Will got Bloody Knuckles This Morning

Good afternoon, Stroock's Books commune. 

Flat tire this morning with one warped Lugnut (why does kell speck want this capitalized) that refused to come off. Tow truck guy came and asked, 'You don't have a spare?' We explained the situation to him. He nodded, broke out a quad changer (pro tip) and a mallet and said, 'It'll come off'. This spared us the humiliation of having to tow a car with a flat. 

Well, a member of this blog's Confederate readership invited us to Tennessee. We've been there a few times, on our way to Kentucky. Overnighted in Knoxville once.  Folks are quite friendly. Everything reader(s) have heard about New Jersey and the Northeast is true. We're just meaner. 

Of course we lived in Arlington, Virginia for six years. Which ain't the south. It was East Coast Corridor just like here in Bridgewater.  But Arlington has a southern clime. We recall fondly those southern summer nights. Still air. A quiet breeze. In our youth we'd hang out at the Jefferson Memorial with friends. Back in the 90's one could just park right next to it. Heavy T's, we called it. 

Actually, Arlington nights used to make us miss Livermore. We haven't been there in well nigh 18 years now. Someday...someday. 

This blog remains in awe of New Jersey's proposed paid menstrual leave law. May we suggest sensitive employers also have an ice cream bar on premises so menstruating women can put on Jagged Little Pill and cry their eyes out in a pint of chocolate-chocolate chip? Oh, men get periods too. 

So Finland is going to apply for NATO membership. Serves Putin right. This blog would have laughed at the idea six months ago. NATO, yeah sure! But given the extreme pain NATO has inflicted on Russia with arms shipments and intel to the Ukes, we'd say they're a great deterrent. Who knew? Exit question: Fins are the weirdos of Scandanavia, no? Laplander bastards.

We think World War 1990: Battle of the GIUK Gap, might be an excellent opportunity to write more good things about the French. A French submarine in the Bay of Biscay. French Super Frelons on anti-submarine patrol. Why not French truckers heading out of Cherbourg escorted by gendarmes. Roll convoy. Roll camion! SEC football fans just got physically ill. We have not forgotten the Spanish angle.  Nice aircraft carrier they got there.