The Great Alaska Snowmageddon of 2022 is over, but on the heels of that we have enjoyed clear skies and below-zero temps for the past week.  Saturday morning we awoke to -19 at our house out here in the sticks (it was a balmy -17 over at the airport).  Yesterday morning?  -26.

I’m OK with that.  You don’t have to plow subzero cold.  And we have plenty of good, warm, high-quality cold-weather clothing.  Incidentally, I really recommend Duluth Trading for this kind of stuff.  Also, full disclaimer, I receive nothing for these recommendations; I only recommend stuff I use personally because I like it, and for no other reason.

We have a few more days of Arctic lows to look forward to.  By Saturday, though, we should be seeing some clouds move through, and temps should be moving back more into the usual teens and twenties.  Maybe a few flurries.  Back to a normal Alaska winter!

Now then…

On To the Links!

Now that’s an Alaska way to go.

Good.  They need it.

DeSantis 2024?

You were never a slave, you asshole, so shut the fuck up.

The Russians are laughing at us.

I love a happy ending.

This has to be a joke.

Probably not.

Top ten dinosaur discoveries (dinocoveries?) of 2022.  I’m still just as crazy about dinosaurs as I was when I was a little kid.  Neat thing is that now my three-year-old grandson Bubba is also a dinosaur nut.

What doesn’t kill him, makes him stronger.

Judge slaps Gavin “Hair Gel” Newsom down.

This is a big win for Kari Lake, but as to whether anything comes of it, well, that remains to be seen.

Now they’re photoshopping old Joe.  Also, old Joe indulges in a little stolen valor.

From Master Resource:  Energy and Environmental Review, Dec 19, 2022.

The difference between science and scientism.

This Week’s Idiots:

Vanity Fair’s Abigail Tracy is an idiot.

Financial Times’ Jemima Kelly is an idiot.

MSNBC’s Ja’han Jones is an idiot.

Sabine Hossenfelder is an idiot.  Talk about fission and maybe you’ll begin to make sense.  Then again, maybe not.

The Nation’s Jumaane Williams is an idiot.  Why do these assholes always think the problem is “messaging” and not their horrible policies?

Joe Biden just can’t stop lying.

CNN’s Kara Alaimo is an idiot.

Paul Krugman (Repeat Offender Alert) remains a cheap partisan hack, and an idiot.

Amanda Marcotte (Repeat Offender Alert) is an idiot.

David Frum is an idiot.

The Nation’s Ross Barkan is an idiot.

This Week’s Cultural Edification:

Readers of these virtual pages should know by now that I’m a big fan of Bob Dylan, America’s Songwriter.   I couldn’t possibly pick my favorite Dylan tune, or even my top ten favorites, but one tune I always enjoy was his 1971 song Watching the River Flow.  This song first appeared in a studio recording on the 1971 album Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Vol. II, and has appeared on a few compilation albums since then.  It’s a fun song, a rollicking romp that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Here, then:  Listen and enjoy.

We’re still digging out up here.  It was a pretty good snowstorm, even for Alaska, but we’re used to such things and boy howdy, do the summers ever make up for it.

We woke up Monday morning to about fourteen inches of new snow.  The roads were still closed.  I cleared paths to the woodshed, to the propane tank and to the office.  Plowing the driveway proved to be more than our little utility tractor could handle, so I had our snowplow guy come in.

Down Anchorage way, they’re calling the last week or so “Snowmageddon.”  Granted they got hit worse than we did.

Now it looks like we’ll get another three to five inches before Friday, and then we should have a breather, possibly until the New Year.

That’s Alaska for you.  And, yes, totally worth it.

Now then…

On To the Links!

“Tough shit.”  That’s a quote.  Haw haw haw!

“This is not leadership, it’s cowardice.”  Another quote!

Prediction:  Nothing will come of this.

All of these women have one thing in common.

What happened with President Trump and Twitter.

This won’t amount to a hill of beans.

The Left, justifying censorship.

Elon Musk keeps kicking ’em and taking ’em.

This is actually racist.

Why Democrats lost rural America – because they’re utterly clueless as to what rural folks value?

Well, that didn’t take long.

Good – now hang the asshole.

Lauren Boebert dials it back.  Probably not the worst idea, considering the squeaker of an election she just won.

This mother should tell CPS to fuck off.  Geeze, when I was twelve I would disappear into the woods for two or three days with a .22 rifle and a couple of sandwiches.  When I was sixteen I tied my canoe on top of my old car and went up to the Boundary Waters for a couple of weeks.  Whenever my Mom expressed any concern about my absences, the Old Man always reassured her that “…he’ll come home when he gets hungry.”  I always did.  And somehow I survived it all without interference from busybodies.

Japan continues dialing their military in.

About time they fired this asshole.

This Week’s Idiots:

Jennifer Lawrence is an idiot.

Randi Weingarten is an idiot.

Van Jones is an idiot.

Adam Schiff (D-Shit for Brains) is an idiot.

The Nations’ David Zirin is an idiot.  Brittney Griner was likewise an idiot, was rightfully detained, and should not have been exchanged for a notorious arms dealer.

The Nations’ Jeet Heer (Repeat Offender Alert) is an idiot.

The New York Times’ editorial board is staffed with idiots.

Donna Brazile (Repeat Offender Alert) is an idiot.

MSNBC’s Hayes Brown (Repeat Offender Alert) is an idiot.

We’re all laughing, Juan.  We all are.

Robert Reich (Repeat Offender Alert) remains a sawed-off little runt, and an idiot.

Hypocrites gonna hypocrite.

Paul Krugman (Repeat Offender Alert) is still a cheap partisan hack, and an idiot.

This Week’s Cultural Edification:

I can neither confirm nor deny being the inspiration for this song.  ‘Nuff said.  Have a watch.

Back in the Great Land, and the state has gone full-on into winter, with overnight temps frequently in the teens – below – and almost a foot of snow in the last couple of days.  But up until a week ago we were in the relatively balmy environs of eastern Iowa, getting some quality grand-parenting in.

I’ve warned our kids – at least, the two that have already reproduced – that as time goes on, Grandpa is going to do his best to convince grandkids to move north.  We’d love to have the kids move up sooner, of course, but all four of them are pretty settled in place for now.  So I’ll be working on the next generation.  Having my stout grandsons around to help pack moose meat out of the bush as I get older and more crotchety would be a help, among other benefits.

Now then…

On To the Links!

If you really wanted to destroy the US, how would you go about it?

The bloodletting at CNN continues apace.

Granted, Elon Musk has gotten pretty good at telling people to bugger off.  That’s one of the things I like best about him.

Now they’re killing bats.

One of the richest countries on the planet, planning to spend the winter cold, bored and hungry.

Indiana Jones 5 is going to be a huge pile of suck.  Lucas should have stopped after The Last Crusade, but his ever-increasing neck has taken over all his creative processes.  He’s more monster than man, twisted and evil.

They know you’ll surrender freedom of movement after they make it unaffordable.  Feature, not bug.

Bullfrogs.

Elon Musk is my new hero.  And more.

This is known as belaboring the obvious.

I can see reasons for moving to Florida, although I’ll stick with Alaska.

From John Lott:  The ‘Crazy, Right-wing Shooter Myth.’

Philly gas station hires armed security to protect against thugs.

This Week’s Idiots:

Donna Brazile (Repeat Offender Alert) is an idiot.

Jen “Peppermint Patty” Psaki is an idiot.

This is a damnably stupid idea, and this entire “committee” should be run out of the state on a rail.

Liar, liar, pants on fire – and an idiot.

MSNBC’s Hayes Brown (Repeat Offender Alert) is an idiot.

Joy Reid (Repeat Offender Alert) is an idiot.

The stupidity is just staggering.

The Nation’s John Nichols (Repeat Offender Alert) is an idiot.

This Week’s Cultural Edification:

Back in the day, one of the off-the-wall bands I was interested in was Traffic.  Formed as a “psychedelic rock” band in 1967, Traffic originally included lead singer/keyboards/guitarist Steve Winwood (formerly of the Spencer Davis Group), drummer/singer/writer Jim Capaldi, guitarist Dave Mason and woodwind player Chris Wood.

Traffic is probably best known for tunes like Dear Mr. Fantasy and The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys, I’ve always been fond of one of their lesser-known pieces.  Shanghai Noodle Factory was originally released in 1969, on the album Last Exit, and then later re-released on the 2007 compilation album Feelin’ Alright:  The Very Best of Traffic.  Here, then, is that wonderful, off-beat tune.  Enjoy.