Daily Drill

Part of our daily routine.

Dog certainly knows the drill.

Don't know were the birds are.

Oh yeah.  Under the feeder in the front yard...

Friday Music

Composed by Paul Desmond and arranged by Dave Brubeck this tune is known for it distinctive tempo from which Brubeck derived its name.  

First recorded in 1959 it has been covered since by a multitude of artists.  It became a commercial success in 1961 and went on to become the biggest-selling jazz single of all time.  It was induced into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1996.

Take Five...

Pupper Update

Just about every day without fail I take the dog out for a "hunt".  It's basically about going thru the motions now as I'm not sure where all the pheasants have gone to.  Coyotes maybe?  

Anyway, if you've lived with upland bird dogs there is a certain ritual to swapping out shoes for boots, a shell vest or jacket, blaze cap, and fetching the shotgun from the bench at the back door and heading out.  The dog now knows the drill.

On our walk she works the cover following her nose.  Sometimes I plant a pheasant wing or two for her to locate.  We both get some fresh air and exercise.  And a tired pupper is less likely to bedevil you.

The dog basically knows what to do and she's now been trained with an e-collar to respond to a tone. 

Smart dog.

Anyway, my device tells me that my walk is anywhere from .75 to 1.5 miles in length.  The dog's mileage may vary towards a number north of those figures.  And the trail camera trap line logs our movements too.

With the help of a bathroom scale and the trail cam photos this is how we keep track of the pup's growth over time.

From the end of November to mid December there are these.....

Fill 'er-up!

Found in my pocket there is this from a recent fill-up in Lake Geneva.

$2.649 a gallon for regular unleaded.

Further evidence that government does not build pipelines.

Government does not drill for oil.

Presidents do not set the price of a gallon of gasoline.

Business and markets make this happen.  Capitalism.

Should've waited.  Six cents cheaper at the BP eleven miles down the road.

Raising a toast to capital markets and a robust economy.....

 

January Night Sky

The Quadrantids are an annual meteor shower that is a consequence of Earth passing through the debris field of a crumbling comet some 500 years ago.  If you have an opportunity to witness this event - depending upon your location - it has the potential of producing as many as 100 shooting stars an hour. 

For those of us in North America the Quadrantids will reach its maximum rate of activity tomorrow on January 4^th.  Some shooting stars associated with the shower began several weeks ago and will linger around thru January 6^th.  

Observing the show on the peninsula requires a location with little light pollution and a view towards the north-northeast between the North Star and the Big Dipper.  We're still a week away from this month's New Moon so fingers-crossed for cold, clear dark skies. 

Source: Stellarium

From The Platz, the shower will appear 15° above the north-eastern horizon at midnight. This means that with optimal viewing conditions I might see as many as 20 meteors per hour.  That's far less than 100 since the source will be low in the sky - reducing the chance of seeing meteors.  But 20 is more than nuthin'.  Viewing prospects for your own location can be found here.

Pup Antics

Our pup is a constant source of amusement....

 

Inflation Paradox

Happy New Year gentle readers.  

With the dawn of the New Year unemployment is still below 4 percent, inflation has cooled to 3 percent, third quarter economic growth came in a 5.2% 4.9% (revised a second time) the ratio of job openings to unemployed workers has returned to pre-pandemic levels and wages are growing faster than prices.  All good news as we turn the page on a new calendar.

As supply chains have finally caught-up we've even settled into consumption patterns that are near normal.  (Note: If Iranian-back Houthi rebels step-up harassment of Red Sea shipping; supply chains are gonna get rocked).

All of that aside, what we know for sure is that us boomers are continuing to retire in droves; and as a consequence have created a demographic disturbance in the force.  The millennials and Gen Z population cohorts might not be capable of meeting future labor demands.  So, while we can momentarily bask in the warmth of recent positive economic news, inflation might be a stickler for awhile.  We have to wait and see.

And there is that nagging disconnect between consumer behavior and consumer perception.  So check back Sunday while I take another whack at that piñata.  

 

Fun Factoid:

Declaring it Public Enemy Number One, in 1974 President Gerald Ford mounted a campaign to suppress inflation.  It was called Whip Inflation Now (WIN) and an attempt to spur a grassroots movement to combat inflation by means of encouraging personal savings and disciplined spending habits in combination with 55 presidential vetoes (45 upheld by Congress) saving US taxpayers $9.5 billion.  I'm old enough to remember.