Neanderpundit

I get an email from my old friend and confidant mlle. Jenny, who says “can you call? I’ve just faced two cops with guns drawn”

Seems she was typing, and cops issued themselves a no-knock warrant and wandered in her back door. She is a medical transcriptionist, and had headphones on, and didn’t catch wind of this until the cops were literally in her hallway shouting “COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!!!!” She did, and the cops, guns drawn, finger on trigger, safeties off, asked her if she belonged there. Of course she DID< but it turns out THEY didn't. They had been summonned to a house (lets say, 1089 Jenny Street) because the caller saw people loading stuff into a truck. At 1089 Jenny Street. The cops arrived at, and entered, 1130 Jenny Street. Where Jenny lives. Not 1089. And drew down on Jenny. And her brother, in his underwear, woken from a sound sleep from his night gig at the restaurant. So I'm trying to think of reasons why the cops arrived at 1130 instead of 1089. This is what I come up with so far: Local police dispatcher has mental disorder that causes her to add 41 to any number she sees. Jenny;s house smells nicer because she's always baking cookies. A string of burglaries have been occuring where the miscreant breaks in and DOES SOME WORK ON THE HOMEOWNER'S COMPUTER, and they heard typing, and figured they'd better put an end to it once and for all. Borat! There was more room for the squad cars in Jenny's driveway The light was better at 1130 Jenny drive. Your ideas?

Nasa finds evidence of oil on Hyperion.

In other news, Democrats in Congress make oil exploration on Hyperion illegal.

h/t Kim

mile after mile

Yesterday I went out on a saunter with a friend of mine.

Well, since this is the guy I’m going to Africa with and who is financing the trip, it was more like “Let’s see how long before we have to call in medevac for the old fat guy”.

The idea was to park at the Kickapoo state recreation area and hike up the Vermillion River. We figure it went about seven miles, all told, and it waqs through some pretty rugged terrain. We ended up having to ford at more than one place, and my Danners held me in good stead (which reminds me, I need to get them aired out and the dried mud scraped off)

Speaking of which, the Danners were perfect. Thanks to Chris Byrne and all the folks who suggested them; they fit me perfectly and gave me the support I needed, and are the perfect hiking boot. I may have to get a cold weather set when my Sorels finally bite the dust.

Anyway, I managed to do the whole trek, incluiding a half dozen rips up and down bluffs easily 100 foot high, (yes, not all of Illinois is flat as a board) and my guide was the only person who needed assistance (didn’t eat before the hike, and his blood sugar crashed)

Luckily I had a can of pineapple and he was in good nick in a few minutes- but he ended up handing HIS pack off to one of his boys.

Pack- oh yeah. I packed in the following items, bottom to top:

Sleeping bag
Hoodie
change of clothes
Two changes of socks
Fourteen hundred pairs of underwear (you go through a lot of them, sliding facefirst down a 100 foot bluff)
six D cell Maglite (weapon. Not legal to carry firearms in state parkland)
first aid kit
food for four for three days (tinned beans and meat, tinned pineapple, freeze dried foods, water)
plastic bags
rope- 100 feet
and about another ten pounds of assorted stuff totalling 45 lbs. I dragged this pack through hell, and made it, while the old hands struggled with shoulder bags full of water.

I’m a little proud of myself.

And more than a little sore.