Sorry that there’s not more today, but it turned into a day for filling out paperwork. As I’ve mentioned before, I have reluctantly begun a disability claim and am looking into what it takes to retire early. I need something regular coming in, as while I appreciate and desperately need the donations to the fundraiser, being able to pay the bills reliably is paramount. Especially given the way the economy is doing.
Saturday saw a huge amount of mail come in, which was all from the government and included 17 pages of forms related to the disability claim. This morning has been spent filling out all those forms. I strongly suspect they are going to regret paper forms that I have to fill out by hand as my penmanship, never good to start with, has gone downhill since all this started. Even when I print, it’s a challenge. I also suspect they are going to regret the instructions ‘answer in detail.’
One good thing did come out the medical issues last week. With me not feeling good, I had an “attention lapse” and let the coffee steep in the French press for about eight minutes. Most coffees take 3-4 minutes to get the best flavor. I figured that so long as it wasn’t too bitter, it would be okay. It was freaking delicious! Strong, not bitter, more of the chicory and other notes came out. So, I’ve been playing with it a bit and am finding 6-7 minutes works very well with this coffee.
No, I don’t have a post office box yet, but working on it. With fees and rent, the smallest box offered is going run about $115 for three months. Since I don’t even have bill or real grocery money right now, will be a bit. Meantime, looking at other options on a temporary basis as gift cards were mentioned as a possibility.
Watching what is going on in Russia and the Ukraine, leaving the combat reporting to others who are doing an excellent job overall. In political terms in Russia, not much has changed though there are some interesting maneuvers underway. Some of it suggests that a sacrifice/scapegoat short of Shoigu may be offered up. Also, trying to confirm a report that Russia was so short of precision air launched cruise missiles that they took some out of nuclear service to use with conventional warheads in strikes on the Ukraine.
Today’s strikes may have taken a rather large chunk out of their precision ALCM stockpile. Logistics rules, and Russia is not alone in being short. Right now, with all we have sent to the Ukraine, we better hope a war doesn’t start as we can’t sustain a fight for long. What’s worse, a number of the lines needed are not even running I hear. If we had competent leadership they would be moving on this. Given what we have, well, maybe North Korea will sell to us too. (/sarc) Pro tip: in any fight with peer or near-peer opponents, your ammo and related will be used at several times the rates predicted by the paper pushers. Just take a look at how many years worth of production has been used in Javelins and other systems in less than a year.
More soon.
Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving to the SW, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.