Ducked, Sponsored, NPA

Last night when I went out to attend to Kathy in the chicken yard I saw the outlines of two larger birds by the area where I spread scratch grains.  As I got closer I realized that I had two duck visitors.  When the property gets flooded it isn’t unusual for ducks to come in and hang in the temporary ponds that form on the property but in this case most of the standing water was already gone.  They were unsure about me and moved away as I approached but I gave them plenty of space which encouraged them to return.  I really do appreciate the simple interactions with nature I get to have living where I do.

A week or so ago someone reached out to me from a company that sells high end hoverboards, yes hoverboards.  For many years I would cringe when someone would see me on an EUC or OneWheel and say “look at the hoverboard!”  It’s not a freaking hoverboard.

I have ridden tons of different PEVs over the years, the Minipro, electric skateboards, scooters, One Wheels and of course electric unicycles.  The one thing I have never owned or ridden was a hoverboard, one of the early pioneers in the PEV craze.

EVERYONE wanted a hoverboard for awhile, you saw them everywhere.  Later they got a bad rap when a number of videos popped up on the internet of them going up like roman candles.  The fires really killed off their popularity for awhile but over time they have made a bit of a comeback.

So anyway, this company rep saw my YouTube channel and asked if I would be interested in reviewing the F1 version of their board.  After looking at some of the information about it I decided sure, why not?  They send you the product for free and you get to keep it.  I’m happy to shoot a brief review video on it in exchange.  This particular version seems pretty advanced compared to what I knew hoverboards to be.  The odds of me actually keeping it are slim to none. Once I play around with it I am sure I will give it away to someone that could put it to better use.

Last week I received my updated voter registration card in the mail.  Ever since getting it I had an urge to go in and make a change.  Some of you may recall the story of how I was a registered republican since the 80’s.  I never voted strictly along party lines but back then I liked Reagan so I registered as a member of his party.  Things seemed good back then although history would later reveal that some of the stuff that went on during his time in office sowed the seeds for some of the mess we are in today.

Back in 2018 I made the decision to officially change my party affiliation to democrat.  Over the prior 15 years I found myself more aligned with democratic principals even though I still voted back and forth across party lines depending on the position and candidates.  I was also disgusted with what was going in Washington at the time which helped fuel the decision. Yesterday, I changed again.

Like I said my political beliefs float back and forth across the center line.  I believe in the greater good principals yet I detest individuals that try to take advantage of benefits or programs designed to help those truly in need.  I believe in supporting those that need help but also that you should exhaust all efforts to help yourself.  I appreciate hard work.  I think health care should not bankrupt individuals, but that those same individuals should make the effort to live a healthier lifestyle. I think we should be stewards of the environment and not consumers of it. I think religion should be freely accepted for anyone to practice what they believe, as long as they are not trying to enforce those beliefs on others.

I think from a fiscal perspective I am more conservative and from society perspective more liberal.  So anyway, I also am very aware that no matter what political party is in power, the real decision makers are the ones that lobby politicians for influence.  There is an overarching core of infinite wealth and power that is willing to take whatever steps are necessary to further their own agenda.

One of their core strategies is to get the general population to fight against each other, causing almost tribal like conflict amongst them.  These efforts are the perfect distraction to keep people distracted, looking over there while they play their dirty games over here.  This corruption and toxicity poisons BOTH major political parties, that is without doubt.

So when I looked at my options for political affiliation on the voter registration web site I made what seemed like the only logical choice for me at this point, NPA, which stands for no party affiliation.  It falls in line with how I truly analyze and look at things.  I will pick the best person for the position in my opinion based on information/past history/issues, which sadly in many cases may just be the least worst.  I don’t need red or blue to make that decision for me.