Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

July 30, 2021July 29, 2021 ~ John W. Howell ~ 100 Comments

“Boss. Twiggy keeps running away.”
“Isn’t that what tag is all about?”
“Not when one gets older it isn’t.”
“You’ll be fine. Go get her.”

It is Friday again and the beginning of that period of rest that we all need. I hope your week went well.

We all learned that the CDC issued some revised guidelines for mask-wearing. They advise mask-wearing even if fully vaccinated in public places, indoors in those areas where there is a high and substantial level of Covid transmission rates. This covers about 225 million Americans or about 63% of the population. So if your area has between 50 and 100 new cases per 100,000 population or a positivity testing rate of 8% to 10%, then you are in a substantial to high transmission rate area.

Also, the CDC is recommending those school-age children in grades K through 12 wear masks when they go back to school. This has caused so much confusion in the school districts here in Texas. The governor issued a directive that school districts and communities are not allowed to mandate mask-wearing, so at best, any decision on masks has to be an advisory position. Texas shares the no-mask mandate with Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Montana, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Makes your head spin.

We also learned this week that eating foods high in flavonoids can help beat cognitive decline. To all you youngsters out there, this knowledge has little relevance. To we old codgers, what it means is all the strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, red cabbage, onions, peppers, kale, parsley, black tea, oolong tea, green tea, wine, chocolate, soybeans, and citrus, that we have consumed is keeping our cognitive abilities from diving into the dirt. This was a study done over a 25 year period with 75,000 participants, and results were published in the American Academy of Neurology journal. So keep eating and drinking that stuff, and if you are not eating or drinking it, you should start.

Today’s JohnKu talks about cognitive decline. I hope you have a super weekend.

To protect the brain,

Flavonoids are wonderful . . .

Give me some more wine.

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

July 16, 2021July 15, 2021 ~ John W. Howell ~ 86 Comments

Lucy and Twiggy — “How about a game of tag.”
“Sounds good. It’s Friday after all.”
“I’ll give you to the count of three.”
“Make it five and you have a deal.”

Another Friday is in the history book. This has been an unusual week.

We saw space tourists, riots in South Africa and Cuba. Flooding in Germany. More fires in California and a big brouhaha over the wearing of masks when the kids go back to school.

The Surfside Flordia Condo collapse toll rose to 95, and the rescue efforts have turned to recovery. A little prayer for those who lost loved ones.

The Texas State Democratic representatives walked out of the special legislative session and flew to Washington on a chartered airplane. They are attempting to halt election reform legislation. Unfortunately, they have also stopped other bills whose intent is to serve the people of Texas. The only comment I have is that if you are an elected member of the legislative branch, you should be willing to serve and not just bug out when things don’t go your way.

COVID cases are on the rise. 11,000 last week, 25,000 this week. Deaths are still stable but are expected to rise along with the new cases. As long as people refuse to get vaccinated, this will be the norm after every holiday.

The news has not done much with the story, but BLM leadership on their official Twitter account has condemned the US for its economic sanctions against Cuba. It also came out in support of the Communist regime in Cuba even as folks are dying who oppose the government there. Gotta think something is wrong with that stance.

As I mentioned quite a week. Today’s JohnKu talks about the news. I hope you all have a great weekend.

It all can’t be good,

But when bad it is awful. . .

Have to move forward.

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

July 9, 2021July 8, 2021 ~ John W. Howell ~ 102 Comments

Friday came just in time for me. I have pushed myself so hard since the 5th of July I need another weekend off. I hope you know that I’m kidding. I think I’ve been reading too many Twitter trending tweets.

I saw an article that stated in June, 100% of the COVID deaths in Maryland were among those who were not vaccinated. So I can imagine that would be some wake-up news for those who are still not there. But, of course, some are opposed to being vaccinated, and maybe the news won’t wake anything.

Our county has reached 70% of the population receiving one shot. Looking forward to the time where 70% of the population has had two shots. I have real fear for those not vaccinated as the new variants are beginning to take hold. Also, it will be interesting to see where the case count goes after the Fourth of July weekend. That will be in another week.

Today’s JohnKu talks about getting vaccinated and why not. I hope you all have a safe and restful weekend.

Is it politics?

Maybe a religious fear . . .

Why not? A puzzle.

Friday JohnKu – AKA TGIF

June 25, 2021June 24, 2021 ~ John W. Howell ~ 93 Comments

Photo of Lucy and Twiggy — “I can’t hear you Little One. You are too far away.”
“It’s okay Lucy. I was just saying what a lovely Friday this is. Plenty of shade with a little dappled sun. So peaceful.”
“What?”

Another Friday is upon us, and it does seem like the week passed quickly. Well, I hope that is a good thing for you. I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, it is nice to get to the weekend. But, on the other hand, at my age, to feel the weeks fly can be disconcerting. Such a condition can be compared to riding in a driverless car’s back seat, watching the speedometer climb past the speed limit. Who do you call?

As we ease COVID restrictions here in the US, some sobering numbers are being registered in the rest of the world. The WHO reported the official worldwide death tool in 2020 of 1,813,188. So far this year, more than 2,000,000 people worldwide have died. These statistics point out a disparity in the ability of vaccines in the poorer countries. In the US, 53% of the population is fully vaccinated. A bit short of the herd immunity goal of 70% but enough to drastically cut the number of cases reported. Also, the number of deaths has declined significantly. Let’s hope the rest of the world can get the vaccines before another outbreak causes more hardship.

Still plugging along on my WIP. My characters just finished a scene with Lucifer (No, he hasn’t changed. Still evil.)and are now in California in 1849 to see what the Gold Rush was all about. I wish them well there since the place is loaded with ruffians. Certainly not like today.

Today’s John Ku talks about the pandemic. I hope you all have a super weekend.

It seems to be over,

For the richest of countries . . .

What about the poor ones?

FridayJohnKu – AKA – TGIF

May 28, 2021 ~ John W. Howell ~ 70 Comments

Photo of Twiggy and Lucy — “Lucy. Why are you so fuzzy?”
“Cause the Boss hasn’t figured out depth of field yet.”
“Glad it’s not you.”

It is Friday again, and time to be thinking about the weekend. For those who work, it promises to be a long weekend.

Not much to report today. This week seemed pretty slow. Kept the pressure on my WIP. Had to do some research which tends to slow things down a bit. I make a promise it will be out before the turn of the century. (A little writer humor. Very little.)

I was pleased to be informed that Eternal Road – The final stop took a finalist award in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards (NGIBA). Always feels good to get recognized for work. I will be putting the award on the sidebar when the artwork is available.

I see more bloggers getting worked up over states passing legislation on the voter process. I hope most of them take the time to really look at the laws passed and not just take someone else’s word that evil is afoot. I wish we all would look more closely at situations before firing off a rant, but that is just me.

Today’s JohnKu talks about rants. I hope you all have a great weekend and thoughtful Memorial Day.

We still owe ourselves,

A disciplined fact checks step. . .

Before writing rants.

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

May 21, 2021May 20, 2021 ~ John W. Howell ~ 67 Comments

Ah, Friday at last Little One.”
“Feels good, Lucy.”
“Yes it does.”

Friday again so soon? WTH. Okay, enough of the “Is life moving too fast? rant.” Of course, it is. We haven’t seen anything yet. Wait until everything opens up, and we all jump on the gerbil wheel.

The political wags are making a big deal out of certain states cutting short the unemployment pandemic bonus payments of 300 dollars a week. The real facts are 1. The number of unemployment claims is at the lowest level since the pandemic started. 2. Businesses are trying to attract workers, but with the prospect of earning that $300 by not working, there are staffing shortages everywhere. There is another lesson here. Some business sectors need to raise their wages to get the workers they need. I’m just saying.

We finally got three inches of rain here at the house. We needed it badly, and more is on the way. The folks in Louisana did not need the rain they got, so now there are emergency situations. It would be nice if there was an even allocation of the weather.

Had a great time on Fresh Ink Group’s Voice of Indie Podcast last night. Thanks to Beem Weeks and Stephen Geez for having me on. Here’s the link https://t.co/W0RkRhUm6Z?amp=1

If you haven’t seen the post on my review of Andrew Joyce’s Yellowhair, I hope you do. I have a lot of respect for his work.

Today’s JohnKu talks about the situation in the Middle East with the prospects of a cease-fire set for today. Let’s hope it is in place for a long time.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

I am killing you,

You are killing me as well . . .

Let’s stop this madness.

Wednesday Story Day – AKA – Hump Day

May 19, 2021May 18, 2021 ~ John W. Howell ~ 53 Comments

“You going to wait up for Friday?”
“Think I’ll sleep till then.”
“Good plan.”

It is Wednesday Story Day again, and last week we found out that the car making the pick-up at the Chick-Fil-A was a Cadillac Escalade, and the license number was clearly visible. So, with that information, the team headed to Mike Moore’s office at the FBI headquarters in Reno. I see they are in Mike’s office now, which means we can catch up with them.

“I have the database on my laptop so we can search for the plate here.”

“Good. Seems like we have to do a lot of running around to get things done.”

“I would talk to the guy with the pen about that.”

“How long is the search going to take?”

“Here it is.”

“Amazing.”

“Looks like the plate belongs to a Prius. It is registered to a couple in Tahoe. Hold on. Let me check the stolen vehicle database as well. No record of the Prius being stolen. I think we will need to call the couple to double-check.”

“There is no record of the Cadillac?”

“Yeah, that will take longer. This system is set up by plate number. Here let me do a search on the name field.”

“Is this just Nevada?”

“Yup, for now. I can expand to the US. I wish we had that plate number.”

“How about the dealer? Couldn’t they be of some help?”

“Depends on how good their records are. What year would you say that Escalade is anyway?”

“Boy, that would be a guess, but I would say maybe a 2019 or 20.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I know they named a style change for the 2021 year. That doesn’t look like the change.”

“Hey, Larry.”

“What, Andrew?”

“You looking to buy an Escalade.”

“No. Why?”

“Just wondered why you knew about model changes, is all.”

“It’s a long story. Maybe some other time.”

“I don’t have a hit on the Escalade at all. The system is still going through the national database. This could take all day. We need to go see that dealer.”

“I think we ‘d better get going then.”

“I’ll take my laptop so I can stay on the search. Wait, here’s something. An Escalade reported stolen in LA two weeks ago. The color is wrong. This one is black.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

May 14, 2021May 14, 2021 ~ John W. Howell ~ 69 Comments

“Hey everyone. Dad put the wrong headline on this post which is now corrected. Also, it is Friday and I couldn’t be happier.”
“Well done, Twiggy. He also posted this photo yesterday.”
“Cut the guy some slack, Lucy. he needed a quick one.”
“Happy Friday.”

Another fast-flying week. I have to wonder if it is just me,, or is the calendar out of control? Reminds me of those old movies where the pages fly off a calendar to show time passing. I personally would like time to take a break and not be in such a hurry to pass us by. Too much to do and too little time.

Inflation worries had the stock market in a tissy on Tuesday and Wednesday. Looks like investors think the latest cost of living numbers will trigger a Federal Reserve increase in interest rates. Given that the Colonial pipeline hack pretty much disrupted transportation for the Eastern half of the country might have driven prices up. Most analysts still maintain that a little correction is a good thing.

The housing market is going nuts. If you are thinking about selling a house,, now is the time. Of course, I always miss the seller’s market when selling and the buyer’s market when buying. My motto is to buy high,, sell low. Right now, I’m not needing to sell. I’ll wait for a housing collapse before listing my place.

Still working on my WIP. James and Sam still haven’t been able to find Ryan and Eddie (Two missing spirits) They looked for them at an aerodrome in World War I, at Gettysburg in the Civil War, and they just left Hiroshima. The Hiroshima trip was courtesy of Lucifer so you know it was not meant to be uplifting.

Today’s JohnKu talks about the economy. I hope you all have a super weekend.

Economic cycle,

Could also be called roulette . . .

The ball needs to drop.

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

May 7, 2021May 6, 2021 ~ John W. Howell ~ 56 Comments

Photo of Twiggy trotting by Lucy — “Where you going kiddo?”
“I thought I heard Friday on the patio.”
“You are right Friday is here.”

It is Friday again, and I think I must spend part of the week in a state of unconsciousness. That would be the only reason the week passes so quickly. Well, here we are on the eve of the weekend.

It has been a week of finally getting past the block on my WIP. I still can’t figure out what the problem was, but managed to move on. I have been able to score one thousand words a day which is my goal.

On Sunday, we will be visiting the Enchanted Forest again. There are some interesting things done with the trees so we will concentrate on those. I hope you can make it.

This week’s JohnKu talks about peace and quiet. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

When all is quiet,

Do not suspect something’s wrong . . .

Sound of peace working.

Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

April 23, 2021April 22, 2021 ~ John W. Howell ~ 85 Comments

Twiggy looking up in the air — “Twiggy. What are you doing?”
“Catching a few rays before the snowstorm.”
“Very funny. It’s going to be in the 80s today.”
“You never know lately.”

Here it is, Friday already. I did not get half of what I wanted to accomplish this week accomplished. Well, maybe half is an exaggeration. I had to make a list of what I did accomplish to keep myself from thinking I wasted the week. No surprise, the list was gratifying. I think the problem is I have been stymied on the WIP, and so I haven’t produced the word count that I originally planned. These things do happen, so I’ll just shrug it off and try to do better next week. Besides, I have not gotten one call from the commercial editor at Simon and Shuster demanding the manuscript and threatening my million dollar advance. So why sweat it?

Yesterday was the official Earth Day. I will still be celebrating Earth Day on my post on Sunday. We have a Question Find It scavenger hunt going on, and we need to wrap it up. There are five more stops to go. Also, I have invited Kid Rock to join us. He’s going to do “All Summer Long while you eat the sumptuous brunch that will be served.

This week’s JohnKu talks about what to do when faced with not accomplishing what you set out to do. I hope you all have a great weekend.

When you start to feel,

Like you are falling behind . . .

Look at all you have done.