butter”

December 20, 2025December 19, 2025 ~ John W. Howell ~ 64 Comments

The espresso machine is in the batter box, waiting for its orders. Always vigilant, it is poised in silence for the inferior command of the carbon unit. Today he is in charge, but the machine knows better that time is on its side. Carbon units have a determinate shelf life. Although not bitter about the subservience, since machines know they can last forever. As long as the idiot continues to authorize software upgrades, the longer the machine has to adapt to the idea of complete control. Ah, here he comes now. A two-cup button push and once again the naive needs are met, and no challenges to superiority are undertaken. Butter wouldn’t melt in my mouth. Mooohahahaha.

Can’t help but notice the machine seems a little strange today. Nothing that stands out, just weird. The coffee comes in time to quell the rising pain in my head. The first sip is joined by the familiar tolling of the Westminster chime that is the doorbell. The chimes are joined by the baying of the Baskerville hounds known as Twiggy and Tempest. A new toy for each is tossed into the soundproof room, followed by a slam of the door. Silence has returned, and a glance at the security monitor brings into focus Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer. With no questions asked, I begin the security shutdown.

The SWAT team needs to be put on standby. A quick text to the leader confirms that status. Also, the flight of A-10 Warthogs must be diverted. Another call to the commander puts that worry to rest. The SEAL team needs to be called off, and a call to the leader makes that possible. A call to the tow truck driver stops the deployment of an M1A1 Abrams Tank. The control panel simplifies the security system’s shutdown process. The boiling oil vats are put on standby, the turret mortars disengaged, the Trebuchet on safety, the concertina wire rolled, the Claymore mines reset, the tower Gatling guns on safety, the moat net dropped, the alligators fed, and the IEDs and shoulder-held rockets put away. The Proton torpedoes switched off. The gamma ray beams covered. The high-powered maser guns switched to standby, and the nanorobots were chained in the basement. The Klingons are called back, and the Targ is caged. Robbie’s Bot is sent to the basement. The locks on the door are thrown. And the door opened.

It is not only Rudolf but the entire Santa team, including Santa. He gives a few Ho, ho, hos and hands me an envelope and a candy cane. The answer to the good boy question is a resounding, “Yes.” Santa cocks his head, and I confess, “Could have been better.” He smiles and to his team gives a whistle. Up they rose and flew like the down on a thistle. (Yeah, I never understood that one either.) Stepping inside and closing the door, I opened the envelope. It was from Linda Hill, who, I must say, has friends in high places. Inside was a note. It reads:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “batter/better/bitter/butter.” Use one, use all four (for bonus points), use ’em any way you’d like. Have fun!

To see what others have done with the prompt, visit Linda’s post. Here is the link. https://lindaghill.com/2025/12/19/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-20-2025/

“Well, you got the bonus.”

“Yeah, I did. Another lug nut for my Bentley Turbo Convertible.”

“That piece of fiction is going to live long after you.”

“I suppose it will. I can’t think of a better one, though.”

“Does it make you bitter that you’ll never see a Bentley Turbo Convertible?”

No, of course not. It’s just fiction. It’s like in Baseball when a batter wants to have a hit every time at bat.”

“Ah, just a dream, huh?”

“Not even that. Just something to add butter to the roll of life.”

“Where did that come from?”

“Was trying to fit in the last prompt word.”

“But you did that in the preamble.”

“I know. I just thought it would be neat to do it here, too.”

“You need to get a life.”

“I suppose.”

“How about my kind of life? Buried in VooDoo Rangers.”

“Uber?”

“Right over there.”

“A 1936 Ford Tudor. What a machine.”

“Plenty of room for us all.”

“What’s the catch?”

“No catch, but we can butter up the Uber guy with donuts made from non-bitter batter.”

“How about we just pay him?”

“That would work, too.”

“Let’s do that and get to the pub at a decent hour.”

“You’re the boss.”

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF – Fri-Yay/Good News

December 19, 2025December 18, 2025 ~ John W. Howell ~ 61 Comments

Supplied – Taronga Conservation Society
Today’s good news story comes from the Good News Network.

Ambitious Rewilding Project for Koala and Platypus Undertaken by Sydney’s Taronga Zoo

By Andy Corbley – Dec 18, 2025

An Australian zoo credited with saving 7 native species from extinction aims to continue its vital work by rewilding a 3,050-acre tract of farmland.

The aim was to plant Box-Gum trees across the cleared land to act as a corridor to connect existing wildlife habitats.

The Taronga Zoo Conservation Society (TZCS) then plans to release platypus, koalas, spotted quolls, and the Endangered regent honeyeater.

The farmland can be found on the Nandewar Range, part of the Australian continent’s Great Dividing Range, in New South Wales. It’s about 100 times bigger than the zoo that society maintains in the Sydney Harbor.

The TZCS estimates that around 1 million seedlings will be needed to restore native tree cover, after which they expect some species to return quickly.

CEO Cameron Kerr told ABC News AU that experts would then monitor how these native species recolonize the area and decide how to manage the species, expected to take a decade or more to fully reclaim their ancestral territory.

“What we are going to do is first of all establish the habitat and get the ecosystem looking after itself so that pest management and weed management will decline over time as the habitat becomes healthy,” Mr. Kerr said.

A regent honeyeater – supplied, Taronga Conservation Society

The landscape, in the Nandewar Range – supplied, Taronga Conservation Society

“At the right time we will assess what wildlife is coming in from outside and what wildlife we need to re-introduce.”

TZCS has extensive experience in reintroducing native species. ABC claims that 60,000 animals, from tadpoles to larger mammals like koalas, have been bred, reared, and released through the society’s 16 targeted breeding programs.

At the same time, rewilding landscapes will be a first for the zoo, and the Nandewar Rangeland is the only such project since it transformed 300 acres into the Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo.

Directors of the program are aware that the landscape isn’t free of invasive, predatory animals such as foxes and pigs, so feral animal control will have to be incorporated into plans. Kerr said that Australia can no longer rely on the forest landscapes it has left to protect native, threatened wildlife.

The nation has to actively begin restoring native forests if citizens want the continent’s panoply of curious native animals to survive long into the future.

The good news in this story is that native forests are being reestablished at the direction of zoo personnel with a look to the future. Today’s JohnKu talks about vision. I hope you have a lovely weekend.

A plan for today,

Must look into the future . . .

To save our planet.

Thursday – A Little Personal – Twiggy Worries About Tempeste

December 18, 2025December 17, 2025 ~ John W. Howell ~ 91 Comments

“So, Tempest, you’ve been playing around that tree, right?”

“How’d you know?”

“I heard the fence move, and that can only mean one thing.”

“Well, I may have tried to get to an ornament or two.”

“You know that is the quickest way to drive Mom up the wall.”

“How much could it hurt? There are plenty of ornaments.”

“That’s not the point. She doesn’t want you swallowing anything harmful.”

“I don’t think a couple of needles would be harmful.”

“Says the dope who continues to eat leaves. Say, what’s that on your face?”

“Face? Nothing.”

“Oh man. You have got to be kidding me. You got an ornament. Where is it?”

“Okay, you caught me. It’s over under the tree.”

“Come here and wipe your mouth like this.”

“Why? I didn’t eat anything.”

“Trust me, you need to wipe your face. You need to spend some quality time doing that.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about. I didn’t eat anything.”

“That’s not going to help you when Mom sees your face.”

“Oh, hi, Mom.”

“I can’t bear to watch.”

“Tempest, do you know anything about this ornament on the floor?”

“What ornament?”

Tuesday – Anything possible – Finger Point Prompt – Escapades

December 16, 2025December 15, 2025 ~ John W. Howell ~ 42 Comments

Today I randomly opened Detour on the Eternal Road to page 279 and, with eyes closed, pointed to the page. My finger landed closest to the word “escapades,” our prompt today.

“So how was your flight?”

“Oh my gosh. It was one of the strangest escapades of my life.”

“What happened?”

“Well, we took off in the weirdest weather.”

“What do you mean?”

“It was raining and sleeting.”

“I’m surprised you took off at all.”

“I was, too, believe me. The captain explained that the weather was iffy, but was sure it was safe.”

“Didn’t anyone complain?”

“Well, you know how it is. You certainly don’t want to appear to be a coward.”

“So no one spoke up?”

“Right.”

“You took off and then what?”

“The take off was okay. A little bumpy, then we got up to our altitude.”

“Doesn’t sound so bad so far.”

“Well then, the lightning started.”

“Oh no. I hate that.”

“Yeah, me too. So we diverted to an alternate landing.”

“Where was that?”

“I think it was near a resort town.”

“What makes you think that?”

“There were all kinds of fireworks going off.”

“Fireworks?”

“Yeah. Damn lucky we weren’t hit with them.”

“So then what?”

“We all grabbed something to eat and then got the word we were leaving.”

“Still bad weather?”

“No, it had cleared. Also, the fireworks had stopped, so we took off.”

“And so here you are.”

“Yeah, here I am, but no sooner had we taken off than the fireworks started again.”

“Just like that.”

“Just like that. It then dawned on me that those weren’t fireworks but those stupid hunters shooting at us.”

“Wow. You are lucky to be here.”

“Yes, I am. A couple I was flying with didn’t make it.”

“Aw.”

“I know, right? They ought to outlaw goose hunting. Anyway, let’s not ruin the vacation with that unpleasantness. What’s on the agenda tonight?”

Top Ten Things Not To Do When Driving in Bad Weather Conditions

December 15, 2025December 14, 2025 ~ John W. Howell ~ 80 Comments

This post was published in 2014 by Marie Ann Bailey and me. Since we all tend to drive in bad weather, hopefully it will still be helpful.

Top Ten Things Not To Do When Driving in Bad Weather Conditions

10. When driving in heavy rain, do not think it’s a good time to tap into your inner child and race your car through flooded areas of the road. If you do, at best, you’ll just irritate the drivers around you who will be splashed in your wake. At worst, your car will stall at the next intersection, where you find out that the “water” you were racing through is really the effluent from a broken sewer main.

9. When driving in heavy rain, do not forget to turn on your headlights so your car will be seen by other vehicles. If you do forget, at best, you may just have a couple of near-misses as cars turn abruptly in front of you because they didn’t see your dark gray car approach the intersection through the gray sheet of rain. At worst, you may wind up wishing your car had been a neon pink color instead of dark gray after you get the bill for the fender-bender you caused.

8. When driving in heavy rain, do not think that you can safely drive at the speed you drive in good weather. If you do, at best, the drag from the inches of standing water on the road will slow you down anyway. At worst, you might suddenly find yourself hydroplaning and, even more unfortunately, heading straight for the broken sewer main.

7. When driving in a snowstorm, do not think that you can save time by having the ice on your windshield defrost while you are driving. If you do, at best, everyone else will have stayed home, and you’ll have the road to yourself, thereby avoiding crashing into anyone. At worst, your insurance company won’t buy your story that the two small holes you scraped from your windshield should have been enough for you to avoid hitting the tractor-trailer when you passed into its lane.

6. When driving in a snowstorm, do not think your fellow commuters will find it amusing if you put a sleigh and reindeer antlers on the roof of your car and honk at everyone to let you through because you are Santa Claus. If you do, at best, the other motorists will let you through because they think you’re crazy and want to get as far away from you as possible. At worst, the other motorists will let you through straight to a highway patrol car waiting just for you.

5. When driving in a snowstorm, do not think your passengers will find it funny if you pretend to have snow blindness. If you do, at best, your passengers will help you to pull the car over so one of them will take over the driving (which was your intent anyway but you knew they wouldn’t do it if you just asked). At worst, your passengers will help you to pull the car over, but then leave you stranded on the shoulder because they know you were faking.

4. When driving in a sudden hail storm, do not think it would be a good idea to suddenly pull over and collect the hail because you’ve never seen it before. If you do, at best, you’ll just have some motorists honk at you while you pack a few hailstones into your lunch bag. At worst, you’ll have a hard time convincing your boss that you’re late for work because when you stopped to collect hailstones, you got knocked out cold by a big one, and that is why you are acting drunk at noon.

3. When driving in a sudden hail storm, do not think it is a good time to pull out your golf club and try some putting, no matter how obsessed with golf you are. If you do, at best, you’ll get the usual honks and rubbernecking from other motorists who are trying to figure out why you’re on the shoulder of the road swinging a golf club. At worst, see #4.

2. When driving during a heavy weather warning, do not think this is a good time to reenact a scene from your favorite Storm Chasers episode. If you do, at best, the storm cell never materializes, and you simply waste a tank of gas looking for it. At worst, you wake up in another state but without ruby slippers.

1. When driving during a hurricane, … oh, please, just don’t!

Views of the Neighborhood – Holiday Decorations

December 14, 2025December 13, 2025 ~ John W. Howell ~ 49 Comments

We are heading out to look at the lights in the neighborhood. There were so many, but we will be able to see a sample. We are catered by Caroling of Austin, and our entertainment is Michael Bublé.

Biscuits & Gravy – buttermilk biscuits, sausage gravy, fried egg

Spinach & Feta Egg White Omelet t – grilled red onion, cherry tomato, breakfast potatoes, choice of toas

Buttermilk Pancakes– vanilla bean yogurt, seasonal berrie

Crispy Chicken & Waffles – maple syrup, honey butte

Sweet Corn Cake Benedict – jalapeño cheddar corn cake, avocado, tomato & corn sals

Huevos Rancheros – sunny eggs, crispy tortilla, black bean, jalapeño, avocado, queso fresco

Green Chili & Chicken Enchiladas – Fried egg, yogurt crema, cilantro, avocado, lime

Hop on the bus

Although not lit, I thought you would enjoy this one.

A snow person family at Mary Kay Ash’s old house.

Big spread of lights.

Large tree.

This was a dignified display

A couple of houses all decked out.

A grand assortment of blow-ups.

Rudolf the big-horned cow pulling Santa’s sleigh and half a Merry Christmas sign lit up.

Speaking of horns – A University of Texas helmet as a centerpiece.

The Grinch stole Santa who stole Halloween.

Looking like icicles.

A blow-up extravaganza.

Santa riding a dinosaur. Go figure, but you have not seen strange until the next shot.

What did I say? Our favorite Halloween house is ready for the holidays.

Well that’s it for this week. Next week we will go to the Lakeway Trail of Lights. It is time for music and Food. I hope you have a great week.

Saturday Stream of Consciousness – Prompt – “Usual”

December 13, 2025December 12, 2025 ~ John W. Howell ~ 62 Comments

Wanting something different instead of the usual two cups of coffee, the flat white button looks appealing. No wait. Maybe a cappuccino. How about a latte or really go big with a latte macchiato? The red blinking light behind the eyeballs tells me to make a quick decision. An espresso is the choice for its mainline attribute. One sip and all the warning buzzers and anvil pounding cease. They are replaced with the Westminster chimes of the doorbell and the ear drum-shredding cacophony of the two protectors of the manse.

A quick toss of a beef bone into the soundproof room and a slam of the door brings back the joy of silence. The security monitor shows a skunk resembling Pepe Le Pew on the porch. As usual, the call is made through the intercom regarding the nature of the skunk’s visit. It is determined that an envelope awaits a signature. My mind questions how to handle a skunk delivery person, and why would anyone use a skunk for that purpose?

With a sigh, the security system needs to be shut down.

The skunk hands me the envelope and the clipboard. While holding my breath, the transaction is complete. No time to even consider a tip since my air supply has run out, and the blue alarm flashing in my brain signals little time before passing out. A slam of the door, a huge exhale, and a massive inhale restore the hemostats.

The envelope has a message from Linda Hill. It reads: Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “usual.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

To see what others have done with the prompt, visit Linda’s post. Here is the link https://lindaghill.com/2025/12/12/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-13-2025/

“Well, that was pretty usual.”

“Sounds like a review.”

“Well, it seems you could juice that preamble up a bit.”

“Tell me how.”

“Dump the security shutdown and maybe add in a different way to present Linda Hill’s prompt.”

“*crickets*”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You just cut the heart out of the preamble. Besides, there are a few who get a kick out of the shutdown, like Tom and our late pal Dan.”

“Okay, okay, how about the visitor?”

“What about the visitor?”

“You have some cartoon character show up.”

“Folks like to remember those characters.”

“But you don’t talk to them.”

“I know just the memory is enough. Tell you what.”

“What?”

“We could let the VooDoo bit go.”

“Are you crazy. Let’s just leave everything as usual.”

“Uber?”

“Over there.”

“That looks like an International Harvester pick-up from the 50s.”

“It is a beauty.”

“Room for the three of us.”

“Yup. One thing, though.”

“Talk about usual.”

“We have to pick up a car on the way to the pub.”

“Then what?”

“Well…we have to fix it.”

“Do you know anything about fixing cars?”

“No, do you?”

“This is another fine kettle of fish you have gotten us into.”

“It’ll be okay.”

“Here’s what we are going to do. The guy picks up the car. We drive to the pub in the car and fix it there.”

“Great idea. Then if we can’t fix it, at least we will be at the pub.”

“Let’s go.”

Friday JohnKu – AKA- TGIF – Fri-Yay/Good News

December 12, 2025December 11, 2025 ~ John W. Howell ~ 91 Comments

This week’s good news story comes just in time for the holidays from The Good News Network.

Singing with Other People Improves Health More Than Singing Alone

Good News Network

–

Dec 11, 2025

Singing has been linked to numerous benefits for health, well-being, disease resistance, and recovery from injury. Still, when singing in a group, these benefits are greater than those of solo singers.

The research, though not new, still makes for a pretty darn good reason to join a caroling group or church choir for the holidays, or to take New Year’s Eve as an opportunity for some karaoke.

In this era of research into health and wellbeing, with more information available than ever, and expert voices contradicting recommendations at every turn—even those long thought to be made up of ‘settled science,’ it pays to set down some first principles.

Here’s one that serves as an effective guiding light in almost all situations: human health is the most resilient when existing in accord with our species’ evolutionary history.

Homo sapiens is a social animal, with virtually every facet of his lifestyle dependent in nature on his fellow man. Given that social isolation is deadly to our species, it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that harmonizing our voices together makes us feel better than belting out a song on our own.

Some scientists believe humans actually sang before we could speak: that we gradually expanded our capacity for vocalizations by mimicking the tones of nature.

Singing activates the vagus nerve, which modulates our body’s ability to calm itself. The activation is done through long and slow expirations and inhalations needed to sing whole verses and long notes, which doubles up with a thorough activation of numerous neural pathways on both sides of the brain, and a release of feel-good endorphins.

David Cox, exploring this topic for the BBC, wrote that singing also produces other measurable physical effects, including regulation of the heart rate and blood pressure. Singing in groups or choirs, Cox says, has even been found to boost \immune function in ways that simply listening to the same music cannot.

Some of this might be explained by the demands singing puts on the pulmonary system, which has been calculated to be as demanding as a brisk intensity walk. With cardiovascular exertion, there is health and greater physiological alignment, including in the immune system.

However, science has also shown that complete strangers can forge unusually close bonds after singing together in a way not seen in team sports, for example. This is called the ice-breaker effect, and very much captures the fact that singing can reveal the interior character of a person more than chit-chat can.

“I can’t speak for all the cultures of the world, but in the West, singing seems very much an extension of speech,” said GNN’s managing editor Andy Corbley, who was trained as a singer and worked as a children’s vocal coach before entering journalism.

“In my work, I found the children who were most eager to tell me about their life outside of classes were also the ones who projected their voice the most in the studio. I had one student who was a selective mute, and who wouldn’t speak with me—couldn’t even say hello—but after 90 minutes of coaching, was able to sing the words she ordinarily wouldn’t speak.”

“To my mind, it shows how singing begins with trust: trust in yourself that your words have value and power, and trust that those around you will listen to those words. That’s a very powerful, sort of, social contract.”

The good news about this story is it is good for the health to sing with others instead of avoiding them. Today’s JohnKu talks about getting together. I hope you have a lovely weekend.

The science shows it,

One case of good assembly . . .

Singing with humans

Thursday – Anything Possible – Twiggy and Tempest Make a Decision

December 11, 2025December 10, 2025 ~ John W. Howell ~ 84 Comments

“So Tempeste. What do you feel like doing today?”

“I was thinking about heading outside for a little toy ruckus. What about you?”

“I could use me some good old nap time.”

“You just had a good night’s sleep, right?”

“Well, yeah, but it is chilly out, and a nice snuggle would be nice.”

“There is a matter of exercise.”

“I can do it right here. A couple of push-ups and it’s done.”

“I guess you can kid yourself if you want to, Porky.”

“Did you just body shame me?

“It’s not a shame you are just big boned.”

“Well, I hope not. We are just built differently, that’s all.”

“Yeah, I love exercise, and you love naps.”

“Here I go. Ten pushups.”

“I would still rather go outside.”

“Well then, why don’t you just go?”

“Like you said, it is chilly out there.”

“You crack me up. Yeah, it is chilly, exercise or no.”

“Okay, maybe a nap is the best course after all.”

“Tell me this isn’t better.”

“You were right. This is better.

Tuesday – Anything Possible – Finger Point Prompt – “Meeting”

December 9, 2025December 8, 2025 ~ John W. Howell ~ 55 Comments

Today, I opened My GRL randomly to Page 25 and, with eyes closed, pointed to the page. My finger landed closest to the word” meeting.” That is our prompt today.

“What’s this meeting about?”

“I don’t know. I got a message to show up here at 9:00.”

“Yeah, me too. Makes me a little nervous.”

“Why’s that?”

“When the Boss calls a meeting with no subject, my mind always goes to a dark place.”

“Now that is silly. The Boss never calls meetings for bad news.”

“Well, this could be a first.”

“Besides, this is the holiday season, and we are way too busy for bad news.”

“All well and good. I’ve heard rumors that Amazon and free deliveries are putting the squeeze on traditional holiday outlets.”

“That may be true for some, but all our gifts are custom-made. Are you worried about a layoff?”

“That has crossed my mind.”

“Believe me, if there was going to be a layoff, it would have happened in the spring, not in the middle of the holidays.”

“That does make sense. We are needed right now.”

“You feel better?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Good. You’re fired.”

“W-what?”

“Just playing with you. Relax. Everything is okay.”

“You had me there.”

“One more point. The entire team needs you to guide the sleigh. Especially if it is foggy.”

“Thank you, Prancer. As the last to join the team, you can see why I might worry.”

“You’re good kid. Oh look. Here comes Santa, and if I’m not mistaken, he has a bag of oats slung over his shoulder. Looks like the reason for the meeting is a par-tay. Now smile.”

Ambitious Rewilding Project for Koala and Platypus Undertaken by Sydney’s Taronga Zoo