Umm, well, anyway, New Year

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNCF

Sahuarita

It rained most of the day but just before sunset...

A Portion Of The Santa Ritas

And then...

Dirty, Filthy, Commie Taxes

The evening "roar-down" at the dinner table at which Michelle's grandparents excoriated the administration-of-the-day often closed with a final spew of this post's title. In my teen-age years I saw corporate welfare was a major support of the economy, a form, if you will, of Socialism...in disguise.

The fact that Jacobs has 80,000 employees with 400 offices worldwide and in 2020 had a negative tax liability of over 17% struck me as worthy of note. The following paragraph isn't TOO far down in the Wiki article....in case you wanna see some more of the story.

            ----------- Begin Wiki -------

In April 2021, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy listed the top 55 corporations that paid $0 in taxes for the year 2020. Jacobs Federal Income Taxes for that year were negative $37 million dollars for an Effective Tax Rate of −17.4%.^[16]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobs_Solutions

I chanced upon Jacobs Solutions when they were mentioned as having written a report on oil sands in Canada.

I have to wonder how many of the folks who "stormed the Capitol" on January 6th wanted Jacobs to help rule the nation; or even know that they probably do.

From his Wikipedia page: 

Jacobs also authored two books. The first, The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur: Family, Culture and Ethics, was an autobiography published in 1991. The second, Compassionate Conservative: Assuming Responsibility and Respecting Human Dignity, was published in 1995 

70

I arrived around 6 a.m. The physician had to be called away from a Christmas party; he was drunk and Mom said they had a great time.

Here and there I've managed to be useful; inspired some hilarity; elicited a few screaming orgasms and screamed a few too.

As Dr. T once said, "We do the best we can."

Art! Here's Phoebe's schnoz and sans her wig. We're making ourselves comfortable here.

The coyotes are excited. It's a grand place. 

Like a Cicada

Sahuarita, Arizona

This morning as I came up into consciousness I accidentally encountered my nose. It wasn't until I'd done a thorough exam (external) that I recognized the shape. But I couldn't feel it.

Surprised, I drifted around further and found the idea that my body is just a shell, it's not me. Then came the thot that death is similar to the way cicadas molt. That was a new one and I went on to speculate about how my carapace, or whatever, is wearing out.

Dr. Marin said I'd know the end was near when the meds stopped working. Well, they haven't stopped; going up one pill -- two and a half years after the heart attack means I'm now at her initially recommended dose.

I took an extra at 1:30 but it wasn't until 2.5 hours later I was able to get up. I'd tried several times over the course of the day and couldn't do it.

I think I may have done some damage the other day when I tried swimming in the colder water. I swam harder to try and get my body temp up enough to handle it, but it didn't work. I got out and it was all I could do to get inside the door of the therapy pool and into a nearby chair. (I've alerted the lifeguards to my DNR, but need to get neck, wrist & ankle bracelets.)

Since then the angina's been nagging...not bad, but noticeable. It was there this morning soon after I recognized Mr. Nose. I've also had an ongoing headache since the swim.

I've heard lobsters molt, but I've yet to hear one sing.

For the record.

23.Dec 9:30 a.m. - There's a layer of ice on the wildlife water/washbasin.

Checking The Perimeter

The Experimental Range is a large tract owned by the University of Arizona. The part I'm exploring looks as if it hasn't been grazed in a while. I've only seen grass like this one other time...in the Animas Mountains in Southwestern New Mexico that The Turners bought and were rehabilitating.

I plan to make some phone calls next year to learn what this is all about.

There's some sturdy fence around it.

East Side Vibe

Southern Vibe

Poem by e

https://e-lifeinprogress.blogspot.com/2010/03/think-what-you-will.html?m=0

Tubac, Arizona

Unable to get into the Green Valley post office's parking lot, I changed my mail to Tubac, an arts community 20 miles south of Green Valley. This set off a flurry that concluded with:

How much pac could a Tupac bac if a Tupac could Tubac?

https://images.app.goo.gl/Eraz6AwTB2CXQ5DUA

Sahuarita

Nothing noteworthy...simply documenting.

Camp

Snow

Walmart ensemble

Note sexy ankle-showing...albeit with sock. Come summer though...

Smokey Swallow

Rarely am I awake for sunrise. But it seems my newly-found enthusiasm for swimming is having its way with me. 

They take reservations for the therapy pool starting at 6:00 a.m. I popped up like a prarie dog at 6:07 and secured a spot in the 2-3:15 session. 

I recently discovered this blog...

https://5fingerplatz.blogspot.com/?m=1

She hasn't posted anything since April of this year, 2022, but I started at the beginning and over the hour or so last night, what with looking up the Tsar & the Wolf, only made it to November of 2008. 

Perhaps we can entice her?

A Small, But Comfortable, Space

Functioning in so small a space is still a source of pleasure; rarely is it an annoyance.

Yesterday was a bit of a wrangle as I worked to cut down a box to fit a special need. As the sun set and the chill dampened my enthusiasm, I piled everything in upon itself. Fortunately, I'm not expecting company. 

At top right is a bag of trash under which are the remnant pieces of cardboard. Under those are my overalls; to the left, the blue bag has extra garbage bags & toilet paper, now only used as kleenex. Boots got thrown in the middle. The laptop, at the left, slipped between it all and this morning's need, at the edge of my crossed legs, coffee filters.

The outside is just a step away.

Update: 7:00 a.m. 9.Dec.

My rich diet of braunsweiger & beef tartare had me out in the cold & damp. I fired up the engine and pulled the settee, pictured above, next to the door so I'd have some heat. Nothing impedes a sphincter like cold. It's one of those rare mornings when something just can't wait.

Gunther, Christine und Otto

A story of one of Phoebe's German siblings, the Gelandewagen or "cross-country vehicle"...

http://www.bbc.com/news/special/2014/newsspec_8703/index.html

There's a section on the Mercedes website (link below) that begins...

"Within the timeless body..."

https://www.mbusa.com/en/vehicles/class/g-class/suv

There're some things that cannot be improved on.

Short sidewalls make for a bumpy ride.

In 2018, Suzuki, Phoebe's roots, reissued the two-door *Jimny.* It looks the same as the 1984 and aside from a triangle of beams to strengthen the frame, it has much the same mechanicals. Suzuki, in a cpncession to technology, added electric latches and L.E.D. lights thereby drawng to a close the much-loved tradition of their iconic whale-oil carriage lamps. 

The link below is to an earlier blogpost comparing (visuals) between Phoebe and the G-Wagon. 

https://newmexnomad.blogspot.com/2016/09/we-could-be-heros.html?m=1

Rain - It Happens

Late Afternoon

Even Later

Rumor has it most of the moisture happens in the winter.

The Rainbow Girls

And now, for something a little different...

All You Know of Me - Rainbow Girls

Don't Think Twice, It's Alright

The Staplers' Masquerade Ball

The battle between the Poodle & Stapler clans dates back to a time before now. 

Steve Cook - Panorama Boy

Michelle Cook - Costumery

Tap (or cliken) photos to largen.

From an earlier time...

Sympathy For The Poodle

Them Other People

My early years were in Japan & Germany, both countries/cultures immaculately clean. 

Exhorted as we are to embrace diversity, I'm puzzled as to how to respond to behaviors like this? We HAVE laws against dumping, but as an attorney remarked the other day, "Nowadays, everyone is guilty of at least six criminal offenses merely by being where they are."

This is State Trust Land, supposedly accessible by permit only. Several years ago I was confronted by two volunteers out checking campers' permits. I had mine. In decades of camping they were the only ones I've met. And I doubt they had any authority.

It's a third of the distance (from Tucson) to Sahuarita where I've been camping.