Coincidence That The States That Make It Hardest To Unionize Are The Same Ones That Didn’t Want To End Slavery?

Hah, fooled you, this post doesn't have anything to do with unions, unless you think of the borg as a union in a non right to work state. Which I didn't think of till after I typed that so this post is full of surprises, mostly for me.
I don't have very many strong beliefs anymore, but I do think that Facebook is pretty evil. Much worse than say, the borg, because I can totally understand how they happened: who wouldn't want their tech devices implanted, and then who would be surprised when one thing led to another? Oh my gosh, as I typed this, I just realized that the "another" (being a total mind meld and the loss of privacy) in the last sentence was the logical outcome of Facebook's over-sharing and misuse of people's data. So, yeah, the borg are what would happen if Facebook, Google and Microsoft merged to distribute Apple products. All of which is a long way to go to mention that I'll be closing my What'sApp account (if that's even possible) now that they have been assimilated into the Facebook collective.
Yesterday was Love Your Pet Day, and so to honor two pets I loved, and in a shout-out to both vegans and cat lovers:

The fact that pets always break your heart has taught me that you shouldn't have pets, but sadly, the rest of the people in the house have learned the exact opposite lesson, i.e., if pets are going to die and break your heart, you need to stock up.

I came home from work tired recently. Karen wanted me to talk to my doctor about why I get so tired. I told her it might be because I'd just walked 7.5 miles on glare ice with a temperature of 0℉ (air temperature; she'd have a point if that was my temperature). I think my health is fine (even though I just got an appointment reminder letter from my cardiologist) I'm just too old for my job.
We could probably retire if we sold our house, but Karen doesn't want to completely abandon Anchorage, and as you can imagine, we can't afford to buy a house somewhere else and keep an Alaskan house. Plus, my daughter still lives here and I don't know what would happen to her if we left. Actually, a friend of both our daughters used to rent here, but after a year, Karen told her it was time to go, so she did, but then awhile ago, she spent the night, and then the next, and now she lives here too, she just doesn't pay rent.
Plus, vegans, here's your dog picture:

Talk About Your Family Drama, Queen Victoria Was The Kaiser's Grandmother.

Today I heard Speaker Boehner say that the Affordable Care Act should be modified to eliminate the individual mandate to buy insurance even though they know that there is no way to fund universal health care without the individual mandate. And we know the Republicans know that because it was their idea in the first place in order to avoid the socialist* universal care option. So, given their hostility to the poor, their idolization of the rich, and their hypocrisy, do they most resemble the Pharisee party or the Sadducee party?
I've been listening to The War That Ended Peace about the causes of the First World War. It's all very sad and could have been avoided, but one of the things that shocked me was the realization that when I was fourteen and my parent's friends told me that my favorite corduroy coat made me look Edwardian, they meant, fat.
After my post about the OED, I heard from a reader that I should not give up the fight to preserve our language. But even though I'm now a Know-It-All, and a Wordmaticion in QuizUp, I agree with this:

I used to love correcting people's grammar until I realized what I loved more was having friends.
— Mara Wilson (@MaraWritesStuff) February 8, 2014

although it would be even better if I had friends.
And finally, Leah says that if I want to increase my readership I need to mention vegans and have a picture of a cute dog like our very own Ellie.

*(we need a punctuation mark for air quotes)

My Father Said, "No Man Should Ever Eat Dinner Alone," But Are You Ever Really Alone If You Have An iPhone?

Wednesday I presented myself to the court system for jury duty again. This time my name wasn't drawn out of the hat, and so I left again with slightly hurt feelings. Since then, I've been playing QuizUp on Ken Jennings recommendation.  I began as a novice, but by this morning, I had achieved the rank of Smarty Pants, and at dinner tonight, I became a Moonwalking Astronaut. For an acknowledged Smarty Pants,  deciding a simple DUI would have been a snap.

No Apology Necessary

If you kill a bicyclist in Anchorage, there is literally, no apology necessary. According to the Alaska Dispatch, police treat running red lights and killing bicyclists as a misdemeanor, even if the driver has been smoking marijuana.
I've been saying, "Drivers mock me when they see I've still got Christmas lights on my bike, but at least they see me." Now I realize that probably just makes me a better target.

I'm dropping this picture here because it doesn't seem to warrant a post, or even much of a comment beyond, "Another day on the job for both of us."