V-E Day

In 1945, the Soviet Union and United States were on the same side of  an alliance that defeated Nazi Germany.  Then there was the Cold War, ending in a Soviet collapse in 1991.  There was a an uneasy relationship for a while but since the Crimea operation last year, US-Russian relations have fallen down hill.  It is almost like its 1965 all over again.

It is a shame but this might be the new norm for a while.  Continued hostility toward Russia and meddling in Ukraine will only push Moscow and Beijing together to the detriment of American interests.

Snubbing the Russians on V-E Day will not make anything easier.  Better to celebrate the great victory of 1945 and try to use this as a way to find common ground.

Chronia Polla!

HAPPY ORTHODOX EASTER!

Don't go too crazy with the discounted Easter candy and red eggs!

PizzaFest!

Food of the gods!

Back on April 2, 2007, I gave Michelle her ring in front of Heinz Field. To celebrate in 2015, we ate a ton of pizza!  No better way to celebrate, well, anything, other than with pizza!

I felt vaguely sick and sleepy afterwards but I would do it again!

Peperoni and sausage pizza cannot be beat!

Happy Greek Independence Day!

HAPPY GREEK INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!!

Daylight Savings Time

Daylight Savings Time is a lot like the Wasted Week.  Everything is out of whack and nothing seems to go right.  We do get an extra hour of daylight, a nod to a time when 90% of Americans worked on farms and needed that extra hour.  I wish they would simply decide to stick to one set (?) of time hours and keep it that way.

Well, the weather has improved and Michelle and I went to Raleigh for the day.  We should have gone to the Discover Dinosaurs exhibit which also had an Ice Age display.  I was not about to shell out $23 a ticket.  Nonetheless commericals for it harrassed us all the way back home on the radio......LOL

Still a good day

Any day with Michelle is a good day! :-)

Ice Age in NC

The last Ice Age ended around 10,000 BC but since 2010, we have had four major snowstorms in NC.  Granted, by Canadian or Pittsburgh standards, it is not much, but usually North Carolina does not have much when it comes to Winter weather.

People here still can't drive....LOL

I refuse to accept the "they are not used to this" argument, especially, as I just said, since we have had some severe weather since 2010. 

I am not sure if we are heading for another Ice Age but I don't blame you for thinking we are.  Ironically, the main effect of global warming would be an ice age.   Melting polar ice caps run off into the Atlantic, disrupting a current off of the East Coast called the Atlantic Conveyer. 

The Conveyer runs up from the tropics bringing moderate weather to the East Coast or at least taking the edge off Winter. Without it, cold weather from Canada, or possibly Siberia (!) comes in without anything to push it back.  The Applalachins provide a wall but if these storms climb over it, get the mammoth repellent ready!

At least it is good football weather!

Will Greece destroy the European Union?

New Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, of the leftist SYIRIZA party, has pledged to end the debt crisis Greece is suffering though.  He has basically flipped off the European Union and is demanding a restructure of debt.  He is ending austerity plans and threatening to leave the EU.

A Greek withdrawal seems the best option for everyone.  The EU can cut off a gangerious limb that has cost about $272 billion and Greece can go back to the drachma.  I still think they should pay that debt back though....eventually.

That leads to another question.  What happens if larger countries like Italy and Spain, all ready in trouble, run down the same path as Greece?  It would lead to a collapse of the EuroZone.

Will the fanatics in Brussels---and yes, they are fanatics, willing to watch the European Union contract?  It appears to be more dictatorial than it was a few years ago and trying to weld different countries together with coersive economic force is not going to work.

The European Union is looking more like the Soviet Union.  How did that work out?

Tell the EU to stay a free trade zone and work something out with Greece.

Or collapse.

Your call, Europe.