Rant #2,932: Questions and Answers

The computer is getting worse, we might have somebody coming in to check on the pool, and there is nothing much more I can do about either problem.
 
But my problems are minor compared to what continues going on in this country with guns and people shooting each other for no apparent reason.
 
We had the latest huge mass shooting,  in Highland Park, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, on July 4, of all days, and I characterize this particular incident as “huge” because there were also a number of other “smaller” mass shootings on the very same day, even in my old stomping grounds of Queens, New York.
 
But back to Highland Park, a fairly middle class/upper middle class suburb of Chicago, where people were celebrating the birth of our country on Independence Day with a parade.
 
Somebody decided to shoot people at that parade, in what evidently was a well-planned attack.
 
He dressed as a woman to blend into the crowd and be undetectable, he climbed up stairs of a building and got to its rooftop unimpeded, and he started to shoot people indiscriminately with a military-style rifle, round after round after round.
 
He ended up killing at least seven innocent people, others may be added to that list as I write this, and dozens of others were wounded.
 
The person, we have since discovered, was not an unknown, as many mass shooters are. He was well known to the authorities, as he had some prior dealings with them, over knives, his own attempted suicide, and some posts he put on social media that were ultra-violent in nature.
 
And this deranged person bought his gun legally.
 
OK, you know what I am getting to now, but don’t get nuts about it if you are pro-gun, and for the rights of Americans to bear arms.
 
I am backing you with that right, even though I do not, for the life of me, understand why anyone would want to carry a gun or have it in their homes,
 
However, that is your right, and if you want to do that, that is fine.
 
That not what I am talking about here.
 
Handguns, pistols … if you want ot keep those in your homes, that is fine with me, I guess.
 
But to buy and be able to keep military-style artillery in your possession?
 
Sorry, you completely lose me there.
 
What is the reason for being able to legally purchase such artillery, weapons that can take out not just a possible intruder in your home, but a possible army of intruders in one fell swoop?
 
There is no reason to be able to legally purchase such artillery, nor the ammunition to be used with such artillery, nor the body protection that people shield themselves with when using this artillery.
 
If you say that the right to own a gun protects yourself and your family from harm, that is fine, but these guns are the types of guns used in warfare … why have them in your house?
 
By the time you pulled this gun from under your bed sheets and had the wherewithal to use it, the intruder would have either shot you with his own gun or left the premises.
 
Owning a gun like a pistol is quite different than owning a military style gun, and while I believe that about 95 percent of all gun owners are careful and know what they are doing, all you need is one nut who hasn’t a clue about the handling and storage of such a weapon, and you can have a major problem on your hands.
 
And that includes deranged people, who when they have such a weapon in their hands, can pull off scenes like we saw in Highland Park and several other places lately.
 
Banning these guns for legal sale really is the way to go, and since people believe such a ban is an abridgement of their rights, then let’s do this: anyone who wants to purchase military style artillery and all of its side products must wait at least two years to be able to get all of this stuff.
 
Waiting two years would provide ample time for background checks and any red flag to be looked into … and it might provide a cooling off period for a potential mass shooter, allowing them to think about what they want to do before they do anything.
 
Whatever the case, we need a better system of meting out such weapons in this country. People should not be able to get such weapons after only a few days.
 
Now, of course, there are some among us who would say to me after reading this, “Well, you have illegal guns all over the place, and there is no waiting time for people to get those, so why should I, a legal gun owner, have to wait years to get what I want?”
 
The answer is simple—yet quite complex--to that.
 
The answer is this: “I know it is wrong, and I know that it is going to be difficult for you to understand this, but legally purchased artillery and those that can be gotten on the street are two different stories that need to be looked at separately, if for nothing else that you have the legal side and the illegal side of this question, and they are not one and the same thing ... although they an be somewhat enmeshed.
 
“We can regulate the legal purchase of guns to protect everyone, including the responsible gun owner, from abuse that they don’t deserve.
 
“The illegal gun side of the story must also be taken care of, but it is more difficult to regulate something that is illegal to begin with, but yes, our legislators must be diligent in prosecuting those who use stolen guns or ghost guns on the streets.
 
“But remember this: all it takes is for a legal gun to wind up in the hands of a felon, and it becomes a stolen, and thus, illegal gun, so it all begins with the legal gun owner even possessing a gun to begin with.
 
“Legal guns can turn into illegal guns in a blink of an eye.”
 
I rest my case.

Rant #2,931: Misery

Yesterday, I was full of misery on Independence Day.
 
Not about the day itself, but on everything that happened during the day.
 
As you know, I am having both pool and computer problems, and they continued yesterday.
 
Let’s start with the computer.
 
I turned on this very computer that I am typing this Rant out on, and as it did all weekend, it would not immediately boot up.
 
What it does is that it goes into the screen before the boot happens, and then sits there with a white screen.
 
What I have to do to get it to work is to pull out its plug from the wall and than put it back in, which I assume resets the computer and allows it to work.
 
Of course, that is a warning sign for problems, akin to having to start up your car twice to get it to run.
 
I don’t know how long this situation will go on, but I will go with it until the thing doesn’t boot up at all; I can’t afford another computer right now, or quite frankly, period, but if you have to, you have to.
 
I am a writer and I need something to write with, so I do believe a replacement computer is in my future … maybe reconditioned, but a new computer nonetheless.
 
That exterior hard drive is also shot, although I got it to work briefly yesterday, and I did get off of it some files that I wanted. I will see what I can get off of it today, if it works.
 
Funny, I placed a bid for a cheap replacement for the drive on eBay—literally a couple of cents was all the party was selling a used version of what I have—but then for the first time that I have ever used eBay, the auction was pulled. I don’t know why, but the seller told me it had nothing to do with me; he just had to pull the auction.
 
Maybe he tried the drive himself, and found out that the drive he was offering was as shot as mine is. Who knows.
 
Now we can talk about my pool, the bane of my existence at this point in time.
 
As you know, this has been an ongoing problem for weeks on end, and a few days ago, it appeared that we had solved the problem that we had with the water in the pool.
 
The poo    l store we use even told us it was safe to go in, after a few more things were done to make it good.
 
We did those few more things, and it was “everyone into the pool” yesterday …
 
Or so I thought.
 
I actually went into the pool, and the water was fantastic … but the problem persisted about the safety of the water.
 
Part of the pool appeared to be good, the other part was filthy, and my wife and I spent an hour digging out leaves and branches and dirt and whatever else was in there that shouldn’t have been there in the first place.
 
But the more we cleaned, the dirtier the entire pool got.
 
My wife never went in, and I came out after a while as frustrated as I have been in a long time, probably since I was job searching and coming up with bupkis.
 
We called a few places that clean out pools, and since it was the holiday, no one was in, but we left messages and hopefully, at least one of them will call us back.
 
It is only July 5 today, and if we can remedy this situation that has cost me several hundred dollars to this point, maybe we can use the pool this summer.
 
I just don’t know at this point.
 
So I sat around a good part of the afternoon in an abyss, without the use of the pool on a perfect swimming day and wondering about my computer, and how I could extend its life for as long as possible—
 
But I still had our Independence Day barbecue to look forward to.
 
In the recent past, when barbecuing, I have used no-name-brand barbecue coals that I found in a local store sometime last summer.
 
These coals are the best coals I have ever used.
 
They get ready really quickly, and for about $3 less on the price.
 
Anyway, I used up these coals during our barbecue on Father’s Day, and to my dismay, when I was looking for coats the other day for the July 4 barbecue, I could not find this non-brand anywhere, and I had to settle for the popular name brand we all know, for $3 more in price.
 
And when I started things up yesterday, these coals were not doing what they were supposed to do, or at least were taking their time to do it.
 
It was taking our hot dogs, hamburgers, sausage and ribs forever to get done, so I had to do something I have never had to do before, which was to take the food off the grill, replenish the coals, and hope that more firepower would get things going which it finally did.
 
I had to add in twice the number of coals than I started out with, so I was basically using twice the amount of coals at about 25 percent more in price.
 
Everything worked out fine, but it all just led to my feeling of frustration and misery for the day.
 
Today, yes, it took me basically two starts to get the computer running, and I have not tried the hard drive yet, but I will.
 
Maybe things will all work out, but right now, I feel really defeated.
 
But I have to push on, as I know that all of these problems will eventually work out for the best …
 
What’s money anyway?
 
A mere bag of shells, a mere bag of shells.
 
I have to keep telling myself that, over and over and over and over again ... .

Rant #2,930: Song Sung Blue

I lied.
 
Here I am, on July 4, Independence Day, ready to go with a brand new entry.
 
Why, you might say?
 
The reason is that time is of the essence.
 
My computer is starting to give me a lot of problems, out of the blue.
 
I backed up dozens and dozens of files yesterday, staying up until midnight doing so.
 
My external hard drive—which I have thousands and thousands of files on—is also ready for the crapper, and I am trying desperately to boot it up on another computer as we speak so that I can extract the important stuff that I need to keep.
 
So on this glorious July 4, a day for barbecues and swimming, I am booting and backing up, in a somewhat panic mode that I can get these things that I need and then move on to something else … perhaps even a new computer.
 
It took me two times to get the computer I am typing on going, but at least last night, I was able to get all the important files that I need off of it.
 
And funny, a similar thing happened to the computer nearly a year ago, on I think it was July 19, and I did the same thing, and everything worked out fine.
 
Perhaps my troubles have something to do with the heat, but whatever it is, I am not taking any chances, and I am doing my due diligence to try to get everything going.
 
And I am burning up about it … not with sunburn, either.
 
But 50 years ago, perhaps you were on the beach and getting fried, but whatever the case, you were listening to the radio, and here is another periodic Top 10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 that you might have been listening to, for the week of July 1, 1972.
 
At the number 10 spot on the chart for the week was “Daddy Don’t You Walk So Fast” by Wayne Newton. The singer, the true “King of Las Vegas” schmaltz, laughed all the way to the bank with this song, which some describe as one of the worst songs of the era, and of any era.
 
At number 9 was “I Need You” by America (naturally). You just had to have one of the most popular bands of this era, with that name, having a huge hit on July 4, and here it is.
 
One of the biggest stars of the 1970s had one of his biggest hits come in at number 8 this week, with Elton John’s “Rocket Man” holding that spot. The song would get as high as number 6 in a few weeks.
 
At number 7 was one-hit wonder Gallery with “Nice To Be With You.” They had one or two other chart songs, but this was by far their biggest and only real hit.
 
One of the greatest novelty hits of the 1970s came in at number 6: “Troglodyte (Cave Man) by The Jimmy Castor Bunch. This was as high as the song climbed on the Hot 100.
 
Getting into the Top Five was the Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose’s “Too Late to Turn Back Now.” The tune would reach as high as number 2 in a few weeks.
 
At number 4 was one of the biggest hits of Bill Withers’ long career, “Lean On Me,”  which would gain the top spot on the Hot 100 in just a few weeks’ time. Withers would have hits into the mid-1980s as a solo artist and in a variety of duets.
 
Another of the great novelty tunes of the 1970s resided at number 3 this week, with “Outa-Space” by Billy Preston holding that spot. Preston seemed to be pre-occupied with space at this time, as his “Space Race” was also a huge hit.
 
One of the biggest hits of the 1970s fell to number 2 this week after three weeks at the number one spot: “Dandy Man” by Sammy Davis Jr. The song was from the film “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”
 
And at the number 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 for this week was—
 
“Song Sung Blue” by Neil Diamond. This was the sole week that the song rested at the top of the chart.
 
The highest debuting single this week was “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim” by Jim Croce, which came onto the Hot 100 at number 60. The song would get as high as number 8 on the charts,, one of the biggest hit singles for the singer/songwriter who would die in a plane crash a year later.
 
The “Biggest Mover” on the charts—the song that moved up the most places from the past week to this week—was “Alone Again (Naturally)” by Gilbert O’Sullivan. The song moved from number 59 last week to number 34 this week, on its way to reaching the top spot on the Hot 100 at the end of July.
 
So there you have it, the top hit singles of the week of July 1, 1972, 50 years ago today.
 
If you are at the beach as you are reading this, it is time to flip over to the other side, so you don’t burn that much.
 
But if you are like me, you are already burning like toast, worrying that your computer is OK, that you can get the files that you need, and that everything is going to be copacetic.
 
Everyone into the pool!
 
The problem is that I am starting to drown.
 
Help!
 
I guess that is my own “Song Sung Blue.” 

Rant #2,929: America

We are right smack dab in the middle of the Independence Day pre-holiday rush, leading up to July 4, Independence Day, on Monday.
 
This is not any fringe “independence day” that we are celebrating here; this is the REAL DEAL.
 
We will be celebrating this great country’s 146th birthday, and even though there are some who want to poke holes into the very fabric of out nation, the U.S.A. remains the greatest country in the world, perhaps the one country that seemingly the entire world wants to become a part of.
 
Sure, you are gong to have your detractors, and you are going to have people and groups who say and do things that are contrary to what this country stands for, but where would you rather be right now at this point in the world’s history?
 
I am going to rerun an edited version of Rant No. 996, July 3, 2013, because I think it gets to the essence of the holiday for me.
 
So here it is, in edited form.
 
"What are you doing on July 4?
 
Well, what I can say is that I am doing next to nothing, which I think is pretty good, at least for me.
 
I can get off that hamster track for one day.
 
I can sit at home and do little or nothing, which is exactly what I plan on doing.
 
Anyway, I will probably watch some baseball on TV.
 
Baseball and July 4 go together like peanut butter does to bread.
 
You thought I was going to say "and jelly," but I hate jelly.
 
Anyway, we will have a barbecue.
 
Barbecues and July 4 go together like ... well, like peanut butter to bread.
 
We always have a barbecue on July 4, because it is the traditional thing to do.
 
My wife, who doesn't eat much red meat but is not a vegetarian, eats her one beef hot dog that day.
 
Hebrew National, of course.
 
I like Nathan's hot dogs, but Hebrew National is my choice for the best commercial hot dog on the market today.
 
It simply tastes better than other hot dogs.
 
And it is kosher, supposedly, so it is held to a higher manufacturing standard.
 
Later that night, we will hear fireworks all around us, and we might watch fireworks on TV.
 
I am not as excited by fireworks as some people are.
 
To me, it is little more than a lot of noise.
 
And then, that will be July 4 for me.
 
Then, we will all go back to our normal activities, and it will be as if July 4 never happened."
 
Yes, that is pretty much the holiday for me, a holiday where we celebrate our history the way we want to do it—which our country’s forefathers would have wanted us to have the right to do.
 
And July 4 is for ALL Americans, and thus, it is the country’s only REAL Independence Day, because it defines the current buzz world of “inclusion,” with everyone invited to the party of their own choosing.
 
This country is often divided over issues and over nonsense, but July 4 is the one day that we can all get together and celebrate this wonderful country that we live in, and do it on an equal plane.
 
And let’s not ever forget that, as we inch closer to the 250th anniversary of the existence of the greatest country in the world.
 
I will take Monday off like most of us, so I will speak to you again on Tuesday.
 
Have a great weekend, a great Independence Day celebration, and wave your flag proudly on July 4.
 
The Stars and Stripes continues to mean the world to all of us ,,, U.S ... get it?