A Heated Father's Day

The heat is coming...the heat is coming! 
"Well, ya', it's mid June in Phoenix, Arizona.  What's the panic?" 
"It's gonna be 119 on Father's Day!  Have you ever tried to stand near a gas gill when it's 119 degrees outside?"
"No, but I think I will find out how it feels!  ...and besides, it's a dry heat!"
 "Dry Heat, my ass; It is gonna be a scorcher!" 

Just so y'all know, even some of the residence of Arizona complain about the heat this time of year.  If I can be out of the direct sun with a light breeze and/or a water mist, than I can stand temperatures as high as the upper 100's.  But, every year there are only 18 days on average that are over 110 degrees, and these are the days everyone hates!  So far this year, we have already experienced 4 days with 9 more to come this week, over over 110 degrees.  So, the way I see it, we only have to endure 5 more excessive heat days...on average of course!  (The record is 32 days a couple of years ago and June is always the hottest month in Arizona.)  

119 degrees on Father's Day will not deter me from my duty of grilling ribs outdoors.  I will enjoy it!  Stay hydrated, my friend, with some cold adult beverage and slip in and out of the air conditioned house to flip the ribs!  ...Just say'n!

Happy Father's Day!

The Hat

Our neighbors have sold their home and are moving back to Germany; after being snowbirds in Arizona for the last 25 years.   It is sad to see them go as they have been great neighbors and are fun loving people.  Carrying on a lengthy conversation is sometimes a little difficult, but we seem to get along and understand each other, with some help of great German beer, wine schnapps and Oktoberfest.

So, keeping with the "fun loving" theme, Germans are big on hats.  Many of them are decorated with feathers.  At our farewell gathering the other day this hat was brought out and given to my wife.

 She thought it was a great idea to have all the ladies try the hat on and we take a picture of each.  I thought it would be great to get me wearing it also!  This is what I put together to give to our neighbor as fond memories of our friendship.

Orlando & Gun Control

In light of the worst massacre in US history this past weekend in Orlando, Florida, there are politicians asking to take more rights away from law abiding citizens by attempting enact more gun control.

Again, in this most recent incident, these mass murders are occurring in "gun free" zones, where law abiding citizens have their rights to defend themselves taken away, all while the criminal has free and easy access to murder their victims.  If just one (1) law abiding citizen would have had a weapon available I am quite sure that this "terrorist" would have never been able to wreck the havoc on as many people as he did.

Before we give up any more of our rights in the country to allow the government to decide what is best for us, we need to pay attention to the facts about guns, criminals and murder in the country.  This video is worth the time to watch.

I Think My Dog's a Democrat

That's it!  My dog is a Democrat.  I get it now, she relies on me for everything in her life.  Food, entertainment, healthcare, a place to live to keep her off the street.  I educate her and pick up after her.
It's a dog's life!!!

The 2016 Presidential Race as a Video Game?

The Presidential Race Has Officially Been Turned Into A Video Game

 BY WILLIAM USHER

Stardock Entertainment's The Political Machine 2016 is a single or multiplayer political campaign simulator. It lets players take on the role of a current candidate or create their own on their way toward the primaries and a shot at becoming the President of the United States. 

The game recently launched on Steam for only $9.99. The game is currently discounted by 25% off for the first week of being available on Valve's digital distribution service, so you can get your hands on it for only $7.49 for a limited time.

The game isn't just some presidential simulator thrown together with RNG and some loosely connected political topics formulated from a procedural algorithm. According to producer Patrick Shaw, the game draws from real life hot-button topics currently occurring in today's political sphere, with Shaw explaining in the press release... 

"The game deals with topics like the Keystone XL Pipeline, human trafficking, and other issues that are current and relevant to this year’s election, […] We’ve added a poll tracking feature so that you can see how your own political races are matching up to what’s going on in the United States right now." 

The Political Machine 2016 allows players to create their own candidate and take them on the campaign trail, or to assume the role of a real-life candidate such as Ted Cruz, Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, and push them through the grueling process of winning over regional caucuses and utilizing census data to shape and mold your campaign to match the expectations of the people.

What's interesting is that players will have to deal with political scandals – some of which can be pushed “under the rug” while others will require damage control from a savvy campaign leader. All of this can also take place within a real-time multiplayer sphere, where players will duke it out with friends or rivals alike online. You can attempt to utilize a natural disaster as an advantage to your own campaign or as a way to ruin the opposition. You can go on talk shows and partake in interviews to win over specific demographics, and even utilize various policies to not only win points but also actually work to enact change in the world.

Stardock's The Political Machine 2016 has already garnered a strong following on Steam and there are some interesting discussions and political debates happening within the game's forum given that it's obviously taking advantage of the 2016 presidential elections.

Unsurprisingly, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton seem to be popular topics of discussion in the forums, with a lot of players offering commentary and points of contention with the ideals espoused by the POTUS hopefuls.

As the elections move through the states leading up to the primaries, some gamers are actually following along and simulating the results within Stardock's The Political Machine 2016. This was obviously the perfect time to release the game because it's likely going to stay a hot button item throughout the year, especially when the actual election season rolls around and everyone will be making their own predictions and coming up with their own scenarios.

You can learn more about the game or grab a digital copy by heading on over to the Steam store.

or click this link below:

http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Presidential-Race-Has-Officially-Been-Turned-Video-Game-Get-Details-116327.html