA Good music for a bad president.

Hard to Imagine

It is hard to imagine, but we are on a massive ball of rock hurtling through space drinking coffee. Not only is the massive chunk of rock moving, but it is also spinning. The rock has spun around and now it is morning.  This rock is whizzing around a massive atomic explosion and it is my 71st trip around the continuous atomic bomb that has been going for billions of years.  Nothing unusual about that.  Like ants we wander around oblivious to the scale of our world.  Radio waves are jumping through the air like bees, but we don't see them.  Radiation is everywhere heating, cooling, and burning.  Clueless we make up silly stories to calm ourselves.  Magic replaces logic, it is easier. We have elf's, saints, gods, and devils. We are clueless how we got here and if we will end up in some other strange universe when the breath goes out of us.  Little diseases try everyday to kill us.  We try to kill each other.  We fight over air, water, salt, dirt, and whose Jesus is best.  Wow, it is total insanity.  Each of us lives in our own fantasy, fly like a butterfly, sting like a be, and Trump says don't you want to be just like me.

Another Week

Here we go another week.  Stoupini and Kadizzle took the ebikes for a spin at the state park.  Kadizzle did not realize the park has a pretty nice trail.  It is easy by trail standards but a nice ride along the lake shore.  All the sailors are starting the season. Kadizzle misses his boat like a lost loved one.  May have to get another.

Winky buzzed of early this morning to the grocery store.  She is sure there is more safety at the store from the virus when fewer people are there.  People are predictable, the excitement of the virus is wearing off and more and more the game is going back to normal.  Like so many things the entire episode will become a thing of the past.  The unique thing about society is the ability to ignore problems. Air pollution is the classic case.  It does not happen all at once.  Gradually the air gets worse.  The net result is people accept a yellow haze as normal.  Climate change is another case where things happen slowly.   If a disaster happens slowly it is not much fun.  The first time someone with a gun shot up 27 little children it was a big deal, now we accept it as normal.  When Trump told his first couple of lies people noticed, now he lies constantly and it is accepted as normal.  Just read how the police shoot people at will in Brazil and it is accepted as normal.  Very quickly our society will accept the old the sick and he wounded being cut down by the virus.  As long as I am warm and my belly is full who cares. That is the American way.  I got mine, the hell with you. 

Electric Crash

Sure enough adding a battery to Winky was a mistake.  The woman is incapable of going slow.  The two old coots took the electric bikes to Harmon Lake to enjoy the wonderful bike  paths.  Kadizzle stopped on a metal bridge to let Winky meet up with him.  As Winky came barrelling toward the Bridge Kadizzle  told her " Go ahead if you want".  Apparently Winky decided she would rid in the lead.  Kadizzle was looking forward as Winky came from behind.  Then there was a crashing explosion and Kadizzle looked down to see Winky splayed on the deck of the bridge.  Her handlebar caught on Kadizzles.  Now an ordinary person would slow down if the had to go through a very narrow spot, but not Winky she had to go like a rocket with disastrous results.  Her helmet saved the bridge and her head from damage.  With some bleeding little scrapes she got up and blamed Kadizzle for the whole thing.  Kadizzle as an old municipal judge tried to explain to her that if you hit someone who is parked it is your fault. Fortunately rocket woman was not hurt and the equipment survived.  Bikes do have brakes, the trick is to use them.  In the end we went 18 miles.  Winky said she did not get enough exercise on the ebike.  Kadizzle has tried to get it through her head she can turn down the assist and she will need more effort.  The concept may never sink in to the hyperactive part of the marriage.   Now there are some physics involved.  Peanut weighs about half what Kadizzle does. This means her electric motor does not have nearly the work to do that the motor on the Kadizzlator does.

The Idiot (Trump's theme song)

Awakening

Leaving the coffee house on the west end of Kadizzleville the large lump of humanity wandered down the hall to the engine room. On the desk in the engine room is the bill sent automatically from the toll road that goes around Denver.  $54.75 was the toll.  Surely a mistake, but no the man on the phone said it was correct.  Even after Kadizzle promised the guy a nice Christmas present he would not lower the price.  You pay by the axle and the system treats a truck pulling an RV as two vehicles.  So the money will fly out the window.

Over at the Stoupini construction site we got a little done.  Stroupini set a couple post in concrete and Kadizzle began building the stone walkway.  Perhaps this morning we can keep going.  The big news is he ebike gang.  Two old men, and one old lady took off on their ebikes.  Winky was on her brand new zippity do da Hiabike, Stroupini had the Rad Rover, and Kadizzle had his Hiabike.  All we needed was the tough guy motorcycle outfits.  Of course Winky had to go like her underwear was on fire.  Winky complains you get no exercise on an ebike. Ebikes let you adjust the assist level. Of course if you set the assist to high pedaling  will not be very difficult. Winky is having a difficult time figuring out that she can ask the bike for less assist and she will have to pedal harder.  The net result is she now goes like a rocket leaving the old men in the dust.  The gang did a quick ten miles through the country side on gravel roads.

Kadizzle is so pissed off on the next topic he cannot avoid it.  Political hacks in North Dakota are running ads to get elected.  In the ad they proudly say they support Trump.  Are we really that stupid that we would vote for anyone who supported Trump? Yup, the people of North Dakota are dolts. To make it worse our governor says he stands with Trump.  Who could breath air and not know by now what a dishonest, worthless crook Trump is? Amazing, absolutely amazing that Trump can lie, cheat, and steal right in front of people and the fail to see it.  Go drink a bleach cocktail and vote Republican.

The plan for today is an ebike ride at Harmon lake.  It will be a test of Winky's skill riding her new bike.  Should be interesting.

Good Morning

Awakening old Kadizzle looked out the window at the neighbor's roof.  Frost, there it was frost on the roof and summer is supposed to be here.  At last the grass has finally turned a nice green, and the leaves have become brave enough to come out on the trees. Kadizzle has been helping old Stroupini build his new backyard. Yesterday Kadizzle borrowed the transit from city hall and showed Stroupini how to use it.  Getting the yard to grade is the first step. In graduate school Kadizzle took a course in landscape architecture, so that makes him an expert. Now we have a day in front of us.  Could be a great day to get Winky on her new ebike.  May even ask Stroupini to join us with his ebike for a romp through the prairie.

Dallas and Marilyn are our neighbors to the west.  Both are getting up in years. Dallas is 87.  They are like the old Timex commercial, they take a licking and keep on ticking.  Those two are out in the yard everyday if the weather permits.  Dallas can hardly walk, but manages to weed, prune, and he just built a nice little planter.  Marilyn is having a hard time with her sight, but you can't keep them from jumping around.  They have been very good neighbors.  Often in the summer we all sit on their back porch have a rootbeer float or a refreshing drink.   Winky and Kadizzle help them with a lot of task. They are very enthusiastic bird feeders. One of Kadizzle's jobs is to stock the bird feed. It takes about three fifty pound sacks a month when the whole flock is here. Dallas has gone to great lengths to attract Wood Ducks.  The ducks come back year after year. Why not, Dallas has built a dozen nice nest for them.  One nest is equipped with a camera so Dallas and Marilyn can sit in the kitchen and watch the young ducks hatch.  Yesterday the Kadizzlites hauled a trailer load of mulch in for Dallas and Marilyn.  So who knows how the day will go.  A lot of little task are running around waiting to be done.

Jeff Delzer a little political rat.

As the world turns.  Years ago old Kadizzle decided to run for the board of directors of West River Telecommunications.  Wow, was it a learning experience.  Kadizzle had no idea of how crooked the local Republicans were, but he found out.  The Republicans wanted their pet waterboy Randy Christman to win the election.  Kadizzle quickly found out the Republican Party had taken over the phone company which is a cooperative.  To top it off the head of the coop then was Mick  Grosz. He was a dishonest as the rest of them. By nature coops are usually pretty democratic organizations, but the Republicans figured out how to take over the phone company.  Mick Grosz got his Republican buddy Randy Christman on the board in no time.  The real cou was when Mick became head of the phone company.  He was totally unqualified, but had packed the board with his Republican buddies. Normally an outsider would have been hired to run the phone company.  Mick set it up so Randy could appear at public functions for the phone company and hand out free hamburgers while he campaigned for the Public Service commission and to keep his place at the phone company. 

When Kadizzle decided to run for the phone company board he discovered a little know and never used rule that might help him get elected.  According to the rules of the phone company a person could garner proxy votes.  To do this someone seeking election could go to a business and ask them to assign their proxy vote to the person requesting it.  No one had ever done this before.  Prior to taking on the task of running Kadizzle had a conversation with Mick Grosz.  Grosz assured Kadizzle that management would not try to swing the election.  This was an incredible lie. Grosz wanted Christman to win.  When Grosz found out Kadizzle was using a new technique to garner votes he felt he had to put a stop to it.  Grosz called Kadizzle in before the board and had the phone company lawyer explain to Kadizlzle that Kadizzle could not collect proxy votes.  It was a bluff.  Kadizzle told them to go to hell and continued to collect the votes.  This is where the crookedness of Mick Grosz would really shine.  Although Grosz said what Kadizzle was doing was not acceptable Grosz sent his own wife out to collect proxy votes for Christmann.  Grosz was clearly interfering in the election.  To make matters worse Grosz tole his hack on the board to go to businesses Kadizzle had signed up.  The hack told the businesses to make new proxies and give them to the Christman gang.  Keep in mind Grosz had formerly said the proxy system was invalid, and Gosz knew full well he was lying.

So the big day came for the election. This is where the corrupt nature of Mick Grosz really shined.  Kadizzle suggested to Randy Christmann that both Christmann and Quinn speak to the people at the annual meeting of the phone company before they voted.  Christman and Grosz said that if the people voted to hear the candidates the candidates could speak.  There was no need to vote. Grosz could have simply announced the candidates would speak.  Grosz asked the audience to vote like this " Do you want to have the prize drawing now or do you want to hear the candidates speak?".  Now, imagine this, most of the people are at the annual meeting for a free meal and to win a prize. 

One thing the Republicans realized was how easy it was to take over the phone company. Grosz understood that controlling the vote was very easy because people could only vote if they came to the annual meeting.  Prior to the meeting Kadizzle suggested to Grosz that they let everyone vote by mail.  The system was set up so they held the annual meeting on a Friday in June.  This guaranteed that no working people could vote, and that working people would go to the lake rather than attend the meeting.  To put the icing on the cake Grosz provided a bus from his hometown to ship in old ladies and other old Grosz supporters.  As if the election were not rigged enough Grosz went one step farther.  Anyone who was going to vote a proxy vote had to have a special ribbon on. The color of the ribbon indicated who you were going to vote for.  So for the supreme insult to decency Grosz had the board members stand on stage with the Christmann ribbons on their chest.  What a farce. 

What does this have to do with Delzer the rat.  At the annual meeting Kadizzle sat beside his good friend Pat Galvin.  Pat was a die hard Republican.  Delzer who was in league with Grosz, and Christmann circulated through the audience telling people to vote against Mike Quinn.  When Delzer told Pat to vote against me, Pat said " You can go to hell no one is going to tell me who to vote for". I always liked Pat but I was really impressed with his integrity on that day.  Delzer is one of those people who believe all is fair in the name of the Republican Party.  Like all the Republicans who are now trying to suppress the vote and sway elections with any immoral means possible Delzer is on board.  Delzer is like the rest of the Republicans in North Dakota.  They have one goal, tax breaks for the rich.  That goal is paramont to honesty, democracy, and all the things honest voting stands for.

Winky's ebike is here

Winky's new ebike came yesterday.  Kadizzle is jealous.  Her bike has some bells and whistles his bike does not. Her tires are much larger.  Not sure that is good, it might make the bike more clunky.  Now Winky weighs about half what Kadizzle does so she is going to go a long way on one battery charge.  It will be great fun to take the ebikes to the Badlands.  Today we may do a practice buzz locally.  If you have tried an ebike do so.  Go to some bike shop that sells them they will let you try it. You will get hooked quickly.  Kadizzle has not found anyone who is disappointed.  You can buy a Rad Rover for around $1,600,  but think about it before you do.  The Rad Rovers seem like reasonable bikes, but they are only really good for city riding, and a little off road stuff. If you are a more hard core biker then you need to kick it up to about three thousand and get a more rugged bike. The ebikes are made in two basic configurations.  The type Winky and Kadizzle have are equipped with a motor mounted near the crank.  The other type has the motor in the rear hub.  There are advantages to each, but Kadizzle thinks the best set up is the crank assist.  Europeans have really embraced these bikes, and more and more of them are showing up in this country. There is going to be fighting about using these bikes on trails.  Purist don't want to share the trails, but Kadizzle feels they are just selfish and wrong.  Speed is the issue.  The pedal guys think the ebikes can go too fast. That is just not the case.  Skill will limit the ebike speed.  Kadizzle was on a trail with a good conventional bike guy and Kadizzle could not keep up with him.  The only place where the bike will kick ass is on hills.  Even the best pedal guy cannot make it up a hill like an ebike.  The real good thing about the ebike is it will get lumps doings something.  You do get exercise on an ebike.  You decide how much assist you want.  If you want more exercise set the assist to the lowest level.  Anyway give it a try.  Bird lady you should get one or your kids should get one for you.  One of the best reasons for an ebike is the environment.  Think of the environmental benefit of these things.  We love to just hop on the bike and go to the store instead of messing with the car or truck.  Omar, you and the missus would really enjoy these on your travel.  Your typical person could easily go 25 miles using the battery hard.  If you work and pedal thirty or fourty miles is realistic.  Kadizzle went up to the lake and back for a total of 56 miles, and Kadizzle is pretty lumpy.

Ask the stupid guy

If Winky reads this Kadizzle is in deep trouble.  Winky loves to tell Kadizzle how ignorant he is.  However, there is a big problem.  Whenever Winky has a problem she cannot solve a yell comes for Kadizzle. " Kadizzle, I need you, I can't get this blank to blank?' It might be the computer, it might be the bike, it might be the car, who knows, but the answer to the problem is call the guy you just said was an idiot.  Winky may have learned this from Trump.  When Trump gets a question he cannot answer he calls on the person he recently said was incompetent.  Dr. Fauci is in this position. Trump contradicts everything Fauci says, but if Trump cannot answer a question he says " I will turn that over to the doctor".   Russians call Trump " A useful idiot".  Kadizzle must be a useful idiot.

Boredom striking like lightening

Kadizzle is bored beyond belief.  What hope is there in virus land? Winky is obsessed with the virus. Kadizzle needs go do something.  The plan may be to pack up the camper and go to wild Montana.  Winky's ebike may come today or tomorrow.  Once Winky gets her ebike we need to do some excitement.  A bike path on a mountain railroad would be just the think. Winky is resisting leaving the castle, but Kadizzle is going nuts. 

Kadizzle has been helping Stoupini landscape his back yard. Kadizzle donated some landscape blocks. We made a wall out of the blocks.  Getting the blocks level has been a chore.  Kadizzle has rebuilt the wall at least three times.  The damn thing still needs more leveling.

It is dryer than a popcorn fart here and Kadizzle has been trying to raise some new grass. The seeds will not germinate.  Oleaginous: rich in, covered with , or producing oil; oily or greasy. Kadizzle likes to learn new words. Yesterday the word came up in an article. Never saw the word before. Certainly applies to Trump.

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Cheeche's Prizes and Grandpa's joy

Lying Contest (watch to the end)

Uncharted Water

There is a strange feeling when you sail into an area where you have never been before, but the country is headed that way. Will we end up right back where we started like Magellan did? Actually he didn't make the whole trip, but that is another story or allegory.  Do we want to end up in the same place?  When the pandemic is over do we still want to be without healthcare and a decent wage for everyone? Do we still want to live in a country where four people have as much wealth as the bottom half of the population?

If the virus is a wake up call it will be the best call we ever got.   Greed capitalism simply does not work.  People with the cheese are sitting on two hundred million dollar yachts in the Mediterranean while ordinary people are in food lines. The real virus that has brought us here is viral stupidity. We are no led by the most despicable president in history, and a major portion of our population is clueless.

The great depression ended because people were in pain.  World war two also helped.  Do people have to be slapped with hunger, and cold in order to awaken?  Apparently they do.  So too often things need to get worse before they get better.  Talk to a reformed drunk.  Things had to get worse so they could get better.  The other choice is just turn yellow and die.  My uncle took that route.  Is our country going to turn yellow? Yes yellow is the color of a banana republic.  Look at some of our cities. Baltimore, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago.  People are living in slums that would rival South America.  It doesn't work anywhere. What? What doesn't work is letting a small group of people take as much as they want.  That is the lesson of the French revolution, the Russian revolution, the Chinese revolution, and the history of humans. When the rich are defeated often their heads roll. Do they learn, no.

Darch, a tough old man

The video below features Darch promoting the race in his town.  They don't get any crazier, or tougher than Darch.  Darch took sixty pounds of gear and did the Ma de hey trail by himself last year. Darch must be about 73 or so.  As if his accomplishments were not great enough he is the Canadian ambassador to the Crazy Club.  His bolts are not all as tight as they should be.  When last we saw him he insisted on sleeping in the back of a pickup truck.  Darch is studying to be a street person.

Merritt Crown 2020 Promo (Darch promoting the race)

What do you do with an old power plant?

A Kadizzle reader called in yesterday with a strange proposition.  Make the Coal Creek Power plant into an art gallery.  It would be a one of kind transition.  Kadizzle worked at a huge power plant.  A modern coal fired plant is a big place.  If you turned one into an art gallery it would be a big one.  The concept would be interesting. There is room to display endless art.  Also there is room to allow an infinite number of artist to work in all the space.  Traveling around the U.S. you find little art communities in the strangest places.  There is an old cooper town in Arizona that has become and art center.  During the call Kadizzle got into his rant about how coal mines are reclaimed.  When you reclaim a coal mine you can make many things.  You can make a very nice park, nice lakes, golf courses, an airport, you name it.  When you move all that earth you may as well put it back as something you can enjoy. No, but no, in North Dakota a blizzard wiped out our imagination.  If if was a field of rocks when you started, it should be a field of rocks when you are done.  Creativity somehow does not flourish on he prairie. The prairie gets people used to blank spaces. 

Another Bike Ride

The two Kadizzlites went to Harmon Lake and took another nice bike ride.  Kadizzle is very frustrated with North Dakota.   The state is run by old white goats.  Winky reminded Kadizzle he is one. The old goats idea of a tourist attraction is a huge fiberglass cow, or fish. The state could spend some of the 6.8 billion on real recreation like the state parks and trails, but no.   The political hacks want to build a presidential library in Medora for Roosevelt.  Not many people go to libraries, and very few in North Dakota do.  If a person in North Dakota wants to get smarter they listen to KFYR radio and Rush, or tune in to Fox.  Real information is not a big seller in North Dakota.  The odds are if a person ever visits a library in Medora, it will only be once.  If a person goes to a park or trail it will be many times.  This is the age of the internet.  People need to read books, but our culture has changed.  Stupidity is killing us, but so is the accumulation of fat near the belt.  The North Dakota tourism department spends millions telling people to come here, but when they get here and see the giant metal grasshopper beside the road they are disappointed.  North Dakota has some nice outdoor places, but thanks to the goats most of them are damn near unusable. 

Goofy Conspiracy Theory

Everyone is abuzz about the conspiracy theory some so called science woman has going on the net.  Now a lot of people will not like what Kadizzle is about to write, but reality is reality and there is no simple solution to that.  Religion is a conspiracy theory.  It is the greatest conspiracy theory of all times.  What? Conspiracy theories usually have a motive.  Perhaps you want to discredit Biden, or Trump. You concoct some insane story.  Suppose you want to control or bilk a lot of people. You cook up religion.  In modern times the best cooker was the Mormons.  If you look into how that story was cooked you can find out a con man came up with the idea.  Today millions of people are fleeced by the Mormons.  Sorry folks, but all religions are just a means to take from some and give to others.  In discussions with Winky,  Kadizzle often ends up saying " You know what you know, and you don't know what you don't know".  Don't just make up something when you don't know.  It is easy and tempting, but can create a world of problems when your solution is just make us something then believe it.  No one knows how we got here or where we will end up.  It is that simple, accept it, don't make up some pleasing answer, and don't let someone sell you a pleasing answer.  Every church has an admission fee.  That should be your first clue.  To know how gravity works you don't have to pay anyone.  Of course churches start out with a fee offer to get you hooked, but in no time the collection plate will be passed around.  Think about it like this.  If some stock broker tells you he has a winning stock why did he do it.  The stock broker could simply invest in the stock himself get rich, and he doesn't need you or your money.  Pretty simple.  When someone tries to sell you truth you need to be suspicious.  Look at the God stuff.  It is complicated.  Why do people go to Bible study.   If God wanted to get a message across he could have a simple easily understood instruction book, but no.  Instead God sends a complicated incomprehensible book that you pay someone to interpret.  What kind of God would come up with that plan.  Of course we do not apply simple logic to religion, that would ruin the game.  So if you want a good story at a cheap price don't give your money to the church.  Send Kadizzle at least twenty dollars, explain what kind of fantasy you like and Kadizzle will tell you a story about how you are going to win the lottery if you just send him twenty dollars every week until you win.

A great bike ride

Winky and Kadizzle went to Harmon lake yesterday to ride the bikes on the wonderful bike path.  It was a great ride and perhaps Kadizzle removed some chicken meat from his mid section, doubtful.  Every time Kadizzle uses a nice bike path he thinks about the backward folks of North Dakota. There are so many places bike trails could easily, and cheaply be put in place.  It would help with the chicken meat pandemic.  Here in the Hazen area Kadizzle once lobbied for a bike path between Hazen and Beulah. Of course the Republicans objected to spending a cent. The road was going to be redone and it would have been a great opportunity and cost very little, but no, we just want to milk cows. There are two great abandoned rail lines here that would be very easy to make into bike paths.  One goes to Killdeer, and the other goes to the old mine north of town.  No, no, no the property owners nearby say.  When Kadizzle lobbied for a trail along the river the dolts said " People will burn our barns, and shoot our cattle."   This is the mentality you fight whenever you try to make an improvement for recreation.  Kadizzle used to work in the coal fields of Eastern Ohio.  When Consolidation Coal reclaimed the land there the coal company developed a nice park with many trout lakes, and airport, a golf course and horse back riding trails.  All of this was given, given, to the local government at no cost.  In North Dakota the mines could be reclaimed as amazing recreation area, but no, we need exactly what we started with.  Kadizzle once was employed at the Glenharold mine along the Missouri River near Stanton.  That land could have been reclaimed as a fabulous park with cabins, a very nice lake, and so on.  It would have cost nothing, but no, the land had to be put back into a lot of useless ravines.  A very simple thing that can always be done with a mine reclamation project is to leave the sediment ponds in place. This again would cost zero  The ponds would encourage wildlife, and provide water for cattle and fire fighting, but no we are backward people.  North Dakota wants to promote tourism, but will do absolutely nothing to actually build anything people might want to use.

Electrifying Winkie

Kadizzle has been urging Winkie to buy an electric bike.  She pulled the trigger yesterday.  So in about a week Winkie will be buzzing through the universe with Kadizzle at greater speeds.  Electric bikes are going to overtake the country.  Once you try one you will be hooked.  The bikes are fun and can save you a lot of fuel while they burn off the chicken meat around your waste.  You decide how much you want to work.  Most of the bikes have four assist levels.  You can get one anywhere from $1,500 to $8,000.  Someone small like Winkie could well get sixty or seventy miles out of a good bike. The bikes are made in every size shape and form.  If you want to buzz to the grocery store for a lemon it is far easier to hop on the bike than lunk a car to the store.

Buyers Remorse

Everyone has had that sinking feeling they bought a lemon.  Imagine if you bought a car and it just seemed wonderful until you went up a hill.  Going up the hill the car sputters and finally comes to a crawl.  That is our economy. Our economy is based on the concept that you can prosper by making the rich prosperous. That works great for the rich, but look how quickly the economy sputters when we encounter a hill.  The great depression made it clear giving the rich everything just does not work.  People awakened and realized the fruits of our labors had to be shared.  The rich where force to give back the absurd gains they made from exploiting working people.  Out of the depression came many safety nets for working people.  Unions forced some fairness into the system. All of this was gradually forgotten and eroded. The real disaster started when Ronald Reagan came up with the brilliant idea of trickle down economics. If you put enough money in the hands of a few some would be bound to fall out of their pockets into the hands of working people.  What an incredible fallacy.  Tax rates for the super wealth went from 90% to 14%.  Many of the super rich found ways to dodge taxes all together. Then the supreme court made it acceptable for the rich simply to buy the government. Game over.  The drug companies, oil companies, and those with the cash simply bought the government.  Now the whole system has come crashing down. The peasants are broke in about a month or two when the disaster hits.  The real question is are we going to get any smarter.  Trump and his gang of thieves wants us to believe everything is fine. The problem is China or the deep state. Are we really that stupid?

Candy from the prostitutes

Wow, Kadizzle just confirmed something he always wondered about. See this picture.

This is Echo Manor.  It was near where Kadizzle grew up.  Now hold on for the next picture. 

This is the back of Echo Manor.  Now for the story. If you look at the very bottom of the back porch picture you will see a little vaulted trellis.  When Kadizzle was a little boy of maybe nine or ten the gang would go in that basement.  Sitting in that basement in skimpy underwear were prostitutes.  They would give our gang candy.  Forever Kadizzle has wondered if his memory was correct and these women were really whores.  Well this morning Kadizzle was reading some history of Wheeling and found out indeed they were.  Kadizzle does not know how he came to find this candy patch, but does remember as kids we could sniff out candy.   As little kids we had no idea why these women were sitting around a table smoking cigarettes in their underwear, but now the truth be known.  Another peculiar thing about this house is that the top used to be used as an antique store.  It was probably a front for the other business.  Kadizzle remembers going to auctions there.  Older brothers and sisters somehow were enlisted to make false bids on sale items to get the price up. It was a very strange world back then in a very strange town.  Kadizzle's grandfather was mayor.  The tales grandpa could tell if he was with us. If you want the full story where Kadizzle discovered the history go to a blog called Weelunk. It is a blog about my hometown of Wheeling, West Virginia.

Another common story about Echo Manor is that it was a brothel run by the mistress of famed Wheeling racketeer Bill Lias. She drove a white Cadillac, the stories say, and it was often parked in the driveway. Some Wheeling historians disbelieve the story while others are quite certain it’s true.

Alma Mae Henderson was Wheeling’s famous madam. She did have a white Cadillac. And research indicates that while Henderson and Lias did not have a romantic relationship, Echo Manor was indeed a brothel. From time to time, visitors to the building offer nuggets of history: a delivery man once recalled that “the women entertained downstairs and lived upstairs.”

This is the mention of the information in the history of the house: 

What time is it?

Kadizzle got drawn into an article about how the virus will affect the expensive watch industry.  Who cares? What kind of world do we live in where people live in shacks and other people wear $220,000 watches.  What in the hell is going on when you are willing to pay that kind of money to know what time it is?  There are very few problems in the world that are simply not distribution problems.  When $200, 000,000 yachts flourish and people do without we have a problem.  When so many have three homes and so many more don't even have one, we have a problem.  What in the hell is wrong with people? When we have a surplus of labor we build war planes, pyramids, walls, but not homes, schools, and hospitals. What in the hell is wrong?  It is unleashed greed, and it is destroying the planet. Hope Kadizzle cheered everyone up today.

Ah the Badlands

The bike trip to the Badlands turned out well. Riding the ebike was great.  The trail was just about the right amount of challenge.  The Badlands are certainly a treasure for North Dakota.  North Dakota does have some wonderful outdoor places, however the people hear do not believe in recreation.  Work, work, work and grow something is all they think.  So many of the nice places are not made usable. Tourism here is giant cows, and other fiberglass and steel cafribles.  In other words junk.  Spending money to improve access to the nice parts of the state is strictly forbidden by the Republicans.  No place is quiet like the badlands.  The Kadizzles have traveled around a bit, and have seem a few places similar, but not exactly the same.

Ebike the badlands

Winky and Kadizzle may set off for the North Dakota Badlands today.  The goal is to go on the Ma de Hey Trail with bikes.  Kadizzle will take the ebike and Winky can struggle with the old fashioned bike.  Snakes and ticks may be a problem, but such is life.  If we can live through Republicans snakes and ticks are a minor problem.

We need some rain.  It is as dry as a popcorn fart and the fertilizer will burn the grass if we do not get some rain soon. 

The Garden

Winky always has a wonderful garden.  Yesterday she enlisted Kadizzle as an assistant.  In went the tators, the carrots, the peas.  Out will come some good eating.  We planted three kinds of tators, fries, hash browns, and bakers.  The birds were happy to go after the worms when the garden got watered.  This brings Kadizzle to a new war.  The birds have a right to live, but the cats don't respect that.  Too many birds are needlessly killed by cats.  It is the cats nature.  Kadizzle got a CO2 BB gun from Stroupini.  Cats will be shot without a trial.  Shooting anything is not a good idea.  We are all God's creatures,  even though Kadizzle is an agnostic.  Hopefully the cat will just get stung and realize the need to leave the birds alone.  In reality the chance of having the gun when needed is slim.  The next problem is the gun is a pistol.  Hitting anything smaller than a truck will be difficult.