The Tao Of Paul

Yep, last blast of the summer. Tonight is bonfire at Sister in law’s. Tomorrow I make Horseradish and Dill potato salad for the Picnic at my brother’s in the afternoon.
The true excitement?
I am hoping to pressure wash and stain the back fence. Cool, huh…
We also have to start getting rid of the summer plants. The hanging plants are on their last legs, and some in the garden are pretty well done now too. Perhaps get some Mums in pots to keep the color going as my wife said.
Anyone have big end o’ the summer celebrations going on this weekend?

I know, caps lock, but I don’t feel like re-typing…
Right now ther are those bemoaning the end of summer approaching, others saying it ain’t over ’til end of September. Yeah. if you have or had kids, summer ends when school starts. End of story.
But who really cares? What is one of the things you hear from people who live here? “I love having the 4 seasons”. Sure Summer is fun, the beach, no jacket required, Shakespeare in the park, all kinds of good things.
But what about Fall?
The smell. walking through the park, or woods, that smell from the trees and fallen leaves.
When I walked to Benjamin Franklin Elementary School as a lad, I had to walk through a stand of Mighty Oak. The scent there was so intense, that now when I experience it, the memories are incredibly vivid.
Going to the Farmer’s market to by tomatos for canning sauce.
Starting up the fireplace.
Football. Unlike Geek, who whines about the Bills incessantly, I like the Bills. I like watching college ball on drizzly saturday afternoons.
Halloween. My wife decorates more for Halloween than most do for Christmas. Right down to the eyeball candles.
Thanksgiving. A holiday dedicated to consuming massive amounts of food, then falling asleep on the couch whilst watching the Lions lose.
So yeah, It was a good summer, but I am really looking forward to fall.

My daughter once said we didn’t live on an island until I started wotking on plumbing. She wasn’t too far off.
In deference to DougK’s request, here’s how it went:
Yes, I did get a lot done at work on Friday. No slacking.
As for the laundry room, The plan to replace the faucet was held up by the fact the there were no cutoffs installed. I bought the wrong cutoff, so it was back to Lowe’s for the type to go on PVC.
My wife and I have a deal that neither one is allowed to bring to, or touch sharp instruments at Lowes. Otherwise she would kill me halfway through the store. We have different ideas on home improvement shopping. If she did me in, it would be justifiable homicide.
We get back with fittings (we already had a new sink to put in) a shelf, and other assorted goodies.
Install the fittings, they leak. Try again, still leak. IN the meantime, she puts up a shelf, does all kinds of other stuff (nice to be married to a former carpenter). I give up and figure Monday is another day.Cutoffs are fine. hook up to faucet. I figure I will be boy genius and hook up one at a time and check for leaks.
I found out if you hook up one line and not the other, turn on the faucet, and the water will travel to the faucet, come out the tap, AND out the other supply line all over the floor.
So now everything is hooked up, leak free, and the floor has been mopped as well.
I am good….

Nothing like telling the voters what they need to hear.
Not how they will help get the county moving forward. Not how they will set the county on the path to fiscal stability.
No.
Keane: Clark hires family
Clark: Keane hires family
Family values. And crappy cartoons. Just the kind of behavior that inspires confidence in the voters. In my opinion neither one of them deserve the position.
Unless it turns out that Collins is actually a convicted felon from another state, he has this election in a cakewalk.

That’s me this week. I haven’t done anything more than maintain the status quo in my life. Doing just what I have to at work, barely picking up after myself at home, basically treading water in the big wading pool of life.
So today at work, everything gets done. No loose ends, get the new projects moving.
At home, Put in the new laundry tub. Cut the grass. Clean everything. My wife has been doing most everything whilst I dodge.
It’s supposed to be a cooler weekend, which should help.
Oh yeah, Lildub is having a garage sale so I have to go to that.
Anyone doing something exciting?

In one of the most bizarre rulings I have ever seen, China has declared that all Buddhist reincarnations must be approved by the government.

By barring any Buddhist monk living outside China from seeking reincarnation, the law effectively gives Chinese authorities the power to choose the next Dalai Lama, whose soul, by tradition, is reborn as a new human to continue the work of relieving suffering.

Is there a form they have to fill out? Perhaps an interview with the State Administration for Religious Affairs? This boggles the mind.

At 72, the Dalai Lama, who has lived in India since 1959, is beginning to plan his succession, saying that he refuses to be reborn in Tibet so long as it’s under Chinese control. Assuming he’s able to master the feat of controlling his rebirth, as Dalai Lamas supposedly have for the last 600 years, the situation is shaping up in which there could be two Dalai Lamas: one picked by the Chinese government, the other by Buddhist monks.

I really don’t thnk that it works that way. I can see a power play to intorduce a new “Government Approved” Dali Lama, but the chances of that individual being accepted either by Tibetan Monks, or the world in general, is pretty slim.

Contrary to what some people believe, Seneca is not the southern boundary of Buffalo. South Buffalo is a gem unto itself. And some of the improvements going on down there are due in part to the activist we know as Fedup. Armed with a digital camera and determination, she brought the condition of Cazenovia Street to the attention of the city. Now it’s looking pretty good. And she has teamed up with SouthBuffaloblogger to take on the Caz St bridge. No small task, but I have confidence in our South Buffalo girl.
She can spend all day singing the praises of South Buffalo, but she is not blind to its faults. And she is not afraid to do something about them.
Nice to have someone like that around.

Actually, he never left. But I’m glad that Stefan is going to stick around.

So much to do, so little time….
I’m going for the Lewiston Art Festival. Nice place, good exhibits.
There is also the Air Show at the Niagara Falls Air Base if you are into large crowds, traffic, and lots of noise, and the Erie County Fair. Don’t give me that “America’s Fair” crap. It’s the county fair. I might take a day off for that next week.
Other than that, the usual lawn stuff, maybe some fishing.
How about you?

Keane files a lawsuit to disqualify Clark. Good Start? Most people start shaking their head the minute you mention the Independence Party in the first place.

Then we move on to this one, which is sort of “No one in the city likes Republicans/the voters are cattle/wait no it’s a plot to get a Republican in as CE” story.
According to this, the GOP presence in the city is nil. Shut down their office, don’t even have their annual fundraiser.

Ryan says virtually no member of the GOP cares about enduring election rigors when history shows the party has no chance.

Quitters? But wait!

Some Democrats say the retreat by Republicans, who hold less of a disadvantage countywide, is part of a strategy to suppress voter turnout in heavily Democratic Buffalo when a viable Republican — Christopher C. Collins — is running for county executive. They say fewer Buffalo Democrats will show up at the polls without local races, helping the Collins effort.

In other words, both parties consider us cattle. Doesn’t matter who they put out there, the only thing the voters look at is the letter in parantheses after the name. That’s the plan. Lull the Dem voters into a false sense of security, they won’t turn out, and we can sneak in Collins as CE. But first we have to convince our loyal voters to turn out even though we aren’t really running anyone in the city.
WTF?
Do you mean to tell me that NO ONE votes on the merits of a candidate, or even the lack thereof in the opponent? Do people automatically fall into lockstep with the endorsement made by the leaders of their union or professional organization?
If so, we are getting what we deserve.