The long and winding road (driven very fast)

The spousal unit is on the hunt for a mid-size van that we can equip with either a side door power lift or a ramp for his power chair. A van, any van, is NOT my idea of how to even go get the mail out of the box at the end of my lane. I do not like vans. 

I do not like vans. Not for any reason. Yes, it could possibly be to his benefit but trust me when I say it won't be anything other than a waste of money. It'll be a new auto loan for him and frankly, he's at the point where he almost never drives. We go everywhere in the Charger and he does NOT get to drive my car. So he's looking at buying a vehicle that will sit in the driveway, in the way of all other vehicles, tractors, and mowers, and rarely be used. It's not something I'll be driving, that's for sure. Does this make financial sense? No. But it's NOT my money. If he thinks I'm going to help finance this misadventure, he's very much mistaken. There's a very good reason my money and his money never meet. But I digress...

I do not like vans. Period. 

I like Challengers, Chargers, Camaros, vintage and classic Mustangs, MOPAR, and Chevy trucks. It's a short list and there is not a van on it. 

This past Friday, instead of doing anything productive, Himself trolled the Internet (or should I start calling it the interwebs because change for the sake of change is hip). He saw a Dodge van at a dealership just north of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. That is over an hour's drive away. It did not please me to go but we hopped in the Charger on Saturday morning and headed out. Yes, I made him fill my gas tank first. 

We got as far as Thurmont, Maryland, before his phone rang. They'd sold the van the night before. I'm very grateful they called before we headed up Route 15 and the longest stretch of the trip. I would have been pissed to get all the way up there and then find out the van had been sold. My inner bitch was already on alert, poised for a good opportunity to launch. Thankfully, it became unnecessary. 

The drive to Thurmont is scenic, even with the leaves off the trees. Route 77, which meanders through Cunningham Falls State Park and Catoctin State Park, is a dream to drive when you have a car that corners on a rail, which my Charger does. 

Being in time for it, we cruised into McDonald's and got breakfast before heading back home. It was a truly lovely morning full of sunshine and blue sky. I was burning his gasoline, and so I took a little drive through Catoctin State Park and ended up driving past Camp David. 

I am now recorded on some military satellite, whizzing down the winding road like it's my personal NASCAR road course. I'm sure a bunch of "hidden" cameras were clicking away, too. Should I be worried? Undoubtedly. Big Brother knows all. 

Then again, those guys stuck with military vehicles are likely jealous they can't take three-hundred horses deep into a corner and power out the other side without body roll or braking. 

And as for Himself? Do THAT in a fucking van.

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor (The Hideaway)

My Kindle HAS been acting wonky lately...

1. Read the small print.
2. Government is not in place to be your friend. 
3. If a corporation offers you something, it's not really to your benefit. 

4. Rule changes are rarely in your favor. Opt out. 

During the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020, we got hooked on YouTube. We joke that you can find out how to do just about anything because someone has posted a video. We stick mostly to cooking, gardening, homesteading, and automotive channels, but there's variety when we want it. One of the gardening/cooking channels posted a quirky little piece about reports of "smart" thermostats in Texas turning up or down on their own. 

I scoffed, too, but wait. 

Being curious, because this channel is a bit off-beat and the woman creating the content hears a different drummer, I restored to asking Google this morning. Guess what? The story seems to have legs. 

True or not, there's a big lesson, or several, here. 

The jist of the story is that some consumers in Texas may have enrolled into a "smart saver" program when they enrolled in a sweepstakes. How's this for a long link? https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2021/06/19/local-residents-say-smart-thermostats-were-controlled-remotely-in-an-attempt-to-conserve-energy/ 

Check it out fast because I expect it to be pulled. Here's another one -  https://www.wpxi.com/news/trending/texas-thermostats-adjusted-remotely-during-heat-wave-residents-claim/S35AZRBXARB6BBOT4BNA6NSWEE/

If your first question is how can anyone remotely reset a thermostat, let me say that the facility I work in has programmable Honeywell thermostats that I can adjust with my smartphone. There's an app. Of course, there's an app. More than one.  I'm linked in to the security camera system, too. It's a different app. 

It wouldn't take much for a large company to strike a deal with any of the thermostat manufacturers to obtain override permission. A few clicks on a computer or phone, and you're going to get hot. Or cold. 

If you have some Amazon devices, it could be even worse. Amazon has/is using its Ring and other devices to create something called Amazon Sidewalk. This new "feature" creates a low bandwidth network using smart home devices and can piggyback on your neighbor's wi-fi if necessary. And you are someone's neighbor, too. Don't forget that. 

I'm not sure my very mercenary cable internet provider is going to like this. Could this mean MY Internet gets cut off because my neighbor is watching porn? I wouldn't like that much.

And here's another thing. My Kindle Fire HAS been acting wonky lately. It's gotten very slow and it acts a bit confused. I checked, and it does "see" a lot of networks around me that are out of range. But what if they are suddenly boosted and become in range? 

Does my cellular carrier, T-Mobile, do something like this? 

I find this very worrisome. I want to opt-out of all of it. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor

I worked for that money

I sent my Federal tax return in weeks and weeks ago. As of yesterday, my refund has not been issued.

The Fed still has MY money. Okay - no they don't. They've given it to other people under the guise of "stimulus payment."

I do not like this. 

What can I do?

I've done it.

I've instructed the guy who does payroll where I work to deduct as little Federal income tax withholdings as is legally possible. I've already paid in a bundle and that's all they need from me since they won't issue my refund. 

Yes, I'll have to pay a wee bit when I file next year, but that's fine. I accept. 

Can you imagine if everyone working did this? Do you think the politicians would notice?

I'd move on to the State, but my refund came back promptly, so I'll let them slide - for now.

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor

Living in the time of COVID-19

Our future?

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” ― Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Maryland’s governor at the time, Larry Hogan, declared a State of Emergency in Maryland on March 5, 2020. I give Hogan his due credit for moving on this because central Maryland is home to Baltimore City and people down there do not understand the seriousness of any given crisis. I’m happy to live far, far, far away from metropolitan areas. 

As of today, we’ve been under stay-at-home and safer-at-home order for thirteen weeks. That’s a quarter of the current year for the math-challenged, ninety-one days for the quick ones. 

Governor Hogan has bowed to the pressure to “reopen” the State of Maryland. I understand. Tax revenues are down. Why? People are not working, ergo, not getting paid, ergo, no income tax is going into the state coffers. 

The mass media has all but forgotten the COVID-19 pandemic. They’ve dropped it like a hot potato in favor of promoting the United States being torn apart by riots over the death of one man being taken into police custody. One man – one cop. And for this people are burning and looting their own communities. 

I understand that death should never have happened. 
I understand the message has now been distorted by the violence. 

Should one violent act spawn a thousand? Is this what we really want to teach our children? Who do you protest for? Who owns you? 

I’m deeply saddened by what is going on in the world today and frightened. The people are being manipulated at every turn. At home on the Manor, I wonder if I’m truly safe. 

In years to come, the mass media will distort everything happening today. The violence is not necessary. People who WERE viewed as equals will NOW be seen as thugs. It’s all to perpetuate a peculiar form of victim-ism. 

We are all being controlled, and once we allow it, it will never end. 

The liberals and the socialists have won this battle, but not yet the war. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor