Last weekend, I mowed Hil's lawn and declared that mowing season was over. The 10 gallon portable can was still half-full, so feeling virtuous, I poured the leftovers into Hil's car.

Then she reminded me buried in the depths of the garage is apparently a portable electric generator. Power does go out every so often in this part of the world, so it would be a good idea to have that thing ready to go. The house has forced air heat, so if need be I am confident I could use the generator to power the furnace to keep the place from freezing.

Which is to say, guess who gets to fill that stupid gas can up again? *sigh*

Posted by: Boviate at 02:59 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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In this election, we've got an "Barack" versus a "Mitt". How long has it been since there was a presidential election where neither major candidate had a WASPy forename?

Perhaps 1964, with Lyndon vs. Barry. "Barry" is somewhat WASPy, though. 1952 and 1956 were Dwight vs. Adlai, again, "Dwight" seems like it wouldn't be noticeable at Eton. 1852 had a Franklin vs. Winfield, but "Franklin" is a very traditional English word, so I'm going to call it a WASP name. That also disqualifies 1936, Franklin vs. Alf, and 1940, Franklin vs. Wendell.

1872 was Horace vs. Ulysses, and 1868 was Horatio vs. Ulysses. So I'm going to declare those as being the only prior elections where neither major candidate has a WASP forename. Amusingly, neither Horace Greeley, Horatio Seymour, nor Ulysses Grant had any substantial Greek ancestry.

Posted by: Boviate at 12:11 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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