Loose ends

Dreams have always been one of my preferred forms of entertainment.  Sometimes I'll wake up, thinking "Jeezus H. Kee-RIST!  What was that?"  Most of the dreams are usually quickly forgotten, but sometimes parts of them will stick around forever.  The non-passive kind of dream you guys are talking about is the lucid dream where you have control over what happens.  There are supposed to be methods you can use to increase the likelihood of lucid dreaming but I've never tried them.  Sometimes my dreams are lucid but mostly they're not, but that's okay.  I'm happy with whatever dream I get as long as I wake up a bit rattled from the dream; a dreamless sleep is less than satisfying for me.

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I have an idea about the meaning of "extreme vetting."  There was one time when my family was visited by a couple of investigators from the Illinois State Police.  The son of one of our neighbors was applying to be a state trooper, and they took a lot of notes while asking a lot of questions, mostly about his character.  They wanted to know what kind of person he was, what kinds of people he associated with, were there any things that would be an issue, that sort of thing.  We didn't have much of an idea about most of the stuff but the responses were positive.  The guy wasn't a jerk or an asshole, and to our knowledge, was honest and trustworthy.

I think the FBI does the same kind of inquiry when certain security clearances are being considered.  Instead of depending on phone interviews they send a couple of warm bodies for an up close and personal chat.  To me, that sounds like extreme vetting.

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Warning, ice cream ahead...

It might be my imagination, but the addition of two tablespoons of bourbon really kicked the flavor of the vanilla up a notch or two.  No noticeable taste of whiskey but there seems to be an added depth which is quite pleasing to my jaded palate.  I don't think I've ever had better.

A health advisory should include the fact that I've gained more than five pounds since I've started making the stuff, and it's only been a few weeks.  I'll have to cut back before it gets out of hand; you're supposed to fatten up before the winter, not after.

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So, now there's a short video available online of a chicken playing "America the Beautiful" on a keyboard.  This is the kind of thing that makes America great again.